microsoft word navarro-benbow.doc 1 sixto vi como palinodia: una desintegración de las categorías que rigen sobre el ser humano alejandra navarro-benbow department of modern languages villanova university el modelo social contemporáneo refleja que la humanidad del individuo yace sepultada bajo sistemas, esquemas y metodologías ajenas. la esencia de cada uno se encuentra sumisa al “cómo debe hacerse algo” y sigue caminos ya establecidos, seguros que permiten controlar el caos que se avecina de hacer lo contrario. actualmente, no existen cimientos morales comunes, y, por lo tanto, el individuo conformista y palinódico se hace y deshace dejándose manipular por el va y ven constante de la ideología del momento. raúl ruiz en su obra sixto vi: relación inverosímil de un papado infinito presenta un paralelo lúdico de esta cuestión. enfrentando al lector ante su deshumanización y ayudando a desfalcar cada una de sus sistematizaciones, ruiz proporciona la clave para que el individuo obre independientemente o que, al menos, rehuse seguir metódicamente el camino que la sociedad ha pautado para la masa. en vez de brindarle al lector una solución, ruiz propone el vivir con un rompecabezas incompleto. más aún, sugiere alivio al liberarse de restricciones externas en vez de inseguridad ante la pérdida de control que implica. de esta manera, el lector puede, si así lo desea, experimentar visceralmente su propia humanidad. no hay duda que poder confiar en alguna metodología aporta seguridad, pues no sólo predispone las acciones de uno, sino también puede predecir un resultado. inculcando la desconfianza en su relato por medio de un narrador y un personaje no fidedignos, ruiz provoca el primer desfalco sistemático en el lector, ya que no es posible una aproximación analítica a la novela por medio de los métodos convencionales. ruiz no responde a su necesidad de obtener respuestas, sino crea más interrogantes. insatisfecho ante la imposibilidad de definir realmente a sixto vi, el lector hace un recorrido histórico, donde fuentes primarias confirman que tal papa es 2 ficticio. sin embarg, su construcción se basa en las vidas de papas con el nombre de sixto que sí forman parte de la historia eclesiástica. los datos presentados comienzan a adquirir una cualidad absurda en el relato de ruiz. anticipando la naturaleza inquisitiva de ciertos lectores, ruiz ridiculiza este afán al explicar la epistemología de sixto vi, en una nota a pie de página: el verbo latino sisto tiene las siguientes acepciones: establecer, erigir, determinar, mantenerse firme... esta –y no otra—sería la interpretación etimológica del nombre. en cuanto al numeral, parece que tiene su origen y explicación en la familia patriarca de los sexto, de cuya casa partían las catacumbas sixtinas. otros han querido ver en el nombre y el número del papa una interpretación simbólica: s, espíritu, i, uno, eje del universo; x, unión de los dos mundos; t, cruz, théos; o, disco solar, perfección. el ordinal—sexto— significaría equilibrio, alma, prueba y esfuerzo. se intuye que las interpretaciones pueden ser infinitas. (200) utilizando los propios instrumentos del lector, ruiz ridiculiza la terquedad por obtener una respuesta objetiva para así llegar a una explicación que todo resuelve. no sobra mencionar que el propósito de la novela es involucrar al lector en un proceso que busca resolver la cuestión existencial de sixto. ruiz efectivamente se dirige a aquel individuo que no se conforma con la duda, o, mejor dicho, que no se conforma teniendo al alcance otras posibilidades. el no centrar la obra en un tiempo específico también apoya dicho propósito. como el título indica, el escritor presenta un papado infinito donde bien encajan referencias a plumas y tinteros al igual que a jeeps y missiles. no obstante, uno no se encuentra ante una novela atemporal. el tiempo tiene su especificad; es infinito. como dice fernando valls, “crea un tiempo nuevo... mezcla el pasado con el presente” (29). puede verse como enriquecen el análisis literario estos elementos, y más aún cuando se espera lo convencional: un relato lineal y mimético. sin embargo, debe reconocerse que a pesar de no ser una obra mimética, logra exitosamente nublar las barreras entre la realidad y la ficción. menciona daniel chandler en su explicación de la intertextualidad: confounding the realist agenda that 'art imitates life,' intertextuality suggests that art imitates art. oscar wilde (typically) took this notion further, declaring provocatively that 'life imitates art'… 'we are living in a society in which our perception is directed almost as often to representations as it is to "reality"' (lash 1990, 24). intertextuality blurs the boundaries 3 not only between texts but between texts and the world of lived experience. …the world as we know it is merely its current representation. (7) sixto vi forma un vínculo fundamental entre verosimilitud y fantasía en parte por su intertextualidad. para lograr este propósito, ruiz cuidadosamente incluye un corpus de referencias que aluden a la realidad en todo momento de la obra. san malaquías, galileo, y voltaire hacen constar su presencia, de la misma forma que el tirano de taormina o la tía stella. a la vez ruiz construye fielmente el espacio de la capilla sixtina. sus frescos, especialmente el de eva, imponen su presencia de la misma forma que los demás personajes. por otra parte, el autor describe fielmente todo aspecto ritualista del proceso papal: la guardia suiza, el cónclave, la coronación y hasta las obras fúnebres de un papa. la función de la alusión es no poder discernir entre lo tangible y lo onírico. ambos elementos se unen para comunicar una “construcción de conjeturas” (valls 29) que nada tienen de inverosímiles. para continuar desestabilizando la percepción de realidad, ruiz dota al papa de cualidades con las que el lector pueda identificarse. comienza apelando a la necesidad del individuo de romper la monotonía. poniendo en evidencia la necesidad de sixto y de todo ser de escapar la realidad cotidiana. así dice sixto: <<aunque aparentemos orgullo por lo que somos, todos, absolutamente todos, hemos soñado ser otros, hacer lo que no hemos hecho nunca, sentir lo que nunca hemos sentido, ser tan distintos a nosotros mismos que acertemos con las más recónditas esencias de nuestros rincones psicológicos... y es que nada me aburre tanto como representar durante toda la vida un único e intransferible papel. >> (47) se ejemplifica la imposibilidad de sixto de habitar en un mundo real, y a la vez vincula al lector con esta necesidad. en vez de presentar a un sixto que se niegue a asistir al trabajo a causa de la monotonía, la novela muestra lo efectivo que es acudir a la imaginación para escapar. esta conjetura nubla aún más el arte y la vida e incita al individuo a desistir de categorizar lo que es obra y lo que es realidad. el hecho que sea el mismo papa quien se “topa de continuo con las rejas” (47) de su existencia lo muestra como ser humano no como ser divino, abstrayendo el sentido de su dominio y cuestionando la jerarquía divina. ruiz humaniza a sixto al parodiar el proceso de la elección papal. sin embargo, cabe mencionar que no se propone una humanización que arribe a la esencia humana, sino simplemente una humanización que presenta al 4 santo padre como santo padre, un hombre cotidiano. habiendo comenzado el cónclave, sixto menciona, pedro de orduña le había pedido a ercole sus siete votos, para desmoralizar así a gian rinaldo y, de pasada, a alguno de sus votantes... no me sorprendió este sucio juego de intrigas... [manuccio]<<yo no me veo con ánimos de ser papa, pero su eminencia bien podría ser el futuro pontífice. las dos facciones van a entablar una guerra a desgaste. >> (160) semejando enfrentamientos políticos, bipartidistas y consecuentemente ausentando a la mano del espíritu santo, sixto se nombra líder. el proceso de elección papal queda ridiculizado y así continúa desintegrándose el control del vaticano. la institución eclesiástica queda absuelta de espiritualismo y marcada como burocracia dominante y, a su vez, dominada por dictámenes externos. viene al caso, también, mencionar que una vez que el vaticano adquiere acciones en la compañía de cementos, sixto se ve forzado a hacer el siguiente anuncio público, “los médicos, los maestros y los misioneros deben viajar por las autopistas para llevar la salud del cuerpo y del alma más deprisa que nunca. el que se oponga a la construcción de autopistas es un hombre sin corazón” (204). es evidente la manipulación que ejerce el vaticano ante sus súbditos y, a la vez, la sumisión del mismo ante la economía global. no existe el poder divino, a menos que este signifique obrar por interés propio. sin embargo, el liberarnos de la realidad y de paso de la religión como institución, no logra completamente la independencia del ser. consecuentemente, ruiz propone una liberación más profunda al destituir a dios como creador y cederle este poder divino al individuo. inculcando el poder creativo del ser, el propio sixto, construye sus propias existencias, negando así el poder máximo de dios. sixto crea a bernardino de acquadolce, giovanni tonduzzi, juliusz sosnowiec, francisco de estella, hilda (hildebrando) de saignon, y puer pluvius. mas aún, sixto humaniza explícitamente a dios al decir que “el hombre es verdaderamente importante, no porque crea en dioses, sino porque ha sido—es—capaz de imaginarlos...y es esta capacidad imaginativa, demiúrgica, la que lo convierte en superior a los mismos dioses, sus criaturas” (215).1 al 1 podría decirse que en vez de humanizar a dios, ruiz deifica al hombre. resalta el hecho que en este caso humanización y deificación son palabras sinónimas. 5 individuo se le devuelve el poder de la creación, aproximándolo más y más a una esencia humana. tampoco basta liberarse de poderes externos que se ejercen sobre el individuo, ya que existen controles auto-impuestos que dominan aún más. al individuo, lo encasilla un carácter previsible causado por las ataduras a un pasado ritualista que promete dar acceso inmediato al “cómo se han hecho las cosas.” el autor español parodia este comportamiento al describir con sumo detalle la coronación papal: “en este momento, el santo padre ha de mostrar un rostro fatigado, pero pletórico de emoción contenida, como reflejando el cansancio de una hermosa carga que se acepta” (167). tan imprescindible es seguir los códigos del pasado y predisponer de toda acción que hasta se pueden anticipar las expresiones faciales del papa. para continuar restando importancia al pasado, ruiz elimina su objetividad conclusiva. si es posible que el mismo ser “engendre dioses” (223), también es posible eliminar un legado histórico cuya existencia ha predispuesto el porvenir del individuo. la estructura de la obra le brinda fondo a esta propuesta. quizás el lector sienta alivio ante la constancia que existe en la estructura novelesca. aunque por medio de ella, ruiz pone en duda toda acción de su obra y a la vez toda función de la historia. como mercedes juliá deduce, “los textos ruizianos repiten hechos e incluso párrafos enteros, en lugares diversos, para demostrarle al lector que si eso que acaba de leer está casi olvidado, cuánto más imposible será el querer recordar la niñez, o lo que es aún más absurdo, los orígenes milenarios de la historia”(420). más aún, el uso de la alusión dentro del texto y dentro de notas a pie de página enfatiza que uno no puede confiar en anotaciones para suplementar y clarificar el texto, ya que tienen un propósito enteramente creativo.2 juliá describe la función de las notas concluyendo: la abundancia de citas señala lo que para ruiz es un absurdo: la pretensión de los historiadores de escribir un texto histórico 2viene al caso mencionar la investigación de shari benstock, citada en un artículo comprehensivo escrito por daniel balderston sobre las notas en el beso de la mujer araña. aunque no se refiere específicamente a la obra de manuel puig, benstock determina, “thus, footnotes in fictional texts do not necessarily follow the rules that govern annotation in critical texts...most significant, they belong to a fictional universe, stem from a creative act rather than a critical one, and direct themselves toward the fiction and never toward an external construct, even when they cite “real” works in the world outside the particular fiction. the referential and marginal features of these notes serve a specifically hermeneutic function.” (205) 6 ‘auténtico y verdadero’, ajustado a los conocimientos del pasado. según este autor, el conocimiento del pasado’ es un imposible, dado que las fuentes son infinitas y de índole diversa, y que pueden elegirse dependiendo de los fines y gustos del historiador. (418) en ellas no se encuentran las respuestas que ansía el lector, más bien, se apoya la subjetividad y por consecuencia la naturaleza no fidedigna del pasado. finalmente, el uso de la palinodia enfatiza la vulnerabilidad de los “hechos ocurridos.” en resumidas cuentas, la estructura de la novela repite la siguiente formula: se introduce lo que va a ocurrir, se cuenta lo que ocurre, y posteriormente se pone en duda si realmente ocurrió. sixto, rememorando su pasado, introduce la acción de la novela y en un parpadeo la hace desvanecer. esta estrategia capitaliza que ninguna acción perdura a partir del mismo instante, y a lo mucho, perdura una huella maleable de lo que posiblemente aconteció.3 se ridiculiza aún más lo ilógico que resulta prestarle importancia al pasado cuando se establece que las acciones que retracta sixto son eventos inverosímiles. consecuentemente, se erradica totalmente el control del pasado y aquella noción que señala, “las cosas siempre se han hecho así y por tal tienen que seguir siendo así.” ruiz propone vivir creativamente e independientemente de dichas ataduras, rechazando totalmente cualquier limitación que la historia impone sobre el ser humano. resaltando las cualidades creativas de esta propuesta, juliá menciona las consecuencias de tal acto: ...[ahora, la novela histórica no se emplea] para buscar en el pasado una explicación del presente...sino para jugar con este pasado, creando paralelamente nuevas versiones...[raúl ruiz] parodia los valores históricos establecidos, acusando la falta de consistencia de cualquier ser humano que es producto de los mismos...sus novelas responden a las preguntas, ¿quién soy y para qué vivo?...¿cómo sería yo si en lugar de los hechos de todos conocidos hubieran ocurrido estos otros?...el individuo es libre de cambiarlo a su antojo, para sentar las bases de un futuro con mejores posibilidades. (417) 3 el ser contemporáneo podría identificarse muy bien con este concepto ya que al igual que la palinodia, el ser es y no es con tal facilidad dependiendo simplemente del dictamen del momento. 7 es importante recalcar que el pasado conforme a este novelista no tiene como base un evento ocurrido, sino que parte de lo que no ha existido. así menciona en la novela que “la única posibilidad de salvación... [es] volver a los orígenes de casi todo para reemprender la vida, rehacer el camino y la historia, reinventar las relaciones, recrear los ideales y deseos” (215). al crear sus propias convicciones, el individuo desarma todo control externo. disfrutando del juego de esta propuesta, la obra abre posibilidades para un porvenir refrescante, menos predecible y fuera de lo ordinario. no obstante, esta aparente solución puede interpretarse como una contradicción directa al significado de la obra. después de desintegrar metódicamente varios de los esquemas que rigen al individuo, rechazando la respuesta fácil, y apoyando el proceso de búsqueda propia al reconectarlo a uno con una humanidad autosuficiente, el dictamen de ruiz amenaza con sistematizar de nuevo al individuo. incluso, críticos como jesús lázaro comentan esta aparente discrepancia. “[ruiz] no deja campo al lector, le restringe demasiado hacia unas conclusiones que deberían ser más abiertas” (45). sin embargo, la respuesta que presenta ruiz explícitamente no debe interpretarse como imposición. sixto vi se basa en una relación no fidedigna con el lector. sus palabras no son ni convicción ni restricción ya que simplemente representan una conclusión posible. ruiz simplemente continúa su afán ludista poniendo a prueba la libertad resuelta del lector, enfrentándolo ante una situación doble: ya sea concluir la novela con todas las dudas resueltas, es decir, con la percepción de haber encontrado la última pieza del rompecabezas, o apropiarse del mensaje de acuerdo a su propia esencia humana y añadir esta resolución al sinfín de opciones que promete una existencia sin el rompecabezas armado. para concluir, viene al caso mencionar, aunque brevemente, el papel de suma importancia que tiene la ironía en la obra. se presenta a un papa que no quiere ser papa, un dios que en vez de creador es creación humana, y un pasado que existió pero que realmente nunca ha existido. más aún, el mismo personaje dice: entended --¡os lo ruego!—que no hay cinismo, ni oportunismo, ni gratuidad en lo que os voy a decir. pienso sinceramente que sólo habrá cumplido su función esta encíclica cuando os hayáis olvidado de mí, cuando ya no recordéis siquiera estas palabras... (219) se incita así al mismo lector a practicar el uso de la palinodia y forjar sus propias respuestas. irónicamente, la solución implícita de la obra es desdecir todo el relato, permitiendo que perduren únicamente las huellas. esto es, las interrogantes que llevarán al ser a formar conjeturas 8 independientes que carezcan de toda imposición y que valoren en todo momento una esencia humana más pura. obras citadas balderston, daniel. “sexualidad y revolución: en torno a las notas de el beso de la mujer araña.” manuel puig.org. 23 sept. 2006 <manuelpuig.org/01d58895630f8fc07/01d5889563106f115/index.html>. benstock, shari. "at the margin of discourse: footnotes in the fictional text." pmla: 98.2 (1983): 204-25. chandler, daniel. “semiotics for beginners: intertextuality.” carlos martinez moreno. 2003. 11 oct. 2005 <aber.ac.uk/media/documents/s4b/sem09.html>. juliá, mercedes. "nuevas propuestas para la historia: la fantasía 'ucrónica' de raúl ruiz." bulletin of hispanic studies 73.4 (1996): 415-23. lázaro, jesús. "dialéctica mítica de sixto vi." quimera: revista de literatura 15 (1982): 43-5. ruiz, raúl. sixto vi: relación inverosímil de un papado infinito. barcelona: montesinos, 1986. valls, fernando. “el discurso del halcón.” quimera: revista de literatura 65 (1986): 2830. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\communication_strategies.prn.pdf 1 communication strategies: marketing to the ‘majority minority’ ian bush rachelle damminger lisa marie daniels elizabeth laoye communications villanova university the composition of american society is drastically changing. as the population continues to increase, so does the purchasing power of minority groups. african americans, hispanic americans and asian american are now the ‘majority minority’ groups, and are targeted as “emerging markets” (cui 54). currently, minority ethnic groups coexist in the mainstream population with majority groups. this leads to forecasts that “using ethnicity as a criterion for segmented markets, will increase their importance” (pires, stanton, and cheek 224). projections show that by the year 2030, asians, african americans, hispanics and other minorities will make up one-third of the population (allen 5). by 2050, asian and hispanic populations are expected to nearly double while the percentage of caucasians will decrease about 10 percent (census.gov). these projections demonstrate that current minority groups will quickly evolve into majority groups. the rise of these ethnic groups is changing americans’ consumption patterns and therefore also impacting marketing strategy as we know it today. these statistics from the u.s. census bureau as of october 2003 demonstrate the size and purchasing power of these groups: • by 2020, ethnic consumers will make up 40 percent of the u.s. population (29 percent today) • the combined buying power of three traditionally underrepresented groups – african americans, asian-americans, and native americans – will exceed $1.5 trillion by 2008, more than triple the 1990 level of $456 billion • buying power for hispanics is expected to reach $900 billion by 2007 – a 37 percent increase from $653 billion in 2003 • automotive-specific: minorities are three times more likely to repurchase the same vehicle brand than the general population (geist 1). 2 the way that americans communicate with and about these groups is already changing. in 1790, the first u.s. census had no category for race. however, in 2000, there were 17 racial categories and a space to self-identity outside of the predetermined selections. the 2000 census also included ethnic and multi-racial diversity (allen 71-72). these demographics of the future make diversity an important issue today. companies that can build relationships with current minority groups have a potential lock on the future social majority. organizations are in the process of creating strategies to communicate with these groups through hiring programs, diversity initiatives, and segmented communication, marketing and advertising. no matter what the marketplace, audience or approach, research and communication strategy are crucial to accessing ethnic markets. ethnic market segmentation in recent years, marketing based on ethnicity has slowly begun to replace the former marketing trend: marketing by generation. this is because generational marketing assumes everyone from a particular generation is most likely to react the same way to messaging. however, recent studies have shown that cultural values play a more important role in purchasing decisions than do generational groups. studies have also found that cultural similarities are linked not to generation, as previously thought, but to ethnicity. so, rather than generalize how a certain group would respond to communication based on their date of birth, researchers have shifted towards targeting individuals by place of birth (or heritage) mainly because “multicultural marketing concentrates on learning about the consumers rather than imposing definitions on them” (baxter 12). researchers are studying ethnic identity as a variable in the communication mix to determine the impact of cultural segmentation. ethnic identity is defined as “the individual affiliation with a specific ethnic group and it can be of variable intensity over time, affecting group strength” (pires, stanton, and cheek 226). a variety of cultural differentiators exist within each ethnic group. these differentiators are so unique, that the ways in which communication professionals typically research audiences may not work when examining ethnic groups. when communication professionals analyze and assess potential ethnic markets, they must examine demographics, psychographics, behavioral factors, personal attributes, networks of communication, location, concentration and cultural experiences (cui 56; pires, stanton, and cheek 224). without researching all of these variables, organizations may fall into the trap of “single ethnic identification indicators” (pires, stanton, and cheek 225). for example, a company offering phone service in an urban area 3 may assume that because the majority of people there speak spanish, they are all puerto rican. this false assumption ignores the variety of subcultures that can exist within each ethnic group. using single ethnic identification indicators, like language, flattens three-dimensional groups and reduces demographics and psychographics that can contribute to a successful communication campaign. once communication professionals research targeted ethnic groups, they can select the best strategic approach based on the business/product/service and the audience. three types of ethnic communication approaches are individual brand groups, cross-cultural/transcultural communication and ethnic niche marketing/subculture segmentation. ethnic communication approach: individual brand groups individual brand groups is a communication and marketing technique that allows companies to improve efficiency by minimizing the communication mix (cui 67). with this approach, companies that market products that satisfy universal demands do not need to spend time and money tailoring communication to ethnic markets. the most cost-effective approach in this case is to market each brand on an asneeded basis. ethnic communication approach: ethnic niche marketing when the targeted marketplace is very diverse, and when a company offers unique products or services, an ethnic niche marketing approach is most appropriate. greater market fragmentation makes mass communication techniques less effective (cui 67, 70). this usually occurs when several subcultural groups have consumption patterns that greatly differ from those of the majority audience. subcultural segmentation is used when there are many differences within ethnic groups. depending on the culture, this segmentation can even drill-down to the microculture level (cui 68). for example, there are at least 16 nationalities among asian americans, each with diverse languages, cultural backgrounds and media responses (cui 68). they may have a need for unique products and services. in this case, communication professionals should highlight additional product features, consider special distribution channels, tailor advertising and promotion, and determine special pricing based on subculture ethnic segmentation research. this approach can help an organization “gain competitive advantages in all major ethnic segments” (cui 68). for example, from 1992 to 1998, chrysler corporation increased sales to african americans by 30 percent and sales to hispanics by 15 percent. chrysler used a minority advertising agency to send targeted messages to diverse consumer groups. as a result, chrysler increased its share of the african 4 american car market from 14 to 18 percent while ford’s and gmc’s shares of this market dropped nearly three percent each (cui 68). ethnic communication approach: cross-cultural or transcultural the cross-cultural or transcultural communication approach blends the individual brand and the ethnic niche strategies to communicate from a common ground. despite an increase in diversity trends toward segmentation, finding common ground with a level of flexibility is useful and resonates with target audiences (cui 66). in a cross-cultural approach, companies develop a prototype campaign that uses the same messages across all markets. the difference from the individual brand approach is that the prototype campaign is developed within a framework of flexibility. idiomatic and translation changes are used to tailor the campaign to specific markets. this strategy is most effective when there is a high degree of diversity among consumer groups. some companies like coca-cola and miller brewing co. changed from a subcultural segmentation approach to a cross-cultural approach and reported cost effective results (cui 54). getting to know ethnic markets when communicating to ethnically diverse groups, there are a number of intrinsic, cultural factors that determine and influence values, beliefs and behaviors. diversity, globalization and multiculturalism continue to integrate different ways of life, but a lack of knowledge can inhibit effective communication across cultures. it is imperative to have a cultural understanding of targeted groups to keep communication in the context of the target audience. communication professionals should have in-depth knowledge of valid ‘cultural generalizations,’ which, unlike stereotypes, leave ample room for individual differences. these multi-purpose cultural generalizations enable better understanding of ideals, norms, beliefs and behaviors common to certain peoples, provide some historical forces that shaped them and offer direction when communicating to these ethnic groups. research, open-mindedness, a willingness to learn and patience are key to cultural richness and improved communication. the 2000 census identified the three largest minority groups in the u.s. as african americans, chinese americans and hispanic americans. each group has its own cultural generalizations that can guide targeted communication. african americans according to the 2000 census, there were 36.4 million african americans in the u.s. constituting approximately 13 percent of the total population. the most 5 african american populated states are new york, california, texas, florida and georgia. the top ten african american markets are: • new york city (2,274,049) • chicago (1,084,221) • detroit (787,687) • philadelphia (672,162) • houston (505,101) • los angeles (444,635) • baltimore (424,449) • memphis (402,367) • washington, d. c. (350,455) • new orleans (329,171) african americans attach significance to freedom, justice and equality. a history of struggle and discrimination shapes the african american worldview. the african american community is very familyand child-centered. ceremony is an important part of this community and great respect is shown for weddings, graduations and retirements. when an injustice befalls a member of the community or someone achieves a special honor, it is felt by their entire community (erlich 3). african americans are more likely to be direct and are not as resistant to assertion as the main population. this often can be misinterpreted as an expression of aggression. many african americans tend to be more comfortable with expressive verbal communication and often utilize a broader spectrum of nonverbal behaviors like hands, tone and volume of voice (erlich 4). communication must be genuine when targeting messages to the african american community. in business communication and when marketing to an african american audience (this also applies to other minority populations), messages should be watched closely. many negative attitudes and stereotypes are deeply embedded in american society and can be half-consciously or unconsciously expressed (erlich 5). chinese americans chinese americans constitute the largest asian subgroup in the u.s. with a population growing 48 percent from 1.6 million in 1990 to nearly 2.5 million in 2000. the most chinese populated state is california, closely followed by new york. the top ten chinese markets are: • new york (494,695) • san francisco (469,216) • los angeles (416,492) • boston (83,224) 6 • chicago (68,888) • washington d.c. (62,465) • honolulu (56,600) • seattle (54,431) • philadelphia (53,823) • houston (49,069) the chinese are very much influenced by the opinions and norms of their group. chinese culture values hierarchy and is traditionally very formal. moreover, it is normal to observe a dramatic difference in a chinese client’s behavior in a professional versus a social setting. chinese culture places heavy emphasis on personal duty and a high value on the past. un-acculturated chinese prefer indirect expression. they do not like to be asked or be forced to answer too directly. they also value discretion, restraint of strong emotion, not embarrassing others and not losing face (erlich 60). the chinese language is further defined by two major dialects – mandarin and cantonese. both languages are not mutually intelligible and are actually different languages. traditionally, according to their speakers, they are dialects. this perception is partly due to the fact that speakers of cantonese and mandarin (and other chinese languages) use the same writing system (erlich 60). certain colors have significant meanings in chinese culture. the color red symbolizes good luck, while the colors pink and yellow symbolize happiness and prosperity. the traditional color of chinese weddings and wedding dresses is red, unlike the european custom of white weddings. in chinese culture, white (along with blue and black) is associated with funerals or mourning. chinese culture is also very contextual. the context of the interaction – that is, the unspoken message, rank of people involved – is very important. the old adage “it is not only what you say, it’s how you say it” holds true (erlich 61-62). puerto ricans the puerto rican population in the u.s. has increased 24.9 percent since 1990, from 2.7 million to 3.4 million, according to the 2000 census. the two largest puerto rican populations live in two new york counties: bronx county (319,000), and kings county (213,000). the top puerto rican markets in the u.s. are new york, chicago and philadelphia (erlich 181). puerto ricans have a worldview based on a history of struggle and there is a huge present-day importance of freedom and self-expression. puerto rican culture values the present day in which life is to be enjoyed. there is an enormous amount of pride in the history and culture of puerto rico and this group’s identity is centered on its puerto rican status. culturally, a lot of physical contact is 7 appropriate, for example, touching the arm, shoulder or lapel. family and close friends may kiss each other in greeting (erlich 182). interdependence is at the foundation of puerto rican culture, which differs from anglo culture where a high value is placed on independence. puerto ricans still adhere to a rigid social system in which hierarchies are respected within both the family and the larger community. traditional gender roles and expectations also prevail in the puerto rican community. elders are adored and duty to the family is critical; there is a lot of interaction between all family generations (erlich 179). puerto ricans do not share the same ideologies of race as many americans. in the u.s. color lines are rigid between whites and non-whites. classification is not as clear-cut in puerto rico where socioeconomic variables such as occupation and education may affect a person’s racial identity. puerto ricans in the u.s. resist being classified as african american or white (erlich 183). ethnic market communication challenges even when communication professionals conduct in-depth market research and align communication strategies with audiences, challenges to ethnic segmentation still exist. when communication mistakes occur, the errors most commonly fall into two broad categories: mistakes in cultural norms and mistakes in translation. cultural norms when gerber started selling baby food in africa, they used the same packages they did in the u.s., picturing a baby on the front. what they did not realize was that because english is not the primary language in every african country, companies routinely put pictures on the label to represent what’s inside. language in taiwan, the pepsi slogan “come alive with the pepsi generation” was translated as “pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.” general motors renamed the chevy nova to the chevy caribe, after realizing that in spanish, nova means “no go.” when parker pens marketed a ballpoint pen in mexico, its ads were supposed to say “it won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you.” however, the company mistakenly though the spanish word “embarazar” meant embarrass. the ads then read “it won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.” 8 chicken-man frank purdue’s slogan “it takes a tough man to make a tender chicken” was translated in spanish to read “it takes a hard man to make a chicken aroused.” cantonese–speaking consumers might not call a phone number if it contains more than one number “4.” when pronounced in cantonese, the word “four” sounds like “death.” the company that makes tide detergent wanted an ad campaign that would cross language barriers, so they decided to only use pictures to represent their products. the billboard showed three panels, the first with a woman holding a dirty shirt, the second of a woman adding tide to the shirt, and the third showing a woman with a now clean shirt. however, the campaign did not do well in saudi arabia, where the population read arabic right to left. in this case, it showed that tide makes clothes dirty. when mistakes in multicultural communication do occur, along with lost potential revenue, companies may also inadvertently discredit themselves with the very consumers their messages were designed to attract. new york-based transperfect translations, inc. found that in a recent survey of 513 people, “57% have spotted advertising that is incorrectly translated from english into other languages” (whitman 5b). when asked how they reacted to these incorrect messages, close to “50% simply tuned them out. about 65% said bad translations show a lack of caring about the consumers, while nearly a third said it would hinder their loyalty to a product” (whitman 5b). aside from alienating customers, another consequence of poor translation is that it is unclear. in the same study conducted by transperfect translations, “30% found some poor translations humorous, while 36% misunderstood what the product was or what it was used for” (whitman 5b). overcoming ethnic market communication challenges one major challenge to reaching ethnic markets is the time and financial commitment required to make the research and strategic plan successful. many companies can “increase business by becoming sensitive to differences in language, cultural values, attitudes and product preference” (swenson 26). but this requires financial and staff dedication. in san francisco, a car dealer held asian american sensitivity training to alert sales staff to cultural differences in this market. the dealership customized the standard sales process when working with asian consumers after finding that family elders usually make the final decisions 9 to purchase a vehicle (swenson 26). the dealership saw a direct return on its investment of time and money. another challenge to reaching ethnic markets is accessing ethnic populations without stereotyping. a popular solution to this problem is a grass roots ethnic communication tactic (swenson 25). companies struggling to positively access ethnic markets can associate themselves and their products or services with the interests of the targeted consumer segment. for example, in california, a local grocery chain and general mills, best food, and pepsico formed a group called friends of the community. this program supports hispanic community celebrations and fundraising through events, promotions and product gifts. another grassroots tactic is to network with community leaders in minority areas (swenson 25). allstate insurance company increased credibility with a target audience by working with organizations like the league of united latin american citizens and laraza national council, which influence the hispanic community. these tactics offer ways to address the needs and concerns of specific ethnic segments in a respectful way. they can also be integrated as a part of any multicultural communication approach. by positioning a company as an ally of a market segment, the company demonstrates long-term commitment and builds brand awareness and strength. with this knowledge, many companies have realized the potential of multicultural marketing and are testing new messages and new markets: chicken soup for the soul, the quintessential “niche” marketing guru, has just released three of its popular “chicken soup for the soul” series in spanish. cover girl, in an effort to reach multicultural markets, has created a web site designed exclusively with the young latinas in mind. all articles are in spanish, many of the models are hispanic and it is “culturally relevant,” promoting the quinceanera or “sweet 15 birthday,” a celebration which marks a girl’s transformation from adolescent to womanhood, and, incidentally, into her “makeup-wearing” years. miller lite, ford, terra and ameritel brands have recently shown up as “product placements” on popular shows on telemundo, the spanish-language cable television channel. perhaps the best example of putting research to use when presenting a product is the ameritech caller-id campaign sent to hispanic households in the chicago 10 area. marketers already knew that hispanics, whose culture “places a high premium on personal relationships, tend to view caller id technology and its prescreening capabilities as impolite” (vence 2). to combat this stigma about caller id, ameritech sent out bilingual brochures, calling the product the “smiling device,” for the smiles it prompted when seeing family or friends are calling. as a result of that campaign, “750 calls came into ameritech’s bilingual call center inquiring about the caller id product, and 374 caller id units were sold within just three weeks of the start of the campaign” (vence 3). the future of ethnic market commutation what’s on the horizon for multicultural communication? in a 2004 study by the association of national advertisers, targeting of asians, hispanics and africanamericans increased across the board from a similar study in 2002. there is, however, disparity among the groups that doesn’t quite match population statistics: 86 percent of advertisers target hispanics as compared to only 60 percent for african americans and 35 percent for asians. there is also room for improvement in the cash required to develop and successfully target these messages. the average ad budget is $225 million, but only about 2.3 percent of each ad budget (a mere $4.8 million) is set aside for multicultural advertising. and although almost 90 percent of firms studied said they were engaging in multicultural efforts, the remaining 11 percent issued reasons such as “lack of budget,” “lack of commitment by management,” and even “diverse markets aren’t important” (wentz 55). décidés à faire mille fois plus…nos esforzamos más…? o?po ?o? a?o?a?? ? a??c! in english, it means “we try harder.” it’s been known as the cornerstone of the advertising campaign of avis, the world’s second-largest automobile rental company, for over 40 years. when it comes to multicultural communication, however, it’s a philosophy that all companies should embrace. being aware of the ever-growing “majority minority” and reaching out to multi-ethnic groups makes good business sense. but when it comes to communication, targeting messages cross-culturally is the only option that makes sense, and translates into dollars and cents. and that sounds good in any language. 11 works cited allen, brenda j. difference matters: communicating social identity. long grove: waveland press, inc., 2004. baxter, david. “from dim sum to doughnuts.” marketing magazine, 107 (2002). cui, geng. “marketing diversity and cost-effective marketing strategies.” journal of consumer marketing. 19.1 (2002): 54-73. erlich, andrew, multicultural insights: exploring culture a catalogue of cultural overviews and insights. erlich transcultural consultants vol. 1, 2002. geist, l.c. “growing ethnic groups can help raise market share.” automotive news. october 13, 2003. going international – translation mistakes <www.frontiernet.net>. pires, guilherme, john stanton and bruce cheek. “identifying and reaching an ethnic market: methodological issues.” qualitative market research. 6.4 (2003): 224 – 236. projected population of the united states by race and hispanic origin 2000 to 2050. 18 mar. 2004. 5 nov. 2005 <http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/usinterimproj/natprojtab01a.pdf>. sautter, elise truly, and nancy a. orteskin. “tobacco targeting: the ethical complexity of marketing to minorities.” journal of business ethics. 16.10 (1997): 1011 – 1018. swenson, chester a. “minority groups emerge as major marketing wedge.” management review. 70.5 (1990): 24-27. vence, deborah l. “you talking to me?” marketing news, 38 (2004). wentz, laurel. “multicultural issue divides ad industry” advertising age, 75 (2004). whitman, janet. “translated ads can miss the point.” the wall street journal, 18 sept. 2003. effective_discipline.doc 1 effective discipline for misbehavior: in school vs. out of school suspension neil blomberg department of education and human services villanova university edited by alison fisk abstract one of the greatest concerns of teachers, administrators, and parents is the issue of classroom management. providing a safe, supportive, and focused classroom that allows students an opportunity to learn and grow is a top concern for everyone involved in the field of education. although there are several different strategies for classroom management and discipline, the most severe problems and occurrences usually lead to either in school suspension (iss) or out of school suspension (oss). this paper examines the research findings on the application and effectiveness of both in and out of school suspension. studies have shown that oss is often misapplied, unfairly used against minorities, and ineffective at producing better future behavior (skiba, peterson, & williams 1997; verdugo 2002; costenbader and markson 1997). there is a special emphasis on iss and its varying forms of application, and the research that suggests that not all iss programs have the same form or produce the same deterrent effects among students (leapley 1997; opuni et al. 1990). introduction schools have many strategies and policies that are used for stopping and preventing student behavior problems. suspension is one of these options. this literature review examines the consequences of both in-school suspension (iss) and out of school suspension (oss). it traces many of the problems that oss presents, and also presents the more promising aspects of iss. the report concludes with a research proposal that examines and tries to quantify the effectiveness of various models of iss. the operant definition for suspension, in this paper, can be defined as a “[d]isciplinary action that is administered as a consequence of a student’s inappropriate behavior, requires that a student absent him/herself from the classroom or from the school for a specified period of time” (morrison and skiba, 2 2001 p. 174). suspensions are used for a variety of reasons. in some cases they are administered because a student is severely disrupting the learning environment, and only the removal of the offending student can allow learning to continue. in other cases, threats to the physical safety of students, faculty, or school personnel lead to the disciplinary measure. although the use of suspension is an accepted practice by both educators and researchers, its application is often problematic and controversial. the operant definition in this paper for iss is a discipline model where a student is removed from the classroom and compelled to stay in an iss center for a variable length of time, ranging from part of a day to several days in a row. the iss center is a specific staffed room where various behavior changing strategies, ranging from punitive to rehabilitative actions that attempt to stop or change student misbehavior without having the student removed from the school environment. the operant definition for oss in this paper is, “the removal of a student from the school environment for a period not to exceed ten days” (mendez, knoff & ferron 2002 p.259). oss succeeds in its short-term objective of removing a problematic student from school and stalls or, in many cases, prevents any future serious misbehavior. however, there are serious questions about the long-term goals for students and the effect of oss on those goals. these problems with oss are outlined in the research below. research findings of oss an emerging trend in education is the fear that drugs, gangs, and violence are the behavior problems that are most serious in schools, and that school discipline should tackle these problems first. horrific school shootings, the prevalence of drugs, and the threat of violence act as justification for tougher and more thorough classroom discipline. research and surveys suggest, however, that the most often cited discipline problems have little to do with violence, but instead focus on insubordination and defiance of classroom instruction (skiba, peterson, & williams 1997). a study of a large school district in florida also found that insubordination and other nonviolent offenses compromised the majority of oss (mendez et al. 2002). skiba, peterson, and williams, examined the disciplinary histories, office referrals, and punishment of two separate school district’s middle school population. they found that the majority of offenses that led to office referrals were non-violent in nature. out of 17,045 disciplinary incidents that led to an office referral during the 1994-1995 school year for the first school district studied, there were 5,673 oss, the most prevalent disciplinary method used. other research supports that oss is the most frequently used discipline method for schools at the administrative level (adams, 1992). skiba’s study also found that 3 there was rarely a strong correlation between the student misbehavior and an appropriately weighted punishment. in other words, variability among the teachers, staff, and student seemed to affect the severity of the punishment. this is a troubling finding, because it suggests a lack of uniformity about how severe punishments are applied. uniformity, however, can also have its problems. after the horrifying, high profile shootings at columbine and other districts, many schools have adopted a draconian, zero tolerance policy toward certain types of student misbehavior. the adoption of zero tolerance policies has led to a storm of debate over the past decade. the term “zero tolerance” first arose as a reaction to drug crimes in the 1980’s, and schools adopted the language for the educational setting. these policies often entail a suspension or expulsion for certain behaviors or practices, with no exceptions. proponents of zero tolerance argue that these policies not only stop the misbehavior but deter other students from misbehaving (skiba & peterson, 1997). one effect of zero tolerance policies is an increase in oss. after the chicago public schools adopted a zero tolerance discipline policy, school suspension increased fifty one percent the following year (ayers, 2001). because oss tends to be applied more often to african-american and hispanic students, zero tolerance is often seen as inequitable. (verdugo, 2002). the effectiveness and benefits of zero tolerance policies rest with the debate about oss. if oss is discredited as an effective disciplinary device, then zero tolerance can hardly be argued as effective educational policy. does oss deter future behavior problems of students? research does not strongly support the effectiveness of oss in reducing and eliminating student misconduct. costenbader and markson (1997) examined the responses of 252 students who had been suspended during their school career. sixty nine percent of those surveyed felt that suspension was of little use, and 32% predicted that they would be suspended again. the survey also found that 55% of students suspended were angry at the person who had suspended them. with a large majority of students feeling that suspension was of little use, and with over half reporting a feeling of anger, instead of remorse, this study suggests that oss may not meet the needs of students with behavior problems. there is also evidence that the application of oss falls unevenly across racial lines. linda m. raffaele mendez, howard m. knoff, and john ferron (2002) recently studied the suspension rates and demographic variables of a large, diverse florida school district. after surveying the data of the districts’ 146,000 students, there were several disturbing findings. black males were the most frequently suspended sub group of students. in both middle school and high school, black males were more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to receive an oss. because many african american students have low socio 4 economic status (ses), it is often assumed that the student’s economic background and home life lead to more disruptive behavior and hence, more suspensions. hispanic males also had a higher percentage of suspensions than whites, although the difference was not as lopsided. however, previous studies have shown even when ses is controlled, the suspension rates are still higher.(mccarthy & hoge, 1987; wu, et al., 1982 as reported in skiba et al. 1997). table 1: out of school suspensions: 1997 race/ethnicity suspensions enrolled suspensions as a % of enrollment american indian/native american 37055 521292 7.11 asian/pacific islander 58107 1811691 3.21 hispanic 424200 6506399 6.52 black 997596 7720274 12.92 white 1596558 28990899 5.51 total 3113515 45550555 6.84 source u.s. department of education (1999) (taken from verdugo 2002) table 1 illustrates the disproportionate numbers of minority suspensions in comparison to the overall suspension rate. perhaps the most important issue related to oss is that it tends to push away the very students who need the most support from school. suspension places all the blame on the student, the school rarely evaluates whether it has served all of the student’s emotional or academic needs. (deridder, 1990). often oss is used to provide relief to teachers, and does not address the issues students have that led to misbehavior (bock, tapscott, and savner, 1998). if oss is seen from a perspective of learning and learning outcomes, then it rarely functions well. there is little evidence that students learn from their behavior, and that students who are suspended avoid further misbehavior (morrison & skiba, 2001). students most at risk for suspension often have difficult home lives and dangerous peer groups. the act of suspending these students, and leaving them at home in a (typically) unsupervised setting, can actually create more problems for a student (skiba, 1999). health workers and medical doctors have also advocated a decreased use of oss ( taras et al. 2003). a committee on school health recommended that schools involve a student’s pediatrician in evaluating a student who has been suspended or expelled this assessment may secure treatment and help for student’s who may be suffering from abuse, depression or mental illness. by involving medical professionals, schools can make a fairer assessment of a student’s behavior (taras, et al., 2003) 5 to summarize the literature on oss, there are mixed messages about the overall effectiveness of oss as a behavior modifier. although it does remove a disruptive or potentially dangerous student from the academic setting, it offers little to at-risk students in the long term. many researchers argue that oss is a reaction to the symptoms, and not the causes, of student misbehavior. by engaging in practices that focus on early intervention, violence and discipline prevention, and by reaching out to at risk students, schools may be able to offer more to their students while also reducing widespread discipline problems (morrison & skiba, 2001; elias, 1998 ). other researchers suggest that perhaps the school organization or school culture share at least part of the blame in student behavior (verdugo, 2002; raffaele, mendez, knoff & ferron,2002). although oss may have some utility in the school, it is clear that there are very real problems with this discipline practice. in-school suspension: research findings in school suspension arose because many were frustrated with the discipline design of oss. often it was felt that a more rehabilitative model of discipline, which offered positive supports for students who cause problems, could be more effective then the exclusionary model of oss. iss is one of the outgrowths of this idea. (adams, 1992). because iss keeps students in the classroom environment, it is possible for school officials to both punish inappropriate behavior, and to intervene in a positive manner with students. it is important to note that the adoption of an iss program does not usually result in the elimination of oss. parents, educators, students and the community do not feel that issis an appropriate punishment for severe problems. (billings and enger 1995; as stated in turpin & hardin 1997). the story of iss is one of both promise and pessimism. there are often limited case examples of schools and districts that use iss so effectively that it dramatically changes the discipline climate and suspension rate in their schools (haley 2000; tomczyk 2000). these case studies show promise, but they tend to be a description of the author’s success, instead of a truly objective measure of change. measured against these models are several research works that see problems with the current iss framework, but do mention the limited success that iss has achieved. a good example of the limited potential an iss room offers is illustrated by a study done by tammy turpin and dawn hardin (1997) that focused on a detailed case study of a rural high school’s iss room. the researchers were dealing with a small school that had an enrollment of 364 students with an approximately half white, half black student population. the iss room that they occupied had no staff, but instead a camera that monitored the students. the principal and his 6 secretary monitored the students using this camera, and intervened when students either spoke to each other or disrupted the iss room. this study is valuable because it illustrates the bare essentials of an iss room. because the school is rural and it is difficult to hire a full time staff member to run the iss room, the camera is a low cost alternative. there is little help or intervention offered, but the room does act as an effective discipline alternative. students and teachers both agree that iss is a real punishment, and that it also functions in making sure students do not get a “vacation” because of an oss. all of the teacher’s surveyed felt that the room helped with classroom discipline. some students, however, have mixed views on its effects. several commented to the researcher that iss was not just a punishment, but also viewed as a place to catch up on sleep. the overall effect on school discipline was negligible. there was no important change in the number of osss. the number of lost instruction days remained the same as well. many of the staff interviewed reported that they did not understand the purpose or methods of the iss room. the limited nature of this iss room did effect changes, but did not come close to the loftier goals that proponents of rehabilitative discipline look for. the perception of school discipline has changed, but the actual numbers of oss and lost instructional days remained unchanged. the researchers felt that this program was a limited success (turpin & hardin, 1997). although this change in attitude is important, it does not alone validate the effectiveness of this method of iss. more prominent case studies have examined large school districts to try and determine the effectiveness of iss. in a large scale report of a district in des moines, iowa and its ten public middle schools and five public high schools, the positive effect of iss is noted by the fact that oss suspensions were severely reduced, because a district goal was to make half of all suspensions “in school” (prior & tuller, 1991). the report lists the enthusiasm that several faculty and staff members had towards the initiative, with one vice principal saying, “obviously in-school suspension is a productive alternative to out-of-school suspension…i know it has an impact on students. when i hear students talk about their iss experience, they often mention something about the counsel they received” (p.15). this attitude toward the iss initiative helps illustrate the objectives of iss. however, not all that the study reports is perfect. there are serious concerns about the equity of the new program, because three of the participating schools were disproportionately suspending african american students versus other ethnic groups. the report stresses the need to address this issue of equity during the future of the program. some of the documented problems of oss (high minority suspension rate) may also apply to certain iss programs as well. 7 one large-scale (do not italicize) study performed in the houston public school district examined the effectiveness of student referral center (srcs) as a means of dealing with discipline problems. an src is a centralized district room where students go after creating problems in the regular classroom. in this study, there were 14 srcs for the 19 participating houston middle schools. the study surveyed teachers and principals and examined the raw data of the srcs (opuni, 1991). they found that the program had a positive impact on the attitudes of the teachers, who felt that they had another discipline option available to them while they tried to control their classes. however, the study also revealed that a lack of resources offered to the centers made their mission less effective. many of the teachers who ran the src stated that there were too many students in their centers, and that this hurt the effectiveness of the src. the district had recommended a maximum enrollment of 20 students per center when they had created the program. the study found that five of the 14 centers had a mean enrollment for the 20002001 school year exceeding the recommendation, with the most crowded center averaging 25 students each day. the src data shows that approximately two thirds of the students attending the src were sent for truancy, tardiness or disruptive behavior. one critical statistic that the houston study measures is the percent of nonrepeat referrals. a high percentage of non-repeaters in an iss program suggests that some action the program takes corrects the student misbehavior so that they do not have further serious behavior problems. the top src had a non-repeat referral rate of 85%, and the lowest src had a non-repeat referral rate of 55%. some of the top performing srcs did not have a counselor working in them, and one of the top performers had the second highest mean enrollment. it is surprising that some of the top programs in this houston study were either overcrowded or lacked a counseling component, and the study indicates that further research is needed to explore the difference success rates and the variables that effect them in. it is possible that the reason for varying levels of success could be attributed to the discipline model that the principal and administration adopted for each school, or the personality and dynamics of the src staff. the difference in success can not be explained by the current data. one of the most powerful studies in advocating the use of iss is the dissertation report by larry leapley (1997). after matching up twenty school districts with similar suspension rates in the state of michigan, leapley studied the effect that an iss program would have on the rate of violent acts committed by students. this study is important because it examines the modification of behavior caused by an iss program, and not merely the drop in oss. after matching new iss schools with control schools that had similar suspension rates, he observed that the intervention offered by a trained teacher in iss helped to reduce the number of 8 violent acts when compared with the control schools. in fact, all of the experimental schools noted a significant change for the better. this study, although limited, offers potential evidence for the power that a rehabilitative model of iss can offer schools. leapley study also worked to isolate schools and match them with schools that had similar characteristics regarding suspensions. in essence, leapley succeeded in comparing apples to apples, instead of apples to oranges. his research helps point towards the effectiveness that iss can have, but does not explain how to improve iss itself. if iss is a program that is successful, then what are the magic ingredients for success? although the majority of educators may argue for more funding or more trained staff as the answer, there is little systematic evidence of the types of programs that work. there are various articles throughout professional education that praise particular programs or interventions, and that detail their success. there is a behavior program in calgary, canada that claims to positively affect discipline and suspension rates in “severely at risk students” (ewashen, et al., 1988). the use of prewriting strategies has been cited as a meaningful behavior changer (haley 2000). administrators have praised programs that they began in their school that cut down suspension rates in particular and improved discipline in general (raebeck, 1993: tomczyk, 2000). however, all of these case studies followed a very limited research framework and were in no way designed for validity or widescale emulation. tab there exists a real need for educators to decide what type of iss program best fits their students. the review of programs and research seems to at least tentatively suggest that an iss program is an important component of school discipline that schools need. however, there is little research on the effectiveness of iss in particular, and suspension in general (morrison et al., 2001). the varying styles and methods of iss need to be effectively compared to see how much worth each model has. the use of a full scale rehabilitative model, with its trained staff, accurate record keeping, and student follow up, will cost a district more in time and resources than a punitive model of discipline. there must be some consensus on how valuable differing models of iss have, so that schools can make informed choices on whether to adapt iss, and which form of iss to adapt. research has to move in this direction if the discipline consequences that we choose for students are to act as an ultimate benefit. references adams, a. t. 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(2002). race-ethnicity, social class, and zero-tolerance policies: the cultural and structural wars. education and urban society, 35(1), 5075. world bank lending: a catholic social teaching’s perspective world bank lending: a catholic social teaching’s perspective stefan a. perun liberal studies introduction catholic social teaching (cst), which frames morality in terms of promoting the common good, offers moral guidance on a wide range of issues. one such issue is development in the global economy. by its own account, the world bank plays an important role in facilitating global economic development for the global good (about us, 2007). as such, cst provides a lens through which one can evaluate both the morality and effectiveness of world bank lending practices. after evaluating the empirical results of world bank lending to latin american countries during the 1990s by the standards established by cst, this essay argues that world bank lending practices are immoral. additionally, it is argued that sound economic policies are actually congruent with a moral approach to world bank lending. in addition, i argue that cst offers an opportunity to bring about both human flourishing and sound economic policy for the benefit of the entire global community. the globalization debate there is much debate in the public arena about whether or not globalization is a beneficial phenomenon, particularly for emerging economies. the scope of the phenomenon called globalization makes it difficult to assess outcomes from either subjective or empirical points of view with precision. many current arguments in the globalization debate would at least acknowledge that globalization has the potential to impact the global community in very positive ways. one such piece of research is the socioeconomic matrix reporting on 1997 outcomes of globalization among poor nations (world bank as cited in wolf 143). after controlling for population differences, the results suggest that more globalized countries were better developed then their less globalized counterparts, based on indicators such as gross domestic product (gdp), growth rate per capita, stefan perun primary education, and rule of law. additionally, some rise in the overall life expectancy and a reduction in global malnourishment has been an effect of globalization (singer 85-87). the enormous potential benefit of globalization to universally increase the standard of living seems to outweigh the costs. based on the empirical evidence of improved economic conditions throughout the world, particularly in countries like china and india, it seems possible for countries to “take advantage of globalization, without being taken advantage of by globalization” (stiglitz 23-43). however, many of these same arguments are also critical of the ways in which developed countries exercise an upper hand in deciding the terms of globalization, particularly in negotiating multinational trade arrangements. in addition, some argue more generally that globalization exploits workers in poorer countries, while richer countries capitalize on the resulting human suffering (daly as cited in gehring 73-80). at the heart of such arguments is the critique that wealthy countries continue to repress the exploited countries in order to maintain a favorable power balance. rather than engage in dichotomous debate—i.e., one that seeks to defend a strictly proor antiglobalization stance—a more meaningful approach is to assess globalization based on its effects in the global community. how is one to discern the impact of policies of nation-states, international trade organizations, international courts of law, and treaties between countries that facilitate globalization? i argue that evaluating empirical evidence resulting from previous multilateral loan arrangements through the world bank is one place to start. the numbers and outcomes of loans made to latin american countries during the early 1990s and the regions’ 0% gdp that ensued provides compelling evidence about the effects of world bank lending policies in practice. in this case, the risk of development fell on the shoulders of the region, and currency fluctuations resulted in an enormous, unpayable debt burden that stifled latin america’s economic growth. while western banks were bailed out of this crisis, latin american countries were left to sort out the resulting defaults (stiglitz 211-244). unfortunately, the case of latin america (evaluated in detail below) is not the exception. eastern europe’s poverty grew ten-fold in the years after the fall of communism as world bank policies acted to “ease” the transition to capitalism (stiglitz 39). in another example, debt from world bank lending, coupled with poor regulatory oversight, doubled africa’s poverty over the last twenty years, while western investors have extracted many of the region’s abundant natural resources (stiglitz 41). the empirical evidence speaks for itself. as this essay will explore, the structure of world bank lending practices are economically and morally amiss. certainly there must 2 world bank lending be some moral obligation for the wealthy nations to not only enjoy the economic and material rewards of growth in developing countries, but also to bear some risk associated with their development. catholic social teaching there are many tools one could use to evaluate world bank lending practices. for instance, one might rely solely on rationality, a certain religious tradition, a particular philosophy of ethics, or even popular opinion. it seems most reasonable to use a tool that combines elements of each. cst draws on a rich intellectual tradition, the experience of the catholic church, and standing traditions. more specifically, using cst offers a rich tradition informed by centuries of the catholic church’s work toward “humanization” (verstraeten as cited in coleman & ryan 28). utilizing a dogma from one religious tradition may be perceived as problematic. however, cst offers, particularly through papal encyclicals, ideals of moral responsibility that are relevant to understanding the moral responsibility of richer nations to poorer ones. despite its complexity, the basic theme of cst is the promotion of the common good. the “common good” refers to the ability of all in a community to have the necessary conditions to “perfect their humanity,” or conditions that provide for “human flourishing” (land 64; rowntree 596). the common good from a cst perspective is nuanced. it could be argued that at its roots lies aristotle’s idea of law-abidingness, or the collective of all virtues necessary for a moral life (novak 69). aristotle referred to this as legal justice. aquinas, who saw law-abidingness as a “general justice,” or social justice, believed that this was a virtue in and of itself, thereby advancing aristotle’s idea of legal justice. aquinas reasoned that it was the common good that supported the good of individuals (novak 70; land 65). accordingly, drawing on the biblical tradition, cst has a strong bias in favor of the poor (coleman & ryan 17). as such, the common good does not favor one or a few privileged groups (land 65-66). modern cst has it roots in the encyclical tradition founded in 1891 by pope leo xiii (coleman & ryan 15; mccann 57). the first papal encyclical, rerum novarum, contained guidance on international trade and affirmed the natural right to private property. in 1991, pope john paul ii issued centesimus annus (ca) celebrating one-hundred years since the first papal encyclical. in it the pope writes, “…the free market is the most efficient instrument for utilizing resources and effectively responding to needs” (ca 34). more importantly, ca explains that there are many people 3 stefan perun who are not able to participate in the free market because of inequality between countries, and thus stronger nations have a moral responsibility “…to provide all individuals and nations with the basic conditions which will enable them to share in development” (ca 35). this idea of “distributive justice” as a morally binding principle supports the common good by asserting that god’s intention for every human is to be given the conditions to flourish (rowntree 598; colman & ryan 17-18). advancing the idea further, the encyclical sollicitudo rei socialis (srs) defines this moral binding to distributive justice as a virtue, as solidarity. solidarity as a “virtue” calls for developed countries to fully acknowledge their relationship of interdependence with developing ones, and also asserts that developed countries have a moral responsibility to enable developing countries to share in the benefits of development (srs 38). srs suggests that this solidarity “demands… sacrifices necessary for the good of the whole world community” (srs 45). these sacrifices in solidarity are what coleman and ryan would refer to as the “fair allocation of burdens and benefits in society, [which] guarantees [that] parties… have relatively equal weight as moral agents” (coleman & ryan 17). an evaluation of lending practices, analyzed through the lens of cst’s concept of the common good in general and of distributive justice in particular, would dictate that the world bank lending practices must seek the common good through relatively equal sharing of burdens as well as benefits among bargaining parties. the members of the world bank have a moral duty, according to cst, to share risk associated with development lending. world bank the world bank was founded in 1944 in new england for the purpose of post-world war ii reconstruction. in recent decades, the world bank has shifted its mission to “…global poverty reduction and improve[ment] of living standards…” (about us 2007). the world bank is comprised of five separate institutions. they are the international finance corporation (ifc), the multilateral investment guarantee agency (miga), the international centre for settlement of investment disputes (icsid), the international bank for reconstruction and development (ibrd), and the international development association (ida). the primary two development institutions are the ibrd and the ida. the ibrd works solely with middle-income countries (mics). these countries account for a little under half of the world’s population and 4 world bank lending represent 70% of people living on less then two dollars per day (projects & operations 2007). according to the world bank, the ibrd seeks to meet the unique needs of mics by raising capital in the world markets and making loans with favorable terms. the world bank states that mics are important in the global community because of their ability (or inability) to “provide global public goods such as clean energy, trade integration, environmental protection, international financial stability, and the fight against communicable diseases” (projects & operations 2007). as such, the work of the ibrd is to provide needed financing for infrastructure and other societal needs, such as education and healthcare (projects & operations 2007). the world bank claims that the ibrd plays an important role in developing mics because favorable loan terms facilitate access to capital. without this developmental institution, mics would be forced to borrow on world markets, which are subject to various creditworthiness requirements, fluctuations in repayment terms, and interest rates. based on various political, economic, and market conditions, mics may not otherwise have access to needed funding. the other major development institution of the world bank, the ida, stands in contrast to the ibrd by focusing on the world’s poorest countries. these countries are defined as those with a gross national income (gni) per capita of $1,065 or less per year (ida 2007). primary concerns in these countries are access to clean water, basic healthcare, and basic education. funding makes its way to these destitute countries through grants or interestfree loans, called credits. the repayment terms of these loans are often spread over thirty-five or forty years with an initial ten-year grace period (ida 2007). the money used in these societal investment projects comes from donor nations such as the united states, the united kingdom, japan, germany, france, sweden, italy and canada. these and other countries contributed $33 billion in 2005 to the ida (for a complete list of donors and amounts, see contributions to the 14th replenishment 2007). ibrd lending practices: an empirical look the essential practice of the ibrd is to raise capital in the world markets and to make loans to mics for the purpose of funding public goods including infrastructure, energy, education, and healthcare. these public goods allow the borrowing nation to better participate in the global economy by providing the basic conditions necessary to produce goods and to trade with other nations. monies used to build roads and the like are supposed to provide necessary conditions to expand gdp growth, primarily through an 5 stefan perun increase in exported commodities, goods, and to a lesser extent, services. it would not be reasonable to expect lending outcomes to always be ideal or the aims to be achieved perfectly. it is true that ibrd lending has the potential to successfully provide the necessary infrastructure to participate in the global economy (wolf xii-xv). however, ibrd loans can also frustrate development. this is particularly true when loans by the world bank are lent in dollar or euro denominations. countries who are major “donors” to the world bank also set the policies for lending programs. from 1984 to 1993, debt service payments from latin american countries to developed lending nations totaled $116 billion in net outflows, resulting in a dismal annual economic growth of less than one percent (arista 30). known as the “lost decade,” the effects of this ten-year period on the world economy prompted a closer look at international lending policies (arista 27). policy makers from the world bank, along with representatives from ten latin american countries, met in washington, d.c., to develop policies that would provide sustainable capital inflows for development. the so-called washington consensus was structured to ease capital flow restrictions with the idea that rapid privatization was the best way to facilitate development (stiglitz 17). unfortunately, the adoption of the washington consensus policies did not result in mass inflows of capital from private investors into the region. instead, it exposed latin american countries to volatility in global capital markets. one such example of exposure occurred during the east asia crisis in 1997, when investors panicked to extract capital out of the region due to potentially threatening currency fluctuations (stiglitz 34). the capital contraction in east asia forced interest rates to rise throughout the global economy. argentina’s exposure to dollar-denominated debt payments in the context of rising interest rates increased their debt payments by almost 50% (stiglitz 221). this happened to coincide with favorable shorter-term lending practices, which encouraged latin american countries to borrow, effectively restructuring their external debt obligations (arista 26). the favorable lending terms resulted in intergovernmental organizations (igo), lead by the world bank, to make loans accounting for 81% of the region’s net capital inflows (arista 26). unlike the other 19% of inflows from foreign direct investment (fdi), these loans issued by public sector creditors placed the bulk of the development risk on the borrower. moreover, since the collective debt restructuring across latin american countries was mainly conducted in short-term instruments, outstanding debt obligations rose to 114% of reserves by the summer of 2002 (arista 28). as stiglitz argues, this short-term lending “exports” the risk associated with lending to the 6 world bank lending borrowing country by effectively allowing for the recall (net outflows of capital) at the first sign of economic instability (237). furthermore, the debtto-service ratio placed downward pressure on domestic currency, resulting in local inflation and compounding capital outflows. the 2002 presidential elections in brazil and the impending iraq war created additional uncertainty in currency markets. by 2002, argentina defaulted on its massive debt and the latin american currencies fell dramatically against the dollar. the lasting effects continue to be evident in latin america as the resulting currency crisis smashed any hope of sustainable growth or reasonable inflation expectations (arista 26-30). the debt service of latin american countries to public credit institutions, including the world bank, resulted in a disheartening 0% per capita gdp growth rate between 1997 and 2002 (ocampo as citied in arista 30). there is little doubt that there can be much gdp growth when net capital movement is negative, as was the case when the latin american mics tried to service their dollar or euro-denominated debt with their relatively worthless currency. the case of latin america demonstrates how most of the development risk was placed squarely on the shoulders of the citizens and governments in borrowing countries. crisis after crisis has, and will continue, to retard economic growth in the region until the developed countries decide to share in the risk (as well as the rewards) of economic prosperity. taken at face value, the premise of world bank loans, particularly through the ibrd, look very promising in its endeavor to “[reduce] global poverty… and improve… living standards” (about us 2007). however, policies in practice prove to be antithetical to the world bank’s altruistic aim, and demonstrate the potential to create and prolong economic crises. policy concerns since loans are denominated in dollars or euros, the main risk countries bear when borrowing through the world bank is currency fluctuation. this currency fluctuation risk has real consequences that ultimately keep latin america and other countries impoverished. borrowers, like the latin american countries in the late 1990s, are subject to a devaluation of their currency in relation to the currency in which the loan is to be repaid. there is research that indicates loans made to mics with “good democracies” produce outcomes that are much more positive than the latin america example above (butkiewicz, & yanikkaya 379). here, capital inflows by way of ida aid or a loan from the ibrd seem to correlate to gdp growth only in as much as the economic and monetary policies of the borrowing 7 stefan perun nation-states are sound (butkiewicz, & yanikkaya 378-383). governments having sound policies generally enjoy rule of law, open economies, stable “general fund” accounts, and low inflation. as such, these countries are presumably better able to service their debt. more importantly, the capital inflows are more likely to make their way to needed infrastructure, education, and healthcare needs. in recent years, the world bank has made their loans conditional with the aim of promoting democratic political systems. this could have two counterproductive results. first, imposing external conditions on a country has the potential to weaken its political institutions and can impede democratization, as the borrowing country’s citizens may perceive its government as “giving into international institutions… run by the u. s.” (stiglitz 12). in cases where a country’s citizens feel betrayed by their government, citizens and the members of government could be discouraged from working together to establish policies, especially economic ones, that enjoy widespread support. the world bank has no real post-loan policing abilities in any case. as such, there is little evidence that loan policy conditions have any actual impact on the development outcomes themselves (dollar & stevens as cited in bird & rowlands 88). this means that the sources of power for influencing policy reforms lies not with the world bank, but with the country whose monetary denomination the loan is made in. currency adjustments in the general account appear to wield greater influence over policy reforms in borrowing nations (bird & rowlands 8789). second, as evidenced by the failure of the washington consensus, enforcing economic policies that work for developed countries prove disastrous for developing ones. many developing countries thought (or were told) that adopting the washington consensus would somehow make themselves appear more investment or credit-worthy in world markets, thus attracting fdi. this was just not the case. some research has shown that adoption of the loan conditions have little if any impact on fdi, and in some cases there is evidence to suggest that world bank lending actually deters fdi (bird, & rowlands 98). applying cst a survey of world bank lending practices to latin america over the last decade exposes some of the ways in which developed countries do in fact exploit developing countries under the auspice of “global poverty reduction” (about us 2007). these words rang empty during the lost decade and in 8 world bank lending 2002 when the latin american countries needed capital inflows to stabilize their economy. instead, the developed countries, operating through the world bank, retracted capital and let the borrowing countries default, which further compounded the problem. certainly, it is reasonable to have some moral expectation for developed countries to cease exploiting other countries through the world bank. it also seems reasonable to construct world bank policies that are congruent with its mission. cst offers just such a moral critique by asking the question, in the economic relationships facilitated by the world bank, is the common good served through an equitable distribution of burdens and benefits? as this essay has proven thus far, the answer is definitively no. as evidenced by lending to latin america, the world bank (and thereby its members) does not share equally in the burdens of development in the global economy on at least three accounts. first, in the interest of its developed members, the world bank denominates loans in dollars or euros to protect the lenders from currency fluctuations and regional politics. secondly, policies such as the washington consensus protect investors and private lenders by allowing them to withdraw their capital at the first sign of economic instability. thirdly, lenders profit from short-term and cyclical lending that provides economic rewards in times of economic growth, but exposes the borrowing nation to instability and subsequent net outflows precisely at the time when inflows are most needed. in these ways, world bank lending practices are at least partially predatory. that is, instead of lifting up developing countries so all member of the global community can enjoy the fruits of economic prosperity, these loans serve to suppress economic growth for those who need it most. and, while the dollar was affected slightly by the currency fluctuations in the latin american example, the brunt of the burden is left on the borrowing region. the 0% gdp growth resulting from net capital outflows to service the dollar-denominated debt is disharmonious with cst. the idea of solidarity in srs calls us to make sacrifices for the good of the global community (srs 45). while there is a great responsibility for poorer nationstates to adopt policies that give their citizenry an opportunity to partake in the wealth generated by trade, the wealthier nations have a moral responsibility to bear some of the burden of development in poorer countries (galston, as cited in gehring 3). the basic criticism leveled against globalization is that it excludes the participation of the majority of the global community (held & mcgrew, as cited in coleman & ryan 14). this principle was well understood by thomas aquinas, who would benchmark the flourishing of the few to the flourishing of the entire global community 9 stefan perun (land 65-66). the world bank practices favor the few and privileged and require little or no sacrifice on the behalf of the developed nations; therefore, world bank policies, when put into practice, do not produce human flourishing. the idea of the common good as developed through cst, particularly from a standpoint of distributive justice, requires more moral responsibility than world bank lending practices demonstrate. cst ideals and good economic sense: dollar denominations and interdependence in addition to using cst as a moral guidepost, ideals of the common good and distributive justice provide some basis for sound economic policy as well. take, for instance, the example of what it might look like for the world bank to lend money denominated in pesos. stiglitz suggests that this “sound macro-economic policy” would reduce the borrowing countries’ risk because it would lead to low inflation and more consistent exchange rates (237). certainly lenders would have a more vested interest in the success of projects funded in local currencies. if the development project enabled participation in the global economy, then success will be directly linked to repayment as well as the stability of the international monetary system. in this way, borrowing countries’ economic flourishing, and presumably general human flourishing, would truly be in the (economic) interest of all members of the world bank. consider the benefits of additional markets for u.s. goods and services or less expensive and higher quality agrarian imports. economically, it makes sense for the u.s. to have a vested interest in the prosperity of all nations of the globe, particularly our neighbors to the south. as cst suggests, developed countries should “acknowledge fully their interdependence,” including currency exchange rates. here the moral responsibility is to share the risk associated with development lending so that mic might achieve sustained economic growth. if currency fluctuation risk in the latin american example was more equally shared, the u.s. might have had more of a vested interest in helping the latin american countries succeed in their attempts to achieve sustained growth. a growing economy to the u.s.’s south has the potential to alleviate some of the immigration issues the country currently faces, to create open markets for american exports, and to provide a steady supply of low-cost imports for consumption. 10 world bank lending long-term commitment solidarity implies a long-term commitment and a vested interest in a relationship. cst offers guidance into how our common thread as members of the human race ought to guide our actions and polices. this idea of solidarity and sharing in burdens and benefits suggest unifying with members of the global community for the flourishing of all. it also makes sense from an economic perspective. consider the lending that takes place on a short-term basis during periods of boom for developing countries. the world bank and private lenders make these loans because they are profitable. the bank hopes to return the profits to other developing countries in the way of loans or credits. the private lenders will report the profits in their bottom line. even if profits gained through predatory lending was morally acceptable, the eventual default proves less than profitable in the long run. again, consider the latin american example. after defaulting on their loans, argentina, one of the major borrowing countries, was only able to repay lenders a fraction of the original loan amount (stiglitz 223). had the world bank structured the loans in a way that promoted a long-term commitment to the region, the resulting sustained growth would have been profitable for all involved. for the world bank, it also would have been a demonstration of its members’ commitment to its mission. short-term cyclical lending it seems particularly obvious that solidarity in the international community would require that help be provided in a time of need. unfortunately, the global economic system and the lending practices of the world bank run seemingly counterintuitive. the conditionality of world bank loan terms oftentimes requires borrowing countries to liberalize their markets so that capital can easily flow in and out of the country. these supposed economic integration policies (e.g., the washington consensus), which provide lenders the right to pull their capital at the first sign of economic instability, result in what amounts to a flight of capital at the precise time when capital is needed. the resulting instability in exchange rates, inflation, and the economic loss to the lending institutions endangers the global economic system (wolf 32, 61). instead, the world bank should lend counter-cyclically, not only because it would provide resources to people in desperate need, but because it is sound economic policy that will perpetuate stability in the global economy (stiglitz 236). 11 stefan perun the idea of shared burdens and benefits for the pursuit of the common good suggest that it is the lenders, rather than the borrowing nations, who need policy reform. as stiglitz argues, oftentimes default is not the result of poor economic policies in borrowing countries, but rather a failure of markets to share in the risk (231-244). though not based in economic theory, cst offers relevant guidance on moral responsibilities in the economic sphere. these moral responsibilities are both market friendly and congruent with sound economic policy. it seems easy for members of the world bank from developed nations to point the finger outward and not take responsibility for all the human suffering that exists. however, policies in practice matter. the reality is that the world bank and its wealthy nation members have more power than they care to exercise. conclusion in conclusion, the globalization debate is often marked by contention over how globalization impacts the global community. there is much evidence to suggest that countries that participate in globalization, on the whole, enjoy increased gdp rates per capita, more primary education, and more rule of law then their less globalized counterparts. there is little doubt that globalization and the free market system have enormous potential to relieve human suffering and universally raise the global standard of living. however, those critical of globalization argue that in the current power structure, developed countries repress and exploit countries in order to preserve their position at the top. these critics are not necessarily anti-globalization, but they are certainly anti-human suffering at the hands of wealthy nation-states. taking latin america as an example, this essay has argued that one starting place to evaluate the phenomena of globalization is to look at world bank lending practices. developed nations set the agenda and polices of the world bank and thus the development scheme in the global economy. by crafting policies, trade agreements, and loan terms that are favorable to them, members of the world bank from developed countries do not meet reasonable moral standards suggested by cst. cst offers moral guidance grounded in centuries of experience of the catholic church in human development. the basic theme in cst is the idea of the common good. since the world bank is chartered for the purpose of the common global good, cst seems particularly relevant for a moral analysis. using some historical roots of cst and more recent papal encyclicals, we see that the idea of equal distributions of burdens and 12 world bank lending benefits associated with being members of the global community is morally binding. advancing this idea of moral responsibility, solidarity calls upon nations to acknowledge their interdependence and to make sacrifices for the common good. having cst as a frame of reference, one can ask the question—how do world bank lending practices stand up? the world bank is made up of five institutions and in recent years has claimed to serve the purpose of “global poverty reduction and improve[ing] living standards” (about us 2007). its activities on the world markets, designed to raise funds for mics, give the bank the capital it needs to make loans with favorable terms to countries that otherwise would not receive enough fdi to sustain development. however, in practice, lending terms favor the developed nations more than the developing ones. as was the case with the latin american example, the world bank forces policies like the washington consensus upon poorer countries, which exposes them to volatility that their fledgling economies cannot handle. additionally, loans denominated in dollars and euros expose the borrowing regions to major currency fluctuation risk. these lending practices oftentimes result in developed countries and their banks extracting their capital unharmed while the borrowing countries are left to default on their debt, or worse use large percentages of the their gdp to service loans. this is often money that could be used to invest in infrastructure, education, health, and other public goods needed for development. applying the basic principle of the common good taught by cst to this case analysis suggests that world bank lending practices are immoral. developed countries have a responsibility to share equally in the burdens of development lending. on all accounts discussed in this essay, developed countries do not share in any of the burdens because they do not share any of the risk. denominating loans in dollars, lending for the short-term, and withdrawing capital in times of crisis, leaves many poorer nations left to suffer. cst’s morality is not so pious as to be unattainable. rather, the moral responsibility that cst proposes is also grounded in sound economic policy. sharing risk has the potential to create sustainable growth for the world’s population. this, in turn, will create more public goods, more consumable goods, and more markets for exports. most importantly, it would fulfill the wealthy nations’ moral obligation to the global community by providing the poorer nations with an opportunity to share in the benefits of globalization. 13 stefan perun works cited about us. the world bank web site. oct. 2007 <http://www.worldbank.org>. arista, j. d. “moving beyond the washington consensus.” int’l journal of political economy 32.4 (2002-2003): 22-34. bird, g. & rowlands, d. “world bank lending and other financial flows: is there a connection?” the journal of development studies 37.5 (2001): 83-103. butkiewicz, j. l. & yanikkaya, h. “the effects of imf and world bank lending on long-run economic growth: an empirical analysis.” world development 33.3 (2005): 371-391. centesimus-annus. 5 january 1991. encyclical. john paul ii. vatican website. 27 nov. 2007 <http://www.vatican.va>. coleman, j. a. & ryan, w. f., eds. globalization and catholic social thought: present crisis, future hope. ottawa, canada: novalis, 2005. contributions to the 14th replenishment. the world bank website. oct. 2007 <http://www.worldbank.org>. gehring, v. v., ed. the ethical dimensions of global development. new york: rowman & littlefield publishers, 2007. international development association. the world bank website. oct. 2007 <http://www.worldbank.org>. land, p. s. catholic social teaching: as i have lived, loathed, and love it. chicago, il: loyola university press, 1994. mccann, d. p. “catholic social teaching in an era of economic globalization:a resource for business ethics.” business ethics quarterly 7.2 (1997): 57-70. novak, m. the catholic ethic and the spirit of capitalism. new york: the free press, 1993. 14 world bank lending projects & operations: middle income countries. the world bank website. oct. 2007 <http://www.worldbank.org>. rowntree, s. c. “the ethics of trade policy in catholic political economy.” theological studies 65 (2004): 596-622. singer, p. one world: the ethics of globalization. 2nd ed. new haven, ct: yale university press, 2002. sollicitudo-rei-socialis. 30 december 1987. encyclical. john paul ii. vatican website. 27 nov. 2007 <http://www.vatican.va>. stiglitz, j. e. making globalization work. new york, ny: w. w. norton & co., 2007. wolf, m. why globalization works. new haven, ct: yale university press, 2004. 15 stefan a. perun liberal studies the globalization debate world bank ibrd lending practices: an empirical look applying cst long-term commitment conclusion introduction “the tragedy of the penitentiary”: the philadelphia society for alleviating the miseries of public prisons and the formation of the eastern state penitentiary kaelyn e. considine history “the american penitentiary was born not of new ideas but of old conceptions that, set against a background of social change, seemed more sensible and attractive than ever before.” 1 – adam j. hirsch robert vaux, one of the most prominent members of the philadelphia society for alleviating the miseries of public prisons, concluded one of his many writings with the telling statement, “with the expression of an ardent hope, that this favoured commonwealth may soon have the happiness to perfect the system of criminal jurisprudence and prison discipline, which boasts its origin within her borders.” 2 vaux’s writing came during a period of great societal and moral reform in america. one facet of this, the one vaux was most actively involved in, was the reform of the prison system in america. during the nineteenth century in america, robert vaux and thousands of others around the world began advocating for a massive improvement and reform of prisons in western society. the subject of prison reform in american history spans well over a century and encompasses a variety of ideas and theories. the philadelphia society for alleviating the miseries of public prisons was only one of many organizations that were attempting to reform prisons during the 1800s. 3 on may 8, 1787, the society met for the first time in the home of benjamin franklin. like other prison reform societies of the time, the philadelphia prison society sought to make prisons more humane and effective institutions. the philadelphia prison society, however would distinguish itself through its role in the construction of eastern state 1 adam j. hirsch, the rise of the penitentiary: prisons and punishment in early america (new haven: yale university press, 1992), 112. 2 robert vaux, notices of the original, and successive efforts to improve the discipline of the prison at philadelphia, (philadelphia: kimber and sharpless, 1826), 64. 3 at its centennial in 1887, the philadelphia society for alleviating the miseries of public prisons changed its name to the pennsylvania prison society. it still continues to operate in philadelphia today. for the purposes of this paper, the philadelphia society for alleviating the miseries of public prisons will be referred to by its current name. kaelyn considine 2 penitentiary – a prison that was designed and built in order to provide the kind of penitentiary they thought best for rehabilitating prisoners. the research presented here is an examination of the society’s ideas for reforming prisons in the early 1800s and how their methods were applied to the design and operation of eastern state penitentiary. many of the philadelphia prison society’s prominent leaders were quakers, and their devotion to this faith and its ideals is evident in the reformist and philanthropic endeavors they took part in. the central idea in their approach to prison reform was simply that every person, regardless of crimes committed, was redeemable. 4 the quakers believed in an inner light that existed in each person, a divine spark that was evidence of humanity’s direct connections with god. understanding that all people possessed this inner light, it is easy to see how quakers would have turned to the idea of repentance. this is not to say that they did not believe in punishment for one’s wrong doings, rather they believed in punishment as a means to achieving repentance. 5 as matthew w. meskell discusses in his writing, this idea contrasted greatly with the calvinistic theories that had governed previous methods of imprisonment. 6 in this tradition, it was accepted that some people were born sinners and that nothing could be done to change that fundamental part of their existence. the idea of repentance as a way to reform prisoners was a relatively new concept that rejected this notion. it is, however also important to consider that during this period there was an emerging trend of moving away from corporal punishment that did not necessarily concern religion. michel foucault in particular wrote extensively on this subject and attributed, at least in part this change in thinking to the influence of enlightenment ideas that inspired in humans the desire to act more “humanely”. 7 when considering the actions of prison reformers, especially in philadelphia and pennsylvania, it is important to reflect on the sense of purpose these individuals had in their reform efforts. many reformers of the nineteenth century are often accused of having insincere motives behind their apparent desire to help people; this, however was not the case for the prison reformers of philadelphia. after only a short period of time spent researching these persons it becomes 4 negley k teeters, they were in prison: a history of the pennsylvania prison society, 17871937, (philadelphia: the john c. winston company, 1937), 122-123. 5 george g. killinger, paul f. cromwell, ed., penology: the evolution of corrections in america, (st. paul, minn.: west publishing co., 1973), 35. 6 matthew w. meskell, “an american resolution: the history of prisons in the united states from 1777 to 1877” stanford law review, vol. 51, no. 4 (apr., 1999), 839-865 – 852. 7 michel foucault, discipline & punish: the birth of the prison, (new york: random house, 1995), 73-75. “the tragedy of the penitentiary” 3 obvious the members of the philadelphia prison society, and indeed most prison reformists of the time, genuinely wished to help better the lives of inmates, both during their time in prison and once they were released. the goals of the society began as part of a broader movement to monitor prisons and see that they were effectively doing their job. during the early 1800s, the philadelphia prison society’s visiting committee frequently toured the public prisons and found them in generally acceptable, if not good condition; the committee members often remarked in their reports that the keepers and the inspectors were making efforts to better conditions and that their efforts were noticeable. one of the many reports made by the visiting committee stated that they “were fully satisfied with the conduct of the keeper and his deputies and with the order and discipline maintained among the prisoners – all that can be done by the inspectors and keepers has been done to render the condition of the convicts and other there confined comfortable and salutary . . .” 8 according to the writings of one society leader, thomas bradford, in his report to the acting committee on behalf of the visiting committee, the prison officials often took the recommendations of the society seriously and strove to incorporate them into the prison whenever possible. 9 despite the prison’s reputation, however, the prisoners were not always provided with everything they needed. in fact, much of the society’s time during its early years was devoted to procuring material goods for them. one such incident was brought before the committee in january, 1800 when they “received information from two members of this committee that there were a number of prisoners in the jail in want of cloathing [sic] & blanketts [sic] appearing necessary that some attention should be immediately paid to the situation . . .” 10 members were immediately appointed to secure funds to this end, and at the next meeting they would report that they had purchased 30 blankets (costing £17.26) and that a “quantity of old clothing” was sent to the prison in response to a report they placed in the paper. 11 the attention of the early society focused primarily on the walnut street jail. the society members set about ensuring that the jail provided sufficient food, clothing, and blankets; they even went so far as to make sure that the 8 the historical society of pennsylvania, pennsylvania prison society records, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated: october 9, 1806. 9 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, meeting (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) dated october 31, 1811. 10 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated january 29, 1800. 11 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated april 10, 1800. kaelyn considine 4 administration was functioning effectively. their efforts were well received and often more effective than even they could have hoped for. 12 however, the society was in no way completely satisfied. many of the members of the society were coming under the influence of emerging ideas of prisons as places of reform and repentance. for the time being however, they were forced to content themselves with the changes they could make within the present framework while conspiring to bring large scale reform to the prison system in the future. this passive, non-urgent approach changed on march 27, 1820, when several prisoners in the walnut street jail managed to arm themselves with knives and begin a riot. the rioters spilled out into the prison yard, prompting local citizens, who feared for their own safety, to line the sides of the jail and begin shooting at the prisoners resulting in one prisoner being killed and three more injured. 13 only after the state militia was called in was the uprising finally quelled. it was this event that led to the society’s realization that the current prisons in philadelphia (and indeed western civilization) were no longer acceptable means by which to deter crime and reform criminals. 14 it is evident from their records that the general tone of the philadelphia prison society shifted almost immediately. 15 members suddenly condemned the walnut street jail as unacceptable in every way. it was overcrowded with unemployed prisoners who had nothing to do but plot escapes and future crimes. more serious criminals were corrupting those who had committed lesser offences. disease ran rampant in the close quarters and the small infirmary was simply not equipped to handle the sick. one report by the visiting committee stated that “the com. found many in these wards in a destitute situation, many without shoes and stockings and about half without undergarments.” 16 they continued to lament the situation, explaining that they felt there was no hope for reforming the idle prisoners who were left to their own devices and given nothing to do, proclaiming: “it is a subject of regret that no employment can be furnished in these wards, as their whole time is now spent in idleness excepting the small portion occupied in cleaning their appartments [sic].” 17 12 teeters, the cradle of the penitentiary, 29-31. 13 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated: april 10, 1820 14 teeters, the cradle of the penitentiary, 101-103. 15 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated: april 10, 1820 16 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated: january 10, 1820 17 ibid. “the tragedy of the penitentiary” 5 where the society had once been willing to overlook the system’s shortcomings in favor of trying to help the prisoners, they now turned their attention to every perceived flaw they could find. their efforts were to make an attempt to illustrate just how imperative it was that philadelphia construct a new prison, where the reforms they had been advocating for since the turn of the century could be enacted in their entirety. it was the sincere belief of these reformers that the current prison system could not reform or rehabilitate prisoners in any way, rather it only served to perpetuate the cycle of crime and incarceration. the solution they devised would become one of the cornerstones of nineteenth century prison reform: solitary confinement. the society had many reasons for wanting to establish solitary confinement as standard practice in prisons, but the most important was the expectation that it would bring about repentance in the convict. it was understood within the society that reform must be carried out through the prisoners themselves; reforming the prisons would not change anything in the long run. the prevailing notion that began to grip the society was that it was not simply enough to punish prisoners; punishment was clearly not preventing or deterring criminals. robert vaux, conveyed the general frustration felt by the reformers stating, “to continue the system at present adopted, is extremely absurd . . . having been found, after a long trial, most lamentably to fail in answering the end intended by it; nay, to produce effects never contemplated by its advocates, viz. the increase of crimes.” 18 members of the society saw prisons and their inhabitants in a constant cycle of serving time in jail only to be released, commit another crime, and returned to prison with the current system providing no means of stopping it. the philadelphia prison society brought its proposal for the use of solitary confinement to the forefront of the their undertaking. they had, in fact, been campaigning for a new prison that would be built with the appropriate facilities for such a practice for years, even going so far as to write to harrisburg directly to address the issue. in an 1803 letter, the society wrote to the legislature so as to “again respectfully submit to your consideration the propriety of granting another building for the purpose of making such separation amongst the prisoners as the nature and wants of this truly benevolent system require.” 19 vaux emerged as one of solitary confinement’s biggest proponents. he believed that if left completely to themselves convicts would eventually realize that their imprisonment came about as a result of their own sins. knowing this, they 18 robert vaux, to reform the criminal code of pennsylvania: with a few observations on the penitentiary system, (philadelphia: kimber and sharpless, 1826), 16-17. 19 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes: letter to the pennsylvania house of representatives and senate regarding the auburn system and the need for a new prison, may 25, 1803. kaelyn considine 6 would have no choice but to lament them and thus reexamine their lives so as not to find themselves in a similar situation after being released. 20 vaux was of the opinion that guilt and remorse would eventually lead those convicted of a crime back to a good and moral life, stating in his writings: left to himself, his own reflections will be melancholy and depressing; his evil propensities, instead of being confirmed by the unrestrained intercourse with his more wicked companions will infallibly be checked; the good advice he may have received from pious parents, will recur to his mind with a force it perhaps never possessed before, and thus, instead of being more vicious, as at present, when emerging from prison, than when he entered, he will be chastened, and disposed to follow his trade, and to lead a regular and sober life. 21 the prevailing sentiment became that prisoners had to be sorry for their crimes before it could be guaranteed that they would not commit them again. it is worth noting that aside from a moral obligation, the reformers also felt a religious one towards these convicts. in keeping with quaker teachings they believed that repentance for one’s sins meant embracing salvation through god. religion was of the utmost importance in the process of reforming criminals but it also added to the importance of the reformer’s mission. they were not simply rehabilitating these people to reenter society, they were saving their souls. 22 the importance of god and religion as a tool of reforming prisoners was not new to the philadelphia prison society; they had been bringing bibles to inmates since its very founding. 23 the new system, however, would place special emphasis on the salvation of those who were incarcerated. in solitary confinement, the bible would be the only reading material that the prisoners would have access to. for the society members this ensured that the convicts would be forced to consider their sins; to allow them the opportunity to ignore this time for reflection and repentance “. . . would defeat the whole plan, which ought to be, to oblige them “to work out their salvation in fear and trembling; in tribulation and sorrow.” 24 20 teeters, they were in prison, 190. 21 vaux, to reform the criminal code of pennsylvania: with a few observations on the penitentiary system, 17. 22 teeters, they were in prison, 360-361. 23 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated: january 29,1810 24 vaux, to reform the criminal code of pennsylvania: with a few observations on the penitentiary system, 16. “the tragedy of the penitentiary” 7 the second major reason for the use of solitary confinement in prisons dealt less with reforming the prisoners and more with preventing their exposure to other criminal elements. it became obvious to the society members that not only was the current system unable to effectively prevent crime, but it was actually spreading it. 25 by exposing prisoners of all levels of crime to one another, jails were facilitating the corruption of otherwise common, petty criminals and making them more violent. this fact had been a chief concern of the society long before eastern state penitentiary was built. the walnut street jail visiting committee, for instance, noted on one tour that: vagrants and prisoners for trial, convicts under six months and disorderly servants and apprentices are all confined in one apartment in the east wing of the building and it frequently happens that one hundred and forty and sometimes a larger number of persons of the above description are confined together in the apartment. from this connection of persons many pernicious consequences arise. the young and untutored offender becomes hardened and (unintelligible) by association with old convicts – apprentices and servants instead of being reformed, become worse and at length from the reforms they receive here become thieves and villains. 26 through a system of solitary confinement, prisoners would not have the opportunity to interact with one another, something that had long been a source of frustration to reformers who felt “. . . when [convicts] are released from prison they are likely to come out intimately acquainted with the arts of villany [sic] and combined with an extensive association of persons of similar characters . . . the health of the city is much endangered by having so many people crowded together . . .” 27 reformists claimed that even the classification and separation of inmates based on the severity of their crimes did not prevent contamination. additionally, as william forsythe has revealed, during this time period, it was almost impossible to know a prisoner’s full criminal history and thus place them accordingly. men 25 teeters, they were in prison, 45. 26 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated: report by the visiting committee, october 9, 1806. 27 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated: may, 25, 1803 kaelyn considine 8 convicted of lesser offences may have committed more serious ones previously and as such might be placed with lesser criminals completely undetected. 28 what the society members considered to be most frustrating about this situation was that they saw it to be completely preventable. using solitary confinement as a way to make prisoners repent for their crimes required some sort of effort on the part of the prisoners; simply keeping convicts apart from each other did not. these sentiments were echoed in a report given by the society’s visiting committee that stated: “in vain do we boast of our penal code if such evils are permitted to exist. our code it is true is mild and intended to reform the offender, but its intention is evidently destroyed by permitting so many prisoners to associate together. hard work, wholesome diet, pure air, sufficient clothing, and all about seclusion from vice of every form is in our opinion the best plan of treatment that can be adopted to ensure the desired end.” 29 the reformists felt that by separating the prisoners they were in fact protecting them by ensuring that their time in prison would not do them more harm than good. the idea of using solitary confinement to reform prisoners was not without its opponents. adversaries of the policy charged it with being cruel, inhumane, and likely to produce insanity in those inflicted with the punishment. 30 vaux countered these attacks, writing in one of his many publications that, “it is answered that punishment is intended to be what its name implies . . .” 31 he contended that despite all the fear concerning the possibility that inmates could become insane there have been no cases brought forward to establish this theory and so it remained just that. on the other hand, vaux is able to make the argument that because there have been no reports of cases of insanity due to solitary confinement, the practice is shown to do more good than harm. 32 while there are obvious flaws in vaux’s logic (specifically that he was advocating a new system and therefore it is only natural that there would not have been any reported cases of insanity), his impassioned writing demonstrates just how firmly he and other prison reformers believed in this policy. however, even for as firm as their beliefs were, it is worth noting that vaux and other society members recognized that there were certain limitations to their work. it was possible that some criminals would simply refuse to be reformed. vaux 28 william james forsythe, the reform of prisoners, 1830 – 1900 (new york: st. martin’s press, 1987) 25. 29 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, meeting dated: report by the visiting committee, october 9, 1806. 30 teeters, they were in prison, 237. 31 vaux, notices of the original, and successive efforts to improve the discipline of the prison at philadelphia, 59. 32 ibid. “the tragedy of the penitentiary” 9 acknowledged this possibility by saying simply that, “a criminal, therefore, who has undergone the moral and mild discipline . . . and commits a second offence, shows that he is unworthy of future trials, to reclaim him from the paths of vice, and the first law of nature requires his being removed from a community, whose laws he has so often outraged . . .” 33 what exactly vaux meant by “removing” these men from a community is never explained, and one can assume that men with such profound quaker convictions would never advocate for punishing these repeat offenders with execution and so vaux illustrates a significant flaw in their system. despite his assertions, vaux and other reformers offered no solution to the problem of the “un-reformable” other than to remove them from the community. this conclusion is an interesting statement as it runs counter to their axiom that everyone could be redeemed. however, they also acknowledged there is simply no way to save those who do not wish to be saved. eastern state penitentiary, however, was the philadelphia’s prison society’s proposed method to save as many as possible. the idea of a penitentiary was not particularly new at this point in time, nor as george killinger argues, was it solely of american design. british reformers had been advocating for prisoner reform and solitary confinement for several decades as well and were often exchanging ideas with american reformers. john howard’s writings of plans to segregate prisoners to prevent them from interacting with each other, for example, greatly influenced the society. however, despite the best attempts of british reformers and the support of the government it was in america, specifically philadelphia, that such plans could be carried out and funded properly. 34 the philadelphia prison society fought for years in harrisburg to have land and funds appropriated for the construction of eastern state penitentiary. they lobbied tirelessly for years for the prison’s creation. they defended it both in published writings and “memorials” sent to the legislature. 35 any time a bill was presented to the state government that might jeopardize the creation of the penitentiary, the society sent members to harrisburg to lobby on behalf of the society’s ideas, convincing the legislators of the significance of their work and the importance of this prison to the state of pennsylvania. 36 33 vaux, to reform the criminal code of pennsylvania: with a few observations on the penitentiary system, 20. 34 killinger, penology: the evolution of corrections in america, 16-19. 35 the term “memorial” refers to a written statement of facts to be presented to a governing body of some form in order to express a particular wish and petition to have it acted upon. the philadelphia prison society sent over twenty of these to harrisburg over the course of the 1800s, all of which concerned their continuing desire for reform and rehabilitation in public prisons. 36 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated february 27, 1821. kaelyn considine 10 the legislation authorizing the construction of the penitentiary was signed on march 20, 1821; the only condition placed on the building commissioners was to preserve the principle of solitary confinement when designing the prison. john haviland was selected to be the project’s architect and by all accounts he became obsessed with perfecting the structure. 37 the construction of the prison itself was a massive undertaking. 38 aside from the sheer size and scope of the project, haviland faced mechanical and structural issues that stemmed from requiring the building’s design to provide the basic necessities to its prisoners without having them interact with anyone. as a result of this prerequisite, the individual cells of eastern state penitentiary would have features that most houses of the time did not, including centralized heat and flushing toilets. 39 every precaution was taken to ensure that the prisoners would not be able to communicate with each other. the methods employed at eastern state penitentiary would come to be known as “the pennsylvania system” among reformers. this design called for prisoners to be kept in complete solitary confinement without any human contact. as previously discussed, such an atmosphere would force them to contemplate their wrong doings and the need to repent as well as prevent criminals from being in constant contact with each other. it was unfathomable to the system’s supporters that convicts could resist reform in such an environment. on may 2, 1829, just before the penitentiary opened, the philadelphia prison society was informed by harrisburg that it was to be granted special status in the penitentiary as official visitors and monitors of the facility as an acknowledgement and reward for their work. while the title and privilege seemed almost perfunctory, it was a position that the society members took very seriously, vowing to work towards the rehabilitation of their charges regardless of “conviction, age, sex, [or] color”. 40 the philadelphia prison society had accomplished the impressive feat of convincing a state government to build a penitentiary as they envisioned it should be and had been made stewards of the institution. 37 norman johnston, eastern state penitentiary: a crucible of good intentions (philadelphia: philadelphia museum of art, 1994), 32-33. 38 as a note of comparison concerning the size of the new penitentiary, the walnut street jail encompassed an area of approximately 400 by 200 feet while eastern state penitentiary came to cover several square acres. killinger, penology: the evolution of corrections in america, 27. 39 eastern state penitentiary board of trustees, “history of eastern state penitentiary” eastern state penitentiary historic site. http://www.easternstate.org/history/571page.php (accessed may, 2008). 40 pennsylvania prison society records, acting committee minutes, (collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835) meeting dated: may 2, 1829. “the tragedy of the penitentiary” 11 the pennsylvania system, as well as eastern state penitentiary, became the model for future prisons and penitentiaries. within only twenty years of its completion, new jersey, new york, and rhode island constructed new prisons that followed the archetype of eastern state penitentiary. eastern state penitentiary and its design became famous throughout the world. the penitentiary attracted many prominent visitors including alexis de tocqueville, charles dickens, and dorothea dix. dix, in particular, lauded the system of separation. she believed that crime was the result of weak, self-indulgent men and called upon them to win themselves over again through tests of will power, temperance, skill in manual labor, and the memorization of poetry and literature. 41 facilities like eastern state penitentiary were, in her opinion, the perfect environment for such things. the predominate difference between prisons such as the defunct walnut street jail and eastern state penitentiary was why the prisoners were there. the walnut street jail, like most others of the time, served as little more than a large holding cell. there the prison had the rational goal of punishing convicts for their crimes through imprisonment. eastern state penitentiary, on the other hand, touted a religious and moral philosophy. time spent at eastern state was not to be considered solely as a form of punishment, but also time to reflect on one’s character and change it for the better. however, despite the victory of building eastern state penitentiary, the actual success of the philadelphia prison society and its reform efforts of the early 1800s are difficult to gauge. if one thinks purely in terms of accomplishments, then the philadelphia prison society was certainly successful in accomplishing the reforms they set out to create. however, in dealing with reforms it is necessary to also consider whether or not the reformists succeeded in making any sort of actual change in society. the fact remains that the system of solitary confinement broke down in eastern state after only a few short decades due to overcrowding. eventually, solitary confinement was abandoned all together when the pennsylvania legislature abolished it in 1913. 42 the merits of such a system and its effectiveness are still the subject of debate. foucault believed that aside from the reformer’s stated goals, solitary confinement also promoted the idea of complete control over those incarcerated. keeping individuals isolated from each other allows those who hold power over them (in this case the prison guards and staff) to force them into complete submission, eliminating the threat of rebellion. 43 he does, however, acknowledge the merits of 41 thomas j. brown, dorothea dix: new england reformer, (cambridge: harvard university press, 1998), 129. 42 teeters, they were in prison, 191. 43 foucault, discipline & punish, 237. kaelyn considine 12 isolation as a method to induce remorse. he believes as robert vaux does, “alone in his cell the convict is handed over to himself . . . he descends into his conscious, he questions it and feels awakening within him the moral feeling that never entirely perishes in the heart of a man.” 44 foucault, for his part, also rejects the notion of prison reform in general, asserting that “the prison should not be seen as an inert institution, shaken at intervals by reform movements . . . the prison has always formed part of an active field in which projects, improvements, experiments, theoretical statements, personal evidence and investigations have proliferated.” 45 this statement is especially intriguing when applied to the philadelphia prison society and its reforms in the early 1800s. there was no question in the minds of the society members that they had set out to reform the existing institution of prisons, but according to foucault’s thoughts, these reforms were merely part of a long continuation of societal experimentation in the ways in which crimes are punished. whether or not this can be held as truth is important when weighing how successful these reform efforts could be considered. eastern state penitentiary suffered the misfortune of becoming the type of prison it had been built to counter. adam hirsch believes that the irony of the penitentiary lay in that even as it sought to rehabilitate criminals, it in fact reinforced the concept of the criminal class, “and therein lies the tragedy of the penitentiary. for it is hardly clear, whatever the advocates’ administrative achievements, that carceral punishment ever truly held promise as a substantive solution to the problem of crime.” 46 negley teeters also concedes the flaws of solitary confinement calling attention to the fact that only the “protagonists of the system “the society members and other reformers were understanding of it.” he adds that complete solitary confinement would have been inhumane, which may in part account for the reasons it collapsed after such a short period of time. 47 eastern state penitentiary closed its doors in 1971 after 147 years of service. the prison was simply no longer able to securely hold prisoners, even after its founding principles of solitary confinement and intense methods of reform had been long abandoned. norman johnston probably describes eastern state penitentiary best with the title of his book, calling the penitentiary “a crucible of good intentions.” the members of the philadelphia society for alleviating the miseries of public prisons truly believed that their methods were the best way to 44 ibid, 238. 45 ibid, 235. 46 hirsch, the rise of the penitentiary: prisons and punishment in early america, 115. 47 teeters, negley k., “the pennsylvania prison society. a century and a half of penal reform”, journal of criminal law and criminology (1931-1951), vol. 28, no. 3 (sep. oct., 1937), pp. 374-379. “the tragedy of the penitentiary” 13 reform prisoners and prevent them from committing further crime. their motivations were founded in a sincere desire to better society by rehabilitating its most dangerous elements. while the successfulness of their system is questionable, their intentions are not. bibliography: blomberg, thomas g., karol lucken, american penology: a history of control, (new york: aldine de gruyter), 2000. eastern state penitentiary board of trustees, “history of eastern state penitentiary” eastern state penitentiary historic site. http://www.easternstate.org/history/sixpage.php (accessed may, 2008). editor, history of eastern state penitentiary at philadelphia, the journal of criminal law, criminology, and police science, vol. 44, no. 4 (nov. dec., 1953), pp. 485-487. forsythe, william james, the reform of prisoners, 1830 – 1900, (new york: st. martin’s press), 1987. foucault, michel, discipline & punish: the birth of the prison, (new york: random house), 1995. gardner, albert ten eyck. a philadelphia masterpiece haviland's prison, the metropolitan museum of art bulletin, new series, vol. 14, no. 4 (dec., 1955), pp. 103-108. hirsch, adam j., the rise of the penitentiary: prisons and punishment in early america, (new haven: yale university press), 1992. the historical society of pennsylvania, pennsylvania prison society records – collection 1946, vol. 1, minutes 1787-1809. the historical society of pennsylvania, pennsylvania prison society records – collection 1946, vol. 2, minutes 1810-1832. the historical society of pennsylvania, pennsylvania prison society records – collection 1946, vol. 2, acting committee minutes 1798-1835. johnston, norman, eastern state penitentiary: a crucible of good intentions, (philadelphia: philadelphia museum of art), 1994. killinger, george g, paul f. cromwell, ed., penology: the evolution of corrections in america, (st. paul, minn.: west publishing co.), 1973. http://www.easternstate.org/history/sixpage.php kaelyn considine 14 meskell, matthew w., an american resolution: the history of prisons in the united states from 1777 to 1877 stanford law review, vol. 51, no. 4 (apr., 1999), pp. 839-865 – 852. schwartz, joel. the penitentiary and perfectibility in tocqueville, the western political quarterly, vol. 38, no. 1 (mar., 1985), pp. 7-26. teeters, negley k., the cradle of the penitentiary: the walnut street jail at philadelphia, 1773-1835, (philadelphia), 1955. teeters, negley k, they were in prison: a history of the pennsylvania prison society, 1787 1937, (philadelphia: the john c. winston company), 1937. teeters, negley k., the pennsylvania prison society. a century and a half of penal reform, journal of criminal law and criminology (1931-1951), vol. 28, no. 3 (sep. oct., 1937), pp. 374-379. vaux, roberts, notices of the original, and successive efforts to improve the discipline of the prison at philadelphia, (philadelphia: kimber and sharpless), 1826. vaux, roberts, to reform the criminal code of pennsylvania: with a few observations on the penitentiary system, (philadelphia: kimber and sharpless), 1826. evaluating_academic_success.doc evaluating academic success in student athletes: a literature review scott r. stansbury department of education and human services villanova university edited by ray heitzmann in the world of collegiate athletics, student athletes across the country use the opportunities provided to them to become the future professional athletes, teachers, coaches, and business leaders of our world. but at what cost to the education of these student athletes has this business atmosphere become? as division i and ii institutions continue to provide scholarships and other benefits to these students, the question is whether they are receiving a quality education. studies have shown that participation in extra-curricular activities such as athletics (hood et al., 1992) improves overall student academic performance. however, it must be noted that the national collegiate athletic association (ncaa) has instituted numerous policies and propositions (ncaa division i manual, 2003) in regards to “redshirting” athletes for academic or medical reasons. however, no concrete research has been done to determine if keeping an athlete out of competition during their freshman year, while allowing them to continue to practice with the team (considered an “academic redshirt”) would have positive or negative effects on their academic performance during that first year. this literature review includes research-based studies that evaluate the effect that athletic participation has on the academic performance of intercollegiate student athletes. the goal of this literature review is to provide a substantial basis of factual information that would be used to support a study evaluating the effects that “redshirting” would have on academic performance. introduction sports fans across the country are not unfamiliar with the business atmosphere introduced into the world of intercollegiate athletics. whether it is evident in the college football bowl series where major corporations sponsor each game, or in the large amount of money that the ncaa division i men’s basketball tournament draws, the business that division i college athletics has become raises many questions in regards to the academic stability of the student athletes that participate at that level, as well as the athletic program in general. research shows that participation in extra-curricular activities such as athletics improves student academic performance across the board. so then why do we question the academic performance of student athletes? the point is that student athletes are highly scrutinized individuals on college campuses today, and many times, their behavior in and out of the classroom reflects on the university as a whole. therefore, it 3 should be a priority to evaluate and analyze the academic performance of these high-profile individuals and determine whether or not changes need to be made to the academic standards set forth by each institution and the ncaa. the goal of this paper is to discuss previous literature that questions whether academic performance of the college athlete can be improved, and by what means it can be enhanced. the intent of this paper is to also introduce to the reader the terms of a “redshirt” and an “injury” to enhance the reader’s understanding of the basis of this literature review and the proposed research study that would follow, addressing whether “redshirt” freshman can improve academic performance compared to “true” freshman. what is a “redshirt?” a “redshirt” is defined by the national collegiate athletic association eligibility committee as a student athlete who does not participate in competition in any sport for one complete academic year (august through may). an example of this would be an athlete who qualifies for and attends a four-year college or university and only practices with the team they join, but does not participate in activities against outside competition. because they do not compete in any games outside of intersquad activities, then they still have four complete seasons to participate against outside competition. (ncaa division i manual, 2003) the ncaa considers these types of “redshirts” to be the most common, and typically coaches in the ncaa will use this option if they have too many players at one position or if they decide to keep a specific player based on their talent and ability level. this creates an opportunity for athletes not to be bothered with the hassles of games or traveling, but it allows them to continue to be a part of the team, and maintain the four seasons of eligibility offered to them. medically speaking sports reporters and writers often refer to athletes as being “medically redshirted”. however, the correct term is that the athlete is granted a “medical hardship waiver.” the ncaa eligibility committee defines a “medical hardship waiver” in the following context. each athlete who is considered eligible by the ncaa to participate in a sport has a total of fours year of competition once they enter school. if a student athlete is injured during a season and cannot return to competition, he or she may qualify for another opportunity to use that season of eligibility. to receive this waiver, coaches must submit paperwork at the end of the season to the school and the ncaa; then they must be approved by the eligibility committee in order to retain the extra season of eligibility for the athlete. to be approved by the ncaa committee in any sport, the student athlete cannot participate in more than 20 percent of the team’s scheduled contests for that 4 season (rounded to the next whole number). the injury or illness that causes this “hardship” will also be limited also to occur during the first half of the playing season for that sport, which concludes with the ncaa championship of that sport. another interesting part to this eligibility rule is that if an athlete participates in even one contest during a season, for even the smallest amount of time, then he/she is considered to have participated in a complete varsity season. (ncaa division i manual, 2003) in other words, a student athlete who wants to “medically redshirt” for a season must be injured or incapacitated, and be unable to participate in the first half of the season. they may also not have already participated in more than 20 percent of the team’s scheduled contests. however, if an athlete participates in just one play during a game in one season, then that is considered as participation in a full varsity season. the ncaa does however make occasional exceptions based on case-by-case circumstances, but their stance is very firm on eligibility requirements and rules regarding redshirts, either for academic or medical reasons. in addition, the term “injury” must also be defined prior to the start of this literature review. for the terms of this paper and research study, an injury will be defined as any ailment (injury or illness) that requires some form of care by the sports medicine staff and their associates at the institution and also restricts the student athlete from participating in at least one (1) practice or competition. this injury or illness must be the result of varsity athletic participation, and cannot be the result of activities outside of competitions or practice sessions. this definition is an acceptable one for this study because it incorporates all of the major characteristics of any incident that may prevent an athlete from participating in varsity intercollegiate athletics. villanova university: a case review in the case of villanova university, there are a variety of different procedures that coaches must follow in order to have their student athletes redshirted or placed on a “medical hardship waiver.” villanova university is part of the big east conference, which currently includes 14 member institutions. all varsity sports with the exception of football participate in big east conference sports; it competes in the atlantic 10 football conference. for this reason, there are a number of different procedures that must be adhered to in order for student athletes to be redshirted. the individual schools, acting on the behalf of the ncaa, typically grant the common “redshirt”. on the other hand, “medical hardship waivers” are granted by individual conferences, based on what sports participate in that league. for example, if a villanova coach wants to redshirt a student athlete during a particular season, he must contact the office of compliance and request the “request for student-athlete redshirt” form. the coach fills out the 5 appropriate information on the form and returns it to the office of compliance. if this redshirt request is the most common form of redshirting, then the office of compliance distributes a copy to the appropriate sport administrator, the academic support office, and will also file a copy in the student athlete’s file. because this would be an example of a typical (regular) redshirt, this is the only process that must be followed to redshirt a student athlete. however, in order for medical hardship waivers to be filed, the specific conference must be notified and approve the application for the medical hardship waiver. if the coach requests a medical redshirt on the “request for studentathlete redshirt” form, then each conference office requires a separate form. villanova’s athletic department includes a short note on their application for a redshirt (appendix a), where they state that, “villanova university cannot grant a medical redshirt. all medical redshirts must be approved by the appropriate conference.” however, the following information must also be included with the application to each conference for the medical hardship waiver. the date of injury, nature of injury, and last date of competition for the team’s season must be included on the initial form. along with this information, the form for the specific conference is required, along with appropriate documentation from the athletic trainers, the physician, other medical professionals involved, and the athletic director. for villanova, separate forms for big east athletics and the atlantic 10 football conference are required. these forms, along with villanova’s request form and the appropriate documentation are sent to the conference office, where the medical hardship waiver is either granted or denied by the conference’s eligibility committee. however, as with any process of application, it is imperative that the coaches, athletic trainers, physicians, compliance officials, and athletic directors follow all of the required steps in order for student athletes to be granted a redshirt, in order to gain another season of eligibility. academics: the key to success for years, educators at all levels have examined the effects that cocurricular activities have on academic performance. more often than not, many of these studies focus on the effect that athletic participation has on academic performance. but in order to truly assess the effect that athletics has on academic performance, a more in-depth review of these studies needs to be done. hood et al. (1992) found that in the division i and ii schools included in their study, student athletes and the general population of college students did not match in academic test scores and gpa. they concluded that this might be the result of increased stress and strain placed on the athletic population, as well as the differences in incoming academic scores of both populations. they found that athletes who were provided scholarships at these schools had significantly lower academic test scores 6 when compared to the general population of students at those schools. this is a common factor in most division i and ii programs, where athletes who may not get into a specific school solely on their academic abilities, may be provided the chance to attend that school based on their athletic abilities. in a 2001 study, carodine et al. examined a number of factors that affect a student’s ability to be successful academically while participating in intercollegiate athletics. the study revealed that time commitment, physical stress from athletic participation, a high profile on and off campus, and high expectations from faculty and staff cause tremendous stress and affect a student’s ability to perform at their academic best. other studies have also indicated that the combination of school and sports causes drops in test scores and more importantly, grade point average. these studies indicate that even the academically gifted students, who are also very talented athletically, sometimes have trouble making the transition from high school to college. for example, gerdy states that “even for the academically gifted, the combination of athletics and school work can be extremely stressful and can eventually cause test scores and grade point average to drop significantly.” it is important to remember that the transition from high school to college is a major step in a student’s life, and many aspects of that life change over a very short period of time. this dramatic change from high school to college becomes particularly evident in the student’s academic courses, and as the courses become tougher in college, students must meet the challenges that are presented to them. if they fail to meet those challenges, then scores and grades begin to drop, and they cannot effectively balance the strains of academics and athletics. moreover, in simons and rheenen’s 2000 study, athletic and academic commitment of 200 division i-a athletes at the university of michigan was examined and determined to be a significant negative predictor of grade point average among underclassmen. in their study, simons and rheenen found that 85% of underclassmen (freshman through juniors) felt that commitment played a significant role in how well they did, either in sports or in the classroom. part of their research found that “a stronger commitment to athletics results in a lower gpa than students who committed more to school work during their initial years in college.” simons and rheenen also found that “as students and faculty and staff felt that athletes were placed in a higher profile by the school and their sports, that the athletes showed a significant decrease in their gpas over a number of semesters.” the results of this research study reveal its importance to determining whether there is a relationship between athletics and academics, and what that relationship is. it is important to see that in this study, the results show a significant difference in grade point average when students focus more on athletics than academics. the same would be true if students focused more on academics 7 than athletics. simons and rheenen reached the conclusion that “student athletes at the division i level must meet the challenge and strain caused by increased academic and athletic commitments” and that “noncognitive factors, such as commitment to school or sport plays a significant role in determining how successful students will be academically.” this research is important in supporting the idea of keeping students out of competition during their freshman season in order for them to allow them to focus on academics. this is important because it shows that allowing students to commit more to athletics causes significantly lower grade point averages than those students who commit more to their schoolwork. furthermore, it also concludes that the stress caused by the challenges of division i athletics can also have a significant effect on a student’s athletic performance. therefore, it is important to continue to research the concept of athletic and academic commitment of underclassmen, and more importantly freshman, because it will provide educators, coaches, and athletic administrators with more concrete and updated information on the effectiveness of athletic participation on academic success. the ncaa’s position at the forefront of the argument of the relationship between academics and athletics is the national collegiate athletic association. this organization, which governs its member institutions and provides them with support and guidance, also provides numerous research reports that evaluate topics related to intercollegiate athletics and makes conclusions based on those reports. the ncaa has found, through their own research, that graduation rates of student athletes are improving throughout most colleges and universities across the country. however, while the ncaa continues to raise academic requirements of incoming student athletes, the research on whether or not these increased requirements are effective is yet to be completed. nonetheless, educators and athletic administrators still question whether these academic standards create more academically sound student athletes after they leave college. a major question that is raised is at what cost to a student’s education are athletes who may not normally be admitted to some colleges and universities being allowed to attend these schools based on their athletic abilities. one of the tougher issues that colleges and universities deal with today is the fact that excellent athletes in high school who have a reputation for not being strong academically are admitted to schools in order to boost the performance of certain athletic teams, and the major academic transitions that students have to make in college courses receive no consideration. in his september 2002 article, suggs states “members of congress, college professors, and athletes themselves have accused the ncaa and its coaches of exploiting players by bringing them to college with little academic preparation and 8 little chance of success in their courses.” in suggs’ statement, he expresses the fact that student athletes, when making the adjustment from high school to college, have very little background in college academics and are essentially unprepared for the major changes that they have to make when adjusting to the life of an intercollegiate student athlete. the ncaa’s addition of proposition 48 (1988) and proposition 16 (1996) raised the minimum academic standards of incoming student athletes who wished to participate at the division i level. proposition 48 required that schools could not admit students who had lower academic scores than the general population of students at that school, in an attempt to boost athletic performance at the school. students were required to meet specific requirements set by the ncaa in regards to high school gpa and sat or act scores. proposition 16 however, simply raised the standards set by proposition 48, increasing the gpa and scores required of freshmen who attempted to enter schools on athletic scholarship money. with the addition of these bylaws, the ncaa limited the type of students that were allowed to attend division i-a and i-aa schools and participate in intercollegiate athletics. ultimately though, student athletes who wish to participate in levels of college athletics that allow scholarships must enroll in the national collegiate athletic association’s clearinghouse which monitors and disseminates a student’s academic information obtained in high school to colleges and universities that the student wishes to attend, or is recruited to attend. the clearinghouse’s importance in the role of college athletics is that it provides schools with all of the information necessary for the student’s admission to the university that they choose to attend. it also provides a “safety net” for schools in that it eliminates students who do not have a strong academic background from attempting to enroll in schools with high standards for academics and athletics. in cases where scholarships are at stake, schools use the information from the clearinghouse to determine whether it will be worth the school’s money to allow the student the attend that particular institution. ultimately, the ncaa plays an important role in setting the academic standards that students and institutions must abide by in order to remain in compliance with ncaa bylaws. in order to gain a better understanding of the important relationship between academics and athletics, the ncaa continues to improve and adjust their bylaws in order to support the reason why students attend college; to learn the skills necessary and earn a degree in their chosen career field. the provision of intercollegiate athletics by the ncaa offers students a chance to enhance their academic endeavors through participation in co-curricular activities. athletics provides for a sense of teamwork, good work ethic, and a sense of community, which all are necessary qualities that an individual will need to possess in the real world. therefore, it continues to be an important goal of the 9 ncaa to evaluate and research the role of academics and athletics in colleges and universities across the country. the level of competition in a 1986 issue of the national academic advising association’s (nacada) monthly journal, thomas grites, director of academic advising, and larry james, director of athletics and recreation of stockton state college (now called richard stockton college of new jersey) presented an article that discussed the various levels of competition within the ncaa, more particularly, the lowest level of sanctioned ncaa competition, division iii. grites and james discussed the issues regarding academic advising and performance in regards to comparing division i and division iii athletes. grites and james explain that “nonscholarship athletes of division iii face daily practice schedules, are required to learn athletic-related information, and often are away from campus just as much as division i and ii athletes.” (grites and james, 1986). their point in this article is to show that there is little difference when it comes to comparing the activities that student athletes participate in at various levels of ncaa competition. grites and james also believe that “in contrast to the scholarship-athlete, [division iii athletes] are purely self-motivated to participate. they are not obligated to do so, and they can quit at any time with no penalty.” furthermore, they state, “the division iii student athlete is an unusual student and athlete because [they] choose to sacrifice a portion of academic time to compete in athletics for the good of the sport” (grites and james, 1986). the point behind this article is to express that while there may be similarities in student athletes at all levels, the major differences separating division i and iii athletes is that students at the division iii level play for the “love of the game”, and not for scholarship money or revenue. at both levels, however, academics are still an important aspect and therefore must be monitored. another point that they make in their statement is that while the stress levels of student athletes are very similar to that of the scholarship athlete, the added factor of a business-like atmosphere in division i and ii athletics places more stress on the scholarship athlete to perform better and draw more money and support to the athletic department than those athletes who participate for the love of the game. as far as the national collegiate athletic association is concerned however, even though there are similarities to the varying levels of competition, there are major differences between the scholarship athletes of division i and ii and the student athletes of division iii. for example, as the dissemination of scholarships for athletic participation increases at the division i and ii levels, the only scholarships provided in division iii are for academic reasons, and occasionally this causes a problem for athletes who accept major academic 10 scholarships in division iii, but who also participate and perform extremely well in a major sport at that school. there are even more differences among the varying levels of competition within the ncaa. for example, recruiting at the division i and iii levels are extremely different and sometimes can make a difference in what school the athlete chooses to attend. with the added attraction of increased media exposure at the higher levels, some athletes may choose to attend a school (but not necessarily be on scholarship) where they could be recognized by professional scouts and national media. other differences between the various levels in the ncaa include things such as recruiting visits. while most, if not all division i schools offer recruiting visits to potential student athletes, some division iii schools may not have the budget or the personnel to attract potential student athletes through recruit visits, or they may do so in some other fashion. another main attraction, as mentioned before, is the draw of competition and exposure. some athletes are drawn to the idea that an increased media exposure at the division i level will increase their potential to play beyond college. this is not always true, and for the most part, athletes at the division iii level are not interested in increased exposure in the media; they are more interested in continuing to play because they enjoy it and it provides for increased extracurricular activity in college. the introduction of title ix in 1972, which called for equality among men’s and women’s sports, caused many schools to drop or add sports programs to be within ncaa compliance guidelines. basically, this meant that schools needed to provide equal opportunities for men and women to participate in intercollegiate athletics, regardless of the level of competition. this piece of legislation caused much debate among athletes, coaches, and administrators, some who believed that title ix caused even more problems as far as scholarship money allotment and equality in playing facilities. title ix’s goal was to provide for equality in sports, and for that reason, the distribution of scholarship money had to be adjusted to enforce that equality. in any case, it is common practice in many schools to provide an equal number of scholarships in male and female sports. for example, in a school such as villanova, the football team has a total of 65 scholarships to offer its players. the women and men’s basketball teams each offer a total of 15 scholarships for all of their players. because the total between men’s basketball and football (tier i sports) equals 80, it is required that the athletic department offer a total of 80 scholarships to the tier ii sports, which include sports such as women’s field hockey, women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, women’s cross country, and softball. there is also a limited amount of scholarship money offered to men’s sports such as soccer, baseball, and lacrosse, but primarily scholarships 11 offers go to the female sports so that the school can remain in compliance with title ix and the ncaa. it is obvious that the differences among division i and iii schools could cause a potential student athlete to run into some tough decisions when choosing a college or university. however, when a student chooses to attend a school that provides athletes with scholarship money and an increased exposure in the media, the student must be aware of the differences and the expectations at the higher level, both from an academic and athletic standpoint. predicting and improving academic performance in the field of education, teachers, professors, and other academic leaders are always in pursuit of better ways to promote and improve education for their students. this becomes more evident in precollegiate schools, where educators attempt to find ways to make their students excel as individuals. in the college setting however, there is an added twist to the idea of improving a students’ academic abilities. for those students that choose to participate in intercollegiate athletics, it becomes much harder for them to focus on these two major aspects of their lives and balance them equally. simons and rheenen (2000) discuss that “when individuals are expected to fill multiple roles, they can experience role strain in which commitment to one role detracts from the commitment to another.” in that case, we see that the stress of athletic participation may cause students to lose focus and control over their academic lives, and eventually become stressed to a point where they are choosing one role over another. the question then becomes, how can leaders, academic advisors, coaches, and administrators predict and provide ideas for improvement in academic performance. walter et al. (1987) states that previous literature suggests that “limiting admission to high profile athletic institutions to students with higher sat and grade point averages would be beneficial in that it would create more academically sound athletes.” however, walter argues that limiting admission to only those students would reject approximately “60% blacks and 18% of nonblacks.” with this type of limitation, the result would be that more institutions would become so academically talented, that the athletic programs would become less successful, and ultimately, people would lose interest in collegiate sports. the study by walter focused on measuring incoming high school grade point averages of students to determine whether or not these students would be successful in the collegiate setting. the focus of their study was to determine if grade point average and sat score, along with high school class rank, could be considered as predictors of academic performance in college. the results of the study revealed that in fact, high school grade point average could be considered as a noncognitive variable in predicting the success of male student athletes in college. their 12 conclusion suggested that as an alternative, future educators and academic advisors should consider “the process of education in colleges”, and how that can change in order to provide for better student athlete success in the classroom. more importantly, walter et al. suggested “the provision of academic support programs for entering students allows administrators to influence student success [in the classroom].” the provision of academic support programs in collegiate athletic programs at that time (1987) were few and far between, but the importance of this study moved educators to rethink their approach to education and athletics, and the introduction of strong academic support programs at colleges and universities across the country began. this was also an important study because it exposed the thought of using grade point average as a predictor of student success in college. in 2000, garrett published an article that compared traditional measures, noncognitive variables, and sports participation in predicting academic success for male student athletes. as part of his research, he discussed ryan’s article (1989), which found that athletic participation provided a positive impact on the development of leadership and interpersonal skills for student athletes. however, he also discussed an article by hood, craig, and ferguson (1992), who found that students who begin their college careers with typically low academic scores are more likely to have difficulty succeeding in college without some sort of academic assistance. additionally, pascarella et al. (1995) found that when comparing athletes to non-athletes in particular schools, that the athletes had significantly lower scores in reading comprehension and mathematical skills at the end of their freshman year. the ultimate question that garrett raises in his research is what are the true predictors of academic success in student athletes. particularly, his goal was “to determine whether or not the type of sport an athlete participates in is a predictor of academic success.” he found that while sport type did not have an effect on academic success rates, other variables might play a more important role in providing for the best possible academic situation for any student athlete. garrett suggests that focusing on ways to boost a student’s confidence in their academic ability will improve academic performance. he also suggests meetings and workshops that develop study skills and strategies necessary for college level classes in order for the student athlete to make an easier transition from high school to college life. the main point that garrett makes note of is the importance of “working with student athletes” to improve their college experience in and out of the classroom. as educators, it is important for us to realize that students should be our first priority, and that our goal should be to see every student succeed. in order for that happen, garrett believes that individualized attention to a student’s needs in regards to academic support is vital to the success of any student, whether they are an athlete or not. 13 simons and rheenen (2000) make an interesting point in their discussion of the variables that affect a student athlete’s performance in the classroom. “because the ‘dumb jock’ stereotype remains prevalent, student athletes are often not seen as serious students. consequently, faculty may have lowered expectations of them…[which] makes it easier for many students to prioritize athletics above academics.” this is true in many colleges and universities across the country, and more importantly, at larger institutions where athletics is an extremely major part of campus life. regardless of gender, student athletes are seen as the jocks of the school, and because of the stereotype, they lower themselves to a level that is expected of them by other students, faculty, and their peers. as a solution to this problem, simons and rheenen’s study examined some other noncognitive variables including motivation, exploitation, commitment, social status, selfhandicapping excuses, and the relationships between academics and athletics. they found that there was strong correlation between grade point average and commitment and exploitation. they found that student athletes with stronger commitments to athletics, along with those athletes who felt they were more exploited by the university had significantly lower grade point averages than those students who focused more on academics than on athletics. as before, simons and rheenen believe that student athletes, when making the transition to any collegiate athletic programs, “must meet the challenge of potential role strain by expanding the time and mental energy devoted to academics.” simons and rheenen suggest that using “academics and athletics to complement and reinforce each other” is an important concept for student athletes and educators to understand and use in order to improve the student’s academic abilities, while continuing to participate in these high profile and demanding athletic programs. the better freshman year speaking from experience, the first semester, and more often, the entire first year of college is an extremely stressful period for any student, and with a life full of changes, this combination can adversely affect both academic and athletic performance. as mentioned before, pascarella et al. (1995) found that freshman athletes and non-athletes had significantly different scores in reading comprehension and math skills, with student athletes scoring lower in both areas. even though they do not give specific reasons, the reader assumes that one reason for this difference is an increased commitment to athletics rather than academics. additionally, gerdy (1998) states that “exposing a 17 or 18 year old to the highpressure, high-visibility world of major college athletics while expecting that youngster to adjust to college both socially and academically” is not only denying these students the ability to enjoy their very first college experience, but it also denies them the chance to focus on the reason why they are in college, to learn 14 skills that will be vital to them in their future careers. gerdy also argues that “ providing freshman the chance to get their feet on the ground academically and socially and to fully sample the broad range of activities and opportunities that a college campus offers will go a long way toward ensuring that institutions are meeting their end of this fundamental obligation.” gerdy’s position in terms of a student’s activity level during their freshman year is that they should have the chance to focus on the reason why people go to college in the first place; to experience a variety of activities that help to develop character and build interpersonal relationships and skills (as ryan stated in an earlier article), rather than have to experience the pressure of being exploited by the school in highly visible, high pressure intercollegiate athletics. in the handbook of counseling psychology, russell and petrie discuss a number of factors that affect a student’s transition academically to college. they discuss factors such as campus environment, academic motivation, and commitment to academics as major factors that play a role in a student’s adjustment to college academics. for example, russell and petrie state “several researchers have noted that social and environmental factors appear to play an important role in a student’s academic adjustment and success.” russell and petrie’s explanation (through previous research) of the role of social and environmental factors in a student’s academic success suggests that if a young student athlete participates in co-curricular activities such as athletics, that they would be more successful than students who chose not to participate in any cocurricular activities. russell and petrie also suggest that providing strong peer communities for young college students can be extremely valuable in helping those individuals become more easily adjusted to the stressful life of a college student, both academically and athletically. bringing it all together ultimately, it is important to remember that the reason young people choose to go to college is to obtain an education and to develop skills for a future career. providing activities like intercollegiate athletics, intramurals, and other cocurricular activities allows students to enhance and expand their educational and social experiences in college. however, one must understand that in a college setting, academics must be the first priority in any student’s life, regardless of whether or not they participate in co-curricular activities like intercollegiate athletics. therefore, it is critical to examine whether giving student athletes the opportunity to focus on education rather than athletics is effective in improving their academic performance. by not giving students that chance to focus on their academics during their first year, athletic departments and other school officials defeat the purpose of using intercollegiate athletics to enhance the campus life of 15 their student athletes. by examining this issue then, schools across the country and throughout the membership of the ncaa will be able to improve academic standards and create a more collaborative effort between academics and athletics in division i institutions. 16 works cited carodine, k., almond, k., & gratto, k. (2001). college student athletes success both in and out of the classroom. new directions for student services, 93, 19-33. gerdy, j. (1996). time-out for freshman eligibility. the college board review, 179, 20-23,27. grites, t.j., & james, g.l. (1986). division iii – another ballgame. nacada journal, 3, 2326. hood, a., craig, a., & ferguson, b. (1992). the impact of athletics, part-time employment, and other activities on academic achievement. journal of college student development, 33, 447-453. national collegiate athletic association. (1996-2001). a longitudinal analysis of ncaa division i graduation rates data. indianapolis, in: ncaa research. national collegiate athletic association. (1999-2002). academic characteristics of the 1997 and 1998 prospective student-athlete cohorts in the ncaa initial eligibility clearinghouse. indianapolis, in: ncaa research. national collegiate athletic association. (2003). ncaa division i manual. indianapolis, in: ncaa eligibility committee. pascarella, e., bohr, l., nora, a., & terenzini, p. (1995). intercollegiate athletic participation and freshman year cognitive structures. journal of higher education, 66(4), 369-387. pascarella, e., edison, m., hagedorn, l., nora, a., & terenzini, p. (1995). influences on internal locus of attribution for academic success in the first year of college. national study of student learning, 3-7,21-24. retrieved september 15, 2003, from educational resources information center (eric) database (r117g10037). russell, r. & petrie, t. (1992). academic adjustment of college students: assessment and counseling. in s. brown and r lent (eds.), handbook of counseling psychology (pp. 485-499). new york: john wiley & sons, inc. ryan, f. (1989). participation in intercollegiate athletics: affective outcomes. journal of college student development, 30, 122-128. sedlacek, w. adams-gaston, j. (1992). predicting the academic success of student-athletes using sat and noncognitive variables. journal of counseling and development, 70, 724-727. shulman, j.l., & bowen, w.g. (2001). the game of life: college sports and educational values. princeton university press: princeton, new jersey. 17 simons, h., & van rheenen, d. (2000). noncognitive predictors of student athletes’ academic performance. journal of college reading and learning, 30(2), 167-181. suggs, w. (2003, september 12). athletes’ graduation rates sets a record. the chronicle of higher education, pp. a35-a36. in the condition of the working class in england, fredrick engels asserts that english industrialization disrupted a harmony that had previously occupied the homes of peasants enmeshed within feudal systems “salvation in a false direction”: how domestic materiality in two literary case studies reconfigures the victorian family laura defurio english setting the scene: marx and engels explore the family in a capitalist economy in the condition of the working class in england, friedrich engels asserts that english industrialization has disrupted a harmony that had previously occupied the homes of the peasants enmeshed within feudal systems. engels’ yearning for a peaceful home life imitates rousseau’s desire to reinstate the self-sufficiency and freedom that was present when men lived in the state of nature. engels demonstrates his affinity for principles articulated in the social contract and the discourse on the origin of inequality when he observes that the members of these agricultural households “were comfortable in their silent vegetation”1 (17). later2, marx will dismiss the desire for “the isolated hunter or fisherman” and will argue that “robinsonades”, amongst whom engels must be included, misinterpret the figure of the natural, solitary producer3 (introduction 124). instead, marx believes 1 rousseau asserts that in the ‘state of nature’ men are “tranquil and innocent” (inequality 45). engels’ reference to “silent vegetation” gestures to rousseau’s savage who “agitated by nothing, is given over to the single feeling of his own present existence, without any idea of the future, however, near it may be, and his projects, as limited as his views hardly extend to he end of the day” (inequality 46). 2 engels composed the condition of the working class in england from september 1844 to march 1845. marx and engels wrote the german ideology together between september 1845 and summer 1846 (preface 1). 3 the degree to which rousseau proposes a return to ‘the state of nature’ is a controversial subject. for a full description of this critical landscape, see allessandro ferrara’s modernity and authenticity: a study of the social and ethical thought of jean-jacques rousseau. state university of new york press, 1993, p. 30-39. for the purposes of this paper, it is sufficient to understand that marx is critical of those social theorists who idealize a ‘natural man’ functioning outside of competitive systems. instead, marx contends that the purpose of rousseau’s the social contract is to demonstrate how inequality amongst individuals in a social group arises out of methods of production and the security of property. laura defurio that rousseau anticipated the “ ‘bourgeois society’, which began to evolve in the sixteenth century and in the eighteenth century made giant strides towards maturity”’ in the political theory that proposes an alternative social order to combat the disruptive effects of competition (introduction 124). marx chides social historians of the 18th century who largely saw the individual “as an ideal whose existence belongs to the past” where marx understands the individual as “a product of the dissolution of feudal society” (introduction 124). marx believes that any idealization of an isolated family unit errs for a number of reasons. first, isolation at this stage of social development would only occur when a member of a civilization is cast out of their community. second, the romanticization of isolation violates the aristotelian principle4 that man is by nature a social animal. finally, man can only “individualise himself only within society” and, for that reason, he thrives in community (introduction 125). in light of marx’s criticism, engels’ romanticization of the isolated family unit within the feudal system must be reexamined to determine whether their “material position was far better than that of their successors” (engels 16). it will be the goal of this paper to determine the degree to which shifting materiality in the market and in the home governs the future of the victorian family. in his representation of the peaceful feudal homestead, engels idealizes the sedentary occupations of the women who work within the home: “before the introduction of machinery, the spinning and weaving of raw materials was carried on in the working man’ home. wife and daughter spun the yarn that the father wove or that they sold” (engels 15). he also claims that the men of this earlier age were entirely virtuous because there were no temptations to lure them away from the household. engels speculates that these “good husbands and fathers…had no temptation to be immoral, there being no gin palaces or low houses in their vicinity” (engels 16). engels attributes the harmony of the household to the fact that they “had their children the whole day at home, and brought them up in obedience and the fear of god; the patriarchal relationship remained undisturbed” (engels 17). for engels, familial dissonance is acted out as members of household leave the enclosed unit. engels argues that the feudal system began the process of commodification by transforming members of the working class into transferable external objects devoid of independent facilities: they were not human being; they were merely toiling machines in the service of the few aristocrats who had guided history down to that time. the industrial revolution has simply carried this out to its 4 see aristotle’s politics book 1, ch.2 (1253a2). 2 “salvation in the wrong direction” logical end by making the workers machines pure and simple, taking from them the last trace of independent activity, and so forcing them to think and demand a position worthy of men. (engels 17) engels’ terminology that depicts the worker as a reified machine correlates with the theory of working class commodification which marx had formulated a year earlier. published in the economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844, this theory would fundamentally alter the eco-political landscape: “production does not simply produce man as a commodity, the human commodity, man in the role of commodity; it produces him in keeping with this role as a mentally and physically dehumanized being” (economic 121). departing from engels, marx claims that the roots of commodification are located in the divisions of labor that naturally manifest amongst the members of a family. marx states: within a family and, after further development, within a tribe, there springs up naturally a division of labour caused by differences of sex and age, and therefore based on a purely physiological foundation. more material for this division of labour is then provided by the expansion of the community, the increase of its population and, in particular, conflicts between the different tribes and the subjugation of one tribe by another (capital 471). in this passage, marx locates the cause and order of a system of commodities not in the nascent forms of capitalism, such as feudalism, but in the organic hierarchy of the family. for marx, the “distribution of labor within the family and the labortime expended by the individual members of the family, are regulated by differences of sex and age” (capital 171). for both engels and marx, it is both natural and necessary for successful rural production to designate tasks as masculine or feminine. marx describes the designation of gendered labor: the different kinds of labor which create these products – such as tilling the fields, tending the cattle, spinning, weaving and making clothes – are already in their natural form social functions; for they are functions of the family, which, just as much as a society based on commodity production, possess its own spontaneously developed division of labor. (capital 171) when the members of the family leave the self-contained unit and enter the production-based society, the individuals suffer commodification and, as a result, the relations amongst family member are abnormally altered. marx suggests that 3 laura defurio this corruption is the result of the invasion of the “fantastical forms” of labor and fictitious value allocation (capital 165). marx defines “fetishism” as the interjection of social relations, the determining factor in value appraisal, in a “world of commodities” (capital 165). this formal transformation of commodified bodies occurs when the value of the object is no longer material but only a function of the social circumstance. finally, social relations of material objects become the center of value determination instead of their physical nature: “the commodity reflects the social characteristics of men’s own labor as objective characteristics of the products of labor themselves” and has “absolutely no connection with the physical nature of the commodity and the material relations arising out of this” (capital 164-165). in the article “reading capital with little nell”, matthew rowlinson notes that both marx’s description of commodification and the easy compliance of materiality in a market of exchange are plainly gendered. rowlinson suggests that marx’s allegory for the exchange of commodities includes a doubled passivity (375). first, marx asserts that the commodity can offer no resistance to its owner and, second, marx likens this weakness of the commodity to a woman’s inability to reject a man’s sexual advances. marx describes this gendered commodity: commodities cannot themselves go to market and perform exchanges in their own right. we must, therefore, have recourse to their guardians, who are the possessors of commodities. commodities are things, and therefore lack the power to resist man. if they are unwilling, he can use force; in other words, he can take possession of them. (capital 178) marx’s footnote fully explicates the gendered process of this exchange when he situates the literal market in a real location that the allegory takes as its model: in the twelfth century, so renowned for its piety, very delicate things often appear among these commodities. a french poet of the period enumerates among the commodities to be found in the fair of lendit, alongside clothing, shoes, leather, implements of cultivation, skins, etc., also “femmes folles de leur corps” (capital 178 n. 1). if a commodified body entering the market becomes essentially feminized by this exchange, then, by extension, the working man will also suffer a feminization. engels names the ‘unnatural femininity’ of a commodified husband and the disruption of the ‘natural’ labor distribution as the cause of familial dissonance in a capitalist system. 4 “salvation in the wrong direction” not only does the man suffer a castration in the market, the women finds herself effectively ‘raped’ by the owner of her commodified body. engels acknowledges these pseudo-sexual violations when he describes the departure of the newly fetishized state of the household from traditional gender roles: “this condition…unsexes the man and takes from the woman all womanliness without being able to bestow upon the man true womanliness, or the woman true manliness – this condition […] degrades, in the most shameful way, both sexes, and, through them, humanity…” (155). after the husband and wife submit to acts of economic and material violence (which, for marx, are synonymous), the unified household of the feudal system is replaced by a deviant familial hierarchy. engels explicitly names english women as the cause of the disruption within the domestic sphere because, once commodified, they alter the configuration of the family unit. he claims that “the employment of the wife dissolves the family utterly” (154). for engels, the estrangement of the wife from the family is the most damaging consequence of industrialization because when “the wife supports the family, the husband sits at home, tends the children, sweeps the room and cooks” (engels 154). engels invests all his sympathy with the husband who “cannot escape from the family, must live in the family, and the consequence is a perpetual succession of family troubles, domestic quarrels, most demoralizing for parents and children alike” and, and in the same breath, engels chastises the victorian wife for her absence. after repeatedly bolstering all the traditional notions of gender roles, engels unexpectedly overturns them. assuming that london is the culmination of any economic system and culture because it is so ‘prosperous’5, engels makes a reductio argument to show that the family has been unnaturally unified since the advent of feudalism. he suggests that, if the family, the fundamental unit of a civilization, is corrupted in the height of economic ‘prosperity’ then “we must admit that human society has hitherto sought salvation in a false direction; we must admit that so total a reversal of the position of the sexes can have come to pass only because the sexes have been placed in a false position from the beginning” (156). engels concludes that the flaw in the earliest family hierarchy is the unifying principle of private interest. in other words, because the family comes together not out of an instinctive affection but simply as a “community of possessions”, its flaws are most clearly evidenced when the family is in its final state (engels 156). it is important to note that this line of reasoning does not necessarily expose the patriarch as a false sovereign. engels reasons: 5 engels intends this statement to be taken ironically insofar as capitalism evaluates its own success by fantastically artificial systems of exchange 5 laura defurio if the wife can now base her supremacy upon the fact that she supplies the greater part, nay, the whole of the common possession, the necessary inference is that this community of possession is no true and rational one, since one member of the family boasts offensively of contributing the greater share (156). here, engels simply asserts that the authority of the father must be based upon his masculine sovereignty, endowed to him by nature, and that the capitalist society mistakenly understands the father’s authority in the family to derive from his role as material provider. then for engels, the peaceful familial hierarchy will be reinstated and the father will resume his reign when the unnatural role of ‘the provider’ is removed. engels suggests that the false premise of ‘the provider’ will be abandoned after the government that subsidizes capitalism is overthrown. this paper will demonstrate from a brief survey of victorian social polemics and literary trends that the myth of the masculine provider is overturned within a capitalist system as women enter the workforce. violence and turmoil in the home and in the market accompanied this transition. engels relates the story of the father who is forced to care for the household while his wife is in the workforce: ‘…there sat poor jack near the fire, and what did he, thing you? why he sat and mended his wife’s stockings with the bodkin; and as soon as he saw his old friend at the doorpost, he tried to hide them. but joe, that is my friend’s name, had seen it, and said: ‘jack, what the devil art thou doing? where is the missus? why, is that thy work?’ and poor jack was ashamed… (jack said) ‘now the world is upside down. mary has to work and i have to stop at home, mind the childer, seep and wash, bake and mend; and when the poor woman comes home at night, she is knocked up. thou knows, joe, it’s hard for one that was used to different.’ (155) the worker attributes his suffering to an ‘upside down world’ and reflects that his pain is intensified because the familial hierarchy has been upended when he ‘was used to different’. jack laments the gender reversal and the lack of employment for men but at no time in this passage does he express indignation about being denied his ‘natural’ right to provide. engels wrongly credits the notion of a provider as the cause of this epistemic despondency when instead the disruption in the victorian worker-family is caused by ideological violence that accompanies the death of the gendered provider. the remainder of this paper will examine two literary representations of the newly forged female provider and will also explore 6 “salvation in the wrong direction” the tensions that developed as people were forced to discredit gender-specific labor. i employ two literary case studies to document how two women, charles dicken’s nancy and elizabeth gaskell’s margaret hale, escape commodification by asserting their materiality in a capitalist economy. dicken’s nancy: materiality as a means of emancipation in a commodified market during the industrial revolution, tensions in the market and the family manifested themselves in two distinct manners; they either encouraged a propensity for violence or they idealized a return to the ‘natural’ order of the family. dickens is a useful representative of the times because he has made use of both stratagems in order to discredit the altered domestic hierarchy. in oliver twist, dickens embodied the violence of familial disorder and romanticization of the ‘natural’ family within the figure of nancy. murder is one of the most extreme consequences of domestic disorder but one example that is often cited by social reformers during the victorian period6. the figure of the sexually indiscriminate 6 in his reform polemic, in darkest england: the way out, general william booth offers this report of a domestic murder/suicide to demonstrate the “social condition of the sunken millions”: “but how much more terrible must it be for the married man with his wife and children to be turned out into the streets. […] now and then out of the depths there sounds a bitter wail as of some strong swimmer in his agony as he is drawn under by the current. a short time ago a respectable man, a chemist in holloway, fifty years of age, driven hard to the wall, tried to end it all by cutting his throat. his wife also cut her throat, and at the same time they gave strychnine to their only child. the effort failed, and they were placed on trial for attempted murder” (41). henry mayhew provides this gruesome account of a homicidal wife and husband in his meticulously transcribed encyclopedia of working-class occupations, london labour and the london poor, in order to demonstrate the effects of dissolute living situations on the city’s working children: “ ‘on friday, 31st may, 1816, william moles and sarah his wife, were tried at the old bailey for the wilful murder of john hewley, alias haseley, a boy about six years of age, in the month of april last, by cruelly beating him. under the direction of the learned judge, they were acquitted of the crime of murder, but the husband was detained to take his trial as for a misdemeanor, of which he was convicted upon the fullest evidence, and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. the facts, as proved in this case, are too shocking in detail to relate: the substance of them is, that he was forced up the chimney on the shoulder of a bigger boy, and afterwards violently pulled down again by the leg and dashed upon a marble hearth; his leg was thus broken, and death ensued in a few hours, and on his body and knees were found scars arising from wounds of a much older date.’ this long-continued system of cruelties, of violations of public and private duties, bore and ripened its natural fruits. the climbing boys grew up to be unhealthy, vicious, ignorant, and idle men…” (398). 7 laura defurio woman who is violently murdered by her partner is the site of a great number of didactic appeals for chastity and temperance7. while this tragic figure is constructed with the intention of instruction, the authors of fictional episodes feel compelled to destroy these errant female characters (wives and single women alike) for many reasons. a victorian author attempting to provide moral correction might be motivated to commit literary murder because female characters have been sexually contaminated by their professions or living situations. nancy’s profession is never made explicit but is truly palpable within the force of the narrative. she and her companion bet are initially described with language that falls just short of unequivocally calling them painted prostitutes, and their physical description serves to make them a cipher for all women of their profession: they wore a good deal of hair: not very neatly turned up behind; and were rather untidy about the shoes and stockings. they were not exactly pretty, perhaps; but they had a great deal of colour in their faces; and looked quite stout and hearty. being remarkably free and agreeable in their manners, oliver thought them very nice girls indeed. (dickens 68) dickens reserves beauty for women of a certain class (his rose maylies) so that this aesthetic may be fundamentally associated with sexual purity or women (like agnes, oliver’s deceased mother) who repent of their sexual proclivities. dickens’ prostitutes are allowed freedom which deprives them of social propriety but grants them a sort of mobility that is not accessible to dickens’ beautiful figures of femininity. because nancy’s mobility places her within the market of exchange, dickens is further compelled to destroy his construction of the licentious woman. marlene tromp, citing rowlinson, suggests that nancy elicits the violence because she is a commodified body that is excessively material: “we must read nancy’s excessive materiality and her role in a series of economic exchanges as evidence of another form of the manifest historically situated tensions rowlinson sees…nancy secures the economic exchange, serving as the material conduit, the body that bears the 7 beth kalikoff examines how street literature of the period romanticized the gallows and exposed the ‘skeleton in every house’ (78) which threatened political and domestic stability. for the intersections of sensationalism and the yearning for public displays of justice, see murder and moral decay in victorian popular literature. ann arbor, mich.: umi research press, 1986, p 61-79. upending this gendered binary of aggressor and victim, mary s. hartman’s offers a biographic report of ‘middleclass murderesses’, the social triggers that motivated their acts of violence, and the public response to their trials. see victorian murderesses. new york : schocken books, 1977. 8 “salvation in the wrong direction” violence of the exchange” (43). the greatest piece of evidence tromp offers for nancy’s materiality and her “capacity [for] physical damage that rose transcends in her angelic demeanor” is the graphic nature of nancy’s murder (33). following this argument, dickens’ fascination with brutality that is injures his morally deficient characters seems to assign these characters a weighty corporality associated with sinfulness and corruption. then, nancy’s sinfulness and corporality make her body a fitting site for material exchange. i believe that an alternate account of nancy’s physical person and gradual materiality may be offered that is more in keeping with dickens’ narrative and will consistently position nancy’s body within the market. many critics8 have commented on the victorian tendency to present women of the upper and middleclass as disembodied occupants of the domestic realm. engels and marx, on the other hand, would argue that all women of this period are essentially bodiless and, because of their status as commodities, they have been separated from their natural materiality in order to function in markets of exchange. if it is true that women of all levels of society were similarly commodified, it matters little whether they operated as commodities in the market of ‘dignified’ marriage or the market of prostitution. in both instances, the presence of private property contaminates sexual and political unions. turning back to dickens, nancy’s presence in the market compels her to submit to the disembodiment. as a commodity, nancy cannot resist the whims of her owner and pimp, bill sikes, who forces her into the market of sexual exchange. tromp argues that nancy becomes a site of exchange in her meeting with mr. brownlow and rose and, further, her materiality is exaggerated when bill sikes physically restrains her (35). therefore, if nancy has already been introduced into the market of prostitution by sikes, her meeting with brownlow and rose only reiterates her disembodied condition. it seems more plausible that, in this episode, nancy attempts to reclaim her materiality and to embody herself with the market of her choice. while struggling with her decision to help oliver, nancy’s body is alternately represented as diminished or unnaturally robust because, attempting to leave the market of exchange that sikes’ governs, she oscillates between states of material presence and disembodiment: 8 the term “angel in the house” was coined by coventry patmore with his 1855 lyric poem of the same name. for a description of the critical work that concerns the intersection of economy and the domestic angel, see tromp 27-28 and 34-35. nina auerbach convincingly demonstrates the difficulty that arises when the gendered title of ‘domestic angel’ is applied to dramatically different victorian characters. see p. 63-108 of woman and the demon. cambridge: harvard up, 1982. 9 laura defurio she was resolved. though all her mental struggles terminated in this conclusion, they forced themselves upon her, again and again, and left their traces too. she grew pale and thin, even within a few days. at times she took no heed of what was passing before her; or no part in the conversations where once she would have been the loudest. at other times, she laughed without merriment, and was noisy without cause or meaning. (dickens 358) when the time for the meeting arrives, nancy is initially incorporeal but, as she begins to act independently of sikes, she asserts her material presence: ‘hallo!’ cried sikes. ‘nance. where’s the gal going to at this time of night?’ ‘not far.’ ‘what answer’s that?’ returned sikes. ‘where are you going?’ ‘i say, not far.’ ‘and i say where?’ retorted sikes. ‘do you hear me?’ ‘i don’t know where,’ replied the girl. ‘then i do,’ said sikes, more in the spirit obstinacy than because he had any real objection to the girl going where she listed. ‘nowhere. sit down.’ ‘i’m not well. i told you that before,’ rejoined the girl. ‘i want a breath of air.’ (dickens 359) in this episode, one can literally trace nancy’s slow materialization as she resists sikes’ attempts to maintain her disembodied state. she begins as a disembodied voice whose place and travels are vague and only negative (‘not far.’). next, she positions herself as a voice but is still only making statements of negation (‘i say, not far.’). nancy is then presented by the narrative as an intellect and a ‘girl’ but, still, she can only allowed to make negative observations and she is not capable of an authoritative voice (‘i don’t know where,’ replied the girl). finally, she achieves physicality when she remarks that her body is ‘not well’. in her final response to sikes’ commands, nancy possesses a voice that occupies time insofar as she refers to her previous statements and, through this temporality, she establishes her materiality. most significantly, she voices desires that are in opposition to those of sikes, who marx would metaphorically designate as ‘the bourgeois capitalist’. marx’s description of the process by which private property is annulled is strikingly similar to the embodiment that nancy’s achieves through her power of speech: “the transcendence of private property is therefore the complete 10 “salvation in the wrong direction” emancipation of all human senses and qualities, but it is this emancipation precisely because these senses and attributes have become, subjectively and objectively, human. the eye has become a human eye, just as its object has become a social, human object” (economic 139). to escape commodification, marx suggests that the worker must make his senses human and, in doing so, claim personhood by means of the body’s material functions. because nancy discovers that reclamation of her senses is the means to her independence, she is able to assert her materiality. the question then arises: why does nancy die such a violent death? nancy’s death is tragic precisely because it follows her triumphant seizure of materiality. after nancy becomes the agent of her own fate and reacquires her material body, nancy finds herself in danger of violent retribution because, by controlling her capital, she threatens sikes’ bourgeois economics. deviating from marx, i would suggest that nancy’s newly-acquired materiality is a positive element of her identity insofar as she functions in the market of information exchange under her own direction. because of her materiality, nancy can be evaluated by real elements of her personhood as opposed to the imaginary denominations assigned within a commodified economy. when she describes the location and countenance of oliver’s kidnapper, nancy liberally offers a lengthy physical description of monks, “the localities of the place [and] the best position from which to watch it without exciting observation” (374). in exchange for oliver’s whereabouts, brownlow offers nancy “quiet asylum […] entirely beyond the reach of you former associates [to] leave as utter an absence of all trace behind you, as if you were to disappear from the earth this moment”. nancy flatly refuses mr. brownlow’s offer of incorporeity and, through her refusal, maintains her material agency9. nancy’s flaw is not, as tromp suggests, “the capacity for physical damage that rose transcends in her angelic demeanor, an attribute linked particularly to her class”10 (33); it is her inability to predict that her newly-acquired materiality would offend sikes’s sense of economy. because nancy has just grasped hold of significant materiality, the reader laments nancy’s decision to return to sikes more than her “moral failings” (tromp 32). the incredibly gruesome murder scene that follows nancy’s reunion with sikes confirms his need to return nancy to the state of a disembodied commodity. the violence that results from nancy’s newfound materiality offers one example of the disruption that may be caused in a household after a woman independently enters 9 brownlow’s offer contains marked similarities with dickens’ “an appeal to fallen women” such as the promise of anonymity and domestic comfort and peace. 10 i do not disagree with tromp when she argues that rose maylie’s purity and incorporeal body protect her from physical violence. see the private rod p. 26-28. 11 laura defurio the market and governs her own exchange. dickens pointedly denies nancy the happy family reunion that he allows olivier. while dickens idealizes the ‘naturally’ ordered family when he leaves oliver “truly happy” surrounded by his family in prayer and “gratitude to that being whose code is mercy, and whose great attribute is benevolence” (438-439), he punishes nancy for upsetting the ‘natural order’ when he leaves her “nearly blinded with the blood rained down from a deep gash in her forehead”, clutching rose maylie’s handkerchief, praying “for mercy to her maker” (383). margaret hale as a masculine provider in elizabeth gaskell’s north and south in many of her industrial novels, elizabeth gaskell demonstrates how the “development of class antagonisms keeps even pace with the development of industry” (manifesto 40) but, here ends gaskell’s resemblance with marx and engels’ communist reform. vehemently opposed to violence, in north and south, gaskell advocates sympathy and promotes “the transformative potential of direct contact between members of different classes” (anderson 108-109). turning now to a heroine of industry, i argue that margaret hale asserts her material presence in the household and reimagines the state of the commodified worker. when mr. hale tells his daughter, margaret, that he has resigned from his ministerial and that their family’s social and financial position is damaged, a notable reversal occurs. margaret becomes the head of household just as her father relinquishes his position as the leader of his parish. mr. hale surrenders his primacy in the home when asks his daughter to: “help me to tell your mother. i think i could do anything but that: the idea of her stress turns me sick with dread” (36). the language that mr. hale employs contextually unsexes him and, like the lamentations of engel’s jack, he speaks “low words of self-reproach and humiliation” (35). mr. hale’s mental exertion is so extreme that it causes him to become ill. a physical ailment that is the direct result of unsettling mental exertion is a weakness predominantly exhibited by women in the novel. both mrs. hale and fanny thorton suffer from fainting spells, combat the vulgarity of capitalism, and scorn the appearance of the factories and workers that sustain their prosperity. in north and south, physical weakness is presented as diametrically opposed to the pursuits of capitalism. margaret undermines her father’s ministerial authority a second time because she displays mental fortitude. margaret assumes her father’s role of provider when she dismisses the mr. hale’s blessings, the substance of their former livelihood: 12 “salvation in the wrong direction” he said solemnly: ‘the blessing of god be upon thee, my child!’ ‘and may he restore you to his church,’ responded she, out of the fullness of her heart. the next moment she feared lest this answer to his blessing might be irreverent, wrong might hurt him as coming from his daughter. (38-39) margaret’s newfound authority does not simply exhibit in communications with her father but is frequently observed by others who interact with her. mr. thornton is taken aback by margaret’s demeanor: “instead of a quiet, middle-aged clergyman, a young lady came forward with frank dignity, a young lady of a different type to most of those he was in the habit of seeing (57-58)”. by vocally and physically appropriating the place of her father in the domestic, margaret asserts her materiality because, like nancy, she achieves the “complete emancipation of all human senses and qualities”, a process that marx contends is necessary to ‘transcend’ the limitations of private property. margaret’s materiality differs from nancy’s because margaret appreciates the powerful agency that is intrinsic to the role of the provider. during a visit from a prominent factory owner, mr. hale suggests that the worker should be dealt with as an adolescent. in opposition to her father, margaret indicts the manufacturer for their doctrine of a necessary hierarchy of classes and, in doing so, gestures to the feudal denial of a natural equality. margaret’s complaints against the ‘manufacturer’ are similar to those that marx and engels’ wield against bourgeois capitalist and, in this episode, margaret proves that she is opposed to commodification of any form: you are a man, dealing with a set of men over whom you have…immense power, just because your lives and welfare are so constantly and intimately interwoven. god has made us so that we must be mutually dependent. we may ignore our own dependence, or refuse to acknowledge that others depend upon us in more respects than the payment of weekly wages; but the thing must be, nevertheless. neither you nor any master can help yourselves. (112) gaskell, by upsetting the hierarchy of father and daughter, masculine and feminine, in favor of such a sympathetic character as margaret, pleads for equality and social justice in the victorian workforce and demonstrates that the plight of the worker in a capitalist economy is not so different from that of a woman in any household. 13 laura defurio conclusion: “salvation in a false direction” as women began to assert their material agency as providers within the home and workers within market, the victorian family was reconfigured and the role of husband and father changed. social reformers no longer sought a means for the working man to “escape from the family” in order to avoid a “perpetual succession of family troubles” (engels 140). instead, reformers like william booth call for a shortening of the working day so that children do not grow up fatherless: “a father who never dandles his child on his knee cannot have a very keen sense of the responsibilities of paternity” (64). the revised notion of femininity gave way to a new sense of fatherhood; one that charged fathers to embody qualities of compassion and mutual sympathy that had been exclusively attributed to the female caregiver. little by little, the plea to reinstate a masculine provider (a role that engels ascribes to the false sovereignty of private interest) is replaced with the desire for natural affection amongst family members and, as women assert their materiality in the market, the family achieves their “salvation in a false direction” (engels 156). 14 “salvation in the wrong direction” works cited aristotle. “politics.” the basic works of aristotle. ed. richard mckeon, new york: random house, 1941. anderson, amanda. tainted souls and painted faces: the rhetoric of fallenness in victorian culture. ithaca: cornell u. p. 1993. arthur, c.j. “editor’s preface.” the german ideology. new york: international publishers, 1970, 1-3. booth, general william. in darkest england and the way out. new york: funk and wagnalls, 1891. dickens, charles. oliver twist. oxford: oxford university press, 1966. engels, friedrich. the condition of the working class in england. oxford: oxford university press, 1993. gaskell, elizabeth. north and south. new york: norton & company, 2005 marx, karl. capital: a critique of political economy. trans. ben fowkes, new york: vintage books, 1977. marx, karl. the communist manifesto. new york: international publishers co., 1948. marx, karl. the economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844. trans. martin milligan, ed. dirk j. struik, new york: international publishers, 1964. marx, karl. “introduction to a critique of political economy.” the german ideology. ed. c.j. arthur, new york: international publishers, 1970, 124151. mayhew, henry. london labour and the london poor. vol. 2. london: griffen, bohn and company, stationer's hall court. 1851. rousseau, jean-jacques. “discourse on the origin of inequality.” the basic political writings. trans. donald a. cress, cambridge: hackett publishing co., 1987, 25-110. rowlinson, matthew. “reading capital with little nell.” the yale journal of criticism. new haven: yale university and the john hopkins university press, 1996, 347-380. tromp, marlene. the private rod: marital violence, sensation, and the law in victorian britain. charlottesville: university press of virginia, 2000. 15 elizabeth crowley john dickinson: the cautious patriot elizabeth crowley history in 1776, rebel agitator john adams called john dickinson a “piddling genius” who gave “a silly cast to our whole doings” at the second continental congress.1 he also claimed dickinson “suffered by the timidity of . . . over grown fortunes.”2 in other words: he was a fool and a coward. adams was wrong. the majority of historians also portray dickinson as the villain of the second continental congress who tried to stop the resolution on independence. they too have unfairly represented dickinson’s character. despite historians’ efforts to affix some sort of ideological label to dickinson, whether conservative or radical,3 it has proven nearly impossible to do so. his life and career seem to defy any sort of category and ultimately it is not important to which end of the political spectrum he belonged. it is more significant that during his career in public office, john dickinson proved, however cautious, to be an ardent defender of american liberties who acted from a genuine desire to protect and strengthen the american colonies. he deserves to be numbered among the patriots of the revolution. during his lifetime, dickinson enjoyed a widespread reputation as a brilliant and fair statesman, ultimately winning the respect of even his opponents. he proved numerous times he was willing to adhere to his principles in the face of rejection and danger to his own security. he enjoyed immense popularity when he protested the taxes imposed by great britain, but found himself reviled when he opposed independence. by focusing on dickinson’s decision against independence in 1776, contemporary historians overlook dickinson’s active role in the political life of the american colonies throughout the revolutionary period from 1764 to 1783. early life and career john dickinson was born in 1732 to wealthy quakers, samuel and mary dickinson in maryland. he left for great britain in1752 and spent three or four years studying law at middle temple. there he learned enlightenment philosophy from some of the best practitioners of law at the time.4 not all of dickinson’s experiences in london were positive and his observations of parliament did not leave him with the 1 john adams, papers of john adams, ed. robert j. taylor (cambridge, ma: the belknap press, 1979), iii: 89. 2 ibid., iii, 56. 3 for the purposes of this paper: a conservative is one who does not want to separate from great britain for any reason and believes that ruling authority belongs to the monarch. a radical is one who desires immediate separation from great britain and believes that power rests with the people. 4 u.s. army center of military history, john dickinson: soldier-statesmen of the constitution, a bicentennial series (washington d.c.: n.p., 1986), page 2 in an unpaginated pamphlet. 2 impression of a virtuous, august body working for the betterment of the british people. as historian john ferling states, dickinson “concluded that the english were an intemperate and immoral people . . . that the political system was hopelessly corrupted, and that the nation was in the hands of diabolical mediocrities.”5 dickinson’s disgust at the workings of the british political system made him highly apprehensive of any increased royal authority in the american colonies. although he wished the british parliament to remain as far removed from the colonies as possible, dickinson still held some respect for british ideals and its protection of the “rights of man.” upon returning to the american colonies, dickinson opened a law practice in delaware and was elected to the local assembly. he inherited a large tract of land in pennsylvania and was subsequently elected to the pennsylvania assembly in 1762. this marked the beginning of his prominent political career. the farmer speaks having just fought the costly french and indian war in the american colonies, the british parliament decided the colonists should pay part of the cost of the war. in 1764, the sugar act became the first of many taxes designed to raise revenue in the colonies for the british government. parliament’s actions outraged the colonists’ sense of their liberties and rights as english citizens. today, it is widely known that boston and new england exploded in angry protest; john dickinson’s response to the taxes is often overlooked. at the time, it would have been impossible to ignore dickinson’s contribution to the outcry against british taxation. dickinson wrote numerous pamphlets protesting the imposition of parliament’s taxes and was popularly known as “the penman of the revolution.”6 his pamphlets, especially “the farmer’s letters to the inhabitants of the british colonies,” were widely circulated among the colonies and earned dickinson the acclaim of even such radicals as samuel adams.7 during the initial protests against british taxation, dickinson was heralded as a great patriot and “the friend of americans, and the common benefactor of mankind.”8 this reputation remained with dickinson until he opposed the declaration of independence in 1776, when many of his fellow americans thought dickinson turned his back on the principles he proclaimed in his pamphlets. this is not true. the ideals and opinions he held when lambasting parliament for its treatment of the colonies were the same standards that led him to oppose independence. john dickinson consistently maintained that the taxes imposed by great britain threatened more than american pocket books. the actual monetary inconveniences of the new taxes were minimal and dickinson was more concerned with the detrimental effects parliament’s acts had on american freedoms. dickinson employed the powerful metaphor of the tree of liberty to drive his argument home, “the question is not ‘whether 5 john ferling, a leap in the dark: the struggle to create the american republic (new york: oxford university press, inc., 2003), 69. 6 u.s. army center of military history. 7 john dickinson, “the farmer’s letters to the inhabitants of the british colonies: preface,” in the political writings of john dickinson, vol.1, 138-39. 8 ibid., 140. 3 some branches shall be lopped off?’ the axe is laid to the root of the tree; and the whole body must infallibly perish, if we remain idle spectators of the work.”9 with these words, dickinson reminded the colonists that all the liberties in their possession were threatened by parliament, but that these freedoms could not be taken without the consent of the colonies. while some colonists were calling for “no taxation without representation,” dickinson went a step further and proclaimed that parliament had no right to tax the colonies under any circumstances. the colonists did not vote for members of the british parliament; therefore, parliament had no authority to tax the colonies. parliament should have no sway over the colonies and the colonies should have no power in britain. over a century of salutary neglect when “no statute was ever passed for the sole purpose of raising a revenue on the colonies” was all the proof dickinson needed that the american colonies had “the indisputable, the acknowledged exclusive right . . . to tax themselves.”10 since the colonies had sovereignty over their own internal affairs, dickinson determined that they also possessed “the same rights, that all free states have, of judging when their privileges are invaded, and of using all prudent measures for preserving them.”11 dickinson had no intention of trusting parliament to remain respectful of american rights and liberties and urged his fellow colonists to persistently defend those rights. dickinson strongly held that the majority in parliament simply did not realize how detrimental the taxes were to the colonies’ liberties and the prosperous trade between the new world and the old. he believed there were only a few repressive ministers in parliament pushing the various taxes forward. the monarch was simply unaware of the transgressions against his loyal subjects in the american colonies: “i do also believe, that not one half of the members of the house of commons, even of those who heard it read, did perceive how destructive it [taxation] was to american freedom.”12 this is a large part of the reason why dickinson insisted on nonviolence and non-separation from great britain. he did not think separation would be necessary, since he was convinced that parliament would be reasonable and repeal the hated acts if the issue was explained to that body. even though dickinson promoted action against the threatening tax acts, he also advised that all protests be cautious and prudent. echoing his earlier declaration made during the royalist government fight in the pennsylvania assembly, dickinson stressed the need for cool consideration before action was taken. to this end, he outlined several means that needed to be employed before resorting to violence. the first measure dickinson proposed was that of writing letters and petitions to king george iii. dickinson distributed over a dozen pamphlets decrying the taxes. dickinson fiercely detested mob violence and cautioned against aggression. he thought it would weaken the colonists’ protests. if the british government saw the colonies as a hotbed of anarchy, it would respond with force to restore order. dickinson thought it important that the colonists present themselves as reasonable and articulate to: 9 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter ix,” 224. 10 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter v,” 183. 11 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter vi,” 202. 12 ibid., 206. 4 . . . prove, that americans have that true magnanimity of soul that can resent injuries, without falling into rage; and that though your devotion to great-britain is the most affectionate, yet you can make proper distinctions, and know what you owe to yourselves, as well as to her -you will, at the same time that you advance your interests, advance your reputation -you will convince the world of the justice of your demands and the purity of your intentions.13 he not only argued for nonviolent means, but also stressed the importance of remaining loyal british subjects. dickinson was adamant that george iii would be pleased by the colonists’ protests: “the british nation . . . must, i am convinced, be better pleased to hear their children speaking the plain language of freemen, than muttering the timid murmurs of slaves.”14 dickinson was prepared systematically to challenge every tax that parliament passed but was not willing to seek separation from the british empire. he wanted it to be, “impossible to determine whether an american's character is most distinguishable, for his loyalty to his sovereign, his duty to his mother country, his love of freedom, or his affection for his native soil.”15 dickinson thought the best way to preserve american rights was to remain within the british empire. while he acknowledged that parliament’s taxes were oppressive and should be challenged, he also envisioned britain as the freest nation in the world and stated: “there is no other people mentioned in history, that i recollect, who have been so constantly watchful of their liberty, and so successful in their struggles for it, as the english.”16 although dickinson adamantly opposed violence and separation, he did include some dire warnings to britain in his writings. he cautioned britain that it would be better to deal with the colonists while they were still reasonable. he stressed that if britain did not take action to correct the oppressive taxes, the colonists might feel forced to address the problem themselves and, “a people does not reform with moderation.”17 even in the 1760’s, dickinson could not completely rule out the possibility of violence and reminded parliament what happened to charles i when that monarch refused to listen to his subjects’ complaints.18 dickinson added strength to his warning by maintaining that: “officers employed by the crown, are, while according to the laws they conduct themselves, intitled to legal obedience and sincere respect,”19 but if the government stepped outside its constitutional bounds then people had the right to protest. some called this rebellion, but dickinson did not agree with that verdict. to him, rebellion was unjustified and illegal; however, protecting one’s rights from destruction by the government was not only legitimate, but noble. in a brilliant stroke, dickinson simultaneously reassured great britain that the colonies would not seek independence and warned it could happen if the taxes were not repealed: “we never can be made an independent people, except it be by great-britain herself; and the only way for her to do it, is to make us frugal, ingenious, united and 13 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter xii,” 282-83. 14 ibid., 120. 15 dickinson, “farmer's letters: letter iii,” 169. 16 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter xi,” 259. 17 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter xi,” 257. 18 ibid., 257-58. 19 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter xii,” 279. 5 discontented.”20 dickinson’s interest in staying with britain was based on his love for the ideals that britain developed over the centuries and those liberties that evolved even further in america. dickinson honestly believed the american colonies would be safer and their rights better protected under british control. in his efforts to guard his rights as an englishmen, dickinson had no intention of appealing only to parliament’s love of liberty, but spoke to britain’s pocketbook as well. if parliament would not listen to arguments on the “rights of man,” maybe it would listen to practicality. great britain and the american colonies needed each other; it was completely impossible for one to be prosperous without the other: how many british authors have demonstrated, that the present wealth, power and glory of their country, are founded upon these colonies? as constantly as streams tend to the ocean, have they been pouring the fruits of all their labours into their mother's lap.21 he tried to warn britain that if the current policy of taxation continued it would only restrict trade between the colonies and their mother country. this, he hoped, was an argument the british would take to heart, but he knew it would not have the same pull on the colonists. the raw materials of the colonies were wanted throughout europe; they could trade with almost anyone. so, dickinson proposed a general boycott of british goods.22 he hoped the economic pressure would bring parliament back to its senses. throughout the late 1760s and early 1770s dickinson persistently called on the colonists to act in defense of their rights, but he never went as far as the new england radicals. he remained a calming and restraining force in the colonies and acted as the voice of reason. during this time, dickinson was able to appease most radicals by calling for action, but did not go far enough for some. on the other hand, even his asking for restrained, peaceful protest could not satisfy conservative tories. in their opinion, dickinson was challenging the king’s authority and that was unpardonable. the lack of support dickinson found among tories makes it impossible to dismiss him as a conservative. this makes it difficult to group him with any particular segment of the colonial population. regardless of dickinson’s political affiliation, he consistently worked to preserve the rights of the colonies. during the years of taxation, dickinson earned the respect and admiration of his fellow colonists, because they saw him at the forefront of the american drive to secure the blessings of liberty. this changed when he refused to support independence and many colonists began to denounce him as a traitor. as john adams wryly noted, “mr. dickinson never can maintain his popularity for more than two or three years together.”23 ironically, the principles dickinson argued in opposition to parliament’s taxes were the same reasons why he resisted independence. 20 john dickinson, “the late regulations respecting the british colonies on the continent of america, considererd, in a letter from a gentleman in philadelphia, to his friend in london. . . . 1765, ” in the political writings of john dickinson, vol.1, 85-86. 21 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter v,” 188-89. 22 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter iii,” 173. 23 john adams, iv: 398. 6 no separation the colonists continued to protest the taxes, but parliament refused to listen, and by the 1770s violence erupted. the boston massacre and tea party rapidly radicalized colonial opinion,which reached its first peak at the battle of lexington and concord in april, 1775. when the second continental congress reconvened in may 1775, the body found it essential to justify the colonists’ taking up arms against british soldiers. thomas jefferson penned “the declaration by the representatives of the united colonies of north-america . . . setting forth the causes and necessity of their taking up arms” to explain colonial violence. dickinson wrote his own draft and it was this version that was ultimately adopted by the congress.24 in 1775, the majority of congress was still willing to follow dickinson’s lead; however, this would not be the case by the time the delegates were considering thomas jefferson’s declaration of independence. by the summer of 1776, dickinson lost his place at the forefront of the resistance movement and began to be seen as a hindrance to radicals such as john adams and thomas jefferson. ironically, a petition to king george iii authored in 1774 by dickinson bears a striking resemblance to the declaration of independence. each contained a lengthy list of grievances against the monarch which included: quartering soldiers in peacetime, abolishment of trial by jury, excessive fines, creation of a large bureaucracy over which the colonists had no control, restrictions on trade, among numerous other complaints.25 dickinson would even have agreed with the sanctity of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,”26 as it was crucial to dickinson “to attain some degree of certainty concerning our lives, liberties and properties.”27 with all these similarities it seems unreasonable that dickinson opposed the declaration of independence. the answer to this quandary is found in the preambles to the documents. the declaration famously opens: when in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s god entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions 24 pauline maier, american scripture: making the declaration of independence (new york: alfred a. knopf, 1997 ), 19. 25 john dickinson, “the petition of congress to the king’s most excellent majesty,” in the political writings of john dickinson, esquire, late president of the state of delaware, and of the commonwealth of pennsylvania, vol.2 (wilmington, de: vincent bonsal and hezekiah niles, 1801), 2023, <http://deila.dickinson.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?cisoroot=/ownwords&cisoptr=22884> (15 february 2005); thomas jefferson, “the declaration of independence, 1776,” in a documentary history of the united states, 7th ed., ed. richard d. heffner (new york; signet, 2002), 10-11. 26 jefferson in heffner, 9. 27 john dickinson, “an essay on the constitutional power of great – britain over the colonies in america; with the resolves of the committee for the province of pennsylvania; and their instructions to their representative in assembly, 1774,” in the political writings of john dickinson, vol.1, 20-23. 7 of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel to the separation.28 on the other hand, dickinson’s petition opened much more meekly, “we your majesty’s faithful subjects of the colonies . . . by this our humble petition, beg leave to lay our grievances before the throne”29 and ended just as respectfully: we ask but for peace, liberty, and safety. . . . your royal authority over us, and our connection with great-britain, we shall always carefully and zealously endeavour to support and maintain. . . . we present this petition only to obtain redress of grievances, and relief from fears and jealousies, occasioned by the system of statutes and regulations adopted . . . for raising a revenue in america.30 in other words, the declaration of independence was a justification for revolution and the grievances were put forth to that end; whereas, dickinson’s petition was a humble request to the king asking that the colonists’ grievances be addressed. obviously, dickinson could not support the declaration’s bid for independence while he favored reconciliation. this has caused many historians to unfairly catalog dickinson as a loyalist. historian milton e. flower is the main promoter of this theory and is largely responsible for dickinson’s reputation as a conservative. according to flower, while dickinson may have begun his career as a radical, he ended as a conservative in 1776.31 other historians, such as john ferling, have borrowed flower’s theme and have also portrayed john dickinson as a “conservative revolutionary.”32 both historians assume that as a wealthy landowner and quaker, dickinson was innately conservative.33 thus, in the public consciousness, dickinson has become at worst a tory who had little love for american liberties, and at best a man who out of cowardice or conservatism failed to grasp that britain was oppressive and independence the only option. these are obvious conclusions, if one looks only at dickinson’s actions with the benefit of hindsight, but a closer examination of his motives reveals that the first is not remotely true and as for the second, the worst that can be said of dickinson is that he was too cautious. dickinson’s call for nonviolent protest and petition seemed outmoded to many of the new england radicals by 1776, but this did not mean dickinson was any less concerned with protecting the colonies. he was honestly convinced that security was to be found in law, not anarchy. to dickinson this necessitated remaining within the british empire. dickinson worked throughout the summer of 1776 to prevent richard henry lee’s resolution on independence from coming to a vote. there were three parts to lee’s resolution: 28 jefferson in heffner, 9. 29 dickinson, “the petition of congress to the king’s most excellent majesty,” 19. 30 ibid., 27-28. 31 flower, 100 & 147. 32 ferling, 177. 33 ferling, 137; flower, 155. 8 that these united colonies are and of right, ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the british crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of great britain, is and ought to be, totally dissolved. --that it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign alliances. --that a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective colonies for their consideration and approbation.34 in the furor and excitement that greeted this proposal, dickinson again acted as the calm, cool voice of reason and advised his colleagues to consider the situation rationally and dispassionately. while other delegates focused primarily on the first component of the resolution and began to debate the question of independence with greater fervor, dickinson attempted to draw their attention to the remaining sections calling for foreign alliances and a plan of confederation. finally, as a nod to his objections, dickinson was appointed to committees with the job of addressing those issues.35 still he did not feel this was sufficient and continued to voice his objections to independence. on july 1, 1776, dickinson stood to give his final argument against lee’s resolution on independence. the vote was to take place the next day; this was his last chance to persuade the delegates of congress that, “in popular commotions the party of wisdom and of equity is commonly found in the minority.”36 dickinson logically deconstructed every argument in favor of independence, but ultimately concluded that the american colonies were not prepared for this “leap in the dark”37 and that if the chance were taken, the liberties he held dear would be lost. thus, while he primarily opposed the timing, dickinson was also certain that liberty and security could not be found in a bloody revolution. his opposition was twofold -practical and philosophical. as a former member of the pennsylvania assembly, dickinson had first-hand experience with the lack of unity among the colonies. as he understood the situation, great britain acting as the executive power was the only safeguard against dissolution: for the dread of the english arms, once removed, provinces would rise up against provinces and cities against cities; and we shall be seen to turn against ourselves the arms we have taken up to combat the common enemy . . . what proof have we given of our ability to walk without a guide? none, and if we judge the future by the past, we must conclude that our concord will continue as long as the danger, and no longer.38 dickinson reviewed the history of the colonies and realized that they only acted together when they were compelled by a crisis or common enemy. he had no reason to believe their cooperation would continue after the king’s authority had been removed. without 34journals of the continental congress, 5:425-26, quoted in flower, 158. 35 ibid., 159. 36 john dickinson, “speech against independence on july 1, 1776,” in the american revolution: opposing viewpoints, ed. william dudley (san diego, ca: greenhaven press, inc, 1992), 133. 37 ferling, 167. 38 dickinson, “speech against independence on july 1, 1776,” 135. 9 that unity, dickinson feared the colonies would collapse into chaos and anarchy. his unwillingness to take chances with the security of the colonies is plainly reminiscent of his refusal to gamble with the happiness and liberty of pennsylvania in 1764. great britain did not just keep the colonies safe from each other, but provided them with the prominence and protection needed for americans to trade safely abroad. dickinson pointed out that if the colonists managed, though he thought it unlikely, to win their independence, they would be rid of not only britain’s control, but also the respect that the name great britain brought. this would be detrimental to the colonies’ welfare: under shadow of this respected name [great britain], every port was open to us, every way was smooth, every demand was heard with favor. from the moment when our separation shall take place, everything will assume a contrary direction.39 although other delegates in congress insisted that european powers would assist the colonies in their revolution in order to humiliate and weaken great britain, dickinson did not agree. he saw no reason why the monarchs of france or spain who had colonial empires of their own would cheer a revolution of colonies against their mother country. this was not a precedent that france or spain would want established. even if one of these monarchs could be persuaded to help the colonies, dickinson asked, “. . . do you think these princes will not make you pay dear for the assistance with which they flatter you?”40 since he believed the colonies were not capable of standing alone, he saw dominance by one european power or another as the only possibility. dickinson was highly distrustful of other european nations and was certain that life under british rule was preferable to french or spanish control. besides his concerns over the practical matters of waging war against one of the most powerful nations in the world and setting up a new country, dickinson’s political principles would not allow him to support independence. in his view, the colonists had sent delegates to congress to defend the colonies and reconcile with britain; therefore, congress had no power or right to declare independence.41 just as in 1764, dickinson struggled to maintain the people’s right to determine their own form of government. far from a conservative view, dickinson’s insistence that the people decide the fate of the government distributed power far more widely than many delegates, john adams included, were willing to allow. also reminiscent of dickinson’s fight in the pennsylvania assembly was his demand that independence not be declared except by a clear majority of citizens. without this consent, he worried that support for the struggle against british oppression would be lost: everyone sees the necessity of opposing the extraordinary pretensions of the ministers; but does everyone see also that of fighting for independence? it is to be feared that by changing the object of war, the present harmony will be interrupted, 39 ibid., 135. 40 ibid., 137. 41 flower, 144. 10 that the ardor of the people will be chilled by apprehensions for their new situation.42 dickinson argued that men willing to fight for their rights as englishmen might not be willing to fight for independence. that was a dangerous step from which there was no going back and dickinson did not think all colonists would be willing to take that risk. he failed to realize that a determined minority could create a revolution43 and hoped that as long as the majority of colonists favored merely a redress of grievances, revolution could still be averted. by the summer of 1776, the battle at bunker hill had already occurred, so it might have appeared too late to oppose revolution, but at this point the struggle was still only a civil war to protest unjust taxes. dickinson, although he abhorred violence, supported the civil war, but could not endorse revolution. as a lawyer, dickinson revered the rule of law and desired to avoid anarchy. he thought if the colonies fought a limited civil war, great britain would respond by answering the colonists’ complaints in a fair and reasonable manner. revolution was an entirely different matter. referring to the english revolution in the mid-seventeenth century, dickinson reminded the delegates of the excesses caused in the violent overthrow of a government: anger produces anger; and differences, that might be accommodated by kind and respectful behaviour, may, by imprudence, be enlarged to an incurable rage . . . when feuds have reached that fatal point, all considerations of reason and equity vanish; and a blind fury governs, or rather confounds all things. a people no longer regards their interest, but the gratification of their wrath.44 dickinson sincerely thought it would be in the colonists’ best interests to confine the struggle against britain to an assertion of rights. once independence was declared, americans would “find themselves engaged in a cause rendered more cruel by such a declaration.45 without a declaration of independence, dickinson was convinced that “england will always prefer to found her power upon moderation and liberty rather than upon rigor and oppression.”46 as a part of the british empire, the american colonies were valuable to britain, but as independent states they were worthless. as long as the colonists desired to remain under the king’s mantle, it would be in britain’s best interest not to destroy them. however, faced with the prospect of losing its colonies, britain would have no reason to act with moderation and would possibly devastate the colonies in order to set an example for other colonies under british rule. despite dickinson’s desire for reconciliation, he was not blind to the oppressions the colonies suffered in the 1760s and 1770s: 42 dickinson, “speech against independence on july 1, 1776,” 137. 43 flower, 147. 44 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter iii,” 171-72. 45 dickinson, quoted in flower, 163. 46 dickinson, “speech against independence on july 1, 1776,” 137. 11 if i should deny that, for the last twelve years, the english government has given the most fatal direction to the affairs of the colonies, and its measures toward us savor of tyranny, i should deny not only what is the manifest truth but even what i have so often advanced and supported.47 his conviction that britain was trampling the colonists’ rights as englishmen made it impossible for dickinson to remain inactive. he organized and held the rank of colonel in the first militia in philadelphia, “the associators.”48 dickinson saw no contradiction between his willingness to fight and his desire for reconciliation. it was every citizen’s duty to fight for his rights and dickinson declared that because of the repressive nature of parliament’s taxes, “to accept them, would be to deserve them.”49 consequently, dickinson encouraged civil war even as he opposed revolution. dickinson argued against revolution, not only because he did not want to see his beloved america destroyed physically, but because he was afraid of the effect anarchy would have on the ideals of liberty he cherished: i know the name of liberty is dear to each one of us; but have we not enjoyed liberty even under the english monarchy? shall we this day renounce that to go and seek it in i know not what form of republic, which will soon change into a licentious anarchy and popular tyranny?50 it was dickinson’s opinion that the best form of government was a constitutional monarchy. to make this point, dickinson drew on precedents set by english history: the english nation, after having tried them both [republic and monarchy], has never found repose except in monarchy. . . . but for us it is to be apphrended that, when the counterpoise of monarchy shall no longer exist, the democratic power may carry all before it and involve the whole state in confusion and ruin. . . . for such is the ordinary career of ill-balanced democracies, they fall into anarchy, and thence under despotism.51 dickinson thought a monarch was needed to keep the majority from imposing its will on a powerless minority. it was through a king that governments found stability. furthermore, he was certain that britain had the best system of government in the world: the english constitution seems to be the fruit of the experience of all anterior time, in which monarchy is so tempered that the monarch finds himself checked in his efforts to seize absolute power; and the authority of the people is so regulated that anarchy is not to be feared.52 47 dickinson, “speech against independence on july 1, 1776,” 136. 48 u.s. army center of military history,. 49 john dickinson, “the declaration by the representatives of the united colonies of northamerica,” in the political writings of john dickinson, vol.2, 38. 50 ibid., 134. 51 ibid., 138. 52 ibid., 138. 12 the perfect balance of government was to be found in the english constitution and dickinson did not understand why men such as adams and jefferson wished to throw that away. dickinson believed the colonies would be freest under british rule; after all, “two hundred years of happiness furnish the proof of it . . . it is not as independent, but as subjects; not as a republic, but as monarchy, that we have arrived at this degree of power and greatness.”53 he viewed the current troubles with parliament as only temporary and was certain that once the colonists’ grievances were addressed, the colonies would resume their peaceful relationship with britain. dickinson added one caveat, “the first wish of my soul is for the liberty of america. the next is for constitutional reconciliation with great britain. if we cannot obtain the first without the second, let us seek a new establishment.”54 significantly, dickinson only wanted reconciliation if the colonists’ rights were maintained and if this was not possible, then he would consider independence. this stance lent credence to dickinson’s argument that he merely opposed the haste with which congress was deciding independence. finally, it was july 2, 1776, the day votes for the resolution on independence were cast. dickinson knew his conscience would not allow him to vote for independence and yet he also realized the importance of unity and even unanimity at this crucial junction. nearly ten years earlier dickinson had avowed: this opposition can never be effectual, unless it is the united effort of these provinces [therefore] . . . unanimity of counsels, are essential to the welfare of the whole--and . . . for this reason, every man amongst us, who in any manner would incourage either dissention, diffidence, or indifference, between these colonies, is an enemy to himself, and to his country. . . . they form one political body, of which each colony is a member.55 for dickinson to now cast a dissenting vote would be to betray his own principles. he solved his quandary by riding out to take command of the associators instead of attending congress for the vote.56 john dickinson was one of only two congressional delegates to take up arms.57 he was willing to fight for an independence he believed would be ruinous, while the majority of men who advocated separation remained civilians. conclusion john dickinson opposed independence because he wished to protect americans from the horrors that accompany revolution and was willing to risk his own life in order 53 ibid., 133-34. 54 dickinson, quoted in flower, 143. 55 dickinson, “farmer’s letters: letter xii,” 275-76. 56 lengyel, 72. 57 u.s. army center of military history. 13 to guarantee that his country remained safe. this is hardly the action of someone who maintained a cowardly loyalty to britain or acted only out of selfish motives. dickinson was an influential figure in the founding of the nation, but is often overlooked or passed over as a man out of touch with the times. dickinson’s contemporaries accused him of treason and cowardice and historians have furthered that sentiment, dismissing his resistance to independence as innate conservatism or the selfinterest of a wealthy landowner. both parties have misjudged dickinson and in doing so have lost a valuable piece of american revolutionary history. dickinson was not a radical who was willing to charge headlong into revolution with little thought about the outcome nor was he a conservative who wished to establish direct royal control over america. the philosophy dickinson defended throughout his political career was motivated by genuine love and concern for america’s safety and liberty. yes, he was cautious and perhaps overly so, but not out of cowardice. he acted out of a belief that it was better to move with discretion and not leap blindly into the unknown. he consistently and courageously acted to defend and strengthen the liberty of the american colonies without regard for his own interests or reputation. by refusing to give in to popular pressure and adhering steadfastly to his principles, dickinson exercised the liberties america was founded upon. consequently, john dickinson deserves to be remembered as an american patriot. 14 bibliography adams, john. papers of john adams. edited by robert j. taylor. vols. iii-iv. cambridge, ma: the belknap press, 1979. dickinson, john. “speech against independence on july 1, 1776.” in the american revolution: opposing viewpoints, edited by william dudley, 132-38. san diego, ca: greenhaven press, inc, 1992. dickinson, john, john dickinson correspondence: 1776-1807. carlisle, pa: dickinson college, encyclopedia dickinsonia. <http://deila.dickinson.edu/cgibin/docviewer.exe?cisoroot=/ownwords&cisoptr=7104> (15 february 2005). dickinson, john. the political writings of john dickinson, esquire, late president of the state of delaware, and of the commonwealth of pennsylvania. 2 vols. wilmington, de: vincent bonsal and hezekiah niles, 1801. <http://deila.dickinson.edu/cgibin/docviewer.exe?cisoroot=/ownwords&cisoptr=22883>; <http://deila.dickinson.edu/cgibin/docviewer.exe?cisoroot=/ownwords&cisoptr=22884> (15 february 2005). ferling, john. a leap in the dark: the struggle to create the american republic. new york: oxford university press, inc., 2003. flower, milton e. john dickinson: conservative revolutionary. charlottesville, va: university press of virginia, 1983. jacobson, david l. “john dickinson’s fight against royal government, 1764.” the william and mary quarterly 19, no.1 (jan. 1962): 64-85. jefferson, thomas. “the declaration of independence, 1776.” in a documentary history of the united states. 7th ed., edited by richard d. heffner. new york; signet, 2002 lengyel, cornel. four days in july: the story behind the declaration of independence. garden city, ny: doubleday & company, inc., 1958. maier, pauline. american scripture: making the declaration of independence. new york: alfred a. knopf, 1997. pennsylvania historical and museum commission. “william penn.” <http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page1.asp?secid=31> (15 february 2005). http://deila.dickinson.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?cisoroot=/ownwords&cisoptr=22883 http://deila.dickinson.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?cisoroot=/ownwords&cisoptr=22883 15 stille, charles j. the life and times of john dickinson: 1732-1808. new york: burt franklin, 1891. u.s. army center of military history. john dickinson: soldier-statesmen of the constitution, a bicentennial series. washington d.c.: n.p., 1986. microsoft word charlton.doc teaching tolerance through the lens of the holocaust: the goodwin holocaust museum and education center of south jersey faith charlton history the american jewish community and its collective memory it was not until the 1970s that the american jews made the holocaust central to jewish identity and its commemoration a priority. an increase in holocaust awareness in the united states led the jewish community to focus on holocaust memorialization on a local, state, and national level. in 1973, the national jewish community relations advisory council (njcrac), founded in 1944 by the council of jewish federations, an umbrella organization for local jewish communities throughout the country, issued its first “commemorating the holocaust” proposal in its annual joint program plan. this plan, which serves as an advisory guide to assist member agencies in their own program planning, suggested that local communities create “visual memorials to the holocaust, such as permanent exhibits, monuments, plaques, [and] signs” and that they develop local archives. in every year since 1973 the joint program plan has continued to include a section dedicated to holocaust memorialization.1 one such local jewish community in south jersey has commemorated their history with a holocaust museum that they included as part of their recently-constructed community center. its story is the focus of this paper. the jewish community’s decision to adopt the holocaust, decades after the actual event, as its primary identity marker serves as an example of the french sociologist maurice halbwachs’ notion of “collective memory.” according to halbwachs, present concerns determine what of the past we remember and how we remember it, rather than “the past working its will on the present.”2 the french sociologist explained collective memory to be the shared memory of a group or community 1 saidel g. rochelle, never too late to remember (new york: holmes & meier, 1996), 23, 35. 2 peter novick, the holocaust in american life (new york: houghton mifflin co., 1999), 3. faith charlton 92 which serves to foster unity among its members. halbwachs emphasized that a community chooses what it remembers and how it remembers past events, while recognizing that circumstances alter how these choices are made. a significant collective memory is normally tragic and once established, “comes to define [an] eternal truth, and, along with it, an eternal identity, for the members of the group.”3 of significant importance to halbwachs was the institutionalization of collective memory, which in this case includes holocaust institutes and holocaustmemory professionals, whose task is to continue to center the holocaust within the jewish community. the jewish community began to focus their attention towards holocaust awareness during the 1960s.4 throughout the 1940s and 1950s in the u.s. (with the exception of the publication of the diary of anne frank and the play based on the book), the holocaust was only “spoken of in whispers or ignored.”5 what came to be known as ‘the holocaust’ was not even acknowledged yet by the united states and european countries as a unique event. jewish deaths were viewed as just part of the civilian casualties of “total war.”6 during this time, many jews were too intimidated to be outspoken about any issue, let alone the holocaust, a legacy of the continued existence of anti-semitism in the country after 1945. 7 although many jewish intellectuals, such as ‘the new york intellectuals’ embraced the country’s anti-communist foreign policy, antisemitism was especially evident in the political atmosphere of the cold war where the stereotype of jewish ‘bolsheviks’ persisted. in his quest to rid the country of communists, senator joseph mccarthy, leader of the house un-american activities committee (huac), accused numerous people of being communists. many of those accused during his infamous investigations were jewish: “mccarthyism made the jewish community especially afraid because it had a decidedly anti-semitic cast.”8 since collective memory is shaped by present conditions, we must, as historian peter novick suggests, look at those circumstances in which the jewish community chose to make the holocaust central to jewish identity.9“holocaust consciousness” rose in the 1960s in the jewish 3 novick, 4. 4 saidel g. rochelle, 16-7. 5 rochelle, 12. 6 edward linenthal, preserving memory: the struggle to create america’s holocaust museum (new york: viking, 1995), 5. 7rochelle, 12. 8 ibid., 52-3. 9 see novick, 5-11. the goodwin holocaust museum 93 community as well as in the rest of the country as a result of events in the u.s. and israel. in the united states, holocaust awareness increased due to a change in american identity politics. the u.s. began to recognize its multiculturalism, where “the politics of the ‘melting pot’ shifted to an emphasis on the distinct cultural identities and historical roots of the many immigrant communities that make up the united states.”10 in never too late to remember, saidel rochelle notes that this was a repercussion of john f. kennedy’s election as the country’s first catholic president, which “symbolized the transformation of the united states from an essentially protestant to a religiously pluralistic society.” he argues that after the election there was a decrease in all types of prejudice including anti-semitism.11 it should be noted that an increase in identity politics was, moreover, largely due to the numerous movements that sprang up during this turbulent decade that challenged the limits of liberalism, especially those involving minorities, such as the civil rights and feminist movements. as these movements became radicalized, members began to emphasize their differences rather than their commonalities as americans and constructed their identities based on their victimization.12 thus, within this atmosphere, ethnic groups in the u.s. started to assert their own distinct identities where their victimization “either in the united states or in their countries of origin (or both)” and their ability to overcome such victimization became a powerful symbol.13 therefore, the american jewish community, like other ethnic, gender, and racial groups, centered its identity on its historic victimization.14 events in israel, such as adolph eichmann’s trial in 1961 and, according to most scholars, more importantly the 1967 six-day war, caused holocaust consciousness to increase within the jewish community.15 the six-day war caused jews to become anxious over the possibility of another holocaust. their fears were heightened by 10 omer bartov, “reception and perception: goldhagen’s holocaust and the world,” in geoff eley, ed., the “goldhagen effect” (michigan: university of michigan press, 2000), 37. 11 rochelle, 24. 12 for a discussion of the radicalization of the civil rights movement see manning marable’s race, reform, and rebellion (jackson: university of mississippi, 1991). a history of the radicalization of the feminist movement can be found in ruth rosen’s book the world split open (new york, penguin books, 2000). 13 bartov, 37. 14 novick, 8. 15 eichmann was a nazi official who played a central role in the implementation of the holocaust. for a provocative account of the trial see hannah arendt’s book eichmann in jerusalem: a report on the banality of evil (new york: penguin books, 1994). faith charlton 94 egyptian president gamal abdel nasser’s claim that his goal was israel’s annihilation as well as “the indifference of western nations” which awakened dormant memories of the holocaust.” rochelle contends that, “though short-lived, the anxiety was intense.”16 the wars between israel and palestine that occurred during the 1960s and 1970s caused a split among american jews in their support of israel. many became disenchanted with israel and its aggressive policies against the palestinians. this divide deepened the already-existing fractures within the community that resulted from an increase in the number of secularized jews in the country. in order to unite an increasingly diverse and divided american jewry, the community embraced the holocaust as its “consensual symbol.”17 although having contentious views over israel and whether its status was as a victim or an aggressor, members of the jewish community maintained their communal ties through their identification as victims of the holocaust. moreover, non-orthodox segments of the community that sought a secular link with judaism embraced the holocaust as a marker of their jewish identity. 18 thus, with the emergence of identity politics in the united states and heightened violence within the arab-israeli conflict, the holocaust became “the only common denominator of american jewish identity.”19 american jews therefore embraced the holocaust as its most significant collective memory and identity marker. as the importance of holocaust awareness grew in the jewish community, so too did it increase throughout the country during the 1960s with its institutionalization, including a proliferation of movies, books, college courses, and memorials. popularization of the holocaust culminated with the nbc miniseries “holocaust” in 1978. in that year, president carter became the first politician to place holocaust memorialization on the government agenda. he created the united states holocaust commission with plans to establish a national holocaust museum. carter’s actions were the result of political motivations since by this time the american jewish community had become a prominent interest group (carter wanted jewish votes for the next election).20 after 16 linenthal, 9. 17 novick, 7. 18 peter novick argues that american jewry’s sense of victimizationalthough they were not directly affected by the holocaustcomes from the shared knowledge that if their parents or grandparents had not immigrated, they would have shared the same fate of european jewry. see 7-11; rochelle, 29-31. 19 novick, 7. 20 rochelle, 7, 28. although efforts to establish a national holocaust museum began under president carter, the united states holocaust museum did not officially open until april 1993. the goodwin holocaust museum 95 it gained national attention, holocaust commemoration became the focus of jewish communities at the local level. the establishment of the goodwin holocaust museum and education center during the 1980s, the jewish community in southern new jersey began to thrive as many families moved from philadelphia. by 1997, 50,000 jews lived in camden, burlington, and gloucester counties and the east side of cherry hill in burlington county became “the hub of jewish life in the three counties.”21 to create a shared environment, its members invested $18 million to establish the katz jewish community center (jcc), which opened in 1997. david friedman, the jcc’s marketing director, claimed that the seventeen-acre campus was a “reflection of a migration that is not only physical but also spiritual.” according to friedman, the campus served to promote jewish identity “especially in young people in an age when popular culture and intermarriage threaten to erode it.”22 the community also decided to commemorate the holocaust by including a holocaust museum and education program within the community center. since the community center’s opening, the goodwin holocaust museum, named after its benefactor richard goodwin, and its education center has served as a memorial whose functions are to maintain jewish collective identity, and more importantly to commemorate and educate visitors about the holocaust. the goodwin holocaust museum and its educational programs serve as places of both remembrance and learning, primarily for students, about an incomprehensible event. both the jcc and its goodwin holocaust museum and education center (ghmec) opened in 1997. the history of the museum’s collection, however, began three decades prior. in 1965, when the american jewish community was beginning to embrace the holocaust as a central part of their identity, yaacov riz, a holocaust survivor and school principal, created a small exhibit from his own personal collection of artifacts entitled the “jewish identity center” in the basement of his northeast philadelphia row home. after his death, riz’s collection was moved in 1987 to gratz college-the oldest independent jewish college in north america -where it was used as a museum exhibit named the 21 david o’reilly, “a place where a culture can thrive: a new jewish community center is set to open in cherry hill,” the philadelphia inquirer, 20 june 1997, sec. south jersey. 22 o’reilly, “a place where a culture can thrive”. faith charlton 96 “holocaust awareness museum” under the direction of dr. philip rosen, educator, author, and historian. he expanded the exhibit by adding to riz’s artifacts and memorabilia as well as establishing a speaker’s bureau of survivors and liberators.23 after a few years passed, however, funding for the preservation and expansion of the exhibit became an issue. when the new jewish community center in cherry hill was being planned, richard goodwin, a contractor from the area, offered to fund space for the museum in honor of his father, who had served as a captain of the u.s. navy during wwii. dr. rosen agreed to move the collection to the jewish center, seeing several advantages in doing so. first, the exhibit would be housed rentfree in a larger space. also, rosen believed that unlike philadelphia, new jersey’s holocaust educational programs would be more centralized due to the state’s mandate regarding holocaust education. in 1994, the new jersey state legislature passed a bill recommending that lessons about the holocaust and the roots of genocide be taught in all grades. pennsylvania had no equivalent policy. therefore, rosen envisioned that “the museum [would] be an important part of in-service education and education in the state.”24 rosen was further enticed by the fact that gerhard vogel, an exhibit designer at the united states holocaust memorial museum in washington, d.c., was acquired to help design the display cases for the new museum.25 while plans for the museum were being discussed, nelly toll, a child who had been hidden during the holocaust, had formed the holocaust resource center in cherry hill with several other volunteers involved with the jewish community relations council of southern new jersey. the artifacts and resources from this collection were combined with rosen’s exhibit to form the holocaust education center of the delaware valley, and its centerpiece, the goodwin holocaust museum.26 helen kirschbaum, interviewed for this case study, is currently the head educational program coordinator of the museum. 27 the ghmec, with both commemorative and educational functions, explains that it is “dedicated to teaching [visitors] about the 23 holocaust museum, <http://mpdn.org/goodwin/halocaust_museum.htm> (3 october 2004). 24 carol j. suplee, “museum displays holocaust collection,” the cherry hill trend, 1 december 2000. 25 kristin e. holmes, “holocaust museum to move to cherry hill from melrose park,” the philadelphia inquirer, 17 january 1997, sec. neighbors. 26 holocaust museum, <http://mpdn.org/goodwin/holocaust museum.htm> (3 october 2004). 27 my evaluation of the museum and its education center is based largely on several visits to the museum and with interviews i had with helen kirschbaum in fall 2004. i would like to thank helen kirschbaum for her time. the goodwin holocaust museum 97 holocaust, preserving the experience of those who survived, and honoring the memory of those who perished.”28 in order to accomplish this, the education center supports numerous holocaust programs and events including the goodwin holocaust museum, which offers the largest permanent exhibition in the tri-state area. the museum has a speaker’s bureau of holocaust survivors including survivors, children of survivors, liberators, and educators who speak free of charge at schools, service organizations, and community events. the ghmec also has an extensive holocaust reference and lending library with multimedia resource, educational programs, events and materials, including lectures, seminars, photography and art displays; teacher workshops that are accredited to fulfill the mandate to teach the holocaust instituted by the new jersey department of education; scholarships for teacher and students to study the holocaust, and an annual community-wide yom hashoah (holocaust remembrance) commemoration program.29 the education center currently has contacts with about 10,000 delaware valley schools and teachers whose classes visit the museum annually. for schools that cannot afford to visit, the museum offers several ways teachers can educate their students about the holocaust. for instance, the center will send information to any teacher for use in his or her class. also, many survivors that speak to students at the museum will travel to the school for free. if schools cannot afford to send classes to see the dramatic performances that the museum offers, the center, through kirschbaum’s efforts, is often able to attain grants to pay for the students tickets. finally, notices are sent to teachers regarding the “curriculum trunk program” run by the florida and houston holocaust museums. the museums loan the curriculum trunks to requesting schools as part of an outreach program for teachers in elementary through high school classrooms to use in the instruction of holocaust education. the trunks, which include complete lesson plans and class activities, videos, cds, and posters, are designed to be age-sensitive. the ghmec serves to complement what students learn in the classroom about the holocaust. since students are the museum’s primary audience members, coordinators have designed the program so that the students can relate to the holocaust, an event that seems almost incomprehensible even to those who lived through it as well as scholars who specialize in the 28 holocaust education center of the delaware valley, <http://www.holocausteducationcenter.com/museum> (25 october 2004). 29 holocaust education center of the delaware valley, <http://www.holocausteducationcenter.com/museum> (25 october 2004). faith charlton 98 history of the holocaust. thus, the museum teaches the holocaust’s uniqueness; however, it also universalizes and simplifies the holocaust for students, characterizing it as the definitive event among other incidents that have resulted from bigotry. part of the museum’s mission statement includes the goal for its visitors to “not just to learn of the past,” but moreover, for the museum to “educate [its visitors] for the future through the lessons of the holocaust to reduce prejudice and lessen hatred, bigotry, and violence against all groups.”30 scholars have proven that visitors do “make meaning” in museums. they construct an understanding from what they see, touch, and manipulate. however, learning is more likely to occur when visitors can connect with what they already know, allowing them to make an association with what they bring to the exhibition and what is presented.31 hatred and bigotry are concepts that students understand, many probably having been subjected to or having witnessed prejudice themselves. by putting the holocaust in this context, therefore, students do not come away thinking that the holocaust was a distant horror that has no relevance to their lives, but as something that could potentially occur again that, through tolerance, they have the power to prevent. kirschbaum explained that the holocaust “was brought about by prejudice and hatred,” both of which “have not been eliminated.”32 coordinators have designed a holocaust education program for students from grades three through twelve that tries to achieve “a…balance between teaching the history of the holocaust and promoting lessons of tolerance and personal responsibility.”33 the education programs that museum directors have designed are used to complement the museum exhibition to “provide student visitors with a moving and meaningful learning experience.”34 coordinators have created several programs with content appropriate for different grade levels. they focus on teaching students in grades three through five about prejudice, promoting that they, as individuals, can work against hatred. little time is spent discussing the holocaust specifically. the main event for these children is a performance of a puppet show, entitled “the town that fought hate.” the story is based on the janice cohn book, the 30 holocaust education center of the delaware valley, < http://www.holocausteducationcenter.com/museum> (25 october 2004). 31 george e. hein, learning in the museum (new york: routledge, 1998), 152. 32 helen kirschbaum, interview by author, 28 october 2004. 33 jenna berger, “teaching history, teaching toleranceholocaust education in houston,” the public historian 25 (fall 2003): 126. 34 berger, 126. the goodwin holocaust museum 99 christmas menorahs: how a town fought hate, which recalls events that occurred in billings, montana, in 1993 that made national headlines. after a hate group harassed jewish families who had menorahs in their windowsills, all the residents banded together and put up menorahs to resist the forces of bigotry that threatened their community. thirty minutes is allotted after the performance for the children’s questions. students in these grades are also shown either the documentary “nightmare” about two children that escape from the warsaw ghetto and come to america, or an educational film entitled “daniel’s story,” based on the exhibit for children in the washington d.c. museum.35 ghmec coordinators focus more on the events of the holocaust for grades six through twelve, while also emphasizing the lessons of bigotry. because the history of the holocaust is discussed, the coordinators strongly suggest that teachers bring their students to the museum after they have concluded their lessons on the holocaust in the classroom. students in these grades spend about two and a half hours at the community center. they first listen to a holocaust survivor, and, in addition, students often hear from an american gi who liberated a concentration camp. the museum coordinators feel that the use of survivor testimony is paramount in teaching children about the holocaust. they argue that: “documents and books describe historical facts, but eye witness testimonies are much more powerful. the real life stories of survivors and liberators make history come alive and become personal. face to face encounters have an emotional impact that no child or adult will ever forget.”36 next, a trained volunteer gives the students a tour of the museum. all of the museum tour guides, or docents, are volunteers, many of whom are former school teachers. their knowledge of the holocaust differs so that education center coordinators train those who wish to volunteer in several ways. coordinators give them materials to read on their own, ask them to attend in-services for teachers and listen to survivor testimonies, and pair up with experienced docents. for the most part, the docents do not follow a specific narrative or script, and use their discretion in the information that they provide depending on their audience. for instance, the docents discuss some complex issues with older students such as the anti-semitism that existed in america at the time which served as one 35 helen kirschbaum, interview by author, 24 november 2004. 36 holocaust education center of the delaware valley, < http://www.holocausteducationcenter.com/museum > (25 october 2004). faith charlton 100 reason among severalincluding the fact that the united states was suffering from the great depressionthat franklin roosevelt’s administration refused to admit european jewish immigrants into the country.37 after the tour of the museum, students in middle school are shown a shortened version of the film “escape from sobibor” about the death camp in poland which was the site of the largest prisoner escape of wwii. high school students watch a revised version of the documentary entitled “auschwitz: if you cried, you died,” which ties the holocaust in with present day events. older students are also urged to see the play put on by a semi-professional acting troupe from wilkes barre, pennsylvania entitled “dear esther” that the ghmec sponsors once or twice a year. it is a true story about a holocaust survivor, esther raab, who escaped from the nazi death camp sobibor and has been living in vineland, new jersey, since the end of the war. the play is followed by a question and answer session that esther herself, or her son, attends. museum organizers also sponsor a trip to the united states holocaust museum for students in grades eleven and twelve.38 the goodwin museum exhibit’s narrative according to public historian edward linenthal, curators working in a history museum normally have a specific narrative in mind and design an exhibit according to that particular story. as in many history museums, the permanent exhibition “appears as a seamless tale, presenting the story through an anonymous voice that conceals those who shaped the exhibition,” where “visitors will… not think about the exhibition as a narrated interpretation of one particular past, but will be satisfied that major interpretive dilemmas have been resolved...”39 visitors thus are not given the opportunity to establish their own interpretations and come up with their own conclusions with the evidence presented to them. the goodwin holocaust museum, the largest such museum in the delaware valley, which houses a permanent exhibition including a collection of historical artifacts donated by local residents, memorabilia, and photographs as well as rotating and special exhibits, is supposed to be a simplified and smaller version of the united states 37 helen kirschbaum, interview by author, 28 october 2004. to learn more about american policy concerning jews during the second world war see david s. wyman’s the abandonment of the jews: america and the holocaust, 1942-1945 (new york, 1984). 38 helen kirschbaum, interview by author, 28 october 2004. 39 linenthal, 168. the goodwin holocaust museum 101 holocaust museum designed mainly for students.40 the washington museum, which opened four years prior in 1993 served as the prototype for the goodwin museum for several reasons. one stemmed from the majority of the american public hailing the national museum as a success; therefore, other holocaust museums could legitimately use it as a model. another reason was that gerhard vogel, who had helped with the washington museum’s exhibit, assisted in designing the goodwin museum’s permanent exhibition. a final reason probably had to do with the fact that richard goodwin wanted to honor those servicemen who had liberated the camps since his father had served during the war. the main purpose of the washington museum was to commemorate the holocaust which had directly and indirectly touched the lives of so many american jews, thousands of whom had emigrated to the u.s. after the war.41 members of both the jewish and non-jewish communitues however, questioned the existence of a holocaust museum on american soil. they asked whether america could legitimately tell the story of the holocaust and include it within its own history. the museum was “caught on the cusp of happened here/happened there, a conundrum…over whether american history means events happening here or the histories americans carry with them.” 42 moreover, members of the jewish community worried that all of the recent focus on the holocaust would eclipse all of “the rich history of judaism as a civilization.”43 thus, the only knowledge non-jews would have of jewish history would be of jews as victims of genocide. the existence of a national memorial, however, was justified by jews’ anxiety about the denial of the events of the holocaust and its moral significance for americans. according to the museum’s director, michael berenbaum, the museum would serve to help the jewish community “perpetuate the memory of those who died and ensure that people don’t forget what happened to both the dead and the survivors.” so many survivors have explained that they “wanted to survive so as to live one day after hitler, in order to be able to tell [their] story.” the national museum was at the forefront of recognizing the responsibility of future generations to remember and to bear witness.44 40 helen kirschbaum, interview by author, 28 october 2004. 41 saidel, 7, 25. 42 dena eber, and arthur g. neals, eds, memory and representation (ohio: bowling green state university popular press, 2001), 142. 43 linenthal, 13. 44 berenbaum, michael, and abraham j. peck, eds, the holocaust and history ( bloomington : indiana university press, 1998), 808. faith charlton 102 moreover, in order to justify a national holocaust memorial museum, which commemorates an event that occurred across the atlantic ocean, the exhibit was designed with an americanized twist. the museum is located amongst national monuments on the washington mall, a place meant to enhance national pride and foster american collective identity and memory. the holocaust museum would therefore require a narrative that would do the same. according to dena eber and arthur neals, “one of the museum’s central strategies is to relate american democracy with the holocaust,” to “overlap…the perspective of the victims with that of the victors of wwii.”45 by viewing the holocaust through an american perspective, the national museum directly focuses on american troops, shown at the beginning and end of the exhibit, as heroes, on america as the liberator and savior of the holocaust victims. this narrative assumes that america had entered the war in order to rescue jews, which of course, was not the case. u.s. forces stumbled upon nazi camps after fighting in a war with germany that hitler had declared first. 46 moreover, the narrative also assumes that america is a country where such genocide would never take place. the exhibit implicitly portrays america as the antithesis of nazi germany, the latter standing for everything that went against america’s ideology of equality, freedom, and human rights as represented in the constitution, bill of rights, and declaration of independence. the project: “reinforce[s] ‘the ethical ideals of american political culture by presenting the negation of those ideals’ as well as our historical response to them.”47 many scholars argue, however, that it is necessary for the museum to have such a narrative so that an american audience can relate to the events of the holocaust. the museum “must engage u.s. viewers with an ethical narrative of national identity in direct relation to the holocaust. the alternative is to risk becoming a site for viewing the travails of the exoticized other from elsewhere (once upon a time), or even worse, a museum of natural history for an endangered species.”48 also, the museum presents complexities which reveal that america can count itself among the many bystanders while jews overseas were being persecuted. the exhibit explains how the anti-semitism that existed in america at the 45 eber and neals, 142. 46 edward norton, “yes and no to the holocaust museums”, commentary (august 1993): 23. 47 eber and neals, 142. even though the u.s. tried to distance itself with nazi germany as much as possible, it should be remembered that the united states had established japanese internment camps during the war, although these were not created with the intention of killing their prisoners. 48 ibid., 143. the goodwin holocaust museum 103 time resulted in the countries suppression of information regarding what was happening in europe and its unwillingness to offer assistance to jewish victims. two events in particular are discussed. one is the story of the ss st. louis which carried 500 jews trying to immigrate to america in the spring of 1939. because the u.s., like many other countries suffering from the depression, had established immigration quotas, the state department refused to allow the ship to dock and it was sent back to europe. only 50 of the 500 passengers survived the war; most were immediately sent to nazi death camps. another issue-highly contested amongst historianswhich docents discuss concerns the refusal of the u.s. military to bomb auschwitz in may 1944 even as planes were bombing oil refineries a few miles away. many historians argue that it could have possibly saved thousands of lives.49 like the national museum, the goodwin exhibit uses a specific narrative that “americanizes” the holocaust. using former american troops who liberated camps to speak to students reveals the importance of the american component of the holocaust in the museum. however, because the goodwin museum does not face the pressures that the united states holocaust museum as a national museum does, the museum coordinators place more emphasis on the holocaust as an event resulting from hatred and prejudice. they assert that the repression of hate and bigotry could help significantly in preventing future genocides. with these contexts in mind, the goodwin exhibit, like the national museum, is organized into three chapters: “nazi assault 1933-1939,” “final solution 1940-1945,” and “last chapter,” with artifacts and photographs appropriate for each section. curators, however, had to design the displays with their audience in mind; in the goodwin museum’s case the majority of visitors are children. the function of artifacts and photographs aspires to make each segment come alive. curators at the washington museum wanted “to personalize the holocaust so visitors wouldn’t be overwhelmed by numbers.” the use of photographs in the national museum was of vital importance since “photos [have] the weightier task of restoring identity and individuality to the otherwise anonymous victims of the holocaust.”50 the goodwin museum utilizes many artifacts donated by survivors who live in the surrounding area. some of these artifacts include luggage from the st. louis, burned fragments of the torah, a prisoner’s uniform, a banjo, ids, 49eber and neals, 143-4. to learn more about this issue see wyman’s the abandonment of the jews: america and the holocaust, 1942-1945 (new york, 1984). 50 see linenthal, 171-189. faith charlton 104 whips and clubs used by camp guards, metal bowls and crude implements prisoners used for their meager meals, and hate literature promulgated by the nazis. the goodwin museum also displays photographs, especially those taken of children before and after the war so that students can further relate to one million of the holocaust’s victims. the museum does not, however, display any graphic pictures of victims, including sickly-looking children in the ghettos and camps, as well as images of the dead. initially the museum did include pictures of the dead, but they were shortly removed out of consideration for its audience. taking the student audience into consideration, what is shown in each section of the goodwin museum, is a simplified version of what is displayed in the washington exhibit. many complex issues that the national museum recognizes are not revealed in the goodwin museum. this is also a result of the size of the museum. the museum is rather small, consisting of just one large room, so there is not enough space for an in-depth exhibit. in the goodwin museum, the first chapter focuses on hitler’s rise to power and the numerous anti-jewish laws that the government enacted during those years. docents discuss the development of such laws to show students that the nazi government did not make jews non-citizens or force jews into ghettos overnight. they explain that it was a gradual process that could have been prevented. docents also reveal that germans acted as the main perpetrators and bystanders during the holocaust. they explain that the german people elected hitler to lead the country in 1933, relatively aware of his intentions regarding jews. hitler had set out his goals in his book mein kampf, a book, docents explain, that every german household was forced to own. also in this section, docents explain that jews attempted to immigrate but were excluded everywhere, including the united states, the self-proclaimed “immigrant nation.” through the story of the ss st. louis, docents reveal that american anti-semitism had caused america to initially act as a bystander to the holocaust. the next section spanning the years 1940-1945 focuses on the ghettos, camps and the final solution. as in the washington museum, the goodwin exhibit also recognizes victims of the holocaust other than jews, including sinti and roma (gypsies), homosexuals, and political prisoners. a unique part in this section includes prints of drawings done by a child in the infamous terezin camp. the camp, located in prague, was where many jewish professors and artists, writers, and musicians were sent. the nazi leaders of the camp allowed prisoners to engage in extra-curricular activities that were not allowed in any other camps. the the goodwin holocaust museum 105 prisoners, many of whom included children, took part in plays, operas, concerts, and art classes. these activities, however, were mostly façade. in reality, terezin was used as a way station for its prisoners who were eventually shipped to auschwitz. moreover, thousands of jews died in the terezin camp from starvation. of the tens of thousands of jews who were taken to terezin, 97,297 died, 15,000 of which were children. only 132 of the children sent there were known to have survived.51 also, in this second section, jewish pride is kindled with the museum’s significant focus on jewish resistance in the ghettos and camps, specifically, women resistors, to show visitors that not all jews went to their deaths like “sheep being led to the slaughter.”52 the third and final section includes a display on “righteous gentiles,” those individuals that played a significant part in saving jewish lives. docents stress to students that if most people had not acted as bystanders during the war, then many more jewish deaths could have been prevented. they give the example of denmark, whose government and citizens, unwilling to discriminate against their fellow citizens, stood up against germany. as a result, no danish jews were deported, and therefore, none died at the hands of the nazis. another section of the exhibit is dedicated to american troops who liberated the camps, and docents emphasize general dwight d. eisenhower’s role in liberating the camps as well as his efforts to allow the whole world to bear witness to what had happened. docents describe how his first action toward accomplishing this task, was forcing germans who lived in surrounding towns to come to the camps to see the horrors of what had taken place in their midst. eisenhower then forced them to help bury the dead. the final display also depicts the nuremberg trials, and holocaust survivors, especially those who emigrated to the united states and palestine after the war. the simplification of the history of the holocaust, especially the “perhaps tooneat lexicon of perpetrators, bystanders, and victims” that is displayed (for instance, insinuating that the holocaust’s only perpetrators were nazis which all germans are portrayed as) due to factors such as the size of the museum and the audience that it is geared poses some problems.53 docents try to discuss some of these complicated 51 terezin (terezienstadt), 2004, <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/holocaust/terezin.html> (28 november 2004). 52 jewish resistance <http://members.aol.com/elyissb/index2.html> (2 december 2004). 53 linenthal, 216. faith charlton 106 issues with older students; however, each guide focuses on different issues for each tour. there are no texts discussing complexities in the display cases to make complicated issues a more permanent and concrete part of the exhibit which students could read about whether the docents chose to discuss them or not. this flaw however is not significantly detrimental since the museum’s mission is not to give an in-depth historical account of the holocaust, but to instead, emphasize the prejudice led to such atrocities. although historians have shown that prejudice and hatred were not the only factors that resulted in the holocaust, they did play a large part. the museum’s mission to combat hatred by teaching students about prejudice and bigotry through the lens of the holocaust is a realistic goal that coordinators seem to achieve. the 10,000 contacts that the museum has with schools and teachers in the tristate area is a testament of the museum’s success. although the goodwin museum continues to be successful in its mission, like all museums, maintaining the proper funding is a constant battle. kirschbaum explained how funding is a “big issue” since the education program and the museum are self-sustaining. most people are unaware that the museum and its programs are not funded by the jewish federation, or memberships to the jcc; it is only funded through museum memberships and private gifts. kirschbaum is discouraged, feeling that not enough jcc members become members of the museum to help support the program. because of a lack of funding, kirschbaum often sets up fundraising programs, applies for grants, and is always urging people to become members of the museum.54 although kirschbaum’s efforts have been able to keep the amount of money for school trips to the museum at a minimum, this is often not enough. she noted with disappointment in the recent increase in the number of schools, especially those located in philadelphia, that do not have the ability to travel to the museum due to budget restraints.55 despite some funding issues, the goodwin museum and education center has fulfilled the functions of contemporary museums as centers of education and public service. 56 the museum does more than simply commemorate and preserve the memory of those whom it affected. it also tries to improve the quality of people’s lives by striving to curb prejudice. 54 helen kirschbaum, interview by author, 28 october 2004. 55 as previously mentioned, however, the center offers teachers and schools several ways in which it can bring holocaust education to the school. 56 discussion of museums as centers of education and public service can be found in stephen weil’s book making museum’s matter (washington: smithsonian institution press, 2002) the goodwin holocaust museum 107 museum coordinators do not want students to see the holocaust as a distant and unfamiliar event that occurred in a vacuum. objects of the holocaust are displayed not only for the sake of preservation without any educational function: the museum is not a “cemetery of bric-a-brac,” but rather, coordinators have molded the past so that students can relate to it.57 students are aware of prejudice when they visit the museum, and therefore are more apt to develop an understanding of the holocaust. specifically in holocaust museums, because the event is so difficult to grasp, scholars have argued that “rather than communicating new information…the greatest strengths of [these] museums may be in confirming, reinforcing, and extending the existing beliefs of their visitors.”58 although it is difficult to know exactly what visitors take away from their experience at a museum, kirschbaum feels that the education program that has been developed at the center is a very effective one in fulfilling its mission to teach children about the holocaust as well as relating the event as a result of prejudice and hate to their present day lives. kirschbaum noted that often students write to her after their visit and comment about their worthwhile experiences, and how they came away from it with a much greater understanding of the holocaust and its lessons, especially from listening to a survivor’s story. the museum’s numerous efforts to serve society deserve recognition. in order to continue its valuable mission, however, coordinators need to constantly make the public aware of the museum’s enormous significance in maintaining the memory of the holocaust as well as teaching its lessons that are pertinent for the present and the future. bibliography bartov, omer. “reception and perception: goldhagen’s holocaust and the world.” in the “goldhagen effect”, edited by geoff eley. michigan: university of michigan press, 2000. berger, jenna. “teaching history, teaching toleranceholocaust education in houston”, the public historian 25 (fall 2003):125-131. berenbaum, michael, and abraham j. peck, eds. the holocaust and history: the known, the unknown, the disputed, and the reexamined. bloomington: indiana university press, 1998. 57 weil, 87. 58 weil, 69-70. faith charlton 108 eber, dena elisabeth and arthur g. neal, eds. memory and representation: constructed truths and competing realities. bowling green, oh: bowling green state university popular press, 2001. hein, george e. learning in the museum. new york: routledge, 1998. holmes, kristin e. “holocaust museum to move to cherry hill from melrose park”, the philadelphia inquirer, 17 january 1997, sec. neighbors. holocaust education center of the delaware valley.<http://www.holocausteducationcenter.com/museum > (25 october 2004). holocaust museum.<http://mpdn.org/goodwin/holocaust museum.htm> (3 october 2004). jewish resistance. < http://members.aol.com/elyissb/index2.html> (28 december 2004). linenthal, edward tabor. preserving memory: the struggle to create america'sholocaust museum. new york: viking, 1995. norton, edward. “yes and no to the holocaust museums”, commentary (august 1993):23-32. novick, peter. the holocaust in american life. new york: houghton mifflin company, 1999. o’reilly, david. “a place where a culture can thrive: a new jewish community center is set to open in cherry hill,” the philadelphia inquirer, 20 june 1997, sec. south jersey. saidel, rochelle g. never too late to remember: the politics behind new york city's holocaust museum. new york: holmes & meier, 1996. suplee, carol j. “museum displays holocaust collection,” the cherry hill trend, 1 december 2000. terezin (terezienstadt), 2004. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/holocaust/terezin.html> (28 november 2004). weil, stephen. making museums matter. washington: smithsonian institution press, 2002. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\hope_of_the_kingdom.prn.pdf 1 hope of the kingdom and hope of the resurrection: hope for whom? broadening a liberationist perspective john edwards theology villanova university special thanks to dr. bernard prusak for his insight and patient guidance. in order to begin a treatment of the articulation of christian hope within the liberation theology of jon sobrino, it will be helpful to examine briefly the context out of which liberation theology arises and which shapes its approach to the question, “hope for whom?”. the development of latin american liberation theology finds significant roots both in german political theology and in the reception and implementation of the documents of the second vatican council by the latin american bishops’ conferences at medellín (1968) and at puebla (1979). german political theology developed largely by johann baptist metz and jürgen moltmann rejects the separation of theology and the world and, therefore, sets as its task theological reflection on and critique of the contemporary political world.1 by engaging in this task, political theology provided liberation theologians with “new categories of religious language, introducing distinctively political concepts such as liberation…and oppression.”2 it also grounded the theological language of salvation and hope in concrete historical conditions,3 which enabled liberation theologians to articulate salvation and hope in terms of the particular conditions of the poor and the oppressed in latin america. the transformative effect of vatican ii within latin american countries facilitated by the synods of bishops at medellín and puebla as well as by pope paul vi’s encyclical populorum progressio provided perhaps the most immediate context for the development of liberation theology. vatican ii’s urging of the church to be attentive to the ‘signs of the times’, its articulation of the task of 1 rebecca chopp, the praxis of suffering: an interpretation of liberation and political theologies (maryknoll, ny: orbis books, 1986), p. 19, 101. 2 ibid., p. 20. 3 ibid. 2 evangelization as bringing “deliverance to the human conditions, to cultures, [and] to social and familial relationships”, and its understanding of the church as servant of the world found creative reception and rearticulation within the latin american synods.4 in the context of the latin america church, the conferences at medellín and puebla understood the ‘signs of the times’ as “social injustices and forms of dehumanization”, they interpreted evangelization as “efforts to liberate and humanize the peoples”, and they saw the servant church as characterized by its service to the poor and the oppressed.5 liberation theology emerged out of the synods’ interpretations of these themes as segundo galilea notes: “[t]he medellín conference may be regarded as the point of departure for this theology [of liberation].”6 liberation theology’s treatment of christian hope must be understood within this context as an articulation of hope for the poor and the oppressed. thus, hope within liberation theology is a particular and historical hope, that is, it is particular to the poor and the oppressed and it is primarily a hope for liberation within history. gustavo gutierrez clearly understood this particularity of the kingdom for the poor as compatible with the kingdom’s basic inclusion of all people.7 sobrino, however, claims that christian hope is a “partial hope” for the poor and the oppressed8 and this assertion seems to go a step beyond the articulation of a particular hope and beyond the medellín and puebla interpretations of vatican ii. my treatment of the question “hope for whom?” in this paper primarily raises a critical question about the exclusivity implied by sobrino’s understanding of the partiality of christian hope. in critiquing sobrino’s understanding of hope, it is not my intention to deny the unique and particular place that the poor and the oppressed have in the kingdom of god. nor is it my intention to lessen or excuse the responsibility of the rich as the oppressors of the poor. rather, because i wish to uphold and protect the unique and particular claim that the poor and the oppressed have on kingdom and resurrection hope, i question sobrino’s assertion of partiality which seems to oppose or at least make secondary the kingdom’s fundamental universality. i begin my discussion of the question “hope for whom?” by critically searching for an answer to this question within the christologies of jürgen 4 segundo galilea, “latin america in the medellín and puebla conferences: an example of selective and creative reception of vatican ii” found in the reception of vatican ii (washington, d.c.: catholic university press, 1987), ed. by giuseppe alberigo, jean-pierre jossua, and joseph komonchak, p. 63-65. 5 ibid. 6 ibid., p. 65. 7 gustavo gutierrez, “the church and the poor: a latin american perspective” found in the reception of vatican ii (washington, d.c.: catholic university press, 1987), ed. by giuseppe alberigo, jean-pierre jossua, and joseph komonchak, p. 179. 8 jon sobrino, jesus the liberator (maryknoll, ny: orbis books, 1993), p. 124. 3 moltmann and edward schillebeeckx. these two theologians provide understandings of the universality of christian hope which also emphasize the particularity of this hope for the poor and the oppressed. that is, their theologies attempt to hold in balance universality and particularity. by beginning with moltmann and schillebeeckx, i hope to make my critique of sobrino’s assertion of partiality more precise and offer a correction to sobrino’s approach rather than suggesting its rejection. for moltmann, schillebeeckx and sobrino, the proclamation of the kingdom of god through jesus constitutes the basis for shaping their understanding of christian hope. yet, each of these theologians assumes a different starting point and presents varying themes of emphasis in approaching the three linked and interrelated segments of this proclamation, which are jesus’ life, death and resurrection. still, in spite of the differences in their approaches, the central issue of the universality and particularity or partiality of kingdom hope emerges in each of their christologies. a consideration of the particularity or partiality of christian hope pushes us to seek specific answers to the question “hope for whom?” within each of these theologians’ perspectives. it raises the more specific questions: who in particular can hope that jesus is “on their side” and whose cause does he take up in his life, death and resurrection? does jesus take up the cause of humanity, the cause of sinners, or the cause of victims? in what sense is the hope to be included in the kingdom of god a universal hope and in what sense is it a particular hope? in comparing moltmann, schillebeeckx and sobrino on their treatments of these questions the issue of the inclusivity or exclusivity of the kingdom and christian hope rises to the surface. sobrino’s liberation theology presents a narrower picture of who can hope to be included in the kingdom than do the theologies of moltmann and schillebeeckx. their broader perspectives assert that the fundamental universality and inclusivity of the kingdom is the necessary precondition for its inclusion of any particular person or group of people. in moving forward with this analysis, i first define an understanding of the content of christian hope, that is, i address the question “hope for what?”. then i turn to the question “hope for whom?” by exploring this question within each of the christologies of moltmann, schillebeeckx and sobrino. in my treatment of each of these theologians, i look at his interpretation of the kingdom as made manifest in jesus’ life, death and resurrection. i conclude each treatment with a brief analysis of the theologian’s understanding of the universality and particularity of kingdom hope. finally, i close this discussion by comparatively assessing their basic claims about the universality, particularity and partiality of christian hope. before i turn my to the question “hope for whom?”, it will be helpful for me to briefly specify a basic and mediating answer to the question “hope for what?”. 4 for the purpose of my discussion here, i understand christian hope as essentially consisting of two parts. first, it is a hope for salvation and eternal life – for a lasting place in the fully realized reign of god, which is still to come. secondly, christian hope is a hope for liberation within history. it is a hope to be free from the oppressing power of shame and guilt as well as from economic, social and political oppressors. this understanding of christian hope is often referred to as hope for ‘integral salvation’. it is this understanding of hope as hope for integral salvation that i carry forward into my investigation of the question “hope for whom?”. i begin this investigation with the christology of jürgen moltmann. moltmann’s christology begins with the suffering of god in jesus’ death on the cross, which he calls the “death in god” because he asserts that through jesus’ death suffering entered into god himself. thus, on the cross, god reveals himself as a ‘moved mover’ who suffers with humanity. in order to explore the question “hope for whom?” in this context, we will have to ask the questions: (1) for whom did jesus suffer and die? and (2) who can identify with jesus’ suffering and death? in understanding the “for whom?” in jesus’ death, we will clarify moltmann’s view of the “for whom?” of resurrection and kingdom hope. moltmann explores jesus’ suffering and death through an examination of three trials each of which hands down a particular judgment upon jesus. first, jesus is condemned as a blasphemer for teaching with an authority “above the authority of moses and the torah.”9 this makes jesus guilty of the “blasphemy of self-deification.”10 by preaching the reign of god as the justification of sinners by grace and not as judgment, jesus undermines the law, deceives sinners and blasphemes the god of hope.11 the second trial is the political trial before pilate. in order to be sentenced to crucifixion, jesus had to be misrepresented as a rebel. moltmann claims that the political dimension of jesus’ gospel, which had some similarities to the political aims of the zealots, was misconstrued to have jesus crucified as a rebel.12 thus, he was a victim of misunderstanding. finally, jesus underwent a trial before god which resulted in his rejection by the father. in the end, jesus died godforsaken. jesus’ death on the cross was an experience of profound abandonment in which the father to whom he felt so intimately close throughout his life remained silent at the time of his greatest need. moltmann argues that jesus ultimately did not die because of the religious leaders’ understanding of the law, or the political power of pilate, but rather he died 9 jürgen moltmann, the crucified god (new york, ny: harper & row, publishers, 1974), p. 128. 10 ibid., p. 129. 11 ibid. 12 moltmann, p. 144. 5 because of the silence of the father.13 jesus’ words on the cross in mark 15:34, “my god, my god, why have you forsaken me?” expressed the suffering of jesus crying out to his father and claiming the father’s unique faithfulness to himself.14 thus, jesus felt god’s silence as his personal abandonment by the father. this is the height of his suffering and the cause of his death. simultaneously, the father experiences the loss of his son and suffers along with him. on the cross, god, in the persons of father and son, experiences suffering. the hope brought about by the resurrection can only be understood from moltmann’s perspective if we understand jesus as not just any man raised from the dead, but as one condemned and crucified by the oppressors of his people as a blasphemer and a rebel, and ultimately as one abandoned by god, his father.15 he died as a misunderstood, misrepresented and abandoned victim, so his death raises the question of the triumph of executioners over their victims. the resurrection of this victim proclaims that executioners will not triumph over victims, nor will victims triumph over their executioners, but rather jesus who died for both victims and executioners will triumph.16 the hope of the resurrection then is a hope for the falsely condemned and crucified, the godforsaken, the victim and the executioner. according to moltmann, the resurrection brings to the world “the new righteousness,” which “creates right both for the lawless and those outside the law.”17 thus, both the lawless oppressors and the victims excluded by the law are offered hope within the new law inaugurated in the resurrection. yet to understand more clearly the “for whom?” of the resurrection, we need to say more about jesus’ suffering and death. on the cross, jesus not only experiences abandonment by the father, but in the humiliation of that abandonment, jesus comes to the fullness of his humanity by sharing in the depths of human suffering. thus, “[t]he incarnation of the logos is completed on the cross.”18 in jesus’ humiliation and dehumanization, his becoming human is completed. moltmann seems to claim that in becoming “the kind of man we do not want to be: an outcast, accursed, crucified,”19 and in identifying with the least of humanity, jesus becomes fully human and thus becomes one with all of humanity. because jesus’ suffering becomes the father’s suffering, the father too demonstrates his willingness to identify with and suffer out of love for humanity. moltmann argues that god’s true identity is revealed on the cross. here, the truth of god is revealed in his humiliation, helplessness, self-surrender and humanity 13 ibid., p. 149. 14 ibid., p. 150. 15 ibid., p. 175. 16 moltmann, p. 178. 17 ibid. 18 ibid., p. 204-5. 19 ibid., p. 205. 6 because “[h]ere he himself is love with all his being.”20 on the cross, god reveals himself as the god of freedom21 who respects human freedom and then unites himself with the human suffering which results from that freedom. in this context of understanding the cross as the completion of the incarnation and the disclosure of god’s true identity, the question “for whom?” finds its clearest answer. in embracing complete self-humiliation and becoming fully human, god extends himself to all humanity without reservation: “he lowers himself and accepts the whole of mankind without limits and conditions, so that each man may participate in him with the whole of his life.”22 for moltmann, jesus’ full humanity on the cross indicates that each individual can equally claim participation in his divinity. moltmann does not see the distinctions between kinds of sinners that we will later see sobrino finds. rather, he argues that jesus came to justify sinners by grace without distinction “whether they are zealots or tax collectors, pharisees or sinners, jews or samaritans, and therefore, also, whether they are jews or gentiles.”23 moltmann asserts this claim even more forcefully when he calls attention to the fact that the place of jesus’ death, golgotha, is outside jerusalem at the boundary of society, where there are no distinctions among people. it [jesus’ crucifixion] happened, in fact, on the boundary of human society, where it does not matter whether a person is jew or gentile, greek or barbarian, master or servant, man or woman, because death is unaware of these distinctions. so the crucified one does not recognize these distinctions either.24 one could add rich or poor, oppressors or oppressed, righteous or sinners to this list. “the ‘crucified’ god is the human god of all godless men and those who have been abandoned by god.”25 those who are inhumane (oppressors) and those treated inhumanely (the oppressed) are recognized equally by jesus on the cross. thus, although motlmann does see jesus’ death as the unjust death of a victim of misunderstanding, he does not subsequently see participation in and redemption through his death as belonging partially or primarily to victims. instead, moltmann argues that it is precisely in his death that jesus identifies himself with the whole of humanity and all sinners without distinction. 20 ibid. 21 ibid, p. 195. 22 moltmann, p. 276. 23 ibid., p. 142. 24 ibid., p. 194. 25 ibid., p. 195. 7 because the resurrection can only be appropriately understood as “the resurrection of the crucified christ,”26 the hope of the resurrection has to be as inclusive, or as lacking in distinction, as christ’s death. thus, for moltmann, hope of the resurrection is a universal hope by its very nature. yet, in spite of its universality, hope of the resurrection particularly includes each individual in every position, inside or outside the boundaries of society. we could say that this hope is universally particular, that is, it is particular to all sinners, or all humanity. because, through jesus’ death and experience of abandonment, god allows suffering to enter into himself, he does identify particularly with those who suffer. yet, this identification with those who suffer destroys old distinctions between the godforsaken and the godless and it does not negate the fundamental universality of resurrection hope. the resurrection of the crucified christ institutes the kingdom of god: “thus resurrection…is already itself the new creation.”27 in this new creation, the righteousness of god is revealed “as grace which makes righteous and as the creator’s love of the godless.”28 moltmann clarifies further that the grace of the kingdom “makes both lawbreaker and lawless righteous.”29 thus, the kingdom of god, the new creation, the new righteousness, does not make distinctions, but rather extends itself to all humanity in the resurrection of christ, the condemned, crucified and abandoned son of god. edward schillebeeckx interprets the relationship between jesus and the father on the cross differently than moltmann, which leads him to a slightly different understanding of kingdom and resurrection hope. schillebeeckx argues that, although moltmann correctly understands the cross as a demonstration of god’s desire and choice to suffer with suffering humanity, nevertheless he incorrectly places the blame for jesus’ death on god’s silence rather than on human injustice.30 schillebeeckx characterizes jesus’ death not as an experience of abandonment and godforsakenness, like moltmann, but as a personal experience of profound failure.31 as jesus approaches his death, he experiences the rejection of his preaching of the reign of god and, thus, he experiences the apparent failure of his entire life’s work and mission. in the face of this failure, jesus experiences god’s hiddenness and silence. however, god’s hiddenness does not lead jesus to feelings of abandonment but rather pushes jesus to continue trusting in his father’s presence even though he appears to be absent. this expression of trust in the hidden god during a real experience of failure creates the ground for hope. 26 moltmann, p. 204. 27 ibid., p. 176. 28 ibid. 29 ibid., p. 140. 30 edward schillebeeckx, christ: the experience of jesus as lord (n.y.: crossroad, 1981), p. 728. 31 ibid., p. 825. 8 only if jesus really experienced failure in a limited but real dimension of our history…can his own experience of failure as a historical event provide any encouragement, productive or critical force towards helping men to cope with the problem of failure.32 it is precisely in the face of this failure that the true nature of god’s power is revealed. the revelation of god’s power turns on its head our concept of power because it is the power of defenselessness which disarms evil.33 it is a “gratuitous action” which gains victory over the historical and empirical facts by choosing to stand vulnerable before them.34 thus, jesus’ faithfulness and trust in the midst of a real experience of failure in history demonstrates hope in something deeper and more powerful than the facts, namely, “the lord of history.”35 this hope is a hope for personal validation through communion and relationship with god which will be unchanged by experiences of failure and the facts of history. this is the essence of christian hope for schillebeeckx. yet, schillebeeckx asserts that resurrection hope is nothing more than “human longing” and jesus’ death is “sheer failure” if there are not signs of the resurrection within jesus’ life of preaching the kingdom.36 jesus’ praxis of the kingdom anticipates his resurrection.37 hope of the resurrection then is closely associated with and grounded in the hope of the kingdom. thus, for schillebeeckx understanding jesus’ praxis of the kingdom is necessary for understanding the “for whom?” of resurrection hope. schillebeeckx defines the kingdom of god in terms of jesus’ association with the sick, the marginalized, tax collectors and sinners, the poor, “and finally in terms of all the oppressed.”38 jesus’ practice of table fellowship and his protection of the children thought to be a burden by the disciples demonstrates the “for whom?” of the kingdom, according to schillebeeckx. the reign of god seeks out the outcasts, the poor and those like children. schillebeeckx asserts that the poor in the new testament refer to those that are “really socially and economically poor, exploited and oppressed.”39 thus, as we will see shortly, he appears to be in agreement with sobrino’s classifications of the economic and sociologically poor. the difference between schillebeeckx and sobrino will be seen in each of their understandings of what the kingdom brings to these poor. schillebeeckx 32 ibid., p. 824. 33 edward schillebeeckx, church: the human story of god (n.y.: crossroad, 1990), p. 90. 34 ibid., p. 95. 35 schillebeeckx, christ, p. 831. 36 schillebeeckx, church, p. 127. 37 praxis here means action and demonstration based on continued reflection and prayer. 38 ibid., p. 112. 39 ibid., p. 113. 9 acknowledges that liberation occurs within a cultural context and, therefore, “includes the recognition of systematic disruptions of communication like sexism, racism…and the western cultural and religious sense of superiority.”40 yet, for schillebeeckx, the kingdom of god does not mean “direct liberation from poverty, exploitation and oppression,” but rather it means rescuing “the poor from their sense of shame at being outcast.”41 freedom from shame is more basic and more difficult to achieve than freedom from economic and social oppression because it requires the direct intervention of god whereas the latter can be healed through human intervention.42 thus, christian hope for liberation within history begins with and consists primarily of liberation from sin and shame rather than from poverty and economic and social oppression. although schillebeeckx emphasizes the kingdom of god as a kingdom for the poor, this emphasis is rooted in a broader understanding of the kingdom: “the kingdom of god is a ‘kingdom of men and women’, a human kingdom.”43 it is because the kingdom is a human kingdom that it “takes concrete form above all in justice and peaceful relationships among individuals and peoples.”44 the poor and the oppressed have special significance in the realization of the kingdom because in their exclusion as outcasts the fullness of humanity is denied and undermined. thus, the kingdom of god comes with the “abolition of the blatant contrast between rulers and ruled” and the elimination of social distinctions.45 but, how are these distinctions to be abolished and how much depends on human vs. divine intervention? here, jesus’ response to his experience of failure as he approaches death provides a model. jesus spent his life proclaiming and building the kingdom by drawing close to outcasts and sinners and challenging the rich and the powerful. yet, in the face of death, jesus’ mission seems to have failed. however, in choosing to accept suffering and death with trust in god in spite of his hiddenness, jesus allows god to achieve a victory which is greater than the historical and empirical facts of the rejection of his mission in the crucifixion. thus, jesus’ example suggests that the elimination of distinction and division in society comes through human initiative toward the loving inclusion of sinners and outcasts. yet, at the same time, individuals must respond to the failure, which will inevitably accompany this initiative, by continuing to trust in the god who is often hidden and silent. liberation within history through the abolition of social divisions, therefore, requires human praxis carried out with loving trust in the father, but that praxis is not rendered ineffective by human failure because the 40 schillebeeckx, church, p. 132. 41 ibid. 42 schillebeeckx, christ, p. 833. 43 schillebeeckx, church, p. 112. 44 ibid., p. 111-2. 45 ibid., p. 112. 10 ‘lord of history’ holds the final say even in the face of failure, injustice and death. as schillebeeckx says, “god’s transcendent overcoming of human failure is historically incorporated in jesus’ never-ceasing love for god and man, during and in the historical moment of his failure on the cross.”46 jesus’ trust in the father during his real experience of failure on the cross was a definitive success which made god’s overcoming of human failure a historical reality. on the cross, jesus illustrates the “positive link between the ‘kingdom of god’ and the ‘kingdom of human freedom’.”47 god’s overcoming of human failure does not involve a removal of human experiences of failure, which naturally accompany human freedom. god’s kingdom does not enact its authority through force or oppression, which would violate human freedom. rather, god’s power manifests itself in defenselessness, vulnerability and love, which respect and enable human freedom. schillebeeckx asserts that the connection between the kingdom of god and the kingdom of human freedom is inherent in creation because in creation god assents to “a sort of ‘divine yielding’, making room for the other.”48 and “[b]y giving creative space to human beings, god makes himself vulnerable.”49 on the cross, jesus demonstrates the love of god which leaves room for human freedom while at the same time overcoming human failure by disarming evil with defenselessness. god’s recurring action in history to eliminate divisions and distinctions continues to demonstrate the positive link between the kingdom of god and the kingdom of human freedom. schillebeeckx’s caution against a condemnation of the rich and the oppressors, when seeking a means to abolish the division between rulers and ruled, rich and poor, reflects this understanding of the relationship between the kingdom of god and human freedom. he argues that humanity is redeemed despite jesus’ death on the cross and this redemption despite his death has to be understood in terms of “the refusal of jesus to look for a culprit.”50 it does not facilitate the kingdom to make a culprit out of this or that person or group of people even if they have failed to live up to the love of the kingdom. looking for a culprit violates the kingdom of god because it encroaches on human freedom. god’s respect for human freedom requires leaving room for and remaining open to the rich and the oppressors. making them into culprits falls short of this openness. jesus demonstrates the kingdom by associating particularly with the poor and outcasts, while at the same time respecting human freedom by refusing to exclude the rich and the oppressors in labeling them as culprits. 46 schillebeeckx, christ, p. 830. 47 schillebeeckx, church, p. 88. 48 ibid., p. 90. 49 schillebeeckx, church, p. 90. 50 schillebeeckx, christ, p. 730. 11 thus, for schillebeeckx, the kingdom is particularly for the poor precisely because it is a universal, human kingdom. the universality of the kingdom is the necessary precondition for its particularity. we further the kingdom by emphasizing its particularity for those who are being excluded while at the same time maintaining its universality in refusing to exclude those who are doing the excluding. any understanding of the particularity of the kingdom for the poor that does not arise out of its fundamental and constant universality violates human freedom and, therefore, misinterprets the kingdom. coming from the viewpoint of the third world in el salvador, sobrino brings the experiences of the poor and the oppressed into his interpretation of the kingdom. he sees the kingdom of god proclaimed and made manifest by jesus as especially the kingdom for the poor.51 borrowing from moltmann, sobrino understands the death of jesus on the cross as the ‘crucified god.’52 however, he goes beyond moltmann by interpreting the death of jesus, a condemned, crucified, and abandoned victim, as an indication of god’s partiality toward victims. this understanding of jesus’ death along with his understanding of jesus’ ministry as directed specifically toward the poor and those oppressed by society allow him to approach the resurrection from the view of the victims and thus to interpret christian hope as primarily the “hope of victims.”53 thus, for sobrino, hope of the resurrection is, at least initially, “a partial hope” belonging particularly to all those ignored, abandoned and crucified in history.54 this hope can become universal only when those of us who are not “victims” in the particular sense of the poor and the oppressed or those of us whom sobrino calls the “non-poor” share and “participate, analogously, in the life and death of victims.”55 in order for hope in the resurrection to become real and personal for us, we must first share in the crosses of our time in history. sobrino argues that these crosses are found in the lives and deaths of the innocent victims of the third world. in order to appreciate sobrino’s claiming of the hope of the resurrection as primarily a hope for victims, it is first necessary to understand his view of the kingdom of god made visible and initiated by jesus’ ministry. sobrino says that “liberation theology deliberately chooses the kingdom of god and not the resurrection as ‘ultimate’” because it is the kingdom of god that has the power for showing us “how to live in history,”56 that is, it informs our praxis. for sobrino, hope only has meaning when it is grounded in a particular praxis. the particular struggles and sufferings that we undergo to make our lives meaningful create the 51 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 79. 52 ibid., p. 233. 53 jon sobrino, christ the liberator (maryknoll, ny: orbis books, 2001), p. 15. 54 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 124. 55 sobrino, christ the liberator, p. 43. 56 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 124. 12 context necessary for hope to make sense. thus, the praxis of the kingdom demonstrated by jesus is the necessary context for the hope of the resurrection to make sense. we can only share in the hope of the resurrection if we have reflected on jesus’ particular mission and taken it up in our own lives. this particular mission seeks out sinners (or those labeled as sinners by society), the poor, and the oppressed. we will see that, for sobrino, christian hope refers primarily to a hope for liberation within history. sobrino places particular emphasis on understanding the kingdom by “the way of the addressee” because if the kingdom of god is “good news,” then it is the audience of the kingdom who “will intrinsically clarify what is ‘good’ in the news.”57 sobrino states that the addressee of the kingdom made manifest in jesus is clearly the poor and the kingdom’s relationship to the poor “appears as a relationship as of right, based on the very nature of god.”58 thus, god loves the poor and addresses the kingdom to them precisely because they are poor. sobrino, then, has the task of defining who jesus understood as the poor when he addressed the kingdom of god to them specifically. sobrino distinguishes between two classes of poor described in the synoptic gospels.59 first, there are “those who groan under some type of basic need” and they include the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the mourning, and the imprisoned.60 they are those “weighed down by a real burden” and sobrino calls these the “economic poor” because they are denied that which is “basic and primary in life.”61 second, the poor are “those despised by the ruling society” and they include prostitutes, publicans, and sinners.62 they are those viewed as “the least” and sobrino calls these the “sociologically poor” because they are denied the minimum of human dignity.63 sobrino includes sinners in this category but by sinners here he refers to those whom the ruling society has labeled as sinners. these two classes of poor together make up “those at the bottom” of society; and for sobrino “being at the bottom…means being oppressed by those on top.”64 the kingdom is addressed especially to these poor, then, because they are oppressed. jesus showed “undoubted partiality” to both classes of poor.65 he demonstrated this partiality through his shared meals with publicans and sinners, which scandalized those at the center of society, ‘those on top’.66 his parables also 57 ibid., p. 70. 58 ibid., p. 79-80. 59 the synoptic gospels include the gospels of matthew, mark and luke. it excludes the gospel of john. 60 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 80. 61 ibid. 62 ibid. 63 ibid. 64 ibid. 65 ibid., p. 81. 66 ibid., p. 103-4. 13 caused scandal because they proclaimed the partiality of the kingdom for the poor.67 jesus’ healings and exorcisms are primarily “signs against oppression” because they give reason to hope that the “ultimate” oppressive power of evil can be undone and is, therefore, not ultimate.68 they demonstrate the kingdom addressed to those poor oppressed by evil. thus, in his meals, his telling of parables and his performing of healings and exorcisms, jesus clearly and consistently makes visible the partiality of the kingdom for both classes of poor. sobrino goes on to examine jesus’ concern for sinners. here, sobrino distinguishes between two categories of sinners in the synoptics, just as he did in his treatment of the poor. first, there are those who are “oppressors” and they sin by “oppressing, placing intolerable burdens on others, [and] acting unjustly.”69 we could think of these sinners as those who sin from power. this contrasts with sobrino’s second category which is “those who sin from weakness.”70 he equates this group with “those ‘legally considered sinners’.”71 this second type of sinner seems closely associated with or almost equivalent to the sociologically poor described above. those who sin from weakness must be those who are denied the minimum of human dignity by being oppressed by those in power. this linking of the sociologically poor, or those viewed as ‘the least’, with those legally considered sinners fits well with sobrino’s claim that jesus welcomed sinners more than forgave sins.72 in essence, jesus gives back dignity to the least and those labeled as sinners by welcoming them into relationship. sobrino states that jesus offers salvation to both types of sinners, the oppressors and the oppressed, but he offers it to each differently. for those who sin from power, the kingdom can only approach them if they put an end to their oppression. for those who sin from weakness, inclusion in the coming kingdom simply requires an acceptance of god as love and therefore it approaches them much more easily. based on his distinction between types of sinners and degrees of sin, sobrino implies that, although the kingdom is for all sinners, it is especially addressed to those who sin from weakness, those labeled as sinners, those who are victims of oppression. by identifying the principle of liberation for this second group of sinners as jesus’ welcoming initiative, sobrino acknowledges the need for liberation from sin and shame, or from an “inner principle of enslavement.”73 however, in spite of sobrino’s affirmation of the need for liberation from sin and shame, he seems to imply that first priority goes to liberation from economic 67 ibid., p. 100. 68 ibid., p. 89. 69 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 96. 70 ibid. 71 ibid. 72 ibid. 73 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 97. 14 and material poverty. he sees jesus’ pity in healing the sick and feeding the hungry crowds as an indication that jesus saw something ultimate in material and bodily suffering and thus his pity for the economic poor and the physically unprotected was foremost and “not to be superseded by anything.”74 jesus’ pity for sin and the sociologically poor, while still a priority, must then come second. this emphasis on economic and social liberation over psychological liberation from sin and shame distinguishes sobrino from schillebeeckx. both assert that liberation must occur to some extent on both these levels and that resurrection hope includes a hope for liberation within history, yet, they make opposing claims about which form of liberation is primary. sobrino’s assertion of the priority of economic and material liberation tends toward an overlooking of schillebeeckx’s claim that jesus refused to look for a culprit. by emphasizing economic and material oppression, sobrino also highlights the economic and material oppressors and opens the door for labeling them as culprits. this increased potential for labeling culprits becomes clearer in sobrino’s treatment of the kingdom’s relationship to the rich or those included under sobrino’s label the ‘non-poor’. sobrino points out jesus’ frequent denunciations of the rich and calls it “an absolute denunciation…that nothing can soften.”75 sobrino interprets jesus’ analogy between the camel passing through the eye of a needle and the rich man entering the kingdom (mk 10:25-27) as a demonstration that riches in and of themselves “ultimately mean damnation.”76 thus, when the disciples ask who can be saved, jesus replies that god can make possible what is impossible for mortals. for sobrino, this means that god will make it possible for the rich to denounce their riches and thus gain the hope of the kingdom.77 sobrino gets more specific about what it means for the rich to denounce their riches when he says: the solution has to be found in the line of lowering themselves to material poverty in the form of…real service to and support of the materially poor, of sharing in and taking on the fate of the poor…[and] in this to establish a real relationship with the materially poor and with real poverty.78 thus, the non-poor can have hope in the kingdom only in so far as they lower themselves to share in the life of the poor. to participate analogously in the hope of the kingdom a hope for victims, the rich must in some real and material way give up their riches and identify with victims of material and economic poverty. 74 ibid., p. 90. 75 ibid., p. 171. 76 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 171. 77 ibid., p. 172. 78 ibid. , p. 128. 15 sobrino, then, maintains the universality of kingdom hope in spite of its partiality for the poor by way of analogy. he argues that the universality of the kingdom is lost if it becomes a rejection of its partiality. the poor and oppressed are the majority in the world and, therefore, a universality which fails to take them particularly and even partially into account is not very universal at all.79 in light of this understanding of the kingdom for the poor, the hope of the resurrection “is not the universal hope of an afterlife, but a partial hope – which can later be universalized – for the victims of this world.”80 the universalization of this hope comes through the analogous sharing in the lives of victims. sobrino argues that we cannot understand this hope as equally addressed to everyone by spiritualizing the poor so that all persons can be counted among them in some way because this spiritualization dilutes the essence of what the kingdom of god is. he specifically renounces walter kasper’s understanding of the kingdom as the “kingdom of love” for this very reason. as an “abstract-universal” it loses its sense of the true nature and specificity of the kingdom and “becomes practically interchangeable with other theological realities.”81 sobrino’s understanding of jesus’ death and resurrection is grounded in this partiality and specificity of the kingdom. his explication of the significance of the cross is largely based on moltmann’s theology of the “crucified god,” described above. sobrino summarizes this significance in terms of the “god of solidarity” when he says: [i]n history there is no such thing as love without solidarity and there is no solidarity without incarnation…solidarity in a world of victims that was not prepared to become a victim would in the end not be solidarity. 82 thus, jesus’ death was the death of a victim in solidarity with all the victims in history. sobrino goes beyond moltmann by claiming that yahweh’s suffering servant is present in history as the victims or “crucified peoples” of the world.83 we can take up the cross of christ today by taking up the crosses of these victims. the hope of the resurrection is clarified by the life and death of jesus as the life and death of a victim in history as well as by the lives and deaths of the countless victims today. sobrino adds one reflection regarding the resurrection as an indication of the kingdom’s partiality for he poor. he notes the command in mark’s gospel: “but go…to galilee; there you will see him” (16:7).84 because “galilee is the place of the poor and the despised,” sobrino suggests that this 79 ibid., p. 82. 80 ibid., p. 124. 81 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 121. 82 ibid., p. 245. 83 ibid., p. 255. 84 sobrino, christ the liberator, p. 14. 16 command reflects mark’s theological interpretation that the risen christ is to be found among the economic and sociologically poor.85 for sobrino, the cross and the resurrection continue the manifestation of the kingdom of god as a kingdom partially for the poor. moltmann and schillebeeckx both assert the fundamental universality of the kingdom in ways which lead to a broader interpretation of christian hope than sobrino’s understanding allows. moltmann begins his christology with the cross and claims that in jesus’ death and resurrection god institutes a new kingdom which embraces the godless and the godforsaken, the lawless and the lawbreakers alike. in jesus’ abandonment on the cross, god freely allows the suffering of humanity, resulting from human freedom, to enter into himself. the hope of the resurrection in light of jesus’ death is a hope for all suffering humanity and all sinners without distinction. yet, moltmann leaves room for victims to hope for god’s identification with them particularly without undermining the universality of christian hope. schillebeeckx asserts this same universality based on jesus’ demonstration of the kingdom throughout his life, in which he welcomed the poor, sinners and all the oppressed, while, at the same time, refusing to violate human freedom by labeling the oppressors as culprits. such a violation of human freedom in looking for a culprit would have undermined the kingdom of god. thus, for both moltmann and schillebeeckx, christian hope is a universal hope right from the beginning. it does not become universalized by analogy. the kingdom’s particularity is made possible by this fundamental universality. sobrino argues that the universality of kingdom hope can only come about through a recognition of its partiality for the poor: it is “a partial hope – which can later be universalized.”86 sobrino’s assertion of the kingdom’s partiality undermines its fundamental universality. if the non-poor share in the hope of the kingdom only by lowering themselves and participating analogously in the lives of victims, then universality appears to be analogous to the kingdom rather than intrinsic to it. if all individuals cannot share in kingdom hope directly at some level then the universality of the kingdom seems to be an extrinsic possibility that we are trying to hold on to rather than a foundational reality. interpreting the particularity of the kingdom for the poor as a partiality fails to understand its particularity as necessarily grounded in its universality and, therefore, ultimately denies them both. sobrino correctly asserts that “if the reality of jesus’ resurrection is not made present in history in some form, then it will remain as something totally extrinsic to us.”87 however, by claiming that the resurrection is partially present in 85 sobrino, christ the liberator, p. 14. 86 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 124. 87 sobrino, christ the liberator, p. 13. 17 the lives of the poor and the oppressed to the extent that the non-poor can only share in it analogously, sobrino makes the resurrection largely extrinsic to many. the reality of the resurrection must be accessible to all individuals before it can have a particular significance to anyone. spiritualizing poverty and oppression does dilute the true force of jesus’ life and message as sobrino claims. however, if one is not able to identify what is poor and oppressed within oneself because one cannot directly participate in the cross and resurrection, then one will never be free to share in the life of another. freedom from one’s own “inner principle of enslavement,” to use sobrino’s language,88 is a necessary precondition for the freedom to live for others and this is true for the poor and non-poor alike. thus, it seems to me that schillebeeckx’s understanding of the necessary interdependence of the kingdom’s particularity and universality provides a healthy caution and corrective for sobrino. the hope of the kingdom and the hope of the resurrection is a human hope which god offers directly to all individuals in the person of jesus. because it is a universal, human hope, god offers it particularly to those who are excluded, while at the same time refusing to label as culprits those who are doing the excluding and thereby excluding them. claiming the hope of the kingdom as a partial hope for victims does not allow for this interdependence because partiality and universality are inherently opposed. if god offers this hope partially to victims, then some are initially excluded and are forced to seek reinclusion. by asserting the link between the kingdom of god and the kingdom of human freedom, schillebeeckx maintains that all persons must be free to share in this hope directly. in revealing his power, not through force and coercion, but through defenselessness, vulnerability and love, god respects human freedom even to the point of death on the cross and he holds the doors of the kingdom open for all persons, even those oppressors who have victimized and crucified him. if christian hope is a hope for integral salvation, i.e., a hope for both eternal life in the coming kingdom and for liberation from all forms of oppression within history, then it must be a hope which is fundamentally and directly accessible to all persons. because this hope necessarily includes a hope for liberation from economic and social oppression, the victims of the third world have great reason to rejoice in claiming this hope as their own. this particular claim on kingdom hope by the poor and the oppressed also has direct and legitimate implications for the lifestyles of the rich or non-poor in the first world. however, hope for integral salvation also includes a hope for eternal life, i.e., the final, personal and unique validation of one’s personhood through lasting communion with a loving god in the fully realized kingdom. this is the ultimate fulfillment of christian hope. therefore, the claiming of this hope by the economically and socially oppressed 88 sobrino, jesus the liberator, p. 97. 18 cannot diminish its immediate accessibility to all persons, including the rich. indeed, this would deny the very openness and inclusivity of the kingdom which christ demonstrates through vulnerability and love. the openness that christ embodies in complete defenselessness on the cross reveals that christian hope must be a hope which god offers uniquely, particularly and directly to each and every individual. it is a fundamentally universal hope. works cited alberigo, giuseppe; jossua, jean-pierre; komonchak, joseph a. the reception of vatican ii. washington, d.c.: catholic university press, 1987. chopp, rebecca s. the praxis of suffering: an interpretation of liberation and political theologies. maryknoll, ny: orbis books, 1986. moltmann, jürgen. the crucified god: the cross of christ as the foundation and criticism of christian theology. new york: harper & row, 1974 – from second german edition of 1973. schillebeeckx, edward. christ: the experience of jesus as lord. new york: crossroad, 1981. ----. church: the human story of god. new york: crossroad, 1990. sobrino, jon. christ the liberator: a view from the victims. maryknoll, n.y.: orbis books, 2001. ----. jesus the liberator: a historical-theological reading of jesus of nazareth. maryknoll, n.y.: orbis books, 1993. the mythic and the historic in morrison: a formalistic study daniel p. popernack english speaking of richard wright, toni morrison observed that wright’s artistic endeavor was to “make an art form that is both unquestionably beautiful and also political at the same time” (brown 455). this same dilemma emerges in morrison’s work as a tension between narrative based in history and narrative based in a mythopoetic framework. 1 her novels spiral around a central mystery, revealing with each gyration alternating pieces of black history and black myth. although morrison does occasionally draw upon classical mythology, it is—in her words— “usually to show that something has gone wrong” (461). instead, she creates a self-referential (hence mythopoetic 2 ) system that criticism has interpreted as magic realism, folkloric narrative, or africanism. my intention is not to argue against these well-researched assertions but to identify how the existence of a mythic imagination in morrison’s novels rubs against the realistic elements of her work. even more, these dueling textures are simultaneously developed through morrison’s creation of characters who straddle the temporal divide—historical vs. (aor extra-) historical. select passages from song of solomon, and tar baby illuminate how morrison’s novels use the contrast of these textures to engage in a wider discussion of the nature of a uniquely african-american identity and mythology. given that this analysis is primarily formalistic, a quick definition of terms would be beneficial. at the risk of being overly reductivist, the formal qualities that are common in morrison’s fiction are: the historical ethos, the mythic family/person/enclave, and a central mystery that unites them. beloved’s sethe is a handy example for a quick explanation of these three elements. morrison drew sethe directly from the historical account of mary garner and her family’s 1 “since the twinned birth of bourgeois capitalism and the novel in the eighteenth century, realism and fantasy have represented the janus-faced enlightenment through their several genres, constituting each other as fictive modes while appearing to be mutually exclusive” (moglen 17). 2 “if we no longer look to myth for reality, we are still drawn to mythopoesis, where gods, heroes, and supernatural conflicts exist on a purely symbolic level, tying us to our past and showing us our origins. myths become “agents of stability,” not restricting us to a specific place or even to a specific culture but using the specific to ponder the enduring questions of all men” (harris 69). narrative spans from the middle passage to sweet home to the “free” north. 124, however, becomes the prototypical morrisonian “enclave” when beloved’s return morphs the story from slave narrative to neo-gothic ghost story. often, houses such as 124, families (and even convents) stand in as small extra-historical bubbles that fester in their self-enforced isolation. within their walls, mythic imagination subsumes history and the reader senses the disconnect between the peculiar goings-on within and the general march of history without. even within morrison’s “haunted houses,” the bodily persons of her characters likewise become extrahistorical places upon which history inscribes itself. the chokeberry tree adorning sethe’s back is a hieroglyphic standing in for the entirety of slavery; it does not, however, represent the mystery that is the engine within the novel— sethe’s murder of beloved. this central mystery—the validity and reliving of “anaconda love”—is the lynchpin that holds together the disparate, chaotic, and often befuddling narrative stops and starts in the novel. sethe, as the focal point of history and what many have identified as a cult of motherhood 3 that runs through morrison’s writing, is a particularly revealing figure in the tracking of these two planes in other works. the potential for (mythic) flight and the (historical) need to fight (against overt, violent racism) are the two major thrusts in song of solomon. within the first few pages, morrison sets up the dichotomy that milkman dead and his estranged friend guitar will enact throughout the novel. indeed, even before she had completed song, she stated that in “relationships between men there is something other operating” (stepto 482). this “something” underscoring milkman and guitar in song is the conflict between relatively stable post-slavery michigan and the siren song of a painful past calling from the south. structured like a palindrome, the novel begins with (a failed) flight and ends with (a presumably successful) flight. robert smith’s leap marks the descent of the seven days into insanity while milkman begins his upward ascent into the folklore of his people: [ruth foster talking to others at the site of smith’s suicide:] “did he come with a caul?” “you should have dried it and made him some tea from it to drink. if you don’t he’ll see ghosts.” “you believe that?” “i don’t, but that’s what the old people say.” (solomon 10) 3 moglen, brown, wyatt, nissen, harris, middleton, davis and others are a sample of the many critics who identify motherhood as being a central concern in morrison’s novels. often, critics examine the link between morrison and alice walkers “in search of our mothers’ gardens” guitar’s fall is his engagement with history through the eyepiece of militant racism; milkman indeed sees “ghosts” as he follows the aural/oral clues that lead to his symbolic sublimation through flight. through these two men, the novel examines the enigmatic quality of righteous retribution and the possibility of reengagement with a mythic past. the seven days represent an anxiety that reoccurs in morrison’s novels: the artificial manipulation of history in the name of self-defense. the seven days hide behind the illusion of indifference by invoking a sort of twisted hegelian dialectic. the seven days feign impersonality, self-figuring as the antithesis to the “unnatural” whites’ thesis. their view of history, however, lacks the essential hegelian synthesis; guitar insists that he the bloody path of history is irrevocable: “the killing goes on and on. so will we” (156). the whites’ writers and artists are named as accomplices in the systematic brutalization of blacks and guitar even ascribes their “depravity” to “the structure of their [whites’] chromosomes” (157). above all, the seven days justify themselves as executors of “numbers. balance. ratio. and the earth, the land […] soggy with black people’s blood” (158). these desperate appeals to science and fatalistic history place the seven days in morrison’s cross-hairs; characters who attempt to cut themselves off from humanity—whether for sociological or psychological reasons—become monstrous. their stand against what they perceive as an anonymous white leviathan will only drive them to inhumanity, suicide, and—in guitar’s case—fratricide. in terms of forster’s “flat” and “round” characters, morrison winnows guitar down over the course of the novel. his progress from being milkman’s boon companion and engaging other characters in dialogue to his figuring (at the novel’s end) as a lurking, seemingly omnipresent threat reflects the diminishing of his humanity in the name of the seven days monomaniacal project. as this study continues to point out characters who intentionally isolate themselves, it would be useful to keep in mind both bakhtinian dialogism and morrison’s own views on the importance of call-and-response (oral/aural) in order to move discourse further. attempts at laceration from the general discourse of the novel and its historical place invariably lead to tragedy. ironically, it is guitar who says of the odd cameo of a peacock that the bird will never fly: “can’t nobody fly with all that shit. wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down” (179). like joyce’s nightmare from which one cannot awake, history is “shit” of which guitar and the seven days are not able to divest themselves and, thus, unable to engage with reality. for milkman, on the other hand, he lacks—perhaps fortuitously—the strong hand of the seven days to dictate how he should engage with reality. instead, pilate and macon dead are the two possible paths towards realization of the self. their father’s (milkman’s grandfather’s) death is the mystery that milkman must confront in order to learn to “fly.” macon does not reveal to his son that he comes from slave-stock until the young man is already well into his twenties. this absurdity (one would think this would have come up at some point!) is macon’s attempt to isolate his son from the painful mystery of his grandfather’s murder simply because he was a black man who “owned things […] and let the things [he] owned own other things” (55). in fact, macon’s insistence on ownership of both objects and history does not exclude his son. macon senior (it is easy to forget the milkman is, as well, macon) forces his son into his tutelage and tries to activate some latent “dignity” in him by employing him. far from the salt-of-the-earth grandfather, macon’s feishization of objects and milkman’s unsuitability for manual labor (his “burning defect” embodied in a short left leg) indicate a generational movement away from the agrarian south. it is as if the movement north literally disfigures the dead family, making them physically unrecognizable from their past ancestors. 4 pilate, although equally damaged by the memory of her father’s murder, offers a path to reconciliation of the self that acknowledges the permanence of the past. for her, the present is an accumulation of the past, open to interference and “visitations.” in an oddly symbolic choice, morrison places chapter 5—the most gynocentric chapter and a recapitulation of the life and times of a navel-less woman—at the center of the book, an ombligo mundi of a very stylized novel. chapter 5 reveals a pilate that is not the witch of the south side, purveyor of moonshine, and near murderess of suitors. instead, she is portrayed as a wanderer, symbolically carrying her name in her own ear and the soil of her journey. when her father appears to her as an apparition and tells her to “sing, sing” (which the reader later learns is a piece of milkman’s mythic puzzle) she: knew he was telling her to go back to pennsylvania and collect what was left of the man she and macon had murdered. (the fact that she had struck no blow [to the man] was irrelevant. she was part of her brother’s act, because, then, she and he were one. (147) 4 “toni morrison [in her first four novels] juxtaposes two categories of people’s dreams and aspirations, visions of how life should be lived. the first dreamtypes are idyllic, for their proponents’ chief aims are to live in concord with people and nature while remaining true to their own heritage. in contrast, dreams in the second category advocate not brotherhood but the competitive acquisition of power or money […] throughout all four books, morrison affirms the superiority of idyllic values over competitive success ones” (house181). although the “superiority of the idyllic” could be problematic, house correctly identifies these two contrary movements/types in morrison. the transferability of experience (“she and he were one”) is essential to the ability of a character to intuit and engage with the past. her sensibilities leave her open to visitation by the past in a way that macon has managed either to forget or to ignore intentionally. her lack of a navel seems to imply that her food is supernatural stuff; by the time her line descends to hagar, this lack of corporeality may be the curse that causes her granddaughter’s death. hagar cannot kill her murderer (milkman) because “try as she might, the ball joint in her shoulders would not move [she becomes a part of a tableau] the paralyzed woman and the frozen man” (130). even more than any previous female figures, the triad of women in pilate’s family begins to look less like social outcasts a la sula and pecola and more like conjurers and ephemeral beings standing on the sideline of history. the “greenishgray” powder that ruth procures from pilate to excite macon’s sexual fervor introduces—for the first time in a very overt way—the possibility for feminine magic into morrison’s work. whereas lena and corinthians are left to wither under the macons and bryn mawrs (“a four-year dose of liberal education […] unfit her for eighty percent of the useful work of the world”) pilate represents a femininity that is the vessel of past knowledge (189). this fine-tuning of different types of (african-american) femininity on the peripheries of a male-driven socio-historical reality is well evidenced in the scene depicting milkman’s arrest. corinthians seems confused that “she had just come from a house in which men sat in a lit kitchen talking in loud excited voices, only to meet an identical scene at home” (202). she wonders if this part of the night (presumably a violent urban landscape heretofore obscured from her sight by macon) has always belonged exclusively to men: “if perhaps it was a secret hour in which men rose like giants from dragon’s teeth” (202). keep in mind morrison’s admission that invocations of western myth as a sign that something has gone awry; corinthians, the tragically delicate ingénue, thinks of the urban experience (her experience) in terms of a scene from jason’s quests 5 . as a spectator, she is unable to understand what her father and brother are speaking of “with so much passion.” the reality of milkman being arrested for being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong skin forces the father and son to confront that only the family’s relative affluence has managed to save them from the shame and submission that is their race’s lot even in the north. cynthia davis has identified that: when coercion is exercised by whites [in morrison’s fiction] it is depicted as anti-mythic […] it destroys the links between generations that are 5 jason assembled a great group of heroes, known as the argonauts after their ship, the argo. the group of heroes included the boreads (sons of boreas, the north wind) who could fly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/argonauts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/argo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/boreads http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/boreas foundations of a mythos […] and emphasizes the denial of responsibility in the faceless anti-myth. (335) davis’s appraisal does not allow space for coercion or self-hate on the part of blacks. socioeconomic divides permit macon to direct his ire upon “that yelloweyed nigger” guitar rather than upon the racial prejudice of the police. milkman, the more “hip” of the two perhaps due to his contact with guitar, knows that popular culture and mass media are white culture’s most effective instruments of oppression. regardless of the complexity of the dead family history and their unique road back to shalimar, they are conflated into the hunt “for the negro that killed that boy” (204). milkman understands that “they always say [that the culprit is black] every time” because “they” (read whites) have to. milkman is only freed when pilate, effecting the “yassuh, boss” stereotype even to the extent of “changing her voice,” is able to manipulate white expectations to set all straight and return home with her bag of bones. what is left opaque to the two men because they have yet to realize the mythic importance of the bones is: 1) “what’s crazier? her hauling a sack of gold around all this time or hauling a dead man’s bones around?” and 2) how she intuited milkman’s intention well enough to understand the situation immediately. until corinthians casts him out of the house, milkman is unable to understand that his aunt speaks with the ghosts he has yet to meet but from whom he springs. from milkman’s time with circe (this name itself a misleading allusion to western myth) to his leap at the novel’s end, there is a drastic change in pacing and tone in the prose that mimetically reflects his acceleration towards his climactic “take-off.” prior to part ii, the novel revolves around the dead family, the incestuous relationship between hagar and milkman, and the stagnancy of the town (milkman “wondered what they would do if they didn’t have black and white problems to talk about” (107)). after his departure for the south, however, the novel takes a turn towards…for lack of a better example…something more akin to a hardboiled dan brown novel than a classic morrisonian meditation on slavery’s lingering effect on a family. the reliance upon memory, word play, coincidence, and listening have a touch more jouissance than readers anticipate from morrison; usually (and i have beloved in mind particularly) the supernatural and history are revealed through painful admission and arduous discovery. it is easy to forget that the allure of money and the threat of lethal confrontation with guitar impel milkman southwards and past-wards; whatever he discovers about his mythic pedigree is consequential. indeed, as he enters the cave “he smelled money […] it was like candy and sex […] las vegas […] to win” (251). still, circe is pivotal in reading the second half of the novel not as a series of word puzzles but as an unwitting discovery of the mythic past. as is typical in immigration stories (and song is one played in reverse) a female “births” the immigrant into his/her new northern self. likewise, circe “guards this entrance into the past. she initiates milkman into his own past, showing both the power and the destructiveness of his heritage, and channels his rebelliousness into a quest for his own identity” (harris 74). again, before his hunting excursion and his anointing (for sacrifice?) by sweet, his motives are suspect and likely monetarily driven. however, circe does warn milkman that his "ear is on [his] head, but it’s not connected to [his] brain” (229). besides being an elaborate admonishment, she is pointing out to him that he must “commit [his experience in virginia] to his personal, oral memory, just as his slave and african ancestors learned, not to an artificial, external memory—a written record” (middleton 72). not only do female characters in morrison novels seem more finely in-tune with myth, they also act as the janus faced portal to “birth” errant blacks back into commune with their mythic roots. 6 this internalization of experience and its relationship to first-hand experience is a major divide in what a reader makes of milkman’s last “ride.” whether milkman “knew what shalimar knew” in a historical or in a mythic manner 7 in which he relives shalimar’s experience typologically lends a distinct “lady-or-the-tiger-ness” (harris’s words) to the ending. at this critical junction, a reader must decide whether morrison is answering the “screaming from the sixties” for a uniquely black mythology (also referred to as “[amiri] baraka’s cry”) and allowing milkman to partake in it…or if this concept collapses under its own airiness. his sojourn in the south has exposed him to his family’s past. it has also exposed him to an agrarian, somewhat southern way of life within which he feels like a perpetual outsider. can one experience the south—the true south— without also experiencing bondage? put another way, does the south become a different place if one is constantly aware that one can leave at one’s will? whether it is bondage as his grandfather experienced or the bondage implicit in morrison’s portrayal of shalimar as inescapably impoverished, milkman does not feel the yoke. the dilemma forces the reader to simultaneously feel the excitement of milkman—heretofore a shiftless, ambitionless youth—discovering lost parts of his “self” and the contrary impression that milkman is an interloper in his own 6 of course, baby suggs’ sermon in the forest is a classic example. much like circe, baby suggs urges listeners to reconnect with their bodies. dissecting them (the listeners) into hands, laughs, dances, and wails, she opens up the possibility of self-refashioning out of the parts, albeit in an oddly set-aside, mythic clearing in the forest. 7 as in the concept of rememory in beloved. in rememory, one can actually re-experience the past in first person by being in the physical place in which the act first occurred. this braces sethe’s decision to keep her children away from sweet home and is reminiscent of the tangibility of time in proust. historical past. this study does not intend to disprove relatively optimistic readings of milkman’s consummation of a leap into the mythic sublime, joining the flying africans whose bloodline he carries. however, morrison is too insistent upon the historical ramifications of the novel—the nascent battle for civil rights and the social machinations of the seven days—to forget that we are reading the tale of a michigan blackman, on a hunt for his father’s gold, sprinting across the landscape that his ancestors had to till. the effects of progress upon black identity for subsequent generations come to the forefront in the character of jadine from tar baby. again, morrison intertwines myth, motherhood, and organic femininity but—for the sorbonne educated jadine confronted with the town of eloe—this isolation from the past becomes a literal nightmare. john duvall in “descent in the house of chloe: race, rape, and identity in toni morrison’s tar baby” identifies a very real possibility that jadine stands in for the duboisian “talented tenth,” a class of blacks encharged with the education of other less privileged blacks. more importantly in terms of tar baby is—duvall argues—morrison’s place in this talented tenth. interviewers of morrison seem constantly concerned with the artistic crisis (perhaps projected upon her) of writing about a class of people from whom one derives the meat of one’s fiction but who may be unable to access one’s work; simply put, many of the historically determined, impoverished, illiterate, agrarian types that morrison marshals in her fiction may be quite literally incapable of reading and appreciating morrison. duvall asserts that: if there is a novel of morrison's that fully registers w. e. b. du bois's sense of the double-consciousness of african americans, it is tar baby. even more than song of solomon, tar baby represents morrison's struggle to fashion a usable identity […] figuring the self as female, morrison creates a more ambivalent and troubled relation to that novel's black agrarian community. (326) while duvall may overstate the case for biographical interjection into the text 8 , he resists the urge to link jadine’s apprehension towards mother-figures with her author. jadine ruminates on a single black woman, dressed in yellow, holding 8 morrison was born chloe ardelia wofford (ardelia after her grandmother who also makes a cameo in her dedication to tar baby), married harold morrison, published under toni morrison saying (why lie?) that her middle name was anthony. tar baby is dedicated to members of her family and a quote afterwards refers to “the house of chloe.” duvall speculates that her refusal of chloe may stem from less than savory depictions of “chloes” in uncle tom’s cabin and invisible man (330). minoring in classics at howard, she may also be reacting against the greek pastoral in the myth of daphnis and chloe (duvall 330 footnote). three eggs (fertility) and has a vision of the ageless women standing around her bed in eloe with one breast exposed (a possible allusion to the single-breasted amazons?) these visions of overt femininity are vaguely horrifying to her but the text does not explicitly explain why; the reader is left to assume that she feels an unfounded sense of ineptitude. even at her most assertively feminine moment, when the sight of her naked genitalia forces son to flee their new york apartment, the integrity of her femininity is underscored or made absurd by the cheech and chong t-shirt adorning her torso. her stylized, fashion-model, modern aesthetic beauty is at best a mockery of the authentic symbols of womanhood that saturate morrison’s fiction. is this a function of jadine’s education or upbringing under the creepily benevolent valerian street? is she of the class of americans who—as a cipher for modern sterility—“spent their whole lives bathing bathing bathing washing away the stench of cesspools as though pure soap had anything to do with purity?” (tar baby 203). her anxiety about scent, particularly her denial of smelling son while he physically accosts her, demonstrates an avoidance of the organic corporeality of experience that morrison typically associates with historical suffering. the chokeberry tree on sethe’s back, hannah peace removing feces pellets from the constipated plum, and widow ealing bleeding the demons out of her daughter are a smattering of the examples of the alleviation and infliction of pain as signifiers of motherhood in morrison’s rural, pre-industrial america. these are the gigantic women to whom alice walker ascribes the salvation of black culture. these are the same women who jadine—as modern, progressive black woman—is haunted by. as karin luisa badt observes: “this incessant literary return to the mother […] is both an expression of a psychological desire to recover the repressed—the lost object of desire—and an expression of a political desire to recover the past” (567). my reading of tar baby searches to dislodge jadine and son’s tryst from history and place it in a discourse of modernized mythology. the critically elusive element of tar baby may be founded in the unusual (in terms of historical vs. mythological) textures that morrison creates. valerian and sydney’s enactment of master and slave portrays them as a superannuated, racially charged odd couple; never at complete ease but together nonetheless, the boundary between master and servant dissolves into a model of codependence. thérèse, with ever-flowing breasts and eerily unquestioning acceptance of the island’s myth, is the locus of traditional, ancient, earth-based, gynocentric myth that (as i have demonstrated in song of solomon) permeates morrison’s work. typically—if there is any typicality in morrison—these two poles would suffice to create tension: the capitalist valerian searching to “civilize” the island with his candy money and greenhouse and the ghost-seeing/speaking native inhabitants of the isle de chevaliers. in other words, the novel in one sense is the story of the american in exile attempting to impose the historical narrative of imperialism upon a selfreferential mythic place. jadine and son’s relationship exists outside of this tension. criticism of the novel tends to place son in league with thérèse and company; it is important to remember that, until his symbolic surrender to the isle de chevaliers at the end of the novel, he is operating against another tension: jadine’s adoption of white/western ideals of beauty. malin walther pereira’s attempt to periodize morrison’s work hinges on tar baby’s treatment of “the colonization of african american beauty by white notions of beauty” (75). pereira observes that, after tar baby: morrison’s central concern [is] self-reflexive african american characters focused on issues of identity, memory and love [while in earlier works she focuses on] black characters’ struggles with the effects of psychological and cultural colonization. (80) these “periods” are useful in the present study of historical and mythic sensibilities in that they acknowledge a growing self-reflexive and self-referential element in black identity as morrison portrays it. however, there is a particularly (scholastically) troubling move in tar baby that does not fit well into sweeping analyses: the polyvalent ant imagery throughout the novel. the reoccurring ants mark a different type of self-reflexivity that may only find a direct parallel in jazz narrating itself: art commenting on its own formation and, in doing so, disengaging with myth and history alike. to reemploy the quote that opened this paper, the ant imagery in tar baby aims towards being “unquestionably beautiful” (read aesthetically based) rather than “political.” the first employment of ants as synecdoche for nature reveals the central crisis in son’s life: lack of rites of passage. morrison makes a point of stating that the “soldier ants were not out in the night wind […] but heavy clouds grouped themselves behind the hills as though for a parade” (165). this language (and referring to the clouds as a “herd”) seems to collapse the image of the ant and the wind, conflating them into a tempest encircling the mysterious “orphan,” son, without doing him harm. “unbaptized, uncircumcised, minus puberty rites or the formal rites of manhood,” son reflects “there was something wrong with the rites. he had wanted another way” (166). he refuses to become part of the great class of “undocumented men” upon whom can be projected the narrative of “huck finn,” “nigger jims,” “calibans,” and “john henrys.” inside the extra-historical tempest of wind/ants, son’s ruminations introduce the unsettled and unsettling theme of forging a new black, male identity that must start as essentially faceless and formless. to engage the historical, literary, and cultural portrayals of black masculinity is to enter into a discourse that only seeks to pigeonhole and taxonomize. 9 son’s position as run-away and criminal is not accidental. as outsider he has the privileged position of anonymity and it is exactly this formlessness that attracts a woman like jadine who is mired in western projections upon blackness. in a 1995 interview, morrison said of creating strong black male characters that “yes, that’s right. i create a threat […] ulysses left home and you all said he was a hero. but when a black character leaves home you say he is irresponsible” (brown 472). son’s search for identity is necessarily a threatening, transgressive act and sydney’s—“the genuine philadelphia negro mentioned in the book of that name”—fear of son is commensurate to jadine’s attraction to his unsettling presence. sydney quite literally takes pride in embodying a literary type; son rails against and flees from this activity. the peculiar use of ants may also be a tip of the hat to marquez, whose fictional city macondo and the buendía family are overrun by the entropic forces of nature as symbolized by ants. sydney’s struggles to keep the ants out of valerian’s green house and son’s mastery of them clearly engage in the imperialist theme running through the novel. the captive native plants held in the greenhouse, the boom of classical music, and the “philadelphia negro” are the bubble of control that valerian is able to exhort over the island. sydney (the philadelphia negro entrusted with maintaining the illusion of order in the greenhouse) understands that “cement […] is all that will keep this earth still. this place dislocates everything […] and something serious had to be done about the ants” (284). valerian’s “dancing hands” are useless against these entropic forces of nature and must employ his servants to surround him in his security blanket of blaring classical music. worn down in paradise, the final residing image of valerian is his head bobbing eternally while sydney spoons potato into his mouth. “things grew or died where and how they pleased. isle de chevaliers filled in the spaces that had been the island’s to begin with” (242). the power embodied in the ants undoes attempts at imperialization; just as the seven days’ struggle to enforce a narrative upon history leads inevitably to insanity, valerian’s battle against entropy leads to senile solipsism. once morrison has charged the symbol of the ant with this destructive power, she twists it in jadine’s mind into a picture of fierce womanhood that is peculiar in her work. this is not to say that jadine herself embodies these values but, rather, that this ideal—much like the woman in yellow and the women of eloe—has entered into her vocabulary of feminine identities. unlike other young, beautiful characters like sula and dorcas manfred who seem to spring from the 9 in an expanded form of this paper, it would be interesting to apply bell hooks’ analysis of black masculinity in we real cool to the figuring of son as both orphan and son of the eloe community. femme fatale and ophelia traditions, the ant queen is a “little amazon” whose identity is based in natural cycles. john duvall states that “morrison learned a number of techniques from the modernists, and her fiction contains numerous scenes in which the main thing that is not represented is the main thing” (334). 10 this rings especially true in the symbolic inversion of rape in jadine’s meditations on the plane flying away from isle de chevaliers. i happen to know (thanks to the wonders of television) that female ants copulate only once and, in this single soiree, “collect” enough sperm to reproduce for the rest of their life. the oddity of an in-depth discussion of entomology during jadine’s departure underscores that morrison has jumped the tracks into a new type of fiction. highly stylized in the fashion of the modernists, the register blends scientific exposition with a projected jadine from the future: “no time for dreaming, although sometimes, late in life, somewhere between the thirtieth and fortieth generation […] she will recall the rush of wind on her belly […] airborne, suspended, open, trusting, frightened, vulnerable, girlish” (291 emphasis mine). in this odd passage, the queen finds a mate when some “four-million-yearold magic she is heiress to” tells her “it is time.” the invocation of generational magic invites cross-readings with the aforementioned critics who have identified the cult of motherhood in morrison. instead of the female body acting as vessel of the past and mythology, it is here figured as a self-sufficient, unique item: “a grown woman did not need the safety or its dreams. she was the safety she longed for” (290). instead of sethe carrying history in her womb across the ohio or a minha mãe speaking across time to her daughter, florens, jadine seems more similar to milkman—weightless, unburdened—than other females. the critical juncture here is if one interprets this as a contrary model of femininity that morrison offers or if it represents the particular ideals of jadine as modern black female. i tend to lean towards the latter based on jadine’s problematic last thought, that it would be difficult to forget the “man who fucked like a star” (292). at the risk of falling into the succubus/saint dichotomy of womanhood, this vivacious celebration of sexuality seems particularly superficial and vulgar. for example, try inserting the words “fuck like a star” in any other female character’s mouth and one notices that jadine stands apart in morrison’s fiction. even sula’s vulgar yet prophetic tirade is based in her position as outsider (“after all the dogs have fucked all the cats […] there’ll be a little love left over for me” (sula 146)). jadine incites fear and trepidation much like son because she inhabits a space that 10 duvall is fiercely critical in regards to this point: “son’s sexual violation of jadine is startling in two ways: first, for the way that critics have commented upon this key scene without noticing the sexual violation; and second, for the way that morrison’s own less-than-candid remarks on her novel have helped to conceal the rape” (335). is beyond easy definition; a black woman who simultaneously adopts the white ideals of beauty that ruined one of her mother figures (margaret street, the principle beauty) while acknowledging the ancient power embodied in her and activated by her other mother figure (ondine). the extent to which one reads jadine as both monstrously confused or confusedly monstrous (can we help but feel sympathy for ondine?) is a function of her place as orphan outside historical or mythical determination. in this light, she presents a third alternative, albeit superficial, half-formed, and frighteningly recognizable in its modern sense of detachment. the last scene of the novel is equally ambiguous as it, again, enters into representational language the isolates the reader from the “main thing” being represented. as with milkman’s leap, there is a definite “lady-or-tiger-ness” to son scurrying back onto the island and being transformed into an acoustic metaphor (“lickety-split, lickety-split” as an onomatopoeia representing the spectral chevaliers of the island.) as opposed to the difficulty of applying an overriding narrative to jadine’s last “flight,” son’s boat trip with thérèse can be read as a parallel to circe’s relation to milkman—a reversal of the immigrant story. gideon implores son to forget jadine and son insists that one cannot forget a “woman whose eyebrows were a study, whose face was enough to engage your attention all your life, [the sound of] all the music he had ever wanted to play?” (299). what he is referring to, however, is an ideal jadine that—the reader who has just learned of her ant queen transformation—no longer applies to the real jadine. he isolates her beauty and the romantic satisfaction that finds its root in the platonic idea of the “other half” who completes the first. alma estée in her “dried-blood red” wig is a parody of these westernized conceptions of beauty and its slapdash superimposition on black femininity. when son removes her wig to reveal her “midnight skin and antelope eyes” (africanist beauty) she “howled and resecured it on her head with clenched fingers;” if he retains any illusory ambitions to reveal jadine’s african beauty to her, this highly stylized joke that morrison plays on him shakes them from his mind in a bout of “dizziness.” thérèse offers to carry son to the port to hunt down jadine but, instead of returning/introducing son to modern reality as the immigrant narrative would suggest, births him back into the realm of myth. she urges him to “get free of [jadine. the chevaliers] are waiting in the hills for you. they are naked and they are blind too” (306). the final paragraph mimetically portrays his re-birth and transformation into a mythic type: first he crawled the rocks one by one […] till his hands touched shore and the nursing sound of the sea was behind him. he […] crawled off then stood up [then] took a few tentative steps […] he threw out his hands to guide and steady his going […] the mist lifted and the trees stepped back a bit as if to make the way easier for a certain kind of man. (306 emphasis mine) the language depicts son as growing up before the reader’s eyes, almost a riff on the painting of man evolving from his simian origins. what son evolves into, however, is a “certain kind of man.” this phrase is as equally enigmatic as “the man who fucked like a star” and perhaps intentionally so. son’s confused search for jadine in the swamp of isle de chevaliers is parallel to milkman’s hunt for the treasure in virginia and, likewise, ends in his ambiguous sublimation into myth. tar baby, however, does not offer a sense of consummation or balance in the sacrifice of the male protagonist. whereas milkman unwittingly reenacts his african heritage, son seems to be “a kind of cartoon rabbit [escaping] back into his same-as-it-never-was briar patch” (duvall 347). in son’s uneasy surrender to a mythology that is not his own, morrison complicates the concept of mythic authenticity. just as song of solomon—as an answer to collective cry during the sixties for a markedly african-american mythology—questions milkman’s ability to relive shalimar’s experience, tar baby undermines diasporic and africanist claims to a mythology of their own. the fervor and “lickety-split”edness of son’s entry into the mythos of the chevaliers is suspect; the reader, just as gideon says, is left wondering if thérèse has mislead her ward: ““two big fools,” said gideon. “one blind, the other gone mad!”” (tar baby 302). in parallel readings song of solomon and tar baby, this study aims not to give definite answers but to identify two basic axes along which morrison forms her characters. these two novels in particular depict characters transgressing the boundaries between history and myth, sometimes victim and sometimes victor to either. within her work, there is a typological reiteration of these types that is revealing. the seven days’ manipulation of history is reminiscent of the leading family’s in ruby artificially avoiding african-american subjugation in a predominantly white society; a well-intentioned project results in violent and mislead means (racial engineering and the xenophobic massacre at the convent.) in both instances, historically determined characters strike back at the forces that created them and, in doing so, become monstrous. oracular, mythically inspired woman such as consolata, baby suggs, circe, lina, and thérèse form a pantheon of guiding lights in their novels and their wraithlike presence often stands opposed to the historical place in which they exist. their demeanor borders on voodoo and they work in mysterious ways; the reader must wonder if consolata urging the women at the convent to paint their dolorous lives upon chalk duplicates works towards diminishing the need for a convent within which to shelter. morrison is careful not to privilege either sensibility (historical or mythic) but, rather, employs them to explore questions of a distinct african american identity and mythology (not as a negative definition in a white hegemony.) morrison’s fiction confronts the reader with a central mystery (murder, incest, theft, hate) and like l.—the narrator in love—leaves him/her with the impression that “something else was to blame” (love 9). neither deterministic history nor africanist myth are responsible for the complex struggles her characters confront but, rather, both textures lay their claim. works cited badt, karin luisa. "the roots of the body in toni morrison: a mater of "ancient properties"." african american review 29.4 (1995): 567-577. brown, cecil and toni morrison. "interview with toni morrison." the massachusetts review 36.3 (1995): 455-473. davis, cynthia a. "self, society, and myth in toni morrison's fiction." contemporary literature 23.3 (1982): 323-342. duvall, john. "descent in the "house of chloe": race, rape, and identity in toni morrison's "tar baby"." contemporary literature 38.2 (1997): 325-349. gauthier, marni. "the other side of "paradise": toni morrison's (un)making of mythic history." african american review 39.3 (2005): 395-414. hamilton, cynthia s. "revisions, rememories, and exorcisms: toni morrison and the slave narrative." journal of american studies 30.3 (1996): 429-445. harris, leslie. "myth as structure in toni morrison's song of solomon." melus 7.3 (1980): 69-76. harris, trudier. "toni morrison: solo flight through literature into history." world literature today 68.1 (1994): 9-14. house, elizabeth. "the "sweet life" in toni morrison's fiction." american literature 56.2 (1984): 181-202. middleton, joyce i. "orality, literacy, and memory in toni morrison's song of solomon." college english 55.1 (1993): 64-75. moglen, helene. "redeeming history: toni morrison's "beloved"." cultural critique 24 (1993): 17-40. morrison, toni. love. new york: vintage books, 2005. —. song of solomon. new york: vintage books, 2004. —. sula. new york: plume, 1987. —. tar baby. new york: alfred a. knopf, inc., 1981. pereira, malin walther. "periodizing toni morrison's work from "the bluest eye" to "jazz:" the importance of "tar baby"." melus 22.3 (1997): 71-82. stepto, robert and toni morrison. ""intimate things in place": a conversation with toni morrison." the massachusetts review 18.3 (1977): 473-489. not for sale: not for sale: liberation from commodified identity in ellison’s invisible man kevin ruggeri english society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. —ralph waldo emerson, “self-reliance” try as we might, it is nearly impossible to escape the labeling tendencies of our modern world. the process begins as soon as we are born. hospital attendants are responsible for birth records that document a child’s nationality and race, labels sure to influence the child’s remaining life in both subtle and blatant ways. gender designations forecast a lifetime of characteristics and propensities supposedly the exclusive domain of “male” or “female.” and woe to the infant whose physical and mental capacities are in any way damaged—a host of labels awaits (disabled, slow, deformed, handicapped) to ensure a lifetime of exclusion, derision, and limitation. of course, labeling as a phenomenon is not exclusive to our moment of birth; however long we live, we can rest assured that labels and the expectations they entail await us at every turn (child, teenager, adult, senior citizen, etc.). the menace of labeling is not that it is uniformly insulting—some labels such as genius, millionaire, and celebrity have more than their fair share of advantages—but that it is uniformly limiting. if the modern age has taught anything, it is that human beings are infinitely complex. the notion that identity can be summed up in one word is categorically naive and arguably anti-human. the threat posed by such a notion becomes especially insidious when the label is harvested and actively fostered in a conscious attempt to limit, and even threaten, the people to whom it applies. herein lies the nature of ralph ellison’s protest in his landmark novel, invisible man. by walking us through the life of his nameless narrator, who is besieged by manufactured labels and identities at every stage prior to his ultimate epiphany, ellison demonstrates the ubiquitous and anti-human nature of societal labeling. complicating the invisible man’s journey towards self-discovery is a market system that attempts to reduce him to a commodity, an object to be bought and sold. the mission, then, of the invisible man’s odyssey from his southern roots to new york is to extricate himself from these commodified identities and formulate his own sense of self. some critics, notably houston a. baker, jr., have discussed the role of commerce in certain sections of invisible man, but none to my knowledge has analyzed the tendency of the novel’s major episodes to culminate in a commercial experience that propels the narrator further along the path to enlightenment. for my discussion of how commercial forces function in the narrator’s gradual divorce from imposed identities, i will be relying extensively on relevant sections of grace elizabeth hale’s making whiteness: the culture of segregation in the south, 1890-1940. in this work, hale demonstrates how late nineteenth-century america’s expanding industry and commercialism threatened the south’s traditional color line, thus precipitating a backlash in which white southerners exploited market forces to oppress, dehumanize, and even murder african-americans. in its discussion of both the promise and menace of market culture vis-à-vis african-american progress, hale’s analysis provides an illuminating context for many of the invisible man’s experiences. hale’s discussion of commercialism’s effect on racial relations in the south begins with “the battleground” of “rapidly expanding railroads and streetcars” (126). on this battleground, threats to slavery-born notions of white superiority came in the form of african-american firstclass travelers whose “visible dress and deportment ... belied any notion of southern blacks’ racial inferiority.” finding such cues as clothing and speech no longer reliable as indicators of racial differences, white identity experienced a major crisis. first-class trains seemed evidence of booker t. washington’s theory that economics rather than politics would be the arena in which racial hierarchies would ultimately be destroyed. according to hale, southern blacks struggled to ensure that “[the] marketplace ... would not join the polling place as a potential arena of racial exclusion. [they] were determined to have unmediated access to the increasing variety of products ... that their money enabled them to buy” (128). white southerners’ response to this challenge was to bulwark their racist belief system with more blatant indicators of racial difference: “segregation made racial identity visible in a rational and systematic way, despite the anonymity of social relations within train cars” (130). as obvious then as in hindsight, the policy of “separate but equal” existed in name only; to restrict african-americans to inferior places was to effectively proclaim that as a race they were inferior to white people (131). as hale notes, however, the cultural desires of white southerners were complicated by economic desires—excluding paying customers meant less profit. this “contradiction between market incentives and the desire to encode white racial supremacy” ensured that the battle for white supremacy would not end on train cars (133): “the problem for the white southern elite ... was how to reconstruct a powerful and collective definition of whiteness within this new semipublic commercial sphere, which depended ... for its profitability upon both white and black buyers” (137). the solution? first of all, construct white supremacy as a “value other than profit” (145). in other words, even though segregation might result in decreased profits, it helped to maintain white superiority, which was certainly an idea white southerners were willing to “pay” for. secondly, instead of fighting against market forces, recruit them in the fight against african-american progress. commercial culture provided a revolutionary new vehicle for the transfer of ideas. by commodifying african-american identity in the form of advertisements and products promoting racist, dehumanizing stereotypes, black inferiority could essentially be “sold” to the entire nation. now “racial images performed as minstrel entertainment and advertisements for the new consumer products. not just african american labor but the commercialization of their racist representation could be turned into white profit” (150). thus, the world was introduced to images of mammy-figure aunt jemima, “african american adults absurdly trying to mimic their ‘white superiors,’” exaggerated southern dialects like “sartin shoo dis chile dun gone rung up de debble,” “nigger head” products, and a myriad of other degrading representations of blacks (156, 158, 159). such racist representations were not isolated to advertisements: in the late nineteenth-century black-figured items, from mammy dolls to jolly nigger banks, became profitable commodities themselves. ... black-figured commodities waited silently and smiling to entertain and assure their white owners. whether playfully socializing children or humoring adults, aunt jemima and her friends signified and magnified whiteness with their uncomplicated subservience. and as importantly, blackfigured commodities advertised themselves. (160-161) thus, the same commercial market that had helped challenge racial hierarchies was now being used to maintain them. the true horror of this exploitative system is evident in its relationship to lynching. here is where the rise of the southern general store plays a prominent role. as hale points out, the general store developed into a public space much like the train in that whites and blacks intermingled in these areas of commerce relatively free from the regulatory controls imposed by segregation. however, a rather ghastly reminder of racial hierarchy existed in many of these stores, which “[displayed] souvenir body parts and picture postcards of lynchings” (174). no matter how much of consumer culture african-americans could participate in, the commercial elements of lynching belonged exclusively to whites: “only whites, whether they endorsed the violence or not, could experience the ‘amusement’ of a black man burned. only african americans could be extralegally and publicly tortured and killed. ... the violence both helped create a white consuming public and the structure of segregation where consumption could take place without threatening white supremacy” (206). in addition to the racial intermingling fostered by railway and general store economics, consumption was threatening white supremacy in other ways: segregated shopping areas were for the most part impractical; african-american dollars could be used to demand more respectful service; and status symbols such as cars purchased by african-americans suggested some blacks were, at least in a financial sense, superior to whites. to further threaten the illusion of white racial dominance, segregation created “autonomous black spaces [and] autonomous black bodies”—places where africanamericans owned their own businesses and shopped among themselves—that existed largely unhindered by white influence (199). again, the consumer market threatened racial hierarchy; again, the market must be exploited in order to regain control: “whites, then, had only violence to hide the emptiness of their allegedly greater worth” (197). lynchings in this context represent white society’s panicked reaction to consumerism’s erosion of clear indicators of racial difference. the marriage of consumer culture with white southerners’ most desperate fight for racial dominance came in the grisly form of spectacle lynchings. in spectacle lynchings, many of the industrial and commercial developments of the late nineteenthand early twentieth-century were employed to oppress, dehumanize, and murder african-americans. railroads transported white audiences to lynching sites, sometimes even providing special routes specifically for this purpose; eyewitness accounts were published and distributed, first in pamphlets, then more objectively in newspapers; photographs of the crowd were taken and distributed to solidify “[the] story of lynching as the entire white community in action, using savagery to protect ‘southern’ civilization”; and as mentioned before, souvenirs of the lynching—including severed body parts—were sold in general stores and publicly displayed in homes (207, 208). the africanamerican body, legally enslaved in the past, was once again something to be bought and sold: “lynchings reversed the decommodification of black bodies begun with emancipation. in spectacle lynchings, blacks themselves became consumer items; the sites of their murders became new spaces of consumption” (229). using hale’s making whiteness as a context for discussing invisible man, it is striking how frequently ellison, fifty years earlier, articulated many of the same arguments. specifically, the narrative cycle repeated throughout the invisible man’s retelling of his life story is one in which commercial interests both promise and threaten his freedom; additionally, the threat of lynching always looms in the background, albeit in a metaphorical sense. the suggestion seems to be that pursuing identity through commercial means threatens the loss of one’s true self, thereby resulting in a metaphorical death. the first episode in the novel where this pattern occurs is the infamous battle royal, a scene in which the narrator, under the pretext of delivering a prize-winning speech for a white audience, is duped into participating in a vicious boxing match with other black men. an early intimation of the commercial nature of this scene appears when the narrator identifies himself as “a potential booker t. washington” (ellison 18). hale refers to washington while describing the 1895 cotton states and international exposition in atlanta. during the exposition’s opening ceremonies, washington gave a speech promoting segregation; his deference was consistent with his general view that african-americans should “avoid politics and seek instead the rewards of ‘industry, thrift, intelligence, and property,’ through which they would earn white respect” (148). unfortunately, he overestimated such an approach: “washington, like other black leaders, felt the racist portrayals of ‘happy darkies’ would fade in the face of economic and racial uplift. he did not foresee that racist representations would prove as profitable as racial bondage and that the emancipation of images would be almost as difficult as the freeing of slaves” (151). as the battle royal unfolds, the similarities between the narrator and booker t. washington become more pronounced. not only is he there ostensibly to deliver a speech on “social responsibility,” he seems deferential to the brazen racism of his environment. the “most important men of the town,” the white southern elite, are there (ellison 18). they have orchestrated this event to enact a metaphorical lynching of the black men involved in the battle. the first indication that the battle royal is a kind of lynching fantasy is the appearance of the naked white woman. the fighters are made to gaze upon her, a sublimation of the black-man-rapes-innocent-white-woman myth that became a clichéd opening to the lynching ritual. a white man throws ice water on a fighter who has fainted and forces him to be propped up by the narrator and another fighter so the reawakened one can continue to look. another indication of the execution-like atmosphere of this event is the fact that the fighters are blindfolded. once the fighters are unleashed upon each other, white audience members betray their murderous desires. one man shouts, “tear him limb from limb,” while another screams, “kill that big boy!” (21, 23). why do the fighters allow themselves to be degraded this way? the narrator discovers that they have been lured into the battle royal by the promise of money. initially, the promise of payment is fulfilled in an absurd manner. an electrified rug containing dollars, coins, and gold pieces (later revealed to be car advertisement tokens) is brought before the battle-weary fighters. after being told they will receive whatever they grab, the fighters scramble for the money despite the “hot, violent force” that tears through their bodies as a result (27). the narrator hears “booming laughter” from the audience—one is reminded of the spectacle lynchings discussed by hale in which white southerners viewed the ritualized torture of african-americans as a form of entertainment. this second phase of abuse and humiliation continues until the narrator “[sends] the rug sliding out of place” (28). the fighters are finally paid and the narrator is told to give his speech. the audience finds it hilarious that “the smartest boy ... out there in greenwood” has difficulty delivering his speech because of his injuries and exhaustion from the battle royal (29). another oblique reference to lynching occurs when the narrator says “my dry mouth, filling up with blood from the cut, almost strangled me” (30). when the audience goads him into repeating a multi-syllabic phrase—“social responsibility”—the narrator inadvertently says “social equality” instead (31). for the first time since he began his speech, the room is silent. in a now hostile atmosphere, he is given an opportunity to correct himself, and he promptly complies. as a reward for playing the part of the humble, subservient negro, he is awarded a leather briefcase and a scholarship. in a dream that night, the narrator finds a letter in his new briefcase that contains the following message: “to whom it may concern ... keep this nigger-boy running” (33). his subconscious, at least, seems aware of the true import of that day’s experiences—his “prize” is little more than something to put him “in his place,” a segregated school with limited vocational opportunities. for the white southern elite, the briefcase and scholarship are payment to keep a promising african-american from challenging their racial order. unfortunately, the invisible man eagerly buys into their farce. the invisible man, just prior to recounting the fateful day that leads to his college expulsion, describes the statue of his college’s founder, a figure generally believed to be based on booker t. washington, founder of tuskegee (the college ellison himself attended). in hindsight, the invisible man recognizes the statue’s symbolism: “i see the bronze statue of the college founder, the cold father symbol, his hands outstretched in the breathtaking gesture of lifting a veil that flutters in hard, metallic folds above the face of a kneeling slave; and i am standing puzzled, unable to decide whether the veil is really being lifted, or lowered more firmly in place” (36). most likely an allusion by ellison to the veil metaphor introduced at the beginning of w. e. b. du bois’s the souls of black folk, the narrator’s thoughts also echo hale’s discussion of washington—the faith he invested in the liberating power of economics; the bondage he failed to foresee in the proliferation of racist images. the blindness motif reappears in the narrator’s account of the sermon/speech delivered by homer a. barbee. when the sermon is over, the invisible man realizes that barbee, the man who has just painted such a saintly picture of the founder and dr. bledsoe, is blind. in his article, “copy wright: what is an (invisible) author?” frederick t. griffiths describes barbee’s speech as “minstrelsy” and the man himself as “[literally] fronting for the white bankers who sit behind him on the podium” (338). the narrator also acknowledges the college’s debt to white patronage: “and how [the millionaires] arrived! came smiling, inspecting, encouraging, conversing in whispers, speechmaking into the wide-open ears of our black and yellow faces—and each leaving a sizeable check as he departed” (ellison 37). the controlling incentive behind this patronage becomes clearer when we view it in relation to the trueblood episode. in this section of the novel, the narrator wanders off campus while chauffeuring one of the college’s most important patrons, mr. norton. they come to the house of a poor african-american sharecropper by the name of trueblood. after learning from the narrator that trueblood has impregnated his own daughter, mr. norton demands to stop. he confronts trueblood and asks him to describe what happened. when trueblood concludes the story of how he was driven to commit his foul act, mr. norton shocks the narrator by giving trueblood a one-hundred dollar bill. the commercial nature of this act is obvious, but whereas critics like a. timothy spaulding view it in terms of trueblood “[‘selling’] his titillating and disturbing story to norton for $100,” the real motivation behind this transaction is perhaps more sinister (489). mr. norton’s “generosity” at this point in the novel seems to have less to do with entertainment than with a compulsion (perhaps subconscious) to compensate trueblood for perpetuating the stereotype of the savage, oversexed black male. after all, mr. norton is not alone in his compensation to trueblood. as trueblood himself attests, “[the white folks] gave me help. that’s what i don’t understand. i done the worse thing a man could ever do in his family and instead of chasin’ me out of the country, they gimme more help than they ever give any other colored man” (ellison 67). in this respect, trueblood is similar to the fighters of the battle royal; he is paid to behave like an animal and rewarded for providing “evidence” of racial inferiority. in the same way that products and advertisements during this time attempt to sell african-american stereotypes, people such as trueblood are rewarded for embodying them. after leaving trueblood, the narrator encounters, at two different moments, the specter of lynching. the first occurs at the golden day in a quasi-inversion of the lynching paradigm. already a segregated consumer space, the golden day is a place where the paying customers feel free to behave as they please, free from the interruptions and conventions of the outside world. when mr. norton, a representative of white authority, appears, he brings in with him a reminder of the outside world. since he is on their turf, however, the customers feel emboldened to reveal their true feelings about the authority mr. norton represents. initially, this catharsis takes the form of an attack on another symbol of white authority, supercargo. though he is an african-american, supercargo is the authority in charge of controlling the customers of the golden day, who are all patients of a nearby mental-health hospital. his association with white society’s attempts to control african-americans begins with the narrator’s symbolic description of the change he notices in supercargo’s appearance: “i hardly recognized him without his hardstarched white uniform. usually he walked around threatening the men with a strait jacket which he always carried over his arm, and usually they were quiet and submissive in his presence” (82). when he is literally caught with his pants down, the patients seize the opportunity and attack him relentlessly: “he lost consciousness. they began throwing cold beer on him, reviving him, only to kick him unconscious again. soon he was drenched in blood and beer” (84). one member of the mob voices the reason for the attack: “he’s the white folks’ man!” (84). during the ensuing chaos, mr. norton is pushed around and passes out. one of the patients, whom the narrator refers to as “the vet,” seems to recognize the precariousness of the white man’s situation, and helps the narrator bring him upstairs. once they arrive upstairs and mr. norton has regained consciousness, the patient explains himself: “they might suddenly realize that you are what you are, and then your life wouldn’t be worth a piece of bankrupt stock. ... such men are beyond money, and with supercargo down, out like a felled ox, they know nothing of value” (93). by invoking the language of the market—bankrupt, stock, money, value—the vet suggests the regulatory role economics plays in relation to the racial hierarchy the men below have begun to challenge. even though there is a tangible threat to mr. norton’s safety in this scene, made more pronounced when a prostitute pushes him down the stairs, the bar’s owner, halley, recognizes that the white man “caint die!” and proceeds to rescue him (97). the reversal of the lynching paradigm fails—mr. norton cannot be killed. ellison has once again articulated one of hale’s arguments in making whiteness. in this case, the failure of the golden day patrons to successfully lynch mr. norton echoes hale’s observation that lynching is the exclusive domain of white society. perhaps the portion of invisible man most clearly illuminated by hale’s arguments is the liberty paints section. while approaching the plant for the first time, the narrator notices an electric sign with the message, “keep america pure with liberty paints” (196). the racial implications of this message are clear, and when we learn that the company “[makes] a lot of paint for the government,” the government’s complicity in racial hierarchy is made clear (197). the fact that employees refer to their superiors as “colonel” and “slave driver” suggests that the plant is a microcosm of the old south (198, 199). when the invisible man receives instructions for his first assignment, he becomes confused. he is supposed to help make a paint called “optic white,” but the drops he has been instructed to add to the paint are “dead black” (200). after receiving clarification from his supervisor, kimbro, he adds the drops to the paint: “slowly, i measured the glistening drops, seeing them settle upon the surface and become blacker still, spreading suddenly out to the edges” (200). ironically, the result of this combination, according to kimbro, is a paint “as white as george washington’s sunday-go-tomeetin’ wig and as sound as the all-mighty dollar! ... it’s the purest white that can be found. nobody makes a paint any whiter” (201-202). on a symbolic level, the composition of optic white demonstrates hale’s argument of how the segregated lives of african-americans were essential in the creation of “whiteness.” the narrator’s description of the black drops spreading to the edge signifies the marginalization of african-americans, and the final appearance of the paint suggests how white dominance rendered african-american lives invisible. another symbolic lesson is evident in the narrator’s next assignment at liberty paints. the narrator descends to the hellish environs where his next supervisor, lucius brockway, works, and learns what is made there: “right down here is where the real paint is made. without what i do they couldn’t do nothing, they be making bricks without straw. ... caint a single doggone drop of paint move out of the factory lessen it comes through lucius brockway’s hands” (214-15). if liberty paints is a microcosm of the old south, then lucius brockway represents the foundation of black labor that made the old south possible. as brockway puts it himself, “we the machines inside the machine” (217). his isolated work in the nether regions of the plant is a physical reminder of his lower place in society; yet his loyalty to those in control is critical for the plant to operate smoothly. as he tells the narrator, “this here’s the uproar department and i’m in charge” (212). he is constantly checking pressure gauges and tells the narrator to do the same: “i’m warning you to keep an eye on ‘em. you caint forgit down here, ‘cause if you do, you liable to blow up something” (217). brockway’s warning here bears more than a slight resemblance to washington’s oratories on social responsibility—whether at liberty paints or society at large, the status quo must be maintained or else the situation becomes explosive. this latter point, unfortunately, is one the narrator ultimately learns by experience. while fighting with brockway to the degree that he threatens to kill the old man, he forgets to check the gauges. by the time he realizes his mistake, it is too late—one of the machines explodes and the invisible man ends up in the factory hospital. the narrator’s return to consciousness in the factory hospital marks a new beginning, as if he is being reborn. his tabula rasa state is made clear when he comments, “my mind was blank, as though i had just begun to live” (233). despite his metaphorical rebirth, however, old motifs still haunt him. for example, he is given electro-shock therapy, which, in its effects, recalls the electrified rug at the battle royal: “the pulse came swift and staccato, increasing gradually until i fairly danced between the nodes. my teeth chattered. i closed my eyes and bit my lips to smother my screams. warm blood filled my mouth” (237). echoes of the battle royal continue when it becomes clear that one of the hospital workers finds the narrator’s suffering amusing: “look, he’s dancing ... they really do have rhythm, don’t they? get hot, boy! get hot!” (237). as infuriating as this treatment might be for the narrator, it pales in comparison to some of the alternatives the hospital workers considered—“a prefrontal lobotomy” and “castration” (236). the loss of manhood threatened by both a lobotomy (mentally) and castration (physically), as well as the fact that the narrator’s shock-therapy entertains a white audience, evokes another lynching scenario. fortunately, the narrator is spared the suggested butcheries and even experiences the first seeds of what will prove to be his ultimate enlightenment. while trying to determine a way to escape his current imprisonment, he has the following realization: “there was no getting around it. i could no more escape than i could think of my identity. perhaps, i thought, the two things are involved with each other. when i discover who i am, i’ll be free” (243). before leaving the hospital to continue his search for his identity, the narrator is ushered into a meeting with an unfamiliar man who promises him that he will be “adequately compensated for [his] experience” (247). there is, of course, a catch: “we require an affidavit releasing the company of responsibility” (247). any protest the narrator might raise regarding his near fatal accident and subsequent treatment at liberty paints is thus squashed by a simple commercial transaction. his acquiescence has been effectively bought. the opportunity to formulate a new identity comes soon enough in the form of the brotherhood. that this path to identity is a dead-end is foreshadowed in a number of ways. first of all, after meeting brother jack for the first time and realizing it was he who followed the narrator after his eviction speech, the narrator imagines the scene: “no doubt he was laughing at me. i must have looked silly hurtling across the roofs, and like a black-face comedian shrinking from a ghost when the white pigeons shot up around me. to hell with him. ... he only wanted to use me for something” (294). the invisible man’s intuition that he is being exploited finds symbolic form in an object he finds in the house of mary rambo, the mammy figure with whom he is staying: then near the door i saw something which i’d never noticed there before: the cast-iron figure of a very black, red-lipped and wide-mouthed negro, whose white eyes stared up at me from the floor, his face an enormous grin, his single large black hand held palm up before his chest. it was a bank, a piece of early americana, the kind of bank which, if a coin is placed in the hand and a lever pressed upon the back, will raise its arm and flip the coin into the grinning mouth. (319) hale discusses the same object in making whiteness: “figured in blackface, a cast-iron mechanical bank from the 1880s swallowed any money inserted into its grinning, thick-redlipped, white-toothed mouth” (161). the bank’s appearance in invisible man seems to signify the new identity the brotherhood has purchased for the narrator—namely, to be their mouthpiece. for the job of giving speeches that help advance the brotherhood’s causes, the narrator is offered three hundred dollars up front and a salary of sixty dollars per week. the narrator is shocked by the organization’s munificence, and hardly considers denying the offer: “sixty a week! there was nothing i could say” (ellison 310). the transaction is made complete when brother jack instructs emma, a wealthy female member of the brotherhood, to give the narrator a slip of paper: “‘this is your new identity,’ brother jack said” (309). never mind that emma wonders if “he should be a little blacker” (303); brother jack is happy with his purchase. when the narrator first discovers the demeaning negro bank, he is filled with hatred for it. he grabs it and makes a revealing observation while studying it: “in my hand its expression seemed more of a strangulation than a grin. it was choking, filled to the throat with coins” (319). the mention of strangulation is a grim reminder of lynching, that horrific spectacle that treats african-americans as commodities made to be destroyed. after smashing the bank, the narrator is stymied several times in attempting to get rid of its pieces until, utterly frustrated, he finally stores them in the briefcase given to him the night of the battle royal. this reminder of the dangers lurking in commodified identity will not be leaving him soon. the invisible man would have done well to heed the warnings suggested by the bank. on the night of his first official speech for the brotherhood, other foreboding signs appear. during the course of his speech, the invisible man raises the audience’s emotions to a fever pitch and, in the midst of such encouragement, strays outside his designated space: “i suddenly felt naked, sensing that ... something was about to be said that i shouldn’t reveal” (345). since the narrator intimates a more personal approach to his speech, brother jack appears beside him, “pretending to adjust the microphone. ‘careful now,’ he whispered. ‘don’t end your usefulness before you’ve begun’” (345). the invisible man seems to ignore the admonishment: “i feel, i feel suddenly that i have become more human. ... i feel the urge to affirm my feelings” (346). having asserted his individuality, the narrator has committed a grievous sin in the eyes of the brotherhood. the connection he made with his audience is later belittled as being “wild, hysterical, politically irresponsible, and dangerous” (349). the limitations of the brotherhood are beginning to surface. the brotherhood’s willful ignorance of the needs of african-americans is most tragically foreshadowed by the fate of tod clifton, a character morris dickstein refers to as “the poster boy for the harlem brotherhood” (46). when the narrator first meets clifton, he “[senses] a possible rival,” thus signaling his identification with him (ellison 363). the narrator’s concern dissipates when it becomes clear that brother clifton “knew his business,” and the two become friends and powerful workmates (367). however, after a violent run-in with the militant black segregationist, ras the exhorter, clifton disappears. the next time the narrator sees him, clifton is selling sambo dolls on the street. in his article “bliss, or blackface sentiment,” barry shank argues that “sambo, the dancing doll, enacts some of the worst stereotypes of blackface minstrelsy” (58). the narrator is dumbfounded by what he sees; he feels “betrayed” (ellison 433). as he attempts to make sense of the scene, he wonders “why had [clifton] picked that way to earn a quarter?” (435). dickstein offers a possible solution when he suggests that the strings of the sambo doll “symbolize how [clifton] himself felt manipulated [by the brotherhood]” (46). the white members of the brotherhood used him as a poster boy for black support; he had been allotted no more humanity than the “paper manifestation of blackface pleasure” represented by the sambo doll (shank 59). before the narrator is able to recognize his own implication in this exploitation by the brotherhood, he becomes distracted by tensions developing between clifton and a white police officer. the police officer is trailing clifton and starts to push him. when this harassment continues, clifton turns around and knocks the officer to the ground. anticipating that he will surely be arrested for this, he places “his hands high, waiting” (ellison 436). clifton’s gesture of submission is apparently not enough; the police officer proceeds to shoot and kill him. as shank points out, “[the] juxtaposition is startling. interrupted selling apparently demeaning images, clifton dies because he won’t be insulted or humiliated by the cop” (59). as clifton lies bloody and lifeless on the sidewalk, the narrator notices “[a] round-headed, apple-cheeked boy with thickly freckled nose and slavic eyes lean[ing] over the fence of the park above, and now as he saw me turn, he shrilled something to someone behind him, his face lighting up with ecstasy” (ellison 437). a few moments later, the reason for the boy’s ecstasy becomes clear: “‘hey, mickey,’ the boy ... called, ‘the guy’s out cold!’” (438). the scene is becoming an all too familiar one—a white audience entertained by the suffering (and in this case, death) of a black man. at this point in the narrative, the invisible man realizes he must make a change. he seems aware of the ultimate betrayal he will face at the hands of the brotherhood and realizes the identity they have imposed upon him is an empty one. he begins to understand why clifton would want to “plunge outside of history” (438), but decides to “[pursue] a less suicidal way of reclaiming his individuality” (dickstein 46). a potential solution to his dilemma appears in the figure of rinehart. in an effort to disguise himself from ras the exhorter’s goon-squad, the narrator purchases a pair of sunglasses: “they were of a green glass so dark that it appeared black, and i put them on immediately, plunging into blackness and moving outside” (ellison 482). his use of the word “plunge” here signifies the narrator’s preparedness to forge a new identity for himself. he furthers his masquerade by purchasing a wide hat. after several people mistake him for someone named rinehart, he realizes the possibilities open to him: “i trembled with excitement ... it works, i thought. ... there is a magic in it” (485). as the narrator continues to be mistaken for rinehart, he learns of rinehart’s multiple identities: “rine the runner and rine the gambler and rine the briber and rine the lover and rinehart the reverend” (498). the narrator begins to see rinehart as a model for his own life: “his world was possibility and he knew it. he was years ahead of me and i was a fool. i must have been crazy and blind. the world in which we lived was without boundaries. a vast seething, hot world of fluidity, and rine the rascal was at home” (498). kevin bell comments on why the narrator finds rinehart so fascinating: “beholden to no principle and no cause, this apotheosis of the nonidentitarian moves darkly through harlem like an anthropomorphic unit of chaos; his look, his voice, his stride, his clothing, his ‘identity’ absolutely improvisational and exchangeable” (31). dickstein specifies what rinehart means to ellison and his narrator: “only rinehart ... can negotiate ... the boundary-free world of modern urban identity. ... this is the novel’s version of the malleable, self-fashioned identity that ellison invokes in his essays, a way of stepping out of imposed roles and shaping them to your needs” (46). for all of the promise rinehart represents, however, there is one limitation to his approach to identity—he is still enslaved by the world of commerce. each one of his many identities appears to be motivated by money. even as reverend he seems incapable of breaking commercial ties. the first suggestion of this is symbolic—his church is located in a converted store. once the narrator enters the church and is identified as the reverend, one of the church’s sisters immediately speaks to him about financial matters: “i have to see sister judkins about the money she collected for the building fund. and, rever’n, last night i sold ten recordings of your inspiring sermon” (ellison 497). the fact that rinehart is peddling even his religious sermons suggests that his motives as reverend are not strictly of a spiritual kind. rinehart’s flaw—his enslavement by commercial culture—is one the invisible man will correct for himself. but before he does so, he must endure (only in his subconscious, fortunately) a final lynching scenario. upon realizing that he has been used by the brotherhood to help launch the harlem riot, the invisible man vows for revenge and begins searching for jack. on his way, a white mob threatens him, and as he tries to run away, he falls into an open manhole and “plunge[s]” underground (565). rather than fighting to resurface, he rests there and observes “it’s a kind of death without hanging” (566). he later dreams that he is “the prisoner of a group consisting of jack and old emerson and bledsoe and norton and ras and the school superintendent and a number of others whom i failed to recognize, but all of whom had run me” (569). they proceed to castrate him and laugh at his suffering. upon waking, he makes an emancipatory resolution for himself: “i was through [with their world] and, in spite of the dream, i was whole. ... so i would stay here until i was chased out. ... i would take up residence underground” (571). by electing to live underground, the narrator is ridding himself of the last vestiges of his former life. as he now acknowledges, “my problem was that i always tried to go in everyone’s way but my own. i have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what i called myself” (573). he is resolved to henceforth be the agent of his own identity, never again to accept society’s attempts to trammel his “world ... of infinite possibilities” (576). kevin bell summarizes the narrator’s newfound resolve as follows: “stripped by experience of every designating and confining ‘rank,’ the invisible man now rejects the logic of designation as a bad faith strategy against the cultural entropy that alone lends naming its meaning, that alone enables the thinking of identity its elevation above the nothingness it combats” (32). the invisible man now lives in a “border area,” which symbolizes his opposition to restrictive identities (ellison 5). most importantly, he is a rinehart without rinehart’s flaw—he has severed himself from the commercial world that has played such an integral role in limiting his identity. he tells us that he uses the service of monopolated light & power and “pay[s] them nothing at all, and they don’t know it” (5). in addition to his free use of electricity, he “live[s] rent-free in a building rented strictly to whites” (5-6). every aspect of his current existence is a challenge to the forces that formerly controlled his life, an emphatic refusal to ever sell himself again. by entering into a kind of earthly womb, he has dedicated himself to constant reinvention, to the essence of what it means to be human. works cited: bell, kevin. “the embrace of entropy: ralph ellison and the freedom principle of jazz invisible.” boundary 2 30.2 (2003): 21-46. dickstein, morris. “ralph ellison, race, and american culture.” raritan 18.4 (1999): 30-51. ellison, ralph. invisible man. new york: vintage, 1995. griffiths, frederick t. “copy wright: what is an (invisible) author?” new literary history 33.2 (2002): 315-341. hale, grace elizabeth. making whiteness: the culture of segregation in the south, 1890-1940. new york: pantheon, 1998. shank, barry. “bliss, or blackface sentiment.” boundary 2 30.2 (2003): 47-65. spaulding, a. timothy. “embracing chaos in narrative form: the bebop aesthetic and ralph ellison's invisible man.” callaloo 27.2 (2004): 481-501. scott nearing.doc 1 the economics of peace: world war i and scott nearing’s radical america thomas wirth department of history villanova university edited by cynthia kaschub scott nearing’s resignation from the university of toledo in march 1917 marked the beginning of a transformation in his life. for the second time in two years the 34-year-old economist relinquished a teaching position on account of political and philosophical differences with his employers. after being fired from the university of pennsylvania’s wharton school in 1915 for attacking industrial america’s exploitive child labor practices and then asked to leave toledo two years later because of his anti-preparedness stance, nearing was essentially excommunicated from academia. embittered by his pariah status and standing at a crossroads—jobless, an opponent of international violence under any circumstance, and increasingly socialistic in thinking—he embarked upon a campaign to expose the “hypocrisy” of america’s industrial-capitalist establishment and its role in implicating the u.s. in a war of european imperialism. nearing once wrote that his expulsion from academia allowed him to pursue “a new and larger field, a study of human society, its assumptions, principles, responsibilities, and practices,” pushing him “unceremoniously onto a new level of social usefulness.”1 his trenchant views on capitalism and war propelled him to the forefront of the peace movement and the socialist party, while simultaneously earning him the scorn of liberal elites. nearing’s battle with america’s privileged classes profoundly altered the course of “radical” activity in the u.s. during world war i and left a lasting impression on the country’s intellectual, political and social culture. surprisingly, nearing’s personal odyssey during world war i has not been fully treated, and for the most part he is viewed both as an ancillary and divisive figure within the anti-war movement and as having only a minor influence on the 1 scott nearing, the making of a radical: a political autobiography (new york: harper & row, 1972), 136. 2 movement as a whole.2 two biographies offer insight into his involvement with peace groups and socialism during this period. stephen j. whitfield’s narrative focuses generally on nearing’s public activism during the war, locating it within the larger “travail of dissent” of the twentieth century, and john saltmarsh’s more focused and comprehensive study addresses nearing’s philosophical roots and intellectual growth, while also tactfully balancing his “central incongruity” as both “public intellectual” and “private thinker.”3 neither of these studies, however, effectively engages his substantial role in fomenting anti-establishment values among socialists, intellectuals, students, and workers. the biographies faithfully reconstruct the spirit of nearing’s contributions as an agitator and a radical, but fail to capture the significance of his leadership within both the anti-war and socialist movements. as a supplement to these studies, what is needed is an analysis of nearing’s discursive and oratorical method and its impact on uniting radical activity during the pivotal war years. known among liberal academics as a scholarly maverick, scott nearing carved out a reputation as a staunch proponent of working-class values before the war, earning “him the enmity of powerful interests in the financial and industrial world.”4 nearing’s radicalism developed rapidly after woodrow wilson’s november 4, 1915 proclamation directing the nation to support military preparedness. throughout 1916 and early 1917, he wrote and spoke openly about the proclamation’s contradictions. he asked how the united states could call itself a neutral country and at the same time arm for the war and provide munitions to countries already participating in the bloodshed. he also appealed to workers directly, asking them what gains they stood to reap by supporting american industrial production for a war overseas, other than enabling widespread death and devastation. in a keynote address at a meeting of the central labor union of toledo, nearing reminded his audience that, “the american people are committed people who do america’s work. the people, as a whole, do not want war. should 2 see for instance c. roland marchand, the american peace movement and social reform, 1898-1918 (princeton: princeton university press, 1972); and charles chatfield, “world war i and the liberal pacifist in the united states,” the american historical review, vol. 75 (7) (dec., 1970), 1920-1937. even when placed at the front of the peace movement, nearing’s ideas and actions emerge only in partial light. the best example of this is in frank grubbs’s study on the struggle for working-class support waged between pacifists and the samuel gompers-led american federation of labor. in this account, nearing’s involvement with the people’s council of america for democracy and terms of peace overshadows the diverse range of tactics he pursued in publicizing an anti-war message, linking the war to imperialist forces, and forging relationships with american wage-workers. frank l. grubbs, jr., the struggle for labor loyalty: gompers, the afl, and the pacifists, 1917-1920 (durham, nc: duke university press, 1968). 3 stephen j. whitfield, scott nearing: apostle of american radicalism (new york: columbia university press, 1974), vii; john saltmarsh, scott nearing: an intellectual biography (philadelphia: temple university press, 1991), 1. 4 the philadelphia north american, june 18, 1915. 3 we fight for the capitalist traders? so much the greater fools, we.”5 nearing also made an explicit connection between wilson’s call for preparedness and germany’s blockade of armaments to england, the united states’ biggest customer: when england declared a blockade of germany, american business said to john bull: ‘it’s all right, we’ll sell to you.’ now that germany has threatened to do the same to england we are in danger of losing our market for munitions and are on the verge of war. it looks as if j.p. morgan and co. stands to lose their [sic] big bet on england to win the war and we must step in to help them win. if we go into this war it will be to make money…6 his critique of war as a capitalist conspiracy strengthened a fast growing domestic peace coalition that became gradually focused on eradicating two root causes of war: greed and ineffectual diplomacy. socialists such as randolph bourne, william english walling, and john reed contended that the fundamental cause of the war could be found in the conflict of economic interests. walling, a moderate socialist, chastised “bourgeois pacifism” practiced by liberal progressives like jane addams. he argued that addams’s woman’s peace party, one of the earliest pacifist organizations, failed to consider “the great task that lies before us, namely, to find a way either in the near future or ultimately to bring the conflict of national economic interests to an end.”7 the so-called “bourgeois pacifists” argued, on the other hand, that in order to achieve peace a robust diplomatic internationalism must work to stem the tide of militaristic behavior mounting in europe. for example, walter lippmann, an editor of the new republic, argued that “the important point is that there should be in existence permanent international commissions to deal with those spots of the earth where world crises originate…such international governing bodies are needed wherever the prizes are great, the territory unorganized, and the competition active.”8 technical criticisms aside, socialists were in fact able to collaborate successfully with bourgeois pacifists prior to american involvement in the war. as thomas knock writes, many socialists and liberals “regarded reactionary opponents of domestic reform and the advocates of militarism and 5 toledo blade, february 14, 1917. 6 ibid., february 14, 1917. 7 william e. walling, “socialists and imperialism,” in towards and enduring peace: a symposium of peace proposals and programs, 1914-1916, complied by randolph bourne (new york: garland publishing, 1916), 34. 8 walter lippmann, “the problem of diplomacy,” in towards and enduring peace: a symposium of peace proposals and programs, 1914-1916, complied by randolph bourne (new york: garland publishing, 1916), 32. 4 imperialism as twins born of the same womb,” and to combat these insidious forces, they responded by combining their powers of protest.9 the formation of the american union against militarism (auam) in january 1916 resulted directly from wilson’s preparedness speech given in november of the previous year, and represented one such collaborative effort between socialists and bourgeois pacifists. the auam declared its intention to “throw…a monkey wrench into the machinery of preparedness and to stop the war through a conference of neutrals…”10 c. roland marchand notes that the auam at this time also began perpetuating the idea that “the battle between the people’s interests and the entrenched special interests…was now being reenacted in the struggle over military preparedness and war.”11 although not affiliated with the auam at this point, nearing held similar beliefs about linking preparedness to “profit-hungry” capitalists. in poverty and riches, published in the fall of 1916, he concluded that, “as long as industry is being run for profit, the dollar will be put above the man. grant the truth of this assertion and it becomes apparent that there is a fundamental conflict between the principle of democracy and the present system of industry for profit.”12 he also delivered a series of lectures that fall in which he questioned why “the american people are being urged to ‘prepare.’ is it preparation for peace or preparation for war?”13 like many americans, nearing and the members of the auam were confused as to wilson’s motivations in 1916. world events moved at a break-neck pace in the first several months of 1917 and the picture became much clearer to socialists and pacifists: the american people were indeed being prepared for war. irrespective of wilson’s speech to the senate on january 22, 1917, calling for a “peace without victory,” many socialists believed that the united states had already become too involved not to be drawn into the war. as the prominent new york socialist morris hillquit recalled, “as the war went on the ‘neutrality of thought’ was gradually abandoned in certain quarters, and voices began to be heard, speculating on the possibility of american participation. it is undoubtedly true that the change of sentiment was largely induced by the business interests…more and more entangled in allied arms.”14 hillquit did not deny german intransigence as a genuine cause of war, but as a socialist, he could not accept unabated capitalist profiteering at the expense of millions of lives. thus, the fundamental conflict between socialist-pacifism and 9 thomas j. knock, “wilson’s battle for the league: progressive internationalists confront the forces of reaction,” in major problems in american foreign relations vol. i: to 1920, eds. dennis merrill and thomas patterson (boston: houghton mifflin, 2000), 565. 10 quoted in marchand, the american peace movement and social reform, 1898-1918, 241-42. 11 ibid., 244. 12 scott nearing, poverty and riches: a study of the industrial regime (philadelphia: john c. winston, 1916), 255. 13 nearing, the making of a radical, 110. 14 morris hillquit, loose leaves from a busy life (new york: the macmillan company, 1934), 162-63. 5 bourgeois or progressive pacifism was set. wilson’s disciples, in general, found aggressive militarism to be the most unsavory and dangerous aspect of the world conflict. for this reason, they accepted his decree of february 26 to begin preparation for “armed neutrality” and his april 2 decision to put the nation on a footing for war. socialists argued that wilson had been duped by “big business,” (even as german submarines sunk american ships) and they stood steadfast in their position that the pursuit of peace could be the only objective. the two years of hospitable relations that existed between socialists and liberals ended on april 6, 1917, when the u.s. entered the war. many prominent progressives, including the new republic editors lippman and herbert croly, the historian charles beard, and the journalist walter weyl, abandoned their commitment to the peace movement, believing that german militarism posed too great a threat to ignore. moderate socialists, such as walling, upton sinclair, charles edward russell, and john spargo also abandoned the cause. this left the american pacifist movement fragmented and disorganized. to save itself from disintegration, the movement, which had become increasingly militant in its outcry against war since the beginning of 1917, turned east to russia for guidance. in spite of considerable instability within their country, the russians took a step toward democracy in march 1917 with the dissolution of czar nicholas’s regime. although still participating in the war, an estimated one and a half million men had deserted their posts by the end of 1916.15 “new russia,” for all intents and purposes, began moving toward its ideal plan—a negotiated peace and an immediate cessation to the hostilities. this plan alone offered hope to an american peace movement that was quickly being undermined by a sudden lack of support. march and april 1917 were transformational months on several levels for socialists and pacifists in america. from an international standpoint, the emergence of a democratic russia set the stage for a clash of diverging claims to a new world order. the americans determined that the only way to achieve meaningful peace was to stamp out militarism in all its virulent forms and to enter the fighting on the side of the allies. the russians, urged by the allies to step up their waning military support, contended that only a peace-first attitude could cure the flare up of aggression and put an end to the hegemonic forces of war that “enslaved” the workers of the world. at the domestic level, both socialism and pacifism went from acceptable, indeed popular, movements to unpatriotic and subversive fringe movements. reformer pacifists, such as lillian wald and jane addams (who, unlike walling, held firm in their commitments to non-violence), and socialists were immediately targeted as radicals and forced to carry out their protests under the constant fear of repression. finally, at the individual level 15 lloyd gardner, wilson and revolutions, 1913-1921 (washington, d.c.: university of america press, 1976), 24. 6 americans were called upon to make a “sacrifice” and unquestioningly advocate war “to make the world safe for democracy.”16 most were exasperated with germany’s belligerence by march 1917, and like the president, felt that the time for peaceful negotiation had ended. yet more than a mere handful of americans argued that war at any cost violated the principles of democracy, enriched industrialist “tyrants,” and further oppressed the working classes. apparently not enthralled with the socialist-pacifist challenge to establishment prerogative, americans chose war overwhelmingly, and in the short span of two months the temperament of the nation changed from tolerant to intolerant and from conciliatory to confrontational. with the line between pacifist and socialist deliberately blurred by american patriots who lumped all “un-american” behavior together, radicals looked to one another for reinforcement, and eventually, in november 1917, to the bolsheviks and their socialist revolution. scott nearing belonged to this latter group of americans who thought that industrial “plutocrats” were largely responsible for plunging the nation into war. as a social scientist, nearing tried to avoid being a “teacher with a doctrine,” someone who “was unable or unwilling to face new situations.” however, his mounting resentment for the war, for capitalism and for a careening world political situation allowed him to abandon previous fears of ideological rigidity; embracing socialism put him on a collision course with pro-war wilsonian liberals.17 in a speech delivered to the twentieth century club of detroit, two weeks before joining the socialist party and just a few days before leaving his academic post for good, nearing laid out the american crisis in stark economic terms: the six or ten millions of men who would be thrown out of employment by the cessation of the war, would rise in revolution against the government which is responsible for their unlucky lot, and to prevent the disruption of the government, president wilson has taken the only other course: immediate participation in the present conflict.18 by dispensing with a disinterested political posture, he freed himself to pursue an aggressive propaganda operation against the war. two factors helped nearing gain almost immediate notoriety within the anti-war movement: his oratorical skills and his ideas on education. in the first several months after the war, nearing spoke publicly at a relentless pace. by his own estimation, he gave eight to ten lectures a week and up to four hundred a year during the war years.19 secondly, nearing came to the pacifist movement armed with a plan. thematically, socialist ideals 16 wilson uttered these famous words in a speech delivered to the senate april 2, 1917. 17 nearing, the making of a radical, 145. 18 toledo blade, march 10, 1917. 19 nearing, the making of a radical, 68. 7 pervaded his anti-war rhetoric, but he tactfully integrated those ideals to encompass a broad swath of dissenters, including pacifists (conscientious objectors), socialists, non-socialists, workers, and students. his plan centered on a grassroots infiltration of the masses, which called for the dissemination of an extensive network of propaganda—public speakers, pamphlets, leaflets, discussion groups, and educational training—around the country. upon joining the socialist party, he also took a position on the executive committee of the auam, where he began making his ideas known to its acting director, roger baldwin, a founder of the american civil liberties union. the most pressing goal for radicals after america entered the war was to quickly unite various individual pacifist groups that had been ravaged by a loss in membership. many historians have pointed out that the movement suffered from too much diversity at the outset, which in the end foiled plans to reach a wide audience and harness momentum. nearing, however, attempted to create a bridge for disparate interests to meet on common ground. using his unique position as a hinge radical, moving fluidly between pacifist, socialist, and labor organizations, he advocated a program of inclusion whereby all three groups could articulate their grievances. when vladimir lenin wrote that “it is with ideas, not with armies, we shall conquer the world,” nearing took it literally.20 during the war he encouraged opportunities for radicals to engage in meaningful resistance together, rather than in isolation from one another. he laid out a prescription for unified action in his contentious anti-war pamphlet the great madness, published shortly after the american entry into battle: the work of the people is cut out for them—cut out in all its stupendous importance. they must:— 1. continue to meet regularly and systematically for the discussion of vital questions. 2. publish a paper in every city that will be owned by the people and will represent them. 3. capture the schools. the school system is the greatest single asset now in the hands of the plutocracy. 4. establish industrial and political solidarity. 5. educate! educate!! everywhere and upon every possible occasion in home, shop, streetcar, meeting hall. 6. take out all profit out of industry. 7. guarantee and maintain equal opportunity and justice for all.21 20 quoted in scott nearing, violence or solidarity? or will guns settle it? (new york: people’s print, 1919), 1. 21 scott nearing, the great madness: a victory for the american plutocracy (new york: the rand school of social science, 1917), 44. 8 the directives issued here speak to nearing’s desire for a general platform catering to broad segments of the movement. he believed that the only way to combat the federal government’s pro-war public relations assault was to counter it with an outpouring of propaganda that spoke collectively to these groups. before assimilating competing philosophies and strategies, however, it was necessary to craft a formal rapprochement between the variant strains of pacifism. the bulk of the auam consisted of progressive pacifists who favored a program attentive to ending militarism. they were concerned mainly with changing the structure of international diplomacy, repealing the conscription act of may 18, 1917, and ending the war on democratic terms. they did not want to become “a party of opposition” and emphasized that “we are not, by habit or temperament, troublemakers.”22 american socialists, on the other hand, were combative at the start of the war. emboldened by the initial russian experiment in self-government and growing bolshevik representation in the provisional government, they stepped up their attacks on the “liberal-capitalist” establishment, demanding a platform for international industrial reform. socialists differed in focus from progressive antiwar demonstrators: the former wanted to attack the industrial elite, while the latter sought only to change existing diplomatic practices based on real politik. in addition to the concerns of the socialists and liberal-progressives —the two largest components of the peace movement—hundreds of smaller peace organizations made up of farmers, christians, single-taxers, and local labor unions, each with their own agenda, threatened to be swallowed up by the great tide of patriotism sweeping the country. the problem was clear enough: unite or face extinction. the first american conference of democracy and terms of peace convened on may 30 and 31, 1917 at madison square garden in new york city in front of 15,000 people.23 the conference aimed to bring together pacifists from all over the u.s. to discuss a program of unification. led by nearing, louis lochner and rebecca shelly, the latter two of the emergency peace federation (epf), planning for the conference began shortly after the american declaration of war. from the beginning, the moderate faction of the auam expressed its discontent with the strong socialist elements permeating the unification movement, which they argued only complicated the realistic goal of ending the war. as director of the organizing committee for the may conference, and a member of the american union, nearing defused the crisis with the simple suggestion that they pursue a more ecumenical program that joined forces to work “towards the establishment of 22 quoted in marchand, the american peace movement, 253. 23 history and organizational information, people’s council of america for democracy and peace, box 1 3:1, swarthmore college peace collection [hereafter scpc]. 9 industrial democracy in the united states after the war.”24 the use of the term “industrial democracy” became a catchphrase within the peace movement, meaning different things to different people. for socialists, it meant replacing the capitalist political economy with a system of collectivization in which the “social machinery” transferred from the individual capitalist to the hands of the american working people. for the pacifist unwilling to accept socialist doctrine, industrial democracy could mean simply working to improve upon current international labor standards. manipulating the language and the terms of unification kept most moderates happy. while the auam withdrew from the conference, it remained on the bill as a supporting organization, and many of its more radical members joined up with its sister peace organization, the epf. nearing’s contribution to this first conference went well beyond two simple words, but nevertheless, these words were symbolic of his willingness to find middle ground for all groups to meet on. out of the may conference grew a complete set of compromises that spoke to a national audience of peace groups. although tension remained between radicals and moderates, they both agreed that for the time being the russians had put together the most progressive peace plan. in the spirit of internationalism, they modeled their national peace organization after the russian council of workmen’s and soldiers’ delegates, a faction sympathetic to the bolsheviks that held a position of power within the provisional government. the moderates were able to accept the russian plan without reservation because of its universally democratic language. socialism had yet to make its revolutionary inroads in russia, and, in fact, the wilson administration still praised the country’s implementation of democratic principles (they also cheered russia’s labors in hope that it would stimulate a renewed vigor for the allied war cause). the american pacifists called their organization the people’s council of america, and their program advocated “an early, democratic and general peace in harmony with the principles of new russia, namely: no forcible annexations, no punitive indemnities, [and] free development for all nationalities.” 25 secondly, the council urged substantive changes in the american approach to international diplomacy, as well as putting an end to the secret negotiation of treaties, conscription and the draft, the poor treatment of workers, and the curtailment of civil liberties. finally, and most importantly, they called for peace through national referenda. the council supported the opinions of its “constituents” in matters of international diplomacy and formulated “policy” after gauging their attitudes. if the 24 new york state senate, revolutionary radicalism: its history, purpose and tactics; report of the joint legislative committee investigating seditious activities, filed april 24, 1920, in the new york state senate, vol. i (albany, new york: j.b. lyon company printers, 1920), 1037. 25 history and organizational information, people’s council of america for democracy and peace, box 1 3:1, scpc. 10 american government failed to heed the voice of the people, the council reasoned, then the only recourse would be to shift tactics from independent lobbying to mass, united action. the structure of the council reflected that of the russian “soviet” system, a flexible and decentralized body of state committees responsive to local council committees, but also had representation in the decision-making process at the national level of the organization. the national council acted as the chief generator of propaganda and education, providing uniformity to the pacifist message and direction to the massive alliance, which included, by june 1917, the full participation of the epf, the woman’s peace party, the american legal defense league, the american association for labor legislation, the non-partisan league, the american civil liberties bureau (bureau was changed to union shortly thereafter), hundreds of local labor unions, the socialist party, and the socialist labor party.26 from june through september 1917, nearing served on the people’s council executive committee in charge of labor agitation. his experience teaching economics made him the most qualified candidate to discuss in laymen’s terms the pressing crisis that war had thrust upon workers. during this period, he also taught full-time at the rand school of social science in new york city and lectured extensively to national and local labor organizations around the country.27 as the war dragged on into the fall, he grew increasingly uncertain about the merits of moderation in the pacifist movement. his experience with organized labor soured him on the prospect of a peace-first plan geared toward ending militarism. in his mind, militarism flowered under the exigencies of capitalist domination. faced with the difficult task of trying to undercut the activities of samuel gompers’ prowar and pro-capitalist american alliance for labor and democracy, nearing came to the conclusion that the people’s council did not go far enough in providing a true alternative for workers. in order to obtain the socialist vision of industrial democracy, the terms of peace needed to be more closely tied to an anti-corporate agenda. in september 1917 he wrote, “recent events lead me to the conclusion that it is not the diplomats who want the war to go on but the business interests.”28 nearing could no longer accept that militarism was due as much to diplomatic failure as it was due to plutocratic self-indulgence. this revelation is not in itself 26 new york state senate, revolutionary radicalism: its history, purpose and tactics, vol. 1, 1024-1037. 27 the rand school was a workers’ institute, catering exclusively to the needs of the uneducated and immigrant populations of new york and was openly connected to the socialist movement. the school sought to provide workers with the tools to help “free” them from the monotony of wage-work and to encourage them to take ownership in the socialist political movement. 28 “open letters to profiteers: an arraignment of big business in its relation to world war,” unpublished letter to the editors of the new york times, september 22, 1917, scott nearing papers, scpc [his emphasis]. nearing wrote five letters to the editors of the new york times, which were never published. instead, they were used in pamphlet form by the people’s council and distributed widely to local people’s council branches for sale to the public. 11 startling when placed side-by-side with his philosophic economism—the belief in the primacy of economic causes—and the fact that radical socialist power in the russian provisional government continued to gain momentum. his opinions grew even more strident as he assumed the chairmanship of the people’s council upon morris hillquit’s departure in late september 1917.29 nearing’s accession to the top position on the people’s council represents the culmination of his transformation from liberal economist to radical socialist. it also marked the beginning of a new experiment in radical activity for pacifists, prefiguring the leftward political surge the movement experienced through 1920.30 publicly nearing professed a united front among pacifists, telling the socialist new york call, “it is the business of the people’s council to find those points of probable agreement and thus establish a common meeting ground, a clearing house for the liberal and the radical elements in american life.”31 under his direction, however, the socialist party played a much larger role in formatting the agenda for peace than he led on. the language of socialism gradually crept into the council’s bulletins, sent out weekly to its members across the country, and he stepped up the challenge to gompers’s alliance for labor. nearing fired a shot at the alliance one day after assuming the chairmanship: “…the american people are opening their eyes…they know that the big business forces have been trying to suppress the revolutionary labor movement in this country, while they folded to their bosoms a little group of labor politicians who are using the occasion to ‘clean up’ on their opponents.”32 nearing no doubt had gompers in mind when writing this polemic. in order to meet the alliance head on, he attempted to set the council’s program on a higher moral ground. he wanted to establish the socialist-pacifist cause as the cause of working-class freedom, removed from the “degeneracy” spawned by industrial capitalism, and as striving toward a greater good—the institution of industrial democracy. the success of the bolshevik revolution lent credence to nearing’s approach. lenin and the bolsheviks swept out of power the american-recognized provisional government led by alexander kerensky on november 7, 1917. wilson 29 hillquit served as chairman of the people’s council until september, but left that position to concentrate full-time on his 1917 new york city mayoral bid. 30 this rush of leftist sentiment was most evident at the voting booth. from the east coast to the midwest, socialist turnout hit record numbers in the 1917 municipal elections. in new york city, turnout reached its all-time peak–22 percent of the city's voters chose socialists—and new yorkers elected ten socialist assemblymen, seven alderman, and one municipal court judge. in milwaukee, socialists elected seventeen assemblymen and five congressmen, and in chicago and cleveland, they each sent two socialists to the city council. through 1920, socialists maintained record membership numbers, peaking at 120,000 during the 1920 election. historians, such as daniel bell in marxian socialism in the united states, often relate this rise in socialist popularity to the war crisis, but it also seems plausible that pacifist and socialist propaganda and a mass education program were equally as important. 31 new york call, september 23, 1917. 32 “open letters to profiteers,” september 22, 1917, scpc. 12 and other prominent american internationalists chafed at lenin’s immediate calls for a negotiated peace between the european antagonists. when the americans entered the war, they did so with the intent of crushing prussian militarism. the bolsheviks anti-war stance (consider rewording-awkward) and their decision to call back troops from the front lines at the end of 1917 thwarted this intention and raised fears of a possible conspiracy with the central powers. “the forces of movement” split into competing factions, with liberalism pitted squarely against revolutionary socialism.33 both the americans and russians proclaimed their desire for peace, and in wilson’s words, a “world made safe for democracy,” but each sought different means to achieve their goal of creating a new form of diplomacy. nearing’s reaction to these complex geopolitical developments on the domestic front is important in two ways. first, the russian political successes provided a convenient opening for nearing to bolster his criticism of american war profiteering and to further a program of agitation that connected the war to working-class oppression. shortly after the bolshevik seizure of power he wrote that the “whole question of war profiteering” bears “directly upon the ‘economic rights’ of the american people and therefore fall[s] within the scope of the people’s council program.”34 this statement conflicts with his earlier comments to the new york call, in which he labeled the council a “clearing house” for both radicals and liberals in america. clearly, nearing set out to separate the council from the liberal program for peace by allying it with a russian program that highlighted elements of class conflict. secondly, the revolution legitimized the previous two decades of activity by american socialists, augmenting domestic opposition to the wilson administration’s wartime policies. the historian charles chatfield points out that some “pacifists supported the revolution, too, because its peace planks accorded with their own demand for a ‘new diplomacy’ embodying democratic principles such as freedom of press, petition, and speech,” as well as a “progressive tax on war profits.”35 even as the council continued to ramp up its radicalism, some progressive pacifists remained loyal because they believed that the russian peace program offered a legitimate, non-violent solution to the conflict. for dyed-in-the-wool pacifists, the bolsheviks offered the most realistic plan for galvanizing worldwide support for democratic diplomacy, despite their socialist economic views. although many pacifists, liberal or otherwise, did not 33 arno j. mayer, political origins of the new diplomacy, 1917-1918 (new haven: yale press, 1959), 1-14. mayer develops his thesis around the political dialect between “the forces of order and the forces of movement.” he asserts that the former group, comprised of france, britain and germany, supported an older, nineteenth century form of diplomacy based on power politics, where as the latter group, made up of the russians and americans, advocated a style of open diplomacy, which stressed popular control over foreign-policy making. 34 the bulletin of the people’s council of america, december 28, 1917, scpc. 35 chatfield, “world war i and the liberal pacifist in the united states,” 1929. 13 convert to socialism, they believed that the russians honestly represented the people’s voice. since the preparedness controversy in 1916, they no longer trusted wilson to do the right thing. as nation editor oswald garrison villard remarked at the time, “i am utterly discouraged and shocked and have completely lost my faith in wilson…i simply feel that he is no longer to be depended upon…”36 playing on this current of mistrust, in order to spread the word about the bolshevik peace plan, nearing redoubled his commitment to educating the american worker about the benefits of socialism. his teachings to student-workers at the rand school, the international fur workers’ union and the amalgamated clothing workers’ union in new york city played a significant role in developing a unified socialist educational method that attempted to undermine the effectiveness of wilsonian internationalism.37 supplementing his seven-pronged prescription for pacifist activism delineated in the great madness, nearing injected into the cause specifically socialist aims patterned after the russian revolution. the goal became not simply civilized activism, working through proper bureaucratic channels for peace, but urgent and abrupt mass action modeled after the bolsheviks. nearing wanted to take the people’s council’s momentum in to a new stage, and he found in socialist doctrine the political weapon with which to make immediate, rather than gradual change. by fusing the revolutionary tone of socialism to the program of peace laid out by the people’s council, nearing believed he could lift the masses upward toward change. although he never explicitly advocated violent revolution, he did use the rhetoric of a revolutionary, as evidenced by this speech delivered to rand school students in 1918: so while we rejoice that the russian revolutionists are breaking economic chains; while we send out good wishes and cheer to the german revolutionists as they throw off autocracy and set up a government of the people, let us not forget that expressions of good cheer are not the things that the russian and german workers want from us. they want from us a workers’ and soldiers’ council in new york city. they want from us a workers’ and soldiers’ government in the united states. when we have established government, we will have made good our claim to brotherhood and comradeship with the workers of russia and germany.38 the people’s council’s founders copied the structural configuration of the workers’ and soldiers’ council, but they did not mention anything about using this system as an alternative to american democracy. nearing, yet again, increased 36 quoted in arthur s. link, wilson: confusions and crises, 1915-1916, vol. iv, (princeton: princeton university press, 1964), 50. 37 new york state senate, revolutionary radicalism: its history, purpose and tactics, vol. 1, 962. 38 ibid., revolutionary radicalism: its history, purpose and tactics, vol. 1, 536. 14 radical america’s challenge to liberal-capitalism. peace for nearing could only come with the end of exploitation, realized through socialism, and he continued to focus on cultivating a relationship with american workers. although nearing did not have a working-class background he sympathized with the plight of the oppressed. he valued work, he once said, because “everyone who works—whether joyfully or joylessly—is creating a product that will benefit a fellowman.”39 like eugene debs, the entrenched father of american socialism and the symbol of agrarian radicalism, he believed every working man and woman held the key to the future of the united states. secondly, he understood the importance of appealing to the values of the commoner. he learned this latter skill from debs. the former indiana rail worker possessed an uncanny ability to empathize with his audience, making them feel that he was communicating “not to people, but for them.”40 the new york call reported on a 1908 rally at grand central station in new york in which debs, who was not opposed to using biblical metaphor, uttered what are now famous lines: “you workingmen have heads. you are satisfied to use your hands in the interest of the fellows who are shrewd enough to use their heads. let me remind you that you have heads as well as hands. and when you use both you will be masters of this earth.”41 nearing employed similarly dramatic language throughout the war in effort to draw attention to economic injustices and “the ever widening chasm between those who possess and those who do not.”42 whereas debs spoke for the people, nearing spoke about what happened to the people as a result of the capitalist’s “ill-gotten” war profits. nearing’s consistent reaffirmation of purpose—connecting american business to the perpetuation of war and the disenfranchisement of the american worker—gave his discourse an uplifting quality, a “progressive” tone which suggested the unlimited potential of the human being, even in the face of the capitalist giant, they are knowing—these mighty ones—in the affairs of the world, but in the things of the spirit they are like children. knowledge they possess, but little wisdom. they do not understand the human soul. they underestimate the power of the ideal. they overlook the great longing—the terrible yearning—of the human heart, for truth and justice, liberty and joy and peace.43 39 toledo blade, december 1, 1916. 40 quoted in charles leinenweber, “socialists in the streets: the new york city socialist party in working class neighborhoods, 1908-1918” science and society 41 (1977), 169. 41 ibid., 169. 42 new york call, february 18, 1919. 43 nearing, the great madness, 42-43. 15 nearing’s vision of democracy placed knowledge and cooperation above gratuitous uses of power and privilege. in the context of war, the erosion of both democratic ideals and progressive notions of societal improvement appeared very real. nearing seized on this fear with apocalyptic language, linking up socialist discourse with an image of america as a imperialist behemoth. the wilson administration sought to placate public alarm over the war with reassurances that the u.s. was in fact fighting to guarantee the preservation of international democracy. of course, they maintained a slight advantage in keeping their message in front of the people. with control of the mail, the backing of industry and major media outlets, and the force of the espionage and sedition acts, the government fastened a tight noose on the spread of disagreeable information. additionally, the committee on public information (cpi), the government’s aggressive war-boosting agency headed by former newspaperman george creel, worked to drown opposition to wilsonian doctrine. as elizabeth mckillen suggests, the american federation of labor, under gompers, also played an important part in suffocating radicals: “gompers wore down his opponents through smear campaigns that questioned their patriotism and often linked them to german sabotage…he also had the power to deny his opponents any real voice in shaping afl policy.”44 the president too, ultimately played a significant role in frustrating the efforts of socialists and pacifists. as the war passed through 1917, notes arthur link, “wilson pressed his campaign for peace with mounting intensity…again and again, he said that americans had no quarrel with the great german people, admired their accomplishments, and, above all, coveted their friendship.”45 wilson conveyed to americans that the country’s only objective in waging war was to achieve peace. but as link also points out, wilson “took assiduous pains to make clear that the united states was in the war for its own reasons.”46 socialists were at an advantage in this respect, as they found ways to exploit anything that smacked of aggrandizement. statements communicated publicly by wilson and the profits made by private business were monitored closely for any hint of duplicity. for example, nearing, in an unpublished letter to the new york times, questioned an advertisement that ran in that newspaper’s october 3, 1917 edition. paid for by several major american industries in support of the liberty loan committee, a key revenue generator for the war effort, the advertisement read: “make the world safe for business.” nearing, incensed, wrote, “what does that mean—‘make the world 44 elizabeth mckillen, chicago labor and the quest for a democratic diplomacy, 1914-1924 (ithaca: cornell university press, 1995), 68-69. 45 arthur s. link, woodrow wilson: revolution, war and peace (arlington heights, ill.: harlan davidson, inc., 1979), 79. 46 ibid., 77. 16 safe for business?’ it means huge red war profits…it means hell on earth so american business men can ‘get theirs’…that is what i have in mind when i accuse american business interests of using the world crisis as an occasion for making money.”47 he repeatedly made the case that profiting from war, indeed, supplying the tools for destruction and international chaos, contradicted not simply moral sensibilities, but liberal democratic ones too. nearing especially hoped to expose wilson’s liberal-internationalism as a ruse and a front for the ruling class to line their pockets at the expense of the small farmer and industrial laborer. wilson had mostly jettisoned his “new freedom” program of 1912, discarding the remnants of the “old principles,” to “embrace new ones as the price of retaining power” in 1916.48 the new freedom, according to link, more and more resembled theodore roosevelt’s “new nationalism” of 1912, which called on the federal government to fuel national initiatives for workers and farmers to gain a greater foothold in the rapidly expanding domestic and international economies. but wilson found himself in the unenviable position of reconciling “illiberalism at home to reinforce the men at the front.”49 throughout 1918, nearing tried to zero in on this contradiction, emphasizing that wilson’s international aims came at the expense of the welfare of the american people. with the people’s council severely limited by governmental repression and subject to constant mail screenings, and nearing regularly in court for violating the espionage act (for writing the great madness), a new line of attack was needed. nearing rallied the support of the radical community around his defense. he pointed out that not only were americans suffering from class and economic oppression, but they were also victims of verbal and physical repression. just as he had altered the direction of the pacifist movement earlier in the war through his persistent critique of american capitalism, he did so again on trial. nearing came to symbolize the plight of the oppressed, and many of his supporters at the rand school, students and intellectuals alike, as well as people’s council members lobbied against the charge on his behalf. just as the american declaration of war fragmented pacifists in 1917, the “red scare” threatened to crush radical sentiment in 1919, and with the conclusion of the war in november, radicals focused all of their energies on fighting persecution. nearing’s trial became a national sensation, in part because he decided to defend himself, but also because of his popularity among working-class people. the new york times followed the trial throughout 1918 until its conclusion in february 1919. prior to nearing’s final words in defense of his actions, the times wrote, “it was a dramatic moment when nearing, after reviewing in a glimpse his life work, paused and said, 47 “open letters to profiteers: an arraignment of big business in its relation to world war,” oct. 4, 1917, scpc. 48link, wilson: confusions and crises, 1915-1916, vol. iv, 322. 49 mayer, political origins of the new diplomacy, 12. 17 ‘i have done what i could.’ for the time being the matter is in your hands.”50 he was eventually acquitted on charges of violating the espionage act, but as he recalled in his memoirs, the experience only hardened his opinions about war, exploitation and repression: there is an old saying that truth is the first casualty in any war. from personal experience i can bear witness that war not only negates truth, decency, and human kindness, but brings disaster also to truth-seekers and those who are devoting their energies to social improvement. war is hell. more than that, war drags human beings from their tasks of building and improving, and pushes them en masse into the category of destroyers and killers.51 the risks of evaluating a single historical figure during a short time frame seem self-evident: rarely does a person so affect a particular socio-cultural or political milieu as to warrant undivided attention to their life, and rarely does a person so transcend his or her own circumstances as to confer exceptional status to their achievements. however, the benefits quickly outweigh the risks in this case when one considers nearing’s unique circumstances. in the span of a year, between the spring of 1916 and the spring of 1917, he moved from a prominent position in academia to a position on the front lines of “radical” anti-war activity. he lost his job, his social standing, and his credibility in the conventional world, but gained a preeminent position as a champion of human freedom in the socialist party. although american socialism proved unsuccessful in its bid to overthrow the “hegemonic” forces of capitalism, nearing succeeded on a wide-scale in challenging pacifists, workers, socialists, intellectuals, and students to think about the complicated questions that war posed for humanity. his legacy, then, resides not necessarily in the popularization of anti-establishment doctrine, but in his ability to transcend a moment, and to lead people in a new direction. the historian howard zinn wrote of world war i that, “the rhetoric of the socialists, that it was an ‘imperialist’s war,’ now seems moderate and hardly arguable.”52 however, that is only so because radicals like scott nearing helped americans to better understand the pretenses under which the war was being fought. 50 the new york times, february 18, 1919. 51 nearing, the making of a radical, 121. 52 howard zinn, a people’s history of the united states, 1492-present, (new york: harper-collins, 2001), 360. forgiveness in the polis: seeking reconciliation forgiveness in the polis: seeking reconciliation in post-apartheid south africa william h. lemaire theology operating from 1995 to 1998, the truth and reconciliation commission (trc) of south africa stands as one of the most unusual and hopeful social phenomena in one of the most violent periods in history. it fell to a commission of seventeen diverse south african citizens to sift through over three decades of political crimes and human rights violations emanating from apartheid, that nation’s regime of political oppression and systematic, enforced racism. their charge was to listen to the narratives of both the victims and the agents of apartheid and, as one commissioner put it, “hold up a mirror to reflect the complete picture” of south africa’s apartheid past.1 by establishing a truthful and shared account of the past, it was hoped the nation could begin to bring closure to the wounds and social divisions still roiling in apartheid’s wake. nothing less than the future of the nation was considered to be at stake. there was a very real concern that if the white minority feared for its safety under a black-controlled government and if the long-oppressed black population sought revenge for its past torment, a new cycle of violence could erupt again along racial fault lines.2 truth commissions are increasingly applied as an instrument for promoting political and social reconciliation following civil strife. of special interest to this paper, however, is that the south african trc, a secular, government institution charged with an essentially political outcome, came to be characterized by a narrative of forgiveness, a narrative that was expressed in christian symbols, values, and idiom. in doing so, says rodney l. petersen of the boston theological institute, the trc projected forgiveness, a quality long absent from public and foreign policy and often consigned to personal relations or the church confessional, to the center of the reconciliation discourse in south africa.3 1 boraine, alex, a country unmasked: inside south africa’s truth and reconciliation commission, (oxford: oxford university press, 2000), 326. 2 villa-vicencio, charles, “restorative justice in social context: the south african truth and reconciliation commission,” in burying the past: making peace and doing justice after civil conflict, ed. nigel biggar, (washington, d.c.: georgetown university press, 2001), p. 208. villa-vicencio captures this fear of all-against-all violence in the remarks of thabo mbeki, currently president of the republic of south africa but a member of the african national congress helping write a new constitution in 1993 when he remarked: “within the anc [african national congress] the cry was to ‘catch the bastards and hang them’ – but we realized you could not simultaneously prepare for a peaceful transition while saying we want to catch and hang people… if we had taken this route i don’t know where the country would be today. had there been the threat of nuremburg-style trials over members of the apartheid security establishment, we would never have undergone peaceful change.” 3 petersen, rodney l., “a theology of forgiveness: terminology, rhetoric, & the dialectic of interfaith relationships,” in forgiveness and reconciliation: religion, public policy, & conflict transformation, eds., raymond g. helmick, s.j., and rodney l. petersen, (philadelphia & london: templeton foundation press, 2001), 4-6. during the trc’s hearings for victims of human rights violations, a significant number of those testifying extended forgiveness to their former tormentors, typically evoking a scriptural or theological formulation of forgiveness. commission members, especially trc chairman desmond tutu, then an anglican archbishop, further framed victim testimony within a master narrative in which forgiveness is not only constitutive of interpersonal reconciliation but is also the motive force for social and political reconciliation. for some, framing the truth-telling of the trc within a larger theme of forgiveness was too anemic a response for a nation still deeply scarred by apartheid’s violence; specifically, it seemed to make no adequate provision for justice. this paper, however, will argue that the quality of forgiveness may offer a more positive, longlasting, and robust response to post-conflict reconciliation than the retributive models of justice embodied in tribunals and war crimes trials. as a corollary, it will also assert that, in the understanding of tutu and the trc, forgiveness did not exclude or dispense with repentance and restitution. rather, forgiveness was posited as a force that both actuates and propels a continuum that leads to reconciliation; along that continuum, repentance and redress may occur. the “truth” about truth commissions truth commissions are temporary bodies charged, in the wake of a period of severe internal national conflict, with ascertaining and investigating the authenticity of human rights violations, typically by eliciting the stories of both victims and perpetrators. perpetrators are often offered amnesty for their testimony. the proposition is that by ascertaining the truth of what occurred during a contentious period in the nation’s life a new and hopefully shared recollection of the past will emerge. this could, in turn, provide the starting point for the healing and the eventual transcending of deep social divisions produced by conflict. indeed, truth commissions are a popular resource in the international peace and conflict arena. in the twenty-year span between 1974 and 1994 fifteen truth commissions were initiated internationally, charged with investigating the details behind human rights violations following periods of political oppression and violence.4 in the next seven years, however, between 1995 and 2002, an additional twelve commissions commenced operation.5 truth commissions, however, are seldom as cathartic as might be supposed. they rarely culminate in victims successfully purging their memories of emotional trauma and perpetrators releasing their burdens through contrition and repentance. for many past commissions, the “fix” was in from the beginning as the commissions themselves were the outcome of protracted negotiation between political forces.6 often, to even establish a commission, the former political power structure extracted a general amnesty for its leadership. too often truth commissions have been a tool for governments to assure the international community that some level of justice has been attained and, in turn, confer legitimacy on the new power structure. in the majority of cases, truth commissions have 4 hayner, priscilla, “fifteen truth commissions—1974 to 1994: a comparative study,” human rights quarterly, vol. 16, no. 4 (nov.1994), 601-603. 5 braham, eric, “truth commissions,” beyond intractability, eds., guy burgess and heidi burgess, conflict research consortium, university of colorado, boulder. posted june 30, 2004 and accessed at http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/truth_commissions/. 6 ibid. 2 been conducted with little or no transparency. since each of the twenty-seven commissions established between 1974 and 2002 was engineered around unique circumstances, it is difficult to categorize their outcome. the chief benefit of truth commissions is that they provide a prescription for ending violence while also sidestepping the difficulties in tribunals and trials. if, as in a number of cases, the commission reports were either rejected by the government, or its contents edited or not made available to the public in totality, then some feel they have been victimized a second time. truth commissions, it seems, seldom produce “truth” in absolute terms. the trc of south africa was established after the official end of apartheid (literally “apartness” in afrikaans and dutch), a compulsory system of racial segregation that was officially the law of the land from 1948 to 1994 but which, less officially and less starkly, had been the practice within this nation from its earliest roots in british colonialism in the nineteenth century. under apartheid, people were classified, by law, into a variety of racial groups: whites, blacks, and those of mixed racial origin. blacks, in particular, were forcibly relocated into “homelands,” the euphemistic label for what was similar to a “reservation” of the type created in the united states for native americans. blacks could vote only on matters within these “homeland” governments, not in national elections. education, medical care, and other public services were said to be “separate but equal,” but those available to whites were generally considered far superior. blacks and non-whites could work in white areas as long as each carried special identity cards and returned at night to their designated areas. whites, while comprising only thirteen percent of the total population accounted for sixty-five percent of total personal income.7 “the apartheid system,” writes audrey chapman, “enabled a white minority amounting to some thirteen percent of the population to monopolize economic and political power and relegate the black majority to a subordinated and politically powerless status.”8 after decades of escalating international pressure, the new south african government headed by f.w. de klerk announced its intention in 1989 to end apartheid and enter into negotiations with the african national congress, the leading black opposition party in 1990. it aimed to draft a new constitution based on the principle of “one person, one vote.” in april 1994, following the nation’s first universal suffrage elections, nelson mandela, head of the african national congress, was elected president of south africa.9 the authority for the trc was provided by the promotion of national unity and reconciliation act, no 34 of 1995, and the new body based its operations in cape town, south africa. the trc was a court-like body assembled to hear both people who claimed to have been victims of “gross human rights violations” as well as perpetrators of these violations for whom testimony also provided an opportunity for amnesty from prosecution. the hearings made international news and some entire sessions were broadcast on south african television. the trc’s work was conducted through three committees: one aimed at investigating human rights abuses from 1960 to 1994, a second charged with formulating proposals to assist victims with reparations and rehabilitation, 7 sisk, timothy d., democratization in south africa: the elusive social contract, (princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1995), 7-16. 8 chapman, audrey and spong, bernard, eds., religion and reconciliation in south africa, (philadelphia and london: templeton foundation press, 2003), 3-6. 9 sisk, 293. 3 and a third which considered applications for amnesty. critical to earning amnesty was the condition that crimes had to be shown to be politically, not criminally, motivated and the whole truth about the violation was to be told by the person seeking amnesty.10 in the end, the amnesty committee was completely overwhelmed with over 7,000 applications for amnesty of which perhaps over 65% were from people already in custody or whose crimes were considered ordinary criminal violations, not politically motivated. coping with this sheer volume as well as internal disputes of what constituted political motivation, kept the number of actual amnesty grants to less than 1,000.11 on october 28, 1998, the commission presented its final report. while there was considerable divergence in opinion in those early days as to the value of the trc along racial lines, most south africans, by the close of the commission’s work in 1998, had judged the commission worthwhile. fifty-seven percent of south africans rated the trc either a “very good thing” or a “good thing” for the country.12 measured along racial cleavages, however, seventy-two percent of african respondents were positive about the trc compared to just fifteen percent of whites.13 as time moves on, however, there is a growing convergence in views. in more recent data, published in 2006, the work of the trc seems to have contributed to a growing perception, even among whites, that apartheid was indeed a “crime against humanity.” a strong majority of 87.7% of south africans concurs with that statement, while 76.3% of whites agree.14 mandela and tutu, the trc’s secular and sacred faces a substantial portion of whatever success is credited to south africa’s trc can be traced to south africa’s two iconic figures of apartheid resistance: nelson mandela, the long-imprisoned secular saint of south africa’s struggle against apartheid, and desmond tutu, the anglican archbishop of cape town and winner of the nobel peace prize of 1984. both men rose to worldwide fame in the 1980s as opponents of apartheid. mandela was elected president of south africa in 1994 in the first fully-representative elections in that nation’s history, thus becoming the nation’s first black president. tutu headed the trc from 1995 to 1998 and was generally credited with originating the term “rainbow nation” as a metaphor to describe his vision of a post-apartheid south africa. 10 according to the promotion of national unity and reconciliation act of 1995, a crime was considered “political” when committed by a member of a “publicly known political organization or liberation movement” or by an employee of the state either acting “in furtherance of a political struggle or with the object of countering or otherwise resisting said struggle.” further, to fit into this political crime template, it had to have been committed “in the course and scope of his or her duties and within the scope of his or her express or implied authority.” another consideration was whether the crime was proportionate to the threat posed by the victim. 11 graybill, lyn s., truth & reconciliation in south africa: miracle or model?, (boulder, london: lynne rienner publishers, 2002), 62-67. 12 theissen, gunnar, “object of trust and hatred: public attitudes towards the truth and reconciliation commission”, chapter within truth and reconciliation: has the trc delivered eds., audrey chapman and hugo van der merwe, (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, to be published 2007), 45. 13 ibid. 14 hofmeyr, j.h., “report of the sixth round of the sa reconciliation barometer survey,” (wynberg: institute for justice and reconciliation, 2006), 67. 4 while equally committed to a peaceful resistance to oppression, mandela and tutu differed considerably in religious perspective. in her book, truth & reconciliation in south africa, lyn graybill calls nelson mandela the “pragmatic reconciler” whose very life has been an example of suffering and perseverance in pursuit of black liberation. mandela, she adds, saw his mission as “one of preaching reconciliation, of binding the wounds of the country, of engendering trust and confidence.” mandela’s extraordinary efforts at political forgiveness (he invited, for example, the prosecutor who sought the death penalty for him to lunch following his election to president in 1994) and reconciliation was applauded worldwide. according to graybill, however, analysts sought, in vain, for some personality trait or secret that would explain this extraordinary commitment to peace and reconciliation. while many expect to find its locus in religious conviction, mandela claims that he is “not particularly religious or spiritual,” although he says he admires what the faith communities did to oppose apartheid. recognizing their role, he states: “when others inside the country were gagged and could not speak and could not travel and others were thrown in jail, it was the church that kept the fire burning and kept the ideas for which they were suffering alive.”15 while there is no question that mandela’s astonishing generosity of spirit was a driving factor behind the country’s efforts at reconciliation and amnesty for human rights offenders, it must also be acknowledged that in south africa, truth commissions offering some level of amnesty are often the only route available to new, and often weak, democracies. helen cobban, global affairs columnist for the christian science monitor, writes that south africa’s powerful military and security bosses had already told mandela and the anc that they would not provide security for the crucial elections of 1994 unless some credible form of amnesty from prosecution was proffered.16 so, again, in south africa as in so many other truth commission venues, amnesty-for-truth-telling became the pragmatic partner of the trc’s work of restoration and reconciliation. the engine that drove nelson mandela, says graybill, was not religion but rather the strength of his commitment to a non-racial democracy. “the key,” according to graybill, “is that mandela never doubted that one day he would be a free man and eventually president. he simply did not have the luxury of succumbing to hate and revenge. overcoming white fears of a nonracial democracy was crucial, and earning the trust and confidence of whites made the political settlement possible.”17 it was by sheer personal example and commitment that mandela was able to show a new path forward grounded by reconciliation rather than retribution. this simple but profound act of human will moved robin petersen, senior lecturer in christian studies at the university of the western cape, to anoint mandela’s acts as radiating an “almost salvific power.”18 while mandela provided the secular “jump-start” to national reconciliation, the activity of the trc, a secular apparatus, was nonetheless strikingly imbued with religious language and ritual, qualities that were strategically inserted by desmond tutu, the trc’s chair, as well as deputy chair, alex boraine, president of the methodist church of 15 graybill, 11, 18-19. 16 cobban, helena, “religion and violence,” journal of the american academy of religion, december 2005, vol. 73, no. 4, 1128. 17 graybill, 19. 18 ibid., 21. 5 southern africa. consider tutu’s earliest efforts, in his own words, in bringing his trc team together and bringing their mission into focus. despite our diversity, the commissioners agreed to my proposal at the first meeting that we should go on a retreat, where we sought to enhance our spiritual resources and sharpen our sensitivities. we sat at the feet of a spiritual guru, who happened to be my own spiritual counselor, while we kept silence for a day, seeking to open ourselves to the movement and guidance of the transcendent spirit.19 it is rare that a description or historical analysis of the trc does not remark upon the religious character of the proceedings. the first hearing, in particular, stamped the process with a religious tone when tutu opened the meeting with a prayer and commissioner bongani finca sang a hymn of african christian origin, “the forgiveness of sins makes a person whole.” throughout the trc process, observes graybill in her account of the hearings, tutu clearly operated as a religious figure during the proceedings, wearing a purple cassock and reverently lighting candles as if he were officiating at a sacred service. such demeanor prompted one observer to comment on the liturgical character of the hearings. each hearing is opened with a prayer – sometimes christian, sometimes muslim, sometimes jewish – and a large, white candle representing truth is solemnly lit. the audience is then asked to rise out of respect for the victims and their families while they file in… the seven commissioners in attendance then came down from their white linen-clad tables to welcome the victims – by shaking hands, embracing, kissing. many of the victims were already sobbing, overcome by the mere fact that an official government representative was showing them respect.20 standing on holy ground the very solemnity and liturgical atmosphere of the trc assemblies may have played a role in moving people to extraordinary acts of both repentance and forgiveness. tutu relates one especially tense scene in which members of a militia, accused of a particularly brutal massacre of anti-apartheid demonstrators, stood before a packed house of victims and relatives of victims. tutu describes the situation in the hearing room as “combustible” until one of the officers, acting as a spokesman, begged for forgiveness: “please, forgive us. please accept my colleagues back into the community.”21 tutu relates what happened next: 19 tutu, desmond, no future without forgiveness, (new york: doubleday, 1999), 81. 20 gallagher, susan van zanten, “cry with a beloved country: restoring dignity to the victims of apartheid,” christianity today, february 9, 1998, 1, at (http://ctilibrary.com) 21 tutu, desmond m., “foreword,” in forgiveness and reconciliation: religion, public policy, & conflict transformation, eds., raymond g. helmick, s.j., and rodney l. petersen, (philadelphia & london: templeton foundation press, 2001), xii. 6 http://ctilibrary.com)/ and do you know what that audience, that angry audience, did? it broke out into deafening applause. and afterwards i said, “please let us keep quiet because we are in the presence of something holy… really, the only appropriate response is for us to take off our shoes, because we are standing on holy ground.22 almost certainly south africa’s government had never seen one of its secular activities so overtaken by religious overtones. and, indeed, it proved unnerving for some. as a result of the commission’s religious and often lachrymose atmosphere, the trc was derided by some secular critics as the “kleenex commission.”23 it earned tutu considerable criticism from critics who often attacked the emphasis not only on individual reconciliation but also on what they viewed as an excessively religious atmosphere and discourse. the criticism was not isolated to strictly secular voices; it came from religious figures in the trc as well. one of the commissioners, professor piet meiring, an ordained minister in the dutch reformed church (drc), theologian, and university professor in church history, noted the complaints of certain commissioners and staff. the previous hearing, in east london, as well as numerous trc ceremonies of the previous weeks… were far too ‘religious’ for (the commissioners) taste. the many prayers, the hymn singing before and during the hearings and the religious wrappings of the process were out of place. the trc process was a legal process and should be conducted in a juridical style.24 indeed tutu, as an internationally recognized and charismatic personality, was the human face of the trc and, in this role, he often spoke in a religious idiom. bishop peter storey, a retired methodist bishop and member of the trc has said of tutu: “he has wept with the victims and marked every moment of repentance and forgiveness with awe. where a jurist would have been logical, he has not hesitated to be theological. he has sensed when to lead an audience in a hymn to help a victim recover composure, and when to call them all to prayer.”25 there can be little question that it was this uniquely compassionate and open vulnerability that also drew the attention (and cameras) of the world’s media to cape town. while tutu may not have intended the trc to be theatrical, it often had that shading which, in turn, attracted both praise and scorn. wherever one stood on the emotional atmosphere surrounding the trc, there was no debating it brought attention to south africa’s trc that no international truth commission before or after has been able to garner. tutu, for his part, was either 22 ibid. 23 graybill, 27. 24 phelps, teresa godwin phelps, shattered voices: language, violence, and the work of truth commissions, (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2004), 158. lyn graybill writes how tutu, responding to complaints of too zealous a religiosity in the hearings, promised to comport himself in a fashion more appropriate of a secular setting and substituting ‘moments of silence’ for prayers. however, when soon confronted with a particularly harrowing victim’s story, he lost his resolve, saying: “no, this won’t work! we really cannot start like this. people, close your eyes so that we can pray!” (graybill, 28). 25 ibid., 27. 7 unaware of the criticism or chose to ignore it as he remained sanguine as well as pragmatic about his approach: very few people objected to the heavy spiritual and indeed christian emphasis of the commission. when i was challenged on it by journalists i told them i was a religious leader and had been chosen as who i was. i could not pretend i was someone else… it meant that theological and religious insights and perspectives would inform much of what we did and how we did it.26 it is apparent, from this comment, that learning more about tutu’s theological perspectives is fundamental to understanding the religious framework that informed the trc’s work. tutu’s open religiosity struck some as inappropriate at best for the trc’s proceedings and perhaps bizarre for others. on the other hand, when reading the transcripts of the trc hearings it becomes clear that an affinity for religious language and scriptural references was not driven by overzealous commissioners. a religious idiom seemed to flow easily and voluntarily from many of those giving testimony. indeed, eighty-seven percent of south africans indicated in a 2002/2003 survey27 that they had some form of religious affiliation, while seventy percent of respondents to a 2001 survey claimed to attend a religious service at least once a month.28 considering, then, the pervasive influence of religion in south africa, it would seem that communicating in religious terms and values would be not only a suitable strategy but an effective one as well. tutu’s ubuntu theology something other than christian religious formulations permeated the trc and is remarked upon by nearly all major analyses of the trc; it emanates from the african tribal heritage and is commonly referred to as ubuntu. while pre-christian in origin, ubuntu is easily incorporated into christian formulations. like many idiomatic words, africans typically preface its interpretation with the caveat that it may not translate perfectly into english. “tutu is from the xhosa people,” michael battle, a former tutu aide, categorizes tutu’s appropriation of ubuntu into his theology, “and his sense of ubuntu derives from the proverbial xhosa expression ubuntu ungamntu ngabanye abantu which, translated roughly, means ‘each individual’s humanity is ideally expressed in relationship to others’ or a ‘person depends on other people to be a person’.”29 tutu himself explains it this way: “my humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours.”30 26 tutu, 82. 27 south africa survey 2002/2003, (johannesburg: south african institute for race relations, 2003). 28 public attitudes in contemporary south africa: insights from an hrsc survey, (cape town: hsrc press, 2002), 89. 29 battle, michael, reconciliation: the ubuntu theology of desmond tutu, (cleveland, oh: the pilgrim press, 1997), 39. 30 tutu, 31. 8 it was the incorporation of this ubuntu perspective into the trc that may explain why many black south africans were moved to publicly forgive those who oppressed or physically abused them. it is within this worldview that many in the black community approached the commission’s work and thus equated the forgiveness of others, even oppressors, with the healing and restoration of society. if the spirit of ubuntu already frames the thinking of the victims, it provides powerful leverage for a commission to promote its goal of reconciliation. ubuntu, in theory at least, is a model not only for helping victims regain their humanity, but also for their oppressors to do the same. the idea behind ubuntu is to restore the oppressor’s humanity by enabling the oppressed to see their oppressors as their peers under god. the relationship of oppressor and oppressed, shattered by apartheid, is restored through the spirit of ubuntu. when formulated into tutu’s theology, ubuntu finds its genesis in the account of god’s creation, in which human identity is defined in the image of god. created by god, but becoming finite through sin, humans are nonetheless destined for reconciliation with god through god’s plan for redemption and salvation. accordingly, observes battle, nothing less than becoming restored with the infinite god could ever hope to satisfy deep human longings. “secular prosperity, on the other hand,” he writes, “seduces us into judging others as if value were dependent on the production of goods. it is from this materialist understanding of human identity that a society can only see racial difference as a threat and become possessed by apartheid.”31 according to tutu, apartheid “makes no theological sense [because] it denies that human beings are created in the image of god.”32 this imago dei theology for tutu better describes as well as determines humanity because racial ideology inevitably leads to the use and abuse of power where the oppressor seeks to define a person. a theology of forgiveness an important component of ubuntu, as a facilitator of reconciliation, is the act of forgiving others for transgressions. forgiveness is also deeply constitutive of christianity. indeed, writes christian intellectual and theologian reinhold niebuhr, forgiveness is the “crown of christian ethics,” and is the “most difficult of moral achievements,” as its foundation is love of the other, while recognizing and acknowledging sin in the self. in the judaeo-christian traditions, the aim of human forgiveness is reconciliation, the healing of broken relationships.33 principal among the christian ideals characterizing the work of the trc was its employment of what rodney petersen has called a christian theology of forgiveness in which forgiveness is construed as the free gift of a loving god in which jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross and his resurrection are both the personification of god’s grace and a model for human forgiveness.34 for christians, a new law and a new prescription for 31 ibid., 5. 32 ibid. 33 amstutz, mark, the healing of nations, (new york, toronto: rowman & littlefield publishers, 2005), 46-47. 34 petersen, 3. i am employing this term, “theology of forgiveness,” most directly from petersen, although it appears not to be original to him; it appears often in the scholarly, trade, and consumer presses, including a feature article entitled “the theology of forgiveness,” in time magazine, monday, sept. 23, 1975. 9 forgiveness emerged through the narrative of the cross where jesus’ death and resurrection is seen as embodying divine love and universal atonement for human sins. his life and final sacrifice created a new paradigm of unqualified grace, a model which christians are urged to follow by offering unlimited and unconditional forgiveness to wrongdoers.35 in this paradigm, forgiveness is offered antecedent to, or in absence of, contrition or a secular form of justice this understanding of the relationship between god and humankind, as well as in human relations, represents, in the view of hannah arendt, the political theorist and intellectual, a radical and historical change. she credits jesus of nazareth as being the “discoverer of the role of forgiveness in the realm of human affairs.” it was jesus’ radical assertion of his power to forgive, even more than his miracles, says arendt, that generated responses ranging from intrigue to cries of blasphemy. importantly, she observes, jesus maintained that the power to forgive was not exclusive to god or even that this power derives from god, “…as though god, not men, would forgive through the medium of human beings.”36 this christian understanding of cross and resurrection narratives as the theological foundation for forgiveness is reflected in the trc hearings and in the comments of tutu, especially when he addresses the question of whether repentance must precede forgiveness: does the victim depend on the culprit’s contrition and confession as the precondition for being able to forgive? there is no question that, of course, such a confession is a very great help to the one who wants to forgive, but it is not absolutely indispensable. jesus did not wait until those who were nailing him to the cross had asked for forgiveness. he was ready, as they drove in the nails, to pray to his father to forgive them and he even provided an excuse for what they were doing. if the victim could forgive only when the culprit confessed, then the victim would be locked into the culprit’s whim, locked into victimhood, whatever her own attitude or intention. that would be palpably unjust.37 at the same time, in the understanding of tutu and the trc, this theological foundation of forgiveness did not exclude or dispense with repentance and restitution. rather, forgiveness was posited as a force that both actuates and propels a continuum that leads to reconciliation; along that continuum, repentance and redress may occur. retributive justice models may also produce a forbearance of violence and political stability. without forgiveness, however, reconciliation in the sense of a fully restored, harmonious relationship and society will not occur, thus the sense behind the title of tutu’s memoir of the trc, no future without forgiveness. for tutu, truth-telling alone, unalloyed by forgiveness, lacks orientation. by exposing the horror and injustice of past acts, truth-telling may just as easily fuel revenge or violence. alternatively, truthtelling, when framed in a disposition of forgiveness and a restoration of personal 35 ibid., 21-23. 36 arendt, hannah, the human condition, (chicago and london: the university of chicago press, 1958), 238-239. 37 tutu, 272. 10 relationships, provides the energy that feeds the process that leads to social and political reconciliation. can reconciliation occur where there is imperfect justice? while the trc was grounded in secular purpose (achieving a peaceful transition of governments), its execution, as has been shown, was often shaded by theological perspective, language, and symbols. the religious ambiance of the hearings combined with the amazing grace being demonstrated by mandela, tutu, and many of apartheid’s victims, seemed to reflect a stunning act of national salvation and reconciliation. however, this was not the case at all. all was not, as the african hymn of unity proclaims, kumbaya. the trc struggled mightily, not only with secular critics of its religious overtones but from within ecclesial circles as well. “the popular view, in the united states at least,” writes lyn graybill, “of south africa’s ‘rainbow nation’ miraculously embracing in a spirit of reconciliation is inaccurate.” whites remained largely aloof and unresponsive to the trc, graybill asserts, “surprised and grateful perhaps by the lack of bitterness and acts of vengeance toward them by blacks, but still unwilling to be transformed by the grace offered to them.”38 while the hope or expectation of tutu and others from the faith community was that large numbers of perpetrators would seize upon the trc as an opportunity to express remorse and victims would find it in their hearts to forgive, graybill concludes, that expectation “has not universally occurred.”39 another criticism directed against the trc was that victims may have felt pressured to forgive their enemies, especially when highly public appeals were made to follow christ’s model of self-renunciation and forgiveness of transgressors. that led some observers to complain that the outward public displays of forgiveness were more attributable to archbishop tutu’s powerful and charismatic presence than a genuine response of forgiveness. in stark contrast to a sense of coaxed forgiveness in the victim hearings, audrey chapman writes that those presiding over the amnesty hearings did not share the same intensity in soliciting acknowledgements and contrition from perpetrators. indeed, the law’s requirements for amnesty did not include repentance. this, chapman observes, left many viewing the process as unbalanced and one-sided.40 to be sure, the amnesty hearings produced a number of acknowledgements of stark brutality accompanied by moving, tearful contrition and requests for forgiveness. others appearing before the amnesty board, however, acknowledged their deeds but did so under the protective umbrella of “following orders.” some (who knows how many) said one thing to the amnesty board in public, another in private. graybill recounts one captain jacques hechter, a security policeman, expressing contrition for dozens of murders saying he had committed the acts “in the interest of the republic of south africa, my religion, and my christian convictions.”41 later, in private, hechter reportedly said: 38 graybill, 22. 39 ibid., 53. 40 chapman, 289. 41 graybill, 52. 11 ach, i’m not fuckin’ sorry for what i did. look—i fought for my country, i believed in what i did, and i did a good job. they were my enemy at the time.42 as indicated earlier, amnesty was not granted in all cases. indeed, less than twelve percent of those who made application were actually granted full amnesty. on the other hand, if the amnesty applicant made a full disclosure, amnesty could be granted on the spot. by contrast, victims requesting reparations or some form of rehabilitation had to make application and then wait for the reparations process to begin which, in fact, could not proceed until the commission had closed and issued its final report in 1998. even then, the cash-strapped south african government fell far short of the trc’s recommendations.43 no wonder, then, that many looked upon the trc as justice not only delayed but also either unfulfilled or unbalanced. these imperfections in the trc process, however, were not the creation of the commissioners – they were merely working with an instrument that was the result of a political negotiation, the residue of bringing the white south african government to the point where it was willing to relinquish or share power. tutu, in his memoir of the trc, recognizes the inherent limitations of the commission and in that context tries to look beyond these imperfections to a bigger picture, one centered on ubuntu: …the amnesty provision is an ad hoc arrangement meant for this specific purpose [restoring society following the long nightmare of apartheid]. this is not how justice is to be administered in south africa forever. it is for a limited and definite period and purpose. one might say that perhaps justice fails to be done only if the concept we entertain of justice is retributive justice, whose chief goal is to be punitive… we contend that there is another kind of justice, restorative justice, which was characteristic of traditional african jurisprudence. here the central concern is not retribution or punishment. in the spirit of ubuntu, the central concern is the healing of breaches, the restoration of broken relationships44 tutu, perhaps more than anyone else, recognized that as a result of the trc’s structural flaws – which he concedes were negotiated by black as well as white politicians – “our freedom has been bought at a very great price.”45 perhaps it was this recognition of its own imperfection that drove the commission to demonstrate a great deal of compassion and respect for the victims that had been so conspicuously denied them in the past. 42 ibid. 43 while the trc recommended victim reparation grants of us$3,830 a year for six years for those qualifying, the government, by 2000, had budgeted but a fifth of that total for a period of three years (tutu, 62). as of 2 june 2006, according to an article in the south african mail & guardian newspaper, most survivors called to give evidence during trc hearings had received a single reparations payment of about us$4,000. 44 tutu, 54-55. 45 ibid. 12 the trc: reconciling the religious and the secular while reconciling intra-church interpretations for forgiveness and reconciliation generated plenty of debate, perhaps even more challenging for the trc was its attempt to reconcile religious and secular perspectives. this hurdle was all the higher for some because of the presence of christian language and symbols – prayers, hymns, lit candles. use of religious frames and idioms within a secular commission was considered inappropriate by some observers. interestingly, that view was shared by some christian clergy. in one of the best assessments of the fruits of the trc, the american association for the advancement of science (aaas) began a multidisciplinary study of the influence of religion on the trc’s work shortly after the close of the trc in 1998. published in 2002, the core of the study features thirty interviews with leading religious figures, mostly christian, working within south africa. the interviews themselves were reproduced in 2002 as religion and reconciliation in south africa: voices of religious leaders. one of the more striking themes woven through these interviews with leading religious figures is that many were themselves uncomfortable or even critical of the trc’s conflating national reconciliation with interpersonal forgiveness. while there was agreement that forgiveness is especially characteristic of the christian approach to personal reconciliation, there was concern that this formulation was not easily transferable to the secular arena where codified procedure and process dominate and where a more final judgment and reparation is fundamental. recognizing this, the majority of the interviewees also seemed to make their own distinction between forgiveness as an individual and religious option and criminal, social, or economic justice as the appropriate concern of secular society. reading through the interviews, one hears echoes of the proposition that true reconciliation must be accompanied by some tangible measure of justice, especially justice attained through a restructuring of disordered social and economic models. this sentiment is reflected in the comments of bishop kevin dowling, bishop of rustenburg and chair of the justice and peace department of the southern african catholic bishops’ conference. but in the end real reconciliation, i believe, in our country is only going to happen when people experience economic transformation, economic justice. the radical redistribution of the resources of the country so that the degrading poverty and misery in which so many of our people lived and so many still live is going to change.46 the bishop’s sentiments resonate with those of fr. sean o’leary, acting director of the pastoral institute of the catholic bishops conference, who believes that while forgiveness may apply to individual cases, it does not translate easily, if at all, to a broader social or national application. o’leary observes that secular society views the rule of law as correcting deviant behavior and does not have a formula for incorporating forgiveness or reconciliation. the problem, then, o’leary says is that ‘reconciliation’ is so susceptible to being misunderstood or interpreted differently. the trc, he says, 46 ibid., 175. 13 reflected these contrasting and often conflicting definitions: the first was to ‘forgive and forget’, as if you could wipe out the collective memory of a nation. this approach would have negated and sabotaged the whole task of the truth commission, which was to acknowledge and record the past in such a way it would form the foundation for building a unified society. the second was building bridges across the divisions in society, without seriously wanting to change the structures that maintained these divides.47 for his part, tutu and others on the trc did not view their application of forgiveness as a matter of forgetting or eschewing justice: in forgiving, people are not being asked to forget. on the contrary, it is important to remember, so that we should not let such atrocities happen again. forgiveness does not mean condoning what had been done. it means taking what happened seriously and not minimizing it; drawing out the sting in the memory that threatens to poison our entire existence. it involves trying to understand the perpetrators and so have empathy, to try to stand in their shoes and appreciate the sort of pressures and influences that might have conditioned them.48 read closely, tutu’s understanding reflects a more pragmatic notion of forgiveness, justice, and reconciliation than might be ordinarily credited. it is not “forgiveness at all costs” nor is it “forgive-and-forget”; rather, it seeks, as the trc did, to use the selfless act of forgiveness to create a new narrative that transforms the behavior of individuals who will, it is anticipated or hoped, shape broader social and cultural values and positively impact future conflicts. this understanding is echoed by miroslav volf who does not separate forgiveness from the struggle for justice. “forgiveness,” writes volf, “does not stand outside justice.” while the will to “embrace” (volf’s metaphor for forgiveness) is unconditional it also encompasses, he contends, the will to name a wrong as a wrong and it also includes the will to rectify the wrongs that have been done. so forgiveness also entails an assigning of blame, and its acceptance is a reception of blame. for volf, forgiveness requires “attending to justice” but does not link itself to a final or adjudicated justice in the secular sense. indeed, volf argues that waiting for a strict and final justice is not a fruitful approach for the very reason that no strict justice is possible. “within the overarching framework of strict justice, enough justice never gets done because more justice is always possible than in fact gets done.” for volf a more constructive view of forgiveness is to frame it as a constituitive element, what might be termed a “kick-start” for a process or continuum that leads to reconciliation, a continuum that will include repentance on the part of offenders, justice for both victims and offenders, and restitution for victims. in this continuum, however, forgiveness is both the starting point and the essential medium that propels this continuum.49 47 ibid., 202. 48 ibid. 49 volf, miroslav, “forgiveness, reconciliation, & justice,” in helmick, petersen, eds., 45-47. 14 coming to grips with apartheid an often cited criticism of the trc’s work was its imbalance of racial participation with a relatively large number of black victims, prepared to bear witness and offer forgiveness, compared to a relatively small number of white perpetrators, prepared to confess, to offer repentance, and to request forgiveness. some of the interviewees concluded that the white community, for the greater part, continued to deny its moral complicity with the apartheid system and that it had benefited disproportionately from the trc process. this inability of the trc to bring whites, in numbers, to ask for forgiveness was blamed on the absence of a strong, collective voice pleading for the white community to ask for forgiveness. in other words, there was no ‘white tutu.’ another reason cited for the lack of acceptance of the trc’s work in the white community was that the proceedings were the object of negative reporting by the afrikaans media and that the churches overall, especially the conservative dutch reformed church, failed in bringing its members to accept the process as genuine and of value. ironically, it was the pathos of the hearings, which might have impressed others for its naked vulnerability and humanity, that struck the more stoic and constrained afrikaners as staged and theatrical.50 for some, the primary difficulty facing the trc was congenital. fr. o’leary seized on this as one of the central issues of the trc. “for me the tragedy of the trc is that it was the child of political compromise.”51 specifically, he targets the government’s interim constitution in which the ruling white-dominated nationalist party insisted on amnesty as a key provision in its negotiations with the black-dominated political groups: it was only afterward, when people began to ask how it was possible to give amnesty and do nothing for those who are victims, that we got the compromise that became the trc. so i think the starting point for the trc was not a good starting point. one of the major defects of the amnesty process was that people do not have to say they are sorry. you cannot force forgiveness, but you can force restitution, and i think we lost an avenue of real progress there.52 another indictment of the work of the trc is that one of its primary objectives – seeking “truth” – was compromised by its efforts to promote individual healing. the trc, argues chapman, was “not a very effective mechanism to establish ‘historical truth.’” the commission’s focus on personal experiences and morality, chapman avers, diverted attention away from social reconstruction and community development.53 as these comments demonstrate, the trc had a difficult, perhaps even an impossible mission and no lack of critics. so, did anything positive result from injecting a religious component, especially religious values such as forgiveness and compassion, into the trc hearings? 50 chapman, 291. 51 ibid., 204. 52 ibid. 53 ibid., 273. 15 “the truth must dazzle gradually” central to the challenge facing both the trc and south africa was establishing a metric for reconciliation, especially when there are clear differences between secular and religious concepts of reconciliation. one of the difficulties in judging the efficacy of a single ad hoc commission dealing with a mission as sweeping as national reconciliation, is that its influence is not often immediately salutary. “societies in transition are usually characterized by a cultural lag,” writes gunnar theissen of the centre for the study of violence and reconciliation. “while new democratic institutions can be rapidly constructed, attitudes formed and entrenched under authoritarian rule generally survive well into the new dispensation.” theissen supports this premise by examining survey research conducted in post-war west germany, demonstrating that public attitudes toward the nazi regime and its victims changed slowly over several decades.54 in the longer term, then, the real value of the trc and its strategies for reconciliation may prove to have been germinal, a beginning rather than an ending. a dutch observer of the trc’s proceedings saw this quality in the event as well when she reminded tutu of a line from an emily dickinson poem: “the truth must dazzle gradually… or all the world be blind.”55 while substantial numbers of whites may not have been physically present at the victim hearings, it is impossible to assess how this televised and widely discussed event may have impacted the hearts and minds of listeners and viewers. chapman concludes, for instance, that the public hearings of the trc had managed to communicate to a great extent the suffering endured by south africa’s black population; the truth was out. “thus many of the whites, even those who had preferred not to know about the abuses inflicted by apartheid, could no longer deny the horrors of the apartheid system.”56 in other words, a significant contribution of the trc was to establish a platform for alterity in south africa, a fundamental ingredient for any democratic society. gripping stories and even a few tears shed are perhaps essential to breaking down that insulation and establishing the kind of empathy so important for society’s existence. of course, hearing the truth and acknowledging that truth are different matters as are knowing the truth and acting on the truth. as fr. o’ leary observed, there are many definitions of reconciliation, but reconciliation of both individuals and societies must begin somewhere. it may be little more than a mustard seed, but the truth, teamed with forgiveness is at least a seed. hopefully, it finds fertile soil. 54 theissen, gunnar, “object of trust and hatred: public attitudes towards the truth and reconciliation commission”, in truth and reconciliation: has the trc delivered?, eds. chapman, audrey and van der merwe, hugo, (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, to be published in 2007). theissen writes: “the nuremburg trials and the allied de-nazification campaign were unpopular during the 1950s, but public opinion shifted in the following decades. the auschwitz trial in frankfurt 1963-65 for example helped to destroy the startling suppression of the holocaust in german public memory after 1945. today, 50 years after the end of world war ii public awareness about the nazi atrocities has intensified, not decreased.” 55 trc report, vol, 1, ch. 1, in foreword by chairperson, 4. the dickinson poem alluded to is entitled, “tell all the truth but tell it slant.” 56 chapman, 290. 16 forgiveness and the process of reconciliation there is some empirical support for the assertion that the trajectory of south africa’s reconciliation process is positive. in a 2005/2006 survey conducted by the institute for justice and reconciliation (ijr), the willingness of black south africans to forgive those under whom they suffered psychological and, in some cases physical trauma, continues in a positive track. some 72.1% of black south african respondents concurred with the statement that they are “trying” to forgive the human agents and benefactors of apartheid. this is 11% higher than a similar survey four years earlier.57 in an earlier survey, in 2000, also conducted by ijr and seen here as exhibit 1, forgiveness was ranked by south africans as the most important component in achieving national reconciliation.58 exhibit 1. what is necessary for reconciliation? all south africans % black % white % coloured % national reconciliation requires south africans understand one another better 75 77 63 78 national reconciliation requires material compensation for apartheid victims 60 70 20 48 national reconciliation requires people to forgive one another 78 81 64 83 national reconciliation requires forgetting the past 65 66 64 70 national reconciliation requires the healing of memories 71 73 56 75 national reconciliation requires amnesty as provided by the trc 62 69 29 54 source: pilot reconciliation survey, 2000. institute for justice and reconciliation, accessed online at http://www.ijr.org.za/publications/publ/surveys the trc at the nexus of forgiveness, justice, and reconciliation this examination of the trc has revealed that semantics and perspective played an important and underlying role in the conflicting assessments of the trc. the three key terms – forgiveness, justice, and reconciliation – as well as their inter-relationships are viewed differently not only between secular and religious agents but within each of these two poles as well. as has been suggested, the best metric for reconciliation may 57 sixth round report, the sa reconciliation barometer survey, institute for justice and reconciliation, november 2006, 48. 58 pilot reconciliation survey 2000, the institute for justice and reconciliation, 3. 17 http://www.ijr.org.za/publications/publ/surveys not be in viewing it as something achievable in a utopian and final form but as a process, a movement toward something new and better but which, in the meantime, presents us a formula for living within a world of strife.59 while truth-telling was the common skein running through the fabric of the trc, what makes the south african trc unique among truth commissions was its partnering of forgiveness with truth-telling. in history, hannah arendt sees forgiveness exerting a unique source of power, the kind of power that not only restores but also creates anew. forgiveness, according to arendt, is our only release from what has been done in the past. forgiving, in other words, is the only reaction which does not merely re-act but acts anew and unexpectedly, unconditioned by the act which provoked it and therefore freeing from its consequences both the one who forgives and the one who is forgiven. the freedom contained in jesus’ teachings of forgiveness is the freedom from vengeance, which encloses both doer and sufferer in the relentless automatism of the action process, which by itself need never come to an end.60 christians talk about jesus “shattering expectations,” refusing to comport to what humans expected of a messiah. forgiving, as arendt contends, is also an unexpected, unconditioned act that enables the creation of something new; it breaks the cycle of action and reaction. in coming to grips with the wounds of apartheid in south africa, it is important that its citizens first be released from the corrosive cycle of violence and vengeance to produce a new creation, perhaps one where tutu’s ubuntu vision of mutual recognition and reconciliation is a core principle. the citizens, both the forgiving victims and the repentant perpetrators that appeared in the trc hearings, shattered the concepts of how people react to oppression and violence. the trc, in effect, transformed itself into a model or template for what it thought was required of south africans in search of reconciliation, both interpersonal and social and political reconciliation. truth-telling was the platform but the meaning of the victims’ narrative was contextualized by forgiveness which, in turn, would motivate the continuing search for justice and reconciliation. it is this understanding of the qualities and role of forgiveness that underpins this thesis that truth commissions in the future should seek a place within its activities for a formulation of forgiveness. at the same time, any formulation of forgiveness should be clear that forgiveness is not a one-time act of absolution but represents a process which aims at a change of heart and change of behavior that we call reconciliation. by embodying forgiveness, south africa’s trc became both a medium and model for what reconciliation can look like. in south africa, the religious framing of the trc proved that religious voices and values can play a salutary role in practical politics as well as in shaping the debate and future of the nation. that role, however, appears to offer the most value when its ideals and language are viewed as forces that actuate and propel the motivation to change, not incorporated into law or formulated as a final justice. reconciliation in 59 petersen, 45 60 arendt, 241. 18 south africa will be the outcome of a process whose beginning point and medium is forgiveness. tutu told his nation there was no future without forgiveness. many south africans today, both black and white, recognize the power of forgiveness, a power whose role in conflict resolution, tutu believes, is often underestimated: we must break the spiral of reprisal and counter-reprisal… i said to them in kigali “unless you move beyond justice in the form of a tribunal, there is no hope for rwanda.” confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation in the lives of nations are not just airy-fairy religious and spiritual things, nebulous and unrealistic. they are the stuff of practical politics.61 bibliography amstutz, mark, the healing of nations: the promise and limits of political forgiveness, (new york: rowman & littlefield publishers, 2005). arendt, hannah, the human condition, (chicago and london: the university of chicago press, 1958). battle, michael, reconciliation: the ubuntu theology of desmond tutu, (cleveland, oh: the pilgrim press, 1997). brahm, eric, “truth commissions,” beyond intractability, eds. guy burgess and heidi burgess, conflict research consortium, university of colorado, boulder. chapman, audrey and spong, bernard, eds., religion and reconciliation in south africa, (philadelphia and london: templeton foundation press, 2003). cobban, helena, “religion and violence,” journal of the american academy of religion, december 2005, vol. 73, no. 4. gallagher, susan van zanten, “cry with a beloved country: restoring dignity to the victims of apartheid,” christianity today, february 9, 1998. graybill, lyn s., truth & reconciliation in south africa: miracle or model? (boulder, london: lynne rienner publishers, 2002). hayner, priscilla, “fifteen truth commissions—1974 to 1994: a comparative study,” human rights quarterly, vol. 16, no. 4 (nov.1994). 61 trc report, vol. 5, 351. 19 helmick, raymond g., s.j., rodney l. petersen, eds., forgiveness and reconciliation: religion, public policy, & conflict transformation, (philadelphia & london: templeton foundation press, 2001). hofmeyr, j.h., “report of the sixth round of the sa reconciliation barometer survey,” (wynberg: institute for justice and reconciliation, 2006). phelps, teresa godwin phelps, shattered voices: language, violence, and the work of truth commissions, (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2004). pilot reconciliation survey 2000, institute for justice and reconciliation, accessed at: http://www.ijr.org.za/publications/publ/pilreconsur. public attitudes in contemporary south africa: insights from an hrsc survey, (cape town: hsrc press, 2002). sisk, timothy d., democratization in south africa: the elusive social contract, (princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1995). south africa survey 2002/2003, (johannesburg: south african institute for race relations, 2003). theissen, gunnar, “object of trust and hatred: public attitudes towards the truth and reconciliation commission,” chapter within truth and reconciliation: has the trc delivered, eds. chapman, audrey and van der merwe, hugo, (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, to be published in 2007). truth and reconciliation commission, truth and reconciliation of south africa report, october 1998, vols.1-6, accessed online: http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/trc_frameset.htm. tutu, desmond mpilo, no future without forgiveness, (new york: doubleday, 1999). 20 http://www.ijr.org.za/publications/publ/pilreconsur visceral history: interpreting independence national historical park visceral history: interpreting independence national historical park michael b. chornesky history the eminent french historian pierre nora, in his formative work, realms of memory, posits the existence of “lieux de mémoire,” or places of memory. according to nora, these sites are significant because societies define them as areas where history is to be experienced and remembered. a prime example of this concept is independence national historical park (inhp), located in the “center city” area of philadelphia, pennsylvania, which started operations in 1948 under the auspices of the united states national park service (nps).1 the park consists of an area from seventh to second streets (west-east) and from race to spruce streets (north-south).2 independence mall was originally established as a state park in 1945 through the efforts of the independence hall association, but was immediately incorporated upon inhp’s founding.3 nora’s conception of history and memory would designate inhp as a single place of memory. however, this fails to address the park’s diversity, as it actually houses a variety of historically significant monuments. the two most important and widely known symbols at the park are independence hall and the liberty bell, but these only scratch the surface of the park’s overall significance. determining this meaning, however, is complicated by inhp’s location and surroundings. while historical parks like colonial williamsburg or valley forge have problems all their own, the fact that the historical buildings operated by the park exist amid a contemporary urban environment only introduces more complexity into an already complicated case of public history. for much of its history, the responsibility of providing an interpretation to this significant place of memory has fallen to its division of interpretation and visitor services (divs). the interpretations ascribed to the park by this organization are 1 pierre nora and various authors, realms of memory, vol. 1: conflicts and divisions (new york, columbia university press, 1996). see postscript for a deeper examination of this work in context. 2 constance m. grieff, independence: the creation of a national park (philadelphia, university of pennsylvania press, 1987), 5. 3 the independence hall association was an ad hoc group of influential philadelphians who officially banded together in 1942 (but were active long before that time), to prevent the loss of independence hall and the liberty bell and to establish them as national historical monuments. michael chornesky the primary subjects of this study. while different approaches to inhp (e.g. the physical structures, tours, bureaucracy, etc.) should be considered, it is my view that an analysis of interpretation at the park in recent history will be most fruitful. historian constance grieff, who wrote the official institutional history of the park in 1987, supports the primacy of this approach, saying, “the chief purpose of displaying them [the historic buildings of the inhp] to the public was to teach a lesson about the events that had taken place at the site, or interpret the broad themes in american history they exemplified.”4 another fact justifying this approach is the number of visitors that attend the park yearly. for example, in the years immediately preceding the 1976 bicentennial celebration, annual visits to inhp were estimated to be around three million. during the bicentennial celebration of 1976, that number doubled to six million.5 by 2004, visits nearly matched the inflated numbers from the bicentennial, rising from 500,000 to 5.36 million.6 considering the goal of the park’s interpretive services is to both attract and educate these visitors, it would be helpful to establish a history of the various historical meanings offered at inhp in order to interpret and fully understand them. this study of the divs will occur on a variety of levels. fundamentally, this analysis will consider the interpretation at the park in both practice and theory. that is to say, for each time period in which a distinct divs interpretation is determined to exist, its practical aspects (i.e., the park’s exhibits) and their connections to historical scholarship and specific events in american history will be considered. this practice will then be connected to historical theory to achieve a better understanding of what actually happened. this analysis will answer certain basic questions, such as what interpretations have inhp offered to the public in the past? when did these interpretations occur? what theories lurk viscerally behind these interpretations? what did these theories translate to in divs practice? were these interpretations of the historical events that occurred at the inhp either conscious and deliberate, or more subconscious and visceral? as can be deduced by this study’s title, it will be asserted that though inhp advanced conscious interpretations from its inception to the present day, there simultaneously existed unconscious (i.e., visceral) reasons for those ideas. this work will illuminate an objective pattern in both levels of the park’s conception, and will apply that pattern to the interpretation currently being planned. given this line of argument, inhp interpretations can ultimately be divided into three distinct 4 grieff, independence, 84. (emphasis added.) 5 ibid, 248. 6 national park service, independence national historical park: preliminary interpretive plan (philadelphia, national park service, 2004). 2 visceral history epochs. first, the period in between the park’s establishment and 1976 will be considered. in this period, inhp instantly acquired so many historic landmarks that much of its time was spent researching, evaluating and restoring the spaces, along with catering to its first visitors. however, even with no time to plan or develop it, the park practiced an unofficial interpretation that glorified the american story in a classic, idealized narrative. a visceral idea also underlies this practice. this was the concept of “civil religion,” first advanced by historian robert n. bellah in a 1967 article from the journal daedalus.7 this study will link civil religion and the original idealized interpretation at inhp, define that concept and explain its inadvertent promotion by the interpretive staff. next, i will consider the era between the 1976 bicentennial and 2004, when the divs started planning a new interpretation. the year 1976 is significant for a number of reasons in this context because it marks the divs’ first foray into interpretational planning, evidenced by the three major themes presented for the bicentennial celebration. this era constitutes the establishment in theory of the practice that occurred between 1948 and 1976—a process that upheld the influence of civil religion. many questions will be asked regarding this era, including why the prior period’s interpretation (which in part was necessary because of practical needs at the park) was not abandoned, especially since, after the bicentennial celebration, the practical work on inhp was completed and a more intellectually rigorous story for the park could have been planned and applied. finally, the most recent interpretive plan of 2004 to 2006 will be considered. first, that plan’s process will be considered because it constitutes inhp’s first real change in interpretation. the practical aspects of the plan will be considered next, including the attempt to unite the park into one homogenous entity and the desire to establish practices that would convince visitors to see the whole park. this runs contrary to common visitor practice, as they tend to only visit independence hall and the liberty bell. finally, the historical paradigm behind this interpretive plan will be examined—that of contemporary social history. we will then conclude by connecting conscious social history with the controversial subject of postmodernism (which will operate as the visceral theory in this case). this will suggest that the divs may be making the same mistake of their early inhp predecessors by unknowingly sliding into postmodern park interpretation, ignoring the possibility of a well-reasoned meta-narrative and simply presenting disparate stories and perspectives, which lack synthesis. reasons why this is a problem will be presented, offering potential considerations for those in charge of this present interpretive plan. a postscript will then package this case study by placing it in the 7 robert n. bellah, “civil religion in america,” daedalus 96 (winter 1967): 1-21. 3 michael chornesky context of a recent historiographical trend that examines the concept of “memory,” its connections to historical understanding, and the creation of public history. 1948-1976: the primacy of practice: glorification and “civil religion” “interpretation,” in its most basic form, is a version of historical events advanced by a source. public historians’ definitions of “interpretation” vary. for example, freeman tilden’s work, interpreting our heritage, advanced what amounts to the “classic definition” of the term: “…an educational activity which aims to reveal meanings and relationships through the use of original objects, by firsthand experience, and by illustrative media, rather than simply to communicate factual information.”8 public historian patricia mooney-melvin, former editor of that discipline’s official journal, ascribes much more significance to interpretation, claiming that it is “the key to unlocking the historical significance of a site or landscape” and “the medium for educating the public about the history associated with historical sites, cultural landscapes, the built environment, and artifactual remains.”9 while there is evidence that the national park service came to support this definition, inhp’s ideas during this period differ significantly from those offered above.10 while their interpretive plan of 1954 hints at this academic definition, they thought that providing “maximum benefit and enjoyment to the visitor and… [reflecting] credit on the national park service” was more fundamental to their mission.11 they classified the role of their interpretive program as “designed to fill a latent but often inarticulate need of the visitor; to assist him where he needs and wants further understanding and appreciation of the thing he came to see.”12 this demonstrates how inhp defined its educational role as secondary. they did not want to practice a concerted pedagogy, but instead desired to communicate information and stories as the public requested. this “all for public’s sake” character is critical to understanding the park’s function during this period. 8 freeman tilden, interpreting our heritage: principles and practices for visitor services in parks, museums and historic places (chapel hill, university of north carolina press, 1957) 8. 9 patricia mooney-melvin, “beyond the book: historians and the interpretive challenge,” the public historian 17, no. 4 (fall 1995), 78. 10 see both t. danton, “history and philosophy of interpretation syllabus,” national park service, accessed december 18, 2007. http://www.nps.gov/idp/interp/103/intphillp.pdf and ronald f. lee, public use of the national park system, 1872-2000 (washington d.c., u.s. department of the interior, 2002) 11 national park service, independence national historical park operations: interpretation plan (philadelphia, nps, march 1954), 23. 12 ibid. 4 visceral history as was asserted in the introduction of this work, inhp lacked an official interpretation and focused on practical functions during this era. the best evidence for this is the interpretive plan of 1952 to 1954. it was the last plan of its kind until the 1970s, when bicentennial plans were well underway, so it can be reasonably inferred that interpretation at the park was essentially dictated by the approach of this document. the interpretive plan of 1952 through 1954 essentially reads as an inhp laundry list, laying out in vivid detail what existed, what happened at those places, and what could be done with them. this approach constitutes eighty-five pages of the one hundred-page report, which indicates the practical approach that the newly established inhp intended to implement. along with this practical approach, a plethora of evidence suggests the park’s desire to inspire a positive attitude towards inhp and to draw more visitors. for example, the interpretive report given to park rangers asks them to “have that ‘freshly-scrubbed’ look; clean shaven, his hair cut and neatly combed, and fingernails trimmed and clean.”13 provisions of how the park staff should look and talk abounded in the “interpretation,” suggesting that the divs was sensitive and tried to cultivate the public’s perception of them. this sentiment even reared its head in the historical discourse, as rangers were asked to “avoid jarring the sensibilities of visitors in manners relating to history. an air of ‘debunking’ popularly accepted notions and traditions which may be questionable in historical fact should be avoided.”14 this is especially surprising considering that historical discourse often involves the very approach being rejected in this source. in sum, interpretation at the park during this era privileged visitor experience over the questions of truth in the interest of completing and establishing the park as a viable public historical entity. however, it must be noted that this sacrifice of intellectual rigor did not necessarily distinguish inhp and the national park service from the academic community. the 1950s through the early 1960s are historiographically known as an epoch of “consensus history,” which was roughly equivalent (though more justified by use of evidence and argument) to the idealized narrative practiced at the park.15 the interpretation of the park during this era is widely known and accepted in america. this is the glorification narrative, which privileges all things positive involving the american revolution and its founding documents (the declaration of 13 national park service, independence national historical park operations: interpretation plan, 2. 14 ibid., 3. (emphasis added.) 15 for an early view of this trend, see john higham, “the cult of ‘american consensus,’” commentary 27 (february 1959): 93-101. for the period in context, see jonathan wiener, “radical historians and the crisis in american history, 1959-1980,” american historical review 76, no. 2 (september 1989): 399-434. 5 michael chornesky independence and constitution) and avoids mentioning slavery, the lack of women’s rights, or many of the other implicit paradoxes involved in the new republic. these ideas were especially valid in this cold war era, during which the idealization of american democracy was seen as an ideological tool with which to fight communism. for example, in her work, independence hall in american memory, historian charlene mires claims, “by mid-century, the work of the independence hall association had defined independence hall and the surrounding area [inhp] as places for patriotic commemoration of the american revolution.”16 she also refers to inhp’s “efforts to create a controlled environment dedicated to past events.”17 constance grieff’s handling of this era in independence: the creation of a national park reflects this sense of control and the lack of a serious challenge to the consensus of the park. while she devotes three chapters of narrative to this period, those chapters’ coverage of the years between 1948 and 1972 emphasize the physical establishment of the park (e.g. building restoration) and its fashioning into an operational bureaucracy.18 as grieff sums up this period of interpretation at inhp, “[their] historians never promoted and publicized their methods and findings… the work at independence remained relatively unknown to the broader scholarly community.”19 the first serious case of challenge to the institutionalization and self-establishment of the park seems to have occurred in 1973, when the creation of a film for the upcoming bicentennial event included an entrant that wanted to stress a “strong sense of reality and sensitivity to [american history’s] human aspects.” grieff points out the inhp leadership’s adverse reaction to this approach, asserting: this revisionist view of history was not acceptable to the staff of the national park service. although they were prepared to accept a vision of the founding fathers as less than godlike, they intended to glorify and celebrate the events at independence, not follow the radical historiography of the vietnam era.20 16 charlene mires, independence hall in american memory (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2002), 203. (emphasis added.) 17 ibid. 18 for this story of consensus history in action, see grieff, independence, 77-188 (“the first wars of independence,” “restoring the buildings” and “telling the park’s story”) 19 ibid., 188. 20 grieff, independence,, 217. (emphasis added.) in this context, revisionism ran contrary to the glorified consensus of earlier years. this represented a concurrent movement in the academic community, represented at this time by the work of historian william appleman williams in the area of u.s. foreign relations. 6 visceral history this sentiment by the inhp administration reflected the desire to interpret american history only in the sense of presenting a story that its audience could both relate to and enjoy. the park wanted to inspire return visits, receive positive press, and avoid controversy. the approach had its intended effect, as attendance steadily rose. however, even this controlled glorification of the american revolutionary narrative may have been overextended. for example, independence hall, the liberty bell and the surrounding area are referred to as a “national shrine.”21 along with this, religious metaphors abound at the site. the liberty bell itself contains the phrase: “proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”22 in this case, the visceral history in practice has obvious connections to the conception positing the existence of an ever-present civil religion in america. all of these ideas point toward some deeper sense of american history at inhp and the interpretation of the site in both the first and second eras within this study (1948 to 2004). robert n. bellah’s concept of civil religion and its influence on public history in an article following up on his original 1967 work, historian robert bellah asserts the existence of “an elaborate and well-institutionalized civil religion in america…alongside of and rather clearly differentiated from the churches.”23 he defines civil religion as the intersection of national identity and religion by analyzing excerpts from speeches by former presidents john f. kennedy and abraham lincoln, while paying close attention to the intersection of national and religious language within them. these two presidents also have tangible connections with inhp, as both spoke at independence hall during their tenures. for example, bellah cites the end of kennedy’s inaugural address as an example of this phenomenon: with a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking his blessing and his help, but knowing that here on earth god’s work must truly be our own.24 21 grieff, independence, 1. 22 this inscription quotes the bible, specifically the book of leviticus, ch. 25, verse 11. 23 robert bellah, “civil religion in america,” in american civil religion, eds. russell e. richey and donald g. jones (new york, harper & row, 1974), 21. 24 ibid., 22. (emphasis added.) 7 michael chornesky bellah sums up his analysis of kennedy’s speech by stating: the whole address can be understood as only the most recent statement of a theme that lies very deep in the american tradition, namely the obligation, both collective and individual, to carry out god’s will on earth. this was the motivating spirit of those who founded america, and it has been present in every generation since.25 bellah moves on by citing french political philosopher jean-jacques rousseau as the originator of the concept of civil religion, though bellah’s own conception differs significantly from rousseau’s.26 the “life to come,” as rousseau termed it in the social contract, is not so privileged in bellah’s conception, for he rejects rousseau’s argument that civil religion necessarily implies the “exclusion of religious tolerance”—a major point rousseau cited in arguing against the civil religious trend in his native france.27 the general understanding of civil religion that can be derived from bellah’s article is simply the religious character of american politics. this excuses the separation of church and state and cites the continued and repetitive use of the concept of god, the idea of providence, and the goal of doing god’s work on earth by american political figures. bellah concludes positively that the civil religious character of american society “is a heritage of moral and religious experience from which we still have much to learn as we formulate the decisions that lie ahead.”28 it is apparent that this means civil religion should not be immediately shirked, as rousseau argued, but should continue to operate and be analyzed in order to cultivate a deeper understanding of american politics. bellah’s daedalus article inspired a boom in scholarship during the late 1960s and 1970s. following this major period of civil religious scholarship, interest in the concept lapsed as a major field of intellectual study. however, as an influence upon contemporary scholarship, civil religion has continued relevance. for example, craig r. smith recently published a work, daniel webster and the oratory of civil religion (2005) that connected bellah’s concept to former american politico daniel webster. even more historiographically significant was benjamin hufbauer’s use of the concept in presidential temples: how memorials 25 ibid., 25. (emphasis added.) 26 ibid., 26. 27 bellah, “civil religion in america,” american civil religion, 26. for the original quote see, jean-jacques rousseau, the social contract, translated with an introduction and notes by christopher betts (oxford, oxford university press, 1994), 158-168. 28 ibid., 41. (emphasis in original) 8 visceral history and libraries shape public memory.29 hufbauer’s idea of civil religion specifically relates to presidential memorials and libraries. hufbauer’s claim is best summed up by his introduction, which states: presidential libraries are an attempt to construct sites that have all four of the elements of civil religion.30 they are meant to be sacred national places where pilgrimages can be made to see relics and reconstructions of presidential [or national] history, all in order to elevate in the national consciousness presidents [or the nation] who, even if figures lesser than washington or lincoln, are represented as worth of patriotic veneration.31 the applications of these concepts to independence national historical park are obvious. some historical work has already referred to this connection. charlene mires’ work on independence hall makes the civil religious connection to independence hall even during the 1860s, as she explains, “representing the foundation of a nation that might have been lost [like the hall itself in 1816], the building acquired a magnified significance, reflecting a civil religion that united religious belief with faith in the nation’s progress.”32 with this analysis in mind, inhp interpretations from 1948 to the recent interpretive plan served to establish the park as one of these “sacred national places” where both americans and foreigners are intended (subconsciously) to pilgrimage and consume the idealized conception of america offered by such sources as the division of interpretation and visitor services at inhp. inhp interpretation from 1976 until 2006: recognizing and accepting prior practice inhp’s interpretation hit a pivotal point during the american bicentennial of 1976. this event commemorated the two hundred-year anniversary of the declaration of independence, and was celebrated as a memorial during which citizens were meant to reflect upon america’s founding and ideals. philadelphia was one of the headlining cities in these celebrations. consequently, inhp was 29 see craig r. smith, daniel webster and the oratory of civil religion (columbia, university of missouri press, 2005) and benjamin hufbauer, presidential temples: how memorials and libraries shape public memory (lawrence, university of kansas press, 2005). 30 these four elements of civil religion (as explained by hufbauer) are saints (e.g. washington and lincoln), sacred places (e.g. mount vernon and inhp), sacred objects (e.g. the declaration of independence and the constitution), and ritual practices (the pledge of allegiance and the fourth of july). 31 hufbauer, presidential temples, 7. 32 mires, independence hall in american memory, 114. 9 michael chornesky pressed into service. also, as the home of independence hall and the liberty bell, the park was doubly significant. constance grieff provides a useful timeline of inhp’s awareness of the bicentennial, claiming: although judge edwin o. lewis began reminding the national park service of the approach of the bicentennial in the late 1950s, it was not until 1969 that upper management began to devote serious attention to the park service’s role in its celebration. by late 1970 the park had begun to plan for the bicentennial on a national basis, which would spread its resources to satisfy its countrywide constituency.33 with this basic timeline in mind, the history of inhp in this era can essentially be simplified into three elements harmonious with the practice-theory dichotomy considered in the introduction: the completion of research, repair and restoration activities performed since the park’s opening; the additional enhancements made to the park prior to the bicentennial celebration; and the production of an interpretation befitting the park’s status as a centerpiece for the celebration. the reference to 1976 as “pivotal” above alludes to this interpretive function, since the era that followed also produced inhp’s first codified and implemented interpretation. the research, repair and setting activities were explained in section two, but they may require a bit more expounding. research was an ongoing function of inhp, as divs staff attempted to update the park’s interpretation with new information and ideas as much as was possible within the context of their glorifying or civil religious interpretation. repair was a similarly continuous function, both the repairs to the buildings as they were when inhp acquired them and subsequent maintenance of those buildings. these were the two main functions of the divs after the bicentennial era. this era was quite instrumental in the physical development of the park. it took on new staff and opened the todd house, the bishop’s white house, pemberton house and the new hall to visitors.34 the opening of the bishop’s white house is immediately relevant to this study, as it exemplified the intersection of religious and national narratives through the figure of bishop william white.35 along with these additions, candlelight tours through society hill and the park proper were 33 grieff, independence, 233. judge edwin o. lewis was a major figure in philadelphia’s historic preservation. he was the first president of the independence hall association and was the most influential figure in establishing (at least) independence mall as a historic site. 34 grieff, independence, 236. 35 white was rector of christ church and st. peter’s church, first protestant episcopal bishop of pennsylvania, and chaplain of the continental congress. he built the house from 1786 to 1787. 10 visceral history instituted in 1974, sponsored by the philadelphia convention and visitor’s bureau.36 carpenter’s hall also saw an increase in attendance due to the commemoration of two hundred year anniversary of the first meeting of the first continental congress in 1974.37 most importantly, the park built and opened franklin court and the moved the liberty bell out of independence hall to a pavilion across the street, emphasizing the bell’s significance and allure to visitors. the franklin court project was constructed in between 1972 and 1976 under the supervision of the architectural firms venturi & rauch and national heritage.38 the court consists of three key buildings leftover from the era on market street (one of which franklin had owned), along with the foundations of franklin’s original house, which park administrators chose to represent with a steel outline of the structure’s original dimensions with peep holes to view the foundations (due to a lack of sources describing the exterior of the house and the existence of good sources from the franklins themselves about the interior).39 this was important relative to the official interpretive themes produced by the divs for the bicentennial (which will be explained below), one of which directly addressed benjamin franklin as a “man of ideas.” the biggest move during this era was an attempt to unify the park by augmenting its geography to get independence hall visitors to visit other buildings (a major problem for inhp since its inception). the new visitor’s center, a modern building constructed from 1972 to 1976, was meant to perform this function. it was constructed as an intended starting point to park visits, the idea being to take visitors east, first to city tavern, and then westward to the main part of the park. the building was also meant to directly impact interpretation, as visitors to the center were exposed to an interpretation of inhp through a film shown there. it also featured a bicentennial bell cast in the whitehall foundry from which the liberty bell originated and featuring the inscription “let freedom ring” (consider the glorifying interpretation).40 if successful, the center would have significantly impacted the practice of interpreting the park, likely for the better. however, it failed to inspire visitors or change independence hall’s dominance vis-à-vis the rest of the park, and the building was eventually appropriated for use as an archeological center (among other purposes) in 2001. around that time, a new visitor’s center was constructed at the corner of sixth and market streets. the lasting innovation of the bicentennial celebration was the creation of the first liberty bell pavilion, a structure displaying and interpreting the bell’s 36 grieff, independence, 238. 37 ibid., 240. 38 ibid., 219. 39 ibid., 16-17. 40 ibid., 214-216. 11 michael chornesky significance. it was placed at sixth and chestnut streets in 2003, adding a permanent interpretive edifice to independence mall. these physical innovations improved the surface image of inhp exponentially and fit with the 1954 interpretive ideal by improving visitors’ aesthetic experience of the park. however, more significant to the present study are the interpretive changes that occurred during this time. the year 1976 marked the first time that a tangible, listed interpretation emerged from the divs office. essentially, that interpretation represents both the understanding of practice in the prior period and the acceptance of that framework for the bicentennial. this interpretation revolved around three major themes. the first two themes of “independence and the new nation” and “historic philadelphia, capital city,” according to constance grieff, “[were] always central to the concept of the park.” grieff also claims that the third theme, “‘franklin, man of ideas,’ represented a reassessment of values at independence over a period of some twenty years. this was in large part due to the accumulation of knowledge through the park’s research.”41 so, for the first two themes, grieff explicitly supports the claim that the 1976 interpretation was an official affirmation of prior practice. as for the franklin theme, while it did not reflect prior practice, it was researched in the 1948 to 1976 period. along with this, ben franklin is an intimately connected character to the american revolution and the city of philadelphia, so the use and glorification of him is no stretch of the imagination. no example elucidates this connection better than inhp’s construction of franklin court, which essentially represented the final bubbling of these ideas to the surface. as for the first two themes, they are depicted by a number of tangible structures in the park, including independence hall, congress hall, carpenter’s hall, and “the signer” statue erected during the bicentennial improvements, which sits on the corner of fifth and chestnut streets. these ideas constitute the core of the glorification and civil religious narrative, and though they were perceived and understood during the bicentennial research, they were still confirmed for the celebration. there does seem to be a reason for this confirmation, as 1976 constituted a positive event for the country. it was also positive for independence mall, which was officially transferred to the national park service in a ceremony involving president gerald ford. the inhp staff did not want to cause controversy during such an event, befitting the park’s original interpretive stance. 41 grieff, independence, 200. 12 visceral history current independence national historical park: glorification and civil religion42 to a certain extent, the glorification narrative expanded following its affirmation for the bicentennial celebration. two more recent additions best exemplify this expansion—welcome park (constructed in 1982 by the friends of independence national historical park, a contributory group) and the new liberty bell pavilion (constructed in 2003). these monuments demonstrate the previously established connection between the glorifying interpretation (which was affirmed in this era) and civil religion. welcome park sits on second street just south of the intersection with market, on the site of william penn’s former philadelphia home, known as the “slate roof house.” the “park” is a monument to penn, pennsylvania founder and quaker, whom the friends of independence national historical park group deifies, placing him among the pantheon of those commonly known as “founding fathers.”43 the site stresses his political and religious roles, as they say of his quaker transformation, “the lord visited me with a certain sound and testimony of his eternal word through one of those in the world called a quaker.”44 his role in the political life of nation is also expressed with a religious element, as another panel features the quote, “…serve his truth and people, that an example may be set up to the nations, there may be room there [in america], but not here [in europe], for such an holy experiment.”45 the glorifying and civil religious properties of the site pertaining to park interpretation between 1976 and 2006 are self-evident. the liberty bell center lies at the corner of sixth and chestnut streets. while the bell’s display changed little there, a series of exhibits leading to the bell itself were added. these exhibits did not exist before 2003, and give a nice window into the interpretation that existed during the period. for example, one panel refers to the bell as “…one of the nation’s sacred relics, preserved as a tangible link to the struggle for freedom that created the nation. such hallowed objects are often located at sites of pilgrimage like independence hall.”46 another panel proclaims, 42 this research was first done in the fall of 2006 in the form of park visits, but its content remains current. 43 this also coincided with the 300th anniversary of the founding of philadelphia in 1982. 44 michael chornesky, notes on city visit (welcome park, november 25, 2006). quote from william penn, no source provided at the site. 45 michael chornesky, notes on city visit, from william penn, no source provided. (emphasis added.) 46 michael chornesky, liberty bell visit notes (bell pavilion, november 13, 2006). (emphasis added.) 13 michael chornesky “ring loud that hallowed bell… ring it till the slave be free…”47 these obvious examples of the glorified, civil religious interpretation are also mixed with a hint of a new interpretation, evidenced by panels influenced by the emancipation and suffragist movements. in reference to the suffragette movement, one panel asserts, “the original liberty bell announced the creation of democracy; the women’s liberty bell will announce the completion of democracy.”48 coincidentally, circumstances involving the creation of the center also advanced the need for a new interpretation, as a major controversy arose over the proximity of the liberty bell to the foundations of what interpreters previously called the “first white house,” along with its slave quarters. this issue is currently being resolved with the construction of a monument to the site, the president’s house, though that building is still in its planning stages as of january 2008.49 discontents with the present interpretation: prelude to a new interpretive plan the liberty bell center exhibits were not the first signs of change in inhp’s interpretation. in fact, discontent with the presentation offered by the park can be traced to back to 1999, as scholars took notice of inhp’s lack of interpretive adjustment to changes in the historical field. while the park’s interpretation of the liberty bell center represented some recent trends in scholarship, the remainder of the park was woefully antiquated with the continued influence of the civil religious narrative. it took five years for criticism to flow from the level of professional intellectuals to that of the park’s interpretive staff, which finally decided to develop a new master interpretive plan in 2004. the national park service, not academic historians, was the impetus of this change, demonstrating the bureaucratic nature of that institution in its control over inhp. the birth pangs of this process can be traced to the publication of a number of harshly critical popular texts regarding the public’s conception of history in the 1990s. prominent examples of this genre included legends, lies, and cherished myths of american history and not so!: popular myths about america from 47 ibid., from h.r.h. moore, “the liberty bell.” (1844). 48 michael chornesky, liberty bell visit notes, from katherine ruschenberger, suffragist, new york times (march 31, 1915). 49 see jill ogline, “‘creating dissonance for the visitor’: the heart of the liberty bell controversy,” the public historian 26, no. 3 (summer 2004): 49-57. for another version, see gary nash, “for whom will the bell toll? from controversy to cooperation,” in slavery and public history: the tough stuff of american memory, eds. james oliver horton and lois e. horton (new york, the free press, 2006). 14 visceral history columbus to clinton.50 while these texts did not mention inhp directly, the park did not escape scrutiny for long, as james loewen’s 1999 publication of lies across america: what our historic sites get wrong cited their narrative errors. loewen complained, “nps relies on its staff to tell visitors the history that makes this building [independence hall] important. based on my four visits, the strategy doesn’t work—the history does not get told… instead of revealing what happened here however, they tell mildly amusing anecdotes about how it happened.”51 loewen went into detail about the events that occurred at the park and how the staff told the story of those events poorly. in one of loewen’s more incisive comments on the subject, he claimed: guides might also point out the contradiction between the famous phrase, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and the founders’ practices of slavery and sexism. guides say nothing so substantive now.52 as will be established in the next section, this is a critique that definitely seems to have been considered and followed by the inhp. loewen continues, stating: instead of telling about the constitution [he does explain their better consideration of the declaration of independence], guides describe how long it took delegates to get to philadelphia from south carolina or new hampshire. they point out how the delegates sat facing george washington, whom they expected would be the first president. and they tell how ben franklin observed to delegates sitting near him that the back of the president’s chair had a sun painted on it. “i have often… looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. but now at length i have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.”53 50 richard shenkman, legends, lies, and cherished myths of american history (new york, harper paperbacks, 1992) and paul f. boller, not so! popular myths about america from columbus to clinton (new york, oxford university press, 1996). 51 james w. loewen, lies across america: what our historic sites get wrong (new york: touchstone publishing, 1999), 358. 52 ibid. 53 ibid., 359. 15 michael chornesky all of these anecdotes were included in my three tours of independence hall, so there is no reason to doubt the veracity of loewen’s claims. his general criticism of inhp is that it tended to practice antiquated consensus history over recent scholarship, which points more towards conflict over consensus in the early republic. it is also apparent that the divs staff heard these complaints in some form, as one staff member described inhp’s presentation as “dated, white, middleclass history… not suited to the increasingly diverse group of visitors to the park.”54 in sum, divs, under pressure from the national park service, the organization of american historians and inhp administration, resolved to create and implement a new interpretive plan. this plan and its ideas will be considered in the final two sections of this analysis. the 2006 inhp interpretive master plan: conception and major themes the most recent inhp interpretation was conceived between 2004 and 2006 by the park staff in consort with a number of peripheral groups. it was, in its most basic form, an attempt to contrive an interpretation befitting present historical scholarship, but also to conceive a presentation that would make for a pleasurable visitor experience and avert any potential controversy (especially in the wake of the liberty bell debacle). though the interpretation is not fully implemented yet, it has coincided with the original mission of inhp interpretation by avoiding serious controversy.55 the interpretive process began more than two years ago, in october, 2004, when a few historians from the organization of american historians (oah), including prominent local historian gary nash, were selected to visit the park and submit lengthy reports to the divs. this study pointed out three key problems with services there. the first was a physical problem mentioned in the conclusion of the report. as the report argues, “the ‘park without borders’ challenges tourists and residents alike to be alert to their location in a national park.”56 the second problem mentioned is also physical, claiming that, “interpretation at the park core is inflexible. visitors get a better, nuanced tour when they leave the icons and move to the edges.”57 these two ideas refer to the park’s existence within a 54 stephen sitarski, interview by michael chornesky, november 13, 2006. 55 the only press coverage the park received in the four months predating this study’s completion were the process of selecting a design for the planned president’s house monument and the implementation of further security measures at independence hall. 56 national park service, independence national historical park: report on site review of interpretive programs by the organization of american historians (philadelphia, national park service, 2005), 5. 57 ibid. 16 visceral history modern city, which can confuse visitors who do not know where the park “ends” and the city “begins.” divs traditionally reacted to this problem by confining its interpretation to independence mall. the report suggests that inhp stop compensating for these problems and solve them. this same reasoning is then applied to the park’s conceptual interpretation. the report points to the third problem: “the park is bound by the ‘inertia of tradition.’ find a way to give ‘punch’ to canonical stories without diminishing the traditional themes.” finally, the study settles in on the most incisive criticism of the park’s ideas, claiming, “conditions in the park have changed and the park must rethink its approach. these changes break down into internal factors, external factors and visitor factors [the variety of visitors viewing the park].”58 this seems to have been the main problem with interpretive operations, the telling of a 1950s story to a twenty-first century audience. the inhp’s newest interpretive plan seeks to solve these problems. along with the oah review, the national park service imposed new bureaucratic standards calling for a new interpretation every ten years. this was the practical reason for the new plan. finally, the divs sought to ameliorate past interpretive processes by holding a series of meetings with park staff and business interests around and outside of the park’s borders.59 the results of this process were mixed. while the inhp is working to solve its physical problems by increasing the instances of signs and maps throughout the park, attempts to divert visitors away from independence mall remain fruitless. attendance statistics for sites in the park proper continue to overshadow those for exhibits on the park’s periphery. as occurred with the original visitor’s center concept in the late 1970s, people ignore the rest of the park. instead of following the suggestion of the oah and developing the park’s periphery to fight this trend, inhp chose instead to develop the park’s interior. the development of independence mall, the increased security measures (there but nowhere else), the recent openings of the independence visitor’s center and the liberty bell center within a few hundred yards of independence hall, and the planning of the president’s house building in the same area point to inhp’s ad hoc solution to this problem. the problem with this idea is that it continues to divert attention away from park resources on the periphery, such as franklin court, welcome park, city tavern and the second bank of the united states, to name a few. if this process continues, visits to those resources will continue to decline. this practice, if continued, will limit the resources from which inhp tells the story of america’s 58 national park service, independence national historical park: report on site review of interpretive programs by the organization of american historians, 5. (emphasis in original.) 59 stephen sitarski, interview by michael chornesky, november 13, 2006. 17 michael chornesky founding, failing to reveal the complex circumstances that were required to attain that outcome. finally, there is the change in the park’s interpretation, which revolves around its four new major themes: “liberty: the promises and the paradoxes,” “e pluribus unum: out of many, one,” “what was revolutionary about the american revolution?” and “benjamin franklin: the relevant revolutionary.” while this seems to be a continuation of themes established in 1976, particularly in the latter two, the material has actually been expanded. “what was revolutionary…” is the development of the american revolution theme of 1976, and significantly improves it with the proposal of the theme in the form of a question. this reflects historical scholarship on the radicalism of the revolution, specifically the more recent work of gordon wood and others.60 “benjamin franklin” is an obvious continuation of the 1976 theme of the same name, only he is now a “relevant revolutionary.” this makes him look more human by removing the veneer of deification and civil religion. “e pluribus unum” and “liberty, the promises and paradoxes” are entirely new, and certainly fit with current trends in historical scholarship (i.e., the predominance of social history). in essence, they aspire to analyze the american “melting pot” and the social paradoxes inherent in the declaration of independence and the constitution.61 according to the interpretive plan, the themes were innovated “during a series of workshops involving a crosssection of park staff, constituents and partners.” more importantly, the plan outlines a clear approach to its subject, claiming that “the purpose of independence national historical park is to preserve its stories, buildings and artifacts as a source of inspiration for visitors to learn more about the ideas and ideals that led to the american revolution and the founding and growth of the united states.”62 this subjective character of the recent plan deserves further investigation. visceral postmodernism: meaning, potential problems and their solutions of course, this interpretation is not without its problems. a critical thinker might note the contradiction inherent in the physical and conceptual proposals. the physical actions taken by inhp suggest a pulling inward of the park’s resources to independence mall, while the new conceptual proposal emphasizes broader expansion and variety. also, it is apparent that the visceral component of civil 60 see gordon wood, the radicalism of the american revolution (new york, a.a. knopf inc., 1992) 61 division of interpretation and visitor services, long-range interpretive plan for independence national historical park (harpers ferry, va, national park service, 2006) 13-14. 62 ibid., 7. (emphasis added.) 18 visceral history religion might just sneak up on inhp again. this could occur through the interpretation’s reliance on the now popular conception of “social history” for its ideas. the visceral mechanism being posited here is the connection between current “social history” and the controversial conceptual paradigm of postmodernism, which this study contends are closely linked. the relationship between the two approaches is one of the overarching theory (postmodernism) and its subsidiary within the historical field (social history). most literature on the subject rejects a tidy, dogmatic definition of the term “postmodernism.” however, postmodernist doctrine consistently features a few basic themes. first, there is the meaning of the term postmodernism: a rejection of modernity and the intellectual structures that supported the period (those of the enlightenment).63 jean-françois lyotard defines the second theme within his work, claiming, “simplifying to the extreme, i define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives [the grand narratives alluded to above].”64 the third theme is expressed in the work of historians michel foucault and michel-rolph trouillot, both of whom tend to express their perceptions of history in terms of social power relations. they show the diffusion of postmodern ideas into both academic and public history respectively.65 finally, there is an undercurrent to these themes that is especially pertinent to inhp—the presentation of material in terms of stories and perspectives. this last theme can be summed up as the subjective character of postmodernism, the primacy of individual approaches over the generalized and allencompassing narrative. all of these basic aspects of the postmodern approach are explicitly and repeatedly employed in the recent divs long-range interpretive plan. postmodernism’s connection to the new interpretive plan is evident. for example, the plan asserts that “park interpreters will provide visitors with opportunities to make intellectual and emotional connections to park sites and stories, fostering the public’s interest in the stewardship and preservation of the park’s resources.66 foucault might interpret this statement as the park’s manipulation of visitors, but the true idea behind this statement is more about personal interpretation. this meshes with postmodernism’s emphasis on individual 63 examples of this theme can be seen in david j. herman’s article “modern/postmodern,” in the anthology a postmodern reader (albany, state university of new york press, 1993), 157-86. 64 jean-françois lyotard, “modern/postmodern” a postmodern reader, eds. joseph natoli and linda hutcheon (albany, state university of new york press, 1993), 72. 65 see foucault’s history of sexuality and trouillot’s silencing the past: power and the production of history. foucault’s concept of power relations is the original and likely inspired trouillot’s. 66 national park service, long-range interpretive plan for independence national historical park, 11. (emphasis added.) 19 michael chornesky understanding over the structural approach utilized by the annales school. also, the preface to the explanation of the interpretive themes contains the loaded statement: “they [focused themes] open minds to new ideas and perhaps to multiple points of view. when linked to commonly held emotions or universal human experiences, themes encourage audiences to see themselves in a park’s story and discover personal relevance.”67 while inhp mediated thematic choices, their content and the approach applied to them are symptomatic of postmodernism’s ubiquitous influence. so what can we conclude based on the above processes and patterns? is postmodernism a positive development that stresses the stories of the formerly repressed over consensus narratives (e.g. the newly emerging field of subaltern history)? or is it, as larry laudan, alan sokal, and jean bricmont claim it to be, “…the most prominent and pernicious manifestation of anti-intellectualism in our time.”68 these questions presently remain unanswered. however, inhp’s movement in this direction must, unlike in the case of civil religion, be accompanied by a sense of self-reflection and understanding of previous tendencies in park interpretation: a movement beyond visceral history. postscript: connecting visceral history to conceptions of “collective memory” the introduction of this work depicted independence national historical park as an exemplification of french historian pierre nora’s concept of realms or places of memory. if this connection is valid, then the park is one of many settings in the united states where american and foreign visitors go to experience the nation’s history. while that observation remains correct, it neglects a burgeoning historical discipline partly inspired by this idea and others from nora’s work, realms of memory: the examination of memory, specifically what is called “collective memory.” in its beginnings, the study of collective memory, of “a set of potentially absolute meanings and stories, possessed as the heritage or identity of a community,” was interdisciplinary, a dialogue between intellectuals of other disciplines and historians.69 thus, the figures cited as figuring in the predawn of the discipline are sociologist maurice halbwachs, psychologist sigmund freud and 67 ibid., 13. (emphasis added.) 68 alan sokal and jean bricmont, fashionable nonsense: postmodern intellectuals’ abuse of science (new york, picador press, 1998), 50. 69 david w. blight, beyond the battlefield: race, memory, and the american civil war (amherst, university of massachusetts press, 2002), 1. 20 visceral history philosopher g.w.f. hegel.70 after nora’s seven-volume french language version of realms of memory was published between 1984 and 1992, american historians applied his conclusions regarding french national history to american examples, beginning with michael kammen’s 1991 work, mystic chords of memory. our primary concern is the state of the field after this original period of study, as these ideas in context add meaning to the case study above. while the study of memory as a historical concept has developed much since nora’s original work, the definition of the term has changed little. nora defines the term in a variety of ways, at times contrasting it with history, and also connecting it to history. overall, he deems the concept irrevocably tied to the period in which it is invoked, calling it “life, always embodied in living societies… subject to the dialectic of remembering and forgetting” and “always a phenomenon of the present.”71 subsequent historians have defined it more literally, corresponding to the increased sophistication of the field. kerwin lee klein claims that, “if memory is objective in the coldest, hardest sense of the word, memory is subjective in the warmest, most inviting senses of that word.” he further defines it as “not a property of individual minds, but a diverse and shifting collection of material artifacts and social practices.”72 david blight further accentuates the practical distinctions between history and memory, asserting, “memory is often owned; history interpreted. memory is passed down through generations; history is revised. memory often coalesces in objects, sacred sites, and monuments; history seeks to understand contexts and the complexities of cause and effect. history asserts the authority of academic training and recognized canons of evidence; memory carries the often more powerful authority of community membership and experience.”73 perhaps this draws the distinction too sharply. while these historians seek contrasts between history and memory, the two sources of knowledge are also complimentary. as we have already seen with inhp interpretations before 2004, to advance a historical interpretation without the application of intellectual rigor—to historicize memory—poses certain dangers. however, the last twenty years in the historical field and the last three in the history of the park have also demonstrated that, at least in the minds of many historians, history is not quite as “objective” as kerwin lee klein connotes it. the study of memory was widely ignored prior to 1991, but by 1997, it was featured prevalently in issues of both the public 70 kerwin lee klein, “on the emergence of memory in historical discourse,” representations 69 (winter 2000): 133. 71 nora and various authors, realms of memory, vol. 1, 3. 72 klein, “on the emergence of memory in historical discourse,” representations 69 (winter 2000): 130. 73 blight, beyond the battlefield, 2. 21 michael chornesky historian and the american historical review, with historian david glassberg calling memory “a new way to think about public history, a common intellectual foundation for the diverse enterprises taught and practiced under its name.”74 this fast-paced succession of historical trends and the questionable content of those trends have brought the very notion of truth in history into question. memory was historicized and history was made increasingly like memory. nevertheless, there is a reality behind the vagaries of this “text.” while recent developments have revealed a certain inherent subjectivity to historical study, they have also overshadowed its evidential and argumentative rigors. this is proven by the application of context to a term as loaded and complex as memory in the sources above. in addition, the attempt to apply memory (in the form of the idealistic, civil religious narrative) to a historical site in the preceding narrative lends extra credence to the use of memory as a subject of historical study. conversely, it demonstrates the weakness of memory as a source of historical knowledge. this is evident in light of a recent historical debate over the weaknesses of oral and interview sources. this is odd given the visiting public’s reliance on that very memory (either in terms of their education or direct experience in more recent history) for knowledge.75 the above story of interpretation at inhp reveals to us two potential responses to the complex problems of public history. the first showed visitors the america they wanted to see and satisfied the historiographical tendencies of the time. nevertheless, it was insufficient. the latter conception appears to satisfy the exact same conditions as the first. however, as we have observed through the concept of memory, reliance on subjectivity also has limits. better answers likely lay in between these two extremes and in the unity of history and memory. 74 david glassberg, “public history and the study of memory,” the public historian 18, no. 2 (spring 1996): 8. 75 for more on this problem, see roy rosensweig and david thelen, the presence of the past: popular uses of history in american life (new york, columbia university press, 1998). 22 visceral history bibliography bellah, robert n. “civil religion in america.” daedalus 96 (winter 1967): 1-21. ---. “civil religion in america.” american civil religion, eds. russell e. richey and donald g. jones. new york: harper & row, 1974. blight, david w. beyond the battlefield: race, memory, and the american civil war. amherst: university of massachusetts press, 2002. boller, paul f. not so! popular myths about america from columbus to clinton. new york: oxford university press, 1996. chornesky, michael. liberty bell visit notes. november 13, 2006. chornesky, michael. notes on city visit. november 25, 2006. danton, t. “history and philosophy of interpretation syllabus.” national park service, accessed december 18, 2007. http://www.nps.gov/idp/interp/103/intphillp.pdf. division of interpretation and visitor services. long-range interpretive plan for independence national historical park. harpers ferry, virginia: national park service, 2006. foucault, michel. the history of sexuality. new york: vintage books, 1990. glassberg, david. “public history and the study of memory.” the public historian 18, no. 2 (spring 1996): 7-23. grieff, constance. independence: the creation of a national park. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 1987. herman, david j. “modern/postmodern.” a postmodern reader. albany: state university of new york press, 1993. higham, john. “the cult of ‘american consensus.’” commentary 27 (february 1959): 93-101. hufbauer, benjamin. presidential temples: how memorials and libraries shape public memory. lawrence: university of kansas press, 2005. klein, kerwin lee. “on the emergence of memory in historical discourse.” representations 69 (winter 2000): 127-150. lee, ronald f. public use of the national park system, 1872-2000. washington d.c.: u.s. department of the interior, 2002. loewen, james w. lies across american: what our historic sites get wrong. new york: touchstone publishing, 1999. lyotard, jean-françois. “modern/postmodern.” a postmodern reader, eds. joseph natoli and linda hutcheon. albany: state university of new york press, 1993; 71-91. mires, charlene. independence hall in american memory. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2002. mooney-melvin, patricia. “beyond the book: historians and the interpretive challenge.” the public historian 17, no. 4 (fall 1995): 75-82. 23 michael chornesky nash, gary. “for whom will the bell toll? from controversy to cooperation.” slavery and public history: the tough stuff of american memory, eds. james oliver horton and lois e. horton. new york: the free press, 2006. national park service. independence national historical park operations: interpretation plan. philadelphia: national park service, march 1954. national park service. independence national historical park: preliminary interpretive plan. philadelphia: national park service, 2004. national park service. independence national historical park: report on site review of interpretive programs by the organization of american historians. philadelphia: national park service, 2005. nora, pierre and various authors. realms of memory, vol. 1: conflicts and divisions. new york: columbia university press, 1996. ogline, jill. “’creating dissonance for the visitor’: the heart of the liberty bell controversy.” the public historian 26, no. 3 (summer 2004): 49-57. rosensweig, roy and david thelen. the presence of the past: popular uses of history in american life. new york: columbia university press, 1998. rousseau, jean-jacques. the social contract, translated and with an introduction and notes by christopher betts. oxford: oxford university press, 1994. shenkman, richard. legends, lies, and cherished myths of american history. new york: harper paperbacks, 1992. sitarski, stephen. interview by michael chornesky, november 13, 2006. smith, craig r. daniel webster and the oratory of civil religion. columbia: university of missouri press, 2005. sokal, alan and jean bricmont. fashionable nonsense: postmodern intellectuals’ abuse of science. new york: picador press, 1998. tilden, freeman. interpreting our heritage: principles and practices for visitor services in parks, museums, and historic places. chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1957. trouillot, michel-rolph. silencing the past: power and the production of history. boston: beacon press, 1995. wiener, jonathan. “radical historians and the crisis in american history, 19591980.” american historical review 76, no. 2 (september 1989): 399-434. wood, gordon. the radicalism of the american revolution. new york: a.a. knopf inc., 1992. 24 michael b. chornesky history inhp interpretation from 1976 until 2006: recognizing and accepting prior practice discontents with the present interpretation: prelude to a new interpretive plan the 2006 inhp interpretive master plan: conception and major themes visceral postmodernism: meaning, potential problems and their solutions postscript: connecting visceral history to conceptions of “collective memory” [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] warrior, hero, mentor: the influence of prince peter bagration on the fictional protagonists of war and peace kenneth mumma liberal studies according to historian alexander mikaberidze, though prince general peter bagration was one of the russian army’s most prominent commanders and an important historical and military figure at the beginning of the 19th century, he has been virtually overlooked by historians, both in russia and the west, with very little scholarly biographical work in existence.1 similarly leo tolstoy in his epic, war and peace, calls prince bagration “the hero of heroes,”2 while spending little time developing his character, especially when compared to other significant historical figures such as napoleon bonaparte and prince general mikhail kutuzov. why the discrepancy between bagration’s significance as a person – as a military leader – and the apparent inattention given to him by scholars as well as tolstoy? for answers to this question with regard to the scholarly historical treatment of bagration, we look to historians such as mikaberidze. on the other hand, when we begin to address the question of tolstoy’s treatment of prince peter, we encounter one of the cruxes of war and peace, which is how to understand the roles of the novel’s historical figures, particularly in relation to its fictional characters. inasmuch as war and peace is a work of historical fiction, tolstoy has not simply painted a fictional narrative on the canvas of history. rather he has spun the threads of the lives of historical figures, imagined characters, fictitious circumstances and historical details and events into a fabric that blurs the distinctions between fact and fiction, and which is more important. we have no doubt, for instance, about the historical napoleon’s role in the novel: he is the emperor of france in command of the invading french forces. yet when tolstoy describes the emperor’s “white hands” (ii.2.21), we are not so concerned with the historical accuracy of the description as we are with the relevance of napoleon’s white hands to prince andrei, or other characters, also having “white hands,” (i.1.5). the interdependence of these threads exacerbates the problem of determining an historical character’s literary value. admittedly, one can discern tolstoy’s artistic purpose for some of these characters more readily than others. for example, napoleon serves as an arch antagonist over the whole work, while barclay de tolly helps tolstoy draw lines between the foreign and russian factions within the high command, and tolstoy’s characterization of kutuzov promotes his argument refuting the “great man” theory of history. the role of general prince peter bagration as a literary character is less apparent. what are his character’s contributions to tolstoy’s development of the plots, characters, themes and theories of the novel? we might ask how this figure of bagration, through his biography and tolstoy’s characterizations, influences the work. 1 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” xvi-xx. 2 tolstoy, war and peace, vol. ii, part 1, ch. 2. subsequent citations of this text will be made parenthetically in line, e.g. (ii.1.2). to address this question in a focused way, we will explore general bagration’s influence and effect on the development of the characters of two of tolstoy’s protagonists, count nikolai rostov and prince andrei bolkonsky, by analyzing scenes from war and peace in which these two fictional characters appear within bagration’s sphere of influence. first, however, we will examine elements of bagration’s biography that are germane to developing something of a reader’s back story for bagration as a literary character. this biographical examination will include comparisons of the historical facts to tolstoy’s rendering of prince peter. in addition, we will look for relevant or interesting parallels between bagration’s biography and tolstoy’s characterizations of the protagonists rostov and bolkonsky, as well as pierre bezukhov, though to a lesser extent. my aim in this paper is to show that a reading of war and peace that accounts for the historical background of prince peter bagration lends credibility to the novel’s narratives and the development of at least two of the work’s most important fictional characters, nikolai rostov and prince andrei bolkonsky. furthermore, the parallels we draw between the lives of bagration and each of the protagonists to be examined will contribute to the realism of tolstoy’s project. moreover, our analysis will support the notion that where tolstoy characterizes bagration’s life and actions contrary to historical evidence, he tends to do so in a pejorative way that underplays the significance of prince peter’s contribution, in order to maintain a path for his argument against the “great man” theory of history. a word about my sources for this essay – there being no published biography of bagration in english, i have relied to a great extent on the doctoral dissertation of alexander mikaberidze for the details of bagration’s story. i should note that mikaberidze is clearly a champion of prince peter, perhaps relating to him as a fellow georgian. i have relied on historian dominic lieven’s work on the russian patriotic war of 1812 to substantiate or contradict mikaberidze where warranted. primary sources available in english, mainly memoirs by men who served with him in military campaigns from 1805-12, have proven invaluable in putting “flesh on the bones” of this interesting character. back story of a hero born into a family of georgian nobility that emigrated to russia, peter ivanovich bagration enlisted in the russian army at age seventeen.3 bagration attended a school for the children of garrison officers for one year, where he studied mathematics, russian and german.4 due in large part to his family’s modest means, this was the whole of bagration’s formal education.5 however, a contemporary of his later military years recalled that “[bagration] drew his knowledge from experience, his conclusions from events and was never guided by rules or science. sometimes he was at fault, however, his opinion was quite often sound.”6 notably he 3 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 5-8. 4 ibid., 8. 5 ibid., 7. 6 yermolov, the czar's general, 130. did not learn french, 7 though he grew up with several other languages.8 tolstoy’s protagonists, including rostov, prince andrei and pierre, on the other hand, do speak french. in 1783, following his year in school, bagration joined an infantry regiment as a supernumerary.9 when we compare the circumstances of his enlistment to those of the young nikolai rostov, we can see the difference in social status between the two at comparable stages of their lives. as explained by nikolai’s father, the old count, “[o]ut of friendship...; he’s leaving both the university and his old father: he’s going into the army, ma chère... [a]nd a post had already been prepared for him in the archives and all (emphasis added)” (i.1.9). but then nikolai replies to his father, “not at all out of friendship.... it’s not friendship, i simply feel a calling for military service.” and he says further, “[i]f you don’t want to let me go, i’ll stay. but i know i’m not good for anything but military service; i’m not a diplomat, not a functionary, i’m unable to hide my feelings” (i.1.9). nikolai was ensured a place in the military by his position in society, whereas bagration, having no civil service position prepared for him, had to petition for enlistment.10 and yet we can begin to imagine some congruence of feelings between the two young men as they were both drawn to the military. prince peter spent the rest of his life in the russian army. i will not recount all of the details of his service, especially his exploits in well over one hundred battles and combats throughout his career. i will, however, address later in this essay certain aspects of his roles in several crucial battles that helped shape his reputation, specifically schöngrabern, austerlitz and borodino. at schöngrabern and austerlitz, we will find nikolai and prince andrei in their closest interactions with bagration. nevertheless, it is worth noting here the reasons for bagration’s rapid rise through the ranks. shortly after his enlistment he was promoted to private, and by 1799, just sixteen years later, he had been promoted to major general, having commanded a battalion and served as chief of his regiment.11 according to mikaberidze: [u]nlike many of his peers, who never went through active service, bagration served in various regiments and earned his promotions on the basis of merit. he acquired extensive knowledge of the tactics and logistics and gained valuable experience in maintaining and training the troops. during [a] campaign in poland, bagration proved himself as a daring commander, known for his composure and bravery as well as good tactics.12 7 this fact would vex him later in life, particularly during his struggles with czar alexander over the best strategy for the campaign of 1812, when his aide would write letters to alexander and french so bagration could not read them. mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 734. 8 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 7. “peter's father was fluent in… persian, turkish, armenian and georgian, and apparently taught them to his sons” (ibid.). 9 mikaberidze “lion of the russian army,” 9. 10 see ibid., 8, for details on bagration's efforts to enlist. 11 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 9-13. 12 ibid., 14. in 1799, bagration’s commander and mentor during the second coalition’s campaign in italy and the alps, general a. v. suvorov wrote to czar paul, “prince bagration is one of the best generals in many aspects, who deserves to receive the highest awards.”13 bagration’s performance in the campaigns in italy and switzerland, where he played a “significant role on many occasions,”14 earned him the highest praise of his superiors and the status of national hero. according to suvorov, he “demonstrat[ed] courageous character and most praiseworthy behavior in all of the actions of the campaign.”15 moreover, the “campaign surrounded bagration with an aureole of greatness that followed him for the rest of his life.”16 as a contemporary and friend recalled, “bagration returned from italy in the glow of fame, a sparkle of honours.”17 he was famous and found himself thrust into the highest social circles, including not infrequent invitations to the palace in st. petersburg and meetings with members of the royal family.18 history repeated itself in 1805-6. after bagration’s heroics at schöngrabern, “austerlitz brought him even more glory, even though it was a military defeat for the russian army.”19 bagration’s status as a national hero was confirmed when he was awarded the order of st. george (2nd class) by czar alexander in st. petersburg in 1806.20 just as he was celebrated on his return from the alps in 1800, in early 1806, he attended many celebrations in his honor and appeared in public with the emperor.21 one of these celebrations was the banquet held in his honor at the english club in moscow, which was immortalized by tolstoy in war and peace. here we have a rare opportunity to compare tolstoy’s characterization of bagration, his appearance and mannerisms, directly to the impressions of historical eyewitnesses, which is demonstrated in the table below. tolstoy eyewitnesses “bagration appeared... in a trim new uniform with russian and foreign decorations and the star of st. george on his left breast. he had evidently had his hair and side-whiskers trimmed just before the dinner, which changed his physiognomy to its disadvantage. on his face there was something naïvely festive, which, in combination with his firm, manly features, even gave his face a somewhat bagration’s appearance was “[b]elow the middle stature, of a dark complexion, deeply tinged with the climates in which he has served. his eyes [are] small, quick and penetrating. his nose, a very high aquiline; and his face perfectly georgian (he being of that country), expresses the most charming affability and sweetness. his demeanor is in unison with his countenance, being 13 suvorov to paul, 27 may 1799, correspondence of suvorov, 244; a.v. suvorov: documents, iv, 102, quoted in mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 61. 14 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,”177. 15 suvorov to paul, 14 october 1799, a.v. suvorov: documents, iv, 359, quoted in mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 178. 16 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 178. 17 yermolov, the czar's general, 130. 18 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 182 19 ibid., 295. 20 ibid., 296. 21 ibid., 297. comical expression” (ii.1.3). “he walked over the parquet of the reception hall bashfully and awkwardly, not knowing what to do with his hands; it was easier and more usual for him to walk under bullets over a plowed field, as he had walked ahead of the kursky regiment at schöngraben” (ibid.). “bagration, recognizing [nikolai rostov], spoke a few incoherent, awkward words, like all the words he spoke that day” (ibid.). demonstrative of modesty as winning as it is admirable in so idolized a character. he was dressed in a uniform wholly of green, covered with the insignia of many orders, stars and a red ribbon.”22 bagration had “a typical georgian appearance: large aquiline nose, arched brows, his eyes were keen and quick; however, i thought his movements were awkward.”23 on meeting bagration, sir ker porter was impressed and “characterized prince peter as ‘not only one of the first of military heroes, but in his character as a man, an honor to human nature.’“24 a cursory parsing of these texts will highlight the similarities and some interesting differences between the historical and tolstoyan views. tolstoy seems to concur with the eyewitnesses regarding the objective features of bagration’s appearance. for instance, his uniform is covered with decorations in both cases. we notice differences, however, when comparing his more subjective qualities. where tolstoy finds disadvantage in bagration’s physiognomy, the eyewitness notes that his face “expresses the most charming affability and sweetness.” and tolstoy’s attribution of “a somewhat comical expression” is not wholly consistent with the “countenance... demonstrative of modesty as winning as it is admirable” related by the eyewitness. similarly, tolstoy’s characterization of bagration’s speech as incoherent and awkward seems at odds with the eyewitness’s impressions. on the other hand, tolstoy’s description of the prince’s awkward hand movements and walking does resonate with the observation of one eyewitness that “his movements were awkward.” on the whole though, it seems that tolstoy presents bagration as a character who is uncomfortable and awkward in the public spotlight. that view is difficult to reconcile with what we know about bagration’s experience in numerous public appearances and honorific events. with regard to other details of the banquet, its lavishness, the food served, the setting, the verses spoken, the song sung, and so forth, tolstoy’s account in war and peace and the historical record are in accord.25 a more problematic aspect of the novel’s narrative of the dinner at the english club has to do with the rationale given for honoring bagration at all. while acknowledging that prince bagration is the “hero of heroes,” tolstoy goes further. 22 porter, travelling sketches in russia and sweden, 154. 23 zhikharev, recollections, 162, quoted in mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 298, note 181. 24 porter, travelling sketches in russia and sweden, 154. 25 compare mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 297-98 to tolstoy, war and peace, ii.1.3. what contributed to the choice of bagration as hero in moscow was that he had no moscow connections and was an outsider. in his person, honor was paid to the simple russian fighting soldier, without connections or intrigues, and still associated through memories of the italian campaign with the name of suvorov. besides, rendering him such honors was the best way of showing dislike and disapproval of kutuzov. (ii.1.2) the idea expressed here that prince peter was relatively unknown in moscow and was thus serving merely as a convenient proxy for the “simple russian fighting soldier” is a distortion of the historical record that tends to diminish the importance of his role, and is somewhat disparaging to bagration’s reputation. what we know about him is that in addition to the functions he had attended in st. petersburg, bagration spent several weeks in moscow following the banquet at the english club, attending a number of similar events.26 moreover, he had not only been embraced by russian society as a national hero, he had achieved the highest stature in the army and was idolized by officers and rank-and-file alike.27 he was praised in verse, writer grigory derzhavin calling him bog-rati-on, meaning “the god of the army he is.”28 my point here is not to emphasize tolstoy’s potential inaccuracies in order to discredit his story, but to suggest we should be on the lookout for similar character slights as a pattern of these may point to a literary device in war and peace. prince peter’s military success earned him material rewards as well. in early 1800 czar paul gave him a large estate in lithuania for his role in the swiss campaign.29 shortly thereafter paul appointed bagration chef and commander of the life guard jager battalion charged with the protection of the royal family.30 this was a high honor indeed as the chef position in the lifeguard regiments was typically filled by members of the emperor’s family.31 preceded by his popularity and fame, bagration attended many balls and receptions where his “gentle, gracious, generous [and] chivalrous...”32 nature was attractive to women.33 he drew the attention of catherine pavlovna skavronsky, considered “one of the most beautiful ladies of st. petersburg” and “one of the most desirable brides in the country.”34 bagration became infatuated with catherine skavronsky as she pursued him from the beginning. but when he finally made overtures, she rejected him and broke his heart.35 czar paul learned of their affair and arranged their marriage, contrary to both of their wishes.36 the marriage was a disaster, though prince 26 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 299. 27 ibid., 302-3. 28 g.r. derzhavin, sochineniya [compilation of writings], (st. petersburg, 1865) ii, 579, quoted in mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 301,835. 29 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 183. 30 ibid., 83. 31 ibid., 184. 32 wilson, narrative of events, 156. 33 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 187. 34 ibid., 186, 187. 35 ibid., 188. 36 ibid. peter’s feelings for catherine lasted the rest of his life.37 catherine, on the other hand, left bagration to travel europe.38 she was “cynical, haughty and extravagant” “and longed for the glittering life of society.”39 catherine’s extravagance cost bagration dearly, adding to his burden of debt, which was already substantial due to his inability to manage money and his generosity. life in the capital and an extravagant wife cost bagration his fortune. ... catherine bagration’s extravagant spending was out of control and the debts of the family mounted. in addition, bagration was fond of his troops and often spent his own money on them. as the chef of the life guard battalion, he had to live generously to maintain his status and acquaintances. his new acquaintances in the upper society only helped to spend lavishly.40 according to his contemporary and friend, alexey yermolov, “the extravagance of his friends satisfied him and he gained the habit of not limiting himself by moderation.”41 in other words, frugality was not bagration’s strong suit. readers of war and peace may find striking similarities between catherine bagration and tolstoy’s princess eléna vassílievna (hélène) kurágin. yermolov and another contemporary had both referred to catherine as “beautiful,”42 while tolstoy describes hélène as “beautiful” the first five times he mentions her name during anna scherer’s soirée.43 moreover, though pierre bezukhov’s marriage to hélène was not arranged as openly as bagration’s to catherine, it was certainly orchestrated by hélène’s father, prince vassily, to suit his own purposes. impatient for pierre to propose to his daughter, “prince vassily had to decide things with pierre, who ... was ridiculous, agitated, and stupid (as a man in love ought to be) in hélène’s presence, but had still not made a proposal.” so he thought, “the day after tomorrow is [hélène’s] name day. i’ll invite people, and if he doesn’t understand what he ought to do, then it will be my business. yes, my business. i’m a father!” (i.3.2). pierre himself was ambivalent at best about the situation as “he decided that marriage to hélène would be a misfortune and that he must avoid her and go away” (i.3.2). of course he does not go away and eventually becomes entrapped by prince vassily. after dinner on hélène’s name day vassily’s wife informs him that nothing has changed between pierre and hélène. vassily then effects his coup de grace. [he] frowned, his mouth twisted to one side, his cheeks twitched with an unpleasant, coarse expression peculiar to him; he roused himself, got up, threw his head back, and 37 ibid., 189. 38 ibid. 39 ibid. 40 ibid., 190. 41 yermolov, the czar's general, 130. 42 ibid., 130. alexander langeron, recollections, russkaya starina, 134(1908): 673, quoted in mikaberidze, 190. 43 tolstoy, war and peace, i.1.2-3. tolstoy can scarcely let go of the adjective in relation to helene. she has a “beautiful face” and “beautiful head,” during that soirée. moreover, she is described as “beautiful” and “belle” when she reappears again at anna scherer's in i.3.1. the title of most seductive woman went to “[t]he young little princess bolkonsky, known as la femme la plus séduisante de pétersbourg” (i.1.2). with a resolute stride walked past the ladies into the small drawing room. he strode quickly, joyfully up to pierre. the prince’s expression was so extraordinarily joyful that pierre stood up, frightened, when he saw him. “thank god!” he said. “my wife has told me everything.” he embraced pierre with one arm, his daughter with the other. “[hélène], my friend! i’m very, very glad.” his voice quavered. “i loved your [pierre’s] father… and she will be a good wife to you… god bless you!…” (i.3.2) another similarity we can note is the vindictive separation of husband and wife, with the consequence of many debts accruing to the husband. moreover, though we could compare the unseemly qualities of catherine bagration to hélène, we need not explore the details of all of hélène’s foibles here. in this vein there is one notable parallel, however, which is the open promiscuity and infidelity of both women. hélène’s affairs are both rumored and known, the most notorious of these being her alleged liaison with dólokhov. in addition, we can infer her dalliance with boris drubetskoy. among the many young men who daily visited hélène, boris … was … the most intimate person in the bezukhovs’ house. hélène called him mon page and treated him like a child. she addressed him with the same smile as she did everyone else, but sometimes pierre found it unpleasant to see that smile. boris treated pierre with a special, dignified, and sad deference. this nuance of deference also troubled pierre. pierre had suffered so painfully three years ago from the offense inflicted on him by his wife that he now protected himself from the possibility of a similar offense, first, by not being his wife’s husband, and second, by not allowing himself to suspect. (ii.3.9) to bagration’s embarrassment, catherine struck up a more public love affair with clemence metternich, by whom she eventually bore a child who took bagration’s name. what is more, she had an affair with alexander i himself. she later married an austrian officer and died while giving birth to his child.44 these exploits recall hélène’s open promiscuity in petersburg and her intrigues to marry one of her lovers without divorcing pierre. hélène, having returned with the court from vilno to petersburg, found herself in a difficult situation. in petersburg hélène enjoyed the special patronage of a dignitary who occupied one of the highest posts in the state. in vilno she had become close with a young foreign prince. when she returned to petersburg, both the prince and the dignitary were there, both claimed their rights, and hélène was faced with a new task in her career: to maintain her close relations with them both without offending either. what would have seemed difficult and even impossible for another woman, never once made countess bezukhov stop and think – clearly it was not in vain that she enjoyed the reputation of a most intelligent woman. if she had begun to conceal her actions, to extricate herself by cunning from an awkward situation, she would thereby have spoiled things for herself, acknowledging herself guilty; but hélène, on the contrary, like a truly 44 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 195-97. great person who can do whatever she likes, at once placed herself in the position of being right, in which she sincerely believed, and all the others in the position of being wrong. (iii.3.6) in parallel to catherine’s predicament, hélène died while pregnant. a final, though not insignificant, element of prince bagration’s biography is his intimate affair with grand duchess catherine pavlovna, alexander’s younger sister, which began in earnest on his return from finland in 1809.45 their relationship lasted until his death in 1812 and at times was a source of embarrassment for the royal family. one might say that like pierre bezukhov, bagration found true love in spite of – in the face of – a failed marriage to an altogether unsavory woman. he also held in common with pierre a distinct inability to manage money and his estates, in addition to a wife who accumulated debts on his behalf. prince peter was constantly accumulating and repaying debt until ultimately, and ironically given how events would unfold in the campaign of 1812, he obtained 9,000 rubles from the treasury with the help of the minister of war, barclay de tolly.46 nikolai rostov, the protégé in 1805, nikolai rostov joined the pavlogradsky hussar regiment (i.1.9). these same pavlograd hussars were under prince bagration’s command throughout the campaign against the french in austria, at least through the battle of austerlitz in 1805.47 thus, when nikolai joins the regiment near braunau, he has already come within bagration’s “sphere of influence,” if not yet his immediate proximity. nikolai’s first taste of battle comes at the bridge over the enns, where he anticipates his first engagement. rostov, standing on the left flank, on his slightly lame but imposing little rook, had the happy air of a schoolboy called up before a large public at an examination in which he is sure he will distinguish himself. he looked around at them all serenely and brightly, as if asking them to pay attention to how calmly he stood under fire. but on his face, too, that same trait of something new and stern appeared, against his will, around the mouth. (i.2.8) self-confident and impatient, how much this sounds like the recollection of another young hussar who went on to become a protégé of bagration, denis davidov. as davidov recalled in his memoirs, “the affair at wolfsdorf was the first engagement of my long military career. i shall never forget the impatience with which i awaited the first shots of the actual fighting. as if unsure of my own courage, i tried to emulate the highest spirits of the officers.... “48 bagration’s name is first mentioned by tolstoy during confusion among the regiment’s leaders about orders 45 ibid., 198, 480; lieven, russia against napoleon, ch. 5, kindle location 2781. 46 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 191. 47 ibid., chapters 7-9. the footnotes in the pages of these chapters provide detailed troop deployments for each battle. 48 davidov, service of the tsar, 26. to burn the bridge. as the officers bicker over who told whom to do what, bagration’s orderly arrives to say, “[t]the prince told me: ‘go and tell the colonel that the hussars must turn back quickly and set fire to the bridge’” (i.2.8). in this scene it appears that the invocation of bagration’s title and orders settles all disputes. there is little in the historical record to indicate any such confusion existed in reality. with the french in hot pursuit of the russian rearguard, “[bagration] finally dispatched dismounted pavlograd hussars, who destroyed the bridge under the enemy fire.”49 we next encounter nikolai in bagration’s deployment at schöngrabern. as the russian army continued its retreat from austria, the commander-in-chief, prince general kutuzov received intelligence that gave him concern that the french army would be able to cut off his retreat if it was not slowed down.50 kutuzov dispatched a detachment under prince peter to hollabrunn to engage and detain the enemy. “to avoid a battle which might have been fatal to [the russian army] on account of enemy superiority, kutuzov decided to deploy bagration’s rearguard and left it near the town of hollabrunn.”51 however, “he [bagration] found the terrain there [hollabrunn] disadvantageous for the defence so he moved his troops three miles northward to a small village of schongrabern.”52 bagration deployed the pavlograd hussars on his left flank, which tolstoy accurately reported.53 rostov, once again “sensing that the time had come at last to experience the delight of an attack,” charges ahead of everyone but is knocked to the ground when his horse is shot (i.2.19). with his shoulder slightly damaged, he becomes afraid of the approaching french soldiers, throws his pistol at them, then runs away – a successful escape into the bushes, where he met the russian infantry (i.2.19). after his escape, rostov finds that the men he is with are surrounded: “‘we’re surrounded! cut off! lost!’ cried the voices of running men” (i.2.20). indeed, the “pavlograd hussar, podolsk and azov regiments were surrounded and suffered heavy casualties before cutting their way back to russian positions.”54 but then tolstoy has nikolai witness an interesting spectacle. the regimental commander, the moment he heard shooting and cries behind him, knew that something terrible had happened to his regiment, and the thought that he, an exemplary officer, with many years of service, to blame for nothing, might be blamed before his superiors for negligence or inefficiency, struck him so much that, at that same moment, forgetting ... his own dignity as a general, and above all totally forgetting danger and the sense of self-preservation, he gripped the pommel, spurred his horse, and galloped off to his regiment under a hail of bullets that poured down on but luckily missed him. he wanted one thing: to find out what was going on, and help to rectify at all costs any error, if there was one, on his part, so that he, an exemplary officer, with twenty-two years of service, and never reprimanded for anything, would not be blamed for it. (i.2.20) 49 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 221. 50 ibid., 233. 51 yermolov, the czar's general, 51. 52 ibid., 51, note 35. 53 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 234. tolstoy, war and peace, i.2.19. 54 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 241. i have been unable to find evidence for this incident in the historic record, which as such is not problematic because we do not intend here to hold tolstoy to historical accuracy.55 what is interesting about this for our purposes is that “[t]he russians fought with remarkable ferocity, encouraged by bagration, who galloped between the units in the front line (emphasis added).”56 owing to major general selikhov’s stupidity, “most of the troops were captured and killed, and savage fighting raged for some time.”57 it seems unlikely that tolstoy would have been describing bagration’s ride in the passage above, as surely he would have mentioned it. nevertheless, as stated previously, bagration entered the military service in 1783 and thus by the time of schöngrabern, he had served twenty-two years with an exemplary record. the last scene featuring nikolai rostov that we will analyze is set at austerlitz, the evening before and the day of the battle. but in preparation for that scene, we note a relevant exchange between nikolai and boris drubetskóy. a letter had been delivered to rostov recommending him to prince bagration. he casts the letter to the floor, prompting boris to question his action. “why did you throw it on the floor?” asked boris. “it’s some sort of letter of recommendation, what the devil is a letter to me!” ... “you need this letter very much.” “i don’t need anything, and i won’t go and be anybody’s adjutant.” “why not?” asked boris. “it’s a lackey’s job.” “you’re still the same dreamer, i see,” said boris, shaking his head. (i.3.7) we next find rostov on the picket line the evening before austerlitz, where, in confirmation of boris’s assessment, he is dreaming: “his eyes kept closing, and in his imagination the sovereign appeared, then denisov, then moscow memories...” (1.3.13). drifting in and out of his dream state, nikolai fantasizes about meeting the sovereign. bagration arrives and sends rostov on a scouting mission, after which nikolai, desperate to get out of the reserves and into the front lines, speaks directly to the prince. “your excellency,” said rostov, “allow me to make a request.” “what is it?” “tomorrow our squadron is assigned to the reserves. allow me to request that you attach me to the first squadron.” ... “ah, very well. stay with me as an orderly officer.” “so i’ll be counting on it, your excellency.” “i will give the order.” 55 it is possible that the “regimental commander” in this vignette refers to major general selikhov, whom yermolov charges with incompetence in this action. yermolov, the czar's general, 33. 56 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 241. 57 yermolov, memoirs, 48-9, quoted in mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 242. “tomorrow,” thought rostov, “i may very well be sent on some sort of mission to the sovereign. thank god!” (i.3.13) once again denis davidov’s words seem to capture nikolai’s feelings in this moment. “as adjutant to prince bagration and, therefore, without a command of my own, i begged to be sent to the front line, ostensibly to keep track of enemy movements, but really to prance about on my horse, fire my pistol, flourish my sword, and (if the chance arose) hack away at the enemy. i felt immensely proud of myself and excited at everything going on around me.”58 with his enthusiasm and impatience to test his mettle, the young hussar longs for opportunity and guidance and finds both in prince peter. “as a hussar company commander i hungered for a hot engagement. according to my strategy it was absolutely necessary, and its likelihood was guaranteed by the fearless nature of the prince.…”59 the following morning bagration keeps his word to rostov: at nine o’clock, the action had not yet begun for bagration on the right flank.... [w]ishing to avert responsibility from himself, prince bagration suggested to dolgorukov that he send to ask the commander in chief. bagration knew that, with a stretch of nearly six miles separating one flank from the other, if the messenger was not killed (which was very probable), and even if he found the commander in chief, which would be quite difficult, he would not come back before evening. bagration looked over his suite with his big, expressionless, sleepy eyes, and rostov’s childlike face, involuntarily transfixed with excitement and hope, was the first thing that struck his eye. he sent him. (i.3.17) likewise when denis davidov requested a special assignment in finland, “bagration responded positively and approvingly to my request. the impulsive nature of youth, and the hunger for military adventure, found a ready echo in his heart.”60 tolstoy, on the other hand, does appear to demean bagration somewhat in the passage above where he asserts that prince peter wanted to “avert responsibility from himself” and avoid participation in any battle that day. this is the second instance in which we notice tolstoy debasing, however indirectly, prince bagration’s character and reputation, the first instance being tolstoy’s description of the circumstances around the english club banquet. finally we should note here that rostov’s final substantive appearance in a battle scene is at ostrovno, where his hussar regiment was not under bagration’s command,61 but that of count osterman-tolstoy. in this scene, nikolai no longer feels his former fear before the battle as he has learned to control his emotions (iii.1.14). when he senses the right time to attack with his hunter’s sense, he leads his comrades in charging the enemy “[w]ith the feeling with which he raced to intercept a wolf” (iii.1.15). “a moment later rostov’s horse struck the [french] 58 davidov, service of the tsar, 27. 59 ibid., 28. 60 ibid., 71. 61 this is consistent with historical accounts of the deployment of the pavlograd hussars. mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 207. officer’s horse in the rump with its breast, almost knocking it down, and at the same moment rostov, not knowing why himself, raised his saber and struck the frenchman with it. the moment he did this, all rostov’s animation suddenly vanished” (iii.1.15). this is a crucial moment for nikolai. he leaves the scene “experiencing some unpleasant feeling which wrung his heart,” and “as if ashamed of something” (iii.1.15). confronted with the reality of having tried to kill another human being, his conception of heroism is shaken. “so they’re even more afraid than we are!” he thought. “so that’s all there is to so-called heroism? and did i really do it for the fatherland? and what harm had he [the french soldier] done...? but how frightened he was! he thought i’d kill him. why should i kill him? my hand faltered. and they gave me the st. george cross. i understand nothing, nothing!” it is notable for our purposes that rostov has arrived at this moment of ambivalence about being a warrior outside the sphere of prince bagration’s influence. while under bagration’s deployment and direct command, rostov was able to confront his fear and to witness the bravery of others. much like the historical hussar denis davidov, who was influenced most by prince bagration, in whom davidov “sensed [a] moral strength and flashes of genius concealed under an outward calm: they would truly catch fire and erupt on the battlefield,”62 nikolai was given an opportunity to realize his dream of becoming a warrior, culminating at the battle of austerlitz. all his [nikolai’s] wishes were being fulfilled that morning: general battle was to be given, he was to take part in it; moreover, he was an orderly officer of the bravest of generals; moreover, he was going with a message to kutuzov and maybe to the sovereign himself. the morning was bright, the horse under him was good. he felt joyful and happy. (i.3.17) though rostov remains in military service until the death of his father (epilogue.1.5), after ostrovno, he appears in no more battles.63 as regards his career as warrior, we may discern a certain parallel: as in the battlefield scene at ostrovno, at the end of the famous hunting scene, contrary to his initial desire and intent, he did not kill the wolf (ii.4.5). thus we see that with rostov, bagration shares a calling to the military from a young age. a generation older than the young nikolai, prince peter became his model for behavior on the battlefield, much in the way he mentored the real-life young hussar denis davidov. bagration also modeled bravery for nikolai, and at the point when rostov found his own courage in battle leading to his first ambivalence about what it meant to be in war – to kill another person, he had moved beyond the influence of bagration. 62 davidov, service of the tsar, 26. 63 nikolai at this point finds himself deep in debt, much like bagration, though nikolai's debts are not due to his own neglect, but to his father’s. prince andrei with bagration prince andrei bolkonsky took a different route to the military from his friend, the young nikolai rostov. instead of enlisting as rostov did, and in fact as bagration had, in 1805 prince andrei joined the staff of commander in chief prince mikhail kutuzov, becoming one of the commander’s favorite adjutants (i.2.3). when kutuzov dispatches bagration to hollabrunn, andrei is granted his request to join prince peter. “bagration... received him with a superior officer’s special distinction and indulgence... and allowed him full freedom to stay by him during the battle or to supervise the order of retreat in the rear guard...” (i.2.15). the warmth of his reception is consistent with the recollections of denis davidov, who served as an adjutant to bagration.64 bolkonsky then goes on extensive tour of the front lines to gain an understanding of the disposition of the russian forces at schöngrabern, during which he encounters the fictional artillery commander, captain tushin (i.2.15-16). eventually prince andrei rejoins bagration as the battle begins. there are two aspects of this scene to discuss in detail here. the first aspect has to do with tushin’s role in the battle. immediately after the french begin their bombardment, tolstoy shows bagration and bolkonsky riding up to the battery commanded by tushin, where tushin explains to bagration that since he had been given no orders about where to shoot, “he had decided that it would be good to set fire to the village [of schöngrabern]” (i.2.17). bagration indicates his approval and moves on. what in fact happened after the french opened fire was that, in addition to ordering various troop movements, “he [bagration] instructed his artillery to ignite the wooden buildings at schöngrabern. the village was soon ablaze, threatening to blow the ammunition supplies; the french had to halt the advance for almost two hours to fight the blazes.”65 so here we have yet another inconsistency between tolstoy’s account, an account that with the fictional tushin’s involvement is clearly not intended to be factual, and the historical record leading to a disparagement, this time more explicit, of bagration’s role in the action and his character. moreover, tolstoy devotes several pages to the scene at tushin’s battery, depicting the russian artillerist’s joy in their self initiated accomplishment (i.2.20). at bagration’s headquarters following the battle, prince peter chastises tushin in front of the other officers, including prince andrei, making bagration appear petty (i.2.21). avraam norov, an artillery veteran of the 1812 campaign who commanded two cannons at borodino, and who was later a harsh critic of tolstoy’s war and peace, particularly objected to these scenes as he sees tolstoy belittling bagration.66 the second aspect of this scene to discuss concerns prince andrei’s interpretations of some of bagration’s gestures and actions throughout the battle. for example, andrei notes on three 64 davidov, service of the tsar, 26, 71. bagration was known for treating his troops well, “caring about the condition of his subordinates... select[ed] them on the basis of merit and awarding them accordingly.” yermolov, the czar's general, 130. 65 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 241. 66 sobolev, “'war and peace' as read by contemporaries,” 24, 26. occasions that bagration “inclined his head [in] assent” of what was taking place around him or being reported to him, as though all was occurring as he had foreseen. at one point, andrei “wishe[s] to know whether this man thought and felt, and what he thought and felt, at that moment. ‘is there anything there behind that immobile face?’“ (i.2.17). as we have seen, contemporary eyewitnesses saw bagration’s “moral strength and flashes of genius concealed under an outward calm.”67 after having observed prince bagration’s behavior and listening “carefully to [his] exchanges with the commanders and to the orders he gave, [prince andrei] noticed, to his surprise,” the following: [t]hat no orders were given, and that prince bagration only tried to pretend that all that was done by necessity, chance, or the will of a particular commander, that it was all done, if not on his orders, then in accord with his intentions. owing to the tact shown by prince bagration, prince andrei noticed that, in spite of the chance character of events and their independence of the commander’s will, his presence accomplished a very great deal. commanders who rode up to prince bagration with troubled faces became calm, soldiers and officers greeted him merrily and became more animated in his presence, and obviously showed off their courage before him. (i.2.17) though prince andrei on one hand acknowledges bagration’s leadership ability, in the sense that he is able to calm and motivate his soldiers in the face of danger, on the other hand andrei asserts that events all happened by chance, implying bagration’s planning was for naught. the historian’s account of bagration’s responsibility for the russian action at schöngrabern is quite different. bagration’s leadership during the battle was remarkable indeed. with only 6,000 men, he faced superior french forces led by a group of the best french commanders.... he carefully chose his positions and made maximum use of the terrain. before the battle, bagration summoned his commanders and discussed the battle plans, making sure each of them knew his objective. during the action, bagration constantly rode from one regiment to another to encourage the troops.... 68 tolstoy here uses prince andrei to begin to assert his positions on the role of chance in war and, by extension, in history through the narrative of the novel. since a reasonably accurate historical account of the burning of schöngrabern would serve to counter his position, tolstoy invents tushin and his actions as a substitute for bagration’s orders and plans. in this regard, it seems an effective device as tolstoy can remain faithful to the historical consequence, that is the burning of schöngrabern, while changing (or eliminating) the cause. according to mikaberidze, “[t]he battle of schöngrabern was a turning point in bagration’s career,” after which he “became a legendary figure.”69 kutuzov, for one, believed bagration’s actions saved the russian army from destruction. 67 see note 62. 68 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 252. 69 ibid., 251. kutuzov wrote alexander that … if the french broke through bagration, his army would have been ‘unable to retreat because of his close proximity from [schöngrabern]. ….’ kutuzov stressed the importance of bagration’s mission. ‘i anticipated certain death of prince bagration’s corps, but i hoped to save the rest of the army by sacrificing [bagration].’70 it is this battle, followed closely on by austerlitz, that leads to prince peter’s status as tolstoy’s “hero of heroes.” yet as we have seen, tolstoy seems reluctant to accord him the accolades he has earned, perhaps because of his insistence that there can be no “great men.” thus we have tolstoy’s conclusion on the events at schöngrabern: “the next day the french did not renew the attack, and the remnant of bagration’s detachment joined kutuzov’s army” (i.2.21). in 1812, prince andrei is assigned to barclay de tolly, the commander-in-chief at that time. barclay had developed the so-called defensive strategy for the campaign adopted by czar alexander. early in the year, bagration had also proposed a strategy for the impending invasion, which was to attack napoleon before he united his forces.71 prince peter’s plan was dismissed by alexander and shelved along with other proposals for an offensive.72 the fundamental difference between preferred strategies was a source of conflict throughout much of 1812 between barclay and bagration, which grew to infighting and the military command among supporters of both generals. but the sources of the conflict ran deeper. barclay was supported by the “german” party consisting of western european defectors and émigrés.73 bagration was the favorite of the russian party composed of ethnic russian officers, like yermolov, and other members of the old russian aristocracy. aside from the differences over strategy, personal and cultural issues divided the two camps.74 bagration wrote to aleksey arakcheyev, chief of czar’s chancellery: i am being treated without frankness and with unpleasantness beyond the power of words…. i cannot get along with the minister. for god’s sake, send me anywhere, if only to command a regiment in moldavia or in the caucasus. but i do not want to be here. the whole headquarters is so full of germans that a russian cannot breathe and the whole thing does not make any sense.75 this is an excerpt from but one letter among many written by bagration to arakcheyev, yermolov and others with a sympathetic ear or with access to alexander. here, for the first time, we see the consequences of bagration’s temper, which during this period he expressed “in a 70 kutuzov to alexander, 19 november 1805, rgvia f. 846 op. 16, d. 3108, l. 75-76b, quoted in mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 251. 71 lieven, russia against napoleon, ch. 4, kindle location 2665. 72 ibid., ch. 5, kindle location 2930; mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 622. 73 ibid., 725. 74 alexander mikaberidze has devoted a chapter of his dissertation to this conflict, chapter xviii, “conflict in the russian army: bagration vs. barclay de tolly,”721-42. 75 bagration to arakcheyev, 10 august 1812, “correspondence of bagration,” 226, quoted in mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 757; tolstoy, war and peace, iii.2.1. passionate manner and frequently made unjust and malicious statements.”76 moreover, “bagration’s passionate character refused to accept the fact that the french invaded his native land, his ‘holy russia.’ these emotions led to bagration’s many faulty decisions and actions during the campaign.”77 according to historian dominic lieven, “the fiery georgian and the cool and cerebral ‘german’ were simply two different in temperament and this led directly into contrasting views on what strategy to adopt.”78 an interesting question in the affair is related to the fact that bagration himself is a native born georgian, albeit raised in russia for nearly his entire life. barclay de tolly was, after all, a third-generation russian whose family immigrated in the 17th century.79 as historian sean pollock pointedly asks, “how was it that prince petr bagration... came to identify himself as a ‘pure russian,’ and other russian subjects, including prominent nobleman, as non-russian in important ways?”80 during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, russia was expanding its empire, and prince peter bagration was deeply involved in that project, indeed playing a key role as we have seen. could it be that his military service cultivated a love of the fatherland that was close to pure russian, or that the culture of the military itself was sufficient to instantiate his russianness? pollock posits the following answer: “bagration’s understanding of what it meant to be russian was forged in the institution that was chiefly responsible for creating russia’s empire: the imperial army.”81 “so strong was the emphasis on inculcating officers ‘love for the fatherland’ that a german observer and contemporary of bagration thought that it threatened family ties.”82 prince peter’s lack of formal education perhaps put him on more common ground with the rank-and-file soldiers than with his fellow officers. moreover, bagration was an orthodox christian, another trait he held in common with the rank-and-file. many of the foreignborn western european officers of the german party were not orthodox, perhaps fueling the mistrust of native born russians. in fact, barclay de tolly was lutheran, “mark[ing] him as nonrussian in a national sense.”83 interestingly, bagration’s orthodoxy was a personal and cultural trait he shared with prince andrei. though it is true that andrei’s sister marya represents the devout element of the bolkonsky family, we shall see that in the moments before his death andrei implicitly reveals his commitment – at least in habit – to orthodoxy. another element of the party conflict in the russian army that highlights a parallel between the characters of prince andrei and prince peter is their similar reactions to the continuing russian retreat in 1812, culminating with the abandonment of smolensk. the burning and abandoning of smolensk marked an epoch for prince andrei. the new feeling of anger against the foe made him forget his own grief. he was devoted entirely 76 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 835. 77 ibid., 836. 78 lieven, russia against napoleon, ch. 5, kindle location 3049. 79 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 725, note 17. 80 pollock, “one russian to another,” 115. 81 ibid., 113. 82 ibid., 129. 83 ibid., 141. to the affairs of his regiment, he was solicitous of his men and officers and affectionate with them. in his regiment he was known as our prince; they were proud of him and loved him. (iii.2.5) as the french had now brought the fight to the heartland of russia, retreat became even less bearable for the russian officers, as well as russian civilians. a retired russian veteran of the 1805 campaign living in a village near smolensk wrote just three weeks before the battle for smolensk: all around the city people deliver baked bread, bring in cattle and provide any good that our good soldiers, who are eager to fight at the walls of smolensk, desire. some of them already expressed this in a very simple, but, of course, heartfelt expression: “we are already seeing our fathers’ grey beards,” they say. “would we let the enemy despoil them? it is time to fight!”84 three weeks later the same writer’s letter begins, “i witnessed a horrible scene – the death of smolensk.”85 the sentiments of the people extended throughout the military and the aristocracy. barclay’s popularity was in steep decline, and his position as commander-in-chief was no longer politically tenable. according to an eyewitness: the spirit of the army was affected by a sense of mortification and all ranks loudly and boldly complained; discontent was general and discipline relaxing. the nobles, the merchants and the population at large, were indignant at seeing city after city, government after government abandoned, till the enemy’s guns were almost heard at moscow and st. petersburg doubted of its safety. the removal [of barclay de tolly]… had become a universal demand.86 lieven observes that after barclay revealed the potential that moscow might also be sacrificed. inevitably barclay’s opinion spread around and contributed to the unpopularity of a ‘german’ who was willing to sacrifice russia’s heart for the sake of europe. though at one level barclay’s cold and honest military rationality was admirable, one can understand the exasperation of alexander, whose difficult job it was to manage morale and politics on the home front.”87 as the french advance and russian retreat continued its eastward march, barclay was replaced as commander in chief with mikhail kutuzov, who joined the troops just before the opposing armies prepared to engage at the city of borodino. prince andrei had not been in prince bagration’s sphere of influence since schöngrabern, except to the extent that bagration’s role as commander of the 1st western army in 1812, 84 fyodor glinka, 18 july, 1812, quoted in mikaberidze, “1812 first person,” 29. 85 ibid. 86 wilson, narrative of events, 130. 87 lieven, russia against napoleon, ch. 6, kindle location 3539 especially his participation in the conflict with barclay de tolly, influenced the whole of the campaign theater. nevertheless, their common intolerance of the command’s willingness to yield russian soil and their common ethos unite them, in spirit at least, as russians and as russian soldiers. one further circumstance worth considering is the commonality of the experiences they had in death. the parallels here are uncanny. both princes were mortally wounded at the battle of borodino. late in the morning of the battle, a “shell splinter struck bagration .… for a few minutes he made a valiant effort to conceal his wound from his men to avoid any discouragement or panic among them. the wound bled profusely, and bagration began silently to slip from the horse.”88 prince andrei also was wounded by a shell splinter. [a] shell dully plopped down within two paces of prince andrei …. the shell was smoking, spinning like a top …, on the border between the field and the meadow, near a bush of wormwood. … at one and the same time there was the sound of an explosion, a whistling of splinters as if from a shattered window, a choking smell of powder – and prince andrei hurtled sideways and, raising his arm, fell [off his horse] on his chest. (iii.2.36) accounts of both of their wounds involve bloody images. according to an eyewitness, “i was dispatched twice to prince bagration on the left flank. … [t]he second time i saw him already mortally wounded, in a pool of his own blood, as he was carried away not far from me.”89 likewise, “several officers ran to [andrei]. from the right side of his stomach a large stain of blood was spreading onto the grass” (iii.2.36). following the infliction of their wounds, both princes were removed from the battlefield to villages near moscow and suffered for two to three weeks before they died.90 and at the end, both men spent their final hours contemplating life and taking confession. bagration “spent the rest of [his last] day sipping wine and contemplating his life. in the evening, he had convulsions and breathed with difficulty. he asked for a priest, saying, ‘i was always an orthodox christian and want to die as such.’”91 near the end, andrei had an experience that left him feeling, “‘yes, that was death. i died – i woke up. yes, death is an awakening.’ clarity suddenly came to his soul, and the curtain that until then had concealed the unknown was raised before his inner gaze.” and within days, “[h]e confessed, took communion; everyone came to him for a last farewell” (iv.1.16). prince bagration’s ability to motivate his troops at schöngrabern caused prince andrei to reflect for the first time on the meaning of leadership and its limitations in determining outcomes in battle, especially as compared with the role of chance. tolstoy’s manipulation of events, by introducing captain tushin to fictionalize what actually happened, colored andrei’s perception 88 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 819. 89 johan reinhold von dreyling, quoted in mikaberidze, “1812 first person,” 30. 90 bagration died 17 days after the battle of borodino. mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 828. it appears that andrei died in approximately the same time frame, as we know he lived beyond the surrender of moscow seven days after borodino. 91 mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 828. in this instance. later in the novel, however, tolstoy does acknowledge the rewards bagration received for his action. bagration and andrei also share both disdain and anger for the continuous retreat of the russian army in 1812, and the circumstances of their deaths are remarkably similar. conclusion as a young man with little wealth and little education, prince peter bagration enlisted in the army in 1782. within seventeen years he had become a trusted protégé of general suvorov, under whom he served during campaigns in italy the alps. his successful command of the rearguard in 1805-7, particularly at schöngrabern and austerlitz, may have prevented napoleon from destroying the russian army during its retreat from austria. following these campaign, he was widely celebrated by the russian nobility, including czar alexander, and in the high society of both st. petersburg and moscow. by 1812, bagration was held, among his peers and the soldiers he commanded, to be among the best of russia’s generals. according to a polish general who participated in the 1812 campaign, bagration was “among the most prominent military leaders of his time.”92 one of his aide-de-camps opined that “the rapid and skillful movement of the 2nd western army… [to] smolensk puts him [bagration] among the saviors of russia in 1812.” 93 napoleon himself had said, “[russia] has no good generals, except for bagration; though not of a great intelligence, he is still a good general,”94 a sentiment echoed even by tolstoy’s prince andrei (iii.1.11). on the other hand, it is also true that bagration’s ideas about the best strategy for russian forces facing the french invasion in 1812 were wrongheaded.95 moreover, his continued advocacy of his own strategy over barclay de tolly’s helped cause a disruption in the military command. nevertheless, the accolades bagration received appear well justified by his success in the field, which he demonstrated at all levels of command throughout his career. bagration’s military success and popular acclaim notwithstanding, it is not clear that tolstoy quite knew what to do with his character in war and peace. on the one hand, tolstoy accords bagration status of “hero of heroes,” while on the other hand, attributing that status to bagration as proxy for the common soldier. at schöngrabern, tolstoy minimizes bagration’s responsibility for the successful delay of napoleon’s advance. he does this first by inserting the fictional captain tushin to take the credit for setting the town on fire, a decision critical to the russian 92 zapiski generala kolachkovskogo o voine 1812 goda [notes of general kolachkovsky on 1812 campaign], voenno-istoricheskii sbornik, (st. petersburg, 1911), n1, 12, quoted in mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 719. 93 nikolay golitsyn, oficerskie zapiski ili vospominania o pokhodakh 1812, 1813, i 1814 godov [memoirs of the officer recollections on the 1812, 1813 and 1814 campaigns], (moscow, 1838), 16, quoted in mikaberidze, “lion of the russian army,” 643. 94 napoleon to alexander balashov, minister of police of russia, 30 june, 1812, vilna. balashov’s notes on the meeting with the emperor napoleon, dubrovin, patriotic war in letters of contemporaries, 31, quoted in mikaberidze, “the mutiny of generals.” 95 lieven, russia against napoleon, ch. 5, kindle location 3105. success that was in fact made by bagration. secondly, tolstoy implies that bagration’s planning and orders for the battle were meaningless, in that everything occurred by chance. tolstoy then casts aspersions on bagration at austerlitz, by suggesting that his decision to send rostov to find alexander is motivated by a desire to delay and to avoid responsibility. finally, tolstoy fails to mention bagration’s courageous fighting and ultimate self-sacrifice at borodino.96 altogether, the pejorative manner in which tolstoy selectively alters or neglects the historical record in relation to the magnitude of bagration’s skill, fame and popularity is puzzling. in many ways tolstoy seems to portray bagration as a typical russian military commander. he leaves many of bagration’s positive character traits intact, while finding strategies to minimize his credit or responsibility for controlling outcomes on the battlefield. in light of tolstoy’s agenda to show there are no “great men” of history who determine outcomes, even the course of a single battle, perhaps we should expect this sort of treatment. bagration for tolstoy is a top-notch commander, courageous and of the highest integrity, who, fortunately for the russian army, happens to be in the right place at the right time. 96 ibid., ch. 6, kindle location 3843. bibliography davidov, denis. in the service of the tsar against napoleon: the memoirs of denis davidov, 1806-1814. translated and edited by gregory troubetzkoy. london; mechanicsburg, pa: greenhill books; stackpole books, 1999. lieven, dominic. russia against napoleon: the true story of the campaigns of war and peace. penguin group: 2010. kindle edition. mikaberidze, alexander, trans. and ed. “1812 first person.” russian life 55, no. 5 (september/october 2012): 28-39. http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1039134162?acc ountid=14853.pdf. ___. “‘the lion of the russian army’: life and military career of general prince peter bagration, 1765-1812.” phd diss., florida state university, 2003. http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/305326199?acco untid=14853.pdf. ___. “the mutiny of generals.” napoleon-series.org. sep. 2004. http://www.napoleonseries.org/military/battles/c_mutiny1.html. pollock, sean. “‘as one russian to another’: prince petr ivanovich bagration’s assimilation of russian ways.” ab imperio no. 4 (october 2010): 113-42. historical abstracts, ebscohost (accessed november 17, 2012). porter, robert ker. travelling sketches in russia and sweden: during the years 1805, 1806, 1807, 1808. philadelphia, 1809. sobolev, lev. “‘war and peace’ as read by contemporaries.” translated by liv bliss. russian studies in literature 45, no. 4 (2009): 7-61. doi: 10.2753/rsl1061-1975450401. tolstoy, leo. war and peace. translated and edited by richard pevear and larissa volokhonsky. vintage ebooks edition. new york: vintage classics, 2008. kindle edition. wilson, sir robert. narrative of events during the invasion of russia by napoleon bonaparte and the retreat of the french army, 1812. london, 1860. yermolov, alexey. the czar’s general: the memoirs of a russian general in the napoleonic wars. translated and edited by alexander mikaberidze. welwyn garden city, uk: ravenhall, 2005. http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/battles/c_mutiny1.html http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/battles/c_mutiny1.html \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\filicide.prn.pdf classifications and descriptions of parents who commit filicide linda cylc psychology villanova university filicide, or the murder of one’s children, while an unthinkable crime by most people, is seen in many countries around the world and in every social class (palermo, 2002; pitt & bale, 1995). stories of mothers and fathers who kill their children continue to shock and bring about a level of disbelief each time they are reported to occur. child murder is not necessarily common, but it is a leading cause of child death in developed countries, and when child murder occurs, the perpetrators are most likely the children’s parents (marleau, poulin, webanck, roy, & laporte, 1999; stanton & simpson, 2002). although is often said to be uncommon, a poll of 25 countries indicated that the homicide rate for children under 1 year was as high or higher than the rate for adults (pitt & bale, 1995). in the united states during 1992, parents committed 290 murders of their children (mckee & shea, 1998). large-scale studies of filicide have revealed that younger children are at most risk, especially those children under six months of age. after that point, the risk lowers steadily, only to rise again in adulthood (stanton & simpson, 2002). although killing one’s own children is an “unthinkable” crime, it nevertheless still occurs and for that reason it must be addressed and investigated. based on large-scale studies of populations of filicidal offenders, the existence of several groups and classifications of filicide has been revealed, and each classification has distinct offenders with their own common characteristics and factors motivating the offense. classification systems classification based on motive large-scale reviews have been the most significant publications in terms of classifying filicide, and from these reviews, several organizational systems have been proposed for the different types of filicide. the first, and one of the most prominent, was created by resnick (1969,1970), which was established from 131 case reports from world literature on child murder by both mothers and fathers from 1751-1967, and is based on the apparent motive for the act. the five categories in this system are “altruistc” filicide (64 cases, 48.9%), “acutely psychotic” filicide (28 cases, 21.4%), “unwanted child” filicide (18 cases, 13.7%), “accidental” filicide (16 cases, 12.2%), and “spouse revenge” filicide (5 cases, 3.8%). resnick described cases of altruistic filicide as murders committed out of love (resnick, 1969). unwanted child filicide occurs when mothers, for reasons such as illegitimacy or uncertain paternity, kill their children through acts of aggression or through neglect; spouse revenge filicide occurs when the parent seeks to “get back” at his or her spouse for some particular reason – usually revenge for infidelity; in acutely psychotic filicide, the parent kills the child under the influence of a severe mental illness or psychotic episode. resnick considered neonaticide (24 out of 131 cases), in which a child is killed less than 24 hours after birth, to be a separate categorization. classification based on impulse to kill though useful, classification based on motive, as described by resnick, can be potentially problematic, however, because a motive is almost always procured by police and forensic psychologists, at a point in time when the offender is likely to be very vulnerable and defensive and individuals are concerned with potential criminal charges (stanton & simpson, 2002). scott (1973) suggested a classification system based on origin of the impulse to kill, which is more objective than motive, which he saw as being subjective, over-determined, or defensive. scott also observed that filicidal mothers tended to commit the offense when they were acting at such a primitive level that sophisticated motives such as revenge or altruism may be inappropriate (stanton & simpson, 2002). his classification system has not been widely used, but the focus on impulse has been influential (stanton & simpson, 2002). d’orban’s modification of impulse to kill classification data suggests that most murders of children under 12 years old are committed by mothers, and because of this finding more modern classification systems focus on the characteristics of the female parent (mckee & shea, 1998). d’orban (1979) used a modification of scott’s system in a six-year study of all the women remanded to a particular prison under charges of murder or attempted murder of their children. this study of 89 women is important in that it comprises a population sample (stanton & simpson, 2002). d’orban’s six categories are (1) battering mothers, (2) mentally ill mothers, (3) neonaticides, (4) retaliating women, (5) unwanted children, and (6) mercy killing. these categories are similar to resnick’s, with the exception of the exclusion of the “acutely psychotic” classification, and the addition of the “mercy killing” category, which is basically a form of euthanasia for a sick and suffering child. cheung (1986) applied d’orban’s categories to 35 women in hong kong, who constituted all the women charged with killing, or attempting to kill, their biological children. these studies identified the three most common groups that had similar characteristics in all three studies: neonaticides, battering mothers, and mentally ill mothers (cheung, 1986; d’orban, 1979; resnick, 1970; simpson & stanton, 2000). classification subgroups neonaticide the neonaticide group is the most clearly defined group and the group that differs most markedly from the other groups. in crimes of neonaticide, which is virtually exclusively committed by women, mothers are younger, rarely married, poorly educated, have a low level of psychiatric disorders and psychosocial stressors, no history of criminal behavior, and do not attempt suicide after the murders (pitt & bale, 1995; stanton & simpson, 2002; stanton, simpson, and wouldes, 2000). these women generally do not seek out abortions, and conceal or do not acknowledge their pregnancies (pitt & bale, 1995; stanton, simpson, and wouldes, 2000). these women are apparently motivated most prominently by a feeling of terror concerning the shame and guilt that commonly accompanies pregnancy and child rearing out of marriage (pitt & bale, 1995). one would question why these women would just not seek out abortions, but there are clear differences between the women who get abortions and those who commit neonaticide, with passivity being the most important separating factor. women who get abortions are aware of the pregnancy and its consequences and their decisions are grounded in the reality of the issue. in contrast, women who commit neonaticide have made no plans for the birth and care of their child and their decisions are mostly based in denial and dissociation (pitt & bale, 1995; stanton, simpson, and wouldes, 2000). accidental filicide/battering mothers the second largest group of filicidal mothers is the accidental filicide/battering mothers. though less clearly defined than the neonaticide group, several similarities can be seen in mothers who commit this type of crime. deaths from accidental filicide occur in the context of psychosocial stress and limited support, and are the unintentional deaths that result from child abuse (mckee & shea, 1998; stanton, simpson, wouldes, 2000). there is no clear impulse to kill, but instead a sudden impulsive act characterized by a loss of temper (stanton, simpson, wouldes, 2000). in several studies of large groups of filicidal mothers, these battering mothers suffered the highest rates of social and family stress, such as marital stress and housing and financial problems (stanton & simpson, 2002). mentally ill filicide mentally ill filicide is the third most common, but it is by far the most complex. in understanding mentally ill filicide, the mediating factor of impaired reality is vital but not sufficient, and the intensity of the suffering perceived in the mothers’ delusional state is of such an extreme magnitude that the filicide seems rational to them (stanton, simpson, & wouldes, 2000). studies of mentally ill mothers who commit filicide have revealed that the women are older (late 20s, early 30s) and often married, have less marital and psychosocial stress than mothers who kill in the context of fatal child abuse, and their children were older (stanton & simpson, 2002; stanton, simpson, & wouldes, 2000). the individuals within this group differ from the mothers who commit neonaticide because of the age of the victims, but aside from the age difference killing a child older than one year indicates a much more profound disruption in emotional or mental status than does the killing of a newborn (gold, 2001). research suggests that psychiatric conditions are not new to these mothers, whoas reported in d’orban’s (1979) studyare frequently in contact with social workers (60% of sample) and psychiatric services (17% of sample, 10 of 24 mentally ill mothers). the range of possible psychiatric disorders seen in these kind of offenses is great. in resnick’s original study in 1969, the mentally ill mothers were diagnosed with schizophrenia, melancholia, manic depressive disorders, and character disorders. in the more recent literature, due to the somewhat recent acknowledgement by the psychological and psychiatric fields, postpartum illnesses and psychoses are also noted as being prominent diagnoses. postpartum depression postpartum depression reportedly affects 10-22% of adult women within the first year after the baby’s birth (gold, 2001). these disorders are included in the american psychiatric association’s diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders iv-tr (dsm-iv-tr, 2000) but, even though the dsm-iv-tr recognizes the link between postpartum mental disorders and infanticide in the context of delusions, they are not treated as an individual classification, but categorized under the criteria used to diagnose psychosis. the “postpartum onset specifier” includes fluctuations in mood and a pre-occupation with infant wellbeing that can range from over-concern to outright delusions, and the presence of delusional thoughts about the infant is associated with significantly increased risk of harm to the infant. the dsm-iv-tr also states that infanticide is most often associated with postpartum psychotic episodes that are characterized by command hallucinations to kill the infant or delusions that the infant is possessed. postpartum psychoses this severe seem to occur in from 1 in 500 to 1 in 1,000 deliveries, and the risk of psychotic episodes is increased for women who have experienced prior postpartum mood episodes. once a woman has had a postpartum episode with psychotic features, the risk of occurrence with each subsequent delivery is between 30-50% (dsm-iv-tr). previous psychiatric symptoms more recent studies have shown that 75% of filicidal parents had displayed psychiatric symptoms prior to the child’s death, 40% had seen a psychiatrist shortly before the crime, and almost half of the filicidal mothers had received inpatient psychiatric treatment (mckee & shea, 1998). in a study encompassing a 50-year cohort of women admitted into mental institutions for killing their child(ren), suicide attempts after the act were seen in half of the cases (stanton & simpson, 2002). while mentally ill filicidal mothers generally have psychiatric histories, they do not usually have any history of child abuse, and they generally describe having experienced a clear intention to kill (stanton, simpson, & wouldes, 2000). in all studies impairment due to drugs and alcohol was rarely seen and was of little importance in the crimes. intrapsychic processes a search for understanding filicide due to mental illness is centered on intrapsychic processes in women (stanton & simpson, 2002). in resnick’s “altruistic filicide” group and d’orban’s “mentally ill mothers” group, the murder is seen as a rational act in the context of the mother’s delusional perception of the world (stanton & simpson, 2000). these mothers are invested in being good mothers, and feel that by killing their children they are saving them from some awful fate or suffering that is indicated from their delusional system, or from their child having to be motherless after their intended suicides (gold, 2001; mckee & shea, 1998; palermo, 2002; stanton, simpson, & wouldes, 2000). these mothers are generally very clear about acting in the interest of the children so that they would not have to suffer (stanton, simpson, & wouldes, 2000). the fact that these mothers kill for altruistic reasons out of love is the most important feature that distinguishes this type of filicide from all other homicides (resnick, 1970). environmental stress one widely accepted view states that mental illness is the result of environmental stress combining with individual vulnerabilities, and the interaction between mental illness, contextual factors, and developmental themes needs to be examined in order to understand the origins of filicidal behavior (stanton & simpson, 2002). mentally ill mothers are noted to have fewer psychosocial stressors than the battering mothers, for example, and they are older and have some support network available. the moderate stressors that they do have, however, may function differently when combined with a mental illness, and this can possibly increase the severity of the illness’s manifestations (stanton, simpson, wouldes, 2000). social isolation one commonality that was seen among mentally ill filicidal women was that they each had been socially isolated except for a relationship with the father of the children, and this relationship had become the only major social interaction that each mother had. in these cases, the mental illness functions to limit the motivation or competence in engaging in supportive relationships (simpson & stanton, 2000). while the mothers generally express how important it was to them and how much they loved their children, they tend to have a sense of personal inadequacy and lack of parental skills and coping mechanisms (palermo, 2002). other features of a mental illness contribute to this horrific crime, including impaired impulse control, affective disregulation, lack of cognitive flexibility, and unbalanced judgment (stanton, simpson, & wouldes, 2000). stanton, simpson, and wouldes (2000) also reported the findings that mentally ill mothers are less likely to acknowledge they had difficulties managing their children, even though difficulties were observed. gender differences some age and gender differences in the victims have been seen to exist. mothers most often kill young children, and fathers most often kill older children (palermo, 2002). equal numbers of male and female babies are killed during the first week of life, from the age of one week to 15 years the rates of murder for males are slightly higher, and from the ages of 16-18 males are killed at a much higher rate (mckee & shea, 1998; palermo, 2002; stanton & simpson, 2002;). little research has studied large samples of fathers who kill their children, and there is less information available about these fathers than there is for mothers who commit filicide (marleau, et al., 1999). the results that are available even show some conflicting results in terms of the frequency of gender differences in child murders – some say that mothers are more likely to kill their children, and others say that fathers more frequently commit filicide (marleau, et al.,1999). this discrepancy can most likely be explained, however, by the methods used to gather data. inclusion of neonaticide in the general filicide data increases the number of mothers that kill their babies (neonaticide is primarily a mother’s crime) and studies done in prison collect data on mostly fathers because they are more often sentenced to prison (marleau, et al., 1999). while the exact numbers of the gender differences are not firmly established, differences in the characteristics of the murders are clear. data indicate that, compared to maternal filicide, a greater proportion of paternal filicide can be categorized as fatal child abuse with a correspondingly lower rate of mental illness (stanton & simpson, 2002). altruism is much less frequently described as a motivation for killing, with most deaths usually occurring during emotional outbursts and/or as the result of severe disciplinary measures (stanton & simpson, 2002). also, as previously stated in this report, fathers generally kill older children. murderous fathers frequently have histories of drug and alcohol abuse, previous criminal records, and very high levels of environmental stress, and the murdered children often have had previous injuries (palermo, 2002; stanton & simpson, 2002). these factors completely contrast with the characteristics of women offenders. fathers in this category often show very little tolerance for the child’s crying, and see the baby/child as a threat and as a willfully malevolent individual (palermo, 2002; stanton & simspson, 2002). this misinterpretation of behaviorwhere the child’s actions are seen as threatening or rejectingseems to be the primary motive in paternal filicide (pitt & bale, 1995). one more stressor seems to be important; fathers who kill their children are very often going through a separation from their wife or other marriage/relationship problems, and this can be seen as an additional risk factor (marleau, et al., 1999). methods methods used by parents to kill their children differ from the usual methods of homicide, and gender differences are also seen. in contrast to domestic homicide of adults, women do not use guns or knives as murder weapons, nor are they intoxicated at the time of the offense (mckee & shea, 1998). maternal filicide is usually committed using “hands on” methods that entail close and active physical contact between mother and child, such as shaking, manual battering, suffocation, or drowning, and some indirect methods such as arson or drowning while the children are asleep or sedated (mckee & shea, 1998; palermo, 2002). in cases of paternal filicide fathers are more likely to use methods such as striking, squeezing, or stabbing, and they are also more likely than women to use weapons (palermo, 2002; pitt & bale, 1995). suffocation, strangulation, and drowning are the most common methods used to kill neonates (palermo, 2002; pitt & bale, 1995). filicide and the legal process the legal processes have generally tended to deal leniently with female filicide offenders (stanton & simpson, 2002; stanton, simpson, & wouldes, 2000). juries are often unwilling to convict a woman for neonaticide, possibly because of the failure for the accused woman to fit the societal stereotype of a murderer, or that they feel that she has enough guilt over the act to punish sufficiently (pitt & bale, 1995). even when they commit the same offense, men are much more likely than women to be sent to prison (stanton & simpson 2002). whatever the reason is, for no other crime is there such a lack of conviction (pitt & bale, 1995). this tendency to view women who kill their children as a group separate from traditional murderers also operates at an international level. in 30 countries around the world, including canada, britain, and australia, murder charges are ruled out and women are allowed to plead to lesser charges (“infanticide”) if the murders are committed during the first year after birth, when a woman’s state of mind is presumably affected by childbirth or lactation (stanton & simpson, 2002; gold, 2001). because of the nature of the crime, a plea of insanity is often presented in the woman’s defense. within the major population studies, specifically those of mckee & shea (1998) d’orban (1979) and bradford (1990, as cited in mckee & shea, 1998), a finding of insanity was seen in 20%, 27%, and 15% respectively. these figures are significantly higher than the normal rate of .1% found in other criminal cases in which the insanity defense is raised (turner & ornstein, 1983, as cited in mckee & shea, 1998). in general, however, the success of insanity defenses is not guaranteed in cases of filicide, for several reasons. in the case of altruistic filicide, even in a psychotic individual, the crime is voluntary, often premeditated, planned logically, and accomplished methodically – always in full consciousness and perfectly remembered (gold, 2001). in cases where children die as a result of beating/child abuse, parents have little claim to major mental illness and, according to resnick, an insanity defense based on post-partum depression is rarely successful in the united states (gold, 2001; hausman, 2001). in acutely psychotic cases, the parent may not know the nature or quality of the act if it occurs during a seizure or delirium, but an investigator must always consider issues of malingering (hausman, 2002). ultimately, decisions regarding the applicability of the insanity defense to each individual case come down to the individual state’s definition of insanity, which imposes a variety of principles, such as the ability to know the act violates a law, the ability to refrain from committing the act, the belief that the act was morally justified, etc. (hausman, 2002). according to resnick, in cases of altruistic filicide, for instance, the success of the insanity plea depends largely on whether the applicable insanity standard uses the word “appreciate” or “know” to characterize the wrongfulness of the killing (hausman, 2002). also according to resnick, juries often view acts of altruistic filicide intended to relieve suffering as a form of euthanasia, which does not derive from a mental illness, and they find the individuals unqualified for an insanity defense (hausman, 2002). certain details of the case can negate the applicability of the insanity defense, such as any efforts taken to avoid detection or to dispose of evidence, which indicates that the person recognizes the wrongfulness of the act (resnick, as quoted in hausman, 2002). in contrast, notifying police or other individuals that a crime was committed, which is frequently seen in cases of maternal filicide, has other implications to the jury and could help bolster the claim of an insanity defense. predicting filicide murder of children, especially one’s own children is hard to think about, even for clinicians and mental healthcare professionals. because of the high rates of previous mental illness and contact with social services and psychological and psychiatric professionals before these acts, it is greatly important for people who are in contact with women at risk to remember the danger and be aware of the risks of assuming that a woman would not kill her children. warning signs are often confusing and not clear cut, but large studies have shown some patterns for potential identification. devotion to the children is not likely to be a protective factor, and high levels of emotional investment could put the children more at risk, and this risk could be further escalated by the stress created by the pressure the women put on themselves to be good mothers (stanton, simpson, & wouldes, 2000). in all clinical situations where a mother (or father) is feared to possibly be at risk for doing harm to herself or her children, questions should be asked. questions concerning the potential for harm of children are rarely asked to mothers (or fathers), whereas questions regarding suicide are common. it is in these cases – where mothers (of fathers) show suicidal ideation – that children seem to be at the highest levels of risk and clinicians should directly inquire about her (or his) plans for the children (mckee & shea, 1998; marleau, et al., 1999; resnick, as cited in pitt & bale, 1995). the relationship between mother and child is so close, and the potential for danger when a mother is mentally ill is so high, that when caring for a patient with children, clinicians should not only consider the needs of the patient/mother but also those of the children for whom this mother is responsible (stanton, simpson, & wouldes, 2000). in severe cases, the mother’s stress can effectively be treated by removing her from the stress of caring for her young children (palermo, 2002). conclusions despite the knowledge and organization that has been gained from largescale and individual case studies, filicide still remains an unthinkable offense. cases where mothers (or fathers) kill their children continue to shock communities and even nations when they occur, especially in the cases where there are multiple victims and seemingly no salient reason for the offense. studies of filicidal men and women have revealed several groups, patterns, and risk factors and, while prediction is still extremely difficult, a general awareness of the possibility of these offenses under certain circumstances by both mothers and fathers will help clinicians and families identify and hopefully prevent at least some of these murders in the future. references american psychiatric association. (2000). diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th edition, text revision). washington, d.c.: author. cheung, p.t.k. (1986). maternal filicide in hong kong. medicine, science, and law, 26,185-192. d’orban, p.t. (1979). women who kill their children. british journal of psychiatry, 134, 560-571. gold, l.h. (2001). clinical and forensic aspects of postpartum disorders. journal of the american academy of psychiatry and law, 29, 344-347. hausman, k. (2002, december 20). classification tries to make sense of often inexplicable crime. psychiatric news, 37(24), 14. marleau, j.d., poulin, b., webanck, t., roy, r., & laporte, l. (1999). paternal filicide: a study of 10 men. canadian journal of psychiatry, 44, 57-63. mckee, g.r. & shea, s.j. (1998). maternal filicide: a cross national comparison. journal of clinical psychology, 54(5), 679-687. palermo, g.b. (2002). murderous parents. international journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, 46(2), 123-143. pitt, s.e. & bale, e.m. (1995). neonaticide, infanticide, and filicide: a review of the literature. bulletin of the american academy of psychiatry and law,23, 375-386. resnick, p.j. (1969). child murder by parents: a psychiatric review of filicide. american journal of psychiatry, 126, 73-82. resnick, p.j. (1970). murder of the newborn: a psychiatric review of filicide. american journal of psychiatry, 126, 58-63. stanton, a. & simpson, j. (2000). maternal filicide: a reformulation of factors relevant to risk.criminal behaviour and mental health, 10, 136-147. stanton, j., & simpson, a. (2002). filicide: a review. international journal of law and psychiatry, 25, 1-14. stanton, j., simpson, a., & wouldes, t. (2002). a qualitative study of filicide by mentally ill mothers. child abuse & neglect, 24(11), 1451-1460. microsoft word williams.doc 1 emily dickinson and social class: incorporating and contesting rita williams department of english villanova university emily dickinson was “a member of new england’s political—and whig—elite” in the nineteenth century (erkkila 2); her grandfather was a founder of amherst college and both her father and brother were leading citizens of the surrounding town, spearheading the “institutional ordering and administration of church, college, and town over many years” (erkkila 1). her membership in the upper class and its ramifications and influence on her work has thus been a subject of great interest to critics and biographers over the years. betsy erkkila, in a 1992 article, described the dickinson family as one that “enjoyed the status and rank of an aristocratic and feudal estate” (3) in their community. a decade later, domhnall mitchell explored the links between her social class and her work, perceptively noting that, while her poetry has been characterized as the work of a “literary subversive” (192), her political stance can be characterized as quite conservative. dickinson’s well-known near-absence of any interest in politics, he writes, “can be formulated as a political relation or act, the absence of any serious treatment of social subjects a sign that these things were regarded as unimportant or irrelevant to a life of reasonable privilege” (192–193). dickinson’s letters manifest “a confidence in history’s failure to interrupt the important aspects of an advantaged life” (193). many women writers of the nineteenth century, such as helen hunt jackson, julia ward howe, and lucy larcom (mitchell 192; bennett 216), focused on liberal social reform in both their work and their lives; emily dickinson did neither. mitchell, in fact, analyzes “i’m nobody! who are you?” as “profoundly reactionary and anti-egalitarian, for it establishes a hierarchy whereby public speakers of any kind are ridiculed at the expense 2 of the restricted, privileged company of the retiring writer and her private reader” (198–199). his placement of dickinson, as “both a literary innovator and a political conservative” (202) is highly persuasive. yet emily dickinson’s poetry enacts something considerably more complex as well. dickinson the person may have been positioned firmly within class privileges and strictures, but dickinson the poet was a contesting angel. her primary areas of contestation were her status as woman poet, during a time when intellectual life was not open to women and poetry not a women’s preserve; and her religious culture, as she refused the congregational church not only during the extensive religious revivals of her youth but throughout her life, and helped to shift the protestant-derived emphasis on the inner life to the wider spiritual and creative context of romantic vision and poetry. i will argue that these contestations place her outside her class in certain key ways. while her social and economic class was invested in conserving tradition and hierarchical order, emily dickinson subverted both. and while emily railed at an invisible god, her incorporation of her religious culture’s foundational tenets positions her outside the exclusiveness mitchell associates with upper class boundaries. further, i will argue that the contestation itself opens up identification with emily the poet to poets far removed from her privileged background, such as the contemporary hispanic-american poet sandra cisneros. while dickinson’s political views may not manifest a “sympathetic bonding [with] the politically disadvantaged” (mitchell 199), her battles and strategies do enable such bonding to take place—from the politically disadvantaged side. emily as poet and woman in her discussion of dickinson’s “i’ve ceded—i’ve stopped being their’s—,” critic jane donahue eberwein observes that the poem is notable for its “renunciation of […] parentally and socially imposed identity” (94). eberwein’s essay centers around dickinson’s calvinism, but the renunciation (and reclamation) limned in its lines has “commonly been read in terms of marriage” or “a more general proclamation of mature status—as independent woman, as poet, or as saint” (eberwein 95). baptized, before, without the choice, but this time, consciously, of grace— unto supremest name— called to my full—the crescent dropped— 3 existence’s whole arc, filled up, with one small diadem. my second rank—too small the first— […] but this time—adequate—erect, with will to choose, or to reject and i choose, just a crown— (247) none of these identities is, of course, mutually exclusive, and it is easy to read the “adequate—erect” portion as encompassing a fuller, more adult status as woman than conventional domesticity allows and a poet coming to know her power—the power expressed by the reiterated royal images of diadem, queen, crown. indeed, domhnall mitchell perceptively observes that for dickinson, “writing remained a spiritual calling” (201), which is evident in the poem’s overlaid linkage of baptism, election, renunciation of marriage, independent thought, and presumably the latter’s provenance and expression, poetry. to some degree, although the poem seems to have its locus in the real renunciation of religion, marriage, and social role that dickinson performed, she is also actively choosing independent thought and poetry. this choice places her squarely in the “visionary company” of romanticism (galperin 113). yet although emily claims authority in this poem, she was also subject to the “‘double-bind’ of the woman poet: ‘on the one hand, the impossibility of self-assertion for a woman, on the other hand, the necessity of self-assertion for a poet’” (benfey 44, quoting sandra gilbert, susan gubar, and suzanne juhasz). her poetry is replete with evidences of this contestation, not only in the thematics and on the surface, as in “i’ve ceded—“, but in the construction of the poems themselves. critic a.r.c. finch, in an insightful essay on dickinson’s use of meter, believes that her choice of meter reveals a good deal about the meaning of the poems; that “iambic pentameter in itself functions as an expressive force within” them (166). finch’s argument is predicated on the theory that “[t]here is more logic in the proposal that content can shed light on what a particular meter means to a poet than in the standard notion that meter illuminates content” (166). while his contention that “the choice of iambic pentameter constitutes a relation with tradition” (166) may not be entirely true for all poets on all occasions, his application of the argument to dickinson is persuasive: [i]ambic pentameter codifies the force exerted on dickinson’s 4 poetry by patriarchal poetic tradition (she associates the meter with the power of religion and public opinion, with formality, and with stasis) and demonstrates her attitudes toward that tradition (she resists the meter, approaches it with tentative ambivalence, and sometimes gains power from it) (166) moreover, finch argues that “iambic pentameter evokes patriarchal concepts, particularly christianity and traditional patriarchal poetic and other ‘author’ity” (170) and that “dickinson is the only canonical female poet before the turn of the century who resisted the authority of this meter” (169). her resistance took the form of “‘an anti-meter’ [… she] favored the hymn stanza” (168, quoting john hollander). hymns were used in congregational churches extensively, and dickinson would have known them simply by virtue of their ubiquity, despite her sunday morning absences from the pew. but her use of them is imbued with a great deal of contestation; david porter notes that ‘inherent in the hymn form is an attitude of faith, humility and inspiration, and it is against this base of orthodoxy that she so artfully refracts the personal rebellion and individual feeling, the colloquial diction and syntax, the homely image, the scandalous love of this world, and the habitual religious skepticism’ (quoted in finch, 168–169) finch is quite right to note that dickinson’s use of hymn force contested her tradition in another way: “[b]y using the meter of the song sung rather than iambic pentameter—the meter of the poet as priest, the traditional singer— dickinson’s poems self-consciously present themselves as harmless ‘objects’ [….] with an original voice, not a singer but a song singing” (169). thus the hymn form juxtaposes and unsettles conformity and rebellion; it also, at the same time, juxtaposes dickinson as author and the stanzas as markers of her poetic identity in a way that both advances and blurs her authorial identity. the combined reification and unsettling is of a piece with a pattern of consonances and fractures in dickinson oeuvre; for example, shira wolosky notes that throughout her work, the “promise or implication of systematic, tight, even highly ornate correspondences, however, is then stymied [….] what is experienced is a resistance to just such correspondences. figural correlation becomes figural slippage” (130). 5 however, another observation about the hymn form, emily’s deployment of it, and her investment in social exclusion can be made. for the poems of course employ perhaps the most famous of her contrivances— the dash—in unusual and unsettling places, and their employment does have a political dimension. in the poem cited earlier, for example, the dash in the lines “consciously, of grace—“ falls where a singing breath might be, and where—were the poem in fact a hymn—the stanza break might fall. however, in the line “but this time—adequate—erect,” the dashes are abrupt, and give the impression of both suppressed emotion and an unusual intake of breath, signifying what seems to be a drawing together, a girding up to take power (and some uncertainty about the capacity to do so, as well). thus the poems are both “a song singing” (finch 169) and a very specific singer. the former performs some blurring of exclusion simply because a certain congregationalism, with a small c, is inherent in the poems. readers are invited to partake just as congregants are invited to join in hymn singing. however, in the latter, when the dashes are unusually placed, or seem to awkwardly break or suppress, the congregation of readers are—if they read attentively—more or less forced to breath along with the writer. this is more hierarchical. it enforces, though, a certain commonality between reader and writer that is at the opposite end of the exclusion spectrum in which mitchell places dickinson. it also opens a certain identification and participation with her that her exclusive provenance might be thought to suppress. it should be noted that finch’s argument regarding meter’s importance for the illumination of content contains a democratic dimension as well. in her recent work poets thinking, helen vendler observes: all poems […] contain within themselves implicit instructions concerning how they should be read. these encoded instructions—housed in the sum of all forms in which a poem is cast, from the smallest phonetic group to the largest philosophical set—ought to be introduced as evidence for any offered interpretation (5) these implicit instructions place dickinson’s poetry, no matter how abstruse or elliptical, at least theoretically within an accessible framework. moreover, if finch’s insights themselves regarding dickinson’s use of hymn stanza form versus iambic pentameter are used, the thematic point of such poems as “publication—is the auction/ of the mind of man—“ (348) becomes, in addition to the constellation of class tensions that mitchell reads 6 (199–202), a lament for the selling short of the mind of man. the first, third, and fourth stanzas read publication—is the auction of the mind of man— poverty—be justifying for so foul a thing […] thought belong to him who gave it— then—to him who bear its corporeal illustration—sell the royal air in the parcel—be the merchant of the heavenly grace— but reduce no human spirit to disgrace of price— (348–349) in finch’s parsing of another dickinson poem, “the soul selects her own society--”, he observes that, in the third stanza, “the short six-syllable line of the hymn stanza is replaced by twoor four-syllable lines” and that they refer, “both metrically and thematically [to] authoritative figures humbling themselves” (172). the third stanza of “publication” also contains a four-syllable line contrasted with longer lines. it is “the royal air.” in this case, the authoritative figure humbling itself is the art produced by the mind of man (and woman), and the humbling is viewed as a disgrace, not a rebellious lowering. the closing injunction, “reduce no human spirit/ to disgrace of price—“, thus carries both a haughty overtone—mitchell argues that the poem is concerned not so much with economic exploitation but the speaker’s “potential contamination” by it (200)—and a leveling undercurrent. hierarchy is undercut by “no human spirit.” mitchell is quite right to stress that, although some of the poem’s lines might seem to support a liberal or radical agenda, its overall tone is quite conservative. but the equation of royalty and the mind of man—and an asperity over the truncation of both—is also not entirely without more democratic concomitants. dickinson’s religious culture 7 the relationship between dickinson’s class exclusiveness and her religious culture, like that of her relationship between poetic tradition and herself as woman poet, is filled with slippages and fissures. betsy erkkila pinpoints this linkage when she writes: like nineteenth-century whig political rhetoric, the language of dickinson’s poems slips between the old and the new, between an aristocratic language of rank, royalty, and hereditary privilege, and a calvinist language of spiritual grace, personal sanctity, and divine election (9). erkkila also posits that the religious tenets were, in the case of congregational massachusetts, inseparable from a social order invested in exclusiveness. “for [dickinson],” she writes, “as for other conservative new england whigs, the notion of a divinely elected spiritual aristocracy predestined to power served ultimately to support a hierarchical social order against the more public, egalitarian rhetoric of the time [….] until the nineteenth century, in new england at least, the calvinist notion of an aristocracy of the spirit had never existed apart from the fact of an economic elite who actually did rule politically, socially, and culturally” (9). yet these linkages, no matter how undeniable, do not constitute the entire story of the influence of puritan calvinism upon dickinson’s thought. dickinson was not a congregant in amherst, but, as her biographer richard sewall comments, she could no more escape the influence of puritanism “than she could escape breathing the air” of her native town (20). and, as religious biographer roger lundin observes, puritanism constituted a distinct break with the immanent hierarchy of the past: it “rejected the medieval model of the universal church in which an individual was simply born into the church. it replaced the biological model of membership with a psychological one” (49). to some degree, this opens a theoretical space for a model that does not stand on hierarchy alone; personal experience also has to be foundational. and, to some extent, this destabilizes a hierarchy based solely on social precedent; authority has also been located in a space beyond societal expectations. indeed, jane donahue eberwein observes that the religious revivals of the 1830s to the 1850s encouraged “insistence on experiential religion” (97). emily dickinson felt the pull of this brand of religion, writing a friend ”‘how lonely this world is growing [….] christ is calling everyone here […] and i am standing alone in rebellion’” (lundin 52). yet she resisted these conversions because she did not feel an internal conviction; lundin believes that “as emily examined her own experience, 8 she could not detect a similar joy or tranquility [to that described by the saved]” (53). in addition, dickinson had imbibed “a highly romantic view of the person in her years after mount holyoke. that understanding of selfhood placed an inordinate emphasis upon the role of volition in the formation of beliefs […. i]n effect, it took to an extreme the reformation’s stress upon the necessity of the individual appropriation of beliefs” (lundin 54). the spirit had to be indwelling, not imposed from the outside. this notion was extruded from the religious culture to the secular romantic conception of the poet, and dickinson made the most of it. lundin writes that “[s]he pushed to the limit the protestant tendency to shift the center of god’s activity from the world outside the self to the spiritual word within it,” in what “charles taylor has called the ‘inexhaustible inner domain’” (5). this strata of religious and secularized belief also undercuts a strictly hierarchical worldview; if the heart and mind must be examined for acceptance and volition, the heart and mind obtain a certain universality visà-vis examination, and a certain universal importance. as erkkila notes, the social expression of it need not be democratic. but it need not be entirely exclusionary either. mitchell analyzes one of dickinson’s poem, fr 291a, and finds that the poem “privileged perception […] and not usage,” and further, that the speaker in the poem can see but not act (205), which he finds further evidence of her elitism. yet the privileging of perception also contains a potential cross-class current; the religious privileging of inner experience ends up allowing—in fact, mandating—the opening of potential vistas. indeed, in “i dwell in possibility—a fairer house than prose,” which mitchell to some degree sees as an analogue for the display of abundance not allowed the lower classes, dickinson seems to offer not display, but the experience of vision as an analogue for abundance itself. and this abundance is open not only to herself, but to potential “visitors” (dickinson 327). poets from a different social class: sandra cisneros the experience of vision was arguably taken up by the hispanicamerican poet sandra cisneros. cisneros’s placement in her family of origin could not be farther from that of dickinson’s, as the former grew up in an economically disadvantaged inner-city chicago neighborhood. yet cisneros’s personal testimony indicates that dickinson was a role model because of a certain rebel stance: 9 ‘when i was growing up in chicago, and going to college in chicago, and not travelling anywhere except on cta buses and subway trains but desperately wanting to break loose, i liked to think of my favorite american poet, emily dickinson [….] i liked to think of that extraordinary woman who in her later life never even strayed beyond the house and its gardens, but who wrote in her lifetime 1,775 poems. no one knew she was a poet until after she died, and then, when they discover these poems handwritten on sheets of paper folded and stitched together, the world rang like a bell’ (quoted in sanborn, 1339). the quotation is eloquent in its linkage of “wanting to break loose” with the extraordinary output of dickinson’s work. in addition, there also seems to be an encoded meaning that the extraordinarily enclosed—whether through volition or disadvantaged circumstances—can contest their circumstances through poetry, and become dramatically voiced and dramatically heard. in that sense, cisneros’s vision of dickinson opens a space for cisneros’s own authority. her identification with the nineteenth-century poet does not rely on a dickinsonian offer of sympathy, but on the possibility of deploying dickinsonian strategies in her own life. as cisneros herself puts it, the contesting dickinson “’proves by example that a revolt against patriarchal literary authority is possible’” (sanborn 1341, quoting gilbert and gubar) and, in addition, her final output “’gave me hope all the years in high school and the first two in college when i was too busy being in love to write’” (sanborn 1339, quoting cisneros). moreover, dickinson’s strategies of withdrawal, despite being made possible by her membership in an elite class, provide a model for the nonelite, one in which “’a private space was practically impossible’” (sanborn 1337, quoting cisneros). in “four skinny trees”, from the house on mango street, which pays homage to dickinson’s “four trees—upon a solitary acre—”, “cisneros pointedly evokes the influence of dickinson, indicating that we cannot do without such models of creative privacy and private creation” (sanborn 1336). dickinson’s methods thus become potential perogatives of any class rather than containing “the implication […] that truly great literature remained the prerogative of a particular [elite] class” as mitchell believes (202). dickinson, who ceded being the “theirs” of family, husband, and church for the life of an intellectual woman poet, has, through these very contestations and her emphasis on vision, become the “theirs” of poets outside her social class adopting, and adapting, her contestations and creative strategies. 10 conclusion domhnall mitchell concludes that emily dickinson’s work, for all its exclusionary emphases and placement, has “an astonishing adaptability or flexibility of reference. as the poems are read at further and further removes from [their] particular alignment of circumstances […] different schemes and alignments of meaning are made available” (209). this astonishing range is partly the result of dickinson’s intelligence and craft; however, it is also amplified by the very contestations that place her outside her class, removed from a strictly defined hierarchical structure. indeed, the contestation and slippages in dickinson’s work announce themselves through her thematics as women and poet, her choice and deployment of form, and a religiously-inflected emphasis on vision and perception. these contestations serve to remove her from being bound solely by class. they also serve to foster identification from a wide range of poets of widely varying circumstances. “the poems can be thought of as rogue satellites,” mitchell concludes, “that alter direction and attach themselves to different interpretive orbits and centers of gravity” (209). although it is tempting to think of the poems as floating satellites, they are certainly not rogue; the contesting emily dickinson carefully crafted her poems on many different levels, and there they remain. ___________________________________________________________ this paper was written for an internship taken with dr. michael berthold, fall term 2005. i would like to thank dr. berthold for his support and encouragement. works cited benfey, christopher. “emily dickinson and the american south.” the cambridge companion to emily dickinson. ed. wendy martin. new york: cambridge university press, 2002. bennett, paula bernat. “emily dickinson and her american women poet peers.” the cambridge companion to emily dickinson. ed. wendy martin. new york: cambridge university press, 2002. dickinson, emily. the complete poems of emily dickinson. ed. thomas h. johnson. new york: little, brown, 1961. 11 eberwein, jane donahue. “emily dickinson and the calvinist sacramental tradition.” emily dickinson: a collection of critical essays. ed. judith farr. upper saddle river, nj: prentice-hall, 1996. erkkila, betsy. “emily dickinson and class.” american literary history 4 (spring 1992), 1–27. finch a.r.c. “dickinson and patriarchal meter: a theory of metrical codes.” pmla 102(2):166–176, 1987. galperin, william. “a posthumanist approach to teaching dickinson.” approaches to teaching dickinson’s poetry. eds. robin riley fast and christine mack gordon. new york: modern language association of america, 1989. lundin, roger. emily dickinson and the art of belief. grand rapids, mi: eerdsman, 1998. mitchell, domhnall. “emily dickinson and class.” the cambridge companion to emily dickinson. ed. wendy martin. new york: cambridge university press, 2002. sanborn, geoffrey. “keeping her distance: cisneros, dickinson, and the politics of private enjoyment.” pmla 116.5:1334–1348, 2001. sewall, richard b. the life of emily dickinson. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1974. vendler, helen. poets thinking. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 2004. wolosky, shira. “emily dickinson: being in the body.” the cambridge companion to emily dickinson. ed. wendy martin. new york: cambridge university press, 2002. works consulted but not cited coghill, sheila and thom tammaro, eds. visiting emily: poems inspired by the life and work of emily dickinson. iowa city: university of iowa press, 2000. gilbert, sandra m. “the american sexual poetics of walt whitman and emily dickinson.” reconstructing american literary history. ed. sacvan bercovitch. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1986. gilbert, sandra m. “the wayward nun beneath the hill: emily dickinson and the mysteries of womanhood.” emily dickinson: a collection of critical essays. ed. judith farr. upper saddle river, nj: prentice hall, 1996. 12 smith, martha nell. “the civil war, class, & the dickinsons.” the classroom electric web site. www.emilydickinson.org. article at: http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/fdw/volume2/smith/intro.html. microsoft word connelly.doc macbeth's likely suspects: the practical, psychological, and mystical utility of the three murderers erin connelly english the series of slayings that characterize macbeth incites an intricate sequence of suspicions and allegations, engendering a leitmotif of culpability. the play's only killers to be identified, unequivocally, as such, arrive in act 3 scene 1. the murderers of macbeth are interlopers; in a cast of opinionated participants, these seemingly emotionless, poorly differentiated desperados are engaged to accomplish a specific, circumscribed task. the object of surprisingly limited recent critical attention, macbeth's nameless consociates effect one of the play's pivotal actions, banquo's murder, while serving as figures onto whom macbeth displaces his own considerable anxieties. arrival of an enigmatic third murderer enlists the three accomplices in the play's tradition of mystic, fate-endorsing trios, including the weird sisters and the three apparitions. addressing the question of why macbeth involves the three surrogate murderers, this essay appraises the practical, psychological, and mystical utility of the murderers vis-à-vis the greater system of murder and murderous accusations at work in the drama. in their act 3 debut, the first and second murderers of macbeth are presented as disenfranchised itinerants, alleging histories of insurmountable misfortune. responding to macbeth's unctuous denunciation of banquo, the second murderer attests, "i am one, my liege, / whom the vile blows and buffets of the world / hath so incensed that i am reckless what / i do to spite the world" (3. 1. 121-124). assuring macbeth of comparable sentiments, the first murderer continues, "and i another / so weary with disasters, tugged with fortune, / that i would set my life on any chance, / to mend it or be rid on't" (3. 1. 125-128). though we are not informed how macbeth "shark'd up" this particular complement of "lawless resolutes," (hamlet 1. 1. 112) one can envision their hiring taking place in a manner similar to that of romeo erin connelly 110 and juliet's penurious apothecary, another of shakespeare's despairing conspirators. a distraught but crafty romeo, capitalizing on the chemist's destitution, remarks, "'an if a man did need a poison now, / whose sale is present death in mantua, / here lives a caitiff wretch would sell it him" (romeo and juliet 5. 1. 54-56). macbeth similarly enjoins his two murderers, whose social plight (as each confirms in their first documented exchange) render them ready for any chance to repair their lives or "be rid on't" (3. 1. 128). macbeth's coercive diatribe validates the desperate state of these reckless and wearied ne'er do wells, commanding his hirelings to "know / that it was he, in the times past, which held you / so under fortune, which you thought had been / our innocent self" (3. 1. 83-86). whether banquo bears any legitimate responsibility for the murderers' predicament remains unconfirmed, but macbeth's accusations, if not entirely fabricated, are certainly embellished. professing a personal animosity towards banquo, macbeth works to ally himself with the hired killers, emphasizing the putative threat posed by banquo. “know banquo was your enemy,” macbeth intones. “so is he mine, and in such bloody distance / that every minute of his being thrusts / against my near’st life” (3. 1. 129-133). the risk created by banquo’s survival is two-fold; banquo has intimated suspicions of manslaughter, lamenting a fear that macbeth has “playedst most foully” (3. 1. 3) for his newly conferred honorifics and, as a potential witness, presents a hazard to macbeth. the weird sisters’ prophesy of the banquo line of kings serves as a second menace. reinforcing his authority as king, macbeth advises the murderers that, though i could with barefaced power sweep him from my sight and bid my will avouch it, yet i must not, for certain friends that are both his and mine, whose loves i may not drop, but wail his fall who i myself struck down. (3. 1. 134-139) macbeth could, of course, undertake banquo’s execution as a matter of kingly prerogative, and he's already proven himself capable of foul play. that a “barefaced” murder would incite rebellion seems probable. despite the obsequious replies of the murderers, who acknowledge their hierarchical inferiority by addressing appropriately brief replies to their “liege,” their “highness,” and “lord,” macbeth has painted himself into a corner, his machinations dependent on the cooperation of two felonious subordinates. macbeth’s likely suspects 111 the assassins of macbeth are incited to acts of murder via appeals to their sense of masculinity, a tactic macbeth insidiously employs to coerce his hired accomplices, and which james greene explains as resulting from "a profound confusion over the roles of men and women in the nightmare world ruled by macbeth and his lady" (156). this modus operandi is pioneered by lady macbeth, who, addressing her husband's apprehensive ambivalence in act 1, proclaims, "when you durst do it, then you were a man; / and to be more than what you were, you would / be so much more the man" (1. 7. 56-58). even the play’s conclusive murder, macduff’s slaying of macbeth, is instigated by malcolm's challenge to macduff to redress his family's slaughter by choosing to "dispute it like a man" (4. 3. 25). masculinity, in macbeth, is a diagnosis of exclusion; manliness is a conditional characteristic, consistently defined in opposition to other attributes. the malevolent lady macbeth offers an image of "manhood" entailing ambition and power; by killing duncan, her husband will secure the title of king while manifesting an appropriately "manly" resolve. lady macbeth's influential tyranny evokes a man versus woman dichotomy. macbeth's trepidation over banquo's prophesied offspring reiterates the polarity of man versus child (a concept reinforced by the childlike apparition of act 4, and which resumes with the ultimate enmity of malcolm, duncan's child). the notion of man as opposed to supernatural entity is later evinced by macbeth's dealings with the weird sisters, his visitation by the apparitions, and banquo's ghost. the drama's closing altercation emphasizes a climactic opposition of man versus one not "of woman born” (4. 1. 81). in act 3, however, macbeth challenges the murderers with a conditional form of manhood based on the dichotomy of man versus tyrannized subject. adroitly vilifying banquo, while subtly assessing the murderers' allegiance, macbeth asks, "are you so gospeled / to pray for this good man and for his issue, / whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave / and beggared yours forever?" (3. 1. 98-101). casting banquo as a "man," and the murderers as his victims, macbeth elicits from the first murderer the ambiguous, yet compliant reply "we are men, my liege" (3. 1. 102). in this context, the phrase "we are men," is less an assertion of valor than an acknowledgement of human weakness; the murderers are only men, unable, as macbeth suggests, to endorse banquo's "tyranny." the eponymous villain more explicitly contests their manhood by suggesting that if the murderers "have a station in the file, / not in th' worst rank of manhood, say 't. / and i will put that erin connelly 112 business in your bosoms / whose execution takes your enemy off" (3. 1. 113-116). macbeth offers a challenge here, setting a prerequisite for the position of "murderer." to undertake the proposed task, which he meticulously designates both valorous and indispensable to the murderers' fortune, the intended killers must assure macbeth of their “manly” characters. macbeth does not mandate integrity, but rather flatters the murderers by suggesting that the righteous business of killing is better suited to those of superior, manly rank. but the species of manhood that the murderers assert is one of vulnerability and susceptibility to those "vile blows and buffets" that afflict them, much like the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” that assail hamlet (hamlet 3. 1. 66). macbeth capitalizes on the murderer's conception of masculinity, acknowledging their misfortune by offering, as an empowering, "manly" alternative, the potential for liberation from an oppressor. at the conclusion of act 3, scene 1, macbeth separates from the murderers, promising that, “within this hour at / most / i will advise you where to plant yourselves, / acquaint you with the perfect spy o’ the time” (3. 1. 146-149). reiterating his desire to remain unassociated with the execution, macbeth offers the hasty addendum that (to leave no rubs nor botches in the works) fleance, his son, that keeps him company, whose absence is no less material to me than his father’s, must embrace the fate of that dark hour. (3. 1. 153-157) the latter directive is artfully understated, delineating the necessity of the deed, while de-emphasizing the increased challenge of a double slaying. having been engaged by macbeth the previous evening, the murderers enter the exchange of act 3 scene 1 already au fait of macbeth’s expectations. macbeth instills his order for fleance’s assassination with deliberate off-handedness, his prompt departure leaving the murderers without opportunity to object to the dual slaughter. the first and second murderers, as i’ve established, are virtually indistinguishable, their dialogue limited to an introductory lament each and subsequent replies to macbeth that are invariably brief, affirmative, and non-individuating. when next we encounter the two contracted killers, in scene 3 of the same act, they grant a cursory challenge to the unexpected appearance of a third murderer. “but who did bid thee join us?” the first murderer demands with an easily assuaged suspicion (3. 3. 1). “macbeth,” the third murderer replies, whereupon the second macbeth’s likely suspects 113 murderer suggests that their new confederate “needs not our mistrust, since he delivers / our offices and what we have to do / to the direction just” (3. 3. 3-5). macbeth’s departure from the murderers is accompanied by a pledge to “come to you anon” (3. 2. 158). when the waiting killers are subsequently approached, not by macbeth but by a stranger, it stands to reason that they would accept the third party as macbeth's emissary. unlike the two malcontents introduced to royal scheming only the day before, the third murderer quickly evinces a familiarity with palace life that distinguishes him from the undifferentiated first and second murderers. at the sound of approaching horses, the second murderer identifies banquo by method of exclusion: “then ‘tis he. the rest / that are within the note of expectation / already are i’ the court” (3. 3. 13-15). upon the first murderer’s observation that “his [banquo’s] horses go about,” the third murderer replies with authority, “almost a mile; but he does usually / (so all men do) from hence to th’ palace gate / make it their walk” (3. 3. 16-19). the mysterious third demonstrates an acquaintance with banquo’s routine. his hasty aside, “so all men do,” seems not a genuine reflection on the habits of palace horsemen so much as a hurried, extenuating generalization, aimed at obscuring his identity beyond anything but a hired hand in macbeth’s planned slaughter. as banquo approaches, his arrival is surmised by the second murderer by virtue of the light banquo carries. the third murderer, however, gives the decisive declaration “’tis he,” suggesting that he actually recognizes the ill-fated banquo. in the ensuing altercation, fleance’s escape is acknowledged by the third murderer, who observes that “there’s but one down. the son is / fled” (3. 3. 29-30). that the enigmatic third can distinguish between intended victims suggests that he is familiar with the appearance of both father and son, especially as he recognizes their features in the dark (his acknowledgement of fleance’s escape preceded by the demand, “who did strike out the light?” 3. 3. 27). moreover, banquo’s death cry, “o treachery!” suggests that he perceives himself a victim of betrayal at the hands of a known figure, rather than the random target of unknown and ill-intentioned loiterers (an attack from whom would not, of course, give banquo cause to observe actual treachery, which connotes betrayal, versus a vicious but unprovoked attack). the third murderer's unforeseen arrival alters the dynamic of the chosen crew of killers, completing a shadowy trio that recalls the play's opening lines, in which the weird sisters' eerie chant commences, "when shall we three meet again?" (1. 1. 1). the mystic figures of macbeth, erin connelly 114 those beings who exert influence over fortune, appear in triads. from the weird sisters, greeting macbeth with a trinity of new titles, to the three apparitions, the pursuit of fate in macbeth is guided by occult threesomes. consider the witches' chant of act 1, scene 3: "thrice to thine and thrice to mine / and thrice again to make up nine. / peace, the charm's wound up" (1. 3. 36-38). we can identify this "charm" as nothing more than fortune itself, connoting, in this case, macbeth's incipient regency. as marjorie garber reminds us, "wyrd is the old english word for 'fate,' and these are, in a way, classical witches as well as scottish or celtic ones" (697). to enact their "charm," the weird sisters, prescribers of fate, mandate the participation of nine figures, three of whom are the witches themselves. another three members of the prophesied nine are the apparitions of act 4, who, like the witches, advise macbeth of his fate (however he misconstrues their predictions). the likely suspects for the final trio are the three murderers, whose aid effects banquo's murder − a slaying regarded by macbeth as indispensable to his own fortune. both the play's first and third murders (i.e., those of duncan, and macbeth himself) are instigated by otherwordly interventions, and it stands to reason that the mystifying position of third murderer (banquo's executioner) would be assumed by a supernatural participant. that the idiosyncratic third murderer is someone other than an anonymous n'erdo-well (like his two confreres) is suggested by his tardy and inexplicable involvement in banquo's murder, coupled with his eerily prescient knowledge of palace comings and goings and his ability to distinguish between banquo and fleance. in his psychoanalytic assessment of macbeth, harold bloom inveighs that, "murder is the characteristic action of macbeth: not just king duncan, banquo, and lady macduff and her children are victims. by firm implication, every person in the play is a potential target for the macbeths" (bloom 524). i would extend this line of reasoning to argue that in macbeth, not only are several of the play's participants victims (or prospective victims), but potential suspects in the drama's various deaths. my intention is not to enlist in the tired tradition of incriminating a specific suspect for third murderer (something that can never be decisively accomplished), but rather to identify the likely suspects, whose appearances are orchestrated in such a manner as to lend the drama a mysterious and occult ambiance, underscoring the ambiguity with which the play's murders are effected. i believe that michael saenger comes closest to the truth of the matter with his incisive suggestion that the third murderer is meant to represent a macbeth’s likely suspects 115 demonic figure (saenger 134). the recondite comings and goings of the mysterious third certainly hint at a characteristically jacobean image of spirits. i’ve already discussed the challenges to gender that consistently bring about macbeth’s murderous actions, and i’d suggest that this trope of contested masculinity as prescriptive of murder enables the possibility of a female third murderer, the most probable candidates being lady macbeth and the weird sisters. agent provocateur of duncan’s murder, lady macbeth condemns “feminine” weaknesses, inciting her husband to murder by appealing to his manhood. divesting herself of what she perceives as vulnerable, womanly attributes, lady macbeth proclaims, "come, you spirits / that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / of direst cruelty" (1. 5. 46-57). her conception of womanhood excludes the capacity for cruelty and murder; by demanding that she be "unsexed," the royal wife seeks what she perceives as a "male" capacity for evildoing. acknowledging his wife's disposition, macbeth exhorts her to “bring forth men-children only, / for thy undaunted mettle should compose / nothing but males” (1. 7. 83-85). gender expectations would likely prescribe that killers be male, but lady macbeth is ascribed murderous characteristics that both she and her husband identify as masculine. hinting at a complicity with the occult, lady macbeth seeks these attributes by summoning spiritual intervention. as conductress of her husband's misdeeds, lady macbeth is guilty of murder long before banquo is killed. she "lays the daggers ready" for duncan's planned slaughter, beguiling the king's chamberlains with liquor, and later relieving macbeth of the bloody daggers. the iniquitous lady also reveals herself amenable to the physical act of killing, stating of duncan's death that "had he not resembled / my father as he slept, i had done it" (2. 2. 14-16). fearing her husband's questionable resolve, and, perhaps, capability, she settles for acting as architect of duncan's demise, advising macbeth to commit "this night's great business in my dispatch" and to "leave all the rest to me" (1. 5. 86). greene perceptively suggests that "the weak, 'womanly' macbeth (who in reality is clinging desperately to the last remnants of his moral courage) is no match for the mate who has reversed her culturally defined gender role and who now openly taunts him on his unmanly inability to act on his desires" (9). having observed macbeth's questionable competence, his "dearest partner in greatness" (1. 5. 11) might reasonably be tempted to see banquo's murder completed properly herself, avoiding the incriminating erin connelly 116 mishaps she anticipates in her husband's work. the cause of lady macbeth's psycho-spiritual decline is ambiguous, possibly the mental consequence of her murderous machinations (though carried out by her husband), or perhaps a psychological reaction to the physical act of banquo's murder. by act 5, lady macbeth is traumatized. demanding that a light be kept constantly her side, and lamenting an invisible, invincible stain, she alleges: "here's the smell of the blood still. all / the perfumes of arabia will not sweeten this little hand" (5. 1. 53-55). the notion of murder leaving a physical stain recurs throughout macbeth; upon his return from killing duncan, macbeth himself has bloody hands, as we know from lady macbeth's instructions to "go get some water / and wash this filthy witness from your hand" (2. 2. 60-61). when the murderer (his numerical identity as "first" or "second" now reduced to the simple designation "murderer") arrives at the banquet to apprise macbeth of banquo's execution, macbeth's initial observation pertains to the blood on the murderer's face. the gore on lady macbeth's hands could be figurative, her second-hand persecution of duncan (and, probably, banquo) having rendered her guilty as a murderer, or it could be literal − a delusional effort to wash from her hands the residue of the actual blood of a victim. perhaps the most damning hint of lady macbeth's involvement is in the fevered remark she offers her attending gentlewoman and doctor: "yet who would have thought the old man / to have had so much blood in him?" (5. 1. 41-42). the old man in question could, of course, be duncan; similarly, the remark might refer to banquo, whose murder lady macbeth almost certainly engineers, at least. like her agitated handwashing, lady macbeth's comment could arise from a visceral and destabilizing angst surrounding those murders she superintends, or it could serve as the incriminating acknowledgement of an actual, physical act of murder. the weird sisters, or any one member of that numinous triad, are equally suspect, their involvement facilitating the possibility of a witch as possible third. like lady macbeth, the witches' "masculine" traits are hinted at, banquo himself remarking, "you should be women, / and yet your beards forbid me to interpret / that you are so" (1. 3. 47-49). immediately subsequent to the banquet at which banquo's murder is revealed, hecate reprimands the weird sisters, demanding, "how did you dare / to trade and traffic with macbeth / in riddles and affairs of death?" (3. 5. 3-5). though her censure seems to derive primarily from indignation at her own exclusion from the action, hecate's accusations macbeth’s likely suspects 117 are ambiguous. this executive witch could equally be referring to the weird sisters' prophecies, which precipitate macbeth's murders, or to a witch's physical involvement in the most recent murder. the timing of hecate's arrival, so closely following the banquet, suggests that the weird sisters' supposed transgression had been effected quite recently. we might also consider macbeth's act 4 greeting to the witches: "how now, you secret, black and midnight hags? what is't you do?" he inquires, whereupon the witches in unison offer the cryptic reply, "a deed without a name" (4. 1. 48-49). in the previous act, macbeth, anticipating his next murder, fretfully laments, "good things of day begin to droop and drowse, / whiles night's black agents to their preys do / rouse" (3. 3. 5860). it's apparent that these dark "agents" await banquo's slaying, and certainly, the witches qualify as potential vectors of macbeth's hostile pursuit of fortune. in what was perhaps the most authoritative treatise of renaissance "sorcerie an witch-craft in speciall" (51) king james, in his instructive guide daemonologie, indulged his fixation with the occult by elucidating both the effects and the alarming prevalence of witchcraft. of the witch's supernatural abilities, he reports, "they can make spirites either to follow and trouble persones, or haunt certaine houses. and affraie oftentimes the inhabitants: as hath bene knowen to be done by our witches at this time" (47). macbeth himself is haunted, both literally and figuratively, by his ambivalence and guilt, as well as by spectres, apparitions, and the otherworldly prophesies that precipitate his murderous spiral. by act 5 his wife is bedeviled by a vague, psycho-spiritual affliction, her doctor insightfully recognizing that, "more needs she the divine than the physician" (5. 2. 78). james i addresses the approach that "spirites" take in afflicting their followers, advising that witches, at their thirde meeting, makes a shew to be carefull, to performe his promises, either by teaching them waies howe to get themselues reuenged, if they be of that sort: or els by teaching them lessons, how by moste vilde and vnlawfull meanes, they may obtaine gaine, and worldlie commoditie, if they be of the other sorte. (34) the notion of witch-like spirits prescribing attainment of "worldlie commoditie" echoes macbeth's plight, in which a trio of witches offer prophesies that prompt macbeth to pursue "unvlawfull meanes." this possibility is reinforced by lady macbeth, who, in act 1, scene 5, describes her husband's kingship as an inevitability "which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem / to have thee crowned withal" (1. 5. 32-33). erin connelly 118 it stands to reason that the third murderer, who serves as implement of macbeth's worldly pursuit, results, in some mystical manner, from macbeth's dealings with his occult advisors. educated renaissance theatre goers, those versed in the studies of their king, might recognize macbeth's visions and delusions not as mental failings, but as afflictions wrought by the insidious work of witchcraft. in the tradition of macbeth's three witches and apparitions, the murderers, especially the enigmatic third, might easily be identified as one of those "spirites" sent abroad to "follow and trouble persones" (47). in english society 15801680, keith wrightson discusses the centrality of "the unpredictable whim of supernatural powers" to jacobean culture (201). wrightson notes of renaissance socio-religious convictions that "misfortune was attributed not so much to the judgments of god as to ill-luck at best, or at worst the malign practice of witchcraft. . . to tamper with magic could only be to sup with the devil" (202). macbeth, of course, "tampers with magic" in the form of witchcraft, clinging absolutely to the prophecies of the weird sisters and the apparitions. theatre goers would almost certainly recognize macbeth's affliction as the inevitable result of supernatural dealings. another possible candidate for macbeth's third murderer, oddly overlooked in the critical corpus, is the playacting porter, who, by assuming the role of "devil-porter" at hell's entrance, identifies himself as a nocturnal, vaguely preternatural agent -or at least an aspiring one. macbeth's unidentified third murderer evinces a telling knowledge of palace comings and goings, information with which the porter, by virtue of his profession, would be extensively familiar. other contenders for a likely third have included ross, macduff, and even macbeth himself. the case against ross is specious at best, though roman polanski's 1971 film adaptation compellingly casts a savage ross as third murderer. his presence unverified by dialogue until after the appearance of banquo's ghost, ross is unaccounted for at the critical moment, and could, logistically (though entirely circumstantially), be arraigned as third murderer. i would argue, however, that ross lacks the supernatural complicity to assume the mysterious position of third murderer. if we're to consider ross as the third killer, we could just as reasonably include lennox in our speculations, or the nameless old man, or even macduff. macbeth is orchestrated in such a way that several of the drama's players might reasonably be held on suspicion of murder. it's an enigma that lacks sufficient evidence to ever definitively indict any single party, but one macbeth’s likely suspects 119 that reinforces the powerful ambiguity with which the play's murderous actions are effected. the notion of macbeth himself as the third murderer is evocative, shocking, and, logistically and thematically, quite improbable. macbeth relies not only on the physical actions of his hired killers, but also on the fleeting psychological relief attained by displacing guilt for banquo's death onto a third party. he is never at ease as a killer, his state of mind vacillating throughout the play between pathological anxiety and a bitter, almost paranoid sense of ambition. long before any ghosts appear, macbeth is haunted by his own incipient actions, and troubled by an ambivalence that is swayed only temporarily and incompletely by his wife's tactics of intimidation and micromanagement. as duncan's murder approaches, macbeth expresses his anxious ambivalence, asking himself, "why do i yield to that suggestion / whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / and make my seated heart knock at my ribs?" (1. 2. 147149). the murderers' usefulness to macbeth's psyche is perhaps best demonstrated in act 3, scene 4 when an agitated macbeth confronts banquo's spectre, insisting that "thou canst not say i did it. never shake / thy gory locks at me" (3. 4. 61-62). while macbeth cannot divest himself of his distress, he is accurate in his assertion that he can never be legally implicated in banquo's actual murder. employing the murderers affords macbeth a measure of peace during the arrangement of banquo's death, though he is ultimately overtaken by guilt and anxiety. in his discussion of what he terms macbeth's "proleptic imagination," harold bloom observes that macbeth "scarcely is conscious of an ambition, desire, or wish before he sees himself on the other side or shore, already having performed the crime that equivocally fulfills ambition" (bloom 517). having endured unrest as an actual killer, and cognizant of his own fragile mental state and iffy competence as a clandestine slayer, macbeth's use of the murderers allows him to bridge the chasm between the need for banquo's eradication and the completed act of homicide. the designation "murderer" is unequivocal. while macbeth might lack the ability to carry out banquo's murder, he places that task into the decisive hands of an employee engaged solely for that purpose. banquo's death is thus assured; his future will not rest in the irresolute and possibly faulty hands of macbeth, but in the decisive hands of a murderer. macbeth prefaces duncan's execution with the lament, "i go, and it is done" (2. 1. 75). though he undertakes duncan's slaying with an anguished mind, macbeth does so with the decisive realization that his plan, if he follows through on it, will spell the end for duncan. erin connelly 120 ironically, the delegation of banquo's murder, an act designed to guarantee the slaying, also introduces an element of uncertainty into the proceedings. macbeth creates the possibility that the deed may not, in fact, be accomplished -a potential that proves accurate when the murderers allow fleance to escape. this uncertainty of outcome echoes macbeth's own ambivalence at the prospect of a double murder. prior to duncan's murder, for instance, macbeth, destabilized by the very prospect of killing, reveals his recognition that present fears are less than horrible imaginings. my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered in surmise. (1. 3. 150-154) his visceral, prodromal distress at the possibility of killing duncan riles macbeth's conscience as thoroughly as the deed itself. these stillunvoiced intentions are, macbeth suggests, paradoxical; he acknowledges overt distress at the consideration of murder, but recognizes it as an action on which he will invariably follow through. the murderers' necessity, then, is threefold: their participation assuages macbeth's pathological guilt at the prospect (and indeed, actual act) of murder. they act as figures of practical utility, by carrying out one of the play's most prominent slayings, and perpetuate the motif of occult threes, those figures whose cryptic interactions guide the various fortunes at play in macbeth. in act 3, scene 1, macbeth offers his murderers an explanation of his need for their services. his claims, while valid (he would, after all, engender animosity by executing banquo openly), are inadequate, designed to coerce the hired hands into assuming the position of murderer, while concealing the pathological pursuit of fortune that prescribes banquo's death. addressing this in an act 3 soliloquy, macbeth reveals that "there is none but he / whose being i fear" (3. 1. 59-60). it would not, of course, be either hierarchically appropriate or rhetorically effective for macbeth to allow his disenfranchised inferiors to perceive his anxieties towards their intended target. revelation of his motivating fear of banquo, or of his allegiance to the prophesies of a trio of witches and to apparitions that he alone can see, are not likely to engage the murderers' loyalties. his explanatory speech fails to reveal that the killers will not only be carrying out a task that will allegedly better their own futures, but one that will ensure macbeth's own fate, thereby enabling him to displace the criminal, psychologically damning act of murder onto expendable itinerants. macbeth’s likely suspects 121 in daemonologie, king james i proclaims that witches "can make some to be possessed with spirits, & so to become verie daemoniacques: and this last sortie is verie possible likewise to the deuill their master to do, since he may easilie send his owne angells to trouble in what form he pleases" (47). written to indulge the occult interests of a patron monarch, macbeth is a play "possessed with spirits," mystic figures in the form of witches, apparitions, and an enigmatic third murderer, all of whom exacerbate intricate psychological tensions with murderous results. "the deuill" is indeed at work in macbeth. in a play focused on murdering and murderers, macbeth is the capital killer, a demon himself, inspired and abetted by "dark agents" to slay duncan, while effecting the murders by proxy of banquo and the macduff family. but the identity of "murderer" in macbeth is fluid and often nonspecific, with most of the drama's deaths occurring off-stage and obscured by peculiar circumstances. lending form to the categorical designation of "murderer" are the first, second, and third murderers, figures of material and psychological utility to macbeth, and whose presence fulfills the "thrice again" prophesy of the weird sisters, assuring that "the charm's wound up," and clinching the tragic series of murders that fulfills macbeth's fortune (1. 3. 36-37). works cited bloom, harold. shakespeare: the invention of the human. new york: riverhead books, 1998. garber, marjorie. shakespeare after all. new york: anchor books, 2004. greene, james. "macbeth: masculinity as murder." america imago: studies in psychoanalysis and culture 41.2 (1984): 155-179. james vi of scotland, i of england. daemonologie. edinburgh: 1597. early english books online. huntington library and art gallery. 10 october 2005. macbeth. dir. roman polanski. perf. jon finch, francesca annis, martin shaw, and terence bayler. sony pictures, 1971. erin connelly 122 saenger, michael baird. "shakespeare's macbeth." explicator 53 (19941995): 133-35. shakespeare, william. hamlet. folger shakespeare library edition. ed. barbara a. mowat and paul werstine. new york: washington square press, 1992. shakespeare, william. macbeth. folger shakespeare library edition. ed. barbara a. mowat and paul werstine. new york: washington square press, 1992. shakespeare, william. romeo and juliet. folger shakespeare library edition. ed. barbara a. mowat and paul werstine. new york: washington square press, 1992. wrightson, keith. english society 1580-1680. new brunswick, new jersey: rutgers university press, 2000. urban violence in fifth century antioch: urban violence in fifth century antioch: riot culture and dynamics in late antique eastern mediterranean cities david a. heayn history in the early fourth century, during the reign of the first christian emperor, constantine the great (ad 324-337), antioch was one of the largest and most important political, cultural, and religious centers of the greco-roman and christian world. 1 christians, jews, pagans, greeks, syrians, et al, vied for control within the city. this form of internal urban violence and armed revolt were common in the greek east. antioch was a city attempting to transition from a greco-roman pagan society to an orthodox christian society in a recently christian empire. 2 the persian invasion and a deficiency of source material hinder further historical inquiry of this period until the later writings of john chrysostom and libanius in the mid-fourth century. until the natural disasters of the early sixth century ad and the subsequent persian and arab invasions, antioch flourished as the jewel of the east, and its people fought for domination and control of its wealth, power, and authority. 3 during the fifth century, riots erupted in the city due to the transition towards becoming a truly christian empire. questions surrounding christian doctrine and authority across the empire and region fueled the rhetoric, while economics and politics fed the violence. the rivalries that existed, and incited these popular displays of violence, must be understood in an interdisciplinary and broader 1 glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria from seleucus to the arab conquest (princeton: princeton university press, 1961), 342; ammianus marcelinus xiv.8: “a city known throughout the world, incomparable in the resources imported and produced there.” 2 frank r. rombley, “christian democgraph in the territorium of antioch (4 th -5 th c.): observations on the epigraphy.” in isabella sandwell and huskinson, janet. (eds.), culture and society in later roman antioch (oxford: oxbow books, 2004), 59-85. see glanville downey, “the size of the population of antioch.” transactions and proceedings of the american philological association 89 (1958), 84-91, on the size and prominence of antioch in the late antique world. 3 averil cameron, the mediterranean world in late antiquity: ad 395-600 (london: routledge, 1993), 162. antioch “the second city of the eastern empire, was hard hit by plague, earthquake and persian invasion in the mid-sixth century, followed by the deportation of many of its citizens to persia, not to mention the seventhcentury invasions and the arab conquest.” david heayn 2 manner than previous scholarship has provided. by integrating the most recent scholarship on the region with the social sciences, a picture of combined political and religious hostility emerges one that illustrates the uses, character, and motives behind late antique urban riots. the religious foundation and justification for violence is an important feature. however, it should be viewed as existing in the environment of a pre-modern world devoid of any separation between religion and state. the most prominent and influential political leaders were those who grounded their authority in faith and a connection with a religious ideology. religion is then a means by which communities organize their world. any division between religion and secular authority is artificial and a misunderstanding of the connection between these features of society. 4 the fact that christianity emerged as the politically dominant ideology resulted in the reliance by scholars on christian primary sources. this significantly influenced the scholarship connecting violence with the religious controversies and politics of late antiquity. christian authors wrote the majority of the sources on the fifth century. due to the connection of these materials with early christianity, they have been principally interpreted by religious scholars and have resulted in a division in modern scholarship between religious and secular interpretations of late antique violence. 5 a later development of a secular school has created an artificial division and sought to emphasize the cultural manifestations of nationalism through violence. 6 the religious and secular interpretations need to be combined to 4 karl marx, “the jewish question.” in robert c. tucker. (ed.), the marx-engels reader 2 nd ed. (princeton: w.w. norton & company, 1978), 26-52. a description of the relation between religion and the state with implications for the status of a citizen within a secular or religious society; 38-39: “what prevails in the so-called christian state is not man but alienation. the only man who countsthe kingis specifically differentiated from other men and is a religious being associated directly with heaven and with god. the relations which exist here are relations stilled based upon faith. the religious spirit is still not really secularized. but the religious spirit cannot be really secularized. for what is it but the non-secular form of a stage in the development of the human spirit? ... the basis of this state is not christianity but the human basis of christianity. religion remains the ideal, non-secular consciousness of its members, because it is the idea form of the state of human development which has been attained.” see bryan r. wilson, religious toleration & religious diversity. (santa barbara, california: institute for the study of american religion, 1995). 15, for an example of the religious camp that delegates secular concerns to political and economic histories, disregarding their intimate social connections to the religious controversies and movements of the period. 5 a.m.h. jones, “were ancient heresies disguised social movements.” the journal of theological studies 10.2 (1959): 280-298. 6 e.l. woodward, christianity and nationalism in the later roman empire (london: longmans, green, and co., 1916), 41-66; 94-103; edward gibbon, the christians and the fall of rome (new york: penguin books, 1994). emerging from enlightenment thinking gibbon urban violence in 5 th century antioch 3 account for the leadership of each city, region, sect, and religion who struggled for domination and power in the sacred and actual space and place of antioch. this process cannot be restricted to or characterized exclusively by either school of thought. political/religious leaders used their authority to advance their cause and support their own power. the involvement and opinion of the population could be an influential factor capable of altering politics and theology. using the theatre claque, social welfare, education, patronage, and political maneuvering christian and pagan authorities sought control of the masses. 7 this power provided them with real muscle to coerce others and exert larger influence in the empire. the constant shifting of imperial religious preference, after christianity achieved domination, resulted in a period of conflict between the provincial elites and the emperor. the emperors and their chosen orthodoxies sought the same form of political/religious authority and legitimacy. the major difference is in the imperial control of the military. through imperial patronage, intimidation, and suppression constantinople attempted to propagate its orthodoxy and authority as a second rome. 8 the direct involvement of the government in the conflict resulted in two consequences. first, the often-violent oppression of other bishops and their religious interpretation stirred popular dissent against the emperor and his orthodoxy. increased suppression corresponds to greater disaffection and an increase in nationalist and religious hostility. popular sentiment can then be organized by local authorities and elites to start riots. these displays of unrest demonstrated enough popular support against the emperor as to influence the larger conflict, and to protect the authorities and elites against imperial tyranny. second, imperial patronage is more often conveyed as fleeting favoritism and any attempt by the emperor to reach a compromise between rival factions is anathema. the vicissitude of imperial preference resulted in an environment of constant factionalism and regionalism. riots can then be seen as an attempt by local elites to organize society by the means available to them and access popular support through the preexisting represents an early addition to the secular school later taken up by woodward and later historians influenced by marxism. 7 peter brown, the world of late antiquity ad 150-750 (new york. w.w. norton & company, 1971), 11-96, 137-150.; peter brown, power and persuasion in late antiquity: towards a christian empire (madison, wi: university of wisconsin press, 1992), 3-118. 8 jillian schwedler , “islamic identity,” 6. religious “identity is also the product of many different historical, political, and social processes. to understand particular instances of” religious “identity, one must therefore look at discrete political, social, and economic contexts through which particular islamic identities have been forged.” david heayn 4 structures of society, such as the theatre. the motives behind popular involvement in urban violence are difficult to extract directly from the sources available, but a consideration of patronage networks, the larger political milieu, factionalism, group formation and identity further informs a rational understanding of popular involvement. the connection between the greens and blues, the theatre claque, ethnic, national, and religious identity further inform this analysis and will be approached separately. 9 this study intends to explore the history of riots. it attempts to uncover the way in which the history of those normally excluded from the larger narrative take shape. 10 although there have been significant advances in historical scholarship, the utilization of the social sciences by historians, to understand non-elites, and those lacking any practical power, is a relatively new and under-appreciated advance in history. 11 antioch, serves as a case study for this analysis. its location, events, and importance have been understated in past and present scholarship. the quantity of available primary sources and the fact that antioch was not the imperial capitol, but still an important government and religious center, allows it to be representative of the empire and syria. these characteristics provide less source material than other locations but allow antioch to escape the corruption by the government, as in constantinople, or the unique variations of alexandria. 12 the fifth century and the decades surrounding it provide a significant supply of source material capable of illustrating this crucial juncture in the development of the christian church and hierarchy. 13 pagan authors such as libanius, ammianus marcelinus and the emperor julian will be vital for the end of the fourth century while chrysostom and malalas will provide a christian counterweight. the extant sources concentrate on the period immediately leading up to, and following the riot of the statues in ad 387, and again towards the beginning of the sixth century looking back. for this reason the riot of the statues and the riot resulting in the destruction of the synagogue at daphne (a suburb of antioch) will be the focal 9 timothy e. gregory, vox populi: popular opinion and violence in the religious controversies of the fifth century a.d. (columbus: ohio state university press, 1979). an articulation of the relationship between political and religious ideology, violence, and popular sentiment provides answers to questions about the role of leadership and the extent and dissemination of popular knowledge. “why do urban crowds turn to violence?” in alan cameron, circus factionsblues and greens at rome and byzantium (oxford: clarendon press, 1976). 10 timothy e. gregory, vox populi., 5. demos, ochlos, and hoi polloi (the many) all serve as ways in which authors used different greek terms to refer to the same grouping of people involved in the tarache or stasis (riot/disturbance) of the cities. 11 george rudé, the crowd in historya study of popular disturbances in france and england 1730-1848 (new york: john wiley & son inc, 1964), 9. 12 glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria., 3-13, 342 13 ibid., 35-45, 342 urban violence in 5 th century antioch 5 points around which the analysis will concentrate. in order to articulate the circumstances of the region and time in which these events occur, it is necessary to take a larger look at the eastern roman empire, patronage networks, as well as the political theology of the leaders and bishops involved. in order to access the voice of the people, contemporary social science models will be required and consequently adapted to the environment of late antiquity. antioch on the orontes, “antioch the great,” “the queen of the east,” “the beautiful” founded in the third century bc by seleucus i nicator rose to prominence in the ancient world as a center of hellenistic culture and as the capital of seleucid royal power. 14 the city‟s position on the orontes river, with its use of the amunq valley and its many tributaries, as well as a location at the confluence between asia minor, mesopotamia, and palestine, provided this metropolis with significant advantages from its very inception. it had a large rural hinterland to draw from, a navigable river with access to the mediterranean and a location along the cultural and trading crossroads of the near east. 15 later, in 64 bc, pompey formally brought syria and its capital, antioch, under roman control. 16 earthquakes, fires, persian invasions, and riots swept over the city during this period, but until 637-638 ce antioch remained an imperial roman city, one of its eastern mediterranean gems. the fifth century was a pivotal period of transition for the eastern roman empire, the sassanian empire, and the entire region of what is today the middle east. christian ascendancy had become a reality and emperor constantine‟s reign had initiated a new era for an increasingly christian empire in the fourth century. from this point on, a rivalry existed between the christian church and the pagan predecessors of the imperial apparatus. 17 alongside rome, constantinople, and 14 bruce m. metzger, “antioch-on-the-orontes.” the biblical archaeologist, 11.4 (dec. 1948): 72; glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria., 46-118. 15 andrea u. de giorgi, “the formation of the roman landscape: the case of antioch.” journal of roman archaeologyarticles, archaeological reports and notes 20 (2007): 382-290; strabo. 16.2.7; j.h.w.g liebeschuetz, antiochcity and imperial administration in the later roman empire (oxford: clarendon press, 1972), 128. commerce on the orontes was a major asset to the city. 16 glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria., 136-151. 17 ibid., 342; peter brown, power and persuasion., 35-117. for a articulate survey of the shift away from the pagan greco-roman emphasis which gave additional importance to individual bishops who could assume authority and control while adapting to an environment where aristocratic paideia (παιδεία) no longer legitimated authority; christopher haas, alexandria in late antiquitytopography and social conflict (baltimore: the john hopkins university press, 2006). an ethno-social treatment of alexandria serves as a significant comparative tool against which to understand the cultural and political life of antioch and the eastern mediterranean. david heayn 6 alexandria, antioch stood as one of the largest and most important political, cultural, and religious centers of the greco-roman and christian world. 18 antioch in the fifth century was a city struggling against its many enemies, primarily factional grievances from within. a larger struggle also existed against the imperial power of the emperor, his chosen orthodoxy, political/religious oppression and against self-definition. the formative issues regarding the establishment of christianity as the religion of the empire led to interpretive differences and conflict. food shortages, manipulative pagan and christian elites, natural disasters, and invasion created an environment ripe for violent manifestations of unrest. factions arose along ethnic, religious, political, and class lines. these divisions and the grievances were expressed in the theatre and the theatre claques of the hellenistic world. the theatre provided a venue with the ability to bring these grievances to a fever pitch, and eruption in many forms of violent public displays and riots. in ad 324, philogonius, the bishop of antioch passed away, and as part of constantine‟s effort to unify the christian church, councils and synods were held in the hope of reaching a consensus. the first synod occurred in ad 325 in antioch. eustathius was elected the bishop of antioch and an anti-arian creed was published. late in ad 325, the council of nicaea continued the work of antioch reaching certain resolutions towards establishing orthodoxy while assigning special status to antioch and alexandria. the latter act would result in a century long conflict between the two sees. 19 before ad 330, eustathius accused a rival bishop, eusebius pamphilus, of heterodoxy, as according to nicaea. though this conflict is seemingly a dispute over orthodoxy, there are important repercussions of this rivalry, first established here, between the authorities of antioch and alexandria. eustathius was in turn accused of the sabellian heresy, and another synod lead by eusebius, bishop of caesarea was organized to resolve the matter. 20 socrates scholasticus informs us in some detail of these disputes with an interpretative eye and an understanding of the meaning and events that lay beneath the surface. both eustathius and eusebius pamphilus are believed to have held to the orthodoxy of the fourth century and agreed on the nature of god (homoousis), however, as rival authorities, “they could not agree among themselves, and therefore could in no way endure to be at peace.” after the synod at antioch convened in ad 330, a decision was reached to depose the current bishop 18 glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria. for a comprehensive history of antioch, see w.h.c. frend, the early church (minneapolis: fortress press, 1991). for a comprehensive treatment of the intrigues and rivalries existing within the developing christian church, see kevin butcher. roman syria and the near east (london: the british museum press, 2003). 19 glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria, 350-352. 20 socrates scholasticus, ecclesiastical history, chapter i.xxiii urban violence in 5 th century antioch 7 eustathius. this verdict enraged a portion of the population and made the internal tension and conflict of factions and their leaders more explicit. socrates plainly states that the deposition of bishop by synods, councils, or the displeasure of the emperor, was a common occurrence and that “the bishops are accustomed to do this in all cases, accusing and pronouncing impious those whom they depose, but not explaining their warrant for so doing.” the internal wrangling of the christian church and the political nature of this fighting, devoid of religious grounding, was apparent to observers like socrates. 21 the importance of this infighting is the violence that followed the event. as a result, riots burst out across the city and so fierce a dissension was kindled, as to threaten the whole city with destruction. the populace was divided into two factions, one of which vehemently contended for...eusebius...the other equally insisted on the reinstatement of eustathius... a military force was arrayed on both sides with hostile intent, so that a bloody collision would have taken place, had not god and the dread of the emperor repressed the violence of the multitude. 22 according to socrates, eustathius‟ removal was not actually due to the sabellian heresy, or any heresy, but rather for other “unsatisfactory reasons.” the conflict arose over eustathius‟ accusations against eusebius of arianism due to his connections with origen adamantius. the infighting demonstrates a political function of the christian hierarchy and the synods, and the factionalism of urban violence that could result from political actions in the church. each leader roused support amongst those with whom his authority was connected for their wellbeing. the removal of a bishop meant that one of the most powerful patron‟s of a city was being challenged and thus the community he led and benefited was also under attack. the deposition of bishops during and following the reign of constantine was a frequent occurrence. when an arian emperor assumed the throne, he would attempt to place an arian bishop in the three major cities. the nicaeans would 21 ibid., chapter i.xxiii “yet as we ourselves have discovered from various letters which the bishops wrote to one another after the synod, the term homoousios troubled some of them. so that while they occupied themselves in a too minute investigation of its import, they roused the strife against each other; it seemed not unlike a contest in the dark; for neither party appeared to understand distinctly the grounds on which they calumniated one another. those who objected to the word homoousios, conceived that those who approved it favored the opinion of sabellius,”; ibid. i.xxiv, “as some affirm [this measure was taken] for other and unsatisfactory reasons, though none other have been openly assigned: this is a matter of common occurrence.” 22 socrates scholasticus, ecclesiastical history, chapter i.xxiv. david heayn 8 attempt the same thing. this alternation between orthodoxy and authority resulted in a diffusion of power. until the first decades of the fifth century there were three rival bishops all contending for authority in antioch. the parties represented were the nicaean followers of eustathius, a divergent faction of nicaean‟s backing the more recently deposed milietus, and the arian followers under their own bishop. the three major factions courted imperial favor and the support of the people. with each subsequent emperor favor would pass to another faction. julian‟s revival of hellenism in the late fourth century temporarily united the christians and pagan against the imperial abuses but resulted in increased imperial suppression during julian‟s reign and after. 23 the constant famine resulted in food shortages and manipulative elites cornered the market in an attempt to squeeze more money from the system they dominated. imperial intervention against price gouging and inflation amounted to little more than rhetoric and only served to infuriate the elites who then would be more interested in raising popular dissent against the emperor. 24 rivalry waned towards the middle of the fifth century when compromise was reached bringing together the three factions. during the latter half of the century however the nestorian controversy and monophysitism tore the city apart and the policy of justinian and others surrounding the sixth century earth quakes and persian invasion only served to widen the divide between factions and between the emperors and the provinces. 25 although the events of the early fourth century and sixth century are not within the temporal boundaries established for this analysis, the conditions that they created for the latter half of the century are vital to the discussion of urban violence during this period. the rivalry between alexandria and antioch, between orthodoxy and variation, and between local and imperial authorities were well established by the mid-fourth century. in this conflict, the riots of antioch can be seen as both the competition between factions and as an attempt of the local elites to establish themselves as the uncontested authority of antioch and syria. they sought to be the voice of religious and political importance in the region. libanius provides significant evidence elucidating the conflict between a pagan revival of hellenistic culture and the dominant christian authorities. 26 in contrast to the urban violence in cities of a 23 glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria., 367-559. 24 ibid., 419-433. 25 glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria., 496559. 26 samuel n. c. lieu, “libanius and higher education at antioch.” in isabella sandwell and huskinson, janet. (eds.), culture and society in later roman antioch (oxford: oxbow books, 2004), 13-23; tasha vorderstrasse, “the romanization and christianization of the antiochene region: the material evidence from three sites.” in isabella sandwell and huskinson, janet. urban violence in 5 th century antioch 9 similar rank, antioch was not exclusively defined by these religious concerns. the economic and political spheres must also be considered in syria, as an occupied province of the roman east with a heterogeneous population. the church hierarchy, led by the greco-roman curia had been brought together through the fourth and fifth centuries at ecumenical councils to establish orthodoxy for christians everywhere. rome, constantinople, alexandria, and antioch were the most powerful and influential episcopal sees. the various councils and synods initiated a period of religious and political conflict as divergent interpretations of scriptures and theology became apparent. constantinople, with the authority of the emperor, led the charge in establishing orthodox practice and belief. the political and religious influence of rome, representing what was left of the western roman empire, and constantinople was apparent in the councils. the bishops vied for political power to support their individual followers, what they saw as true orthodoxy, and the authority of their particular episcopacy. 27 christopher haas states, “when episodes of popular violence erupted in antioch, they did not arise from tensions among jews, pagans, and christians. instead, they took the form of bread riots or faction-led insurrections against imperial authority.” 28 it was the practical economic and political grievances, against tyrannical authority, that are prominent in the riots of antioch. local religious figures lead these popular socioreligious movements in the hopes of gaining more power and challenging rivals. the theatre claque served, in the late antique city, as an essential function in the discussion of urban violence. entertainment venues and the professional/social organizations that arose out of their space played a significant role for both the elites and the masses in the urban space. the games and theatre were gifts to the populace from the emperor and elite patrons. they were a means by which an individual or group could advertise their beneficence, proposed public works, or policy. the elite responsibility to provide for societal endeavors from municipal and personal wealth had been the societal norm of the greek polis and during roman control. this system was supported by the elite control of paideia (παιδεία). 29 the success of the christian hierarchy and the troubles of the second (eds.), culture and society in later roman antioch (oxford: oxbow books, 2004), 86101.; frank r. trombley, “christian demography in the territorium of antioch (4 th -5 th c.): observations on the epigraphy” in isabella sandwell and huskinson, janet. (eds.), culture and society in later roman antioch (oxford: oxbow books, 2004), 5985. 27 glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria, 350. the conflict reached, “political significance of the first importance in that it developed into an effort on the part of the arians to create a state church under the control of the emperor dominated by the political ideas of constantine.” 28 christopher haas, alexandria in late antiquity, 9. 29 see note 17 on peter brown. david heayn 10 through fourth centuries had undermined this system, and by the start of the fifth century, the largely christian elites obstinately opposed the obligations that accompanied their wealth and status. 30 libanius‟ oration lxiv, „in defence of the pantomimes,‟ describes the status of theatre and games in late fourth century antioch. johannes haubold and richard miles present an argument based on the oration that establishes a conflict between the declining hellenic culture and a new place for the greek heritage in the redefined space. entertainment had traditionally been a central part of civic and religious festivals and daily life. 31 troupes of dancers and choruses of actors were sponsored by patrons as an expression of their power, civic duty, and pride. 32 often competitions and rivalries ensued where one patron and his acts attempted to out shine all others. however, the tragedy and comedy of the classical and hellenistic world had lost favor in the cities of late antiquity during the third century. the people‟s favor turned towards pantomime or dance (orchesis), but even this had begun to fade during the fourth century. 33 antioch was an exception to this trend. dance in the theatre remained strong, and libanius and others describe the antiochene love of festivals and theatre to the detriment of the city. 34 in contrast to the mixed relationship found in libanius, the christians of the city expressed hostility towards the theatre and its festivals. they represented a pagan past while they served as a rival source of control over the people, who were not exclusively dominated by the bishop. 35 though the churches served as a 30 averil cameron, the later roman empire: ad 284-430 (cambridge, mass: harvard university press, 1993), 174. “the era when ordinary citizen participated in decision about the running of their cities had long gone, a casualty of roman rule in the early empire. in its place, the task fell on the curiales, who found it at first a privilege, then increasingly a burden, because of the financial responsibilities it implied.... there was therefore a large (and growing) lower class population, many of whom were sustained by free food distributed or charitable hand-outs by the church.” ; see for further details on patronage. 31 johannes haubold and miles, richard, “communality and theatre in libanius‟ oration lxiv in defense of the pantomimes.” in isabella sandwell and huskinson, janet. (eds.), culture and society in later roman antioch (oxford: oxbow books, 2004), 24-34.; alan cameron, circus factionsblues and greens at rome and byzantium (oxford: clarendon press, 1976), 5-23. 32 libanius oration xi 33 zosimus, nova historia 2.7 (sourcebook) 34 libanius oration lxi.7; johannes haubold and miles, richard, “communality and theatre in libanius‟ oration lxiv.” 25. 35 john chrysostom, on statues 15.1 “their vehement shouts, borne in the air from that place resounded against the psalms which we were singing here.”; averil cameron, the later roman empire., 176. “churches themselves were places of pubic assembly and even entertainment crowds were drawn by the activities of largerthanlife preachers ad politicians like chrysostom, and clever christian orators soon learnt the techniques of crowd manipulation and audience control.” urban violence in 5 th century antioch 11 communal space and the bishops as societal organizers, few places or events could bring so great a portion of the population together as the theatre capable of holding “the multitude of the city, thanks to the abundance of its tiers.” 36 the theatre represented a rival associated with paganism and a larger identity as part of the greco-roman world that the bishops of antioch would not care to endorse while they sought sole control of the population. while the popularity of the theatre in antioch is clearly stated by libanius, a more important theme in oration lxiv, and others, is a discussion of the decline of hellenism and its traditions. libanius is the product of late antique hellenistic culture as a sophist, rhetorician, and professor. he studied under some of the most famous teachers of his day. 37 as a hellenized syrian, he studied at the school of athens, the birthplace of hellenism. he then received an official appointment in constantinople and later, out of pride and ambition, chose to return to antioch. there, libanius became the head of the school at antioch and one of the most prominent teachers of his day. 38 during the reign of the emperor julian, libanius‟ writings were preoccupied with describing the municipal life of antioch and the ways in which hellenistic traditions had and should continue. 39 this coincided with julian‟s program to reestablish a pan-hellenic paganism to combat the tide of christian domination. other pagans such as ammianus marcelinus were not as supportive of julian‟s policy because of the intolerant methods and inconsideration for the local milieu. 40 this, however, is in contrast to the change and decline that libanius depicts elsewhere. he acknowledges the changes that occur throughout history but provides hope that hellenism will be reestablished throughout the greek world in many cities similar to antioch. 41 in regards to dance, libanius communicates an idea that it serves an important part in antioch‟s civil life and that as haubold and miles state, dance “is itself part of the life of the city as a whole, which it helps to structure and sustain [it].” 42 more important than the entertainment value that it provides the city are the people who attend the theatre. the elite, the citizens, travelers, and the masses were all 36 libanius oration xi.218; john chrysostom, de incomp. 11 37 zenobius was one of his teachers in antioch while prominent figures like john chrysostom and others were directly taught by libanius. 38 samuel n.c. lieu, “libanius and higher education at antioch.” in isabella sandwell and huskinson, janet. (eds.), culture and society in later roman antioch (oxford: oxbow books, 2004), 13-17. 39 libanius oration. xi 40 libanius oration. i.119; ammianus marcelinus xxii.10.7 41 libanius oration xi, xxxi.26-28 42 johannes haubold and miles, richard, “communality and theatre in libanius‟ oration lxiv”, 30. david heayn 12 present in one place for entertainment, political, and religious purposes. 43 herein lay the true power of the theatre. 44 during these events, the populace of a city gathered for several purposes. the first is obviously to be a part of the civic life and be entertained. secondly, but more importantly, the theatre served as a venue for popular discontent in antioch and across the empire. after the ritual acclamations to the emperor, gods, and local authorities, the theatre became a competition between rival factions and professional groups capable of communicating to the crowd at large. 45 these groups originally emerged as paid audience participants that would influence the feelings of the audience at large by giving their support or displeasure for a particular charioteer, actor, or dancer. 46 by the fourth and fifth centuries, they had developed into a highly experienced professional group capable of manipulating the audience or serving as its mouthpiece. there are no religious, political, or other affiliations that can be associated with these claques because of the variations that existed between each city, venue, and group. 47 the blues and greens became dominant in constantinople and these divisions often spilled over into other cities. the riot of ad 532, the nika revolt, revolved around the activities of the circus factions in constantinople. the consequence of this unrest was an imperial capitol nearly burnt to the ground, and perhaps as many as thirty thousand citizens dead in the streets at the hands of imperial troops. 48 this is perhaps the extreme example of oppressive violence emerging from the theatre, 49 but it is important to understand 43 libanius oration lv, xxxvi and xxxvii 44 alan cameron, circus factionsblues and greens at rome and byzantium (oxford: clarendon press, 1976). cameron provides an in-depth analysis of the functions and characteristics of the circus faction and theatre claque. it does however concentrate on rome, alexandria, and constantinople. 45 robert browning, “the riot of a.d. 387 in antioch: the role of the theatrical claques in the later empire.” the journal of roman studies 42.1-2 (1952), 17 euphemia“stylized acclamation” by “which officials were greeted by gatherings of people in the theatre... often and did end up... with trenchant criticism of, or complain against, officials actually present... demonstrations in the theatre against the shortage of bread in 385 when the theamata were driven off the stage by tou demou thoruboi” 46 ibid., 16. “in origin merely a claque, whose business it was to stimulate and maintain applause for theatrical performers, was now using its skills and its familiarity with the people to give the lead in political demonstrations in the theatre, often expressing hostility to imperial officials”; ibid., 19. “the new “political” theatrical claques may have arisen out of a reorganization on a more local basis of the machinery for theatrical performances” 47 libanius oration 41.15 48 libanius., oration 1.23.; evagrius iv.32; averil cameron, the later roman empire., 174175. 49 for our purposes the theatre, circus, and hippodrome should be understood as synonymous due to variation of each city. urban violence in 5 th century antioch 13 the mobilizing capacity that the professional theatre claques and circus factions could rouse. due to such explosive violence, constantine brought the theatre under the control of imperial law by requiring that a record be kept regarding the sentiments of the audience. reports were sent to the emperor under the premise that they would be used to gage the competency of imperial officials in each region. 50 the preexisting social structures of the greek east, as represented by the popular displays of groups organized by professional claques, were capable of bringing popular involvement into church councils, theatre, and politics through threats of violence. 51 patronage can be defined as the process by which elites utilized their wealth, status, and connections to create a network of dependency in society (philanthropia). these networks were intended to be symbiotic reciprocal links with individuals or groups above or below and individual on the social scale. the emperor could then be seen as the leading patron of the pater familis, and local aristocracies across the empire were subsumed into his network. the curial class and particularly the senators of major cities were obligated through this system to spend their wealth and use their power for the benefit of their network. in return for public works and games, public food doles, career advancement, and education, those lower in rank would give support to their patron. as the structures of patronage deteriorated under the burden of late antique economics, due largely to the imperial apparatus, constant warfare, and rising christian hierarchy, so too did other forms of social control break down. elites no longer were engaged in the civic life as they had been during the classical period, though they still needed the support of the people. through the gradual elite migration toward living in their rural estates, the threats of urban life, of which there are too many to list, and the increased rivalry with christian authority, the pagan curia declined as described by libanius. the largely christian elites opposed the obligations that accompanied their wealth and status. duty to a heretical emperor, or the well being of an empire from which they no longer benefited, resulted in a shift away from the pagan greco-roman emphasis. this gave additional importance during late antiquity, to the role of bishops who could assume authority and control while adapting to an environment where aristocratic paideia (παιδεία) no longer legitimated authority. according to peter brown, paideia was the, 50 codex theodosius i.16.6; viii.5.32 51 malalas 386.14-23 david heayn 14 traditional culture of the upper classes, as this was imparted to them through the system of education... [it was] a common ground among all members of the upper classes, the rulers and the ruled alike, and in elaborating exacting codes of courtesy and self-control, linked to the ideal of a benevolent, ... cultivated, exercise of authority. 52 the connection between the bishop and the new form of episcopal patronage is demonstrated in the writings of john chrysostom. 53 as the authority of the bishops encompassed more of the citizens of the urban space and took on a larger part of the civic life the role of the bishop became entangled with ideas of philanthropy (philanthropia). the patronage traditionally associated with the religious and civic obligation of pagan curiales was now divided, between the emperor and the bishops. 54 the two most important elements of this new system are the ways in which the church became the largest patron of social welfare and an important administrative body. 55 averil cameron asserts that, “bishops took on responsibility for regular distributions to the poor, and ... such distributions were already taking place on a large scale in fourth-century antioch.” 56 the importance of these two duties is that it establishes the bishops as both the civic and religious authority while providing them with the largest patronage network available, the poor. access to their collective strength and the ability of educated and experienced politicians, such as chrysostom, combined with imperial financial support, resulted in christian political and religious domination. 57 through acquiring the role as patron of a city, bishops were able to develop a personal relationship with their parishioners beyond solely a religious collective identity, and establish real dependency. 58 patrons exercised their power in two ways. the first is through their access to other prominent individuals across the empire, who could be called on for support in times of need. this is demonstrated somewhat subtly in the attempts by bishop flavian to appeal directly to the emperor after the riot of the statues. these connections are also powerfully 52 peter brown, power and persuasion in late antiquity: towards a christian empire (madison, wi: university of wisconsin press, 1992) 4, 3-118. peter brown, the world of late antiquity ad 150-750 (new york. w.w. norton & company, 1971), 11-96, 137-150. 53 wendy mayer, “patronage, pastoral care and the role of the bishop of antioch.” vigiliae christianae 55.1 (2001): 58-70. 54 j.h.w.g liebeschuetz, antioch., 167-266. 55 wendy mayer, “patronage, pastoral care and the role of the bishop of antioch.” 60. 56 averil cameron, the later roman empire., 177. 57 theodoret historia ecclesia, 5.29, 8.27; socrates scholasticus, historia ecclesia 6.8, sozomen historia ecclesia, 8.8 58 palladius, dialogues 5 urban violence in 5 th century antioch 15 demonstrated by the relationship between bishops across the empire, working together to condemn or support prominent individuals connected to them through patronage. secondly, a patron could reasonably assume, if he had performed his duties properly, to call on the support of his network. often an individual patron would seek the support of a particular guild of carpenters or metal workers. these relationships would be developed over time, but the co-dependency of the bond usually communicated to real support. the combination of this physical might with the manipulative power of the theatre claque and religious/social identity could provide any elite capable of controlling these volatile elements supreme power. the emperors sought to do this in the theatre and circus, through leading the fight for orthodoxy, and by co-opting local elites. 59 in regards to antioch, the most famous display of popular violence was the riot of the statues in ad 387. libanius and john chrysostom provide the two most detailed accounts. 60 the anti-imperial riot resulted from a half century of conflict, famine, economic crisis, and controversy that occurred between the reign of constantine and theodosius. it was the culmination of rivalry and tension between factions in the city and the resentment of the people against the intervention, wars, and policy of the emperor. 61 the riot was not initiated by the religious elites, either pagan or christian. the curial and middle classes reacted to a tax increase, rousing a mob amongst their supporters. the tax is believed to have been initiated to pay for the anniversary celebration of the emperor‟s reign 62 . regardless of the cause of the tax, the situation in antioch reached its breaking point when this increase in taxes put further strain on the elite. in ad 387, a riot erupted in beirut 63 , in ad 388 in constantinople 64 , in ad 389 in alexandria 65 , and ad 390 in thessalonica 66 . 59 robert l. cleve, “the triumph of christianity: religion as an instrument of control.” in toru yuge and doi, masaoki. (eds.), forms of control and subordination in antiquity (tokyo, japan: the society for studies on resistance movements in antiquity and leiden, the netherlands: e.j. brill, 1988), 530-542. 60 libanius oration 19-23; john chrysostom 21 homiliae ad populum antiochenum de statuis 61 robert browning, “the riot of a.d. 387 in antioch., 13-20.; libanius oration 19.4 describes the frequent anti-imperial demonstrations in alexandria; glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria., 419-432. 62 robert browning, “the riot of a.d. 387 in antioch.”, 14. the nature of the tax is not clear. lustralis collatio effected tradesmen and merchants. evidence in the codex theodosius 13.1.15 and libanius oration 33.33. the aurum coronarium affected curiales. codex theodosius 12.13.2 of 28 th august 364. different sections of the population were involved in the riot suggesting that perhaps both we imposed. patronage networks and the ability of elites to rouse popular dissent could also explain the popular involvement. 63 libanius oration 19.28 64 socrates he 5.13; sozomenus 7.14; ambrose. ep 40.13 65 rufinus he 2.22-7; socrates he 5.16-17; sozomenus 7.15; theodoret he 5.22 david heayn 16 the later event resulted in the massacre of the entire city‟s population. with the cities of the empire revolting against authority, and the massacre, antioch was caught in a state of fear, awaiting imperial punishment. 67 while the elite (boule) were perhaps the initiators of the riot, it is clear from chrysostom that popular involvement (hoi polloi) came to direct the events. 68 first, the bouleutai gathered, to demand that the governor (archon) reduce the tax. 69 when their efforts were unsuccessful, the mob moved on to another leading authority of the city, the bishop flavian, to again demand a reduction. when the crowd could not find the bishop, to vent their anger they returned to the governor‟s house but were unable to break in. 70 the governor secure behind walls, and the bishop absent, the people turned to the next symbol of imperial patronage and presence, the imperial statues, pictures, and street lights of the city. they set fire to the house of citizens, believed to be directly involved with price manipulation and food shortage. if it had not been for the police force (toxotai), and the soldiers of the general of the east (comes orientis), the imperial palace and complex located near the governor‟s house might also have been destroyed. 71 many of the elites attempted to flee the city before receiving punishment from the local or imperial government, but several accused rioters were arrested and quickly tried and executed. 72 libanius and chrysostom‟s perspective on the riot provides two things. first, they are an overlapping and contrary set of opinions that can be used to validate each other. secondly, they present a typical understanding and bias of ancient authors concerning riots. both report that demons influenced masses, and that outside intervention from riot makers from beirut or elsewhere, were responsible. 73 this was not only an appeal on behalf of the antiochenes, it also provided the leadership of the city, those involved or not, with plausible deniability. they were not capable of controlling their own city because satan‟s power is so great. in libanius‟ oration 41.6-7, he describes the claque as a freestanding group existing daily with or without performances taking place. 74 this constant threat of violence and political dissent could be wielded by any authority that was capable 66 rufinus he 11.18 sozomenus 7.25 theodoret he 5,.17. 3 malalas 347.18 67 john chrysostom de stat. 3.6-45 68 libanius, oration 19.26; john chrysostom, de statues 8.3-4 69 libanius, oration 20.3; oration 19.27. 70 libanius oration., 19.31, 22.7 71 libanius oration., 19.36 72 ibid., 19.37 73 demonsibid., 19.29, 19.30 ; john chrysostom de statues15.1, 21.1, 21. 3; outsiders--lib oration 19.28 and 20.3; john chrysostom de stat 2.3, 5.3, 6.1, 17.2, 17.2 74 libanius oration 41.6-7 urban violence in 5 th century antioch 17 of presenting his grievance to the people and the claque. according to robert browning they were, “an important political force, whose favour an ambitious official would try to win; and he could only win it by making concessions to those who controlled the claque” 75 after the riot, this direct threat to christian authority, lead chrysostom to condemn the theatre as the root of violence and sedition. 76 while the authorities may not have welcomed the dispersion of power and the access it provided their rivals, the claque did serve as a regularized form of political expression. the economic crisis may have contributed to the events of ad 387, but the involvement of the people of the city was a true form of general popular reaction. this is not to say that in any act of violence the entire body is capable or cognizant of the causes and theological or political rhetoric. rather they are participating in an expression of dissent based upon their understanding of the world and their identity in it. due to the involvement of the curial class, it is not possible to describe riots as the sole reserve of poor and lower classes. it was the entire city that was oppressed by the economic fluctuations and increased taxes. 77 however, curiales well understood the strength of the rioters to the extent that they would retreat to their country estates during food shortages. 78 this understanding is what led them to seek the popular involvement of the theatre claque and even seek the bishop flavian to lend religious support. the larger problem that arose was the fever pitch and anti-imperial sentiment expressed in this riot. 79 destruction of the imperial statues was a capital offense and perceived as an act of open revolt and violence towards the person of the emperor. 80 the participants, especially the curiales, would have had this in mind after the riot was quelled. fortunate for the people of antioch, the riots occurring across the empire and the example made at thessalonica was an adequate display of the emperor‟s wrath. the city received a demotion in status from metropolis, and several privileges such as the olympic games were temporarily suspended, but most participants escaped with their lives. 81 in this way, the emperor expressed 75 robert browning, “the riot of a.d. 387 in antioch,” 18.“they could not be bought and sold by anyone: their effectiveness depended on the appearanceit not the realityof being champions of some popular cause. people will not demonstrate, still less fight, for what they feel to be foreign to their interests.”; libanius oration 29.2, 22.7 76 john chrysostom hom in matt. 37.6 77 libanius oration 36.4-7; zosimus 4.27-29 78 libanius oration 29.4 79 robert browning, “the riot of a.d. 387 in antioch.”, 20. 80 ambrose expos. in ps. cxviii, 10.25 81 libanius oration 23.25 david heayn 18 coercion, both through a strong-handed massacre that gained him no support, and mercy for most of the cities of the empire. standing in contrast to the riot of the statues, the destruction of the temple at daphne, is not nearly as well documented. the conditions behind the uprisings are separated by over a hundred years, but many of the same circumstances are present. in the year a.d. 507, the nestorian/monophysite conflicts had been raging for years. the olympic games were scheduled to take place in antioch. thanks to the record of john malalas, we have an extant report of the riots that ensued. 82 when the most celebrated charioteer of the empire, porphyrius calliopas, came to antioch for the games, the city was caught in celebration and enraged. during the fifth century, the emperors had become increasingly concerned with the factionalism of the circus. the emperor anastasius was rumored to have favored the greens, and also supported the monophysites after the war with persia (ad 503-505). the presence of porphyrius as a prominent green was seen as imperial involvement in antioch and the factions. after several victories, violence engulfed the city sporadically over the course of the games. while the antiochenes were celebrating the games in daphne, calliopas took the opportunity to attack and burn the jewish synagogue. when the imperial authorities heard of the event, they responded quickly to stop further violence. procopius of antioch was appointed as comes orientis, and the imperial troops prepared for another outbreak. when violence occurred, the troops engaged the greens, and arrested and killed many of the rioters, chasing them through the city. as the greens fled to the church of st. john for protection by christian authorities, they encountered the blues and the riot engulfed the city. procopius was forced to flee, and the rioters, enraged at imperial interference, killed officials and burned parts of the city. 83 the reason for choosing the synagogue as a target is unknown. emperors had repeatedly passed policy to protect the jewish population. associations with different factions, and the fact that the jewish population represented a rival to christian hegemony in the early sixth century, can be found in the writings of chrysostom and others. however, at daphne, once again the involvement of imperial coercion resulted in increased violence directed at the emperor and the government. the factional difference and the association of some members with a religious sect or political group may have started the riot, but the direction ended with an outright rejection of imperial authority. the extant record only accords involvement to the circus factions, but the specific political agenda and the attempt to appeal religious authority, depicts a scene similar to the riot of the statues. 82 malalas., 395-398 83 malalas., 398.9-10.; glanville downey, a history of antioch in syria., 503-510. urban violence in 5 th century antioch 19 in late antique sources there is minimal evidence directly discussing the political ideology of the late antique world. it is, however, possible to extract from the actions, theological philosophy, and letters, a concrete understanding of the ways in which the late antique world, and in particular, antiochenes viewed authority and their right or ability to resist tyranny and corruption. in many cases across the empire, when perceived tyrannical rule was imposed by the emperor, or even local/regional authorities, the population relied on a set of values regarding proper responses. these actions often culminated in organizing public displays of discontent, such as riots, or in direct military actions, when the possibility of combining efforts with the strength of the army and a prominent imperial usurper was possible. tyrannus, as defined by evangelos chrysos, can be taken in two ways. the first instance is the oppressive regime that takes actions, or policies, without consideration of the will of the population or its leadership. the second is simply the rise of an individual to illegitimate authority, without foundation in religious justification or the will of the people. with these two working definitions in mind, it is then possible to take into account competing strands of political/theological theories. the more commonly espoused christian political theology is promoted by eusebius of caesarea, in which the emperor can be understood as the ad hoc viceroy of god‟s kingdom on earth. the rise and fall of each emperor can then be seen as part of the will of god and that “all natural and political catastrophes are perceived as god‟s punishment.” 84 earthquakes, invasions, famines, tyrannicide, and usurpation are all part of god‟s larger plan. this political understanding is common in eschatological works throughout late antiquity and was the almost universally accepted conception of the relationship between the christianity and christian imperial rule. eusebius promoted a christian empire in which features of hellenism could be adapted to christianity and emperors such as constantine would serve as christ‟s representatives on earth. 85 more importantly for antioch, however, are the teachings found in the sermons of st. john chrysostom. within chrysostom‟s prolific writings, there are many instances, in which he describes the relationship between the christian hierarchy and the apparatus of the imperial state, as well as the role and relationship between christian citizens to the state. it is important, however, to understand the complete 84 evangelos chrysos, “the right of resistance in late antiquity and byzantium,” in toru yuge and doi, masaoki. (eds.), forms of control and subordination in antiquity (tokyo, japan: the society for studies on resistance movements in antiquity and leiden, the netherlands: e.j. brill, 1988), 313-314. 85 isabella sandwell, “christian selfdefinition in the fourth century ad: john chrysostom on christianity, imperial rule and the city” in isabella sandwell and huskinson, janet. (eds.), culture and society in later roman antioch (oxford: oxbow books, 2004), 36. david heayn 20 integration of the paganism with the civic life of antiquity. it is within this context that chrysostom‟s definition of sacred and political space takes shape. 86 chrysostom espoused a view that sharply contrasted with eusebius. the christianization of the imperial government did not mean that god‟s kingdom had been realized, because that is only possible after death. if you are a christian, no earthly city is yours. of our city „the builder and maker is god.‟ though we may gain possession of the whole, we are strangers and sojourners in it all! we are enrolled in heaven and our citizenship is there. 87 constantine and the emperors were not god‟s representatives, but simply worldly monarchs. this did not mean that chrysostom proposed open rebellion, but rather he developed an understanding of allegiance to the state without connection to religious affiliation. 88 christianity was founded principally in opposition to jewish and imperial authority of its time, and the historical interpretation of antioch comes through in chrysostom‟s political theology. the conflict between the christian and jewish communities, and three hundred years of sporadic persecution, made christianity skeptical of worldly authority although they were now firmly in control of it. 89 unlike eusebius, chrysostom believed that worldly concerns and involvement in the imperial apparatus corrupted christians, both with its pagan past and its intrigue. 90 this belief was then combined with ideas, that the emperor as elected or appointed by the elite or the army was not a permanent authority. his position was not sanctified by god‟s authority, and thus the worldly laws created by the empire were below the laws of god and the church. 91 our race ran headlong into extreme disorder, he [god] appointed other sovereignties also, but those of masters and those of governors and this too for love‟s sake. that is, since vice was a thing apt to dissolve and subvert our race, he set those who administer justice in the midst of our cities as kind 86 ibid., 35-48. 87 john chrysostom, on statues xvii.12 88 john chrysostom, romans xiii, on i corinthians vii.1, on ii corinthians ii.9 89 isabella sandwell, “christian selfdefinition in the fourth century ad.” 43. 90 john chrysostom, discourse on babylas 41-2, on ii corinthians xxci.4, on i corinthians xxxvi.7 91 ibid., on statues vii.3, on i corinthiansxxxiv.7 urban violence in 5 th century antioch 21 of doctors that driving away vice... they might gather together all in one place. 92 this quote allows for the possibility of divine appointment while still subordinating all authority to god and his representatives on earth, the bishops. 93 the inferior status of imperial authority is meant to insure the order and safety of god‟s flock, while remaining answerable to the bishops. 94 even the imperial courts were a secondary measure to the bishops. christians accused of crimes, sought the mercy and leniency of the bishops, in order to escape the corruption of government magistrates. 95 the political theology of christian leaders created an environment in which the christian communities would not necessarily break into open revolt and establish a separate political entity, but one in which the authority of the emperor and the entire imperial system was called into question. authority rests solely in god‟s majesty, and as apostolic successors, the bishops of antioch and alexandria claimed direct access to the orthodox teachings of jesus and his followers. the violence in fifth century antioch was a complex confluence of political, religious, and social conditions. in late antiquity, the deteriorating systems of classical authority and social structures coincided with the rise of an alternate social bureaucracy, the christian church. the violence of the fifth century represents the competition between various elements of society negotiating their space, place, and authority in a rapidly redefined landscape of an occupied territory of the roman empire. none of this is to say that religion was not an important element in the discourse. religion served both as a foundational structure upon which leaders based their authority and in which the larger population could find a unifying identity. religion can be seen as an important organizing principal; however, religion alone even in its most fervent instantiations cannot exclusively determine or cover over so vast a number of human interactions the application of modern social science to a pre-modern society may be criticized as an anachronistic effort. the universality of human experience, and an attempt to adapt the social models and theory to the context of late antiquity, should accommodate for the variation, similar to the way in which comparative analysis between regions accommodates for other variation. all attempts have been made to seek the essential characteristics of each theory in the hopes of acquiring a-temporal models. 92 ibid., on i corinthians xxxiv.7 93 ibid., on statues vii.3, romans xiii.1, xxiii 94 ibid., on i corinthians xv.4 95 ibid., on i corinthians xii.9-11, xvi. 3-10 david heayn 22 taking into account the political theology of late antiquity, it is necessary to find a further articulation of the relationship between a state and its citizens. the political philosophy of marx and weber are the two theoretical foundations upon which the popular and state violence of late antiquity must be grounded. the marxist school significantly influenced the social history of the past century, and increased the popularity of the secular interpretation of urban violence, as a result of class struggle and economic causality. while not subscribing completely to this interpretation, marxist theory must be addressed, and the utility of economic analysis brought to bear on the historical narrative. marx, in particular, provides a point of access to possible class interpretations, as well as a fuller understanding, of the tension that arises in a society dominated largely by wealth, and landed elites. 96 weber‟s theory on the monopoly of legitimacy violence by the state (gewaltmonopol des staates), while not as influential upon the scholarship, is equally useful in understanding the rational choice to exercise oppressive and intolerant violence by the roman state and even by local and religious authorities. 97 the violence of late antiquity revolving around the authority of religious figures should be understood in the context that all religions are at some basic level a means by which groups structure society. religious structures, during times of conflict possess a mobilizing capacity through the shared identity of its believers and assumed authority of its leaders. is religion alone capable of mass mobilization for violent means, especially across disparate regions and peoples in the greek east? 98 jillian schwedler questions the ability of faith to be the sole organizing principle behind popular violence. it appears to be true that faith can cause individuals to carry out violent acts; however, the ability of fervor to animate an entire population would seem to require more than just common belief. 99 the 96 karl marx, in robert c. tucker. (ed.), the marx-engels reader 2 nd ed. (princeton: w.w. norton & company, 1978). shifts that occurred in the historical perspective legitimize the topic and participation of the crowd in the historical narrative. marxist ideology and social scientific advances provide new techniques to interpret disparate pieces of evidence. 97 max weber, the theory of social and economic organization (1964); gwenn okruhlik, “rentier wealth, unruly law, and the rise of opposition: the political economy of oil states.” 31.3 (april, 1999): 295-315. 98 emile durkheim, the elementary forms of religious life (new york: the free press, 1995), 7. durkheim can be used for further information on the foundations of sociological treatments of religion and popular participation. . his work was used to build an understanding that religion, like all other social and cultural elements, is conditioned and formed by societal norms, influences and events. 99 jillian schwedler, “islamic identity: myth, menace, or mobilizer?” sais review 21.2 (summer-fall 2001): 1-17 urban violence in 5 th century antioch 23 ability of shared cultural, religious, and political identity combined with the impetus provided by a direct or perceived threat is a combination capable of mobilizing more than just the most fervent. when attempting to discover the salient identity of communities, there are two dominant theories at work in the field of sociology. the first is an ascriptive/primordial model in which the objective features, such as gender or race, determine an individual‟s identity. 100 another school of thought argues for the power of identity built around routine practice or acquired identity. according to schwedler, “religion is a prime example, with weekly or even daily practice effectively placing one‟s faith at the core of identity.” 101 however, john greenwood asserts that we can hardly learn anything about individual identity based exclusively on membership in a group, ascriptive or acquired. 102 since so few assumptions can be based upon membership, no identity has the inherent capacity for mobilization. it is possible then that an individual‟s identity is formed by a combination of ascriptive and acquired characteristics that are affected by the relationship of an individual to the society around them. individuals are then capable of possessing several identities simultaneously while placing varying levels of value in a particular situation. due to shifts in circumstance and relationships to others in society, identity is continuously re-evaluated over time. 103 the fluidity of identity provides both state and non-state actors space to compete for control of individuals and groups. in late antiquity, authorities attempted to develop the broadest and most powerful patronage networks, their finances and manipulation could provide them. coercion, oppression, and direct manipulation through patronage, rhetoric, and the theatre claque provided the means by which elites established identities for the larger population. 104 while these coercive measures may provide considerable control of identity, communities also define themselves differently, based upon the increasingly hostile attacks. this then can be understood in two ways. first, the state actor 100 walker connon, in ethnonationalism (princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1993), provides an elaboration on the non-rational aspects of primordial identity in regards to political behavior. 101 jillian schwedler, “islamic identity.” 2.; alberto melucci, “the process of collective identity,” in hank johnston and bert klandermans, eds., social movements and culture (minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 1995). 102 john d. greenwod, “ a sense of identity: prolegomena to a social theory of personal identity,” journal of the theory of social behavior 6:1 (1994): 38 103 jillian schwedler , “islamic identity.” 4; benedict anderson, imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism (london: verso, 1991). 104 gwenn okruhlik, “rentier wealth, unruly law, and the rise of opposition: the political economy of oil states.” 31.3 (april, 1999): 295-315. david heayn 24 attempting to impose an identity creates its own opposition by its very attempt to influence its audience. secondly, identities within a society vary from extremes. these differences then develop in competition with each other, and the influence upon an individual from the state and various non-state actors, can simultaneously alter the collective identity of each. 105 the actual events and environment surrounding identity formation often play a later role in mobilization than the influence of any one group. perceived threat or advantage combined with the daily or weekly practice of religion and possible ascriptive forms of identity then has a significant mobilization capacity when in combination. the more repressive measures taken by state or non-state actors without consideration of these three elements of identity formation only results in the establishment of alternative forms of opposition, often found within the structures of organized religion. 106 schwedler pushes this argument when stating that, “the menace of religious conflict is that it threatens to reveal that the apparent universalism of [orthodoxy as]... a mask worn to obscure imperial hegemony.” 107 for weber „state‟ is only a structure that successfully maintains a monopoly of the legitimate use of violence in the enforcement of its order. this places the state as the source of legitimate violence, and all other forms of violence must then derive legitimacy from the state. the importance of this construction is in the persistent use of violence by state and non-state actors in late antiquity. recent scholarship in the fields of psychology, sociology, economics, and political science, on terrorist activity and popular dissent, all state that popular violence is a complex combination of identity and condition. the economic situation of a particular area cannot exclusively result in anti-imperial or factional violence due to the variation amongst the class and status of those involved. religious identity does not appear to be universally salient identity for which individuals will act alone. even theories of collective identity allude to the limited capacity of group mobilization without real impetus. 108 the coercive and oppressive measures of the state have been known to create a condition in which a population is threatened, and thus reacts, based upon a shared identity and economic/political grievances. individuals are, however, part of a larger social construct, the community. capable leadership can determine a significant amount about the policy and mobilization capacity of an event or 105 jillian schwedler, “islamic identity.” 6-8. 106 ibid., 9. 107 ibid., 12. 108 t. david mason and krane, dale a, “the political economy of death squads: toward a theory of impact of state-sanctioned terror.” international studies quarterly 33.2 (june 1989): 175-198.; martha crenshaw, “the psychology of terrorism: an agenda for the 21 st century.” political psychology 21.2 (june 2000): 405-420. urban violence in 5 th century antioch 25 identity, but only insofar as they find consensus amongst the population and rally them behind popular grievances. the fifth century presents a period of nearly constant tension between factions, religions, and authorities. the shift in patronage networks from classical to christian foundations, and the particular economic conditions that stimulated war, famine, and dissent, came together to provide real impetus to local leaders and factions. the empire no longer brought the same benefits it once had, and the local authorities could promise greater rewards in this life and the next. this equation, combined with the oppressive and often fickle policy of the emperors, created a disaffected population seeking resolutions to practical and religious grievances. 109 109 andrew kydd and walkter, barbara f. “sabotaging the peace: the politics of extremist violence.” international organization 56.2 (spring, 2002): 263-296; 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(eds.), forms of control and subordination in antiquity. tokyo, japan: the society for studies on resistance movements in antiquity and leiden, the netherlands: e.j. brill, 1988. outland as motherland: outland as motherland: maternity and homosexuality in willa cather’s the professor’s house peter nagy english concerning the emotional and psychological dilemma of professor st. peter godfrey in willa cather’s the professor’s house, doris grumbach articulates the query central to countless readings of the narrative: “what is wrong with the professor?” (336). among the numerous responses to this perennially debated question, perhaps queer analyses, which typically focus on what john p. anders envisions as “the link between homosexuality and the spiritual experience,” venture the most successful accounts of godfrey’s baffling disposition (97). regarding “homosexuality” as “cather’s most potent metaphor” for the professor’s “redemptive quest,” anders conceptualizes the “overtly eroticized” st. peter and tom outland relationship as one that operates outside the modern realm of heterosexual domesticity and functions as a creative, imaginative, and therefore, recuperative space for the spiritually and emotionally depleted st. peter (97, 99). for anders, the freedom of homosexual companionship consistently finds expression in cather’s “poetics of engendered space”: the homoerotically charged spatial metaphors of attics, gardens, and lakes, which circumscribe, mediate, and stimulate the romantic connection between the professor and outland. providing escape from “rampant materialism” and “spiritual decline,” these romantic and erotic spaces are metaphors for the homosexual intimacy that reconciles “tensions in the professor’s life,” namely the friction between his repressed homosexual identity and his psychically corrosive and alienating hetero-normative life comprised of “’marriage and the world of women’” (anders 116, 103). when positioning st. peter and outland’s romance within erotic and engendered landscapes, anders and other critics, however, overlook the significance of maternal metaphors within these contexts and their implied relation to the professor’s symbolically homosexual spaces. the central and recurrent image of water, for instance, frequently inspires a mingling of maternal and homoerotic codes. the lake that metaphorically represents birth—“the sun rose out of it, the day began there; it was like an open door peter nagy that nobody could shut”— also harbors erotically charged cliffs, foam, and “one tall, straight pine tree” growing “on the very tip of the little promontory” (20-21). moreover, the “blue water” that recalls st. peter’s fantasies of “childhood” and the beginning of “consciousness” simultaneously recollects water-based homosocial experiences, notably the professor and outland’s leisurely activities on the lake and st. peter’s erotic fantasies of his sea voyage with captain “hautes-pyrenees, half a dozen spry seamen, and a line of gleaming snow peaks, agonizingly high and sharp, along the southern coast of spain” (20, 79).1 the infusion of homoerotic spaces with maternal symbolism and the inscription of the st. peter— outland dynamic within maternal spaces strongly suggest a parallel between themes of maternity and homosexuality. my interest in maternity and homosexuality in the professor’s house arises from the scant attention critics have given to st. peter’s longing for maternal union, but especially the unexplored juxtaposition between the professor’s cathexis and his homosexual yearning. except for leon edel’s succinct depiction of the professor’s psychological drive for the harmonious state within the embrace of the “protective, caring” mother (73), discussion considering maternity central to the text appears limited to sharon o’brien’s brief declaration that the professor’s house features the “search for a maternal figure” (o’brien 52). examining the biographical resonance of lesbianism and mother-daughter relationships within catherian fiction, o’brien sees a number of texts reflecting the psychodynamics of self and mother proposed by object-relations theorist nancy chodorow. for o’brien, narratives such as my antonia, demonstrating issues of mother-infant unification and separation, reflect the basic psychoanalytic story provided by object-relations theory, which sees the roots of human development in the infant’s identification with the primary love object of the mother. this state of “pre-oedipal fusion” or undifferentiation marks a time when “the infant does not distinguish itself from the external world, which is coextensive with the mother,” and in which “there are no ego boundaries separating self and other and no reflective ego” (46). the process of individuation entails the infant’s alienation from the primary love object. according to o’brien, selfidentity, both in cather and object-relations theory, evolves through separation from maternal origins and becomes constructed through language and social discourses (47). “[l]osing the original union with the mother and 1 this paper follows anders and others in assuming that homosociality implies homosexuality in the professor’s house. 2 outland as motherland abandoning state of oneness,” the infant is pulled remorselessly into language and alienated subjectivity. but while nancy chodorow asserts that the preoccupation with preoedipal oneness particularly informs the psychic growth and future relationships of females—as a mother’s identification with her daughter frustrates the processes of differentiation and separation more easily undertaken by the son—she submits that “on one psychological level, all people who have experienced primary love and primary identification have some aspect of self that wants to recreate these experiences, and most people try to do so” (79, added italics). “freud,” she writes, “talks about the turn to religion as an attempt to recreate the lost feeling of oneness. michael balint suggests that adult love relationships are an attempt to recreate primary intimacy and merging, and that the ‘tranquil sense of well-being’ is their ultimate goal” (79). pre-oedipal fixation is accordingly possible for sons as well as daughters. and even though o’brien’s readings similarly stress fusion and separation in the context of mother-daughter relationships, her own explication of willie’s return to “preverbal infantile bliss” in cather’s short piece, “the burglar’s christmas,” instantiates the importance of mother-son relationships and predicts the centrality of this issue within the author’s longer fiction. indeed, o’brien’s reading of “the burglar’s christmas” as the story of a male protagonist seeking primary union with his mother anticipates my own argument for st. peter’s preoccupation with preoedipal harmony in the professor’s house. my analysis builds from o’brien’s suggestion of the thematic primacy of maternity in the professor’s house and the critic’s employment of chodorow’s psychoanalytic categories to explicate the parallel between maternity and homosexuality.2 this reading of st. peter’s narrative through spatial metaphors argues that the return of the professor to evocations of motherhood and homosociality signifies attempts to recapitulate a state of “preverbal infantile bliss” (o’brien 53). responding to grumbach’s question about the nature of st. peter godfrey, i suggest that central to the professor’s “problem” are basic psychological issues set forth in objectrelations theory: the haunting loss of the primary-love object and the subsequent drive for maternal origins and pre-oedipal unity. the desire to 2 like o’brien, i find nancy chodorow’s categories in the reproduction of mothering particularly helpful in illuminating the psychosexual issues of the professor’s house. yet, freudian psychoanalysis, whose general connection to cather has been only recently pioneered by john n. swift, may be a more historically appropriate source. see john n. swift, “cather, freudianism, and freud.” 3 peter nagy reclaim primordial wholeness characterizes the professor’s persistent occupation of symbolically maternal spaces that metonymically recall primary fusion. associated with these maternal environments, male homosexuality—suggested in various erotic figures, fantasies, and romantic subtexts—functions as a code for the primordial union st. peter hopes to recapture. tom outland, the youthful male homosexual lover, accordingly serves as a surrogate love object by which the professor has attempted, but failed to reinstate primary identification in the novel. in this paper, i first evince the professor’s pre-oedipal cathexis by depicting his preoccupation with symbolically maternal surroundings, namely the lake, the attic room, and the garden. evidencing the coalescence of maternal and homosexual significations within these spaces, i argue that st. peter’s past romance with outland, who had “brought him a second kind of youth,” marked his failed attempt to recapture primary harmony through male-male intimacy (234). rather than anders’s bleak conclusion that the professor’s house results in st. peter’s spiritual resignation and submission to “conventional gestures” (117), or edel’s argument that the protagonist’s problematic “mother fixation” remains unresolved, i maintain that st. peter successfully satisfies his longing for primary oneness (edel 75). having failed to reinstate pre-oedipal unity by replacing the primary object of the mother with the surrogate object of the homosexual lover, st. peter recovers a sense of maternal origins through an embrace of religion, which refashions the “oceanic feeling” enjoyed in pre-oedipal unification.3 the professor’s death and rebirth through augusta, the religious mother who leads st. peter to the freedom of god, returns him to psychic and spiritual wholeness. _________________ in the professor’s house, st. peter’s psychic issues express themselves in what sharon o’brien terms “the language of space” (63). the various maternal/homoerotic spaces the professor inhabits throughout the narrative—the lake, attic, and garden—reveal his preoccupation with recapturing original union. what catalyzes his obsession with maternal origins, appropriately, is an abrupt change of landscape recollected in the opening of the first section, “the family.” here, the professor’s recollected transition from the “blue water” of “lake michigan, the inland sea of his 3 see sigmund freud’s civilization and its discontents. 4 outland as motherland childhood,” to the “wheat lands of kansas” figures a shift away from maternal harmony and the loss of maternal origins that st. peter strives to recuperate throughout the narrative (20-21). for st. peter, “blue water” contextualizes a primordial state before the advent of ego, “when he was unwilling and unconscious, when his eyes were merely wide open” (21). fittingly, the professor associates this time before self-consciousness and separation not only with a mother-lake, but with his actual methodist mother and sense of protected infantilism: the lake from which “the sun rose” and “the day began” evokes the sanctum of the womb, where the “land and all its dreariness could never close in on you,” and the freedom of primary union, a space much like an “open door that nobody could shut” (cather 20). the professor’s memory of maternal waters as “the one thing” for which he was continually “home-sick” and of his nearly fatal expulsion from the lake to “the wheat lands of central kansas” as an unparalleled “anguish” that “seemed so final” suggest the extent to which the loss of pre-oedipal union governs his psychological motivations. st. peter’s movement from lake michigan to kansas allegorizes a transition from infantile bliss within primary oneness to the isolation of detached identity. as the professor later states, infantilism reflects the time before “adolescence grafted a new creature into the original one,” the state before social and sexual determinants “ordered [him] from the outside” (250). as it stands in his memory, st. peter’s dislocation from the womb/lake, which leads directly to a “professorship” as well as heterosexual “love” and marriage, follows a common psychoanalytic story that understands selfhood and gender identity beginning in the psychic separation of infant from mother (250). the professor’s desire in adulthood to remain “near the lake” reaffirms—against chodorow’s model of facile mother-son separation—his continuing longing for maternal origins and anticipates the persistence of the suitably “tireless swimmer” of maternal waters to recover “some part of [pre-oedipal] delight” (4). 4 the psychic transition one sees represented in the professor’s change from lake michigan to kansas reverberates in the opening of the professor’s house (“the moving was over and done”) where the reader encounters st. peter clinging to his attic room in the wake of another geographical change that similarly threatens to drag him away from a desired past, a time when “he had worked out his career” and raised his daughters (1). but, as leon edel suggests in naming st. peter’s “strange 4 dinnerstein quoted in o’brien’s willa cather: an emerging voice, 54. 5 peter nagy attachment” to the old house and especially the womb-like attic “infantile conduct,” the professor’s continuing occupation of his “cuddy” represents more than a hope to salvage an earlier familial moment. the “dark den” to which the professor clings appears to be a protective maternal “insulation from the engaging drama of domestic life” in which st. peter attempts to replay maternal union. even the house itself, which always remained generally unfurnished and imperfect—“there were always so many things to fix”—reflects the professor’s desired state of incomplete development (3). and still more, the implicit depiction of the house as a neutral space— the wall-paper fades into “inoffensive neutrality”—recalls cather’s personal conception of infantilism as neutral, communal territory—a time of “ freedom and wholeness…when the self was not yet socially engendered” (o’brien 97). suitably, the professor’s attic also features two prominent maternal symbols: augusta, the motherly sewing woman who appropriately frequents the attic room, and the sewing dummies that suggest feminine archetypes or female “’forms’” (9). as st. peter ironically implies, each dummy for him functions metonymically (9)5. the first, “’the bust’” in which the professor takes special “delicacy,” is an explicitly maternal figure. the “headless, armless female torso, covered with strong black cotton, and so richly developed in the part for which it was named” metonymically signifies the sanctum of the mother, as it “looked so ample and billowy (as if you might lay your head upon its deep-breathing softness and rest safe forever)” (9). but, at the same time, the maternal form recalls “certain disappointments,” what the professor imagines as the “severe shock” of eventual separation from the mother, the inevitable expulsion from pre-oedipal fusion (cather 9). a “dead, opaque, lump solidity” the bust connotes the illusoriness of primary oneness (“somehow always fooling you again”) as well as the potential impossibility of returning to maternal origins (9-11). while leon edel maintains that the second form, “a woman of light behavior,” resembles a sexualized and eroticized maternity, st. peter’s resistance to the “cruel biological necessities” embodied by the sewing dummy— “he had never been taken in by one of her kind!”—indicates that it symbolizes a threatening social and sexual identity—one from which the professor wishes to retreat by returning to amorphousness within pre-oedipal undifferentiation 5 st. peter declares that augusta’s dummy labels “followed a natural law of language, termed, for convenience, metonymy” (9). but, as the labels are synecdochic rather than metonymic, the professor ironically implies his own metonymical association of the dummy. 6 outland as motherland (10). significantly, the second form, as well as the first, comforts the professor by suggesting the artificiality of gender. each dummy recalls engendering ornaments, namely the party “frocks”—which augusta fittingly terms “transformations”—worn by st. peter’s daughters in order to create the illusion of mature femininity. the “walled-in garden” figures another maternal surrounding through which the professor strives for his lost maternal origins. like the attic room and lake, st. peter’s garden marks a womb-like space, a maternal surrogate he begins to occupy after “his wife began to be unreasonable about his spending so much time at the lake” (5). within the fertile landscape of the garden, where there prospers various feminine and maternal flowers and trees—“salmon-pink geraniums,” “french marigolds,” and “two symmetrical, round-topped linden-trees”—st. peter works off his “homesickness for other” motherlands, specifically the maternal waters of the lake (6). the garden that allows the professor to “evade the unpleasant effects of change” is suitably retroactive, allowing him to recapture his predomestic identity: “sending his wife and daughters to colorado…in these months he was a bachelor again, he brought down his books and papers and worked in a deck chair under the linden-trees; breakfasted and lunched and had his tea in the garden” (7). yet these spaces of primordial significance—lake, garden, and attic—are really composites of maternal and homosexual metaphors. while evoking maternal origins, they also suggest homosexuality through erotic symbols, homoerotic fantasies, and subtexts of male-male romance. the french garden of maternal symbolism, for instance, simultaneously features phallic figures, such as the “row of slender lombardy poplars” and the “greenbrier” with “prickly stems” (6). it also marks the site of the professor’s first encounter with tom outland and their ensuing relationship: “and it was there he and tom outland used to sit and talk half through the warm, soft nights” (7). similarly, the lake, and the “blue water” with which st. peter associates it, are maternal metaphors charged with homoeroticism. a womblike landscape “studded with shaggy pines,” the lake ensures maternal comfort while its blue water stimulates reveries of the sea voyage with hautes-pyreness along the masculine “ranges of the sierra nevadas” covered with “snow peak after snow peak, high beyond the flight of fancy, gleaming like crystal and topaz” (89). the dual maternal/homosexual resonance of water even surfaces when the simultaneously fetal and phallicimaged professor, wearing a “rubber visor” that “was like a continuation of his flesh,” swims against the “purple blue” of the lake water (57). like the garden, the mother-lake further contextualizes st. peter’s relationship with 7 peter nagy outland: “every saturday the professor turned his house over to the cleaning-woman, and he and tom went to the lake and spent the day in his sailboat” (154). and even the attic, while not bearing explicit homosexual symbolism, similarly allows st. peter to gaze longingly at a “dark clump of pine-trees” and the “physics building” where “outland’s laboratory used to burn so far into the night!” (74). the mingling of maternal and homoerotic metaphors juxtaposes homosexuality and maternity and suggests a parallel between the lost mother-son dynamic the professor wishes to re-inhabit and his past relationship with tom outland. suitably, the professor’s memories of what john p. anders identifies as an often implicit, but ultimately transparent homosexual romance with outland are located within maternal contexts. the professor even associates tom with timelessness and his “original, unmodified” state (cather 239). continuous with st. peter’s love of youth that “had nothing to do with time,” his attraction to tom, who “’hasn’t any birthday,’” stems from outland’s signification of everlasting boyhood (19, 104). but most significant, tom’s journey on the symbolically maternal blue mesa parallels the professor’s own attachment to motherlands. inhabiting the mesa and cliff city, outland displays a “narcissisticinfantile” attachment to “the paradise of life in the womb” (edel 74). while deborah lindsay williams observes that “tom finds on the blue mesa” a “woman’s world,” i believe the mesa more precisely represents a maternal world (164). the mere blueness of the landscape echoes the maternal significations of st. peter’s blue water; its cliff city stands steeped in maternal resonance, circumscribing feminine symbols ranging from caves to “mother eve”—the mummified body of a dead “young woman”—and even the bust-like “pinons” growing in st. peter’s garden (192, 168, my italics). and just as the professor’s mother-spaces feature erotic symbols and subtexts of homosexual romance, outland’s mesa supports a “tower, swelling out to a larger girth a little above the base, then growing slender again” and contextualizes the commonly noted intimate relationship of tom and roddy blake. but in contrast to the professor’s metaphorical expulsion from pre-oedipal harmony, the literal absence of outland’s maternal figure, who “died in the mover wagon” when “tom was a baby,” appears the catalyst for his mother quest.6 6 interestingly the death of tom’s father by drowning in river water implies another masculine preoccupation with maternal origins (cather 105). his death in maternal waters further anticipates the parallel between death and primordial harmony observed in the closing of the narrative. 8 outland as motherland st. peter’s memories of tom within maternal contexts, the professor’s association of tom with a perennial youth reminiscent of his own original, unmodified identity, and tom’s association with the mother-world of the blue mesa all invite an identification of outland as a lost motherland or maternal surrogate for st. peter. for the professor, the homosexual lover tom outland represented a surrogate love object with whom he had hoped to replace the primary love object of the mother and to recapture pre-oedipal harmony. under this interpretation, st. peter’s past relationship with outland reflects the adult love relationships through which, in michael balint’s view, many adults attempt to recreate primary identification and merging.7 of course, this proposed parallel between maternity and homosexuality provokes some questions. why would a homosexual relationship in particular allow the professor to reenact pre-oedipal fusion? why would the young male lover tom outland represent motherland to st. peter instead of the professor’s wife lilian? while object-relations theorist nancy chodorow does not discuss mother-infant issues in relation to homosexuality, sharon o’brien, reading female intimacy in catherian fiction, suggests that specifically lesbian relationships, in which the lover sees the primary object of mother reflected in her female partner, replay primary identification: “and the daughter who becomes a lesbian, as did cather, does not abandon the child’s erotic bond with the mother but replays it in her sexual and romantic relationships” (104). but, in understanding mother-son relationships in catherian fiction, typically “characterized by fusion rather than separation,” as merely masks for mother-daughter relationships (and thus, male homosexuality that connotes primary harmony as a veil for lesbianism), o’brien neglects the capacity of male-male intimacy to replay primary identification. while one might benefit from interpreting male homosexuality in the professor’s house as disguised lesbianism, such reading assumes that cather differentiated between male and female sexuality in terms of their capacity to reproduce pre-oedipal fusion. if preoedipal fusion, according to object-relations theory, results from an infant’s identification with the mother (the love object from whom the infant does not differentiate itself), it seems possible that even male homosexuality— relationships in which masculine lovers find themselves reflected in samesex partners—replays the primary state of undifferentiation. in any case, the coalescence of maternity and homosexuality in the professor’s house certainly encourages a conception of st. peter’s lost intimacy with tom outland as a failed attempt to reconfigure mother-son 7 see the reproduction of mothering, 79. 9 peter nagy unity. outland’s maternal significance for the professor even accounts for the failure of the relationship to translate into an explicitly identifiable homosexual romance. in his reading of the professor-outland interaction as a “whitmanesque model of friendship…that fails to gel into a recognizable subcultural idiom,” scott herring contends that the overall covertness of the allegedly homosexual dynamic, especially the professor’s refusal to translate his supposed romance with tom into language, signals its estrangement from the “modern” heterosexual/homosexual binary: “in lieu of sexual legibility, godfrey refuses to institutionalize—to properly name—the relational gifts that the boy has brought. he can’t and he firmly refuses to ‘explain’ a bond that is utterly unlike ‘everything’ else that he knows, since his friendship with tom fits no contemporary pattern (79-80). though i concur with herring on the whitmanesque nature of the st. peter-outland union, i believe the maternal significance of the relationship better explains the refusal or inability of the professor to voice this male-male romance. as nancy chodorow notes, the pre-oedipal state of infant-mother unity is prelinguistic, as it occurs before the advent of a languaged and socially engendered identity. in the professor’s house, st. peter suitably associates adolescent growth, which “grafted a new creature into the original one,” and the development of a socially constructed, hetero-normative identity—the time when he began being “ordered from the outside”—with the spoken word: the man he was now, the personality his friends knew, had begun to grow strong during adolescence, during the years when he was always consciously or unconsciously conjugating the verb ‘to love’…when he met lilian it had reached its maturity…one thing led to another and one development brought on another, and the design of his life had been the work of this secondary social man, the lover. (240) the “vulgar tongue” into which st. peter refuses to translate his relationship with outland not only refers to “money” and “laws of society”—by which heterosexual relationships such as rosamond and tom’s become economic—but language itself: the catalyst for pre-oedipal separation and social alienation (50). the professor cannot name his preoccupation with maternal union because, as an inherently pre-social and pre-verbal state, it precludes linguistic characterization.8 as st. peter himself suggests, one 10 outland as motherland cannot verbalize “’one’s deepest feelings’” (37)—a sentiment the professor demonstrates in his incapacity to identify his strive for maternal origins, which one observes in his failure to name augusta’s resemblance of his mother: “how much she reminded him of, to be sure!” (15). like st. peter’s psychic drive to recapture primordial unity, the professor and outland’s relationship, by its pre-verbal nature, remains a mystified subtext that never translates into clear terms and remains outside the language of the narrative.9 _________________ many critics, such as catherine m. mclay, interpret st. peter’s “return to earth” at the conclusion of the narrative as merely a failed attempt at suicide in which the professor finds himself on the “verge of death” (cather 241).10 but it is important to note that st. peter himself conceives his final act as a “definite absence from the world of men and women”—a figurative or literal death returning him to an “earlier state” before engendered and socialized identity and before “distinction” (255, 240, 242). appropriately, st. peter likens, albeit ironically, his death or death-like state to maternal origins. misquoting longfellow’s translation of the anglo-saxon “grave,” which he significantly recalls from reading “long ago in one of his mother’s few books,” (added italics) st. peter parallels the death-bed with the original bed, the maternal womb: for thee a house was built ere thou was born for thee a mould was made ere thou of woman camest. (248) here the professor’s subsequent question—“why pretend that it is possible to soften that last hard bed?”—furthers, if ironically, the juxtaposition of death and primordial origins by suggesting that “the sham upholstery that is put in coffins” marks the attempt by humans—who are subliminally aware 8 pioneering cather’s freudianism, john n. swift similarly identifies speechlessness in catherian fiction as the “desire at the foundation of the unconscious, the child’s desire, unrepresentable but unforgotten: the ‘thing not named’ (and unnamable, because it is prior to the alienating deflections of speech), or perhaps more simply ‘the precious, the incommunicable past.’” see cather, freudianism, and freud. 9 the relationship’s prequel status — that is, its placement before the time of the narrative —further implies its figurative primordiality. 10 see religion in the novels of willa cather 11 peter nagy of the similarity between death and pre-oedipal fusion—to recreate the softness of the womb in the casket. lying on his death-bed couch within the maternally symbolic attic room, st. peter falls “out of all domestic and social relations, out of his place in the human family,” releasing himself “from consciousness” and returning to mother “earth,” the “root of the matter” and source of “the original, unmodified godfrey st. peter” (239). the professor’s death is neither suicide nor resignation, not an end but a whitmanesque diffusion back into the landscape from which he came, a return to “primitive” or primordial origins (241).11 cycling from death to rebirth, st. peter is reborn through the religious mother, augusta, who embodies religion’s maternal signification for the professor and the maternal embrace of god, the freedom of which has been signaled in godfrey’s name (god-free) all along. since religion, as freud claims, allows one to replay pre-oedipal fusion, st. peter finds in augusta and religion an everlasting maternity.12 having failed to recuperate pre-oedipal origins in his attachment to maternal spaces and through the surrogate love object of the homosexual lover, tom outland, st. peter finally recaptures a permanent state of primary fusion through the “oceanic feeling” of religion.13 religious belief proliferates, for the professor, maternal resonance. embracing this omnipresent maternity, st. peter godfrey perceives “a world full of augustas, with whom one was outward bound,” and, at last, turns from the past to a future he can face “with fortitude” (258). 11 see “song of myself,” in which whitman’s narrator disappears back into the eddies of the wind. 12 see the reproduction of mothering, 79. 13 freud’ description of the oceanic feeling of religion interestingly recalls the maternal significations of water in the professor’s house. see civilization and its discontents. 12 outland as motherland works cited anders, john p. willa cather’s sexual aesthetics and the male homosexual literary tradition. lincoln: university of nebraska, 1999. cather, willa. the professor’s house. new york: vintage, 1990. chodorow, nancy. the reproduction of mothering: psychoanalysis and the sociology of gender. berkeley: university of california p, 1978. edel, leon. “willa cather’s the professor’s house: an inquiry into the use of psychology in literary criticism.” literature and psychology 4 (1954): 69-79. herring, scott. “catherian friendship; or, how not to do the history of homosexuality.” mfs 52.1 (2006): 67-91. mclay, catherine m. “religion in the novels of willa cather.” renascence: essays on value in literature 27 (1975): 125-44. o’brien, sharon. willa cather: the emerging voice. new york: oxford up, 1987. swift, john n. “cather, freudianism, and freud.” cather studies 7 (2007): 212-229. williams, deborah lindsay. “’fragments of their desire’: willa cather and the alternative aesthetic tradition of native american women.” willa cather and material culture: real-world writing, writing the real world. ed. janis p. stout. tuscaloosa: university of alabama, 2004. 156-170. 13 peter nagy english works cited the calculator in the elementary classroom 1 the calculator in the elementary classroom: making a useful tool out of an ineffective crutch erin mccauliff department of education and human services villanova university edited by klaus volpert in the early 1980’s the hand-held calculator began to appear in elementary classrooms, and with its introduction came controversy. would the use of the calculator take away from students’ ability to think and reason through problems? the purpose of this paper is to review research that addresses both the positive and negative effects of calculator use in the primary grades. the author will specifically address research findings that both support and challenge the use of calculators in primary grades. it is important to note that most research that supports the use of calculators, but also cautions that responsibility must lie with the teacher. one study showed a direct correlation between teacher training and calculator use. “teachers who had received no training in the use of calculators were evenly divided between whether their students used calculators or did not. teachers who had more training were likely to have students use calculators in their classroom.” (porter, 1990) this paper will also address teachers’ attitudes toward calculator use, and will conclude with a summary of how the existence of calculators in the primary grades demands curriculum modification, and consequently, a reformation in teacher education. in 1966, a development team at texas instruments invented a miniature calculator that would change the lives of many. one could use the device to perform simple mathematical computations more quickly and more precisely than with paper and pencil. this tool expanded the mathematical capabilities of everyone from high school students to businesspersons. public interest in calculator use in schools has grown over the past twenty-five years, as they have become more affordable. 2 until the hand-held calculator appeared, elementary school mathematics curricula stressed paper-and-pencil calculations out of necessity—it was the fastest way to find the answer to the problem. today, however, the device can quickly do computations that used to take students many hours of instruction and practice to master. this poses an important question: how will the incorporation of this technological advance influence the development of students’ basic reasoning skills, specifically in the elementary class room? the national council of teachers of mathematics (nctm) made the following statement in 2000: “technology should not be used as a replacement for basic understandings and intuitions; rather, it can and should be used to foster those understandings and intuitions.” this belief has not wavered much since 1974, when the nctm issued a sweeping statement urging that calculators appear in school at all grade levels. they expected that the tool “would aid algorithmic instruction, support concept development, reduce demand for memorization, enlarge the scope of problem solving, provide motivation, and encourage discovery, exploration and creativity.” yet, twelve years later, the calculator had been unsuccessful in redirecting the curriculum and had failed to enter most classrooms. (hembree and dessart, 1986) today, the national council of teachers of mathematics takes the position that calculators can and should be used in all mathematics classrooms, as long as they are implemented properly. “appropriate instruction that includes calculators can extend students’ understanding of mathematics and will allow all students access to rich problem-solving experiences.” (nctm, 2000) this qualification, appropriate instruction, is the reason for concern. in order for this technology to have a positive impact on students’ learning of mathematics, teachers must be educated as to how to put the calculator into practice. the calculator should be used as a supplement to learning, not as a replacement for learning computational algorithms. professional mandates before addressing the research findings on the positive and negative effects of calculator use in the elementary classroom, it is necessary to state that professional mandates exist. the national council of teachers of mathematics published a position statement that speaks to the use of calculators in the education of the nation’s children. “the nctm recommends the integration of calculators into the school mathematics program at all grade levels.” the committee goes on to explain the rationale behind their position: “research and experience support the potential for appropriate use to enhance the learning and teaching of mathematics. calculator use has been shown to enhance cognitive gains in areas that include number sense, conceptual development, and visualization.” 3 the committee recommends that all students should have access to calculators. they state that all mathematics teachers should promote the use of this technology and that they should keep up with new skills by participating in professional development activities that are encouraged by the school district. in her doctoral dissertation in 1990, porter quoted a reys and reys study from 1987 that concluded “every school should have a clear calculator policy; otherwise, teachers in the same school at the same grade level may employ different rules for calculator use.” some states also have mandates that support the use of calculators in at all grade levels. with such directives come a responsibility for all school districts, administrators, and teachers. the next two sections will address research that has highlighted both the positive and negative effects of calculator use in the elementary grades. positive effects research highlights both advantages and disadvantages of utilizing the calculator in elementary classrooms. however, most studies show no definite harmful effects from recommending a calculator for computation at an early age. it seems clear that if the calculator is used properly to enhance a curriculum, the students will reap many benefits. first, students can spend more time solving problems conceptually. “for example, a simple four-function calculator will allow students to use whatever operation is appropriate in a problem, regardless of whether they are confident of their own skill at carrying out that operation.” (hembree & dessart, 1986) here, the students experience a computational advantage and become more secure in their abilities. computation is important specifically because it is necessary to solve many mathematical problems. the particular method used, however, whether it involves mental math, paper and pencil, or a calculator, is just one part of the computation process. students must also know what kind of computation to perform and be able to identify the appropriate numbers to use in computations. hembree and dessart (1986) assert “real mathematics means knowing a variety of strategies for solving problems and having the ability to apply them appropriately.” using a calculator enables students to think more abstractly: it allows children to solve problems whose solutions are within theoretical, but not computational, grasp. furthermore, “the use of realistic data is motivational and helps children see connections between school mathematics and the mathematics used in the real world.” (charles, 1999) hembree and dessart’s research in 1986 reported the findings of a metaanalysis of the effects of pre-college calculator use. they analyzed the results of seventy-nine research reports that focused on students’ achievement and attitude. each study involved one group of students using calculators and another group 4 having no access to calculators. from their analysis, hembree and dessart concluded that the calculator “did not delay students’ acquisition of conceptual knowledge and that it significantly improved their attitude and self-concept concerning mathematics.” in this study, results show that “for problem solving with the calculator, the effects for lowand high-ability students were higher than the effect for average students. the calculator created not only a computational advantage but also a benefit in the selection of proper approaches to a solution.” it was also found that “in grades k-12 (except grade 4), students who use calculators in concert with traditional instruction maintain their paper-and-pencil skills without apparent harm.” hembree and dessart found that the use of calculators in testing produces much higher achievement scores than paper-and-pencil efforts, both in basic operations and in problem solving. this was true across all grades and abilities. in general, these researchers found that students using calculators possessed a better attitude toward mathematics and more confidence than non-calculator students did. (1986) in fact, “the role of the calculator as a positive motivator for students has been documented in many studies. several studies have reported increased confidence and improved attitudes toward mathematics as well as a greater persistence in problem solving when calculators are used.” (porter, 1990; driscoll, 1981) so not only will students be able to develop conceptual thinking skills with the use of a calculator, but they will also gain confidence in their mathematical abilities. in 1997, smith conducted a meta-analysis that extended the results of hembree and dessart. smith analyzed twenty-four research studies conducted from 1984 through 1995, asking questions about attitude and achievement due to student use of calculators. as in the hembree and dessart study, test results of students using calculators were compared to those of students not using calculators. smith’s study showed that the calculator had a positive effect on increasing conceptual knowledge. this effect was evident through all grades and statistically significant for students in third grade. smith also found that calculator usage had a positive effect on students in both problem solving and computation and did not hinder the development of pencil-and-paper skills. (deridder, dessart, ellington, 1999; smith 1997) dockweiler & shielack found that conceptual development “was fostered by the calculator’s quick capability to display numbers. this is directly to students’ concrete experiences with the numbers by using the calculator to reinforce the patterns generated in base ten materials. a calculator provides support for recording the connections between the concrete material and their symbolic representation. for example, many young students have difficulty counting with the combination of hundreds, tens, and ones represented by the 5 pieces in the base ten materials. with the use of the calculator, students can explore the relationships between these place values.” (1992) the proper use of calculators will also enhance number sense, conceptual development, and visualization. number sense is a foundation for early success with mathematics. calculators can help to develop the conceptual understandings and abilities that underlie strong number sense. calculators are particularly powerful in enabling children to make and test conjectures and generalizations related to numbers and operations. “making and testing conjectures about counting patterns helps children understand number relationships, develops flexibility with numbers, and promotes the development of mental and paper-and-pencil computational strategies. for example, students can use a calculator to skip count by 5’s (press 0 + 5 =, and so on). students can try the same process with other numbers and try to figure out what patterns emerge, and make predictions. the counting capability of the calculator allows students to focus on patterns that result from adding the same number repeatedly.” (charles, 1999) this type of activity can aid students in future studying of multiplication and division. “in upper elementary grades, students can use the calculator to explore the relationships among various representations of rational numbers.” (reys &arbaugh, 2001) negative effects unfortunately, most teachers do not know how to implement the calculator properly and hence, students are often at a disadvantage. first, if students do not understand the basic skills necessary to move on, they may not have success in future classes. if the students are taught to rely on the calculator, even to only check answers, their confidence will suffer when the calculator is taken away. if one provides calculators at an early age, students may not learn computational algorithms. secondly, calculators also provide an illusion of progress; students may experience a false sense of confidence and consequently, their motivation decreases. as mentioned earlier, hembree and dessart found positive results for calculator usage in all grades except grade four, “where paper-and-pencil skills were hampered by the calculator treatment. throughout the analysis, it had appeared that the calculator usage served the low or high ability student less well than the average student. sustained calculator use by average students in grade 4 appears counterproductive with regard to basic skills.” (1986) 6 danielle mcnamara, at the university of colorado, examined a specific laboratory finding called the generation effect, and applied it to the elementary classroom. “the generation effect refers to the finding that having students generate tobe-learned information themselves, rather than simply copying or reading the information enhances both short-term (e.g., slamecka & graf, 1978) and long-term (e.g., crutcher & healy, 1989) retention of information in various situations. elementary school children learned simple multiplication by generating (i.e., computing the answers) or reading (i.e., reading the answers from a calculator display). the children were given a pretest, read or generate training, posttest, and a retention test after 2 weeks. (the children did not use calculators on these tests). read training involved approximately half as much training time compared with generate training and was moderately effective. in terms of test time, read children showed a loss of efficiency after the 2-week delay compared with the generate children who showed no loss.” (1995) earlier in 1995, mcnamara and alice healy conducted a similar study of adults. while the findings of this study implied that the use calculators would be ineffective for children at this specific skill level, the second study did not positively support one learning method over the other. however, the study did imply that allowing elementary school children to use calculators to solve addition and multiplication problems before basic skills were acquired would be detrimental to the learning process. this means that children should not use calculators, but should perform the operations mentally when learning new types of problems. “one goal of the experiment was to examine how elementary-school-age children learn new multiplication facts best, reading the answer from a calculator display versus generating the answer and thus solving the problem mentally. children in both conditions used a calculator; however, the principal difference between the read and generate conditions was the point at which the answer was displayed on the calculator. in the read condition, it was before writing down an answer to a problem, and in the generate condition, it was afterward.” (1995) the following is a table showing overall results. figure i (mcnamara, 1995) 7 mcnamara concluded that “calculators were neither good nor bad for elementary aged schoolchildren, but that their value depended on the use to which they are applied, the stage of development of the basic arithmetic skills, and the cost of using them relative to the possible benefits in a realistic classroom setting.” (1995) international approaches australia “the australian association of mathematical teachers has a policy on school students’ use of calculators: it suggests that scientific calculators should be used by students in their early secondary schooling. “the national statement of mathematics for australian schools (australian education council, 1990) recommends that all students use calculators at all levels (k-12) and that calculators be used both as instructional aids and as learning tools. however, research has shown that, despite overwhelming support for the early introduction of calculators, a majority of infant teachers rarely or never use calculators in their classrooms.” the calculators in primary mathematics project was based on the premise that the calculator, as well as acting as a computational device, is a highly adaptable teaching aid that has the potential to radically transform mathematics teaching by allowing children to experiment with numbers and construct their own meanings” (groves, 1997). a four-year research project investigated the effects of the introduction of calculators on the learning and teaching of primary mathematics in six melbourne schools. classroom observations confirmed that the use of calculators provided a rich mathematical environment for children to explore and promoted the development of number sense. “despite fears expressed by some parents, there was no evidence that children became reliant on calculators at the expense of their ability to use other forms of computation. extensive written testing and interview showed that children with long-term experience of calculators performed better 8 overall on a wide range of items, with no detrimental effects observed.” (groves, 1997) japan the current course of study in japan does not permit the use of calculators until after grade 4. “moreover, japanese primary teachers generally agree that the calculator is not appropriate in grades 1-3 (reys, 1996; senuma, 1994). although a calculator might be visible on a teacher’s desk, it would be for the teacher’s personal use rather than for instruction. japanese teachers are currently debating whether students should continue to learn about and use the abacus for calculation.” (reys, reys, & koyama, 1996) in 2000, james tarr and others produced a study that determined trends in calculator use among 13-year-olds in japan, the united states, and portugal. “data from both student and teacher surveys confirm that calculator use in eighth-grade classrooms varies substantially across nations. perhaps most intriguing is the virtual absence of calculator use in japanese eighth-grade mathematics classrooms, particularly given japan’s technologically advanced society and its tradition of excellence in mathematics education.” the study shows that only 0.37 percent of students in japan used calculators during mathematics lessons, while 43.03 percent of the us students used calculators. figure ii (tarr et. al., 2000) curriculum change “it no longer seems a question of whether calculators should be used along with basic skills instruction, but how.” (hembree & dessart, 1986) in 1990, porter reminded us, “not only have calculators failed to enter most mathematics classrooms, but they have also failed to redirect the curriculum.” (porter, 1990) “the goal is not to produce a calculator-driven curriculum, but one that integrates calculators in a meaningful way while promoting mental computation, estimation, problem solving and critical thinking skills.” (reys & reys, 1998) 9 in order for calculators to be a presence in the classroom, certain changes must take place in the curriculum. teachers can encourage the use of calculator in elementary classrooms while promoting a positive attitude towards their use among parents and students. this may involve the use of calculators in estimation activities, problem solving experiences, and composition of word problems. however, programs must be in place to educate parents on the role of calculators in elementary mathematics teaching. “contrary to the fears of many, the availability of calculators and computers has expanded students’ capability of performing calculations. however, there is no evidence to suggest that the availability of calculators makes students dependent on them for simple calculations. students should be able to decide when they need to calculate and whether they require an exact or approximate answer.” (dresdeck, 1995) dresdeck asserts, “it is important to keep classroom calculators readily accessible to children. their physical proximity and availability help to promote their use.” (1995) “the nctm encourages teachers to provide experiences that build the underlying concepts and argue that only after these ideas are carefully linked to paper-and-pencil procedures is it appropriate to devote time to developing proficiency.” (1989) meanwhile, local school district and state curriculum guidelines may be sending a different message to teachers, requiring them to introduce and develop a mastery of standard computation algorithms by a certain grade level. unlike many industrialized countries that have a clearly defined national curriculum specifying the content and placement of various mathematics topics, the us educational policy of control has contributed to uncertainty and bewilderment among some teachers about the relative emphasis of computation. ultimately, without clear direction, teachers make their own decisions based on the mixed messages received from the collective forces of parents, fellow teachers, standardized assessments, curriculum materials, backgrounds that their students bring to the learning environment, and their own beliefs about how children learn. this situation creates significantly different approaches to computation within and across schools, districts, and states. reys and reys proposed a sequence of computation and curricular emphasis: figure iii (reys & reys, 1998) computational tool primary (gr. k-2) intermediate (gr. 3-5) middle grades (gr. 6-8) mental computation (invented thinking students are encouraged to develop and students are encouraged to use mental computation when efficient for whole number, fraction, and decimal 10 strategies) use invented computational strategies and to record work, as needed. computation. written computation (efficient paper-andpencil strategies, invented and standard) students develop efficient algorithms for whole number computation. standard algorithms are introduced as one method. students develop efficient algorithms for fraction and decimal computation. standard algorithms are introduced as one method. estimation students are encouraged to make sense of data and answers and to develop strategies for estimating in measurement settings. students develop and share a vareity of strategies to produce computational estimates and to judge the reasonableness of answers. calculator students use a calculator to explore patterns and relationships with numbers and operations and as an efficient tool to do complex computations associated with solving problems. 11 note: examples of computational problems that are typically encountered and that need to be the focus at this level are included for illustrative purposes. the role of the teacher though seldom heard, the views of primary teachers are important. these educators influence calculator use in the classroom. rousham and rowland (1996) suggest that the potential of the calculator in primary schools is largely unrealized. they report variable enthusiasm from teachers about calculator use and say the quality of calculator use is generally disappointing. in an early evaluation of the national numeracy strategy, many teachers were said to lack confidence in using calculators as a teaching aid. (houssart, 1997; ofsted, 2000) in 1997, jenny houssart carried out interviews with twenty-six teachers from a wide range of primary schools in england. “the main purpose of the interviews was to see which issues teachers chose to raise and in how much detail. the teachers were shown separate classroom tasks, and then asked to respond. one such task included a fairly prominent picture of a calculator.” in response, one teacher stated outright that she did not allow calculator use and another expressed clear reservations, which he linked to his view of the importance of mental arithmetic. only one teacher was openly positive about calculator use; others were apparently low users by default. one interesting reason that arose for the absence of calculators in the classroom was the lack of awareness of the teaching and learning potential of calculators. only one teacher believed the calculator was a tool for exploring number operations. for the others, checking seemed to be the main role for calculators, with some attention also paid to calculator use for its own sake in order that children knew how to use them. this small-scale study, therefore, suggests that for a majority of teachers interviewed, low use of calculators exists alongside a limited view of the potential of calculators. (houssart, 2000) although this particular study was conducted abroad, it is quite possible that many teachers in the united states are in the same position. in her 1990 dissertation, priscilla porter reported on teacher attitude in the irvine unified school district in california. “teachers are mainly concerned about how calculators will affect students’ computational skills (reys et al., 1980). the teacher factor remains the most important aspect of effective instruction (vannatta & hutton, 1980) a successful calculator program must include effective teaching materials correlated with the ongoing mathematical program. teachers mention a need for workshops to develop and improve competence in the use of calculators. in 1987, williams 12 suggested that an extensive training program was needed for elementary teachers to be calculator-literate and to be able to teach students to use calculators effectively to learn mathematics.” (porter, 1990) without teacher commitment to the use of calculators, the policies of professional organizations and state curriculum departments toward calculator use will go unheard and the advantages for using calculators suggested by research will never occur. it is imperative that teachers be educated in the use of this technology so that it may be used in the most appropriate and effective manner. references charles, randall i. (1999 may/june). calculators at the elementary school level? yes, it just makes sense. mathematics education dialogues. 8. colman. (2003 march). calculators. youth studies australia, 22, 7. dessart, d., deridder, c., & ellington, a. (1999 may/june). the research backs calculators. mathematics education dialogues, 2, 8. dresdeck, c. (1995 january). promoting calculator use in elementary classrooms. teaching children mathematics, 1, 300(6). groves, s. (1997) the effect of long-term calculator use on children’s understanding of number: results from the “calculators in primary mathematics project.” proceedings of the 16th biennial conference of the australian association of mathematics teachers, 158. hembree, r. & dessart, d. (1986). effects of hand-held calculators in pre-college mathematics education: a meta-analysis. journal for research in mathematics education, 17(2), 83-89. houssart, j. (1997). i haven’t used them yet: primary teachers talk about calculators. micromath, 14-17. lehman, j. (1994 april). technology use in the teaching of mathematics and science in elementary schools. school science and mathematics, 94, 194-201. mcnamara, danielle s. (1995). effects of prior knowledge on the generation advantage: calculators versus calculation to learn simple multiplication. journal of educational psychology, 87, 307-318. national council of teachers of mathematics, nctm standards 2000: principles and standards for school mathematics, april 2000. 13 porter, priscilla h. (1990). perceptions of elementary school teachers toward the status of calculator use in the irvine unified school district. reys, b. & arbaugh, f. (2001 october). clearing up the confusion over calculator use in grades k-5. teaching children mathematics, 8(2), 90-94. reys, b., reys, r., koyama, m. (1996). the development of computation in three japanese primary-grade textbooks. the elementary school journal, 96(4). reys, b. & reys, r. (1998 december). computation in the elementary curriculum: shifting the emphasis. teaching children mathematics, 236-241. schielack, j. & dockweiler, c. (1992 november). elementary mathematics and calculators: let’s think about it. school science and mathematics, 92, 392-394. tarr, j., mittag, k, uekawa, k., lennex, l. (2000 march). a comparison of calculator use in eighth-grade mathematics classrooms in the united states, japan, and portugal: results from the third international mathematics and science study. school science and mathematics, 100(3), 139-150. blood and sexuality vampirism and blood identity: an analysis of social constructions and anxieties daniella bellafiore liberal studies “identity is neither fixed nor singular; rather it is a constantly changing relational multiplicity” (qtd. in weedon 130). however, in a world that thrives on social, racial and gender classifications, the various qualities that make up our individuality are instead clipped neatly into categories that determine our identity. unlike humans, the vampire remains abstract and indefinable, with vampirism literary critic nina auerbach elusively characterizing these beings as “simply more alive than they should be” (6). vampires escape the rigid social and gender boundaries enforced by societal norms, embodying a fluidity that is both liberating and frightening. particularly referring to bram stoker’s dracula, one can perceive the effectiveness of vampiric narratives in revealing the dominant issues surrounding identities and boundaries during the late 19th century and early 20th century. through the presence of these strange and erotic creatures, vampire fiction foregrounds various underlying topics that reveal the deep-seated anxieties within late nineteenth century british society, which continue to linger on within american culture today. while the makeup of a vampire remains ambiguous and fluid, in her literary work our vampires, ourselves, auerbach generally classifies the vampire as “an alien invader from occult order of being” (23). by constructing this marked “other,” the vampire works as a tool in divulging preconceived stereotypes of non-british persons, which likewise helps british society’s perception of itself (6). authors use this literary structure to reveal the homeland anxieties regarding imperialism’s exposure of them to different races. such concerns include the fear of the colonized people gaining power through means of infiltration, coerciveness or race expansion. in addition, vampire literature exposes the simultaneous attraction and repulsion one feels towards an “other,” and the widespread concern of becoming tainted through interaction, either social or sexual, with non-british people. british anxiety arises from the british people’s construction of social, racial and gender standards, which they feel the pressure to abide by, restricting their behavior to fit into these roles (hall 209). because vampirism reveals this truth adequately, the themes of the vampire genre transcend into other fictional works outside of this literary category. by using elements characteristically vampiric, works such as jean rhys’ wide sargasso sea, frances e. w. harper’s iola leroy and nella larsen’s passing convey the internal unease and dominant british preconceptions that underlie bram stoker’s dracula. the most central characteristic of the vampire is his “otherness,” which threatens societies with his embodied danger of “disease, violent criminality, and sexual contamination” (90 fredrickson). dracula’s inner hunger for domination, and his ability to personally contaminate the british blood through coercive attacks on london’s women, represents the realization of british anxieties. the vampire holds the obsessive desire to expand and uplift his race, weakening british blood through his infiltration, as 1 well as fortifying his own bloodline through each transfusion (295 stoker). in addition, the vampire embodies qualities that racist theories assigned to members of non-british ethnicity; he is animalistic, sexually aggressive, irrational and heathenistic (53, 80 winthrop). the ability of a vampire to pass as human demonstrates the fluidity of his nature, which creates an unclear identity that renders him a greater danger to the carefully demarcated british culture (auerbach). although wide sargasso sea, iola leroy and passing were published at different historical times, each of these novels contains elements that stoker attributes as traits of vampirism. in addition, the issues underlying the novels regarding ambiguity in race, gender and sexual identity recall the fluidity and elusiveness of the vampire’s nature. their subjects align with those of dracula, as all three novels expose british anxiety regarding the simultaneous strangeness, yet palpable similarity in their perception of the “other.” the struggles of various characters to define their own identity and race, as well as classify those of others – mostly based on the abstract notion of blood – raises the question of how we identify ourselves, and more importantly, how realistic the grounds are on which we establish our identity. from the beginning of vampire literature in the early 19th century, the vampire’s source of life was the blood of another, with the creature’s secretive life consisting of draining the blood of an unsuspecting female victim. in dracula, mr. renfield alludes to the scriptural reading, “for the blood is life,” claiming his own vampiric belief that he could prolong his life eternally by absorbing the blood of another (stoker 225). the british public feared that other races would extend their existence and grow superior through the constant fusion of their exotic blood with that of the british. the british deeply worried that this would nullify the distinguishing internal elements that rendered their national and ethnic strength and power. nanja durbach has argued that, “the vampire’s preoccupation with blood has thus been read as an aristocratic concern for the perpetuation of hereditary blood lines” (197). this idea reveals anxieties of becoming empowered by a foreigner, as well as signifies concerns of miscegenation resulting in weakened british bloodlines. the emphasis that britain placed on bloodlines became even more apparent during the late 19th century, when blood was considered as a natural way to distinguish themselves from the “uncivilized’ natives of their colonies. the british justified their tyrannical exertion of power by claiming to have superior blood; thus legitimizing the imposed violence on the natives. in his article, “the rise of modern racism,” the historian george fredrickson claims that the european belief of children sharing similar blood with their parents was based on traditional thought rather than scientific proof (8). nonetheless, he alleges, “it sanctioned a kind of genealogical determinism that could turn racial when applied to entire ethnic groups” (8). although britain’s mission was to civilize the native savages and reform them into acceptable members of english society, the british kept their identity distinct by claiming the cleanliness and supremacy of english, anglo-saxon blood. in his article, “of mimicry and man: the ambivalence of colonial discourse,” homi bhabha points out the ambivalent goal of britain’s foreign policy, which sought to uplift natives to the level of british citizens without ever fully accepting them as equal members of society. bhabha crucially claims that “colonial mimicry is the desire for a reformed, recognizable other, as a subject of a difference that is almost the same, but not 2 quite” (2). while white westerners sought to modernize the dark colored natives, they remained hesitant about enlightening them to the point of equality. equality denotes interchangeability, and the british panicked at the idea of sharing too much similarity with foreign africans, asians or indians. moreover, the british feared that if natives reached their level of superiority, it would negate britain’s role as a dominant country. in this view, if the colonized person reaches the same level as the colonizer, the colonizer loses authority, as well as the necessity of civilizing the natives. thus, the british nation depended on this slight difference, allowing natives to learn to value victorian standards but never fully reach the equal status of a british citizen. (bhabha) bram stoker’s dracula reveals the anxieties underlying victorian england during the fin-de-siećle period, when strict divisions between the separate races became blurry. as a vampire extremely alien to humanity who thirsts to possess and dominate humans, dracula becomes a particularly frightening figure within the narrative context, as well as within the british mindset. designating transylvania as dracula’s place of origin, a country on the border dividing europe from the east, stoker suggests the vampire’s remote and enigmatic nature from the beginning. david glover articulates the predominant victorian fear produced in the novel dracula, claiming, “it is matter out of place that matters, the contamination and dissolution of the pure and sacred that counts, the transgression of boundaries and borders that is the ultimate horror” (205 auerbach). dracula’s presence in western london unnerves the characters, particularly the men, as his existence invades the integrity of their bloodlines, the clarity of their identity and the gender roles of their women (205-209 stoker). dracula preys on women, thirsting for the blood of a pure female, while also feeding his voracious appetite for the entire english culture. he takes effort to perfectly imitate a british gentleman, despite his cultural and internal strangeness as a vampire ruler from eastern transylvania. the vampire’s ability to mimic the british instills in harker a fear that he will infiltrate victorian society and, infecting the british culture and the purity of its women. jonathan harker’s expresses horror of transporting the count to england, where he would “satiate his lust for blood, and create a new and ever-widening circle of semi-demons to batten on the helpless” (50). harker’s fear of count dracula’s access to england society provokes harker and the other men’s internal desire to destroy him and his race by any means possible. however, their greater fear lies in his ability to mimic the british, thus forcing the men to constantly distinguish themselves from him through terms of religious morality and inherent goodness (stoker 308). even amidst his repulsion, harker recognizes dracula’s logical and precise maneuvering, suggestive of the vampire’s success in mimicking the british embodiment of scientific reason and enlightenment (stoker 217, 229). however, the men must maintain a difference, which can only be done thoroughly by annihilating the “other”. hence, dracula’s mimicry leads toward their menace, as they violently mutilate lucy’s vampiric body before eventually destroying dracula himself (bhabha 324). lucy completely transforms into a vampire after numerous attacks by dracula, thereby realizing the fear of foreign penetration within british society. lucy also sleepwalks towards dracula, indicating her personal discontentment as a proper british woman whose sexual freedom is limited. while she represses the internal desire to be with multiple men, after she mutates into a vampire, lucy’s desire becomes fulfilled 3 through the blood transfusions of all the male characters. the foreign influence of dracula awakens lucy’s inner desire for polygamy, a longing that collides with her society’s interpretation of an upright, british woman. auerbach contends that the “interfusion” of the vampire and human “makes familiar boundaries fluid, offering a wider world than home and a larger self that one sustained by sanctioned relationships” (19). as a vampire, lucy no longer remains confined within the walls of victorian principles. nevertheless, lucy’s internal lust to be with multiple men is unorthodox. british society links her lascivious, animalistic desire with that of exotic foreigners, particularly dark-colored women of far-away lands (weedon 164). because her blood now contains vampirism, she begins to behave like a hypersexual “other,” who the men quickly slaughter through physical coercion and a display of masculine dominance. lucy’s taboo desire, along with her transformed foreignness, pollutes her role as a victorian lady and transforms her into a symbolic threat to the sanctity of british society. while all the men love lucy, dr. seward admits that he does not object to mutilating lucy’s body, if that is the necessary action to extricate the alien presence of the undead from his home of london (stoker 194). the men exercise violent dominance over the “other” through vehemently staking lucy’s body, and by doing so, prevents her unorthodox sexual behavior from unsettling british norms. ultimately they violently destroy her body in a ritualistic rape-like scene. the men describe arthur as looking “like some figure of thor, as his untrembling arm rose and fell, driving deeper and deeper the mercy-bearing stake, whilst the blood from the pierced heart welled and spurted up around it” (208 stoker). identifying arthur as a replica of thor symbolizes his shared identity with dracula, for the vampire has earlier conveyed thor as a member of his family lineage. in his aggressive exertion of masculine authority over lucy, arthur tries to repossess her from dracula’s hold. his exertion of patriarchal authority demonstrates the “set of power relations aimed at securing male control of women’s bodies: our sexuality, procreative power and labour” (27 weedon). both dracula and the men claim their supremacy through the possession of female’s bodies. dracula threatens the men, “your girls that you all love are mine already; and through them you and others shall yet be mine” (295 stoker). like dracula, the men obsessively drive to reclaim their power and dominance, and only succeed in doing so by killing dracula and preventing the expansion of his bloodline. harker’s horror extends past dracula’s contamination of british purity and lies in the deeper concern of his identification with this repulsive being. this concept of objectionable recognition with an alien being underlines the entire novel, as harker and the other male characters continue to reassert a form of difference between themselves and the vampire. ultimately, their only way to clearly distinguish themselves from the abhorrent vampire is to annihilate dracula completely. as harker watches dracula slither down the castle’s walls in terror, he asks “what manner of man is this, or what manner of creature is it in the semblance of a man?” (33 stoker). he is more repulsed by his recognition of humanity in dracula’s appearance and animalistic behavior. auerbach claims that while harker loathes the “vision of otherness in human shape,” at the same time it helps him to “briefly expand his awareness of his own potential elasticity,” as he mimics dracula when escaping from the castle (auerbach 89). although harker remains disgusted by dracula’s ability to impersonate humanity while retaining animalistic 4 mannerisms, he nevertheless imitates the vampire’s environmental adaptability and expands his own capabilities. the interchangeability between the two existing beings creates apprehension not only of dracula’s ability to pass as human, but also, if not more so, of harker’s identification with dracula. count dracula’s ability to move within the human realm gives rise to his contamination of pure, british women. the scene of the count’s attack on mina clearly symbolizes the intermixing of different bloodlines through intercourse. taking on the dynamics of sexual violation, dracula holds mina’s hands behind her back while forcibly imbibing her blood and compelling her to drink his own. stoker describes in detail the whiteness of mina’s hands being smeared with dracula’s red blood, exemplifying the notion that this transgression has irretrievably ruined her wholesomeness. mina recognizes her own tainted chasteness. she withdraws from jonathan after soiling his shirt with both dracula and her own blood, now blended ambiguously, shouting, “unclean! unclean! i must touch him or kiss him no more. oh, that it should be that it is i who am now his worst enemy, and whom he must have most cause to fear” (stoker 273). although she has been desecrated against her will, mina automatically deems her virtuous nature ruined. nevertheless, the bloodlines are undeniably intermingled, blending the blood of woman and vampire and blurring the lines that define them both. she futilely attempts to wipe away the bloodstains from her lips although she believes that dracula’s alien blood has irrevocably dispersed within her being. mina saves herself from lucy’s fate by refraining from relishing in the vampiric aspect of her being. nevertheless, she contains dracula’s foreignness that the british men seek to obliterate completely. in her chapter “vampires, vivisectors, and the victorian body,” nadja durbach suggests that stoker’s novel questions the extent to which a person can be polluted by foreign blood, yet still be considered british (199). michel foucault’s account of the history of sexuality in victorian britain asserts that throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the ruling aristocratic class and the rising bourgeoisie class used sexuality as a way to extend and strengthen the bloodlines of their own social group. foucault claims that the deployment of sexuality is selfaffirmation of one class rather than the enslavement of another: a defense, a protection, a strengthening, and an exaltation that were eventually extended to others—at the cost of different transformations—as a means of social control and political subjugation (123). by understanding stoker’s dracula as a figure obsessed with domination and possession, foucault helps explain dracula’s motivation to feat on british women’s blood as one that surpasses mere appetitive gratification. indeed, dracula purposely forces the women to absorb some of his own blood, as a way to elongate his own bloodline, spreading the vampiric gene and creating a larger class of his own breed. the count realizes that by proliferating vampires in the heart of britain, he can attain his ambition of achieving tyrannical power. while jonathan harker and the other male characters react with horror at the notion, various historical accounts reveal that their own victorian society exploited the means of reproduction as a transfer of bloodline, with the end goal being greater power for their social division. (foucault) the idea of gaining power through progressing the bloodline appears in nella larsen’s passing (1929), as brian rationalizes irene’s simultaneous disgust with and defense of black women and men who pass as white, perceiving it as the “instinct of the race to survive and expand” (42). brian insinuates that blacks condone the action of 5 passing because it prolongs their race’s bloodline, while weakening that of the anglosaxons. believing this instinct is inherent in any race, brian also considers the imperialistic whites as protecting their own race by diluting the black ethnic group through repeated miscegenation. thus, brian would consider the nature of dracula’s infiltration of his own bloodline within london society as something natural and common among all races and nations. the notion of expanding and uplifting a race can also be seen in frances e. w. harper’s iola leroy, published in 1892. like dracula, this literary work places emphasis on the connection between bloodlines and identity. while iola remains quite capable of passing as white, she identifies herself wholly with the african race. although only a small fraction of her bloodline traces back to black ancestry, iola asserts herself as a black woman after feeling first-hand the plight of slavery and the discrimination of blacks despite her white external appearance. dominant cultural racist preconception transforms her identity from a white southern belle to an inferior black slave, stripping iola of her humanity and flinging her into a defenseless position (carby 73). the revelation of her african blood not only changes the public’s perception of her, but also her individual view of herself. she lives her life solely for the purpose of strengthening the african race through educating blacks and identifying herself as one of them. chris weedon defines this social activity as a kind of identity politics defining “new senses of self and group” (168). while this might help uplift an oppressed and discriminated group, it might also deny the multi-culturalism that exists within those of a mixed identity (weedon 174). through harper’s novel, the reader perceives how iola and latimer sacrifice their entire life for the sake of the african race. iola rejects dr. gresham’s proposal of marriage, opting instead to join with latimer for the purpose of elevating their mulatto social status, as well as fortifying their black genes. in the work passing and the rise of the african american novel, m. giula fabi clarifies, “accepting his [gorsham’s] offer would reinsure her reintegration into the privileges of whiteness but at the cost of accepting a situation of racial invisibility, disavowing her genealogy and surviving family ties” (58). just as the british middle class and dracula both use the union of certain bloods to enhance their own group, iola and latimer change the concept of sex from an act of sexual pleasure to a feat of social purpose. throughout harper’s novel, iola insists on remaining true to her african lineage and refrains from uniting herself with a white man. however, the fact that she contains a mixture of white and black blood reveals the widespread miscegenation that occurred during the history of imperialism and slavery. despite racial classifications that discarded blacks as less than human, white men forced themselves sexually on black women, resulting in an extensive class of interracial individuals. the inferior status of black female slaves enabled white men to violently transgress their bodies. however, the colonists condemned white men not for their violation of black women, but for their pollution of the anglo-saxon bloodline. winthrop jordan claims that society condemned men for intertwining themselves in a sexual union with a black woman. thus, “interracial propagation was a constant reproach that he [the white man] was failing to be true to himself” (jordan 86). society instilled in him the guilt of obscuring the racial and social ordering by intertwining the different bloodlines. iola leroy inverts this idea, portraying iola as feeling responsibility to remain faithful to the black part of her identity and strengthen that fraction of her blood (208 harper). 6 the emergence of a mixed race reveals the simultaneous aversion and attraction that the anglo-saxon male, as represented in the relevant literary texts, felt towards the exotic, foreign black woman. according to winthrop jordan, mulattoes signified the manifestation of a forbidden desire, which could never have been felt and gratified on an extensive level without some perception of similarity in the african race. however, the perceived difference between whites and blacks resulted in the overwhelming opposition to miscegenation, and the tensions that arose due to the pervasiveness of this interracial union (jordan 70). these anxieties were felt both socially and personally. even while the men felt deep desire for an exotic woman, they simultaneously felt guilty of disloyalty to their race and horror at their attraction towards a savage being. (jordan) in stoker’s dracula, harker’s encounter with the three vampire women reveals his contrasting emotions of excited desire and extreme revulsion at the sight of the overpowering female creatures. harker confesses, “there was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal” (stoker 36). the fantastic scene embodies elements of harker’s repressed fantasy, a desire that not even he was aware of until it presented itself to him in reality. he waits in anticipation as the vampire women tantalize him with their sexual aggressiveness and wild rapture. at the same time, their total divergence from british women and his virtuous, proper fiancé creates a profound uneasiness within harker. when he looks back to the night in hindsight, harker shudders at the notion of the women, repulsed not only by their attempt to ravish him, but more so by his excitement at the near consummation between him and an exotic “other.” from this short excerpt, the reader perceives the prevalent victorian beliefs that lust and hyper-sexuality link with barbarism, marking foreign women as clearly divergent from the righteousness and chasteness associated with white british women. jordan analyzes the conflict existing within men who desire both the uninhibited sexual “other” and the virginal, christian white woman, as white men “tended to place them [white women] upon a pedestal and then run off to gratify their passions elsewhere” (jordan 77). society locked white women in this introverted role, where they were forced to stifle their emotional and sexual desires in order to keep up an image of wholesomeness and purity. at the same time, the labeling of exotic, black women as hypersexual, promiscuous beings condoned white men’s repeated sexual violation of them, justifying their violence as a means of control. white men imitated dracula’s defilement of british women, reasserting their own individual superiority through the possession of a woman’s body, particularly one that belonged to another race. (jordan) the character of rochester in jean rhys’ wide sargasso sea represents the imperialist british male of the nineteenth century. he embraces society’s racial stereotypes, as well as embodies the widespread anxiety of contaminated bloodlines and the taint of imperialism on the british identity. while antoinette is a white creole who supposedly comes from a pure british descent, rochester depicts her eyes as “long, sad, dark alien eyes” that “are not english or european either” (67 rhys). immediately, he seeks to remove himself from recognizing this exotic being as a person from his homeland, whose british identity has been tainted through her surrounding environment of foreign natives (127 rhys). like harker, rochester’s inability to initially place antoinette in a category is emasculating, for his “capacity to define those others was an important aspect of their own authority and power” (209 hall). his own identity as 7 english rests on the notion that those different from him must reside in a lower category (209 hall). by perceiving antoinette’s difference despite her claim of british ancestry, rochester automatically places her in the rank of a native “other”. feeling apprehensive in this strange world removed from britain, rochester shares harker’s “dread of this horrible place overpowering me” (stoker 33). thus, initially, rochester relates to harker’s vulnerability, expressing british fear of foreign influence. in the colonized island setting, jordan claims that the residing colonizers create a greater distinction between themselves and the natives in order to preserve their english identity (jordan 73). corresponding with jordan and hall’s contentions, harker and rochester embrace the belief that “different” indicates savage, godless and hostile. accordingly, they hold the fear that exposure to diverse beings and a foreign environment will taint their uprightness (rhys 127-129). when rochester acknowledges that antoinette belongs to the island, rather than himself or his native england, he reveals his lack of control over her on this distant island (rhys 172). his only way to claim his english superiority and sense of ownership is by removing antoinette from the island, and bringing her to england with him. if rochester’s vulnerability relates to that of harker, then his horror of antoinette’s exotic nature and foreign land likens her to dracula. like the vampire, antoinette’s identity remains fluid and indefinable by herself or by others. however, unlike vampires, antoinette’s unstable character fails to bestow her with power; instead, european colonialism robs her of a coherent sense of self (drake 205). in addition, daniel cosway’s letter depicts antoinette as possessing vampire abilities, capable of entrancing rochester with her beauty, seeping underneath his skin and gaining control over him until “madness that is in her, and in all these white creoles, come out” (rhys 96-98). his letter weakens any mutual esteem between antoinette and rochester, solidifying rochester’s anxieties about the island and its people, as well as antoinette’s impurity. he renders her madness and savagery as a consequence of an “ambiguously dark blood bertha [antoinette] has inherited from her maternal line” (meyer 69). his justifications for imposing coercive power over antoinette reaffirm britain’s violent assertion of authority, reducing antoinette to “economic and psychological helplessness by european colonialism and patriarchy” (drake 194). however, the truth remains that antoinette does not originally contain vampiric qualities. instead, she acquires them through rochester’s struggle to identify and understand her, as he latches onto social stereotypes and native rumors that could explain the lack of englishness within this supposedly british woman. in his struggle to control what he does not quite understand, rochester emulates dracula as his penetration into antoinette’s life and body result in her “increasing reduction to the condition of zombie, to apparent death (insanity) shortly to be followed by real, self-inflicted death” (drake 200). just as lucy enters the vampiric state through dracula’s absorption of her blood, antoinette enters the undead state of a zombie; she appears alive, but is truly dead (rhys 107). through this narration, rochester is depicted as the one contaminating antoinette’s innocence and purity, as he claims, “i was thirsty for her…breathless and savage with desire” (93 rhys). while rochester experiences intense attraction and longing for antoinette, at the same time he finds her strangeness too repulsive for him to truly love. he treats her as white slave owners treat iola leroy, asserting his dominance 8 and possession through sexual acts, and justifying them by insisting on antoinette’s excessive passion (jordan 79). by the end of the novel, rochester’s masculine aggression and thirst for control surface, and he thinks to himself, “she’s mad but mine, mine” (rhys 166). although antoinette enters the vampiric-like zombie state, it is because of rochester’s contamination of her through his british oppressive and coercive nature. overall, antoinette and rochester both contain qualities of stoker’s vampire, as well as his victim. this demonstrates the fluidity of their identities. rochester and harker’s thirst for supremacy and control emphasizes their intense unease regarding the possible infiltration of wholesome british blood through the mere interaction of strange beings from foreign origins. clare kendry/bellew of nella larsen’s passing achieves what rochester and harker fear by successfully passing perceivably as of white origin, while containing a stream of black blood. larsen uses the vampiric elements outlined in dracula and other vampire stories to narrate a story about passing and illustrate the ineptness of socially constructed identities. clare embodies the fluidity of vampirism, as she crosses into and out of white groups and institutions, obscuring her true identity as a woman of mixed blood (larsen 16-19). through clare’s mutability, larsen divulges the complications of racial identity. social thought divided race into only two categories: black and white. thus, the culture forces biracial individuals who externally appear white, like irene and clare, to choose an identity. clare grants herself a superior lifestyle by assuming a white status, but sacrifices the ability to form a close, personal relation with anybody, including her unaware, highly racist husband (larsen 52). thus, clare’s encounter with irene releases “this terrible, this wild desire” within her, for irene’s knowledge of her true makeup and promise of confidentiality renders clare the freedom to form an intimate relationship with irene (larsen 3). embodying dracula’s mesmerizing quality, clare latches onto irene, forcing herself into irene’s social circle and using her compelling charm to debilitate irene from refusing her desire. like harker and rochester, irene of larsen’s passing undergoes the strong sensation of simultaneous repulsion and attraction towards clare bellew (larsen 20-21). she is drawn towards clare’s seductive and compelling persona, despite her reproach for this woman and her passing lifestyle. she describes clare’s mouth as tempting, her eyes as arresting and mesmeric, although they appear to contain some hidden secret (larsen 20). like dracula, clare has luminous, gripping eyes that enable her to possess people and control them accordingly. irene admits that clare has the “ability to secure the thing that she wanted in the face of any opposition, and in utter disregard of the convenience and desire of others” (larsen 60). in addition, she retains a secret, innate makeup as a person of black lineage, containing definite elements of otherness, despite her ivory skin and ability to pass as white. while irene declares her repugnance for this strange woman and affirms their dissimilar nature, she also finds herself not only attracted to clare, but also helplessly bound to her, regardless of her resentfulness. irene feels obliged to help clare conceal her true nature, feeling obliged to her through the ties of race (larsen 38). jordan defines the very nature of passing as a conspiracy of silence not only of the individual, but also of the biracial society that denied this past (85). because she knows clare’s true makeup, irene is pulled into this dangerous scheme. clare drains irene of her life through this agreement of silence, just as the earlier fictional vampires consume their companions by 9 compelling them to agree to a binding oath, a promise to keep the vampire’s predatory nature a secret (auerbach 14). auerbach claims that this parasitic oath of early vampire works is “an interchange, a sharing, an identification, that breaks down the boundaries of familial roles and the sanctioned hierarchy of marriage” (47). likewise, when clare enters irene’s life, she tears down the walls of irene’s marriage and threatens her role of wife and mother. her presence suggests irene’s inner homoerotic desires, as her kinship with clare allows her to feel real, passionate emotion, negative or positive, that is lacking in her marriage. she looks at her husband with “curious detachment,” estimating him as pleasant looking from a distanced, dispassionate stance (39 larsen). indicating that they sleep in separate bedrooms and share an undemonstrative relationship, larsen insinuates that irene possesses repressed homosexual desires. in addition, throughout the novel, irene depicts clare’s seductiveness and beauty in detail, as she finds herself dreadfully attracted to this childhood friend (58 larsen). while clare encourages the intimacy between her and irene, she also stimulates a romance with brian, intensifying clare’s adaptable and indefinite identity, not only in terms of race, but also of sexuality. although irene finds clare’s lifestyle of passing as dangerous and disgraceful to their race, at the same time, irene first runs into clare while sipping tea in a privileged hotel designated for whites only. when she first learns that clare has succeeded in passing, irene admits, even in her subjective portrayal of the story that succeeding in this “dangerous and abhorrent thing successfully…had for her a fascination, strange and compelling” (larsen 19). while irene condemns passing, she contradicts herself by sitting in a high-class hotel that is exclusively for whites. unlike iola leroy, who fully, wholeheartedly accepts and identifies herself as black, irene secretly possesses a desire to deny that portion of her existence (larsen 78). thus, there lies a part of irene that identifies with clare, envying and admiring her audacity to live an existence other than the one imposed on her at birth. at the same time, clare thirsts for irene’s freedom to move about black social circles without anything to conceal. when irene first tells clare about past and recent developments in her life, as well as that of their acquaintances, she describes, “clare drank it all in, these things which for so long she had wanted to know and hadn’t been able to learn” (13 larsen). clare embodies the same eagerness as dracula to understand a remote world, and successfully gains access into the unfamiliar society. when harker first enters dracula’s castle, he finds stacks of books regarding england and english society, which suggests dracula’s longing to grow familiar with london and become part of the culture (19 stoker). however, dracula also discloses his compulsion to retain his dominance, which he can only do by remaining elusive regarding his true nature. likewise, clare passes into both white and black societies, understanding both well enough to be included in either, without having to admit her true makeup (59 larsen). in addition to clare’s fluid nature, she also lacks the maternal instinct that society designates as an essential part of a woman’s makeup. just as lucy feels the limitation of the domesticated role of loyal wife and mother, clare admits the restraints of motherhood (52 larsen). irene quietly agrees with clare’s belief that motherhood feels like a burden, but nevertheless defends the feminine obligation to bear and raise children. irene accepts the socially imposed gender and race classifications because of the safety 10 they offer her. however, she internally harbors secret homoerotic desires that surface during clare’s presence. she reveals her internal rage, as she expresses the burden of her race and gender (78 larsen). lucy and clare’s external actions, as well as irene’s internal frustration, reveal women’s dissatisfaction in their confinement within the socially appropriated domestic roles of wife and mother. auerbach, likewise, claims that stoker structures dracula “around this fear of a condition utterly alien to domesticated identity (especially female identity), exposing bourgeois virtue as sufficiently frail to turn into its own destroyer” (29). thus, clare and lucy, who behave in ways contrary and threatening to social standards, are annihilated by the conclusion of both stories. these readings of dracula, iola leroy, wide sargasso sea and passing support weedon’s comment that “‘westernization under colonialism served as a force against which to define an anti-colonial national identity based on particular construction of traditional life which supported conservative gender politics” (190). vampiric characters competently reveal the deeply rooted social constructions and generalizations, as well as the anxieties surrounding these delineating identities. reflecting the true colors of society, vampirism reveals the insufficiencies of a social order that designates every race, gender or class in terms of black and white. dracula’s “ability to expand the identities of others beyond human limits” presents us with a limitless world (auerbach 94). clare’s changeable identity results in her death, just as society’s inability to designate antoinette in a specific social category concludes in her zombie-like state and life-long seclusion. irene suffers a life of resentment, as the safety of cultural conformity forces her into heterosexual marriage and an inferior racial role. iola’s attachment to racial constructions results in her ultimate sacrifice of self-happiness and pleasure for the sake of uplifting her race. ultimately, these texts reveal the ineptness of social classifications; the question is how do we live without them? ultimately, the literary texts demonstrate the simultaneous attraction and repulsion to the idea of freeing oneself from culturally imposed identities and embracing a flexible, multifaceted self. stoker’s dracula eloquently reflects the significance of racial, gender and sexual norms in one’s sense of self-identification, as well as perception of others. those deviating from these rigid standards, through visible appearance or abnormal behavior, posed a severe threat to one’s understanding of reality. as the texts reveal, the only means of relief came through the complete annihilation of the “other.” the literary works that invoke vampiric elements are able to reveal the anxieties surrounding the loss of one’s identity through intermingling with non-british “others.” in addition, they expose the limitations of any stereotypical classification that inadequately characterize persons by their nationality, ethnicity and gender, rendering the literary works universal and timeless. 11 works cited auerbach, nina. our vampires, ourselves. chicago: the university of chicago press. 1995. bhaba, homi. “of mimicry and man: the ambivalence of colonial discourse.” new york: modern language association convention: new york, 1993. carby, hazel v. reconstructing womanhood: the emergence of the afro-american woman novelist. new york: oxford university press, 1987. drake, sandra. “race and caribbean culture as thematics of liberation in jean rhys’ wide sargasso sea.” “all that foolishness/that all foolishness: race and caribbean culture as thematics of liberation in jean rhys’ wide sargasso sea,” critica 2, 1990. 193-206. durbach, nadja. “vampires, vivisectors, and the victorian body.” bodily matters: the anti-vaccination movement in england 1835-1907. 173-215. fabi, m. giulia. passing and the rise of the african american novel. chicago: university of illinois press, 2001. fredrickson, george m. racism: a short history. princeton: princeton university press, 2002. hall, catherine. white, male and middle-class: explorations in feminism and history. new york: polity press, 1992. harper, frances e. w. iola leroy. 1892. introduction hazel v. carby. boston: beacon press, 1987. jordan, winthrop d. the white man’s burden: historical origins of racism in the united states. new york: oxford university press, 1974. larsen, nella. passing. 1929. introduction t. n. r. rogers. mineola: dover publications, inc., 2004. meyer, susan. imperialism at home: race and victorian women’s fiction. ithaca: cornell university press, 1996. rhys, jean. wide sargasso sea. 1966. introduction francis wyndham. new york: w.w. norton & company, inc., 1982. stoker, bram. dracula. 1901. new york: tom doherty associates, llc, 1988. 12 thorpe, michael. “the other side”: wide sargasso sea and jane eyre. a review of international english literature. the board of governs and the university of calgary, 1977. 173-181. weedon, chris. feminism, theory and the politics of difference. malden: blackwell publishers inc., 1999. 13 under the reign of doubt.htm 1 under the reign of doubt: chaucer’s house of fame and narrative authority christopher b. smith department of english villanova university edited by edward pettit geoffrey chaucer’s house of fame is an unusual poem by anyone’s set of standards. its feast of colorful action and antic pace seem at times to overwhelm the reader, as it does the somewhat hapless narrator; for a rather brief work, it contains a great deal to puzzle over. that the text is made all the more baffling by an abrupt conclusion has led to much speculation from scholars regarding its finished or unfinished nature, especially pertaining to the identity of the man of great authority seen “atte laste” (the riverside chaucer 373, l. 2155), who, ironically, will remain indefinitely unseen. attempting to whittle down critical concerns with the poem to this one question, however, would be overly reductive, just as showing aesthetic appreciation merely for the fanciful humor and bewildered awe that portions of chaucer’s text exhibit — treating it as a sort of fantasy story with a mild moralistic bent on the capriciousness of fame — misses its deeper concerns. stephen knight sees the poem in contrast to the relatively simplistic book of the duchess, a work with an “unproblematic ideology,” as one with “epistemological, even ontological concerns”; rather poetically, he says it is “a winter dream” (knight 28). if the knight of book of the duchess exhibited honor as an absolute (and likewise for the characters and relationships exhibited in chaucer’s narrative forebears), the concept itself, as well as “the mechanics of fame,” are now illuminated as far more complex than in previous imaginings: just as the “physical nature of [an] inquiry” is dealt with in the vocabulary of medieval science, the work as a whole involves a highly developed philosophy (28-29). one way the poet questions fame, and by implication, literature, is by asking how reliable the standard model for literary production (a main vehicle for reputation) is. conventionally, and for its medieval audience, writing has an indelible authority. yet it is deconstructed in the poem in various metaphoric scenes — physical and, at times, topographical representations of the dilemmas of narrative and language — that anticipate the rhetorical moves of literary theory. 2 likewise, the text itself breaks down to a certain degree whenever the issue of the narrator’s truthfulness (in contrast to his skillful maneuverings as a crafter of verse) is brought to light by unwieldy meter, as meant to be a sacrifice of adornment for pure truth. for an audience well aware of the fact that this story is pure, fanciful invention, this move on the poet’s behalf anticipates metafiction, leading the inquisitive reader to examine the choices made in constructing a self-aware series of willfully poor lines. such is also the case when geffrey, the narrator, sets before himself a panorama that overwhelms the senses and cannot possibly be given an adequate description, while the use of occupatio creates a humorous tension between what can and cannot be spoken of. in this and other ways, the textual construction of the poem undercuts its own authority. if the idea of house of fame not merely flirting with but expressing certain postmodernist concerns such as these seems a bizarre juxtaposition or a somewhat shaky claim at first, perhaps a realization that ample evidence supporting such claims, says ruth evans, will “jolt us out of our expectations that the past is radically other” (evans 69). just as today’s authors experience the anxiety of influence, are haunted by the fact that there may be little new left to express in mediums ranging from prose fiction to television to pop music, and often (especially in the pastiche-crazed 1990s, where the presence of signs of the past seemed to embody fredric jameson’s theory of a cannibalized present) turn to irony as a solution to these problems, chaucer does the same with his source material. b. g. koonce elucidates in saying that “dante and boethius supply the major elements, structural and thematic . . . adapted to a unique intellectual and artistic design and to a style distinctively chaucerian,” yet one in which it is not respectful homage or slightly adorned retelling that provides the “dominant note,” which is instead struck by “irony” (koonce 87). by using the teleological structure boethius and dante earlier employ — inspiration produces poetry which inspires others — to decidedly different ends, the result is a skewed, ironic form of the poetic enlightenment brought on by the intrusion of the otherworldly. in part, this seems a response to the impossibility of following boethius’ lady philosophy with an encore presentation of the same set of facts: once human folly has been exposed and the problem of divine provenance and free will is solved, there seems little left to write about. (if anything, writing itself becomes a profane, hopelessly self-interested activity in such a world, one that runs the constant risk of the sins of pride or blasphemy.) boethius’ philosophy urges her pupil to “avoid vices, cultivate the virtues [and] pour out your humble prayers” to an understanding of “heaven” (boethius 114) that is very much unlike the topsy-turvy, mazelike celestial zone geffrey explores. rather than follow the “pattern imposed by fate” that metes out “what is appropriate for each human being” (90) from a prison cell, chaucer follows the complex thread of a fickle goddess’ whims. 3 as boethius’ presence loomed large in medieval literature, poets of the middle italian period such as dante, boccaccio, and petrarch had a key influence on chaucer’s style, thanks to his diplomatic missions, yet the influence of dante is again slightly skewed in house of fame. often likened to the divine comedy, given the nature of its narrative strategies — the eagle that abducts geffrey being a humorous combination of the appearance of virgil and the device of ascent — and subject matter, the poem seems a parody of didacticism. it is an explanation of things commonly thought of as beyond the mind of man as shown to a man given a guided tour of unearthly regions, but it is a journey that leaves us with more questions than it does answers; rather than offering up the intricately mapped vision of hell, purgatory, and paradise that explains what fate awaits sinners and the repentant alike, the poem confounds with the arbitrary judgments of fame, as well as the madcap nature of the house of rumor. (imagine hell’s circles randomized, ever-shifting, its denizens tossed from one punishment to the next regardless of severity, or purgatory as an even more precarious climb heavenward with conflicting directions shouted at the climber from every direction.) in addition to these modifications, chaucer makes geffrey a clearly inferior narrator to his story, making it a friendly, miniaturized spoof of the comedy that can share some of its subject matter without direct challenge or contradiction. similar to the way in which troilus and criseyde plays a shell game of sorts — as postmodern authors are often derisively said to engage in — with the notion of narrative authority, failing, deliberately, to mention boccaccio as a source, but crediting the fictive lollius, house of fame performs a somewhat similar trick with its inspirations. their rhetorical patterns are used not to form the harmonious whole one would imagine from a poem informed by dante and boethius, but rather one which leaves its traveler — who, as a man of the “studye” (rc 356, l. 633) prefers books to experience — more bewildered (ostensible, though it is no more likely that the man or authority would provide a staid explanation for all that has preceded him) at the end of his journey than at the beginning. it is as if the ciceronian music of the spheres exposes not just the limits of human perception with its deafening quality, but does so through deliberate overload and bafflement: geffrey cannot offer much in the way of interpretive glosses on what greets him, just a sense of perplexity. in terms of the expectations of its audience for enlightenment and interpretation on the nature of fame, situating the action of house of fame within a dream vision, according to sheila delany, “permits the writer to treat questions which man cannot hope to answer by reason alone but which may require an epiphany only or an oracular answer” (delany 37-38). yet we never receive a frank illumination of the nature of fame; the concept is more shadowy, more unstable, escaping the narrative authority of absolutes. while chaucer himself becomes a 4 source of (modified) narrative authority in henryson and others (27), he denies an overarching source of concrete authority in his narrative, be it human, divine, or a visitation from the divine order that serves the function of mediation between the two (such as lady philosophy). it is unlikely, again, that the man of great authority, even if he is, as a few have speculated, jesus christ, would provide a form of closure; if anything, he would boot geffrey down from the heavens to puzzled wakefulness. this attests to the mazelike difficulty of a search for the truth, characterizing it as non-linear in form, given the arbitrary nature of fame’s judgments that serve as the core of narratives that concern themselves with repute. a stable essence is denied. chaucer’s is an “ironic treatment” of “intellectual systems” that delany says is “with us still” (122). before taking us directly into the dream vision, the proem of book i analyzes the nature of dream itself, offering up a taxonomy of dreams and middle english dream vocabulary. in an effort to classify dreams through conventional scientific knowledge, everything from “swevenes” (rc 348, l. 3) to the difference between a “fantome” and “oracles” (l. 11) to the possible significance of the “distance / of tymes” (l. 18-19) is mentioned, yet to no justifying or explanatory effect. here, the emphasis lies on the inadequacy of accepted knowledge and verbal (or textual) classification in probing the issue. as the humors and other such justifications for dreams are cast aside in occupatio, ambiguity is favored, which points to the prevalence of ambiguity in the poem as a whole. the narrator can only opine, in an appeal to the unknown and the transcendental, that he wishes “the holy roode / turne us every dream to goode” (349, l. 57-58). in converting his dream to writing, the narrator wishes to combat the waters of “lete” (l. 71). writing, as an archival system, supplies an antidote to lethean forgetfulness, meant to withstand the slide of the author’s subject (and his own subjectivity) into oblivion. yet at the same time these waters serve as the foundation for what the narrator aims at describing, making his task a difficult one often that often undercuts itself; his task is nearly impossible, given the contradictory and perilous nature of describing what occurs in a dream. indeed, if a dream is deeply ambiguous – is to be distrusted — the only act that should produce more skepticism is producing a textual copy of one. by altering the convention of the guide to one’s adventure — an eagle who lofts geffrey into the air against his will — as well as the hyper-reality of sorts in which the dream is situated, it is removed an additional step from the world of narrative certainty and the authority it connotes. despite these concerns, geffrey still prays to the god of sleep for accuracy, while subordinating him to “he that mover ys of all” (l. 81), which seems to root his odd outburst of spite towards any who would “skorn,” “jape,” or “mysdeme” (l. 9597) the work in an odd context. we are presented with a somewhat simple-minded 5 man who believes he is doing god’s will, yet is still to a degree unsure what that means, or how well he carries out the task. most likely equally confused by his dream as any layman, he can only offer aggressive disdain to those who might think the many ambiguities of his story are due to his own fault through poetic embellishment or the sanding away of rough edges to produce sonority. in giving geffrey a sheen of well-intentioned ignorance in the invocation of the first book, chaucer skillfully raises the issue of a narrative unreliability that stubbornly eliminates other perspectives yet fails to recognize its own tenuous underpinnings. uncertainty as a narrative preoccupation, established from this outset, only grows over the course of the poem. the recounting of the story of dido and aeneas that takes place in the glass temple finds an indecisive speaker attempting to reconcile opposing versions of the story: as he says aeneas “left hir ful unkyndely” (351, l. 295) and compares him to other flawed (because unfaithful) heroes such as theseus, whose betrayal of ariadne merits an exclamation of “the devel be hys soules bane!” (353, l. 408), he also makes steps toward the act of “excusen eneas,” (l. 427) since one account says he was made to go to “itayle” by “mercurie, sans fayle” (l. 429-430). unable to establish a definitive stance on the issue, just as he finds himself knowing not “where i am, ne in what contree” (l. 475), he is confronted with a panoramic view of the matter that refuses to cohere into a whole. it is one that begs for further interpretation or the commentary of a definitive source, both of which would provide the bestowal of “auctorite” (373, l. 2158) by an ultimately absent (like the man of authority) transcendental signifier that poststructuralism has lamented. ruth evans’ commentary on this section of the poem provides a different perspective on the loss of decisive authority, claiming that this reappraisal of aeneas’ betrayal locates the issues of cultural memory and authority “within an explicitly gendered frame” greatly expanded upon in troilus and criseyde (evans 57). similarly, goddess fame’s female prominence “raises some significant questions about the relationship between gender and archiving” (57). as chaucer sees dreams as possessing different kinds, referred to as “gendres” (rc 348, l. 18), which — despite a rather unclear authorial intent in the use of the term — create meaning through difference, a parallel can be drawn between language’s ability to engender “differences and divisions” that relate to sexuality, history, and other matters (evans 57-58). somewhat similarly, geffrey’s flight from earth to the heavens may be parodic of dante and “comically preposterous,” but it calls into question “uncertainties about categories and (sexual) differences” in the poem’s earlier section when a (questionably stable) dividing line between earth and heaven is crossed (58). evans also points out that the vernacular (seen as a feminine subordinate to the prestigious and permanent act of writing) intersects with the latin tradition in the “table of bras” (rc 350, l. 142), which could symbolize stultifying 6 familiarity and ultimate linguistic stasis caused by the assumption of authority: the death of the vernacular’s linguistic fluidity (evans 58-59). the table of brass is both a physical — mated from tin and copper, two malleable metals that lose this quality in their final product — and metaphorical stand-in for the narrative alloy that the opening lines of the aeneid now exist in. like the love of aeneas and dido, it is produced by the merging of two sensibilities; it is also less durable and significant than it may appear, unaware that it is but one voice in a competing wilderness of voices — among them virgil, ovid, and now chaucer — that throw geffrey’s knowledge of the story out of focus just as easily as his theorization of dreams. inconsistencies appear here, as well as absences: “how creusa was ylost, allas / that ded, not i how, she was” (rc 350, l. 183-184). the fact that not even virgil can answer this question provides an examination of the nature of narrative authority; at the same time, setting this action in a temple dedicated to venus introduces the impossibility of excluding cultural bias from an examination of history. objectivity is precluded. the aenead’s telling of events will be constrasted with non-virgilian versions of the story that contradict his pious, heroic nature, such as dares’, where aeneas opens the gates of troy with antenor. the problem of conflicting authority that results in reputation is even more crucial and problematic for dido. the pillars of the temple include homer, dares and dictys, guido delle colonne, geoffrey of monmouth, lucan, and claudian, as well as chaucer’s invention “lollius” (rc 365, l. 1465-1470). again, this is a metaphoric representation of the way in which fame is held “upon [the] shoulders” (l. 1462) of these chroniclers. it also means that the house is architecturally endangered to a degree, especially when one considers the possible shortcomings of these stories, as well as questionable differences in their longevity (durability). likewise, “venus’ ‘chirche’” may be made of glass, which koonce’s 1966 study identifies as possessing the “purity and transparency” denotative of the “clarity of vision and the purity of condition in the heavenly paradise” (koonce 98-99), but merely stopping at this level of analysis of this section of the poem is far too simplistic. it belies the true nature of the church, an instability that becomes more apparent with geffrey’s arrival at “fame’s resplendent castle” and the house of rumor, a “false paradise” that not merely enchants the eye and spirit but “distorts the truth,” as any attempt to rescue a definitive account of the story of aeneas from the contradictions it is predicated upon makes clear (100). if the church of glass distorts, the many instances of what evans refers to as “memorial archives” in the poem perform similar functions, all of which explore memory and the “preservation” of incident, including the dissolving “ice foundation” of fame’s castle and the “sixty-mile long house of twigs” that cannot “retain or conserve” what it is meant to hold (evans 56-57). she calls chaucer’s 7 vision of the house of fame in the second book “something like a vast telephone exchange or switchboard, uncannily able to tap into every conversation” in all its truth or falsehood, accessing the entire range of human discourse (57). rather than using this image to lend organization to discourse and the means in which it is disseminated into the archival process, however, it ends in an overwhelming, babellike labyrinth of “gret noyse” (rc 372, l. 2141), where “every speche, or noyse, or soun” (357, l. 783) contributes to the sensory overload that ultimately ends the poem. all these images are presented as the “nightmarish others” (evans 44) to the means of recording. imagining chaucer composing house of fame before a computer which contains all his sources, from commentary on the dream of scipio to dante, evans notes that the poem, which comments on language using a “part comic, part anxious” tone, “is itself . . . obsessed by late medieval technologies of memory and archiving” (44). the reliability of the means of archival, especially when linked to the polyphony of rumor, is what chaucer sets out to criticize in the poem: by finally taking us to the heart of it all and showing how problematic and arbitrary, respectively, archiving and reputation (which enjoy a symbiotic relationship) truly are. evans and french theorist pierre nora both view archives as obsessively produced, faulty substitutes for memory itself in much the way julia kristeva might describe a signifying economy as a system of words that aims at and fails at being what it represents. nora says we create “lieux de memoires” (49), memory places, which utilize “auctoritas, a socially situated form of cultural memory” (55) as a means of maintaining “continuity with the past” (49). vernacular writing, however, offers a place of memory which differs from the authoritative speech of medieval learning — the “weight of authoritative academic traditions” (55). the anxiety of difference produces the lingering presence of auctoritas in the text, finally slated to appear in human form as the poem cuts off, can today be seen as dramatizing the “deadly effects” of authority imposed upon the new vernacular which speaks to “every maner man / that englissh understonde kan” (rc 354, l. 510): “the threat of no more writing” (evans 55). when interpreted in this way, the end of the poem recalls the abrupt “she ys ded!” (rc 346, l. 1309) of book of the duchess. alternately, it can be seen as a dramatization of the ultimate — comically agnostic — unknowability of any governing authority, the man who might somehow crash the party of language and pair off people with their exact belongings as he organizes concepts in their proper scheme. the auctoritas of the church, which constitutes a rejection of “the excessive sign” for a humbled language in the christian platonic tradition, is traditionally contrasted with the “lavish” signification of courtly aristocracy (knight 45). yet house of fame makes this relationship between language and ideology 8 “problematic” (45-46). “learned and rare language” of boethian philosophy, macrobius’ commentary on scipio’s dream, and the academic tradition are rendered powerless in the opening section on dreams, providing “no assurance” (46). even as religious faith is nominally invoked in trying to explain the production of such mysterious images, it exists as an anti-philosophic (and almost parodic) consolation for a lack of certainty, an acknowledgement of powerlessness. knight says that the poem continually “prove[s]” a “loss of faith in language,” as well, with great poets likened to rooks, and its linked signifiers “positivistically seen as ‘ayr ybroken’ . . . found to be a questionable instrumentality of the social power structure” (46). he sees chaucer as creating subjectivity, confirming foucault’s “famous challenge that ‘man’ is a recent invention” (38), replacing churchand state-constructed forms of the shaping of experience with a gnostic, inquisitive view of the role of the author in social structures. while recognizing his own inability to change this mad carnival of discourse subjected to flawed archival, he nevertheless may be offering a replacement for at least some of the unstable bridges he has crossed, by stepping back and recognizing this radically destabilized vastness (on what axis does the house of wicker whirl? does the axis itself whirl?) in a humbled poetic speech agonizingly aware of its own impermanence, the fact that it will vanish “like one’s own trashed e-mails,” invisible but having existed in a “virtual archive” comprised of “unconscious traces of the past” (evans 63). the ascent to fame’s dominion begins in the second book with the appearance of the eagle, which invokes the mythological and biblical tradition of flight in such figures as icarus and the mysterious “ennok” (rc 355, l. 588), who (this action devoted little space in terms of its significance) walked with god and was no more. men such as him and ganymede have been “ybore up” (l. 590) to serve the gods and receive understanding. there is something significant in geffrey’s receipt of this honor, which has to do with his status as an author; this is learned when he, always the questioner requires explanation for this sudden, startling occurrence, which with its arbitrary suddenness, recalls fame’s judgments. analytical in nature, geffrey asks why he was chosen; the eagle replies that the activity he undertakes, “in thy studye […] of love enditest” (356, l. 633-634), has motivated his choice. it is time that he, as a writer and philosopher, will learn fully of a subject matter that “abstynence” (l. 660) has mediated an understanding of. koonce notes that chaucer’s use of the eagle mirrors boethius’ philosophy, “in whose feathers [he] makes his flight” (koonce 142), but his employment of this archetype is ironically reconfigured to fit with geffrey’s thick-headedness; it can be no accident, after all, that the eagle complains of his heft while transporting him. intellectually, too, geffrey is “hardly ready to sing at heaven’s gate,” possessing a “fear and confusion” (koonce 142-143), a “drede” (rc 355, l. 551) from which he must “awak!” (l. 560). chastised by the eagle, “domb as any stoon” (356, l. 656) 9 he allegedly awaits enlightenment, a cure for the sickness that has blocked the fluidity of heaven, and the recognition of divine order, from entering his all too literal consciousness. yet the shift in perspective — literary authority opposed to, and now replaced by, direct experience — that occurs in no way strips the text of ambiguity, no matter how much “art poetical” (361, l. 1095) is downplayed in favor of direct representation. if anything, geffrey’s proximity to the source of archival representation problematizes matters even further. the house of rumor, for example, is represented as the eye of the textual storm, to so speak, “a dizzying but exhilarating imagining of the archive without any of its gatekeeping functions” (evans 65), with its wicker structure, abounding with “chirkynges, “gygges” (rc 371, l. 1942-1944) and “tydynges” (l. 1955) of a profusion of varieties, in all their deregulated variety: “ne never rest is in that place that hit nys fild ful of tydynges” (l. 1956-1957). as this verbal chaos, what evans refers to as a very feminine riot of language, occurs, one cannot help but note that the cage-like structure of the house lacks the primary function of the word “cage,” a clear illustration of the saussurean gap between sound-image and concept, between signified and the faulty nature of the signifiers the poet adapts in order to represent it. likened to “a model of the internet” (evans 65), the cage’s function is less to confine than it is to demarcate the boundaries of a borgesian labyrinth, such as his famous, endless library that contains every volume imaginable, proliferating with correct and incorrect information (and incorrect “corrections” to correct data!). this library model recalls his story “the garden of forked paths,” but, given the nature of reputation and power that permeates the stuff of the houses of fame and rumor, a closer parallel is the story “the lottery in babylon,” wherein the transfers of power within the system of the lottery enable the narrator, “like all men,” to be both “proconsul” and “slave” (borges 31). language itself is arbitrary, linked to other interrelated, arbitrary symbols of power in an alphabet, as seen when the narrator displays the “vermillion tattoo” of beth: “this letter, on nights when the moon is full, gives me power over men whose mark is gimmel, but it subordinates me to the men of aleph, who on moonless nights owe obedience to those marked with gimmel” (31). here, the (traditionally feminine) waxing and waning of the moon again recalls the fickle nature of fame’s process of deciding reputation. this process is carried out upon each “companye” (rc 366, l. 1528) of folk in all shades of moral ambiguity. whether they, like the second company, “demand fame as their desert” (bennett 155) for the cultivated virtue of “gentilnesse” (rc 367, l. 1611), or claim they deserve it for other reasons—like the fourth, who claim “goddys love” (368, l. 1697)—“the proud,” regardless of merit, “are prey to fortune” (bennett 157). fame is equated with fortune in its transitory nature and “unpredictability” (158), ranging from the granting of “hollow” (161) glory to a “contemptuous dismissal of “identical wishes” (161). as an ironic revision (yet one 10 that is careful not to contradict boethius) of the traditionally accepted nature of receiving the glory that one deserves, it is similar to the device of the ice castle’s foundation, which “records the names of the famous” yet depends “entirely” upon “the shadow cast by [f]ame, her fickleness imagined here as the vagaries of temperature” (evans 62); fame scoffs at notions of permanence. thus the names of those once famous are “molte away with hete” (rc 362, l. 1149), causing men to question “[w]hat may ever laste” (l. 1147). as an image of the fragile archive gone awry — something like a cd-rom of important documents that we can imagine rendered unplayable in fifty years — it calls into question “the function of the (memorial) archive,” which lies somewhere between a temporally defined usage or a permanent, auctoritas-based “conservation” (62-63). ultimately, this description of the realm of fame is just as problematic as anything that has preceded it. the narrative form of the text that describes it, relies on a christianized “aesthetic humility” (knight 46) that is likely a parodic, conscious decision of chaucer’s behalf, an acknowledgement of language’s failure to archive or represent what it describes, as well as a nearly metatextual acknowledgement of the hollowness of adorned verse. to use such language, after all, would lead one to fall victim to the disease of surplus that increasingly contaminates the poem in its main instances of sensory overload (rc 356, l. 674695; 371, l. 1961-1976), twin litanies of events — ranging from discords and jealousies to marriages and famines — that knight sees as a “casual,” meaningless survey of the “garbled sounds of the whrirling chaotic house of human productivity” (knight 46), an overabundance, a “plente” (rc 371, l. 1973). geffrey’s retreat into christian rejection of this mad influx of language and event is informed by a value of divine order, and is perhaps fittingly evocative of a monkish, awed silence. but chaucer’s knowing use of it is more likely a sign of “despair” (57). as one who prefers to gaze at the stars from the safety of his home, their evidence of divine order — and the narrative quality of the constellation — better comprehended from afar rather than in space, with the world “no more […] than a prikke” (rc 359, l. 907) dwarfed in the presence of its massive “galaxie” (l. 936), geffrey, the humble poet, would perhaps prefer not to be reminded of the transient quality of his existence, let alone the shortcomings of language. yet the poem does a remarkable job of illuminating these murky aspects of literature and subjectivity, just as the “limitations” of the “authoritative […] structure[s]” of both the church and the secular yet religiously informed literary world have been “inspected, even looked across” in chaucer’s earlier work (knight 33). this is, ironically, what house of fame will be remembered for: a poet’s mediation on his status as a meta-archiver of others’ archived tales and memories and how his own memories shall effect others, reverberating throughout the ages. the continuity between past and present that the poem brings to light by anticipating 11 the postmodern, the uncertain, the ambiguous, is seen in its distrust of traditional narrative authority, which births a new turn in subjectivity seen in all literature to follow. chaucer asks some very intriguing questions which haunt us still. references bennett, j.a.w. chaucer’s book of fame: an exposition of “the house of fame.” london: oxford university press, 1968. boethius. the consolation of philosophy. translated by p.g. walsh. oxford: oxford university press, 1999. borges, jorge luis. “the lottery in babylon.” everything and nothing. new york: new directions books, 1999. chaucer, geoffrey. the riverside chaucer. larry d. benson, ed. boston: houghton mifflin, co., 1987. delany, sheila. chaucer’s house of fame: the poetics of skeptical fideism. chicago: university of chicago press, 1972. evans, ruth. “chaucer in cyberspace: medieval technologies of memory and the house of fame.” studies in the age of chaucer, vol. 23. larry scanlon, ed. university of notre dame press, 2001. knight, stephen. “chaucer and the sociology of literature.” studies in the age of chaucer, vol. 2. roy j. pearcy, ed. norman: university of oklahoma press, 1980. koonce, b.g. chaucer and the tradition of fame: symbolism in the house of fame. princeton: princeton university press, 1966. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\patterns.prn.pdf patterns in the framing: patience and the hours of catherine of cleves rita williams english villanova university framing, both as an actual artistic method and as a topos, was widely used in the middle ages, both in secular art and in works bent upon religious instruction. for example, in the house of fame, geoffrey chaucer describes josephus on a pillar framed by bearing on his shoulders “[t]he fame […] of the jewerye” (lines 1430-1436, 365). another, anonymous poem, pearl, frames the narrative within the holy city itself: in a dramatic final move that ties mystical transport to daily collective ritual, the new jerusalem in pearl also takes the narrative into a church, as if the textual city were itself an invitation over a triumphal arch, a theophanic move that is furthered as well by eucharistic echoes. some readers have suggested that the poem unfolds in imitation of the mass [….] the image of the lamb, both symboland enactment of the eucharist, places the narrator, and reader as well, before theeucharist, or more exactly within the performance of the mass (stanbury, introduction, 9-10; italics in original). both these framing moments are accomplished via enargeia, the vivid word painting whose method is to “use words to yield so vivid a description that they— dare we say literally?—place the represented object before the reader’s (hearer’s) inner eye” (krieger 14). enargeia is a subset of ekphrasis, “’the reproduction, through the medium of words, of sensuously perceptible objects d’art’” (krieger xiii). ekphrastic descriptions, which, as stanbury argues in the opening quote, can be used to create an “illusion of an existing object while actually moving freely to the intelligible realm beyond the senses” (krieger 21), were widely used in the medieval period. in a time greatly concerned with explaining, and representing, the works of god to man, both were deployed to bring “together the courts of earth and heaven” (riddy 153). this union was achieved several ways: heaven could be brought to earth via sensuous and involving description (for example, hildegard of bingen wrote works “as microcosms of heaven, paradises brought down to earth” [watson 297]); the earthly viewer could be transported to heaven, as in the stanbury quote on page 1; or the reader could be placed in a setting where god’s grace manifested on earth (“the two orders of being […] brought together only by divine grace or, fictionally, poetic craft”, [watson 298]). in the latter case, as nicholas watson observes about the pearl-poet, the “[p]rocess of shaping [the poem …] is an aesthetic equivalent of the sacraments” where “god has entered into a covenant with humans which enables them to do by grace (through participation in the sacraments) what they cannot do by effort” (306). in his yen to create the conditions through which god’s grace could be manifest, the anonymous author known as the pearl-poet (whose works include pearl, patience, and sir gawain and the green knight) was arguably driven by an “’incarnational aesthetic’” (stanbury, body 36) that both utilized physical form to create the conditions for the spirit in his art, and represented incarnation theology, the moment(s) when god becomes one with man, in a seamless topos. in this paper, i will argue that this results in ekphrastic moments in which jonah, "type and subfufilment of christ" (andrew 20), figuratively meets w.j.t. mitchell's definition of "metapicture"—a picture that refers to itself. i will then explore actual metapictures in an illuminated prayer book that evinces a similar concern with aesthetically creating the conditions for god's grace and is grounded in the same incarnational aesthetic. both works of art seek unity between the courts of earth and heaven, but use "sharply contrasting ways of knowing and seeing" (stanbury 10), the first leading us to visualize a prototype of christ, jonah, as a negative exemplum, and the second, through pictured representations, leading viewers to think of themselves as co-creators of god's time and co-participants in god's plan. the pearl-poet employed ekphrasis extensively, manifesting in his work what w.j.t. mitchell has termed “’ekphrastic hope’”—“when the impossibility [of representing the physical through words] is overcome by image or metaphor” (152). and in doing it, he often uses framing devices. the pearl-poet uses a multiplicity of such devices: the end returns to the beginning in both patience and pearl, as well as sir gawain and the green knight, making the poem a seamless circular frame. characters are often embodied within a frame, such as gawain’s armor in sir gawain and the green knight. this framing is known as mise-enabîme. patience: the framing of jonah the pearl-poet creates three instances of enargeia using metaphors that frame the protagonist of patience, jonah. as an old testament figure, jonah is a “prooftext for the new testament” (sherwood 13), a prefiguration of the christ figure. rather than unite with a protagonist’s move to heaven, then, as we do in pearl, where the narrator is “’joined ritually to the body of christ’” (stanbury, body 33), in patience we watch his movement to a kind of hell. then we see how he finds grace there; is redeemed; and finds refuge through and in god’s grace. in the first of these framing moments, jonah is swallowed by the whale. in fact, it is a wylde walterande whale, as wyrde then schaped, that watz beten fro the abyme, bi that bot flotte, and watz war of that wyghe that the water soghte, and swyftely swenged hym to swepe, and his swolgh opened; the folk yet halande his fete, the fysch hym tyd hentes; withouten towche of any tothe he tult in his throte. then he swengez and swayues to the se bothem, bi mony rokkez ful roghe and rydelande strondes, wyth the mon in his mawe malskred in drede (lines 247-255, andrew and waldron 196*) he is thus semi-consumed by a fish which is “a monstrous conglomerate of all the enemies, swallowers and consumers of humankind” (sherwood 17). the swallowing provides a type of frame for jonah: as yvonne sherwood notes in her masterful study of the jonah figure, a biblical text and its afterlives, he becomes encased, one of many who are often pictured within the frame of a whale’s jaws, frequently represented as hell mouth (figures 1a, 1b, 2, 3a, and 7, following p. 148). yet in patience, he is not just encased by the whale. through the encasement, he becomes one with the whale, and momentarily illegible as himself. the pronoun subtly pivots from performing as a clear reference either to jonah only (“folk yet halande his fete”, line 252, where the sailors hold jonah’s extremities) or the whale only (“his swolgh opened”, line 251), to jonah and the whale, specifically and respectively (“he tult in his throte”, line 253). the pronouns are nearly as perilously contingent as the man and the whale, yet quite distinct. after this line, though, there are no more separate pronouns in the swallowing sequence. “then he swengez and swayues” is ambiguous; both man and fish would be undulating—and, in fact, the very ambiguity implies that the man and fish are one. but in “wyth the mon in his mawe malskred in drede”, jonah is no longer fully a separate entity. his “within-ness” has won out, and, by implication, the encased becomes one with the encasing object—just as a framed art object or encased figurine is part of the entire object, not just the discrete entity nested within the frame. jonah, then, is so enframed in the above sequence that he is superseded for a time. he is “[a]s mote in at a munster dor, so mukel wern his [the whale’s] chawlez” (line 268). this line contains the first reference to a cathedral, but not one where good dwells: the interior of the beast “stank as the deuel” and “sauoured as helle” (lines 274 and 275). however, in the second sequence, jonah finds an internal rescue prior to his reissue from the whale, and in it, he is framed. jonah appeals to god’s grace (“to the lede called” and “euer is god swete”, line 281 and 280, respectively), and in fact makes a type of confession of the very sins the reader has seen in patience: he is “fol and fykel and falce of my hert” and “gulty of gyle” (lines 283 and 285). he pleads “’haf now mercy of thy man and his mysdedes/ and preue the lyghtly a lorde in londe and in water’” (line 287-288). voila: “with that he hitte to a hyrne and helde hym therinne” (line 289). jonah finds a niche in which to stand, and given the earlier description of the whale’s maw as a type of cathedral door, it is hard to miss the ekphrastic moment: he is described much as a figure framed by a niche on a cathedral door. with that, he embodies his typologies, prefiguration of christ and old testament figure. as in pearl, where the transforming dream is triggered by “kynde of kryst me comfort kenned” (line 54), it is a knowledge of god’s grace (in this case, the old testament god)—and an overt admission of that knowledge—that brings about transformation. in jonah’s case, his remembrance of “my rych lorde” (line 326) is the vehicle for the moment when the beast and man become close but separate pronouns again: the fish is bid by “oure fader” (line 337) to “he hym sput spakly vpon spare drye” (line 338)—the pronouns nearly touching this time, but also separating in the direction of jonah’s re-embodiment as a separate entity, after which “he brakez vp the buyrne as bede hym oure lorde” (line 340). (this swallowing and regurgitation, of course, prefigures the resurrection, when the risen will be embodied whole; the “withouten towche of any tothe” (line 252) resists the quality of hell-which was thought to consist of bodies rent through eating, digesting, and devouring [bynum 307].) since jonah is, as theorists such as myra stokes have noted, a highly impatient figure who serves the reader as a negative exemplum of “suffrance” (356) via his “struggles against his divine commission” (ackerman 234), he does not remain grateful to the rich lord who redeems him from the whale’s belly for long. in the course of his travels and his quarrels with god regarding the ninevites, he becomes a framed object once again, arguably this time within a sacred space rather than over its entrance. the ivy has a long history as a symbol for christ; sherwood refers to it as “the ricinus communis/the gourd/the ivy/the vine/the palma christi” [57, italics in original]). the woodbine that god causes to grow post-nineveh is described in the douay-rheims version of the old testament (which is closer to the vulgate used in the medieval period than the king james version), as a covering device. “[t]he lord god prepared any ivy, and it came up over the head of jonas, to be a shadow over his head, and to cover him” (jonah 4:6). however, as the editors of the pearlpoet’s manuscript tell us, “[t]o read […] two versions of the story of jonah side by side is to observe the poet […] translating, expanding episodes, the modifying emphases” (andrew 19). in the enargeia-laden hands of the pearl-poet, the ivy becomes the framing house created by god. […] whyle god of his grace ded growe of that soyle the fayrest bynde hym abof that euer burne wyste. […] thenne wakened he wygh vnder wodbynde, loked alofte on the lef that lylled grene; such a lefsel of lof neuer lede hade, for hit watz brod at the bothem, boghted on lofte, happed vpon ayther half, a hous as hit were (lines 443-450, andrew 203) the ivy here is almost a tree-house, and it frames jonah, like his figuration in the cathedral door, as a figure enclosed by god’s grace, and this time delighting in god’s creation. he is “the gome so glad of his gay logge” (line 457). since the biblical text of jonah is “a gigantic and accommodating receptacle for christ’s truth and christ’s sufferings” (sherwood 17), in the ivy sequence, we see prefigurations of christ with jonah as basking communicant of god’s grace. jonah is a prefiguration surrounded by prefigurations. figuratively, the ivy is (will be, in the person of christ) the sheltering house of god. in this instance, however, the fact of its being constructed for jonah, the “believer in an exclusive god” (sherwood 22), renders it, for now, the old testament house. thus it does not stay as is, but is eaten by a worm, which turns the ivy “brenne as a candel” (line 473). jonah’s resultant “hatel anger and hot” (line 481) triggers his final angry interchange with god, which (at least in our edition) ends with the deity’s “’for malyse is noght to mayntyne boute mercy withinne’” (line 523), suggesting that god has, as a.c. spearing believes, “learned patience in the course of the story” himself (301, italics in original). in his role as prototype of christ, jonah plays roles “both as a pattern and a warning” (andrew 20), and is the vehicle for a transformation through patience: “[a]s with the image of the rose, it is the development of the debate which generates the transformation” (andrew 31). as sherwood shows, gazing at jonah causes us to “see double” (14); “jonah is like christ [….] jonah in flight is a sign of the incarnate christ, who ‘abandons his house and country and becomes flesh’” (14-15, quoting st. jerome). the sleeping jonah resembles the sleeping christ on the lake (15), in a “semiotic twinning of jonah and jesus” (sherwood 15). he is thus a prototype of an incarnation figure as well; he does not literally embody both god and man, but prefigures the union of god and men, in the indwelling that will come to be. in pearl, as stanbury points out, “the living body of the narrator is always present at the margins of the story, asleep or in a swoon” (introduction 3). however, in patience, by contrast, it is god—lord, interlocutor, sparring partner— who is always present at the margins of the action. the dangers jonah “runs are revealed to be […] part of god’s unceasing care for him” (kirk 92). as spearing notes, “it seems initially as though […] only power and obedience were involved” (295), but given the contemporary audience’s knowledge of the incarnation narrative, a prefiguring of the incarnation forms on the horizon: “jonah’s picture of a thoughtless tyrant is juxtaposed with the biblical god who deals with evil by suffering its worst himself” (kirk 93). in this way, the story of jonah is a prefiguration of the christ story in two ways: first, it illustrates a “continuity between god’s creative and salvific roles” (kirk 95), a continuity that hints at the coming incarnation. second, it illustrates god’s role in human suffering, a role that will enlarge and gain depth in the incarnation. in patience, god is shown as participating in the suffering of the world in order to save it (kirk); the ninevites repent and are spared god’s wrath. in his prefigurations within the ivy, as noted earlier, jonah is the prototype placed face to face with other prototypes. in this, he shares traits with the metapicture, the “self-referential image” (41) that w.j.t. mitchell says “depict a picture-within-a-picture that is simply one among the many objects represented” (42). jonah is the framed object inside the frame: “the picture that represents itself, creating a referential circle or mise en abîme” (mitchell 56, italics in original). moreover, the framing of jonah is necessary as we must see him; he does not see a vision (unlike the pearl narrator), either figuratively or literally. and we in turn are invited to gaze upon him. the pearl-poet does this in two ways: turning his protagonist into a framed word-painted object invites our gaze, and, via jonah’s many outbursts and demonstrations of impatience, “the poem places readers exactly in a position of judge over jonah” (watson 310). both these methods enforce almost a species of ocularity, in which we witness the exemplum but do not participate with it. as nicholas watson observes, the pearl-poet seems to have some “indifference to interiority” (296). given the highly ekphrastic nature of the passages in patience where jonah is framed, one might expect actual paintings produced under broadly similar rubrics of uniting the courts of heaven and earth and the incarnational aesthetic to contain similar messages and epistemologically similar ways of knowing and seeing. however, art works in many ways. j. t.w. mitchell notes that illuminated books, common in the middle ages, contain “double-coding”; they are sites of the “suturing of discourse and representation” (69). just such a book, the hours of catherine of cleves, arguably uses framing and contestation of framing as a means to encourage viewers to think of themselves as participants with god in creating sacred time and in his ultimate plan. the hours of catherine of cleves: framing and contested framing the hours of catherine of cleves (plummer), “one of the richest and most complex manuscripts to have survived from the late middle ages” (calkins 3), is replete with metapictures. in it, “pictorial representation displays itself for inspection rather than effacing itself in the service of transparent representation” (mitchell 48). the preponderance of its 157 extant illuminations, 139 total, are framed quite as pictures in a museum are, with a represented wooden frame painted around the border of the pictured moment. on the inside of this frame, a colored inner frame (usually rose or blue) is featured in most of the illuminations, binding the illuminations even more tightly to pictured space. in this way, they can be seen as objects that, as j.t.w. mitchell says of more contemporary artworks, “show themselves in order to know themselves: they stage the ‘selfknowledge’ of pictures” (mitchell 48, italics original). wonderfully imaginative decorated margins create a resplendent backdrop whose myriad floral, geometric, and vernacular illustrations have somewhat stymied art historians: peter woodruff, in a brief article about no. 116, adoration of the magi, complains of “some considerable strain in attempting to locate a symbolic or iconographic significance motivating border decoration and miniature” (1). however, the borders are arguably the province of this world, representing throughout various flowers, plants, textile designs, daily activities (bread-baking, hunting, chicken-plucking), pretzels, coins, and other objects specifically in everyday use. although few manifest figures who have “crossed social boundaries” (camille 9) or participated in the carnivalesque, as both madeline caviness and michael camille describe in other books of hours, a number do “gloss” (camille 10) or provide “supplementation and annotation” and “juxtaposition” (camille 21) of the primary pictures. they show explicit imagery from the everyday glossing the christian story, or creating clear analogues from common life. in addition to displaying the self-referential qualities j.t.w. mitchell would describe in the mid-1990s, however, illuminated books of hours, “the most popular devotional book of the later middle ages” (plummer 9), played specific roles in the religious life of the period. as nicholas watson points out, medieval people expected “to live their lives in a cycle of venial sin, repentance and penance” (293), and prayer books played a crucial role in this cycle. more importantly, the “daily, weekly, and annual cycle of public prayer” (plummer 9) created a form of god’s time on earth, with the prayer playing an active role in the creation of such time. the incarnational aesthetic was both viewed in the illuminations and enacted. the hours of catherine of cleves was likely constructed circa 1440 in utrecht for the duchess of guelders, catherine of cleves (plummer 8-9). it is therefore roughly a half-century later in time than patience, which was likely written in the late fourteenth century (andrew 15) and uses the alliterative style characteristic of western and northern britain. it is thus well to keep in mind that flemish art would be more advanced along the road of affective devotion, with its “emphasis on the inner life of intentions, feelings and thoughts” (watson 296, describing the english variant) than our british enargeia example. however, broadly speaking, the trope of framing and the incarnational aesthetic were, to say the least, broad concerns in the period under discussion, and cross-comparison can be highly illustrative in this regard. in fact, for our gloss on catherine’s book of hours, we can take madeline caviness’s exemplary work on another medieval book of hours, that of jeanne d’evreux of france, which was likely done around 1324 (333). in her “decoding of the imagery” (333), caviness notes that scenes from sacred history […] are elaborately framed and partially colored to set them apart from the other images and the latin text pages. the effect is that of a series of icons or holy pictures removed from other orders of existence; the betrayal and crucifixion of christ alone are unframed, and the latter is unique in occupying a whole page. […] second, the queen, twice represented as suppliant, is depicted in another (time-)frame either outside and below the gospel event or in an antechapel at the shrine [….] third: uncolored and unframed figures involved in secular activities occupy the bas-depages and margins adjacent to images of sacred history (334). catherine’s hours are much like jeanne’s as described in this passage. they contain gospel pictures whose framing figures them as other orders of existence. a certain number are unframed. peter woodruff, discussing no. 116, in which a wise man points beyond the frame he is encased in, posits that “pointing beyond the bordered space of the miniature, breaking its space […points] out a seemingly natural relationship between the patron’s life and the miniature” (2). some illuminations display the patron as suppliant or participant. finally, as noted, the margins frolic or tread in the secular world yet are often metaphorically contingent with the holy world. however, if the framing itself, rather than interior elements, is used for categorization. a certain number of illuminations in the hours of catherine of cleves are unframed; the composition of a certain number breaks the frame; a slightly higher number are framed in a way that contests the preponderant framing convention, in “arc of heaven” or other frames; and a higher number contain illustrations that break the inner frame. do erased, broken, or contested frames, like those in jeanne’s hours and woodruff’s commentary, indicate a transfer of god’s time into man’s, partaking of the incarnational aesthetic and of the suture of the courts of heaven and earth? they do. the unframed pictures arguably deal with the creation of an intersection between god’s time and man’s time using various forms of intercession: the invoked marian presence, prayer, and a certain mapping of heaven’s elevated personages with earth’s elevated personages. (we will term the latter the royal, governing, or ecclesiastical presences.) illuminations in which the frame is broken by some compositional element deal with the intersection of god’s time and man’s time either stemming from and dependent upon the action of man, or coming to man. those with contested frames concern god’s presence and plan in the incarnational moment or god’s time. finally, those in which the inner frames are broken compositionally are meditations on the repeating trope of the intersection of god and man’s time, the bible and man’s history. unframed illuminations: working on the building the unframed illuminations in the hours of catherine of cleves, 6 interspersed among the total 157, are represented throughout as paintings of threedimensional buildings, primarily sites where religious worship (specifically prayer to mary) or royal decree is enacted. the first one (no. 1)† depicts catherine of cleves kneeling in front of the virgin and child in a chapel, “possibly catherine’s own,” (plummer†), “surmounted by flying buttresses, crenellations, […] a statue” (plummer). mary is quite clearly an object of veneration, surrounded by a gold mandorla and so enclosed within the illuminated chapel that she seems not only a presence in it but of it; she too resembles a figure within a niche of a cathedral, but this time splendidly colored. catherine kneels with “an open book” (plummer) and a banderole inscribed o mater dei memento mei issues quite specifically from the province of the book, to intersect with the interior of the chapel. importantly, her body is in the border. given this, catherine is represented as royalty, but inhabiting space clearly demarcated from the holy space of mary. her flowing red clothing, however, does enter the chapel itself, and so do the lovely blue bookmarks of her (prayer?) book. this primary illumination, which opens the book of hours, uses “a common device that operates by conflating contemporary life with that of ‘history’” (woodruff 2). if it is in fact catherine’s chapel, the moment of prayer causes catherine and mary to coexist in the same time and the same space. the illumination implies a special role for catherine and her prayer via her female and royal role in creating incarnational time, and serve, as jeanne’s hours do, to construct the suppliant’s role in this cycle (caviness 356). and the role is precisely what peter woodruff, writing about no. 116, observes: “what motivates the link between the everyday and the biblical scene on this particular page is the act of prayer, which works across the historical divide that separates the margin from the biblical scene” (3). in addition, importantly, the viewer is “in” the building (as far as the artist can render), not observing a moment in history (the “framed” moment). the unframed series thus serves as an ontological invitation (“you can be here”) rather than simply a reinforcement of the scopic regime. in that way, any viewer is invited to create time along with catherine. moreover, we witness holy time becoming something (potentially) created by the interiority represented by the book and private prayer. the next two unframed illuminations, nos. 8 and 10, take place in “vaulted” buildings (plummer) as well. (note: plummer’s commentary on each illumination is on the facing page of the illumination, on unnumbered pages.) in them, the suppliant is absent, but mary very present. they concern, respectively, the marriage of the virgin and the annunciation to the virgin. showing the specific gender roles of mary, her marriage and (impending, holy) pregnancy, is certainly part of a gender patterning in the book of hours. however, it is also arguably concerned more with the prefiguring of the incarnational moment: mary appears visibly pregnant in the marriage scene. and in the annunciation, the banderole is one of several scrolls, as the book mary holds is one of several pictured books—symbols of interiority. unlike the hours of jeanne d’evreux, the unframed moment in the passion cycle in this book is not represented by the betrayal or crucifixion, but specifically by a moment in which pilate plays a role. it is likely that he was chosen as a specifically “royal” or “governing” figure, reminding catherine of the royal and governing role. in no. 20, christ before pilate, the latter washes his hands with the robed christ before him in a “barrel-vaulted audience hall” (plummer). this illumination also visibly encourages readers to think (a move of interiority) of the unfolding of incarnational history. readers are admonished “versinnet dat ende” (“think of the end”, plummer) by an inscription along the back wall of the chamber where the painted figures stand. they are the only painted words in the vernacular. this imparts a contemporary turn to the picture, and to the thought beseeched. in the next unframed illumination, christ has already risen and then risen again. in no. 32, trinity in an apse, he has become one of the figured trinity. importantly, this too stresses the royalty of the transfigured christ and of the trinity. they are prepared for an audience; each holds their royal symbol (god is crowned and holds a golden orb, jesus gives a benediction and shares a displayed book with the holy ghost, and the latter’s halo is surmounted by a dove). and the apse is superbly beautiful, “decorated with finials, gold banners, and a gold crescent” (plummer). the marian emphasis of the unframed series returns with the next unframed illumination, no. 51, pentecost. we are again in a very imaginative apse of a “strangely vaulted” (plummer) church. mary is the central figure, and it is she who has both accoutrements of jesus and the holy ghost in the last unframed illumination have now been bestowed upon her: she is clearly reading a book, and the holy ghost’s dove has descended specifically to her head. there is thus a linkage with the female act of prayer, constructing catherine’s religious life. mary is also something of a royal or governing (in the sense of ecclesiastical) figure in this setting; she is in the precise center of the apse, surrounded by the praying apostles, who have just received red tongues of fire. breaking the frame: man’s participation in god’s time throughout the hours of catherine of cleves, illuminations in which the composition breaks the frame in some way treat the intersection of god’s time and man’s time-an incarnational aesthetic trope—from the perspective and actions of man, both for good and for ill. there are eleven of these. one set of three within this eleven continues the figure of a threedimensional building, although it serves not as self-representations of buildings, but as a mode of frame-breaking. these three—no. 6, presentation of the virgin in the temple; no. 18, christ before caiaphas, and no. 19, mocking of christ—also continue the theme of marian presence in the incarnational moment and the royal or governing role in the passion. no. 6 is clearly framed in the preponderant brown frame; however, on two sides it becomes something of a hybrid. the right and left sides are composed of a painted three-dimensional temple, while the upper and lower sides are within the usual frame. despite the relative smallness of mary—as a child, she is less than half the size of joachim and anne, who watch as she ascends the stairs—her role as future queen of heaven is emphasized. a majestic blue and gold peacock intersects the temple’s entrance tower in the left margin; his colors are reminiscent of the blue gown and gold halo of the virgin. he is presenting a natural noble plumage, much as she is. in addition, the towers of the temple form unobtrusive, but still existent, crosses, and break the frame completely, extending into the decorated margin. finally, a window has been placed above her parents that stands as something of an ideogram (in the sense that sarah stanbury observes that the floating picture of the city, not a literal spatial depiction of one, is an ideogram of the heavenly city in medieval art, body 31). architecturally, in size or roof, it is not related to the contiguous temple, but sits in the sky, indicating symbolically that mary and her forebears will open the heavenly world to their world, the world of the temple. in no. 18, christ before caiaphas, an ecclesiastical figure is pictured in the high priest, and the frame is broken by the rising of his lion-bedecked temple above the upper frame. this portion alone becomes three-dimensional, lending the illumination an almost clinical sense of being a cut-away view of the inside of the temple. this creates an almost “you are there” sense in the onlooker—and perhaps is intended to serve as a reminder of the malign actions of the (contemporary dress) court. no. 19, mocking of christ, is not a cut-away, but does continue the trope of architecture interrupting the frame. it also continues the ecclesiastical presence, as caiaphais is present as an onlooker in the illumination. this time, the central dome of a building, directly above a hooded christ, breaks the upper frame. the mockers, again, are in contemporary dress; the outstretched leg of one, in yellow, breaks the frame entirely, becoming the only extremity to extend into the initial capital of the text below (which makes room for him as no other capital does). the mockers thus break the frame of their time and enter the space of vernacular or everyday time represented by the margin. this is further underscored by the presence in the margin of a figure beating “a metal basin with a stick”; his composition is so similar to the four illuminated interior tormenters that john plummer dubs him the “fifth tormenter”. in two other illuminations, no. 17, taking of christ, and no. 22, flagellation of christ, viewers are also invited to consider the everyday human role in the passion cycle. both have conventional rectangular frames broken by an onlooker’s limb. in no. 17, a haloed christ is shown surrounded by judas, peter, and soldiers. “christ reaches down blindly to restore the ear of the bleeding solider” (plummer), whose foot, yellow cloak, and lantern nearly break the frame, and whose composition and color is reminiscent of the character who does extend into the illuminated capital in no. 19. the akimbo, yellow-clad arm of another, turbaned, character, looking directly at the viewer, breaks the frame directly, extending slightly into the margin. the porousness of god and man’s time is further underscored in this illumination by the existence, among beautifully painted marginal leaves, of a man holding a lantern similar to the one displayed by the bleeding solider within the frame. john plummer tells us that “such a figure often appears among the soldiers in scenes of christ’s arrest.” in no. 22, the frame is transgressed by the “bundle of branches” (plummer) of a flagellator on the right, while one of the left breaks only the inner frame. (john plummer believes that “the straightness of his arm implies the stroke of whipping, rather than the punch of boxing” and that since he holds no instrument, he “has ‘lost’ his whip, perhaps because of the interference of the border.”) close to this near or thwarted break, however, a demon, whose glowing eyes and fang-studded mouth face the viewer directly, rises rampant in the margin. the next four broken-frame illuminations, interspersed throughout the book of hours, deal not with the evil of man in the passion cycle, as nos. 17, 18, 19, and 22 do, but with the role of man helping to create god’s time through prayer or a virtue. in no. 57, piety: lady distributing alms, and no. 58, fear of the lord, virtue or prayer is pictured and rewarded on earth; in no. 66, ecclesiastical and military saints adore god the father and 67, virgins adoring god the father, once-earthly beings who helped to create god’s time have actually moved to god’s court. piety, no. 57, figures virtue explicitly as the means to create god’s time. in the illumination, piety is “interpreted as charity” (plummer) via a picturing of a “fashionably dressed lady” (plummer) giving alms. from the mouth of beggar issues a banderole, “give alms, and all things are clean unto you,” from luke 11:41 (plummer), which breaks the upper right frame. the lady “strongly resembles catherine’s portrait reproduced in no. 96, and even wears the same chatelaine” (plummer), providing a link with no. 1. in this case, however, catherine is creating holy time and piety through enactments with other human beings, not via prayer. the margin figuratively comments on an analogous event in holy time in modern dress. a woman, in the same spatial position as catherine, “offers a dish of food or water to christ” (plummer), who is in prison and occupies the same spatial position as the beggars-a holy and earthly overlap. a banderole also breaks the frame of no. 58, fear of the lord, which is something of a male version of no. 57. three characters are pictured: a contemporary man (“possibly arnold of guelders, the husband of catherine,” plummer) on the left; a demon on the right, and a rising and sword-punctured christ. all three sport banderoles, but only christ’s breaks the frame, proclaiming the penultimate verse of ecclesiastes: “fear god, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (bible 872). the margin contains a floating latin inscription that “fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom” (plummer). in this, the man prays, helping to create christ’s time and helping the pictured demon to lose the prosecution that plummer rightly notes his stance implies. prayer or governing virtue has moved the next set of participants in god’s time to god’s world. in both no. 66, ecclesiastical and military saints adoring god the father and no. 67, virgins adoring god the father, god’s banderole breaks the frame. in the first, he identifies the saints as “men who have battled worldliness”; in the second, he implores “’come to me all wisest virgins’” (plummer). virtue and prayer are pictured as allowing human beings to enter temporal and spatial union with god. one of the prime vehicles of the passion cycle itself breaks the frame, in the tenth and eleventh illuminations of the frame-breaking category. in no. 87, christ standing on the lowered cross, a cross-beam breaks frame as a bleeding christ stands upon it near the foot. paradoxically, human actions that helped bring about the crucifixion have led to the victorious breaking of frame signified by the cross; all now have an avenue to the communal body through the sacraments. the margin contains “’christ in the winepress’” (plummer), in which the wounded christ fills a communion chalice with his blood. the page thus contains an explicit linking of his wounds with a means to sacramental means to grace, communion. finally, no. 37, trinity with dove and infant christ, at first looks as if only the inner frame is broken by god's crown and halo. however, when one examines the illumination and margin closely, the instrument with which christ redeemed man, the cross, breaks the frame and projects into the everyday margin. it is almost as if the cross atop god's crown was feathered in gold as the artistic equivalent of a whisper in a lovely illumination in which blessing rays, the christ child with the cross, and the holy spirit fly to man's earth under god's benediction. the contested frame: god’s arc of heaven the hours of catherine of cleves contains 12 framed illuminations in which the frame is not the customary rectangle or square. this variant implies a contestation of the frame, or a moving beyond it. these contain moments picturing the uniting of god and man in a way that incorporates god’s specific presence or purview. nine of these 12 contain “arc of heaven” frames (plummer) or some variant of them, an arc implying or picturing the presence of god growing out of the rectangular frame. they are no. 12, adoration of the child; no. 26, crucifixion; no. 29, lamentation and anointing; no. 40, trinity adored; no. 61, all saints before god the father; no. 64, apostles and prophets adoring god the father; no. 89, eve and the virgin; no. 90, the tree of jesse, and no. 131, lapidation of saint stephen. in the first of these, no. 12, the arc of heaven is only implied; it is actually more reminiscent of a square of heaven growing from the frame. mary, joseph, and the child are pictured, with a schematized bethlehem as holy city in the background. an angel hovers overhead, but still within the same frame as the holy family; the higher square contains a gold sun and the rays of heaven emanating from it. in no. 26, however, the arc of heaven has grown to an arc, and it is inhabited by a quite specific human god, directly over the crucified christ, crowned and surrounded by angels, who raises his hand in benediction. (intriguingly, plummer notes that “[t]he unusual symmetry of christ’s body confronts us directly, serving to identify him with the stable form of his cross.”) in the next, however, no. 29, the arc is much more subdued, and the space is occupied only slightly by the inscription on the top of christ’s cross, as his body is removed. in no. 40, trinity adored, god and man’s history has moved on: christ is not on earth, with god (or his presence) alone in the arc. instead, the trinity appear in what john plummer terms “the throne-of-grace.” god holds a small crucified christ and the holy ghost, pictured as a dove, is between them; all three are receiving prayers from “eight kneeling religious and lay figures” below the arc (plummer). no. 61, all saints before god the father, is unusual in that it contains an arc of heaven enclosed within another frame, but the arc encasing god’s banderole breaks the enclosing frame. the banderole “speak of god’s legacy and support for the saints” (plummer); the border between the two frames contain “a row of nine flaming angels appearing in blue clouds” (plummer). again, this illumination foregrounds god rather than christ and emphasizes his role vis-à-vis exceptionally virtuous humans. intriguingly, what appears to be a stabbed mouse, with a very realistically rendered knife, appears on the floor below the floating god—perhaps an abrupt reference in everyday form to the spear-wounded christ? no. 64, apostles and prophets adoring god the father, is similar to no. 61, except that the arc of heaven frame encompasses the head of a floating god and his banderole, containing the message “’i am alpha and omega, god and man’” (plummer). in this case again, god, rather than the christ figure, proclaims the incarnation. as in 61, he is surrounding by banderole-issuing groups. in the next two, the progression of god to man is recapped using a tree as central figure within the genealogical line. no. 89 portrays eve and the virgin mary; the figure in the arc of heaven is a cherub bearing a banderole that proclaims “’eve authoress of sin; mary authoress of merit’” (plummer). a flowering tree, from which eve is about to pluck an apple, stands in the middle and a haloed mary with child stands on the right. as plummer notes, “[f]rom isaiah’s mention of jesse’s root […] and from the genealogies of christ given in the gospels, the middle ages created a family tree […] continuing through christ’s ancestors, and concluding with the virgin and her son.” in no. 90, tree of jesse, the tree grows quite literally from jesse’s breast and the arc of heaven contains foliage and the top of the virgin’s halo; she is seated at the top of the tree ringed round with various forebears. as plummer notes, christ is not pictured. he is pictured in the final arc of heaven, though, and he occupies the arc. in it, he blesses the falling st. stephen, the only individual saint displayed in an arc of heaven frame. the message conveys the analogic relationship of christ to humanity; he blesses and watches over saints as god in the earlier illuminations watched and issued benedictions over him. the final three illuminations in which the frame is contested do not contain arcs of heaven, but do deal in some way with god’s participation in man’s time. the first is no. 4, the meeting at the golden gate. intriguingly, it is the only illumination whose frame replicates a compositional element, the golden gate itself. it betrays the concern of the book of hours with lineage and royalty, for jesus’s grandparents, joachim and anne, are portrayed standing before the gate that symbolically represents the beginning of the cycle that will eventuate in god’s becoming man. the entire scene is presided over by a ideogram of jerusalem in the top part of the composition; joachim and anne are thus presided over, in a manner of speaking, by the holy city as an analogue for god. analysis of this illumination can also benefit from camille’s work on margins. the illumination is surrounded by marginal figures: a hunter with a bow; a hunter with a horn; a blue winged demon; and a fox with a bleeding bird, the christ symbol. the trajectory of the hunter’s arrow, however, if followed as michael camille does with some medieval illuminations [camille 20-21], directly penetrates the center of one of two “fanciful vase-like forms” [plummer] atop the gate. there is clear phallic imagery, as caviness notes of margin play [349], especially as the vessels and anne are “dressed” in the same colors, blue in the center and red on the top. however, as she is the mothering vessel [of the vessel of the incarnation, in a nested relation], the arrow aimed at the vase’s center may also be designed to prefigure the wounds in christ’s side, especially given the proximity to the wounded bird. the arrow hits what will be in the interior of the vessel. no. 35, trinity enthroned, presents the trinity in an arc of heaven alone, unmediated by any other framing device; the bottom of the arc is the floor of the picture. the notion of framing is both pressured and contained by its globe-like expansion. no. 49, last judgement, combines arcs and rectangles; the risen christ is in a frame within a frame, and the outer frame is broken by circles containing the “symbols of the evangelists” (plummer). god’s frame is both broken and brought to earth by the evangelists, each of whom is shown either literally writing or carrying scrolls. interestingly, his frame is not broken in no. 65, god the father and the four evangelist symbols; the scrolls only serve to identify mathew, mark, luke, and john. the breaking of the inner frame: reiterations of god and man’s time forty of the 157 illuminations break the inner frame, a partial sundering notable in a book of illuminations in which proportion and harmony are exceedingly exact, and in which many elements of the composition rest precisely on the frame, as in (for example) nos. 69, 86, and 106. primarily, they serve as meditations on the repeating trope of the intersection of god and man’s time, the bible and man’s history. in this, they play a pedagogical role, bearing frequent reiterations of the intersection of god and man’s time and providing a frequent role for objects that are recipients or bearers of grace (or both) to perform as framebreakers. the first of these, intriguingly, implies a shared space for the worshipper and the worshipped via an analogic relationship between the lineage of catherine and christ. in no. 2, the annunciation to joachim, an angel’s wing breaks the inner frame, and so does the crest of jean le bon, king of france, whom plummer identifies as one of catherine’s forebears. thus objects in something of an analogous relationship, associated with divine and human lineage, respectively, break the inner frame. many also break the frame using particular objects thought to be invested with metonymic power. in nos. 31, 36, 41, 46, 68, 83, 94, 101, 116, 126, and 131, garb of some sort breaks the frame (often a cloak, but frequently shoes and sometimes hats). in many others, a halo or crown of god breaks the inner frame (nos. 16, 26, 40, 106, 13, and 136). and in many, a banderole is the frame-breaking object (nos. 72, 73, 78, and 97). one of the most intriguing implies a porousness between god and man by showing frame-breaking from the vernacular world rather than to it. in no. 34, god the son, a marginal angel’s violin breaks through the outer frame from the margin. this frame-breaking in reverse, accomplished by a beautifully rendered craft object, implies a role for art in the world as grace’s messenger. finally, in one of these the figure of catherine enters again. in no. 96, crucifixion with god the father, the virgin, a patron-saint, and catherine of cleves, we recapitulate to and extend upon catherine’s participation in the creation of holy time seen in no. 1. the same motif of intercession makes its appearance, but at one remove. instead of praying in front of the virgin, catherine’s banderole asks the virgin explicitly “to pray for her” (plummer). the patron-saint, who frames the figure of catherine compositionally and touches her shoulder, does not speak; the implication is that he is providing support and encouragement for her intercessionary prayer. her intercessionary prayer is mirrored, intriguingly, both by the virgin and the son: mary asks jesus to “be gracious” to catherine, and he in turn requests “his father to spare catherine” (plummer) this roundel of intercession ends with god issuing a banderole that proclaims “’your prayer has been heard with favor’” (plummer). the figure recapitulates the cultural project of the book of hours in miniature: a cycle of intercessionary prayer encircling upon itself, in which a specific royal suppliant is encouraged to identify with gospel figures and analogously reproduce holy time under an incarnational aesthetic. catherine’s prayer is figuratively nested within mary, who is nested in jesus, who is nested in god … and so on. the interior frame is broken on the bottom by a three-legged stool (signifying the trinity, perhaps) with a half-open (prayer?) book on it. it represents the incarnational aesthetic perfectly, both in the beauty replicating god’s grace, and in the creation of an indwelling link between god and man. and in being such an inviting and explicit picture, it encourages viewers to incorporate this link within their interior life. one could return to peter woodruff’s previously cited comments: “the link between the everyday and the biblical scene […] is the act of prayer” (3) in a linked or nested chain. one could almost call this nesting “framing.” framing thus serves as method and topos, both in enargeia and in actual painting, in the middle ages, in artistic endeavors to unite the worlds on earth and above. in the works discussed, framing creates the conditions for metapictures, pictures that point to themselves as artworks, despite the very different roles each work plays: the poem giving us a negative example that obedient subjects can employ as reverse patterning, and the illuminations telling viewers that they participate in the creation of holy time. works cited ackerman, james s. “jonah.” the literary guide to the bible. edited by robert alter and frank kermode. cambridge, ma: the belknap press of harvard university press, 1987. andrew, malcolm and ronald waldron, editors. the poems of the pearl manuscript: pearl, cleanness, patience, sir gawain and the green knight. fourth edition. exeter: university of exeter press, 2002.* bynum, caroline walker. the resurrection of the body in western christianity, 200-1336. lectures on the history of religions. sponsored by the american council of learned societies, new series, number 15. new york: columbia university press, 1995. calkins, robert g. “distribution of labor: the illuminators of the hours of catherine of cleves and their workshop.” transactions of the american philosophical society, new ser. 69:5 (1979), 1-83. camille, michael. images on the edge: the margins of medieval art. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1992. caviness, madeline h. “patron or matron? a capetian bride and a vade mecum for her marriage bed.” speculum 68 (1993): 333-362. *note: when transcribing from patience, i have followed sarah stanbury’s description, at the end of pearl: introduction, of the mets guidelines. thorns are written as th, and yoghs have been transcribed according to which letter of g, gh, y, or s is closest to the modern spelling. chaucer, geoffrey. “the house of fame.” the riverside chaucer. third edition. edited by larry d. benson. boston: houghton mifflin company, 1987. the holy bible. king james version. cambridge, u.k.: cambridge university press. “jonah.” the unbound bible. douay-rheims version. october 27, 2004. <http://www.unboundbible.com> kirk, elizabeth d. “who suffreth more than god? narrative definition of patience in patience and piers plowman.” the triumph of patience. edited by gerald j. schiffhorst. orlando, fl: a florida technological university book/university presses of florida, 1978. krieger, murray. ekphrasis: the illusion of the natural sign. baltimore, md: johns hopkins university press, 1992. mitchell, w.j.t. picture theory: essays on verbal and visual representation. chicago: the university of chicago press, 1994. plummer, john. the hours of catherine of cleves. introduction and commentaries. new york: george braziller, 1966.† riddy, felicity. “jewels in pearl.” a companion to the gawain-poet. edited by derek brewer and jonathan gibson. cambridge: d.s. brewer, 1997. sherwood, yvonne. a biblical text and its afterlives: the survival of jonah in western culture. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2000. †note: the illuminations and specific commentary post the introduction in the hours of catherine of cleves do not have page numbers. therefore, the illuminations are referred to by number and the commentary understood to be in the facing page of the illumination. spearing, a.c. “the subtext of patience: god as mother and the whale’s belly.” journal of medieval and early modern studies 29:2 (1999): 293-323. stanbury, sarah. “the body and the city in pearl.” representations 48 (1994): 3047. ---. “pearl: introduction.” originally published in pearl. kalamazoo, mi: medieval institute publications, 2001. teams texts. the medieval institute. university of rochester. october 27, 2004. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/pearlint.htm stokes, myra. “suffering in patience.” the chaucer review 18.4 (1984): 354-364. watson, nicholas. “the gawain-poet as a vernacular theologian.” a companion to the gawain-poet. edited by derek brewer and jonathan gibson. cambridge: d.s. brewer, 1997. woodruff, peter. “a note on the book of hours of catherine of cleves.” university of southern california. november 30, 2004. <http:///www.usc.edu/dept/comp-lit/tympanum/3/woodruff.html> microsoft word sipe_online.doc 2 struggling with flesh: soul/body dualism in porphyry and augustine dera sipe philosophy villanova university introduction porphyry began his life of plotinus with the statement, “plotinus, the philosopher of our times, seemed ashamed of being in the body.”1 this telling testimonial illuminates the privileging of the mind or soul over the corporeal that is characteristic of the neoplatonic as well as the early christian traditions; the hierarchical dualistic scheme of soul and body that constitutes the backbone of both neoplatonic and christian metaphysics has inevitably led to a denial of the corporeal body, a rejection of flesh, in the western world. in this paper, i draw from both neoplatonic and augustinian thought on the body – predominantly through consideration of porphyry’s letter to marcella, augustine’s confessions, and his writings on continence, marriage, and virginity2 – in order to identify one source of the negative theorization of the body which has been a problematic and dominating legacy handed down to christianity through western philosophy. it is somewhat difficult to point to one singular source for the root of augustine’s dualistic notion of flesh and spirit. some of augustine’s critics have pointed to scripture for these origins, while others, including augustine’s contemporaries (for example, julian of eclanum), have argued that it stems from his early days as a manichaean. however, focusing on the similarities between augustine’s advocacy of abstinence from the pleasures of the flesh and manichaean asceticism is perhaps less fruitful than examining the same connections between augustine and the neoplatonists, since augustine consistently denied the former connections, but kept referring – explicitly or implicitly – to the latter. one particularly interesting link between augustine’s conception of the body and that of the neoplatonists can be made on the basis of a careful comparison of augustine’s de continentia sermon and porphyry’s letter struggling with flesh 3 to marcella. this comparative analysis is especially intriguing when one reads these texts with the controversial understanding that the neoplatonist augustine most likely read was porphyry (o’meara 1959, 57; smith 1974, 79-80; o’connell 1968; o’donnell 1992).3 in de continentia, augustine writes that “a material body is sowed, however, and a spiritual body rises up” (204). though he cites 1 corinthians 15:44 as the source of this passage, a very similar notion of the body’s relationship to the soul is put forth by porphyry in his letter to marcella: the body is joined to you in the same way as the membrane is joined to embryos growing in the womb, and as the stalk is joined to the growing grain […]. so then, just as the membrane and the stalk of the grain grow concurrently, and once they mature each is shucked off, likewise also the body, which has been joined to the sown soul, is not part of a man but exists in order for him to be born in the womb, just as the entwined membrane is yoked to the body in order for him to be born on earth. (74-75) by examining this and other textual similarities, i argue in this paper that careful consideration of the neoplatonic view of the body, as it is presented by porphyry, will shed light on the origins and nature of this dualism in augustine, and may even serve to further establish the import of the neoplatonists on the early development of the christian church.4 i will restrict my focus chiefly to the nature of this dualism in both porphyry and augustine, and the way in which it has inevitably led to a struggle with flesh and an ascetic denial of the corporeal body for both of these thinkers.5 yet, for a feminist, such considerations naturally lead one to broach the topic as to how this hierarchical soul/body dualism has shaped the western view of women.6 along these lines, i conclude this paper with the argument that, because women have throughout western culture traditionally been associated with the bodily, this hierarchical dualism has served to institute and justify patriarchal attitudes towards women. soul/body dualism in the platonic tradition though it is difficult to point to one source as the ultimate root of augustine’s dualistic notion of flesh and spirit – some critics have argued it stems from his early days as a manichaean, while others will point to dera sipe 4 sources in scripture – an examination of the possible neoplatonic sources of augustine’s dualism may prove even more rewarding.7 augustine made continuous reference to the books of the platonists throughout his confessions, and so we know that he considered neoplatonism to be an essential phase in his own philosophical development; this can also be observed from the fact that augustine’s philosophy shares a similar metaphysical backbone with that of the neoplatonists, so much so that he is commonly referred to as a christian neoplatonist. further, augustine and neoplatonists such as porphyry even employ parallel metaphor to describe the hierarchical dualistic relationship of body and soul. thus, an examination of platonic dualism may help us to unearth these origins in augustine. throughout this paper, i will consistently employ the term “dualism” to describe the systematically hierarchical devaluation of the bodily and privileging of the intelligible or spiritual, though of course neither the platonic nor augustinian systems are systems of strict binaries – they are both hierarchical orderings of reality, and so are more complicated than a basic dualistic scheme. however, i maintain that it is fair to refer to both the platonists and augustine as soul/body dualists, so long as one continues to keep their more complex metaphysics in the background. soul/body dualists believe that there is a distinction between the soul or mind and material bodies; this belief has often led to a theory of the soul’s atemporal constancy. this brand of dualism is partially responsible for the epistemological divide that developed between philosophy and science; within traditional philosophy the suspicion has developed that the temporal body and its senses cannot be trusted – we have no hope of ever having knowledge of the sensible world because it is constantly changing, and so truth cannot be found in the sensory world. philosophers desire knowledge of that which is immutable and unchangeable; thus, from this epistemology arose the firm conviction that we must look to the transcendental intelligible world for truth, and turn away from the ephemeral world of physical bodies. this hierarchical variety of soul/body dualism found a firm advocate in plato. as porphyry mentions briefly in his letter to marcella, plato “recollected the intelligible from the perceptible” (porphyry 1987, 55),8 systematically drawing the distinction between the world of physical bodies and the intelligible world of souls and forms. plato, particularly in middle dialogues such as his republic9 and phaedo, explicated a dualistic scheme in which the intelligible world of souls and forms was privileged and the physical world of material bodies was struggling with flesh 5 degraded.10 according to plato, particular bodies are only deficient earthly copies of that which is universal, perfect, and real: the forms.11 hence, he claims in the phaedo that “the soul is most like the divine, deathless, intelligible, uniform, indissoluble, always the same as itself, whereas the body is most like that which is human, mortal, multiform, unintelligible, soluble and never consistently the same” (plato 1997a, 80b). plato describes the body as a prison for the soul; humans can attempt to free themselves from this prison in life through the practice of philosophy by focusing on that which is atemporal. the lovers of learning know that when philosophy gets hold of their soul, it is imprisoned in and clinging to the body, and that it is forced to examine other things through it as through a cage and not by itself, and that it wallows in every kind of ignorance. philosophy sees that the worst feature of this imprisonment is that it is due to desires, so that the prisoner himself is contributing to his own incarceration most of all. as i say, the lovers of learning know that philosophy gets hold of their soul when it is in that state, then gently encourages it and tries to free it by showing them that investigation through the eyes is full of deceit, as is that through the ears and the other senses. philosophy then persuades the soul to withdraw from the senses in so far as it is not compelled to use them and bids the soul to gather itself together by itself, to trust only itself and whatever reality, existing by itself, the soul by itself understands, and not to consider as true whatever it examines by other means, for this is different in different circumstances and is sensible and visible, whereas what the soul itself sees is intelligible and invisible. (plato 1997a, 82e-83b) plato argues that if a person is overly concerned with bodily things in life, weighed down by the polluting force that is physical desire, this will pass with them into death, and they will remain caught up in the prison of the physical.12 in order to achieve freedom from the fetters of the body, plato advocates that philosophers avoid both the pleasures and pains of the body so as to allow the soul freedom from its powerfully corrupting grip.13 later, the neoplatonists plotinus and porphyry would come to take up this notion of the soul’s struggle with the bodily in their versions of platonism; for both, the body is an obstacle in the way of the soul’s ascent. dera sipe 6 for plotinus, body depends on soul for its existence much like a parasite: it is a burden from which soul must attempt to free itself. in the first tractate of ennead i, plotinus describes body as soul’s instrument; in describing the body as soul’s instrument plotinus is not implying that it is a helpful tool, but rather he argues that the body is an inferior appendage that the soul must learn, via philosophy, to live without.14 later, in the ninth tractate of ennead i, plotinus likens the body to fetters that imprison the human soul;15 body depends on soul for its existence, and thus in that way is secondary to soul, manifesting itself as a burden to soul – a burden that must be overcome with the help of philosophy by means of a platonic ascent. in ennead iv.7, plotinus argues that “soul is prior by nature to body,” “independent of body,” and is “constitutive of body while being separate from body, a different and superior nature” (o’meara 1996, 74).16 in ennead vi, plotinus asks that we think of the “body as being ‘in’ soul, in the sense that it depends entirely for its organization and life on soul” (o’meara 1993, 27).17 it is crucial to keep in mind that since the body is “in” soul and depends on soul for its existence, plotinus’ dualism is not at all like a manichaean dualism – the two principles are not equal and competing, but rather his is a dualism in which a higher principle must struggle to free itself as much as possible from the influence of the lower physical principle.18 plotinus’ discussion of the soul/body hierarchy is frequent, and can be found dispersed throughout his enneads;19 thus, though plotinus’ dualism is complicated by his metaphysics, this does not negate the fact that for plotinus there are indeed two dueling principles, body and soul, and one – soul – is highly privileged over the other. yet the platonic notion of the body as lower than soul is taken up and expounded upon to a greater extent by plotinus’ student, porphyry. it is in the work of porphyry, i will argue, that we can most clearly see the neoplatonic roots of augustine’s soul/body dualism and its ascetic tendencies. porphyry’s soul/body dualism: the letter to marcella though platonism from the outset, as we have seen, was a dualistic philosophy that privileged the world of the forms over the ephemeral physical world – a perfect recipe for asceticism – porphyry’s interpretation of platonic doctrine may have leaned more in the direction of a harshly ascetic disparagement of the physical world than even that of struggling with flesh 7 his teacher, plotinus. porphyry was born around 232-3 c.e., approximately twenty-eight years after plotinus.20 porphyry’s temperament may have disposed him towards the dualistic worldview of neoplatonism; porphyry was prone to depression,21 and had even seriously contemplated suicide, which may indicate that he was generally unhappy with life in the temporal world.22 as we shall observe from his letter to marcella (ad marcellam), which was written around 300 c.e., porphyry practiced a trained abstinence from the pleasures of the physical world. the negatively abstemious elements of neoplatonism may have been taken farther by porphyry than even plotinus would have preached; when porphyry contemplated suicide – presumably as a result of neoplatonic teachings – plotinus “convinced him that what was really wrong with him was an imbalance in his humors caused by black bile,” and so he encouraged porphyry to recuperate for a while in a warmer climate; it seems plotinus did not want his teachings to be interpreted as encouragements of hatred towards this world: “moderate asceticism is a legitimate inference, dualistic self-mutilation or suicide are not” (praet 1999).23 i introduced this paper with a quote from the beginning of porphyry’s life of plotinus: “plotinus, the philosopher of our times, seemed ashamed of being in the body” (porphyry 1966, 3). this statement is quite telling of the general tendency to privilege the mind or soul over the corporeal that is characteristic of the neoplatonic tradition; however, there is some controversy as to whether or not plotinus actually decried the body to such a negative extent, or whether porphyry, in his own taking up of neoplatonism and its emphasis on the soul, exaggerated this element of plotinian philosophy in his biography of his teacher (miles 1999, 5; 49; 90-91).24 it is certain that both plotinus and porphyry held a hierarchical notion of soul and body, in which the bodily is held to be lower than the soul; as we have seen, this was inherited from plato. yet in important respects porphyry fundamentally disagreed with plotinus regarding the relationship of the soul to the body; “indeed, porphyry’s own philosophical stance was much more pessimistic about body than that of plotinus” (miles 1999, 91). as john o’meara explains in porphyry’s philosophy from oracles in augustine, porphyry disagreed with both plato and plotinus that souls that had been joined to human bodies should return subsequently to join a bestial body, and he furthermore contended that perfectly purified souls never returned to body, human or dera sipe 8 bestial, at all. […] the important thing to remember is that porphyry, as represented by augustine, thinks of this principally in terms of fleeing re-union with body. it is not merely that he counsels us to shun the body in this life, but he places still greater emphasis on fleeing from re-union with a body, once one has got to the next life. (o’meara 1959, 24-25) such exegeses of porphyry’s work may give us some indication that porphyry had taken the neoplatonic soul/body hierarchy farther than plotinus, which led him down the path of rather extreme asceticism.25 this greater tendency of porphyry’s to deplore the bodily can be observed in his letter to marcella. in this work, porphyry entreats his new wife, marcella, to take up the ascetic life of neoplatonism.26 in the letter, porphyry attempts to explain to marcella why theirs must be a celibate marriage; through a careful evaluation of his effort, we can gain a glimpse at porphyry’s own more radically dualistic and ascetic interpretation of neoplatonism. porphyry here describes the dualistic relationship between soul and body in the language of a fall – a “descent into the flesh” (porphyry 1987, 55) – and of imprisonment; the soul is trapped in the body temporarily, and the goal is to free it as much as possible from the domination of the body such that the soul controls the body, thus escaping its corrupting grip. for porphyry, the body is analogous to a prison from which we must attempt to flee via abstinence. he writes, we have been enchained by nature’s chains with which she has surrounded us: the belly, the genitals, the throat, the other bodily members, both in respect to our use and passionate pleasure in them and our fears about them. so then, if we should rise above their witchcraft and guard against their seductive snare, we have enchained what has enchained us. (porphyry 1987, 75) porphyry counsels marcella, “the absence [of the pleasures of the flesh] is painful to you as you train yourself to flee from the body” (porphyry 1987, 55), but the reward is great, though controlling the body is difficult. this control is a refraining – avoiding the passions of the bodily appetites. porphyry cautions marcella to “never use bodily members simply for pleasure, for it is much better to die than to dull the soul through lack of self-control” (porphyry 1987, 77). we must ascend from struggling with flesh 9 the body by avoiding the pleasures of the flesh: “it would be impossible either to ascend the mountain peaks without danger and hard work, or to ascend from the inmost parts of the body through what drags it down into the body, namely, pleasure and indolence” (porphyry 1987, 51). porphyry clearly explicates his dualistic, ascetic philosophy throughout the text – his philosophically written letter to his wife is really a treatise on neoplatonic abstinence, a call for the reader to make the body subservient to the soul. this, as we will see, is very similar to augustine’s own purpose in both his confessions and his essay on continence, de continentia. these texts all argue that the lover of the bodily is unjust and ignorant of god:27 porphyry writes, “‘to the extent anyone longs for the body and the things related to the body, to that extent is he ignorant of god and darkens god’s vision of him, even if in the eyes of all men he may be honored as a god [...]. let the soul obey the intellect; then, of course, let the body be subservient to the soul” (porphyry 1987, 57-58). porphyry states, “even the gods have prescribed remaining pure by abstinence from food and sex” (porphyry 1987, 71).28 so, he says that we must “become totally in control of ourselves” (porphyry 1987, 71); this control is only achieved via detachment from the body. the body, porphyry writes, is joined to you in the same way as the membrane is joined to embryos growing in the womb, and as the stalk is joined to the growing grain […] so then, just as the membrane and the stalk of the grain grow concurrently, and once they mature each is shucked off, likewise also the body, which has been joined to the sown soul, is not part of a man but exists in order for him to be born in the womb, just as the entwined membrane is yoked to the body in order for him to be born on earth. the more an individual has turned toward the mortal element, the more he makes his heart unsuitable for the sublimity of immortality. but the more he holds aloof from passionate attachment to the body, the more he draws near the divine. (porphyry 1987, 74-75) control over the body, through the practice of abstinence, is the primary goal of porphyry’s neoplatonism.29 this control over the body should not be read as simply a form of balanced moderation, but rather as a practiced turning away from all that is bodily towards that which is atemporal; a most interesting line in porphyry’s ad marcellam comes towards the end of the letter: “often dera sipe 10 people amputate some limb to save their lives; you should be prepared to amputate the whole body to save your soul” (porphyry 1987, 75). this call to “amputate the whole body to save [the] soul” further indicates porphyry’s more radical platonism. here, porphyry is addressing neoplatonic ascent, which is a philosophical separation or purification,30 “the call to escape from the body” and live the “life of the inner man” (smith 1974, 20; 23),31 something plotinus had claimed to achieve on numerous occasions. though both plotinus and porphyry believed that “soul may separate itself from body before body has separated itself from soul – […] the ascent of the soul during life” (smith 1974, 22),32 porphyry’s language in the letter and his disposition indicate that he was advocating something even more radical than the plotinian version of philosophical separation in his letter:33 it seems that for porphyry the “amputation” of body from soul is a more extreme version of this separation, one that would possibly even consider suicide as a desperate effort to flee from the body. as smith writes, for porphyry, “there is sufficient reason for desiring ultimate release [the release of death] even for the philosopher since the restrictions imposed by the body are considered by him to be a serious impediment, even at times an insurmountable obstacle, in attaining the goal” (smith 1974, 80). augustine’s soul/body dualism at the risk of setting up a strawman augustine, the following section will highlight augustine’s negative articulation of the body. in fairness to the philosopher it must be noted from the outset that he attempts to discuss the body in less disparaging terms elsewhere, particularly in city of god. evident tensions within augustine’s philosophy emerge as he struggles to reconcile his lingering dualism with the more nuanced understanding of flesh that is philosophically necessary for his project to work.34 however, his efforts to discuss the body positively are highly problematic; that he is not altogether beyond a hierarchical form of soul/body dualism is exposed by statements made throughout his corpus, and even in city of god. for example, in book 19, chapter 17 of that text he writes: “when we shall have reached that peace, this mortal life shall give place to one that is eternal, and our body shall be no more this animal body which by its corruption weighs down the soul, but a spiritual body feeling no want, and in all its members subjected to the will.” it is the “animal body” that must be reclaimed for struggling with flesh 11 philosophy – the present paper merely aims to clear the air so that a positive articulation of the material body might be taken seriously. to this end, augustine’s notion of a spiritual body cannot assist us. augustine harbored a notion similar to that of porphyry that we humans must struggle to overcome the body in order to nurture the soul. though this is in line with neoplatonic doctrine generally, there is evidence that augustine read porphyry in particular (o’meara 1959, 57; smith 1974, 79-80; o’connell 1968; o’donnell 1992).35 we can look to augustine’s works on sexuality, continence, marriage, and virginity in light of the above reading of porphyry’s letter to marcella as further evidence to support this claim; such a reading will show that the similarities between the two philosophers are strikingly textual and thematic. augustine had an exceedingly difficult time throughout his life struggling against what he considered to be the evil desires of his body. at a young age, manichaeism allowed him some relief from his guilt – it held that the individual is not really responsible for the evil he or she commits, because this power of evil is constantly at work in the universe, competing against the good; the manicheans believed that evil is a substance which is coeternal and competing with good. the relief provided by manichaeism was short-lived for augustine, however, as he found manichean explanations insufficient. he would find a much more suitable account of evil in the books of the platonists. in confessions book vii, augustine describes how the books of the platonists helped to solve the problem of evil for him.36 rather than thinking of evil as a substance as the manicheans do, the platonists helped augustine see that evil is a perversion of the will such that the will turns away from god. evil, therefore, does not really exist – it is nothing but a lack of focus on god. it is a turn away from the source of illumination (god), from atemporal things like truth (which is god), and thus a turn towards the body and temporal things.37 particularly, this element of truth in the books of the platonists was the neoplatonic understanding that everything is an emanation from the one (god) in a hierarchical ordering: that which is closest to the one has more reality than that which is farthest away; the material world is distant from the one, and humans must focus inwardly away from this material multiplicity in order to ascend back towards the one. in the neoplatonic system, everything comes from the one and is good insofar as it exists, but that which is lower – i.e., farther from the one – has less being than that which is higher. (accordingly, evil is not a substance, but rather a dera sipe 12 lack of being in the full sense, a nothingness, or at least that which is closer to a lack of existence).38 augustine takes up this neoplatonic system and synthesizes it with his christian framework. according to augustine, in order to avoid “evil” humans must focus inwardly on their soul or mind, which is closest to god, and not on their bodies, which carry the burden of original sin in the flesh and are farthest from god; in order to do this we must ask for god’s grace to help us control the body,39 though even with god’s help this struggle with flesh is never easy. following in the platonic tradition, augustine privileges that which is unchanging: we see this explicitly in book vii of the confessions, where augustine attempts to comprehend a god that is non-corporeal. god cannot be corporeal, augustine reasons, because god is perfect and thus absolute, whereas the body, in a constant process of change and decay, can never be described as perfect. thus, the soul must struggle against the corrupting influence of the body. throughout the confessions, augustine describes his constant struggle with the world of physical pleasures.40 in book vi, augustine expresses his battle with “carnal lusts” (augustine 1998, 118); in book vii, the body is described as a weight: “i was drawn toward you by your beauty but swiftly dragged away from you by my own weight, swept back headlong and groaning onto these things below myself; and this weight was carnal habit” (augustine 1998, 138). augustine depicts the temporal body as an oppressive hindrance to the soul’s ascent: “the perishable body weighs down the soul, and its earthly habitation oppresses a mind teeming with thoughts” (augustine 1998, 138). book vii contains augustine’s account of his failed attempt at ascent towards god, which was foiled by the weight of consuetudo carnalis. augustine’s introspective ascent to god – which he describes famously in book 7 of the confessions – ends on a note of anticlimax. as quickly as he was taken up by divine beauty, he was snatched back by a competing source of attraction. he blames his unwanted descent on consuetudo carnalis, a repository of old desire that hung on him like a dead weight. the latin term has admitted of various translations: ‘sexual habit’ (chadwick), ‘carnal habit’ (warner, sheed), ‘habit of the flesh’ (pine-coffin), ‘carnal custom’ (pusey), and even ‘the habit of thinking intrinsically associated with the senses’ (quinn). it is clearly a bodystruggling with flesh 13 fixated habit that is at issue here, as all the translations indicate. (wetzel 2000, 165) augustine continues his discussion of the way in which the physical world and its devious pleasures, particularly sexual pleasure, fetter him down in confessions book viii: he praises god for helping to set him “free from a craving for sexual gratification which fettered me like a tight-drawn chain, and from my enslavement to worldly affairs” (augustine 1998, 155). in book x, this battle with the corruptible flesh becomes fleshed out to a greater extent.41 augustine introduces book x with an examination of his love for god, which he finds has nothing to do with his bodily senses,42 and augustine spends the latter part of book x confessing the ways in which he is still separated from a truly godly life due to the concupiscence of the flesh. he examines the ways in which physical touching, tasting, smelling, hearing, and seeing can lure one to ignore the spiritual and to focus on the bodily (augustine 1998, 223-235).43 augustine takes up this issue of the troublesome struggle with the concupiscence of the flesh to a greater extent in his attempts to establish proper christian doctrine regarding sexuality. his writings on marriage and virginity – for example, de continentia, de bono coniugali,44 de sancta virginitate,45 and de bono viduitatis46 – are meant to guide christians towards a more godly life. as with porphyry’s letter to marcella, inherent in augustine’s sermons is the advocacy of abstinence from sexual conduct for the purposes of nurturing one’s spiritual side. the underlying thesis of these works is that a life of control of one’s sexual impulses is best; to this end, augustine – like porphyry before him – praises celibacy above even marriage, and within marriage he strongly advocates sexual relations only for procreative purposes. also like the letter to marcella, augustine’s de continentia sermon expresses a hierarchical soul/body dualism, a dualism in which the two parts are engaged in constant struggle in this material realm: augustine writes that “the flesh has desires opposed to those of the spirit, and the spirit has desires opposed to those of the flesh. these two work against each other with the result that you do not do what you want to do” (augustine 1990, 197-198). continence, augustine writes, is “of special importance” in this “war where the spirit has desires opposed to the flesh”; it puts to death “the deeds of the flesh” with which we so greatly struggle.47 in this manner, de continentia is strikingly similar to porphyry’s letter to marcella. dera sipe 14 the similarities are not merely thematic; the two texts also share a parallel grounding metaphor. recall that in the letter, porphyry wrote that the body is joined to you in the same way as the membrane is joined to embryos growing in the womb, and as the stalk is joined to the growing grain […] so then, just as the membrane and the stalk of the grain grow concurrently, and once they mature each is shucked off, likewise also the body, which has been joined to the sown soul, is not part of a man but exists in order for him to be born in the womb. (porphyry 1987, 74-75)48 likewise, augustine also employs the metaphor of a material body being sowed so that the spiritual body can rise: the flesh can desire nothing except by means of the soul; but the flesh is said to have desires opposed to the spirit, when the soul struggles against the spirit because of carnal desires. all of this is ourselves, and even the flesh, which dies when the soul leaves it, is the lowly part of ourselves. it is not cast off to be abandoned, but it is put aside to be received back, and once received back it will never again be relinquished. a material body is sowed, however, and a spiritual body rises up (1 cor 15:44). (augustine 1990, 204) this textual similarity lends validity to the argument that augustine in fact had studied porphyry’s writing carefully, perhaps even the letter to marcella, and had appropriated porphyry’s version of neoplatonism. one possible objection to this reading may be that augustine held, in accordance with christian dogma, that a “spiritual body” rising up means that the christian body will become purified after death, and will live eternally; this, it might be argued, runs contrary to porphyry’s metaphor in which the body itself is “shucked off.” augustine had to attempt to reconcile christian scripture with his own more neoplatonic understanding of the body-soul relationship. scripture often uses corporeal metaphor and symbolism to describe that which is spiritual in nature: the body of christ in the eucharist, for example. augustine’s struggle to understand god as an incorporeal being in his confessions will perhaps help us to better understand what he means by a spiritual body as opposed to a material body; augustine uses the term body, but he struggling with flesh 15 does not seem to imply that any sort of purified corporeal body will actually rise up. augustine continued the above passage with the statement: “then the flesh will no longer have any desires opposed to the spirit. it will itself be called spiritual, as it will be subject to the spirit without any resistance, and without any need of bodily food to sustain its eternal life” (augustine 1990, 204). thus, this term “spiritual body” in augustine need not be read differently than porphyry’s use of the term “soul” in the above passage from the letter to marcella, despite its more corporeal overtones. further, it is important to note that augustine was also struggling to distance his own theology from that of the manicheans when he wrote de continentia. in de continentia augustine makes great effort to assert that his discussion of the battle between the flesh and the spirit does not stem from a manichaean dualistic understanding of flesh as evil. contrary to the manichaeans (and actually in line with neoplatonic doctrine), augustine affirms that there is nothing inherently wrong with flesh: “what error, then – or, better, what utter madness – has possessed the manichees, for them to class our flesh as belonging to some kind of mythical nation of darkness?” (augustine 1990, 206). god, being a good god, made both flesh and spirit, and so naturally these both are good products.49 still, the flesh does harbor certain desires which, when we give into them, are sinful; the flesh, the corruptible body, does weigh down the soul.50 augustine refers to this tendency as a “defect of the flesh” (augustine 1990, 204).51 augustine indicates that these sinful thoughts, our inheritance from original sin, are beyond our control – what is not beyond our control is how we react to them. if we dwell on these thoughts, or act upon them, we are giving in to sin; however, if the mind is “obedient to god’s law” these can be “kept in check” (augustine 1990, 205).52 thus, this distinction augustine insists upon between his own soul/body dualism and that of the manicheans is important to keep in mind, and yet we must also question whether this distinction is somewhat trivial; though the dualism augustine describes is not a radical dualism of two opposing natures, but rather is a dualism within one nature, the binary of opposition between flesh and its “defective,” lustful tendencies and spirit is nonetheless present, and for all practical purposes the effects of this dualistic understanding of the self are very similar for augustine as they were for the manichaeans – a doctrine of abstinence, an advocacy of an ascetic life. however, as i have thus far argued, the same advocacy of abstinence can be found in porphyry’s writings, and it is couched in dera sipe 16 similar metaphor. this lends support to the claim that augustine may have no longer been a manichean when he wrote de continentia, but was rather merely a good porphyrian neoplatonist. is augustine’s soul/body dualism manichaean or neoplatonic? when considering the question as to whether or not augustine’s dualistic view of the body and soul might stem from his early days as a manichaean or his later neoplatonism, it may be useful to regard the opinion of augustine’s own contemporaries on the subject. in “a critical evaluation of critiques of augustine’s view of sexuality,”53 mathijs lamberigts examines augustine’s view of sexuality in light of the criticism of one of augustine’s contemporaries, julian of eclanum. julian had expressed an unease regarding augustine’s view of sexuality and desire, and had even accused augustine of continuing to harbor a manichean notion of sexuality. like many of his contemporaries, julian also praised a life of sexual abstinence.54 yet he could not accept fully negative views of sexuality; according to julian, “as a gift of god, sexuality belongs by its very nature to the physical dimension of the human person” (lamberigts 2000, 177). julian wrote about sexuality and desire “in a positive manner” (lamberigts 2000, 178), unlike augustine who “regularly labeled ‘desire’ as a vitium, a weakness characteristic of fallen humanity, a deficiency with respect to the fullness of being for which the devil was responsible” (lamberigts 2000, 178). julian found this aspect of augustine’s view of sexuality suspect, and in order to prove that the shadow of the manicheans lingers in the background of augustine’s view of sexuality he compared augustine’s de nuptiis et concupiscentia with the manichaen text epistula ad menoch. “in this work, augustine proposed that ‘lust’ was something evil” (lamberigts 2000, 178), since adam and eve had clothed themselves upon committing that first sin. the fact that people felt shame with respect to lust was simply proof of its truly evil nature […]. augustine also pointed out that, where the libido was concerned, the human mind did not enjoy the same supremacy as it did with respect o other parts of the body […]. moreover, sexual desire, for augustine, did not constitute one of the ‘goods’ of marriage […] he believed, on the contrary, that all human struggling with flesh 17 beings were under the power of the devil, because they had all been born as a result of sexual desire. (lamberigts 2000, 178-179) julian found very similar passages in epistula ad menoch. in both texts, the “struggle between spirit and flesh was presented as a struggle between good and evil” (lamberigts 2000, 179). however, lamberigts points out that julian may have been unfair to claim that the anti-sexuality tendencies in augustine are remnants of his days as a manichean; “with respect to his negative interpretation of concupiscentia (carnis), augustine was indebted to the bible, where both old and new testaments spoke repeatedly of sinful desire […]. in response to the accusation that he follows the manichaeans in calling desire ‘bad,’ augustine would certainly have reacted by appealing to the scriptures” (lamberigts 2000, 180). lamberigts argues that if one wants to label augustine a manichaean, one would need to prove augustine was conforming to the “radical dualism propagated by the manichaeans” (lamberigts 2000, 181). this is unlikely, but a less radical dualism is most certainly present in augustine. it is perhaps more plausible that the cause of this dualism is the influence of the platonists on augustine in combination with his reading of the scriptures, and less the remaining influence of the manichaeans on his philosophy. additionally, augustine’s own struggle on the path of conversion likely played a large role in the formation of his dualism: augustine’s own process of conversion, in which his personal struggle with the phenomenon of concupiscentia (carnis) had a significant role to play, also deserves to be taken into account. as he himself describes it, his conversion can and should also be seen as a renunciation of the active sexual life he had lived for almost thirteen years. with exceptional negativity, his confessions portray his own past, with respect to the desires of the flesh in general, and sexual desire, in particular, as ‘mud’ […]. he refers to sexual desire as a sickness. (lamberigts 2000, 182) lamberigts adds that, for augustine, the sexual impulse (concupiscentia carnis) need not lead to sin; it is not sinful necessarily, because one can resist it. grace can help people to resist this desire. augustine also maintained that before the original fall, concupiscentia (carnis) was present harmoniously in eden, and was only made sinful after the fall. dera sipe 18 however, after the fall, sexual desire “was a disturbing force running counter to reason, a sign of the fact that all people are born with original sin, an experience which elicited shame and characterized the time after the fall as marked by sin, suffering and death. sexual desire was something to be avoided at all costs” (lamberigts 2000, 186). because sexual desire is itself not necessarily evil for augustine, we see that his view differs from that of the manichaeans. augustine focuses more on the fact that the passions of the flesh detract one’s attentions from god, and for this reason he must value abstinence and asceticism in general.55 this augustinian view of evil and flesh is far more neoplatonic than it is manichaean, fitting in with the overall platonic hierarchy of being. further, it is more porphyrian than it is plotinian as augustine tends to take the disparagement of bodily things to extremes, which is evident in both book x of his confessions and his sermons on sexuality. feminist concerns with dualism: porphyry and augustine’s unintentional contribution to the subjection of women throughout this paper, i have focused primarily on the nature of dualism in both porphyry and augustine, and the way in which this dualism has inevitably led to a struggle with flesh and an ascetic denial of the corporeal body for both of these thinkers. this dualistic understanding of the mind and the body has penetrated deeply into the core of the western paradigm,56 and so we must now turn to the subject of the ramifications of this dualism, specifically, how this platonic and early christian hierarchical dualism has helped to negatively shape the western view of women. thus, i conclude this paper with the argument that – because women have throughout western culture traditionally been associated with the bodily – this sort of hierarchical dualism put forth by porphyry and augustine has lent a hand to patriarchy in that it justifies subjugating women as we all must struggle to control the body. feminist scholarship has been greatly concerned with the topic of dualism and how the dualistic conception of a separation between soul and body, as well as binary categories in general (such as male and female, white and black, rich and poor), can be obstacles that impede the goals of feminism. as eve browning cole points out, the dualistic relationship of the mind or soul to the body is “one of dominance; the struggling with flesh 19 body is to be subordinated and ruled”; this relationship of mind to body necessarily involves “a fundamental power dialectic in which mind must triumph over the body” (cole 1993, 56-57). thus, a primary feminist critique of dualism has to do with the place women hold in many dualistic hierarchies and with the tendency of dualism to privilege one side over another, resulting in oppression. many contemporary feminists have argued that a deconstruction of the harsh man/woman, masculine/feminine dichotomy is necessary: only an evaluation and a deconstruction of this polarity will truly help the feminist movement move forward. now, if man is to mind as woman is to body, as appears from much of the literature and iconography of western culture throughout historical time, and if we adhere to a generally cartesian view of the self as a purely mental entity, then the self of the woman becomes deeply problematic. can women have cartesian egos? genuine selves? it would appear to be impossible if woman’s essence is located in the domain of the bodily. clearly some other and less dichotomously dualistic conception of the self must be sought. (cole 1993, 65) women have long carried the burden of a predefined nature; women have traditionally been associated with the body,57 irrationality, emotion, chaos,58 maternity, and nature.59 humanity is dichotomized as a result of this concept of woman’s essence: bodily woman as opposed to mental man; emotional woman as opposed to calmly rational man; natural woman as opposed to cultural man.60 this binary view of male and female essences has crossed cultures and the span of time, and has put chains on women in the western world. these chains, though not clearly visible, are nonetheless binding woman from the political realm and are causing her harm within her social world.61 of course, augustine and the platonists are by no means solely to blame for dualistic hierarchies or woman’s lower position within these hierarchies, and i have no intention of resting all the blame on their shoulders. women have been oppressed by dualistic associations with irrationality, the emotions, and the body since as far back in the history of philosophy as pythagoras,62 and so naturally we cannot scapegoat either the neoplatonists or augustine. in fact, the argument may even be properly made that these men were attempting to help women achieve equal treatment in that they did not focus on bodily differences, but rather dera sipe 20 on the similarities of souls – that bodies are ignored by these philosophers may actually have allowed them to see past the differences in women’s bodies so as to observe the real strengths of women. an examination of augustine’s discussion of women such as monica and his mistress throughout the confessions may lend weight to this argument, as augustine repeatedly praised monica throughout the confessions for her steadfast christianity, and even praised his mistress for her ability to control her bodily passions upon their parting63 (though his dismissive treatment of his mistress was rather misogynistic). porphyry, too, may be commended for fairly feminist leanings; after all, he directed a substantial philosophical text, his letter to marcella, to a woman. however, all of this apparently positive discussion of women may be belied by the underlying problem posed for women of each man’s inherently dualistic philosophy, and their significant roles in the development of philosophy and of the christian church causes their contributions to this problem to have been especially influential, and therefore considerably effective at shaping the negative view of women in the west. we need not look simply to modernity or postmodernity to view the nature of this problem for women; this becomes apparent even in porphyry’s letter to marcella. for example, when porphyry entreats marcella to take on the neoplatonic lifestyle of turning away from the bodily towards the atemporal, he writes: “therefore, do not be overly concerned about whether your body is male or female; do not regard yourself as a woman, marcella, for i did not devote myself to you as such. flee from every effeminate element of the soul as if you are clothed in a male body” (porphyry 1987, 75). needless to say, that the female person should regard her body as a male body so as to better free herself from the imprisonment of the flesh is highly problematic, and indicates that soul/body dualism should indeed be viewed as an obstacle to feminist goals. thus, though we cannot fairly blame either porphyry or augustine for these traditional associations of woman with the body and man with the soul or mind – since of course these associations had been in existence long before either of them – it is not unjust to point out the role they each played in further instituting this dualism; such efforts must be made so that we can examine the nature of this dualism and show how it came to be so commonly accepted as truth, as such a fundamental and formative aspect of the western paradigm.64 such efforts will enable us struggling with flesh 21 then to engage in the more 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eve browning. 1993. philosophy and feminist criticism: an introduction. new york: paragon house. coyle, j. kevin. 1998. what did augustine know about manichaeism when he wrote his two treatises de moribus? in augustine and manichaeism in the latin west: proceeds of the fribourg-utrecht symposium of the international association of manichaean studies (iams), edited by johannes van oort, otto wermelinger and gregor wurst. leiden: brill. dera sipe 22 coyle, j. kevin. 2003. saint augustine’s manichaean legacy. in augustinian studies, volume 34, number 1. villanova: villanova university press. driscoll, ellen. 1997. hunger, representation, and the female body: an analysis of intersecting themes in feminist studies in religion and the psychology of women. journal of feminist studies in religion 13: 91-104. evangeliou, christos. 1988. aristotle’s categories and porphyry. leiden: brill. gerson, lloyd p., ed. 1996. the cambridge companion to plotinus. cambridge: cambridge university press. hampl, patricia. 1998. preface to augustine’s confessions. translated by maria boulding. new york: vintage books. hunter, david g., ed. 1990. marriage and virginity: the excellence of marriage, holy virginity, the excellece of widowhood, adulterous marriages, continence, part 1, volume 9. translated by ray kearney, edited with introductions and notes by david g. hunter. hyde park: new city press. hunter, david g. 1994. augustinian pessimism? a new look at augustine’s teaching on sex, marriage and celibacy. in augustinian studies, volume 34, number 1. villanova: villanova university press. lamberigts, mathijs. 1998. was augustine a manichaean? the assessment of julian of aeclanum. in augustine and manichaeism in the latin west: proceeds of the fribourg-utrecht symposium of the international association of manichaean studies (iams), edited by johannes van oort, otto wermelinger and gregor wurst. leiden: brill. lamberigts, mathijs. 2000. a critical evaluation of critiques of augustine’s view of sexuality. in augustine and his critics: essays in honour of gerald bonner, edited by robert dodaro and george lawless. new york: routledge. markus, robert a. 1998. the end of ancient christianity. cambridge: cambridge university press. miles, margaret r. 1979. augustine on the body. missoula: scholar's press. miles, margaret r. 1999. plotinus on body and beauty: society, philosophy, and religion in third-century rome. oxford: blackwell publishers ltd. struggling with flesh 23 o’brien, elmer, ed. 1964. the essential plotinus: representative treatises from the enneads. new york: mentor books. o'connell, robert j. 1968. st. augustine's early theory of man. cambridge: harvard university press. o'connell, robert j. 1984. saint augustine’s platonism. villanova: villanova university press. o'donnell, james j. 1992. augustine: confessions. text and commentary, volume ii. oxford: oxford university press. oliver, kelly, and marilyn pearsall. 1998. feminist interpretations of friedrich nietzsche. university park: the pennsylvania state university press. o’meara, dominic j. 1993. plotinus: an introduction to the enneads. oxford: clarendon press. o'meara, dominic j. 1996. the hierarchical ordering of reality in plotinus. in the cambridge companion to plotinus, edited by lloyd p. gerson. cambridge: cambridge university press. o’meara, john j. 1959. porphyry’s philosophy from oracles in augustine. paris: etudes augustiniennes. plato. 1997a. phaedo. in plato: complete works, edited by john m. cooper. indianapolis: hackett publishing company. plato. 1997b. republic. in plato: complete works, edited by john m. cooper. indianapolis: hackett publishing company. plotinus. 1966. plotinus i: porphyry on plotinus, ennead i, edited and translated by a.h. armstrong. cambridge: harvard university press. plotinus. 1966. plotinus ii: ennead ii, edited and translated by a.h. armstrong. cambridge: harvard university press. plotinus. 1966. plotinus iv: ennead iv, edited and translated by a.h. armstrong. cambridge: harvard university press. plotinus. 1984. plotinus v: ennead v, edited and translated by a.h. armstrong. cambridge: harvard university press. dera sipe 24 plotinus. 1956. the enneads, edited and translated by stephen mackenna. new york: pantheon books, inc. porphyry. 1896. porphyry the philosopher to his wife marcella, translated with introduction by alice zimmern. london: george redway. porphyry. 1987. to marcella. text and translation with introduction and notes by kathleen o’brien wicker. atlanta: scholars press. porphyry. 1966. on the life of plotinus and the order of his books. in plotinus: porphyry on plotinus, ennead i, edited and translated by a.h. armstrong. cambridge: harvard university press. praet, danny. 1999. hagiography and biography as prescriptive sources for late antique sexual morals. in the bulletin d'hagiologia, volume 5. turnhout: hagiologia. ring, merrill. 1999. beginning with the presocratics. new york: mcgraw-hill. rist, j.m. 1967. plotinus: the road to reality. cambridge: cambridge university press. simons, margaret. 1995. the second sex: from marxism to radical feminism. in feminist interpretations of simone de beauvoir, edited by margaret a. simons. university park: the pennsylvania state university press. smith, andrew. 1974. porphyry’s place in the neoplatonic tradition: a study in postplotinian neoplatonism. the hague: martinus nijhoff. switalski, bruno. 1946. neoplatonism and the ethics of st. augustine. new york: polish institute of arts and sciences in america. tuana, nancy. 1992. woman and the history of philosophy. new york: paragon house. tuana, nancy. 1993. the less noble sex: scientific, religious, and philosophical conceptions of woman’s nature. bloomington: indiana university press. tuana, nancy. 1994. feminist interpretations of plato. university park: pennsylvania state university press. van oort, johannes, otto wermelinger and gregor wurst, eds. 1998. augustine and manichaeism in the latin west: proceeds of the fribourg-utrecht symposium of the international association of manichaean studies (iams). leiden: brill. struggling with flesh 25 wallis, r.t. 1995. neoplatonism. indianapolis: hackett publishing company, inc. wetzel, james. 2000. the question of consuetudo carnalis in confessions. in augustinian studies, volume 31, number 2. villanova: villanova university press. wicker, kathleen o’brien. 1987. porphyry the philosopher: to marcella. atlanta: scholars press. yhap, jennifer. 2003. plotinus on the soul: a study in the metaphysics of knowledge. selinsgrove: susquehanna university press. zimmern, alice. 1896. porphyry the philosopher to his wife marcella. london: george redway. endnotes 1 “plotinus, the philosopher of our times, seemed ashamed of being in the body. as a result of this state of mind he could never bear to talk about his race or his parents or his native country. and he objected so strongly to sitting to a painter or sculptor that he said to amelius, who was urging him to allow a portrait of himself to be made, ‘why really, is it not enough to have to carry the image in which nature has encased us, without your requesting me to agree to leave behind me a longer-lasting image of the image, as if it was something genuinely worth looking at?” (porphyry 1966, 3). 2 particularly de continentia, de bono coniugali, de sancta virginitate, and de bono viduitatis (on continence, the excellence of marriage, holy virginity, and the excellence of widowhood). 3 o’meara argues in porphyry’s philosophy from oracles in augustine that “the double controversy as to the sincerity of augustine’s conversion in a.d. 386 and the platonist whose books most vitally affect him is solved: augustine was sincerely converted and porphyry played the major role” (o’meara 1959, 2); he backs this controversial claim up with textual evidence from city of god. o’meara further claims that porphyry’s lost philosophy from oracles was “probably the platonic text which most directly affect augustine’s conversion” (o’meara 1959, 1). 4 there is considerable debate within augustinian scholarship surrounding whether or not augustine remains a manichaean throughout his life. the purpose of dera sipe 26 this paper is, in part, to show that neoplatonism actually carries the same dualistic tendencies, and so augustine may not rightly be called a manichaean but may have inherited some of these problems from the neoplatonists, particularly porphyry, instead. this project attempts to reveal how both of these traditions (augustinian and neoplatonic) are problematic for anyone attempting a positive theorization of the body. 5 “asceticism, grounded in the principle of ontological dualism, dichotomized the spiritual and material facets of human existence. it was an intrinsic aspect of platonism from its inception and also characterized the neoplatonic tradition [...]. porphyry described vividly the ascetic life of his teacher [plotinus], emphasizing his sparse vegetarian diet, limited sleep and sexual continence” (wicker 1987, 7). 6 “this drastic dualism is vulnerable to criticism from many different directions; feminist critics begin with the observation that in western culture and throughout its history, we can observe a tendency to identify women with the nature, the physical, the bodily. nature is personified as a female, a ‘mother’; women are portrayed as more closely linked to nature, less completely integrated into civilization and the cultural order, than men. men are rational agents, makers of order and measure, controllers of history; women are emotional vessels, subjects or orders and measures, passive observers of history” (cole 1993, 64-65). 7 of course, it is undeniable that scripture indeed had an influence on augustine’s notion of flesh and spirit, but we need not think of the influence as an either/or – either scripture or neoplatonism – but rather it would probably be most correct to see the synthesis of both in augustine’s philosophy. in that vein, it is interesting to observe that augustine’s conversion to christianity involved a denial of the pleasures of the flesh. “hearing an unseen child say, ‘take up and read. take up and read,’ augustine opened the book of st. paul, which he had been studying, to romans 13, where he read: ‘let us live honorably as in daylight; not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. rather, put on the lord jesus christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh’” (hampl 1998, xxxi). though this paper is limited to uncovering the neoplatonic sources of his denial of the flesh, it would be remiss not to note that both neoplatonism and scripture synthesize to influence augustine’s negative theorization of the body. 8 “even the divine plato started from these thoughts and recollected the intelligible from the perceptible” (porphyry 1987, 55). 9 consider the allegory of the cave in book vi of the republic (514a-517c). “the whole image [of the cave and its prisoners], glaucon, must be fitted together struggling with flesh 27 with what we said before. the visible realm should be likened to the prison dwelling, and the light of the fire inside it to the power of the sun. and if you interpret the upward journey and the study of things above as the upward journey of the soul to the intelligible realm, you’ll grasp what i hope to convey” (plato 1997b, 517b). 10 see also the theaetetus: “the type of purification of the soul that plato himself has in mind may be illustrated by the passage from the theaetetus (176a-b) […]: since evils cannot exist among the gods, but hover always around mortal nature and this earth, we should try to flee from here to there as quickly as possible; this flight consists in becoming like god as far as we can, and to become like him is to become just and holy and wise” (callahan 1964, 50). 11 in the phaedo, plato makes clear this distinction between the physical (visible) world and the real, intelligible (invisible) world. plato asks cebes, “can the equal itself, the beautiful itself, each thing in itself, the real, ever be affected by any change whatever? or does each of them that really is, being uniform by itself, remain the same and never in any way tolerate any change whatsoever? > it must remain the same, said cebes, and in the same state, socrates. > what of the many beautiful particulars, be they men, horses, clothes, or other such things, or the many equal particulars, and all those which bear the same name as those others? do they remain the same or, in total contrast to those other realities, one might say, never in any way remain the same as themselves or in relation to each other? > the latter is the case, they are never in the same state. > these latter you could touch and see and perceive with the other senses, but those that always remain the same can only be grasped by the reasoning power of the mind? they are not seen but are invisible? > that is altogether true, he said. > do you then want us to assume two kinds of existences, the visible and the invisible? > let us assume this. > and the invisible always remains the same, whereas the visible never does? > let us assume that too. > now one part of ourselves is the body, another part is the soul? > quite so. > to which class of existence do we say the body is more alike and akin? > to the visible, as anyone can see” (plato 1997a, 78d-79b). 12 “i think that if the soul is polluted and impure when it leaves the body, having always been associated with it and served it, bewitched by physical desires and pleasures to the point at which nothing seems to exist for it but the physical, which one can touch and see or eat and drink or make use of for sexual enjoyment, and if that soul is accustomed to hate and fear and avoid that which is dim and invisible to the eyes but intelligible and to be grasped by philosophy – do you think such a soul will escape pure and by itself? > impossible, he said. > it is no doubt permeated by the physical, which constant intercourse and association with the body, as well as considerable practice, has caused to become ingrained in it? > quite so. > dera sipe 28 we must believe, my friend, that this bodily element is heavy, ponderous, earthy and visible. through it, such a soul has become heavy and is dragged back to the visible region in fear of the unseen and of hades […] they wander until their longing for that which accompanies them, the physical, again imprisons them in a body” (plato 1997a, 81b-e). 13 “every pleasure and every pain provides, as it were, another nail to rivet the soul to the body and to weld them together. it makes the soul corporeal, so that it believes that truth is what the body says it is. as it shares the beliefs and delights of the body, i think it inevitably comes to share its ways and manner of life and is unable to ever reach hades in a pure state; it is always full of body when it departs, so that it soon falls back into another body and grows with it as if it had been sewn into it. because of this, it can have no part in the company of the divine, the pure and uniform” (plato 1997a, 83d-e). 14 “from the soul using the body as an instrument, it does not follow that the soul must share the body's experiences: a man does not himself feel all the experiences of the tools with which he is working. […] as long as we have agent and instrument, there are two distinct entities; if the soul uses the body it is separate from it. but apart from the philosophical separation how does soul stand to body? clearly there is a combination. […] it will be the double task of philosophy to direct this lower soul towards the higher, the agent, and except in so far as the conjunction is absolutely necessary, to sever the agent from the instrument, the body, so that it need not forever have its act upon or through this inferior” (plotinus 1956, i.1.3). 15 “we must recognize how different is the governance exercised by the allsoul; the relation is not the same: it is not in fetters. among the very great number of differences it should not have been overlooked that the we [the human soul] lies under fetter; and this in a second limitation, for the body-kind, already fettered within the all-soul, imprisons all that it grasps. but the soul of the universe cannot be in bond to what itself has bound: it is sovereign and therefore immune of the lower things, over which we on the contrary are not masters. that in it which is directed to the divine and transcendent is ever unmingled, knows no encumbering; that in it which imparts life to the body admits nothing bodily to itself. it is the general fact that an inset [as the body], necessarily shares the conditions of its containing principle [as the soul], and does not communicate its own conditions where that principle has an independent life: thus a graft will die if the stock dies, but the stock will live on by its proper life though the graft wither” (plotinus i.9.7). 16 “plotinus extends this relation of priority by nature between soul and body to cover the general relation between intelligible being and body” (o’meara 1996, struggling with flesh 29 74). “but the other nature, which has being of itself, is all that really exists, which does not come into being or perish: or everything else will pass away, and could not come into being afterwards if this real existence had perished which preserves all other things and especially this all, which is preserved and given its universal order and beauty by soul” (plotinus iv.7.9.1-5). 17 for plotinus, “soul, as the source of life in bodies, is not a body and does not depend on body for its existence. this in turn points to the immortality of soul. plotinus is quick also to convert the distinction he has established between soul and body into a broad distinction between intelligible and sensible reality […] between what is truly and eternally and what is subject to perpetual change. (o’meara 1993, 18) 18 plotinus made this point very clear in his argument against the gnostics in ennead 2.9. plotinus was upset that the gnostics “ignored the full context of plato’s teaching, emphasizing his most dualist and body-hating statements at the expense of his comprehensive and integrative worldview” (miles 1999, 98); miles argues in plotinus on body and beauty that this argument against the gnostics proves that plotinus was not as anti-body as his student porphyry. “plotinus objected to the gnostics’ claim that the sensible world is the evil creation of an evil demiurge. […] plotinus will find this construction of reality deeply repugnant. for him, the universe and everything in it is the good creation of a single and simple source called, for purposes of reference only, the one or the good. the universe informed and sustained by the one exhibits goodness and beauty throughout; some entities have more, some less according to their spiritual proximity to the one” (miles 1999, 99). this, we shall see, is remarkably similar to augustine’s brand of soul/body dualism. 19 in ennead iv.8 and ennead v particularly, plotinus describes the descent of souls into bodies from a “higher world” (plotinus 1984, 11). 20 (smith 1974, xi). 21 it is know that in the year “268 [porphyry] fell sick with a melancholy and plotinus urged him south to sicily for his health’s sake” (barnes 2003, x). 22 “the fit of depression which almost led porphyry to suicide betrays a temperament which was dissatisfied with the things of this world” (smith 1974, 21). 23 “when he was still living in rome and attending plotinus’ courses, porphyry became depressed and for some time, he entertained the idea of taking his own life. this state of mind had not escaped plotinus’ godlike attention, so he paid dera sipe 30 porphyry an unexpected visit and convinced him that what was really wrong with him was an imbalance in his humors caused by black bile. he sent porphyry to sicily to get some rest and to benefit from the better climate. […] eunapius tells us that porphyry wanted to kill himself because of plotinus’ teachings […]. one could say that plotinus is here presented as if he were defending his teachings against a gnostic interpretation: his theories should not be interpreted as incitements of hate towards the material world, life in this world or life in the material body. moderate asceticism is a legitimate inference, dualistic self-mutilation or suicide are not” (praet 1999). 24 miles has argued in plotinus on body and beauty that “porphyry overstates and distorts plotinus’s careful teaching on body. why did porphyry misrepresent his teacher?” (miles 1999, 5). perhaps porphyry overstated plotinus’ position on the body due to his own view of the body; trained abstinence, the need of nothing, seems to be porphyry’s reading of philosophy’s goal in general. “therefore, the philosophers say that nothing is as necessary as perceiving clearly what is not necessary, and that the greatest wealth of all is self-sufficiency, and they take the need of nothing as worthy of respect” (porphyry 1987, 71). praet discusses this controversy as well in his essay “hagiography and biography as prescriptive sources for late antique sexual morals”; it is possible that porphyry interpreted plotinian philosophy too strongly in the direction of dualistic asceticism, as though it were an outright rejection of life in the here and now. plotinus may actually have been wary of this misinterpretation. 25 certainly, plotinus also participated in a mildly ascetic lifestyle, but it seems that porphyry focused more on the withdrawal aspect of neoplatonism than did plotinus. porphyry’s emphasis was on control over the body, including controlling one’s sexual appetites, diet, and even sleep. this philosophy of control over, (or of controlled disregard of), the physical body is especially explicated in porphyry’s letter to marcella. 26 “porphyry summoned marcella, first of all, to an ascetic way of life” (wicker 1987, 7). 27 “‘the lover of the body is always a lover of wealth; the lover of wealth is necessarily unjust; the unjust person is both irreverent toward god and parents and immoral toward everyone else. [...] therefore one must totally avoid the lover of the body as ungodly and defiled’” (porphyry 1987, 59). 28 “consequently, even the gods have prescribed remaining pure by abstinence from food and sex. this leads those who are pursuing piety toward nature’s intent, struggling with flesh 31 which the gods themselves constituted, as though any excess, by being contrary to nature’s intent, is defiled and deadly” (porphyry 1987, 71). 29 “let us become totally in control of ourselves” {porphyry 1987, 71). 30 “plato suggested that the soul can be separated from the body by a process of gathering all the elements of soul which are dispersed through the body into a single whole which presumably was the state of the soul before its embodiment. this process is called purification. […] plato argues that the unified soul can live both here and hereafter as an entity separate from the body. porphyry does not make this argument here, but it is implicit in his thought” (wicker 1987, 95): “and does purification not run out to be what we mentioned in our argument some time ago, namely, to separate the soul as far as possible from the body and accustom it to gather itself and collect itself out of every part of the body and to dwell by itself as far as it can both now and in the future, freed, as it were, from the bonds of the body?” (plato 1997a, 67c-d). 31 “separation means living the life of the inner man. this life is vested in the higher or intellective part of soul and eventually in nous. only the rational powers can rightly be said to lead us to this life as they alone are capable of introversion whereby we come to see the ground of our own being, the inner self. this is not to deny that the lower powers are important. they must remain ‘quiet’ and controlled by the higher. the real life goes on at the higher level. the lower activities of man are a mere by-product of the higher self and express its life at a lower level just as the lower soul itself is a lesser manifestation of the higher soul. thus so far we gather that the soul can and ought to release itself from the body even before natural death and that this release is called philosophical separation or death” (smith 1974, 23-24). 32 as smith explains, the separation of soul from body “does not necessarily refer to the moment of death but to a full separation of body and soul even during earthly life. this is termed ‘philosophical’ separation, a term which equally must involve the concept of a ‘philosophical’ union of body and soul or rather ‘fall’ of soul into body” (smith 1974, 20). 33 perhaps porphyry’s desire to commit suicide was a misled attempt at a philosophical separation from the body. as smith questions, is porphyry’s “a purely negative approach to life – an escape from the realities of this world?” (smith 1974, 20). 34 augustine needs to avoid a fully negative articulation of flesh for his theodicy; this is why i titled the essay “augustine’s struggle with flesh” – i do not dera sipe 32 mean to indicate that he was a strict mind/body dualist, but rather i want to show that he continues to struggle with an understanding of flesh as both positive and negative. his turn to neoplatonism allows him to move away from a strict mind/body dualism, yet neoplatonism continues to harbor a negative view of the material body. 35 “augustine could have found in this passage from porphyry [a passage from the lost philosophy from oracles as accounted in city of god, book xix, chapter 23] – which moreover is merely an excerpt from the full text, or at any rate from a larger excerpt of the philosophy from oracles – the basic notions of a way to the father, a life of purgation, virtue, imitation of the father, seeking for him, worshipping him spiritually, and aiming at ultimate divinization” (o’meara 1959, 57). 36 as well as the other problem he had inherited from the manicheans: he had troubles in that he had been conceiving of god as corporeal, when he knew that god could not be so – god must be incorporeal. these two problems are really tied together for augustine. 37 evil was such a problem for augustine because it challenged the notion that god is omnipotent and unchanging perfection. why would such a being have created a substance such as evil? if he were perfect, it seems he would never do such a thing, so he must not be perfect. or, if he did not create it, but rather is at war with it as the manicheans believed, he must not be omnipotent. the books of the platonists, in which augustine found some great bits of wisdom (as described in book vii of his confessions), solved this problem for him. 38 everything in creation is good in that it came from the one, and everything in creation longs to return to the one from which it came. 39 grace is undeserved divine favor, whereby god helps us overcome the problems of ignorance and difficulty that accompany the human condition after the fall of adam and eve. often, when humans ask for it, and sometimes even when they don’t, grace intervenes to help humans break out of patterns that they cannot escape by will, when the hold of the body is too strong for us to handle it on our own. we require god’s help; to assume otherwise is pure arrogance. 40 he writes in book viii: “to find my delight in your law as far as my inmost self was concerned was of no profit to me when a different law in my bodily members was warring against the law of my mind, imprisoning me under the law of sin which held sway in my lower self. for the law of sin is that brute force of habit whereby the mind is dragged along and held fast against its will, and deservedly so because it slipped into the habit willingly. in my wretched state, who was there to struggling with flesh 33 free me from this death-doomed body, save your grace through jesus christ our lord” (augustine 1998, 154-155). 41 in book x of the confessions, augustine clearly explicates his dualistic understanding of the world. within this dualism, the non-corporeal soul is superior to the body; it is that which gives the body its life, but is not limited to the body. in book x, 7.10, augustine writes: “even you, my soul, are better than that, for you impart energy to the mass of your body and endow it with life, and no corporeal thing can do that for any other corporeal thing” (augustine 1998, 204). compare this with ennead vi, in which plotinus asks that we think of the “body as being ‘in’ soul, in the sense that it depends entirely for its organization and life on soul” (o’meara 1993, 27), and not the other way around. 42 in book x, 6,8, augustine writes: “what am i loving when i love you? not beauty of body nor transient grace, not this fair light which is now so friendly to my eyes, not melodious song in all its lovely harmonies, not the sweet fragrance of flowers or ointments or spices, not manna or honey, not limbs that draw me to carnal embrace: none of these do i love when i love my god” (augustine 1998, 202). 43 “quite certainly you command me to refrain from concupiscence of the flesh and concupiscence of the eyes and worldly pride. you commanded me to abstain from fornication, and recommended a course even better than the marital union you have sanctioned” (augusine 1998, 223). augustine confesses in book x that, in spite of this knowledge of god’s command, he is still plagued by disturbing erotic dreams, though during his waking hours he is celibate. taste, smell, sound, and vision are also treacherous pleasures of the flesh that he finds difficult to deal with. 44 augustine wrote the excellence of marriage in response to the fourth century monk jovinian. jovinian “expressed reservations about the tide of asceticism which was then sweeping through the roman world. although jovinian himself was a monk committed to the celibate life, he regarded the notion that celibacy was superior to marriage as implying an unduly negative (even ‘manichean’) view of sexuality” (hunter 1990, 29). augustine defends celibacy within marriage in a way that is careful not to sound manichaean by pointing out the various goods of marriage, including procreation, fidelity, and the sacramental bond (hunter 1990, 30). however, “the married person who seeks sexual relations out of excessive desire (‘the concupiscence of the flesh’) commits a sin that is unforgivable” (hunter 1990, 30). dera sipe 34 45 in holy virginity, “augustine argues that the celibate life is genuinely superior to the married life” (hunter 1990, 65). he argues that virginity is superior to marriage (augustine 1990, 71) and to physical motherhood (augustine 1990, 72). 46 in the excellence of widowhood, augustine praises the virtues of chastity once again, and instructs the reader (the letter was written to anicia juliana, a widow) to “let spiritual pleasures take the place of carnal ones: reading, prayer, the psalms, good thoughts, being occupied with good works, looking forward to the next life, having one’s heart on high, and giving thanks for all these things to the father of lights” (augustine 1990, 131). 47 “i say to you, however, walk with the spirit and do not carry out the desires of the flesh. the flesh has desires opposed to those of the spirit, and the spirit has desires opposed to those of the flesh. these two work against each other with the result that you do not do what you want to do. […] he therefore wants those living under grace to enter that struggle against the deeds of the flesh. […] last among the good things he listed he put continence, which is the object of the discussion we have now undertaken and the reason for much that we have already said, because he particularly wanted that to be fixed in our minds. without doubt in this war where the spirit has desires opposed to the flesh, it is of special importance, since in a way it crucifies the actual desires of the flesh. that is why, after saying this, the apostle immediately went on: those who belong to jesus christ have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. this is what continence does, this is how the deeds of the flesh are put to death. on the other hand, those deeds in their turn bring death to those who are lured by carnal desire to abandon continence and consent to committing them” (augustine 1990, 197-198). 48 the body, porphyry writes, “is joined to you in the same way as the membrane is joined to embryos growing in the womb, and as the stalk is joined to the growing grain […] so then, just as the membrane and the stalk of the grain grow concurrently, and once they mature each is shucked off, likewise also the body, which has been joined to the sown soul, is not part of a man but exists in order for him to be born in the womb, just as the entwined membrane is yoked to the body in order for him to be born on earth. the more an individual has turned toward the mortal element, the more he makes his heart unsuitable for the sublimity of immortality. but the more he holds aloof from passionate attachment to the body, the more he draws near the divine” (porphyry 1987, 74-75). 49 “so the flesh is not evil, if it is devoid of the evil, that is, the defect, with which human nature is impaired, not because it was made badly but because it has struggling with flesh 35 acted badly. in both respects, namely soul and body, it was created good by a good god, but it has itself done wrong and thereby become bad” (augustine 1990, 205). 50 “when, therefore, all the evil, which came from us, has been destroyed in us, and the goodness in us has been increased and perfected to the peak of the supreme happiness of incorruptibility and immortality, what will our two substances be like then? even now in this state of corruption and mortality, when the corruptible body still weighs down the soul (wis 9:15) and, as the apostle says, the body is dead because of sin (rom 8:10), he gives that testimony in support of our flesh, that is, the inferior and material part of us, with the words i quoted just above: no one ever hates his own flesh; and he immediately adds, but nourishes and nurtures it, just as christ does the church (eph 5:29)” (augustine 1990, 206). 51 “because we are made up of both these two things, that at present oppose each other within us, we pray and work to bring them into harmony. we must not think that one of them is the enemy. the enemy is the defect whereby the flesh has desires opposed to the spirit” (augustine 1990, 204). 52 this is the constant state of things in the mortal realm, and so we must be forever vigilant. augustine emphasizes that “the fact that the flesh has desires opposed to the spirit, and good does not dwell in our flesh, and the law in our bodies rebels against the law of our mind, does not mean that there is an amalgamation of two natures, created from opposing elements, but that one nature is divided against itself as a consequence of sin. we were not like that in adam, before nature disdained and offended its maker by listening to and following its seducer” (augustine 1990, 206). 53 see also lamberigts, 1998: “was augustine a manichaean? the assessment of julian of aeclanum.” 54 ”what julian could not accept, however, was that concupiscentia has been characterized as having the power to elude the rational and moral autonomy of the human person. as a component of the human body, concupiscentia was subject to reason” (lamberigts 2000, 177). 55 “since desire as such distracts the human person from his or her true purpose and, in a certain sense, commands the entire person, it cannot be from god but must belong to the world of the flesh, which is at war with the spirit. the world of the flesh incorporates everything that encourages the human person to place his or her own will above the will of god. […] where the purpose of humanity – life in and for god – hindered by concupiscentia’s ungodly aspirations, such concupiscentia dera sipe 36 certainly cannot be good and, as such, it would be better neither to make use of it nor to ‘know; it than to use it properly for the sake of procreation. it is for this reason that augustine had the highest regard, at least on this question, for a life of christian abstinence, within or without marriage […]. it must also be evident, therefore, that every form of sexuality outside marriage was formally rejected by augustine” (lamberigts 2000, 187). 56 “two features of this way of discussing the relation of mind to body, common to plato and descartes, should be noted. first, it is striking how easily both drop into the mode of thought in which a human being becomes not one but two, and two different, kinds of entity. there quickly emerges a kind of logical and metaphysical distance between mind and body, an alienation that provokes disagreement about what to believe, what to seek, how to behave. but secondly, this is not a disagreement among equals. the mind or soul is in descartes’ view the locus of certainty and value, in plato’s view the part of the human composite akin to the ‘pure’ and ‘divine.’ its relationship to the body is to be one of dominance; the body is to be subordinated and ruled. an individual human being contains within the self, therefore, a fundamental power dialectic in which mind must triumph over the body and must trumpet its victory in flourishes of ‘pure’ rationality by means of which its soundness is demonstrated and ratified. far from being an isolated peculiarity of a small handful of philosophers, moreover, this general dialectic is seen being set up and played out in many theaters of western culture, from religion to popular morality, from neoplatonism to existentialism” (cole 1993, 56-57). 57 woman represents for man all that ties him to the bodily world, to nature; she is the representation of the natural that must be dominated, ignored, or overcome – she represents an impediment for man: “men’s oppression of women is, in beauvoir’s existential analysis, an inauthentic attempt to evade the demands of authentic human relationships and the ambiguous realities of human existence. for men who would define themselves as pure spirit, women represent an odious link to the absurd contingency of a man’s own life: his birth, embodiment, and death. ‘in all civilizations and in our own day, [woman] inspires horror in man: it is horror of his own carnal contingence which he projects onto her’” (simons 1995, 256). 58 ellen driscoll writes of the essentialistic notion of woman; driscoll writes, “the message of female hunger as a potent metaphor for out-of-control desire, sexuality, and power is frequently internalized, in gendered terms, as the battle between their male (e.g., disciplined and spiritual) and their female (e.g., dangerous and insatiable) selves” (driscoll 1997). along the same lines, bordo states, “‘throughout dominant western religious and philosophical traditions, the ‘virile’ capacity for self-management is decisively coded as male. by contrast, all these struggling with flesh 37 bodily spontaneities – hunger, sexuality, the emotions – seen as needful of containment and control, have been culturally constructed and coded as female’” (driscoll 1997). control over the physical and the emotional has been associated with the masculine, and a chaotic lack of control has been associated with the feminine. 59 “man seeks in woman the other as nature and as his fellow being. but we know what ambivalent feelings nature inspires in man. he exploits her, but she crushes him, he is born of her and dies in her; she is the source of his being and the realm that he subjugates to his will; nature is a vein of gross material in which the soul is imprisoned, and she is the supreme reality; she is contingence and idea, the finite and the whole; she is what opposes the spirit, and the spirit itself. now ally, now, enemy, she appears as the dark chaos from whence life wells up, as this life itself, and as the over-yonder toward which life tends. woman sums up nature as mother, wife, and idea; these forms now mingle and now conflict, and each of them wears a double visage” (beauvoir 1989, 144). 60 for a more thorough discussion of the misogynistic views of woman’s nature in western thought, see nancy tuana’s book the less noble sex: scientific, religious, and philosophical conceptions of woman’s nature (tuana 1993). 61 these assumptions regarding woman’s nature have resulted in terrible forms of oppression. this is especially evident in the witch trials of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; because the body supposedly rules women, we are less capable of resisting evil and temptation than men are. “to achieve a life of reason, one must be able to transcend the desires and needs of the body. furthermore, one must focus only on universal issues, completely ignoring anything that is particular and personal. the needs of the body must be suppressed by the mind. the emotions must be dominated by the will. but this definition of the rational person is in tension with the traditional view of woman as being more influenced by the body and the emotions than man. in fact woman is frequently defined by qualities which directly contradict descartes’ requirements for rationality. to take one such example, philo characterizes the female as ‘material, passive, corporeal and sense-perceptible, while the male is active, rational, incorporeal and more akin to mind and thought’. woman is perceived as lacking the strength of will descartes posited as necessary for dominating the emotions, a position accepted by aquinas who tells us that ‘since woman, as regards the body, has a weak temperament, the result is that for the most part, whatever she holds to, she holds to it weakly.’ and given that the needs of her body are viewed as far stronger than those of man, woman will be seen as less capable of suppressing them, a tenet that fed the belief in the sixteenth and seventeenth century that women are prone to witchcraft” (tuana 1992, 39) dera sipe 38 62 pythagoras and the pythagoreans believed that the world is comprised of oppositions: they set various aspects of the world against one another and divided these opposites into two lists, believing that “order, beauty, and harmony are achieved when members of the first list establish dominance over their counterparts on the second list” (ring 1999, 57). the first list, the contents of which should establish dominance over the contents of the second list, includes male, light, and good. the second list, the contents of which should be dominated if harmony is to be attained, includes female, darkness, and bad. it is important to note that the traits traditionally associated with women caused the pythagoreans to believe that men should dominate women. this is an early case of male philosophers defining women into subjugation, but it is by no means an isolated case; unfortunately, the canon of western philosophy is fraught with this notion that women are irrational, chaotic, emotional, bodily, and natural. “this association of women with the emotions and the appetites [has] remained a consistent tenet of western philosophical, religious, and scientific views of women” (tuana 1994, 35). 63 augustine writes of the strengths of his mistress in book vi: “she had returned to africa, vowing to [god] that that she would never give herself to another man, and the son i had fathered by her was left with me. but i was too unhappy to follow a woman’s example: i faced two years of waiting before i could marry the girl to whom i was betrothed, and i chafed at the delay, for i was no lover of marriage but the slave of lust” (augustine 1998, 118). along these lines, see also børresen’s (1994) essay, “patristic ‘feminism’: the case of augustine.” 64 due to the fact that male philosophers have not made the subject of woman an issue worthy of serious discussion and inquiry, many of the faulty assumptions regarding women’s nature have been harbored and sustained for thousands of years. unfortunately, these false associations dominate all philosophical discussion on the topic of women throughout the history of philosophy. kelly oliver and marilyn pearsall discuss this in their anthology feminist interpretations of friedrich nietzsche: “traditionally, philosophers have valued mind over body, culture over nature, reason over irrationality, truth over illusion, and good over evil. women, femininity, and maternity have been associated with body, nature, irrationality, illusion, and even evil. because of the associations among women, femininity, maternity, and nature or irrationality, discussions of women and femininity have been topics traditionally excluded from serious consideration by philosophers” (oliver and pearsall 1998, 1-2) struggling with flesh 39 works cited available on the website www.publications.villanova.edu/concept john_rusnak.doc 1 currency exchange trading and rogue trader john rusnak sharon burke department of mathematical sciences villanova university edited by klaus volpert introduction in 1993, a foreign currency trader, john rusnak, was hired by allfirst bank in maryland. hiring mr. rusnak was the start of an idea that was forming in the mind of allfirst’s treasurer dan cronin. the idea was to have a foreign exchange trading center at allfirst. john rusnak was hired to bring profits to allfirst via proprietary foreign exchange trading. prior to rusnak’s arrival, foreign exchange trading at the bank was limited to assisting bank customers in hedging against currency risk. allfirst performed this service for companies that were dealing with overseas trades. this decision would eventually incur a $691 million loss for allied irish bank, the owner of allfirst bank. the story of this loss involves foreign exchange trading, bank organization, organizational politics, human dynamics, work ethic, inadequate accounting controls and more. this analysis will include a review of foreign currency trading concepts, the strategies that rusnak employed to trade and to cover his losses, the findings of the ludwig report and analysis of how this transpired. currency markets the currency market includes the foreign currency market and the eurocurrency market. the foreign currency market is virtual. that is, there is no one central physical location that is the foreign currency market. it exists in the dealing rooms of various central banks, large international banks, and some large corporations. the dealing rooms are connected via telephone and computer and fax. some countries co-locate their dealing rooms in one center. the eurocurrency market is where borrowing and lending of currency takes place. interest rates for the various currencies are set in this market. 1 trading on the foreign exchange market (forex) establishes rates of exchange for currency. exchange rates are constantly fluctuating on the forex 2 market. as demand rises and falls for particular currencies, their exchange rates adjust accordingly. instantaneous rate quotes are available from a service provided by reuters. a rate of exchange for currencies is the ratio at which one currency is exchanged for another.2 the following are examples of currency rates from the wall street journal on april 16, 2003:3 fx summary prior us close 6:45 et usd/jpy 120.16 120.29 eur/usd 1.0815 1.0843 usd/cad 1.4485 1.4474 this table shows the closing exchange rates from the foreign exchange market. for example, the usd/jpy value is the exchange rate for dollars to yen, that is, 120.16 yen per one dollar. the dollar is the base currency in this case, as it is one unit of a dollar per an amount of yen. the foreign exchange market has no regulation, no restrictions or overseeing board. should there be a world monetary crisis in this market; there is no mechanism to stop trading.4 the federal reserve bank of new york publishes guidelines for foreign exchange trading. in their “guidelines for foreign exchange trading”, they outline 50 best practices for trading on the forex market.5 this document is not legally binding or regulatory in nature. exchange contracts the actual exchange of currencies is governed by contracts between the buyer and seller of the currencies. there are a variety of contract options available to investors. mr. rusnak focused on spot and forward contracts in his trading. spot exchange the spot exchange is the simplest contract. a spot exchange contract identifies two parties, the currency they are buying or selling and the currency they expect to receive in exchange. the currencies are exchanged at the prevailing spot rate at the time of the contract. the spot rate is constantly fluctuating. when a spot exchange is agreed upon, the contract is defined to be executed immediately. in reality, a series of confirmations occurs between the two parties. documentation is sent and received from both parties detailing the exchange rate agreed upon and the amounts of currency involved. the funds actually move between banks two days after the spot transaction is agreed upon.6 3 forward exchange the forward exchange contract is similar to the spot exchange; however, the time period of the contract is significantly longer. these contracts use a forward exchange rate that differs from the spot rate. the difference between the forward rate and the spot rate reflects the difference in interest rates between the two currencies. this prevents an opportunity for arbitrage. if the rates did not differ, there would be a profit difference in the currencies. that is, investing in one currency for a year and then selling it should be the same profit or loss as setting up a forward contract at the forward rate one year in the future. investing in one currency would be more profitable than investing in the other. thus there would exist an opportunity for arbitrage.7 forward exchange contracts are settled at a specified date in the future. the parties exchange funds at this date. forward contracts are typically custom written between the party needing currency and the bank, or between banks. currency futures and swap transactions currency futures are standardized forward contracts. the amounts of currency, time to expiry, and exchange rates are standardized. the standardized expiry times are specific dates in march, june, september, and december. these futures are traded on the chicago mercantile exchange (cme). futures give the buyer an option of setting up a contract to exchange currency in the future. this contract can be purchased on an exchange, rather than custom negotiated with a bank like a forward contract.8 a currency swap is an agreement to two exchanges in currency, one a spot and one a forward. an immediate spot exchange is executed, followed later by a reverse exchange. the two exchanges occur at different exchange rates. it is the difference in the two exchange rates that determines the swap price. 9 there is also something called a currency swap. this is a method to exchange an income stream of one currency for another.10 options a currency option gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, either to buy (call) from the option writer, or to sell (put) to the option writer, a stated quantity of one currency in exchange for another at a fixed rate of exchange, called the strike price. the options can be american, which allows an option to be exercised until a fixed day, called the day of expiry, or european, which allows exercise only on the day of expiry, not before. the option holder pays a premium to the option writer for the option. the option differs from other currency contracts in that the holder has a choice, or option, of whether they will exercise it 4 or not. if exchange rates are more favorable than the rate guaranteed by the option when the holder needs to exchange currency, they can choose to exchange the currency on the spot exchange rather than use the option. they lose only the option premium. options allow holders to limit their risk of exposure to adverse changes in the exchange rates. currency hedging it is common for currency options to be used to hedge cash positions. for example, if company a is buying stereos from japan, they will make an agreement to pay company b for the stereo equipment in yen. the spot rate at the time of the deal is 119y to the dollar. suppose that the stereos are selling for $100.00 each or ¥11,900 a piece. the company is purchasing 100 stereos. they need to provide ¥1,190,000 to the seller. if the stereos were purchased today, they would cost the company $10000. the company would exchange $10,000 for ¥1,190,000. this deal will be transacted in three months. in three months, currency rates will change. if the dollar falls against the yen, for example, the spot rate for yen in exchange for dollars may be ¥100 to the dollar. in that case, in order to provide ¥1,190,000 to the seller of the stereos, the company must exchange $11,900. the deal costs an extra $1,900. however, if the yen falls against the dollar, the spot rate might become ¥130 per dollar. in that case, the ¥1,190,000 needed to close the deal will cost $9154.00. the company has saved $846.00. companies are not typically in the business of gambling with their profits on deals. it is in the company’s best interest to lock in an exchange rate they can count on. they are motivated to insure that their profits are as expected. two ways they might do this are to enter forward contracts or to buy options. company a could choose to enter into a forward contract with a bank. they would settle on a forward rate that was acceptable to both parties. the contract would settle in three months when the delivery was due. the forward contract is a binding contract and they must make the exchange. the company could assess the interest rates available in the u.s and in the eurocurrency market. they could either invest $10,000 in the us for 3 months, or exchange $10,000 into yen and invest the ¥1,190,000 for 3 months. company a could also use options to reduce their exposure to currency fluctuation. the company will need yen to pay for the stereos. they could purchase a call option to exchange ¥1,190,000 with an expiry date of 3 months or more if it is an american option. they would select an exchange rate that would be acceptable but not too expensive. they might choose to buy a slightly out-ofthe-money call option to cover them if the currency exchange rate falls. if it stays 5 the same or rises, they will exchange at the spot exchange rate at the time the payment is due. trading strategy of john rusnak the foreign currency market is the market that john rusnak gambled and lost in. he used spot transactions, forward transactions and options to amass losses of $691 million. mr. rusnak had been employed in foreign currency trading beginning in 1986 at fidelity bank in philadelphia. he worked at chemical bank in new york from 1988 to 1993. in 1993, he was looking for a less stressful position than what he had at chemical bank. coincidently, david cronin, the treasurer of allfirst bank in maryland was looking for a new foreign currency trader. mr. cronin was originally from ireland. he had come to the u.s. to represent the interests of allied irish bank when they had purchased allfirst. allfirst was formerly known as first national bank of maryland. mr. cronin was impressed with john rusnak when he met him in 1993. mr. rusnak proposed a trading strategy that sounded new and inventive. he told david cronin, “…he could consistently make more money by running a large option book hedged in the cash markets, buying options when they were cheap and selling them when they were expensive.” 11 the ludwig report, a report commissioned by aib to determine the extent of john rusnak’s fraud, states that “mr. rusnak promoted himself as a trader who used options to engage in a form of arbitrage, attempting to take advantage of price discrepancies between currency options and currency forwards.” in order to execute this strategy, john rusnak would have had to buy options “…when they were cheap relative to cash (when the implied volatility of the option was lower than its normal range) and sell them when they were expensive (when the implied volatility is higher than normal.” in his trading, john rusnak did not achieve these lofty goals. mr. rusnak executed simple directional trades on the spot and forward markets. he mostly traded in yen and euro. occasionally, he would use complex options. 12 mr. rusnak placed large sum one-way bets that the yen would increase in value against the dollar. specifically, he bought yen for future delivery, probably with forward contracts. as the yen declined, he could not go back on the forward contracts as they are binding, and was forced to take his losses. he did not hedge these bets with options contracts. mr. rusnak’s core trading belief was that the yen was going to rise against the dollar. his strategy throughout all his trading was to place bets in this direction. it is interesting to note what was happening with the yen during the time period mr. rusnak was trading. from 1990 – 1995, the yen appreciated. from mid-1995 to 1997, the yen was depreciating against the dollar. in april of 1997, 6 exchange rates were around 125 yen to the dollar. the asian market crisis followed soon after causing further problems for the yen. 13 from 1993 to 1997 at allfirst, john rusnak appeared to be doing well. information on his trading practices prior to 1997 is not available. one may speculate that from 1990 – 1995, he was able to do well with his market view. however, as the yen depreciated, john rusnak eventually began to have great problems with his one-sided trading. usd vs. yen spot rate 111.5 112 112.5 113 113.5 114 114.5 115 115.5 116 116.5 12/28/1998 12/29/1998 12/30/1998 12/31/1998 14 concealment of losses at the end of 1997, john rusnak had lost $29.1 million by his wrong bets in trading. the jargon of gambling suits his activities well. after his losing bets and heavy losses, john rusnak embarked on a path to cover up those losses. instead of taking responsibility and reporting his losses immediately, he decided to hide them, buy himself some time and see if he could win back the money he had lost. like those with a gambling addiction, john rusnak thought if he could just place one more bet, place the right bet, he could win it all back. he used many complicated schemes to hide his losses. they included falsification of documents, misuse of office technology, fraudulent entries in accounting systems and intimidation of office personnel. bogus options the first technique john rusnak used to hide his losses was to enter bogus options in the banking system. the purpose of these fake options was two-fold. the options appeared to hedge his directional trades. they also gave him a way to hide the losses with a bogus asset. at the end of his trading day, when mr. rusnak was entering his daily trades in the bank system, he would enter two false trades. he would enter two options that would offset each other. the options had the 7 same premium in identical currencies. they were for the same amounts of currencies and used the same strike price. the expiry dates on the options were different. for example, mr. rusnak would enter a put option “sold” by allfirst to a party in tokyo. the option would allow the japanese bank to sell yen at a certain strike price. this option would expire on the day it was written. he would also enter a call option written by the japanese bank to buy yen at the same strike price as the other option. this option would expire months in the future. the put option would disappear off the books the next day, removing that liability from the banks records. the call option would stay on the books as a valuable asset that covered his losses.15 it was important to have the premiums of the two options exactly cancel each other out. if the options had not canceled out to zero, there would have been a payment due to either allfirst or to the counterparty in tokyo. all payments were required to go through the allfirst’s treasury departments back office. since these options were false, mr. rusnak did not want the back office involved. keeping the premiums the same meant there was no net payment and thus no requirement for the back office to be involved in payment. anyone who really looked at the options would have questioned the fact that the two options had different expiry dates but the same premium. that did not make sense. also, the put option was a deep-in-the-money option. the holder of the option would make a profit by exercising it. the option went off the books in one day unexercised. that was unusual and did not make sense. 16 it is probable that the call option was also deep-in-the-money.17 there were several of these options that the bank had “paid” high premiums for. the high premium indicates they were probably deepin-the-money options. their high value was necessary to cover the high losses that mr. rusnak was incurring. the fake option trades were written in the opposite direction of the losing bets he placed. this made it appear to allfirst that he had offset his losses.18 with forward positions in yen, the deep-in-the-money calls would have created a payoff diagram that looked similar to: 8 payoff diagram 0 50 100 150 200 strike price p ay o ff a m o u n t payoff value the diagram is based on an example with a forward contract at strike price ¥100 and a call option with strike price ¥100. the bogus put option that expires on the same day is excluded. john rusnak was expecting yen to fall against the dollar. he would have profited from an exchange rate of ¥77 for example. this portfolio appears hedged. falsified documents the bogus options solved one problem, covering the losses; however, they created another problem. the treasury back office was responsible for confirming all trades. the foreign exchange operation at allfirst was operating on a shoestring compared to what a large bank would have in place. typically a true foreign exchange operation had research departments, dealing rooms, computer programs that automatically confirmed trades and a more sophisticated set-up. allfirst was using telephone and fax to execute and confirm trades. john rusnak knew that the treasury back office was going to need to confirm his trades. he used his pc to create false trade confirmation documentation. his pc was discovered to have a directory called “fake docs”. this directory contained logos and stationary from various banks in tokyo and singapore. mr. rusnak used these files to construct fake confirmation documents on his computer. he was able to convince the treasury back office to accept these documents from him, rather than confirming the trades themselves as required.19 eventually, rusnak was able to convince the back office to not confirm the trades at all. he was able to argue that since the trades netted to zero, they did not need to be confirmed. this argument was probably acceptable given confirming asian trades with their system would have required night-time phone calls. there is also evidence of john rusnak having a forceful personality that intimidated others. some in the company say that it was a senior management decision to not confirm asian counter party trades that netted to zero. the ludwig report indicates that no evidence of this management decision could be found.20 9 prime brokerage accounts in 1999, with $41.5 million lost, john rusnak turned to prime brokerage accounts. he needed to increase the size of his trades so he could catch up on his losses. prime brokerage accounts are typically used by high profile traders. they are very often used by hedge funds.21 the prime brokerage accounts provided john rusnak with net settlements. daily spot transactions were rolled into one forward transaction to be settled at a future date with the prime broker. this accomplished several things for mr. rusnak. having all the daily spot transactions rolled into one net settlement meant that the treasury back office could not track his daily trades as effectively. it was a means of obscuring what he was really doing. mr. rusnak was able to expand the scale and scope of his trading to large volume high value currency trades.22 he needed to be able to do this to win back the large amounts of money that he was losing. mr. rusnak was able to convince david cronin, the allfirst treasurer, that the prime brokerage accounts were a sound idea. he sold them as a way of growing allfirst’s foreign exchange operation. he also said that using the prime brokerage accounts would relieve the back office of the extra work they needed to do on his behalf. his false concern for the back office is quite interesting in light of how often he was at odds with that department over his trading practices. he told the banks setting up the prime brokerage accounts that he could increase his bonus by reducing his demand for the back office staff. john rusnak used the prime brokerage accounts as another opportunity to enter fictitious trades. he could enter fictitious trades with the brokerage banks to further manipulate the bank’s records. he would reverse these transactions by month end before the monthly settlement was done.23 the prime brokerage accounts allowed john rusnak to use a type of foreign exchange contract called a historical rate rollover. this type of contract was invented to assist companies in handling delayed shipments from foreign companies. it is a method to extend a currency contract in the event that a settlement of the contract would create a loss for the contract holder. for a purchaser of goods, when the goods are delayed, it can be convenient to extend a contract and wait to exchange funds until payment is required. however, for a trader, these types of contracts allow losses to be rolled forward. if the trader’s contract is due to be settled, and settlement would not be in his favor, he can delay settlement and keep the original rate of the contract. the new york times reports “the rollover buys time for a trader who hopes that the currency rates will change in his favor in the future. the risk, of course, is that the losses will deepen…”24 for john rusnak, this was certainly the case. the 10 historical rate rollover is warned against in the federal reserve bank of ny standard of conduct: “accommodation of customer requests for off-market transactions (omts) or historical rate rollovers (hrros) should be selective, restricted, and well documented, and should not be allowed if the sole intent is to hide a loss or extend a profit or loss position. counterparties should also show that a requested hrro is matched by a real commercial flow.”25 the federal reserve had been warning against the hrros since 1991. the use of historical rate rollovers by mr. rusnak should have alerted his trading partners that something was suspicious.26 no one reported him and no one questioned him. value at risk calculations john rusnak avoided detection by manipulating the bank’s value at risk (var) calculations. value at risk is calculated using the monte carlo simulation technique. one thousand hypothetical exchange rate fluctuations are generated. those rate fluctuations are applied to the trader’s portfolio. the tenth worst outcome produced is the bank’s value at risk. the var is the main check used on traders to make sure they are not losing more than the bank can afford to lose. the var is the largest amount of money the bank can afford to lose if there are adverse trading conditions. for john rusnak, the var was $1.5 million. as of the end of 1999, rusnak had lost $90 million. he had clearly found a way around this check. a trader is responsible for calculating and monitoring their own var. the var is also independently calculated by treasury risk control as a check on the trader. the bogus options discussed earlier made john rusnak’s open forward positions look as if they were hedged. this improved his var as it made his portfolio seem less risky. the fictitious prime brokerage account transactions he was entering also obscured his true var. he was able to convince the risk control group to accept a spreadsheet of his open currency positions from him with no confirmation. he altered the values in this spreadsheet to make his open positions seem less than they were. and since the risk control group did not confirm these values, he got away with this technique. john rusnak was able to take advantage of technology and cost cutting measures to obscure his stop-loss limit. the stop-loss limit was an amount of loss, after which, rusnak’s trading would have been shut down for the month. mr. rusnak could not afford to lose any time in trying to win his losses back. he had to find a way around the stop-loss limit because he was regularly exceeding it. mr. rusnak found that he could manipulate the currency exchange rates used by the bank to force calculations that made it look like he had not exceeded his stop-loss 11 limits. again, he was able to provide his own spreadsheet with the exchange rate values. these exchange rates were supposed to be independently confirmed by the risk management office of the allfirst treasury. 27 mr. rusnak had convinced the computer operations department to download exchange rate data from reuters onto his pc. he claimed he needed to have these rates downloaded to his system so he could monitor his var. from his pc, a spreadsheet was then forwarded to the systems in the treasury front and back offices. all of the bank’s foreign exchange rates were passing through john rusnak’s hand before being fed into the computer system. this was a serious breach of the integrity of the bank’s systems. one of the reasons this happened was that the bank did not want to pay $10,000 for an additional feed from reuters for the treasury back office.28 this additional feed would have enabled the back office to independently confirm exchange rates and check john rusnak’s calculations. sale of options by the end of 2000, mr. rusnak had lost $300 million. he was getting pressure from his superiors to reduce his use of the company’s balance sheet. the balance sheet of a company lists their assets, liabilities and stock holder’s equity at a given time. it shows the resources the company has available to it for operating activities and investment. 29 david cronin, head of treasury, was taking notice of the large amount of the balance sheet john rusnak was using. foreign exchange trading revenue was $13.6 million. the net trading income, however, was only $1.1 million. mr. rusnak was using more of the balance sheet but getting less in return. cronin asked john rusnak to reduce his use of the balance sheet. john rusnak needed large amounts of cash to continue his gamble to win back the money he had lost. having his balance sheet usage restricted was somewhat of a blow. to get around this restriction and continue his quest to win back his losses, he came up with a plan. he would sell deep-in-the-money options at high premiums to finance his trading. the options he sold had deep-in-themoney strike prices. the strike prices were so deep, it was extremely likely that the options would be exercised. they were european options that expired in a year and a day. they were essentially loans from the counterparties to allfirst, to john rusnak. he received millions of dollars in premiums for the options. he would “pay back” the money when the option was exercised in a year. as an example, in february 2001, rusnak made an agreement with citibank. for a premium of $125 million, rusnak wrote a put that gave citibank the right to sell yen at a strike rate of 77.37 yen to the dollar. the exchange rate at the time was 116 yen to the dollar. the dollar would have to fall 35% for the option to go unexercised. the option was effectively a high interest loan. the loan payment 12 would come due as a lump sum with interest when rusnak had to buy yen that citibank wanted to sell in one year’s time. rusnak had found another way to buy time. however, it created a liability that was sitting on allfirst’s books. rusnak entered a bogus deal with citibank that made it appear that allfirst had repurchased the option. 30 rusnak repeated this process with bank of america, deutsche bank, bank of new york and merrill lynch.31 the options he sold totaled over $300 million raising his total losses to $691 million, when the yen depreciated further. losses revealed john rusnak avoided an amazing number of situations where he could have been caught. he avoided detection over a period of five years. in my research i found 12 separate occasions where his activities were questioned by the allfirst treasury back office, risk management department at allfirst, the sec, and the ceo of allied irish bank. john rusnak was able to avoid detection on all occasions. a particularly involved scheme occurred during the one audit conducted at allfirst during the five year time period of the fraud. mr. rusnak was asked to confirm an asian trade that was bogus. he set up a fax account at mailboxes etc. in manhattan under the name david russell. he gave the fax id code of that account to the auditors. the auditors faxed a confirmation request to that fax id. john rusnak then called the mailbox etc. store, posed as david russell and had them fax a return confirmation. this worked. at one point, the bank gave mr. rusnak travel bloomberg software so that he could trade from home and while on vacation. this was a direct violation of u.s. law. u. s. law requires that traders take 10 consecutive days off from trading every year.32 this is specifically so someone else takes over their duties and fraud can be discovered. finally in december of 2001, john rusnak’s luck began to run out. a treasury back office supervisor happened to look over the shoulder of one of their employees and saw that there were two trade documents from asian trades that mr. rusnak executed that did not have attached confirmations as required.33 the supervisor discussed with the employee that all trades had to have confirmations. the employee believed that any asian trades that netted to zero did not need to be confirmed. the supervisor requested that the employee get the trades confirmed. in late january, the supervisor again found that asian trades that netted to zero were still not being confirmed. the back office had become lax and given up after years of losing battles over concerns with mr. rusnak’s trading. unfortunately, they were not getting the backing they needed to do their job. the back office employee did not bother to seek confirmations. 13 around this time, david cronin, the allfirst treasurer, noticed that mr. rusnak’s use of the balance sheet had spiked up to $200 million in january. mr. cronin had directed that it stay under $150 million. also, david cronin discovered that the foreign exchange trading volume for the bank had been at $25 billion for the month of december. he decided to shut down john rusnak’s trading positions for a month. meanwhile, the back office requested mr. rusnak’s help in obtaining confirmations for the asian trades. john rusnak was able to stall for time and offer to get the confirmations himself. he resurrected his fake documents file and created false trade confirmations on his computer. when the trade confirmations were shown to his supervisor, the supervisor noticed that they looked suspicious.34 for the next week, john rusnak stalled. there was a day or two where the bank thought that he had disappeared. it later turned out that he had been conferring with his family, a lawyer and finally the fbi. he essentially turned himself in and cooperated. his most important task at that time was convincing the fbi that he had not embezzled the money, that he did not have it hidden anywhere. it had all been lost on the foreign exchange market. executives at aib and allfirst were staunch in believing that mr. rusnak had not acted alone. whether or not he acted alone reflected on the bank. if he had not acted alone, the bank could position itself as a victim. if he had acted alone, the bank would have shoulder the blame of not catching the fraud. mr. rusnak had acted alone. he was charged with seven counts of bank fraud and entering false entries in bank records.35 he plead guilty and was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison and a $1 million fine.36 he will not profit from any book or movie deals. he maintains that he will not write a book or sell rights to a movie for the sake of his family. the ludwig report shortly after mr. rusnak’s fraud was discovered, the allied irish bank (aib) board of director’s authorized an investigation by eugene ludwig of promontory financial group llc of washington dc. mr. ludwig had been comptroller of the currency from 1993 to 1998 under president bill clinton.37 he had a strong background in bank regulation. the board of director’s needed to bring in an impartial party to investigate. they needed to restore the confidence of their shareholders. when the news of john rusnak’s fraud was reported, shares of aib fell from €13.62 to €11.36 on the first day. aib had been the largest capitalized company on the dublin stock exchange at a capitalization of €12 billion.38 in one day they fell to €10 billion, losing €2 billion in capitalization. aib employed 30,000 people in ireland. there was a fear in the market that aib would collapse like barings bank. that was not the case. aib had been about to announce a 14 profit of €1.4 billion ($1 billion) for 2001. the discovery of john rusnak’s fraud reduced this to €612 million ($426 million). 39 there were rumblings at the time, “was this another barings bank?” there were interviews with nick leeson, the trader whose losses had caused the fall of barings bank. although there were many similarities to the two stories, aib was able to absorb the loss. early in the discovery of the fraud, executives at allfirst and aib believed that rusnak had coconspirators. finding that there was collusion to achieve the fraud would absolve the bank of blame. if he had not had people helping him that meant the bank’s selfregulating and monitoring procedures had failed miserably. eugene ludwig’s team investigated allfirst and john rusnak’s fraud beginning on february 8, 2002. they published their report on march 12, 2002. the ludwig team discovered what john rusnak had done to conceal his losses. they determined that he had worked alone. they identified the following failings in control at allfirst and aib that taken altogether, allowed rusnak to commit fraud40: • “the failure of the back office to attempt to confirm bogus options with asian counterparties” • “the failure of the middle and back offices to obtain foreign exchange rates from an independent source.” • “in 1999, an internal audit of treasury operations took no samples of rusnak’s transactions to see if they had been properly confirmed.” • “in 2000, the internal audit sampled only one trade of mr. rusnak’s to check if it was properly confirmed.” in addition to these failures of control, the bank missed opportunities by ignoring problems raised by the treasury back office. employees in the back office raised issues ranging from problems confirming trades, problems with mr. rusnak’s personality to warnings that there was a possibility that mr. rusnak could be manipulating foreign exchange rates. john rusnak was showing a yearly profit for 5 years straight. he became untouchable in organizational politics because he appeared to be so good. the back office staff eventually gave up raising flags on his trading practices as they were continually shot down by management.41 with executive backing, the treasury back office could have performed a very valuable function and assisted with detecting john rusnak’s fraud. john rusnak’s supervisors were not experienced in foreign exchange trading. they did not adequately supervise his activities. a knowledgeable supervisor would have seen that the deep-in-the-money bogus options expiring on 15 the same day they were purchased was odd. the sheer size of rusnak’s positions warranted closer scrutiny. no one was monitoring john rusnak’s daily profit and loss (p&l) figures. they were not reconciled against the general ledger.42 if this step had been taken, questions would have arisen as to why his daily p&l swung so widely from profit to loss and back. there were many who had an opportunity to be aware of the size of rusnak’s positions. in 1999, a risk assessment auditor questioned the size of rusnak’s over limits. citibank contacted aib’s group treasurer to confirm that aib could cover a net settlement of $1 billion on john rusnak’s prime brokerage account. the sec 10k filings of allfirst showed the size of mr. rusnak’s positions. credit limits were exceeded by rusnak. in may 2001, aib’s ceo was contacted by a market source and questioned about the size of john rusnak’s positions. there was a trader that worked with rusnak who could have noticed the size of his positions and questioned it but didn’t.43 the traders at the prime brokerage accounts also knew his positions. all traders should be aware of the foreign exchange trading guidelines. these guidelines outline suspicious trading activity. for example, the use of historical rate rollovers (hrro) expressly states that hrros should not be used to cover losses. 44 the two banks providing prime brokerage accounts for john rusnak should not have provided this service and could have taken the step to pursue his conduct with his superiors. those who were watching the forex market came to recognize rusnak’s trades.45 there were many who knew or could have guessed the size of his positions and raised an alarm. following are some highlights of the ludwig report findings on what contributed to the fraud: • “the architecture of allfirst’s trading activity was flawed.” they had one lone trader trying to essentially implement a hedge fund. he had none of the “specialized knowledge, scale, diversification and specialized expertise” that his competitor’s had. • senior management in baltimore and dublin did not focus sufficient attention on the allfirst trading operation. • mr. rusnak was unusually clever and devious. he knew the banking systems well from his experience at chemical bank so he was able to circumvent their controls. however, given that the controls were weak; this did not take so much cleverness as it did desperation. 16 • mr. rusnak’s activities may have been facilitated by individuals at other firms. investigation after the report has not found this to be true. • treasury management weaknesses at allfirst also contributed to the environment that allowed mr. rusnak’s fraud to occur. the allfirst treasurer had a dual reporting structure. david cronin reported into allfirst through a variety of different managers. he also reported into aib. the ceo of allfirst thought aib was managing cronin and vice versa. therefore, the treasury operation was not managed as thoroughly as it should have been. • senior management at both allfirst and aib thought their control structures, auditing, etc. were more robust than they actually were. the risk reporting processes needed to be more robust. the risk management team needed to be more proactive in finding problems rather than dealing with what was presented to them.46 analysis the ludwig report provides great detail into what happened at allfirst and the various areas of laxity, weakness and fault that contributed to john rusnak’s ability to pull off this fraud. this story shows the darker side of corporate operations, what can go wrong. the most significant were the failures in technology, the disorganization and politics, the auditing and monitoring failures and john rusnak’s addictive style of trading. technology as the ludwig report highlights, allfirst was running a foreign exchange trading operation without the full backup needed to sustain the levels of trading john rusnak was involved in. banks that trade in the volume mr. rusnak was trading in typically have a large support staff. there are individuals backing up the trader by doing market research. traders are working in groups where it is more difficult to commit fraud. in particular, larger trading organizations use the crossmar matching system to confirm trades. this system can confirm trades in effect instantaneously. traders enter their trades in to crossmar matching system. the system automatically confirms the trades for both parties. instead of using this state of the art computing system, allfirst was using a system of telephone and fax communication. at the time john rusnak was trading, fax and telephone confirmations were behind the times for large trading organizations. john rusnak used the loopholes present in the out of date system. 17 the system suited a small state bank that traded occasionally to assist its clients when they needed a currency hedge. it was inadequate for the volume and size of the positions mr. rusnak was taking. the inadequate system left openings for john rusnak to fake fax communications and create fake confirmation letters. it is of interest to note that allfirst felt the crossmar matching system was too expensive to implement for only two foreign exchange traders.47 this was seen as a sound business decision given the faith that was placed in the var monitoring system and the faith placed in the head of treasury. 48 however, it had a long term cost in the losses that john rusnak incurred that would have been much harder to conceal with such a system. a glaring technology and design lapse was the use of john rusnak’s spreadsheet to feed exchange rates from reuters to the bank’s system. the treasury operations department allowed mr. rusnak to have the only feed from reuters for exchange rates. the operations department designed an information system that included an employee’s personal computer. this is a serious breach of good system design practices. it was a security hole. john rusnak was able to insert himself into the bank’s information system and change data. once this problem was identified, it took one year before the problem was rectified. allfirst had been unwilling to spend an additional $10,000 to install a second feed from reuters to confirm exchange rates. that $10,000 feed would have secured their system. john rusnak was given travel bloomberg software for his laptop. this software enabled him to trade at home and while on vacation. u.s. law requires that traders take 10 consecutive trading days off per calendar year.49 the technology providers in a bank system should be cognizant of the regulations on the use of its systems. although this is not a traditional role for such a department, there is an opportunity for advanced operations in partnering with risk management and auditing departments in banks to strengthen control. there would have been value in this case in particular in someone in computer operations saying, “no. we can’t give you that software. it’s illegal.” integration of regulations and good business practices is essential in all departments of any corporation. organizational politics the ludwig report has several examples of organizational politics contributing to the environment that permitted the fraud. in particular, david cronin, the treasurer, had a dual reporting structure with allfirst and aib. it was unclear who was really monitoring his activities. unfortunately, the ceo of allfirst and executives at aib did not communicate well. susan keating the ceo of allfirst, was not in the loop on the treasurer’s activities. she should have been as the ceo. however, her knowledge of treasury was weak. she wanted to make 18 organizational changes to place david cronin, the head of treasury under the cfo, however, her perception was that aib would not approve.50 when the aib ceo was alerted to some problems with rusnak’s trading, he went to his old colleague david cronin for explanation. he did not involve susan keating. there was a pattern of miscommunication, this being one example. there was a sense of allfirst wanting to run itself, be independent. this led to unclear demarcation of responsibilities. when it is unclear who are responsible, chances are no one will be. the politics between the front, middle and back offices of the treasury caused problems. the back office personnel were often discounted in favor of john rusnak. they came to find that in a disagreement, upper management would support mr. rusnak. john rusnak was permitted to bully the back office. he had a reputation for being difficult to work with. the discounting of the back office personnel in favor of the trader, rusnak’s bullying and his management’s condoning his behavior took the power of control from the back and middle office and moved it to the front office. the back and middle offices should have been the check on john rusnak’s trading. they were hampered in their work by favoritism shown to mr. rusnak. also, the three branches of the treasury reported into david cronin. it is customary in banks to separate the reporting of these branches as the back and middle offices are to be a check on the front office. having the three branches report into david cronin created a conflict in that he had goals to achieve with trading in the front office and he was supposed to monitor the activities of that office as well. accounting practices the lack of audits and inadequacy of audits, the failure to review profits and loss, the practices of not confirming trades, not independently confirming exchange rates, not checking var independently with independent data allowed rusnak to get away with fraud. many of the techniques that rusnak used were in direct violation of the guidelines for foreign exchange trading. in particular, trades are expressly recommended to be confirmed as soon as possible.51 the practices that john rusnak used would not have been effective if regular audits were conducted, if data used for calculations was independently verified, if trade confirmations were made. also, if the risk management departments had strong executive backing, they could have been much more effective. 19 addictive behavior john rusnak’s story has many parallels to gambling addiction. he loses money and continues to repeatedly lose money. he thinks that if he just has more time, he can win it back. he exhibits wishful thinking and arrogance. he deludes himself as the losses rise in to the hundreds of millions. his choice to cover up his actions rather than come forward and face the consequences leads him into a downward spiral. all his actions are focused on not being found out. he began having drinking problems and was obsessively trading after hours to try to win back the money.52 he was bullying other employees, using anger to drive people away and hide his activities. the guidelines for foreign exchange trading activities warns against substance abuse and gambling in traders.53 human resources and managers that were better educated in the warning signs of addictions may have been able to recognize that mr. rusnak was having a problem. greater awareness of addictive behavior would behoove trading institutions. conclusion john rusnak did perpetrate this fraud alone. he had no direct accomplices. however, there were many indirect accomplices. all those mentioned who did not report what they saw, allowed him to talk them out of doing their jobs, and trusted the status quo rather than ask questions to get to the truth assisted john rusnak. allfirst experienced problems that many corporations have. they had organizational political conditions influencing decisions. the fact that allfirst was owned by a foreign company introduced some additional complexity in politics. decision making in corporations can be based on budget and money at the expense of other important considerations. some decisions are made by looking at short term cost, rather than long term. employees don’t always follow the standards set by the company. and supervisors are can be too busy to enforce the standards. how a corporation and the people in it address these challenges is the differentiator between failure and long term success and satisfaction. albert einstein is quoted as saying “insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.” john rusnak was a person who got himself in trouble and then kept using the same methods to get himself out of trouble. he kept placing the same types of bets hoping for the same outcome: that the dollar would fall against the yen. john rusnak created a crazy situation that resulted in loss of family stability, position, self-respect and the respect of his community. he has full responsibility for his actions. the corporation has responsibility also. aib and allfirst allowed an environment where he could commit his fraudulent actions. in the case of aib and allfirst, the suggestions of the ludwig report were implemented. the company hopefully learned quite a bit from the analysis and 20 suggestions in the report. corporations are ultimately made up of people. people have foibles and imperfections. however, when you bring people together, their strengths can be combined and they can help each other with their weaknesses. they can achieve more together than they might have alone. this is the highest goal of business, a goal it is important not to forget in light of stories like this one. epilogue john rusnak pled guilty to the charge of bank fraud in october 2002. he was facing a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. through the plea bargain process, in january 2003, it was negotiated that mr. rusnak would serve a seven and a half year sentence in federal prison at fort dix, n.j. he was ordered to repay the $691 million he lost for the bank. mr. rusnak will repay $1000.00 per month through his five year probation period after the sentence is served for a total of $60,000. details for payment plan after probation have not been determined. david irwin, lawyer for john rusnak, requested that his client be able to enter drug and alcohol rehabilitation program while in prison. the judge has ordered that mr. rusnak enter substance abuse and gambling recovery programs while he is on probation. he is also ordered that he cannot work for a bank for the rest of his life without obtaining permission from the federal government.54 works consulted aibgroup. annual reports and accounts 2001 for the year ended 31 december, 2001 dublin. 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the boards of directors of allied irish banks, p.l.c., allfirst financial inc., and allfirst bank concerning currency trading losses. (mar. 12, 2002) 7,9-10. 13 robert soloman, money on the move – the revolution in international finance since 1980 (princeton: princeton university press, 1999) 134. 14 http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/hist/dat96_ja.txt 15 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 78. 16 promontory financial group, 10. 22 17 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 78. 18 jonathan fuerbringer, “bank report says trader had bold plot.”, new york times 15 mar. 2002, c9. 19 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery,77, 78. 20 promontory financial group, 15. 21 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 83. 22 promontory financial group, 12. 23 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 84. 24 jonathan fuerbringer, “arcane rollover system let trader hide losses,” c-3. 25 foreign exchange committee. 7. 26 jonathan fuerbringer, “arcane rollover system let trader hide losses,” c-3. 27 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 86,87,102. 28 promontory financial group, 16. 29 thomas p. edmonds, ed. and francis m. mcnair, edward e. milam, philip r. olds, cindy d. edmonds, nancy w. schneider, claire n. sawyer. fundamental finance accounting concepts. (mcgraw hill 2003) 61. 30 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 97-99. 31 jonathan fuerbringer, “former trader indicted on bank fraud charges” new york times 6 june, 2002 c-5. 32 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 90-91. 33 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 108. 34 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 107-109. 35 jonathan fuerbringer, “former trader indicted on bank fraud charges”, c-5. 36 jonathan fuerbringer, “ex-currency trader sentenced to seven and a half years,” new york times 18 jan. 2003 c-14. 37 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 15. 38 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 24. 39 aibgroup, annual reports and accounts 2001 for the year ended 31 december,2001 (dublin:2002) 4,13. 40 promontory financial group , 15-19. 41 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 91. 42 promontory financial group, 19-20. 43 promontory financial group, 22-25. 44foreign exchange committee. 7. 45 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 93. 46 promontory financial group, 31-38. 47 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 80. 48 promontory financial group, 32. 49 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 91. 50 promontory financial group, 5. 51 foreign exchange committee. 24. 52 siobhán creaton and conor o’clery, 105. 53 foreign exchange committee, 29. 54 larry rullson, “allfirst trader rusnak sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison”, washington business journal, 17 january, 2003 page 52. luisa valenzuela.doc 1 procesos de liberación: cambio de armas luisa valenzuela (buenos aires, 1938) laura sesana department of classical and modern languages villanova university edited by silvia nagy-zekmi luisa valenzuela es una autora celebrada en los círculos de la crítica feminista latinoamericana. las innovaciones temáticas, genéricas y estructurales de valenzuela hacen de ella una de las escritoras más originales de la literatura femenina producida en latinoamérica en el siglo xx. como escritora durante la guerra sucia argentina, valenzuela logra romper con la censura y la represión y logra dar voz a aquellos que fueron silenciados. valenzuela destruye tabúes por medio del lenguaje y la escritura y presenta a la mujer de una forma directa y franca. al romper con las convenciones sexuales impuestas sobre la mujer y su sexualidad, valenzuela logra romper con el silencio causado por la represión política. en este ensayo me enfocaré en cambio de armas (1982). en varios puntos la crítica concuerda acerca de valenzuela en general y cambio de armas en particular, pero existen puntos clave en los que no existe un consenso. de especial importancia son los puntos en los que no concuerda la crítica y sus diferentes interpretaciones que traen a la luz la profundidad de la obra de valenzuela, por eso mi trabajo se centrará en estos puntos. luisa valenzuela: crítica general en la introducción de beyond the border, nora erro-peralta indica que la literatura creada por las mujeres en latinoamérica se centra en el tema de género (sexual), las construcciones ideológicas y lingüísticas de una sociedad paternalista y la marginación de la mujer en el arte y la cultura (erro-peralta xxi). aquí también se centra la obra literaria de luisa valenzuela. por medio de su obra, valenzuela cuestiona las reglas impuestas sobra la mujer y su forma de escribir y expresarse. en sus cuentos, valenzuela utiliza un lenguaje nuevo para hablar de la mujer, su sexualidad y su rol en la sociedad. valenzuela habla del sexo de una forma franca y explícita que trata de liberar el lenguaje utilizado por la 2 mujer de las constricciones de lo que se denomina permitido y correcto. al violar los tabúes sexuales en el lenguaje y la escritura, valenzuela también logra violar la censura y exponer una versión diferente a la oficial del ambiente social y político argentino. en su libro reading the femenine voice in latin american women’s fiction maría teresa medeiros-lichem introduce la idea de dialogismo de mikhail bakhtín. medeiros-lichem explica el dialogismo como una diversidad de voces presentes en un texto donde el autor, el narrador y los personajes dialogan para formar un conjunto de voces que exponen una diversidad de versiones y puntos de vista. el dialogismo es el opuesto del monologismo, la palabra única del opresor, que no permite la disidencia u otros puntos de vista (12-16). muchos críticos parecen estar de acuerdo con medeiros-lichem al decir que la escritura de luisa valenzuela está compuesta no de una voz dominante, sino de un conjunto de voces que forman sus textos. sharon magnarelli ve esta “pluralidad de voces” como la forma de valenzuela de exponer diversas explicaciones y variados puntos de vista para llegar a un testimonio de los problemas actuales en latinoamérica (3). por medio de esta variedad de voces, valenzuela expone los temas sociales y políticos desde el punto de vista de la mujer y otras clases marginadas por una sociedad regida por el hombre blanco. juanmaría cordones–cook describe la incorporación de las versiones de las clases marginadas, junto con su lenguaje coloquial como una “democratización lingüística,” que no solo desafía una versión oficial y monolítica de la historia, sino que, al mismo tiempo, desafía las construcciones tradicionales de la lengua y la literatura (6). muchos críticos ven esta pluralidad de voces como la interacción entre la voz del dominador y el silencio del dominado (trevizan 44) (medeiros-lichem 5). por medio de este dialogo, la autora permite que discutan las voces que habían estado calladas a causa de la represión, tanto sexual como política. desde el punto de vista del feminismo, medeiros-lichem ve esta pluralidad de voces como una forma textual de representar el conflicto entre las mujeres que le hablan y desafían a una sociedad paternalista que las oprime y las domina. así, la mujer deja un testimonio escrito de la opresión y, con muchas voces, resiste a la voz única del opresor patriarcal (16-17). en las obras de valenzuela son las mujeres las que hablan, tratando de adoptar un lenguaje que explique las situaciones sociales y políticas desde su punto de vista específicamente femenino. valenzuela se enfoca en los problemas de su sociedad y en los hechos políticos, pero lo hace desde un punto de vista distinto del punto de vista tradicional dominado por la versión masculina. por medio de su obra literaria, luisa valenzuela busca cuestionar y retar lo que se entiende como verdades absolutas impuestas por un sistema 3 patriarcal. ese cuestionamiento se hace a través del lenguaje (magnarelli 3). valenzuela entiende el poder político inherente en el lenguaje y su uso, y como las construcciones lingüísticas ayudan a mantener en pie las estructuras sociales y políticas dominadas por el patriarcado (cordonescook, 6). el lenguaje y la internalización de su uso “correcto” y “permitido” hacen del usuario un cómplice de su propia opresión. al adherirse a reglas y límites no impuestos por ella, la mujer misma se censura y se limita. valenzuela trata de demostrar las relaciones de poder inherentes en el uso del lenguaje y las trata de subvertir por medio de una forma diferente de expresión y uso. por esto, valenzuela utiliza un lenguaje abierto y directo para describir la sexualidad de la mujer como una forma de enfrentarse y derrumbar las convenciones lingüísticas que la oprimen (cordones-cook 6-7). valenzuela habla del sexo y el deseo de una forma inmediata y sin rodeos, metáforas o eufemismos. muestra a la mujer que ve el sexo, no como medio de reproducción, sino como necesidad y fuente de placer y humillación, utilizando un lenguaje explicito. para sus personajes, el sexo adquiere toda clase de connotaciones además de la reproductiva. en la obra de valenzuela, el sexo puede ser un origen de placer, o puede ser la forma más eficaz de control y opresión. medeiros-lichem dice que al buscar su propio lenguaje la mujer tiene que sobrepasar la censura moral, social, política y la autocensura. cuando la mujer por fin rompe con lo moldes impuestos por una sociedad que la domina, puede llegar a un lenguaje más propio y auténtico (11). al utilizar su propio lenguaje, la mujer alcanza la libertad y la autoconciencia (medeiros-lichem 54). al desafiar la censura sexual en el lenguaje, valenzuela también logra desafiar la censura política. al decir lo que no puede ser dicho en el campo de lo erótico, valenzuela crea un velo bajo el cual se puede decir lo que no puede ser dicho en el campo de la política. este nuevo lenguaje y nueva forma de escribir como reacción a la represión sexual y política representa lo que no puede ser representado, lo prohibido, lo que se sale de los moldes impuestos por una sociedad y un gobierno patriarcal (medeiros-lichem 167-168). sin embargo, valenzuela no intenta presentar una versión que presume ser correcta o la única; más bien, valenzuela busca exponer las relaciones de poder, la sexualidad, el lenguaje, la mujer y con ésto trastornar, cuestionar el status quo, (cordones-cook 8-9). en muchas ocasiones, como veremos en el cuento “cuarta versión,” la autora deja el juicio final en las manos del lector, forzándolo a adoptar un papel activo ante la obra (magnarelli 3). medeiroslichem interpreta esta forma de inclusión del lector como un método de dar autoridad a la obra (4). 4 cambio de armas cambio de armas es una de las obras más discutidas y analizadas de luisa valenzuela. es un libro que propone ofrecer una visión alterna de la guerra sucia, ejecutada entre 1976 y 1983 en argentina desde el punto de las mujeres y otros grupos oprimidos. contiene cinco cuentos cortos, el resumen de los cuales se puede encontrar en la página de notas finalesi. existe un gran debate entre la crítica sobre el género literario al que pertenece esta obra. muchos tienen dificultad en clasificarlo como un conjunto de cuentos o una novela. cordonescook describe esto como una transgresión de los géneros literarios establecidos, donde se borran las líneas divisoras entre la novela y el cuento. cambio de armas pede verse como una colección de cuentos separados, o como una unidad centrada sobre ciertos temas que están presentes en todos los cuentos (1991, 51). magnarelli lo llama una “coherencia orgánica laudable” (1988, 188), tanto estructural como temáticamente. magnarelli, cordones–cook y medeiros-lichem concuerdan en que existe entre los textos una estructura progresiva que hace que estos textos puedan interpretarse como parte de una sola narrativa. sin embargo, tienen diferencias en cuanto al contenido y movimiento de esta progresión. magnarelli lo ve como un proceso creciente hacia la toma de conciencia y acción de la mujer y el oprimido. empezando con “cuarta versión,” magnarelli ve a una mujer en espera, que empieza el proceso de despertar y entenderse como un ente político y sexual. sin embargo, esta toma de conciencia solo la lleva a su muerte. luego, en “ceremonias de rechazo,” amanda se da cuenta de la opresión que sufre bajo el coyote, y decide deshacerse de las máscaras que la oprimen y la mantienen sumisa al coyote, símbolo de la policía y el aparato de opresión. cuando amanda habla de las máscaras, se refiere a la posición sumisa y sin interrogatorios que debe asumir la mujer en la sociedad argentina del momento. sin embargo, al saber que ella no es la mujer que la sociedad espera que sea, amanda se autodefine y no se deja definir por un hombre, así logrando su libertad. finalmente, en “cambio de armas,” laura despierta completamente y actúa bajo voluntad propia para apuntar su arma contra el opresor (188189). cordones–cook, basándose en magnarelli, lo ve un poco distinto. él la ve más como un proceso progresivo de opresión y liberación política (52). cordones–cook interpreta la “cuarta versión” como el momento inicial del peligro donde la situación es tensa y los derechos son violados. “la palabra asesino” introduce al lector al contacto íntimo con un miembro del aparato represivo. luego, en “ceremonias de rechazo” la mujer toma conciencia de la represión e intenta deshacerse de la opresión que ha internalizado. es el momento inicial de la verdadera rebeldía. en “de noche soy tu caballo,” la rebeldía es silenciada por la 5 captura y tortura. finalmente, en “cambio de armas,” el oprimido logra ser dueño de su conciencia y toma acción contra el opresor (52). por otro lado, medeiros-lichem ve la consecución textual en cambio de armas de una manera muy diferente. utilizando un orden diferente de los cuentos, medeiros-lichem ve esta secuencia textual en las diferentes medidas en que las mujeres de los cuentos retan el poder y tratan de reclamar su lugar en la esfera social y política (175). empezando con “ceremonias de rechazo,” medeiroslichem ve a una mujer en proceso de liberación del poder opresivo de un hombre como alegoría de la sociedad en general. en “de noche soy tu caballo,” muestra a la mujer como víctima de la guerra sucia. luego en “la palabra asesino,” la mujer se atreve a decir lo que no puede ser dicho y desafía el sistema de opresión. “cambio de armas” trata el tema del poder y como una mujer se independiza y reta al aparato opresor directamente. finalmente, en “cuarta versión” se dice lo inefable, y se rompe con la represión (174-191). la temática de los cuentos, el sexo, el lenguaje, en cambio de armas también contribuye a darle un sentido de unidad y ascenso a la obra. aunque pueda que no concuerden con la naturaleza y el motor de la progresión estructural, como hemos visto, los críticos concuerdan en que cambio de armas contiene en sus cuentos una variación de ciertos temas específicos que contribuyen a su unidad. un tema sobresaliente es el de la sexualidad de la mujer y la problemática de expresarlo directamente. otro tema importante es el del lenguaje como instrumento de dominio, como el titulo de un ensayo de rosario castellanos en mujer que sabe latín... el tema de la política y la guerra sucia, como algo que no se puede contar o escribir, es otro tema sobresaliente en todos los cuentos. al subvertir el lenguaje aceptado por una sociedad opresora y patriarcal para hablar de la sexualidad femenina, valenzuela también viola y evita los límites de la censura política y revela una versión poco representada de la guerra sucia argentina. en adición a estos temas, magnarelli añade otros temas que están presentes en las obras, dándole unidad a la narrativa total del libro. magnarelli señala que en todos los cuentos, las protagonistas y narradoras son femeninas. segundo, la mayoría de los verbos están en forma presente, aún en los cuentos que están escritos en forma pasada. según magnarelli, esto pone la importancia al momento narrativo, el momento en que se cuenta/ escriben los hechos, y muestra el escribir como un acto de liberación (1988, 189). también sobresale el tema de la liberación de la mano de la mujer, laura al apuntar el revolver, la autora de “cuarta versión” al escribir, amanda al despojarse de sus máscaras, que magnarelli interpreta como una invitación de parte de valenzuela a actuar, a luchar para la liberación total de la mujer y los oprimidos. magnarelli también ve el sexo, previamente tabú, como velo para ocultar lo político, actualmente tabú (1988, 190). 6 “cuarta versión” “cuarta versión” es el cuento de cambio de armas que más atención ha recibido de los críticos y académicos. empezando por el título, trevizan y medeiros-lichem parecen concordar que la cuarta versión es aquella que construye el lector. sin embargo, hacen diferentes interpretaciones de las tres lecturas anteriores a la cuarta. para trevizan, la primera versión es la de la narradora, que aparece en itálica. la segunda es aquella en que la narradora hace reflexiones acerca de las notas que ha dejado bella. la tercera versión es aquella que empieza a contarle pedro a bella al final del cuento, (58). para medeiros-lichem las versiones son otras. la primera es aquella que aparece en itálica, que cuenta la historia de una mujer que trata de recrear una historia a partir de fragmentos de un diario y una crónica a medio escribir. la segunda versión es la historia de amor entre bella y pedro. en la tercera versión, la autora trata de ver más allá de la crónica de amor para sugerir otra historia; la historia política. en este punto, la autora se identifica con bella (188). creo que aquí la diferencia entre las dos críticas se da porque trevizan se preocupa por las voces múltiples y fragmentadas y las clasifica sin jerarquizarlas, mientras medeiros-lichem las compara desde el punto de vista del dialogismo, de la voz dominadora vs. la voz silenciada. en la crítica de trevizan, la preocupación central parece ser la perspectiva, mientras para medeiros-lichem parece ser el tema. trevizan ve tres propósitos en la fragmentación de la voz en “cuarta versión.” el primer propósito va en contra de la “amnesia colectiva” que ha sido impuesta sobre los argentinos durante la guerra sucia. aquí el uso de diferentes voces cumple la función del testimonio, donde diferentes voces cuentan varias versiones de la historia. estas versiones no se borran ni se cancelan, sino que en conjunto forman un cuadro de la realidad vista desde otro punto de vista. segundo, la fragmentación sirve para oponerse al lenguaje único del sistema opresor que sólo acepta una versión oficial de los hechos. finalmente, la fragmentación cumple la función de exhibir la idea de que la realidad está en presentar la mayor cantidad de versiones y visiones posibles de un hecho (56). por medio de esta fragmentación, valenzuela busca darle expresión a la “doble militancia” que debe emprender la mujer contra la represión en lo sexual y lo político (52). por causa de esta “doble militancia” y por medio de la fragmentación: se concreta tanto una desacralización del espacio político como una aceptación menos culposa de la propia erótica, lo cual, al menos a nivel del discurso, implica ejercer el poder en términos que si bien no son directos, 7 son al menos políticamente posibles (1997, 57). el hecho de que el problema de la política no sea explicito en el texto, no quiere decir que no esté tan presente como el sexual. trevizan ve en el tema de la sexualidad el “motor narrativo” (58) donde bella habla del sexo para no hablar de la política en las páginas de su diario. para medeiros-lichem el énfasis es similar, pero no el mismo. medeiros-lichem expone la fragmentación desde el punto de vista del dialogismo, donde la voz dominante de la historia de amor compite con la historia muda de la represión y asilados políticos. junto con la “versión oficial,” valenzuela ofrece otras versiones de los hechos, la situación de la mujer, el erotismo, etc. para que el lector pueda construir su propia versión, la cuarta (191). así, valenzuela trata de decir algo entre las líneas, busca darle voz al enmudecido para contestar a la voz del opresor y así decir lo que no puede ser dicho acerca de la guerra sucia en argentina. aunque bella haya sido silenciada al final, sus palabras y testimonios seguirán vivos, dando cuenta de una represión política de la cual no se puede hablar. por otro lado, sharon magnarelli ofrece otra forma de leer “cuarta versión,” no a partir del punto de vista o el tema, como las críticas anteriores, sino del punto de vista de comentario y crítica ideológica y social. magnarelli no se preocupa por descifrar las versiones, sino por descifrar las lecturas posibles que se pueden derivar del cuento. la crítica diferencia cinco lecturas diferentes de “cuarta versión:” 1. la historia política escondida tras la historia de amor, 2. el escritor como detective, 3. el lector como detective, 4. el cuento de hadas y 5. la historia acerca del acto de escribir, (912). la primera lectura que hace magnarelli es la lectura de un cuento político tras la máscara de un cuento de amor, “una historia política subvertida” (173). aunque la narración se centre en una historia de amor, la historia de amor es un velo que esconde la historia censurada. es una historia que se centra en el campo erótico porque no se puede centrar en el campo político. la segunda y tercera lectura se pueden hacer a partir de la historia detectivesca. la narradora funciona como un detective que trata de llenar el silencio político que es casi palpable en el cuento. la narradora encuentra un diario y junto con el diario encuentra una crónica a medio escribir, señal de que ha habido alguien antes de ella que ha tratado de reconstruir una historia que aparentemente resiste a ser contada. pero, dice magnarelli, no es una historia detectivesca tradicional porque es sólo la cuarta versión, no la definitiva, porque la clave del misterio no puede ser escrita (175-176). sharon magnarelli ve, como cuarta lectura, el cuento como la bella durmiente, adaptado a los sucesos del feminismo y la política de la segunda mitad 8 del siglo xx en latinoamérica. debe notarse “una protagonista que tiene por nombre bella (pronúnciese bel/la),” (valenzuela 4). sin embargo, el proceso metafórico de la bella durmiente se reversa, porque bella se despierta como ente político y social, pero esto solo la lleva a la muerte, (magnarelli 177-78). de todos modos, valenzuela invita a la mujer a romper con los papeles tradicionales de pasividad y como bella, tomar acción, (1988, 182). magnarelli ve varios paralelos entre el cuento de hadas y “cuarta versión.” primero, el cuento de hadas es un cuento que ha sido reproducido oral y textualmente tantas veces, que se ha perdido la versión original. sucede algo similar en el caso de “cuarta versión,” donde una narradora está tratando de reconstruir una historia a partir de muchas versiones, voces y fragmentos. también, en los cuentos de hadas existe una vaguedad de espacio y tiempo, pues suelen empezar con la frase, “érase una vez, ...” aunque se pueda adivinar utilizando ciertas claves del texto, es imposible saber a ciencia cierta el lugar y el tiempo de “cuarta versión.” además, como en el cuento de hadas donde la princesa espera al príncipe azul, bella también es un personaje pasivo. finalmente, “cuarta versión” es un cuento de omisión al igual que un cuento de hadas. los cuentos de hadas siempre aluden a una historia política, donde los personajes son todos parte de las clases dirigentes y opositoras (1988, 180-183). finalmente, la quinta lectura que deriva magnarelli de “cuarta versión” es la historia de la escritura y la mujer como escritora. el cuento presenta a una escritora que está consciente de escribir y se analiza y critica mientras escribe (184). al identificarse con la escritora del diario (bella), la narración se convierte en una forma de autodefinirse y auto crearse para la narradora (magnarelli 184 185). al final del cuento, las dos escrituras, la itálica de la narradora y la del diario y la crónica, se unen y se vuelven indistinguibles, señalando que la narradora no se puede separar de su narración (magnarelli 185186). esta lectura muestra el problema de una mujer al tratar de definirse mediante un lenguaje que ella no ha creado y que la domina. bella que es una mujer producto de su sociedad y del lenguaje patriarcal de la misma. al morir, muestra como la historia escrita por los hombres borra completamente a la mujer y su voz. así el final empieza con pedro como el nuevo narrador, y el enfoque de la historia se traslada de bella al tío ramón, (magnarelli183), mostrando como el lenguaje borra a la mujer por completo. “la palabra asesino” “la palabra asesino” trata la problemática de la libertad de expresión en un sistema represivo. aquí vemos a una mujer que tiene intimidad con un asesino, un 9 opresor y que ha internalizado las estructuras de poder del sistema patriarcal (magnarelli 195). la protagonista representa a la mujer que acepta el discurso paternalista que la mantiene marginada como una verdad absoluta y así ella se convierte en su propio opresor. en su final, es un cuento que trata de decir lo que no puede ser dicho, lo que ha sido prohibido, lo inefable. aquí, el escritor asume una posición de “nombrador,” de denunciador de la opresión y la violencia (medeiros-lichem 181), y así reta la opresión impuesta sobre ella, incluso por ella misma. en el cuento, el deseo erótico juega un papel importante. para la narradora, el deseo es también un asesino (magnarelli 195), que hace que ella perdone hasta la muerte por estar con su amante. por su deseo de estar con él, la mujer trata de entenderlo, comprender porqué ha cometido tantos horrores, de penetrar en “el otro” casi hasta la locura, hasta llegar a un punto límite (cordones– cook 54). la protagonista se encuentra atrapada entre su deseo sexual y sus ideas fundamentales acerca del asesinato y la guerra. el grito final parece despertar diferentes interpretaciones por parte de la crítica. mientras medeiros-lichem ve el grito final como la narradora asumiendo el papel de “nombrador” y denunciador, cordones-cook lo ve como un nacimiento en el cual la protagonista recupera el lenguaje y nombra lo innombrable, y la vida y la muerte se igualan. por otro lado, magnarelli, también lo ve como una relación entre vida y muerte, pero agrega ciertos elementos. cuando la mujer grita “asesino,” magnarelli lo ve como el deseo sexual que ha matado la resistencia a la violencia dentro de la protagonista. ella acepta al amante asesino a pesar de su prejuicio contra el asesinato. para la narradora, su deseo es más poderoso que cualquier otro sentimiento. ella ha venido a aceptar, así sea inconscientemente, su necesidad de satisfacer su deseo por él sobre cualquier prejuicio que pueda tener. sin embargo, magnarelli piensa que al articular lo inarticulable valenzuela indica que podemos librarnos de la opresión que llevamos dentro (196). al verbalizar la palabra asesino, la mujer se libera de su carga y aunque lo ha aceptado en su cama y en su vida, lo denuncia. “ceremonias de rechazo” “ceremonias de rechazo” representa la historia de amanda, una mujer que ha internalizado las estructuras de poder del sistema paternalista, personificadas por el personaje del coyote, y está en el proceso de deshacerse de su opresión. el coyote define a amanda, la moldea a su antojo, siembra un jardín en su terraza como él lo quiere. amanda vive en función del coyote y de estar 10 siempre atenta y dispuesta al momento inesperado de su llamada. hace lo que él quiere, dice lo que él quiere escuchar y nunca cuestiona su papel inferior en la relación. no obstante amanda por fin se da cuenta de que la mujer que tiene que ser para el coyote no es realmente ella y que viviendo detrás de la máscara de la mujer sumisa y objetivizada nunca va a ser feliz. amanda emprende un proceso de auto-conocimiento, mediante el cual logra definirse y despojarse de las definiciones que le había asignado el coyote, las máscaras. sin embargo, los críticos parecen tener diferentes ideas sobre la naturaleza, significado y dirección estructural y simbólica de las ceremonias de amanda. por un lado, sharon magnarelli especula que amanda se encuentra a un nivel de conciencia más elevado que bella en “cuarta versión” pues ella es conciente de que ha adoptado internamente el aparato externo de opresión (196). según magnarelli, amanda emplea cuatro ceremonias para deshacerse del coyote como símbolo del la opresión. la primera ceremonia consiste en crearse una nueva máscara, más cerca de la realidad, por medio del las mascarillas faciales. luego, amanda se baña, lavándose al coyote, en una ceremonia de purificación. tercero, amanda arroja la rosa, regalo del coyote, al río como ceremonia de desprendimiento. finalmente, roba una planta para su nuevo jardín, un reflejo de su espíritu renovado (197). magnarelli describe el final como una dramatización del objetivo alcanzado cuando amanda canta bajo el agua de la manguera en su terraza (197). amanda ya no baila en una ceremonia alrededor del teléfono tratando de conjurar la llamada del coyote, sino que baila para celebrar el hecho de que no necesita al coyote ni a nadie más para saber quién es en realidad. similarmente, medeiros-lichem distingue cuatro pasos hacia una reconstrucción de la mujer como individuo independiente del hombre, ya sea su padre, marido o amante. el primer paso es el estado de ansiedad, donde empieza con la mujer en su papel impuesto por la sociedad de esperar al hombre. amanda, como mujer, no puede exigir la presencia del coyote, no lo puede ver si se le antoja. lo único que puede hacer es esperar a que él la requiera a ella. la espera le trae una ansiedad que hace que amanda indague sobre el coyote y su atracción hacia él. aquí también entra el tema de la sexualidad y las barreras que enfrentan las mujeres al expresar su sexualidad mediante un lenguaje patriarcal y machista. el segundo paso es el de la internalización inconsciente de la situación opresora. amanda sabe que el coyote es un hombre peligroso, pero sin embargo lo desea. acepta su dominio y le perdona su indiferencia y supremacía. sin embargo, después de su último encuentro, se da cuenta de que ella misma ha aceptado las estructuras de dominio que la oprimen, y así pasa a los rituales de purificación, el tercer paso. por medio de estos rituales de purificación, las mascarillas, el baño, amanda procura librarse de su atracción sexual hacia el coyote, simbolizando su liberación de la dominación de la sociedad machista. finalmente, el paso cuatro 11 es el de “ruptura y restauración,” donde amanda rompe con su identidad sumisa y al arrojar la rosa al río se despide completamente del coyote, su deseo sexual y el dominio paternalista. al final, amanda es libre, amanda empieza a sentirse libre, por fin libre, y va esbozando un baile de apasionada coreografía que crece y crece hasta hacerse violento, incontenible. baila amanda con la manguera, la florea, se riega de la cabeza a los pies, se riega largo rato y baila bajo esa lluvia purificadora y vital (valenzuela 101). por otro lado, cordones–cook interpreta “ceremonias de rechazo” como una lucha entre exterioridad vs. interioridad (55). para cordones–cook, las máscaras que amanda se aplica y se lava representan lo exterior que ha sido adoptado interiormente, (55). al ponerse y quitarse las máscaras, amanda se desprende del coyote. para cordones–cook, amanda busca llegar a su esencia humana y él interpreta la escena en que amanda orina en la bañera como el rechazo de las barreras entre lo interior y lo exterior. así, rodeada de su propio calor, amanda destruye las barreras y se libera de la opresión, (56). “de noche soy tu caballo” la crítica parece estar de acuerdo con que en “de noche soy tu caballo” los sueños y el eros son el escape de la protagonista, el único lugar donde no llegan la tortura ni el encarcelamiento. en este cuento beto es el otro lado del coyote. mientras el coyote es agente de la opresión, beto es un revolucionario, alguien que lucha contra los opresores. aquí la reacción tan diferente de la protagonista, quien está dispuesta a soportarlo todo para proteger a su hombre. valenzuela sitúa el tema político entre el sueño y la realidad y al erotismo como el desafío contra la represión política (medeiroslichem 180). sharon magnarelli destaca tres diferentes significados dentro del cuento del titulado “de noche soy tu caballo.” primero, la protagonista está identificada con un caballo en el cuento. el caballo es un animal que ha sido transformado por el hombre para servirlo. magnarelli indica que este es también el caso de la mujer en la sociedad patriarcal (197198). la segunda es la interpretación explicita que hace la mujer en el texto, comparando al caballo con la libertad e indicando un lazo espiritual con beto (198). finalmente, existe la interpretación del hombre, la interpretación sexual, indicando que solo existe un lazo físico. 12 “cambio de armas” en cuanto a “cambio de armas,” el cuento, la crítica parece estar de acuerdo en que es una historia que trata el tema del poder, la sexualidad y la toma de conciencia y acción al final. la relación de laura y roque es una relación ambigua donde lo único que no es ambiguo es la relación de amo y esclavo que existe entre ellos. laura es la esclava sexual de su “marido.” cordones–cook compara la amnesia de laura con la amnesia colectiva que sufría el pueblo argentino después de la guerra sucia (58). aunque todos los críticos ubican el tema central del cuento en el poder, magnarelli ve el poder como función del deseo y medeiros-lichem lo ve como función de la “abjection”. para magnarelli, el deseo en este cuento tiene dos significados. por un lado está el deseo erótico, que es mutuo y no lleva a conflictos de poder. pero por otro lado está el deseo político, el cual magnarelli describe como “a desire that seeks to usurp what is other, to appropriate what does not belong to one, what is seen as other, and make it one’s own” (201). es un deseo que no es mutuo y que implica un conflicto de poder donde uno busca dominar al otro. medeiros-lichem ve la temática del poder en “cambio de armas” de una forma diferente. la crítica ve en el apartamento de roque una sala de tortura y el cuerpo de la mujer como el lugar de donde se deriva el poder y la humillación por parte del hombre opresor (182). medeiros-lichem define “abjection” como una situación en la que el opresor se siente que cuenta con el derecho y autoridad moral para ejercer su dominio sobre otro ser (2002, 183), en una forma similar a la función política del deseo de magnarelli, pero medeiros-lichem va un paso más lejos. para medeiros-lichem, la “abjection” produce una atracción y repulsión al mismo tiempo por causa del goce sexual (medeiroslichem lo llama jouissance) que ella tiene cuando está con roque. laura es un personaje abyecto que se resigna y permite que la humillen y roque es el opresor que busca controlar a su esclavo completamente (183-184). el “no” de laura ante el espejo es interpretado por medeiros-lichem y otros como el principio de la resistencia en laura. este es el punto en que despierta la resistencia en el oprimido. sin embargo, laura todavía desea a roque porque sus experiencias sexuales con el son su única forma de sentirse viva y auto definirse. a pesar de su deseo, laura no puede callar su “pozo oscuro” donde está su memoria reprimida y donde empieza su concientización. esta toma de conciencia expone a laura al conflicto entre su deseo sexual y su asco ante la perversión en cualquiera de sus formas (2002, 186). cuando roque le cuenta la verdad y ella le pide que se acueste con ella. medeiros-lichem dice que laura se 13 encuentra en un estado de represión y humillación profunda, donde no quiere aceptar la realidad revelada (186). cuando roque le cuenta la verdad y le dice que se puede marchar, laura lo desea sexualmente y siente temor de la libertad que le está devolviendo. al final, laura, por fin, toma acción bajo su propia voluntad y apunta el revolver contra roque. medeiros-lichem interpreta el final abierto de este cuento como otra invitación, como en “cuarta versión” al lector a participar en el cuento (187). conclusiones cambio de armas es un libro que dice lo que no puede ser dicho bajo un sistema de represión política y sexual. es un libro que dice entre líneas y al final, deja al lector con una sensación muy diferente a la esperada. en general, todas parecen ser historias de amor, sin embargo van más allá para hacer una crítica social y política. valenzuela en verdad parece transgredir los géneros literarios, pues definitivamente hay una progresión estructural y temática en los cuentos que parecen formar parte de una unidad narrativa más grande. las técnicas utilizadas por valenzuela para darle voz a la mujer y al oprimido político son muy interesantes. por un lado, valenzuela emplea muchas voces y puntos de vista para contar una historia. valenzuela utiliza las voces de los campos censurados como los de los grupos de resistencia, los torturados y las mujeres para afrontar a la voz monolítica del gobierno opresor y la sociedad paternalista en lo que sharon magnarelli llama un ejemplo de dialogismo. de particular interés me parece el hecho de que con ésta multiplicidad de voces valenzuela no pretenda, como el opresor, tener la versión definitiva o la clave única para el problema. valenzuela simplemente quiere mostrar las cosas desde el punto de vista de los grupos que tradicionalmente no han tenido voz. así, valenzuela no propone tener todas las respuestas, sino que busca revelar las incoherencias y conflictos y así cuestionarlos. otra técnica innovadora que utiliza valenzuela es la participación del lector. en una forma parecida a cortázar pero con diferentes fines, valenzuela parece siempre parece dejar el juicio final, la última versión en las manos del lector. así valenzuela logra una participación activa del lector en sus obras, pues éste es el que tiene que dar el salto para poder darle punto final a sus cuentos. finalmente, algo que es sorprendente y al mismo tiempo libertador para el/la lector/a (valenzuela escribió para todos los lectores), es el trato tan diferente que valenzuela le da a la sexualidad y al eros, comparándole con castellanos, por ejemplo. castellanos utilizaba las metáforas caseras y los códigos lingüísticos para hablar de la sexualidad de la mujer, el tema prohibido de su 14 época. castellanos estaba preocupada por exponer las estructuras de lenguaje que oprimían a la mujer, y al esconder su lenguaje sexual, lo expresaba sin decirlo y sugería “escribir el cuerpo,” como medio de liberación sexual. por su parte, valenzuela sigue con las mismas preocupaciones de la dominación por medio del lenguaje, de lo que se debe y se puede decir; pero en los años 80, la situación ha cambiado. ahora la sexualidad ya no es el tema más prohibido; en los 80 el tema prohibido era la política y la represión. en estas circunstancias valenzuela cambia los papeles y utiliza el eros, tema previamente tabú, como velo tras el cual hablar de la política, tema tabú actual. ahora valenzuela “escribe el cuerpo” no solo como medio de liberación sexual sino como medio de liberación política. i resúmenes breves titulo: “cuarta versión” personajes: la narradora anónima que escribe en itálica. bella, una actriz. pedro, el embajador de un país no nombrado trama: la narradora ha encontrado un diario y una crónica a medio escribir, y a partir de esto trata de reconstruir una historia. la historia es la de bella, una actriz que se enamora de pedro, un embajador. pedro la ayuda a salir del país, pero bella no soporta el exilio y regresa a su país a interceder por los rebeldes ante pedro, quien les puede dar asilo político dentro de la embajada. al final, el embajador hace una fiesta de despedida en honor a bella, a la cual ella invita gente que necesita asilo político. al final de la fiesta, entra la policía y matan a bella de un disparo. titulo: “la palabra asesino” personajes: una mujer anónima un hombre anónimo, que ha estado en la guerra y ha matado gente dentro y fuera de la guerra. trama: una mujer que siente un deseo incontrolable por un hombre que ha matado. ella es alguien completamente opuesta a la violencia y al asesinato y siente un verdadero conflicto entre su deseo y saber que él es un asesino. la noción de que es un asesino y el tener la palabra en la mente constantemente la lleva a un punto límite donde contempla el suicidio. por fin, al borde de la locura, grita la palabra que tanto la perturba: “asesino” y se siente liberada. titulo: “ceremonias de rechazo” personajes: amanda, una mujer totalmente dependiente de su amante 15 el coyote, un hombre conectado con la política y la opresíon trama: amanda siente una atracción y necesidad por el coyote. el aparece y reaparece en su vida espontáneamente y sin explicaciones. finalmente ella decide deshacerse de él simbólicamente por medio de las mascarillas cosméticas y un baño. luego arroja una rosa que él le había dado al río y substituye la planta que el había sembrado en su jardín por otra. titulo: “de noche soy tu caballo” personajes: una narradora anónima beto, (no es su nombre real) su amante revolucionario trama: el cuento abre con el amante revolucionario que aparece después de haber estado escondido con una botella de cachaza y un disco de gal costa, “a noite seu tou caballo,” o “de noche soy tu caballo.” al otro día ella despierta sin él. poco tiempo después recibe una llamada anónima que le dice que beto está muerto. la escena final es en una cárcel, ella está presa y presumiblemente ha sido torturada. no sabe si su noche con beto fue real o sólo un sueño, pero dice que fue un sueño para protegerlo. titulo: “cambio de armas” personajes: laura, una mujer amnésica con una gran cicatriz en la espalda roque, su supuesto marido michaela, la empleada doméstica trama: laura se encuentra en un estado de amnesia total donde no recuerda absolutamente nada de su pasado. su supuesto marido, roque viene a verla esporádicamente y en una mezcla de placer y humillación para laura, tienen relaciones sexuales. al final, roque le revela que ella había sido una revolucionaria que lo había tratado de matar y que el la había “quebrado como a un potro.” ella le dice que no le importa, que se quede con ella, pero él le devuelve su revolver y comienza a marcharse. en este momento laura coge el revolver y lo apunta contra su espalda. bibliografía bautista gutiérrez, gloria. voces femeninas de hispanoamérica. pittsburg: university of pittsburgh press. 1996. cordones –cook, juanmaría. poética de la transgresión en la novelística de luisa valenzuela. new york: peter lang. 1991. erro-peralta, nora. caridad silva. beyond the border. a new age in latin american women’s fiction. gainesville: university press of florida. 2000. 16 magnarelli, sharon. reflections/ refractions. reading luisa valenzuela. new york: peter lang. 1988. medeiros-lichem, maría teresa. reading the femenine voice in latin american women’s fiction. from teresa de la parra to elena poniatowska and luisa valenzuela. new york: peter lang. 2002. trevizan, liliana. política/ sexualidad. nudo en la escritura de mujeres latinoamericanas. lanham, maryland: university press of america. 1997. valenzuela, luisa. cambio de armas. hanover, nh: ediciones del norte. 1982. amanda reid stakhanovites: examining history through gender and propaganda amanda r. reid history on august 31, 1935, aleksei stakhanov, a 30-year-old miner at the central irmino mine in the donets basin hewed a record-setting 102 tons of coal during his six-hour shift, a yield 14 times his quota. the feat appeared in pravda and the unknown, illiterate miner became a celebrity sensation both in the soviet union and abroad. in his honor, the title “stakhanovite” was bestowed upon workers and peasants who set production records or mastered their assigned tasks. in november 1935, shortly after stakhanov‟s achievement, stalin organized a gathering of these exceptional workers, the first all-union conference of stakhanovites, and delivered the keynote address, which helped to define the movement. he said stakhanovism sprang from below “at an unparalleled speed, like a hurricane,” primarily thanks to young people with culture and technical knowledge, people who “learned to count not only the minutes, but also the seconds.” 1 stalin believed stakhanovism would serve as the link between socialism and communism and willingly overlooked the hierarchical nature of the new privileged worker system by calling the need to equalize material conditions a “petty bourgeois conception of socialism.” 2 ideally all workers would labor to the best of their ability and receive all they needed…there would be no quotas or rations because those values would vary with each person. stakhanov‟s example was glorified and held up to the soviet masses. his persona even drifted overseas to new york, appearing alongside other soviet heroes on the country‟s giant mural at the 1939 world‟s fair and also popping up in a broadway play, iron men, which centered on the exploits of a stakhanovite gang of steel workers. 3 men and women like stakhanov were made into “postcard heroes and cultic ideals of kitsch, models for youth, and paragons of virtue.” 4 the soviet government‟s penchant for deifying the worker 1 all stalin quotes are from his “speech at the first all-union conference of stakhanovites, november 17, 1935,” accessible online at http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1935/11/17.htm. 2 ibid. 3 “huge steel statue tops soviet center,” the new york times, may 17, 1939, 20; brooks atkinson, “the play,” the new york times, october 20, 1936, 30. 4 richard stites, russian popular culture: entertainment and society since 1900, (new york: cambridge university press, 1992), 71. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1935/11/17.htm. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1935/11/17.htm. makes one wonder how accurately soviet memoirs and biographies reflected actual societal conditions. what does the construction of propaganda reveal about a culture? gender theorist joan wallach scott asserts that “political economy provided the terms by which relations of production and sexual divisions of labor were established and contested.” 5 therefore, one must also ponder the ramifications of the stakhanovite movement on women. what impact did this government-sanctioned opportunity to enter the economy have on the lives of soviet women? answers to these questions will be sought by examining stakhanovism and its legacy through the ways in which it was portrayed in the accounts of three prominent stakhanovites: pasha angelina, dusya vinogradova, and illarion yankin, juxtaposed with current scholarship and articles from the western media. stakhanovism provides fertile ground for the examination of gender and propaganda, studies which subsequently yield insights into economics, politics, and social relationships. stakhanovite or stakhanovite’s wife? soviet women found themselves at a difficult crossroads in the 1930s. stakhanovite reforms emphasized technology and often took place within heavy industry, consequently gendering them predominately male, yet party ideology stressed equality between the sexes. female stakhanovites outnumbered male stakhanovites only in traditionally domestic industries, such as confections, leather, and textiles, but they also challenged conventional gender roles by infiltrating traditionally patriarchal domains. 6 the soviet government heavily played up the victories of its female workers; their stories constitute a solid chunk of the propaganda, even though western historians have only sparingly examined this demographic. within the stakhanovite movement, women faced varied definitions of the ideal socialist woman. the competing classifications spawned from the two somewhat contradictory roles women played: stakhanovite and stakhanovite‟s wife. female stakhanovites were highly enthusiastic, independent wage earners who sought to maximize their own productivity and contributions. in contrast, stakhanovites‟ wives, often known as obshchestvennitry (public-spirited women), were driven by two primary beliefs: they were subordinate to their husbands, and they should donate their free time to the factory, farm, or field in displays of voluntarism. stakhanovites‟ wives cultivated dependent relationships – she relied 5 joan wallach scott, gender and the politics of history, (new york: columbia university press, 1999), 163. 6 mary buckley, mobilizing soviet peasants: heroines and heroes of stalin’s fields, (new york: rowman & littlefield, 2006), 245. on him for monetary support, while he relied on her to fulfill domestic needs. her main obligation was to uphold her husband‟s status and enhance his productivity. 7 this dependency was antithetical to marxist ideology, but authorities eventually reconciled some of the disparity. official doctrine admitted that the ideal female role was that of active worker, but conceded that being a stakhanovite‟s wife constituted an excellent second choice. 8 its emphasis on voluntarism drew women out of the home in a socially useful way, while their work within the home could be portrayed as an active contribution to society. the stakhanovite‟s wife might be seen as a transitory figure, preparing the male for the total loss of his domestic caretaker; the woman‟s volunteering efforts would increasingly pull her away from the home, necessitating a more egalitarian division of household chores. women were not only comrades and workers, but also symbols and supporters of male achievement; the ideal soviet wife, confined to the home and warmly maternal, was almost the polar opposite of the hard bolshevichka of earlier times. 9 for the most part, regular women workers disliked women stakhanovites, presumably because they dominated the limelight, hoarded materials, and created raised expectations. 10 the stakhanovites‟ wives, however, helped female stakhanovites on occasion, with childcare arrangements for instance, and the women also assisted stakhanovites of both sexes in their quests to become more cultured by guiding the workers‟ selection of clothing and furnishings. interestingly, the premium stalin placed on culture, kul’turnost, also emphasized the importance of retail saleswomen; excellent vendors were considered to be stakhanovites in their own right and accordingly rewarded. 11 benefits and drawbacks of stakhanovism although they had the government‟s official support, many stakhanovite women faced opposition, not only from men, but also from their female peers. these women showed resiliency in the face of adversity, never abandoning their dreams or record setting labors despite encountering many obstacles. gossip and resentment were rampant; by striving to improve, stakhanovite women were perceived to have inappropriately put themselves above others, disturbing the collective good. for instance, four of the eight women who worked under mariia 7 ibid, 269. 8 ibid, 278. 9 barbara evans clements, bolshevik women, (new york: cambridge university press, 1997), 276. 10 rosalind marsh, “women writers in the 1930s: conformity or subversion?,” women in the stalin era, ed. melanie ilic, (new york: palgrave, 2001), 182. 11 amy randall, “revolutionary bolshevik work: stakhanovism in retail trade,” russian review 59 (july 2000): 425-441. demchenko, a record-breaking sugar beet picker and the paradigm of the soviet “new woman,” quit because they envied the fact that mariia alone enjoyed all of the rewards for their collective efforts. 12 women stakhanovites were humiliated, baited, and bullied by local authority figures, endured the sabotage of machines, animals, land, and homes, and weathered threats of physical violence. ol‟ga peunkova, a stakhanovite milkmaid who had vowed to procure 5,500 liters of milk in 1936, had two prize-winning cows murdered; veterinary surgeons found needles lodged in their hearts, which had apparently been placed in the cows‟ feed three weeks earlier when peunkova was attending a conference in moscow. 13 sometimes fertilizer was removed from female farmers‟ plots, their lands were vandalized with un-decomposed manure, their homes were burned down, and some women stakhanovites were even savagely beaten or killed. while male stakhanovites also undoubtedly suffered numerous indignities, women most likely bore the brunt of society‟s wrath because their performance in the workplace not only broke norms and inspired envy, but also called into question deeply entrenched gender roles. with all of the evident deterrents to becoming a stakhanovite, the incentives inherent with performing norm-breaking work must have been equally, if not more, powerful for soviet citizens. first and foremost, stakhanovite workers received financial incentives as a reward for their greatly increased output. for instance, coal workers, like the great stakhanov himself, were paid based on the amount of material they produced or harvested per shift and they also frequently accrued bonuses. the additional funds may have been particularly appealing to women, who traditionally earned less than men. stakhanovites also enjoyed better living conditions than their peers did, reaping benefits like larger apartments, relatively luxuriant consumer goods such as clothes and record players, and even preferential selection of food. 14 education was a major motivation, with its promise of socioeconomic mobility; schooling was likely a particular draw for women, whose access to higher education was typically even more limited than men‟s. many famous stakhanovites like pasha angelina, a record-setting tractor driver, and mariia demchenko subsequently graduated from agricultural academies in moscow or kiev. stakhanovites also traveled frequently to special meetings and conferences and received a bevy of prestigious decorations and awards. for instance, in 1936, 367 stakhanovites received the order of lenin while 582 were granted the badge of honor. 15 the government also afforded these men and 12 buckley, 139. 13 ibid, 145. 14 for an example of the material benefits of stakhanovism, readers may wish to consult the image of pasha angelina‟s apartment found in buckley, 230. 15 buckley, 237. women special vacations and entry into politics as delegates to the congresses of the komsomol and soviets. headlines announcing stakhanovite feats made them de facto celebrities, although the writings of women like pasha angelina suggest that their industry was not motivated by a desire for fame, but rather that their new, elite status was simply a not so unpleasant side effect. 16 the autobiographies of angelina and illarion yankin and the biography of dusya vinogradova, while almost certainly ghostwritten and propagandized, still provide interesting examples of the pros and cons of stakhanovism for women and illustrate the messages and lessons that the soviet government wanted to impart on its citizenry. if the authorities were somewhat confused over the appropriate roles for women, it is no wonder that the women themselves struggled with their identities and gender expectations. pasha angelina, tractor (and gender) pioneer praskovia nikitichna (“pasha”) angelina was one of the archetypical female stakhanovites, the leader of the first all-female tractor brigade, “the socialist cinderella supreme,” and “the most celebrated and highly decorated labor hero in soviet history.” 17 born poor on a kolkhoz, pasha grew up to receive the order of lenin and the hero of socialist labor award, the soviet union‟s most prestigious civilian honor. her autobiography is a celebration of her upward mobility, but as denoted in its title, the “most important thing” was that she rose with the people, not from the masses as individualistic americans were apt to do. 18 pasha “speaks bolshevik” by spouting off party doctrine within the biographical narrative, railing against evil kulaks, taking potshots at the believability of the american media, and bashing the american-made fordson tractor. 19 pasha‟s story also showcases the downfalls of stakhanovism as she recalls “somebody kept spreading vile rumors about me, and „god-fearing‟ old women, egged on by the priest, would spit whenever they saw „shameless pasha‟ in her overalls behind the wheel of the tractor.” 20 coworkers teased her and even her friends told her that women did not belong on tractors. this gender shortsightedness inspired pasha to begin her allfemale brigade, which was supported by the head of the machine tractor station 16 for detailed coverage of the pros and cons of stakhanovism, see buckley, chapters 6 and 9. 17 pasha angelina, “the most important thing,” in the shadow of revolution: life stories of russian women from 1917 to the second world war, eds. sheila fitzpatrick and yuri slezkine, (princeton, nj: princeton university press, 2000), 305; stites, 71. 18 angelina, 306-307. 19 see page 16 of fitzpatrick‟s “introduction” to in the shadow of revolution. “speaking bolshevik” refers to a phenomenon by which soviets tried to project the aura of an ideal citizen by imbibing and reciting party beliefs and attitudes. 20 angelina, 312. as a fulfillment of bolshevik policy. ironically, pasha and her fellow female stakhanovites were often dependent on men to get them started in industry or to teach them how to operate new equipment. the first time pasha‟s brigade drove to the fields, they were met by a crowd of angry women who shouted at them, “„get out of here! we‟re not going to allow women‟s machines on our field! you‟ll ruin our crops!‟” 21 pasha‟s subsequent comment that all the women later became friends is easily chalked up to a bit of soviet embellishment, but the anecdote about the angry masses is significant and reflective of legitimate societal tensions regarding “proper” vocations for women. the ill will culminated with a personal attack on pasha; she was run down on her bicycle (by “kulak sons”) after speaking at a national conference and seriously injured. she had just met stalin in moscow and had vowed to him that her tractor brigade would best their current world record and plow 1,200 hectares per tractor in 1936. 22 the personal promise reflects a stakhanovite tendency to feed into and reinforce the cult of personality; stalin was deified as the eager workers yearned to please their beneficent ruler. stalin was also traditionally portrayed as having inspired the extraordinary feats completed by the stakhanovites – just being around him apparently made workers aspire to greatness. pasha‟s autobiography concludes on a happy note, as soviet publications were wont to do in the era of socialist realism, with pasha recovering her health and returning to the fields, her all-female brigade beating their quota and then forming a network of cadres, and “all soviet people becoming one big happy family.” 23 pasha‟s tale is particularly valuable from a gender standpoint, because she infiltrated a predominately male domain, tractor driving, and broke with traditional conceptions of appropriate female occupations. pasha showed that women did not have to be confined to the home; they could exert themselves in the village and excel according to criteria praised by the regime. her record-breaking performances illustrated that women could perform as well as men and made people question the automatic dominance of men, which was fostered by the widespread soviet belief in the inferiority of women. elizabeth wood explores the negative conception of womanhood in the baba and the comrade, contrasting the baba, an illiterate, superstitious, and backward female figure with her foil, the comrade, an ideal citizen, to illustrate the quandary that russian women found themselves in during the early days of nep. 24 the lower social status of women 21 ibid, 313. 22 ibid, 317. 23 ibid, 320. 24 the new economic policy (nep) was issued in 1921 by vladimir lenin. intended to allow the ussr to recover from years of war, nep permitted limited private ownership. joseph stalin abandoned the policy in 1928. was reflected in popular soviet proverbs like “i thought i saw two people, but it was only a man and a baba.” 25 for pasha angelina to not only enter a masculine field, but to excel at it and outperform male workers in the public sphere was nothing short of revolutionary. in another one of her autobiographies, pasha even made the case that women could teach men a few things about driving tractors; one kolkhozniki actually requested that pasha and her all-girl brigade come out to instruct their squadron of male drivers. 26 the socialist competition inherent in stakhanovism may have had the unintended effect of aggravating gender relations. pasha and her cadres served as role models for other women, teaching them how to drive tractors, further encouraging the expansion of women into the public domain, and fracturing the perception of traditionally male and female roles. pasha‟s writings spoke often of following her dreams; her example and instruction likely helped countless other soviet women to chase their own aspirations. finally, while pasha named her parents, siblings, and children in her narrative, her (possibly divorced?) husband‟s name is notably absent. this omission is reflective of the attitudes of female stakhanovites: their memoirs were about them and their accomplishments. they felt no obligation to pay lip service to their spouses. the high wages earned by women stakhanovites also provided them with financial independence, which would have been important to pasha, especially if she was indeed a divorcée. dusya vinogradova, textile worker and bolshevik ideologue like pasha angelina, dusya vinogradova won widespread recognition and acclaim for her feats as a stakhanovite. though her efforts in the textile field held fewer ramifications for gender than pasha‟s conquest of the tractor, dusya‟s biography is an excellent example of the soviet tendency to inculcate party doctrine into every publication and therefore helps illustrate how the government wanted to be perceived by its people. introduced as a 21-year-old textile worker, so beloved that “all young people call her friend,” dusya deserves the title miss ussr, not in the “dubious and transient fame of a miss europe…but only in the soviet sense of the word; her fame and popularity are founded on her creative work.” 27 echoing stalin, the narrative‟s emphasis is placed on the science and method behind improvements and, also like stalin, it continually critiques capitalism, arguing that the worker never exerts his full strength and energy in a capitalist society since he is merely a slave to his employer. the perks of 25 elizabeth wood, the baba and the comrade: gender and politics in revolutionary russia, (indianapolis: indiana university press, 1997), 17. 26 buckley, 257. 27 friedrich, g., miss u.s.s.r.: the story of a girl stakhanovite, (new york: international publishers, 1936), 1. stakhanovism are showcased for public consumption: dusya embodies material well-being with her two-bedroom apartment, kitchen, closet overflowing with expensive clothes, and salary of 800 rubles per month. she calls work a “joy” and broke records by monitoring 216 looms at once, aided by a team of 12 assistants. dusya‟s pay increased in proportion to her ever-escalating productivity. she is repeatedly characterized as child-like, dainty, slim, and light-footed, yet she never tires because she obeys the “line of march,” a stakhanovite method that maximizes efficiency by requiring her rounds to continue in an orderly fashion – checking one machine after another, even if a thread snaps elsewhere. dusya is portrayed as cultured and ladylike, inviting her biographer, friedrich, to tea. she is also steadfastly devoted to stalin and optimistic about the future, musing that “some professor or another will become a stakhanovite and invent a way to make you go on living forever.” 28 friedrich relates an anecdote about a red army officer, michael koroskin, who penned dusya a letter of admiration, confessing that, “„i see your photo in the papers, read about your records, and this inspires me to tackle my task of mastering military technique with still greater enthusiasm than before, to defend our fatherland, the u.s.s.r., which has given birth to people like you, dusya!‟” 29 the tale concludes with the assertion that stakhanovism is only possible under the soviet system and that stakhanovites were responsible for boosting the soviet union‟s 1935 production levels to two and a quarter times what they had been in tsarist russia. 30 dusya‟s biography is interesting in several respects. like pasha, she “speaks bolshevik,” occasionally appropriating stalin‟s words as her own, seemingly always the consummate communist. her barbs directed at capitalism and western europe reflect the political and ideological tensions of the time and the descriptions of her opulent lifestyle illustrate all of the rewards and none of the costs inherent with stakhanovism. indeed, not only is dusya never subjected to the malice pasha suffered, but friedrich actually depicts her as being one of the most popular women in the country. her biographer also constantly emphasizes dusya‟s feminine attributes, characterizing her as young and dainty; this portrayal highlights how easy stakhanovism is while simultaneously engendering stereotypes about women as delicate and child-like. dusya‟s refined tea party also makes her seem cultured, one of the key traits of stakhanovites, according to stalin. generally, a very appealing picture is painted of stakhanovism, likely in the hopes of inspiring other soviets to overproduce, and also to project a state of prosperity to the outside world, especially to their much-maligned capitalist rivals. 28 ibid, 21. 29 ibid, 32. 30 ibid, 35. dusya admits that a dozen colleagues contributed to her record-breaking endeavor, but those girls‟ roles are downplayed as dusya alone enjoys the bulk of the privileges. like pasha, dusya attained financial security, managing to not only provide for herself, but also for her retired mother. the closing statistic regarding increased production also illustrates a soviet tendency to portray stakhanovism as an unequivocal success; contemporary historians have articulated a much more muddled legacy. 31 the most interesting part of the narrative from a gender standpoint is the excerpted letter from koroskin. the fact that a rugged army officer idolized a young girl like dusya turns societal norms upside down. whether or not the letter is authentic or part of the propaganda in the publication is irrelevant; granting a woman that degree of admiration, even in fiction, is significant because the masses will read an empowering story about a woman who was so remarkable that her life inspired battle-hardened, weary soldiers. koroskin‟s reference to the u.s.s.r. as a “fatherland” is also interesting, as it contrasts the “motherland” conceptions of russia that often motivated members of the armed forces. illarion yankin, notes of a stakhanovite illarion yankin, and his autobiography, notes of a stakhanovite, provide an example of soviet propaganda from the male and “heavy industries” perspective. yankin, a miner, worked his way up from entry-level jobs to operating the pneumatic drill. he worked piecework and had a secret ambition to become highly skilled. yankin remembers that his crew leader took his success as a “personal affront” and was annoyed when drillers attempted to improve their techniques. 32 yankin speculates that his boss probably learned his craft slowly (back when capitalists controlled the mines!) and consequently resented how quickly techniques could now be picked up. he also relays tales of sabotage – “wreckers” set a fire in his mine that put it out of commission for two years. yankin discusses how he made suggestions to streamline crews; a little extra elbow room vastly increased production capabilities. he always brought his suggestions to management, feeling that keeping quiet indicated that one cared nothing for the nation. 33 yankin was asked to forgo a vacation to do scientific research at another mine and approached his wife to ask if he should accept. to his surprise, she told 31 see lewis siegelbaum‟s stakhanovism and the politics of productivity in the ussr, 19351941, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1988) for a detailed discussion of the economic pros and cons of stakhanovism. although written before the dissolution of the ussr and the opening of the archives, most still consider it to be the preeminent work on the topic. 32 illarion pavlovich yankin, notes of a stakhanovite, (moscow: foreign languages pub. house, 1950), 8. 33 ibid, 17. him to forget the vacation and get back to work; yankin‟s wife serves as an ideal representation of a stakhanovite‟s wife, as she put her husband‟s success before her own comfort and desires. on his trip, yankin meets semivolos, a fellow accomplished miner, and is inspired to create a new technique utilizing two drills instead of one, boosting his productivity by an astonishing 894%! an interesting gender component comes into play when yankin discusses females who served as muckers during world war ii. although natalia and tatiana were eager to continue working, their boss told them they needed to rest after they had each unloaded 18 train cars, exceeding their quota by six. yankin‟s narrative does not ever mention male stakhanovites being restricted in their attempts to work; in fact, the men were seemingly always encouraged to try and break records. yankin continued his ascent in the working hierarchy, winning the stalin prize and the order of lenin, becoming an engineer and eventually a mining executive. notes of a stakhanovite again follows the pattern of a soviet horatio alger tale, with a poor boy from nowhere rising up the employment ladder thanks to his tenacity and willingness to experiment. like pasha angelina, yankin‟s ascent to the top was not without its obstacles. he saw sabotage firsthand and experienced the reluctance of middle-level management to accept the costly experimentation endemic to stakhanovism, a phenomenon that has been echoed in western scholarship‟s hesitancy to portray the movement as an economic boom. yankin‟s individualistic boasts of increased productivity, like dusya‟s, downplayed the efforts of the two timberers that trailed him throughout the shift, yet his conference with semivolos spoke of a brotherly cooperation and friendly socialist competition. the treatment of the female stakhanovites shows that although strong women were physically up to the challenge, their efforts to shine were sometimes hindered by restrictions imposed by male management. soviet portrayals in the american media soviet propaganda clearly attacked americans and capitalism while highlighting the benefits of the socialist system; therefore, as expected, an examination of the treatment of soviets in the american media yields the reverse phenomenon. historians will realize bits and pieces of both perspectives are valid and that the truth, in all likelihood, lies somewhere between the two viewpoints. the bias or spin itself is also noteworthy as it indicates much about how the society in question would like to be perceived. mining pioneer aleksei stakhanov graced the cover of time magazine on december 16, 1935. 34 the corresponding article, “russia: heroes of labor,” is 34 readers may view a copy of the original cover online at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,755449,00.html. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,755449,00.html replete with instances of oppression under the stalinist regime, such as operators being shot for sabotage if their machines broke. the circumstances of stakhanov‟s record are examined, and time highlights the fact that the soviet hero just drilled continuously while others did the “propping and panting.” 35 it also points out that one of communism‟s main talking points – the evil capitalist “speed-up,” which exhausts and exploits workers – seemed to bear a close resemblance to current conditions in russia. the article goes so far as to say that the russian proletariat recognized that stalin had forced piecework on them and was now bent upon pushing the speed-up, disguised as stakhanovism. like the soviet articles, the exposé alludes to instances of sabotage, such as the incident at mine 206 in chelyabinsk, where engineer s. plotnikov was so vexed at the “uppishness” of the local stakhanovite gang that he ordered his fastest workers to dig into an extremely dangerous pit, which subsequently collapsed and killed them. the article cites stalin on numerous occasions, highlighting the fact that he perceived stakhanovism as a stepping-stone to advance from socialism to communism. however, according to time, the “spunky russian workers, like the spunky russian kulaks before them, have started shooting;” they would not passively accept stalin‟s maneuverings. 36 time also commented on the gender situation in the soviet union, musing that girls with “strong legs” tried to work four looms instead of two to earn increases in pay, but that in reality the women were tired, yearned for more food, and certainly did not radiate the same joy and enthusiasm for their jobs that dusya vinogradova had exuded. a follow-up article in time on march 9, 1936, “russia: stuck-up stakhanovites” took an even harsher view of the soviet labor movement. the impetus for the commentary was that the young communists, previously the pride and joy of the soviet union, felt scorned by stalin and his new infatuation with the stakhanovites. the young communists reportedly scoffed at the pampered and “stuck-up” stakhanovites, charging that one young mechanic was fêted so much that he actually worked less than ten days a month. they even alleged that icon dusya vinogradova, the “young juno of the soviet textile trust who makes amazing platform boasts of the scores and scores of soviet looms she is able to tend simultaneously” was being followed by soviet cinema directors who “beseech[ed] her to realize that, with her obvious talents as a highly emotional actress, she [wa]s wasting herself in stakhanovism and should go on the soviet 35 “russia: heroes of labor,” time magazine, december 16, 1935, accessible at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,755449,00.html 36 ibid. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,755449,00.html screen.” 37 the snarky article reassured americans that their ideology and lives remained superior to those of their russian counterparts. legacy of stakhanov in the east and the west after a few years of record-breaking, aleksei stakhanov left the mines and was put in charge of the government‟s department for encouraging socialist competition in 1941. his name retained its symbolic significance and, although most of his later years were spent out of the limelight, he was periodically trotted back out for the masses on special occasions. stakhanov was awarded the hero of socialist labor award by brezhnev in 1970 and periodically gave speeches in mines during the 1970s, until his death in 1977. 38 since 1935, historians have debated the legitimacy of stakhanov‟s stunt. a 1985 article in the new york times, commemorating the 50 th anniversary of the herculean accomplishment, alleged that the push for the record had been carefully orchestrated by the communist party, a top-down approach at odds with the soviet assertion that the movement arose from the masses. 39 historian roberta t. manning postulates that the soviet press sought to create the impression that crops had not failed in 1935 by stressing individual stakhanovite achievements and developments in regions that did not experience a crop failure, such as the ukraine. 40 the mine authorities tapped stakhanov, a hard-working but unknown miner, to set the record which could serve as an inspiration and an example to the downtrodden soviet people. to help stakhanov in his pursuit, the pattern of work was changed so that he did not have to shore up the tunnel as he dug; he was trailed by two timberers, and the chief of the mine‟s party organization himself held a flashlight for him. even with these accommodations, the feat “was still impressive, especially with the unreliable jackhammers of those days.” 41 r.w. davies and oleg khlevnyuk, however, disagree with the emphasis on government collusion, arguing that at the time of the record, stalin had been away on vacation. no memos had transpired between him and moscow, so the duo posits it is 37 “russia: stuck-up stakhanovites,” time magazine, march 9, 1936, accessible at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,770085,00.html. 38 theodore shabad, “stakhanov, a soviet miner, is dead; name was byword for hard work,” the new york times, november 6, 1977, 44. 39 serge schmemann, “in soviet, eager beaver‟s legend works overtime,” the new york times, august 31, 1985, 2. 40 roberta t. manning, “the soviet economic crisis of 1936-1940 and the great purges,” stalinist terror: new perspectives, eds. j. arch getty and roberta t. manning, (new york: cambridge university press, 1993). 41 schmemann, 2. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,770085,00.html unlikely that the soviet government directly organized stakhanov‟s attempt. 42 interestingly, thomas t. read, agreed with the soviets that the feat was possible, but pointed out that there was no way to adequately haul away that much coal. 43 the inability to deal with the hewed product appears to affirm that the feat‟s primary value was its ability to inspire and captivate the soviet people. western scholars have also questioned the success of the stakhanovite movement at large. did these few overachievers really increase production? mary buckley points out that although output levels for the soviet union did rise after 1935, there were many factors to consider. tensions in the countryside became more stabilized and the weather improved, at the same time that individual stakhavonites like pasha angelina labored diligently. buckley ultimately feels unable to reach a conclusion, but suggests that if stakhanovism did make a difference, it was unlikely to be significant. most peasants were not stakhanovites and the ideological, social, and political impacts likely trumped economic ones. 44 davies and khlevnyuk similarly suggest that improvements may have been made at the microlevel, but that advances were negated “in part or whole by upheaval in the regularity with which supplies were available and in production planning generally.” 45 lewis siegelbaum discusses the tensions between the workers and recalcitrant managerial and engineering personnel. the latter were often “reluctant to accept high plan targets or individual record setting that might interfere with continuously increasing production on the part of the enterprise as a whole.” 46 superiors judged a manager on his group‟s total aggregate output and the experimental component of stakhanovism often meant wasted products, lost time, and damaged machinery. consequently, many managers preferred to see steady effort rather than the up and down gambling style practiced by the stakhanovites. interestingly, some historians have linked the worker-manager instability wrought by stakhanovism to increased charges of wrecking and sabotage; someone had to be blamed for the economic lags that occurred after supplies were exhausted from periods of stakhanovite frenzy. current scholarship suggests that most conflicts occurred between workers and managers, adding a hierarchical element to the mix and refuting the prevalence of the worker-to-worker violence described in the december 1935 edition of america‟s time magazine. manning maintains that the 42 davies, r.w., and oleg khlevnyuk. “stakhanovism and the soviet economy.” europe-asia studies, 54, (2002), 878. 43 “life has become more joyous,” [foreword to the soviet sketches collection], moscow: cooperative publishing society of foreign workers in the u.s.s.r, 1936), 29. 44 buckley, 308, 313. 45 davies and khlevnyuk, 894. 46 siegelbaum in manning, 138. “economic problems of 1936-1941 and the great purges were inexorably linked.” 47 ironically, these ties may have also helped to ultimately temper the purges; soviet leaders finally reined in the terror out of fear of creating even more issues for the troubled economy. by 1942, journalists began noting that there was a managerial revolution with trained executives forming a new privileged class and that stalin‟s interest in stakhanovism had wavered after world war ii. 48 the stakhanovite movement may have lost its physical identity to some degree, but its symbolic and social connotations lived on. stakhanovism survives today in the “regular glorification on television or in the press of „udarniki,‟ workers who have achieved extraordinary feats,” although its legacy is probably strongest in “the predilection of soviet managers for what is known as „shturmovaniye,‟ achieving short-term outbursts of high production by generating mass enthusiasm and propaganda hoopla.” 49 conclusions the stakhanovite movement is a complicated period in soviet history because it served as an important crossroads for society; stakhanovism, examined primarily through gender and examples of propaganda, yields insight into the ideological, social, political, and economic ramifications it wrought upon the soviet union. socialist ideology gave women entrance into the workplace and independent wages, but stakhanovism celebrated their presence and provided valuable, safe space for soviet women to take on new, traditionally male vocations. although women workers received many perks from employment, female stakhanovites also faced stark opposition; the resistance they met reflected the public‟s reluctance to challenge deep-seated gender roles. both soviet men and women suffered under the repressive regime of stalin, but female-friendly stakhanovism did help to imbue important skill sets and begin a vital dialogue about appropriate roles for the “new soviet woman.” gender enmeshed with propaganda as soviet publications portrayed stakhanovite men and women as heroes, glorifying their hard work and holding them up as examples for the masses. political grudges were also incorporated into the propaganda, as both the soviet and american governments sought to make their nations and people appear superior, usually at the expense of the opposing ideology. contemporary historians debate the effectiveness of the stakhanovite movement, highlighting the fact that economic changes were perhaps the least momentous of its many implications. scholars will likely never have accurate statistics on the numbers of stakhanovites 47 manning, 140. 48 “new leaders seen rising in russia,” the new york times, september 6, 1942, 3. 49 schmemann, 2. in russia or figures on how they fared in the purges, but valuable new sources will likely be unearthed as archives are opened and more closely examined. the fact that issues like appropriate female roles in the public versus private spheres and propaganda use by nations are still pertinent topics of discussion in contemporary society serves as a testimonial to the importance and pervasiveness of the central concerns of stakhanovism, positing sound rationale for its further study. bibliography angelina, pasha. “the most important thing.” in the shadow of revolution: life stories of russian women from 1917 to the second world war. eds. sheila fitzpatrick and yuri slezkine. princeton, nj: princeton university press, 2000, 305-321. atkinson, brooks. “the play.” the new york times, october 20, 1936, 30. buckley, mary. mobilizing soviet peasants: heroines and heroes of stalin’s fields. new york: rowman & littlefield, 2006. clements, barbara evans. bolshevik women. new york: cambridge university press, 1997. davies, r.w., and oleg khlevnyuk. “stakhanovism and the soviet economy.” europe-asia studies, vol. 54, no. 6, 2002, 867-903. friedrich, g. miss u.s.s.r.: the story of a girl stakhanovite. new york: international publishers, 1936. “huge steel statue tops soviet center.” the new york times, may 17, 1939, 20. “life has become more joyous.” foreword to the soviet sketches collection. moscow: co-operative publishing society of foreign workers in the u.s.s.r, 1936. manning, roberta t. “the soviet economic crisis of 1936-1940 and the great purges,” stalinist terror: new perspectives. eds. j. arch getty and roberta t. manning. new york: cambridge university press, 1993. marsh, rosalind. “women writers in the 1930s: conformity or subversion?” women in the stalin era. ed. melanie ilic, new york: palgrave, 2001. randall, amy. “revolutionary bolshevik work: stakhanovism in retail trade.” russian review, july 2000, 425-441. schmemann, serge. “in soviet, eager beaver‟s legend works overtime.” the new york times, august 31, 1985, 2. scott, joan wallach. gender and the politics of history. new york: columbia university press, 1999. shabad, theodore. “stakhanov, a soviet miner, is dead; name was byword for hard work.” the new york times, november 6, 1977, 44. siegelbaum, lewis h. stakhanovism and the politics of productivity in the ussr, 1935-1941. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1988. stalin, joseph. “speech at the first all-union conference of stakhanovites, november 17, 1935.” 12 july 2009. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1935/11/17.htm. stites, richard. russian popular culture: entertainment and society since 1900. new york: cambridge university press, 1992. wood, elizabeth. the baba and the comrade: gender and politics in revolutionary russia. indianapolis: indiana university press, 1997. yankin, illarion pavlovich. notes of a stakhanovite. moscow: foreign languages pub. house, 1950. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1935/11/17.htm. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1935/11/17.htm. amygdala and autism.doc 1 amygdala abnormality and its role in autistic socio-emotional impairment: a proposed study of somatic intervention among macaque monkeys davina rosen department of psychology villanova university edited by cynthia kaschub autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder marked by pervasive impairments in behavior that manifest by three years of age, and sometimes earlier (american psychological association (apa), 1994). the characteristic behavioral impairments include hyperactivity, highly repetitive behaviors, emotional indifference, and lack of social engagement and reciprocity. although affliction rates stand as high as 1 to 2 of every 1,000 individuals, and approximately $3 billion is expended yearly on research and social care, no definitive cause of the disorder has been identified (national institute of mental health [nimh], 2003). in recent years, however, neuroimaging and biochemical techniques have elucidated the pathophysiologic underpinnings that relate to the inability to exhibit typical sociallyand emotionally-relevant behaviors (for review see sweeten, posey, shekhar, & mcdougle 2002). face processing, when facial features are analyzed in order to extract social or emotional information, is one such behavior that is paramount to social interaction, and is impaired in autistics. humans have evolved mechanisms that allow them to perceptually analyze a face, particularly the expression it holds (grelotti, gaussier, & schultz, 2002). during facial analysis, emotions and social signals are spontaneously extracted. utilizing infrared corneal reflection techniques that follow eye movement as processing occurs, research has established that normal individuals use configural processing in face analysis (pelphrey, sasson, reznick, paul, goldman, & piven, 2002). specifically, an individual directs most attention to the eyes, nose, and mouth, with approximately 70% of this attention focused on the eyes (pelphrey et al., 2002). in contrast, visual scanpath observations during autistic face processing demonstrate a different analysis strategy. little to no attention is directed toward the eyes or the nose; instead, autistics scan the mouth and lower, non-feature regions of the face. consequently, when pictures are 2 presented depicting a facial expression of one of the six universally-basic human emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust) (ekman, 1992), autistics engage in non-configural (or segmental) processing and misidentify the depicted emotion 30% of the time (note: 30% is seemingly low for misidentification; this issue will later be clarified) (pelphrey et al., 2002). the percentage of misidentification increases in proportion to an increase in the demanding nature or emotional weight of the task (grelotti et al., 2002). further, autistics fixate on faces for significantly shorter periods of time in comparison to healthy individuals (pelphrey et al., 2002). interestingly, facial recognition is the only form of facial perception that shows little to no impairment among autistics. the crucial factor that impairs the face-processing strategy in autism, while leaving facial recognition abilities intact, is the presence of emotional and social information (grelotti et al., 2001). in recent years, functional neuroimaging and biochemical studies have elucidated the neuroanatomical structures active during emotional and social perception (davidson and slagter, 2000; haznedar, buchsbaum, wei, hof, cartwright, & bienstock, 2000). moreover, differences have been localized and qualified that distinguish healthy from autistic participants (narumoto, okada, sadato, fukui, & yonekura, 2001; sweeten et al., 2002). the neural substrates of emotion have been identified by presenting affective stimuli while neuroimaging techniques record regional activity (hall, szechtman, & nahmias, 2003). facial expressions are the most widely utilized form of affective stimuli, for they arguably carry the greatest social and emotional import (davidson et al., 2000; narumoto et al., 2001; hall et al., 2003; fudge and emiliano, 2003). an added benefit of using facial presentation arises from the fact that different facial expressions can impart strong, moderate, or absent emotional information. therefore, specific regions have been established as the substrates of emotional processing by comparing two forms of task-related neuroimaging scans: those that show neural activity during the presentation of emotional expressions, and those that show neural activity during the presentation of neutral faces (narumoto et al., 2001). these scans have implicated an area of the cerebral cortex, the right superior temporal sulcus (sts), as the region active during emotional processing of faces (narumoto et al., 2001; hall et al., 2003). activity is enhanced in the sts in response to the selective attention of healthy participants to facial emotion. in contrast, non-emotional attention elicits no response from the sts. other lines of research converge on the sts as a substrate for social perception activities such as face-processing. intercranial recordings of single cells located in the rostral/dorsal portion of the right sts highlight clusters of neurons that respond solely to expression (narumoto et al., 2001). related research demonstrated that electrical stimulation of these clustered neurons impairs the ability to accurately identify expressions. the expression-responsive neurons are therefore thought to comprise a 3 sensory processing area of the temporal lobe (iacoboni, koski, brass, bekkering, woods, dubeau, et al., 2001). this area essentially receives visual information, to which it then connects semantic meanings. the sts is also active during related forms of interpersonal communication such as following the eye gaze of others. it is therefore noteworthy that the activated cluster of neurons lies near the v5/mt brain region (visual area 5), which is responsible for the perception of moving visual stimuli (iacoboni, 2001; narumoto et al., 2001). consequently, the ability to perceive emotional expressions as they change occurs due to axonal connections that allow for communication between the right sts and v5/mt brain regions. the above neuroimaging studies on neural activity during facial presentation establish the conclusion that the right sts functions during fine-grained spatial processing. this is precisely the form of processing that is necessary for expert facial analysis. moreover, the sts responds specifically to facial stimuli as the face imparts social and emotional information, usually through expressions. as discussed previously, autistics engage in segmental face-processing that ignores the eyes and nose, thereby extracting little sociallyand emotionally-relevant cues from expressions (pelphrey et al., 2002). consequently, the finding is logical that autistics demonstrate impaired function in the right sts (for review see davidson and slagter, 2000). research examining the functional and structural differences of the sts has continued to utilize facial presentations. hall, szechtman, and nahmias (2003) examined levels of glucose metabolism using positron emission tomography (pet) in concordance with the presentation of facial emotions. pet scans record the amount of activity in a region based on glucose metabolism. a task involving the identification of sex from emotionally-neutral faces was included to establish which neural regions respond when visual stimuli provide no emotional information. as expected, significantly less activation was witnessed in the autistic sts in comparison to healthy participants. instead, the thalamus within autistics functioned as greatly in response to facial presentations as did the sts in the control group. the thalamus demonstrates increased activity due to the segmental faceprocessing approach utilized in autism. the segmental approach is neither effortless nor spontaneous (in comparison to the effortless configural approach of healthy individuals) (grelotti et al., 2001). instead, it assembles sensory information from numerous sources rather than from solely the eyes and nose. in turn, greater functional strain is imposed on the thalamus, which modulates the sensory processing system. as previously discussed, autistics presented with facial expressions depicting one of the six basic human emotions misidentify the emotion 30% of the time (pelphrey et al., 2002). this figure appears low based on the characteristic inability of an autistic to retrieve facial emotional information. however, autism is not a degenerative disorder. therefore, most autistic individuals are capable of learning compensatory strategies for their emotional and social deficits (nimh, 2003). segmental face-processing, in 4 concordance with greater thalamic activation, is one such strategy. this strategy is obviously not perfect, for autistics continue to demonstrate gross impairments in social and emotional interaction (hall et al., 2003). however, with practice many are capable of distinguishing the most basic of emotions: happiness and sadness. thus, a 30% misidentification rate denotes the underlying difficulties that autistics continue to have in deciphering more complex expressions such as surprise and disgust. within autism, the compensatory use of the thalamus suggests a malfunction in the emotion-linked sensory processing system on which normal individuals rely. structural damage of the sts would seem the most logical conclusion. however, postmortem examinations and magnetic resonance imaging (mri) scans have determined that the volume and structure of the sts are not abnormal within autistic individuals (rapin and katzman, 1998; sweeten et al., 2002). on the other hand, numerous studies utilizing neuroimaging techniques have discovered that the autistic amygdala and hippocampus are anatomically abnormal (rapin and katzman, 1998; aylward, minshew, goldstein, augustine, & yates, 1999; sweeten et al., 2002; hall et al., 2003). the amygdala and hippocampus are two of several structures that comprise the limbic system, which is implicated in memory, learning, emotion, and motivation. mri scans of the autistic amygdala displayed decreased neuronal size, increased neuronal packing, decreased dendritic extensions, and small cell bodies (aylward et al., 1999). consequently, amygdala volumes, both before and after correction for total brain volume, are greatly reduced in autism. the hippocampus has shown similar patterns of deformity to the amygdala. interestingly, children with diseases that damage the limbic system, such as viral encephalitis, tuberous sclerosis, and cancer, exhibit autistic-like symptoms (sweeten et al., 2002). therefore, limbic system dysfunction is most likely at the root of autism. convergent research has further demonstrated that amygdala, rather than hippocampal, abnormality is responsible for emotionally-relevant face-processing deficits among autistic individuals. the hippocampus is active during tasks of learning and memory. on the other hand, motivation, emotional recognition, and displays of aggression elicit amygdala activity. however, pet scans tracing regional cerebral blood flow (rcbf) among autistics have failed to find increased amygdala activity in response to the presentation of facial expressions (davidson and slagter, 2000). in particular, healthy individuals demonstrate greatest activity in response to fear. however, in the study among autistic individuals who misidentified emotions 30% of the time, an average of 70% of those misidentifications were between fear and anger (pelphrey et al., 2002). another behavioral characteristic of autism is the bizarre, erratic display of aggression directed both inward and outward (apa, 1994). thus, both the inability to detect fear in facial expressions and the characteristic random acts of aggression implicate amygdala abnormality as an underlying factor. amygdala response to motivation is also significant because the ability to 5 expertly discern the emotion of another individual is not innate. face-processing, similar to any other task one seeks to master, requires extensive perceptual and cognitive attention and energy, and is motivated by the human drive for social interaction (grelotti et al., 2002). in healthy individuals, the amygdala responds to motivating social interactions by releasing the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine (da) (fudge and emiliano, 2003). da reinforces behaviors; consequently, healthy individuals strive to become experts in face-processing. this motivational drive is largely absent among autistics. one could argue that segmental face-processing, and thus use of the thalamus, demonstrates an autistic’s motivation for social interaction. however, as previously described, segmental face-processing is significantly shorter in duration than configural-processing. pet scans have found little to no anatomical abnormalities apparent in autistic attentional systems (haznedar et al., 2000). this has led to the conclusion that lack of motivation, rather than a physical inability to attend, results in shorter processing during facial presentation (pelphrey et al., 2002). one theory has consequently linked autistic lack of motivation to functional impairments of the da system (buitelaar, 2003). however, investigations into da levels in autism have demonstrated few consistent results. some studies examined da levels in response to repetitive behaviors that an autistic individual finds pleasurable. the levels were no different in autism than in normal individuals, discrediting the possibility of autistic da dysfunction. findings, therefore, are consistent with the idea that amygdala abnormality underlies impairments in the connection of motivation to social interactions. the theory that amygdala deformity subsumes social deficits in autism is further evidenced by research examining the effects of experimental manipulations, natural diseases, and injuries (sweeten et al., 2002; fudge and emiliano, 2003). monkeys are commonly utilized in experimental research due to the similarity of their neural system to that of humans. one study elicited over-stimulation in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (bla) using stress-associated peptide corticotropin-releasing factor (crf) (sweeten, et al., 2002). in normal individuals, as crf levels rise, the bla is excited, and a deficit in typical social behaviors is demonstrated. likewise, in this study intentional over-stimulation resulted in severe and chronic disruption of social interaction behaviors. another study examined the effects of hippocampal versus amygdala lesions, with striking support for amygdala damage in concordance with autistic symptoms (sweeten et al., 2002). lesions of the monkey amygdala by two months of age produced disturbances in social and emotional functioning similar to the patterns seen in autism. hippocampal lesions resulted in similar disturbances; however, by six months of age any deficits had disappeared. this occurrence conflicts with the stable pattern of deficits in behavior that are observed among autistic individuals. thus, the theory that hippocampal abnormalities result in autistic social dysfunction has been discredited. in light of the aforementioned evidence, it is clear that structural abnormality within the amygdala is the most likely source of social impairments in autism. it must be noted, however, that not all research has found the presence of amygdala deformities (haznedar et al., 2000). mri scans compared limbic structure volumes within 17 autistic and 15 control participants. no differences were noted. also, a pet scan of rcbf during a verbal learning test found little to no difference among structural functioning. in comparison to numerous other studies documenting amygdala abnormality, the mri results cannot be explained. the counterfactual pet results, however, appear to be due to the nature of the task. a verbal learning test would not ordinarily activate the amygdala (unless, possibly, some emotionallyrelevant words are selected). if anything, previous findings suggest that the hippocampus instead would be activated, yet in this study it is not. the present research seeks to produce anatomical abnormalities in the amygdala, and to then record rcbf during the viewing of facial expressions. by doing so, a direct connection can be established between the sole presence of amygdala abnormalities and the impairment in social activities such as facial analysis. anatomic organization between the socio-emotional and the sensory system places the amygdala at the center of emotional perception in both humans and primates (lane and nadel, 2000; fudge and emiliano, 2003). the basolateral nuclear group (blng), located within the bla, is the primary receiving portion of the amygdala. it is connected to axonal projections from the temporal cortex, including the sts, the orbital and medial prefrontal cortex (ompfc), and the hippocampus. initial perception of higher-order stimuli, such as facial expression, activates the sts. the ompfc determines the relative reward value of the visual stimuli, with the hippocampus recording this value for future reference. any emotionally-relevant information regarding the facial expression is then projected by each structure to the blng. finally, the blng engages in the deepest socio-affective processing of the facial expression by integration of the information received. as discussed previously, mri and postmortem examinations have found moderate to severe structural abnormalities in autistic amygdala (aylward et al., 1999). due to the role that the amygdala is evidenced to play in social and emotional engagement, the next crucial step is to determine the connection between its structural abnormality and autistic impairments. deformity includes dense neuronal packing, which appears to explain the other deformities of decreased dendritic complexity, small cell bodies, and highly complicated axonal pathways. consequently, the prevailing theory for autistic amygdala deformity proposes a deficit in neuronal pruning during early development (rapin and katzman, 1998; aylward et al., 1999). at birth, approximately 20-80% of neurons in each region are excessive. neurons compete for synaptic targets, through which they receive nourishing neurotrophic factors. neurons that either receive inadequate amounts of neurotrophic factor, or are useless due to a 7 lack of synaptic connections, engage in programmed cell death (apoptosis). during apoptosis, the neuron activates death genes, which allow caspases to dissolve the chromatin composition of the neuron. the excessive 20-80% of neurons in each region engage in programmed cell death. this process is referred to as neural pruning, the majority of which occurs during the first 10 to 35 weeks of life (for review see jacobson, 1991). the result of dysfunctional apoptosis mirrors the structural abnormality displayed in the autistic amygdala. in particular, neuronal packing produces stunted dendritic arborization, where the dendrites projecting from the end of axons are too crowded to properly expand. the theoretical consequence of stunted dendritic arborization is an interference in messages relayed from connected regions, including the sts, hippocampus, and ompfc. this is consistent with previously-described research that the autistic blng fails to integrate emotionally-relevant information received from other structures. further, the chronological pattern of deficit appearance in autism begins as early as 12 months, as evidenced by impairments in gaze following (grelotti et al., 2002). this pattern coincides with the timeline of apoptosis that normally allows proper, functional synapses to be established by 12 months. it must be noted that the present hypothesis does not attempt to explain all the socio-emotional deficits within autism as arising from amygdala dysfunction. however, the neural system is integrated in such a manner that the more diffusely abnormal a structure, the greater the malfunction of connected systems (rapin and katzman, 1998). therefore, the dysfunction of even one integral structure (in this case, the amygdala) can have profound negative effects on activity in the rest of the brain. as discussed, numerous lines of research support the theory that amygdala abnormality due to faulty neuronal pruning subsumes autistic impairments in social interaction and emotion. however, current neuroimaging studies that reveal autistic amygdala abnormality do so in hindsight of the appearance of deficits (haznedar et al., 2000). thus, a crucial piece of the puzzle is to determine whether structural changes in the amygdala elicit socio-emotional impairments. the alternative theory (which receives little support) is that behavioral deficits alter the amygdala structure. however, experimental manipulations of this theory have yet to be conducted for ethical and practical reasons. no genetic or environmental marker has been discovered that predicts the onset of autism. thus, it has been unethical to clinically interfere with the development of the amygdala within human subjects. however, neuronal packing in the amygdala will only be definitively proven a substrate of autism once science is given the opportunity to interfere. interestingly, the application of neurotrophic factor has been demonstrated to significantly decrease apoptosis (jacobson, 1991). this crucial point provides a means through which amygdala abnormality can be experimentally induced among non-human subjects. in light of the aforementioned practical and ethical concerns, experimental 8 manipulation of the macaque monkey (macaca fuscata) is the next necessary step. the use of non-human subjects removes numerous extraneous variables that normally must be considered within theories of autism. among humans, such variables as iq, drug treatment, and varied environments can affect the level of autistic deficits or neural structures. manipulations in the macaque are generalizeable to humans due to the fact that the primate neural structure highly mirrors that of humans (lane and nadel, 2000). specifically, the sts processes socially-relevant information, which is then communicated through axonal projections to the lateral amygdala. the amygdala in turn engages in deep emotional processing of sensory stimuli. possibly due to the parallel organization of human and macaque structures, macaques demonstrate numerous socially-interactive behaviors. they exhibit and act on fear (lane and nadel, 2000), respond to others, engage in gaze-following (ferrari, kohler, fogassi, & gallese, 2000), and most importantly, discern facial expressions through configuralprocessing (sweeten et al.; 2002). similar to humans, gaze following and configuralprocessing abilities increase with age as socially-interactive behaviors are reinforced (ferrari et al., 2000). lesion studies of monkeys, which examine intentional or incidental abnormalities in structure, have consequently facilitated an understanding of the role of the amygdala in normal social and emotional processing (lane and nadel, 2000; sweeten et al., 2002). amygdala lesions early in life elicited autistic-like characteristics among macaques, including little eye contact, lack of interest in faceprocessing, and decreased display of facial expressions. these findings are consistent with the theory that amygdala abnormality among both humans and monkeys subsumes socio-emotional disturbances in autism. consequently, the present research seeks to mimic autistic neuronal packing in the bla portion of the amygdala through the application of neurotrophic factor. as described previously, neurons compete early in life for nourishing neurotrophic factor (for review see jacobson, 1991). those that receive it fail to engage in apoptosis. therefore, application of neurotrophic factor greatly increases the number of surviving neurons, producing dense neuronal packing. it is hypothesized that later presentations of facial expressions will result in impaired face-processing, and that the impaired amygdala will display decreased activation in comparison to control monkeys. it is further hypothesized that no other structure will display impaired activity because neuronal packing will be manipulated solely in the amygdala. should face-processing be impaired in accordance with only amygdala impairment, evidence will be established that a lack of neuronal pruning in the amygdala is responsible for social and emotional deficits in autism. methods approximately 8 macaque monkeys (7 weeks of age) will be used in the 9 proposed experiment. of the 8, 4 will be experimental and 4 will be control, with an even number of males and females in each group. from the outset of the research, guidelines set forth by the institutional animal use and care committee (iaucc) will be followed for promoting the psychological well-being of the primates. they will be housed among non-experimental macaques in a mock-natural environment with the presence of natural visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile stimuli. further, decisions about combining or separating monkeys will be based on reducing territorial anxiety. all handlers will be selected based on prior training with primates, as established by the iaucc. this enriched mock-environment will ensure that all 8 subjects are provided the opportunity to develop healthy social and emotional interactive behaviors. the 8 macaques will be examined prior to commencement of the experiment using mri to ensure normal structural development. macaques displaying abnormal development of any structure will be rejected from the subject pool. at approximately 9.5 weeks of age, the bla of 4 macaques will be outlined by 2 separate researchers through examination of the mri scans. the 4 will be anesthetized. guided by the location of the outlined amygdala, the macaques are to be injected with neurotrophic factor in order to suppress the occurrence of apoptosis. after a week has passed, an absolute and a relative amygdala volume will be calculated in cubic centimeters to determine the extent to which apoptosis has been suppressed. whether further neurotrophic factor must be later administered (at the end of 15 weeks) will be determined by comparisons to the relative amygdala volume of controls. also, other structural volumes will be compared to relative volumes in controls to ensure no abnormal neuronal changes, such as packing, have occurred. subjects that demonstrate abnormal structural change other than in the amygdala will be removed from the subject pool. the project intends to use two forms of data collection regarding behavioral manifestations of each monkey. the first form of data will be observational, collected for the subsequent 45 weeks (at the end of which the monkeys will be 1 year of age). handlers, blind to the identity of manipulated versus control monkeys, will record levels of daily social interaction behaviors using a 5-point scale. for each of 12 behavioral questions, a score of 5 will represent the most active engagement in social behaviors. a score of 1 will represent no social behaviors. points between 1 and 5 will represent a continuum of level of social behavior demonstrated. recordings will be made for the dimensions of gaze following, empathy towards others, and helping behavior. any stability or changes in social interaction behaviors will be identified by comparing weekly scores for each monkey to their scores from the prior week. interrater reliability for each score will be assessed through use of the statistical program spss. this phase of data collection is obviously prone to human bias and error. 10 therefore, the resulting data will be used solely to create a socio-emotional profile of behavior for each monkey. two new raters, blind to the hypothesis of the experiment as well as the identity of each group member, will compile the scores of all 45 weeks. monkeys who score 0-1080 at the end of the 45 weeks will be classified displaying autistic characteristics. scores of 1081-1485 will be deemed borderline autistic characteristics. finally, those with a score of 1486-2700 will be labeled displaying normal characteristics. the classification for each monkey will then be compared with whether the monkey is a member of the experimental or the control group. the second form of data collection will utilize neuroimaging and immunocytochemical techniques. at one year of age, mri scans will demonstrate whether increased amygdala volume is still present among those monkeys treated with neurotrophic factor. control and experimental subjects will then be presented 12 highresolution, monochromatic pictures of monkey faces, each depicting 1 of the 6 different expressions. each picture will remain for 7 seconds. the head and body of each monkey will be comfortably restrained so that only the eyes may move. eye movement is monitored by an infrared corneal reflection technique to determine any differences in face-processing. for each picture, the direction of corneal attention on facial features will be recorded. monkeys who demonstrate more than 50% fixation on non-configural features will be deemed segmental face-processors. also, duration of facial-fixation will be recorded through the corneal reflection technique. in concordance with this face-processing task, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fmri) scans will record which neural structures are hemodynamically active (receiving higher levels of rcbf) in response to the presented emotionallyand socially-relevant facial expressions. fmri, like pet, records the changing activity of neural regions. however, the advantage of fmri over pet is that no injection is required in order to witness differences in activity. during a second presentation of expressions to both groups, the anterograde tracer biotinylated dextran amine (bda) will be injected into the sts, ompfc, and hippocampus. research has demonstrated bda to provide excellent and abundant labeling of axons and terminals (veenman, reiner, & honig, 1992). in other words, bda, as it is transported along axons to other neurons, provides excellent contrast for microscopically viewing axonal pathways. in the experimental group, the structures to which the tracers are transported will be compared to the healthy control group to determine if impairments exist in axonal connections innervating the amygdala. findings and significance social and emotional impairment in interactive behavior is the most characteristic manifestation of autism (apa, 1994). numerous lines of research have suggested that structural abnormalities found in the amygdala, specifically among the 11 bla, subsume this characteristic. however, to date studies have utilized powerful neuroimaging techniques to examine neural structures in hindsight of observed autistic impairments. the result of such techniques has demonstrated a strong correlation between autistic deficits and the presence of neural deformities. the present hypothesis proposes the crucial next step in determining whether amygdala abnormality due to faulty neuronal pruning subsumes autistic impairments in social interaction and emotion. this study will induce structural abnormality therefore macaque monkeys will be used. results from a sample of macaque monkeys are generalizeable to humans because their neural structure mirrors that of humans. consequently, it is expected that the application of neurotrophic factor at 9.5 weeks of age will suppress apoptosis in macaque monkeys, as it is shown to do in human neurons. the consequence will be a packing of neurons within the amygdala that parallels the presence of amygdala deformity demonstrated among autistic individuals. this deformity is expected to be observable in mri scans of amygdala volumes conducted a week after administration of the neurotrophic factor. it is, however, possible that apoptosis in the amygdala does not normally occur until the lapse of a specific period of weeks after birth. therefore, should mri scans find relative amygdala volumes to be equal to that of controls, more neurotrophic factor will be administered. it is further expected that suppression of apoptosis will only occur in the amygdala, for the proposed research seeks to eliminate abnormalities in other neural structures as an explanation for autistic characteristics. the organization of the macaque emotional sensory processing system also mimics that of humans. therefore, it is hypothesized that the induced structural abnormalities of macaques will elicit autistic-like impairments in social and emotional behavior. scores obtained during the 45-week observational data collection period should reflect these impairments. specifically, it is expected that experimental monkeys will demonstrate an initial decrease in scores from pre-manipulation levels, as well as in comparison to controls. further, these monkeys should place into the displaying autistic characteristics classification. each socio-emotional profile is expected to supplement the concrete data provided by corneal reflection techniques, and by fmri scans of rcbf and microvascular oxygenation during facial expression presentations. during the exposure to faces, experimental macaques should show segmental facial analysis, as well as a decreased duration of fixation time. the fmri scans should display relatively normal functioning among the affect-linked sensory system structures, including the sts, ompfc, and hippocampus. finally, it is expected that bda tracers injected into the sts, ompfc, and hippocampus will fail to properly follow the bla axonal pathways utilized by controls. the finding that normal sensory processing occurs in non-amygdala structures, in correspondence with the existence of autistic-like behavioral impairments, will provide evidence for the hypothesis that the pathophysiologic underpinning of autism 12 lies within the amygdala. an inability for the bla to axonally receive messages from higher-order sensory systems, as evidenced by abnormal transportation of bda tracers, supports the subsequent hypothesis that neuronal packing impairs the bla in integrating information. experimentally suppressing apoptosis in the macaque amygdala is the next crucial step in determining the pathologic underpinning of autism. such a determination will subsequently give rise to research regarding the exact origin of autistic neuronal packing in the amygdala. unfortunately, a lack of advancements in neuroimaging and biochemical techniques currently prevents research from determining whether a genetic abnormality for apoptosis exists within the amygdala. one alternative explanation is that an excessive level of neurotrophic factor is released during early development, suppressing programmed neuronal death. it is the hope of this proposal that progress in the understanding of autism will motivate future researchers to develop these more advanced techniques. the present research will consequently play a significant role in the future of diagnosis, treatment, and possible preventative measures for autism. there is currently no gold standard with which to diagnose the presence of this disorder (rapin and katzman, 1998). a concrete understanding of its pathophysiology will allow such a standard to be created based on the presence of specific abnormalities, such as in the amygdala. due to the fact that a diagnosis of autism often requires lifelong societal support, strenuous research has focused on curative treatments. most medications have sought to alleviate the social and emotional impairments, such as segmental facial analysis, that hinder social reciprocity (werry, 2001). alternatives have targeted numerous sources such as neurotransmitter release, and the ability of the amygdala to integrate sensory information (buitelaar, 2003). the latter treatment, a synthetic acetylcholine analogue called org 2766, was found to facilitate significant improvements in eye-contact and social reciprocity. however, as with any other drug, org 2766 has emotionally-aggravating side-effects such as agitation and irritability. it is clear that the future of research, including the present proposal, must elucidate the physiological abnormalities within autism. only with such an understanding can preventive measures begin to fight such drastic and heartbreaking impairments as an inability to draw social and emotional clues from a facial expression. references american psychiatric association. 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(2001). pharmacological treatments of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and depression in children and youthcommentary. journal of clinical child psychology, 30(1), 110-113. 15 donald caldwell the value of social capital to the future of iraq1 donald caldwell political science this is a critical, yet hopeful, survey of the value of social capital to understanding the prevailing conditions in iraq. the abundance of failures and paucity of progress in promoting a peaceful, stable, and democratic iraq can be directly attributed to the lack of social capital between united states reconstruction representatives, the u.s. military and iraqi civilians. the utility of social capital to the future of iraq will be demonstrated in the following relationship: as social capital between the u.s. military, u.s. reconstruction authorities, and common iraqis increases, the security and overall quality of life for iraqis will increase. iraq is listed second, just ahead of somalia and behind sudan, in foreign policy’s influential “failed states index for 2007.” seventy-five percent of iraqis describe the state of security in iraq as “poor” (iri, 2006, 29). iraqis do not have access to basic services including electricity, food, or even potable water because of this lack of security. four million iraqis are considered “food insecure and in need of food assistance” (unami, 2007, 2). only one in three children in iraq under the age of five has access to safe drinking water (unicef, 2007). more than 80,000 iraqi citizens have lost their lives since the invasion of 2003 (iraq body count, 2007). over 4,000 coalition troops have suffered the same fate (icasualties, 2007). more importantly to our study, common citizens do not trust their neighbors, the coalition and iraqi security forces trying to protect them, or their representatives in government. indeed, most would agree with a recent csis report claiming that the central government is less and less relevant to what happens in iraq (csis, 2007). the fundamental source of conflict in iraq is doubtless the “competition among ethnic and sectarian communities for power and resources” (petreaus report, 2007, 2). iraqis and u.s. analysts alike are asking the same question: how did we get to this point? american policy errors ran the gamut from political miscalculation and economic misallocation to social misunderstanding and military mismanagement. past mistakes in policy formulation and implementation will offer us a portal 1 editor’s note: the on-line version of this essay is the final, and complete, version of the essay. due to an editorial mistake an earlier, incomplete version of the essay appeared in the print edition of the journal. donald caldwell through which to see the position social capital occupied in the reconstruction equation. social capital is both an index of the overall conditions in iraq and a vehicle for improvement. it is the hope of the author that any lessons or warnings gleaned from this analysis will be applied to mitigating suffering and promoting understanding in future circumstances. policy error and military failure combined to repress the formation of social capital, in many cases even eroding existing social capital, and directly contributed to civil strife in iraq. economic liberalization was prioritized over stability. a centralized and callous decision-making apparatus was favored by the coalition provisional authority. the misunderstandings between iraqis and coalition forces stemming from a complete lack of adequate training (particularly in cultural sensitivity), and copious misapplications of us power and resources illustrated the unpreparedness of the us military to be part of a nation-building effort. an assessment of social capital offers a more compelling explanation for the violence and continued instability in iraq than political incompetence or economic stagnation. national reconciliation, seized upon by figures in the us public as the key to success in iraq, is possible not through political initiative, but by a surge of social capital. this will not be an exhaustive study of all that went wrong in iraq or even a general exploration of the efficacy of political policies, as taken by both the iraqi and us governments. this will be a focused study, treating political decisions, military strategies, and economic policies only in so much as they are directly relevant to the formation or erosion of social capital. there will be no discussion of the reasons to go to war in iraq, nor any recommendation of the criteria for intervention. the united states, for reasons of obligation and capability, will be treated as the primary agent for change. as the security and political situation continues to evolve the iraqi government will take over the mantle of primary effecter but with 130,000 foreign occupying troops still present we are not yet at that stage. conceptually, this paper will rely on the theory of social capital as described by the eminent sociologist robert d. putnam in his 2000 work, bowling alone. putnam concentrates on the decline of church attendance, volunteering, membership in groups, letter writing, and even league bowling. while data exist on the amount of television iraqis watch per day,2 and even the type of programming they favor, our discussion of social capital in iraq will depend on 2 in response to “how many hours of tv do you watch per day?” 31 percent of iraqis replied 2-4 hours, 26% 1-2 hours, 18% 4-6 hours, 10% more than 6 hours, 7% less than 1 hour, and 5% zero hours (iri, 2006). this is in sharp contrast to the 7-8 hours the average american watched in 1998 (putnam, 2000, 222). 2 the value of social capital other evidentiary assets. this study will depend on informal evidence, supporting anecdotal information with quantitative data when available and appropriate. firsthand accounts, like those of former iraqi minister of defense ayed allawi and front-line news reporters michael yon and nir rosen, will complement statistically based policy recommendations offered by the world bank and the un assistance mission in iraq. the value of social capital to the economy of iraq will be explored through the official polices of us reconstruction authorities and, as a counterpoint, the informal economy studies of robert looney. security will be a consuming theme in this work and will be treated through the use of independent security contractors. the role of the military in promoting social capital will be considered through the counterinsurgency strategies of general david h. petraeus. case-studies, including the local governance program and usaid educational reform, will also figure prominently. social capital is the value wrought from social networks. an increase or decrease in social connections between people, both of a quantitative and qualitative nature, affects the nature of the relationship between those groups and individuals. there are two types of social capital, “bonding” and “bridging” (putnam, 2000, 22). bonding forces tend to insulate a group, composed of people with common interests, ethnicity, or other distinction, from interacting with dissimilar groups. bridging forces, as one would expect, create opportunities for interactions between diverse groups. it would not be an overstatement to say that the reconciliation of the iraqi people depends squarely on the ability of us troops and civil society representatives to facilitate the creation of bridging social capital between disparate factions. the endemic violence saturating us headlines and iraqi lives in 2006 and 2007, whether resulting from sectarian feud, transnational terrorist activity, or insurgent uprising, will be approached with an eye toward the formation and erosion of social capital. al qaeda, the numerous shia and sunni sectarian militias, and kurdish organizations like the pkk all represent groups formed out of bonding social capital. these exclusionist groups fill the vacuums left by local government and non-governmental organizations by providing “crucial social and psychological support for less fortunate members of the community, while furnishing start-up financing, markets, and reliable labor for local entrepreneurs” (putnam, 2000, 22). a potential problem with bonding social capital is that by encouraging “strong in-group loyalty, [it] may also create strong out-group antagonism” (putnam, 2000, 23). in a country occupied by foreign soldiers and teetering on the brink of mass sectarian violence, it is easy to see how groups formed out of bonding forces have slid into violent extremism. psychologists have contemplated this shift, suggesting that the “black and white nature of most extremist ideologies is often attractive to those who feel overwhelmed by the 3 donald caldwell complexity and stress of navigating a complicated world” (borum, 2004, 26). the army’s new counterinsurgency manual reinforces this basis for attraction: recruits are often young men suffering from frustrated hopes and unable to improve their lot in life. the insurgent group provides them identity, purpose, and community in addition to physical, economic, and psychological identity. (coin, 2006, 21) social capital is a dynamic force that can be manipulated to incite violence just as easily as it can be used to mitigate it. several decisions were made in the immediate aftermath of the invasion of iraq that determined the priority social capital was to occupy in the course of the conflict. some of the most egregious errors include a lack of appreciation for the nuanced history of iraq’s diverse communities, a stubborn attachment to preconceived (read american) ideas of progress, the adoption of a top-down and highly centralized interpretation of government, an unwillingness to explore diverse or creative solutions, and the emphasizing of economic liberalization and political party development over civil society. the decision to disband the iraqi army in the wake of the capitulation of saddam’s forces is where we will start. the disbandment of the iraqi army was based on several presumptions: that the army was a representation and tool of the baath party, that the iraqi people did not trust the army, and that if the army was left intact the baath party and all its associated dictatorial connotations would survive as well (bremer, 2007). what paul bremer, donald rumsfeld, and the rest of the bush administration failed to include in their calculus was the value of the iraqi army as an existing set of social connections. their fixation with the baath party as a monolithic set of saddam supporters blinded them to the potential usefulness of leaving this social network intact. keeping the iraqi army would not have heralded a return to the saddam regime, but rather would have demonstrated to the iraqi people that america was not going to unilaterally impose its will. engaging with the iraqi army, and vetting it of genuine baathist war criminals in the process, would have given us a pipeline rich in social capital and authenticated our promise to listen to the needs of the iraqi people. clearly, the bush administration did not study the lessons of the vietnam war, namely that “actions directed at one ‘audience’ might affect others in an undesirable way” (gaddis, 2004, 231). the dismissed baathist army officers were doubtless the same people that organized and participated in the early, and continuing, stages of the insurgency in iraq. by “wiping the slate clean” we exposed our weaknesses, shortcomings, and general bewilderment; the “total strangeness of the iraqi social, political, institutional, and economic landscape” (allawi, 2007, 127). the effect was that we increasingly drove ourselves into a 4 the value of social capital “physical and psychological ghetto” (allawi, 2007, 127). the disbandment of the iraqi army ensured we started off in a ghetto of social capital. the security void left in the wake of the disbandment of the iraqi army was enormous. a single iraqi army battalion existed seven months after the fall of baghdad (slevin, 2003). this security void was to be filled only partially by enlisted american military personnel. the rest would be shouldered by independent security contractors. in the study of social capital, security is one of the foundational blocks that must be present for more involved exercises to take place. security and insurance costs, 20 to 40 percent of contracts by some estimates, have greatly diminished the impact of reconstruction projects (international bank, 2005). social capital teaches us that collective security projects can create positive externalities. after all, if someone ensures your safety, whether a defense contractor or a neighborhood watch, you benefit even if you “spend most of [your] time on the road and never even nod to another resident on the street” (putnam, 2000, 20). these immediate positives, however, must be weighed against the long-term negatives of using independent security contractors. unlike united states military and reconstruction representatives, independent security contractors are held accountable to few and operate under a minimalist definition of duty and obligation. that is to say, contractors work to satisfy the conditions of their contract. as representatives of the us government and the american people, the military and diplomatic personnel are held to a higher standard and commit themselves to broader definitions of duty and obligation. more directly, security contractors can be highly corrosive to social capital because they are not connected to the iraqi people, and because they disrupt attempts to build social capital among iraqis and us soldiers through their shoot-first mentality. a house oversight and government reform committee memo found that the security contractor blackwater fired first in 80 percent of the shooting incidents (house, 2007). iraqis are terrified of blackwater and other independent security contractors. as a heavily armed force with little to no oversight and a propensity to fire first, it’s no wonder why. many independent security employees are former u.s., british, or australian soldiers. often sporting weapons and body armor similar to that of u.s. troops, it is easy to see how iraqis could become confused. on a visceral level one wonders what this does to their level of trust in the intentions of the united states, as well as the ability of us forces to protect them. as a response to calls for greater oversight, a recent agreement between the pentagon and state department spelled out rules and guidelines for the use of private security contractors. it also allowed for contractors to be punished under us criminal law (jelinek, 2007). this is an errant attempt to bring a force corrosive to social capital to heel. not all contractors, and certainly not all their 5 donald caldwell employees, are american or even us-based. why would they then fall under the jurisdiction of us criminal law? and, why only security contractors? why don’t translators or reconstruction contractors fall under us law as well? iraqi authorities have demanded that private contractors be subjected to iraqi law. rather than allow the iraqi government to show their people, and the rest of the world, that they are not impotent puppets to the coalition, us officials have ignored them as if they were children asking for their allowance. while due process may be an evolving concept in the iraqi legal system, us representatives must recognize that iraqi courts are the appropriate mechanism by which independent contractors, now enjoying a status akin to the british in egypt under the capitulations agreement, can be reconnected to the society they have wronged. performing the duties of a defense contractor is a very challenging task. the recently posted contract for the ministry of the interior requests that the winning contractor be able to possess the following materials and be able to perform the following tasks: trainers must have armed guards and armored suvs for prompt transportation, they must develop a quick reaction force (qrf) and have a qrf of their own able to respond in less than 10 minutes, the contractor must supply dog teams for explosive detection and crowd control, and the contractor must be able to communicate in arabic or provide an interpreter (pincus, 2007). nowhere in this help-wanted advertisement is there a requirement for the contractors to have the “best interests of the iraqi nation at heart” or even for the contractors to “promote democratic values.” independent security contractors are simply responding to demand, filling a void left by the inadequate numbers of formal protection available. us diplomatic officials and their iraqi counterparts use independent security contractors because of their ease of availability and ease of implementation (stratfor, 2007).3 in other words, security contractors are more economically and politically efficient. our mission in iraq has to be about more than efficiency. independent security contractors are self-interested. when the welfare of a nation is at stake, however, there must be safeguards against the “subordination of strategic interests to those of the organization implementing the strategy” (gaddis, 2004, 233). in short, the proliferation of civic values through social connections isn’t in the job description for defense contractors. independent security contractors, born out of poor policy decisions by the us administration and the preoccupation of the us military with economic efficiency, have had an undeniably negative effect on social capital formation in iraq. the bush administration’s obsession with economic liberalism was not limited to the world-wide advocation of a free market approach, failed health care plans, or 3 independent security contractor casualties are not made available to the media, another way in which contractors are more politically useful considering the public’s aversion to us deaths. 6 the value of social capital free trade policies. the crass and presumptuous economic policies the us occupation authorities enforced in iraq prioritized economic capital at the expense of social capital. world bank officials, seemingly oblivious to the potential for civil unrest during an occupation by a foreign military, claimed that in post-war iraq “economic efficiency of public expenditures would move to the center stage” (edirinsighe, 2004, 66). us representatives presumed economic growth would placate the iraqi public, ignorant of the fact that “businessmen had a very low reputation in iraq” (allawi, 2007, 380). acculturated in saddam’s domination of the public sphere, iraqis were naturally accustomed to seeing merchants “described by the government and the media as greedy, grasping, and steeped in unethical practices” (allawi, 2007, 380). keeping the un oil-for-food scandal in mind, it’s easy to see how iraqis doubted the altruism of us economic initiatives. social protection is the key to the food marketing system in iraq, this fact cannot be overstated. the public distribution system (pds), instituted by saddam hussein as a response to us sanctions, is the source of food for many iraqis. the world bank saw the danger in that “at least half the poor (25% of the population) are almost fully dependent on the pds transfers,” and acknowledged that a “breakdown in the food transfer-marketing system” would be the “worst thing that could happen in the transitional situation iraq is facing now” (edirinsighe, 2004, 13). the proposed solution to the economic efficiencies permeating the food marketing system in iraq, increasing private control over food marketing in iraq, was impractical and negligent considering the security situation in iraq. widespread fear and distrust stemming from the insurgency was multiplied by the failure of us authorities to secure the wheat and cereal iraqis depended on to survive. the us failed to see the potential value of social capital in the situation. the pds was not obsolete or irrelevant now that sanctions had been lifted, as claimed by world bank officials (edirinsinghe, 2004, 11). taking over the pds, originally designed to assure “basic food security to the entire population, and [maintain] political stability (edirinsinghe, 2004, 66),” would have immediately given us soldiers an avenue to display their commitment to iraqi communities. in 2007 us soldiers in baqoubah finally got to do what one soldier called “the most important thing we’ve done” (lair, 2007). after fighting back al-qaeda the us military assumed the duties of the pds and delivered 560 tons of wheat to people in the diyala province. not knowing exactly how the system worked soldiers learned through interaction: the system of what people expect was learned through long conversations with local sheikhs and government officials, often in smoke-filled offices 7 donald caldwell over cups of chai or seated around the family living rooms of local leaders. (lair, 2007) the obtuse economic policies of the us occupation authorities, oriented towards macroeconomic growth instead of the improvement of the daily lives of iraqis, is just another instance of the devaluation of social capital in iraq. the violent fluctuations of the iraqi economy and inability of the government to provide for the basic services of its citizens led to the creation of an informal economy in iraq. in this way the development of an informal economy in iraq followed a “pattern seen in other parts of the world—the informal economy tends to grow during periods of political, economic, and social crises” (looney, 2006, 4). us economic analysts have been slow to pick up on the relevance and implications of the informal economy. without a doubt attempts must be made to “integrate the analysis and qualification of the informal economy into an overall review of economic and military developments in iraq” (looney, 2006, 4). the potential for insurgent groups to penetrate and use informal economies to their advantage must be counseled. an informal economy, arising out of an environment of uncertainty and distrust, depends on limited trust networks between friends and family. extended trust networks, networks of social capital in which “individuals enter into a transaction with only limited information about the counterpart’s specific attributes,” are the key to developing the economy in iraq (looney, 2006, 9): the key challenge facing the economy is developing the conditions conducive to the creation and growth of extended trust networks to encourage the growth and development of this type of networking. (looney, 2006, 16) the centralized, top-down approach of us economic policy-makers and implementers must be abandoned for one that is “decentralized and inclusive” (looney, 2006, 27). in short, it must be recognized that when economic and political activity is “embedded in dense networks of social interaction, incentives for opportunism and malfeasance are reduced” (putnam, 2000, 21). the reconstruction of iraq’s educational system was another battlefield to be won or lost by washington’s decision makers. the us agency for international development was well aware of this and instituted a program in which “in a oneyear period, usaid rehabilitated about 2,400 schools, nearly one-fifth of iraq’s schools, and distributed nearly nine million science and math textbooks” (allawi, 2007, 382). nevertheless the program was the subject of much criticism, acutely after it was a revealed a “large portion of the textbook contracts were awarded to printers outside iraq” (allawi, 2007, 383). education is central in the process of 8 the value of social capital socialization. the classroom is the factory of human capital and facilitator of social capital. in iraq fewer and fewer children were going to school. it was reported that only “28% of iraq’s graduation-age population (17 year olds) in the centre and south sat their final exams in 2007 (2006/2007 school year), according to the ministry of education” (unami, 2007). the pressures of the civil unrest in iraq clearly affected the performance of those that did stay: “of those who sat the exams only 40 percent passed, a decrease from 60 percent passed in 2006” (unami, 2007). some of the older students who left the classroom joined the insurgency while the rest stayed at home, afraid to venture outside of the relative safety of their homes. this is a clear erosion of social capital; the true debt caused by this education gap may not be incurred for years. strategies to combat this slippery slope exist, such as “sowing dissent among radicals” and “intervening in schools, churches, and prisons to prevent radicalization” (summit, 2005). even something as small as the content of textbooks can have national repercussions: the content of textbooks became a leit-motif of the iraqi condition. issues of secularism and religion, the privileged position of islam in society, liberal values versus traditional cultures, co-existence of arab and kurdish nationalisms, the varying shi’a and sunni interpretations of historical and religious issues—the list went to the heart of the iraqi dilemma. (allawi, 2007, 384) a discussion of social capital in iraq without considering religion would be negligent. religion in iraq was not a subject to go wanting in both iraqi and us forums of discussion. under the baathist regime religion was mostly secularized. right under the surface, however, was a devout community of believers. unfortunately most of the attention has been diverted to the role of religion in the political institutions of iraq. statistics like “49% of iraqis choose clerics or religious leaders as their first choice for the drafters of their constitution (by comparison only 13.9% designated their political party representatives as their first choice) (iri, 2005, 28)” grab us headlines but do not contribute to the understanding of the high levels of violence in iraq. our discussion centers on the role of religion as an impetus to the formation of social capital. islam must be approached not as just a faith or a collection of practices but as an “identity and loyalty—for many an identity and loyalty that transcends all others” (lewis, 2003, 17).4 in the cauldron of violence and illegitimacy of iraq, “religious observance 4 the international republican institute (2006) found that of the tv programming that iraqis typically view, 31% is related to religion. 9 donald caldwell became a matter of affirming one’s particular identity, transcending other considerations and scruples” (allawi, 2007, 384). religious leaders and groups are the gatekeepers of legitimacy in iraq. through the adulations and admonitions of imams on the day of prayer (friday), the fates of many nascent political and civil society projects are decided. religious groups are also the arbiters of information, sharing stories about a community’s history that “provide models of how actions and consequences are linked and are often the basis for strategies, actions and interpretation of the intentions of other actors” (coin, 2006, 21). religious councils and organizations represent a point of inflection for social capital. that is to say, they are a latent network of social connections that can be spurned or included. bernard rougier, a french sociologist, was a witness to the indoctrination of extremist groups in lebanon. rougier spent five years living among palestinian refugees in the most densely populated palestinian refugee camp in lebanon. he noted the transformation of identity in extremist groups caused by the real-time production of salafist-jihadist ideology, the way preachers played a decisive role in reframing social reality exclusively in religious categories, and the deep changes that those networks effect in perceptions of self and other. (rougier, 2007, 22) a similar transformation has occurred in iraq. as a function of social capital, religion in iraq must be treated with sensitivity and must always be engaged in dialogue. fundamentalists and extremist groups manipulate social capital and religion for their own purposes. they deny affiliation with or sympathy towards a larger national iraqi cause and tend to adopt an encompassing worldview that affirms their exalted position as compared to the masses (antoun, 2001). at times they manipulate this position to portray themselves as the “voice of the people,” while at other times they distance themselves to emphasize their purity of purpose (antoun, 2001). for extremist groups it is less in the religious character of their message itself than in how persuasive it is. as others have observed, osama bin laden’s success in advocating violence lies not in his religious piety, but in his ability to construct and articulate a “consistent, convincing case that an attack on islam is under way and is being led and directed by america” (scheuer, 2005, 7). for extremist groups violent action became an injunction from god, impossible to ignore. insurgents, likewise, were held together by “family loyalties, tribal affiliations or a commitment to an extreme form of islamism” (allawi, 2007, 180). us strategizers failed to realize that “action in defense of identity and authenticity can be more fundamental than action in defense of interests” (thomas, 2003, 32). 10 the value of social capital preventing the radicalization of disaffected iraqis will depend on initiatives similar to a plan the united kingdom department for communities and local government developed concentrating on promoting shared values including faith based platforms, supporting local solutions, creating forums on extremism, and engaging areas of radicalization like religious schools by monitoring curricula (preventing, 2007). it will also depend on the development of democratic institutions as avenues of expression that can reduce tensions. in crimea the minority muslim tartars were able to avert ethno-religious conflict by relying on their existing democratic structures. the leaders of the tartar legislative body, or mejlis, were challenged by radicals but “swiftly silenced the radicals with popular tolerance and education campaigns at local mosques” (ziad, chomiak, 2007). this paper seeks to convince all relevant actors of the value of social capital in iraq by constructively analyzing the mistakes and failures made by the us military and occupation authorities, as well as highlighting the areas of progress. in the second half of 2007 sectarian violence began to decline and the overall security situation in iraq tentatively began to improve (petreaus report, 2007). while these results may be preliminary, this paper will treat these improvements in peace and stability as an identifiable trend. this reversal of course can be attributed to the encouragement of social capital between us personnel and iraqis on a daily basis. how well these gains are consolidated will depend on the proper assessment of policies with social capital as the cornerstone. it is difficult to point to an event or date that signified the beginning of the insurgency in iraq. regardless, the insurgency offers a window into the psyche of the iraqi people. in 2005, 48 percent of iraqis felt their country was headed in the right direction (iri, 2005). in 2006 only 41 percent replied in the affirmative and 19 percent said they didn’t know if their country was headed in the right direction, an increase of almost 8 percent over the previous year (iri, 2006). how the us has responded to the insurgency, from general ricardo sanchez to general david petraeus, will weigh heavily in our discussion of the value of social capital in iraq. iraq has been a testing ground for the preparedness of the us military for counterinsurgencies, a type of asymmetrical warfare that most analysts agree will dominate the coming decades. reciprocity and trust are key concepts in understanding social capital. trust is an often precarious game of give and take, depending on the ability of the individual to “subordinate their own interests to those of larger groups and to associate and cooperate with each to achieve economic purposes and other social satisfactions” (looney, 2006, 9). reciprocity and trust are social norms that can be understood to be phenomena driven by interaction, and as commodities “purchased” with credibility. therefore, in order to increase the social capital of a network involving skeptical groups, it is necessary to build trust and demonstrate commitment. in short, with regards to the 11 donald caldwell us military and the insurgents, the iraqi people will continuously ask “who will help them more, hurt them less, stay the longest, earn their trust” (sewall, xxi). facing a tenuous and foreign environment, and under heavy pressure to keep casualties to a minimum, the us military under general sanchez adopted a “round them up and ask questions later” policy that certainly came back to haunt them. the majority of american troops stayed in large air-conditioned bases stationed 50 miles outside of major population centers. cultural misunderstandings and general uncertainty create doubt as to the intentions of an intervening force. us marines, still toting their weapons and wearing their boots, walked into mosques during friday prayers and mistakenly bound and handcuffed men in front of their families (rosen, 2005). in a culture based on patriarchy and tribal understandings of reputation, mistaken captures and interrogations became grave and unforgivable insults. the us military failed to prevent the conditions leading to the insurgency, failed to identify the violence in iraq as a popularly supported insurgency, and until recently fought a myopic campaign emphasizing tactical victories over a cohesive counterinsurgency strategy. increasing social capital between us forces and the iraqi public would reduce uncertainty and allow intentions to be more clearly conveyed. since general petraeus took over on 26 january 2007 as the commander of the multi-national force in iraq, the us military has adopted a counterinsurgency strategy. counterinsurgency warfare must be appreciated as the “most complex and maddening type of war” imaginable (sewall, 2007). host governments risk legitimacy by relying on troops to win the support of their public. although civil society organizations and the military often share the same goals, namely to “stabilize and rebuild a country to the point where it no longer needs outside assistance,” they often perceive each other as having competing agendas (taft, 2006, 10). even the capacity of those institutions specializing in diplomacy and dialogue, like the us department of state, is in question when considering the rigorous demands of a counterinsurgency campaign: “one fact sums it up: more people play in army bands than serve in the us foreign service” (sewall, 2007, xxx). ground forces, in the absence of adequate support, must be prepared to assume the roles of “mayor, trash collector, and public works employer” (sewall, 2007, xxxi). counterinsurgency strategies represent a stark departure from accepted military approaches: conventional us doctrine has implicitly justified collateral damage in the name of decisive victory: while overwhelming force may inadvertently harm more noncombatants initially, it ultimately serves a humanitarian purpose by ending hostilities sooner. (sewall, 2007, xxviii) 12 the value of social capital the weinberger-powell doctrine of overwhelming and decisive offensive force has almost no utility in counterinsurgency warfare. in fact, the utility of force will decline the more you use it. the safety of the troops themselves is secondary to that of the population. because insurgents often act in order to provoke retaliation, inaction may be the best response for the counterinsurgent. all of this amounts to blasphemy in light of conventional military doctrine. social protection, including the restoration of basic services, food security, and even “freedom from disease and the restoration of human dignity,” is paramount to a counterinsurgency campaign (taft, 2005, 8). while humanitarian interventions continue to have some hold on the conscience of the american public, counterinsurgency campaigns would not inspire the increasing militarization of american foreign policy. the level of commitment on all levels a counterinsurgency campaign requires, in the way of human, technological, and especially psychological capital, strongly cautions against wars of opportunity.5 it is without question that one of the things the counterinsurgency manual hopes to impress upon the reader is that “if we wish to succeed with any approximation of honor, counterinsurgency will demand more than we are accustomed to giving” (sewall, 2007, xxxviii). counterinsurgency strategy amounts to nothing less than an operationalizing of social capital. the tactics can range from issuing marines guides for cultural awareness (so-called “smart cards”) covering important ethnicities and religious holidays (marine corps, 2006),6 to a complete redesign of the deployment of american troops. general petraeus saw the error in keeping his troops cooped up in large “enduring bases” in that “if military forces stay locked up in compounds, they lose touch with the people, appear to be running scared, and cede the initiative to the insurgents” (coin, 2007, 31). the insurgency targeted segments of the population which were likely to swing the support of the general people, including doctors, professors, and lecturers (allawi, 2007).7 petraeus ordered his troops to live and operate in the neighborhoods they would have to protect, thereby adopting a strategy that “reinforces the connections with the people that establish real legitimacy” (coin, 2007, 31). 5 andrew bacevich would likely disagree with this assessment citing the encroachment of counterinsurgency strategies on areas traditionally left to civil society and other actors (bacevich, 2005). 6 the 2006 version of the usmc smart card included useful cultural customs such as “admitting ‘i don’t know’ is shameful for an iraqi” and that “constructive criticism can be taken as an insult.” 7 occupation authorities actually fed this logic by assuming that the “more advanced the degrees held by the ministers the more competent the cabinet would be” (allawi, 2007, 378). 13 donald caldwell in order to combat insurgent groups, which can be considered organizations competing for the support of the people, military commanders must “identify cleavages between groups and cross-cutting ties (for example, religious alignments that cut across ethnic differences)” (coin, 2007, 51). combating insurgencies also means persuading the population through what the military calls “psychological operations,” in other words propaganda. the psychological operations of the us military have lagged behind the increasingly sophisticated propaganda used by the insurgents. the competing propaganda of insurgents can be seen as the outward face of an ideology. army commanders have pondered the attributes of ideology, stating it provides a “prism, including a vocabulary and analytical categories, through which the situation is assessed” (coin, 2007, 21). this same ideology can also “shape the movement’s organization and operational methods” (coin, 2007, 21). intelligence collection was another challenging process in iraq. the conditions in iraq severely hampered conventional intelligence collection being as “officers of the cia could not freely travel without conspicuous armed bodyguards” (allawi, 2007, 127). intelligence in a counterinsurgency, generally regarded as the purview of the specialist, 8 instead becomes the duty of every soldier (coin, 2007). in counterinsurgency campaigns the military must persuade the general population that it is there for their benefit. the military in effect adopts a patronclient relationship in which “an individual in a powerful position provides goods, services, or other resources to followers in exchange for political support or loyalty, amassing power” (coin, 2007, 55). in anbar, diyala, and various other provinces of iraq, local militias have been incorporated into counterinsurgency security plans as “concerned local nationals.” in anbar, the result has been particularly dramatic. monthly attack levels have declined from “some 1,350 in october 2006 to a bit over 200 in august of this year” (petraeus, 2007, 4). this was a direct result of the ability of the military to secure the support of the local populace. in baqoubah a former insurgent group, the 1920 revolution brigades, participated in patrols of their own communities with us soldiers (yon, 2007). tribal sheiks and former insurgent groups joined forces with the military in defiance of al-qaeda in iraq, and as an expression of the increasing social capital between us troops and iraqi citizens. policy makers would be rash to assume that the improved security in anbar and other areas of iraq was the result of us military strategy. as common enemies were identified and common goals agreed upon, a symbiotic relationship coalesced between the us military and iraqis. 8 there also exists a tension between expertise and application in the intelligence community. michael scheuer, a former cia analyst, even claims that “expertise is a career killer” (scheuer, 2005, 245). 14 the value of social capital in some ways the military has embraced the analysis of social capital. the military assesses the potential of insurgent organizations by graphing their social network. this social network graph is based on the dyad, two nodes on a single line representing a connection between two people. links between nodes (people) are categorized by the nature of their relationship: “kinship (brother of), role based (boss of), affective (likes), interactive (prays with, demonstrates with), and affiliation (same clan, club)” (coin, 2007, 215). military planners can also use this graph to assess the viability of the insurgency in more general terms.9 while couched in different language this social network graph amounts to nothing less than an operational depiction of the value of social capital to fighting the insurgency in iraq. the success of a counterinsurgency plan will depend on how well it is implemented by the military, coordinated with the host government, complemented by civil society organizations, and accepted by the population. we come full circle in realizing that a counterinsurgency plan, the most inclusive and flexible of any military strategy, has its limits. counterinsurgency doctrine is a vehicle, a means to an end and an implicit acquiescence to the “primacy of politics” (sewall, 2007, xliii). while largely concentrating on the average citizen, counterinsurgency doctrine also recommends the creation of “coordinating mechanisms, such as committees or liaison elements to facilitate cooperation and build trust with hn [host nation] authorities” (coin, 2007, 40). these elements would assist implementation of other strategies by “reducing sensitivities and misunderstandings while removing impediments” (coin, 2007, 40). the weakness of the central government contributed towards the propensity for iraqis to seek assistance and redress grievances through the many civil society organizations operating in iraq, including 32 international humanitarian ngos (unami, 2007). the counterinsurgency manual directly recognized the value of civil society organizations when listing as one of its broad indicators of progress the “presence or absence of associations…formation and presence of multiple political parties, independent, professional associations, and trade unions” (coin, 2007, 107). the counterinsurgency manual also addressed both the beneficial and detrimental potential of the media.10 in the absence of a local council, military commanders are to help fill the void. 9 “an increase in network density indicates the likelihood that the insurgent groups can plan and execute coordinated attacks. a decrease in network density means the group is reduced to fragmented or individual-level attacks (coin, 2007, 220).” 10 from the counterinsurgency manual: “embedding for days rather than weeks runs the risk of media representatives not gaining any real understanding of the context of operations and may lead to unintended misinformation” (coin, 2007, 90). 15 donald caldwell encourage the populace to create such a body. teachers, businessmen, and others who enjoy the respect of the community should be strongly encouraged to come together and form a temporary council to serve in such capacity until a more permanent organization can be elected. (coin, 2007, 95) civil society organizations, like the fund for peace, have recognized the value of their own expertise in training peacekeepers to develop cultural sensitivities and offering historical background to conflicts (taft, 2005). provincial reconstruction teams (prts) are a model of civil-military cooperation (taft, 2006). these prts have been used in afghanistan and are increasingly being employed in iraq. in afghanistan prts consisted of coalition and nato elements alongside “50 to 300 troops as well as representatives from multinational development and diplomatic agencies” (coin, 2007, 44). prts are a creative step forward in utilizing social capital in war zones. similarly, the “human terrain system”, a project embedding anthropologists and sociologists with us army regiments in “human terrain teams,” is an attempt to strengthen the bonds of the social network working for the betterment of iraq (rohde, 2007). anthropologists are experts in the analysis of social forces. their use in afghanistan and iraq is an attempt to increase social capital between the military and the population through expertise.11 provincial reconstruction teams and the human terrain system represent progress in the use of social capital for the improvement of iraq. their true impact will depend on the level of support they enjoy from us reconstruction officials and the us military. a more illustrative case for the value of social capital may be found in the mixed results of the local governance project. the local governance project (lgp) was an umbrella initiative that included the “establishment of representative councils, service delivery capacity-building, civil society strengthening, decentralization policy development and civic dialogue” (brinkerhoff, 2005, 1). the potential of the lgp was enormous. local councils could be crucial in fostering a broader sense of community responsibility and in identifying needs and concerns. council members would be empowered to use their position as a mechanism of change “in addressing their concerns by reaching out to a variety of sources” (brinkerhoff, 2005, 12). the success of these councils depended on the constant reinforcement of social capital. the number of citizens participating in baghdad neighborhood council elections increased as “experience accumulated 11 the american anthropological association objects to the use of anthropologists as part of the human terrain system because of ethical considerations. 16 the value of social capital and the process and objectives became better known” (brinkerhoff, 2005, 10). the lgp has also benefited existing civil society groups by reinforcing “social capital through increasing opportunities for communication and knowledge transfer among social and ethnic groups” (brinkeroff, 2005, 11). the lgp had several success stories worth noting. it succeeded in assisting the association of disabled veterans in al-basrah in rehabilitating a community facility for physical therapy, training and recreation. the lgp also helped pool the resources of groups with common interests as it did in kirkuk in august 2003 with the support of a conference on civil society development. in karbala, lgp staff “provided training to the iraqi human rights watch and the former prisoners and families of victims association to organize outreach and dissemination workshops” (brinkerhoff, 2005, 7). the lgp ran into several obstacles that greatly attenuated its long-term contributions to a peaceful and stable iraq. the first was a built-in illegitimacy due to its foreign origins; some even saw them as an american import (brinkerhoff, 2005). the application of local governance projects also carried with them an inherent contradiction: “fulfilling targets mandated by cpa [coalition provisional authority] to keep to the programmatic script for iraq’s reconstruction, while building local government and civil society and responding to local demand” (brinkerhoff, 2005, 3). in other words, the lgp had to serve too many masters. dialogue sessions moderated under the auspices of the lgp were effective “largely due to the ability of the facilitators to express these concepts within an iraqi context, confronting different ways in which islam, tribalism, and arab and iraqi could be defined in ways that made them compatible with democracy” (brinkerhoff, 2005, 9). this was seemingly lost on donors to the lgp who typically exercised excessive control, sacrificing long-term legitimacy for “shortterm engineered outcomes that accord with their predetermined preferences” (brinkerhoff, 2005, 14). scholars of social capital have observed that the greater the interpretation of vertical linkages and horizontal bridging social capital, the more likely it is that a society will possess inclusive and democratic institutions that foster cohesiveness and conflict mediation (colletta and cullen, 2000). the lesson of the local governance project is that viable governance in iraq depends on the restoration of vertical social capital, reconnecting citizens with government in a constructive manner, and encouraging bridging capital across sectarian lines (brinkerhoff, 2005). in the end social capital is only a tool. how well we use this tool will depend on how well we learn from past failures, build on instances of success, and plan for the future. while it is hard to argue against increasing security and quality of life for iraqis through social capital, there exist influential competing alternatives. the 17 donald caldwell most popular is the partitioning of iraq along sectarian lines. scholars argue that the us must put aside any “preconceived notion about preferred outcomes, such as multinational democracy, and accept a more workable outcome” (baker, 2007, 11). this “union of iraqi states” would ensure the peaceful and stable coexistence of all of iraq’s proud communities and allow us troops to withdraw (baker, 2007). while americans may support this partition plan because of frustration with current approaches, it ignores the wishes of the iraqi people. when asked of the importance of the establishment of a unity government to the future peace and stability of iraq, 89 percent described this as extremely important (iri, 2006, 22). more directly, 66 percent of iraqis strongly disagreed with the “segregation of iraqis according to religious or ethnic lines” (iri, 2006, 40). it is highly doubtful that a segregation of iraqis, against their will and necessitating military action, would redress the longstanding grievances the communities of iraq have against one another or produce a peaceful and stable society. the future of iraq will be highly dependent on the role social capital plays in the national reconciliation and reconstruction efforts. the american military and reconstruction apparatus have not completely ignored social capital to date. rather, their policies could be accurately described as sporadically supportive, frequently erosive, and generally dismissive. the united states has a unique obligation and lone ability to effect deep change in iraq. if the united states is to leave behind a viable government and stable society in iraq it must readjust its policies and reallocate its resources to reflect the centrality of social capital formation. works cited “addressing the causes and underlying factors of terrorism.” paper presented at the international summit on democracy, terrorism, and security. the club de madrid series on terrorism, 8-11 march, 2005. allawi, ali a. the occupation of iraq. new haven: yale university press, 2007. alterman, jon b. “thinking small”. csis. middle east notes and comment. july/aug. 2007. antoun, richard. understanding fundamentalism. lanham: altamira press, 2001. 18 the value of social capital bacevich, andrew j. the new american militarism. oxford: oxford university press, 2005. baker, pauline h. a way out: the union of iraqi states. washington: the fund for peace, 2007. bremer, l. paul, iii. “how 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press 5 dec. 2007. the washington post. 6 dec. 2007 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/05/ ar2007120501283.html> lair, patrick. “baqoubah to resume local food production.” michael yon: online magazine 18 aug. 2007. 7 dec. 2007 <http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/public-affairs-baqubah-food.htm> lewis, bernard. the crisis of islam: holy war and unholy terror. new york: the modern library, 2003. looney, robert e. “the iraqi impasse: sustaining economic reconstruction during war-time.” international journal on world peace 23.4 (dec. 2006): 331. petraeus, david h. “report to congress on the situation in iraq.” interview with congress. house committee on foreign affairs. 11 sept. 2007. transcript. 2 dec. 2007 <www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/pet091007.pdf> petraeus, david h., james f. amos, and john a. nagl. counterinsurgency field manual. chicago: the university of chicago, 2007. pincus, walter. “wanted: protection in a dangerous place.” washington post 3 dec. 2007: a15. 6 dec. 2007 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ content/article/2007/12/02/ar2007120201941.html> 20 the value of social capital preventing violent extremism-winning hearts and minds. department for communities and local government. london, u.k. april, 2007. putnam, robert d. bowling alone. new york: simon & schuster, 2000. rohde, david. “army enlists anthropology in war zones.” new york times 5 oct. 2007. 10 dec. 2007 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/world/asia/05afghan.html?pagewanted= 1&hp> rougier, bernard. everyday jihad. trans. pascale ghazaleh. cambridge: harvard university press, 2007. scheuer, michael. imperial hubris. dulles: potomac books inc., 2004. sewall, sarah. introduction. counterinsurgency field manual. by david h. petraeus, james f. amos, and john a. nagl. chicago: the university of chicago, 2007. slevin, peter. “wrong turn at a postwar crossroads?” washington post 20 nov. 2004: a01. stratfor. “security contractors: a necessary evil.” defensetech.org. 10 october, 2007. 10 dec. 2007. <http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003779.html> survey of iraqi public opinion: july 9-july 14, 2005. international republican institute. 14 july 2005. 3 dec. 2007. <http://www.iri.org/mena/iraq/pdfs/2005-08-10iraq%20poll%20july%20july.ppt> survey of iraqi public opinion: june 14-june 24, 2006. international republican institute. 24 june 2006. 3 dec. 2007. <http://www.iri.org/mena/iraq/pdfs/2006-07-18iraq%20poll%20june%20june.ppt>. taft, patricia, and jason ladnier. the capacity to protect: the role of civil society. washington: the fund for peace, 2005. taft, patricia and jason ladnier. realizing “never again.” washington: fund for peace, 2006. 21 donald caldwell thomas, scott m. “taking religious and cultural pluralism seriously.” introduction. religion in international relations. by fabio petito and pavlos hatzopoulos. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003. un assistance mission for iraq. humanitarian crisis in iraq: facts and figures. amman: ocha, 2007. unicef. update for partners on the situation of children in iraq. august/september 2007. ziad, waleed and laryssa chomiak. “a lesson in stifling violent extremism.” the christian science monitor. 20 february, 2007. yon, michael. “hunting al qaeda, part i of iii.” michael yon: online magazine 12 sept. 2007. 10 dec. 2007 <http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/hunting-al-qaeda-part-i-of-iii.htm> 22 the american defeat at quebec.doc the american defeat at quebec anthony nardini department of history villanova university edited by cynthia kaschub we were walking alongside the st. lawrence river, along a roadway choked with cars. the small sidewalk was slick, covered in ice, the blustery wind pushing us down the street. i had thought the road would eventually lead back to the heart of the city, but i was wrong. we had become lost in quebec, stuck between the great cliff the city was built upon and the river. it was here that i first became aware of what had transpired here over two hundred twenty-five years ago. a large plaque, attached to the facing rock, celebrated the bravery of the canadians who pushed back american general montgomery and his rebel force. i wondered just what had happened at this very spot. what had happened to montgomery and his men? why were there americans attacking quebec city? cause for invasion on june 16, 1775, just two months after the clash at lexington and concord, the first continental congress appointed george washington as “general & commander in chief of the american forces.”1 by september 14, 1775, the day washington gave orders to colonel benedict arnold to “take command of the detachment from the continental army against quebeck,” american forces had already seized ticonderoga and crown point in new york.2 earlier in september, an army of 2,000 under brigadier general richard montgomery began to push towards forts st. jean and chambly, in canadian territory. the americans were now poised for a full invasion of canada, fueled by washington’s belief, as stated by donald barr chidsey, that, “the best defense is an offense and that it is best to keep your enemy off balance.”3 controlling the hudson and the richelieu-lake champlain region would prevent the british from splitting the colonies in two. the knowledge that the opposing british forces in canada “consisted of 800 regulars divided among a number of different posts” made it even more prudent to 1philander d. chase, ed., the papers of george washington: revolutionary war series vol. 1 (charlottesville: university press of virginia, 1985), 1. 2ibid., 457. 3donald barr chidsey, the war in the north: an informal history of the american revolution in and near canada (new york: crown publishers, inc., 1967), 23. seize the initiative and invade.4 but it was more than just military strategy that necessitated an invasion of canada. a combination of propaganda, libertarian fervor, and misinformed beliefs energized the americans to invade. it was believed that the entirety of quebec felt the same oppression as americans felt in boston and that the canadians would welcome the americans as liberators. the passage of the quebec act incensed many english-speaking canadians. the act enlarged the province to include the great lakes, the area of land north of the ohio river to the mississippi, the mississippi to its source, and the great lakes to hudson bay territory. this land was then consigned to the fur trade and the indians.5 the act also promised more religious tolerance: namely the freedom to practice roman catholicism along with a new oath of allegiance that allowed catholics to participate in government and hold office. american outrage was due to the restrictions on land and the propapist sentiment. english speaking merchants were now alienated in canada which country?—non-english people were now able to become part of the government without losing their identity.6 congress, along with the committee of correspondence, sent both letters and patriots to canada to assess and sway public opinion. the provisional congress of new york sent north a “batch of letters . . . appealing to canadians across the border to join them in the struggle for liberty.”7 customs officer thomas ainslie, who later volunteered to defend quebec, took note of the attempt to win canadians over to the american cause: “the agents & friends of the congress had not been idle—by word & by writing they had poison’d their minds—they were brought to believe that the minister had laid a plan to enslave them.”8 ii. the passage to quebec washington, the new commander-in-chief, took the “tatterdemalion mob” that was the continental army and formed it into a disciplined unit, “teaching then to drill like soldiers, arming them adequately, getting them into proper uniforms, and enforcing the rudiments of sanitation.”9 at washington’s headquarters at cambridge, arnold called for volunteers for his expedition from washington’s troops, and was met with a tremendous response, though washington agreed to 4gustave lanctot, canada and the american revolution 1774-1783 (cambridge: harvard university press, 1967), 63. 5 robert mcconnell hatch, thrust for canada: the american attempt on quebec in 1775-1776 (boston: houghton mifflin, 1979), 9. 6 ibid., 13. 7 barry k. wilson, benedict arnold: a traitor in our midst (ithaca: mcgill-queens’ university press, 2001), 47. 8 sheldon s. cohen, ed., canada preserved: the journal of captain thomas ainslie (new york: new york university press, 1968), 18. 9 hatch, thrust for canada, 64. send only eleven hundred men to quebec. seven hundred and forty-seven new englanders were given to arnold, along with three companies of riflemen from virginia, maryland, and pennsylvania.10 private john joseph henry, a mere boy of sixteen, noted the differences between the two groups: “the principal distinction between us, was in our dialects, our arms, and our dress. it was the silly fashion of those times, for riflemen to ape the manners of savages.”11 regional prejudices and distrust would later become a factor in the campaign. the route arnold was to follow came from a map and journal lt. john montresor, a british officer, charted in 1761. the route led from the kennebeck river of maine through an uninhabited wilderness called the height of land. from there they would travel down the chaudière river towards quebec, crossing overland to the st. lawrence river. the troops would cross the river, appearing just outside the walls of quebec on the plains of abraham. it was an audacious plan, seeking to surprise the british by taking a lesser-known route. the british would be more prepared for montgomery’s force, which took the easier way up lake champlain to the richelieu, and then up the st. lawrence. arnold would soon learn that montresor’s journal and map contained flaws, and his invasion force would not have the easy time that montresor and his small scout party experienced. 10 wilson, benedict arnold, 54. 11 john joseph henry, account of arnold’s campaign against quebec (new york: arno press, inc., 1968), 11. the expedition touched off from newburyport on september 18, traveling north-by-northeast aboard the sloops commander, britannia, conway, abigail, and swallow, and the schooners houghton, eagle, hannah, and broad bay.12 it traveled to the mouth of the kennebeck river. the trip was expected to be dangerous, as the patriots had to run past british warships enforcing an embargo against the colonies.13 the real problem was with the ships, which caused much sickness for the men, and only allowed them as far as gardinerstown, on the coast of maine. the men then traveled to fort western (present day augusta, maine), nearly forty miles from the sea up the kennebec river. arnold’s men would now have to travel down the kennebec on their newly made bateaux. prior to the expedition arnold had ordered two hundred of them from a local shipwright, reuben colburn. the flat-bottomed riverboats, with flared sides and tapered bows and sterns, measured from eighteen to twenty-five feet long and weighed nearly four hundred pounds apiece.14 arnold wrote to washington that he found “the batteaus completed, but many of them smaller than the directions given, & very badly built.”15 the expedition was delayed as arnold ordered improvements made to his bateaux. this was just the first unexpected halt, a setback for arnold’s invasion timetable, which estimated the invasion to take twenty days. the troops were able to land at ft. western without much difficulty, where arnold sent out forward scouts and formed his army. arnold broke them into four divisions, sending the riflemen, under the command of daniel morgan, to clear the way. on september 26, they were followed by the second division under colonel christopher greene. major return meigs commanded the third division, which followed greene the next day. colonel roger enos, who brought up the rear with the supplies, led the fourth division.16 arnold, traveling ahead in a lighter, more dependable birch-bark canoe, met with the forward elements of his force at fort halifax. later they moved on through a waterfall at skowhegan. arnold arrived at norridgewock by saturday, october 2. it was here that arnold’s men began to face greater challenges, which would lead to problems further into the wilderness. isaac senter, a new hampshire doctor now in the army as a surgeon, witnessed the problems with the bateaux as they were moved over the portages: “many of our bateaux were nothing but wrecks . . .a quantity of dry cod fish, by this time was received, as likewise a number of barrels of dry bread. the fish lying loose in the bateaux, and being continually washed with the fresh water running into the bateaux. the bread casks 12 chidsey, the war in the north, 32. 13 hatch, thrust for canada, 56. 14 ibid, 70. 15 chase, papers of george washington, 2:40. 16 hatch, thrust for canada, 71-72. not being waterproof, admitted the water in plenty . . .soured the whole bread. we were now curtailed of a very valuable and large part of our provisions.”17 the army was delayed almost a week at norridgewock, “drying out their supplies, throwing out bad food, and getting around the treacherous portage.”18 having not even left the area of maine, arnold was now delayed two weeks due to faulty boats and poor handling. arnold’s handpicked men, who were supposed to be accustomed to boats and their operation, turned out to be novices. the army was finally back on the move on october 9 and by the eleventh had reached the “great carrying place,” which led to the dead river. the army would have to carry their supplies and equipment over a twelve-mile portage, spaced by three ponds. the portages began to take a toll on the men, as dr. senter remarked, “the army was now much fatigued, being obliged to carry all the bateaus, barrels of provisions, warlike stores, &c., over on their backs through a most terrible piece of woods conceivable.”19 the labor and fatigue, coupled with a diet of heavily salted meat, drove the men to thirst, sucking down quantities of brackish, stagnant water from the ponds: “water was quite yellow . . . no sooner had it got down than it was puked up by many of the poor fellows.”20 arnold called for a blockhouse to be built for the sick. on october 16 the army broke camp, leaving the seriously ill at the hospital. food was beginning to become a problem for the army. arnold wrote to washington that he had “twenty five days provissions for the whole detachment.”21 arnold ordered a yoke of oxen from the rear forward, which were subsequently butchered. the men, on half-rations, tried to fish and hunt, but increasing rain made it difficult. arnold originally welcomed the rain, since it raised the low-running dead river “upwards of three feet,” making it easier to navigate.22 he did not know of the problems the immense rainfall would cause. on the evening of saturday, october 21, arnold’s fatigued, rain-soaked men built fires and tried to dry themselves out before they went to sleep. at about 4:00 a.m. on sunday morning, they were awakened by “the freshet which came rushing on us like a torrent, having rose 8 feet perpendicular in 9 hours.”23 the dead river had flooded, soaking both the men and their baggage. the men scrambled to the top of a nearby hill, salvaging what little they could. arnold assessed the situation: “the country road entirely overflowed, so that the course of the river, being 17 kenneth roberts, comp., march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold’s expedition (garden city, ny: doubleday and company, inc., 1953), 202-3. 18 wilson, benedict arnold, 64. 19 roberts, march to quebec, 205. 20 ibid. 21 chase, ed., papers of george washington, 155. 22 roberts, march to quebec, 54. 23 ibid., 54. crooked, could not be discovered, which with the rapidity of the current renders it almost impossible for the battoes to ascend the river, or the men to find their way by land or pass the small brooks. add to this our provisions almost exhausted, & the incessant rains for three days has prevented our gaining anything considerable, so that we have but a melancholy prospect before us, but in general high spirits.”24 arnold was now faced with a growing crisis, despite the “general high spirits.” supplies were low, the soldiers were weak, and there was no word from any of his contacts in canada. arnold called on his officers to debate their next move. now was the time to decide whether to press on or fall back. the officers decided to press on. the worst of the wilderness was now behind them and supplies would be available at sartigan. word was sent to the rear for greene and enos to bring only “as many men as they could feed for fifteen days,” lightening the burden and quickening their pace.25 arnold urged his men on, to within twenty miles of chaudière pond. but arnold was faced with another problem. roger enos, arnold’s secondin-command, met with colonel greene, suggesting the invasion was a lost cause and urging others to follow him back in retreat. dr. senter, who was present at the meeting, noted that enos “had been preaching to their men the doctrine of impenetrability and non-perseverance.”26 though the vote was in favor of continuing, enos’s men said they would go back to cambridge anyway. enos, obliged to follow his men, returned with them.27 not only did enos and his men do what amounted to mutiny, they also took more than their share of provisions from the rear supply train, sending up no more “than two and a half barrels of flour” before their departure.28 their treachery, along with their pilfering of supplies, inflamed and angered arnold’s remaining men. captain henry dearborn best described this feeling: “our men made a general prayer, that colonel enos and all his men, might die by the way, or meet with some disaster, equal to the cowardly dastardly and unfriendly spirit they discover’d in returning back without orders, in such a manner as they had done.”29 enos would later be arrested and courtmartialed, though he was acquitted. arnold was now left with six hundred seventy-five men to storm quebec. on friday, october 27 arnold crossed down from the height of land and found hope from a small scouting party he had sent ahead earlier. the scouts reported the inhabitants of sartigan appeared “very friendly & rejoiced to hear of our 24 ibid, 55. 25 hatch, thrust for canada, 79. 26 roberts, march to quebec, 210. 27 hatch, thrust for canada, 80. 28 george f.c. stanley, canada invaded 1775-1776 (toronto: a.m. hakkert ltd., 1973), 76-77. 29 roberts, march to quebec, 137. approach.”30 arnold was also encouraged by reports that there were few troops defending quebec. later that day arnold reached lake mégantic, where he awaited the rest of his men. he sent a letter to washington apologizing for his slowness and detailing his lack of supplies. arnold still expected to reach sartigan “in three or four days, in order to procure a supply of provissions.”31 his half-starved men soon followed through the snow over the height of land. dr. senter, having only to eat “the jawbone of a swine destitute of any covering,” was still encouraged by the ease of a few crossings, due to their lack of supplies.32 the last of the food was distributed to the men as they became lost in the bogs and streams leading up to the chaudière. arnold and his staff were nearly crushed in their canoe by the rapids. as the men were pushed to the brink, they began to reach a low point which dr. senter described as “the zenith of distress.”33 captain dearborn’s dog, who had accompanied the men on the entire excursion, was sacrificed and eaten, leaving dearborn “very unwell.”34 private abner stocking described a “fatigue and anxiety” so great that he was “little refreshed by the last night of sleep.”35 driven by fatigue and hunger, the men were forced to eat “shaving soap, pomatum, and even the lip salve, leather of their shoes, cartridge boxes, &c.”36 upon reaching sartigan on october 30, ahead of the rest of the army, arnold immediately sent back cattle for his starved, weary men. dr. senter heard “echoes of gladness” resound “from front to rear” upon the approach of the cattle.37 the army soon reached canada and was surprised by the “politeness and civility with which the poor canadians received” them.38 the men rested and enjoyed the hospitality of the habitants, having experienced extreme privation and pain during their journey. they soon disembarked for quebec, moving quickly along the chaudière river. by daybreak on november 7, morgan’s riflemen had reached the shore opposite quebec.39 iii. outside the walls 30 ibid, 58. 31 chase, papers of george washington, 2:245. 32 roberts, march to quebec, 214. 33 ibid., 218. 34 ibid., 139. 35 ibid., 555. 36 ibid.,, 219. 37 ibid, 219. 38 ibid., 220. 39 hatch, thrust for canada, 111. with his army forming just across the st. lawrence at pointe de lévis, arnold wanted to make a move on quebec. in a letter to general montgomery, who had taken fort chambly on november 3 and was now pressing towards montreal, arnold stated, “i am informed by the french, that there are two frigates and several armed vessels lying before quebec, and a large ship or two lately arrived from boston. however, i propose crossing the st. lawrence as soon as possible.”40 arnold would have to wait to cross, however, since his rear was still coming to pointe de lévis and “the wind has been so high these three nights past.”41 to pass the time, arnold ordered his men to prepare ladders and pikes to clear the walls. on november 13, the wind dropped and, with a thick cover of clouds, the americans began moving across the river in canoes. arnold guided the first wave through a gap in between the sloop-of-war hms hunter and the frigate hms lizard, who had been patrolling the river.42 in seven hours, arnold moved five hundred of his force to the plains of abraham, leaving a rear guard of sixty at pointe lévis.43 on the night of the fifteenth, arnold made an attempt to draw the guardians of quebec into a fight. captain ainslie described the scene: “a body of men appear’d on the heights of abraham within 800 yards of the walls of quebec; 40 roberts, march to quebec, 83. 41 ibid., 85. 42 hatch, thrust for canada, 114. 43 ibid, 115. they huzza’d thrice—we answer’d them with three cheers of defiance, & saluted them with a few cannon loaded with grape & canister shot—they did not wait for a second round.”44 arnold remained inactive in front of quebec for six days, sending demands for surrender that were received “contrary to humanity and the laws of nations.”45 arnold’s messengers were jailed and drummed out of the city. he had neither the men nor the supplies, as he wrote montgomery, “upon, examination, great part of our cartridges proved unfit for service, and to my great surprise we had no more than five rounds for each man, and near one hundred guns unfit for service. add to this many of the men invalids, and almost naked and wanting everything to make them comfortable.”46 arnold was beginning to see the effects of the journey on his army and its ability to fight. he knew he took too long but was still optimistic the city could be taken: “had i been ten days sooner, quebec must inevitably have fallen into our hands, as there was not a man then to oppose us. however i make no doubt gen. montgomery will reduce it this winter.”47 arnold pulled back with his men to point aux trembles, twenty miles from quebec, on november 19. arnold had learned “col. mcclean was making preparations, and had determined in a day or two to come out and attack us.”48 arnold believed his force, now down to five hundred and fifty effectives, would not have been able to fight. the men settled into the houses and barns of the habitants (a french-canadian or quebecuois), dining well and keeping warm. arnold sent to montgomery for more supplies as his “hard cash” was “nearly exhausted,” and his men would need proper clothing for the coming canadian winter.49 as arnold and his men sat at pointe aux trembles awaiting the arrival of montgomery, the guns of quebec fired in salute to the arrival of lieutenant general guy carleton, governor of canada. iv. defending quebec prior to the arrival of carleton, the outlook of the citizens of quebec was bleak. captain ainslie described the proceedings of a town meeting in quebec, as the citizens began to fear the rebel force just miles from their homes: “our force is small indeed, theirs is now great & it increases daily—let us be prudent—let us remain neuter—let us secure with our effects good treatment from the friends of liberty, for they will sooner or later take the town; if we attempt to hold out our 44 cohen, journal of ainslie, 22. 45 roberts, march to quebec, 88. 46 ibid., 90. 47 chase, papers of george washington, 2:403-4 48 roberts, march to quebec, 91. 49 ibid., 92. ruin is unavoidable. why suffer our property to be destroyed.”50 those who had opposed the quebec act were now stirring up trouble, attempting to sway others to resist the british government, though not to the point of open aggression. subsequently, some habitants refused to show up for militia duty. the pro-british citizens feared spies were all around the city; lieutenant-governor hector cramahé ordered the gates closed at six every night. help soon arrived in early november, as the frigate lizard “dropped anchor, bringing arms, specie, and a shipment of green and buff uniforms for the quebec militia.”51 one hundred volunteers from newfoundland, commanded by captain malcolm fraser of the royal highland emigrants, arrived on board lizard. the most welcome addition to the city’s garrison was the arrival of colonel allan maclean and his veteran corps of royal highland emigrants. cramahé, though praised by ainslie as “indefatigable in putting the town in a proper state of defence,” was more of a pen pusher than a warrior.52 “a feeble old man,” he was happy to give power to maclean.53 maclean went into action upon his arrival, breaking up a debate in a bishop’s chapel over surrender. he tolerated no less in discipline and soon had all ranks at work, digging trenches, building gun platforms, and strengthening walls. he ordered the cathedral bell to be rung only to warn of danger. he frightened property owners by declaring nothing would be safe if the rebels took the city. his work and warnings helped to strengthen and unite the citizens.54 the outlook of the city improved even more on november 19. carleton, disguised as a habitant and aided by his ability to speak french, slipped through the american lines near pointe aux trembles and met the snow55 fell, which sailed him up to the quebec.56 he had escaped from montreal, knowing his presence was much needed to solidify any hopes of defending the city. ainslie recognized the importance of carleton’s arrival, seeing “our salvation in his presence.”57 carleton, ignorant to the threat of an invasion, had sent eight hundred men (half his force) to boston in the fall of 1774.58 he would now try to recover from this mistake. 50 cohen, journal of ainslie, 21. 51 hatch, thrust for canada, 112. 52 cohen, journal of ainslie ,21. 53 sheldon s. cohen, “lieutenant john starke and the defence of quebec,” dalhosie review 47, spring 1967: 60. 54 hatch, thrust for canada, 113. 55 a snow is a large, two-masted ship, suitable for navigating the waters of the st.lawrence. see henry b. culver and gordon grant, the book of old ships. (new york: doubleday, doran, & co., 1924), 235. 56 paul david nelson, general sir guy carleton, lord dorchester: soldier-statesman of early british canada (cranbury, nj: associated university presses, 2000), 74. 57 cohen, journal of ainslie, 22. 58 wilson, benedict arnold, 84. carleton, three days after his arrival, issued an edict that boded ill for the friends of the americans inside the city. the edict forced all “useless, disloyal, and treacherous persons” out of the city by forcing those “liable to serve in the militia,” to do so. those that refused were ordered out of the city by december 1, “under the pain of being treated as rebels or spies.”59 “thus was our militia purged from all those miscreants who had already taken arms with a design no doubt of turning them against us when a fair opportunity shou’d offer,” wrote captain ainslie. “their expulsion much strengthened the garrison.”60 carleton effectively eliminated any hopes of american collaboration inside the city. carleton ordered for blockhouses to be repaired and gun platforms installed and mounted. barricades were built at either end of the lower town to give his untried troops protection. two were built at sault au matelot “on a narrow roadway that then enemy must follow when approaching from the northeast, a third at près de ville, where the road paralleling the st. lawrence threaded past the face of cape diamond. at près de ville, a log building was loopholed for muskets and armed with four small cannons.”61 these barricades would play an important role in the defense of the city, responsible for stopping the americans in their tracks. with an embargo on the seaport, the two british warships lizard and hunter were “hauled at high tide as far as possible into the cul-de-sac and hove over against the king’s wharf for the winter.”62 the sailors cleared the ships of all their stores and weaponry and were ordered to garrison duty. the large naval guns were mounted on the walls. by captain ainslie’s account, the strength of the garrison was eighteen hundred men, with five thousand inhabitants. he estimated provisions would last eight months.63 carleton broke his men into four brigades or battle groups: regulars from the royal highland emigrants, the fusiliers, and the marines, led by colonel maclean, who was also second-in-command; the british militia under lieutenant colonel caldwell, whose home outside the city was taken by the americans; the french canadian militia under lieutenant colonel noel voyer; and the seamen, under captain john hamilton, master of lizard.64 carleton was content to sit and wait for an attack. under his leadership, the americans were now facing a formidable foe. 59 hatch, thrust for canada, 118-19. 60 cohen, journal of ainslie, 23. 61 hatch, thrust for canada, 123. 62 w.h. whiteley, “the british navy and the siege of quebec, 1775-76,” canadian historical review 61, 1980:8. 63 cohen, journal of ainslie, 24. 64 stanley, canada invaded, 87. v. preparing the assault on december 3, montgomery and three hundred men joined with arnold at pointe aux trembles. arnold was enthusiastic about the situation inside the city, “which has a wretched, motley garrison of disaffected seamen, marines and inhabitants, the walls in a ruinous situation, and cannot hold out long.”65 the next day, the combined force made their way to quebec, taking up their positions. montgomery made his headquarters two miles from st. john’s gate, close to the plains of abraham, while arnold set up in the suburb of st. roch, just north of the city. montgomery’s new yorkers held the right of the line near the st. lawrence, while morgan’s riflemen held the left near the st. charles in st. roch. the line was stretched across, blocking all roads in and out of the city.66 montgomery’s attempts at communicating surrender to carleton under a flag of truce were met with the same disdain as arnold’s. he attempted to frighten the citizens with letters shot over the walls, warning of the destruction of the city if there was no surrender. none of these measures were successful. montgomery ordered batteries to be erected along the american lines. riflemen, working through the streets and houses of st. roch, began sniping at sentries on the walls. the people of quebec first feared the guns of the americans, conceiving that “every shell wou’d inevitably kill a dozen or two of people, & knock down some two or three house; some were in fears about their tenements, but the greatest part were occupied about the safety of their persons.” they were soon surprised, however, at the ineffectiveness of the guns. as ainslie recalled, “they had anticipated much evil: but after they saw that their bombettes as they called them, did no harm, women and children walked the street laughing at their former fears.”67 montgomery’s small nineand twelve-pound cannons struggled to cause any damage. the besieged soon responded, pounding down american positions with their larger guns, “returning 18 lb, 24 lb & 32 lb shot.”68 with american artillery taking more damage than it was inflicting, “it became apparent that the american batteries were just not in a position to compete with those of the fortress, and the efficiency of british counter-battery work was apparent from the casualties, and damage suffered by the american guns and gunners.”69 montgomery and arnold knew they could not perform a successful siege against quebec. the ground was frozen and thus too hard for trenches. american guns were incapable of damaging the walls. the winter would be too rough on the troops, even with the supplies montgomery brought down from montreal. of 65 roberts, march to quebec, 101. 66 stanley, canada invaded, 87-88. 67 cohen, journal of ainslie, 28. 68 ibid, 29. 69 stanley, canada invaded, 89. greater concern were morale and discipline—many soldiers were looking forward to the end of their enlistments, which would expire on january 1, 1776. john joseph henry noted the new feelings among the troops in camp: “the patriotism of the summer of seventy-five, seemed almost extinguished in the winter of seventysix. the patriotic officers made every exertion to induce enlistments but to no purpose.”70 congress began badgering montgomery for some results, sending a committee into canada to assess the progress of the campaign.71 smallpox had also made its appearance in the american camp. montgomery and arnold saw their time running out. after one last attempt to force carleton’s surrender, it was deemed that quebec must be attacked. montgomery, appealing to their feelings of liberty and the cause, swayed the new englanders to fight despite their expiring enlistments. montgomery and arnold met with their officers and decided to attack at night during a snowstorm. on december 26, after an uncelebrated christmas, orders were given to ready pikes and ladders, along with rifles and muskets. montgomery’s new yorkers and four of arnold’s companies were to attack the bastion on the promontory of cape diamond, while the other troops under colonel greene were to advance on the lower town. the men put sprigs of hemlock in their hats to distinguish themselves from the enemy—the uniforms montgomery brought from montreal were british scarlet. the attack would be called off, however, after a clearing in the skies.72 montgomery did not want to risk storming the city under such light. though it did not seem like it at the moment, the clearing and subsequent postponement of the attack was a stroke of luck. a british prisoner had escaped from american captivity and informed carleton of the impending attack, which was confirmed by an american deserter. disaster was averted, but quebec was put on alert. “a thousand men were ready,” wrote captain ainslie, “to oppose the rebels in case of an attack; the rest of the garrison lay in their cloaths with their arms and accoutrements lying by them.”73 montgomery rethought his attacking scheme, devised another plan, and waited. vi. the failed assault the attack on quebec would be a two-pronged affair. montgomery and his new yorkers would strike the lower town by moving alongside the st. lawrence 70 henry, account of arnold’s campaign, 106. 71 hal t. shelton, general richard montgomery and the american revolution: from redcoat to rebel (new york: new york university press, 1994), 136. 72 hatch, thrust for canada, 128. 73 cohen, journal of ainslie, 32. river at the base of a cliff, below cape diamond. pushing past the guard towers and sentry posts, montgomery’s men would move to the staircase that leads to the upper town. arnold’s men would approach from st. roch and storm the sault au matelot barricades. the two forces would link up at the staircase, and drive their way up to take the town. two feints would be made on the walls: a force of canadians, under robert livingston, would attempt to set fire to st. john’s gate, and about one hundred men under john brown would demonstrate near the guard post at cape diamond, setting off rockets to signal arnold.74 on december 31, with the coming of a storm, montgomery decided it was time. the men formed at their designated stations and prepared to move on the town. john joseph henry remembered the harsh conditions in which they would attack: “the storm was outrageous, and the cold wind extremely biting.”75 the british, having been informed of their attack by a deserter—“‘we shall certainly be attack’d the first dark night’”—were prepared for the american assault.76 the americans were spotted as soon as they moved out. captain malcolm fraser of the royal emigrants, while on his rounds at 4 a.m., saw “many flashes of fire without hearing any reports.” he subsequently “order’d the guards and pickets on the ramparts to stand to their arms. the drums beat, the bells rang the alarm, & in a few minutes the whole garrison was under arms—even old men of seventy went forward to oppose the attackers.”77 montgomery, unaware that he had been spotted, led his three hundred men along the riverbank. brown’s men set off the rockets and proceeded to engage the guards at cape diamond. livingston failed to set the st. john’s gate afire. montgomery’s men were slowed by the chunks of ice strewn about, forcing them to use time-consuming detours. the men slipped and fell on the snow and ice along the route. montgomery, at the front of his men, came to the first barricade, a row of posts stretching from the cliff to the water’s edge. unchallenged, he continued to move close to the cliff towards a log blockhouse which was held by a group of british sailors and militia. hearing noise coming from the house, montgomery decided to storm it before its defenders had enough time to get ready. he drew his sword and urged on his men. less than fifty yards from the house, the royal artillery officer in command of the blockhouse gave the order to fire. a cannon roared, spewing grapeshot at the americans. it was followed by a fusillade of 74 hatch, thrust for canada, 130-31 75 henry, account of arnold’s campaign, 107. 76 cohen, journal of ainslie, 33. 77 ibid, 33-34. small arms fire. montgomery, along with his advance party, was cut to pieces. montgomery died instantly.78 with montgomery’s death, command of the column fell to colonel donald campbell. lacking the mettle and courage of montgomery, campbell conferred with the other officers and ordered a retreat. it was an indefensible move. the engagement had not even started; the main force was not even in line yet. montgomery was down, but the fight was not finished. arnold was depending on the new yorkers to be at the staircase for the final push. campbell, unable to summon any nerve and rally his men, succumbed to fear and fell back. having seen the rockets, arnold moved his six hundred men along the st. charles. they soon moved past the palace gate and drew fire from the city’s gunners. private henry saw “nothing but the blaze from the muzzles of their muskets.”79 the americans were in no position to return fire, and continued to press on to the docks and the first barricade at sault au matelot. arnold paused to direct his men forward when he was hit in the leg, the bullet lodging in his achilles’ tendon.80 he at first refused to be moved, propping himself up with his sword and urging his men forward. he was taken back to the hospital once his men passed. morgan assumed command and cleared the first barricade, capturing more than one hundred prisoners. while his men rounded them up, morgan was guided to the next barricade, whose gate was left open. morgan saw the barricade there for the taking, but his officers refused to move forward until the rest of the men in the rear caught up.81 the men morgan’s officers had wanted to wait for were bogged down, lost in the rows of sheds and warehouses that lined the streets. the driving snow did not help, covering “cast-off anchors and abandoned spars” for the men to trip over.82 while morgan waited, carleton sent reinforcements to the lower town. colonel caldwell arrived with a detachment of british militia at the second barricade and quickly restored order, forming the regulars in a line behind the barrier and ordering the militia to take up places in the houses surrounding. a detachment, led by a sailor named captain anderson, came through the gate, calling on morgan’s men to surrender. they responded by killing anderson and assaulting the barricade.83 morgan’s men would have no luck retaking the barricade. no man was able to make it over the top alive, rendering the ladders useless. crossfire from the adjoining houses left the men exposed to fire. when 78 shelton, general richard montgomery, 149. 79 henry, account of arnold’s campaign, 108. 80 hatch, thrust for canada, 135. 81 ibid, 136. 82 ibid., 136. 83 shelton, general richard montgomery, 146. morgan ordered a retreat, no man would move, fearing to step outside of the shelter they found amid the houses. they soon would have no way to get out. carleton seized the initiative and sent captain george laws with five hundred royal highland emigrants and sailors to trap morgan in between the two barricades. along the way, laws encountered captain dearborn’s new englanders, who were late in joining the fight. the americans had little chance to resist; their gunpowder was soaked and they were heavily outnumbered. dearborn surrendered his men after a brief fight.84 laws, in a hurry to catch morgan and his men, was himself taken prisoner at sault au matelot. this small victory was short-lived, however, as morgan and his men were unable to hold out much longer. they were out of gunpowder, with one in five killed or wounded. they capitulated to both laws’ men and colonel caldwell’s troops, who opened the barricade door to receive their prisoners.85 the attempt to take quebec had failed. vii. conclusion the reasons for the american defeat at quebec can be looked at in two ways—immediate and overall. in the immediate sense, the attack failed due to lack of cohesion and the loss of leadership. montgomery’s plan depended on speed and coordination, both difficult to achieve in a dark, driving snowstorm, over unknown, icy territory. montgomery’s assault fell apart when he was killed and his subordinates were unable to operate on their own. with arnold wounded, his assault slowed, leading to indecision at the second barricade. without montgomery and arnold, the men were left without dynamic leadership and ability. their effectiveness crumbled. the overall reasons are the condition of the men and their supplies. arnold’s men had a horrific two-month march through wilderness, where they suffered under extremely adverse conditions. their supplies and equipment ruined they were never able to fully recover, despite help from the habitants and montgomery. epilogue disoriented and freezing, we were much like montgomery’s men in 1775. the difference was we were not armed invaders. eventually we were able to double-back and climb a staircase to the upper town, enjoying the success the americans did not. the americans eventually withdrew in the spring of 1776 after a failed siege, which was beleaguered by disease and lack of supplies. without 84 hatch, thrust into canada, 139. 85 ibid, 139. proper guidance, direction, and preparation, we had become lost in quebec city just as the americans did in 1775. bibliography primary sources chase, philander d. the papers of george washington, revolutionary war series vols. 1-3. charlottesville: university press of virginia, 1987. cohen, sheldon s. “lieutenant john starke and the defence of quebec.” dalhousie review 47, spring 1967: 57-64. ________, ed. canada preserved: the journal of captain thomas ainslie. new york: new york university press, 1968. henry, john joseph. account of arnold’s campaign against quebec. new york: arno press, inc., 1968. roberts, kenneth, comp. march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold’s expedition. garden city, ny: doubleday and company, inc., 1953. roche, john f. “quebec under siege, 1775-1776: the ‘memorandums’ of jacob danford” canadian historical review 50: 68-85. würtele, frederick c., ed. blockade of quebec in 1775-1776 by the american revolutionists (les bastonnais.) port washington, ny: kennikat press, 1970. secondary sources bird, harrison. attack on quebec: the american invasion of canada, 1775. new york: oxford university press, 1968. chidsey, donald barr. the war in the north: an informal history of the american revolution in and near canada. new york: crown publishers, inc., 1967. culver, henry b. and gordon grant. the book of old ships. new york: doubleday, doran, & co., 1924. hatch, robert mcconnell. thrust for canada: the american attempt on quebec in 1775-1776. boston: houghton mifflin, 1979. lanctot, gustave. canada & the american revolution 1775-1783. cambridge: harvard university press, 1967. nelson, paul david. general sir guy carleton, lord dorchester: soldier-statesman of early british canada. cranbury, nj: associated university presses, 2000. shelton, hal t. general richard montgomery and the american revolution: from redcoat to rebel. new york: new york university press, 1994. smith, justin h. our struggle for the fourteenth colony: canada and the american revolution. 2 vols. new york: the knickerbocker press, 1907. stanley, george f.g. canada invaded 1775-1776. toronto: a.m. hakkert ltd., 1973. whiteley, w.h. “the british navy and the siege of quebec, 1775-76.” canadian historical review 61: 3-27. wilson, barry k. benedict arnold: a traitor in our midst. ithaca: mcgill-queens’ university press, 2001. no army inspired.doc 1 no army inspired: the failure of nationalism at antebellum west point jacob kobrick department of history villanova university edited by alison fisk “no army inspired by the spirit of the military academy can ever endanger a country’s liberty or can ever desert its country’s flag.” – secretary of war elihu root, 1902 elihu root spoke these words upon a happy occasion – the centennial celebration for the united states military academy at west point. but root surely knew, as most of his audience probably did, that 286 graduates of west point had, in substantially less happy times just 41 years earlier, both endangered their country’s liberty and deserted its flag by opting to fight for the confederate states of america in the civil war.1 he also was no doubt aware that of the 86 southernborn cadets at the academy in 1860-1861, 65 of them resigned, abandoning their training for the united states army in order to serve the enemy instead.2 with this in mind, root’s statement takes on a strange tone. given the context in which it was made, it seems more than likely that the statement was intended as nothing more than a reflection of the high esteem in which west point was held at the dawn of the twentieth century and an affirmation that another civil war could never occur. read literally, however, it can just as well be taken as a rather unsubtle criticism of the academy’s checkered past. viewed in this light, root’s words beg an interesting question: to what extent were west point cadets in the antebellum era “inspired by the spirit of the military academy”? to put it 1 thomas j. fleming, west point: the men and times of the united states military academy (new york: william morris & company, inc., 1969), 166, 281. 2 george s. pappas, to the point: the united states military academy, 1802-1902 (westport, connecticut: praeger publishers, 1993), 332. 2 another way, to what extent, if any, did antebellum west point inculcate its cadet corps with a sense of nationalism that operated as a countervailing force against the natural inclination of many southerners to desert the union and rush to the defense of their native states? at the time of the civil war, many believed that the academy was a miserable failure in this regard. public sentiment in the north regarding west point was understandably hostile, given that the academy had trained a good portion of the enemy’s officer corps, not to mention c.s.a. president jefferson davis (class of 1828).3 much of the hostility came from the republican party, the leaders of which believed that the military academy “had been a breeding place of southern sentiment and was responsible for the defection of many officers to the rebel cause.” republican frustration with west point was exacerbated by the alleged incompetence or intransigence of those graduates who commanded union forces early in the conflict, with the slowness of general george mcclellan, a democrat, serving as the prime example.4 secretary of war simon cameron joined in the chorus condemning west point, lashing out angrily at defecting southern cadets and openly questioning whether their “extraordinary treachery” was the result of a defect in the academy’s system of education.5 radical republican senators such as zachariah chandler, benjamin wade, john sherman, and lyman trumball bitterly denounced the academy as a producer of traitors, decrying what they believed to be its prosouthern and pro-slavery influence, with some of them even going so far as attempting to have west point abolished. radical attacks on west point continued into 1863, when they were finally quelled for good by the impressive performances in service of the union of military academy graduates ulysses grant, william sherman, and philip sheridan.6 the hindsight of history has been much kinder to west point than simon cameron and the radical republicans were. stephen ambrose points out that the academy was one of the last american institutions to divide when war broke out and one of the first to reunite when it was over. although west point cadets felt a sense of obligation to the federal government for the education they had received, ambrose asserts, “it plainly was unreasonable to expect most southern graduates to 3 west point graduates serving the confederacy included generals robert e. lee (class of 1829), joseph e. johnston (1829), p.g.t. beauregard (1838), lafayette mclaws (1842), james longstreet (1842), stonewall jackson (1846), george e. pickett (1846), a.p. hill (1847), john bell hood (1853), and j.e.b. stuart (1854). gerard a. patterson, rebels from west point: the 306 u.s. military academy graduates who fought for the confederacy (mechanicsburg, pennsylvania: stackpole books, 2002), 159-163. 4 t. harry williams, “the attack upon west point during the civil war,” the mississippi valley historical review 25 (mar., 1939): 493, 495. 5 annual report of the secretary of war, 37th congress, 1 st session, july 1, 1861, 28. 6 williams, 497, 504. 3 fight for the north.”7 james l. morrison has refuted claims that west point was dominated by pro-southern or pro-slavery elements, and concluded that “the evidence strongly suggests that the antebellum military academy lent its weight to nationalism rather than sectionalism in the protracted struggle between these two forces which took place within the confines of the institution.”8 the case against a southern-dominated west point in the antebellum years is a strong one. as morrison points out, in the ten years preceding the war, no department contained more than 40.5 percent southern-born officers, and in only three departments, including the administrative staff, were more than one-third of the officers southern-born. in addition, a mere 14.8 percent of the 155 officers who served at the academy between 1850 and 1861 joined the confederacy, with more than one-third of all the southern officers who taught at the academy during this time remaining loyal to the union. as far as the cadets were concerned, morrison notes that more southerners were admitted to west point between 1830 and 1860 than their proportion of the population warranted, but this can be attributed to the poor quality of education in the south, as a result of which a disproportionate number of southern cadets failed out of west point, creating vacancies to be filled with other southerners.9 despite the strong statistical evidence that antebellum west point did not harbor a nefarious pro-southern influence, many have alleged that those west point graduates who deserted the union were influenced to do so by the academy’s curriculum itself. the specific culprit was allegedly an 1825 textbook by northern lawyer william rawle entitled a view of the constitution, which taught in no uncertain terms that every state had the constitutional right to secede from the union (despite the fact that rawle himself was no advocate of secession). rawle noted that while the constitution required that each state maintain a representative republican form of government, this requirement applied only as long as a state remained a voluntary member of the union.10 unfortunately, the records of the military academy are not entirely clear as to exactly when or for how long rawle’s book was used as part of the curriculum, but the evidence indicates that it was definitely used at some point. morris schaff, a cadet from ohio and a member of the class of 1862, stated in his memoirs that the book was used only from 1825 to 1827, but had a prolonged effect on the 7 stephen e. ambrose, duty, honor, country: a history of west point (baltimore: the johns hopkins press, 1966), 182, 189. 8 james l. morrison, “the struggle between sectionalism and nationalism at ante-bellum west point,” civil war history 19 (june, 1973): 148. 9 ibid, 144-145. 10 walter d. kennedy and james r. kennedy, ed., a view of the constitution of the united states of america by william rawle: secession as taught at west point military academy (baton rouge, louisiana: land and land publishing division, 1993), 235. 4 academy, particularly due to its influence on jefferson davis, who graduated in 1828.11 in contrast, confederate general dabney h. maury, a member of the class of 1846 from virginia, believed that the book was introduced to the academy by secretary of war john c. calhoun in 1822 (which must be inaccurate as the book was not published until 1825) and remained an official textbook until it was removed in 1861. maury claimed that he and the other west point virginians who served the confederacy “were not only obeying the plain instincts of our nature and dictates of duty, but we were obeying the very inculcations we had received in the national school.”12 it appears that schaff’s account is more accurate than maury’s, as an exhaustive search of west point records conducted by edgar dudley in the early twentieth century reveals that rawle’s book was probably used as an official textbook on constitutional law only in the year 1826, making albert s. johnston the only confederate general to have been instructed in it.13 moreover, jefferson davis denied reading a view of the constitution and was said to be quite conversant with kent’s commentaries, a book replacing rawle’s in the west point curriculum and holding that secession was illegal.14 thus, it seems that there is little case to be made that the west point curriculum was to blame for the defection of southern west point graduates. if the military academy can be absolved of the charge of actively subverting the national loyalty of its graduates – and it appears almost certain that it can be – the question remains whether west point actually did anything to affirmatively promote nationalism in the antebellum period. although there is some circumstantial evidence to suggest that it may have, there is very nearly a complete lack of direct evidence to support the point, and some evidence that the academy did almost nothing at all. like much of the evidence used to refute the charge of a pro-southern influence, much of the circumstantial evidence to support the claim that west point had a nationalizing effect on its cadets is statistical. the most frequently cited statistic is as follows: of the 343 officers on active duty at the outbreak of the war who were not west point graduates, 99 of them, or 28.8 percent, defected to the confederacy, while of the 655 active members of the west point classes of 1830 through 1860, only 161 of them, or 24.6 percent, left the union.15 11 morris schaff, the spirit of old west point, 1858-1862 (boston and new york: houghton, mifflin and company, 1907), 231-232. 12 dabney h. maury, “west point and secession,” southern historical society papers 6 (jul.-dec., 1878): 249. 13 edgar s. dudley, “was ‘secession’ taught at west point? what the records show,” the century magazine (aug., 1909): 635. 14 fleming, 59. 15 morrison, “the struggle between sectionalism and nationalism,” 147. 5 these statistics do illustrate that a west point graduate was less likely to desert the union than a non-graduate, but they are nevertheless of limited utility. first and foremost, a crucial piece of information – the proportion of each group of officers that was southern-born, and therefore would have had any desire to join the confederacy in the first place – is missing. second, the difference of 4.2 percent between the two samples is undoubtedly significant, but not overly large. third and finally, the statistical information suffers from the problem inherent in all statistical data – it cannot by itself show causation. even james morrison, who believes that west point did have a nationalizing influence, admits that “it would be foolish to argue on the basis of these fragmentary statistics alone that the military academy was the sole, or even the most critical, determinant in tipping the scales toward the union.”16 there is other circumstantial evidence to support the claim that west point promoted nationalism. defenders of the academy pointed out that at the outbreak of the war, 65 of the 86 southern-born cadets at west point resigned, while other northern educational institutions saw their entire southern contingents depart. emory upton, a member of the class of may, 1861,17 asked rhetorically, “can harvard, yale, columbia, union, princeton, or any other college in the land show a higher record of patriotism and sacrifice? assuredly not, for their southern graduates espoused the rebel cause almost en masse.”18 the rejoinder to this argument is somewhat obvious, however. george pappas has noted that “civilian students, of course, had not taken an oath to support the government of the united states and had no matters of conscience to delay their departure.”19 in a similar vein, stephen ambrose points out that “the united states government was not providing four-year, all-expense scholarships” to other northern schools.20 a comparison between west point and other northern schools is therefore clearly unfair. some letters written by west point cadets provide further circumstantial evidence of nationalism at the academy. for example, one particularly patriotic cadet was samuel nicoll benjamin of new york, who graduated in may of 1861. when civil war appeared possible in early 1860, benjamin “shuddered at the idea” of fighting against men who had been his fellow cadets,21 but by january of 1861 he was prepared to do so, promising that “where [winfield] scott “chief of men” 16 ibid, 147-148. 17 due to the exigencies of civil war, the academy graduated classes in both may and june of 1861. 18 ralph kirshner, the class of 1861: custer, ames, and their classmates after west point (carbondale and edwardsville, illinois: southern illinois university press, 1999), 16. 19 pappas, 332. 20 ambrose, 182. 21 letter from samuel nicoll benjamin to family, february 14, 1860, samuel nicoll benjamin papers, usma library special collections. 6 leads i will follow, and if i should fall it would be fighting in defense of the union, given to us by washington and the giants of that day.”22 a short time later he reaffirmed, “i shall be true to my oath of allegiance, and fight for our flag and union.”23 there is nothing to indicate, however, whether or not benjamin’s patriotism was a result of west point’s influence. moreover, benjamin’s sentiments are somewhat atypical of antebellum west point cadets. most cadet letters from this period focus on the more mundane matters of everyday life at the academy – the rigor of the academic program, the monotony of drills and formations, the poor quality of the food, health concerns, and perhaps above all, the cadets’ never ending obsession with their class rank. the letters are also generally devoid of a sense of pride in being a cadet at west point, training to be an officer, or serving the country.24 this is certainly true of the letters of henry a. du pont of delaware, the highest-ranking member of the class of may, 1861. like most cadets, du pont was primarily concerned with getting through west point and attaining a high class rank. occasionally, however, he did address weightier matters, such as his father’s desire that he resign from the army after graduation, apparently because he wished to see henry establish himself in business. in 1858, du pont told his aunt that he was reluctant to adhere to his father’s wishes. his reasons for this stance, however, stemmed more from the dishonor that would be involved in breaking his oath to serve in the u.s. army than from a sense of nationalism.25 a year later he again expressed reluctance to resign, this time attributing his feelings to a sense of obligation to west point for providing him with an education, but not to an affirmative desire to serve his country.26 in fact, on the same day samuel benjamin declared his willingness to die for the union, du pont wrote to his family, “i know if delaware was in a similar position to south carolina i should consider it my duty to resign at once and go home.”27 on april 14, 1861, in the immediate aftermath of the confederate bombardment of fort sumter, du pont told his father, “i regret now that i am at this juncture in the service of the u.s.” to his disappointment, however, he could see “no honorable mode of leaving it.” he therefore resolved, unhappily, to do his 22 letter from samuel nicoll benjamin to family, january 5, 1861. 23 letter from samuel nicoll benjamin to family, january 23, 1861. 24 see, e.g., letters of george horatio derby (class of 1846), letters of george cushing (class of 1858), letters of thomas c. bradford (class of 1861), letters of william anthony elderkin (class of 1861), letters of william h. harris (class of 1861), letters o f jacob f. kent (class of 1861), letters of alfred mordecai (class of 1861), letters of charles e. patterson (class of 1861), letters and memoirs of george a. woodruff (class of 1861), usma library special collections. 25 letter from henry a. du pont to aunt, october 31, 1858, in stephen e. ambrose, ed., “west point in the fifties: the letters of henry a. du pont,” usma library special collections. 26 letter from henry a. du pont to family, june 11, 1859, in ambrose. 27 letter from henry a. du pont to family, january 5, 1861, in ambrose. 7 sworn duty and defend the union.28 he was greatly influenced in this decision by his father, who firmly believed that a soldier’s primary loyalty should be to his nation, and not to his state.29 a week later, du pont became more militantly prounion, based on his being “disgusted” at the “spitting on the heads of union men from the galleries in the virginia convention” and “anarchy in maryland,” but it seems clear that his change of heart had nothing to do with west point.30 the letters of tully mccrea, a member of the class of 1862, suggest that nationalism was somewhat dormant at west point until the attack on fort sumter revived it. on april 21, 1861, mccrea wrote, “the cadets from the northern states are perfectly united in sentiment and feelings; all are ready to defend the stars and stripes and uphold the government in its endeavors to quell the treason of the southern states. it is the first time since i have been here that i have seen them so united.” he then described a union meeting held in one of the cadets’ rooms, during which patriotic songs were sung and the cadets cheered the union troops. mccrea noted that “such cheers were never heard here before,” and that the southerners still left at the academy “were not expecting such a universal outburst of patriotic indignation.”31 it seems, then, that external events, rather than anything that occurred within the walls of west point, stirred up nationalism among the cadets. moreover, when mccrea’s relatives from mississippi, the state of his birth, begged him to resign from west point and join the confederacy, he declined, but cited as the basis for his loyalty to the union only the fact that he had spent most of his life in ohio, and mentioned nothing having to do with west point.32 in april of 1861, at the same time mccrea was writing of the patriotic fervor among the northern cadets, some members of the class of 1861 sent a petition to the secretary of war asking that they be allowed to graduate early and join in the defense of their country. it would be a mistake to accept this uncritically as evidence of nationalism at west point, however. samuel benjamin eagerly signed the petition, in accordance with his patriotic desire to fight for the union.33 but not all who signed the document had similar motives. stephen carr lyford, jr., a member of the class of june, 1861, also signed the petition, but for very different reasons. as lyford explained to his family, he and many of his fellow cadets hoped to enter the army early in order to fill the vacancies left by officers who had 28 letter from henry a. du pont to father, april 14, 1861, in ambrose. 29 mary elizabeth sergent, they lie forgotten: the united states military academy 1856-1861 (middletown, new york: the prior king press, 1986), 94. 30 letter from henry a. du pont to father, april 21, 1861, in ambrose. 31 letter from tully mccrea to belle mccrea, april 21, 1861, in catherine s. crary, ed., dear belle: letters from a cadet & officer to his sweetheart, 1858-1865 (middletown, connecticut: wesleyan university press, 1965), 82-83. 32 letter from tully mccrea to belle mccrea, may 11, 1861, in crary, 95. 33 letter from samuel nicoll benjamin to mother, april 16, 1861. 8 defected to the confederacy. lyford believed that if he joined the army right away, he would most likely hold the rank of captain by the end of the war – a position that normally took fourteen years to attain. “hence you can see,” he concluded, “it is of vital importance for us to use every exertion to secure our end. if mr. cameron does not do something for us, a number of our class will resign and enter the militia.”34 similarly, although he ultimately decided not to sign the petition, henry du pont acknowledged that had he done so, it would have been “in a purely professional point of view.”35 so, while cadet letters do provide some circumstantial evidence of a nationalizing influence at west point, they also illustrate that some cadets lacked feelings of nationalism, and reveal that others who took actions that seemed to be patriotic in nature were in fact motivated by more selfish concerns. compounding the weakness of the circumstantial evidence is the difficulty in finding any direct evidence that west point attempted to instill its cadets with nationalism in the antebellum period.36 a look at the academy’s curriculum in the antebellum years is instructive in this regard. put simply, west point was an engineering school, and little else. as a result, the majority of the books in its library dealt with science, math, and engineering, as well as military affairs. in the classroom, humanities were paid little attention; math, science, and engineering took up most of the classroom time and counted more heavily than anything else in calculating merit rankings.37 in fact, as william skelton has noted, until the mid1850s, “cadets devoted well over twice as much classroom time to mathematics, physical science, and engineering as to all other subjects combined.”38 james morrison has pointed out that “the men who controlled the institution viewed its mission as being the production of engineers who could also function as soldiers rather than the reverse.”39 the specific courses taught and books used at west point in the years before the civil war reveal nothing in the curriculum that would tend to imbue the cadet corps with a sense of nationalism or patriotism. in 1846, to take as an example a 34 letter from stephen carr lyford, jr. to family, april 17, 1861, stephen carr lyford, jr. papers, usma library special collections. 35 letter from henry a. du pont to father, april 14, 1861, in ambrose. 36 james morrison cites one piece of direct evidence on this score – a letter from truman seymour, a member of the class of 1846 from vermont, who “declared that cadets seldom argued over sectional issues and that the faculty made a special effort to stimulate devotion to country.” morrison, “the struggle between sectionalism and nationalism,” 143. 37 james l. morrison, the best school in the world: west point, the pre-civil war years, 1833-1866 (kent, ohio: the kent state university press, 1986), 90-91. 38 william b. skelton, an american profession of arms: the army officer corps, 1784-1861 (lawrence, kansas: university press of kansas, 1992), 168. 39 morrison, the best school in the world, 101. 9 year in which many future civil war generals were cadets,40 the fourth class (or first-year cadets) studied mathematics, french, and english grammar; the third class studied the same subjects in addition to drawing; the second class studied natural and experimental philosophy, chemistry, and drawing; and the first class cadets were instructed in professor dennis hart mahan’s famed engineering and science of war course in addition to ethics, infantry tactics, artillery, and mineralogy and geology.41 the only significant changes to this course of study in the ensuing years were the addition of a course in practical military engineering for the first class, and the addition of courses in artillery and cavalry and infantry tactics for the lower classes.42 this course of study is unsurprising, for professor mahan, who was largely responsible for the content of the military academy’s curriculum, did not place a high priority on the study of liberal arts or history. in fact, it seems that he actively discouraged the inclusion of such areas of study at west point. as one historian has observed, “the great goal of the military academy, mahan believed, was to furnish a solid foundation of scientific and military education. . . . anything which detracted from this governing objective must be pruned away ruthlessly.”43 the academy’s overwhelming emphasis on science and engineering to the exclusion of the humanities did not please everyone, however. in 1854, the board of visitors, a group of outside observers who annually conducted a thorough review of every aspect of life at west point and issued a detailed report containing evaluations and recommendations for improvement, expressed its disappointment at the narrowness of the curriculum. in particular, the board complained that “the subject of history is not taught in the academy, very much to our regret, as it is certainly a branch of great importance, especially the history of our country and military history – this should not be neglected.”44 the board did not state explicitly that its desire for the inclusion in the curriculum of united states history was the result of its perception that such study would tend to instill the cadet corps with a greater sense of nationalism, but this seems a likely motivation. perhaps partially in response to this complaint, the military academy added a fifth year to its course of study beginning in 1855, and began to instruct the fifth class in lossing’s history of the united states as part of its course in “english 40 see john c. waugh, the class of 1846: from west point to appomattox: stonewall jackson, george mcclellan, and their brothers (new york: warner books, 1994). 41 official register of the officers and cadets of the united states military academy, 1846 (usma library, accessed july 9, 2003); available from http://www.library.usma.edu/; internet. 42 see, e.g., official register of the officers and cadets of the united states military academy, 1852 (usma library, accessed july 9, 2003); available from http://www.library.usma.edu/; internet. 43 thomas e. griess, “dennis hart mahan: west point professor and advocate of military professionalism, 18301871” (ph.d. dissertation, duke university, 1969), 242. 44 annual report of the board of visitors for 1854, usma library special collections. 10 studies and literature.”45 this did not fully satisfy the board, however, which continued to bemoan the lack of humanities training at west point. in 1856 the board recommended the establishment of a permanent professorship of english that would have dominion over studies in grammar, logic, rhetoric, chronology, history, intellectual philosophy, principles of government, and fine arts.46 this suggestion was evidently ignored. moreover, by 1859 the academy no longer used a textbook devoted exclusively to united states history, as the first, second, and fifth classes were instructed in max weber’s outline of universal history instead.47 all in all, the west point curriculum in the antebellum years was characterized by a heavy emphasis on the technical and the practical, and any attempt to look to the course of study as a source of nationalistic pride would seem to be in vain.48 the fact that this was never the academy’s goal is confirmed by a 1946 pamphlet, published by the academy itself, detailing the history of west point’s educational objectives dating back to its formation in 1802. the publication, which is divided into three separate sections dealing with the curriculum itself, the physical training of the cadets, and the building of character, makes no mention of a desire to inculcate cadets with a feeling of nationalism or to impress upon them a sense of pride in training to defend their native land.49 james morrison nevertheless attempts to find evidence of nationalism at the antebellum military academy in the cadets’ daily routine, asserting that “the student faced daily reminders that he had come to west point for the one purpose of preparing to become an officer in a national army; every formation, drill, and ceremony kept that fact before him.”50 but might exercises such as formations and drills merely have turned the cadets into soulless automatons instead of filling 45 official register of the officers and cadets of the united states military academy, 1855 (usma library, accessed july 9, 2003); available from http://www.library.usma.edu/; internet. the annual report of the board of visitors for 1855 states that hale’s history of the united states was used and that the first class was instructed in history (rather than the fifth), but this conflicts with the more likely accurate account in the official register. 46 annual report of the board of visitors for 1856, usma library special collections. 47 official register of the officers and cadets of the united states military academy, 1859 (usma library, accessed july 9, 2003); available from http://www.library.usma.edu/; internet. 48 it should be noted, however, that at least one historian does believe that the west point curriculum had some nationalizing effect. in his discussion of mid-nineteenth century filibustering expeditions, robert may notes that despite the pro-filibustering tendencies of some u.s. army officers, most were hostile to filibustering because they viewed it as undermining the professionalism of the military as well as the nation’s honor. “west pointers,” writes may, “who were educated at government expense, exposed to a curriculum that incorporated ethics and international law, and increasingly numerous within the officer corps, perhaps naturally professed such attitudes.” robert e. may, manifest destiny’s underworld: filibustering in antebellum america (chapel hill and london: the university of north carolina press, 2002), 130. 49 sidney forman, the educational objectives of the u.s. military academy: a historical study of the basic academic, physical and character training aims of the united states military academy , bulletin no. 2 (west point, new york: usma, 1946). 50 morrison, “the struggle between sectionalism and nationalism,” 142. 11 them with love for their country, especially if such rituals were not explicitly linked to a sense of patriotism? at least one cadet thought so. john tidball, an ohioan in the class of 1848, noted in his memoirs that his drills were often sufficient “to extinguish the fourth of july or magna charta spirit from the most rampant of cross-road patriots.”51 ironically, morrison himself seemed to recognize the drawbacks of the academy’s regimentation when he penned, a year after his assertion that drills promoted nationalism, that “taken in totality the institution must have encouraged a mechanistic outlook. . . . success at the military academy depended primarily on the exactitude with which a student met requirements imposed by an instructor, a textbook, or a set of regulations; initiative and imagination, if not actively penalized, were not rewarded.”52 west point’s mechanistic approach to regulating every aspect of a cadet’s life was partly behind simon cameron’s aforementioned attack on the academy in 1861. cameron believed that the defections of southern graduates and cadets could be blamed to some extent on the fact that the academy drew little distinction between acts that were inherently wrong and acts that merely violated regulations, resulting in the confusion of right and wrong and “in the decision of grave moral questions, [the substitution of] habit for conscience.”53 not only is there a lack of evidence to support the proposition that drills and formations inspired nationalism, it seems that in some instances where the antebellum academy had a clear chance to imbue its ceremonies with patriotism, it failed to do so. john tidball describes in his memoirs the west point graduation ceremony, which seemed to consist mostly of a ritual whereby graduating cadets would remove their hats and kick them, but little else.54 absent from tidball’s description is anything of a nationalistic nature, including the playing of the star spangled banner or other patriotic songs. the academy’s failure in this regard was not total, however. george horatio derby, the noted american humorist and a member of the class of 1846, reported in 1844 that george washington’s birthday was marked at west point with fireworks, rockets, and the performance of several patriotic songs, including the national anthem. to derby, the patriotic displays were “quite exhilarating.”55 other cadets recorded the details of july 4th celebrations that included an artillery salute, a processional march, a reading of the declaration of independence, a cadet 51 john c. tidball, “getting through west point by one who did and for those who want to know,” ch. iii, 69, usma library special collections. 52 james l. morrison, “educating the civil war generals: west point, 1833-1861,” military affairs 38 (oct., 1974): 110. 53 annual report of the secretary of war, 28. 54 tidball memoirs, ch. iv, 78. 55 letter from george horatio derby to family, february 23, 1844, george horatio derby papers, usma library special collections. 12 oration, and a celebratory dinner with the drinking of patriotic toasts (although this one-day exemption from the ban on cadet drinking was eliminated in 1838).56 these holiday celebrations provide virtually the only direct evidence that west point did anything affirmative to promote nationalism among its cadet corps. of course, the academy did require each new cadet to take an oath of loyalty to the united states and the constitution. the effect of this oath upon the cadets is questionable, however. the events of 1860-1861 apparently convinced congress that the existing oath was inadequate, as it passed two new laws; the first, passed in august of 1861, required the cadet to take an additional oath promising that he would “maintain and defend the sovereignty of the united states paramount to any and all allegiance, sovereignty, or fealty i may owe to any state, county, or country whatsoever”; the second, passed in july of 1862, required a cadet to swear that “he had never borne arms against the united states, given aid to her enemies, held office under any authority hostile to the united states, or supported any ‘pretended government, power or constitution within the united states, hostile thereto’.”57 john tidball recounted in his memoirs an anecdote suggesting that the oath may not have had the effect on the cadet corps that west point and congress intended. when tidball’s class took the oath in 1844, one of their number, enoch q. fellows, declined to do so, saying he no longer wished to be a cadet. he was not allowed to resign; instead, officers, professors, and his fellow cadets attempted to convince him to take the oath, to no avail. for months the matter seemed forgotten, until one spring day during drills. abruptly halting drills, the commandant brought the cadets into formation so that they formed three sides of a square in front of the superintendent’s house. with great formality, fellows was called to the front. as tidball claimed in his memoirs, the cadets were prepared to take action upon realizing that fellows might be flogged: by glancing to the right and left i observed a rebellious pallor gathering on the faces of many, while others flushed scarlet with the hot blood of defiance. and this was not confined to us alone, his classmates; the feeling ran, as if by corps sympathy, through the whole body. fortunately for all concerned, fellows was not flogged. instead, the doors to the superintendent’s house opened, and the superintendent emerged with the entire 56 sidney forman, ed., cadet life before the mexican war, bulletin no. 1 (west point, new york: usma, 1945), 21-22. 57 pappas, 338-339. 13 military and academic staff behind him. a bible was produced, and fellows, undoubtedly cowed by the whole proceeding, took the oath.58 significantly, however, tidball and his comrades, rather than being angry with their fellow cadet for refusing to take the oath, were willing to risk their own standing to defend him from what they perceived as official tyranny. although tidball’s memoirs cannot be taken as gospel in this regard, as they represent the word of only one man and were written years after the fact, they nevertheless tend to support some historians’ belief that west point did produce new loyalties, but these loyalties were “less to the nation as an abstract ideal than to one’s classmates, west point, and the army.” in this way, the academy has been described as creating “a band of brothers,” and a “corporate identity among army officers.”59 this is not, of course, the same thing as creating nationalism. another way in which james morrison has sought evidence of nationalism at west point is by looking at the academy from the outside – specifically through the annual reports of the aforementioned board of visitors.60 this is a difficult way to gauge the climate of life at west point, however, as the members of the board visited only once a year to conduct their inspections and examinations, and were not present for everyday events. moreover, a closer look at the board’s annual report for 1838 – which morrison cites as an example – demonstrates the problems inherent in relying on this type of evidence. the board did indeed praise west point’s nationalistic spirit that year, but the words it chose to express this sentiment sound more like a hope for the future than a statement of present affairs: “surrounded by so many recollections of the glorious struggle of our forefathers in the cause of liberty, in sight of the monuments that commemorate them, the american youth cannot fail to imbibe strong feelings of patriotism and a love of country, which form the best security for the maintenance of our independence.”61 moreover, the flowery language the board employed included no mention of anything west point affirmatively did to stir up nationalism among the cadet corps, suggesting instead that the cadets would become inspired merely by their presence at the academy. although it would have been manifestly unfair to charge west point with the responsibility of uniting the entire country, it would not have been unreasonable to expect the institution to take measures to deal with sectionalism within its own walls. sectionalism had been a part of west point’s culture since its founding in 1802, but became much worse, as it did throughout the nation, in the 1850s. john brown’s raid on harper’s ferry in 1859 infuriated southerners and sent shock 58 tidball memoirs, ch. vii, 41-45. 59 skelton, 177-180. 60 morrison, “the struggle between nationalism and sectionalism,” 143. 61 annual report of the board of visitors for 1838, usma library special collections. 14 waves through the cadet corps, but slavery was not the only issue that divided north and south; the difficulty southern cadets often had in competing with better educated northerners was also a source of tension. as a result of what eventually became rampant sectionalism, fistfights between northern and southern cadets became commonplace at west point.62 moreover, cadets in this period would often scheme to get themselves assigned to companies that were more northern or southern in nature.63 morris schaff, who attended west point from 1858-1862, at the height of sectional tension, recorded in his memoirs that officers and cadets generally tried to avoid discussing political events that divided the nation, as such discussions were deemed unbecoming for those pledged to serve the country. nevertheless, schaff admitted that the cadets “were in miniature the country itself,” and that once letters and local papers from home brimming with “consciousness of a national crisis” arrived, “it was not long before [such consciousness] was felt at west point.”64 as james morrison points out, west point did make some efforts to suppress sectionalism within the cadet corps. specific examples included forbidding the dialectic society (a cadet literary, dramatic, and debating group), in the early 1840s, from debating whether a state had the power to nullify a federal law, removing from a textbook those chapters discussing the morality of slavery, and in 1858, not allowing cadets to attend a nearby church where the minister was preaching abolition. nevertheless, admits morrison, sectionalism persisted despite these efforts.65 moreover, while actions such as these may have had some negative effect on sectionalism, they were hardly calculated to have a positive effect on nationalism. furthermore, it seems that beyond these isolated examples, west point did not do anything to address sectionalism on an everyday basis. the annual reports of the board of visitors, which examined life at the academy in minute detail, are instructive in this regard. in not one report between 1850 and 1861 did the board address the growing sectionalism among the cadet corps (including the increasingly frequent fistfights), nor did it document anything the academy was doing to combat the problem.66 in fact, the board’s only references to the subject of sectionalism or nationalism in the 1850s were a suggestion in 1851 that the academy display military trophies to inspire patriotism in the cadets,67 and another flowery proclamation of west point’s nationalizing character two years later, 62 fleming, 128, 142. 63 pappas, 310. 64 schaff, 162. 65 morrison, “the struggle between sectionalism and nationalism,” 142. 66 see annual reports of the board of visitors for 1850-1861, usma library special collections. 67 annual report of the board of visitors for 1851, usma library special collections. 15 which included the assertion that “no sectional or social jealousies can here be awakened.”68 nevertheless, as thomas fleming has noted, “sectional bitterness” was “already mounting” by the time robert e. lee became west point’s superintendent in 1852. according to fleming, lee did what he could to ease the tensions, reminding cadets that they were part of a “band of brothers,”69 but west point instituted no formal program for combating sectionalism or promoting nationalism. in sum, the circumstantial evidence that west point affirmatively promoted nationalism in the antebellum period is weak, and direct evidence on the point is nearly nonexistent. it is important to note, however, that the failure of west point to affirmatively promote nationalism among the cadet corps is not necessarily to blame for the defections of academy graduates and cadets. as morris schaff eloquently noted, southerners had powerful forces drawing them toward the confederacy that may have been stronger than any countervailing forces west point could have brought to bear. believing it to be remarkable “that any graduate or cadet from the south remained loyal,” schaff exhorted readers of his memoirs to “put yourself in their places – all the yearning ties of home, boyhood’s friends, sweethearts, the old plantations beckoning them from their fields and runs and woods, the firesides, the churchyards whose silent dust had called their boyish tears to flow fast as they stood beside the freshly dug graves – all appealing to them to go with their section, come what might.”70 in addition, west point must be absolved to some extent by the simple fact that prior to the civil war, the concept of the united states as a nation was not a strong one. as carl degler has pointed out, abraham lincoln’s assumption upon the outbreak of war “that a nation had been endangered,” and “that a sense of true nationhood already embraced the geographical area known as the united states . . . was not that held by many people of the time, and especially not by southerners.” to most, writes degler, the “union was just a union of states, and not a nation in any organic sense.”71 similarly, henry adams wrote of the winter of 1860-61, “secession was likely to be easy where there was so little to secede from. the union was a sentiment, but not much more.”72 as would be expected in a nation with a weak sense of itself, american nationalism in the antebellum era was a far cry from what it would later become. as benedict anderson has famously noted, nations are “imagined communities.” 68 annual report of the board of visitors for 1853, usma library special collections. 69 fleming, 130. 70 schaff, 233-234. 71 carl n. degler, “one among many: the united states and national unification,” in gabor s. boritt, ed., lincoln the war president (oxford and new york: oxford university press, 1992), 95. 72 john niven, the coming of the civil war, 1837-1861 (arlington heights, illinois: harlan davidson, inc., 1990), 1. 16 normally, part of what gives weight to nationalism is the subjective antiquity of the nation in the eyes of its proponents – a concept that is squarely at odds with the historian’s conception of the nation as objectively modern. in the case of the united states, however, the defining moment of its formation – the declaration of independence – was not only not grounded in history, but was perceived as a radical break with the past.73 in addition, as the civil war would prove, the ideals of the revolution were subject to widely varying interpretations. charles royster points out that all of the participants in the civil war “claimed to be guarding the legacy of the american revolution.” as a result, “two internally contradictory stories of nation-making . . . became justifications for a bitter war to establish which myth was true.”74 even before the war, these conflicting interpretations undoubtedly contributed to the difficulty in viewing the united states as an organic entity rather than an artificial social construct. in a similar vein, susan-mary grant has explained that the united states was actually two different “imagined communities.” rather than seeing antebellum northern ideology as nationalistic, as have many other historians, grant makes a convincing case that it was in fact sectional – relying on the south for definition and using it as a negative reference point. this brand of national identity saw the south as fundamentally different from the rest of the country, even in terms of national ideals and experience. these attitudes – although often portrayed as representing a national ideology due to the establishment of the republicans as a national group despite their sectional ideology – were in fact “destructive of national cohesion.”75 with grant’s analysis in mind, it becomes easier to understand why northern “nationalism” at west point failed to capture the hearts and minds of southerners at the institution. sectionalism was not the only barrier to the formation of a true national identity in the nineteenth century, however. major wilson has asserted that several theoretical concepts of nationalism competed for primacy in the antebellum years. proponents of corporative freedom, which was based on qualitative improvement and increasing order through institutionalization, clashed with advocates of federative freedom, who believed in independence from the influence of the federal government and stressed local and individual autonomy. by the end of the 1840s, however, this debate had given way to one over which element of the nation – free or slave – would have the right to expand. the proponents of individual freedom – the free soilers – viewed themselves as representing the national ideal 73 benedict anderson, imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism (london and new york: verso, 1991), 6, 193. 74 charles royster, the destructive war: william tecumseh sherman, stonewall jackson, and the americans (new york: vintage books, 1991), 144-145. 75 susan-mary grant, north over south: northern nationalism and american identity in the antebellum era (lawrence: university press of kansas, 2000), 17, 20-21, 35. 17 of freedom against the expansion of an alien slave power.76 these differing philosophical conceptions of nationalism, in addition to the growing sectionalism of the time, provided further obstacles to the formation of a unitary vision of american nationalism in the antebellum years. other historians agree that american citizens were being pulled in several different directions at once prior to the civil war. melinda lawson has identified sectional strife, class resentments, suspicion of centralized government, and antiabolitionist sentiment as factors competing with loyalty to the union, even in the north. in addition, most citizens located their primary identities in the states in which they lived, and were consequently more concerned with the rights of the states against the union than the other way around. as a result, lawson asserts, “ambivalence about the national state became a mainstay of antebellum political culture.”77 similarly, david waldstreicher has noted that american nationalism should not be studied in isolation, but rather must be looked at “in relation to other identities, beliefs, and practices.” he stresses that national identity has always existed alongside local and regional identities, and that “nationalism is always one of several ideologies in a larger cultural field.” even nationalistic rituals – such as the ones that sometimes occurred at west point – cannot be taken at face value, but must be read as politicized attempts among various contestants to claim true american nationality.78 clearly, any criticism of west point in the antebellum years must take into account the ambiguous and contested nature of american nationalism during that period. that being said, we will never know how many more southerners may have been persuaded to remain with the union had the leaders of the academy taken a view closer to lincoln’s and made a greater effort to take the lead in establishing a nationalistic spirit among those who would ultimately be charged with the country’s defense. fortunately, the military academy’s failure in the antebellum years to instill its cadets with patriotism in addition to scientific and military knowledge undoubtedly provided lessons for the future. in 1898, west point introduced a new coat of arms along with a motto that has become famously associated with west point in the years since: “duty, honor, country.”79 four years later, upon west point’s centennial, secretary of war elihu root spoke hopefully of the future when 76 major l. wilson, space, time, and freedom: the quest for nationality and the irrepressible conflict, 18151861 (westport, connecticut: greenwood press, 1974), 4-7, 12-15. 77 melinda lawson, patriot fires: forging a new american nationalism in the civil war north (lawrence: university press of kansas, 2002), 5-10. 78 david waldstreicher, in the midst of perpetual fetes: the making of american nationalism, 1776-1820 (chapel hill and london: university of north carolina press, 1997), 6, 9. 79 theodore j. crackel, the illustrated history of west point (new york: harry n. abrams, inc., 1991), 178. 18 he made the famous promise that no army inspired by the spirit of west point would ever again desert the united states. root sought to place west point “in a new educational and military context,” and the academy’s new motto perfectly summed up his goal. from then on, west point “would claim to produce not valuable technicians, but valuable men.”80 80 fleming, 281. microsoft word maouelainin.doc confrontación de dos lados de la clase baja de barcelona mediante la estructura del triunfo de francisco casavella safiya maouelainin department of modern languages villanova university en la década de los años noventa, una serie de autores se destacan en españa y empiezan a desarrollar una narrativa que se aparta de las formas tradicionales de la novela existente en este país en aquel momento. así que empiezan rechazando cualquier imposición teórica o estética y tienen como objetivo narrar una realidad concreta, o describir un grupo social, para mostrar la complejidad de la sociedad de la época. en su “nota del autor” al final de su novela sonko95, josé ángel mañas explica que el género establecido por esta generación x, es una “modalidad narrativa en la cual tienen cabida todos estos elementos heteroglósicos que la literatura novelesca [de hoy] excluye o entrecomillas” (283). publicada en 1990, el triunfo rompe con el estilo tradicional de la novela, e incorpora elementos del discurso coloquiales y casi vulgares, y nos inmerge en la clase baja del barrio raval de barcelona. este barrio (antes llamado barrio chino) está muy cerca de donde el autor creció y vive ahora. por lo tanto, el autor se siente más apto para describir la realidad de este barrio y añadir más verosimilitud a su obra. francisco casavella escoge así escribir acerca de un personaje ficticio, el nen, que es cantante de rumba en el barrio y que se ve en la imposibilidad de tocar la guitarra al perder tres dedos. este personaje se hunde después en un mundo de duda al darse cuenta de que su padre ha sido torturado y exiliado por el amante de su madre la chata, el gandhi (que es también el jefe del barrio). al final, ambos el nen y el gandhi acaban matándose uno al otro. así que mediante esta historia, se enfoca y se describe la vida de la clase baja de este barrio barcelonés durante los fines de los años ochenta. esta investigación se propone destacar de qué manera (estética y temática) se manifiesta la confrontación de estos dos lados de la clase baja barcelonesa en el triunfo y cómo se ponen éstos en paralelo. en la obra, no se establece explícitamente el año. sin embargo, se hace referencia a la inmigración de los africanos, lo que sitúa la obra a finales de los años ochenta, a partir de 1985 (mcroberts 136-138). además, es importante añadir que, durante aquellos años, el reto del paro estaba aumentado y españa conocía problemas económicos (roman 80-81). a lo largo de la obra, se destaca el tema de la inmigración como factor importante en la emergencia de dos mundos en el seno de la clase baja de barcelona. además, el triunfo se acerca al tema de la inmigración tanto interna como externa y, según carlota solé, “tradicionalmente la inmigración masiva a cataluña ha procedido de otras zonas de españa. la inmigración interior se ha producido en olas periódicas paralelas a la construcción de obras de infraestructura urbana o de expansión económica general” (212). estos inmigrantes a los cuales se refiere aquí son representados en la obra por los cantantes de rumba, el nen y sus tres amigos. lo que dice solé también es que “éste es el caso de la década de 1960 […], en [la] que la llegada de andaluces, extremeños o gallegos fue explosiva […] y dio lugar más tarde a importantes problemas de especulación del suelo, vivienda, discriminación laboral […] a resolver” (212). así que estos personajes ficticios, que asumen el papel de los inmigrantes internos, se ven en la dificultad de encontrar un trabajo o de salir de su submundo, como se verá más adelante en este estudio. se ven así marginados y encerrados en el mundo de la mafia y de las drogas. por otro lado, se nota en esta obra la existencia de las huellas de la inmigración externa, y como dice solé: “desde los años ochenta, la inmigración interior se complementa con la ligeramente creciente inmigración exterior. […] estos inmigrantes extranjeros extracomunitarios se han instalado desde su llegada a la ciudad de barcelona y las comarcas más cercanas de la capital catalana” (212). se describe la llegada de los inmigrantes africanos (los “negros”) y norteafricanos (“los moros”) por los moros y los negros habían venido de uno en uno, [...] pero ya luego se trajeron a las parientes y a las suegras y a los ñajos y en el barrio ya hubo más moros y más negros que cucarachas. […]y como los moros y los negros (los tranquis y los nervis) no tenían nada que perder y había mucha gente del barrio que estaba apalancada, poniéndose a gusto y cogiéndosela mirando el vídeo, pues los moros y los negros empezaron a hacer su guita y a quedarse con las coplas. y como estas cosas de los moros y los negros son muy raras, los moros empezaron a mandar a los negros y, poco a poco, se fueron organizando y la cosa se puso seria. (casavella 24) al llegar al barrio, estos inmigrantes entran en guerra con el gandhi y sus hombres; esta situación beligerante empieza cuando “el andrade mayor supo que la vendimia estaba llena de moros, fue hasta allí con gente del barrio y reventó a palos a los moros” (casavella 25), lo que suscita represalias y “un día, […] mientras [el andrade mayor] se tomaba [unos quintos], llegó un negro y le metió en la espalda un machete que hacía medio brazo” (25), y así se inicia la violencia y las torturas hasta que, al final de la obra, los inmigrantes africanos y norteafricanos acaban tomando el poder del barrio. la situación en el barrio aparece por lo tanto basada en una lucha por el poder donde los seres marginados se hallan entre sí y no tienen ningún otro remedio para poder sobrevivir que el de luchar el uno contra el otro. esta lucha se destaca tanto en los retratos presentes a lo largo de la obra, como en la estructura de ésta. los diferentes miembros de la sociedad baja en el barrio raval (o en los barrios periféricos de barcelona en general) son retratados meticulosamente a lo largo de la obra. el autor pone en paralelo los dos lados de la clase baja permitiendo así que aparezcan dos mundos antagónicos. el primer mundo que emerge es el de los de arriba, jefes del barrio, quienes son los ex-legionarios sexagenarios (el gandhi, que consiguió su apodo por ser “muy flaco y calvo y [tener] una manera de hablar muy tranquila, sin decir una palabra más alta que otra” (casavella 23), y sus seguidores, andrade y fontán), y quienes acaban suplantados al final por “los moros y los negros”. los representantes de este mundo de arriba toman las decisiones y no respetan ninguna regla que no sea la establecida por ellos en el barrio. mantienen el poder usando la fuerza y la intimidación, y “cada día [el gandhi] se paseaba con su buga por el barrio. […] era la ronda y todo el barrio lo sabía” (casavella 23). el otro mundo citado anteriormente y que debe de obedecer y seguir las leyes establecidas por los de arriba, es el de los de abajo, representados en el texto como unos gitanos, cantantes de rumba (el nen y sus tres amigos: el palito, el topo y el tostao), o como el barrio personificado. de manera continua, se alternan los puntos de vista de un lado al otro, a través de dos relatos hechos por dos narradores autodiegéticos distintos. la primera de estas dos narraciones subjetivas pertenece al palito, que se dirige a un “usted”, y la segunda pertenece al gandhi, que escribe su diario. así que cada lado tiene su voz. sin embargo, ninguno de los narradores es omnisciente sino que ambos cuentan los mismos eventos desde su perspectiva y según su propia experiencia. además, esta obra se divide en bribias1, lo que empuja al lector a no creer ciegamente lo que se dice y a interrogarse sobre el relato de los narradores que no son fidedignos. al involucrar al lector así, éste se ve obligado a forjar su propia opinión acerca de la sociedad descrita. el primer paralelismo en la estructura aparece entonces con la alternación de estos dos relatos. así que el diario del gandhi, que interrumpe de vez en cuando el relato del palito, representa una novela dentro de la novela, y pretende dar al lector un vistazo sobre la ascensión de gandhi y cómo éste logró ser jefe del barrio. de manera tradicional, siguiendo un orden cronológico, el mafioso cuenta su niñez en el campo, la pérdida de las tierras agrícolas por parte de sus padres y su matriculación en el regimiento basado en el norte de áfrica. esta metaliteratura acaba con la pérdida de todo su prestigio de jefe a mano de los 1 bribia significa “arte y modo de engañar halagando con buenas palabras” o bien “ociosidad voluntaria, pereza, falta de ganas de trabajar, aversión al trabajo”. (definición sacada de la rae) inmigrantes africanos y la previsión de su propia muerte por el nen. en paralelo, se escucha la voz de palito, protagonista testigo de lo que pasó, quien cuenta de manera más coloquial la historia. no dice nada acerca de su vida personal, ni de su niñez ni de su familia, sino que él también da su versión sobre la vida del gandhi y de sus socios, desde su apogeo hasta su decadencia total. sin embargo, el palito usa un estilo más oral, como si fuera dialogando en la vida real, y sin tomar en cuenta ningún orden cronológico. además, este fluir de conciencia se ve cortado por declaraciones metanarrativas que comentan el proceso de creación o los propósitos de la narración, y trata de las “cosas que ya le contar[á] [al “usted”] según vengan al caso y otras que le cuent[a] ahora” (casavella 17). sólo se sabe que cuenta hechos que pasaron en un tiempo determinado pero se crea la duda en cuanto al momento en el cual acaba la obra. al contrario de la historia del gandhi, no se puede saber si han pasado años o días después del encarcelamiento de palito y uno sólo puede especular. a través de su relato, el joven parece confundido, hasta que a veces se contradice, negando una información que dio antes. y al final, se descubre que el palito está en un manicomio y que cada día vuelve a narrar su versión de la historia a su reflejo en el espejo. así, se juntan en esta misma obra dos estilos diferentes: el de la generación anterior, que estaba arriba, con un lenguaje más literario y el de la generación que sigue, la de abajo, con un relato más coloquial. a través de esta diferencia, la vida en el submundo se describe de manera sórdida, usando un lenguaje que busca reproducir la realidad desde un punto de vista muy personalizado. así que casavella define a sus personajes usando el lenguaje, las jergas del barrio y los sociolectos juveniles que describen el submundo en el que viven. sin embargo, aunque se oponen, los dos representantes de los dos lados acaban su vida de manera patética, sin que ninguno logre mejorar su situación, y dejan al lector con una sensación de frustración frente a su incapacidad de encontrar una solución. así que, a lo largo de la novela, se hace sentir cierto dinamismo por parte de los personajes y todos cambian de manera paralela al barrio y al entorno en el cual viven. sin embargo, al final acaban fracasando, unos muertos y otros encarcelados, como si su destino fuera el de caminar hacia abajo porque según el palito “es más fácil caminar cuesta abajo que cuesta arriba” (casavella 27). estos personaje caen en los abismos del submundo, de donde nadie los va a sacar, como dice el palito cuando se resigne a intentar sobrevivir en este (sub)mundo de donde nunca podrán salir: “nos pusimos triste porque se veía claro lo que iba a pasar [...] que ni el tostao, ni el topo, ni yo íbamos a poder largar del barrio [...]” (casavella 151). así que a través de estos personajes, la sociedad baja presenta síntomas de mala salud espiritual, azotada por problemas como el paro, la incertidumbre y el pánico que produce el proyectarse en un futuro poco prometedor. estos temas, presentes en la vida real llaman la atención de francisco casavella, quien nos expone las diferentes reacciones posibles ante una vida que no da oportunidades en la clase baja de barcelona. así, el triunfo pertenece a unas de las obras que, como las describe carmen de urioste, funcionan como un espejo de la situación político-social del país, manifestando de manera contracultural la integración completa de españa en el mundo occidental, con el cual comparte los problemas de las sociedades de consumo: la propia existencia de movimientos contraculturales, el desempleo, la violencia, el terrorismo, la xenofobia, el agotamiento de los recursos naturales y la drogadicción. incontestablemente, predomina la violencia en la obra y las prácticas deshonestas de personajes como el palito son descritas al decir que “les sacáb[an] el dinero a los marinos americanos y a los marinos italianos y el bolso a las extranjeras de piel colorado” (casavella 15). esta sociedad no deja a los de abajo más remedio que obedecer a los de arriba, y éstos sólo buscan mantener el poder en su barrio porque nunca lograrán encontrarlo en otras partes de la ciudad. otro paralelismo en la obra que demuestra la dualidad se insinúa en los espacios. de manera literal aparecen dos planos en la obra. se describen dos tipos de lugares: los de arriba simbolizados por los terrados, por los cuales el nen volaba cuando tenía esperanza de volverse el “rey de la rumba” tal como su padre lo era, hasta que se cayera en el mundo real y que le tuvieran que cortar tres dedos. más adelante, se presenta el ambiente de los de abajo: los bares, garajes, sótanos, huecos, la cárcel y las calles estrechas. esta acumulación de sitios cerrados, sucios, oscuros, manchados de sangre y de aceite insinúan una atmósfera sofocante y opresiva, donde se destaca la angustia que, por ejemplo, se debe sentir al sentarse “en la parada cerrada del mercado, entre los trozos de lechuga tirados y pisoteados en los callejones y el olor a pescado y a naranjas y a lejía” (casavella 16). esta suciedad de los lugares se mezcla con la de los personajes, descritos desde las primera páginas, teniendo la “cara sucia y los zapatos sucios” (casavella 13). un sitio que se destaca de los demás es el bar de la chata, la madre del nen. en esta sociedad de consumo, el bar representa el centro del barrio. este espacio interior cerrado se convierte en el cuartel general del gandhi y de sus socios mientras sigue abierto a los demás para que vengan a tomar alcohol, jugar o fumar. como dice carmen de urioste, se ha producido un desplazamiento desde la ciudad al bar, y por consiguiente, el espacio interior del bar se ha apropiado de diversas funciones socioeconómicas que antes se distribuían entre distintas áreas ciudadanas: como lugar de encuentro y socialización […], como espacio de presentación de fanzines y grupos musicales […]; como centro laboral [que] abre una oferta de trabajo temporal […] con un salario a menudo insuficiente […]; como lugar de transacción de drogas. así que el bar de la chata encierra esos usos, y aparece como el punto de encuentro y de confrontación entre los dos lados descritos en la obra, sobre todo durante la noche porque como dice el gandhi a la chata: “a todos [les] pesa el sol, chata, a todos” (casavella 30). además, a causa de la pobreza en la cual viven personajes como los cantantes de rumba, el bar (o otros lugares aún más sucios y sórdidos) aparece como el único lugar donde pueden encontrar dinero, alcohol y droga, o sea todo lo que necesitan para sobrevivir en este mundo que no les ofrece más oportunidades. sin embargo, a lo largo de la novela, se deja determinar que de los espacios, el de los de arriba como el de los de abajo, emana un ambiente opresivo. al desarrollar las descripciones de los espacios, casavella no deja percibir ningún otro color que el blanco o el negro. se mezclan estos dos colores dejando discernir un mundo gris, donde ya no se encuentra esperanza. aunque de los fines de las dos narraciones, ninguna es optimista, se notan algunas diferencias según el personaje que cuenta la fábula. primero, el relato del gandhi acaba en un garaje, mientras que el del palito acaba en un manicomio, donde el tiempo se vuelve cíclico. más adelante, el gandhi está muerto mientras que el palito sigue repitiendo su historia indefinidamente, como se demuestra en el relato mismo al repetir muchas veces escenas como la del nen cantando con su guitarra una y otra vez. de todos modos, lo que se demuestra es que no importa cuales son los de arriba porque si unos mueren, vienen otros como en el caso de los africanos que reemplazaron a los exlegionarios. sin embargo, para los de abajo, hundidos en su submundo, no surge ninguna salida a través de la obra: el futuro no se anuncia mejor que el pasado y la situación se empeora, como dijo el palito: “una noche pasó algo que empezó a cambiar las cosas. para peor, como sólo podían cambiar” (casavella 152). así que casavella se asegura de mostrar la realidad de manera meticulosa pero en ningún momento trata de dar una solución. ambos lados están encerrados en sus espacios, en sus destinos de gente marginada por el poder impuesto por la sociedad capitalista en la que viven. padecen el impacto del problema del paro y sus dramáticas consecuencias en una sociedad en la cual el consumismo es uno de los elementos legitimizadores del propio sistema. como dice mariana iztúriz boada, “a través del desarrollo histórico de la humanidad, el imperialismo y el capitalismo han generado el control oligopólico de pocos grupos mediante la exclusión de otros”. esta exclusión encarna una división social y así parece que el mundo donde viven estos personajes, no sigue las reglas establecidas por la sociedad sino que tiene sus propias leyes. por ejemplo, cuando el gandhi decide torturar y exiliar al guacho, padre del nen y “rey de la rumba”, nadie se pone en su camino para impedírselo. tampoco se puede eliminar a los inmigrantes y, cuando éstos tomaron el poder en el barrio, el pueblo seguía las órdenes sin preguntas. a lo largo de la obra, se entiende una recuperación de la realidad del barrio […] desde una posición crítica […] pero desde la inmediatez de una experiencia vivida reconstruida literariamente por medio de un universo cultural que cada vez más se distancia del de los autores de las generaciones anteriores. (izquierdo 6) así que, en esta obra, se pone en paralelo dos mundos dramáticamente opuestos pero que, al mismo tiempo, son sumergidos por el capitalismo y el imperialismo. estas dos ideologías, al hacer prevalecer los atributos de uno para asegurar su éxito o más bien su supervivencia, empujan a la gente a tratar de imponerse ignorando los derechos de los demás. de aquí surge la importancia de subrayar la existencia de dos mundos luchando por la misma meta y que entonces se confrontan y se entrechocan como occurre en esta obra. esta novela ofrece así una dualidad tanto en su forma como en su fondo. casavella confronta la vida social de cada lado de esta clase baja barcelonesa, jugando con la narración y los distintos tipos del lenguaje. se exponen dos puntos de vista mostrados en paralelo, es decir dos caras de la clase baja pero ninguna da una alternativa para una vida mejor. ayudándose de una forma basada en el paralelismo y fijándose en dar una reproducción fiel de la realidad a través de su obra, el autor consigue transmitir una sensación sofocante exponiendo los problemas de la inmigración, la corrupción y la injusticia en los barrios periféricos de barcelona, en aquella época de cambio. francisco casavella logra transmitir esta conclusión con diferentes medios, al presentar un acercamiento al texto mediante la intertextualidad, y ver al nen como el hamlet del barrio, uno de los personajes trágicos encerrados en su destino. asimismo, se puede relacionar esta obra con la de josé ángel mañas, historias del kronen, en la que se narra la vida de un joven perteneciente a la clase media alta de la sociedad madrileña. ambas obras completan una panorámica de la vida de los jóvenes durante este periodo de cambio, donde nadie parece tener una solución para lograr la felicidad o encontrarle un sentido a su vida. obras citadas casavella, francisco. el triunfo. barcelona: ediciones versal, 1990. de urioste, carmen. “cultura punk: la “tetralogía kronen” de josé ángel mañas o el arte de hacer ruido.” ciberletras, revista de crítica literaria y de cultura jul. 2004: arizona state university. 4 nov. 2005 <http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ciberletras/v11/urioste.html> istúriz boada, mariana. “¿globalización o marginalización de las periferias?” felafacs 26 oct. 2005. 10 dic. 2005 <http://www.felafacs.org/node/805> izquierdo, josé maría. “narradores españoles novísimos de los años noventa.” revista de estudios hispánicos. washington university, 2001.293-208. mañas, josé ángel. sonko95. autorretrato con negro de fondo. barcelona: destino, 1999. mcroberts, kenneth. catalonia. nation building without a state. canada: oxford university press, 2001. roman, manuel. growth and stagnation of the spanish economy. the long wave: 1954-1993. england: athenaeum press, 1997. solé, carlota. “inmigración interior e inmigración exterior”. barcelona: universitat autònoma de barcelona, 2000. 211-224. what is voter disenfranchisement the color of suffrage: voter disenfranchisement, power threat hypotheses and modern democracy erin m. kerrison criminology, law and society predating the reconstruction era in the united sates, the practice of criminal disenfranchisement, has existed throughout history in european and early roman law as a retributive consequence of offending as well as a deterrent to future offending. shortly following the writing of the declaration of independence, north american british colonies enacted restrictive provisions that disenfranchised criminals from political participation. in the united states however, criminal disenfranchisement and limits on voter participation, is the only aspect of suffrage that continues to expand instead of contract. ratified in 1870, the fifteenth amendment of the united states constitution extended to right to vote to liberated black citizens. women gained the right to vote in 1920 with the ratification of the nineteenth amendment and the minimum voting age for state and federal electoral participation was decreased to eighteen years when the twenty-sixth amendment was ratified in 1971. nevertheless, voting restrictions for individuals presently or formerly subject to criminal justice system supervision persists and literature to date reveals that the motivations stimulating the present legislation is grafted from a historically discriminatory agenda. political, sociological and philosophical arguments challenging the permanent political exile experienced by disenfranchised felons and ex-felons, posit that of all of the collateral consequences endured, voter disenfranchisement is the most institutionally alienating and unjustified. 1 exclusion from the civic process not only counters democratic ideals by denying citizens the opportunity to contribute to policy agenda design but also systematically disempowers discrete social groups, resulting in the palpably destructive isolation of these individuals and their communities. civil death, or the denial of human rights inflicted on individuals faced with felony conviction, hugely impacts american exceptionalism as this 1 brewer and heitzig, 2008; davis, 2005; hull, 2006; manza and uggen, 2006; ochs, 2006; shapiro, 1997; uggen et al., 2006; walton, 2001. erin kerrison 2 country’s high incarceration rate grossly surpasses the dimension of criminal justice activity exhibited by any other country. 2 furthermore, the incarceration rate that exists on american soil is disproportionately comprised of racial minorities which consequently informs our socio-political landscape. racial tensions, community disorganization, viable labor market access, familial structures, voter participation and criminal justice policy are endemically compromised for social groups experiencing disproportionate social isolation. 3 more importantly, because voting restrictions for individuals presently or formerly subjected to criminal justice supervision were implemented as a feature of a historically discriminatory agenda, this research aims to identify whether current legislation seeks to further the agenda of an elite population at the expense of the disadvantaged and socially disabled. in concert with questions concerning the larger social justice implications of felony disenfranchisement, this paper endeavors to uncover the relationship between a potentially racist retributive penal system, the outcomes from which fall short of rehabilitative, and the nature and degree of social and political stigmatization experienced by the system’s casualties. the principal challenges raised in this research venture to reveal not only the historicity and motivation animating felon disenfranchisement legislation but to examine the racialization of punishment and the consequent demographic composition of our prison population and politically disenfranchised citizens. additional aims include the disclosure of recent disenfranchisement techniques employed by the state in relation to power and racial threat hypotheses as well as an assessment of resultant minority electoral participation necessarily shaped by structural roadblocks to voter participation. lastly, the conclusions offered beg readers to consider the implications of these practices for the advancement of social justice and redress the issues by offering solutions and plans for a more inclusive sociopolitical framework. power threat hypotheses initially introduced as an explanation for exhibited tension trends and shifts unfolding between socially disparate groups, power threat hypotheses evolved as a means through which social scientists could identify where thresholds for tolerance began, diminished and would ultimately remerge. as the hypotheses stand, the exercise of bridging historically separate social groups will initially worsen 2 the 2007 united states’ rate of incarceration of 762 inmates per 100,000 population is the highest reported rate in the world,‖ prison inmates at midyear – 2008‖ report, united states department of justice: bureau of justice statistics; manza et al., 2004; walker, 2006. 3 brewer and heitzig, 2008; davis, 2005; miller, 1996; preuhs, 2001; shapiro, 1997; wilson, 1987. the color of suffrage 3 relations between the groups due to competition over scarce resources. 4 with respect to reconstruction era race relations, the hypotheses proffer that as white majorities grow increasingly threatened by the influx of minority group members who threaten their monopoly on employment positions, housing markets, economic advantage and political power, the threshold for tolerance will decline and tension will spark violence and coercive control. 5 there exists in the united states a positive relationship between minority presence and coercive social control that historically, the political hegemony has hesitated to relinquish. 6 racial threat hypotheses in particular suggest that the smaller the initial ratio of blacks and black power to the white majority, the more intense and severe the newly implemented measures of social control – they will ultimately decelerate as black populations grow and sociopolitical structures shift, but they will also endure nonetheless. 7 following the 1968 enactment of the twelfth amendment which officially abolished slavery and servitude, access to paid labor markets and land ownership resulted in the swelling of black economic and political power as well as looming redistribution and reoccupation of space and status that white americans were not ready or willing to surrender. collectively, whites began to implement varied mechanisms of social control, including the burning and pillaging of black-owned property, public lynching and criminal imprisonment. 8 racialization of punishment it is important to recall that prior to the 1868 ratification of the fourteenth amendment, black men and women were not legally recognized or protected as citizens – they were regarded as property. the constitution was written during an era that espoused very narrow definitions of citizenship. citizenship was limited to white, property-holding men for whom as it was, the pulse and structure of their social, economic and politic welfare was tethered to the subordination of blacks. following abolition, southern states in particular needed to quickly devise a new vehicle through which they could legally restrict access to freedom, social membership and political agency of newly freed slaves. 9 by 1870, states were obliged to reconcile three constitutional enactments before making strides toward implementable limitations on the black political voice. passed in 1865, the thirteenth amendment abolished slavery with the exception of punishment for 4 blalock, 1967; orr, marion and darrell m. west. power and race in cross-group coalitions, in persons, 2007. 5 jackson, 1986. 6 beck and tolnay, 1990; behrens et al., 2003; blalock, 1967. 7 liska and chamlin, 1984. 8 liska, 1992; myers, 1990. 9 davis, 2005; jackson, 1986. erin kerrison 4 crimes committed against the state. the fourteenth amendment was enacted in 1868 as a measure to equally protect basic rights for american citizens, revocable only insofar as an individual was guilty of participating in acts of rebellion and the fifteenth amendment ratified in 1870 asserted that citizens’ suffrage rights could not be restricted on the basis of race. slavery and servitude could not exist in this country unless as punishment for a crime committed against the state. 10 the most straightforward means through which sates could restrict a mounting black political voice was simply to criminalize their behavior. the revocation of a citizen’s voting rights is constitutional under state discretion insofar as the individual is guilty of participating in acts of rebellion or other crimes. 11 article viii, §182 in the 1901 drafting of the alabama constitution expanded the list of enumerated crimes under which voting rights were retracted and several other states quickly followed suit. 12 for alabama, after which other states later modeled their constitutions, the list of crimes punishable by imprisonment in a penitentiary and consequent disenfranchisement included: treason, murder, arson, embezzlement, malfeasance in office, larceny, receiving stolen property, obtaining property or money under false pretenses, perjury, subornation of perjury, robbery, assault with intent to rob, burglary, forgery, bribery, assault and battery on the wife, bigamy, living in adultery, sodomy, incest, rape, miscegenation, crime against nature…[and] any crime involving moral turpitude.13 the concluding catchall provision was interpreted and employed at the alabama supreme court’s discretion and was understood as an act that is "immoral in itself, regardless of the fact whether it is punishable by law.‖ 14 effectively, via a restructuring of legislation and guidelines for imprisonment, circuit courts could and did reclaim voting rights from black citizens. in addition, the incentive to criminalize black behavior allowed southern states to implement convict leasing and debt peonage systems that placed blacks back in plantations from which they were recently emancipated. similar initiatives unfolded in northern states where factories were built within the prison walls and fueled by black inmate labor. both methods of control covertly spelled the exploitation of black labor and bodies, expunged federal government from its constitutional obligations to equally protect 10 united states constitution: 13 th amendment, section 1. 11 united states constitution, 14 th amendment, section 2. 12 behrens et al., 2003; myers, 1990. 13 alabama constitution, article viii, section 182, drafted in 1901. 14 behrens et al., 2003. the color of suffrage 5 its citizens and spelled large racial disparities in criminal involvement and incarceration, much of which persists today. arguably, the evolution of the american prison system directly correlates with a swelling minority political presence or the perceived threat of an intimidating minority influence. 15 through the racial typification of crime, the prison-industrial complex operates in part as a mechanism of social control whereby latent white supremacy paradigms socially, economically, politically and culturally advance. 16 through the physical and political imprisonment of blacks, states are able to redress the mounting issue of america’s black voter population without violating the constitution’s thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth or twenty-fourth amendments. despite challenges to these practices, the supreme court holds that racism is individual and not institutional and that incarceration rates and the collateral consequences disproportionately suffered by blacks are not unconstitutional. 17 the historicity of racial privilege makes racism and resultant oppression a feature of our cultural landscape and an energy sprung from ideals and beliefs that endure to date. in 2002 senator mitch mcconnell (r-ky) vehemently opposed felon enfranchisement and admitted, ―states have a significant interest in reserving the vote for those who have abided by the social contract…those who break our laws, should not dilute the vote of law-abiding citizens.‖ 18 mcconnell however, fails to recognize the arbitrary definitions surrounding unlawful behavior and the direction of the skew to which social contract benefits often lean. the racialization of crime and incarceration and the political disenfranchisement of racial minorities function to preserve the ―purity of the ballot box‖ as well as obscure and assuage hegemonic fears of diluted strength and influence. defining voter and felon disenfranchisement the effort to safeguard an elite monopoly over policy and governance arose as early as 1870 with the implementation of varied voter disenfranchisements tactics, all of which were grafted from an agenda working against blacks’ social mobility. the series of social control mechanisms included poll taxes demanding wage garnishing that far exceeded what many blacks could forfeit, literacy tests were mandated following an era during which it was illegal for blacks to read or write, grandfather clauses were drafted limiting electoral participation to those with a family legacy of registered voters and widespread lynching and social terrorism frequently took place. all of these practices were statutes and behaviors sprung 15 davis, 2005. 16 brewer and heitzeg, 2008. 17 richardson v. ramirez, 418 u.s. 24 (1974); mccleskey v. kemp, 481 u.s. 279 (1987). 18 behrens et al., 2003, p.571. erin kerrison 6 from an agenda that sought to informally disenfranchise black voters prior to the drafting of constitutions resembling alabama’s. as they stand today, felon disenfranchisement laws are constitutional or statutory restrictions on the right to vote after one has been convicted of a felony and are applied to felons residing in a particular state regardless of the state in which they were convicted. 19 the implications of this guideline weighs heavily on the black population which has not only lost many of its members to federal prison facilities, but for whom parolees exiting these institutions are released and establish themselves in those very states with stringent disenfranchisement laws. 20 designations of felons and felony offenses differ amongst the fifty states and cover a spectrum of activities, the punitive sanctions against which are particularly varied as well. albeit broad, a felony offense is a crime punishable by a prison sentence of one year or greater. 21 additionally, felons are divided into four classifications. the first and most limited in their political access are incarcerated felons who are prohibited from voting polls in forty-eight states – maine and vermont do not exclude incarcerated inmates from their voter population. nonincarcerated felons are grouped in the second classification comprised of parolees who remain under fairly rigid criminal justice supervision and the third category consists of individuals serving probationary terms nearing the expiration of their sentence. the fourth classification is comprised of ex-felons who still bear the weight of a stigmatizing criminal record. since the 1865 ratification of the thirteenth amendment abolishing and prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude, states have found avenues through which the black political voice would be quieted. furthermore, no matter the state under scrutiny, there exist a greater proportion of disenfranchised blacks than whites and this is a product of the united states’ skewed prison populations. prison demographics and implications for blacks in america incarceration is the most frequently used nonviolent form of coercive social control. 22 in the united states, the existence of laws and penalties that disproportionately target minority groups will obviously produce a dramatic overrepresentation of blacks in every phase of the criminal justice system and as long as a collective fear of crime and the black-menace-caricature persists, these numbers will not subside. 23 additionally, when discussing racially charged felon 19 united states sentencing commission; preuhs, 2001. 20 california, kentucky, louisiana and texas. http://www.sentencingproject.org, retrieved 11/16/2008. 21 2008 federal sentencing guidelines manual, united states sentencing commission. 22 myers, 1990. 23 davis, 2005; jackson, 1986; walker, 2006. http://www.sentencingproject.org/ the color of suffrage 7 disenfranchisement laws, readers must pay close attention to definitions of felony offenses and how their consequent convictions unfold. more blacks than whites under criminal justice supervision have suffered the consequences of felony convictions because their offenses are exacerbated by a greater number of prior arrest and conviction records as well as inadequate defense counsel and pretrial detainment status. 24 felony conviction exists largely in part as a reflection of racially disparate judicial conclusions at every stage of the criminal justice system, many of which begin in our educational systems and juvenile courts. 25 the department of justice reports a staggering racial disparity in incarceration rates for minority offenders, particularly black men, as compared to their white counterparts. 26 in 2007, one in ten black males aged 25-29 was in prison or jail, as were one in twenty-eight latino males compared to one in fifty-nine white males in the same age group. in 2006, 40% of the prison and jail population was black while blacks constituted only 12% of the american population. 27 for the year 2000, state and federal cases subject to mandatory minimum sentences and mandated convictions of twenty years or greater, 60% of these rulings were handed down to black defendants while white defendants were only sentenced to incarceration terms exceeding twenty years 17% of the time. 28 lastly, black males risk a 32% chance of prison incarceration at some point during their life course, latino males have a 17% chance and white males risk a 6% chance of serving a prison sentence. 29 if residing in states other than maine and vermont, all of these men and women will experience some aspect of voter disenfranchisement. in print today, felony incarceration and subsequent disenfranchisement may not be animated by the same white supremacist rhetoric exhibited in alabama’s 1901 constitutional drafts but their effects are dangerously similar to those of a latter era. 30 criminal justice system expansion not only triggers markedly adverse consequences for the incarcerated and the communities from which they are drawn, but also undermines tenets of the voting rights act passed by congress in 1964 as felons now constitute largest group of disenfranchised americans. 31 penal expansion for blacks – arrests, convictions, incarceration, and parole – and subsequent voter disenfranchisement severs social bonds and membership and undercuts individual offenders’ capacity to (re)connect with their political system. 24 miller, 1996. 25 miller, 1996. 26 united states department of justice: bureau of justice statistics. 27 united states census bureau. 28 mauer and king, 2007. 29 mauer and king, 2007. 30 shapiro, 1997. 31 manza and uggen, 2006. erin kerrison 8 exacerbating sociopolitical alienation, fourteen states currently permanently disenfranchise ex-felons and in thirty-one states even non-incarcerated convicted felons serving probation sentences also lose their right to vote in state and federal elections. blacks have suffered the greatest loss of voting rights where one in six men cannot vote because of current and prior felony convictions and/or they lack the knowledge and motivation to reclaim their rights. 32 reportedly, state officials are ignorant with respect to voter registration guidelines as ex-felons who can vote have in the past been misinformed concerning their voter participation eligibility. 33 additionally, the strength and validity of power threat hypotheses persist, as the positive relationship between states’ minority racial composition and the severity of felon disenfranchisement laws adopted is statistically significant. 34 given the racial composition of our prison population, felon disenfranchisement laws necessarily homogenize the voting public, skew the partisan makeup of our political bodies and influence the construction and design of policy agendas. electoral participation: 2000, 2004, 2008 and beyond despite the 1964 voting rights act, the denial of state-level political involvement for disenfranchised felons and ex-felons also spells the denial of federal and presidential electorate participation and tainted electoral outcomes. due to felon disenfranchisement statutes, an estimated 4.7 million people did not vote in the 2000 presidential election of which over 2 million are black (these figures do not include jail inmates and pretrial detainees who could not vote on november 4, 2000). 35 census bureau data indicate that the majority of nonwhite voters identify with a democratic party affiliation and reportedly voted for democratic candidates in state and federal elections. 36 in florida alone, 613,514 people were denied the opportunity to vote in the 2000 election and some political theorists argue that their vote would have swayed the election outcome. 37 additionally many black voters in florida reported cases of terrorism and technical disenfranchisement which included state trooper road blocks in predominately black counties, needless driver’s license and vehicle registration checks, incomplete voter registration rosters and early closing of polling centers to which black registrants were designated. an estimated 2,085 votes were lost that day and the republican victory in florida emerged only from a 32 king, 2007. 33 behrens et al., 2003. 34 preuhs, 2001. 35 manza and uggen, 2006. 36 manza and uggen, 2004; united states census bureau. 37 manza and uggen, 2004; smith and seltzer, ―the deck and the sea: the african american vote in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004,‖ in persons 2007; walton, 2001. the color of suffrage 9 537 popular vote margin. 38 additionally, for three states exhibiting high percentages of latino registered voters (arizona: 25.3%, nevada: 19.7% and new mexico: 42.1%) each claim an average of 1,144 complaints concerning technical voter disenfranchisement – this figure neither includes the number of complaints actually reported nor the number of unreported disenfranchisement instances sustained. 39 despite the unanimous supreme court ruling that no registered voter can be denied the opportunity to vote, these events took place and remain unchallenged. 40 these twenty-first century practices mimic the hegemonic terrorism suffered by blacks during the reconstruction era and reflect a pervasive and persistent racial threat response that continues to surface as minority political influence or its potential at the very least, begins to mount. since the 2004 presidential election the bush administration has participated in the passing of laws and provisions limiting the political reach of black voters. in 2005, georgia governor sonny perdue signed house bill 244 reducing the number of valid identifications that render an adult eligible to vote in georgia. currently, in order to register to vote, georgia citizens must provide valid state-issued photograph identification. this is problematic for poorer residents without passports and drivers licenses. also in 2005, florida legislators passed house bill 1567, similar to governor perdue’s mandate but also expanded the buffer around polling stations to one hundred feet as the area within which voter assistance is prohibited. this mandate poses a particular string of challenges for latino voters who require assistance due to language and literacy barriers. data illustrate that affidavits, provisional ballots and voter assistance at the polls are used disproportionately by minority voters, the majority of whom tend to vote for democrat candidates. 41 partisan composition has seen significantly higher expected levels of democratic support from racial minorities and disenfranchised felons in particular from 1792 onwards, which is precisely when republicans gained control of government’s executive and legislative branches and their subsequent lawmaking agendas. president-elect obama’s victory hid not emerge solely as a result of increased voter protection but also as a consequence of an existing political voice that pushed itself to materialize beyond the reaches of a racially discriminatory legislation. racial threat hypothesists contend that as minority populations increase, so will their political presence and power and in response, society’s white hegemony may continue to implement other institutional mechanisms of social control. if 38 manza and uggen, 2004; walton, 2001. 39 walters, ―federal enforcement of voting rights: party competition, disenfranchisement, and remedial measures,‖ in persons, 2007. 40 carrington v. rash, 380 u.s. 89 (1965). 41 walters, in persons, 2007. erin kerrison 10 increases in black voter participation resulted in the unchecked technical disenfranchisement experienced by florida’s duval county voters, then conceivably, incarcerated and non-incarcerated felons are guaranteed an increase in disenfranchisement severity. racial threat hypothesists also assert that the efforts exhibited by the monopolizing elite in response to perceived social threat at the hands of a growing minority population never manifest a decrease in social control implementation, only a deceleration and the adoption of a more innovative means of control and terrorism. 42 for example, the end of parole in pennsylvania will see a huge surge in its disenfranchised felon population as the current composition of pennsylvania voting registrants includes every other individual with a criminal record with the exception of current inmates. despite his democratic party affiliation, if governor rendell successfully eradicates the option of parole for serious offenders he will effectively revoke the right to vote for nearly 13,000 prospective parolees. 43 these policies thwart the efforts of the civil rights movement and challenge the mandates of the fifteenth amendment. as disenfranchisement laws increase in severity, blacks disproportionately suffer a greater extent of political exclusion because the ability for blacks to claim gains towards social membership diminishes as fewer and fewer black people qualify for voter registration. 44 implications for social justice the systems and procedures outlining felon disenfranchisement challenge the advancement of social justice on a number of levels. the role of government is to structure our institutions such that its least advantaged members have access to the best of possible outcomes and to ensure that the installation of these institutions drives individuals to regard one another not as means to ends but instead know an individual as end in and of itself. 45 if this is indeed its objective, then government must not relinquish its obligations to the tenets of the constitution, the promise of justice or steer us dangerously towards the feudal system that societies have long abandoned. secondly, the cancellation of any aspect of full citizenship for nonincarcerated ex-felons who have served their sentences and repaid their debt to society not only challenges the constitution’s fourteenth amendment which protects american citizenship and all of its benefits 46 but also challenges the eighth amendment which prohibits the state from imposing excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishment against offenders. 42 behrens et al., 2003; blalock, 1967; preuhs, 2001. 43 the pennsylvania board of probation and parole. 44 ochs, 2006. 45 rawls, 1971. 46 trop v. dulles, 356 u.s. 86 (1958). the color of suffrage 11 additionally, the revocation of citizenship rights for individuals who commit crimes against the state is not an unreasonable means of punishment but if the majority of the prison population is of a racial or ethnic minority then the supreme court is obliged to address the consequences of legislation that is arbitrary and racially inequitable. 47 states with the highest percentages of black residents frequently have the harshest disenfranchisement laws and those with the smallest relative black populations are less inclined to exclude felons from their voting polls. 48 lastly, the authority of law and the integrity of law makers are judged against the knowledge of whether policy implications are endemically discriminatory and exclude allegedly expendable groups. voter disenfranchisement, be it technical or felony-related, erodes the likelihood that the government can realistically anticipate civil cooperation from marginalized groups who are systematically denied the opportunity to participate in the making of laws to which they are ultimately expected to adhere. due to the social alienation and disorganization that ensues, with increased disenfranchisement stringency, antisocial behavior, deviance and criminal participation are likely to increase. felons and ex-felons, the majority of whom are black men, face disadvantages arising from incomplete citizenship 49 – the reality of which impedes social justice advancement on a larger scale. the justifications for felon disenfranchisement policies as are outlined in state law and eloquently defended by congressman mcconnell, are very telling with regard to how americans are to interpret their constitution’s correctional objectives and understandings of full democratic participation. our strong get tough anti-crime consensus allows for racially motivated laws to operate under the guise of retributive punishment rather than reveal the implications that result for minority suffrage, political mobility and social inclusion. the suspension of voting rights experienced by felons and ex-felons necessarily damages not only the community to which they belong but leaves all of society with a deficient democratic model. conclusion the state ought not to exact further retribution against ex-felons who have already served their sentences. felon disenfranchisement serves only to increase social distance and blights individuals’ capacity for self-determination in a larger society. if there remain viable hopes for meaningful civic reintegration, felon disenfranchisement policy does all restorative justice efforts a gross disservice. 47 furman v. georgia, 408 u.s. 38 (1972). 48 manza and uggen, 2006. 49 uggen et al., 2006. erin kerrison 12 those who participate in democratic processes have a greater investment in resulting decisions, preserving the process and espousing the law. 50 true democracy requires full political participation of all members subject to institutional controls. the relationship between social alienation and the criminal behavior and recidivism that it breeds is not irreparable. a legislative endorsement of political (re)enfranchisement will promote rehabilitation and social reintegration. additionally, the political inclusion of socially marginalized felons and ex-felons may also redress injustices suffered prior to conviction that could have potentially motivated criminal involvement in the first place. racial disparity, particularly as a proxy for class and power, has an enduring influence on the pulse of our social institutions and affects reverberating outcomes for society, the depths of which merit further analysis. as scholars we need to examine the role of power threat hypotheses in the evolution of american political development as well as what will unfold over time between incarceration rates and disenfranchisement restriction severity. since each of the two mechanisms operate in the other’s absence to maintain a hegemonic stronghold on politics, structure, culture and society, then advocates for justice and democracy have much ahead of them in the way of dispelling latently discriminatory social control. more importantly, society is charged with the task of considering how we wish to consider one another and how important it is that our political agenda speak to a larger percentage of society. voting rights are a political as well as philosophical issue. when government attempts to draw lines around voting participants it also outlines a macro national identity. american exceptionalism, systematic exclusion and the delineation of an aggregate identity results in a national profile that many americans do not identify with and may never even come to recognize. surveying less punitive countries and their support for enfranchisement further enunciates the exceptional character of the united states’ commitment to limiting the political rights of so large a population. of the varied rudimentary elements of our democratic model, political diversity and strides toward parity of influence are paramount and affect a national identity that a greater number of citizens will want to internalize and subsequently protect. american society is faced with the future of a growing minority population and needs to reconsider how understandings of citizenship are defined and bolstered as well as the version of democracy to which we may too hastily consent. 50 hull, 2006. the color of suffrage 13 references beck, e. and tolnay, s, (1990). the killing fields of the deep south: the market for cotton and the lynching of blacks, 1882-1930. american sociological review, 55, 526-539. behrens, a., uggen, c. and manza, j., (2003). ballot manipulation and the "menace of negro domination": racial threat and felon disenfranchisement in the united states, 18502002." american journal of sociology, 109(3), 559-605. blalock, h., (1967). toward a theory of minority-group relations. new york: john wiley and sons. brewer, r. and heitzeg, n., (2008). the racialization of crime and punishment: criminal justice, color-blind racism, and the political economy of the prison industrial complex. american behavioral scientist, 51, 625-644. davis, a., (2005) abolition democracy: beyond empire, prisons, and torture. new york: seven stories press. dhami, m., (2005) prison disenfranchisement policy: a threat to democracy? analyses of social issues and public policy, 5(1), 235-247. dixon, t. (2006). schemas as average conceptions: skin tone, television news exposure, and culpability judgments. journalism and mass communication quarterly, 83, 131-149. frampton, m., lopez, i., and simon, j., eds. (2008). after the war on crime: race democracy, and new reconstruction. new york: new york university press. goldfield, m., (1997). the color of politics: race and the mainsprings of american politics. new york: the new press. hull, e., (2006). the disenfranchisement of ex-felons. philadelphia: temple university press. jackson, p. (1986). black visibility, city size, and social control. the sociological quarterly, 27, 185-203. king, r., (2007). expanding the vote: state felony disenfranchisement reform, 1997-2008: the sentencing project. liska, a. (1992). social threat and social control. new york: state university of new york press. liska a. and chamlin, m. (1984). social structure and crime control among macrosocial units. the american journal of sociology, 90, 383-395. erin kerrison 14 manza, j., brooks, c. and uggen, c., (2004). public attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement in the united states. public opinion quarterly, 68(2), 275-286. manza, j. and uggen, c., (2006). locked out: felon disenfranchisement and american democracy. new york: oxford university press. ———. punishment and democracy: disenfranchisement of nonincarcerated felons in the united states. perspectives on politics, 2(3), 491-505. mauer, m. and king, r., (2007). uneven justice: state rates of incarceration by race and ethnicity: the sentencing project. miller, j., (1996). search and destroy: african-american males in the criminal justice system. cambridge: cambridge university press. myers, m., (1990). black threat and incarceration in postbellum georgia. social forces, 69(2), 373-393. ochs, h., (2006). ―colorblind" policy in black and white: racial consequences 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manza, j., (2004). voting and subsequent crime and arrest: evidence from a community sample. columbia human rights law review, 36, 93-245. the color of suffrage 15 united states census bureau (2007). annual estimates of the population by sex, race, and hispanic origin for the united states: april 1, 2000 to july 1, 2007. retrieved november 16, 2008 from http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/nc-est2007-srh.html. united states department of justice. bureau of justice statistics (2002). characteristics of state prison inmates. retrieved november 16, 2008 from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm#inmates. walker, s., (2006). sense and nonsense about crime and drugs: a policy guide. sixth edition. belmont, california: wadsworth publishing. walton, h., (2001). the disenfranchisement of the african-american voter in the 2000 presidential election: the silence of the winner and loser. the black scholar, 31(2), 2124. wilson, w., (1987). the truly disadvantaged: the inner city, the underclass, and public policy. chicago: the university of chicago press. http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/nc-est2007-srh.html http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm#inmates duns scotus and consciousness [concept, vol. xxxv (2012)] 2012 graduate research prize essay: duns scotus at the intersection of christology and consciousness michael n.j. fatigati theology rowan williams writes that the core doctrines of christianity need to “be made more difficult before we can accurately grasp their simplicities,” and that this “making difficult […] is perhaps one of the most fundamental tasks for theology.” 1 if this is true, then contemporary consciousness studies have done a great service to christology by making it more difficult than ever to contemplate the mind of a being who is both human and divine. yet philosophers and psychologists have been so benevolent in their bestowal of new terms and concerns that, for someone studying scholastic theology, it might seem difficult to find an entry point. this paper is an attempt to understand the points of intersection between consciousness studies and christology, as well as to consider some modes of entry via the thought of duns scotus. i. the scholastic understanding of the problem though the scholastic theologians were not explicitly thinking in the same terms as consciousness studies (by which i refer to the study of our mental states, i.e., their relations and what it is like to have them), they were thinking about the same cluster of data currently being further problematized by work in that field. for example, in the garden of gethsemane one finds christ juxtaposing his distressed will with the divine will. 2 when one wills something, generally speaking, one consciously wills it, and so if christ is both human and divine this situation has the odd result that he is consciously, simultaneously, willing opposite things. it will not do to simply chalk this up as a parallel to paul’s mixed will in romans 7, for a divine being ought to be less susceptible to such confusion. further, as a divine being, christ’s knowledge ought to have been perfect, yet the gospels tell of a christ who not only “increased in wisdom,” but who was also ignorant of things like when the apocalypse would occur. 3 it is common for ordinary humans to 1 williams, arius: heresy and tradition, 236. 2 luke 22:42, english standard version 3 luke 2:52, matthew 24:36 have difficulty calling to mind something we “know,” but it might seem absurd to think of a divine being having the same difficulty. the scholastics were alive to these concerns, and their solutions involved sets of metaphysical and logical distinctions. i will hold off on introducing the distinctions developed by consciousness studies until §ii in order to first lay this project’s necessary background. beginning with a look at the scholastic’s distinctions will hopefully make evident their value (such that they are worth continuing to think about), but also their limits (such that consciousness studies pose major difficulties). yet despite their respect for church authorities and shared technical vocabulary, no two scholastics are quite the same, and for the purposes of this paper i will focus on duns scotus. there is some evidence that scotus has the most sophisticated account of the intellect and will in the scholastic period, which would make him a desirable interlocutor for consciousness studies, but this paper cannot adjudicate on so broad a level. 4 thus, it must be stressed that, though this initial exposition moves from thomas aquinas to scotus, it does not do so in order to prove scotus as superior. rather, since scotus developed his beliefs largely in response to aquinas, the progression helps show on what points scotus was flexible, and what were his priorities — which will be important for speculating on any rapprochement between scotus and consciousness studies. to that end, when i exposit scotus both in this section, and in §iii, i will highlight when i think we have encountered a key thesis scotus either would or would not compromise on in order to solve the issues raised by christology and consciousness, labeling them ct (compromisable thesis) and ut (uncompromisable thesis), respectively. prior to duns scotus, scholastics generally distinguished between the two natures in christ and the one person, or suppositum, as seen in thomas aquinas: “but the divine and human natures, although as far apart as possible, nevertheless come together, by the mystery of the incarnation, in one suppositum, in which neither exists accidentally but both essentially.” 5 it was standard fare for the scholastics that natures always exist as individual natures, not as participations in various universal natures. yet individual natures never exist apart from an individuating entity, namely, their suppositum. so while a given nature must always exist as an individual nature, it is only referred to as “this” individual nature on account of its suppositum. what the suppositum gets in return is all the properties of the nature it individuates, for properties come to a suppositum by way of its nature. in the case of humans, then, we call the suppositum that individuates human nature a person, and thus human persons are said to be rational, appetitive and more, on account of their human nature. 4 for a stronger argument in favor of scotus, see cross, metaphysics of the incarnation, 218 ff. 5 aquinas, summa, iii.16.1, ad.1 =ed. bauerschmidt, holy teaching, p. 196. these distinctions allow the aquinas to say that the second person of the trinity is one divine suppositum that, on account of the powerful properties of the divine nature it individuates, is also able to individuate a second nature — a human one. since properties come by way of natures, aquinas distributes potentially contradictory properties between the distinct natures. all of the properties have to be said directly of the person, christ, but because the natures on account of which the properties are said are distinct, there is some explanation as to how it is christ may permissibly hold them. put in more contemporary logical locution this means that “x qua p is r” and “x qua q is not-r.” 6 so with respect to the crucifixion, christ qua divinity wills it, while christ qua humanity does not will it. or, with respect to knowledge of the end times, christ qua divinity knows, while christ qua humanity does not know. so it seems that the above biblical instances regarding christ’s wills and knowledge actually do not pose any logical trouble. yet marilyn adams notes that when we probe what the qua phrase is actually supposed to do here, considerable ambiguity results. 7 if taken as a strictly grammatical distinction, “x qua p is r” may simply be reduced to “x is r,” and since “x qua q is not-r” likewise entails “x is notr,” we again have a contradiction on our hands. if qua is meant to refer to a part of the whole, then the locution risks causing too much division in christ, at least for soteriological purposes. parts of a whole do not generally have their properties said of one another, for example, just because my stomach is upset does not mean that my foot is upset. similarly, if we were to say christ’s human part suffers, this would not have any bearing on the divine part. if the salvation story requires divinity to have borne suffering for the sake of humanity, this sense of qua will not work. a third, less obvious possibility, would be if qua is intended to qualify not the subject (x, in this case), but the predicate (r or not-r). so rather than christ having knowledge and ignorance, christ would have divine-knowledge and human-ignorance, which — being different sorts of properties — are not mere contradictories. but if this notion of “human-ignorance” is meaningful in any sense, it is only so by turning christ’s ignorance into a kind of ignorance that is different in its mode of existence than the kind humans have, which just exists as ignorance, simpliciter, not qualified as human-ignorance. without further qualification on the front end, it seems the person-nature distinction leaves too much ambiguity to be satisfactory. scotus makes some headway by relocating what the “this” refers to when it comes to natures and persons. in sum, scotus distinguishes between individual natures as substances, such that “this” substance can be considered a bearer of properties, and restricts the role of personhood to be a marker of ontological independence. in the above scenario, natures have no “thisness” apart from their suppositum, and so there is no sense in which the nature conceived of as distinct from 6 see adams, christ and horrors, 130 for the original source of this formulation, albeit in a slightly different format. 7 ibid., 130-134. its suppositum could be a bearer of properties. as aquinas says, it is the suppositum that “has existence” while it is the nature “by which” it has existence. 8 so far, scotus agrees: every form, existing as a form in another, gives to that [other] thing that the thing is denominated by its [viz the form’s] action, just as [the form] gives existence (esse) to the thing. and although a form [existing] in a suppositum is denominated by its [viz. the form’s] action, nevertheless [it is not so] by final denomination, but the suppositum ismore finally denominated by the same action [of the form]. 9 so predication reaches its ontological limit when it reaches the suppositum. the key move he makes, though, is not to identify personhood simply with the “in which” of a human nature. instead, as put in a recent study of scotus’ concept of personhood, scotus considers independence, not individuality, as the distinctive feature of personhood. independence presupposes individuality, for only a individual nature can exist independently. the reverse is not true, however, since an individual nature can exist either independently or dependently. 10 individual natures all can at least be conceived of as having had the possibility of depending on something else, though they may not in fact do so at present. a human person, then, is an individual human nature that no longer has the potential to depend on another individual. while scotus sees this distinction as necessary for the case of the incarnation, 11 it is not necessarily ad hoc, for it allows for more explanation of the relation between parts and wholes in other areas (where, say, an organ seems to be an individual substance in the human body, but depends on the heart for existence). this view seems able to avoid the ambiguity of the qua statement. at the incarnation the divine second person of the trinity assumes a second individual nature and binds both natures in a firm, metaphysical sense. the human nature is no less human for depending on another for its existence, because personhood is not what makes one human, it is only what makes one an 8 aquinas, iii.17.2, resp. =ed. bauerschmidt, holy teaching, p. 199-200. 9 scotus, ordinatio, 1.12.1, n. 51 (vatican, v. 54) =ed. cross, metaphysics, 222. also see scotus, ord., ii, d. 3, no. 188 (vat. 7, 483-84) =ed. frank, duns scotus, 185: “this [individuating] entity, therefore, is not the matter or the form of the composite insofar as each of these is a “nature”; rather, it is the ultimate reality of the being that is the matter or that is the form or that is the composite...” 10 bok, “more than just an individual,” 192. 11 otherwise, in assuming an individual nature, the word would have assumed a human person, which borders on adoptionism. see: ibid., 178. independent human. as in the previous formula, we have two natures and one person. but if one wants to ask, “to what do we attribute ignorance?” we can respond, “to this human nature.” there is no ambiguity, because the individual nature is a bearer of properties on its own. christ now shares fully in human nature, but because of its “alien” status, we can say that christ is omniscient, simpliciter, while he is ignorant qua his dependent human nature. 12 in coming to this solution, scotus clearly makes the concept of personhood amenable to the needs to the christological situation, so i would suggest the following is a compromisable thesis for him: ct1: personhood =def. the independent existence of an individual, rational nature. in evaluating this proposal, richard cross wonders whether this means that the essentially omniscient second person of the trinity is “actually” ignorant. he voices no concerns about the conceptual distinctions that have been made, so i take this “actually” to mean more than a charge of logical inconsistency. 13 it seems that cross must have in mind concerns stemming from consciousness, because even if we have laid the right metaphysical framework, it still does not make sense to think of christ as consciously aware of things in a simultaneously omniscient and ignorant way, at least not without further explanation — which leads us to the point where consciousness studies challenge these historical formulations. ii. becoming conscious of new concerns medieval metaphysics understandably runs into trouble with consciousness, because it is only relatively recently that consciousness emerged as a definable, discreet area of study. for much of history, people did not think of themselves as “unified internal subjects of their thoughts and actions.” 14 instead, and this is especially evident in greco-roman culture, people thought of their identity in terms of interactions with their city, family, profession, or other social group. the notion that one has a personal, privileged center of thought developed roughly when kant moved from contemplating the association of ideas to thinking about the self that experienced them. 15 the move to study the coherence of the self that experiences ideas, and what it is “like” to experience them, was a significant development upon the established task of clarifying the processes that produce them. 12 ibid., 136. 13 cross, “the incarnation,” 456. 14 van gulick, “consciousness,” 2. 15 ibid., 2. there are a number of things one might intend by describing something as “conscious,” such that it is not difficult to imagine even a divine person being described as conscious. if all that is meant is “sentient,” “wakeful,” or “being the subject of conscious states,” then even plants and animals could count as conscious, though they might experience a limited range of conscious states compared to something that is “self-conscious.” 16 conscious states come in many varieties. timothy bayne broadly categorizes conscious states into two models: some states are conscious by playing a functional role in our minds, some are conscious simply by being phenomenal, or by there being “something it is like to have it.” 17 to tie several threads together, conscious states are conscious to conscious beings in a variety of ways of being conscious. that is, a human might have a certain phenomenological mental state (e.g., that of experiencing pain) which is present to one’s consciousness in a certain way at the moment of pain, and in a different way later on. in particular, a mental state is “phenomenalconscious” if it is present to one by being experienced or willed. a mental state is “introspectiveconscious” it it is present to oneself via introspection. lastly, a mental state is “access-conscious” if its contents are “poised for rational use,” either in an act of reasoning, in controlling an action, or speaking. 18 to illustrate again, one might be phenomenal-conscious of a delicious taste, and later on be introspective-conscious of this same state by reflecting on it and proceed to be accessconscious of the taste by describing it to a friend. these categories need to be at hand in any discussion about consciousness and christ, though the divine consciousness may exceed or not be compatible with a portion of them. on their own, though, it is not clear how the above categories are of particular interest to philosophers or theologians, seeming the sort of observable data that falls under the purview of the hard sciences. but logical troubles emerge when we start thinking about how all the above is unified in one person. a brief description of various kinds of “unity of consciousness” will clarify why conscious unity is so important for the proper functioning of an individual. we can ask about the unity of various activities of our consciousness, but unity of the contents of consciousness (our conscious states) seems most essential to a properly acting agent. 19 “synchronic unity” of conscious states refers to the unity of one’s conscious states at a particular time. synchronic unity is achieved when all of one’s conscious states are “coconscious” with one another, which is typically taken to mean that they are bound together into one larger conscious experience. 20 this could happen on the level of phenomena, introspection, 16 ibid., 5. 17 bayne, “the inclusion model of the incarnation,” 128. 18 for further explanation of these terms, see: jedwab, “the incarnation and unity of consciousness,” 170-171. 19 brook, “the unity of consciousness,” 8. 20 jedwab, 172. see also: brook, 5. or access-consciousness. to take an example present to the author, the colors on my wall, the feel of my desk, and the music from my speakers are co-conscious parts of the same experience, whether i am focusing on one or the other. when introspecting or marshaling an argument, typically all the pieces are present to one’s mind, though utilized in different ways as the conscious act progresses. it is difficult to imagine what it would be like for one of these unities to be broken — for ourselves to be consciously, inwardly divided — in part because they are so necessary for routine functions. the second relevant kind of unity is “diachronic unity,” which refers to the unity of one’s consciousness itself over the course of time. 21 without an account of how one experience grows coherently out of those that preceded it, it is hard to say how one’s consciousness now is it any sense the same as it was ten minutes ago. there might be a common store of memories to draw upon at each moment, but a description of diachronic unity is needed to establish how the thing accessing those memories is related in a succession of moments. the centrality of these two kinds of unity to humans’ proper functioning and sense of identity, and the privileged access anyone has to their own conscious states, make it understandable why some have assumed consciousness is simply synonymous with personhood. 22 in contemporary studies consciousness is not typically thought of as an entity, like an organ, but as a property we attribute to something if it has conscious states. 23 it is easy to see how defining a person as, “[a particular set] of traits including agency, cognitive skills, etc.,” 24 is quite different than scotus’ metaphysical concept of “independent individual.” concerns about consciousness, then, change the questions being asked about christology in three ways. firstly, what we take consciousness to be, whether a property of a person or a person, simpliciter, will have some bearing on how many consciousnesses christ has. if we must stick to the formula that christ is one person, and consciousness means person, simpliciter, then christ must have only one center of consciousness. this goes hand in hand with an account of what it takes for consciousness to be unified, and it is here that the charges of traditional christology’s incoherence are strongest. 25 if there is only one consciousness in christ, and a properly functioning consciousness has all its conscious states in synchronic unity, then the mental state of “being ignorant about x” will be co-conscious with the mental state of “being knowledgeable 21 van gulick, 17. 22 hanson, “two consciousnesses: the modern version of chalcedon,” 471. see also: loke, “on the coherence of the incarnation: the divine preconscious model,” 59: “surely the unity of a person should be understood as involving the unity of the self-consciousness either in timelessness or at any given time t.” 23 van gulick, 8-9. 24 loke, 53. 25 anderson, paradox in christian theology, 94. about x,” regardless of whether we say christ is conscious of x simpliciter, and ignorant of x qua humanity. if we posit that christ has two centers of consciousness, it is hard to see how this could result in a properly functioning person. lastly, an awareness of the way phenomena inwardly effect conscious beings has increased a desire to understand how a supposedly impassible god experienced genuine human suffering. 26 however, attempts have been made at squaring these concerns with the incarnation, and it is to those attempts that we now turn. after sketching them, i will return to scotus, with the contemporary problem and possible solutions in hand, to see if his thought admits any conceptual overlap. iii. possible solutions sans scholastic thought the views presented here all attempt to correlate consciousness with chalcedonian christology, and thus press for a solution that preserves an obvious sense of full humanity and full divinity in christ. 27 it is worth pointing out that this is the first point we have encountered that scotus would certainly not compromise on, seeing himself as working within the major creeds of the church: ut1: christ is one person who is both fully human and fully divine. but the views presented here all recognize that there is considerable variance within this parameter on what the contents of christ’s two natures must be. likewise, scholars disagree on what in entailed by constantinople iii’s stipulation that “nature” has to include causal power and will — some say consciousness, others not. as i present views in this section i will also offer critique, for the sake of tying these views in with the preceding overview of consciousness, and also with an eye to the goal of comparing them to scotus’ commitments at the end of the paper. there are three variations on the view that christ has two consciousnesses. first there is what thomas morris styles the “two-minds” view, wherein “the divine mind had full and direct access to the earthly, human experience resulting from the incarnation, but the earthly consciousness did not have such full and direct access to the content of the overarching omniscience proper to the logos [...]” 28 both consciousnesses have the full spectrum of mental states they are supposed to have, but the divine consciousness is able to access the human states and make them its own. the way that morris describes the view led timothy bayne to rename this the “inclusion” view, which is sensible given that morris appeals to twentieth-century psychology’s description of 26 van gulick, 26. 27 for a discussion of other possibilities, see: adams, 80-107, as well as hanson, 473. 28 morris, the logic of god incarnate, 103. levels of consciousness for explanatory power, wherein the “conscious” level is able to access, say, the “preconscious” level, but not vice versa. 29 yet since we are talking about two fully active consciousnesses, in order to not have two agents at cross-purposes, morris appeals to the divine consciousness as christ’s “ultimate doxastic state,” such that it is the state he acts out of. 30 indeed, there is only one set of “cognitive and causal powers” in christ — the divine one — making human “consciousness” on morris’ terms mostly the passive power to receive experiences. 31 one might think that this makes christ no longer fully human, since his causal powers are resultantly of a higher degree than a normal human’s. morris here appeals to the distinction between what it is to be essentially human verses fully human. by having a body and the ability to undergo human conscious states, christ has a full range of human existence, without being limited to normal human abilities of engaging the world. he is “fully” human in the relevant, essential sense, without being human in the same way the rest of us are human. 32 morris’ view is one of the more developed views on the table, but is difficult to square with the need for synchronic unity. even granting morris’ attempt to separate causal powers from centers of consciousness, it is hard to imagine the human consciousness and the divine consciousness not turning the divine person into a case of split-personality disorder, assuming christ’s human consciousness is just as self-conscious as any other human. related to this, bayne contemplates what it would mean for this christ to say “i,” and assumes that if both of christ’s consciousnesses were diachronically unified, they would both want to say “i” for themselves. 33 in response to morris, bayne suggests the “restricted inclusion” view, positing that christ’s consciousness had two distinct modes of existence, and that christ had the ability to turn the “switch” between the two. 34 for soteriological reasons, christ spent most of his earthly existence with the switch turned to human consciousness, but was still fully divine because at any time 29 morris, “metaphysics of god incarnate,” 123. at sturch, “inclusion and incarnation: a response to bayne,” 104-105, sturch criticizes this nomenclature, saying that the divine nature does not literally include the consciousness of the human nature, as if the divine nature were experiencing those states itself. instead, the divine consciousness has access to the human nature's mind in just the way it has access to any other human consciousness, but with the added association that “these are my” states. but aside from the fact that morris does not actually taking this line of thought, it puts the divine consciousness at too much of a distance from the human states to meaningfully call them “god's” states, which is a soteriological problem. 30 morris, 125. 31 morris, logic of god incarnate, 161. 32 morris, “metaphysics of god incarnate,” 116. 33 bayne, 136. 34 ibid., 138-9. could have chosen to switch back. as bayne admits, though, while making sense of synchronic unity, it is hard to account for diachronic unity on this view. the last two-consciousness view is developed by richard swinburne, whose view is based on a particular set of metaphysical assumptions, including non-reductive physicalism. he holds that soul and body are two distinct substances for humans, and all that soul does is provide “thisness” to the matter necessary for a body (as opposed to a soul being the seat of rational, causal activity). all the second person of the trinity has to do, then, is provide “thisness” to a human body in order “to acquire a further range of contents — sensations, feelings, [human] beliefs and desires [...]” 35 in order to ensure that the human existence is a full human existence, swinburne distinguishes between “beliefs” and “inclinations to belief.” 36 the divine consciousness knows that it is omniscient, and that the human consciousness thinks it is not, and it keeps the human consciousness ignorant of its omniscience, such that its bodily actions can authentically follow from a human belief system. but since the human belief system does not exhaust the one person’s beliefs, they are mere “inclinations to believe,” and not what we would ultimately say the divine person believes. bayne likewise charges swinburne with a failure to account for synchronic unity, but for a different reason. swinburne does not appeal to “accessing relationships” to unify the two streams of consciousness in christ, he simply appeals to the fact that they both subsist in a single person. but even supposing that it is possible for one person to have two streams of consciousness this does not provide any explanation for in what sense they are unified. 37 bayne clearly has in mind the sort of unity which presupposes co-consciousness of conscience states for proper functioning — concerns swinburne does not seem to interact with. this view also runs into trouble if an immaterial soul is an integral part of what it means to be human, since swinburne says that a human body is all that is necessary to produce fully human conscious-states. the two one-consciousness view do not need to explain how two consciousnesses can function in one person, only how one consciousness can have both divine and human characteristics. the most sophisticated view is that of andrew loke, who draws heavily upon the literal implications of contemporary psychology’s distinctions between levels of consciousness (as opposed to morris, who used this as an analogy). the “conscious” level has been explained above, and the “subconscious” is the level a person does not have access to, but which still influences the conscious. between these is the “preconscious” level, and it is here that conscious beliefs “submerge” to when they are not being accessed by the conscious. on loke’s view, in becoming human the divine person submerged its omniscience in the preconscious, such that at 35 adams, 119. 36 cross, “the incarnation,” 469. 37 bayne, 134. any time christ could have accessed those beliefs, but chose not to. 38 christ still has these beliefs, and they are technically accessible, but since he does not access them, he operates as a full, fallible human. loke’s view, however, seems to reduce “divine consciousness” to a set of beliefs which, having safely been deposited in the preconscious, can be left alone — which does not seem a rich enough picture of what a full divine consciousness would entail. related to this is the “bad faith” view, suggested very tentatively by peter drum. without much technical sophistication, drum suggests that christ’s one consciousness really was aware of divine and human mental-states all the time, but in order to preserve a coherent sense of consciousness, he only lets himself believe partial truths about reality by “keeping from himself the fact that he is anything more than a man.” 39 this seems a bit too quick, though, for if this means, “i am a man,” then christ has not ruled out his divinity, while if it means “i am nothing more than a normal man,” then this is no partial truth, but rather an outright lie. iv. hints from the subtle doctor it should be evident by now that consciousness, especially the unity of conscious states, is not something scotus explicitly factored into his discussion of christ’s two natures. yet even though scotus was not using the term “consciousness,” it should not be surprising, given his status as doctor subtilis, that his philosophy leaves hints to be built upon by consciousness studies. even as it stands, i hope to show, it is possible to make an informed speculation as to which solution described above he would find most attractive. at one point in an attempt to prove the immortality of the soul, scotus marshals the argument that it is immaterial, and hence not corruptible in the same way matter is. to do so, he has to focus on all the acts of the mind which we “experience” in ourselves, yet have no way of accounting for in physical terms. understood as things we might be conscious of, the list looks remarkably similar to a list of access-conscious and introspective-conscious states. to heavily abbreviate the passage, here are a few notable examples: we experience in ourselves that we know the actual universal [...] that we distinguish the whole class of sensible objects from what is not such […] that we know conceptual relations […] that we know the very act whereby we know these things and we experience that this act exists within us […] that we assent to propositions […] that we learn the unknown from the known by means of discursive reasoning. 40 38 loke, 56. 39 dunn, “two consciousnesses in christ?” 153. 40 scotus, opus oxoniense, iv, dist. xliii, q. 11, =ed. wolter, philosophical writings, 142 (emphasis since he is appealing to these acts for the sake of argument, i take it that by “experience” he is referring not just to something that humans do, nor to the ways we schematize after the fact to account for the reasoning process, but to states we are conscious of, such that someone on the other side of the argument would have the same data to acknowledge. scotus says we experience is not just an idea, but the very knowing of the idea, which seems straightforwardly a description of introspective-consciousness. phenomenal-conscious states perhaps have a parallel in scotus’ account of how we receive internal, quasi-material impressions of external sense data. but he presents this process more like a schematization of something that must be the case, rather than as an account of a process he is conscious of as it occurs in himself. 41 as far as i can tell, scotus does not discuss the coherence of any of these conscious states, which is a crucial contemporary concern, but the fact that they are there somewhat lessens the gap between him and contemporary thought. one might think that the immateriality of the soul itself, useful as the argument just was for showing us conscious-states in scotus’ thought, runs counter to contemporary consciousness studies. after all, some scholars argue that consciousness can be totally accounted for in physical terms. further, immateriality in the medieval context suggests indivisibility, and even on a dualist view the physical brain has something to do with our conscious states. if the soul for scotus cannot be conceived of in meaningfully distinct aspects, his view will look hopelessly arcane. fortunately, a similar debate was occurring in scotus’ time, and he placed himself on the side of being able to distinctly conceive of different powers in the soul. the first view scotus sets himself against is that the soul is really distinct from its powers, the second that the soul simply acts by being in various relations with extramental realities. the first view threatens to take away causal power from the soul itself, the second threatens the simplicity of the soul by adding a relation on top of it. 42 in order to preserve both causal power and unity, scotus argues that the powers of the soul are conceptually distinct from the definition of the soul, though in reality they are inseparable from it (this is scotus’ famous formal distinction at work). 43 mine). 41 pasnau, “cognition,” 288 and king, “duns scotus on mental content, 10.” 42 cross, “philosophy of mind,” 268-269. 43 scotus, in metaph. 9, q. 5, nn. 17-18 =ed. wolter, questions on the metaphysics of aristotle, 142.“but if 'potency in the soul' refers to that perfection which naturally precedes the act as the causal ground for eliciting the act in question, or to the soul's receptive capacity to be moved by the object, then 'potency' designates something absolute. now we can hold that the potentcies are the same as the essence, or if they differ from it, it is either [a:] as diverse perfections contained unitively [or, b:] as conceptually distinct intentions.” the benefit of this distinction is that the two things it preserves — unity and distinction — are two things necessary for a contemporary account of a properly functioning human, as well. contemporary views of the mind, even ones of wholly physical parts, still consider unity of consciousness the thing lacking in cases of psychology disorder. the important aspect of scotus’ formal distinction here seems to be that it unifies while preserving distinction, not that it excludes the possibility of physical components. on the surface, scotus’ priorities with regard to the mind’s make-up seem like they could adjust to some contemporary physicalist tendencies. it seems that the discussion has yielded two key theses so far, one compromisable, one not: ut2: there is an immaterial aspect of the human soul. this premise seems uncompromisable because immateriality of some sort is essential to scotus’ arguments for the immorality and unity of the soul, which scotus would insist on. a change here would indeed be a drastic alteration of scotus’ overall philosophical system. on the other hand, what exactly the immaterial parts of the soul are seems less essential to scotus: ct2: the immaterial human soul is composed of intellect and will. both scotus’ distinctions between personhood and nature discussed in §i, along with the just mentioned method of accounting for the unity and distinction of the powers of the soul, leave considerable flexibility for further development. 44 both scotus and aquinas separated personhood from nature, leaving room to tweak what counts as a full human nature. however, as we saw, scotus went further to say that the independent divine person acts as a suppositum for an individual human nature, and the human nature depends on the divine person for existence. since the human nature has a different mode of existence than the divine nature, there could be a distinction between the way the human and divine natures are conscious — as long as christ experiences and utilizes a full range of human conscious-states. further, since scotus’ conception of unity of the powers of the soul is based on the formal distinction, not the specific powers and how they fit together, his view would accommodate updated evidence for what the components of a conscious human actually are. there is one further point to make about the human nature of christ that seems especially relevant for the possibility of merging contemporary consciousness with christology. all of the 44 jedwab, 180: “if we end up appealing to personhood as the ultimate explanation for how the two consciousnesses are unified, we have not really given an explanation for the palpable problem of having two parallel streams of consciousness, and christ will, in fact, see very much like two distinct people.” contemporary theories above are working with a sophisticated conception of what it means for a human to engage the world, the authenticity of which would be compromised if christ’s human nature were, in a sense, controlled by the divine nature. simply metaphysically separating the natures is not enough for christ to experience free will qua human. however impeccable his divine nature might be, christ will not seem to being experiencing a full range of human existence if he does not at least have the possibility of sinning. further, consciousness is now considered a prerequisite for something with free will. 45 since scotus’ belief that christ’s human nature had free will is as important today as it was to him, it is surely something he would not compromise on. thus, ut3: christ’s human nature, in order to be fully human, must have free will. the way scotus explains how this is possible is, of course, more complicated that can be fully dealt with here, but essentially scotus believes that the human nature is fully free to choose either good or evil, but that the divine nature fills christ with overwhelmingly good desires, such that the human will and the divine will are never in conflict. 46 in effect, this means christ’s humanity will always act towards the good, since that is what it fully desires, and scotus thinks that saying one has the ability to act on their desires is the same thing as to saying they have free will. all of christ’s human access-conscious and introspective-conscious states could thus be in his full control, like any other human. v. a proposed trajectory for scotus and consciousness from all that has been said, it is now possible to make an informed, if brief, evaluation of the resonances between proposed solutions and scotus’ thought. the following chart summarizes the salient aspects of each of the views in categories that might be helpful for the reader to reference throughout the evaluation: 45 van gulick, 28. 46 “but it is, in virtue of an extrinsic cause, impossible for this power to be a proximate [power] for sinning, viz. by the will of god going ahead of the will such that it always continues its act of enjoyment...” scotus, ord. 4.49.6, n. 11 (wadding, x, 455) =ed. cross, “vehicle externalism and the metaphysics of the incarnation,” 200. contemporary attempts to account for consciousness in christ morris bayne swinburne loke drum spheres of consciousness in christ 2 2 2 1 1 how christ’s divinity is able to have human experiences divine sphere can access human sphere divine sphere not conscious when human sphere is acquires “inclinations to belief” through the human body unspecified unspecified how christ’s humanity is not inauthenticated by christ’s divinity human sphere cannot access divine sphere human sphere not conscious when divine sphere is human sphere kept from accessing the divine sphere by the divine nature preconscious level could be accessed, but normally is not self-deception method of uniting the divine and human one set of causal powers unspecified one “thisness” divine beliefs are deposited into a standard level of the human conscious spectrum one sphere of consciousness what makes something a person? causal powers synchronic unity of consciousness having “thisness” synchronic unity of consciousness unspecified what makes something a human? having human experiences and a set of causal powers having human experiences and a set of causal powers having a human body having a human sphere of consciousness having a human sphere of consciousness is christ’s human nature properly tied to personhood? yes yes no yes yes seems fully divine? yes yes yes no (divinity amounts to a set of beliefs) no (divinity partakes in a falsehood) seems fully human? yes yes yes (depending on your view of essential humanity) yes yes seems to achieve synchronic unity? no yes no yes yes seems to achieves diachronic unity? yes no yes yes yes further, the following are the theses that i have tried to argue (in §i & §iii) scotus either would or would not compromise on in order to solve the problems raised for christology by consciousness. seen side by side with the summaries of the above views, it is hopefully evident why these particular theses were considered relevant enough to single out: ut1: christ is one person who is both fully human and fully divine. ut2: there is an immaterial aspect of the human soul. ut3: christ’s human nature, in order to be fully human, must have free will. ct1: personhood =def. the independent existence of an individual, rational nature. ct2: the immaterial human soul is composed of intellect and will. to begin squaring scotus’ theses with the above views, his thought does not seem like it could cohere with either of the one-consciousness views. both of them take as a premise that personhood is defined in terms of consciousness, which leads them to make unjustified concessions as to the contents of christ’s natures. scotus is flexible on the definition of personhood (ct1), but not if it ends up compromising the fullness of christ’s humanity or divinity (ut1). for example, as said above, loke’s view has to reduce the divine consciousness to a set of beliefs in order to submerge it into the preconscious level of the mind, which strips the divine nature of its causal powers. since causal powers are unified with natures for scotus, loke’s view ends up sacrificing the fullness of the divine nature. the grammar of the drum’s “bad faith” view, if it is somehow not construed as an outright lie, would still cut against the grain of scotus’ thought. for, even though on scotus’ terms christ’s human nature has a dependent existence on christ’s personhood, the person of christ is still considered fully divine and fully human. so if christ is to have a truthful sense of self, it does not work for him to think of himself as “not anything more than a man.” scotus is not necessarily opposed to christ only having one consciousness, but he would be if it conflicted with ut1. scotus does have a place for two consciousnesses — in the two natures — so the question would be whether scotus’ thought has any bearing on the supporting framework for the twoconsciousness views. morris’ inclusion and bayne’s restricted-inclusion perspectives immediately face a difficulty with respect to christ’s human nature, for they ground both consciousnesses in one set of causal powers (the divine set), which john hick points out takes away human freedom. 47 consciousness always involves agency, for in addition to phenomenalconscious states, there are access-conscious and introspective-conscious states which, by definition, requires action, not just reception of phenomena. ct2 shows that scotus is flexible in terms of what constitutes the consciousness of a human, but not to the point of outrightly stripping a human of their causal powers (due to the constraints of ut1 and ut3). nor could we just modify their views to fit better with scotus and posit two sets of causal powers for, as was shown, it is precisely in the one set of causal powers that morris grounds the unity of the two consciousnesses. double the causal powers, and it is very difficult to distinguish these twoconsciousnesses views from two utterly distinct persons. on the surface, scotus might seem difficult to reconcile with swinburne’s view, for scotus thinks the soul (being an immaterial source of causal powers) is much more than the “thisness” that gives existence to a physically construed bundle of conscious matter. however, since 47 hick, 422. “thisness” at least provides some immaterial grounding for individual humans, and swinburne does indeed acknowledge an immaterial divine soul in christ, the view does not actually conflict with ut2. further, it preserves the causal powers as required by ut1 and ut3, albeit in a way that is alien to the norms of scotus’ thought. but since the norms which swinburne’s view is alien to are only scotus’ views of what constitutes persons and natures (ct1 and ct2), the possibility of rapprochement is still there. the developments swinburne makes use of are no small developments, but since his view seems the only one to merely differ from scotus on the compromisable theses, rather than the uncompromisable ones, they are developments it would behoove scotus, or someone who values scotus’ broader theology, to entertain. our initial discussion of persons and natures showed scotus as being willing to innovate in this area once — for christological purposes — so he could quite possibly be persuaded to accept swinburne’s non-reductive physicalism. it seems, then, that focusing on the relation between scotus and swinburne’s views on consciousness and christ would be a fruitful starting point for further inquiry. vi. conclusion the possible solutions described and interacted within this paper all primarily respond to the issues raised by the problems of diachronic and synchronic unity. these problems seem most troublesome for a theology that includes a being who is both human and divine — but there are plenty of other areas of human consciousness currently being mapped, and potential disorders being catalogued, that would need to be accounted for in a plausible description of christ’s humanness. scotus’ philosophy of mind is likewise highly developed, and much work would be involved in capturing all the points relevant to this discussion. shortcomings of this paper such as they are, i hope it is evident that, despite the problems consciousness studies pose to versions of christology like that of duns scotus, there is not only space within his thought to dialogue with those concerns, but also a wealth of resources that can still be used to construct a response. as rowan williams hinted at the start of this paper, perhaps the best way to preserve these resources is to risk such a dialogue. bibliography adams, marilyn mccord. christ and horrors: the coherence of christology. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2006. anderson, james. paradox in christian theology: an analysis of 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press, 1986. pasnau, robert. “cognition,” in the cambridge companion to duns scotus, edited by thomas williams, 285-311. cambridge, u.k.: cambridge university press, 2003. sturch, richard. “inclusion and incarnation: a response to bayne.” religious studies 39 (2003): 103-106. swinburne, richard. the christian god. oxford, england: clarendon press, 1994. van gulick, robert. “consciousness.” the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy stanford university, 1997– 2004. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2011/entries/consciousness/. williams, rowan. arius: heresy and tradition. grand rapids, mi: w.b. eerdmans, 2002. wolter, allan (trans.). philosophical writings. a selection. indianapolis, in: bobbs-merrill, 1964. the market place of the scarlet letter: hawthorne and hester as artist objects the market place of the scarlet letter: hawthorne and hester as artist objects kerry hasler-brooks english like many of nathaniel hawthorne‘s fictional writings, the scarlet letter and its introduction ―the custom house‖ consider the identity of the artist within both the public world of production and the private interior of the artist‘s self perception. however, this most celebrated text casts the artist uniquely, doubling the artist character in a purely fictional hester prynne and a fictionalized form of hawthorne himself, the author-narrator of ―the custom house,‖ which hawthorne calls an ―autobiographical impulse‖ (1) with ―a few extra touches‖ (2). in ―the custom house,‖ hawthorne constructs himself, entering fully into the artistic process as both the creator guiding the pen across the page and the character object written beneath that pen. paralleling this in the scarlet letter, hawthorne constructs hester prynne, reflecting in her his own duality of action and impotence within the literary world. while both arthur dimmesdale and roger chillingworth also function as artist figures in the text, hester becomes the most literal artistic and creative force in hawthorne‘s fictional boston world. as such one could read her character as an admired and empowered fictional representation of hawthorne himself; however, hester‘s force as an artist is limited within the text. she remains an object of hawthorne‘s art held open by his authorial hand to be gazed upon. one could emphasize hawthorne‘s significant authorial shadow as overt male control over the female form of hester prynne; thus the union of the two artists is allegedly sacrificed to hawthorne‘s personal benefit as the dominant creator. however, few have considered the possibility of a union between hawthorne and hester not only as artists, but also as objects. perhaps the same shadow that hovers over hester‘s form hovers over hawthorne himself. as an artist and a man in crisis, the hawthorne of ―the custom house‖ writes himself as an authorial object; he fixes himself as a commodity in the marketplace of his own text to be sold alongside hester to the same ―thousand unrelenting eyes‖ of the public gaze (50). while hawthorne carefully avoids an equalizing between the kerry hasler-brooks 2 female character and the male author-narrator, both hester and hawthorne demonstrate the problematic objectification of the artist as a commodity to be sold, the artist who becomes the art object under the scrutiny of the public‘s probing – even sexual – and market driven eye. i. hawthorne as artist: a conflict of the public and the private hawthorne biographer brenda wineapple discusses ―the custom house‖ chronologically as a text concerned with hawthorne‘s ―professional uncertainties‖ following the termination of his political employment in the salem custom house (210). as a simple vindictive response to a ―murdered‖ career (hawthorne 37), this introductory essay reads like a self righteous rhetorical catharsis; however, as hawthorne attempts to reconstruct himself in ―the custom house,‖ the professional uncertainty of his political career–one grounded pragmatically in financial productivity–falls to a larger question: uncertainty about his vocation as an artist of both public and private definition. in ―the custom house,‖ hawthorne laments his precarious quandary as an american artist who is caught between public expectations for the concrete merchandise of his art and private beliefs for the meaning and aesthetics of his art. despite wineapple‘s emphasis on hawthorne‘s anger at the public institutions and their treatment of him as an artist, ―the custom house‖ seems to attribute hawthorne‘s current artistic crisis to the public and the private mutually. in stephen railton‘s words, ―his career was hardly free from the anxieties and ambivalences of performing, and it too was shaped by the private needs he brought to his public ambitions as a writer‖ (108). at the time of ―the custom house,‖ hawthorne situates himself in a place of confusion; his career has become a battle between feelings of authenticity and performance, to continue railton‘s discussion, that threaten hawthorne‘s understanding and treatment of himself as a possible artist. he gives life to these deeply internal fears, evoking them within ―the custom house‖ quite literally as a chorus of taunting voices hawthorne has created to berate himself, voices he conjures from both the public exterior and the private interior worlds. the taunts begin in the voices of ancestors long banished to the grave but living still in hawthorne‘s own doubting imagination: ―no aim that i have ever cherished would they recognize as laudable...―what is he?‖ murmurs one gray shadow of my forefathers to the other. ―a writer of storybooks! what kind of a business in life–what mode of glorifying god, or being serviceable the marketplace of the scarlet letter 3 to mankind in his day and generation–may that be?‖ (7). these demeaning voices speak not only for the past public, but also the present public as they demean him as only a ―writer of storybooks‖ to be served up with other mainstream scribblings and not a culturally significant artist. the voices from the grave quiet through the course of the introduction but reappear as even more frightening voices from the grave of hawthorne‘s own imagination: my imagination was a tarnished mirror. it would not reflect, or only with miserable dimness, the figures with which i did my best to people it....they would take neither the glow of passion nor the tenderness of sentiment, but retained all the rigidity of dead corpses, and stared me in the face with a fixed a ghastly grin of contemptuous defiance. ―what have you to do with us?‖ that expression seemed to say. ―the little power you might once have possessed over the tribe of unrealities is gone!‖ (30) the only living forms hawthorne can imagine here are those that taunt his power as an artist of substance, and he pines the loss of an ability to turn the ―dull and commonplace‖ into ―letters...[of] gold upon the page‖ (33). for hawthorne, as this chorus of real yet imagined voices shows, the loss of his art has been both public in his disconnection from the audience of his concrete art and private in his disconnection from his own creative abilities. in torment, hawthorne feels the pull of both spheres and obligation to both compartments of the literary world. as such he imagines a mystical, even sentimental, scene of reconciliation between the two, using the moonlight‘s effect on his parlor to manifest the union of his public and private demands. staring at this ―familiar room‖ and rattling off a catalogue of its familiar, domestic items– ―the chairs...centre-table...work-basket...lamp...sofa...bookcase...picture‖– hawthorne admits its unfamiliarity: ―all these details, so completely [and ordinarily] seen, are so spiritualized by the unusual light‖ (31). in the scene, hawthorne suggests the perfect moment for an artist when the concrete nature of his art and the imagined spirit of his art meet: ―thus, therefore, the floor of our familiar room has become a neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and the fairyland, where the actual and the imaginary may meet, and each imbue itself with the nature of the other‖ (31). hawthorne longs for this ―neutral territory‖ that allows the union of ―the actual and the imaginary‖–even suggesting kerry hasler-brooks 4 he has known it before and will know it again–but he admits his current inabilities very frankly: ―but, for myself, during the whole of my custom house experience...an entire class of susceptibilities, and a gift connected with them–of no great richness or value, but the best i had–was gone from me‖ (32). in ―the custom house‖ he cannot seem to construct an union between the concrete and imagined, the public and private; rather, he bemoans the need and inability for both to coexist. as he expresses, the public work lasted ―long enough to rest a weary brain; long enough to break off old intellectual habits, and make room for new ones; long enough, and too long...withholding myself from toil that would, at least, have stilled an unquiet impulse within me‖ (37). in these contradictory terms, ―long enough, and too long,‖ hawthorne‘s dilemma as a public artist and a private creator becomes clear. hawthorne aligns the conception of his art with the position of his body, noting the relationship between the dried up and lifeless space of the custom house and his own dried up and lifeless imagination, but as the doubts about his concrete product blend with doubts about his own meaning as an artist, ―the custom house‖ becomes less a rhetorical attack on the politics of the custom house and his dismissal from it and more an intimate confession of perceived artistic failure. however, hawthorne‘s well known personal admonition–―my imagination was a tarnished mirror‖–remains in the past tense, and he identifies his following novel the scarlet letter as a resurrection for himself and his art. within the pages of the story he renews his imagination, staring into that once tarnished mirror and at last finding a living breathing reflection to stare back: hester prynne, at the same time hawthorne‘s mirrored opposite (a woman) and his equal (a tortured artist). ii. hester prynne as artist: an ideal reflection of hawthorne within the text of the scarlet letter, hester mimics hawthorne‘s own blended identity as a creator of a public commodity and private self meaning; she creates both a concrete product–the artistry of her stitches and design on the textile canvas of the scarlet ―a‖–and an abstract product–the evolved and reclaimed interpretation of meaning for that scarlet ―a‖ and thus for herself, not as the adulteress intended by her punishers but as an able artist. however, just like hawthorne, hester struggles with the seemingly irreconcilable relationship between her public product and private meaning; just like hawthorne, her attempts the marketplace of the scarlet letter 3 at self understanding and an evolving artistic identity are often interrupted by her product. this tension is emphasized at the end of her first scene within the novel‘s action as she imagines another self to escape the reality before her atop the punitive scaffold in the puritan market place. standing beneath the condemning gaze of the boston public, hester leaves for a moment her reality and becomes immersed in the journeys of her mind, which take her far from this wooden scaffold, back to her childhood village across the ocean, over her parents‘ faces, and past her husband‘s repulsive character. for a moment she steps into the moonlit scene of ―the custom house;‖ she reconstructs herself apart from the actual and enters a redefined self in the imagined realm, leaving the fallen woman to the angry gaze of the crowd and becoming again the innocent child, the beloved daughter, the mistreated wife. however, this imagined other world ends abruptly when she is reminded of her public role by the movements of the market place and the ―stern regards‖ of the crowd‘s gaze: ...in lieu of these shifting scenes [of her past], came back the rude market place...could it be true? she clutched the child so fiercely to her breast that it sent forth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the same were real. yes!–these were her realities–all else had vanished! (hawthorne 52) with her hand upon the concrete art she has offered to the public gaze–a tangible moment between body and art reminiscent of hawthorne‘s similar touch in ―the custom house‖–hester‘s imagination freezes; in that moment, she becomes the submissive object upon the public scaffold and the personal reflections of meaning and place dissolve because the two are in conflict for her just as they were for hawthorne. however, while hester‘s imaginative abilities fail her here, other critics read her transformative journey throughout the novel as an ultimate victory. critic craig milliman argues that hester‘s artistic identity is a process, one that begins with simplistic and concrete literality in the dark shadows of the prison even before the novel‘s narrative opening with her first ―fantastic flourishes of gold thread‖ upon the scarlet letter (hawthorne 46) but becomes complex figurative kerry hasler-brooks 6 construction of that same letter not as a mere emblem of adultery but a sign of ability and place: ―hester embraces her role as an artist by choosing symbol over emblem, multiplicity over singularity, the figurative over the literal‖ (milliman 83). this ability to construct the public commodity of her stitches, so rare and valued in hester‘s boston public, while using that commodity to reconstruct herself from an adulteress outcast to an able and independent woman, are hawthorne‘s own imagined reconciliation of public and private creation. hester is able to do the idealized thing hawthorne only laments in ―the custom house:‖ unify the artist‘s construction of the public commodity and the private self conception. iii. hester as object: prioritizing hawthorne as artist gender driven readings have emphasized this paralleling of hester as a female artist and hawthorne as a male artist. while some have praised hawthorne‘s construction of the female artistic will–erika m. kreger positions the ―worthiness‖ (335) of this will, and its self-discipline, contextually alongside the domestic novel tradition of the nineteenth-century while monika m. elbert reads hester‘s will more contemporarily as a passive but powerful creation of the ―hidden strengths and intelligence‖ of an independent female self (257)–others like nina tassi and sandra tomc have deplored the subordination of the female will to hawthorne‘s as male author. tassi suggests that hester‘s ―unusual qualities of mind and body lead her into a series of prisons from which her creator struggles to free her–and perhaps himself as well‖ (23). tomc expresses it even more overtly: ―as many readers of the scarlet letter have noted, hester prynne–ruined, abandoned, and forced to live out her life on the negligible edges of her society–is manifestly offered as an analog to the hawthorne of the preface, his illegitimacy as an artist commensurate with hers as a fallen woman‖ (471). for both critics the union between hawthorne and hester is actually an imprisonment of the female character by the male author. the union, which exists tangibly as both wear and feel the sting of the scarlet letter and more emotively as both are in some form–either overt or imagined–judged, ridiculed, and condemned by the world, allows hawthorne to construct his own strength through hester‘s strength, but as tomc points out, only hawthorne survives by the novel‘s resolution; to develop his true role as artist–in tomc‘s words ―a newly masculinized american artist‖ (473)–he must sever the union with hester and confine her in the novel as an artist object of his own the marketplace of the scarlet letter 3 creation, a confinement found in the construction of her submission within the plot‘s conclusion. the once independent woman who rewrote herself for the puritan public becomes rewritten by hawthorne‘s authorial presence. when she submits to dimmesdale in the final scaffold scene and chooses to return to the scarlet letter and her isolated cottage in the woods, she is in wineapple‘s words ―allow[ing] hawthorne to reassert control over his book‖ (216). while these readings accurately interpret hawthorne‘s abandonment of artistic connection with hester in the final chapters of the novel, they identify this subordination too late. hawthorne‘s objectification of hester‘s character should be read through the subtle wording and physical staging that define hester‘s very entrance into the market place of the novel‘s opening not only her departure from it. ultimately, hawthorne offers hester‘s form as his own literary commodity, selling her as an object to the public of his readership, in order to reconstitute his own self conception. in other words, he designs hester from the very beginning to be his own means towards the reconciliation of his public and private artistic worlds. 1 the narrative offers hester up to the gaze of the boston crowd by opening the prison door–a parallel to hawthorne‘s offering of hester to the gaze of his readers as they open the text of the novel–and placing hester firmly in the market place. for the first moment of hester‘s life as a character, her defiance and action seem to explode from the text: stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, [the beadle] laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward; until on the threshold of the prison door she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will. (hawthorne 46) most readers emphasize hester‘s first action in the novel for its defiance, emphasizing in tomc‘s words the ―strength, fecundity, and wholeness‖ (474) of 1 in her book the scarlet mob of scribblers: rereading hester prynne, jamie barlowe contends that the scarlet letter still remains a commodity owned by the male sphere, not only the male author of nathaniel hawthorne, but also a male critical sphere that has successfully and somewhat systematically limited readings of hester prynne to those that view her through the male lens. kerry hasler-brooks 8 the mother in the doorway of the prison, holding her young infant yet emphatically repelling the male hand outstretched to both help and lead her. hawthorne entices readers with this first description that suggests there exists in this novel a rare woman defined even within her disgrace by ―action,‖ ―force‖ and ―free will,‖ but with two words he positions hester‘s strength as a product of his own skill as an author: ―...she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will‖ (emphasis mine). this narrative choice–the inclusion of two small words written in a large narrative voice–refocuses the rest of the novel. while hawthorne does want readers to see hester‘s strong identity as a woman and a mother–the beadle‘s subordination to her is evident here–his own presence hangs overhead not only as the omnipresent author of all texts but the one hawthorne wants to ensure his readers recognize and remember. everything hawthorne creates after is qualified by these two words; hester‘s ―haughty smile‖ (46), ―desperate recklessness‖ (47), and even ―good skill at her needle‖ (47), which erect this woman‘s active strength amidst her stark puritan judges, are not hers at all; they belong to hawthorne alone. within the novel hester is merely a portrait of what this new world could allow a young, vibrant, and active woman to be, but hawthorne insists readers know from their first glance that he is this woman‘s creator. hawthorne literalizes this conceptual view of hester prynne as portrait when he walks her from the prison door to the space determined for her public punishment: the scaffold. as ―she ascended a flight of wooden steps,...[she] was thus displayed to the surrounding multitude‖ on a kind of stage (hawthorne 49), but hawthorne strategically positions her on this stage to actually eliminate her as actor and paint her as framed object. though hawthorne saves hester in the plot from physical restraint in the ―framework...so fashioned as to confine the human head in its tight grasp, and thus hold it up to the public gaze‖ (49), by including the physical description of this penal device he clearly wants hester to be seen–by those in the gaping crowd and the crowds of gaping readers–within this ―framework.‖ her stance on stage becomes a literally framed ―picturesque‖ object worthy of capture by the ―illustrious painters‖ who search for such ideal forms (49), a group hawthorne may now imagine himself to join with his own rendition of hester prynne as posited here. within this frame, hester is created to be looked upon openly under ―the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes‖ (hawthorne 50). the boston crowd of the the marketplace of the scarlet letter 3 novel and the outside reader devour hester fully with looks of silent hate and condemnation fixed in a kind of sexualized gaze that looks at the forbidden, staring openly at the fantastic crimson letter fastened to the bodice of hester‘s dress and by connection at the female body held within the bodice of that dress. this public gaze emits a kind of group titillation stemming from hester‘s physical being, which t. walter herbert calls an ―emotional rape‖ founded in the pornographic gaze of the viewers: the story begins with the eroticized punishment of hester, exposed to public view as the living emblem of sexual sin....hester attempts to resist the communal attack, but her gestures of defiance are taken as a provocation, and have the effect of magnifying the gratification that the spectacle provides to those who have gathered to view her punishment. the book opens, that is, with a scene of pornographic excitement... (―pornographic manhood‖ 117) hester‘s form not only as a pornographic object, but a pornographic commodity, is evident in hawthorne‘s title choice for the chapter of hester‘s entrance and stance on the scaffold; the gaze is one of marketplace value. hester‘s role in the novel is bound by her entrance here as a sexually defined object that is sold to the gaze of onlookers; significantly–and at least somewhat ironically considering the male voyeuristic perspective given by hawthorne and taken by the crowd of both puritans and readers–hester‘s stance on the scaffold as this sexual commodity is one hawthorne also envisions for himself in ―the custom house‖ introduction. while critics like sandra tomc want to condemn hawthorne for language and staging that place him as the ultimate artist of the text, one empowered by his male position, and hester as the subordinated object of the text, one confined for her female form, hawthorne himself seems blind to such a hierarchy. he instead seems to envision hester as a mirror reflection not only of his artistry but also of his objectification as an artist. he writes the scaffold in the market place scene to display hester as object, but through his words in ―the custom house,‖ he seems to see himself right next to hester as another object on that scaffold before the marketplace of the literary world. kerry hasler-brooks 10 iv. hawthorne as object: the artist as a sexualized commodity hawthorne‘s struggle with his art as a commodified product to be sold has been thoroughly discussed and documented. however, the commodification of his identity as an artist has only been rarely addressed. in her essay, ―letters turned to gold: hawthorne, authorship, and slavery,‖ teresa a. goddu prioritizes hawthorne‘s conflicted role as artist and commodified author. goddu writes, ―...hawthorne characterizes the author in the scarlet letter not as a secluded artist but as a commodified object who must sell his soul to the trade,‖ specifically the slave trade, which is goddu‘s contextual angle within her reading (62). it is not just the physical text of the scarlet letter that is up for sale–―the letters turn[ed] to gold upon the page‖ (hawthorne 33)–but it is his soul, his identity, his being that has become a commodity as well. in his discussions within ―the custom house,‖ hawthorne identifies the text of his name as the closest literal sign to ―a knowledge of [his] existence‖ (23), describing with disgust the commodity that his name has become when he writes, no longer seeking nor caring that my name should be blazoned abroad on title pages, i smiled to think that it had now another kind of vogue. the custom house marker imprinted it with a stencil and black paint, on pepperbags, and baskets of anatto, and cigar boxes, and bales of all kinds of dutiable merchandise, in testimony that these commodities had paid the impost, and gone regularly through the office. borne on such queer vehicle of fame, a knowledge of my existence, so far as a name conveys it, was carried where it had never been before, and, i hope, will never go again. (23) this language of trade mimics the trade hawthorne has come to feel in his own authorial identity. while doing some less than ambitious editorial work a few years before the publication of the scarlet letter, hawthorne began to feel the role of his name in the reception of his work. in trying to remove his name from a text as editor, an uncomfortable but financially necessary role he had assumed in place of the preferable position as author, the publishing company insisted on the inclusion of his name, making hawthorne ―well aware of how [the literary world] trades on his authorial name‖ (goddu 59, emphasis mine). with the publication of a text, he not only suffers from the offering of his imagination, his words as an object to be sold; he suffers from the offering of his name, his position as artistthe marketplace of the scarlet letter 3 author as an object to be sold as well. less blatantly but just as tellingly as the literal trade of his name, hawthorne recognizes his status as artist object in his self introduction within ―the custom house.‖ he chooses with this introduction to insert himself into the text as a version of his true self affected by fiction. he writes and rewrites himself in ―the custom house‖ as the fusion of ―the actual and the imaginary‖ (31), simultaneously acting as the artist and the art: ―in accomplishing the main purpose, it has appeared allowable, by a few extra touches, to give a faint representation of a mode of life not heretofore described, together with some of the characters that move in it, among whom the author happened to make one‖ (2). identifying himself as one of the many characters of this text, albeit one of a somewhat ―autobiographical impulse‖ (1), hawthorne subtly reveals his personal sense of objectification, alluding to his own placement as an artist constructed within and by his own art. while goddu situates her reading in light of the slave trade and its affect on literary publication at the time of hawthorne‘s writing, positioning hawthorne beside hester on the scaffold of his own construction links him to her position as a gendered commodity, evaluated by and for her sexuality. hawthorne seems to see his own object value as an artist to at least some degree within this same sexual evaluation, a position implied by critics such as brenda wineapple who describes hawthorne‘s experience of ―writing as a kind of exhibitionism‖ (85), a term perfectly applicable to hawthorne‘s possible perception of himself as a man on display. within ―the custom house‖ hawthorne‘s language at times emits a tone of male bravado. he makes a point to assert the masculine construction of his public world by specifying the salem custom house as ―a [male] sanctuary into which womankind, with her tools of magic, the broom and mop, has very infrequent access‖ (5). however, he then collapses this male sanctuary as a destructive force against masculinity, which requires of him passive dependence–on both the group of men and the government association that groups those men–rather than the assertion of independence, a foundational aspect of the male identity: ―...while he leans on the mighty arm of the republic, his own proper strength departs from him....its sturdy force, its courage and constancy, its truth, its self-reliance, and all that gives the emphasis to manly character‖ (33-34). in this sense, hawthorne seems only to establish his sexual identity in relationship to his government work, but t. walter herbert establishes hawthorne‘s sexual self explicitly in relationship kerry hasler-brooks 12 to his art. in his work on una hawthorne, hawthorne‘s first and most unsettling child, herbert describes hawthorne‘s problematic sexual identity as a male artist. according to herbert, hawthorne viewed the self offered through his emotional and internally derived writings as ―anomalous in relation to the prevailing standard of masterful public manhood‖ (―nathaniel hawthorne‖ 285). as an artist, he views himself inherently as a sexual being, but one threatened by impotence, who must find a way to produce art and ―yet go forth a man‖ into the world (hawthorne 35). in her essay ―impotence and omnipotence in the scarlet letter,‖ claudia durst johnson claims that male impotence is as central to the novel‘s plot as female adultery, even beginning the plot as the first action, or non action, towards hester‘s ultimate infidelity. while she discusses chillingworth‘s sexual impotence as a plot device, johnson acknowledges hawthorne‘s literary impotence ―everywhere present‖ in the language of ―the custom house,‖ including most explicitly in the metaphoric image of the revived and potent town pump hawthorne chooses as the final image of the essay (606). johnson reads hawthorne‘s closing for ―the custom house‖ his longing–―o, transporting and triumphant thought!–that the great-grandchildren of the present race may sometimes think kindly of the scribbler of bygone days, when the antiquary of days to come...shall point out the locality of the town pump!‖ (hawthorne 39)–as a metaphor for his artistic fecundity: ―the erect penis, the pump that he appropriates to himself at the end of ‗the custom house,‘ is the independent creativity through which the author can now anticipate pumping vengeance and love‖ (611). however, while johnson prioritizes the implied action of the town pump, the object of the pump seems equally important. while johnson reads action in this image, it is important to note that hawthorne did not actually give this image action within his text. the pump is an object hawthorne places not in motion, but rather at the end of a very distant gaze that follows the pointed finger back through multiple generations to the object of hawthorne‘s sexualized and commodified placement as an artist object. perhaps the lack of action, the stagnant feeling of the pump, is more significant than the implication johnson wants to create. although early reaction to the scarlet letter wanted to dismiss ―the custom house‖ introduction as a trivial and mundane indulgence of a personal sense of injustice, this preface text, with its skillful blending of fiction and nonfiction, should be read as the prerequisite foundation on which the novel tale of hester the marketplace of the scarlet letter 3 prynne stands. through ―the custom house,‖ hawthorne indulges not only his political identity, but much more importantly his complex artistic identity. struggling between his complicated, contradictory, yet necessary perspectives of the public world of literary production and private world of literary aesthetic meaning, he admits his confusing stance as an artist creator and artist object, a stance he shares with his great protagonist, hester prynne. in light of hawthorne‘s complex view of gender, one that seemed to fluctuate between his private considerations and public demands, hester prynne does not seem to be a fictionalized female sacrifice to the male construction of power; rather, she seems like hawthorne‘s most true reflection. she shares in his action and his impotence, his creation and his objectification, reflecting in both her strengths and her limitations, hawthorne as he understood himself: a powerful construction by some other. works cited barlowe, jamie. the scarlet mob of scribblers: rereading hester prynne. carbondale and edwardsville: southern illinois university press, 2000. elbert, monika m. ―‗a‘ as hester‘s autonomy in nathaniel hawthorne‘s the scarlet letter.‖ women in literature: reading through the lens of gender. ed. jerilyn fisher and ellen s. silber. westport, conn.: greenwood press, 2003. 256-59. goddu, tereas a. ―letters turned to gold: hawthorne, authorship, and slavery.‖ studies in american fiction 29.1 (april 2001): 49-76. hawthorne, nathaniel. the scarlet letter. new york: signet classic, 1999. herbert, t. walter. ―pornographic manhood and the scarlet letter.‖ studies in american fiction 29.1 (april 2001): 113-20. —. ―nathaniel hawthorne, una hawthorne, and the scarlet letter: interactive selfhoods and the cultural construction of gender.‖ pmla 103.3 (may 1988): 285-97. johnson, claudia durst. ―impotence and omnipotence in the scarlet letter.‖ the new england quarterly 66.4 (dec. 1993): 594-612. kerry hasler-brooks 14 kreger, erika m. ―‗depravity dressed up in a fascinating garb‘: sentimental motifs and the seduced hero(ine) in the scarlet letter.‖ nineteenthcentury literature 54.3 (dec. 1999): 308-35. milliman, craig. ―hester prynne as the artist of the beautiful.‖ publications of the mississippi philological association (1995): 82-87. railton, stephen. authorship and audience: literary performance in the american renaissance. princeton: princeton university press, 1991. tassi, nina. ―hester‘s prisons: sex, intellect, and gender in the scarlet letter.‖ cea critic 60.3 (1998): 23-36. tomc, sandra. ―a change of art: hester, hawthorne, and the service of love.‖ nineteenth-century literature 56.4 (march 2002): 466-94. wineapple, brenda. hawthorne: a life. new york: random house trade paperbacks, 2003. eng 8450 “it will grow muddy for want of motion”: interpretations of fixing the english language in gulliver’s travels and rasselas jessica lasak english in the eighteenth century, english society was embroiled in the debate as to whether their language should continue to grow uninhibited or should be limited, or fixed, to only the words used by proper society. followers of the theory of fixing the language as it currently stood had a model in the académie française of france, which dictated what words should be accepted into the french language. on the other side of the debate, many believed the language of the english should be without guidance and, for these critics, the acceptance of all neologisms and slang represented a fundamental feature of british society: the liberty of its people. two figures amidst this great controversy of the time were jonathan swift and samuel johnson. whereas swift wrote in his proposal for correcting, improving and ascertaining the english tongue (1712) that there was a pressing need to fix the english language before it became corrupted over time, johnson realized through the process of compiling his great dictionary (1755) that society needs to accept the fluidity and growth of a living language. in addition to being proponents of the language debate, both men wrote works relating to the travels of individuals seeking enlightenment who find the human conditions of corruption and greed persist throughout the world. swift’s masterpiece, gulliver’s travels, is memorable for its acerbic take on humanity and its flaws, while johnson’s the history of rasselas, is superficially a morality tale, but in reality, presents a world as corrupt and depraved as that of swift. each of these texts includes a protagonist, lemuel gulliver in one and imlac in the other, who often functions as a vehicle through which the author is able to express his beliefs, whether explicit or subtle, on all matters of life, including issues concerning language and its relation to society. language works as a passport to gain acceptance into foreign cultures and both gulliver and rasselas come to radically different conclusions concerning language and its significance. the multilingual gulliver travels across the foreign lands of the world, yet he concludes his journey with the assumption that the simple and fixed language of the houyhnhnms, analogous to proper english, is superior to all others. by contrast, johnson’s discussion, primarily through the character of imlac, concerns poetry as all-encompassing in its focus and the irrational tradition of embalming the dead, themes that provide a response to swift’s more conservative views on language by emphasizing the need for variety in life. as imlac himself proclaims, “do not suffer life to stagnate; it will grow muddy for want of motion: commit yourself again to the current of the world”(85). here, imlac is consoling nekayah, rasselas’s sister, who has sunk her life into despair by mourning the death of her friend, pekuah, but the words have a greater value for johnson—one should not let language “grow muddy” and stagnate. rather, language and all other aspects of life are subject to the “current of the world” and one must accept the motion of human existence. through an examination of the primary 2 documents of both authors and application of their views of language to their respective texts, one can better understand the relationship between nationalism and language that permeates travel literature during the time of british expansion. moreover, the implications of interactions and acceptance of other cultures relate to the greater notion of language not stagnating, or as imlac notes “[growing] muddy for want of motion,” but necessarily growing and changing over time. the debate as to whether the english language should be fixed or not raged amongst the literary circles and courts of great britain for many years prior to swift submitting his proposal to robert harley, lord high treasurer to the queen. indeed, the fear that foreign influences are corrupting one’s language has existed as long as language has existed. purists have always assumed the worst of any change concerning the mother tongue, particularly when it involves the words they deem vulgar or low. nicholas hudson, a critic who rightly believes johnson’s dictionary was more inclusive of “cant” terms than gwin kolb and others had previously assumed, notes that the history of correcting the language can be traced back to the classic rhetorician, quintillian, who believes a nation’s language should be the “agreed practice of educated men”(80). from this classical vision of a learned group deeming which words are proper or not came grammarians in the eighteenth century who “looked back nostalgically to a time of greater elegance and stable aristocratic power”(80). here, hudson points out the symbiotic relationship between a country and its language; many scholars of the time assumed that a fixed language would be stronger and more befitting to england’s imperial growth. ann cline kelly, a major scholar on swift and language, reiterates this aspect of language when she writes, “the possibilities of achieving a stable, standard language…[was] the sine qua non of a great, strong nation”(swift’s satire 34). for adherents to the need to fix and correct the english language, the best means to accomplish these goals would be by creating an english academy, modeled after cardinal richelieu’s académie française. the notion of an academy of learned men dictating the rules and regulations of the english tongue was established many years prior to swift’s call-to-arms to fix the language. once charles ii ascended the throne and the british kingdom was restored to its former power, interest in an english academy grew. indeed, the nation’s fascination with france helped heighten the supposed need for the management of the language via the method of the french. scholar b.s. monroe explains that “after the recall of charles ii, writers seeking court favor turned more and more to french literature and french ideals”(109). as the french were influencing all aspects of life, it is not surprising that their approach to correcting and fixing the language would be a “means of improvement” for the english (109). the royal society noted this fervent desire for a learned group to manage the language and “appointed a committee on the improvement of the english tongue” in 1664. although this committee ultimately failed in its intention to control the language as the french had, its membership included a number of major literary figures. among these famous writers was john dryden, whom monroe notes believed in the need for such a prescriptive group: “i have endeavored to write english, as near as i could distinguish it from the tongues of pendants, and that of affected travellers (sic). i am sorry, that (speaking so noble a language as we do) we have not a more certain measure of it, as they have in france”(113). here, dryden’s comments relate implicitly to the writer’s dilemma of how to pen stories in a language so inconsistent and variable in its 3 words and meanings with no reliable dictionary from which to work. henry hitchings, author of defining the world, relates that johnson’s dictionary was a necessity of the times: “the need for a new english dictionary was…a matter of both national prestige and philological necessity” (55). as literary figures of the age sought a dictionary to stabilize the language, many, such as daniel defoe, believed the institution of an academy would be beneficial to matters of “national prestige.” defoe is best known for his adventure novel, robinson crusoe, yet monroe points out that his essays on projects, published in 1697, asserts the need for the english nation to have a means of fixing the language: “the english tongue is not at all less worthy the labour of such a society than the french, and capable of much greater perfection”(114). for jonathan swift, the solution to dryden and defoe’s fears of linguistic corruption was the establishment of an english academy that would correct and improve the english tongue so as to assist all writers, including himself, in achieving posterity. as dryden, defoe, alexander pope and other authors sought a systematic language as their medium of expression, so too did swift urge the english nation to “correct” his direct means of communication and his livelihood: language. in 1712, swift published a proposal for correcting, improving, and ascertaining the english tongue, which had its origins in a letter to robert harley, earl of oxford and mortimer and lord high treasurer. although one could possibly read this document as a satiric stab at the ridiculous linguistic concerns of the nation, similar to his a modest proposal (1729), monroe explains how a simple, yet significant piece of evidence suggests otherwise: “this is the only one of his publications to which swift attached his own name” (117). since the majority of swift’s writing was anonymous, it is logical to conclude that a document he signed under his own name must discuss a topic very important to him. here, swift is not assuming a persona to present his views, but rather puts forth his own beliefs concerning the need to fix the english language. swift begins to develop his views about the corruption of the language and the means to improve it by noting how the english tongue continues to decay: “our language is extremely imperfect…its daily improvements are by no means in proportion to its daily corruptions” (8). as swift finds fault in the lack of “improvements” in the language, he cites the restoration, the period when monroe believes proposals such as swift’s reached their apex in influence, as one of the chief reasons why the language is in a state of decline. swift states, “licentiousness which entered with the restoration, and from infecting our religion and morals, fell to corrupt our language” (18). here, swift provides a clear association between politics and language—as the morality of the nation reaches a state of decay, so too does the language erode from poor use. in addition to political corruption, the state of literature also leads to the downfall of proper english, according to swift: “the plays, and other compositions…[were] filled with a succession of affected phrases, and new, conceited words, either borrowed from the current style of the court, or from those who, under the character of men of wit and pleasure, pretended to give the law”(20). as plays and other works filter into society, swift notes, the cant terms of the people also permeate the english tongue: “if [a term] struck the present taste, it was soon transferred into the plays and current scribbles of the week, and became an addition to our language” (20). here, swift maps the progression of words from the streets and coffee houses inhabited by pretenders of wit (men swift clearly despises) to becoming additions to the language and are made legitimate as a result. 4 once swift describes in his letter the corruptions of the language, he goes on to provide what he believes is the solution: the english academy. swift writes that “a free judicious choice should be made of such persons, as are generally allowed to be best qualified for such a work…should assemble at some appointed time and place, and fix on rules by which they design to proceed”(29). as swift sets the guidelines for his vision of a learned society, he also notes what such a group would accomplish: “they will find many words that deserve to be utterly thrown out of our language, many more to be corrected; and perhaps not a few, long since antiquated, which ought to be restored, on account of their energy and sound” (31). this passage speaks to larger issues than simply fixing the language. here, he advocates the need to not only discard words deemed unacceptable by swift, but also to “restore” obsolete terms to their rightful place in the lexicon. swift’s desire to give life to the dead is a significant aspect of his discussion of language in gulliver’s travels and johnson’s rebuttal in his preface and subsequent works. in addition to swift’s hope to resurrect obsolete terms, his use of the word “restore” has political connotations. as he addressed this letter to the earl of oxford, who was then the lord high treasurer for queen anne, the term is fraught with meaning in relation to the royalty reclaiming their throne and “restoring” balance in britain. swift asserted, “it is better a language should not be wholly perfect, than that it should be perpetually changing” (31). here, swift appeared to neglect the reality of living languages, such as english—they must necessarily change and transform in order to survive over time. in addition, swift presented his tory views concerning his fear of change and staunch belief in tradition for all aspects of society, especially in regards to a limited language. indeed, swift proclaimed that simplicity, a term that recurs frequently in gulliver’s travels, “is one of the greatest perfections of any language” (32-3). near the conclusion of swift’s letter, he issued an ultimatum to the queen: “if you will not take some care to settle our language, and put it into a state of continuance, i cannot promise that your memory shall be preserved above an hundred years, further than by imperfect tradition” (40). in swift’s final plea for correcting the language, he assumed that the language was changing so rapidly, all writing of his period would be made obsolete within “an hundred years.” one will find this particular anxiety of swift appears multiple times in his text, particularly in relation to unintelligibility and concepts of immortality. swift’s worrying that the members of the royal family will no longer have their accomplishments “preserved” speaks also to his own fears of posterity; if people cannot understand his writing, he will no longer be able to live forever via the printed word. as swift’s anxieties concerning the english language appear to stem directly from his concerns of corruption, political instability and his own posterity being in jeopardy, he assumes that a simple and limited language corrected by an english academy of sorts will be best for the nation of england. a figure appears, however, who completely dismisses swift’s theories and whose dicta, as monroe describes it, “put an end to the discussion for many years to come” (122). that man was the exceptional scholar and lexicographer, samuel johnson. johnson realized the flaws in swift’s assumptions of language and how humans can control it. his great dictionary presented what many could deem a “fixing” of the english language, yet this assertion would be entirely inaccurate. rather than dictating what words people should use and how they should 5 speak (a prescriptive dictionary), johnson assembled one of the earliest descriptive dictionaries that recorded the words used by the british people. johnson’s dictionary became the preeminent guide to the english language and, in eighteenth century england, was known as simply the dictionary. it was only during the course of compiling his dictionary, however, that johnson shifted away from a prescriptivist and conservative mindset concerning language to his eventual acceptance and inclusion of a variety of terms, both proper and cant. johnson’s earliest writings on the english language appear in 1747 in the form of the plan for a dictionary of the english language. addressed to the earl of chesterfield—a prominent figure whom johnson futilely attempted to have patronize his work—johnson’s plan puts forth his views on how he should assemble a dictionary. among johnson’s proposal of action, he discusses orthography and, in particular, the wickedness of change: “all change is of itself an evil, which ought not to be hazarded but for evident advantage; and as inconstancy is in every case a mark of weakness, it will add nothing to the reputation of our tongue”(36). here, johnson appears optimistic about his ability to correct and essentially fix the english language through his dictionary. he supports this prescriptivist inclination in regards to spelling in his discussion of etymology and cant terms when he writes, “we shall secure our language from being overrun with cant, from being crouded with low terms, the spawn of folly or affectation, which arise from no just principles of speech, and of which therefore no legitimate derivation can be shown” (42). in this passage, swift seems to be penning the words of johnson, as the lexicographer’s disgust for low terms mirrors that of swift in his proposal. indeed, johnson has a complex relationship with swift, who is his elder and one of the “english poets” whom he includes in his illustrative quotations in his dictionary, yet the lexicographer denigrates swift in the majority of his writings concerning language, particularly in his preface to the dictionary. johnson’s dictionary was published in 1755, and, after eight years had elapsed since his plan, the lexicographer had a very different conception of cant terms and what should and should not appear in a dictionary of the english language. the preface that precedes the dictionary itself speaks to johnson’s shift to a more descriptivist mentality. johnson writes, “the words which our authours have introduced by their knowledge of foreign languages, or ignorance of their own, by vanity or wantonness, by compliance with fashion, or lust of innovation, i have registred as they occurred”(85). here, johnson clearly dismisses these neologisms, yet he still chooses to record them “as they occurred.” thus, while johnson does not accept these words as equal in moral and cultural value, he nonetheless includes them in his dictionary. donald t. siebert, a johnsonian scholar, clarifies this aspect when he notes that “in a living language there is no possibility of establishing the best families and a burke’s peerage” (486). although johnson had the greatest expectation of excluding vulgar terms, he came to the conclusion that he must include a great number of offensive terms without a high pedigree or etymology. further, siebert explains that for the lexicographer “the offense or risibility proceeds from inappropriate use, not the inherent unworthiness or absurdity of any individual word” (494). siebert recognizes that johnson’s very choice to include terms often deemed offensive or lewd, even according to the author himself, portrays how descriptivist the dictionary was for its time. indeed, johnson himself realizes the folly of 6 his prescriptivist views and makes the analogy between his previous goals and the hopes of embalming the dead: when we see men grow old and die at a certain time one after another…we laugh at the elixir that promises to prolong life to a thousand years; and with equal justice may the lexicographer be derided, who being able to produce no example of a nation that has preserved their words and phrases from mutability, shall imagine his dictionary can embalm his language, and secure it from corruption and decay, that it is in his power to change sublunary nature and clear the world at once from folly, vanity, and affectation. (104-5) from this lengthy passage, johnson clearly understands the error in his ways and recognizes the mutability of a living language by likening the practices of fixing the language to attempting to embalm that which must necessarily die. later, he responds to theories of language academies, such as the académie française, and condemns these groups for their delusions regarding language. he proclaims, “sounds are too volatile and subtile for legal restraints; to enchain syllables, and to lash the wind, are equally the undertakings of pride” (105). here, johnson focuses on the freedom of language and its inability to be fettered in the same way that the wind cannot be “lashed.” one of the reasons language cannot be restrained is its growth through neologisms. as swift assumes slang and vulgar terms need to be excised from the english language, johnson understands the need for them and how they will continue to flourish, while older terms will become obsolete regardless of any arbitrary restrictions an english academy would place upon them. johnson explains, “as any custom is disused, the words that expressed it must perish with it; as any opinion grows popular, it will innovate speech in the same proportion as it alters practice” (106). johnson’s comprehension of the vacillating nature of language—when it discards older terms, it gives birth to new ones—again illustrates a key difference between himself and the conservative swift. jonathan swift appears by name in johnson’s preface and, as a featured “english poet,” swift becomes an important opponent for johnson in his indictment of the need to fix the english language. johnson writes of swift in his lives of the english poets and, though he includes the author, he is not kind to the subject of the biography. johnson condemns swift’s notion of an english academy, modeled on the french, and notes, “the certainty and stability which, contrary to all experience, he thinks attainable, he proposes to secure by instituting an academy…which, being renewed by successive elections, would in a short time have differed from itself”(253). here, johnson focuses on the element of absurdity in having an english academy: it will become corrupt in the same manner as every other english institution. johnson previously describes swift’s proposal by name in his preface and writes, “swift, in his petty treatise on the english language, allows that new words must sometimes be introduced, but proposes that none should be suffered to become obsolete” (107). johnson derides this viewpoint and proclaims, “how shall [an obsolete word] be continued, when it conveys an offensive idea, or recalled again into the mouths of mankind, when it has once become unfamiliar by disuse, and unpleasing by unfamiliarity”(108). johnson, here, argues that, similar to the corpses the lexicographer seeks to embalm, the bodies of the past must be left in the ground; having them rise up again is “unfamiliar” and “unpleasing” to those who do not remember the 7 dead. while swift seeks the resurrection of the deceased, possibly in relation to his obsession with posterity in his proposal, johnson recognizes the absurdity of such a premise and notes that perhaps the obsolete words reached that state of “death” because they were no longer of use to modern society. thus, while johnson places emphasis on the liberty of the english nation and its need for an unfettered language, swift puts forth the view that simplicity is best and fixing the english tongue will lead to the betterment of society as a whole. swift’s anxieties concerning immortality and the corruption of the english language play a significant role in his discussion of language and nationalism in one of his most celebrated works, gulliver’s travels. johnson writes of swift’s text in his biography and proclaims in a pessimistic tone, “no rules of judgment were applied to a book written in open defiance of truth and regularity” and “the part…which gave the most disgust must be the history of the houyhnhnms”(261). here, johnson registers his dislike of the novel, but he concedes that it was very popular when it was first published and won swift enormous fame and respect. it is especially fascinating that johnson notes his disgust for the houyhnhnms, characters who have a limited language of “simplicity,” and their history. while johnson greatly abhors both swift’s text and swift himself, the lexicographer’s tale of the prince of abissinia making his “choice of life” consistently parallels the character of gulliver and his adventures. although, as alvin whitley points out, “imlac is not samuel johnson in the same way that gulliver is not jonathan swift”(51), one can still read the characters as instruments through which the authors discuss language. one of the most important ways this theme functions in either text is that language is analogous to a passport that grants the protagonists access to the worlds of the unknown. in the works of both johnson and swift, the subject of communication in the human world is of the utmost significance. swift’s lemuel gulliver is a multilingual character whose wanderlust leads him to absorb many new languages during his travels. indeed, gulliver is adept at learning the native tongues of others, and appears predisposed to this condition from an early age: “when i was ashore, [i spent my leisure time] in observing the manners and dispositions of the people, as well as learning their language; wherein i had a great facility by the strength of my memory”(16). here, gulliver’s “strength” of memory enables him to assume and understand a great variety of languages. when gulliver attempts to converse with the lilliputians, he “spoke to them in as many languages as [he] had the least smattering of, which were high and low dutch, latin, french, spanish, italian, and lingua franca”(26). swift emphasizes the enormous repertoire of languages gulliver has at his disposal to help explain how gulliver assimilates into the multitude of cultures he visits so rapidly. gulliver’s average time for learning a new language is “about three weeks”(28), which is remarkable considering the difficulty most have in understanding one language, let alone the variety gulliver learns in the text. the protagonist’s methods for apprehending native tongues vary as well. swift gives examples of linguistic learning ranging from gulliver writing down columns to translate foreign terms to the protagonist having his nurse, glumdalclitch, teach him the words of the brobdingnags in book two. from these means by which gulliver learns the languages, and thus the culture, of the people he meets, swift depicts the significance of language in all societies, including that of england. 8 whereas swift’s protagonist is able to learn and understand the native tongues of others almost instantaneously, johnson’s characters in rasselas portray a more accurate representation of how people apprehend new languages. when prince rasselas leaves the idyllic happy valley with his guide, imlac, and his sister and her maid to explore the outside world, he finds that he and his companions must know a nation’s language before they are allowed access into that society. imlac warns rasselas of this aspect of travel in his narrative of his own experiences and his hope to find “variety in life” (22). imlac’s interest in knowledge and his disgust for the commerce his father desires to be his profession in life leads the guide of rasselas to recount how he first adapted to the world outside of abisinnia. on approaching agra, the “capital of indostan,” imlac realizes language is his passport to assimilation: “i applied myself to the language of the country, and in a few months was able to converse with the learned men” (23). as imlac became aware of the power of language in any culture, he urges his companions to study the native tongue of egypt when they enter the city of cairo. while imlac was able to converse with the men around him, “his companions, not being able to mix in the conversation, could make no discovery of their ignorance or surprise, and were gradually initiated in the world as they gained knowledge of the language” (42). indeed, johnson stresses that the group “studied the language two years” and worked diligently to comprehend the culture they were visiting. as johnson recognizes the toil and struggle it takes to assume any language, most likely an insight gained from his work on his dictionary, swift’s notion that gulliver can easily pick up and communicate in the language of the people he meets attests to what johnson would deem his naïveté about all aspects of language, including the notion that it can be fixed and simplified in the manner of the native tongue of the houyhnhnms. swift’s choice to have gulliver be a multilingual character who can understand multiple languages relates not only to the protagonist’s adept linguistic nature, but also to heighten the fact that gulliver ultimately chooses the language of the horses as superior to all others. as swift believes “simplicity is…one of the greatest perfections in any language” (proposal 32-3), he features two cultures that uphold the need for a simple and limited language: the brobdingnags and the houyhnhnms. indeed, the fact that these foreign societies are also the least corrupted ones featured in the text speaks to swift’s assumption that the power and moral integrity of a nation rests in a language of simplicity. kelly writes of the viewpoint of the time, one with which swift through gulliver concurs, that “a unified and purified language is a necessary condition for a unified and purified country” (“after eden” 33). gulliver’s description of the language of the brobdingnags confirms the linguistic purity of the people. he states that “their stile is clear, masculine, and smooth, but not florid; for they avoid nothing more than multiplying unnecessary words, or using various expressions”(125). here, swift highlights the lack of excess and grandiosity in the language of the brobdingnags. since they do not “multiply unnecessary words,” a phrase that recalls swift’s accusations of cant terms illegitimately entering the lexicon, the brobdingnags are the height of civility for gulliver. as gulliver believes the “clear, masculine, and smooth” style of the brobdingnagian language to be representative of their incorruptible society, he finds a distinct contrast between their limited language and that of the academy of lagado he visits in the third book. here, one might assume that swift has envisioned the english academy of his proposal, yet the overly scientific analysis of language that results 9 clearly opposes swift’s desire for a simple english tongue. he notes that on papers “were written all the words of their language in their several moods, tenses, and declensions, but without any order” and that when turned “the whole disposition of the words was entirely changed” (171). here, one finds swift’s anxieties come to fruition in the form of a language with no boundaries or limitations to keep it from changing instantaneously. after his visit to lagado, he assumes the culture of the brobdingnags to be one of the best he visits, until he meets the houyhnhnms in the final book of the text. gulliver’s adventures lead him to travel all across the world, but it is only when he becomes acquainted with the culture of the houyhnhnms that he believes he has found a superior mode of living. in every aspect that is a part of their rational society, gulliver finds no equal in the newly-labeled yahoo world of which he himself is a member. he proclaims on the matter of their native tongue that “their language doth not abound in variety of words, because their wants and passions are fewer than among us” (224). gulliver finds the simplicity of their language, which includes no word for “evil,” “love” or any other irrational aspect of human existence, to be incredibly appealing. although one cannot assume the views of gulliver on the houyhnhnms are precisely those of the author, the fact that swift claims the superiority of “simplicity” in his writing outside of satire demonstrates one of his similarities with his protagonist. gulliver, as the mouthpiece for swift, explains that his translations of his master’s discussions will always be inferior in his language: “i shall hardly be able to do justice to my master’s arguments and expressions, which must needs suffer by my want of capacity, as well as by a translation into our barbarous english”(228). here, swift’s use of the term “barbarous” in reference to english relates implicitly to his views of the corruption of the language and the necessity of its being fixed and limited. as gulliver loses his british nationalism and begins to abhor that which is not of the houyhnhnms, he reflects swift’s own trepidations about proper english and the state of the language during his time. deborah baker wyrick keys in on swift’s intense fears concerning the language of the houyhnhnms when she writes, “perhaps…the houyhnhnms represent a form of self-criticism; swift invests them not only with the virtues of rationality and benevolence, which he undoubtedly approved of, but also with linguistic paralysis, with a denial of the sometimes unpleasant reality of historical change”(184). wyrick’s analysis of swift and his conflicted representation of the perfection of language by the horses demonstrate the author’s greater anxieties about his ability to fix the english language. despite the fact that gulliver appears to mimic swift in proposing the “virtues” of the houyhnhnms “to the imitation of mankind”(262), swift in his later years begins to recognize the troubles of such an academy (perhaps similar to that of lagado in book three). although swift begins to explore his fear of “linguistic paralysis” in the form of the passionless houyhnhnms, johnson offers a more emphatic stance against fixing the english language in his criticism of linguistic simplicity in rasselas. while the figure of gulliver extols the virtues of a simple and limited vocabulary in one’s life, johnson’s characters consider simplicity to be a form of stagnation. when pekuah, the maid nekayah mourns in the text, returns from being kidnapped at the great pyramids, she describes the conditions of an arab harem that clearly demonstrate the torturous existence of life without conversation and variety. pekuah is an educated woman, despite her role as a maid to the princess, and she finds the lack of knowledge 10 among the women of the harem upsetting. she exclaims, “for what could they be expected to talk? they had seen nothing…of what they had not seen they could have no knowledge, for they could not read” (95). in the same way that the houyhnhnms are illiterate, the women of the harem are also unable to gain any wisdom through reading. johnson goes further with his criticism of limited language when pekuah explains the few terms the women knew in their lives: “they had no ideas but of the few things that were within their view, and had hardly names for any thing but their cloaths and their food”(96). here, johnson asserts the fact that people who lead limited lives—who cannot read and do not travel—will necessarily have limited languages. indeed, johnsonian scholar robert j. mayhew notes that pekuah’s “lack of conversation…is because the women, true to their sensate lives, betray no curiosity in the natural world”(546). as pekuah cannot converse with those who have no curiosity in life, she demonstrates how travel integrally relates to knowledge. for the author, the limitation of language is no positive attribute, as it is for gulliver and the writings of swift in his proposal. rather, johnson believes variety in all forms of life is the key to happiness. the author demonstrates his view that one must have diversity through imlac’s description of a poet. in swift’s proposal, he notes that poets have “contributed very much to the spoiling of the english tongue” (21). imlac himself provides one of the reasons swift might have had a grudge against poets: they seek knowledge of all aspects of life, both high and low. imlac’s panegyric concerning poetry leads him to note that a poet “must be conversant with all that is awfully vast or elegantly little”(26). of course, one realizes that swift, of all people in the eighteenth century, was conversant with the bawdy side of life, but his disgust for cant terms relates to his fear that slang and neologisms can be “elegant” and made legitimate through their inclusion in dictionaries, such as that of johnson. indeed, imlac’s description of the poet corresponds nicely to johnson’s work compiling his dictionary. imlac states, “no kind of knowledge was to be overlooked” (26) and, “to a poet nothing can be useless”(26). these assessments of poetry, paralleling johnson’s trek through the lowest cant to the most proper english terms, relate to both authors and their conceptions of language. for johnson, the poet/author must accept variety and change as essential elements of human existence, while swift remains obsessed with his need to gain posterity through the fixing of the english language. swift precedes his text with gulliver’s letter to his cousin sympson. in this letter, he again portrays his anxieties concerning language and unintelligibility: i have since found that the sea-yahoos are apt, like the land ones, to become new fangled in their words; which the latter change every year; insomuch, as i remember upon each return to mine own country, their old dialect was so altered, that i could hardly understand the new. (9) gulliver cannot “understand the new” dialect of his own countrymen. in this way he represents swift’s fear of not achieving posterity through his medium of expression: the english language. while the language of the houyhnhnms epitomizes simplicity and perfection, the language of the yahoos needs to be fixed in order for the author himself to gain immortality. swift later portrays his anxiety of posterity when gulliver meets the struldbrugs of luggnagg. here, he finds citizens who are immortal, a dream for gulliver 11 and swift, yet the fact that they do not die does not signify that they do not age. since the struldbrugs live forever, they witness the damaging effects of a “language…always upon the flux”: “the struldbrugs of one age do not understand those of another; neither are they able after two hundred years to hold any conversation (farther than by a few general words) with their neighbours the mortals; and thus they lye under the disadvantage of living like foreigners in their own country” (198-9). here, the concern of language remaining consistent and recognizable over time recalls swift’s ultimatum to the queen that if the country does not control the language of the people, the posterity of her reign (and swift’s own immortality) will never be fixed for centuries to come. samuel johnson also depicts the notion of immortality, yet he demonstrates the futility of attempting to fix a living language. in the final pages of rasselas, johnson describes the egyptian tradition of embalming the corpses of the dead. rasselas first asks the wise imlac for what purpose the culture follows this custom: “what reason…can be given [as to] why the egyptians should thus preserve those carcasses which some nations consume with fire, others lay to mingle with the earth, and all agree to remove from their sight, as soon as decent rites can be performed?”(118-9). here, johnson appears to be discussing not only the traditions of egypt, but the futility of embalming what should rightfully be “removed from sight.” to rasselas’s inquiry, imlac replies, “had all the dead been embalmed, their repositories must in time have been more spacious than the dwellings of the living” (119). again, johnson appears to be using the concept of embalming to metaphorically discuss the ridiculousness of fixing a language or, even worse, bringing back to life obsolete terms. as johnson wrote in his preface about the role of the lexicographer as embalmer of the language, this metaphor has great significance to him and his discussions of language in rasselas. indeed, the fact that both authors are preoccupied with issues of language and immortality speaks to the larger need for a living language to not be embalmed, but to necessarily vacillate and transform over time. the controversy of an english academy of language ensnared many prominent literary figures of the seventeenth century. notable proponents on both sides of the argument for fixing the language were jonathan swift and samuel johnson. both authors considered language to be their medium of expression and livelihood and, thus, felt the need to place their stakes in the controversy of the day. although swift’s view of language in his masterpiece, gulliver’s travels, illustrates his questioning the ability to control living languages as he hoped to in his proposal, johnson recognizes in his preface the futility of fixing the english tongue and emphasizes the fact in rasselas via his metaphors of the poet and the embalming of the dead. both authors relate the english language to the nation and, while swift seeks a purified language to strengthen the nation, johnson assumes a democratic nation must have an unrestricted native tongue. for johnson, and later descriptivists, the english language is one that will “grow muddy for want of motion” and must be as free as the nation of england itself in order to exist as a living and transforming language. works cited: 12 hitchings, henry. defining the world: the extraordinary story of dr. johnson’s dictionary. new york: farrar, straus and giroux, 2005. hudson, nicholas. “johnson’s dictionary and the politics of ‘standard english.’” yearbook of english studies 28 (1998): 77-93. johnson, samuel. the history of rasselas, prince of abissinia. 1759. new york: oxford up, 1999. ---. lives of the english poets. vol 2. 1781. new york: e.p. dutton & co, 1961. ---. the plan of a dictionary for the english language. kolb 25-59. ---. preface. kolb 73-113. kelly, ann cline. “after eden: gulliver’s (linguistic) travels.” elh 45.1 (1978): 33-54. ---. “swift’s satire against modern etymologists in the antiquity of the english tongue.” south atlantic review 48.2 (1983): 21-36. kolb, gwin j. and robert demaria, jr., eds. johnson on the english language. vol. 18. new haven, ct: yale up, 2005. mayhew, robert j. “nature and the choice of life in rasselas.” studies in english literature, 1500-1900 (1999): 539-56. monroe, b.s. “an english academy.” modern philology 8.1 (1910): 107-22. siebert, donald t. “bubbled, bamboozled, and bit: ‘low bad’ words in johnson’s dictionary.” studies in english literature, 1500-1900 26.3 (1986): 485-96. swift, jonathan. gulliver’s travels. 1726. new york: oxford up, 2005. ---. a proposal for correcting, improving and ascertaining the english tongue. london: printed for benj. tooke, 1712. microfiche. whitley, alvin. “the comedy of rasselas.” elh 23.1 (1956): 48-70. wyrick, deborah baker. jonathan swift and the vested word. chapel hill, nc: u of north carolina p, 1988. microsoft word edwards.doc constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic: toward discovering the gift of homosexuality john p. edwards theology and religious studies go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘i desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ matthew 9:13 in a sensitive and compassionately articulated essay, j. giles milhaven attempts to create a new opening in the christian dialogue about homosexuality by directly addressing those homosexual persons who are both actively pursuing a homosexual lifestyle and actively committed and faithful to any christian church that condemns intimate homosexual relationships.1 in this address, milhaven asks these individuals to reflect upon and respond to one question: “why is sex important for you?”2 milhaven’s respect for and interest in gay and lesbian christians is not due to their loyalty to the church but rather to their loyalty to their sexuality and their sexual lives. he does not ask, what is it within the catholic church (or a christian church) that you deem so worthwhile that you are willing to bear harsh condemnation in order to pursue it? instead he asks, what do you see to be of such value in your sexual lives that you are willing to carry on with those lives “in the face of the mortal accusations made against [you] by the church [you] respect and love”?3 in other words, milhaven sees within the lives of these practicing and faithful christians a tremendous value placed on sex and he hopes that these individuals, by articulating the importance of sex for themselves, will help catholic theologians and the church to more clearly conceptualize the value of sex in a christian life. for 1 j. giles milhaven, “how the church can learn from gay and lesbian experience,” found in the vatican and homosexuality (new york: crossroads, 1988), ed. by jeannine gramick and pat furey, 216-223. 2 ibid., 217. 3 ibid., 218. john edwards 36 milhaven, furthering the present dialogue about the compatibility of homosexuality and christianity requires a renewed christian understanding of the purpose, meaning and inherent value of sex. the question milhaven poses to gay and lesbian christians directly addresses the source of the incoherence of the church’s longstanding sexual ethic, that is, on the whole, it has not treated sex as an important and fundamental good within a christian lifestyle. instead it has viewed sex as a neutral, and sometimes even unfortunate, necessity which must be tolerated and placed within the best possible contexts in order to be able to contribute something positive to persons’ genuine christian striving. in recent decades, many theologians and members of the church’s hierarchy have recognized and made a concerted effort to overcome the church’s historically negative view of sex by more fully integrating human sexuality into a holistic understanding of the person.4 however, as the beginning of this study will attempt to demonstrate below, the church’s characterization of homosexuality as a regrettable disorder and its pastoral advice to homosexual persons reveal that a basic incoherence persists within the church’s sexual ethic in spite of these recent efforts to understand human sexuality and sexual relationships in a more positive light. the church therefore is still in need of a healthy, positive, and coherent understanding of how sex and sexuality, as an integral component of human personhood even in its less than selfless expressions, can enable persons to lead more loving and sacrificial christian lives. the development of such an understanding requires further reflection upon the intimate relationship between sexuality and human flourishing. such reflection is needed independent of a discussion about homosexuality; however, it is also necessary before any truly loving discussion about homosexuality can take place within the church. in recognizing this need, the present study seeks to articulate the basic value of sex in terms of its capacity to contribute to human flourishing. a clearer conceptualization of the role that sexuality and committed sexual relationships play in furthering or hindering human flourishing will provide the foundation for constructing the basic guiding principles of a coherent christian sexual ethic. my method in developing this sexual ethic will proceed in four steps. first, i briefly examine the magisterium’s teaching on homosexuality and homosexual activity in 4 in particular see john paul ii’s love and responsibility (san francisco: ignatius press, 1993), and the theology of the body (boston: pauline books & media, 1997), which integrate sexuality and sexual relationships into a holistic understanding of the human person and which develop an essentially positive role for sexuality within a christian life. constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 37 order to clearly state the basic incoherence of the church’s sexual ethic. this examination will reveal the faulty understanding of human flourishing that this sexual ethic assumes. william mcdonough’s5 and jean porter’s6 treatments of the influence of stoic philosophy on the church’s understanding of sex will be helpful in clarifying the source of this limited understanding of human flourishing within the church. such a clarification will serve as preparation for the second step in my analysis which will attempt to construct a more sound understanding of human flourishing and the values necessary to promote and sustain it.7 thirdly, this study will suggest the value that sex and sexual relationships have within this more fully developed understanding of human flourishing as well as the kind of sexual ethic that should follow from it. finally, i will conclude by offering a basic criterion for evaluating the adequacy or truthfulness of any sexual ethic. the sexual ethic constructed through this process will ultimately claim that the primary purpose of sex and, therefore, of committed sexual relationships, is to enable individuals to more honestly and explicitly articulate the nature and the depth of their need and desire to be loved. in so far as sex and sexual relationships enable individuals to do this, they should be seen as promoting human flourishing and, therefore, as contributing toward a more loving christian lifestyle. within this sexual ethic, homosexual and heterosexual relationships have the same potential for playing a positive role in christian living. in opening his essay, milhaven states, “the church has at present no sexual ethic.”8 that is, the church has at present no coherent sexual ethic, lacking internal contradictions. the church’s teaching on homosexuality makes this basic contradiction more clearly visible. homosexual persons, by seeking to be true to their own desire for love and intimacy, point to the edges of the church’s sexual ethic and urge the church to look farther – beyond what it has deemed to be the limits of god’s loving self-communication expressed within committed sexual relationships. andrew sullivan, in relating his own process of coming to recognize and acknowledge his homosexuality, illustrates how 5 william mcdonough, “alasdair macintyre as help for rethinking catholic natural law estimates of same-sex life partnerships,” the annual of the society of christian ethics 21 (2001), 197-200. 6 jean porter, natural and divine law (grand rapids, mi: eerdmans, 1999), 191, 199. 7 this construction of a more sound understanding of human flourishing with rely heavily on stephen pope’s study, “scientific and natural law analyses of homosexuality,” journal of religious ethics 25 (1997). 8 milhaven, 216. john edwards 38 homosexual persons’ needs for and experiences of intimate relationships expose the church’s sexual ethic as not only incoherent and unsatisfactory, but also as destructive for many. what finally convinced me of the wrongness of the church’s teachings was not that they were intellectually so confused, but that in the circumstances of my own life – and of the lives i discovered around me – they seemed so destructive of the possibilities of human love and selfrealization.9 thus, it was not because the church’s teaching was illogical that sullivan found it to be incoherent, but because, in his effort to apply that teaching to his own life, he experienced it as an obstacle to love and genuine selfdiscovery. sullivan came to the unavoidable conclusion that the gospels and the jesus of love that they portray could not honestly be the source of the incapacitating and destructive anxiety, bitterness, and frustration that were so prevalent in his own life and the lives of persons around him as a result of their persistent efforts to take seriously and live faithfully the church’s recommendation to homosexual persons.10 sullivan’s recognition of the wrongness of church teaching based on his personal grappling with it eventually led him to conceptualize intellectually the nature of the contradiction in the church’s understanding of homosexual persons and homosexual activity. the contradiction as sullivan rightly describes it is essentially this: the church’s position upholds simultaneously “the blamelessness of homosexuality and the grave moral depravity of homosexual acts.”11 here sullivan is referring to the congregation for the doctrine of the faith’s 1986 pastoral letter on the care of homosexual persons (hp) which states that “although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil.”12 throughout the letter, the congregation asserts the basic and undeniable human dignity of homosexual persons as persons while at the same time claiming that the homosexual’s desires for intimacy are fundamentally disordered and directed toward an intrinsic moral evil, and as such, are incapable of producing love. in practice, 9 andrew sullivan, “virtually normal” found in catholic lives, contemporary america (durham: duke university press, 1997), ed. by thomas j. ferraro, 185. 10 sullivan, 176, 185. 11 sullivan, 181. 12 congregation for the doctrine of the faith, “letter to the bishops of the catholic church on the pastoral care of homosexual persons,” (1986), 3. this document will be referred to as “hp”. this 1986 letter reflects the present teaching of the church on homosexuality. constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 39 however, this dual assertion became for sullivan a “command to love oneself as a person of human dignity [and] yet hate the core longings that could make one emotionally whole[.]”13 living out this command “demanded a sense of detachment or a sense of cynicism that seemed inimical to the christian life.”14 it became apparent to sullivan that in his own life it was not his homosexuality and his homosexual desire for intimacy that created a barrier to love, but rather his persistent effort to follow the church’s teaching which led him to consistently deny “the core longings that could make [him] whole.” in other words, sullivan found the church’s pastoral advice for homosexual persons to be an impediment to love and a stumbling block rather than a support to gay catholics. it should be noted here that the 1986 cdf letter on the care of homosexual persons, to which sullivan refers, still represents the church’s present understanding of and teaching on homosexuality despite the church’s recent movement toward a more positive articulation of the role of sexuality and sexual relationships in human flourishing and christian living. thus, the advice that the church offers to gays and lesbians, while recognizing them as persons, remains the same at present as expressed in this document.15 taking a closer look at the church’s recommendation to homosexuals pursuing a christian lifestyle, we will discover the nature of church’s misunderstanding of human flourishing that results in the incoherence of its sexual ethic experienced by sullivan and other gay christians. the church advises gay christians “to enact the will of god in their life by joining whatever sufferings and difficulties they experience in virtue of their condition to the sacrifice of the lord’s cross” because “[t]hat cross, for the believer, is a fruitful sacrifice since from that death come life and redemption.”16 certainly the church acts lovingly and responsibly in teaching that christ’s life, death, and resurrection demonstrate for christians that sacrificial self-giving is the path to fullness of life and redemption. but one might ask whether all sacrifices are “fruitful”, loving, and life-giving as christ’s clearly was. sullivan’s experience of incapacitating anxiety, frustration, and bitterness resulting from his effort to sacrifice his desires for love and intimacy (as 13 sullivan, 181. 14 ibid. 15 for a detailed summary of all the major statements on homosexuality since 1986 from the vatican and from national bishops’ conferences see stephen pope’s article, “the magisterium’s arguments against ‘same-sex marriage’: an ethical analysis and critique,” in theological studies 65, 3 (sept 2004), 534-9. 16 hp, 12. john edwards 40 well as the similar experiences of many gay christians like him) suggest that not all sacrifices enable greater self-giving in persons. the experience of these gay christians seem to suggest that true self-sacrifice, which imitates christ and enables greater self-giving in oneself and others, is only possible after one has come to understand and freely accept the gift of self that one has been given. persons cannot lovingly sacrifice that which they have not genuinely and graciously received and this reception first requires personal acknowledgement and acceptance. before this acceptance is possible, persons must be enabled to freely and honestly explore themselves. in my view, this is a large part of what it means to be christian – to pursue the questions at the core of your being honestly, faithfully, courageously and lovingly, all the while trusting that christ is walking with you and that you are discovering him in the process. maybe one won’t find definitive answers to every part of oneself in this life; perhaps in some ways one will never have much more than guiding questions, but being christian happens in the pursuing. to deny the questions or to accept someone else’s answers (even if that someone be the church) prevents one from this pursuing and denies oneself the possibility of a truly christian lifestyle. the church’s recommendation to gays and lesbians to sacrifice their basic needs for love and relationship by joining them to christ’s cross requires a forced and unchosen sacrifice while at the same time prohibiting any engagement in the personal pursuit and exploration that is necessary for self-acceptance. in articulating this position, the church reveals its fundamentally flawed understanding of human flourishing, which does not recognize that self-sacrifice can only contribute to human flourishing if it is a genuine and loving choice coming after self-acceptance. selfacceptance and self-love are necessary before self-sacrifice can be a free and loving setting aside of oneself for another. if self-sacrifice is not linked to self-acceptance and self-love, it will amount to a rejection of self that is self-destructive as well as hurtful to those with whom one is inextricably enmeshed. an adequate account of human flourishing and christian living must begin by enabling a discovery of the gift of self as well as a response of gratitude to that gift. william mcdonough and jean porter’s descriptions of the influence of stoicism on the scholastic view of human sexuality and emotionality as essentially objects of scorn and detachment provide a crucial insight into recognizing the source of the church’s flawed understanding of human flourishing. porter points out the scholastic view of sex influenced by stoicism saying, constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 41 [scholastic] attitudes reflected a deep antipathy toward sexual pleasure, together with a sense that sexual activity is fundamentally incompatible with spirituality…this negative view of sex is prechristian in origin, and appears to be rooted in a stoic view that the wise person will engage in sexual acts only for the sake of procreation.17 mcdonough claims that the church catechism’s offer of ‘disinterested friendship’ to homosexual persons is really synonymous with the nature of stoic friendship, which is “disembodied and lacking in affective content.”18 in mcdonough’s treatment of plutarch, one can see that the stoics attempted to create a dichotomy between the intellectually or rationally ‘natural’ side of persons and the basic good of persons within their common experiences of daily living: “[the stoics] have obfuscated and undermined any connection between the philosophically ‘natural’ and the good of persons in the real world.”19 in practice, this stoic conception of human nature treated the philosophically ‘natural’ side of persons, i.e., their intellectual pursuits for wisdom, as the superior and highest good, and treated the good of persons in the real world as irrelevant to and insignificant for human happiness.20 thus, human flourishing in this stoic view would consist of spending the majority of one’s energy in the intellectual pursuit of wisdom while detaching oneself as much as possible from all affective content of the common experiences of one’s daily life. this lifestyle sounds very similar to the experience that sullivan describes as he attempted to live out the sexual ethic implicit in the catholic culture surrounding him and made explicit in hp.21 the church’s sexual ethic seems to have largely assumed this stoic conception of human nature and human flourishing. this is evident not only in the catholic culture’s attitude toward homosexuality which treats this orientation as a regrettable and almost unspeakable condition, but also in the church’s teaching on the two ends of sex: procreation (life) and unification (love). in theory, these two ends are equal goods of sex and marriage, but in the church’s positions on birth control and 17 porter, 191. 18 mcdonough, 197. 19 ibid., 199. 20 ibid. 21 sullivan, 175. john edwards 42 homosexuality, it becomes clear that when the church applies its teaching to specific issues, procreation is the superior good, so much so that in some cases if the procreative end is not present, no amount of unification and love can give even minimal value to sex.22 this emphasis on procreation as the primary end of sex reflects the extent of stoic influence on christian sexual ethics. an understanding of human flourishing that considers sex and sexuality to be primarily a means for procreation and that often treats sexual pleasure with suspicion attempts to maintain the false stoic dichotomy between the intellectual and affective sides of the person. by artificially cutting persons in half and declaring some human needs and inclinations to be good and worthy of pursuit, while seeing others as necessary but highly suspicious and potentially destructive, this conception of human flourishing prevents genuine personal and moral development and undermines itself. thus, constructing a coherent sexual ethic requires a new articulation of human flourishing that promotes the growth of persons by integrating and balancing all human needs and inclinations rather than dividing them and opposing them to one another. in moving forward to develop a more adequate, substantive, and comprehensive account of human flourishing, we take with us two basic insights from our examination of the incoherence of the church’s sexual ethic: (1) discovering the gift of self and responding in gratitude with self-acceptance and self-love is the foundation for self-giving and loving self-sacrifice, (2) self-acceptance and self-love arise out of an honest and relatively integrated recognition of the whole person in all of one’s intertwined and inseparable needs and desires, i.e., intellectual, spiritual, physical, emotional, and sexual. i say “relatively” here because integration is something that persons are always striving to attain more completely. however, a basic acceptance and love of oneself cannot deny or suppress any of these inherently overlapping areas of personal need and desire. these insights together provide a starting point for clarifying what constitutes or contributes toward human flourishing in specific contexts of interpersonal relationships. to the extent that a particular relationship or action brings about a greater degree of integrated self-love within a 22 vatican ii showed signs of moving beyond this emphasis on procreation over unification in its upholding of the value of marriages between couples who are unable to have children. mcdonough, 202, quoting from gaudium et spes, 50. however, the church’s 2003 statement concerning unions between homosexual persons which cites the impossibility of procreation as the first biological/ anthropological reason against same-sex unions suggests that this priority of procreation over love as the primary end of sex still persists in the church’s sexual ethic. constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 43 person it contributes toward that individual’s flourishing. to the extent that a particular relationship or action is grounded in and arises out of an individual’s integrated self-love it has the potential to promote the flourishing of others. yet there is not a complete division between the promotion of one’s own flourishing and the promotion of others’ flourishing because individuals do not move toward an integrated selflove in isolation but rather through the generous and sacrificial love of others graciously acknowledged and received by the individual. an individual’s reception of the love of the other promotes greater love of self which immediately enables greater love for the other and promotes the other’s continued movement toward an integrated self-love. thus, an integrated self-love is neither separate from love for the other, nor from the other’s self-love. instead, they are all expressions of the same love, which is one, but which grows by spreading through interpersonal relationships. stephen pope articulates the revisionist natural law understanding of human flourishing as “interpersonal love and the virtues by which it is promoted and sustained.”23 mcdonough’s presentation of alasdair macintyre’s conception of human flourishing notes two similar dimensions, “an account of goodness and the virtues that support that goodness.”24 for macintyre, a human being flourishes when one becomes good, that is, when one has “learned to act without thought of any justification beyond the need of those given into [one’s] care.”25 mcdonough recognizes that this understanding of goodness can be expressed in terms of interpersonal love when he summarizes macintyre’s “natural law ethic of care” by saying, “a good human being is one who has learned to give and receive a love that is disinterested in the sense of unconditional.”26 the integrated self-love made possible by the generous and sacrificial love of others and enabling generous and sacrificial love for others which i described above appears to be right on target with pope’s, macintyre’s and mcdonough’s revisionist natural law articulations of human flourishing. thus, integrated self-love and interpersonal love are the two interdependent and inseparable parts of the whole that constitutes human flourishing. 23 pope, 111. 24 mcdonough, 196. 25 alasdair macintyre, dependent rational animals: why human beings need the virtues (chicago: open court press, 1999), 159. 26 mcdonough, 197. by defining ‘disinterested’ as ‘unconditional’, mcdonough distinguishes his understanding of this term from the stoic conception of ‘disinterested’ referred to above, which implies detachment and lack of affective content. john edwards 44 to give this understanding greater detail and to supply principles for applying this understanding within specific contexts, it will be helpful to describe some of the basic human virtues that promote and sustain both integrated self-love and interpersonal love. macintyre’s description of these virtues is quite accurate and useful because his assessment is grounded in two sets of facts which are of “singular importance” to any credible understanding of the human condition.27 they are “those [facts] concerning our vulnerabilities and afflictions and those concerning the extent of our dependence on particular others.”28 these facts constitute the most basic truth of our lives. at the core, all persons are vulnerable and dependent on others. therefore, in order to flourish, we must acknowledge our vulnerabilities and recognize the needs that we cannot meet ourselves. virtues that lead us toward this acknowledgement promote human flourishing. macintyre appropriately calls these “the virtues of acknowledged dependence” of which he emphasizes two in particular which he labels “elementary truthfulness” and “just generosity.”29 elementary truthfulness involves a commitment to the process of learning which allows others to discover and express their needs and requires that one reveal his or her own needs.30 this continuous revealing of one another’s particular needs allows individuals to be continually aware of their own basic vulnerability and dependence as well as the basic dependence of others. just generosity is a spirit of openness and willingness to respond to the demand that the needs of others place on one’s ability to meet those needs.31 this practice of generosity is significantly dependent on the practice of truthfulness, since individuals can only adequately respond to needs which have been truthfully revealed. just generosity can largely be understood as the putting into practice of the central christian value of compassion and loving sacrifice. it fosters greater acknowledgement of dependence by making possible a response of gratitude and encouraging continued and deeper truthfulness in the other. to the extent that individuals practice these virtues of truthfulness and generosity within relationships, they will grow in interpersonal love and integrated self-love and thus move toward greater flourishing. 27 macintyre, 1. 28 ibid. 29 macintyre, 119, 126-129, 150-152. 30 ibid., 150-152. 31 ibid., 126-129. constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 45 yet, although these virtues exercised within interpersonal relationships are basic and necessary for the promotion of human flourishing, nevertheless they must not be viewed as prerequisites for engaging in relationships. rather, these virtues are learned and cultivated within relationships. as macintyre says, “having been cared for, [we learn to] care for others.”32 pope’s observation regarding the continuity of the spiritual development of persons even in spite of sin is helpful here. he asserts, “human beings as they ought to be are not utterly discontinuous with human beings as they are created, even if this creation is corrupted by original sin.”33 in other words, persons who are not basically truthful, generous and loving, even if they are hindering their own flourishing and the flourishing of people around them, are not separate from or opposed to the self-loving and other-loving persons that they ought to, and are striving to, become. corruption and perfection are not two inherently opposed realities, but rather they characterize varying degrees of human flourishing and integrated self-love along the same continuum. persons as they are and persons as they ought to be are continuous with one another because they are characterized by the same basic truth: they are vulnerable and dependent on others. the difference or distance between persons as they are and persons as the ought to be lies only in the depth of the individual’s awareness and acknowledgement of one’s vulnerabilities and dependence. in relationships, individuals reveal their own needs and allow them to be met by others. thus, it is in relationships with others that individuals learn and cultivate truthfulness and generosity, which then promote their flourishing. relationships with persons who allow themselves to be cared for and in turn care for others are the necessary context for acquiring the virtues that promote and sustain human flourishing. relationships and communities in which individuals’ physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs are acknowledged and shared openly teach and cultivate basic human virtues by enabling individuals to desire and become naturally inclined toward practicing truthfulness and generosity. in these relationships and communities, individuals encounter the genuine needs of others in a place where they are open and expressive of their own needs. being faced with the needs of others while aware of one’s own vulnerability and dependence motivates or inclines persons to respond to the needs of others that are revealed to 32 ibid., 72, 82. 33 pope, 109. john edwards 46 them. this natural inclination and basic motivation to respond to others’ needs becomes a habit which in turn encourages others to acknowledge and express their needs. thus, human flourishing, i.e., integrated selflove and interpersonal love, and the virtues of truthfulness and generosity which promote and sustain it, when practiced diligently, generate a cycle that is self-promoting and self-sustaining if it is well integrated into a network of individuals practicing the same virtues. human flourishing is hindered when persons do not have, withdraw themselves from, or are cut off from such a community or network of truthful and generous relationships. the account of human flourishing constructed here, drawing from an assessment of the contradictions present in the church’s sexual ethic and from the revisionist natural law perspectives of pope, mcdonough and macintyre, has essentially three components, which will form the foundation for our construction of a coherent sexual ethic. the first is an understanding of human goodness that has as its goal and fullest realization an integrated self-love that is both grounded in and grounding for unconditional interpersonal love. secondly, this integrated self-love and interpersonal love grow out of a continually deepening acknowledgement of one’s basic human dependence on others and this deepening acknowledgement is promoted and sustained through the cultivation and practice of the basic virtues of truthfulness and generosity. finally, a basic level of human goodness seen as a potential and desire for integrated self-love and interpersonal love is intrinsically a part of human persons as they are created and thus there is a fundamental continuity between persons as they are at any given time and persons as they would hope to become. the process of growing and striving toward greater goodness and flourishing through the cultivation and practice of truthfulness and generosity is engaged in and fostered within relationships with individuals who have grown in their ability to give and receive love. a coherent sexual ethic must articulate an inherent value and purpose for sex within this more comprehensive and sound understanding of human flourishing. formulating this articulation will entail transposing the understanding of human goodness and the virtues of truthfulness and generosity described above into the specific context of committed, intimate sexual relationships. pope presents the revisionist natural law understanding of sex as consistent with the understanding of human flourishing just articulated saying, “the most important meaning of sex for human beings is found constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 47 precisely in its contribution to interpersonal love.”34 as the conception of human goodness and flourishing presented above makes clear, interpersonal love is directly and inseparably connected to integrated self-love. hence, within the revisionist perspective, the most important meaning, value and purpose of sex can only be accurately understood in terms of its contribution to these two inherently intertwined loves. pope goes on to say that the revisionists “recognize procreation as a central good of sex, but also regard love, the unitive purpose, as a more important good.”35 thus, in this view, procreation, while still clearly an end of sex, is ultimately a secondary end, while the promotion of selflove and interpersonal love is primary. placing human flourishing, that is, growth in love of self and love of others, ahead of the creation and preservation of physical, earthly life seems consistent with the gospels’ portrayal of jesus. mcdonough points out that even catholic teaching on marriage in the twentieth century has undergone some shifts which suggest the centrality of the unitive end of sex. he quotes giuseppe baldanza saying, “[t]he 1930 encyclical casti connubii…should be read for its definition of marriage as ‘the blending of life as a whole,’ a totius vitae communio…which ‘encompasses the affective and sexual life of the spouses.’”36 john paul ii’s theology of the body can also be understood as a significant and, as of yet, not fully appropriated assertion of the primacy of love within marital relationships. this shift in the understanding of marriage is a partial shift toward viewing the promotion of love and human flourishing as the most important good and end of sex. it seems appropriate to think about this shift as a shift away from the influence of stoicism and a shift toward a clearer understanding of the relationship between love and earthly life presented in scripture. porter’s assessment of the church’s attitude of suspicion toward sexual pleasure, which is still prevalent in some areas of the church’s sexual ethic even after the partial shifts of the twentieth century, suggests that this conceptualization is appropriate: “[the church’s] negative evaluation of sexual desire seems to owe more to the stoics than to scripture.”37 as noted above, the discrepancy between the jesus of the gospels and the church’s attitude toward homosexuality was the cause of andrew sullivan’s initial recognition of “the wrongness of the church’s 34 pope, 115. 35 ibid., 114. 36 mcdonough, 201. mcdonough is quoting from giuseppe baldanza’s la grazia del sacramento del matrimonio. contribuito per la riflessione teologica (rome, italy: centro liturgico vincensiano, 1993), 299. 37 porter, 199. john edwards 48 teachings.”38 thus, it appears that in an effort to construct a coherent christian sexual ethic it would be helpful to reflect briefly on the gospels’ portrayal of the values of love and historical, earthly life. i think it is fairly clear that the revisionists’ sexual ethic is much more consistent with the presentation of love in the gospels than is the sexual ethic of the stoics and the portions of the church’s sexual ethic that are still influenced by it. in his welcoming of the poor, sinners and other outcasts throughout the gospels, jesus clearly showed concern for their physical well being. his teaching of the crowds and his healing of the sick also clearly placed value on individuals’ daily lives. jesus’ actions in each of these contexts are responses to the urgent needs of others. in these actions, jesus expressed his compassion through the practice of generosity toward those in need. the gospels often describe jesus’ response to the needs of the poor, the crowds, the sick, etc., with the words ‘his heart was moved with pity’ followed by a depiction of jesus’ actions in meeting the needs at hand.39 the gospel accounts suggest that jesus sought to preserve and better persons’ earthly lives as an expression of his compassion for them as persons. contemporary biblical scholarship widely recognizes that jesus’ physical healings were often accompanied by a social healing which signified the recipient’s reinclusion into the community that had made him or her an outcast. thus, one could argue that the primary end of jesus’ words and deeds was to free persons from the isolation and alienation of being outcast through a loving and generous response to their most fundamental need for companionship and welcoming inclusion into the community. jesus’ love takes expression in actions which meet the immediate and everyday physical needs of persons. but, these physical actions also meet persons’ more basic need for companionship and inclusion; they serve as the means for jesus to give embodied expression to his love for others. the stoic view of the affections and of physical, emotional needs as essentially necessary evils does not fit with the gospel’s portrayal of jesus’ love taking expression in physical acts of generosity which meet the everyday physical and emotional needs of persons. further, the stoic assertion of procreation as the sole end of sexual activity is not consistent with the gospel portrayal of jesus’ employment of physical actions to 38 sullivan, 185. 39 two examples out of the many instances of this use of “moved with pity” occur in mark’s two feeding stories where jesus once responds by teaching the crowd who “were like sheep without a shepherd” (mk 6:34) and once feeds the crowds who “have nothing to eat” (mk 8:1-2). constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 49 give embodied expression to his love, which invited persons into relationship with him and the larger community. to the extent that the church’s sexual ethic is still influenced by the stoic view of persons’ physical and emotional needs, and of sexual activity and sexual desire, it has not yet fully appropriated the centrality of love as the primary motivation behind jesus’ actions in the gospels. if, based on the revisionists’ more holistic understanding of human flourishing and the approach to gospel values suggested above, we accept the promotion of integrated self-love and interpersonal love as the central and primary good of sex and committed sexual relationships, then articulating the virtues of truthfulness and generosity within this specific context should help us understand the ways in which sex can contribute toward human flourishing. mcdonough gives a detailed account of enda mcdonagh’s two characteristics of authentic love, ‘letting be’ and ‘enabling to be’, because they correlate closely with macintyre’s descriptions of elementary truthfulness and just generosity while presenting authentic love as the most appropriate framework for discussing sex and sexual relationships.40 both mcdonough and mcdonagh suggest that these two characteristics of authentic love provide a sounder assessment of the basic good of sex than the stoic influenced procreative and unitive ends in the church’s ethic because the former are “mutually dependent and mutually enhancing,” while the latter represent a “schematized division.”41 using the procreative and unitive ends as criteria for the appropriateness or good of sex causes difficulties in contexts in which the ends are separated such that one or the other is not present. the two characteristics of authentic love, letting be and enabling to be, allow the good of particular sexual experiences and sexual relationships to be understood in terms of the degree that these characteristics are present between the partners. thus, sexual relationships can be seen as growing toward more authentic love rather than as simply meeting or failing to meet the requirements necessary for making sex a legitimate good. when authentic love becomes the framework within which we understand sex and sexual relationships, the virtue of elementary truthfulness can be articulated as ‘letting be’ and the virtue of just generosity as ‘enabling to be’. mcdonagh describes these two 40 mcdonough, 203 quoting from enda mcdonagh’s “love” in the new dictionary of theology (collegeville, mn: michael glazier, 1988), 605, 608. 41 ibid. john edwards 50 characteristics together in terms of the interconnectedness of integrated self-love and interpersonal love: letting be and enabling to be…require reciprocity for continuance and fulfillment. to continue to give oneself in true regard for the other requires the development of the self also, so that there is more to give. it is part of the rich paradox of divine creation and giving that human beings develop through giving, in the end through unconditional giving.42 letting be requires that one reveal one’s own vulnerabilities and needs for love while allowing the other to do the same. one allows oneself as well as the other to be with their needs, vulnerabilities and desires just as they are. enabling to be involves striving to respond to one’s own needs and the needs of the other as generously as one is able. to the extent that sex and a sexual relationship is or enables an honest revealing of one’s need to be loved which is responded to generously and with the same honesty, they promote a more fully integrated self-love and a more generous and unconditional giving to the other in each of the partners. sexual relationships must give persons “room to rest long enough in their desire to see what it might mean.”43 the ability to rest in one’s desire allows for a recognition and exploration of the good present in that desire. in acknowledging a basic good within one’s desire and exploring it within the context of a relationship with a committed, generous, and honest other, persons come to a deeper awareness of themselves as vulnerable and dependent. ultimately, persons are led closer toward the recognition that all their varied needs, intellectual, emotional, sexual, and physical, are integrated into, clarify, and give expression to their one basic need to receive and give love. thus, sex should bring both individuals to better understand and more freely express the nature and the depth of one’s need for love. the more fully one acknowledges and accepts oneself as vulnerable and dependent in one’s basic need for love, the more readily one is able to allow the other to rest and come to a deeper and more fully integrated love of his or herself. to the extent that sex accomplishes this deepening acceptance of one’s own vulnerability and a strengthening of one’s ability to receive love, it contributes to human flourishing. to the extent that sex denies or hides an individual’s 42 mcdonough, 203; mcdonagh, 611. 43 mcdonough, 204. constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 51 recognition and expression of one’s need for love, it hinders human flourishing. pope suggests several characteristics that should be present within sexual relationships that enable sex to be a means toward greater love of self and love of others. “[s]exual activity should be marked by generosity of spirit, personal responsibility, permanent and monogamous commitment, deep interpersonal love and fidelity, and attentiveness to relevant contextual factors.”44 these characteristics are rearticulations of the ‘letting be’/truthfulness and ‘enabling to be’/generosity indicators of authentic love described above. pope notes that monogamy and fidelity are preserved as appropriate characteristics of positive sexual relationships, but not for the reasons commonly stated by other sexual ethics. monogamy and fidelity are not central because they “constitute the best context for procreation, the material support of women, or the stability and order of society, but because [they] provide the best structural support for the affective relations of the partners.”45 creating the best context for procreation, the support of women, and the stability of society, are likely still good reasons for upholding monogamous relationships; however, the primary reason for doing so is that monogamy and fidelity create the necessary “room to rest” that allows for the deepening of authentic love between the partners. it is because monogamous, faithful relationships are the best possible conditions for authentic love that they become the most appropriate contexts for raising a family and that they encourage generous participation in the surrounding communities. before completing this development of a coherent sexual ethic based on the promotion of human flourishing through the fostering of authentic love, we need to rearticulate the principle of continuity, stated above, in terms of love within committed sexual relationships. mcdonough paraphrasing mcdonagh states the basic principle negatively by saying, “[a]ll human love is imperfect and has its beginnings in an ambiguity that can open itself out or close itself down.”46 stated positively, all human love has the potential to move toward an authentic love which lets be and enables to be. the characteristics of positive, healthy sexual relationships described above by pope (generosity, responsibility, monogamous commitment, and fidelity) should not necessarily be viewed as prerequisites for any and all 44 pope, 113. 45 ibid. 46 mcdonough, 202. john edwards 52 engagement in sexual activity and sexual relationships or for any possibility of moving toward authentic love. rather, generosity, truthfulness, fidelity, etc. are learned and perfected within relationships that are open to authentic love, that is, in relationships which are not engaged in for the purpose of exploiting the other. yet, some degree of self-interest and even selfish desire that the other will meet one’s own needs is often the opening out of which authentic self-love and interpersonal love develop. there is a fundamental continuity between loving the other for what he or she can do for me and loving the other such that one consciously strives to let and enable the other to be. the church’s teaching in casti connubii and gaudium et spes recognizes this continuity in its “understanding of marriage ‘as a state of sanctification’”47 – that is, a state in which persons become more whole and learn to love better. this teaching is consistent with mcdonough’s assertion that committed relationships are a place where persons grow in love and “a place into which god can come and ‘take us up’ into god’s own life.”48 if we accept the continuity of human love that these assertions about sanctifying relationships assume, then it seems accurate to hold that it is out of a self-serving love which seeks to gain something from the other that an integrated self-love which enables the other to be develops. in other words, it is through loving poorly that one learns to love well. this development takes place within one’s experience and exploration of committed relationships. just as persons as they are at any given time are continuous with persons as they hope to become so too a self-interested and self-serving love is continuous with an authentic love, which gives both the self and the other room to rest. this growth in authentic love that takes place in persons through committed sexual relationships becomes visible through the quality of the love present in the other relationships in a person’s life. as partners move closer to authentic love through greater awareness of each’s own vulnerability and greater ability to allow the other to be, their growing flourishing opens outward to include others in a widening circle of “shared flourishing”.49 this shared flourishing and opening outward becomes the fruit by which a couple can judge the health and authenticity of their relationship. the adequacy of this revisionist sexual ethic which understands the meaning, purpose, and value of sex and sexual relationships in terms of their ability to contribute to greater integrated 47 mcdonough, 200; mcdonagh, 9, 78. 48 mcdonough, 206. 49 mcdonough, 205, 203. constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 53 self-love and interpersonal love must also be judged by the fruit it produces (or fails to produce) in the lives of those who seek out and live in committed sexual relationships. greater generosity, truthfulness and compassion within the lives of these persons made visible in an ability to reach outward to enable a widening circle of others to acknowledge and rest in their desire, vulnerability, and dependence are the fruit of a coherent sexual ethic. continued or increased “solitary eccentricity, frustrated bitterness, and incapacitating anxiety”50 suggest the practice of an incoherent sexual ethic which strives for detachment from one’s emotional and sexual needs and desires. by rejecting the stoic division of human needs into the intellectual and rational on one side and the affective and physical on the other and by grounding itself in an understanding of human flourishing as authentic love and the virtues of generosity and truthfulness which promote and sustain it, this more coherent christian sexual ethic allows committed heterosexual and homosexual relationships the same potential for promoting human flourishing and contributing to a loving, generous, and sacrificial christian lifestyle. it gives homosexual persons the room to rest in their emotional and sexual desire long enough to know what it might mean for their lives and long enough to begin to believe that authentic love is possible and perhaps even what god desires for them and invites them to. this sexual ethic encourages homosexual and heterosexual christians alike to explore honestly, faithfully, and courageously the desire to love and be loved at the core of their beings. the freedom to explore this desire allows persons to come to a greater understanding of the depths of their own vulnerability and dependence, thus enabling them to discover more fully christ within themselves. in short, this ethic gives persons the room to acknowledge and accept the gift of themselves in all their inseparable needs, vulnerabilities, and desires and, as a result, it enables them to encourage others to do the same. based on andrew sullivan’s description of his experience as a gay catholic, it seems that the room to rest is what is most needed in the lives of gay christians struggling to discover the truth of their own lives while at the same time striving to take the church’s teaching seriously. milhaven’s question posed to gay and lesbian christians (“why is sex important for you?”) offers this room by acknowledging the validity and 50 sullivan, “alone again, naturally: the catholic church and the homosexual,” the new republic 211 (november 28, 1994), 55. john edwards 54 importance of sexual experience in the lives of homosexual persons and thereby pointing toward a deeper importance of sex and sexuality in the lives of all persons than is currently upheld by the church. in failing to provide the room for gays and lesbians to rest in their desire long enough to know how it shapes who they are and what it means for their lives, our human church falls short in its mission to lead all people to discover christ more fully by failing to enable gays and lesbians to discover the gift of who they have been created to be in and through christ. i conclude by offering two questions of my own for the prayerful consideration of the church and all christians: does the insistence on the basic dignity of homosexual persons, while simultaneously declaring all homosexual desires for intimacy to be directed toward an inherent moral evil articulate a law of mercy or a law of sacrifice? what kind of life does the jesus who ate and associated freely with tax collectors and sinners desire for homosexual persons?51 it is my hope that by reflecting on these questions we christians can help the church gradually come to a discovery and a deeper understanding of the gift that gay and lesbian christians have to offer the christian assembly and the people of god. bibliography congregation for the doctrine of the faith. “considerations regarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between homosexual persons,” 2003. _____. “letter to the bishops of the catholic church on the pastoral care of homosexual persons,” 1986. keenan, james f., “the open debate: moral theology and the lives of gay and lesbian persons,” theological studies 64(1) (2003), 127-150. macintyre, alasdair. dependent rational animals: why human beings need the virtues. chicago: open court press, 1999. mcdonagh, enda. “love.” in the new dictionary of theology. collegeville, mn: michael glazier, 1988. 51 cf. matthew 9:9-13; also see mark 2:13-17, and luke 5:27-32. constructing a coherent christian sexual ethic 55 mcdonough, william. “alasdair macintyre as help for rethinking catholic natural law estimates of same-sex life partnerships.” the annual of the society of christian ethics 21 (2001), 191-213. milhaven, j. giles. “how the church can learn from gay and lesbian experience.” in the vatican and homosexuality: reactions to the “letter to the bishops of the catholic church on the pastoral care of homosexual persons, ed. jeannine gramick and pat furey. new york: crossroads, 1988, 216-223. porter, jean. natural and divine law. grand rapids, mi: eerdmans, 1999. pope, stephen. “scientific and natural law analyses of homosexuality: a methodological study.” journal of religious ethics 25 (1997), 89-126. _____. “the magisterium’s arguments against “same-sex marriage”: an ethical analysis and critique.” theological studies 65(3: september, 2004), 530-65. sullivan, andrew. “alone again, naturally: the catholic church and the homosexual.” the new republic 211(22: november 28, 1994), 47-51. _____. “virtually normal” in catholic lives, contemporary america, ed. thomas j. ferraro. durham: duke university press, 1997, 171-186. [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] the impact of climate change on the mistiming of birdresource phenologies joseph funk biology abstract as the climate continues to warm, phenologies of organisms across a variety of taxa are continuing to change. these changes are resulting in potential mismatches in resource acquisition. specifically, migratory birds are experiencing population declines as a result of their food resources emerging at different times in their breeding grounds. i have shown how these food-timing mismatches are resulting in population declines in a range of migratory bird species, from passerines to shorebirds to hummingbirds. a failure to match their migration timing with resource availability in breeding grounds could result in significant population declines in migratory birds. introduction climate change can contribute to population declines in a variety of ways. more specifically, warming presents a potential issue for migratory bird populations, and those that do not change their migration timing to match their resources available are at a significant disadvantage (burger et al., 2012). this is the topic i will closely address in this review. nonetheless, the warming climate and changes in precipitation are causing shifts in the phenologies of both plants and animals, and is one consequence of climate change that can be attributed to declining populations. these alterations in phenologies are occurring across trophic levels (cahill et al., 2012). as climate change progresses, we are seeing earlier breeding and first singing in birds, early arrival of migrant birds, earlier appearance of butterflies, earlier choruses of amphibians, and earlier shooting and flowering of plants (walther et al., 2002). at the plant level, studies have shown that flowering and reproductive timing in flowers is significantly affected by local environmental conditions, including temperature and precipitation (galloway & burgess, 2012). insect emergence has also begun to vary widely from the norm (ellwood et al., 2012). as a result of these modifications in plant and insect phenologies, plant-animal interactions are taking a blow. these interactions, such as pollination services, are integral to the rest of the ecosystem as they provide valuable food services (gilman, fabina, abbott, & rafferty, 2012). timings in migratory bird patterns are also starting to change. in particular, the song thrush has been advancing its spring migration in response to climate change (sinelschikova, kosarev, panov, & baushev, 2007). due to these shifts in so many ecosystem dynamics, such as flower timing, herbivore interactions, and seasonal breeding, climate change is causing a large shift in the possibilities of population trajectories for migratory bird populations (johansson & jonzén, 2012). all of the aforementioned implications of climate change can have significant effects across trophic levels. therefore i will ask, do phenological shifts due to climate change cause a mistiming between bird migrations (including optimal breeding times) and food availability? i will show how accounting for this potential mismatch is critical in migratory birds across taxons. population declines in birds that do not shift phenologies møller et al. (2008) used a long-term data set of 100 migratory bird species in europe to determine any population declines due to mistiming of bird phenologies with their food sources. they collected 289 estimates of changes in mean/median spring migration dates in birds from 1960-2006. they coupled this information with bird population trends during two periods: 19701990 and 1990-2000. they then used a model to predict what factors most influenced population stability or declines in these 100 migratory bird species. when the authors analyzed population trends from 1970-1990, they found that the most important variables for population trends were body mass and farmland breeding habitat. migration date was not a significant predictor of population trends for this time period. however, when they focused on population trends from 1990-2000 the only significant factor affecting population trends was change in migration date. the data showed that populations that accelerated their spring migration showed stable population trends, while those that did not accelerate their spring migration timing experienced declines in populations. these population declines are due to the inability of later-migrating birds to capitalize on spring food resources. birds that arrive sooner have a greater chance of acquiring necessary food resources than those that arrive later. furthermore, birds that arrive sooner were also found to have larger clutch sizes than those that arrived later. this is most likely due to the fact that birds that arrived sooner had a longer time to acclimate to the environment of their breeding site, including climate and resource availability. therefore, birds that do not alter their spring migration time to coincide with the changing climate will not fare well in the future. the most notable result, however, was that migration date was not a significant predictor of population trends for the 1970-1990 period, but migration date was the only significant predictor for the 1990-2000 period. the authors noted that this is clear evidence that climate-mediated changes in phenology in european migratory birds have intensified in recent years. phenological plasticity acts to buffer population declines more recently, salido et al. (2012) conducted a similar study to that of møller et al. (2008), using a long-term data set to study population trends in migratory birds from 1994 to 2007. salido et al. (2012) used a data set of uk passerines to investigate the flexibility of phenology of these migratory birds. they obtained population data from the bto/jncc/rspb breeding bird survey. data for laying dates and first clutch laying periods were obtained from the nest record scheme. a model was then used to compare species-specific traits and population trends. predictors that best explained variation in population growth rates included both life history, and phenological and resource traits. the final model retained mean change in arrival date, average laying date and the average first clutch laying period, citing these as the most important predictors. diet type was also significant in the model. similar to the findings of møller et al. (2008), salido et al. (2012) attributed life history traits, phenology, migration and resource use to long-term population trends in uk passerines. though møller et al. (2008) studied 100 migratory bird species in europe and salido et al. (2012) focused on uk passerines, the results can certainly be extrapolated. these findings again show that earlier migration can contribute to more stable population sizes, and salido et al. (2012) even take it a step further to claim that early migration acts as a buffer to population declines. individuals that migrate earlier have the opportunity to obtain resources whose phenologies have also advanced due to climate change. with the earlier acquisition of these resources comes the ability to have earlier egg laying dates, and larger clutch sizes. salido and colleagues (2012) note that in addition to earlier migration, birds that are capable of taking advantage of a variety of food resources also fare better. the combination of earlier migration and a more generalized diet create optimum conditions to maintain stable population sizes and buffer against population decline. some additional food sources (those not initially favored) may be more available at optimal times and the ability to take advantage of these resources is highly favorable. salido et al. (2012), again similarly to møller et al. (2008), also found that earlier migrants had increased clutch sizes and a longer laying period. a longer laying period allows for relaying eggs in the event that eggs do not hatch or hatchlings do not survive in the first attempt. the authors also found that a second clutch is often not necessary for birds that migrate sooner, and will instead invest energy in having one large clutch. this large clutch can be easily cared for due to a large amount of available food following earlier migration dates. birds that migrate later often have multiple, smaller clutches as a result of an inability to adequately provide food for their hatchlings. again, salido et al. (2012) has shown the problems associated with a failure of birds to match their migration timing with the emergence of food resources. phenological adjustments in blue and great tits the studies by møller et al. (2008) and salido et al. (2012) have documented that some migratory birds are adjusting their migration timing to account for the changing climate, while others are not. matthysen et al. (2011) identified instances in which blue and great tits have adjusted their migration schedules to coincide with the changing phenologies of their resources. matthysen and colleagues (2011) conducted their study in a forest near antwerp, belgium. the investigators set up nest boxes and monitored the boxes for breeding phenology between the years of 1979 and 2007. the authors identified first egg dates by the first observation of a partially laid clutch. they also observed the number of clutches laid with laying interruptions, the number of clutches (first clutches, replacement clutches, and second clutches), and clutch size. over the course of the 29-year study, both species advanced their egg-laying dates by 11.5 and 11.7 days. fledging dates of first clutches also advanced by 0.50 and 0.52 days per year. yet, fledging dates of all nests increased by 0.55 and 0.66 days per year in blue and great tits respectively. mean fledging date was also highly correlated with prelaying temperature. prelaying temperatures, and the mean temperatures during laying and incubation periods all increased over time. in blue tits incubation periods were shorter in warm years. other phenological parameters that correlated highly with temperature included: first-egg date, date of large nestling size, and total nest time. in addition to advancements in bird phenology, food peak times advanced significantly. this advancement was 0.55 days per year, or 0.72 days per year, depending on the estimate measure used. thus, due to advancements in bird phenologies, the interval between the peak in food demand and the peak in food availability did not change significantly over time. the study by salido et al. (2012) concluded that birds that exhibit an advancement in migration and breeding phenologies are less likely to have multiple clutches. this study by matthysen et al. (2011) had similar findings. blue and great tits have advanced their breeding phenologies, and have grown less likely to have multiple clutches. matthysen and colleagues (2011) contribute this to the shortening of the peak food period, therefore making second clutches less likely to succeed and less valuable. birds benefit more from expending as much energy as possible into one clutch, rather than attempting to raise a later clutch in less than favorable conditions. the clutches of the birds were also found increase in size. instead of expending energy for multiple clutches, great and blue tits developed a habit of having one large clutch. additionally, great and blue tits have managed to maintain synchrony between their breeding times and their food sources. this finding is important for the reductions in the number of clutches, and increase in clutch size. great and blue tits are continuing to time their first clutch with the optimal feeding times. the lengths of these feeding times are decreasing, and great and blue tits are maximizing their energy expenditure to account for these phenological shifts. unlike declining populations of migratory birds, great and blue tits have managed to account for the changing climate, and change the timing of their breeding accordingly to correctly match the timings of their food sources. phenological mismatch in arctic shorebirds while the studies of great and blue tits by matthysen et al. (2011) yielded promising results regarding the correct timing of bird breeding and food availability, other species of migratory birds are not as fortunate. mckinnon et al. (2012) took to the arctic to observe a possible mismatch between food availability and breeding phenology in arctic shorebirds. mckinnon and colleagues (2012) studied the shorebirds on bylot island in canada, which consists of tundra wetland and is a much different ecosystem than that of the belgian forest studied by matthysen et al. (2011). additionally, the shorebirds are dissimilar taxonomically to the tits, which are songbirds. the three bird species observed were the white-rumped sandpiper, the baird’s sandpiper and the american golden plover. the investigators monitored nests in the study site from 2005 to 2008, and information on egg measurements, number of eggs and young upon hatch, and incubation stage was collected. the authors also used pitfall traps with modified malaise traps to catch arthropods to monitor variations in food availability among years. to monitor chick growth the investigators banded chicks at age zero in the nest. the investigators then returned to the sites every two days to recapture and reweigh the chicks. throughout the course of the study (2005-2008) proper timing between breeding phenology and food resources availability was only found in one year (2006). in 2006 86% of whiterumped sandpiper and 92% of baird’s sandpiper hatch dates fell within the peak food resource availability time. however, when observing all species studied across the 4-year span, timing was asynchronous as a whole between breeding and food resource availability. furthermore, chicks that were hatched within the ideal hatching period for resource availability had a greater mass than those hatched outside of the ideal period. mckinnon et al. (2012) assert that breeding must be timed properly with peaks in resource availability for the proper formation of eggs and hatchlings. the authors also concluded that climate change is affecting the breeding times of these shorebirds, particularly with the alterations in snow melt recently from year to year. the findings of møller et al. (2008) and salido et al. (2012) indicated that mistiming between breeding and peak food resource availability results in smaller clutch sizes. mckinnon and colleagues (2012) discovered that these food-breeding mismatches have an even further negative impact on migrating bird populations, finding that asynchrony can also result in reduced mass of hatchlings. mckinnon et al. (2012) have shown that this lower mass of hatchlings can prove to have negative implications for the future of the hatchlings, being less prepared for the bird’s eventual need to survive and fend for itself. the lower mass of hatchlings can be attributed to the inability of these birds to match the emergence of critical food resources. population declines in the pied flycatcher the last two examples have dealt with clutch sizes, the number of clutches, and hatchling success as a result of synchrony between food resources and breeding, but i will now shift the focus back the population levels. studies by both et al. (2006) and burger et al. (2012) have observed how these mismatches have resulted in population declines in the pied flycatcher. both et al. (2006) studied populations dynamics of the pied flycatcher in relation to its food source, caterpillars. the researchers studied 10 pied flycatcher populations in an oak-dominated forest in the netherlands from 1987 to 2003, where they studied populations living in nest boxes during this time period (more than 98% of flycatchers breed in nest boxes in this area). laying date was also known for six populations from 1980 to 2002, and this data was averaged to find a mean laying date. the authors measured caterpillar biomass by catching caterpillar droppings underneath trees in 2002. their data was then compared to historical data as well. the investigators also measured the percent of great tits producing second broods, as this is a significant indicator of late caterpillar peak. pied flycatcher populations declined about 90% in areas with the earliest food peaks, while populations only declined 10% in areas with the latest food peaks. flycatcher populations also declined most in areas where great tits did not produce second broods, which designates areas where caterpillars peaked early. both et al. (2006) state that pied flycatchers are likely not advancing their migration from the wintering grounds soon enough to catch up with the advancement of caterpillar peak times. the authors also conclude that further advancement of peak food availability timing will prove to be even more detrimental to flycatcher populations if these birds do not advance their migration timing. a more recent study of the pied flycatcher, conducted by burger et al. (2012) had similar conclusions to those of both et al. (2006). however, while both et al. (2006) studied flycatchers in the netherlands alone, burger et al. (2012) studied flycatcher populations from nine areas in europe and russia, and collected data between 1998 and 2008. the researchers used cameras, video cameras, and neck collars to accumulate data of flycatcher populations, and collected data from deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forest types. the investigators analyzed laying date, clutch size, nestling condition and number of fledglings per nest. linear mixed models were used to observe the relationship between proportion of caterpillars in the diet and reproductive success, and the effect of temperature on diet. fledgling mass was positively correlated with the proportion of caterpillars in the diet. as the proportion of caterpillars in the diet increased, fledgling mass also increased following a logarithmic curve. in oak forests there was a strong decline in caterpillars in diets in warm years, with not as strong of a decline in cold years. again, similar to the studies of both et al. (2006), burger et al. (2012) found that pied flycatchers are highly reliant on caterpillars for their diet. in warmer years where caterpillars emerge earlier, flycatcher numbers decrease due to a mismatch in migration and food availability. these effects were most pronounced in oak habitats, where caterpillars were more likely to emerge sooner. in coniferous habitats caterpillars were more likely to emerge at later dates. mixed forest habitats were the most suitable for flycatchers, as caterpillars emerged early on deciduous trees and later on coniferous trees. the authors hypothesized that, given the flycatchers reliance on caterpillars in their diet, habitat selection will shift towards coniferous dominated forests where there is not as pronounced a mismatch between peak caterpillar times and flycatcher migration times. flycatchers benefit most from breeding earlier in oak dominated forests, and are not nearly as harmed in other habitats. regardless of these differences in habitat types, both the authors of both et al. (2006) and burger et al. (2012) have shown the vulnerability of the pied flycatcher to a changing climate. the pied flycatcher is failing to alter its migration timing to meet the timing of the emergence of its primary food resource, and this mismatch is proving deleterious for pied flycatcher populations. latitude determines magnitude of phenological mismatches the previous two studies regarding the pied flycatchers both took place at higher latitudes. according to mckinney et al. (2012), latitude plays a significant role in the magnitude that phenologies are changing as a result of climate change. mckinney and colleagues (2012) focused their study on broad-tailed hummingbirds, which rely on floral nectar as a food source. the authors monitored broad-tails from 1984 through 2010 in a pine-oak woodland at two sites near tucson, az. investigators also monitored first and peak flowering times of ocotillo, a nectar resource for broad-tails. the researchers also observed spring arrival time of broad-tails and plant phenology in colorado from 1975 through 2011. broad-tail arrival at the arizona sites did not significantly change throughout the course of the study. plant flowering times also did not change significantly. however, arrival of broadtails at the northern site in colorado has advanced by 1.5 6.8 days per decade over the last 37 years. glacier lily peak flowering advanced by 4.6 1.6 days and 2.7 1.4 days per decade. twolobe larkspur peak flowering advanced by 4.3 1.5 days and 2.8 1.4 days per decade. if these changes continue at the same rate, broad-tails will arrive after the peak flowering times of glacier lily by 2033 and after the peak flowering times of twolobe larkspur by 2069. this data suggests that plants at the more northern colorado site show greater advancement in peak flowering time due to climate change than plants at the more southern arizona site. this eventual later arrival of broad-tails is not promising for their future nesting success and population trajectory. however, mckinney et al. (2012) predict that a shift in the breeding grounds may occur towards lower latitudes for the broad-tails. this data provides interesting conclusions regarding mismatches between bird migrations and food resource availability. further studies investigating these differences in phenology are important to understand how different species of migratory birds may be affected by latitudinal differences in climate change in varying parts of the world. onset of migration thus far i have identified how food availability has the potential to create problems for migratory birds when they arrive at their breeding grounds. however, a recent study by studds and marra (2011) shows that changes in food availability due to climate change in the wintering grounds of birds has a considerable impact on the onset of migration. studds and marra (2011) studied american redstarts in its wintering ground of jamaica from 2003-2009, which is primarily dominated by white and red mangroves. redstarts were captured in mist nets, banded and weighed. the investigators sampled arthropods available as redstart prey using a sweep net, and then weighed arthropods of an appropriate size (2-20mm in length). the authors also monitored monthly rainfall from the jamaican meteorological service. studds and marra (2011) used a linear mixed model to analyze spring departure schedules. arthropod biomass was highest in years when march rainfall was high. recently, rainfall during this time of the year has been highly variable from year to year, causing variation in arthropod abundance. redstarts exhibited a 1-day delay in departure from the wintering grounds for every 9.2mg reduction in arthropod biomass. previously, it was thought that bird migration leaving the wintering grounds was reliant solely on photoperiod, however this study shows that this timing is also dependent on rainfall and food availability. not only is food availability an important issue for populations of migratory birds at their breeding grounds, but it also is important for the timing of their departure from their wintering grounds. timing of departure from wintering grounds has the potential to add to mistiming between arrival at breeding grounds and food supply. conclusion as the climate continues to change, phenologies of migratory birds are going to need to change to match the phenologies of their food resources. i have identified reasons for the need of a variety of species of migratory birds to do so. meta-analyses by møller et al. (2008) and salido et al. (2012) have shown that birds that match peak food availability times with their migration and breeding times are far more successful than birds that do not. birds that fail to make this match experience population declines. matthysen et al. (2011) proved that great and blue tits are among the species of migratory birds that are making changes in their migratory and breeding timing to match their food resources, and are successful species as a result. pied flycatchers, on the other hand, are one species that are failing to meet these phenological adjustments, and their populations are on the decline (both et al., 2006; burger et al., 2012). shorebirds on bylot island are producing offspring with lower masses due to their inability to match the phenologies of their resources (mckinnon et al., 2012). these mismatches are also accentuated at higher latitudes (mckinney et al., 2012). finally, migratory birds are also reliant on sufficient food resources in their wintering grounds in order to leave early enough to get to their breeding grounds on time (studds & marra, 2011). if migratory birds fail to meet the phenological fluctuations in their food supply, they may experience dire circumstances in the future. certainly, future studies are required to fully understand this mismatch between bird migration and food availability. however, there is no doubt that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that this mismatch is a reality, and birds that arrive at their breeding grounds at different times than the peak food availability are negatively impacted. references both, c., bouwhuis, s., lessells, c. m., & visser, m. e. (2006). climate change and population declines in a long-distance migratory bird. [10.1038/nature04539]. nature, 441(7089), 81-83. doi: burger, c., belskii, e., eeva, t., laaksonen, t., magi, m., mand, r., . . . both, c. (2012). climate change, breeding date and nestling diet: how temperature differentially affects seasonal changes in pied flycatcher diet depending on habitat variation. [article]. journal of animal ecology, 81(4), 926-936. cahill, a. e., aiello-lammens, m. e., fisher-reid, m. c., hua, x., karanewsky, c. j., yeong ryu, h., . . . wiens, j. j. (2012). how does climate change cause extinction? proceedings of the royal society b: biological sciences. ellwood, e. r., diez, j. m., ibanez, i., primack, r. b., kobori, h., higuchi, h., & silander, j. a. (2012). disentangling the paradox of insect phenology: are temporal trends reflecting the response to warming? [article]. oecologia, 168(4), 1161-1171. galloway, l. f., & burgess, k. s. (2012). artificial selection on flowering time: influence on reproductive phenology across natural light environments. [article]. journal of ecology, 100(4), 852-861. gilman, r. t., fabina, n. s., abbott, k. c., & rafferty, n. e. (2012). evolution of plantpollinator mutualisms in response to climate change. [review]. evolutionary applications, 5(1), 2-16. johansson, j., & jonzén, n. (2012). game theory sheds new light on ecological responses to current climate change when phenology is historically mismatched. ecology letters, 15(8), 881-888. matthysen, e., adriaensen, f., & dhondt, a. a. (2011). multiple responses to increasing spring temperatures in the breeding cycle of blue and great tits (cyanistes caeruleus, parus major). [article]. global change biology, 17(1), 1-16. mckinney, a. m., caradonna, p. j., inouye, d. w., barr, b., bertelsen, c. d., & waser, n. m. (2012). asynchronous changes in phenology of migrating broad-tailed hummingbirds and their early-season nectar resources. ecology, 93(9), 1987-1993. mckinnon, l., picotin, m., bolduc, e., juillet, c., & bêty, j. (2012). timing of breeding, peak food availability, and effects of mismatch on chick growth in birds nesting in the high arctic. canadian journal of zoology, 90(8), 961-971. møller, a. p., rubolini, d., & lehikoinen, e. (2008). populations of migratory bird species that did not show a phenological response to climate change are declining. proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 105(42), 16195-16200. salido, l., purse, b. v., marrs, r., chamberlain, d. e., & shultz, s. (2012). flexibility in phenology and habitat use act as buffers to long-term population declines in uk passerines. [article]. ecography, 35(7), 604-613. sinelschikova, a., kosarev, v., panov, i., & baushev, a. (2007). the influence of wind conditions in europe on the advance in timing of the spring migration of the song thrush (&lt;i&gt;turdus philomelos&lt;/i&gt;) in the south-east baltic region. international journal of biometeorology, 51(5), 431-440. studds, c. e., & marra, p. p. (2011). rainfall-induced changes in food availability modify the spring departure programme of a migratory bird. [article]. proceedings of the royal society b-biological sciences, 278(1723), 3437-3443. walther, g.-r., post, e., convey, p., menzel, a., parmesan, c., beebee, t. j. c., . . . bairlein, f. (2002). ecological responses to recent climate change. [10.1038/416389a]. nature, 416(6879), 389-395. “not what we ought to say” : male anxiety and the power of female speech in shakespeare’s king lear and richard iii “not what we ought to say”: male anxiety and the power of female speech in shakespeare’s king lear and richard iii kelly gesch english female agency and feminine power are issues that have become much discussed in the world of shakespeare studies under the influence of feminist criticism. much of the attention here, even in book-length studies of the subject, is divided to treat one play at a time. while this is useful in illustrating the many different ways in which shakespeare treats female agency in his characters and the ways in which this changes from work to work, joint examination of multiple texts also holds many promising advantages. through the exploration of some of the specific similarities in the way these issues are treated between two works, some consistent illuminating factors about the nature of male attitudes toward female power become apparent. shakespeare’s king lear and richard iii offer sound examples of this phenomenon. the interaction between male and female speech in these two plays exhibits a profound anxiety inherent in many of the male characters about the possibility of serious feminine power and female agency. phyllis rackin, in her study of women in shakespeare, notes the playwright’s tendency to downplay or discredit feminine power, as it is “repeatedly characterized as threatening or demonic” (48). rackin argues also that shakespeare’s plays often advocate female subordination, as was typical during the period. kathleen mcluskie also notes the “connection between sexual insubordination and anarchy” in king lear (35). in two plays so profoundly concerned with the “natural” order of things—of the state, of familial relations, and of structures of power—the overabundant presence of powerful female characters threatens the necessary balance and order. to this end, an analysis of the most potent form of expression of power in a dramatic work, that of speech, seems especially appropriate here. specific concerns of gendered speech—female speeches of power and the efforts of male speech to undermine such power—are brought about by the texts of the plays themselves. clearly the most apparent and most discussed scene of gendered speech is the opening of king lear. in this scene, lear urges his daughters to compete for power through speech, “which of you shall we say doth love us most, /that we our kelly gesch largest bounty may extend” (i.i.53-53). though lear urges his daughters to speak here, the reader must note also that the final “say” resides in lear’s mouth. speech is brought to the immediate forefront in this scene, with variations of the words “speak” or “say” used eleven times in the ninety some odd lines that make up the initial questioning of the three daughters. this does not include additional variants on this theme such as “profess,” “word,” and “tell.” the importance of speech in this scene is also recognized by critics, and is brought to the forefront in william dodd’s intensive study of this scene entitled “impossible worlds: what happens in king lear, act 1, scene 1.” for dodd, personal and interpersonal forms of communication and speaking are what bring characters into real existence (480). speech is also linked with physical reality in the form of land, and therefore power, in this scene. the speaker of the fairest words will leave with the most power here. it is important to note here, that though cordelia’s “nothing” resounds here and sets the rest of the play in motion, goneril and regan offer little more than this in their speeches. goneril loves lear “more than word can wield…a love that makes breath poor and speech unable” (i.i.57, 62). this tactic is especially effective for goneril, because it acknowledges her own power to speak, which lear renders silent. in this, goneril anticipates the efforts that male speech will apply in attempts to efface female speech. through effacing her own speech, goneril appropriates the power that would be taken from her if her language had demanded it. a female voice vying for the possession of the land offered to goneril here would be “unnatural,” and her refusal to take full ownership of language which would gain her this object plays to flattery even more than an assertive voice would. regan presents lear with a similar effacement; only her denial goes one step further, to deny herself action as well as the power of words. regan, then, appropriates both the denial of feminine power through speech and denial of female agency that will become characteristic of male speech in these two plays. “i profess/ myself an enemy to all other joys/which the most precious square of sense professes” (i.i.75-76). lear is thrilled with both of these responses and rewards both regan and goneril with power for their speeches of self-effacement. cordelia’s famous “nothing” differs not so much in content from her sisters’ offers, but in her apparent refusal to obey her father’s speech. rather than selfeffacement, cordelia chooses representation of truth, which carries more weight: “i am sure my love’s/more ponderous than my tongue” (i.i.79-80). cordelia’s “nothing” asserts more of a self than all the words goneril and regan offer. she claims for her speech a connection to owned truth: “i cannot heave/my heart into my mouth” (i.i.93-94). catherine cox , in discussing the contradictions inherent in cordelia’s character, notes the problematic nature of cordelia’s words, arguing, “her reluctant participation in lear’s flattery game is remarkable in its ambiguity” 2 “not what we ought to say” (146). ideal speech for cordelia is a manifestation of her heart. her “nothing” also suggests further agency in decision-making ability. both of these lear rejects, requesting cordelia to “mend your speech a little” (i.i.96). this suggests that what lear is truly after is not truth, but empty flattery. if cordelia’s speech were to change after this, lear would know that it had been “mended.” he deems this latter option as more satisfactory, as it would confirm the submission of cordelia’s speech of agency to his own verbalized request for compliance. ultimately, then, what this scene reveals is lear’s request for confirmation of the submission of his daughters’ speech to his own. their acquisition of land and power is subservient to this. jeffery stern, in discussing the politics of lear’s decision to divide his kingdom, notes the power of speech here: “lear seeks ultimately to establish a new dispensation in which words will not merely symbolize but will equal words” (300). seen in this light, cordelia’s lack of speech is attributed not to the feminine ideal of silence, but to a much more threatening female agency seeming to negate the power of lear’s male speech. this scene goes far in establishing the process of male subjugation of female speech in these plays. lear banishes cordelia from himself, linking her with unnatural beings, as she has upset the “natural” order of affection by refusing to bend her speech to her father’s male speech. lear swears here by “the mysteries of hecate” and welcomes “the barbarous scythian,” to his bosom in place of cordelia. the invocation of unnatural beings in conjunction with unsatisfactory or threatening female speech becomes a primary method of male appropriation or denial of its power. a similar unnatural order is implied in the first scene of richard iii when clarence appears, being taken to the tower. richard, whose own unnatural presence is the real driving force of the action, attempts to throw suspicion on the queen’s speech to draw focus away from his own. it is meant to signal an unnatural state of affairs when richard claims that “men are ruled by women” in the current arrangement at court (i.i.62). to be subject to this state, richard adds, makes even the male members of court feminine and unnatural: “i think it is our way/if we will keep favor with the king/to be her men and wear her livery” (i.i.7880). according to madonne m. miner, this is consistent with “a tactic that richard employs throughout: an allocation of guilt along sexual lines so that women are invariably at fault” (242). that it is specifically the queen’s speech that richard is attempting to throw into suspicion here is apparent in his accusation that women, including the queen, have become “mighty gossips in our monarchy” (i.i.83). one of the conflicts inherent in richard iii, of course, is that female speech does actually carry a large amount of power and weight. the truth of queen margaret’s words, for example echoes repeatedly throughout the play, and male characters acknowledge this truth as the play’s actions confirm it. however, the 3 kelly gesch truth inherent in the words of the line of english queens in this play does not necessarily confirm the existence of female power not sundered by male speech. in fact, the play in many ways seems to be continually enacting the fact of female dependence on male power. in sequence, the duchess of york, queen margaret and queen elizabeth all experience the loss of royal power upon the death of their husbands and sons. lady anne and elizabeth the younger become queens dependent on the actions of richard and richmond. however, these strict definitions of power are called into question by multiple factors. most importantly, female speech is seen as a threat, indicated by the efforts that richard expends in attempts to negate it. the power of speech is proven to be an essential asset of male power as well. this is a play of influence, and richard’s ability to speak while edward iv is silenced by illness is crucial to the power dynamics operating within the kingdom. even while edward is still bodily alive, richard begins the process of negating elizabeth’s power through his speech. also complicating these definitions of gendered power is the fact that richard’s (and subsequently richmond’s) claims to power are legitimized by relationships with women. this factor first becomes apparent in richard’s decision to woo lady anne “not all so much for love/as for another secret close intent” (i.i.157-58). richard’s wooing of lady anne presents one of the most chilling examples of the potency of richard’s male speech. lady anne appears as mourner of her father-in-law, henry vi. though deprived of this male figure who would have ensured her power in the state, anne retains the power of her speech, armed with curses for richard: “thou has made the happy earth thy hell/filled it with cursing cries and deep exclaims” (i.ii.51-52). the politics of power of speech in this scene are complex, and the scene bears many interesting parallels to the opening scene of lear. throughout the scene, richard works to render anne’s anger as nonthreatening. like goneril and regan in act i, scene 1 of lear, richard claims authority for his speech even by negating his ability to speak, calling anne “fairer than tongue can name thee” (i.ii.81). his main technique here is a refusal to conform to her method of speech. after anne’s series of curses, richard appeals to her, “wonderful, when angels are so angry/ vouchsafe, divine perfection of a woman/of these supposed crimes to give me leave/by circumstances but to acquit myself” (i.ii.74-77). not only does richard manage to disarm anne’s formidable position as a woman wronged by disembodying her as an “angel” and “divine perfection,” but he also turns the dialogue away from her ability to speak (in the form of curses) toward a discussion of his own ability to do so. indeed much of the scene passes without a concrete decision on this point. in essence, richard appropriates anne’s questions as the opportunity to acquit himself. richard’s bloody physical actions 4 “not what we ought to say” in killing henry vi and anne’s husband prince edward are even rendered as debatable abstracts of speech by the repetition of the word “say” in relation to these actions: richard: say that i slew them not? anne: then say they were not slain. but dead they are, and, devilish slave, by thee (i.ii.89-90). much of this scene is taken up with quibbling over verbal differences and the subtle changing of words. this is also true of the later scene in the play that may be seen as a companion to this one, in which richard negotiates for the hand of elizabeth the younger. this scene will receive further attention later in this analysis. richard ultimately concludes by laying double blame for the two deaths on two women: lady anne and queen margaret. he blames henry’s death on margaret’s speech, “i was provoked by her sland’rous tongue/that laid their guilt upon my guiltless shoulders” (i.ii.97-98). here, margaret’s female speech is powerful, but dangerous and unnatural, provoking violent action. richard faults anne’s beauty with prince edward’s death, denying anne even the ability of speech here. he is captured not by her words but by her appearance, making her a passive agent in her husband’s death. the final triumph of richard’s speech over anne’s action is confirmed in the opportunity he gives her to kill him. she refuses, saying, “i will not be thy executioner” (i.ii.185). richard then requests her to speak, to require him to kill himself. anne refuses indirectly, saying, “i have already” (i.ii.187). richard, however, claims authority over anne’s earlier speech, qualifying it by saying, “that was in thy rage./speak it again, and even with the work/this hand, which for thy love did kill thy love/shall for thy love kill a far truer love” (i.ii.187-190). the dizzying effect of the repetition of “for thy love” achieves both emphasis and confusion, adding authority to richard’s speech, allowing him to claim its truth. he claims that his heart is “figured in my tongue” (i.ii.193). this statement, almost an exact reversal of cordelia’s “i cannot heave my heart into my mouth,” is a marker of the constructed nature of richard’s speech. this constructed nature is confirmed by the double meaning of the word “figured,” signifying both a clear rendering, but also a rendering effect, implying constructed or false. by the end of this scene, however, richard has his ring on anne’s finger, and has obtained control over her speech. “since you teach me how to flatter you,” she states, “imagine i have said farewell already” (i.ii.223-224). she entrusts the language of her farewell to richard. his triumph is emphasized in his subsequent speech, which also glories in his appropriation of her language of anger: “i that 5 kelly gesch killed her husband and his father/to take her in her heart’s extremest hate/with curses in her mouth” (i.ii.230-232). this is the ultimate victory for richard. he has succeeded in obtaining both bodily and verbal confirmation of hope for his possession of anne. his victory over her threatening female speech paves the way for his appropriation of the political power inherent in her person. in both of the above scenes, submission of female speech is required. lady anne succumbs, while cordelia maintains the integrity of her truthful speech. the question of the submission of feminine speech takes on takes on a different aspect when applied to figures who are clearly not submissive characters. goneril and regan in king lear and queen margaret in richard iii demand to be taken seriously, and their actions are potently felt in the plots of these works. however, there are some indications in the ways in which shakespeare constructs his language, that the power of these figures is too threatening, and there must be some effort to negate the potency of their words. lear’s eventual recognition of goneril’s threatening power links itself in his mind with the false nature of her words in the first scene. when he imagines a mock trial for her with edgar and the fool, speech becomes a main issue. also, lear makes numerous attempts to render words and speech unnecessary, referencing instead evidence of appearance and circumstance. in calling the imaginary goneril and regan to the stand, lear refers to them as “she-foxes,” undermining them by linking them to animals, but also linking them to the cunning, crafty nature of foxes (iii.vi.22). lear has recognized their artifice here, an artifice that has manifested itself chiefly through speech. also, the fool parodies a ballad that contains the line “and she must not speak,” furthering the atmosphere hostile to goneril’s speech (iii.vi.26). of course the real irony here is that goneril literally cannot speak, as she is not physically present. this is evidenced by the fool’s observance that “she cannot deny it” (iii.vi.50). the fact that lear and the fool persist in their silencing of the absent figure points to the especially threatening nature of goneril’s speech. left with no verbal response from their imaginary goneril, lear and the fool must look elsewhere for evidence of her treachery. now that goneril cannot speak, however, her “warped looks proclaim/what store her heart is made on” (iii.vi.52-53). in the face of female speech as threatening and powerful as that of goneril, lear must find ways to undermine it. repeated silencing is one way to counter this, and physical manifestation of a corrupt nature makes speech irrelevant. richard uses similar tactics to counter the aggressive, threatening speech the queen margaret implicates in her curses early in richard iii. he repeatedly links her with witchcraft, which is an indicator of threatening feminine power. this, like the “warped looks” of goneril in the mock trial scene, would be an indicator to 6 “not what we ought to say” others present that her words should not be trusted. richard calls margaret “foul wrinkled witch” (i.iii.164) and a “hateful withered hag” who performs “charms” (i.iii.215), while dorset and hastings also provide hindering male speech. hastings refers to her as a “false-boding woman” making “frantic curses” (i.iii.247), while dorset calls her “lunatic” (i.iii.254). the rest of the play will testify to the potency of margaret’s words; her curses for edward, prince of wales, queen elizabeth, rivers, dorset, hastings, and richard all come to pass by the end of the play (“margaret’s curse if fall’n upon our heads/when she exclaimed on hastings, you, and i/for standing by when richard stabbed her son” (iii.iii.1517)). other factors are obviously involved in forwarding these events, but the male figures in this scene are clearly threatened by margaret’s suggestions. she asks, “can curses pierce the clouds and enter heaven?” (i.iii.195). richard attempts, in essence, to deny her curses this privilege by denying her the ability to finish: queen margaret: o, let me make the period to my curse. richard: ‘tis done by me, and ends in “margaret.” queen elizabeth: thus have you breathed your curse against yourself (i.iii.238-240). richard’s final effort to negate margaret’s words is to appropriate them as his own. in doing so, however, he does not negate their power. his wish to claim ownership over them serves as testimony to their threatening nature. in many ways it seems that richard’s rise to power is dependent on the subversion of female speech. he achieves high status in the court by discrediting queen elizabeth, “edward’s wife, that monstrous witch/consorted with that harlot, strumpet shore/that by their witchcraft thus have markèd me” (iii.iv.70-72). richard hereby negates two of the things that would counter the power of his male speech: queen margaret’s words and his own “unnatural” physical deformity. (physical manifestation of evil intent is, of course, used by lear against goneril in the scene earlier in this analysis.) lady anne reflects on richard’s earlier subversion of her speech before she leaves to be crowned queen: “and i with all unwillingness will go…anointed let me be with deadly venom/and die ere men can say, ‘god save the queen’” (iv.i.57, 61-62). she wishes to stop the tongues of men before they can declare her richard’s queen, just as he stopped her tongue earlier in its protestations against his suit. act iv, scene 4 reads like a jury’s list of crimes committed by richard against the women of the play. tellingly, however, this scene does not affirm the ultimate submission of female speech in this play, but serves instead to strengthen it. queen elizabeth acknowledges the similarity of her situation and margaret’s. “o thou well skilled in curses,” she pleads, “stay awhile/and teach me how to curse 7 kelly gesch mine enemies” (iv.iv.16-17). elizabeth has recognized the power inherent in margaret’s words: “my words are dull. o, quicken them with thine!” (iv.iv.124). collectively, the women in this scene recognize the power carried in words and the parts that words have played in richard’s rise to power. thus, both male and female speech are potentially threatening here, as the duchess of york asks, “why should calamity be full of words?” (iv.iv.126). eventually, the women resolve to unite their speech against richard: “if so, then be not tongue-tied; go with me/and in the breath of bitter words let’s smother/my damnèd son that thy two sweet sons smothered” (iv.iv.132-134). words are active here, and have the destructive power to “smother” as effectively as richard’s commands to the murderers of the princes in the tower. the duchess of york calls elizabeth’s speech out of submission, and both go forth to confront richard. even here, however, richard repeatedly attempts to counter their powerful female speech. the first of these attempts involves the overtly masculine sphere of warfare: “either be patient and entreat me fair/or with the clamorous report of war/thus will i drown your exclamations” (iv.iv.152-154). this retort does not by any means diminish the potential truth contained in the women’s words, nor does it deny their power. it claims only the ability to make them inaudible. this passage presents perhaps the most overt example of the warfare being waged between male and female speeches of power in these plays. richard threatens an actual attack her to counter these women’s words. what follows is somewhat of a verbal battle, with richard attempting to silence, or at least silence the meaning of, his mother’s words. the duchess of york implores “let me speak,” “hear me speak,” and “hear me a word” in rapid succession in this passage, richard intervening only momentary futile attempts to silence her and finally threatening to depart before hearing her (iv.iv.160, 181, 183). richard’s mother finally succeeds in speaking, however, and utters her curse for richard, seconded by elizabeth’s “i say amen to her” (iv.iv.198). with the strength of two powerful female figures, then, richard’s curse is voiced. its subsequent enacting again would suggest the active power of female speech, but the play’s ending is still to be discussed. what, then, of lear and of two of shakespeare’s most deviously physically active female characters, regan and goneril? having first exhibited their ability to bend their speech to advantage themselves in lear’s esteem then this ability having been discussed in their absence in the mock trial scene, goneril and regan return to prominence in the second half of the play. their roles here, however, seem more complex than their appearances in acts one and two. their skilled manipulation is certainly present, particularly in regan’s shocking (verbal) participation in gloucester’s blinding and her subsequent murder of a servant. 8 “not what we ought to say” however, the sisters begin to complicate their status when both form attachments with edmund. at this juncture, both women’s speech begins to take on a self-submissive aspect that offers subtle differences from the tactic used in the earlier scene with lear. goneril offers edmund her support in a way that denies her own speech. she gives edmund a favor to wear, saying, “wear this; spare speech/decline your hear. this kiss, if it durst speak/would stretch thy spirits up into the air” (iv.ii.2123). goneril, in essence disappears here. the kiss does not, in fact, speak, and even if it did, its power would be used only to raise edmund. goneril’s advancement is only secondary. regan self-surrenders in a similar manner: “general/take thou my soldiers, prisoners, patrimony/witness the world, that i create thee here/my lord and master” (v.iii.75-79). regan, though she does claim the active “i create,” surrenders her privileges to edmund in a way that calls attention to her own speech as submissive in calling the world to “witness.” the world does not hear this action; the world sees it. thus regan’s voice disappears as effectively as goneril’s does in kissing edmund. this dual submission, however, creates a problem. unlike in the first scene of the play, there is no equal reward to be divided between goneril and regan for their surrendering of their speech. in this way, this is false submission much like that which wins them power and land in the first scene. in both cases, the women assume an advantage to be gained through submissive speech. here, instead of offering “nothing” in empty words, they offer to become “nothing” for edmund. ironically, this is what they both do become, as both die as a result of laying claim to edmund. in attempting to further upset “nature,” in choosing a more desirable/advantageous mate, both women subject themselves to derogatory male speech. goneril is reduced to nothing but a female form in albany’s mind. her treacherous speech and actions have caused him to erase from her all ability to speak or seem human: “were ‘t my fitness/to let these hands obey my blood/they are apt enough to dislocate and tear/thy flesh and bones: howe’er thou art a fiend/a woman’s shape doth shield thee” (iv.ii.63-67). in contrast to goneril and regan’s seemingly voluntary surrender of female speech, richard iii offers one more scene of bargaining for marriage, (iv.iv), but here it is richard who stands to gain from the match. in this scene, as in his wooing of lady anne, the reader sees the power of richard’s male speech. queen elizabeth, who has so much motivation to hate richard for the murder of her sons, matches richard’s quantity of words throughout much of this encounter. however, as the scene progresses, we see richard’s male language begin to take over, as in his earlier appropriation of margaret’s curse. here, his repetition of “say” and “tell her” puts his own words into queen elizabeth’s mouth, as do her responses, which often begin with a repetition of richard’s words in his previous 9 kelly gesch lines (iv.iv.345, 346, 349,355, 359). queen elizabeth’s eventual agreement to take richard’s suit to her daughter does not bode well for the fate of female speech in the play. though margaret’s and the duchess of york’s curses on richard do come to pass, there are aspects about the ending of this play that make it troubling in terms of the power of female speech. indeed the endings of both of these plays present problems for female speech. not only are all of the voices male at the ends of both of these plays, but the favorable nature of feminine silence seems to be emphasized in both places. the unsettling nature of the final scene of king lear is nearly universally acknowledged. cordelia’s death is upsetting for a number of reasons, but when considered as a statement about female speech, it is especially revealing and troubling. goneril and regan have already been silenced, justly so, as albany would have the audience believe: “this judgment of the heavens, that makes us tremble/touches us not with pity” (v.iii.233-234). their false, power-hungry speech will trouble no one any longer. it is difficult, however, even for the characters on stage, to accept cordelia’s death. here, as in the opening scene, lear is begging cordelia to speak. this would signal life in her seemingly dead body: “what is ‘t thou say’st?” (v.iii.274). here again, lear is asking cordelia to speak for his own benefit. for carol chillington rutter, cordelia’s body becomes an object for lear, “on this surface lear will inscribe his particular desires and fantasies, for cordelia is lear’s object…the spectacle that holds and directs the allmale gaze, passive, unresisting, whatever lear makes her” (5). he has not accepted her female claim to agency through speech, as his next lines are “her voice was ever soft/gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman” (v.iii.274-275). lear remembers cordelia’s speech as an ideal, denying her speech independent will even after her death. he is still misinterpreting cordelia, just as he was in the first scene. though her “nothing,” in terms of the softness of her speech, is now seen as ideal, her “nothing” in her lack of response is unacceptable. lear is unable to resign himself to his refusal and therefore dies. female speech, then, both lovely and malevolent, is denied agency through death. the play’s anxieties about this speech have “come full circle,” in the words of edmund. though edgar ends the play by stating that the remaining society must “speak what we feel, not what we ought to say,” only male characters remain to hear his words. this idea is no longer threatening, as there is no female presence to inhabit it. female speech would seem to fare better in the male ending of richard iii; after all, margaret, the duchess of york, and queen elizabeth’s curses have proven true in richard’s death and richmond’s victory. the ghost of lady anne is even given a final say in sealing richard’s doom, and there is promise of marriage, not death for society. however it is in this promise of marriage that the modern reader may find some problem for female speech. richmond’s 10 “not what we ought to say” authoritative final speech, though presenting a positive image for shakespeare’s tudor audience in promising the end of the wars of the roses and the establishment of the tudor house, is troubling for female speech. the young elizabeth, who has spoken not one line throughout the entire play, is now taken up as an advancement of richmond’s claim to the throne. young elizabeth’s lack of agency, made apparent in richard’s bargaining for her hand, is still present here. however, it is quieted by the positive associations with richmond’s ascendancy into power. the crowning of richmond as henry vii is what this play is moving towards, and it seems that other concerns, including female agency, are subject to this. the women are “subsumed in [the play’s] hegemonic discourse” of the ascension of henry vii (howard and rackin 267). if richmond does not lay claim to elizabeth here, she would stand as a remnant of the opposing house of york. though her presence would not directly threaten his claim, the unresolved nature of the conflict between these two houses would. her physical and verbal presence in the scene may have made richmond’s arbitrary claiming of her hand more difficult, at least dramatically. by denying her presence and speech in this moment, shakespeare eliminates all of these worries. as these examples clearly show, powerful female speech presents a threat to the male characters involved in struggles for political power in these plays. just as subjection of the female body is required for richard and edmund (though he does not live long enough to claim this) to gain more power, submission of female speech is required for the stability of this power. the threatening and potent nature of female speech is seen through the anxiety shown by male characters in their repeated attempts to silence it. as the final scenes of both of these plays demonstrate, a return to any sort of “order” is much more effective after the silencing of powerful female speech of feminine agency. 11 kelly gesch works cited cox, catherine s. “ ‘an excellent thing in woman’: virgo and viragos in king lear.” modern philology. 96.2 (1998): 143-157. dodd, william. “impossible worlds: what happens in ‘king lear,’ act 1, scene 1?” shakespeare quarterly. 50.4 (1999): 477-507. howard, jean e., and phyllis rackin. “a feminist account of richard iii.” critical essays on shakespeare’s richard iii. new york: g.k. hall & co., 1999. 267-272. mcluskie, kathleen. “the patriarchal bard: feminist criticism and shakespeare: king lear and measure for measure.” shakespeare, feminism, and gender. ed. kate chedgzoy. new york: palgrave, 2001. 24-48. miner, madonne m. “ ‘neither mother, wife, nor england’s queen’: the roles of women in richard iii.” critical essays on shakespeare’s richard iii. ed. hugh macrae richmond. new york: g.k. hall & co., 1999. 241-254. rackin, phyllis. shakespeare and women. new york: oxford university press, 2005. rutter, carol chillington. enter the body: women and representation on shakespeare’s stage. london: routeledge, 2001. shakespeare, william. king lear. ed. russell fraser. new york: penguin books inc., 1998. shakespeare, william. richard iii. ed. peter holland. new york: penguin putnam inc., 2000. stern, jeffrey. “king lear: the transference of kingdom.” shakespeare quarterly. 41.3 (1990): 299-308. 12 global influence of new public management.doc 1 the global influence of new public management: case studies from africa matthew baird master’s program for public administration villanova university edited by ray heitzmann introduction in the last quarter century there has been a significant shift within the field of public administration. traditional values and norms have been undermined in a number of ways. one aspect of this trend has been the emergence of a concept which has come to be known as the new public management (npm). at the most basic level this concept promotes the public sector use of private sector management techniques. due to a number of pressures, npm has spread across the world influencing a wide range of states. however, there are reservations over the general applicability of npm, especially in the developing world. those who favor a more traditional approach believe that more must be done to address the issues of capacity building before npm reforms are implemented. this paper outlines the rise of npm in the context of africa, with reference to the administrative reforms which have been carried out in ghana, nigeria and uganda. it begins with a definition of npm and the concept of capacity building before briefly describing the spread of npm throughout the world. the paper will address the issue of npm with reference to the overlapping terms of privatization, decentralization and civil service reform, commenting on the influence they have had in ghana, nigeria and uganda. each section will outline examples of npm guided reform before offering a brief critique. this paper will demonstrate that more must be done to improve capacity in the developing world, before npm reforms can be considered. new public management and capacity building npm is guided by the principle that the economic market should be used as a model for political and administrative relationships1; however, there is no clear consensus in the precise definition of npm2, with different scholars and practitioners focusing on different aspects. 1 kempe r. hope snr., (2002) from crisis to renewal: development policy and management in africa (leiden, netherlands: koninklijke brill), 157; linda kaboolian (1998) ‘the new public management: challenging the boundaries of the management vs. administration debate’ public administration review vol. 58, no.3 189-193, 190 2 ole therkildsen, (2001) ‘efficiency, accountability and implementation: public sector reform in east and southern africa’ united nations research institute for social development – democracy, governance and human rights programme paper number 3, 5 2 one basic definition that encompasses the major themes is developed by hope3. it outlines five key factors: ‘(1) the adoption of private sector management practices in the public sector; (2) an emphasis on efficiency; (3) a movement away from input controls, rules and procedures toward output measurement and performance targets; (4) a preference for private ownership, contestable provision and contracting out of public services; and (5) the devolution of management control with improved reporting and monitoring mechanisms.’ in addition, another important aspect of npm is the rigid separation between policymaking and service delivery4, which signifies a shift away from the policy-administration continuum developed by svara. when taken together, these six factors will form the definition of npm which will guide discussion in this paper. alongside this concept is the concept of capacity building which is extremely important in any discussion of public administration in the developing world. ‘capacity building’ relates to the enhancement of capacity, where ‘capacity’ means ‘the ability to carry out a particular task or function’.5 as defined by larbi it has two dimensions: ‘internal organizational capacity, which is a function of human resources, management/leadership, financial resources, physical/logistic resources, and information resources; and external/institutional context within which the mobilization and use of organizational capacity occurs – factors emanating from the economic, social and political environment.’6 in this context the task or function which is to be carried out, is that of administration, and as such ‘capacity building’ refers to the enhancement of the resources and environment necessary for administration. while npm deals with the content of reform, capacity speaks to the process of administration as a whole.7 for many scholars who study the developing world, npm should be a secondary thought, which can only be addressed once capacity building measures have been introduced, enhancing the basic skills and tools of administration. after steps have been taken to improve capacity then it may be appropriate to advocate npm reforms, but for many people the initial goal should be limited to the establishment of traditional administration.8 the spread of new public management the development of npm grew out of the economic and fiscal crises which afflicted a number of western states in the late 1970’s. the bureaucratic failures of the keynesian welfare state were highlighted in the uk, canada, australia and new zealand, with private sector solutions sought to remedy the public sector problems. influenced by new right ideology, policies were developed which were designed to improve the efficiency, economy and effectiveness of government. these included civil-service reform, privatization, management decentralization and a host of other measures which focused on the rolling-back of the state. at the same time the developing world was also experiencing similar economic and fiscal crises. administrative reform was promoted, and for a number of reasons, npm style reform was 3 hope snr from crisis to renewal: development policy and management in africa, 157 4 hope snr from crisis to renewal: development policy and management in africa, 157; kaboolian, ‘the new public management: challenging the boundaries of the management vs. administration debate’, 190 5 george a. larbi (1998) ‘management decentralization in practice: a comparison of public health and water services in ghana’ in martin minogue, charles polidano and david hulme (eds) beyond the new public management: changing ideas and practices in governance (northampton, ma: e. elgar), 188 6 ibid 7 ibid 8 b. guy peters (2001) the future of governing 2nd edition (lawrence, ka: university press of kansas), p176 3 the most commonly adopted. in his review of the globalization of npm9, common examines a number of contributory factors including: consultants who promoted npm with a ‘missionary zeal’; the growth in new right ideology and the global influence it began to exert and the internationalization of privatization. he also describes the role of international organizations, such as the oecd, eu, world bank and ifm, that influence structural adjustment programs (saps) and have great power in determining the reform agenda in the developing world. he sets these factors in the context of the debate between policy convergence and policy transfer; however, this paper does not have the scope to address those issues fully. privatization privatization is a broad term that encompasses a variety of practical policy options. in its most extreme form privatization is associated with divestiture. this process relates to ‘the outright or partial sale of state holdings to private sector interests or the liquidation of the assets of some public enterprises.’10 however, privatization is not limited to divestiture, it also relates to the implementation of performance contracts or the process of contracting out. performance contracts are an attempt to introduce enforceable standards to public sector provision, through written agreements between central government and those responsible for service delivery.11 performance contracting is often used when outright divestiture is not a viable option, it allows the introduction of market-type forces, while maintaining state ownership. between 1978 and 1988, 11 african countries adopted performance contracting under world bank programs, more recent studies show that the process has been extended, with at least 136 contracts across 14 different african countries.12 related to this limited introduction of market forces is the process of contracting out. this concept ‘refers to the out-sourcing or buying in of goods and services from external sources instead of providing such services in-house’.13 it is hoped that this mechanism will stimulate competition that will in turn lead to cost-savings and increased efficiency. contracting out can be implemented in different ways, with some contracts relating to management functions, while others deal with general staffing. however, the form of privatization, which represents the most radical endorsement of npm principles, is the process of divestiture. it is this aspect of privatization that will be examined with reference to ghana, nigeria and uganda. in ghana public or state-owned enterprises (soes) have had a major economic role since the 1950’s. however, by the start of the 1980’s the poor performance of soes had come to represent a huge drain on government resources. in 1982 this was demonstrated by the fact that the combined operating deficit of all soes represented more than 3% of gdp, a figure which was close to total government expenditure on health, education, social security and welfare. in 1987, influenced by the world bank, the government unveiled a program of reform with a heavy 9 richard common (1998) ‘convergence and transfer: a review of the globalisation of new public management’ international journal of public sector management vol. 11, no. 6, 440-448 10 fuat m. andic (1990) ‘the case for privatization: some methodological issues’ in dennis j. gayle & jonathan n. goodrich (eds) privatization and deregulation in global perspective (westport, ct: quorum books), p37 11 george a. larbi (1999) ‘the new public management approach and crisis states’ united nations research institute for social development discussion paper number 112, 23 12 ibid, 25 13 ibid, 27 4 focus on divestiture. of the 260 soes owned both directly and indirectly by the government, a total of 120 soes were divested in the period from 1988 to 1995.14 a similar pattern can be found in nigeria where the destruction caused by civil war (1967-1970) and the oil-boom of the 1970’s paved the way for the dominance of statist policies and the creation of a range of soes. by the end of 1980’s there were 600 federally owned soes with a further 1200 enterprises owned by the various regional and local governments.15 as was the case in ghana these soes performed poorly, with annual net outflows from government to public enterprises estimated at $2billion.16 in nigeria the reform program was detailed in the privatization and commercialization decree of 1988 which formed part of a broader sap which had been outlined in 1986. these measures saw 82 soes undergo partial or complete divestiture by 1993. however, following this period the privatization program stalled due to the political instability of alternating civilian and military rule. during the period of 1993-1999 the number of soes rose from 518 to 588, close to the pre-reform level. since the most recent transfer of power from military to civilian rule, the policy of divestiture has been renewed. 12 soes have been sold to the private sector, with ongoing negotiation over the divestiture of a further 30 enterprises.17 in uganda the picture is somewhat different. the museveni government which came to power in the late 1980’s inherited a relatively small number of approximately 100 soes. however, as with ghana and nigeria there was a commitment to reducing this number due to the economic problems of the country and the burden of supporting these enterprises. by 1998, 63 soes had been privatized with others undergoing commercialization or liquidation, leaving only ten soes under government control and ownership.18 for many advocates of npm the divestiture of soes, contracting out and performance contracting have been huge successes, reducing the role of government, allowing the market to play a greater role in resource allocation. however, there are a number of factors which suggest that there should be more caution in the wholesale endorsement of privatization. one common problem is that of corruption and a lack of transparency in the privatization process. in ghana government officials have seen direct personal benefits through acting as front men for foreign investors.19 in nigeria there is widespread public skepticism generated by government flaunting its own rules for the privatization process20, and in uganda a number of top-ranking government ministers were forced to resign due to privatization scandals.21 14 joseph ayee (1999) ‘ghana’ in ladipo adamolekun (ed) public administration in africa (boulder, co: westview press), 263 15 ejeviome otobo (2002) ‘policy process in a democratic context: a glimpse at nigeria’s privatization program’ in dele olowu & soumano sako (eds) better governance and public policy: capacity building and democratic renewal in africa (bloomfield, ct: kumarian press), 163 16 peter lewis (1990) ‘the political economy of privatization in nigeria’ in dennis j. gayle & jonathan n. goodrich (eds) privatization and deregulation in global perspective (westport, ct: quorum books), 279 17 otobo, ‘policy process in a democratic context: a glimpse at nigeria’s privatization program’ 163-164 18 mohammad kisubi (1999) ‘uganda’ in ladipo adamolekun (ed) public administration in africa (boulder, co: westview press) p353 19 ayee, ‘ghana’, 265; bbc news – africa – ghana former finance minister arrested (monday, 16 april, 2001, 14:24 gmt) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1280373.stm 20 otobo, ‘policy process in a democratic context: a glimpse at nigeria’s privatization program’ 168-169 21 bbc news – africa – corruption mars uganda privatisation (sunday, december 20, 1998, 13:54 gmt) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/239072.stm 5 corruption is a common problem in the developing world, and privatization programs often offer the phenomenon an unhealthy breeding ground.22 a second major problem with a shift towards privatization is the lack of functioning markets in the developing world.23 this problem has a double impact on the process of privatization. firstly, the lack of a developed market-based private sector inhibits the use of mechanisms such as contracting out, and hinders divestiture. a practical example of this can be found in ghana where the contracting-out of auxiliary hospital services was severely hampered due to a lack of private sector firms operating in this area.24 the second impact is that a weak market often means there will be a lack of capital for investment in the privatization process. in the late 1980’s, during the early phase of nigerian privatization, the total value of shares to be issued was estimated at n$2.3billion, while the total value of all transactions in nigerian government securities had only been n$2.1billion in the period 1981-1986. when this fact was combined with questions over the stability of the nigerian economy and the profitability of the enterprises which were being privatized, it contributed to the lack of progress in the divestiture process.25 the final major problem is that privatization often means an expansion of government in areas which it is not familiar. although privatization removes government from the role of service provider, it creates a new role for government as service regulator. in states which have been accustomed to an emphasis on public sector provision, there is often a lack of expertise relating to the management of the private sector. government capacity is challenged by the proliferation of private enterprises which need to be monitored in order to ensure adequate service provision and the development of monopoly free competition.26 decentralization decentralization is defined by olowu as ‘the deliberate and planned transfer of resources away from the central state institutions to peripheral institutions.’27 this is a broad term which even encompasses privatization as a form of market decentralization. however, this section will draw from the discussion of olowu, concentrating on deconcentration, devolution and federation. deconcentration is the most limited form of decentralization. it operates through the intra-organizational transfer of responsibility, attempting to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the central state. this method allows the central state to retain ultimate control through processes of management decentralization. devolution, on the other hand, is based on the principle of inter-organizational delegation of responsibility where the central state cedes a degree of power to local communities allowing them to engage in limited self-government. related to this is federation, which describes a process where there is a firm constitutional delimitation of responsibility between two separate political entities. it is more commonly found 22 peters, the future of governing, 170 23 ali farazmand (1994) ‘the new world order and global public administration’ in jean claude garcía zamor & renu khator public administration in the global village (westport, ct: praeger), 73 24 larbi, ‘the new public management approach and crisis states’, 29 25 lewis, ‘the political economy of privatization in nigeria’, 284 26 ibid, 30; ejeviome otobo (1999) ‘nigeria’ in ladipo adamolekun (ed) public administration in africa (boulder, co: westview press), 301 27 dele olowu (2001) ‘decentralization policies and practices under structural adjustment and democratization in africa’ united nations research institute for social development – democracy, governance and human rights programme paper number 4, 2 6 operating at the regional level, as opposed to the local level which is often associated with less formal devolution. 28 in recent years there have been increasing moves toward the promotion of devolution and federation in a number of african states; however the majority remain confined to the level of deconcentration. a prime example of this is ghana which has focused on the use of management decentralization, without the development of concrete political structures. this policy is most evident in the ghanaian ministry of health (moh), which was a totally centralized component of the traditional civil service. over a number of years, the moh was subject to reform that was aimed at creating a flatter organization with a streamlined hierarchy. the board of director and agency models were emphasized as the two state teaching hospitals were placed under the control of autonomous hospital boards, the regional and district health management teams were given greater autonomy and the ghana health service was created as an executive agency separate from the civil service.29 financial control was also decentralized. in 1992 head office administered 66% of the total non-wage recurrent expenditure, with the districts controlling 10% and the teaching hospitals 8%. by 1995 these figures had shifted to 28%, 23% and 17% respectively, with head office controlling less than half its 1992 figure, while both the districts and the teaching hospitals had doubled their share.30 these trends toward decentralization have not been replicated in the political sphere, as devolutionary processes remain weak. although district assemblies have been created with strong revenue raising powers, budgets are still subject to central approval, with governmentappointed district chief executives wielding considerable power and influence over the elected bodies.31 in uganda the picture is slightly different. as with ghana deconcentration has taken place, with the customs and excise and internal revenue departments transformed into agencies separate from the central civil service32, but unlike ghana local governments have been empowered through devolution, representing a further step in the process of decentralization. this was demonstrated in two pieces of legislation in 1997; the national constitution, which affirmed the important role of local government, and the ugandan local governments act which specified the structure and functions of local government. local authorities were given broad powers to develop their local communities through control over education, health, water, road and other services. financially, central government still supports local government, however, various local revenue raising powers were introduced and local bodies were given complete control over the approval of their own budgets. local government units also maintain control of their own personnel, with power over hiring and firing. some local authorities have also engaged in contracting out, notably in the area of revenue collection.33 these measures combine to demonstrate a strong emphasis on devolution in uganda, taking decision-making power away from the center and transferring it to the localities. in nigeria the process has been similar, with the arrangements formalized in a federal constitution. 28 ibid, 3 29 larbi, ‘management decentralization in practice: a comparison of public health and water services in ghana’, 194195 30 ibid, 197 31 olowu, ‘decentralization policies and practices under structural adjustment and democratization in africa’, 23 32 larbi, ‘the new public management approach and crisis states’, 18 33 olowu, ‘decentralization policies and practices under structural adjustment and democratization in africa’, 1920 7 the nigerian system allows for 36 states and one federal capital territory, with a further 700 local government units operating in the various states. over the past three decades local government has developed the power to prepare and approve its own budgets. it has control over all aspects of primary education and primary healthcare, including all related personnel and facilities, and it can operate without undue influence from the state level governments. all these developments have fostered enhanced leadership, and improved service delivery.34 based on these examples decentralization would appear to be an extremely positive aspect of npm. however, as with privatization there are other factors which must be considered. on a political level, leaders and bureaucrats are often reluctant to give up power, as they view decentralization as a zero-sum game, where local actors gain at the expense of the center, rather than a positive-sum game where everyone benefits over time. this prevents the transfer of real power with reform often limited to cosmetic change. the fear of corruption that was mentioned earlier also play a role in the problems of decentralization. local elites may use control over local government to further personal gains, rather than promoting community development. while in the more limited form of deconcentration, the decentralization of management, with decreased central control, may make it easier for managers to engage in corrupt practices.35 alongside these political considerations are fears that decentralization may hinder the economic progress of developing countries. many people argue that central coordination is necessary to promote economic stabilization and that the financial costs of creating new decentralized structures is an unnecessary burden when basic services such as health and education remain under-funded.36 the final issue that must be considered is that of management and the capacity to implement reform. as with privatization, decentralization brings both a reduction and an increase in the role of central government. although its direct decision-making role may be reduced, central government must develop monitoring and inspection procedures to ensure the decentralization is successful. central government must also build information systems which can be utilized by managers and local government officials and it must ensure there is coordination between the various decentralized units. at the local government level there must be a pool of able and talented people who can handle increased budgetary, personnel and service delivery responsibilities.37 in his study of ghana, larbi notes that the important lesson for all developing countries is that ‘the center has to be strong before it decentralizes functions’.38 civil service reform the final aspect of npm is civil service reform (csr). although csr may form part of a broader program of institutional and political reform, when associated with npm, it is more likely to focus on the basic issue of internal organization, with reference to size, recruitment, remuneration, career management and promotion.39 in many ways csr incorporates aspects of 34 ibid, 22-23; otobo, ‘nigeria’, 302 35 ibid, 12 36 ibid, 13 37 larbi, ‘the new public management approach and crisis states’, 22-23 38 larbi, ‘management decentralization in practice: a comparison of public health and water services in ghana’, 204 39 martin minogue (1998) ‘changing the state: concepts and practice in the reform of the public sector’ in martin minogue, charles polidano and david hulme (eds) beyond the new public management: changing ideas and practices in governance (northampton, ma: e. elgar), 23 8 deconcentration and management decentralization outlined above; however in this section i will focus more on retrenchment and pay reform. as with other aspects of npm, csr spread to the developing world through the influence of the world bank, and ‘northern’ states who had undertaken similar policies. csr has become a global phenomenon, but it has had its most significant impact in africa. world bank studies show that between 1987 and 1996, 64% of all csr operations were conducted in african states.40 in ghana the preparatory work for a program of csr began in 1983. some of the main problems which it needed to address were substantial overstaffing, deterioration of real salaries, lack of morale, inadequate training and lack of capacity. however, it was not until 1987, with financial support given through world bank structural adjustment lending, that csr became a component of the government economic restructuring program. 41 as part of the sap conditions, the ghanaian government had to commit to an initial retrenchment of 15,000 public servants by 31st october 1987, with compensation and retraining programs to be established for those who had been made redundant. after initial retrenchment began it was found that there were 10,000 ghost workers in the system, this allowed for revision of the target, with 12,000 real positions being eliminated. severance payments were given amounting to four months salary, plus two months for every year of uninterrupted service. however, where the program did not perform adequately was in the provision for retraining and counseling, with delayed and limited programs. 42 in nigeria csr has been on the agenda for a number of years. in the 1960’s limited steps were taken to improve salaries and wages, and reform the grading structure, but the first major reform came with the public service review commission. reporting in the mid-1970’s this body hoped to achieve wholesale change through more open procedures, a new code of conduct and a range of other measures such as the introduction of a merit-based reward system. however, despite the goal of introducing more modern management techniques the reforms were known for little more than the increase in civil service salaries.43 since this period wages have not increased in line with inflation and it is estimated that in real terms the 1993 salaries of senior officials had fallen to less than half their 1980 value. despite recognition that reform in this area is necessary, the most recent csr has focused on staff retrenchment. at its peak in 1990 there were thought to be 273,392 federal civil servants, with the number reduced to 200,000 by 1998.44 in uganda there has also been substantial csr, with a number of important successes. initiated in 1982 the program hoped to create a smaller civil service with better-paid, more efficient and effective staff. the first aspect of the program was retrenchment, starting with around 320,000 civil servants, the staff level was reduced to 150,000 by 1996. as in ghana some of these reductions came through the purging of ghost workers, which accounted for around 40 moses kiggundu (1998) ‘civil service reforms: limping into the twenty-first century’ in martin minogue, charles polidano and david hulme (eds) beyond the new public management: changing ideas and practices in governance (northampton, ma: e. elgar), 158 41 ayee, ‘ghana’, 260-261 42 willy mccourt (1998) ‘civil service reform equals retrenchment? the experience of "right-sizing" and retrenchment in ghana, uganda and the uk’ in martin minogue, charles polidano and david hulme (eds) beyond the new public management: changing ideas and practices in governance (northampton, ma: e. elgar), 177-178 43 otobo, ‘nigeria’, 298 44 ibid, 298-299 9 40,000 positions, with a further 3,000 who were over the standard retirement age. around 30,000 staff were made redundant through privatization and other related restructuring. 45 however, alongside these reductions in staff levels, the wage bill actually rose due to pay reform. the 1993 figure of 65bn shillings increased to 220bn shillings by 1997.46 this policy was guided by the desire to ensure that all civil servants had a living wage, and it was achieved through various mechanisms such as monetizing non-cash benefits.47 the success of reform in uganda is not typical of the african experience where the majority of countries failing to reduce the size of their civil-service, while allowing real wage levels to deteriorate over time. it is important to place csr in a broader context, moving beyond the emphasis on retrenchment. as mentioned above, npm guided csr often has a narrow focus, which fails to take into account the developmental needs of many african states. in order to create a truly efficient and effective civil service a more holistic approach must be taken which has a longer-term strategic vision. another problem often associated with csr is that it is driven by external actors, which often causes resentment and problems in implementation. 48 the ugandan success can be attributed to the commitment of the ugandan government and the steps they took to educate the public on the necessity of reform. when evaluating csr, kiggundu examines inputs, process, outputs, outcomes and impact. the successful measures described above, such as staff retrenchment, operate in the shorter-term level of input and process. however, the medium-term outputs and longer-term outcomes have shown less improvement, with the ultimate goal of impact remaining unknown. kiggundu argues that for csr to be truly successful it must lead to improved service delivery, customer satisfaction and overall development. in order to achieve these goals there must be a greater focus on improving the capacity of civil servants through training and other techniques.49 conclusion in a recent book martin minogue declares that ‘the npm model is comprehensive, but oriented more to the cost cutting, tax reducing concerns of northern states than the capacity building and developmental concerns of southern states.’50 in this paper i have outlined the npm model, described its roots in the developed world and its spread into africa. i have described the influence it has had in ghana, nigeria and uganda and the limited success these states have had in the areas of divestiture privatization, management and political decentralization, and civil service retrenchment and reform. however, i have also argued that the central issue of capacity building must be considered before npm is advocated as the universal prescription for administration in the developing world. basic human resources must be enhanced, with general improvements in management and leadership in both the public and private sector of the developing world. the financial, physical and logistical support given to the civil service must be strengthened with increased emphasis on information resources. there must be a more holistic approach which 45 kisubi, ‘uganda’, 351 46 kisubi, ‘uganda’, 352 47 therkildsen, ‘efficiency, accountability and implementation: public sector reform in east and southern africa’, 25 48 mccourt, ‘civil service reform equals retrenchment? the experience of "right-sizing" and retrenchment in ghana, uganda and the uk’,158 49 kiggundu, ‘‘civil service reforms: limping into the twenty-first century’, 160-168 50 minogue, ‘changing the state: concepts and practice in the reform of the public sector’, 33 10 recognizes that administration is influenced by broader factors such as the economic, social and political environment of the state. once these issues have been addressed it may be appropriate to consider npm, but until that time i agree with the argument stated by peters that it is ‘necessary to build a proper weberian administration before there are any attempts to break that style down’.51 bibliography andic, fuat m. (1990) ‘the case for privatization: some methodological issues’ in gayle, dennis j. & jonathan n. goodrich (eds) privatization and deregulation in global perspective (westport, ct: quorum books) ayee, joseph (1999) ‘ghana’ in adamolekun, ladipo (ed) public administration in africa (boulder, co: westview press) ayee, joseph (2002) ‘governance, institutional reforms, and policy outcomes in ghana’ in olowu, dele & soumano sako (eds) better governance and public policy: capacity building and democratic renewal in africa (bloomfield, ct: kumarian press) common, richard (1998) ‘convergence and transfer: a review of the globalisation of new public management’ international journal of public sector management vol. 11, no. 6, 440-448 farazmand, ali (1994) ‘the new world order and global public administration’ in garcía zamor, jean claude & renu khator public administration in the global village (westport, ct: praeger) hope snr., kempe r. (2002) from crisis to renewal: development policy and management in africa (leiden, netherlands: koninklijke brill) kaboolian, linda (1998) ‘the new public management: challenging the boundaries of the management vs. administration debate’ public administration review vol. 58, no.3, 189-193 kiggundu, moses (1998) ‘civil service reforms: limping into the twenty-first century’ in minogue, martin, charles polidano and david hulme (eds) beyond the new public management: changing ideas and practices in governance (northampton, ma: e. elgar) kisubi, mohammad (1999) ‘uganda’ in adamolekun, ladipo (ed) public administration in africa (boulder, co: westview press) larbi, george a. (1998) ‘management decentralization in practice: a comparison of public health and water services in ghana’ in minogue, martin, charles polidano and david hulme (eds) beyond the new public management: changing ideas and practices in governance (northampton, ma: e. elgar) 51 peters, ‘the future of governing’, 175 11 larbi, george a. (1999) ‘the new public management approach and crisis states’ united nations research institute for social development discussion paper number 112 lewis, peter (1990) ‘the political economy of privatization in nigeria’ in gayle, dennis j. & jonathan n. goodrich (eds) privatization and deregulation in global perspective (westport, ct: quorum books) mccourt, willy (1998) ‘civil service reform equals retrenchment? the experience of "rightsizing" and retrenchment in ghana, uganda and the uk’ in minogue, martin, charles polidano and david hulme (eds) beyond the new public management: changing ideas and practices in governance (northampton, ma: e. elgar) minogue, martin (1998) ‘changing the state: concepts and practice in the reform of the public sector’ in minogue, martin, charles polidano and david hulme (eds) beyond the new public management: changing ideas and practices in governance (northampton, ma: e. elgar) olowu, dele (2001) ‘decentralization policies and practices under structural adjustment and democratization in africa’ united nations research institute for social development – democracy, governance and human rights programme paper number 4 otobo, ejeviome (1999) ‘nigeria’ in adamolekun, ladipo (ed) public administration in africa (boulder, co: westview press) otobo, ejeviome (2002) ‘policy process in a democratic context: a glimpse at nigeria’s privatization program’ in olowu, dele & soumano sako (eds) better governance and public policy: capacity building and democratic renewal in africa (bloomfield, ct: kumarian press) peters, b. guy (2001) the future of governing 2nd edition (lawrence, ka: university press of kansas) therkildsen, ole (2001) ‘efficiency, accountability and implementation: public sector reform in east and southern africa’ united nations research institute for social development – democracy, governance and human rights programme paper number 3 websites bbc news – africa – corruption mars uganda privatisation (sunday, december 20, 1998, 13:54 gmt) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/239072.stm bbc news – africa – ghana former finance minister arrested (monday, 16 april, 2001, 14:24 gmt) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1280373.stm \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\dancer's virtue.prn.pdf 1 a dancer’s virtue: human life in light of nietzsche’s eternal recurrence michael a. metcalfe philosophy villanova university a primary assumption of this paper is that friedrich nietzsche’s texts—in particular the birth of tragedy and thus spoke zarathustra—employ artistic metaphors in order (among other purposes, of course) to demonstrate the human being’s fundamental relationship with life and earth. based upon that premise, i shall argue that nietzsche’s experience of the thought of the eternal recurrence brings about a shift in his understanding of life and earth, and that the figure of the dancer in thus spoke zarathustra serves as a metaphor for the highest mode of human life-activity in light of that shift. i. introduction: “i would believe only in a god who could dance.”1 friedrich nietzsche’s the birth of tragedy (1871) and thus spoke zarathustra (1883-1884) are full of metaphors, aphorisms, and parables which suggest that human existence is and ought to be an artistic practice—i.e. that for human beings, the very act of living is an act of artistic creation. in the birth of tragedy, we find that the life forces characterized by the gods apollo and dionysus are artistic impulses which belong to “nature herself”2 and which find their outlet in human artistic creation: from the apollinian issues idealized sculpture; from the dionysian, orgiastic music; and from the union of the two, tragedy. through these forms of art, which spring out of “nature herself,” human beings express their relationship to life and to the earth. the apollinian sculptor fixes for eternity the beautiful forms that are revealed to him in his dreams: “the higher truth, the perfection of these states in contrast to the incompletely intelligible every day world, this deep consciousness of nature…make life possible 1 tsz.i, “on reading and writing,” p. 153 2 the birth of tragedy (hereafter bt), §2, p. 38 2 and worth living.”3 in opposition to the apollinian exaltation of form and of measured, ordered beauty, is the figure of the dionysian reveler. in the throes of dionysian ecstasy, one surrenders one’s will to the experience of what nietzsche refers to as a “primal unity,” which reveals itself in the frenzied singing and dancing of the reveler: under the charm of the dionysian not only is the union between man and man reaffirmed, but nature which has become alienated, hostile, or subjugated, celebrates once more her reconciliation with her lost son, man…in song and in dance man expresses himself as a member of a higher community…. he is no longer an artist, he has become a work of art: in these paroxysms of intoxication the artistic power of all nature reveals itself.4 finally, when the primal ecstasy of dionysus is channeled through the apollinian capacity for ordered illusion, the result is greek tragedy, which nietzsche lauds as the highest achievement of human art. in each of these fundamental art forms—sculpture, music, and tragedy— human beings express their relationship with each other—and more importantly for my purposes, their relationship to life and to the earth. the questions of precisely what nietzsche means by “life” and “earth” are not easily solved—or even approached—but i think that we can at least say with some confidence that there is a shift in the meaning of these concepts between the birth of tragedy and thus spoke zarathustra. we might say very simply that in the birth of tragedy, “life” is characterized as a “primal unity” which expresses itself in the actions of—and relations between—particular creatures, and the “earth” is the site—and perhaps also the material—of life’s perpetual artistic creation. although these basic characterizations seem also to hold true of thus spoke zarathustra, a subtle but crucial shift has taken place, because in that later work, “life” and “earth” must be understood in light of nietzsche’s notion of the eternal recurrence.5 the eternal recurrence is a highly complicated concept which will become clearer in the following discussion. nevertheless, it will be helpful to begin with at least a preliminary understanding of it. in its most basic form—which i present in an admittedly simplified manner—nietzsche’s “eternal recurrence” refers to a new 3 bt, §1, p. 35 4 bt, §1, p. 37 5 see beyond good and evil, §56, p. 258. there, in a manner which accords quite well with the characterization of human activi ty as an aesthetically sensitive response to the cyclical movement of life and earth which i shall offer below, nietzsche alludes to the eternal recurrence in musical terms, speaking of a “world-affirming human being who has not only come to terms and learned to get along with whatever was and is, but who wants to have what was and is repeated into all eternity, shouting insatiably da capo….” (nb: “da capo” is a musical direction which means “from the beginning.”) 3 understanding of temporality according to which time moves, not in a straight line, but rather in a cyclical fashion. what i wish to demonstrate is that this new conception of time results in a correspondingly new understanding of the concept of “life.” whereas the conception of “life” exemplified in nietzsche’s earlier text, the birth of tragedy, seems to refer to the generally linear process of nature’s perpetual striving and unfolding through artistic creation, that linear temporality has been made to “bite its own tail,” to turn back upon itself, in the eternal recurrence. therefore, life is no longer a linear progression, but rather an eternal repetition 6 which is also at every moment a complete expression of itself. similarly, the notion of the “earth” must now be understood differently—if only in that it is now the site of a process, not of perpetual unfolding toward the future, but of recurrence, wherein past and future are mutually implicated in the present moment. given that the notions of “life” and “earth” (of which i have offered only rough characterizations, but will discuss in more detail below) have undergone a fundamental shift resulting from nietzsche’s “discovery” 7 of the eternal recurrence, it is not surprising that the artistic metaphors used to describe human conduct should also change radically in light of that idea, which is at once a new temporality and, as i shall argue, the framework of a new morality. in fact, nietzsche himself presents the notion of the eternal recurrence as an idea which necessitates a new form of moral agency: if this thought gained possession of you, it would change you, as you are, or perhaps crush you. the question in each and every thing, ‘do you want this once more and innumerable times more?’ would weigh upon your actions as the greatest weight.8 in this paper i shall argue that the notion of art as a primordial expression of our fundamental relation to the earth and to life is carried over into thus spoke zarathustra, and ultimately, that dance in particular reveals itself as the fundamental form which this relationship takes in light of the thought of the eternal recurrence. i have two primary reasons for making this claim: first, as i have indicated, i understand the experience of the thought of the eternal recurrence as an experience with unavoidable moral implications. in other words, the experience of 6 see deleuze (1977) and my notes below on that essay. 7 in his autobiographical work, ecce homo, nietzsche describes the eternal recurrence as a thought which he did not invent, but rather received or discovered. see p. 751: “it was then that this idea came to me .” (emphasis added) also, p. 756: “…suddenly, with indescribably certainty and subtlety, something becomes visible, audible, something that shakes one to the last depths and throws one down…one hears, one does not seek; one accepts, one does not ask who gives; like lightning, a thought flashes up, with necessity, without hesitation regarding its form—i never had any choice.” 8 the gay science, §341, p. 274 4 this thought must bring about a new relationship with life and the earth. as we know, zarathustra (and indeed nietzsche himself) has had the experience of receiving this “most abysmal thought,” 9 and his task—arguably—is to prepare humankind to receive it. the second reason for my suggestion of the central importance of dance is that the artistic images and metaphors presented by nietzsche have themselves undergone a shift in emphasis. whereas the birth of tragedy, obviously, focused on the union of the dionysian and apollinian art impulses in the greek tragic theater (and on the subsequent death of tragedy in the wake of the critical rationality of socrates), in thus spoke zarathustra, tragedy—indeed writing and drama in general, apart from a few brief references—have largely disappeared from nietzsche’s discussion and have been replaced primarily by metaphors of song and dance.10 i do not believe that this shift in language is accidental, nor the result of stylistic whim; on the contrary, it is quite significant, and i believe it supports my thesis that the human being’s fundamental relationship to life and earth—in light of the new temporality and morality brought about by nietzsche’s epiphany—is best represented by metaphors of dance. ii. zarathustra’s virtue: earth, life, body in the speech11 entitled “on the gift-giving virtue,” zarathustra counsels his disciples: “remain faithful to the earth with the power of your virtue…lead back to the earth the virtue that flew away…—back to the body, back to life, that it may give the earth a meaning, a human meaning.”12 there are several elements of zarathustra’s command which deserve close attention, and which will dominate this section of my discussion: “back to the earth,” “back to life,” “back to the body.” given that my interest in this paper deals specifically with the metaphorical significance of dance—a bodily activity—clearly we must seek to understand zarathustra’s claim that virtue must be returned to the body. but in order to do this, we must first consider the other two highlighted aspects of zarathustra’s command—“back to the earth” and “back to life”—because, as i will argue below, i believe that the virtue of the body lies in its responsiveness and attunement to life and earth. 9 thus spoke zarathustra (hereafter tsz).iii, “the convalescent, §1,” p. 328 10 recall the passage from beyond good and evil (§56, p. 258), in which the eternal recurrence is characterized as a “da capo.” see my note 5 on p. 2, above. one might object here that tragedy itself is rooted in the song and dance of the chorus, and therefore that my claim regarding the shift in artistic metaphors is overstated. however, i think it is still fair to say that metaphors of song and dance are more explicitly present in thus spoke zarathustra than in the birth of tragedy. 11 thus spoke zarathustra consists primarily of a series of speeches by nietzsche’s fictional character, zarathustra. therefore most of my references to the text will be references to one or more “speech(es).” 12 tsz.i, “on the gift-giving virtue,” §2, p. 188 5 as i have said, the notions of “life” and “earth” have undergone a radical transformation in thus spoke zarathustra as a result of nietzsche’s experience of the thought of the eternal recurrence, and this transformation marks a shift away from both traditional (meta)physical understandings and from nietzsche’s earlier views in the birth of tragedy. i will discuss “life” and “earth” jointly, because i believe that the two notions are ultimately inseparable in nietzsche and cannot be adequately discussed independent of each other. a. life and earth we are advised to return our virtue to the “earth.” but this does not only mean that we must cut ourselves loose from all afterworldly chains which hold us paralyzed, waiting passively for a truth and a justification of life from beyond. of course, as we know, so much is true: zarathustra certainly means to free us from metaphysics and from religious devotion. note, for example, his refusal to become an object of worship for his disciples.13 however, he also intends something more than this—something more specific—for he does not simply tell us that we must lead our virtue away from heaven; rather we are told precisely to lead our virtue back to the earth. that is, our virtue will not only be cut free from the beyond, but it will in some sense derive from the earth itself. in leading our virtue back to the earth, we also allow ourselves to be led by the earth—in other words, our existence must somehow receive its principles and inspiration from the earth.14 as i shall argue below, this sensitivity to the earth will culminate in the form of affectivity exemplified by the dancer. the notion of “earth” for which zarathustra is preparing his disciples is of course vastly different from that to which they have been previously accustomed. prior to our escape from afterworldly hopes and metaphysical bondage, the earth is disparaged as the less-than-heaven. but for zarathustra, the “earth” is the site of the eternal recurrence, the temporal movement by which life cuts into itself and overcomes itself. (note the intertwining of life and earth in this definition.) the earth is the site of perpetual birth, death, and rebirth—but, as zarathustra counsels us, we ought not to look upon this movement of life and death with despair. 13 see tsz.i, “on the gift-giving virtue,” §3, p. 190: “now i go alone, my disciples. you too go now, alone. thus i want it. verily, i counsel you: go away from me and resist zarathustra! and even better: be ashamed of him! perhaps he deceived you…you revere me; but what if your reverence tumbles one day? beware lest a statue slay you. you say you believe in zarathustra? but what matters zarathustra. you are my believers—but what matter all believers? you had not yet sought yourselves: and you found me. thus do all believers; therefore all faith amounts to so little.” 14 as i will demonstrate below, the “voluntary beggar” has attempted to follow zarathustra’s teaching “back to the earth,” but he has not succeeded. the manner and cause of his failure, as we shall see, lie in direct contrast to the mode of existence exemplified by the dancer. 6 gripped by what zarathustra calls his “devil, the spirit of gravity,” we are accustomed to regard life with pious solemnity and to seek our own preservation at all costs, all the while clinging to our hopes for redemption in the beyond. for the one who has not yet “become light,” “the earth and life seem grave” 15: they take an inordinate seriousness. the grave spirit clings fearfully to life, regarding death as the greatest loss—despite the priests’ reminders to look forward to death as the release from the suffering of life. according to nietzsche, both the pious, grave spirits—with their rejection of death—and the priests—with their rejection of life—are misguided: for each in their own way impoverish life by holding it separate from death. rather, it is the very going-under16 of life which is the necessary condition for life. life is only possible if it cuts into itself, if it enters into the eternal cycle of living and dying, and for zarathustra, the best life is that which wills its own going-under: “i love those who do not know how to live, except by going under, for they are those who cross over…i love him who loves his virtue, for virtue is the will to go under.”17 to overcome both our ambivalent fear of death and our denial of life is to overcome the spirit of gravity and to open ourselves to the true joy of earthly life. the earth, i have suggested, is best to be understood as the site of the eternal recurrence. it is the space in which life cuts into itself, and in which all will to life is also the will to go under, to perish. therefore, i believe we are justified in saying that the earth itself is implicated in the eternal recurrence—not simply in the naïve sense, that the plants and animals and physical objects of the earth grow and decay, but rather in a stronger sense: that the earth itself, as the site of all action and life, undergoes its own overcoming. indeed in a prophecy mentioned in the section entitled “on old and new tablets,” zarathustra describes the world as “fleeing back to itself—as an eternal fleeing and seeking each other again of many gods.”18 i would like to say that the earth is the “ground” of life—and i will explain what i mean by this, for this phrase requires clarification. indeed, one might object that such a description grants the earth a stability which is not valid within nietzsche’s thinking. but i believe that i am justified in saying that the earth is indeed a “ground,” not only in the naïve sense, and also not in the traditional metaphysical sense of stability and certainty. clearly, the site of a perpetual cycle of self-overcoming could not be regarded as stable. indeed, many readers of nietzsche assert that for nietzsche, life has no real ground, suggesting instead that 15 tsz.iii, “on the spirit of gravity, §1” p. 304 16 the german word untergehen plays a significant role in tsz, and i shall make frequent use of the english rendering “going under.” 17 tsz.i, “prologue,” p. 127 18 tsz.iii, “on old and new tablets,” §2, p. 309 7 beneath the phenomenal world there is only an abyss.19 and one can find in nietzsche’s texts—particularly of the birth of tragedy—the suggestion that life is in a sense groundless. one might point in particular to the end of section 7 of that work, where the dionysian man who has “looked truly into the essence of things…sees everywhere only the horror and absurdity of existence.”20 if life is groundless, and if the earth is the site of life, it would seem that the earth itself could only be regarded as an “abysmally deep ground”21—or as no ground at all. but in thus spoke zarathustra, life is not groundless, although we see that such a conclusion is tempting even to zarathustra himself, of whom a great effort is required in order to overcome the soothsayer’s prophecy that “all is empty.”22 i believe that zarathustra’s command to return virtue to the earth, along with his overcoming of nausea and the soothsayer’s nihilism, represents a declaration that life does indeed have a ground and is indeed justified: life justifies itself by virtue of its rootedness in the earth—the earth, not simply as the physical earth, but rather as the ground of life. as the ground of life, the earth contains within itself the weight of life and of the past. it carries the density accumulated by the eternal movement of life. in undergoing—and subsequently overcoming—nausea and nihilism, zarathustra takes on the weight of the past and simultaneously gives a basis to life: life is not groundless; it is grounded in its own self-overcoming. life is not, then, a perpetual creation ex nihilo; nor can the past bind zarathustra. i would rather plot for the “ground” a middle course between stability and nothingness, for as zarathustra asks his disciples: “must there not be that over which one dances and dances away?”23 the ground of history and traditional morality against which zarathustra the dancer24 thrusts is certainly not a nothingness. and as we know, the child—the third stage of zarathustra’s metamorphosis—cannot exist on its own. there can be no forgetting, no free relation to past and future without the camel—i.e. without the willingness to take upon one’s back the weight of the past. 25 the key to 19 see, for example, lingis (1977). 20 bt, §7, p. 60 21 beyond good and evil, §289, p. 419 22 tsz.ii, “the soothsayer,” p. 245 23 tsz.iii, “on the old and new tablets,” §2, p. 309 24 as i shall mention below, zarathustra himself is often portrayed as a dancer: for this reason, i will at times use masculine pronouns in my discussion of the dancer. 25 for those who are not familiar with nietzsche’s parable of “the three metamorphoses” of the spirit, i provide the following (highly abridged) summary, for we shall see that the theme of the metamorphoses plays a significant role both in tsz and in my paper. in order for the human spirit to become a creator of new values—which is the ostensible purpose of the narrative of tsz—it must undergo a series of changes which zarathustra presents in metaphorical fashion. first, zarathustra says, the spirit must become a camel, a beast of burden: the camel willfully submits to the burden which is placed upon its back. in this phase, the human spirit takes upon itself the burden of the past and, in a sense, makes itself responsible for the whole of human history. in the second metamorphosis, the spirit must become a lion: in this phase, the spirit rages against the ossified rules of tradition and breaks the stone 8 understanding zarathustra’s maxim that the only redemption for mankind will be in the recreation of all “it was” into “thus i willed it”26 lies in recognizing that the weight of the past is real, but not stable. with this recognition, we arrive at a proper conception of the “earth” as a “ground”: it is a foundation which has real weight and density, but which is not stable, but rather constantly shifting and turning over upon itself. in this notion of ground, the earth and the past are intertwined, and both must be constantly overcome in the movement of life. the dancer, who “has his ear in his toes,”27 as zarathustra says, is attuned to the turbulent, uneven density of the earth and the movement of life. with all the references to dance in thus spoke zarathustra, it should come as little surprise that at times nietzsche presents zarathustra himself as a dancer— perhaps most significantly in part 3’s “the other dancing song.” zarathustra’s song relates to us the story of his dance with life, and as the song tells us, life incites zarathustra to dance precisely by dancing herself, leaping away from zarathustra, only to leap back to him when he retreats. i do not wish to dwell at any great length on this passage, but it is crucial to note that zarathustra’s dancing is attuned, responsive, to the movement and character of life. life leaps away from zarathustra and then toward him again, in a circular pattern of flight and return, and zarathustra mirrors those movements, engaging himself in a playful relation to life. what i would like to highlight is the manner in which the cyclical, rhythmic movement of zarathustra’s dance offers itself as a response to the movement of life. (recall zarathustra’s prophecy, in which the world is similarly described as a “fleeing and seeking again.”) here life itself is presented as dancing, moving in what i have described as a circular pattern of flight and return. i want to thematize this metaphorical presentation and to suggest that life’s dance here is precisely its willful entry into the eternal recurrence. as zarathustra teaches in his speech “on the tarantulas,” “life must overcome itself again and again…life wants to climb and to overcome itself climbing.” 28 as i have mentioned above, life’s overcoming of itself is the condition for life. life must will its own going-under that it might reach for something higher than itself. zarathustra’s dance mirrors life’s dance and the earth’s dance, as does his will to self-overcoming. tablets of traditional morality. by effecting this break with the burden of the past, the lion frees itself from the constraints of tradition. but, as zarathustra points out, the lion cannot yet create new values. in order to do so, the spirit must undergo the final metamorphosis: it must become a child. only when it has become a child is the spirit able to see things anew, unfettered by the rigid distinctions and principles which have grown stale, and thus to create new values. for a fuller presentation of the preceding movement, see tsz.i, “on the three metamorphoses,” pp. 137-140. 26 tsz.ii, “on redemption,” p. 251 27 tsz.iii, “the other dancing song,” §1, p. 336 28 tsz.ii, “on the tarantulas,” p. 213 9 with this understanding of life and earth, let us recall that zarathustra also urges us to return our virtue to the body. as we shall see, it is precisely through the sensitivity and agency of his body that zarathustra—as the dancer—is able to attune his activity to that of life and earth. let us now consider the movements of the dancer, so that the analogy with life and earth—which has, i hope, begun to become evident—might be made more explicit. b. body the dancer (zarathustra) begins on the ground, his weight is borne fully by the earth, and he is sensitive to the density and contours of the earth—in touch with it. “the dancer has his ear in his toes.”29 his movements, his conduct, will be derived from those of the earth and life. alluding briefly to zarathustra’s “on the three metamorphoses,” we might here draw a parallel to the camel, which takes the weight and burden of the past and tradition upon itself. by acknowledging and celebrating his intimate contact with the earth, the dancer in a sense takes upon himself the responsibility for the earth. he makes the weight of the earth his own. 30 but zarathustra the dancer does not remain on the earth. he thrusts against the earth with all the strength of his will, breaking the hold which the earth and the spirit of gravity have had upon him. he has now taken on the character of the lion—the frenzied breaking of the rigidified tablets of morality, the overcoming of his own clinging to the preservation of life.31 finally, having thrust against the weight of the earth, he leaps into the air in a gesture which is at once pure kinetic freedom and creative morality. he has become the child, free to act and create anew, unbound by the past.32 as nietzsche writes, “the child is innocence and forgetting, a new beginning…a sacred ‘yes.’” 33 free from the ground, the dancer’s very movement is an act of creativity. but let us be careful not to see in the zarathustrian dancer’s activity the chaotic, unbridled frenzy of the dionysian reveler. rather, his movements, although no longer dictated by the ground, are a response to the ground; they arise precisely out of the dancer’s sensitivity to the earth. 34 29 tsz.iii, “the other dancing song,” §1, p. 336 30 we might also point out that zarathustra performs the camel’s task in the early parts of tsz. for a fuller account of the way in which the character and text of zarathustra themselves enact the three metamorphoses, see goodingwilliams (1990). 31 zarathustra carries out this task in the middle of tsz, when he confronts the stagnant solidity of traditional morality. 32 zarathustra assumes the figure of the child (especially) in part iii. 33 tsz.i, “on the three metamorphoses,” p. 139 34 the difference between the two dancing figures of zarathustra and dionysus will be examined below. while one might object that the dionysian reveler also dances due to her sensitivity to life and earth, i shall argue below that the particular modes of affectivity and agency exemplified by the dionysian dancer are inferior to those of the zarathustrian dancer. 10 of course the dancer does not simply remain in the air, floating above the earth, cut loose from the ground of history and morality. every leap into the air is followed by a return to the earth: the cycle is resumed. it is in this sense that zarathustra’s dancing mirrors the movement of the eternal recurrence. the dancer’s creative, expressive virtue takes its cues from the movement of life and earth in the eternal recurrence. as zarathustra asks in “the seven seals (or: the yes and amen song),” “if my virtue is a dancer’s virtue…how should i not lust after eternity and…the ring of recurrence?”35 we are now in a position to reformulate the original question of this paper by asking: “what is a dancer’s virtue?” i believe we can answer this question by saying that, for zarathustra, the dancer’s virtue lies in her peculiar modes of affectivity and agency. this conclusion has begun, i hope, to become apparent in the preceding discussion, but it still requires elucidation and justification. in order to arrive at a clearer picture of the affectivity and agency of the dancer in thus spoke zarathustra, let us compare the zarathustrian dancer to another dancing figure which plays a significant role in nietzsche’s thinking: the dionysian reveler. by identifying certain crucial differences between the zarathustrian and dionysian dancers, we will begin to see quite clearly the way in which the dancer in thus spoke zarathustra emerges as the paradigmatic expression of human virtue in light of the eternal recurrence. iii. body continued: dionysus and zarathustra it is wise, i think, to broaden our consideration of the dancer somewhat, for of course, metaphors of dance in nietzsche’s works are not exclusive to thus spoke zarathustra.36 indeed, in the birth of tragedy, nietzsche makes several references to dance, which he pairs with music under the heading of dionysian art. but as i shall argue, dionysian and zarathustrian dance are substantially different modes of activity, and the difference between these two types of dance corresponds to the evolution of nietzsche’s understanding of life and earth, which as i have said, is altered by his experience of the eternal recurrence. let us now examine the shift in nietzsche’s characterizations of dance between the birth of tragedy and thus spoke zarathustra, so that we might further illuminate the significance of dance in the latter text. in the birth of tragedy, song and dance are offered as exemplars of dionysian art. gripped by the energy of a primitive life force, the dionysian reveler experiences what nietzsche calls the “primal unity” of all life—the chaotic 35 tsz, iii, “the seven seals (or: the yes and amen song),” §6, pp. 342-343 36 see, for example, the gay science, §381: “i would not know what the spirit of a philosopher might wish more to be than a good dancer. for the dance is his ideal, also his art, and finally also his only piety, his ‘service of god.’” 11 oneness which underlies all particularity prior to the discriminating and individuating power of apollo: in song and dance man expresses himself as a member of a higher community; he has forgotten how to walk and speak and is on the way toward flying into the air, dancing…he feels himself a god, he himself now walks about enchanted, in ecstasy, like the gods he saw walking in his dreams.37 the experience of dionysian revelry, as i have suggested, is analogous to the activity of the dancer in thus spoke zarathustra, but there is a significant difference between the two. the analogy, which i presented provisionally at the beginning of this paper, lies in the fact that dionysian song and dance on the one hand, and zarathustrian dance on the other, each represent for nietzsche, at different points in his thinking, the human being’s most intimate contact with life and earth. let us now extend the analogy and say that in each case, this relationship is characterized by specific forms of agency and affectivity. it is precisely in their differing modes of agency and affectivity that dionysian and zarathustrian dance differ—both as forms of art and, more significantly, as expressions of the human being’s fundamental relationship to life and earth. allow me now to elucidate what i mean by these claims about agency and affectivity. in the birth of tragedy, the human being’s relationship to life and earth is not characterized in terms of individual agency or will, but rather as a sort of mystical possession. the reveler does not willfully enact or express, but rather receives, the experience of the dionysian primal unity; although she may indeed drink wine or perform certain rites—or, indeed, go to the theater!—in order to invoke the spirit of dionysus, ultimately she can only make herself ready to be overtaken. the reveler is receptive, but in a wholly passive way. nietzsche writes, she “is no longer an artist, [s]he has become a work of art: in these paroxysms of intoxication the artistic power of all nature reveals itself.”38 it is not the reveler, but rather the “power of nature”—i.e. of life and earth—that expresses itself; the dancer is but the instrument of the dionysian life force. she is the work of art, not the artist. on the contrary, the metaphors of dance in thus spoke zarathustra demonstrate new modes of agency and affectivity which express the human being’s new relationship to life and earth. as i have said, the notions of life and earth have undergone a fundamental shift based upon nietzsche’s experience of the thought of the eternal recurrence. life and earth themselves have entered willfully 37 bt, §1, p. 37 38bt, §1, p. 37 (emphasis added) 12 into the eternal cycle of becoming, 39 and human activity must enact a corresponding evolution. in thus spoke zarathustra, the dancer is not possessed by a life force, but rather attunes herself to the movement of life and earth in the eternal recurrence. the zarathustrian dancer is still characterized by her affectivity, but her affectivity is of a much different sort than that of the dionysian dancer. the zarathustrian dancer’s affectivity—unlike the pure passivity of the dionysian reveler, which requires the agency of a primal life force—is characterized by her willful submission to life and earth. the dionysian reveler too submits to life, but she does so with the aim of rendering herself a mere instrument of life’s activity. life as primal unity—strictly speaking—is the agent; the dionysian dancer is only the medium through which life expresses itself. activity and passivity are strictly divided: “life” is the active force, and the reveler is passively employed by life’s self-expressive impulses. this is not true of the zarathustrian dancer. whereas in the birth of tragedy, the reveler ceases to be an agent to the extent that her body and will are commandeered by the artistic impulses of life itself, in thus spoke zarathustra, the dancer expresses a new form of agency—an agency which contains within itself a certain affectivity. affectivity and agency are intertwined in a unique way in the figure of the zarathustrian dancer, for she is neither wholly passive nor wholly active. rather, her activity and passivity are united, and they are united precisely in her body. her body is attuned to the movements of life and earth and she actively—i.e. willfully—perceives the movements of life and earth in the eternal recurrence, with the express purpose of mimicking and responding to those movements. like the camel, the zarathustrian dancer willfully assumes responsibility for the earth. aware of the intimate contact between her body and the earth, the dancer draws her guidance from the movement of life and earth in the eternal recurrence and willfully submits to the cycle of becoming. the virtue of the dancer, then, is rooted in a particular mode of bodily existence—in a dynamic union of affectivity and agency. let us now examine in more detail one particular form of affectivity which i find to be especially crucial, so that we might see more clearly the way in which the dancer’s mode of existence emerges as superior to that which zarathustra finds among mankind hitherto— 39 my characterization of the eternal recurrence as a movement of pure becoming, rather than the repetition of identical events, owes much to deleuze (1977): “we misconstrue the expression ‘eternal return’ when we take it as the return of the same. it is not being that recurs, but, rather, that recurrence itself constitutes being insofar as it affirms becoming and passing. it is not some one thing that recurs, but that recurrence is itself affirmed by the passage of diversity or multiplicity. in other words, identity in the eternal return does not designate the nature of what recurs, but, to the contrary, the fact of recurring difference…we can only understand the eternal return as the expression of a principle that serves to explain diversity and the reproduction of diversity, or difference and its repetition” (pp. 86-87). 13 even among the so-called “higher men.” for, as we shall see, the shortcomings of the higher men are largely due to their failure to adopt the sophisticated mode of affectivity and agency which i find to be exemplified by the dancer. iv. “the dancer has his ear in his toes.”40 i have been arguing that in thus spoke zarathustra, nietzsche advocates a new form of affectivity—specifically a bodily sensitivity to the movements of life and earth. contained within the call for this bodily sensitivity is also a special emphasis on listening—as evidenced by the passage from “the other dancing song” which i have chosen as the title of this section and which i have quoted several times earlier as well. zarathustra frequently laments the fact that the men to whom he speaks are not suited to hear him. “i am not the mouth for these ears,” he says.41 “the heedful ear is lacking in their limbs.”42 in order for zarathustra the speaker to be effective, what is required of his students is a proper form of hearing, a hearing which he does not find even among the “higher men.” for these higher men—despite their faithful adherence to zarathustra’s doctrines—have failed to listen properly to their teacher. they have tried to embody zarathustra’s teachings, but there is something wrong with the way in which they have listened to him. the problem, simply put, is that they have attempted to be guided by what we might call the “letter” of zarathustra’s speeches; the higher men have listened too literally and too superficially to zarathustra, and consequently they have failed to understand him. perhaps the best example is the voluntary beggar, who has allowed himself to be guided by the literal content of zarathustra’s dictum, “back to the earth,” but has failed to grasp his teacher’s deeper meaning. rather than pursuing the only possible redemption for mankind by deriving his virtue from the movement of the earth in the eternal recurrence, the voluntary beggar has abandoned mankind altogether, electing instead to preach to cattle.43 the kind of hearing required by zarathustra’s speech is not a cognitive function through which the listener receives a concatenation of impressions which correspond to given ideas, and then translates those impressions into the meaningful expression which they were meant to represent. in such an event of what i might call cognitive perception, that which is spoken is self-contained, external to both the speaker and the listener. the content of the speaker’s speech is, in a sense, given—it is self-sufficient. it is an idea which exists on its own and which can be communicated via a precise employment of vocabulary and syntax. neither the speaker nor the listener is essentially implicated in it. all that is 40 tsz.iii, “the other dancing song,” §1, p. 336 41 tsz.i, “prologue,” §5, p. 128 42 tsz.iv, “the sign,” p. 437 43 tsz.iv, “the voluntary beggar,” pp. 380-384 14 required for its effective transmission is that the speaker chooses the proper words and that the listener is able to understand (i.e. decode) those words. if such a description were true of zarathustra’s teachings, then we would have to attribute the inability of zarathustra’s disciples to understand him either to zarathustra’s failure to choose the proper expression of his ideas or to the disciples’ insufficient linguistic abilities. however, neither of these is the case. rather, the entire characterization of communication which i have just described is insufficient to account for the problem. this understanding of communication is itself flawed, and it fails to encompass the kind of hearing which zarathustra requires of his disciples. the problem with such a characterization of communication is that it relies upon an impoverished mode of perception, one which presupposes an external relationship between the perceiver and the thing perceived. in his speech “on immaculate perception,” zarathustra vehemently criticizes any such detached understanding of perception: “this would be the highest to my mind”—thus says your lying spirit to itself—“to look at life without desire and not, like a dog, with my tongue hanging out. to be happy in looking, with a will that has died and without the grasping and greed of selfishness, the whole body cold and ashen, but with drunken moon eyes. this i should like best”—thus the seduced seduces himself—“to love the earth as the moon loves her, and to touch her beauty only with my eyes. and this is what the immaculate perception of all things shall mean to me: that i want nothing from them, except to be allowed to lie prostrate before them like a mirror with a hundred eyes.”44 this kind of perception, nietzsche argues, is a fiction, for it denies the intimate connection between the perceiver and the world, and is therefore abstract and incomplete. we do not merely look upon the world; rather, we are invested in it. we are caught up in the world, bound to it by our desire, our will—our bodies. 45 we and the world are mutually implicated in the act of perception, and therefore our understanding of perception must take this mutual implication into account. we must recognize the intimate connection between perceiver and perceived, and we must recognize specifically that the will and desire of the perceiver inform every instance of perception. 44 tsz, ii, “on immaculate perception,” p. 234 45 nietzsche makes a similar point in the gay science: “as soon as we see a new image, we immediately construct it with the aid of all our previous experiences, depending on the degree of our honesty and justice. all experiences are moral experiences, even in the realm of sense perception” (§114, pp. 173-4). 15 the mistake of the higher men is that they attempt to listen to zarathustra’s words as if they were mere signs to be deciphered, internalized, and expressed again. what is necessary is not a detached, cognitive mode of listening, but rather an engaged—and what we can describe, although perhaps imperfectly, as a bodily—form of listening. the higher men, if they are ever to appreciate the fullness of zarathustra’s teaching, must surrender themselves to the full experience of zarathustra’s speeches. they must make themselves vulnerable in order to prepare themselves for the power of zarathustra’s doctrine. such hearing cannot be a process of detached contemplation predicated upon an external relation between speaker, sign, and listener. the higher men cannot simply open their ears in preparation to receive the activity of zarathustra’s teaching (in the way that the reveler in the birth of tragedy prepares herself to receive passively the activity of the dionysian life force); rather they must learn to attune their entire bodies that they might grasp the deeper meaning of zarathustra’s teaching. but, of course, they have not done so. they have tried simply to decipher and enact the literal meaning of zarathustra’s words, and they have failed to embody the truth of his teaching. hence, zarathustra concludes, “the heedful ear is lacking in their limbs.”46 in their inability to listen to zarathustra in the proper manner, the higher men betray the inadequacy of their mode of affectivity. what is required is precisely a bodily affectivity which is attuned to life and to the earth, in order that the movement and activity of life and earth might be perceived. at this point, it will likely come as little surprise to my reader when i suggest that the dancer typifies the mode of affectivity required by zarathustra’s teaching. indeed zarathustra pronounces explicitly the superiority of the dancer over the higher men: “you higher men, the worst about you is that all of you have not learned to dance as one must dance—dancing away over yourselves!”47 the dancer “has his ear in his toes.” that is, the dancer—as both described and exemplified by zarathustra—recognizes the intimacy by which he is bound to life and earth, and his body is willfully attuned to receive their teaching. therefore the dancer’s bodily affectivity is more properly suited to receive the full import of zarathustra’s teachings than the higher men’s detached listening could ever be. v. conclusion: introductory remarks on the will to power of the dancer the agency and affectivity which i have identified as constitutive of the “dancer’s virtue” extolled by zarathustra represent the new form which human life must take in light of nietzsche’s (and zarathustra’s) epiphany of the eternal 46 tsz.iv, “the sign,” p. 437 47 tsz.iv, “on the higher man,” §20, p. 407 16 recurrence. given that what i am suggesting is a new understanding of human life, and given that, for nietzsche, “life” must be understood in terms of the highly complicated notion of the “will to power,” i would be remiss if i did not attempt to consider the dancer as an expression of the will to power. while the scope of this paper will not permit the kind of extensive discussion which would be necessary in order to give a full treatment of the will to power, we can at the very least give a preliminary indication of the dancer’s relationship to this crucial nietzschean concept. indeed, even a brief discussion will reveal in the agency and affectivity of the dancer a mode of life which expresses the will to power in its fullest form. the will to power, nietzsche writes in thus spoke zarathustra, is “the unexhausted procreative will of life.”48 it is the will of life to go beyond itself, to create beyond itself. as his readers know quite well, nietzsche’s descriptions of the will to power are often violent and tend to highlight its destructive aspect, and this is true indeed of many of the appearances of the will to power in thus spoke zarathustra. note for example zarathustra’s remarks that “life itself requires hostility,” 49 that “all creators are hard,” 50 and that “the lion-will wants itself…hungry, violent, lonely, godless.”51 however, as zarathustra points out, the will to power—as the fundamental expression of life—is not only destructive and creative, but also possesses a yielding character, or what i have described as an “affectivity.” 52 for as zarathustra says, “even the strongest yields.” life cannot be wholly destructive and aggressive; for indeed life must overcome itself. in order to overcome itself—to “climb over itself climbing”53—life must yield to the eternal movement of becoming. indeed the very movement of overcoming requires that life itself submit to its own overcoming, or in other words, that it willfully enter into its own surpassing in the eternal recurrence. 48 tsz.ii, “on self-overcoming,” p. 226 49 tsz.ii, “on the rabble,” p. 209 50 tsz.ii, “on the pitying,” p. 202 51 tsz.ii, “on the famous wise men,” p. 215 52 in his essay on the will to power, alphonso lingis addresses the affectivity which is inherent in nietzsche’s conceptions of both will and power: “affectivity is contained in the nietzschean concept of will, and power is measured by feeling rather than by the sovereignty of self-consciousness. before nietzsche had yet introduced his concept of will to power, he spoke of feeling of power; power was taken to be a matter of feeling rather than of will. but the final nietzschean term ‘will’ does not merely replace, it incorporates that dimension of feeling; for nietzsche, power—being not a solitary upsurge in being, but a differential element in a field of force—is essentially affective” (p. 51). lingis’s point here is that the very notions of “will” and “power”—and consequently of “will to power”—contain within themselves an essential element of sensitivity. another valuable discussion of the affectivity of the will to power is to be found in deleuze (1977). “inferior forces (as distinct from those that command) do not cease being forces even though they obey. to obey is a quality of force as such, and it is just as much tied to power as commanding is” (p. 81). “will to power belongs to the reactive or dominated force just as well as to the active or dominating force” (p. 90). see also deleuze’s analysis of the complicated relationship between the will to power and the eternal recurrence, in the same essay. 53 tsz.ii, “on the tarantulas,” p. 213 17 from even this cursory discussion of the will to power, we can see quite clearly that the zarathustrian dancer who is characterized by her specific modes of agency and affectivity exhibits the key features of the will to power—both in its active (i.e. creative) and yielding capacities. although it is beyond the scope of this project to do so at any length, i would like at least to suggest provisionally that the three metamorphoses, which i earlier characterized as corresponding to the affectivity and agency of the dancer, can also be understood as an expression of the yielding (camel), destructive (lion), and creative (child) aspects of the will to power. thus when the dancer senses—through her bodily affectivity—the movement and activity of life and earth, and when she thrusts against the weight of the earth and leaps into the air—in an act of creative agency—she also expresses, in a precisely bodily way, the will to power. as zarathustra teaches, the highest human virtue—“what is great” and “what can be loved in man”54—is that the human being is a creature which overcomes itself in its very act of going under. in other words, “man” has a unique potential for virtue inasmuch as his most noble life-activity requires that he submit to the eternal movement of becoming which is life itself. indeed, i suggest that “virtue” for zarathustra is precisely the union in the will of self-overcoming and goingunder, and that the dancer exemplifies human virtue precisely in her embodiment of these two characteristics. zarathustra the dancer attunes his body to life and earth, senses their movements, and models his own activity after that which his body has perceived. zarathustra has received the thought of the eternal recurrence; he has perceived the cyclical movement—the “fleeing and returning” of life and earth, and his virtue lies in his willful submission to that movement in becoming. “we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.” tsz.iii, “on old and new tablets,” §23, p. 322 bibliography deleuze, gilles. “active and reactive,” in the new nietzsche, ed. david b. allison, cambridge: mit press, 1977. 54 tsz.i, “prologue,” p. 127 18 gooding-williams, robert. “zarathustra’s three metamorphoses,” in nietzsche as postmodernist, ed. clayton koelb, albany: state university of new york press, 1990. klossowski, pierre. “nietzsche’s experience of the eternal return,” in the new nietzsche, ed. david b. allison, cambridge: mit press, 1977. lingis, alphonso. “the will to power,” in the new nietzsche, ed. david b. allison, cambridge: mit press, 1977. nietzsche, friedrich. beyond good and evil: prelude to a philosophy of the future, trans. walter kaufmann, in basic writings of nietzsche, ed. walter kaufmann, new york: random house, 1967. nietzsche, friedrich. the birth of tragedy, trans. walter kaufmann, new york: random house, 1967. nietzsche, friedrich. ecce homo, trans. walter kaufmann, in basic writings of nietzsche, ed. walter kaufmann, new york: random house, 1967. nietzsche, friedrich. the gay science, trans. walter kaufmann, new york: vintage books, 1974. nietzsche, friedrich. thus spoke zarathustra, trans. walter kaufmann, in the portable nietzsche, ed. walter kaufmann, new york: penguin books, 1954. microsoft word pimpinella.doc 1 miriam in numbers 12 denise pimpinella department of theology and religious studies villanova university the biblical figure of miriam is a textual enigma in the pentateuch, appearing by name in only five short references.1 these references, ex 15:20-21; num 12:1-16; num 20:1; num 26:59; and deut 24:8-9, identify miriam as a sister, a prophet, a musician, a leader (specifically of women) and a leper. later in the old testament, miriam is named twice more in 1chr 6:3 and micah 6:4. these two passages acknowledge her role as daughter/sister and her position as leader of the israelites in the wilderness. in all seven of these passages, miriam is mentioned in a cursory or deemphasized manner. she remains peripheral and without textual depth, making it remarkable that she is included at all. it would be simple to write her out of ex15: 20-21 entirely because, as scholars agree, much of her contribution has already been reassigned to moses.2 furthermore, her death could go unrecorded in num 20:1 given that it is barely mentioned at all. accordingly, she could be written out of the genealogies (num 26:59 and 1 chr6:3) with ease since many other women already go unrecorded. and if, prior to micah she is not mentioned, micah cannot logically use her as evidence to call the israelites back to god. yet numbers 12 and therefore deut 24:8-9, which is dependent on num 12, are more difficult to erase. here, in miriam’s longest cameo appearance of the old testament, her authority appears to be discredited and her leprosy becomes a warning against speaking out for later generations of israelites. numbers 12 offers the best glimpse of the depth of miriam’s character. in this passage, each of miriam’s roles during the israelites’ wilderness wanderings, with 1 the sister of moses mentioned in ex 2:4-10 is generally accepted to be miriam, yet due to the length of the paper and the fact that she remains an unnamed sister, i have chosen to exclude ex 2 as evidence of miriam’s character. for more information, see essays in part iii: ‘miriam: on being a sister,’ of a feminist companion to exodus to deuteronomy, ed. athalya brenner, no. 6 (sheffield, england: sheffield academic press, 1994) 171-ff. 2 phyllis trible, “bringing miriam out of the shadows,” a feminist companion to exodus to deuteronomy, ed. athalya brenner, no. 6 (sheffield, england: sheffield academic press, 1994) 171-2. also see carol meyers’ defense in “miriam the musician,” a feminist companion to exodus to deuteronomy, ed. athalya brenner, no. 6 (sheffield, england: sheffield academic press, 1994) 207-230. 2 the exception of musician, is given validation.3 hence, numbers 12 with its conflicted presentation takes center stage in the following discussion. after a textual analysis, secondary sources concerning miriam’s roles and numbers 12 will be presented and, lastly, conclusions regarding the role miriam played during the wilderness wanderings will be offered. num 12:1-164 1: while they were at hazeroth, miriam and aaron spoke against moses because of the cushite woman he had married (for he had indeed married a cushite woman); 2: and they said, “has the lord spoken only through moses? has he not spoken through us also?” and the lord heard it. 3: now the man moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth. 4: suddenly the lord said to moses, aaron, and miriam, “come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” so the three of them came out. 5: then the lord came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the entrance of the tent, and called aaron and miriam; and they both came forward. 6: and he said, “hear my words: when there are prophets among you, i the lord make myself known to them in visions: i speak to them in dreams. 7: not so with my servant moses; he is entrusted with all my house. 8: with him i speak face to face—clearly, not in riddles; and he beholds the form of the lord. why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant moses?” 9: and the anger of the lord was kindled against them, and he departed. 3 fager writes that this is “a double-edged sword. on the one hand, it is a later patriarchal attempt to discredit miriam as a legitimate leader, but on the other hand, it shows that she was a serious threat to the absolute control of the male ruler.” jeffery a. fager, “miriam and deborah,” the bible today 32, no. 6 (november 1994): 384. 4 the scripture quotations contained herein are from the new revised standard version bible, copyright 1989, by the division of christian education of the national council of the churches of christ in the u.s.a. 3 10: when the cloud went away from over the tent, miriam had become leprous, as white as snow. and aaron turned towards miriam and saw that she was leprous. 11: then aaron said to moses, “oh my lord, do not punish us for a sin that we have so foolishly committed. 12: so not let her be like one stillborn, whose flesh is half consumed when it comes out of its mother’s womb.” 13: and moses cried to the lord, “o god, please heal her.” 14: but the lord said to moses, “if her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? let her be shut out of the camp for seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” 15: so miriam was shut out of the camp for seven days; and the people did not set out on the march until miriam had been brought in again. 16: after that the people set out from hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of paran. textual analysis numbers 12 is a fragmented text that elicits investigation into its inconsistent and unclear presentation. for example, verse 1 states that moses’ cushite wife is the focus of the disagreement between moses and his siblings. however, moses’ cushite wife is unidentified in the text and her connection to miriam and aaron’s prophetic authority remains unclear. similarly, both aaron and miriam confront moses in verses 1 and 2, but miriam alone is struck with leprosy in verse 10. also, it is unclear whether the author of verses 6-8 intends to discredit both miriam and aaron’s prophetic authority, only miriam’s, or simply create a hierarchy of authority within the triad. lastly, why would the people disobey god for seven days and wait for miriam if her punishment was justified or if she was guilty of overstepping her place?5 there are two basic scholarly opinions concerning the composition of the text. the first, presented by rita burns, argues that verses 2-9 are a distinct 5 graetz lists seven questions that arise from the text. this is a selective reworking of her questions with the omission of questions 2, 3 and 5 and a reworking of questions 6 and 7. naomi graetz, “did miriam talk too much?” a feminist companion to exodus to deuteronomy, ed. athalya brenner, no. 6(sheffield, england: sheffield academic press, 1994) 232. 4 narrative from verses 1, and 10f.f.6 the theme of verses 2-9 is moses’ singular oracular authority, and burns believes the main objective of these verses is to make a statement about his authority, not about miriam or aaron.7 she notes that within these verses is evidence of a brief drama: “the conflict is abruptly initiated (v. 2); the transition to the tent (vv. 4-5); the defense states its case (vv. 6-8); and the conflict is abruptly resolved (v. 9).”8 further, there is evidence that verses 6-8 are an independent unit within verses 2-9. citing noth, burns draws attention to the “elevated style” of verses 6-8.9 the poetic stanzas maintained in nrsv translation of the text supports this reading (see above). if verses 6-8 are an independent tradition, then miriam and aaron do not need to be the audience to which god speaks. note that miriam and aaron are not named in verses 6-8.10 in fact, burns argues this citation is better suited for a group and fits with the themes of shared authority set forth in numbers 11.11 moreover, burns feels it is important to distinguish the two narratives from each other because verses 2-9 represent a greater issue in the redactor’s community in which the levites, represented by moses, are vying for primacy of oracular authority over the aaronic priests and their authority.12 therefore, if verses 2-9 are an independent narrative, then 1, 10f.f. must be a separate narrative. to successfully argue this point, burns draws attention first to verse 1. here the hebrew verb translated as “spoke” is in the feminine singular, “suggesting that aaron was added only after the controversy over the cushite wife was joined with the second subject of controversy (vv. 2f.f.).”13 if this is so, then miriam is struck with leprosy in verse 10 because she is the only one to speak against moses. hence, an understanding of the two distinct narratives helps alleviate some of the textual complexities and answer some lingering questions. the second school claims the text is a single composition and must be read as such. this approach is best seen in the work of irmtraud fischer. she acknowledges the contradictions in the text but, rather than account for them with a historical-critical study, which would necessitate different authorship or two distinct units as seen in burns, she argues for a source-critical solution. the 6 rita j. burns, has the lord indeed spoken only through moses? a study of the biblical portrait of miriam, society of biblical literature dissertation series 84 (atlanta: scholars press, 1987) 41-2. 7 burns, has the lord, 41; 51. 8 burns, has the lord, 51. 9 burns, has the lord, 52-3. 10 burns, has the lord, 54. 11 burns, has the lord, 57. 12 burns, has the lord, 59-61. 13 burns, has the lord, 68. 5 source-critical solution sees the contradictions resulting from later additions to the narrative, which originally was recorded as a literary whole.14 fischer sees that the tensions in the text result from intention rather than synthesis.15 for fischer, if the text were separated, it would minimize the effect that numbers 12 has on miriam and, thereby, women in the jewish community. according to fischer, the intention cannot be divorced from the result; therefore, she connects the two seemingly different conflicts. she argues that the feminine singular form of the verb in verse 1 should be interpreted as highlighting miriam as the driving force of the action or dominant character, and as such she would logically bear the greater guilt and punishment.16 separating the text would reduce miriam’s position within the community. fischer further helps to unify the text by linking moses’ cushite wife with the larger issue of prophetic authority. like burns, she believes miriam, aaron and moses represent groups in the community.17 she notes that the word “to speak” is the same word used for “prophetic speech.” in her view, the problem with moses’ cushite wife concerns greater prophetic issues needing attention in the community.18 specifically, she argues with ex 18:2 as her guide that what is at issue is moses’ divorce from zipporah motivated by his need to maintain a constant state of ritual cleanliness,19 which consequently reflects the communal issue of mixed marriage.20 according to this reconstruction, fischer sees that miriam and aaron are advocating on behalf of zipporah against moses’ decision to divorce her.21 unlike burns, fischer is able to synthesize moses’ humility mentioned in verse 3 with god’s declaration in verses 6-8 to the end that moses is the exception and outside the norm – his divorce cannot be the basis for other divorces in the community.22 miriam is punished for speaking against god, but 14 irmtraud fischer, “the authority of miriam: a feminist rereading of numbers 12 prompted by jewish interpretation,” exodus to deuteronomy, ed. athalya brenner and carole r. fontaine, a feminist companion to the bible (second series) 5 (sheffield, england: sheffield academic press ltd., 2000) 160. 15 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 161. 16 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 161. 17 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 166. 18 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 161-2. 19fisher identifies the cushite wife of moses as zipporah. however, this is not a scholarly consensus. as we shall see, williams strongly disagrees with this assessment. fischer, “authority of miriam,” 163. 20 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 166-7. 21 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 167. 22 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 168-9. 6 she does not receive the typical punishment of death; considering her dominant role in verse 1, this punishment seems light.23 each group, as represented by burns and fischer, is able to construct arguments that account for the complexity of the text and the contradictions contained therein. burns supports the idea of two distinct units while fischer argues for textual unity. each woman’s ability to bring clarity to the text dictates that the arguments are internally sound. however, since numbers 12 is presented as a complete unit in the pentateuch and is often addressed as such, fischer’s focus on unity is a more helpful reading of the text. her reading allows for a deeper reconstruction of the character of miriam from the text in its present form. after an exploration of the textual composition, the next step in a reconstruction of miriam’s character from numbers 12 is to reach an understanding of the controversy surrounding moses and his cushite wife. fischer offers one sound interpretation of the events surrounding the text, though the identity of the cushite woman remains questionable. ruth sohn clearly identifies the two viable options for this woman’s identity: “it [sic] could be tzipporah, the midianite woman whom moses had married years before … but perhaps this reference is to a second wife.”24 jacqueline williams takes up sohn’s latter suggestion in her attempt to identify this woman, maintaining the cushite woman is a black african, and thus a foreigner whose race becomes synonymous with her identity in the community.25 williams’ reading of numbers 12 is chiefly concerned with race and makes miriam’s sin that of racism. according to williams, miriam objects to moses’ marriage as an opportunistic attempt to claim validation for her own authority in the community. by aligning herself against a controversial aspect of moses’ life, miriam is able to gain public support.26 she is sharply rebuked for her opportunism and sinful behavior. williams argues that miriam’s punishment, white leprosy, is fitting because god “made that which miriam was so proud of, a white skin, something to be despised.”27 yet williams’ interpretative methodology is not neutral; rather, it is shaped by her experience of apartheid in south africa.28 because personal bias shapes 23 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 169-170. 24 ruth sohn, “parshat beha’alotecha: the silencing of miriam,” all the women followed her: a collection of writings on miriam the prophet and the women of exodus, ed. rebecca schwartz (mountain view, ca: rikudei miriam press, 2001) 191. 25 jacqueline williams, “‘and she became ‘snow white’”: numbers 12:1-16,” old testament essays 15 (2002-01): 259. 26 williams, “snow white,” 265. 27 williams, “snow white,” 266. 28 williams, “snow white,” 260. 7 her reading, it does not accord with textual sentiment. fischer notes that in jewish tradition, this passage is interpreted as being hostile to foreigners.29 in fact, cush also could refer to a region of the gulf of aqaba, which allows identification of this woman with zipporah and not an unnamed black african woman.30 fischer and others who look to jewish midrash hold this position. like fischer, rebecca schwartz identifies the cushite woman with zipporah. schwartz holds that miriam is advocating on behalf of her sister-in-law’s religious rights as part of a larger public issue in the community.31 zipporah’s religious rights include any priestly rights she may have enjoyed as the daughter of a priest and the wife of moses prior to ratification of the covenant. the larger communal issue, according to schwartz, is that of women’s place within the mosaic codes, especially those noted in the sotah trial of num5.32 like the issues noted in the textual composition presentation, there is no consensus of scholarly opinion as to the identity of the cushite wife of moses, what her role was in the controversy, or whether miriam was arguing for or against her. what is clear from scholarly attempts to identify her is that personal bias cannot be read into the text so much that the position becomes tainted. the cushite wife of moses could be zipporah or a second wife; both remain plausible, though the arguments for zipporah are more convincing.33 in verse 2, miriam and aaron ask, “has the lord spoken only through moses? has he not spoken through us also?” the question of moses’ sole authority, and thereby the authority of miriam and aaron, is made explicit in this passage. a definitive answer to their question is found in verses 6-8. here, according to burns, god’s response “do[es] not negate the authority of those who prophesy from dreams and visions. rather, it distinguishes it from and subordinates it to moses’ gift.”34 so miriam and aaron, as prophets of the second degree, are not denigrated and declared false prophets; rather, their gift is placed within a hierarchical structure. moses, who has direct access to the divine word, is placed over prophets who “receive the word through means which need interpretation.”35 29 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 163. 30 fischer, “authority of miriam,” 163. this is not to say that she is definitively zipporah, but rather to argue that one cannot exclude her based only on the cushite description. 31 schwartz, rebecca, “if there be a prophet … ,” all the women followed her: a collection of writings on miriam the prophet and the women of exodus, ed. rebecca schwartz (mountain view, ca: rikudei miriam press, 2001) 166-7. 32 schwartz, “be a prophet,” 168. 33 see schwarz, “be a prophet,” and fischer, “authority of miriam,” for more information. 34 burns, has the lord, 54. 35 burns, has the lord, 54. 8 despite her defense of miriam and aaron’s prophetic authority, burns feels that the title of prophet is anachronistic and meant to indicate miriam’s cultic/priestly position in the community rather than a legitimate prophetic activity.36 she concludes that prophetesses were not exceptional, but held the same position of prophets in the community, “regarded as mediators of the lord’s word and, as such, they were oracular authorities in sacral matters which might pertain to the entire community.”37 in pointed contrast, susan ackerman, utilizing turner’s perspective of liminality to interpret the same data as burns,38 concludes that female prophets are exceptional occurrences in the old testament. prophetesses gain recognition and authority only when liminal conditions are present. ackerman writes: miriam is assigned the prophetic role in exod 15:20 that is otherwise accorded only to men in the exodus account because the narrative locates her prophetic identity as belonging to the liminal period of anti-structure. in narrative depictions of liminality, the gender conventions that more usually restrict women from holding positions of religious leadership can be suspended. therefore miriam can be described as occupying a position as a prophetic functionary that, outside of liminal time and space, women are generally denied. 39 since the conditions of the exodus and wilderness wanderings are reflective of liminal conditions, miriam was indeed a prophet to israelites during the exodus and their wilderness wanderings. ackerman’s careful analysis of prophetesses in the old testament surpasses burn’s simplification of the term. in fact, it offers greater room for synthesis of the priestly/cultic function burns sees in miriam because ackerman already has equated prophetesses with religious leadership in the community. as noted in the ackerman citation, conditions for women to gain authority in the religious community must reflect a liminal period of anti-structure. as she points out, the exodus event exemplifies this period. complications arise for those recording the text because their surroundings do not mirror a period of antistructure or they are attempting to return to old structures of masculine power. the period gap between miriam’s time and that of the redactors causes the redactors to suppress female authority, i.e. miriam, in the text. the text discredits 36 burns, has the lord, 41, 47-8. 37 burns, has the lord, 46. 38 both burns and ackerman discuss the other four females designated as prophets in the old testament: isaiah’s wife, deborah, hulda and noadiah. 39 susan ackerman, “why is miriam also among the prophets? (and zipporah among the priests?),” journal of biblical literature 121, no. 1 (2002): 71. 9 her by means of ritual impurity; she becomes leprous and is banished from the community for seven days. her punishment results from her speaking against moses. the act of speaking in verse 1 occurs in the feminine singular form, though aaron appears to be present, and this contradiction can be clarified using a variety of scholarly techniques. what is important to note from the various interpretations is that this disparity cannot be easily explained; it is most likely an attempt to discredit female authority. naomi graetz notes that it is important not to minimize the injustice miriam experiences in the text; aaron’s lack of physical punishment is important. those who equate his mental anguish upon seeing his leprous sister with miriam’s physical anguish diminish miriam’s pain.40 she suffers humiliation and banishment, in addition to physical pain. still other scholars, like erica brown, attempt to alleviate the severity of her punishment. brown notes that miriam’s punishment for disobeying god is a disease and seven days of isolation. this is in contrast to the death sentences her brothers receive as a result of their inability to sanctify the waters at meribah in accordance with god’s instructions in num 20:2-13.41 brown holds that the deaths of miriam, aaron and moses are not equal, as miriam’s death is not a punishment but a natural part of life. this point highlights that the punishment she does receive during her life is not as severe as it could be, suggesting some textual redemption. other scholars, like schwartz, find it possible to view miriam’s leprous condition as validation of her authority rather than as punishment. since her banishment is to the desert, schwartz suggests that perhaps miriam is ordered there by god so she can speak with god, thus following a pattern similar to that presented in the genesis stories of abraham, rebekah and jacob.42 she further equates miriam’s leprosy with that of moses in ex 4:7, noting that lev 13:12-17 states that if leprosy covers the entire skin and is completely white, it is pure.43 these two considerations allow for the possibility that leprosy is not necessarily a punishment; instead, it can be seen as a further indication of miriam’s privilege within the community. finally, a textual analysis of numbers 12 must make sense of the people’s unwillingness to follow god after the cloud moved away from the tent of meeting in v. 10 until miriam is restored to the community. judith hadley notes that the 40 graetz, “talk too much,” 241. 41 erica brown, “the well dried up: miriam’s death in bible and midrash,” in all the women followed her: a collection of writings on miriam the prophet and the women of exodus, ed. rebecca schwartz, (mountain view, ca: rikudei miriam press, 2001) 49. 42 schwartz, “be a prophet,” 172. 43 schwartz, “be a prophet”, 173. 10 defiance disrupts the pattern of movement established in exodus.44 the cloud leaves the tent of meeting, indicating that the people should follow; however, they wait until miriam is brought into the camp seven days later in verse 15. phyllis trible finds this fact to be telling of the community’s opinion of miriam. in her opinion, it is a moment of unsuccessful suppression of miriam’s authority in the community.45 despite god’s anger with miriam and ambivalence towards the israelites, and in spite of miriam’s disease, they remain ever faithful to her. not once in the pentateuch do they speak ill of her, and their actions regard her with love and respect rather than accusation and contempt.46 further interpretive possiblities in addition to contradictory textual analysis, interpretations provide divergent understandings of each of miriam’s roles. burns sees the title of prophet assigned to miriam as anachronistic and representative of cultic, not prophetic, duties.36 however, ackerman views miriam’s prophetic distinction as reflective of her genuine communication with god. her prophetic role is viable because the exodus situation provides the ideal liminal conditions for female prophets to gain power in the community.39 correspondingly, williams argues that miriam’s leprosy was a severe chastisement that results in her fading out of the text, suggestive of her decline.27 schwartz, on the other hand, argues that miriam’s leprosy was not a punishment but a public sign of her authority.42 in support of schwartz, trible would offer the community’s unwillingness to move until miriam’s return as further evidence of her sustained authority.45 in an effort to continue the divergent pattern established above, two different understandings of miriam’s sisterhood will be explored in the remaining discussion. the first is seen in the work of claudia camp, who views miriam as both a community insider and outsider. miriam’s position as sister affords her a unique space in the community as an insider, yet she is an outsider by nature of her gender. therefore, the text makes her foreign or strange in order to remove her insider distinction and discredit her authority.47 behind the textual process of making miriam strange is the jewish identity struggle in the post-exilic period and an internal priestly struggle for validation of the aaronic line as the priestly 44 judith hadley, numbers and wilderness wanderings class lecture and discussion. thl 8110: the pentateuch. villanova university, villanova, pa. 16 november 2005. 45 trible, “out of the shadows,” 180. 46 ibid 47 claudia camp, “over her dead body: the estranged woman and the prince of the promised land,” journal of northwest semitic languages 29, no. 2 (2002): 3. 11 lineage.48 these extra-textual struggles view miriam as a threat to the masculine understanding of authority. the text, therefore, makes her strange in order to solidify jewish identity in masculine authority. similarly, by making miriam ritually unclean though disease, she helps to preserve the sanctity of the priestly line.49 in numbers 12, miriam receives punishment for both her and her brother’s actions.50 her uncleanliness is expanded in verse 12 to include death as seen in the imagery of a stillborn child.51 her disease and association with death forces miriam to move outside the camp and thereby isolates her from the community, denying her the authority her status as sister of aaron and moses previously allotted her. so in camp’s interpretation of numbers 12, because she is the sister of aaron and moses, miriam must be discredited in order for the community to unify under one understanding of masculine authority. on the other hand, ita sheres and anne blau do not feel that miriam is necessarily the biological sister of moses or aaron. rather, her “sister” distinction is a title that affords her greater respect and authority within the community.52 their interpretation is rooted in understanding that egyptian cultic customs were intimately connected to hebraic understanding prior to the exodus. their argument holds that the “mosaic way” is an attempt to separate the egyptian and hebrew customs.53 accordingly, miriam’s objection to moses’ cushite wife in verse 1 concerns miriam’s “prerogative to marry moses in a traditional ‘brother-sister’ ritual marriage.”54 if this is miriam’s objection, miriam utilizes her old religious-cultural framework to diagnose the situation. the greater message num 12 delivers in miriam’s punishment is that the egyptian-hebrew system practiced prior to the exodus is obsolete. it is to be replaced without modification with the new ‘mosaic way.’55 consequently, miriam is punished for attempting to maintain old religious-cultural standards within the new law codes and becomes a warning for all those who do the same. these two detailed understandings of miriam’s sisterhood and previous divergent material concerning her role as prophet, leader and leper evidence that a 48 camp, “over her dead body,” 3. 49 camp, “over her dead body,” 4. 50 camp, “over her dead body,” 4. 51 camp, “over her dead body,” 5-6. 52 ita sheres and anne blau, “sister miriam the leper,” all the women followed her: a collection of writings on miriam the prophet and the women of exodus, ed. rebecca schwartz (mountain view, ca: rikudei miriam press) 209. 53 sheres and blau, “sister miriam,” 202. 54 sheres and blau, “sister miriam,” 205. 55sheres and blau, “sister miriam,” 205, 209. 12 singular understanding of miriam cannot be definitively reached from the biblical evidence. however, this observation does not devalue attempts to understand miriam; rather, it demonstrates that with each new understanding of her and her place within the exodus and wilderness wanderings, a fuller appreciation of her remarkable character can be reached. also, each contradiction calls the scholarly community to value previous work so that these sketches can be synthesized. conclusion scholarly reconstructions of miriam from numbers 12 provide a number of viable yet contradictory interpretations of her character and the narrative. on the first level, the text appears to uphold moses’ sole authority at the expense of other leadership in the community. yet as burns, fischer, trible and others have pointed out, a deeper, more careful reading of the text allows for the character reconstruction of those secondary to the narrative, especially miriam. within numbers 12, one sees that miriam holds an authoritative role in the community – she is able to address her concerns directly to moses on behalf of the community and has the people’s support. she is a prophet and remains a prophet in the text – verses 6-8 substantiate her prophetic role; her prophecy is subordinate only to moses. also, she is a leper. despite the conflicting understanding of the disease and its meaning, what is indisputable concerning her leprosy is that the community waits for her in solidarity and support. her leprosy does not diminish her role within the community. lastly, she is a sister; as indicated by the two different understandings of sister, this is a complicated relationship. yet sisterhood closely ties miriam to moses and aaron; she is their equal despite attempts to suppress her position. finally, jewish midrash from the second century c.e. onward upholds the conclusion that miriam played a greater role in the exodus and wilderness wanderings than is given space in the pentateuch. as trible noted, evidence of miriam’s importance to the israelite community can be found within the pentateuch, such as num 12:15, where the community waits for her; in other old testament books such as micah 6:4, in which miriam’s prophetic ability is recognized within the prophetic literature;56 or in the new testament, where the mother of the messiah is named mary, the greek form of the hebrew miriam.57 the tradition of miriam lives in fragments in the bible, but these fragments are 56 phyllis trible, “eve and miriam: from the margins to the center,” feminist approaches to the bible, symposium at the smithsonian institution september 24, 1994, ed. hershel shanks (washington, d.c.: biblical archaeology society, 1995) 21 57 trible, “eve and miriam”, 21 13 testimony of the strength and durability of miriam within the jewish and christian communities. 14 bibliography ackerman, susan. “why is miriam also among the prophets? (and zipporah among the priests?).” journal of biblical literature 121, no. 1 (2002): 4780. brenner, athalya , ed. a feminist companion to exodus to deuteronomy, no. 6. sheffield, england: sheffield academic press, 1994. brown, erica. “the well dried up: miriam’s death in bible and midrash.” in all the women followed her: a collection of writings on miriam the prophet and the women of exodus. ed. rebecca schwartz, 42-51. mountain view, ca: rikudei miriam press, 2001. burns, rita j. has the lord indeed spoken only through moses? a study of the biblical portrait of miriam. society of biblical literature dissertation series 84. atlanta: scholars press, 1987. camp, claudia. “over her dead body: the estranged woman and the prince of the promised land.” journal of northwest semitic languages 29, no. 2 (2002): 1-13. fager, jeffery a. “miriam and deborah.” the bible today 32, no. 6 (november 1994): 380-386. fischer, irmtraud. “the authority of miriam: a feminist rereading of numbers 12 prompted by jewish interpretation.” in exodus to deuteronomy. ed. athalya brenner and carole r. fontaine. a feminist companion to the bible (second series) 5, 159-173. sheffield, england: sheffield academic press ltd., 2000. graetz, naomi. “did miriam talk too much?” in a feminist companion to exodus to deuteronomy. ed. athalya brenner. no. 6, 231-242. sheffield, england: sheffield academic press, 1994. hadley, judith. numbers and wilderness wanderings class lecture and discussion. thl 8110: the pentateuch. villanova university, villanova, pa. 16 november 2005. 15 meyers, carol. “miriam the musician.” in a feminist companion to exodus to deuteronomy. ed. athalya brenner. no. 6, 207-230. sheffield, england: sheffield academic press, 1994. nrsv (new revised standard version) bible. 1989 published by american bible society, new york. schwartz, rebecca. “if there be a prophet ... ” in all the women followed her: a collection of writings on miriam the prophet and the women of exodus. ed. rebecca schwartz, 163-177. mountain view, ca: rikudei miriam press, 2001. sheres, ita and anne blau. “sister miriam the leper.” in all the women followed her: a collection of writings on miriam the prophet and the women of exodus. ed. rebecca schwartz, 199-214. mountain view, ca: rikudei miriam press, 2001. sohn, ruth. “parshat beha’alotecha: the silencing of miriam.” in all the women followed her: a collection of writings on miriam the prophet and the women of exodus. ed. rebecca schwartz, 190-198. mountain view, ca: rikudei miriam press, 2001. trible, phyllis. “bringing miriam out of the shadows.” in a feminist companion to exodus to deuteronomy. ed. athalya brenner. no. 6. 166186. sheffield, england: sheffield academic press, 1994. ________. “eve and miriam: from the margins to the center.” in feminist approaches to the bible, symposium at the smithsonian institution september24, 1994. ed. hershel shanks, 5-24. washington, d.c.: biblical archaeology society, 1995 williams, jacqueline. “‘and she became ‘snow white”’: numbers 12:1-16.” old testament essays 15 (2002-01): 259-268. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\jury_selection.prn.pdf 1 scientific jury selection: history, practice, and controversy audrey cleary psychology villanova university “never forget, almost every case has been won or lost when the jury is sworn.” – clarence darrow (defense attorney), 1936. introduction juries decide thousands of cases every year. even though the majority of court cases are not settled by juries, predictions about juries influence decisions to pursue or avoid jury trials (greene, chopra, kovera, penrod, rose, schuller et al., 2002); therefore, the jury system maintains a central importance in american law. given this importance, it is not surprising that the selection of jurors has, for many, become a scientifically-rooted service for which attorneys and litigants will often pay handsome fees. scientific jury selection – the application of behavioral and social scientific principles to the selection of jurors most sympathetic to a particular side in a court case – has experienced a growth spurt since its inception in the early 1970s. it has also received substantial publicity in the news media, e.g., for its use by the defense in the o.j. simpson criminal trial in 1995. this relatively new field is controversial: questions exist about its effectiveness, its fairness and the fact that it is virtually unregulated. evidence from academia largely indicates that scientific jury selection does no good, yet the market for such services continues to flourish. what methods do jury selection experts employ? what are the bases for the controversy surrounding this “hot” field? what, if any, solutions have been suggested to alleviate these concerns? history of jury selection: the “harrisburg seven” and subsequent trials scientific jury selection (sjs) was first applied in 1971 in the trial of philip berrigan and six other antiwar activists. jay schulman, a sociologist from columbia university, signed on along with richard christie, philip shaver, and others to assist the defense team of these activists, the so-called “harrisburg seven,” who had been accused, among other things, of conspiring to destroy selective service records and kidnap then-secretary of state henry kissinger. 2 these scholars volunteered because they believed in the activists’ cause and suspected that the prosecutor (in this case, the government) had selected harrisburg, pennsylvania, as the venue for the trial because of its rampant political conservatism. schulman believed that the people comprising a jury have as much, if not more, influence on the outcome of a trial as do the evidence and the attorneys’ arguments (kressel & kressel, 2002). because a jury biased in favor of the defense would not have been likely in that venue, schulman’s team set as their goal the procurement of a jury that would at least be fair to the defendants. securing such a fair jury required extra effort: the attitudes largely held by harrisburg residents indicated that a local jury would not be favorable for their side. pretrial polling suggested that eight out of ten registered voters held views unfavorable to the defense (kressel & kressel, 2002). schulman and his colleagues surveyed over 1,000 harrisburg residents and conducted follow-up interviews. they came up with a demographic profile of individuals most and least likely to sympathize with the defense and used this profile to guide jury selection. the defense achieved a victory: the jury hung on most charges, delivering only a minor conviction (for smuggling letters out of prison) (kressel & kressel, 2002). throughout the 1970s, social scientists participated in jury selection in several politically charged trials. in the joan little criminal trial, a team of social scientists led by john mcconahay, a duke university psychology professor, assisted the defense in first granting a change of venue (little was an africanamerican woman and surveys revealed that the north carolina county where the trial was to be held was atypically racist) and then in jury selection by constructing a profile of the ideal juror for the defense. the jury acquitted little of all charges after barely an hour of deliberations (kressel & kressel, 2002). subsequent trials in which scientific jury selection was used include the angela davis trial, the wounded knee trials, trials stemming from the attica prison riots, the trial of mark david chapman (john lennon’s assassin), vietnam veterans against the war, vietnam veterans against the manufacturers of agent orange, the trials of attorney general john mitchell and defendant maurice stans (watergate), and colombian drug lord carlos lehder, among others (boudouris, 1993). many of these trials ended with verdicts favorable to the side employing jury selection experts (frederick, 1984). in 1980, mci used scientific jury selection in its antitrust suit against fellow communications corporation at&t, in which a jury awarded mci a surprising $600 million (strier, 1999). growth of an industry during the 1980s, the jury selection market expanded into the industry today known as trial consulting. firms that provide jury selection have greatly expanded 3 their services and consulting firms have grown in size and in volume of business (cutler, 1990). the growth of the industry appeared to benefit both academicians and consultants: academic theories found a practical application, while consultants were able to derive legitimacy from their affiliation with research institutions. trial consultants drew on academic principles as well as market research and advertising strategies, such as focus groups and consumer profiling. despite this initial fusion of theory and practice, consulting today takes place largely outside of academia, and has lost the political charge it had in the 1970s. consulting firms today offer a wide range of services, including in-court assessments, focus groups, change of venue surveys, mock trials, shadow juries, witness preparation, attorney communication evaluation, and evidence preparation. scientific jury selection remains one of the more well-known and controversial of services offered by trial consultants. jury selection today the use of social scientists as jury selection consultants remains controversial in both the legal and social scientific communities (stolle, robbenolt & wiener, 1996). trial consultants have relied on a variety of methods in jury selection, including “scientific statistical methodology, folklore, pop psychology [and] astrology” (boudouris, 1993, p. 4). the unscientific aspects of what is ostensibly a scientifically informed practice are illustrated in the self-reported methods of jury selection reported by trial consultants. for example, jo-ellan dimitrius, who successfully “stacked” the jury in several well-known criminal cases, including the o.j. simpson, reginald denny, john dupont and mcmartin preschool criminal trials, has remarked that, for her, “reading people is neither a science nor an innate gift. it is a matter of knowing what to look and listen for, having the curiosity and patience to gather the necessary information, and understanding how to recognize the patterns in a person’s appearance, body language, voice, and conduct” (dimitrius & mazzarella, 1998, p. xiii). dimitrius’s claimed methods and the methods mentioned earlier are assumed to have varied degrees of legitimacy, thus lending further controversy to the profession. despite this controversy, sjs remains prominent. today, trial consultants are extremely common in high-stakes civil suits and are usually retained by both sides – in fact, many attorneys say that hiring a trial consultant is standard procedure when substantial amounts of money are involved. trial consultants also help both sides in many criminal cases that have garnered substantial media attention (kressel & kressel, 2002). the 1995 criminal trial of the famous football player o.j. simpson, the suspect in the murders of his ex-wife, nicole brown, and her friend, ron goldman, in june 1994, is one such example. although jury selection has been an 4 expensive undertaking for attorneys in the post-vietnam war era, low-cost consulting services have recently been introduced, making it possible for trial consultants to assist in smaller, lower budget cases than they had in the past (kressel & kressel, 2002). traditional jury selection in most jurisdictions consists of three stages. the first stage involves the creation of a list of citizens eligible for jury duty, followed by selection of a sample of those persons to be summoned to court. the third stage occurs in court. in a process called voir dire, potential jurors are questioned either individually or in a group, sometimes by attorneys but often by the presiding judge. when jury selection experts are called in to help, they use a variety of techniques to assist in the selection of the jury that will be most favorable to, or, usually, least biased against, their side (these techniques will be detailed in the next section). diversity of techniques is not surprising, given that trial consultants themselves are professionally diverse. trial consultants include in their ranks (but are not limited to) behavioral psychologists, sociologists, attorneys, and those with varying degrees of expertise in communications and marketing. trial consulting is estimated to be a $400 million industry, with over 400 firms and over 700 practitioners (strier, 1999). methods of scientific jury selection the tools at a trial consultant’s disposal include community surveys, focus groups, mock trials, pretrial investigations of prospective jurors, and voir dire assistance. the widespread use of these methods indicates that sjs experts rely to a greater extent on attitudes and values than on demographic predictors, such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, socio-economic status and occupation, as predictors in jury decision-making (kressel & kressel, 2002). the community survey is one of the most common practices that trial consultants employ. the researcher randomly chooses between 200 and 300 names from the telephone book, phones these individuals, reads them a case summary, and asks a series of questions. to ensure representativeness, the sample should be limited to people who are eligible for jury duty. survey questions are generally of three types: 1) questions about participants’ attitudes about the particular case and issues to be raised therein, 2) questions about participants’ familiarity with the case and the named defendants, and 3) questions concerning respondents’ demographic characteristics and personality traits (penrod, 1990). sophisticated statistical techniques, including factor analysis and multiple regression, are often used to make predictions about jury decision-making from survey data. the use of a focus group is a practice borrowed from marketing, the occupational origin of many jury selection experts. a focus group is intended to 5 represent a cross-section of the community, and the demographic characteristics of participants in the focus group should be similar to those of people in the jury pool or on the actual jury. this group is assembled to test specific parts of an attorney’s case, much as a focus group would test a product about to be introduced on the market. when individuals with certain personality types can be identified by the focus group as amenable to an attorney’s case, this information is often used in sjs and in approaches to other parts of the case. the mock trial, another service frequently offered by trial consultants, is an extension of the focus group and can be a “full dress rehearsal” (strier, 1999, p. 96). trial consultants also frequently employ pretrial investigations of prospective jurors. this type of pretrial investigation, as depicted in fiction (e.g., the 2003 hit movie runaway jury and the novel by john grisham (1996) on which it was based), may contribute to the popular perception of jury selection techniques. as in runaway jury, such investigations mainly take two forms: community network modeling and surveillance. community network modeling consists of contacting prospective jurors’ coworkers or neighbors, or people in the community who are affiliated with the same school, church, or club as a prospective juror. surveillance includes drive-by observations and photographtaking of a prospective juror, and checking public records of each prospective juror, such as those of voter registration, court proceedings, and property holdings. not surprisingly, both techniques have met with accusations of privacy invasion (strier, 1999). trial consultants can assist attorneys with voir dire by using questionnaires to gather information about prospective jurors prior to in-court questioning and by observing prospective jurors’ courtroom demeanor and nonverbal communication (strier, 1999). once a trial is underway, a trial consultant can use knowledge of the selected jury to assist the attorney with opening and closing arguments, witness preparation, case presentation, and evidence. issues with jury selection: effectiveness, fairness, and lack of regulation franklin strier (1999) has pointed out three issues which keep the practices of scientific jury selection steeped in controversy. the first issue concerns the effectiveness of such practices. it is difficult to answer questions about the effectiveness of sjs by analyzing court cases. it is not possible to claim with any certainty that a favorable verdict is completely due to scientific jury selection (strier, 1999). some have remarked (hans & vidmar, 1986) that jury verdicts are determined by many factors and that one cannot know the extent to which sjs contributed to the verdicts. experimental research may be weak at detecting the interplay between various factors, such as the evidence presented, the persuasiveness of eyewitnesses, and attorney characteristics, affecting the outcome 6 of a jury trial. it is thus difficult to isolate the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of any one of these factors (kressel & kressel, 2002). in addition, factors affecting the use of sjs may also affect case outcomes. for example, a client who could afford a jury selection expert could probably also afford to retain superior attorneys; lawyers who are conscientious enough to hire a social scientist to help with their case are often thorough in other aspects of their case preparation. the absence of a non-sjs comparison group in past evaluations of sjs also presents a problem visà-vis evaluations of sjs effectiveness (kressel & kressel, 2002). such a group might not even be feasible, however, given that, for a true test of the effectiveness of sjs, identical conditions would need to apply between the two experimental groups, and the probability that researchers could recreate such identical conditions between the two groups (the sjs treatment group and the control/non-sjs comparison group) is minimal to nonexistent. there is also a noticeable lack of scientific research evaluating newer trial consulting techniques that, in combination with sjs, could influence the outcome of a case (stolle, robbenolt & wiener, 1996; strier, 1999). the second issue concerns the fairness of scientific jury selection. this question is particularly salient if, indeed, the effectiveness question is settled in favor of sjs. if sjs is effective enough to alter the composition of juries to affect the verdict, then its use could violate citizens’ constitutional right to an impartial jury. however, if sjs is not effective, it contributes unnecessarily to the time and cost of trials. even if the effectiveness of sjs remains unclear or if sjs is determined not to be effective, the fairness question persists. it is important to maintain a perception of fairness, and even if sjs is not effective, it can still give the impression of interference with the jury process (strier, 1999). the third issue on which strier remarks is that the field of trial consulting is largely unregulated and lacks clear professional standards. these issues will be addressed in the following section. problems with jury selection a. it does not work as previously mentioned, scientific jury selection has generated controversy in both the legal and social scientific communities. some legal experts have argued against it by claiming that jury selection is an art rather than a science, and that the intuition of an experienced trial attorney is superior to any social scientific approach. many social scientist critics have argued that, while approaches from their fields are likely no worse than reliance on lawyers’ instincts, whatever discoverable benefit of social scientific approaches may still not outweigh their cost (stolle, robbenolt & wiener, 1996). 7 in any event, opponents have advanced various positions converging on the purported ineffectiveness of sjs. it is possible that practitioners or academic advocates of sjs have not produced sufficient evidence that sjs works (cutler, 1990). results from academic research laboratories have not supported sjs practices. trial attorneys have not outperformed undergraduates in studies of jury selection, lending doubt to the credibility of lawyers’ instincts in deciding the suitability of jurors (olczak, kaplan, & penrod, 1991). dawn lord, a critic of sjs, points out the instability of knowledge employed by jury selection experts. she writes that many jury selection experts ignore established psychological principles in their work. in selecting jurors, they rely on prospective jurors’ explicit, verbally articulated knowledge, which is less durable and predictable than is implicit, automatic, if even conscious, knowledge. lord also argues that sjs practitioners also do not take into account differences between the reactions of emotionally aroused jurors and those of jurors who are not upset. these differences could also affect what jurors take away from courtroom proceedings. as a result of these practices, she argues, attorneys and their clients do not reap the benefits of the behavioral and cognitive research on which the practice purports to be based (lord, 2001). a second point against the effectiveness of sjs is that quantitative studies of jury trials have estimated that jury selection accounts for between 5% and 15% of verdict variability; the extra-jury aspects of the tr ial therefore account for the vast majority of verdict variance (85%-95%) (fulero & penrod, 1990). these numbers suggest that, even if sjs practices were found to be influential, there is little room for sjs practices to have an effect if they only “count” for 15% of the final trial “grade.” limits to sjs: lack of predictors one reason why sjs is often deemed ineffective is because certain limits to its exercise have been identified. as stated before, there is evidence that the ability of trial consultants to predict verdicts from jurors’ demographic and personality variables accounts for at most 15% of the variance in verdicts. there do not appear to be any reliable predictive demographic variables – juror occupation, gender, income, religion and age have not been found to have consistent effects across cases (greene et al., 2002) – and it has not been possible to identify a personality type or combination of types that can predict juror decisions across criminal or civil cases (kressel & kressel, 2002). general tendencies toward conviction among jurors have not been satisfactorily identified; only weak relationships have been found between convictions across case types between hypothetical robbery, murder, rape and negligence trials (penrod, 1990). in general, personality traits are not valid predictors of jurors’ voting predispositions. however, even those aspects 8 of personality which have been revealed as modest predictors of juror predispositions often have inconsistent effects. for example, the personality attribute “belief in a just world” can lead jurors to harshly punish either crime victims or defendants (stolle et al., 1996). another example of the inability of established behavioral principles to predict the voting of jurors concerns the voting of jurors in criminal cases toward defendants similar to themselves. the similarityleniency hypothesis advanced in social psychology suggests that a juror would not punish harshly a defendant similar to him/herself, and this is frequently the case. however, other times, a “black sheep effect” occurs when a juror reacts negatively to a similar defendant behaving badly, holding those more similar to themselves to a higher standard. it is difficult to predict with any certainty which of these two competing principles will operate in a given case. preconceived attitudes and biases may generate more accurate predictions than will personality types, but people are often able to conceal such biases, especially when they may reflect negatively on the bias-holder (kressel & kressel, 2002). limits to sjs: the operation of other factors other factors can also affect trial outcomes, making jury selection less relevant as a verdict determinant. certain areas are beyond the control of the trial consultant. these areas include the nature of the evidence, the acumen of the attorneys, the style of the presiding judge, and the complex group dynamic principles at work during jury deliberations (boudouris, 1993). perhaps the quality of the evidence, rather than the individual personality attributes of jurors, ultimately determines a trial outcome. the effect of presented evidence on jury decisions should not be too easily discounted. if evidence is the determining factor in jury decision-making, then sjs becomes much less relevant. strier (1999) suggests that trial consultants may offer their most valuable assistance to attorneys with evidence presentation rather than jury selection. when a trial consultant is retained, other factors can limit the consultant’s effectiveness. for example, attorney communication is critically important: if an attorney does not inform the trial consultant of all the facts of the case, including evidence potentially harmful to their side, this omission can steer jury selection in a direction unfavorable to the attorney (boudouris, 1993). b. it is fundamentally unfair “the jury system is distorted by demographics. it is compromised by consultants … there doesn’t even seem to be a consensus anymore about what a ‘jury of one’s peers’ means. in fact, that’s the last thing many attorneys want and they’ll pay a 9 lot of money to make sure they don’t get it.” – george cantor (critic of jury consulting), 1995 (following the o.j. simpson criminal trial). today, concerns exist about the fairness of jury selection as a practice. the jury selection service act of 1968 explicitly states that criminal defendants have a right to trial by a jury selected “at random from a fair cross-section of the community.” some critics have argued that sjs corrupts the objective of a trial by jury to represent such a cross-section of values. although some americans, namely, persons who do not register to vote or hold driver’s licenses, are regularly excluded from jury selection, sjs introduces exclusions with a scientific rationale in place of the aforementioned systematic exclusions (strier, 1999). another criticism of the fairness of sjs is that it is only affordable for wealthy corporations and individuals. although some low-cost services have recently been offered, some as low as $2,000, in other cases, a jury selection expert could cost an attorney between $50,000 and $100,000. strier (1999) points out the irony in this issue of affordability: the first people to benefit from the principles of sjs were poor criminal defendants of the 1970s antiwar persuasion. despite the highly publicized cases flooding court tv and other popular media, depicting charismatic celebrity criminal defendants, a more typical sjs client today is a wealthy litigant, often a corporation, involved in a civil suit (levine, 1992). as such, sjs can appear to be mainly a “service for the rich and a disservice for justice” (stolle et al., 1996, p. 147). according to this argument, if trial consulting gives a litigant an advantage, then only large corporations and wealthy individuals would have this advantage, leaving the average litigant with a “second class justice” (stolle et al., 1996, p. 147). another criticism of sjs indirectly concerns the constitutionality of its implementation. sjs critic stephen adler has questioned the trustworthiness of decisions made by a group selected for their biases. he argued that jury consulting is not protected by anything in the constitution and that its use can and should be prohibited (kressel & kressel, 2002). yet another criticism of sjs on grounds of fairness is that trial consultants often advertise a misleading win-loss record that cannot be confirmed or disconfirmed (strier, 2001). a final problem concerning the fairness of sjs actually has little to do with the actual fairness, but deals with the perceived fairness of the practice. trial consulting can create the perception of “high-tech jury tampering,” through which psychologists and other so-called jury experts manipulate the eventual composition and/or decision-making bias of the jury (strier, 1999, p. 104). if jury selection techniques are seen as unfair, the legal system as a whole may be viewed as similarly unfair (stolle et al., 1996). data about the perceived fairness of a trial can be difficult to obtain due to problems assigning quantities to subjective qualities 10 like fairness (stolle et al., 1996). stolle and colleagues (1996) found that the use of a psychologist trial consultant tended to be viewed as unfair when one side employed a consultant and the other did not. when both sides hired a consultant, judgments of fairness were not affected. c. the industry is unregulated the third major issue identified by strier (1999) concerns the relative lack of standards unifying professionals in this field. he points out that many professions applying principles from academics, including law and psychology, are closely regulated to protect public interests. in addition, professional associations frequently mandate a code of behavior and ethics that all practitioners are bound to follow. however, there are no such checks on the field of trial consulting. because there are no state licensing requirements, anyone can advertise and practice as a “trial consultant.” the professional association in the field, the american society of trial consultants (astc), has a code of professional standards, which strier calls “anemic” and much les strenuous than the standards set forth by the american psychological association (apa) (strier, 2001, p. 71). it has even been suggested that some trial consultant practices violate apa standards (herbsleb, sales & berman, 1979). why scientific jury selection works: it is effective and not wholly unfair “it’s gotten to the point where if the case is large enough, it’s almost malpractice not to use [a jury consultant].” – donald zoeller (new york attorney), 1989. despite the problems previously mentioned, scientific jury selection has many fervent advocates. many argue that, contrary to empirical evidence, sjs is an effective practice, or, at the very least, should not be dismissed prematurely. others point out flaws in the evidence against sjs to this point. as brian l. cutler put it, “academic researchers have, based on early reviews of a small but methodologically unsophisticated body of literature, thrown out the baby with the bathwater” (cutler, 1990, p. 230). attacks have been advanced against the earlier cited discounting studies and others based on the limited applicability of research findings from small, atypical samples, to the public as a whole (moran & comfort, 1982). in particular, much research on sjs has relied on college student samples, when more representative community samples would be more appropriate if the findings are to be generalized across types of people and situations (sears, 1986). 11 the existence of predictors of jury decision-making some advocates of sjs argue that, despite the arguments of opponents, there are juror aspects that can predict subsequent verdicts. for one, juror attitudes can predict verdicts better than can personality traits. results from various studies are thus summarized: attitudes toward women predicted verdicts in rape cases (weir & wrightsman, 1990); attitudes toward psychiatrists and the insanity defense predicted verdicts in criminal cases where the insanity defense was invoked (cutler, moran & narby, 1992); a relationship was found between attitudes toward the death penalty and verdict in capital punishment cases (nietzel, mccarthy & kern, 1999), and attitudes toward torts and lawsuits affect the amount of damages awarded in civil suits (kressel & kressel, 2002). some personality traits can predict juror decision-making fairly consistently. for example, the presence of an authoritarian personality, defined as a strong preference for order, for clearly articulated rules, and for powerful leadership, is modestly related to individuals’ likelihood to vote for conviction in criminal cases (narby, cutler & moran, 1993). in general, juror disposition appears to have a mixed effect on verdicts, and effects of attitudes generally vary from case to case (penrod, 1990). trial consultants are generally better than attorneys at jury selection “i knew we had the case won when we seated the last bigot on the jury.” – richard “racehorse” haynes (defense attorney), quoted 1979. “never accept a juror whose occupation begins with a p. this includes pimps, prostitutes, preachers, plumbers, procurers, psychologists, physicians, psychiatrists, printers, painters, philosophers, professors, phoneys, parachutists, pipe-smokers, or part-time anythings.” – william jennings bryan (u.s. congressman, democratic presidential nominee, and former secretary of state), 1973. many in favor of sjs argue that however its techniques may fare in the academic laboratory, sjs is successful because its methods are superior to those of trial attorneys. perhaps attorneys typically rely on stereotypes of group attitudes, whereas trial consultants are able to draw on established psychological and behavioral principles (strier, 1999) – though, as previously mentioned, how much they do so has been called into question. another advantage that the sjs approach has over traditional lawyer methods is that trial consultants are able to use information that is caseand location-specific. they conduct focus groups and mock trials using representative samples from the community in which the trial is to be held. jury consultants often work as a team, which allows them to exchange 12 ideas and consult with each other, thereby improving the quality of their work product. a trial attorney, on the other hand, often works alone, without the benefit of collaboration with others (strier, 1999). one simple, but undeniable, benefit that trial consulting firms offer attorneys is the ability of the trial consultant to focus on jury selection when the lawyer, due to his or her involvement in the many aspects of a case, is not able to do so (kressel & kressel, 2002). the free market is proof of the effectiveness of sjs other scholars of the jury system have argued that the fact that trial consulting has flourished in today’s marketplace is in itself proof of its effectiveness (stolle et al, 1996). if attorneys and their clients are willing to spend what can amount to between $75 and $300 per hour for consultants – and larger cases can even run into the high six or even seven figures total – the service that these consultants provide must have some merit (strier, 1999). stolle et al. (1996) pointed out that some trial consultants and some sjs techniques are probably superior to others, and, over time, the market should select the more effective individuals and firms to continue practicing, thus ensuring a higher-quality product. proponents of this view might argue that theoretical arguments about effectiveness should be put aside and the free market should be given the last word on whether sjs remains viable. the effectiveness of sjs is situational it appears that the influence of sjs is situational: it has a stronger effect at some times than at others. kressel and kressel (2002) have identified several instances in which sjs is more likely to have an effect on the outcome of a trial. such instances include: when cases are publicized; when the evidence is ambiguous and does not favor one side more than the other; when juror views are related to demographic characteristics and personality attributes that can be directly observed; when the predictors of juror voting are not immediately obvious to either attorney, even when they oppose lawyerly intuition; when attorneys are permitted to conduct a thorough voir dire; when the court is liberal in its allowance of peremptory challenges (attorneys are allowed to strike a limited number of jurors from the panel without having to give a reason. these allowances are referred to as peremptory challenges. beyond that, attorneys are also allowed an unlimited number of challenges for cause – they may strike a juror, but must demonstrate that the prospective juror in question is biased or, based on some relationship to the case, is likely to be biased for or against one side); and when the budget for the trial allows for extensive pretrial research. 13 trial consultants as “enablers of justice” advocates of sjs have also defended the practice on grounds of fairness, although such defenses are more difficult to corroborate than defenses of effectiveness. trial consultants claim that their goal is to seat less biased juries, juries that are more likely to deliver a fair verdict (kressel & kressel, 2002). adherents (e.g., vinson, 1986; as cited in penrod, 1990) claim that their methods help ensure that the ultimate goals of the jury system, including the right to trial by a fair and impartial jury, are realized. jury consultants often present “themselves as enablers rather than disablers of the jury system” (kressel & kressel, 2002, p. 82). proposed reforms scholars have proposed solutions to address the issue of fairness of sjs. [solutions to enhance the effectiveness of jury selection or to improve techniques are often closely guarded by trial consulting firms – even at astc conferences, trial consultants offer each other little in the way of trade sharing (kressel & kressel, 2002)]. here are a few suggested solutions that strier (1999) has outlined: • outlaw trial consulting by non-lawyers. (this suggestion would be difficult to implement, as it leads directly to a slippery slope argument. one could question, then, why not outlaw expert witnesses, investigators and all nonlawyer professions in litigation support?) • limit voir dire questioning by attorneys (who trial consultants could coach). instead, judges should be the sole performers of this function. • reduce or eliminate peremptory challenges by attorneys. these challenges are not protected under the constitution, nor are they essential to a fair trial. if peremptory challenges were outlawed, judges would be likely to expand the permitted challenges for cause, but at least those challenges are more easily justified. • make consultant surveys by one side available to the opponent side. • require disclosure of the use of a trial consultant. if this were a requirement, such disclosure would permit the other side to hire its own jury consultant or a criminal defendant could request a court-appointed consultant. (this proposed reform also gives way to a slippery slope, i.e., why not require disclosure of use of other types of litigation support?) • prohibit investigation of prospective and actual jurors. • require state licensing of trial consultants. such a requirement would create minimum standards of competence and ethics for practitioners and would protect the public against incompetent or dishonest consultants (strier, 2001). 14 • appoint trial consultants for poor defendants. the los angeles superior court in the reginald denny trial did exactly this, but such appointments remain extremely rare. perhaps this reform would bridge the gap between wealthy litigants who can afford trial consultants and typical litigants who cannot. • require consultants to perform a set percentage of pro bono work, ensuring greater accessibility of an often prohibitively expensive service. • develop a binding ethical code, superior to that set forth by the astc, for consultants (stolle et al., 1996). conclusion because it is a relatively young field, trial consulting and, more specifically, scientific jury selection, are still growing. sjs has come a long way in the past 30 years, and does not appear likely to stay the same for long. in particular, the discrepancy between the limited effectiveness of scientific jury selection in the academic laboratory, and the market demand for sjs that causes litigants to pay substantial amounts of money for such services, may come to be reconciled. it is not known what will happen to the profession in the future: whether it will come under stricter regulation and continue to gain legitimacy and stimulate scholarship, or whether, due to questionable effectiveness, practitioners will face reduced demand for their services. if the demand for sjs services is due not to the effectiveness of such services, but rather to a the tendency of attorneys and clients to simply feel more comfortable having “expert” input into the selection of a jury panel, then whether the market for sjs will stay strong or die out is unknown. another very strong possibility is that sjs truly is effective, and that experimental research suggests otherwise because the elements that cause sjs to operate effectively in a courtroom cannot be adequately reproduced in the academic laboratory; therefore, research from academia argues against the effectiveness of sjs. isolated examples of effective scientific jury selection, such as the consultant-assisted selection of jurors favorable to the defense in the o.j. simpson criminal trial, can be found. the fairness issue surrounding the practice of sjs is not likely to clear up on its own. some critics have suggested an overhaul of the practice, if not a complete ban, due to the fundamental injustice that some believe underlies its application. if the market for sjs stays strong and the outlawing of sjs remains unlikely, it is quite possible that it will come under stricter practice and ethics regulations to protect public interests. in any event, because scientific and practical interest in its principles and applications has been high, scientific jury selection will probably be a topic of study for decades to come. 15 16 references boudouris, j. 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(1990). the determinants of mock jurors’ verdicts in a rape case. journal of applied social psychology, 20, 901-919. kierkegaard and feminism.doc 1 kierkegaard and feminism: a paradoxical friendship dera sipe department of philosophy villanova university edited by edward pettit it is easy to label søren kierkegaard a typical nineteenth century misogynist. he often makes snide comments about woman’s nature, mocking with utmost irony her “great abilities” and sneering at the possibility of her emancipation. he declares outright against the social and political equality of the sexes, even while asserting the inherent equality of all people before god. given this, it is understandable that kierkegaard leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many feminist readers; much of what he has to say about women is hard for a female philosopher to swallow. however, reading kierkegaard as a straight misogynist is highly problematic. due to the pseudonymous nature of most of his work, reading kierkegaard incautiously can cause a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding. the task a critical feminist reader of kierkegaard undertakes is not an easy one: any attempt to sort kierkegaard’s voice from the playful voices of his various pseudonyms is complicated by obvious obstacles, but the rewards of such an effort may be well worth the trouble. the point of embarking on this project is at least two-fold: on the one hand, as historians of philosophy it is important to distinguish the truly patriarchal and misogynistic philosophers from those who may have been female-friendly (if not feminist); on the other hand, this task may help us to see if there is some benefit to be reaped from a feminist reading of kierkegaard. yet as feminists we may be able to reap a great many benefits from reading kierkegaard critically even without fully uncovering his personal thoughts on women. the fact of the man’s misogyny (or lack thereof) is perhaps less important to feminism than the various questions and challenges he posed to western philosophy. even though he often expressed a misogynistic attitude, kierkegaard also took a hammer to the cold foundations of traditional western philosophy; he opened up a space within philosophy for existentialism, and as a result of this space feminism has been able to develop.1 for this reason, i will explore the complex relationship between kierkegaard and feminism in the following paper. 2 to begin with, i will consider the complexities that arise for feminist interpretation as a result of the pseudonymous nature of kierkegaard’s works. keeping these lessons in mind, i will investigate the negative aspects of kierkegaard’s relationship to feminism: the misogyny throughout his pseudonymous works. i will do so via a look at his first published work, a very short essay entitled “another defense of woman's great abilities,” and by examining the disparaging manner in which women are depicted in his renowned novel the seducer’s diary from either/or, as well as other offensive allusions to women throughout the kierkegaardian canon in order to set up the challenge of kierkegaard to feminism. then, the focus of this paper will turn from the negative to the positive aspects for feminism in kierkegaard’s philosophy. his discussion of mary and other female knights of faith throughout his work may prove to be female empowering; additionally, kierkegaard’s discussion of equality before god must be thoroughly investigated in order to see whether this might have some benefit to feminists today. by employing some of the essays in léon and walsh’s anthology feminist interpretations of søren kierkegaard, we can gain an idea as to how kierkegaard has been read by recent feminists in order to see what a feminist employment of kierkegaard would look like. following this discussion, i will explore the connection between kierkegaard's existentialism and simone de beauvoir's existential ethics of ambiguity. from this investigation we can see how kierkegaard may be of use to feminism in yet another way, and in ways that have yet to be disclosed. stumbling through the funhouse: the complications of kierkegaard’s pseudonyms to feminist interpretation interpreting kierkegaard is problematic due to the fact that he wrote with two hands: with his right hand he wrote as himself, and with his left he adopted a number of pseudonyms so that he could express himself indirectly through his aesthetic works. these various pseudonyms seriously complicate the matter of reaching a critical understanding as to what kierkegaard himself believes: “the world of the pseudonyms is a world of stratagem and illusion, a world of trap doors and hidden panels, where one is never quite sure where one is or to whom one is listening. in this questionable territory the critic must proceed with great caution, for the persona he at one moment identifies with kierkegaard may in the next turn out to be only the author’s foil” (thompson 1972, vi). as we attempt to journey through this kierkegaardian funhouse, we must keep in mind that things are not always as they seem. though it is easy to be duped by this great dramatic ironist, kierkegaard would not have wanted for us to focus only on the theatrics once the 3 curtain has come up: the whole scene, including the stage, the audience, and the theatre itself must be taken into account. hence, it is essential that we think of these pseudonyms as players in a drama kierkegaard has created, and not hold the director or the playwright immediately responsible for the words of his characters: the role of kierkegaard is rather that of the stage director. he stages his pseudonyms, or rather altogether they make up the performance, the unfinished dialogue about the possibilities and impossibilities of human life. he was also himself a personal participant in – and spectator to – the existential crises or alienation of humanity. kierkegaard was a dialectician and the confrontation still works: no two of us are today completely agreed about what he meant: we are still uncertain about what existence is – and that was precisely his intension. (bertung 1997, 54) it would be wrong to assume the pseudonyms express kierkegaard’s own thoughts, just as it would be wrong to assume that king lear speaks for shakespeare. he distanced himself from the pseudonyms to the extent that he even wrote reviews of his own pseudonymous works. in this way, he formulated the poststructural idea of a text as opposed to a book – in a text the author is irrelevant. should it occur to someone to quote the text, kierkegaard asked that they cite the pseudonym (kierkegaard 1992, 627); kierkegaard himself is merely the author of the authors. he uses the pseudonyms to express different views, different voices, but mostly to get people to move towards christianity via indirect incitement. why does he need the pseudonyms? why not speak to us directly? because for kierkegaard direct communication is “suited only for unimportant matters – grocery bills, logical truths, taxonomies. to talk about ourselves and what makes our lives ebb and flow (what kierkegaard called ‘the ethico-religious’), we must use language in a different way, letting metaphor replace literal sense, and ambiguity fertilize the private spaces of our imagination” (thompson 1972, vii). the ambiguity of the human condition requires that we do not speak directly about it; kierkegaard wrote pseudonymously because he believed the nature of human consciousness to be itself ambiguous, and so indirect communication can actually be a more effective means of expression. along similar lines, there is another reason why kierkegaard chose to write pseudonymously; kierkegaard felt it is impossible to write a book about god and christianity (the great paradox) directly, but to write a book and revoke it is not the same as allowing it to remain unwritten. it is written, and then it is erased by the pseudonym – that is better than never writing it at all. through the use of the pseudonyms, his texts unsay what they have said, in order to keep what is said 4 alive. the indirect discourse allows him to communicate with people without interfering with their god-relationship. he can push his readers, incite them, without laying any claim to the insights they may gain from the texts. this is important because the pseudonymous works are addressed to a world that conceives itself to already be christian; the pseudonyms intend to clear away this illusion. kierkegaard has to convert people to christianity when they already think they are christian, so he uses the left hand to do this. unlike the pseudonymous works, kierkegaard does lay claim to the authorship of the upbuilding discourses and works of love; when referring to the confusion over the authorship of the pseudonymous works, kierkegaard wrote: my role is the joint of being the secretary and, quite ironically, the dialectically reduplicated author of the author or the authors. therefore, although probably everyone who has been concerned at all about such things has until now summarily regarded me as the author of the pseudonymous books even before the explanation was at hand, the explanation will perhaps at first prompt the odd impression that i, who indeed ought to know it best, am the only one who only very doubtfully and equivocally regards me as the author, because i am the author in the figurative sense; but on the other hand i am very literally and directly the author of, for example, the upbuilding discourses and of every word in them. (kierkegaard 1992, 627) works of love is written in a different voice (or with a different hand) than the pseudonymous works. expressed in works of love is the voice of a christian writer, not a humorist, though it is written non-dogmatically. in this book, kierkegaard does not use the humor or irony that are present in the pseudonymous works; the right hand straightforwardly expresses his own voice. he uses the right hand to write this sort of sermon, though he does not call it that – rather, he calls it an upbuilding (or edifying) work. these works of love are christian deliberations; a deliberation is an awakening, a gadfly, a call to action. he wants these deliberations to touch our hearts and move us to christian existential action. however, the very notion of direct communication becomes hazy here. this is not just straight communication, because kierkegaard is preoccupied with how he wants us to be touched by this discourse. it is not direct because he does not really want it to be: he wants to awaken love in the other, but in a selfless way. only then can it actually be a work of love itself. a work of love preformed well is self-effacing. it is about god and the duty to the other, not about kierkegaard. as kierkegaard understands it, part of his duty to the other is to help them stand on their own, independent of him. so, kierkegaard has to be somewhat indirect even in his direct works: the emphasis must be on god. hence, though there is a 5 rigorous difference between his christian deliberations and his other, pseudonymous works, neither is entirely direct. yet, it is safe to say works of love is written in kierkegaard’s own voice, the voice he lays claim to, and so is in fact more direct than his other texts in spite of his emphasis on his self-effacing duty to the neighbor. given all of this, what can a feminist reader of kierkegaard take to be his own thoughts on women, and what should she dismiss as the irony or hyperbole of his pseudonyms? can we take his view of women as it is presented in works of love to be his honest thoughts on the matter, and reject all of the misogyny of the pseudonyms? and if we choose to do so, where does that leave us: can feminists even be satisfied with kierkegaard’s account of the male/female situation as it is given in works of love? these questions demand of us another, perhaps more important question concerning a critical reading of kierkegaard: as we strive to figure out what kierkegaard really thought about women, to iron out his own implicit philosophy of women, we must ask ourselves if this is possible or even really desirable. there may be no way to uncover kierkegaard’s true thoughts regarding women, for the pseudonyms may cloud and confuse any firm understanding of this. but is there no point in a critically feminist reading of kierkegaard other than to reveal the personal thoughts of the man? perhaps it would be of more benefit to feminism not to read kierkegaard in search of his own personal stance on the woman question, but rather to read him in an exploratory manner as one who has exposed new avenues of thought, new ways of examining the woman question. this may be the only way we can fairly read kierkegaard; any attempt to unearth the “core” of his philosophy has been infinitely complicated by his modes of expression. and, as thompson tells us, such an attempt may be futile: there may be no ‘core’ of kierkegaard’s authorship to be ‘penetrated.’ henriksen’s metaphor suggests that the essential meaning of kierkegaard’s work still lies hidden, to be revealed by an as yet unidentified critical approach. but if the earlier discussion of duplicity and indirect communication is to be taken seriously, we may have to construct a new metaphor for talking about kierkegaard. instead of thinking of his authorship as having a single core of meaning, we might think of it as having (like a multifaceted jewel) many different meanings depending on the angle from which it is illuminated. (thompson 1972, vii) so, as we attempt to situate kierkegaard within the feminist discourse in some way, either positively or negatively, what we are in fact doing is exploring these possible meanings, meanings that give birth to a plethora of constructive and 6 deconstructive questions. such questions are the vanguards of feminism, for they are motivators of feminist discourse and instigators of revolutionary thought. in order to further explore these questions, let us now turn to an examination of kierkegaard’s picture of women as it is given throughout his indirect discourses. though we must take caution to dance with the pseudonyms and not with kierkegaard himself,2 we must also consider seriously the possibility that kierkegaard is not as distant from his pseudonyms as he would have us believe. because kierkegaard’s relationship with the women of his text is riddled with ambiguity, we will be forced to draw our own conclusions as to how to read the indirect discourses on women so that we may attempt to gain insight into this enigmatic relationship. kierkegaard’s early thoughts on women kierkegaard’s first published piece came in the form of a terribly misogynistic essay, ironically titled “another defense of woman’s great abilities.” in this very short and satirical essay, kierkegaard (using the pseudonym “a.”) “paints exaggerated pictures of transformations that, in his opinion, are likely to occur in the wake of female liberation. he resorts to ridicule […] and pokes fun at the woman presumptuous enough to cross the boundaries naturally allotted to her sex” (léon 1997, 118-119). in part, kierkegaard was responding in this essay to the uprising of women in france, which accompanied other revolutionary ideas of the time. his piece also came as a response to a similar piece written by a fellow student, peter lind, but kierkegaard’s essay demonstrates a far more cutting wit than that of lind. and unlike lind, kierkegaard chose to publish this first essay pseudonymously, which must not be ignored as we examine it; though it cannot be known for certain whether or not kierkegaard meant what he said in this essay about women, the fact that he distanced himself from these misogynistic statements cannot be taken lightly. still, he was the author of the pseudonym, and so he is connected to the essay indirectly. this means that his misogyny cannot be wholly dismissed. kierkegaard’s pseudonym a. presents woman by way of irony as western patriarchy has traditionally done: he mocks woman for her lack of philosophical inclination, her domestic nature, her nagging tendencies, and her supposed connection to nature. he does so in such a way that the naïve reader might actually believe that he is praising woman for these attributes, when in actuality he draws the stereotype of woman in such a negative light that no one would consider emancipating her. history throughout the ages shows that woman’s great abilities have at least in part been recognized. hardly was man created before we 7 find eve already as audience at the snake’s philosophical lectures, and we see that she mastered them with such ease that at once she could utilize the results of the same in her domestic practice. […] yet not all were thus torn from life in order to brood on more abstract subjects. a great majority sought rather to assert their competence in life. as speaker, woman has so great a talent that she has made history with her own special line: the so-called bed-hangings sermons, curtain lectures, etc., and xanthippe is still remembered as a pattern of feminine eloquence and as founder of a school that has lasted to this very day, whereas socrates’ school has long since disappeared. although christianity was certainly hard on women by forbidding them to speak at meetings, it still allowed them an arena for their eloquence inside the home. and when the rabbis forbade them to put in their word, it was solely because they were afraid that the women would outshine them or expose their folly. in the middle ages, the countless witch trials sufficiently showed the deep insight woman had into the secrets of nature. (kierkegaard 1978, 3) because this scathing presentation of women was kierkegaard’s first published piece, we may read it as his early thoughts on woman’s liberation; however, the fact that he employed the pseudonym complicates this reading. let us now look at some of his other pseudonymous works in order to gain a greater idea as to whether this thread of misogyny continues throughout his indirect discourses, and so that we might decide what this means for a feminist reading of kierkegaard. the depiction of women in the seducer’s diary: misogyny as a means to blacken the breast the seducer’s diary, kierkegaard’s attempt to wean regine olsen from their relationship via indirect communication,3 contains a great deal of misogynistic commentary on the nature of women. behind the guise of numerous pseudonyms, kierkegaard presents women stereotypically as beings-for-others: for men. the seducer’s diary therefore adds another complication to a feminist reading of kierkegaard. because kierkegaard’s own authorship is hidden within the authorship of the pseudonyms “‘like the boxes in a chinese puzzle’” (updike 1997, viii), it is difficult to determine whether the sexist view of the seducer reflects kierkegaard’s own attitude towards women, or whether he distanced himself from it precisely because he did not share the seducer’s extreme misogyny. this is a puzzle that will perhaps remain forever unsolved, but again we must take 8 seriously the words of the pseudonym in order to gain some glimpse into kierkegaard’s own thoughts on women. unlike the aforementioned essay “another defense of woman’s great abilities,” the seducer’s diary is in many ways autobiographical, and so we may be forced to assume that some of the seducer’s thoughts on women mirror kierkegaard’s own. on the other hand, the nature of the diary might also be a hindrance to this sort of reading: because kierkegaard wrote the seducer’s diary so that regine would turn away from their relationship (as a means of blackening the breast for weaning, as he later says), we perhaps should not take the seducer’s words as kierkegaard’s own, simply because the words were meant to repel regine from him. his sexist comments could have been his particular method of repellant; the misogynistic remarks of the seducer perhaps were directed towards regine so that she would be scandalized by the comments and think kierkegaard a villain. with this in mind, it is necessary to explore the view of women presented by the seducer in the diary so that we might better understand the problem at hand. john updike, in his foreword to the seducer’s diary, situates kierkegaard within a long tradition of misogynistic philosophers. he explains that kierkegaard harbored distaste for the sexual side of life, and implies that he blamed women for this. updike tells us that for kierkegaard woman is man’s destruction, which explains kierkegaard’s breaking of his engagement to regine: “‘woman,’ he wrote in 1854, ‘is egoism personified…. the whole story of man and woman is an immense and subtly constructed intrigue, or it is a trick calculated to destroy man as spirit.’ […] kierkegaard’s breaking the engagement perhaps needs less explaining than the imperious impulse that led him into it” (updike 1997, xii). so, while we may be inclined to separate kierkegaard’s own view of women from that of the seducer, this is indeed the same brand of misogyny that we find the seducer spouting throughout the diary. the seducer repeatedly makes misogynistic claims, such as “a young girl first becomes interesting in her relation with men. the woman is the weaker sex” (kierkegaard 1987, 54), and “woman’s fundamental qualification is to be company for the man” (kierkegaard 1987, 55). according to the seducer, women belong to nature, not reflection or intellect: intellect is the negation of womanliness.4 as such, she is naturally a being-for-other: i shall attempt to consider woman categorically. in which category is she to be placed? in the category of being-for-other. […] here in turn, from a different angle, we must not let ourselves be disturbed by experience, which teaches us that very seldom do we meet a woman who is truly being-for-other, since the great majority usually are not entities at all, either for themselves or for others. she shares this 9 qualification with all nature, with all femininity in general. all nature is only for-other. (kierkegaard 1987, 178) woman is mothering and matter; she does not exist in the existential sense. man is intellect, and woman exists only for man – she is developed by him, molded to be just the way he likes her (kierkegaard 1987, 127). men, on the other hand, exist only for themselves, and so are the true existential subjects. woman is immanence, whereas man is transcendence – woman is of nature, whereas man is beyond nature. hence, she is for-other in a most profound way: she is nothing without man to develop her, and even then she is not a being-for-herself. god, when he created eve, had a deep sleep fall upon adam, for woman is man’s dream. the story teaches us in another way that woman is being-for-other. that is, it says that jehovah took one of man’s ribs. if he had, for example, taken from man’s brain, woman would certainly have continued to be being-for-other, but the purpose was not that she should be a figment of the brain but something quite different. she became flesh and blood, but precisely thereby she falls within the category of nature, which essentially is being-for-other. not until she is touched by erotic love does she awaken; before that time she is a dream. (kierkegaard 1987, 179) the seducer tells us that woman exists in a sort of vegetative state; she becomes free only through man, and even then the freedom is illusionary (kierkegaard 1987, 180-181). the depiction of women drawn throughout the seducer’s diary is typical of a patriarchal male philosopher, but does kierkegaard agree with the seducer regarding this conception of woman’s nature? was kierkegaard just another western misogynistic philosopher, a man of his time and in congress with the rest of his colleagues? or did he purposefully distance himself from the seducer via a pseudonym so that his own view of women could remain detached from this literary project? is his misogyny indeed only a method by which to wean, and so a sort of negative maieutics meant to awaken regine to the knowledge that he is bad for her? in order to explore these questions further, let us now turn to the view of women we glimpse throughout kierkegaard’s other indirect discourses. kierkegaard – a friend for feminists: female knights of faith in kierkegaard’s great exposition of faith, fear and trembling, women are depicted in quite another light. this work is again written in the voice of a pseudonym, johannes de silentio, and yet the reader may justly feel inclined to 10 hear kierkegaard’s own voice in silentio’s words. unlike the earlier pseudonymous discourses, fear and trembling can almost be read as a transition piece to the direct communication of kierkegaard’s religious works. though it is clearly meant to be indirect, the tone of fear and trembling is far more religious than aesthetic or ethical, and so forces the reader to take the message a bit more seriously as kierkegaard’s own thoughts. for this reason, it is especially interesting to examine the view silentio presents of women. contrary to the earlier pseudonymous works, fear and trembling portrays a few women worthy of feminist admiration. a notable example of one such woman in fear and trembling is the virgin mary, mother of jesus. silentio asks, “who was as great in the world as that favored woman, the mother of god, the virgin mary?” (kierkegaard 1983, 64-65). mary is remarkable not because god chose to bless her, favoring her above other women, but because she (like abraham before her) had faith in the paradox: she was a knight of faith. the blessing god bestowed on mary was also a curse; no one else was aware of the divine nature of her pregnancy, and so to the world she must have been thought of as a woman of ill repute. she was pregnant and not yet married, and only she was certain of her own virginity. as a result of this “blessing,” mary suffered the anguish of abraham, and also shared his faith: the angel went only to mary, and no one could understand her. has any woman been as infringed upon as was mary, and is it not true here also that the one whom god blesses he curses in the same breath? this is the spirit’s view of mary, and she is by no means – it is revolting to me to say it but even more so that people have inanely and unctuously made her out to be thus – she is by no means a lady idling in her finery and playing with a divine child. when, despite this, she said: behold, i am the handmaid of the lord – then she is great, and i believe it should not be difficult to explain why she became the mother of god. she needs worldly admiration as little as abraham needs tears, for she was no heroine and he was no hero, but both of them became greater than these, not by being exempted in any way from the distress and the agony and the paradox, but became greater by means of these. (kierkegaard 1983, 65) though mary is not the main subject of fear and trembling, silentio’s admiration for her is evident enough; mary is also often admired by kierkegaard’s other pseudonyms, and by kierkegaard himself in his direct communication. there is another woman in fear and trembling who is described as a knight of faith: sarah, from the book of tobit. sarah, the young daughter of raguel and edna, had been married seven times. on each one of her wedding nights, her new 11 husbands had died tragically. when tobias desires to marry the forlorn sarah, she consents to it with faith in god that this time her husband would not perish. despite all of her earlier disappointments, she maintained her faith that she would be allowed her love this time (kierkegaard 1983, 104). silentio is a great admirer of mary and sarah, for these women had faith in the paradox, and did not succumb to infinite resignation in the face of suffering; mary had faith that everything would be all right as she trusted god and allowed him to use her as jesus’ mother, and sarah had faith in god that she would not always have to endure the death of a new husband, in spite of her past matrimonial misfortune. from these examples we can see that some of kierkegaard’s pseudonyms did have great respect for certain women, and believed that women are also capable of being faithful. the importance of this cannot be underestimated: while kierkegaard’s earlier pseudonyms expressed serious misogyny, the negative view of women is not shared by his latter pseudonyms, or at least not consistently. as kierkegaard began to write more and more on the subject of religion – and as he began to write directly with his right hand, signing his texts with his own name – this notion of a sort of egalitarianism between the sexes increases; we begin to hear him say that men and women are equal before god. yet by this is kierkegaard promoting a feminist message? or is something else going on entirely? let us now explore this issue of egalitarianism further so as to better understand the possible shift in kierkegaard’s view of women. kierkegaard and equality according to kierkegaard’s pseudonym johannes climacus in philosophical fragments and concluding unscientific postscript, and kierkegaard himself in works of love, we are all absolutely equal before god. whether one is a king or a carpenter, whether one lived during the year 0 or 2003, each person is equally responsible, and can equally have an absolute relationship to the absolute. our worldly circumstances do not affect our relationship to god. kierkegaard and his pseudonyms believe that inwardly we each have an interior space (a space that is not constituted by social structures), and this is where our one-to-one relationship to god exists. because of this god-relationship that each one of us is capable of having, there is a leveling effect which occurs, the leveling of the “before god.” all human differences are leveled; we are all equal before god. it is important to note that works of love is not signed pseudonymously: kierkegaard meant for this work to be direct; he wrote it with his right hand. this comes about as he discusses the differences between the love of the neighbor and pagan love. by “neighbor” kierkegaard refers to all human others, including our enemies. the love of the neighbor is commanded by god, and as such is non 12 exclusionary and egalitarian. (this is opposed to pagan love – erotic love and friendship – which is really another form of self-love and is based on inclination, not duty). we all must love our neighbors equally, and not allow ourselves to feel a preference for some over others, or allow our own self-interest to interfere with our duty to our neighbor. however, this equal treatment of all our neighbors does not lead to equality of all people on earth – kierkegaard is not advocating a revolution so that everyone will be equal politically, economically, and socially. on the contrary, christian love is all about the spirit, and so not concerned with these worldly issues. christianity does not want to take away dissimilarity: it is merely worldliness. rather, we must lift ourselves up above earthly dissimilarities. so, kierkegaard is not calling for political change; religiousness does not translate into politics. just because we are equal before god does not mean that we should be socially equal in the world. the social/political order is a secular (pagan) order, and so has nothing to do with christianity. inequalities do not matter to the existential christian, for life is like a stage play: when the curtain closes on actuality, all of the costumes (the earthly garments of dissimilarity) come off; then, we are all just people before god.5 kierkegaard tells us that death is the ultimate equalizer: it shows us clearly that god makes us all from one type of clay. sure, the rich get bigger grave plots, but in the end all the worldly riches amount to no more than another half a foot of cemetery room! these earthly dissimilarities are that unimportant (kierkegaard 1995, 346). when this view is applied to woman’s liberation, it becomes difficult to use kierkegaard’s notion of equality before god to feminist means. kierkegaard himself spoke against woman’s emancipation in works of love, saying that christianity does not desire the worldly equality of women: what abominations has the world not seen in the relationships between man and woman, that she, almost like an animal, was a disdained being in comparison with the man, a being of another species. what battles there have been to establish in a worldly way the woman in equal rights with the man – but christianity makes only infinity’s change and therefore quietly. outwardly the old more or less remains. the man is to be the woman’s master and she subservient to him; but inwardly everything is changed, changed by means of this little question to the woman, whether she has consulted with her conscience about having this man – as master, for otherwise she does not get him. yet the conscience-question about the conscience-matter makes her in inwardness before god absolutely equal with the man. what christ said about his kingdom, that it is not 13 of this world, holds true of everything christian. as a higher order of things, it wants to be present everywhere but not to be seized. just as a friendly spirit surrounds the dear ones, follows their every step but cannot be pointed to, so the essentially christian wants to be a stranger in life because it belongs to another world, a stranger in the world because it belongs to the inner being. in the name of christianity, fatuous people have fatuously been busy about making it obvious in a worldly way that the woman should be established in equal rights with the man – christianity has never required or desired this. it has done everything for the woman, provided she christianly will be satisfied with what is christian; if she is unwilling, then for what she loses she gains only a mediocre compensation in the fragment of externality she can in a worldly way obtain by defiance. (kierkegaard 1995, 138-139) feminism is intrinsically focused on worldly change, and so for kierkegaard to say that the equality he is speaking of is not a worldly equality immediately prevents a feminist appropriation of kierkegaard’s notion of equality. though we may all be equal before god, this does nothing to help aid the feminist cause of equality here on earth. theoretically, kierkegaard’s concept of the equality of all humans before god is helpful to egalitarian feminists who believe bodily differences between men and women are irrelevant in terms of determining a person’s worth or capabilities, but practically speaking it is useless to feminists who desire change in the here and now. it should further be noted that not only was kierkegaard uninterested in worldly inequality, he almost seemed to promote it, both in works of love (as the above comments indicate) and in his pseudonymously written concluding unscientific postscript to philosophical fragments. johannes climacus complains about democracy at the end of the postscript, claiming that it forces everyone into political participation and is nothing better than a form of tyranny. for this reason, he favors monarchy because it leaves the individual person alone to his thoughts (kierkegaard 1992, 621). of course, he said this during a very revolutionary period in history, and so it is somewhat understandable that he was uneasy about politics. as a member of the upper rung of society, kierkegaard undoubtedly did not like the personal threat of political revolution; and so while he may have believed we are all equal before god, he also may not have wanted people to force social worldly equality on him. 14 feminist interpretations of kierkegaard given all of this, how might a feminist attempt to interpret kierkegaard? as is evident from the previous discussion, such an attempt is complicated by numerous factors: a feminist reader of kierkegaard must take into account the pseudonymous nature of much of his work, and hence must also acknowledge the lack of a pseudonym attached to the upbuilding, religious works; she must address the various misogynistic and misogamist comments kierkegaard and his pseudonyms utter; a feminist who desires to utilize kierkegaard’s notion of equality before god for feminist ends must be aware that this equality is not of this world, and so does not motivate any social change. all of this and more must be considered so that a reading does not grant kierkegaard the title of feminist unduly, and also so that we do not criticize him undeservingly. in their edited anthology of multifarious endeavors to determine how kierkegaard fits into a feminist scheme, céline léon and sylvia walsh – along with a variety of feminist authors and kierkegaard scholars – tackle this difficult problem. feminist interpretations of søren kierkegaard presents the varying and dynamic ways in which feminists can read kierkegaard. many of these feminist interpretations can be examined through the previous discussion of kierkegaard in this paper. for example, wanda warren berry examines the problem of misogyny in either/or as it compares to the equality of all people before god in her essay “the heterosexual imagination and aesthetic existence in kierkegaard’s either/or, part i.” berry reads the androcentric view of women presented in either/or as negatively maieutic, rather than his actual viewpoint from the mouths of his pseudonyms. berry believes that kierkegaard is “subverting fixed or stereotyped ideas of masculinity and femininity” so as to show “the limitations and the risks inherent in emphasizing difference and in depicting each sex as being fulfilled only through the other” (léon and walsh 1997, 6). berry’s reading of kierkegaard paints him in a positive light as a philosopher who aims to instigate constructive change in both men and women.6 she comes to this conclusion as a result of kierkegaard’s notion in his religious writings (which, as discussed earlier, are signed with his own name) that all people are equal before god: to the stereotype of woman as ‘being-for-others’ corresponds that of man as being-for-self,’ with the result that, if man is able to separate himself from the ‘for-other’ moment of his own self, or relationality, woman is granted no ‘for-self.’ […] by being ‘for-others,’ women, whose self-image is essentially ‘for man,’ are victims of an enemy whose views they have internalized. yet, they are no more 15 ontologically ‘for-other’ than men are ontologically ‘for-self’: both man and woman are equally ‘before god.’ for a fuller treatment of these questions, berry directs the reader to the concept of anxiety (1844) where, although emphasized, the ‘generic difference,’ or inherent differences between the sexes, is declared ultimately irrelevant within the context of the religious. (léon and walsh 1997, 6-7) in this reading, the latter religious writings of kierkegaard are thought to reveal his true thoughts on the sexes, and his earlier aesthetic works are merely the means by which he pushes people towards existential action. birgit bertung reads kierkegaard in a similar manner in her essay “yes, a woman can exist”; for bertung, kierkegaard is a sort of gadfly, an instigator who writes his misogyny in order to goad women towards existential action. given this cancellation of sexual distinction expressed in his religious writings combined with the pseudonymous nature of his aesthetic works, bertung claims that we must read kierkegaard dialectically, taking into account the fact that his aesthetic writings are not always meant to be read literally (bertung 1997, 52). kierkegaard uses indirect communication, bertung believes, because he intends for the reader to misunderstand his true meaning; only through this method will the reader reach self-understanding and be motivated to existential action. bertung claims that this even applies to women,7 and she goes so far in her defense of kierkegaard as to claim that “any discrimination against women is in my opinion a projection by the reader. kierkegaard in his entire philosophy tried to draw attention to this misunderstanding” (bertung 1997, 66). read in this way, kierkegaard becomes a sort of feminist. in perhaps a more balanced approach to interpreting kierkegaard for feminism, jane duran argues in her essay “the kierkegaardian feminist” that in spite of the expressed misogyny in the seducer’s diary and other works, kierkegaard is in fact a friend of feminism in that he critiqued traditional western philosophy for attributes that recent feminists have identified as androcentric (its privileging of detachment and objectivity) and opened up a space within philosophy which recognizes the subjectivity and the particularity of people, a focus that is emphasized in feminist theory. duran claims that what “distinguishes the thought of kierkegaard from typical androcentric styles of thinking – divorced, detached, and objectifying, such as those found in kant or descartes – is, on the one hand, its emphasis on specificity, individuality, and a holism that emphasizes connectedness, and on the other hand, its predilection for devoted commitment and passionate attachment to others” (léon and walsh 1997, 17). sylvia walsh shares this variety of interpretation, acknowledging the debt feminism owes to 16 kierkegaard for this revolution in western philosophy. this interpretation of kierkegaard is of particular interest as we examine the relationship between kierkegaard and simone de beauvoir in the final section of this paper. not all of the feminists who interpret kierkegaard in léon and walsh’s anthology read him in a positive light, and most strive to balance the positive with the critically honest and often negative. but none of the essayists in feminist interpretations of søren kierkegaard read him as a straight misogynist, though it would have been far easier to simply label him a woman-hater than to truly navigate through the complicated landmines that are his works; like all philosophers of the nineteenth century, he is an obvious target for such an attack. what feminist interpreters of kierkegaard instead strive towards is a way of reading him that benefits feminism, either by reclaiming him as a different sort of feminist or by exposing the logic behind his misogyny. when read in this way, kierkegaard proves to be a valuable resource for feminist philosophy. kierkegaard and beauvoir yet another way to examine the impact of kierkegaard on feminism is to observe the ways in which he influenced the thinking of simone de beauvoir, arguably the most illustrious feminist philosopher of our time. beauvoir reflects many of kierkegaard’s concerns, and takes his notion of the situated existential subject to another level by utilizing existentialism as well as phenomenology within a feminist framework. though she rarely mentions kierkegaard in her philosophical writings – only a few times in the ethics of ambiguity,8 and when she mentions him at all in the second sex it is to criticize his negative view of women9 – beauvoir owes a great deal to kierkegaard philosophically. because this helps us to understand the import of kierkegaard to feminism via another (as of yet scarcely charted) avenue, some of the ways in which kierkegaard has influenced beauvoir’s philosophy will be explored in the final section of this paper. though kierkegaard is considered to be the father of existentialism, the french existentialist jean-paul sartre emphatically denied the influence of the dane on his own existential philosophy. it was sartre’s friend, lover, and companion philosopher, simone de beauvoir, who admitted kierkegaard’s influence on her philosophical development. in her autobiography the prime of life, beauvoir tells the tale of her philosophical growth; originally enamored with the comfort of the hegelian system (as were so many philosophers of the 1930s and early 1940s), beauvoir began to turn away from what she recognized as a false source of solace, and moved towards kierkegaard’s existentialism. 17 ‘i went on reading hegel, and was now beginning to understand him rather better. his amplitude of detail dazzled me, and his system as a whole made me feel giddy. it was indeed tempting to abolish one’s individual self and merge with universal being, to observe one’s own life in the perspective of historical necessity…. but the least flutter of my heart gave such speculations the lie. hate, anger, expectation or misery would assert themselves against all my efforts to by-pass them, and this ‘flight into the universal’ merely formed one further episode in my private development. i turned back to kierkegaard, and began to read him with passionate interest…. neither history, nor the hegelian system could, any more than the devil in person, upset the living certainty of ‘i am, i exist, here and now, i am myself.’’ (poole 1998, 55) from this we can see that kierkegaard had an effect on beauvoir’s development as a philosopher, perhaps more than he is given credit for. though beauvoir employs a great deal of hegelian concepts, it is clear from this statement in her autobiography that she sided with kierkegaard in his dislike of the hegelian system, favoring existence over hegel’s ideality. in order to properly understand the profound impact kierkegaard had on feminism through beauvoir, we must keep in mind the philosophical tradition from which kierkegaard defected. not only was the hegelian system highly problematic for the existential philosopher, but western philosophy’s epistemological conceptions were also found to be deficient. western philosophy had hitherto traditionally conceived of the knowing subject as “an autonomous, dispassionate, detached individual who has the capacity to adopt the stance of an independent, neutral observer in relation to the external world and to suppress or eliminate personal, or merely subjective, feelings, interests, and values in coming to know and describe that world” (walsh 1997, 268).10 kierkegaard’s rejection of universalism and the objective knower, which came in the form of a harsh criticism of the hegelians, ripped the fabric of traditional philosophy to shreds. he brought philosophy back to the existing world, and validated the experiences of existing subjects; by placing the emphasis on the particular over the universal, on the subjective over the objective, kierkegaard dramatically questioned the way we think of truth and choice. this is especially significant to keep in mind as we examine the influence of kierkegaard on beauvoir. these are some of the same questions asked by beauvoir, questions central to her own philosophical explorations: what is the relation between an individual’s freedom and the givenness of his or her situation? what is the nature of self-identity? 18 how is the individual related to society? what is the ontological structure of an individual’s relation to the world? how does one make moral choices without a set of universal moral absolutes? what is the relation between truth and the knowing subject? these crucial questions are all inspired by kierkegaard […]. they are also the key questions for beauvoir. (fullbrook and fullbrook 1998, 61) kierkegaard’s existential subject, taken up by subsequent existentialists such as sartre and beauvoir, pushed aside the old objective knower of philosophy, and introduced a new philosophy of subjectivity in place of the old universal systems. the impact of all of this on beauvoir’s thought is profoundly evident in the ethics of ambiguity. beauvoir locates herself within the kierkegaardian tradition of existentialism in the ethics of ambiguity (beauvoir 1948, 9-10). in the ethics of ambiguity, beauvoir undertakes the project of developing an existential ethics. she presents an ethics that is not systematic, but rather situated: relational, and yet also individualistic. beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity has its roots in kierkegaard’s existentialism; however, for beauvoir god is not a part of the existential picture. starting with the existential assumption that “existence precedes essence” – there is no outside guiding force determining a person’s actions and character, and so there are no absolute, external justifications – beauvoir attempts to reveal how humans can manage to act ethically within this existential framework. though the ethics of ambiguity reflects kierkegaardian notions throughout, i will only briefly touch on these connections for the purpose of showing the kierkegaardian roots of beauvoir’s feminist philosophy. in this work, which is arguably the most philosophical of her writings, beauvoir elucidates many kierkegaardian themes; among other things, she discusses the importance of the existential moment and human freedom, describes the problem of seriousness, and expresses a dislike for universal ethical systems. beauvoir draws out the importance of freedom and the existential moment in her discussions of the “aesthetic attitude” and oppression. a person falls into the aesthetic attitude when she stops actively living life, resigning herself to the idea that the present is merely a “potential past.” the serious person – one possessing the aesthetic attitude – is detached from the real living of the world; this person ceases to participate in life in the here and now. this refusal to live in the here and now is to beauvoir a denial of freedom, since the present is the moment of choice. to every person the present exists as an engagement; we act and are situated within this existential moment. our actions require freedom, which only realizes itself by “engaging itself in the world” of the here and now. this existential understanding of the importance of freedom inspired beauvoir’s feminist 19 philosophy, which is evident in her analysis of oppression, or the denial of freedom to another human being. when a man oppresses another, he cuts the other off from the future and makes her into a thing. but humans are not things: “rational animals,” “thinking reeds,” we are subject and object, a part of this world of which we are a consciousness (beauvoir 1948, 7). in other words, we are ambiguous. oppression is an evil because with it man attempts to deny this ambiguity, (and hence to deny freedom), to his fellow humans. freedom is a “universal cause” (beauvoir 1948, 90), and as such all humans should seek to assist others in the attainment of their freedom. freedom for the individual must be realized, since without the free individual, society would be nothing. freedom entails that the individual be allowed to possess hope for and to make decisions regarding the future, and yet not forget to live in the present: “existence must be asserted in the present if one does not want all life to be defined as an escape toward nothingness” (beauvoir 1948, 125). this is the importance of the existential moment, the here and now: “if one denies with hegel the concrete thickness of the here and now in favor of universal space-time, if one denies the separate consciousness in favor of mind, one misses with hegel the truth of the world” (beauvoir 1948, 122). if we live too much for the future, we cease to live; there is comfort in the thought of a future of absolutes, a future in which all is resolved, but this is an empty comfort. human undertakings are finite. though this is a daunting realization, it must be made so that we can live fully in the here and now. the action we have chosen must be enough justification for us without the “mythical historical end,” since we can never know if this end will be realized (beauvoir 1948, 128); the ethical ramification of this concept of the existential moment for beauvoir is that each action must be considered on its own merits, and not merely justified by an appeal to ends. existential ethics cannot make an appeal to any sort of absolute justification (beauvoir 1948, 136), and so beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity is not a recipe for ethical action. because beauvoir’s existential ethics rejects principles of authority and recipes for ethical action, it requires of people a little creativity. this is obviously very disconcerting: without any moral absolutes to fall back on, humans are forced to own their ethical decisions to a greater extent. (we cannot justify them with “kant made me do it… damn that categorical imperative!” – blaming our actions on universal laws). but despite the trepidation we may feel, this is the way we form ourselves, the way we set up our values. beauvoir describes this feeling of unease that we may feel as we attempt to own our freedom as “the anguish of free decision” (beauvoir 1948, 149). this brings us back to kierkegaard, the originator of this notion of existential singularity. this ethics of ambiguity as described by beauvoir is not the 20 sort of universal ethics that johannes de silentio rejected in fear and trembling. this is rather an ethics that can be likened to the religious, singular decision of the faithful. in fear and trembling, abraham was not able to fall back on the universal edict “thou shall not kill,” but rather he was forced to make a choice: he acted in faith, and so decided to obey god’s command to sacrifice isaac. while faith is not a part of beauvoir’s existential ethics, it is clear that kierkegaard’s concept of an existential individual’s decision, a decision that might contradict the universal, is an important part of beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity. what beauvoir describes as the anguish of free decision, kierkegaard calls fear and trembling. their shared critique of the serious man illustrates this similarity between them. for beauvoir, the serious man is one who attempts to fall back on the universal, refusing to exercise his own freedom. this criticism of the serious man originated with kierkegaard: after hegel, kierkegaard and nietzsche also railed at the deceitful stupidity of the serious man and his universe. […] the serious man gets rid of his freedom by claiming to subordinate it to values which would be unconditioned. […] there is the serious from the moment that freedom denies itself to the advantages of ends which one claims are absolute. (beauvoir 1948, 46) the serious man “escapes the anguish of freedom” (beauvoir 1948, 51), “dishonestly ignoring the subjectivity of his choice” (beauvoir 1948, 49). the similarity between beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity and the ethico-religious singularity silentio describes lies here, in the existing individual rising above the comfort of the universal in spite of the fear and trembling that accompanies freedom. there are necessarily minor pragmatic differences between beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity and kierkegaard’s existentialism; for beauvoir, the ethics of ambiguity is actually an ethics in that it involves other people in an essential way, while for silentio in fear and trembling existentialism is primarily about the individual knight of faith and the god-relationship. kierkegaard’s existentialism is largely individualistic; he places great emphasis on the particularity of individuals, and even claims that the validity of the god-relationship rests on individual human differences (kierkegaard 1995, 230). though this may seem to be a drastic difference between the two, beauvoir still shares kierkegaard’s focus on individualism, and so beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity does not really differ much. beauvoir’s ethics is very individualistic; beauvoir claims that the world has no importance without the individual and individual differences: “arguing for an ‘irreducible given that constitutes the individuality’ of each one, beauvoir defends individual differences and rejects the argument that persons can ever be identical” 21 (simons 1999, 114). beauvoir’s existential ethics centers around the way in which existential individuals deal with other existential individuals: “the individual is defined only by his relationship to the world and to other individuals; he exists only by transcending himself, and his freedom can be achieved only through the freedom of others. he justifies his existence by a movement which, like freedom, springs from his heart but which leads outside of him” (beauvoir 1948, 156). part of the ambiguity of human existence is that we are both social and individual. “it is true that each is bound to all; but that is precisely the ambiguity of his condition: in his surpassing toward others, each one exists absolutely as for himself; each is interested in the liberation of all, but as a separate existence engaged in his own projects” (beauvoir 1948, 112). for beauvoir, the sociality of humans means that subjective truth can be expanded to whole cultures, or to all of humanity. without moral absolutes, humankind is free to determine what is true and what is false (beauvoir 1948, 157158). these subjective human determinations are finite, which may make them unsatisfactory for many who want the infinite in the form of universal truths and laws; the universal is far more mollifying. beauvoir explains that this is why hegel’s system had been so comforting to her at one point, but “once i got into the street again, into my life, out of the system, beneath a real sky, the system was no longer of any use to me: what it had offered me, under a show of the infinite, was the consolations of death; and i again wanted to live in the midst of living men” (beauvoir 1948, 158). though existentialism fails to offer much consolation, “its ethics is experienced in the truth of life, and it then appears as the only proposition of salvation which one can address to men” (beauvoir 1948, 159). existential passion is enough for beauvoir; she, like kierkegaard, does not require the comfort of universal systems. while kierkegaard and beauvoir share this existential passion, they disagree on the fundamental issue of religious faith. whereas for kierkegaard “faith is the highest passion in a person” (kierkegaard 1983, 122), for beauvoir it cannot be a part of her existential picture. this is revealed in her diaries from the early part of her life, as margaret simons discusses in her essay “the origins of beauvoir’s existential philosophy.” beauvoir writes of religion and especially of faith in her 1927 diary: ‘mademoiselle mercier is trying to convert me;... and i’m thinking of the remark of georgette lévy [beauvoir’s friend and fellow philosophy student]: ‘you will be tempted that way.’ it’s true. this morning... i passionately desired to be the girl who takes communion at morning mass and walks in a serene certainty. catholicism of mauriac, of claudel... how it’s marked me and what place there is in 22 me for it! and yet i know that i will know it no longer; i do not desire to believe: an act of faith is the most despairing act there is and i want my despair to at least keep its lucidity, i do not what to lie to myself.’ (simons 1999, 113) beauvoir relates faith to a form of self-deception, and though it does sound appealing to her, she steers clear of faith and religion mainly because she does not want to become detached from the world of the here and now; beauvoir’s rejection of religious faith is rooted in her desire to preserve the truth of her existential experience, however humble it may be. for this reason, beauvoir turns “to description of the phenomenal world” and she attempts “to construct a philosophy from her own experience” (simons 1999, 117): an existential phenomenology. though beauvoir moves away from kierkegaard fundamentally in that she rejects the religious, and departs from him slightly in her attempt to create an existential ethics (which inherently had to involve the way individuals interact with one another), she only meant to improve on his original existential ideas: she wanted to accurately describe her own lived experience and to take the social nature of humans into account. in spite of these differences, she retains much of his ideas. a careful look shows the influence clearly; beauvoir reflects kierkegaard’s concern for the preservation of individualism and his distain for universal systems, and takes up his notion of the free situated existential subject, utilizing it throughout her feminist philosophy. further, she maintains the validity of subjective truth, and shares kierkegaard’s existential passion. beauvoir made considerable use of the foundations kierkegaard had laid out, and feminism has been richer for it. reluctant conclusions it would be presumptuous to suppose that i can draw any real conclusion in this explorative paper. the possibilities for further exploration into the connection between kierkegaard and feminism are nearly endless, and the terrain will continue to be rugged. kierkegaard did not make it easy for any student of his thought to nail down his precise meaning when it comes to these issues, and perhaps feminism is all the better for it. the more we hermeneutically examine these works, the more we can learn – not only about kierkegaard, but also about ourselves. the connection between kierkegaard and simone de beauvoir is but one way to consider the importance of kierkegaard to feminism. despite the many complications kierkegaard poses for feminist philosophy, there are just as many benefits to be reaped from feminist interpretations of and expansions upon his 23 thoughts. therefore, we cannot allow his assumed or even actual misogyny to prevent such explorations. kierkegaard turned philosophy on its head, initiating a revolution that feminists can be unabashedly grateful for; the existential feminist philosophy of simone de beauvoir is to a great extent a result of this legacy. kierkegaard’s works should be read critically so that his misogynistic statements (and those of his pseudonyms) are not permitted to seep unquestioned into our consciousnesses, and yet we also must not refrain from reading him, discounting him due to our vexation with these statements: he still has a great deal to teach us, even if this lesson is fueled by indignation. the offence kierkegaard inflames within his feminist readers can be educational and inspirational, as it motivates us to reject the androcentrism he puts forth. but i believe he has a great deal more to offer feminist philosophers than merely this angry call to feminist action, even if his exact place as a benefactor to feminist philosophy is complicated by the multiplicity of ways in which we can read kierkegaard: was kierkegaard a feminist maieutically pretending otherwise? was he a good father who, with a little help from a feminist re-vision, can bring an important message of liberation to culturally conditioned women? or do his very limitations make him a father whose insights should be carefully sorted out? is he, rather, just another ‘dead-beat dad,’ who fails to deliver on the promise of freedom made to women? when all is said and done, does kierkegaard teach us anything that can be useful for feminist theorizing, or for women interested in finding themselves outside the maze of patriarchal constructs? the answer is yes, insofar as his writings expose prejudices against women, subvert typically masculine modes of behavior and discourse, and, by privileging a disembodied, authorial voice, not only value, but also inscribe, the feminine. but it is also yes when emancipation is opposed, when equality is in(de)finitely postponed, when woman is depreciated, dichotomized, discarded, excluded, or spoken for, when stereotypes and essentialist statements about her nature are taken up and embraced. for, whether we agree, or disagree, much can be learned from an exposure whereby, either way, what is awakened is ‘dead or sleeping consciousness.’ (léon and walsh 1997, 21) awakening “dead or sleeping consciousness” was indeed kierkegaard’s intent in both his pseudonymous writings and his direct upbuilding discourses. though it is difficult – perhaps impossible – to unearth a single core of meaning from kierkegaard’s philosophy, we can be confident in our understanding that kierkegaard meant to incite a change in people: he certainly desired to shake people out of their hegelian slumber and awaken them to existential christianity. 24 while it is unlikely that he intended to motivate any sort of feminist awakening, he did effect a great change within the canon of western philosophy, a change that has been felt profoundly by feminism. feminism developed in the wake of kierkegaard’s existential philosophy, and so it is well worth our while to continue on this journey through kierkegaard’s funhouse; in our efforts to explore his world of smoke and mirrors, (and even in our failed attempts to draw maps of the terrain), feminists gain insight into our own philosophical heritage and are inspired to ask revolutionary questions, questions that help to shape the future path of feminist and existential philosophy. notes 1 kierkegaard created a space within philosophy for the subjective, and so “if the gynocentric, seen from the standpoint of both feminist ethics and feminist epistemology, may be thought to be that which alludes to notions of specificity, connectedness, and particularity, rather than the universal, the detached, and the normative, it may be possible to analyze at least some of kierkegaard’s authorship in terms that may be useful – perhaps extremely useful – to feminist theory” (duran 1997, 250). 2 in “a first and last explanation,” at the end of the postscript, he asks us to “dance with” the “poetically actual author,” and to refrain from becoming “encumbered with [kierkegaard’s] personal actuality” (kierkegaard 1992, 628). 3 “his journal of 1849 claims that he wrote it ‘for her sake, to clarify her out of the relationship.’ in 1853 he notes that ‘it was written to repel her’ and quotes his fear and trembling: ‘when the baby is to be weaned, the mother blackens her breast” (updike 1997, xii). 4 he describes man as intellect in the diary: “cordelia hates and fears me. what does a young girl fear? intellect [aand]. why? because intellect constitutes the negation of her entire womanly existence” (kierkegaard 1987, 85). 5 “just look at the world that lies before you in all its variegated multifariousness; it is like looking at a play, except that the multifariousness is much, much greater. because of his dissimilarity, every single one of these innumerable individuals is something particular, represents something particular, but essentially he is something else. yet this you do not get to see here in life; here you see only what the individual represents and how he does it. it is just as in the play. but when the curtain falls on the stage, then the one who played the king and the one who played the beggar etc. are all alike; all are one and the same – actors. when at death the curtain falls on the stage of actuality (it is a confusing use of language to say that at death the curtain is raised on the stage of eternity since eternity is not a stage at all; it is truth), then they, too, are all one, they are human beings. […] we seem to have forgotten that the dissimilarity of earthly life is just like an actor’s costume” (kierkegaard 1995, 86-87). 6 this reading of kierkegaard as a sort of gadfly who attempts to provoke women maieutically may be farfetched, but it is not impossible to imagine that this was his intent. his hero, after all, was socrates; in philosophical fragments johannes climacus praises socrates for his maieutic method, claiming that this “relation is the highest relation a human being can have to another” (kierkegaard 1985, 10). 7 “he does not wish to stand in the way of any woman’s own resolution of her existential situation, so he wishes to be misunderstood, and he must be said to have succeeded overwhelmingly. the use of this method, he thinks, is the only way he can make people react, and that is the whole aim of all his works, to get one to act for oneself, even if he has to trick the reader cunningly into the truth” (bertung 1997, 53-54). 25 8 (beauvoir 1948, 9, 46, 133) 9 (beauvoir 1989, 143, 186, 256, 438, 720) 10 feminists have widely claimed that this conventional western understanding of epistemology “reflects a typically masculine way of relating to the world and thus actually represents an androcentric, male-biased, and maleconstructed perspective rather than a gender-neutral stance toward reality” (walsh 1997, 268-269). because of this concept of objectivity and the neutrally observing knowing subject, women have been excluded from activities that are considered to require objectivity – activities such as philosophy and science – since women have traditionally been associated with the subjective (such as feelings, emotions, and personal relationships), which supposedly prevent women from being objective subjects. sylvia walsh shows that kierkegaard helped to dispel this notion of the objective knowing subject, and instead placed a crucial emphasis on the existential subjectivity of the individual ; walsh argues in her essay “subjectivity versus objectivity: kierkegaard’s postscript and feminist epistemology” that kierkegaard is “both a philosophical precursor of and ally in this [feminist] critique” of objective epistemology, and also an “important resources for re-visioning the concept of subjectivity in a manner that does not collapse into an isolated subjectivism, on the one hand, or into a ‘chummy’ form of intersubjectivity that compromises the integrity of the individual, on the other” (walsh 1997, 267). the rationale for state legislatures selecting electors and what it would mean today new views of the election of the president: how direct choice of electors by state legislators could affect presidential elections and the presidency martyn babitz political science introduction not since 1876 has a state legislature directly chosen its state’s presidential electors under the constitution’s “electoral college” system. most states used this method in the first several presidential elections. this paper will analyze why the framers allowed state legislatures the latitude to directly choose presidential electors, why this approach was ultimately abandoned in favor of popular election of electors in every state, the potential benefits of returning to direct legislative choice of electors, and the corresponding effect this method might have on the process of nominating candidates, electing presidents, and the presidency itself. to enhance the benefits of direct legislative choice, this study proposes that all states adopt measures to combine the district election method with direct legislative choice. preference for direct legislative choice of electors at the convention among the most controversial issues at the constitutional convention was the method of selecting the president. the delegates debated this issue on 21 non-consecutive days and required 60 ballots, relating to seven distinct proposals, prior to obtaining consensus on the final provisions (bowen 189; slonin 35; katz 2). proposals included congressional choice, state legislative choice, national popular vote, and an electoral college system whereby electors within districts of each state would be elected for the purpose of choosing the president (farrand 21, 68, 80; vol. 1; farrand 29, 31-32, vol. 2). gouverneur morris’ proposal that the people at large elect the president was defeated by a 9-1 vote, with george mason of virginia asserting: “it would be as unnatural to refer the choice of a proper character for a chief magistrate to the people, as it would to refer a trial of colors to a blind man. the extent of the country renders it impossible that the people can have the requisite capacity to judge of the respective pretensions of the candidates” (farrand 29, 3132; vol. 2). later in the convention, gouverneur morris captured a primary motive of those who, like himself, favored popular election as being the preference of the lesser of two evils as compared to election of the president by congress: “no body had appeared to be satisfied with an appointment by [congress]. many were anxious even for an immediate choice by the people” (emphasis supplied) (farrand 500; vol. 2). after debating the alternatives, gouverneur morris moved to treat the determination of the method of electing the president as “not being yet finally determined,” which passed (farrand 480; vol. 2). consequently, the issue was referred to a special committee consisting of one delegate from each state. this committee introduced a plan involving indirect election by electors (farrand 493-94; vol. 2), which was approved and included in the constitution as signed and ratified. as subsequently modified by the twelfth amendment, this plan remains the electoral college system in effect to date. the convention’s special committee dictated that the selection of presidential electors was to be determined “in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct.” this provision allows the broad discretion of state legislatures to directly choose electors or popular election in contrast with the previous suggestion to confine the process to the election of members by the house of representatives (“by the people of the several states” in article i, section 2) and senate (“chosen by the legislature thereof” in article ii, section 3 of the original constitution). though the motion to have state electors choose the president carried 6-3 when it was first approved, the more favorable vote of 8-2 was returned when the motion specified that electors should be “chosen by state legislatures” (farrand 57-58; vol. 2). this voting data suggests a preference for direct legislative choice, rather than a popular election. this preference is further demonstrated by the provision produced by the special committee allowing state legislatures to exercise full discretion in respect to the selection of electors. considering this provision within the context of the final two weeks of the convention, it is possible to conclude that it was an effort to placate delegates (such as gouverneur morris, a member of the special committee) who favored a popular election. further, outspoken morris likely influenced the special committee to adopt this broad language as a compromise to provide for one or more states to allow popular election of electors. in fact, morris, along with james wilson, ensured that their home state of pennsylvania chose their electors for the first presidential election by popular vote (mccormick 28). the pressure for direct legislative choice by key delegates like morris (within the special committee and/or before the general convention) risked prolonging the contentious convention debate when a critical and heretofore elusive consensus on an overall final document was at hand. independent electors integral to framers’ plan critical to the adoption of the electoral college system was the unanimous consensus that electors (no matter how chosen) were to act as entirely independent representatives of the people in casting their vote for president (mccormick 32). in federalist no. 68, alexander hamilton wrote: it was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so important a trust was to be confided. this end will be answered by committing the right of making it, not to any pre-established body, but to men chosen by the people for the special purpose, and at the particular conjuncture. it was equally desirable that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all these reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. a small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to so complicated an investigation. … [t]hey have not made appointment of the president to depend on any pre-existing bodies of men who might be tampered with beforehand to prostitute their votes … (412-413) further to this understanding, john jay wrote in federalist no. 64: [t]hey have directed the president to be chosen by select bodies of electors to be deputed by the people for that express purpose; …[t]his mode has, in such cases, vastly the advantage [over] elections by the people in their collective capacity where the activity of party zeal, taking advantage of the supineness, the ignorance, and the hopes and fears of the unwary and interested, often places men in office by the votes of a small proportion of the electors. … [a]s the select assemblies for choosing the president … will in general be composed of the most enlightened and respectable citizens, there is reason to presume that their attention and their votes will be directed to those men only who have become the most distinguished by their abilities and virtue, and in whom the people perceive just grounds for confidence. (390-91) note that the federalist essays were published in new york newspapers as part of hamilton’s successful effort to raise public support for ratification of the constitution during these conventions, with particular emphasis on new york (rossiter viii-ix). in this context, the two preceding excerpts reflect the desire of the framers to convince the public that the electoral college system provided for independent representatives of the people, “select assemblies” of the “most capable men” who were “distinguished by their abilities and virtue,” and most ably suited to the critical task of electing the president. the purported independence of electors may have been responsible for mitigating the concerns of the delegates with respect to the means of choosing electors. as independent representatives of the people, electors would occupy a role similar to elected state legislators (albeit for a more narrow, specific purpose). having expressed deep concern over direct popular election at the convention, both in debate and by overwhelming negative votes against such proposals, the framers would likely have firmly opposed popular election of directed, or “pledged,” electors. conversely, however, independent electors (regardless of whether they were chosen directly by the people or by state legislatures) guaranteed a degree of neutrality that sought to protect the integrity of the republican principles upon which the constitution was structured by acting in a purely representative capacity. accordingly, the assumption of the electors’ independence may explain why convention delegates ceased debating the means of appointing electors and devoted their remaining time to other provisions of the committee’s electoral college plan. understanding of the appropriate method for choosing electors following the convention, there was a difference of opinion as to the appropriate method of choosing electors within the broad discretion granted to state legislatures. although delegates such as elbridge gerry stated at the convention that he was “… not clear that the people ought to act directly even in [choice] of electors, being too little informed … and liable to deceptions” (farrand 80), alexander hamilton and john jay regarded the popular choice of electors as the framers’ intent (hamilton 413; jay 390). in federalist no. 45 james madison wrote: “without the intervention of the state legislatures, the president of the united states cannot be elected at all. they must in all cases have a great share in his appointment, and will, perhaps, in most cases, of themselves determine it” (291). madison, however, later articulated (at the virginia ratifying convention and again in 1823) an understanding that the people would choose electors (mccormick 25). convention delegate charles pinckney, however, supported the complete control and latitude granted state legislatures in the actual text of the subject provision, stating that this decision “was entrusted to the state legislatures … they must make provisions for all questions arising on the occasion” (qtd. in glennon 3). scholars also disagree on the intention of the broad provision for choosing electors. richard mccormick asserts: “the general assumption was that they would be popularly elected” (25). randall holcombe conversely contends: “it is apparent from the wording of this provision of the constitution that the founders did not intend for electors to be democratically elected (although they did not rule out the possibility)” (2). further, jeffrey tulis explicitly presumes that the framers intended direct legislative choice of electors and that such was intended to further the fundamental constitutional principle of representation. (34-35; note 15). on the other hand, michael glennon asserts the neutral position implicit in the provision’s text: “because delegates to the constitutional convention were so deeply divided on how the president should be chosen, the framers decided not to require the states to follow a given method of selection. instead they chose to give the states broad discretion in deciding how to appoint electors” (3). perhaps forrest mcdonald most accurately portrayed the inherent compromise among the conflicting views of the factions at the convention. in not requiring states to follow a specific method of choosing electors, the framers clearly intended greater control for state legislatures: “it provided that electors be appointed in such manner as the several legislatures should direct; that took care of the objections of those who feared popular election, for it meant that the legislatures could elect the electors if they chose to do so” (250). early modes of choosing electors in bush v. gore (2000), the supreme court affirmed that “the individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the president of the united state unless and until the state legislature chooses a statewide election as the means to implement its power to appoint members of the electoral college … [the state legislature] may, if it so chooses, select the electors itself.” in fact, states utilized both direct selection by their state legislatures and popular election (in two general forms) for the first several presidential elections. the three general modes employed were: (i) direct selection by the state legislature (hereinafter the “direct legislative choice method”); (ii) election of electors by popular vote within separate districts of the state (hereinafter the “district election method”); and (iii) election of the entire slate of electors by statewide “winner-take-all” popular vote (hereinafter the “general ticket method”). beginning with the first presidential elections, political factions used the array of methods available for choosing electors to seek implementation of the mode that would be most favorable to their candidates. as a result, state legislatures often changed their method of selection in a particular presidential election year depending upon which method would yield the best result based on their partisan preferences or based on a compromise within a particular legislature between opposing parties. for example, from 1800 through 1820, massachusetts changed between the direct legislative choice method (in years where one party dominated the legislature) and a district election method (when a split legislature compromised to allow for a possible split of electors). similarly, new jersey and north carolina also engaged in switching methods based on partisanship during this period (mccormick 32, 109). further, states gravitated toward either direct legislative choice or the general ticket method. no state used the district election method by 1836, so that each state (or more specifically its dominant party) could maximize its influence by casting all of its electoral votes as a unit. despite any potential advantages of the district election method, “self defense” compelled every state to adopt one of the unit methods because the other states had done so and to do otherwise would minimize that state’s effect on the selection of the president (mccormick 109, 111). problems with direct legislative choice in early elections in the first presidential elections, in which many state legislatures directly chose electors, the problem of the “split legislature” arose. most notable was the first election in which new york’s state senate was federalist controlled and its lower house, the assembly, was composed of an antifederalist majority. since the two houses were unable to agree on the choice of electors, no electors being appointed at all. consequently, new york did not participate in the election of george washington as first president of the united states. perhaps this is why new york’s “outraged citizenry” insisted on switching from direct legislative choice to a district election method by 1828. a similar problem within the new hampshire legislature resulted in a deadlock that persisted until the day before the election when the lower house yielded to the upper house to prevent the state from forfeiting its participation (mccormick 29-30, 110). split legislatures continue to pose potential problems within the current direct legislative choice method. in each of the past six presidential elections there have been no less than 11, and as many as 16, split legislatures (one house democrat controlled and one house republican controlled) (“table of partisan control of state legislatures” 1). nebraska is the only state with a unicameral state legislature and thus not subject to a split legislature problem. the prospect of a deadlocked legislature is a disadvantage of direct legislative choice as compared to popular election. on the other hand, direct legislative choice avoids the more potentially dangerous presence of voter fraud, or thin margins leading to allegations of voter error and demands for recounts, as is alleged in 1960 and 2000. rise of parties the framers hoped that political parties would not be necessary. it was thought that the narrow powers delegated to the federal government and constitutional rule of law (the “organic unity of the republic”) would confine politicians to the same general goals and ideology within those restricted parameters of governance. parties were seen as unnecessarily promoting contention and undermining election practices rather than elevating the most desirable candidates, those possessing integrity and a commitment to the public good (mccormick 6). in quoting delegate luther martin, the notes of constitutional convention delegate robert yates indicate, however, there were factions even at the convention itself (qtd. in taylor 49). nevertheless, as late as 1816, following his election as president, james monroe remained hopeful that political parties would become unnecessary in the united states (mccormick 107). certainly, the framers expected that parties might arise, but they also hoped that the various mechanisms built into the constitution might contain the perceived evils they might engender in society. along these lines, they hoped to circumvent party influence over the choice of president and promote the most qualified to office through indirect election by independent electors (mccormick 9, 24, 26). nevertheless, from the start, political forces recognized the weak link of the assumed independence of electors. these forces converted electors into mere straw men, voting as directed (mccormick 7). the 1824 election, in which john quincy adams prevailed over andrew jackson in the house of representatives despite the fact that jackson won a plurality of the popular vote spurred vicious accusations. this election solidified the widely held perception that contingent elections were a scenario to be avoided by any means possible. those means were manifested in the succession of two-party systems ultimately leading to the republican-democratic system in place today. the combination of directed electors and the two party system lead to uniform adoption of the general ticket method by 1836 (in every state but one) to centralize and consolidate political party control and influence over the process of electing the president (mccormick 9, 120). attempts to adopt the district method as the uniform method from 1800-1822, states varied among the three general methods of choosing electors. the methods were continually changing depending upon the potential advantages to be gained by factions controlling or competing for control of the state legislatures in that particular election year (mccormick 32, 109). consequently, a substantial debate took place in congress over constitutional amendments to provide for a uniform method among the states to prevent manipulation and uncertainty. senator mahlon dickerson summarized the general state of consternation, remarking that the president could be “elected or appointed by a rule so undefined, so vague, so subject to abuse, as that by which we elect the chief magistrate of the union” (mccormick 110). during this time, strong support existed for the adoption of the district election method as the uniform method for choosing electors. four times, a constitutional amendment to this effect received a requisite two-thirds vote in the senate but failed in the house of representatives due to the negative votes of the overwhelming virginia and pennsylvania delegations. from 1823 through 1826, congress continued to wrestle with amending the electoral college to provide uniformity and neutralize what many viewed as abuses of the political party system that had grown in the first decades of the nineteenth century. in particular, the debates centered on the problems of the general ticket method that fostered, to the detriment of the people’s best interests, a dominant centralized party machinery (mccormick 155-156). george mcduffie of the house of representatives proposed a constitutional amendment based on the district election method. he stated that if the general-ticket system were adopted in all states (as was the trend), “a central power would spring up in almost every state, consisting of the ruling politicians of the day, who would be bound to the people by no tie of regular responsibility and be, in every respect, more liable to cabal, intrigue, and corruption than the legislature itself” (emphasis supplied)” (mccormick 156-57). these proposed amendments for a uniform district election method had two influential advocates: james madison and andrew jackson (jackson had lost the highly contentious 1824 presidential election in the contingent house of representatives election and would go on to win the 1828 election) (mccormick 156,159). nevertheless, mcduffie’s amendment was defeated in the house by a 102-90 vote, and the senate, after waiting for the result in the house, did not go forward thereafter (mccormick 159). jackson continued to push for this amendment as president to no avail, and by 1836, with every state but south carolina having adopted the general ticket method, the push for reform of the electoral college along these lines was essentially dead (mccormick 159-60). on the basis of the “federative principle” advanced principally by virginia (large state) house of representatives member andrew stevenson during the 1823-1826 period, a coalition of various interests opposed the district election method, and advocated the general ticket method. stevenson argued that the phrase “each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct” meant that the framers intended electors to be chosen “by the states in their political characters.” further, he asserted that centralized party activity and caucuses allowed “the views and wishes of the people to be carried into effect, and not scattered and broken” (mccormick 158). opponents of the district election method rallied around the federative argument, claiming that the constitution’s federal system required that each state commit its electors as a unit. doing otherwise would mean that the president would be representing the overall people of a consolidated nation rather than the people of the respective states as constitutionally appropriate (mccormick 158). the claim of “federative principle” above parallels james madison’s analysis in federalist no. 39, in which madison sought to portray the federal government as “partly federal and partly national” (246). madison argued that popular election of the house of representatives proportionate to population (within separate congressional districts created by every state to implement this provision of the constitution) made the federal government partly national, while legislative selection (under the original constitution) of two senators representing each entire state made it partly federal (244). madison’s analysis is incorrect because the people of each respective state separately elect members of the house of representatives and those representatives exclusively represent their own state in congress. no congressional districts cross state lines. thus, both the house and senate are federal rather than national. madison referred to the house of representatives’ source of power as the “people of america,” even though the people of each respective state separately elect their own members to the house of representatives to separately represent them in congress (madison 244; taylor 109-110). similarly, stevenson and his allies erroneously asserted that the district election method would somehow convert the president into a national representative of the “people of america” rather than the federal representative of the people of the respective states; the proposed amendment, like all forms of the district election method, involved choosing electors by districts wholly within each individual state. accordingly, united states representative ralph ingersoll and other federative principle advocates inaccurately associated directly the general ticket method with the sovereignty of the states. correspondingly, he condemned the proposed amendment to adopt the district election method as “destructive of the great principles on which our constitution rests” (mccormick 158). interestingly, andrew jackson, a strong proponent of the district election method, was the first president to advocate the concept of the president as representing the “american people” and being responsible for championing policy consistent with the “will of the people” (conley 3). in recent times, dissatisfaction with the general ticket method has resulted in proposed constitutional amendments, including proposals for a uniform district election method in every state (hardaway 12). although these amendments have not passed, maine switched to the district election method starting with the 1972 election and nebraska followed starting with the 1992 election (mccormick 210; note 5). proposed new method: combine district method with direct selection by state legislatures james madison, known as the “father of the constitution” for his key role at the constitutional convention and in subsequent ratification efforts, wrote in 1823: “the district mode was mostly, if not exclusively, in view when the constitution was framed and adopted; and was exchanged for the general ticket and legislative election as the only expedient for baffling the policy of the particular states which had set the example” (mccormick 157). the above statement, made at a time when the experiences of the first elections may have colored his recollection of the convention, must be considered in conjunction with his assertion immediately following the convention in federalist no. 45, that state legislatures “will, perhaps, in most cases” directly choose electors (291). these statements should be further measured alongside madison’s expressed concern during the convention that state legislatures, acting as an overall body, show a “strong propensity to a variety of pernicious measures” (farrand 110, vol. 2). taken together, madison’s above statements suggest a new, hybrid method for choosing electors not previously used, which could mitigate many of the negatives of existing methods for choosing electors while enhancing their benefits. this new method would utilize direct legislative choice within districts to determine each state’s electors. under this method, state legislators would choose one elector to represent each congressional district and two electors at large. the electors would be selected by each house of the state’s legislature excepting nebraska (which has a unicameral legislature, in which both at large electors would be chosen by the same single body). this method corresponds with the exact number of electors allocated to each state, which receives one elector for each member of the house of representatives in each congressional district and for each of the two senators representing the state at large. a caucus of those state legislators representing all the legislative districts partially or wholly comprising part of a congressional district would select that congressional district’s elector. for example, in the third congressional district of new jersey, members of both houses of the new jersey legislature representing the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth state legislative districts (i.e., the legislative districts that are contained, in whole or part, within the third congressional district) would caucus to vote for the presidential elector for that congressional district. deadlocks in any caucus would be broken by a general vote, first of the upper house, and then the lower house of the legislature in alternating order to avoid conflict in states with split legislatures (different parties controlling each house). accordingly, those states with only the minimum three electoral votes, the upper and lower house of the legislature would each choose one elector, and in the event of deadlock over the third elector among the legislative caucus (which would involve every state legislator because that state’s sole congressional district would cover the entire state), the upper house would choose that elector as well. similarly, allowing each house of a state legislature to separately select one at large elector would also avoid disputes in split legislature states. as to the special case of the district of columbia, the 23rd amendment provides that its three electors are to be appointed as congress directs. congress could direct that the district’s elected municipal legislature, its council, choose its electors in a manner similar to the above proposed method. a constitutional amendment adopting this procedure for all states (and perhaps the district of columbia as well) would best ensure uniformity. the proposed method is novel, not just in terms of combining two methods, but also in suggesting direct legislative choice of electors. all proposals in the governmental and academic areas have heretofore focused on reforms that involve popular voting as an integral component (katz 4-5; mccormick 210-11). strong resistance would be expected from the public, government, and academia with respect to any proposal involving direct legislative choice as “undemocratic” (diamond 50-58) (evidenced, for example, by the public uproar as well as political and judicial machinations regarding the disputed florida vote in the 2000 presidential election (caraley 2)). several benefits unique to this method, however, merit its serious consideration. benefits of direct legislative choice method: choosing the best individuals to serve as president the electoral college was among the framers’ proudest and most innovative accomplishment, and received praise from federalists (those generally favoring the constitution) and antifederalists (those generally opposing ratification) alike during the state ratifying conventions (tulis 35; note 15). the framers endeavored to devise a system that would raise “exalted characters” to the presidency (mccormick 32). the system was intended to create a “constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue” (hamilton, “federalist no. 68” 414). on the other hand, as richard mccormick writes, “the framers were not especially concerned with providing the president with a constituency, or ensuring extensive popular participation in his election, or guaranteeing that he would represent the choice of a majority of his countrymen” (24). one would be hard pressed to argue that the framers’ system failed to elevate “exalted characters” to the office of president in the elections of the first five presidents: george washington, john adams, thomas jefferson, james madison, and james monroe. these five men, perhaps the most “exalted” ever to serve as president, other than abraham lincoln, were elected during the only period in our history when most states chose electors through either direct legislative choice or the district election method, rather than the general ticket method that has since predominated. one might assert on this objective basis that if the primary goal is to elect the best individuals to the presidency, a method combining direct legislative choice and the district method to the exclusion of the general ticket method is advisable. under the current system, the key factors for success in obtaining election as president are fundraising and attracting favorable media attention (polsby 53-62). no empirical data or rational analysis exists to connect fundraising acumen with effective governance as president. further, state legislators admiring a candidate (a necessary component of success under the proposed hybrid method for choosing electors) seems more important than a candidate’s attractiveness to the media; state legislators are precisely the individuals that the people of each state elect to represent their best interests. republican representation over popular democracy article iv, section 4 of the constitution guarantees a republican form of government (self-government through elected representatives) to every state. on the other hand, the constitution makes no guarantees regarding democracy nor does that word even appear in its text. the framers (and founders in general), federalist and antifederalist alike, expressed concern regarding democracy. edmund randolph of virginia stated at the constitutional convention his desire to “restrain, if possible, the fury of democracy” (farrand 58; vol. 1). elbridge gerry of massachusetts also warned at the convention: “the evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy” (farrand 48; vol. 1). drew mccoy writes that james madison “wanted to protect republican government as much as possible from the disruptive and unsettling effects of immediate popular influence – precisely because in america, as elsewhere, the large body of the people were not always or even ordinarily guided by enlightened reason” (50). in federalist no. 10, madison wrote further on the perils of democracy: [c]ommon passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole; a communication and concert results from the form of government itself; and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party or an obnoxious individual. hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights or property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. (76) and john adams wrote, “remember, democracy never last long. it soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. there never was a democracy that did not commit suicide” (qtd. in hoar 2324). along these lines of ensuring republican, representative government rather than direct popular democracy, the constitution vests authority to direct the choice of electors for president in the very body through which the guaranteed republican form of government at the state level resides, state legislatures. legislatures are the instrumentality by which the people of each state exercise the sovereignty reserved to them under the tenth amendment (taylor 284). in light of this constitutional principle of representation, jeffrey tulis states: “because electors were chosen by state legislatures for the sole purpose of selecting a president, the process was thought more democratic than potential alternatives, such as selection by congress” (35; note 15). under a republican form of government the majority does not decide, but rather chooses the representatives who will decide (ideally) in the best interests of all the people and under the constraints of the rule of law. the constitution, designed to protect the rights and interests of all, majority and minority alike, provides through republican, representative government a means of controlling the unfettered will of the majority (berns 2). james madison referred to this founding principle of representation as “the delegation of the government to a small number of citizens elected by the rest” (wood 596). as nelson polsby wrote, the electoral college was designed “to check popular majorities from choosing presidents unwisely” (polsby 223). patricia conley writes of the “ignorance of the american voter” in presidential mandates: “evidence indicates that a large proportion of voters are ignorant of the issues and cannot accurately identify the candidates’ platforms” (conley 1, 4). on the other hand, largely insulated from media and advertising influence, and more cognizant of the issues and the relationship of those issues to the best interests of their constituents, state legislators are in a far better position to accomplish the true will of the people than are the people themselves. elected state representatives, with a vested interest in effectively serving their constituents and the need to understand and deal with government issues on a regular basis, are seemingly more effective than the people themselves in deciding who should hold key offices in the federal government for the people’s sake. this perceived reality compelled the framers to vest control over the means of choosing the president in state legislatures rather than directly in the people. this same rationale lead the framers to direct state legislatures to choose united states senators under the original constitution. senators chosen by legislatures had typically served the state, and were well known and accountable to the state legislatures who could, in their representative governmental capacity, keep track of what those senators were doing better than the people they represented could. with popular election of senators since ratification of the 17th amendment in 1913, ultra affluent individuals like jon corzine in new jersey, or celebrities with little connection to the state they represent, such as hilary clinton in new york, can satisfy the two key criteria for success in popular elections (funding, media acclaim, or both). correspondingly, they have little accountability to the people of the state they represent nor significant incentive to serve their specific best interests. as with senators, legislative choice of presidential electors would replace fundraising and media acclaim with service and accountability as key criteria for success. overcoming the pledged elector problem a critical feature of the electoral college created by the framers’ was their universal understanding that electors, whether chosen by legislatures or popular vote, were to be independent officials of high esteem, well suited for the special representative purpose of exercising their unfettered discretion in casting their votes for president in the people’s best interests, a task not appropriate for a less informed populace (mccormick 32). by the first presidential election, however, and certainly by the contentious election of 1796, pitting federalist john adams against republican thomas jefferson, the key assumption of independent presidential electors was proven wrong in practice by partisan political forces (mccormick 3335; 53-57). the framers’ intended independent elector was thus replaced by the “pledged elector,” so much so that less than a dozen times in presidential election history has an elector broken ranks in voting for a different candidate, earning those few unique individuals the notorious label of “faithless elector” (“how u.s. states choose presidential electors” 3). the most recent faithless elector was republican elector dr. lloyd bailey of north carolina who cast his vote for george wallace rather than richard nixon in 1968 (hardaway 53; eddlem 1). in fact, 21 states now legally bind electors to vote according to the candidate they are pledged to, and 5 of those states impose a penalty for “faithlessness” (“how u.s. states choose presidential electors” 1-2). in 1952, the united states supreme court overruled the alabama supreme court in holding that pledged electors, necessitated by the exigencies of party politics, did not violate the constitution (hardaway 104). even proponents of the electoral college view the faithless elector “problem” as a threat to the system’s integrity and a weapon for those who would eliminate the electoral college entirely by pointing to this “flaw” (reagan 243; hardaway 105-6; mccormick 210-11). nevertheless, the framers may have left the method of choosing electors to the broad discretion of state legislatures, not only to avoid further conflict in obtaining consensus on a constitution, but because under any mode of choosing independent electors the republican, representative nature of electing the president is preserved. with independent electors fulfilling the special purpose of casting the state’s votes for president, popular election of those electors would mirror popular election of state legislators for the general purpose of state lawmaking. accordingly, under either direct legislative choice or popular election of independent electors (as opposed to pledged electors), the representative nature of electors in exercising independent discretion to cast votes for president would be the same. the reality of “pledged electors” that quickly resulted from intense partisan interest in the “big prize” of the presidency, and corresponding rise of successive two-party systems, however, has destroyed the capacity of the electoral college to maintain its republican aspect (as compared to the popular democracy feared by the framers) unless the choice of perfunctory electors is made by the people’s elected state representatives (i.e., state legislators) rather than by popular vote. popular voting for electors who have no independent discretion is equivalent to the direct democratic election of the president by the people on a state-by-state basis. randall holcombe writes: “quite clearly, the process was not intended to be democratic, although it has evolved that way despite the fact that the constitutional provisions for selecting a president remain essentially unchanged” (3). the pledged elector transformed the electoral college into a direct democratic institution without amending the actual words the framers intended to ensure an indirect republican, representative mechanism for selecting the president. had the framers understood their miscalculation regarding the lack of independence of presidential electors, it seems apparent from their anxiety regarding popular democracy that they would have insisted that state legislatures, as elected representatives of the people, directly choose such non-independent electors or vote directly for president. of course, the balance between large and small states, reflected in the number of electors allocated per state, would make direct election of the president by state legislatures impractical or impossible. if the framers had instead agreed that every state would have equal influence in choosing the president, then each state legislature could simply have cast one vote for president. because the framers compromise, however, provided for proportionate weighting of each state’s participation in presidential elections, an additional category of representatives, in a number equal to each state’s allocated share of electoral votes, was required to the special purpose of casting their state’s votes for president. if the framers intended electors to be bound officials simply performing the mechanical function of reporting their state’s votes for president, then they likely would have found it unnecessary to impose restrictions on eligibility to serve (article ii, section 1 prohibits senators and members of the house of representatives, and any other officer of the federal government, from serving as elector) or even to have electors at all (for example, each state’s governor could have simply reported how its state cast its allocation of electoral votes for president). certainly, the framers would not have wasted valuable time in the convention discussing the importance of obtaining “capable men” for a role of such “vast importance,” as they did, for example, on july 24th (farrand 99-100; vol. 2). mitigating demagoguery in creating a process of indirect election of the president through electors intended to be independent, the framers also expressed concern respecting “the danger that a powerful executive might pose to the system if power were derived from the role of popular leader” (tulis 27). demagogic appeals to the people by the president were anathema to the framers. at the constitutional convention, elbridge gerry said: “the people do not want virtue; but are the dupes of demagogues” (farrand 48; vol. 1). similarly, in federalist no. 1 and no. 85, alexander hamilton warned that tyranny is the objective and end result of demagoguery (35, 527). by the 1830’s, however, largely through andrew jackson’s advocacy, presidential demagoguery gained acceptance through the claim that the source of a president’s power rested with the overall american people rather than with the people of the united states as exercised through their state and local representatives (such as state legislatures and presidential electors) (conley 3, 52; tulis 29). jackson’s assertion was entirely counter to the framers’ intent who, according to richard mccormick, “were not especially concerned with providing the president with a constituency, or ensuring extensive popular participation in his election, or guaranteeing that he would represent the choice of a majority of his countrymen” (24). the view of the president as popular leader of the american people was logically consistent only with the popular election of presidential electors. consequently, acceptance of this concept during president jackson’s tenure corresponded with adoption of popular election of electors in all but one state by 1836 (caraley 1). jackson’s notion correspondingly subordinated the constitution and rule of law to the will and sovereignty of the american people, an extraconstitutional principle solidified and completed under woodrow wilson (tulis 118-19; 12425). as a result, modern presidents regularly claim a mandate to lead the people, an alleged delegation of power that apparently transcends the limitations of power delegated to the president and the overall federal government in the constitution (ceaser 17; conley 3-4). in “the myth of the presidential mandate,” robert dahl describes the notion of a presidential mandate as dangerous, one that wrongfully “elevates the president to an exalted position in our constitutional system at the expense of congress” (365). dahl’s analysis further asserts that “because the myth is almost always employed to support deceptive, misleading, and manipulative interpretations, it is harmful to the political understanding of citizens” (365). this mandate concept, based on the hypothesis that the president is the representative of the overall american people, directly contradicts the framers’ central objective of limiting and balancing central government power through the written constitution they created. because the reality of political parties makes independent electors impossible, only a return to direct legislative selection of electors can reverse the concept of the president as leader of the american people who is accountable only to them and not the constitution, and thereby restore republican principles and constitutional limitations on federal government power. reduced costs and burdens the financial cost and related burdens of popular election of the president are staggering. presidential campaign spending was $750 million in 2000, well more than double the level of $325 million in 1984 (polsby 54; table 3.1). federal election laws compel taxpayers to substantially fund campaigns, even those of candidates they do not like (polsby 67-68). in addition, with popular election, incumbent presidents seeking re-election, or other office holders seeking the presidency, must allocate essentially all of their time for many months leading up to election day to the campaign and away from their critical duties of office (polsby 138-43). greater representation of all people’s interests in nominating and electing presidents the shift from party caucuses to primaries in order to allow direct voter participation in the selection of major party nominees has instead created the reverse effect of disenfranchising most voters who do not happen to live in iowa and new hampshire, the first two states to hold voter events in the primary season (polsby 93-101). the voters of these two diminutive states can quickly kill the candidacies of most major party candidates, hardly a system that is responsive to the will of the people (polsby 100). furthermore, artificial media and advertising influences distort choices of a largely uninformed electorate. the media’s biases in determining who are “serious” candidates worthy of coverage, and its incentive to “jump on the bandwagon” to create excitement behind a particular candidate’s momentum, often means that the major party candidates are in place long before voters have the opportunity to cast a meaningful vote in their state’s primary (polsby 6976, 100-101). on the other hand, nomination by party caucuses composed of representatives from all of the united states corresponds to the interests of all the people. this type of nominating system could be logically expected to resume if state legislatures chose electors, as voter primaries would become irrelevant to the method of electing the president. in addition, voter turnout is low in presidential elections, ranging from 49% to 55% since 1972 (polsby 9). participating voters decide with respect to their own interests, leaving nonparticipating voters disenfranchised (albeit by their own inaction). state legislators, however, are charged with acting in the best interests of all their constituents, voter and non-voter alike. accordingly, direct legislative choice would provide representation for all, rather than about half, the people in the presidential elections. benefits of the hybrid method: combining direct legislative choice with a district method direct legislative choice within districts would enhance the above benefits while offering a significant voice to the people, through their elected local representatives, in the nomination and election process. unlike presidential candidates, state legislators are generally accessible and susceptible to strong local influence by their constituents. combining direct legislative choice with a district method for so choosing would ensure that diversity within each state is reflected in casting electoral votes (“united states electoral college” 10). for example, in pennsylvania (and other states), heavy democratic voting in major cities like philadelphia often turn the statewide majority vote total in favor of the democratic candidate, even though many suburban and rural areas in that state are in congressional districts that are predominantly republican (madonna 2). the interests of the people in those districts are muted by the winner-take-all general ticket method. similarly, in a diverse state such as new jersey, republican districts in burlington county and the northwestern part of the state are unrepresented in a state that casts all its electoral votes for the democratic candidate except in the case of a republican landslide such as the reagan victories of 1980 and 1984 (polsby 222; table 6.2). several arguments are made against the district method. historically, large states feared losing additional influence in presidential elections (mccormick 114). this assertion is not technically accurate in that, under a district method, large states would still cast every one of the electoral votes constitutionally allocated to them. on the other hand, the influence of people within different parts of large states, on the other hand, would be greatly enhanced under a district method. unlike earlier periods in our history when the people’s interests within each state were generally homogeneous, many states now have diverse local interests (“united states electoral college” 10). this reality prompted the conference of delegates of the california bar associations to propose a resolution for adoption of a district election method in california, the largest electoral vote state, because the current general ticket method “disenfranchises voters and fails to reflect the often diverse makeup of each state by treating it as a unitary whole” (weixel 1). nelson polsby argues that the district method is undesirable because it would have given the loser of the popular vote in 1960 (nixon, by the slightest of margins) victory, and would have deadlocked the 1976 election (as well as giving 12 more electoral votes to independent candidate george wallace in 1968) (221). further, polsby asserts that the district method still provides for a winner-take-all principle within each district (221). polsby’s arguments are unconvincing. the current system also gave the loser of the popular vote in 2000, president george w. bush, victory. furthermore, a greater possibility of deadlock seems a small price to pay for granting influence in presidential elections to people within districts locked in states dominated by opposing parties. in any event, the framers provided a method for breaking deadlocks in the house of representatives; many assumed deadlocks would be common and preferred that the house of representatives choose the president in most elections (farrand 512; vol. 2; mccormick 9, 25). polsby’s argument that the district method retains the “winner take all” principle of the general ticket method seems implausible. unless each electoral vote were divided into fractions (which, among other things, is both exceedingly complex and perhaps not permitted under current constitutional provisions), most variations of the district method, including the one proposed herein, reduces the winner take all attribute of the general ticket method (under which the statewide popular vote winner receives all that state’s electoral votes) to its smallest possible denominator, making it the opposite of a winner take all format. tara ross argues that the district method would provide greater incentive for gerrymandering congressional districts (9). under the proposed form of district method herein proposed, however, gerrymandering for this purpose would be impractical or impossible because legislators from state legislative districts included in one or more congressional districts would participate in choosing those districts’ electors. therefore, gerrymandering for this purpose would have to occur at both the congressional districting and state legislative districting levels, an unlikely scenario in light of the complexity of doing so and its corresponding effect on the other myriad partisan and other purposes served at those two different governmental district levels. with multiple state legislative districts touching multiple congressional districts in most states, the ability to engage in effective gerrymandering for electoral college purposes under the proposed hybrid system would be exceedingly difficult. conclusion the electoral college system represents the framers’ consensus for indirect election of the president by representatives of the people of each state electors. in adopting this system the framers and the state ratifying conventions’ delegates understood that these electors would independently exercise their discretion in casting their presidential votes. however, the immediate rise of factional partisan interests undermined the central framing concept of the independent elector and replaced it with the political reality of the pledged elector. ultimately, as andrew jackson branded the president as the direct representative of the overall american people, popular election of these pledged electors became the norm in almost every state by the 1830’s. retaining independent electors (chosen by state legislatures or by popular election) assures that the republican, representative principle of the electoral college is upheld. under a system of pledged electors, however, popular election of such perfunctory officials transforms the procedure of selecting the president from a representative, republican process to a state-bystate, democratic popular election rejected by the framers. consequently, the only means of preserving the implicit, integral republicanism of the electoral college within the context of pledged electors is by having the people’s elected state representatives (their legislators) choose those electors. direct legislative choice of electors offers more advantages today than at the time of the founding. these advantages include the ability to: (i) entrust the choice of president to elected state representatives who have a vested interest in advancing the best interests of the people of their state and a far greater understanding of the issues and candidates than the general public; (ii) restrain demagogic claims of presidential power extending beyond constitutional limitations derived from the american people rather than the constitution’s specific delegations of executive power; (iii) eliminate the exorbitant costs of presidential campaigns, largely financed by taxpayers subsidizing candidates they may not support; (iv) provide real, proportionate representation to all states in the nomination of candidates rather than the grossly disproportionate influence accorded states such as iowa and new hampshire that hold early primary events; (v) mitigate undue media and advertising influence over the choice of president; (vi) provide representation to all people in all states in the choice of president, voter and nonvoter alike; and (vii) increase the likelihood of elevating the best possible individuals to the presidency. direct legislative choice of electors in congressional districts under the hybrid approach proposed herein avoids the potential problem of deadlocked legislatures, grants greater representation to the varying interests and preferences of diverse parts of each state, and reduces central party machine control over the election process. to ensure uniform influence among all states in presidential elections, a constitutional amendment incorporating this methodology would be advisable. the period when direct legislative choice of electors predominated gave the united states five of the most “exalted characters” ever to serve as president: washington, adams, jefferson, madison, and monroe. this fact alone, despite current widespread belief that popular election is the only appropriate means of choosing the president, behooves reconsideration of this method, or some variation thereof, as a means of restoring the framers’ vision for a system that can elevate such remarkable individuals to the presidency. works cited berns, walter. testimony, house subcommittee on the constitution. washington. 4 sep. 1997. http://www.aei.org/publications/pubid.16930,filter.all/pub_details.asp bowen, catherine drinker. miracle at philadelphia: the story of the constitutional convention may to september 1787. boston: little, brown and company, 1966. bush v. gore, 531 u.s. 98 (2000). caraley, demetrios. “why americans need a constitutional right to vote for presidential electors.” political science quarterly. 116.1 (2001): 1-3. ceaser, james. presidential selection. princeton: princeton university press, 1979. corwin, edward. the constitution and what it means today. princeton: princeton university press, 1973. conley, patricia. presidential mandates: how elections shape the national agenda. chicago: the university of chicago press, 2001. dahl, robert. “the myth of the presidential mandate.” political science quarterly. 105.3 (1990): 355-372. diamond, martin. “the electoral college and the american idea of democracy.” after the people vote: a guide to the electoral college (2nd ed.). ed. walter berns. washington: aei press, 1992. 44-68. eddlem, thomas. “the independent elector.” the new american. 29 jan. 2001 http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/2001/01-29-2001/vol17no3_elector.htm farrand, max. the records of the federal convention of 1787. 4 vols. new haven: yale university press, 1966. glennon, michael. “electoral college.” msn encarta. 16 oct. 2006 http://encarta.msn.com/text_761576768__0/electoral_college.html hamilton, alexander. “federalist no. 1.” the federalist papers. ed. clinton rossiter. new york: penguin books, 1961. 33-37. ---. “federalist no. 68.” the federalist papers. ed. clinton rossiter. new york: penguin books, 1961. 411-415. ---. “federalist no. 85.” the federalist papers. ed. clinton rossiter. new york: penguin books, 1961. 520-527. http://www.aei.org/publications/pubid.16930,filter.all/pub_details.asp http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/2001/01-29-2001/vol17no3_elector.htm http://encarta.msn.com/text_761576768__0/electoral_college.html hardaway, robert. the electoral college and the constitution: the case for preserving federalism. westport, connecticut: praeger publishers, 1994. hoar, william. “the electoral college: how the republic chooses its president.” the new american. 10 aug. 1992: 23-28. holcombe, randall. “origins of the electoral college.” mises institute. (9 nov. 2000). 7 oct. 2006 http://www.mises.org/story/545 “how u.s. states choose presidential electors.” freerepublic.com. (20 nov. 2000). 26 nov. 2006 http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a18f9124f3e.htm jay, john. “federalist no. 64.” the federalist papers. ed. clinton rossiter. new york: penguin books, 1961. 390-96. katz, ellis. “the american electoral college.” usinfo. 27 sep. 2006 <http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/politics/eleccol/katz.htm> madison, james. “federalist no. 10.” the federalist papers. ed. clinton rossiter. new york: penguin books, 1961. 71-78. ---. “federalist no. 39.” the federalist papers. ed. clinton rossiter. new york: penguin books, 1961. 240-246. ---. “federalist no. 45.” the federalist papers. ed. clinton rossiter. new york: penguin books, 1961. 288-294. madonna, g. terry and berwood yost. “pennsylvania 2000.” franklin and marshall (dec. 2000). 5 dec. 2006 http://www.fandm.edu/x2336.xml mccormick, richard. the presidential game: the origins of american presidential politics. new york: oxford university press, 1982. mccoy, drew. the last of the fathers: james madison and the republican legacy. new york: cambridge university press, 1991. mcdonald, forrest. novus ordo seclorum: the intellectual origins of the constitution. lawrence, kansas: university press of kansas, 1985. polsby, nelson, and aaron wildavsky. presidential elections: strategies and structures of american politics. lanham, maryland: rowman & littlefield, 2004. reagan, ronald. reagan in his own hand: the writings of ronald reagan that reveal his revolutionary vision for america. kiron skinner, ed. new york: simon and schuster, 2001. http://www.mises.org/story/545 http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a18f9124f3e.htm http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/politics/eleccol/katz.htm http://www.fandm.edu/x2336.xml ross, tara. “the electoral college: enlightened democracy.” heritage.org. (1 nov. 2004). 30 nov. 2006 <www.heritage.org/research/legalissues/lm15.cfm> rossiter, clinton, introduction. the federalist papers. new york: penguin books, 1961. slonin, shlomo. “the electoral college at philadelphia: the evolution of an ad hoc congress for the selection of a president.” journal of american history 73.1 (1986): 35-58 “table of partisan control of state legislatures, 1938-2004.” national conference of state legislatures. 3 nov. 2004. 2 nov. 2006 <http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legman/elect/hstptyct.htm> taylor, john. new views of the constitution of the united states. washington: regnery publishing, 2000. tulis, jeffrey. the rhetorical presidency. princeton: princeton university press, 1987. “united states electoral college.” wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (6 nov. 2006). 7 november 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=united_states_electoral_college&printable=yes weixel, jim. “resolution 03-07-05.” resolutions committee, conference of delegates of california bar associations. wood, gordon. the creation of the american republic, 1776-1787. chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 1969. http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legman/elect/hstptyct.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=united_states_electoral_college&printable=yes preference for direct legislative choice of electors at the convention understanding of the appropriate method for choosing electors early modes of choosing electors problems with direct legislative choice in early elections rise of parties attempts to adopt the district method as the uniform method benefits of direct legislative choice method: conclusion \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\symphony.prn.pdf 1 symphony or cacophony? how creation hears itself in james joyce’s ulysses. john doherty english villanova university m.m. bakhtin asserts that the music of a novel depends upon multiple voices. “the novel as a whole is a phenomenon multiform in style and variform in speech and voice” with “…different linguistic levels” (261). james joyce’s ulysses captures this idea in powerful and varied ways that nearly replicate the sound of daily life if one was to hear the inner monologues of passers by, the sounds of machines in onomatopoeic dialogue and the discordant discourses of dubliners aligned in proper time and space. bakhtin further writes the living utterances having taken meaning and shape at a particular historic moment in a socially specific environment, cannot fail to brush up against thousands of living dialogic threads, woven by socioideological consciousness around the given object of an utterance; it cannot fail to become and active participant in social dialogue (276). throughout james joyce’s ulysses, one finds that the sound of conversation, not just the spoken conversation of the human characters, but the sound of all of life in june 16, 1904 dublin is heard and in some sense repeated and reverberated in the onomatopoeia of the epic novel. “although this kind of experiment (aural technique) is not entirely original, it has seldom if ever been carried out on so extensive a scale” (steinberg, 141). vincent sherry furthers this idea by calling joyce’s ulysses and other works “searching experiments with human psychology and linguistics” (103). joyce’s ulysses is often cited as the greatest literary accomplishment of the 20th century. the story of everyman leopold bloom and aspiring writer stephen dedalus is a good one; but the challenge that joyce throws at the novel and its conventions – linguistic, syntactic, stylistically – is what connotates his work as one of best of the century. the epic frame of this one day tale – june 16, 1904 derived from homer’s odyssey, along with the varied styles and techniques chosen for each chapter and within each chapter has spawned academic theses since before the novel’s publication in 1922 and will continue to inspire academics for some time to come. the novel has been likened to the human body and given color 2 schemes. it is essentially a familiar and unfamiliar modernist puzzle. this is joyce’s ode to dublin, a city that he grew up in but left, never to return. he desired to create a true replication of the city: through its alleys and districts, ale houses and butchers, its various classes of people. ulysses is june 16, 1904 come alive on the page, engaging the senses of sound and sight, piquing the reader’s own senses of taste and touch and smell through the varied voices of the novel’s narration. it can be said that stephen and bloom represent joyce’s own duplicitous nature: a driven young intellectual and literati, and a caring, devoted father and husband. the current guinness brewery tour begins with a display that is a rewound and replayed conversation, of very genuine sounding irish folks having a raucous conversation, with laughter and exclamations and subtly intoned choice words. it was charming and to the observer passing by, somewhat unintelligible; but one may imagine to the irish, something quite intelligible, with a let’s keep it to ourselves and not allow ourselves to be understood motive. keep our conversation for us. let the others marvel at our communication and handsome accent. audition captures the listener’s mind. language is not just the relation of ideas through words, but the actual sounds of those words. but is language a purely human phenomenon? this example of the guinness brewery exhibit proves that the spoken english of the irish is a sound dependent, lyrical language; one with ebbs and intonations that need to be heard in order to be appreciated: a seemingly cacophonous sound that when listened to again begins to develop into a symphonic performance of language, tone, and rhythm. the word play that is evident in this taped conversation is woven throughout the interactions of joyce’s characters despite the one hundred year difference and the manner in which these remnants of irish dialect were captured. the word play of joyce’s novel is much more evident and entertaining when it is audible. ulysses is engrossing when read aloud; even if one only moves his or her mouth along with the words for the feel of the linguistic playing and jousting that bounces throughout ulysses, the essence of the novel’s linguistic experiment is more greatly experienced and appreciated. it is a novel that should be spoken, just as language is more colorful when heard and not merely read. the puns live larger when they are auditory; the few instances of written wordplay play even better when verbalized by both the speaking character, and the reader, of ulysses. anthony burgess writes ulysses which is a conspectus of so many things, may be taken as implying the whole spectrum of dublin speech, and it would be amusing to sketch out a cline, with the speech of drabs and jarveys near the bottom and that characters like jj o’molloy and professor machugh somewhere at the top. as it is, for the most part, far more enlightening to hear ulysses read aloud…than to peruse it silently 3 (“the dublin sound,” 49). the following selections from the text of ulysses will show their resonance throughout characters’ understandings of life and situations, internally and externally as a result of a symphony of seeming noise. as one thinks and feels, the language and sounds of life that bound to our ears at each living moment shape and reshape our thoughts, feelings and emotions as we come to, (or at least try to come to), an understanding of what it is to be a human character in this play of life and its jokes, questing to further understand all that ebbs and flows around us. the sound of life is its own patois. out of the clattering cacophony, a symphonic symbiosis of language develops. joyce creates a cacophonous symphony throughout ulysses; ever the composer, he heard music in all sound and language. language and/ or sound: communication on infinite levels vincent sherry expounds on the place of language and its sound in joyce’s work. he presents the idea of a “labyrinth of linguistics, where a word finds its meaning” (95). i would propose further that the sound of a word and the sounds surrounding that word, in many instances throughout ulysses, create more of a chain of linguistic reactions. conversation is the advancement of a statement by follow up questions and tangential points. but the sound that surrounds such conversation has an obvious, and not so obvious, effect as well. one must raise one’s voice if the setting is noisy; one also incorporates the sound of all that is around him or her as phrases are formed and enunciated: the rhythms of language are not solely created, as they are also reactions and responses to the auditory and visual stimuli that are present. sherry continues by stating that “stephen has reconceived the verbal subject as a gathering of linguistic energies” (96), and that “stephen and bloom’s linguistic deliberations conspire to suggest that words afford a constant opportunity for the freudian slip” (97). but words alone do not allow for the freudian slip; such slips are encouraged and generated by the auditory stimuli that present themselves in jingling jaunty cars, crackling shells and the word play of stephen and bloom, as well as the word play of fellow dubliners. “sound alike formations… [and] rhyming words release anxiety” (sherry, 97). these instances are acknowledgements, albeit indirect and softened, of all that cannot be spoken bluntly, but the minimal verbalizing that we observe acts as a welcome confession. as we travel through the minds of stephen and bloom, as well as the minds of countless other dubliners, we realize that unspoken, possibly incomplete incorporations of thoughts of the deepest nature, drive the present actions and speeches we see undertaken throughout bloom’s day. however, speech and verbalization are not limited to the human speaker alone. all of creation is teeming with deliberate sound – sound that wants to be 4 acknowledged, and for the better part of the day is rightfully so acknowledged. it furthers the plot, adds to the development of character, and fully actualizes the multi-dimensional universe and microcosm that dublin is. ulysses is a painting of sight and sound, the conscious and subconscious, in addition to the dubliners who unknowingly channel the day’s linguistic energies. the effect of language, sound, and their complementing metamorphosis on june 16, 1904 will be explicitly illustrated, as far as language itself can allow. ulysses, like most modern and postmodern literature, is a novel that makes assertions and through the text proves those assertions. it is a novel that challenged and changed language by recording it in a way that was as seamless as the mind’s absorption and reproduction of it. the text of ulysses: wordplay on a higher level and how it forces the novel forward the following word/ phrase serves as a prime example how joyce’s written language conspires to be much more. “ ‘(w)avyavyeavyheavyeavyevyevy’ is an auditory as well as visual analogue to hair being described…in recording ‘simultaneously what a man says, sees, thinks,’ joyce gave us more than strings of words spoken either aloud or as internal soliloquy.” the reader is left to process joyce’s “simulations of perceptions” (steinberg, 140). perceptions of joyce’s simulations are required on the reader/ listener’s behalf in order to fully absorb the cacophonous sound replicated in joyce’s transcript of dublin on june 16, 1904. leopold bloom, the doting and servile husband and father, begins his day by feeding the cat as he prepares his own breakfast. “the cat walked stiffly around a leg of the table with tail on high. mkgnao! o there you are, mr bloom, said, turning from the fire. the cat mewed in answer… they understand what we say better than we understand them. she understands all she wants to” (45). it is here (with the homonym of hear?) that we see (or when read aloud, should we hear?) the beginning of joyce’s attempt to capture the sound of life and the constant communication on every level. all sounds are unfiltered; our ears are always “on.” unlike sight that can be shut off with the eyes closed, or taste, where the tongue can do without food in the mouth, auditory stimuli are always being absorbed and processed. we often relegate what is heard to the background, and only conscientiously “hear” it when it is familiar or of use. and as bloom is digesting his thoughts on what it is about cats and their nature that makes them as 5 they are, the cat, almost knowing that it has lost bloom, the consummate thinker, to his thoughts and is beginning to run away with them, says “loudly”: “mrkrgnao!” (45). the cat has called bloom back to attention. as stephen dedalus walks along the strand with thoughts streaming through his mind, waves crash about him. his boots “crush crackling wrack” as he walks pondering the “ineluctable modality of the audible” (3). ineluctable modality defines joyce’s linguistic worldview in that change is unavoidable; stephen vocalizes this thought in both the auditory and visual realm. sherry makes extensive comments on this phenomenon: first and foremost, this shows stephen’s “verbal sensibility” (89). as the reader comes to know stephen, one can acknowledge joyce’s own presence; and as one compares stephen’s thoughts on language and writing with joyce’s actual writing, a mirror image becomes clear. in the opening pages of his book, sherry states that the narrator of ulysses “enjoys a linguistic sympathy with stephen and bloom” (3). stephen, throughout portrait of the artist as a young man and ulysses, wonders about the language of everything; everything, in some sense, speaks. and if it does not speak, it writes: the “heavy sands are the language of the tide” (37). but we must focus on the ineluctable modality that hangs in stephen’s mind. what is unavoidably changing – visually, and more importantly, orally – seems to consume the processes of stephen’s linguistically attuned mind. language is forever changing. its rhythms connect in previously unachieved and yet to be connected ways. and joyce makes this changing of language, and all that language can and cannot describe, a central idea in ulysses. “ulysses is, like paradise lost, an auditory work, and the sounds carry the sense” (burgess, re joyce, 177). in episode three, “proteus,” as stephen ponders the ineluctable modality of the visual and the auditory, the ocean speaks to stephen, or maybe stephen hears the ocean speak. “listen: a fourworded wavespeech:seesoo, hrss, rsseeiss, ooos…in cups of rocks it slops: flop, slop, slap…and, spent, its speech ceases” (41). can it be stated that the ocean is contributing to the ever going dialogue of life? could one extend that this is more than onomatopoeia – that the ocean is a contributing member of the cacophonous symphony that is ulysses? the ocean’s waves are a speaking character. but it is not just nature and man that speak; in the burgeoning machination and industrialization of the early 20th century, the noise of the mechanical world was asserting itself in the chorus of everyday discourse. the “aeolus” episode, with its newspaper-like format, has the events of the chapter taking place in the “windy” newsroom of a dublin paper. sections of the episode are formatted as such that they imitate the layout of a newspaper. under the headline “orthographical,” we read: 6 sllt. the nethermost deck of the first machine jogged forward its flyboard with sllt the first batch of quirefolded papers. sllt. almost human the way it sllt to call attention. doing its level best to speak. the door too sllt creaking, asking to be shut. everything speaks in its own way. sllt (100) [italics mine]. machines are alive and speak. every noise can be purported to be a form of communication. language is not just limited to what a human person says; it can be ascribed to any form of patterned sound that emanates from anything. language is not for people alone anymore; the printing machine here is communicating with anyone or anything that can listen. the door is “asking to be shut” by drawing attention to itself. creation is alive, and it doesn’t require a heartbeat, merely a patterned form of sound. the onomatopoeia of “sllt” and “creaking” is more than just a noise put in orthographical form; it is joyce’s attempt to give speech to all of creation – to create a symphony of intermingling and complementing sounds that meld to form a soundtrack to life, further adding to the evolution of dialogue and language. in addition to the printing presses, the “telephone whirred” (105); the mechanical world speaks! professor machugh, under the title “the grandeur that was rome,” states “we mustn’t be led away by words, by sound of words. we think of rome, imperial, imperious, imperative” (108). this statement serves as both a warning to the reader/ listener, and further as a joke from joyce. machugh himself is ignoring his own advice as he ends with “imperial, imperious, imperative.” joyce uses this type of word play throughout the day of this novel. it is the tool of a skilled and manipulative orator, a powerful tool that can stir crowds to a frenzy, such that the listener(s) could, and in the orator’s mindful intentions, hopefully do, get led or carried away. a few lines later, lenehan, playfully or mistakenly, states “our old ancient ancestor’s, as we read in the first chapter of guinness’s…” (108). a play on genesis, guinness serves as a subconscious slip, or that of a purposefully misspoken proper name to show ireland’s pride in its main export and vital social lubricant. lenehan, seemingly the wordsmith-clown, proposes the riddle asking, “what opera is like a railwayline?” his answer: “the rose of castille,” or as he explains, “rows of cast steel.” clever word play, both written and oral, but further proof that the sound of the day transposes itself to the ear as well, or maybe even better, than to the page. the people at the guinness exhibit seem to be on the right track when making the oral tradition of wordplay an integral part of the exhibit’s opening. this example lends itself to samuel beckett’s assertion that ulysses’ “adequate comprehension depends as much on its visibility as its audibility” (15). both of lenehan’s wordplays, in addition to his playful 7 misstatement of “feetstoops” (106), exhibit the “comic possibility in and through language” (sherry, 98). beckett states that the writing of ulysses “is to be looked at and listened to. his writing is not about something; it is that something itself” (14). “this is how the poets write, the similar sounds. but then shakespeare has no rhymes: blank verse. the flow of language it is” (125). bloom’s thoughts as he wanders along in the opening of “lestrygonians” further the discussion on language and its sounds. as he thinks of his wife molly, he recalls her misstatements concerning “base barreltone voice,” about which he editorializes: “only big words for ordinary things on account of the sound” (126). the obvious homophones and the very different meanings of the two similar sounding words (bass and baritone) allow for bloom to make conclusions about human patterns in the use and misuse of language. further along in the chapter, bloom thinks of the “useless words” (134). events and their opposites occur day after day, (trains and boats coming and going, in and out), toward almost no culminating point. the futility of words leaves him disheartened. but the power that lies beneath these words, despite the futility of action that they describe, require the reader, and bloom, to acknowledge that there is still no better way to communicate – a rather frustrating thought, but one to which the reader subscribes as the reader is reading the novel in this format. as bloom enters the lunching hour at the burton, the sound of eating, devouring, becomes the dominant form of communication, and joyce uses extensive descriptive language to make the scene come alive: “gurgling soup down his gullet” (138); “gristle: gums: no teeth to chewchewchewit” (138); “gulp, grub. gulp. gobstuff” (139). and this sounding of ravaging lunchers, moves bloom’s thoughts to the butchery, where he imagines the wretched cows waiting to be slaughtered, sliced, and bought. and when they have been made into tonight’s dinner, the meat when slapped down goes “plup” (140). vivid and enthralling description, but the addition of auditory detail greatly enhances what bloom has encountered – a language of its own, thriving on its own sound. the auditory nature of the world is a necessary oar in the stream of consciousness. the narrator of the “scylla and charybdis” episode emulates the words and sounds of characters into his or her own narrative of the events. this creates a unique effect where the point of view parrots, or even mocks, the characters. “piper! mr best piped” (157); “here he ponders… possibilities of the possible as possible” (159); the quaker librarian states “all sides of life should be represented.”/ he smiled on all sides equally” (162-163); mr best speaks on “hughes and hews and hues…” (163); following the poem featuring the dilemma of beds, we read “it is clear that there were two beds, a best and a secondbest, mr secondbest best said finely” (167); and as stephen finishes his rendition of the ten 8 commandments, finishing with the warning against coveting another man’s jackass, we read: “-or his jennyass, buck mulligan antiphoned. “-gentle will is being roughly handled, gentle mr best said gently. “-which will? gagged sweetly buck mulligan. we are getting mixed. “-the will to live, john eglinton philosophised, for poor ann, will’s widow is the will to die” (169). [italics mine] these examples make the auditory nature of these exchanges into physical, on-thepage details as well, as they are tied into the narrator’s cues as to how we should understand the characters to be speaking their lines – further ineluctable modality of the written and spoken word. the onomatopoeic words of whirr, throb, and hum of “wandering rocks” further serve to inject life and sound and language to dynamos, making stephen stuck “[b]etween two roaring worlds where they swirl” (199). the worlds of human and machine are in competition with each other; stephen is the 20th century man caught between what was (the world of man) and what will be (the world of man and machine). stephen has been “urged on” by these dynamos, impelled to make himself move just a bit faster, just a bit more like a machine. the sound of a machine making a man act according to the rhythms of a machine – the irony of a man made machine controlling man – such futuristic and fatalistic insight from the early 1900’s, shows the conversational intercourse among all aspects of creation. sound exists as a dominating physical force, the ears opening man to auditory subjugation. man moves in time to machinated music. the oral cue seamlessly pries into the unconscious, all-absorbing, mental landscape of joyce’s dublin characters. in the “sirens” episode, when bloom hears the jingling of the jaunty car outside, his mind is pointed towards the soon to be (re-)consummated affair between marion and blazes boylan. this jingling not only affects bloom, but the rest of the narrative in this chapter echoes the sounds of the outside’s jingling, whether we are in bloom’s mind thinking about molly and blazes’ jingling bed, or observing the whole scene in third person without a specific thought provocation conjured by sound. this jingling, as well as the tuning of the bar’s piano and the singing that accompanies it, moves the narrative to make the connection between language and song. “there’s music everywhere” (231). the onomatopoeia of a creaking door, the jingling of a jaunty car, and the creaking of shoes on the floor sing of life’s movement. they are speaking, adding to the symphony if not cacophony of all that is life. quotations throughout the chapter sharpen the point of language and its universal application to all that exists in the realm of sound. “words? music? no: it’s what’s behind” (226). “it’s on 9 account of the sounds it is” (228). the sound of all that is, is only sound – but what one associates with a sound or various sounds, and various orderings of sounds, shapes how life evolves or even possibly devolves. all of the sound around one rarely ceases; rather, we become adept at tuning it out. only when we conscientiously open our ears to acknowledge, and our minds to describe, all that sounds off as we march through each day, do we really see the layers of rich complexity – the beautiful and base – that exist in this orchestra pit of life. when bloom thinks of chamber music and realizes that a urinary pun could be made of this term when “chamber” is defined as to its type, the sound of urination adds to the sound waves of existence: “diddleiddle addleaddle ooddleooddle. hissss” (232). immediately after this thought, there is a knock on the door, and when read aloud, this paragraph stands as a shining example of what sound can become when it is written and acknowledged in the way that it exists, which we so rarely describe. “one rapped on a door, one tapped with a knock, did he knock paul de kock with loud proud knocker with a cock carracarracarra cock. cockcock” (232). it is rhythmic and flowing, with rhyme and unique sound: we see here the percussion to the preceding instrumentation of urination. the onomatopoeia is explicit and direct; but it is the sound of life (and one worried about extramarital intercourse) put to paper. the energy of the sociolinguistic dialogue shaping the world is ever present. but all of this “sounding off” is lost on pat, the hard of hearing waiter. “pat, waiter, waited, waiting to hear, for he was hard of hear by the door” (225). as a table server, he brings food and beverage after pausing to hear patrons’ requests: this flow of actions is relayed in the homophonic “wait” and its varied definitions. joyce’s efforts to bring audition to the page, and the word play of wait with its varied shades of meaning dependant upon suffix, engage the reader visually and aurally. it is comically sad how deaf pat is found in the most auditory of chapters. the sirens’ bar is overloaded with auditory sensory cues: pianos being tuned, old songs being sung, crackling cigarettes as they burn, the ever jingling outside scene. can we view pat the waiter as joyce’s proof as to how much of life we would miss if we were to tune out the auditory sensations? is pat the waiter proof of what we should be listening to as pat cannot? the episode fittingly ends with bloom’s loudly passed gas: “pprrpffrrppffff.” (239). as beckett states, “[w]ords are not the polite contortions of 20th century printer’s ink. they are alive” (15). this eleventh episode of ulysses, “sirens,” serves as a fine example of when cacophony and discord align to produce a symphony arrangement. as bloom continues through his day, fritz senn proposes that the within the “cyclops” episode, speech and silence are the main topics – what is strategic to reveal and what to hold back (486). “ulysses is about heterophony; minds move in different orbits; its salient episodic idiosyncrasies are its stylistic manifestations; 10 there is a perceptual as well as psychological parallax” (487). the metamorphosis of words, their spacing and emphasis in oral nature, augment one’s perceived meaning of such a phrase. the sound in the ear appears differently when put on the page, what senn refers to as “sleight of lexis” (496). misidentification, misinterpretation, and social conflict are at the heart of odysseus’s encounter with polyphemus; the spoken and written alteration of lexical phrases purposefully and comically indulges miscommunication. the “cyclops” episode of homer’s odyssey (book ix, penguin classics) superbly fits with joyce and other modernists like picasso, who were fond of creating and exploiting puns, as well as visual and auditory word play (rocco, 399-400). ulysses itself, through the nature in which joyce has shaped the narrative, allows for puns and easily misinterpreted phrases that urge the reader to draw his or her own meaning. the “cyclops” episode exhibits nationalistic tones as the question of language morphs from an implied theme to an overt theme that is discussed in detail by the citizen, a prejudiced, hard-drinking pub-goer who dominates the conversation of this twelfth episode. among the portions of discussion defining what a nation is, we read that a nation consists of a people who speak their own language (255). the irish of course had a distinct dilemma with the imperialistic english and the imposition of their language throughout colonized ireland. however, irish english evolved, in the same vein that any subculture1 develops a slang of its own to differentiate and separate itself from the group in power. (one can hear examples throughout the novel, most especially in discussions held in the pub.) this leads to a question regarding language and ownership of such: can language be one’s own as it evolves and is invariably influenced so that it is never what it was when it was first possessed? can language be possessed? or is it a living, fluctuating organism? if we were to hear the opening example of the guinness exhibit featuring irish dialect and storytelling, one can notice certain patterns which appear characteristic of irish dialogue: long winded, run-on sentences with a rhythmic ebb and flow among all participants in the conversation. the language is boisterous, but dry, full of allusions and personality. this can be true of any language; the irish society is a linguistically based society. and joyce, maturing in this setting, was indelibly formed by it – something we can see when examining the burgeoning thoughts of stephen dedalus in portrait. sherry further observes that in “araby” from joyce’s dubliners, the protagonist-speaker situates his language 1 i am viewing subcultures as arising from a lack of power, in terms of power or population figures, or a disagreement/ disenfranchisement with the dominant culture. subcultures often differentiate themselves from the ruling culture, exhibiting a pride and identity that comes in forming a resistant, unique language with deliberately different sounds and meanings. in thinking of american subcultures such as skateboarding and rap music, these are initially frowned upon by mainstream culture, but some of their phrases and mannerisms filter into the dominant, mainstream culture’s linguistic understanding. 11 in relation to the oral culture (italics mine) of dublin, which he typifies in images of the marketplace or bazaar. “here is the medley of demotic voices, background sounds of history and variegated social class, from which the novelist (in bakhtin’s construction) draws his stuff” (18-19). m.m. bakhtin writes in his essay “discourse in the novel” that “form and content in discourse are one, once we understand that verbal discourse is a social phenomenon – social throughout its entire range and in each and every of its factors, from the sound image to the furthest reaches of abstract meaning” (259). he continues that “[s]tylistics… ignores the social life of discourse outside the artist’s study, discourse in the open spaces of public squares, streets, cities and villages, of social groups, generations and epochs” (259). joyce’s work, ulysses in particular, is the product of a highly oral culture and tradition, one that permeated the streets of dublin and the minds of all who walked those streets, no matter their social class or level of education. qualities of speech, such as nasality and accent, are evident identifying features of a speaker’s native influences. and joyce democratically includes all speakers he imagined to be present in the june 16, 1904 dublin landscape. he uses the english of the poor, the working class, the middle class, artists, imperialists, nationalists, prostitutes and immigrants. joyce’s language, in sherry’s words, sprung from and further created “social institutions and verbal constitutions” (77). his “ear was tuned in a vocal culture as complex and rich as the irish society of his formal years” (sherry, 3). as the citizen unleashes his diatribe against all that is not irish, he proclaims: “to hell with the bloody brutal sassenachs [the anglo-saxons] and their patois” (266). in the citizen’s mind an outsider language is noise to be damned – it is a conglomeration of diction and surrounding influences, with little of its own merit. it should not be paid attention to nor even allowed. it is a scourge on the public ear and the populace’s linguistic evolution; though the citizen would surely propose this phenomenon as devolution. but it is still a sound that shapes the day. the civilization of the sassenachs is mentioned and immediately it is declared “syphillisation” (266). previous to this paragraph of the citizen’s diatribe, bloom is on the defensive against the citizen’s barbs. we read: “bloom lets on he heard nothing” (265). but he has heard everything; one can pretend not to hear, but ultimately is still hearing – the sound or thought that is heard still influences the person, discourse, and shape of the future. speech and noise are filtered, to be dealt with immediately, later, or never. and while we, like the citizen, often dismiss surrounding auditory sensations as noise when they are inconvenient or undesirable, if we listen closer, we may hear the audition of life aligned into a symphony; cacophony is only the interpretation of the untrained ear. we can choose not to acknowledge the sound around us, but in choosing to disregard that 12 “noise,” our conscious effort to mute it gives credo to its existence; and we may be foolishly tuning out what is truly symphonic, but beyond our normal range of hearing or interpreting. i believe that this was one of joyce’s deliberate placements of concordant and discordant sounds juxtaposed in human speech, natural surroundings and mechanical chatter congeal to create a symphonic novel enraptured with the auditory nature of language and its rhythms, both auditory and syntactic. however, the secret to affect that bloom ponders through this chapter and the next, is that “you must have repetition” (265). bloom, the advertising solicitor for a dublin daily newspaper, declares this as he examines what makes a solid, effective advertisement. greater examples of repetition are heard in episode thirteen’s catholic mass. the repetition of a catholic mass is calming and influential. “could hear them all at it. pray for us. and pray for us. and pray for us. good idea the repetition. same thing with ads. buy from us. and buy from us” (309). the church, and any business, has their specific lifestyle or product to sell and know that anyone who hears a message over and over is bound to remember it and be affected by it. faith and any public proclamation exist on some level as a form of advertisement. just as a newsboy will call the headlines of the newspaper he is hawking so that passers by will gain interest and buy a copy, a public display of faith by means of an outdoor mass is hardly intended only for the participants. the sound of worship floats through the air making it public domain – and exhibiting the catholic faith’s saturation of ireland; catholicism and guinness both being highly touted, significant exports. but in ulysses, the repeating ideas of language and phrases and common thoughts floating through public knowledge and discourse, move the reader to acknowledge the challenge that joyce throws down at the feet of literature by making everything language and dialogue. it is in the episode of “cyclops” that we read “there’s no one as blind as the fellow who won’t see” (267). if we shift the image to “deaf” and “hear,” the language of the novel further evolves. one hears what one is expecting to hear – our expectations act as auditory filters. hearing is not selective, but one can make it so. we acknowledge what we want to acknowledge – it is a human defense mechanism so that we are not overwhelmed with information. one cannot “stop hearing” with the intention of resuming this capacity at a later time. words and sounds continue to beat against our ears drums, even though we may not be listening to what our eardrums are receiving. we know this because our brain continues to process these sounds until are consciousness is pricked to attention because of a familiar or interesting, verbal cue – something that our mind knows we must acknowledge or give attention. 13 “and then there came out upon the air the sound of voices and the pealing anthem of the organ” (290). sound descends on the scene like a winged angel, like a character walking onstage. it interrupts the previous paragraph and changes the mood of the scene. the presence of this sound awakens bloom and gerty to the men’s temperance retreat: the mass’s sound is not a sound affecting only itself. “[t]he fragrant incense was wafted and with it the fragrant names of her who was conceived without stain or original sin…” (292). the names of the virgin mary are not only heard and processed by the mass’s attendees and participants, but by bloom and gerty as well. bloom thinks of the virgin and gerty nearly simultaneously; gerty’s foot even swings in time to the far off music of the mass. juxtaposing the sound of something sacred with the action of something so sordid (bloom’s fixation and masturbation as a result of gerty’s flirtation) makes the effect of the unfitting sounds and actions sadly comical. the chapter ends as bloom’s thoughts are interrupted by a cuckoo clock’s hourly chime, frustrating but nearly unavoidable – cacophonous sound signaling the end of one more section of joyce’s symphony. as “oxen of the sun” marches through the history of the english language, the reader is exposed to the various incarnations and evolutions of english writing. the most interesting twist comes near the end when joyce dives into what we can term “american southern negro” (of the early 1900’s at the latest). this is a “language” that is written exactly as its sounds, as it is in imitation of the true spoken voice of this culture. this gives it a unique feel – not just in what is said, but how it is said and inflected. the language of mark twain’s runaway slaves and harriet beecher stowe’s uncle toms and richard wright’s downtrodden men and women, this is a unique dialect, on paper and to the ear, unto itself. language has evolved so that it is written as it sounds. with bells and soap and dogs and horses becoming speaking characters as one reads the “circe” episode, the earlier proposition in the novel that everything speaks in its own language is reconfirmed. hugh kenner writes “what ‘circe’ shows us is what we could see and hear were everything pertinent to the goings-on translated into terms of the seeing and the hearing” (“circe,” 345). the dream like nature of this chapter, with its absinthe-tinged visions, changes the boundaries of perception. life is twisted; communication, (if it ever has been), is now far from straightforward and even. language swirls and the reader is left trying to contain it in a knowable diction. if we place the english language in new forms, we are left with a new language that is strange and outside of the normal means of comprehension. in the play that “circe” is, the reader further experiences the evolution of language, in that it is democratized and given to all creatures of the universe, enabling any character on the page to contribute to discourse and engage in dialogue. 14 the “ithaca” episode begins to turn down the volume of the day, giving dialogue and voice solely back to the novel’s foci, leopold bloom and stephen dedalus. the presence of noise ceases to be as noticeable as the reader leaves the busy-ness of dublin’s day and evening, but the language regarding auditory sensation is till very present. this is a point noted by bloom himself as he is nudged to think about shaving as he hears the whistle of his tea kettle cry beckon. he thinks that this boiling water could also be used to aid him as he shaves. “what advantages attended shaving by night?” (551). the night would allow a shave free of any disturbing noise and a chance for “quiet reflections upon the course of the day” (551). “why did the absence of light disturb him less than the presence of noise?” (551). noise made bloom jump, but with a sure hand and little chance for distracting sound, his shave could be more comfortable and soothing. after a day in which one has been bombarded with all that creates and thrives on sound this observation in the catechism illustrates how the ever present sound of dublin has penetrated and deeply affected his being. as bloom works through the catechistic questions of episode seventeen, we read “alone, what did bloom hear? the double reverberation of retreating feet on the heavenborn earth…”(578). stephen dedalus has left him to go off on his own and bloom is left again with his own thoughts. but as the two men were parting, the bells of st george’s church chimed, causing bloom and stephen to recall distinctly separate thoughts. the echoes of the sound of these bells cause stephen to recall the latin of his mother’s last rites, while bloom simply hears “heigho, heigho,/heigho, heigho” (578). the sound of the inanimate bells bring pain to stephen and childish song to bloom. the effect of sound and noise, as language, varies upon the listener. we do not affect sound as much as sound affects us. the human ear and mind are shaped and pulled by the auditory realm’s artisan-like hands. we are at the mercy of symphonic cacophony. bloom’s afore mentioned boiling water is used to make hot cocoa for stephen and bloom to share. it is a shared drink that has been given eucharistic levels – it is a bread breaking of sorts highly charged with catholic mysticism, the father and the son communing –, a symbolically tinged moment to which the novel has been building. but as bloom and stephen share this final drink of the day, we must note the absolute quiet of the scene, the sanctuary that each has achieved by arriving at 7 eccles street. the world, with its noises and distractions, blowhards and strange women is not to be found. bloom and stephen are alone, with nary an intrusion. a chinese saying comes to mind: “drink tea and forget the noises of the world.” and while bloom and stephen may be drinking hot cocoa, and the world is still reverberating in their ears, for the moment and the rest of the night, the world and its litany of noises, symphonic or cacophonic, exist only in memory. quiet and peace have been temporarily achieved. bloom proceeds to bed. 15 and so, molly’s soliloquy, silent except in her head, begins. and it too is greatly shaped by soundof passing trains and church bells and the bed specifically. the train draws her from her train of thought with its “frseeeeeeeefronnnng” (621, 627), and “sweeeee theres that train faraway” (628). sound frequency and correspondences abound in the inner monologue of molly, as well as those of bloom and stephen. the rhythms and rhythmic patterns give the reader an understanding of how joyce’s creations digest their existence in an auditory sense (steinberg, 140). molly also recalls the bed’s jingling during her afternoon rendezvous with boylan. it made her greatly self conscious, afraid that their act could be heard: “this damned old bed too jingling like the dickens i suppose they could hear us away over the other side of the park…”(633). and it was “heard” by bloom across town, before the act had even begun. the sound through time is an einsteinian bending of space and time (various studies have commented on the presence and re-evaluation of physics concerning joyce’s work); peter devoogd has referred to “joycean sonicities.” the symphony’s circularity of sound is complete before it has begun; the anticipation of its sound waves registers before they are created. linguistic implications of ulysses if anything can be overtly stated concerning joyce’s linguistic propositions put forth in ulysses, it is that the socio-linguistic waves of sound, through the energy of words, pulse throughout and move along every person encountered in june 16, 1904. anthony burgess writes: but of course the seeds of this mad variety are already present in the real speech of dublin, with its ability to encompass obscenity, seedy scraps of half-remembered learning, malapropism, the grandiloquent structures of oratory, euphony and balance for their own sake regardless of meaning…the book encompasses its entire orchestral spectrum (“the dublin sound,” 52). sound, and language specifically, create and shape the environment in which we exist, for better or for worse. it can be a symphony or cacophony – it only matters on how you filter it. should we relegate foreign sounds to a classification as noise? or do we select to process only convenient and useful sounds? sound, and the absence of it, aurally registers. language is a “sensory medium of its own… the ear is the intellectual soft spot in the body politic. the weak point through which joyce seeks to manipulate his listener-reader” (sherry, 109). as one reads a novel, as one hears a song repeated, as one is bombarded by the noise of advertisements and jet planes, ringing cell phones, the wind, and the 16 hum of fluorescent lights, we are invariably influenced, and our minds infinitely challenged by the swirling noise of modern existence. we are unwilling subjects to all that creaks and squeaks, booms and crashes, clings and chinks, as we walk through our own bloomsday. we absorb this constant whir of sound waves; our conscious and subconscious mind directs how we process such auditory shapes. as one often answers a question with a slight rephrasing of the questioner’s words, the characters in ulysses often respond and answer to the prompts of life around them – the ringing of a bell, the barking of a dog, the clanging of a machine. they answer the white noise of life that engulfs each person’s mind. “forming itself in an atmosphere of the already spoken, the word is at the same time determined by that which has not been said but which is needed and in fact anticipated by the answering word. such is the situation in any living dialogue” (bakhtin, 280). these prompts may not be consciously and purposely addressed, but each character acknowledges how life noisily proceeds forward. joyce captures this in the spoken phrases and internal monologues of his characters. our minds and thoughts are continually shaped and transformed by more than we acknowledge. to be cognizant of being conscious can be wearing on one’s own mind; in ulysses, we see the obvious reactions and processing of all that dances around us, that we often do not give a conscious second thought. we are products of our surroundings but it is in our nature to respond, consciously or unconsciously, to the various stimuli that bombards our mental landscape. while this essay has been focusing of the evolution of language, it is with irony that we must note that the word order of joyce’s text has become an issue among the various editions of ulysses. john noel turner notes that joyce’s “intentional obscurities” have been blurred by those mistakenly committed by typists and faulty typesetters who created their own lexical ordering mistakes. joyce’s instructions in proofs were misunderstood and misinterpreted, leaving the rest of us to sort out what joyce was proclaiming about how we hear, speak, use, and process language and its rhythms. although beckett was commenting on joyce’s own use of onomatopoeia and lexical evolution, we can see the “vicious circle of humanity is achieved” (19) through joyce’s processing of language and now, the processing of joyce’s language. the world and its goings on shape us and our words in ways that we are not fully aware; joyce proves in these selected passages from ulysses just how influential “noise” can be in nudging our minds and mouths towards our next discourse – contributing to life’s narrative, no matter who is listening, or even if they are aware that they are listening. speech and thoughts are paced with internal and external rhythms, consciously and unconsciously. in this symphony, speaking and the onomatopoeia of the day carry the tune – even if the lyrics to the song are intentionally or mistakenly misspoken. ulysses demonstrates the “endless verbal 17 germination, maturation, putrefaction, (and) the cyclic dynamism if the intermediate” (beckett, 16). james joyce’s ulysses shows apparent auditory discord and cacophony in seamless alignment forming a symphonic sound. aristotle, in his treatise on sense and the sensible, explores the importance and processes of sounds in relationship to existence. he was the first to classify the five senses; joyce continues this dialogue and exploration of the auditory experience: in hearing, and the conscious and unconscious processing what we hear. sound permeates the novel. it dominates thoughts and associations. it greatly influences the flow of the day. and some sounds – both those heard correctly and misheard, purposefully skewed or ignorantly skewed – have the proverbial affect of the brazilian butterfly creating a texas tornado by the movement of its wings. while ulysses is brimming with an overload of sensory stimuli, the auditory realm exists as a parallel for all that seems to have been misaligned as mere distraction. the universe is aligned and all things fit in their place to serve all other links in that chain. sound is continuously bounding into all functioning ears, perpetually resounding in our minds and future speeches – we are products of, and links in, the onomatopoeic, rhythmic, seemingly discordant symphony of life. 18 works cited/ consulted aristotle. on sense and the sensible. translated by j.i. beare. ebooks @ adelaide, the university of adelaide library, university of adelaide, south australia, 2004. http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/sense/. bakhtin, m.m. “discourse in the novel.” the dialogic imagination: four essays by m.m. bakhtin. usa: university of texas press, 1981: 259422. beckett, samuel. “dante…bruno. vico…joyce.” modern critical views: james joyce. ed. harold bloom. usa: chelsea house publishers, 1986: 7-20. blamires, harry. the bloomsday book. london: methuen and co., 1966. budgen, frank. james joyce and the making of ulysses. new york: harrison smith and robert haas, 1934. burgess, anthony. re joyce. new york: ww norton and company, inc., 1965. ---. “the dublin sound.” modern critical views: james joyce. ed. harold bloom. usa: chelsea house publishers, 1986: 45-52. devoogd, peter. “joycean sonicities.” contextualized stylistics: in honor of peter verdonk: dqr studies in literature. vol. vii (2000): 173-179. gilbert, stuart. james joyce’s ulysses. new york: vintage books, 1955. homer. the odyssey. translated by e.v. rieu. baltimore: penguin books, 1969. kenner, hugh. joyce’s voices. los angeles: university of california press, 1978 19 ---. “circe.” james joyce’s ulysses: critical essays. ed. clive hart and david hayman. los angeles, ca: university of california press, 1974. jones, william powell. james joyce and the common reader. norman: university of oklahoma press, 1955. joyce, james. ulysses. ed. hans walter gabler. new york: vintage books, 1986. rocco, john. “drinking ulysses.” james joyce quarterly. 33.3 (1996): 399-409. senn, fritz. “kyklonomastics.” james joyce quarterly. 36.3 (1999): 485-506. sherry, vincent. landmarks of world literature: james joyce’s ulysses. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1994. steinberg, erwin r. the stream of consciousness and beyond in ulysses. london: media directions, inc. 1973. turner, john noel. “miles of porches of ears.” james joyce quarterly. 36.4 (1999): 979-984. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\awakening the giant.prn.pdf the awakening of a giant: recruiting the disability community as a coalition partner stephen a. sheridan, jr. public administration villanova university introduction brewster thackeray, vice president and director of communications at the national organization on disability (nod), puts it perfectly when he raises the question, “what politician can afford to overlook one-fifth of the nation’s votingaged population?” what thackeray is alluding to is the population of approximately 40 million americans with disabilities who are of voting age. “though not as cohesively identified as other minority groups,” he explains, “the disability vote is one that politicians ignore at their peril.” thackeray, pointing to a nod/harris poll, points out that there may have been a drastically different outcome to the 2000 presidential election had the candidates paid more attention to their disabled constituents. of the 41 percent of those with disabilities who voted in that election (16.4 million people), george w. bush received almost five million votes while al gore got nearly nine million. if people with disabilities had voted at the same rate as other americans, just over 50 percent, while their split on the candidates remained constant, the gap between them would have increased by less than a million votes. recalling that gore won the popular vote by 544,000, but lost florida by well under a thousand votes, the above scenario would have given gore a more decisive victory in the popular vote and a win in the electoral college. “even if only floridians with disabilities had turned out at the same rate as other florida voters, the supreme court would never have had a case to decide,” argues thackeray (thackeray, 2004). the 2000 election serves as proof that if people with disabilities were to organize more collectively, like countless other minority groups, they could serve as a powerful coalition partner for any politician. people with disabilities may be the “sleeping giant” of american politics (zola, 1993, cited in schriner & shields, 1998, 37). the purpose of this paper is to show the value of the disability community as a coalition partner to a political candidate in a city like philadelphia, pennsylvania. in order to demonstrate this, several questions require answers: what is a coalition? what constitutes a disability? why do people with disabilities participate less in politics than those without disabilities? how can a politician garner the support of people with disabilities to form a coalition that is mutually beneficial and prominent enough to help secure election into office? with this knowledge in hand, it will be apparent why philadelphia’s political aspirants would be wise to cater to the hearts and minds of people with disabilities throughout the city. what is a coalition? building a coalition means empowering communities to build their own futures by interconnecting opportunities to achieve healthy, strong, and sustainable community life. building healthy communities is about power, not programs (kurland & zeder, 2001, 286). alan l. saltzstein makes clear that the limited power within a city requires leaders to “interact with potential allies to acquire the resources and public support needed to bring forth changes” (saltzstein, 2003, 108). community empowerment implies that coalitions must have access to all information relevant to designing appropriate programs and assessing their merits. the promise of coalitions depends upon the government seeing that the needs of the people are more important than the inertia of bureaucracies (kurland & zeder, 2001, 291). leaders need to recognize power as a resource that can pull together the diverse sources of influence in an urban area (saltzstein, 2003, 200). conversely, communities need to collaborate with political elites in order to further their agendas. barbara ferman touches on this issue: “groups seeking incorporation essentially have three choices: they can use the logic of the dominant arena to make their case . . . . they can seek to change the underlying logic of the dominant arena . . . . or they can shift operations to another arena if the first two options are not viable” (ferman, 1996, 6). essentially, the three choices ferman describes are the three types of coalitions a group can use to gain power. respectively, a group can join into a coalition with the current regime; establish a coalition with other groups with similar interests and attempt to garner public support to gain concessions from the current regime; or establish a coalition with opponents of the current regime and beat the incumbent in the general election. the second strategy, using public protests to garner support, is effective in gaining concessions. unfortunately, because there is no coalition with the regime in power, any changes are usually temporary. electoral mobilization, which relates itself to the first and third strategies, can revolutionize public policies within a city. two ways to achieve electoral mobilization are, a biracial coalition, and, a multiracial/ethnic coalition (browning, marschall, & tabb, 2003). in the 1999 mayoral election, john street was able to form a biracial coalition as he carried 97 percent of the votes among blacks and roughly 17 percent of the white vote. his campaign focused on issues that were sensitive to working class philadelphians. street vowed to bring the city’s toughest neighborhoods out of poverty. in his inaugural speech, street proclaimed: “i will launch an all-out, systematic effort to remove blighted buildings and reclaim the overgrown, polluted lots that dot our city. we will turn a negative into a positive and work with neighborhood residents, political leaders, and local businesses to return this land to useful purposes” ("big-city mayors are," 2000). four years later, mayor street was able to secure re-election even though it became public that the fbi bugged his office. his coalition was able to spin the bugging as a conspiracy by supporters of his opponent, a white republican named sam katz, to get the mayor out of office. philadelphia’s african american population was again mobilized as it felt street was a victim of dirty politics. in 1997, lee p. brown became houston’s first black mayor thanks to the formation of a multiracial/ethnic coalition to combat an initiative to scrap the city’s affirmative action program. among community leaders who supported brown were richard g. castaneda, richard w. lewis, and brian g. smith. castaneda, a mexican-american and owner of an engineering firm in metropolitan houston, sided with brown because he trusted the candidate’s promise to be fair with latinos. in addition, as a businessman who got 70 percent of his work through the affirmative action program, castaneda needed a connection at city hall. lewis, a white man and owner of a local construction company, was no friend of affirmative action. he risked alienating the people he worked with by backing brown, but he too depended on a friendly city hall. with ninety percent of his business coming from municipal contracts, lewis supported brown for one simple reason: brown was leading in the polls. smith, a black architect who runs his own construction inspection company wanted a mayor friendly to affirmative action. he remembered the affront of being denied work because of his race. when the polls closed, brown vindicated the men who supported him, defeating republican, rob mosbacher by six percentage points. though whites made up slightly more than half the turnout, brown had won 97 percent of the black vote, 66 percent of the hispanic, and 23 percent of the white, according to exit polls (navarro, 2000). any coalition that included people with disabilities would mirror the partnership formed by lee p. brown in houston. if it could ever organize itself, the disability community, in a city like philadelphia, could become a part of a multiracial/ethnic/ability coalition with the capability to uplift the lives of all people with disabilities in real, sustained ways. this scenario is a stark contrast to the present, as small factions of disability organizations depend on social protest to make insignificant gains that only benefit the few. what constitutes a disability? the most difficult obstacle americans with disabilities need to overcome is finding an all-encompassing definition for their minority group. every disability is different. therefore, explains jean flatley mcguire, “. . . individuals claim different levels of empowerment and self-sufficiency by relying on radically different ranges of supporting accommodations. the costs of these supports, and the societal acceptance of them as facilitating tools rather than expressions of dependency, vary greatly” (mcguire, 1994, 2). with an endless range of abilities and a plethora of needs among people with disabilities, it was near impossible for lawmakers to create policy that reached everybody who considered themselves disabled. senator gordan humphrey, during debates on the civil rights restoration act (1985), characterized blindness, deafness, and physical limitations as “traditional disabilities.” the senator from new hampshire was indicating that these conditions are more acceptable throughout society. “by implication, then, there are others, primarily mental impairments, that are not so acceptable,” charges mcguire (1994, 2). “although these challenges usually have come from outside its own ranks, the disability community itself has not been entirely immune to the social construction of deservingness among its own members.” the differences among americans with disabilities are many in regards to the construction of each condition. there lies the biggest obstacle in defining what constitutes disability. “these differences limit the meaning of shared oppression and, therefore, the potential to claim solidarity on that basis” (mcguire, 1994, 2). the americans with disabilities act (ada), signed into law by president george bush in 1990, was a cohesive victory for the disability movement on two fronts. first, the ada was the first disability-only civil rights initiative. it was the broadest piece of legislation in history as it provided protections in the areas of employment, telecommunications, transportation, and public accommodations. second and perhaps overlooked by many, is the disability community’s achievement in finding common ground “regarding the interests of groups that would be differently affected by the proposed accommodations . . .” (mcguire, 1994, 5). in the ada, disability is defined as: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits that person in one or more major life activities, has a record of such a physical or mental impairment, or is regarded as having such a physical or mental impairment (mcguire, 1994). the ada definition of disability succeeds in being all-encompassing, but for a political hopeful, it is too clinical. political figures need a tangible definition that points specifically to men and women within their constituency. it is impossible to build a coalition with a clinical diagnosis. coalitions need people. this is why, in regards to building a coalition, the nod definition of disability fits best. in their 2000 survey of americans with disabilities (national organization on disabilities, 2000), a person was included in the sample of people with disabilities if he or she was: • non-institutionalized • has a disability or health problem that prevents him or her from participating typically in work, school, or other activities • reports having a physical disability; a vision, hearing, or speech impairment; an emotional or mental disability; or a learning disability • considers himself or herself to have a disability or says that other people would consider him or her to be a person with a disability the benefit of the definition used by the nod over the ada definition is two-fold. first, it alludes to specific demographic elements that relate to employment, education, and type of disability. these descriptions are the type politicians understand. additionally, by incorporating people who “consider themselves” as having a disability, it eliminates discrimination among different disability interest groups. in regards to disability policy, landmark legislation, such as the ada, resulted from a shift away from the “. . . medical concept of disability as a physical limitation and the economic concept of a disability as a vocational incapacity and income problem” (yongjoo & haider-markel, 2001, 216). the new sociopolitical definition states, “disability stems from the failure of a structured social environment to adjust to the needs and aspirations of disabled citizens rather than from the inability of a disabled individual to adapt to the demands of society” (hahn, 1985, cited in yongjoo & haider-markel, 2001). defined in this manner, a politician should view disability in the same light as gender or skin color. this sociopolitical definition is part of the framework the ada is based upon. the ada is an extension of civil rights to people with disabilities that forces policy changes that affect the physical environment. fifty years ago, disability policy depended on the medical community to find a cure or the improvement of elementary vocational skills (yongjoo & haider-markel, 2001). why do people with disabilities participate less in politics than those without disabilities? today, disability policy focuses on maintaining that the disability community has all of the same opportunities as people without disabilities. specifically, it focuses on fundamental rights, such as the chance to go to the polls and vote in an election. the ada is supposed to remove barriers to political participation of people with disabilities. unfortunately, the ada has had only a limited affect with respect to the basic right to vote. in 1999, philadelphia mayoral-race rivals john street and sam katz appeared at a midday picnic by liberty resources, a nonprofit group that promotes independent living for people with disabilities. both candidates made a promise to those in attendance to find ways to make the voting process in the city more accessible. however, neither offered any specifics. street and katz were reacting to a report from the committee of seventy, the city’s election watchdog, which stated only 42 of the 1,681 polling places meet ada accessibility guidelines. street’s campaign hoped to gain an edge by registering voters with disabilities and getting them to the polls by election day. the campaign, at that time, estimated that 80,000 people with disabilities and of voting age lived in the city (infield, 1999). however, census 2000 (u.s. bureau of the census, 2000) reported that the disability status of the civilian, non-institutionalized population of philadelphians between the age of 21 and 64 years and with a disability was actually 223,058, roughly 27% of the population. it was unknown how the future mayor was defining disability. almost two years after that picnic, with mayor street now in office, nine individuals with disabilities, along with the nod, sued the city of philadelphia contending that city officials had ignored federal disabilities laws and failed to make more than a small fraction of polling places accessible to people who use wheelchairs or are blind. the federal class-action lawsuit came two weeks after city officials announced the awarding of a $19.3 million contract for more than 3,500 touch-screen voting machines. the suit sought a restraining order blocking delivery unless they were equipped with audio technology allowing people who are blind to use them. what spurred the lawsuit was that one of the losing bidders on the electronic-voting-machine contract had offered to equip the philadelphia machines with audio for no extra charge (slobodzian, 2001). many states try to accommodate voters with disabilities by allowing them to cast absentee ballots. however, absentee balloting repeatedly proves to be an ineffective tool. moreover, the disability community deems the procedure as an unacceptable alternative. susan gantman, a republican, won the last open seat on the pennsylvania superior court in the one of the closest statewide elections in pennsylvania politics. after 19 recounts, she took the election by just 28 votes. however, democratic lawyers, who claimed more than 200 mail-in absentee votes were never counted, challenged her election. election officials deemed the ballots, which belonged to voters who were disabled, elderly, or injured, too late for consideration. the democrats argued that laws were ignored that allow a later deadline for some voters with disabilities (blanchard, 2004). gantman’s predicament is not unique. approximately 2.5 million votes were not counted in the 2000 presidential election due to “voter error.” voters with disabilities who were struggling to vote on inaccessible systems and absentee ballots made many of these errors (nod, 2001). the disability community is rejecting the use of absentee ballots as reasonable accommodation. they see it as a second-class form of voting and a way for state election officials to sidestep requirements to make accessible polling places available. absentee voting also prevents voters from changing their minds about issues or candidates based on events occurring in the final days leading up to an election (schriner & batavia, 2001). schur, shields, kruse, and schriner (2002, 185) point out, “if millions of people with disabilities perceive these alternative avenues of voting as indicators of their marginalization from mainstream society generally and electoral involvement particularly, they are unlikely to see these avenues of participation as legitimate alternatives.” while external forces, such as inaccessible polling places, prove to be one cause of the participation gap, there are internal causes as well. “members of minority groups must possess sufficient political efficacy and engagement to express clearly their political needs and interests; otherwise they must rely on elites to infer and respond to their political concerns” (verba, 1996, cited in schur, shields, & schriner, 2003). efficacy is the power to produce an effect ("efficacy," 2002). political scientists have defined two aspects of efficacy in relation to people with disabilities. internal efficacy is a sense of personal competence to understand and participate in politics. external efficacy is a sense that one’s political activities will have an influence on what government actually does. low levels of internal political efficacy among people with disabilities are explained by their lower levels of education, income, and participation in groups (schur et al., 2003). the mean earnings of year-round, full-time workers, ages 16 to 64 with work disabilities was $33,109 (u.s. bureau of the census, 2002). by comparison, those without work disabilities earned an average of $43,269 (u.s. bureau of the census, 2002). according to the study completed by schur et al. (2003), “perceptions of external political efficacy . . . . remain significantly lower among non-employed people with disabilities . . .” due to “. . . the way in which they perceive the government to be unresponsive to their concerns.” the nod reports that among working-age people with disabilities (aged 18-64); only 32 percent are employed full or parttime, compared to 81 percent of working-age people without disabilities. schur et al. (2002) declare that disability, apart from external resources constraints, “often has social and psychological effects that decrease voter turnout through decreased social capital and identification with mainstream society.” how can a politician garner the support of people with disabilities to form a coalition that is mutually beneficial and prominent enough to help secure election into office? while there are plenty of gaps in the statistics between people with and without disabilities, certain social and economic indicators have gotten better for people with disabilities. over the past decade and a half, education and employment has shown signs of improvement. in their conclusion, schur et al. (2003, 142) indicate “. . . education and employment, along with their important economic and social effects, may help increase efficacy levels of people with disabilities.” therefore, it would seem prevalent that politicians concentrate on programs pertaining to these issues in order to bring constituency members with disabilities into a coalition. medford is joining about 200 other new jersey towns that are already involved in the nod’s program known as the community partnership program. the goal of this initiative is full and equal participation for people with disabilities in all aspects of life. political regimes that partake in these kinds of programs gain supporters with disabilities. none of medford township’s historic buildings violates the ada, but its citizens want to make the buildings as easy to use for residents with disabilities as for everyone else. this attempt of going beyond what laws and regulations call for is a model for politicians to follow. if the disability community views its government as being proactive, it will flock to polls in record numbers (ginsberg, 2000). one obstacle keeping government officials from teaming up with the disability community is the lack of accurate data about the number of persons within their jurisdiction who are disabled. in many cases, they have never attempted to develop such a database. because of these failures, it is impossible to perform a needs inventory to see which services or accessibility issues should be prioritized (switzer, 2001). in order to correct this problem, government officials at the highest level need to call for studies to develop an agreed-upon way of estimating the number of disabled persons within a community. the aforementioned nod definition is the best-known definition of disability to date. therefore, government leaders need to distribute surveys, similar to those used by the nod, to learn about the needs of their constituency. the disability community would view this as its local government reaching out to them; thus garnering support for the incumbent politicians. forming a coalition with the disability community is not much different from coalitions formed with other minority groups. it takes a great deal of initiative on the part of people with disabilities. however, it also requires politicians that are willing to listen and collaborate with the population of disabled voters. conclusion mcguire eloquently affirms the most important case for a coalition involving the disability community: “there is virtually no group that lays claim to the notion of community in the political sphere whose members have a homogenous experience of their joint identity. however, in disability, the highly variable results of heredity or accident, and the social construction of that reality, are added to the demographic chance of ethnicity, class, and gender. as a result, disability as a definitional basis for political community has multiple dimensions of difference across which common languages, goals and strategies must be built” (mcguire, 1994, 7). the point is that disability affects all people. it spares no one. everybody ages and eventually will encounter mental or physical limitations of some sort. people with disability are an all-inclusive minority that will continue to grow as the baby boomer generation grows older. perhaps for that reason, politicians are beginning to reach out to people with disabilities in the city of philadelphia. in march, 2004, city councilwoman jannie l. blackwell introduced legislation that would require any newly constructed housing that is built with government funds be made accessible for people with disabilities (twyman, 2004). in addition, officials of philadelphia agreed to settle the previously mentioned civil-rights lawsuit brought against the city by nine residents with disabilities and the nod. under the proposed settlement, by january 1, 2006, each of the city’s 1,682 polling places will have at least one electronic voting machine equipped with earphones and audio instructions for use by voters who are blind or visually impaired. the city will also create a polling place access committee to evaluate the 1,682 polling places in 66 wards that are not accessible to people in wheelchairs. the committee’s recommendations (portable ramps, temporary building modifications, or relocation of polling places to accessible buildings) and implementation are to be completed by may 1, 2006 (slobodzian, 2003). these are just preliminary steps required to build a multiracial/ethnic/ability coalition, but it is a start. the realization that people with disabilities can influence local politics is the most important step. whether politicians running for office in philadelphia and abroad actually follow through and attempt to garner that influence is the true test. reiterating the question posed by brewster thackeray, “what politician can afford to overlook one-fifth of the nation’s voting-aged population?” references big-city mayors are eager to make revivified inner cities part of their legacies [electronic version]. (2000). goldhirsh group, inc. blanchard, m. p. (2004, january 12). opponents say disabled voters weren’t counted. the philadelphia inquirer, p. b01. browning, r., marschall, d., & tabb, d. (2003). chapter 1: mobilization, incorporation, and policy in 10 california cities. in racial policies in american cities (3rd ed., pp. 17-48). new york: longman. efficacy. (2002). in merriam-webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed., p. 367). springfield, ma: merriam-webster, incorporated. ferman, b. (1996). challenging the growth machine: neighborhood politics in chicago and pittsburgh. lawrence: university press of kansas. ginsberg, w. (2000, october 1). making medford accessible. the philadelphia inquirer, p. br01. infield, t. (1999, july 31). mayoral rivals agree: accessible polls needed. the philadelphia inquirer, p. b03. kurland, j., & zeder, j. (2001). coalition-building: the promise of government. american journal of community psychology, 29(2), 285-291. mcguire, j. f. (1994). organizing from diversity in the name of community: lessons from the disability civil rights movement [electronic version]. policy studies journal, 22(1), 112-122. national organization on disability. (2000). statistics on voter registration of people with disabilities (n.o.d./harris 2000 survey of americans with disabilities). . retrieved april 20, 2004, from national organization on disabilities web site: http://www.nod.org/content.cfm?id=137 national organization on disability. (2001). voters with disabilities fact sheet. national organization on disability. retrieved april 20`, 2004, from national organization on disability web site: http://www.nod.org/ content.cfm?id=273 navarro, m. (2000, july 13). bricks, mortar, and coalition building [electronic version]. the new york times, p. a1. saltzstein, a. l. (2003). governing america's urban arenas. belmont, ca: wadsworth/thomson learning. schriner, k., & batavia, a. i. (2001). the americans with disabilities act: does it secure the fundamental right to vote? policy studies journal, 29(4), 663673. scriner, k., & shields, t. g. (1998). empowerment of the political kind: the role of disability service organizations in encouraging people with disabilities to vote. journal of rehabilitation, april/may/june, 33-37. schur, l., shields, t., kruse, d., & schriner, k. (2002). enabling democracy: disability and voter turnout. political research quarterly, 55(1), 167-190. schur, l., shields, t., & schriner, k. (2003). can i make a difference? efficacy, employment, and disability. political psychology, 24(1), 119-149. slobodzian, j. a. (2001, april 20). disabled-rights groups sue city over voting place access. the philadelphia inquirer, p. b04. slobodzian, j. a. (2003, august 7). city settles suit over voter access. the philadelphia inquirer, p. b05. switzer, j. v. (2001). local government implimentation of the americans with disabilities act: factors effecting statutory compliance. policy studies journal, 29(4), 654-662. thackeray, b. (2004). the disability vote made history in 2000. in 2004, it may do so again. retrieved april 20, 2004, from national organization on disability web site: http://www.nod.org/content.cfm?id=1486 twyman, a. s. (2004, march 17). housing advocates plan rally before street budget speech. the philadelphia inquirer, p. b03. u.s. bureau of the census. (2000). census 2000 (profile of selected social characteristics, pp. table dp-2). washington, dc: u.s. bureau of the census. u.s. bureau of the census. (2002). 12th anniversary of the americans with disabilities act. u.s. bureau of the census. retrieved april 20, 2004, from u.s. bureau of the census web site: http://www.cunsus.gov/press-release/ www/2002/cb02ff11.html yongjoo, j., & haider-markel, d. p. (2001). tracing issue definition and policy change: an analysis of disability images and policy response. policy studies journal, 29(2), 215-231. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\same old penelope.prn.pdf 1 same old penelope: feminist analysis of molly’s soliloquy in ulysses liv j. mcmullen english similar plot structure (a hero’s journey) as well as a common major theme (search for paternity), invite feminist critics to examine both homer’s odyssey and joyce’s ulysses to determine the effects of the prevailing male psychology on the incidental or marginal female characters. the odyssey, a classical text written centuries ago, largely supports dominant patriarchal norms as evidenced by the contradicting male and female roles, gender stereotypes, and most notably penelope’s submissiveness. centuries later, james joyce gives us a modernist interpretation of homer’s epic, ulysses, which follows leopold bloom, the everyday hero, on his one-day “journey” through dublin. like odysseus, bloom overcomes adversity, ultimately reclaims his patriarchal roles, both as father and husband, and returns home. why then does ulysses, end with molly, the twentieth century penelope? is joyce making a statement about women in this male-dominated novel? although ulysses resembles the odyssey both structurally and thematically, joyce addresses contemporary issues (i.e., twentieth century), more fully develops the complexities of his protagonists, and overall portrays the human situation in very real and often unflattering detail. yet, applying feminist discourse to the final episode, commonly dubbed molly’s soliloquy, reveals a conflict between the ostensible modern ideas of the novel and the underlying ideology they actually reinforce. lois tyson in critical theory today writes that feminist criticism generally examines texts to determine how they “reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women” (81).1 despite her importance to ulysses, particularly in the final episode, much of what joyce reveals about molly through her thoughts evidence her integration into the same egocentric culture central to the odyssey. undeniably, joyce through molly provides a cross-section of thoughts, expressing the needs and desires of “everywoman” and supporting “new” understanding of the feminine psyche. joyce’s wife, nora, is often considered the model for molly. furthermore, living in post-world war i paris no doubt exposed him to turn-of-the-century feminist philosophies taking shape in areas such as the 2 famed left bank.2 thus, experimenting with numerous writing methods, joyce chose for molly one tyson recognizes as ecriture feminine, a style deviating from the normal acceptable modes of writing: “patriarchal modes generally require prescribed, “correct” methods of organization, rationalization rules of logic […] relying on narrow definitions of cognitive experience and discrediting many kinds of emotional and intuitive experience […] in contrast, ecriture feminine is fluidly organized and freely associative. thus, it has the capacity to both reflect and create human experience beyond the control of patriarchy” (93).3 more specifically, the flow of the narrative conveys true emotional processes as they occur, not in afterthoughts as in conventional narrative. joyce recognized that humans do not experience emotions discretely but in continuous flux as stimuli change, so he frees molly’s thoughts through an unconventional and formless method: “so we are all flowers a womans body yes that was the one true thing he said in his life and the sun shines for you today yes that was why i liked him because i saw he understood how or felt what a woman is and i knew i could always get round him and i gave him all the pleasure i could leading him on till he asked me to say yes and i wouldnt answer first only looked out over the sea and the sky i was thinking of so many things he didnt know of” (ulysses 643). of course, grammatically correct punctuation creates emphasis, pauses and stops, breaking the flow of the narrative. but joyce realizes that the mind does not always function linearly; often thoughts are random, shifting with changing stimuli. free of punctuation, molly’s ideas progress naturally. in a moment her mind passes through several phases of human experience—sexual desire, emotional vulnerability, and psychological empowerment—realistically, without contrivance. joyce further challenges one to abandon conventional modes of reading and decipher the unrestrained flow of words, thereby actively involving the reader. daniel schwarz in reading james’s “ulysses” recognizes joyce’s method observing that “[molly’s] spontaneity represents an alternative to the contrivance and artificiality of style” of previous chapters in ulysses (259). schwarz does not suggest that joyce fails by employing multiple, conflicting styles in ulysses (joyce’s earlier “contrivance” is clearly intentional), but rather that the juxtaposition of formulaic episodes (such as “ithaca” and “nausicaa”) and the final chapter (apparently lacking structure) represents not only a shift in thought but 3 multiple shifts in psychology, emotion, and experience. while the absence of punctuation suggests that joyce has exhausted his experimental ideas, the final chapter has a unique and significant style, reflecting one of the most central themes of the novel: the necessity of corporeal experience in concert with the intellectual process. joyce develops this experiential/intellectual theme by contrasting molly to stephen dedalus, joyce’s modern telemachus.4 artistic and aloof, stephen represents intellect without emotion: his denial of the church prevents stephen from praying at his mother’s deathbed, and although his father, simon, still lives, stephen searches for a paternal figure throughout the novel. while not yet fully developed artistically or intellectually, stephen behaves superior towards others in the novel. rejecting universal human experiences such as emotion, desire and vulnerability, stephen challenges all that molly embraces. unlike stephen, molly does not discount the physical as inferior, for the physical makes us real. through molly, joyce expresses the vitality of the human body, with all its functions and forms, through molly’s physical indulgences. schwartz writes, “i believe it is the odyssean reader’s experience of molly’s nominalistic, idiosyncratic, and eccentric narrative that confirms the values of the novel” (268)(italics added). schwarz characterizes molly’s thoughts as unique and personal, but also indicative of the universal thoughts, needs and desires of all women that patriarchal mores seek to diminish. by concluding leopold’s journey with molly’s “stream of consciousness,” joyce restores women’s place in a society that discounts them as individuals. for molly differs from stephen and leopold not only as a woman, but as a person. removing all boundaries of sex and gender, molly’s individual design (whether sympathetic or not) distinguishes her from others. such a statement embodies all nuances of feminist theory: before we become men and women, we are all human. joyce recognizes that molly must be given a unique voice, so that the reader may understand her exclusive of stephen or leopold or boylan or whoever contributes to the reader’s pre-text of molly prior to the final episode.5 but the eighteenth episode offers more than experimental flow of words. joyce through molly starkly deviates from the normal patriarchal standards that coded women during the early twentieth century. joyce undoubtedly appreciates the complexities of “modern” woman caught in a male-dominated class system. alyssa o’brien argues that through experimental style as well as subversive content, joyce “navigates the polarities between feminists and conservatives” (8). molly’s thought patterns contrast those of gerty macdowell (the young woman leopold objectifies in the “nausicaa” episode), whose naive thoughts expressed in 4 victorian-style prose reflect an “old-fashioned” woman. conversely, molly apparently resists the traditional norms of society. throughout the episode, she makes many similar criticisms about the contradictions between a man’s world and a woman’s world. for instance, because the catholic church rests heavily on the patriarchal tradition, molly must make some kind of criticism of organized religion. schwartz agrees: “it was certainly not accidental that joyce created a woman in catholic ireland whose values contradicted those of her church” (155). molly’s thoughts resist the strict catholic notions concerning women and their purpose. when she muses over her confessional experiences in her youth, she wonders, why must she confess to a man (father corrigan) when she “already confessed it to god”? (ulysses 610). are men somehow linked to god? can they intervene when molly cannot? historically, joyce challenged religiosity, or excessive and hypocritical piety, which he exemplifies in molly’s double oppression under strict catholic mores, subject to both the authority of god and of men. molly recognizes priests as ordinary men and challenges their authority over her. why must she adhere to such strict rules? of course, the catholic church criticized sexual activity beyond procreation. therefore, women who openly enjoyed their sexuality sacrificed respect and acceptance, while men with similar sexual appetites were deemed virile. resisting the belief that women were not meant to feel pleasure or desire from sex, molly remonstrates: “[w]hats the idea making us like that with a big hole in the middle of us […] nice invention they made for women for him to get all the pleasure” (ulysses 611). again, she recognizes the hypocrisy of both society and organized religion with respect to gender and sexuality. considering the unique fluid style and the bold content, many critics and scholars applaud joyce for circumventing the ancient patriarchal tradition; molly does assert universal, human ideas about women. yet, hidden beneath the guise of the modern woman, the true molly proves to be displaced and restricted, unable to break from an oppressive gender tradition. susan stanford friedman in “beyond gynocriticism and gynesis” states james joyce’s writings “assert a kind of patriarchal privilege”; rather than stretching the boundaries of traditional literature (which reinforces the patriarchal tradition), joyce “writes within and at the margins of the english language and literary tradition” (24)(italics added). this is quite a bold assertion considering joyce’s unrivaled reputation as a post-modern experimentalist. as such, molly is neither empowered nor revolutionary in her role in ulysses. in truth, she reinforces interpolated ideology that most feminists (men and women) would resist. consider two interpretations of molly. paul jordan smith in characterizes molly only in relation to her 5 shortcomings in the traditional feminine roles, complaining that through leopold, one may recognize molly’s “failure as wife and mother” and “her art of presenting several sets of horns to her husband” (66). of course, he refers to her infidelity (whether fantasized or realized), which in the novel does take place; however, he makes no mention of leopold’s indiscretions. smith remarks on molly’s moderate success as a singer but only in contrast to her failure in the more traditional roles. therein smith infers that her other failures are a direct result of molly’s success outside of the accepted domestic sphere. furthermore, he criticizes molly’s emerging voice at the close of the novel (the very quality that works against the patriarchal tradition), stating that molly’s “association of ideas is loose, extremely illogical, and highly absurd” and that she is “garrulous, ignorant and damnably annoying. the only thing in her favor is that she is never for a moment dull” (68). smith comments, while one-sided, reveal true flaws in joyce’s depiction of molly as feminist model. heather cook callow, a more contemporary writer that smith (and a woman), supports that molly’s characterization in ulysses is infused with inconsistencies and stereotypes. certainly, a female critic from this time period (in contrast to smith, a man writing during the 1920’s), would recognize molly’s significance to feminist thinking; however, she admits that molly falls short of breaking any gender barriers. first, in “marion of the bountiful bosoms: molly bloom and the nightmare of history” callow admits that “ulysses is a work in which women’s voices are marginal” (465). up to this point, joyce has given a voice to each of his male characters, while restricting the women mostly to their thoughts. worse, despite hearing very little from molly herself, by the final episode, she has been fully characterized. throughout the novel, she has been insulted, lusted after, criticized, and mocked, all by male dubliners. joyce, thereby, prevents the reader from truly understanding molly because much of molly’s characterization is hearsay. there remains always an underlying criticism of her thoughts and desires as they are all linked to some moment in the novel when a man (even her own husband) has mentioned her. furthermore, while molly’s thoughts remain unfettered in the final chapter, the “the time and positioning of her narrative have significance”; patriarchal traditions associate femininity with “night, darkness, and their companion, silence” (465). joyce does open the channels of molly’s thoughts, but they exist only within her own conscious. she neither expresses her thoughts aloud, nor does she assert herself against the very sources of her dissatisfaction. any resentment or anger molly may harbor toward the inconsistencies of the male dominated world, she must keep to herself, for her thoughts flow freely only when all of dublin is asleep, and no 6 one could hear her. molly is the quintessential woman trapped in a patriarchal world. while she may not be typical, sadly, her situation in society is. molly, a mosaic of desires, feelings, and actions, expresses a despondency almost exclusively experienced by women trapped in the oppressive patriarchal society. even today, post feminist backlash, women feel the effects of a society that dictates they fill a specific role, whether that be the good wife, the selfless mother, or the smoldering temptress. while these identities may be healthy as facets of a woman’s self, they become detrimental when they singularly define a woman in society. the patriarchal tradition, that is a society dominated by the white, male class, dictates that women must fit into these roles exclusively, with little latitude to deviate. cook callow applies this specifically to molly writing that “in addition to attacks for wanton sexuality, molly’s critical history is studded with demerits for deficiencies in housewifely, wifely, and mother qualities” (468). yet, molly does concede to the patriarchal traditions of female roles—wife, mother, sexual object; furthermore, she cannot change her situation although she bitterly resents it. considering her courtship with leopold, she then muses, “the greatest earthly happiness answer to a gentlemans proposal affirmatively” (ulysses, 624). molly therein glorifies the archaic notion that every woman’s most rewarding, most secure choice in life is to find a husband. feminist ideas do not view engagement or marriage as pejorative, but rather the idea that there exists no viable alternative. notwithstanding the happiness the acceptance of a marriage proposal should provoke, molly has misplaced its importance. moreover, she also contradicts herself, for in the beginning of the eighteenth episode she asked, “why cant you kiss a man without going and marrying him first” (ulysses 610). throughout her forty-odd page soliloquy, molly internally abases her husband and all men alike yet externally resigns to the belief that a woman’s natural role is that of a wife and mother. and a wife typically has no life outside of her husband’s: “they go and get whatever they like from anything at all with a spirit on it and were not to ask any questions but they want to know where were you where are you going” (ulysses 614). addressing changing views of women, tyson writes that “[they] are still bound by patriarchal gender roles in the home which they must now fulfill in addition to their career goals” (90). while this statement may seem anachronistic (tyson’s book reflects theories applicable to the end of the twentieth century), the spirit of the statement remains true even when applied to early twentieth century society. molly desires success in a career outside of her domestic sphere. her decision to follow the traditional route—marriage and children—stymied her 7 aspirations of becoming a great singer, and now that she is in her mid-thirties, much younger women of commensurate talent have usurped her place in that sphere. her opportunity has passed seemingly, and the tone of her monologue reflects her antipathy toward those who she believes thwarted her dreams. joyce’s motives become less sympathetic, for if molly were a break from the norm, she would not be tortured by the “guilt” of choice that pervades a woman’s life. not discounting the difficult choices men must also make, and the pressure they also experience as a result of restrictive societal expectations, joyce makes numerous allusions to male “hang-ups,” mostly through bloom, and sometimes through stephen. molly, however, most openly bears the brunt of the regret. true, bloom mourns death (his infant son, rudy, died eleven days after birth), getting older, and losing his youthful physique, but molly’s final soliloquy, in form, tone and content, reflects the thoughts of a woman trapped between what society expects of her and what she wants for herself. molly recognizes this inconsistency, the idea that the right woman will be able to balance everything in the home, but she quickly contradicts her own assertions. lamenting over the stress to get it all done, she complains “every day i get up theres some new thing […] well when im stretched out dead in my grave i suppose ill have some peace”; but later she wonders why stephen dedalus did not stay the night so she could have brought him “breakfast in bed” (ulysses 641). her previous complaints mean nothing if she continues to subscribe to the role of the doting housewife. although critics such as smith see her as a failed housewife, in truth, molly assumes a significant share of the housework; throughout the monologue, her arbitrary thoughts of ironing and washing dishes abound. she indeed notices what happens in her own home and maintains a sense of the responsibility for the upkeep. yet, evaluating her as a “housewife” simply reinforces the patriarchal role. how has molly failed, where leopold seemingly has not? from a feminist perspective, molly does not “fail” as a housewife, but rather the “housewife” archetype fails molly. molly also applies negative stereotypes that reinforce the restrictive patriarchal “good girl/bad girl” dichotomy. 6 linked to the idea that women simply fulfill roles in society, patriarchal tradition identifies a woman’s sexuality, ambitions, and demeanor within one of two finite categories: the good girl and the bad girl. the “good girl,” submissive and self-effacing, does not indulge herself in desire or ambition. naturally, a “bad girl” is her polar opposite (as though women are made from only two molds); presumably lacking character or moral fiber, she exercises no restraint and takes delight in others’ miseries. traditionally, this harmful binary creates standards to which no one can reasonably adhere. once a woman has deviated ever so slightly from the “good girl” status, her only other 8 option is the “bad girl” persona, thereby discrediting her in the eyes of patriarchal society and rendering her unworthy of respect. the dominant sex and/or class may then effectively invalidate those without to sustains security and power. such restrictive classifications further deny women inherent human desires and ambitions. molly suffers from this oppression as she clearly resigns to the image. however, in her monologue, molly seems comfortable making generalizations and stereotypes in her monologue. molly displaces her feelings of inferiority and dismisses mrs. riordan as boring and uptight simply because mrs. riordan restrains her desires rather than indulges them and talks about intellectual matters that molly does not understand. immediately separating herself from mrs. riordan, molly remarks “shes as much a nun as im not” (ulysses 610). her comment is problematic for a number of reasons. clearly, molly resents mrs. riordan, who, again, represents an educated population with which molly shares no commonality. she, therefore, discounts mrs. riordan’s restraint and intellectuality as a substitute for, not a complement to her sexuality: “i suppose she was pious because no man would look at her twice i hope ill never be like her” (ulysses 610). from a feminist perspective, the underlying message is two-fold. first, molly distinguishes herself from mrs. riordan by patriarchal values which dictate that piety equals lack of sexuality or freedom. second, molly reinforces the dominance of men as the final judge of character in society by claiming that because she is unattractive to men, mrs. riordan’s life is in some way unfulfilling and lackluster. without a second thought, molly seems to believe that a woman should make herself a sexual object. a number of times she talks about provocative clothing and gestures meant to elicit male attention: “i had that white blouse on open in the front to encourage him” (ulysses 625). in fact, she concedes “thats what a woman is supposed to be there for or he wouldnt have made us so attractive to men” (ulysses 625). feminists would attribute such a statement to biological essentialism, the idea that men and women are biologically predisposed to a particular status or role in society; molly’s concession that she be a sexual object to men simply because she is attractive to them demonstrates the “patriarchal privilege” discussed by susan stanford friedman. while she indulges in physical experiences, molly seeks no connections beyond the physical realm; as a result, her relationships remain superficial. though surrounded by all of dublin, molly is truly alone. the “penelope” episode “reveals that molly has been lonely most of her life”: she “seems to have no female friends,” and “[h]er male companions are mostly memories” (cook-callow 471). believing that either a man lets you down “or its some woman ready to stick her knife into you,” she reinforces male-dominated thinking: “no wonder [men] treat 9 us the way they do we are dreadful lot of bitches” (ulysses 640). her relationship with her husband since the death of their son, rudy, has systematically broken down. more importantly, molly has no female companionship, no sisterhood, no “psychological […] bonding among women based on the recognition of common experiences and goals” (tyson 96). joyce isolates her not only from the comforts of a familial bond (with leopold and her daughter, milly), but also from any potentially cathartic female bond. as the tone of her monologue evidences, molly views all women with either disdain or jealousy; such a tradition, which oppresses women by separating them, has so infiltrated molly’s ideas about other women (for example, her view of mrs. riordan) that she cannot recognize her own dependency on men. because she shares the “good girl/bad girl” view, she rejects women such as mrs. riordan who seem to be “good girls.” molly perceives her only alternative to be “whore” or “monster” and to characterize women as “petty, vain, and jealous” (tyson 88). in other words, women are depicted as in constant competition, and most fiercely so when fighting over a man. even her relationship with milly, typical of mother-daughter rivalries, strains the parameters of her patience. a final misconception of joyce’s subversion of patriarchal stereotypes lies in molly’s “healthy” sexual appetite. she is guided not by her personal desires but rather by the need to be desired by others; therefore, she subscribes to archaic notions of romance and fulfillment. a cursory reading of ulysses may define molly as the liberated feminist freely addressing her own personal needs, but upon closer inspection, molly focuses on the need to be desired by her husband, her lovers. patriarchy defines femininity by the ability to titillate, to evoke desire, and molly subscribes to this definition. thinking back on her day’s affair with blazes boylan, molly criticizes his aggressive, inconsiderate lovemaking, not because he has degraded her, but because he failed to notice her many hours of preparation. finally dismissing him from her thoughts, molly turns to romantic wishes; despite her age and experience, she still wishes that “some man would or other would take [her] sometime when hes there and kiss [her] in his arms” (ulysses 610). a modern “damsel in distress,” she waits for prince charming to find her and “awaken” her desire. but molly cannot conceive being alone or undesired. absent the prince, she must settle for a diluted version of the fairytale: “to be in love or loved by somebody if the fellow you want isn’t there” (ulysses 639)(italics provided). ultimately, molly realizes neither version of the fantasy; she indulges in an empty sexual affair with boylan. such attempts at fulfillment through her bodily desire lead only to molly’s disappointment, for boylan lacks charm or tenderness. and, molly’s acceptance of her own disappointment reveals her 10 incomprehension of the oppressive standards by which she lives. furthermore, rather than break the fantasy and disappointment cycle, molly reverts to remembering the day leopold proposed to her, "...i was a flower of the mountain yes when i put the rose in my hair like the andalusian girls used or shall i wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the moorish wall and i thought well as well him as another and then i asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would i yes to say yes my mountain flower and first i put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes i said yes i will yes" (ulysses 644). this passage, while exhibiting real and intersecting emotions, also exemplifies molly’s need to be desired. she already equates the acceptance of a marriage proposal, in spite of her true desires, with womanhood and femininity. her affinity for the word “yes” further reinforces the fairytale submissive of the girl in need of rescuing. but, feminists would ask, what can women do in light of molly’s acquiescence? how shall we categorize her, as a feminist or doormat? sexual object or sex goddess? the answer is simply that we do not categorize her at all, for feminists want to nullify categorization. we simply do not categorize her at all, for that very action places unnecessary restrictions. why must we place her, or anyone, on pedestal or on the examining table? perhaps it is our nature to criticize, but when we do, we are often unhappy with the results. as traditional patriarchal thinking shows, unreasonable expectations harm us all. criticism should rather free us from placing restrictions, and help us recognize the universal. in the end, love her or hate her, molly with all her inconsistencies and contradictions can make us recognize the areas which need scrutiny and reflection in our own lives. in that, joyce, no matter his motives, has done his job. notes thank you to villanova university and concept; to dr. james murphy for your introduction to ulysses; to ellen massey for your time and effort; and to dr. klaus volpert for your support. 1 tyson further acknowledges the multiple issues that feminist critics apply to texts, and, as such, makes reference to the alternative category of “feminisms” rather than one “feminist” perspective. 2 in 1902, joyce first lived one year in paris, returning in 1920 to spend almost twenty years as an expatriate. wellacquainted with sylvia beach (who first published ulysses through the well-known shakespeare & co.) and contemporary with writers such as gertrude stein, also living in paris, joyce enjoyed exposure to the important 11 “parisian modern movement.” 3 according to tyson, french feminists, who have historically focused on the “philosophical dimension of women’s issues,” have asserted that people maintain a “pre-verbal connection” with their mothers that manifests itself through this form of writing. tyson recognizes this style in joyce’s writing; however, she does not assert that joyce himself would have categorized “molly’s soliloquy” as such. 4 stephen dedalus first appears as the central character in portrait of an artist as a young man, joyce’s largely autobiographical novel, which he wrote before ulysses. portrait follows stephen from age three to early adulthood; therefore, ulysses begins approximately two years after portrait ends. stephen has returned to dublin where he teaches history at a boy’s school. two central issues haunt stephen: his struggle to fully realize his artistic identity and his search for a replacement for his overly critical, harsh father, simon dedalus. 5 the previous seventeen chapters yield many conflicting characterizations of molly, most of which are negative and few of which originate from molly herself. 6 for more on this particular aspect of feminist theory, see tyson’s critical theory today, pp. 83-89. works cited/consulted cook-callow, heather. “marion of the bountiful bosoms: molly bloom and the nightmare of history.” twentieth century literature, vol. 36, no. 4 (winter, 1990), pp. 464-476. gilbert, stuart. james joyce’s “ulysses.” vintage books. new york: 1955. joyce, james. ulysses. vintage books. new york: 1986. o’brien, alyssa. “the molly blooms of ‘penelope.’” journal of modern literature. volume 24.1 (2000), pp. 7-24. schwarz, daniel r. reading joyce’s “ulysses.” st. martin’s press, inc. new york: 1987. smith, paul jordan. a key to “ulysses” of james joyce. covici, friede, inc., new york: 1927. stanford friedman, susan. “beyond gynocriticism and gynesis: the geographics of identity and the future of feminist criticism.” tulsa studies in woman’s literature. volume 15, no. 1 (spring, 1999), pp. 13-40. tyson, lois. critical theory today. garland publishing, inc. new york: 1999. microsoft word murray.doc rem and remembering: the nature of memory consolidation and memory retrieval casey murray psychology “many animals have memory and are capable of instruction, but no other animal except man can recall the past at will” – aristotle 1. introduction 1.1 memory – a window into the past memories are experiences common to all of us that provide us with glimpses of the past. the phenomenon of having a memory is usually ascribed (scientifically) to activity of the brain. memories are thought to be stored in our brains and are retrieved at later times. if the present is the temporal range within which we move through life and experience reality, then memories are the phenomenological expression of how we experienced the past. the primary aim of the following essay is to investigate the nature of this vague concept humans have of the past that is referred to as memory. the mechanisms that are involved in the storage, or consolidation of memories and the processes involved in memory retrieval will be discussed. specifically, an effort will be made to determine whether memories are retrieved in a distributed fashion (from several areas of the cortex at once), or are they retrieved in a local manner (from a specific region of the cortex where a memory is stored)? to achieve this end, memory will first be considered in a very broad fashion, then we will turn to a discussion on the anatomy of memory formation, and finally our discussion will be siphoned down to a possible way with which to investigate the nature of memory retrieval. 1.2 sleep and memory – causal relationship or correlational? the secondary aim of this essay will center around the role of rem sleep in the formation and consolidation of memory. there is a significant amount of research dedicated to this subject (to be discussed rem and remembering 57 below) much of which claims that the purpose of rem sleep is the consolidation of newly formed memories. this will be contested by a comparative review of sleep patterns across several mammalian species. the chemistry and neurophysiology of sleep will be detailed to reinforce the assertion that sleep is correlational with memory retrieval but not causally related. sleep as expressed in several mammalian species, such as the bottlenose dolphin will be analyzed, and the implications of some unique sleep patterns found within these animals will lead this discussion to some queries regarding the primary aim of the paper – ascertaining if memory is retrieved in a localized or distributed fashion. a research proposal will be made that attempts to address these questions by inducing a conscious state in primates similar to the patterns expressed in dolphins, and by subsequently testing a primate using an interval timing paradigm. possible outcomes will be considered, as well as their implications regarding the nature of memory retrieval. concluding remarks will center on a possible evolutionary role for sleep. finally, a speculative digression concerning the possibility that, if alternative mechanisms could be induced that mimicked the biological function of sleep, it is theoretically conceivable that the human being could exist in a fully conscious state, in one form or another, without the obligation for dormant, vulnerable, and inattentive sleep. 2. literature review 2.1 the history of memory memory research has been one of the defining staples of psychological inquiry since the inception of psychology as a discipline in the late nineteenth century. a span of famous psychologists and their theories throughout the last century attests to this. freud wrote of repressed childhood memories (freud, 1899). muller and pilzecker proposed in 1900 that permanent memory takes time to form, and that during this time, memory remains vulnerable (as reported in dash, et al., 2004). pavlov showed that dogs could remember (have a memory for) reinforcing stimuli via associative learning (pavlov, 1927). donald hebb demonstrated in 1949 that novel memory traces must be replayed in their supporting neuronal networks until synaptic plasticity can effect trace consolidation of the memory (hebb, 1949). in other words, the neurons in the brain that fire together to create a thought make connections with casey murray 58 one another and strengthen this connection every time that specific thought is recreated. the notion that “neurons that fire together, wire together,” originates from this work; these connections that are formed are commonly referred to today as hebbian synapses. in 1956, george miller concluded that the ‘amount’ of memory we could work with at any one time was seven ‘chunks’ of information, plus or minus two. scoville & milner (1957) reported the case of patient h.m., the man treated for epilepsy with a bilateral medial temporal lobectomy, who subsequently showed profound anterograde amnesia for new experiences while retaining the memories acquired before the surgery. h.m. could remember events from before the surgery, but was incapable of creating new memories post-morbidity. finally, elizabeth loftus (2003) made a name for herself in the mid-1970’s studying the formation of ‘false memories’ – memory for an event, or misrepresentation of a memory, that is at odds with the reality of what occurred. loftus’ work showed that the veracity of a memory is not as set in stone as we may like to believe it is. our memories are malleable. countless other luminaries in the field of psychology have discussed their views on how memories come to be formed and how we use these memories of the past to deal with the reality of the present. 2.2 types of memory memory, as a reference for previous phenomenological experience and as classified in the human animal, can be divided and subdivided into several forms. a glance at the literature will reveal several forms – explicit and implicit, procedural and declarative, episodic, semantic, contextual, short-term, long-term, and working, and several more. these are not exclusive divisions; overlap is possible between many categories of memory. a very general dichotomy can be drawn, however, between two forms of memory – implicit or explicit. implicit memory refers to things that you know, or know how to do, without needing to be consciously aware. one form of this, procedural memory, is characterized by the smooth coordination of procedures, such as in riding a bike or playing the piano. while at the beginning you may have to think about all of the procedures you have to do, with training these procedures become fluid. once you learn a procedural memory you can, in essence, forget about it because you no longer need to consciously process the things you need to do – it becomes implicit. rem and remembering 59 explicit memory refers to things that you know you know. this is sometimes called declarative memory, as in, “i declare that i know something.” these memories come in several forms. episodic memory is one such form in which you have a personal recollection for an experience. that is, you recall a certain ‘what’ in a certain ‘where’ at a certain ‘when.’ for example, i recall the exact episode for when i formulated the general idea for this proposal – i was driving my jeep home from the university on interstate 476 one late day in october of 2005. semantic memory refers to knowledge of the meaning behind a thing (such as facts, names, etc.). if i say ‘chair,’ you immediately have an idea of what it is that i am sitting on; you have an understanding of the meaning for the word ‘chair’ that is not necessarily bound to a time or place. episodic memories therefore can entail many semantic memories but semantic memories do not require episodes. these recollections are explicit. explicit memory retrieval is believed to be an effortful process, whereas implicit memories are retrieved using relatively automatic processes. temporal references can also be appended to memory to describe the duration of time that we have access to the memory. the briefest of these is working memory, a term that denotes the bits of memory that we are currently using. physiologically, this might correspond with neurons in the cortex that are currently firing. these may be memories that are retrieved from the past for current usage, or they may be ‘new’ memories that have been encoded from sensory perception within the scope of what we are currently engaged in. for example, as i write this paper, my working memory tells me that i have covered all i want to say about it, and that i should proceed with short-term memory. short-term memory denotes bits of memory that have occurred relatively recently. they are different from working memories in that they are not currently being used, but have happened recently enough that they could be recalled. these might be thought of physiologically as traces of activity within the cortex. short-term memories can be forgotten after a length of time if they are not consolidated into what is referred to as long-term memory. memories deemed to be long-term are those that stay with us virtually forever. these are the ‘bits’ that may have occurred years in the past, but because they have been transferred from a short-term into a long-term memory, we can retrieve them for use at later dates. these are considered to be physiologically hard-wired neural nets. connections have been made at the level of the synapse (the area where one neuron casey murray 60 connects to another) that facilitate easy transmission of the memory message. all of these, it must be admitted, are parameters that have been ascribed to human memory systems. the extent to which animals use these various memory systems is inconclusive. however, that does not mean that memory in animals has not been investigated. a study by clayton & dickinson (1998) attempted to display that a type of bird, scrub jays, used episodic memory to correctly identify a ‘what’ and a ‘where’ food was placed, as well as a ‘when’ by the fact that one type of food would decay over time. the bird preferentially chose this type of food at first, but preferentially chose the non-decaying food after a time lapse, indicating that it was sensitive to a ‘when’. a response study was undertaken by hampton, et al. (2005) incorporating rhesus monkeys. hampton showed that the monkeys displayed a long-term memory for the type and location of a food, but not for when they acquired this knowledge. it was contested therefore, that perhaps animals other than humans do not have the ability to form episodic memories; perhaps they are ‘stuck in time’ and can only recall things from the past in the sense that some synaptic connections are stronger than others (that is, some things ‘seem’ right and other things ‘seem’ wrong, but the animal does not have a specific episode from the past that it is drawing on to base a decision)(roberts, 2002). this is not to say that animals are insensitive to time, but that rather, they do not construct episodes of the past. however, ample evidence supports that animals do have a sense of various other types of memory, such as working, short-term, long-term, and procedural memory. the mechanisms for episodic memory seem to be reserved only for humans. as tulving points out at the opening of his book, elements of episodic memory, “remembering past events is a universally familiar experience. it is also a uniquely human one.” aristotle would agree. 2.3 the anatomy of memory several terms are used to describe the transfer of memory between working, short-term, and long-term memory. encoding, consolidation, and retrieval are expressions found throughout the academic literature on memory (dash, et al., 2004; dudai, 1996; siegel, 2001). encoding refers to the transfer of sensory stimuli into a recognizable phenomenological experience. consolidation is the transfer of such an experience from the short-term to the long-term, the stabilizing of a memory. retrieval is thought of in terms of accessing the long-term for use in working rem and remembering 61 memory, a process involving the coordinated reactivation of cortical areas. so far as animals can be shown to learn (via classical condition or operant conditioning), such terms can be applied to many of the creatures in the animal kingdom. an animal would need to encode, consolidate and retrieve the experience to argue that it is learning something in an operant/classical conditioning paradigm. it should be mentioned here that we have moved away from talk of implicit memory and are moving toward forms of the explicit. implicit memories have been linked to basal ganglia, cerebellar, and amygdalar structures in the brain, whereas explicit memories seem to arise out of the functioning of a loop in the brain that includes the hippocampus, thalamus, and cortex (mayes, 1995). references to memory from here on will refer to explicit memory systems that involved the hippocampal complex. consolidation and retrieval of explicit memory therefore necessitates the operation of a cortico-hippocampal-thalamic system. the anatomical structures implicated in these memory processes have been investigated and appear to be proximal across a wide range of vertebrate mammals. the anatomy proposed to account for how memory is stored and retrieved draws from a broad sample of studies on structures involved in amnesia, a condition in which memory is selectively forgotten, or more appropriately, in which memories are unable to be consolidated and/or retrieved (mayes, 1995). the approach used by mayes (1995) to devise a “memory circuitry,” or anatomical interactions that seem to account for memory consolidation and retrieval, was to look at the effects of lesions to several brain structures with regards to amnesia, or loss of memory. similar to patient h.m. (scoville & milner, 1957), studies with rats have revealed that removal of the hippocampus results in temporally graded amnesia (squire, et al., 2001). likewise, parahippocampal cortex, perirhinal cortex, and hippocampal lesions all result in amnesia of some form (e.g. retrograde amnesia or anterograde amnesia1). therefore, a circuit in which information flows from the parahippocampal and perirhinal cortices to the hippocampus has been suggested. from the hippocampus, this message is transported to the fornix. from here, the message flows either directly to the anterior nuclei 1 retrograde amnesia is a loss of memory for events that occur prior to the onset of the amnesia, as in someone who cannot remember who they are or where they are from. anterograde amnesia is an inability to learn/remember anything that occurs after the onset of the amnesia, such that you remember everything prior to the event, but cannot remember anything that happened since then other than what is immediately present. casey murray 62 of the thalamus, or indirectly through the mammillary bodies to the thalamus. the thalamus relays the information to frontal lobe regions, such as the retrosplenial and cingulated cortices, and these areas project back onto the perirhinal cortex and parahippocampal cortex, thus completing the loop (see figure 1). it is hypothesized that long-term memory is a result of the parahippocampal cortex and hippocampus essentially replaying the original memory throughout this loop until longterm potentiation takes place and hebbian synapses form in the cortex. for a limited time, the hippocampus is necessary for memory retrieval. 2.4 memory consolidation hypotheses if memory is a result of the aforementioned anatomical structures ‘replaying’ the original thought processes which leads to the feeling of a memory, the question becomeshow is memory consolidated, how and when does this ‘replay’ take place? what is the mechanism that makes salient phenomenological experiences reverberate throughout this circuitry so as to be transferred from a vulnerable, transient short-term memory into a concrete long-term memory? a popular theory that has received much press is that consolidation of recently acquired memory traces requires neuronal replay during rem sleep (mednick, 2003; smith, 1995). indeed, sleep has long been viewed as somehow linked to our memories. as far back as freud (1899), the dreams that accompanied sleep were said to be the “royal road to the unconscious,” our repressed memories and desires. the argument goes that during sleep, a mental inventory of the events from the proceeding day is catalogued as either useful (‘keepers’) or useless (‘forgettable’). the ‘keepers’ are dreamt about and therefore receive some playback (reverberation through the cortico-hippocampal-thalamic loop), while the forgettable memories are simply ignored and so, therefore, are un-reinforced. this theory was advanced by francis crick, who postulated that the primary purpose of rem sleep was the forgetting of unneeded memory traces (crick & mitchison, 1983). however, a summary look at sleep patterns among several animals provides contradictory evidence. across mammals, sleep electroencephalography (eeg) provides fairly consistent patterns of activity. the normal sleep patterns seen in humans (non-rem or slow-wave-sleep and rapid eye movement [rem] or paradoxical sleep2) have been found in nearly every animal 2non-rem sleep is characterized by slow, synchronous firing of neurons in the brain and a drastic reduction of overall activity. it is further subdivided into four stages which demarcate the level of synchronous, pulsating firing that is taking place, and which corresponds to ‘how deeply’ a person is rem and remembering 63 investigated, including the platypus (siegel, et al., 1999), elephant (tobler, 1992), harp seal (lyamin, 1993), and dolphin (mukhametov, 1987).3 what is interesting to note is that, contrary to what might be expected if the rem sleep-memory consolidation hypothesis were true, humans (which arguably have to learn just as much as any other creature) do not exhibit unusually high amounts of rem sleep (siegel, 2001). champion rem sleepers such as the ferret, armadillo, and platypus are not typically described as having superior memories. in contrast, mammals such as bottlenose dolphins and white whales, creatures that have intellectual abilities otherwise found only in humans and in apes, have negligible rem sleep on the order of less than 0.2 hours per day (siegel, 2001). if rem sleep were necessary for learning, we would not think that dolphins would be such great learners. the alternative hypothesis, which could conceivably account for such sleep patterns across species, is that perhaps the amount of rem sleep that would be required for memory processes varies across phylogeny, and that it is an unreasonable assumption to conclude that a dolphin should need as much sleep as a platypus to learn the same amount of information. however, such an argument suffers from what may be considered an equally unreasonable assumption. given the lack of empirical data for either stance, the most logical argument will here be followed and the assumption that the amount of rem sleep required for learning should not vary interspecially will be maintained. perhaps the correlation that is found between rem sleep and learning is an artifact of the fact that the techniques incorporated in rem deprivation studies cause moderate amounts of stress in the animals and stress by itself impedes memory retrieval (de quervain, et al., 1998). many of the rem sleep deprivation studies incorporate the “platform technique” in which an animal is placed on a small platform that is surrounded by water. the premise behind this is that during rem sleep, a complete loss of muscle tone is observed (due to a process that will be described below) that requires the animal to assume a maximally relaxed recumbent posture. upon doing so, the animal will fall into the water, be startled awake and will resume its post on the platform. nrem sleep is possible during this because the animal does have the muscle tone that can keep it in uncomfortable positions while it enters nrem. the rem asleep. rem sleep is also termed ‘paradoxical’ because in rem sleep, the brain is just as active, if not sometimes more so, than when we are consciously awake. 3 for a thorough review, see campbell & tobler, 1984, who index the sleep behaviors of over 150 animal species, including invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and 14 orders of mammals. casey murray 64 deprived animal has restriction on its motor activity, which has been shown to be stressful. monkeys that are restricted from moving in a restraining chair develop gastrointestinal ulcers from such stress (brady, 1958). it is reasonable to assume that the “platform technique” induces some stress in the rat as well. it has been shown that moderate stress, in the absence of any imposed learning task, can produce a marked increase in rem sleep (siegel, 2001). the converse of this is also true – adequate sleep is needed in order to maintain attention and integrate new material. just as nutrition, ambient temperature, level of stress, and other factors contribute to our ability to learn and form salient memories, adequate sleep is vital for optimal performance (siegel, 2001). it would be fallacious, however, to regard rem sleep as the necessary, rate-limiting step in the process of memory consolidation. while sleep may be highly correlated with learning, it is non sequitur to state that sleep is the causal factor for memory consolidation. perhaps sleep is just providing the necessary time for memories to be replayed in the loop described in figure 1. evidence suggests that consolidation of memories in the cortex is a direct result of the frequency with which they are presented (toppino & bloom, 2002). memory improves with repeated exposure, and greater temporally spaced repetitions of a memory appear to help consolidate a memory more so than massed repetitions in immediate succession. to go back to muller & pilzecker’s theory in 1900 that was referenced earlier, establishing permanent memory takes time. perhaps sleep provides the ‘spacing’ needed for permanent memories to be formed. 2.5 the chemistry of memory a physiological basis for why repeated exposure leads to memory consolidation should also be considered. a review of the biological processes occurring during rem sleep can shed light on this physiological basis. the key feature of rem sleep is the apparent lack of muscle tone throughout the body, with the exception of the eyes (hence the name: rapid-eye-movement). the mechanism via which this occurs stems from a ramping up of monoamine oxidase (mao) to prevent the monoamine neurotransmitters of the brain – norepinephrine, epinephrine, histamine, dopamine, and serotonin from properly functioning. the cells for these neurotransmitters stop discharging completely during rem sleep (siegel, 2004). otherwise, we might act out our dreams, as sleepwalkers are wont to do. this is what also gives dreams their sense of ‘bizarreness,’ as the rem and remembering 65 areas of the cortex that would normally serve as ‘reality checks’ do not have the necessary transmitters to relay the message (rechtschaffen, 1978). of most importance to the discussion here is the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. cessation of norepinephrine is linked with reduced expression of several proteins described below, such as creb, bdnf, and arc (cirelli & tononi, 2000). the expression of these proteins is associated with increased neural plasticity; a decrease therefore would mean a loss of neural plasticity. it follows, then, that we should expect little effect on memory during rem sleep as the chemicals necessary for lasting changes are not active. this is consistent with the rapid forgetting of dreams that are not immediately rehearsed upon waking. the brain, by essentially turning off the ‘juice’ that helps form lasting memories, prevents itself from rewiring the authentic connections that have been made while awake that might otherwise be inadvertently modified as a result of brain activity during rem sleep. mao inhibitors (such as nardil, marplan, and parnate) have been shown to completely suppress rem sleep for as long as treatment with the mao inhibitor is in use, which may last for years (siegel, 2001). millions have taken such drugs without detrimental effect to their memory. rather, there is actually some evidence that mao inhibitors improve memory (vertes & eastman, 2000). in contrast, pharmacological agents that induce sleep without affecting the amounts of rem versus nrem sleep, such as benzodiazepines, have been noted for their harmful effects on memory (bixler, et al., 1991; physician’s desk reference, 2001). this neurochemistry is further evidence that rem sleep is not the mechanism that accounts for memory consolidation. briefly, the chemical basis for memory formation will be explained. the formation of long-term memory is dependent on both protein synthesis and gene expression (dash, 2004). these processes are triggered by cascades of cell signaling proteins (e.g. protein kinase a [pka], calcium/calmodulin-regulated kinase [camkii], and extracellular-signal regulated kinase [erk]) which work by phosphorylating transcription factors in the cell nucleus, such as the calcium/camp response element binding protein (creb). phosphorylation of transcription factors in the cell induces the expression of several genes, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf), activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (arc), c-fos, zif-268, and syntaxin-1b (dash, 2004). such factors are thought to be required for neural plasticity and the formation of long-term memory. several of these casey murray 66 proteins have been shown to increase in the hippocampus shortly after conditioning experiments in mice (stanciu, et al., 2001). additionally, arc has been reported in the hippocampus soon after the exploration of novel environments (vazdarjanova, et al., 2002), further lending credence to the notion that these proteins resulting from specific gene expression are correlated with long-term memory consolidation. recently, it was discovered that memory consolidation is a twoway street. apparently, consolidation is reversible as well. reactivation of consolidated memories returns them to a protein-synthesis dependent state (duvarci & nader, 2004). the administration of anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor, blocks the reconsolidation of long-term memories. in duvarci & nader’s experimental paradigm, spraguedawley rats were fear conditioned to a stimulus by the administration of an electrical shock, so that they avoided the stimulus at all cost. after acquisition and consolidation of this learned memory, some rats were administered anisomycin and others were administered a placebo. rats that were injected with anisomycin subsequently forgot the memory in training sessions where the stimulus was presented but the shock was not, whereas rats in the control group maintained their conditioned fear. facilitation of extinction of the memory via anisomycin was ruled out because reacquisition of the response following anisomycin-induced forgetting resulted in a normal learning curve, as compared with a control group allowed to extinguish their memory over time. the control group showed much quicker renewal. 2.6 memory retrieval this leads to some inquiries regarding the flip side of consolidation – memory retrieval. if memory is stored in a “neurons that fire together, wire together” fashion, we would expect that retrieval of these memories would involve accessing the majority of those same neurons. that is, if cortical activation occurs globally and bilaterally throughout the cortex, it follows that retrieval of the memory for those neuronal activations would involve a global summation of firing neurons. in other words, if in consolidation a memory is distributed throughout the cortex and occurs bilaterally in both hemispheres, then retrieval should require accessing the entire cortex. again, sleep research has some critical insights to this conjecture. aquatic mammals belonging to the orders of pinnipedia, cetacean, and sirenia, display a unique method for achieving quiescent, sleeping rem and remembering 67 behavior (tobler, 1995; oleksenko, et al., 1992; mukhametov, 1987). the amazonian dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, pilot whale, porpoise, and sea cow all exhibit unihemispheric sleep patterns in which only one brain hemisphere is somnolent at a time. eeg patterns of one hemisphere will resemble nrem or rem alpha, beta and delta waves (the technical names given to describe the shape and amplitude of waves seen in sleep stages), whereas the other hemisphere will display a typical, theta wave waking pattern (oleksenko, et al., 1992). the ‘awake’ hemisphere is active and enables these animals to continuously move, so that they can always come to the surface for air and so that they can continuously swim. an assumption must be made here that bottlenose dolphins (and the other species mentioned) do form memories of some sort (based upon the fact that they can learn to do tricks and can perform complex maneuvers and jumps with some training). hypothetically, if a dolphin were to form a memory in one hemisphere only during quiescent, unihemispheric sleep, would it be able to access that memory at a later time when the hemispheres are reversed and the ‘memory-containing’ hemisphere is asleep? furthermore, if conflicting memories for the same stimuli existed in opposite hemispheres, how would a dolphin react in a scenario when it encounters the stimuli in a fully, bilaterally-awake state? simply stated, do dolphins, and by extension other mammals such as humans, retrieve memories in a distributed or localized fashion? 3. research proposal a means to investigate the nature of memory consolidation and retrieval can be garnered from the procedure known as the intracarotid amytal procedure (iap). the iap is a test in which first one and then the other cerebral hemisphere is temporarily anaesthetized through direct intracarotid application of sodium amobarbital (wada, 1949/1997). the carotid arteries are the main passageways in the head and neck that supply blood to the brain. sodium amobarbital is a barbiturate with sedative and analgesic properties. the iap (a.k.a. sodium amytal test, amobarbital procedure, or wada testing) was developed by juhn wada in the 1950’s as a method for restricting electro-shock convulsions to the non-speech dominant hemisphere of patients with epilepsy in an effort to reduce the effects of electroshock treatment (van emde boas, 1999). presently, the test is usually performed prior to ablative surgery for epilepsy to gauge the effects the surgery might have. the test is casey murray 68 conducted with the patient awake. essentially, the anesthetic is introduced into one of the internal carotid arteries via a cannula or intraarterial catheter. within seconds this results in a brief and reversible hemiparesis contralateral to the side of the injection. the patient undergoes a neuropsychological assessment, the aim of which is to determine which side of the brain is responsible for certain vital functions including speech and memory. the risk of damaging such structures during surgery can then be assessed using this data. iap is routinely applied in the medical field today to determine speech lateralization and for the assessment of memory functions’ laterality (kelley, et al., 2002; watson, et al., 1998; rausch, et al., 1989, rausch, et al., 1984). effects described from the iap include motor paralysis of the upper and lower limbs contralateral to the side of the injection (wada, 1949/1997). via the use of the iap, hemispheric dominance for speech, as well as for the memorization of faces, can also be determined (kelley, et al., 2002). it is interesting to point out here the localized nature of speech. language function is found to be lateralized in the left hemisphere in 96% of all dextral people (watson, et al., 1998). whatever the basis for left and not right hemispheric speech dominance may be, the fact that speech is localized at all is of interest in the consideration of memory retrieval. while speech may be a special case (and an almost exclusively semantic form of memory), it nevertheless provides some level of support that memory retrieval may be localized and not pooled in a distributed fashion from all regions of the brain. the question moves then to other kinds of memories: how are they stored and retrieved? when retrieving a memory from the cortex, must we have access to all areas of the cortex that may have been involved, so as to retrieve the memory bit by bit from ‘here’ and ‘there’? or is it the case that we can use information from just ‘here’ to recreate the memory? given the invasive, and arguable ethicality inherent in doing such an iap study with human subjects, a research proposal will be suggested that attempts to answer this question using animal subjects. such questions can be addressed by utilizing the iap procedure on a monkey trained to operantly respond to stimuli. since monkeys do not have the complex language system that is found in human beings, the retrieval of other types of memories would have to be investigated. an interval timing paradigm could be used (see matell & meck, 2004) in which a monkey is trained to make temporally-guided responses to the onset of a stimulus (i.e. a 4 hz tone). the monkey is trained that a reward will only be given to the first correct response on a lever after a duration (i.e. 20 rem and remembering 69 seconds) has elapsed. the behavior of the monkey, when represented graphically, gradually approaches a normal, peak-shaped function around the criterion duration. interval timing represents a good measure to test the nature of memory retrieval because it provides a continuum along which responses can be mapped. a shift in behavior and the ability to respond to a duration at various points along the temporal continuum would serve well to address the nature of memory retrieval. to test the process for which memory is retrieved, the iap procedure could be induced to a monkey that is familiar with the nature of its task (i.e. a monkey that has been trained on the interval timing paradigm in the past). it is not envisioned that such pre-training would confound the results of this proposal because the monkey will be exposed to several sessions while under the influence of the iap until a criterion response rate is met. pre-training should simply accelerate the rate at which the monkey makes the learning acquisition. monkeys will be trained, specific to only their left or right hemisphere (counterbalanced between subjects of course), while under the iap procedure to respond on a lever to a 4 hz tone after a duration of 20 seconds has elapsed. monkeys will then be put under the iap procedure for the opposite hemisphere and will be trained to respond to the same 4 hz tone on a lever after a duration of 10 seconds has passed. successive trials, alternating between the two hemispheres would occur, so as to prevent a recency effect during the experimental testing sessions that will follow the training sessions. no evidence of damage is seen in monkeys from proportionally higher doses (than those routinely used for humans) administered in close proximity in time (van emde boas, 1999). therefore, we can be confident that effects from repeated administration of sodium amobarbital will not develop and confound the results. thus, at the end of the training sessions, it would be expected that the subject monkeys have either a memory for responding at 10 seconds to a 4 hz tone in their left hemisphere and a memory for responding at 20 seconds to a 4 hz tone in their right hemisphere, or vice versa (right hemisphere, 10 seconds; left hemisphere, 20 seconds). upon reaching criterion for both intervals in the corresponding hemispheres, the monkeys will be allowed to, for the first time, respond to the 4 hz tone with access to both hemispheres of their brain. monkey’s responses will be observed. several outcomes could result from using such a paradigm. if, upon presentation of the 4 hz stimulus, the monkey responds first at 10 seconds and then again at 20 seconds (a dual peak), this would be indicative of a more localized memory retrieval process, whereas, if the casey murray 70 peak resembles an average of the two initial response rates (i.e. responding occurs around 15 seconds), then a distributed, and somehow integrated memory retrieval process is supported. hemispheric dominance for the timing of a task will also be considered if the response pattern favors one of the two original response times (e.g. a peak occurring around 17 seconds would support that memory retrieval is distributed, but that the hemisphere trained on a 20 second response interval exerts more dominance for a temporal task than the 10 second trained hemisphere.) as an aside, it will be interesting to note if there appears to be hemispheric differences among the experimental groups. there are several articles that point to hemispheric dominance in the ability to interval time that could support an outcome that favors a left-dominant or right-dominant hemisphere for interval timing. as such, some theories contend that the left hemisphere is primarily responsible for our sense of time, whereas other theories suggest that the right hemisphere is the basis for this ability. koch et al. (2002) proposed that right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dl-pfc) lesions, but not left dl-pfc lesions alter subjects’ accuracy of reproduction of subjective time, whereas binkofski and block (1996) reported leftward shifts in response time following left dl-pfc lesions. matell, et al. (2000) also reports that lesions of the left, but not right substantia nigra pars compacta (snpc) produce deficits in the temporal control of responding to an interval. therefore, it will be interesting to see if hemispheric differences amongst the experimental groups arise. in any event, it is believed that the proposed experiment would provide an adequate means to investigate the nature of the process of memory retrieval. some considerations should be made, however, regarding such a procedure that could limit the effectiveness of this experiment. it is unknown how long monkeys would need to be subjected to training under the iap for a learning acquisition curve to be enacted. while it is not foreseen that the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of sodium amobarbital would be an issue in the short run, this is not to say that some effects wouldn’t appear after repeated sessions. in typical interval timing training paradigms using rats, the animal is subject to two to three weeks of training sessions that last two hours per day. the iap procedure only has effects that last for roughly three minutes before the drug starts to wear off. therefore, the first two minutes after the injection of sodium amobarbital would be the critical window during which training would take place. training would have to terminate then rem and remembering 71 so as to prevent the anesthetized hemisphere from recovering and getting a hint at what the other hemisphere is doing/learning. as mentioned earlier, several trials could be issued on the same day. one just must be cognizant of the time parameters for individual sessions. if learning acquisition takes many, many days, it is conceivable that some type of pharmacological dependence could develop with the interaction of the barbiturate sodium amobarbital. again, that is why monkeys with a history of interval timing training would be desired, so that pace of learning acquisition is accelerated. the second consideration that some may consider is the transfer of the memory between hemispheres during non-training. this is not believed to be an issue from the author’s perspective because of the nature of memory. memory is often thought of as a thing; something gets encoded; something is consolidated and retrieved. something is tossed back and forth around the brain and the little homunculus in the head is searching for this thing when he is trying to find a memory. this is the wrong way to view memory however. memories are not ‘items’ sent down from cortical areas to the hippocampus and ‘stored’ there temporarily until they can be transferred back to the cortex as a concrete long-term memory. rather, creating a memory is more of a process of reinforcement – positive feedback loops that reverberate via the hippocampal complex throughout the cortex, strengthening the synapse that were active during a perception to the point that the flow of information is facilitated through these connections easily and quickly. memory becomes an emergent property of this feedback loop. it would seem intuitive that if something like language is primarily located in our left hemisphere, and temporary loss of language is seen as a result of the anesthetization of that hemisphere, then transfer of the memories for speech between the hemispheres is unlikely to be occurring. otherwise, the right hemisphere (non-speech dominant hemisphere) would be able to compensate when the left hemisphere is anesthetized. the transfer of other memories between hemispheres after being trained unihemispherically on the iap procedure seems dubious. so, why do many studies implicate sleep with memory processes? perhaps it is in fact due to a physiological mechanism that emerges out of sleep. during rem sleep the brain is as active as during the waking state (siegel, 2001). however, during non-rem sleep, especially during the delta rhythm, slow-wave sleep described in stages 3 and 4, the action potentials of the brain are firing in synchronicity. slow pulses reverberate throughout the brain. it is conceivable that this slow-wave sleep, and the casey murray 72 reverberation seen, is of a similar nature to the reverberation of memory processes throughout the hippocampal complex. there is some evidence that it may be this non-rem sleep that is most critical for memory formation (ribeiro, et al., 2004). if this is the case, it is not necessarily the sleep that is needed for memory formation; it is the process of decreased cortical activity that allows for reverberation to take place. as such, quiescent states of consciousness, such as meditation might also suffice for memory formation. that is another investigation and will be reserved for another time. however, it does raise an interesting conjecture or two about the possibility of an evolutionary drive in humans for sleep deprivation. theoretically, if alternative mechanisms could replicate those deemed to be necessary for the optimal acquisition of memory and the preservation of attention that is garnered from sleep, then it would make sense to make use of such mechanisms instead of giving way to sleep, a state of consciousness in which we are vulnerable and inattentive to the outside world. if mammalian creatures such as the dolphin and the whale, as well as several avian species such as the mallard, domestic chicken, blackbird, and domestic pigeon (rattenborg, et al., 2000) have adapted a process by which they can avoid the defenseless state that is entered when sleeping bihemispherically, then it is conceivable, and perhaps even desirable that humans might be able to operate in similar fashion as well. 3. bibliography available online at www.publications. villanova.edu/concept 4. figure captions figure 1. cortico-hippocampal-thalamic loop. the brain structures implicated in memory consolidation are represented here in a graphical flow chart. perceptions from the frontal and parietal cortices enter into the parahippocampal and perirhinal cortices of the temporal lobe. from here, information is passed through the hippocampus, to the fornix. it then goes directly to the thalamus or indirectly there via the mammilary bodies. finally, information is passed back to the frontal lobes via the retrospenial cortex and the cingulated cortex. rem and remembering 73 figure 1. cortico-hippocampal-thalamic loop. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\elfreth's alley.prn.pdf 1 this old alley: memory, preservation, and commemoration on elfreth’s alley alexander bethke history villanova university in 1940, amidst the surge of preservation and restoration along a small, unknown alley, a reporter cried out to his readers, “so god save elfreth’s alley.” for generations since, this place has come to represent the early, noncommercialized, quaint days of philadelphia as it was when the british governed the colony. in the twentieth century, the sight of elfreth’s alley, as one reporter observed, is a “delight to the eyes that have become wearied with looking upon constantly changing signs of modern progress.”1 rudyard kipling lamented this vanished sense of colonial innocence that has since been replaced by modernity. the author may have never visited philadelphia, but his imagination mourned the destruction of the city’s colonial landmarks. his writings of philadelphia in 1910 were part of a larger belief that the evolution of civilization had strayed from its democratic fathers. kipling’s historical imagination thrived in the conviction that this great civilization could only survive if future generations met the challenges posed by modernization. he was astonished to learn that one tract of land, between second and front, north of arch street, in the heart of colonial philadelphia, remained a preserved remnant of an unspoiled bygone period that had played such a prominent role in american history. of this place he wrote: if you’re off to philadelphia in the morning, you mustn’t take my stories for a guide; there’s little left, indeed, of the city you will read of and all the folks i write about have died … the cats sleep on and the children play, the pigeons strut in the narrow way, even the same as yesterday ever the same tomorrow.2 1 philadelphia evening bulletin, newspaper clipping collection, “down our alley,” 10 june 1940. philadelphia, temple university libraries, urban archives. (hereafter, urban archives); urban archives, “the artist of elfreth’s alley,” 6 october 1946; urban archives, “men and things,” 29 august 1932. 2 as kipling immortalized elfreth’s alley’s famed tradition of being the nation’s oldest unchanged residential street, the elfreth’s alley association has successfully used public memory to continue this legacy through preservation and education. as the alley remains the best surviving example of colonial philadelphia, historic preservation and restoration have played the most integral part of elfreth’s alley’s continued tradition.3 although preservation restored the physical character of the alley to its colonial days, commemoration has been vital in preserving its living character. special events have been essential factors in the alley’s funding and public relations, while the elfreth’s alley museum takes a more traditional approach to educating the public. preservation and commemoration are two avenues that have enjoyed tremendous popularity and accomplishment in advancing the mission of the association. but this success has come at a price, compromising and romanticizing elfreth’s alley’s three hundred year history. “fete days” and “deck the alley” have served to feed embellished history into the minds of unsuspecting philadelphians while the association’s curatorial work has failed to incorporate a substantial scholarly narrative for its visitors. nevertheless, this interpretive education is being restructured as the alley currently experiences a developmental and administrative transition that promises to produce success in the future. regardless of the museum’s questionable achievements, no visit to philadelphia would be complete without a stop at elfreth’s alley. elfreth’s alley: the myth, the legend a visitor might ask, why all this commotion over a small alley lodged in the middle of an otherwise historically rich downtown? for a common street, elfreth’s alley bears an impressive history, tradition, and legend. for seven decades, accounts have been told and retold by reporters and authors, conflicting in detail, further leaving an accurate historical account to become legend. its true history is not what visitors travel from around the world to see. rather, they flock to experience what they perceive to be a slice of eighteenth century life. the alley’s historical details are not as important as its symbolism within the context of this history in the public memory. in order to appreciate the attraction to elfreth’s alley by preservationists and tourists, its historical lore must be understood. 2 j.i.m. stewart, rudyard kipling (new york: dodd, mead, and co., 1966), 147; urban archives, “street of many memories,” 29 may 1949. 3 roger w. moss, historic houses of philadelphia: a tour of the region’s museum’s homes (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 1998). 24, 26; u.s. department of the interior. the national register of historic places: 1969 (washington, d.c.: u.s. government printing office, 1969), 249. 3 philadelphia was founded by william penn in 1681. at this time, the fledgling city was not much more than a frontier settlement. by 1775, it had grown to become the second largest british city in the world, but compared with today’s standards, the city was drastically smaller and more intimate.4 in 1690, a small alley opened between second and front streets to provide a ‘way through’ for accessibility to a blacksmith shop, mill, and the delaware river on front street.5 the first owners of this alley were john gilbert and arthur wells. in 1703, william penn deeded the south side of the alley to wells and the north side to gilbert. as a result, this alley’s first name became gilbert’s alley.6 gilbert’s alley, however, is not the name this nation has come to know. jeremiah and josiah elfreth were two english brothers who came to philadelphia in 1683. a nephew of jeremiah, married the eldest daughter of john gilbert, thereby acquiring land in gilbert’s alley. a son of josiah settled on the corner in 1740 and eventually jeremiah owned all the property along the alley and the name was changed around 1750. according to the register of wills, he died in 1772.7 the elfreths provide an insightful look into eighteenth century economics. at this time, working class citizens artisans such as carpenters, printers, and craftsmen as well as mariners, river pilots, and shipwrights could not afford to own their own property. a few lucky workers could though, like jeremiah elfreth and john gilbert, who became real estate entrepreneurs. these men charged rent and used this income to reinvest in the land. for example, #126 was built by jeremiah as an investment property and later sold. of thirty three current houses along the alley, only twenty or so had been built by the mid-1700s.8 while elfreth’s alley takes pride in its common history, it does not hesitate to mention the names of important citizens who have also been identified with the alley. these celebrities did not create the alley’s charm or character, but added to its mystique and diversity. among the visitors to the alley as children were dolly 4 by 1700, the population of philadelphia reached just over 2000. in 1765, its population had swelled to 25,000, fourth only to london, dublin, and edinburgh. nearly three hundred years later, in 2001, the city’s population reached 1,478,002. (russell f. weigley, ed., philadelphia: a 300-year history (new york: w.w. norton and co., 1982), 10, 79. mapquest.com, road atlas: united states, canada, mexico, 2001 ed. (2001), 140.) 5 at the time, n. second street was one of the major thoroughfares in philadelphia, making elfreth’s alley not only a side throughway, but a heavily trafficked area. (urban archives, “men and things.”) 6 weigley, 11; urban archives, “venerable elfreth alley is like a corner of southern france,” 7 june 1935; urban archives, “’after all, this is elfreth’s alley’,” 31 may 1974; richard j. webster, philadelphia preserved: catalog of the historic american buildings survey (philadelphia: temple university press, 1976), 52; urban archives, “lively relic of old philadelphia,” 26 april 1964. 7 urban archives, “lively relic;” urban archives, “street of many memories;” urban archives, “elfreth alley colonial street 200 years old,” 22 june 1936; webster, 52; urban archives, “after all;” urban archives, “answers to queries,” 11 january 1961. 8 webster, 52; john francis marion, bicentennial city: walking tours of historic philadelphia (princeton, nj: the pyne press, 1974), 23; moss, 28. 4 madison and betsy ross.9 its list of inhabitants though is much more remarkable. stephen girard, financier of the revolution, lived at #111. charles maurice de talleyrand supposedly sought refuge during the french revolution in the small alley. at #132 lived philip syng and jemima wilkinson was stoned by alley residents.10 it was also at the corner bar of gilbert’s alley that william penn’s son reportedly became drunk for which he was scolded by his father and sent back to england. most legendary, ben franklin was rumored to have stayed at #108 shortly after coming from boston, but this story is not certain.11 two main ideas can be gathered from the alley’s story to generate an appreciation of its importance in modern culture. overall, the alley is a living representation of what philadelphia looked like during its infancy. among the four earliest housing periods in philadelphia, the first were simple caves along the edge of the delaware river and the second were mostly makeshift abodes. elfreth’s alley, meanwhile, is representative of the third phase.12 alley residents, and more importantly, its founders dating back to john gilbert, were among philadelphia’s first citizens in the 1680s. for many philadelphians, this most primitive history eludes common knowledge. it is a story of philadelphia that is much different from the more publicized colonial or revolutionary era and is difficult to comprehend in light of the sprawling city we know today. this history simply does not have a popular or viable voice to educate the public and so, has been largely overlooked. elfreth’s alley is also an outstanding display of diversity. for the most part, its residents have always been ordinary citizens. yet living in their midst were american fathers and revolutionaries. the common folk among the powerful is exemplary of equality and the modern american dream.13 history has been made at elfreth’s alley for the past three hundred years and continues to be made there today; the story of the alley cannot be limited to the eighteenth century. as a continuously inhabited street, historians and the public must remember that many generations have lived among the spirits of the founding fathers in william penn’s philadelphia. 9 betsy griscom (ross), supposedly attended miss rebecca jones’ school, which was held in bladen’s court. (urban archives, “lively relic.”) 10 philip syng, a friend of ben franklin and local silversmith, cast the inkstands that would eventually be used in the signing of the declaration of independence. jemima wilkinson was an early feminist. she was stoned by residents of the alley for inciting a riot, wearing men’s clothes, and preaching that she had died, but returned to spread the gospel of feminism. (weigley, 96-7; urban archives, “street of many memories.”) 11 urban archives, “lively relic;” urban archives, “street of many memories.” urban archives, “oldest street in u.s., elfreth’s alley has houses built over 200 years ago,” 21 june 1936. 12 american philosophical society, historic philadelphia from the founding until the early nineteenth century: papers dealing with its people and buildings (philadelphia: american philosophical society, 1953), 282. 13 while the ‘american dream’ is a relatively modern ideological creation, this is the manner in which preservationists and tourists have viewed the alley over the past seven decades. 5 preserving a national treasure after jeremiah elfreth died in 1772, the alley seemed to be forgotten by philadelphians for almost one hundred and fifty years. most philadelphians had completely passed it out of memory except those who lived there. over time, its history faded into legend until it was rediscovered in 1932.14 it is remarkable, then, that a small group of residents still remembered their past when a local business planned to demolish three houses. indeed, a lot had changed since those days of legend, but the glory days of elfreth’s alley as its residents had imagined it, lived in their memory. the battle begins, 1933-1940 the commencement of elfreth’s alley’s long struggle to retain its presence, heritage, and character despite the encroachment of the modern world was concomitant to the general feelings toward preservation at the time. just as the national preservation movement thrived during the great depression, so did the elfreth’s alley association. like most other organizations, this association was a local women’s garden and tea club that tied ambitious resolution towards building and heritage preservation. elfreth’s alley was unique in that it typified the transition from an individual site emphasis to a concern for the complete neighborhood and its encompassing environment. the association strove to keep the past alive as a living entity while adjusting to the changes of the surrounding communities. this form of preservation had seen similar success in charlestown, sc and williamsburg, va, but these larger and better funded cases did not sprout from citizen’s awareness on a localized level.15 elfreth’s alley as it stands today is the result of a grassroots preservation effort by its residents. the preservation of the alley had always been entrusted to its residents and under their care, had managed to survive intact for two hundred years. in 1934, residents united to form the elfreth’s alley association, now one of the oldest preservation groups in the city. the association was formed in large part because of mrs. d.w. ottey who opened a tea-room, “the hearthstone,” at #115 and championed the alley’s cause. at the time, a local paint manufacturer planned to substitute warehouses for many of these historic structures, causing an uproar among concerned residents.16 ottey wrote a letter to the evening bulletin seeking help for the small alley’s fight against this large commercial institution. her words 14 urban archives, “men and things;” urban archives, “venerable elfreth alley.” 15 robert e. stipe, ed., a richer heritage: historic preservation in the twentieth century (chapel hill, nc: university of north carolina press, 2003), 7-8; william j. murtagh, keeping time: the history and theory of preservation in america (new york: john wiley and sons, inc., 1997), 38. 16 urban archives, “oldest street in u.s.;” urban archives, “elfreth alley homes are saved,” 19 february 1937. 6 attracted the interest of a larger preservation powerhouse; the philadelphia society for the preservation of landmarks, the city’s leading force in restoration work at the time, answered the alley’s call for help. the publicity and support that the society lent to this cause proved a powerful ally. in 1937, mayor s. davis wilson guaranteed financial support from the city to save the alley, thus ending its threatened situation. as the mayor remarked, this site was “too precious a heritage for the city to allow them to be torn down.”17 where other large restoration projects evolved from large corporate or governmental interests, elfreth’s alley survived because of local pride. as was the case two hundred years prior, the residents in elfreth’s alley were commoners. in the thirties, many outsiders labeled the alley a slum. but these philadelphians were like many other citizens at the time … they were teamsters, factory and office workers often living in cramped quarters with other families. what was special about these particular residents, however, were their personalities, self-respecting outlook, and keen sense of historical awareness. they proved that preservation and pride in the past was just as pertinent in commercially dilapidated areas as it was in wealthier neighborhoods. pride in their history inspired businesses like ingle brothers and residents like mrs. thomas greer to drive the effort to protect this “bit of original philadelphia that has been preserved for the past two centuries.”18 the question must be asked, why did lower class citizens care about tiny elfreth’s alley during the great depression? in the 1930s, philadelphia had multiplied in population, business, and modernity.19 the first vestiges of a modern corporate america with its high rise office buildings were beginning to dominate a historically quaint center city. carriages could no longer be heard along second street. instead, the frankford elevated line bustled along market street, traffic lined the recently opened ben franklin bridge, and storehouses, wholesalers, industrial plants, and warehouses had surrounded the antique alley. among the smog of congestion, elfreth’s alley, then called cherry street, retained an air of tranquility as time seemingly stopped along this byway.20 in this setting, historic preservation came to life for elfreth’s alley and the city of philadelphia, but its origin tells of an earlier age. 17 urban archives, “venerable elfreth alley;” urban archives, “dear sir;” urban archives, “oldest street in u.s.;” urban archives, “residents of quaint old colonial street fight to keep house,” 26 june 1938; urban archives, “elfreth alley homes are saved.” 18 urban archives, “oldest street in u.s.;” urban archives, “men and things;” marion, 30; urban archives, “dear sir;” urban archives, “elfreth alley homes are saved.” 19 in 1930, the city’s population had swelled to 1,950,961. (weigley, 602.) 20 urban archives, “answers to queries,” 26 september 1958; urban archives, “after all;” urban archives, “lively relic.” the alley has undergone numerous name changes. in the early 1700s, it was known as preston’s alley, after paul preston who married into the gilbert family. around 1750, the name was changed to elfreth’s alley. then again in 1897, the name was changed by the city to cherry street. (ibid.) 7 in the 1920s, the nation experienced great economic growth, prosperity, and construction. during this decade, transit took priority to bring workers and shoppers into downtown. in this midst, the delaware river bridge (later renamed the benjamin franklin bridge) was built as the longest suspension bridge in the world. the bridge crosses the delaware river from just above race street with its approach running as far west as fifth street.21 consideration for the history of affected properties was not given prior to design. after the bridge was approved, any interfering site was condemned and demolished.22 while historians do not known for certain, the destroyed properties could have been important sites similar to elfreth’s alley. prior destruction of similar homes may have inspired elfreth’s alley residents to fight demolition in the mid-1930s. the 1920s were also decade characterized by the wish for simplicity and search of americana. in this era, many others besides kipling lamented a lack of tradition, community, and as van wyck brooks complained, a sense of “’sympathetic soil’ that could nourish the growth of cultural traditions.”23 elfreth’s alley represented this quintessential american tradition as seen through the memory of the people and was preserved to do the same for future generations. across the nation, the great depression ushered in a focus on more socialist ideologies. under hoover, in the late 1920s, government’s role was expressed through laissez-faire. this was an age of individualism that emphasized corporate creativity, hard work, and disassociation with external affairs. as the economic world plunged into chaos, americans needed hope and comfort, which they would find in a new president and a new deal. franklin roosevelt brought a nation devoid of dignity into a mindset that promised to protect the poor from the evils and greed of corporations. the america of the 1930s saw a contrast in methods, from president hoover who restrained from using government action to a president who took action into his own hands. under this leadership, the founders of the elfreth’s alley association found their inspiration for engagement.24 with fdr’s progressive notions that america should be governed as a commonwealth of equality, he continued the identity of this nation as a city on the 21 the bridge’s approach is located only two blocks to the north of elfreth’s alley. the frankford elevated line was another major project changing the surrounding environment, located four blocks to the south of the alley. 22 walter s. andariese, history of the benjamin franklin bridge (camden, nj: delaware river port authority, 1981), 6. 23 michael kammen, mystic chords of memory: the transformation of tradition in american culture (new york: alfred a. knopf, 1991), 306, 308. 24 zachary karabell, a visionary nation: four centuries of american dreams and what lies ahead (new york: harper collins publishers, 2001), 84, 88, 93. 8 hill.25 during hard times, citizens need hope and faith more than any governmental policy. residents of elfreth’s alley found their hope in the legends of their homes. they were urged on by the alley’s legendary past of equality, democracy, diversity, and overall by its general image of happiness. this happiness had transcended time and resonated with residents in the 1930s to become an inflated memory of the alley’s history, a city on the hill. most legends are created in this manner and serve a heroically useful purpose, just as elfreth’s alley did for its residents. following this early period of actively narrow-minded preservation efforts, elfreth’s alley became a better known historic site. its resume soon included a pennsylvania historical commission certification in 1956, inclusion on the national register of historic landmarks in 1963, and the pennsylvania register in 1970. as the alley became more popular with philadelphians and tourists, it became one of america’s most treasured and admired urban fragments and a vital part in philadelphia’s back-to-city movement.26 as the federal government began to invest large sums into restoring old philadelphia’s historic houses in preparation for the bicentennial in 1976, real estate developers looked to urban renewal as a goldmine. the success of society hill’s development served as a model for the use of preservation in other parts of the city.27 as homes that were a century or more old became refurbished, residents that had moved to the suburbs found historical living suddenly fashionable, quaint, and adorable. as real estate investments became intertwined with historic sites, history became a changing variable that was negotiable or even dependent on popular trends. elfreth’s alley was not unaffected by this movement. as the bicentennial approached, elfreth’s alley received a 250,000 dollar restoration face-lift. the completed project enhanced the alley’s eighteenth century feel by replacing the nineteenth century belgian block paving with a more authentic eighteenth century cobblestone surface.28 yet in 1977, elfreth’s alley was affected by development when seymour millstein planned to build a community of eighteen town homes at the corner of front street and elfreth’s alley. residents complained bitterly that new housing would “limit open space, cut off fire equipment access, increase population density, and [possibly damage foundations].” the elfreth’s alley association 25 ibid, 88. 26 webster, 70; david hamer, history in urban places: the historic districts of the united states (columbus, oh: ohio state university press, 1998), 17. 27 weigley, 720. 28 urban archives, “elfreth’s alley to get face-lift with cobblestones,” 25 september 1974; urban archives, “elfreth’s alley face-lifting approved,” 21 november 1974. 9 made several pleas to the zoning board, but like other historic areas in the city, elfreth’s alley lost to the interests of investment. today, appletree court stands paradoxically among these ancient remnants of old philadelphia. 29 commemorating colonial life with its mission to preserve firmly established, the elfreth’s alley association must also strive to educate as it does through annual events and museum education. as the united states transitioned from an industrial to a service-based economy in the post-war environment, knowledge and the search for meaning became important to the intellectual satisfaction of workers.30 today, the alley continues to make history and build tradition with its annual special events that function to commemorate the lost character of colonial philadelphia. since the 1980s, two events have been held annually by the association. elfreth’s alley’s “fete days” and “deck the alley” are important for their educational and public outreach efforts, but are also responsible for twenty-five percent of the association’s annual budget. these events are by far the most effective and popular programs that elfreth’s alley organizes, attracting huge numbers of attendees to experience a romanticized piece of old philadelphia. “fete days”, which used to be called “elfreth’s alley day,” is an event that originated in conjunction with the association’s preservation efforts. the first “elfreth’s alley day” was held in 1934 to rally the public to the alley’s aid. the tradition began as an open house into the private homes of alley residents and a social event to rally and instill philadelphians with pride about their colonial heritage. like 1934, when mrs. ottey served tea and lunch in bladen’s court, recent “fete days” have often included similar social aspects.31 this simple event was used to publicize the alley in a fun and entertaining manner. later, these events tried to incorporate an educational aspect to their event, including costumed interpreters to teach visitors about colonial life and the alley. from these early beginnings, “fete days” quickly grew into an event that attracted thousands of visitors by the 1940s. where the 1920s saw the corporate buildup of national meaning and memory by ford, heinz, and rockefeller, the 1930s emphasized a more local and regional mindset of which elfreth’s alley took part. in the thirties, a strong sense of american patriotism and place of pride 29 urban archives, “elfreth’s alley plea rejected,” 25 september 1977. 30 john h. falk and lynn d. dierking, learning from museums: visitor expectations and the making of meaning (new york: altamira press, 2000), 1. 31 urban archives, “colonial history to be set to music here today as famed elfreth alley celebrates ‘at home’,” 8 june 1985; urban archives, “society holds luncheon,” 15 june 1935. 10 dictated the meaning of museums to early visitors, creating memorials to american culture and heritage, similar to elfreth’s alley.32 the primary attraction to visitors, who attend these special events, is being allowed to view these treasures from the inside. by the 1930s, nearly every house had been modernized in terms of plumbing and electricity. yet almost all of them retained some or all of their original wood structure and paneling, some featuring original fireplaces and woodworking as well. these may be the only original features that noticeably stand out when visitors tour the modern adaptations of these three hundred year old homes. many homes have been refitted in modern decor while others have mixed different period furniture. most of the historical flavoring and character that a visitor feels on the exterior is thoroughly diminished by their tour of their modern interiors. thus, non-residents should not be fooled by these quaint, theatrical, colonial facades, for present residents now live with modern appliances that make fireplace heat or well water a thing of the past. pamela carter, an interior decorator by trade, relinquished her method of decorating her ‘colonial’ home from the mid 1970s: we tried to be true to the federal period … a period of great elegance when social gatherings were held in townhouses, furnished in english and french furniture; windows were draped with silken swag fabrics and accessories were treasures brought back on sailing trips…. … i don’t want to be living in an antique home, but i like living with antiques.”33 visitors must be reminded as they tour these homes that residents are not historians and their homes may not accurately represent the true period and class décor of colonial america. in the street, residents or volunteer lay philadelphians have also traditionally donned colonial costumes to play the part of eighteenth century residents or passersby. these actors were responsible for answering historical questions and interpreting colonial life, but may not necessarily have had historical training. residents of all ages became part of the act. children dance a minuet while older women become hostesses in their own homes, ready to welcome visitors through a two hundred year portal into old philadelphia. in a recent interview with executive director, beth richards, i was told residents no longer played an interpretive role in annual events, but that professional guides were hired to educate the public more 32 kammen, 306. 33 urban archives, “modern living on historic elfreth’s alley,” 26 september 1974; urban archives, “colonial history to be set;” urban archives, “oldest street in u.s.;” urban archives, “elfreth alley is host,” 7 june 1941. not only is the federal period later than the era which the elfreth’s alley association focuses on, but these homes would not have been included in the elegance of the upper classes as miss carter has insinuated. 11 accurately. during the past “deck the alley” celebration, however, not only were many residents present to greet and answer question in their homes, but any staff on hand were volunteers. if earlier practices have changed, they are not easy to recognize.34 elfreth’s alley homes are unique and enjoyable in their own right as the nation’s oldest residential street. nevertheless, the interiors of these homes have changed with history. for example, interpreters are quick to point out that only one trinity house remains intact on the street.35 the rest have been modified to allow for more rooms, some as many as eleven. as visitors attend elfreth’s alley open houses, they swoon over its age, admire its woodwork, revel in its quaintness, and wish that they lived in these homes where colonial americans once had the opportunity to take part in this ideal community. needless to say, the majority of visitors remain unaware of the true historical setting that encompassed these working class residents. this issue presents elfreth’s alley with a complex paradox in museum studies and commemoration. commemorative events are inherently limited to a certain period of time. therein lays elfreth’s alley’s dilemma. “fete days” and “deck the alley” strive to commemorate past culture within a context of current residence. the association seems torn between entertainment and accuracy. special events do not truly tell the history of elfreth’s alley, but are nevertheless a worthwhile, fun, and profitable event that is necessary to the alley’s educational and preservation missions. the alley must do its best to reconcile historical differences with the inaccuracies that are now presented. if a proper narrative does not accompany guests in their visit, they should be told that such events do not represent the history of the alley, but are for their pleasure. exploiting philadelphia’s curiosity in these homes’ interior is justified, to exploit history is not. but history can play a larger role than it currently does to increase the event’s accurate historical interpretation. elfreth’s alley as commemorative museum while the commemoration of elfreth’s alley’s legacy, not history, is the focus of “fete days,” teaching the history of elfreth’s alley and its residents is the responsibility of the elfreth’s alley museum. unlike commemorations, museums are not bound in scope by physical or ideological limits. rather, museums thrive to 34 urban archives, “renewal plan resisted,” 9 june 1974; executive director beth richards of elfreth’s alley, interview by author, 18 november 2004. “deck the alley” is one of two annual open house events held in december to showcase the alley’s christmas charm and decorations. 35 a trinity house is comprised of three stories with one room to a floor and a kitchen in the basement. trinity houses used to be very common in philadelphia in the eighteenth century, but have fallen out of style with modern residents. 12 present such contrasts. the elfreth’s alley museum, while limited in its scope, is not physically constrained to retain this narrow focus. according to falk and dierking, a museum’s task is to provide accurate information where citizens can “discover the past, present, and future.”36 many visitors who attend annual events at elfreth’s alley may see it come alive twice a year. what they overlook in the excitement of “fete days” is a living entity year round. this is the true uniqueness of the alley. regardless of how its residents portray the past, they are an important part of this alley’s continuing history. elfreth’s alley is a unique living heritage museum unlike any other in the nation; these historic homes do not hire actors to play residents. this small alley is a working museum that is dedicated to educating the public about colonial life and culture. oddly enough, educational opportunities remain scarce throughout the alley. visitors can sense the character of eighteenth century life simply by walking through this cultural phenomenon, but deeper interpretation and information about the alley’s history elude ninety percent of its tourists, according to alley statistics. the association headquarters and adjacent museum house at #124/126 are the only locations for historic information along the alley.37 for three dollars, a fifteen to thirty minute tour attempts to provide historical context to the alley. yet in a half hour, the tour should cover over three hundred years of history. needless to say, the narrative tends to focus on the history of the house and its colonial occupants with a very brief prologue about its early preservation efforts. the museum house is a tremendous success in education. it is appropriately furnished with period furniture according to an estate inventory of 1766.38 visitors who have attended either of the alley’s open houses would be stupefied by this plain dwelling. the alley’s elegantly quaint and colorful exterior does not prepare the visitor for what life was like for residents in the eighteenth century. the museum house successfully astonishes guests with a small, simple, and historically accurate presentation of a colonial interior that dramatically contrasts the modern and spacious abodes that some residents now occupy. considering the alley’s history, this museum does an excellent job giving the public a sense of philadelphia’s not so romanticized colonial days. yet the tour narrative lacks contextual substance concerning the social history of the alley’s three hundred years. the association relies on the house to provide the most stimulating information about the alley’s residents. unlike preservation, this cannot present three hundred years of history. thus, the museum’s responsibility is to tell a story that its alley’s façade cannot. the tour’s 36 falk, 2. 37 these properties have been under the ownership of the association and served as its headquarters since 1962. 38 urban archives, “the philadelphia,” 7 june 1961. 13 narrative pays little attention to those who lived on the alley after 1800 or the early history of philadelphia. while elfreth’s alley has not changed with the advent of technology, its residents have. generations of families have lived on this street not only during the revolutionary war, but every subsequent war to this day. the association has recognized in recent years that this is not only a museum of colonial character and memory, but an ongoing history of everyday american residents. the past five years have been essential in understanding and bringing about this change. in 1999, beth richards was hired to become elfreth’s alley’s third executive director. at the time, the tour’s script had not been changed since it was first given in 1962.39 richards understood the need to document and convey the alley’s diversity. historians were hired to research its history from 1810-1930 as well as to meet with current residents individually to document their stories and homes. recently, the alley also received an interpretation grant to continue this work.40 these noble efforts indicate that elfreth’s alley is dedicated to telling the alley’s entire story, not only its famed colonial legacy as it has in the past. yet significant changes have been slow in coming to an audience that deserves and would appreciate a full and accurate history of elfreth’s alley. a lack of interpretation outside the museum has also been a concern for the association. of an estimated 250,000 visitors who travel to elfreth’s alley each year, only 25,000 proceed to take the tour and receive any sort of official information about the alley.41 when richards was hired, she realized this was a major issue, but recognized that increased attendance was not a solution. rather than try to bring more numbers into this cramped street, she decided to focus on better connecting and interacting with the current attendees. while crowd control has been discussed as a viable option in solving the interpretive problem identified in the past couple of years, the association believes that elfreth’s alley needs to remain a public space, even if an accurate image of the alley’s historical character continues to be misinterpreted by its visitors. in richards’ opinion, the alley’s interpretive problem can be solved with more interactive and public methods.42 overall, elfreth’s alley as a museum has been the least successful of its programs and the association recognizes that change is needed. yet the association has not accepted its ability to take advantage of its position as the oldest residential street in philadelphia to build a museum that would tell both the 39 elfreth’s alley is believed to be the most researched street in the city thanks to the efforts of the philadelphia historical commission and hannah brenner roach, researcher for the association. nonetheless, this research is not presented to visitors as they walk the alley or tour the museum house. (webster, 52.) 40 urban archives, “a fragment of the past athwart expressway,” 20 january 1957; richards, 2004. 41 this number includes 10,000 school children who visit the alley each year and take an individualized tour to their current lesson plans. (richards, 2004.) 42 richards, 2004. 14 city’s early colonial and three hundred year working class history. “fete days” have established and exploited elfreth’s alley as the trustee of this history in philadelphia. as the association has created such a tradition, the museum’s responsibility should be to interpret the historical context of these practices. this includes nothing less than explaining the broad history of colonial culture, philadelphia’s early history, and working class life in a museum setting. beth richards’ tenure as executive director has been integral in bringing change to elfreth’s alley as an institution. because of the work she has done to solve the managerial and curatorial issues that have plagued the association for decades, the alley museum is now poised for success.43 while it is poised and some beneficial planning has been done to take the right steps, the alley is not committed to educating the public on such a broad scope as has been recommended above. the alley’s uniqueness as a residential street also interferes with its mission to educate the public. if the association continues to prioritize the manipulation of elfreth’s alley’s history for entertainment purposes, residents should yield to a superior public right to access the alley’s true historical heritage. perhaps a public organization, whether city, state, or federal, could restore each house to its original condition, further enhancing the colonial character of the alley while remaining true to the accurate history of the street. the elfreth’s alley museum must take steps to fulfill its public responsibility to the public or lose its entitlement to do so. conclusion: an alley in transition elfreth’s alley has overcome numerous obstacles in order to become a prominent institution in preservation and education. in modern philadelphia, no single seventeenth century homes still exist, but thirty-three authentic eighteenth century homes remain largely unimpaired, unexploited by commerce, and unimaginably quaint after three hundred years of residency.44 no other city can exhibit such a display of our nation’s heritage and therefore, philadelphia has an invaluable responsibility to preserve and exhibit these wonders. yet this mission must be done in a way that presents an accurate view of elfreth’s alley from the colonial era through the present. just as essential to this site has been its ability to overcome diversity, mismanagement, destruction, construction, tourism, and everyday ware. elfreth’s alley has grown from an obscure back alley neighborhood into a thriving residential community that happens to attract thousands of guests per year. it has worked tirelessly to overcome obstacles and become a successful institution 43 ibid. 44 moss, 24. 15 through the preservation efforts of residents and neighbors to whom the nation owes much gratitude. the association’s efforts, however, do not stop with preservation. as trustees of this historic alley, its residents recognized their responsibility to exhibit the alley as a living museum. this museum would not be a recreated or gathered accompaniment of historic homes as williamsburg, deerborn, or sturbridge. through special events like ‘elfreth’s alley day’ and “deck the alley” in conjunction with the year round interpretation and tours in the museum house, elfreth’s alley in an essential stop for americans seeking a glimpse of their early heritage and culture. but an authentic historical experience remains illusive. in this regard, the elfreth’s alley association’s future will only become brighter as a new director and innovative ideas continue to flow forth from its headquarters. as the alley continues this current transition in personnel, the nation can be comforted that elfreth’s alley has already dedicated itself to a future that will strive to preserve and present the character of this continuing american commemoration. in return, citizens must demand that elfreth’s alley tell the full story of its three hundred year past without romanticizing working class society. in the mean time, i highly recommend that all americans stroll along elfreth’s alley. but keep in mind its diverse and impressive history when you do and you too will come away with a better appreciation of this country’s heritage. so god save elfreth’s alley. ellen meeker problems of prosperity: a comparative study of the social consequences of economic growth in ireland ellen k. meeker political science introduction in the last fifteen years, ireland has undergone a variety of economic changes that has transformed it from one of the poorest countries in western europe to one of the wealthiest.1 historically poverty-stricken and underdeveloped, ireland’s dramatic economic growth, labeled by many as the “celtic tiger,” is one of the major success stories of developing nations. throughout the 1990s, ireland’s economy grew by about 6% annually, and by 2004, its gross domestic product per capita was $44,644.2 compared to ireland’s gdp per capita in 1980, $6,185, this growth is truly astonishing.3 a decline in unemployment rates also indicates an economic upswing. in 1985, unemployment in ireland was about 16%; by 2001, unemployment was about 4%.4 a nation once composed of émigrés now has positive immigration rates for the first time since the great famine in the midnineteenth century. all economic indicators of growth and prosperity illustrate what has been an astounding success story in ireland. recent social science literature examines ireland’s economic development, particularly the ways in which ireland was able to grow so exponentially in such a short period. while more people in ireland work and have more money than ever before, has the quality of life truly improved? for generations, tourists, particularly americans, have romanticized the hospitality and generosity of the irish. but has growth negatively affected the social character of the irish? indeed, an irish times 1 editor’s note: the following article is an expanded version of the article that appears in the print version of concept 2008. additional tables have been added, and some of these tables are in color in the original. 2 world health organization statistical information system, “ireland health statistics and health system information,” http://data.euro.who.int/hfadb/, (accessed 2007). 3 ibid. 4 elizabeth cullen, “unprecedented growth – but for whose benefit?” in growth: the celtic cancer, ed. richard douthwaite and john jopling (dublin: foundation for the economics of stability, 2004). ellen meeker article published in 2006 illustrates the growing consequences of increased wealth, such as rising costs and an increase in suicide rates, alcohol abuse, and stress.5 by synthesizing scholarly literature on the negative consequences of economic prosperity and examining specific measures of relative well-being in irish society, this paper seeks to compare ireland in two distinct but recent times, 1980 and 2005, to determine if economic prosperity has negatively impacted its society. the benchmark years of 1980 and 2005 are useful in two ways. first, they are far enough apart and located at different stages of economic development to allow for a recognizable and quantifiable change. secondly, 1980 is clear of the 1970s and what is known as the “troubles” in ireland, and 2005 is far enough from the “dot-com” crash in 2000. the troubles could have had an impact on several of the measures of the negative consequences of economic growth, as the conflict may have increased stress, anxiety, or crime rates. likewise, the dot-com crash could also have contributed to the negative consequences of economic growth, as it could have temporarily boosted unemployment rates or negatively impacted per capita gdp. steering clear of these confounding variables allows for a more clear assessment of the figures associated with the negative consequences of economic growth in ireland. therefore, this paper establishes a framework for understanding the differences between 1980 and 2005 by illustrating ireland’s recent economic and political history and providing a conceptual background of the literature that discusses the negative consequences of economic growth. most of the literature focuses on this phenomenon in america, and this paper aims to apply the theoretical conclusions of that literature to a newly wealthy ireland. by measuring negative factors of growth in ireland, this paper seeks to illustrate any similarities or differences in the two case studies of 1980 and 2005. an analysis of this data could be quite useful in understanding broader social issues affected by economic prosperity and may be helpful in analyzing similar burgeoning, developing states. a short political and economic history like most former colonies, ireland has a complicated political and economic history. it became an english colony in the seventeenth century, forming a relationship that has affected irish political and economic developments since. throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, england asserted its colonial power by establishing various plantations and installing protestantism as the 5 michael o’sullivan, “increasing wealth is not leading to greater happiness,” the irish times, october 18, 2006. 2 problems of prosperity official religion. in 1800, britain, faced with the economic threat that ireland imposed, passed the act of union, which placed ireland directly under british rule. by digesting the country into the british economy, the act robbed ireland of the chance to industrialize during the industrial revolution. another significant event in irish history, the great famine of the 1840s, fueled the irish desire for freedom. many irish blamed the british for the deaths of millions of their compatriots; some even labeled it genocide.6 the british policies during the famine exacerbated the situation; for instance, while the irish population was starving, it continued to pump grain out of ireland and into england for consumption. england remained committed to laissez-faire policies and pursued a “hands-off” approach to the crisis. as mccaffrey illustrates, “they [the british government] argued that famine relief should not interfere with normal commercial activity, compete with private business, discourage personal initiative, make the irish psychologically dependent on government charity, or interfere with private property or individual responsibility.”7 although england was the richest nation in the world at the time, it took a minimalist approach to the famine, and its policies undoubtedly contributed to more deaths. as a result, the famine started a process of emigration that exceeded immigration levels until the 1990s. people essentially had to emigrate if they wished to have meaningful work and enough money to support a family. during the nineteenth and early twentieth century, ireland continually vied for its independence. following a chain of events initiated by the 1916 easter rising, great britain granted ireland home rule in 1921, and in 1948, ireland declared itself a republic excluding the six counties in northern ireland that remained loyal to the british crown. this short history provides the basis for ireland’s historic economic problems. as an english colony, it was largely agrarian and had almost no industrialization. as fitzgerald illustrates, …for a number of historical reasons, including a heritage of english colonial exploitation from the eighteenth century as well as neglect of economic development in the nineteenth century, there had been little industrialization in the island of ireland in the pre-independence period, and what there was had been concentrated in the north-east, which opted out of the new irish state.8 6 lawrence j. mccaffrey, the irish question: two centuries of conflict. (lexington: the university of kentucky press, 1995), 56. 7 ibid., 57. 8 gerald fitzgerald, reflections on the irish state (dublin: irish academic press, 2003), 23. 3 ellen meeker indeed, as illustrated above, during the great famine, when half of ireland’s population either died or emigrated, irish farmers were still exporting grain to england although the majority of its own population was starving. even after independence, ireland established a special agreement with england in 1938 to create a free trade agreement between the two islands. ireland remained largely agrarian until the latter part of the twentieth century, and british farm subsidies did nothing to force a transition away from this way of life. by 1950, more than half of the working irish population was still agrarian, and 30% of its economic output was derived from farming compared to the european average of 10%.9 by 1970, these figures had barely improved – 25% of the working population was still agrarian, compared to europe’s eight percent.10 as fitzgerald notes, “ireland’s institutional, social, and economic heritage from the past, including its institutional structure and common law legal system, has been markedly different from that of any part of continental europe.”11 ireland’s history as a colony, lack of proper industrialization, and a frail political system immensely contributed to its dismal economic performance prior to the 1990s. government policies during the 1970s and 1980s had created large fiscal deficits and exacerbated the national debt, and this occurred during an international recession.12 in addition, creating a meaningful majority in irish parliament was difficult, given that the political parties had difficulty finding common ground on which to establish a coalition, and thus policies lacked any clear coherency, thereby furthering the dismal economic performance of ireland. ireland’s shift towards economic prosperity began in the 1970s after it was admitted to the european union. membership in the eu provided ireland with a new market to sell its goods as opposed to the single british market it had dealt with for the past several centuries. the eu shifted structural and common agricultural policy (cap) funds to ireland, allowing it to build the necessary infrastructure to compete internationally, that british colonial rule had long denied. the eu had created these funds, as özenen notes, to “reduce the differences and create a better economic and social balance within and between member states.”13 9 ibid., 26. 10 ibid. 11 ibid. 12 niamh hardiman (2003). “politics and markets in the irish “celtic tiger” experience: choice, chance or coincidence?” in institute for the study of social change discussion paper series, http://www.ucd.ie/geary/publications/2003/wp14.pdf (accessed 2007). 13 cem galip özenen, general directorate of economic sectors and coordination in the department of infrastructure and services, turkey’s state planning organization, “the effect of structural funds on ireland’s development and lessons for turkey,” http://ekutup.dpt.gov.tr/ab/ozenencg/irlanda.pdf (accessed 2007). 4 problems of prosperity therefore, the transfer of capital into ireland from the eu, in the form of structural and agricultural subsidies, allowed it the necessary capital to augment its infrastructure and deliver needed subsidies to its agrarian population. before membership in the eu, irish exports to countries other than england constituted 40% of its total exports. by the late 1990s, this figure was upwards of 77%.14 though the eu established the infrastructure to facilitate ireland’s immense economic boom, it was internal irish politics that created favorable circumstances for foreign and multinational corporations to establish business there. the irish economy and regulations were attractive to many foreign investors because they had an educated population and low corporate taxes. in the 1960s, ireland eliminated its secondary school taxes, enabling more people to attain higher levels of education. o’donnell asserts that this educated population played a significant role in the booming “celtic tiger” and explains that, “high quality labor (that is, appropriately and well-educated workers from the perspective of the employers) is more flexible and adaptive and can facilitate the introduction of new technologies.”15 in addition, government policies, such as an attractive 10% corporate tax rate and union wage moderation, attracted foreign investment and spurred economic growth. other important developments included the stability created by the peace process that ensued after the 1970s “troubles” with northern ireland and a dedicated and educated political class that realized the necessity for change before the imf had to step in.16 these various factors established a ripe foundation for rapid economic change and explain the success and prosperity of the irish economy since the early 1990s. one can measure ireland’s current economic prosperity in several ways. as figures 1 and 2 illustrate below, the rise of ireland’s gdp and most noticeably its gdp per capita is truly noteworthy. 0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 $us, millions 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 figure 1: gdp 1980-2005 gdp 14 fitzgerald, 27. 15 michael o’donnell, changed utterly: ireland and the new irish psyche (dublin: the liffey press, 2001), 35. 16 ibid., 34. 5 ellen meeker figure 2: gdp per capita, 1980-2004 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000 19 80 19 82 19 84 19 86 19 88 19 90 19 92 19 94 19 96 19 98 20 00 20 02 20 04 gdp per capita in 1980, ireland’s gdp was $21 billion dollars and its per capita gdp was $618517. as both charts indicate, gdp and gdp per capita remained fairly stagnant during the 1980s, but began to grow in the early 1990s and was truly booming by the late 1990s and early 2000s. as of 2005, gdp was over $200 billion dollars, and gdp per capita was over $44,000, demonstrating a clear economic transformation.18 concurrent with the rise in gdp and gdp per capita, the unemployment rates in ireland dropped dramatically while the amount of working hours also declined. in 1980, ireland’s unemployment rate was around 16%, and by 2005 this figure was 4.3%; the eu average in 2005 was 7.9%.19 average working hours in 1983, the closest year to 1980 for which data is available, were 1,910 hours per year, and in 2004 were 1,642 per year. thus, while ireland was achieving unprecedented economic wealth and prosperity and dramatically decreasing the unemployment rate, it was also able to significantly lower the average working hours per year. the problems of prosperity the above statistics and figures propose that the irish have finally transcended their times of strife and have emerged as a serious contender in the international economy. however, accompanying these impressive changes in wealth are significant and often negative issues: rising suicide rates, crime, and alcohol 17 gdp chart: organization for economic cooperation and development, “gdp datasets: http://stats.oecd.org/wbos/default.aspx?datasetcode=sna_table1 (accessed march 24, 2007); gdp per capita chart: world health organization statistical information system, http://data.euro.who.int/hfadb/ (accessed 2007). 18 ibid. 19 oecd (2007) “standardized unemployment rates.” oecd.stat. accessed 10 march 2007. <http://stats.oecd.org/wbos/default.aspx?queryname=251&querytype=view&lang=en> 6 problems of prosperity consumption, among a myriad of others. prior to this economic growth, the irish had never experienced these issues on such large scale. an understanding of the discourse of the negative effects of prosperity creates a better appreciation of the concrete indicators of these issues in ireland today. there are two primary lenses through which to examine how prosperity can affect a society. o’donnell describes these two camps as positivist and negativist. maslow’s construction of a human’s hierarchy of needs best illustrates the positivist view.20 maslow “…suggests that economic prosperity has general and genuine benefits for a society, beyond simply the acquisition of more goods and services.”21 essentially, humans must satisfy their most basic needs first, such as food, clothing, and shelter, and after that, humans pursue basic security, love, selfrespect, and finally self-actualization.22 a wealthy and well-functioning state and society provides the basis for individuals to pursue these broader human goals; it enables the human being to achieve self-actualization. inglehart added to maslow’s argument that when a society secures its population’s basic needs and its security, their priorities turn towards freedom, expression, and beauty.23 inglehart suggests, …in the post-second world war era, the majority of citizens in western industrialized countries were presented for the first time with the luxury of preoccupation with post-materialist concerns – no longer worrying about jobs, the threat of war, or the roof over their heads, but of the kind of environments they lived in, of the rights of expression, of the importance of abstract ideas like equality, justice, and minority rights.24 thus, inglehart argues beyond maslow’s idea that prosperity increases the propensity for humans to achieve personal actualization in his allusion to the broader societal implications of such wealth. the negativist camp, in contrast, has a pessimistic analysis of the effects of wealth on a society and is critical of the positivist view. as o’donnell explains, “the civil progress of early capitalism gave way to the horror in the last century of fascism and concentration camps, but standards of living surely improved.”25 he also criticizes inglehart’s claim that such a high level of development and security enables expression and beauty by illustrating that the artists of the poor and more troubled first half of the twentieth century, such as eliot, joyce, and picasso, were 20 o’donnell, 45. 21 ibid., 44. 22 ibid., 47. 23 ibid., 48. 24 ibid. 25 ibid., 51. 7 ellen meeker much more heralded than those of the second, much wealthier half of that century.26 many in the negativist group recognize the dark side of an affluent society: consumption. galbraith in particular illustrates that “…the troubling characteristic of the affluent society is that, by its very nature, production cannot lead to a reduction in people’s wants. the reason is that one of the main goals is to keep at least abreast but preferably ahead of one’s neighbors.”27 indeed, the wealth and security that the positivist camp views as a path to freedom, creativity, and beauty in fact creates a society that suffers in the unending cycle of production and consumption. many authors have adopted the negativist view. most highlight the inadequacies of the free market or the woes of a society based on consumption. schwartz writes, the market does nothing to encourage protection and everything to encourage predation. the pursuit and exploitation of individual advantage in the service of those who profit is built into the ideology of the market. those who fail to capitalize on their advantages will earn less money, or be fired by their bosses, or be driven out of business by their competition.28 this critique is helpful in explaining why a society like ireland, which recently experienced wealth and prosperity, consistently reports higher levels of stress, as will be discussed later. lane argues that the market encourages people to link wealth with happiness. he writes, “people believe that a little more money would make them happier, and, lacking privileged knowledge of the causes of their feelings, people accept conventional answers. in spite of kant and mill, people’s basic premise is that they are much like others – they have no great desire to be unique. the market culture teaches us that money is the source of well-being.”29 the market can also warp one’s sense of being: “who we are (the very core ‘self’ of being) has come to be determined by what we can buy and own…the overwhelming message being broadcast is that you are only as good as what you can buy, as our traditional cultural icons are being eroded and replaced by mcdonald’s, nike, bmw, and the like.”30 26 ibid. 27 o’donnell, 54. 28 barry schwartz, the costs of living: how market freedom erodes the best things in life (new york: w.w. norton and company, 1994), 40. 29 robert e. lane, the loss of happiness in market democracies (new haven: yale university press, 2000), 72. 30caroline smyth, malcolm maclachlan, and anthony clare, cultivating suicide? destruction of self in a changing ireland (dublin: the liffey press, 2003), 59. 8 problems of prosperity consumption is central to the discourse on the problems associated with affluence. a material culture creates a cycle of consumption that is reinforced daily, and this can have serious consequences. people adapt to their material acquisitions; a person may be happy with his new good, such as a car, for a limited amount of time before the initial euphoria wears off and he begins again to desire more material things.31 in an argument that is particularly relevant to ireland today, schwartz also points out the relativity of increased wealth: it could be that material well-being is relevant to happiness only when it is evaluated relative to the material well-being of everybody else. it is possible that, for example, a 50 percent increase in real income will make someone happy only if not everyone else is getting richer by 50 percent. if everyone is getting richer, then an individual’s own gains are seen as only fair – as entitlements.32 schor builds upon this idea with her assertion that those to whom people compare themselves have changed with the advent of mass communications and globalization. people no longer compare themselves to their neighbor up the street; television and mass media have enabled people to compare themselves to the rich and famous, and the media portrays their lifestyles as the desired standard. people are left feeling poor and worthless, as they cannot easily achieve that level of wealth. in this way, status and consumption are intertwined. schwartz illustrates: the importance to us of status helps explain why we are always looking over our shoulders to see how our neighbors are doing. it helps explain why we can never be sure that what we have is enough. it helps explain why we are never satisfied with what we have. together with the processes of adaptation and addiction, it makes the never ending quest for consumption seem not only plausible but inevitable.”33 therefore, it makes sense that as a culture gains wealth and prosperity, modernizes its economy, and interconnects with other countries, its citizens’ perceptions of status and standard of living become skewed. 31 schwartz, 155-56. 32 ibid., 163. 33 ibid., 166. 9 ellen meeker measures of happiness with an understanding of the literature on the negative aspects of wealth on society, this paper seeks to employ several relative measures of happiness to gauge this phenomenon in ireland. these various measurements were established through a broad reading of literature associated with happiness and prosperity and reflect the most recent and available information. unfortunately, ireland has not always kept the best statistics or health records, so some desirable measures are incomplete or non-existent. as carrie illustrates, “a fundamental problem with irish historical data is its lack of continuity. where statistics are available, they generally have not been gathered in a consistent manner over the time period in question.”34 thus, although this paper seeks to employ as much data as is available, at times there are minor discrepancies. however, the indicators point to a common theme: the social effects of prosperity in ireland have been generally negative. increased wealth has had some serious social repercussions in ireland, indicated in particular by rising suicide, depression, and stress rates; increased alcohol consumption; a rise in crime; and increased obesity. comparing quantitative figures from the two case studies of 1980 and 2005 best illustrates these changing social factors. suicide, depression, and stress suicide, depression, and stress are on the rise, according to various sources and actual recorded figures. suicide is the most reliable quantifiable measurement of these three interconnected disorders. it is defined and distinguished by its intent: “…it reflects the psychological experience of the suicidal – it is the perceptions and phenomenological experience of the individual, their assessment of the situation, their desire to escape from what (to them) is an unbearable situation…”35 it has a particularly interesting history in ireland, where until 1993, suicide was considered a criminal offense and as such, had a further social stigma. as smyth illustrates, “for as long as suicide remained a criminal offence, passing the judgment of death by suicide had many unwanted consequences, not the least of which was that the deceased individual would have the element of criminality attached to their final living act and their family would suffer additional and unnecessary shame and stigma.”36 suicide was also viewed historically as an 34 ana carrie, “lack of long-run data prevents us tracking ireland’s social health,” in growth: the celtic cancer, ed. richard douthwaite and john jopling (dublin: foundation for the economics of stability, 2004). 35 smyth et al., 11. 36 ibid., 16. 10 problems of prosperity individual, isolated event. many sociologists would disagree with this perspective, looking instead towards the ‘broader socio-cultural world for explanation and understanding.”37 this perspective is particularly relevant to explaining suicide in a newly prosperous ireland. culture is paramount for smyth: “we argue that culture – that which organizes and shapes our understanding of reality, the way we interact with the world and those in it, and that which gives meaning to our lives – is a central facet of suicide.”38 examining the quantity and demographics of suicide in ireland creates a more complete and accurate representation of the effects of culture on suicide. the suicide rates of 1980 and 2005 are represented in various figures below. in 1980, the total amount of suicides was 216. by 2005, that number had essentially doubled to 431 suicides.39 figure 3 : total suicides 1980-2005 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 19 80 19 81 19 82 19 83 19 84 19 85 19 86 19 87 19 88 19 89 19 90 19 91 19 92 19 93 19 94 19 95 19 96 19 97 19 98 19 99 20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 year n um be r o f s ui ci de s total suicides by examining figure 3, suicide trends since 1980, a distinct increase in suicides occurs in the early 1990s, corresponding to the beginning stages of economic prosperity in ireland. for example, the number of suicides did not breech 300 a year and had remained previously stable around 250 a year during the 1980s, an economically depressed era. yet from 1990 on, a distinct and steady rise in suicides emerged, culminating in 2001 with ireland’s highest amount to date: 519. although suicides have decreased a small amount since 2001, the figures remain 37 ibid., 30. 38 ibid. 39 central statistics office of ireland, http://www.cso.ie/default.html (accessed 2007). 11 ellen meeker well above 400. another measure also reflecting the increases of suicide, perhaps more telling, are per capita suicide rates, exemplified in figure 4. figure 4: suicides per capita, 1980-2006 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 1981 1986 1991 1996 2002 2006 suicides per 100,000 in many ways, per capita suicide rates from 1981 until 2006 correspond directly to the increase in the total number of suicides. in 198140, per capita suicide rates were about six deaths per 100,000 people; by 2002, this had doubled to 12 deaths per 100,000 people. between 1981 and 2006, the number of per capita suicides steadily climbed, and the sharpest increases occurred during the 1990s, as ireland’s economy began to really boom. figure 5: suicides by sex 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 19 80 19 82 19 84 19 86 19 88 19 90 19 92 19 94 19 96 19 98 20 00 20 02 20 04 year n um be r o f t ot al s ui ci de s male total female total two overwhelming features that mark the suicide rates of a newly independent ireland are the age and gender of the suicidal person. as figures 5 and 6 below illustrate, female suicide rates have remained relatively the same over the 25-year period between 1980 and 2005. male suicide rates, however, rose sharply in the 1990s, again demonstrating a correlation with a rise in ireland’s gdp and per capital gdp, and male suicide continues to account for over 75% of the suicides in ireland. 40 although this paper seeks to establish comparisons between 1980 and 2005, for this particular instance, data was not available for 1980. thus, the most proximate figure, 1981, will serve as its substitute. 12 problems of prosperity figure 5: male suicides by age group, 1980-2006 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 19 80 19 82 19 84 19 86 19 88 19 90 19 92 19 94 19 96 19 98 20 00 20 02 20 04 5-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75&over in 2005, male suicide accounted for over 80% of all suicides. the male age groups most affected by the rising trend of suicide are 15-24 and 25-34. interestingly, there is not a similar trend for females; among women, no one age group is visibly affected. the available data clearly shows that suicide is on the rise in ireland and that it mostly affects young males. if suicide affects young males in particular in ireland, what specific factors contribute to their deaths? one explanation is barber’s “relative misery hypothesis,” which claims that “…the relative misery of young men especially, who in the presence of societal development and increased prosperity and/or success, make upward social comparisons (e.g. ‘look what they have that i do not’) with their counterparts, thus magnifying their relative unhappiness and making an already vulnerable group more susceptible to suicidal behaviors.”41 tied to this new level of social comparisons and societal pressures are the normal challenges of adolescent life, often a time of change, angst, and self-realization. additionally the adolescent stage is being lengthened: “…tasks which in the past were symbolic of adulthood – such as getting one’s first job, moving out of the parental home, making a home for oneself, marriage, and having children – are now taking place at a later stage (if at all).”42 because inflation accompanied the vast economic growth in ireland, it is increasingly more difficult for young people to accrue enough wealth to purchase a home of their own, even with substantial increases in 41 ibid., 38. 42 ibid., 58. 13 ellen meeker per capita gdp. in addition, people are seeking higher education and therefore rely on the financial assistance of their parents for longer periods of time. smyth et al. point to the gendering of suicide and parasuicide, or attempted suicide, as contributing to the higher proportion of male suicides. attempted suicide is inherently feminine: non-fatal suicide behaviors are, it would seem, generally seen as violations of the stereotypical ‘male’ role expectations that include the attributes of strength, decisiveness, success, and inexpressiveness. not only may such expectations impede men from openly expressing hopelessness, despair, depression, and isolation (a problem in itself) but when behaving to alleviate these experiences, the selection of method is also affected.43 parasuicide is simply not an option for many men, who fear the effect on their character, even in the face of death, if they did not succeed. already in an unstable emotional and mental state, the price of not succeeding in suicide, that is of being labeled weak or seen as feminine, further drives them to fully complete the job. this is why men generally use decidedly lethal means of killing themselves, such as hanging or firearms, whereas women are more likely to ingest poison or attempt to drown themselves. in the case of the female, the chance that her efforts may result in an intervention is more likely; men seem to favor the most lethal means when committing suicide. the gender biases of suicide in ireland contribute to an understanding of why males are more apt to take their own lives. these factors, combined with increased societal pressures and a lengthened process of emotional and physical change, creates a powerful dynamic afflicting the young irish male population. the related issues of depression and stress have also seen sharp rises in the last fifteen years. however, unlike suicide rates, depression and stress levels have not been well recorded. nevertheless, reviewing the available figures and salient literature allows for a broader understanding of these particular societal implications of increased wealth and prosperity. many people report increased stress over the past decade. a 2001 mental health association of ireland study reported that 73% of respondents found life more stressful than the five previous years. as a result of this stress, the respondents stated they were drinking and smoking more.44 concurrently, an irish government study states, “at any given 43 ibid., 86. 44 cullen, 10. 14 problems of prosperity time, 300,000 people in ireland suffer from depression.”45 the study also links depression to increased prosperity: “the tumultuous changes in irish society over the last fifteen years have made young adult life more pressured while, at the same time, traditional environmental and social sources of support have been weakened. as a result, the depressive episodes are more likely to be triggered.”46 the pressures people face today in ireland include increased daily commutes and a search for affordable housing; this places strain on traditionally strong relationships between family members and friends.47 others point out that the 300,000 who are medicated for depression represent an underdiagnosed condition: “…according to current irish estimates as many as one in four irish men and one in three irish women suffer some form of depression at some point in their lives.”48 depression is a serious issue in ireland right now, one that evidently affects 2530% of the irish population at some point in their lives. alcohol consumption another rising trend in irish society is alcohol consumption. the irish have always been romanticized as heavy drinkers, a label with some truth to it. yet as recorded consumption rates reveal, drinking in ireland is increasing at a time when the european union rate is going down. again, the climb began in the 1990s, yet the sharpest increase occurred in the early 2000s. figure 7 illustrates the liters per capita consumed from 1980 to 2005, and figure 8 illustrates comparative trends in switzerland, france, and germany, all countries in which consumption rates have decreased in the past fifteen years. 45 the ireland funds, “mental health: healing the hurt,” http://www.irlfunds.org/ (accessed 2007). 46 ibid. 47 eoin hahessy, “suicide is a bigger killer than roads, but fought in the dark,” the sunday independent, january 7, 2007. 48 kieran keohane and carmen kuhling, “the happiest country in the world?” in uncertain ireland: a sociological chronicle, 2003-2004, ed. mary p. corcoran and michel peillon (dublin: institute of public administration, 2006), 29. 15 ellen meeker figure 7: alcohol consumption 1980-2004 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 19 80 19 82 19 84 19 86 19 88 19 90 19 92 19 94 19 96 19 98 20 00 20 02 20 04 li te rs c on su m ed p er c ap ita figure 8: cross-country alcohol comparison, 1980-2005 0 5 10 15 20 25 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 year li te rs p er c ap ita c on su m ed (t ot al ) france germany switzerland ireland many associate a rise in alcohol consumption with greater societal pressures due to increasing prosperity. smyth directly ties alcohol use to wealth: “now, as wealthy as we are, we are all the better positioned to do to excess just about everything. with increasing liberalism, government reluctance to restrict alcohol use, and corporate delight at its magnitude, irish alcohol consumption has rocketed.”49 additionally, alcohol is a factor in the increased suicide rates: “in short, alcohol does not cause people to have suicidal thoughts or behave in a suicidal manner, but for those who already hold such thoughts, the consumption of alcohol may make 49 smyth et al., 113. 16 problems of prosperity them more likely to act (that is, it may reduce inhibition for suicide).”50 thus, although alcohol does not directly influence suicide, it can be a factor in those already entertaining the idea. in fact, alcohol is involved in over 45% of suicides.51 as a depressant, alcohol use can reinforce the feelings of hopelessness and despair in an already depressed and self-loathing individual, perhaps tipping many over the edge. although alcohol has always been a part of irish culture, the rising consumption rates illustrate some other disturbing issues. the irish had traditionally been largely beer drinkers, but more and more people, particularly young adults, are engaging in binge drinking and shot-taking. indeed, experimentation with alcohol is a normal part of adolescence, but recent figures illustrate a disconcerting reality: “…by the time ireland’s teenagers reach the age of 15, half the girls and nearly two-thirds of the boys may be classed as ‘current’ drinkers with one-third being classified as ‘binge drinking’ (defined as having five or more drinks in a row) three or more times in the last month.”52 this alarming trend challenges the traditional role of pubs and drinking in irish culture, particularly for men. previously, in a society deeply engrained with catholic values, the pub “…became a haven for bachelor men in a cold, sexless world. it was a place of small comforts and pleasure, a sanctuary from women and priests.”53 additionally, the pub was a place of socialization, where individuals were not allowed to get above their station in life and where bonding occurred through two ways: “jibing, teasing, and belittling those who got too full of themselves; and the rounds system where group solidarity was taken to be dependent on each member taking his turn to buy a round of drinks for everyone.”54 although the pub remains a social phenomenon, many individuals are beginning to use alcohol as a means to escape the pressures of a material society. consumption of alcohol has already been illustrated as a key component in suicide, but there is also evidence of alcohol being involved in violent crime, particularly murder. inglis references a study in which either the victim or perpetrator of a murder were intoxicated at least half of the time.55 it is not a coincidence that with increased alcohol consumption, crime rates have also risen. 50 smyth et al., 34. 51 hahessy, n.pag. 52 smyth et al., 95. 53 tom inglis, “club anabel” in uncertain ireland: a sociological chronicle, 2003-2004, ed. mary p. corcoran and michel peillon (dublin: institute of public administration, 2006), 20. 54 ibid., 21. 55 ibid., 24. 17 ellen meeker crime and irish society a recent newspaper article illuminates another menacing trend in ireland: crime. it states, “the eu international crime survey reveals people in ireland are more likely to be the victims of crime, while women here experienced sexual violence more than any other of the 18 countries examined.”56 the article also cites that at least 22% of the irish were victims of a crime in 2004, compared to the eu average of 15%. indeed, crime in general and murders in particular have risen steadily in ireland over the past fifteen years, as illustrated in figures 9 and 10. figure 9: number of murders, 1980-2005 21 25 17 43 39 52 52 45 37 54 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 number of murders figure 10: indictable/headline offences, 1980-2005 72,782 91,285 87,658 102,484 73,276 86,633 106,415 103,360 98,964101,659 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 for example, in 1980, the number of murders was 21, and by 2005 the number had doubled to 54. to put these figures into perspective, the average number of 56 sandra murphy, “ireland leads eu…in theft, assault, and sexual attack rates,” daily mail, february 5, 2007. 18 problems of prosperity murders from 1950-1975 was only 9.5.57 the headline/indictable offenses, which include crimes ranging from larceny to sexual assault to attempted murder, have also seen a steady increase since 1980. both the numbers of murders and headline offenses saw a small decrease around the latter half of the 1990s, but it did not endure, and the numbers soon increased. cullen accounts for this by stating, “this could have been because it became easier for potential offenders to fulfill their economic aspirations by getting a job in the legitimate economy.”58 indeed, perhaps after the ‘dot-com’ crash, those potential offenders returned to a life of crime, evidenced by the large increase in crime rates during 2000-2001. this upward trend, occurring since ireland’s economic boom, seems to counter popular conceptions of the relationship between wealth and crime. a sociologist from the university of san diego stated recently, “whenever you have a economic prosperity in an area, you tend to have lower crime rates.”59 what, then, explains this odd irish case? as kline illustrates, the reasons for the growth in violence and sex crimes in irish society were complex and varied. however, while part of it was undoubtedly due to the absolute growth in the consumption of alcohol, another reason was certainly demographic. ireland's population had increased by 8 percent since 1996, and much of this was inward migration, both of returning irish emigrants and other immigrants.60 obviously, an increasing population will increase crime, but it is integral to note that the increase in the irish population is directly due to its economic prosperity; it attracted irish expatriates and immigrants from the eu and beyond. as ireland became incorporated into the eu and global economy, transnational issues, such as drug trafficking, became another aspect contributing to crime rates.61 thus, when ireland was relatively isolated from the world during the 1980s, crime remained low and stable. yet when ireland prospered, it became an attractive destination for returning citizens, immigrants, and tourists, thus increasing its overall population and increasing the likelihood of crime. 57 central statistics office ireland, http://www.cso.ie/statistics/headline_offences.htm (accessed march 21, 2007). 58 cullen, 30. 59 tony manolatos and kristina davis, “county crows at glowing crime report; police teamwork, region’s prosperity push down rates,” the san diego tribune, april 12, 2007. 60 benjamin kline, “the changing social environment of modern ireland: immigration and the issues of politics, economics, and security,” mediterranean quarterly 15, no. 4 (fall 2004): 199. 61 ibid., 199-200. 19 ellen meeker obesity obesity is an interesting issue to consider when measuring the negative aspects of growth. wealth leads to increased consumption, literally. obesity in ireland is at record levels. although concrete statistics cannot be found before 1990, it still is helpful in understanding the broader effects of prosperity by considering the rising obesity rates of the last fifteen years. the statistics point out that one in every eight irish person is now obese, and every second irish person is overweight.62 since 1990, obesity among men has increased over 250% and over 125% for women.63 in addition, obesity accounts for over 2,500 deaths each year in ireland.64 obesity is directly related to consumption and exercise levels. de graaf points out that most of the food people put into their bodies today are processed foods derived from things such as sugars and grain. yet forty years ago, people ate sugars and grain in their original, non-processed form. the irish are also consuming more, while their eu counterparts are consuming less: quantity and quality of diet invariably reflect the purchasing power of the public. an examination of the changing consumption levels of meat in eight eu countries for which data are available up to 1997 (with the 1990 level standardized at 100) showed that it increased by 12 percent in ireland in that period while it declined in belgium, france, greece, austria, and italy, stayed constant in finland, and increased in holland by 6 percent.65 ireland essentially outranks its eu counterparts on all levels of foodstuffs consumption.66 although figures cannot be found for the 1980s, since the literature emphasizes that consumption levels are tied to purchasing power, it is also reasonable to assume that the irish were not obese nor outpurchasing other eu countries. furthermore, considering that ireland did not really shift from its agrarian based economy until the late 1970s and into the 1980s, it is reasonable to assume that the irish may have been quite physically active and presumably healthier. therefore, associated with increases in consumption due to higher purchasing power abilities, obesity is yet another negative consequence of economic prosperity. 62 cullen, 26. 63 ibid. 64 health promotion unit, “ireland and obesity,” http://www.healthpromotion.ie/about_us/ (accessed 2007). 65 o’donnell, 133. 66 ibid., 133-34. 20 problems of prosperity conclusion the figures illustrated above present a biting critique of happiness associated with wealth and prosperity. as a result of a wildly successful economy, the irish are now faced with ever increasing numbers of suicides, murders, obese people, amount of alcohol consumed, and depressed and stressed individuals. increased wealth means an increased pressure to perform, shifting a once laidback and agrarian society to a fast-paced, technocratic, and globalized one, and people are still adapting to the changes. perhaps over time, these rates will stabilize, or perhaps these phenomena will become so integrated in irish culture that they will be no longer appear novel. regardless, it is interesting to analyze the true costs of success in today’s global economy, a lesson for those states on the brink of success in the world. smyth best summarizes the irish experience: we find ourselves suspended in stasis betwixt and between political stability that is also corrupt and precarious; wealth that creates growing inequality; urban growth that is squalid and blighted; a liberal, affluent culture that is shallow and vulgar; a new emancipated subjectivity that is aimless and listless; a promiscuous and indiscriminate ‘openness’ to the new; a frailty and readiness to embrace the fashion, whatever it may turn out to be; an acceleration and intensification of all things and experiences, but yet stasis, inertia, and ennui; a derision of past beliefs and ideals, softened by a note of nostalgia and a wistful romance for their passing, and reassuring platitudes that the ‘spirit of the community’ is still alive and well. is this a description of true happiness? or is it the kind of feigned happiness that accompanies tragedy?67 perhaps a booming economy and unprecedented wealth are a deal with the devil, and the price is relative happiness. 67 smyth et al., 40. 21 ellen meeker bibliography carrie, ana. “lack of long-run data prevents us tracking ireland’s social health.” in growth: the celtic cancer, edited by richard douthwaite and john jopling. dublin: foundation for the economics of stability, 2004. cassidy, eoin g., (2002). “modernity and religion in 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down rates.” the san diego tribune, april 12, 2007. mccaffrey, lawrence j. the irish question: two centuries of conflict. lexington: the university of kentucky press, 1995. murphy, sandra. “ireland leads eu…in theft, assault, and sexual attack rates.” daily mail, february 5, 2007. o’donnell, michael. changed utterly: ireland and the new irish psyche. dublin: the liffey press, 2001. o’sullivan, michael. “increasing wealth is not leading to greater happiness.” the irish times, october 18, 2006. organization for economic cooperation and development. “gdp datasets.” http://stats.oecd.org/wbos/default.aspx?datasetcode=sna_table1 (accessed march 24, 2007). organization for economic cooperation and development. “standardized unemployment rates.” http://stats.oecd.org/wbos/default.aspx?queryname=251&querytype=vi ew&lang=en (accessed march 10, 2007). özenen, cem galip, general directorate of economic sectors and coordination in the department of infrastructure and services, turkey’s state planning organization. “the effect of structural funds on ireland’s development and lessons for turkey.” http://ekutup.dpt.gov.tr/ab/ozenencg/irlanda.pdf (accessed 2007). schwartz, barry. the costs of living: how market freedom erodes the best things in life. new york: w.w. norton and company, 1994. smyth, caroline, malcolm maclachlan, and anthony clare. cultivating suicide? destruction of self in a changing ireland. dublin: the liffey press, 2003. world health organization statistical information system. “ireland health statistics and health system information.” http://data.euro.who.int/hfadb (accessed 2007). world values survey. http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org (accessed 2007). 23 nestorius and cyril: 5th century christological division and re nestorius and cyril: 5th century christological division and recent progress in reconciliation ben green department of theology and religious studies villanova university i. introduction the 5th century controversy of bishop nestorius of constantinople and bishop cyril of alexandria centered on the person of jesus christ: to what extent is he human? to what extent divine? and to what extent and how are his humanity and divinity united? the controversy takes shape on two fronts: (1) the christological debate, primarily because of the potential implications for soteriology (whether a certain conception of christ can be considered an efficacious savior); and (2) the persons involved, because each is venerated by his later adherents and thus an integral part of the ongoing debate. this fact, that the controversy continues to be worked out though it is more than 1500 years old, owes its significance to the ecumenical movement which emerged in the 20th century. this particular christological problem has been at the center of much dialogue between the roman catholic church and the ancient churches of the east. and, as we will see, an examination of the ecumenical dialogue will provide us with fresh insights by which to reevaluate the initial controversy itself. ii. setting the scene first, let us review the basic outline of events as they unfolded. cyril (c. 378-444) succeeded his uncle theophilus as bishop of alexandria in 412, after having begun his ecclesiastical career nine years earlier as lector of the church of alexandria. in contrast, nestorius (d. ca. 451) was a monk in the antioch area who was called upon to preach publicly in antioch.1 known as a powerful speaker, and receiving the recommendation of john of antioch, in 428 nestorius was appointed bishop of constantinople by emperor theodosius ii. at the council of 1 there seems to be some lack of clarity as to the nature of nestorius' duties before his appointment to the bishopric. according to adrian fortesque, the lesser easter churches (london: catholic truth society, 1913) 61, “nestorius had been a monk at the monastery of euprepios; then deacon, priest and preacher at the chief church of antioch.” however, friedrich loofs, nestorius and his place in the history of christian doctrine (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1914) 27, seems to represent another view: “it is well known that nestorius in april 428 was called out of the monastery of euprepios, in the neighborhood of antioch, to the vacant bishopric of constantinople.” it is perhaps telling that after he was deposed at ephesus in 431, nestorius requested, and received, permission to return to his monastery. in any case, the two themes which emerge from nestorius' career prior to 428 are that he was a monk as well as a powerful preacher. constantinople (381), the see of constantinople had been elevated equal to that of rome. nestorius had suddenly become one of the most powerful men in the empire. he used his power to vehemently attack heresy, particularly in rooting out remnants of arianism and apollinarianism (see §iii below for a brief description of these two -isms). nestorius quickly ran afoul of the establishment, however, when he questioned the use of θεοτόκος2 in the veneration of mary, the mother of jesus. this led to a greater dispute about his christology—specifically, his conception of the unity of the divine and human natures of christ. in this controversy cyril of alexandria became his most outspoken opponent. in rome, pope celestine received letters from nestorius and cyril along with written excerpts of some of nestorius' christological positions. the pope had them reviewed and called a synod in 430, at which nestorius was ruled against. cyril was entrusted with delivering the message: nestorius had ten days to renounce his heresies or be condemned. cyril added what are known as the twelve anathemas, each of which nestorius was to answer correctly. nestorius, however, did not accede within the ten days; before he received the letter theodosius ii had called for a general council, which would settle the matter at a higher level. the council was held in ephesus in 431. the council of ephesus did not arrive at a new definition of faith to modify that established at the councils of nicaea (325) and constantinople (381). for that we must way until the council of chalcedon in 451. what ephesus did was decide the dispute between nestorius and cyril in favor of cyril. cyril returned triumphantly to alexandria and nestorius returned to his monastery, succeeded as bishop of constantinople by maximian. nestorius was later exiled in 436, landing in upper egypt where he wrote the bazaar of heracleides,3 his last known work, probably in 451.4 in deciding in cyril's favor, ephesus did not, however, fully adopt cyril's christology. cyril's second letter to nestorius was approved as the faith of the council, but the anathemas attached to the third letter were not. in the end, the council of ephesus was not able to come to a resolution by itself. cyril convened the council before the arrival of john of antioch and the eastern bishops, who, after they arrived, convened their own council and deposed cyril. emperor theodosius ii had to step in to settle the affair. closure of the council was not properly achieved until 433, when john of antioch agreed to the formulary of reunion with cyril.5 2 grk. theotókos: lit. god-bearer; i.e., mother of god 3 there was apparently an error in the translation of the work from the original (lost) greek to syriac: bazaar should probably be book or treatise instead. 4 see g. r. driver and leonard hodgson, eds. and trans., introduction, the bazaar of heracleides, by nestorius (eugene, or: wipf and stock, 2002 [1925]) x. in bazaar, nestorius is aware of theodosius ii's death in 450 as well as the flight of dioscorus, but not of the formal decisions of chalcedon. 5 see loofs 53-56. it wasn't an ecumenical council: “two party-councils had sat and cursed each other.” he also notes that, in the formulary of reunion, the anathema against nestorius was the price of peace. the controversy did not end here, however. in 444, cyril died and was succeeded as bishop of alexandria by dioscorus, who held the extreme side of cyril's christology (monophysitism, i.e., one nature). in 449, after eutyches had been condemned at the synod of constantinople the previous year, dioscorus admitted him to communion and asked theodosius ii for a general council. it was held in ephesus in 449. dioscorus presided and achieved his ends by threat of military force: eutyches was restored and flavian, bishop of constantinople (he had succeeded proclus and maximian), was condemned. he died shortly thereafter from the rough treatment he received. in session ii, cyril's twelve anathemas were approved. in rome, pope leo (he had succeeded sixtus iii and celestine) protested against these proceedings, but emperor theodosius ii confirmed them. the next year, however, theodosius died and was succeed by his sister, pulcheria. she and her new husband, the senator marcian, assembled a general council at chalcedon in 451 to overturn the decisions made at ephesus in 449. flavian was vindicated and dioscorus was deposed. a new definition of faith was crafted so as to exclude the “heresies” of nestorius and eutyches from the orthodox christological formula. the definition of chalcedon is still considered by some to be the perfect christological formulation. early in the 20th century, adrian fortesque wrote: this exposition of the principle should be a useful reminder that after the bitter controversies of the 5th century, after all the mutual accusations, the unholy violence and unchristian methods of that time, the catholic church finally settled down in possession of the obviously right solution, the one to which a reasonable man must come in any case.6 at the very end of the 20th century, jon sobrino also weighed in on the definition of chalcedon: i think it is important for us to feel (if that is an appropriate term) that, given the direction taken by christological thinking in the grecoroman world, chalcedon “hit the mark,” that it not only formulated the vision of those who won the debate but also expressed a truth that opened the way to “more.”7 clearly sobrino represents a more developed viewpoint which retains chalcedon with emphasis on the “truth” which it expressed. we will look at this further 6 fortesque 58. 7 jon sobrino, christ the liberator: a view from the victims, trans. paul burns (maryknoll: orbis, 2001: from spanish edition of 1999, reprinted 2003) 295. below: the definition of chalcedon itself in the next section and its place in the present in §iv, particularly in regard to the difference between hitting the mark in expression and hitting it in essence. now we will begin in earnest with the christological debate. iii. the christological debate the antiochene school (represented by nestorius) and the alexandrian school (represented by cyril) both held the “twoness” (humanity and divinity) and the “oneness” (unity of the humanity and divinity) of christ. on the moderate side of each school, the differences were in the emphasis on either twoness or oneness, and also in the terminology used for expressing twoness and oneness. when the positions were expressed in their extreme senses, however, the understanding of the meanings of twoness and oneness was also at odds. in other words, viewed in the extreme, the issue became fundamental: the antiochenes saw the alexandrian christ as a divine being without a real humanity (as in apollinarius' christology); and when the alexandrians looked at the antiochene christ, they thought they were seeing double. thus the challenge for understanding the debate between nestorius and cyril is to distinguish the moderate from the extreme. each of these theologians can be seen to represent either the moderate or the extreme position of his school of thought. this challenge continues to cause the debate to appear a bit of an enigma. according to jacques dupuis, “we may note that at the time of the contest between nestorius and cyril, ambiguity and confusion still remained concerning the terminology. when cyril spoke of 'one nature (phusis) only in jesus christ,' he meant the unity of person (hupostasis). when nestorius spoke of two 'natures' (phuseis), he seemed to intend two persons (prosòpon).”8 it is easy to see here how retaining the perspective of the winners leads to certain preconceptions. cyril here is being understood in his moderate sense, for the whole of his christology, which indeed affirmed both the humanity and divinity of christ. in his book, on the unity of christ, cyril says: the only begotten word, even though he was god and born from god by nature, the “radiance of the glory, and the exact image of the being” of the one who begot him (heb 1:3), he it was who became man. he did not change himself into flesh; he did not endure any mixture or blending, or anything else of the kind. but he submitted himself to being emptied and “for the sake of the honor that was set before him he counted the shame as nothing” (heb 12:2) and did not disdain the poverty of human nature. as god he wished to make that flesh which was held in the grip of sin and death evidently superior to 8 jacques dupuis, s.j., who do you say i am? introduction to christology (maryknoll, ny: orbis, 1994) 88. sin and death. he made it his very own, and not soulless as some have said, but rather animated with a rational soul, and thus he restored flesh to what it was in the beginning.... the same was at once god and man, and he was “in the likeness of men” (phil 2:7) since even though he was god he was “in the fashion of a man” (phil 2:8). he was god in an appearance like ours, and the lord in the form of a slave.9 it is obvious, then, that while cyril emphasized the unity of christ and his divinity, he held that christ “was at once god and man,” and without “any mixture or blending.” in this way he preserved the distinction between the two natures which became so important in the definition of chalcedon. also, cyril is clearly defended against the accusations that he was falling into the apollinarian heresy, even though cyril had adopted apollinarius' formula: μία φύσις.10 apollinarius used the formula in the sense that christ had no human soul; instead, the human soul was replaced by the word.11 but cyril says, “not soulless as some have said, but rather animated with a rational soul.” with these statements in mind, cyril's use of “μία φύσις” takes on a rather different appearance. it can be seen as just an extreme expression, not a representation of his entire christology. aloys grillmeier suggests that “the right thing now would have been for cyril to give up the 'apollinarian' language of the μία φύσις formula once and for all. had he done this, without doubt the further development of christological dogma would have been preserved from much confusion.”12 nonetheless, the bottom line is that cyril can be, should be, and for the most part is being viewed according to his overall christology, which played a significant role in the definition of chalcedon, and not according to a narrow understanding of his apollinarian formula, which was not adopted at chalcedon. nestorius, however, was not treated so kindly. to reiterate jacques dupuis' assessment: “when nestorius spoke of two 'natures' (phuseis), he seemed to intend two persons (prosòpon).” this has in view only the extreme side of nestorius, which is seen most clearly in his adamant rejection of three positions: (1) christ not being really human (apollinarianism),13 (2) christ not being really divine (arianism), and (3) the divine word being passable. all three positions, interestingly, were represented in the issue over the use of θεοτόκος. grillmeier points out that both the arians and the apollinarians used the title for mary, 9 st. cyril of alexandria, on the unity of christ, trans. and introduced by john anthony mcguckin (crestwood: st. vladimir's seminary press, 1995) 54-55. 10 grk. mía phúsis (or phýsis): one nature 11 brian o. mcdermott, s.j., word become flesh: dimensions of christology (collegeville: the liturgical press: a michael glazer book, 1993) 199. 12 aloys grillmeier, s.j., christ in christian tradition, vol. 1: from the apostolic age to chalcedon (451), 2nd revised edition, trans. john bowden (atlanta: john knox press, 1975) 476. 13 it is important to note that in this category nestorius included cyril, based on a narrow view of cyril's “one nature” christology. because they held that the word was joined through a natural union with the flesh and was thus involved in birth, suffering and death. “the arians seek to spread the title theotokos so as to have the opportunity of attacking the very divinity of christ. nestorius sees the abolition of this title as the only way out.”14 for christ to really be a human there must be a full human nature, including a soul; and for him to be divine, there must be an inseparable union with the word. yet if the word is to avoid those things which must not be attributed to divinity—birth, suffering, and death—the distinctness of the two natures even after the union must be emphasized. from the alexandrian perspective, the nestorian union in christ appeared to be weak, as if there were two persons. for cyril, θεοτόκος was an integral part of this union; deny the title, and you deny the union.15 immediately following the passage quoted above, he says, “this is what we mean when we say that he became flesh, and for the same reasons we affirm that the holy virgin is the mother of god.”16 a fundamental disagreement thus existed on the surface, while different philosophical and theological starting points and emphases appear to be the cause. what of the moderate side of nestorius? while the positions so far mentioned caused a great stir and his ultimate demise, nestorius' overall delivery of the antiochene christology was much more orthodox.17 he was firmly convinced of the union of the divine and human natures in the single son, christ: “i did not say that the son was one (person) and god the word another; i said that god the word was by nature one and the temple by nature another, one son by conjunction.”18 there are clearly not two persons, but note that the word used for expressing union is not actually “union” but “conjunction.” grillmeier notes that nestorius rarely used ‛ένωσις,19 “for behind that he again suspects the 'one nature' of the apollinarians.”20 the implications of this “conjunction” are not terribly clear, however. it seems to rest on the meaning of πρόσωπον,21 for that is the location of the conjunction. after an extensive analysis,22 grillmeier concludes: the prosopon is 'appearance', the collection of qualities in which a thing, or better, a spiritual nature, exists, is seen and judged and honoured; it is also the manner in which it acts. in other words, 14 grillmeier 452. 15 cyril was upholding the doctrine of communicatio idiomatum: “communication of idioms” between the persons of the trinity. jesus is god and mary is jesus' mother, thus mary must be attributed the title mother of god. 16 st. cyril 55. 17 even his position on θεοτόκος had a moderate side. according to loofs 31-32, nestorius wrote to pope celestine that “the term may be tolerated,” and preached, “i have already repeatedly declared that if any one of you or any one else be simple and has a preference for the term θεοτόκος, then i have nothing to say against it: only do not make a goddess of the virgin.” 18 from a sermon nestorius preached in 430. quoted by grillmeier 454. 19 grk. hénosis: union 20 grillmeier 459. 21 grk. prósopon: appearance 22 see grillmeier 459-463. nestorius gathers all the possibilities of grounding the unity of natures in christ on an ontic basis apart from taking as this basis the physis qua physis. but the only sphere of ontic reality given in a concrete being apart from the physis or ousia is for him the sphere of individual properties. he can rightly claim to have found an ontic basis for the discussion of the unity of christ.... but the fundamental weakness of his solution emerges when the unity itself is to be explained.... he cannot succeed, as his metaphysical starting point is wrong. but we must acknowledge that his intention was sound.23 thus the union of christ as conceived by nestorius was real, not merely moral,24 but on the level of being (ontic). however, the complexity of the distinction between the natures and his inability to adequately explain their union led to confusion,25 not to mention the fact that the modern concept of 'person' did not yet exist. according to grillmeier, nestorius by necessity retained a πρόσωπον for each of the natures as well as one for the union of the two, “with the result that he sometimes speaks of two prosopa, sometimes of one prosopon in christ.”26 it is this inadequacy to make a convincing case for his orthodoxy, greatly fueled by how his positions impacted on the θεοτόκος issue, that gave his opponents—who were not straining themselves to see his moderate side—cause27 and opportunity to depose him, even though, as grillmeier maintains, “his intention was sound.” as mentioned above, ephesus decided the winner in 431 but it took chalcedon in 451 to establish a new definition: following therefore the holy fathers, we unanimously teach to confess one and the same son, our lord jesus christ, the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly god and truly man composed of rational soul and body, the same one in being (homoousios) with the father as to the divinity and one in being with us as to the humanity, like unto us in all things but sin [cf. heb 4:15]. the same was begotten from the father before the ages as to the divinity and in the latter days for us and our salvation was born as to his humanity from mary the virgin mother of god. we confess that one and the same lord jesus christ, the onlybegotten son, must be acknowledged in two natures, without confusion or change, without division or separation. the distinction between the natures was never abolished by their union but rather the 23 grillmeier 463. 24 a “moral union” is a characterization made by fortesque 71. 25 it is important to note that, according to grillmeier 463, “in the time of nestorius, it is everywhere apparent that no adequate union of spiritual beings had yet been evolved.” 26 grillmeier 463. 27 there are other theories of political intrigues, which may have been intertwined with the theological issues. character proper to each of the two natures was preserved as they came together in one person (prosôpon) and one hypostasis. he is not split or divided into two persons, but he is one and the same onlybegotten, god the word, the lord jesus christ, as formerly the prophets and later jesus christ himself have taught us about him and as has been handed down to us by the symbol of the fathers.28 not only did the definition of chalcedon seek to prevent misunderstandings along the lines of the extreme view of nestorius' position (separating the natures so as to divide christ into two sons), it also clearly established the distinctness of the two natures of christ in order to exclude the positions of dioscorus and eutyches, who had adopted cyril's μία φύσις position, though without his ability to compromise with those who did not have the same emphasis on the unity of christ.29 in chalcedon's “two natures” language, the “monophysite” alexandrians under dioscorus saw another example of nestorius' heresy. tragically, the results of the councils of ephesus and chalcedon included the separation of two major groups of christians, the nestorians and monophysites. the churches descended from these traditions are still with us today, the ancient churches of the east. in the following section we will look at the challenge of ecumenism to the councils of ephesus and chalcedon, including its impact on the understanding of history and the definition of chalcedon itself. iv. the christological controversy and ecumenism early in the 20th century, adrian fortesque wrote the lesser eastern churches (cited above in several places), the second volume of his trilogy on the eastern churches. a significant work of scholarship, it also reflects the centuriesold views which contributed to the rift between the roman catholic church and the separated churches of the east: “all the people of this volume are heretics and schismatics.... and they too, equally logically from their point of view, say that we are heretics and schismatics.”30 he summed up the christologies of the ancient churches of the east this way: “nestorianism divides christ into two persons, monophysism confuses him into one nature.”31 for fortesque, if the current followers of nestorius are to “become catholics they must... be converted to the faith of ephesus and chalcedon, they must accept the term θεοτόκος, and renounce nestorius at least, if not diodore and theodore. in a word, this unhappy little sect 28 jacques dupuis, s.j., ed., the christian faith in the doctrinal documents of the catholic church, 7th revised and enlarged edition (new york: st. pauls/alba house, 2001) 227-228. 29 a valuable characterization of the shift caused by cyril's death is made by j.n.d. kelly, early christian doctrines, paperback 5th revised edition (london: continuum, 1985, reprinted 2003) 330. “cyril himself... stood for moderation, and while he was alive he restrained his hotheaded partisans. with his death in 444 the reaction against the two natures doctrine gathered force....” 30 fortesque 4. 31 fortesque 5. he makes it clear that he uses these terms to characterize the positions of the churches. is not only schismatical but heretical too.”32 not only were these conclusions wrong on several points, they also were not a sign of things to come from the roman catholic church as its position developed later in the century. the last half of the 20th century saw considerable progress toward reunification, owing to a shift in emphasis from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law, so to speak. in 1951, in his encyclical on the council of chalcedon, pope pius xii sounded a message that seems to speak to both sides, anticipating the shift. first he stresses the “great importance and weight of the dogmatic definition of chalcedon,” and says, “let those who are involved in the errors of nestorius or eutyches penetrate with clearer insight into the mystery of christ and at last accept this definition in its completeness.”33 at the end of the document, however, he makes a point of articulating the heart of the dogma of chalcedon, indicating a focus on the spirit of the definition: “let no one corrupt by perverse innovation or weaken by doubt the dogma confirmed at chalcedon, namely, that there are in christ two true and perfect natures, the divine and the human, not confused with another, but joined together and subsisting in the one person of the word.”34 it would be this budding focus on the essence of the matter which would soon grow and enable progress in ecumenism. only 13 years later, in 1964, the roman catholic church broke ground in the building of a permanent structure of ecumenical commitment.35 the “decree on ecumenism” of vatican ii detailed a specific commitment to reunification with the eastern churches.36 this included a fundamental step toward recognizing a “unity in difference” in theology: what has just been said about the lawful variety that can exist in the church must also be taken to apply to the differences in theological expression of doctrine. in the study of revelation east and west have followed different methods, and have developed differently their understanding and confession of god's truth. it is hardly surprising, then, if from time to time one tradition has come nearer to a full appreciation of some aspects of a mystery of revelation than the other, or has expressed it to better advantage. in such cases, these various theological expressions are to be considered often as mutually complementary rather than conflicting. where the authentic theological traditions of the eastern church are concerned, we must recognize the admirable way in which they have their roots in holy scripture, and how they are nurtured and given expression in the life 32 fortesque 84. see also note 4, same page, and note 1, page 87, for fortesque's discussion of schism and heresy. 33 pope pius xii, sempiternus rex christus, 3. 34 pope pius xii, sempiternus rex christus, 44. 35 walter kasper, “current problems in ecumenical theology,” undated, pontifical council for promoting christian unity, i, notes that pope john paul ii “constantly stresses” that the decision is irrevocable. 36 see second vatican council, unitatis redintegratio, 13-18. in view are all of the separated churches in the east. of the liturgy. they derive their strength too from the living tradition of the apostles and from the works of the fathers and spiritual writers of the eastern churches. thus they promote the right ordering of christian life and, indeed, pave the way to a full vision of christian truth.37 further, quoting acts 15:28, this sacred council solemnly repeats the declaration of previous councils and roman pontiffs, that for the restoration or the maintenance of unity and communion it is necessary 'to impose no burden beyond what is essential'. it is the council's urgent desire that, in the various organizations and living activities of the church, every effort should be made toward the gradual realization of this unity, especially by prayer, and by fraternal dialogue on points of doctrine and the more pressing pastoral problems of our time.38 additionally, the decree's characterization of the origin of the separations in the east is crucial: the heritage handed down by the apostles was received with differences of form and manner, so that from the earliest times of the church it was explained variously in different places, owing to diversities of genius and conditions of life. all this, quite apart from external causes, prepared the way for decisions arising also from a lack of charity and mutual understanding.39 thus vatican ii redefined the playing field: differences in theological expression are acceptable, only the essential must be insisted upon, and the traditions in the east are understandably different, which is due to several causes, including environment, misunderstanding, and “lack of charity.” their stated goal is crystal clear: “every effort should be made toward the gradual realization of this unity.” seven years later, in 1971, a significant move on this new playing field was made in “the common declaration by pope paul vi and his holiness mar ignatius iacob iii,” patriarch of the syrian orthodox church of antioch.40 at the 37 second vatican council, unitatis redintegratio, 17. 38 second vatican council, unitatis redintegratio, 18. 39 second vatican council, unitatis redintegratio, 14. 40 the syrian (or syriac) orthodox church of antioch is a member of the oriental orthodox churches, which are also called the non-chalcedonian orthodox churches for their rejection of the council of chalcedon. two other members discussed below are the coptic orthodox and armenian orthodox churches. the oriental orthodox churches are in communion with each another but not with the (eastern) orthodox church or the roman catholic church. historically they have been considered “monophysite.” however, according to a coptic end of their meeting, the pope expressed the logic of signing new statements while maintaining the traditional faith as follows: if [theologians] recognize that there are still differences in the theological interpretation of this mystery of christ because of different ecclesiastical and theological traditions, they are convinced, however, that these various formulations can be understood along the lines of the faith of the early councils, which is the faith we also profess.41 pope paul vi thus extended the position of pope pius xii in sempiternus rex christus by further emphasizing the spirit of the definition of chalcedon. in saying that “these various formulations can be understood along the lines of the faith of the early councils,” the pontiff highlighted the specific method of applying the call to reconciliation made by vatican ii. new formulations could be made in order to bridge the gaps created by the original formulations, but the faith of the formulations (particularly chalcedon) would remain. “the common declaration” also furthered vatican ii's characterization of the split: “the period of mutual recrimination and condemnation has given place to a willingness to meet together in sincere efforts to lighten and eventually remove the burden of history which still weighs heavily upon christians.”42 there are now experiences in history characterized as burdens which must be removed. as far as the specific progress in applying the new method and removing the burden, “the common declaration” records the following statement: progress has already been made and pope paul vi and the patriarch mar ignatius jacob iii are in agreement that there is no difference in the faith they profess concerning the mystery of the word of god made flesh and become really man, even if over the centuries difficulties have arisen out of the different theological expressions by which this faith was expressed.43 the way has thus been paved for seeing unity where previously only difference was in view; and the unity is seen in the faith behind (or expressed in) the formulation, not in explicit agreement with the letter of the formulation. in 1973, pope paul vi took the next step in this direction by formulating a orthodox priest, fr. matthias f. wahba, “monophysitism: reconsidered,” undated, cop|net, 21 apr. 2005, <http://www.coptic.net/articles/monophysitismreconsidered.txt>, “considering the past, the non-chalcedonians are better to be called 'mia-physites' than 'monophysites.'” this expresses the distinction he draws between “mono” and “mia,” holding onto cyril's μία φύσις formula but rejecting monophysitism. 41 “address of pope paul vi,” rome, october 25, 1971. 42 “common declaration by pope paul vi and his holiness mar ignatius iacob iii,” rome, october 25, 1971. 43 “common declaration by pope paul vi and his holiness mar ignatius iacob iii,” rome, october 25, 1971. http://www.coptic.net/articles/monophysitismreconsidered.txt new, extensive christological statement along with the patriarch of the coptic orthodox church. the “common declaration of pope paul vi and of the pope of alexandria shenouda iii” states: in accordance with our apostolic traditions transmitted to our churches and preserved therein, and in conformity with the early three ecumenical councils, we confess one faith in the one triune god, the divinity of the only begotten son of god, the second person of the holy trinity, the word of god, the effulgence of his glory and the express image of his substance, who for us was incarnate, assuming for himself a real body with a rational soul, and who shared with us our humanity but without sin. we confess that our lord and god and saviour and king of us all, jesus christ, is perfect god with respect to his divinity, perfect man with respect to his humanity. in him his divinity is united with his humanity in a real, perfect union without mingling, without commixtion, without confusion, without alteration, without division, without separation. his divinity did not separate from his humanity for an instant, not for the twinkling of an eye. he who is god eternal and invisible became visible in the flesh, and took upon himself the form of a servant. in him are preserved all the properties of the divinity and all the properties of the humanity, together in a real, perfect, indivisible and inseparable union.44 here we have agreement upon an expression that is “along the lines of” chalcedon. the essence of chalcedon, including some of the language, has been retained without requiring all of the language. divinity and humanity are both preserved without using “in two natures” or “from two natures” or any other statement that one or the other party would consider objectionable. in fact, the problematic word “nature” is nowhere used. in place of this is simpler language that avoids the historical confusion—“humanity” instead of “human nature” and “divinity” instead of “divine nature.” moreover, pope paul vi respected the heritage of the coptic tradition by agreeing to language that takes great pains to emphasize the unity of christ, including the metaphor that, in christ, divinity and humanity did not separate even “for the twinkling of an eye.” it is worth noting that elsewhere the declaration also affirms the use of θεοτόκος for mary. this significant progress in ecumenism under pope paul vi was energetically continued by pope john paul ii. november 11, 1994, is the date which should signify to the world that the controversy of nestorius has been resolved (the christology, not the division of the churches). on that memorable 44 “the common declaration of pope paul vi and of the pope of alexandria shenouda iii,” may 10, 1973. day, pope john paul ii and the patriarch of the assyrian church of the east45 signed the “common christological declaration.” referring to this agreement, in 1995 pope john paul ii stated, “taking into account the different theological formulations, we were able to profess together the true faith in christ.”46 here is an excerpt from the “declaration”: as heirs and guardians of the faith received from the apostles as formulated by our common fathers in the nicene creed, we confess one lord jesus christ, the only son of god, begotten of the father from all eternity who, in the fullness of time, came down from heaven and became man for our salvation. the word of god, second person of the holy trinity, became incarnate by the power of the holy spirit in assuming from the holy virgin mary a body animated by a rational soul, with which he was indissolubly united from the moment of his conception. therefore our lord jesus christ is true god and true man, perfect in his divinity and perfect in his humanity, consubstantial with the father and consubstantial with us in all things but sin. his divinity and his humanity are united in one person, without confusion or change, without division or separation. in him has been preserved the difference of the natures of divinity and humanity, with all their properties, faculties and operations. but far from constituting "one and another", the divinity and humanity are united in the person of the same and unique son of god and lord jesus christ, who is the object of a single adoration. christ therefore is not an "ordinary man" whom god adopted in order to reside in him and inspire him, as in the righteous ones and the prophets. but the same god the word, begotten of his father before all worlds without beginning according to his divinity, was born of a mother without a father in the last times according to his humanity. the humanity to which the blessed virgin mary gave birth always was that of the son of god himself. that is the reason why the assyrian church of the east is praying the virgin mary as "the mother of christ our god and saviour". in the light of this same faith the catholic tradition addresses the virgin mary as "the mother of god" and also as "the mother of christ". we both recognize the legitimacy and rightness of these expressions of the same faith and we 45 note that while venerating nestorius and making use of his theological language, the assyrian church rejects the label “nestorian” for two reasons: (1) “it does not accept all the implications of that name” and (2) the label “suggests the church began with nestorius or with his followers.” see pro oriente consultation, “is the theology of the church of the east nestorian?” vienna, june 1994, commission on inter-church relations and education development <http://www.cired.org>, 17. 46 pope john paul ii, ut unum sint, 62. both respect the preference of each church in her liturgical life and piety. this is the unique faith that we profess in the mystery of christ. the controversies of the past led to anathemas, bearing on persons and on formulas. the lord's spirit permits us to understand better today that the divisions brought about in this way were due in large part to misunderstandings. whatever our christological divergences have been, we experience ourselves united today in the confession of the same faith in the son of god who became man so that we might become children of god by his grace. we wish from now on to witness together to this faith in the one who is the way, the truth and the life, proclaiming it in appropriate ways to our contemporaries, so that the world may believe in the gospel of salvation.47 in each paragraph is a point of acute interest here: (1) the divine word was “indissolubly united” with humanity “from the moment of his conception.” this refutes an extreme position of nestorius, which struggled with the concept of a divine infant due to the concept of impassibility. (2) one son, that is, a unity of two natures in one person, is affirmed. this refutes a charge of professing two sons, which nestorius himself also denied but which was sometimes unclear to others because of his language, as noted above in §iii. (3) the two churches agree that mary is the mother of the son of god (christ was always also the word become human “from the moment of his conception”) and therefore they agree that their faith is the same. respecting the fact the two traditions have developed along independent paths, they also respect the preference of each church for a different expression of this faith. the assyrian church's affirmation here reflects the moderate nestorius (see note 17 above). (4) going a little beyond the language of the agreement between pope paul vi and the syrian orthodox patriarch, this paragraph takes aim at controversies over specific individuals and terminology. it also reiterates the statement that the divisions of the past were largely the fault of misunderstanding. the implicit conviction is that the controversy between nestorius and cyril could have been resolved were it not for misunderstanding of their respective theologies, insistence on a single formulaic expression of faith, and the use of anathemas in personal antagonism.48 (5) two things are stressed here: 47 pope john paul ii and catholicos-patriarch mar dinkha iv, “common christological declaration between the catholic church and the assyrian church of the east,” november 11, 1994. 48 see very reverend michael j. birnie, “studies on anathemas and their lifting in relationship to the question of ecclesial communion and heresy,” 2002, commission on inter-church relations and education development <http://www.cired.org>, 5-6. birnie discusses the anathema leveled against theodore of mopsuestia by the second council of constantinople (553): “this provoked an emotional and indignant reaction in the east.... in the fortieth canon of the synod of mar 'aba in 544 they affirmed their adherence to theodore and his teaching.... though they attached no anathema to this simple affirmation, a gauntlet was thrown down, unity of the body of christ and the importance of this unity for the sake of effective communication of the gospel to the world. this mission of evangelization in fact speaks to the very origin of the ecumenical movement. according to cardinal walter kasper, “characteristically, the new ecumenical awareness developed in connection with the missionary movement. the birth of the ecumenical movement is generally traced to the 1910 world missionary conference of edinburgh. the division of the churches was recognized as a serious obstacle to world mission.”49 samuel hugh moffett tells of an ecumenical mission which began in 497 when the persian shah kavad fled to the huns for refuge. several nestorian christians were with him, including a bishop, four priests and two laymen. these were joined in the mission to the huns by an armenian (monophysite) bishop. moffett says that this “suggests that unlike the unseemly quarrels in the church at the home base, those early christian missionaries to central asia learned how to set aside their differences and begin to work together, united in christian mission.”50 interestingly, adrian fortesque even treats the issue of common christian mission to the world: we think of the nestorians as a wretched heretical sect, cut off from the catholic church and so gradually withering. they are that. but there is another side too. for a time, as long as they could, they did their share in the common christian cause heroically. while they were cut off from the west, denounced by catholics, orthodox and jacobites, while we thought of them as a dying sect in persia, they were sending missions all over asia. those forgotten nestorian missionaries, they were not catholics but they were christians.51 this is obviously a fascinating statement for the dying paradox which it represents: a heretical sect which heroically does its part in the “common christian cause”! it is no wonder that those engaged in missionary activities and organization were the first to spearhead the ecumenical movement. once the focus is off of the church and onto the outward mission, we are in a better position to determine what is truly essential to the message and, consequently, to the church. this new understanding of what is essential to the message and to the church, so crucial to ecumenism, requires repentance and forgiveness. pope john paul ii made this clear in 1995: besides the doctrinal differences needing to be resolved, christians and a line was drawn which no one would thereafter cross without severely damaging his reputation and status in the church of the east.” 49 kasper i. 50 samuel hugh moffett, a history of christianity in asia, vol. 1: beginnings to 1500, 2nd revised and corrected edition (maryknoll: orbis, 1998) 208-209. 51 fortesque 109. cannot underestimate the burden of long-standing misgivings inherited from the past, and of mutual misunderstandings and prejudices. complacency, indifference and insufficient knowledge of one another often make this situation worse. consequently, the commitment to ecumenism must be based upon the conversion of hearts and upon prayer, which will also lead to the necessary purification of past memories. with the grace of the holy spirit, the lord's disciples, inspired by love, by the power of the truth and by a sincere desire for mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, are called to re-examine together their painful past and the hurt which that past regrettably continues to provoke even today. all together, they are invited by the ever fresh power of the gospel to acknowledge with sincere and total objectivity the mistakes made and the contingent factors at work at the origins of their deplorable divisions. what is needed is a calm, clearsighted and truthful vision of things, a vision enlivened by divine mercy and capable of freeing people's minds and of inspiring in everyone a renewed willingness, precisely with a view to proclaiming the gospel to the men and women of every people and nation.52 note that the “long-standing misgivings inherited from the past” must be healed through “conversion of hearts” so that there can be “the necessary purification of past memories.” here, pope john paul ii has given us a powerful rubric for evaluating divisive events of the past in light of the healing necessary in the present. later in the same document, the pope directly addresses ecumenism with the “ancient churches of the east.” regarding the christological issues, he states, “ecumenical contacts have thus made possible essential clarifications with regard to the traditional controversies concerning christology, so much so that we have been able to profess together the faith which we have in common.”53 thus the common profession of faith is enabled because the controversies have been clarified. cardinal walter kasper summed up the recent progress with the eastern churches in this way: the reasons underlying their separation, besides political motives, lay in the dispute about the christological formula of the council of chalcedon (451): jesus christ true god and true man in one person, that is one person in two natures. in the meantime, after intensive preparatory work involving historical research on dogmas and discussion mediated by the “pro oriente” foundation in vienna, these 52 pope john paul ii, ut unum sint, 2. 53 pope john paul ii, ut unum sint, 63. controversies have been settled through the bilateral declarations of the pope and the respective patriarchs. it was recognized that when speaking of one person and two natures, the starting point was a different philosophical conception, but with the same meaning as far as the matter itself is concerned. this understanding has enabled maintaining the common faith in jesus christ as true god and true man, without imposing on the other one’s own respective formula; thus, the formulations of the council of chalcedon were not forced upon the ancient oriental churches. the ultimate outcome has been unity in the diversity of ways of expression.54 at this point it is abundantly clear: all are in agreement that the meaning was the same even though the philosophical conceptions and formulas differed. we are now in a position to embrace unity in diversity. in light of this, what conclusions can we draw? v. conclusion first, while we may say that there is potentially dangerous language in certain formulations from particular perspectives, and while a few theologians stand out as having more than an average focus on extreme positions or dangerous language, no longer can we point to “nestorianism” and say it “seems” to divide christ, or to “monophysitism” and say it confuses the natures or denies the humanity. the adherents of these positions did not fall into the potential traps of the extreme formulations as feared by their opponents. today, the “nestorian” (assyrian) church and three major “monophysite” churches (syrian orthodox, coptic orthodox and armenian orthodox55) have signed declarations with rome agreeing that they have a common christological faith, though expressed in some terms that differ from chalcedon. it does injustice to the truth and to ecumenical healing to continue to use language and characterizations from the point of view of those who excommunicated nestorius and dioscorus. in this regard, the assyrian church has decided to lift the anathemas against cyril.56 they also hope to be treated in the same manner: “as we do not ask anymore anyone to revile the memory of cyril, we would respectfully ask not to be required to abandon our long held admiration of, and appreciation for, nestorius.”57 this should be possible now. in 2002, the joint committee for theological 54 kasper iii. 55 for the armenian agreement, see the “common declaration of john paul ii and catholicos karekin i,” rome, december 13, 1996. as in the other agreements with “monophysite” churches, chalcedon-like language is used without mention of one or two “natures.” the essence is retained while the cause of division is removed. 56 bishop mar bawai soro, “does ephesus unite or divide? a reevaluation of the council of ephesus – an assyrian church of the east perspective,” 2002, commission on inter-church relations and education development <http://www.cired.org>, 9. 57 soro, “ephesus” 11. dialogue between the catholic church and the assyrian church of the east (jctd) stated the following in its press release: with regard to christology, the jctd initiated the preparation of a comprehensive document on the christological tradition of the church of the east. based on the existing achievements, reached by theologians and academic colloquia, this document should show the particular contribution of the church of the east to the global development of christology. in defending orthodoxy against local heresies, the church of the east developed indeed a particular christological terminology and reflection, which still holds its own place besides both the greek and the latin traditions. this christological reflection was carried out by many theologians, belonging to the mesopotamian area; it is also reflected in the liturgical and canonical tradition of the church of the east. greek authors as diodore of tarsus, theodore of mopsuestia and nestorius of constantinople, who gained the esteem of the church of the east, are to be read and understood in the light of this particular christological tradition.58 the jctd thus made the application, in effect, of pope john paul ii's rubric to the three primary persons on the “nestorian” side of the controversy. these three, including nestorius, “are to be read and understood in the light of” the christological tradition of the assyrian church of the east, which has already reached christological agreement with rome. the more moderate side of nestorius discussed above in §iii can be seen even more clearly now in this light. second, the appointment of the antiochene nestorius as patriarch of constantinople is a good example of the problem of not respecting the differences between traditions. nestorius was not wanted in constantinople. what was wanted was someone from outside the power struggle who could represent a middle ground. what they got, however, was a strong promoter of antiochene theology. nestorius did not respect the differences he found in constantinople. in seeing dangers in so many differences, without acknowledging the dangers others might see in his, nestorius failed in the task of pastoring a flock with traditions other than his own. this controversy and its ongoing resolution should be a lesson to theologians and church leaders in a world growing smaller not so much in its diversity as in the proximity of the other. the churches must make such lessons a part of the fabric of the traditions so that ecumenical reconciliation would be the 58 joint committee for theological dialogue between the catholic church and the assyrian church of the east (jctd), “press release of the eighth annual meeting,” 2002, commission on inter-church relations and education development <http://www.cired.org>. lens through which those in other traditions are viewed, that the “lack of charity” in the past may be replaced by charity in the present.59 let us pray and do our part to continue to break down the barriers erected in the 5th century and in other centuries, that those who share the bond of the spirit of jesus may share also the table of remembrance. 59 the assyrian church points out how important it is for clergy to be strong supporters and to report the proceedings of ecumenical dialogue to church members so that they may rejoice and become supporters as well. see bishop mar bawai soro, “reception of the 'common christological declaration' in the assyrian church of the east: an occasion for christian joy and cultural vitality,” 2002, commission on inter-church relations and educational development <http://www.cired.org>, 3-4. [concept, vol. xxxiv (2011)] “stand you on that?”: the emptiness of signification in thomas kyd’s the spanish tragedy ryan chabot english and, gentles, thus i end my play: urge no more words: i have no more to say. hieronimo, the spanish tragedy 1 since we have already said everything, the reader must bear with us if we continue on awhile. if we extend ourselves by force of play. jacques derrida, ―plato‘s pharmacy‖ what hath he in his box, as thou think‘st? pedringano, the spanish tragedy critics have often read the spanish tragedy as a play about language, not least so because of its hero‘s dramatic self-mutilation in the penultimate act. critical interpretation of the play‘s concern with language has great breadth, due largely to the different, often conflicting, presentations of language within the play. words in the spanish tragedy are essential and superfluous, malleable and uncontrollable. they are denigrated and idolized. contrary to much the spanish tragedy criticism, readers and viewers need not pick an interpretational side regarding these paradoxes. rather, if we read the play as presenting language as fundamentally empty and meaningless and exploring the anxieties this causes, then we might explain both sides of these issues, while furthering, not explaining away, their paradoxical nature. moreover, understanding the semiotic and lingual crisis 1 this and other citations of the play are from the spanish tragedy, ed. j.r. mulryne, (london: new mermaids, 2009). occasionally i will cite the facsimile of the 1592 folio edition of the play, available on the early english books online database. those instances will be noted as such. that is the locus of the play‘s concern with language allows us to explore the historical issue of the play-text‘s potential corruption and to compare the early modern theatre audience‘s experience of the play with our own as readers of the play-text. the significance of language in the play can only be understood by recognizing the emptiness and incomprehensibility of signification that the spanish tragedy espouses. to summarize the plot briefly for unfamiliar readers: the action of the play is overseen by the ghost of spanish war-hero andrea and his companion revenge, who will show the former his murderer, the portuguese prince balthazar, killed by his beloved, the spanish duke‘s daughter bel-imperia. andrea‘s death unites belimperia with horatio, his best friend and the son of spain‘s knight marshall, hieronimo. when the captured balthazar falls in love with bel-imperia, however, he joins with lorenzo, the duke‘s son, against horatio. with help from their servants pedringano and serberine, they hang and stab horatio. the conniving lorenzo then ties up loose ends by having pedringano kill serberine and then having him hanged for it. upon discovering his son‘s murder, horatio‘s father hieronimo vacillates between christian submission to god‘s will or revenge—and eventually opts for the latter. with bel-imperia‘s support, hieronimo writes a play that he will perform with bel-imperia, balthazar, and lorenzo in front of their parents, the spanish and portuguese royalty. hieronimo and bel-imperia, however, actually commit the murders the play stages, after which bel-imperia kills herself. when hieronimo reveals to the unknowing fathers that they have just witnessed the real deaths of their children — and the end of the bloodlines of two nations — they accost him and demand an explanation. in a critically debated moment, he refuses and bites out his own tongue before stabbing the duke and himself to complete the tragedy. the play closes with a satisfied andrea ascribing pain or reward in the afterlife as appropriate to the newly deceased. the epitome of the play‘s anxiety over the emptiness of language occurs in act 3, scene 6, the servant pedringano‘s hanging. in act 3, scene 4, lorenzo sends his page to the hanging with a box ostensibly containing pedringano‘s pardon from the king. in the next scene, 3.5, the page, now alone on stage, opens the box and reveals to the audience that it is empty: ―by my bare honesty,‖ he exclaims, ―here‘s nothing but the bare empty box‖ (3.5.5-6). he then plans to encourage pedringano‘s overconfidence, ―to stand and grace every jest he makes, pointing [his] finger at the box, as who would say, ‗mock on, here‘s thy warrant‘‖ (3.5.12 14). in the following scene, pedringano does indeed mock on, and he is hanged accordingly, with no reprieve from his ―pardon.‖ though he predicts pedringano‘s response to his parcel, the page is wrong to say that he carries ―nothing but the bare empty box.‖ he carries the box, of course, but it cannot be said to be ―nothing but.‖ it is rich with significance in the text, representing as it does to various points of view life or death, safety or danger, hierarchical determinism or social mobility, openness or deception. though he doesn‘t recognize this representational ‗fullness,‘ the page contributes to it: his gesturing adds to the spectacle of the box, increasing its significances. it does not hold a pardon, but it is heavy with the meanings that it carries. in general, critical opinion disagrees with the page‘s assessment of the box, finding it to be neither ―without contents‖ nor ―without literary or artistic effect.‖ it is certainly not ―unconcealed, undisguised, open to view.‖ 2 there are two generally accepted source-myths for pedringano‘s box: pandora‘s box and the box of silenus in plato‘s symposium. 3 of the two, i find the argument for the latter more convincing, particularly as formulated by barbara j. baines, who believes that pedringano‘s box is ―the unifying symbol of the ontological and epistemological concerns of the play and that it is a metaphor for the play‘s complex structure.‖ 4 she identifies plato‘s symposium, erasmus‘s the praise of folly and sileni alciabis, and rabelais‘s ―the author‘s prologue‖ to gargantua as possible access points to the story for kyd, marking erasmus as his most probable source. 5 in the symposium, alcibiades accuses socrates of being similar to the figurines of silenus, which are ugly on the outside but reveal figures of the gods when opened. 6 2 ―bare.‖ the oxford english dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. oed online. oxford up. 3 aside from these, fredson bowers discusses interesting parallels and potential historical sources for the event itself, but not the box, in ―kyd‘s pedringano: sources and parallels,‖ harvard studies and notes in philology and literature 13 (1931): 241-49. 4 barbara j. baines, ―kyd‘s silenus box and the limits of perception,‖ journal of medieval and renaissance studies 10 (1980): 41. for the reading of the box as pandora‘s box, see frank ardolino, ―the hangman‘s noose and the empty box: kyd‘s use of dramatic and mythological sources in the spanish tragedy (iii.iv–vii),‖ renaissance quarterly 30 (1977): 334–40. 5 ―given the importance of erasmus in the elizabethan grammar school, the numerous editions and translations of his works, and his international acclaim, it is hard to imagine that a reasonably well-educated writer at the end of the century would not have known his works‖ (baines 1980, 46). 6 plato, the symposium, trans. benjamin jowett. (charleston, sc: forgotten books, 2008), 5456. for erasmus, the sileni represent ―a thing which in appearance (at first blush, as they say) seems ridiculous and contemptible, but closer and deeper examination proves to be admirable, or else with reference to a person whose looks and dress do not correspond at all to what he conceals in his soul.‖ 7 erasmus acknowledges that this deception is not necessarily for ill: ―in living things, what is best and most vital is secreted in the inward parts. in man, what is most divine and immortal is what cannot be seen. in every kind of thing, the material of which it is made is the baser part, most apparent to the senses, and the essence and value of it is felt through its usefulness, and yet that is far from sense-impressions.‖ 8 however, while he marks christ, the sacraments, and the scriptures as examples of this sort of silenus, erasmus warns of the "inside-out sileni," beautiful on the outside but wicked within. "among all kinds of men, there are those everywhere to be found whose physical appearance would make you think they were not only men, but noble examples of mankind: but, if you open up the silenus, you will perhaps find a pig, or a lion, or a bear, or an ass,‖ he cautions. 9 kyd‘s box has resonances of the silenus box, as read from the symposium by erasmus. however, critical interpretation of the box‘s relationship to the rest of the play, i believe, misses its most crucial quality. 10 although noting the similarities between pedringano‘s box and the sileni is useful, i believe their differences are more interesting and emblematic of the play‘s theme. the deceptive countenances of literal and metaphorical sileni hide internal truths: the foolish figures hide images of gods, the satyr-like face of socrates masks inner wisdom, and the façade of the son of a carpenter covers soteriological divinity. pedringano‘s box poses as pardon, immunity, freedom, and life. but what is hidden within? here, lorenzo‘s page got it right: the box is not bare, but it is empty. unlike the sileni, it does not present one thing and conceal another; rather, it presents a thing and conceals nothing. if, as baines argues, the box represents the difference between illusion and reality, then all signification is illusory, and the inner parts of meaning are emptiness and nothingness. language‘s essence and value is defined 7 desiderius erasmus, erasmus on his times; a shortened version of the ‘adages’ of erasmus, trans. margaret mann phillips, (new york and london: cambridge up, 1967), 82. 8 ibid., 82. 9 ibid., 83-84. 10 baines, for one, reads the box as ―defin[ing] deception and delusion and [suggesting] the inability to distinguish illusion from reality,‖ which she considers emblematic of the theme of kyd‘s play (baines 1980, 41). by what is not. pedringano‘s box illustrates the crux of the play‘s concern with language, which is not the dichotomy between illusion and reality, or the ability of language to align itself with either end, but rather the inability of language to represent at all. erasmus argues that the sileni demonstrate that the best and most vital is secreted in the inward parts. pedringano‘s box symbolizes the spanish tragedy‘s epistemological and lingual concern that beneath our words, symbols, and signs lies not the best and most vital but emptiness, insignificance, and meaninglessness. however, the emptiness of language in the spanish tragedy does not mitigate its power. those characters without lingual acumen, such as balthazar, horatio, and pedringano, are at the mercy of the more dominant linguists, belimperia, lorenzo, and hieronimo, who often disavow the usefulness of language while simultaneously wielding it to accomplish their ends. by capitalizing on ―language‖ and its multiplicity as a tool and weapon, they become aware that language is not an infallible, essential part of human interaction in which a symbol stands in for a real thing, but rather an inherently flawed system that is uncontrollable and ultimately meaningless. the epistemological realization of the multivalence of language unwittingly effects semiotic anxiety over the ability and reliability of signs to convey meaning. thus it is skill with and understanding of language that leads characters to doubt its authenticity and to fear its uncontrollable dissemination. among the linguistically unaware characters, balthazar is the most severe example of manipulability caused by linguistic obtuseness. bel-imperia verbally baffles him from their stichomythic first exchange onwards (1.4.77-91). while her lines are rich with mocking innuendo and irony, his are conventional and hyperbolic. his solemn, passionate response to bel-imperia‘s sarcasm epitomizes his lingual obtuseness: she exclaims, ―a heartless man, and live? a miracle!‖ and he replies, ―ay lady, love can work such miracles‖ (1.4.88-89). lorenzo is right to step in and rescue him. he is clearly lost among ―these ambages‖ and might have a chance ―in plain terms‖ (1.4.90-91). 11 lorenzo, for his part, uses balthazar‘s ―words of course‖ to his advantage (1.4.98). in the following scene, he initiates the use of couplets and quotations, conventions that balthazar eagerly embraces (2.1.928, 116-129). lorenzo‘s initiation of the tropes of unrequited love stimulates 11 mulryne glosses ―ambages‖ as ―roundabout modes of speech‖ (24). balthazar‘s (conventional) imagination, by which he eventually agrees to the murder plot. in this scene, lorenzo‘s romanticizing of his plan fuels two sustained speeches and forty-two lines of dialogue from balthazar. in contrast, balthazar speaks exactly one of the murder scene‘s sixty-three lines, which include declarations of love, (possibly) love‘s consummation, hanging, stabbing, and kidnapping: to bel-imperia‘s ―o save him, brother, save him, balthazar: / i loved horatio, but he loved me not,‖ he responds rather stupidly, ―but balthazar loves bel-imperia‖ (4.4.56-59). 12 happy to pile convention on convention beforehand, balthazar is all but mute during the actual crime. lorenzo‘s memorable declaration ―ay, thus and thus: these are the fruits of love‖ as he stabs horatio and his vicious pun, ―although his life were still ambitious proud, / yet is he at the highest now he is dead,‖ underscore the disparity in verbal perspicacity between the two characters (2.4.55, 60-61). horatio shows a similar penchant for dealing in conventions, and he is manipulated accordingly. we might compare horatio‘s ―and, madam, don horatio will not slack / humbly to serve fair bel-imperia‖ to balthazar‘s ―no madam, but in pleasing servitude‖ (1.4.53-54; 1.4.81). if he is more sophisticated than balthazar, he is only just so. he fares slightly better in his own sometimes stichomythic repartee with bel-imperia and (verbally at least) in the scene of his murder (2.4.1-50). (although after the entrance of his would-be killers, he too manages only one unimpressive line: ―what, would you murder me?‖ [2.4.54].) where the two men are most unaware of language‘s power and thus deprived of autonomy is in their relations with bel-imperia. as other critics have noted, she is the driving force behind her romance with horatio, which she admits she will 12 for other instances where balthazar refers to himself in the third person, see 1.4.122, 3.10.100, 3.10.107, and 3.14.95. in these four instances, balthazar seems caught up in the conventions that he views himself as playing out of either, respectively, the gallant soldier (―you see, my lord, how balthazar is slain‖) or pining lover (―then, fair, let balthazar your keeper be‖; ―led by the loadstar of her heavenly looks, / wends poor oppressed balthazar‖; ―come, bel-imperia, balthazar‘s content, / my sorrow‘s ease and sovereign of my bliss‖). these lines, though unflattering of his verbal intelligence, do not speak as strongly to how out of touch he is as ―but balthazar loves bel-imperia,‖ spoken moments after participating in the murder of her lover. as example of the disparity in cunning between the two, note lorenzo‘s skillful, performative deployment of the third person in 3.4.75 (―but let him [pedringano] wisely keep his hopes unknown, / he shall not want while don lorenzo lives‖), to his father on stopping bel-imperia‘s happiness in 3.14.51 (―heavens would not let lorenzo err so much‖), and on intercepting hieronimo‘s complaints to the king in 3.14.73 (―my lord, it lies not in lorenzo‘s power‖). initiate as part of her revenge on balthazar: ―yes, second love shall further my revenge. / i‘ll love horatio, my andrea‘s friend, / the more to spite the prince that wrought his end‖ (1.4.66-68). thus it is ―by favour of [bel-imperia‘s] love,‖ as horatio proclaims, that their ―hidden smoke is turned to open flame‖ (2.2.1-2). while horatio and balthazar are oblivious, lorenzo is aware of and concerned about the dangers of his sister‘s verbal dexterity. following an exchange of curt, short lines that leaves even lorenzo a bit shaken, bel-imperia states, ―no, balthazar doth fear as well as we: / et tremulo metui pavidum junxere tomorem, / et vanum stolidae proditionis opus‖ (3.10.101-103). 13 in response to her verbal skill and use of latin, lorenzo says, ―nay and you argue things so cunningly, / we‘ll go continue this discourse at court‖ where, of course, he‘ll have the advantage as a man (3.10.104-105). 14 if we are to hierarchize linguistic skill among the main characters, horatio might barely edge balthazar, but bel-imperia would easily surpass them both. in the cleverest characters, lorenzo and hieronimo, we find the most skill with and awareness of words. lorenzo‘s manipulation of balthazar, some evidence of which has been discussed above, is achieved by his superior lingual sophistication. he deceives pedringano similarly. in the scene when he sends pedringano to murder serberine, lorenzo tells him, ―when things shall alter, as i hope they will, / then shalt thou mount for this: thou know‘st my mind‖ (3.2.9293). the irony (―thou know‘st my mind‖) and the pun (―shalt thou mount for this‖) are both lost on pedringano. for his part, hieronimo does not at first use his power with words to manipulate, but to lament, in the most famous and often quoted speeches of the play. 15 as he turns to revenge, however, he also turns to more vicious uses of language. he tells lorenzo and balthazar, ―why then i‘ll fit you; say no more‖ and continues ―methinks, you are too quick with us‖ (4.1.70, 76). he 13 mulryne translates the latin as ―they yoked cowardly fear to trembling dread, as a fruitless act of stupid treason‖ (80). 14 see also 1.4.100-105. when bel-imperia drops her glove during her departure and bestows it to horatio when he picks it up, balthazar (―signior horatio stooped in happy time‖) and horatio (―i reaped more grace than i deserved or hoped‖) are quick to attribute the event to luck. lorenzo knows better, and spots the action as intentional: ―my lord, be not dismayed for what is passed, / you know that women oft are humorous‖ (1.4.103-105). 15 see, for example, such memorable lines as ―sweet lovely rose, ill plucked before thy time, / fair worthy son, not conquered, but betrayed: / i‘ll kiss thee now, for words with tears are stayed‖ and the famous ―o eyes, no eyes, but fountains frought with tears‖ speech (2.5.46-48; 3.2.1-25). assures them that ―all shall be concluded in one scene (4.1.188; emphases mine). 16 lorenzo and hieronimo interweave double, unnoticed meanings into the semiotic gaps in their language. bel-imperia‘s accusation, ―brother, you are become an orator‖ (3.10.83) and hieronimo‘s own ―and i myself in an oration‖ (4.1.184) underscore their infusion of the act of speaking with multivalent, often manipulative, meanings. 17 as orators, hieronimo and lorenzo are more than just speakers: they are wielders of language, adding to and manipulating its significances while exploiting its depths and gaps. yet both men are quick to deny the efficacy of language. after the identities of his son‘s murderers have been confirmed, hieronimo asks, ―but wherefore waste i mine unfruitful words, / when naught but blood will satisfy my woes?‖ (3.7.67-68). since his unheard words have not hastened his revenge, he plans to ―plain‖ and ―cry aloud‖ with ―entreats‖ or ―threats‖ to those in power (3.7.69-73). in this model, words are effective only as acknowledged by political or hierarchical authority. lorenzo too debases language. he avers, ―where words prevail not, violence prevails; / but gold doth more than either of them both‖ (2.1.108-109). despite these avowed dismissals, words are the means by which hieronimo and lorenzo achieve their violent ends. lorenzo‘s verbal manipulation of balthazar, pedringano, and serberine allows him to murder horatio. hieronimo find words directed through the proper channels ineffective, but when he takes language‘s power into his own hands through his play-within-the-play, he achieves his revenge. though both men declare language fruitless, their plans are fueled by its careful and complicated implementation. their denial of the power of language is further contradicted by their anxiety over its uncontrollable dissemination. both hieronimo and lorenzo refuse to speak their plans aloud in an attempt to control them. lorenzo says, 16 thus, through his ―invention,‖ or ―contrivance, design, plan, scheme,‖ hieronimo means to ―fit,‖ or ―visit (a person) with a fit penalty; to punish,‖ lorenzo and balthazar so they are not ―too quick,‖ or ―living, endowed with life, animate,‖ and will literally ―say no more.‖ he does not exaggerate when he avers that ―all shall be concluded,‖ or ―put an end to . . . a person,‖ ―in one scene‖ (―invention, ii.6,‖ fit, ii.12," ―quick, a.i.1.a,‖ and ―conclude, ii.5.b,‖ oed.) 17 the oed defines oration as a ―formal discourse delivered in elevated and dignified language, esp. one given on a ceremonial occasion such as a public celebration, a funeral, etc.‖ (―oration,‖ 2). but to what end? i list not trust the air with utterance of our pretence therein, for fear the privy whispering of the wind convey our words among unfriendly ears, that lie too open to advantages. e quell che voglio io, nessun lo sa; intendo io: quell mi bastera. (3.4.82-88) 18 similarly, hieronimo states, and to conclude, i will revenge his death! but how? not as the vulgar wits of men, with open, but inevitable ills, as by a secret, yet a certain mean, which under kindship will be cloaked best. (3.13.20-24; emphasis mine) thus the most powerful manipulators of language in the play are the most anxious over words and resolve to achieve their ends through unspoken, silent means. in doing so, they hope to allay their fears by encapsulating, directing, and therefore controlling language. hieronimo speaks his plan aloud to neither the audience nor his co-conspirator bel-imperia, and lorenzo fears that the very wind will convey his meanings to uncontrollable places. and, indeed, his fear is justified. as careful as he is in his use of words, disseminated language is his downfall. lorenzo does not deign to read the letter pedringano writes him, but assumes he knows its content: ―what would he with us? he writes us here / to stand good lord and help him in his distress‖ (3.4.5556). the unread letter‘s counterpart appears on stage in the scene of pedringano‘s hanging: ―enter officers, boy, and pedringano, with a letter in his hand, bound.‖ 19 these two letters bring about lorenzo‘s death, as the latter confirms his role in horatio‘s murder. assuming that the first letter contained lines similar to ―in my death i shall reveal the troth,‖ we cannot imagine lorenzo would have gone through with his cruel ploy had he read it (3.7.35). these letters, directed to but 18 ―and what i want, nobody knows; it is enough that i alone understand‖ (mulryne 2009, 64). 19 thomas kyd, the spanish tragedie, containing the lamentable end of don horatio, and belimperia: with the pitiful death of olde hieronimo,‖ (london: printed by edward allde, for edward white, 1592), f2. ultimately betraying lorenzo, parallel and return us to consideration of pedringano‘s box. like the second letter, the box has an unplanned opener. the difference, of course, is that pedringano‘s box is never meant to be opened at all, and, indeed, as far as the plot of the play is concerned, it is never opened. act 3, scene 5, when the page opens the box and reveals its emptiness to the audience, changes nothing within the parameters of the play. though the reading or viewing audience now knows that the box is empty, the scene of pedringano‘s hanging proceeds entirely with the box closed. excluding the aside of 3.5, there could very well be a pardon within the box. where, then, does meaning reside within the spanish tragedy? heroes and villains alike wield signifiers to their own devices. the most skillful orators of the play are also the most wary of language. letters confuse, complicate, and deceive—whether they are opened and read or not. a box-without-a-pardon represents a box-with-a-pardon, and to the same effect; emptiness and fullness become one in the same, and neither matters. the box, full of significance but empty of a pardon, remains closed. pedringano hangs. hieronimo‘s play-within-the-play, performed in the ―sundry languages‖ (latin, greek, italian, and french) and manifesting fiction into reality, has appropriately received the attention of critics considering language in the spanish tragedy. carol mcginnis kay, for example, reads this as the final disintegration of an ever-degenerating language within the society of the play. 20 i read this moment not as a culmination, however, but as an explanation of how language has worked throughout the play. it is a meta-instance of a repeated pattern in which a ―performance‖ occurs and is retroactively explained, or, in some cases, in which explanation retroactively makes action performative. take for example hieronimo‘s masque in act 1, scene 4, after the first part of which the king says, ―hieronimo, this masque contents mine eye, / although i sound not well the mystery‖ (1.4.138-139). hieronimo then offers significance where it was unavailable in the viewing present. this repeats: after each event in the masque, ―he doth as he did before.‖ 21 i read the penultimate scene, 4.5, as following this 20 carol mcginnis kay, ―deception through words: a reading of the spanish tragedy,‖ studies in philology 74 (1977): 2–38. 21 mulryne, 2009, 26. this same pattern occurs between revenge and andrea (3.15.26-35). each description of andrea‘s death is a similar instance of this retroactive application of meaning (some more truthfully than others) (1.1.1-26, 1.2.63-84, 1.2.155-165, 1.3.59-71, and1.4.6-43). on the repetition of the story of andrea‘s death, see carol mcginnis kay, ―deception through pattern; it is the retroactive explanation of how language has functioned. the playwithin-the-play, then, is not indicative of the degeneration of meaning or the exacerbation of deceptive relational language. rather, its confusion reveals that language has been meaningless, in-significant, throughout. balthazar‘s concern that ―this will be a mere confusion, / and hardly shall we all be understood‖ may seem an uncharacteristically astute point (4.1.180-181). however, it is based on the assumption that language would otherwise be ―all . . . understood‖ and has not, in fact, been a ―mere confusion‖ all along. the malleability and disconnection from any inherent truth of language becomes apparent to balthazar here for the first time, but it is a constant anxiety for the more sophisticated characters, hieronimo and lorenzo. the play-within-the-play and this penultimate scene make it apparent that we (readers and audience members) are meant to question the meaningfulness of language in the entirety of the play. much has been made about the polyglot nature of the murderous play and the affect/effect of hieronimo‘s post factum explanation of it. 22 among these, william n. west has made a convincing argument that the confusion of the final act would have extended to the elizabethan theatrical audience. 23 he writes, ―the reactions of the onstage audience make explicit that they do not understand what has happened; nor is it likely that the offstage audience can see any difference between the body of an actor playing a character playing dead, and an actor words: a reading of the spanish tragedy,‖ studies in philology 74 (1977): 2–38, and scott mcmillin, ―the figure of silence in the spanish tragedy,‖ elh 39:1 (march 1972): 27-48. 22 for interpretation of the use of ‗sundry languages,‘ see janette dillon, ―the spanish tragedy and staging languages in renaissance drama,‖ research opportunities in renaissance drama 34 (1995): 15-40; s.f. johnson, ―the spanish tragedy or babylon revisited,‖ essay on shakespeare and elizabethan drama: in honour of hardin craig, ed. richard hosley. (london: routledge & kegan paul ltd., 1963); carla mazzio, ―staging the vernacular: language and nation in thomas kyd‘s the spanish tragedy,” studies in english literature 38 (1998): 207– 32; and scott mcmillin, ―the figure of silence in the spanish tragedy,‖ elh 39:1 (march 1972): 27-48. on the affect of the play-within-a-play, see molly easo smith, ―the theatre and the scaffold: death as spectacle in the spanish tragedy,‖ new casebook: revenge tragedy, ed. stevie simkin. (new york: palgrave, 2001): 88-106; tzachi zamir, ―wooden subjects,‖ new literary history 39:2 (spring 2008): 277-300; and william n. west, ―‗but this will be a mere confusion‘: real and represented confusion on the elizabethan stage,‖ theatre journal 60:2 (2008): 217-233. 23 william n. west, ―‗but this will be a mere confusion‘: real and represented confusion on the elizabethan stage,‖ theatre journal 60:2 (2008): 217-233. playing a dead character.‖ 24 thus the dramaturgy of confusion displaces signification and a need for mimetic reassessment in the real audience as well as the represented one. indeed, the confusion is even greater in the real audience, for the performance is one step further removed: an actor is playing the character playing dead (or the dead character). with each level of meaning introduced, meaning-as-truth recedes further into the distance. the proliferation of meaning, then, creates meaninglessness. the multivalence of the representations manifests in and through a play-within-a-play that brings signifier (the performance) together with its signified (death), so that unification of signified and signifier effects and is effected by the proliferation of signifiers and the infinite regress of the signified. representation simultaneously effects reality and is exposed as meaningless. as readers, confusion is not available to us affectively in the same way that it is to an audience. however, there is a moment in the text of the play that is unavailable to a theatre audience that could cause a mimetic and, in this case, semiotic crisis that parallels their vexed experience. to open the culminating act 4, scene 4, the spanish king and portuguese viceroy have this exchange: king: now, viceroy, shall we see the tragedy of soliman the turkish emperor, performed of pleasure by your son the prince, my nephew don lorenzo, and my niece. viceroy: who, bel-imperia? king: ay, and hieronimo, our marshal, at whose request they deign to do‘t themselves: these be our pastimes in the court of spain. here, brother, you shall be the book-keeper: this is the argument of that they show. (4.4.1-10) in the 1592 folio and modern editions, this is followed by: he giveth him a booke. gentlemen, this play of hieronimo in sundrie languages, was thought good to be set downe in english more largely, 24 ibid., 229. for the easier understanding to every publique reader. 25 in a moment that j.r. mulryne glosses in the new mermaids edition as ―almost unique in early modern drama,‖ the author‘s voice breaks open the scene to inform the reader that he or she will be receiving the translated version of the various languages so that the play might be easier to understand. 26 the effects of this are numerous, and all contribute to a destabilization and proliferation of meaning. it is a startling moment that demonstrates that this authorial other, who has the power to choose the interpretational differences between the text and the performance, has been present though invisible all along. a disquieting parallel to the theme of post factum authorial explanations, this moment of disruption retroactively renders every previous word of the text ―interpreted.‖ every word is and was ―translated‖ just as the sundry languages will be. one more layer of mediation and signification is revealed. however, this layer is not added in this moment; it is only avowed. it has, in fact, been present throughout: an undetectable, unquestionable, authoring and translating other. the preceding lines further complicate this moment. the king has apparently read the written argument of the play, and after describing it to the portuguese viceroy, passes it on to the duke. in the play-text, this creates the uncanny moment when the king says ―here, brother, you shall be the book-keeper: / this is the argument of that they show,‖ followed by the stage direction (with masculine pronouns) ―he giveth him a book,‖ immediately after which begins the authorial aside ―gentlemen . . .‖ (4.4.91-10). these opening moments of 4.4 uncomfortably destabilize our privileged position as readers. our private reading is intruded on by a voice of authority that we then realize has been there all along, but the lines and stage direction leading up to this moment create the uncanny sensation that the king is addressing us. we shall be, indeed we are, the ―book-keepers‖ and ―this,‖ this text that we are holding and reading from, is indeed the ―argument of that they 25 thomas kyd, the spanish tragedie, containing the lamentable end of don horatio, and belimperia: with the pitiful death of olde hieronimo,‖ (london: printed by edward allde, for edward white, 1592), k3. here i have modernized only the long ―s.‖ this appears on p. 116 of the new mermaids edition, ed. mulryne, i have quoted throughout. 26 mulryne 2009, 116. i use ―author‘s‖ here for convenience, but not decisively; this ―voice‖ could be an editor‘s, a publisher‘s, or collaborative authors‘. show.‖ 27 ―he giveth him a book‖ (presumably a book in english) that describes the sequence of the play so that he might better understand it, which is almost exactly equal to our book, which, we are told, has been set down in english for us so that we might better understand it. 28 the feeling of disquiet and uncanniness in the reader that is the result of the disruption of the suspension of disbelief in the text, the intrusion of an interpreter/narrator/authority, and the feeling that the lines leading up to this disruption may just as easily have been addressed to us the readers as to the duke of castile parallels the confusion that the elizabethan theatre-goer, as described by west, would have experienced. like the confused theatre audience, readers are forced by this blurring of the lines between author and reader, reader and character to reassess mimetic signifiers and signifieds. we read hieronimo‘s play-within-the-play disturbed and suspicious, as we find ourselves unwilling to trust the translation, the author, or the characters — in short, any of the words that we are reading. what has been created in the reading audience is then presented in the represented audience. after the end of the play-within-the-play, hieronimo explains that the actors will not ―revive to please to-morrow‘s audience‖ because the murders represented were real (4.4.82). hieronimo‘s explanation, which lasts almost eighty uninterrupted lines, does not satisfy the represented audience. they demand the retroactive explication that they have come to expect after confusing representations—the very explication that has just been given. they chase hieronimo as he flees to kill himself and demand that he provide them the means to understand, to signify and thus to encapsulate and control, what they have seen, as he has done in the past. 27 this is, perhaps, a rather loose interpretation of ―argument.‖ the king has a similar declaration at 4.4.33-34: ―here comes lorenzo; look upon the plot, / and tell me, brother, what part he plays.‖ explicitly and specifically, ―argument‖ and ―plot‖ are used to mean ―the summary or abstract of the subject-matter of a book; a syllabus; fig. the contents‖ and ―a plan of the actual or proposed arrangement of something; a sketch, an outline, esp. a synopsis of a literary work,‖ respectively (―argument,‖ 7, ―plot,‖ ii.3.a, oed). ―plot‖ is further defined as ―the plan or scheme of a literary or dramatic work; the main events of a play, novel, film, opera, etc., considered or presented as an interrelated sequence; a storyline. also in extended use‖ (―plot,‖ ii.6, oed). this is more closely aligned with the meaning i explore. though the text we are reading is not, precisely, a summary or abstract in the way the oed defines ―argument,‖ the parallels between our text and the king‘s argument are strong enough to create the uncanny effect of this moment. 28 modern readers of the mermaids edition have a further authorial decision made for them without acknowledgement by dr. mulryne. starting with balthazar‘s first speech as soliman, the words of the play-within-a-play are italicized. no such demarcation is made in the 1592 edition. ―speak, traitor; damned, bloody murderer,‖ the king curses, ―speak! / for now i have thee i will make thee speak‖ (4.4.163-164). ―why . . . ,‖ ―why . . . ,‖ why . . . ,‖ the king, duke, and viceroy ask, and hieronimo mocks their need for an explanation that has already been given: ―o, good words‖ (4.4.165-168). language has lost its ability to mean and to signify, and thus hieronimo‘s explaining speech, so similar to that following the dumb show in act 1, serves only to destabilize meaning further. much critical attention has been paid, and rightfully so, to the inconsistency in this scene. the king, viceroy, and duke demand that hieronimo speak and tell what he has already spoken and told. hieronimo himself declares, ―never shalt thou force me to reveal / the thing which i have vowed inviolate‖ (4.4.187-188). this sequence often contributes to arguments that regard the text as corrupt, since there is nothing left for hieronimo to reveal here. this moment, i believe, stands as a bookend to the authorial interruption near the beginning of the scene. that destabilizing break in verisimilitude disturbs the text and the reader of the text in the same way that hieronimo‘s confirmation that he hides something when there is nothing left to hide does. this disruption sticks with the reader and the audience as the play ends, as much as the disruption of the author‘s aside to the reader disturbs the action of the penultimate scene. the too-tidy assignment of punishment and reward in the final scene does little to relieve it. the play presents and effects the emptiness of language in much the same way that west observes it does confusion. if pedringano‘s box is emblematic of the play‘s presentation of language, the epitome is hieronimo‘s self-mutilation. his biting out of his own tongue is akin to the revelation that the performed murders were real. paradoxically, these instances represent the unity of sign and signified and, simultaneously, the infinite proliferation of signs that precludes true representation. the represented killings are real, but they are uninterpretable and thus meaningless since signs are revealed as empty. likewise, hieronimo physically manifests his disavowal of speech by biting out his own tongue, but in collapsing signifier and signified, he creates an infinite regression of ―true‖ meaning into conjecture. we ask, ‗what was hieronimo hiding? what was left to reveal?‘ his meaning is unattainable, retreating exponentially the more we try to interpret it. every significance we place on it only exacerbates its unknowability. this dissemination of meaning into meaninglessness is the result of, not in spite of, the merging of represented signified and representing signifiers. it is not surprising that in 1602 a revised edition of the spanish tragedy was produced, one in which hieronimo‘s insanity is made clearer, earlier. the final scenes too are modified to make them represent something better. in 1592, the play ends without meaning, creating in the audience and the reader the emptiness of language that is presented throughout the play. the need to read and understand meaning, to lock down and control signification and its dissemination, is pervasive throughout the play and the play‘s history. in act 4, scene 4, the figures of authority demand a way to signify what they have just seen: surely the play-withinthe-play cannot end in infinite expansion. act 4, scene 5 serves only to exacerbate our feelings of discontent at an ending that, though it kills off almost every character, has no resolution. and so, changes were made in the revised edition to signify what was otherwise a void. even in modern criticism of the play, the 1592 text is viewed as potentially corrupt, lacking, or missing something, because surely something must need to be said there. the spanish tragedy is a play that ends on a lack, an unsignifiable emptiness, and, given the model of retroactive application of meaning throughout the text, it leaves us with the fear that the words we have clung to from the first utterance of andrea‘s ghost have been as empty as pedringano‘s box. selected bibliography ardolino, frank. ―the spanish tragedy.” explicator 67:3 (spring 2009): 178-183. literature online. web. 31 july 2010. ---. ―the hangman‘s noose and the empty box: kyd‘s use of dramatic and mythological sources in the spanish tragedy (iii.iv–vii).‖ renaissance quarterly 30 (1977): 334–40. jstor. web. 30 july 2010. ―argument.‖ the oxford english dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. oed online. oxford up. web. 06 august 2010. baines, barbara j. ―kyd‘s silenus box and the limits of perception.‖ journal of medieval and renaissance studies 10 (1980): 41–51. print. 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project muse. web. 30 july 2010. zitner, sheldon. ―the spanish tragedy and the language of performance.‖ the elizabethan theatre 11 (1990): 75–93. print. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\patterns.prn.pdf patterns in the framing: patience and the hours of catherine of cleves rita williams english villanova university framing, both as an actual artistic method and as a topos, was widely used in the middle ages, both in secular art and in works bent upon religious instruction. for example, in the house of fame, geoffrey chaucer describes josephus on a pillar framed by bearing on his shoulders “[t]he fame […] of the jewerye” (lines 1430-1436, 365). another, anonymous poem, pearl, frames the narrative within the holy city itself: in a dramatic final move that ties mystical transport to daily collective ritual, the new jerusalem in pearl also takes the narrative into a church, as if the textual city were itself an invitation over a triumphal arch, a theophanic move that is furthered as well by eucharistic echoes. some readers have suggested that the poem unfolds in imitation of the mass [….] the image of the lamb, both symboland enactment of the eucharist, places the narrator, and reader as well, before theeucharist, or more exactly within the performance of the mass (stanbury, introduction, 9-10; italics in original). both these framing moments are accomplished via enargeia, the vivid word painting whose method is to “use words to yield so vivid a description that they— dare we say literally?—place the represented object before the reader’s (hearer’s) inner eye” (krieger 14). enargeia is a subset of ekphrasis, “’the reproduction, through the medium of words, of sensuously perceptible objects d’art’” (krieger xiii). ekphrastic descriptions, which, as stanbury argues in the opening quote, can be used to create an “illusion of an existing object while actually moving freely to the intelligible realm beyond the senses” (krieger 21), were widely used in the medieval period. in a time greatly concerned with explaining, and representing, the works of god to man, both were deployed to bring “together the courts of earth and heaven” (riddy 153). this union was achieved several ways: heaven could be brought to earth via sensuous and involving description (for example, hildegard of bingen wrote works “as microcosms of heaven, paradises brought down to earth” [watson 297]); the earthly viewer could be transported to heaven, as in the stanbury quote on page 1; or the reader could be placed in a setting where god’s grace manifested on earth (“the two orders of being […] brought together only by divine grace or, fictionally, poetic craft”, [watson 298]). in the latter case, as nicholas watson observes about the pearl-poet, the “[p]rocess of shaping [the poem …] is an aesthetic equivalent of the sacraments” where “god has entered into a covenant with humans which enables them to do by grace (through participation in the sacraments) what they cannot do by effort” (306). in his yen to create the conditions through which god’s grace could be manifest, the anonymous author known as the pearl-poet (whose works include pearl, patience, and sir gawain and the green knight) was arguably driven by an “’incarnational aesthetic’” (stanbury, body 36) that both utilized physical form to create the conditions for the spirit in his art, and represented incarnation theology, the moment(s) when god becomes one with man, in a seamless topos. in this paper, i will argue that this results in ekphrastic moments in which jonah, "type and subfufilment of christ" (andrew 20), figuratively meets w.j.t. mitchell's definition of "metapicture"—a picture that refers to itself. i will then explore actual metapictures in an illuminated prayer book that evinces a similar concern with aesthetically creating the conditions for god's grace and is grounded in the same incarnational aesthetic. both works of art seek unity between the courts of earth and heaven, but use "sharply contrasting ways of knowing and seeing" (stanbury 10), the first leading us to visualize a prototype of christ, jonah, as a negative exemplum, and the second, through pictured representations, leading viewers to think of themselves as co-creators of god's time and co-participants in god's plan. the pearl-poet employed ekphrasis extensively, manifesting in his work what w.j.t. mitchell has termed “’ekphrastic hope’”—“when the impossibility [of representing the physical through words] is overcome by image or metaphor” (152). and in doing it, he often uses framing devices. the pearl-poet uses a multiplicity of such devices: the end returns to the beginning in both patience and pearl, as well as sir gawain and the green knight, making the poem a seamless circular frame. characters are often embodied within a frame, such as gawain’s armor in sir gawain and the green knight. this framing is known as mise-enabîme. patience: the framing of jonah the pearl-poet creates three instances of enargeia using metaphors that frame the protagonist of patience, jonah. as an old testament figure, jonah is a “prooftext for the new testament” (sherwood 13), a prefiguration of the christ figure. rather than unite with a protagonist’s move to heaven, then, as we do in pearl, where the narrator is “’joined ritually to the body of christ’” (stanbury, body 33), in patience we watch his movement to a kind of hell. then we see how he finds grace there; is redeemed; and finds refuge through and in god’s grace. in the first of these framing moments, jonah is swallowed by the whale. in fact, it is a wylde walterande whale, as wyrde then schaped, that watz beten fro the abyme, bi that bot flotte, and watz war of that wyghe that the water soghte, and swyftely swenged hym to swepe, and his swolgh opened; the folk yet halande his fete, the fysch hym tyd hentes; withouten towche of any tothe he tult in his throte. then he swengez and swayues to the se bothem, bi mony rokkez ful roghe and rydelande strondes, wyth the mon in his mawe malskred in drede (lines 247-255, andrew and waldron 196*) he is thus semi-consumed by a fish which is “a monstrous conglomerate of all the enemies, swallowers and consumers of humankind” (sherwood 17). the swallowing provides a type of frame for jonah: as yvonne sherwood notes in her masterful study of the jonah figure, a biblical text and its afterlives, he becomes encased, one of many who are often pictured within the frame of a whale’s jaws, frequently represented as hell mouth (figures 1a, 1b, 2, 3a, and 7, following p. 148). yet in patience, he is not just encased by the whale. through the encasement, he becomes one with the whale, and momentarily illegible as himself. the pronoun subtly pivots from performing as a clear reference either to jonah only (“folk yet halande his fete”, line 252, where the sailors hold jonah’s extremities) or the whale only (“his swolgh opened”, line 251), to jonah and the whale, specifically and respectively (“he tult in his throte”, line 253). the pronouns are nearly as perilously contingent as the man and the whale, yet quite distinct. after this line, though, there are no more separate pronouns in the swallowing sequence. “then he swengez and swayues” is ambiguous; both man and fish would be undulating—and, in fact, the very ambiguity implies that the man and fish are one. but in “wyth the mon in his mawe malskred in drede”, jonah is no longer fully a separate entity. his “within-ness” has won out, and, by implication, the encased becomes one with the encasing object—just as a framed art object or encased figurine is part of the entire object, not just the discrete entity nested within the frame. jonah, then, is so enframed in the above sequence that he is superseded for a time. he is “[a]s mote in at a munster dor, so mukel wern his [the whale’s] chawlez” (line 268). this line contains the first reference to a cathedral, but not one where good dwells: the interior of the beast “stank as the deuel” and “sauoured as helle” (lines 274 and 275). however, in the second sequence, jonah finds an internal rescue prior to his reissue from the whale, and in it, he is framed. jonah appeals to god’s grace (“to the lede called” and “euer is god swete”, line 281 and 280, respectively), and in fact makes a type of confession of the very sins the reader has seen in patience: he is “fol and fykel and falce of my hert” and “gulty of gyle” (lines 283 and 285). he pleads “’haf now mercy of thy man and his mysdedes/ and preue the lyghtly a lorde in londe and in water’” (line 287-288). voila: “with that he hitte to a hyrne and helde hym therinne” (line 289). jonah finds a niche in which to stand, and given the earlier description of the whale’s maw as a type of cathedral door, it is hard to miss the ekphrastic moment: he is described much as a figure framed by a niche on a cathedral door. with that, he embodies his typologies, prefiguration of christ and old testament figure. as in pearl, where the transforming dream is triggered by “kynde of kryst me comfort kenned” (line 54), it is a knowledge of god’s grace (in this case, the old testament god)—and an overt admission of that knowledge—that brings about transformation. in jonah’s case, his remembrance of “my rych lorde” (line 326) is the vehicle for the moment when the beast and man become close but separate pronouns again: the fish is bid by “oure fader” (line 337) to “he hym sput spakly vpon spare drye” (line 338)—the pronouns nearly touching this time, but also separating in the direction of jonah’s re-embodiment as a separate entity, after which “he brakez vp the buyrne as bede hym oure lorde” (line 340). (this swallowing and regurgitation, of course, prefigures the resurrection, when the risen will be embodied whole; the “withouten towche of any tothe” (line 252) resists the quality of hell-which was thought to consist of bodies rent through eating, digesting, and devouring [bynum 307].) since jonah is, as theorists such as myra stokes have noted, a highly impatient figure who serves the reader as a negative exemplum of “suffrance” (356) via his “struggles against his divine commission” (ackerman 234), he does not remain grateful to the rich lord who redeems him from the whale’s belly for long. in the course of his travels and his quarrels with god regarding the ninevites, he becomes a framed object once again, arguably this time within a sacred space rather than over its entrance. the ivy has a long history as a symbol for christ; sherwood refers to it as “the ricinus communis/the gourd/the ivy/the vine/the palma christi” [57, italics in original]). the woodbine that god causes to grow post-nineveh is described in the douay-rheims version of the old testament (which is closer to the vulgate used in the medieval period than the king james version), as a covering device. “[t]he lord god prepared any ivy, and it came up over the head of jonas, to be a shadow over his head, and to cover him” (jonah 4:6). however, as the editors of the pearlpoet’s manuscript tell us, “[t]o read […] two versions of the story of jonah side by side is to observe the poet […] translating, expanding episodes, the modifying emphases” (andrew 19). in the enargeia-laden hands of the pearl-poet, the ivy becomes the framing house created by god. […] whyle god of his grace ded growe of that soyle the fayrest bynde hym abof that euer burne wyste. […] thenne wakened he wygh vnder wodbynde, loked alofte on the lef that lylled grene; such a lefsel of lof neuer lede hade, for hit watz brod at the bothem, boghted on lofte, happed vpon ayther half, a hous as hit were (lines 443-450, andrew 203) the ivy here is almost a tree-house, and it frames jonah, like his figuration in the cathedral door, as a figure enclosed by god’s grace, and this time delighting in god’s creation. he is “the gome so glad of his gay logge” (line 457). since the biblical text of jonah is “a gigantic and accommodating receptacle for christ’s truth and christ’s sufferings” (sherwood 17), in the ivy sequence, we see prefigurations of christ with jonah as basking communicant of god’s grace. jonah is a prefiguration surrounded by prefigurations. figuratively, the ivy is (will be, in the person of christ) the sheltering house of god. in this instance, however, the fact of its being constructed for jonah, the “believer in an exclusive god” (sherwood 22), renders it, for now, the old testament house. thus it does not stay as is, but is eaten by a worm, which turns the ivy “brenne as a candel” (line 473). jonah’s resultant “hatel anger and hot” (line 481) triggers his final angry interchange with god, which (at least in our edition) ends with the deity’s “’for malyse is noght to mayntyne boute mercy withinne’” (line 523), suggesting that god has, as a.c. spearing believes, “learned patience in the course of the story” himself (301, italics in original). in his role as prototype of christ, jonah plays roles “both as a pattern and a warning” (andrew 20), and is the vehicle for a transformation through patience: “[a]s with the image of the rose, it is the development of the debate which generates the transformation” (andrew 31). as sherwood shows, gazing at jonah causes us to “see double” (14); “jonah is like christ [….] jonah in flight is a sign of the incarnate christ, who ‘abandons his house and country and becomes flesh’” (14-15, quoting st. jerome). the sleeping jonah resembles the sleeping christ on the lake (15), in a “semiotic twinning of jonah and jesus” (sherwood 15). he is thus a prototype of an incarnation figure as well; he does not literally embody both god and man, but prefigures the union of god and men, in the indwelling that will come to be. in pearl, as stanbury points out, “the living body of the narrator is always present at the margins of the story, asleep or in a swoon” (introduction 3). however, in patience, by contrast, it is god—lord, interlocutor, sparring partner— who is always present at the margins of the action. the dangers jonah “runs are revealed to be […] part of god’s unceasing care for him” (kirk 92). as spearing notes, “it seems initially as though […] only power and obedience were involved” (295), but given the contemporary audience’s knowledge of the incarnation narrative, a prefiguring of the incarnation forms on the horizon: “jonah’s picture of a thoughtless tyrant is juxtaposed with the biblical god who deals with evil by suffering its worst himself” (kirk 93). in this way, the story of jonah is a prefiguration of the christ story in two ways: first, it illustrates a “continuity between god’s creative and salvific roles” (kirk 95), a continuity that hints at the coming incarnation. second, it illustrates god’s role in human suffering, a role that will enlarge and gain depth in the incarnation. in patience, god is shown as participating in the suffering of the world in order to save it (kirk); the ninevites repent and are spared god’s wrath. in his prefigurations within the ivy, as noted earlier, jonah is the prototype placed face to face with other prototypes. in this, he shares traits with the metapicture, the “self-referential image” (41) that w.j.t. mitchell says “depict a picture-within-a-picture that is simply one among the many objects represented” (42). jonah is the framed object inside the frame: “the picture that represents itself, creating a referential circle or mise en abîme” (mitchell 56, italics in original). moreover, the framing of jonah is necessary as we must see him; he does not see a vision (unlike the pearl narrator), either figuratively or literally. and we in turn are invited to gaze upon him. the pearl-poet does this in two ways: turning his protagonist into a framed word-painted object invites our gaze, and, via jonah’s many outbursts and demonstrations of impatience, “the poem places readers exactly in a position of judge over jonah” (watson 310). both these methods enforce almost a species of ocularity, in which we witness the exemplum but do not participate with it. as nicholas watson observes, the pearl-poet seems to have some “indifference to interiority” (296). given the highly ekphrastic nature of the passages in patience where jonah is framed, one might expect actual paintings produced under broadly similar rubrics of uniting the courts of heaven and earth and the incarnational aesthetic to contain similar messages and epistemologically similar ways of knowing and seeing. however, art works in many ways. j. t.w. mitchell notes that illuminated books, common in the middle ages, contain “double-coding”; they are sites of the “suturing of discourse and representation” (69). just such a book, the hours of catherine of cleves, arguably uses framing and contestation of framing as a means to encourage viewers to think of themselves as participants with god in creating sacred time and in his ultimate plan. the hours of catherine of cleves: framing and contested framing the hours of catherine of cleves (plummer), “one of the richest and most complex manuscripts to have survived from the late middle ages” (calkins 3), is replete with metapictures. in it, “pictorial representation displays itself for inspection rather than effacing itself in the service of transparent representation” (mitchell 48). the preponderance of its 157 extant illuminations, 139 total, are framed quite as pictures in a museum are, with a represented wooden frame painted around the border of the pictured moment. on the inside of this frame, a colored inner frame (usually rose or blue) is featured in most of the illuminations, binding the illuminations even more tightly to pictured space. in this way, they can be seen as objects that, as j.t.w. mitchell says of more contemporary artworks, “show themselves in order to know themselves: they stage the ‘selfknowledge’ of pictures” (mitchell 48, italics original). wonderfully imaginative decorated margins create a resplendent backdrop whose myriad floral, geometric, and vernacular illustrations have somewhat stymied art historians: peter woodruff, in a brief article about no. 116, adoration of the magi, complains of “some considerable strain in attempting to locate a symbolic or iconographic significance motivating border decoration and miniature” (1). however, the borders are arguably the province of this world, representing throughout various flowers, plants, textile designs, daily activities (bread-baking, hunting, chicken-plucking), pretzels, coins, and other objects specifically in everyday use. although few manifest figures who have “crossed social boundaries” (camille 9) or participated in the carnivalesque, as both madeline caviness and michael camille describe in other books of hours, a number do “gloss” (camille 10) or provide “supplementation and annotation” and “juxtaposition” (camille 21) of the primary pictures. they show explicit imagery from the everyday glossing the christian story, or creating clear analogues from common life. in addition to displaying the self-referential qualities j.t.w. mitchell would describe in the mid-1990s, however, illuminated books of hours, “the most popular devotional book of the later middle ages” (plummer 9), played specific roles in the religious life of the period. as nicholas watson points out, medieval people expected “to live their lives in a cycle of venial sin, repentance and penance” (293), and prayer books played a crucial role in this cycle. more importantly, the “daily, weekly, and annual cycle of public prayer” (plummer 9) created a form of god’s time on earth, with the prayer playing an active role in the creation of such time. the incarnational aesthetic was both viewed in the illuminations and enacted. the hours of catherine of cleves was likely constructed circa 1440 in utrecht for the duchess of guelders, catherine of cleves (plummer 8-9). it is therefore roughly a half-century later in time than patience, which was likely written in the late fourteenth century (andrew 15) and uses the alliterative style characteristic of western and northern britain. it is thus well to keep in mind that flemish art would be more advanced along the road of affective devotion, with its “emphasis on the inner life of intentions, feelings and thoughts” (watson 296, describing the english variant) than our british enargeia example. however, broadly speaking, the trope of framing and the incarnational aesthetic were, to say the least, broad concerns in the period under discussion, and cross-comparison can be highly illustrative in this regard. in fact, for our gloss on catherine’s book of hours, we can take madeline caviness’s exemplary work on another medieval book of hours, that of jeanne d’evreux of france, which was likely done around 1324 (333). in her “decoding of the imagery” (333), caviness notes that scenes from sacred history […] are elaborately framed and partially colored to set them apart from the other images and the latin text pages. the effect is that of a series of icons or holy pictures removed from other orders of existence; the betrayal and crucifixion of christ alone are unframed, and the latter is unique in occupying a whole page. […] second, the queen, twice represented as suppliant, is depicted in another (time-)frame either outside and below the gospel event or in an antechapel at the shrine [….] third: uncolored and unframed figures involved in secular activities occupy the bas-depages and margins adjacent to images of sacred history (334). catherine’s hours are much like jeanne’s as described in this passage. they contain gospel pictures whose framing figures them as other orders of existence. a certain number are unframed. peter woodruff, discussing no. 116, in which a wise man points beyond the frame he is encased in, posits that “pointing beyond the bordered space of the miniature, breaking its space […points] out a seemingly natural relationship between the patron’s life and the miniature” (2). some illuminations display the patron as suppliant or participant. finally, as noted, the margins frolic or tread in the secular world yet are often metaphorically contingent with the holy world. however, if the framing itself, rather than interior elements, is used for categorization. a certain number of illuminations in the hours of catherine of cleves are unframed; the composition of a certain number breaks the frame; a slightly higher number are framed in a way that contests the preponderant framing convention, in “arc of heaven” or other frames; and a higher number contain illustrations that break the inner frame. do erased, broken, or contested frames, like those in jeanne’s hours and woodruff’s commentary, indicate a transfer of god’s time into man’s, partaking of the incarnational aesthetic and of the suture of the courts of heaven and earth? they do. the unframed pictures arguably deal with the creation of an intersection between god’s time and man’s time using various forms of intercession: the invoked marian presence, prayer, and a certain mapping of heaven’s elevated personages with earth’s elevated personages. (we will term the latter the royal, governing, or ecclesiastical presences.) illuminations in which the frame is broken by some compositional element deal with the intersection of god’s time and man’s time either stemming from and dependent upon the action of man, or coming to man. those with contested frames concern god’s presence and plan in the incarnational moment or god’s time. finally, those in which the inner frames are broken compositionally are meditations on the repeating trope of the intersection of god and man’s time, the bible and man’s history. unframed illuminations: working on the building the unframed illuminations in the hours of catherine of cleves, 6 interspersed among the total 157, are represented throughout as paintings of threedimensional buildings, primarily sites where religious worship (specifically prayer to mary) or royal decree is enacted. the first one (no. 1)† depicts catherine of cleves kneeling in front of the virgin and child in a chapel, “possibly catherine’s own,” (plummer†), “surmounted by flying buttresses, crenellations, […] a statue” (plummer). mary is quite clearly an object of veneration, surrounded by a gold mandorla and so enclosed within the illuminated chapel that she seems not only a presence in it but of it; she too resembles a figure within a niche of a cathedral, but this time splendidly colored. catherine kneels with “an open book” (plummer) and a banderole inscribed o mater dei memento mei issues quite specifically from the province of the book, to intersect with the interior of the chapel. importantly, her body is in the border. given this, catherine is represented as royalty, but inhabiting space clearly demarcated from the holy space of mary. her flowing red clothing, however, does enter the chapel itself, and so do the lovely blue bookmarks of her (prayer?) book. this primary illumination, which opens the book of hours, uses “a common device that operates by conflating contemporary life with that of ‘history’” (woodruff 2). if it is in fact catherine’s chapel, the moment of prayer causes catherine and mary to coexist in the same time and the same space. the illumination implies a special role for catherine and her prayer via her female and royal role in creating incarnational time, and serve, as jeanne’s hours do, to construct the suppliant’s role in this cycle (caviness 356). and the role is precisely what peter woodruff, writing about no. 116, observes: “what motivates the link between the everyday and the biblical scene on this particular page is the act of prayer, which works across the historical divide that separates the margin from the biblical scene” (3). in addition, importantly, the viewer is “in” the building (as far as the artist can render), not observing a moment in history (the “framed” moment). the unframed series thus serves as an ontological invitation (“you can be here”) rather than simply a reinforcement of the scopic regime. in that way, any viewer is invited to create time along with catherine. moreover, we witness holy time becoming something (potentially) created by the interiority represented by the book and private prayer. the next two unframed illuminations, nos. 8 and 10, take place in “vaulted” buildings (plummer) as well. (note: plummer’s commentary on each illumination is on the facing page of the illumination, on unnumbered pages.) in them, the suppliant is absent, but mary very present. they concern, respectively, the marriage of the virgin and the annunciation to the virgin. showing the specific gender roles of mary, her marriage and (impending, holy) pregnancy, is certainly part of a gender patterning in the book of hours. however, it is also arguably concerned more with the prefiguring of the incarnational moment: mary appears visibly pregnant in the marriage scene. and in the annunciation, the banderole is one of several scrolls, as the book mary holds is one of several pictured books—symbols of interiority. unlike the hours of jeanne d’evreux, the unframed moment in the passion cycle in this book is not represented by the betrayal or crucifixion, but specifically by a moment in which pilate plays a role. it is likely that he was chosen as a specifically “royal” or “governing” figure, reminding catherine of the royal and governing role. in no. 20, christ before pilate, the latter washes his hands with the robed christ before him in a “barrel-vaulted audience hall” (plummer). this illumination also visibly encourages readers to think (a move of interiority) of the unfolding of incarnational history. readers are admonished “versinnet dat ende” (“think of the end”, plummer) by an inscription along the back wall of the chamber where the painted figures stand. they are the only painted words in the vernacular. this imparts a contemporary turn to the picture, and to the thought beseeched. in the next unframed illumination, christ has already risen and then risen again. in no. 32, trinity in an apse, he has become one of the figured trinity. importantly, this too stresses the royalty of the transfigured christ and of the trinity. they are prepared for an audience; each holds their royal symbol (god is crowned and holds a golden orb, jesus gives a benediction and shares a displayed book with the holy ghost, and the latter’s halo is surmounted by a dove). and the apse is superbly beautiful, “decorated with finials, gold banners, and a gold crescent” (plummer). the marian emphasis of the unframed series returns with the next unframed illumination, no. 51, pentecost. we are again in a very imaginative apse of a “strangely vaulted” (plummer) church. mary is the central figure, and it is she who has both accoutrements of jesus and the holy ghost in the last unframed illumination have now been bestowed upon her: she is clearly reading a book, and the holy ghost’s dove has descended specifically to her head. there is thus a linkage with the female act of prayer, constructing catherine’s religious life. mary is also something of a royal or governing (in the sense of ecclesiastical) figure in this setting; she is in the precise center of the apse, surrounded by the praying apostles, who have just received red tongues of fire. breaking the frame: man’s participation in god’s time throughout the hours of catherine of cleves, illuminations in which the composition breaks the frame in some way treat the intersection of god’s time and man’s time-an incarnational aesthetic trope—from the perspective and actions of man, both for good and for ill. there are eleven of these. one set of three within this eleven continues the figure of a threedimensional building, although it serves not as self-representations of buildings, but as a mode of frame-breaking. these three—no. 6, presentation of the virgin in the temple; no. 18, christ before caiaphas, and no. 19, mocking of christ—also continue the theme of marian presence in the incarnational moment and the royal or governing role in the passion. no. 6 is clearly framed in the preponderant brown frame; however, on two sides it becomes something of a hybrid. the right and left sides are composed of a painted three-dimensional temple, while the upper and lower sides are within the usual frame. despite the relative smallness of mary—as a child, she is less than half the size of joachim and anne, who watch as she ascends the stairs—her role as future queen of heaven is emphasized. a majestic blue and gold peacock intersects the temple’s entrance tower in the left margin; his colors are reminiscent of the blue gown and gold halo of the virgin. he is presenting a natural noble plumage, much as she is. in addition, the towers of the temple form unobtrusive, but still existent, crosses, and break the frame completely, extending into the decorated margin. finally, a window has been placed above her parents that stands as something of an ideogram (in the sense that sarah stanbury observes that the floating picture of the city, not a literal spatial depiction of one, is an ideogram of the heavenly city in medieval art, body 31). architecturally, in size or roof, it is not related to the contiguous temple, but sits in the sky, indicating symbolically that mary and her forebears will open the heavenly world to their world, the world of the temple. in no. 18, christ before caiaphas, an ecclesiastical figure is pictured in the high priest, and the frame is broken by the rising of his lion-bedecked temple above the upper frame. this portion alone becomes three-dimensional, lending the illumination an almost clinical sense of being a cut-away view of the inside of the temple. this creates an almost “you are there” sense in the onlooker—and perhaps is intended to serve as a reminder of the malign actions of the (contemporary dress) court. no. 19, mocking of christ, is not a cut-away, but does continue the trope of architecture interrupting the frame. it also continues the ecclesiastical presence, as caiaphais is present as an onlooker in the illumination. this time, the central dome of a building, directly above a hooded christ, breaks the upper frame. the mockers, again, are in contemporary dress; the outstretched leg of one, in yellow, breaks the frame entirely, becoming the only extremity to extend into the initial capital of the text below (which makes room for him as no other capital does). the mockers thus break the frame of their time and enter the space of vernacular or everyday time represented by the margin. this is further underscored by the presence in the margin of a figure beating “a metal basin with a stick”; his composition is so similar to the four illuminated interior tormenters that john plummer dubs him the “fifth tormenter”. in two other illuminations, no. 17, taking of christ, and no. 22, flagellation of christ, viewers are also invited to consider the everyday human role in the passion cycle. both have conventional rectangular frames broken by an onlooker’s limb. in no. 17, a haloed christ is shown surrounded by judas, peter, and soldiers. “christ reaches down blindly to restore the ear of the bleeding solider” (plummer), whose foot, yellow cloak, and lantern nearly break the frame, and whose composition and color is reminiscent of the character who does extend into the illuminated capital in no. 19. the akimbo, yellow-clad arm of another, turbaned, character, looking directly at the viewer, breaks the frame directly, extending slightly into the margin. the porousness of god and man’s time is further underscored in this illumination by the existence, among beautifully painted marginal leaves, of a man holding a lantern similar to the one displayed by the bleeding solider within the frame. john plummer tells us that “such a figure often appears among the soldiers in scenes of christ’s arrest.” in no. 22, the frame is transgressed by the “bundle of branches” (plummer) of a flagellator on the right, while one of the left breaks only the inner frame. (john plummer believes that “the straightness of his arm implies the stroke of whipping, rather than the punch of boxing” and that since he holds no instrument, he “has ‘lost’ his whip, perhaps because of the interference of the border.”) close to this near or thwarted break, however, a demon, whose glowing eyes and fang-studded mouth face the viewer directly, rises rampant in the margin. the next four broken-frame illuminations, interspersed throughout the book of hours, deal not with the evil of man in the passion cycle, as nos. 17, 18, 19, and 22 do, but with the role of man helping to create god’s time through prayer or a virtue. in no. 57, piety: lady distributing alms, and no. 58, fear of the lord, virtue or prayer is pictured and rewarded on earth; in no. 66, ecclesiastical and military saints adore god the father and 67, virgins adoring god the father, once-earthly beings who helped to create god’s time have actually moved to god’s court. piety, no. 57, figures virtue explicitly as the means to create god’s time. in the illumination, piety is “interpreted as charity” (plummer) via a picturing of a “fashionably dressed lady” (plummer) giving alms. from the mouth of beggar issues a banderole, “give alms, and all things are clean unto you,” from luke 11:41 (plummer), which breaks the upper right frame. the lady “strongly resembles catherine’s portrait reproduced in no. 96, and even wears the same chatelaine” (plummer), providing a link with no. 1. in this case, however, catherine is creating holy time and piety through enactments with other human beings, not via prayer. the margin figuratively comments on an analogous event in holy time in modern dress. a woman, in the same spatial position as catherine, “offers a dish of food or water to christ” (plummer), who is in prison and occupies the same spatial position as the beggars-a holy and earthly overlap. a banderole also breaks the frame of no. 58, fear of the lord, which is something of a male version of no. 57. three characters are pictured: a contemporary man (“possibly arnold of guelders, the husband of catherine,” plummer) on the left; a demon on the right, and a rising and sword-punctured christ. all three sport banderoles, but only christ’s breaks the frame, proclaiming the penultimate verse of ecclesiastes: “fear god, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (bible 872). the margin contains a floating latin inscription that “fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom” (plummer). in this, the man prays, helping to create christ’s time and helping the pictured demon to lose the prosecution that plummer rightly notes his stance implies. prayer or governing virtue has moved the next set of participants in god’s time to god’s world. in both no. 66, ecclesiastical and military saints adoring god the father and no. 67, virgins adoring god the father, god’s banderole breaks the frame. in the first, he identifies the saints as “men who have battled worldliness”; in the second, he implores “’come to me all wisest virgins’” (plummer). virtue and prayer are pictured as allowing human beings to enter temporal and spatial union with god. one of the prime vehicles of the passion cycle itself breaks the frame, in the tenth and eleventh illuminations of the frame-breaking category. in no. 87, christ standing on the lowered cross, a cross-beam breaks frame as a bleeding christ stands upon it near the foot. paradoxically, human actions that helped bring about the crucifixion have led to the victorious breaking of frame signified by the cross; all now have an avenue to the communal body through the sacraments. the margin contains “’christ in the winepress’” (plummer), in which the wounded christ fills a communion chalice with his blood. the page thus contains an explicit linking of his wounds with a means to sacramental means to grace, communion. finally, no. 37, trinity with dove and infant christ, at first looks as if only the inner frame is broken by god's crown and halo. however, when one examines the illumination and margin closely, the instrument with which christ redeemed man, the cross, breaks the frame and projects into the everyday margin. it is almost as if the cross atop god's crown was feathered in gold as the artistic equivalent of a whisper in a lovely illumination in which blessing rays, the christ child with the cross, and the holy spirit fly to man's earth under god's benediction. the contested frame: god’s arc of heaven the hours of catherine of cleves contains 12 framed illuminations in which the frame is not the customary rectangle or square. this variant implies a contestation of the frame, or a moving beyond it. these contain moments picturing the uniting of god and man in a way that incorporates god’s specific presence or purview. nine of these 12 contain “arc of heaven” frames (plummer) or some variant of them, an arc implying or picturing the presence of god growing out of the rectangular frame. they are no. 12, adoration of the child; no. 26, crucifixion; no. 29, lamentation and anointing; no. 40, trinity adored; no. 61, all saints before god the father; no. 64, apostles and prophets adoring god the father; no. 89, eve and the virgin; no. 90, the tree of jesse, and no. 131, lapidation of saint stephen. in the first of these, no. 12, the arc of heaven is only implied; it is actually more reminiscent of a square of heaven growing from the frame. mary, joseph, and the child are pictured, with a schematized bethlehem as holy city in the background. an angel hovers overhead, but still within the same frame as the holy family; the higher square contains a gold sun and the rays of heaven emanating from it. in no. 26, however, the arc of heaven has grown to an arc, and it is inhabited by a quite specific human god, directly over the crucified christ, crowned and surrounded by angels, who raises his hand in benediction. (intriguingly, plummer notes that “[t]he unusual symmetry of christ’s body confronts us directly, serving to identify him with the stable form of his cross.”) in the next, however, no. 29, the arc is much more subdued, and the space is occupied only slightly by the inscription on the top of christ’s cross, as his body is removed. in no. 40, trinity adored, god and man’s history has moved on: christ is not on earth, with god (or his presence) alone in the arc. instead, the trinity appear in what john plummer terms “the throne-of-grace.” god holds a small crucified christ and the holy ghost, pictured as a dove, is between them; all three are receiving prayers from “eight kneeling religious and lay figures” below the arc (plummer). no. 61, all saints before god the father, is unusual in that it contains an arc of heaven enclosed within another frame, but the arc encasing god’s banderole breaks the enclosing frame. the banderole “speak of god’s legacy and support for the saints” (plummer); the border between the two frames contain “a row of nine flaming angels appearing in blue clouds” (plummer). again, this illumination foregrounds god rather than christ and emphasizes his role vis-à-vis exceptionally virtuous humans. intriguingly, what appears to be a stabbed mouse, with a very realistically rendered knife, appears on the floor below the floating god—perhaps an abrupt reference in everyday form to the spear-wounded christ? no. 64, apostles and prophets adoring god the father, is similar to no. 61, except that the arc of heaven frame encompasses the head of a floating god and his banderole, containing the message “’i am alpha and omega, god and man’” (plummer). in this case again, god, rather than the christ figure, proclaims the incarnation. as in 61, he is surrounding by banderole-issuing groups. in the next two, the progression of god to man is recapped using a tree as central figure within the genealogical line. no. 89 portrays eve and the virgin mary; the figure in the arc of heaven is a cherub bearing a banderole that proclaims “’eve authoress of sin; mary authoress of merit’” (plummer). a flowering tree, from which eve is about to pluck an apple, stands in the middle and a haloed mary with child stands on the right. as plummer notes, “[f]rom isaiah’s mention of jesse’s root […] and from the genealogies of christ given in the gospels, the middle ages created a family tree […] continuing through christ’s ancestors, and concluding with the virgin and her son.” in no. 90, tree of jesse, the tree grows quite literally from jesse’s breast and the arc of heaven contains foliage and the top of the virgin’s halo; she is seated at the top of the tree ringed round with various forebears. as plummer notes, christ is not pictured. he is pictured in the final arc of heaven, though, and he occupies the arc. in it, he blesses the falling st. stephen, the only individual saint displayed in an arc of heaven frame. the message conveys the analogic relationship of christ to humanity; he blesses and watches over saints as god in the earlier illuminations watched and issued benedictions over him. the final three illuminations in which the frame is contested do not contain arcs of heaven, but do deal in some way with god’s participation in man’s time. the first is no. 4, the meeting at the golden gate. intriguingly, it is the only illumination whose frame replicates a compositional element, the golden gate itself. it betrays the concern of the book of hours with lineage and royalty, for jesus’s grandparents, joachim and anne, are portrayed standing before the gate that symbolically represents the beginning of the cycle that will eventuate in god’s becoming man. the entire scene is presided over by a ideogram of jerusalem in the top part of the composition; joachim and anne are thus presided over, in a manner of speaking, by the holy city as an analogue for god. analysis of this illumination can also benefit from camille’s work on margins. the illumination is surrounded by marginal figures: a hunter with a bow; a hunter with a horn; a blue winged demon; and a fox with a bleeding bird, the christ symbol. the trajectory of the hunter’s arrow, however, if followed as michael camille does with some medieval illuminations [camille 20-21], directly penetrates the center of one of two “fanciful vase-like forms” [plummer] atop the gate. there is clear phallic imagery, as caviness notes of margin play [349], especially as the vessels and anne are “dressed” in the same colors, blue in the center and red on the top. however, as she is the mothering vessel [of the vessel of the incarnation, in a nested relation], the arrow aimed at the vase’s center may also be designed to prefigure the wounds in christ’s side, especially given the proximity to the wounded bird. the arrow hits what will be in the interior of the vessel. no. 35, trinity enthroned, presents the trinity in an arc of heaven alone, unmediated by any other framing device; the bottom of the arc is the floor of the picture. the notion of framing is both pressured and contained by its globe-like expansion. no. 49, last judgement, combines arcs and rectangles; the risen christ is in a frame within a frame, and the outer frame is broken by circles containing the “symbols of the evangelists” (plummer). god’s frame is both broken and brought to earth by the evangelists, each of whom is shown either literally writing or carrying scrolls. interestingly, his frame is not broken in no. 65, god the father and the four evangelist symbols; the scrolls only serve to identify mathew, mark, luke, and john. the breaking of the inner frame: reiterations of god and man’s time forty of the 157 illuminations break the inner frame, a partial sundering notable in a book of illuminations in which proportion and harmony are exceedingly exact, and in which many elements of the composition rest precisely on the frame, as in (for example) nos. 69, 86, and 106. primarily, they serve as meditations on the repeating trope of the intersection of god and man’s time, the bible and man’s history. in this, they play a pedagogical role, bearing frequent reiterations of the intersection of god and man’s time and providing a frequent role for objects that are recipients or bearers of grace (or both) to perform as framebreakers. the first of these, intriguingly, implies a shared space for the worshipper and the worshipped via an analogic relationship between the lineage of catherine and christ. in no. 2, the annunciation to joachim, an angel’s wing breaks the inner frame, and so does the crest of jean le bon, king of france, whom plummer identifies as one of catherine’s forebears. thus objects in something of an analogous relationship, associated with divine and human lineage, respectively, break the inner frame. many also break the frame using particular objects thought to be invested with metonymic power. in nos. 31, 36, 41, 46, 68, 83, 94, 101, 116, 126, and 131, garb of some sort breaks the frame (often a cloak, but frequently shoes and sometimes hats). in many others, a halo or crown of god breaks the inner frame (nos. 16, 26, 40, 106, 13, and 136). and in many, a banderole is the frame-breaking object (nos. 72, 73, 78, and 97). one of the most intriguing implies a porousness between god and man by showing frame-breaking from the vernacular world rather than to it. in no. 34, god the son, a marginal angel’s violin breaks through the outer frame from the margin. this frame-breaking in reverse, accomplished by a beautifully rendered craft object, implies a role for art in the world as grace’s messenger. finally, in one of these the figure of catherine enters again. in no. 96, crucifixion with god the father, the virgin, a patron-saint, and catherine of cleves, we recapitulate to and extend upon catherine’s participation in the creation of holy time seen in no. 1. the same motif of intercession makes its appearance, but at one remove. instead of praying in front of the virgin, catherine’s banderole asks the virgin explicitly “to pray for her” (plummer). the patron-saint, who frames the figure of catherine compositionally and touches her shoulder, does not speak; the implication is that he is providing support and encouragement for her intercessionary prayer. her intercessionary prayer is mirrored, intriguingly, both by the virgin and the son: mary asks jesus to “be gracious” to catherine, and he in turn requests “his father to spare catherine” (plummer) this roundel of intercession ends with god issuing a banderole that proclaims “’your prayer has been heard with favor’” (plummer). the figure recapitulates the cultural project of the book of hours in miniature: a cycle of intercessionary prayer encircling upon itself, in which a specific royal suppliant is encouraged to identify with gospel figures and analogously reproduce holy time under an incarnational aesthetic. catherine’s prayer is figuratively nested within mary, who is nested in jesus, who is nested in god … and so on. the interior frame is broken on the bottom by a three-legged stool (signifying the trinity, perhaps) with a half-open (prayer?) book on it. it represents the incarnational aesthetic perfectly, both in the beauty replicating god’s grace, and in the creation of an indwelling link between god and man. and in being such an inviting and explicit picture, it encourages viewers to incorporate this link within their interior life. one could return to peter woodruff’s previously cited comments: “the link between the everyday and the biblical scene […] is the act of prayer” (3) in a linked or nested chain. one could almost call this nesting “framing.” framing thus serves as method and topos, both in enargeia and in actual painting, in the middle ages, in artistic endeavors to unite the worlds on earth and above. in the works discussed, framing creates the conditions for metapictures, pictures that point to themselves as artworks, despite the very different roles each work plays: the poem giving us a negative example that obedient subjects can employ as reverse patterning, and the illuminations telling viewers that they participate in the creation of holy time. works cited ackerman, james s. “jonah.” the literary guide to the bible. edited by robert alter and frank kermode. cambridge, ma: the belknap press of harvard university press, 1987. andrew, malcolm and ronald waldron, editors. the poems of the pearl manuscript: pearl, cleanness, patience, sir gawain and the green knight. fourth edition. exeter: university of exeter press, 2002.* bynum, caroline walker. the resurrection of the body in western christianity, 200-1336. lectures on the history of religions. sponsored by the american council of learned societies, new series, number 15. new york: columbia university press, 1995. calkins, robert g. “distribution of labor: the illuminators of the hours of catherine of cleves and their workshop.” transactions of the american philosophical society, new ser. 69:5 (1979), 1-83. camille, michael. images on the edge: the margins of medieval art. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1992. caviness, madeline h. “patron or matron? a capetian bride and a vade mecum for her marriage bed.” speculum 68 (1993): 333-362. *note: when transcribing from patience, i have followed sarah stanbury’s description, at the end of pearl: introduction, of the mets guidelines. thorns are written as th, and yoghs have been transcribed according to which letter of g, gh, y, or s is closest to the modern spelling. chaucer, geoffrey. “the house of fame.” the riverside chaucer. third edition. edited by larry d. benson. boston: houghton mifflin company, 1987. the holy bible. king james version. cambridge, u.k.: cambridge university press. “jonah.” the unbound bible. douay-rheims version. october 27, 2004. <http://www.unboundbible.com> kirk, elizabeth d. “who suffreth more than god? narrative definition of patience in patience and piers plowman.” the triumph of patience. edited by gerald j. schiffhorst. orlando, fl: a florida technological university book/university presses of florida, 1978. krieger, murray. ekphrasis: the illusion of the natural sign. baltimore, md: johns hopkins university press, 1992. mitchell, w.j.t. picture theory: essays on verbal and visual representation. chicago: the university of chicago press, 1994. plummer, john. the hours of catherine of cleves. introduction and commentaries. new york: george braziller, 1966.† riddy, felicity. “jewels in pearl.” a companion to the gawain-poet. edited by derek brewer and jonathan gibson. cambridge: d.s. brewer, 1997. sherwood, yvonne. a biblical text and its afterlives: the survival of jonah in western culture. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2000. †note: the illuminations and specific commentary post the introduction in the hours of catherine of cleves do not have page numbers. therefore, the illuminations are referred to by number and the commentary understood to be in the facing page of the illumination. spearing, a.c. “the subtext of patience: god as mother and the whale’s belly.” journal of medieval and early modern studies 29:2 (1999): 293-323. stanbury, sarah. “the body and the city in pearl.” representations 48 (1994): 3047. ---. “pearl: introduction.” originally published in pearl. kalamazoo, mi: medieval institute publications, 2001. teams texts. the medieval institute. university of rochester. october 27, 2004. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/pearlint.htm stokes, myra. “suffering in patience.” the chaucer review 18.4 (1984): 354-364. watson, nicholas. “the gawain-poet as a vernacular theologian.” a companion to the gawain-poet. edited by derek brewer and jonathan gibson. cambridge: d.s. brewer, 1997. woodruff, peter. “a note on the book of hours of catherine of cleves.” university of southern california. november 30, 2004. <http:///www.usc.edu/dept/comp-lit/tympanum/3/woodruff.html> genetic factors are more predictive of adult drinking behavior than early exposure to alcohol in mice genetically selected for alcohol preference genetic factors are more predictive of adult drinking behavior than early exposure to alcohol in mice genetically selected for alcohol preference matthew hughes psychology abstract research shows that people age 14 or younger who drink alcohol are more likely to become dependent. for these individuals as adults, past-year stressors were highly correlated with increased alcohol intake. evidence also suggests that children of alcoholic parents are more sensitive to alcohol’s effects. the present study was designed to test these relations in a mouse model by examining whether alcohol exposure during adolescence versus adulthood would increase alcohol consumption following exposure to stress as adults, and whether this effect was dependent on a family history of high or low alcohol preference. adolescent and adult male alcohol-naïve mice selectively bred for high or low alcohol preference received injections of either 2 g/kg alcohol or an equal volume of saline for five consecutive days. as adults, all subjects received a mild footshock stressor for five consecutive days and were subsequently given free-choice access to alcohol and water for 30 days. results indicated no group differences in alcohol consumption, suggesting early alcohol exposure under these conditions does not affect subsequent alcohol consumption following stress in either line. introduction adolescence is an impressionable time when environmental stimuli can have profound and lasting effects on neurological functioning. there are several critical periods in the development of the cortex that fall within the period of time defined as adolescence, during which the cortex may be very susceptible to environmental insult (crews et al., 2007). one important characteristic of adolescence is noveltyseeking or risk-taking behavior (doremus et al, 2005; spear, 2000b). in keeping with this type of risk-taking behavior, it is very common for human adolescents to experiment with alcohol or other drug use (spear, 2000a; andrucci et al, 1989; baumrind, 1987; wills et al, 1996). as a result, alcohol use and abuse has become matthew hughes 2 prevalent in today’s adolescent population (heitzeg et al., 2008; dawson et al., 2007; hingson et al, 2006; dewit et al, 2000; spear, 2000b; grant, 1998). early onset drinking may have long-lasting effects and can be a strong predictor of alcohol dependence later in life (fullgrabe et al, 2007; bell et al, 2006; siegmund et al, 2005; spear, 2000b; dewit et al, 2000), and this effect can be regardless of family history. grant and dawson (1997) report that people who were exposed to alcohol at 14 years old or younger could be as much as four times more likely to become dependent as people who were exposed after 20 years old. for individuals who begin drinking before age 14, early onset drinking was positively correlated with adult stress levels (dawson et al., 2007). in addition, for every year the onset of use was delayed, the likelihood of alcohol abuse decreased by approximately 5% (grant and dawson, 1998). these findings would suggest that early initiation of alcohol drinking may increase subsequent drinking following exposure to a stressor in adulthood. family history, however, is also a strong predictor of alcohol use (bennett et al, 2006; enoch, 2006; vengeliene et al, 2003). a long-term study on the sons of alcoholics reinforced the importance of family history as a predictor of alcohol use disorders (schuckit, 1995). evidence also suggests that children of alcoholic parents are more sensitive to alcohol’s effects (heitzig et al., 2008). additionally, stressful life events are another important predictor for alcohol-use disorders; it is known that stress during adolescence is a strong risk factor for alcohol-use disorders (enoch, 2006; arnsten and shansky, 2004, 1999; koehl et al., 2002). this leads to the question of how family history, and early onset drinking, and stress interact with each other to increase the risk for alcohol use disorders. animal models can be a useful tool to investigate alcohol drinking behaviors while controlling for possible confounds. by using animal models, we can control for life experiences, family history, and age of onset of alcohol use. in mice, adolescence is defined as approximately the range of post-natal day (pnd) 24-55, during which a gradual transition occurs from immaturity to adulthood (hefner and holmes, 2007; adriani et al., 2002; spear, 2000a). the interaction between stress and drinking in the rodent model is not fully understood. as mentioned above, research suggests a strong correlation between stress and drinking in humans. however, the results of studies conducted in rodent lines are mixed. vengeliene et al (2003) found that foot shock increased alcohol consumption in several different lines of rats, but with the most robust effects in high preferring lines. however, brunell and spear (2005) showed that chronic stress suppressed drinking in adolescent rats. it has been demonstrated that restraint stress may increase alcohol consumption in some lines of mice (yang et al, 2008). to further demonstrate the complexity of stress-induced drinking, chester et al (2004) demonstrated inhibited drinking in alcohol preferring rats genetic factors and drinking behaviors in mice 3 during a stress phase, but an increase in drinking following the stress phase. additionally, non-preferring rats showed no effect during or immediately after stress, but drinking behaviors increased after a few weeks (chester et al, 2004). stress-induced drinking refers to a drinking behavior that is not present before the application of stress, but develops following stress. stress-induced drinking has also been shown in high alcohol preferring mice as well. chester et al (2006) demonstrated increased alcohol intake after the termination of stress in male mice. in human studies, such as the study by dawson et al (2007), it is difficult to disentangle the interactions between stress and drinking. for example, does stress produce drinking, or does drinking cause stress, which can promote further drinking? in animal studies, the order of exposure to stress and drinking can be controlled to try to shed light on these questions. the purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of early alcohol exposure on stress-related drinking in adulthood in male mice selectively bred for high alcohol preference (hap2 selected line) and low alcohol preference (lap2 selected line). the use of selectively bred mouse lines allows control over a variety of variables that would otherwise confound the study. furthermore, only males where used in the present study because prior studies have suggested that stress-induced drinking in hap2 mice may depend on sex (chester et al, 2006). to our knowledge, there are no studies that have investigated the effects of early alcohol exposure on adult stress-induced drinking. it is hypothesized that mice genetically bred for high alcohol preference that are exposed to alcohol as adolescents will exhibit greater alcohol preference after a stressor in adulthood than mice not exposed to alcohol or exposed to alcohol as adults. it is also hypothesized that this effect will not be seen in mice bred for low alcohol preference. methods subjects experiment 1. subjects were 20 adolescent (pnd 34-37) male alcohol-naïve mice selectively bred for high alcohol preference (hap2 line; generation 27) and 20 adolescent male alcohol-naïve mice selectively bred for low alcohol preference (lap2 line; generation 27). the selectively bred hap2 mouse line was derived from a foundation stock of outbred hs/ibg mice (boulder, colorado, usa) at the indiana alcohol research center (iarc). in every generation of selection, high alcohol preference was established during a 4-week, 24-hr, free-choice preference test (grahame et al., 1999). during the preference test, mice were given freeaccess to food and two 25-ml graduated cylinders, one that contained 10% alcohol (v/v) in distilled water and the other that contained distilled water. mice that drank matthew hughes 2 more than 5.0 g/kg alcohol per day (averaged over the 4-week test period) were selected to be breeders for the next generation of hap2 mice (grahame et al., 1999). subjects were generated at purdue university from hap2 breeders obtained from the iarc. subjects in the present experiments were derived from 18 different hap2 families (9 for experiment 1 and 9 for experiment 2). pregnant dams were checked for births daily and day of birth was considered pnd 1. mice were weaned at 21-23 days of age (in order to avoid individually housing weaned mice) and were immediately housed in groups of 2-4 in polycarbonate cages (11.5 x 7.5 x 5.0 in) with aspen wood shavings. mice remained grouphoused until the free-choice alcohol consumption phase of the experiments. ambient temperature in the colony room was maintained at 21±1ºc and mice had free-access to food (rodent lab diet 5001, purina mills inc., st. louis, mo) and water in the home cage. the colony room was maintained on a 12:12 light:dark cycle (lights on at 0700). experiments were conducted in accordance with the nih guidelines for animal care and use and the experimental procedures were approved by the purdue animal care and use committee. experiment 2. subjects were 19 adult (pnd 62-64) male alcohol-naïve mice selectively bred for high alcohol preference (hap2 line; generation 27) and 19 adult male alcohol-naïve mice selectively bred for low alcohol preference (lap2 line; generation 27). experimental timeline table 1 and figure 1 below illustrate the age ranges at the start of the experimental phase for both adolescent and adult mice. experiment 1 and experiment 2 each consisted of three phases. during phase 1, all mice were exposed to 5 doses of intraperitoneal (ip) alcohol for five consecutive days. phase 2 consisted of five consecutive days of electric footshock. phase 2 started twentytwo days after the last injection for adolescents and two days after the last injection of ethanol for adults to eliminate any effects of alcohol withdrawal. the onset of stress was controlled between adults and adolescents to fall within a similar age range to control for any interaction of age on response to stress. phase 3 was initiated two days after the stress session. phase 3 measured the alcohol preference for about four weeks (30 days) genetic factors and drinking behaviors in mice 3 table 1. experimental timeline for experiments 1 and 2 phase of experiment 1 interim 2 interim 3 days of experiment (days) 5 adolescent 23 days adult 2 days 5 2 days 30 age of mice (pnd) at start of phase experiment 1 (adolescent exposure) 34-37 39-42 62-65 67-70 69-72 experiment 2 (adult exposure) 62-64 67-69 69-71 74-76 76-78 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 adolescent drinking adult drinking weaning stress pnd stress injection injection figure 1 experimental timeline illustrating starting points of experimental conditions relative to adolescents and adults. apparatus and stimuli parameters application of footshock stress sessions occurred in a coulbourn instruments animal acoustic startle system (coulbourn instruments, allentown, pa). the system consisted of eight weight-sensitive platforms located inside a sound attenuated chamber connected to an interfaced computer. the eight platforms were equidistant from a speaker located in the ceiling of the chamber. subjects were placed individually into open-air holders (8 x 8 x 16 cm) with metal rod floors (rod diameter 0.19 in with each rod separated by 0.39 in). scrambled electric footshock was administered through the metal rod floors of each holder using coulbourn shocker units. all experimental sessions were run in the alternating current coupled mode, which produces output data in absolute grams of force and does not include subjects’ body weight in the force measurement. each 30-min footshock stress session consisted of 15 shock stimuli (0.6 ma, 0.5 sec matthew hughes 2 duration) presented every 2 min. a ventilating fan provided continuous background noise (~75 db). procedure phase 1: ip injection. all mice housed within a particular home cage were assigned to either the experimental (ethanol) or control (saline) groups. groups were counterbalanced so that an equal number of animals from a particular family (litter) were assigned to the etoh or saline groups to the best extent possible. on day of testing, mice were removed individually from the home cage, weighed, and injected in colony room. the mouse was then returned to its home cage and the next mouse was removed in the same manner. this was done over five consecutive days starting at pnd 36 for adolescents (experiment 1) and pnd 62 for adults (experiment 2). each mouse was injected with either a 2g/kg of 20% ethanol in saline (v/v) solution or saline only solution. phase 2: stress. all mice were subjected to footshock stress (pnd 63 for experiment 1 and pnd 69 for experiment 2). this occurred 22 days after the last injection in adolescents (experiment 1), and two days after the last injection in adults (experiment 2). the age at the onset of stress was an important factor to control for since age may play an important role in the stress response. it is unclear how age and stress interact, and for this reason the age range was made as close together as possible. the eight individual open-air holders were brought into the colony room prior to the experiment. during the five consecutive days of stress, all mice were placed one at a time into an open-air holder with a metal rod floor and the holder was immediately carried into the adjacent room and placed inside the coulbourn apparatus. the order of stress sessions was counterbalanced based on treatment group. to the best extent possible, each stress session contained four mice that had been injected with saline, and four that had been injected with ethanol. mice were weighed prior to being placed into the open airholder each day of footshock stress. phase 3: free-choice alcohol consumption. mice were individually housed following the final stress session. standard water bottles were removed and replaced with two 25 ml plastic graduated cylinders, fitted with steel sipper tubes. on the first two days after the last stress session, both bottles were filled with water to allow the mice to acclimate to the new bottles. on the third day, one cylinder was filled with a 10% alcohol solution. fluid levels were checked and recorded every two days, and old fluid was discarded and replaced with fresh fluid once a week. cages were changed every six to eight days. the left-right position of the alcohol and water-filled cylinders was rotated after each reading to control for a potential positional preference. genetic factors and drinking behaviors in mice 3 data analyses all data were analyzed using analysis of variance (anova). between-group factors included age (adolescent, adult), treatment group (alcohol, saline) and line (hap2, lap2) and within-group factors included day. to simplify presentation of the results, only significant main effects and highest order interactions from the anova outputs are reported. significant interactions were followed first with lower order two-way and one-way anovas (keppel, 1991). probability values equal to or less than 0.05 were considered significant. alcohol intake was expressed as grams of 10% alcohol per kilogram of body weight (g/kg/bw) and as percent alcohol preference [milliliters (ml) of 10% alcohol solution/ml of total fluid consumed]. alcohol and water intakes were averaged across 2-day blocks to reduce day-to-day variability in drinking patterns. prior to averaging data across days, alcohol and water drinking scores on individual days were examined for outliers. the majority of these outliers were on the high end of the normal distribution curve and were most likely due to accidental fluid loss from mouse activity in the cage (e.g., playing with the plastic tubes). a score was considered an outlier if it passed several conservative criteria. the score first had to exceed by two standard deviations the mean drinking score for that animal and the mean drinking score for the group. if the score passed these criteria, it was then subjected to the dixon extreme score test (dixon, 1950). scores that passed all criteria were replaced with an average intake score, which was calculated by averaging fluid intake on the day before and the day after the outlier occurred. for experiment 1, valid outliers occurred five times in lap2 mice and once in hap2 mice. in experiment 2, valid outliers occurred three times in lap2 mice. results body weight table 2 shows the mean (±sem) body weight for hap2 and lap2 mice in experiments 1 and 2. matthew hughes 2 table 2. body weight (± sem) at the start of each experimental phase for experiments 1 and 2 phase 1 2 3 experiment 1 (adolescent exposure) hap2 etoh 22.2 ± .5 24.8 ± .4 24.0 ± .4 saline 21.8 ± .5 25.0 ± .4 24.5 ± .4 lap2 etoh 19.7 ± .5 24.9 ± .3 24.0 ± .6 saline 19.5 ± .5 24.5 ± .5 24.6 ± .3 experiment 2 (adult adult) hap2 etoh 24.6 ± .3 24.4 ± .5 24.4 ± .4 saline 24.6 ± .3 25.0 ± .3 24.9 ± .2 lap2 etoh 24.6 ± .6 23.8 ± .5 23.7 ± .5 saline 25.3 ± .5 24.7 ± .5 234.9 ± .4 for experiment 1 (adolescent exposure) there was no significant effect of line on body weight. the anova (age x block x treatment x line) indicated a main effect of block [f(14,938)=310.3, p<0.01], a block x treatment interaction [f(14,938)=2.9, p<0.01], and a block x age interaction [f(14,938)=2.5, p<0.05]. follow-up one-way anova within each line yielded significant main effects of block for both hap and lap mice (p<0.01). free-choice alcohol consumption alcohol intake and preference. the anova (age x block x line x treatment) yielded no significant main effects for treatment in hap or lap mice for intake or preference. the anova for g/kg alcohol intake revealed a main effect by line [f(1,67)=139.7, p<0.01; hap>lap] and block [f(14,938)=14.8, p<0.01], and a block x age x line interaction [f(14,938)=3.2, p<0.01]. a follow-up anova yielded a main effect of block for both hap and lap mice, in both age groups (p<0.01). the anova for alcohol preference yielded a main effect of block [f(14,938)=20.1, p<0.01] and line [f(1,67)=123.4, p<0.01], as well as a block x age x line interaction [f(14,938)=2.8, p<0.01]. a follow-up one-way anova indicated a main effect of block for both hap and lap mice in both age groups (p<0.01). genetic factors and drinking behaviors in mice 3 figure 2. mean (±sem) alcohol intake in g/kg/bw in adolescent-injected (top panel) and adult-injected (bottom panel) hap2 and lap2 mice exposed to stress averaged across 2-day blocks during the entire 30-day period. adolescent exposure 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0 5 10 15 20 hap2 etoh injection hap2 saline injection lap2 etoh injection lap2 saline injection day e to h c o n s u m e d g /k g adult exposure 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0 5 10 15 20 day e to h c o n s u m e d g /k g matthew hughes 2 figure 3. mean (±sem) alcohol preference in adolescent-injected (top panel) and adult-injected (bottom panel) hap2 and lap2 mice exposed to stress averaged across 2-day blocks during the entire 30-day period. adolescent exposure 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 hap2 etoh injection hap2 saline injection lap2 etoh injection lap2 saline injection day e to h p re fe re n c e adult exposure 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 hap2 etoh injection hap2 saline injection lap2 etoh injection lap2 saline injection day e to h p re fe re n c e genetic factors and drinking behaviors in mice 3 figure 4. mean (±sem) water intake in ml/kg/bw in adolescent-injected (top panel) and adult-injected (bottom panel) hap2 and lap2 mice exposed to stress averaged across 2-day blocks during the entire 30-day period. adolescent exposure 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0 100 200 300 hap2 saline injection hap2 etoh injection lap2 etoh injection lap2 saline injection day h 2 o c o n s u m e d m l/ k g adult exposure 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 hap2 saline injection hap2 etoh injection lap2 etoh injection lap2 saline injection day h 2 o c o n s u m e d m l/ k g matthew hughes 2 figure 5. mean (±sem) total fluid intake in ml/kg/bw in adolescent-injected (top panel) and adult-injected (bottom panel) hap2 and lap2 mice exposed to stress averaged across 2-day blocks during the entire 30-day period. adolescent exposure 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0 100 200 300 400 hap2 etoh injection hap2 saline injection lap2 etoh injection lap2 saline injection day t o ta l f lu id c o n s u m e d m l/ k g adult exposure 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0 100 200 300 400 hap2 etoh injection hap2 saline injection lap2 etoh injection lap2 saline injection day t o ta l f lu id c o n s u m e d m l/ k g genetic factors and drinking behaviors in mice 3 water and total fluid intake. the anova (age x block x line x treatment) yielded no significant main effects for treatment in hap or lap mice for intake. the anova for ml/kg water intake revealed a main effect by line [f(1,67)=49.8, p<0.01; lap>hap] and block [f(14,938)=23.5, p<0.01], and a block x line interaction [f(14,938)=13.7, p<0.01]. a follow-up one-way anova yielded a main effect of block for both hap and lap mice (p<0.01). the anova for fluid intake yielded a main effect of block [f(14,938)=5.8, p<0.01], age [f(1,67)=5.7, p<0.05] and line [f(1,67)=22.5, p<0.01], as well as a block x age x treatment interaction [f(14,983)=1.8, p<0.05]. follow-up analysis found a main effect of block [f(14,462)=2.3, p<0.01] and line [f(1,33)=6.4, p<0.05] for adolescents, and a main effect of block [f(14,476)=6.5, p<0.01] and line [f(1,34)=18.1, p<0.01], as well as a block x treatment interaction [f(14,476)=1.9, p<0.05] for adults. follow-up analysis revealed a main effect of block for mice in both the saline and alcohol groups (p<0.01) (table 3 on next page. water and total fluid intake (ml/kg/bw) during the 30-day drinking period) matthew hughes 2 hap2/etoh hap2/saline lap2/etoh lap2/saline experiment 1 water total water total water total water total 2 187.1 ± 30.6 299.4 ± 21.3 216.3 ± 24.9 283.9 ± 18.8 227.2 ± 8.0 260.8 ± 12.0 209.3 ± 13.6 285.6 ± 42.9 4 211.9 ± 32.5 290.2 ± 9.1 178.5 ± 23.0 279.7 ± 10.2 244.5 ± 7.0 251.2 ± 7.3 233.9 ± 8.4 241.8 ± 8.6 6 179.6 ± 34.2 286.8 ± 10.2 184.7 ± 22.1 286.4 ± 13.9 248.2 ± 6.4 256.1 ± 8.4 239.1 ± 12.5 244.8 ± 13.0 8 153.6 ± 30.1 290.0 ± 10.8 145.0 ± 23.0 281.2 ± 12.3 246.6 ± 6.8 258.5 ± 9.1 259.7 ± 14.3 262.5 ± 15.0 10 179.8 ± 30.7 299.8 ± 11.4 168.2 ± 28.5 278.2 ± 14.3 253.1 ± 10.6 269.6 ± 12.0 244.2 ± 11.2 253.2 ± 11.4 12 128.9 ± 29.5 284.9 ± 8.5 128.7 ± 25.9 264.4 ± 11.0 238.9 ± 6.0 256.5 ± 7.6 243.2 ± 11.8 254.4 ± 11.6 14 120.6 ± 34.4 285.5 ± 10.5 128.5 ± 25.2 275.6 ± 9.9 233.3 ± 9.4 250.9 ± 12.0 250.6 ± 12.1 263.6 ± 12.4 16 126.6 ± 29.4 287.0 ± 12.0 101.8 ± 20.9 275.1 ± 15.9 241.8 ± 6.3 262.1 ± 9.7 227.6 ± 13.0 244.0 ± 13.4 18 101.5 ± 28.1 284.9 ± 8.8 123.3 ± 20.3 288.3 ± 18.6 231.2 ± 11.2 256.3 ± 12.4 235.6 ± 12.2 248.9 ± 12.5 20 102.8 ± 28.0 277.8 ± 9.7 89.0 ± 19.3 249.8 ± 18.4 234.3 ± 5.9 256.2 ± 7.6 224.3 ± 11.6 239.6 ± 10.0 22 92.7 ± 27.3 285.8 ± 12.7 145.6 ± 24.5 286.1 ± 17.6 245.2 ± 6.3 262.2 ± 7.4 238.9 ± 13.3 252.8 ± 12.3 24 107.6 ± 29.3 306.4 ± 15.8 73.3 ± 17.9 261.9 ± 14.3 231.7 ± 6.2 253.5 ± 9.4 222.1 ± 13.7 238.0 ± 13.5 26 72.5 ± 24.8 274.7 ± 9.0 83.4 ± 13.1 278.0 ± 19.3 239.9 ± 8.8 258.9 ± 11.7 220.4 ± 15.1 236.5 ± 14.3 28 94.4 ± 28.1 284.4 ± 10.9 67.0 ± 14.6 263.7 ± 15.1 237.6 ± 6.7 258.1 ± 9.4 227.5 ± 9.5 243.6 ± 8.8 30 71.2 ± 22.4 269.1 ± 10.7 83.8 ± 18.7 267.6 ± 16.3 232.4 ± 7.4 254.6 ± 8.4 223.1 ± 10.0 236.8 ± 9.2 experiment 2 water total water total water total water total 2 202.6 ± 42.6 296.8 ± 29.0 188.1 ± 31.6 313.78 ±12.5 260.5 ± 7.5 269.7 ± 8.4 230.5 ± 6.3 238.6 ± 8.4 4 180.6 ± 33.8 339.4 ± 25.7 153.1 ± 36.5 299.5 ± 10.8 265.3 ± 7.1 283.6 ± 10.6 237.6 ± 5.9 248.7 ± 6.6 6 193.1 ± 33.9 331.7 ± 15.0 188.3 ± 44.8 314.9 ± 14.7 279.7 ± 6.6 292.6 ± 7.6 247.4 ± 6.9 261.3 ± 8.0 8 205.0 ± 37.3 338.2 ± 14.0 164.3 ± 37.5 320.9 ± 11.5 279.1 ± 7.6 291.6 ± 7.7 256.2 ± 7.3 271.7 ± 9.3 10 167.4 ± 43.4 320.4 ± 15.5 142.9 ± 43.1 310.3 ± 12.2 263.6 ± 8.4 278.6 ± 7.9 243.4 ± 7.5 258.1 ± 9.4 12 170.7 ± 43.5 306.5 ± 18.7 155.1 ± 37.4 301.1 ± 12.1 264.8 ± 8.3 278.2 ± 7.6 245.7 ± 8.3 259.2 ± 10.3 14 167.9 ± 41.4 318.6 ± 15.2 133.2 ± 37.8 300.4 ± 18.6 259.3 ± 7.7 273.7 ± 7.9 237.2 ± 7.1 254.4 ± 9.6 16 156.1 ± 34.0 310.4 ± 11.8 119.8 ± 34.0 295.2 ± 10.0 262.6 ± 7.8 281.6 ± 7.2 217.1 ± 24.1 238.4 ± 19.0 18 172.7 ± 44.9 313.8 ± 18.5 118.7 ± 36.5 294.7 ± 12.1 258.5 ± 8.5 282.5 ± 8.4 234.6 ± 6.7 250.6 ± 9.4 20 140.3 ± 32.5 302.6 ± 13.8 110.8 ± 31.7 293.4 ± 10.9 260.8 ± 6.6 277.9 ± 4.3 239.4 ± 6.2 258.0 ± 8.0 genetic factors and drinking behaviors in mice 3 discussion the present results showed that alcohol exposure did not increase subsequent alcohol drinking behavior in mice selectively bred for high or low alcohol preference. this was contrary to our hypothesis. these results suggest that genetic predisposition is a stronger predictor of future alcohol drinking than early alcohol exposure under the present conditions. these findings support the studies that find family history is strongly correlated with adult drinking (bennett et al, 2006; enoch, 2006; vengeliene et al, 2003; schuckit, 1995). in addition to these results, there was a trend for adult mice that were injected with saline to show higher preference for alcohol than mice injected with alcohol as adults. however, this trend was not statistically significant. forced alcohol intake has been shown to reduce the consumption of alcohol in rats bred for high alcohol intake (chester et al, 2005). the findings of the present study would support the theory that forced alcohol exposure constitutes a stress, that when associated with drinking inhibits alcohol consumption. however, this only partially explains the differences between adult and adolescent drinking. varlinskaya and spear (2006) demonstrated acute tolerance in adolescent rats. in that study, adolescents, but not adults, injected with 1g/kg ethanol showed reduced social inhibition 30 minutes after injection. it was argued that this was a sign of acute tolerance in the adolescent, but not adult, rat (varlinskaya and spear 2006). the possibility remains that adolescent mice in the present study also demonstrated an acute tolerance to ethanol, reducing the effect of early alcohol exposure. this theory may partially explain the present results, but still leaves questions to be answered. waldrop et al (2007) finds that people with childhood traumas drink at an earlier age and begin heavy drinking earlier. additionally, a prior study done in our laboratory showed an increase in drinking behavior in stressed adolescent mice selectively bred for high alcohol preference (chester et al, under editorial review). these results would suggest that adolescents are more susceptible to stress experiment 2 water total water total water total water total 22 146.5 ± 41.9 323.0 ± 15.3 114.7 ± 33.4 306.3 ± 9.6 235.7 ± 17.1 255.1 ± 15.5 236.5 ± 6.1 255.3 ± 8.8 24 135.6 ± 33.4 280.3 ± 20.2 100.0 ± 28.7 304.1 ± 8.9 249.8 ± 7.3 272.6 ± 6.0 230.3 ± 4.4 249.9 ± 6.9 26 121.5 ± 37.7 284.6 ± 17.8 104.2 ± 31.8 292.2 ± 11.3 248.0 ± 6.3 267.6 ± 5.5 228.8 ± 5.9 246.5 ± 7.9 28 101.1 ± 28.6 274.3 ± 18.8 97.9 ± 30.0 290.3 ± 9.7 246.1 ± 7.7 266.1 ± 9.3 228.4 ± 6.0 246.9 ± 9.0 30 109.5 ± 31.5 286.9 ± 13.2 97.7 ± 30.5 293.5 ± 11.5 240.2 ± 6.0 258.2 ± 5.2 231.9 ± 5.7 249.3 ± 8.1 matthew hughes 2 induced drinking. however, brunell and spear (2005) demonstrate a suppression of adolescent drinking in stressed rats. these data contradict our previous study; however, because the age at which the mice were given free-access to alcohol was viewed as the most important factor to control for, there was a difference in experimental time frames between these two studies. both studies do, however, support the theory that stress during adolescence has some effect on drinking behavior. the present study used ip injections during adolescence. the stress of the injection may have had an effect on the drinking behavior of all mice, given the fact that all mice received the same amount of injections. clark et al (2008) postulates that researchers expect negative developmental effects to occur in the adolescent brain following early alcohol exposure. for this reason, many results may be over-interpreted. small interactions may be reported as evidence to support the claim that early alcohol exposure has profound negative effect. the absence of interactions may not be reported at all. further supporting this claim is the lack of definitive results in the literature. while it is highly unlikely that early alcohol exposure has no effect on the developing brain, the effects may not be as large as expected. the findings of the current study may support the theory that early alcohol exposure does not have as dramatic an effect on a developing brain as once believed. with the small effects found in the present study, one could question the interpretation of prior research findings. in fact, there is evidence to suggest that adolescence may be less sensitive to alcohol’s effects. one question that remains unanswered is the individual differences that occur in the development of alcohol dependency. in a study of children of alcoholics (coas), it was shown that coas could be broken into two groups, vulnerable and resilient to problem drinking (heitzeg et al., 2008). after analyzing individual drinking patterns of hap2 mice, there were individual differences in the amount of ethanol consumed. it would be logical for all animals of a certain line within a group that are treated in the same manner to exhibit similar drinking patterns. this does not appear to be the case upon further examination of the data. as shown in figure 12, adult hap2 mice injected with ethanol, as compared to adolescent mice (figures 10 and 11) and adult mice injected with saline (figure 13), did not show any consistent trend between subjects. these data could support the theory of resiliency and vulnerability among individuals with a family history of alcohol use, or the existence of these characteristics within mouse lines of high alcohol preference. genetic factors and drinking behaviors in mice 3 p re fe re n ce s co re ( % ) a v e ra g e i n ta k e ( g / k g ) p re fe re n ce s co re ( % ) a v e ra g e i n ta k e ( g / k g ) figure 6. daily mean alcohol intake in g/kg/bw (left panel) and % alcohol preference (right panel) in hap2 mice injected with ethanol during adolescence averaged across the entire 30-day period. subject number figure 7. daily mean alcohol intake in g/kg/bw (left panel) and % alcohol preference (right panel) in hap2 mice injected with saline during adolescence averaged across the entire 30-day period. subject number hap etoh 1 3 10 12 17 19 26 28 33 35 0.0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 12.5 15.0 17.5 pref hap etoh 1 3 10 12 17 19 26 28 33 35 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 adolescent subjects hap saline 2 4 9 11 18 20 25 27 34 36 0.0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 12.5 15.0 17.5 pref hap saline 2 4 9 11 18 20 25 27 34 36 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 adolescent subjects matthew hughes 2 p re fe re n ce s co re ( % ) a v e ra g e i n ta k e ( g / k g ) p re fe re n ce s co re ( % ) a v e ra g e i n ta k e ( g / k g ) figure 8. daily mean alcohol intake in g/kg/bw (left panel) and % alcohol preference (right panel) in hap2 mice injected with ethanol during adulthood averaged across the entire 30-day period. subject number figure 9. daily mean alcohol intake in g/kg/bw (left panel) and % alcohol preference (right panel) in hap2 mice injected with saline during adulthood averaged across the entire 30-day period. subject number hap etoh 1 3 14 16 17 30 32 33 35 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 pref hap etoh 1 3 14 16 17 30 32 33 35 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 adult subjects hap saline 2 4 13 15 18 20 29 31 34 36 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 pref hap saline 2 4 13 15 18 20 29 31 34 36 0 25 50 75 100 adult subjects genetic factors and drinking behaviors in mice 3 the present study had a couple of important limitations that should be noted. first of all, due to the limitation of the number of animals at our disposal, a nostress group could not be included. the inclusion of a no-stress group would allow us to differentiate the effects of the alcohol pretreatment and stress on drinking behaviors. the possibility exists that the alcohol injection alone would show a significant effect on drinking behavior, but stress is masking the effect. the second important limitation is that mice did not self administer the alcohol pre-exposure. self-administration was not an option for the purposes of the preexposure phase of the present study due to the fact that the lap mice naturally avoid alcohol and hap mice would drink a higher amount. it was deemed necessary for the present experiment to control the amount of alcohol given during the pre-exposure phase. ip injections were best method available to us. the method of pre-exposure has been shown to be a factor in drinking behavior. blizard et al (2004) demonstrated that different types of exposure may affect alcohol preference differently. this study utilized several different types of exposure, and measured alcohol consumption following these exposures. while all forms of exposure increased preference in balb/cbyj lines of mice, only gradual initiation increased preference in balb/cj lines. these findings suggest that not only does the method of exposure have an effect, but that it interacts with line. the possibility exists that the hap2 mice in the current study are consuming the highest level of alcohol that they will voluntarily consume. prior data show that hap1 mice consume about 18 g/kg in response to line selection (see subject section for more information), and hap2 male mice consume slightly less at 16 g/kg (nicholas grahame, personal communication). these levels are very close to the levels of intake shown in the present study. this could suggest that these mice will not voluntarily consume more than this level. however, further research is needed in order to substantiate this claim. while early onset drinking correlates highly with lifetime dependence, it may serve as a marker for later abuse instead of a precursor (spear 2002). the early initiation of drinking behavior may not be the cause of later alcohol abuse, but, instead, both behaviors may stem from an underlying condition. this idea may be justification for a switch in the focus of research from the impact of early alcohol exposure to the causes of early alcohol exposure. this could help identify potential alcohol abusers early in life, and help to set up an early intervention and treatment program. acknowledgements the author would like to thank dr. julia a. chester (purdue university) for her contributions to running the experiment and editing the present paper. without her, this paper would not exist. matthew hughes 2 references adriani w, macri s, pacifici r, laviola g (2002) “peculiar vulnerability to nicotine oral selfadministration in mice during early adolescence.” neuropsychopharmacology 27:212-224. andrucci gl, archer rp, pancoast dl, gordon ra (1989) “the relationship of mmpi and sensation seeking scales to adolescent drug use.” j pers assess 53:253-66 arnsten af, shansky rm (2004) “adolescence: vulnerable period for stress-induced prefrontal cortical function? introduction to part iv.” acad sci 1021:143-147. baumrind d (1987) 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recently given birth to his granddaughter, virginia dare, the first english person to be born on the new continent.2 we also know that he was concerned about his personal possessions that he had been forced to leave behind at the colony. in fact his concern for his material goods was so great that he had only agreed to leave after securing a bond from the colonists that they would take care of his possessions in his absence.3 perhaps he feared the lengthy voyages that he faced in making the round trip across the atlantic ocean since he knew that he would have to make the journey yet again after he obtained the desperately needed supplies for the colony. perhaps white questioned why it was he who must leave, since he knew that the colony’s proprietor sir walter ralegh would be infuriated that he, the governor, had left his post when he should have been providing leadership. in truth, however, despite white’s best intentions and previous experience with the first settlement attempt at roanoke, he was not the best man for the job of governor. he lacked the natural authoritative callousness, courageousness, and quick-wittedness that were the backbone of the constitutions in men like walter ralegh, ralph lane, and richard grenville. his stint as governor had not gone well. a pushover from the start, he had allowed himself to be bullied into decisions that went directly against the best interests of the colony. perhaps one of his most ill-fated decisions was to allow the captain of the fleet to return the colonists to the location of the first failed colony instead of continuing to sail up the chesapeake where ralegh had wanted them to settle.4 when facing tough decisions, white failed to act quickly and decisively, which made him vulnerable to attacks on his authority by the colonists who were supposed to be compliant to his commands. 1 karen ordahl kupperman, roanoke, the abandoned colony (totowa, new jersey: rowman & allanheld, 1984), 120. 2 ibid., 118. 3 ibid., 119-120. 4 ibid., 113-114. karen sause without strong leadership, the necessary balance of strict political and judicial control that held the colony together was severely strained and the social structure of the colony began to falter. his convenient departure on a mercenary mission to secure supplies would allow the colonists to assess their position and restructure their settlement. perhaps white thought about the previous settlement attempt at roanoke that had ended in near-starvation and bad relations with the indians. the settlers had fled back home to england aboard the ships of sir francis drake in 1586. drake had arrived unannounced to both check in on the colony and to assess the utility of its harbor to function as a deep water port so that the colony could ultimately be used as a base for english privateering.5 instead of finding the flourishing colony he had anticipated, drake discovered that the colonists were in dire straits and in an increasingly helpless situation, so he offered to take them back home to england. the colonists departed hastily, in part because drake’s fleet had just received a horrendous battering from an unexpected hurricane that blew up while he was in port, and also because of their desire to be done with the place.6 in one of the unfortunate incidents that resulted from their hasty departure, the trunks containing lane’s personal belongings, along with the invaluable volumes of notes taken by thomas hariot concerning the land and its inhabitants, as well as the sketches by john white, were thrown overboard by drake’s men who did not want to be burdened by their weight.7 the loss of their records and reports that might have made the whole wretched experience worthwhile was a particularly bitter ending to an already sour experience of the first settlement attempt. in an ironic twist of fate that came to be a hallmark of the roanoke experience, less than a week after the colonists departed, a second fleet of ships under the command of sir richard grenville arrived to resupply and to provide the colony with a military detachment of four hundred soldiers.8 grenville and his men spent two weeks searching for the colonists, and after finding no one, decided that the colony had been abandoned. not wanting to relinquish the english claim to the continent, grenville left a detachment of fifteen soldiers under the command of master coffin with provisions for the next two years and orders to hold down the fort until the area could be re-colonized.9 upon their arrival in 1587, white and his colonists found only one skeleton from these soldiers and determined that all had been murdered by indians; it was certainly an ominous start to an already difficult 5 ibid., 88. 6 ibid., 89-91. 7 ibid., 92. 8 giles milton, big chief elizabeth: the adventures and fate of the first english colonists in america (new york, new york: picador usa, 2000), 168-169. 9 ibid., 170. 2 roanoke arrival.10 what white did not anticipate when he left in 1587, nor could he have foreseen, was that he would be the last european to ever see the roanoke colonists alive. twenty years passed between the time that john white left the colony and the next group of colonists arrived in 1607 to found jamestown. white’s intention of a quick return had been derailed by a war with spain. the whole of the armada had been sent to attack the shores of england, and queen elizabeth ordered that every ship stay in port to protect the nation.11 the war ended with england triumphantly defeating the spanish, but years passed and no one was sent to aid the colonists. in the meantime, walter ralegh had developed an interest in colonizing ireland, so virginia was temporarily forgotten. furthermore, by this time it seemed unlikely that there would still be colonists alive, and the stipulations of ralegh’s land grants were such that if it could be proven that there were no colonists, he would lose the deed. as long as there remained the possibility that the colonists were alive, the land stayed in his possession. it was, therefore, in ralegh’s best interest that the fate of the colonists remain ambiguous and no genuine search was ever conducted.12 the jamestown colonists carried out a few half-hearted attempts to look for their predecessors, but soon became resigned to the evidence that the previous colony had failed and all were lost—a harsh reminder of their own tenuous position as they too sought to carve out their own foothold on the continent. *** two major lines of debate emerge when examining the roanoke historiography. the first is the most obvious and enduring question: “what happened to the colony of 1587?” it has become one of the fabled stories of our nation’s history that has intermittently captivated the interest of historians and the imagination of the general public since it was first confirmed that they had disappeared. the theories regarding the fate of the lost colonists had been brewing in the minds of those intimately involved with the settlement and had become fodder for tavern gossip during the twenty years since they had last been seen alive. these speculations emerged as part of a wider public discussion upon the conclusion of the jamestown settlers’ investigation. but how had they died, if that is indeed what happened to them? had they been attacked and killed by the 10 david b. quinn and alison m. quinn, ed., the first colonists: documents on the planting of the first english settlements in north america, 1584-1590 (raleigh, north carolina: north carolina department of cultural resources division of archives and history, 1982), 97-98. 11 karen ordahl kupperman, roanoke, 122-124. 12 ibid., 134-135. 3 karen sause indians, did they die of starvation and/or disease, had the spaniards discovered and destroyed the colony, or did the colonists simply give up hope of the english returning and assimilate into the local indian tribes? the colonists left behind a few tantalizing clues as evidence as to what might have happened to them and where they might have gone; however, none of these clues are decisive enough to allow for a definitive conclusion. these lingering questions have become part of a debate spanning centuries of literature and will most likely never be put to rest. a secondary line of debate that emerges from the historiography is the certainly more subtle, though perhaps more interesting, question of how views of the indians have changed throughout the telling of the roanoke story. the juxtaposition began in the original documents of the colony and remained unresolved until the late 1970s. throughout the accounts we see the colonists and founders wrestling with the complex image of the good indian versus the bad indian. the good indian happily traded with the english, repeatedly came to their aid by providing food and shelter for their ill-prepared and unwanted guests, learned english, and embraced christianity. the bad indian stole from the colonists and refused to give them food when it was demanded; they were warriors, killers, and heathens. for john white, these opposing views became personified in manteo, the good indian, who learned english, was baptized as a christian, and warned the colonists when they were about to be attacked. and then there was wanchese, who after coming to england and learning the language failed to recognize the superiority of the european culture, fled back to his people, and helped to plot against the colonists. while the earliest works pertaining to roanoke were written before the colonists had disappeared, once the colony was officially deemed lost, the english judgment of the indians became inevitably tied to their possible role in the colonists’ disappearance. did the indians kill them or adopt them? again, it is a question we will likely never answer with certainty. the historiographic record related to the founding of the roanoke colony actually began prior to its official establishment. arthur barlowe, who had been in charge of the first english exploration of the region, published a report entitled narrative of the 1584 voyage that emphasized the abundant wealth of natural resources and extolled the virtues of the region’s healthy climate, with the express intent of encouraging further english involvement and eventual colonization of the region. as interest and involvement of the colony developed, other primary source accounts and narratives in the form of personal log books and letters by the officials came into the public’s view. in 1589, richard hakluyt gathered many of these accounts together and published them for the first time under the title the 4 roanoke principall navigations…of the english nation.13 the volume included accounts by ralph lane, thomas hariot, richard hakluyt, and john white. these documents were the sole sources of information concerning roanoke for over a century and remain the starting point for all historical work on roanoke. this volume of documents was more recently expanded and edited by historians david beers quinn and alison m. quinn in 1973 and published under the title virginia voyages from hakluyt.14 in anticipation of the four-hundred-year celebration of the founding of roanoke, the book was updated and reprinted under the title the first colonists in 1982.15 of the original documents, perhaps the most important are thomas hariot’s briefe and true account of virginia, first published in 1588 by thomas hakluyt, and john white’s narrative of the 1587 virginia voyage, which will be explored in greater depth in this paper. thus, until approximately the 1970s, the history of roanoke was most frequently examined from the perspective of the men who held leadership roles in the founding of the colony. biographies abound on men like sir walter ralegh, thomas hariot, john white, richard grenville, and ralph lane. beginning in the early 1800s, however, archeology emerged as a scientific field and by the end of the century was beginning to influence historians’ conversations and debates. for a short time in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the discovery of a stone thought to be a message left by the colonists captivated the imaginations of both historians and the public until it was proven to be a hoax. modern archeologists have conducted archeological digs of the portions of the roanoke settlement that have not yet eroded, and their findings are now commonly incorporated by historians as a device to flesh out or corroborate claims in the narratives. the year 1984 marked the quadricentennial of the roanoke experiment, and with it came a renewed surge of interest, research, and publication on the topic. most of the modern historiography is linked to this occasion. *** soon after lane and the roanoke colonists returned to england in 1586, rumors began to circulate concerning the horrid experiences of the colonists in the new world. former governor colonel ralph lane soon published his own report 13 quinn and quinn, the first colonists, xviii. 14 see david b. quinn and alison m. quinn, ed., virginia voyages from hakluyt (london: oxford university press, 1973). 15 see david b. quinn and alison m. quinn, ed., the first colonists: documents on the planting of the first english settlements in north america, 1584-1590 (raleigh, north carolina: north carolina department of cultural resources division of archives and history, 1982). 5 karen sause critiquing the viability of colonizing the new continent. his review was a complete reversal of the glowing accolades barlowe had previously written about the territory after his initial exploration. to further complicate matters, the former colony members told their own tales of horror (some quite true and others highly exaggerated) to whoever would listen. as proprietor of the colony, sir walter ralegh knew he had more than just a public relations nightmare; he also had financial concerns. ralegh was certain that there was a fortune to be made from the fabled gold and copper mines in the new world, but he was unable to finance the colony on his own. the future of his investments was dependent upon the willingness of others to commit both vast financial resources and their lives to colonizing the new world. vicious rumors of hardships would scare off potential investors and colonists, and his investments and the opportunity to accumulate great wealth were at risk. ralegh recognized that he needed assistance and turned to his friend thomas hariot, who had also been a member of the first colony, to write an account that would serve both as a sales pitch for further involvement and as an antidote to counteract the malevolent rumors. ralegh hoped that with hariot’s help he could put the rumors to rest and generate interest in a second colonization attempt. the challenges hariot faced in writing this document were immense—he had to find a way to walk the middle ground between barlowe’s report, which compared the new world to the garden of eden with plenteous resources and welcoming natives, and lane’s report, which purported that virginia was devoid of useful natural resources, had no signs of valuable mines, and was filled with dangerous natives. but if anyone was capable of writing such a document, it was certainly hariot. a leading scientist of the day, hariot had been specifically recruited by ralegh to go on this mission in order to professionally assess the land for minerals and other useful natural resources. for almost a year, hariot, in conjunction with artist john white, took detailed assessments and notes about the natural resources, plants, minerals, and people of the new world. from these observations, hariot produced a briefe and true account of the new found land of virginia and the possibilities of settlement. it is likely that the account would have been substantially larger and more detailed had his papers survived the journey on drake’s ship. unfortunately, the majority of his notebooks and the plant specimens he had so carefully collected were thrown overboard as they left the colony, along with john white’s sketches and lane’s papers.16 despite the profound loss of his carefully gathered information, hariot produced a brilliant document in which he skillfully selected subjects that were 16 kupperman, roanoke, 92. 6 roanoke designed to focus the public’s attention on the benefits of colonization. he paid special attention to the resources that could be used to support england’s shipbuilding and cloth making industries. he noted that virginia had a natural abundance of conifer trees that could be used to make pitch, tar, rosin, and turpentine.17 he noted that there appeared to be a native version of flax already growing in virginia, and he was certain that the familiar english version would be transplantable. he assessed the climate and predicted what crops might grow well in that environment, including sugar cane and various fruit trees. he also suggested the potential to extract other products from virginia, including alum and dyes, furs, skins, iron, copper, wine, and medicines.18 what is important to note about hariot’s recommendations is that they were not merely a laundry list of goods that could be extracted from the new world, but were also products that were either scarce in england or could only be obtained from places such as spain and france, both countries that were in continual conflict with england.19 hariot’s descriptions were designed to be appealing both to the government as a way of circumventing relationships with unfriendly countries, and also to investors and merchants who wanted to find a cheaper source of goods. hariot’s arguments ran directly counter to lane’s, who claimed that there was “nothing worth fetching” in the new world.20 in addition to addressing the overarching concerns about the availability of natural resources, hariot was forced to deal with questions concerning the indians and their willingness to accept the english presence. on this topic, there was probably no one more qualified at the time to make a fair assessment of the native population. in addition to being a brilliant scientist, he was a gifted linguist. barlowe had brought two indians, manteo and wanchese, back to england from his exploration, and hariot began working with them closely. in addition to teaching them english, hariot became fluent in algonquin and went on to develop a phonetic alphabet and dictionary of the algonquian language so that future expeditions would be better able to communicate with the natives.21 unfortunately his dictionary has been lost, although parts of his phonetic alphabet still remain. hariot was not content to simply learn to communicate with the indians; he seemed 17 michael g. morgan, “inventing virginia: sir walter raleigh and the rhetoric of colonization, 1584-1590,” in early american literature and culture through the american renaissance, vol. 7, ed. reiner smolinski (new york, new york: peter lang publishing, inc., 2007), 110. 18 ibid.,110-119. 19 ibid.,110. 20 ibid.,109. 21 john william shirley, thomas harriot: a biography (new york, new york: oxford university press, 1983), 107. 7 karen sause to have a genuine desire to learn about their cultural practices, especially their religious beliefs. however, hariot’s interest in learning about their religion should not be misunderstood; it does not mean that he viewed the indian’s beliefs as acceptable or valid. europeans of the sixteenth century universally presumed that their own culture and race was superior to that of the indians and hariot, while perhaps more tolerant and willing to understand than others, was certainly not an exception to this dogmatic view. he viewed the indians’ beliefs as pagan and heathenish and actively sought to share the belief system of christianity with manteo and wanchese in the hope that they would eventually convert (which manteo later did). when talking with indians, he drew similarities between the two religions where possible, and felt that if they were able to see christianity as the logical progression of their own beliefs, it would be easier to convert and ultimately to control them.22 this information he almost certainly included in an effort to solicit the church’s support for continued colonization as well. as catholic spain had already achieved a foothold on the continent, church officials would not need much convincing as to the necessity of working to convert the indians first. when it came to writing about the indian population, hariot again found himself having to negotiate two opposite views between the existing publications of barlowe and lane. while barlowe had assured the public that the indians desired nothing more than to become enthusiastic trading partners with the english, lane characterized the indians as cunning and perfidious.23 hariot decided to portray them as harmless, writing that they “are not to be feared, but that they shall have cause both to feare and love us, that we shall inhabite with them.”24 hariot went on to emphasize the inferiority of the indians as he described their lack of sophistication in weapons, defenses and fighting tactics, political structures and, of course, religion. by doing so, he did not explicitly disagree with either barlowe or lane but instead discussed the indians in terms that dismissed the fears that any future colonists may have of the indians as unfounded. despite some of hariot’s gross misconceptions of the indians and their lifestyles, his ultimate view of them is perceptively human, especially in comparison to that of his compatriots. whatever human elements of the indians that hariot may have failed to capture in writing, john white caught in his paintings and sketches. this give and take was not the result of a happy accident—hariot and white collaborated closely 22 morgan, inventing virginia, 105. 23 ibid.,104. 24 quinn and quinn, the first colonists, 67. 8 roanoke throughout their explorations, with hariot directing white and urging him to be scientific in his approach.25 this directive to utilize a scientific approach geared white to pay special attention to the indians’ apparel and activities as well as to portray them as factually as possible. in part, it is his commitment to portraying detail and accuracy that have made the images so enduring. not much is known concerning white’s training as an artist, though we do know that he was a member of the painters-stainers company of london. to be admitted to this guild, white would have been required to complete a seven-year apprenticeship. 26 from his work, it is evident that he had been trained as a portrait artist and had been exposed to all of the major renaissance art theories prevalent at that time, both in england and abroad.27 although most of his work was destroyed in the trunk mishap, enough survived that when theodor de bry decided to make a second printing of hariot’s work in 1590, he was able to make graphic plates of white’s watercolors to intersperse throughout the text.28 these depictions came to be the dominating images of the american indian for over a century.29 the images white created are immediately captivating and they depict the indians with human qualities that, despite the exotic nature of the dress and body tattoos, would have seemed familiar to the europeans. white did not stylize the indians into greek or romanesque figures as later artists would, nor did he portray them as barbaric heathens. instead, white captured snapshots of the indians engaged in everyday activities. men are seen fishing from a canoe, women are preparing meals and carrying small children on their backs, and men and women are seen casually gathered around a campfire with smiling faces and other visual innuendo that intimated music, storytelling, and lively conversation.30 white also captured a few cultural events such as a religious dance and a burial house in which he could have portrayed the indians in a barbaric manner (as later artists did) knowing that very few people would ever see indians in person.31 it seems that he resisted this temptation, unlike john smith’s artist at jamestown, who represented the same type of religious ceremony (probably a harvest ceremony), but who added major alterations to the scene to make it more warlike and barbaric in nature.32 it would have also been easy for him to capitalize on embellishing the 25 morgan, inventing virginia, 164. 26 ibid.,143. 27 ibid.,144. 28 ibid.,140. 29 ibid.,174. 30 for color facsimiles of white’s watercolors, see stefan lorant, the new world: the first pictures of america (new york, new york: duell, sloan & pearce, 1946), 185-224. 31 morgan, inventing virginia, 175. 32 ibid.,174. 9 karen sause burial house into a grotesque scene. instead, white chose to capture the humanity of the indians and portray them as he witnessed them. this is not to say that modern historians have no criticism of white’s work. michael morgan points out that white did take some liberties in sexualizing his portrayal of female indians. he portrays them both as innocent virgins and as caring mothers, in an attempt to appeal to european ideals.33 however, when de bry made white’s paintings into plates, he took the liberty of anglicizing women’s faces to make them more attractive by european standards, by etching them with more sultry stares, and by exposing more of their breasts.34 in addition to his drawings from the first colonization attempt, john white left behind his own written narrative of the colonization attempts. although white made few remarks regarding the indians apart from his commentary on unfolding events, some of these statements spark intriguing debate. one of these references was in regard to manteo’s frame of mind upon returning to his home after having spent time in england. the colonists accidently attacked his tribe who were friendly to the english. white observed that “although the mistaking of these savages somewhat grieved manteo, yet he imputed their harme to their owne follie, saying to them, that if their weroans had kept their promise in comming to the governour, at the day appointed, they had not knowen that mischance.”35 it is one of the few insights we have of the struggle that manteo must have been experiencing—of defending his new friends from a powerful and well-developed nation or falling back in with his fellow tribal members who were blissfully unaware of the world across the ocean. we know from white’s next entry that manteo ultimately decided to cast his fate with the europeans and elected to be baptized. on august 13, 1587, manteo was christened with the title of lord therof in recognition of his loyal service to the crown.36 the europeans were soon to discover that manteo’s loyalty and willingness to accept the europeans and their culture was to be the exception in the native population. in an act that went counter to the european belief that once the natives would be convinced of the superiority of the european culture when they were exposed to it, wanchese helped to plot an attack against the colonists after he had spent time in england. to white and others in the party, wanchese’s betrayal was a severe disappointment to their hopes for future converts.37 perhaps what is most 33 ibid.,173-174. 34 ibid.,173. 35 quinn and quinn, the first colonists, 102. 36 ibid. 37 kupperman, roanoke, 115. 10 roanoke telling about white’s account is that he does not emphasize the violent interactions with the indians. he certainly discussed a few of their violent encounters, especially when men were killed on either side, but he did not dramatize the events. he described them in the same matter-of-fact style he employed throughout the narrative. when read alongside of ralph lane’s narrative of the settlement, in which lane focused on conflicts between the parties, white’s narrative looks almost apologetically tame. as time moved forward and the literature of the roanoke colony accumulated, most of the interest in the lost settlement remained focused on the men who had founded it. the period from the 1800s to the early twentieth century was the last golden era in literature that focused on the glories of the dead, white, and politically powerful male. the speculation on what actually happened to the colony took a backseat to the biographies of men like ralegh, lane, grenville, and white. perhaps the next phase of interest in the lost colonists is best explained by the development of archeology into a scientifically recognized field during the midnineteenth century and its emergence as an area of tremendous interest in the early twentieth century. the public’s zealous interest in the field facilitated one of the strangest twists in the roanoke plot. in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the roanoke story once more sprang to the public’s attention with an unexpected archeological finding that evolved into a rather bizarre incident. in 1937, a man arrived at emory university with a stone he claimed to have found while walking in the woods along the coast of north carolina, and he brought it to the researchers to get some assistance in deciphering the inscription.38 the quartz stone weighed just over twenty-one pounds and was at most 2½ inches thick, and 13⅝ inches long by 9⅝ inches wide.39 on the flattest part of the stone was carved a latin cross and the following lines: “ananias dare & virginia went hence unto heaven 1591” and further down “anye englishman shew john white govr via.”40 on the back of the stone, there were an additional seventeen lines that seem to be brief summary of the state of the colony. at the end of the lines were the initials “e.w.d.” which were assumed to stand for eleanor white dare, the adult daughter of john white.41 together, the finder (who was still anonymous at the time the article was published) and the professors worked 38 haywood j. pearce, jr., “new light on the roanoke colony: a preliminary examination of a stone found in chowan county, north carolina,” the journal of southern history 4, no.2 (may 1938): 148-163, 150. 39 ibid.,148. 40 ibid.,149. 41 ibid.,149-150. 11 karen sause together for about eight days in order to decipher the inscription.42 had this been the only rock to turn up, the scholars who were initially skeptical of the stone’s veracity might have eventually accepted the stone as evidence and the historiography of roanoke from that point forward would read very differently. however, as more and more stones began turning up in what became a trail that led from north carolina down to georgia, skepticism rightly grew. it appears that there was only one scholarly article written on the topic, and it appeared in the journal of southern history shortly after the first stone was found. in the article, haywood j. pearce, president of brenau college, maintained his skepticism, but was clearly excited about the potentially significant finding that this stone represented. pearce dedicated most of the pages of the article to discussing the background of roanoke, which seems to suggest that the subject of roanoke was essentially a dead topic even in academic circles by the 1930s. he used the final portion of his article to summarize five citations in the writings of the jamestown colonists about their findings regarding the fate of the roanoke colonists. he moved on to draw conclusions about what may have happened to them if (and he stressed this as only a possibility) the eleanor dare stone could be verified as genuine. he concluded the article by evaluating the spellings and word usages as found inscribed on the stone with how they compare to known elizabethan writing characteristics, and also evaluated the purported narrative with respect to what few known and accepted accounts exist. it does not appear that pearce ever wrote a follow-up article after the stones were proven to be forgeries, but he continued to be quoted in the popular press as the story developed. in august of 1940, pearce, along with his son who was also a doctor of history, announced that they believed that a stone found along a ledge of the chattahoochee river was the grave marker for eleanor dare.43 by this point in the strange saga, twenty-seven stones had been found and the popular press both capitalized on the public’s fascination with the subject as well as began to poke fun at the scholars like pearce who seemed to be hoping against all possible rationale that these stones would put to rest their questions about the lost colonists.44 the trail southward seemed to support one of the disappearance theories that after white’s departure, the colonists had split up into two separate groups, and eleanor had led a group settlers along with indians, down a southwestwardly route.45 on may 16, 1941, 42 ibid.,150. 43 new york times, “finds stone marked 1599: georgia educator thinks it was at eleanor dare’s grave,” august 19, 1940. 44 ibid. 45 ibid. 12 roanoke pearce announced that “some of the eleanor dare stones…are frauds.”46 yet he also maintained that “‘no evidence of fraud’ had been found in the case of several stones….”47 this verdict eventually changed and all the stones were exposed as an elaborate hoax. although this event did not create a huge wave in the academic world, it enjoyed substantial coverage in the public press and for a while, at least, the attention breathed life back into a forgotten topic. the 1900s saw a great change in the spectrum of how indians were viewed and understood. the extreme changes are perhaps most succinctly captured by looking at school textbooks from different decades. the textbooks from the earliest and middle decades reveal an overtly prejudicial and demeaning view of the native americans.48 consider the following view posed in this excerpt from a chapter in the 1927 textbook history of the american people by david s. muzzey. other tribes were sunk in bestial savagery…dying by the thousands from ravages of the beasts and diseases against which they were powerless to protect themselves. nowhere had they risen above the state of barbarism. it was for the european settlers to introduce civilization into the new world. …since the days of the earliest settlers they have been an obstruction to be removed, by methods often unnecessarily cruel, from the path of civilization. they have contributed almost nothing to the making of america. the new world was a virgin continent for the european discoverers and their descendents to make of it what they would.49 clearly, the indians were nothing but an inconvenience that had to be overcome by force before progress could be made. by the 1966 edition of thomas a. bailey’s the american pageant, the most horrifyingly racial statements had been removed, but the idea of european superiority clearly remained. when explaining the foundations of the early republic, bailey wrote: it started from scratch on a vast and virgin continent, which was so sparsely peopled by indians that they could be eliminated or pushed aside. such a magnificent opportunity for a great democratic experiment may never come again, for no other huge, fertile, and 46 new york times, “expert says some dare stones are fraud; accuses georgia mason of a playing part,” may 16, 1941. 47 ibid. 48 john hollitz, ed., thinking through the past: a critical thinking approach to u.s. history, vol. 1: to 1877 (boston: houghton mifflin company, 2001), 13-21. 49 ibid., 13-14. 13 karen sause uninhabited areas are left in the temperate zones of this crowded planet…50 contrast the previous two excerpts with the ninth edition of the american pageant published in 1991 that prominently features a photograph of a native american on the front cover.51 no longer marginalized or disparaged, the discussion of native americans, their culture, and the important role they played in the early formation of the united states had finally been recognized as a central part of the american story. the text of the 2000 version of the american pageant spends whole sections discussing various indian tribes, cultures, and languages and goes on to discuss the aid the indians provided to the new settlers, the clash of cultures, and how the indians fought back against the colonists when too many bounds had been overstepped, and negotiations had failed.52 far from being weak and insignificant pushovers with no culture, history, or contributions to claim in the founding of the nation, the complexity of their cultures is now appreciated and their many contributions acknowledged. how did such a significant shift regarding the image and role of the indians in the formation of the country’s transition occur so relatively quickly in the modern historiographical debate? while a full explanation would require a complex and multifaceted answer, much of the transition can be explained by the changes in the national climate regarding race relations in 1960s and 1970s. the field also benefited from forward thinking and open-minded historians who recognized the faults in the existing histories and sought to correct the errors. there are several key historians who have taken up researching and telling the story of roanoke, including: david beers quinn, helen rountree, karen ordahl kupperman, alden t. vaughan, and james axtell. more recently, thomas c. parramore published the article “the ‘lost colony’ found: a documentary perspective” published in 2001, which provides a synthesis of these historians’ arguments. of these historians, quinn and kupperman are the ones who have devoted the most time to the roanoke story, so they will be examined here as an example of the direction in which the field has moved. of all these historians, david beers quinn has been without a doubt the most influential contributor, and is held to be the father of the modern roanoke historiography. an irishman who grew up in a tiny town that canny and kupperman dubbed “a colony within a colony,” quinn became fascinated by the 50 ibid., 15. 51 thomas a. bailey and david m. kennedy, the american pageant, ninth ed. (lexington, massachusetts: d.c. heath and company, 1991). 52 hollitz, thinking through the past, 17-20. 14 roanoke experience of the people like the irish and the indians who had been invaded and conquered.53 as an historian, quinn became extremely interested in the england’s colonization projects—both of his native ireland and of america. over time, his focus became centered on the experience of the natives who lived there. unlike most of his predecessors, quinn recognized that the role the indians played in assisting the setters had not been adequately told or acknowledged. still, quinn should be viewed as a transitional historian, who, rather than departing completely from the established scholarship, worked instead to bridge the gap between the older and modern styles of writing history. one of his earliest works, published in 1949, was entitled raleigh and the british empire. while it is clearly still history written about a dead and formerly powerful white man, quinn included commentary that was critical of ralph lane, who had earned the right to conquer virginia based on his previous brutal and effective job of conquering quinn’s beloved ireland. quinn wrote, “the croatoans explained that they had little maize and extracted a promise that it would not be interfered with. this is a sad commentary on lane’s relations with the indians. the white man was feared as a stealer of corn.”54 by 1974, when he published the book england and the discovery of america, 1481-1620, the plight of the indians had become so central to his study of the subject that he acknowledged in the secondary portion of the title that the book was about the “exploration, exploitation, and trial and error colonization of north america.”55 within the book, he included a chapter called “the lost colony in myth and reality, 1586-1625,” in which he concludes that all of the standard disappearance theories are be potentially accurate explanations, especially if powhatan, as some sources suggest, ordered that the colonists and the chesapeake indians who aided them be killed.56 his outlook and writings both reflected and certainly influenced the change in perspective as witnessed in the editions of the school textbooks. every publication since has utilized his perspective as a starting 53 nicholas canny and karen ordahl kupperman, “the scholarship and legacy of david beers quinn, 1909-2002,” the william and mary quarterly 60, no. 4 (october 2003): 843-860, paragraph 13. 54 david b. quinn, raleigh and the british empire (new york, new york: macmillan company, 1949), 112. 55 david beers quinn, england and the discovery of america, 1481-1620: from the bristol voyages of the fifteenth century to the pilgrim settlement at plymouth: the exploration, exploitation, and trial-and-error colonization of north america (new york, new york: alfred a. knopf, 1974). 56 ibid., 480-481. 15 karen sause point, and every historian has acknowledged that their work in the field would not have been possible without quinn’s contributions.57 karen ordahl kupperman is quinn’s most clear successor. she has written several books concerning the interactions between the indians and the earliest colonists, including: indians and the english: facing off in early america; settling with the indians: the meeting of the english and the indian cultures in america, 1580-164; and roanoke, the abandoned colony.58 additionally, she collaborated with another historian and wrote a biographical article celebrating the life of david quinn. kupperman cites quinn in the preface of her book roanoke, identifying him as “hakluyt’s modern counterpart, whose contribution is no less valuable.”59 roanoke was published in 1984 in conjunction with the 400th anniversary of roanoke’s founding. although the book was well-received by reviewers, by far the largest complaint against it is that it contributes nothing new to the roanoke story and falls very much in line with previous works. this, in my estimation, is a fair allegation not only in regard to kupperman’s work, but also to all the modern works regarding roanoke since quinn. the greatest change in the modern historiography is that the experience of the natives and their perspectives are included with the story, and in some instances constitute the whole story; they are no longer relegated to separate chapters as an aside from the main event of the european conquest. for the moment at least, it seems that there is no new information to tell about the colony and the people of roanoke. short of the resurfacing of some long-lost documents or the discovery of conclusive archeological evidence that suggests how the colonists did or did not die, it seems that what there is to tell of the tale has already been told. what sets modern historians like quinn, kupperman, vaughan, and axtell apart from their predecessors is that they have recognized and chosen to incorporate the indians as equal participants in the story of roanoke. most importantly, they emphasize that these were people who had their own sophisticated culture, religion, political structures, networks, and ways of life. short of finding a genuine 57 canny and kupperman, “the scholarship and legacy of david beers quinn.” 58 for more information see: karen ordahl kupperman. indians and the english: facing off in early america. (ithaca, new york: cornell university press, 2000); karen ordahl kupperman, settling with the indians: the meeting of the english and the indian cultures in america, 15801640 (totowa, new jersey: rowman & allanheld, 1980); and karen ordahl kupperman, roanoke. 59 kupperman, roanoke, vii. 16 roanoke eleanor dare stone, we may never develop a definitive answer of what happened to the colonists, but it has been through this quest that we have come to better appreciate and incorporate knowledge about the lives of the people whom the colonists invaded into the greater story of america. bibliography books hollitz, john, ed. thinking through the past: a critical thinking approach to u.s. history, vol. 1: to 1877. boston: houghton mifflin company, 2001. kupperman, karen ordahl. roanoke: the abandoned colony. totowa, new jersey: rowman & allanheld, 1984. lorant, stefan. the new world: the first pictures of america. new york: duell, sloan & pearce, 1946. morgan, michael g. “inventing virginia: sir walter raleigh and the rhetoric of colonization, 1584-1590.” in early american literature and culture through the american renaissance, vol. 7, edited by reiner smolinski. new york: peter lang publishing, inc., 2007. milton, giles. big chief elizabeth: the adventures and fate of the first english colonists in america. new york: picador usa, 2000. quinn, david b. and alison m. quinn, eds. the first colonists: documents on the planting of the first english settlements in north america, 15841590. raleigh, north carolina: north carolina department of cultural resources division of archives and history, 1982. quinn, david beers. england and the discovery of america, 1481-1620: from the bristol voyages of the fifteenth century to the pilgrim settlement at plymouth: the exploration, exploitation, and trial-and-error colonization of north america. new york, new york: alfred a. knopf, 1974. quinn, david b. raleigh and the british empire. new york: the macmillan company, 1949. shirley, john william. thomas harriot: a biography. new york: oxford university press, 1983. 17 karen sause articles canny, nicholas and karen ordahl kupperman. “the scholarship and legacy of david beers quinn, 1909-2002.” the william and mary quarterly 60, no. 4 (october 2003): 843-860. parramore, thomas c. “the ‘lost colony’ found: a documentary perspective.” north carolina historical review 78, no.1 (2001), 67-83. pearce, haywood j. “new light on the roanoke colony: a preliminary examination of a stone found in chowan county, north carolina.” the journal of southern history 4, no. 2 (may 1938): 148-163. new york times. “finds stone marked 1599: georgia educator thinks it was at eleanor dare’s grave.” august 19, 1940. new york times. “expert says some dare stones are fraud; accuses georgia mason of a playing part.” may 16, 1941. skowronek, russell k. and john w. walker. “european ceramics and the elusive ‘cittie of ralegh.’” historical archaeology 27, no. 1 (1993): 58-69. other sources consulted axtell, james. beyond 1492: encounters in colonial north america. new york: oxford university press, 1992. axtell, james. natives and newcomers: the cultural origins of north america. new york: oxford university press, 2001. blanton, dennis b. and julia a. king, eds. indian and european contact in context: the mid-atlantic region. gainesville, florida: the society for historical archaeology, 2004. de bry, theodore, ed. thomas hariot’s virginia. vol. 15, march of america facsimile series. ann arbor: university microfilms, inc., 1966. kupperman, karen ordahl. indians and english: facing off in early america. ithaca, new york: cornell university press, 2000. 18 roanoke kupperman, karen ordahl. settling with the indians: the meeting of the english and indian cultures in america, 1580 – 1640. totowa, new jersey: rowman and littlefield, 1980. quinn, david, b. north america from the earliest discovery to first settlements: the norse voyages to 1612. new york: harper & row publishers, 1978. quinn, david b. “thomas hariot and the virginia voyages of 1602.” the william and mary quarterly 27, no. 2 (april 1970): 268-281. rountree, helen c. the powhatan indians of virginia: their traditional culture. norman, oklahoma: university of oklahoma press, 1989. rountree, helen c. pocahontas’s people: the powhatan indians of virginia through four centuries. norman, oklahoma: university of oklahoma press, 1990. 19 bibliography women in print “more nearly right”: allowing ambiguity of female solidarity in elizabeth g. jordan’s tales of the city room monica petrilli english in ladies of the press (1936), new york herald tribune front-page reporter ishbel ross calls elizabeth g. jordan “one of the really notable newspaper women of the country, at a time when merit and recognition were a combination not readily found among the women who had gained a foothold in park row” (179). jordan successfully distinguished herself as a prominent journalist at a time when women struggled to achieve such recognition. in her first published book of fiction, a collection titled tales of the city room, jordan portrays a group of female journalists struggling to negotiate their gender with their professional identities.1 the stories, many of which reveal tensions between feminist concerns and professional interests, influenced many women to enter the profession.2 yet, many of the stories offer ambivalent attitudes toward the advancement of women and the role of female solidarity in the profession. an analysis of “miss van dyke’s best story,” “a point of ethics,” and “ruth herrick’s assignment,” reveals the extent to which women aligned themselves with feminism in the struggle to resolve their often conflicting identities as journalists and as women.3 female journalists were likely concerned that membership in a gendered group would undermine their professionalism. situating the stories in a historical context of professionalism and feminism,4 i intend to demonstrate the ways in which the male-dominated profession affected the presence of female solidarity both within and beyond the profession. a close investigation of the aforementioned stories is particularly relevant because jordan established her career at the new york world with “true stories of the news,” a daily column that treated otherwise minor news items as if they were fictional. she later employed the imaginative narrative approach of the column to write her fictional stories.5 through her creative explorations, jordan wrote about the strategies, solutions, and shortcomings of women who strove to resist marginalization in male-dominated profession.6 the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries witnessed a tremendous growth in the number of female journalists. u.s. census figures demonstrate that only 288 out of 12,308 journalists were women in 1880. by 1900, out of a total of 30,098 journalists, 2,193 were women.7 acknowledging the independent presence of women in the profession, the journalist devoted its entire january 26, 1889 issue to profiles of fifty female editors and reporters. the editor even apologized for not previously devoting more space to women. however, the profiles recognized these women not just as able journalists, but also as charming and feminine wives and mothers, thus casting women primarily in a traditional, domestic light.8 despite such inroads into the profession, women thus largely occupied a marginal status based on stereotypes. many male journalists endorsed the ‘findings’ of edward bok, editor of the ladies home journal, that “a girl cannot live in the free-and-easy atmosphere of the local room or do the work required of a reporter without undergoing a decline in the innate qualities of womanliness or suffering in health.”9 he argued that women would lose their femininity, and therefore their appeal to men, when exposed to the rough-and-tumble environment of the newsroom. firmly anchored within a male-oriented construction of knowledge, the newly codified dictate of objectivity10 seemingly welcomed but ultimately excluded women from the professions. objectivity directly opposed the long-standing stereotypes of women as emotional, subjective, and irrational. many women embraced the impersonality of professional expertise to forge ahead. in the groundings of modern feminism, nancy cott argues that the potential to access objectivity motivated many women to enter the professional arena: “neutral scientific standards, based on knowledge rationally and objectively apprehended, constituted an alternative to subjectively determined sex constraints and an avenue to democratization of the power of knowledge” (216). furthermore, many women recognized the professions as “arbiters of custom and convention as well as livelihood” and therefore “[their] exclusion from [professions] rankled not only as a reflection but as a positive shaper of sexual hierarchy (215). in theory, objective standards for access to and advancement within the professions were of great benefit to women. however, many editors maintained stereotypes to insist that women lacked the ability to engage in objective discourse. when editors gave women journalists the opportunity to cover important stories, they defined and judged their work by standards of femininity. searching for signs of emotion and inexperience, editors questioned their communicative competence. editors therefore primarily hired women as ‘women journalists’ in order to attract female audiences; they assigned them topics outside of ‘serious’ reportage, such as society news. the emergence of ‘women’s pages’ ensured that female journalists played a central role in writing stories exclusively for women.11 elizabeth g. jordan, however, severely criticized the kinds of writing she understood to be typically associated with women. when she began her career in the 1880’s editing the woman’s page of a milwaukee newspaper, she detested her responsibility to supply "light and warmth to the women of the universe." she expressed her resentment in her autobiography, three rousing cheers: "i myself was not a sentimentalist. it is a miracle that the stuff i had to carry in 'sunshine' did not permanently destroy my interest in newspaper work” (14). later at the new york world in 1890, she specified her willingness to work hard at any assignment except society news. "i drew the line at that" (48). in ladies of the press, ishbel ross confirms such a view of jordan: she made an impression from the first moment. she had an elaborate wardrobe and was dashing in appearance, and she managed to get into the most inaccessible places. she was never bothered with minor women’s page assignments, but combined the best features of the stunt age with sound writing. (178) jordan insisted upon her ability to write objectively for the general public while maintaining her femininity. though jordan appeared to have achieved a balance between objectivity and femininity, many female journalists struggled to conceal their femininity in order to gain credibility in a man’s field. according to deborah chambers, linda steiner, and carole fleming, women journalists were often faced with a central paradox: those who refused to accept restrictions on what they could write about and who were not suitably feminine at work were branded as personally deviant, while those who accepted the limitations imposed on them and allowed themselves to be treated as feminine were professionally marginalized. by marking out the gender of women journalists as odd and abnormal while treating the gender of male journalists as neutral, male editors created an effective barrier to women’s success. (24) though jordan ostensibly managed to avoid such a paradox, she explored it in her short story, “miss van dyke’s best story.” “miss van dyke’s best story”: an absence of female solidarity within the profession the character named miss van dyke leaves the female sanctuary of the convent in order to pursue a career in the male-dominated profession of journalism. when she first joins the staff of the “evening globe,” the men “bestow” on her a great amount of critical observation suggesting the privilege of receiving such scrutiny: “after cursory but thorough consideration of her appearance and manner, they decided that she ‘was all right’” (209). reduced to a curiosity under the male gaze, she first achieves acceptance based on her appearance and manner as a woman, and not on her skills as a journalist. she appeals to the “office taste” even more when she speaks of her approach to journalism. upon her departure from the convent, one of the nuns, sister clare, with whom she shared a special bond, gave her farewell advice: “may angels ever guide your pen!” punctiliously referring to her as “little” miss van dyke, the men solicit her “motherly” or “sisterly” guidance, not with their stories, but in their personal relationships with women. in return, they escort her home to ensure her safety. although they significantly inhibit her ability to work, she relishes the “sweet sense of good-fellowship.” miss van dyke thus feels relatively satisfied while she produces “innocuous” stories. however, the arrival of the new managing editor, who gives “out an oracular utterance to the effect that he was after ‘hot stuff’ for the paper,” causes her great anxiety (213). she quickly learns that “her correct and colorless little stories, perhaps because constructed in the cool shadow of the angel’s wings, struck him as having no ‘go!’” (213). she realizes that she must drastically alter her writing style and therefore relinquish her innocence to prove herself and preserve her position. miss van dyke requests and receives permission to do a story on the tenderloin’s celebration of tammany’s victory from “a woman’s point of view” (217): [s]he described [the wild scenes of the night] vividly and strongly, setting them down as she had seen them, not wholly understanding what she wrote, but giving to the public a story whose realism haunted many a man and woman who read it the next day. it was the report of innocence on vice, made with the fidelity with which a little child tells of some horror that it does not comprehend and for that very reason describes the more effectively. (221) finally, miss van dyke achieves acceptance based on her skill as a journalist. the managing editor enthusiastically expresses his approval: “one of the best things of the kind i ever read. i might have known she had it in her. that quiet, shrinking type of woman always has” (223). in an effort to explain the dramatic shift in miss van dyke, the managing editor immediately evokes a female stereotype. miss van dyke sacrifices her childlike innocence to earn a rite of passage into the male-dominated field, but not without significant consequence: “for the first time, the members of the staff did not trouble themselves to say ‘miss’ van dyke, which they had been so careful to do before” (222). as the former “convent girl” begins to take rank with miss masters, “who smokes and drinks, and is regarded as ‘a good fellow’ by the boys” (229), she laments such a shift: she never became reconciled to the fact that the men now treated her as one of themselves, with a good-natured camaraderie, in which, however, the deference of the old days was wholly lacking. she knew that they called her “little van dyke” and that “the tenderfoot of the tenderloin” still clung to her as a sobriquet. also that there was no further reference to the angel that guided her pen. the managing editor’s approval and the off-hand kindliness of her associates did not repay her for this lack, which she felt in every fibre of her sensitive nature. (228) miss van dyke cannot escape the story despite her efforts “to slip back into her quiet niche on the paper” (227). she is unable or unwilling to reproduce its effects. the story ends with miss van dyke in tears over her ruined reputation. matthews, her male colleague who has been actively pursuing her seizes the opportunity to propose marriage. he gives her an “assignment” to become his wife: “let me take care of you forever. surely there is nothing finer in being a self-supporting woman than in marrying a poor human being like me and making him happy” (230-231). after reasoning with herself—“the career on which she had entered so happily seemed to have passed beyond her control. others were shaping it—to her undoing. after all, a woman’s place is in the home!”— she accepts (231). yet, she does so with reservation: “i—i think i’ll take the assignment” (231).12 the story seems to affirm marriage as the most secure pursuit for women. perhaps miss van dyke would not have given up so easily if she had received support from her female colleagues. the story proves the lack of solidarity among the female journalists by contrasting it with the solidarity among the sisters of the convent. not only is solidarity absent, but it is replaced by rivalry. another young woman, who “wore blond hair and much red paint” and wrote sensational stories “resented keenly the deep respect shown by the staff to miss van dyke.” jealous of the respect miss van dyke earned simply by being herself, she delights in the men’s altered behavior toward miss van dyke. she participates in the men’s game by hanging a sign of mockery over miss van dyke’s desk: “‘welcome to little van dyke,’ it read, in large black letters,--‘the tenderfoot of the tenderloin’” (224). through her behavior, she expresses her need for continual approval from her male colleagues and her apprehension towards female solidarity: “when the brilliant originator of this heard the laughter that greeted its appearance, she realized that success had crowned her sisterly efforts” (224). yet, she acts “sisterly” only toward the men. within the confines of the story, miss van dyke discerns only two options—heightened sexuality or masculinity—neither of which correctly expresses her perception of herself or earns her respect as a female journalist. beginning in the 1880s, women journalists began forming press clubs and associations parallel to male-only organizations in order to promote professional prestige and provide camaraderie.13 in 1885, women from around the country formed the national woman’s press association, soon renamed the international woman’s press association. their founding document stated: “innumerable benefits will arise from mutual help and encouragement. one aim of the association is to forward the interests of working women in every possible way by combined action of newspaper women.”14 though jordan never explicitly refers to such organizations, she explores possible manifestations of their ideals. while “miss van dyke’s best story ” suggests that such solidarity was not easily attained, “a point of ethics” suggests that it was not easily maintained. “a point of ethics”: a test of female solidarity within the profession “a point of ethics” portrays a group of four female journalists, namely miss imboden, miss herrick, miss neville, and mrs. ogilvie, discussing the extent they should support another female journalists, miss bertram, who now holds a questionable reputation. as the women relax in ruth herrick’s apartment, virginia imboden questions: “[t]o what extent can a woman of irreproachable character assist a woman of no character without being injured in the eyes of others?” (163). though such an “unqualified statement” disturbs the restfulness of the “social evening after the strain of the week,” she insists on discussing the issue, namely the alleged exposure of alice bertram’s concealed past: “[w]e discover that she is a marked women in our profession,—that she is credited with a past,—that her reserve, reticence, and gayety are making her talked about,—that we are coming in for some share of the—the—well, feeling that exists about her” (166). as virginia struggles to articulate the “feeling” that exists about miss bertram, she questions the extent of female solidarity: “now, if this is so, are we held to her by our friendly interest?” (166). after such a question, ruth herrick turns the light on and “[draws] the shades to screen the rooms, with their picturesque group, from the gaze of inquisitive neighbors” (167). this gesture demonstrates her need to separate their private gathering from the public gaze. addressing the group, miss herrick chastises miss imboden for articulating her anxiety: “i don’t wish to dictate or to suggest to any one of you what her course should be, but to me we seem very smug and virtuous as we sit here criticizing this girl from our self-assured little pedestals” (168-169). through the use of “we” as opposed to “you,” she does not single out miss imboden as the sole offending party, but rather offers a lesson to the group. though miss herrick objects to the utterance of such a concern, she does not deny its validity. echoing miss van dyke, miss imboden expresses a legitimate concern for female journalists: “but i’m alone here in new york, and i have nothing in the world except my health, my very ordinary journalistic ability, and my reputation as a ‘hard-working and respectable lady,’ to quote my appreciative janitor” (169). miss imboden fears losing her most precious asset—her reputation. demeaning her own journalistic ability, miss herrick quotes her “appreciative” janitor, and not her editor, as a spokesperson for her reputation. she also suggests that her reputation provides her mother with sustenance: “my mother sits in our little home out west reading the newspaper about my work and pasting them in a scrapbook. every word she reads or hears about me is precious gold to her.” miss herrick emphasizes that by being associated with miss imboden’s questionable reputation, she and her mother will be subjected to detrimental scrutiny. though perhaps justified, miss imboden expresses her concern with such fervor that she appears self-centered. entering the discussion, miss neville directly attacks miss imboden, labeling her as “something like a prig” (168). she reinforces the need to separate private friendships from public relationships. “you’re not talking to park row. you’re talking to miss bertram’s friends.” miss imboden concedes to separate public from private as she emphatically states: i’m willing to help miss bertram in any way i can. i’ll advise her about her stories, i’ll divide my assignments with her, as we’re both on space, but as for ‘the precious boon of companionship,’ that’s another story! does my companionship do her good enough to compensate for the harm hers does me? (170) yet, she reduces her friendship with miss bertram to an economic exchange and insists that “we must remember where we are” (170). she suggests that female solidarity should be maintained only when mutually advantageous. such concerns, however, are ultimately not resolved, for just as mrs. ogilvie suggests that they hear from miss bertram herself, she arrives to tell her story. as the daughter of an extremely wealthy man, miss bertram dissociates herself from her past as part of her wager with her father. she successfully proves herself to be a hard-working woman rather than the modern product that her father most despises—“the society girl” (179). attaining personal satisfaction: “i’ve won my wager and i’m content!” (179), she expresses little concern for the collective struggle of female journalists: “of course the work was hard and often unpleasant, but now that it’s over, i don’t mind that” (180). after miss bertram leaves, miss imboden seeks to restore the esteem of her friends: “i hope you won’t set me down as a double-eyed young prig who goes about tearing her friends up by the roots in their anxiety to discover whether they are good enough for her” (181). with “sisterly care,” miss herrick finally acknowledges the validity of miss imboden’s concerns but advises her to proceed with more caution: “theoretically you were all right. practically you were wrong, as you now know, in this case. the rest of us felt that, because we’re older and more experienced than you. perhaps we read human nature a little better” (182). with good humor, miss herrick instructs miss imboden to think over her own question: “after all, the great question of the evening is still unsettled: to what extent can a good woman help an erring sister without being injured in the eyes of others?” similar to “miss van dyke’s best story,” the story ends with a note of ambiguity concerning the extent of female solidarity, for “miss imboden has not solved her problem yet” (182). it seems women both within and beyond the profession continued to struggle with such a problem. female professionals seek to define themselves according to the objective ideal and to integrate themselves into the male community of professionals. as a result, they form tentative relationships with their female colleagues. according to nancy cott, “what women professionals intended was to amplify the woman into the person, to leave behind only the ascription of inferiority or frivolousness associated with their sex. they were not able to acknowledge that the male-informed professional ethos had enforced their sense of that inferiority” (238). the self-destructive potential of female solidarity therefore derives from women’s acceptance, rather than criticism, of “objectivity.” yet, it appears that they lack the power or leverage to do so without being dismissed entirely. jordan explores such a tension in “ruth herrick’s assignment.” “ruth herrick’s assignment”: a test of female solidarity beyond the profession this story begins by contrasting the “presence” of a managing editor with the “appearance” of a female reporter, miss ruth herrick (3). the managing editor assigns her to “the biggest beat of the year” after the other (male) reporters fail to get the story (24). the author emphasizes that, despite her gender, the protagonist maintains a positive reputation as a “reliable,” “practical,” and “loyal” news reporter (6). “even” the managing editor acknowledges her value as a female reporter: “he had been heard to remark, in an expansive moment, that ruth herrick was a very singular woman, with no nerves or nonsense about her” (4). in other words, he values that she does not display “typical” female characteristics. “the gracious opinion was promptly repeated to the girl, and the memory of it had cheered her during several assignments in which nerves and a woman were equally out of place” (4). though the managing editor’s “gracious” opinion of miss herrick defines her as an exception, it still confirms his derisive view of the female sex. in her acceptance of his opinion, miss herrick also confirms such a view. initially, it seems that miss herrick offers a more accurate representation of mrs. brandow, the prisoner accused of poisoning her husband, than the male reporters based on her skill as a reporter, not as a function her gender. when she sees mrs. brandow for the first time, she notes that it “was not the kind of face she expected to see. newspaper men had been gushing in their descriptions of the famous prisoner, possibly because their imaginations were stimulated by the fact that many of them had never seen her” (12, italics added). in contrast to the male reporters, who express unscientific “gushing” usually associated with the female sex, miss herrick feels confident of her ability to offer a true representation. her spirits “mounted high” at the thought of giving mrs. brandow to the public in “a pen-picture to be long remembered” (14). thus, she views her representation of the woman as an opportunity for self-advancement not female-advancement. the story suggests that miss herrick and mrs. brandow form a bond based on their shared gender. mrs. brandow feels confident that miss herrick will not represent her as irrational and emotional: “the letter of introduction you bring convinces me that i am safe in doing this, and that you will not go away and picture me as tearing my hair and deluging my pillow with tears” (13). attracted to a “certain magnetism” in miss herrick, mrs. brandow feels compelled to lift her silence: “now i suddenly find myself struggling with a desire to become garrulous, to pour out my soul to you, as it were. i could almost ‘tell you the story of my life.’ all this would be an admirable illustration of the limitations of a woman’s capacity for silence” (17). when miss herrick positions herself as confidant to “get the story,” she seems driven and sincere. she encourages mrs. brandow to use her as a “safety-valve,” or to imagine her as an old friend (17). however, miss herrick finally relinquishes her stoic composure when mrs. brandow expresses a “silly desire” to know what she thinks of her (18). miss herrick “felt a strange reluctance to analyze her own impressions, but she watched the development of the other’s peculiar mood with an odd mingling of womanly sympathy and professional interest” (18). she finally acts upon her “womanly sympathy” as mrs. brandow confesses: the woman’s voice broke. the listener had felt her face flush as the other’s words came to her, and now, on a sudden impulse, she took the prisoner’s hand. the white fingers closed suddenly upon her own with such force that the stone in a ring she wore sank into the flesh. but the act was involuntary, for the hand was dropped again with no indication on mrs. brandow’s face that it had been offered and accepted. (20) with hands clasped, mrs. brandow pours out her soul to miss herrick, regaling her with an awful tale of being cruelly abused by her husband. the usually “cool” and “unemotional” miss herrick feels “moved” by the information (23-24). miss herrick becomes even more “moved” as mrs. brandow expresses the motivation behind the murder—to protect her mother. mrs. brandow insists that it was impossible to leave her husband, for her mother, who is dependent on her, and who she loves as she never loved anyone else, lived with them. she claims that she poisoned her husband only after he attacked the mother who sought to protect her. upon completion of her confession, mrs. brandow begs the silent miss herrick to say something, who immediately asks if her mother knows. “they were the first words she had spoken, and she realized fully their possible effect” (22). similar to miss imboden of “a point of ethics,” mrs. brandow expresses the need to protect her mother by preserving her reputation: “no, no!” [mrs. brandow] said brokenly. “she believes in me—she does not suspect” (23). though jordan’s stories remain ambiguous concerning solidarity among young women, they reinforce a daughter’s allegiance to a mother. with the “biggest beat of the year,” miss herrick must decide what to do with the information (24). she faces a difficult moral choice: if anything but the life of a human being had been at stake, how proudly and gladly would she have gone to [the managing editor], and how hard she would have tried to write the story of her life, as he ordered. but—this other woman at her feet. something with the reporter asserted itself as counsel for her and pleaded and would not down. (25, italics added) though obligated by loyalty to the paper, miss herrick decides to withhold the secret. such a decision, however, significantly affects not only the paper but the public as well. as jean lutes argues, “[b]y choosing not to tell the abused wife’s story, herrick protects her from publicity. yet she also veils the horror of domestic violence and perpetuates the managing editor’s ignorance, virtually ensuring that he, and everyone else, will never understand the cause and nature of the murder” (111). miss herrick tells mrs. brandow that she will forget the interview. she insists, however, that mrs. brandow promise not to see another reporter: “she smiled ironically at this stipulation of her own. ‘he might be more loyal than i,’ she thought” (27-28). yet, the “something” that asserts itself and produces sympathy with the wronged woman remains undefined. emphasizing the degree to which miss herrick must sacrifice her desires to maintain her position, the story initially elevates miss herrick to heroic status as a truly objective journalist. she foregoes the celebration dinner she was looking forward to for “various and personal reasons” in order to cover the story of mrs. brandow (5). it remains unclear to what “various” reasons refers; only that they are somehow different than “personal” ones. regardless, the incident highlights her ability to separate her personal and professional life. she likewise forgoes the chance to distinguish herself with the “biggest beat of the year” by not exposing mrs. brandow’s confession. yet, the story finally questions such heroic status by emphasizing the morally tenuous position miss herrick occupies by not turning in a confessed murderer. the story ends with the voice of the managing editor whose “presence” looms at the beginning. he reaffirms his ideas about women. mrs. brandow was acquitted, because “a pretty woman who can hold her tongue will escape the consequences of almost any crime” (29). he finds it “strange” that miss herrick failed to get the story, but he likewise concludes that “after, all, you can’t depend on a woman in this business” (29). similar to the managing editor of “miss van dyke’s best story,” he relies upon a stereotype of women to explain the “strange” shift in miss herrick’s performance. he maintains that women, inherently sympathetic, fail to deliver truth and act with moral conscience. and, like the other two stories, “ruth herrick’s assignment” ends with a final note of ambiguity: “the managing editor was more nearly right than he knew” (29). what is he “more nearly right” about? jean lutes rightly suggests that as “the narrator steps in to validate the editor’s lack of confidence in women, jordan wraps up her story at the expense of female professionalism.” she emphasizes that jordan’s story “dramatizes an authorial conflict of interest, not a feminist intervention, and her reporter-heroine remains ambivalent about her choice to suppress the confession” (110). such a reading presents a pessimistic view about the advancement of women in the profession. a slightly more positive reading might propose that the managing editor is more nearly right, that through her female compassion, ruth herrick made the right moral decision. or that he is more nearly right, though perhaps unconsciously, about the paradoxes of female solidarity both within and beyond the professions. the story invites multiple readings. forty years later, in her autobiography, jordan describes her struggles to allow such ambiguity to exist in her fiction. specifically, she denies, despite widespread rumor to the contrary, that “ruth herrick’s assignment” represented an autobiographical response to the real trial of lizzie borden. after reading the story, jordan's own managing editor is noted to have said, "[s]o that's the kind of reporter you are" (120). when jordan told julian ralph, her fellow newsman, that she believed in borden's innocence, her friend looked suddenly relieved. she comments that "[a]ll the newspaper men had been afraid that being a woman, and therefore without man's great natural sympathy, i would show a bias in my reports that might divert some of the current of popular feeling which was sweeping toward miss borden" (120-121). it is ultimately of little importance whether or not jordan based her story on borden. rather, it is useful to consider her fictional works as an analysis of the difficult negotiations that female journalists are forced to make. some contemporary critics, however, also disallow such ambiguity. for instance, june howard argues that jordan crossed and combined public and private worlds and commercial and cultural space through her role as editor to create room for women in the professional realm. in her effort to view jordan as a valuable participant in a vast social movement, howard reads her autobiography, fiction, and letters through a positive lens. through such a lens, however, she tends to obviate the problematic complexities that exist in the texts. though howard acknowledges that “ruth herrick’s assignment” “turn[s] on the tensions between an ethic of connection and more-skeptical, self-interested attitudes—one, specifically on a conflict between loyalty to another woman and the imperative to get the story,” she fails to fully interrogate its ambiguous ending (67). rather, she quickly shifts to jordan’s autobiographical dissociation from the story. it is important, however, to recognize the ambivalent nature of jordan’s fictional explorations when positioning her alongside the emerging feminist agendas of the early twentieth century. failure to do so obscures an essential element in her work. though jordan successfully distinguished herself as a prominent journalist at a time when women struggled to achieve such recognition, she recognized the difficulty of such an endeavor. as she paved the way for many women entering the profession, she also described the tensions between women that inevitably result. through fiction explorations, she often offered a pessimistic outlook. it therefore ultimately proves problematic to view jordan as optimistically trailblazing for the advancement of women in every genre. 1 she wrote its ten linked stories in the city room of the world at night while she supervised the reporters and artists who were producing the material for the sunday supplement. 2 a favorite book of mary elizabeth prim while growing up, tales of the city room inspired her to begin writing newspaper stories in high school. she later became a leading boston transcript reporter of the 1930s (ross 486). also see belford, brilliant bylines, 152. 3 though i will use feminism to refer to the gender consciousness of women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the term did not come into frequent use until the 1910’s replacing the woman movement. for an understanding of the historical emergence of the term see cott, groundings of modern feminism, esp. 3-6. 4 nancy cott considers the historic turning point of the 1910s and 1920s when the paradoxes of the feminist movement began to surface. “as much as feminism asserts the female individual—by challenging delimitation by sex and by opposing the self-abnegation on behalf of others historically expected of women—pure individualism negates feminism because it removes the basis for women’s collective self-understanding or action” (groundings of modern feminism, 6). she thus offers a study of consciousness—a study of women’s willingness or reluctance to identify themselves with the collective. in a chapter specifically focused on the relationship between professionalism and feminism, she provides evidence to suggest that professional women on the whole assumed that any connection with feminism would prove detrimental to their professional progress. though the stories i consider occur prior to this period such a tension is clearly evident. 5 for an example of the “true stories of the news” that established jordan’s reputation at the world, see belford, brilliant bylines, 159-164. 6 observing the increased number of autobiographies produced by journalists at the turn of the 20th century, linda steiner speculates that autobiography offered an important means of personal expression for journalists to “cope with the increasingly vehement insistence that journalists suppress the self and obey the conventions of objectivity” (“gender at work” 5). fiction seems to have offered jordan a similar outlet. 7 chambers, steiner, & fleming, 13. 8 marzolf, 24-25. 9 chambers, steiner, & fleming, 19. 10 by the 1890s, “objectivity” became codified as the “great law” of journalism according to david t. z. mindich. he also notes that objective journalism was “somehow a masculine endeavor.” (just the facts, 114-15, 130-31) 11 chambers, steiner, & fleming, 7. 12 jean lutes notes the “predictable split” that occurs at the end of newspaper novels. most men abandon journalism to write fiction while most women leave to marry. she reads the ending of the story as “affirm[ing] unpaid domestic work as women’s true business” (front page girls 105). 13 marzolf, 26. 14 chambers, steiner, & fleming, 126. works cited: belford, barbara. brilliant bylines: a biographical anthology of notable newspaperwomen in america. new york: columbia university press, 1986. chambers, deborah, linda steiner, and carole fleming. women and journalism. london: routledge, 2004. cott, nancy f. the groundings of modern feminism. new haven: yale university press, 1987. howard, june. “‘her very handwriting looks as if she owned the earth’: elizabeth jordan and editorial power.” women in print: essays on the print culture of american women from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. ed. james p. danky and wayne a. wiegand. madison: university of wisconsin press, 2006. 64-76. jordan, elizabeth. tales of the city room. new york: charles scribner’s sons, 1898. ——. three rousing cheers. new york: d. appleton-century, 1938. lutes, jean marie. front page girls: women journalists in american culture and fiction, 18801930. ithaca: cornell university press, 2006. marzolf, marion. up from the footnote: a history of women journalists. new york: hastings house, 1977. mindich, david t. z. just the facts: how “objectivity” came to define american journalism. new york: new york university press, 1998. ross, ishbel. ladies of the press: the story of women in journalism by an insider. new york: harper, 1936. steiner, linda. “gender at work: early accounts by women journalists.” journalism history. 23.1 (1997) 2-12. microsoft word williams.doc we don’t do body counts a study of the pentagon and the controversy of civilian casualties in modern warfare david williams history in september of 2005 seven thousand u.s. and iraqi soldiers massed around the northern iraqi town of tall’afar. to the chagrin of an already battered and thinly stretched military, the town, which is nestled along the porous syrian border, had become a stronghold of the insurgency. predicted to be this year’s fallujah and believed to be the present haven of al-qaeda kingpin abu mousab al-zarqawi, tall’afar awaited a smash mouth assault from coalition forces, who would be assisted by hundreds of bradleys, battle tanks, and artillery pieces. ac130 spectre gunships, f-16 fighter jets, and attack helicopters circled in the sweltering sky, anticipating calls from ground forces already skirmishing with insurgents in buildings and medieval alleyways laced with booby traps and roadside bombs. before the decisive assault, iraqi soldiers and the green berets attached to their units began “draining the pond,” evacuating trapped civilians and keeping a wary eye for insurgents attempting to slip out disguised as women or holding children’s hands. however, the two-day grace for civilians to evacuate became a four-day standstill, momentum lost to concerns in baghdad and washington over civilian casualties and other unknown political considerations. when fighting finally resumed many of the insurgents had vanished along with most of their dead. “the insurgency is like a cell-phone system,” a high ranking u.s. officer told time, “you shut down one node, another somewhere else comes online to replace it.” 1 this illustration provides more than a glimpse into the gritty, inch by inch street fights in iraq; it is a window into the complex nature of modern asymmetrical warfare. it now appears as though world war ii 1 michael ware, “chasing the ghosts,” time, september 26, 2005. we don’t do body counts 75 era set-piece battles and carpet bombing have been retired to the history books. in contrast, today’s conflicts resemble guerilla warfare in an information age. at a press conference during the campaign in afghanistan, secretary of defense donald rumsfeld commented on the impact that this type of warfare has on civilian casualties, “the national security environment in the world has changed. we are dealing with a different margin for error. we are dealing with different penalties that will result from our decisions. whichever decision we make, the penalties will be notably different than they were in the last century.”2 in this national security environment the same information component used to target insurgents in tall’afar is the same technology that instantaneously broadcasts the battle across the globe. consequently, a decisive feature of information age warfare is the power of public opinion, and especially the influence of civilian casualties on this dynamic.3 for example, the military can tactically win in tall’afar, but if civilian casualties mount –transmitted by instant graphic journalism – it may lose the battle in the media; thus eroding public support, undermining political objectives, and perhaps ultimately losing the war. such a situation suggests that in asymmetrical wars political and military strategy cannot be separated, thereby adding another twist to the assertion by 19th century prussian military theorist, carl von clausewitz, that, “war is politics by other means.” against this backdrop general tommy franks’ terse answer, “we don’t do body counts,” which was given at bagram air base to journalists’ questions on counting casualties during operation anaconda in afghanistan, serves as a portal into the sensitive issue of civilian casualties and the controversial debate over counting them.4 since franks was the top officer in the u.s. central command for the wars in afghanistan and iraq, his statement regarding body counts, which has been echoed from top officials to ground level officers, seems to reflect the position and unofficial policy of the pentagon on this contentious topic. moreover, the subtext of those five words – terminology, tone, and intended audience – indicate that today’s military is still haunted by vietnam, and thus, the vietnam war itself acts as the natural embarkation point into the development of tensions and policy inside the pentagon on 2 cited in wbur boston and npr radio show: the connection, “civilian casualties,” aired: aug. 2, 2002. listen to program at: http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2002/08/20020802_a_main.asp 3 inspired from comments by kenneth allard on the connection, “civilian casualties,” aug. 2, 2002. 4 edward epstein, “success in afghan war hard to gauge,” san francisco chronicle, march 23, 2002. david williams 76 the complex problem of civilian casualties. by tracing this subject as it originated in vietnam to the current war in iraq, one can attain a firm understanding of its hitherto uncharted evolution and therefore more competently grasp the divisive issues and inherent dilemmas surrounding the question of counting civilian casualties, and foresee its implications on the current future of modern warfare. the ability of a modern democracy to fight a limited war is quite precarious. like members of the current administration, american policymakers in the 1960s recognized this truth. they understood that american public opinion, as leslie gelb has put it, was the “essential domino” to victory in vietnam.5 the principle method used by the pentagon to measure the success of its attrition strategy was the “body count.” the body count could palpably demonstrate the progress of the war to congress and the american public. since the news media was the standard conduit to these audiences, the military viewed its relationship with the press as central to sustaining support for the war. in saigon military officials briefed the press daily with precise tallies of enemy casualties; the frequency of which gave some the false impression that soldiers spent the night counting bodies by flashlight in range of enemy fire. the body count criterion and the environment it fostered naturally led to inflated numbers, including civilians caught in the crossfire.6 while not uncritical, american media reporting generally supported the objectives of the military and administration; however, as the political scientist guenter lewy points out, “war has always been beastly, but the vietnam war was the first war exposed to television cameras and seen in practically every home, often in living color…the events of tet and the siege of khe sanh in 1968…shook the american public…[and] contributed significantly to disillusionment with the war.”7 the body counts set against the disturbing months of 1968 shattered the credibility of the military and the johnson administration. gallup polls indicated that the tet offensive had dramatically shifted public opinion against the war.8 when walter cronkite, the cbs nightly news anchor, declared the war a stalemate, president lyndon b. johnson clearly perceived the gravity of this shift when he remarked, “if we’ve lost 5 leslie h. gelb, “the essential domino: american politics and vietnam,” foreign affairs, (1972): 459. 6 andrew f. krepinevich, jr. the army and vietnam. (baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1986), 202-205. 7 guenter lewy, america in vietnam. (new york: oxford university press, 1978), 433-434. 8 richard sobel, the impact of public opinion on u.s. foreign policy since vietnam. (new york: oxford university press, 2001), 66. we don’t do body counts 77 cronkite, we’ve lost america.”9 in the aftermath, an open animosity developed between the military and the government on the one side, and the news media on the other. the military believed that 1968 had been a decisive victory and held contempt for what it viewed as irresponsible reporting and sweeping conclusions. contrary to the military’s perception, william m. hammond argues that even though a considerable number of erroneous and unfair reports existed, the majority of vietnam war reporting “reproduced the official point of view.” moreover, despite the aberration of poor reporting during tet, the negative, yet largely sound, press coverage following the offensive did not so much turn public opinion as reflect an american view of the war that had itself begun to change: cueing to that trend if not to its sources within the elite, the press again followed suit but the u.s. government and military lacked the ability to do the same. remaining behind in south vietnam to retrieve whatever national face they could, those of their members most emotionally tied to the failed policy fixed their anger upon the news media, the most visible exponent of the society that appeared to have rejected them. the recriminations that we see today became the most inevitable result.10 citing the later remarks of generals like william c. westmoreland, commander of american forces in vietnam, hammond shows that in addition to flawed reporting, this post-vietnam myth held that the news media had relentlessly stovepiped the mayhem of war into the living rooms of the american public, thus buckling the people’s will under the weight of dismay and defeatism. although hammond uncovers evidence contrary to the myth, these discordant beliefs within the military establishment have stuck.11 not only did the soured relationship with the media have repercussions on how the pentagon handled the issue of civilian casualties in the future, but the military tactics employed in vietnam did as well. the clash of opposing doctrines and tactics, which came to characterize both sides of the conflict, engendered the devastating and 9 sobel, 66. 10 william m. hammond, “the press in vietnam as agent of defeat: a critical examination,” reviews in american history 17, no. 2 (june 1989): 318, 321. 11 note: hammond demonstrates that network censorship and the limited mobility of television crews restricted the amount of violence on tv, 315-316. david williams 78 unconventional nature of the vietnam war. in the jungles and rice paddies fought the viet cong who “clutched the people to their breast,” and the american soldiers who “expended shells not men.” against fortified vietnamese hamlets and entrenched viet cong positions inside cities like saigon and hue, the american military employed artillery, tactical airpower, naval gunfire, and helicopter gunships. “the unparalleled, lavish use of firepower as a substitute for manpower,” wrote an american officer in early 1968, ‘is an outstanding characteristic of u.s. military tactics in the vietnam war.”12 while this profligate use of fire in populated areas contributed to a rising body count, civilian casualties also rose from the effects of search and destroy operations, free-fire zones, and problematic interpretations of rules of engagement. such a combination proved counterproductive to “winning the hearts and minds” of the peasantry.13 regardless of the source of fault, civilian casualties, estimated in the millions, had a significant influence on the american citizens’ will to sustain the war. “another vietnam lesson learned by both press and military,” says lucinda fleeson of the philip merrill college of journalism, “was an understanding of the importance of civilian casualties. u.s. military leaders learned the hard way that they could not outpace the public’s willingness to accept the human cost of conflict…as a result, billions have been spent to refine precision weaponry to improve their killing capability and reduce unintended casualties.”14 the pentagon had begun implementing these lessons learned since the vietnam war long before the first salvo of “smart bombs” arced over the iraqi skyline, opening the 1991 persian gulf war. clausewitz used the term “center of gravity” to define the core source of power from which a military derives its strength. according to fleeson, the american military judged iraq’s center of gravity to be saddam hussein and his republican guard. “the center of gravity in america, however, is…the will of the people,” she continues, “often a function of citizens’ acceptance of deaths of its own soldiers as well as…civilian casualties.”15 having linked victory with censorship, a bitter lesson of the vietnam war, the daily briefings by military officials in riyadh were heavily filtered, ostensibly for security, but public relations concerns as well. the skeletal details provided to reporters focused more 12 cited in lewy, 96. 13 ibid, 96, 97, 105. 14 lucinda fleeson, “the civilian casualty conundrum,” american journalism review, (april 2002), 4-5. 15 ibid, 4-5. we don’t do body counts 79 on precision ordnance and sterile targets than the more graphic features of war. the pentagon also imposed a “pool system” on combat coverage, which permitted small numbers of correspondents to forward areas under military escort, but subsequent reports had to be cleared by the military. despite genuine efforts by generals norman schwarzkopf and colin powell to ease the old animosity and suspicions between the military and press, the new reporting rules did not sit well with the media. as reported in the new york times, “however many assurances they are given to the contrary, reporters are convinced that senior military officers, many of whom think critical reporting destroyed public support for the vietnam war…are determined…to minimize critical reporting here.”16 an important aspect of this censorship was the issue of the body count. now packaged in the euphemism, collateral damage, the military leadership made it clear that the days of tallying casualties, whether military or civilian were over. using the phrase collateral damage in place of civilian casualties, for example, would help sterilize the brutal reality of war. margot norris’ research on censorship in the persian gulf war argues: the double defeat in vietnam, military and moral, prompted the new body count practice…shedding the vietnam syndrome has always meant achieving a double power: the ability to win an absolute and ‘clean’ military victory by full use of american technological superiority, and the ability to win an absolute and ‘clean’ moral victory by full use of the pentagon’s virtually absolute control over martial necrology.17 one tension that developed within the pentagon as a result of silence on civilian casualty figures was the conflict between proclamations of hitech proficiency against surfacing reports of rising civilian casualties. in her respected study in 1993, beth osborne daponte, a demographer at carnegie mellon university, estimated that 13,000 civilians were killed directly by the u.s.-led campaign in the persian gulf.18 another major tension that emerged during this war was between the pledge to the domestic audience to minimize american military 16 r.w. apple jr., “war in the gulf: covering the war,” new york times, feb. 3, 1991, a9. 17 margot norris, “military censorship and the body count in the persian gulf war,” cultural critique, no. 19, the economies of war (autumn, 1991): 237. 18 study available at: http://www.ippnw.org/mgs/psrqv3n2daponte.html david williams 80 casualties, and the promise to a foreign audience to spare the lives of iraqi civilians. in the month of bombing that preceded the brief ground war, saddam hussein, taking a page from hanoi, deftly publicized civilian casualties in an effort to stir arab street rage and divide european public opinion. he placed military hardware beside sensitive locations such as neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals. in the nascent era of 24 hour cable news coverage, epitomized by cnn, the stakes in the battle for public opinion soared to new heights. when american fighterbombers released two penetrating 2,000-pound bombs on the al firdos bunker in february of 1991, the bush administration had to scramble to the airwaves to pre-empt the graphic images of charred civilians that began flooding television screens. saddam hussein claimed that the building had been an air-raid shelter, while american officials maintained that he had stocked a legitimate military target with human shields. nevertheless, the bombs caused hundreds of civilian casualties. concerned at the time about the fragile coalition and saddam hussein’s successes on the political battlefront, a western diplomat told the new york times, “the clear danger is that if civilian casualties mount, the president could be in the unseemly position of establishing an equation between the value of american lives and the value of iraqi civilians’ lives.”19 the frequent reporting of civilian casualties and the political context of the gulf war demonstrated that more was required to deal with the political effects of events like the al firdos bombing in baghdad. for most of the war the president george h.w. bush enjoyed formidable domestic support and favorable media coverage; richard sobel says, “the media responded to the established preferences of their audience and the goals of the government…both the public and politicians were very much opposed to any protests; the media coverage followed this pattern.”20 despite strong domestic backing for the war, the bush administration was persistently concerned about public opinion, both at home and abroad, especially among the world’s one billion muslims. in the persian gulf, the u.s. military operated inside a political powder keg, and the al firdos bombing sparked numerous anti-american demonstrations in the arab world. as a result, the u.s. leadership decided to drastically restrict the bombing of targets in and around baghdad, even though they had adhered to their legal obligations for 19 andrew rosenthal, “war in the gulf: bush quandary,” new york times, feb. 14, 1991, a1. 20 sobel, 155. we don’t do body counts 81 limiting civilian casualties. therefore, political objectives affected military strategy and vice versa. “in assessing targets, if there is a possibility of significant civilian deaths, the military gain might be offset by the blowback, so they won’t do it,” says defense consultant richard king, a retired air force colonel who worked on several persian gulf war after-action reports.21 a significant consequence was that american soldiers, now and in future wars, might face greater risk from a red-taped bombing campaign and rules of engagement that would limit the prospect of civilian casualties. nonetheless, the al firdos incident and several other politically tense moments were aberrations. the u.s. led coalition decimated saddam’s vaunted army in a largely desert theatre, and under ten percent of the weapons used were precision guided. the issue of collateral damage and of tallying the civilian cost did not significantly weigh on the public conscience because of the swiftness and largely conventional nature of the gulf war. press censorship and the promotion of precision weapons also influenced this outcome, proving sound lessons learned from the vietnam war. however, by publicizing a “clean” war, the u.s. military raised its own standard for success to which it would be held during the next conflict; a battle zone where the landscape might not be golden sands, but tribal mountains and crowded streets. given that battlefield conditions and precision weapons technology had limited collateral damage in the persian gulf war, the u.s. military was not spurred into a substantial “lessons learned” process with regard to damage assessments. the bombing campaign suffered from what is termed an “input-output gap.” thomas keaney, a former air force colonel and current executive director of the foreign policy institute at the school for advanced international studies at johns hopkins university explains, “the u.s. military encountered a vast discrepancy between the amount of knowledge available of the input—for example, the number of sorties and bomb tonnage—compared with the output— the bomb damage.”22 damage assessments are possible, but they involve a difficult process that usually retains some degree of uncertainty. therefore, when military after-action reports addressed the issue of collateral damage, as did the department of defense’s title v report to congress, the focus was on the input of the air operations, such as “target 21 cited in fleeson, 5. 22 see thomas keaney’s essay, “collateral damage in the gulf war: experience and lessons,” the carr center for human rights policy, john f. kennedy school of government. essay available at: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/cchrp/use of force/june 2002/keaney_final.pdf david williams 82 selection, weapon assignment, and avoidance of religious and archeological sites, hospitals, schools, and similar areas.” treatment of the output side of operations was limited to the al firdos incident. rather, the reports focused on the iraqi regime’s disregard for the laws of war and its campaigns of disinformation. “overall, the report is correct in detailing what was done, but…provided no indication that any lessons were learned regarding u.s. obligations in restricting collateral damage,” keaney concludes, “nor did the report deal with collateral damage beyond the strict legal obligations involved.”23 while the u.s. military was uninterested in conducting collateral damage assessments, they were more than cognizant of its political lessons: during the war, the united states learned important unstated, but obvious lessons concerning the political effects of collateral damage…relying on legal expertise was proven insufficient to determine the political effects of civilian casualties. that responsibility must remain with the commanders at the highest levels, who are often civilian leaders in washington. such conditions will necessarily limit the conduct of military operations.24 the political lessons the pentagon learned during the gulf war resulted in serious investment in the input side of their operations, which manifested in meticulous risk assessments, improved technology, and an enlarged arsenal of precision weapons. the pentagon showcased the fruit of these efforts over the skies of yugoslavia in the late 1990s, and hoped to continue the trend into the war on terror. thus, when the inevitable question of civilian casualties arose in afghanistan, gen. tommy franks, as cited in the new york times, called the conflict there, “the most accurate war ever fought in this nation’s history.”25 however, difficult battlefield conditions and the political context of the war on terror amplified tensions within the pentagon regarding civilian casualties. moreover, by neglecting the output side of collateral damage and refusing to count the victims, the pentagon exacerbated the controversial issue of civilian casualties that the input investments were intended to alleviate. 23 keaney, “collateral damage.” 24 ibid. 25 eric schmitt, “after january raid, gen. franks promises to do better,” new york times, feb. 8, 2002, a10. we don’t do body counts 83 even though the searing images of the terrorist attacks on september 11th 2001 provided the united states with an unprecedented degree of global sympathy, that solidarity – “we are all americans” – did not necessarily translate into a carte blanch for u.s. military operations. the prospect of bombs falling on an impoverished, famine stricken, and war ravaged populace did not sit well with the international community, especially with the muslim world that harbored many festering grievances with the united states. from the outset, global support for the war on terror rested on a foundation of sand. as the first bombing raids commenced over afghanistan in october of 2001, fifty-six islamic nations convened an emergency meeting in qatar, issuing a careful statement condemning the terrorist attacks in new york, and warning against american actions that inflicted civilian casualties and extended beyond those directly responsible. several weeks later, defense minister geoff hoon of britain met with secretary rumsfeld and other top officials in washington. he warned of growing hostility in islamic countries like pakistan and of unease among staunch allies like great britain by the increasing reports of civilian bombing casualties. “people are starting to wonder where does this way of waging war bring us?” a western diplomat told the new york times, “there are no evident results…no big taliban leaders captured or killed. and the collateral damage doesn’t make nice pictures in the newspapers.”26 on the home front, americans were more preoccupied with anthrax scares than grainy night vision videos of precision bombing. one administration official told the new york times, “the lesson we’re learning is that you can bomb the wrong place in afghanistan and not take much heat for it. but don’t mess up at the post office.”27 still, civilian and military officials recognized that a major mistake in afghanistan, sealed in newspaper ink, could render that political lesson null and void. winning the information war was critical to shoring up world opinion and maintaining domestic support. in a newshour interview with jim lehrer, secretary rumsfeld addressed the issue of civilian casualties and informed the american public of the asymmetrical nature of the afghan campaign: …what they [taliban] are doing is they’re taking their tanks and their artillery and their various command-and-control centers, 26 michael r. gordon and eric schmitt, “u.s. campaign on 2nd front: public opinion,” new york times, oct. 31, 2001, b1. 27 elisabeth bumiller and david e. sanger, “home front is a minefield for president,” new york times, oct. 25, 2001, a1. david williams 84 they’re using mosques, they’re using hospitals, schools and residential areas…it’s a win-win for them. either we don’t bomb them because they’re in a mosque, in which case they’re safe. or if we do bomb them, they bring the press in there with a bus and their cameras and take pictures and say what terrible people the westerners are who are doing this.28 when pressed about civilian casualties on the ground, mr. rumsfeld emphasized the precision of american ordnance, but acknowledged that rare mistakes do occur. he again underscored the taliban’s complicity in collateral damage and its propaganda campaign, as demonstrated by removing civilians from hospitals and planting them in an area where american bombs had recently fallen. therefore, it is apparent that since vietnam, the pentagon had learned that a clear public relations strategy was an essential companion of military strategy. while the pentagon was quick to defend itself before the american public, they were slow to realize the power that satellite networks had over an international audience, particularly over the arab public, which often woke up to the claims of the taliban rather than press conferences hosted by secretary rumsfeld. “we have been hearing from arab leaders and others who support us who say you guys need to do more,” a senior administration official told the new york times, “they say, ‘al jazeera is killing us.’”29 as a result, officials like general richard meyers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and secretary of state colin powell gave interviews to arab networks, clarifying american objectives and countering the taliban’s dramatic collateral damage estimates. in such an incendiary political atmosphere, the pentagon circled the wagons around the enduring issue of tallying civilian casualties—a trend epitomized by gen. tommy franks’ famous declaration: “we don’t do body counts.” william h. arkin, a former army intelligence analyst and current military adviser to human rights watch, told the new york times, “the military knows they’ll get pummeled about issues relating to civilian casualties, and they don’t have a clue how to address it in a nonpropagandistic way. the subject ties them in knots. it’s an irritant, 28 see rumsfeld television interview with jim lehrer on nov. 7, 2001. transcript available at www.pbs.org. 29 michael r. gordon, “u.s. tries to sway worldwide opinion in favor of war,” new york times, nov. 6, 2001, a1. we don’t do body counts 85 and they avoid it.”30 this intransigence aggravated by the consistent needling of the american media further isolated the pentagon from the subject. “journalists, like nature, abhor a vacuum,” said stephen hess, a scholar of the presidency at the brookings institution in washington. with an incessant need for information, especially for 24-hour cable networks, he continued, “the story consequently becomes about whether the coalition will hold together, or civilian casualties.”31 the friction between the pentagon and the american press undermined the military’s effort to prevent political fallout resulting from rumors of collateral damage and actual mistakes. the nature of the war on terror – guerilla warfare in an information age – heightened the tension between the pentagon’s refusal to count collateral damage and the increasing reports of civilian casualties; a tension that had developed in the gulf war. by restricting the news media’s access in afghanistan, the pentagon isolated journalists who could have corroborated its claims. “i think there have not been very many civilian casualties,” steven inskeep of npr told lucinda fleeson, “but when the pentagon tells you there have not been civilian casualties, they have not given you enough access so that reporters can repeat that statement with confidence.”32 in addition, a hostile and extremely rugged countryside made independent verification a slow and dangerous process; many journalists were virtually stranded in afghanistan’s squalid hotels. while conservative groups accused the media of lacking patriotism and being overly negative toward the government, others accused the media of being sluggish to report on u.s. military blunders and civilian casualties. compared with international media outlets, which reported hundreds, even thousands of civilian deaths, the accusations against the american press seemed credible. however, american reporters generally have more rigorous standards than their peers across the atlantic. loren jenkins, npr’s senior foreign editor, was quoted by lucinda fleeson, “only go with what you know yourself, for sure. i learned that lesson in vietnam.” 33 while the pentagon refused to count civilian casualties and as war correspondents slowly pieced collateral damage stories together, two academics filled the void with studies that estimated the number of 30 barry bearak, eric schmitt and craig smith, “uncertain toll in the fog of war,” new york times, feb. 10, 2002, section 1, pg.1. 31 david e. sanger and jim rutenberg, “bush plans speeches with coherent, unified message,” new york times, nov. 2, 2001, b7. 32 fleeson, 5. 33 ibid, 4. david williams 86 civilians killed in afghanistan. the studies by marc w. herold of the university of new hampshire and by carl conetta, director of the project on defense alternatives, reported deaths into the thousands; however, lucinda fleeson questions their methodology: they ultimately resembled a global version of the game of telephone: a refugee says that eight villagers died in an attack; taliban officials transmute that report into 30 casualties; that claim is posted on a pakistani news agency’s web site; six other webbased news services pick up the figure; a british newspaper includes the claim in its news of the day out of afghanistan; an american professor counts up all of these reports over three months and concludes that 3,767 civilians had been killed.34 by the time the associated press concluded an onsite reconstruction they had cautiously estimated the total between 500 and 600 civilian deaths. regardless of aggregate numbers, scholars like herold and conetta insisted that the magnitude of the figures belied the pentagon’s claims of “the most accurate war ever fought in this nation’s history.” pentagon officials like secretary rumsfeld have maintained that tracking civilian casualties is “next to impossible,” citing the inaccessibility of bombed targets, the muslim tradition of promptly burying the dead, and the amount of time that elapses before it would be safe to conduct investigations.35 thus, the pentagon preferred to deflect charges of collateral damage with detailed descriptions of their targeting process in afghanistan. the new york times reported: the pentagon has used multiple sources of intelligence, including local afghans, u-2 spy planes, reconnaissance satellites, unpiloted predator drones and rc-135 rivet joint planes that collect electronic transmissions. sources are crosschecked for accuracy. commanders then determine which aircraft to dispatch, the type and size of the bomb, and even the best approach route to minimize the threat to civilians. lawyers review the targets, also evaluating the risk to civilians.36 34 fleeson, 2. 35 barry bearak, eric schmitt, craig smith, new york times, 1. 36 barry bearak, eric schmitt, craig smith, new york times, 1. we don’t do body counts 87 and if the targets are deemed particularly risky, clearance must come from the secretary of defense, and even the president. however, such championing of the input side of operations led to unintentional credibility gaps and serious political problems. the tragic events of july 1, 2002 highlighted the fact that military operations can be precise, but not correct. in the black night of the oruzgan province, american special forces reported antiaircraft fire coming from the four villages of the hamlet of kakrak. soon an ac-130 gunship hovered over the villages and the pilots reported being fired on. having received clearance, the gunship, bristling with cannons and gatling gun, strafed the hamlet. daylight revealed villagers gathering the limbs of their neighbors suspended in trees and scattered on the ground. locals told reporters that there had been two engagement parties that night and the men had fired their guns in the air, an afghan celebratory tradition. afghan officials counted dozens of dead women and children, and over a hundred wounded villagers. under the ensuing political storm, a team of american officials were dispatched to the village to investigate. angry afghans, both peasants and officials, decried the u.s. military’s reliance on bad intelligence and lavish firepower. “the americans are not from here and they don’t know our traditions or our enemies and who has enemies,” jan muhammad, the governor of oruzgan, told the new york times.37 precision weapons cannot always prevent political fallout. the military’s scrupulous preplanning was very effective against fixed targets, but problems arose in the case of emerging targets, such as the strike in kakrak, which are time critical and often based on incomplete or dubious intelligence. a credibility gap developed from these emerging target missions; officials who had quickly claimed success soon appeared to be discredited when later accounts contradicted their claims. moreover, the pentagon often continued to insist that no mistakes had been made in light of conflicting evidence.38 on the boston radio show, the connection, thomas keaney addressed host anthony brooks’ question about the incident at kakrak and collateral damage. his response indicated that mistakes will always 37 dexter filkins, “flaws in u.s. air war left hundreds of civilians dead,” new york times, july 2, 2002, section 1, pg. 1. 38 as the new york times reported, pentagon official later conceded that they regretted not having embedded reporters with the special forces soldiers who had come under consistent, hostile fire from kakrak. one official remarked, “this legacy of distrust from the vietnam war has simply got to go away. our isolation serves this country poorly.” thom shanker, “pentagon says it will give journalists access to frontline war units,” new york times, december 28, 2002, a10. david williams 88 occur in war, whether they be bad intelligence, misidentification of a target, or seeing something that wasn’t there. the era of precision technology has not dissipated the fog of war. although the military makes an extraordinary effort to avoid collateral damage, the complexity of battle and the necessary split second decisions will result in misjudgments; one must always “cite the conditions.”39 nonetheless, sara sewall, a program director at harvard university's carr center for human rights, and also a guest on the radio show wondered if, despite excellent pre-planning and good intentions, the military is doing everything it can to prevent civilian casualties: this is an issue that occupies an extraordinary amount of the top political and military leadership’s time, yet they respond to it defensively as a matter of crisis management; reflexively conduct an investigation and move on. in classic washington bureaucratic terms, no body “owns this problem.” no body is undertaking a systematic and comprehensive [and] proactive approach to helping us do better…happens in pockets, ad hoc…isn’t institutionalized as a whole in the u.s. military.40 in the absence of collateral damage assessments done by the u.s. military, nongovernmental groups like human rights watch stepped into the vacuum. having previously documented collateral damage in the 1991 gulf war and 1999 yugoslav air campaign, william arkin, an expert on civilian casualties, headed a team of investigators that traveled to afghanistan in march of 2002. the 65-page report that followed cited the military’s use of cluster bombs in or near populated areas as a major cause of civilian casualties. the high dud rates of cluster munitions turned them into dormant landmines that also posed a threat to civilians for years to come. despite new technology and greater military restriction of cluster bomb targets in afghanistan, the report still deemed the weapon fundamentally flawed.41 in 2003, human rights watch again trailed the u.s. military into iraq. the group soon compiled two detailed reports. the first report, published in october of that year, focused on the conduct of u.s. ground forces in iraq. “the cases we documented in this report reveal a pattern 39 the connection, “civilian casualties,” aug. 2, 2002. 40 ibid. 41 “fatally flawed: cluster bombs and their use by the united states in afghanistan,” hrw report, december 18, 2002. document available online at: http://www.hrw.org we don’t do body counts 89 of over-aggressive tactics, excessive shooting in residential areas and hasty reliance on lethal force,” said joe stork, acting executive director of the middle east and north africa division at human rights watch. for example, part of the problem was assigning combat troops to essentially law enforcement tasks.42 the second hrw report, which followed in december, also blamed the use of cluster munitions in residential areas for unnecessary civilian casualties, but this time it specifically implicated the u.s. army and noted that the u.s. air force had “progressively used fewer cluster bombs in populated areas.” known as the “decapitation strategy,” the report mentioned 50 air strikes on the iraqi leadership, or “deck of cards,” that failed to eliminate any of their intended targets, killing dozens of civilians in the process. in addition, the report cited the unorthodox tactics of iraqi forces, such as using human shields, hiding military hardware in mosques and hospitals, and donning civilian clothes.43 what was not understood at the time was that those tactics were a cruel omen of the raging insurgency later encountered by the u.s. military in towns like tall’afar. the particularly virulent, asymmetrical nature of the iraq war exponentially raised the stakes for the political and military leadership in regard to collateral damage. like the afghan campaign, the pentagon continued a policy of distance and deflection on the topic of civilian casualties. casualty estimates conducted by the iraqi body count group and the lancet study tossed numbers into the political atmosphere; thus, further eroding the integrity of the pentagon in the eyes of the global public. these and other political tensions not only threatened to undermine public support for the war, but also endangered the key object for any conflict like the one in iraq, the battle for the “hearts and minds” of the iraqi populace. guerilla warfare in the information age has made the subject of civilian casualties more significant and yet more complex since the “body count” days of vietnam. the presence of a high-tech and global media on today’s asymmetrical battlefields has not so much illuminated new horrors, as it has graphically projected to a wider audience the wrenching dilemmas’ inherent in any war. the following story offers a personal glimpse into one such dilemma. 42 “hearts and minds: post-war civilian casualties in baghdad by u.s. forces,” hrw report, october 21, 2003. document available online at: http://www.hrw.org 43 “off target: the conduct of the war and civilian casualties in iraq,” hrw report, december 12, 2003. document available online at: http://www.hrw.org david williams 90 in the winter of 2003, marc garlasco sat inside a cubicle, deep within the corridors of the pentagon. as chief of high value targeting, he was a key planner in the tracking and assassination of iraq’s “deck of cards.” on that day he watched a black and white screen transmitting images from a predator drone as it hovered above the presumed location of chemical ali. within seconds the house erupted, and the drone recorded the heat signatures of bodies as they flailed in the air. marc and his co-workers congratulated each other on the elimination of a man who was directly responsible for the deaths of thousands. in april, marc left the pentagon, deciding to follow his wife to her new job in new york. within a few weeks of leaving the department of defense, human rights watch had hired marc as a senior military analyst. a few days later he flew to baghdad to study what types of attacks had caused the highest human death tolls. having planned many of the strikes he was now investigating, the trip had a particular personal significance. in some cases, u.s. missiles had collapsed a target building while only shattering the glass of neighboring structures. however, on this occasion, marc stood inside a bomb crater in the city of basra. beside him stood a 70 year old man who explained that the rubble was all that remained of the seventeen members of his family, including all his grandchildren. the missile had been intended for chemical ali, but he had never been to that house. marc shook his head. he had done everything right; the meticulous pre-planning, the correct weaponneering, and the precise timing.44 what the preceding pages—and marc’s story in particular—have attempted to show is that despite today’s technological wonders, war remains an awful enterprise. moreover, the pentagon’s over-reliance on technology and its insular policy regarding civilian casualties on the one hand, and the critics’ calls for better intelligence, restrictive rules of engagement, and public casualty tallies on the other, walk a thin line of simplistic black and white solutions in a wartime environment of gray dilemmas. if the controversial topic of civilian casualties affords little resolution for an ongoing war, then perhaps its sad truths may give pause for somber contemplation before the next one. 44 cited in the radio program, “what’s in a number?” this american life, wbez chicago, program available at: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/pages/descriptions/05/300.html theodicy and the nature of god in nahum and jonah.doc 1 theodicy and the nature of god in nahum and jonah sandy haney department of theology and religious studies villanova university edited by edward pettit within the twelve minor prophets of the hebrew bible are the books of nahum and jonah. the popularity of jonah — the book from which movies, books, songs, and more have been inspired— stands in contrast to nahum, a book rarely mentioned in churches, classrooms, or popular literature and media. each book discusses the city of nineveh and its fall (whether projected, past, or thwarted), and underlying each book is the question of god’s nature. the issue of theodicy, which is “the attempt to defend divine justice in the face of aberrant phenomena that appear to indicate the deity’s indifference or hostility toward virtuous people,”1 becomes central to each book. for nahum, the fall of nineveh is vindication of god’s righteousness and justice: though the wicked nation was once used to carry out god’s punishment upon judah, assyria is now (finally) going to be judged for her sins by the just god. for jonah, the issue of theodicy is a bit more complicated, since the book’s audience and the title character deal with this topic in different ways. from jonah’s point of view, god is so merciful towards nineveh that his2 justice appears overthrown, yet god’s dealings with his prophet seem cruel and unkind. from the perspective of the audience, god’s mercy does not nullify his justice because the audience knows that god eventually destroys nineveh. the nature of god in jonah is, therefore, more complex than the nature of god in nahum. contemporary theological critiques fail to take into account many of the questions and issues the books address, particularly concerning their approaches to the issue of theodicy; thus much of leading contemporary scholarship is misguided in its theological analyses of these prophetic texts. a proper understanding is possible only if scholars take into account the contexts and literary characteristics of the texts and distinguish the issues of theodicy in each. 1 crenshaw, james l. “theodicy.” abd 6: 444-447. 2 though god is not gendered in nature, i am following the biblical practice of referring to god in male language. 2 preliminary issues both nahum and jonah were written for an israelite audience. although little is known about the prophet nahum except his name, he was most likely a cult prophet and certainly a resident of judah, though no one has successfully identified nahum's hometown, elkosh.3 most scholars consider nahum a seventh-century prophet and thus date the book after the fall of thebes in 663 b. c. and before the fall of nineveh in 612 b.c.e.4 jonah, on the other hand, was written in the post-exilic period,5 though it does try to situate itself in the eighth century by referring to a nationalistic prophet mentioned in 2 kings 14:25.6 nahum is an oracle against the assyrian capital of nineveh, and scholars debate the structure of this book.7 blenkinsopp provides one of the best analyses of nahum’s structure: an introductory acrostic (1:2-8),8 three short sayings (1:9-14), an oracle against nineveh (1:15-2:12, plus a prose statement in 2:13), and a woe oracle against nineveh (3:1-19).9 nevertheless, the compilation of nahum is such that similar themes run through all the parts. the entire book is an oracle against nineveh, and this oracle paints a picture of god. thus, the book of nahum will be treated as one literary unit. similarly, scholars often divide the book of jonah into two parts, chapters 1-2 and 3-4, divisions that could be labeled god’s call and jonah’s response (ch. 1-2) and god’s call and nineveh’s response (ch. 3 3 page 276 in robert r. wilson, prophecy and society in ancient israel (philadelphia: fortress, 1980). 5 cf. pages 76-78 in hans walter wolff, obadiah and jonah (trans. margaret kohl; minneapolis: augsburg, 1986). for discussion on the unity, composition, and genre of the book, as well as the date, see pages 13-24 in julius a. bewer, “jonah,” icc 3-65; pages 463-474 in phyllis trible, “jonah,” nib vii:463-529; wolff, jonah, 80-85; pages xiv-xxii, xxxiii-xxxv, xli-xlii in uriel simon, jonah (philadelphia: jps, 1999), and pages 7-25 in andre lacocque and pierre-emmanuel lacocque, jonah: a pyscho-religious approach to the prophet (columbia: university of south carolina, 1990). 6 the use of “jonah son of amittai” may be an attempt to give the book validity [page 126 in john f. a. sawyer, prophecy and the biblical prophets (rev. ed; oxford: oxford, 1993); as did the author(s) of jeremiah and isaiah], or it may be a midrash on the kings passage (cf. the long footnote on bewer, “jonah,” 9), or it could be to emphasize the nationalism of the prophet [page 179 in leslie c. allen, the books of joel, obadiah, jonah, and micah (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1976)]. 7 for instance, some, like newsome, simply divide the book into the acrostic poem and the long poem [page 89 in james d. newsome, jr., the hebrew prophets (atlanta: john knox, 1984); cf. also page 595 in francisco o. garcia-treto, “the book of nahum,” nib vii:592-619]. still others, such as achtemeier, divide the book into more than two segments [page 6 in elizabeth achtemeier, nahum—malachi (atlanta: john knox, 1986)]. 8 others label 1:2-10 as the acrostic. see (passim) duane l. christensen, transformations of the war oracle in old testament prophecy (montana: scholars press, 1975), cathcart, “nahum,” and michael h. floyd, “the chimerical acrostic of nahum 1:2-10, jbl 113 (fall 1994): 421-437, for more regarding the acrostic. though challenged by floyd, most scholars agree that 1:2-10 is an acrostic poem, albeit a corrupted one (floyd, “chimerical,” 421). 9 pages 122-123 in joseph blenkinsopp, a history of prophecy in israel (rev. ed; louisville: westminster john knox, 1996). 3 4).10 scholars often consider the psalm in 2:2-10 an interpolation. however, as with nahum, because each section contains similar themes and addresses the issue of the nature of god, i will treat jonah as a literary whole.11 an analysis of each book as a distinct literary unit demonstrates that their concern about nineveh’s fate and the nature of god links these two little books. nevertheless, the books differ in theology and in their attitude toward nineveh and its destruction, thus offering different perspectives on the same fundamental questions: why and will nineveh fall, and — more significantly — what is the nature of the god who will or will not destroy this city? nahum nahum 12 uses the prophetic oracle to condemn the nation of assyria and to proclaim the justice and sovereignty of israel’s god. it is “an oracle concerning nineveh” and “the vision of nahum of elkosh” (nah 1:1).13 nineveh was the capital of the assyrian empire.14 the assyrians, known for their cruelty and violence, ruled the ancient near east from approximately the ninth century until the death of ashurbanipal in 626 b.c.e., when their power began to wane.15 enemies of the israelites, the assyrians had reduced judah to vassalage in 734, destroyed israel (samaria) in 721, and demolished judean cities, besieging jerusalem, in 701 b.c.e. the assyrians were hated for their methods of conquest, for they committed “atrocities against civilian populations and mass deportations as deliberate instruments of policy.”16 they had no qualms about inflicting pain; in fact, archaeologists have discovered assyrian reliefs that portray their brutal practices.17 the assyrians also did not limit their cruelty to the king’s court: 10 this is, of course, too simplistic a division. 12 although nahum may not have written the entire book (as the literary analysis of the book’s structure makes clear), or even any of it (for while most scholars attribute the book to the prophet after whom it is named, we know little or nothing about the truth of the prophet’s existence or writing activity), i will refer to nahum as the author of the entire book for simplicity of conversation. similarly, though a woman could have written this, i’m using male language, because it is more likely that a man, not woman, possessed writing skills. 13 all bible citations are from the the new oxford annotated bible (3rd ed; nrsv; ed. michael coogan et al; new york: oxford university press, 2001). 14 that said, nineveh and assyria will be used interchangeably throughout this paper. 15 page 126 in john s. holladay, “assyrian statecraft and the prophets of israel,” in prophecy in israel (ed. david l. petersen; philadelphia: fortress, 1987). 16 blenkinsopp, history, 67-69, esp. 67. 17 holladay, “assyrian,” 127; cf. newsome, prophets, 87. chisholm records comments by assyrian kings concerning the destruction of the enemies [pages 180-1 in robert b. chisholm, jr., interpreting the minor prophets (grand rapids: academie, 1990)]. 4 women and children were victims as well. thus, there was ample reason for the animosity nahum and his audience felt for assyria.18 by the time of nahum, many israelites must have doubted the supremacy and goodness of their god: not only had god allowed them to be conquered, but god had not acted to save his people or punish the assyrians for their wickedness. thus, questions about the nature of god — his righteousness and justice19 — were relevant to nahum’s audience.20 accordingly, nahum addresses these issues in his oracle against nineveh as he declares to his audience that god does act against oppression and injustice.21 since nahum’s book reveals the nature of god, it fittingly begins with a passage describing god (ch. 1). in this passage, two visions of god’s nature are given. god is the jealous, avenging, wrathful god who rages in indignation and anger (1:2, 6, 8); he utterly destroys his enemies and causes all of creation to tremble and fear (1:8-10, 4-6). god is the divine warrior who rules the cosmos,22 and he is sovereign over the sea (chaos), land, and mountains (“pillars of the world”) 23 (1:3b-6). god appears, therefore, to be an angry, cruel god who causes destruction and terror. this vision, however, is tempered by nahum’s affirmation of god’s nature as “good” (1:7). god is “a stronghold in a day of trouble” and “protects those who take refuge in him” (1:7). furthermore, this god breaks the yoke of the oppressor and unbinds his people: god is sovereign (1:3b-6), which means that he is able to act for his people’s sake (1:12-13).24 these two visions of god appear to contradict one another, but they are related because the god who rages against his enemies is also the god who protects his people. this connection between the two images is most vividly explained in 1:3: “the lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the lord will by no means clear the guilty.” for a people who have been oppressed for so many years by the wicked assyrians, this is good news indeed! nahum’s audience would be reminded that the god who is great in power [who can control nature (1:3b-6)] is certainly able to defeat the assyrians. nevertheless, nahum’s audience probably 18 other nations and people who had been conquered by the assyrians would have shared this animosity. 19 the words justice and righteousness are actually not used in nahum. however, in light of the prophetic tradition’s use of these words as well as the biblical importance given to them (cf., e.g., job 37:23; ps. 9:8; 11:7, 33:4-5; is. 30:18) , i think it appropriate to use them in this discussion. 20 also, god’s sovereignty was also problematic: if he was lord of all, then why did it appear that the assyrian gods had conquered him and rendered him powerless? by informing his audience that god will destroy nineveh, nahum’s audience would know that god had not been overthrown by the other gods. 21 for if history is the arena in which god’s attributes are made known [as elwell argues (“nahum,” 1520)], then nahum’s declaration of the fall of nineveh divulges the attributes of god. 22 leslie notes that this passage contains “‘historified’ elements from the myth of creation” (page 498 in e. a. leslie, “nahum, book of,” idb, 498-499). 23 page 59 in j. h. eaton, obadiah, nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah (london: scm, 1961). 24 therefore, his sovereignty over creation (1:3b-6) is actually a positive image, because it affirms that god is ruler of all and he has not been defeated by the gods of the assyrians. 5 still questioned whether the assyrian gods had defeated their god — after all, the assyrians had ruled over god’s people for many years, and god appeared to be apathetic in his inactivity. nahum reminds them, however, that their god is “slow to anger.” in other words, god neither quickly nor arbitrarily acts in vengeance and wrath; rather, he is merciful and patient, even with the assyrians. nonetheless, god’s slowness to anger does not mean that he does not get angry. after all, “the lord will by no means clear the guilty” (1:3). those who are god’s enemiesand do evil will be held responsible and judged for their actions: god will act in justice to punish those who are guilty. therefore, nahum uses two visions of god — god as vengeful and god as good — to remind his audience that their good, sovereign god is just, righteous, and great in power and acts accordingly (with patienceand as judge). nahum’s message in 1:3 is particularly effective because the expression that god is “slow to anger” is usually followed in the biblical tradition by an affirmation of god’s love and mercy before any mention of god’s judgment (cf. exod 34:6, num 14:8). yet in nahum, god’s power and judgment immediately follow god's patience. nevertheless, nahum is not rejecting the biblical tradition regarding god’s merciful and loving nature. the difference is one of emphasis. for nahum, god’s patience with the assyrians has ended. god has shown mercy in his patience through his slowness to anger, but nowgod’s justice requires that he act. nahum is not contradicting the affirmations about god found elsewhere (like exod 34:6-7). 25 instead, nahum is stressing a particular aspect of god’s nature, his judgment. after years of assyrian oppression and cruelty, nahum’s audience would be reassured that their god had not forgotten them and that his patience with the wicked (which to the israelites must have seemed neverending) did have an end. it is important to note the biblical understanding of this “jealous and avenging god” who “takes vengeance…and rages against his adversaries” (1:2). as heschel’s discussion makes clear, divine anger is “conditioned by god’s will; it is aroused by man’s sins. it is an instrument rather than a force.…it is a secondary emotion, never the ruling passion.”26 god’s anger is justifiable because it is not god’s disposition; rather, divine anger is a “transient and reactive condition” in response to humanity’s wickedness.27 in fact, god chooses to act in anger because he is merciful and loving toward his creation. god is not indifferent, so he will act 25 these other descriptions, moreover, are not void of mention of god’s judgment. exodus 34:6-7, for instance, says that the lord is “slow to anger” (6) but also is “by no means clearing the guilty” (7). similarly, nahum is not the only prophet to stress god’s judgment over his loving mercy: hosea, for example, declares that the time has come for god’s beloved israel to be punished for her unfaithfulness (cf., e.g., hos 13). 26 page 63 in abraham joseph heschel, prophets (vol. 2; new york: harpercollins, 1971). eaton remarks, “it must be noted that such attributes of god must not be interpreted too hastily in terms of human emotions” (obadiah, 57). 27 heschel, prophets, 69. 6 to save his creation from the evil the assyrians have wrought.28 god in his justice will deal with the guilty assyrians, because “it is divine anger that gives strength to god’s truth and justice.”29 accordingly, as nahum describes a god who is full of wrath, and as he proclaims the destruction of god’s enemies, the reader must remember that god’s actions mean freedom for the oppressed and just punishment for the wicked oppressor. nahum’s audience have reason to celebrate because god will defeat their enemies. nahum instructs judah to rejoice in the good news: “celebrate…for never again shall the wicked invade you” (1:15).30 it is noticeable that nahum, unlike the other prophets, does not prophesy against judah. instead, nahum is optimistic (1:15),31 prompting much speculation about why he neglects to rebuke his fellow judeans, since this was a typical role for an israelite prophet. scholars present many possibilities for this oddity.32 those scholars who criticize nahum for his optimism, fail to take into account the emphasis of nahum’s book:33 the sovereign god who will demonstrate his justice and righteousness through judgment against the wicked assyrians. in short, other prophets will prophesy about the fall of judah (cf. hab 1:6-11), but nahum will rejoice in the god who causes the fall of nineveh. as the book of nahum progresses, chapter 2 uses an oracle to further describe this fall of the assyrians (2:1-12). in language reminiscent of day of the lord imagery,34 nahum describes god’s judgment against nineveh. nahum declares that “a shatterer has come up against you” (2:1). while “shatterer” could be referring to the nations who will defeat nineveh, the “shatterer” also refers to 28 after all, as achtemeier remarks, “if god does not destroy the evil human beings have brought into god’s good creation, the world can never return to the wholeness he intended for it in the beginning” (nahum 10). 29 heschel, prophets, 77. 30 this is a mark of the zion ethos: the residents of jerusalem believed that their city was invincible after assyria failed to destroy the city in 701 b. c. e. (judith hadley, class notes, 2 oct 2002). with the downfall of assyria predicted, the residents were even more certain that jerusalem would not fall. of course, though it was true that assyria would not invade again, others would (like the babylonians in 586 b. c. e.). 31 even if one reads the instructions for judah to “celebrate your festivals…fulfill your vows” as suggesting the people are not doing so, nahum does not rebuke the people in any way. 32 for instance, blenkinsopp (history, 122) and von rad [pages 157-158 in gerhard von rad, the message of the prophets (new york: harper & row, 1965)] argue that nahum was written during josiah’s reforms. the theory that nahum was prophesying around josiah’s reforms gains support when read in light of 1:9-11, which is a passage “taking issue with a group opposed to the anti-assyrian policy of josiah and his supporters…” (blenkinsopp, history, 122). for those scholars who do not consider the josian reforms a reality, this view is, of course, untenable. von rad suggests that the overall message of the book does not focus on judging judah because of nahum’s role as a cultic prophet (during josiah’s reforms): “his message…can be seen as following the traditional threats against the enemies of god’s people used in a sacral ceremony” (message, 158). smith takes yet another approach, proposing that nahum is speaking on behalf of all the nations that assyria has oppressed, and, thus, nahum does not condemn judah because judah is not the only audience to whom he is speaking [page 103 in george adam smith, the book of the twelve prophets (new york: a. c. armstrong and son, 1901)]. 33 cf. cathcart, “nahum,” 999. they also do not consider the possible theories outlined in the previous footnote. 34 page 141 in richard j. sklba, pre-exilic prophecy (minnesota: liturgical press, 1990). 7 the lord, because the ancients understood the events of history as controlled by the gods or god.35 what humans saw was not the whole picture; rather, the real meaning of the events of history was found in the relationship of god or gods to the world. thus, ancient descriptions of events sought to describe what was behind the human experience. accordingly, even though the “shatterer” is the nations who attack nineveh, the one who is behind the attack — the true “shatterer” — is nahum’s god. those who carry out the attack are simply being used to fulfill god’s judgment, just as god used assyria to fulfill his plans for judah.36 therefore, in chapter 2, one can also read nahum’s description of nineveh’s fall at the hands of “the combined forces of babylonians, medes, and scythians”37 as a description of god’s army conquering the city.38 nahum reminds the ninevites that they will fall because “it is decreed” by god that the city will be destroyed (2:7; cf. 1:9). nahum mocks the ninevites in their futile attempts to defend themselves against god’s army: for instance, the assyrian army may “collect all [their] strength” (2:1), but they will nevertheless “stumble” (2:5) against their swift and invincible opposition (2:3-4). the ninevites will discover that they are powerless in the onslaught of god’s judgment: “hearts faint and knees tremble, all loins quake, all faces grow pale” because god has destroyed the lion (2:10, 11-13).39 these lions of assyria are being destroyed because of their wickedness: the lion “has filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh” (2:12). nahum reminds his audience that the assyrians’ actions have caused the “lord of hosts”40 to seek to destroy them. the oracle against nineveh in chapter 2 is followed by another oracle in chapter 3.41 this oracle begins by describing the fall of nineveh: the “city of bloodshed” (3:1) is filled with chariots of war (3:2) and “heaps of corpses” (3:3). this attack occurs because nineveh, as a “prostitute” who “enslaves nations…and 35 cf. elwell, “nahum,” 1521. 36 cf. nahum 1:12. similarly, when nahum describes the fall of thebes in chapter 3, he does not emphasize the assyrian might that crushed thebes, but the power of god (who was behind the event). 37 newsome, prophets, 89. 38 page 75 in william p. brown, obadiah through malachi (louisville: westminster john knox, 1996). 39 this “lion” language in 2:11-13 clearly refers to the assyrians. according to archaeological evidence, the lion was a symbol for the assyrian king (ibid., 75). in addition, ishtar, the goddess of the assyrians, was portrayed either as a lioness herself or as a rider of a lion [page 114 in john d. watts, the books of joel, obadiah, jonah, nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah (new york: cambridge, 1975)]. 40 the “lord of hosts” language would further remind nahum’s readers that god is fighting for them, since “this is a military title which was familiar to the readers of the history of early israel” (watts, books, 116). 41 many scholars do not make a marked separation between these two chapters. however, although each oracle concerns the fall of nineveh, they can be differentiated because god plays a much more explicit role in the oracle of chapter 3 (through language of “i” and direct address of nineveh — “you”) and also because the prose in 2:13 effectively breaks the textual flow. 8 peoples,” has brought upon herself god’s judgment and wrath.42 because of her sins, the “lord of hosts” is against the prostitute nineveh (3:5), and he will punish her in front of allthe nations (3:5-7). 43 she will be humiliated and shamed as the lord publicly exposes her nakedness, treats her with contempt, and makes her a spectacle (3:5-6).44 she had treated others in such a manner; now it is nineveh’s turn. moreover, all the nations — nations whom assyria oppressed — will “shrink from” nineveh’s public humiliation, and she will find no friends to mourn her destruction (3:7). her desolation is complete. as the oracle continues, nahum reminds nineveh of the city of thebes, 45 which fell in 663 to the assyrians. nahum notes that just as thebes had felt secure (3:8-9), nineveh thinks she is invincible — but just as thebes had fallen (3:10), nineveh too will fall (3:11-13).46 nahum mocks the strength of the assyrians, who “will be drunken” and seek “a refuge” (3:11) because their fortresses and soldiers are weak (3:12-13); though nineveh will prepare herself (3:14), she will be devoured by fire and cut off by sword (3:15). in other words, just as thebes fell under assyria’s assault, nineveh will not be able to withstand god’s attack on her city. she will disappear like locusts and grasshoppers (3:1617), and her people will be “scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them” (3:18). nineveh’s “wound is mortal” (3:19); her power is gone.47 everyone will rejoice in her destruction: “all who hear the news about you clap their hands over you” (3:19), affirming the justice of judah’s god. the fall of nineveh means freedom for them and vindication for their god. hence, nahum’s book presents the nature of god as righteous, good, and just. as verse 1:3 so well summarizes, god is patient (slow to anger), yet there is a time for him to judge the guilty. god does not allow the oppressor to oppress his people forever; he is truly a god who is “a stronghold in a day of trouble” (1:7). his anger, wrath, and vengeance do not make him an evil, cruel god; rather, they 42 some scholars believe this is a direct attack on nineveh’s goddess, ishtar, who was “the goddess of sex and war” (watts, books, 116); sacred prostitution was common for her cult, and “ishtar herself was often represented by her own devotees as a harlot — sometimes indeed a savage and destructive one” (eaton, obadiah, 73). 43 this image of violence against the female city is an issue particularly within feminist scholarship. due to limited space, i will not address this critique here. for an introduction to feminist issues in this book, cf. judith e. sanderson, “nahum,” in the women’s bible commentary (ed. carol a. newsom and sharon h. ringe; louisville: westminster john knox, 1998), 232-239. 44 in the ancient world, not only was “public exposure…a typical punishment for a prostitute (cf. jer. 13:26; ezek. 16:37; 23:10; hos. 2:10),” but it was also the highest form of humiliation (chisholm, interpreting, 177). in addition, nineveh herself had treated female captives in this way (smith, book, 109). 45 page 280 in j. van doorslaer, “no amon,” cbq 11 (jl 1949), 28-295. doorslaer details the history of the interpretation of “no amon,” concluding that jerome’s choice of alexandria is probably the most correct (passim). however, this paper follows most other scholars, who consider “no amon” to be referring to thebes. 46 this whole passage ridicules the assyrians because they did believe they were “better than thebes” (3:8). after all, they had defeated thebes! 47 like thebes, nineveh is guilty as it faces god’s judgment. 9 demonstrate god’s justice as well as his love for his people and creation because god punishes the (guilty) wicked and thus brings freedom to the oppressed. many scholars agree with this analysis48 (and presumably so would nahum’s audience, who with him are rejoicing in assyria’s fall). other contemporary scholars have found this conclusion about god’s nature inadequate. the two main objections, raised by scholars, like garcia-treto, are these: the destruction of nineveh occurs through the hands of people who are also violent and oppressive (does that implicate god?), and there is no distinction between the guilty and the innocent ninevites (wherein is the justice of god?).49 these objections need to be taken seriously, yet they do not necessarily nullify the previous conclusion about the nature of the god of nahum as good and just. garcia-treto gives voice to the first objection by asking, “can god’s punishment of violence and oppression partake of that same violence and oppression?”50 on the one hand, biblical accounts seem to say yes. for instance, amos proclaims that god will send a nation (assyria) to punish israel for her sins (cf. 3:11, 6:14), yet amos does not question god’s use of such a cruel nation to punish his people.51 in the holy wars of the old testament, israel herself employs violence to carry out god’s judgments on the nations. the biblical text does not appear to find problematic the concept that a violent and/or wicked nation can serve as the instrument of god’s divine judgment. on the other hand, such a reading of the old testament is not fair to the text. the theology behind holy wars is never so simply explained, and other prophets do address god’s choice of the wicked to punish the “less” wicked.52 nevertheless, those biblical writers who question god’s actions at the same time affirm god’s goodness (cf., e.g., hab 3:2, 17-19). in other words, in the biblical narrative, god remains just and righteous for those who proclaim his judgment (like nahum and habakkuk), even if that judgment occurs through another wicked nation and thus does not harmonize with human ideas of justice and righteousness. furthermore, we must keep in mind that except in cases like the flood and sodom and gomorrah, the hebrew bible portrays god using people to carry out his will concerning other people. that is, god works through people — regardless of their sinfulness — to punish or save others (cf. the story of rahab in joshua 2). if god chooses to work through people in a sin-filled world, he must always work through 48 cf., passim, newsome (prophets), eaton (obadiah), watts (books), achtemeier (nahum), chisholm (interpreting), brown (obadiah), smith (book), sklba (pre-exilic), leslie (“nahum”). 49 cf. garcia-treto, “nahum,” 596. 50 ibid., 597. 51 perhaps he did not find it problematic, or perhaps he omitted this question for other reasons unknown to us. 52 . for instance, habakkuk, writing shortly after nahum, protests god’s use of the wicked to punish judah: “why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?” (hab. 1:13). 10 sinful people. the biblical writers do not seem to believe that god’s working through sinful people makes god less than righteous, good, and just. if we take seriously the biblical concept of god’s use of sinful people to carry out the divine will, we might find that our objections about the nature of god in nahum do an injustice to the prophet. it appears that nahum accepts that god works in ways he could not understand, and nahum does not question how the wicked can be the instruments of judgment without affecting god’s goodness.53 instead, nahum follows in the prophetic tradition of proclaiming god’s righteousness and justice above all else. in addition, particularly because nahum is addressing the question of whether god will — not how — fulfill his promises to judge the wicked, nahum does not ask if using violence to end oppression makes god less righteous. rather, nahum celebrates the fact that god is finally showing himself to be righteous and just through the judgment of assyria’s cruelty and violence.54 perhaps, then, our question concerning how god’s means affect god’s nature should not be forced upon nahum, because nahum cannot answer a question he himself is not asking.55 the second objection that garcia-treto raises is this: how can a righteous god condemn the innocent?56 to counter this objection, we must first take into account the context in which nahum was written. as holladay argues, there was a shift between the ninth and eighth centuries in statecraft policies.57 this change involved a “dramatic shift of the primary object of the prophetic address away from the ruling houses of the twin kingdoms and to the people of israel as a whole.”58 treaties (and royal letters) from the time of nahum and his eighthcentury predecessors show that international agreements no longer concern only the royal household. instead, “the treaty is consummated between the great king and the vassal king and all of his people.”59 therefore, it is no longer just the house of the vassal king that must be obedient to the superpower, but the people must also obey. consequently, the entire nation is now “held responsible for the action of its rulers.”60 when assyria attacked israel, the rulers and the people were killed or deported, because “the whole terror psychology of the assyrian statecraft swung its focus of attention from master to slave, prince to peasant, king to citizen.…now 53 perhaps for nahum this is not an issue. 54 as blenkinsopp remarks, “what was at stake for the poet and his audience was the reality of divine power and the possibility of justice in a world of international affairs” (history, 123), not how god carried out this justice 55 although we would certainly like him to do so! for this question, however, we may have to look elsewhere in the tradition, like habakkuk and job. 56 garcia-treto, “nahum,” 595. 57 and the prophets (with the exception of isaiah) demonstrate this shift (holladay, “assyrian,” 126). 58 ibid., 126. 59 ibid., 127. 60 ibid., 130. 11 whole countries went into exile.”61 similarly, when nahum prophesies against nineveh, he includes the entire population of the city and not just the royal household. 62 the people were considered just as responsible for the nation’s actions as were the rulers and the military. hence, for nahum, there are no “innocent” in nineveh.63 when god — the true king of judah — judges assyria for her sins, the whole nation is affected.64 although contemporary questions about the nature of god are serious issues for readers of the bible to address, nahum does not necessarily answer the objections.65 nahum does not ask all our contemporary questions; like any ancient text, the book of nahum must be read with regard to the time in it was written.66 nahum is an israelite celebrating the victory of his god over the evil assyrians. nahum addresses whether or not god will ever punish the wicked —that is, whether god is truly just — because he and his audience lived in a time when the answer to that question was uncertain. therefore, when nahum rejoices in the fall of nineveh, he does so because it is through this event that god proves himself to be faithful, just, righteous, and sovereign. as nahum announces the fall of the enemy, he divulges the nature of his god, a god who is “slow to anger but great in power…[who] will by no means clear the guilty.…[who] is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble;…[for] he will make a full end of his adversaries” (1:3, 7-8). accordingly, contemporary scholarly critiques that do not distinguish between the theodicy-related questions nahum addresses and those with which he is not concerned fail to provide a fair and thorough treatment of the nature of god in nahum. jonah the book of jonah reveals the nature of god quite differently from nahum. for instance, since jonah is a story while nahum is an extended oracle, the way in which jonah “works” as a narrative text is different. the unclear purpose of jonah, moreover, makes it difficult to determine what the author is trying to establish 61 ibid., 127. 62 in other words, when he prophesies against assyria, he includes all assyrians. 63 though contemporary people may question the god who allows the “innocent” to die in nahum, we must remember that at the time the book of nahum was composed, this question would be irrelevant, because there would be no “innocent” people for god to save. god, then, remains good and just in nahum — regardless of present-day critics’ objections — as god shows forth his justice by punishing all assyrians for their nation’s sins. 64 this is not to dismiss contemporary questions or criticisms. rather, i am questioning whether it is appropriate and/or helpful to ask this particular question of nahum, because it asks him to answer a question he did not ask. 65 (this does not mean one should avoid reading nahum!) to find answers for those questions, one must look at the entire biblical narrative. yet even then some of the questions may not be satisfactorily answered, as the long history of discussion about the nature of god makes clear. see michael h. floyd, minor prophets: part 2 (grand rapids: eerdmans, 2000), esp. 20-21. 66 in order to appropriately interpret nahum for today, we must have a clear understanding of the text, its time period, and what questions it is or is not answering. 12 about god.67 was the purpose to address the issue of unfulfilled prophecy, to counter jewish nationalism, 68 to widen views about god’s mercy,69 to elaborate on the jeremian concept of repentance.70 as berger points out, the issue of god’s nature is complicated in jonah due to the many focalizations within the story. because jonah’s narrator is neutral and detached, “the ideological focalization of the text might be focalized from yhwh’s perspective, from jonah’s stance, or it might be bifurcated between the two.”71 in other words, the author does not make clear what (or whose) ideology he is promoting because of his neutral stance. accordingly, if we wish to formulate some idea about the nature of the god of jonah, then we must address the complexity of the book from its various viewpoints (that is, through its “embedded focalization[s]”72). because the complicated relationship between god and jonah — the main characters in the story — is central to the book, we must explore the book’s theology from both god’s point of view and the prophet’s point of view. in addition, because the author is addressing a post-exilic audience, we must also consider how they might have interpreted the story.73 though we may never distinguish a clear purpose in jonah, we may use some of the possible ideologies — which we learn from the various focalizations — to formulate some idea about god’s nature in this book. it is clear that the author wishes his audience to understand this book as a story about a prophet (hence the reference to jonah son of amittai in jonah 1:1-2). jonah, however, is anything but the model prophet. from the beginning, jonah does precisely what the readers would not expect.74 when god calls jonah, jonah runs away: in fact, instead of setting off across the land to nineveh, he goes in the opposite direction over the sea (1:3).75 though there are biblical precedents for a 67 nahum’s is more apparent: to celebrate nineveh’s fall and, consequently, proclaim the nature of his god. 68 blenkinsopp, history, 242-245, and bewer, “jonah,” 7, respectively. 69 brown, obadiah, 17-28, brockington, [page 627 in leonard h. brockington, “jonah,” in peake’s commentary on the bible (ed. matthew black and h. h. rowley; routledge: london, 1990), 627-629], and anthony j. ceresko, “jonah,” in njbc, 580-584, passim. 70 found in jeremiah 18:7-8 [cf. page 227 in marsha c. white, “jonah,” in the women’s bible commentary (ed. carol a. newsom and sharon h. ringe; louisville: westminster john knox, 1992)]. although white recognizes that jonah is similar to job in that it “probes the nature of god’s justice” (ibid., 226), she fails to recognize that like job, jonah raises issues of theodicy. see allen, books, 189-191 and simon, jonah, vii-xiv for various interpretations of the book’s purpose. 71 page 64 in benjamin lyle berger, “picturing the prophet: focalization in the book of jonah,” sr 29:1 (2000), 5566. see kenneth m. craig, jr., a poetics of jonah: art in the service of ideology (columbia: university of south carolina press, 1993), passim, for an in-depth analysis of jonah as narrative. 72 ibid., 66. 73 while we can never be certain of how they would have reacted, we can know, at least, something about their knowledge (in this case, that nineveh had fallen). 74 cf. page 211 in peter c. craigie, twelve prophets (philadelphia: westminster, 1984). although craigie points out that the southern audience would expect a northern prophet to be disobedient, it is still likely that they would be surprised at jonah’s blatant rejection of god’s commands. 75 ceresko notes that jonah’s flight is, in fact, a constant descent (“jonah,” 582). 13 prophet protesting god’s call — moses, jeremiah, and elijah76 — jonah transcends these other prophets in disobedience.77 for instance, moses objects that he is not capable of fulfilling god’s call (exod 4:10), and jeremiah tells god that he does “not know how to speak, for [he is] only a boy” (jer 1:6). similarly, elijah laments that it is better to die than to live after running to the wilderness (1 kgs 19:4). nevertheless, these prophets eventually fulfill god’s commands without further protest. in contrast, jonah does not articulate his objections but simply runs away 78 and remains stubborn to the end (cf. 4:9). because jonah so blatantly refused god’s call, the general attitude of modern scholars toward jonah has been negative.79 when discussing these biblical precedents, most authors fail to mention the difference in the role god plays in his relationship with jonah as compared to the other prophets.80 for instance, although god is upset with moses, god provides him with help via aaron (exod 4:14-17). similarly, god gives strength to jeremiah by putting his hand to jeremiah’s mouth and giving him the words of god (jer 1:9), and god feeds elijah and appears to him (1 kgs 19:4-18). in jonah, god does not seem so gracious. when jonah flees to a ship bound for tarshish, god sends a storm. when the sailors throw jonah overboard (at his request), god sends a big fish to swallow him. this fish, often seen as jonah’s salvation,81 can also be seen as god’s punishment.82 although jonah did not want to go to nineveh, instead of kindly strengthening his prophet as he did for the others, god sends a storm and casts jonah into a slimy fish whence he is vomited onto dry land (1:4-2:10). once jonah is back on land, god again commands him to go to nineveh but offers no further assistance (3:1-2). while we must keep in mind that jonah’s extreme reaction to god’s call may help explain god’s strange treatment of him, we can conclude that the nature of god — at least from jonah’s focalization — is not necessarily positive thus far in the story. jonah’s own beliefs about god are confusing. jonah tries to flee via ship “away from the presence of the lord” (1:3). the pre-exilic mindset would have considered this a reasonable action, since god’s presence was associated with the land.83 however, for the post-exilic author and his audience, jonah’s action was clearly foolish — they had learned during exile that god is not confined to the land 76 where “the main theme of the book is the close, almost impertinent relationship between the lonely man of god and his heavenly master. (sawyer, prophecy , 127). 77 trible’s argument is very similar to mine “jonah,” 480. 78 allen remarks, “jonah’s blunt refusal goes far beyond [moses, elijah, and jeremiah’s] hesitations” (books, 176). 79 cf. page 87 in serge frolov, “returning the ticket: god and his prophet in the book of jonah,” jsot 86 (1999), 85-105. 80 though frolov hints at this(ibid., 92-95). 81 cf. allen, books, 184-185. 82 cf. frolov, “returning,” 93. 83 page 95 in douglas stuart, hosea-jonah (dallas: word, 1989). 14 (cf. ezekiel). one cannot escape god’s presence: while jonah is on the ship, god sends a terrible storm (1:4). the sailors are afraid, while jonah (a hebrew who should know nothing about the sea)84 sleeps soundly (1:5).85 jonah cares little for his life86 and/or is content with his decision to flee; the captain has to wake jonah so that jonah can call upon his god (1:6). when the sailors discover by lot that jonah is responsible for this calamity, they question him (1:7-8). in an ironic statement, jonah professes: “i am a hebrew…i worship the lord, the god of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (1:9). jonah, the prophet who tried to flee from god’s presence, acknowledges that the god he serves is creator of the sea and the land. how then can jonah flee from his presence? not only do jonah’s actions in this episode appear strange, but god’s actions are also unusual. although god uses natural forces to rebuke or judge people in the biblical tradition, usually those people are considered guilty (e.g., the flood for the wicked in gen 6-7; the sea for the egyptians in ex 14:26-28). here, however, the sailors who have not offended god are the ones tormented by the storm, while the guilty jonah sleeps peacefully (1:5). this seems to paint quite an odd picture of god: he uses creation to make his point, but he does so almost cruelly.87 hence, “issues of theodicy flood these chapters.”88 as the story continues, jonah instructs the other sailors to throw him overboard to appease his god (1:11-13). the sailors are reluctant. when they finally concede to jonah’s wishes, they pray to the lord that they may not be “guilty of innocent blood” (1:14). the men then offer sacrifices to the lord, making vows and fearing god (1:15). this scene contradicts typical israelite theology. first, jonah believes that god wants a human sacrifice, and this appears to be what god requires, since god is appeased once jonah is thrown overboard. yet not only does the idea of human sacrifice go against biblical understandings of worship (e.g., lev 18:21, 27:2-8),89 but it is also something that the lord has explicitly declared abominable (deut 12:34).90 in this scene, the hebrew who believes in the god of heaven is not the one who fears god. instead, the gentile sailors fear god and are scared to perform a human sacrifice.91 since gentiles were often portrayed as practicing human sacrifice (cf. deut 12:34), the sailors’ 84 cf. page 593 in peter j. m. southwell, “jonah,” in the oxford bible commentary (ed. john barton and john muddiman; new york: oxford, 2001), 593-595. 85 one wonders if perhaps the author is suggesting that the gentiles have offended god by being gentiles or, instead, that the gentiles are the only ones who truly fear god (unlike jonah). 86 simon, jonah, 9. 87 cf. frolov, “returning,” 92-95. 88 trible, “jonah,” 485. 89 of course, there is the notable and controversial exception of jephthah’s daughter in judges 11. 90 these passages explicitly mention the sacrifice of children. i am assuming, however, that adult sacrifice is also prohibited. 91 cf. chisholm, interpreting, 124. 15 reluctance (especially as opposed to jonah’s willingness) would certainly surprise the israelite audience. in addition, the gentiles’ actions of worship, particularly in light of jonah’s apparent lack of obedience, would have also contradicted the audience’s expectations. perhaps the author, who just reminded his audience that their god is “the god of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (1:9), is reminding his audience that their god is also lord of all people, not just the israelites. still, the text raises the question, does god, whom jonah and his audience serve, desire human sacrifice? the text answers this question by telling us that god saves his prophet. thus the sacrifice in the end is a narrative trick, since god prevents the sacrifice (in the fullest sense of the word) from occurring.92 jonah does not die: he enters into the belly of a fish. while the grotesque elements of this episode make this part comical,93 what is most important is the “salvation” of traditional views of god — as a god whose nature abhors human sacrifice — through the salvation of jonah.94 while in the belly of the fish, jonah prays to “the lord his god” (2:1). this psalm initially appears to present a more positive view of the prophet than the rest of the book.95 jonah is explicitly addressing god and rejoicing in god’s mercy (cf. 2:1, 7, 9), whereas in the rest of the book jonah rails against god’s mercy. also, jonah portrays himself as the righteous one — praying (2:7), making vows (2:8), and worshipping god even though god has cast him into the deep (2:3). jonah delights in god’s deliverance, saying, “you brought up my life from the pit” (2:7) and “deliverance belongs to the lord” (2:9). however, jonah never repents, and, as bewer points out, nowhere in the rest of the narrative does the author suggest that jonah thought the fish was his savior.96 this raises the questions of whether god really is a deliverer and whether jonah is being serious or sarcastic in this psalm. henceforth, the psalm’s characterizations of god and jonah are not clear: god is both gracious (delivers) and cruel (casts into sea) and jonah is both pious (vows, prays) and stubborn (does not repent). the psalm only adds to the confusion and complexity of the nature of god in this book; it does not resolve any theodicy issues. after the psalm, the fish “spewed jonah out upon the dry land” (2:10),97 and god calls jonah a second time (3:1-2). jonah responds by traveling to nineveh. as 92 of course, from the point of view of the sailors, the sacrifice is total, and jonah is dead. 93 wolff, jonah, 84. 94 furthermore, through jonah’s sacrifice, god saves the gentiles. ceresko remarks, “the irony of the situation is unmistakable: in his very flight from god’s service, jonah unwittingly serves god as the one through whom the pagan sailors come to know and fear yahweh” (“jonah,” 582). 95 for this reason, 2:1-9 often considered an interpolation. 96 bewer, “jonah,” 21. rather, as frolov argues, jonah considers the fish a punishment because it keeps him alive (“returning, 21). 97 again, elements of the grotesque make this episode comically absurd (wolff, jonah, 84). 16 the author describes this “great city” of nineveh (3:1-2), it becomes clear that he is using the hellenistic picture of nineveh, not the traditional biblical image.98 in other biblical books, nineveh is a despised, evil city wherein heinous crimes are committed.99 the author here, however, does not emphasize the wickedness of the city.100 instead, he uses the hellenistic model of nineveh as a city known for its opulence and excess as well as its destruction (3:2-3).101 when jonah comes to the city, he proclaims, “forty days more, and nineveh shall be overthrown!” (3:4). jonah appears to be the typical israelite delighting in the fact that nineveh will be destroyed (as did nahum). however, jonah’s words belie such a simple reading. as brown discusses, the meaning of the word “overthrow” in hebrew is quite nuanced: “it can mean to destroy…yet it can also mean to turn or change something.”102 thus, though jonah appears to be predicting nineveh’s fall, his language allows room for other events — such as repentance or “turning” from evil — to occur without falsifying his prophecy.103 when the people hear jonah’s message, their response is immediate: “and the people of nineveh believed god; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth” (3:5). as with the sailors, the gentile ninevites’ response to god contrasts with that of jonah, the hebrew. while god had to call jonah twice (and resort to the fish), the ninevites hear the message once and act immediately. the king of nineveh tears his robe, covers himself with sackcloth, and sits in ashes (3:6) — all typical israelite methods of mourning and repentance (cf. esth 4:1, i kgs 21:27). the king also calls all the people and animals of the city to repent (3:7-8). though the inclusion of even the animals makes this scene ridiculous,104 the author makes his point quite clear: the ninevites repent so thoroughly that even the animals join in!105 once again, the gentiles are acting like followers of the israelite god and are portrayed in a positive light. they not only know how to repent (by following israelite customs), but they also do it wholeheartedly. 98 cf. pages 129-140 in thomas m. bolin, freedom beyond forgiveness: the book of jonah re-examined (jstopsup; sheffield: sheffield academic press, 1997). 99 cf. nahum and zephaniah. 100 in addition, only 1:2 calls nineveh wicked, and that wickedness is not detailed (as it is, e.g., in nahum 2:12). 101 bolin, freedom, 139. as will be discussed more later, the significance of the latter point is crucial to understanding the nature of god portrayed in this book. 102 brown, obadiah, 25. 103 perhaps the author is addressing unfulfilled prophecy (cf. blenkinsopp, history, 242-245): the author suggests that the prophecy does not go unfulfilled because jonah’s prophecy does come true — just not in the way jonah expected. or perhaps the author is simply trying to set up a situation where once again his readers will have their expectations and assumptions shattered: nineveh is not overthrown as in “destroyed” because these gentiles choose to “turn” to god in repentance! 104 (wolff, jonah, 84). 105 in addition, because the king’s edict comes after the people’s immediate response of fasting and sackcloth (3:5), it appears that all of nineveh willingly repents (not simply because they were ordered to do so by the king). 17 after the king’s edict is proclaimed, the motivation behind the ninevites’ repentance is revealed: “who knows? god may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish” (3:9). clearly, there was a belief that god (or a god) could turn from his plans. 106 this idea certainly had biblical precedents. for instance, jeremiah proclaims that a nation’s repentance may lead to god’s repentance (18:8). similarly, at the intercession of a prophet, god sometimes changes his mind (cf. gen 32:9-14). biblical examples of god’s willingness to be merciful abound, perhaps most explicitly in the story of sodom: god promises abraham that for the sake of ten righteous men, the city will not perish (gen 18:32). in the case of sodom, no righteous men are found (though lot is saved), and god destroys the city (19:24). in the story of jonah, however, the city is saved, for “when god saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, god changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it” (3:10). in this passage, prophetic intercession does not persuade god, for jonah does not intercede for the people of nineveh.107 instead, god changes his mind due to the gentiles’ intercession on their own behalf.108 at one level, therefore, the mercy and forgiveness of god are apparent in this story, because god does not destroy nineveh after the people repent. on another level, since the audience knows that the city of nineveh is eventually demolished, the ninevites only appear to be saved. god’s mercy may have prolonged their fate, but ultimately, they cannot avoid his judgment. hence, by using the city known for its destruction, the author suggests that ultimately, god does not “change his mind” if justice must be served against the wicked.109 the author is not reversing the israelite view that god will judge the wicked. rather, the author is emphasizing the merciful side of god by demonstrating god’s mercy and love toward all his creation, even those whom the israelites thought god’s mercy could not encompass. although the audience would not have expected nineveh to repent, they would realize that this repentance only extended god’s mercy; it did not eliminate his judgment and justice because one day the city is 106 as trible points out, "turn" is a better translation than “change his mind” (“jonah,” 514). cf. also page 187 in phyllis trible, rhetorical criticism: content, method, and the book of jonah (minneapolis: fortress, 1994) and bolin, freedom, 143-145. 107 again, jonah is not your typical prophet. perhaps one could argue that jonah’s running away is an intercession, because by running away and not delivering the message about destruction, jonah might save nineveh from her ill fate. however, jonah’s confession in 4:2 makes this suggestion untenable. similarly, though brockington remarks jonah is willing to die for the gentile sailors, thus proving that god’s prophet has understood the book’s theme about god’s wide mercy (“jonah,” 628), jonah’s attitude at the end of the book, as well as his earlier lack of concern for their sailors (1:6), suggests otherwise. 108 which would, as with other parts of this story, shock the audience. 109 cf. bolin, freedom, 141-147 18 overthrown. god’s mercy does notcompletely override his justice,110 even though his mercy is more evident. jonah,however, as a character confined to the text, does not know that god will eventually destroy the city. he sees only that god has changed his mind and decided notto “overthrow” the city.111 thus, jonah becomes angry with god (4:1): god’s justice appears to have been silenced by his mercy. jonah is angry that god is being true to his nature, for in one of the most significant passages of the book,112 jonah attests, “that is why i fled to tarshish at the beginning; for i knew that you are a gracious god and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing” (4:2). other biblical passages must be analyzed to try to unravel the complexities of jonah’s statement. in deuteronomy 18:21-22, for example, the standard for recognizing a false from a true prophet depends on whether his words are fulfilled. perhaps, it is because jonah knows his prophecy to nineveh will not come true that he runs away from his commission. after all, if jonah goes to the city and predicts that it will fall — only to have god save the city — jonah is nothing more than a false prophet whose career is ruined.113 in this case, his reluctance is understandable. alternatively, this passage could be understood in light of the entire exodus 34:6-7 tradition, where god’s mercy and justice gohand-in-hand, though at different times one aspect is stressed more than the other.114 in this case, jonah, like nahum, affirms both god’s slowness to anger and his justice, yet, unlike nahum, jonah’s emphasis is not clear. from the focalization of the audience and author, god’s justice appears most evident, for he destroys the wicked city. from the focalization 110 against white, “jonah,” 214. 111 at least as far as overthrow meant destroy. 112 at least regarding the nature of god. 113 frolov, “returning,” 90-91. for frolov, jonah then becomes an atonement sacrifice, saving israel’s enemies (97). although other authors may have viewed jonah as deutero-isaiah’s righteous servant who dies for others (103, fn. 73), frolov adamantly rejects this position. he instead argues that the author of jonah intends to “counter the official ideology [taken from deutero-is] by showing that israel’s misery should not be understood as atonement for sins of other people, for salvation of the wicked at the expense of the righteous is nonsensical” (104). hence, jonah’s actions are not ridiculous, because jonah does not want to submit to a god who is willing to sacrifice one of his own people for the sake of the wicked (97). on the one hand, frolov’s theory makes sense. after all, jonah’s career, if understood in light of deuteronomy 18, is ruined by his journey to nineveh, and thus trying to avoid the trip would make sense. however, on the other hand, frolov’s theory does not seem to fit well with jeremiah’s understanding of repentance (18:8), and it is questionable why jonah would be so cherished by jewish communities as a call to repentance if the message of the book were instead the absurdity of god’s actions toward his people.113 furthermore, the audience knows that jonah is justified and not proved false in the end since nineveh is destroyed. hence, while frolov’s reading of jonah offers new insights and possibilities for wrestling with the book, his should not be accepted as the only true understanding. [it is noteworthy that at the end of frolov’s argument he mentions that as a post-wwii former soviet national, he has a personal interest in rejecting any understanding of jonah as an atonement for the wicked (104).] 115 although, as discussed earlier, there are many passages affirming these statements about god’s nature, brockington (“jonah,” 628) and ceresko (“jonah,” 583) note that only joel 2:13b echoes jonah’s “relent from punishing” phrase. 19 of jonah, however, god’s gracious mercy overwhelms his justice, since nineveh is spared, for god is “ready to relent from punishing” (4:2).115 jonah himself does not want to accept this view of god’s nature. as the story continues, jonah asks to die (4:3). when god rebukes jonah (4:4), jonah goes out of the city, makes a booth, and sits under it, “waiting to see what would become of the city” (4:5).116 the picture of jonah painted here is that of a stubborn, miserable prophet who fears that his career is ruined and is angry117 that god has extended his mercy to jonah's enemies.118 instead of fulfilling his prophet’s hopes to see the city destroyed,119 god uses nature to teach jonah a lesson. god sends a bush to grow over jonah “to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort” (4:6). jonah is extremely happy about this shade, but the next day, his happiness is crushed because “god appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered” (4:7). furthermore, god sends a “sultry east wind” that, combined with the sun, makes jonah faint (4:8). uncomfortable, jonah again asks if he could die, because “it is better for me to die than to live” (4:8). ironically, the jonah who seemed to care little for the sailors in the storm or the ninevites who were sentenced to destruction cares greatly for this little bush (4:8-9). not surprisingly, god informs jonah that his priorities are wrong.120 god, whom jonah has professed as creator (1:9), reminds jonah that he cares for all of his creation.121 jonah cares deeply about “the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow” (4:10). would not the creator of nineveh rightly be concerned about “that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals” (4:11)? 122 the answer should be “yes,” but the book ends with no answer. it remains a mystery whether or not jonah concedes god’s point, or if he ever changes his attitude. what is clear is that god cares for all of his creation, including the rebellious prophet and the people and animals of 116 it looks as if jonah is sitting to see the fireworks as the city is destroyed (chisholm, interpreting, 128)! 117 jonah’s anger contrasts him with god, who is slow to anger (lacocque and lacocque, jonah, 137). jonah is angry that god is slow to anger! 118 (jonah assumes his enemies are god’s enemies.) in jonah’s defense, if assyria is saved, they are free to oppress his nation, israel (sawyer, prophecy , 126). 119 destroying the city would affirm god’s justice. 120 as stuart outlines, the ancient world saw the world as divided into three areas: humans, animals, and plants (hosea, 98). although all three areas were important, humans were most valuable and plants least. thus, in god’s comment to jonah, it is clear that jonah’s priorities are wrong because he cares for the bottom category (his plant), but he does not care for the humans and animals of the city, who are more valuable than the plant. 121 cf. trible, “jonah,” 42-43. 122 it is worthwhile to note that the author portrays the people of nineveh as ignorant, not wicked (4:11). perhaps this is another example of the fact that the author has in mind the hellenistic portrait of the city as opposed to the traditional biblical view. or perhaps the author is simply trying to teach his audience a lesson about their “enemies,” whom they considered evil and wicked. the author could be trying to temper this harsh view, suggesting instead that the israelites should remember that nations who do not know god’s laws are ignorant, not simply or only evil. 20 nineveh.123 god’s mercy — at least from his focalization and, perhaps, from that of the audience — is obvious. in jonah, then, the exodus 34 theology (cf. jonah 4:2) is evident as the author stresses the mercy of god, god’s patience, and his forgiveness without neglecting the concept of god’s justice. however, because the narrator uses various embedded focalizations to tell his story, the nature of god is complex. jonah’s point of view brings to light the frustration of israel with god’s seemingly never-ending patience and mercy toward their enemies. the audience’s perspective reveals that god does act in justice, since they know the city eventually is destroyed. from god’s point of view, his care for creation is expressed, andthus even though many of his actions appear cruel (particularly to jonah), god’s nature is never without mercy and love. hence, a picture of god as a merciful, just, allloving god of creation does appear in the book of jonah, particularly when read from the point of view of god or the post-exilic audience. however, because of the neutral focalization of the narrator, it is also possible to read the story through jonah’s eyes, where god’s mercy is confusing and god's actions often harsh. issues of theodicy remain unsettled in the book of jonah. since contemporary scholarship often does not recognizethe different focalizations, jonah’s questions of theodicy are mistreated or go unnoticed. both nahum and jonah, therefore, seek to answer questions about the nature of god. the fall of nineveh is used as context, and in each, the concept that god is a god who is merciful and just is evident. nahum emphasizes god’s justice as god acts against his enemies, whereas in jonah, god’s mercy appears to be the focus. though the two books appear similar, they differ, particularly due to the position of the narrator. in nahum, the narrator portrays the prophet’s message as cause for rejoicing, and thus the narrator affirms the nature of god portrayed in the book. jonah’s narrator is neutral, and thus a more complex picture of god emerges: god’s nature is disclosed differently according to the different possible focalizations of the book. hence, nahum and jonah both address the same basic question — the nature of god as it relates to the fall of nineveh — but their answers are not the same. though they do not contradict one another, since both nahum and jonah portray the mercy, justice, patience, and anger of god, their different emphases on the nature of god suggest that a proper vision of the god of the bible requires a reading of the entire biblical narrative. 123 cf. brown, obadiah, 28, and page 35 in james limburg, jonah (louisville: westminster john knox, 1993). 21 bibliography achtemeier, elizabeth. “jonah.” pages 255-284 in minor prophets i. peabody: hendrickson, 1996. _______. nahum—malachi. atlanta: john knox press, 1986. allen, leslie c. the books of joel, obadiah, jonah and micah. grand rapids: william b. eerdmanns, 1976. berger, benjamin lyle. “picturing the prophet: focalization in the book of jonah.” studies in religion 29:1 (2000): 55-66. bewer, julius a. “jonah,” pp. 3-65 in samuel rolles driver, alfred plummer, and charles augustus briggs, eds. the international critical commentary (edinburgh: t. & t. clark ltd, 1980). blenkinsopp, joseph. a history of prophecy in israel. rev. ed. louisville: westminster john knox press, 1996. bolin, thomas m. freedom beyond forgiveness: the book of jonah re-examined. journal for the study of the old testament supplement series. sheffield: sheffield academic press, 1997. brockington, leonard h. “jonah.” pages 627-629 in peake’s commentary on the bible. edited by matthew black and h. h. rowley. routledge: london, 1990. brown, william p. obadiah through malachi. louisville: westminster john knox press, 1996. cathcart, kevin j. “nahum, book of.” pages 998-1000 in vol. 4 of the anchor bible dictionary. edited by david noel freedman. 6 vols. new york: doubleday, 1992. ceresko, anthony r. “jonah.” pages 580-584 in the new jerome biblical commentary. englewood cliffs: prentice hall, 1990. chisholm, robert b., jr. interpreting the minor prophets. grand rapids: academie, 1990. christensen, duane l. transformations of the war oracle in old testament prophecy. montana: scholars press, 1975. clements, r. e. prophecy and tradition. oxford: basil blackwell, 1975. coggins, richard j. and s. paul re’emi. israel among the nations: nahum, obadiah, and esther. grand rapids: eerdmans, 1985. coogan, michael d., marc z. brettler, carol a. newsom, and pheme perkins, eds. the new oxford annotated bible. 3rd ed. new revised standard version. new york: oxford university press, 2001. craig, kenneth m., jr. a poetics of jonah: art in the service of ideology. columbia: south carolina university press, 1993. 22 craigie, peter c. twelve prophets. philadelphia: westminster, 1984. crenshaw, james l. “theodicy.” pages 144-47 in vol. 6 of of the anchor bible dictionary. edited by david noel freedman. 6 vols. new york: doubleday, 1992. doorslaer, j. van. “no amon” catholic biblical quarterly 11 (jl 1949): 280-95. eaton, j. h. obadiah, nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah. london: scm press, 1961. elwell, walter a., ed., “nahum, book of.” pages 1519-22 in vol. 2 of baker encyclopedia of the bible. 2 vols. grand rapids: baker, 1988. floyd, michael h. “the chimerical acrostic of nahum 1:2-10.” journal of biblical literature 113 (fall 1994): 421-37. _______. “nahum.” pages 1-78 in minor prophets: part 2. vol. xxii of the forms of the old testament literature. edited by rolf p. knierim, gene m. tucker, and marvin a. sweeney. grand rapids: eerdmans, 2000 frolov, serge. “returning the ticket: god and his prophet in the book of jonah.” journal for the study of the old testament 86 (1999): 85-105. garcia-treto, francisco o. “the book of nahum.” pages 593-619 in vol. 7 of the new interpreter’s bible. 12 vols. nashville: abingdon press, 1996. hadley, judith. class notes. 2 oct 2002. heaton, e. w. the old testament prophets. atlanta: john knox press, 1977. heschel, abraham joseph. prophets ii. harpercollins: new york, 1971. holladay, john s. “assyrian statecraft and the prophets of israel.” pages 122-139 in prophecy in israel. edited by david l. peterson. philadelphia: fortress press, 1987. hyatt, j. philip. “nahum.” pages 635-636 in peake’s commentary on the bible. edited by matthew black and h. h. rowley. london: routledge, 1990. lacocque, andre and pierre-emmanuel lacocque. jonah: a psycho-religious approach to the prophet. columbia: university of south carolina press, 1990. leslie, e. a. “nahum, book of.” pages 498-9 in the interpreter’s dictionary of the bible. edited by george arthur buttrick. nashville: abingdon press, 1962. limburg, james. jonah. louisville: westminster john knox press, 1993. mitchell, hinckley g., john merlin powis smith, and julius a. bewer. haggai, zechariah, malachi and jonah. international critical commentary. edited by samuel rolles drives, alfred plummer, and charles augustus briggs. edinburgh: t & t clark, 1912. 23 newsome, james d., jr. the hebrew prophets. atlanta: john knox press, 1984. roberts, j. j. m. nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah. louisville: westminster john knox press, 1991. sanderson, judith e. “nahum.” pages 232-239 in the women’s bible commentary. edited by carol a. newsom and sharon h. ringe. louisville: westminster john knox, 1998. sawyer, john f.a. prophecy and the biblical prophets. rev. ed. oxford: oxford university press, 1993. _______. “a change of emphasis in the study of the prophets.” pages 233-249 in israel’s prophetic tradition: essays in honour of peter r. ackroyd. new york: cambridge university press, 1982. simon, uriel. jonah. philadelphia: the jewish publication society, 1999. sklba, richard j. pre-exilic prophecy. minnesota: the liturgical press, 1990. smith, george adam. the book of the twelve prophets. new york: a. c. armstrong and son, 1901. smith, john merlin powis, william hayes ward, and julius a. bewer. “nahum.” pages 267-360 in micah, zephaniah, nahum, habakkuk, obadiah, and joel. international critical commentary. edited by samuel rolles driver, alfred plummer, and charles augustus briggs. edinburgh: t & t clark, 1911. southwell, peter j.m. “jonah.” pages 593-595 in oxford bible commentary. edited by john barton and john muddiman. new york: oxford university press, 2001. stuart, douglas. hosea-jonah. dallas: word publishing, 1989. trible, phyllis. “the book of jonah.” pages 463-529 in vol. 6 of the new interpreter’s bible. 12 vols. nashville: abingdon press, 1996. _______. rhetorical criticism: content, method, and the book of jonah. minneapolis: fortress press, 1994. von rad, gerhard. the message of the prophets. new york: harper & row, 1965. wahl, thomas p., irene nowell, and anthony r. ceresko. “zephaniah, nahum, and habakkuk.” pages 255-264 in the new jerome biblical commentary. englewood cliffs: prentice hall, 1990. watts, john d. the books of joel, obadiah, jonah, nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah. new york: cambridge university press, 1975. white, marsha c. “jonah.” pages 212-214 in the women’s bible commentary. edited by carol a. newsom and sharon h. ringe. louisville: westminster john knox press, 1992. wilson, robert r. prophecy and society in ancient israel (philadelphia: fortress press, 1980). 24 wolff, hans walter. obadiah and jonah. translated by margaret kohl. minneapolis: augsburg, 1986. nestorius and cyril: 5th century christological division and re nestorius and cyril: 5th century christological division and recent progress in reconciliation ben green department of theology and religious studies villanova university i. introduction the 5th century controversy of bishop nestorius of constantinople and bishop cyril of alexandria centered on the person of jesus christ: to what extent is he human? to what extent divine? and to what extent and how are his humanity and divinity united? the controversy takes shape on two fronts: (1) the christological debate, primarily because of the potential implications for soteriology (whether a certain conception of christ can be considered an efficacious savior); and (2) the persons involved, because each is venerated by his later adherents and thus an integral part of the ongoing debate. this fact, that the controversy continues to be worked out though it is more than 1500 years old, owes its significance to the ecumenical movement which emerged in the 20th century. this particular christological problem has been at the center of much dialogue between the roman catholic church and the ancient churches of the east. and, as we will see, an examination of the ecumenical dialogue will provide us with fresh insights by which to reevaluate the initial controversy itself. ii. setting the scene first, let us review the basic outline of events as they unfolded. cyril (c. 378-444) succeeded his uncle theophilus as bishop of alexandria in 412, after having begun his ecclesiastical career nine years earlier as lector of the church of alexandria. in contrast, nestorius (d. ca. 451) was a monk in the antioch area who was called upon to preach publicly in antioch.1 known as a powerful speaker, and receiving the recommendation of john of antioch, in 428 nestorius was appointed bishop of constantinople by emperor theodosius ii. at the council of 1 there seems to be some lack of clarity as to the nature of nestorius' duties before his appointment to the bishopric. according to adrian fortesque, the lesser easter churches (london: catholic truth society, 1913) 61, “nestorius had been a monk at the monastery of euprepios; then deacon, priest and preacher at the chief church of antioch.” however, friedrich loofs, nestorius and his place in the history of christian doctrine (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1914) 27, seems to represent another view: “it is well known that nestorius in april 428 was called out of the monastery of euprepios, in the neighborhood of antioch, to the vacant bishopric of constantinople.” it is perhaps telling that after he was deposed at ephesus in 431, nestorius requested, and received, permission to return to his monastery. in any case, the two themes which emerge from nestorius' career prior to 428 are that he was a monk as well as a powerful preacher. constantinople (381), the see of constantinople had been elevated equal to that of rome. nestorius had suddenly become one of the most powerful men in the empire. he used his power to vehemently attack heresy, particularly in rooting out remnants of arianism and apollinarianism (see §iii below for a brief description of these two -isms). nestorius quickly ran afoul of the establishment, however, when he questioned the use of θεοτόκος2 in the veneration of mary, the mother of jesus. this led to a greater dispute about his christology—specifically, his conception of the unity of the divine and human natures of christ. in this controversy cyril of alexandria became his most outspoken opponent. in rome, pope celestine received letters from nestorius and cyril along with written excerpts of some of nestorius' christological positions. the pope had them reviewed and called a synod in 430, at which nestorius was ruled against. cyril was entrusted with delivering the message: nestorius had ten days to renounce his heresies or be condemned. cyril added what are known as the twelve anathemas, each of which nestorius was to answer correctly. nestorius, however, did not accede within the ten days; before he received the letter theodosius ii had called for a general council, which would settle the matter at a higher level. the council was held in ephesus in 431. the council of ephesus did not arrive at a new definition of faith to modify that established at the councils of nicaea (325) and constantinople (381). for that we must way until the council of chalcedon in 451. what ephesus did was decide the dispute between nestorius and cyril in favor of cyril. cyril returned triumphantly to alexandria and nestorius returned to his monastery, succeeded as bishop of constantinople by maximian. nestorius was later exiled in 436, landing in upper egypt where he wrote the bazaar of heracleides,3 his last known work, probably in 451.4 in deciding in cyril's favor, ephesus did not, however, fully adopt cyril's christology. cyril's second letter to nestorius was approved as the faith of the council, but the anathemas attached to the third letter were not. in the end, the council of ephesus was not able to come to a resolution by itself. cyril convened the council before the arrival of john of antioch and the eastern bishops, who, after they arrived, convened their own council and deposed cyril. emperor theodosius ii had to step in to settle the affair. closure of the council was not properly achieved until 433, when john of antioch agreed to the formulary of reunion with cyril.5 2 grk. theotókos: lit. god-bearer; i.e., mother of god 3 there was apparently an error in the translation of the work from the original (lost) greek to syriac: bazaar should probably be book or treatise instead. 4 see g. r. driver and leonard hodgson, eds. and trans., introduction, the bazaar of heracleides, by nestorius (eugene, or: wipf and stock, 2002 [1925]) x. in bazaar, nestorius is aware of theodosius ii's death in 450 as well as the flight of dioscorus, but not of the formal decisions of chalcedon. 5 see loofs 53-56. it wasn't an ecumenical council: “two party-councils had sat and cursed each other.” he also notes that, in the formulary of reunion, the anathema against nestorius was the price of peace. the controversy did not end here, however. in 444, cyril died and was succeeded as bishop of alexandria by dioscorus, who held the extreme side of cyril's christology (monophysitism, i.e., one nature). in 449, after eutyches had been condemned at the synod of constantinople the previous year, dioscorus admitted him to communion and asked theodosius ii for a general council. it was held in ephesus in 449. dioscorus presided and achieved his ends by threat of military force: eutyches was restored and flavian, bishop of constantinople (he had succeeded proclus and maximian), was condemned. he died shortly thereafter from the rough treatment he received. in session ii, cyril's twelve anathemas were approved. in rome, pope leo (he had succeeded sixtus iii and celestine) protested against these proceedings, but emperor theodosius ii confirmed them. the next year, however, theodosius died and was succeed by his sister, pulcheria. she and her new husband, the senator marcian, assembled a general council at chalcedon in 451 to overturn the decisions made at ephesus in 449. flavian was vindicated and dioscorus was deposed. a new definition of faith was crafted so as to exclude the “heresies” of nestorius and eutyches from the orthodox christological formula. the definition of chalcedon is still considered by some to be the perfect christological formulation. early in the 20th century, adrian fortesque wrote: this exposition of the principle should be a useful reminder that after the bitter controversies of the 5th century, after all the mutual accusations, the unholy violence and unchristian methods of that time, the catholic church finally settled down in possession of the obviously right solution, the one to which a reasonable man must come in any case.6 at the very end of the 20th century, jon sobrino also weighed in on the definition of chalcedon: i think it is important for us to feel (if that is an appropriate term) that, given the direction taken by christological thinking in the grecoroman world, chalcedon “hit the mark,” that it not only formulated the vision of those who won the debate but also expressed a truth that opened the way to “more.”7 clearly sobrino represents a more developed viewpoint which retains chalcedon with emphasis on the “truth” which it expressed. we will look at this further 6 fortesque 58. 7 jon sobrino, christ the liberator: a view from the victims, trans. paul burns (maryknoll: orbis, 2001: from spanish edition of 1999, reprinted 2003) 295. below: the definition of chalcedon itself in the next section and its place in the present in §iv, particularly in regard to the difference between hitting the mark in expression and hitting it in essence. now we will begin in earnest with the christological debate. iii. the christological debate the antiochene school (represented by nestorius) and the alexandrian school (represented by cyril) both held the “twoness” (humanity and divinity) and the “oneness” (unity of the humanity and divinity) of christ. on the moderate side of each school, the differences were in the emphasis on either twoness or oneness, and also in the terminology used for expressing twoness and oneness. when the positions were expressed in their extreme senses, however, the understanding of the meanings of twoness and oneness was also at odds. in other words, viewed in the extreme, the issue became fundamental: the antiochenes saw the alexandrian christ as a divine being without a real humanity (as in apollinarius' christology); and when the alexandrians looked at the antiochene christ, they thought they were seeing double. thus the challenge for understanding the debate between nestorius and cyril is to distinguish the moderate from the extreme. each of these theologians can be seen to represent either the moderate or the extreme position of his school of thought. this challenge continues to cause the debate to appear a bit of an enigma. according to jacques dupuis, “we may note that at the time of the contest between nestorius and cyril, ambiguity and confusion still remained concerning the terminology. when cyril spoke of 'one nature (phusis) only in jesus christ,' he meant the unity of person (hupostasis). when nestorius spoke of two 'natures' (phuseis), he seemed to intend two persons (prosòpon).”8 it is easy to see here how retaining the perspective of the winners leads to certain preconceptions. cyril here is being understood in his moderate sense, for the whole of his christology, which indeed affirmed both the humanity and divinity of christ. in his book, on the unity of christ, cyril says: the only begotten word, even though he was god and born from god by nature, the “radiance of the glory, and the exact image of the being” of the one who begot him (heb 1:3), he it was who became man. he did not change himself into flesh; he did not endure any mixture or blending, or anything else of the kind. but he submitted himself to being emptied and “for the sake of the honor that was set before him he counted the shame as nothing” (heb 12:2) and did not disdain the poverty of human nature. as god he wished to make that flesh which was held in the grip of sin and death evidently superior to 8 jacques dupuis, s.j., who do you say i am? introduction to christology (maryknoll, ny: orbis, 1994) 88. sin and death. he made it his very own, and not soulless as some have said, but rather animated with a rational soul, and thus he restored flesh to what it was in the beginning.... the same was at once god and man, and he was “in the likeness of men” (phil 2:7) since even though he was god he was “in the fashion of a man” (phil 2:8). he was god in an appearance like ours, and the lord in the form of a slave.9 it is obvious, then, that while cyril emphasized the unity of christ and his divinity, he held that christ “was at once god and man,” and without “any mixture or blending.” in this way he preserved the distinction between the two natures which became so important in the definition of chalcedon. also, cyril is clearly defended against the accusations that he was falling into the apollinarian heresy, even though cyril had adopted apollinarius' formula: μία φύσις.10 apollinarius used the formula in the sense that christ had no human soul; instead, the human soul was replaced by the word.11 but cyril says, “not soulless as some have said, but rather animated with a rational soul.” with these statements in mind, cyril's use of “μία φύσις” takes on a rather different appearance. it can be seen as just an extreme expression, not a representation of his entire christology. aloys grillmeier suggests that “the right thing now would have been for cyril to give up the 'apollinarian' language of the μία φύσις formula once and for all. had he done this, without doubt the further development of christological dogma would have been preserved from much confusion.”12 nonetheless, the bottom line is that cyril can be, should be, and for the most part is being viewed according to his overall christology, which played a significant role in the definition of chalcedon, and not according to a narrow understanding of his apollinarian formula, which was not adopted at chalcedon. nestorius, however, was not treated so kindly. to reiterate jacques dupuis' assessment: “when nestorius spoke of two 'natures' (phuseis), he seemed to intend two persons (prosòpon).” this has in view only the extreme side of nestorius, which is seen most clearly in his adamant rejection of three positions: (1) christ not being really human (apollinarianism),13 (2) christ not being really divine (arianism), and (3) the divine word being passable. all three positions, interestingly, were represented in the issue over the use of θεοτόκος. grillmeier points out that both the arians and the apollinarians used the title for mary, 9 st. cyril of alexandria, on the unity of christ, trans. and introduced by john anthony mcguckin (crestwood: st. vladimir's seminary press, 1995) 54-55. 10 grk. mía phúsis (or phýsis): one nature 11 brian o. mcdermott, s.j., word become flesh: dimensions of christology (collegeville: the liturgical press: a michael glazer book, 1993) 199. 12 aloys grillmeier, s.j., christ in christian tradition, vol. 1: from the apostolic age to chalcedon (451), 2nd revised edition, trans. john bowden (atlanta: john knox press, 1975) 476. 13 it is important to note that in this category nestorius included cyril, based on a narrow view of cyril's “one nature” christology. because they held that the word was joined through a natural union with the flesh and was thus involved in birth, suffering and death. “the arians seek to spread the title theotokos so as to have the opportunity of attacking the very divinity of christ. nestorius sees the abolition of this title as the only way out.”14 for christ to really be a human there must be a full human nature, including a soul; and for him to be divine, there must be an inseparable union with the word. yet if the word is to avoid those things which must not be attributed to divinity—birth, suffering, and death—the distinctness of the two natures even after the union must be emphasized. from the alexandrian perspective, the nestorian union in christ appeared to be weak, as if there were two persons. for cyril, θεοτόκος was an integral part of this union; deny the title, and you deny the union.15 immediately following the passage quoted above, he says, “this is what we mean when we say that he became flesh, and for the same reasons we affirm that the holy virgin is the mother of god.”16 a fundamental disagreement thus existed on the surface, while different philosophical and theological starting points and emphases appear to be the cause. what of the moderate side of nestorius? while the positions so far mentioned caused a great stir and his ultimate demise, nestorius' overall delivery of the antiochene christology was much more orthodox.17 he was firmly convinced of the union of the divine and human natures in the single son, christ: “i did not say that the son was one (person) and god the word another; i said that god the word was by nature one and the temple by nature another, one son by conjunction.”18 there are clearly not two persons, but note that the word used for expressing union is not actually “union” but “conjunction.” grillmeier notes that nestorius rarely used ‛ένωσις,19 “for behind that he again suspects the 'one nature' of the apollinarians.”20 the implications of this “conjunction” are not terribly clear, however. it seems to rest on the meaning of πρόσωπον,21 for that is the location of the conjunction. after an extensive analysis,22 grillmeier concludes: the prosopon is 'appearance', the collection of qualities in which a thing, or better, a spiritual nature, exists, is seen and judged and honoured; it is also the manner in which it acts. in other words, 14 grillmeier 452. 15 cyril was upholding the doctrine of communicatio idiomatum: “communication of idioms” between the persons of the trinity. jesus is god and mary is jesus' mother, thus mary must be attributed the title mother of god. 16 st. cyril 55. 17 even his position on θεοτόκος had a moderate side. according to loofs 31-32, nestorius wrote to pope celestine that “the term may be tolerated,” and preached, “i have already repeatedly declared that if any one of you or any one else be simple and has a preference for the term θεοτόκος, then i have nothing to say against it: only do not make a goddess of the virgin.” 18 from a sermon nestorius preached in 430. quoted by grillmeier 454. 19 grk. hénosis: union 20 grillmeier 459. 21 grk. prósopon: appearance 22 see grillmeier 459-463. nestorius gathers all the possibilities of grounding the unity of natures in christ on an ontic basis apart from taking as this basis the physis qua physis. but the only sphere of ontic reality given in a concrete being apart from the physis or ousia is for him the sphere of individual properties. he can rightly claim to have found an ontic basis for the discussion of the unity of christ.... but the fundamental weakness of his solution emerges when the unity itself is to be explained.... he cannot succeed, as his metaphysical starting point is wrong. but we must acknowledge that his intention was sound.23 thus the union of christ as conceived by nestorius was real, not merely moral,24 but on the level of being (ontic). however, the complexity of the distinction between the natures and his inability to adequately explain their union led to confusion,25 not to mention the fact that the modern concept of 'person' did not yet exist. according to grillmeier, nestorius by necessity retained a πρόσωπον for each of the natures as well as one for the union of the two, “with the result that he sometimes speaks of two prosopa, sometimes of one prosopon in christ.”26 it is this inadequacy to make a convincing case for his orthodoxy, greatly fueled by how his positions impacted on the θεοτόκος issue, that gave his opponents—who were not straining themselves to see his moderate side—cause27 and opportunity to depose him, even though, as grillmeier maintains, “his intention was sound.” as mentioned above, ephesus decided the winner in 431 but it took chalcedon in 451 to establish a new definition: following therefore the holy fathers, we unanimously teach to confess one and the same son, our lord jesus christ, the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly god and truly man composed of rational soul and body, the same one in being (homoousios) with the father as to the divinity and one in being with us as to the humanity, like unto us in all things but sin [cf. heb 4:15]. the same was begotten from the father before the ages as to the divinity and in the latter days for us and our salvation was born as to his humanity from mary the virgin mother of god. we confess that one and the same lord jesus christ, the onlybegotten son, must be acknowledged in two natures, without confusion or change, without division or separation. the distinction between the natures was never abolished by their union but rather the 23 grillmeier 463. 24 a “moral union” is a characterization made by fortesque 71. 25 it is important to note that, according to grillmeier 463, “in the time of nestorius, it is everywhere apparent that no adequate union of spiritual beings had yet been evolved.” 26 grillmeier 463. 27 there are other theories of political intrigues, which may have been intertwined with the theological issues. character proper to each of the two natures was preserved as they came together in one person (prosôpon) and one hypostasis. he is not split or divided into two persons, but he is one and the same onlybegotten, god the word, the lord jesus christ, as formerly the prophets and later jesus christ himself have taught us about him and as has been handed down to us by the symbol of the fathers.28 not only did the definition of chalcedon seek to prevent misunderstandings along the lines of the extreme view of nestorius' position (separating the natures so as to divide christ into two sons), it also clearly established the distinctness of the two natures of christ in order to exclude the positions of dioscorus and eutyches, who had adopted cyril's μία φύσις position, though without his ability to compromise with those who did not have the same emphasis on the unity of christ.29 in chalcedon's “two natures” language, the “monophysite” alexandrians under dioscorus saw another example of nestorius' heresy. tragically, the results of the councils of ephesus and chalcedon included the separation of two major groups of christians, the nestorians and monophysites. the churches descended from these traditions are still with us today, the ancient churches of the east. in the following section we will look at the challenge of ecumenism to the councils of ephesus and chalcedon, including its impact on the understanding of history and the definition of chalcedon itself. iv. the christological controversy and ecumenism early in the 20th century, adrian fortesque wrote the lesser eastern churches (cited above in several places), the second volume of his trilogy on the eastern churches. a significant work of scholarship, it also reflects the centuriesold views which contributed to the rift between the roman catholic church and the separated churches of the east: “all the people of this volume are heretics and schismatics.... and they too, equally logically from their point of view, say that we are heretics and schismatics.”30 he summed up the christologies of the ancient churches of the east this way: “nestorianism divides christ into two persons, monophysism confuses him into one nature.”31 for fortesque, if the current followers of nestorius are to “become catholics they must... be converted to the faith of ephesus and chalcedon, they must accept the term θεοτόκος, and renounce nestorius at least, if not diodore and theodore. in a word, this unhappy little sect 28 jacques dupuis, s.j., ed., the christian faith in the doctrinal documents of the catholic church, 7th revised and enlarged edition (new york: st. pauls/alba house, 2001) 227-228. 29 a valuable characterization of the shift caused by cyril's death is made by j.n.d. kelly, early christian doctrines, paperback 5th revised edition (london: continuum, 1985, reprinted 2003) 330. “cyril himself... stood for moderation, and while he was alive he restrained his hotheaded partisans. with his death in 444 the reaction against the two natures doctrine gathered force....” 30 fortesque 4. 31 fortesque 5. he makes it clear that he uses these terms to characterize the positions of the churches. is not only schismatical but heretical too.”32 not only were these conclusions wrong on several points, they also were not a sign of things to come from the roman catholic church as its position developed later in the century. the last half of the 20th century saw considerable progress toward reunification, owing to a shift in emphasis from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law, so to speak. in 1951, in his encyclical on the council of chalcedon, pope pius xii sounded a message that seems to speak to both sides, anticipating the shift. first he stresses the “great importance and weight of the dogmatic definition of chalcedon,” and says, “let those who are involved in the errors of nestorius or eutyches penetrate with clearer insight into the mystery of christ and at last accept this definition in its completeness.”33 at the end of the document, however, he makes a point of articulating the heart of the dogma of chalcedon, indicating a focus on the spirit of the definition: “let no one corrupt by perverse innovation or weaken by doubt the dogma confirmed at chalcedon, namely, that there are in christ two true and perfect natures, the divine and the human, not confused with another, but joined together and subsisting in the one person of the word.”34 it would be this budding focus on the essence of the matter which would soon grow and enable progress in ecumenism. only 13 years later, in 1964, the roman catholic church broke ground in the building of a permanent structure of ecumenical commitment.35 the “decree on ecumenism” of vatican ii detailed a specific commitment to reunification with the eastern churches.36 this included a fundamental step toward recognizing a “unity in difference” in theology: what has just been said about the lawful variety that can exist in the church must also be taken to apply to the differences in theological expression of doctrine. in the study of revelation east and west have followed different methods, and have developed differently their understanding and confession of god's truth. it is hardly surprising, then, if from time to time one tradition has come nearer to a full appreciation of some aspects of a mystery of revelation than the other, or has expressed it to better advantage. in such cases, these various theological expressions are to be considered often as mutually complementary rather than conflicting. where the authentic theological traditions of the eastern church are concerned, we must recognize the admirable way in which they have their roots in holy scripture, and how they are nurtured and given expression in the life 32 fortesque 84. see also note 4, same page, and note 1, page 87, for fortesque's discussion of schism and heresy. 33 pope pius xii, sempiternus rex christus, 3. 34 pope pius xii, sempiternus rex christus, 44. 35 walter kasper, “current problems in ecumenical theology,” undated, pontifical council for promoting christian unity, i, notes that pope john paul ii “constantly stresses” that the decision is irrevocable. 36 see second vatican council, unitatis redintegratio, 13-18. in view are all of the separated churches in the east. of the liturgy. they derive their strength too from the living tradition of the apostles and from the works of the fathers and spiritual writers of the eastern churches. thus they promote the right ordering of christian life and, indeed, pave the way to a full vision of christian truth.37 further, quoting acts 15:28, this sacred council solemnly repeats the declaration of previous councils and roman pontiffs, that for the restoration or the maintenance of unity and communion it is necessary 'to impose no burden beyond what is essential'. it is the council's urgent desire that, in the various organizations and living activities of the church, every effort should be made toward the gradual realization of this unity, especially by prayer, and by fraternal dialogue on points of doctrine and the more pressing pastoral problems of our time.38 additionally, the decree's characterization of the origin of the separations in the east is crucial: the heritage handed down by the apostles was received with differences of form and manner, so that from the earliest times of the church it was explained variously in different places, owing to diversities of genius and conditions of life. all this, quite apart from external causes, prepared the way for decisions arising also from a lack of charity and mutual understanding.39 thus vatican ii redefined the playing field: differences in theological expression are acceptable, only the essential must be insisted upon, and the traditions in the east are understandably different, which is due to several causes, including environment, misunderstanding, and “lack of charity.” their stated goal is crystal clear: “every effort should be made toward the gradual realization of this unity.” seven years later, in 1971, a significant move on this new playing field was made in “the common declaration by pope paul vi and his holiness mar ignatius iacob iii,” patriarch of the syrian orthodox church of antioch.40 at the 37 second vatican council, unitatis redintegratio, 17. 38 second vatican council, unitatis redintegratio, 18. 39 second vatican council, unitatis redintegratio, 14. 40 the syrian (or syriac) orthodox church of antioch is a member of the oriental orthodox churches, which are also called the non-chalcedonian orthodox churches for their rejection of the council of chalcedon. two other members discussed below are the coptic orthodox and armenian orthodox churches. the oriental orthodox churches are in communion with each another but not with the (eastern) orthodox church or the roman catholic church. historically they have been considered “monophysite.” however, according to a coptic end of their meeting, the pope expressed the logic of signing new statements while maintaining the traditional faith as follows: if [theologians] recognize that there are still differences in the theological interpretation of this mystery of christ because of different ecclesiastical and theological traditions, they are convinced, however, that these various formulations can be understood along the lines of the faith of the early councils, which is the faith we also profess.41 pope paul vi thus extended the position of pope pius xii in sempiternus rex christus by further emphasizing the spirit of the definition of chalcedon. in saying that “these various formulations can be understood along the lines of the faith of the early councils,” the pontiff highlighted the specific method of applying the call to reconciliation made by vatican ii. new formulations could be made in order to bridge the gaps created by the original formulations, but the faith of the formulations (particularly chalcedon) would remain. “the common declaration” also furthered vatican ii's characterization of the split: “the period of mutual recrimination and condemnation has given place to a willingness to meet together in sincere efforts to lighten and eventually remove the burden of history which still weighs heavily upon christians.”42 there are now experiences in history characterized as burdens which must be removed. as far as the specific progress in applying the new method and removing the burden, “the common declaration” records the following statement: progress has already been made and pope paul vi and the patriarch mar ignatius jacob iii are in agreement that there is no difference in the faith they profess concerning the mystery of the word of god made flesh and become really man, even if over the centuries difficulties have arisen out of the different theological expressions by which this faith was expressed.43 the way has thus been paved for seeing unity where previously only difference was in view; and the unity is seen in the faith behind (or expressed in) the formulation, not in explicit agreement with the letter of the formulation. in 1973, pope paul vi took the next step in this direction by formulating a orthodox priest, fr. matthias f. wahba, “monophysitism: reconsidered,” undated, cop|net, 21 apr. 2005, <http://www.coptic.net/articles/monophysitismreconsidered.txt>, “considering the past, the non-chalcedonians are better to be called 'mia-physites' than 'monophysites.'” this expresses the distinction he draws between “mono” and “mia,” holding onto cyril's μία φύσις formula but rejecting monophysitism. 41 “address of pope paul vi,” rome, october 25, 1971. 42 “common declaration by pope paul vi and his holiness mar ignatius iacob iii,” rome, october 25, 1971. 43 “common declaration by pope paul vi and his holiness mar ignatius iacob iii,” rome, october 25, 1971. http://www.coptic.net/articles/monophysitismreconsidered.txt new, extensive christological statement along with the patriarch of the coptic orthodox church. the “common declaration of pope paul vi and of the pope of alexandria shenouda iii” states: in accordance with our apostolic traditions transmitted to our churches and preserved therein, and in conformity with the early three ecumenical councils, we confess one faith in the one triune god, the divinity of the only begotten son of god, the second person of the holy trinity, the word of god, the effulgence of his glory and the express image of his substance, who for us was incarnate, assuming for himself a real body with a rational soul, and who shared with us our humanity but without sin. we confess that our lord and god and saviour and king of us all, jesus christ, is perfect god with respect to his divinity, perfect man with respect to his humanity. in him his divinity is united with his humanity in a real, perfect union without mingling, without commixtion, without confusion, without alteration, without division, without separation. his divinity did not separate from his humanity for an instant, not for the twinkling of an eye. he who is god eternal and invisible became visible in the flesh, and took upon himself the form of a servant. in him are preserved all the properties of the divinity and all the properties of the humanity, together in a real, perfect, indivisible and inseparable union.44 here we have agreement upon an expression that is “along the lines of” chalcedon. the essence of chalcedon, including some of the language, has been retained without requiring all of the language. divinity and humanity are both preserved without using “in two natures” or “from two natures” or any other statement that one or the other party would consider objectionable. in fact, the problematic word “nature” is nowhere used. in place of this is simpler language that avoids the historical confusion—“humanity” instead of “human nature” and “divinity” instead of “divine nature.” moreover, pope paul vi respected the heritage of the coptic tradition by agreeing to language that takes great pains to emphasize the unity of christ, including the metaphor that, in christ, divinity and humanity did not separate even “for the twinkling of an eye.” it is worth noting that elsewhere the declaration also affirms the use of θεοτόκος for mary. this significant progress in ecumenism under pope paul vi was energetically continued by pope john paul ii. november 11, 1994, is the date which should signify to the world that the controversy of nestorius has been resolved (the christology, not the division of the churches). on that memorable 44 “the common declaration of pope paul vi and of the pope of alexandria shenouda iii,” may 10, 1973. day, pope john paul ii and the patriarch of the assyrian church of the east45 signed the “common christological declaration.” referring to this agreement, in 1995 pope john paul ii stated, “taking into account the different theological formulations, we were able to profess together the true faith in christ.”46 here is an excerpt from the “declaration”: as heirs and guardians of the faith received from the apostles as formulated by our common fathers in the nicene creed, we confess one lord jesus christ, the only son of god, begotten of the father from all eternity who, in the fullness of time, came down from heaven and became man for our salvation. the word of god, second person of the holy trinity, became incarnate by the power of the holy spirit in assuming from the holy virgin mary a body animated by a rational soul, with which he was indissolubly united from the moment of his conception. therefore our lord jesus christ is true god and true man, perfect in his divinity and perfect in his humanity, consubstantial with the father and consubstantial with us in all things but sin. his divinity and his humanity are united in one person, without confusion or change, without division or separation. in him has been preserved the difference of the natures of divinity and humanity, with all their properties, faculties and operations. but far from constituting "one and another", the divinity and humanity are united in the person of the same and unique son of god and lord jesus christ, who is the object of a single adoration. christ therefore is not an "ordinary man" whom god adopted in order to reside in him and inspire him, as in the righteous ones and the prophets. but the same god the word, begotten of his father before all worlds without beginning according to his divinity, was born of a mother without a father in the last times according to his humanity. the humanity to which the blessed virgin mary gave birth always was that of the son of god himself. that is the reason why the assyrian church of the east is praying the virgin mary as "the mother of christ our god and saviour". in the light of this same faith the catholic tradition addresses the virgin mary as "the mother of god" and also as "the mother of christ". we both recognize the legitimacy and rightness of these expressions of the same faith and we 45 note that while venerating nestorius and making use of his theological language, the assyrian church rejects the label “nestorian” for two reasons: (1) “it does not accept all the implications of that name” and (2) the label “suggests the church began with nestorius or with his followers.” see pro oriente consultation, “is the theology of the church of the east nestorian?” vienna, june 1994, commission on inter-church relations and education development <http://www.cired.org>, 17. 46 pope john paul ii, ut unum sint, 62. both respect the preference of each church in her liturgical life and piety. this is the unique faith that we profess in the mystery of christ. the controversies of the past led to anathemas, bearing on persons and on formulas. the lord's spirit permits us to understand better today that the divisions brought about in this way were due in large part to misunderstandings. whatever our christological divergences have been, we experience ourselves united today in the confession of the same faith in the son of god who became man so that we might become children of god by his grace. we wish from now on to witness together to this faith in the one who is the way, the truth and the life, proclaiming it in appropriate ways to our contemporaries, so that the world may believe in the gospel of salvation.47 in each paragraph is a point of acute interest here: (1) the divine word was “indissolubly united” with humanity “from the moment of his conception.” this refutes an extreme position of nestorius, which struggled with the concept of a divine infant due to the concept of impassibility. (2) one son, that is, a unity of two natures in one person, is affirmed. this refutes a charge of professing two sons, which nestorius himself also denied but which was sometimes unclear to others because of his language, as noted above in §iii. (3) the two churches agree that mary is the mother of the son of god (christ was always also the word become human “from the moment of his conception”) and therefore they agree that their faith is the same. respecting the fact the two traditions have developed along independent paths, they also respect the preference of each church for a different expression of this faith. the assyrian church's affirmation here reflects the moderate nestorius (see note 17 above). (4) going a little beyond the language of the agreement between pope paul vi and the syrian orthodox patriarch, this paragraph takes aim at controversies over specific individuals and terminology. it also reiterates the statement that the divisions of the past were largely the fault of misunderstanding. the implicit conviction is that the controversy between nestorius and cyril could have been resolved were it not for misunderstanding of their respective theologies, insistence on a single formulaic expression of faith, and the use of anathemas in personal antagonism.48 (5) two things are stressed here: 47 pope john paul ii and catholicos-patriarch mar dinkha iv, “common christological declaration between the catholic church and the assyrian church of the east,” november 11, 1994. 48 see very reverend michael j. birnie, “studies on anathemas and their lifting in relationship to the question of ecclesial communion and heresy,” 2002, commission on inter-church relations and education development <http://www.cired.org>, 5-6. birnie discusses the anathema leveled against theodore of mopsuestia by the second council of constantinople (553): “this provoked an emotional and indignant reaction in the east.... in the fortieth canon of the synod of mar 'aba in 544 they affirmed their adherence to theodore and his teaching.... though they attached no anathema to this simple affirmation, a gauntlet was thrown down, unity of the body of christ and the importance of this unity for the sake of effective communication of the gospel to the world. this mission of evangelization in fact speaks to the very origin of the ecumenical movement. according to cardinal walter kasper, “characteristically, the new ecumenical awareness developed in connection with the missionary movement. the birth of the ecumenical movement is generally traced to the 1910 world missionary conference of edinburgh. the division of the churches was recognized as a serious obstacle to world mission.”49 samuel hugh moffett tells of an ecumenical mission which began in 497 when the persian shah kavad fled to the huns for refuge. several nestorian christians were with him, including a bishop, four priests and two laymen. these were joined in the mission to the huns by an armenian (monophysite) bishop. moffett says that this “suggests that unlike the unseemly quarrels in the church at the home base, those early christian missionaries to central asia learned how to set aside their differences and begin to work together, united in christian mission.”50 interestingly, adrian fortesque even treats the issue of common christian mission to the world: we think of the nestorians as a wretched heretical sect, cut off from the catholic church and so gradually withering. they are that. but there is another side too. for a time, as long as they could, they did their share in the common christian cause heroically. while they were cut off from the west, denounced by catholics, orthodox and jacobites, while we thought of them as a dying sect in persia, they were sending missions all over asia. those forgotten nestorian missionaries, they were not catholics but they were christians.51 this is obviously a fascinating statement for the dying paradox which it represents: a heretical sect which heroically does its part in the “common christian cause”! it is no wonder that those engaged in missionary activities and organization were the first to spearhead the ecumenical movement. once the focus is off of the church and onto the outward mission, we are in a better position to determine what is truly essential to the message and, consequently, to the church. this new understanding of what is essential to the message and to the church, so crucial to ecumenism, requires repentance and forgiveness. pope john paul ii made this clear in 1995: besides the doctrinal differences needing to be resolved, christians and a line was drawn which no one would thereafter cross without severely damaging his reputation and status in the church of the east.” 49 kasper i. 50 samuel hugh moffett, a history of christianity in asia, vol. 1: beginnings to 1500, 2nd revised and corrected edition (maryknoll: orbis, 1998) 208-209. 51 fortesque 109. cannot underestimate the burden of long-standing misgivings inherited from the past, and of mutual misunderstandings and prejudices. complacency, indifference and insufficient knowledge of one another often make this situation worse. consequently, the commitment to ecumenism must be based upon the conversion of hearts and upon prayer, which will also lead to the necessary purification of past memories. with the grace of the holy spirit, the lord's disciples, inspired by love, by the power of the truth and by a sincere desire for mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, are called to re-examine together their painful past and the hurt which that past regrettably continues to provoke even today. all together, they are invited by the ever fresh power of the gospel to acknowledge with sincere and total objectivity the mistakes made and the contingent factors at work at the origins of their deplorable divisions. what is needed is a calm, clearsighted and truthful vision of things, a vision enlivened by divine mercy and capable of freeing people's minds and of inspiring in everyone a renewed willingness, precisely with a view to proclaiming the gospel to the men and women of every people and nation.52 note that the “long-standing misgivings inherited from the past” must be healed through “conversion of hearts” so that there can be “the necessary purification of past memories.” here, pope john paul ii has given us a powerful rubric for evaluating divisive events of the past in light of the healing necessary in the present. later in the same document, the pope directly addresses ecumenism with the “ancient churches of the east.” regarding the christological issues, he states, “ecumenical contacts have thus made possible essential clarifications with regard to the traditional controversies concerning christology, so much so that we have been able to profess together the faith which we have in common.”53 thus the common profession of faith is enabled because the controversies have been clarified. cardinal walter kasper summed up the recent progress with the eastern churches in this way: the reasons underlying their separation, besides political motives, lay in the dispute about the christological formula of the council of chalcedon (451): jesus christ true god and true man in one person, that is one person in two natures. in the meantime, after intensive preparatory work involving historical research on dogmas and discussion mediated by the “pro oriente” foundation in vienna, these 52 pope john paul ii, ut unum sint, 2. 53 pope john paul ii, ut unum sint, 63. controversies have been settled through the bilateral declarations of the pope and the respective patriarchs. it was recognized that when speaking of one person and two natures, the starting point was a different philosophical conception, but with the same meaning as far as the matter itself is concerned. this understanding has enabled maintaining the common faith in jesus christ as true god and true man, without imposing on the other one’s own respective formula; thus, the formulations of the council of chalcedon were not forced upon the ancient oriental churches. the ultimate outcome has been unity in the diversity of ways of expression.54 at this point it is abundantly clear: all are in agreement that the meaning was the same even though the philosophical conceptions and formulas differed. we are now in a position to embrace unity in diversity. in light of this, what conclusions can we draw? v. conclusion first, while we may say that there is potentially dangerous language in certain formulations from particular perspectives, and while a few theologians stand out as having more than an average focus on extreme positions or dangerous language, no longer can we point to “nestorianism” and say it “seems” to divide christ, or to “monophysitism” and say it confuses the natures or denies the humanity. the adherents of these positions did not fall into the potential traps of the extreme formulations as feared by their opponents. today, the “nestorian” (assyrian) church and three major “monophysite” churches (syrian orthodox, coptic orthodox and armenian orthodox55) have signed declarations with rome agreeing that they have a common christological faith, though expressed in some terms that differ from chalcedon. it does injustice to the truth and to ecumenical healing to continue to use language and characterizations from the point of view of those who excommunicated nestorius and dioscorus. in this regard, the assyrian church has decided to lift the anathemas against cyril.56 they also hope to be treated in the same manner: “as we do not ask anymore anyone to revile the memory of cyril, we would respectfully ask not to be required to abandon our long held admiration of, and appreciation for, nestorius.”57 this should be possible now. in 2002, the joint committee for theological 54 kasper iii. 55 for the armenian agreement, see the “common declaration of john paul ii and catholicos karekin i,” rome, december 13, 1996. as in the other agreements with “monophysite” churches, chalcedon-like language is used without mention of one or two “natures.” the essence is retained while the cause of division is removed. 56 bishop mar bawai soro, “does ephesus unite or divide? a reevaluation of the council of ephesus – an assyrian church of the east perspective,” 2002, commission on inter-church relations and education development <http://www.cired.org>, 9. 57 soro, “ephesus” 11. dialogue between the catholic church and the assyrian church of the east (jctd) stated the following in its press release: with regard to christology, the jctd initiated the preparation of a comprehensive document on the christological tradition of the church of the east. based on the existing achievements, reached by theologians and academic colloquia, this document should show the particular contribution of the church of the east to the global development of christology. in defending orthodoxy against local heresies, the church of the east developed indeed a particular christological terminology and reflection, which still holds its own place besides both the greek and the latin traditions. this christological reflection was carried out by many theologians, belonging to the mesopotamian area; it is also reflected in the liturgical and canonical tradition of the church of the east. greek authors as diodore of tarsus, theodore of mopsuestia and nestorius of constantinople, who gained the esteem of the church of the east, are to be read and understood in the light of this particular christological tradition.58 the jctd thus made the application, in effect, of pope john paul ii's rubric to the three primary persons on the “nestorian” side of the controversy. these three, including nestorius, “are to be read and understood in the light of” the christological tradition of the assyrian church of the east, which has already reached christological agreement with rome. the more moderate side of nestorius discussed above in §iii can be seen even more clearly now in this light. second, the appointment of the antiochene nestorius as patriarch of constantinople is a good example of the problem of not respecting the differences between traditions. nestorius was not wanted in constantinople. what was wanted was someone from outside the power struggle who could represent a middle ground. what they got, however, was a strong promoter of antiochene theology. nestorius did not respect the differences he found in constantinople. in seeing dangers in so many differences, without acknowledging the dangers others might see in his, nestorius failed in the task of pastoring a flock with traditions other than his own. this controversy and its ongoing resolution should be a lesson to theologians and church leaders in a world growing smaller not so much in its diversity as in the proximity of the other. the churches must make such lessons a part of the fabric of the traditions so that ecumenical reconciliation would be the 58 joint committee for theological dialogue between the catholic church and the assyrian church of the east (jctd), “press release of the eighth annual meeting,” 2002, commission on inter-church relations and education development <http://www.cired.org>. lens through which those in other traditions are viewed, that the “lack of charity” in the past may be replaced by charity in the present.59 let us pray and do our part to continue to break down the barriers erected in the 5th century and in other centuries, that those who share the bond of the spirit of jesus may share also the table of remembrance. 59 the assyrian church points out how important it is for clergy to be strong supporters and to report the proceedings of ecumenical dialogue to church members so that they may rejoice and become supporters as well. see bishop mar bawai soro, “reception of the 'common christological declaration' in the assyrian church of the east: an occasion for christian joy and cultural vitality,” 2002, commission on inter-church relations and educational development <http://www.cired.org>, 3-4. microsoft word novak.doc 1 lament of ahmad khani: a study of the historical struggle of the kurds for an independent kurdistan erik novak department of political science villanova university the kurdish poet sheikmous hasan, better known as cigerxwin, wrote these words as part of his much larger work, who am i? while living in exile in sweden. “i am the proud kurd, the enemies’ enemy, the friend of peace-loving ones. i am of noble race, not wild as they claim. my mighty ancestors were free people. like them i want to be free and that is why i fight, for the enemy won’t leave in peace and i don’t want to be forever oppressed.”1 although hasan, who died in 1984, was a modern voice for kurdish nationalism, he is merely one of a chorus of kurds reaching back centuries crying out for a free and independent kurdish state, unofficially named kurdistan. although the concept of nationalism is common today, the cries of the kurds for their own state reach back centuries, the first written example coming from the kurdish poet ahmad khani in his national epic mem-o-zin in 1695. mem-o-zin actually predates the french revolution of 1789, which is often thought to be the true beginning of the concept of a national state. despite having conceived of nationalism for the kurds nearly a century ahead of france and the rest of western europe, the kurds lack a state of their own. what are the origins of kurdish nationalist thought and how has it evolved over the years? to answer this question, we will track the evolution of kurdish nationalist thought from its origins during the ottoman empire, 2 through world war i and up to the present by looking at the three successor states of the ottoman empire that contain the largest kurdish populations: turkey, iran, and iraq. there have been numerous attempts to create a kurdish state in the past, but they have failed. why did these attempts fail and what challenges exist in the here and now to the creation of an independent kurdish state? will it be impossible to create a viable kurdish state unless the kurds have access to the oil fields in northern iraq and the government in turkey relieves pressure on its kurdish minority? further, could a kurdish state survive without gaining the recognition of groups like the un, the eu, the arab league, and of individual states such as the united states, russia, turkey, iraq, and iran? origins of the kurds and the ottoman empire: early kurdish history up to the beginning of the ottoman empire is a rich tapestry and can easily fill several volumes in and of itself. we will, however, focus on several factors that affect kurdish identity and relations to this day. genealogically, the kurds can be traced to the medes who ruled over the persians, or modern day iranians, circa 613bce. the persians eventually conquered the medians, sowing the historical tension from this era that continues to exist to this day.2 the kurds’ location in the middle east, situated between the ottoman empire and persia, afforded them the position buffer zone between the powers. although most kurdish areas fell under ottoman control, the kurds gained autonomy by helping fight the persians and paying tribute in the early 1500s. then, in order to gain further autonomy for their regions under persian control, the central and southern areas, they helped the persians fight the uzbeks, again in the 1500s.3 this helped to foment the early nationalist ideal that we see presented in khani’s mem-o-zin. national heroes such as saladin, whose ethnicity as a kurd is often ignored and who defeated the crusaders in jerusalem in 1187, aided in supporting this belief of an independent and unified kurdish people. yet it is important to point out that this principle of ethnicity was only associated with rulers and tribal elite, not the common peasant.4 the relative autonomy and the isolation of kurdish nationalist thought would remain the status quo for centuries. in 1804, the expanding russian empire made its presence known in the middle east by waging war against the persians. the result of this war was not only the cession of some kurdish lands to russia, but the introduction of new technologies to the middle east. over the next half century, the kurdish leaders watched as their autonomy was stripped away by the ottomans, persians, and the russians, who, using modern technology, 3 could better exploit and control the kurds from great distances.5 the kurdish territories essentially became colonies of these great powers. these new colonies were administrated the same way most colonies are: by force. the ottoman empire, during the period from 1820 to 1890, often sent forces to quell kurdish uprisings, such as in amadiya in the 1840s.6 the last great rebellion took place in the 1870s led by sheikh ubaydullah who united the kurds in persia and after being exiled, continued to lead the battle against the persian shah.7 of all the insurrections that took place during this period, the 1839 rebellion led by prince muhammad of rewanduz and the 1847 rebellion of bedir khan pasha of botan were the biggest threat and required the help of british and germans to be stopped.8 there are many modern day kurds who see these insurrections as the genesis of a true nationalist movement amongst the kurds. yet, these rebellions did not take place in an intellectual vacuum. ahmad khani, as mentioned before, produced the first accepted work of kurdish nationalism, but there were other thinkers who fueled the fire as well. the kurdish poet haji qadiri koyi, who died in 1897, argued from within the ottoman empire not only for the necessity of a kurdish state, but for the use of the sword and the pen to achieve it.9 koyi’s theory was that one of the ways to gain a kurdish state was through the pen. prince medhat beg shared koyi’s belief. acting on that belief, prince beg published the first kurdish language newspaper, kurdistan in 1898.10 an interesting side note is that the original editor of the newspaper kurdistan was miqdad madhad bedir khan pasha, a descendent of the same bedir khan pasha who led the 1847 revolt. the ottoman empire, like the other axis powers, found itself among the vanquished powers following world war i. u.s. president woodrow wilson was a champion of the idea of “self determination” for all nationalities living within the borders of the now defunct empires.11 by the end of world war i in 1918, many politicians and academics like wilson were arguing that one of the reasons for world war i was the multi-national nature of the defeated empires of the germans, ottomans, and austrohungarians. they believed that the only way to prevent another war was to give all nationalities their own states. seizing the opportunity, kurdish general sherif pasha from the ottoman empire traveled to the versailles peace conference in 1919 to push for the independence of the kurdish people.12 much to the relief of pasha and the kurdish people, both his calls and those of wilson were heard. the treaty of sevres signed on august 10, 1920, by the victorious powers of world war i and the ottoman empire, recognized the right for a 4 kurdish state, kurdistan, in section iii of the treaty. the boundaries of kurdistan outlined in article 62 are, “…for the predominantly kurdish areas lying east of the euphrates, south of the southern boundary of armenia as it may be hereafter determined, and north of the frontier of turkey with syria and mesopotamia…”13 the size of kurdistan could be increased in 1922 if the large kurdish population in what would become iraq voted to join their compatriots to the north. with the signing of the treaty of serves, it appeared that the kurds had finally achieved that for which ahmad khani had argued: an independent kurdish state. little did they realize that their hopes would soon be dashed. turkey and the kurds: the large area in eastern turkey that was promised to the kurds by the treaty of sevres was an area that was once held jointly by both kurds and armenians. during the period of 1915 and 1921, however, many armenians were either forced from the land or executed in what many agree was an attempt at genocide by the ottoman empire.14 the kurds, some of who helped in this genocide, were now in the majority in the region. as a result of the treaty of sevres and the leaders of the defeated ottoman empire, it appeared that the kurds would finally have their state, but they weren’t the only peoples experiencing a rebirth of nationalism. following world war i, a turkish nationalist movement swept through what is now turkey. this movement was a direct reaction to territorial losses turkey suffered at the hands of the treaty of sevres. mustafa kemal pasha, leader of the national party, established an opposition government to the sultan’s, which had signed the treaty. he fought a guerilla war against the allied forces of greece, britain, france, and italy from 1921 until 1922, effectively routing their forces in turkey. his success against the greeks led to the withdrawal of french and italian allied forces in southern anatolia. with mustafa kemal pasha now in control of turkey, he forced a new peace conference with the allies that led to the treaty of lausanne, which was signed on july 24, 1923.15 these events changed the course of kurdish independence. 5 mustafa kemal pasha, later to be known as ataturk or “father of the turks,” after 1934, came to power fighting the idea of a division of turkey itself. his idea was to create a modern secular state, and he needed all of turkey to accomplish it. independence of the kurds in eastern turkey was simply unacceptable because of the additional territorial loss to the already diminished territory of the turks. ataturk believed that since the government that had signed the treaty of sevres was no longer in power, neither he nor turkey had to abide by it. normally, this would have caused greater outrage amongst the allies than it did, yet there is one major reason that such a reaction was not provoked. many scholars place the dismal fate of the kurds on the british. while the treaty of lausanne was being debated, the british seized the central area of what would have been kurdistan after discovering oil. had there been an independent kurdish state to the north of iraq, it would have endangered british holdings.16 thus, when the treaty of lausanne made no mention of the kurds or any other minority by name, they simply turned the other way. as a nod to the previous treaty of sevres, however, the european powers made mention of minority rights in the treaty of lausanne, but they were blatantly ignored by turkey.17 the treaty of lausanne, however, allowed the turks to carry out their plans to create a unified and homogenous country. the first in a long history of oppressive actions of the turks against the kurds began with a march 3, 1924 decree that banned all kurdish schools, organizations, and publications, as well as all religious seminaries and fraternities.18 this was a first attempt by the turks to assimilate the kurds. additionally, from 1925 to 1928, there were mass deportations and resettlements of over 500,000 kurds to locations outside of kurdistan.19 overall, the turks believed if they wiped out the means to spread kurdish culture and spread the kurds throughout turkey, they would wipe out the kurds as well. the worst incident of kurdish repression took place in dersim on the heels of a kurdish rebellion between 1936 and 1939. using the uprising as an excuse, the turks attempted to obliterate all kurdish opposition and culture.20 all villages that had taken part in the insurrection were razed to the ground, and the region was renamed tunceli. the word kurd vanished from the turkish language, and the kurds became “mountain turks.”21 finally, the region was closed to foreigners until 1965. during this period from 1939 to 1965, the idea of kurdish nationalism appeared to vanish in turkey due to state suppression. it was not be until the 1960s that it returned. 6 in the early 1960s the world was awash in leftist revolutions and rightist responses, and turkey was not immune. although the kurds no longer technically existed, they still used their language and practiced their traditions. as a result, colonel turkes, one of the leaders of the 1960 rightist coup, threatened to wipe out the kurds like they did the armenians in 1915.22 in 1961, however, a new constitution was passed, replacing the strict military rule that had viewed the kurds as a major threat. the new government allowed the kurdish population a form of indirect representation.23 this newfound freedom allowed for the rise of new political parties, thinkers, and leaders within the turkish kurd populations. although the 1961 constitution ended the military coup rule, it was not the last time the military would intervene. since 1961, there have been three additional instances of the military coups taking place in 1971, 1980, 1997. generally, the coups took place simply because the military did not like the leaders in power or felt that the country was headed in the wrong direction. the 1980 coup, however, occurred in part because of fear of a kurdish resurgence, fueled by the founding of the kurdish workers’ party (pkk) in 1978.24 the 1990s have led to numerous clashes between the kurds and the turks. the bulk of these challenges deal with the pkk and the kurdish region in northern iraq. additionally, turkey, which is now in talks to join the european union, must not only acknowledge its past abuses of the kurds, but it must now work hard to integrate them while giving them cultural freedom. this is contrary to how the turkish government has traditionally reacted to the kurds. when one studies the leaders of kurdish nationalism in the last century, it is important to understand two things. first, borders of the states created from the ottoman empire were created by the europeans, not the existing national groups. and second, because of these artificial borders, the nationalist movements are not isolated to a single country, but extend their influence to the other countries in which kurds are present. therefore, i have had to create somewhat artificial boundaries for some of these leaders and thinkers. when studying the kurdish nationalists, i will divide them up along the lines of what country they affected the most with their ideas or what countries in which they spent the bulk of their time. the first kurdish nationalist effort following the treaty of sevres was the committee for kurdish independence founded in 1922.25 the founders of the committee were yusuf ziya bey and colonel halit bey. their push for an independent kurdish state was cut short, however, with the march 3, 1924 decree which effectively banned them. the two men were arrested on 7 october 10 and december 20, respectively, and executed in late march, 1925. their execution most likely went hand in hand with the uprising of sheikh sa’id in march 1925. sheikh sa’id was a chief of the sunni naqshbandi sufi order that started a kurdish uprising in march of 1925. although initially successful, it was limited, like most early kurdish movements, by tribal rivalry. many argue that although the bulk of the people in the uprising were kurds, the movement was against the modernization and secularization of ataturk.26 perhaps the biggest threat to ataturk was the khoyboun, the first known kurdish political party. founded in paris in 1918 by aristocrats and intellectuals, the khoyboun created a government in exile in 1927 and started a two year rebellion in 1928. led by ihsan nuri pasha, the khoyboun movement centered around seeking an end to kurdish tribal rivalry and the creation of a single independent state with secular inclinations.27 following the repression by the turkish government, the kurds had to wait until the 1960s to create a new political party. yet, the next major thinker and political figure to arise would not appear until 1974 when the pkk was formed by adullah ocalan. ocalan’s pkk was founded as a marxist-leninist party. ocalan designed it not only to fight for a kurdish state, but for freedom from class distinction, feudalism, and colonialism.28 some would argue that recent military crack downs by the turkish government are directly connected to the pkk and their actions in turkish kurdistan. as previously mentioned, the 1980 military coup was in part, a response to the pkk. since the pkk returned to turkey in 1983, they have engaged in sporadic combat with turkey’s military and police as well as kidnappings of local officials and collaborators. after the 1991 gulf war, the pkk started to use the lawless borderlands with iraq to avoid the turks, leading to turkish incursions into northern iraq.29 turkey has long oppressed the kurdish people, but one could argue that, at least initially, it was because the turks themselves were emerging from a form of colonialism imposed by the allies after world war i. as the turks worked to unify their people, the act of pushing out the greek, french, and italian troops helped to cement the turkish identity. the kurds, once again facing the reality of being a colonized people, were united in their own nationalism as they fought a force that attempted to wipe out their cultural identity. now the tables have turned on turkey. turkey must admit to its past wrong doings and attempt to give the kurds at least a measure of understanding if it wishes to join the european union. in order to do this, 8 turkey must demonstrate full compliance with the european commission of human rights, which in turn protects the kurdish minority. what this means for the future of the kurds of turkey remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain. whatever happens, it is sure to reach beyond turkey and affect another state with a large kurdish minority, iran. the kurds in iran: the situation of the kurds in iran is one that can be called in some ways poetically just. as previously mentioned in the brief overview of ancient kurdish history, the ancestors of today’s kurds ruled over the ancestors of today’s iranians. although not as widely broadcast in the media as the kurds in iraq or turkey, the kurds in iran have historically come the closest to regaining that which was promised in the treaty of sevres. perhaps the reason for their partial success has been their relatively isolated location in northwestern iran, or perhaps it has been from outside help. whatever the reason, the kurds were able to do something in iran that they were never able to do anywhere else in the middle east: declare the creation of an independent kurdish republic. unlike many of the modern day nations in the middle east with kurdish populations, iran was not created out of the territorial remains of the ottoman empire. territorially, the borders of modern iran roughly correspond to those of the ancient persian empire, though it was unofficially carved into soviet and british spheres of influence. yet nestled in the northwest of iran is the predominantly kurdish region that would have become eastern kurdistan according to the treaty of sevres.30 during world war i, the government of iran had very little control over events happening within its own borders. kurdish tribal leaders took advantage of this by increasing their own power through confederations between tribes and raiding rivals and non-ethnic kurds.31 we also see, because of a weak central government, that the shah was only able to maintain control in the cities, but not in the countryside where rebellions tend to start. we would expect at this point for some sort of coherent nationalist thought to appear. the strongest leader to emerge at this time was a seminationalist kurdish chief named isma’il agha simko. an affluent tribal chief, simko established an independent kurdish government in western iran, south of lake urumiyeh in 1918. although his power was actually based upon tribal loyalty, simko himself appeared to display nationalist leanings. during his reign he published a journal called independent kurdistan, dedicated to kurdish self-determination, and worked to create a 9 kurdish state. he received support from kurds in both turkey and iraq. the truth, however, is that simko lacked a true message and fought more for power for his tribe and for himself rather than for nationalism, though many of those fighting, especially from turkey and iraq, more than likely fought for a nationalist ideal.32 for a while it looked as if simko might succeed in creating his own kurdish state, but that would soon all change. in 1921, while mustafa kemal pasha was fighting against allied forces in turkey, a military officer named reza khan, later to become reza shah pahlavi in 1925, deposed the then sitting shah of iran in a military coup.33 reza khan moved quickly to consolidate his power. one of the moves he made was creating a modern army, which he then used to rout simko’s forces in 1922, putting an end to the rebellion, a task that the previous shah and his forces had been unable to accomplish. another attempt to consolidate power was reza khan’s policy of land registration in 1926, which worked to weaken tribal leaders and to force tribes to settle in permanent communities. the result for the kurds was a radical change in lifestyle. most kurds had been migrant herders up to this point, and the land reform led to the emergence of two separate kurdish classes: the poor farm laborers and rich land owners.34 this and other tough policies by reza shah led to the emergence of true nationalism and intellectualism among iranian kurds. with the allied invasion in 1940 and the subsequent replacement of the axis-sympathetic reza shah by his allied favored son mohammed reza shah in 1941, iran came to know the harsh reality of world war ii.35 kurdish unity across all borders finally became official in 1944 with representatives from iran, iraq, and turkey meeting at mount dalanpar. then, less than a year later, the kurdish democratic party (kdp) was formed in iran and led by qazi mohammad.36 mohammad was the leader of the kdp and the son of a powerful iranian kurdish family. after assuming the leadership of the kdp, he was faced with the familiar problem of bringing together both the urban kurds and the conservative tribal chiefs. a fierce kurdish nationalist, qazi mohammad urged his people to stick together, not to trust the persians, and not to stand in the way of any kurd who could lead the kurdish people.37 the kurdish leaders in iran, such as qazi muhammad, decided to seize upon the weakened state of the shah, much like simko had, and declared the creation of an independent kurdish state on december 15, 1945. this state, commonly known as the mahabad republic, elected qazi muhammad as its first and only president.38 the mahabad republic 10 represented a beacon of hope for kurdish nationalism. unfortunately, for the kurds of the mahabad republic, that beacon would soon be snuffed out. the mahabad republic existed as the result of soviet forces in iran. the soviets, in an attempt to destabilize iran, had also set up an azerbaijani republic right next to mahabad. additionally, it is widely believed that the soviet union actually planned on annexing both of the republics once iran gave up on them.39 yet there were additional problems to the mahabad republic. due to its abrupt creation, mahabad was backward in the economic, social, cultural, and political realms.40 another problem was the socialist beliefs of the kdp, which were in opposition to many of the conservative tribes. to bolster his position, qazi mohammad turned to iraqi kurdish fighters, known as pershmerga, leader mustafa barzani, whom we will discuss when we talk about iraq. although their ideologies differed, barzani hoped that by helping in iran, he could help his cause back home.41 by the fall of 1946, things looked bleak for the mahabad republic. soviet forces had withdrawn, as had barzani. iranian forces occupied mahabad on december 14, 1946. on march 31, 1947, qazi mohammad and his fellow leaders were publicly executed by hanging in the attempt to snuff out the independence hopes of kurds.42 the decades following the fall of the mahabad republic offered glimmers of hope coupled with disaster. when mohammed mossadegh gained power in iran in 1951, the kdp began lobbying for independence, but all efforts to this end were suspended with the 1953 coup that ousted mossadegh. the shah in turn began to fiercely crack down on the kurds by banning their political parties and limiting what they could broadcast on the radio. this was followed by another minor kurdish revolution in 1967, which was quickly quelled.43 the islamic revolution in 1979 offered new hope for the kurds. having helped to overthrow the shah, the kurds believed ayatollah khomeini would grant autonomy for their people. khomeini, however, rejected the request on the grounds that kurdish autonomy would go against the ideal of a unified islamic community. khomeini also claimed that the islamic revolution was as nationalist as it was religious and kurdish autonomy would disturb that as well.44 during the iran-iraq war from 1980 to 1988, the iranian kurds received arms from iraq and turkey to fight against the forces of khomeini so they could gain their freedom. until the war began, khomeini had intended to deal with his kurdish problem by force, but his plans were placed on hold until 1982. then, in 1984, a massive iranian offensive devastated the kurdish region ending all viable resistance.45 little data about the kurds in iran following the iran-iraq war has become public, but what 11 few documents have trickled out seem to indicate additional instances of minor uprisings and terrorism followed by repression. there exist two major kurdish political parties in iran. the first party is the democratic party of iranian kurdistan, also known as the kurdish democratic party or the kurdish democratic party in iran. the reason for the addition of the “in iran” to the kdp was because when barzani returned to iraq, he used the name kdp to consolidate his power.46 the kdp in iran, however, has very little in common with its sister party. the kdp in iran is basically an urban and elitist group, with moderate tribal connections.47 its stated goals are the creation of a socialist democratic society, the right of peoples of iran to self-determination, gender equality, and separation of religion and state.48 the other party is komala. komala was the original name of the kdp. after the formation of the kdp in iran, it vanished until the fall of 1969. the new komala is strongly marxist-leninist.49. the party fights for democratic freedoms, civil rights, and women’s rights. in the summer of 2000, the party split into two groups, komala and the significantly weaker revolutionary organization of people of kurdistan.50 unfortunately for the kurds, their attempts to create a sustained kurdish state have been thwarted mainly because the kurds are trying to break off a piece of their colonizers’ country, rather than one of its colonial territories. iran has helped light the nationalist fire, but it is no longer the most likely place for the birth of an independent kurdistan. for that, we must turn to what would have been the center of the original kurdistan promised in the treaty of sevres, what is now northern iraq. iraq and hope?: the kurdish population in iraq is perhaps the most well known in the world. populating primarily northeastern iraq, the kurds of this region occupy what was to have been central kurdistan, according to the treaty of sevres. the main reason these particular kurds have become well known is because of the part they’ve played in every war iraq has taken part in during the last quarter century. truth be told, however, the particular plight of these kurds goes back to the very founding of iraq. this kurdish population has been the center of repression for numerous reasons, including the one reason why a kurdish state may actually be viable: oil. northeastern iraq is territory that, according to the treaty of sevres, possessed the option of voting to become part of kurdistan in 1922 had it not been for the turkish nationalist uprising. with the loss of kurdistan in eastern turkey, the british did not see the point in letting the kurds vote to 12 join a nonexistent entity, so they incorporated them into their sphere of influence along with iraq, though the actual fate of the kurdish territory would not be resolved until 1926.51 from the very beginning, the british faced complications with the kurdish region. in 1918, the british appointed sheikh mahmud, a member of an illustrious sufi house to subdue and supervise the kurds for the new british mandate for iraq. sheikh mahmud, however, quickly turned on the british.52 constant unrest in the area, partially because of the separatist aims of sheikh mahmud, was initially quelled by the british royal air force in the winter of 1919-1920.53 this gave the kurds the dubious honor of being the first civilian targets of aerial bombardment. the british eventually captured sheikh mahmud and exiled him to india. sheikh mahmud returned to sulaymania in 1922 to head a “free kurdistan movement,” which declared independence for iraqi kurdistan with him as king. the problem with mahmud, however, was that he represented the old order of tribal chiefs. although there is evidence that four out of five iraqi kurds supported sheikh mahmud’s calls for an independent kurdistan, the more modern kurds living in the south blamed people like him and his traditional values for the kurds present suffering. on the other side, conservative tribal chiefs saw little difference in surrendering their power to either him or the british. eventually, the vast majority of sheikh mahmud’s support dissolved when the turks invaded in 1924.54 sheikh mahmud continued fighting, leading several more minor insurrections, before dying in 1931. the dispute over the territory of iraqi kurdistan was finally settled by the league of nations in 1926. citing the cruel treatment of the kurds by the turks, the territory was officially incorporated into northeastern iraq. the league also insisted that iraq give the kurdish regions cultural and social autonomy.55 these rights were ignored when iraq was finally given independence in 1932.56 mustafa barzani became the major force in kurdish politics. barzani, as we have already seen, helped protect the mahabad republic in iran during its brief existence in 1945. prior to his work in iran, barzani had led a two year revolt in iraq. after the collapse of the mahabad republic, barzani fled to the soviet union. following a revolution in baghdad in 1958, mustafa barzani returned home to help fight alongside the new government that declared the kurds partners.57 this declaration of partnership is not surprising in and of itself because the leader of the military forces that had overthrown the king was abdul karim qasim, a man thought to be an arabized kurd.58 13 the solidarity the kurds and arabs in iraq had agreed to quickly dissipated when, in 1961, a kurdish rebellion broke out. the kurds had decided once again to move beyond autonomy in iraq and push for full blown independence. then, in 1963, barzani and his forces declared the creation of a kurdish liberation zone in northeastern iraq.59 two more coups occurred in iraq during the 1960s. ultimately it would be the ba’ath party that gained control of iraq in 1968. the ba’ath party, based on the ideology of michel aflaq, promoted the concept of arab nationalism. although aflaq knew such a concept frightened minorities like the kurds and himself, he felt that the kurds could be integrated into a new iraq just the same as any minority group in arab territory.60 on march 11, 1970, then ba’ath party member saddam hussein entered into negotiations with barzani and his kdp. the agreement called for kurdish to be the second national language and a kurdish autonomous region to be established in the north.61 the treaty turned out to be a ruse. less than a year after signing the agreement, there was an attempt on barzani’s life, which was initially blamed on the leader of the kurdish opposition party led by jalal talabani. in 1974, after the kurdish autonomous region was created, the laws governing it turned out to be vastly different than those promised in the march 1970 agreement. using the creation of the autonomous region as an excuse, barzani, with aid from the shah of iran, launched another rebellion against the ba’ath party, only to be sold out by his ally in 1975 with the signing of the algiers accord between iraq and iran. barzani went into exile in tehran and died in 1978.62 arguably, at this point the kurds in iraq lost their greatest nationalist. barzani had the most influence and led the most successful fight thus far for a kurdish state. things were about to get worse, however, with the coming of the iraq-iran war starting in 1980. initially, the iraqis were making impressive strides in the iraq-iran war, partially because of confusion that followed the islamic revolution in iran in 1979. the kurds in iraq, however, openly supported iran, especially since most of the funding for the kdp came from tehran. this damaged the already poor image of the kurds with many arab iraqis but it did not become a major issue until the iranians began to turn the tide of the war. desperate, saddam hussein, now leader of the ba’ath party, sought to spite the kurds of the kdp by striking a deal with the other major kurdish party in 1984, the patriotic union of kurdistan (puk). the deal was quashed, however, when turkey, whose oil pipelines iraq needed for exports, objected with fears that the kurds would have too much autonomy.63 yet, 14 despite the casualties the kurds faced in the iraq-iran war, one of the worst episodes in kurdish history was still to be written. beginning in 1987, hussein initiated what was known as the anfal campaign. anfal roughly translates to “unbeliever” in the koran. as such, the campaign consisted of eight distinctive offensives occurring in six predominantly kurdish areas. it included the destruction of thousands of villages, executions, and the use of chemical weapons. what is important to note, however, is that the anfal was not a reaction to kurdish support for iran in the war; it merely gave hussein an excuse. the campaign itself was thought out years in advance of the iraq-iran war and used modern tactics and equipment.64 the number of kurds killed in the campaign is estimated by middle east watch as between 50,000 and 100,000; kurds claim it to be as high as 182,000. ali hasan al-majid, leader of anfal operations, claims the number is no more than 100,000.65 it was the anfal that helped galvanize the kurds to make their next move toward independence. the forces of iraq were severely diminished in the persian gulf war that began in 1990 and ended in 1991. kurds and shiites, both encouraged by the words of u.s. president george h.w. bush, rose up against hussein believing they would get support from the u.s. the kurdish uprising began in march 1991. the iraqi forces, after crushing the more serious shiite uprising in the south, turned north, leading to a mass exodus of kurds into the surrounding states to escape retaliations from the iraqi forces.66 in retaliation to hussein’s crushing of the rebellions both in the north and south, the un passed a resolution allowing the allies, mainly the u.s. and britain, to set up no-fly zones. ironically, the northern no-fly zone, which was meant for the kurds, left out roughly two thirds of iraqi kurdistan.67 in may 1992 a regional administration was established in irbil with the help of the un and u.s., making the region into a proto-state. immediately, the unity of the kurds began to break apart, and fighting between the puk and the kdp erupted in 1994, with relative unity returning in 1996 with an invasion from hussein’s forces.68 the government of saddam hussein was overthrown in 2003 by a coalition led primarily by u.s. and british forces. on april 10, 2003, the kurds aided the u.s. in the assault on kirkuk, iraq’s fourth largest city and the controlling center of the kirkuk oil fields.69 during the 2004 elections for the iraqi transitional government, the kurds of kirkuk had hoped for a low turnout in the election so they could bolster their chances of gaining greater influence in the new government.70 since that time, the kurds have worked hard with the shiites and sunnis to help create a new constitution from which to help rule iraq.71 the constitution, which was passed on 15 october 25, 2005, grants the kurds, as well as the shiites and sunni, a large degree of autonomy, though it states that iraq is one state with many nationalities. this autonomy, which the kurds have essentially maintained since 1992 because of the no-fly zone, includes such rights as taxation and manning a police force. additionally, iraqi kurdistan has been allowed to keep all rights and laws it has possessed since 1992 unless it contradicts the new iraqi constitution.72 the current president of iraq is jalal talabani, the leader of the puk. the patriotic union of kurdistan was started in 1976 by talabani as an offshoot of the kurdish democratic party. in order to compete with the stronger kdp, the puk expanded its base to include almost every ideology possible. it has conservative, center, and marxist factions. the puk has often negotiated with the government in baghdad, though it was never successful, and has come into armed conflict with the kdp several times as well.73 since the fall of hussein, the puk has pushed forward on a platform for “…the right of self-determination for the kurdish people within a unified democratic iraq.”74 the main opposition of the puk is the kdp. the kdp in iraq was created by ibrahim ahmad at the urging of barzani while he was in iran. ahmad controlled the party until he was ousted by barzani in a 1964 internal coup. the kdp is mainly urban elitist, though its military power actually comes from northern iraqi kurdistan. since the death of mustafa barzani, the line of control was passed to barzani’s eldest son, idris, and then to masoud in 1987, who has headed the party ever since.75 the kdp seeks to “…achieve all basic human and national rights… and to support all democratic principles for all ethnic, and other, oppressed peoples.”76 pushing hard for an independent kurdish state, masoud barzani, president of iraqi kurdistan, stated on november 18, 2005 with regard to the present insurgency in iraq, “may god save us from civil war, but if others start fighting among themselves and there is an outbreak, we will have no other alternative (but to proclaim independence).”77 iraqi kurdistan is presently the strongest candidate for an independent kurdish state. it is, however, part of iraq and seems intent on staying there, at least on paper. yet the words of leaders like masoud barzani indicate that it might be headed toward independence, especially considering it has been a proto-state for more than a decade. additionally, iraqi kurdistan has been described by many visitors as a thriving region of iraq and relatively secure. so the question remains, especially with the recent statement of barzani, will iraqi kurdistan declare independence, and if it does, what will a kurdish state look like? 16 kurdistan in the future?: the main problem with questioning what a kurdish state might look like is that the answer is dependent entirely upon asking, “from what country will an independent kurdistan emerge?” presently, iraqi kurdistan looks to be the most promising prospect for an independent kurdistan. if that were the case, then kurdistan would be a democratic state blessed with a growing economy driven, in large part, by oil revenues and agriculture. but this would be true only if kurdistan includes kirkuk, which, now that kurds are returning there in mass, would be almost a given. the autonomy they experienced since 1992, assisted by help received from the un, has helped create a profitable region with great potential for growth. kurdistan may possibly emerge in either turkey or iran. present conditions in both countries, however, make such a split look extremely improbable. both governments are strong and very unlikely to allow for any more than an autonomous zone, though once again that sort of event is also unlikely due to the possibility of it sparking a violent push for kurdish independence. kurds are also found in numerous other countries, including syria and armenia, but their numbers are much smaller, as are their territorial possessions. theoretically, if a kurdish state were created, either from one of the three covered states or even all of them, what problems would an independent kurdistan face? numerous problems abound with the possibility of a kurdish state, including whether the state can even be viable. assuming that the three largest kurdish regions, those found in iran, iraq, and turkey, did declare themselves independent and unified, it would most likely lead to a massive uproar in the region. already with the de facto autonomy in iraqi kurdistan, turkey has issued statements to iraq about its worries that a free iraqi kurdistan might lead to rebellions in their kurdish region.78 no doubt there would be a similar reaction in iran, or even iraq, if there were an attempt at secession. if the european powers fought tooth and nail against those they colonized who were fighting for nationalist freedom, why would turkey, iran, or iraq be any different? if kurdistan were to have any chance of survival from an invasion, it would need the immediate backing of the un, the european union, the arab league, the u.s., and russia. the un already has programs in many of the kurdish areas that help the poor there and is helping to improve infrastructure. the european union and the u.s. both have strong ties with turkey, especially the european union now that it entered into negotiations with turkey regarding membership and has begun applying pressure 17 regarding the treatment of turkish kurd populations. russian recognition would be required because russia has closer ties to iran than any of the other mentioned groups. russian recognition could possibly dissuade iranian aggression aimed at regaining lost territory. the u.s. and its presence in iraq might also make it easier to prevent armed retaliation against a seceding kurdistan, though the u.s. and its allies want to keep iraq whole. the kdp and the puk have both stated that they wouldn’t declare independence unless there was a civil war. if that were the case, the u.s. would have its hands full, if it were still present in iraq at all. another group that might be able to help with iraq would be the arab league. the arab league might be able to help restrain any sort of iraqi reaction. there are other problems, however, beside invasion that kurdistan might have to face. kurdistan’s viability is perhaps the question of paramount importance. once again, let us assume that an independent kurdistan will consist of the kurdish territories from turkey, iraq, and iran. geographically, kurdistan would be in a poor location. much of the land they inhabit is rugged and mountainous, yet it is the mountains that have sustained the kurds as a people. unfortunately, rugged mountains make for very difficult farming. a fledgling kurdistan would require an influx of revenue separate from the charity it presently receives from the un and other international organizations in order to improve its economy. this income could only currently be acquired with the inclusion of iraqi kurdistan and its oil. the oil, an economic god send, poses new problems to kurdistan. kurdistan itself would be a landlocked state without any way to transport the afore-mentioned oil to the international market. ideally, kurdistan would simply use existing pipelines through iraq and pay the government a fee, but if things in kurdistan don’t change, the kurdish parties have stated they won’t declare independence unless a civil war breaks out. a civil war would preclude the use of existing pipelines. the kurds could build pipelines through turkey, but considering the animosity between the kurds and turks, such a prospect looks even bleaker. bad blood would not only exist between the states, but between the minorities in said states. the kurds are not the only people living in these so-called kurdish territories, they are simply the majority there. numerous ethnic groups, ranging from turks and arabs to persians inhabit these lands as well. although many would likely leave, for fear of reprisals, others would stay and fight. in the city of kirkuk during the elections in 2004 for the transitional government, omar khattab, manager of the local national 18 turkmen movement office, said, “we are ready for anything…civil war has to come. the kurds are four million, and we are three million. our young men are ready to defend us.”79 if kurds in all three countries declare independence, they will not only have to fight with the minorities in their new state, but will most likely wind up fighting each other. as previously mentioned, following the establishment of the no-fly zone in northern iraq in 1992, the kdp and puk started fighting each other. although they seem to have worked out their differences for the time being, imagine what would happen when the kurdish parties in all three countries try to unite and share power. the divergent views of these parties are so great that the possibility of a civil war is almost guaranteed. the kurds, despite their cries for unity, are isolated in their causes because they are fighting three different enemies, and each group of kurds has had to adjust their tactics and ideologies accordingly. from its inception, a modern day, independent kurdistan composed of the kurdish regions from turkey, iraq, and iran, would be a nearly destitute state under constant threat of attack from its neighbors and from within. geographically isolated, it would be hard pressed to export any of its goods in order to improve its economic status. unless there are some radical changes in the states surrounding what would be kurdistan, and the kurdish parties develop a coherent ideology across state lines, the dreams of ahmad khani and so many others will go unfulfilled. 1 osman, sipan. “kurdish poems.” sipan’s website 1 nov. 2005. 1 nov. 2005 < http://sipan50.tripod.com/id5.html.> 2 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 33. 3 ibid., 34-36. 4 kreyenbroek, philip g. and stefan sperl. the kurds (new york: routledge. 1992), 49. 5 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 55-57. 6 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 36. 7 ciment, james. the kurds (new york: facts on file, inc. 1996), 41. 8 allison, christine and philip kreyenbroek. kurdish culture and identity (atlantic highlands: zed books ltd, 1996), 13. 9 allison, christine and philip kreyenbroek. kurdish culture and identity (atlantic highlands: zed books ltd, 1996), 49. 10 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 181. 11 ibid., 59. 12 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 37. 13 carnegie endowment for international peace. the treaties of peace 1919-1923 vol. 2. (new york: carnegie, 1924), treaty of sevres. 14 campbell, colm, kirsten e. schulze, and martin stokes. nationalism, minorities and diasporas: identities and right in the middle east (new york: tauris academic studies, 1996), 25. 15 bram, leon l. “turkey.” funk & wagnalls new encyclopedia. new york city: funk & wagnalls, inc. 1975. 19 16 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 60-61. 17 ibid., 60-61. 18 ibid., 61. 19 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 39. 20 campbell, colm, kirsten e. schulze, and martin stokes. nationalism, minorities and diasporas: identities and right in the middle east (new york: tauris academic studies, 1996), 26. 21 kreyenbroek, philip g. and stefan sperl. the kurds (new york: routledge. 1992), 73. 22 ibid., 103-104. 23 campbell, colm, kirsten e. schulze, and martin stokes. nationalism, minorities and diasporas: identities and right in the middle east (new york: tauris academic studies, 1996), 26. 24 ibid., 26. 25 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 39. 26 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 61-62. 27 ibid., 62. 28 ibid., 215-216. 29 ibid., 216-217. 30 ciment, james. the kurds (new york: facts on file, inc. 1996), 120. 31 kreyenbroek, philip g. and stefan sperl. the kurds (new york: routledge. 1992), 175. 32 ibid., 175-176. 33 ciment, james. the kurds (new york: facts on file, inc. 1996), 120. 34 kreyenbroek, philip g. and stefan sperl. the kurds (new york: routledge. 1992), 174. 35 ciment, james. the kurds (new york: facts on file, inc. 1996), 120. 36 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 40-41. 37 mohammad, qazi. “qazi mohammad’s will to the kurdish people.” hajir 1 nov. 2005. 1 nov. 2005 <http://hajirstony.blogspot.com/2005/01/qazi-mohammads-will-to-kurdish-people.html. > 38 kreyenbroek, philip g. and stefan sperl. the kurds (new york: routledge. 1992), 177-178. 39 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 65. 40 kreyenbroek, philip g. and stefan sperl. the kurds (new york: routledge. 1992), 178. 41 ciment, james. the kurds (new york: facts on file, inc. 1996), 65. 42 ibid., 66. 43 ibid., 67. 44 ibid., 68-69. 45 ibid., 70-71. 46 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 210. 47 ibid., 210. 48 democratic party of iranian kurdistan. “brief historical background.” democratic party of iranian kurdistan 1 nov. 2005. 1 nov. 2005 <http://www.pdk-iran.org/. > 49 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 211. 50 komala. “komala and its politics.” komala 1 nov. 2005. 1 nov. 2005 <http://www.komala.org/english/sidor/a_eindex.htm. > 51 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 40. 52 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 64. 53 campbell, colm, kirsten e. schulze, and martin stokes. nationalism, minorities and diasporas: identities and right in the middle east (new york: tauris academic studies, 1996), 83. 54 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 64. 55 ibid., 64. 56 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 40. 57 ibid., 42. 58 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 67. 20 59 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 42. 60 ibid., 43. 61 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 68. 62 ibid., 68. 63 ibid., 69. 64 campbell, colm, kirsten e. schulze, and martin stokes. nationalism, minorities and diasporas: identities and right in the middle east (new york: tauris academic studies, 1996), 87-88. 65 ibid., 92. 66 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 70. 67 ibid., 71. 68 nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east (jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc. 2002), 51-52. 69 rosen, nir. “in the balance.” new york times magazine february 20, 2005: pp. 30. 70 ibid., 50. 71 kurdistan regional government. “law of administration for the state of iraq.” kurdistan regional government 1 nov. 2005. 1 nov. 2005 <http://old.krg.org/reference/book-annotations.asp.> 72 kurdistan regional government. “final draft iraqi constitution.” kurdistan regional government 1 nov. 2005. 1 nov. 2005 <http://www.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?langnr=12&rubricnr=107&articlenr=6668&lnnr=28& rnnr=70.> 73 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 213-214. 74 patriotic union of kurdistan. “patriotic union of kurdistan homepage.” patriotic union of kurdistan 1 nov. 2005. 1 nov. 2005 <http://www.puk.org/.> 75 izady, mehrdad. the kurds (bristol: taylor & francis, inc. 1992), 212-213. 76 kurdistan democratic party iraq. “what does kdp stand for?” kurdistan democratic party iraq 1 nov. 2005. 1 nov. 2005 <http://www.kdp.pp.se.> 77 barzani, massoud. “barzani: we have no choice but independent kurdistan if civil war broke out in iraq.” kurdistan regional government 18 nov. 2005 <http://www.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?articlenr=7560&lnnr=28&rnnr=70&langnr=12.> 78 kurdistan regional government. “law of administration for the state of iraq.” kurdistan regional government 1 nov. 2005. 1 nov. 2005 <http://old.krg.org/reference/book-annotations.asp.> 79 rosen, nir. “in the balance.” new york times magazine february 20, 2005: pp. 35. 21 bibliography books: 1.) allison, christine and philip kreyenbroek. kurdish culture and identity. atlantic highlands: zed books ltd, 1996. 2.) campbell, colm, kirsten e. schulze, and martin stokes. nationalism, minorities and diasporas: identities and right in the middle east. new york: tauris academic studies, 1996. 3.) carnegie endowment for international peace. the treaties of peace 1919-1923. vol. 2. new york: carnegie, 1924. 4.) ciment, james. the kurds. new york: facts on file, inc, 1996. 5.) izady, mehrdad r. the kurds. bristol: taylor & francis inc, 1992. 6.) kreyenbroek, philip g. and stefan sperl. the kurds. new york: routledge, 1992. 7.) nisan, mordechai. minorities in the middle east. 2nd ed. jefferson: mcfarland & company, inc, 2002. periodicals: 1.) bram, leon l. “turkey.” funk & wagnalls new encyclopedia. new york city: funk & wagnalls, inc. 1975. 2.) rosen, nir. “in the balance.” new york times magazine february 20, 2005: pp. 30. 3.) talabani, jalal. “interview: iraqi kurdish leader jalal talabani.” alhayat. ibrahim khayyat. london, england. 9 nov. 2003. online resources: 1.) barzani, massoud. “barzani interview: pkk-puk fighting, plo, iraq, islamists.” al-zaman. sa’d al-bazzaz. london, england. 26 oct. 2000. 2.) barzani, massoud. “barzani: we have no choice but independent kurdistan if civil war broke out in iraq.” kurdistan regional government. 18 nov. 2005 22 <http://www.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?articlenr=7560&lnn r=28&rnnr=70&langnr=12.> 3.) democratic party of iranian kurdistan. “brief historical background.” democratic party of iranian kurdistan. 1 nov. 2005 < http://www.pdk-iran.org/.> 4.) komala. “komala and its politics.” komala. 1 nov. 2005 <http://www.komala.org/english/sidor/a_eindex.htm.> 5.) kurdistan democratic party – iraq. “what does kdp stand for?” kurdistan democratic party – iraq. 1 nov. 2005 <http://www.kdp.pp.se.> 6.) kurdistan regional government. “final draft iraqi constitution.” kurdistan regional government. 1 nov. 2005 <http://www.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?langnr=12&rubricnr =107&articlenr=6668&lnnr=28&rnnr=70.> 7.) kurdistan regional government. “law of administration for the state of iraq.” kurdistan regional government. 8 mar. 2004 < http://old.krg.org/docs/interim-administritive-law-iraqmar04.asp.> 8.) mohammad, qazi. “qazi mohammad’s will to the kurdish people.” hajir. 1 nov. 2005 <http://hajirstony.blogspot.com/2005/01/qazi-mohammads-will-tokurdish-people.html.> 9.) osman, sipan. “kurdish poems.” sipan’s website. 1 nov. 2005 < http://sipan50.tripod.com/id5.html.> 10.) patriotic union of kurdistan. “patriotic of kurdistan homepage.” patriotic union of kurdistan. 1 nov. 2005 < http://www.puk.org/.> \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\i_am_a_western_man.prn.pdf 1 i am a western man: the progressive historian as midwesterner; the lives and works of turner, beard, and becker jeff ludwig history villanova university “we have had a pleasant year; but i am so ingrained a westerner that i rejoice at the newspaper accounts of how la follette and the western insurgents are making new tariff history…” -frederick jackson turner “as long as there is corn in indiana and hogs to eat the corn, charlie beard will bow to no man.” -charles a. beard “i suppose you are perfectly hide bound now, a mere ‘easterner,’ stand patter… and protégé of the ‘interests.’ you see i have the kansas point of view.” -carl l. becker in pastmasters (1969), a collection of essays on some of the most seminal figures from the american historical profession, editors marcus cunliffe and robin winks make an observation particularly germane to their field of study. “historians cannot be separated from their work,” they note, “and to discuss historiography means that we must discuss personalities.”1 in large part, to risk inflaming the former camp of the nature/nurture debate, understanding personality types requires an exploration of personal background, an analysis of the milieu at work in shaping the individual conscience. additionally, one must consider the unique and often-contradictory career expectations of the historian in academe, which serve to increase the saliency of these forces. placed precariously in a university setting where he or she is asked to tread a fine line between the arts and sciences, objectivity becomes an ambivalent mooring post. with the historian 1 marcus cunliffe and robin w. winks, eds. pastmasters (new york: harper and row, 1969), xii. 2 struggling to find a balance between detached neutrality, an even-handed study of facts, and active engagement with a past that might accomplish good in the present, the slightest bias, which might tip the scales, carries magnified significance. political ideologies, geographical identification, and loyalties to class, race, gender or religion, combine, then, to form the basis of a worldview which inescapably seeks to present itself in historical thought. to such an embattled person, living what john higham dubbed a “perennial double life,” is entrusted the vaunted task of recording, preserving, and interpreting the nation’s past for the ages.2 yet, despite the general awareness concerning the importance of individual personality and background in crafting the 20th century’s most influential histories, such determining elements are frequently overlooked. the problem persists even in a school as extensively researched as the progressive or “new” historians, the generation of liberal scholars active from the progressive period (1890-1915) through the mid 1940s, which enlisted history in the service of the reform.3 references to any formative experiences underpinning their topic choices or presentations of time, space, and causality ordinarily receive little more than a passing glance. instead most studies are devoted to critical evaluation of the substantive aspects of major progressive historical works, lacking much insight beyond over-simplified generalizations of the men behind them.4 as a result, what 2 john higham, writing american history (bloomington, in: indiana university press, 1970), 138. this, of course, is a highly generalized portrayal of the american historian. for a humorous source of further detail on the pressures surrounding the academic post, specifically the erosive influences of consumerism and suburbia, see russell jacoby, the last intellectuals (new york: noonday press, 1987), 124-166. richard hofstadter provides a contrasting viewpoint in anti-intellectualism in american life (new york: vintage books, 1962). instead of depicting the intellectual as corrupted, hofstadter contends that popular democracy undermines public faith in an intelligentsia. 3 as defined by hofstadter in the progressive historians: turner, beard, and parrington (new york: alfred a. knopf, 1968), xii. for the chronology of progressive historiography, see john higham, history: professional scholarship in america (baltimore: the johns hopkins university press, 1965), 212-213. higham loosely marks the transition between the progressive historians and the consensus school at approximately 1948 with the appearance of richard hofstadter’s the american political tradition and the men who made it. hofstadter himself dates the end of progressive historiography at around 1950, with its last two “distinguished” works arthur schlesinger j r.’s the age of jackson (1945) and merrill jensen’s the new nation (1950). hofstadter, 438. divergent in a number of ways, the most striking contrast between the two generations is in their emphasis placed upon conflict in history. the progressives, active in age rife with swirling political change, interpreted the past as a series of struggles between opposing forces, such as capitalists vs. “the people,” while the latter group, writing at the height of cold war tension, stressed history in terms of relative unity. 4 likewise, a cottage industry of biography has followed, particularly around frederick jackson turner, performing many of the same functions, yet plagued by the same inadequacies. more specifically, in regards to turner, exist such massive tomes as ray allen billington, frederick jackson turner: historian, scholar, teacher (new york: oxford university press, 1973); and allan g. bogue, frederick jackson turner: strange roads going down (norman, ok: university of oklahoma press, 1998). additionally there is an informative biographical compendium of letters edited by wilbur r. jacobs, the historical world of frederick jackson turner (new haven: yale university press, 1968). see also lee benson, turner and beard: american historical writing reconsidered (glencoe, il: free press, 1960); richard hofstadter’s treatment of him in the progressive historians; and howard lamar’s essay “frederick jackson turner” in cunliffe and winks, eds., 74-109. less has been done on beard and becker. for biography on the former, see ellen nore, charles a. beard: an intellectual biography (carbondale, il: southern illinois university press, 1983; see also howard k. beale, ed., charles a. beard (university of kentucky 3 the progressives wrote is now widely known. the reasons that inspired them to write remain cloaked in vagueness. consequentially, while they have drawn a heavy traffic in fixation among modern historians, a mystique lawrence levine has termed the nostalgic “practice of creating a golden age of historiography,” the leading progressives wait to be examined in their full context.5 in particular, they need to be assessed as products of their native region. for indeed, the movement’s founder, frederick jackson turner, its vociferous champion, charles a. beard, and its most sparkling mind, carl l. becker, were all sons of the midwest, born in small rural townships in the tumultuous 1860s and 1870s. with few exceptions, the reasoning and purposes behind their works embody the zeitgeist of this region’s populist ferment.6 this spirit imbued particularly midwestern ideologies in these men, igniting their break with the conservative confines of the historical profession at the turn of the 20th century. the underlying impetus behind the emergent progressive school, their press, 1954), benson, hofstadter, and, though it is less valuable than the essay on turner, see forrest mcdonald’s “charles a. beard” in cunliffe and winks, eds., 110-141. on becker, the reader is referred to burleigh taylor wilkins, carl becker (cambridge: m.i.t. and harvard university presses, 1961) and robert e. brown, carl becker on history and the american revolution (east lansing, mi: the spartan press, 1970). 5 lawrence levine, the unpredictable past: explorations in american cultural history (new york: oxford university press, 1993), 7. levine, in a defense of the contemporary state of the historical profession, disapproves of this romanticizing trend. “my own feeling,” he states, “is that those who don’t appreciate the current historiography are free to show the way by creating a better one” (3). 6 there are, of course, alternative explanations posited by the relevant historiography, which fail to adequately account for the weight of regional determinism. one suggestive framework for a possible exception can be found in ernst a. breisach, american progressive history (chicago: university of chicago press, 1993), 29-31, which charts the rise of germany’s karl lamprecht concurrently with the progressives. a product of the prussian university system where many of the first american professional historians trained, lamprecht broke traditional molds of scholarship to meet “quasi-progressive” purposes. for further detail on lamprecht and his influence on “new historicism,” see also georg g. iggers, historiography in the twentieth century (middletown, ct: wesleyan university press, 1997), 31-35. this is an intriguing approach to beard who traveled in germany while a young student and may have absorbed some of this new energy. however, it must be remembered that he spent the majority of his four-year sojourn in england, and was, at that time, more focused on political science than he was on history. john higham offers another theory, removing the focus from the midwestern populist revolt and placing it on a cultural change in middle class life over the course of the 1890s. defining the “new activist” mood of the decade, he holds “it was everywhere a hunger to break out of the frustrations, the routine, and the sheer dullness of industrial urban culture.” see higham, writing american history, 73-102. t.j. jackson lears further develops this notion with his study on anti-modernism as a reaction to the “evasive banality of the cultural hegemony” prevailing in the bourgeois wasp, urban world of this period. lears, no place of grace (chicago: university of chicago press, 1983). a third school of thought posed by gerald d. nash, applies the concept of anti-modern escapism specifically on the midwest. nash, creating the west: historical interpretations 1890-1990 (albuquerque, nm: university of new mexico press, 1991), 7. for nash, “the changing face of the united states,” caused turner “to express nostalgia for the old order, for rural small-town america, for agrarian values and lifestyles.” finally, daniel gaido has authored a hofstadter-like interpretation, writing that the progressives “marked the intellectual upsurge of the american petty bourgeoisie.” in addition, he continues, they “were the first to offer an analysis of american history having the development of american capitalism as its central theme, because the devastating effects of the late 19thand early 20th century capitalism on the old middle class of petty commodity producers, whose intellectual representative they were, awakened their interest in this subject.” gaido, “the populist interpretation of american history: a materialist revision,” science and society (fall, 2001), 350-375. 4 identity converted easily as the agrarian populism of their youths fused into a broader, urban-based, progressivism during their adult years. representative among progressive historiography’s founders for their roots in america’s heartland (indeed, vernon parrington and james harvey robinson also shared origins in the midwest), turner, beard, and becker stand above their colleagues by sheer longevity in reputation.7 their histories continue to monopolize modern fascination, and it is therefore to them that this study turns. applying a style of analysis john clive labeled cliography, it seeks to answer for the progressives the question he posed towards the great english pastmasters: “what can one expect to find in the biography of a historian that will best illuminate the relation of his life to his work?” blending one part biography with another part historiography, the cliographic technique aims at uncovering “formative influences” in the making of the historical mind.8 for the progressives, a single influential experience is clear: their midwestern upbringings underwrote their history. however, before considering the impact of the midwest upon the historical thinking of the progressives, let us briefly examine why this approach has gone overlooked. from there, the essay surveys the climate from which they emerged and the conditions which influenced their developments. in doing so we discern an array of aspects in progressive history imparted by the late 19th century midwestern experience. specifically, we find a tradition marked by three interlocking forces: activism, conflict with the east, and pragmatism. our next step takes a prosopographic look at each man, tracing these forces in their lives and work, to round out their existing historical portraits. rather than treating the accuracy of main progressive texts, it seeks instead to locate the midwestern thread connecting their ideas. that the progressive historians sprang from the midwest is no well-guarded secret in itself. nor is it disputed that this constituted a sharp break from the conservative new england character which marked the early years of the profession, encompassing both its amateur and scientific-professional ranks. these 7 indeed, parrington and robinson were both born in illinois, the former in aurora, the latter in bloomington. parrington came from significantly lesser means than turner, beard, and becker, while robinson’s family enjoyed substantially greater financial security. 8 john clive, not by fact alone: essays on the writing and reading of history (new york: alfred a. knopf, 1984), 191-194. as clive notes, the historian desires “something more” than biographies on specific historians have to offer. “we want to know why the great historians chose to write history in the first place,” he records, “and what it was that led them to write the kind of history they eventually produced.” while he proposed applying this method to legendary english greats like macaulay and trevelyan, it readily converts for an americanist undertaking. john braeman attempts this approach with beard, focusing not on the midwest specifically, but on his indiana quaker community, family life, and schooling. see braeman, “charles a. beard: the early years in indiana,” indiana magazine of history (1982), 93-127. 5 are both accepted truths, incorporated into relevant research with what has evolved into a near-formulaic procedure. in standard practice, the background of each historian is hurriedly broached by way of a brief introduction to a comprehensive analysis of theory, the real focus of inquiry. having eagerly dispensed of this formality, the matter is almost always dropped to a secondary concern and only rarely considered as a possible modus operandi.9 in a passage exemplary of this trend, peter novick writes “at a time when the historical profession was dominated by the northeast, the major new/progressive historians were from the midwest. the common tie may have contributed to their sense of solidarity and estrangement.”10 this “common tie,” while recognized matter-of-factly by nearly every historiographer, is left noncommittally to stand on its own.11 other historians, foremost among them richard hofstadter, mention the progressives as products of the populist midwest in richer detail, but apply this potential link with hesitant cautiousness. careful to avoid the appearance of any artificial grouping, this approach enables them to accentuate their differences.12 a noble intention, it is also an important one, for contrasts undeniably do separate these historians, like any others past or present. yet the prevailing tendency to downplay likenesses suffers from its own shortcomings: in the pursuit of differences, it forfeits the telling similarities which also exist. harping on the reticence historians have shown in acknowledging the concept of the midwest as a 9 such is the case with, among others, higham, david w. noble, historians against history (minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 1965), peter novick, that noble dream (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1988), and breisach. hofstadter’s progressive historians is a quasi-exception. while devoting only small space to exploring the backgrounds of turner, beard, and parrington, he employs a psychoanalysis, dissecting their personalities as impetuses behind their histories. 10 novick, 94, emphasis mine. of further note, rather than discuss the progressives’ midwestern origins in his main narrative, novick buries it in a lengthy footnote. 11 in two other exemplary instances, howard k. lamar and burleigh wilkins both refer to progressive historiography as “a midwestern interpretation of history.” unfortunately however, neither scholar delves into great detail to support their claim. lamar, for instance, dedicates only a scant paragraph to the populist environment of the progressives’ youth. billington and benson also purport to analyze background, in turner’s case specifically, to determine how the frontier thesis was formed. the former provides invaluable detail of turner’s frontier-like hometown, but makes less of a connection with midwestern populism, stating its impact “can never be known.” billington, the genesis of the frontier thesis (san marino, ca: the huntington library, 1971), 81. likewise, while benson contends that the frontier thesis “was the direct product of its historical setting,” he also falls short in providing evidence. see, benson, 42. nash comes the closest to explaining progressive history as midwestern, contending that the ideas of turner and his generation did not develop in an “abstract vacuum, but in the context of the environment. however, nash’s keen insight is mostly concerned with turner and subsequent frontier scholars, providing less attention to the other progressives. additionally, he does little more than state familiar general trends in late 19th century midwestern history, devoting minimal attention on how they affected the historiography. 12 hofstadter, xii-xiii, 41-42. in one instance, hofstadter duly records that the progressives “came from the same region and belonged to the same class and generation.” furthermore they all “took their cues from the intellectual ferment of the period 1890-1915, from the demands for reform raised by the populists and progressives.” yet at the same time, hofstadter demonstrates a reluctance to go farther along these lines. “if i call these men progressive historians,” he equivocates, “it is not because of a desire to group them together as an altogether unitary ‘school,’ still less to suggest that they took precisely the same view of the political changes of their age.” 6 distinctive influential force, d.w. meining makes a fair criticism. “the regional concept has been too readily dismissed as a crude tool,” he chides, “whereas it really is a basic tool that has been used crudely.”13 a final factor contributing to this reluctance of historians to become cliographers, probing beneath the surface of the progressives’ midwestern heritage, is the paucity of scholarship available to assist them. as carl ubbelohde has documented, the midwest, unlike the south, has attracted few scholars interested in exploring its regionalist features (as compared to its specific states or communities). no authoritative work exists to outline the traits of the midwestern identity.14 commenting on its elusive character, russel nye posits that the though midwest is “easier to identify than to explain… there is nothing else quite like it in all the world.”15 two crucial questions, then, central to cliography, have gone largely unanswered: what did it mean to be a midwesterner in the late 19th century? and, moreover, how did this identity impact progressive history? as becker deftly observed in prefacing an essay of his own on the identity of a specific midwesterner, the kansan: “broad classifications of people are easily made and are usually inaccurate; but they are convenient for taking a large view and it may be worth while.”16 it is with his understanding in sight that this study proceeds, aware of what is lost with broad strokes, but hoping for that something “worth while.” the west, woodrow wilson and turner, once a pair of young scholars boarding together at johns hopkins university, both agreed, has a “voice” of its own.17 for each man, sensitively attuned to the sweeping cultural changes reverberating throughout the late 19th century, that voice bellowed the angry sound of protest. strife and discontent charged the region in the brief interlude between the close of the civil war and the populist ascendancy of the 1890s. in a rapid 13 cited in carl ubbelohde, “history and the midwest as a region,” wisconsin magazine of history (1994), 46. 14 ibid, 44. ubbelohde notes that out of more than 10,000 history dissertations completed between 1970 and 1980 only 8 applied some form of midwestern regional analysis. i contend that russel b. nye’s midwestern progressive politics (lansing: michigan state university press, 1959) comes the closest to describing what it means to be midwestern. he contends, as did turner, that a connected series of “interrelationships” permeates the area, providing a certain unity and legitimizing its grouping as a geographical region. for the historiography on the midwest as a region, see ubbelohde. 15 nye, 3-4. 16 carl l. becker, everyman his own historian: essays on history and politics (chicago: quadrangle books, 1966), 4. 17 much has been made of the bond between wilson and turner and of their mutual understanding on the importance of the west in american history. wilson, the older of the two, was a vocal supporter of turner (once trying to secure him a lucrative princeton professorship), himself never a man to shy away from flattery, following the presentation of his frontier thesis. however, it is apparent that in later years, when wilson occupied the oval office, turner was stung by how little his opinion was heeded on policy matters. on the “voice” of the west and wilson, see nye, 3, 13; for turner, see frederick jackson turner (hereafter fjt) to carl l. becker (hereafter clb), 21 january 1911, jacobs, 135. 7 boom following the homestead act of 1862, a swarm of ambitious settlers descended upon the midwest, hungrily devouring land with dreams of lucrative agricultural ventures despite inhospitable soil and weather.18 when the dust stirred by roaring locomotives settled, a plains region that in 1860 was home to 2 million farms discovered that number had tripled by 1900. the staggering immensity of this migration triggered the federal census office to proclaim the frontier closed and the age of free land officially over.19 peopled by opportunistic individuals from diverse geographical and ethnic backgrounds, these pioneers shared unity in their eagerness to lay claim on the 160 acres grandly promoted by eastern advertisements. (the campaign to encourage western development had promised a veritable land of plenty where rain, fertilizer, and modern technology would enable profitable agriculture to blossom). similarly, the rugged nature of the land and harrowing experiences of the western diaspora forged traits onto the midwestern conscience which would endure through the progressives’ days and beyond. fiercely resilient, they were true agrarian capitalists, willing to embrace any tactic offering success. to that end, they specialized cash crops, foregoing self-sufficiency, and purchased the latest technological advances in farming equipment. finding social mobility possible in a competitive economic system, midwesterners kept an ever-watchful eye on this area of self-interest. more importantly, in their struggle to tame the land, they adopted an outlook of pragmatic resourcefulness, open-minded to whatever methods seemed likely to solve their problems.20 the burgeoning populace soon realized that they had not traveled alone.21 accompanying them westward was the financial backing of eastern capital, and with it, the aspirations of a rising presence in the postwar american scene, the tycoon. a powerful figure in the gilded age, the captain of industry brokered a 18 for the purposes of this study, we shall set the borders of the midwest in accordance with the turnerian understanding, including: ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan, wisconsin, missouri, iowa, minnesota, kansas, nebraska, and the dakotas. 19 nye, 9 and robert c. mcmath, jr., american populism (new york: hill and wang, 1993), 20. mcmath’s study, more recent than nye’s and able to update three decades of populist scholarship, has a dual focus, concentrating on the south as well as the midwest. as a result, he devotes far less time on exploring the existence of midwestern identity. his is not an inappropriate starting point if one contends, as lawrence goodwyn does, that populism was born in the south over the crop lien system. however, as eric foner demonstrates, the primary concern of the reconstructed united states was not in rebuilding the south, but in developing the more profitable western territories. see goodwyn, the populist movement (oxford: oxford university press, 1978), 20, and eric foner, reconstruction (new york: harpercollins, 1988), 213. the official closing of the frontier was more psychologically than substantively devastating. as billington notes, “more government land was homesteaded after 1900 than before.” billington, 76. 20 see richard hofstadter, the age of reform (new york: alfred a. knopf, 1955), 36-46 on these trends and their departure from the myth of the yeoman farmer. 21 modern estimates hold that as much as 90% of available land was allotted not to small homesteaders, but to private real estate speculation companies and the railroad industry. alan trachtenberg, the incorporation of america (new york: hill and wang, 1982), 21-22. 8 new commercialized way of life, one that seeped past the appalachians and into the constellation of rural communities dotting the country’s interior. ushering in an era of combination, greed, and big business exploitation, they heralded the forces of mechanization, urbanization, and industrialization. connected to eastern cities by miles of railroad track and telegraph line, urban manufacturing centers, along with meat packing plants, lumber yards, and steel, iron, and grain mills, mushroomed in the west. more than standing out as obtrusive eyesores, reminders of modernity’s dark side, such cities as chicago, indianapolis, and detroit testified to the grim working conditions of factory wage labor.22 further, the robber baron wielded immense political power over a system corrupted by bribery and shameless machine electioneering. manipulating the intellectual climate, they found harsh social darwinism particularly useful in justifying a laissez-faire attitude, while conveniently ignoring the hypocrisy of espousing protectionist tariffs. addressing a sunday school class, john d. rockefeller jr. spoke for his fellow magnates when he told the children: the growth of a large business is merely survival of the fittest… the american beauty rose can be produced in the beauty and fragrance bring cheer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early buds which grow up around it. this is not an evil tendency in business. it is merely the working out of a law of nature and a law of god.23 this momentum would augur in the age of vast conglomerations, fundamentally altering the state of capitalism. though still paying rhetorical homage to small market principles, the modern capitalist now lived in a corporate world governed by corporate rules, anathema to older competitive economics.24 midwestern farmers and small-town residents, already contending with the difficulties of planting, watched the changing tide apprehensively. the emergence of massive corporations− octopus-like (in the literature of the day) with their tentacles outstretched into most facets of daily life− posed menacingly against the beliefs and, more presciently, the wallets of midwesterners. virtually unchecked by government, large trusts, final products from a wave of great mergers, had consolidated competitors and enjoyed a free hand in administering markets. protected in their own marketplace from international competition, corporations fully exposed farming exports to the price-reducing forces of supply 22 foner, 464-465. 23 quoted in russel b. nye, this almost chosen people (lansing, mi: michigan state university press, 1960), 131 (sic). 24 see martin j. sklar, the corporate reconstruction of american capitalism 1890-1916 (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1988), for a thorough investigation of this conversion to “supply side” corporate capitalism. 9 and demand. at the same time, trusts, as one observer put it in 1900, were “tired of working for the public.” no longer burdened by great internal competition, they readily established high ceilings for the cost of their goods.25 “in effect,” nye summarizes, the midwestern farmer “sold to companies that could fix his selling price, and bought from those that could fix the price for what he bought. it was actually possible, for example, to buy an american-made reaper in europe for less than its price in kansas.”26 pouring insult onto this grievous situation, corporate lending houses frequently extended midwesterners the credit to purchase such goods. charging exorbitant interest rates, this trade locked hapless farmers into a spiraling pattern of debt and mortgage. additionally, trusts controlled fares for the railways that transported midwestern crops, set insurance premiums on midwestern property, and influenced national currency policy, constricting the dollar. in each case, the western farmer felt himself at extreme disadvantage, his livelihood lorded over by a strong and faceless power. for the midwesterner, these intrusive encroachments became synonymous with the east and distant centers of capital situated in despised places like wall street. already suffering from periodic drought and cycles of economic depression, in tandem with economical subservience, many disillusioned farmers felt cheated by their lot. fueled by demagogic men like ignatius donnelly, who delivered fiery oratory on “a vast conspiracy against mankind,” a foreboding antieastern sense hovered palpably in the air.27 capturing this powder keg atmosphere, one local editor wrote, “the east has placed its hands on the throat of the west and refused to afford us that measure of justice which we, as citizens of a common country, are entitled to receive.”28 while continuing to recognize shared nationality, the potent forces of bitterness and resentment heralded a rising sentiment: loyalty to region. surging through the scattered pockets of diverse communities “like a prairie fire,” the belief that the midwest represented a unique way of life united and emboldened its people, fostering what becker called “a community of great solidarity.”29 in their minds it was a distinct place, not unlike new england or the south, with distinct needs which were being trampled by an outside region with its own agenda. turner captured this essence in a letter to becker, writing that their native region “has characteristic western ideals and social traits, at the time when it especially is in the position to arrest tendencies in the industrial life and society of the east.”30 25 ibid, 56. for sklar, populists were among the most strident critics of the shift from competitive to corporate capitalism. 26 nye, 42. 27 trachtenberg, 174. for more on donnelly see nye, 68-71 and hofstadter, age of reform, 67-70. 28 nye, 35. 29 mcmath, 50 and becker, 10. 30 fjt to clb, 21 january 1911, jacobs, 135. 10 his correspondent saw it too, noting that throughout the midwest “there is something fermenting which is best left alone a latent energy.”31 more than a phenomenon of self-realization, regional identity trumpeted the clarion call for initiating the changes necessary to “arrest” industry. with corporations in firm control of the dominant republican party apparatus, the midwest became a hotbed of grass roots activism. associations like the grangers, greenbackers, farmer’s alliance, and populists sprang from the people themselves, emanating out of what lawrence goodwyn described as the “sod home frontier.”32 railing against the status quo with an evangelical energy, they organized cooperatives, supported railroad strikes, rioted, forged voting blocs, and stirred public opinion into an anti-monopoly fury with stump speeches, chautauqua camps, and carnival-like rallies. perhaps nowhere was the midwest’s message of protest more clearly stated then in a popular ballad sung (to the tune of “save a poor sinner like me”) at innumerable fairgrounds: i was once a tool of oppression as green as a sucker could be, and monopolies banded together to beat a poor hayseed like me the railroads and old party bosses together did sweetly agree and they thought there would be little trouble in working a hayseed like me. but now i’ve roused up a little and their greed and corruption i see. and the ticket i vote next november will be made up of hayseeds like me.33 zealously active, midwesterners reapplied their agrarian-capitalist pragmatism to populism vis-à-vis a willingness to reform politics and society by nearly any means available. becker detected in this a pervasive spirit of resourcefulness, “a sense of power to overcome obstacles… of achieving whatever is necessary.”34 casting aside traditional reservations on intrusive government, 31 becker, 10. 32 goodwyn, 71. by “sod house frontier” goodwyn characterizes the popular participation of ordinary midwesterners in the protest movement. its founders, he writes, were people who “’habitually’ went barefoot in the summer and in winter wrapped rags around their feet.” 33 ibid, 65. 34 becker, 6. 11 the movement, while not marxist, pushed for a radical extension of positive state power. convening in omaha in 1892, populists pledged themselves to a platform of resistance against “oppression, injustice, and poverty.”35 their hope was for government regulation to meet these ends, checking the abuses of trusts and preserving democracy from “special privileges” of an eastern plutocracy. 36 elevating their clamor to a high pitch in the 1890s, raising “more hell than corn” in the words of one commentator, populism awoke the country to its cause.37 by the close of the 19th century the spirit generated by midwestern populists spilled-over nationwide into progressivism. throughout the country, reformers waved the banner of change, signaling their discontent with gilded age excess. transcending local activism, progressives brought reform to the national fore, encompassing both political parties and all geographical regions.38 muckrakers demonized factory conditions in sensational exposés; thorstein veblen (a midwesterner) undercut rockefeller’s image of the affluent as fit survivors, caricaturing the wasteful lavishness of “conspicuous consumption”; the american political science association declared “laissez-faire is dead! long live social control!”; and theodore roosevelt symbolically shook a big stick in the direction of trusts and monopolies.39 shifting from an agrarian to a middle class base, the new movement transposed populist concerns to a greater level. though allied with the farming community, progressives sought to incorporate such urban issues as municipal reform, social welfare, and labor rights into their cause. supported by intellectuals, progressivism assumed a sophisticated, more literary approach than the emotional raucousness of populism; tempering the outcry for state-sponsored reform to appeal to eastern moderates, the new wave quickly subsumed the old.40 observing these events from madison, wisconsin, william allen white realized that a great transition had occurred. the progressive reformers, he remarked, “had caught the populists in swimming and stolen all of their clothing.” he was right. the populist day had ended, the progressive era was dawning.41 35 trachtenberg, 173-175. at this convention, they further vowed to “restore the republic to the hands of ‘plain people.’” 36 nye, 44, 182. 37 ibid, 4. 38 hofstadter, age of reform, 133. 39 nye, chosen people, 139 and hofstader, 182. it is worth noting that while the economist veblen and the progressives often savaged many of the elites perched atop the system built by social darwinism, they worked within its racist edifice. walter lippman later observed that a mood of suspicion had befallen the american public, predisposing their sympathies with the accusers instead of the accused. 40 hofstadter, age of reform, 133. 41 nye, 123, 182-185. absorbed by the progressive movement, the term populist fell into immediate disuse by the first years of the 20th century. 12 yet for this diminishing role, the midwestern influence was not entirely on the wane. rising in the university system, a young generation of scholars, deeply influenced during these impressionable years, was formulating bold new thoughts on the study of history. even before receiving formal educations, their paradigms were shaped by the raging forces of the populist tempest: activism, conflict with eastern industry, and pragmatism. interwoven in their minds, these impulses cemented into permanent fixtures, forming the basis of progressive historiography. they assured that long after the death of populism, midwestern regional ideas would live on well into the 20th century. fate placed them before the gates of academe at a propitious moment. benefiting from the growth of state university systems and, ironically, gospel of wealth endowments in institutions like stanford and un iversity of chicago, the progressives found plentiful career openings in a ballooning market. 42 appointments carried attractive social prestige and salaries reached enticing new heights, promising an upper-middle class lifestyle at top schools. in addition, the implementation of professional standards of scholarship had democratized the professoriate, severing the stronghold of a literary patrician class. adopted from germany and crystallized by the establishment of the american historical association in 1884, the mission of objective fact-gathering, modeled on the scientific method, leveled the task of writing history.43 for the first time, academic chairs were open to men of humble means. while this propelled mostly eastern conservatives as the first wave of ph.d.s to unseat the amateurs, offspring of the midwest led the charge in the second generation to enter the field.44 by 1907, their presence was strong enough, and their interests sufficiently divergent, to warrant branching off into a midwestern organization, the mississippi valley historical association. separate from the “eastern establishment” of the aha, the 42 novick, 169-170. this academic bubble did not burst until after the first world war when conditions worsened drastically. career prospects for the historian recovered only once, following the surge of college enrollments on the g.i. bill. 43 the american historical review would follow the aha in 1895. as hofstadter observes, the early professionals “thought that they understood ranke and… approved of what they thought he stood for.” hofstadter, 38. 44 higham, 61-67, 173-174, hofstadter, 77, and novick, 86-108. increasingly, the literary patrician faded completely from the academic orbit, frustrated by the loss of prestige wrought by standardization. distancing themselves (or moving to positions as regents where they could act on their hostility), they left the classroom, preferring, as turner noted, “to carry on in their own environment.” higham further notes the “remarkable extent” to which the progressives heralded from the midwest and south while “most of the prominent conservative professors of history, on the other hand, were easterners: adams, andrews, osgood, and channing bore the indelible stamp of new england” (higham, 174). also, it is important to note, as novick does, that the progressives “remained a minority within the historical community.” but their popular ideas “were hardly marginal to the profession. indeed, the progressives published actively, attracted a new generation of graduate students, served on the ahr editorial board, and won terms as aha presidents. 13 mhva controlled its own archives and published a journal, review, covering all fields of history.45 maturing in the midst of this academic declension turner, beard, and becker came from middle class backgrounds, making their conversion to progressivism all the more natural. less directly affected by the hardship that prompted revolt, they absorbed populist ideals while remaining sufficiently insulated to transition smoothly. contributing to the reform ethos of the progressive era, they added their voices and considerable talents to the fray, inundating the profession with their midwestern blend of activism, conflictdeterminism, and pragmatism. far from abandoning populism, the progressives transferred its message, elevating it from a regional to a national project and polishing the language to fit the new intellectual climate. reversing the goals of the early professionals, the progressives accosted scientific history’s founding father, leopold von ranke, and scoffed at the notion of history as a passive collecting of facts with no social consequence.46 they rejected the very possibility of attaining objective truth, of detachedly recording the past for its own sake, of portraying history, like ranke, wie es eigentlich gewesen.47 beard and becker particularly relished assaulting the scientific “fetish of fact,” denouncing it as little more than veiled conservatism, designed to obstruct involvement in contemporary affairs. beard thundered that the rankean foundation of the profession was “cold, factual, and apparently undisturbed by the passions of the time (and) served the cause of those who did not want to be disturbed.” becker wryly seconded this thought, noting the aloof, nonfunctional nature of purelyfactual, impartial history. “no doubt the truth shall make you free. but free to do what? to sit and contemplate the truth?”48 antiquarian history for its own sake seemed a toothless, obsolete eastern luxury to the progressives; an activist view, allowing for direct involvement with the present, carried far greater appeal. 45 novick, 182-183. 46 hofstadter, 38. 47 “as it actually was.” see lloyd r. sorenson, “historical currents in america,” american quarterly (autumn, 1955), 234-235, 239 and novick, 25-31. novick suggests that ambitious nineteenth-century american historians, trained in german universities for a lack of american doctoral programs (which they themselves would pioneer in institutions like johns hopkins), inadvertently misinterpreted the ideal wissenschaftliche objektivität to mean history as an empirical and natural science, ironclad goals ranke, in truth, never advocated to this extreme. in lashing out at objective history the progressives were not rejecting the natural sciences in their own right, but criticizing the way older historians employed its methodologies in antiquarian studies. 48 cushing strout, the pragmatic revolt in american history (new haven: yale university press, 1958), 5, 21; novick, 254, 272. for strout, the progressive’s ascension marked a radical change for clio. “from her position as a grave, impartial goddess, above the battle, she had been thrust into the thick of the struggle as a humble warrior.” beard railing against scientific history, concluded that “ranke, a german conservative, writing after the storm and stress of the french revolution, was weary of history written for, or permeated by, the purposes of revolutionary propaganda.” 14 pursuing this new approach aggressively, they split the profession between themselves and the detached standards of the scientific school.49 to be activist meant declining to join early professionals like j. franklin jameson in the task of “making bricks,” factual case studies on primary documents prided for their lack of moralizing. instead, the progressives coveted the role of the historian engagé. they sought to craft an interpretation of history capable of inspiring change in the present; to answer van wyck brooks’ plea for a “usable past.”50 becker stated their new position: “historical thinking is a social instrument, helpful in getting the world’s work more effectively done.”51 it was, he added later, “history that influences the course of history.”52 his compatriots agreed, history could and should serve as an agent of reform, a weapon to be drawn on behalf of social justice. brandished properly, it might be used both to convince the american people to support reform and, for its more ambitious advocates, to guide the state in implementing progressive programs. accomplishing this required a complete reorientation of the meaning of history. a new structure and rationale had to be erected in place of the scientific order they proposed to demolish. the construction process afforded the progressives a prominent stage from which to display their deep wells of pragmatism.53 demonstrating the same willingness to test novel ideas that set the midwest ablaze in the late 19th century, the progressives countered rankean objectivity with blatant strains of subjectivity. trying to formulate a fluid ideal of scholarship, they injected history with a mixed serum of relativity and presentism, thereby denying the possibility of an objective reading and branding any such attempt undesirable. history, an interpretive art to them, could never reach an absolute, immortal truth, it was too much a product of the milieu in which it was conceived. as beard, exercising his penchant for melodrama, phrased it, “one is more or less a guesser in this vale of tears.”54 in their reasoning, it then followed that if perfectly accurate history was only a “noble dream,” why should one abstain from interpreting it in a way relevant to problems of the day? arriving at 49 novick, 239. 50 higham, writing american history, 54. 51 quoted in novick, 98. j.h. robinson concurred, unleashing even stronger language: “the present has hitherto been the willing victim of the past; the time has now come when it should turn on the past and exploit it in the interests of advance.” 52 becker, 252. 53 strout, 27. pragmatism was not the exclusive property of the midwestern historians, but a philosophy rising to dominance in early 20th century american thought through the writings of william james and john dewy. dewey also favored history as impetus for reform, declaring knowledge of the past “a lever for moving the present into a certain kind of future.” 54 novick, 257. 15 this point, progressive historiography discovered its foundation: in the words of cushing strout, theirs was a history of “pragmatic utility.”55 finally, to complete their new construct, the progressives configured a revamped framework of causality. reared in an environment openly hostile to the east and vehemently resistant to its intrusions, they made both of these conditions pillars of their history. “to account for obvious evils,” charles crowe notes, “they developed a conspiratorial theory of reality and reform which placed the reformers in conflict with irresponsible capitalists and in alliance with their victims, a homogenous, united majority called “the people.”56 emulating the local editor who complained about the strangling of the west, they converted anti-eastern liturgy into polarized, conflict-driven theory. for them, the annals of recorded time told the story of powerful interests aligning against the greater good of the people. in their binary worldviews, the progressives depicted history as a dichotomy shaded almost entirely in black and white, leaving no room for intermittent strokes of gray. it was also a dualistic struggle, a series of opposing forces butting heads: capitalists vs. farmers, the people vs. the privileged few, hamilton vs. jefferson, eastern greed vs. western pioneers, good vs. evil, yin and yang.57 seen in this light, it was always clear which half operated on the side of righteousness and which acted ignobly. from there it was a very short step for the reader to understand why reform was so vitally necessary. if the scientific professionals took neutral objectivity to an extreme, the progressive response, alive with the same protest spirit once rampant in their native region, swung the pendulum to its opposite end. beyond the confluence of these interlocking midwestern traits (activism, determinism, and pragmatism) which we shall next examine in each individual, turner, beard, and becker maintained a final enduring connection: regional identification. even as the lure of elite eastern academic posts called them away from their small town beginnings, each man remained attached to his place of birth. above all else, turner once penned, “i am a western man.”58 in their own ways, all three of these men embodied his words. of our progressive trio, it was frederick jackson turner (1861-1932) who most dearly embraced his native region. “i love my middle west,” he confessed in a letter to becker, referring to it as the “heart of the republic.”59 more so than either beard or becker, he espoused a deep belief in regional exceptionalism. equating eastern corporations with europe’s industrial revolution, turner extolled, “it is in the middle west that society has formed on lines least like those 55 strout, 87. 56 charles crowe, “the emergence of progressive history,” journal of the history of ideas, (jam-march, 1966), n 111. 57 higham, 178-179. 58 jacobs, 106. 59 fjt to clb, 10 march 1916, jacobs, 143. 16 of europe. it is here, if anywhere, that american democracy will make its stand against the tendency to adjust to a european type.”60 his powerful attachment to the midwest encouraged him to make progressive historiography’s first breaks from conventional objective historicism in an effort to attract national attention to his historically-overlooked region. born in portage, wisconsin, a modest-sized village still bearing traces of its frontier past during his boyhood, turner converted his regional fondness into a passion for western history. “the frontier was real to me,” he admitted to becker, “and when i studied history i did not keep my personal experiences in a watertight compartment away from my studies.”61 taking his undergraduate degree from the university of wisconsin and receiving his graduate training with h.b. adams at johns hopkins (where he was exposed to the eastern-oriented “germ theory” of history), turner returned to teach at madison in 1889, poised to rewrite the history of the west.62 shattering previous historical trends, which portrayed the west either in terms of wild adventure, like theodore roosevelt had, or as a marginal player in the american past, turner’s landmark frontier thesis rerouted professional scholarship.63 for him, the western frontier was not only deserving of serious treatment as a factor in u.s. history, it actually explained the unfolding of american democracy. delivered at the 1893 chicago world’s fair, when turner was a remarkably young 32, his essay revolutionized the study of history. in it he claimed that the restless pioneer energy behind a perpetually-expanding frontier line single-handedly carved america’s affinity for egalitarianism. in the quest to tame nature, special privilege had no place. standing behind his podium, turner declared: american social development has been continually beginning over again on the frontier. this perennial rebirth, this fluidity of american life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities, its 60 frederick jackson turner, the frontier in american history (new york: dover publications, 1996), 282. 61 fjt to clb, 16 december 1925, billington, 243. in this long letter, turner affectionately recalls his rugged upbringing at portage: “i have polled down the wisconsin in a dugout with indian guides… through virgin forests of balsam firs, seeing deer in the river… i have seen a lynched man hanging to a tree as i came home from school… have played around old fort winnebago at its outskirts… have seen indians come in on their ponies to buy paint and ornaments, and sell furs; have stumbled on their camp on the baraboo where dried pumpkins were hung up, and cooking muskrats were on the kettle, and an indian family were bathing in the river…” 62 adams’ theory placed the seeds of american civilization from “its germinal origins in the folkmoot of the primitive saxon forest,” traveling from germany to england before finally reaching the shores of north america’s atlantic coast. see sorenson, 235-236. 63 higham, 153. in narrative indicative of amateur interpretation of the west, henry adams wrote: “from lake erie to florida, in long, unbroken line, pioneers were at work, cutting into the forests with the energy of so many beavers, and with no more express moral purpose than the beavers they drove away.” see adams, the united states in 1800 (ithaca, ny: cornell university press, 1955), 127. 17 continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating the american character. the true point of view in the history of this nation is not the atlantic coast, it is the great west.64 with the frontier closed, the wellspring for democratic revitalization appeared lost to turner. pressure would inevitably build if the united states was hemmed in, leading to explosive situations like midwestern agrarian revolt. a new safety valve was essential for democracy’s survival. writing in his journal some years earlier, turner considered the changing environmental realities of the age “a turning point.” “we have a new system of nature,” he continued, “we must now obtain a new theory of society.”65 reared in a region screaming for regulatory state empowerment, “turner’s answer was progressive reform,” to which he hoped history might “hold the lamp.”66 although he doubtlessly failed to grasp its monumental importance at the time, turner had released the snowball that started the avalanche of progressive historiography. evaluating its profound impact years later, page smith proclaimed “the turner thesis was to america what the magna charta was to the british, charlemagne to the french, and the teutonic tribes to the historians of a recently unified germany. it appeared to explain certain aspects of the american story which were otherwise inexplicable.”67 late 19th century wisconsin, the birthplace of progressive government, is a wholly fitting place for the father of activist history to have originated. enrolled at madison alongside robert m. la follette, turner absorbed heavy dosages of the “wisconsin idea.”68 a catalyst for intellectual activism, it held that a university’s staff should serve the state by interacting with legislators, facilitating debate, and suggesting reform policy. turner brought this attitude to his field, advocating that “the value of our studies is not merely historical. if properly worked up they will be a basis for state legislation.”69 subscribing to this philosophy during his tenure at madison (he departed for harvard in 1910 after repeated clashes with university trustees), turner aided governor la follette’s braintrust, a group of intellectuals directly leading the progressive crusade in state politics.70 at a more abstract level, turner’s activism permeated his writings, promoting reform didactically through the lessons inherent in his history. 64 turner, 2-3. 65 quoted in, jacobs, 10. 66 novick, 93. 67 page smith, the historian and history (new york: alfred a. knopf, 1964), 150. 68 nye, 148 and lamar, 79. for more on la follette, an important progressive political leader, see nye, 190-209. 69 fjt to william f. allen, 31 december 1888, jacobs, 132. 70 nye, 150. the madison model was followed “on a less spectacular scale throughout the midwest, providing reformers with the underpinning they needed.” 18 presenting the midwest as an alternative to banal industrial society, he offered a progressive beacon for the country to follow, a model by which democracy could “make its stand.” “the west was not conservative,” turner argued, it was bound by “ideals of equality, the exaltation of the common man… it has been, and is, preeminently a region of ideals.”71 from this tread emerged the populist, a figure he revered (and hoped the nation would too) as the natural successor to the frontiersman, struggling to preserve democracy. a defender of pioneer values, “he must use the government to control the economy and society so that the old way of life was not smashed by the forces of industrialism and wealth.”72 in turner’s reckoning, the east had a lot to learn about la follette-style midwestern progressivism; he wanted to be the one to teach them. in this vein, conflict-determinism runs throughout turnerian history. touching on it in his 1910 aha presidential address, turner stated, “we may trace the contest between the capitalist and the democratic pioneer from the earliest colonial days.”73 by framing history in such a way, howard lamar contends, his “real purpose was to explain midwestern populism to a hostile east.”74 showcasing two extremes, a “witches’ kettle” industrial order ruled by capitalist elites and a western garden bearing the fruit of democracy, his writings drew a line in the sand and demanded the nation choose sides.75 constantly at odds with each other, turner finds the heart of their conflict in the backwoodsman’s refusal to brook a privileged class. disturbed by this impulse, eastern leaders worked ceaselessly to stifle the equalitarian spirit before it spread to their home regions. targeting gouverneur morris as a guilty example in this conspiracy, turner portrays a man who “thought the rule of representation ought to be fixed, as to secure the atlantic states a prevalence in the national councils.”76 fortunately for the midwest, a vanguard of heroes championing the people (most notably jackson and lincoln) always rose from the regenerative backcountry to save democracy, checking eastern corruption when it reached an intolerable point.77 for turner, the populist represented the latest link in this chain, the next savior of democracy produced by his region; through his history, he sought to make america see it too. 71 turner, 210, 214. 72 noble, 51. 73 turner, 325. 74 lamar, 91. 75 ibid, 91-92. in contrast to the west described above, turner’s east was a land blinded by a lust for profits, woefully connected to the problems of europe, stagnated by its lack of “rebirth,” and governed by aristocratic influences. 76 turner, 207. 77 noble, 44-51. turner argued that the regenerative capacity of the west facilitated its ability to constantly give rise to a new generation of “heroes” to replace older ones. even as leaders like jackson were passing from history’s main stage, he wrote in a passage exemplary of his nostalgia, “the young lincoln sank his axe deep into the opposing forest.” 19 paralleling the case with historical activism, turner was also the first progressive to seriously endorse pragmatism, though he did so tentatively, never fully expounding his thoughts on the matter. yet becker remembered him as a man “always occupied primarily with the present and with the past as illuminating the present.”78 turner himself admitted this in his letters, confiding that he “conceived of the past as an explanation of much of the present.”79 going beyond the pale of private correspondence in his aha speech, he announced to his fellow historians that “we should rework our history from the new points of view afforded by the present.”80 evoking the wrath of the profession’s then-conservative majority, turner urged a presentist perspective, a selective emphasizing of certain past events over others, as part of his desire to produce a useable past. 81 completing the break, he toyed openly with relativity, throwing behind it the weight of his considerable reputation and casting doubt on the attainability of truth. in language beard and becker echoed decades later, turner wrote that “each age writes the history of the past anew with conditions uppermost in its own times.”82 growing up in the tight-knit quaker community of knightstown, indiana, the youthful experiences of charles a. beard (1874-1948) differed sharply from turner’s. rather than romping through frontier wilderness, he underwent strict prep schooling, running his father’s local printing press on the side. his real education, however, came during his student years at depauw university. traveling to chicago, he lived briefly at jane addams’ hull house, attended william jennings bryan rallies, and observed the misery of working conditions at the stockyards. stunned by the gross inadequacies separating rich from poor, his wife mary beard remembered that “he was impressed by the class divisions between aristocrats and laborers; it made a deep and lasting imprint on his mind and influenced his future activities.”83 completing his doctorate at columbia in 1904 after a sojourn in europe, he took a professorship in political science there the same year. moved by turner’s frontier thesis and intrigued by the budding “new history” developing within his institution, beard began hatching his own notions of progressive scholarship. once he started writing, concentrating on issues of class and economic disparity, his prolific pen never wavered. cutting a stark contrast to turner, a career essayist, who failed to produce the major full-bodied work expected of him, beard 78 becker, 224. 79 fjt to clb, 16 december 1925, billington, 243, emphasis from source. 80 turner, 330. in this case he was jointly referring to presentist history and on the need to incorporate the social sciences in historical writing. 81 higham, 111. 82 cited in jacobs, 125, and originally stated in turner’s 1891 essay “the significance of history.” 83 mary ritter beard, the making of charles a. beard (new york: exposition press, 1955), 14-15. 20 published with machine-like regularity.84 over the course of his life he authored 49 books of history (and 28 more on political science), calculated at 21,059 total pages in addition to a wealth of articles and reviews.85 from this mountain of literature, it was his 1913 volume, an economic interpretation of the constitution of the united states that secured his reputation. a bombshell of controversy, this work launched a direct assault on the hallowed images of the framers. interpreting the federalism of the founders as little more than self-serving capitalism, beard intended to demystify america’s sacred document, providing the opening for a progressive reform of old laws. two decades after its release a colleague relived its shocking impact on the historical world: from a critical study of the constitution came a discovery that struck home like a submarine torpedo−the discovery that the drift towards plutocracy was not a drift away from the spirit of the constitution but an inevitable unfolding from its premises…[not] a democratic instrument [but a force] designedly hostile to democracy.86 gaining celebrity status with fireworks rivaling turner’s, beard gained instant recognition among historians and emerged as an authority in progressive history. maintaining a connection to his native midwest, beard resigned from columbia in 1917, moving into a fully-running dairy farm nestled in the connecticut countryside. in quiet solace, he turned to writing history textbooks and brooded over the need for an isolationist foreign policy, a topic that consumed him relentlessly throughout the 1930s and 1940s. from his hilled enclosure, he jealously protected the economic interests of his agrarian neighbors and reemerged as the “farmboy” hofstadter holds “was always in him.”87 until his dying days he continually adhered to regional quirks, avoiding stock investments, which he saw as a kind of gambling. he signed his letters “charles beard, dairy farmer,” and introduced himself as “charles beard, dirt farmer.”88 “life was hard,” he wrote as an older man, recalling his midwestern childhood, “but …it seems 84 hofstadter, 115 and ellen nore, charles a. beard: an intellectual biography (carbondale, il: southern illinois university press, 1983), 39. nore identifies beard’s “unflagging energy” with both his passion and as a result of tinnitis, an affliction causing a ringing in his ears that prevented him from sleeping unless he was fully exhausted. he routinely worked late into the night under its torment, until he could no longer remain awake. 85 mcdonald, 110. 86 cited in crowe, 118, sic. at another extreme was the reaction of marion (ohio) star which headlined the books release: “scavengers, hyena-like, desecrate the graves of the dead patriots we revere.” lambasting beard, the newspaper found his work “libelous, vicious, and damnable.” 87 hofstadter, 288-290. his infamous resignation occurred resulted from a long-standing grudge with the president, which came to a head during the hedging of academic freedom during world war one. 88 higham, 181, nore, 91, mary beard, 36, and gaido, 350-375. 21 beautiful against the wars, hatred and intolerance of this age; and the best of the old days i should like to recover, for america, and for the world.”89 surpassing the social activism of turner and becker combined, beard tirelessly involved himself in the reform cause. tackling a diverse range of issues, women’s suffrage, urban crime, and welfare programs among others, he gave regular public lectures and served on the new york bureau of municipal research, steering policy proposals in a progressive direction.90 during election seasons he campaigned for his favorite candidates, ringing doorbells in new york city’s lower east side. in 1915 governor al smith appointed him to a special advisory role in “reconstructing” state government. taking his activism overseas in the 1920s, he accepted a personal request from the mayor of tokyo to assist cityplanning efforts after a massive earthquake followed by a similar venture in yugoslavia. as an intellectual activist, beard considered it his responsibility to “inspire” humanity by honoring the goal he set for himself as a young scholar. “the educational world is not separated from the real world,” wrote beard the undergraduate, “and the student must stand in the very midst of social conflicts.”91 setting his talents to work this way, beard aspired to convince the country to join him in rejecting the perception that “law is made up of some abstract stuff known as justice.”92 he wanted his history to ease america into a comfortable relationship with new reform laws. aiming for the top, beard locked his sights on the national government, a seemingly well-guarded fortress against the progressive changes sweeping locally throughout the midwest. seeking to remove the myths enshrined by laissez-faire capitalists on a minimal-interventionist state, he employed an economic revisionism suggestive of a massive conspiracy: “our fundamental law was not the product of an abstraction known as the ‘whole people,’” he willed his readers to believe, “but a group of economic interests which must have expected beneficial results from its adoption.”93 asserting that the constitution was forced onto the american people to protect the interests of a capitalist minority, beard invites the middle and lower classes to question its legitimacy. by taking his logic through to its natural conclusion, he hoped they 89 braeman, 127. 90 nore, 38-45. 91 cited in braeman, 126. 92 crowe, 119. 93 charles a, beard, an economic interpretation of the constitution of the united states (new york: the macmillan company, 1962), 17. phrased originally as a suggestive question, beard couched his work in belligerent but non-sensational and carefully-weighed language (his wife characterized it as “chokingly dry” writing) of professional history. in this way beard hoped to harness the instinctive anger elicited by his charges into a respectable study. if the reading public could not dismiss it as the work of a raving crank, then perhaps they would feel its buried sting. throughout his book he refrains from demonizing the founders outright and even credits the constitution with a benevolent. see mary beard, 33. 22 would then accept the righteousness of reform. distancing himself from the marxist credo for revolutionary class uprising, beard favored this technique, described by his biographer as “an intensive education of people everywhere on social and economic issues.”94 to break down the barriers of patriotism he believed to be propping up conservative practices in washington, beard stoked at class antagonisms, revealing his conflict-determinist side. relying heavily on james madison’s federalist paper # 10 in his analysis, he recreates america on the eve of the constitutional convention as a land divided into two segments, creditors and debtors.95 the former lined up overwhelmingly to support replacing the articles of confederation with a strong constitution, while the latter found the new document stacked against them. its ratification process, in beard’s terms, pitted the force of business against the populist essence for the first time, establishing the precedent for all future conflict a small aristocracy vs. the people, comprising mostly farmers and workers.96 dubiously squeezed out of the referendum to pass or decline the constitution, the majority of americans had a new political order, one advantageous to the capitalist, imposed upon them. describing these circumstances to la follette, beard explained that the progressive reformer’s struggle was not “a question of ‘restoring’ the government to the people”; rather, it was “a question of getting possession of it for them for the first time.”97 like turner before him, beard espoused pragmatism on a twofold basis. fitting the progressive mold, he concurred that historical truth was fleeting, relative to the time it was written, and should therefore abandon pretensions of disinterest and equip itself for present needs. unlike the architect of the frontier thesis however, beard dove unhesitatingly into pragmatic waters. in a quote very much revealing of the man he was, beard once stated that the truly great historian, “endures only in so far as he succeeds in casting through the warp of the past the weft of the future− the future which he can behold only by prophetic discernment. it is given to but a few to walk with the gods in the dusk of ages.”98 counting himself part of this chosen few, he filled his histories with lessons for the present (the need to reform along progressive lines) and visions of the future. assuming the role of jeremiah, he outlined blueprints for a social democracy, even drawing up a “five year plan for america” in 1932, making his famous proclamation that 94 nore, 148. though he respected marx and sympathized with much of his vision for the future, beard doubted whether marxism could ever be implemented in the united states. “abundance, he had argued, had fostered an optimistic attitude toward the possibility of social mobility, creating a dream that weakened class consciousness.” 95 mcdonald, 113-116. for beard, “the line of cleavage for and against the constitution was between substantial personality interests on the one hand and the small farming and debtor interests on the other.” 96 gaido, 350-375. 97 quoted in novick, 98. 98 strout, 57. 23 the united states should be “a national garden well tended.”99 in this way he hoped to realize his recovery for “the best of the old days” with planned communities. at his own aha presidential address, in 1933, beard was still on this high. making relativity the central theme of his speech, he insisted written history became “an act of faith” whenever it presumed “something true can be known.”100 in his mind, the historian unavoidably dealt in subjective bias with each word choice and every source used or omitted. creating a useable past, then, was a viable option if for no other reason than the sheer impossibility of achieving objective truth. using familiar terminology, beard wrote that history changes “from generation to generation… [and] takes on new form and content, as the interests and intellectual preoccupations of mankind change.”101 carl l. becker (1873-1945) is an odd giant in the american historical tradition. a luminary from an epistemological school made famous by its boisterous spirit, he preferred to live in quiet obscurity, shying away from the historian’s social functions when at all possible.102 reserved in public and outwardly cold to many of his students, becker possessed neither the buoyancy of turner nor the magnanimity of beard. “i am a miserable hermit,” he once wrote only half-jokingly of himself, “always sitting behind a door never opened except for a suspicious crack when any one knocks from outside.”103 furthermore, though he authored a number of brilliant works, he never sent shockwaves through the profession with a single thunderclap like the frontier thesis or economic interpretation. in large part, it is for this very reason that his name endures near the top of progressive historiography. his works were of superior writing and carefully thought out; more importantly, though innovative and original, they did not overextend themselves as bluntly in order to be explosive. as a result, while the grand narratives of turner and beard have been thoroughly picked apart over the years, their many flaws exposed, much in becker’s history avoided the gauntlet.104 he is now generally considered outdated instead of outworn.105 99 noble, 73-74, 126, nore, 141, and strout, 147. it was in defense of this plan that beard assumed his staunch isolationist phase in the 1930s and 1940s. he advocated making the “fundamental industries” of the u.s. (transportation, communications, natural resources, etc) into “national public service enterprises.” 100 cited in novick, 257. 101 ibid, 104. 102 wilkins, 106-107. 103 clb to felix frankfurter, 10 january 1935, “what is the good of history?” selected letters of carl l. becker, 1900-1945, michael kammen, ed. (ithaca, ny: cornell university press, 1973), 213. in this letter to the future supreme court justice, becker uses the above self-description as an excuse as to why he must refuse a visiting professorship at oxford. 104 richard nelson, “carl becker revisited: irony and progress in history,” journal of the history of ideas (apriljune, 1987), 307-308. additionally, nelson credits becker’s longevity to a cultivated ambiguity which he holds as “far too sustained and consistent not to be deliberate.” 24 the son of a dirt farmer-turned-local-politico in black hawk county, iowa, becker traversed a strange path in becoming the historian once described as matching “the urbanity of lord chesterfield.”106 much more of a true farm boy than beard ever was, becker remembered his years behind the plow fondly: “i enjoyed the great pleasure of following a mccormic selfbinder about a forty acre oat field for ten hours a day, in the humble capacity of a ‘shucker.’” this experience, he went on, instilled in his mind and work, “the zeal of a one time practical farmer.”107 entering madison “a green farm boy from the sticks” as a freshman the same year turner delivered his frontier thesis, becker held the older man in awe, deciding at once to study history and apprentice himself to this rising great.108 encumbered by a sporadic adjunct workload at a variety of universities, he prolonged his graduate studies over ten years, 1897-1907, bouncing between madison and columbia for coursework. the ph.d. uncompleted, he settled full time at the university of kansas in 1902, remaining there until, having proven his historical talents, he received a prestigious offer from cornell in 1917. becker became a near-immovable fixture in ithaca through his retirement in 1941. during his long career he published on a wide range of subjects, from revolutionary american politics and the declaration of independence to the enlightenment, maintaining in his writings a semblance of the progressive spirit he kept shut out of his life.109 a withdrawn individual, becker demurred from open participation in the battleground of reform, serving the cause from his desk. “it goes without saying,” he wrote an acquaintance, “that the universities should be concerned, however indirectly, with the vital problems of society.”110 applying this sense in his own writings, becker produced activist histories from a multitude of angles. comfortable, at the early stages of his career, in imitating his old mentor’s frontier 105 cushing strout, “carl becker and the haunting of american history,” reviews in american history (june, 1987), 338-343. 106 wilkins, 3. 107 clb to reuben gold thwaites, 25 april 1909, kammen, 11. 108 see becker’s humorous account of these years in his essay “frederick jackson turner,” becker, 191-232. clb to guy stanton ford, 10 april 1936, kammen, 243 and wilkins, 35-48. for the remainder of his life, becker revered his old professor, writing him loyally and praising him publicly whenever the chance arrived. 109 the history of political parties in the province of new york 1760-1776 (1909); the declaration of independence: a study in the history of political ideas (1922); and the heavenly city of the eighteenth century philosophers (1932). between his time at kansas and cornell, becker spent one academic season at the university of minnesota. after world war i his historical writings took a pessimistic and less progressive form, reflecting a disillusionment of the concept of progress. however, in his considerable work on the purpose of professional history, becker continued to be sharply critical about the conservatism of “scientific” history. in this way he aided “new history” “by pointing out the limits of detachment and by encouraging… anyone else who believed that history… could aid the social sciences and ultimately mankind.” see wilkins, 91. 110 ibid, 74. 25 approach, he crafted an essay on the pioneering spirit of kansas. hoping to convince the country about the virtuous elements of its character (while admitting its flaws), he displayed, much as turner had, a region untroubled by special privilege that the nation should aspire to. projecting a humanitarian and egalitarian society, he observed that: the doctrine of equality is unquestioned there, and that government exists for the purpose of securing it is the common belief… human nature, or, at all event, kansas nature is essentially good…’there are no millionaires nor any paupers…no sumptuous mansions nor glittering equipages nor ostentatious display exasperates of allures’…kansans love each other for the dangers they have passed; a unique experience has created a strong esprit de corps…”111 the same author, with relative ease, could quickly turn and change tact from environmental to a class-based mode of causality. writing on the revolution, he encouraged present action, not unlike beard, on behalf of the lower social orders by demonstrating how it was they, and not the elites, who were responsible for halting england when it infringed on the economic freedom of the colonies.112 connecting the dots becker positioned for them, the people might then spot similar oppression marshaled by modern capitalists and remember why it was they rebelled the first time. for becker then, as his critic, robert brown notes, in addition to projecting a model society, history served “to arouse an intelligent discontent and to foster a fruitful radicalism.”113 combining their techniques, he proved himself capable of donning both turnerian and beardian garb. switching gears again, becker swung his focus to the french enlightenment, presenting an age where an intelligentsia wrested society away from landed conservatism. “to find support for their crusade against kings, nobles, and clergy the philosophes had to abandon metaphysical speculation and try instead to construct a new vision of the past and the future to buttress their ‘heavenly city.’”114 becker was calling the intellectual community to arms by drawing parallels between that period of liberal discourse and the wilsonian era. “in our own day,” he quipped in 1914, “…we are again, somewhat as men were in the eighteenth century, seeking a ‘new freedom’… we are less intent upon stability and more insistent upon ‘social justice.’”115 as he would make clear in other writings, 111 becker, 20-24. 112 noble, 77-78. 113 brown, 71. 114 strout, 76. 115 cited in wilkins, 91. 26 “social justice” for the 20th century required government regulation of capitalism “to assure that fundamental equality of opportunity which is indispensable to true liberty and the very essence of democracy.”116 in all three scenarios, becker very clearly assumes the progressive conflictdeterminist construct. contrasting east sharply from west in “kansas,” he holds that the gap separating them is “the difference between those who remain at home and those who, in successive generations, venture into the unknown…tugging at the leashes of ordered life.”117 by the same logic, he envisioned revolutionary new york as divided between two opposites: the people (farmers and workers) and a privileged gentry. each instance, along with the enlightenment nobilityphilosophe dichotomy, fits the midwestern binary worldview and, moreover, was marked by the struggle erupting between the two sides. less remarkable for originality in this traditional progressive framing, becker’s combined works are uncanny for their versatility. during the intervals spaced between his historical writings, becker set himself to a task he considered far more important: writing about history. confronting the deeper significance of pragmatism, becker, more obsessively than either turner or beard, unleashed his critical mind on the implications underlying the progressives’ new subjectivist foundation. an avowed presentist, he once informed a colleague that history “teaches that this is a changing world, and that it is useless to try to keep what is good in any society by keeping everything just as it was ‘when i was a boy.’”118 as with his fellow progressives, becker used his aha presidential address, in 1931, as a forum to air his pragmatism out to the historical guild. “the history that lies inert in unread books does no work in the world,” he impressed upon his fellows, “the history that does work in the world… is living history… that enlarges and enriches the collective specious present.”119 less abrasive than beard and more compelling than turner, becker based his arguments on the supposition that the profession was in the service of the public, of “mr. everyman,” and must therefore either create histories palatable to that taste or be ignored. these tastes change, he continued, depending on the situation of the age; in the end, only everyman decides what sort of history he will read. in the present age, he concluded, public demand was for history to make use of the past in explaining the present, everyman had no need for factual monographs offering the past for its own sake. finally, his speech used relativism the impossibility of attaining perfect truth even in endeavors supposedly committed to fact-gathering to discredit scientific objectivists. “to select and affirm even the simplest complex 116 ibid, 117. 117 becker, 2-4. 118 clb to henry johnson, 24 october 1922, kammen, 85. 119 becker, 252-253. 27 of facts is to give them a certain place in a certain pattern of ideas,” he reasoned, “and this alone is enough to give them a special meaning.”120 in chorus with turner and beard, becker too declared: “every generation, our own included, will, must inevitably understand the past and anticipate the future in light of its own restricted experience.”121 discouraged in the later stages of their lives by the dangerous potential to persuade that activist history had demonstrated in the propaganda campaigns of the first world war, the progressive’s optimistic faith in such writing dimmed. retrospectively looking back near the twilight of their careers, they expressed a similar reluctance against spreading their legacy. turner, writing a year before his death, declared, “i don’t want to be anybody’s patron saint! can’t fit the bill!”122 beard, for his part, advised students not to drop his name when seeking employment, warning them “it is the red tag to the historical bull.”123 becker too swore off grooming an heir. recalling a colleague’s jovial comment that he had “few disciples,” he acknowledged, “i refuse to have any.”124 in this quest all three succeeded. their immediate successors within the progressive school, such men as arthur schlesinger sr. and dixon ryan fox, drifted back to the objectivity standard and stirred less controversy in the profession.125 toning down their writing, the second generation neither moved the culture of professional history, nor matched the prestige of their teachers. yet this cannot be credited solely to the pledges of the original progressives. rather, the second generation was born in a different time and shaped by different environmental auspices. raised in the warmth of the progressive era instead of populism’s furious heyday, they exhibited a more subdued complacency. the midwestern conditions that hardened turner, beard, and becker into activists, conflict-determinists, and pragmatists had passed, never to be repeated. perhaps this lends credence to the old saying that desperate times yield great men. for indeed, influenced by the crucible of a great depression and a second world war, the star of a nascent consensus school was rising as the progressives’ was fading. initially drawn to history by exciting progressive ideas, they spent their careers escaping this immense shadow, struggling to surmount its message of conflict in a tense cold war age. nearly three-quarters of a century after the first tremors of 120 ibid, 251. 121 ibid, 253. 122 fjt to joseph shafer, 19 january 1931, jacobs, 166. 123 novick, 97. 124 clb to leo gershoy, 20 december 1933, kammen, 198. 125 novick, 179. 28 populist dissent, the midwestern voice finally fell to the background of american thought.126 bibliography aaron, daniel, ed. studies in biography. cambridge: harvard university press, 1978. beale, howard k., ed. charles a. beard. university of kentucky press, 1954. beard, charles. an economic interpretation of the constitution of the united states. new york: the macmillan company, 1961. beard, mary. the making of charles a. beard. new york: exposition press, 1955. becker, carl. everyman his own historian: essays on history and politics. chicago: quadrangle books, 1966. billington, ray allen. the genesis of the frontier thesis. san marino, ca: the huntington library, 1971. braeman, john. “charles a. beard: the formative years in indiana.” indiana magazine of history.v. 78 (1982): 93-127. breisach, ernst a. american progressive history. chicago: university of chicago press, 1993. brown, robert e. carl becker on history and the american 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hofstadter, richard. the progressive historians: turner, beard, parrington. new york: alfred a. knopf, 1968. 126 a semblance of its spirit stayed alive, returning full circle to the place where it all began, the university of wisconsin, madison. its leading historian, william appleman williams, carried on the legacy of beard. studying american foreign policy as a tragedy, he favored a policy reminiscent of the old isolationist’s admonition to “tend our own garden.” madison itself served as a haven for radicals and dissidents in an age of conformity, providing the locus for new left historiography. see paul buhle, ed., history and the new left: madison wisconsin, 1950-1970 (philadelphia: temple university press, 1990) and paul buhle and edward rice-maximin, william appleman williams: the tragedy of empire (new york: routledge, 1995 29 jacobs, wilbur r. the historical world of frederick jackson turner. new haven: yale university press, 1968. kammen, michael, ed. “what is the good of history?” selected letters of carl l. becker, ithaca, new york: cornell university press, 1973. lasch, christopher. the true and only heaven: progress and its critics. new york: w.w.norton & company, 1991. mcmath, robert c. american populism. new york: hill and wang, 1993. nash, gerald d. creating the west: historical interpretations 1890-1990. albuquerque, nm: university of new mexico press, 1991. nelson, richard. “carl becker revisited: irony and progress in history.” journal of the history of ideas. v. 48 (april-june, 1987): 307-323. noble, david w. historians against history. minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 1965. nore, ellen. charles a. beard: an intellectual biography. carbondale, il: southern illinois university press, 1983. novick, peter. that noble dream: the “objectivity question” and the american historicalprofession. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1988. nye, russel, b. midwestern progressive politics. lansing, mi: michigan state university press, 1959. nye, russel, b. this almost chosen people. lansing, mi: michigan state university press, 1960. sklar, martin j. the corporate reconstruction of american capitalism 1890-1916. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1988. smith, page. the historian and history. new york: alfred a. knopf, 1964. sorenson, lloyd r. “historical currents in america.” american quarterly v. 7 (autumn, 1955): 234-246. strout, cushing. “carl becker and the haunting of american history.” reviews in american history. v. 15 (june, 1987): 338-343. strout, cushing. the pragmatic revolt in american history: carl becker and charles beard. new haven: yale university press, 1958. trachtenberg, alan. the incorporation of america. new york: hill and wang, 1982. turner, frederick jackson. the frontier in american history. new york: dover publications, inc., 1996. ubbelohde, carl. “history and the midwest as a region.” wisconsin magazine of history v. 78 (1994): 35-47. wilkins, burleigh taylor. carl becker. cambridge: m.i.t. and harvard university presses, 1961. misogyny and art in fin-de-siecle vienna [concept, vol. xxxiv (2011)] the ritual sacrifice of women: misogyny and art in fin-de-siècle vienna katharine chandler history how could a culture as advanced as that of fin-de-siècle vienna 1 have produced some of the most outlandish artistic examples of misogyny? rené girard and others assert that society chooses a scapegoat when encountering drastic social change—social order depends on a regulated system where differences are classified and roles are assigned. when those differences and roles break down, the community will sacrifice a “surrogate victim” in whose “monstrous person” the differences are personified. 2 although many historians and social critics over the years have attributed progressive politics to artists in general (particularly in the twentieth century) progressive politics could not have been farther from the psyche of many groundbreaking artists working in vienna, austria during the fin-desiècle. some artists were the worst offenders against women. misogyny and the anti-feminine, both “hot topics” in the politics of the period, resulted in women being used as sacrificial victims in artistic works for the stage as well as in visual art. this paper aims to first explain some of the political atmosphere surrounding the misogynist tide in fin-de-siècle vienna, and then to describe how the politics of the time affected artists, who in turn made spectacles of the ritual sacrifice of women, scapegoating them for society‟s rapid changes. the politics of misogyny in fin-de-siècle vienna history the crumbling of the austro-hungarian empire that began prior to the first world war led, as in that of similar empires, to the formation of “special-interest” groups with bases in ethnic and religious backgrounds. in vienna, the epicenter of 1 fin-de-siècle is a descriptor first used by the french in 1886, in anticipation of the coming turn of the century. it has since become a name that engulfs a period stretching from roughly 1890 to the start of the first world war in 1914. see charles rearick, “fin-de-siècle,” in europe, 17891914: encyclopedia of the age of industry and power, ed. john merriman and david winter. detroit: charles scribner‟s sons, 2006): 814. 2 lawrence kramer, “fin-de siècle fantasies: „elektra,‟ degeneration, and sexual science,” in opera journal vol. 5, no. 2 (july 1993): 150. the habsburg‟s empire, the party in power through the second half of the nineteenth century was progressive, and dominated by a liberal, educated, primarily jewish middle class. by the mid-nineteenth century, this class had a long history of struggling against “aristocratic and baroque absolutism.” 3 in their attempts to insinuate themselves into the aristocratic classes (and those of the hapsburg empire in particular were not open to new blood), the rising bourgeoisie and other middle classes eventually began to distinguish themselves through education and intellectualism, creating a new kind of elite that existed parallel to the aristocratic classes by the fin-de-siècle period. by 1895, however, the liberal power in vienna and in the austro-hungarian empire had waned. in 1895, a conservative anti-semite was elected to become the mayor of vienna — karl lueger. a man later admired by adolf hitler, and credited by some (controversially) with strewing the first seeds of what would later become nazism, lueger rose to power in an atmosphere open to anti-semitism, racism, and misogyny. during this time, splintered austrian nationalist groups were gaining power and were prone to strong feelings against “other” groups. beginning in the 1880s, nationalist and ethnic special-interest groups formed parties to challenge the liberal parliament of the empire in power at the time, parties centered on antisemitic christian ideals, socialism, and slavic nationalism, to name a few. 4 following lueger‟s election, the emperor, franz josef ii, refused to acknowledge his mandate. it was on this victory that siegmund freud famously lit a cigar in the emperor‟s honor for refusing to sanction lueger‟s election. it was not until 1897 that the emperor was forced to accept lueger as the mayor of vienna. formation of women’s-rights groups and the resulting backlash at the same time as the political environment gradually changed in vienna from one of tolerance and progressiveness to a “supremacist culture” 5 of antisemitism and widespread misogyny, women‟s rights groups formed, threatening the male establishment and inspiring a number of poisonous anti-feminine treatises. although there was always anti-feminism in austria, it became more pronounced in the late nineteenth century with the rise of an organized political movement of feminists. anti-feminine and misogynist writers became particularly harsh around this time. even passing mention of activist women in the press were 3 carl schorske, fin-de-siècle vienna: politics and culture. (new york: vintage books, 1981), 5. 4 schorske 5. 5 kramer, 150. cruel: during the mayoral election campaign period in vienna in 1901, for instance, the media called the middle-class feminists who combined forces to help the social democrat victor adler win the election “whores,” “prostitutes,” and other indelicate names owing to their political activity. 6 harriett anderson breaks down the groups of anti-feminists into three categories: the conservatives, the artists, and the scientists. anderson explains that the artists saw feminist women as frustrated and jealous of sexually “free” women—some artists felt that the anger feminists voiced over the field of prostitution was in fact a ruse to keep less attractive women on the same playing field as more attractive women, thereby denying men access to more attractive women. male artists in fin-de-siècle vienna felt that men alone made the culture, and believed women‟s suffrage was a symbol of cultural chaos brought on by the female rejection of femininity. 7 karl kraus suggested that the women‟s movement‟s work toward sexual morality was really “masquerading as vicarious sexual titillation.” 8 siegmund freud attributed women‟s-rights movements to the penile envy that feminists in particular were unable to overcome. 9 freud also believed there was a connection between these movements and lesbianism. one major attack of the anti-feminist faction in vienna its opposition conceived the argument that women who strove for women‟s voting and working rights were unattractive and, therefore, unable to find husbands. these are just a few examples of the angry banter between two sides of the cultural divide during the gender crisis of fin-de-siècle vienna. the most famous misogynist writing, however, appeared in 1903, and was published by a 23-yearold jewish man who killed himself shortly after his work‟s publication. otto weininger and his critics misogynists, especially in fin-de-siècle vienna, use a binary lens through which they assess society. if women are excluded from the public sphere, culture and society can be preserved. for prominent misogynists in vienna, allowing women to share the public sphere with men would cause them to lose interest in marriage and families; and the “mere effect of female influence would be harmful.” 10 although the seeds of the anti-feminine movement in fin-de-siècle vienna had already been prevalent for centuries, the new, virulent strain exploded 6 harriett anderson, utopian feminism: women’s movements in fin-de-siècle vienna. (new haven: yale university press, 1992), 1. 7 anderson, 2-4. 8 ibid, 3. 9 ibid, 4. 10 agatha schwartz, “austrian fin-de-siècle heteroglossia: the dialogism in misogyny, feminism, and viriphobia,” in german studies review 28/2 (2005): 355; 365 n56. in 1903 when otto weininger published his still-famous geschlecht und charakter (sex and character), just before he took his own life. admirers of the treatise included many of vienna‟s greatest intellectuals at the time of its publication, including karl kraus, ludwig wittgenstein, arnold schoenberg, and adolf loos. weininger‟s work aimed to differentiate between the underlying natures of masculinity and femininity and to explain cultural phenomena based on those differences. weininger was intensely radical in his hatred of women. 11 he considered women to be a complete nonentity. lawrence kramer explains, “weininger's new gospel tied the spiritual progress of the human race to the repudiation of its female half.” 12 weininger also used a kind of “science” to back up his arguments. this is investigated by chandak sengoopta in “the unknown weininger,” where sengoopta concludes that weininger uses the science, philosophy, and language of his time in order to achieve a specific ideological purpose. 13 the fact that weininger‟s work at the time was “scientifically backed” lent even more credit to weininger‟s views and improved the admiration of his critics. the feminists of fin-de-siècle vienna did not allow this assault to go unacknowledged. german scholar agatha schwartz discusses the voices of several prominent feminists who wrote in response to weininger‟s writings: rosa mayreder, grete meisel-hess, and irma von troll-borostyani. mayreder pointed out a disconnect between intellect and bisexuality during the emergence of early christianity, which continued to influence modern misogynists, resulting in a hatred by men of women and sexuality, as men connected the two. 14 meisel-hess suggested that rather than women‟s desire to marry being a sexually defined nature, as stipulated by weininger, a woman might aspire to more if she had an equal education. 15 irma von troll-borostyani particularly disagreed with weininger‟s assertion that women should “be kept from having a share in anything that concerns the public welfare, as it is much to be feared that the mere effect of female influence would be harmful,” suggesting that women were being kept in a state of economic dependency and “perpetual immaturity.” 16 schwartz explains that misogynists and feminists alike in fin-de-siècle vienna were striving for a way to save a culture that appeared to both sides to be in decline. the misogynists felt that excluding women from entering the public sphere would preserve the ancient 11 ibid, 352. 12 kramer, 141. 13 chandak sengoopta, “the unknown weininger: science, phillosophy, and cultural politics in fin-de-siècle vienna,” in central european history, vol. 29, no. 4 (1996): 493. 14 schwartz, 353. 15 ibid, 354. 16 ibid, 355. status quo. in contrast, austrian feminists believed that a better society would be achieved and society could be saved from ruin if women were included in the workforce and the public sphere. 17 this was the political climate surrounding gender issues in fin-de-siècle vienna. however, as we shall see, an even more potent misogyny could be found amid the burgeoning world of the arts and the influential artists of vienna. the misogynist art and culture of fin-de-siècle vienna richard wagner and the neo-gothic movement in europe the obsession with the middle ages that gripped europe during the nineteenth century imposed a new kind of ideology on contemporary treatment of history. concepts of chivalry and romance, particular to the nineteenth century, were realized in literature, visual art, and music of the time. the very notion of the “damsel in distress,” for instance, became a popular motif that dovetailed nicely with pervasive cultural norms regarding how women should act and behave in contemporary society. additionally, representations of how the ideals of chastity were threatened by the dangerous seduction of beautiful female sirens were manifest everywhere in the arts during the nineteenth century (i.e. “la belle dame sans merci” by john keats, painted by john waterhouse, or a similar treatment by sir frank dicksee). neo-gothic architecture and popular music also reflected this newfound interest in the earlier period. the german composer richard wagner was influenced by the medieval sagas of the germanic people and adapted several of the legendary stories into his own operas, for which he himself wrote the libretti, composed the music, and designed the staging and costumes. wagner‟s gesamtkunstwerken (complete works of art) reflected his own feelings of german and teutonic nationalism. although richard wagner passed away a quarter century before the fin-desiècle period, his words and music were pervasive in the psyche of central european people, especially the middle class, well into the twentieth century. otto weininger himself believed wagner was “the greatest man since christ‟s time.” 18 catherine clément, one of the first musicologists to analyze misogyny in wagner‟s operas, observes, “even before nazism and the tyrant‟s suicide to the accompaniment of götterdämmerung in the berlin bunker, there was the history of 17 ibid, 355. 18 bram dijkstra, idols of perversity: fantasies of feminine evil in fin-de-siècle culture. (new york: oxford university press, 1988), 228. a contradictory germany and its dream of national unity; there was the life of a wagner who was prey to bourgeois morality and its obligatory transgressions.” 19 much ink has been spilled over wagner‟s anti-semitism and racism, and his “idealism” has been credited with much of the nationalistic fervor that gripped the middle classes of central europe through the early part of the twentieth century. the massive importance of his art in the visual, theatric, and musical arts that emerged in germany and beyond during the latter nineteenth century and into the first quarter of the twentieth cannot be ignored. in fact, bram dijkstra suggests that wagner‟s operas “have the dubious distinction of providing the late nineteenth century with the narrative context for many of the details in its iconography of misogyny” 20 dijkstra‟s idols of perversity examines misogyny throughout european culture circa 1900, but focuses predominantly on visual art. „wagner‟s influence on even visual art a quarter-century after his death is significant. wagner‟s misogyny has historically been overlooked by his critics, who have focused more on his anti-semitism and on the nazi obsession with his music, and since nietzsche, his chief critic, was also somewhat misogynistic. clément sets the scene for her groundbreaking discussion of der ring des nibelungen in her book opera, or the undoing of women: because of two women, who are the excuse for hiding their flaws, their greed, their pride, and their blindness, [the gods] will die. these god-men are the same ones that opera depicts for you everywhere; but this time they are not to escape. 21 clément points out several points about the plot of the ring: women cannot die and go to valhalla in this mythology 22 ; all of the important characters are closely related to each other through incest (an obvious point, but one that many people don‟t put together), which inherently raises the alarm of the oedipus complex among others posited by siegmund freud 23 ; and women, as viewed by wagner, are of no consequence or virtue unless they are sisters. 24 while clément‟s discussion of isolde from tristan und isolde does not overall serve the purpose of this paper, she astutely points out a fact about isolde that is often overlooked: isolde makes potions and therefore practices a kind of witchcraft, witchcraft being in itself a 19 catherine clément, opera, or the undoing of women, trans. betsy wing. (minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 1988), 137. 20 dijkstra, 228. 21 clément, 139. 22 ibid, 150. 23 ibid, 157. 24 ibid, 160. deadly accusation in past centuries whenever communities decided to use women as sacrificial scapegoats. susan mcclary asserts that isolde is the sister of carmen and salome in her chromaticism, a “slippery chromatic deviation from normative diatonicism….” all three “play maddeningly in the cracks of tonal social convention.” 25 in fact, mcclary believes that the problem with musical syntax in the early years of the twentieth century was “not just an intellectual or female problem: it was inextricably tangled up with anxiety over sexual identity and gendered distinctions between reason and madness.” 26 wagner was not the first composer to suggest an otherness or even madness in the tonality of a tour-de-force by a female operatic character, 27 but continued and intensified a tradition of using mad women 28 as vehicles for using nontraditional methods of composition. fin-de-siècle opera and theatre following the tradition of wagner lawrence kramer suggests that opera in particular is a major vehicle for the kind of ritual sacrifice posited by girard, especially through the latter half of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth. 29 the characters in these operas, kramer attests, are “polymorphs,” “dissolvers of boundaries,” “embodiments of the collapse of differences.” girard noted that most sacrificial victims in world history have not actually been women, but rather men, and thus the fin-de-siècle model turns reality on its head. 30 kramer‟s views are echoed by other noted scholars, including susan mcclary, who explains: for the dilemma confronting musical syntax in the early years of [the twentieth] century was not just an intellectual or formal problem: it was inextricably tangled up with anxiety over sexual identity and gendered distinctions between reason and madness. 31 in other words, the gender and sexual crisis that gripped vienna and other parts of europe at the dawn of the twentieth century bled into the art and music of the time. 25 susan mcclary, feminine endings: music, gender, and sexuality. (minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 1991), 100. 26 mcclary, 103. 27 donizetti‟s lucia famously precedes isolde. 28 in isolde‟s case, deathly mad with love. 29 kramer, 151. 30 ibid, 151. 31 mcclary, 103. although wagner was truly revolutionary in his treatment of opera, by the fin-desiècle period, his words and music as well as his writings and philosophy about music were considered a standard by which other artists should abide. gustav mahler, for instance, was famously criticized in the press in 1900 for not following wagner‟s famous guidelines of 1873 on the best orchestral alterations for beethoven‟s ninth symphony. 32 richard strauss famously followed in the tradition of grand german opera after wagner and was strongly influenced by the works of wagner. strauss and his librettist, hugo von hofmannsthal, created several great operas together, two of which are in the undoubtedly misogynist genre. salome, based on the play by oscar wilde, opens with a scene which mcclary describes as one where salome‟s “sexual presence has already contaminated the entire court” owing to the tonality (an unconventional one) and great use of chromaticism (or “chromatic slippage,” in mcclary‟s terminology). 33 mcclary suggests that strauss uses the character salome for musical passages that are studies in “lurid excessiveness” and that he in turn uses the character of herod to appeal to social convention and get the opera back to a “normative tonality,” resulting in a treatment of salome that frames her “as a diseased and radically other” entity, the entire work being one mcclary finds “disingenuous.” 34 by mcclary‟s definition, strauss, like his hero wagner, uses salome as a vehicle for musical obscenity, and in doing so, displays her as a sacrificial victim. lawrence kramer investigates the sexual politics of strauss and hofmannsthal‟s opera elektra in his article “fin-de-siècle fantasies: elektra, degeneration and sexual science.” in terms of girard‟s concept of a sacrificial woman for society‟s changes, kramer considers elektra the ultimate operatic sacrificial character. elektra is “polymorphic” but ultimately is murdered by the very music of the opera. kramer suggests “one answer is that elektra, as sacrificial victim, at last becomes the emblem of the order she serves: lying rigid, extinguished as a subject, she becomes the phallus.” 35 32 to this day, the theatre wagner designed and implemented for the performances of his works at bayreuth continues to be used for revered performances of his works, tickets for which must be purchased years in advance. also see k. m. knittel, “polemik im concertsaal: mahler, beethoven, and the viennese critics,” in 19 th century music, vol. 29, no.3 (2006): 290. 33 mcclary, 100. 34 ibid, 101. 35 kramer, 164. kokoschka’s "murderer, hope of women" although oskar kokoschka‟s expressionist play murderer, hope of women was not adapted into an opera until paul hindemith gave it a one-act treatment in 1921, it is an important part of expressionist theatre development, and a shining example of the use of a sacrificial victim in the form of a woman during the fin-desiècle period. kokoschka wrote the play in 1909, and it involves a man, a woman, and warriors and maidens. the play results in the man killing the woman with a mere touch, then killing the warriors and maidens, and exiting in a passage of fire. the aspect of the man exiting into a passage of fire resonates with the belief in the purity of the aryan male during the fin-de-siècle period, as images in art during the period of “the viraginous woman” and the “effeminate jew” merge together to “depredate the gold, the pure seed of the aryan male.” 36 kokoschka famously had his inner demons, and one prime example of his deep-seated issues with women lies in his relationship with alma mahler gropius, the widow of the composer gustav mahler and also of walter gropius, the founder of the bauhaus movement of design. alma had many famous lovers, and when she broke up with kokoschka, he ordered a life-sized doll of alma that he took with him to the opera and concerts. the alma doll would be everything to kokoschka that she would no longer be. kokoschka eventually threw a coming-out party for the alma doll during which the doll was beheaded. 37 kokoschka also tortured past lovers after a performance of don giovanni when he invited them to his house and had the waiter serve them all soup with his thumb immersed in each bowl, and as such “the mad genius had found another means of fighting back at the women who had made him lose his equanimity.” 38 by encapsulating what seemed to kokoschka the essence of his former lover into a doll, kokoschka found a way to control this woman who threatened him. he clearly poured his problems with women into murderer, allowing the woman, the murder victim by man, to be sacrificed as a scapegoat for the ills of all womankind and the threat they bore to mankind. misogyny by the fin-de-siècle period in vienna had quickly become part of a deeply ingrained way of looking at the world for many members of society, including artists. the threat of any possible change of the status quo that might have resulted in women moving out of the closely circumscribed roles assigned to them by men urged many prominent artists of the time to portray women as dangerous entities of sexuality and death in visual art and stage works. in so doing, 36 dijkstra, 401. 37 karen monson, alma mahler: muse to genius. (boston: houghton-mifflin, 1983), 206-7. 38 ibid, 208. they were truly creating the sacrificial victims of rené girard‟s philosophy, in a very public and effective manner—notably one that would have most strongly affected the middle-class concert-, theatre-, and art-goers. the implications of the extreme misogyny in fin-de-siècle vienna and beyond had long-term sinister effects. the misogyny of the time was hand-in-hand with a growing anti-semitism and exclusive nationalism that eventually led to the rise of nazism and the holocaust. the diabolical horizon beyond the fin-de-siècle period is best described by bram dijkstra: the deadly racist and sexist evolutionary dreams of turn-of-thecentury culture fed the masochistic middle-class fantasy in which the godlike greek, the führer, the lordly executioner…symbol of masculine power… would … bring on the millennium of pure blood, evolving genes, and men who were men. if it was difficult to execute one‟s wife — not to say inconvenient—there was always the effeminate jew. fantasies of gynecide thus opened the door to the realities of genocide. the twentieth century was to prove that it had understood the murderous implications of the imperial symbolism of evolutionary inequality all too well. 39 overcoming the legacy of racism, nationalism, and anti-semitism shaped the geopolitics of europe for the rest of the century. these battles were to be fought in the open plains of history, between armies and governments that would slaughter millions of humans. however, overcoming the legacy of misogyny and sexism became a longer and more subtle war. the fin-de-siècle period in vienna, and its diabolical horizon, helped to set the scene for the battles to come. bibliography anderson, harriett. utopian feminism: women’s movements in fin-de-siécle vienna. new haven: yale university press, 1992. cernuschi, claude. “pseudo-science and mythic misogyny: oskar kokoschka's murderer, hope of women,” in re-casting kokoschka: ethics and aesthetics, epistomology and politics in fin-de-siécle vienna. cranbury, nj: associated university presses, 2002. clément, catherine. opera, or the undoing of women, trans. betsy wing. minneapolis: university of minnesota pres, 1988. 39 dijkstra, 401. dijkstra, bram. idols of perversity: fantasies of feminine evil in fin-de-siécle culture. new york: oxford university press, 1988. knittel, k.m. “„polemik im concertsaal‟: mahler, beethoven, and the viennese critics.” 19 th century music vol. 29, no. 3 (spring 2006), pp. 289-321. kramer, lawrence. “fin-de-siècle fantasies: “elektra,” degeneration, and sexual science.” cambridge opera journal, vol. 5, no. 2 (jul. 1993), pp. 141-165. mcclary, susan. feminine endings: music, gender, and sexuality. minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 1991. monson, karen. alma mahler: muse to genius. boston: houghton mifflin, 1983. rearick, charles. “fin-de-siècle,” in europe, 1789-1914: encyclopedia of the age of industry and empire. ed. john merriman and jay winter. vol. 2. detroit: charles scribner‟s sons, 2006, pp. 814-817. schwartz, agatha. “austrian fin-de-siécle gender heteroglossia: the dialogism of misogyny, feminism, and viriphobia.” german studies review 28/2 (2005), pp. 347-366. schorske, carl. fin-de-siècle vienna: politics and culture. new york: vintage books, 1981. sengoopta, chandak. “the unknown weininger: science, philosophy, and cultural politics in fin-de-siécle vienna.” central european history, vol. 29, no. 4 (1996), pp. 453-493. [concept, vol. xxxv (2012)] american eugenics: a history of its evolution from public health initiative to scientific racism, historical memory, and modern genetics margaret rigas history throughout the 20 th century, american society struggled to deal with the issue of racial equality, which caused tremendous tension in almost every facet of society. at the same time that society was grappling with racial tensions and inequalities, the world of medicine and technology was developing and progressing at an unprecedented pace. while medical and technological advancement allowed for new treatments, eradication of disease, and a new, unparalleled understanding of the human body, there was a distinct dark side of this newfound knowledge and technology. the introduction of social programs based on eugenics continued and sustained racial segregation. this so-called “medical racism” was prevalent in 20 th century american culture. eugenics programs were legally implemented with a blatant disregard for a standard of patient care, patients rights, and without informed medical consent, in the name of combating a variety of social ills and problems within american society. this paper will chart the evolution of american eugenics from that of a public health initiative to that of scientific racism and considers the historical memory of such trajectory as well as the current state of genetic research and the fall out from america’s eugenic past. background and foundations of american eugenics eugenics is difficult to define insofar as it had a variety of schemes for social application that differed from one eugenicist to another and upon which there appears to be no concise universal application. the eugenics movement may be best defined after being broken down into two parts: the moral basis and the scheme of social application. 1 the moral aspect of the eugenics movement was in large part propelled by an aversion to “the unfit,” which was meant to prompt legal support for segregation within society and prevent future propagation. 2 although it can be argued that literary support for eugenics dates as far back as plato, its origins are most commonly seen in darwin’s theory of natural selection and with later mendelian genetics. 3 it is also 1 g. k. chesterton. eugenics and other evils. london: cassell, 1922, 1. 2 ralph brave and kathryn sylva. “exhibiting eugenics: response and resistance to a hidden history.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 33-51; 36. 3 daniel wikler. “can we learn from eugenics?.” journal of medical ethics 25, no. 2 (1999): 183-194. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27718281 . (accessed november 1, 2011); 184. important to consider the motivations of the eugenics movement, and defining them as either positive or negative in terms of the scheme of social application. both positive and negative eugenicists were concerned with continued and sustained human betterment, positive eugenicists through encouraging those they deemed to have desirable genes to reproduce, while negative eugenicists sought to render the “unfit” or “illfit” incapable of reproduction through sterilization as euthanasia in the transmission of their genetic “weaknesses.” 4 the term “eugenics” was coined by francis galton, a cousin of charles darwin, in 1883 and launched a movement to improve the human race through selective breeding, in order to halt its perceived decline. galton described eugenics as “the science of improving stock—not only by judicious mating, but whatever tend[ed] to give the more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing over the less suitable than they otherwise would have had.” medical ethicist daniel wikler asserts in his article “can we learn from eugenics?” that eugenics was: “a movement for social betterment clothed in the mantle of modern science,” which, “claimed the allegiance of most genetic scientists” and drew allegiances from all over the political spectrum. wikler is currently the mary b. saltonstall professor of population ethics and professor of ethics and population health at harvard university and has published extensively on the ethical issues of public health and population science, previously serving as the first staff ethicist for the world health organization. darwin himself was persuaded by his cousin’s eugenic arguments and galton attracted a number of notable scientists as well as a large, faithful discipleship. 5 most american eugenicists accepted galton’s theory, bolstered with august weismann’s “germ plasm” hypothesis, that selection not environment determined heredity. 6 other notable supporters of the american eugenics movement include dr. clarence gamble, of proctor and gamble a personal care products company, and james hanes, founder of hanes, a hosiery company. 7 by the 1920’s, the american eugenics movement had attracted a wide variety of middle and upper-middle class disciples led by an array of professionals and academics. american eugenic organizations rapidly introduced eugenic ideas into public discourse, resulting in the creation of terms like “white trash” paired with the warning that unwise reproductive acts would do irreparable damage to american society and the american way of life. 8 4 chloe s. burke and christopher j. castaneda. “the public and private history of eugenics: an introduction.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 5-17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2007.29.3.5 (accessed november 1, 2011); 7. 5 wikler, 183-4. 6 wikler, 184. 7 michelle kessel and jessica hopper. “victims speak out about north carolina sterilization program, which targeted women, young girls and blacks.” msnbc: rock center with brian williams (new york), november 7, 2011. http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/07/8640744-victims-speak-outabout-north-carolina-sterilization-program-which-targeted-women-young-girls-and-blacks (accessed november 7, 2011). 8 wikler, 184. public presence of american eugenics in light of all of this, one might wonder: how were american eugenicists so adept at reaching their audience? american eugenic organizations maintained exhibits and events at a number of public expositions with activities like “fitter families” competitions at state fairs with governors and senators on hand to present awards to the victors. 9 there was widespread support for eugenic goals and strategies, due in large part to the powerful public nature of the american eugenic movement. as early as 1911, american eugenicists were prominent in the public realm. for example, the 1911 “million dollar parade” of livestock and agriculture at the iowa state fair concluded with an automobile filled with pre-school age children draped with a banner proclaiming them to be “iowa’s best crop.” 10 in her article “’fitter families for future firesides’: florence sherbon and popular eugenics,” historian laura lovett chronicles the creation and rise of the popular american eugenics movement through the creation of these “fitter family” contests. lovett asserts that: where better baby contests had been developed as part of u.s. children’s bureau campaign against infant mortality, fitter family contests were developed as part of the popular education campaigns of the american eugenics movement. 11 fitter family competitions fused eugenics with expansive public health campaigns consequently creating a more widespread type of eugenic reform by coupling heredity with the ideal family home and environment. by merging nostalgia for rural american life on the farm with the modernist promise of scientific control over reproduction and ultimately heredity, eugenicists like dr. florence sherbon and mary t. watts succeeded in bringing eugenic thought into public discourse. dr. florence sherbon earned an m.d. from iowa state university in 1904 where she married classmate dr. james bayard sherbon the same year but financial difficulties resulted in divorce for the couple by 1912 leaving florence as a single mother to twin girls. 12 prompted by her own interest in her daughters, dr. sherbon joined mary t. watts to organize the 1911 iowa better baby contest. in 1920, sherbon and watts orchestrated the first fitter family competition with the goal of stimulating the interest of the intelligent family to “arouse a family consciousness by which each family [would] conceive of itself as a genetic unit with a definite obligation to study its heredity and build up its health status.” 13 by the 1920’s, eugenic programs were debated, developed and enacted in the public arena using the support of public funding and legislature that ultimately led to the allowance of state 9 wikler, 184. 10 laura l. lovett. ““fitter families for future firesides”: florence sherbon and popular eugenics.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 69-85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525.2007.29.3.69 (accessed december 11, 2011); 69. 11 lovett, 70. 12 lovett, 73. 13 lovett, 76; originally from kansas bureau of child research “fitter families,” 1-2. jurisdiction over reproductive rights. 14 in all, thirty-three states passed and enacted laws in the early 20 th century that allowed for the involuntary sterilization of large numbers of inmates in prisons and state-run mental institutions for “the feeble-minded and insane.” 15 the public nature of the american eugenics movement had to adjust itself to the mentality of the roaring twenties, as traditional family, home, and moral values were challenged. during the 1920’s, fitter family contests spread throughout rural america and, according to lovett, encouraged “families to reimagine their histories as pedigrees subject to scientific analysis and control.” 16 out of the success of sherbon and watts, fitter family contests, and in the wake of the 1921 second international congress of eugenics, arose the establishment of the american eugenics society (aes) (see figure 1). having based its foundation largely on the public works of sherbon and watts and the research of charles davenport, aes emphasized education and the promotion of eugenic goals in american society. 17 throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s from their headquarters in new haven, connecticut, the aes organized conferences, contests, and distributed publications on a variety of topics pertaining to the american eugenics movement. the aes played a critical role in the propagation of popular american eugenic goals and lovett contends that they were instrumental in extending the domain of eugenic reform to living conditions, home life, and wider socio-cultural goals. 18 evolution of american eugenics into scientific and medical racism in their paper “eugenics as indian removal: sociohistorical processes and the de(con)struction of american indians in the southeast,” authors angela gonzales, judy kertesz, and gabrielle tayac detail the evolution of eugenic discourse from targeting social ills and maladies to that of scientific and medical racism in early twentieth century america. gonzales, kertesz, and tayac argue that eugenics-informed public policy served to allow for the passage of antimiscegenation legislation, arbitrary census enumerations, separate schools systems, and 14 chloe s. burke and christopher j. castaneda. “the public and private history of eugenics: an introduction.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 5-17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2007.29.3.5 (accessed november 1, 2011); 9. 15 burke and castaneda, 9. 16 lovett, 71. 17 lovett, 76. 18 lovett, 77. figure 1: international congress of eugenics announcement. bifurcated southern racial hierarchy that placed all non-whites into one undifferentiated racial group that transformed the american eugenics movement from one based largely on informed public health programs into the “scientific” basis for racial segregation of the “unfit.” 19 throughout the united states, the practice of hypodescent, race determined and quantified by blood, persons of mixed ancestry were imbricated in policies, which classified their identity as the race of their more socially subordinate parent. gonzales, kertesz, and tayac argue that this systematic categorization of race maintained white power and authority and allowed later for the implementation of involuntary sterilization of the “ill-fit” to preserve this hierarchy. 20 their public presence and support paired with their ability to mount campaigns for coercive measures like sexual segregation and involuntary sterilization allowed for the passage of legal measures to prevent those whom they imagined to have undesirable genes from reproducing. 21 gonzales, kertesz, and tayac assert that the perceived effects of immigration, rural decline, poverty, criminality, and their perceived connection to “feeblemindedness” had increasingly unsettled white america. 22 eugenic geneticist richard l. dugdale, wrote a representative work that furnished the basis of this new “scientific” and social movement of eugenics by utilizing records of county courts, jails, and poor houses to chart generations of the jukes family and their “genealogy of degeneracy.” 23 following the lead of dugdale, other eugenicists like henry h. goddard and charles davenport wrote other influential works detailing “inbred” rural populations, “feedblemindedness,” and criminality that served to decontextualize families caught in the cycle of racial discrimination, poverty, and limited access to resources. 24 their studies reinforced the notion of the immutability of the perceived inherited traits of degeneracy, prompting many progressives to lobby for the implementation of legalized involuntary sterilization and legal restrictions limiting immigration and marriage. 25 while the perceived possibility of eventual human perfection was a primary motivation for many eugenic scientists, some prominent eugenic supporters were driven by the possibility of saving taxpayer money on public social institutions like asylums, prisons, and welfare programs through the reduction of proliferation by the “unfit.” 26 19 angela gonzales and judy kertesz, and gabrielle tayac. “eugenics as indian removal: sociohistorical processes and the de(con)struction of american indians in the southeast.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 53-67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2007.29.3.53 (accessed december 12, 2011); 54. 20 gonzales, 56. 21 wikler, 184. 22 gonzales, 58. 23 r. l. dugdale and w. m. f. round. the jukes a study in crime, pauperism, disease, and heredity : also further studies of criminals. 7th ed. new york: g.p. putnam's sons, 1902. 24 gonzales, 58. 25 gonzales, 58. 26 burke and castaneda, 10. figure 2: states with eugenic sterilization as january 1, 1935 and those with pending laws. in 1919, 1929, 1933, and 1935 north carolina passed sterilization laws that were later ruled unconstitutional, with virginia following suit in 1924 (see figure 2). despite these laws being ruled unconstitutional it didn’t deter eugenicists from continuing to lobby in support of state involuntary sterilization laws. eugenicists succeeded in the legalization of involuntary sterilization with the ruling in buck v. bell in 1927, which upheld the constitutionality of compulsory sterilization on the basis of protecting the health of the state of virginia. 27 it is important to note however, that states enacting such measures were not limited to the american south, other states like new york, california and oregon all have eugenic pasts. in new york, eugenic programs and policies were developed with the financial support of successful businessmen and women and were promoted with the aid of private institutions such as cold spring harbor. in california with funding from citrus millionaire ezra gosney and real estate magnate and banker charles m. goethe, the human betterment foundation (hbf) was established. 28 james hanes was also a major benefactor of hbf and their eugenic research programs and goals. 29 hbf and other private organizations conducted research into the genetic causes of social problems and the passage of marriage and sterilization laws as well as the identification of and forcible institutionalization of “hereditary defectives” in america can be attributed largely to their research and findings. 30 modern medical ethics and american eugenics modern medical ethics finds its roots as far back as the ancient greeks and it is important to understand their origins when considering the consequences of america’s eugenic past. the concept of ethics derives from the greek ethikos meaning “theory of living” and ethics can defined in moral philosophy as: “the study of conduct with respect to whether an action is right or wrong, and to the goodness or badness of the motives and ends of the action.” 31 hippocratic 27 buck v. bell, 274 u. s. 200 (1927). 28 burke and castaneda, 9-10. 29 kessle and hopper. 30 burke and castaneda, 9. 31 francisco lopez-munoz, cecilio alamo, michael dudley, gabriel rubio, pilar garcia-garcia, juan d. molina, and ahmed okasha. “psychiatry and political-institutional abuse from the historical perspective: the ethical lessons of the nuremberg trial on their 60th anniversary.” progress in neuropsychopharmacology & biological psychiatry 31 (2007): 791-806. www.elsevier.com/locate/pnpbp (accessed november 1, 2011); 792; bloch et al., 199; 2. ethics also played a major role in the reformulation of american medical ethics in the wake of world war ii with the establishment of guidelines governing medical research and practice like the nuremberg code. the moral foundation of hippocratic ethics is that “the physician will use treatment to help the sick according to his ability and judgment, but never with the view to injury or wrongdoing.” 32 it is generally accepted, although it remains specifically unconfirmed, that the hippocratic oath, was drawn up by the disciples of hippocrates circa 400 b.c. 33 in book one on the subject of epidemical medicine entitled epidemics, it is stated that: physicians must take a habit of two things—to help or at least to do no harm. the art of medicine has three factors, the disease, the patient and the physician. the physician is the servant of the art. the patient must cooperate with the physician in combating the disease. 34 while american eugenicists may have truly believed that their programs were helping society to avoid further degeneration based on supposed “scientific fact,” the “diseases” of society that they believed they were combating have no actual scientific basis. the requirement of informed consent was widely implemented with the understanding that this stipulation be seen as an ethical necessity in research and treatment worldwide. 35 the medical communities in developed nations like the united states faced the challenge of incorporating social justice, fairness, equality, and solidarity into both research and clinical practice, a goal that was very clearly ignored in american eugenic practices, policies, and aims. 36 the maxim of hippocratic ethics states that the physician “will keep the sick from harm and injustice,” and imposes a respect for patient confidentiality, the prohibition of sexual abuse perpetrated on patients, and, most importantly in the case of eugenics, the acceptance to do no medical act that exceeds one’s knowledge or experience. 37 clearly this fundamental premise of hippocratic ethics was ignored by american eugenics and in states like north carolina, with their legal authority over reproductive rights. while the american government publicly decried the atrocities committed by the nazis in their campaign of racial hygiene, american state institutions continued eugenic practices long after the conclusion of the holocaust. in 1948, holocaust survivor and scientist ludwik fleck assembled a paper discussing the use of humans in medical experimentation, entitled “w sprawie doświadczceń lekarskich na ludziach” (“on the use of humans in medical experiments”) in polski tydgodnik lekarski (the 32 hippocratic corpus: oath and epidemics 1. trans. whs jones, the loeb classical library. vols 1, 2. cambridge: harvard university press, 1923. 33 lopez-munoz, alamo, dudley, rubio, garcia-garcia, molina, okasha, 792. 34 hippocratic corpus: oath and epidemics 1; shuster, evelyne. “the nuremberg code: hippocratic ethics and human rights.” the lancet 351 (1998): 974-977; 974. 35 evelyne shuster. "the nuremberg code: hippocratic ethics and human rights." the lancet 351 (1998): 974-977; 976-977. 36 shuster, 977. 37 lopez-munoz, alamo, dudley, rubio, garcia-garcia, molina, okasha, 792. polish weekly medical journal). though fleck never claimed to be neither a philosopher nor a sociologist, he had a deep influence on the work of prominent american historian and scientific philosopher thomas samuel kuhn. thus today fleck is viewed as a pioneer of the sociological approach to science and his influence is felt most strongly in the philosophical and sociological communities of medicine. furthermore, fleck is acknowledged as having introduced the demand for, and later requirement of, informed consent in medical research and clinical practice. 38 in the aforementioned article, fleck argues that medicine, having its basis in the empirical sciences, demands, for its own progress as well as the teaching of students, medical experimentation on human beings in order to glean an understanding of the human body and its relationship and interactions with disease, etcetera. fleck continues by asserting that any type of new operation, procedure, or legal action resulting in medical treatment realistically counts as medical experimentation and thus, all patients subjected to treatment are required to have provided informed consent. 39 fleck’s propositions assert that any type of medical experiment or treatment would be considered renounceable if: (a) the subject has not been informed about the risks or aims of the procedure / experiment; (b) they had been undertaken without consent (or proxy consent in the case of an unconscious or mentally affected patient); (c) the experiments are scientifically nonsensical; and (d) the procedures or experiments are performed by non-professionals or without the greatest care to reduce risks or complications. 40 thus, the legality of american eugenic policies like involuntary sterilization violates a, b, and c of fleck’s propositions and flies in the face of subsequent attempts at medical ethical accountability in american society. execution of eugenic programs in american society while eugenics had emerged popularly in the 1920’s, it’s prominence and practices in america extended well into the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. 41 initially sterilizations were largely performed in state-run health service facilities that restricted access to whites because of segregation laws in place and thus white “degenerate” individuals bore the initial brunt of eugenic sterilization. 42 when access to state-run health clinics and services began to change in the wake of the passage of brown v. board of education – legislation that mandated educational desegregation and prompted later desegregation of other public facilities like health clinics. the sterilizations of african-americans and those classified as “black,” essentially anyone nonwhite, increased steadily after 1954 and surpassed the number of sterilizations performed on 38 eva hedfors. “medical ethics in the wake of the holocaust: departing from a postwar paper by ludwik fleck.” study of history, biology, and biomedical science 38 (2007): 642-655. www.elsevier.com/locate/shpsc (accessed november 1, 2011); 642-43. 39 hedfors, 643. 40 hedfors 645. 41 kessel and hopper. 42 gonzales, 59. white americans within just four years. 43 these state enacted measures allowed for the forcible extermination of entire native american tribes through “bureaucratic reclassification” of these tribes as “negro” in the american southeast. 44 in the 1970’s, documented sterilizations of native american indians by the indian health service (ihs), a federal agency targeting american indians, recorded widespread, mass sterilization abuse due in large part to coercion and improper consent forms. in the year 1975 alone, ihs sterilized, forcibly or otherwise, 25,000 native american indian women. 45 another example is that of north carolina, where involuntary sterilizations were performed from 1929 through 1974. while north carolina’s eugenic sterilization program was initially implemented in order to control welfare spending on impoverished and “degenerate” white men and women, over time the focus of their program shifted to target more women than men, specifically african-american women. from 1929 through 1974, north carolina executed 7,600 involuntary sterilizations and of that 7,600, one third of the procedures were done on girls under the age of eighteen, 85% of all sterilized were women, and 40% of those sterilized were nonwhite. 46 some of these sterilizations were done on girls as young as nine years old, who had no idea what was being done to them. one of these young women, elaine riddick, was forcibly sterilized by the state of north carolina after she was raped by a neighbor and gave birth to a child at age thirteen. riddick was never told by doctors that the state had ordered her fallopian tubes to be cut and tied, rendering her effectively sterilized. her records reveal that a five-person state eugenics board had deemed riddick “feeble-minded,” “promiscuous,” and that “she [did] not get along well with others,” and recommended that she be sterilized. it is also important to note that in riddick’s case, her perpetrator was never prosecuted for child rape, nor was he even charged with a crime. it wasn’t until riddick was nineteen, married, and trying to get pregnant that a new york doctor informed her that she had been sterilized by the state doctors and the eugenics panel on the basis of medical racism bolstered by eugenic “scientific fact.” 47 even though north carolina’s eugenics board was disbanded in 1977, the law allowing for involuntary sterilization was not repealed until 2003. despite not being widely utilized or enacted after the mid to late 1970’s, the fact of the matter is that law that both promoted and allowed for the involuntary sterilization of thousands remained in effect into the twenty-first century. the state of north carolina issued an official apology to victims of involuntary sterilization in 2002 and three task forces have subsequently been assembled to determine the real number of victims and compensate the estimated 2,000 victims who are still alive. governor beverly perdue stated in an interview given to the national broadcast corporation (nbc) she was horrified to think that “their doctor told them this was birth control and they were [subsequently] sterilized” by medical professionals when they didn’t have the capacity, nor the 43 gonzales, 59. 44 burke and castaneda, 9. 45 gonzales, 59. 46 kessel and hopper. 47 kessel and hopper. opportunity to make these decisions was a startling and disturbing lack of informed consent. despite the task forces assembled, only 48 of the estimated 2,000 north carolina still living involuntary sterilization victims have been matched to their records and compensation of victims remains difficult to establish. 48 historical and collective memory of eugenics in their paper “the public and private history of eugenics: an introduction,” historians chloe s. burke and christopher j. castaneda, address the legacy of american eugenics programs, specifically in the state of california. burke and castaneda explore the ways in which public history is suited to shape the american collective memory of eugenics through the exploration of the california state university of sacramento’s symposium, from eugenics to designer babies: engineering the california dream. through scholarly presentations and two original exhibits, the symposium offered a variety of methods for addressing the state of california’s eugenic past and made evident the lack of awareness surrounding eugenics. 49 burke and castaneda assert the necessity of introducing an active historical memory of eugenics, arguing that public historians are particularly well suited to “give voice” to the victims of human betterment policies that have long suffered due to shame, circumstance, and the public historical amnesia surrounding eugenics. in their article, burke and castaneda have assembled a breadth of articles discussing eugenic goals and philosophies, in order to highlight the challenges faced by public historians in developing the appropriate media to address america’s public and private history of eugenic programs. over the past decade, the history and legacy of eugenic involuntary sterilization has been subject to greater public scrutiny due to recent press coverage of the legal, academic, and political efforts that have been made to document the history of eugenics in america. the media has paid particular attention to the coercive and forcible sterilization aspects of eugenic policies and programs which has re-introduced eugenics into wide public discourse. in 2002 and 2003, the governors of virginia, oregon, north carolina, south carolina and california issued public apologies for the state use of sterilization in the name of eugenic policy. several of these aforementioned states have attempted to make reparations for their eugenic actions, with north carolina proposing financial reparations and counseling for victims and oregon designating december 10 th human rights day. 50 in the article “exhibiting eugenics: response and resistance to a hidden history,” authors ralph brave and kathryn sylva elaborate on the work of burke and castaneda by detailing the subsequent exhibit at the university of california, sacramento’s exhibit human plants, human harvest: the hidden history of california eugenics, writing that: “the disappearance of this history for half a century, and the consequent absence of a ‘collective memory,’ were the 48 kessel and hopper. 49 burke and castaneda, 5-6. 50 burke and castaneda, 6-11. primary factors for the [university of california, sacramento] exhibit’s structure and content.” 51 the exhibition showcased high-quality reproductions of historical photographs, documents, and records with the intent of bringing public attention to california’s hidden eugenic past. brave and sylva’s article does not attempt to reproduce the exhibit in writing but instead offers further elaboration behind the construct of their proposed collective memory of eugenics. brave and sylva utilize visitors reactions to the exhibit to make their point about the hidden nature of america’s eugenic past, reiterating the “never knew” response. they write: the general public’s “never knowing” of california’s and america’s eugenics history defined the central dilemma in constructing the exhibit: there could be no assumption that a visitor to the exhibit knew anything about this history, or even had any familiarity with the word ‘eugenics.’ this absence of a shared common background or ‘collective memory’ of the history of eugenics can be grasped through the fact that, unlike other significant historical movements and eras, no image or set of images readily register with the public as representative, or ‘iconic,’ of this history. 52 thus, in order to reassert public consciousness regarding america’s eugenic past, the exhibition utilized the very same imagery of eugenics that was used to propel american eugenics into public discourse during its inception. phenotypic images, family trees and maps of their supposed hereditary sources, charts, and eugenic propaganda were assembled from their resting place in various archival depositories and brought together to create a visual image of the american eugenics movement (see figures 3 & 4). 53 figure 3: “love in its anatomical connections.” figure 4: “the near blood kin of a feebleminded woman sterilized by the state of california.” 51 brave and sylva, 33-34. 52 brave and sylva, 35 53 brave and sylva, 35-36 university of virginia historian, professor paul lombardo called for collective memory and a public consciousness pertaining to american eugenics in a lecture entitled, “eugenics: lessons from a history hiding in plain sight.” lombardo pointed out that eugenics were still covertly present in american society with the names of prominent california eugenicists memorialized in state parks, schools, and other institutions with no mention made to their eugenic pasts. therefore, despite the attempts made to remove eugenics from public life, the legacy of eugenics wasn’t just hidden in documents in the state’s archives, but still overtly present in daily life. brave and sylva contend that it was lombardo’s public outcry that led to apology issued by the state of california in 2003. ultimately, their own desire to ensure that this apology did not allow the history of eugenics to be swept back into obscurity led brave and sylva, among other historians and scientists, to assemble the exhibit. 54 modern genetic work and the potential revival of eugenics the underlying resistance and unease that surrounds the public history of eugenics is precisely the same source of heightened contemporary interest in that history; the recent advances in molecular biology indicate a possible rehabilitation of eugenics. with the emergence of scientific endeavors like stem cell research, cloning, and genetic modification, or “designer babies,” the idea of a revived eugenics at the very least deems it necessary to bring the history of american eugenics into public discourse again for deliberation in order to protect against the blatant misuse of this history and out of respect for the victims of coercive and forcible sterilization. serious consideration for the future of possible eugenic and biological science and research require that the history of eugenics be construed and taught in accurate, contextualized terms that take into consideration the social conditions that allowed “race biology” and legally implemented and executed coercive and forcible practices to occur. 55 maintaining a public consciousness or ‘collective memory’ of eugenics is crucial in understanding the consequences of modern genetic research as well as the moral lessons that can be gleaned from america’s past eugenic policies and programs. both recent and past histories of american eugenics have paid little to no attention to the fact that the movement had quantitative goals for segregation or sterilization of the “unfit.” estimates on their quantitative goals range from ten to fifteen million americans. while nothing close to this goal was ever achieved, in the state of california alone, 20,108 people were eugenically sterilized between 1909 and 1964, approximately one-third of those eugenically sterilized in the united states. 56 while the public prominence of eugenic programs in america certainly does indicate several unsavory aspects of past american society through the transformation of eugenic programs from that of public health initiatives to that of scientific racism, they are lessons that cannot be forgotten, especially in light of the renewed interest in genetic alteration. if nothing else, 54 brave and sylva, 36. 55 brave and sylva, 43-44. 56 brave and sylva, 41-42. america’s eugenic past should serve as a warning to future generations of scientists and public health officials to exercise caution in the quest for eventual human genetic perfection as well as to indicate the importance of education and equal opportunity. furthermore, in order for society to avoid the very degeneration that many eugenicists ultimately feared, the historiography of the eugenics movement must be preserved and taught so that true human betterment can actually occur. works cited brave, ralph, and kathryn sylva. “exhibiting eugenics: response and resistance to a hidden history.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 33-51. burke, chloe s., and christopher j. castaneda. “the public and private history of eugenics: an introduction.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 5-17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2007.29.3.5 (accessed november 1, 2011). chesterton, g. k.. eugenics and other evils. london: cassell, 1922. dugdale, r. l., and w. m. f. round. the jukes a study in crime, pauperism, disease, and heredity : also further studies of criminals. 7th ed. new york: g.p. putnam's sons, 1902. gonzales, angela, judy kertesz, and gabrielle tayac. “eugenics as indian removal: sociohistorical processes and the de(con)struction of american indians in the southeast.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 53-67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2007.29.3.53 (accessed december 12, 2011). hedfors, eva. “medical ethics in the wake of the holocaust: departing from a postwar paper by ludwik fleck.” study of history, biology, and biomedical science 38 (2007): 642-655. www.elsevier.com/locate/shpsc (accessed november 1, 2011). kessel, michelle, and jessica hopper. “victims speak out about north carolina sterilization program, which targeted women, young girls and blacks.” msnbc: rock center with brian williams (new york), november 7, 2011. http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/07/8640744-victims-speak-out-aboutnorth-carolina-sterilization-program-which-targeted-women-young-girls-and-blacks (accessed november 7, 2011). lopez-munoz, francisco, cecilio alamo, michael dudley, gabriel rubio, pilar garcia-garcia, juan d. molina, and ahmed okasha. “psychiatry and political-institutional abuse from the historical perspective: the ethical lessons of the nuremberg trial on their 60th anniversary.” progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry 31 (2007): 791-806. www.elsevier.com/locate/pnpbp (accessed november 1, 2011). lovett, laura l.. ““fitter families for future firesides”: florence sherbon and popular eugenics.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 69-85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525.2007.29.3.69 (accessed december 11, 2011). shuster, evelyne. “the nuremberg code: hippocratic ethics and human rights.” the lancet 351 (1998): 974-977. wikler, daniel. “can we learn from eugenics?.” journal of medical ethics 25, no. 2 (1999): 183-194. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27718281 . (accessed november 1, 2011). works consulted bachrach, susan. “deadly medicine.” the public historian 29, no. 3 (2007): 19-32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2007.29.3.19 . (accessed november 1, 2011). black, edwin. war against the weak: eugenics and america's campaign to create a master race. new york: four walls eight windows, 2003. currell, susan. “segregation's science: eugenics and society in virginia.” the journal of american history 98, no. 2 (2011): 496-497. dittmer, john. the good doctors: the medical committee for human rights and the struggle for social justice in health care. new york: bloomsbury press, 2009. galton, david j. , and clare j. galton. “francis galton: and eugenics today.” journal of medical ethics 24, no. 2 (1998): 99-105. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27718075 . (accessed november 1, 2011). larson, edward j.. sex, race, and science: eugenics in the deep south. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1995. ledley, fred d.. “distinguishing genetics and eugenics on the basis of fairness.” journal of medical ethics 20, no. 3 (1994): 157-164. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27717438 . (accessed november 2, 2011). markman, jonathan r, and maurie markman. “running an ethical trial 60 years after the nuremberg code.” lancet oncology historical review 8 (2007): 1139-1146. http://oncology.thelancet.com (accessed november 2, 2011). nourse, victoria f.. in reckless hands: skinner v. oklahoma and the near triumph of american eugenics. new york: w.w. norton & co., 2008. paul, diane b.. controlling human heredity: 1865 to the present. atlantic highlands, n.j.: humanities press international, 1995. ramsden, edmund. “carving up population science: eugenics, demography and the controversy over the 'biological law' of population growth.” social studies of science 32, no. 5/6 (2002): 857-899. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3183057 (accessed november 2, 2011). tyner, james a.. “the geopolitics of eugenics and the exclusion of philippine immigrants from the united states.” american geographical society 89, no. 1 (1999): 54-73. http://www.jstor.org/stable/216140 (accessed november 2, 2011). appendix of figures figures 1, 2, 3, and 4: dolan dna learning center, cold spring harbor laboratory. “eugenicsarchive.org: image archive on american eugenics movement.” image archive on the american eugenics movement. http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/list3.pl (accessed november 8, 2011). of the many changes in russian foreign policy since the latter half of the soviet era, russia’s policy toward saudi arabia is shifting sands: continuity and change in russian-saudi relations christopher diehl political science of the many changes that russian foreign policy has undergone since the end of the brezhnev era, the evolution of russia’s policy toward saudi arabia is particularly striking. this change in foreign policy toward saudi arabia and the greater arabian peninsula is a dramatic departure from the policies of exploiting regional conflicts to gain political influence and military footholds that characterized the brezhnev era. what has changed in this relationship is not merely the liquidation of russian military presence in the region or the fact that the middle east is no longer a field of competition for dueling superpowers. instead, it is the essence of what motivates russian foreign policy that has been transformed. russian foreign policy toward saudi arabia is now motivated by economic interests and to a lesser extent, national security concerns. saudi arabia is no longer the prized jewel to be influenced in an ongoing campaign to diminish us standing in the region. instead, russia views saudi arabia as both an economic competitor and potential partner. russia also views saudi arabia as a state whose religious influence must be harnessed to serve russian security imperatives, and as a state whose security concerns will have to be taken into consideration when dealing with other states in the region. to begin exploring the changing nature of this relationship, this paper will trace soviet policies in the middle east that impacted relations with saudi arabia and the saudi response to these policies. next, the role mikhail gorbachev’s “new thinking” played in precipitating far-reaching change in russian foreign policy toward the gulf will be examined. finally, this paper will survey the three key concerns that currently drive russian foreign policy toward saudi arabia: oil and natural gas, arms and technology trade with iran and israel and islamic extremism. examining this change in russian foreign policy and these key areas of current interest will provide much insight into what motivates russian foreign policy in general and what the future of russian-saudi relations may hold. a short history of russian-saudi relations to 1979 modern russian interaction with saudi arabia dates back to the 1920s, a time when much of the middle east was under british mandate. the landmass that later became modern-day saudi arabia was still divided amongst rival tribes. the hejaz, home to mecca, medina, and the port of jeddah, was under control of the hashemites, a favorite of the british, whose members also ruled transjordan and iraq. when the hejaz was captured by the rival al-saud, the ussr was delighted to immediately recognize them as the area’s legitimate rulers. unlike the hashemites, the al-saud were not beholden to british support. naturally, the soviets saw this as a prime opportunity to both curb british imperialism and make an ally of their own in the region.1 this would not be the last time the soviet union sought to influence saudi arabia vis-à-vis another great power. relations between russia and saudi arabia tapered off to an eventual end following a trade dispute in 1928 and interaction between the two states would remain 1 mark n. katz, russia and arabia: soviet foreign policy toward the arabian peninsula, (baltimore, the johns hopkins university press, 1986), p. 132 dormant until nikita khrushchev came to power.2 the middle east soon became centrally important to expanding the ussr’s influence across the third world at the expense of its rivals, as us and british influence and military presence in the region was already strong.3 therefore, good relations with saudi arabia were an obvious objective of soviet foreign policy. despite its high value as a potential client in the region, soviet actions overwhelmingly proved to alienate saudi arabia and would forestall diplomatic relations for three and a half decades. the first instance in which the soviet union and saudi arabia found themselves at odds was in north yemen following a nasserist coup there in 1962. when egypt, saudi arabia’s rival for leadership of the arab world, moved seventy-thousand troops into north yemen to bolster the republican forces that recently came to power, the saudis responded by lending material support to the deposed royalist forces in their bid to regain power. when egyptian troops were withdrawn from north yemen in the wake of egypt’s defeat in the 1967 war with israel, the ussr quickly moved to fill the void, supplying mig fighters, ilyushin bombers, small arms, regular airlift support and even pilots for the yemen arab republic air force.4 the saudis were already wary of the soviets because of their relationship with egypt and this move seemed to confirm their suspicions that the soviets had larger designs on the region. both states soon found themselves engaging each other by-proxy once again in the people’s democratic republic of yemen (south yemen). the soviets provide substantial training to the new marxist government there and gained a military foothold in the process. technical and material support was nominal, but extensive access was given to soviet military schools. a party school was also established by the soviets, complete with soviet instructors to teach marxist-leninist theory and party control methods in an effort to ensure the soviet (as opposed to maoist) interpretation of marxism-leninism became firmly entrenched within the pdry government. in addition, the ussr increased its offshore naval presence, made use of the port of aden as a submarine base, and took control of former british airfields for reconnaissance flights during its involvement there.5 in response to the growing presence of the ussr in its neighborhood, the saudis proceeded to arm and support tribal factions purged from the pdry army in their bid to overthrow the aden government. the saudi-backed campaign amounted to little more than a series of raids, with the movement having no clear agenda or appeal to the general population. the movement steadily declined, and after being fairly inactive in its aid, riyadh formally ceased their support when it normalized relations with the pdry.6 this same policy of intervening in internal conflicts to support socialist-oriented regimes that have come, or are fighting to come, to power continued to be employed by the soviet union into the 1970s. the saudis perceived this policy as one of steady encirclement and were further alarmed by the growing relationship between the ussr and 2 katz, russia and arabia, pp. 132133. this dispute was caused by extremely cheap russian goods flooding the market. after complaints by jeddah’s merchants, russian goods were embargoed. the embargo was later lifted, but trade never recovered. 3 talal nizameddin, russia and the middle east: towards a new foreign policy, (new york: st. martin’s press, 1999), p. 21 4 katz, russia and arabia, p. 29 5 aryeh y. yodfat, the soviet union and the arabian peninsula: soviet foreign policy toward the persian gulf and arabia, (new york: st. martin’s press, 1983), p. 6-7 6 katz, russia and arabia, pp. 76-77 iraq, which began with arms sales and culminated in a treaty of cooperation and friendship in 1972. the soviet union and saudi arabia gave support to opposing sides during the marxist dhofar rebellion in oman and continued to match each other’s support tit-for-tat in places like ethiopia and somalia, with saudi arabia going so far in the case of the latter to advocate us military and economic assistance. the saudis also extended aid to anti-soviet forces outside of the greater arabian peninsula area, including zaire and angola.7 finally, the saudis scored their biggest coup when egyptian president anwar sadat, with whom the saudis had been cultivating a relationship, ordered the withdrawal of soviet advisors in 1972. in seizing upon the many opportunities to gain influence and military footholds, the ussr set itself back in achieving its foreign policy goal of developing relations with saudi arabia. the policies of the late brezhnev era after making the saudis wary and later hostile to its foreign policy in the 1960s and 1970s, the soviet union opted to attempt to exploit cracks in saudi-american relations in order to get closer to the desert kingdom. after the saudis condemned the outcome of the us-sponsored camp david accords and joined in expelling egypt from the arab league, the soviets wasted no time commencing a charm offensive aimed at bringing the saudis around to rapprochement.8 in a january 1979 article entitled “saudi arabia: what next?” soviet middle east specialist igor belyayev asserted that saudi fear and mistrust of the ussr was largely created and stoked by the us media. belyayev also argued that there were no serious impediments to renewed soviet-saudi relations, even quoting a senior saudi prince as being amenable to the possible reestablishment of diplomatic ties.9 this appeal in soviet commentary for better relations continued in the subsequent months, highlighting the fact that the ussr and saudi arabia shared the same position on resolving the arab-israeli conflict and accusing the us of fanning saudi fears in order to gain a military advantage of its own.10 in regards to growing us arms exports to saudi arabia that included airborne warning and control systems (awacs) and f-15 fighter aircraft, one commentator accused the us of “using saudi money to build reserve bases in saudi arabia, fully equipped and waiting to be used by american forces.” he argued that by doing so the us was “ignoring the will and aspirations of the true masters of this region – the peoples who inhabit it.”11 in effect, the soviets were trying to cast the us as a meddlesome, destabilizing force in the region in hopes of appearing more reasonable to the saudis by comparison. by touting its pro-palestinian credentials, portraying the us in a negative light and consistently calling for relations, the ussr believed saudi arabia would soon come around to restoring diplomatic ties. it is difficult to assess how well the strategy of exploiting cracks in the us-saudi relationship was working because amid this flurry of commentary came the eruption of conflict in afghanistan. faced with the prospect of an allied socialist nation on its border disintegrating into factional rule and threatening a spillover effect on the rest of the central 7 william b. quandt, riyadh between the superpowers, foreign policy, no. 44 (autumn, 1981), pp. 49-51 8 william b. quandt, saudi arabia in the 1980s, (washington; the brookings institution, 1981), p. 69 9 igor belyayev, saudi arabia: what next?, literaturnaya gazeta, january 31, 1979, p. 14 found in translation via the current digest of the soviet press, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 5-6 10 igor belyayev, just who is threatening saudi arabia?, literaturnaya gazeta, july 9, 1980, p. 14 found in translation via the current digest of the soviet press, vol. 32, no. 28, pp. 1-3, 19 11 a. vasilyev, arabia: oil and awacs, pravda, march 11, 1982, p. 4 found in translation via the current digest of the soviet press, vol. 34, no. 10, pp. 12-13 asian soviet republics, the ussr, in accordance with the brezhnev doctrine, decided to intervene. the soviet union invaded afghanistan on christmas eve 1979 to aid the unpopular marxist government in regaining control over a rebelling population that resented secular reforms.12 the soviets also saw the ensuing unrest as an element of the us’s “imperialist strategy,” with afghanistan being a suitable place for the us to reconstitute electronic listening posts that were lost when the shah of iran was toppled.13 from a saudi and american point of view, the invasion represented a soviet thrust toward the persian gulf area, putting soviet forces several hundred miles closer than they had been to the arabian peninsula and its oil reserves. while a thrust toward the gulf was not likely part of the soviet calculus, the invasion led president jimmy carter to comment on the situation in his 1980 state of the union address, stating that any hostile actions by the soviets in the persian gulf would be considered an attack on the vital interests of the us and that “such an assault would be repelled by any means necessary.”14 the us soon concluded that a forceful response was indeed necessary and the best option was to arm the afghan rebellion. the saudis, who by now were convinced that soviet foreign policy was unquestionably aggressive and hostile to muslim states, became a natural and willing partner in this endeavor. the saudis provided much of the funding that was channeled through the pakistani intelligence service to furnish training and equipment for the resistance, matching the cia’s contributions dollar for dollar between 1981 and 1984.15 saudi arabia also provided some of the arab manpower that joined the resistance, enabling its citizens to visit and train at mujahideen camps in pakistan. once again, the ussr and saudi arabia were engaged in indirect conflict with each other, and by the mid-1980s, relations between the two were no better off than they were two decades earlier. afghanistan was simply the latest in a string of situations in which soviet policies toward the third world, specifically the middle east, conflicted with its own desire to have diplomatic relations with saudi arabia. the policy of trying to gain influence wherever there was an opening by befriending the current radical government or helping a new one come to power, could not be reconciled with saudi arabia’s own need to feel secure amongst its neighbors. therefore, the strategy that was employed by the soviets for twenty years ultimately failed to advance their foreign policy objectives toward saudi arabia. the impact of new thinking in 1985, just as soviet efforts in afghanistan began to falter, mikhail gorbachev became general secretary of the communist party. his outlook on international relations and policies of new thinking were a significant departure from the foreign policy carried out during the brezhnev era. gorbachev recognized that the nations of the world were becoming increasingly interdependent. he believed that unbridled competition in terms of weaponry and world influence served only to threaten international security and that an enormous amount of energy and resources had already been diverted from other priorities 12 steve coll, ghost wars: the secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden, from the soviet invasion to september 10, 2001 (new york: penguin press, 2004), p. 40 13 unnamed editorialist, doomed to failure, pravda, february 14, 1985, p. 4 found in translation via the current digest of the soviet press, vol. 37, no. 7, p. 4 14 carol r. saivetz, the soviet union and the gulf in the 1980s, (boulder: westview press, 1989), p.4 15 coll, ghost wars, pp. 65-66 because of such competition.16 in practical terms, this meant a shift in foreign policy was in the offing, with influence and military presence in the third world becoming less important in the future. in the very beginning of the foreign policy portion of his speech to the twenty-seventh congress of the communist party of the soviet union (cpsu), gorbachev stated that “the tasks of the country’s economic and social development also determines the cpsu’s international strategy.”17 in other words, the most pressing issues of the day, such as economic reform, would have an increased bearing on soviet foreign policymaking. among other things, this new outlook had implications for afghanistan. in his speech gorbachev went on to refer to afghanistan as a “bleeding wound,” and while the ussr “supports the country’s efforts aimed at defending it sovereignty,” extricating itself from this conflict and bringing its troops home would be high on the soviet foreign policy agenda.18 gorbachev also explicitly stated that the soviet union was “in favor of stepping up collective searches for ways of defusing conflict situations in the middle east.”19 the soviet union did just that when it cosponsored a un resolution with the us calling for a cease-fire in the war between iran and iraq.20 it was clear that gorbachev was interested in curbing geo-strategic competition with the us in order to build trust and cooperation, as well as to allow the soviet union to focus more of its attention and resources on internal demands. once the ussr completed its withdrawal from afghanistan, soviet and saudi officials began to seriously discuss normalizing relations. shortly after these developments came the ultimate test of new thinking’s practicality: the iraqi invasion of kuwait. there was a great deal of internal debate in the kremlin concerning what position the ussr should take on this crisis. the soviet union was faced with a choice of either following through on gorbachev’s vision of building a strong, cooperative relationship with the west and entering an interdependent world free of zero-sum competition, or drifting back to the more conservative policies of maintaining regional influence.21 it is important to consider what the ussr had to lose by joining the international coalition in condemning iraq. by its own estimates, the ussr stood to lose approximately $800 million in trade and payments, mostly from tripartite oil deals and arms sales as well as an additional $5-20 billion in lost debt repayment.22 in addition to these economic disincentives, the ussr would have to live with what conservatives in the kremlin considered to be a blow to its own prestige if it were to ignore its own interests and condone a us led intervention.23 reluctant to abandon its long-time trading partner but also committed to remaining on the right side of world opinion, the soviets opted for a middle-of-the-road approach. as the crisis wore on, soviet diplomats laboriously tried to convince saddam hussein to withdraw from kuwait in order to save the ussr’s trade relationship with iraq, or at least ensure that it remained in salvageable condition after hostilities ceased.24 more 16 mikhail gorbachev, perestroika: new thinking for our country and the world, (new york: harper & row, 1987), p. 141 17 as reprinted in-translation in the current digest of the soviet press, vol. 38, no. 8, p. 27 18 ibid., p. 29 19 ibid., p. 29 20 robert h. donaldson & joseph l. nogee, the foreign policy of russia: changing systems, enduring interests, (armonk, ny: m.e. sharpe, 2005), p. 108 21 galia golan, gorbachev’s difficult time in the gulf, political science quarterly, vol. 107, no. 2 (summer 1992), p. 217 22 ibid., p. 214 23 nizameddin, p. 201 24 unnamed correspondent, making up, the economist, september 22, 1990, p. 46 importantly, however, the ussr never withdrew its support of the us-led coalition and enjoyed a worthwhile pay off as a result. in addition to upholding some of the principles of new thinking and improving its standing with the west, the ussr was rewarded with what it had been seeking for decades. in september 1990, diplomatic relations with saudi arabia were restored and the saudis offered a $1.5 billion aid package to the ussr. the soviet union was also delighted by the prospect of saudi investment in their economy and arms deals with the kingdom. this episode would help set the course for future russian foreign policy. from this point on, relations would primarily be conducted in pursuit of tangible rewards, not military or geopolitical superiority vis-à-vis the us.25 a look to the present in the years that have followed since the end of the cold war, russia’s priorities have shifted from trying match us military and political strength, to reforming and growing its economy and coming to grips with ethnic and religious strife. despite this seemingly more inward-looking priority shift, relations and interaction with saudi arabia still figure prominently into the post-soviet national agenda. russia and saudi arabia must still deal with each other on three key issues that are central to russia’s economic growth and the easing of ethno-religious troubles. first, russia and saudi arabia find themselves as competitors and potential partners in the world energy market. second, saudi arabia has objections and concerns about russia’s commercial dealings and growing relationships with iran and israel. finally, moscow’s relationship with riyadh is an important part of quelling islamist extremism within its borders and integrating its muslim minority in order to prevent future religiously-charged political violence. in short, russia’s relationship with saudi arabia, in both competitive and cooperative aspects, is one determined by economic interests and national security concerns, not the desire for strategic influence that characterized its foreign policy in the past. energy: competition and cooperation with economic growth ranking high on the national and foreign policy agenda, the success and profit of russia’s oil and natural gas industry is of utmost importance to the russian economy, as well as the health of the government’s treasury. saudi arabia and russia are the number one and number two oil producers in the world respectively, but despite sharing this distinction, both have very different pricing policies, bringing both states into direct competition. this competition is virtually non-existent in the natural gas sector, and the many incentives for cooperation in this area could form the basis for better relations and policy coordination on other issues. oil the 1990s were a troubling time for the russian oil industry with production declining to 6.1 million barrels per day (b/d) in 1996, down 5.4 million b/d from 1987 levels.26 however, a turnaround began in 1999 as world oil prices began to rise. production is now booming and russia’s output is second only to saudi arabia. with 25 nizameddin, p. 190 26 gawdat bahgat, the new geopolitics of oil: the united states, saudi arabia and russia, orbis, vol. 47, no. 3 (summer 2003) p. 449 prices high and output growing at a rate of 800,000 b/d annually, russia is growing increasingly accustomed to and even dependant on the large revenue that comes with such a boom.27 therefore, oil interests are no doubt a top consideration for russia in formulating its foreign policy. before going any further, it is important to understand russia’s position in the world oil market relative to saudi arabia. russia holds 6.2 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, compared to saudi arabia’s 22 percent.28 unlike saudi arabia, geography is a limiting factor for russia’s oil industry. much of russia’s unexploited reserves lie in artic and far eastern areas and the location and extreme climes of these reserves present additional challenges and costs to their development. russia also lacks the robust pipeline infrastructure and deep water terminals that are required to accommodate the large tankers that can carry oil across the atlantic to the us. a pipeline to the pacific, intended to serve tankers bound for japan, south korea and the us, is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in 2008, however. in contrast, saudi arabia has easy access to its unexploited reserves, a well developed pipeline system and access to deep water terminals on both the red sea and persian gulf. another key difference between the saudi and russian industries is state control. saudi aramco is state owned and the kingdom is a member of the organization of petroleum exporting countries (opec), and as such it is capable and willing to increase or decrease production as needed to control prices. while there is growing concern over increased state control, particularly due to the growing strength of the state-controlled firms gazprom and rosneft, approximately 70 percent of russia’s oil industry remains privatized, making the regulation of production more difficult to coordinate.29 the fundamental difference in the oil policies of russia and saudi arabia stems from each state’s unique position in the world oil market. as a country with a large population and small reserves relative to other top producers, russia favors a strategy of short-term revenue maximization. saudi arabia, a country with much larger reserves, low production costs, a small population and low domestic consumption, favors a strategy of long-term revenue maximization.30 it is in saudi arabia’s interest to extend the life of its oil economy as long as possible because it has the reserves to do so and because its economy is less diversified than an economy like russia’s. russia, on the other hand, does not have the infrastructure or cheaply exploitable reserves that are suited for long term maximization and instead seeks to make the most of current boom times. these differing strategies bring russia and saudi arabia into direct competition and disagreement with each other on world oil pricing policy. saudi arabia’s policy is to keep prices at a moderate level that is acceptable to world consumers, especially the united states. while saudi arabia certainly wants prices that will generate healthy revenue, it is sensitive to prices becoming too high. if prices were to remain too high for an extended period of time, this could prompt a dedicated effort by consumers to develop and implement the use of alternative fuels and conservation. if and when oil alternatives such as fuel cells or hydrogen became inexpensive and commonplace, saudi oil fields would be significantly devalued and the 27 mark n. katz, saudi-russian relations since 9/11, problems of post-communism, vol. 51, no. 2 (march/april 2004), p. 6 28 british petroleum, bp statistical review of world energy, (london: british petroleum, 2006), p. 6 29 bbc news, russia energy overview, found online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4699942.stm 30 gawdat bahgat, terrorism and energy: potential for strategic realignment, world affairs, vol. 167, no. 2 (fall 2004), pp. 53-54 incentive for the us to ensure security in the persian gulf would be greatly reduced.31 the obsolescence of oil is certainly in the distant future, but saudi arabia is intent on slowing the emergence of a truly competitive alternative fuel industry. in order to influence world oil prices, saudi arabia keeps a portion of its production capacity idle so that it can pump more oil in times of shortage or crisis and thus keep prices stable. russia and saudi arabia first came into conflict over oil prices in late 2001. unrestrained production by non-members, including russia, led opec to call on all producers to coordinate a curb on production to prevent a price collapse. opec planned to cut production by 1.5 million b/d and requested that non-members collectively pledge a 500,000 b/d cut, with russia cutting 150,000 b/d of that sum. the russian government balked at this, agreeing to only cut 30,000 b/d, not yet ready to let go of the windfall revenue that came from its increased production over the past two years. russian officials cited two reasons for not wanting to join in the production cut. first, russia did not want to lose any additional revenue, as it already stood to lose some in the coming months as siberian operations began to slow down for winter. second, russia wanted to regain market share lost after the disintegration of the ussr.32 however, as the threat of a price collapse continued to loom, russia finally agreed to the originally requested cuts. russia and saudi arabia also collided on oil pricing during the run up to the american invasion of iraq in early 2003. saudi arabia pledged to raise production by as much as 2.5 million b/d to make up for any supply shortages that might occur as a result of hostilities. this elicited a harsh response from russia, in which deputy prime minister, viktor khristenko warned that if opec “played politics” with the war in iraq, “it would be the beginning of the end of the organization.”33 the roles were now reversed, with russia fearing that a price collapse could result from opec’s rapid expansion of production. in september 2003, then-crown prince abdullah visited moscow to ease tensions over pricing and to begin a dialogue on developing a mechanism by which russia and saudi arabia could coordinate their pricing policies toward mutually beneficial ends.34 it is important to note, however, that saudi arabia does have some leverage over russia. saudi arabia has confronted the problem of “quota busters” before, and its position in the world oil market gives it the ability to punish those who are uncooperative. it can use its excess capacity to drive prices down to a level that would make production unprofitable for russian firms. saudi arabia’s low production costs allow it to still turn a handsome profit at $10/barrel while russian production becomes unprofitable at $12/barrel.35 it is unlikely that russia will provoke such actions given the fact that every $1/barrel decline in prices cuts around $1 billion from its federal budget revenue.36 with both states being dependent on their oil wealth to varying degrees, there is a shared interest in maintaining a mutually satisfactory price range and cooperation on the issue is likely. of course, during periods of record demand that force both russia and saudi arabia to produce at full capacity, pricing policy becomes less contentious an issue. 31 mark n. katz, saudi-russian relations in the putin era, middle east journal, vol. 55, no. 4 (fall 2001), p. 610 32 bahgat, terrorism and energy: potential for strategic realignment, p. 54 33 katz, saudi-russian relations since 9/11, p. 6 34 yulia petrovskaya, russia doesn’t have the money to enter the saudi market, nezavisimaya gazeta, september 3, 2003, p. 6, found in translation via the current digest of the post-soviet press, vol. 55, no. 35, online 35 bahgat, the new geopolitics of oil: the united states, saudi arabia and russia, p. 451 36 ibid., p. 450 natural gas another area in which russia and saudi arabia share similar economic interests and cooperative potential is the natural gas industry. russia is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, possessing an estimated 1688.0 trillion cubic feet of the resource, or 26.6 percent of the world’s total proven reserves.37 unfortunately, much like its oil reserves, most of russia’s untapped reserves are found in some of its more hostile environments such as siberia and the artic ocean. the costs associated with developing these distant and difficultly situated fields are daunting, mainly due to the transportation infrastructure that would need to be further developed to be able to deliver gas to consumers.38 in contrast, saudi arabia has not placed as much emphasis on developing its smaller natural gas deposits until recently. through the 1990s, the kingdom has become more reliant on natural gas for its power generation, petrochemical manufacturing and water desalination needs and has expressed a desire for more investment in its natural gas industry.39 it is widely believed that saudi arabia has considerable gas reserves that have yet to be fully exploited and is therefore is becoming increasingly attractive to non-saudi firms in the business of exploration and development. this opening presents a prime opportunity for russia to advance economic interests and build the foundation for cooperation on other issues.40 this is also an opportunity for both states to finally realize the vibrant trade and investment relationship that was supposed to materialize after the ussr supported us intervention and sanctions against iraq in 1991. gazprom, for example, has considerable experience in natural gas exploration and development and would benefit greatly from the opportunity to develop the much more accessible saudi gas deposits. this is already beginning to happen. after “core venture” agreements with several western energy firms fell through in 2003, saudi arabia, still intent on attracting investment in its gas reserves, signed exploration and development deals with several international firms. one of these firms was lukoil, russia’s largest privately owned energy firm.41 saudi aramco also conferred official contractor status on stroitransgaz in 2003 so it could participate in future oil and gas projects.42 cooperation on energy policy between russia and saudi arabia may only be in its infant stages, but it is clear there is great potential in the natural gas sector for both states to prosper through joint efforts. israel since the end of the cold war, russian relations with israel have warmed significantly in many respects, much to the chagrin of saudi arabia. up until this point, policy toward israel was one of few similarities shared by both states. cooperation to advance their common position on settling the arab-israeli conflict was traditionally seen as a potential point of departure for improving relations between russia and saudi arabia. nevertheless, russia has cultivated a close relationship predicated on strong mutual 37 british petroleum, bp statistical review of world energy, (london: british petroleum, 2006), p. 22 38 bahgat, terrorism and energy: potential for strategic realignment, p. 57 39 abdullah m. aitani, big growth ahead seen for saudi gas utilization, oil and gas journal, vol. 100, no. 30 (july 29, 2002), p. 20 40 bahgat, terrorism and energy: potential for strategic realignment, p. 57 41 ibid., p. 56 42 katz, saudi-russian relations since 9/11, p. 7 economic, cultural and counterterrorism interests with israel. it is unlikely moscow will forego these new ties simply to maintain its pro-palestinian credentials in the arab world. relations began to thaw in 1991 when diplomatic relations with israel resumed and immigration restrictions that prevented refuseniks from moving to israel were lifted.43 over the course of the 1990s, an estimated one million russian jews immigrated to israel, and now make up twenty percent of the population and are a powerful political, cultural and economic force in the country. in particular, they are a much sought after bloc of swing voters in israeli elections.44 the growing cultural interconnectedness between both states is significant; russian jews in israel seem adamant to retain their russian identity as russian language daily newspapers and russian tv beamed via satellite are immensely popular among these communities.45 while retaining their own distinct culture, russian jews are still making strides integrating themselves into israeli society by embracing civic obligations. it is interesting to note that the proportion of russian jews serving in combat units in the israeli army is greater than their proportion of the general population, and their patriotism and commitment to the state have not gone unnoticed by older israelis.46 this greater proportion is due in part to a dearth of orthodox jews eligible for military service exemptions in the russian-born segment of the israeli population, but it is noteworthy nonetheless. in essence, the world’s largest russian diaspora, still connected to their homeland, will play an increasing role in israeli politics and this could eventually have some bearing on russian attitudes and policy toward the arab-israeli conflict. cultural and linguistic ties are only one dimension of improved russian-israeli relations. in tune with the theme of advancing economic interests that has become central to russian foreign policy, russia is also forming a substantial trade relationship with israel, which has grown to be worth more than $1 billion annually.47 in addition, this trade relationship has given way to joint defense-industry projects. russia and israel have already completed development of the kamov 50-2 attack helicopter, combining a russian airframe with israeli avionics.48 russia has also made its spacelift capability available to israel, recently launching the eros-b imagery satellite for tel aviv.49 joint defense industry ventures like these will not only open new markets to russian arms and expertise, they also give russia greater access to sophisticated technology.50 finally, russia and israel have come to identify with each other as they both continue to face islamic extremism and terrorist attacks on civilians. russian and israeli officials have declared their solidarity in the fight against terror numerous times and have been conspicuously guarded in their commentary of each others counterterrorism policies. besides sympathizing with each other, there is potential for actual cooperation on issues of counterterrorism. following the beslan school attack, israeli officials offered to help russia in its struggle during a visit by russian foreign minister sergei lavrov.51 israel has 43 shlomo avineri, israel-russia relations, carnegie endowment report, 2001, p. 1 http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=659&prog=zru 44 avineri, israel-russia relations, p. 4 45 dmitry radyshevsky, the russians will save israel, moskovskiye novosti, no. 45 (nov 19-25, 2002), p. 13 found in translation via the current digest of the post-soviet press, vol. 54, no. 47, p. 2 online 46 ibid., p. 2 47 mark n. katz, putin’s pro-israel policy, middle east quarterly, vol. 12, no. 1, (winter 2005), p. 6 48 ka-50-2 erdogan page, found at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/ka-50-2.htm 49 associated press, russia helps israel keep an eye on iran, new york times, april 26, 2006, online 50 avineri, israel-russia relations, p. 3 51 grigory asmolov and aleksandr reutov, israel’s intelligence community will assist russia’s, kommersant, september 7, 2004, p. 9 found in translation via the current digest of the post-soviet press, vol. 56, no. 36, p. 1 online dealt with terrorism far longer than russia and is viewed by many as a counterterrorism laboratory from which the rest of the world can learn. if cooperation on counterterrorism training and intelligence sharing occurs, the bonds that have formed between russia and israel will only become stronger. there are, however, many contentious issues in russian-israeli relations that have yet to be resolved; iranian nuclear development, arms sales to iran and syria, and an invitation to moscow for hamas officials following their 2006 election victory are just a few areas in which russia and israel have serious disagreements. nevertheless, the relationship between moscow and tel aviv has grown closer in recent years, and riyadh is not happy. russia’s pro-palestinian tendencies could fade if a strong relationship with israel should emerge, dashing the saudis’ hopes that russia would continue to look out for palestinian interests by pushing for a return to the peace process. iran russian relations with iran are also problematic to saudi arabia. while saudiiranian relations have improved significantly in recent years, there was a time when iran was quite hostile toward the saudis, criticizing their relationship with the us, their backing of saddam hussein in the iran-iraq war, and the treatment of their shi’a minority. this former animosity could be reignited, with growing concern that saudi arabia and iran could find themselves backing opposing sides of an iraqi civil war, following an eventual us withdrawal. iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are also unsettling to the saudis. tehran’s push to develop fissile material, in conjunction with a long range missile capability, could eventually give iran the capability to launch a nuclear strike on its neighbors and lead to the adoption of a more coercive foreign policy.52 therefore, it should come as no surprise that riyadh does not look favorably on moscow’s support to iran’s nuclear and missile development programs and conventional forces. iran has been a lucrative market for russia to unload military equipment and technical know-how in return for hard currency. russia has sold three kilo-class submarines to iran and in 2000, president vladimir putin decided to walk away from the gore-chernomyrdin agreement so russia could enter into a licensing agreement that would allow iran to assemble mig-29 fighter aircraft and t-72c tanks.53 iran has also benefited from the availability of exportable russian air defense systems, most recently purchasing tor m-1 tactical surface-to-air missile systems in late 2006. it is also widely believed that iran has benefited from russian expertise in the development and enhancement of its shehab-3 medium range missile, which could one day serve as a nuclear delivery platform. the most important and most profitable russian contribution to iranian military capability is nuclear cooperation. in 1995, russia signed on to complete the bushehr nuclear reactor left unfinished by the german firm siemens shortly after the islamic revolution. the chance to complete the abandoned reactor was a prime opportunity to advance russian economic interests in the middle east. it was believed by russian officials that work on bushehr would bring positive publicity to the russian nuclear 52 james a. russell, saudi arabia in the 21st century: a new security dilemma, middle east policy, vol. 12, no. 3 (fall 2005), p. 67 53 oded eran, russia in the middle east: the yeltsin era and beyond, in gabriel gorodetsky (editor), russia between east and west, (portland, or: frank cass publishers, 2003), p. 160 industry and lead to other deals in the region.54 the bushehr deal itself was estimated to have been worth between $800 million and $1 billion, with eighty percent of the contract reportedly being paid in cash, undoubtedly giving a much needed shot in the arm to the russian nuclear industry.55 russia also stands to gain from enriching uranium for iran, should tehran choose to forego its fledgling indigenous enrichment capability. despite the destabilizing effects iranian nuclear and missile advancements could have on the region and the objections of the us, eu and others, russian technical support to iran has been very profitable and is illustrative of russia’s policy of pursuing economic interests first and foremost. while cooperation with iran is not necessarily grounds for severing relations with russia and foregoing some of the emerging benefits, saudi arabia will certainly remain wary. chechnya, terrorism, and islam the last major foreign policy issue facing russia relative to saudi arabia is the secessionist movement in chechnya, the terrorism campaign conducted in its name, and the potential spread of radical islam among russia’s muslim population and the neighboring states of central asia. while economic considerations involving energy pipelines do factor into the chechnya problem, this is largely an issue of national security. russian officials, including vladimir putin, believed that failure to suppress the chechen insurgency could ultimately lead to the disintegration of the russian federation. therefore ensuring chechnya stays pacified remains high on the government’s agenda.56 moscow and riyadh have long been at odds concerning the spread of conservative islam. hard feelings surrounding this issue date back to the war in afghanistan and were reignited when saudi arabia recognized and provided economic assistance to the taliban. this renewed islamist influence in central asia led moscow to grant support in the form of ammunition, uniforms, fuel, helicopters, intelligence, and air support to ahmed shah massoud’s northern alliance long before 9/11.57 although the taliban has since been removed from power and afghanistan is slowly being secured and rebuilt under international stewardship, the issue of islamic extremism is still very much on the minds of russian policymakers. radical islam appears to be overshadowing separatism as the cause fueling violence in chechnya and it threatens to divide chechen society itself and usher in more instability.58 russia charges that saudi arabia is to blame for this rise in extremism, by not only using its wealth to spread wahhabi teachings, but to fund actual terrorist operations in chechnya and neighboring republics. in dagestan, for example, officials claimed that at one point, up to three thousand saudi-funded, wahhabi fighters were operating there.59 it is also worth noting that several former key operatives in chechnya, including the notorious khattab and sheikh abu omar al-saif, hailed from the desert kingdom. it has also been widely 54 vladimir a. orlov and alexander vinnikov, the great guessing game: russia and the iranian nuclear issue, washington quarterly, vol. 28, no. 2 (spring 2005), p. 51 55 orlov and vinnikov, the great guessing game: russia and the iranian nuclear issue, p. 51 56 donaldson & nogee, the foreign policy of russia, p. 277 57 brian glyn williams, from “secessionist rebels” to “al-qaeda shock brigades”: assessing russia’s efforts to extend the post-september 11th war on terror to chechnya, comparative studies of asia, africa and the middle east, vol. 24, no. 1, (november 2004), p. 199 58 vladlen maksimov, chechen authorities want to ban wahhabism, noviye izvestia, april 5, 2005, p. 2 found in translation via the current digest of the post-soviet press, vol. 57, no. 14, p. 1 online 59 katz, saudi-russian relations in the putin era, p. 613 circulated that the chechen rebels who seized a russian theater in 2002 had placed several telephone calls to saudi sponsors during the standoff. in addition to alleged operational aid, both sides remain at odds over the nature of saudi humanitarian assistance to chechnya. russia asserts that this aid is being used to build schools and mosques that espouse a radical interpretation of islam. the saudis acknowledge they do not have absolute control over where the donations of their independently wealthy citizens ultimately end up, but they insist that islamic foundations based and registered in the kingdom do not engage in funding the spread of radical ideology or terrorist activities and that their aims are charitable. russia is also suspicious of saudi arabia’s resistance to allow russian ngos and government agencies to distribute the aid collected by saudi charities. saudi arabia contends that much of the aid does not meet the intended recipients when distributed by russian authorities. as a result, chechen authorities in charge of reconstruction have sought direct links with riyadh.60 because saudi arabia has some influence and standing among russia’s estimated 20 million muslims, due to both its largesse and status as the guardian of islam’s holiest sites, russia has sought to use its relations with the kingdom as a means to improve its own standing. in addition to its observer status in the organization of the islamic conference, closer cooperation with saudi arabia on dispensing humanitarian aid could significantly boost the russian government’s image among its muslim population and give it better leverage in dealing with extremism in chechnya. riyadh’s official position on this subject remains to be seen, however. the royal family’s legitimacy and survival is largely dependent on its image as a defender of islamic causes. cooperation on aid distribution could create the perception of saudi support for russia’s operations in chechnya, which would be met with disapproval in much of the muslim world. 61 nevertheless, russia will continue to seek cooperation from the saudis on this subject as it is viewed as being critical to the security and stability of russia itself. conclusion russian foreign policy has changed considerably in the several decades that have passed since the late brezhnev era. gone is the overarching goal of securing influence and military ties in order to eclipse us influence in strategic areas such as the persian gulf. as a result of this change, relations with countries that were once threatened by soviet-era policies are now approached by russia with tangible interests in mind. relations with saudi arabia, both good and bad, are quite illustrative of this. oil pricing policy is a potential area of competition; however the incentive for coordination in order to achieve mutual benefits is high. russia will likely continue to make the advancement of economic interests the centerpiece of its foreign policy and opportunities like the development of saudi gas resources will undoubtedly be pursued. in addition, russia is also compelled to pursue economic interests that the saudis do not approve of if the rewards are great enough. iran represents a lucrative market for readily exportable conventional arms and technical knowledge and israel also offers promising rewards, including access to advanced technology, trade and counterterrorism cooperation. finally, as russia continues to combat islamist terrorism within its borders, it will likely seek to enlist the saudis’ help, 60 katz, saudi-russian relations in the putin era, p. 613 and ivan sukhov, the prince and the pauper, vremya novostei, january 19, 2004, p. 1 found in translation via the current digest of the post-soviet press, vol. 56, no. 3, p. 1 online 61 katz, saudi-russian relations since 9/11, p. 5 fully aware of riyadh’s stature in the muslim world and its usefulness in solving the chechnya problem. simply put, moscow is no longer primarily interested in winning allies and holding sway; it is interested in winning contracts, growing its economy and staying secure. microsoft word essay 2 hawk.docx [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] wise sex: the affirmation of human sexuality and female desire in the song of songs kaley m. hawk theology love: it is a powerful force that can propel one to the heights of ecstasy or to the depths of despair. a cherished lover can feel entirely invincible. a rejected lover can feel utterly broken. every human will most likely experience both the joys and the disappointments of love. whether a heart feels hope or regret, the longing for authentic love is natural. the wisdom literature of the hebrew scriptures illuminates this truth and speaks of love in a most unexpected manner. due to its explicit sexual nature, the song of songs is a biblical book that many interpreters have struggled to tame. perhaps the book was never meant to be tamed. when the lovers in the song are allowed to speak in their lovesick humanity, the wisdom of god’s word proves more potent. one is able to see how god intended human love to be—raw, passionate, and mutual. “how beautiful you are, how fair, my love, daughter of delights!” the lover speaks to his darling.1 this statement could be considered a standard declaration of love, but his next entreaty exposes the daring of the poetry: “your very form resembles a date-palm, and your breasts, clusters. i thought, ‘let me climb the date-palm! let me take hold of its branches! let your breasts be like clusters of the vine.’”2 such graphic portraits of desire are characteristic of the song and should not be tempered by allegorized explanations. as part of the canonized scriptures, and the wisdom tradition in particular, the song of songs has a divinely sanctioned voice that speaks biblical truth, however shocking. the wisdom of the song is this: human love and sexuality are gifts from god that flourish best in a relationship of mutual respect. even further, the song endorses the celebration of sexuality and intense longing, especially from a woman—a reflection of wisdom in the scriptures that is unique, unsettling, and wholly needed. the history of the song                                                                                                                           1 song of songs 7:7 (new american bible; all song of songs citations will be taken from the nab unless otherwise noted). 2 song of songs 7:8-9. the song of songs is a collection of ancient love poems that date anywhere from the 10th century bce to the hellenistic period.3 the specific date, author, purpose, and place of origin for the song remains unknown. its mystery, though, adds an irresistible quality to its poetry. the source of the song may be obscure, but its theme is not. sex, yearning, and love abound in the language. the song does not seem to be written as a single story with a uniform storyline, but is more likely a compilation of poems, possibly from various authors and time periods.4 biblical scholar j. cheryl exum, nonetheless, argues for an underlying unity to the song, as is evidenced in the coherent images, themes, and attitudes throughout the book’s eight chapters.5 the song resembles, but is not identical to, other love poems in the ancient near eastern milieu. scholars have interpreted the song as a consecrated marriage text, a love song for members of the royal household, a ritual text, or simply as secular poetry.6 if interpreted literally, the song is obviously dramatic and erotic. the lovers unabashedly describe each other’s bodies and the pleasure derived from physical longing and union. in the religious world, however, the song has usually been interpreted allegorically, sparing jews and christians the perceived embarrassment of discussing and defending seemingly unbridled sexuality. in its allegorical sense, the song denotes the love of god for his people, whether israel, the church, or individual believers. this spiritual reading certainly warrants regard. in the new testament, paul uses marriage to illustrate the relationship between christ and his church, and jesus himself alludes to an eschatological marriage feast.7 the allegorical interpretation of the song may have superficially veiled its substantial eroticism, allowing for its inclusion in the biblical canon.8 professor david carr summarizes the scholarly consensus, however, concluding that “though the song may draw on forms and/or specific cultic traditions that depicted divine love, the song itself shows no clear signs of having been written to depict god’s relation with god’s people or the soul.”9 this conclusion might be an uncomfortable thought for church authority and conservative laypeople. as biblical scholar                                                                                                                           3 j. cheryl exum, “song of songs,” in woman’s bible commentary, eds. carol a. newson, sharon h. ringe, and jacqueline e. lapsley, 3rd ed. (louisville: westminster john knox press, 2012), 247. 4 ibid. 5 ibid. 6 kenton l. sparks, “the song of songs: wisdom for young jewish women,” catholic biblical quarterly 70, no. 2 (april 2008): 277-278. sparks notes the song’s comparison to inanna/dumuzi texts from sumer, and love texts from ancient babylon and sumer. 7 eph. 5:21-30 and matt. 22:1-14 (nab). 8 sparks, 278. 9 david mclain carr, “gender and the shaping of desire in the song of songs and its interpretation,” journal of biblical literature 119, no. 2 (june 1, 2000): 246. carey walsh underscores, although the song lends itself to an allegorical reading, the evident lust interwoven throughout the poetry of the song is not easily concealed—even less so the blatant female lust.10 why does sexual desire, particularly womanly desire, cause such anxiety in the religious realm? perhaps this anxiety would dissipate if the song of songs were allowed to speak for itself. the woman’s communication of longing offers wisdom to those who are willing to receive it. as exum notes, throughout the song, the woman conveys her sexual needs and desires as unreservedly as the man.11 the song seems to speak of the wisdom of mutuality in a loving relationship—a grand vision indeed in a historically patriarchal world. the content of the song the woman’s voice begins the song with a burning wish: “let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.”12 her ache is no less palpable at the song’s conclusion: “swiftly, my lover, be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of spices.”13 between these two statements of intense longing that open and close the song are expressions of admiration, heartbreak, euphoria, and most importantly, as walsh argues—desire. for walsh, the song is “a poetic and sapiential exploration into human want” and the horticultural metaphors throughout the song represent the woman’s desire and arousal.14 the woman tells her lover: “your love is better than wine.”15 she continues, “my lover is to me a cluster of henna from the vineyards of en-gedi.”16 for the male lover, she is an “enclosed garden” into which she invites him: “let us go early to the vineyards, and see if the vines are in bloom, if the buds have opened, if the pomegranates have blossomed; there i will give you my love.”17 though the lovers often speak metaphorically throughout the song, most readers can probably intuit the topic: sex. they clearly want each other, and they clearly want the physical satisfaction the other can offer. according to walsh, the horticultural language the song employs is fitting for several reasons:                                                                                                                           10 carey ellen walsh, "a startling voice: woman's desire in the song of songs," biblical theology bulletin 28, no. 4 (december 1, 1999): 129. 11 exum, 249. 12 song of songs 1:2 13 song of songs 8:14.   14 walsh, 129, 131. 15 song of songs 1:2. 16 song of songs 1:14. 17 song of songs 7:13. first, a vineyard produces heady liquid and sweetness. sexual arousal and wine are both powerful, dizzying, and destabilizing. second, the properties of the fruit itself suggest genitalia and sexual pleasure. grapes and grape clusters are dark purple, triangular, surrounded by foliage, engorged with juice at the height of their ripening, with supple, taut, yet vulnerable skins. third, the horticultural metaphor here turns on a biblical pun. using fruit and its juices for woman’s desire, the song plays off and subverts the procreative functionality of sex expressed elsewhere in the bible’s command to “be fruitful and multiply.”18 the sexual overtones of the song are definite. the lovers praise each other, search for each other, dream of togetherness, and celebrate their love. the content of the song, though, is not exclusively sexual, as the famous verses from chapter eight testify: “set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is as strong as death, longing is fierce as sheol. its arrows are of fire, flames of the divine. deep waters cannot quench love, nor rivers sweep it away.”19 the lovers pine for physical union and are not shy in expressing that overpowering desire. ultimately, though, what binds them together is not only sexual satisfaction but a profound commitment to their relationship.20 the song extols love’s vigor and potency. the acclaim of human sexuality and insight into the power of love are both aspects of the wisdom that the song has to offer its audience. the culture of the song the song’s uniqueness cannot be overstated, especially when one considers the culture from which it arose—ancient patriarchal israel. in patriarchal societies women and children are obedient to the absolute authority of men. the patriarchal community views female sexuality as threatening within the group, as well as threatened from without by strangers or enemies. therefore, women need male oversight.21 in the ancient mediterranean world, men regulated the sexuality of women through the practices of female seclusion and veiling.22 generally, women had few rights and were subject to the power and influence of their male counterparts. c.d. ginsburg reports that buying wives was a conventional practice                                                                                                                           18 walsh, 133. 19 song of songs 8:6-7a. 20 dianne bergant, “‘my beloved is mine and i am his’: the song of songs and honor and shame,” semeia 68 (1994): 32.   21 ibid., 33. 22 ibid., 32. in the ancient middle east, and quotes herodotus describing such a sale.23 ginsburg concedes that jewish women did not suffer to the extent that perhaps assyrian or greek women did under male authority. the cultural customs of seclusion, veiling, and using the protection of eunuchs, nevertheless, would not have been unknown to the israelites.24 ginsburg defends the scriptures as originally intending that women would be to equal men in intellectual and moral capacities, but acknowledges that throughout history, “woman, instead of being the help-mate or companion of man became his slave, and was kept for the gratification of his carnal appetite, or at best regarded as a plaything for leisure hour. her rights were denied, her education was neglected, her intellect degraded, her moral character questioned.”25 perhaps ginsburg speaks hyperbolically, as true love relationships could not have been completely unfamiliar to the ancients. that women’s status was less significant, though, was commonly the case in the ancient mediterranean region. marriage for “love” is a modern concept, and in patriarchal societies, marriages tend to be arranged to improve political and economic situations.26 the patriarchal society in which israel existed is evident in the hebrew scriptures. the role of women is often overlooked or only highlighted in reference to reproductive capabilities—after all, women were a sort of male-owned property.27 exum notes that sexual desire in the bible, the song notwithstanding, is depicted as risky, in need of control, under strict codes, and a predominantly male characteristic.28 walsh explains several standard descriptions of biblical sex that contrast with the song of songs, making it an even more extraordinary addition to the hebrew scriptures. first, walsh points out that males are usually the active agents of sexual initiation and deeds while women are simply the recipients. second, the procreative function of sex is a biblical emphasis. an observation from scholar david carr is fitting here. he remarks that even when women are acclaimed for instigating sexual action, like tamar in genesis 38 and ruth in the book of ruth, such actions are associated with creating and sustaining a male dynastic line.29 typically, hebrew women in the bible are sexually passive and valued as “vessels of israelite seed.”30 continuing with walsh’s biblical                                                                                                                           23 c.d. ginsburg, “the importance of the book,” in a feminist companion to the song of songs, ed. athalya brenner (sheffield: sheffield academic press, 1993), 50. 24 ibid., 52. 25 ginsburg, 51. 26 walsh, 130. 27 ibid. 28 exum, 248. 29 carr, 238. 30 ibid. descriptions of sex are the sexual taboos for men. lastly, walsh notes the description of womanly desire in genesis 3, though that instance is a result of god’s curse in the garden of eden.31 the song of songs does not typify biblical descriptions of sex, which generally mirror patriarchal norms. the bible would seem brusque in its treatment of women and inordinately in favor of men if the song of songs were absent from the canon. its inclusion suggests that patriarchy is not the wisest way to order society. the wisdom that the song offers, namely, the excellence of desire and mutuality between lovers, is better appreciated in light of the dangers patriarchy posed to women. catholic ethicist shaji george kochuthara discusses the vulnerability of women when they operate under the assumption of the “active/passive polarization” that has dominated sexual roles throughout history.32 kochuthara acknowledges that most societies place women under damaging gender restraints.33 patriarchal cultures are especially prone to exploiting an underlying notion of the active/passive mode of thinking—those who are active, or masculine, are more significant than those who are passive, or feminine.34 in the active/passive paradigm, not only are women less important, but women who initiate sexual activity are improper and tasteless.35 kochuthara highlights that the active/passive polarization endangers women by objectifying them. if a woman’s role in sexual activity is simply passive, then her “no” might be understood as inviting more aggressive action on the part of the man, since that is his role.36 if a man operates in his active role to the extreme, he might see pursuing sex beyond a woman’s refusal as his right. clearly the active/passive mode of thinking is not ethical, as kochuthara emphasizes. as he points out, modern science has demonstrated that neither male nor female reproductive organs are exclusively active or passive.37 if either sex should be deemed active, it seems that the woman’s ability to nurture a child within her womb proves the vigorous power of her body—she engenders life. according to kochuthara, under patriarchy a woman’s sexual enjoyment is forbidden.38 perhaps this is due to a fear of loss of control. the song of songs, however, demonstrates that this denial of sexual pleasure for women is unnatural. for kochuthara, much is at stake: “creating an                                                                                                                           31 walsh, 129-130.   32 shaji george kochuthara, “patriarchy and sexual roles: active-passive gender roles versus an ethic of mutuality,” journal of dharma 36, no. 4 (oct.-dec. 2011): 437. 33 ibid., 435. 34 ibid., 438. 35 ibid., 437. 36 ibid., 442. 37 kochuthara, 438. 38 ibid., 452. awareness of women’s sexual desire and fulfillment is a matter of justice.”39 incorporating the insight of kochuthara, the wisdom of the song can also be interpreted as a vital call for justice in sexual ethics. before examining the radical manner in which the song departs from the cultural norms of its time, noting the importance of the anthropological categories of “honor” and “shame” will further illumine the patriarchal mindset. as biblical scholar dianne bergant explains: the preoccupation with female chastity probably grew out of competition over land and other scarce natural resources. just as the survival of the family or clan was contingent on the quality and measure of water, food, and materials for shelter and protection, so its strength and future was seen as residing in the fertile potential of its women. where sexuality is an expression of competition and superiority among men, the fruitfulness of women becomes a resource to protect.40 ensuring that women’s sexual activities and reproduction are guarded and regulated is necessary in patriarchal societies where “honor” and “shame” are the standards for one’s reputation. the difficulty for women is that in patriarchal societies, shame is a female attribute whereas honor is a male attribute.41 men’s honor is either bolstered or undermined by the actions of female family members. group dynamics complicate the issue of honor and shame in patriarchal culture because individual reputations affect the community’s reputation. the behavior of community members, especially women, is carefully delimited for the preservation and flourishing of the entire group.42 interestingly, as bergant remarks, patriarchal israel created the song of songs, which departs in every way from the prescriptions of regulated female sexuality. is the uninhibited and gratuitous sexuality that the song portrays god’s exemplar for love?43 the uniqueness of the song the song of songs is an exceptional inclusion in the biblical canon. as david carr explains, “into this world of reproductively focused sexuality, hierarchies, male                                                                                                                           39 ibid. 40 bergant, 33. 41 ibid. 42 bergant, 34.   43 ibid., 37. bergant raises the possibility that if the sexuality portrayed in the song is more typical than has been previously thought for the hebrew culture, then the song’s viewpoint could be a hermeneutical tool for re-reading other texts. rights, and vilified sexually proactive women comes the song of songs.”44 when assessed in light of the patriarchal culture which produced it, the sensual and sexual text of the song is nothing short of shocking. to further add to this astonishment is the common scholarly agreement that there is no textual evidence that the lovers are married. even more amazing in the song is that a woman expresses longing and desire for (unmarried) sex.45 jewish feminist poet and scholar alicia ostriker brands the song of songs a “countertext,” which she defines as “any biblical text which in some sense resists dominant structures of authority, divine and legal, as defined by the bible as a whole and by the history of its interpretation.”46 everything about the song challenges patriarchal expectations and modern assumptions about “christian” sexuality. for example, there is no mention of a father’s authority, but several allusions to the mother’s house in verses 3:4 and 8:2 as a place the woman desires to bring her beloved.47 the man in the song declares that his lover is her “mother’s special one, favorite of the one who bore her.”48 ostriker proposes the idea that verse 8:2 implies that the mother has instructed her daughter in matters of love and sexuality.49 the woman in the song is not ashamed of her sexuality and does not hide her longing from her mother—indeed, her mother’s home seems the ideal place to consummate their love. the man visits the woman at her home in the exchange in 5:2-6, and as bergant notes, it appears that the man has ready access to the woman’s sleeping chambers, even though he does not enter in this instance.50 while the relationship between the lovers in the song lacks parental oversight, bergant and ostriker highlight two instances in the song that hint at the patriarchal culture of honor and shame that paradoxically gave rise to the song. the first instance is the woman’s mention of her brothers in 1:6 and their anger towards her for not keeping her own vineyard. the brothers reappear in 8:8, concerned for the well-being of their sister: “we have a little sister; she has no breasts as yet. what shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?” the brothers’ involvement in their sister’s affairs would have been familiar in a                                                                                                                           44 carr, 240. 45 exum, 248. 46 alicia ostriker, “a holy of holies: the song of songs as countertext,” in the song of songs: a feminist companion to the bible, eds. athalya brenner and carole r. fontaine (sheffield: sheffield academic press, 2000), 43. 47 bergant, 35. 48 song of songs 6:9. 49 ostriker, 46. 8:2 reads, “i would lead you, bring you to my mother’s house, where you would teach me, where i would give you to drink spiced wine, my pomegranate juice.” 50 bergant, 31. patriarchal culture, as bergant notes.51 what is very uncommon is the woman’s response to her brothers’ protectiveness.52 she boldly asserts her adulthood and acts independently of her brothers’ attempted control. “i am a wall, and my breasts are like towers,” she proclaims. this intellectually and sexually mature woman challenges her brothers’ jurisdiction and finds fulfillment in the company of her lover; the woman’s actions are incredibly defiant of cultural norms. bergant emphasizes this feature of the song of songs: “no one and nothing in the song suggests that she should be censored for such an independent attitude.”53 the brothers’ appearance in the song hints at the patriarchal culture that undergirds the text. the woman’s rejection of male meddling in her love affair, however, attests to the song’s wisdom that mutually passionate relationships should perhaps supersede tradition. the second instance in the song representing patriarchal norms is the patrolling of the watchmen in 5:7. the woman desperately dashes into the streets in search of her lover after his departure from her sleeping chambers. the watchmen do not help her, but beat her instead, possibly as a consequence of her disregarding the rules of female seclusion.54 this illustration of physical abuse is disturbing, but as ostriker points out, the woman is little deterred from her mission. she continues to unhesitatingly praise the delights of her lover to the daughters of jerusalem only a few short verses later.55 bergant believes that the song implicates the behavior of the watchman as detestable, not the woman’s solitary midnight pursuit.56 in fact, the woman does not mention the pain from the watchman’s beating, only the acute lovesickness she feels due to her lover’s absence.57 in sum, though there are patriarchal traces in the text, the woman’s defiant response to them testifies to the unique message of the song. the poetic genre of the song and the bold qualities of its female character also contribute to this book’s uniqueness and the wisdom it has to offer. the song is not very “holy” or “biblical” for a number of reasons. as walsh and ostriker observe, the song does not mention god, emphasize mosaic law, prescribe rituals, teach morality, or discuss israel’s destiny.58 the exhortation to complete obedience that dominates the chronicles and laws of the hebrew scriptures is absent in the poetry of the song, which offers a variant tone and theme. here, the lyrics portray                                                                                                                           51 bergant, 28 and 34. 52 ibid., 34. 53 ibid.. 54 ibid., 35. 55 ostriker, 47. 56 bergant, 35. 57 song of songs 5:8 58 walsh, 129 and ostriker, 43. a graceful invitation for a reciprocal relationship.59 “my lover belongs to me and i to him,” the woman declares.60 neither lover rules the other dictatorially. acceptance and praise characterize their relationship. if one of the parties seems to tip the balance and wield more power, it is the female. verse 4:9 exposes the male’s defenselessness when in the presence of his beloved: “you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes.” the proud and conquering israelite warrior has been easily undone, and he freely admits it.61 in the song, the woman’s value is intrinsic and unrelated to her reproductive capacity. many scholars note this dissociation of sex and procreation in the song, an unusual feature considering “normative models of sexuality in the bible, in which women are property and wives are essentially breeders.”62 the song illuminates an edenic existence where the curse of genesis 3:16—womanly desire directed toward and at the mercy of a husband—vanishes.63 the woman remarks that “i belong to my lover, his yearning is for me.”64 the woman voices her desire while also acknowledging that she creates desire. without a hint of shame or reticence, the woman receives the man’s adoration. she inspires wonder and longing, and pursues pleasure with her lover—erotic overtones in the song that interestingly, as bergant notes, were never mitigated by the final editors of the book.65 the wisdom of the song is its advocacy of mutual desire, love, and affirmation of the goodness of human sexuality. for such powerful insight to flourish, this historically patriarchal world (and church) must validate and appreciate the song’s female voice. ostriker forcefully recounts the woman’s influence: “elsewhere in the bible we are admonished to fear god. but in this text it is the woman who is awesome, even terrifying, her eyeglance dazzling to the lover, her presence ‘terrible as an army with banners.’”66 for ostriker, the woman’s powerful mystique in the song borders on the divine. the wisdom of the song                                                                                                                           59 ostriker, 43. 60 song of songs 2:16. 61 kochuthara, 445. 62 ostriker, 44. 63 ibid., 45. 64 song of songs 7:11. 65 bergant, 35. 66 ostriker, 45. she is quoting song of songs 6:4 in the king james version, which is translated in the nab as “fearsome as celestial visions.” the military metaphors used here and elsewhere in the song are more evidence of this book’s uniqueness. the woman is described in soldierly terms, a reversal of typical gender roles, briefly discussed by walsh in her article (131). the song of song’s classification as biblical wisdom literature may seem surprising given its sexually charged themes. scholar kenton sparks argues that the song is correctly categorized. the editors of the song attribute its authorship to king solomon, like proverbs and ecclesiastes, even though it is unlikely he wrote these works. the tradition stands, however, of associating israel’s wisest king with its wisdom literature, and as the song is connected to solomon, it was viewed as legitimate wisdom writing.67 as sparks contends, who better to expound on matters concerning women, sex, and love than king solomon? associating the song with solomon grants the work an authoritative air—with 700 wives and 300 concubines, certainly this king had experience.68 the bible attributes solomon’s ruin to the influence of his foreign wives—so those who desire to avoid his fate would do well to learn from the wisdom the song offers. further evidence of the song’s credibility as wisdom literature, sparks observes, is its similar composition to other hebrew wisdom books.69 sparks’s reading of the song clearly renders it a rightful member of the hebrew wisdom tradition, but for different reasons than this paper suggests. whereas this paper argues that the song’s wisdom lies in its call for mutuality in relationships and affirmation of human sexuality, sparks argues that the song was meant for a rather limited audience—adolescent jewish women— and that it focuses on “how young women can avoid being hurt and disappointed in the world of young love.”70 in the song of songs 8:8-12, sparks interprets a chastity lesson, which would be fitting for the book’s patriarchal setting.71 although sparks admits that protecting virginity is not the foremost message of the song, he believes that the song’s editors acknowledged the sexual potency of young people and wanted to relay this moral: “better to wait patiently for marriage and to avoid letting young love get the best of you.”72 sparks construes an instructional understanding of the song for young jewish women in the female’s plea to the daughters of jerusalem to “not awaken, or stir up love until it is ready.”73 for sparks, the woman conveys regret for the separation she must endure from her lover, the beating she receives while searching for him, and the lingering lovesickness she combats due to his repeated absences. sparks reasons that the                                                                                                                           67 sparks, 284. 68 ibid., 287. 69 ibid.. sparks also notes that proverbs and ecclesiastes utilize juxtaposition to frame their wisdom messages. in his interpretation of the song, sparks sees this same juxtaposition—lessons on chastity and patience in love compared with the consequences of female proactivity (289). 70 sparks, 295. 71 ibid., 289. 72 ibid. 73 song of songs 2:7, 3:5, 8:4. woman in the song is an adolescent jewish girl who has been frequently disappointed in young love and wants her friends to learn from her experience. “she has fallen in love too quickly,” sparks writes, “and is paying a high price for that; she hopes to protect her friends from the same fate.”74 sparks acknowledges that his interpretation of the song—teachings for young jewish women on wise and proper conduct in regard to love and sex—situates the song back in its patriarchal context.75 according to sparks, an emancipatory reading for women in the song of songs is a “partial illusion.”76 sparks’s reading of the song seems to render a deeply emotional and evocative text as rather juvenile and flighty. could adolescents express such profound desire and insight into love as the characters in the song articulate? perhaps, but it seems more likely that the lovers are mature adults and that an emancipatory reading of the song is no illusion. in an examination of the similarities and differences between the mutual love of the song and the illicit sexual activity described in proverbs 7, hebrew scholar daniel grossberg upholds a reading of the song that emphasizes the wisdom of mutuality in relationships. grossberg identifies likenesses between the two wisdom texts that allow for enlightening comparison. the seductive “foreign” woman of proverbs 7 entices her young male victim with similar biddings as the lovers in the song. grossberg compares prov. 7:18, “come, let us drink our fill of love” with song of songs 5:1 “eat, friends; drink! drink deeply lovers!” grossberg highlights other affinities between the texts, like the application of spices in preparation for sexual encounter (prov. 7:17, song 1:13-14), the use of the “bed” and “couch” as locations for intimacy (prov. 7:16, song 1:16 and 3:1), and the motif of “seeking” lovers, whether for secret and dishonest purposes, as in prov. 7:10, 12, and 15 or to experience genuine love, as in song of songs 3:1-4 and 8:1.77 while proverbs 7 and the song may use similar language and themes, the portrayals of sexuality are starkly unalike. grossberg explains: “a positive joy and delight permeate canticles, whereas an ominous foreboding and condemnatory tone suffuse the wisdom lesson. song of songs and proverbs 7 treat two different aspects of sexual relationships—the enjoyment of sexuality in the one and the misuse of sexuality in the other.”78 he further highlights the differences between two types of sexual experiences in the wisdom literature. in proverbs 7, the woman does not have a specific young man in mind—her choice here is arbitrary. she just                                                                                                                           74 sparks, 286. 75 ibid., 299. 76 sparks, 299. 77 daniel grossberg, “two kinds of sexual relationships in the hebrew bible,” hebrew studies 35 (1994): 9-11. 78 grossberg, 9. needs a man—her victims have been countless, as verse 26 relays. “for many are those she has struck down dead, numerous, those she has slain.” as grossberg illuminates, the lovers in the song are exclusive and bound to a specific individual, as the phrases “my lover belongs to me and i to him” and “one alone is my dove, my perfect one” testify.79 while the seductress in proverbs 7 lies in wait for any man, and repeats her violent ambush again and again, the lovers in the song are totally committed to each other and experience a peace and hope that is wholly lacking for the other couple.80 for the man and woman in proverbs 7, “the direction is clear—death is the end.”81 the love shared by the man and the woman in the song, though, cannot be overcome by anything, even death.82 to explain the success of the love in the song, grossberg emphasizes the mutuality in actions and speech between the lovers.83 in proverbs 7, the man is silent and dominated. grossberg asserts: “proverbs through a negative image and song of songs through a positive image give a similar impression of the link of mutuality and equality to true intimacy.”84 the relationship in proverbs 7 is imbalanced. the man is passive and therefore captive. he follows the foreign woman on “a highway to sheol, leading down into the chambers of death.”85 in contrast, the lovers in the song are full of life and merriment. the song has no bleak ending. the lovers are separated at the end of the book, but if the preceding chapters are a pattern, they will be reunited and their love consummated. “the sharing of undifferentiated roles regardless of gender,” grossberg notes, “imparts to the song a favored quality.”86 the mutual relationship of the lovers displays the wisdom of the song. giving of oneself physically and emotionally to another should be within the bounds of an exclusive relationship committed to respect and love. conclusion when left untamed, the song of songs offers beautiful wisdom for humans navigating the often confusing and disappointing rivulets of love. although the song has most often been interpreted allegorically, which can tender interesting spiritual insight, the plain meaning of the song is reassuring for beleaguered believers weary of works-based righteousness, excessive self-denial, and rigid                                                                                                                           79 ibid., 16. song of songs 2:16 and 8:9. 80 ibid., 17. 81 ibid., 18. 82 ibid., 19; song of songs 8:6-7. 83 ibid., 13. 84 ibid., 14. 85 prov. 7:27. 86 grossberg, 24. sexuality. the song is in no way advocating sexual license, but its inclusion in the divinely inspired canon must tell us something about god. god gives good gifts. the song tells of a great gift of god—human sexuality. the poetry of the song relates its wisdom in a sensual and provocative manner that might cause a human heart to skip a beat or two with desire and anticipation. “enjoy and celebrate your sexuality,” the song seems to say, “and let this enjoyment and celebration be lovingly shared.” a mutual and reciprocal relationship, especially a sacramental marriage, is the wisest way through which to love another, and the song beautifully portrays this truth. references bergant, dianne. “‘my beloved is mine and i am his’: the song of songs and honor and shame.” semeia 68 (1994): 23-40. atla religion database, ebscohost (accessed september 8, 2014). carr, david mclain. “gender and the shaping of desire in the song of songs and its interpretation.” journal of biblical literature 119, no. 2 (june 1, 2000): 233-248. atla religion database, ebscohost (accessed september 6, 2013). exum, j. cheryl. “song of songs.” in woman’s bible commentary, 247-254. edited by carol a. newson, sharon h. ringe, and jacqueline e. lapsley. 3rd ed. louisville: westminster john knox press, 2012. ginsburg, c.d. “the importance of the book.” in a feminist companion to the song of songs, 47-54. edited by athalya brenner. sheffield: sheffield academic press, 1993. grossberg, daniel. “two kinds of sexual relationships in the hebrew bible.” hebrew studies 35 (1994): 7-24. atla religion database, ebscohost (accessed september 6, 2013). kochuthara, shaji george. “patriarchy and sexual roles: active-passive gender roles versus an ethic of mutuality.” journal of dharma 36, no. 4 (oct.-dec. 2011): 435-452. atla religion database, ebscohost (accessed september 6, 2013). the new american bible. washington d.c.: world catholic press, 2011. ostriker, alicia. “a holy of holies: the song of songs as countertext.” in the song of songs: a feminist companion to the bible, 36-54. edited by athalya brenner and carole r. fontaine. sheffield: sheffield academic press, 2000. sparks, kenton l. “the song of songs: wisdom for young jewish women.” catholic biblical quarterly 70, no. 2 (april 2008): 277-299. humanities full text (h.w. wilson), ebscohost (accessed september 6, 2013). walsh, carey ellen. “a startling voice: woman's desire in the song of songs.” biblical theology bulletin 28, no. 4 (december 1, 1999): 129-134. atla religion database, ebscohost (accessed september 6, 2013). characterization of the virgin demetrias by augustine and pelagius: nobler before god: virginity and the pelagian controversy daniel j. minch, jr. theology the consecration of demetrias as a virgin in 413 ce stands out as a minor yet wholly significant skirmish in the pelagian controversy. the virgin herself, though of the noble gens anicii, is in many ways a silent character in the conflict because her own words and deeds are not recorded beyond her consecration. in the textual evidence she is acted upon by her would-be spiritual advisors who include the heaviest christian thinkers of the day: augustine, jerome, and the „arch-heretic‟ pelagius. the anicii, while in exile from italy after aleric‟s sack of rome in 410 ce, remain one of the most august and influential families in the late empire; they are also the descendents of a senatorial family which dates back to the republican period. demetrias herself is the daughter of anicia iuliana (juliana) and the consul anicius hermogenianus olybrius, and granddaughter of proba. 1 her mother and grandmother were the recipients of occasional letters from augustine as well as a significant work addressed to juliana from 414: de bono viduitatis (the excellence of widowhood). 2 the three holy men take a serious interest in demetrias‟ decision to reject the married life, but in different ways. while jerome and pelagius offer letters of instruction in the interest of preserving her virginity and virtue, augustine addresses his letter to juliana and proba rather than to demetrias herself. 3 the issue of demetrias‟ consecration is also taken up in the excellence of widowhood 1 for details on the gens anicii see a.h.m. jones, the prosopography of the later roman empire (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1987), 1: 468. see also the footnote in b.r. rees, pelagius: life and letters (woodbridge: boydell press, 1998), ii: 30, which claims based on peter brown, augustine of hippo: a biography. (london, 1967) 340, 456, 462, that proba was demetrias‟ great-aunt. rees suspects the work done by brown is correct. see also the excellence of widowhood §29 where augustine calls proba the mother of juliana. i am not able to make a claim for either side, but the traditional consensus lies with jones. 2 see augustine ep. 130, 131, 150, 188, and the excellence of widowhood. i have referred to the english translation of augustine in the works of saint augustine, trans. ray kearney, (new york: new city press, 1999), corrected where appropriate. 3 pelagius, epistula ad sacram christi virginem demetriadem (pl 33:1099-1120), 9.3. the english translation is available in rees, pelagius: life and letters, 35-70. jerome, ep. 130, (npnf 6, 260-272). daniel minch partly in relation to juliana‟s own decision to commit herself to widowhood. 4 what is known of demetrias comes from the texts of her spiritual guides. as such, this literary “demetrias” has certain qualities evident in her characterization in the extant texts from both augustine and pelagius. i shall here examine the functional characterizations of demetrias in augustine‟s the excellence of widowhood, supplemented by his short letter, and pelagius‟ letter epistula ad sacram christi virginem demetriadem (to demetrias). while augustine‟s letter was addressed to proba and juliana and the excellence of widowhood was sent to the latter, both of these noble women solicited from pelagius his to demetrias as a means of instruction for the young virgin. pelagius in fact calls their request a “command” for a “letter sent across the sea.” 5 demetrias is characterized by both authors as [1] female, [2] noble, and [3] wealthy. 6 these three attributes are archetypes in themselves but together they form the textual archetype of “demetrias” similarly situated in the texts of augustine and pelagius. the act of being consecrated as a virgin also affects demetrias, since her virginity is a lens through which her three attributes are refracted and take on new and christianized meaning. augustine has the preformed label of virgo in mind which he applies to demetrias and her three-fold worldly attributes. he has already formulated this conception in holy virginity, his companion piece to the excellence of marriage, which is based heavily on augustine‟s reading of paul. 7 pelagius similarly imposes models on the virgin, though his are less of his own fashioning and pulled more readily from the hebrew scriptures and the growing trend of the consecration of virgins which was the counterpoint to the predominately male fourth-century monastic explosion. 8 both authors use these constructs to show a demetrias who, having been consecrated, is now [1] a perfect female, [2] more/most noble, as well as [3] divested yet spiritually wealthy. pelagius‟ letter is important for scholarship both because of its heavy theological content and also because it is one of the few extant pieces that can be 4 there are elements from ep. 150 which will be incorporated into the analysis of demetrias because it dates from the same period and family and it will help to flesh-out some of augustine‟s thoughts. 5 to demetrias 1.2. 6 andrew s. jacobs, “writing demetrias: ascetic logic in ancient christianity.” church history 69, no. 4 (dec. 2000): 724. 7 holy virginity §11.11, augustine sees the consecration of a virgin as the beginning of their dedication to god. 8 one of the best texts on the early monastic movement remains dewas chitty, the desert a city, (new york: svs press, 1966). for the consecration of female virgins in the fourth-century see peter brown, the body and society: men, women and sexual renunciation in early christianity, (new york: columbia university press, 1988), 259-284. virginity and the pelagian controversy confidently attributed to him. the major themes of the work include the characteristic “pelagian” exhortations on the ability of humans to do the will of god by “the good of nature” but in praxis have failed because of man‟s “long habit of doing wrong,” which augustine would take as a denial of original sin and a sign of human pride. 9 his characterization of demetrias occurs in his own words and instructions to the virgin and in the biblical figures which pelagius provides as paradigms for behavior. in regards to demetrias‟ womanhood, she is already set in a very rigid place in roman society. as the „inferior‟ sex in the greco-roman mindset, a woman of marriageable age was expected to be married and bear children for the distinct and all-important purpose of preserving the social order. 10 through the lens of virginity, however, the rules of womanhood are drastically altered. demetrias is expected to “be more splendidly adorned than anything else” because she is a “bride of christ.” 11 the comparison here is between the adornment and cosmetic preening of a woman for her husband and the same process for christ as the bridegroom. “your bridegroom,” he says, “requires no less adornment on your part,” since the whole church is to be perfect just as a virgin is expected to be most perfect. 12 she is to wear “works of holiness,” her “virginal soul,” as necklace, and adorn her ears with scripture, for scripture instructs perfectly. 13 as the perfectly adorned bride of christ, demetrias remains a woman, but in a transcendent sense. she is the perfect female who is neither tempted to sin nor tempts others to sin. among the biblical paradigms pelagius uses for correct behavior are the patriarchs and examples of righteous men from genesis, including abel, enoch, noah, melchizedek, abraham, and joseph. 14 joseph is especially important because there exists a dichotomy in his story between the continent joseph and his “master‟s wife” who desires him sexually. the egyptian woman acts as a „woman of the world‟ by tempting, while joseph is righteous and a „man of god‟ by his refusal. here he defies human frailty by not yielding to sexual desire as well as resisting the proper social behavior of a slave who should submit 9 to demetrias 9.1, 8.3; cf. augustine, the excellence of widowhood §18.22: “…what one is trying to get people to do is entirely possible for a human being to do by the power of free will alone, without the help of any gift from god (as if the will could be free to perform any good work, if it were not made free as a gift from god).” 10 brown, the body and society, 8-10, 16-17. for the greek (specifically attic) roots of these gender roles see j.a.c.t., the world of athens: an introduction to classical athenian culture, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1984), 146-159. 11 to demetrias 24.2; cf. brown, the body and society, 270-274. 12 to demetrias 24.3. 13 to demetrias 24.4, 23.2. 14 to demetrias 5.1-5. daniel minch to the will of his owner. for demetrias, joseph is an example of her own submission to the will of god rather than that of a husband. late in the letter pelagius creates another male/female dichotomy between eve and the apostle paul. eve is mentioned first in 25.2, and her role is completed in 25.4. her first appearance is as a blessed figure because she had a “place in paradise,” just as demetrias has a place in the rule of god (regnum coelorum— literally “rule of the heavens,” the matthean phrase for “rule of god”); however she was then overcome by the devil and could not remain in paradise. 15 paul, on the other hand, was not “ignorant of [the devil‟s] designs,” and could guard against him (2 cor 2:11). demetrias should then make use of paul‟s weapons: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the spirit. 16 for this righteousness, paul is a paradigm of right behavior while eve is an example of weakness and human patterns of behavior contrary to the will of god. it is worth noting that the only two females mentioned as archetypes are negative archetypes offset by the presence of a positive male counterpart. in both cases demetrias is exhorted to imitate the males as a paradigm of behavior rather than the „weaker‟ females. augustine‟s the excellence of widowhood is not meant for the instruction of demetrias directly, but it addresses her mother‟s vow of widowhood. augustine offers his previous work, holy virginity for demetrias‟ education. 17 even so, his characterizations of demetrias follow similar lines as those of pelagius, though without the emphasis on the goodness of humankind and “long habit of doing wrong.” 18 as a female, and a young female just of marriageable age, demetrias is not even addressed directly in either augustine‟s the excellence of widowhood or ep. 150, but rather she is spoken to through her guardians. of course it is worth noting that both proba and juliana were patrons of augustine‟s writings (i.e., his spiritual clients). in augustine‟s writings demetrias is “spoken about” rather than “spoken to” as with pelagius. this is an oddly „worldly‟ sign of her femininity, but as a sanctimoniam virgalem we must again see the shift in archetypes for demetrias. augustine uses nearly the same „adornment‟ analogy for demetrias (and her mother) that pelagius does, speaking of cosmetics for the sake of men as “improper,” but instead lauds demetrias‟ “virginal integrity” as “spiritual beauty.” 19 he implies the same bridal adornment (in spirit) as pelagius for the 15 to demetrias 25.2, “qui invidit evae paradisum, quanto magis invidet tibi regnum coelorum?” 16 eph 6:10-17; cf. is 59:17. 17 the excellence of widowhood §29. 18 to demetrias 8.3, “quam longa consuetudo vitiorum…” 19 the excellence of widowhood §24. cf. to demetrias 24.2-4. virginity and the pelagian controversy consecrated that would otherwise be devoted to the flesh. 20 augustine also speaks directly of womanhood, comparing virginity to the earthly life of wives and saying: it is richer and more fruitful happiness not to become big with child but to grow great in mind (mente grandescere); not to store milk in the breast but ardor in the heart; not bring forth earth through travail (non visceribus terram), but heaven through prayer. 21 in each case, augustine suggests demetrias has chosen the more holy option. 22 by foregoing the traditional womanly traits, demetrias is fulfilling her humanity and womanhood in christ. the excellence of widowhood contains a further inversion of womanhood and the „ideal‟ of childbirth. should demetrias have chosen marriage rather than holy virginity, augustine postulates that both juliana and proba, “would both have been ashamed of being mothers,” thereby associating childbirth and marriage with something not simply undesirable but also shameful and countercultural. 23 this option seems anti-female in the roman mindset since the whole structure of society depends on young women bearing (legitimate male) children early, but augustine makes demetrias a woman to be imitated; in fact she is the ideal woman. 24 “may many famulae imitate their mistress,” augustine says, imparting his hope that slaves and servants will imitate the noble and also that those of like rank and even higher status might follow demetrias to virginity to be children of the rule of god rather than bear children. strange is the virtual absence of marian themes in the letter as well as in pelagius‟ epistle. in the excellence of widowhood, however augustine does make the comparison, saying “she has become what mary was” just as juliana prays like anna. 25 this marian theme can be seen as corresponding with augustine‟s somewhat disturbing statement about childbirth being shameful: since mary was a virgin, childbirth for her was in no way shameful, but marriage and the products of marriage involve concupiscence. the meaning of this passage should be viewed as relative to virginity, making childbirth „shameful‟ only compared to the unparalleled virtue of virginity in 20 the excellence of widowhood §10.13. 21 augustine, ep. 150. 22 see the excellence of widowhood §4.6, for the hierarchy of virginity, marriage, and widowhood. 23 the excellence of widowhood §24: “if you had seen her [demetrias] marry… i think that you and she [proba] would both have been ashamed of being mothers.” see also holy virginity §9.9. 24 brown, the body and society, 7. 25 §16.20, “facta est illa quod maria.” daniel minch augustine‟s hierarchy. 26 despite the praiseworthy view of this consecrated “womanhood,” augustine retains his roman view of the household, so even as holy women, juliana and demetrias are under the mastery of a male. juliana is “christ‟s widow,” while demetrias is “christ‟s virgin”; these titles emphasize the nature of femaleness in late rome where women are very formally dominated by the pater familias. 27 for these women the “guardian” role is filled by christ and not by a living relative. 28 in terms of nobility (nobilis), pelagius lauds demetrias‟ as both “noble and rich,” but also as one who “spurns both nobility and riches.” 29 he spends very little time on the subject of her earthly lineage and the scant references he does make are qualified by her spiritual nobility as being far greater than her descent from consuls or even her potential to beget consuls. 30 pelagius has made a switch based on his subject‟s virginity from a „noble family‟ to „noble conduct,‟ which is preferable in terms of the rule of god. the honor of her “anician blood” is not diminished, but fulfilled in “holy conduct,” so that she may compete with the best of her family‟s worldly deeds by her commitment to god and works of mercy. 31 the honor of her “anician blood” is in effect “transferred” to her soul because she has overcome vice. pelagius has treaded lightly here in praising the gens anicii as great in the world since they are his patrons and by virtue of the request for such a letter of instruction, rather close to him in many respects. though he is acting in the role of the pedagogue to demetrias, pelagius is clearly a dependent and wholly subordinate client, at least in terms of worldly existence. the actual client in each letter from pelagius, jerome and augustine plays the spiritual patron. 32 it is only after the anicii left north africa in 415 that pelagius began to be named directly by his opponents, which suggests that he was a highly successful „spiritual patron‟ 26 see also the excellence of widowhood, §20.25, for the proper desires that the christian soul ought to pursue. augustine also uses marian themes in holy virginity §4.4, 5.5, 6.6. 27 the excellence of widowhood §16.20. cf. brown, the body and society, 7-32, 260-262. see also “pater potestas” in the ocd3. pelagius‟ use of “bride of christ” amounts to the same thing, since the husband is pater familias and dominus to the wife. 28 this is perhaps an echo of the vestal virgins who were wards of the state (under the pontifex maximus) and the goddess, though admittedly with significant christian eschatological connotations incongruous with roman cults. see mary beard, john north and simon price, a sourcebook, vol. 2 of religions of rome, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1998), 202204. 29 to demetrias 1.1. 30 see 1.2: “already noble in the world, she [demetrias] desires to be even nobler before god…” 31 to demetrias 22.1-2, “…et illustre anicii sanguinis decus, ad animam transferantur.” 32 for a further discussion of this role reversal see jacobs, “writing demetrias.” virginity and the pelagian controversy for the noble family. 33 in a departure from pelagius‟ praise of nobility, he also seems to espouse a kind of destruction of earthly hierarchy looking forward to the parousia when such things “are thus to be dissolved.” 34 the sack of rome is an example of the fragile state of human order when during such a disaster “(s)lave and noble were on the same footing,” leaving only the spiritually noble unafraid of death, just as they will be at the eschaton (the end time). 35 in the spiritual and eschatological hierarchy demetrias has a place and she is now part of the spiritual nobility rather than the roman elite. 36 augustine pays very little mention to the august nobility of the anicii, and his comments about status are really in regards to demetrias‟ “higher choice” of a life of perpetual virginity. he calls her decision to reject marriage as a bride of christ “more glorious” than were she to produce “manly consuls.” 37 this statement is, however, qualified by the acknowledgment that their “blood” in itself has a certain merit. demetrias is “greater and more splendid,” than her famous family members, and her “higher choice” actually enhances the status of the anicii without the aid of any male husband or offspring to win battles or honor. when augustine commends juliana for consecrating herself to widowhood, he goes so far as to say that her daughter‟s virginity outstrips juliana as well as “makes up for” her marriage and conception of children. 38 this strange idea feeds into his tripartite schema where marriage is good, widowhood is better, but virginity is best. 39 the aforementioned comparison between mary and demetrias and juliana and anna also speak to their spiritual nobility since augustine has set each of them up in terms of new testament archetypes of piety and obedience. 40 in ep. 150, augustine affirms the newness of demetrias‟ nature when he calls her “noble by birth, more noble by sanctity,” putting her into the upper echelon of a hierarchy of holiness, but without demolishing the importance of her earthly lineage as pelagius does. he instead identifies demetrias as having an active role in god‟s plan for 33 peter brown, “patrons of pelagius: the roman aristocracy between east and west.” journal of theological studies 21.1 (april 1970): 65. peter brown suggests that the anicii protected pelagius from direct attack while they were in exile from rome. 34 to demetrias 30.1. 35 to demetrias 30.1-2. 36 there is no sense here that pelagius saw the earthly order as representative of the heavenly taxis, as was most clear in the east during the fifth century. for further study see robert taft, s.j., through their own eyes: liturgy as the byzantines saw it, (berkley, ca: interorthodox press, 2006). 37 “more glorious”“incomparabiliter gloriosius.” 38 the excellence of widowhood, §8.11, “gratias autem domino, quoniam peperisti quod esse noluisti et virginitas prolis tuae compensavit dispendium virginitatis tuae.” 39 the excellence of widowhood §4.6. 40 the excellence of widowhood §16.20, lk 1:38, 2:36-38. daniel minch final judgment and a place in salvation history because she is entitled to sing “the hymn that the apocalypse tells us only virgins can sing” at the eschaton. 41 as an heiress to the gens anicii, the virgin is also quite wealthy in a world where the disparity between rich and poor seems reminiscent of the chasm between the torment of the rich man and lazarus at the bosom of abraham (lk 16:19-31). 42 pelagius again changes the paradigm for demetrias‟ wealth from a wealthy noble to a divested virgin. for her, “(l)et honors be rejected, riches despised,” for they are transitory like a “shadow” or an “insubstantial dream.” 43 pelagius goes so far as to ask that the virgin withdraw even from the corporeal works of mercy because her ability to do them is derived from her vast wealth (mt 25:40). these tasks are to be left to her grandmother and mother on her behalf so that she might devote “all your zeal and care to the ordering of [her] way of life,” of contemplation, abstinence, fasting, and study of the scriptures. in this manner demetrias will “cease to feel [herself] a rich woman.” 44 by being physically divested, or at least humble as a virgin rather than the wife of a man with high standing on the cursus honorum, she is made an ascetic martyr. as a result, for pelagius she will even become the greatest member of her family without gaining any further wealth except for the rule of god. 45 augustine‟s discussion of wealth is more intimately coupled with demetrias‟ and her family‟s nobility. it is not only a “more fruitful happiness,” to be a virgin than to marry, but it is also “richer” (uberior), though this word also plays into themes of fertility and even childrearing. 46 the type of wealth that demetrias possesses is imbedded in her virtue as a woman to be imitated as well as the very idea that she would be automatically imitated because of her high rank in society by those of lower, similar, and higher rank. 47 the excellence of widowhood contains a more direct exhortation on wealth, but predictably it is negative. “(l)ove of riches must be extinguished,” augustine tells juliana, who along with her daughter is wealthy in the world, but with the vows of widowhood and poverty 41 the excellence of widowhood §24; cf. rev 14:4-5, 15:2-5. 42 james s. jeffers, the greco-roman world of the new testament, (downers grove, il: intervarsity press, 1999), 188-193 43 to demetrias 29. 44 to demetrias 22.1. 45 to demetrias 14.1. 46 see f.p. leverett, latin lexicon, (philadelphia, pa: the peter reilly company, 1931), s.v. “uber, uberis: adj., rich (in something), fruitful, copious.” the noun form, uber, uberis: a teat, udder, the breast itself; from the greek ou}qar cf. lsj, udder, breast. i see this as a play on words which was lost in translation. 47 augustine, ep. 150. virginity and the pelagian controversy come a devotion to be divested of worldliness. 48 to extinguish “love of riches,” also indicates rather clearly the existential shift that augustine wants to illustrate to juliana about her daughter and herself. they have both left the realm of rome and roman north africa. they ought not to see themselves as exiles from the civilized world of rome, but instead inhabitants of the rule of god, at least contingent on their remaining faithful to their respective vows. 49 augustine‟s previous hope that slaves and other nobles will imitate demetrias, not out of envy for the “lofty rank” of the anicii, but out of want for similar holiness. even this hope speaks to the wealth and influence of the gens anicii in two ways; there is the obvious worldly influence which would posit their example as a powerful one in the ancient world, and also the massive spiritual gains in holiness which demetrias has availed herself and her family. that holiness is its own archetype of a „shining light‟ set on the hill of nobility for all people to see and seek. 50 in contrast to pelagius‟ clearer distinctions between worldly and holy paradigms, augustine sees merit in combining the two to serve a greater purpose of fulfilling “the preordained number of saints.” 51 the essence of demetrias‟ womanhood, as it played out in the pens of her most famous spiritual patrons, lies in the spiritual realm and has a distinctly eschatological character. her attributes as [1] a perfect female, [2] more/most noble, and [3] divested yet spiritually wealthy are clearly delineated in both augustine and pelagius‟ writings. [1] as a female committed to virginity, demetrias can focus on spiritual development of her mind and soul rather than attend to a husband or children. augustine‟s inversion of womanhood shows her clearly as an ideal woman without the basic greco-roman ideal of the obedient and fertile wife. pelagius‟ „transcendent woman‟ is a demetrias who can surpass the weakness of her gender by means of commitment to christ. with paul as the example, demetrias‟ future behavior can be „manly‟ and righteous giving her an enhanced social position on par with men (though perhaps only in the rule of god). [2] the virgin‟s nobility, after her consecration, is also directly related to her status in the world, but holds „virginity‟ over „society.‟ her „spiritual nobility‟ gives her a humble position which results in exultation in the rule of god. augustine considers her a credit to her family, perhaps as one who celebrates a triumph through god‟s victory rather than a victory over men. [3] demetrias is therefore not to act like a wealthy person, but to exercise fasting, prayer, and study of scripture, as well as remain single. this is not out of need or necessity, but out of 48 the excellence of widowhood, §21.26. cf. to demetrias 28, “[demetrias] will receive the kingdom of the heavens and will abide with christ forever.” 49 the excellence of widowhood §11.14. 50 mt 5:14-16. 51 the excellence of widowhood §23.28 daniel minch her choice of holy virginity since the anicii could certainly provide demetrias with a substantial dowry and she should have little trouble finding a high-ranking husband. forgoing the dowry and betrothal separates her from the senatorial elite and marks her family as distinctly christian during a period of turmoil within living memory of symmachus‟ petition to valentinian ii for the restoration of „pagan‟ rites asking, “who is so friendly with the barbarians as not to require an altar of victory?” 52 overall, these two lines of commentary from augustine and pelagius provide a snapshot of a very important stage in the life of a roman woman of senatorial rank. they are also indicative of how christian values are meant to change worldly paradigms of behavior where virginity, having always been prized for fertility, is now only ideal when perpetuated. christ is the ultimate patron and dominus for demetrias whose consecration marks a significant shift in how she is perceived and indeed ought to perceive the world. these are writings which, though minor in that they pertain to the ascetic instruction of a teenage girl, are also important since they represent the opening salvos in the pelagian controversy which would plague augustine in some form for the rest of his life. with so much scholarship already completed on where augustine and pelagius were at odds theologically it is curious to see how the two seemed to harmonize over the results of demetrias‟ consecration. the two authors, who were from different cultural (though both roman), and theological (though still catholic) backgrounds, came to use essentially the same terms for womanhood and the meaning of a sanctified life on earth, though where the ability and desire for such a pious life originated is, for each, another matter entirely. 52 “ambrose: dispute with symmachus,” medieval sourcebook, 1996, <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/ambrose-sym.html> (29 january 2009). virginity and the pelagian controversy bibliography “ambrose: dispute with symmachus.” medieval sourcebook. 1996. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/ambrose-sym.html> (29 january 2009). brown, peter. “patrons of pelagius: the roman aristocracy between east and west.” journal of theological studies 21.1 (april 1970): 56-72. brown, peter. the body and society: men, women and sexual renunciation in early christianity. new york: columbia university press, 1988. chitty, derwas. the desert a city. new york: svs press, 1966. hall, stuart g. doctrine and practice in the early church. grand rapids: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 1994. heid, stefan. celibacy in the early church. san francisco: ignatius press, 2000. jacobs, andrew s.. “writing demetrias: ascetic logic in ancient christianity.” church history 69.4 (dec. 2000): 719-748. jeffers, james s.. the greco-roman world of the new testament. downers grove, il: intervarsity press, 1999. jones, a.h.m.. the prosopography of the later roman empire. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1987. rees, b.r.. pelagius: life and letters. woodbridge: boydell press, 1998. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\alien_animals_new.prn.pdf alien animals and american angels: the commodification and commercialization of the progressive-era white slave james adams history human nature is at bottom the same the world over; and the vices which prevail abroad, once imported to our shores, will find congenial soil in which to grow here at home.1 r. b. perry if there is one statement that succinctly summarizes the attitudes held by members of the social purity organizations about the nature of public vice in the early twentieth century, it is that of r. b. perry. delivered at the eighth special purity congress in kansas city on november 9, 1914, this single sentence reinforced four separate beliefs: that mankind was a weak creature prone to temptation, that only anglo-saxon morality could ensure successful resistance to these temptations, that immorality was infecting the social structures of america through the non-anglo-saxon immigrant, and that unless confronted directly this contagion would sicken the public body of the united states. it was clear to this member of the world purity federation that public vice was the gravest threat facing the american population to date. however, it was this attitude held by the social purists that illuminates the slippery, problematic nature of the white slave trade. by the time perry spoke before the purity congress, the social purity organizations, in various forms and under various names, had been battling public vice and the perceived traffic in women for almost eighty years. the public had been alarmed and shocked by scandalous articles in major newspapers and magazines describing the existence of organizations dedicated to ensuring the continuous supply of fresh prostitutes for metropolitan brothels five years previously. the actions of the organizations ultimately led to 1 r. b. perry, “the ethics of the orient,” light 101 (january-february 1915): 13. numerous public inquiries headed by such luminaries as john d. rockefeller jr., the wisconsin legislature, and the united states senate, the substance of which culminated in president taft signing the white slave traffic act into law in 1910. segregated metropolitan vice districts such as new york’s tenderloin, chicago’s levee, and new orleans’ storyville were under attack as reformers lobbied local administrations to curb the actions of prostitutes. yet in 1915 george mangold, the director of the school of social economy at washington university, claimed that while the white slave trade had been all but eradicated and “the amount of prostitution has been greatly reduced,” there was evidence that “commercialized vice is again apparent” on the streets of st. louis.2 it seemed that for all the herculean efforts of the social purity organizations, prostitution still existed as a cause for concern in american society. this dichotomy cannot be easily explained through the consideration of legal transcripts and public legislation, through police blotters or newspaper accounts, or even through the proscriptive literature produced by the social purity organizations themselves. rather, by 1915 social reformers were no longer battling the existence of public vice, but were instead battling a monster of their own creation: the archetype of the white slave. growing out of the public campaigns of the social purity organizations as they disseminated their message of outrage against public vice, it had taken on a life of its own through the commodification of these campaigns in the form of consumable cultural artifacts. indeed, by the second decade of the twentieth century the organized american traffic of women for the purposes of coercive prostitution had ceased to exist, if it ever existed at all, through the actions of the social purity organizations, but in its place now existed an enduring “urban legend” which to this day is still accepted as real. modern social reformers and commentators are currently utilizing this archetype as the basis to confront the spread of prostitutes from the former soviet bloc into the west. it is important to note that the archetype actually has little to do with the reality of the prostitution, nor is it viable to claim that there existed no coercive prostitution in the united states during the progressive age; rather, it is the archetype of the organized white slave trade that is more myth than reality, and serves to obscure any reality that can be observed. in a sense the reformers promoting the archetype were more concerned with the adoption of their societal beliefs than the situations of any prostitutes within the public space. the adoption of the archetype into contemporary western culture both ensured and ensures 2 george b. mangold, “fighting the social evil in st. louis,” light 101 (january-february 1915): 50. continued debate into the nature of prostitution, public morality, and the role commercial culture plays in continuing public discourse on these subjects. the realities of progressive prostitution the belief in the existence of an organized trade in the traffic of women for purposes of prostitution was a staple of american moral reformers since the early years of the republic. in his study of prostitution in new york city, timothy gilfoyle noted that early nineteenth century reformers attributed the rise in teenage prostitution to seductions by “hedonistic philanderers,” and both accounts printed in the penny press and early court cases seem to indicate that there may have been some truth to the charges. however, he further notes that “tales of forced sexual exploitation obscured the larger reality of a prostitute’s life,” and cites both personal statements and statistical studies which indicate that most prostitutes entered the profession on their own accord for various reasons, primarily interfamilial conflict or economic concerns.3 the slippery nature of the evidence precludes the claim that there existed no forced prostitution in america throughout the nineteenth century, but it may be safe to state that there was no organized traffic in white, anglo-saxon women, either domestically or foreign born, into the united states, as was claimed by progressive reformers; therefore, it is likely that the production of social purists existed to primarily emphasize the evils of openly tolerated red-light districts and, perhaps, to explain why there seemed to be so many prostitutes when speeches on public morality resonated with a largely female audience.4 there is additional, tertiary evidence indicating that there existed little traffic in white women for the purposes of prostitution in the latter half of the nineteenth century; in her biting indictment of the sex trade industry in 3 gilfoyle, timothy j., city of eros: new york city, prostitution, and the commercialization of sex, 17901920. new york, ny: w. w. norton & company, inc., 1992. pp. 64. 4 historian ruth davis, in her study of prostitution in the united states during the first two decades of the 20th century, devotes an entire chapter to the white slave controversy, and attempts to address the slippery nature of the subject and evidence. “perhaps a more useful way of distinguishing white slavery from other forms of prostitution during this historical period is to imagine a continuum along which varying degrees of force were used to bring a woman into prostitution and keep her there. at one end was white slavery, in which a maximum amount of coercion was used to sell a woman’s body for profit and in which a woman possessed nearly no avenue of escape. in essence, she was a sexual slave. at the other end of the spectrum were the more routine and casual forms of prostitution in which a woman might participate, not because she chose it out of a plethora of attractive alternatives… but because prostitution, under certain circumstances and conditions, might have appeared a better means of survival than other available choices. in between these two extremes existed forms of prostitution in which varying amounts of choice and coercion produced neither a totally passive victim nor an actor who could freely choose her own destiny.” rosen, ruth, the lost sisterhood: prostitution in america, 1900-1918. baltimore, md: john hopkins university press, 1982. pp. 113. which she had been both a prostitute and a madam, josie washburn cites many reasons that women become prostitutes, but white slavery was definitely not one of them. as her underworld sewer was written as “an honest and candid investigation” that would hopefully “furnish such information as will cause the people of the nation to realize that they are plodding along the old, old lines, without any good results,”5 the fact that she did not mention forced prostitution indicates that there was likely little organized traffic for the purposes of coercive prostitution during the progressive era, and certainly no organized network engaged in the trade of white, anglo-saxon women. yet though there might not have existed any organized traffic in white women for the purposes of prostitution in the nineteenth century,6 the very existence of the aforementioned “red light” districts indicates that prostitution was alive and well during the antebellum. it is into this arena that social reformers directed their energies. largely made up of individuals whose field of experience stemmed from the nascent women’s movement, the women’s christian temperance union, civil war abolitionists, women physicians, philanthropists, and moral reformers, they felt that it was their duty to shape the development of american society for the betterment of all. david pivar claims that this coalition “hoped for the reconstitution of society upon a new cultural foundation,” one that, through the “freeing” of the prostitute from her “chains,” would raise societal standards and require men to operate on the same plane of purity that was once only required of women.7 yet he is quick to note that the general aims of the social reformers frequently diverged into side projects such as temperance, child rearing, and public health, and that while the reformers appeared to present a united front in their campaigns, the diverse membership frequently caused “a discrepancy between theory and practice” to develop. because of these 5 washburn, josie, the underworld sewer: a prostitute reflects on life in the trade, 1871-1909. lincoln, ne: university of nebraska press, 1997. pp. 5. this work, originally published in 1909, is the only autobiography of a prostitute that has been confirmed as genuine by scholars utilizing census, banking, and marriage records. 6 it is important to note that the term “organized” as referred to by progressive reformers is something of a slippery area, as it seems that the reformers relied heavily on suggestion and innuendo to make their point. when they spoke of an “organized traffic of women,” they implied a network of procurers, transporters, receivers, “processors,” salespeople, and owners who all worked in concert to enslave unwilling women into prostitution. the problem with the evidence is that none of the reformers actually spelled out this belief in full; rather, they would make a generalized statement, cite no evidence to support their assertions, and imply a vast criminal network, instead dropping vague hints at public rallies, speeches, and in progressive/reformist literature. essentially, they repeated an unsupported claim so often that it became part of the white slave archetype, a commonly believed “fact” without supporting evidence. 7 pivar, david j. purity crusade: sexual morality and social control, 1868-1900. westport, ct: greenwood press inc., 1973. pp. 7. discrepancies it would probably be safe to say that the nineteenth century reform movement “had no philosophical consistency” and might be considered something akin to “a social religion,”8 and though this is no reason to summarily dismiss these movements as incoherent and ineffective it does call into question the members’ motivations and methods. but given the lack of any substantive evidence indicating an active, organized network trading in white women for the coercive prostitution, from where did nineteenth century reformers get the idea that one existed in the united states?9 most american reformers were inspired by the actions of european reformers of the same era, specifically those in england, in the wake of william stead’s 1885 expose on coercive prostitution in the pall mall gazette.10 pivar notes that “purity reformers on both sides of the atlantic willingly exploited the incident,” and that american reformers observed with interest the rise in support they and their european counterparts garnered after the expose.11 yet there existed in the united states a “romanticized concept of american life”12 in which such incidents could not occur. in order to bring the subject to the forefront of public consciousness the wctu initiated an expose of their own utilizing the “abolitionist rhetoric” that was so effective in harriet beecher stowe’s uncle tom’s cabin to report on an apparent case of forced prostitution.13 however, pivar notes that unlike the european public, “the expose failed to spark the emotion of moral indignation” among 8 ibid 10 9 there is an important distinction based upon both region and ethnicity in regards to the white slave archetype. the reformers attempted to sell the idea that there existed an active network trafficking in white, anglo-saxon women in the absence of supporting evidence. however, during the nineteenth century there was an active network engaged in the trade of asian women, notably from china, to california and the western mining towns; see benson tong’s unsubmissive women: chinese prostitutes in nineteenth-century san francisco (norman, ok: university of oklahoma press, 1994) for more details. however, this trade seemed to be ebbing by the last decades of the nineteenth century, long before progressive reformers began campaigning against prostitution, and while it is possible that this network represents the source of the archetype, there is little evidence supporting this supposition. this racial distinction is important as it illustrates that the reformers largely ignored the plight of coerced asian women that could be documented in favor of promoting a theoretical extension of their plight onto white, anglo-saxon women that could not. 10 believing in a conspiracy of silence in the traffic of young english girls to the european mainland for the purposes of prostitution, william stead enlisted the aid of a known brothel keeper to purchase eliza armstrong from her parents for placement as a prostitute in europe. after publishing his expose in the pall mall gazette under the sensationalist title “the maiden tribute of modern babylon,” readers engaged in public demonstrations and forced parliament to modify the criminal laws regarding the age of consent and transportation for immoral purposes. 11 pivar, purity crusade, 133. 12 ibid 136 13 ibid the american populace.14 it was clear that, in order to promote their agenda of curbing the spread in public vice that was most notable in urban red-light districts, the reformers needed to alert the public as to the dangers of the white slave trade.15 but in order to raise this alarm, the reformers first needed to redefine the very nature of prostitution itself. the fundamentals of the white slave during the early twentieth century, reformers and social purists generated hundreds of thousands of pages worth of discourse presenting their ideas as to the root causes of prostitution in the united states. it is important to note that throughout all of this production, none of the reformers ever presented a solitary reason for prostitution; rather, each accepted a select group of causes from which they could select their favorite in order to decry the spread of public vice. this discourse between individual theorists existed within the public sphere in the arena of reform periodicals and proscriptive narratives, and it was through the convergence of these individual arguments that the archetype of the white slave gained weight, in a sense becoming just as real as the rhetoric of the reformers. in examining the reformist arguments regarding the perceived effects that industrialization, political corruption, public morals, alcohol, immigration, and anti-semitism had upon female virtue, scholars can begin to understand how the mythical white slave archetype became linked to the public realities of prostitution. all social purists believed that one reason for the apparent spread of prostitution throughout the united states during the late nineteenth century was the dehumanizing effect of modernity in the form of industrial progress, both within the public sphere and within the home. emma goldman, the publisher of mother earth and pro-socialist agitator, held the opinion that capitalism was “the merciless moloch… that fattens on underpaid labor, thus driving thousands of women and girls into prostitution.”16 according to her own view of female sexuality, keeping a large group of young women in overcrowded, overheated work conditions in an industrial setting tended to sexually stimulate them, and given that the only alternative to their homes 14 ibid 15 the phenomenon of coercive prostitution and simultaneous exploitation of it by reformers was not mutually exclusive; it only appears as such because there is no way to truly gauge the level, experience, and life of coerced prostitutes. given the relative lack of corroborating evidence into the nature of “real” coercive prostitution we must examine progressive discourse about “white slavery” critically, and attempt to separate what little “real” can be uncovered from the reformers’ belief as to what was real. 16 goldman, emma. the white slave traffic. new york, ny: mother earth publishing association. 1909. pp. 1. outside of the sweatshop were the streets or “places of cheap amusement,” it was only natural that they would encounter the opposite sex, thus leading to sexual encounters. “that,” she claimed, was “the first step toward prostitution.”17 others held that it was not only the industrialization of america that contributed to the decline of public morals, but actually modernity itself. as b. s. steadwell, the editor of the light, wrote, the advent of electricity brought us the telephone which is a necessity to any modern house of shame… it made possible the degrading picture show, and inventions which have been used largely to promote and cultivate immorality… girls and women have taken their places besides boys and men in schools, colleges, stores, offices, factories, and shops… this close association has brought opportunities for sexual gratification of which full advantage has been taken. the automobile… has made possible the “joyride,” and has built up the palatial “roadhouse” or country brothel.18 finally, it was not lost on many social commentators that it was the very people decrying the spread of prostitution and perceived white slave traffic who had made their fortunes through industrial innovation. one wag in puck noted that while rockefeller headed a new york grand jury investigating white slavery, he had once stated that “the giant monopolies of america were like american beauty roses; a lot of small buds had to be sacrificed in order that one gorgeous flower might be reared on each stalk.” the commentator then linked rockefeller’s attitudes with economic depression and “the creation of social conditions that supply the white slave mart with plenty of raw material.”19 conversely, there were those reformers who instead placed a great deal of responsibility for the perceived spread of white slavery on the shoulders of corrupt politicians. e. norine law believed that “the slum politicians… have for years drawn their chief revenue from… the promotion of the public prostitution of women.”20 oliver e. janney claimed that the root causes of the white slave traffic were “ignorance, indifference, business 17 ibid 3 18 b. s. steadwell, “some of the causes of present-day immorality,” light (september-october 1913): 29. quoted in langum, david j., crossing over the line: legislating morality and the mann act. chicago, il: university of chicago press, 1994. pp. 21. 19 “cartoons and comments: slaves and rose culture.” puck 67, march 2, 1910, p. 1722. 20 law, e. norine. the shame of a great nation: the story of the “white slave trade.” harrisburg, pa: united evangelical publishing house, 1909. pp. 61-2. interests and political expediency.”21 but it is important to note that during the height of the white slave hysteria, no actual evidence ever emerged linking the perceived trade with any official politician of any significant power. as the scandalous actions of new york’s tammany hall were just coming to light during the period, it is perhaps understandable that, given the corrupt nature of the city administration, social reformers would be willing to assign blame for white slavery to public corruption,22 even though no evidence exists to support this allegation. still, it is likely that many in the general public were willing to believe the vague, unfounded allegations, given the other, factually supported corruption uncovered by the mainstream press. another tactic utilized to construct the archetypical “white slave” was the act of linking prostitution with moral decay. many social purists believed that the perceived rise in public immorality sprang directly from the sins of the parents being visited upon their offspring. law posited a direct link when she claimed “one-half the people live in vice and immorality, increasing the population with offspring possessed of the same low standard of purity…”23 feminist and social activist jane addams disagreed with law as to the hereditary nature of low morality, but did agreed that morality played a significant part in the prostitute’s downfall. she believed that blaming economic concerns such as industrialization was a way for those women entering prostitution to avoid taking responsibility for their condition, whereas “her love of pleasure, her desire for finery, or the influence of evil companions” were the real culprits.24 madeline southard, a reformer who made her living by traveling the country giving social purity lectures, claimed that “the dance and the theatre” caused the “ruin of vast numbers” of young women, although she saved her particular vehemence for alcohol.25 finally, the reverend j. g. shearer listed “immoral literature and obscene and suggestive pictures” and “immoral or unclean amusements” as two of his six causes that contributed to creating the conditions in which 21 janney, oliver edward, the white slave traffic in america. new york, ny: national vigilance committee, 1911. pp. 80. 22 given the many other well-documented instances of tammany corruption, it would be surprising to learn that the municipal governments of the era were not involved in coercive prostitution; however, except for a few, relatively minor instances of low-level policemen generally involved in legal prostitution, there exists no hard evidence to support such a claim. furthermore, an argument that municipal indifference contributed to the spread of prostitution (coercive or otherwise) singles out these entities for special consideration of an indifference that seemed indicative of societal attitudes throughout the united states during the period. 23 law, shame of a great nation, 9 24 addams, jane, “a new conscience and an ancient evil.” mcclure’s magazine, dec 1911. pp. 233. 25 southard, madeline, the white slave traffic versus the american home. louisville, ky: pentecostal publishing company, 1914. pp. 14. white slavery could flourish.26 technically, in none of these opinions were the reformers actually addressing the “victims” of the “white slaver;” rather, they were instead decrying what they perceived as the primary vehicles engaged in the spread of public vice. yet by examining the descriptions provided by these reformers as to the nature of perceived vice, a picture emerges that indicates a clear link, at least in select individuals’ minds, between immorality and lower-class “slum” neighborhoods. law believed that the never-ending cycle of vice and immorality existed because “those born under these terrible conditions of impurity”27 lived in areas where “they see nothing but filth… they hear nothing but oaths and the vilest of language… they play around doors that look into saloons and brothels.”28 these arguments indicate that there existed an ongoing debate within the reform community as to the very nature of public morality and public vice, one in which the participants tried to determine which was the cause and which the effect. nearly every reformer believed that prostitution and the perceived white slave traffic stemmed from america’s love of drink. given the prominent position the wctu held within the larger community of social reformers, it is understandable that some of the most vocal opponents of prostitution were also virulently against the production, sale, distribution, and consumption of alcohol. law was a fervent believer in temperance, flatly stating “the money judas took for selling our lord into the hands of his enemies was no more blood money than that which is derived in revenue from the liquor business,”29 and that “the saloon is the mightiest weapon the devil has for beating souls into his infernal kingdom.”30 indeed, it seemed to many that the decay in public morals was just a symptom of the larger problem liquor played in prostitution. madeline southard wrote “we cannot emphasize too strongly the part that drink plays in the ruin of girls. no girl who drinks is safe… as alcohol destroys the power of inhibition necessary to the preservation of chastity.”31 to select reformers, the key to curbing public immorality, prostitution, and the perceived white slave traffic was to ban all alcoholic substances. but the above debates only addressed the problems of the traffic without actually examining the participants. there were many within the 26 roe, clifford g., the prodigal daughter: the white slave evil and the remedy. chicago, il: l. w. walter company, 1911. pp. 21. 27 law, shame of a great nation, 12 28 ibid 29 ibid 17 30 ibid 19 31 southard, the white slave traffic, 13 social purity movements who believed, given america’s history as a religious and moral endeavor, that both public immorality and prostitution stemmed from immoral immigrants entering the country and “infecting” america’s social body. law believed that a large factor contributing to the moral decay in the united states stemmed from the influx of “undesirable” immigrants, namely those who did not hail from northern or western europe. she wrote: the stock of the immigrants entering the united states, and especially its cities, is growing constantly worse. drawn first from the higher and more intelligent types of northwestern europe, our immigration has degenerated constantly to the poorest breeds of the eastern and southern sections of the continent.32 indeed, there were many who considered the roots of the white slave traffic flowing into the united states to be based outside, where it was either adopted by domestic villains such as tammany slum politicians or directly controlled by foreign elements that followed the american sexual market.33 reverend f. g. terrell claimed that because “foreigners, generally, look upon america as the garden of eden, as the mecca of all poor persons,” foreign white slave agents (notably based in paris and referred to as the “french syndicate”) find willing victims to “import” into american brothels.34 for some reason,35 the reformers frequently cited france as an originating point for the perceived white slave traffic in america, as clifford roe did when claiming that “it was the procurers in france who first developed the business of exploiting girls to supply the vice resorts of north america,” and that “the french girl slave soon became common” in american cities.36 32 law, shame of a great nation, 58 33 it must be noted that one key element of reformer discourse into both white slavery and prostitution in general is that few of the reformers had much to say about the male customers of prostitutes, other than they were being corrupted by public vice in general. a few feminist reformers dropped vague comments that there seemed to be something of a double standard when it came to public morality, but the vast majority seemed to hold the opinion that corruption flowed from prostitute to client only. 34 terrell, rev. f. g., the shame of the human race: the white slave traffic. publishing data unavailable. 1904. pp. 23-4. 35 it is possible that reformers were scandalized by the perceived lack of morals exhibited in the social body of france during the last twenty years of the 19th century. known as the fin de siécle, this has been characterized as a period in which french society displayed an unusual desire for sensual entertainment, and sexual liberalism ruled the day. as no scholar to date has uncovered evidence indicating american reformer attitudes toward the fin de siécle, this connection must remain speculative. 36 roe, the prodigal daughter, 99 yet it was not just the french who were cited as instigators of the perceived traffic in women. it was certainly believed by some reformers that in many cities jews largely ran the entire white slave network. law claims that while covering the trial of edward mccann, a police inspector charged with bribery for protecting the white slave traffic in chicago, the forward wrote: seventy-five per cent of the white slave trade in chicago is in jewish hands. the owners of most of the immoral resorts on the west side are jews. even in gentile neighborhoods jews stand out prominently in this nefarious business.37 additionally, clifford roe claimed that among the great influx of immigrants circa 1885 “there was a great influx of austrian, russian, and hungarian jews.” in his analysis, “among these immigrants were disreputable men and boys who had learned the art of procuring [women for prostitution] from the kaftan of eastern europe, and they soon began to develop this traffic in america.”38 to many, the alien nature of judaism was synonymous with moral decay, and the few instances where a player in the traffic of women was jewish seemed to reinforce their beliefs. at the conflux of these reformist discourses existed the “white slave,” defined as an innocent white woman, usually (but not always) a second or greater generation american citizen, weakened by the convergent forces of industrial progress, alcohol, and public immorality, and thus easy prey for foreign/jewish predators either acting directly or through their corrupt domestic agents. it is only natural that as a composite of different perceived “evils” in american society that the white slave “problem” was considered the greatest threat facing the united states. in the minds of many reformers, if the public were made aware of this crisis their natural moral fiber would focus their activism to rid america of these problems once and for all. but the reformers in the social purity movements faced a problem when attempting to rally public support against prostitution in general and the white slave traffic in particular. the intersecting streams regarding the nature of prostitution faced competition from a separate discursive stream that emphasized the moral superiority of american society and culture as promoted by such notables as joshua strong, alfred thayer mahan, and theodore roosevelt. this naturally patriotic stream emphasized the positive strengths of american society, and had the unforeseen effect of shifting 37 law, shame of a great nation, 55 38 roe, the prodigal daughter, 100 perceived moral corruptions such as prostitution into the realm of the nonanglo saxon immigrant.39 this patriotic counter-argument had the effect of shifting responsibility for curbing the spread of such corruption from the american home to the customs office, whose rather effective regulation of the immigrant gave the impression that the social changes called for by the reformers were superfluous. the wider population was not responding to their entreaties through the reform publications alone; they needed to disseminate their ideas through different means. by constructing an archetype of the “white slave” through repeated intersections of prostitution’s discursive streams, the reformers could provide the public with an easily consumable cultural vehicle, one that could naturally lead the consumer to the reformer’s own conclusions as to the solution to the problem. all that was left was for the social purists to present the archetype to the public.40 disseminating the archetype once the various “causes” of prostitution had been identified and the white slave archetype had been constructed, it was easy for the social purists to disseminate their ideological platform to the general public through the sensational press. one of the leading journalists who made his name primarily on the strength of his white slave reporting was george kibbe turner, whose 1909 mcclure’s magazine article the daughters of the poor exemplifies the use of this vehicle. the author imparted the specific message that the perceived white slave trade was a foreign infection that threatened the social body of the united states. according to turner, the white slave trade was a “european business” under the control of “the tammany hall political organization” that specialized in recruiting poor women from new york tenements for distribution “to every continent on the 39 see in particular alfred thayer mahan, “the united states looking forward”; josiah strong, “our country”; and theodore roosevelt, “the strenuous life.” in each case the author/speaker emphasized the moral nature of american culture and society as justification for foreign adventures, thus emphasizing the perception that moral weaknesses such as prostitution stemmed from non-american socio-cultural failings. 40 it is very important to note that, due to space constraints, the goals and methodology of the reformist movements has been collapsed to emphasize only the common goals and methods of numerous, diverse movements. disparate reform movements did not “conspire” to construct/disseminate the white slave archetype, but each used similar methods to accomplish their primary goals, namely the reshaping of public society. future research into this subject and a different, non-space dependent format will address these concerns, but for the purposes of this study some level of anthropomorphization is required to present an important argument that would otherwise be considerably longer. globe.”41 the author takes every opportunity to reinforce the foreign nature of the trade; after summarizing the historic traffic in women (and taking every opportunity to emphasize that it originated in eastern europe, implying that the primary beneficiary of the trade was “the jewish kaftan”),42 turner then spends the next two full pages sketching a rough outline of these organizations as they were imported to new york, where they naturally fell under the corrupt control of tammany hall. most of the social purist proscriptive elements are there; anti-semitism (either a historical link to judaism or a vague mention of a “jewish network” appears on virtually every page of the article), foreign immigration, and loose public morals (the catch-all category which included gambling, “raines-law” hotels,43 dance halls, and saloons) are all mentioned as causes for the spread of the trade throughout new york and, ultimately, the united states. indeed, turner goes so far as to claim that “one half of all the women now in the business throughout the united states started their career in this country in new york.”44 ultimately, because of his apparent in-depth knowledge of white slavery in the city turner was subpoenaed to testify before the rockefeller grand jury investigating the trade.45 41 turner, george kibbe. “the daughters of the poor: a plain story of the development of new york as a leading center of the white slave trade of the world, under tammany hall.” mcclure’s magazine, nov 1909. pp. 45 42 ibid 43 named after new york state senator john raines, this 1896 anti-vice legislation was designed to keep working class saloons closed on sundays and curb the practice of prostitution. the law dictated that only hotels with ten or more beds could serve alcohol on the sabbath, but rather than curbing prostitution as intended, the raines-law allowed saloon keepers to provide local prostitutes with on-site facilities to ply their trade. gilfoyle, city of eros, 243-7. 44 turner, “daughters,” 59. 45 “the rockefeller grand jury report.” mcclure’s magazine, aug 1910. pp. 471-473. “rockefeller, jr., takes hold.” new york times, january 10, 1910, p. 7. “friends” meeting emigrant girl at the dock. two “procurers” meet an immigrant girl at the dock; contrast this image with the still from traffic in souls on page 29, which is more representative of the crowded conditions facing newly-arrived immigrants. in bell’s fighting the traffic. facing pp. 19. but the reformers were not content to use words alone to convey their message. in many of the social purist tracts against the perceived traffic, illustrations and photographs were used as visual vehicles to reinforce the message presented in the text. typical of these are the plates printed in ernest a. bell’s fighting the traffic in young girls;46 each presented a graphic representation of a single aspect of the archetype for easy consumption. one example of these is an illustration entitled “friends” meeting emigrant girl at the dock, whose original caption read “foreign girls are more helplessly at the mercy of white slave hunters than girls at home.”47 playing on both the experiences of a significant portion of the urbanized immigrant population and the domestic fear of the alien invader, this drawing portrays a young, innocent girl, newly arrived in the new world with (presumably) all her worldly possessions in her bag, flanked by two white slave procurers. the illustration includes several subtle points; the girl is only identified as a generic émigré, yet her features are clearly northern/western european. her wide-eyed gaze indicates that she is an innocent, yet her overly enhanced bust (especially when compared to those on the women in the background) that cannot be contained by her simple shawl subtly informs the viewer of her rampant, “alien” sexuality. the small case to the left labeled “steerage” indicates that the émigré is probably of the lower classes, yet another indicator of both vulnerability and susceptibility to moral decay. the figures in the foreground are separated from those in the background by a significant distance; additionally, the murky, indistinct nature of the background figures seems to indicate that the white 46 bell, ernest a., fighting the traffic in young girls: or, war on the white slave trade. nashville, tn: southwestern company, 1910. 47 ibid 19 facing slavery process not only begins at the moment the target steps foot on american soil, but that it acts to distance the target from any connection to her past. clearly the message, featured prominently in the beginning pages of bell’s text, is that the roots of the white slave trade can be found overseas, an alien evil that was both infecting “domestic american” women and innocent foreigners. though it is possible that some reformers were motivated through genuine concern for immigrant women, when compared to the vast majority of xenophobic rhetoric contained in reformist writings it appears that the majority felt that alien sexuality was a threat to the american public body, a belief clearly presented in friends. the first step. the “domestic threat” counterpart to “meeting.” in bell’s fighting the traffic in young girls. facing pp. 20. compare this image with the one that immediately followed in fighting the traffic. entitled the first step, it represents the opposite side of the white slave archetype, focusing on the corruption of innocent american girls. the caption reinforces the alien nature of the white slave trade, noting that “ice cream parlors of the city and fruit stores combined, largely run by foreigners, are the places where scores of girls have taken their first step downward.”48 but whereas friends emphasized the alien nature of the foreigner preying on its own, first step takes the archetype a step further by adding the domestic element, asking, “does her mother know the character 48 ibid 20 facing of the place and the man she is with?” in this illustration a fresh-faced, angelic american girl, dressed in what appears to be middle-class attire, chats with a man at an ice cream parlor; the girl’s graceful, swanlike appearance and underemphasized bust, especially when compared to the émigré’s figure in the previous illustration, convey the impression of immature sexual innocence. but the “white slaver” at her table, rather than the generic, indistinct figures as in “meeting,” bears something of a sinister character, as evidence by his arched eyebrows and intense gaze. additionally, whereas the facial features and skin tone of the “victim” appear to be western european, the features and skin tone of the “predator” are darker, more angular, and swarthier, indicating that he is probably of either southern or eastern european descent. finally, the “shopkeeper” in the background displays features that are barely human; his bushy, upswept eyebrows give him an almost horned, demonic visage, whereas his moustache gives the appearance of a scowling villain. coupled with the two faces of the threat prostitution posed towards domestic purity. the figure on the left, from roe’s the prodigal daughter (pp. 16), claims “her clothes were taken from her,” a highly sexualized description that contrasts with the angelic features of her face. the illustration on the right, from bell’s fighting the traffic (pp. 146 facing), provides an even more graphic portrayal of the threat, as the innocent, angelic girl prays for salvation moments before the evil, hulking figure in the background commences some vile, unspeakable act upon her. in neither case do the features of the “victim” portray the evidentiary reality of prostitution within the urban environment, but rather convey a different message; female virtue was a commodity that needed to be protected, else it would be “stolen” by those who would shift access to it from the family to themselves. caption, the message that this vehicle imparts is that the innocent chastity of america’s young women was under attack from the morally decayed, demonic alien-ness of foreign degenerates. this then is key when attempting to understand the nature of the white slave hysteria; rather than portraying prostitutes as receptacles of alien sexual danger or domestic moral degeneracy (which, in their opinion, was bad enough), the social purists linked the commercial sex industry of the early twentieth century with the destruction of domestic american female innocence. it is even more telling when compared to the statistical evidence on the immigration status of known prostitutes and the few publicized court cases, in which nearly every woman named was an immigrant. by shifting the very nature of the prostitute from the foreign sexual animal to the fragile american angel, the social purists could portray public immorality as a threat to the moral fabric of the united states. this was not a situation that the american public could stand for very long. citing the accounts printed in the scandalous press and utilizing the language of the archetype, the reformers toured the country speaking on the dangers of public vice and the particular threat that “white slavery” posed to the populace. the discourse on public morality and prostitution, in the guise of the white slave archetype, entered into a very public arena, and before too long the population insisted that the lawmakers do something about the threat. official response representative of the many legislative investigations into the white slave traffic is that of the new york grand jury. in january 1910, john d. rockefeller, jr. was chosen as the foreman of a grand jury investigating the claims made by the social purists and the press about the white slave traffic in the city. rockefeller made clear his intention that the investigation would focus less on the sensational accounts and more on trying to ascertain the truth of the claims, and was quoted stating that “if the charges are true… then we must prepare the way for punishment, but if they are simply sensational slanders against this city of ours, they must be silenced once and for all.”49 it is clear from the public statements of the grand jury that many of its members regarded the white slave hysteria in new york as little more than an extension of the tammany hall scandal of the earlier decades, and questioned turner’s motivation for writing daughters in the first place. district attorney whitman claimed that, given the scandalous nature of the white slave archetype and the public outcry that it inspired, “i rather think [turner] should come to us,” and that if he had no proof to back up his allegations “he should say so now.”50 nowhere is this more apparent than in judge o’sullivan’s comments on the rockefeller grand jury report in which he specifically cited turner’s daughters article in mcclure’s as little more than an attack upon the governing structures of new york. to the grand jury, o’sullivan stated that: you had before you the author of the most scandalous attack upon the city. he admitted under oath that his article was overstated and deceiving. he was compelled under oath to admit that he had no evidence (not even hearsay) to support his statement.51 49 “rockefeller, jr., takes hold.” additionally, although many reformers were pleased with the attention turner’s expose brought to the subject, many felt that it was somewhat lacking; emma goldman claimed that daughters was “a very superficial investigation.” goldman, the white slave traffic, 1. 50 ibid 51 “the rockefeller grand jury report.” 473. in his own defense, turner never retracted the account he provided in daughters; rather, he instead emphasized that he himself never claimed the existence of an organized network of white slavers, only that the practice existed. furthermore, his rebuttal of o’sullivan indicates that, similar to the slippery nature of prostitution itself, the existence and extent of white slavery in the united states was largely a matter of perspective.52 quoted in the new york times, turner stated that “i affirmed that my article was neither more nor less than a statement of the facts as i believed them to be [emphasis added].”53 this subjective, semantic distinction is important to understanding a large part of the white slave hysteria and how it could thrive in the large absence of any concrete evidence supporting the theory. individuals took the basic facts on prostitution, applied their own experiences, perceptions, morality, and socio-cultural beliefs to these facts, and (depending on the combination) could either come to the conclusion that there existed an extensive network of white slavers operating in the united states (turner), or that any instances of forced prostitution were largely isolated, individual, and limited (o’sullivan). yet personal dislikes and politics were seemingly put aside initially in the interest of determining the validity of the claims. mere days after the grand jury convened, one joseph kalinsky was arrested and charged with “keeping a disorderly house in cathedral parkway.”54 two unidentified “girls” testified before the grand jury,55 and less than three weeks later the first case tried under new york’s new statutes restricting prostitution resulted in the conviction of paul trenka (or drenka, as subsequent accounts noted), who was accused of “taking lizzie hartzo” (a.k.a. harzso) from the house where she worked as a domestic and “selling her.”56 it is important to note that this is where the disconnect between the white slave archetype and the realities of early twentieth century prostitution become apparent. when the results of the investigations into real cases of prostitution were compared to the indistinct, amorphous accounts printed in the scandalous press, the public whose outcry led to the investigations in 52 though it may be argued that o’sullivan’s desire to discredit turner was a reflexive attempt to preserve new york city’s image, it is more important to note that turner himself backed away from his generic, implied argument that he put forth in daughters to emphasize the few kernels of fact that he could prove. conversely, turner himself never actually attacked “the city” as o’sullivan claimed, but rather attacked the corrupt city administration of which, it may be argued, o’sullivan was a member. 53 “defends white slave story.” new york times, july 2, 1910, p. xx 54 “on the ‘white slave’ trail.” new york times, january 7, 1910, p. 7. 55 “girls tell of white slavery.” new york times, january 14, 1910, p. 18. 56 “white slave conviction.” new york times, february 2, 1910. new york began to question the validity of the archetype, as all of the “villains” and “victims” caught up in the rockefeller grand jury did not fit into the neat mold presented to them by the reformers. rather than poor, innocent women from proper, moral, middle-class american homes, nearly every article that mentioned the names of those “rescued” from prostitution were newly arrived immigrants, usually from an eastern european country, and those who had sold them were frequently fellow countrymen who enjoyed some marital or familial relationship. the reality of the white slave traffic was not matching the archetype; rather than the organized networks of procurers headed by tammany bosses and preying on unwilling innocents torn from home and hearth, the entire affair seemed to be the bailiwick of immigrants and marginalized peoples who largely entered into the trade semi-voluntarily. additionally, there seemed to be no indication that any attempt at organization was undertaken on the part of immigrant providers/procurers, instead consisting of seedy, solitary affairs involving limited numbers of people acting locally, with similar methodology giving the appearance of common cause. indeed, the new york times notes that when paul trenka/drenka was sentenced to one year in the penitentiary, his “victim” lizzie hartzo/harzso “started to her feet with a loud cry. ‘it is my paul,’ she moaned. ‘let me die! let me die!’,” after which she was carried out of the courtroom “fainting.”57 the emotional response of trenka/drenka’s “victim” indicates that, rather than existing in a predatory relationship, the first “slaver” convicted by the rockefeller grand jury enjoyed some close emotional attachment with his “victim.”58 just how effective were newly enacted laws at halting the perceived white slave trade? in 1914 george mangold, the director of the school of social economy at washington university, believed that the legislation enacted over the previous five years had curbed the traffic, and definitively stated that “as a white slave market, the city of st. louis has been practically taken off the map.”59 yet others were not so confident, as when an anonymous author in mcclure’s wrote that after a full year of investigations, legislation, and convictions, “the group of low politicians, pimps, and strong-arm men which compose the lowest strata of tammany hall had lost little of their dreadful power.”60 as the public questioned the archetype and the police nabbed small-time criminals, the public aspect of the reformist 57 “jail another white slaver.” new york times, february 19, 1910, p. 3:7. 58 this affair is the only record of a white slavery trial to be found within the press. after thi s affair played its course, subsequent trials were very short on details, frequently failing to even reference the names of the accused. it is possible that this account detailed may be an exception, rather than a rule. 59 george b. mangold, “fighting the social evil in st. louis,” the light 101 (january-february 1915):50. 60 “‘daughters of the poor’ one year later.” mcclure’s magazine, nov 1910. pp. 120. campaign began to unravel. the public examined the reality of coercive prostitution and found that few of the reformer’s claims were valid, and while they may have accepted the “public morality” aspect of the movements’ drive against prostitution in general and its perceived corrosive effects that it had upon the american social fabric, they began to disbelieve in the existence of a vast white slave network dedicated to the traffic of white women. indeed, it seems that five years after the hysteria cooler heads were beginning to prevail, examining the claims made by the social purists, scandalous reporters, and government investigators critically. writing in 1914, an analyst in current opinion displayed a keen understanding of the relationship between the sensational news reports and the rising commodification of the white slave, noting that the hysteria generated by the campaign resembled the “popular gullibility… of the witchcraft days in old salem.”61 the “responsible” press too seemed to question the claims of the sensationalists and the purists, possibly in an attempt to reconcile rampant rumors with what little facts that could be verified and to calm frayed nerves: dailies like the chicago record-herald, the albany press, the baltimore american, the baltimore evening sun, the pittsburgh dispatch, the new york sun, and many others, have attacked the power of the catchword “white slavery,” and have attempted to extinguish the conflagration of hysteria which has in many american cities followed the vague but sensational accounts of mysterious poisoning and abductions of young girls.62 the hysteria eventually caused rescue workers, exhausted by a near-constant deluge of demands for them to do something about the situation, to refute the white slave archetype. “we frankly say that there never was a joke of more huge proportions perpetrated upon the american public than this white slave joke,” stated a. w. elliot, president of the southern rescue mission. “there is scarcely a simmering of truth in the various stories of so-called white slavery… there have been a few girls lured into places and outraged and then murdered; but that is not white slavery, that is cold-blooded murder…”63 while this may appear on the surface as semantic hairsplitting, it is important to note that some within the reform movements 61 “popular gullibility as exhibited in the new white slave hysteria.” current opinion, feb 1914. pp. 129. 62 ibid 63 “is white slavery nothing more than a myth?” current opinion, nov. 1913. pp. 348. themselves began to deny the existence of an organized network engaged in the sexual bondage of coerced women as the archetype interfered with their labor to redeem the “real” prostitute. yet at the same time, the public was deluged with commodified white slave cultural products, as plays and films based upon the archetype were “attractions which crowd theaters” and had become “a source of substantial revenue to theatrical managers.”64 one reporter on the san francisco bulletin stated that “the public love of the exaggerated and the sensational and its care-free avoidance of facts and cruel truths…is responsible in part for this slavery,” wisely disconnecting the white slave archetype as portrayed in popular culture from the harsh realities (such as alcoholism, drug addiction, venereal disease, poverty, and physical abuse, just to name a few) experienced by prostitutes in the 1910’s.65 indeed, in creating the archetype the social purists had done their job too well; one correspondent in the new york world claimed that after his wife attended a lecture on white slavery, “she is… of the opinion that there is an organization as formidable as the steel trust working day and night in the interest of vice,” and that it was a formidable task for him to convince her that more than half the male population of the united states was not engaged in the white slave trade.66 the public was disappointed as well; one letter to the editor of the new york times disappointedly asked, “are they the only kind of white slaves we have?”67 before too long the archetype vanished from the pages of the responsible mainstream press. but in 1910, during the height of the hysteria, the constant repetition of the social purists and sensational reporters had allowed the archetype to take on something of a life of its own. though the white slave had largely vanished from the pages of periodicals and out of the public discourse by 1915, production of cultural artifacts depicting the white slave and her sexual bondage continued, albeit for popular entertainment rather than public reform. selling the “white slave” david langum, when he attends to the products created during the white slave hysteria, argues that they evolved concurrently with the discourse generated by the social purity organizations and seems to imply that they existed in a parallel yet separate stream that contributed to the 64 “popular gullibility,” current opinion. 65 ibid 66 ibid 67 “white slavery buncombe?” new york times, may 24, 1910. pp. 8. hysteria.68 by examining the reform movement and these products produced at the same time as complementary he ignores the intentions of the producers of these products, which illustrate the division between those with the aim of spreading the archetype in an attempt to reform american society and those with the desire to profit from such dissemination. it can be argued that the social reformers intended the cultural products to be used as a sort of “call to arms” against the perceived rise in public vice, but it is highly unlikely that samuel h. london, producer of the film the inside of the white slave traffic, was motivated by his moral concerns.69 rather, the creators of cultural artifacts had adopted the white slave archetype during the height of the hysteria in 1910, and in discovering that the subject matter was profitable they continued to produce literature, fine art, and films to satisfy the publics’ near insatiable thirst for scandal and titillation. additionally, by cloaking their works in the aura of “public service,” they could avoid censure for contributing to the corruption of public morals at the hands of the very social purists who had created the archetype in the first place. the first cultural artifacts produced during the height of the hysteria were literary in nature. indicative of this trend in the early years of commodification is reginald wright kauffman’s the house of bondage. first published in the summer of 1910, it tells the story of mary, a.k.a. violet, an innocent country girl who is lured to the big city by a professional white slave procurer. once she is “broken in,” she is put to work on the streets, victimized by the police, robbed of her money by her pimps, becomes an alcoholic, starves, and is robbed again (this time by her landlord). she finally gains her revenge upon the man who procured her by infecting him with the virulent sexually transmitted disease from which she is dying. the initial reviews were mixed; hutchins hapgood claimed that the book, while “able… well written, well constructed, lucidly conceived…” contained “no vision.”70 conversely, the chicago evening post claimed that it was a “social tract thinly disguised as fiction,” while a reviewer in life claimed that it was “not even distantly related to literature. it is ephemeral fiction of excellent technique…”71 the general consensus of the reviewers 68 langum, crossing over the line, 33-34. 69 indeed, justice gavegon of the new york supreme court went so far as to claim that the film was produced “not for the uplift of public morals but for private gain.” throughout 1913-1914 the courts and social reformers argued amongst themselves and with cinematic producers as to the public benefit versus the corruptive risk associated with the showing of the white slave films. see grieveson, lee, policing cinema: movies and censorship in early-20th-century america. berkeley, ca: university of california press, 2004. pp. 151-191. 70 hapgood, hutchins. review of house of bondage, by r. w. kaufmann, a review of books and life 32 (october 1910): 178. 71 review of house of bondage, by r. w. kaufmann, current literature 49:6 (december 1910): 14. was that kaufmann wrote house in order to further the cause of the reformers in their campaign against the perceived white slave organizations.72 yet even within this early text there are elements designed to titillate the reader. given the white slave archetype had informed any potential readers of the ultimate fate of mary, it should come as no surprise that the last pages of the book describe her flirtation with suicide. she gathers the strength for one last attempt at redemption – and is rebuffed by the only person in the narrative who did not care that she was a prostitute. the entire work consistently sets mary up for a fall, constantly raising her hopes only to dash them again on the next page. in house’s world, there is little human kindness and absolutely no chance at redemption or salvation, which would seem to contradict the reformers’ stated goals in eradicating prostitution and redeeming fallen women. additionally, the text could only be called a social tract in the loosest sense of the word; rather, it appears as an early form of commercialized pornography, utilizing metaphoric language to detail the misogynistic treatment of the heroine. whereas the reformer white slave narratives would cut away from the moment of a victim’s ultimate fall from innocence, kaufmann instead lovingly relates the hellish nightmare that mary is forced to endure: that which had happened – there memory, in a blinding blast, reasserted itself. what had been but half-wittingly accepted was now wholly known. hot irons were branding upon her brain the full history of all that had occurred: the deeds for which she had at last learned the name, and the deeds that, even in her own frightened soul, were nameless. there was nothing – nothing of her, hand and foot, and mouth and eye and soul – that was not defiled.73 passages such as these indicate that the author was less concerned about spreading the word about the traffic in women, and more concerned with 72 there may have been some tenuous connection between kaufmann and another progressive author of the day, edith wharton. it is interesting to note that both house of bondage and wharton’s house of mirth share the same basic theme and structure, where a young, pure american girl is seduced by glamour and wealth, and is destroyed through the heartless actions of those around them. however, the differences between kaufmann and wharton are just as telling; mirth’s lily bart is a social climber whose downfall stems as much from her ambition as from those around her, whereas bondage’s mary/violet is purely a victim of male sexual and economic aggression. it may be possible that mirth may have been partially inspired by the white slave controversy around the turn of the century, but as it is missing key elements of the archetype and as wharton never spoke directly towards the white slave controversy this is a purely theoretical connection at best. 73 kauffman, reginald wright. the house of bondage. new york, ny: grosset & dunlap, 1910. pp. 51. creating a popular, highly sexualized narrative that popularized on the archetype and the hysteria of the era. as langum notes that house of bondage went through eleven printings in less than nine months74 and as his book was adapted as a motion picture, it appears that kaufmann made a tidy profit off of his endeavor no matter his original motivation. 74 langum, crossing over the line, 33. another type of literary commodity utilizing the white slave archetype was the production of works that billed themselves as proscriptive cautionary tales in the tradition of the productions of the social purity organizations, but which emphasized the sordid nature of the subject in a manner at which kaufmann merely hinted. little more than pseudopornographic collections of short stories, they differed from the social purity accounts in that they concentrated on the degradation and shame of the “fallen women” and, unlike the former accounts that proposed solutions to the dilemmas at the end of their stories, offered the impression that there existed no hope for the victims. typical of this production is h. m. lytle’s the tragedies of the white slaves; from the start a prospective buyer’s eye is drawn to the tri-color cover depicting the seduction and “soiling” of a presumed innocent in an explicit, crudelydrawn cartoon format. within the book the titillation factor increases as the very language used in ten “typical” accounts of women entrapped into prostitution emphasizes the sexual nature of the subject matter as opposed to the moral. even the forward contains highly sexualized language: according to the author, “the lives of 5,000 young girls are laid upon the altar of lust every year in the city of chicago alone,” and it is the “insatiable rapacity of man, the lust of the hunt, the demands of brutish passion” that is responsible for these sacrifices.75 additionally, the location of the narrative had shifted from the moral plain 75 lytle, h. m. tragedies of the white slave . new york, ny: padell book and magazine company, @1911. pp. 5. the colored front cover of the tragedies of the white slaves. note the nudity of the victim; rather than emphasizing her innocence, the publisher instead chose to emphasize her sexual exploitation. to the sexualized physical plain, evident in the subtle change in brothels described as generic “houses of ill-fame” by bell76 to yawning market houses that “constantly [hold] forth an insatiable maw into which new blood must be poured, new lives must be thrown, more young innocents must be devoured.”77 and whereas the traditional narratives generated by the social purity organizations tended to gloss over the “breaking” of the victim, lytle instead emphasizes the degradation using indirect, highly sexualized language such as “after the orgies which had taken place while i was lying helpless and frightened”78 and “i was turned out of that hotel near midnight in the rain without a cent of money in my pockets, bleeding from the outrages from which i had suffered…”79 still, all the old conventions of the white slave myth are here: the majority of the white slavers and brothel owners (when even mentioned) are either foreign or jewish, the victims are innocents from rural/small town america, and the metropolitan/state governments do not act due to corruption and financial concerns. 76 bell, fighting the traffic, 183. 77 lytle, tragedies, 6. 78 ibid 105 79 ibid 106 meanwhile, in the world of fine art, around 1913 the sculptor abastenia st. leger eberle presented a statuette entitled the white slave. this work portrays a young, barely pubescent girl, bound and in full undress, in the middle of her “auction” by a white slaver. besides the titillation factor that such a work would inspire, it is interesting to note the dissimilar features of the figures. the trafficker himself is depicted as black, a sharp contrast to his white victim, adding the racial component that was missing in the literary white slave artifacts. here was a physical representation of the ultimate white slave archetype; a young, innocent white girl in the process of being auctioned for sexual servitude by a non-white, animalistic “other.”80 there is no surviving record of the artist’s intentions in creating this piece, and biographic information on eberle is sketchy; however, langum claims that after this photograph appeared on the may 3, 1913 cover of the survey it touched off an extensive letter writing campaign.81 but by far the most enduring, influential, and controversial cultural artifacts stemming from the adoption of the archetype were the films. langum notes that “the white slavery movies caused the biggest 80 one cultural connection that adds to the significance of this piece is the link between white slavery and abolitionism. as noted previously some of the reform movements were formed in the nascent years of the civil war as abolitionist organizations dedicated to the eradication of slavery in the united states. by “flipping” the races of the figures in this sculpture eberle could emphasize the current controversy while borrowing from reformist traditions that worked to eradicate antebellum racial slavery. 81 langum, crossing over the line, 33. the white slave, a sculpture by abastenia st. leger eberle. woman's art journal (spring/summer 1986) 33. this sculpture is reminiscent of images featuring an antebellum southern slave auction, only emphasizing a racial inversion between auctioneer and victim. sensation,”82 and indeed at times the controversy surrounding the production and display of these films was more intense than that of the reformers’ campaign against the white slave traffic. but more than that, producers of popular films quickly discovered that white slavery subject matter could be very lucrative. perhaps the most popular and financially successful film was universal’s 1913 traffic in souls. written by robert macnamara (perhaps better known for ireland, a nation)83 and directed by george loane tucker, the story line contains all elements of the white slave archetype; predatory slavers lurking in public areas for unsuspecting women, economic necessity forcing innocent girls out of the house, and how low and popular amusements threaten virtue. each scene was written and filmed to simultaneously reinforce the archetype while providing titillation to the viewer. shot on a shoestring budget of only $5,000, the film took in over $450,000 at the box office,84 an impressive amount considering that the average price of a ticket to such a film cost only twenty-five cents.85 yet reformers, though encouraged by the apparent interest the public had in learning about such social problems, evidently saw the white slave films as a threat to public morality, as they obtained 82 ibid 83 “notes written on the screen.” new york times, sep 20, 1914. pp. x6. 84 sloan, kay, the loud silents: origin of the social problem film. chicago, il: university of chicago press, 1988. pp. 84. 85 prices based on two advertisements in the new york times of december 9, 1913. on this date traffic in souls played four shows at weber’s theatre, while at the park theatre four showings of the inside of the white slave traffic cost the same. display ad, new york times, dec. 9, 1913. pp. 20. an original shot from traffic in souls of a white slaver “luring” two unsuspecting swedish girls to a brothel. this scene caused the extras, who happened to be real immigrants from sweden, to protest the staged abduction to the point of physically confronting the “white slave” actors, forcing the director to reshoot on an abandoned waterfront. from lee grieveson’s policing the cinema, pp. 154-5. injunctions through the police department to ban the showings of such fare.86 the controversy surrounding the film’s display and the reformers’ attempts to stop it provide perhaps the clearest example of the archetype gaining independence from its creators; in a sense, the social purists had no problem defining, promoting, and railing against the archetype so long as they were the only people able to define, promote, and rail.87 further evidence of the disconnect between the film’s producers and the reformers can be found within the film itself; the head of the white slavery organization (trubus, a not so subtle anagram of caesar’s betrayer) in traffic uses the offices of a fictional social purity organization as a front for his criminal activities. furthermore, modernity and technological innovation, rather than a threat to public morality as some reformers believed, in fact primarily brings trubus to justice through the technological innovation of his last victim’s father (a remote recording device, which the police in the film set up as an illegal wiretap).88 86 “plan new film fight.” new york times, dec 30, 1913. pp. 5. 87 it should be noted that there is no evidence that the reformers wished to profit from the archetype; indeed, they may have fully believed in their cause. in a similar vein, it is possible that the producers of the white slave films truly believed that they were creating their works for the public good. but the disparate and (at times) contradictory natures of both groups tend to blur individual motivations, and all that is left in the historical record is a struggle for control of the archetype. the conclusions reached within this essay are through extension of conflicts between social purists and filmmakers on other topics, such as fight films and physical hygiene films. in these cases both sides were locked in a conflict to determine content, distribution, and presentation to the viewing public. for longer studies of these subjects, refer to sloan’s the loud silents and grieveson’s policing the cinema. 88 traffic in souls. george loane tucker, dir. 1913. copyright kino international corp., new york, ny. 1994. promotional still from traffic in souls. the social purists felt that displaying actions such as the drugging and assault of women, violence, and criminal conspiracy were threats to public morality, ignoring the fact that the film was displaying the exact message that the reformers themselves were presenting in narrative and public speaking formats. image from lee grieveson’s policing the cinema, pp. 163. yet while the white slavery hysteria died down when public attention revealed the slippery, subjective nature of the subject, the melodramatic white slave films began to lose their appeal to audiences. indeed, scholars of early twentieth century film note that by 1914, due to the sheer volume of fictional white slave cultural artifacts, the entire subject began to “appear ludicrous.”89 filmmakers began to parody popular white slave films; 1914’s traffickers in soles was a comedy that played directly off of 1913’s traffic in souls.90 clearly, by 1920 there existed a complete disconnect between the social purists, who still campaigned to stop the spread of public immorality, and the white slave archetype, as evidenced by the drive to ensure that the nascent national association of the motion picture industry91 in 1916 “fail” any film that contained the theme of “white slavery.”92 indeed, because of this selfregulation to avoid government interference in their nascent industry, 1916’s is any girl safe must stand as the last white slave film of the progressive era; beyond this point, the subject becomes largely taboo in the motion picture industry. but the hard work had already been done, and the white slave archetype existed separate from the discursive streams of the reformers. 89 sloan, the loud silents, 85 90 ibid 91 established in july 1916, this organization was tasked with enacting a series of guidelines designed to encourage self-regulation of the film industry to avoid reformist agitation and legal troubles springing from the content of films. 92 grieveson, lee, policing cinema: movies and censorship in early-twentieth-century america. berkeley, ca: university of california press, 2004. pp. 206. the new white slaves almost ninety years later, it appears that concern over coercive prostitution is once again entering the public space. in the new york times magazine of january 24, 2004, peter landesman wrote of the contemporary traffic in women across international boundaries for the purpose of sexual exploitation. “because of the porousness of the u.s.-mexico border and the criminal networks that traverse it,” he bluntly stated, “the towns and cities along that border have become the main staging area in an illicit and barbaric industry, whose ‘products’ are women and girls.”93 to the reader, this shocking expose into the illicit world of sexual slavery would be a revelation of a horrific crime that preys on the innocent. yet at the same time landesman’s article could have easily been torn from the pages of a progressive era scandalous newspaper; although the actual statistics, legislators, and organizations reflect the united states of the early twenty-first century, the arguments are virtually identical to those published by turner in daughters of the poor. the author claims that kevin bales, a modern-day reformer, estimates at least ten thousand people are trafficked into the united states each year for the purpose of sexual exploitation; there are anywhere between thirty and fifty thousand “sex slaves in the country at any time.” and they are allowed to exist because, per a “senior state department official… we are not looking for them.”94 today the perceived white slave organizations are based out of eastern europe and the former soviet union, utilizing such methods to entice susceptible women as advertising for nanny positions in the united states, or scouting for models and actresses. others promise waitress positions in paris.95 and these white slave networks “tend to be well-oiled monoethnic machines,” staffed by cruel, ruthless russians.96 indeed, today several quasi-reformist organizations have sprung up to combat this perceived threat, operating under names like the international justice mission, reaching out, and the bilateral safety corridor coalition. but though the 93 landesman, peter. “the girls next door.” new york times magazine, jan 24, 2004. pp. 32. 94 ibid 95 ibid 96 landesman does not definitively claim violent mental imbalance, but the language he utilizes to describe the ruthlessness of the russian white slavers certainly gives that impression. the author writes that a former white slave told him that her smuggler, one “alex,” claimed that “if she didn’t show up at the airport, ‘i’ll find you and cut your head off.’ russians do not play around. in moscow, you can get a bullet in your head just for fun.” while it is certainly possible that landesman is using these statements as literary descriptors to differentiate between slave and procurer, his choice of words has the effect of shifting both to the extreme ends of the moral spectrum, highlighting both the innocent nature of the victim and the bestial nature of her smuggler, with the result of reducing both to archetypical caricatures. ibid 33 article is full of dire statistics, heart-rending quotes, and a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, like turner’s daughters the expose is long on emotion and supposition, and short on evidence. all his “victims” are given pseudonyms, and the only concrete “white slave” cases that he cites are small, one-to-three man affairs with limited resources and few prostitutes. his accounts, while alarming, are entirely anecdotal. like the progressive era reformers, landesman explains away the slippery, tenuous nature of his expose by citing fears of retribution on the part of the victims.97 though the accounts that the author cites seem to report on a vast network engaged in coercive prostitution, he provides little in the way of evidence to support his allegations, other than citing “experts” who themselves provide little supporting evidence. and once more, racism and anti-semitism are again part of this new discursive stream. canadian investigative reporter victor malarek’s the natashas, a recent book-length “investigation” into forced prostitution throughout the world, cites israel as a central clearing house in a global sextrafficking network.98 according to the author, “indifference toward trafficked women appears to be par for the course in the office of israel’s attourney general,” and that the police are given orders not to interfere with the operation of brothels unless there is a public complaint.99 cases of white slavery in israel are “routinely disposed of through plea bargains,” and a stiff sentence for a policeman convicted in trafficking was “six months’ community service.”100 like landesman’s article, the natashas is long on emotion, supposition, and anecdote, and short on concrete evidence. even a cursory reading indicates that, save for 21st century trappings, malarek’s study could have easily been produced during the height of the white slave hysteria. when compared to almost a full century of legislation, agitation, and activism against the traffic of women, both landesman and malarek’s works indicate that either the white slave traffic is a massive, ultra-secret master criminal organization, spanning the globe and able to act at a whim, or it is once more the stuff of highly slippery and subjective evidence, constructed and presented in a way to further neo-reformist goals and 97 ibid 98 while it could be argued that malarek is only illustrating the new global white slave network within israel, it is interesting to note the extreme lengths to which he goes in order to castigate the nation. the only purported heroes within israel are those who work for ngos, most notable the israeli awareness center, a “nongovernmental group that specializes in research on trafficking in women and prostitution in israel.” (p. 77) all other israelis are either indifferent to the trade or co-conspirators with the white slavers. 99 malarek, victor, the natashas: inside the new global sex trade. new york, ny: arcade publishing, 2003. pp. 124. 100 ibid 125 personal gain. the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, but as in the progressive era the archetype is once more obscuring the reality. and with this nascent resurgence in social reformism, the archetype of the white slave is not lurking too far behind in popular western culture. on october 18, 2004, the cbs network aired an episode of their hit television show csi: miami, entitled “legal.” while investigating a murder at a nightclub, the miami crime scene investigators uncover a criminal conspiracy headed by the owners of the club and a nearby spa to smuggle eastern european women into the country for the purpose of forced prostitution. the climax of the episode is reminiscent of the climax of tucker’s traffic in souls; the police race to the location where the women are kept in order to “rescue” the “victims” from their lives of shame. a reviewer of the episode claims that “human trafficking is [a] hot topic these days,” and refers the reader to an in-depth study on the white slave trade for more information… the natashas, by victor malarek.101 though there is (probably) no connection between the reviewer and malarek, this reference indicates that just as in the progressive era, the archetype and reformist discourse feed and build on each other, creating a dichotometric existence that allows the other to exist while simultaneously ensuring its own survival in the public sphere. the story of the white slave trade as it exists in reality is not one that could ever truly be told, given the slippery and subjective nature of the evidence. depending on one’s point of view, white slavery could either be a massive criminal conspiracy on a scale never before seen in human existence; conversely, it could merely be the work of select individuals profiting from limited cases that are only linked through a general similarity of cases. but the archetype, with all of its proscriptive warnings and causal reasoning, exists separate from the reality of coercive prostitution, and instead exists in its own special place independent of the real world. given the similar patterns developing in the realm of social reform as evidenced by the 2004 white slave products in the form of magazine articles, literary works, and popular teleplays, it appears that the archetype shows no sign that it will ever truly fade away. bibliography 101 huntley, kristine, review of csi:miami episode “legal.” october 19, 2004; available from http://www.csifiles.com/reviews/csi/legal.shtml; internet; accessed december 10, 2004. printed primary sources addams, jane, “a new conscience and an ancient evil.” mcclure’s magazine, dec 1911 bell, ernest a. fighting the traffic in young girls: or war on the white slave trade. nashville, tn: the southwestern company, 1910 “cartoons and comments: slaves and rose culture.” puck 67, march 2, 1910 “‘daughters of the poor’ one year later.” mcclure’s magazine, nov 1910 “defends white slave story.” new york times, july 2, 1910 display ad, new york times, dec. 9, 1913 “girls tell of white slavery.” new york times, january 14, 1910 goldman, emma. the white slave traffic. new york, ny: mother earth publishing association. 1909(?) hapgood, hutchins. review of house of bondage, by r. w. kaufmann, a review of books and life 32 (october 1910) “is white slavery nothing more than a myth?” current opinion, nov. 1913 “jail another white slaver.” new york times, february 19, 1910 janney, oliver edward, the white slave traffic in america. new york, ny: national vigilance committee, 1911 kauffman, reginald wright. the house of bondage. new york, ny: grosset & dunlap, 1910 landesman, peter. “the girls next door.” new york times magazine, jan 24, 2004 law, e. norine. the shame of a great nation: the story of the “white slave trade.” harrisburg, pa: united evangelical publishing house, 1909 lytle, h. m. tragedies of the white slave. new york, ny: padell book and magazine company, @1911 “notes written on the screen.” new york times, sep 20, 1914 “on the ‘white slave’ trail.” new york times, january 7, 1910 “plan new film fight.” new york times, dec 30, 1913 “popular gullibility as exhibited in the new white slave hysteria.” current opinion, feb 1914 review of house of bondage, by r. w. kaufmann, current literature 49:6 (december 1910) “rockefeller, jr., takes hold.” new york times, january 10, 1910 roe, clifford g., the prodigal daughter: the white slave evil and the remedy. chicago, il: l. w. walter company, 1911 southard, madeline, the white slave traffic versus the american home. louisville, ky: pentecostal publishing company, 1914 “the rockefeller grand jury report.” mcclure’s magazine, aug 1910 terrell, rev. f. g., the shame of the human race: the white slave traffic. publishing data unavailable. 1904 turner, george kibbe. “the daughters of the poor: a plain story of the development of new york as a leading center of the white slave trade of the world, under tammany hall.” mcclure’s magazine, nov 1909 “white slave conviction.” new york times, february 2, 1910 “white slavery buncombe?” new york times, may 24, 1910 washburn, josie, the underworld sewer: a prostitute reflects on life in the trade, 1871-1909. lincoln, ne: university of nebraska press, 1997 periodicals the light. b.s. steadwell, ed. jan-feb 1915. film traffic in souls. george loane tucker, dir. 1913. copyright kino international corp., new york, ny. 1994. secondary sources gilfoyle, timothy j., city of eros: new york city, prostitution, and the commercialization of sex, 1790-1920. new york, ny: w. w. norton & company, inc., 1992 grieveson, lee, policing cinema: movies and censorship in earlytwentieth-century america. berkeley, ca: university of california press, 2004 huntley, kristine, review of csi:miami episode “legal.” october 19, 2004; available from http://www.csifiles.com/reviews/csi/legal.shtml; internet; accessed december 10, 2004. langum, david j., crossing over the line: legislating morality and the mann act. chicago, il: university of chicago press, 1994 malarek, victor, the natashas: inside the new global sex trade. new york, ny: arcade publishing, 2003 rosen, ruth, the lost sisterhood: prostitution in america, 1900-1918. baltimore, md: john hopkins university press, 1982 sloan, kay, the loud silents: origin of the social problem film. chicago, il: university of chicago press, 1988 tong, benson, unsubmissive women: chinese prostitutes in nineteenthcentury san francisco. norman, ok: university of oklahoma press, 1994 woman's art journal (spring/summer 1986) 33. available from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~museum/armory/gallerya/eberle.673.html; internet; accessed december 14, 2004 on december xx and xx, 1763, bands of men from the pennsylvania frontier of lancaster county, commonly referred to as the paxt the paxton boys and the pamphlet frenzy: politics, religion, and social structure in eighteenthcentury pennsylvania alexandra mancini history on december 13 and 27, 1763, bands of men from the pennsylvania frontier, commonly referred to as the paxton boys*, murdered 20 conestoga indians vigilante style. the first attack occurred at conestoga manor where the indians lived, but the second attack occurred in the city of lancaster while the remaining survivors were in protective custody. none of the conestoga indians survived, and many of the victims included women, children, and the elderly. in january of 1764, benjamin franklin published a scathing response to the murders in which he characterized the behavior of the perpetrators as “barbarous men who committed the atrocious fact, in defiance of government, of all laws’ human and divine, and to the external disgrace of their country and colour.” he further claimed that the “frontier people call themselves christians,” but the indians “would have been safer, if they had submitted to the turks … the moors … the popist spaniards … in any known part of the world, -except in the neighborhood of the christian white savages.”1 throughout this narrative, franklin repeatedly compared the frontier inhabitants with entities, which would seem to colonial pennsylvanians as the most inhumane and uncivilized in the world. then, less than two months later, in february of 1764, more than 250 men marched from the frontier to philadelphia, allegedly to rout out 140 moravian indians temporarily housed in philadelphia barracks. in the end, the city of philadelphia was able to avoid violence and a possible “revolt” when city leaders met the “rioters” in germantown and persuaded them to return home. in exchange for the dispersal of the paxton rioters, the philadelphia leaders agreed that the protesters could present their grievances and submit petitions to the pennsylvania assembly for consideration. in their declaration, the paxton boys claimed that the indians were allied with the enemy (the french), but that despite this fact, the assembly favored the indians while the frontier settlers “were left to starve neglected.” in addition, the paxton boys castigated the political leadership, specifically blaming the quakers when they claimed, “such is our unhappy situation, under the villany, infatuation and influence of a certain faction that have got the political reigns in their hand and tamely tyrannize over the other good subjects of the province!” in their formal petition to the pennsylvania assembly, the protesters requested equal political representation, a halt to the allocation of public money to protect indians, a request for the release of public funds to assist frontier settlers, and a cessation to indian trade until frontier captives were released.2 * while it seems that the men who murdered the conestoga indians and who marched on philadelphia were not all from paxton, but came from a number of the “frontier” counties, the term “paxton boys” became established as the “official” descriptor. 1 as these contemporary reactions suggest, there are many lenses one can use to examine the attacks on the conestoga indians and the subsequent march on philadelphia. these include looking at the changing racial framework in pennsylvania or the hostile relationship between the frontier and urban regions. however, the aftermath of these events, in particular the publishing of 63 pamphlets, commentaries, and satires and 10 political cartoons, also provides an opportunity to examine and consider the tensions that existed in the colony’s social organization and how different groups within philadelphia used the paxton affair to garner greater political and societal power. for backcountry settlers, the events that took place between december 1763 and february 1764 centered primarily on issues reflecting frontier-urban animosity. in philadelphia, the paxton affair also appeared at first to reflect the same east-west tension. however, competing constituencies within philadelphia also used the paxton events and the subsequent frenzy of pamphlet publishing to further their own agendas and to augment their own power and influence within the established social organization. and ultimately, it was the framework of religion and religious affiliation upon which the battle lines hardened and along which the struggle for social and political hegemony was fought. some of the most recent scholarship on the paxton riots emphasizes the racism against the indians that was ignited by these events, and argues that racial, white-indian, construction permanently changed in pennsylvania, and also reflected change that was occurring throughout colonial north america. other scholarship uses a frontier-urban filter to explain and illuminate the tensions between “easterners” and “westerners” and their respective interests and priorities. finally, a significant amount of scholarship emphasizes the political implications of the events of 1763-1764. in this vein, some scholars view the paxton affair and its aftermath as a reconfiguration of pennsylvania politics, while others view the events as a precursor of the common people’s emerging sense of democracy and willingness to engage in a revolution against the english crown.3 in this paper, i blend and elaborate on the themes of east and west contention and the battle for political power and influence in philadelphia by examining a variety of publications that came out in the aftermath of the paxton affair. in doing this, i hope to expose the tension, which existed within the established social organization of pennsylvania and to highlight religion as a defining division between people.4 to understand the strain on the social structure in pennsylvania, it is important to step back and examine the initial colonization efforts and how pennsylvania society evolved through the mid-eighteenth century. william penn and the quakers came to pennsylvania in 1681 to pursue a “holy experiment,” to promote a plural society that incorporated religious and civil freedoms, while also ensuring that virtue, order, and structure characterized the colony. overall, these efforts were successful, especially during the second quarter of the eighteenth century when many quakers enjoyed increasing wealth as merchants. because the quakers lived primarily in philadelphia, they dominated politics and the administration of the colony, thus making them the recognized and uncontested leaders of pennsylvania. in addition, because of the quakers’ embrace of religious and civil freedoms, pennsylvania welcomed a large and diverse array of immigrants, which resulted in a significant increase in population, from approximately 40,000 in 1726 to 150,000 in 1755, and the addition of five new counties. by mid-century, pennsylvania was arguably the most populated and also the most pluralistic society in colonial north america.5 2 however, success also brought challenges and unanticipated tensions, economically, ethnically, religiously and politically. for example, economic success depended in large part on whether an individual was an earlier or later settler, with a distinct advantage going to those settlers who arrived first. in addition, especially between 1730-1750, the gap between the rich and poor layers of society widened. thus, by the middle of the eighteenth century a new elite merchant class had developed, which predominantly was comprised of philadelphia quakers. this new elite had an increasingly capitalistic outlook as well as respect for wealth that not only posed internal religious debate within the society of friends, but also fostered a growing sense of resentment among non-quakers.6 compounding the challenges of this economic disparity was the pattern of settlement in pennsylvania, which reinforced ethnic and religious differences. by 1755, for example, the english and welsh made up only one-third of the population, but geographically they dominated the wealthier, eastern part of the colony. the scarcity of “eastern” land in turn forced the scots-irish, who numbered approximately 40,000, to settle predominantly in the relatively poor, western frontier counties; while the germans, who numbered upwards of 60,000, tended to settle in the backcountry of the north and northwest.7 these ethnic settlement patterns also reflected religious patterns, in which the protestants, predominantly made up of scots-irish presbyterians and german lutherans and reformists, dominated the frontier region. the quakers, who were only a portion of the english / welsh minority, subsequently comprised an even smaller percentage of the population when measured by church affiliation. in fact, by 1755, quakers as members of the society of friends made up no more than one-sixth of the population and possibly as little as one-eighth. although a declining proportion of the population, quakers continued to maintain a cohesive and powerful religious presence, partly because of their residential concentration in the interior counties and because of their religious devotion to mutual aid and discipline. in contrast, protestants on the whole were not able to maintain such a tight community, because of continued fractures between “old light” and “new light” presbyterians, differences in language and ethnicity, and a comparatively weak church structure and religious discipline on the frontier. thus, despite the smallness of the quakers as a group, ethnically and religiously, the quaker community was situated firmly in the urban center of the colony and was able to maintain religious cohesion and economic power.8 pennsylvania politics also reflected the disproportionate influence that the quaker populace maintained during this period, primarily because political participation was grounded in specific social and economic requirements, which included an individual’s independence, virtue, wealth, religious reputation and education. these political prerequisites favored the more established, centrally located quaker community, enabling quakers to dominate all aspects of political life through the mid-eighteenth century, both in philadelphia and in the surrounding countryside. in fact, between 1710-1755 quakers held two-thirds of the pennsylvania assembly seats across pennsylvania, and in some years held up to 90%.9 this political framework concentrated power in a small, homogenous elite, which in turn made the assembly a closed insular, club-like entity. there was not only a strong connection between the quaker religious hierarchy and the pennsylvania political 3 hierarchy, but also a parallel between the wealthy and socially prominent and the religious and politically prominent.10 despite these disparities, peaceful political relationships and a stable social organization prevailed in philadelphia through midcentury. in large part, this was a function of a general acceptance for the “organic” social hierarchy and “the existence of a whole series of widely shared social experiences, informal relationships, lines of influence, institutional arrangements, divisions of power, and forms of legislative behavior that worked to order political affairs, regularize decision making, and resolve conflict.” in fact, pennsylvania colonists adhered to the tenets of civil quakerism and a distinctive quaker culture, which the society of friends had nurtured in pennsylvania, and as british subjects, they also deferred to the concept that there was a natural order in life that stratified society.11 conditions on the frontier were quite different and not nearly as neat and orderly. life in the backcountry was subsistence-based and consisted of hunting, gathering and farming. unfortunately, penn’s concept of a structured and orderly society disappeared under an onslaught of arriving immigrants and disarray over land acquisition. despite the proprietors’ right to reserve land, for example, squatting was common and often the ability to improve and cultivate a parcel of land was sufficient to claim it. in fact, during a flood of immigration between 1718-1733, the pennsylvania land office remained closed under pressure of outstanding legal questions regarding the claims of the penn family. in addition, unlike in philadelphia, formal institutions in the backcountry were rare and the structure of county administration meant that backcountry residents had to travel long distances to the few existing provincial offices.12 in addition to the hard, uncertain, and isolated lifestyle frontier residents experienced, their share of the “political pie” was disproportionately small. as pennsylvania had grown in population and territory and new counties had been created, the newer counties had received fewer representatives. for example, in 1760, the three original, “interior” counties, philadelphia, chester and bucks, each had 10 representatives, but the five backcountry counties, lancaster, berks, northampton, york and cumberland, had a total of only eight representatives. furthermore, as mentioned above, the distance to county centers was often great, which made it difficult for backcountry residents to voice their opinions through the election process. the community of paxton, for example, was 30 miles from its county seat in the city of lancaster, which meant that a resident had to make a full day’s ride in order to vote. not surprisingly, between 1729 and the paxton uprising in 1763, no paxton man was ever elected to office.13 then, during the seven-year’s war, particularly between 1754 and 1758, the ferocity of the indian offense combined with an inadequate, nearly non-existent defense of the frontier made conditions that were already difficult in the backcountry, terrifying and for many untenable. although indian war parties were relatively small, they successfully employed tactics of stealth and surprise to attack individual settlers or clusters of homesteads in small areas. these raiding parties carried away everything that they could not destroy, including horses, livestock, food stores, and captives. their goal was to inflict maximum physical destruction and psychological terror. this onslaught created a panic in the backcountry, which resulted in the flight of residents eastward and southward, and virtually collapsed the pennsylvania frontier. 14 4 unfortunately for the frontier residents, the lack of provincial defense was primarily a result of political infighting and inaction in philadelphia. consequently, public funds were unavailable to the frontier, for a number of reasons. most importantly, the quaker-dominated assembly had been deadlocked with the proprietor over the issue of taxation and public revenue since 1740. this political deadlock combined with the passive, non-legislative style that characterized quaker leadership, and their religious objection to war, left pennsylvania without a militia and the frontier without public funds or resources to assist in defense or to come to the aid of the backcountry’s victims of war.15 for the backcountry, the seven year’s war and the negligible assistance received from the pennsylvania assembly was a transforming event. grievances that had brewed over the years between the backcountry and philadelphia leadership, and which had included the proprietor and the assembly, crystallized into a resentment that targeted the assembly and by extension the quaker elite. specifically, the frontiersmen blamed the pacifism of the quakers for the inadequacy of pennsylvania’s defense and for what the backcountry deemed as inappropriate protection of the indians. this ongoing sense of neglect and abandonment also encouraged frontier residents, arguably by necessity, to intermittently organize themselves during times of crisis as well as to create their own “unofficial” leaders.16 for philadelphia, the seven year’s war was also a transforming event, but for different reasons. specifically, the community of the society of friends, which had always emphasized the importance of maintaining their quaker leadership and their distinctive quaker culture within the colony, became less confident of their ability to “guide” pennsylvania, as they became a smaller and smaller minority. compounding this uncertainty, the war also prompted quakers, based on their pacifist beliefs, to “officially” withdraw from provincial politics. this voluntary withdrawal from formal politics overtly changed the composition of political power and influence in pennsylvania, but despite this “official” decision and the growing presence of other ethnic and religious groups, the cultural influence of quakers over pennsylvania prevailed. thus, quakers and the quaker “party” continued to dominate the politics and administration of the colony, albeit with a less confident hand.17 by 1761, not only had peace returned to the frontier, but the rebuilding of the frontier had also begun. unfortunately, the relative calm was short-lived. in june 1763, pontiac’s war came to the pennsylvania frontier. once again, indian attacks and white casualties were on the rise and continued to increase through the summer and fall, which again brought terror, helplessness, and a renewed sense of the backcountry’s resentment of the east.18 thus, when the paxton massacre and riot occurred in december, frontier inhabitants were feeling threatened by indian attacks, neglected by the urban elite, and powerless to affect any change. within this contentious environment, the events of the paxton boys and its aftermath unfolded, at first seemingly as symptoms of the tension between the frontier and urban regions, but eventually as a “contest” between different social and political factions in the city. as a reflection of sectional hostility, the events surrounding the paxton boys in many ways paralleled frontier-urban tensions, which other areas of colonial north america experienced during the latter half of the eighteenth century. along the rapidly expanding frontier and backcountry, disadvantages in economics and politics relative to 5 their eastern “neighbors,” fostered growing resentment. in particular, a sense of entrenched inequity and a mistrust of the eastern elite permeated the backcountry, as frontier residents felt increasingly trapped in a subsistence lifestyle. in some colonies, like north carolina, these resentments eventually boiled over into regulator movements, civil, “militarized” attempts to stop the perceived corruption of authorities. by contrast, up and down the atlantic seaboard, the eastern elite viewed the inhabitants of the frontier as socially inferior, uncivilized, and unimportant to the colonies, economically and politically. despite this urban perception of the backcountry inhabitants as marginal there was also a growing recognition of the economic opportunities that abounded on the frontier.19 pennsylvania during the eighteenth century reflected a similar pattern of frontierurban tensions. the earliest writings of the paxton boys underscored this common animosity between the backcountry and urban centers when the frontier settlers used words like the “distressed, bereft, injured frontier” to describe their situation. like the backcountry inhabitants of other colonial regions, pennsylvania backcountry settlers felt neglected and alienated; they distrusted the motives of the urban elite; and felt powerless to improve their situation because they were unequally represented. the paxton declaration and remonstrance summarized these sentiments when the frontiersmen claimed that they were “a people grossly abused, unrighteously burdened and made dupes,” and when they pleaded for the rescue of “a labouring land from a weight so oppressive, unreasonable and unjust.”20 backcountry feelings of neglect by, and isolation from, urban centers were common themes in many of the published writings on the paxton affair. one example is the apology of the paxton volunteers in which the frontier settlers defended their actions based on “the weak defenseless state of our long extended frontier … we had no militia in the province to come to our assistance, no stockades or forts to repair to for safety; the inhabitants living formerly in peace were unaccustomed to the life of arms, & unacquainted with the indian method of making war; so that we were unable to defend ourselves.”21 in further support, another pamphleteer wrote that the frontier had “sent several petitions to the governor and assembly, which its suppos’d have been conceal’d by some ill designing persons. and tho’ his honour never receiv’d these remonstrances, yet the distress’d people believ’d he had, and look’d upon themselves as utterly neglected and their sufferings despis’d by the governement.” just as north carolina regulators would believe in 1766, pennsylvania frontiersmen writing on the paxton affair also suspected that philadelphia leadership purposefully ignored the needs of the backcountry and that the corruption of eastern officials exacerbated the trying conditions on the frontier. 22 another theme that the pamphlets revealed was the frontier inhabitants’ distrust of the motives of the urban elite, including plans to use the frontier to expand economically and a perceived favoritism toward indians. this was particularly true with respect to the quakers, who were not only successful businessmen, but who had also established a “private” organization, the friendly association, to bypass official government and negotiate directly with the indians. some pennsylvania residents supported these “peaceful” efforts to mitigate violence in the backcountry, but others felt that quakers harbored economic designs for negotiating with indians through unofficial channels. voicing similar suspicions, a pamphleteer pondered, “whether the affection which some 6 principals of that sect have shewn indians, and the great care they are now taking of them can possibly owe to any particular advantages that may arise from their trade.” further, in the paxton petition to the pennsylvania assembly, frontiersmen claimed that, “a certain society of people in this province…openly loaded the indians with presents and … not only abetted our indian enemies, but kept up a private intelligence with them, and publickly received from them a belt of wampum, as if …our governor or authorized by the king.”23 for the settlers on the frontier, these suspicions and resentments became all the more frustrating, because they were unequally represented, legally and politically, which made them powerless to affect any change to their circumstances. reflecting these concerns, the paxton declaration and remonstrance argued that, “we…as free-men and english subjects… have an indisputable title to the same privileges [as] his majesty’s other subjects, who reside in the interior counties… and therefore ought not to be excluded from an equal share with them in the very important privilege of legislation… wherefore we humbly pray, that we may be no longer deprived of an equal number with the three aforesaid counties, to represent us in assembly.” each of these passages conveyed the west’s hostility toward the east and demonstrated the backcountry’s belief that they were the victims of an entrenched prejudice by the urban elite. 24 in fact, as in other areas of colonial north america the urban elite of pennsylvania did view the frontier inhabitants as socially inferior, uncivilized and as an unwanted nuisance in the pursuit of their own “grand plans” for the colony. in addition, especially following the paxton events, the philadelphia elite increasingly viewed the frontier as a potential threat to peace and the established order. in particular, the inferiority of the backcountry settlers was a theme repeatedly incorporated into the published paxton pamphlets. in one example, charles read denigrated the frontier as uncivilized when he wrote in a published “letter” that, “such an inhuman murder as that at lancaster, can only serve to convince the world, that there are among us persons more savage than indians themselves.” then, later in the same letter, he credited the irrational behavior of the settlers on the fact that, “weak minds are apt to be in an extraordinary manner inflamed, and get into violent ferments.”25 likewise, another pamphleteer viewed the behavior of the paxton boys as unsurprising because, “the rioters…[were not] freeholders or men of property.”26 satire was yet another means to convey the inferiority and uncivilized nature of the backcountry inhabitants. in a dialogue, between andrew trueman and thomas zealot, the author underscored the baseness, lack of education and brutality of the frontier, when thomas zealot, acting as one of the paxton boys, recounted that, “we shot six and a wee ane, that was in the squaw’s belly; we sculped three; we tomahawked three; we roasted three and a wee ane; and three and a wee ane we gave to the hogs… we kilt them at the mannor just as they getting out of their beds; and the gued folks of lancaster had taken away aw the guns, tomhawks…from them that were in the goal.”27 the brutality of the description of the murders, the ungentlemanly act of killing unarmed and defenseless people, and the intentional misspelling of words all identified the paxton boys as uncivilized and inferior to the erudite urban community in philadelphia. in fact, the critiques of the paxton events and the frontiersmen relied on the innate inferiority of the backcountry residents relative to their urban counterparts, including their lack of 7 intelligence, education, wealth, and understanding and respect for the principles of appropriate, gentlemanly behavior. another common theme in the pamphlets was a concern that the frontier posed a potential threat to the city elites’ plans for economic growth, to their authority, and to the established order. as the backcountry suspected, many city merchants viewed indians as a critical component to an expanding market economy and their ability to continue to accumulate wealth. one pamphlet even highlighted that indian “friendship might be of very great benefit to us – the skins and furrs are great weights in the ballance of trade.”28 in the same vein, charles read in his “letter” commented on the critical role of indians when he wrote that, “on this continent their numbers are very great; that every individual will purchase some article of british manufacture; that it is trade only that enables britain to maintain armies, and sent forth fleets… indians will… make us masters of the most valuable trade for furs and peltry in the world.”29 these passages underscored the importance of indians as consumers, as partners in trade, and as a critical component of british dominance worldwide. thus, in economic terms alone, the tension and animosity that existed between frontier settlers and the urban elite were not surprising. however, the paxton events also awakened a real fear of the unruliness of the backcountry and their potential ability to threaten the authority of the eastern leadership, even to upset peace and the established order. one pamphleteer voiced growing anxiety of the backcountry when he expressed his concern that “if these people should take it into their heads, not to pay taxes, or not to pay the proprietors for their lands, or the merchants for their goods; what would be the consequence?”30 not only was the leadership in philadelphia concerned about maintaining their authority and control, but also they were also concerned about the possibility of violence and revolt. to that end, philadelphia passed a riot act for the purpose of “preventing tumults.” in this act, “any persons, to the number of twelve, or more, being unlawfully, riotously and tumultuously assembled together…and being required or commanded…to disperse… and continue together…shall be adjudged felons, and shall suffer death.”31 the timing of the act makes it clear that the governor enacted this law in direct response to the impending “revolt” led by the paxton boys. all of these examples expressed distrust, disdain, even fear – whether it was of unruly frontiersmen, or indians or the philadelphia elite, and revealed an east-west orientation to the public dialogue. ultimately, an unprecedented number of pamphlets and political cartoons were published in the aftermath of the paxton events, which made it the most publicly contested issue in pennsylvania up to that point. in total, writings pertaining to the paxton affair comprised 20% of all of pennsylvania’s printed materials in 1764 (including government documents) and represented a 40% increase over 1763, which made philadelphia the biggest publishing center in the colonies (surpassing boston for the first time). 32 however, the divisiveness in the frontier-urban relationship does not seem enough to explain the extent of the pamphlet writing or the sudden shift in the content of the discourse to religion. one pamphlet that demonstrated the switch from highlighting frontier-urban prejudices to religious ones was a looking glass for presbyterians, in which the author challenged, “was it not presbyterians that murdered the indians at lancaster, was it not presbyterians, that came down with an intent, to murder the indians in the barraks? … i 8 think the presbyterians have been the authors, and abettors, of all the mischief.”33 while prior writings had placed blame on the frontiersmen, this pamphlet targeted a religious group for the blame. moreover, by identifying presbyterians as “the murderers” of the indians, the author made a cross-sectional segment of pennsylvania residents (i.e. frontier and urban presbyterians) the proxy for all that had gone wrong in pennsylvania. indeed, the volume of pamphlets combined with this definitive shift in the content of the materials published seemed symptomatic of a fractious environment and a broader social discord in philadelphia. instead of just a war of words between eastern and western factions over the paxton affair, many pamphlets actually exposed how divided philadelphians had become. it appears that different factions within philadelphia increasingly used the paxton boys as a foil to criticize each other in a contest for political power and societal influence. however, political partisanship was not the overt divider. instead, religion emerged as the primary delineator revealing three themes, including the expression of a broad resentment of the quakers’ societal dominance, the attempt by quakers to defend their role in philadelphia, and ultimately the evolution of the paxton affair into an election tool. in 1764, quakers were no longer the proprietors of pennsylvania. nevertheless, they still considered themselves stewards of the colony and as such believed that “the provincial government was and should be theirs to direct in ways consistent with the holy experiment.” furthermore, as previously mentioned, quaker religious and civil leaders had often been the same, which connected the governance of pennsylvania directly with the quaker religion. another complicating factor by the 1760s was the presence of other groups, religious and ethnic, which were gaining strength. the presbyterians, for example, had achieved a critical mass in terms of population. they had “officially” reunited the old and new lights; and had augmented their leadership because of the establishment of the college of new jersey. as one important representative group, presbyterians at this time were working to build their own spheres of power and influence and were poised to challenge the quaker faction. thus, pennsylvania had become a place, which quakers felt obliged to oversee, but in which many residents resented the quaker community as a political machine that had established a cultural, ruling oligarchy.34 many of the paxton pamphlets reinforced these sentiments. in the quaker unmask’d, for example the author asked his fellow philadelphians to “look around and see who are those who enjoy the places of profit and trust … are they not quakers or quakers’ creatures.” the resentment engendered by long-term quaker dominance was further reinforced when the author accused the quakers of having “lately prov’d their very religion to be a political engine” and to using their religion “as it suits their crafty purposes.”35 while quakers had already been the targets for paxton pamphlets that addressed east-west tensions, now the slant of the writings had switched to a philadelphia-centered battle for societal control. put on the defensive, the quaker community and their supporters tried to mitigate these attacks and uphold their traditional role within the colony. in making this argument, one pamphleteer responded directly to the author of quaker unmask’d and challenged him to consider, “if q—rs are…so improper to represent a people, why are they chosen as such? …i am certain it can’t be alledged, that the numbers of q—rs in this province make a majority…but their constituents…seeing the happy effects of their upright 9 conduct in every public trust…have always endeavoured still to keep them possessed of it.”36 other quakers took a different tact and tried instead to deflect the attacks by downplaying the “official” political position that quakers possessed in pennsylvania. in this vein, a different pamphleteer claimed that, “quakers are blamed without cause” because “is the governor a quaker? is his council quakers?… i answer in the negative.”37 in addition to the pamphlets acting as mirrors for the resentment against quakers, the “paxton” pamphlets also became important election tools. historically, the pennsylvania assembly and the quaker “party” had squabbled perennially with the proprietor over the administration of the colony. then in 1764, tensions came to a head when the assembly, the quakers, and quaker supporters chose to endorse a proposal by benjamin franklin and joseph galloway to convert pennsylvania into a royal colony. the paxton affair occurred just as the debate to convert pennsylvania to a royal colony re-ignited (ultimately the most important election issue in 1764) and both sides viewed the paxton events as an opportunity to gain political advantage. 38 in this debate, the proprietor “party” and the quaker “party,” latched onto the use of religion in the dialogue over the paxton events to accomplish two goals: one, to argue who was or was not fit to govern pennsylvania and two, to broaden the public’s interest in the upcoming election. for example, the proprietor faction, which included in this election presbyterians, anglicans and many germans, argued that the quakers were unfit to govern, by emphasizing the assembly’s and “quaker” party’s well-known and dismal record on defense and by underscoring the quaker religion’s mandate against war. in one pamphlet, the author requested his audience to, “consider quakers with respect to government: -can it be confident that a person who declares that his conscience by divine inspiration forbids him to have any hand in shedding blood, should be instructed as a representative?” in addition, the dismissive treatment and callous regard for the paxton boys and, more broadly, the backcountry and its defense were other reasons to question the appropriateness of quaker leadership. in the same pamphlet, the author argued that quakers “have often spent their time in debating, whilst our poor frontier inhabitants, have been suffering.” 39 put on the defensive, the quaker faction also used religious delineators to debate who was fit to govern pennsylvania. in numerous pamphlets, quakers or supporters of the quaker “party” characterized presbyterians as quarrelsome, riotous, and dissatisfied with the establishment. while one pamphleteer even acknowledged that, “according to the strict rules of quaker principles, [quakers] are not qualified to govern in time of war,” he went on to claim that, “had their [assembly] seats been fill’d with presbyterians, we should inevitably have been in a much worse condition; for it is very evident…that they are by no means proper men to hold the reigns of government, either in war or peace…[in] ancient and modern history, presbyterianism and rebellion were twin-sisters.”40 an extension of the debate on the fitness to govern was an intentional attempt by both sides, proand anti-proprietor, to broaden the public’s interest in the upcoming election. not only were the pamphlets’ pricing, topical content, and format varied in order to attract different segments of the philadelphia community, but the continued use of religion as the primary battle line served to capture the imagination and fears of a 10 broader electoral audience. in particular, religious toleration and tyrannical control were important factors in increasing the public’s anxiety and soliciting votes. 41 for example, many immigrants had come to pennsylvania to escape persecution and to enjoy the benefits of religious and civil freedoms, which the quakers sought to provide. consequently, many of the “pro-quaker” pamphlets emphasized the principles of quakerism and alleged that by comparison, presbyterianism was an intolerant religion. in a looking glass for presbyterians, the author claimed that when presbyterians “have the power in their hands, they will tolerate no other …opinion but their own, and never cease till they establish themselves in such a manner, so as to exclude all other sects…witness scotland and new england.”42 by juxtaposing the religious freedom that quakers promised with the alleged intolerance of presbyterians, the quaker faction solicited a broader audience for electoral support. at the same time, proprietor interests also charged quakers with intolerance and characterized quakers as dismissive of any who might hold different views or challenge their authority. in the quaker unmask’d, the author claimed to know what quakers thought and believed when he wrote from the perspective of a quaker, that “tho’ our [quaker] malice at present is openly pointed at the presbyterians; yet to be plain with thee, we are as much in our hearts against all who differ from us in opinion.”43 civil freedom was another important principle to many pennsylvanians. for quakers, the proprietor had traditionally represented a tyrannical obstacle to the autonomy of the colony and the pursuit of civil freedom. however, during the election season of 1764, the quaker faction often substituted presbyterianism as the primary perpetrator of tyranny and autocratic behavior. in an attempt to garner increased voter participation in the upcoming elections, one pamphleteer solicited support from fellow philadelphians when he implored his “dear countrymen and fellow citizens, the time is now come that we must either submit our necks to the yoke of presbyterian bondage, or exert ourselves with a true british spirit in behalf of our king and country.”44 elaborating on the imminent dangers of presbyterian tyranny and a consequential loss of civil freedoms, the author also played on the fears of many pennsylvanians when he warned that “the presbyterians want more members … to represent them…and, if these motives prevail what may we expect to be the consequences: why – a bill exempting the proprietors from all taxes forever… a bill for establishing synods, presbyteries, and kirk sessions… a bill obliging every body to attend presbyterian meetings, under pain of corporal punishment for the first offence, and hanging for the second.”45 in the end, the pamphlet “war” and the election “campaign” of 1764 resulted in the largest and broadest voter turnout in pennsylvania up to that point. furthermore, benjamin franklin lost his only popular election and the quakers for the first time found themselves isolated politically and religiously (not just from the presbyterians, but also from the anglicans, lutherans and german reformed). however, these events changed little for the residents of the frontier. the assembly ignored their declaration and remonstrance until september 1764 when finally one item unsuccessfully received official consideration. on the other hand, the presbyterians were able to gain further unity and societal influence by aligning themselves (old lights and new lights, urban and frontier) against the quakers.46 overall, the paxton affair and the resulting pamphlet frenzy revealed the complexity and the undercurrents of instability, which existed within pennsylvania’s pre 11 revolutionary social structure. the pamphlets not only exposed the societal strain between the frontier and urban regions, but their ultimate reliance on religious delineators also revealed the increasing societal tension within philadelphia. in fact, for many colonial americans, religion was a way in which they were able to better understand and order their universe. thus, religious conflict in colonial america can be interpreted as symptomatic of an underlying uncertainty and instability within the social structure. given the long-term cultural and political dominance of the relatively small religious “sect” of quakers, and despite pennsylvania’s adherence to religious tolerance, it almost seems inevitable that religious identity transcended other differences and became the focus and the lightening rod for public discourse in philadelphia. in pennsylvania, the paxton massacre and riot and the frenzy of publishing that ensued became the means by which different groups tried to advance their own social and political agendas, a particular focus of which was a direct challenge to the hegemony of the quakers. however, despite these events, the inflammatory dialogue, and the direct challenge made to the continued hegemony of the quakers, ultimately quakers and their political allies were able to remain the dominant cultural and political force until the eve of the american revolution. endnotes: 1 franklin, benjamin, a narrative of the late massacres, in lancaster county, of a number of indians, friends of this province, by persons unknown. with some observations on the same (philadelphia: franklin and hall ?,1764), 9, 26-27. 2 smith, matthew and james gibson a declaration and remonstrance of the distressed and bleeding frontier inhabitants of the province of pennsylvania presented by them to the honourable governor and assembly of the province, shewing the causes of their late discontent and uneasiness and the grievances under which they have laboured, and which they humbly pray to have redress’d (philadelphia: w. bradford?, 1764), 4,quotations, 6 and 9, 10, 15-17 3 there exists a wealth of scholarship on the paxton boys specifically as well as on prerevolutionary period in pennsylvania in general. some of the scholarship that treats the paxton affair as a story of racial reconstruction in pennsylvania includes alden t. vaughan in “frontier banditti and the indians: the paxton boy’s legacy, 1763-1775” pennsylvania history 51, no.1 (january, 1984) and krista carmenzind, “violence, race and the paxton boys,” in friends & enemies in penn’s woods: indians, colonists, and the racial construction of pennsylvania, eds william a. pencak and richter, daniel. for a general understanding of the frontier setting and the challenges and tensions that existed with the urban centers, refer to “poor carolina: ” politics and society in colonial north carolina, 1729-1776 by ekirch, a. roger and gregory h. nobles’ “breaking into the backcountry: new approaches to the early american frontier, 1750-1800,” the william and mary quarterly 46, no.4 (october, 1989). for works specifically on pennsylvania, see into the american woods, by james merrell and on the paxton area, paxton: a study of community structure and mobility in the colonial pennsylvania backcountry. by george franz. there are also many works that address the political challenges and changes taking place in pennsylvania, which the paxton boys figure prominently, including pennsylvania politics, 1746-1770: the movement for royal government and its consequences, by james a. hutson, forming american politics: ideals, interests, and institutions in colonial new york and pennsylvania by alan tully, the varieties of political experience in eighteenth-century america by richard beeman and the paxton papers, by john dunbar. 4 peter butzin, made a similar connection in “politics, presbyterians and the paxton riots, 17631764,” the journal of presbyterian history, 51, no.1 (1980). 5 brock, peter, the quaker peace testimony1660 to 1914 (syracuse, n.y.: syracuse university press, 1990) 87-91, mekeel, arthur, the relation of the quakers to the american revolution (washington, d.c.: university press of america, 1979), 1-2, beeman, richard r. the varieties of political experience in 12 eighteenth-century america (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2004), 204, tully, alan, william penn’s legacy: politics and social structure in provincial pennsylvania, 1726-1755 (baltimore: john hopkins university press, 1977), 74. 6 tully, william penn’s legacy, 66, 72-73. 7 tully, william penn’s legacy, 53-55. 8 tully, william penn’s legacy, 54-59. 9 tully, william penn’s legacy, 79, 82, 84. 10beeman, 211, 215, 223. 11 quotation from tully, william penn’s legacy, xvi; for a detailed description of civil quakerism and its popularity, see tully, forming american politics, 287-300. 12 carmenzind, krista, “from the holy experiment to the paxton boys: violence, manhood, and race in pennsylvania during the seven years’ war.” phd. diss. (university of california, san diego, 2002), 30, beeman, 206,234, tully, william penn’s legacy, 67. 13 beeman, 210-212, 231-232.. 14 carminzind, 49-51, anderson, fred, crucible of war: the seven years’ war and the fate of empire in british north america, 1754-1766 (new york: alfred a. knopf, 2000), 108. 15 beeman, 212, 223. 16 tully, alan. forming american politics: ideals, interests, and institutions in colonial new york and pennsylvania (baltimore: john hopkins university press, 1994), 183, beeman, 234. 17 beeman, 205-206, 227. 18 tully, forming american politics, 167. 19 ekirch, a. roger, “poor carolina: ” politics and society in colonial north carolina, 17291776. chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 198, 644, 654, 659, 665 and nobles, gregory h, “breaking into the backcountry: new approaches to the early american frontier, 1750-1800,” the william and mary quarterly 46, no.4 (october, 1989): 164. 20 smith, matthew and james gibson, a declaration and remonstrance, 7, 9. 21 the apology of the paxton volunteers, reprinted in dunbar, john r. ed, the paxton papers (the hague: martinus nijhoff, 1957), 187. 22 dove, david james, the quaker unmask’d; or, plain truth: humbly address’d to the consideration of al the freemen of pennsylvania (philadelphia: andrew steuart, february, 18, 1764), 6. 23 beeman, 226-227; quotation from smith, matthew and james gibson. a declaration and remonstrance, 17. 24 smith, matthew and james gibson, a declaration and remonstrance, 10-11. 25 read, charles, copy of a letter from charles read, esq: to the hon. john ladd, esq: and his associates, justices of the peace for the county of glouceste, (philadelphia: andrew steuart, 1764), 4 26 the quaker vindicated; or observations on a late pamphlet, entitled, the quaker unmask’d, or, plain truth, (philadelphia: andrew steuart, 1764), 7. 27 a dialogue, between andrew trueman and thomas zealot; about the killing at cannestogoe and lancaster (philadelphia, anthony armbruster, 1764), 3-4. 28 a serious address, to such of the inhabitants of pennsylvania, as have cannived at, or do approve of, the late massacre of the indians at lancaster; or the design of killing those who are now in the barracks at philadelphia (philadelphia: anthony armbuster, 1764), 8. 29 read, charles, 7. 30 a serious address…, 10 31 an act for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies, and for the more speedy and effectual punishing the rioters, pennsylvania, province (philadelphia: february 3, 1764), 1-2. 32 olson, alison, “the pamphlet war over the paxton boys,” pennsylvania magazine of history and biography, 123, no. 1/2 (jan/apr 1999): 31. 33 an answer, to the pamphlet entituled the conduct of the paxton men, impartially represented: wherein the ungenerous spirit of the author is manifested, &. and the spotted garment pluckt off (philadelphia: anthony armbuster, 1764), reprinted in dunbar, the paxton papers, 324. 34 tully, forming american politics, 186, 257, 271, quotation from 257, butzin, 75. 35 dove, david james, the quaker unmask’d, 11. 36 remarks on the quaker unmask’ed; or plain truth found to be plain falsehood, reprinted in dunbar, 227. 13 37 a looking glass for presbyterians, number 2… reprinted in dunbar, 325. 38 beeman, 241-246, tully, forming american politics, 196, butzin, 76, hutson, pp110-113. 39 dove, david james, the quaker unmask’d, 9. 40 a looking glass for presbyterians. or a brief examination of their loyalty, merit, and other qualifications for government. with some animadversions on the quaker unmask’d: humbly address’d to the consideration of the loyal freemen of pennsylvania (philadelphia: anthony armbuster, 1764), reprinted in dunbar, 246. 41 olson, 34-36, beeman, 243-246. 42 a looking glass for presbyterians… reprinted in dunbar, 250. 43 dove, quaker unmask’d, 11. 44 a looking glass for presbyterians, number 2… reprinted in dunbar, 301. 45 a looking glass for presbyterians, number 2… reprinted in dunbar, 304-305. 46 franz, george, paxton: a study of community structure and mobility in the colonial pennsylvania backcountry (new york: garland publishing, inc., 1989), 272, tully, alan, forming american politics, 186, hutson, 105. 14 the unique influence of christian democracy on welfare policy kasey neil political science christian democratic parties help to create a distinct type of welfare state and social policy characterized by class compromise and the involvement of nongovernmental societal institutions. the presence of christian democratic parties accounts for a distinct type of policy outcomes which are unique to states influenced by this movement. welfare policy can sometimes be simplified into a sort of zero-sum approach where either the workers win or the employers win and either the state intervenes or we leave it all up to the free market. christian democracy steps beyond this dichotomy and offers a unique alternative point of view which, when translated into policy, has roles for various institutions and members of all classes. owing to the uniquely confessional nature of the movement there are multiple means through which christian democrats are able to exert influence, specifically through ideas, social structures, and the formal political process. the welfare state christian democracy produces is characterized by the prominence of social institutions in delivering benefits, meaning that churches, families, and other such structures are enabled to deliver services rather than the state being the primary provider. also, inter-class dialogue is institutionalized so that class relations are handled through official channels rather than through conflict and collective bargaining. furthermore, the overall economic system employed by christian democrats is social capitalism, a middle way between left and right economic policies which focuses on competition and the value of labor as well as on a social safety net. these are a unique set of policies and this paper will seek to explain the forces which cause this set of policy outcomes. it is the basis of the christian democrats in christian principles and doctrine which uniquely shapes the policies they advocate. catholics in particular have the benefit of access to centuries of comprehensive thinking and writing from the church on a vast array of social issues; when developing a political platform, christians simply step into one of the most important and well-developed streams of thinking available. this thinking is the primary force that drives the compromise between classes and societal structures, emphasizing the importance of the individual and community, work and stability. christianity also provides social structures beyond mere political parties as evidenced by the existence not only of about:p about:p about:p churches but also of schools, hospitals, and other institutions which are able to participate in the implementation of social policy. these structures ensure that policy is implemented in a way consistent with christian democratic thinking. finally, as a political party christian democrats have a unique influence because they occupy such a broad space in the center of the political spectrum, enabled by religion‟s ability to cut across traditional class divisions and unite otherwise disparate sets of people and interests. this centrist position both derives from and further enables christian democratic policies of class compromise like social capitalism. as a result of these three means of influence, christian democracy is able to conceive of and carry out a type of welfare policy which is distinct from that which is produced in the absence of such a party. this paper will explore the areas of doctrine, social institutions, and actual political parties which influence the christian democratic welfare state, focusing particularly on the dutch case. an interesting distinction of the dutch case is that it allows for internal comparison since it historically prominent confessional parties declined in influence in the postwar period, thus offering the possibility to observe the changes in welfare policy that occurred alongside the shift away from christian democratic political power. to a lesser degree the swedish and american cases are also referenced for the sake of further comparison because of their overall lack of a prominent christian democratic movement as well as their adoption of quite expansive and limited welfare states, respectively. the christian democratic conception of welfare policy christian democrats impact policy through ideas and doctrine that offer a unique view of how welfare policy ought to be done. foundational to the christian democratic approach to social issues are the catholic concepts of subsidiarity, solidarity, and personalism. all of these concepts are political in the sense that they deal with how people ought to live together in community. specifically, all of these key principles emphasize both the individual and the community, which leads to the unique christian democratic approach to welfare that emphasizes societal institutions, social programs, and work, as well as appropriate relations between all of these devices. the result of these concepts is policies that include societal institutions prominently, and economic approaches involving corporatism and social capitalism. in examining these fundamental tenets of christian democratic thinking it will become clear that christian democracy is not merely a political party but a movement that embodies an entirely distinctive way of looking at society. more than just a political agenda, christianity offers a normative understanding of people and society and their appropriate roles which makes specific demands on how policy is ultimately done. the result is an emphasis on societal institutions, inclusion, and compromise all of which is centered on the inherent dignity of the person as a creation made in god‟s image. the concept of subsidiarity is clearly articulated in the papal encyclical quadragesimo anno, where pope pius xi writes, “just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of the right order to assign to a greater or higher association what a lesser and subordinate organization can do.” two aspects of this principle are important to note for their impact on welfare policy. first is the belief that society has a right order which can be disturbed if tasks are taken on by the wrong institution. the principle of subsidiarity establishes that certain societal institutions have proper tasks which would be inappropriate if performed by a different institution. not only does this serve as a way of restraining which roles can properly be taken on by the state or other organizations, but it also means positively that there are certain tasks for which these institutions are responsible. in other words, not only is the community not to take on the task which belongs to the individual, but in fact the individual has a responsibility to this task as their own proper assigned task within the right order. in discussing welfare policy this means that the questions of institutional differentiation and responsibility are very important for christian democrats. for example, a school cannot take on the task of raising a child since that is a task appropriate for the family and to some degree the church. subsidiarity demands that careful thought be given when determining how social benefits will be delivered since it is very important that proper tasks be assigned to their appropriate societal organizations. the second important aspect of the principle of subsidiarity adds on to this idea by actually prescribing a particular role for the state as subsidiary to the other intermediary institutions of society. the implication of this notion of a subsidiary state envisions simultaneously negative and positive roles for government. negatively, the state is not to interfere with the ability of intermediary institutions to do their tasks and it must not take on for itself tasks which are actually proper to other institutions. positively, the state has an obligation not only to allow societal institutions to perform their tasks but also to actively enable those institutions to do so. this has clear implications for welfare policy, as the state can neither be the sole actor (or even the major one) nor can it completely step back into a hands-off position. furthermore, the specific role for the state envisioned in catholic social thought requires care for the common good, as described in pope leo xiii‟s influential encyclical rerum novarum, “it is altogether necessary that there be some who dedicate themselves to the service of the state, who make laws, who dispense justice, and finally, by whose counsel and authority civil and military affairs are administered. these men, as is clear, play the chief role in the state, and among every people are to be regarded as occupying first place, because they work for the common good most directly and pre-eminently” (sec. 50). the common good is multi-faceted, and includes both enabling and ensuring that community organizations perform their proper roles and intervening to correct or even to actively supplement when an institution fails to perform its proper task. in conjunction with subsidiarity, the goal of the state is never to actively take on more roles for itself but instead to ensure that institutions are properly performing their proper roles and to enable this when necessary. for the purpose of welfare, this essentially means that the state should not be the main actor in the provision of social assistance but rather play a role in assisting other organizations like churches and schools to take on that task for itself. only when other organizations are failing to care for the poor does the state need to become involved, and even then it should only be to reinforce the institutions which are failing, never to take away the authority of those institutions. practically, the principle of subsidiarity means that intermediary institutions in society take on a much greater role in the provision of services than in any other welfare model. a more social democratic model has a larger, more redistributive state, and a more liberal model would have a state which was not empowered to correct failures, especially from the market. the christian democratic model, by comparison, has a state which intervenes in the interest of the common good, helping to build up community organizations. furthermore, subsidiarity results in the christian democratic economic policy known as social capitalism, which is a system that incorporates both market forces and state intervention. essentially, the market‟s efficiency and competition is utilized, but the state is empowered to intervene and correct market failures, both in the form of excessive wealth and in the form of poverty (van kersbergen 1994, 40). again, this is a clear demonstration of the christian democratic principle of subsidiarity as it allows no one institution sweeping control over policy or society. the market is given a place, but the state is again present as a check to make sure that market forces do not interfere with the common good. this approach is unique to christian democracy and comes as a direct result of the catholic social thought which underlies the movement. solidarity as a principle in catholic social thought implies unity between all members of society. in laborem exercens, pope john paul ii speaks to the catholic understanding of the class struggle, “even if in controversial questions the struggle takes on a character of opposition towards others, this is because it aims at the good of social justice, not for the sake of “struggle” or in order to eliminate the opponent. it is characteristic of work that it first and foremost unites people. in this consists its social power: the power to build a community. in the final analysis, both those who work and those who manage the means of production or who own them must in some way be united in this community” (sec. 20). the concept of solidarity means that it is not just the state but all members of society that have a responsibility to the common good. there ought not to be any antagonism between members of society because all have a mutual investment in the common good. furthermore, beyond just a lack of enmity there ought to be real community and cooperation between members of society. this is true both in general and specifically in terms of economics, where the principle of solidarity requires class compromise and cooperation. this is unique from the approach in other welfare states where conflict is fought along class lines. the policy result of the application of solidarity is what is called corporatism, where collective bargaining on the part of labor is replaced with formal negotiations between representatives of labor, business, and the state to facilitate cooperation and compromise between these factions so that an end result might be beneficial for all involved. the concept of solidarity is closely tied to that of personalism, which is “the idea that one becomes a person through one‟s relationship to others” (stjerno 74). while christians believe that all people have dignity and value as individuals by virtue of their creation in god‟s image, it is equally important to realize that god also created people as innately social beings who are only able to fully flourish in community. an inherent part of humanity in the catholic conception is participation in society and its institutions. this complements the idea of solidarity by reminding us that while we are to participate in society, institutions are ultimately for the sake of uplifting the individual. while belonging to a community is necessary for human fulfillment, ultimately communities exist for the sake of people and not vice versa; the individual and their inherent dignity must take precedence over the ends of any particular group. again this results in the limiting of both the state and the market because the dignity of the person acts as a check on the power of each. the individual cannot be allowed to fall into poverty through a market failure, so the state must intervene, but each person must also be given a dignified role in society which comes largely through work. personalism is another principle which leads to the outcome of social capitalism. the combination of these three principles defines the unique christian democratic approach to social policy. subsidiarity spells out the importance of both the state as an actor for the common good and of intermediary institutions in carrying out the tasks that promote the common good. solidarity shows that these institutions must work only to promote social cohesion and never to divide people or to carry out destructive conflict, instead always working toward compromise. finally, personalism emphasizes the necessity of social participation for individual flourishing while also cautioning that the action of intermediary institutions and the compromises reached must never come at the expense of individual dignity and in fact must actively promote and uplift people. practically, this means that welfare policy for christian democrats looks vastly different from traditional left and right approaches with its corporatism and social capitalism. perhaps most importantly, neither the state nor the market is a primary actor but the intermediary institutions take on the responsibility for implementing social policy. looking to the dutch and swedish cases we can see how these differences in doctrine begin to apply to policy approaches. one clear example is the passive nature of the dutch welfare state as opposed to the active nature of the swedish welfare state. the transfer of benefits in the netherlands is based on a traditional family model which funnels benefits through male breadwinners rather than through universal citizen benefits like those found in sweden (van kersbergen 2009, 137). furthermore, and most clearly in keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, institutions like hospitals and schools in the netherlands are publicly funded but kept largely private which allows them to be confessional as well as closely tied to the particular needs of the community. this also is a demonstration of the state playing a subsidiary role by funding institutions without heavy regulation. this stands opposed to swedish health care policy, for example, which is largely state-run and universalistic, granting government a much more expansive role. christian democratic thinking translates into the incorporation of intermediary institutions in a prominent role. furthermore, the mere formation of confessional parties which are not class-based is a marked change along the lines suggested by the principle of solidarity, as the swedish welfare debate has largely been framed in terms of class struggle and even in marxist language (stjerno 129). in offering a distinct way of looking at society and its proper order, christian democracy naturally moves into ways of implementing and envisioning social policy which are unique from other parties. by virtue of the specific nature of christian teaching it follows that the christian democratic approach must be characterized not by free-market liberalism or statist interventionism but instead by an important role for intermediary institutions and class compromise. the christian democratic creation and use of social structures christian democracy influences social policy through its creation of comprehensive social structures and bonds. another unique feature of christian democracy is that, by virtue of its broad underlying doctrine, it is not only a political party but a comprehensive social movement. societies with strong christian democratic presence also have strong confessional intermediary institutions. these institutions are not only a result of christian democratic doctrine but are also a contributing factor to how welfare policy is implemented. visser and hemerijck write that “substantive policy ideals only become effective in institutional environments which are able to translate them into concrete decisions and feasible strategies of implementation” (54). the existence of social organizations means that they can be relied upon to play an important role in the delivery of benefits. it also means that they are able to impact the way in which policy is interpreted and services are delivered through their role as service providers. the existence of confessional civil society institutions is extremely prominent in the netherlands. pillarization characterizes the structure of dutch society and it refers to the segmentation of society according to confession. catholic and calvinists, the two most prominent dutch religious denominations, have developed strong subcultures, infrastructures, and networks of institutions. these pillars comprise of not only churches, schools, and hospitals but even radio stations and soccer teams. in short, the pillars are “self-contained life worlds” (ertman 46). in addition to the christian pillars, socialists and liberals have developed matching pillars so that dutch society is comprised not of public institutions which compete with confessional institutions but instead almost exclusively of ideologically-based institutions. a clear effect of these pillars on social policy is that christian democrats, hesitant to be joined into one state in areas like public schools, instead adopted the policy of publicly funding all schools. another telling example is the area of health care, where very social democratic states like sweden rely heavily on public insurance and hospitals. the obvious opposite of such an approach might look something like the current us approach which relies almost exclusively on private insurance. in the dutch case, however, there is a mix of public and private insurance and public funding of confessional hospitals. these examples demonstrate the positive approach of christian democracy to religion. rather than taking an approach which simply seeks not to interfere with confessional institutions while favoring secular ones with resources, the dutch state actively supports the public expression of religion through funding. of course the dutch government does not exclusively fund christian schools or hospitals, but it also does not exclude such organizations from funding. this approach still avoids the imposition of a religion on citizens, but it also avoids the forced, artificial neutrality which is favored by the exclusive funding of secular institutions. in this way christian democrats allow for the public development of religious convictions in a way consistent with the ideals of subsidiarity and personalism (lamberts 124). an interesting testament to the practical impact of these dutch societal institutions comes from examining the effects of the process of depillarization which has occurred somewhat steadily since the 1960‟s. two primary effects can be seen as the results of the depillarization process: first, it seems that the decline of pillars actually correlates to the decline of the political power of christian democrats and, second, there remains social segregation along ideological lines and a continued use of the pillarized institutions even as they secularized (van kersbergen 2009, 140). on the correlation between depillarization and the decline in christian democratic prominence in government, manow and van kersbergen observe that in the face of the secularization of “the confessional parties could no longer rely on the „automatic vote‟ of their pillar members” (140). it is unclear, they warn, whether it is the case that the decline in christian democracy is a result of depillarization or whether depillarization is a result of the decline of christian democratic power. likely both means of analysis hold some truth, but even so it is fairly realistic to conclude that there is a causal relationship between the two phenomena. thus, it is possible to conclude that the pillars derive some of their importance and usefulness from acting as a tool for christian democratic parties, showing another way in which societal institutions do in fact play a unique and important role for christian democracy. beyond the way in which societal institutions play into formal political power for christian democratic parties, it is also significant to note their continuing informal impact even in times when christian democrats were no longer in power. it might seem that when the christian democrats were not in the position to actively pursue policies which favored these institutions that the institutions would lose their impact. gill and lundsgaarde argue that “religious social mobilization and political involvement are more likely in countries with less extensive welfare systems and, conversely, that the expansion of state-sponsored social welfare will diminish, though not eliminate, the role religion will play in politics” (401). it follows logically that the size of the welfare state would correlate to the level of religious involvement in politics. though this seems problematic for the idea that christian democrats can create a unique welfare state because their very involvement is somehow inversely related to the presence of social provisions, this approach neglects the importance of informal political power which is inherent to the christian democratic approach. while one embodiment of christian democracy is in the use of the state for the common good, at least as important is the creation and use of intermediary institutions. in fact, the very existence of societal institutions and the depth of their entrenchment in society mean that they are able to play a primary role in the implementation of policy even with christian democrats sidelined from government. for example, to this day nearly 100% of catholic students still attend catholic schools, which remain publicly funded, while socialist parents also still send children to secular schools. furthermore, "inter-pillar socialization, including intermarriage, is still relatively rare" (evans 243). the persistence of this social segregation despite depillarization reflects the unique character of christian democracy as a social movement whose influence does not depend only on a political party. in fact, even in the face of depillarization and the decline in christian democratic political power the intermediary institutions developed within the pillars are still largely relied upon to provide welfare state services (manow & van kersbergen 141). it is this emphasis on the development of nongovernmental, community-based organizations for the implementation of social benefits that characterizes the unique nature of christian democratic politics. the christian democratic creation of welfare policy christian democratic parties are uniquely positioned to exert influence over social policy because they occupy the center of the spectrum. while i have stressed the importance of informal political power in the forms of ideological offerings and intermediary institutions, of course formal political status is also of primary importance for christian democrats and their policy influence. contrary to traditional parties of the left and the right, christian democracy is uniquely equipped and inclined to make a cross-class appeal for political support. this owes both to the fact that members of all classes are religious but also to some of the policies which christian democrats espouse, specifically corporatism and social capitalism. the ideals of personalism, solidarity, and subsidiarity mean that the welfare policies of christian democrats involve both interclass dialogue and social capitalism. social capitalism, as described earlier is a sort of middle way between socialism and capitalism, utilizing the market for the allocation of resources but also allowing the state to intervene to correct market failures and to protect those who fall behind economically (van kersbergen 1994, 40). these policies which incorporate some ideas from the left and right along with the christian principles discussed earlier are unique to christian democracy and relate to its strong centrist appeal. this constitutes both a distinctive tool for christian democratic parties and a defining feature of their policy platform which emphasizes class compromise in accordance with the doctrine of solidarity. iverson and soskice write about the influence of political parties and their relationship to class divisions on welfare policy (166). they find that two-party systems result in smaller welfare states than systems with proportional representation. this owes to the fact that two-party systems embody only the leftright class divide, and so the middle class faces a choice between higher taxes and redistribution on the left or lower taxes on the right. thus, in the two-party system the middle class tends to side with the right, creating liberal, limited welfare policies. the us exemplifies the limited size of the welfare state produced by twoparty systems. in pr, however, the center is either able to be represented by some party of its own or at least along some lines more nuanced than the simple leftright divide. pr creates a tendency for the middle class to side more with the left because it is less fearful of redistribution, believing it can have more influence over the level of taxation, and so the welfare state is more expansive in these systems. overall, the middle class tends to play a very decisive role in granting power, so it is the opportunity of whatever party captures the middle class to influence what sort of welfare policy will be adopted (manow & van kersbergen 16). in the swedish case, the social democratic party has been able to motivate the working class through the use of marxist, class-based rhetoric. as a result of this success, the main influences on swedish social policy have been “liberalism, agrarian interests, and social democracy,” which in turn drives social policy toward redistribution and an active role for the state (anderson 232). in the netherlands, however, christian democrats exercised control of the center for most of the 20 th century, during which time “the catholic people‟s party had taken the lead in cabinet formation and played the role of mediator between other coalition members of the left and right; it had been the governing party par excellence” (evans 241). not only does this mean that christian democracy was able to take on a major role in shaping welfare policy, but it was also able to usurp the secular point of view which, “though probably shared by a majority [in the netherlands], has been divided by the permanent center occupied by the religiously-based cda" (evans 244). this observation demonstrates the success of dutch christian democrats in not only capturing the support of the middle class but in fact of uniting several classes via the cross-cutting cleavage of religion. this owes largely to the presence of a real conflict along religious lines around the time of the formation of the christian democratic parties because of anticlericalism which did not exist in the swedish case as it has long had an established state church. however, it also owes to the nature of christian democratic parties as seekers of social inclusion and class compromise. part of what makes christian democracy appealing across class lines is not only its religious appeal but also its distinct economic approach, social capitalism, which is based in the doctrines of subsidiarity, solidarity, and personalism. essentially, this consists of an acknowledgement that the free market ought to be allowed its proper role in allocating resources, but that the state must also be willing to intervene to correct the injustices which are bound to occur as a result of the market, specifically poverty and the commodification of labor in a way that does not reward the dignity of the person and their work. this doctrine appeals across classes because it rewards work but also provides protection from market forces. the result of the success of christian democratic parties in garnering support across class lines is that they had the power to implement a corporatist welfare model in the netherlands which concentrates on dialogue between government, employers, and labor, thus perpetuating their appeal. as was previously mentioned, the postwar period in the netherlands saw a decrease in the power of the christian democrats and they were forced to create a black-red coalition with social democrats. it is interesting to observe that, in this postwar period, “the dutch welfare state developed into a highly passive, transferoriented, service-lean, yet highly generous, system that was tailored to income replacement for the typical male breadwinner-female carer [sic] household” (van kersbergen 129). while the inclusion of social democrats in dutch government did result in an increase in welfare state generosity, the welfare state still remained passive in a way that clearly owes to the christian democratic influence. this development stands in contrast to states like sweden where the unchallenged social democrats created broadly redistributive welfare states with the state taking an extremely active role. one question worth mentioning is what caused the loss of power for dutch christian democratic parties. of course this is a difficult question to answer definitively and there are likely many contributing factors. as has been discussed, the decline in power does appear to be causally related to the process of depillarization. both phenomena likely relate to the overall secularization of society in modern times, which may simply be a reflection of the less traditional values of current generations, but also likely owes to the lack of anticlerical persecution which united christians at the formation of the christian democratic movement. whatever the cause, depillarization and the secularization of society means that votes along religious lines are no longer a guarantee, meaning that the population returns more heavily to the traditional class cleavages which christian democrats attempt to bypass. this means that competition for the working class vote takes on a renewed intensity and christian democrats, unwilling to use the rhetoric of class conflict to mobilize support, lose out on votes to the social democrats. this all follows the prediction that whichever party is able to command the middle class vote will hold the power, and so the division of the working class between social and christian democratic parties necessitated the postwar red-black coalitions (van kersbergen 2009). during the heyday of christian democratic parties in the netherlands, social policy closely followed the doctrines of subsidiarity and solidarity in focusing on establishing social order and stability. this includes welfare policy done along traditional gendered roles in an attempt to respect and utilize the institution of the family. it also includes the central role for intermediary institutions in the delivery of social services. these fundamental tenets of christian democratic welfare policy were not compromised by cooperation with social democrats and actually helped to restrain welfare policy by coupling the expansion in the generosity of welfare programs with the maintenance of passive systems of delivery via both male breadwinners and societal institutions. here the swedish comparison is instructive in that it shows the type of active, interventionist state which develops under a social democratic party unrestrained by the influence of christian democracy. the fact that the dutch welfare state expanded in the postwar period no doubt owes to the influence of social democrats, but the fact that it remains passive is in spite of social democratic efforts. again, christian democracy proves uniquely able to steer welfare policy in a direction distinct from social democracy in both its underlying doctrine and its utilization of intermediary institutions. conclusion christian democracy offers a distinct alternative to other political parties in ideology, policy implementation, and political strategy. its doctrine aims not to polarize but to unite and to uplift. the delivery of services is not through the state or the market but through delegation of authority to intermediary institutions. power is not concentrated in the formal political arena but actually consists in its strength as a social movement with institutions that deliver services. in the formal political arena, christian democratic parties find success through the ability to unite across class lines. the ideals of compromise, inclusion, and community are not only important to the type of policy christian democrats advocate but also to the way in which they approach politics; consistent with those underlying principles are the unique methods employed by christian democratic parties in utilizing social structures and informal political power while refusing class-based mobilization. the christian democratic movement requires a particular kind of environment to flourish. two-party systems do not support such cross-cutting party and with the increasing secularization of europe and much of the rest of the world it seems that the social support needed for such a movement may only decrease over time. secularization also means that there is not as much of the blatant anticlericalism which helped to motivate and enable the formation of confessional parties many years ago. since the underlying conditions necessary for the formation of christian democratic parties is so complex, the recommendation i believe christian democracy can offer for the future is more in the area of the adoption of the doctrine which distinguishes the movement. the concepts of the inclusion of intermediary institutions and of class compromise can be applied even without the presence of a christian democratic political party, as demonstrated by the passage of the faith-based initiative in the us which allows for the delivery of certain services through social institutions which are both secular and religious. as this paper has emphasized, formal political power, while very important, is not the only feature that distinguishes christian democracy. those hoping to find a way for christian democratic ideals to continue to influence welfare policy can also focus on applying the doctrine in policy and in developing social structures which are able to take on their proper tasks of uplifting people and incorporating them into society. even as the influence of christian democracy declines in the formal political arena its ideals and institutions continue to offer a unique influence as a movement and ideology. christian democracy is a distinct movement and it offers a clear alternative to liberal and social democratic conceptions of social policy which must be taken seriously as a comprehensive and compassionate approach to social policy. works cited blank, rebecca m., and william mcgurn. is the market moral? a dialogue on religion, economics, and justice (the pew forum dialogues on religion and public life). new york: brookings institution, 2004. print. ertman, thomas. 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"the distinctiveness of christian democracy." christian democracy in europe: a comparative perspective. new york: pinter, 1994. 31-62. print. visser, jelle, and anton hemerijck. a dutch miracle job growth, welfare reform and corporatism in the netherlands. new york: amsterdam up, 1999. print. warner, carolyn m. confessions of an interest group the catholic church and political parties in europe. princeton, n.j: princeton up, 2000. print. millennium challenge goals—will extreme world poverty end by 2015 will globalization bring economic prosperity to continental sub-saharan africa? f. phillip peche political science globalization signifies the triumph of capitalism over all other economic systems. free market capitalists such as jagdish bhagwati believe that a world run by ‘market forces’ to be the bearer of development and prosperity for all. open economies allow countries to benefit from comparative advantage, direct foreign investment and aid,1 which facilitates the movement of the undeveloped world up the development ladder. however, 770 million of the approximate one billion people in extreme poverty live in sub-saharan africa.2 reasons for this are numerous and include: nature (disease, geography, and limited natural resources), colonial legacy, bad governance (specifically corruption and instability), tribal/ethnic/religious conflicts, and economics (imf “structural adjustment” or fiscal austerity and lack of financial norms and investment in domestic capital).3 among economists and political scientists there are two competing theories regarding continental sub-saharan africa’s inability to benefit from globalization. jeffrey sachs, paul collier and george ayittey champion a “holistic” theory, which argues that the combination of the factors listed above trap sub-saharan africa in poverty, thereby preventing these countries from developing and benefiting from globalization. several other economists and africanists, notably william easterly, propose that “bad governance” is the root cause of poverty in sub-saharan africa, and bad governance can be fixed (so development is possible through globalization).4 an alternative explanation is that tribal/ethnic/religious 1 cletus coughlin, k. alec chrystal & geoffrey wood, “protectionist trade policies: a survey of theory, evidence, and rationale,” international political economy: perspectives on global power and wealth (new york, ny: st. martin’s press), 18-21. 2 world bank, world development indicators, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. 3 see paul collier, the bottom billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it (new york, ny: oxford up), 17-64. for further analysis see jeffrey sachs, the end of poverty: economic possibilities of our time (new york, ny: the penguin press), 188209 & paul farmer, infections and inequalities: the modern plagues (berkeley, ca: university of california press), 262-282. 4 william easterly, the white man’s burden: why the west’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good (new york, ny: the penguin press), 44-98. for further analysis emphasizing post colonialism and indigenous institutions see george ayittey, indigenous african institutions (new york, ny: transnational publishers), 415-474 & 478-501. f. phillip peche hatred within these countries has led to war, genocide and instability, and this factor eliminates any possible path to economic prosperity. what is evident is that there are 39 countries in continental sub-saharan africa, and each country’s challenges are unique. therefore, it is unlikely that any generalized theory will fully represent the complete situation for each and every country. this paper will attempt to resolve if present day continental sub-saharan africa is able to achieve development through the economic forces of globalization. the scope is limited specifically to continental sub-saharan africa because economic dynamics of island countries are divergent from those of continental countries. the methodology used is both qualitative and quantitative. the qualitative analysis applies the competing and alternative theories to two specific case study countries (botswana – middle income5 and central african republic – low income)6 and the eleven middle income countries. the quantitative metric used to determine if a specific country is benefiting from globalization is if it has achieved the world bank’s 2006 middle income status.7 the specific measurement is the macroeconomic indicator of gni per capita, atlas method (us dollars). this methodology proves that the most important determinates regarding economic development through globalization are a country’s ability to transition to a stable form of government shortly after independence and its capacity to export its natural resources. this paper is divided into four parts. part one briefly presents the benefits of globalization. part two outlines the theories for why it is or is not working in continental sub-saharan africa, specifically elaborating on the “bad governance” explanation posited by easterly and the “poverty trap” argument posed by sachs et al; this section applies these theories to central african republic and botswana. central african republic, a former francophone colony, is an example of the average land-locked failing african state, which is characterized by chronic political and economic corruption, natural resource deficiencies, rampant diseases, and it does not appear to be benefiting from globalization (pro “poverty trap” example). botswana, a former anglophone colony, is an example of a land-locked sub-saharan african country that established good governance immediately after independence, reinvested and diversified domestically after the discovery of diamonds, and it is benefiting from globalization (most cited pro “bad governance” example). part three quantitatively and qualitatively applies the methodology to both the case studies and the middle income sub-saharan african countries. part four is an analysis and conclusion of the arguments and case studies, proposed 5 world bank. gni per capita, atlas method and ppp, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. 6 ibid. 7 world bank. list of economies, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. 2 will globalization bring economic prosperity? development solutions for continental sub-saharan africa and suggestions for further study. global capitalism is the answer essentially the argument is that market forces (specifically supply and demand and comparative advantage), private direct foreign investment and government foreign aid (i.e. the tools of global capitalization) will lead to economic development. most economists agree that countries did not move beyond subsistence until the industrial revolution. in the last 200 years market forces have led to a historically unprecedented level of human technological development. however, most of the development has been achieved exclusively by the countries that took part in the industrial revolution. hence, these countries are coined “developed countries”.8 it follows that comparative advantage coupled with an open world market would also allow less developed countries to find a niche in the global marketplace.9 for example, as technology has advanced in the developed world so too has workers’ skill levels. a rise in skill level leads to a rise in wages. in the developing world, worker wages are lower as are costs to produce less technologically advanced goods. if a developing country moves beyond the point of subsistence and exports, then their products would arguably be cheaper than identical products produced in the developed world. competition in a developing market will lead to technological innovation just as it did in the developed world in order to satisfy domestic consumer demands and international demands for cheaper goods. an increase in a country’s domestic profits will facilitate increased investment in human capital (making its citizens more skilled).10 in this way developing countries will move up the development ladder. furthermore, since finances have become more liberalized transnational banks lend more money to businesses in developing countries. in other words, the developing world will not be hindered by the limits of their own financial institutions.11 the pro-globalization argument extends to actions in the political sphere. for example, to invest in a developing country, one wants to know that the country will not collapse. if it were to collapse, then most likely businesses and sources of profit would collapse too. in fact what is most important to direct foreign 8 see sachs, 26-50. for relation to the period of modern globalization see thomas friedman, the world is flat (new york, ny: farrar, straus & giroux), 261-270. 9 coughlin et al., 18-21. 10 jagdish bhagwati, in defense of globalization (new york, ny: oxford up), 213-216. 11 joseph stiglitz, globalization and its discontents (new york, ny: w. w. norton & company), 59-78. 3 f. phillip peche investment is transparency, lack of inflation and responsible fiscal policy.12 a stable country will likely meet these requirements, but a country on the brink of civil war surely will not. along these lines, it is in the economic interests of developed countries to both help protect the investments of their citizens and open new markets. one means for developed countries to do this is to provide aid to developing countries. aid to these countries would stimulate development and hopefully provide stability so that private investment would pour in.13 in sum, the economic forces of globalization (i.e. market forces, private direct foreign investment and government foreign aid) will lead to development in emerging countries. globalization in continental sub-saharan africa scholars arguing that globalization is or is not leading to economic development in continental sub-saharan africa specifically point to the importance of non-economic factors.14 the following explanations illustrate the competing answers to this dilemma. bad governance diagram 1 – bad governance bad governance failing state and ipso facto good governance developing state “bad governance” proponents argue that bad governments create instability, which is unattractive to foreign investment, steal instead of re-invest in their countries, which negates both the potential of foreign aid and discoveries of singlesource natural resources, and do little to build infrastructure and educate their people. the “bad governance” theory does not specifically account for either colonial legacy or domestic factors endemic to sub-saharan african countries (i.e. geopolitical/geo-economical considerations and disease). the “good governance” 12 laura mosley, “room to move: international financial markets and national welfare states,” international organization (cambridge, ma: mit up), 766-767. 13 alberto alesina & david dollar. “who gives foreign aid to whom and why?,” journal of economic growth (netherlands: kluwer academic publishers), 33-35. 14 see collier 17-64. for further details see sachs, 56-64. 4 will globalization bring economic prosperity? corollary states if a country develops a “good government”, then the forces of globalization will lead to economic development. however, the “good governance” corollary does not account for “timing”. over three-forth’s of the subsaharan african countries have endured at least one civil war or military coup15 (i.e. over 75% of sub-saharan african currently have or have had bad governance), and considering the volatile nature of military coups, it is highly probable that good governments have a limited time window to produce development before they are ousted by another government. botswana is an example which appears to support the “good governance” corollary. at the time of independence, botswana chose a parliamentary democracy based on a multi-party system.16 additionally, botswana retained its major indigenous political process of “kgotlas” (chiefs and councilors meet “under a tree” to reach a consensus on important decisions).17 as a result, it has enjoyed political stability, and democracy has fostered freedom of expression and the peaceful coexistence of a multi-ethnic society.18 this is in spite of the fact that at independence 75 percent of the country was desert, and most of its citizens were illiterate.19 its neighbors, south africa, namibia and rhodesia, were less than supportive of a “black” independent country in the white controlled region of south africa. despite these factors botswana’s gdp growth rate from 1966present has averaged between 6.5 – 8%, which is one of the highest growth rates in the world.20 in 1967 de beers discovered diamonds in botswana, and the first mine was opened in 1971.21 unlike several other african countries (ex: nigeria and democratic republic of the congo), the discovery of a single-source natural resource did not lead to government corruption in botswana. instead the government used export earnings to both develop its cattle and meat processing market and industrialize (58% of the population lives in urban centers vice 36% in the rest of sub-saharan africa).22 while botswana appears to support the “bad governance” theory this may not entirely be the case. would botswana have prospered if it had “bad governance” when it discovered diamonds? it is entirely possible that a corrupt leader would have pocketed the riches from the diamond yields and not invested in the country. botswana is the most commonly cited 15 collier, 17-37. 16 ayittey, 481. 17 ayittey, 483. 18 see ayittey, 478-483. for further amplification see easterly, 28. 19 ibid. 20 see world bank, botswana at a glance, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. for 19661986 see ayittey, 480. 21 ayittey, 481. 22 world bank, botswana at a glance, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. 5 f. phillip peche continental sub-saharan african success story by the “bad governance” theorists, but timing and early good governance definitely were crucial factors is its development. therefore, it may not necessarily be the case that the good governance corollary applies to a country with a long history of bad governance. the “poverty trap” diagram 2—poverty trap colonial legacy / geographic limitations poverty early chronic bad governance (conflict & embezzlement of aid/loans/resources) trap diseases “poverty trap” scholars argue that the cumulative effects of colonial legacy, geographic limitations, early and chronic bad governance, and crippling diseases left continental sub-saharan african countries in a predisposed condition which will not allow them to benefit from the forces of economic globalization. early and chronic bad governance has resulted in conflict and corruption, which has negated the positive forces of development aid, loans and the trade of lucrative natural resources such as oil and diamonds.23 european “colonial legacy” and the resultant geographic limitations it imposed on newly independent african countries prevented these countries from developing through globalization. lastly, diseases, such as malaria, hiv/aids, and waterborne pathogens have decimated the african population and work force.24 early and chronic bad governance the “bad governance” aspect of the poverty trap argument is similar to that posed by easterly. it varies in that good governance generally cannot overcome the cumulative effects of decades of bad governance. central african republic represents the prototypical example of this phenomenon. this country’s first leader, david dacko proved to be weak and corrupt, and he was removed through a coup on january 1, 1966.25 this coup propelled colonel bokassa to power; in turn he rescinded the constitution, dissolved the national assembly, and placed all legislative and executive powers in the hands of the president.26 he then declared 23 collier, 17-37. 24 sachs. 189-205. 25 samuel decalo, psychoses of power (boulder, co: westview press), 140-144. 26 see united states department of state, profile of the central african republic, washington, d.c.: u.s. department of state, 2007, 1-4. for an in depth post-colonial history see central intelligence agency, the world factbook – central african republic, washington, d.c.: 6 will globalization bring economic prosperity? himself emperor bokassa i — bokassa represented the archetypical african dictator.27 in 1979 docko led a successful military coup and unseated bokassa, but he was overthrown in 1981.28 in 1986 it appeared that car was on a path towards democracy. its new leader, president kolingba, spearheaded the drafting of a new constitution emphasizing the creation of a multi-party system; however, his inability to improve the dire economic situation in the country led to his ouster in 1993.29 his successor, preseident patasse was also unable to change the country’s abysmal economic situation, and in 2003 general bozzie led a successful coup to seize power.30 general bozzie declared himself president, suspended the constitution and dissolved the national assembly.31 if history holds true to form, then he has a limited time window to produce economic results before he is overthrown. in car periods of potential good governance have not overcome the cumulative effects of chronic bad governance. colonial legacy the specific factor to determine is if european colonization contributed to a lack of economic development in sub-saharan africa. germany, belgium, spain, france, britain, italy and portugal colonized portions of africa. britain and france were the primary colonial forces; their reach extended to 38 of the 48 modern continental countries, and thus their influences require close analysis. the british treated their african colonies as separately entities, whereas the french considered their colonies collective “providences”.32 the british adopted a political strategy of “indirect rule” in which they allowed indigenous chiefs and kings to govern.33 the french adopted a policy of “association”, which was a strategy to neutralize indigenous rulers and inculcate french values.34 if “indirect rule” provided a more stable situation for newly independent countries than french “association” did, then colonial legacy impacted early governance in african countries. central intelligence agency, 2007, 1-11. for discussion of french colonial africa see ayittey, 392-394. 27 decalo, 145-172. 28 united states department of state, profile of the central african republic, washington, d.c.: u.s. department of state, 2007, 1-4. 29 ibid. 30 ibid. 31 ibid. 32 ayittey, 390-391. 33 ayittey, 390-396. 34 ibid. 7 f. phillip peche the anglophone/francophone colonial legacy link to early good governance is not distinguishable in all sub-saharan african colonies, but it is evident in the two case study countries. the central african republic, or the former francophone colony of oubangui-chari, was part of french equatorial africa (aef), which included present day chad, congo and gabon.35 the most lucrative francophone holdings were in french west africa (aof), which was where france sent most of its experienced government officials.36 due to manpower limitations aef colonies were governed by the dregs of the french african governing bureaucracy.37 to make matters worse, the french adopted a concessionary system modeled after leopold’s belgian free congo, which required its colonies to become self-sufficient.38 the combination of these decisions devastated aef colonies as both companies and government officials brutalized the indigenous peoples, forced them to produce rubber, the primary cash yielding product of that region, and overly taxed and/or killed them if they did not produce enough of it.39 also, the french conception of decolonization was not geared toward independence. instead its goal was ideally to assimilate its african colonies into an empire, or its worst-case scenario was that these colonies would become dependant “client-states”.40 as colonial independence became inevitable, the french decided that, “domination of the overseas possessions was made easier by splitting them up into many weak and financially dependant countries.”41 even in spite of the desires of the french appointed african leaders of the four aef colonies to form one federal central african country, france granted independence individually to all of its aef and aof colonies.42 as a result, when central african republic gained its independence in 1966, its landlocked and resource scarce boundaries left it in a virtually helpless economic position. botswana, on the other hand, was a british colony situation north of south africa. it benefited from “indirect rule” until is gained its independence in 1966. the british allowed indigenous tribal leaders to directly govern the colony with very minimal supervision, and at independence its “african” government was 35 anton andereggen, france’s relationship with subsaharan africa (westport, ct: greewood publishing group, inc.), 16-17. 36 anderggen, 1-9. 37 decalo, 133-134. 38 see anderggen, 1-9. for further analysis see patrick manning, francophone sub-saharan africa 1880-1995 (cambridge, uk: cambridge up), 19-22. 39 decalo, 133-137. 40 see anderggen, 33-40. 41 see anderggen, 45. 42 see anderggen, 57-67. 8 will globalization bring economic prosperity? essentially in place. arguably, britain did not design its african colonies to be dependant “client-states”, and therefore anglophone colonies were better postured to succeed after their independence than francophone colonies were. geography (indirect colonial legacy argument) figures 1 and 2 visually present african geopolitics and geo-economics within a colonial legacy context. figure 1 – 1914 colonial africa source: http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/afri1914.htm 9 f. phillip peche figure 2 – present day africa source: www.nationsonline.org/maps/africa_small_map.jpg figure 1 outlines the european colonies, which all have access to sea ports and are large enough to encompass diverse resources. figure 2 displays the states as they exist today; of note, fifteen sub-saharan african states are landlocked. more so than any other reason, being “landlocked with poor neighbors” is exclusively an 10 will globalization bring economic prosperity? african problem. to interact in the global economy, a country must be able to export. to grow economically, land-locked countries either need to trade with neighbors or have access to regional infrastructure to transport goods to ports in order to trade globally. the central african republic is a landlocked country bordered by cameroon, chad, sudan, democratic republic of the congo (drc) and republic of the congo (congo). of its neighbors, only cameroon is a coastal country. cameroon and congo have recently emerged as middle income countries but chad, drc and sudan are three of the lowest income countries in the world.43 moreover, cameroon, chad, and drc are rated by the un as low human development countries (measure considers human rights, political and economic freedom and laws).44 the oubangui river flows along car’s southern border, and it is a tributary of the congo river, which flows into the atlantic ocean through drc and congo. use of the oubangui river for trade has been restricted due to 30 years of political and civil instability in the drc.45 the central african republic is a poor landlocked country surrounded by poor neighbors. regional trade is limited, and poor regional infrastructure restricts global trade—it is geographically trapped. botswana appears to be an exception to the geography trap rule, but two of its neighbors, south africa and namibia, have been middle income states countries since botswana’s independence.46 in addition, namibia, south africa and zimbabwe (its other neighbor) rank as medium human development countries on the un human development index.47 botswana has been able to export its goods globally through developed south african infrastructure (approximately 83% of its exports travel through south africa).48 geography, while posing difficulties, has not prevented botswana from developing, but it has not been surrounded by poor countries, so it does not disprove the geography aspect of “poverty trap” theory. disease paul farmer argues that diseases have a much greater effect on the poor than the affluent.49 people in the developed world have access to drugs which can 43 world bank. gni per capita, atlas method and ppp, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. 44 united nations, human development report 2005, 363-365. 45 manning, 20-21. 46 world bank. south africa data profile. updated april 2007. & world bank. namibia data profile. updated april 2007. 47 united nations, human development report 2005, 363. 48 ayittey, 478-483. 49 farmer, 282. 11 f. phillip peche negate the effects of most of the world’s diseases. this is generally not the case for people in the developing world. africa is home to the world’s most deadly form of malaria, percentage estimates of hiv/aids exceed 20% of the adult population in several countries, and contaminated water sources lead to a significant amount of parasite-borne illnesses.50 in africa, diseases have three effects. first, they incapacitate the workforce. with insufficient workers, it is difficult to produce goods and take advantage of growth opportunities. second, diseases kill parents. the aids pandemic has produced a generation of “aids” orphans. third, chronic diseases directly prevent children from attending school. building a skilled workforce requires education. if children are too sick to attend school, then achieving long-term economic development is problematic. diseases do not plague developed nations, but they cripple poor nations. how has botswana handled the disease trap? the world health organization estimates that up to 32% of the adult population of botswana is hiv positive.51 this is the second highest hiv/aids rate in the world. however, at its independence in 1966, it was in the high risk malaria region of africa, but by 1994 it had become a low risk malaria country.52 additionally, 95% of the population has access to an improved water source and child malnutrition is 13% (much better than the sub-saharan african average of 56% and 30% respectively).53 while it has not avoided the hiv/aids pandemic, it has controlled diseases caused by malaria and water-borne parasites. expect that botswana will continue to use the fruits of its economic development to treat and prevent hiv/aids as it did with malaria. in contrast, central african republic has not overcome the disease trap. the us state department classifies the risk and prevalence of malaria and waterborne diseases in central african republic as “very high”.54 situated equatorially and blanketed by a tropical climate, car is home to some of the deadliest strains of malaria in africa.55 furthermore, limited access to improved water sources results in a populace weakened by waterborne diseases.56 to make matters worse, hiv/aids is migrating north from southern africa, and estimates for infected 50 sachs, 199-204. 51 world health organization, botswana hiv/aids estimates 2005, geneva, switzerland: world health organization, 2007. 52 sachs, map 10. 53 world bank, botswana at a glance, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. 54 central intelligence agency, the world factbook – central african republic, 4. 55 sachs, 189-205. 56 world bank. central african republic at a glance. updated 28 september 2007. 12 will globalization bring economic prosperity? adults in car range from 10.7-17.2% of the population.57 consequentially, life expectancy is 39 years and infant mortality is 115 per 1000 live births (as compared to 96 for all of sub-saharan africa).58 by and large, car has not been able to overcome the disease trap. in review, the poverty trap advocates conclude that the cumulative effects of colonial legacy and geographic limitations, early and chronic bad governance, and crippling diseases prevent continental sub-saharan african countries from benefiting through globalization. might it be the case that tribal/ethnic/religious hatred within african countries has led to war, genocide and instability, and this factor is really what eliminates paths to economic prosperity? in the last 20 years conflicts and genocide in sudan, rwanda, uganda, drc and chad have garnered world media attention, but the reality of the matter is these events, while tragic, are isolated incidents. economic development in these countries and spillover into neighboring countries most certainly was impacted, but these specific cases do not apply to the vast majority of african countries which have not endured genocide. therefore, this alternative explanation is specific rather than generally applicable to continental sub-saharan africa. an alternative method for measuring the two theories the following tables highlight specific data necessary to analyze the validity of these theories. the categories listed are 2006 gni per capita (atlas method), geography (land locked/coastal), government (history of stability or instability and corruption), colonial legacy (primary colonizer), date of independence and primary export. gni per capita (atlas method) and not gnp/gdp per cent growth is used to measure positive or negative globalization for three reasons. first, 2006 world bank middle income status reflected by gni per capita indicates a sustained level of economic growth over time, whereas gnp/gdp % growth is easily skewed by the time interval examined. second, gni per capita accounts for country population, whereas gnp/gdp per cent growth does not. last, 2006 gni per capita is the most current and accurate statistical measurement available. in terms of gni per capita, 28 of the 39 continental sub-saharan african countries fall into the low income aggregate ($905 or less),59 and the remaining eleven countries are in the middle income aggregate ($906-11,115).60 table one displays botswana and 57 world health organization, central african republic hiv/aids estimates 2005. geneva, switzerland: world health organization, 2007. 58 world bank, central african republic at a glance, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. 59 world bank. gni per capita, atlas method and ppp, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. 60 ibid. 13 f. phillip peche its neighbors, table two displays central african republic its neighbors and table three displays the eleven countries in the middle income aggregate. table 1 – botswana & its neighbors 61 country gni per capita geography gov’t colonial legacy independ ence primary export botswana 5,900 (middle) landlocked stable british 1966 diamonds & value added services south africa 5,390 (middle) coastal stable british 1910 value added services namibia 3,230 (middle) coastal stable german / s. african 1990 (from s. africa) diamonds & uranium zimbabwe 340 (low) landlocked stable & corrupt british 1980 value added agricultural services 61 see world bank. gni per capita, atlas method and ppp, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. for geography, government, colonial legacy, independence and primary export see central intelligence agency. the world factbook – botswana, south africa, namibia and zimbabwe & world bank. , botswana south africa, namibia and zimbabwe data profiles. updated april 2007. 14 will globalization bring economic prosperity? table 2 – central african republic & its neighbors 62 country gni per capita geography government colonial legacy independence primary export central african republic 360 (low) landlocked instable & corrupt french 1960 agriculture cameroon 1,080 (middle) coastal stable british & french 1960 oil congo, rep 950 (middle) coastal instable french 1960 oil & value added support services sudan 810 (low) landlocked instable & corrupt british 1956 oil & agriculture chad 480 (low) landlocked instable & corrupt french 1960 oil democratic republic of the congo 130 (low) coastal (37 km only) instable & corrupt belgian 1960 agriculture 62 see world bank. gni per capita, atlas method and ppp, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. for geography, government, colonial legacy, independence and primary export see central intelligence agency. the world factbook –central african republic, republic of the congo, democratic republic of the congo, chad, cameroon, sudan . & world bank. , central african republic, republic of the congo, democratic republic of the congo, chad, cameroon, sudan data profiles. updated april 2007. 15 f. phillip peche table 3 – middle income aggregate countries 63 country gni per capita geography government colonial legacy independence primary export equatorial guinea 8,250 coastal stable spanish 1968 oil botswana 5,900 landlocked stable british 1966 diamonds & value added services south africa 5,390 coastal stable british 1910 value added services gabon 5,000 coastal stable french 1960 oil namibia 3,230 coastal stable german / s. african 1990 (from s. africa) diamonds & uranium swaziland 2,430 landlocked stable british 1968 manufacturing angola 1,980 coastal instable portuguese 1975 oil cameroon 1,080 coastal stable british & french 1960 oil djibouti 1,060 coastal stable arab / french 1977 trade services lesotho 1,030 landlocked stable british 1966 value added industry & services congo, rep 950 coastal instable french 1960 oil & value added support services 63 see world bank. gni per capita, atlas method and ppp, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. for geography, government, colonial legacy, independence and primary export see central intelligence agency. the world factbook – botswana, south africa, namibia, swaziland, lesotho, republic of the congo, gabon, djibouti, equatorial guinea, angola, cameroon & world bank. , botswana south africa, namibia swaziland, lesotho, republic of the congo, gabon, djibouti, equatorial guinea, angola, cameroon, data profiles. updated april 2007. 16 will globalization bring economic prosperity? analysis tables one and two yield little new evidence that the case studies did not, but analysis of the eleven middle income countries introduces new possibilities. first, botswana is not the only landlocked country to reach middle income status. however, lesotho and swaziland are enveloped by south africa. both of these emerging countries have limited natural resources and rudimentary economic diversification, but they benefit immensely from favorable trade relationships with south africa and subsequent worker remittances.64 second, add namibia and botswana to swaziland and lesotho and it appears that “being neighbors with south africa”, the continent’s most diversified economy, is a legitimate path to benefiting from globalization. third, angola and congo are intriguing examples. both countries have endured instable governing regimes, civil wars and repressive colonial influences,65 and yet both have recently achieved middle income status. their elevation in status might also be attributed to soaring oil prices and an unscrupulous chinese oil investment strategy in africa, but if they continue on their current upward trend neither the bad governance nor the poverty trap theories account for their successes. forth, djibouti appears to be an anomaly. excepting lesotho and swaziland it is the only other middle income country to achieve its status without the benefit of plush oil reserves or diamond mines. djibouti has the distinction of strategic location—it is located on the horn of africa, and it is a major trading port for goods and oil entering and leaving the red sea. additionally, since “9/11” it has actively supported the us led global war on terrorism; us military units are stationed and train within its borders. lastly, the most significant and replicated development indicators among the middle income countries are stable government and lucrative natural resources (oil and diamonds). conclusion this paper has attempted to resolve whether globalization will bring development to continental sub-saharan africa. this region poses a difficult challenge for global capitalism. the combination of incipient and chronic bad governance since independence, near universal poverty and lack of development, geographical limitations imposed on countries by extant borders and colonial legacies, and pandemic diseases render most countries both too corrupt to fix their problems with aid and too unstable to attract substantial direct foreign investment. 64 the world factbook – swaziland and lesotho. 65 the world factbook – angola and republic of the congo. 17 f. phillip peche it may indeed be the case that bad governance is the root cause of the problem, but the cumulative effects of 40-50 years of corruption, civil war and coups have potentially “trapped” over 70% of continental sub-saharan african countries in the world bank low income aggregate.66 governance changes will lay the foundation, but new governments have a limited time table to affect positive economic change before being displaced. a globalist’s prediction would be that politically stable port countries which receive development aid and foreign investment will climb the ladder of development. this in turn will provide stable landlocked countries “good” neighbors with whom to trade (actualizing a means for landlocked countries to climb the development ladder too). several developed countries, including the united states, seem to have drawn this conclusion. the us established the millennium challenge corporation (mcc),67 which measures a country’s level of good governance and provides aid based on qualifying conditions. the success rate of mcc countries over time is probably the best assessment of the good governance corollary. solutions to “fix” sub-saharan africa range from top-down “big push/shock therapy” aid strategies designed to jump start failing economies,68 to policies combining aid, preferential agricultural trade agreements between africa and the west and international military intervention to create african stability,69 and “bottom up” approaches focused on asset accumulation and african produced solutions to problems.70 as easterly states, “the dynamism of the poor at the bottom has much more potential than the plans at the top.”71 presently it is uncertain whether globalization will develop africa. if the plight of the central african republic is an example of what not to do, and botswana is an example of what to do, then success will be achieved when african countries both combine indigenous institutions, customs and traditions with stable governance and harness the powerful forces of globalization to forge their own unique paths towards development. 66 world bank. gni per capita, atlas method and ppp, washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. 67 collier, 110. 68 sachs, 211-302. 69 collier, 99-192. 70 see caroline moser, reducing global poverty: the case for asset accumulation (washington d.c., brookings institute press), 83-100 & 137-147. for further analysis see: christopher barrett, michael carter, & peter little, “understanding and reducing persistent poverty in africa: introduction to a special issue”. journal of development studies. vol. 42, no. 2 (feb. 2006): 167-177. michael carter & christopher barrett, “the economics of poverty traps and persistent poverty: an asset-based approach”. journal of development studies. vol. 42, no. 2 (feb. 2006): 178-199. easterly, 368-382. 71 easterly, 108. 18 will globalization bring economic prosperity? bibliography alesina, alberto & dollar, david. “who gives foreign aid to whom and why?”. journal of economic growth. vol. 5, (mar. 2000): 33-63. andereggen, anton. france’s relationship with subsaharan africa. westport: greewood publishing group, inc., 1994. ayittey, george. indigenous african institutions. new york: transnational publishers, 1991. barrett, c., carter, m. & little, p. “understanding and reducing persistent poverty in africa: introduction to a special issue”. journal of development studies. vol. 42, no. 2 (feb. 2006): 167-177. bhagwati, jagdish. in defense of globalization. new york: oxford up, 2004. carter, m. & barrett, c. “the economics of poverty traps and persistent poverty: an asset-based approach”. journal of development studies. vol. 42, no. 2 (feb. 2006): 178-199. central intelligence agency. the world factbook – angola. updated 13 december 2007. < https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world factbook/print/ao.html >. cited: 16 december 2007. central intelligence agency. the world factbook – botswana. updated 13 december 2007. < https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world factbook/print/bc.html >. cited: 16 december 2007. central intelligence agency. the world factbook – cameroon. updated 13 december 2007. < https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world factbook/print/cm.html >. 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2007. 24 jimmy carter’s human rights policy and iran: a re-examination, 1976-79 jimmy carter’s human rights policy and iran: a re-examination, 1976-79 john gilbert history in the late 1970s, the iranian revolution and the iranian hostage crisis replaced america’s ally, the shah, with an islamic republic that, to the present day, poses a threat to american interests in the middle east. the two aforementioned events left searing images in the minds of americans and signaled the beginning of america’s global struggle against islamic extremists. the individual who is often blamed for this “loss” of iran is former president jimmy carter. because the crises in iran occurred while carter was in office, many critics have come to the conclusion that carter was a “weak and indecisive” president.1 by examining outcomes alone, they appeared to be correct. although carter publicly professed the desire to change america’s role in international relations, his foreign policy was not particularly distinctive from his cold war predecessors in practice, and many critics believe that his unwavering commitment to the shah helped bring upon the revolution. however, outcomes alone do not tell the whole story. as president, carter was not blindly idealistic or loyal to the shah or to the iranian government, and his policies were not solely responsible for “losing” iran. in order to pass judgments on the quality of carter’s foreign policy, historians and critics must first carefully research the origins of individual policies in order to determine why carter chose the particular courses of action that he did, and what other alternatives might have been available. a foreign policy initiative of carter’s that has especially been misunderstood was his global human rights policy. like much of the administration’s foreign policy, its intentions were to set a new moralistic course in international relations and to move america away from outdated cold war ideologies.2 however, carter’s inconsistent implementation of the policy has led most historians to disregard its importance. because carter appeared to defer to the foreign policies of previous cold war presidents, the issues of human rights and an american foreign policy infused with morals appeared to be little more than shrewd political rhetoric. in terms of iran, and like most other cold war foreign policy makers, 1 robert strong, working in the world: jimmy carter and the making of american foreign policy (baton rouge, la, 2000), 280. 2 frank ninkovich, the wilsonian century: u.s. foreign policy since 1900 (chicago, il, 1999), 248. john gilbert carter was reluctant to pursue a drastic new course. for many years, the shah had been effective at providing a certain level of stability to the middle east, and carter did not want to be remembered as the president who upset this delicate balance. consequently, the issue of human rights would become the wildcard of carter’s term in office. the new and strikingly liberal policy would embolden iran’s intellectual opposition and raised the world’s hope in american humanitarianism, but it would also place carter in a vulnerable political position. as biographer robert strong writes, “carter tried to deal with human rights in a serious fashion without ignoring other foreign policy goals.”3 this gave the appearance that carter was trying to have it all ways, and in the process he would satisfy no one. this essay will demonstrate what effects carter’s human rights policy had on the iranian revolution and carter’s presidency. in particular, my analysis will focus on the first two years of carter’s term, when human rights were especially a priority in his foreign policy and when iran’s various opposition movements experienced resurgences. before examining carter’s human rights policy in relation to iran, i will first examine the ideological constructions of the policy to determine carter’s motives for advocating human rights and why carter placed it so high on his foreign policy agenda. following this, and through the use of declassified government documents, the carter administration’s inconsistencies will be explored in order to determine how the application of the administration’s human rights policy affected internal events in iran. particular focus will be given to the iranian opposition movements and how carter’s promise of human rights affected the nature of their protests. this essay does not absolve carter or his policies from responsibility, like many of his biographers have done. nor does it contend that carter was solely to blame for the unfavorable events that occurred in iran, like many of his sharpest critics have claimed. what this essay argues is that during the first half of carter’s presidency, the policy of human rights gave his administration an opportunity to change america’s relations with iran and to cut ties with the shah. more than anything, this essay may be viewed as a case study of how the carter administration’s human rights policy was applied in countries and regions where great american interests were at stake. from this point, it can be determined how the carter administration formulated and practiced its foreign policy in iran, the reasons carter chose to maintain his support for the shah, how carter’s support of the shah affected iran’s internal struggles, and how the policy of human rights continues to obscure his legacy as a foreign policy maker. 3 strong, 96-97. 2 carter’s human rights policy and iran the idea of a foreign policy framed around human rights publicly emerged first in 1976 as part of the democratic party’s election platform.4 it was conceived by carter and other democrats as a way for america to return to its “fundamental liberal principles that all too often had been ignored or even ridiculed by cold war foreign policy professionals.”5 according to carter, american foreign policy had been promoting repression instead of progress.6 a year before the election, carter had expressed concern in his autobiography, titled why not the best, that the u.s. had fallen away from morality in its foreign policy.7 in carter’s eyes, recent foreign policy makers, notably richard nixon and henry kissinger, had promoted a policy that defended american interests at the price of disregarding morality and america’s duty to uphold a high standard in the world.8 this doctrine of “realpolitik” was first implemented in the u.s. by america’s original “cold warriors,” such as george kennan, and had been applied by many american leaders throughout the cold war.9 it stated that the u.s. must set aside its moralistic policies and instead pursue a careful, pragmatic, and realistic foreign policy. a foreign policy crafted around morals and idealism, according to the doctrine, only agitated nationalism and communism in the third world, and would lead to more violence and upheaval, thus compromising american interests abroad.10 however, carter believed it was unnecessary for american foreign policy makers to choose between morality and interests; both could be achieved if the overall moral standard in the world was raised. carter believed it was the duty of american leaders to construct a foreign policy “rooted in our values” that could properly “serve mankind”.11 in addition, carter and the democrats believed america’s realpolitik was playing directly into the hands of the soviet union. according to this thinking, the u.s. was in no position to call attention to the “deplorable repression” sponsored by the soviets, since the u.s. itself was supporting authoritarian dictators for the sake of its interests.12 to carter, the lack of morality in foreign policy exemplified a broader trend of amoral american 4 joshua muravchik, the uncertain crusade: jimmy carter and the dilemmas of human rights policy (lanham, md, 1986), 2. 5 ninkovich, 249. 6 michael ledeen and william lewis, debacle: the american failure in iran (new york, ny, 1980), 68-69. 7 muravchik, 1. 8 h.w. brands, “the idea of the national interest,” diplomatic history 23 (spring 1999): 258. 9 for an explanation of “realpolitik” in the context of american moral and humanitarian initiatives, see elizabeth cobbs hoffman, all you need is love, the peace corps and the spirit of the 1960s (cambridge, ma, 1998), chapter 10. 10 hoffman, 255 11 brands, 258. 12 ladeen and lewis, 68. 3 john gilbert policy that culminated in the watergate scandal and nixon’s resignation.13 by reinstituting morality at home and abroad through the promotion of global human rights, carter believed he could restore the standing of america’s political institutions, both in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of the american people. politically, carter’s human rights policy was perceived as being a “no lose issue”.14 according to carter’s speech writer during the 1976 campaign, “liberals liked human rights because it involved political freedom” and an end to america’s support of dictatorships, while “conservatives liked it because it involved criticisms of russia.”15 in addition, even though the american public may have disapproved of the tactics employed by nixon and kissinger’s foreign policy, they did not widely disapprove of the results.16 carter rightly sensed that the public did not want to sail too far off the foreign policy course set by the republicans. however, promoting continuity would not win carter an election.17 by advocating for human rights, carter could set himself apart from the republicans without appearing to be too radical. beyond bipartisanism, human rights were perceived as the glue that could hold the democratic party together, which had been bitterly divided in the previous two election losses.18 in the mid-1970s, the general public continued to hold democrats responsible for the escalation of the vietnam war under president lyndon johnson.19 therefore, the promotion of global human rights and policies that distanced the democrats from the cold war era could help them escape their damaging legacy of the 1960s. however, the motives behind carter’s desire to restore morality and promote global human rights went much deeper than politics. his personal experiences as a southerner growing up in georgia influenced his future decisions as a foreign policy maker.20 carter’s christian background and his mother’s atypical beliefs heavily affected the mindset of the budding politician. young jimmy had been an anomaly in the american segregated south because he spent a considerable amount of time interacting with african americans as a child.21 in addition, his mother had participated in the peace corps in india and believed very strongly in 13 ninkovich, 249. 14 muravchik, 2. 15 muravchik, 2. 16 strong, 73. 17 strong, 72-73. 18 muravchik, 2. 19 muravchik, 2-3. 20 for a brief explanation of carter’s upbringing and the origins to his support for human rights, see thomas borstelmann, the cold war and the color line: american race relations in the global arena (cambridge, ma, 2001), 243-245. 21 borstelmann, 243. 4 carter’s human rights policy and iran desegregation.22 these experiences and ingrained beliefs would profoundly affect carter’s mindset towards race relations and human rights for all people. when carter served as a member of a local school board as a young man, he refused to join the white citizens’ council that strongly opposed integration in public schools.23 although he did not always publicize his beliefs for fear of political backlash, carter’s human rights policy was derived from an upbringing in which he witnessed the dilemmas of an unequal society first hand. as president, carter would draw upon these experiences as he attempted to bring human rights and equality to the political limelight. carter entered the oval office in january of 1977 believing that the cold war had neared its conclusion, and that the traditional fight against the soviet union and communism had become outdated.24 in recent years, nixon and kissinger’s foreign policy, no matter how morally bankrupt, had brought about a détente between the u.s. and the soviet union, and the cold war seemed to be burning itself out. as historian h.w. brands remarks, carter “strove manfully to refashion the national interest to suit the new post-cold war era.”25 new methods and ideologies had to be implemented in order for america to restore its standing in the world and make amends for its ill-conceived war in vietnam. as carter stated, an “inordinate fear of communism” drove american foreign policy makers to “fight fire with fire” in areas of the world that otherwise were unimportant to the u.s. the “tragic experience of vietnam”, according to carter, had shown americans that “fire is better quenched with water”.26 although it would soon be proven that the cold war was far from being over, a “soft” foreign policy promoting human rights initially appeared to be the solution for the new global picture that carter envisioned. in his inaugural address, carter stressed that america’s “commitment to human rights must be absolute.”27 in the early weeks and months of 1977, carter, along with several key members of his administration, set out to articulate what exactly he meant by “human rights”.28 although there were other key elements to carter’s foreign policy—such as scaling back armaments and nuclear weapons, improving relations with america’s allies, and assisting developing nations—human rights, at 22 borstelmann, 243. 23 borstelmann, 244. 24 ninkovich, 248. 25 brands, 258-259. 26 brands, 258. 27 peter g. bourne, jimmy carter: a comprehensive biography from plains to postpresidency (new york, ny, 1997), 384. 28 for an explanation of carter’s human rights policy, as defined by the administration, see jeane j. kirkpatrick, human rights and american foreign policy (gambier, oh, 1982), chapter 1. 5 john gilbert least publicly, was the administration’s top priority.29 in a speech delivered by the new secretary of state, cyrus vance, in april 1977, vance explained that all persons of the world possessed the “right to be free from governmental violation of the integrity of the person.”30 this meant that america must treat harshly those governments who sponsored “torture; cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and arbitrary arrest or imprisonment.” in addition, vance stated that “civil and political liberties” must be upheld, and that “vital needs,” such as “food, shelter, health care, and education,” must be ensured for all citizens. it appeared as though the carter administration would grant no exceptions to human rights violators. in terms of the shah of iran, the administration privately expressed concern in classified correspondence that their traditional ally was exercising “unsatisfactory” human rights practices.31 although not known at the time, the way in which carter chose to address these practices in iran would turn out to be the major foreign policy issue of his presidency. in order to enforce the human rights policy, the carter administration realized that clear consequences had to be established for violating nations. the leverage for this was american humanitarian aid and financial assistance. to ensure that nations were in compliance with the human rights standards set by the administration, as well those of the un and amnesty international, the carter administration dangled the carrot of the american dollar.32 as carter stated early in his presidency: in distributing the scarce resources of our foreign assistance program, we will demonstrate that our deepest affinities are with nations which commit themselves to a democratic path to development. towards regimes which persist in wholesale violations of human rights we will not hesitate to convey our outrage nor will we pretend that our relations are unaffected.33 many of the regimes in question, including the shah’s government in iran, relied on american financial and military support for survival. by stating that human rights violators would no longer be american aid recipients, the carter 29 bourne, 385. 30 for a summary of vance’s speech from april 22, 1977, see kirkpatrick, 1-2. 31 classified memo: “significance of iran to united states global policy and regional objectives,” january 1977, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 19771980, edited by eric hooglund (alexandria, va: chadwyck-healey, 1990), accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 32 ladeen and lewis, 68-69. 33 michael stohl, david carleton, steven e. johnson, “human rights and u.s. foreign assistance from nixon to carter,” journal of peace research 21 (september 1984): 222. 6 carter’s human rights policy and iran administration was hoping to force nations into compliance. the nations that did comply were supposed to receive considerable amounts of humanitarian and economic assistance. since many of the nations in question were poor and politically unorganized, they were also extremely dependent on american assistance. carter believed that not receiving american aid was a choice most countries would not dare to make. however, some nations would challenge carter’s resolve. the policy’s greatest test would come in countries where the u.s. possessed historic mutual interestbased relationships. the clearest example of this in the 1970s was iran. for years, american leaders had maintained a delicate relationship with iran’s government under the shah. in 1953 the cia covertly participated in a coup in which “the pluralistic regime of prime minister mohammad mosaddeq” was overthrown and replaced with the shah.34 the shah, or mohammad reza pahlavi, was descended from a family dynasty that had long claimed authority as the historic rulers of iran.35 the close relationship the pahlavi dynasty shared with great britain and the united states encouraged the cia to reinstall the shah to power. the fear of soviet expansionism, combined with iran’s geographic position on the soviet union’s southern border, aroused enough fears in washington to plot a replacement to mosaddeq’s government. also, the “loss” of china in 1949 and the war in korea beginning in 1950 heightened concerns that other nations in asia and the middle east would quickly succumb to communism.36 additionally, an unfriendly iranian government could have devastating consequences for western economies heavily reliant on imported iranian oil.37 the end result of the coup was a puppet regime in iran, and the shah legitimized his government through authoritarianism and repression.38 a mutual alliance was established in which the u.s. and iran defended one another’s interests. the u.s., through the shah, could contain communism and ensure access to iran’s oil, and the shah could maintain authority and power in iran through u.s. military aid and technical assistance. in 1955 the shah even signed his country into the baghdad pact, which stated that its purpose was “the containment of the soviet union” in the region’s affairs.39 34 for a historical framework of the 1953 coup and its implications in future american foreign policy, see mark j. gasiorowski, u.s. foreign policy and the shah: building a client state in iran (ithaca, ny, 1991). 35 for a history of the pahlavi dynasty and the shah’s family lineage, see marvin zonis, majestic failure: the fall of the shah (chicago, il, 1991), chapter 2. 36 a brief evaluation of iran in the context of early american cold war policy can be found in gasiorowski, 50-56. 37 gasiorowski, 82. 38 gasiorowski, 152. 39 christos ioannides, america’s iran: injury and catharsis (lanham, md, 1984), 3. 7 john gilbert as much as the shah was favorable to the interests of the u.s., he was equally as detrimental towards the humanitarian situation in his own country. even amidst the shah’s many reforms, the underclass of iranian society showed little upward mobility.40 in addition, the civil rights and political freedoms in iran under the shah were generally regarded as deplorable. although the middle class in iranian society grew steadily, the extent to which iranians could conduct collective political action was extremely limited. the historic liberal opposition to the shah, the national front, was almost completely shut out of the political process.41 the iranian secret police, savak, would arrest political opponents without cause, imprison them, and sentence them without trial.42 traditional political uprisings and protests through the media were also ruthlessly suppressed. this environment created a climate of fear that helped to secure the shah’s power. much of the technical apparatuses that savak used to gather intelligence and repress political opponents of the shah were supplied by the u.s.43 as the shah’s power waned in 1970s, savak became increasingly violent; assassinations, bombings, staged fires, and torture were all used to discourage iranians from acting in opposition to the shah. this led amnesty international to declare in 1975 that “no country in the world has a worse record in human rights than iran.”44 for many years, the shah got away with brutal governing tactics because the u.s. supported his regime. however, by 1977, this era appeared to be coming to an end as carter’s human rights policy spoke directly to the type of humanitarian and civil rights violations that the shah had relied on for years to maintain authority. in the early months of his presidency, carter did not publicly address the shah’s human rights violations, saving his concerns for private conversations. carter realized that he had to choose his public pronouncements carefully, lest he jeopardize american’s considerable interests in iran. as a confidential state department memo explained, “a frontal attack by the united states government on the human rights situation in iran will backfire.”45 however, the shah took notice that carter was dissimilar in many ways to most other cold war-era presidents. carter’s vow to promote human rights in every corner of the globe signaled to the shah that his special relationship with the u.s. might be affected. 40 the shah’s repressive tactics impacted the economic as well as social situation in iranian society. for further detail, see gasiorowski, chapter 5. 41 see gasiorowski, chapter 7. 42 for a brief explanation of savak and other repressive police and paramilitary iranian groups and activities sponsored by the shah, see gasiorowski, 151-165. 43 gasiorowski, 158-159. 44 gasiorowski, 157. 45 classified memo: “usg actions over the next six months,” june 1977, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 1977-1980, accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 8 carter’s human rights policy and iran the first major sign of this change was the decision to restructure arms sales to tehran.46 to help ensure that his government’s relationship with the u.s. did not wane, the shah began to relax restrictions against political protesters in the spring of 1977.47 iran’s liberal nationalists took this as an opportunity to “start their campaign against repression.”48 in june of 1977, three members of iran’s liberal movement published a short letter demanding “the respect of constitutionalism and human rights.”49 in addition, the newly revived iranian intellectual circle known as the “writers association” published a similar letter signed by forty members later in the month. as one of the signers of the second letter stated, “the government wouldn’t dare jail us in the present climate on human rights.”50 many liberal opposition groups began to meet regularly and publicly. savak and other security forces were arresting fewer protestors and were employing less violent tactics than in previous years.51 the relaxation of repression due to carter’s human rights policy allowed the liberal opposition a chance to grow and flourish. the members of these groups varied in occupation and ranged from doctors and lawyers to writers, intellectuals, and other professionals.52 the common goal of these groups was to force the shah to put an end to his despotic practices and uphold iran’s 1906 constitution.53 in addition to relaxing repression and allowing for some measures of peaceful protest, the shah also responded to the carter administration’s private pressures that international red cross volunteers be allowed to inspect iran’s human rights situation.54 in the summer of 1977, as the shah allowed the red cross access to iranian prisons and iranian courts, the carter administration began to take notice.55 as a confidential memo stated in the summer of 1977, the carter administration was pleased by the shah’s “recent significantly more open approach to human rights matters.”56 another state department official also noted that the shah had made “significant and important developments in the field of human rights” that 46 see ladeen and lewis, chapter 3. 47 siavoshi, 130. 48 siavoshi, 134. 49 charles kurzman, the unthinkable revolution in iran (cambridge, ma, 2004), 17-19. 50 kurzman, 18. 51 kurzman, 18. 52 siavoshi, 130-140. 53 siavoshi, 130-132. 54 classified memo: “usg objectives,” june 1977, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 1977-1980, accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 55 siavoshi, 131. 56 classified memo: “usg objectives,” june 1977, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 1977-1980, accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 9 john gilbert year.57 it was clear that the shah was at least trying to meet the human rights principles that vance articulated in his april speech. because of this, carter’s relationship with the shah began to improve by the fall of 1977. the administration believed that the shah was moving in a liberal direction and carter believed that it was safe to work out a new arms deal with tehran.58 of course, the shah’s reforms were largely for show, as he desperately tried to avoid falling out of washington’s favor. in the same vein, carter granted the shah a great deal of leniency because of the unique relationship between the two nations. as a classified memo titled “human rights goals – iran” stated in the first part of 1978, “u.s. interests in iran must be seen against a complex set of factors,” which included “the unusually broad and valuable relationship between the two countries” and “iran’s ancient tradition of authoritarian government.”59 by framing the relationship with iran in this context, the carter administration enabled the shah to view his relationship with washington as purely interest-based and not pursuant on iran’s commitment to human rights. the carter administration also intentionally refrained from keeping human rights-related data on iran in order to put off having to take action against tehran.60 the shah would not have to democratize, as long as he was saving political face by meeting carter’s minimum human rights guidelines and was protecting american interests in the region. this type of relationship would spell trouble for both leaders in the second half of carter’s term. the warming of relations between carter and the shah allowed both leaders to go ahead with the shah’s scheduled year-end visit to washington in november of 1977. amidst a barrage of protest outside the white house, the two leaders met inside for talks that mainly focused on oil, weapons deals, and the economic issues of the world.61 the shah’s human rights practices were touched upon but were in no way the main focus of the talks. this agenda was hardly in line with carter’s public pronouncement that human rights were his administration’s top foreign policy priority. following the november talks, the white house released a statement to the press indicating that “the two men had reviewed the positive steps iran was taking on the matter of human rights.”62 a secret state department paper 57 kurzman, 19. 58 john dumbrell, the carter presidency: a re-evaluation (new york, ny, 1995), 162-163. 59 classified memo: “human rights goals – iran,” may 1978, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 1977-1980, accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 60 zonis, 265-267. 61 for a summary of the november 1977 meeting between carter and the shah in washington, see kurzman, 19-21; dumbrell, 162-64. 62 kurzman, 20. 10 carter’s human rights policy and iran addressed to carter stated that “the shah left washington ‘profoundly satisfied’ with the results of his talks with you” and that he was equally “gratified by your strong reiteration of the special relationship with his country.”63 this illustrates how the president and the shah were mutually relieved that human rights had not gotten in the way of seemingly more important matters, such as oil prices. much of the same sentiments were expressed during carter’s new year’s visit to tehran. in preparation for the trip, the deputy secretary of state, warren christopher, addressed a memo to carter outlining five imperative american foreign policy objectives relating to iran that carter was encouraged to pursue in his talks with the shah.64 they included energy and oil concerns, nuclear cooperation, and middle east stability. christopher’s last listed objective was human rights concerns, and only as they related to maintaining iranian law and order. the low priority given to human rights would continue during the actual visit. even as iran’s human rights situation was once again deteriorating in the last three months of 1977, carter was encouraged by state department officials not to pressure the shah on the issue for fear that the shah would not “prefer it”.65 the toughest action carter was urged to take in regards to human rights in iran was to “encourage the shah to continue the positive course” established in the spring and early summer of 1977.66 during the new year’s talks, carter gently broached the subject of human rights and was once again reassured by the shah that his regime was very much concerned with human rights for all of its citizens. this appeared to be good enough for carter, because on new year’s eve, he would deliver the greatest praise for the shah of his presidency. at a state dinner that night, carter toasted the shah by claiming that “iran, because of great leadership, is an island of stability.” carter continued by stating that the iranian people loved and admired their leader, and that a “remarkable” transformation had taken place in iran due to the shah’s great “wisdom,” “judgment,” and “sensitivity.”67 although some of 63 classified state department paper: “ii: setting,” november 1977, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 1977-1980, accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 64 classified memo: “warren christopher to the president,” december 1977, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 1977-1980, accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 65 classified state department paper: “ii: setting,” november 1977, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 1977-1980, accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 66 classified state department paper: “ii: setting,” november 1977, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 1977-1980, accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 67 full remarks of carter’s toast can be found in: public papers of presidents: jimmy carter, 1977, accessed through santa barbara, ca: university of california [online], 2220-2222. 11 john gilbert carter’s hyperbole must be understood in the context of the festive environment, his toast cannot fully be dismissed because it did represent the administration’s reinforcement of its commitment to the shah. the friendly manner of the carter-shah meetings in november and the new year encouraged the shah to believe that his relationship with washington was solidly intact. this allowed the shah to once again disregard human rights in iran since he had little fear of reprisal from his lifeline, the united states. crackdowns on liberal opposition groups by the police and savak intensified in the winter months of 1977, including those on opposition meetings and peaceful protests.68 the correlation between the carter-shah meetings and an increase in governmentsponsored repression appears high. beating, arrests, and covert violent attacks against “freedom seekers” all increased as 1977 came to a close.69 the muslim wing of opposition fared even worse. savak launched a campaign in the late months of 1977 and the early months of 1978 to eliminate the leaders of “clandestine guerrilla groups.”70 however, by the middle of 1978 it became clear that the shah’s strategy had backfired, as the many resistance factions began to join together in order to achieve the common goal of ousting the shah.71 the shah’s violent tactics especially encouraged the poor masses of iran’s urban centers to join the emerging islamic movement. state sponsored repression had encouraged many iranians to collectively rally around their religious institutions located in large urban areas. demographically, iran had transformed from a rural nation into an urban one with fifty percent of the total population residing in towns or cities by the late 1970s.72 this dense concentration of population “provided the occasion for substantial displays of mass protest” that would not have been possible years before.73 it also allowed the islamic movement to preach its simple message to iran’s large population of poor muslims—that the shah was degrading “islamic standards of behavior and belief” and thus had to be replaced.74 religion, according to some historians, was “the most efficient vehicle for channeling the revolutionary mood” 68 kurzman, 20-21. 69 kurzman, 20-21. 70 ladeen and lewis, 99. 71 for a comparative evaluation of the secular liberal opposition and the religious muslim movements in iran, see ladeen and lewis, chapter 4; kurzman, chapters 5, 6, and 7. 72 for a brief explanation of how iran’s changing demographics affected the nature of the iranian revolution, see fred halliday, “the genesis of the iranian revolution,” third world quarterly 1 (oct. 1979):13-15. 73 halliday, 14. 74 ladeen and lewis, 105. 12 carter’s human rights policy and iran among the masses.75 the liberal opposition did not possess this advantage, as they preached reform messages that most of iran’s muslim citizens could not relate to their own circumstances. the outcome in 1978 was that iran’s liberal movement weakened while the islamic movement gained strength.76 the result for carter was a nightmarish scenario, as his “island of stability” was about to become anything but. although the liberal opponents of the shah were not fond of america’s historic intervention in iranian affairs, their yearnings for a liberal and democratic society matched up well with carter’s human rights policy and america’s founding principles. in contrast, the radical islamic movement expressed no desire to modernize iran or embrace liberal reforms.77 as the shah continued to waver on human rights, and as the religious movement gained strength, the question over why carter was not able to shift course and endorse iran’s moderate liberal reformers remains. as explained earlier, liberal nationalists originally considered carter’s human rights policy to be an opportunity for mobilization. the tactics of these liberal opposition groups were almost completely non-violent, and its members consisted of professional and intellectual citizens. they professed their displeasure by writing pamphlets, demonstrating in small groups, and publishing newspapers.78 this non-violent civil disobedience should have appealed to a man like carter, whose own personal experiences included a southern upbringing in the midst of the american civil rights movement. the liberal opposition of iran gave carter an opportunity to fully implement his human rights policy and support a much needed and peaceful regime change in iran. the public principles of carter’s human rights policy, as stated by vance in april of 1977, were very much consistent with the demands of iran’s liberal opposition. however, these reasons were not enough for carter to terminate his relationship with the shah. the shah may have been a world class human rights violator, but he had been the safe option for many years. carter, like his predecessors, was reluctant to give up on america’s friend and ally. both carter and the shah were caught off guard in the latter part of 1978 when protests in iran began to bolster popular resentment.79 one of the reasons for this 75 gholam r. afkhami, the iranian revolution: thantos on a national scale (washington, d.c., 1985), 201. 76 the islamic movement in iran did not fully take hold until the second half of 1978. with the shah’s power waning, the liberals possessed a real opportunity to spread their movement and attain power. for an explanation of why this did not come to fruition, see afkhami, chapters 6 and 7; gasiorowski, chapter 7. 77 afkhami, 209. 78 for a summary of the liberal oppositions protest tactics, see siavoshi, 134-137. 79 zonis, 254. 13 john gilbert was the reliance of carter and the shah on savak intelligence briefings. because the u.s. foreign service, including the cia, did not collect data on iran in order to hide human rights violations, savak became the eyes and ears for the conditions on the ground.80 the reason for the lack of u.s.-produced intelligence is because carter remained adamant in allowing the shah to work out his internal problems without covert or direct american interference.81 however, this stance led to flawed intelligence that only told the shah what he wanted to hear, which in turn misled american foreign policy makers as well. as an intelligence briefing summarized from september 1978: “the shah is expected to remain actively in power over the next ten years.”82 in disgust over such a misevaluation, a member of the u.s. house of representatives would later state in a study on iranian intelligence that “no reports based on contacts with the religious opposition had appeared” before late 1977, and that “there was absolutely no reporting on the internal situation during the first quarter of 1978.”83 carter’s inaction on iranian matters was directly connected to the misleading intelligence reports he received, which led him to believe that the shah had accepted the message of promoting human rights and that political opposition in iran was still moderate and peaceful in nature. in addition, these reports encouraged the perception that the shah’s power was firm. however, as 1978 came to an end, this fallacy began to reveal itself. as far back as january 1977, before carter’s inauguration, the state department produced a policy paper stating that a “smooth transfer of power” in iran was unlikely after the fall or death of the shah because of tehran’s reliance on “one man” leadership.84 the fact that carter knew this but did not take steps to line up a proper successor in iran shows that he had been misinformed of the real political situation. even carter, whose close personal ties to the shah have been well documented, would likely have withdrawn his support earlier if he was aware that the shah’s government was on the brink of collapse. however, by the end of 1978, even misleading intelligence reports could not mask the truth. protests were increasingly turning into violent unrest, and the shah’s security forces became reluctant to use force to suppress them.85 amidst this turmoil, carter finally began to publicly distance himself from the shah. in 80 for an explanation of american intelligence failures in relation to the iranian revolution, see zonis, chapter 10. 81 zonis, 266. 82 zonis, 268. 83 zonis, 265. 84 classified memo: “significance of iran to united states global policy and regional objectives,” january 1977, national security archive, iran, the making of u.s. policy, 19771980, accessed through university of delaware library microfiche. 85 a detailed description of the iranian revolution in 1978 and 1979 can be found in zonis, chapter 10. 14 carter’s human rights policy and iran december 1978, he stated that although his administration would “prefer the shah to maintain a major role in the government,” it was “in the hands of the iranian people” and he would not intervene with u.s. forces to bail out the shah.86 carter’s sentiments signaled the death knell for the iranian leader as he could no longer rely on the american umbrella to keep him safe. as 1979 began, it was too late for carter to distance the u.s. from iran’s problems—the historical relationship between the two nations was too deep and his own words and actions had been too supportive of the shah. the islamic movement led by ayatollah khomeini referenced the shah’s closeness with america as a way of agitating the iranian masses and bolstering the revolution.87 by the end of the next year, an islamic republic was solidly established in tehran, and the shah was receiving treating for his cancer in exile. the shah had served as america’s greatest and most important ally in the region. he had allowed the u.s. cheap and unrestricted access to iran’s oil, and had presided over a long period of middle east stability. however, with the shah out of power, america suddenly appeared vulnerable. following the soviet union’s invasion of afghanistan in december 1979, carter was forced to institute the “carter doctrine” in his 1980 state of the union address. in it, he warned that “an attempt by any outside force to gain control of the persian gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the united states.”88 carter’s early pronouncements were correct: the u.s. had entered a new period in history. however, it was not an era in which outdated cold war ideologies would be replaced with new liberal foreign initiatives, such as human rights. instead, as historian andrew bacevich explains, the last two years of carter’s presidency marked the beginning of a new effort on the part of american foreign policy makers to “guarantee the ever-increasing affluence” of american society, meaning the protection of america’s access to cheap middle eastern oil.89 since the u.s. had lost their most reliable ally in the middle east, american leaders felt compelled to forcefully defend its interests in the region in the years that followed. in the face of such momentous problems, it is easy to understand why carter’s human rights policy in iran has been misrepresented and even forgotten about. carter’s human rights policy also failed in iran because, much to his chagrin, it could not escape the boundaries or the ideologies of the cold war. as stated previously in this essay, carter believed that america had entered a new phase in 86 zonis, 257. 87 ladeen and lewis, 107. 88 for an explanation of carter’s last two years in office in the contexts of the carter doctrine and the importance of middle east oil to american prosperity, see andrew j. bacevich, the new american militarism (oxford, u.k., 2005), chapter 7. 89 bacevich, 182-183. 15 john gilbert foreign relations upon his election in 1976. he believed that the traditional fight against soviet communism had become outdated and unnecessarily taxing to the u.s., both in dollars and in american effort. however, even before the fall of the shah and the carter doctrine, carter’s foreign policy in practice was still framed around the same concerns as his predecessors. carter’s promotion of human rights indirectly supported the “realpolitik” doctrine he sought to escape. although professing different rhetoric in public, carter’s secret correspondence within his administration was littered with references to the soviet threat and containing communism. as frank ninkovich explains, “human rights, because they epitomized the enormous contrast between the ways of life created by the two ideologies, was also useful as a symbolic way of fighting the cold war.”90 since carter practiced a foreign policy very similar to that of his cold war predecessors, he could have framed human rights as a tool of fighting global communism. but by insisting that his foreign policy and human rights initiatives existed outside of the cold war, carter confused foreign governments and alienated the very groups that a pro-human rights policy was best suited for. iran’s liberal opposition is a perfect example. carter could never bring himself to support iran’s liberal nationalist movement as a successor regime, even though his human rights policy appeared to speak directly to what they were advocating for. the leftist leanings of the liberal opposition and their supposed sympathies to communists could never be accepted by carter or any american foreign policy maker.91 this was predetermined by traditional cold war concerns, whether carter acknowledged it or not. similarly, and following perfectly with the doctrine of “realpolitik,” carter put aside his moralistic impulses in iran because of the soviet union’s geographical proximity and the desire for regional stability.92 for the first twentyfive years of the cold war, the u.s. had formed a “special commitment” to the middle east by supporting especially oppressive monarchies in iran and saudi arabia.93 carter was in no way ready for america to withdrawal its historic support from such oil-rich nations, even if their leaders blatantly continued to deny human rights. once again, carter’s human rights policy was halted by cold war realities and american interests. in the last two years of his presidency, carter would be forced to publicly embrace his failures and accept the continued existence of the cold war. the carter doctrine, which came on the heels of the soviet invasion in afghanistan and the beginning of the iranian hostage crisis, put 90 ninkovich, 249. 91 siavoshi, 161-162. 92 ninkovich, 249. 93 ladeen and lewis, 86-87. 16 carter’s human rights policy and iran carter into the uncomfortable position of ratcheting up military spending and admitting that the cold war had not yet reached a conclusion.94 the result of this was a foreign policy and a president that appeared inconsistent and indecisive. the great moral principles that had driven his entire life seemed lost in carter’s last two years in office, as he was forced to go against his initial policy of human rights and reinvigorate the cold war. however, this does not mean his administration’s human rights policy was directed by empty idealism. as biographer peter bourne states, “carter was guided by a consistent set of values and beliefs” that remained with him for his entire life, including while he was president.95 carter was not a political “flip-flopper,” nor did he hastily throw together different policies in hopes that something positive would result.96 carter was a firm proponent of human rights and remains so to the present day. his human rights policy has been much maligned and yet carter has never regretted it; ideological consistency has never been his problem. however, carter ultimately fell short because, for over half of his presidency, he refused to acknowledge that he was a cold war president. similarly, and for various reasons, carter could not change course in his official iranian policy, even as the iranian revolution engulfed and destroyed the shah’s regime. his human rights policy appeared to give his administration a great opportunity to end america’s client relationship with iran and to formulate a new middle east policy for the post-cold war world carter envisioned. however, carter, like most other cold war presidents, could not commit to the unknown and felt it was safer to continue the foreign policy already in place. the fear of being responsible for losing iran, what historian frank ninkovich would define as the fear of a “terrible failure,” moved carter to continue america’s support for the anemic shah.97 a regime change did eventually come to iran, but it came in the form of a revolution that was unfavorable to the interests of the u.s. even amidst these outcomes, carter stated in his memoirs that the effectiveness of his human rights policy should not always have been measured by “inches, pounds, or dollars”; better judgments of him were to be found in the “revival of hope” and the “lifting of the human spirit” in oppressed peoples.98 if this standard was universally applied, than carter’s human 94 ninkovich, 251-252. 95 bourne, 508. 96 strong, 280. 97 “the fear of the terrible failure” derives from ninkovich’s idea of “wilsonianism” or “crisis internationalism”. it states that american leaders have become involved in world affairs in the twentieth century primarily to protect against threats to u.s. interests and defend against “terrible failures” including ideologies such as communism, world wars, and nuclear holocaust. for further detail, see ninkovich, the wilsonian century: u.s. foreign policy since 1900. 98 strong, 97. 17 john gilbert rights policy in iran was, in part, a success. carter’s human rights policy did revive hope in iran’s liberal opposition. however, because of the cold war and america’s historic relationship with the shah, carter could not follow their “hope” and “human spirit” for liberalization all the way through. thus, the failure of the united states in iran became the failure of jimmy carter as well. bibliography books afkhami, gholam r. the iranian revolution: thantos on a national scale. washington, d.c.: the middle east institute, 1985. bacevich, andrew j. the new american militarism. oxford, u.k.: oxford university press, 2005. borstelmann, thomas. the cold war and the color line: american race relations in the global arena. cambridge, ma, 2001. bourne, peter g. jimmy carter: a comprehensive biography from plains to postpresidency. new york, ny: scribner, 1997. dumbrell, john. the carter presidency: a re-evaluation. new york, ny: manchester university press, 1995. gasiorowski, mark j. u.s. foreign policy and the shah: building a client state in iran.mithaca, ny: cornell university press, 1991. hoffman, elizabeth cobbs. all you need is love: the peace corps and the spirit of them 1960s. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1998. houghton, david patrick. u.s. foreign policy and the hostage crisis. new york, ny: cambridge university press, 2001. ioannides, christos p. america’s iran: injury and catharsis. lanham, md: university press of america, 1984. kirkpatrick, jeane j. human rights and american foreign policy. gambier, oh: public affairs conference center, kenyon college, 1982. kurzman, charles. the unthinkable revolution in iran. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 2004. ledeen, michael, and william lewis. debacle: the american failure in iran. new york, ny: alfred a. knopf publishing, 1980. muravchik, josua. the uncertain crusade: jimmy carter and the dilemmas of human rights policy. lanham, md: hamilton press, 1986. ninkovich, frank. the wilsonian century: u.s. foreign policy since 1900. chicago, il: university of chicago press,1999. 18 carter’s human rights policy and iran siavoshi, susan. liberal nationalism in iran: the failure of a movement. boulder, co: westview press, 1990. strong, robert a. working in the world: jimmy carter and the making of american foreign policy. baton rouge, la: louisiana state university press, 2000. zonis, marvin. majestic failure: the fall of the shah. chicago, il: university of chicago press, 1991. journal articles brands, h.w. “the idea of the national interest.” diplomatic history 23 (spring 1999): 239261. halliday, fred. “the genesis of the iranian revolution.” third world quarterly 1 (oct. 1979): 1-16. stohl, michael, david carleton, and steven e. johnson. “human rights and u.s. foreign assistance from nixon to carter.” journal of peace research 21 (sept. 1984): 215226. primary sources national security archive. iran, the making of u.s. policy, 1977-1980, edited by eric hooglund (accessed through university of delaware library microfiche). alexandria, va: chadwyck-healey, 1990. woolley, john t., peters, gerald. public papers of presidents of the united states: jimmy carter, 1977. santa barbara, ca: university of california [online]. available from world wide web: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=6937 19 rebels with a cause: rebels with a cause: revolutionary syndicalism, anarchism, and socialism in fin-de-siècle france andrew p. miller history in his influential book, revolutionary syndicalism and french labor, peter stearns presents the fin-de-siècle syndicalist movement in france as “a cause without rebels.” stearns asserts that syndicalist leaders and intellectuals “produced distinctive and abundant rhetoric…yet they did not characterize french labor in their heyday and they did not set an enduring trend.”1 for stearns, the revolutionary syndicalists failed to meet the workers’ material needs and paralyzed the unionist movement because they did not have a centralized leadership dedicated to pragmatic business and organizational practices. bernard moss comes to a similar conclusion, stating that the workers’ shift from “a cooperative strategy in alliance with the reformist middle class” to “a revolutionary strategy of class struggle” through loose federations and autonomous trade associations hampered the centralized discipline and political power of unions at the turn of the century.2 stearns and moss engage the french labor movement from very different perspectives, but in the end, both either discount or fail to recognize the specific ideals and moral tradition behind revolutionary syndicalism. stearns’s concern with the importance of higher wages and job security conceals the fact that narrow, short-term gains were not the main objectives of the skilled labor force in the syndicalist movement. moss, on the other hand, recognizes the ideological character of the movement, but fails to acknowledge that political socialism, as a path into twentieth-century industrial politics, eventually embedded the french syndicalists in the capitalist system they sought to overturn. by analyzing the ideological, moral, and social origins and goals of the revolutionary syndicates in france, this paper seeks to demonstrate how the tensions and convergences between anarchism and socialism not only fueled the labor strikes and discourse at the turn of the century, but also provided a framework for radical economic change for workers and an alternative to modern industrial capitalism. 1 peter n. stearns, revolutionary syndicalism and french labor: a cause without rebels (new brunswick, nj: rutgers university press, 1971), 102. 2 bernard h. moss, the origins of the french labor movement, 1830-1914: the socialism of skilled workers (berkeley, ca: university of california press, 1976), 156. andrew miller to many intellectuals in the 1890s, the advocacy of direct action through the general strike by anarchists and revolutionary syndicalists appeared more radical and revolutionary than the socialist reformism that had gained political influence within bourgeois circles and the recently formed government of the third republic.3 in his 1997 article in french historical studies, gerald friedman provides a vast amount of quantifiable data to show that revolutionary syndicalistled unions in france were more effective in conducting strikes, influencing striker behavior, and winning strikes than other unions in france, europe, and the united states.4 the appeal and effectiveness of the “anarchist” and “activist” ideology in revolutionary syndicalism was due in large part to the unique makeup of french labor during the belle époque and the “revolutionary tradition” in france dating back to 1789. in time, the revolutionary syndicalist trend filtered into italy and spain, but 1890s france provided the first template for the movement. at the turn of the nineteenth century, the kind of large-scale industrialization found in great britain, germany, and the united states was slowly developing in france. however, skilled labor and the small-scale economic organization of artisan, craft, and manufacturing businesses continued to be the norm throughout the country into the twentieth century. these workers and businesses represented the types of labor and production that anarchists and syndicalists wanted to protect from the surge of modern corporate industrialization. within such an economic structure, mass mobilization and coordination might have seemed futile, but as the years 1789, 1848, and 1871 attested, loosely associated groups in france could be effectively assembled for revolutionary action without large centralized planning. revolutionary syndicalism developed from the labor discourses of previous revolutions,5 but it was also the product of the perceived “failure” of those movements to provide the political and constitutional reforms necessary to satisfy the economic and social needs of the people. 3 alexander varias, paris and the anarchists: aesthetes and subversives during the fin de siècle (new york: st. martin’s press, 1996), 6-7; stearns, revolutionary syndicalism and french labor, 2. 4 gerald c. friedman, “revolutionary unions and french labor: the rebels behind the cause; or, why did revolutionary syndicalism fail?,” french historical studies 20, no. 2 (spring 1997): 155-181. friedman provides an empirical rebuttal to revisionist labor historians like stearns, who believe that revolutionary syndicalism was a small and ineffective movement that only should be studied for its role in hampering the “real” labor movement in france, i.e. the unions that worked with big business and the government. for friedman, radicalism and loose federalism were assets, not drawbacks, in gaining worker support and concessions from employers. 5 kenneth h. tucker, french revolutionary syndicalism and the public sphere (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1996), 4. 2 rebels with a cause anarchists were some of the first to see this dichotomy in french history, recognizing that the rhetoric of freedom and equality seldom materialized into concrete economic change for the lower classes. william godwin, pierre-joseph proudhon, and later, mikhail bakunin and peter kropotkin all saw the weaknesses of the revolutionary gains in the rise of bourgeois liberalism and the beginnings of industrialized capitalism. anarchists took the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity to mean individual freedom from the oppressive “government of man by man.”6 they believed that society had thrown off the shackles of their old masters only to create new forms of oppressive restraints by retaining a central authority. as early as 1793, godwin asserted, “government lays its hands upon the spring that is in society and puts a stop to its motion.”7 kropotkin would echo these sentiments and recommend replacing government with “mutuality” or “common association” as the basic structure of society, thus connecting the individual to the collective without coercion.8 the individual could retain autonomy while participating in a society of free and voluntary association. many of the syndicalist unions used these ideas when forming their loose federalist structures. for anarchists, the new central authority was not the only problematic product of the revolution. society needed to be bound by common economic interests arranged by mutual agreement and free contact. this meant that all productive forces needed to be based on cooperative labor in which the individual is no longer subject to wage slavery and exploitation by others. godwin proposed that economic equality could be accomplished through social ownership of land and the instruments of labor.9 in what is property?, proudhon asserted that “property is theft,” and thus identified capitalism and private ownership as enemies of society.10 this slogan became one of the century’s most used phrases for both anarchists and socialists. the enlightenment ideal of the individual’s inalienable right to property seemed to favor the rich who could buy and sell their land as they pleased without regard for the needs of the poor. rejecting the “darwinistic jungle” for mutuality and harmony, many anarchists, like jean grave, viewed the idealization of private property as a coercive element in society.11 the competitive nature of modern capitalism placed wealthy individuals in the position of 6 pierre-joseph proudhon, “what is property?,” in the anarchist reader, ed. george woodcock (atlantic highlands, ny: harvest press, 1977), 71. 7 william godwin quoted in “anarchism: a historical introduction,” the anarchist reader, 15. 8 peter kropotkin, mutual aid: a factor of evolution (london, 1902), 34. 9 godwin, “the dissolution of government,” the anarchist reader, 297. 10 proudhon quoted in “anarchism: a historical introduction,” ibid., 13. 11 varias, 51. 3 andrew miller exploiters. for anarchists and socialists, the ideals of the revolution meant nothing without economic equality. throughout the nineteenth century, this trend towards inequality became more apparent as industrialization and the number of wage laborers steadily increased in france. many anarchists believed that the mechanization of modern life took away the ethical and human character of work, and many intellectuals looked back to the medieval guild system to try to find an alternative to capitalism. they saw “authentic” community life in premodern industries, and the quality craftsmanship of the artisan seemed more desirable than the mass-produced products that came out of large factories. in the twentieth century, max weber observed that the rationalization of western culture, the drive for efficient control of outer and inner life, provides a theoretical framework that helps to explain antimodern longings for liberation.12 yet the anarchists were not completely against modern industrialization and innovation. kropotkin saw potential in technology “to help create an equitable society in which urban and rural forces would balance.”13 unlike thinkers such as william morris, he thought mechanization would eventually liberate man from tedious and degrading work.14 for him, the key issue was scale. modern industry was not an end in itself, but was instead a tool to insure man’s material subsistence and future needs. when factories are too large, industry becomes difficult to change by adjusting to new requirements and skill sets. instead, people are forced to adapt to the industrial mechanisms already in place, and thus are trapped in a new form of despotism. anarchism’s ambivalent nature manifested itself in many different ways and would eventually shape the revolutionary syndicalist movement. one aspect of this ambivalence was anarchism’s relationship to socialism. until his break with bakunin in 1872, marx often described anarchists as rivals rather than enemies because the ultimate goals of the two movements were very similar.15 both anarchists and socialists wanted a free communal society in which capitalism and the state ceased to exist. in addition, they both hated the militarism and patriotism that was pervasively growing in europe. however, anarchists and socialists could not agree on the means by which to achieve these ends. as mentioned above, anarchists distrusted centralized organization and rationalized bureaucracy, largescale industry, and politics. bakunin thought that marx’s transitional phase from capitalism to communism sounded more like authoritarianism, and he and others did not trust marx’s determinism. for anarchists, dialectical materialism was too 12 t. j. jackson lears, no place of grace: antimodernism and the transformation of american culture, 1880-1920 (chicago: the university of chicago, 1994), xvii. 13 varias, 15. 14 james joll, the anarchists (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1980), 141. 15 george woodcock, “syndicalism defined,” the anarchist reader, 58. 4 rebels with a cause theoretical and abstract. less than a century later, the western marxist theodor adorno shared these misgivings when he asserted that marx’s historical certainties sought to make the world into a “giant workhouse.”16 anarchists believed that social transformation had to be consistent with the moral world they sought to create. revolutionary syndicalism germinated from the social aspirations shaped in the debates of the first international in the 1860s and early 1870s. the libertarian ideas held by bakunin’s wing of the great workers' alliance developed into a direct critique of the theories and methods of political socialism. they stressed that society could be changed through direct action and the voluntary association of free individuals. anarchists believed that the state could be overthrown by a series of violent upheavals regardless of whether the economic conditions were right or not. however, the aspirations of the anarchist and syndicalists would be delayed for a time. after the suppression of the paris commune in 1871, the newly formed third republic began to enact laws suppressing unions and professional associations from forming. the loi le chapelier of 1871 promoted free enterprise capitalism and prohibited coalitions, unions, and strikes. the bourgeois liberalism that anarchists and socialists saw as contradictory and oppressive was stronger now than it had ever been. the radical groups emerging from the first international and the brief local authority in paris in 1871 now had to wait until the political climate became more favorable for pushing social and labor agendas. conditions did not get better for organized protest and radical politics until the law was repealed in 1884. the political circumstances in france began to change gradually through the 1880s, and french unions slowly started to emerge and assert their presence. while talk of “association” and “collective” action was pervasive among anarchists in these years, by the third republic there was no real identifiable anarchist movement to bring these ideas about. anarchism consisted of a diverse array of individuals and ideas with no certain doctrine or class identification. radical individualism and nonconformity to social norms often left anarchists on the fringes of society. at the beginning of the 1890s, café bombings, violent murders, rampant theft, and secret plots were becoming more frequent in france, especially in paris. those who took responsibility for such acts often described themselves as anarchists. these individuals frequently claimed that they were “the true defenders of the oppressed.”17 whether nietzscheans, anarchists, nihilists, or 16 theodor adorno quoted in martin jay, the dialectical imagination: a history of the frankfurt school and the institute of social research, 1923-1950 (boston: little brown, 1973), 57. 17 eugene weber, france fin de siecle (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1986), 116. 5 andrew miller something completely different, individuals were acting out their discontent with the police and bourgeois society in general in france. radicals, attempting to portray themselves as revolutionaries, frequently preached of high ideals and principles as they stood trial for their crimes. yet most criminals seemed more interested in their petty personal problems than those of society.18 many anarchists like kropotkin, jean grave, and élisée reclus were concerned about the ineffectiveness and pointlessness of random, individual acts of violence and terror. kropotkin expressed this sentiment in the journal la révolte, stating that “if the development of the revolutionary spirit gains enormously from heroic individual acts, it is none the less true . . . that it is not by these heroic acts that revolutions are made . . . revolution is above all a popular movement.”19 many anarchists found that overthrowing capitalism and the government had to stem from some form of organization, and they found an ideal solution in revolutionary syndicalism. the syndicate structure appealed to anarchists because it took the form of a federalist network of individual factories and industries that emphasized decentralization and independence. while the syndicalists’ main aim was to bring together workers in order to take over the system, their other goal was to actively seek improvements in working conditions and benefits. this philosophy took its cues from the anarchist leadership that criticized the socialist unions for mainly organizing their workers to increase parliamentary power through voting practices and party participation. socialists jules guesde (leader of the parti ouvrier francais) and alexandre millerand (coalition government member in 1899) promoted established political avenues of change without the help of worker agitation. marxists had traditionally disregarded the gains achieved through strikes and economic action, believing that the small benefits achieved were either ineffective, or worse, might cause workers to become content with the capitalist system. revolutionary syndicalists, on the other hand, wanted to avoid political association and focused instead on changing the economic social conditions of workers through an immediate insurgency. revolutionary praxis for the syndicalists was activity on the picket lines, not in the voting booths. real change could not come from working within the system as it existed; revolutionary syndicalists wanted to find their own way. as victor griffuelhes once exclaimed, “we [workers] demand nothing. we take.”20 18 ibid., 117. 19 la revolte, march 1891, quoted in jean maitron, histoire du mouvement anarchiste en france, 1880-1914 (paris, 1950), 240. 20 l’echo de paris, april 13, 1906, quoted in tucker, 21. 6 rebels with a cause for the syndicates, the general strike became the best method of radical action. as early as 1874, adhémar schwitzguébel, a swiss jura anarchist, advocated the general strike as the most effective way to take control of the means of production: the idea of a general strike by the workers which would put an end to the miseries they suffer is beginning to be seriously discussed. ... it would certainly be a revolutionary act capable of bringing about the liquidation of the existing social order and reorganization in accordance with the socialist aspirations of the workers.21 the weapons of the state (large armies, police, etc.) could easily crush a large insurrection or centralized movement, but a massive strike made up of loosely affiliated workers would make it difficult for authorities and employers to isolate a precise target for suppression. the general strike could paralyze the economy and force employers to yield control because of the overwhelming numbers of workers picketing and using violence when necessary. in france in the 1890s, the general strike was not only valuable as a method of achieving specific goals, but also served as a learning experience for its participants. revolutionary syndicalists promoted strikes for higher wages and better working conditions, visualizing them as vital arenas for teaching the benefits of solidarity and collective action. these strikes were new “participatory” schools for developing an all-worker based political economy for social revolution. the french syndicalist organization conféderation générale du travial (cgt) allied itself with the fédération des bourses du travail (fbt), an association that consisted of centers of learning and debate for working-class issues, solidifying the idea of education and discourse as a means to bring about a worker consciousness in france. many socialist critics asserted that craft egoism would eventually lead to jealous hostility between workers in different fields of production, and thus would prevent working-class solidarity in strikes. the revolutionary syndicalists, on the other hand, “believed attitudes are variable products of experience and subject to change by socializing experience.”22 the syndicalists wanted workers to learn how to act in the present as they would in the future when the revolutionary goals had been attained. at the turn of the century, republican intellectuals, like léon bourgeois, formulated new social theories based on solidarité that emphasized the organic interdependence of organized groups such as syndicates. bourgeois and others promoted solidarité as social welfare through government action. sociologist 21 bulletin de la federation jurassienne, november 1, 1774, quoted in maitron, 261. 22 friedman, 159. 7 andrew miller emile durkheim developed a similar premise but rejected the state-centered, paternalistic control of bourgeois’ doctrine for a more decentralized, republican federalism. these ideas influenced syndicalist educational aspirations, but their own artisanal, anarchistic, and socialistic pedigrees changed their role in the discourse from citizen to producer. liberal and republican “barbarism” needed to be replaced with a noble working-class élan to invigorate labor activity over bourgeois decadence.23 syndicalists believed that this élan, energized through the general strike, could transform the subordinate economic status of workers into a more potent and pragmatic program without the need for marxist determinism or centrism. the influential anarchist jean grave shared the syndicalists’ fear of the centralized planning of the socialists, but he also was skeptical of syndicalist federalism for the same reason. in la révolte, grave stated that “we do not believe…in long term associations, federations…for us, a grouping…must only be established on a well-determined point for immediate action; the actions accomplished, the group re-forms itself on a new basis, either among the same elements or with new ones.”24 grave, emile janvion, jacque prolo, and others advocated a “purer,” more individualistic form of anarchist revolution, suspecting that radical individuals might be restrained or co-opted by syndicalist organization. they also believed that the syndicalists were trying to ally themselves too much with the new industrial working classes. the anarchists still believed that revolution had to come from the artisan and craft workers of france. at the end of the 1890s, syndicalists did try to gain influence over industrial workers, but these actions did not change their own views. the cgt and other revolutionary syndicalist unions did not discriminate between the types of work laborers performed. unlike the socialist and business unions, they accepted all classes and genders into their movement because they believed in strength in numbers over any specific ideology. in any case, the makeup of french labor remained largely agrarian and small-producer-oriented at this time despite industrial growth. industrial labor made up just a fraction of the movement, and the syndicalists believed that these workers could be persuaded to fight for the type of society they envisioned for the future. also, the large “modern industries” in france (such as chemicals, steel, and textiles) continued to employ high numbers of specialized workers attracted to the ideology of revolutionary syndicalism. the syndicates and their general strikes adopted the anarchist aversion to organization in that they were structured for “guerilla war” and did not carry the 23 tucker, 17-21. 24 jean graves quoted in richard sonn, anarchism and cultural politics in fin-de-siècle france (lincoln: university of nebraska press, 1989), 14. 8 rebels with a cause bureaucratic baggage of the socialist and business unions. most of the strikes performed by the syndicalists were not the result of long-range planning or careful organization, but were instead direct acts that could emerge at any time. no central authority strategized or dictated when a specific union could go on strike. the general strikes usually contained some coordination, but no group in the federation was obligated to follow. also, few benefits and funds went to pay officials or into union bank accounts; the syndicalist leadership usually had other means for personal income. many contemporaries charged the syndicalists with being reckless and irresponsible in conducting strikes without adequate planning and funds. samuel gompers, an american, observed, “the general confederation of labor in france is the furthest possible removed from the american federation of labor in both organization and methods…outside the domain of serious expectations in regard to constructive work.”25 syndicalist workers in france at the end of the nineteenth century did not believe they needed strict organization to be effective on the picket lines. during the mid-1890s, only half of french strikes were organized by unions. it was not until the heyday of revolutionary syndicalism that workers increasingly began to use unions to lead their protests, reaching a high point in 1904 with seventy-four percent of strikes.26 the leadership and supporters of the syndicalist movement agreed with the workers. the journalist emile pouget credited the growing strike success rates in 1900 to the rising membership of the cgt, “the spread of the revolutionary ideal among the french workers, and not to the power of their union reserves.”27 the small amount of money gained through dues went into maximizing the effectiveness of the general strike by recruiting. this strategy went hand-in-hand with the “inclusive” policies mentioned above. the syndicates were flexible and dynamic enough to avoid the organizational problems that plagued other unions. they benefited from their opposition to strict organizational structures and planning, and always maintained that workers and officials were free to leave or come back, which made the movement all the more appealing. in the realm of culture, anarchist and libertarian critics also worried that bohemian individualism might be replaced by ideas of solidarité. anarchists remained committed to avant-garde artists and bohemian individualists. they saw syndicalism moving towards a worker-specific movement that increasingly devalued the intellectuals and artists that had been such key contributors to the birth of syndicalist ideology. in fact, syndicalist leaders did seek artists to be a part 25 samuel gompers, labor in europe and america (new york: harper & brothers, 1910), 249, 252. 26 edward shorter and charles tilly, strikes in france (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1974), 372. 27 emile pouget quoted in friedman, 174. 9 andrew miller of their activism. in 1896, fernand pelloutier made an appeal to the anarchist group de l’art social that art could be more than just aesthetics or utility; it could be a vital weapon in creating a new consciousness by opening the eyes of workers to the bourgeois ideology that restrained them. he believed that the concepts of gradualist and automatic art social could be shaped into a more militant activism.28 artists could expose the degradations in workers’ lives through socially driven art. in the cgt’s newspaper la voix du peuple, pelloutier emphasized that “with a return to propaganda by art, i estimate that the intellectual transformation of the proletariat will march in step with its economic transformation…a purely revolutionary view of art, in all its forms, will see it in the first place as a weapon of combat.”29 the artist paul signac thought that neo-impressionists and gradualists should harness the spontaneity and naturalness of their art into some sort of organizational framework,30 but his libertarian ideas of a political and aesthetic “rebel art” never reached the specificity pelloutier had in mind. pelloutier, pouget, and others stressed that for revolutionary syndicalism to succeed it must strive for the total transformation of society. culture, economics, and politics all had to change while at the same time avoiding the mistakes of the old society. they idealized the mystique of artisanship and craftsmanship, but realized that these trades had to be configured in new ways to fit the present situation. revolutionary syndicalists wanted to increase the power and influence of their members while maintaining the core values of the movement. like the anarchists, syndicalists wanted their direct actions to be consistent with what they viewed as moral goals. often their efforts involved violence and illegality, yet for anarchists and syndicalists, these methods were justified by the inherently noble nature of their goals. morally corrupt acts were the deeds done by state and capitalist agents in order to oppress society. the revolutionary syndicalists believed they were performing moral acts to liberate society and bring about a better world. in the end, revolutionary syndicalism failed to overturn capitalism and the french government. despite low revenues and relatively small numbers, syndicalism continued to be effective until the first world war. however, the change in direction and leadership of the cgt in 1910 marked a steady deradicalization in policy for the organization. the new leadership of léon jouhaux led to the cgt’s alliance with reformist socialists. under his leadership, industrial unions began to play a more important role than the artisan unions who became 28 john g. hutton, neo-impressionism and the search for solid ground: art, science, and anarchism in fin-de-siècle france (baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 1994), 217. 29 frenand pelloutier quoted in hutton, 217. 30 sonn, 151. 10 rebels with a cause almost completely marginalized. other syndicalists were influenced by georges sorel and moved to the nationalist right. nationalism throughout europe became an appealing trend that changed syndicalism immensely. the syndicates became increasingly more politically organized and bureaucratically centralized. union leaders started demanding syndicalist rights while insisting on the nationalization of the railway, electrical, and mining industries. the moral and ideological philosophy of revolution changed into a more practical attitude of improving the existing system through the rationalization of the economy. at least until 1910, workers were becoming poorer as industrial profits continued to soar to new heights.31 utopian ideals of creating a new society disappeared as progressive groups started to bargain and assimilate into the corporate industrial society made up of large, scientifically managed, industrial firms. consumerism and reformist welfare helped to ease workers – communist, syndicalist, and capitalist – into the new labor process. the shared moral and participatory unity of workers in a society of free association envisioned by the revolutionary syndicalists in france never materialized, but the problems raised by syndicalists have not necessarily vanished from modern society. the legacy of the anarchist form of revolutionary syndicalism has provided an adaptable and potent critique of modern capitalism throughout the twentieth century and into the present. it has inspired revolutionaries in spain in the 1930s, american cultural critics like c. wright mills and paul goodman in the 1950s and 1960s, and the new orthodoxy labor history of the 1980s, which continues to find radical promise in artisanal culture and small-scale production. pelloutier’s description of anarchism as “the art of cultivating oneself and of sufficiently cultivating others so that [people] can govern and enjoy themselves,” is an idea that still resonates.32 for the historian, the flexibility of french revolutionary syndicalism between ideas of the individual and community, the state and anarchy, and morality and efficiency, complicate and enrich our view of the belle époque. for many french men and women during this period, the ideas of decadence and prosperity meant less than ideas of economic equality and cultural authenticity. 31 stearns, 18. 32 pelloutier quoted in tucker, 217. 11 andrew p. miller history [concept, vol. xxxv (2012)] “his blood is infected”: transmission of disease and wealth in dickens’s bleak house afton lorraine woodward english in the critical body of work on charles dickens’s bleak house, a certain synecdoche has long been accepted: the city of london is analogous to the human bodies that live within it. the corruption that infects the city’s financial, legal, and class-based institutions clearly manifests itself in the bodily infections suffered by several characters, notably the fever that afflicts jo, charley, and esther, generally thought to be smallpox. much overlooked, however, are the parallels between the transmission of disease and the transmission of wealth in the novel and the roles of air and blood as unifiers of social, legal, and biological corruption. by aligning the transmission of disease with that of wealth through the device of literal and metaphorical bloodlines, dickens sets up a dichotomy between esther, a survivor of an illness, and richard, a victim of the court of chancery. dickens’s stance on disease and poverty, as suggested by historical evidence, indicates his belief in a strong link between the ability to transcend dependence on inheritance and the legal reform and social improvements that will in turn help eradicate disease and the environments that harbor it. dickens’s reformist views – both optimistic and pessimistic to varying degrees – on the obstructionist nature of the government come into view in the novel most clearly when blood is at the center of an analysis based on social reform. throughout his career, dickens frequently engaged in social reform through his writing and political actions. he became a respected figure in his lifetime and beyond for his advocacy of sanitary reform and medical improvements in all english classes: his depiction “of the power of the representation of contagion has continued to be a presiding model in victorian studies for thinking about the intersection of narrative, medicine, and effective social reform” (burgan 837). michael s. gurney purports that dickens was well-read in medical literature and even ahead of his time in recognizing peculiar symptoms – the character phil in bleak house presents with an affliction that many doctors today would diagnose as ménière’s disease but that would not be named for several years after dickens’s description (80-81). it is natural to assume a convergence in dickens’s views on medicine, sanitation, and social reform, as he was not alone in victorian england in considering there to be a link – both literal and metaphorical – between actual illness and social corruption. he blamed stagnation in the political and legal processes for delaying and often preventing sanitation and medical improvements, among many other attempted reforms. as a novelist, dickens did not “neglect the use of his literary talents to expose the continuing existence of filth, crowding, poverty, and disease in all their interrelationships” (litsios 198), and bleak house is especially condemnatory. dickens’s oftquoted description of tom-all-alone’s personifies the slum while invoking illness, class, and a scientific basis for both: even the winds are his messengers, and they serve him in these hours of darkness. there is not a drop of tom’s corrupted blood but propagates infection and contagion somewhere. it shall pollute, this very night, the choice stream (in which chemists on analysis would find the genuine nobility) of a norman house, and his grace shall not be able to say nay to the infamous alliance. there is not an atom of tom’s slime, not a cubic inch of any pestilential gas in which he lives, not one obscenity or degradation about him, not an ignorance, not a wickedness, not a brutality of his committing, but shall work its retribution through every order of society up to the proudest of the proud and to the highest of the high. (553) every “drop of tom’s corrupted blood” is transmitted by the “winds” (the source of airborne diseases) as well as water (it would soon be officially recognized that cholera was transmitted through the city’s water supply), and not any “order of society up to the proudest of the proud” is safe from it. elana gomel echoes most critics who view tom’s as a microcosm of london, describing how “the grotesque body of london functions as a common matrix for the bodies of its disparate dwellers. . . . contagious disease becomes a metaphor for bonds of corporeal humanity [as] it moves through the city, giving a lie both to social barriers and to individual autonomy” (305). the transmission of these corrupting influences is a useful lens for viewing dickens’s methods of communicating his views on various kinds of reform. there are two kinds of transmission that align and interchange in bleak house: the physical, airborne transmission of disease and the intangible, class-based transmission of wealth through inheritance, both of which corrupt interpersonal relationships in the process. many diseases plagued the bodies and minds of the victorian english, notably cholera and typhus, but the disease dickens selects for jo, charley, and esther is widely assumed to be smallpox, an affliction whose specific elements are necessary to the story for many reasons. the prolonged fever that marks smallpox, as many scholars point out, leaves much more time for necessary plot to occur than would cholera, which is a fast-acting, fast-killing, and unromantic disease. but dickens’s use of infection does not end at pure plot. as f.s. schwarzbach notes, unlike william thackeray’s the history of henry esmond, bleak house uses smallpox explicitly as a thematic and character-development device as well as a social tool: it is “more than just a physical disease: it is a type of the moral sickness which has infected english society” (“fever” 26). its most significant element is its communicability, which among other things is used to highlight the need for graveyard reform and vaccination (gurney 79). the most important aspect of its communicability, however, is related to victorian germ theory and transmission of disease between people: the significance for dickens is that smallpox, unlike money and perhaps cholera, constantly threatens to transcend classes. schwarzbach is among the first critics to do a comprehensive literary and biological study of the novel with regard to the widely held pythogenic theory of the victorian era, which proposed that exposure to rotting organic matter was the cause of contraction of certain diseases, such as cholera, and would not extend far from the source of the rot, meaning that only people who lived in the slums were in danger of becoming ill (“fever” 22-23). if dickens merely desired to condemn the filth of the slums, cholera would have suited his purpose in bleak house, but his aim was rather to engage all classes in a common affliction to highlight the common bonds of all people and classes. smallpox, in contrast to cholera, was known to be contagious (spreadable from person to person) rather than pythogenic (although it is implied jo first catches it from the filthy graveyard); thus smallpox is useful for thematic purposes in that people can infect one another regardless of location (gurney 82). the orphan jo brings the disease to bleak house and infects charley, who infects the middle-class esther, who, had she not barred her door, probably would have infected the upper-class ada and jarndyce; thus, the “physical corruption that so disgusted lady dedlock on her first visit to tom-all-alone’s becomes the link between the rich and the poor. . . . rooted in the body, contagion promotes the social solidarity, which abstract discourse of reform cannot accomplish” (gomel 305). the implication that a poor street-sweeper could cause the deaths of upper-class members of society is physical proof that the sanitary and economic problems of the slums are not to be dismissed as a lower-class issue. in bleak house, the transmission of infection is clearly analogous to the transmission of wealth. the person-to-person transmission of smallpox infects seemingly at random, while the transmission of wealth through family bloodlines is predetermined, but they cause the same anxieties and frequently analogous results. miriam bailin discusses a psychosomatic aspect of illness, highlighting the “feverish” nature of the anxiety of class and explaining that the mental effect produced by delirium “expresses with great acuity what the cultural mandate to make [class] distinctions exacted – the feverish restlessness required to stay ahead, or at least to hold one’s place, and the continued sense of being haunted or pursued by the denials by which the social self is constructed” (84). victorian doctors often considered financial and class-based fears to be a cause of nervous disorders and depression in men, especially middle-class men who needed to constantly negotiate and maintain their social status (84). esther’s anxieties about her own family history and reliance on others to retain her place in society exemplify bailin’s argument; as heady posits, “smallpox serves as a reading device, a lens through which we see esther’s murky family lines with clarity” (324). the preoccupation with inheritance, wealth, birth, and station permeates bleak house: the novel represents “the contagion of the past as an hereditary disease, for which the vehicle of transmission is not infected air or rats but – figuratively, at least – infected blood” (christensen 33). blood, though not a literal transmitter of smallpox, is a vital motif in the novel, appearing figuratively in the “corrupted blood” of tom-allalone’s as well as physically in the sores that are the manifestation of smallpox-infected blood cells. smallpox and preoccupation with bloodlines come together neatly in the figure of esther. though she does not acknowledge it outright, esther as an illegitimate orphan is anxious about mrs. woodcourt’s obsession with her own family’s bloodlines and the way she “constantly harps upon her son’s lineage and legitimacy, intimating the loss of a genetic endowment if he were to marry esther” (burgan 842). throughout her illness and delirium, it seems esther comes close to acknowledging her resemblance to lady dedlock and how she has missed out on being born legitimately into a wealthy family; however, she seems to wish never to be burdened with that information. during her fever, she sees herself as a chain in a family, speaking of “that worse time when, strung together somewhere in great black space, there was a flaming necklace, or ring, or starry circle of some kind, of which i was one of the beads! and when my only prayer was to be taken off from the rest and when it was such inexplicable agony and misery to be a part of the dreadful thing?” (dickens 432). this passage is almost an exact repetition of one about the “dreadful thing” of the dedlock family slightly earlier in the novel, when the narrator talks of the dedlock “cousins who are so poor that one might almost dare to think it would have been the happier for them never to have been plated links upon the dedlock chain of gold, but to have been made of common iron at first and done base service” (347). dickens intimates two things: one, that having enduring links to a wealthy family without the benefit of inheriting its money (a problem also seen in the jarndyce inheritance case) is even worse than being independently poor, and two (since the sardonic narrator is speaking here), that the wealthy members of the family would wish to eradicate any lower-class members lest they infect the gene pool. but for esther, her disease and resulting scars immediately tie her to her family and her lack of inheritance, as she likely catches smallpox, through jo and charley, from the graveyard where her own father is buried: “passed up the social ladder from the tomb where esther’s father lies, . . . smallpox is the ‘inheritance’ esther never received from her father” (heady 324). while esther laments her illegitimate birth and the unsanitary/poor residuals of her parentage, she also has no desire to take on the complications of being a dedlock. as bleak house suggests, being part of any family carries with it undesirable expectations and anxieties related to inheritance. the problem of wealth unites both the pythogenic and airborne theories of disease transmission, since chancery, as a symbol of the social method for transmitting wealth via inheritance, is such a permeating force (like the fog); it also infects those such as richard who have not grown up in the poisonous environment. it is significant that tom-all-alone’s (the origin of so much disease) “is in chancery, of course. . . . whether ‘tom’ is the popular representative of the original plaintiff or defendant in jarndyce and jarndyce, or whether tom lived here when the suit had laid the street waste, all alone, until other settlers came to join him, or whether the traditional title is a comprehensive name for a retreat cut off from honest company and put out of the pale of hope, perhaps nobody knows” (dickens 198). “tom” (only one letter off from “tomb,” appropriately, as the slum and chancery both are associated with the death of people and their hopes for a prosperous future) seems to be the tom jarndyce who killed himself over the jarndyce suit as well the general name for the loss of hope represented by poverty as well as lawsuits. there is some lack of scholarly agreement on the role of chancery in the role of corruptive transmission. allan christensen sees a lack of causation, in that “chancery does not cause the fog but rather suffers, like the rest of england, from the effects of a fog that it cannot help but transmit further. this is to say that the fog is simply and inescapably there and everywhere, deriving from an absent cause and pointing to nothing beyond its own presence. as its message or ideological implication, it points to the absence of providence” (33). however, there is a stronger case for the willful corrupting influence of chancery than for its own victimhood. schwarzbach makes a careful distinction in saying that the parallels between chancery and the “fog” are not merely allegory but literal. chancery, “insofar as it stands for all obfuscatory and inactive authorities, literally is ‘at the very heart of the fog.’ . . . it is government inaction that leaves raw sewage uncollected to mix with the street mud, that permits its discharge into the river, and that thereby is to blame for the deadly effluvia of this fog that poisons the city’s air” (“social pathology” 96). indeed, dickens seems to be in the camp that blames chancery for pollution, both the figurative poison of inheritance cases and the literal poison of the slums. his choice of chancery as the embodiment of the corruption in the city is fitting, and the sluggishness of the jarndyce & jarndyce case stands in only slightly metaphorically for the very real cases of sanitation reform and vaccination. schwarzbach again points out that the issue of smallpox “is typical of many that dickens attacks in bleak house: a pressing public need goes unremedied through complacency and neglect, resulting in grave social and physical damage to the nation as a whole” (“fever” 24). such a message exemplified dickens’s attitude toward reform. as litsios recounts, dickens was very much involved in reformative legal and academic actions; he and the public were not in favor of the poor law created in part by the research of edwin chadwick, which worked under the assumption that the poor were merely unwilling to work and which made admittance to workhouses the only acceptable means of receiving charity (185). dickens saw new laws as the best solution to widespread social issues but considered the law itself to be an issue that needed reform. the movement for sanitary reform “depended upon a series of systematic studies leading to commission reports that then struggled toward parliamentary action” and was therefore constantly bogged down in bureaucracy (burgan 839). the list of examples of harmful government obstruction is almost endless. for instance, the failure of an 1850 act that would have cleaned up graveyards exemplifies the obstructionism that negated years of reform efforts and that dickens attacks through his depiction of chancery (gurney 81). another major issue was vaccination: while the vaccination act of 1840 made smallpox vaccination free, for various reasons it was rarely taken advantage of by parents or the poor. the government’s failure to make vaccination mandatory outraged dickens to the point where his rhetoric may actually have had a real effect, as an act requiring mandatory vaccination was passed just after bleak house was concluded (gurney 84). dickens is adept at highlighting the severe corruption in the legal system, which robs people of basic health and individual freedoms such as the right to choose one’s own career. chancery itself is likened to both a fever and an inheritance in itself. richard is inevitably drawn to a life in chancery because of his family ties, and some solicitors are said to have inherited the case from their own fathers (dickens 6). furthermore, inheritance law, like inheritance of the money itself, is naturally in the business of maintaining endless loops of transmission that never resolve in satisfaction: though the endless documents of chancery “are meant to represent, and thus to guarantee, the circulation of property, the legal papers simply create a circulation of their own, one which moves chaotically, never progressing toward a solution to the case” (bigelow 590). dickens seems to speak directly through esther as she observes the court: to see everything going on so smoothly and to think of the roughness of the suitors’ lives and deaths; to see all that full dress and ceremony and to think of the waste, and want, and beggared misery it represented; to consider that while the sickness of hope deferred was raging in so many hearts this polite show went calmly on from day to day, and year to year, in such good order and composure; to behold the lord chancellor and the whole array of practitioners under him looking at one another and at the spectators as if nobody had ever heard that all over england the name in which they were assembled was a bitter jest, was held in universal horror, contempt, and indignation, was known for something so flagrant and bad that little short of a miracle could bring any good out of it to any one. (307-8) there is no clearer language dickens could have used to vilify the court, but passages such as these also hint at a sense of desperation. “little short of a miracle” can bring anything good out of chancery, but neither can anything less tear down the massive, self-perpetuating structure and replace it with something better. if london were composed entirely of reformers, chancery might not have had much of a chance to harm individuals and might have improved its methods to focus on the betterment of society instead of its own employees. however, richard carstone provides an example of how easy it is to be consumed by the concept of the courts, inheritance, and one’s own bloodline, and in richard’s succumbing to the corruption of the court dickens ascribes to him afflictions similar to those of someone sick with smallpox. other characters refer repeatedly to his blindness (one symptom esther herself presents with during her fever) and his blood; as jarndyce opines, “it is in the subtle poison of such [court-related] abuses to breed such diseases. his blood is infected, and objects lose their natural aspects in his sight. it is not his fault” (dickens 435). but just as chancery must be considered complicit in its own failures, the responsibility for richard’s condition must be at least partially placed on richard himself. not only is he blind, but his unfounded mistrust of jarndyce (based on jarndyce’s requests for richard to save his sanity and life by avoiding the suit) represents the interpersonal corruptions that can be ascribed to fixation on inheritance: “our poor devoted richard was deaf and blind to all. . . . suspicion and misunderstanding were the fault of the suit? then let him work the suit out and come through it to his right mind. this was his unvarying reply” (dickens 521). inheritance and its physical manifestation, chancery, are the embodiments of social stagnation, and dickens’s message seems to be that consequences of such stagnation “are exactly the same in the moral sphere as in the physical – poisons are produced which when they spread, as they invariably do, infect all classes equally” (schwarzbach “fever” 26). just as smallpox may infect the bodies of all classes, the nature of chancery infects their minds: the rich lawyers succumb to the self-perpetuating nature of the court machine, and the poor and middle-class suitors become obsessed with their perpetually elusive settlements. richard’s death is a submission to an almost-literal illness, that “feverish and irrational excitement” for speculation, which bagehot warns against (qtd. in bigelow 590). a significant lesson to be learned from richard is “that human beings should free themselves of superstitious and paralyzing dependence upon forms of providence and take responsible control of themselves and their environment. in doing so, they may at least diminish the ravages of the physical and moral pestilence and liberate territory for a ream of freedom” (christensen 58). to put it another way, richard’s death by the illness brought on by legal stagnation “indicates dickens’s rejection of hereditary rationalizations for social paralysis” (burgan 842). inheritance should not be justification for needlessly disrespecting other people or for the entitled to ignore the unentitled, nor should it allow endless, self-perpetuating systems of corruption and self-interest. rather, an individual should be free to reject his social or material inheritances and become a self-made man with friends and situations of his own choosing. proof of the benefits of these opportunities can be found in the social-climbing success of the ironmaster rouncewell as well as in the character of esther. if transcendence of the system is dickens’s ultimate message, esther may be read as the physical embodiment of the transcendence of chancery, and in turn its literal and metaphorical embodiment of the consequences of the transmission of disease and money. wealth may be as debilitating as fever, but the characters who number among its survivors are significant – that is, those who may have access to wealth but are not morally and emotionally destroyed by it, such as jarndyce and esther. physically, esther survives the literal corruption of the fever and makes a personal sacrifice to end the transmission of smallpox to the higher class, namely ada; that particular strain of corruption resolves itself in her and dissipates, ending the contagion of disease and also providing esther with a newfound sense of individuality. thematically, esther “is given the status of a bildungsroman heroine who strives to discover and maintain a personal identity, and through responsible choice and meaningful action attempts to resist the forces of decay that are attacking the rest of society” (gurney 86). far from being avaricious, esther is not corrupted by jarndyce’s generosity and is arguably not thrilled at the idea of marrying him even though doing so would secure her financial status. esther represents the transcendence of corrupting transmissions through self-sacrifice and hard work and exemplifies the difficult but rewarding hardships of overcoming a social and class-based inheritance that threatens to destroy her. carolyn dever “sees esther’s half of bleak house as an effort to recover her ‘origins, beginnings, and processes of differentiation’ – the polar opposite of richard’s ahistorical attempts at self-definition” (heady 324-5). while richard grasps at an elusive and invisible monetary inheritance to define himself, esther chooses to reconcile with her own sordid family history and makes the decision not to let it define her. the resolution to these parallels is not perfect. burgan cites esther and allan’s marriage as “the happy ending” that defies mrs. woodcourt’s “effort at eugenics as if by magic, and the novel as a whole indicates dickens’s conviction that reliance upon inheritance – physical or financial – only rationalizes moral indifference to the possibility of amelioration in a diseased world” (842). this relation of inheritance to moral indifference is accurate, but the real question is how mrs. woodcourt fails when so many other so-called eugenicists (in the biological and social senses) succeed and chancery perpetuates the inheritance problem. esther’s story still ends up being too good to be true. esther and allan’s marriage and migration to the second bleak house “represent a retreat from the city and its contagion and from any attempt to address its overwhelming symptoms. the novel achieves a surface confidence in closure but only at the cost of engagement with the urban actuality it has so powerfully and negatively dramatized” (schwarzbach “social pathology” 101). escape from the city, its slums, and its courts is a solution for these two people, but not one that is feasible for the city itself. throughout his life, dickens held an attitude that became “increasingly pessimistic, even tragic, about man’s nature and fate,” as reflected in his 7 october 1854 contribution to household words (himmelfarb qtd. in litsios 198), and he “grasped the helplessness of well-meaning individuals in a corrupt society” (orwell qtd. in litsios 198). perhaps the escape of a few individuals from the selfperpetuating, destructive urban system is satisfying in the short term, and for the readers of serial novels, but it is not ideal. dickens ends up falling short of offering a practical and accessible way to both engage with and transcend these systems. through the many interweaving plots in bleak house, dickens creates a broad alignment between the transmission of disease and that of wealth, using the moral and physical corruption of chancery as its vehicle. in inextricably linking money and physical health, dickens advocates a relatively democratic system in which the poor may be given the chance at health and sanitation so that they may transcend the circumstances of their birth, and in which the rich may be given the chance to avoid being shackled to destructive familial and economic obligations. through his various characters, he indicates that society would be better off if people of all classes could enjoy a basic level of comfort and rely less on inheritance and luck of birth. through vaccination, sanitation, and inheritance reform, the legal system offered the promise of better medical care and improved living conditions, which would lead to better situations for the poor and rich alike, but as dickens point out in no uncertain terms, the biggest problem was getting the courts to clean themselves up first. works cited bailin, miriam. “charles dickens: ‘impossible existences.’” the sickroom in victorian fiction: the art of being ill. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1994. 79-108. bigelow, gordon. “market indicators: banking and domesticity in dickens’s bleak house.” elh 67.2 (2000): 589-615. burgan, mary. “contagion and culture: a view from victorian studies.” american literary history 14.4 (2002): 837-44. christensen, allan conrad. nineteenth-century narratives of contagion: “our feverish contact.” london: routledge, 2005. dickens, charles. bleak house. eds. george ford and sylvère monod. new york: w.w. norton & company, 1977. gomel, elana. “‘part of the dreadful thing’: the urban chronotope of bleak house.” partial answers: journal of literature and the history of ideas 9.2 (2011): 297-309. gurney, michael s. “disease as device: the role of smallpox in bleak house.” literature and medicine 9.1 (1990): 79-92. heady, emily. “the polis’s different voices: narrating england’s progress in dickens’s bleak house.” texas studies in literature and language 48.4 (2006): 312-339. litsios, socrates. “charles dickens and the movement for sanitary reform.” perspectives in biology and medicine 46.2 (2003): 183-199. schwarzbach, f.s. “bleak house: the social pathology of urban life.” literature and medicine 9 (1990): 93-104. – – – . “the fever of bleak house.” english language notes 20.3/4 (1983): 21-27. summer renault-steele [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] lipstick signification and written flirtation: gendering metaphor in locke’s “the abuse of words” summer renault-steele philosophy “metaphors are no arguments, my pretty maiden” –the fortunes of nigel abstract this paper investigates the twofold nature of the philosophical renunciation of figurative language and the feminine. i begin by examining the claims of feminist philosopher phyllis rooney, who echoes the familiar observation that reason has conventionally been linked to masculinity, while unreason has been linked to femininity. rooney’s innovative move is to expose this link by highlighting how the reason/unreason dichotomy has been constructed through “sex metaphors” in prominent philosophical works. a “sex metaphor” refers to some aspect of a “male-female dynamic,” such as a voyeuristic act, a sexual act, or a marriage relationship. rooney aptly draws upon john locke’s chapter “the abuse of words” to illustrate how the use of a sex metaphor can suggest that femininity is emblematic of unreason and hence, works to justify the expulsion of femininity from philosophy. however, as rooney later acknowledges, locke not only utilizes a sex metaphor in “the abuse of words,” he also genders the linguistic mechanism of metaphor itself. locke’s curious comparison of woman with figurative language calls for a thorough analysis of the role of gender in locke’s semiotic theory. what follows is an attempt to expose the chain of association that allows locke to imagine he can connect up metaphor with femininity and expel each from philosophy as perpetrators of an “abuse of words.” in phyllis rooney’s article “gendered reason: sex metaphor and conceptions of reason” she suggests that throughout the history of philosophy, “reason has regularly been portrayed and understood in terms of images and metaphors that involve the exclusion or denigration of some element –body, passion, nature, instinct-that is cast as ‘feminine’” (77). rooney echoes the familiar feminist observation that reason has conventionally been linked to masculinity while unreason has been linked to femininity.1 her innovative move is to expose this link by highlighting how the reason/unreason dichotomy has been constructed through sex metaphors in prominent philosophical works. a “sex metaphor” refers to some aspect of a “male-female dynamic,” such as a voyeuristic act, a sexual act, or a marriage relationship (rooney 78). enumerating 1 see genevieve lloyd’s 1984 publication the man of reason: “male and female” in western philosophy. rooney credits lloyd’s well-known study on the regular association between reason and maleness in the western philosophical canon (78). passages from aristotle, augustine, descartes, rousseau, hegel, kant and schopenhauer, rooney details how in each a sex metaphor is deployed in the explanation of reason and unreason. she proclaims “the pattern is well set in place,” the early uses of sex metaphor portray the growth of reason in terms of an extrusion of some aspect that is seen as feminine, while the later examples characterize a lapse in reason as involving an explicit or implicit intrusion of a feminine element (85). inspired by rooney’s paper, i wish to take a slightly different direction with my own investigation of metaphor and gender in philosophy. instead of looking at the appearance and impact of sex metaphors in philosophical texts, i will discuss how the linguistic mechanism of metaphor itself, and figurative language at large, has been cast as an inferior and feminine mode of expression in philosophy. here i do not mean that there is something inherently ‘feminine’ revealed in the use of figurative language. rather, i mean that there is an antipathy towards the use of figurative language in philosophy, and that antipathy is expressed in sexist terms. what results, i propose, is a twofold construction about what philosophy is not: philosophy is not figurative language, and philosophy is not feminine. a quintessential example of this antipathy can be found in john locke’s chapter entitled “the abuse of words” given in book iii of his essay concerning human understanding. rooney herself touches upon this chapter in support of her own argument, for indeed, locke does invoke a sex metaphor. but locke not only makes use of a sex metaphor, he claims that figurative language itself is like a woman: […]all the art of rhetorick, besides order and clearness, all the artificial and figurative application of words eloquence hath invented, are for nothing else but to insinuate wrong ideas, move the passions. and thereby mislead the judgment…eloquence, like the fair sex, has too prevailing beauties in it to suffer itself ever to be spoken against. and it is vain to find fault with those arts of deceiving wherein men find pleasure to be deceived. (locke 146) eleven years later in her essay on ludwig wittgenstein, “philosophy, language and wizardry,” rooney revisits this passage, correctly noting that locke appears to perform a dual displacement of women as “other than the ideal or ‘normed’ philosopher subject,” and metaphor as “other than the proper language and discourse of philosophy” (32). building upon rooney’s observation, i subject locke’s chapter to close analysis in order to address the following questions that arise from his strange comparison: how is it that something ostensibly gender-neutral, like a form of signification, can be thought of in gendered terms? what is the chain of association that allows locke to connect figurative language with femininity? what picture of both figurative language and femininity does locke construct by connecting one to the other? if both figurative language and women commit locke’s “abuse of words,” then is literal language the ‘proper’ mode of signification for philosophical discourse, and is that masculine by default? to assist in addressing these questions i draw on the work of american philosopher of language max black and french feminist philosopher michèle le doeuff. both thinkers note that metaphor, allegory, or any terms considered to invoke image in thought, are historically dismissed as ‘ornamental’ in terms of their philosophical contribution. philosophers tend to assume that metaphor can be clarified if it is replaced with literal terminology, and consequently, that figurative language is nothing more than a diversion from the real substance of a philosophical statement. the metaphor is to philosophy as lipstick is upon the mouth, it gives aesthetic pleasure but it is inessential to discourse. in the patriarchal imagination this caricature of figurative language slides very quickly into an association with femininity. like figurative language, ‘woman’ can also be constructed as mere ornament, as a source of aesthetic pleasure but not a source of philosophy. however, just as women are indeed capable of philosophy, so too is figurative language significant in philosophical meaning-creation. black claims that metaphors cannot simply be replaced by literal language, and that there is something irreducible in their deployment. le doeuff contends that imagery is operative in the conceptual foundation of prominent philosophical texts. in light of both black and le doeuff’s work, i conclude that locke’s repudiation of figurative language is ill considered because it is confused with sexist associations. in other words, his conflation of a linguistic mechanism with a sexist stereotype limits the usefulness, and credibility, of his semiotic analysis. 1. rooney’s article focuses on the use of sex metaphors in the history of philosophy to expound the dynamics of reason and unreason. a very clear example of rooney’s project is given in her treatment of aristotle. in the nicomachean ethics. aristotle imagines that the rational part of the soul naturally rules over the irrational part. but, rooney observes, this relationship of domination is explicated in terms of political metaphors, the ‘natural’ authority of master over slave or, free man over free woman. specifically, aristotle writes that […] while in the body we see that which moves astray, in the soul we do not. no doubt, however, we must none the less suppose that in the soul too there is something contrary to the rational principle, resisting and opposing it […] metaphorically and in virtue of a certain resemblance there is a justice, not indeed between a man and himself, but between certain parts of him; yet not every kind of justice but that of master and servant or that of husband and wife. for these are the ratios in which the part of the soul that has a rational principle stands to the irrational part. (quoted in rooney, 81) aristotle illustrates his sense of the ‘just’ relationship between the rational and irrational parts of the soul by means of such ‘just’ relationships between master and slave or, between husband and wife (rooney 81). this is a clear example of a sex metaphor whereby the dynamics of a heterosexual, patriarchal relationship are called upon to illuminate the bifurcation of reason from unreason. the comparison reinforces the notion that masculinity is associated with reason, while femininity is associated with unreason, and that one ought to rule over the other. rooney moves from her analysis of aristotle to a series of similar examples found in augustine, descartes, rousseau, hegel, kant, locke and schopenhauer. in each case, she highlights an example of sex metaphor and details its connection to the philosophical development of reason or unreason. when rooney turns her attention to locke, she writes: “of particular interest for my project are examples where woman is cast as the other of the knowing subject, or in opposition to such ‘proper’ knowing.” an example from locke’s chapter “the abuse of words” in book iii of his essay concerning human understanding “illustrates his connection between woman and deception,” […]all the art of rhetorick, besides order and clearness, all the artificial and figurative application of words eloquence hath invented, are for nothing else but to insinuate wrong ideas, move the passions, and thereby mislead the judgment…eloquence, like the fair sex, has too prevailing beauties in it to suffer itself ever to be spoken against. and it is vain to find fault with those arts of deceiving wherein men find pleasure to be deceived (quoted in rooney, 84). rooney briefly concludes her analysis here by noting locke’s ironic use of figurative language in the very effort to persuade his reader of the deceptive nature of figurative language (84). but, rooney is not done with locke. eleven years later she revisits his passage in an essay about the feminist promise of wittgenstein’s philosophy of language. and here it becomes clear there is even more to be said about locke’s semiotic theory. for not only does his passage deliver an excellent example of sex metaphor in the history of philosophy, it is also a commentary on metaphor itself. locke’s sex metaphor ‘genders’ the mechanism of metaphor, presenting a unique double meaning not given in rooney’s previous examples. building upon this observation, it is important to ask about the line of reasoning that leads locke to link up “rhetoric,” “the artificial and figurative application of words” and “eloquence,” with “the fair sex”? what does locke’s chain of association reveal about how philosophy is imagined as a linguistic enterprise and as a gendered enterprise? let us now turn to “the abuse of words” in order to contextualize locke’s curious ‘metaphor about metaphor.’ 2. in his essay locke aims to unfold how it is that language can serve philosophical knowledge. the key to unlocking the “use and force of language as subservient to instruction and knowledge” he writes, is to consider things like, the right use of words; the natural advantages and defects of language; and the remedies that ought to be used, to avoid the inconveniences of obscurity or uncertainty in the signification of words: without which it is impossible to discourse with any clearness or order concerning knowledge (locke 6). for locke, language is ripe with both possibilities and pitfalls for philosophy. his essay is intended to guide thinkers towards the possibilities, while avoiding the pitfalls. what we are concerned with here is the status of these so-called pitfalls of language; what determines “obscurity” or “uncertainty” for locke, as opposed to good “clearness or order”? for locke there are two general sources of error in language. there are “natural imperfections” in language, which present inevitable moments of confusion, and then there are avoidable blunders, whereby speakers are simply more confusing than need be: besides the imperfection that is naturally in language and the obscurity and confusion that is so hard to be avoided in the use of words, there are several wilfil faults and neglects which men are guilty of in this way of communication, whereby they render these signs less clear and distinct in their signification than naturally need to be (122). in describing those linguistic errors that are “willed,” locke adopts a prosecutorial, almost moralizing tone. it seems that some people are guilty of intentionally abusing language, and his essay is aimed at correcting those people or at least, pointing out their wrongs. the first and “most common” of willful abuses locke outlines is, “the using of words without clear and distinct ideas; or, which is worse, signs without anything signified” (122). according to locke, words are signs of ideas, which are themselves signs of sensation or internal reflection (nöth 23). it seems that this abuse happens when a person deploys ‘word-signs’ without a clear connection to ‘idea-signs.’ for example, “wisdom, glory and grace” locke writes, “are words frequent enough in every man’s mouth, but if a great many of those who use them should be asked what they mean by them, they would be at a stand, and not know what to answer: a plain proof, that, though they have learned those sounds and have them ready at their tongues ends, yet there are no determined ideas laid up in the minds, which are to be expressed to others by them (123-124). thus according to locke, many speakers are reckless chatterboxes, simply babbling terms without actually knowing how to define the ideas behind them. prima facie, it is not clear that one could speak or write a word without at least invoking the idea behind that word. is it truly possible to replicate language without doing any thinking? however, it seems what locke is essentially denouncing here is the sin of superficiality. we shall see that locke’s distaste for perceived superficiality is sustained throughout the chapter, and links up thematically to his critique of the ornamental use of language. locke identifies six more abuses of language, figurative language is the last of these. he describes figurative language as “whitty” and “entertaining” (locke 146). it stands in contrast to “dry truth and real knowledge,” and we use it primarily in discourses where we seek “pleasure and delight” over “information and improvement” (locke 146). not only does figurative language “insinuate the wrong ideas, move the passions, and thereby mislead the judgment,” it is “certainly in all discourses that pretend to inform or instruct, wholly to be avoided; and where truth and knowledge are concerned cannot but be thought at a great fault” (locke 146). thus for locke, figurative language is a good source of entertainment, pleasure and delight, but it has no part in serious scholarship. hence “men” must be sure to keep figurative language in its place, for it has historically tended to creep into formal learning environments, “it is evident how much men love to deceive and to be deceived, since rhetoric, that powerful instructor of error and deceit, has its established professors, is publicly taught, and has always been had in great reputation[…]” (locke 146). it is not clear what history of “great reputation” locke is referring to here, since rhetoric is famously jettisoned by plato. and yet, whether one heeds plato’s admonitions or not, it seems that according to locke figurative language may always take advantage of those who “love to be deceived.” let us take stock of the inventory of terms locke has used thus far to describe the abuse known as figurative language. the terms are: “entertainment,” “pleasure,” “delight,” “misleading,” and “deceptive.” these terms stands against non-figurative language, which is described as “dry,” “truthful,” and “real.” the last line in the chapter tells us which final terms to add, “eloquence, like the fair sex, has too prevailing beauties in it to suffer itself ever to be spoken against. and it is in vain to find fault with those arts of deceiving, wherein men find pleasure to be deceived (locke 146). the concluding terms are “fair sex” and “men,” to be added to the first and last list respectively. the final inventory then, looks like this: figurative language non-figurative language entertaining dry delightful truthful pleasurable real misleading men deceptive fair sex locke has managed to give figurative language a gender and conjure up a sexist stereotype, all in one sentence. what connects these two moves? clearly, locke imagines that the qualities of figurative language similarly describe women, and vice versa. needless to say, the comparison calls upon old yet persistent, sexist notions in the anglo european world, that women are intended to invoke pleasure, that women are preoccupied with superficial artifacts, that women live for appearance but not for substance or meaning, and that women are devious. and yet, despite all these unflattering descriptors, the very worst implication of locke’s comparison is that is women are deemed analogous to an “abuse of words,” which seems to imply that women ought not to talk at all, or perhaps that if they are to talk, they ought to talk like men. but, how is one to go about ‘talking like a man’? we can deduce from locke’s passage that to ‘speak like a man,’ one cannot use the language associated with the “fair sex.” thus, to ‘speak like a man,’ one must abandon figurative language entirely and communicate without calling upon imagery. according to locke, literal language may be “dry,” but at least it yields “truth,” and “real knowledge.” thus for locke, literal language, ‘man’s language,’ is the language of philosophy. 3. locke’s denigration of figurative language is not foreign to the history of philosophy. as black notes, “to draw attention to a philosopher’s metaphors is to belittle him-like praising a logician for his beautiful handwriting. addiction to metaphor is held to be illicit, on the principle that whereof one can speak metaphorically, thereof one [ought] not to speak at all” (25). le doeuff confirms black’s sentiment, noting that, “whether one looks for a characterization of philosophical discourse to plato, to hegel or to bréhier, one always meets with a reference to the rational, the concept, the argued, the logical, the abstract” (1). no agnosticism remains about what philosophy is not, le doeuff continues, philosophy is not a story, a pictorial description, or a work of literature. philosophical discourse is “inscribed and declares its status as philosophy through a break with myth, fable, the poetic”—in short, through a break with the domain of the image (le doeuff 1). what is behind this philosophical aversion to figurative language? according to black, the aversion stems in part from the “substitution view of metaphor,” the theory that any literal expression can be used in place of a metaphorical one (31). black claims that until recently, most writers “who have had anything to say about metaphor” have “accepted one or another form of the substitution view of metaphor” (31). thus it is not just philosophers who assume this view. for example, black recounts how richard whately, rhetorician, logician, and author of elements of rhetoric published in 1846, defined a metaphor as “a word substituted for another on account of resemblance or analogy between their significations” (quoted in black, 31). and in modern times, the substitution view persists. black finds it in the oxford english dictionary, “metaphor: the figure of speech in which a name or descriptive term is transferred to some object different from, but analogous to, that to which is it properly applicable…” (31). according to the substitution view of metaphor, the author substitutes metaphorical sign m for literal sign l. it becomes the reader’s task to recognize m as metaphor, and to mentally switch l for m in order to grasp the full meaning of the sentence. in this sense, “understanding a metaphor is like deciphering a code or unraveling a riddle”(black 32). on this view, it seems as if metaphor is nothing more than a linguistic trick: fancy, but unnecessary and potentially confusing. so, why might an author play this kind of game with his or her reader? “we are told that the metaphorical expression may (in its literal use) refer to a more concrete object than would its literal equivalent; and this is supposed to give pleasure to the reader[…]the reader is taken to enjoy problem-solving-or to delight in the author’s skill at half-concealing, half-revealing his meaning” (black 34). thus, it seems as if proponents of the substitution view frame figurative language as a kind of written flirtation. metaphor is a literary tease, aimed at stirring pleasure in the reader by leading him or her up the path of playful diversion. thus ultimately, according to the substitution view, “if philosophers have something more important to do than give pleasure to their readers, metaphor can have no serious place in philosophical discussion” (black 34). black’s description of the substitution view of metaphor resonates significantly with locke’s description of figurative language. both approaches cast the use of metaphor as ornamental, as a trivial diversion that is intended to induce pleasure but is ultimately ancillary to meaning-creation. interestingly, where locke’s discussion of pleasure in deception is directly linked to his feminization of metaphor, black’s reference to the delight of “half-concealed, half-revealed” meaning tiptoes around outright sexualized terms. indeed, while both locke’s theory and the substitution view of metaphor call upon a group of concepts germane to a sexist stereotype, (“entertaining” “pleasurable,” “delightful,” “misleading” and “deceptive”) only locke makes this connection explicit for us. besides this whiff of sexist logic, there is something else controversial about the substitution view of metaphor. according to black, the substitution view is mistaken because a metaphor cannot simply be replaced with literal terminology. rather, “when we use a metaphor we have two thoughts of different things active together and supported by a single word or phrase, whose meaning is a resultant of their interaction” (black 38). this is what black calls the “interaction view of metaphor,” the theory that each of the terms in a metaphor function in tandem to produce a meaningful phrase that is irreducible to its literal translation (38).2 for example, black applies the interaction view to the metaphor “the man is a wolf” (39). the first term “man” obtains a new meaning within the metaphor, a meaning that is not apparent in the literal use of the word “man.” this is because the second term “wolf” imposes a peculiar kind of meaning upon the first term. if “the man is a wolf,” he is ferocious, he is wild, he is a hunter, he is dangerous, (possibly he is very hairy) etc. these descriptors are not normally implied by our literal uses of the word “man.” when someone says, “a man is at the door” we do not immediately conjure up the associations ‘ferocious,’ ‘wild,’ etc., these are ‘wolf specific’ 2 black credits i.a. richards and w. bedell stanford with the original development of the interaction view (see black, 38). associations. as black puts it, “any human traits that can without undue strain be talked about in ‘wolf-language’ will be rendered prominent, and any that cannot will be pushed into the background” (41). thus, the wolf metaphor suppresses some senses of man and emphasizes others; the term “wolf” organizes our specific view of “man” in this metaphor (black 41). ultimately, the interaction view tells us that the literal translation of a metaphor is impossible because the words in a metaphor are not reducible to simple definitions. a metaphor does not compare two singular ideas but rather, the metaphor compares two clusters of association, the meaning of which only become narrowed by their mutual implication in the metaphor. thus according to the interaction view, locke’s semiotic theory goes astray in the claim that a ‘word-sign’ has meaning because it is connected to a distinct ‘idea-sign,’ for the sense of a word only emerges in reference to the words around it. for example, i could use the metaphor, “eloquence, like the fair sex, is expressive, powerful, and effective.” i have entirely altered the picture of woman that locke gave us with his metaphor about eloquence, and yet i have still described eloquence using correct synonyms. i can alter the understanding of “eloquence” in this sentence, as well as the representation of “woman,” not because a metaphor is somehow more “deceptive” than other styles of expression, but because neither word points to an entirely singular idea. the sense in which i mean either word, indeed the significance of the entire sentence, depends on which clusters of association i choose to highlight in the metaphor. le doeuff’s study of figurative language leads her to a conclusion that supports black’s, but her method of analysis is quite different. rather than theorizing about the meaning immanent to individual metaphors and sentences, le doeuff reflects on strands of the imaginary as they operate in entire philosophical texts. le doeuff proposes to do an “iconographic investigation” of certain prominent works in the history of philosophy in order to show where figurative language has an essential, if undervalued role (9). in her preface she writes that philosophy has always arrogated to itself “the right or task of speaking about itself, of having a discourse about its own discourse and its (legitimate or other) modes, writing a commentary on its own texts.” this meta-discourse, she continues, “regularly affirms the non-philosophical character of thought in images. but this attempted exclusion always fails” (6). she finds her first example of this failure in kant’s critique of pure reason and his critique of practical reason. she observes that in both critiques there is the running metaphor of an island. for example, in the transcendental analytic of the first critique, kant tells his readers that, we have now not merely explored the territory of pure understanding, and carefully surveyed every part of it, but have also measured its extent and assigned to everything its rightful place. this domain is an island, enclosed by nature itself within unalterable limits. it is the land of truth-seductive name!-surrounded by a wide and stormy ocean, the native home of illusion[…](quoted in le doeuff, 8) kant later continues the metaphor: before we venture on this sea, to explore it in all directions and to obtain assurance whether there be any ground for such hopes, it will be as well to begin by casting a glance on the map of the island which we are about to leave […] (quoted in le doeuff 8). le doeuff posits that this island as it appears and reappears in the critiques, is “the emblem of the kantian enterprise,” in the sense that the image of the island underlies the entire critical endeavor of the first critique. what is this endeavor? to establish the conviction that philosophers ought to seek safety and certainty over stormy illusion, and that they can best achieve this through an exploration and documentation of the understanding. “the promise of the island of the understanding” le doeuff writes, “is balanced by some terrifying dangers. its security value is hardly explained, and can be grasped only through contrast: the island is a good object only be being excepted from an uninhabitable world” (12). one might object that locke wrote before kant and thus, it is unfair to use le doeuff’s example to critique locke’s points about the role of figurative language in philosophy. however, one imagines that locke was at least familiar with the famous allegory of the cave in plato’s republic, to which le doeuff’s point about the critiques may just as well be applied. the allegory of the cave is also the “emblem” of the platonic enterprise, taught in many (if not all) introductory philosophy classes. the allegory is taught ubiquitously for a reason, because the image of the cave gives allows students to grasp plato’s metaphysical system in a way that purely literal explanations do not. hence, we can see that le doeuff’s thesis is not necessarily limited to the critiques, and that figurative language plays a powerful role in the republic as well. unlike black’s exploration of metaphor, le doeuff expresses an awareness of the dual rejection of both figurative language and femininity in philosophy. she writes that, “the images that appear in theoretical texts are normally viewed as extrinsic to the theoretical work, so that to interest oneself in them seems like a merely anecdotal approach to philosophy[…]it is of course well known that women can only ever look at history in terms of little stories” (2). she argues that philosophy is a “masculine discourse,” either outright hostile to female thinkers or, recognizing them only insofar as they create inferior, “anecdotal” philosophizing (100-101). anecdotal philosophizing is of course, storytelling, which is the province of figurative language. le doeuff ends up subsuming the dual rejection of figurative language and femininity under an analysis of philosophy’s propensity towards exclusion at large. this is not to say that paying attention to the dual rejection is unimportant, but simply that figurative language and women are only two of many elements that philosophy seems eager to expel. “the discourse which we call ‘philosophical,’” le doeuff writes, produces itself through the fact that it represses, excludes and dissolves, or claims to dissolve, another discourse, other forms of knowledge…for philosophical discourse is a discipline, that is to say a discourse obeying (or claiming to obey) a finite number of rules, procedures or operations, and as such it represents a closure, a delimitation which denies the (actually or potentially) indefinite character of modes of thought; it is a barrage restraining the number of possible (acceptable) statements[…](114). and what is “repressed, excluded and dissolved”? indeed, figurative language and whatever is considered feminine fall under that category, along with “seductive discourse, inconclusive syllogisms, recourse to final causes or occult forms, arguments from authority, and so forth” (le doeuff 115). but for le doeuff, paying too much attention to the list of excluded elements risks ignoring the essential dynamic, which is simply one of eviction at large. there is something about philosophy itself, she claims, that demands the indiscriminate act of expulsion (115). in fact according to le doeuff, philosophy is created through this act of expulsion, just as a field is created by virtue of its fences. hence, whatever is ejected from philosophy is simultaneously essential to philosophy’s creation. “the old wives tales and nannies’ lore are always ‘obscuring’ the clear light of the concept” she writes, “not because the repressed in general might be overwhelming by nature, but because the finite stock of admissible procedures is never sufficient.” philosophy presupposes an “undefined area, a certain play of structures, a certain margin of free-floating around the codified procedures. thus shadow is in the very field of light and woman is an internal enemy” (le doeuff 115). thus, like black, le doeuff highlights the contradictory relationship philosophy has to figurative language. formally, philosophy jettisons figurative language, and yet it is partially constituted by it, either through the direct utilization of metaphor, (such as in kant’s critique or plato’s republic) or through the self-creative act of expelling metaphor. and according to le doeuff, whatever is cast as feminine in philosophy is also caught up in this stranglehold of simultaneous necessity and repudiation. 4. locke warns us about the abuse of words in philosophy, but if there really is a disciplinary imperative to repudiate, as le doeuff claims, then this is the real abuse we ought to watch out for. particularly when the bundles of notions repudiated (the ornamental, the superficial, the deceptive) seem to be cross-fertilized with sexist stereotypes. whatever this compulsive disciplinary rejection is, it has been used in the service of, or is symptomatic of, an entrenched patriarchal spirit in philosophy. furthermore, this exclusionary move simply leads to an analytic mess. locke soils the credibility of his semiotic analysis, by indefensibly condemning an expressive style because he associates it with a particularly derogatory picture of femininity. this is simply not a good reason to dismiss figurative language as philosophically “abusive.” locke is thus unconvincing on his own, but in light of black and le doeuff’s work his argument seems further unjustified, for both thinkers have demonstrated that despite philosophy’s formal exclusion of figurative language, the latter nonetheless plays a significant role in meaning-creation. we can conclude from this study that there is, to say the least, a complicated relationship between what kind of language counts as “good” or “clear” philosophy, and who is articulating that language in what social context. for it is not a coincidence that in a historically sexist society women have been associated with the kind of speech that locke tells us does not count as philosophy. this reveals a disturbing snapshot of how something that seems like it ought to be utterly gender neutral, like the philosophical discussion of signification, can still be informed by sexism. there is a more optimistic up-shot of this conclusion however: for, should we begin to question the nature of philosophy’s discursive limits, perhaps we can begin to unlock philosophical potential in and beyond figurative expression. not only then, might we become more attentive to the philosophical significance of figurative language, but also, perhaps we may begin to attend to philosophical richness of the figure itself. understanding the historical and political nature of prohibitions on certain kinds of expression in philosophy can, perhaps, help us to embrace radically new modes of philosophical expression rooted in more progressive contextual dynamics. works cited black, max. models and metaphors. new york: cornell university press, 1962. print. le doeuff, michèle. the philosophical imaginary. trans. colin gordon. stanford: stanford university press, 1989. print. lloyd, genevieve. the man of reason: “male” and “female” in western philosophy. london: routledge, 1993. print. locke, john. an essay concerning human understanding. ed. alexander campbell fraser. vol. 2. new york: dover publications, 1959. print. nöth, winfried. handbook of semiotics. bloomington and indianapolis: indiana university press, 1990. print. plato. collected works. eds. edith hamilton and huntington cairns. trans. paul shorey. princeton: princeton university press, 1961. rooney, phyllis. “gendered reason: sex metaphor and conceptions of reason.” hypatia. vol. 6, no. 2 (summer 1991). 77-103. print. ___. “philosophy, language and wizardry.” feminist interpretations of ludwig wittgenstein. eds. naomi scheman and peg o’connor. university park: the university of pennsylvania press, 2002.1-25. print. microsoft word *langer history.docx [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] dr. no & dr. strangelove: cold war anxiety in film, 1962-1964 alexander patrick langer history a bikini-clad ursula andress singing “underneath the mango tree,” walking out of the caribbean waters. a debonair spy in an immaculate tuxedo, stalking the overnight train to montenegro for his cunning adversary. a brainwashed soldier, staring blankly at his target. a mad doctor in a wheelchair, standing up suddenly and screaming, “mein fuhrer! i can walk!” the cold war films of the early 1960s have reached iconic status as part of american popular consciousness. movies like dr. no and from russia with love, the first two installments of the adventures of mi6 special agent james bond 007, and the classic cold war thrillers the manchurian candidate and dr. strangelove, or, how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb remain a vibrant part of the pop culture zeitgeist. the films were not made in a vacuum, however. examining these films within their historical context reveals how they interacted with concurrent historical events and the reasons for their initial popularity. embedded within the films is a wealth of information pertaining to how americans perceived the nature of the cold war. they illustrate how the public confronted and coped with the cold war through shared popular culture. the films listed above can be viewed in two categories, though overlap is inevitable. the first is the “spy” movie, which reduces the multi-layered tangle of international relations to the more navigable level of interpersonal relationships. the spy movie was a coping mechanism constructed for the unpredictability of the cold war, wherein the actions of one person could single-handedly keep the country safe. the second type of film, which i will call the anti-spy movie, deconstructed the cultural fears that the spy movie comforted. those movies confronted the anti-communist and “red scare” narrative fed to the american people throughout the 1950s and deconstructed it. the anti-spy movie examined the fear that americans had just as much to mistrust from their own leadership as from a foreign communist state. they presented the antithesis of the spy movie, the acknowledgement that one person could not save the world, but on the contrary, one could end it. those two opposites, examined together and in their historical context, show the turmoil, confusion, anxiety, and complexity of the cold war world that americans lived with during the 1960s. “the name’s bond. james bond.” in 1963, the american moviegoing public was introduced to the iconic spy james bond. in contrast to the “red scare” movies of the 1950s, bond faced new types of enemies: enemies not always soviet, or even communist, but enemies who existed within the framework of the cold war, and enemies who reflected real world issues.1 ian fleming’s james bond 007 in: dr. no premiered in may 1963 in the united states, mere months after the cuban missile crisis, making the movie’s plot lines reverberate with americans. the soviet space program had successfully launched the first satellite and the first man into orbit while the u.s. space program had lagged behind. president john f. kennedy had challenged the american people to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, yet their army and nasa had suffered public embarrassment while the soviet union had successfully placed a man in orbit before them, shaking the confidence of the american people.2 dr. no offered both a tacit understanding of the fears america faced in the early spring of 1963 and an avenue of escape from those problems. dr. no at its heart is escapist fun; bond is immediately presented as “confident, intelligent, lucky, serious, disarming, sexually attractive to women, nimble-witted and both physically and mentally prepared to meet any challenge presented to him.”3 he was seen as the type of man who could keep the western world in command, “the very model of the tough, abrasive professionalism that was allegedly destined to lead [the west] into the modern, no illusions, no holdsbarred post-imperialist age.”4 when audiences sat down to dr. no, their hero embodied perfection in the postwar age: a man capable of nimbly navigating the confusing new conflict which americans dealt with in the 1960s. the character of 1 in dr. no (1963), james bond is sent to investigate the death of an mi6 agent in jamaica. there, he learns of strange stories concerning a nearby island, and, while investigating, meets dr. no, an evil scientist who is using his position in the soft underbelly of the united states to steer mercury project rockets and missile tests at cape canaveral off-course. bond and his famous bond girl, honey ryder, succeed in destroying dr. no’s secret base and saving the american space program. 2 yuri gagarin orbited the earth once in vostok 1 on april 12, 1961. the americans would not orbit a man until john glenn did it on january 20, 1962. 3 james mulvihill, “the golden age of bond: creation of a cold war popular hero (1962-1965) part ii,” international journal of instructional media 28 (2001): 346. 4 tony bennett and janet woollacott, bond and beyond: the political career of a popular hero (london: macmillan education, 1987), 239. bond allowed audiences to imagine themselves making the same dynamic decisions, and gave them comfort in his own assurance of superiority over his threats. dr. no is full of relevant concerns for the viewing public. the majority of the film takes place on or around the island of jamaica, just south of the communist stronghold of cuba, the island that had so recently captured american attention. for much of the 1950s, americans had been preoccupied with the u.s. and u.s.s.r.’s struggle for primacy in europe, and gave little thought to their “backyard,” as latin america was often called. after the cuban missile crisis and nationalist revolutions that erupted in the late 1950s and early 1960s, latin america could no longer be ignored. now, the location of dr. no’s secret base near jamaica “stirred the anxiety of western viewers regarding the safety and security of america’s caribbean neighbors with castro . . . only 90 miles off the coast of florida.” 5 the threat of consistently fighting liberation movements influenced by the soviet union in america’s soft underbelly was a horrifying thought for american audiences. for the first two decades of the cold war, the communist threat was safely across an ocean. the combination of the soviets launching their first intercontinental ballistic missile (icbm), nationalist movements undermining american hegemony in latin america, and americans perceiving that their nation was falling behind the u.s.s.r. in the technology race, contributed to the anxiety that the cold war was coming dangerously close to american shores. the primary threat of dr. no is the fictional disruption of the contemporary mercury space program, which, while the picture was in production, had not put a man in earth orbit. americans were worried about falling behind the soviet union, and “dr. no tore at the bowels of western society as [he] played havoc with united states missile tests,” with his attempts to undermine america’s space program.6 furthermore, he was doing so from a hidden base, close to cuba, in a place where the united states could not interfere without risking another standoff with the soviet union. by choosing to adapt dr. no first, instead of another of ian fleming’s books, the moviemakers “cleverly connect bond’s adventure to the real concerns of the american audience about the actual cold war space race, perhaps making bond’s story seem more realistic.”7 this grounded the escapist fun in a 5 mulvihill, “the golden age of bond,” 343. 6 thomas j. price, “the changing image of the soviets in the bond sage: from bond-villains to ‘acceptable role partners,’” journal of popular culture 26 (1992): 28. 7 mulvihill, “the golden age of bond,” 343. dr. no is actually the seventh book chronologically of the fleming books, but was chosen for adaptation first. subconscious realism, which only served to demonstrate the fun and satisfaction of seeing bond claim victory over the forces of evil. these issues were tackled by a film that many critics saw as ‘popcorn entertainment,’ an entertaining but brainless excuse to visit the caribbean for a few hours. “nonsense, you say. of course it’s nonsense—pure escapist bunk, with bond . . . doing everything (and everybody) that an idle day-dreamer might like to do.”8 because dr. no is escapist entertainment, there was very little doubt that bond would manage to defeat dr. no, save the american space race, and sleep with honey ryder as a bonus. he was able to succeed in a fashion unburdened by reality, infiltrating an island near cuba, single-handedly destroying a secret base, and escaping without international incident. he accomplished what the american government had not been able to do. he could police america’s soft underbelly and keep the west safe from threat—all while wearing a sneer, a suit, and his walther ppk. dr. no evoked relevant fears gnawing at the confidence of americans while solving them in clear, unrealistic, and satisfying ways. “brave, but on the whole stupid.” while dr. no centered its fears around the american space race and their “soft underbelly,” from russia with love, the second film adaptation of james bond, returns the concerns to continental europe, specifically turkey.9 turkey had often served as a symbolic bridge between west & east, and in the cold war, the status of turkey was a consistent hot-button issue. the placement of american nuclear missiles in turkey was the catalyst for soviet placement of missiles in cuba, and a secret agreement to the end of the cuban missile crisis was the removal of american missiles from turkey.10 furthermore, moscow viewed turkey’s links to the west with apprehension and consistently warned that if it came to war, turkey 8 bosley crowther, “the screen: dr. no, mystery spoof,” the new york times, may 30, 1963, accessed october 1, 2013 through the historic new york times database online. 9 in from russia with love (1964), bond is sent to istanbul to assist in the defection of a beautiful cypher clerk, tatiana romanova, who insists on only defecting, and bringing along a lektor, to james bond in person. unbeknownst to bond, he is being manipulated by the evil spectre, who want to create conflict between the west and the soviet union, steal the cypher for themselves, and kill bond in revenge for his victory against dr. no. bond succeeds in escaping istanbul and several assassination attempts with his life, tatiana’s love, and the important lektor. 10 jim hershberg, “anatomy of a controversy: antoly f. dobrynin’s meeting with robert f. kennedy, saturday, 27 october 1962,” the cold war international history project bulletin 5 (1995), accessed october 23, 2013 from the national security archive at the george washington university, http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/moment.htm would be the first nation attacked.11 when americans saw that istanbul and the volatile balkans were the primary settings of from russia with love, the implications for the balance of power were clear. the movie was set in one of the strategic lynchpins of the cold war. just like in dr. no, bond had to operate in ways that americans, due to their agreements to remove strategic assets from turkey, could not do without another international incident. the presence of spectre as the primary antagonist served to further expand the threats and echo the changing tone of the cold war. in the novel, the primary antagonist is smersh, a branch of the kgb that serves as a direct soviet antagonist to bond. for the movie, the villains had to be changed to reflect the changes in political climate. since the end of the cuban missile crisis, both kennedy and soviet premier nikita khrushchev stated desires for coexistence, and because of that, “the russians could no longer be the heavies.”12 instead, the screenwriters took a hard look at the fragility of the global system and turned to a villain that sought to “exploit the fragility of relations between the east and west.” 13 the stated goals of spectre in the film were to foment misunderstandings and suspicion among the superpowers, which super villain ernst stravro blofeld called “brave, but on the whole stupid.”14 blofeld desired to escalate the war for personal gain, using the two superpowers to weaken each other so that he could achieve favorable results, but the logical end of schemes like his might have resulted in “the very type of global conflagration the viewing audience would most fear.”15 the fragility of the global system and the ability of smaller and non-aligned actors to affect change and create discord was on the forefront of the minds of americans when they finally saw the film. five months before, lee harvey oswald had assassinated president john f. kennedy in dallas. american memory of the cuban missile crisis, the assassination of a president by a soviet sympathizer, and the conspiracy theories already forming around it all highlighted how fragile the standoff was, and how many chances there were for escalation and calamity. into that cauldron of possibilities stepped bond, more attractive and effective than the viewers last saw him. in from russia with love, bond 11 current digest of the soviet press, 14:5; quoted in kenneth l. hill, cold war chronology: soviet-american relations, 1945-1991 (boston: little, brown, & co., 1998), 126. 12 steven jay rubin, the james bond movies: a behind the scenes history (norwalk, ct: arlington house, 1981), 25. 13 bennett and woollacott, bond and beyond, 33. 14 from russia with love, producers, albert broccoli and harry saltzman, director, terrence young, (united artists, 1963, digital video disc), 0.12.20. 15 mulvihill, “the golden age of bond,” 342. succeeded in defeating a conspiracy aimed at igniting new conflict, capturing a soviet encryption device, turning a woman’s fake defection into a real one with the sheer power of his charm (and capitalist luxury), and ending the film with the west having scored a strategic victory over the soviets without directly competing with them. bond again served as the perfect agent of western power, defeating red grant, the imposing specimen sent to kill him, and seducing tatiana romanova to the point that she acted quickly to kill a fellow comrade, rosa klebb. james mulvihill wrote, “romanova represents a hopeful example of what can happen when a soviet individual interacts with...the forces of good.”16 through his interactions with the grim specter of spectre and the alluring soviet tatiana romanova, bond represented the fears and hopes of an american public in the beginning of the thawing cold war. he faced criminal conspiracies and forces aimed at destabilizing a détente established after a narrow avoidance of a global nuclear war, but also managed to seduce a model soviet communist to the side of the west, and western values and politics. he was an explicit reminder that the western world was on the side of angels. in bond’s world, every soviet wanted the goods and the freedom that bond represented. he was an assurance that given the choice, the communists would come willingly to the west, and that, despite the horror and instability the movie-goers had faced, they would win, if only they acted like bond. as one 1963 article from the times of london stated, “he has the courage, and the physical equipment, to do without thinking what most of us feel we might be doing.”17 he provided a guide to salvation for a worried and paralyzed public. “raymond shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being i've ever known in my life.” when moviegoers went to watch the manchurian candidate, they had no guarantees there would be a world when the movie ended. the manchurian candidate was released on october 24, 1962, the same day soviet premier khrushchev wrote a letter to president kennedy stating the american blockade was “an act of aggression propelling human kind into the abyss of a world nuclearmissile war.”18 the manchurian candidate echoed many of the fears found in from russia with love, namely, the fear that the conflict itself was the problem. in 16 mulvihill, “the golden age of bond,” 349. 17 “four just men rolled into one,” the times (london), october 10, 1963, accessed october 23, 2013 18 “khrushchev letter to president kennedy (moscow october 24, 1962,” library of congress. retrieved october 23, 2013. from russia with love, non-state actors used the conflict between the east and west to sow dissent and gain profit, but the outlook in the manchurian candidate was even bleaker. the film’s plot shows a far-right mccarthy stand-in nearly becoming the president thanks to his soviet agent wife and her programmed assassin son.19 it is only thanks to the heroism of the hero benedict marco and his recollections of the brainwashing he and raymond shaw received that the communist plot was thwarted through an assassination and on-camera suicide at the party convention.20 the manchurian candidate offered a chilling glimpse at the danger of the two sides of the conflict, and how both were equally capable of manipulation by unscrupulous powers. as the manchurian candidate premiered, americans were witnessing the climax of nearly two decades of vitriolic rhetoric from both sides of the cold war. there was a genuine fear that political ideology and hard-line tactics would lead to nuclear holocaust. the manchurian candidate offered little solace to the moviegoing public. instead, it critiqued the system that put the world on the brink of destruction. in the manchurian candidate, “any modest distinctions between the communists and the anti-communists...disappear.”21 both the communists and the hard-right politicians were portrayed as stupid, lazy, and using ideology as an excuse to gain power. in doing this, the manchurian candidate was attacking the politics of the 1950s. mccarthyism and the john birch society had been a powerful force of ideology in the american political landscape. the ideological dichotomy these people and societies espoused was the target of the manchurian candidate. it sought to redirect the gaze of the american public to the dangers of both ideologies by using an over-the-top comparison of the dogmas on the american right and those on the communist left. the equation of right-wing politicians with soviet agents was thought to be satire by film critics. the exaggeration of the communist plot had “just enough 19 in the manchurian candidate, a squad of u.s. soldiers is captured and brainwashed by the north koreans into believing one of their members, raymond shaw, had saved them all. they returned to the u.s. praising him as a hero. his stepfather was nominated for vice president while shaw was programmed by the north koreans as an assassin. his mother was his controller, and planned to have him kill the presidential nominee at the convention, giving her husband the presidency. it took benedict marco breaking free of the brainwashing to foil the plot. 20 george axelrod and john frankenheimer, producers, john frankenheimer, director, the manchurian candidate, (united artists, 1962) digital video disc. 21 jonathan kirshner, “subverting the cold war in the 1960s: dr. strangelove, the manchurian candidate, and planet of the apes.” journal of film and history, 31 (2001): 41. imitation of reality to make it uncomfortable.”22 bosley crowther, the reviewer for the new york times, was unsure of how to handle the film’s insistence to not satirize its point. the film explicitly compared the outrageousness of the rightwing politics of the united states to insane communist plots, challenging the viewers’ preconceived ideologies and assumptions. the film placed the blame for the continued escalation of rhetoric and conflict on adherents of both sides of the political spectrum and argued that the conflict, not either ideology, was the real evil. neither side of the conflict could win, because neither side had the moral high ground. both sides were vicious in their attacks on the other, and both sides were to blame for the current crisis the world was faced with. john frankenheimer, the director of the manchurian candidate, stated “i wanted to do a picture about how ludicrous mccarthy-style far-right politics are and how dangerous the far-left is also, how they were really the same thing, and the idiocy of it all.”23 this message left viewers discomforted about the current political reality and their place within its structure. the manchurian candidate offered a blazing critique of the system of cold war rhetoric and conflict-oriented thinking that pervaded both the far right and the far left. eventually, mainstream opinion would indict the ideological constraints and zero-sum system of interaction in the cold war as ultimately destructive to both sides, but the manchurian candidate said that at a time when “people could still get in trouble for saying the wrong thing.”24 it “ridiculed both [sides] and trivialized their conflict, asserting that the differences between them were meaningless.”25 the manchurian candidate was on the front edge of this view, but its withdrawal from circulation after the kennedy assassination kept it from having sustained influence on the american imagination. that role would be fulfilled by a little black comedy about nuclear annihilation. “gentlemen! you can’t fight in here. this is the war room!” dr. strangelove or: how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb was released in january of 1964, and like dr. no before it, the film centered on the 22 bosley crowther, “twisting truth: new sinatra film slips out of bounds,” the new york times, november 4, 1962. 23 gerald pratley, the films of john frankenheimer, (cranbury, nj: lehigh university press, 1998), 40. 24 kirshner, “subverting the cold war in the 1960s,” 40. 25 ibid. danger of the nuclear race’s potential climax.26 unlike dr. no, the film was not concerned with the united states falling behind in the missile gap or the space race, or with concerns that communists were poised to strike at the “soft underbelly” of the united states. instead, dr. strangelove was principally concerned with “the cold war itself, and the moral equivalence, and folly, of both sides.”27 it, like the manchurian candidate, saw the cold war as an ultimately destructive conflict where there were no winners. the attitudes of the authority figures were caricatures of similar sentiments expressed, without irony, by us officials around the time of the movie’s release. general buck turgidson, the top air force official briefing the president in dr. strangelove, acknowledged that if the us were to commence with a first strike it would “get its hair mussed,” which was his way of calmly condemning ten to twenty million americans to nuclear death.28 while undoubtedly an exaggeration meant to prove the absurdity of ‘winning’ a nuclear war, the sentiment “hit uncomfortably close to home for some elements of the air force at the time.”29 at the end of the film, as the doomsday device was being activated, politicians in the war room lamented america’s perceived gap in the mine-shaft race, mocking common fears about the americans falling behind the russians in the so-called “missile gap” and satirizing the fear of nuclear missiles that underlies dr. no. that particular comment was a reference to a campaign tactic used by john f. kennedy, accusing president eisenhower, and by proxy vice president nixon, of falling behind in the missile race. when kennedy became president, defense spending skyrocketed, even though the new defense secretary robert mcnamara found that no such gap existed.30 dr. strangelove was mocking the fears that underpinned earlier movies while acknowledging the real fears of nuclear destruction, but destruction based upon equal incompetence from both sides of the conflict rather than the one. 26 dr. strangelove centers around an unhinged sac general who believes he’s uncovered a plot by the soviets to poison american water, and orders a first strike. in the war room in dc, the president’s advisors are circling through codes to call off the attack, and are informed that the soviet union has created a doomsday device that automatically triggers when a nuclear device hits the u.s.s.r. the film ends with the lone bomber not recalled dropping a bomb on the soviet union, ensuring global nuclear annihilation, and an american plan to retreat to the mineshafts to wait out the coming nuclear winter. 27 kirshner, “subverting the cold war,” 41. 28 stanley kubrick, producer and director, dr. strangelove or: how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, (columbia pictures, 1964) digital video disc. 29 kirshner, “subverting the cold war,” 42. 30 “defense: the missile gap flap,” time, february 17, 1961: 12-13. deconstructing the film’s themes illustrates striking similarities between the soviet and american leadership. “turgidson may attempt to clumsily plant a camera on the russian ambassador, but it does not matter because the russian has one of his own,”31 observes jonathan kirshner. stanley kubrick’s denunciation of the american school of thought did nothing to laud the russians. in the film, the american general staff learned that the russians had a “doomsday device” only after there were nuclear bombs headed towards russia. the russian premier had kept the existence of the device a secret (thus defeating the entire point of mutually assured destruction) because he liked surprises. however, the russians were not denounced for creating a doomsday device. instead, the americans “wish[ed] they had one.”32 repeatedly kubrick reminded viewers that very little substantive difference existed between the two sides. both were irrational and insane in their own ways. kubrick “ha[d] managed to explode the right-wing position without making a single left-wing affirmation.”33 using satire, he made it clear that neither side of the cold war debate had it right. before the movie came out, it was referred to as a topical farce, and not expected to have the cultural impact it did. instead of a farce, theatergoers were subjected to a scathing takedown of the stupidity and childish competition at the core of the cold war. kubrick, an englishman writing and directing in england, was able to examine the competition from a slight distance, and used humor to highlight how dangerous a game the americans and soviets were playing. when americans went to see dr. strangelove, they had spent the last several years finding new threats to be terrified of. the opening up of the cold war in america’s backyard, the threat of missiles in the caribbean, and the fear of their government’s inability to stop them from being killed were all on american minds when they sat down to watch kubrick’s work. dr. strangelove assures them that there was only one overarching fear they need worry about: fear that their leaders and the soviet leaders were insane, incompetent fools who would destroy the world “over political differences that will seem as meaningless to people a hundred years from now as the theological conflicts of the middle ages seem to us today.”34 in this way, dr. strangelove signaled a call to move past the “us vs them” mentality that had held the country in its grip since the end of the second world war and steer toward a relationship less conducive to bringing about the apocalypse. 31 kirshner, “subverting the cold war,” 42. 32 dr. strangelove. 33 robert brustein, “out of this world,” new york review of books, 1 (1964): 4. 34 norman kagan, the cinema of stanley kubrick, (new york: continuum, 1989), 111. the early 1960s in america brought about a rapid paradigm shift in the understanding of the cold war and its presentation in popular film. whereas throughout the 1950s demagoguery, witch hunts, and red-baiting were the modus operandi, and popular culture reflected that anxiety, americans in the 1960s were confronted with new questions concerning the political climate. movies such as dr. no and from russia with love explored new fronts of the cold war, simultaneously addressing the unease americans felt while providing them with a safe catharsis. concurrently, movies like the manchurian candidate and dr. strangelove challenged the ideology of the cold war, comparing far-right conservative politics to the communists. all films forced americans to rethink the nature of the cold war and their role within it. they challenged the notion that americans were a people immune to dangerous ideology and forced people to consider that the conflict was the problem. these four movies, which premiered in the united states within two years of each other, each found new questions to ask of the cold war. they helped americans deal with their unease and fears while driving them to reexamine the construction of the conflict they were trapped in. bibliography axelrod, george and john frankenheimer, producers. john frankenheimer, director. the manchurian candidate. united artists, 1962. bennett, tony and janet woollacott. bond and beyond: the political career of a popular hero. london: macmillan education, 1987. broccoli, albert, and harry saltzman, producers. terrence young, director. dr. no. united artists, 1962. broccoli, albert, and harry saltzman, producers. terrence young, director. from russia with love. united artists, 1963. brustein, robert. “out of this world.”unew york review of books. 1964. crowther, bosley. “twisting truth: new sinatra film slips out of bounds,”the new york times. november 4, 1962. crowther, bosley. “the screen: dr. no, mystery spoof.” the new york times, may 30, 1963. ___. “defense: the missile gap flap.”etime magazine. february 17, 1961. ___. “four just men rolled into one.”othe times (london). october 10, 1963. hershberg, jim. “anatomy of a controversy: antoly f. dobrynin’s meeting with robert f. kennedy, saturday, 27 october 1962.”ethe cold war international history project bulletin 5 (1995). hill, kenneth l. cold war chronology: soviet-american relations, 1945-1991. boston: little, brown, & co., 1998. kagan, norman. the cinema of stanley kubrick. new york: continuum, 1989. kirshner, jonathan. “subverting the cold war in the 1960s: dr. strangelove, the manchurian candidate, and planet of the apes.” journal of film and history 31 (2001). kubrick, stanley, producer and director. dr. strangelove or: how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. columbia pictures, 1964. ___. “khrushchev letter to president kennedy, moscow october 24, 1962.” library of congress. mulvihill, james. “the golden age of bond: creation of a cold war popular hero (1962-1965) part ii.” international journal of instructional media 28 (2001). pratley, gerald. the films of john frankenheimer. cranbury, nj: lehigh university press, 1998. price, thomas j. “the changing image of the soviets in the bond sage: from bond-villains to ‘acceptable role partners.’” journal of popular culture 26 (1992). rubin, steven jay. the james bond movies: a behind the scenes history. norwalk, ct: arlington house, 1981. [concept, vol. xxxv (2012)] the entheos diagnosis by melissa dugan rachwal liberal studies i. the fall carl could argue that the fall never happened. one moment he was gathering his things to leave the lab for the day, and the next he was prone on the linoleum floor, staring up at the fluorescent lights. a fly or some other buzzing insect had crawled through a crack in one of the plastic panels, and carl could make it out as a shadow drowsing between the panel and the light and then back again, its movements languid with coming death. they’re going to have to put me on medication, carl thought, i’ve really lost it. i don’t even feel like getting up. even though he had never taken drugs of that kind in his life, he unconsciously reached toward his breast pocket for a few tablets of something that would stabilize him. he found only tiny crumbs of lint. sometimes carl imagined that time was only an illusion produced by his mind, and in half-conscious moments it was possible for him to lift the veil and accidentally remember what was still yet to happen. so he wondered for a moment if he weren’t just recalling a habit he would develop in the future. but then, thankfully, he returned to his senses, and the wondering ceased. he had blacked out for only a moment, though he could not be sure it was only a moment. it seemed more like a record skipping than the playing of an entire song. now that he was aware of his body again, he wondered if perhaps he had been unconscious for a while; he felt like a hunk of slate: flat, hard, sharp, and immobile. he fancied a wet-rock smell, overpowering even the antiseptic that permeated the dimly lit room. and then, interrupting all of his senses: natasha. natasha rolling into his nostrils like a plume of smoke in reverse, curling up to tickle his eyes. natasha. gazing into the microscope, biting her plump lower lip until the lipstick stained the edges of her two front teeth. breathing in the silent room. sometimes, when it was particularly quiet, and they were the only two people in the lab, he found himself intoxicated by her breathing, faint and rhythmic and slightly damp. and then carl remembered why he was still at the lab this late. why he was alone. why he might be more likely to fall than usual. some people see their entire lives crammed into a single moment’s rash action. and so it was with carl. he shouldn’t have looked at her like that. but he couldn’t help himself. the way she walked. the way she breathed. why did everything feminine about her have to be so loud, such an announcement? her body entered his field of vision with a trumpet flourish. and then she had the nerve to press herself against him like that. he hadn’t meant to kiss her back. he really hadn’t. in his mind he had been telling her, “no, no. i love my wife.” who kissed whom, anyway? in his memory, it was she who kissed him, but could he really be sure after he had looked at her like that? all he knew for certain was that he had broken her nose. he didn’t remember hitting her. he only remembered blood and widened eyes. he had never hit anyone before, not even a schoolyard bully, not even his younger brother. he had begun to shake, lying there on the floor. it was cold, and he felt expended, as though he had actually taken her there in the lab and not shattered her face instead. had he hit her more than once? how long ago was it that he had hit her? ten minutes? two hours? what if she didn’t tell anyone? he kept assuming she would report him, but in some way she was complicit. perhaps she would keep it a secret, say she had fallen down the stairs. but would he be able to lie? carl was not a liar. he told the truth as often as he could. he prided himself on being an honest, ethical person. in six years of marriage, he had never cheated on or lied to his wife, beyond the little white fibs considerate spouses tell. the two of them were so close that even if he said nothing to her, emily would look at him and know that he was keeping something from her. emily. he would tell her everything. it would be hard for her, but she would understand. she knew how hard carl tried to be a good person, that this surge of passion and violence was only an anomaly. and surely his confession alone would prove his love for her. she would have to forgive him. feeling this imagined reassurance, carl sat up, and immediately his head began to sail away from his body. it sank back down with a sudden jerk that radiated pain from his forehead and temples all the way down his spine. he reached around the back of his head and felt the damp stickiness of blood. he needed to see a doctor. fumbling for his phone in his pants pocket, carl heard the voice for the first time. it was deep and sonorous and tinged with a british accent. it almost seemed to sing the following lines: “…and feel/ what i can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal…” 1 a voice from another room, carl thought to himself, as he stood, weaving back and forth and reaching out for the counter to steady himself. he drew in a sudden sharp breath, as though in pain, but he felt no new overwhelming sensations besides the throbbing of his head and surprise tears pricking the inside of the corners of his eyes. how could he have done that? how could he have hurt her like that? 1 george gordon, lord byron. “the sea,” from childe harold’s pilgrimage. immortal poems of the english language. ed. oscar williams. new york, new york: washington square press (1952). p. 292293. this book is perhaps not the traditional choice of a scholarly resource for the poems of byron and shelley, but it was the first book of poetry i ever received as a child, and it has great personal significance to me. consequently, it is the perfect resource for this paper. he pulled out his phone again to call her, to apologize, to attempt to explain, but he only ended up staring down at the device in his hand, something that suddenly seemed so small and plastic and weightless that it begged to be thrown against the far wall. “there is a pleasure in the pathless woods,/ there is a rapture on the lonely shore…” 2 the voice again. and this time he was sure he heard a bird singing. carl rubbed his head. “yes, 911,” he muttered aloud, “i was going to call for help. i need help.” ii. she walks in beauty emily was shaking her head as she strode into the hospital room. “carl malone townsend, really,” she chastised. “falling in the lab? what was there even to trip over? it’s the cleanest place in the world! you really are an absentminded professor!” petite as she was, impossibly thin and just over five feet in height, she had the aura of a giant, and her flair for heels and unconventional fashion added to her electric presence, which filled the entirety of any room she entered. carl blushed and smiled as emily politely drew her long blond hair behind her ear so it would not sweep over his face as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. he was always a little awed by her. they had started dating when they were undergraduates, both of them chemistry majors with similar career paths in mind, until emily had suggested that they modify their plans to allow for a more cohesive union, one without the pressures and complications of professional competition. and so emily generously switched her major to pre-med, asking carl first if he would mind not always being the breadwinner, and now she made a healthy living as a neurologist, leaving the trials and tribulations of research and academia to her husband. emily examined carl’s stitches with a skeptical frown while gently massaging his thinning brown curls. “how do you feel?” she asked. “and on that cheek, and o’er that brow,/ so soft, so calm, yet eloquent…” 3 carl cleared his throat. he had told the doctor that he had been hearing voices, but now he found himself hesitating before confiding in his wife. “fine, but…i keep hearing this voice…” “a voice?” emily removed her hand from the back of his head and moved so that she could closely examine carl’s face. “how long have you been hearing this voice?” “since the fall,” carl replied. emily frowned again. “you told the doctor?” carl nodded. emily sighed and sat on the side of the hospital bed. “the mind is a funny thing, and it can play such tricks on us.” she turned to carl again and smiled. “but such effects are not uncommon, and i am sure it is only a temporary quirk!” she pressed him into a velvety kiss and then stopped mid-tongue: “whose voice is it that you’re hearing?” 2 ibid. 3 george gordon, lord byron. “she walks in beauty.” immortal poems of the english language. p. 291. “i’m not sure,” carl paused, driving his lips as far into his face as they would go. “i think it’s lord byron.” emily chortled. “lord byron! is he enticing you to fight in greek wars and seduce young men and women?” 4 “not yet.” “well, then,” emily said, ruffling his hair, “enjoy it. i think i would quite like to hear some poetry in my head now and then. and i am sure it is just temporary and meaningless.” she pressed her lips into a firm line, nodding her head with conviction while also appearing to be entertaining a completely unrelated train of thought. she broke into another fit of chuckling. “lord byron! is this a relapse into your undergraduate days?” for a brief period of time in his sophomore year, carl had contemplated a double-major in chemistry and english, but the prospect of an expensive fifth year of school had dissuaded him. the memory caused carl to think of harold, his college roommate, a professed poet and eccentric soul carl had not spoken to in years. “i wonder how harold murphy is doing,” carl mused. “harold murphy! that lout! 5 probably seducing innocent girls at a community college somewhere,” emily said. she turned out to be, as usual, entirely correct. iii. a fence with poetry there was a new voice now, higher and sweeter, and it would not let him sleep. it launched into a lengthy treatise that at first carl was not sure he would like to follow, though he did, in a moment of half-sleepy interest, finally attempt an understanding, just in case it would shed light on the nature of his disorder: “according to one mode of regarding those two classes of mental action, which are called reason and imagination, the former may be considered as mind contemplating the relations borne by one thought to another, however produced, and the latter, as mind acting upon those thoughts 4 “[byron was]…the first and ongoing celebrity, hero and villain, wooer and narcissist, shackled with a label that has entered everyday currency of being ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know.’” o’brien, edna. byron in love: a short daring life. new york: w.w. norton and company (2009). 5 “his shyness and sense of friendlessness made him look for comfort in love affairs, but as he was unconsciously seeking a mother rather than a mistress, all disappointed him except augusta.” russell, bertrand. “byron.” byron: a collection of critical essays. ed. paul west. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall inc. (1963), p. 153. emily’s analysis of harold’s romantic life is meant to be reminiscent of russell’s analysis of byron’s. neither one is rationally “incorrect,” but there still seems to be something wrong in looking at the life and emotions of another human being and dismissively reducing them to a series of psychological issues that the truly discerning mind would have recognized and rooted out. if it is really so easy and desirable to live rationally, why don’t more people do it? and if emily and russell are so rational, why do they become so emotional in their condemnation of those who threaten their sense of logic and order? is there, perhaps, an invisible mythology underlying their perfectly reasoned judgment? so as to color them with its own light, and composing from them, as from elements, other thoughts, each containing within itself the principle of its own integrity.” 6 reason, “the relations borne by one thought to another, however produced”—carl looked at the lamp, unlit, beside his bed. his phone was there beside it; he snatched it up and began typing in as many of the words he could recall, which was surprisingly easy. it seemed that the voice was whispering them again in slow motion, so he could catch every word. “so at least my delusions pity me,” carl mused. emily stirred beside him in her sleep, but she did not wake. one thought to another? first, i thought of getting my phone, and then i thought of typing the words, and now i’m thinking of my thinking. i got my phone in order to type the words, and i began to think about my thinking because i read the words i was typing. this is reason. and now i will color these thoughts, and compose from them, “as from elements, other thoughts, each containing within itself the principle of its own integrity.” other thoughts? an act of creation. it is helpful that my phone is beside my bed. not even five years ago i would have had a notebook and pencil beside my bed to catch fleeting contemplations such as these. i miss that notebook sometimes. i could flip through it, feel the scratch of the paper in my fingers, and see all that i had accomplished, or at least tried to accomplish, in recent months. but the phone is easier and more convenient. and no gray smudges on my hands! this line of thinking is not very imaginative. let me try again. what if my phone secretly possesses consciousness and is controlling my thoughts? what if cell phones are all conspiring to take over the world? what if i am insane, and these problems i am having cannot be attributed to my head injury? “reason is the enumeration of qualities already known; imagination is the perception of the value of those qualities, both separately and as a whole. reason respects the differences, and imagination the similitudes of things. reason is to imagination as the instrument to the agent, as the body to the spirit, as the shadow to the substance.” 7 dutifully, carl typed, but he felt a strange heat in his cheeks. he almost chuckled, but he did not feel amused. shadow to the substance! such backward thinking. so unscientific. the “perception of the value of those qualities” is always a matter of imagination, of opinion, of the values of a given time and culture, of an individual’s natural inclinations and experiences. the “perception” of the imagination is dangerously subjective and obscures rather than reveals the truth. these perceptions of value are always changing. how unreliable! real truth stands the test of time and is not the agent of our meaningless emotional whims. “now that was a good example of imaginative thinking,” the voice continued. carl was in the middle of typing “example” before he realized that the remark was aimed specifically at him. 6 shelley, percy bysshe. “a defence of poetry.” essays and letters by percy bysshe shelley. ed. ernest rhys. freeport, new york: books for libraries press (1971), p. 1-41. 7 ibid. “very funny,” carl snapped. “carl, go back to sleep,” emily muttered drowsily beside him. she turned over with her arms bent so that her hands were at the same level as her chin. her hands flopped at her wrists as she moved, but even in sleep, she could not relax enough to lower her arms. “sorry,” carl whispered. he turned off his phone and slid back under the covers. “i’ll get you an appointment with dr. taine in the morning,” she murmured. dr. taine was a psychiatrist who worked with emily. as carl crossed his own arms over his chest, he decided he would also give his old buddy harold a call. it couldn’t hurt to get a second opinion. iv. the daemon of the diner harold looked horrible. his rumpled, too-thick, too-long hair had been compressed into a crooked ponytail, and several hunks and strands had slipped loose or never agreed to conform in the first place. there were dry ravines under each of his bloodshot eyes, which he rubbed repeatedly in an effort to keep them open and to summon some much-needed moisture to his eyeballs. “based on what you have told me, i think you have a daemon,” harold observed with a yawn. “a demon? jesus, harold, are you going to start telling me i need an exorcist?” “not a demon, a d-a-e-m-o-n, a spirit. socrates had one, though some people think he just used it to avoid questions he couldn’t answer or as an excuse to get out of talking to people he didn’t like.” “what is a d-a-e-m-o-n?” carl asked. harold sighed. “a spirit, like i said. something from the other world. a spirit that fills you and inspires you, that gives you insights no one else can have, that gets you in touch with the great mysteries of life.” as his explanation gained momentum, harold’s body came to life, and by its conclusion, he was rocking slightly in his seat with his arms spread wide. “so i’m crazy,” carl muttered. harold’s body contracted again and centered on his mug of coffee. “basically, yes.” “i think the voice is quoting byron and shelley to me,” carl added. “remnants from your school days, i’m sure.” “but i’m not sure what it all means. if i read some of the lines to you, could you explain them?” harold grimaced and ran his pointer finger over his lower lip. “eh, romanticism was never my thing. but i’ll try. and i might be a bit rusty. teaching freshman comp and ‘appreciation of poetry’ at green hill community college has not exactly helped me to maintain rigorous academic standards for myself—or my students, for that matter.” harold paused and patted his paunch. “but i’m going to need a little breakfast in me before we tackle this beast. what do you say…pancakes?” “i had one of emily’s homemade organic protein bars before i left this morning, so i’m fine.” harold shuddered. “suit yourself.” carl cocked his head to the side and closed his eyes. “did you hear that?” “ ‘tainted love,’ yes, horrible song.” “no, a bird. i heard a bird singing.” harold lifted his chin and sniffed the air as though he could smell sound. after a few moments he cleared his throat. “i don’t hear any birds, but it is difficult to hear anything over the pounding in my brain.” “we look before and after,/ and pine for what is not:/ our sincerest laughter/ with some pain is fraught;/ our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought,” 8 carl erupted into verse. embarrassed, he clapped his hand over his mouth as though he were a demure young woman who had just emitted a tremendous belch. harold’s eyebrows shot up. “vomiting up poetry, now. that’s some head injury you’ve got.” “what poem was it? is it real? did i just make it up?” squinting his eyes, harold settled down deeper into the cushioned seat of the diner booth. “it’s shelley, i believe—‘to a skylark.’ i always liked those lines. it always seemed to me that they were true: there is a sadness that permeates everything…” harold looked out the window at the sunlit world fractured by the fabric-lined vertical blinds. “do you think birds know they’re going to die? do you think they can have any concept of what death is? it’s probably just an instinctive fear. the same fear that causes deer to run headlong into speeding suvs.” harold chuckled. “harold, i’ve never read that poem in my life,” carl said quietly. “you must’ve. the brain records everything, or so i’ve heard, far more than you can ever actually remember. but you already know that, don’t you?” carl nodded. “i know. i know. but that’s not what it felt like…it really felt like something was speaking through me, causing me to say those lines.” “like a daemon?” “yes.” “i’ll do some research for you, carl, some of my kind of research. i’ll read up on the romantics, consult some academics that are more respectable than i am.” “teach me half the gladness/ that thy brain must know;/ such harmonious madness/ from my lips would flow,/ the world should listen then, as i am listening now,” 9 carl recited. “i am listening, carl. or should i say, shelley. oh, he had a way with women, shelley! 10 all of the romantics did. who are you romancing these days, carl?” 8 shelley, percy bysshe. “to a skylark.” immortal poems, p. 303-306. 9 ibid. 10 “while at eton shelley began two pursuits that would continue with intense fervor throughout his life: writing and loving, the two often blending together so that the loving becomes the subject matter for the carl’s face flamed, and he glared at harold. “my wife,” he declared. harold shrugged his shoulders. “i guess you’re still more of a scientist than a poet.” “i suppose running around with girls half your age is a more poetic way to live.” harold smiled. the expression surprised carl because there was no humor in it, only the effort of holding up a great weight. “they all died young, the romantics. that kind of fire can’t last. it’s true. that’s why i’ve stuck with the twentieth century, when mankind found out exactly what dreams and passions are worth.” he crumpled up his napkin in his right fist and then released it, watching it expand into a wrinkled ball. “i don’t live poetically, carl. no one does. living is dirty and disappointing and mundane.” “cease! drain not to its dregs the urn/ of bitter prophecy,” 11 carl replied. harold laughed. “‘the world is weary of the past,/ oh, might it die or rest at last!’ that’s from hellas. i suppose, like you, i remember more than i think.” he raised his coffee cup as though it were a goblet full of wine. “let me drink down the urn of bitter prophecy!” carl clanked his empty mug against harold’s. then harold gulped down the rest of his lukewarm coffee and bellowed out, “waitress! more mead!” he turned to carl and winked. “let me buy this daemon of yours a drink, even if it is decaffeinated.” carl sighed. “i know enough to know this could be symptomatic of something serious, harold.” harold set his heavy hand on his friend’s shoulder. “you do not know that for sure. remember the skylark, carl, and sing while you still can!” there was a flush in harold’s cheeks and a brightness in his eyes that had not been there when he had first walked into the coffee shop. when the waitress finally approached their booth, harold grabbed her hand and kissed it. the older woman snatched her hand back, but she tittered like a school girl when she saw the bashful grin on harold’s face. v. a don juan confession natasha’s daughter may 12 looked almost exactly like her mother, except that her nose was not broken and her right eye was not marred by a purple blotch. she was also still girlishly slender, though the roundness of her face suggested an imminent future of voluptuousness. natasha’s extra flesh presented a problem even as she seated herself on the park bench beside carl, for she had to check her skirt and adjust it to make sure that nothing unsightly was revealed. she was not obese, but she was built like an ancient fertility statue, and modern clothes and modern benches were not made for such extreme ins and outs. carl immediately writing.” greenfield, john r. “percy bysshe shelley.” british romantic poets, 1789-1832: second series. ed. john r. greenfield. detroit: gale research (1990). dictionary of literary biography vol. 96. 11 shelley, percy bysshe. “the world’s great age” from hellas. immortal poems. p. 294-295. 12 may’s name is inspired by wordsworth’s “intimations of immortality” from immortal poems, not from these exact lines, but the season is referred to repeatedly in the poem: “thanks to the human heart by which we live,/ thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,/ to me the meanest flower that blows can give/ thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.” p. 266. felt the heat radiating off of her body, even though she had made a point of sitting at the far side of the bench. he could not tell if the electricity came from her or his own projection. he strained his neck away from her even as he turned his body toward her in order to converse. may, who was around ten or eleven, raised her nose as she studied carl. her snide expression made carl think that her mother must have told her that he was the cause of her injuries, but she introduced herself to him without any evident dislike. “i’m may. it’s nice to meet you, dr. townsend.” she held out her hand, and carl realized that the young girl was simply trying to appear as mature as possible. he shook hands with her, and she then turned and pecked her mother respectfully on the cheek before scampering away to turn a series of clumsy somersaults on the park lawn. it was early spring, and still cold, but there was a soft edge to the wind, a sort of warm breath following the sting. natasha shook her head. “she’s a weirdo, just like her mother.” natasha chuckled and then looked at the ground and waited for carl to speak. “natasha, i’m so, so sorry,” carl gushed. tears were seeping out of natasha’s eyes. she waved away his words. “oh, carl, i don’t know what happened. and i don’t know why you…reacted that way. but it’s certain that we can’t keep working together.” “you should go to the police, natasha. we shouldn’t even be speaking.” “carl, i don’t know what happened that day in the lab! all of it, not just this,” she gestured to her face. “i just want to forget it. can the university give me some sort of severance if you fire me?” “fire you?” “yes, carl. fire me.” the daemon took hold of carl. he leapt to his feet and mounted the bench with a straight back. as he stood at this new height, he took a sudden, sharp inhale and bellowed out the following lines: “i would to heaven that i were so much clay, as i am blood, bone, marrow, passion, feeling- because at least the past were passed away, and for the future--(but i write this reeling, having got drunk exceedingly to-day, so that i seem to stand upon the ceiling) i say--the future is a serious matter- and so--for god's sake--hock and soda-water!”13 natasha stared up at carl. “are you drunk? what are you doing?” she rose from her uncomfortable seat and backed away from him, smoothing down her skirt as she moved. 13 byron. “don juan.” the literature network: online classic literature, poems, and quotes. essays & summaries. http://www.online-literature.com. 28/12/2012. http://www.online-literature.com/ his poetic demonstration had caught may’s attention, and she had run back to the bench to look up at carl in open-mouthed speculation. “mom, is he nuts?” may asked, impressed. natasha took her daughter’s hand. “dr. townsend, this is my formal notice. i will not spend another second in your presence, and if i am not properly compensated, you will hear from my attorney!” her voice slipped into a wail with her last syllables, and she stormed away, dragging her daughter may along because the child continued to turn around and stare appreciatively at carl. “he’s nuts! he’s really nuts!” vi. enlightenment “i understand from your wife that we are still waiting for the results of some tests before we make an official diagnosis,” dr. taine said. he gestured for carl to take a seat in a leather armchair, and then he sat in the matching chair opposite. carl nodded. “yes, but…i think that all of this might have started before the fall.” “before the accident?” “yes.” “hm.” dr. taine stroked his beard. “yes. you understand that despite my friendship and colleagueship with your wife, our sessions are entirely confidential.” “yes.” “well, then talk to me about this, about your reasons for believing this began before your accident in the lab. what were you doing right before the incident occurred?” “i don’t remember. i only remember…hitting natasha.” “natasha? who is natasha?” “like thee, man is in part divine,/ a troubled stream from a pure source; /and man in portions can foresee/ his own funereal destiny,” 14 carl replied. “is that from a poem? are you avoiding my question?” “i can’t control it. at first i would only hear it, in my head, but now i’m saying the lines aloud, and i don’t remember ever reading them.” “is the voice always reciting poetry?” “poetry, yes, and some essays. all by byron and shelley, i think.” “and this all started after you hit natasha but before you hit your head.” “no, i didn’t start hearing the voices until after i hit my head, but these…outbursts started when i hit her…when i just lashed out at her. i’ve never done that before.” “you’ve told your neurologist this?” “no…my wife was there, and i didn’t want her to know.” “i see. do you mind if i speak with him privately? i think these symptoms might shed some light on the true nature of your disorder.” 14 byron. “prometheus.” the literature network: online classic literature, poems, and quotes. essays & summaries. http://www.online-literature.com. 28/12/2012. http://www.online-literature.com/ carl already knew all of this; he already knew what the diagnosis would be. but he nodded and said nothing. “so, byron and shelley…what significance do you think they or their work has for you?” “i don’t know. i don’t really read any poetry. i don’t think i’ve looked at a poem since college.” “you’re missing out. i’ve always admired the work of the romantics. though shelley should have reserved his enthusiastic imagination for his writing and not for his life. 15 oh, the destruction caused by people who let themselves be led around my dreams and delusions of grandeur! he even thought he could talk to the dead! thank god for logic and science!” dr. taine let out an uncharacteristic chortle. “wasn’t shelley at one time quite the amateur scientist as well? 16 wasn’t he the inspiration for mary shelley’s victor frankenstein?” carl countered. “i believe so, but what is your point?” “i only make observations. i believe i have no point,” carl replied. vii. entheos 17 “carl!” harold’s voice boomed through the phone. “carl, this disorder of yours is really very fascinating! i have been up all night reading. i tried to piece together all of the fragments you gave me, their sources and their underlying connections, and now i have it!” 15 “[shelley], one of the greatest poets of the age, son of a rich baronet, beautiful as an angel, of extraordinary precocity, gentle, generous, tender, overflowing with all the gifts of heart, mind, birth, and fortune, marred his life, as it were, wantonly, by allowing his conduct to be guided by an enthusiastic imagination which he should have kept for his verses.” taine, h. a. “modern life: ideas and productions.” trans. h. van laun. history of english literature. london: chatto and windus (1890). 16 “the most positive memories shelley had of his two years at syon house were undoubtedly of the imaginative and lively lectures of adam walker on science-electricity, astronomy, and chemistry-an interest which shelley retained throughout his life. in shelley's free-ranging mind there was no contradiction between an interest in science and an appetite for trashy gothic romance thrillers, such as matthew gregory lewis 's popular the monk (1795).” (greenfield) 17 [late latin enth siasmus, from greek enthousiasmos, from enthousiazein, to be inspired by a god, from entheos, possessed : en-, in; see en2 + theos, god; see dh sin indo-european roots.] word history: enthusiasm first appeared in english in 1603 with the meaning “possession by a god.” the source of the word is the greek enthousiasmos, which ultimately comes from the adjective entheos, “having the god within,” formed from en, “in, within,” and theos, “god.” over time the meaning of enthusiasm became extended to “rapturous inspiration like that caused by a god” to “an overly confident or delusory belief that one is inspired by god,” to “ill-regulated religious fervor, religious extremism,” and eventually to the familiar sense “craze, excitement, strong liking for something.” now one can have an enthusiasm for almost anything, from water skiing to fast food, without religion entering into it at all. from: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/enthusiasm. the evolution of our use of this word is so telling! the illusion of social order is much easier to maintain when people are taught not to take their passions too seriously. unfortunately, i do not think most people seek the society of others for the sake of order; we seek each other for the sake of passion. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/enthusiasm it was 7:30 am on sunday morning. carl yawned and pushed his toast aside. normally, he would be in bed at this hour, but the skylark in his head had started singing at sunrise. emily was still asleep upstairs. “okay, harold, what have you found out?” “entheos!” harold exclaimed. “i was only kidding with the daemon thing, but it seems my instincts were right, as usual! ha!” carl held the phone away from his ear. “so what kind of a disease is entheos?” “it’s not a disease. well, not exactly. it’s a word, from the greek. sounds like enthusiasm, well, it’s basically the same thing. it originally meant ‘having the god within.’ and all of the pieces you gave me lead back to a kind of faith or need to get in touch with something that is beyond reason and beyond words.” “so i’m secretly a religious fanatic?” “shelley was an atheist, carl! 18 this is bigger than god! god is a human construction. this is life! life itself!” carl sighed. without further prompting, harold launched into his analysis: “the first snippets you heard are from childe harold’s pilgrimage, and they are part of a section that is an ode to the unfathomable mysteries of the sea. the words you heard second— the pleasure of the pathless woods and the pleasure of the lonely shore—refer to the joy of contemplation away from the society of other human beings, of the sublime experience of embarking on something unknown, of being awed by something greater than other human beings and greater than yourself! and the first lines you heard, what can neither be expressed nor concealed, that’s what i’m talking about, carl! life! can you put it into words?” “life is the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally,” 19 carl replied. “when you put it like that, it sounds terrible! well, really, i guess it is terrible, but you’re distracting me from the point i was trying to make. oh, yes! and shelley’s essay ‘a defence of poetry’ is really quite apt, for it places the poet and the imagination above the pursuits, though they are still worthy and useful, of reason. he writes just after the part you quoted that reason is about breaking things into parts, and imagination is about reminding us how they all relate. but in that essay, shelley also says that we are like instruments through which internal and external impressions pass, but that we color these impressions with our own internal 18 “indeed shelley and hogg's decision to publish shelley's necessity of atheism, together with their sending copies of it to the conservative oxford dons, seems more calculated to antagonize and flout authority than to persuade by rational argument. actually the title of the pamphlet is more inflammatory than the argument, which centers upon ‘the nature of belief,’ a position shelley derived from the skeptical philosophies of john locke and david hume. belief cannot come from a voluntary act of will; the burden of proof for belief can be found in only three sources: the senses, reason, or testimony.” (greenfield) 19 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/life. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/metabolism http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/environment http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/life response. 20 like when you feel the sunshine, and it is warm, and you like the warmth, and so you smile. and maybe you smile again later not because you are happy necessarily, but because you are trying to summon the feeling of happiness that you had while sitting in the sunshine. and another human being, seeing your smile, returns the expression with a smile of his own. and so you feel happy. there are no words, but this is communication. poets are experts not in the particulars but in their arrangement. there are ordered patterns that emerge, independent from the objects themselves, that reveal the essential structures of human nature. so language is really about commiseration more than it is about differentiation, or, in other words, it is more about imagination than it is about knowledge. when you get to the point in a society when things are so controlled that connections between people are often more contrived than natural, you need art to put you back in touch with those universal human experiences that are the source of love. otherwise, every human interaction becomes a transaction because all we see and share with each other are what separates, not what unifies. a true poet knows that we do not create meaning; we reflect it.” “so why am i the conduit for this poetic spirit?” “i’m not done yet, carl! prometheus! let me talk a little bit about prometheus!” “okay.” “the lines you recited at dr. taine’s office were from byron’s ‘prometheus.’ the poem ends with prometheus’ making death a victory. it is the ultimate poem of rebellion. prometheus represents the untamed human spirit defying whatever social tyrannies, represented by zeus and his hungry punitive vulture, are currently in play. byron certainly lived his life in defiance of social norms! oh, and the gossip nearly ruined his life! his wife circulated some horrible rumors about him after they separated. 21 and still he penned ‘don juan,’ which was as vindictive and sacrilegious a work as the brits had ever seen. goethe defended it, by the way, but he was one of few. 22 personally, i have always found it a funny paradox that human beings acknowledge their imperfection (which is why they think they need governments and societies), and yet think they are capable of not only conceiving of perfect societies but also of managing to live in them. and if problems ensue, well, then, the system is the problem! if we can’t control the world, we must settle for making up rules to control all of the bad people in it! 20 “man is an instrument over which a series of external and internal impressions are driven, like the alternations of an ever-changing wind over an æolian lyre, which move it by their motion to everchanging melody. but there is a principle within the human being, and perhaps within all sentient beings, which acts otherwise than in the lyre, and produces not melody alone, but harmony, by an internal adjustment of the sounds or motions thus excited to the impressions which excite them.” shelley, percy bysshe. “a defence of poetry.” 21 “in the tory newspapers he was likened to henry viii, george iii, nero, caligula and epicurus. byron teetered between outrage and self-aggrandisement, his name, which had been a knightly and noble one since his forefathers had helped to conquer england for william the norman, was being ‘tainted.’” (o’brien) 22 “’don juan’ is a work of infinite genius, misanthropical with the bitterest inhumanity, yet sympathetic with the deepest intensity of tender feeling.” wolfgang, johann, and von goethe. “byron’s ‘don juan’.” goethe’s literary essays. ed. j. e. spingarn. new york: harcourt, brace and company (1921). because those people are certainly not us! they’re just the crazy people who believe in things and let their emotions get the best of them. we know that it’s all just a matter of perspective, and we’re so damned objective we don’t take a stand on anything: there is no real ‘right’ and ‘wrong’; there is no real ‘good’ life. by calling these words ‘meaningless,’ we have not come to any realizations about the human condition; we have redefined them and refused to acknowledge our new definitions. now ‘right’ is being ‘objective,’ and ‘wrong’ is being ‘subjective.’ and the ‘good’ life is ‘living without belief in the “good” life,’ so there are no hierarchies or judgments of other beliefs, societies, or individuals—unless those people actually believe in their beliefs! and then, well, they are just uneducated or unenlightened. we are too enlightened to become emotionally involved with our thoughts and fall into the trap of absolutes, but there we go, we’ve just created another absolute for ourselves—and a particularly unsatisfying and uninspiring one at that. we believe we do not believe. and so we are impotent and aloof from the world, and our lives have no meaning because we will not deign to dirty our hands with convictions.” “so, harold—” “wait, carl, i haven’t gotten to the connection to plato! you know the basics of plato: the forms, which are eternal, fixed, and can be grasped only by the mind?” “yes.” “well, the romantics, who were heavily schooled in greek, ironically took plato’s philosophy—plato wanted the poets kicked out of the republic, if you remember—and adopted a conception of a kind of platonic ideal, a striving for a beauty and perfection that can never be achieved in the becoming world 23 but is nonetheless a reflection of a kind of real, eternal conception that all human beings share and can potentially have access to. “and it is art that grants people this access because it is attuned, not only to reason, which is always necessarily either too specialized to be accessible to the majority of people, or is dangerously subject to the trappings of one’s place and time because it is by its nature limited by what is (‘the relations borne by one thought to another’—as soon as you get beyond this single interaction, you are traipsing into the realm of imagination, putting things together that did not go together in the first place) and suspicious of what could be, but to feeling, that which drives people, that which cannot be put into words, that which is utterly private and subjective, but all human beings, by the very nature of their aloneness, share. i have no doubt that people ten thousand years ago felt love, hate, pity, rage, sorrow, and disappointment, just as we do, only maybe for different reasons. and if we could feel those feelings with them, we would feel an affinity for them, see them as fellow human beings. but that’s the whole problem when you’ve created a system that debunks stories; at some point, people have to live their lives. they shouldn’t be automatons, always following the rules, because the rules do not always 23 “as i see it, then, we must begin by making the following distinction: what is that which always is and has no becoming, and what is that which becomes but never is? the former is grasped by understanding, which involves a reasoned account. it is unchanging. the latter is grasped by opinion, which involves unreasoning sense perception. it comes to be and passes away but never really is” (27d-28a). plato. timaeus. trans. donald j. zeyl. indianapolis: hackett publishing company (2000). apply. but if you don’t believe in stories, if you can’t imagine a way to live in which you’re thinking and feeling and living as one person, you’re either following the rules or chasing oblivion just to give yourself the excuse not to follow the rules for a moment. 24 and people are walking around in pieces, literally buying into an empty mythology of materialism that is ‘safe’ because it doesn’t appear to involve the risk of absolute belief but still offers a moment or two of possibility and pleasure. but it is the very ‘safe’ and material nature of our pleasure that makes it so empty, causing us to gorge ourselves more and more without ever feeling satisfied. and we’re all either killing ourselves to make money—usually far more money than we could ever possibly need—or feeling ‘unfulfilled’ if we have any free time and being unable to figure out why because we don’t believe it is in our power to actually put ourselves back together again! if we do, it’ll only turn out to be a lie. but all we have to do is believe we can do it. not because belief guarantees success, but because belief itself is what we are missing. it’s not the story that really matters, it’s the belief! find something to believe in, to put all of yourself into, not to blind yourself to reason, but to give yourself something whole to refer to against the fragmentation of the system, so you can negotiate the truth that always lies somewhere inbetween the two.” “i have to go, harold, there’s someone knocking on my door.” “are you just making an excuse to get me off the phone?” “yes, but there actually is someone at my door.” “entheos, carl! be a scientist and a poet!” “okay, thanks, harold. but that sounds like a lot of work. i don’t think i have the energy for it.” “i will be calling you later with input from the critics!” “thanks, harold.” “this is fantastic!” harold was still hollering nonsense when carl hung up the phone. carl, as usual, had been telling the truth. there was someone knocking on his door. carl didn’t know it yet, but it was natasha’s daughter may. 24 “such a flaw seems, at times, a consciously ironic reversal of the flaw in the tragic hero, which we usually define as the moral weakness in a basically well-ordered and reasonably decent man. for the romantic hero, though, the flaw is just the opposite, the one moral or decent aspect in a nature that tries hard to be unsociable or wicked.” garber, frederick. “self, society, value, and the romantic hero.” comparative literature, vol. 19, no. 4 (autumn, 1967), pp. 321-333. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1769491. 22/01/2012. i would argue that the rebelliousness and apartness of the romantic hero comes from his desire for love. he isolates himself from society and its rules because these structures deny the importance of his personal experience and so he reverses his values and inflates his internal conception of himself in order to excuse his indulgence in fantasy rather than social duty. ironically, it is only through interaction with other human beings that he can hope to find that for which he truly longs, but as long as society values order more than love, the romantic hero, who is filled with entheos and has nowhere to put it, feels his only options are to live among men and deny his passions or live apart from them and at least be able to love his dreams. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1769491.%2022/01/2012 viii. the passing of the past “why did you beat up my mother?” may asked. she was sitting across from carl at his kitchen table. he had given her a cup of tea, which was too hot to drink, so may leaned over, puckered her lips, and draped them over the edge of the cup, leaving a little bit of air between her upper lip and the liquid so she could simultaneously slurp the tea and cool it with her breath. her eyes rolled up and to the side to stare at carl while she drank. “it was an accident,” carl explained, gravely. may’s hair was in two long pigtails tied with red ribbon. carl couldn’t understand her. she was the most childish ten-year-old he had ever met. he didn’t know how to respond to her question because it seemed as innocent as a child’s and yet there also seemed to be an adult’s carefully hidden agenda snaking in the grass beneath it. carl’s phone, which was resting on the table close to may, lit up and buzzed with vibration. may swung her head to the opposite side without removing her lips from the tea cup. she glugged and then withdrew her mouth slightly in order to speak. “you have a text. why don’t you answer it?” carl snatched the phone away from her and read the text: “‘milton's devil, as a moral being, is as far superior to his god, as one who perseveres in a purpose which he has conceived to be excellent, in spite of adversity and torture, is to one who in the cold security of undoubted triumph inflicts the most horrible revenge upon his enemy—not from any mistaken notion of bringing him to repent of a perseverance in enmity, but with the open and alleged design of exasperating him to deserve new torments.’” 25 and then, just as soon as carl had finished reading the lengthy message, another came through: “entheos, carl! how ironic that the devil is the one who believes in and labors for something greater than himself despite the fact that he knows he will not succeed! isn’t this belief a necessary part of morality? on its own, it is dangerous, but without it, what is the difference between being good and doing what you’re told?” “is that from my mom?” may asked. carl put his phone aside. “no. what were you saying?” “my mother,” may replied curtly, now pushing her tea cup and saucer away from her. “why did you hit her?” her voice had all of the cold conviction of a lawyer presenting her closing remarks to a jury. “i didn’t want to hit her,” carl said. his phone buzzed again. carl didn’t want to read it, but it was the only excuse not to answer may: “‘from earliest childhood [shelley] had taken the liveliest interest in the supernatural. “sometimes”, hogg tells us, “he watched the livelong nights for ghosts”, and his researches into 25 shelley, percy bysshe. “on the devil, and devils.” the prose works of percy bysshe shelley. oxford: clarendon (1997). electricity and galvanism, which were to be resumed so ardently in his oxford days, were varied by the eager perusal of volumes on magic and witchcraft. with the help of the rules herein presented, he even tried to raise a ghost himself, uttering incantations and drinking thrice out of a human skull (or its substitute) as he bestrode a running stream.’” 26 carl opened his mouth to make some excuse to may, to tell her he had been frustrated by work, that he had slipped on a wet substance on the floor, that he had turned too suddenly and knocked into the unsuspecting natasha, but he instead chanted the following lines: “while yet a boy i sought for ghosts, and sped through many a listening chamber, cave, and ruin, and starlight wood, with fearful steps pursuing hopes of high talk with the departed dead. i called on poisonous names with which our youth is fed.” 27 harold again: “this longing for darkness is the same desire for some vast, unspeakable thing, for something greater than ourselves that we can never really touch or understand.” “are you saying that ghosts made you do it?” may asked, her skepticism evident in her squinting eyes. “no, no.” carl clapped his hands over his eyes. he felt overwhelmed. he could not speak. “why do people hurt people? is it always men? my dad hurt my mom, too, before he left us.” carl kept his head bowed and did not speak. “my mom didn’t do anything wrong, did she?” breathing, carl responded instinctively in his thoughts, she was breathing. harold, giving carl another much-needed reprieve, and yet frustrating him all the same: “byron, i said, has not a great artist's profound and patient skill in combining an action or in developing a character,—a skill which we must watch and follow if we are to do justice to it. but he has a wonderful power of vividly conceiving a single incident, a single situation; of throwing himself upon it, grasping it as if it were real and he saw and felt it, and of making us see and feel it too.” 28 “i didn’t mean to hurt her,” carl said, helplessly. “then why did you?” may persisted. harold: “the skill of the poet! what i was talking about before! making you almost feel what someone else felt. creating a sense of universality in the vivid depiction of someone’s personal experience.” 26 strong, archibald t. “the sinister in shelley.” three studies in shelley and an essay on nature in wordsworth and meredith. london: oxford university press (1921), pp. 107-147. 27 shelley, percy bysshe. “hymn to intellectual beauty,” from ibid. (“the sinister in shelley”) 28 arnold, matthew. “byron.” essays in criticism; first and second series. london: dent (1964). “may, you’re too young to understand this, but sometimes…people do things they don’t mean.” “i know. i do things i don’t mean all of the time. but that doesn’t mean i don’t want to do them. i don’t care what you say: you wanted to hit my mother. i want to know why.” there was no trace of the child in her face now. her expression was so fixed that it carved lines into her skin. harold: “‘the deadly juggernaut the doge makes of the state is a reflection of the ruthless self-control he practises upon himself, for he loves his son but will not be seen to unbend. “i cannot weep,” he tells marina, “i would if i could” (ii.i.78), and the hypersensitivity that perceives sympathy as condescension explodes when she attempts to commiserate: “pitied! none / shall ever use that base word, with which men / cloak their soul's hoarded triumph, as a fit one / to mingle with my name” (ii.i.146-49). the first consequence of such repression is as always the sense of a hostile, determinist universe…’” 29 harold again, with superhuman texting speed, immediately afterwards: “haven’t we decided that the universe is hostile to human life, and doesn’t it seem that way because nothing ever works out the way we plan, and we are convinced—absolutely convinced that having things turn out the way we think they should is the always the right way? and so we are always at war with the world for not meeting our expectations. and how exhausting and fruitless a battle it is! and so we either abandon all responsibility, or we go around controlling everything, every little moment, every little thing, because we think we know how the world should be.” “dr. townsend, i need to know.” may’s aged face flushed. carl continued to look down at his phone even though he had already read the lengthy message there. “yes, may, i wanted to hit her,” carl admitted. “why?” “because she made me feel weak.” may got up from her chair and walked over to carl. she stood next to him, looking down at his downcast face. carl did not look up at her. may leaned over and kissed him gently on his forehead. then she turned and skipped out the front door. harold: “the message of the poet must strive to reach outside of all systems, religious, social, and political, because no single system is perfect or capable of anticipating and recognizing all that human beings need. and so a chaotic force must always be there, a spirit, a pulsing, a desire for life, to push back—not necessarily to destroy—but to balance, by speaking out in passionate defense of our humanity.” 29 manning, peter j. “rebels cosmic and domestic.” byron and his fictions. detroit: wayne state university press (1978), pp. 146-174. ix. the diagnosis “when was the last time you heard the voices?” dr. taine inquired. “it’s been over a month,” carl said. dr. taine nodded. “i have spoken with your neurologist, and he is pleased with the results of your most recent tests. i am inclined to believe that the psychological manifestations were due to the physical damage that occurred as a result of your accident. i would like to schedule a few more sessions, but i am happy with your progress.” “thank you, doctor.” carl decided to walk home from dr. taine’s office that day. he needed some time to think. a lot had changed in the past few weeks. he had fired natasha, gotten her the best severance package available, and heard from some of their coworkers that she planned to move back to new jersey to be closer to her family. the idea of traveling had also caught hold of harold, for he had decided to spend a month in england’s lake district, strolling and musing among the spirits of the romantic poets. “i had forgotten what it felt like to be in love!” harold had exclaimed in enthusiastic explanation. carl, too, had forgotten, but he was trying to remember. spring was now at the climax of her fecund display, and almost every plant in view seemed to have sprouted some kind of delicate, colorful flower. there was still joy and newness in feeling the sunshine well after five o’clock. cars clogged the streets of the town, but carl could meander down the sidewalks at a dreamy pace. there was no one waiting at home for him; he could wander for as long as he liked. it had been three weeks since he left emily. the moment he had walked out of the door, the fist that had been clenched in his chest for over a decade suddenly relaxed, and he could breathe. he was a cruel man, a violent man, and a liar. but he was breathing. seized by an inexplicable urge, carl leapt onto the nearest bench. no one passing by seemed to notice, even after carl, still hearing and speaking poetry, burst into the last lines of “adonais”: “the breath whose might i have invoked in song descends on me; my spirit's bark is driven far from the shore, far from the trembling throng whose sails were never to the tempest given; the massy earth and sphered skies are riven! i am borne darkly, fearfully, afar; whilst, burning through the inmost veil of heaven, the soul of adonais, like a star, beacons from the abode where the eternal are.” 30 30 shelley, percy bysshe. “adonais.” the literature network: online classic literature, poems, and quotes. essays & summaries. http://www.online-literature.com. 28/12/2012. http://www.online-literature.com/ and as he descended from the bench feeling as omnipotent as a god, he misjudged the distance, tripped over his own pant leg, and tumbled to the concrete. 31 aware that the power that moved him was never entirely in his control, carl did not feel the need to close his eyes, and he was able to lessen the severity of his fall. stunned from the impact but still conscious, he looked back at the rusty bench on which he had just stood, filled, for only an ephemeral moment, with all of the fire and air of entheos. and carl townsend burst out laughing. 31 “while shelley's preface holds open the possibility that some individuals may find moral community through a natural (and implicitly unreflective) sympathy, the real choice seems to be between disillusionment and moral death. to be ‘deluded by ... generous error,’ to be ‘duped by ... illustrious superstition,’ is the price of moral life in shelley's world of philosophical skepticism. 1 for the poet visionary who is the subject of the poem, this disappointment is intolerable, but for the poet of the preface, it becomes the pre-condition of moral action. such disillusionment is the double awareness that neither the foundations nor the goals of moral agency can be deduced naturally according to the enlightenment plan. rather, morality entails an act of self-reflection in which the self and the self reflected can never match, can never be completely subsumed in a moral universe.” dunn, allen. “out of the veil of ignorance: agency and the mirror of disillusionment.” southern humanities review 25.1 (winter 1991), pp. 1-21. bibliography arnold, matthew. “byron.” essays in criticism; first and second series. london: dent (1964). cooke, michael g. “the limits of skepticism: the byronic affirmation.” keats-shelley journal, vol. 17 (1968), pp. 97-11. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30210601. 22/01/2012. dunn, allen. “out of the veil of ignorance: agency and the mirror of disillusionment.” southern humanities review 25.1 (winter 1991), pp. 1-21. garber, frederick. “self, society, value, and the romantic hero.” comparative literature, vol. 19, no. 4 (autumn, 1967), pp. 321-333. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1769491. 22/01/2012. byron. “don juan.” the literature network: online classic literature, poems, and quotes. essays & summaries. http://www.online-literature.com. 28/12/2012. byron. “prometheus.” the literature network: online classic literature, poems, and quotes. essays & summaries. http://www.online-literature.com. 28/12/2012. greenfield, john r. “percy bysshe shelley.” british romantic poets, 1789-1832: second series. ed. john r. greenfield. detroit: gale research (1990). dictionary of literary biography vol. 96. hassler, donald m. “‘marino faliero,’ the byronic hero, and ‘don juan.’” keats-shelley journal, vol. 14 (winter, 1965), pp. 55-64. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30212655. 22/01/2012. manning, peter j. “rebels cosmic and domestic.” byron and his fictions. detroit: wayne state university press (1978), pp. 146-174. michaels, leonard. “byron’s cain.” pmla, vol. 84, no. 1 (jan., 1969), pp. 71-78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30212655. 22/01/2012. o’brien, edna. byron in love: a short daring life. new york: w.w. norton and company (2009). plato. timaeus. trans. donald j. zeyl. indianapolis: hackett publishing company (2000). russell, bertrand. “byron.” byron: a collection of critical essays. ed. paul west. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall inc. (1963), p. 151-156. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30210601 http://www.jstor.org/stable/1769491.%20%2022/01/2012 http://www.online-literature.com/ http://www.online-literature.com/ http://www.jstor.org/stable/30212655 http://www.jstor.org/stable/30212655 shelley, percy bysshe. “a defence of poetry.” essays and letters by percy bysshe shelley. ed. ernest rhys. freeport, new york: books for libraries press (1971). shelley, percy bysshe. “on the devil, and devils.” the prose works of percy bysshe shelley. oxford: clarendon (1997). shelley, percy bysshe. “adonais.” the literature network: online classic literature, poems, and quotes. essays & summaries. http://www.online-literature.com. 28/12/2012. strong, archibald t. “the sinister in shelley.” three studies in shelley and an essay on nature in wordsworth and meredith. london: oxford university press (1921), pp. 107-147. taine, h. a. “modern life: ideas and productions.” trans. h. van laun. history of english literature. london: chatto and windus (1890). williams, oscar, ed. immortal poems of the english language. new york, new york: washington square press (1952). wolfgang, johann, and von goethe. “byron's ‘don juan’.” goethe's literary essays. ed. j. e. spingarn. new york: harcourt, brace and company (1921). http://www.online-literature.com/ absence, desire, and love in john donne and roland barthes absence, desire, and love in john donne and roland barthes   christopher b. smith department of english               one of john donne’s varied responses to the condition of love is to playfully examine the condition of desire and those who mediate it. his poems collectively place an emphasis on the poetically conjured beloved, who is signified, in several ways, as absent in the text. it is this absence that roland barthes, founder of semiotics (the study of signs) and author of a lover’s discourse, sees as one of the necessary conditions for the amorous cycle, which refracts absence and presence through the binaries of self and other. for barthes, the lover’s discourse is not the exchange of romantic sentiments, but rather a conversation that he who is in love holds with himself, made possible by a repertoire of images that constitute the condition of being in love. the self therefore remains in place, while “the [pursued] other is, by vocation, migrant, fugitive” (barthes 13).           inherent in this condition is desire as a language-producing force, which barthes’ student julia kristeva separated into two elements of signification: the symbolic and the semiotic. the former is a structure that governs the ways symbols can refer; the latter can be seen as the origin of drives that, while not embodied as language, are, to kelly oliver, important in its fluidity: “rhythms and tones do not represent bodily drives; rather bodily drives are discharged through rhythms and tones” (oliver xiv). it is the “dialectical oscillation” (xv) between the symbolic and the semiotic that makes signification take place. language, operating with the same logic as a bodily drive, can then be seen as a desirous exchange motivated by an absence which is never obtained—only sought through endlessly deferred signs—which donne dramatizes and barthes theorizes. as in the enlarged frozen moments barthes offers up for further examination in a lover’s discourse, donne poetically strikes a series of poses which constitute his fictional speaker’s identity in relation to a series of revisions of an elusive beloved.           kristeva refers to poetic language as a “particular signifying practice” (kristeva 93), an unsettling process of the identity of the speaking subject that transcends the “religious sensibility” that all human knowledge has retained as “its blind boundaries” (94). as it uses the signs of transcendence to “sustain itself,” it remains “knowingly the enemy of religion” (94). it is this highly fluid view of poetry that allows donne to write both his holy sonnets and his often bawdy verse, the speaking subjects of which may also sustain a stance of speaking against love, or embark upon the bitterly tinged, “anti-love,” revisions of accepted conventions (the petrarchan sonnet, the comparison poem, the response poem). this can all be seen as part of a shifting subject-in-process that is sustained by contradiction: the speaker, containing whitmanesque multitudes, thus continually mutates while speaking about love. it is the paradoxical nature of desire as governed by absence that forms a clear example of this; kristeva says that such crises of contradiction, “far from being accidents, are inherent in the signifying function” (94).           she sees poetic language as the best embodiment of “the never-ending rapprochement between the signifiable and the referent” (215). it differs from visual art in its signifying (as opposed to simply representative) function; the dual, “heterogenous” operations of the symbolic and semiotic drives need one another in order for this to occur (52-53). as the semiotic is contained by the symbolic, the resultant rhythmic and stylistic mannerisms continually enact a “repletion of the distinguishing or arbitrary void” that separates the signifier and signified (215), creating in effect a “plurality of signifiers [which] aims at and fails at being” what is signified (214). kristeva likens this poetic activity—a pursuit of the thing the speaker is seeking, as put into a system of signs—to a game of chess, which can easily be equated with the amorous pursuit described by both barthes and donne.           one of the contradictions donne’s speakers offer to the reader is a paradoxically affected insincerity. by degrees, they appear to care greatly, a little, or not much at all (“song,” “woman’s constancy,” “a fever,” and “the flea” all offer a variety of attitudes ranging from the self-consciously libidinous to the bitter to the solemn) while at the same time appearing to think one thing and say another; therefore, the poems can be said to involve unreliable narrators, whose speech is deeply coded. in this case, it is barthes’ mode of textual analysis that seems most useful to apply, which is not about describing the structure or logic of desire in poetry but rather its “avenues of meaning” (barthes 84). in his textual analysis of poe’s “the facts in the case of m. valdemar,” barthes does not try to find any one hermeneutical meaning, nor to exhaust the text of possible meanings, but to perform a “crossing of the text” (86), surveying what it may contain.           as read by barthes, poe’s narrative has parallels with the work of donne. its unreliable narrator and simultaneous appearance of codes in sentences invokes a multiplicity of meaning that ultimately produces the “undecidability of codes,” its narrative giving the reader only “a performer caught up in his own production” (96-97). for barthes, writing takes place when speech no longer does, “at the instant when one cannot locate who is speaking […] only that [it] has begun” (97); donne’s speaker does not, in actuality, speak to his counterpart in love, but rather holds a series of extended dialogues with himself, caught up in his own musings on love but simultaneously aware of the inadequacy of any soothing balm he may produce in his poetic labors for any purpose other than a momentary settling of his disquieted heart, as “the triple fool” illustrates. but is the speaker’s heart disquieted at all, or is it merely a necessary condition for the poem to achieve dramatic resonance with the reader? of course, the poems will produce a degree of readings depending on the reader’s state of mind—presumably involved somehow in the vagaries of romance, for better or for worse—and it is a kind of absence in the poetry (which can today be likened to the non-specific nature of pop songs or horoscopes) that makes its effectiveness with the reader possible. absence can make the heart grow fonder, as a hallmark greeting card’s appropriation of a short love poem intended for remembrance makes clear, or it can also reveal love as governed by lust, as more cynical readers will no doubt understand. but donne’s speaker seems to feign obliviousness to the ways he will be interpreted, carrying on with his act of love, as always governed by the idea of absence.           barthes notes that a great deal of poetry, to say nothing of the quintessentially french chanson d’amour, is specifically about the absence of the beloved, who, once set in verse or lyric, becomes an object circled by rhyming couplets and melancholic crooned notes (which seek to bring about a false sense of completion, to make the consummation of absence seem facile) which “does not move; it is the amorous subject […] who, at a certain moment, departs” (barthes 13). the absence he speaks of here, which carries with it the idea of the poet in a form of stasis, “nailed to the spot, in suspense,” “can only exist as a consequence of the other […] in a condition of perpetual departure, of journeying” (13). the idea of writing poetry—though a stationary act—is freighted with the sense of capturing this journey, both in the ambition that penning original verse entails and the fact that the poet, once having imaginatively conquered one small poetic territory (or a large one, in the case of milton), moves on to the next. longing motivates poetry, and this one-dimensional absence creates a longing expressed by the one who stays while the other ventures abroad. but absence need not be prolonged; it can exist in a perpetual state throughout the relationship between lover and beloved. the former may often voice expressions of inadequate love received in proportion to what’s been given, or speak of a number of other absences characterized as imbalance.           historically, says barthes, “woman is faithful (she waits), man is fickle (he sails away, he cruises)” (14). but donne’s poetry inverts the historically odyssean archetypes, playing with the audience’s expectations and making his voicings of discontent all the more strong. it is a kind of absurdity that allows donne to link the feminine nature with absence and a variety of other qualities, such as fundamental dishonesty and corruption, which the overture-like “song” enumerates. today, it is hard for us to read “song” without its bringing to mind the anachronistic image of an embittered, bar-hopping pick-up artist who is used to getting drinks thrown in his face, or perhaps his belongings tossed out the window by a chain of enraged lovers. naturally, we think that this must be due to his behavior, and so the poem becomes a way that the narrator tries to reconcile himself with the ways of women, or maybe more accurately, his own ways.           part of the pleasure we may derive from reading texts such as donne’s lies not only in placing our judgment on the speaker, but in discerning the semiotic drive taking control of their language, as motivated by absence. in donne’s seduction poetry, the semiotic manifests itself in the speaker’s constructed display of emotion, often in a buildup of images that may have little importance individually, yet which gain meaning in how prolifically they may be spun, set in place, then cast aside.           it is “that raving energy known as the image-repertoire” (106) which barthes says is necessary to the lover’s discourse. once a relationship fundamentally changes in any way that results in its disintegration, the repertoire’s meanings will be instantly killed off. its “raving energy” can be likened to kristeva’s semiotic drive, and this mental horde of interassociated images is narrativized—that is, structured by the symbolic drive—in donne. poems such as “the bracelet or “the relic”—with its very different “bracelet of bright hair about the bone” (donne 40)—present us with symbolically exercised meditations prompted by images of the other in the sentimental object and the memory (or idealization of memory) it evokes. similarly, other poems may rely on what we ourselves may have experienced when reading them; in this case, the perpetual absence is filled with our own fragments of the image repertoire.           his elegies may speak directly of loss, but a similar desire, and its attendant lack, seems their subject. the image-repertoire may at times overwhelm donne’s poetry, as in the self-consciously “overfraught” syntax found in the second stanza of “air and angels” (donne 13), and often seems to enact a derridean deference of meaning, as in “the bracelet,” laden as it is with metaphors of circulation. the sense of loss that pervades the latter poem is knowing and ironic, perhaps in the sense that donne’s speaker remains aware that there is no sufficient reply to arrive from his beloved, no return of the image that will provide satisfaction and closure. his efforts to produce the absent signifier are dramatized as romantic need, or infused with melancholy. images accumulate, but they only emphasize the absence that has nourished them. in kristeva’s words, this speaker’s depressed narcissism becomes “the thing […] the real that does not lend itself to signification” (kristeva 187).           kristeva anatomizes melancholy as “a structure for mourning for the lost maternal ‘thing’ and failure of language to compensate for the loss” (135). as the lacanian view of birth creates a void that future words will harken back to, it also creates the desire to write out of that emptiness. writing and love are linked in kristeva’s psychoanalytic appraisal of the lover as “a narcissist with an object” (147), the other who returns the lover’s own ideal image but remains otherly and, finally, unattainable. therefore, “ego is […] to be deferred” in loving the other (149), yet the “signifying economy” could not be supported by “the transcendental ego alone” (103). while the speaking subject’s semiotic drive is linked to the maternal, as the organizing symbolic is paternal, the “incestuous” creative efforts of the subject allow it to attribute to itself “archaic, instinctual, maternal territory” (104). while kristeva speaks of women as objects of exchange in the prohibition of incest, we can see the exchange taking place in poetic language as between parts of the speaking subject. the necessary object of desire frees up the drives, allowing them to flow; the lack, as long as it continues to elude the supply of images in the repertoire, makes poetry, a series of variations on that repertoire, continue to be produced.           for as donne’s poetry is predicated on an object of desire always longed for, it also depends upon a sort of predestined loss. as in the case of the lovesick ballad (or perhaps the pop-culture tropes present in country music narratives nourished by both romantic and quotidian hard-luck misfortune), the eternally approached absence provides meaning. it is this fatalism that infuses “the relic” with a deep melancholy that links the ultimate demise of self with the departure of the other, envisioned in a future where the speaker’s body—mentioned first as part of a “loving couple”—is exhumed, to prompt awareness of “what miracles we harmless lovers wrought” (donne 40).           it is curious that in a poem such as “the relic,” the beloved does not appear, except as an ossified relic herself, a “mary magdalene” (40) laid beside the speaker. it is the absence of representation of romantic life as an exchange that supplies the poem with a more subtle melancholic tint, casting some doubt upon whether the lovers “loved well and faithfully” (40); if they truly did, would this poetic attempt at commemoration, which can be seen as a way of putting the past right, be necessary? were it set up as an exchange of vows where the speaker’s spouse is given words of her own, the poem might be seen as inconsistent: how would we know that they truly feel the same way about one another? the speaker’s identity is solidified by making his discourse unidirectional, which has the effect of constructing him as a figure of (perhaps ironic, if only in light of some of the other poems) nobility and pathos. giving him the final absence of death dramatizes his purported unfaithfulness by eliminating the possibility of emotional or physical infidelity, ultimately capturing the lovers in perfection and finality in the grave. yet what does the beloved have to say about this? in a sense, leaving her side of the story ambiguous works in the poem’s favor. by nature, she must be elusive, at once present and absent, her mystery enhancing the desirability of the poem’s final arrangement: it is as if donne’s speaker has tamed an unknowable force, the “miracle” (40). whether an elegy (the lover wants the beloved to return) or a seduction (the lover wants the beloved to come, initially, to him), the poem depends on this unattainable phantom presence to work. *           perhaps poetic writing can be characterized in much the same way that barthes, in a lover’s discourse, describes the activity of waiting: “futile, or immensely pathetic,” an activity that becomes (even when only waiting for the return of a phone call) a space wherein “all the effects of minor mourning” take place (barthes 37). this futility, which barthes describes with a comic wit reminiscent of donne, is sourced in his statement that “the being i am waiting for is not real” (39). when the collection of small absences that comprises the lover’s waiting routine is viewed instead as the great absence that motivates amorous desire, the being in question becomes something that is built and rebuilt again, upon the poetic foundation of one’s perceived ability to love and need for loving. unlike “song” or “woman’s constancy,” the less caustic and wry poems of donne give us narrators who enact the waiting ritual again and again, searching for completeness. variations on a theme, then, can be seen in the valedictory poems. but nearly always present is the ironic tinge of what the cynic might call clarity; it enables donne to construct knowing voices who cry out in the romantic wilderness and wish to expose human foibles for what they are, or tell of the bizarre conditions of love, its metaphysical frustrations. thus, donne’s project is the same as barthes’: the introduction to a lover’s discourse states its fragmentary design is intended to produce a collection of “figures,” which are “established if at least someone can say, ‘that’s so true!’” (4). of course, all donne’s poems could begin with the words with which barthes ends his preamble: “so it is a lover who speaks and says” (9).           as in all the poems, it is easy to see the function of language in “the bracelet” as a stand-in for the bracelet, and for the idea of love itself. the romantic element of the loss that donne’s speaker grounds the poem in seems primarily fictive. indeed, after an anti-petrarchan revision of typical poetic practice where the speaker’s affinity with the bracelet is denied for possible reasons such as that “in color it was like thy hair” (donne 57), the images of currency and venereal disease soon employed metaphorize corruption and exploitation. the dual meaning of “angels,” also present, subverts the religious imagery used in romantic rhetoric and introduces the element of lust, making these angels mutable objects which can “fall” (as currencies are exchanged) when lovers are disjoined. perhaps the purity of love is merely a stamp placed upon lust, which donne’s speaker now sees unveiled; physicality and materiality seem to define this relationship, while the overstatement of sprezzatura present in the chain-as-union image provides an emphatic irony. guilt is evoked, too, in what becomes a gentle castigation of the absent beloved: the lost bracelet, after all, sufficiently symbolizes a deferred romantic ideal to the extent that “as the links were knit, our love should be” (57).           throughout the poem, a number of exchanges take place: desire into gold, stamped by a number of nations, into “bitter cost” and insatiable “pains” of jealousy (57), which we might see as being transferred back into desire for its linguistic enactment. desire, among donne’s chain of speakers, is plastic, and we always arrive at the poem as an unsuccessful expression of it; the result is that by poem’s end we seem to know a good deal more about the speaker than the object of desire, which remains obscure. similarly, “the bracelet” contains much more about the object as envisioned by the increasingly incensed, ever-jealous speaker, and the same for its imaginary male “wretched finder,” who receives his “most heavy curse” in lines 90-115 of the poem, finally given the grisly fate of falling victim to poetically conjured “lust-bred diseases” (59).           as stated above, kristeva might see the bracelet (aside from its circular symbolism, which could form a womb or circumscribe an absence) as “the thing” (kristeva 187) that motivates both elegiac melancholy and passionate desire. the poem can then be seen as a prolonged expression of what barthes refers to as an “other-ache […] being miserable by himself, the other abandons me” (barthes 57). for barthes, jealousy is a vital part of the discourse the lover holds with himself, for if we don’t possess the beloved—or an object bestowed with the beloved’s image in much the same way that mutable gold is stamped with the insignia of a country—it is certain that someone else does. the jealous lover typically sees the bracelet, and the lover, as stolen, not lost. thus, the poem can be seen as the product of the speaker’s creative paranoia, an embodiment of desire wherein “form gives being” (donne 59).           as coinage bears a signifying stamp, the beloved bears the signifier of the bracelet. yet, while wearing it, she could just as easily be chastised for infidelity, the target of the proclamation (as made by the speaker of “twickenham garden”) that “one cannot judge woman’s thoughts by […] what she wears” (18). the bracelet, when worn, means nothing. it is only in the context of absence, in separation, that it achieves a meaning, that of something to be volubly pursued, affected by exchange rates. only then is it seen through the lens of desire as “restorative” (60).           donne’s poems that more directly address the beloved, such as “love’s diet” and “the flea,” demonstrate barthes’ rhetorical belief that desire, “always the same” regardless of the object’s nominal presence or absence, constitutes one that is “always absent” (barthes 15). so it is that in “love’s diet,” the image of the sigh—a sound-image of the other—is restricted but inherently necessary to the amorous condition, a poetic example of barthes’ belief that the breaths lovers share are examples of the “unglued image” that seeks its complement, giving off exhalations by their nature “incomplete, sought to mingle with the other” (15). thus desire is destined for “corpulence” (donne 35) by the speaker, with no end in sight. it “worst endures” temperance and “discretion” (35) because attempts to regulate the flow can only be seen as acts of treason against the self, or attempts at self-delusion: the semiotic drive can never be held fully in check. for these sighs constitute the condition of love itself, both as physical experiences of one’s passion and as received auditory strains of the beloved; repletion is constantly necessary. donne’s speaker is fully aware of this when he speaks of his mindless, omnivorous “buzzard love” (36).           this ironical characterization of love as foolish and inchoate evokes barthes when he states that the phrase “i love you,” after its initial declaration, “has no meaning whatever” (barthes 147), as his humorous attempt to grammatically decompose the expression further clarifies. it does not “transmit a meaning, but fastens onto a limit situation […] where the subject is suspended in specular relation to the other” (148), and this characterization of “i love you” as a form of emptied language that betrays itself again brings to mind the impulse behind donne’s sigh and the sight itself, which cannot be tamed in language, nor can the destruction of that language eliminate the impulse: “whatever he would dictate, i writ that / but burnt my letters” (donne 35). the sigh infinitely restates the condition of the relationship, and nothing outside it; it expresses a desire that always exists. the fact that the sigh perpetuates itself and is received ad infinitum again brings to mind the endless chain of signifiers.           yet, as inarticulate as the sigh is, donne’s speakers never are. some of the poems may masquerade as sighs of cloudy desire trying to express themselves, but the hyperbole of the comparison poem is brashly deflated by donne in “the comparison,” with its final statement that both this absent beloved—who we can only presume must have inspired a severe case of sour-grapes disdain in the narrator—and comparisons are indeed “odious” (55). the series of speakers seems to understand the devalued nature of love’s language, but still they must pursue an object, as is necessary for poetry of this sort to take place. the speaker of “the flea,” therefore, seems fully aware that his desire is base, yet has no choice but to obey it. as it addresses the textual character of the beloved (here given the nominally “present” status to receive this discourse of desire), it is her absence, in her denial of desire’s consummation, which the text commemorates. it seems doubtful that consummation would create a wholeness or unity—as in some mythical merging of the sexes—but the narrator seems to think so, or pretends this. he takes his absence and projects it onto the beloved and on a small, even slightly pathetic symbol (and a parasitic one; he, too, becomes a flea, perhaps a trivial nuisance approaching a woman he’s just met), focusing on the microcosmic symbol of the flea (which he’d like to imagine is eating at her), in whom a slight amount of the lovers’ “bloods mingled be” (25). this has the dual effect of comically trivializing his love—there will surely be other loves, after all, possibly spanning intervals of time as short-lived as insects’ lives—as well as the mistress’ unspoken desire for chastity. her fundamentally unknowable character becomes the subject of the poem, as does the related issue of the impossibility of achieving true consent. the mortal flea’s “one blood made of two” (25) becomes the impossible sign, as the narrator first idealizes, then destroys, it.           “air and angels” offers an archetypal absence-as-presence in the text when its somewhat archly lovesick narrator says: “still when, to where thou wert, i came, / some lovely glorious nothing did i see” (13). donne’s speaker’s desire establishes itself in the beloved’s body—as it later will in “to his mistress going to bed”—but, “fix itself in thy lip, eye, and brow” it may, his love cannot “inhere” (13). perhaps the poem brings up the world of sacred eroticism by comparing love (and the beloved) with an angel, but the unspoken subtext is that what he seeks out is missing, never evident to the eyes of men; studying the beloved’s features brings the subject no closer to what he desires.           but desire still roots itself in the flesh, but finds no way of prolonging itself, elevating itself beyond lust. as adam and eve in paradise lost’s postlapsarian chaos find themselves unable to fully satiate or console their now altered desires (it is after the fall that signification emerges), donne’s speaker cannot fix his love in the again “present” beloved, scrutinize her all he may. this then becomes no happy union, but a one-sided, mildly obsessive, “overfraught” (13) longing, one wherein the religious is sought out to give this absence a more pleasing shape. the mystical version of love, with its denial of the “disparity” (14) that really exists, is the narrator’s answer to the conundrum.           donne’s poetry could not flourish without references to the beloved’s appearance, or dramatizations of the interaction between narrator and lover: however, when this type of writing does occur, it relies upon the principle of absence to conduct the discourse of desire—what good is desire without absence? what good is a poem that speaks of complete fulfillment? thus, the last of the elegies, “to his mistress going to bed,” depicts the process of the beloved (artfully denuded) approaching the narrator, the distance remaining between them intensifying the desire. this brings to mind barthes’ essay on the phenomenon of striptease in mythologies, where he claims that the archetype of woman is “desexualized at the very moment when she is stripped naked” (barthes 84). the exoticism of costumed “exotic dancers” works as a disguise to be removed much as donne’s speaker in the poem fetishizes the clothing he removes. it is used as a device to assert superiority of his knowledge of the beloved over that of others, whose gaze is stopped at the surface, on coverings and jewelry. this motivates the belief that “gems which you women use / are like atlanta’s balls” (donne 62), and that a “spangled breastplate” is a fixture which stops “the eyes of busy fools” (61), bringing to mind barthes’ belief that the rhinestone costumes of burlesque are symbols of the “mineral world,” of “the absolute object, that which serves no purpose” (barthes 83), meant to at once present an impenetrable façade to stall spectators’ desirous eyes and to create desire.           donne’s speaker attempts to bring the beloved out of the world of spectators and into the private world of sex and the unconscious: “now ‘tis your bed time” (donne 61). the white robe worn by the beloved continues to exoticize her by placing her in the garb of angels suitable for them to be “received by men” (62), and conflates the bliss of the promised sexual union with the prolonged spiritual union men are thought to have with the divine, the promise being more important than the act, a ceremony that surrounds a great absence. so the difficulty of undressing the narrator’s love is prolonged and characterized as a labor she resists. it reveals a great absence: the garments that she is stripped of reveal a disembodied body that falls in line with the poem’s credo “as souls unbodied, bodies unclothed must be / to taste whole joys” (62). but the whole joy is absent from the text, figured as unknowable.           perhaps the wittiest dissection of another version of the conundrum of “air and angels,” and the most anticipatory of postmodern metafiction, is “the triple fool,” a scathing condemnation of the theory that the poetic arts might alleviate grief or romantic longing. the concept of difference comes to mind immediately; the poem, though it may be put one’s lack into words, certainly does nothing to satiate it (unless, as donne’s speaker might be aware, a romantic prospect might hear your self-pitying ode to angst and take that pity upon you). multiply as poems may, they will only add up to a chain of signifiers.           so donne’s speaker condemns both his desire and his desire to express it: “loving, and for saying so / in whining poetry” (9) are equal crimes. but “loving” here might well be couched in ironic quotation marks, since we can give it a new valence almost immediately; that of “not having.” this casts a shadow over all donne’s other poetic enumerations of love—is a depiction of an idyll of romance what it really is? “rhyme’s vexation” (9) is not merely a tonic to soothe the pangs of desire, but to perhaps hammer out the contours of a world wherein that desire is sensible. poetry gives the semiotic drive an object which it can attain: as poetic logic (working within the symbolic drive) seeks rhyme and meter, the lover seeks the beloved. verse becomes an articulation of one’s image-repertoire, which can then achieve a kind of momentary satiety in its recognition of itself as just that: a store of images.           sentiments, when articulated, can come out wrong, and both barthes and donne are well aware of that. perhaps, donne says in this poem, lovers and poets should do better and keep these sentiments to themselves. but he knows they couldn’t very well stop writing, as much as he could stop loving. centuries apart, these two authors articulate the same concept: language and love are equally inescapable.                                                                                         works cited   barthes, roland. a lover’s discourse: fragments. new york: farrar, strauss, and giroux, 1977.   barthes, roland. mythologies. new york: hill and wang, 1972.   barthes, roland. “textual analysis of a tale of poe.” on signs. marshall blonsky, ed. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1985.   donne, john. john donne’s poetry. arthur l. clements, ed. new york: w.w. norton & co., 1992.   kristeva, julia. the portable kristeva. kelly oliver, ed. new york: columbia university press, 1997.   kristeva, julia. “the speaking subject.” on signs. marshall blonsky, ed. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1985.   oliver, kelly, in kristeva, julia. the portable kristeva. new york: columbia university press, 1997. “gained instead”: a study of power in robert browning’s “porphyria’s lover” stephanie m. mcconnell english on the surface, robert browning‟s poem, “porphyria‟s lover” is a straightforward piece. 1 the plot begins with the speaker, a man, being visited at night by his lover, porphyria, and ends ultimately with him strangling her. it is a simple story, albeit a distressing one. as literary critic catherine ross notes in her article, “browning‟s porphyria’s lover,” the “standard reading” of the poem is that browning‟s narrator is mentally unstable or “insane,” which allows him to commit the crazed, criminal act of murdering his beloved (ross 1). in her book robert browning, isobel armstrong adds that the poem itself is an “attempt to examine… neurotic or insane behavior, and in particular the pathology of sexual feeling” (armstrong 288). certainly, the act of strangling porphyria does initially seem insane – an act without a clear or actual rationale – yet this widely held critical view of browning‟s piece is perhaps too myopic. madness, after all, says little about anything else other than itself. it is the intention of this paper to prove that “porphyria‟s lover” is a far more complicated piece than a basic tale of a deranged man who commits a deranged act. textual evidence supports a different, more complex, and perhaps more troubling reading – that porphyria‟s death is the deed of a sane man, motivated by the lust for power. browning‟s poem was first published in 1836 in the monthly repository, a british literary journal (broadview anthology 226). the only details the poem reveals about the poem‟s speaker is that he is a man and that porphyria is his lover. if it is to be assumed that the speaker is also british and is also living in the victorian era, then these characters and the murder itself can be greater understood by contextualizing them in terms of the victorian time period and culture. porphyria‟s murder can then be interpreted as being motivated by the victorian understanding of gender roles, the state‟s stance on the morality of its citizens, and concepts of artistic creation. “porphyria‟s lover” then becomes a poem that is fundamentally about neither love nor death, but one concerned primarily with power. 1 please see the appendix for the complete poem [ed.]. stephanie mcconnell in the article “men of blood,” author carter j. wood acknowledges analyses of victorian violence necessitate an understanding of the time period‟s “constructions of dutiful femininity that excused men‟s „disciplinary‟ violence and an all-male judiciary that stood idly by or even actively supported male household dominance” (wood 266). to be sure, the victorian gender ideology that held women in a passive and submissive role, and assumed men had the authority to keep women in this role via “„disciplinary‟ violence,” is a key component of understanding the murderous incident in “porphyria‟s lover.” yet browning‟s poem is exclusively expressed from the point of view of a male speaker. while the death of the female character is at the crux of both the poem and this study of the poem, it is the male speaker who executes her. for these reasons, the common focus of “gendered analyses” of victorian england will be shifted slightly in order to more centrally involve an understanding of how victorians defined masculinity, and the imagined role of men in their culture and society. “victorian england,” explains jeffrey richards in his essay in manliness and morality: middle-class masculinity in britain and america, 1800-1940, “was a male-dominated society” (100). yet before men dominate their society, they are boys. victorian boys largely learned about manhood and masculinity through the writings of thomas hughes, writing which was “a paean to the virtues of… robust manliness” (103, 4). hughes‟ books “were avidly read in school” by victorian boys who gleaned from them a definition of manliness that involved “habits of obedience, reverence, discipline, self-respect, and all that tends toward a true christian” (53). these “habits” that constitute manliness are primarily concerned with power – power over the self. in this national notion of masculinity, man first overpowers himself, and is then able (and allowed) to overpower all others. hughes expounds on this theory in the following manner: a man‟s body is given to him to be trained and brought into subjection and then used for… the advancement of all righteous causes and the subduing of the earth which god has given to the children of men. (103) part of the earth that men were responsible for “subduing” was its female population, a population that was, as richards writes, “regarded as inferior intellectually, physically and emotionally” (94). so, corresponding with the elements of power and control voiced in hughes‟ statements, it is understood that superiority is also firmly located in a victorian concept of masculinity. therefore, for a male to lack power – to be subdued rather than “subduing” – would mean that he fails to meet the qualifications of manhood, that he is not a man. once this victorian model of gender is applied to the reading of “porphyria‟s lover,” it can power in browning’s “porphyria’s lover” be seen that the speaker murders porphyria not just to control her, which is the widespread interpretation, but to prove his identity as a man according to this victorian understanding of masculinity. browning makes it abundantly clear that power in “porphyria‟s lover” is divided along the lines of gender. however, even the title of the poem portrays that this division is an unconventional one, and therefore problematic. notice that the poem‟s title is not, “my lover, porphyria,” but rather, “porphyria‟s lover.” this difference is important for two main reasons. first, a title such as “my lover, porphyria” would be in keeping with the first-person point of view through which the poem is narrated. the title, “porphyria‟s lover” oddly references the firstperson narrator in a third-person point of view. while this may possibly help communicate to readers that the poem is written in the form of a dramatic monologue, it also resonates with the theory that one of the poem‟s major themes is the speaker‟s lost manhood. the title makes him nameless. and, by both naming porphyria and giving her name precedence, the title suggests the speaker is a person whose existence is qualified by a more important person with whom he is associated. browning‟s choice to devalue the speaker in the title foreshadows the crucial power struggle that serves as the poem‟s axis. moreover, the title positions porphyria in an ownership role over the speaker. it is an immediate suggestion of the imbalanced (and irregular) power structure that the rest of the poem expands upon. even without the evidence of the poem‟s title, porphyria‟s authority over the speaker is unmistakable. porphyria enters the poem by “glid[ing]” into the speaker‟s “cottage” where he sits “with heart fit to break” (6, 9, 5). the characters‟ initial placement speaks to their positions of power. porphyria stands while the speaker sits. by standing, porphyria becomes physically taller/bigger and symbolically more powerful than the speaker. porphyria has the freedom of movement; she can enter the speaker‟s room just as easily as she can exit. the speaker, on the other hand, remains stationary. in her article “browning‟s pygmalion and the revenge of galatea,” catherine maxwell also connects porphyria‟s physical movement with her personal power, observing that the speaker “picture[s]… her as [a] free agent” and that he is also “resent[ful] of her autonomy” (maxwell 991). i am arguing that this “resentment” derives from the victorian concept of masculinity, which held that “autonomy” was a privilege reserved for men, not women. once porphyria is inside the speaker‟s home, mobility as a signifier of control becomes even more evident. porphyria “sit[s] down by [the speaker‟s] side,” “put[s] [his] arm about her waist,” and positions his cheek on her shoulder (14, 16, 19). as maxwell observes, “porphyria enters the poem as the dominant partner, the maker and doer, while her sullen lover is silent and recalcitrantly passive” stephanie mcconnell (maxwell 991). the speaker is completely inert, physically manipulated by porphyria, who “composes the scene, even choreographing his posture, in order to rouse his response, to „bring him to life‟ again” (991). thus, she is capable of exercising physical control over her own body as well as his. it is she who plays the “dominate” role – reserved in victorian gender dynamics for men, while the speaker is in the “passive” position – believed by victorians to be the role of women. another distinguishing feature of porphyria and her lover is a disproportionate ability to speak. ironically, the speaker of the poem says nothing in the way of actual dialogue throughout the entire text. the linguistic contrast between the two characters is specifically noted when porphyria “call[s]” to her lover and “no voice repli[es]” (15). there is a noticeable detachment in this expression; the speaker does not own his voice, and the obvious absence of both his voice and his ownership of that voice suggests a deeper lack of presence, or even identity. although porphyria is never explicitly quoted in the text, in addition to “call[ing]” out, the speaker mentions that she “murmur[s] how much she loves [him]” (21). just as with mobility, speaking freely and expressing oneself are acts of independence and authority. porphyria‟s participation in both physical and verbal acts are demonstrations that her individual power is superior to the speaker‟s, whose immobility and speechlessness can be seen as indications of powerlessness. this, certainly, is not in keeping with the victorian notions and expectations of masculinity and femininity. the power structure that should be in place here, the one richards‟ describes as “male-dominated” in which “inferior” women were “sidelined,” is being blatantly inverted (richards 100, 94). these attributes of power – a power that victorians reserved for men – are particularly important not only because they portray porphyria as the dominate character, but because aspects of porphyria‟s murder echo these attributes, and thus make it clear that the speaker perceives murdering porphyria as a means to obtain her authority and, in doing so, affirm his own masculinity. for instance, the very moment when the speaker claims porphyria is “mine, mine” he is prompted to kill her in order to preserve the moment, in order to sustain this ownership (35). thus, in claiming possession over porphyria, the speaker simultaneously reclaims his masculine identity, thereby configuring porphyria‟s murder as an act induced by concepts of gender and power, not insanity. obviously, in exerting deadly physical force over her, the speaker corrects porphyria‟s previously discussed physical “autonomy” (maxwell 991). the speaker‟s act of strangling his lover is actually the first independent action the speaker makes. in direct correlation with porphyria‟s prior physical power over him, once she is dead he “prop[s] her head up as before” only, he notes, “this time [his] shoulder bore / her head” (49, 50, 51). now it is the speaker who physically power in browning’s “porphyria’s lover” animates porphyria. he is indeed repositioning them as they “were before,” only in their “correct” gender roles of a powerless female and a powerful male. also in terms of physicality, after he has killed her, the speaker twice describes porphyria as “little” (40, 52). prior to her death, as mentioned, it was porphyria (standing) who was physically greater, and the speaker (sitting) who was physically smaller. again, this affirms that this act of murder is a means by which the speaker claims the exact power that porphyria (as a female) unjustly had over him. the discussion of masculine and feminine must now be broadened to include the sexual politics that governed those genders – specially the feminine – in victorian england. although the characters in the poem are alone in the speaker‟s cottage, it must be understood that the victorian society of which they are members is not entirely absent. the speaker‟s perceptions of porphyria are highly informed by cultural notions of sexuality and virtue. just as the speaker‟s cultural concept of masculinity can be seen as motivating porphyria‟s death, so might government-endorsed and upheld notions of feminine virtue. in victorian times, “women came to be seen as more moral and vulnerable while men were perceived as more dangerous, more than ever in need of external disciplines and, most of all, self-discipline” (wood 266). yet porphyria is clearly outside of the “moral and vulnerable” space victorian women were expected to occupy. likewise, the speaker is submissive and restrained – he is nearly immobile until the moment he strangles his lover – and hardly the “dangerous” victorian male “in need of” discipline. therefore, the dramatic occurrence of porphyria‟s murder is still an assertion of power but, in this sense, it is a declaration of the power of the ruling state. by murdering porphyria, the speaker punishes her for her sexual promiscuity – for which the culture would have condemned her – and in doing so aligns himself with the victorian masculine model of a “dangerous” man who lacks control (266). in this sense, porphyria‟s death affirms the authority of the state. from the poem‟s start, porphyria‟s actions not only indicate assertiveness, as the preceding argument detailed, but a sexual assertiveness in particular. the very first thing she does upon entering the speaker‟s cottage is feed the fire, which causes the flames to “blaze up” and create a noted “warm[th]” (9). fire is often used to signify sexual passion and lust. when porphyria “kneel[s]” in front of “the… grate” – which is as “cheerless” as the speaker – it is specifically noted that she rouses “up” the flames (8-9). the flames then act similarly to the male sexual organ at porphyria‟s touch, figuratively connecting her with a sexual act. this idea is also reinforced by the speaker‟s mention of the “warm[th]” that then pervades the cottage. therefore, this initial, minor action symbolically introduces porphyria as a sexual being. stephanie mcconnell porphyria‟s sexuality, however, quickly ventures from the figurative to the more literal. after she tends to the fire, porphyria removes her “cloak and shawl,” as well as her “soiled gloves,” and makes “her… shoulders bare” (11, 12, 17). she is literally stripping. by shedding her clothing, porphyria physically reveals her body, and further reveals herself as a sexual being. in addition to removing her outer garments, porphyria “untie[s] / her hat and let[s] the damp hair fall” (12-13). browning‟s attention to porphyria‟s “untie[d]” hat and loose hair indicates an overall lack of restraint – both physical and social. each deed makes porphyria less formal, and thus heightens the intimacy of the relationship between her and the speaker. it is then highly significant that the line of poetry stops on the word “fall” (13). while this is specifically associated with porphyria‟s hair, in the context of this highly sexualized moment, the focus given to the word “fall” also resonates in terms of porphyria‟s status as a sexual woman, a “fallen” woman, in victorian society. browning‟s emphasis of this word indicates that porphyria‟s sexuality delineates her to a lower moral standard, has caused her to “fall from grace.” additionally, it is important to remember porphyria‟s actual contact with the speaker, her “choreograph[y]” of their interaction (maxwell 991). previously, it was examined how porphyria portrays her “dominance[ce]” in the relationship by “put[ting] [the speaker‟s] arm about her waist” and arranging herself so that his cheek lies against her bare shoulder (16, 19). these gestures are sexually provocative. porphyria is not only controlling the physical movements of the speaker, she is controlling them in such a way so as to initiate physical intimacy between them. in addition to being the dominant figure, she is seemingly also the partner with more sexual prowess. what objections the speaker may personally have to porphyria engaging with him in this manner go unnoted, if they even exist. however, the contentions victorian society would have had are well known. critic catherine ross situates porphyria within a cultural context by commenting that she “is driven by a powerful sexual passion and the desire for agency, but she lives in a society that discourages both” (ross 2). porphyria‟s sexuality is clearly a major conflict in the poem, a conflict that arises out of a victorian notion of what is moral, acceptable conduct for a woman. while porphyria‟s actions indicate some level of knowledge of and familiarity with her sexuality, the speaker‟s description of her is exactly otherwise. alongside a fairly unconcealed characterization of her as a sexual being, porphyria is equally spoken of in religious terms. she “glide[s]” into the cottage, more like an angel than a human being (6). she is said to “worship” the speaker, which positions her in the condition of the spiritually devout (33). the speaker even explicitly describes her as being “fair, / perfectly pure and good” (36-37). obviously, “fair,” “pure,” and “good” denote a virginal (and thus morally as well as sexually sound) character, divergent from the simultaneous characterization of porphyria associated power in browning’s “porphyria’s lover” with passion, nakedness, and physical touch. this conflict or conflation of the sexual with the virginal is not unique to browning‟s poem; it was a ubiquitous confusion during the victorian era. as chris foss explains in his article, “the duality of the victorian woman (angel/whore, virgin mary/mary magdalene) [was]… inextricably a part of the victorian patriarchal vision” (foss 15). thus, the speaker‟s incongruous attempts to understand and identify his lover are strongly influenced by the dominant cultural understanding (or lack thereof) of women in general. the polarized view of women as either an “angel” or a “whore” lacks any gray area in which a woman might be considered morally “good” and sexually aware. one can see then that porphyria‟s actions in the poem, although not flagrantly sexual, still relegate her to the position of a sexually promiscuous woman, and also why the speaker‟s descriptions of porphyria are elevated to the point of making her angelic. the crucial difference between the two characterizations is that one (the sexual) is how porphyria represents herself, the other (the virginal) is composed of terms and images the speakers ascribes to her. in a sense, porphyria portrays the reality of who she is as a woman, while the speaker represents the cultural concept of what she, as a woman, should be. the speaker, representing the state, cannot allow porphyria to live because she is a promiscuous woman, and the survival of victorian ideology depends on virtuous women. when figured in this manner, porphyria‟s death becomes necessary in order to confirm the authority and stability of the state. again, this interestingly refutes the prominent theory of the speaker‟s mental instability. from this perspective, he is actually maintaining the solidity and permanence of his culture and country. although the logic may be skewed and the ideas it is based on are presently considered sexist and/or patriarchal, it is logic nonetheless. the argument that porphyria is murdered to preserve victorian ideals and the government that promoted them can also suitably explain the bizarre method by which she is killed. the speaker takes “all her hair / in one long yellow string” and “wound[s]” it around her throat “three times” to strangle her (38-39, 40). as aforementioned, the description of porphyria letting her “hair fall” indicts her as a “fallen woman” (13). in using this same hair to eliminate her, her murder is then directly connected to her promiscuous nature, deplored by the victorian culture. the “three times” that the hair is “wound” around her neck also helps to support this reading, as three is a significant number in roman catholic theology because it signifies the holy trinity. this aspect of religiosity in the murder of a promiscuous woman allows one to believe that this is an act meant to uphold the victorian concepts of morality and virtue that were based on christian concepts of morality and virtue. the poem‟s haunting final line, “and yet god has not said a word!” also validates this interpretation (60). concluding with a reference to “god” completes stephanie mcconnell the patriarchal power hierarchy of citizen, government, and god. the presence of this traditional hierarchy strengthens the sense that this is an act, ultimately, motivated by power. the mention of “god” additionally underpins the issues of morality and virtue. the state is in accordance with god, and therefore god voices no objections with the state. the power of both is undeniable, and maintained by the justice of porphyria‟s death. in yet another interpretation of the poem, the speaker not only acknowledges god, but claims god‟s role, achieving the final and ultimate plateau in the hierarchy of power. as maxwell argues, the speaker “succeed[s] to the position of… masculine deity, becomes the maker of his own match” (maxwell 989). the closest human approximation to a “deity” in the poem is the role of the artist, who is also both a “maker” and a destroyer. in killing porphyria, the speaker destroys her living self in order to create a “perfect” version of her (37). as with the two previous interpretations, at the core of this embodiment of the role of the artist is the speaker‟s desire for power, the total power an artist has over his creation. in order to construct the speaker as an artist, one must first be aware of the potential source of inspiration for the poem itself. many critics, among them catherine maxwell, have noticed that the basic theme of “porphyria‟s lover” can be easily related back to “ovid‟s story of pygmalion” (maxwell 990). in her book, about men, dr. phyllis chesler explains that, in this myth, the sculptor pygmalion “was devoted to his art, and despised the sexually wanton” women among whom he lived. pygmalion was a misanthrope who talked to no one and made perfect sculptures” (chesler 60). pygmalion could have easily been the model for browning‟s speaker, as he also clearly prefers “pure” over “wanton” behavior in women, desires “perfect[ion],” and like pygmalion, specifically does not speak (browning 37, chesler 60). the speaker‟s act of murdering porphyria to preserve the moment in which she exemplifies a “fair, / perfectly pure and good” woman, like the one pygmalion sculpts, then links this act of murder to pygmalion‟s act of artistic creation. another sign that the speaker is to be seen as an artist is the name given to the speaker‟s lover. the origin of porphyria‟s name might very well be connected to another piece of art, keats‟ poem “the eve of st. agnes,” which contains a character named “porphyro,” the male version of porphyria‟s name (maxwell 992). maxwell explains “porphyro‟s name [as well as porphyria‟s] is derived from the greek word for purple (as keats knows when he alludes to the “purple riot” in porphyro‟s heart)” (maxwell 992). but the real significance of this name in terms of browning‟s poem is the fact that “the vermilion dye of porphyry is obtained by pulverizing (“porphyrizing”) a hard red shell or equally hard red slab of rock” (maxwell 992). and so by virtue of her name, porphyria is inherently linked to “dye” and the manipulation of “rock,” both associated with artistry. again, the power in browning’s “porphyria’s lover” notion of working with “rock” relates the speaker to a sculptor. it is also highly important that the purple dye from which porphyria‟s name is derived is obtained by “pulverizing” shell or rock. a certain level of physical force is necessitated before the shell or rock can transform into the intended product. in light of this, one might more avidly interpret porphyria‟s murder then as simply the necessary physical force needed to assist in the act of artistic creation. this notion is supported by the text in the way the speaker describes porphyria‟s actual death, twice noting that she “felt no pain” (41, 42). realistically, this is unlikely. however, if porphyria is to be seen merely as the material the speaker/artist manipulates to construct his version of an ideal woman/art, the statement is then a reflection murder as purely an act involved with artistic production. considering the speaker in the role of an artistic creator, the speaker‟s actions after porphyria is dead also take on a new meaning. prior to her death, as previously discussed, the speaker confuses porphyria‟s actions with his perception of what he desires her to be. maxwell views this struggle “to control, master, fix” porphyria as artistic “creative anxiety” (maxwell 989). yet after porphyria has been strangled, the speaker is noticeably calm and at peace. before her death, porphyria sits “by [his] side” (14). after her death, though they are in the same position, the speaker describes them as “sit[ting] together” (58). though porphyria and the speaker have been with one another since the start of the poem, it is the first time the word “together” is employed. this sense of unity the speaker now has can be seen as proof that the “creative anxiety” has left him, he has created what he desired to create. it is also in this post-murder scene that the speaker, for the first time, willingly participates in an act of intimacy with porphyria. before, porphyria had to physically move the speaker in order to be touched by him (16, 19). yet after her death, the speaker places a “burning kiss” on her “blush[ing]” cheek (48). the use of the adjective “burning” creates a “cosmological motif” in the poem that grounds its concept of love in “associations of primordial eros and strife” (carson 20). also, by opening her eyelids, readjusting her hair, and “prop[ing]” her head upon his own shoulder, the speaker reveals “the extent to which” porphyria is “narcissistically conceived as a prop,” an artistic creation (browning 44, 46, 49, maxwell 989). in the poem‟s final line – “god has not said a word!” – the speaker noticeably ascribes to god his own same peculiar feature of speechlessness that he himself has been characterized by throughout the poem (60). this minor resemblance between the speaker and god underscores the larger parallels between the two; in killing porphyria, the speaker literally becomes one who has the power to decide who lives and who dies. figuratively, he, like god, has also become a creator. god‟s lack of verbal presence may indicate his absence or his accordance with the stephanie mcconnell speaker‟s murderous act. should it be read this way, the speaker‟s murder of porphyria not only replaces the actual woman with an artistic ideal, it also replaces the deity with the speaker. he becomes both the artist and the god. most importantly, he becomes all-powerful. what began as a simple love poem has revealed itself to be much more than simple and about far more than love. scholars have rightly noted that porphyria embodies both the virgin as well as the promiscuous woman, and that the speaker is both a civil gentleman and a bestial man (foss 3). beyond this, the poem has also done justice to other diametrically opposed forces that two people can represent: the masculine and the feminine, the powerful and he powerless, the ability to love and the inability to love. but the remarkable genius of browning‟s writing is that these antagonistic forces are not split evenly between the two characters, they are all at work within each character, dividing them into complex beings who are in conflict with both their interior and exterior world, as well as each other. whether it is viewed in terms of gender, social expectations, or an abstract notion of art, porphyria‟s death is always needless, and in each case she dies at the hands of one whose motivation is the lust for authority. in this way, porphyria‟s death develops into a devastating portrayal of the awful power of power. readings of “porphyria‟s lover” which maintain that the speaker is a madman must contend with the evidence shown here that the speaker can be seen as motivated by various strands of logic, conscious of the decision he is making and, in the end, unremorseful for what he has done. and yet, browning published “porphyria‟s lover” under the category “madhouse cells” (broadview anthology 226). the poet himself clearly believed the poem was not free of irrationality or even insanity. given the historical and cultural context of the poem, perhaps browning‟s notion was that these various motives – the masculine ideal, the feminine ideal, and the aesthetic ideal – should be questioned in terms of their reasonableness. it should also not be forgotten that before he is guilty of a crime, the speaker is guilty of desiring power over another person, and choosing to seize that power, with complete disregard to the other‟s utter loss of power, autonomy, and life. when one considers the imbalanced power structure for certain individuals (both inside and outside of england) under the rule of the british empire during this time period, this synopsis of the need for control and its tragic results is a haunting warning. browning, significantly, offers no resolution. “porphyria‟s lover” does not end with the speaker being caught in his crime, nor punished for it. it does not end with the speaker even realizing that the act he has committed is heinous, or what the basic ramifications of what he has done are. though it may be the end of the poem, it is neither the beginning nor the end of the problem. power in browning’s “porphyria’s lover” appendix: robert browning, porphyria’s lover (1836) the rain set early in tonight the sullen wind was soon awake it tore the elm-tops down for spite, and did its worst to vex the lake: i listen with heart fit to break. when glided in porphyria; straight she shut the cold out and the storm, and kneeled and made the cheerless grate blaze up, and all the cottage warm; which done, she rose, and from her form withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl, and laid her soiled gloves by, unties her hat and let the damp hair fall, and last, she sat down by my side and called me. when no voice replied, she put my arm about her waist, and made her smooth white shoulder bare, and all her yellow hair displaced, and, stooping, made my cheek lie there, and spread, o‟er all, her yellow hair, murmuring how she love me – she too weak, for all her heart‟s endeavour, to set its struggling passion free from pride, and vainer ties dissever, and give herself to me for ever. but passion sometimes would prevail, nor could tonight‟s gay feast restrain a sudden thought of one so pale for love of her, and all in vain: so, she was come through wind and rain. be sure i looked up at her eyes happy and proud; at last i knew porphyria worshipped me; surprise made my heart swell, and still it grew while i debated what to do. that moment she was mine, mine, fair, perfectly pure and good: i found a thing to do, and all her ahir in one long yellow string i wound three times her little throat around, and strangled her. no pain felt she; i am quite sure she felt no pain. as a shut bud that holds a bee, stephanie mcconnell i warily oped her lids: again laughed the blue eyes without a strain. and i untightened next the tress about her neck; her cheek once more blushed bright beneath my burning kiss: i propped her head up as before, only, this time my shoulder bore her head, which droops upon it still: the smiling rosy little head, so glad it has its utmost will, that all it scorned at once is fled, and i, its love, am gained instead! porphyria‟s love: she guessed not how her darling one wish would be heard. and thus we sit together now, and all night long we have not stirred, and yet god has not said a word! works cited armstrong, isobel. “browning and victorian poetry of sexual love.” robert browning. ed. isobel armstrong. ohio university press: athens, 1975. 267-299. browning, robert. “porphyria‟s lover.” collins, thomas j. and vivienne j. rundle, eds. the broadview anthology of victorian poetic theory. concise ed. broadview press: toronto, ontario, 2000. 227-8. collins, thomas j. and vivienne j. rundle, eds. the broadview anthology of victorian poetic theory. concise ed. broadview press: toronto, ontario, 2000. carson, anne. the beauty of the husband. vintage books. new york, new york. 2001. chesler, dr. phyllis. about men. simon and schuster. new york, new york. 1978. foss, chris. “when „good‟ men turn bad: mary reilly as disturbing allegory of domestic abuse.” literature/film quarterly (2000): 12-15. maxwell, catherine. “browning‟s pygmalion and the revenge of galatea.” english literary history no. 4 (winter 1993): 989-1013. richards, jeffrey. “passing the love of women: manly love and victorian society.” manliness and morality, middle-class masculinity in britain and america, 1800-1940. eds. j.a. mangan and james walvin. st. martin‟s press: new york, 1987. 92-123. power in browning’s “porphyria’s lover” ross, catherine. “browning‟s porphyria’s lover.” the explicator no. 2 (winter 2002): 68-72. wood, j. carter. “men of blood.” journal of social history 39.1 (fall 2005): 266-8. microsoft word *pastore biology.docx [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] the impact of nitrogen eutrophication on caribbean coral reefs: a review melissa pastore biology abstract coral reefs are declining in the caribbean region due to a variety of reasons. nitrogen from agriculture, sewage, and other anthropogenic sources is polluting coastal waterways and represents one major threat to reef health. the effects of nitrogen eutrophication on coral reefs was investigated in this review. nitrogen pollution slows calcification, changes photopigment concentrations, accelerates coral disease rates, increases coral-algal competition, and reduces coral reproduction and recruitment. to conserve these important ecosystems and sustain the variety of services they provide, nitrogen loading to coral reef ecosystems must be reduced. introduction nutrient enrichment is causing coral reef degradation and mortality across the world. coral reefs thrive in high quality coastal waters and are sensitive to changes in water quality, such as influxes of nitrogen (baker et al. 2013). the magnitude of these influxes, which are also referred to as nitrogen eutrophication, is often anthropogenic. nutrients can enter waterways from agriculture, sewage, and atmospheric deposition (baker et al. 2013). resulting reef degradation may occur through changes in coral calcification, light reduction, and competition due to macroalgal growth, decreased coral recruitment and reproduction, and changes in coral diversity (fabricius 2005). reefs at the highest risk of pollution-caused damage include those on deeper slopes, reefs in poorly flushed locations, commonly disturbed reefs, and those lacking herbivorous fishes (fabricius 2011). effects on hard coral are of particular concern as these species are typically reef-builders due to the accumulation of their calcium carbonate skeletons over time. a meta-analysis of caribbean coral decline using 65 studies and encompassing 263 sites in the caribbean basin found that average hard coral cover was reduced by 80% in three decades (gardner et al. 2003). local factors, including eutrophication, were attributed as the predominant causes of this decline. any slowed rates of declines or apparent recoveries, such as in jamaica, portray a potentially overly optimistic trend as the results only reflect changes in total coral cover and not changes in community composition (fig. 1). other studies have revealed changes in reef communities, such as a shift in dominance by reefbuilders like acropora (ie. elkhorn and staghorn) and montastrea to non-reef builders (gardner et al. 2003). the protection of coral reefs is necessary if we are to ensure the preservation of the ecosystem services reefs provide. for example, about 9 x 106 tons of fishery biomass per year are extracted from coral reefs, amounting to approximately 12% of the amount obtained globally (zarco-perelló et al. 2013). beyond supporting commercial fishing, coral reefs also protect our coasts, provide animal protein, promote tourism, and supply the ocean with abundant biodiversity (kennedy et al. 2013). the calcium carbonate skeletons generated by coral create a habitat relied upon by diverse species, and the natural erosion of these structures generates the critical sand accumulation needed by many beach ecosystems (kennedy et al. 2013). the continuation of these services is in jeopardy as 20% of the world’s coral reefs have been lost already, making this an imminent problem (zarcoperelló et al. 2013). this review relates the broad problem of nitrogen eutrophication to the yucatán peninsula specifically and goes on to synthesize the information available on the effects of nitrogen pollution on coral communities throughout the caribbean. consequences discussed include physiological effects on calcification and photopigments, accelerated disease rates, increased coral-algal competition, and effects on reproduction and recruitment. i place particular figure 1. variability in mean rate of coral cover change in 1980 (open bars) and 1990 (shaded bars). bootstrapgenerated 95% confidence intervals are shown. sample sizes for the 1980s and 1990s, respectively, are: florida: 4 and 64; u.s. virgin islands/puerto rico: 33 and 26; jamaica: 29 and 7; northern central america: 12 and 29; southern central america: 8 and 3; and leeward netherlands antilles: 4 and 12. (figure source: gardner et al., 2003)   emphasis on hard coral; however, i also discuss soft coral species. ultimately, this review seeks to determine whether nitrogen eutrophication is a significant factor contributing to observed coral declines, with particular focus on the caribbean region. nitrogen eutrophication nitrogen eutrophication causes negative consequences for marine foodwebs, coastal economies, and more broadly for many ecosystems, making nitrogen management a vital concern. increased algal growth and the creation of anoxic dead zones in marine ecosystems are the most obvious negative effects of eutrophication (bricker et al. 2008). a less obvious but equally important consequence occurs when nitrogen is denitrified by microbes, resulting in the emission of nitrogen in gaseous forms. many of these gases have negative, farreaching effects, such as nox and n2o, which are notable greenhouse gases (hirsch et al. 2006). increased nitrogen loading into ecosystems stimulates the rate of denitrification and the production of these greenhouse gases (kinney and valiela 2013). humans are responsible for approximately doubling the amount of available nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems (vitousek et al. 1997), and therefore nitrogen management is of concern to many fisheries and land managers. conventional monitoring of water quality for total nitrogen concentration is a major weakness of nitrogen management solutions because it does not discriminate between natural and anthropogenic sources (baker et al. 2013). in addition to the anthropogenic sources mentioned previously, nitrogen concentration can also fluctuate in aquatic ecosystems due to nitrogen fixation, upwelling, and rapid biological assimilation (baker et al. 2013). one method of determining the source of nitrogen is to use stable isotope ratios in organisms. this method often indicates that anthropogenic sources are significant contributors to nitrogen levels in coastal waterways. such is the case in the yucatán, a peninsula in southeastern mexico. land-based sources of nitrogen pollution in the yucatán ultimately end up in the ocean. seven years of data from quintana roo, mexico, revealed that sewage alone accounted for 42% of nitrogen values in the biomass of the common sea fan, gorgonia ventalina (baker et al. 2013). the rapid growth and construction occurring in this area is built upon a karst aquifer, which discharges into cenotes and surface fractures, ultimately eroding into lagoons (baker et al. 2013). in these lagoons, seawater mixes with groundwater, resulting in a transfer of any pollutants into coral reef habitats. as many residential areas do not have wastewater treatment, nitrogen can dissipate into groundwater when it rains and end up in the ocean at levels detectable over 1 km from shore (baker et al. 2013). additionally, local tourism accounts for a large proportion of nitrogen loading into the ocean (herrera-silveira et al. 2004, baker et al. 2013). for example, some large resorts in the yucatán pump sewage directly into the aquifer (baker et al. 2013). in the northern yucatán, shrimp farm effluent at four sites was also a contributing factor as people fertilize shrimp ponds with nitrates (herrera-silveira et al. 2004). it is therefore unsurprising that nitrogen is polluting coral reef ecosystems. however, it is less obvious whether this pollution is directly responsible for the decline of caribbean coral reefs. for example, the small hard coral and octocoral colonies found in the sisal reefs off the northern yucatán coast display densities from 0.35 colonies/25 cm2 to 0.96 colonies/25 cm2, signaling that these communities are under stress (zarco-perelló et al. 2013). based on the large amount of nitrogen pollution in the area, it is likely that nitrogen is causing this stress. the direct effects of nitrogen on coral must be investigated to determine if they are severe enough to account for coral degradation and extinction events. calcification the effect of nitrogen on calcification leads to coral reef degradation. calcification is the process by which hard corals build up calcium in the form of calcium carbonate (caco3) and increase skeletal mass. nitrate level was found to be the most important factor for degraded caribbean reef carbonate budgets, with a 10% increase in nitrate leading to a 33% decline in net carbonate production (kennedy et al. 2013). similarly, the rate of coral growth off the coast of barbados in nitrogen-polluted waters was lower than rates from nearby reefs in more pristine waters (szmant 2002). likewise, a study using the hard coral species montastraea annularis and porites porites found that skeletogenesis decreased by 50% in both species when exposed to nitrate enrichment at levels of 5 and 20 µm, as seen in figure 2 (marubini and davies 1996). reduction in skeletal formation is logical as nitrate addition also causes zooxanthellae density to increase (marubini and davies 1996). higher numbers of these algae lead to a reduction in available carbon for calcification as the algae utilize carbon in the water for photosynthesis. when carbonate levels in the water are high, nitrogen does not cause growth reduction, providing evidence for this competition-based explanation (marubini and thake 1999). the competition over inorganic carbon for algal photosynthesis and host skeletogenesis when nitrate levels are high may be intensified in areas lacking water movement, where the recharge of co2 is restricted. the evidence for nitrogen-based effects on calcification is convincing, but is not yet complete. some studies report no change in growth with ammonium or nitrate enrichment (szmant 2002), and therefore a consensus on whether nitrogen always affects calcification has not been reached. it is possible that studies finding no effect were confounded by the presence of high carbonate levels in the water. additionally, one commonly cited shortcoming of laboratory studies is that the nutrient concentrations used are much higher than those actually found at polluted reefs. however, even the exceedingly low nitrate concentration of 1 µm led to significant effects in some cases, as seen in figure 2 (marubini and davies 1996). further studies should address whether elevated co2 associated with climate change will reduce competition for inorganic carbon within coral reefs, as an availability of carbon for both host and algae may lead to an increase in growth when excess nitrate is present. if this is true, the combination of eutrophication and elevated co2 may actually increase reef growth, particularly if the coral species are able to utilize bicarbonate (hco3 -) in addition to carbonate (co3 2-), which is typically used by coral. it is possible that the decrease in carbonate and increase in bicarbonate that occurs when co2 dissociates into water will negatively affect coral (marubini and thake 1999). however, bicarbonate has recently been shown to be utilized by coral for calcification and possibly photosynthesis (comeau et al. 2013). therefore, the elevated dissociation of co2 into the ocean may not be as harmful to reefs as previously believed. photopigments studies regarding the effect of nitrogen pollution on photosynthesis are severely lacking. many studies have found that increased dissolved inorganic nitrogen (din) increases the concentration of chlorophyll a per zooxanthellae and the rate of photosynthesis (fabricius 2005). likewise, chlorophyll a and c2 concentration increased in each zooxanthellae cell of one hard coral species, causing the coral to figure 2. daily calcification rate (mean ± 1 sd) of porites porites (n = 32) and montastrea annularis (n = 18) at four different nitrate concentrations. incubation in photostat chambers occurred for 40 and 30 days, respectively. (figure source: marubini and davies, 1996)   appear darker (marubini and davies 1996). although several studies report increased photosynthetic rates, none address the implications of these changes or whether there is a quantifiable limit to the photosynthetic rate achieved. at high photosynthetic rates, it seems likely that high levels of oxygen could be produced in the coral’s tissue. studies addressing this possibility should determine whether oxygen could reach dangerous levels and whether these levels are affecting coral. if high photosynthetic rates are not affecting coral, how are coral counteracting these nitrogen-caused changes? coral can decrease photosynthetic rate under high light intensity (hoegh-guldberg and jones 1999), but it is not yet evident whether these inhibitory mechanisms are also used to decrease the elevated photosynthetic rates associated with nitrogen pollution. because nitrogen directly increases pigments in zooxanthellae, the concentration of photosynthetic pigments can act as an early-warning indicator for nitrogen pollution (fabricius 2005). while abundant macroalgae can also hint at high nitrogen levels, the presence of macroalgae itself does not necessarily mean nitrogen levels are high. however, the presence of macroalgae can also cause an increase in coral pigment concentrations even when nitrogen levels are not high, making these levels a somewhat unreliable indicator of nitrogen pollution. low light levels caused by shading from macroalgae can lead to increased pigment density in coral as the coral attempt to sustain photosynthetic rates (fabricius 2011). if macroalgae are not substantial enough in the environment to cause significant shading and subsequent low-light acclimatization by coral, an increase in zooxanthellae pigments could signify nitrogen-polluted waters. this represents another area requiring future research that will reveal more about the interplay between nitrogen and photosynthesis in coral reef ecosystems. rates of coral disease nitrogen pollution affects rates of coral diseases, which have increased over the past two decades (bruno et al. 2003). infection rate and disease transfer are accelerated by increased nutrient concentrations in experimentally and naturally infected coral colonies, possibly because marine fungi and bacteria are nitrogen limited (bruno et al. 2003). two widespread caribbean coral epizootic diseases were tested, including aspergillosis, which affects gorgonia ventalina, and yellow band disease, which affects the important reef-builders montastraea annularis and montastraea franksii (bruno et al. 2003). the field experiments occurred on a fore-reef at akumal on the yucatán peninsula, where yellow band disease occurs in 4 to 17% of montastraea species. higher prevalence, up to 91%, can be found in other caribbean reefs (bruno et al. 2003). similarly, experiments focusing on a major reef-building coral in the caribbean, siderastrea siderea, also provide evidence that nitrogen eutrophication accelerates coral disease rates (voss and richardson 2006). s. siderea was artificially infected in the laboratory and exposed to nitrate conentrations up to 3 µm, resulting in a doubling of black band disease progression (voss and richardson 2006). increased nutrient concentrations in situ also doubled the rate of black band disease progression and coral tissue loss (voss and richardson 2006). this disease occurs worldwide and infects 64 scleractinian species, causing tissue losses that expose the coral skeleton, which often becomes colonized by macroalgae (voss and richardson 2006). further experimental studies could be used to supplement these findings and more in situ observations should investigate possible correlations between nitrogen-polluted sites and disease rates, especially since both have likely increased in coastal waters since these studies were conducted. coral-algal competition algal blooms are increasing across the world due to coastal eutrophication and have major impacts on coral reefs (lapointe et al. 2005). when these macroalgae are not controlled by grazers, even tiny increases in dissolved inorganic nutrients lead to increased algal productivity (fabricius 2011). these blooms deplete oxygen in the water column when they decay and can proliferate so much that they create enormous algal masses. these masses block sunlight, which is essential for coral reef survival as coral needs sunlight to perform photosynthesis and keep up with the energy demands of calcification (fabricius 2011). like many locations in the caribbean, coral reefs off the coast of florida have experienced several macroalgal blooms recently due to nitrogen eutrophication (lapointe et al. 2005). high nitrogen conditions are more favorable for macroalgae, which have rapid growth rates, than for coral (fabricius 2011). these blooms compete with coral for space, restrict gas exchange (fabricius 2011), and lead to anoxic/hypoxic conditions, which result in the death of hard and soft corals (lapointe et al. 2005). the primary source of the nitrogen causing florida’s harmful algal blooms is land-based sewage rather than natural upwelling (lapointe et al. 2005). this has been attributed to the fact that the highest δ15n values occurred on shallow reefs, which would be expected if the source was land-based. further support involves the finding that nh4 + concentrations are elevated during non-upwelling periods and are the preferred source of nitrogen for macroalgae, as opposed to upwelled no3 -. regardless of the source, it is clear that nitrogen eutrophication is a major cause of algal blooms, which result in degraded coral reefs. because macroalgae proliferate in high nitrogen conditions, coral recovery following disturbances may be low. coral cover off of yawzi point at st. john in the u.s. virgin islands showed that disturbance events can lead to a transition from coral to macroalgal cover (edmunds 2002). in a ten-year period, coral cover declined by more than 50% at yawzi point, during which time two hurricanes affected the reef (edmunds 2002). montastraea annularis in particular was damaged by the storms, which led to reduced reef structure and complexity (edmunds 2002). meanwhile, macroalgal growth increased 12-fold (edmunds 2002). replacements such as the one seen at st. john are occurring across the caribbean and will likely be exacerbated as nitrogen pollution increases. while yawzi is not subject to many local anthropogenic effects relative to other reefs, reefs that are disturbed by humans have been more strongly affected by the replacement of coral with macroalgae (edmunds 2002). as discussed previously, high light and/or nitrogen conditions allow macroalgae to proliferate much more rapidly than coral and subsequently block sunlight. light is essential for the recruitment of new coral larvae. light intensity and spectral composition control the settlement of these larvae, and the reduction in light caused by macroalgae reduces the depth at which larvae can settle (fabricius 2011). low recruitment rates hinder recovery following disturbance events (fabricius 2011). therefore, algal blooms are detrimental to coral reefs following hurricanes. further studies should investigate the role of nitrogen specifically in coral-algal competition following disturbance events. reproduction and recruitment successful reproduction of scleractinian corals, reef builders that generate a hard skeleton, is critical if reefs are to be maintained throughout time, especially in frequently disturbed ecosystems. when corals are stressed, they redirect their energy and resources from reproduction to repair mechanisms or other functions (harrison and ward 2001). because coral reproduction has a low stress tolerance, poor water quality impacts the fitness of corals. gametes of scleractinian corals are exposed in the water and are therefore vulnerable to pollutants. for example, porites porites produced fewer larvae in polluted reefs and had a skewed male to female sex ratio (2:1) compared to reefs in higher quality water (harrison and ward 2001). specifically, terrestrial nitrogen runoff makes it difficult for reefs to recover from disturbances due to effects on coral reproduction and recruitment. coral recruiting species and the number of young recruits decreased with increasing eutrophication in barbados reefs (harrison and ward 2001). acroporid corals (notable framework builders in reefs) have lower fecundity, egg size, fertilization rates, and embryo development at even very low levels of nitrogen concentration (1 µm nh4) (fabricius 2005). gametes from the brain coral, goniastrea aspera, have a significantly lower chance of developing into regular embryos and a higher chance of being deformed from ammonium concentrations as low as 0.5 µm (harrison and ward 2001). these effects become stronger as concentration increases. therefore, reef degradation demonstrated at these slightly increased nitrogen levels will likely be intensified in reefs exposed to higher levels of landbased nitrogen pollution. conclusions in this review, the potential contribution of nitrogen eutrophication to observed coral declines was investigated with particular emphasis on the caribbean region. based on the effects of nitrogen pollution on coral calcification, disease rates, coral-algal competition, reproduction, and recruitment, eutrophication is a significant contributor to current declines. even relatively low nitrogen levels considerably reduce calcification rates and slow reef growth. more studies regarding calcification should be conducted with the aim of avoiding confounded results from the presence of high carbonate levels in water. calcification research should also address whether elevated atmospheric co2 will reduce competition for inorganic carbon within coral reefs or only harm the reefs through ocean acidification. low levels of nitrogen pollution also increase the growth of macroalgae, which compete with coral for light and space, creating anoxic dead zones and intensifying reef degradation. the role of nitrogen in coral-algal competition following disturbance events should be investigated experimentally and in situ. excess nitrogen also increases coral epizootic disease rates, leads to abnormal development, and decreases coral fecundity, egg size, and fertilization rates. the mechanism underlying nitrogen-driven increases in coral disease rates should be investigated, and an evaluation of nitrogen-polluted sites should compare nitrogen levels to disease rates. consequences due to nitrogen-based changes in photopigment concentration remain unknown and represent a large knowledge gap requiring further research. while several aspects of nitrogen’s effects on coral must still be investigated, it is clear that nitrogen eutrophication causes detrimental effects that substantially contribute to coral degradation and extinction events. current knowledge of these effects combined with results of the many studies yet to be performed will provide an abundance of useful information for conservationists and ecosystem managers in the caribbean and elsewhere. immediate action should be taken to reduce nitrogen loading in coral reef ecosystems in order to sustain their many services, such as supporting commercial fishing, protecting our coasts, providing animal protein, promoting tourism, and supplying the ocean with abundant biodiversity and critical habitat. references baker, d. m., r. e. rodriguez-martinez, and m. l. fogel. 2013. tourism's nitrogen footprint on a mesoamerican coral reef. coral reefs 32:691-699. bricker, s. b., b. longstaff, w. dennison, a. jones, k. boicourt, c. wicks, and j. woerner. 2008. effects of nutrient enrichment in the nation's estuaries: a decade of change. harmful algae 8:21-32. bruno, j. f., l. e. petes, c. drew harvell, and a. hettinger. 2003. nutrient enrichment can increase the severity of coral diseases. ecology letters 6:1056-1061. comeau, s., r. c. carpenter, and p. j. edmunds. 2013. coral reef calcifiers buffer their response to ocean acidification using both bicarbonate and carbonate. proceedings of the royal society b: biological sciences 280. edmunds, p. j. 2002. long-term dynamics of coral reefs in st. john, us virgin islands. coral reefs 21:357-367. fabricius, k. e. 2005. effects of terrestrial runoff on the ecology of corals and coral reefs: review and synthesis. marine pollution bulletin 50:125-146. fabricius, k. e. 2011. factors determining the resilience of coral reefs to eutrophication: a review and conceptual model. pages 493-505 coral reefs: an ecosystem in transition. springer. gardner, t. a., i. m. cote, j. a. gill, a. grant, and a. r. watkinson. 2003. longterm region-wide declines in caribbean corals. science 301:958-960. harrison, p., and s. ward. 2001. elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus reduce fertilisation success of gametes from scleractinian reef corals. marine biology 139:1057-1068. herrera-silveira, j. a., f. a. comin, n. aranda-cirerol, l. troccoli, and l. capurro. 2004. coastal water quality assessment in the yucatan peninsula: management implications. ocean & coastal management 47:625-639. hirsch, a. i., a. m. michalak, l. m. bruhwiler, w. peters, e. j. dlugokencky, and p. p. tans. 2006. inverse modeling estimates of the global nitrous oxide surface flux from 1998–2001. global biogeochemical cycles 20. hoegh-guldberg, o., and r. j. jones. 1999. photoinhibition and photoprotection in symbiotic dinoflagellates from reef-building corals. marine ecology progress series 183:73-86. kennedy, e. v., c. t. perry, p. r. halloran, r. iglesias-prieto, c. h. l. schönberg, m. wisshak, a. u. form, j. p. carricart-ganivet, m. fine, and c. m. eakin. 2013. avoiding coral reef functional collapse requires local and global action. current biology. kinney, e. l., and i. valiela. 2013. changes in delta n-15 in salt marsh sediments in a long-term fertilization study. marine ecology progress series 477:4152. lapointe, b. e., p. j. barile, m. m. littler, and d. s. littler. 2005. macroalgal blooms on southeast florida coral reefs: ii. cross-shelf discrimination of nitrogen sources indicates widespread assimilation of sewage nitrogen. harmful algae 4:1106-1122. marubini, f., and p. s. davies. 1996. nitrate increases zooxanthellae population density and reduces skeletogenesis in corals. marine biology 127:319-328. marubini, f., and b. thake. 1999. bicarbonate addition promotes coral growth. limnology and oceanography 44:716-720. szmant, a. m. 2002. nutrient enrichment on coral reefs: is it a major cause of coral reef decline? estuaries 25:743-766. vitousek, p. m., j. aber, r. w. howarth, g. e. likens, p. a. matson, d. w. schindler, w. h. schlesinger, and g. d. tilman. 1997. human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: causes and consequences. ecological society of america washington, dc, us. voss, j. d., and l. l. richardson. 2006. nutrient enrichment enhances black band disease progression in corals. coral reefs 25:569-576. zarco-perelló, s., m. mascaro, r. garza-perez, and n. simoes. 2013. topography and coral community of the sisal reefs, campeche bank, yucatan, mexico. hidrobiologica 23:28-41.       microsoft word essay 4 pilipchuk.docx [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] artemisia’s revenge: rape and art in the work of jean-luc nancy1 miranda pilipchuk philosophy when artemisia gentileschi was eighteen years old, agostino tassi, a colleague of her father’s, entered her house, found her painting, threw her down, and raped her. today artemisia2 is recognized as one of the greatest artistic talents of the sixteenth century. her first signed painting, susanna and the elders at pommersfelden, was completed in the year before her rape, and depicts the biblical character susanna, who was not raped, but was threatened with death to submit to the amorous desires of two community elders (daniel 13). although jean-luc nancy does not directly speak about artemisia’s physical or artistic encounters with rape, the interplay of three of his ideas holds significance for the way in which artemisia’s two encounters with sexual violence interact with each other. by examining nancy’s theories of sense, violence, and image in relation to one another, this paper will address the possibility that images of violence structurally resist the force of physical occurrences of violence. sense and violence for nancy, sense refers to a system of knowledge in which knowing subjects come to understand, or make sense of, the environment around them, and thereby create a sensible world. in nancy’s thought, this system of sense is necessarily dependent on a division within sense itself. in his paper “a finite thinking,” nancy (2003a) writes, “sense depends on relating to itself as to another or to some other” (6). the act of sense, or the act of understanding, requires two participants: there is a subject who knows, and an object that is known—an object of understanding. 1 a version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the society for phenomenology and existential philosophy in october 2010. i am grateful for the feedback of those who were present. i would also like to thank nancy margolis for generously reading and commenting on an earlier draft of this paper. 2 i refer to artemisia by her first name in order to distinguish her from her father, orazio gentileschi, who was also a painter of note during the baroque period. since the process of understanding moves from a lack of knowledge about the object of understanding to positive knowledge of the object of understanding, the object of understanding must be something that is initially foreign to, or removed from, the subject who understands. if there is to be understanding, there must be a space between the knowing subject and the object it knows, so that the subject can come to know the object through the process of understanding. in terms of sense, or the structure of understanding in general, this means that there must be a division within sense between that which understands and that which is understood, a division that makes sense itself possible (nancy 2003a, 5-6). stated in another way, “what produces sense” is the act of sense “being grasped” or “grasping itself as sense” (nancy 2003a, 5). if sense is indeed to be produced in this very movement of grasping itself, then sense is necessarily dependent on the otherness of itself. if sense did not relate to itself as to another (nancy 2003a, 6), then it would be impossible to speak of sense grasping itself. the motion of grasping requires an element of otherness. that which grasps can only grasp what is other to it; even when one grasps oneself, say, when one grasps one’s own arm, the arm that is grasped is other than the hand that grasps it. if sense were entirely unitary, it would be unable to maintain the element of otherness that is required for sense to be possible in the first place, and sense itself would disappear (nancy 2003a, 6). for nancy (2003a), then, sense “is the openness of a relation to itself” (6). the difference between sense and itself, the difference between the sense that grasps sense and the sense that is grasped by sense, generates the possibility of there being sense at all. because there is this difference in the relationship of sense to itself, sense itself can exist. the difference gives sense something to grasp, thereby enabling sense to be sense, and thereby requiring that sense always maintain this difference. violence, on the other hand, is interested in destroying the influence of anything that differs from itself. in describing the destructive character of violence, nancy makes three important points. first, destruction is built into the very definition of violence. in his paper “image and violence”, nancy (2005b) defines violence as “the application of a force that remains foreign to the dynamic or energetic system into which it intervenes” (16). violence is that which imposes itself onto a system foreign to itself without becoming a part of that system or respecting the logic of that system. instead, violence “denatures, wrecks, and massacres that which it assaults” (nancy 2005b, 16). this is the second point. in its lack of concern with, and attention to, the system it imposes itself on, and in its interest in nothing more than this pure imposition, violence does damage to the system. third, violence seeks to make what is not itself, what it assaults, into nothing but an image of itself (nancy 2005b, 16). through the act of violence, violence denies that its victims have any identity apart from the violent act itself. violence identifies its victims as nothing more than victims, nothing more than those who have been assaulted, and in doing so it asserts that its victims have identity only through their relationship to their violators (nancy 2005b, 16). victims become nothing more than the imprint of violence upon them (nancy 2005b, 16). the movement of violence is entirely contrary to the movement of sense. instead of opening a space between itself and others, violence seeks to appropriate everything that is not itself into itself, so that there is no opening between things, but simply the mark of violence everywhere (nancy 2005b, 16). violence refuses to enter into a relationship that would generate sense, opting instead for relationships that are destructive to the very idea of sense. in nancy’s (2005b) language, this makes violence “profoundly stupid” (16); the ontological structure of violence, the way in which violence exists, shuts down the space that is necessary for the generation of sense. rape as an act of violence rape is one of the many forms violence can take. in “in praise of the melee”, nancy (2003b) writes that rape is “a null act, a negation of sex itself, a negation of relation, a negation of the child, of the woman; an act of pure affirmation on the part of the rapist, in whom a ‘pure identity’ is unable to offer anything better than a vile imitation of what it negates: relationship and being-together” (286). sex, in its non-violent form, is an intimate act that marks two people converging on one another, or coming together. it is entirely, inherently, completely, relational. when a person is raped, she is forced into a sexual relationship in such a way that the relational aspect of sex is destroyed. that she is being forced, that her will and her voice are being ignored, is a denial of her significance as an individual. she does not matter; what matters is the will of her rapist. by raping her, her rapist is asserting that she is insignificant to him, meaningless to him, that she has no influence over him. his existence, his identity, is not impacted by her in the least. nancy (2003b) speaks of rape in a paper written for sarajevo, in which he asserts that his project is to do justice to identities—without giving in to their delusion, to the presumption that they are, substantially, identities: this is the job at hand. it’s both immense and very simple: to remake culture, no less, to remake thought so that it is not crude, rubbish, like any thinking of purity; to remix lineages, paths, and skins, but also to describe their heterogeneous trajectories, their networks, which are at once crossed and distinct. (279) nancy wants to retain the distinction of identities, or the singularity of identities, without falling into the myth that identities are what they are completely independently of any relationship to anything else, of any mixture with anything else. “by definition, identity is not an absolute distinction, cut off from everything and therefore distinct from nothing: it is always the other of an other identity” (nancy 2003b, 280). for nancy, identity is what it is precisely by not being something else. we are what we are because we are able to distinguish ourselves from what we are not. this means, in turn, that what we are not is an essential part of what we are; if we were unable to differentiate ourselves from what we are not, if there was no “what we are not”, we would have no identity. “what we are not” enables us to be what we are. and so just as sense needs to be an other to itself in order to exist, identity exists through the other that is equally itself. nancy is writing, literally, in praise of the melee. the oxford english dictionary defines “melee” as “a confusion, jumble; a medley, a mixture.” the “melee” indicates that identity is not pure, that identity comes closer to being a confused blend. on nancy’s interpretation of sarajevo, the rape camps served the purpose of negating the melee of identity: [t]he systemic rape of bosnian women unfurled in exemplary fashion all the figures of the delusional affirmation of a community “one” with itself: rape in order to engender “bastards,” deemed unacceptable, excluded a priori from the presupposed unity; rape in order to force the abortion of these bastards; rape, then, in order to kill and destroy the very possibility of the bastard; rape so that this repeated act will draw its victims into the fantastic unity of their “community”; rape in order to make manifest in every possible way that there should be no relations between communities. (nancy 2003b, 285) the rape camps created children, a mixture of mother and father, who were then aborted (nancy 2003b, 285).3 in so doing, the rapists were negating the melee, the mixture of mother and father, the linking of communities. the rapists were asserting their independence from the melee, establishing the identity of their community independently of the influence of any other community. and as much 3 there are feminist scholars who would disagree with nancy’s argument that the sarajevo rape camps were primarily interested in aborting “bastards.” catharine mackinnon, in particular, notes that bosnian rape camps often held pregnant women until it was unsafe for them to get an abortion, indicating that one of the purposes of the camps was, in fact, to generate children (see mackinnon 2006). as these other communities constitute an essential part of their identity, the rapists were denying the self that was other to them. artemisia’s two encounters with sexual violence: the physical and the artistic artemisia gentileschi was not a part of sarajevo; nor was she the survivor of a rape camp. but artemisia gentileschi was—allegedly—raped. artemisia was born in rome on 8 july 1593 to orazio gentileshi and prudentia montone. as a youth she was schooled in art by her father, who was himself an accomplished artist. artemisia made her first original, and remarkable, contribution to the artistic community at the age of seventeen. two years later, in march of 1612 orazio publicly accused agostino tassi, an artistic colleague, of raping and “deflowering” artemisia. this accusation led to a seven month trial in which artemisia was subjected to public physical examinations by two obstetricians, and was tortured with the sibille—a device that tightens metal rings around the fingers of its victim—in order to ascertain the truth of her testimony. despite tassi’s previous sexual offenses, and the numerous flaws in his testimony and in the testimonies of the witnesses who spoke on his behalf, the charges against tassi were dismissed, and he was released after serving only eight months in prison. on 29 november 1612, artemisia married florentine artist pietro antonio di vincenzo stattesi, and left rome for florence. artemisia subsequently became a respected artist, and she is currently recognized as one of the greatest talents of her time (see garrard 1999). in 1610, the year before her rape, artemisia completed her first signed painting, susanna and the elders at pommersfelden. the story of susanna is found in the apocryphal thirteenth chapter of the book of daniel, which describes susanna as a beautiful and god-fearing woman, the wife of a pillar of the jewish community. according to the text, two judges fell in love with susanna, and happening upon her alone in her garden one day, they demanded that she submit to their desires, threatening that if she did not they would accuse her of adultery, a crime that was punishable by death. susanna refused the judges. she was subsequently charged with adultery, and sentenced to death by stoning. before she was executed, the young daniel artemisia gentileschi. susanna and the elders. 1610. oil on canvas. 66.9 in. x 46.9 in. pommersfelden, schloss weissenstein. publicly denounced the judges and proved that they had been lying, saving susanna and condemning her accusers to execution in her place. unlike artemisia, susanna was not raped, and in this her experience differs from artemisia’s. but susanna was threatened with rape, she was threatened with death, and she was subjected to the brutality of slander, all of which display a violence that is fundamentally similar to that of rape. when artemisia was raped, the significance of her existence as an individual was denied, affirmed as nothing more than the object of her assaulter’s violence. susanna’s assaulters did much the same thing, denying that her existence had import apart from her submission to their will, and even asserting that her existence would cease if she resisted their will. despite the differences in their situations, the assaulters of both artemisia and of her artistic subject used sexual violence as a way of stamping out the women’s individual existences. art and violence four centuries after artemisia was raped, nancy crafted a theory of art that casts a unique light on the relationship between artemisia’s rape and her painting of susanna’s assault. the core of nancy’s theory of art revolves, once again, around difference and identity. in “image and violence” nancy (2005b) intimately links the identity of the image of a thing to the subject it represents, speaking of the image as showing its audience the “unity and force” of that which it represents (22). the image, for nancy, does not show us only the features of the represented subject, as if it were merely giving us an inventory of parts. rather, in showing us the features of the represented subject, the image shows us something deeper; it shows us the force that holds the features together, the force that makes the features something more than a disjunctive series of components, the force that makes the represented subject an entity, a thing (nancy 2005b, 22). the image displays the identity of what it represents, making the image an expression of the represented subject, and essentially connecting the very being of the image to the represented subject. the identity of the represented subject is displayed by the image, making the image the canvas of the subject’s identity. the image becomes, in a way, what it represents: the very core of the subject. however, nancy notes that in its representation of the subject, the image also acts as the represented subject’s rival, competing with the represented subject for existence itself. in his own words, the image of the represented subject “rivals the thing, and this rivalry implies not so much reproduction as competition, and, in relation to what concerns us here, competition for presence” (nancy 2005b, 21). the term “presence” denotes the fact of existing, or of being present (oxford english dictionary). in rivaling the presence of its represented subject, the image of the subject competes with the subject it represents for existence. competition, by definition, involves competing parties attempting to win something by beating or by bettering their competitors. that the image competes with its represented subject means that the image does not simply assert itself; it attempts to assert its own existence over and above the subject it represents. taken together, these two elements of nancy’s artistic theory imply that the image is both a representation of the subject it images—a representation that is intimate enough to display the unifying force of the subject—and an entity distinct enough from the imaged subject that it can wrestle with the imaged subject for existence. through this dual-natured relationship, the image presents the represented subject to itself. nancy (2005b) writes, “the image is what takes the thing out of its simple presence and brings it […] to being-out-in-front-of-itself” (21). to move from “simple presence” to “being-out-in-front-of-itself” is to move from the state of simply being, to the state of examining oneself. that the image is distinct from the subject it represents means that the image can be, and is, out in front of the imaged subject, such that the imaged subject can gaze upon it. and that image is reflective of the subject it represents means that what is out in front of the represented subject is the represented subject itself, requiring that the represented subject face itself, confront itself. the image creates a space between the represented subject and itself such that the represented subject becomes an issue to itself. what is significant for this project is that the structure of nancy’s theory of art mirrors the structure of his theory of sense. the image, like sense, is dependent on an act of the self becoming other to itself, while at the same time keeping something of the status of the self. this is what image is, the representation of the imaged subject that is at one and the same time identical to the imaged subject and distinct from the imaged subject. to image violence, then, would be to make a representation of violence that is at the same time distinct from violence. it would be to bring violence to “being-out-in-front-of-itself,” which reverses the movement of violence. instead of closing down the space between individuals by denying the significance of diverse individuals, violence would be put into a form where it would necessarily be faced with a self that is other than it, thereby opening the space between individuals that violence shuts down. and insofar as this reverse movement of violence—the movement of violence confronting itself that is brought about through image—is also the movement of sense, the imaging of violence could hold the potential to bring violence back into the realm of sense. artemisia’s revenge nancy’s thought indicates that the imaging of violence, or artistic depictions of violence, could have two remedial functions. first, the imaging of violence could be interpreted as restoring a certain moral equilibrium to situations of violence. by creating a multiplicity of identity in a system that seeks to deny any multiplicity, and thus denies the significance of individuals other than itself, art could open up the possibility for survivors of violence to reassert their individuality. violence denies the significance, and the very being, of its victims. art affirms both the presence and the value of diverse individuals. it gives individuals who have previously been oppressed or abused the chance to reestablish their worth, their importance, and their existence. secondly, art could help generate conversations about violence. conversations always happen within the context of sense, or acts of understanding: in order to communicate with one another, we must be able to understand what the other person is saying. violence disrupts understanding by destroying the diversity that is at the heart of understanding. art maintains understanding by creating diversity. artistic depictions of violence bring violence back into the realm of understanding, which means they also bring violence back into a setting in which meaningful communication is possible. if violence is in the realm of understanding, then we can begin to speak about it, and its survivors are given a context in which their experiences, and their voices, can be heard. when artemisia imaged the violence done to susanna, then, she did two things. artemisia remade susanna’s violence into a form that, on a structural level, mended the damage susanna’s assaulters had done to her individuality. artemisia also placed susanna’s violence into a context where susanna’s voice could be heard; she helped her audience hear susanna. and while artemisia never painted her own rape, by painting the general subject of rape she made a stand against the identity-crushing force of rape in general, and she contributed to a discourse about rape. both of these things could have established an environment conducive to her recovery from her own encounter with rape. through her depiction of susanna, artemisia fought back against the violence done to susanna, and the violence she would undergo herself a year later. it is important to note here, with nancy (2005b), that “art is not a simulacrum or apotropaic form that would protect us from unjustifiable violence” (26). whatever remedial functions art might have, it still cannot end or undo actual acts of violence. that artemisia painted the violence of the susanna story does not mean that the violence of the story has somehow been undone, or that the wrongs susanna suffered have been righted. susanna’s story is still violent, and the wrongs she suffered are still wrongs. art cannot change that. nor can art prevent future violent acts from happening. when agostino tassi raped artemisia, he was not stopped by her susanna. he did not look at the violence in the image, see the agony on susanna’s face, and halt his own assault. imaging susanna’s violence did not prevent artemisia from experiencing violence of her own. but artemisia’s painting did do something else, something important. in imaging violence, and in bringing violence back into the realm of understanding, artemisia created the possibility of meaningful interaction with violence. she created the possibility for her audience to think about violence, to speak about violence, and to come to know the survivors of violence. artemisia opened up a space in which the voices of survivors could be heard. and while this did not undo the violence that was already done, perhaps it did offer a small amount of revenge; perhaps this is artemisia’s revenge. bibliography garrard, mary. 1989. artemisia gentileschi: the image of the female hero in italian baroque art. princeton: princeton university press. gentileschi, artemisia. 1610. susanna and the elders. oil on canvas. 66.9 in. x 46.9 in. pommersfelden, schloss weissenstein. kleiner, fred s., and christina j. mamiya. 2005. gardner’s art through the ages. 12th ed. belmont, ca: thomson wadsworth. mackinnon, catharine. 2006. are women human? and other international dialogues. cambridge: the belknap press. “melee.” 2014. oed.com. retrieved february 1, 2014 from http://www.oed.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/view/entry/116086?redirectedfrom =melee#eid nancy, jean-luc. 1991a. “of being-in-common.” in community at loose ends, edited by the miami theory collective, 1-12. translated by james creech. minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 1991. ---. 1991b. “myth interrupted.” in the inoperative community, edited by peter connor, 43-70. translated by peter connor, lisa garbus, michael holland, and simona sawhney. minneapolis: university of minnesota press. ---. 2003a. “a finite thinking.” in a finite thinking, edited by simon sparks, 330. translated by edward bullard, jonathan derbyshire, and simon sparks. stanford: stanford university press. ---. 2003b. “in praise of the melee.” in a finite thinking, edited by simon sparks, 277-88. translated by steven miller. stanford: stanford university press. ---. 2005a. “the image—the distinct.” in the ground of the image, edited by john caputo, 1-14. translated by jeff fort. new york: fordham university press. ---. 2005b. “image and violence.” in the ground of the image, edited by john caputo, 15-26. translated by jeff fort. new york: fordham university press. new interpreter’s study bible: new revised standard version. 2003. edited by walter j. harrelson. nashville: abingdon press. “presence.” 2014. oed.com. retrieved february 1, 2014 from http://www.oed.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/view/entry/150669?redirectedfrom =presence#eid women in nazi germany: victims, perpetrators, and the abandonment of a paradigm women in nazi germany: victims, perpetrators, and the abandonment of a paradigm david a. guba, jr. history department introduction the vast secondary literature on the third reich is matched in dimension only by the controversy contained within its discourse. during the cold war era, historians in east and west germany routinely placed the crimes of national socialism within a historicized narrative that massaged away the complicity of a particular ideological element of society while condemning that of another. west german historian gerhard ritter, for example, linked the atrocities of the third reich to a ―populist nationalism and a plebiscitary politics‖ thereby relieving ―patriotic conservatives‖ from complicity in nazi crimes. 1 similarly biased, east german scholars historicized the nazi past within a narrative of ―bourgeois development‖ and linked their ideological opponents in the west to nazi crimes through capitalism. 2 the histories of national socialism produced in both east and west germany in the first decades after world war ii were largely built on ideological foundations that noticeably undermined their ―objective‖ integrity. in the 1960s a younger generation of historians in west germany developed a ―social science‖ approach to the study of the nazi past termed gesellschaftsgeschichte. historians of this structural convention like hans ulrich wehler and fritz fischer argued that the rise of national socialism precipitated from germany‘s ―special path‖, or sonderweg, to incomplete political and social modernization. 3 by linking the ultra-right-winged elements of german society to the development of national socialism and casting democracy as an oppressed victim, these historians hoped to bring greater legitimacy to the democratic 1 konrad h. jarausch and michael geyer, shattered past: reconstructing german histories (princeton: princeton university press, 2003), 5-6. 2 ibid., 7. 3 historians of this convention argued that ―the inadvertent rise of democratic forces…was blocked by the authoritarian structures of the state and conservative forces, producing ‗structural‘ tensions that led from smaller catastrophes to bigger ones—from the threat of civil war to world war and on to genocide.‖ ibid. heritage of contemporary west germany. 4 the early attempts of cold war and sonderweg historians stripped the nazi past of its human – and inhuman – face and placed the causality and historical significance of the third reich within ideological and structural narratives that rarely moved beyond the context of contemporary political debates. in the late 1970s, however, social historians in the west (particularly in great britain) were no longer willing to accept the structural and ideologicallytinted ―master-narratives‖ of the previous decades and instead sought to ―humanize‖ the history of the third reich. following the methodological model of e.p. thompson‘s the making of the english working class (1963), historians like david blackbourn and tim mason constructed their analyses of nazi germany from the ―bottom-up‖ hoping to unearth if not evidence of resistance at least some sign that the poison of national socialism was unable to permeate all levels of german society. 5 although mason is considered one of the first historians to devote significant discussion to women‘s roles and experiences within the working-class milieu of nazi germany, his primary interest was the working class in the third reich and in 1976 he did not ―intend to do any further detailed research into the position of women in nazi germany in the near future.‖ 6 within this politically-charged and male-dominated debate over the proper cause and historical significance of national socialism, women were largely absent as both subjects of inquiry and as scholarly contributors. 7 in the 1980s, feminist historians gisela bock and claudia koonz remedied this historical and professional oversight and published ground-breaking investigations on women in nazi society. gisela bock investigated sterilization and eugenics policies in prewar nazi germany and argued that all women in the third reich were to some degree victimized under national socialism. 8 claudia koonz‘s study of ―mothers 4 georg g. iggers, historiography in the twentieth century: from scientific objectivity to the postmodern challenge (middlestown connecticut: wesleyan university press, 2005, c.1997), 68-73. 5 timothy w. mason, social policy in the third reich: the working class and the ‘national community,’ 1918-1939. trans. john broadwin (berg publishing, 2003, c.1977); david blackbourn and geoff eley, the peculiarities of german history: bourgeois society and politics in nineteenth-century germany (new york, 1984). 6 timothy w. mason, ―women in germany, 1925-1940: family, wlefare and work. part ii (conclusion‖, history workshop, no. 2 (autmn, 1976), pp. 2-32., 27. 7 mary nolan, ―work, gender and everyday life: reflections on continuity, normality and agency in twentieth century germany,‖ ian kershaw & moshe lewin (eds.) stalinism and nazism: dictatorship in comparison (new york: cambridge university press, 1997), 329. 8 gisela bock, ‗racism and sexism in nazi germany‘, when biology became destiny: women in weimar and nazi germany bridenthal et al. (new york: monthly review press, 1984), 271296. first published in signs: journal of women in culture and society 8, no. 3 (1983) in the fatherland‖ contrastingly argued that ‗aryan‘ mothers, although relegated to a private sphere of domesticity by the sexist policies of the third reich, played a major role in maintaining ―normality‖ at home and thus provided at least a semblance of stability for the nazi men engaged in mass murder and war. 9 these contrasting conclusions led to a war-of-words between bock and koonz in academic journals over whether women in nazi germany were victims (opfer) or perpetrators (täterin). the first section of this paper takes a closer look at the bock-koonz / opfer-täterin debate of the late 1980s and argues that although ultimately a fruitless line of inquiry plagued by similar pitfalls as its ideological and structural forerunners, the search for ―pure types‖ forced professional discourse to move beyond blanket generalizations and accept the ―complex and contradictory‖ realities of the nazi past. 10 after the fall of the berlin wall in november 1989 and the reunification of germany in 1990, historians of national socialism became increasingly suspicious of structural narratives and overextended generalizations. 11 within the discourse on women in nazi society, scholars adelheid von saldern and mary nolan questioned the efficacy of the opfer-täterin debate. they urged historians to abandon attempts to construct a ―homogenized gender history‖ and accept the multiplicity of women‘s experiences in the third reich as an historical reality. the second section of this paper examines this call for an abandonment of the bock-koonz debate and explores several works that effectively shed the opfer-täterin paradigm and provided a new and insightful look into the everyday lives of german women in nazi society. opfer oder täterin: a fruitless debate? for many historians of women in nazi germany, tim mason‘s two-part article ―women in germany, 1925-1940: family, welfare and work‖ marks the unofficial starting point of post-war historiography on the subject. first published in history workshop in the spring of 1976, mason‘s article discussed the extent to which nazi domestic policies regarding women, family life and work were able to penetrate and control the private spheres of german society, particularly those within the lower and working classes. as an historian of the british-marxian 9 claudia koonz, mothers in the fatherland: women, the family and nazi politics (new york: st. martin‘s press, 1987). 10 phrases borrowed from adelheid von saldern, ―victims or perpetrators? controversies about the role of women in the nazi state,‖ david f. crew (ed) nazism and german society, 19331945, pp. 141-165. 11 konrad h. jarausch and michael geyer, shattered past: reconstructing german histories, 11. daniel jonah goldhagen‘s hitler’s willing executioners (1992) is the well-known exception to this general trend. convention, mason approached the subject of women in nazi germany from the perspective of class conflict and privileged the working-class dimensions of nazi society while relegating issues of race and gender to the periphery. although mason heavily qualified his assertions and was reluctant to espouse broad generalizations based on his admittedly ―speculative‖ analysis, 12 he portrayed working-class women as ―silent sufferers‖ and thus helped push the debate concerning women as opfer or täterin into the historical discourse on women in nazi germany. 13 one of the first reactions to mason‘s class-based analysis came in 1983 with the publication of gisela bock‘s ―racism and sexism in nazi germany: motherhood, compulsory sterilization and the state.‖ 14 in this article bock questioned mason‘s marxian preoccupation with class and argued that ―neither race nor gender, racism nor sexism—and even less their connection—has been a central theme in german social historiography.‖ 15 to remedy this oversight, bock focused her analysis on nazi eugenics and compulsory sterilization programs during the pre-war years (1933-1939) and argued that the racist and sexist policies of the third reich rendered all women – especially non-aryan and ‗asocial‘ women – victims of nazi terror. whereas mason cautiously portrayed workingclass women as ―silent sufferers‖, bock rather explicitly declared that all women, regardless of caste and creed, were victimized by the policies national socialism. as a feminist historian gisela bock approached her investigation from the perspective of reproduction, or as she called it, ―the reproductive aspect of women‘s unwaged housework.‖ 16 through this lens, bock examined nazi eugenics policies and argued that women were the main targets of racism in the pre-war years of the third reich. on 14 july 1933, the national socialists passed the ‗law for the prevention of hereditarily diseased offspring‘ which called for the sterilization of numerous non-‘aryan‘ and ‗asocial‘ germans in order to protect the ‗purity‘ of german progeny. 17 a year later in july 1934, the sterilization laws as well as other decrees concerning women‘s bodies were institutionalized with the formation of the state health offices with its departments for gene and race 12 mason writes, ―…at many points in the following pages the argument is perfunctory and speculative… [and] the evidence adduced remains incomplete.‖ tim mason ―women in germany, 1925-1940: family, welfare and work, part i,‖ history workshop i (spring 1976), 75. 13 ibid., 88-89. 14 gisela bock, ‗racism and sexism in nazi germany‘, when biology became destiny: women in weimar and nazi germany bridenthal et al. (new york: monthly review press, 1984), 271296. first published in signs: journal of women in culture and society 8, no. 3 (1983) 15 ibid., 271. 16 ibid., 272. 17 ibid. care. 18 as bock points out, the nazis created a large medical staff of over 12,000 officials and with this bureaucracy administered approximately 320,000 compulsory sterilizations between 1933 and 1939. although men comprised roughly half of the 320,000 victims of compulsory sterilizations in the pre-war years, bock argued that women were the nazi‘s main focus and furthermore that women were deprived of a greater element of their identity – namely motherhood – by compulsory sterilization than were men. clarifying this point in a later essay, bock writes, ―women as well as men protested against their stigmatization as ‗second-class human beings‘…but women complained of the resulting childlessness far oftener than men, especially young women.‖ 19 to drive the point further, bock goes on to cite testimonies from nazi doctors recalling the rather appreciative attitudes (allegedly) expressed by non-‘aryan‘ and ‗asocial‘ men being prepped for sterilization. reflecting on his experiences with male patients, a nazi doctor wrote in 1936 that men were ―happy that nothing [could] happen to them any more, that neither condoms nor douches [were] necessary, they [could now] fulfill their marital duties without restraint.‖ 20 without any qualifications, bock broached the opinion that mothers were the greatest victims of nazi eugenics and hazardously supported it with a potentially propagandized source stating men welcomed the biological liberation of sterilization. relying more on rhetoric than historical data, bock constructed a precarious divide between the experiences of male and female victims of nazi compulsory sterilization and in doing so her intentions – if they were not already apparent by her definition of ―reproduction‖ – became explicit. bock writes, …where sexism and racism exist, particularly with nazi features, all women are equally involved in both, but with different experiences. they are subjected to one coherent and double-edged policy of sexist racism or racist sexism (a nuance only of perspective), but they are segregated as they live through the dual sides of this policy. 21 for gisela bock women were the primary victims of the eugenics policies devised and implemented by male leaders of national socialism, and even when confronted with physical and psychological intrusion by the state, non-‘aryan‘ and 18 ibid., 275-278. 19 gisela bock, ―antinatalism in national socialist racism,‖ nazism and german society, 19331945. david crew et al. (new york: routledge, 1994), 117. this chapter was originally published in gisela bock & pat thane (eds), maternity and gender policies: women and the rise of european welfare states, 1880s-1950s (new york: routledge, 1990), pp. 253-269. 20 ibid., 117. 21 gisela bock,, ‗racism and sexism in nazi germany‘ when biology became destiny, 289 ‗asocial‘ men were able to rise above the injustice to a greater extent just by virtue of their sex. bock is regularly portrayed by historians as the overbold feminist who overextended her analysis of compulsory sterilization into a blanket assertion that all women in the third reich were victims and thus unbound by nazi guilt. 22 and this critique is arguably for good reason. her assessment is almost immediately put into question by the fact that large numbers of women were employed by the ‗state health offices‘ and ‗departments for gene and race care‘ and not just as passive clerical workers but as nurses and doctors directly involved with eugenics in the pre-war years and later with euthanasia and the final solution. 23 furthermore, bock‘s presumption that women were more severely affected by sterilization than men is contentious and largely based on the opinion that women‘s identities are inextricably linked to notions of motherhood. 24 by supporting this opinion with a questionable ―primary source‖ – the second-hand word of an anonymous nazi doctor – bock portrays women as complete victims and german men as either pseudo-victims or the primary perpetrators of nazi terror. although a pathbreaking work and an essential contribution to the history of women in nazi germany, bock‘s blanket assertion that all women were victims to the racist and sexist policies of the third reich was hazardous at best and helped propel the opfer-täterrin debate into the forefront of discourse in the late 1980s and early 1990s. in 1987 historian claudia koonz argued against bock‘s blanket assessment of female victimization in her mammoth monograph mothers in the fatherland: women, the family and nazi politics (1987) and initiated the so-called historikerinnenstreit, or ―quarrel among historians of women.‖ 25 like bock, 22 mary nolan, ―work, gender, and everyday life in twentieth century germany,‖ ian kershaw and moshe lewin (eds), stalinism and nazism: dictatorships in comparison (cambridge university press, 1997), 333-334. 23 ibid., 334. 24 mary nolan wrote, ―bock presumes that all women found their identity in child-bearing and motherhood, an argument which applied to some of the women who were sterilized but certainly not to all of them.‖ ibid. for an extended analysis on bock‘s assertion of female ‗motherly‘ identity, see atina grossmann, ―feminist debates about women and national socialism,” gender and history, vol. 3, no/ 3, (1991), 355. 25 the historikerinnenstreit, or ‗‗quarrel among historians of women‖, takes it name from the late-1980s historikerstreit, or ―(male) historians quarrel‖. the historikstriet was a public debate that started in 1986 between west german philosophers ernst nolte and jürgen habermas over the proper place of the nazi past within the history of west germany. for nolte, the holocaust and nazi crimes were an historical aberration, linked to russian bolshevism and thus disconnected in a sense from the history proper of west germany. for habermas, however, the holocaust and nazi past were inextricably ―german‖ in origins and cannot and should not be so koonz approached her investigation from the understanding that ‗aryan‘ women in nazi germany existed within a predominantly private, domestic sphere and had almost no direct influence on the male leaders of national socialism. koonz wrote, ―the separation between masculine and feminine spheres, which followed logically from nazi leaders‘ misogyny, relegates women to their own space—both beneath and beyond the dominant world of men.‖ 26 but instead of interpreting the nazi‘s relegation of women as evidence of their non-involvement in nazi and uniform victimization, koonz argued that within the domestic sphere women were not isolated but actively politicized and mobilized for nazi war efforts. she wrote, ―far from being helpless or even innocent, women made possible a murderous state in the name of concerns they defined as motherly. the fact that women bore no responsibility for issuing the orders from berlin does not obviate their complicity in carrying them out.‖ 27 for koonz, ‗aryan‘ women and especially mothers were accomplices to the third reich and were indirectly responsible for nazi terror and the genocide of millions deemed unfit to live. in mothers in the fatherland, koonz focused predominantly on the lives and experiences of ‗aryan‘ women who to varying degrees and for a variety of reasons bought into the separate-sphere dichotomy of gender roles under national socialism. this focus on prominent female ―accomplices‖ to nazi crimes like gertrud scholtz-klink – the ―lady führer über alles‖ of the ns-frauenschaft – offered a poignant counterpoint to bock‘s assertion that all women were victims of the racist and sexist policies of the third reich. koonz rhetorically asked the reader, ―…did women really remain immune to what erich fromm called ‗the craving for submission and lust for power‘ that had engulfed the german nation...we don‘t have to estimate—we know that women nearly as strongly as men supported the nazis during the years of their spectacular rise to power easily thrown asunder in the name of recovering some usable german past. for more on the issues and impacts of the debate see geoff eley, ―nazism, politics and the image of the past: thoughts on the west german historikerstreit 1986-1987.‖ past and present 121 (1988): 171208, and charles s. maier, the unmasterable past: history, holocaust and german national identity (cambridge: harvard university press, 1988). also, for an excellent discussion of the primary differences between the historikerstreit and historikerinnenstreit see elaine martin‘s ―victim, collaborator, resister, perpetrator? women writers respond to national socialism,‖ at the symposium, ―german women writers from weimar to the present,‖ at the university of maryland, 25-28 february 1993; and mary nolan, ―the historikerstreit and social history,‖ new german critique. no. 44, special issue on the historikerstreit (spring – summer, 1988), pp. 51-80. 26 claudia koonz, mothers in the fatherland: women, the family and nazi politics (new york: st. martin‘s press, 1987), 8. 27 ibid., 5. between 1930 and 1932.‖ 28 furthermore, koonz argued that the ‗motherly‘ ideals pushed by nazi women leaders like gertrud scholtz-klink, elsbeth zander, and guida dehl demonstrated that nazi mothers were not victims to the nazi‘s racistsexist policies but rather actively involved in the production of the ideal racially superior family. koonz wrote, [women] gave men nazis the feeling of belonging not just to a party, but to a total subculture that prefigured the ideals of the nazi state for which they fought. women kept folk traditions alive, gave charity to poor nazi families, cared for sa men, sewed brown shirts, and prepared food for rallies. while nazi men preached race hate and virulent nationalism that threatened to destroy the morality upon which civilization rested, women‘s participation in the movement created an ersatz gloss of idealism. 29 for koonz, nazi women were not passive victims or ―small cogs in the majestic wheel‖ of nazi totalitarianism; 30 they were motherly accomplices who retreated into their spheres of domesticity while knowing full well the implications of their silence for those deemed ―unfit to live‖ by the male nazi authorities. koonz‘s mothers in the fatherland was an essential contribution to the discourse on women in nazi germany for several reasons. firstly, koonz offered a counterpoint to bock‘s generalization of women as victims, and the subsequent historikerinnenstriet between the two forced scholarship in the late 1980s to embrace the reality that some women – and especially mothers – helped to create and maintain the ersatz idealism of the nazi home front. secondly, koonz argued that new evidence was required to assess the experiences of women in nazi germany because women‘s ―voices‖ were generally silenced in state-produced documentation from the third reich. koonz wrote, ―…few women nazis‘ voices spoke from the past or, more precisely, from the sources in national archives.‖ 31 to bring voice to the voiceless, koonz looked to protestant and catholic church records because ―for centuries the church had played the role for women in public life what politics had played for men. men talked high theory and traded low gossip at the local stammtisch (neighborhood pub); women gathered at the rectory to organize community projects and mind the parish‘s business.‖ 32 records from numerous protestant and catholic churches throughout germany granted koonz 28 ibid., 185. 29 ibid., 5. 30 hannah arendt, the origins of totalitarianism. (harcourt, brace, 1951), 321. 31 claudia koonz, mothers in the fatherland, 8. 32 ibid., 9. access to the everyday experiences of christian women in nazi germany and to previously hidden instances of female complicity and resistance. 33 although often overlooked, koonz‘s chapters on ―catholic women between the pope and führer‖ and ―courage and choice: women who said no‖ discussed a network of rebellion that involved hundreds of catholic women working to save jews and other non‘aryans‘ from the nazi labor camps and gas chambers. 34 despite these strong and important chapters on female resistance, however, koonz‘s work in mothers in the fatherland was (and to a great extent still is) perceived by scholars as the counterpoint to bock‘s thesis and a staunch condemnation of nazi women and especially mothers who helped maintain the semblance of familial normality in the midst of war and genocide. the rigid ―separate sphere‖ dichotomy employed by both gisela bock and claudia koonz severely limited the abilities of their analyses to move beyond blanket generalizations of female experience in nazi germany. despite these shortcomings, however, the historikerinnenstreit that ensued between the two pushed historians to examine the complex experiences of women in the third reich. gisela bock brought much-needed attention to the fact that historians were neglecting women‘s gendered experiences in nazi germany and ignoring the presence of severe anti-feminism within the ideologies and policies of national socialism. likewise, claudia koonz‘s investigation of ―mothers in the fatherland‖ pushed historians to accept the reality that even women relegated to the domestic ―separate sphere‖ of nazi society were in some degree complicit in the actions and atrocities of the third reich. although the search for ―pure types‖ was ultimately a fruitless debate, the historikerinnenstriet provided the necessary impetus for future historians to break through and unhinge the over-generalized and structural interoperations of the nazi past. beyond the search for “pure types” through the 1980s and into the early 1990s, historians of women in nazi germany ―seldom went beyond vague assertions of ‗collective guilt‘ or equally 33 an often overlooked element of koonz‘s analysis in mothers in the fatherland is her acceptance that women in nazi germany had different experiences and as a result cannot be placed in a rigid classification of either ‗victim‘ or ‗perpetrator‘, innocent or guilty. she writes, ―german women varied in both support and opposition, as victims and perpetrators.‖ ibid., 12. of all the articles and monographs utilized for this paper, only mary nolan‘s ―the historikerstreit and social history,‖ new german critique. no. 44, special issue on the historikerstreit (spring – summer, 1988), p. 70, commends koonz for her investigation of ―multiple perspectives.‖ 34 ibid., 267-344, esp. 298-305. simplistic attempts to differentiate between the ‗victims‘ and the ‗perpetrators.‘― 35 for gisela bock, the men of the nazi regime sought to control all elements of reproduction and thus oppressed and victimized all women in nazi society. claudia koonz contrastingly argued that ‗aryan‘ women were not victimized by their relegation to the separate sphere of nazi domesticity but rather mobilized as motherly accomplices to the reich. but in the early 1990s – in the wake of german unification and the end of the political bipolarity of the cold war – historians of women in nazi germany started to drift away from overarching generalizations, and as david f. crew argued, began ―to realize that most women in the third reich cannot simply be cast in the role of ‗victim‘ or ‗perpetrator‘.‖ 36 in 1994 adelheid von saldern questioned the efficacy of the opfer-täterin debate in her essay ―victims or perpetrators? controversies about the role of women in the nazi state‖ and argued that the experiences and roles of women in nazi germany were not so black and white. 37 according to von saldern, gisela bock and claudia koonz were stubbornly attempting to ―homogenize‖ gender history through assertions of a general female experience in nazi germany. she wrote, female historians cannot and should not expect to achieve a homogenous interpretation of the role of women in the third reich…in the everyday realities produced by german fascism, ordinary men and women became complex and contradictory combinations of both victims and perpetrators. 38 von saldern called for an abandonment of the search for ―pure types‖ and a reevaluation of historical method in order to access the ―complex and contradictory‖ roles and experiences of women in nazi society. adelheid von saldern waged her primary criticism against bock‘s rigid understanding of ―separate spheres‖ for men and women in nazi germany. this ―separate sphere‖ approach, argued von saldern, ignored the fluidity between public and private spheres in the third reich produced by the nazi politicization of reproduction, the family, and the home. drawing from the insights of ernst fraenkel‘s der doppelstaat (1941), 39 von saldern argued that ―neither sphere was 35 david f. crew (ed), nazism and german society, 1933-1945 (new york: routledge, 1994), 1. 36 ibid., 14. 37 adelheid von saldern, ―victims or perpetrators? controversies about the role of women in the nazi state,‖ david f. crew (ed) nazism and german society, 1933-1945, pp. 141-165. 38 ibid., 157. 39 fraenkel, a renowned german political scientist, constructed a methodological approach to the study of nazi germany that called for a fluidity between the massnahmenstaat , or ‗prerogative state‘ and the normenstaat, or ‗normative state‘. this method is borrowed by von saldern to independent of the other; in the private sphere…women (and men) were repeatedly confronted with regulations imposed by the public sphere…‖ 40 furthermore, ‗aryan‘ women in nazi germany stepped out of the home and into the public sphere as members of the bdm and ns-frauenschaft, as nurses and doctors in the nazi eugenics programs, as secretaries and operators for the nazi bureaucracy, and even as ss guards at concentration camps. therefore, von saldern argued, ―we cannot be satisfied with a description of women as merely the victims and the objects of nazi policy [because] the private sphere was by no means a safe and sane refuge.‖ 41 von saldern extended this critique to koonz‘s arguments as well and pointed out that her reliance on the separate sphere dichotomy to produce an assessment of female complicity was ―equally open to attack.‖ 42 instead of searching for victims and perpetrators, adelheid von saldern urged historians to examine the multiple experiences of different women in nazi germany without preconceived notions of their victimization or culpability. von saldern‘s call for a methodological reevaluation can be viewed as an important turning point 43 in the historiography on nazi germany because it pointed out the limitations of the opfer-täterin paradigm and embraced complexity and difference as an historical reality within gender history. instead of trying to rescue or condemn certain elements of nazi society within the historical record, von saldern argued that historians should focus their energies on unearthing the ―complex and contradictory variety of women‘s experiences‖ in order to ―better understand what real women thought, felt and did during the third reich.‖ 44 three years later, mary nolan similarly critiqued the bock-koonz debate and argued that historians of women in nazi germany must move past the ―polarized terms‖ of opfer and täterin and focus instead on the subjective experiences of everyday life in the third reich. 45 nolan‘s essay ―work, gender establish fluidity between the rigid spheres established by the bock-koonz debate. see ibid., 147, 162 n.22. 40 ibid., 148. 41 ibid., 151. 42 ibid. 43 it should be noted that von saldern‘s article was a turning point for publications in english. generally cited as the earliest attempt to move beyond the victim-perpetrator debate is lerke gravenhorst, ‗nehmen wir eigentum in asupruch? zu problemen im feministischsocialwissenschaftlichen diskurs der bdr‘, in lerke gravenhorst and carmen tatschmurat (eds), töchter fragen ns frauengeschicht (freiburg, 1990), pp.17-37. 44 adelheid von saldern, ―victims or perpetrators? controversies about the role of women in the nazi state,‖ p. 142. 45 mary nolan, ―work, gender and everyday life: reflections of continuity, normality and agency in twentieth-century germany,‖ in ian kershaw & moshe lewin (eds), stalinism and and everyday life: reflections on continuity, normality and agency in twentieth-century germany‖ functioned primarily as an extended review of contemporary works that were helping to explode generalized interpretations of women‘s experiences in nazi germany. nolan argued that the convention of social history known as alltagsgeschichte, or ―everyday life history,‖ provided the necessary methodological tools to break through past generalizations and unearth the subjective experiences of women in the third reich. popularized in the 1970s and 1980s by social historians in west germany, alltagsgechichte was a methodological response to the sonderweg theses promoted by scholars like fritz fischer, hans and wolfgang mommsen, and hans ulrich wehler. 46 historians of everyday life argued that ―social science histories‖ stripped the past of its ―human face‖ and reduced it to a structural narrative of positivistic political and economic development. 47 in order to ―humanize‖ german history, alltags historians constructed micro-narratives of the subjective thoughts, experiences, and actions of individuals using sources like memoirs, oral histories, and popular fiction in addition to the traditional ―top-down‖ sources produced by policymakers. as a group of modern historians of everyday life in germany recently wrote, ―by focusing on the individual subjective actor‘s creative potential in the world, the historian of everyday life can integrate the micro and the macro, cause and consequence.‖ 48 as an historian of everyday life, mary nolan argued that the structural interpretations authored by bock and koonz were unable to elucidate the complexities of women‘s experiences because, much like the sonderweg approach, they attempted to fit a complex past into a structural generalization. instead of debating arbitrary absolutes, nolan urged historians to assemble a ―detailed historical reconstruction of the different experiences of nazism: dictatorship in comparison (new york: cambridge university press, 1997), pp. 311342. 46 these historians constructed ―social science histories‖ and argued that historical change was a function of ―anonymous structures and processes.‖ they believed that german history followed a ―special path‖ of incomplete modernization, or sonderweg, and argued that the development of german industry in the 19 th and early 20 th centuries was not accompanied ―by a modernization of social relations and politics.‖ this lack of social and political development, so the argument goes, allowed conservative tendencies to flourish in germany in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries and inevitably led to the totalitarian dictatorship and atrocities of the third reich. see georg g. iggers, historiography in the twentieth century: from scientific objectivity to the postmodern challenge (middletown, connecticut: wesleyan university press, 2005, c1997), 6972. 47 ibid., 102. 48 paul steege, andrew stuart bergerson, maureen healy, and pamela e. swett, ―the history of everyday life: a second chapter‖, the journal of modern history, vo. 80, no. 2 (june 2008), pp. 358-378. different women, their particular forms of repression, their possibilities for action, and their degree of responsibility.‖ 49 this approach allowed historians to move from the macro to the micro, from the political and economic policies of the nazi party to the ways in which ordinary people in nazi germany responded and reacted to them. 50 in 1999 elizabeth d heineman turned von saldern‘s and nolan‘s methodological urgings into a reality with the publication of her monograph what difference does a husband make? women and marital status in nazi and postwar germany. 51 in this original and comprehensive study, heineman examined the history of single women in germany from the beginning of the third reich in 1933 to the construction of the berlin wall in 1961 through the lens of marital status. instead of focusing on the stereotyped nazi hausmütter, heineman investigated single, divorced, and widowed women, or ―women standing alone,‖ and the ways in which shifting nazi policies on marital status influenced their subjective experiences during the war and allied occupation. she wrote, ―this study will move between the local and national levels in order to examine both the making and the effects of public policy‖ and thus at more comprehensive understanding of women‘s subject experiences in relation to the shifting definitions of marital status under the nazi regime. 52 by ―integrating the macro and the micro,‖ 53 heineman employed an alltagsgeschichte-esque approach that, as von saldern and nolan urged, moved beyond the search for ―pure types‖ and allowed those previously hidden from history – ―women standing alone‖ – the opportunity to add their perspectives and experiences to the record. heineman started her investigation of ―women standing alone‖ in the mid1980s for a dissertation on the ―women of the rubble‖ who figured so prominently in the popular culture and memory of west germany in the 1950s. but with the fall of the soviet block and reunification of germany – events she ―could never have dreamed‖ would occur during the course of her research – her dissertation was turned on its head by the newly-accessible archives in the east. heineman wrote, 49 mary nolan, ―work, gender and everyday life: reflections of continuity, normality and agency in twentieth-century germany,‖ ibid., 335. 50 nolan argued that everyday life history ―examines the relationship, real and perceived, between continuities in the economic, social, and cultural realms across the period from the 1920s to the 1950s and the ‗normality‘, real and perceived, of many aspect of nazi society.‖ ibid., 316. 51 elizabeth d. heineman, what difference does a husband make? women and marital status in nazi and postwar germany (berkeley: university of california press, 1999). 52 ibid., 15. 53 paul steege, andrew stuart bergerson, maureen healy, and pamela e. swett, ―the history of everyday life: a second chapter,‖ the journal of modern history, vo. 80, no. 2 (june 2008), 367. ―topics that had left mountains of records in west germany, like the status of unwed mothers and war widows‘ pensions, seemed to have been nonissues in the east.‖ 54 there were proportionally as many ―women standing alone‖ in the east as there were in the west at the onset of allied occupation, but in the former-ddr they were largely missing from the national archives and even less present in popular memory and culture. what difference does a husband make? was heineman‘s attempt to ―untangle this web of comparative, interlocking histories‖ and place single women and their ―shattered‖ pasts into the forefront of historical discourse on the reunified german nation. between 1933 and 1939 nazi policymakers went to great lengths to definitively divide german women along racial and marital lines. for women deemed non-‘aryans‘ or ‗asocials‘, marriage was not an option and, as gisela bock pointed out, sterilization ensured that even if their marital status changed, their reproductive potential would never be realized. 55 for women deemed ―valuable‖ to the german volksgemeinschaft, marriage and childbirth were the ultimate ideological goals. but, as heineman argued, the nazis also devoted significant attention to the roles of single ‗aryan‘ women and became increasingly more accepting of their contributions to the reich as laborers, party activists, nurses, seamstresses, and even as unwed mothers. almost immediately after taking control in 1933, national socialist policymakers went to great lengths to define and legitimize the status of single ‗aryan‘ women in nazi society. in 1934 the nazis established the pflichtjahr, or ―year of duty,‖ and (forcefully) removed single, ‗aryan‘ girls and women ages 17 to 25 from their homes and relocated them to farms and factories throughout the country. 56 in february 1938 the pflichtjahr was institutionalized by the third reich, and women seeking paid employment in any industry were required by law to first complete their un-paid ―year of duty.‖ after the onset of war and subsequent depopulation of men to the front, national socialist policymakers expanded the pflichtjahr requirements and attached an additional six-month auxiliary war service to the civic duties of single ‗aryan‘ women. the auxiliary war service brought women into direct contact with the war effort and by 1944 some women were even operating antiaircraft guns and searchlights during allied 54 ibid., xiv. 55 elizabeth d. heineman, what difference does a husband make? women and marital status in nazi and postwar germany, 18; and gisela bock, ―racism and sexism in nazi germany,‖ 271. 56 ibid., 40-45. air raids. 57 despite their efforts to define marital status in the pre-war years, national socialist policymakers were unable to maintain their rigid dichotomies during the war due to increased demand for labor, bureaucrats, and soldiers. the marital divide for married ‗aryan‘ women was also heavily blurred by the slide into total war, deteriorating domestic conditions, and the reich‘s need for increased war-time labor and civil service. heineman argued that during pre-war years, national socialist policymakers were hesitant to push the increasing demand for labor onto the middle-class ‗aryan‘ mothers and instead sought to legitimize the labor and civil service of single women. but after the wermacht’s defeat in stalingrad and the intensification of allied air raids in the winter of 1943/44, nazi policymakers were unable to maintain the strict divisions between single and married ‗aryan‘ women and were forced to mobilize all women, married and single, for the war effort. heineman argued that this blurring of marital status in nazi germany during the war makes it difficult to definitively assess one‘s role as either victim or perpetrator. she wrote, ―martial status did not divide women into neat categories of victim and victimizer, loser and beneficiary of nazism. it did, however, affect the ways women were sometimes implicated in, sometimes damaged by, the nazi regime.‖ 58 for past historians like bock and koonz, women‘s identities were rigidly prescribed and maintained by a male-dominated and male-created separate sphere dichotomy. but for heineman, the fluidity of public and private spheres especially during the height of war and slide into defeat makes it impossible to speak of ―pure types‖. heineman abandoned the opfertäterin paradigm and embraced the historical reality that women in nazi germany were victims, perpetrators, and sometimes simultaneously both. although the search for ―pure types‖ was largely abandoned by historians writing in the late 1990s and into the new millennium, the historical reality that some women in nazi germany were perpetrators while others were victims was by no means omitted from discourse. what changed was the ways in which historians approached the subject of victim or perpetrator and the extent to which they would then extend their analyses into blanket generalizations. elizabeth heineman‘s what difference does a husband make? examined shifting definitions of martial status in nazi germany and the ways in which fluctuations in women‘s identities shaped their subjective experiences during and after the war. instead of forcing the women in her narrative into distinct and rigid categories of opfer or täterin, heineman accepts the fluctuation of women‘s experiences and seeks to access that 57 ibid., 65-67. also, for a succinct summary of the effects of war on single women‘s labor and military service see jill stephenson, hitler’s home front: württemberg under the nazis (new york: hambledon continuum, 2006), esp.153-192. 58 ibid., 73. multiplicity empirically through the sources. in a similar vein, vandana joshi argued that ―there is a need…to avoid broader generalizations and to talk about the niches, milieux and enclaves‖ in which german women lived under the third reich. 59 in her monograph gender and power in the third reich: female denouncers and the gestapo, 1933-1945 (2003) joshi examined the history of denunciation in düsseldorf and argued that women played a significant role as denouncers in the gestapo‘s operations within the city. joshi used robert gellately‘s the gestapo and german society: enforcing racial policy, 19331945 60 as a model and argued that the gestapo in düsseldorf relied heavily upon public denunciation for leads and ―tip-offs‖. as gellately‘s study of gestapo files in lower franconia revealed, ordinary men and women who utilized denunciation did so for a variety of racial, political, economic, and personal reasons. similarly, johsi‘s assessment of 366 gestapo case files from the düsseldorf archives showed that women utilized denunciation not out of loyalty to the nazi state but most often to ―vent their frustrations and agonies in conjugal life.‖ 61 in order to understand women‘s complex and contradictory motivations for denouncing neighbors, relatives, and husbands to the gestapo, joshi placed her investigation within the context of a gendered but increasingly porous nazi society in which ―the ‗private‘ became ‗public‘‘ and the sphere of domesticity became increasingly politicized due to war. 62 in the mid-to-late 1990s, historians adelheid von saldern and mary nolan called for the abandonment of the opfer-täterin paradigm and argued that ‗aryan‘ women in nazi germany were neither purely victims nor purely perpetrators of nazi crimes. approaching her study of shifting marital status in nazi germany from this perspective of fluctuating societal and gender roles, elizabeth d. heineman offers a realistic portrayal of single ‗aryan‘ women‘s experiences as war forcefully and drastically altered the societal landscape. likewise, vandana joshi focuses on the particular ―niches, mileux, and enclaves‖ that in many ways influenced women in düsseldorf to denounce fellow germans to the gestapo. by 59 vandana joshi, gender and power in the third reich: female denouncers and the gestapo, 1933-1945. (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003), 191. 60 gellately investigated gestapo files from lower franconia and bavaria and highlighted the importance of public denunciations for the gestapo‘s domestic operations to root out racially inferior and ‗asocial‘ men and women from the volksgemeinschaft. due to the limited personnel and resources of the gestapo, particularly in lower franconia, the ―secret state police‖ relied heavily upon denunciations from private citizens (both men and women) to perform their duty. see robert gellately, the gestapo and german society: enforcing racial policy 1933-1945 (oxford university press, 1990). 61 vandana joshi, gender and power in the third reich, 81. 62 ibid., 43. abandoning the search for ―pure types‖ and shifting the focus of interpretation from macro-level generalizations to micro-level, empirical analyses, both heineman and joshi were better able to access the complex and contradictory ―way it was‖ for ‗aryan‘ women in nazi germany. conclusion the bock-koonz historikerinnenstriet of the mid-to-late 1980s was in many ways a reflection and continuation of the broader historiographical issues surrounding the history of the third reich. although connected to the movement of social historians attempting to humanize the nazi past and push back against the structures and ideologies of previous interpretations, feminist scholars gisela bock and claudia koonz fell back into a schematic of macro-generalization. the opfertäterin debate was ultimately unable to substantiate a definitive answer either way, but it brought the issue of women‘s complex experiences in the third reich to the forefront of historical discourse on nazi germany. adelheid von saldern and mary nolan‘s call to abandon the search for ―pure types‖ and move past the opfer-täterin paradigm marked a turning point in this discourse. in particular, mary nolan‘s use of an alltagsgechichte approach revealed that historians were becoming increasingly interested in the ―complex and contradictory‖ experiences of women in relation to the male-dominated political and social transformations highlighted in macro-level analyses. by bringing the macro and the micro together, historians like elizabeth d. heineman and vandana joshi were more accurately able to assess the ways in which shifting nazi policies and ideologies affected ‗aryan‘ women as they went about their lives in the wartorn racial state. in addition to using ‗social‘ history conventions like alltagsgechichte, historians of women in nazi germany within the last ten years have increasingly turned to the methods of cultural and oral history. 63 cynthia crane‘s divided lives: the untold stories of jewish-christian women in nazi germany (2000) made a convincing case for the inclusion of oral testimonies in the study of mischlinge – ―half breeds‖ with traces of jewish ancestry – in the third reich. 64 similarly, eric 63 on second read this phrase overplays the division between alttagsgeschicte and methodologies often corralled as ‗culutral‘ history. mary nolan wrote that some historians of everyday life ―rely primarily on sources generated by the nazi regime, such as gestapo reports, others on documents from firms and private organizations, and still others from memoirs, letters, and oral histories.‖ mary nolan, ―work, gender and everyday life in twentieth-century germany,‖ 313. 64 cranne‘s work is often overlooked because of her personal connection to the subject: her grandfather was of jewish descent and had married an ‗aryan‘ woman, their son, crane‘s father, was a mischling. cynthia crane, divided lives the untold stories of jewish-christian women in nazi germany (new york: st. martin‘s press, 2000), 4-7. a. johnson and karl-heinz reuband‘s what we knew: terror, mass murder, and everyday life in nazi germany effectively utilized the oral testimonies of both ‗aryan‘ and jewish germans who lived through national socialism to come to a better understanding of ―what they knew‖ about the human cost of nazi racism and military quest for european hegemony. 65 greater information and research is needed to better access the subjective experiences of ‗aryan‘ women in nazi germany and the ways in which the war shaped their perceptions of gender in relation to national socialist rhetoric and policy. to what extent did ‗aryan‘ women in nazi germany buy into the pre-war rhetoric and policies of the national socialist ―racial state‖? what social, familial, economic, and political factors influenced ‗aryan‘ women to support, oppose, or submit to the nazi volksgemeinschaft? and how did germany‘s slide into total war in the winter of 1943 and the intensification of allied air raids in western cities affect ‗aryan‘ women‘s perceptions of the national socialist ideological mission? although no study can provide definitive answers to these comprehensive questions, continued research into the experiences of aryan women in nazi germany can certainly provide new fertile ground in the well-tilled historical field of nazi germany, and at the very least give women (as historical subjects and historians) a greater say in what can and should be grown there. 65 eric a. johnson & karl-heinz reuband, what we knew: terror, mass murder, and everyday life in nazi germany, an oral history (cambridge, ma: basic books, 2005). bibliography: blackbourn, david and geoff eley, the peculiarities of german history: bourgeois society and politics in nineteenth-century germany (new york, 1984). bock, gisela. ‗racism and sexism in nazi germany‘, when biology became destiny: women in weimar and nazi germany bridenthal et al. (new york: monthly review press, 1984), 271-296. gellately, robert. the gestapo and german society: enforcing racial policy 1933-1945 ( oxford university press, 1990). iggers, georg g. historiography in the twentieth century: from scientific objectivity to the postmodern challenge (middlestown connecticut: wesleyan university press, 2005, c.1997) heineman, elizabeth d. what difference does a husband make? women and marital status in nazi and postwar germany (berkeley: university of california press, 1999). jarausch, konrad h. and michael geyer, shattered past: reconstructing german histories (princeton: princeton university press, 2003) joshi, vandana. gender and power in the third reich: female denouncers and the gestapo, 1933-1945. (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003). koonz, claudia mothers in the fatherland: women, the family and nazi politics (new york: st. martin‘s press, 1987). mason, timothy w. social policy in the third reich: the working class and the ‘national community,’ 1918-1939. trans. john broadwin (berg publishing, 2003, c.1977). nolan, mary. ―work, gender and everyday life: reflections on continuity, normality and agency in twentieth century germany,‖ ian kershaw & moshe lewin (eds.) stalinism and nazism: dictatorship in comparison (new york: cambridge university press, 1997) von saldern, adelheid. ―victims or perpetrators? controversies about the role of women in the nazi state,‖ david f. crew (ed) nazism and german society, 1933-1945, pp. 141-165. steege, paul, andrew stuart bergerson, maureen healy, and pamela e. swett, ―the history of everyday life: a second chapter‖, the journal of modern history, vo. 80, no. 2 (june 2008), pp. 358-378. introduction: the emergence of controlling images controlling images of african women: the hottentot venus, alek wek & the thought of stuart hall elisa foster communication the emergence of controlling images in her essay, “mammies, matriarchs, and other controlling images,” patricia hill collins (1999) presents several stereotypical personas of the african american woman. she writes, “portraying african american women as stereotypical mammies, matriarch, welfare recipients, and hot mommas has been essential to the political economy of domination fostering black women’s oppression” (p. 142). at the root of these controlling images is the african american woman’s sexuality, whether she is depicted as asexual or hypersexual. collins illustrates this dichotomy in her description of matriarchs as “overly aggressive, unfeminine women [who]…emasculate their lovers and husbands” (p. 145) and the jezebel, the “whore, or sexually aggressive woman” (p.147) additionally, class plays a significant role by intersecting with race in order to shape images of black women. collins, for instance, evokes economic exploitation in her descriptions of mammies and welfare mothers. in the final section of her essay, collins further complicates our understanding of these controlling images by discussing the way black women fall into the category of the ‘other’ in terms of western standards of beauty. this brief reference to patricia hill collins is the launching point from which this paper begins. i intend to expand collins’ idea of controlling images to include african women. african women have much in common with african american women in terms of a history of slavery and colonialism in a western (i.e., white american/european) system. additionally, western standards of beauty encroach upon and devalue the visual image of african and african american women in similar ways. however, african women who live in africa or are recent immigrants in western countries face another set of controlling images based on their immediate association with the “dark continent.” in fact, one could argue that these images are at the root of what collins asserts about controlling images that oppress black women. this paper presents one particular controlling image: the western vision of african women, or the hottentot venus, a south african woman brought to europe in the early nineteenth century who was exploited in a traveling exhibition of her ‘exotic’ body. after a brief review of the historical emergence of the hottentot venus, i pose the question of whether or not her image remains in western media and examine this issue through an analysis of images of alek wek. as a sudanese refugee and international supermodel, the image of wek serves as an appropriate subject to analyze the intersection of postcolonial, feminist and popular culture. as an interpretive and theoretical framework for analysis, stuart hall’s work on the encoding and decoding of images and his discourse on postcolonial and cultural theory are used here to interpret the structural and cultural implications of wek’s photographs. essentially, hall’s work will be used to address the central question posed in this paper: do images of alek wek in the media negate or support the image of the hottentot venus? theoretical framework: postcolonial thought this discussion on the image of african women in western media is well served by an epistemological framework of postcolonial theory. as steeves (2008) notes, “as africa’s 54 countries are products of western conquest, followed by colonial rule and neocolonial interventions, a postcolonial framework is appropriate for studying africa’s representation in western media” (p. 418). additionally, the goal of postcolonial studies is to examine “the problematics of colonization and decolonization” within an “emancipatory political stance” (shome & hedge, 2002, p. 250 quoted in steeves). a postcolonial framework is important to this discussion of african women because it allows us to explore how the image of african women has evolved (or remained stagnant) as a result of colonization and decolonization. this paper could focus on wek’s psyche as an african woman submersed in western popular culture and her personal journey from the third world to england. however, mills (2003) warns scholars of colonial discourse of relying too much on psychoanalytical concepts that emphasize stereotypes and fantasies. although the roles of stereotypes and fantasies are crucial to an understanding of colonial and postcolonial culture, the reliance on psychoanalysis for the analysis of colonialism is that the specificity of the colonial context is lost – the materiality of invasion, discrimination, murder, rape, expropriation of land and also resistance are erased…in focusing attention on the colonial psyche, we risk ignoring the political and economic base on which those psyches were constructed.” (mills, 2003, p. 693) therefore, this paper presents a visual analysis of wek’s fashion photographs within a broad context, taking into account her position within a particular political, economic and cultural framework. this relationship between wek and the hottentot venus is grounded in the way images of african women interact with other cultural constructs (wallace, 2004). postcolonial studies and the work of stuart hall offer a theoretical framework in which to position these cultural constructs and position the african woman within the broader context of the black diaspora. hall asserts that “the black subject cannot be represented without reference to the dimensions of class, gender, sexuality and ethnicity” (1996a, p. 444). wek’s emergence as a fashion icon represents a major shift in popular culture that results from sensibilities of the postcolonial era. and, it is this postcolonial era that involves the “impact of civil rights and black struggles on the decolonization of the minds of the peoples of the black diaspora” (hall, 1996b, p. 466). brah (2007) further notes that hall’s work is specifically attuned to the voices of the subaltern and the experience of ‘migrancy.’ therefore, it is appropriate that one look at wek’s photographic images produced by the western fashion industry as the embodiment of blackness, the immigrant experience, sexuality, civil rights and popular culture in a postcolonial era. the hottentot venus: past and present there is an unexpected sun today in london, and the clouds that most days sift into this cage where i am working have dispersed. i am a black cutout against a captive blue sky, pivoting nude so the paying audience can view my naked buttocks. (from the hottentot venus, alexander, 2002) the introduction of the hottentot venus to the west represents a historical shift that eventually led to controlling hypersexual images of black women. in 1810, saarjte baartman, was taken from her home in southern africa to london and given the stage name hottentot venus. ‘hottentot’ is a derogatory term for one of african descent while ‘venus’ represents female desirability. later, baartman was purchased by an animal keeper in paris and was paraded as a traveling exhibit throughout france while her body, her enlarged buttocks in particular, because the subject of artists and medical illustrators. when she died in 1815, baartman’s body was dissected by french naturalist, george cuvier who wrote a report detailing the one aspect of her body that she was able to hide from an audience, her elongated labia (hudson, 2008). this image of hottentot venus her exotic dark skin, large buttocks and abnormal genitalia serves as the foundation for the western fantasy of african women. she does not meet traditional western standards of beauty – instead, she evokes fascination and a curiosity for the exotic and unknown. oyewumi (2008) builds upon this claim when she asserts that, “the bottom line (pun intended) is that whatever the realities of africa and african bodies, they are liable to be exhibited to soothe the western mind/body of its sexual predilections du jour” (p. 161). furthermore, this image serves as the foundation of the hypersexualized images of the jezebel, breeder woman and welfare mother that collins identifies that exist in antiand post-bellum united states. in addition to the exploitation of her sexuality, the image of the hottentot venus is primitive, as if african women are lagging behind in the evolutionary process. cuvier wrote of saarjte baartman, “when she was alive, her movements were brusque and capricious like those of a monkey…i have never seen a human head more resembling a monkey’s than hers” (cohen, 1980, p. 239). hickey and wilie (1993) note that “most americans only need to hear the word africa and they instantly imagine a place dark and primitive, ‘tribes’ living in jungles – and often at each other’s throats – wild beasts dominating the landscape” (p. 1). oyewumi further notes that african women were exhibited in european zoos and museums as part of their exotic collections up until the 1920’s. in recent decades, there are still representations of this hypersexualized, animalistic image of the african woman in western media. the 1989 film “coming to america” starring eddie murphy features several supporting characters that embody this image. in his analysis of “coming to america,” rahier (2001) makes a brief, but significant observation about the depiction of african women in the movie. besides three leading characters, all the women, particularly african women, are fundamentally in a position of submission. they are portrayed as closer to traditions than men, and therefore less independent, less modern than men are…in the same order of things, the only bodies that the viewers see naked or half naked…are the bodies of african women servants. (p. 269) in his discussion of symbolic racism in advertising, cortese (2008) builds upon this notion of the animalistic african woman with an overt sexual nature. he writes, “the image of the sexual predator continues in contemporary advertising. black women are sometimes portrayed as predatory, primitive, wild, or animal-like” (p. 104). as a supplement to this discussion, cortese includes two advertising images featuring black women. in one ad for a hair product, an illustrated woman is hugging a roaring tiger and her hair is styled to resemble the tiger’s fur. the caption reads, “unleash your natural beauty.” the other ad, for what appears to be a perfume called ‘animale,’ a black woman is kneeling on all fours with tiger stripes drawn on her nude body and her hair is styled so that is resembles a mane. lutz and collins’ (1993) analysis of national geographic magazine demonstrate the notion that african women in the media are often seen naked or bare breasted, which alludes to an uncivilized nature in the western value system. lutz and collins examine the ideological purpose of portraying african women in such a way. “the magazine’s gaze at the third world operates to represent it to an american audience in ways which can but do not always shore up a western cultural identity or sense of self as modern and civilized” (p. 366). even in the most subtle ways, these notions of modernity and civilization, or lack thereof, are apparent in media representations of african culture. take, for instance, a layout in the march 2009 issue of arise magazine, africa’s self proclaimed “global, style & culture magazine” produced by a nigerian publisher and distributed throughout the u.s., europe and africa. although the magazine primarily features designers, artists, actors and musicians of african descent, there is a two-page spread featuring runway fashions of european and american designers. the caption reads, “the spring/summer 09 catwalks were awash with accents of africa. alexander mcqueen’s showed featured kaleidoscopic prints referencing savannah wildlife and landscapes. bernhard willhelm’s models prowled down the catwalk in face paint and masks” (p. 34). indeed, many of the models shown are garbed in animal prints, one is shown with a hat made of grass and another is donning a grass skirt. these photos are not too distant from that image cortese paints in his discussion of racism in advertising described above. alek wek: the modern hottentot venus? several theorists (hobson, 2005; hudson, 2008; wallace, 2004) agree that the image of the hottentot venus is central to the visual and cultural construction of the african woman in the west. the overarching question posed here is: “has the media made any progress in moving away from stereotypical controlling images, or is it upholding them with a steady amount of fervor?” this study presents an examination of a key african figure in the fashion industry, which is notorious for idealizing western standards of beauty, to gauge the role of the hottentot venus. in an industry dominated by caucasian models with a european aesthetic appeal, the image of wek, with her dark skin and distinctly african features, stands out. even in her autobiography, wek (2007) describes the way she was teased as an adolescent in london for being different and “primitive.” she writes, the children at school in london had made fun of me for having such long legs, for having such dark skin, for having a round, african face and short, reddish hair. everything. it was therefore quite a surprise to become a fashion model. (p. 134) there has been much debate about wek’s attractiveness and worthiness as a model and she certainly represents a difference, or otherness, in the fashion industry (hobson, 2005). as illustrated in the example of the arise article, visual representations of africa in the fashion industry are depicted as exotic and animallike. the goal of this paper is to examine whether or not these images support the negative, stereotypical image of the hottentot venus, or they are a sign of progress signaling the opening of doors in an industry that is historically biased to a particular aesthetic. in other words, does wek’s image in the mass media negate or support the image of the hottentot venus? has she normalized an african beauty aesthetic, or has she become a spectacle reminiscent of the hottentot venus’ fame? analysis of wek’s photographic images this paper involves an analysis of three magazine covers on which wek appears: the april 2009 issue of vogue canada, the september 2007 issue of ebony and the january 2003 issue of british vogue (see figures 1, 2, and 3). to identify the relevant aspects of these images, four central questions were kept in mind while looking at the photographs: 1. how does wek look in contrast to more conventional looking models? 2. do models with similar features appear in the same photographs as wek? 3. what types of clothes is she wearing? 4. in what types of publications do these photographs appear? encoding and decoding the image during the process of creating images, the creators, owners, designers and tools involved in the production process play a role in embedding meaning into visual messages. hall notes that there is a framework of meanings, knowledge, ideologies and assumptions that impact the process of production (2001, p. 167). to that end, in looking at the photographs of wek, one must acknowledge the discursive aspects of producing the images, which includes among other things, the method and techniques of fashion photography, which are designed to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the subject. on a deeper level, this discursive aspect of encoding is based on how the culture of the fashion industry defines and classifies beauty. while decoding images, viewers tend to apply dominant codes in order to assign meaning to a message; and these dominant codes represent the institutional, political and ideological structure present in their environment (hall, 2001). hall asserts that “it is this set of decoded meanings which ‘have an effect,’ influence, entertain, instruct or persuade, with very complex perceptual, cognitive, emotional, ideological or behavioural consequences…the ‘message,’ via its decodings, issues into the structure of social practices” (p. 168). hall further notes that it is through connotative codes that a dominant cultural order thrives and social order is embedded in a “pattern of preferred readings” (2001, p. 172). a connotative reading reveals that wek disrupts this dominant cultural order on the covers of british vogue (see figure 1) and ebony (see figure 2) presented here. the absence of anyone else who looks like her is quite telling that she is not the norm and stands out as a dark spot on the page. this is also the case to a less obvious extent on the ebony cover. although all four models are women of color, they look much different than wek – they have long hair, lighter skin and much less distinctive, stereotypical african facial features. although they are all women of african descent, the models pictured next to wek meet a much more traditional western standard of beauty, and wek is the model that disrupts this tradition. hall asserts that “positively marked terms ‘signify’ because of their position in relation to what is absent…meaning is relational within an ideological system of presences and absences” (1985, p. 109). and, when thinking about concepts such as “cultural hegemony” as hall describes, the visible is, by design, dominant and more progressive than the invisible (wallace, 2004, p. 266). and, wek’s visibility in this photograph is essentially “a kind of carefully regulated, segregated visibility” (hall, 1996b, p. 468). in a sense, wek’s visibility on these magazine covers signifies the invisibility of other african women who look like wek and are absent from the fashion world. on the cover of the issue of british vogue, two out of eighteen models pictured are black, specifically alek wek and naomi campbell, and the rest appear to be caucasian. the caption underneath the picture reads, “fashion’s force.” based on the picture, wek, as an obvious minority, is an exception to the rules of determining who the force behind fashion is. in the case of the british vogue cover, englishness, an embodiment of british culture and values, is the dominant ideology structuring this image and portrays and ideological theme that represents the “immediate and political moral values” of the image while reinforcing the ideology’s universality (hall, 1973, p. 187). in this example, ideology is represented through each model wearing the union jack, which is worn as a dress, skirt, shirt, jacket, and pants. in another way, ideology is represented by the ethnicity of the models on the magazine where it is implied that everyone on the cover represents britian. hall specifically refers to the way the hegemonic concept of “englishness” contradicts the ethnic diversity of the people who actually live in england (1996b, p. 447). it is possible that the lack of racial diversity and wek’s apparent otherness in this photo reinforces this ideology of englishness as hall describes. the naturalized code if the fashion industry sets standards for what is beautiful and what is in style, then the images on covers of fashion magazines represent those standards. according to this logic, if wek appears on the cover of a fashion magazine, it automatically means she is beautiful and accepted by fashion industry standards. this is an example of what hall describes as a naturalized code, a place where the line between connotative and denotative meaning is blurry. naturalized codes seem to produce literal, universal meanings and conceal the fact that there is a process of coding involved (hall, 2001). if western ideology operates under the assumption that the fashion industry produces only aesthetically pleasing images, there is no questioning the beauty of fashion models. so, in her status as a supermodel, alec wek is immersed in this dominant naturalized code, not separated from it and not “the other.” wek’s relation to this naturalized code signals a shift in what hall refers to as the politics of representation. wek’s image on the issue of vogue canada (see figure 3) is a striking representation of this shift. she stands alone in the image with no other models to reinforce her “otherness.” hall ideas support the progressive nature of this photo when he writes, “cultural politics of difference is undergoing a transformation and marginality has become a space where racial and ethnic minorities have a voice” (hall, 1996b, p. 467). furthermore, this shift in cultural politics involves the notion that the category ‘black’ is a politically and culturally constructed concept and there is an increasing recognition that there is broad diversity within the black diaspora (hall, 1996a, p. 443). although wek seems to represent otherness in terms of western standards of beauty on the ebony cover, her appearance with the other black models also represents diversity within this ethnic group and dispels the notion that all black people are the same. conclusion hall’s assertion that signs contain “polysemic values” is relevant to the images of alec wek presented here. hall defines polysemic value as the “ability to signify more than one thing, to carry a variety of potentially conflicting messages” (procter, 2004, p. 66). as illustrated in the analysis above, wek both embodies and rejects the image of the hottentot venus. while images of wek maintain aspects of exoticness and otherness, she is not as displaced and objectified in terms of her race as the hottentot venus. moreover, her images have the ability to represent a progression in ethnic diversification of the western fashion industry. wek appears in an industry interested in the intersection of sexuality and standards of beauty, while hottentot venus, represents the intersection of sexuality with animalism and the grotesque. although wek could be viewed as an exotic other, she is immersed within a discourse of beauty and an industry that places immense value on physical appearance (hobson, 2005). her sexuality in the western world is not the same animalistic, primitive sexuality as the hottentot venus.’ in fact, wek’s sexuality is exploited in the same way as the white models appearing in photographs with her. and, she is a willing and accepted participant in this industry and english culture. essentially, the hottentot venus represents the standard of deviant sexuality in women (wallace, 2004), while wek appears in mainstream representations of sexuality. from a cultural and postcolonial studies perspective, the reality is that there are numerous arguments to acknowledge or dispute wek’s relationship with the hottentot venus. on one hand, wek’s popularity in the fashion world is a testament to inclusiveness. on the other hand, her image could be an appropriation of the latest exotic fad. for example, hobson (2005) draws on bell hook’s notion of “the commodification of otherness” when seeking an explanation of wek’s appeal. further research on the fashion industry’s impact on culture would provide a theoretical framework for analyzing images of models and environments that do not meet typical western aesthetic standards. the goal in such a study would incorporate the fashion industry’s intersection with popular culture. hall in particular would offer useful insight into structure of popular culture and the way it represents struggles between dominant and subordinate groups (procter, 2004, p. 11). as hall warns, “we must not be fooled by appearances” (2001, p. 170). in a study that seeks to identify the ideology of the fashion industry, it is essential to acknowledge the racial, ethnic, economic, sexual and gendered messages coded into visual products of the industry. figure 1. cover of british vogue, january 2003 issue figure 2. cover of ebony, september 2007 issue figure 3. cover of vogue canada, april 2009 issue photos retrieved from http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/models/alek_wek http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/models/alek_wek references brah, avtar (2007). feminism, ‘race’ and stuart hall’s diasporic imagination. in b. meeks (ed), culture, politics, race and diaspora: the thought of stuart hall. 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(2003). alice in motherland: reading alice walker on africa and screening the color "black". in o. oyewumi (ed.), african women & feminism: reflecting on the politics of sisterhood (pp. 159-185). trenton: africa world press procter, j. (2004). stuart hall. routledge: london. rahier, j. m. (2001). (u.s.-centered) afrocentric imaginations of africa: l.h. clegg's when black men ruled the world, and eddie murphy’s coming to america. in d. mengara (ed.), images of africa: stereotypes and realities (pp. 261-277). trenton: africa world press. wallace, m. (2004). dark designs & visual culture. durham: duke university press. wek, a. (2007). alek: my life from sudanese refugee to international supermodel. new york: harpercollins. microsoft word reiter final version.docx [concept, vol. xxxviii (2015)] application of a markov chain traffic model to the greater philadelphia region joseph reiter mathematics and statistics introduction traffic congestion in urban areas has been an issue since the beginning of the 20th century, and it continues to be one of the most persistent problems facing urban planners. the phenomenon has been extensively studied and several models have been used to explain where, when, and how vehicles move through a network of roads. limited access highways changed how vehicles flowed in and around cities and across the country. they allow vehicles to maintain constant speeds between exits and are partially responsible for the expansion of cities (rephann & isserman, 1994). the challenge in studying a road system populated with vehicles is that the number of parts interacting at the same time is very large. each individual vehicle in the system must be considered on its own and also as a part of the system as a whole. in some ways, this system acts like a complex economy; each vehicle acts to maximize its utility by minimizing travel time, avoiding hazards, and seeking the least troublesome route to its destination. each constituent part of the system has some effect on all the other parts in the system. this paper looks at the issue of traffic congestion around cities and demonstrates a model that predicts areas of traffic congestion based on census data along with statewide traffic data. the model utilizes a markov chain process in order to analyze the origin-destination paths of vehicles in a network system. this method is applied to the greater philadelphia region and evaluated for its predictive value. the implications of this model and possible extensions are also considered. review of traffic models microscopic models microscopic models focus on the individual interactions between vehicles and the roadway. vehicles follow specific rules, outlined in the model, that govern their   movement in the system (velasco & saayedra, 2008). these rules relate values such as velocity, distance to nearby vehicles, and time. one common microscopic traffic model is “follow-the-leader”, which utilizes a dynamical equation or system of differential equations relating the motion of the (n+1)th vehicle following the nth vehicle in a single lane (gazis, herman, & rothery, 1961): 𝑥!!! 𝑡 + 𝑇 =  𝜆 𝑥! 𝑡 − 𝑥!!! 𝑡 , where xn is the position of the nth vehicle, t is the time lag of response to the stimulus, λ is the sensitivity, and the dots denote differentiation with respect to time t. nagel and schreckenberg developed a cellular automata model that dictates rules for traffic movements. these rules account for how vehicles accelerate with relation to each other and move along the roadway. the product of the model is a time vs. space (road) plot which tracks how dense traffic is at each point in the road during a time interval. this plot shows how congestion patterns can travel in both time and space (nagal & schreckenberg, 1992). a model put forth by indrei utilizes markov chains to construct a theoretical traffic system in a real space ℜ (indrei, 2006). an object located in a particular element (i, j) of the configuration matrix transitions to a new location in discrete time. each element of this matrix represents a position on the roadway. vehicle movements are defined as a transition where rows represent highway lanes and columns represent length of the highway segments: 𝑖, 𝑗 ⋈ 𝑓 𝑖 , 𝑗 + 𝜎 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 , the symbol ⋈ represents a natural join between elements of two matrices, a0 and a1. this relation describes how an object in the (i, j)th slot in a matrix a0 ∈ ℜ will end up in the (f(i), j + σ(object))th slot of another matrix a1 ∈ ℜ during one time step, where 𝜎 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 = 1,                  with  probability  𝑝   2,                  with  probability  𝑞 3, with  probability  𝑟 𝑝 + 𝑞 + 𝑟 = 1 and 𝑓: 𝑖 ↦ {𝑖, 𝑖 + 1, 𝑖 − 1}   mesoscopic models another category of traffic models, called mesoscopic or kinetic traffic models, examines vehicular movements as parts of a larger scale mechanism. headway distribution models focus on how much time passes between two successive vehicles. the time between vehicles (headway) is described by a random variable with either a single distribution or mix of different distributions. some of these distributions are normal, gamma, and exponential (zhang, wang, wei, & chen, 2007). cluster models are characterized by groups of vehicles that all exhibit the same property, such as velocity. this clustering effect may be due to how a roadway narrows to fewer lanes or other factors such as weather. the size of each cluster, which determines how vehicles will flow on a highway, is dynamic and can grow or diminish over time (hoogendoorn & bovy, 2001). the gas-kinetic model of traffic flow comes from statistical mechanics and models vehicles as particles in a traffic flow. prigogine and andrews developed this model based on the boltzmann-maxwell equation that models the velocity of ideal gas particles. the distribution of velocities f(x,v,t), where x is position on road, v is velocity, and t is time (prigogine & andrews, 1960). this distribution function is described as: 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑡 + 𝑣 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑥 = 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑡!"# + 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑡!"## where df/dtrel is the relaxation term (reflected by a desire to return to the ideal distribution) and df/dtcoll is the ‘collision’ term, which in this case refers to the interaction between vehicles ahead slowing down the ones behind. macroscopic models macroscopic models describe averaged quantities in traffic such as density, average velocity, and velocity variance. individual vehicles are not considered, but rather their aggregate behavior is examined in order to understand the overall traffic flow on a roadway. lighthill and whitham developed a theory that at any point of the road the flow q (vehicles per hour) is a function of the concentration k (vehicles per mile), and that the quantity in a small element of length (dk) changes at a rate equal to the difference between inflow and outflow (dq) (lighthill & whitham, 1955): 𝜕𝑘 𝜕𝑡 + 𝜕𝑞 𝜕𝑥 = 0   this partial differential equation describes a phenomenon from physics called a kinematic wave. the dynamics of these waves describe how traffic jams can occur at one point on a road and travel backwards through the traffic flow. a model built upon the lighthill/whitham model that uses a system of partial differential equations was proposed by harold j. payne and includes a convection, relaxation, and anticipation term in the system (hoogendoorn & bovy, 2001): 𝑉 𝑥 𝑡 + 𝑇 , 𝑡 + 𝑇 = 𝑉!(𝑟 𝑥 + 𝐷, 𝑡 ), where x(t) is the location of the vehicle at time t, v(x,t) is velocity at x and t, ve is the equilibrium velocity, r(x,t) is the density, t is reaction time and d is grossdistance headway with respect to the preceding vehicle. the equation describes how drivers will adjust their velocity to an equilibrium velocity, which is affected by the traffic density. the left and right sides of this equation can be expanded and combined to form a single equation: 𝜕!𝑉 + 𝑉𝜕!𝑉 = 𝑉! 𝑟 − 𝑉 𝑇 − 𝑐!! 𝑟 𝜕!𝑟, where c0 2 = ξ/t > 0 is the anticipation constant, and ξ = -dve/dr is the decrease in the equilibrium velocity with increasing density. other single and multi-equation models exist that extend the lighthill/whitham and payne models to particular situations (hoogendoorn & bovy, 2001). two methods for describing traffic flow outlined by sasaki and myojin involve the use of markov chains (sasaki & myojin, 1968). the first is the branching probability matrix method, in which the highway is divided into m sections. a volume of traffic over each section of highway is denoted xi , and a row vector of volumes can be constructed x = (x1, x2, … , xm). inflows and outflows are also denoted within a row vector; ui = inflow through ramp i (i = 1,2,3,…k), vj = outflow through ramp j (j = 1,2,3,…r), and k = the number of on-ramps and r = the number of off-ramps. the branching probability matrix is written in canonical form: 𝑃 = 𝐼 0 0 𝑅! 0 𝑄! 𝑅! 0 𝑄! where r1= the probability of an inflow from on-ramp i to off-ramp   r2= the branching probability of traffic flow from section i to off-ramp j q1= the probability of an inflow from on-ramp i to section j q2= the branching probability of traffic flow from section i to section j traffic flows over sections are given by: 𝑋 = 𝑢𝑄!(𝐼 − 𝑄!)!! and outflows through ramps are given by: 𝑣 = 𝑢 𝑅! + 𝑄!(𝐼 − 𝑄!)!!𝑅! the second method described by sasaki and myojin is the route matrix method. if we are given the distribution of trips between on-ramps and off-ramps, we can form a route matrix, which describes how a vehicle entering at on-ramp i will travel to off-ramp j. this will be an (r × m) matrix in which the entry rim is equal to 1 if the route from on-ramp i to off-ramp j includes section m, and equal to 0 otherwise. each on-ramp will have its own matrix ri. the trip distributions can be denoted by row vector pi = (pi1,pi2,…,pir), where pij = transition probability of a trip from on-ramp i to off-ramp j. the overall expected traffic flow over the traffic network is: 𝑄 = 𝑝!𝑅! 𝑝!𝑅! ⋮ 𝑝!𝑅! = 𝑄!" , (𝑘×𝑚) and gross actual traffic flow: 𝑋 = 𝑢𝑄 another article describes this process in detail and applies it to a hypothetical traffic network (crisostomi, kirkland, schlote, & shorten, 2010). the literature refers to this approach as the origin-destination (od) matrix method. the estimation of these matrices by various means is the subject of several articles (van zuylen & willumsen, 1980) (perrakis, karlis, cools, janssens, & wets, 2012) (youngblom, 2013). iii. model   the purpose of this model is to predict when and where heavy traffic is most likely to occur in a highway network. since the focus of this model is on particular segments of highway rather than individual vehicles or traffic flow, it would need to be macroscopic in its level of detail. sasaki and myojin’s model from the previous section provides a good foundation on which to build this model since their model’s level of focus is on highway segments. but we should first reexamine the situation we are trying to model. representing a highway system as a matrix a road network can be looked at as a system of exits connected by segments of highway that can be represented by a directed graph. the vertices of the graph represent exits and edges represent highway segments: for this example, there are 7 exits connected by highway segments. an adjacency matrix a can be formed to describe this system: 𝐀 = 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 a new matrix d representing the distance between exits in miles can be defined by inserting the distances between exits instead of 1s, replacing the 0s that represent unconnected exits with a very large number to simulate an infinite distance, and leaving the 0s in place for elements where i = j:   𝐃 = 0 3 ∞ 3 0 3 ∞ 3 0 ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ 2 ∞ 2 3 ∞ 4 5 ∞ ∞ ∞ 2 ∞ 2 3 ∞ 4 ∞ 5 ∞ ∞ 0 ∞ 2 ∞ 0 1 2 ∞ 1 ∞ 0 1 ∞ ∞ 1 0 the matrix d describes the relevant information about how the exits are connected to each other, but we also need to know how many lanes of traffic there are on each segment of highway. a matrix to describe the number of lanes between exits l is defined, where elements representing segments that are not connected are given a value of -1 as a placeholder (avoiding possible division by zero later in the model): 𝐋 = −1 2 −1 2 −1 2 −1 2 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 3 −1 2 3 −1 2 3 −1 −1 −1 2 −1 3 3 −1 2 −1 3 −1 −1 −1 −1 2 −1 −1 1 2 −1 1 −1 −1 3 −1 −1 3 −1 the two matrices d and l together describe all the important information about the geometry of the highway system. determining populations now that the road network is established, we can consider how vehicles travel on the system. assume that at any time t there are a particular number of vehicles in the area of each exit. these populations can be represented by a row vector q = (q1, q2, …, qm), where qi represents the population at exit i. so qt = (q1t, q2t, …, qmt) represents the populations at each exit at time t. for this model, time takes on discrete values of one-hour increments, so for each hour a new population must be determined. this new population consists of vehicles that came from another exit as well as vehicles that did not travel away from their exit. first, consider the vehicles that come from another exit. let the exit traveled from be ei and the exit traveled toward be ej. then there is a probability that a vehicle leaving ei goes to ej which can be expressed as pij. a matrix p can be formed from these probabilities:   𝐏 = 𝑝!,! 𝑝!,! ⋯ 𝑝!,! 𝑝!,! ⋱ ⋯ ⋮ ⋮ 𝑝!,! ⋮ ⋯ ⋱ ⋯ ⋮ 𝑝!,! this matrix represents a transition matrix that states the probabilities associated with traveling from exit i to exit j. each row of this matrix will be stochastic (sum to 1). another probability representing the relative volume of traffic on the highway network during a particular hour must also be defined. let v(t) be a function representing the relative volume of traffic using the network during time interval t, then the number of vehicles leaving any particular exit during time interval t is given by v(t)qi, and the total number of vehicles traveling to exit j is given by: 𝑣 𝑡 𝑞!𝑝!,! + 𝑣 𝑡 𝑞!𝑝!,! + 𝑣 𝑡 𝑞!𝑝!,! +  ⋯  + 𝑣 𝑡 𝑞!𝑝!,! = 𝑣(𝑡) 𝑞!𝑝!,! ! !!! the other portion of the new population consists of vehicles that did not leave their position. since the relative proportion of vehicles that did not travel during a time increment is the complement of the proportion that did travel, the number of vehicles remaining is the complementary probability times the number of vehicles at a particular destination exit, given by: [1 − 𝑣 𝑡 ]𝑞! combining these two expressions gives the new population for each exit: 𝑞(𝒕!𝟏)𝒊 = 𝑣 𝑡 𝑞!𝑝!,! ! !!! + [1 − 𝑣 𝑡 ]𝑞! this equation can be expressed using matrices and vectors that have already been defined: 𝐪𝒕!𝟏 = 𝑣 𝑡 𝐪𝒕 ∙ 𝐏 + 1 − 𝑣 𝑡 𝐪𝒕 this process of finding the next population is similar to using a markov chain, except that there is an extra term for the proportion of a population not participating in the transition process.   traffic density since the goal of this model is to predict where and when heavy traffic occurs, it is necessary to determine how many vehicles are traveling on each segment of the highway system during each time interval. in order to determine how many vehicles are traveling on a segment, we must determine which routes pass through each highway segment. a complication occurs at this point in the process since there are several ways to go from one exit to another. to simplify this, an assumption is made that vehicles will follow the shortest path between two exits. it can be argued that this assumption is not completely valid and that other ways to determine a path may yield a more precise model. this paper does not consider other path-determining methods (lim, balakrishnan, gifford, madden, & rus, 2011), yet nothing in the general framework of this model prohibits using other methods. an algorithm for finding the shortest paths on a graph between two vertices was developed by ew dijkstra and will be used in this model. the number of vehicles traveling on a particular route from exit i to exit j was determined above as v(t)qipi,j. this value can be determined for each origindestination pair and a matrix constructed from them: 𝐑 = 𝑣(𝑡)𝑞!𝑝!,! 𝑣(𝑡)𝑞!𝑝!,! ⋯ 𝑣(𝑡)𝑞!𝑝!,! 𝑣(𝑡)𝑞!𝑝!,! ⋱ ⋯ ⋮ ⋮ 𝑣(𝑡)𝑞!𝑝!,! ⋮ ⋯ ⋱ ⋯ ⋮ 𝑣(𝑡)𝑞!𝑝!,! = 𝑟!,! 𝑟!,! ⋯ 𝑟!,! 𝑟!,! ⋱ ⋯ ⋮ ⋮ 𝑟!,! ⋮ ⋯ ⋱ ⋯ ⋮ 𝑟!,! we can construct an (m × m) square matrix q where each row is q: 𝐐 = 𝑞! 𝑞! ⋯ 𝑞! 𝑞! 𝑞! ⋯ 𝑞! ⋮ 𝑞! ⋮ ⋯ ⋱ ⋯ ⋮ 𝑞! then the route matrix r can be rewritten using matrices: 𝐑 = 𝑣 𝑡 𝐏⊙ 𝐐𝐓 where the symbol ⊙ represents element by element multiplication of the matrices. the transpose of q is needed since each row of r is concerned with a single origin exit.   this matrix r shows how many vehicles are traveling on a particular route, but we are interested in how many vehicles are traveling on a particular segment of highway. this can be determined by taking the sum of all vehicles on all routes that pass through this segment. a matrix c can be constructed to count the total number of vehicles passing through each segment. an element of c can be described: 𝑐!,! = 𝑟!,! !!!!!!!!!!   , for  all  𝑟!,!  which  are  shown  to  pass  through  segment  (𝑖, 𝑗)   the routes rx,y that pass through segment (i, j) are determined by application of dijkstra’s algorithm (dijkstra, 1959) to the matrix d, which is the matrix that shows the distance between exits. from the example above: 𝑐!,! = 𝑟!,! + 𝑟!,! + 𝑟!,! + 𝑟!,! heavy traffic occurs in areas in which the traffic density passes above a certain limit, so it is necessary to determine the density for each section of highway. since the number of vehicles per hour traveling on a particular segment is given by ci,j, the density (vehicles per mile lane) can be determined from: 𝜌 = 𝑐!,! 𝑠 ∙ 𝑙!,! , where s is the average speed of vehicles in miles per hour and li,j is the number of lanes from the matrix l on segment (i, j). this density can be compared to typical densities that occur during heavy traffic to yield a prediction about what the traffic flow should be like on this segment. hypothetical example of the model going back to the example from above, let us define a population vector q = (2000,3000,2500,4000,5000,3500,4500). the matrix q is:   𝐐 =   20000 30000 25000 20000 30000 25000 20000 30000 25000 40000 50000 35000 40000 50000 35000 40000 50000 35000 45000 45000 45000 20000 30000 25000 20000 30000 25000 20000 20000 30000 30000 25000 25000 40000 50000 35000 40000 50000 35000 40000 40000 50000 50000 35000 35000 45000 45000 45000 45000 let us also declare p with equal probabilities that a vehicle will come from any exit, which means that p1,j = p2,j = p3,j … : 𝐏 = 0.1 0.15 0.15 0.1 0.15 0.15 0.1 0.15 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.05 0.2 0.25 0.05 0.2 0.25 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.15 0.15 0.1 0.15 0.15 0.1 0.1 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.05 0.2 0.25 0.05 0.2 0.2 0.25 0.25 0.05 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 and let v(t) = 0.1, then: 𝐑 = 200 300 300 300 450 450 250 375 375 400 500 100 600 750 150 500 625 125 200 300 250 400 600 600 500 750 750 350 450 525 675 525 675 800 1000 200 1000 1250 250 700 900 875 1125 175 225 400 500 350 450 so the number of vehicles traveling on highway section (6,7) during this hour is: 𝑐!,! = 250 + 400 + 400 + 350 = 1400 if the average speed is 65 miles per hour, then the density ρ(6,7) is: 𝜌!,! = 𝑐!,! 𝑠 ∙ 𝑙!,! = 1400  vehicles/hr 65!"#$% !" ∙ 3  lanes ≈ 7.179  vehicles/(mile ∙ lane) comparing this result to actual traffic densities would allow prediction of heavy traffic. notice that the only information needed besides the geometry of the road   system was number of vehicles around an exit, probability of destination, average speed, and relative traffic volume for the entire road system during the time interval. it is worth noting that individual traffic volume measurements on each segment are not needed in this model. if we are interested in what traffic density is like at the next time interval, the formula for qt+1 can be used: 𝐪𝒕!𝟏 = 𝑣 𝑡 𝐪𝒕 ∙ 𝐏 + 1 − 𝑣 𝑡 𝐪𝒕 = (2045, 3067, 2617.5, 4090, 5112.5, 3272.5, 4295) this vector can be used to find the densities during the next time interval. iv. application of model to the greater philadelphia region the highway system around the philadelphia region is commonly plagued by heavy traffic that can be difficult to anticipate. the model developed in this paper will now be applied to the philadelphia highway system. in order for the model to be applied, certain assumptions about the region must be made. the level of validity of these assumptions will affect the predictive value of the model, and are not absolute. assumptions in the model instead of looking at all of the hundreds of highway exits in the region, this analysis only looks at 46 strategically selected exits. the implicit assumption here is that only a certain number of exits need to be accounted for in order to get a reasonably accurate prediction, so long as they are chosen in such a way that the exits adequately cover the entire region being modeled. to determine the initial values for the population vector q, an assumption is made that the number of households (us census bureau, 2013) in an area is proportional to the number of vehicles in this area during the early morning hours (approximately 1am). the number of households within a 1 and 2 mile radius of each exit was obtained from census data. this data is used as the population at time = 1am. the rest of the populations are a result of the iterative process in the model, which evolves dynamically. the destination probabilities were derived from data about the number of workers in a given radius of each exit (us census bureau, 2013). during the hours of 5am to 10am, the proportion of workers in the area of an exit matches the probability that a vehicle will travel to this exit. this produces a transition matrix in which each column contains elements with the same probability. during the hours of 3pm to 4am, the values of the transition matrix switches to being   proportional to the number of households around an exit, which is what we assumed the initial population was. this should return the number of vehicles around an exit to the initial population at the end of each day. during the hours of 11am to 2pm, the transition matrix is assumed to be a combination of the other two transition matrices. so the average of these probabilities is used during the mid-day hours. the values of the v(t) function representing the relative volume of traffic using the network during time interval t was determined from past hourly traffic volumes (penndot, 2011). the average speed of vehicles on the highway is assumed to be 65 miles per hour. there are two problems with this assumption. first, every section of highway may not have an average speed of exactly 65 miles per hour. second, during heavy traffic, the average speed of vehicles will decrease. the first consideration will not drastically affect the model, since dividing by a slightly different value, say 70 miles per hour, will only reduce the density by a small percentage (7.1%). the second consideration has a greater possibility of affecting the results of the density. heavy traffic will decrease the average speed and density will rise. since detecting heavy traffic is the goal of this model, densities above the heavy traffic threshold will already be accounted for and an increase in density value will not change the categorical classification as heavy traffic. when applying the model to a real network, there will be highways that lead away from the network and do not connect to another exit. these lengths of highway should be considered when applying the model, since incoming traffic will affect densities. in order to account for these highways, exits were added at the end of these highway segments and given a starting population = 9999 and number of workers = 10000. these false exits provide a buffer to the road network to more realistically replicate traffic conditions at the edge of the network. also, these false exits provide a way to represent traffic coming into or leaving the highway network at the edges. data analysis four versions of this model were executed and analyzed. these versions are a result of manipulating the radius around exits in which population and number of workers were considered. to evaluate the models’ abilities to predict heavy traffic, the results of each model were compared to historical data (google maps, 2013). the highway capacity manual for 2010 describes levels of services, which relate the traffic densities to relative heaviness of traffic flow (transportation reseach board, 2011). the number of lanes on each highway segment was determined in order to calculate vehicle density (ito map, 2013). for this paper, levels of service of c (18 pc/mi/ln) or greater were considered heavy for the models based on populations within 1 mile of exits and levels of service d (26 pc/mi/ln) or   greater were considered heavy for models based on populations within 2 miles of exits. the positive predictive value (ppv) was determined for each hour between 7am and 7pm for each weekday. positive predictive value is obtained through application of bayes’ theorem. the goal is to determine the conditional probability that there will be heavy traffic, given that the model predicts heavy traffic. let h be the event that there is heavy traffic on a highway segment, then: ppv = p h    predict  h) =   p predict  h    h) ∙ p(h) p predict  h    h) ∙ p h + p predict  h    not  h) ∙ p(not  h) the positive predictive value is a measure of the true positive rate of heavy traffic compared to the total number of predicted heavy traffic areas. this value allows the models to be compared to each other and shows how likely their predictions are to be correct. the models will be referred to by the following for the rest of this paper: 1 miles population radius 2 mile population radius 1 mile workers radius model a model b 2 mile workers radius model c model d positive predictive value of models (pop, workers) model a (1,1) model b (2,1) model c (1,2) model d (2,2) overall 0.52086 0.42116 0.52319 0.41645 monday 0.38129 0.30717 0.36957 0.29934 tuesday 0.42446 0.35836 0.42029 0.34868 wednesday 0.56835 0.44369 0.55797 0.43421 thursday 0.58273 0.48805 0.60145 0.64748 friday 0.64748 0.50853 0.66667 0.51974 7am 0.3 0.44286 0.25714 0.4 8am 0.76923 0.65714 0.8 0.60869 9am 0.78333 0.71765 0.76364 0.67777 10am 0.31429 0.38824 0.31429 0.4125   11am 0.22 0.22857 0.22222 0.2125 12pm 0.3 0.2625 0.3 0.23333 1pm 0.28 0.24706 0.28 0.23333 2pm 0.32 0.29412 0.3 0.28421 3pm 0.6 0.55 0.62 0.56 4pm 0.76923 0.63077 0.76923 0.65385 5pm 0.78462 0.68889 0.78462 0.66207 6pm 0.6 0.58519 0.69231 0.59286 7pm 0.52086 0.42116 0.52319 0.41645 graphs of positive predictive value 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 a b c d pp v model overall positive predictive value   a comparison of the models indicates a greater sensitivity to the population radius than the workers radius. this is most clearly observed when evaluating the day-to-day change in ppv. in general, the predictive value was higher during times in which the relative traffic volumes were higher. models a and c performed well, 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday pp v day positive predictive value by day model a model b model c model d 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 pp v hour positive predictive value by hour model a model b model c model d   with overall ppvs of 0.52086 and 0.52319 respectively. both models considered populations within 1 mile. these models mostly performed better during times of heavier traffic, whereas all models performed about the same during non-peak hours. conclusion the model presented here can be applied to any urban highway traffic network provided that sufficient demographic data is available for the region being studied. this is an economic advantage over other modeling methods that need to collect and update traffic data to construct an origin-destination matrix. an evaluation of these other models’ predictive value may give insight into whether or not there is an advantage to using them. through the use of technology, vehicles are beginning to use an adaptive approach to route selection, which looks at current traffic conditions along with predicted conditions. vehicles can now automatically be notified of changing traffic while en route and adjust accordingly (dragoi & dobre, 2011). as traffic control technologies continue to advance, our ability to avoid traffic congestion will improve and possibly change our disposition towards navigating on urban highway systems. bibliography crisostomi, e., kirkland, s., schlote, a., & shorten, r. 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(2013, oct 20). longitudinal-employer household dynamics program. retrieved oct 20, 2013, from onthemap application: http://onthemap.ces.census.gov/ van zuylen, h. j., & willumsen, l. g. (1980). the most likely trip matrix estimated from traffic counts. transportation research part b: methodological , 14 (3), 281-293. velasco, r., & saayedra, p. (2008). macroscopic models in traffic flow. qualitative theory of dyanamical systerms , 7 (1), 237-252. youngblom, e. (2013). travel time in macroscopic traffic models for origindestination estimation. university of wisconsin-milwaukee . zhang, g., wang, y., wei, h., & chen, y. (2007). examining headway distribution models with urban freeway loop event data. transportation research record: journal of the transportation research board , 1999 (1), 141-149. microsoft word 2181 pegg 1 united states propaganda in iran and the cold war paradigm christopher pegg history during the cold war, the united states engaged in numerous clandestine interventions to overturn democratic political regimes for rulers that supported american interests. the cia, along with the british mi6 and iranians loyal to the shah, executed the inaugural intervention, “operation ajax,” in 1953. ajax was a coup d’état that removed democratically elected prime minister muhammad mossadeq. mossadeq represented iranian nationalism, as he collectivized the anglo-iranian oil company that was widely viewed as exploitative by iranians. the newly installed muhammad reza shah pahlavi was supportive of anglo-american interests. in the 1950s, the united states launched a propaganda program in iran that attempted to foster a belief among iranians in american goodwill toward the nation, and of the benefits of an alliance with the us. the historiography pertaining to the 1953 coup d’état in iran explores who was responsible for mossadeq’s ouster, why the u.s. intervened, and whether the 1979 islamic revolution in iran was a consequence of the coup. these works prominently use the foreign relations of the united states (frus) volumes, cia agent kermit roosevelt jr.’s officially approved 1979 book countercoup: the struggle for the control of iran, the declassified internal cia history the battle for iran, and numerous correspondences among the us, britain, and iran. zachary karabell’s 1999 book, architects of intervention, takes the position that the british were most instrumental in causing the coup by taking advantage of american fears that iran would fall into the soviet sphere, pushing the u.s. to act.i additionally, karabell asserts that iran was 2 divided in two camps, with one being the pro-western and autocratic shah and the other being mossadeq’s nationalist, democratic, and reformist faction. this dichotomy validates arguments that the islamic revolution was connected to the legacy of mossadeq, as it was the only alternative form of politics to the secular shah.ii mark gasiorowski is one of the most prominent scholars in this field. in the 2004 compilation, mohammad mosaddeq and the 1953 coup in iran, of which gasiorowski was one of the editors and a contributor, he argues that the united states instigated the coup because of their fear of communism in the context of the cold war.iii while gasiorowski acknowledges british and iranians as contributors, their capacity to effect change was limited.iv a different perspective is laid out in darioush bayandour’s 2010 book iran and the cia. this work maintains that iran’s internal dynamics were a greater factor in the coup than the cia or mi6, as both the shah supporting military and clerics had abandoned mossadeq.v additionally, this work argues that the islamic revolution was not an effect of the coup as iranians clerics had drifted to the right and rejected much of mossadeq’s program.vi one final historiographical work that warrants comment is ervand abrahamian’s 2013 book the coup. abrahamian argues that the coup was one of the primary forces behind the islamic revolution, and explicitly challenges gasiorowski for perpetuating the framework that the coup was a typical cold war incident where the u.s. intervened out of the fear that communism would spread to iran. this framework is flawed, according to abrahamian, as the coup was connected to a battle between imperialism and nationalism, with the u.s. acting imperially to perpetuate the flow of oil.vii in this essay, i use american correspondences about their propaganda in iran, along with cia intelligence, to show that the u.s. recognized that nationalism was distinct from communism, and that the former was viewed as the true threat to western interests in iran. this 3 validates historian ervand abrahamian’s aforementioned argument that the cold war paradigm is insufficient for interpreting u.s. and iranian relations in the early 1950s. american propaganda in iran was heavily discussed within the cia, state department, and u.s. embassy in iran. the sources prominently feature secretary of state dean acheson and embassy ambassador loy henderson. studying propaganda not only illuminates the shortcomings of the common policy critique that the u.s. conflated communism with nationalism when applied to america’s approach to iran, but also illuminates the role of orientalism in the u.s. government. as a supplemental argument, i show that primary sources regarding the propaganda program reveals that government officials had a contradictory relationship with orientalism. the u.s. clearly viewed iran under an orientalist framework, while simultaneously promoting propaganda that used historical knowledge of the connections between east and west to garner iranian support, despite the fact that such knowledge subverted orientalism. examining documents pertaining to propaganda from the state department and cia reveals that the united states recognized that iranian nationalism was a tremendous threat to its national interests. united states propaganda in iran was broad, using several different mediums to convince the population to have a more favorable view of america and britain. examples include anti-soviet articles in iranian magazines and anti-soviet newsreels disseminated in iranian theaters.viii the u.s. information and education exchange program (usie) was one propaganda entity of the government, which published an anti-ussr cultural magazine in farsi.ix anti-soviet propaganda was not intended solely to counter communism, but nationalism as well. this is because the ussr and pro-soviet tudeh party in iran appealed to nationalism, i.e. beliefs in political economic independence and resistance to foreign influence, to provoke instability and gain support from those who were not communist partisans, respectively. 4 therefore, anti-communist propaganda by the u.s. was not strictly intended to stop the spread of communism, but rather to thwart soviet propaganda that undermined u.s. interests by speaking to the concerns of iranian nationalists. iranian nationalism threatened u.s. security interests in the context of the cold war, as british access to iranian oil was crucial in the event of total war with the ussr, as was the logistical advantage of having american military bases in the region. the u.s. embassy in iran created libraries and reading rooms that sought to cultivate positive views of the west.x additionally, the u.s. embassy disseminated books and pamphlets on contemporary history, politics, philosophy, and social science that presented the west favorably.xi these american textual productions targeted both literate, urban professionals and the rural population through direct financial aid to improve their livelihood and thus create a positive image of the us.xii the u.s. recognized that communism was not an imminent, and at times even a plausible threat, to take hold in iran. cia intelligence during the 1950s reveals that there was knowledge available to the u.s. government showing that the ussr was at most a limited threat to gain power. a 1950 cia document that discussed the possibility of soviet aggression in iran concluded that the ussr was very unlikely to launch a ground invasion, but they were interested in subverting the iranian government through propaganda and other means. the document maintained that for four years, soviets had chosen to avoid invading iran, despite border conflicts providing a pretense for war, which suggested they would maintain a focus on disrupting iran’s internal stability.xiii the following year, the cia was even less concerned about the prospect of a powerful communist movement in iran. an intelligence report from the cia in march of 1951 informed the u.s. government that the communist, pro-soviet tudeh party was illegal in iran, and that the oil crisis would not 5 provide them with an opportunity to even disrupt the government, let alone gain control of it.xiv in the event of a tudeh uprising, the cia was confident that the army would remain loyal to the iranian government. in january of 1952, the cia made it clear that tudeh had both supported and attacked prime minister mossadeq, which showed american officials that mossadeq was not a puppet for tudeh or the soviets.xv however, the cia did acknowledge the “possibility” of tudeh to seize power or of soviet intervention, but only if the british prolonged the crisis by being “unyielding,” or if there was a sudden event like the shah’s assassination.xvi but such an occurrence was not an imminent threat, according to the cia, and could have been avoided by the british finding a way to assuage the nationalist movement by coming to an agreement regarding the oil conflict. this shows that the u.s. did not mistake communism for nationalism, but believed the nationalist movement in iran could create instability that opened opportunities for communism. therefore, cia intelligence emphasized countering iranian nationalism through anti-communist propaganda. in march of 1952, the cia warned that communist propaganda depicted “u.s. imperialism” by presenting the actions of the international bank and nato as exploitative.xvii these documents reveal that anti-communist propaganda was central to the fight against a potent iranian nationalism even more so than it was intended to undermine soviet influence and the spread of communism. in january of 1952, ambassador loy henderson wrote a telegram from the embassy in iran to the state department informing that muhammad mossadeq was closing us, british, and soviet cultural and informational offices.xviii since soviet, communist offices were not spared from being closed, henderson showed the state department that mossadeq's regime should be understood as nationalist in opposing all foreign elements, including communist ones. in a subsequent telegram from henderson to secretary of state acheson, he cited iranian minister 6 kazemi who said that some foreign cultural centers “engaged in activities contrary to [the] interests [of] iran.”xix in these exchanges, henderson recognized the threat of nationalism to american interests and communicated his recognition to the state department. an april 1952 report from the national security council warned that nationalism was rampant among urban radicals, and urged the u.s. to produce anti-communist propaganda to counter that of the soviets, which undermined american influence by appealing to nationalism. the document stated that “urban political groups have a radical solution: the total elimination of visible foreign power.”xx the document also noted that nationalism was solidified by the widespread recognition of u.s. ties to the uk, which was a contention supported by communist propaganda that presented the u.s. as exploitative.xxi the observation that communist propaganda was detrimental to u.s. interests by stoking nationalist sentiments more so than by improving the position of tudeh or the ussr is a recurring theme in sources pertaining to the propaganda battle. nationalism in iran was not confined to the urban population, and propaganda efforts were directed at the countryside, as well. in 1951, ambassador wells wrote to the state department that anti-communist propaganda was ineffective with the rural population, as “the lot of the rural population is a miserable one and the people feel that their condition could not be any worse under any government. therefore, they are not at all impressed or even interested in out and out anti-soviet propaganda.”xxii instead, wells promoted foreign aid to improve the daily lives of rural iranians. it was crucial for the aid to be connected to the u.s. and seen as voluntarily accepted by the iranian government.xxiii improving people’s welfare would serve as propaganda to show the benefits of a relationship with the us, contrary to nationalist views of the u.s. as exploitative, which soviet propaganda disseminated. also, promoting an 7 economically stable society could prevent rural people from seeking political alternatives like the tudeh or nationalism. secretary of state acheson and ambassador loy henderson both argued that propaganda efforts were necessary to challenge iranian nationalist critiques of the us. in july of 1952, secretary acheson wrote a telegram to henderson in the american embassy in iran that requested their media influence should emphasize that the u.s. had no interest in the outcome of the oil crisis, which would have contradicted communist propaganda that presented the u.s. as an imperial entity.xxiv in his returning telegram, henderson noted that the u.s. would ramp up voice of america airtime to compete with the kremlin’s use of the radio as a means of propaganda. american propaganda, as henderson prescribed, would speak to iranian nationalist ideals by showing “u.s. interest in aspirations of iranian common man towards a higher standard of living,” that ties with the west would be most profitable for iran, and that the u.s. was interested in “iranian security and independence.”xxv this exchange demonstrates that the u.s. was not mistaking nationalism for communism, but recognized that communist propaganda spoke to iranian nationalists and was a thorn for american national interests. a march 3, 1953 commentary on tudeh’s position in iran is revealing of the complex relationship among nationalism, communism, and mossadeq within the intelligence community. the document reveals that the tudeh party was not interested in gaining power within the iranian government, as it was previously believed in the cia. the report stated, “current tudeh attempts to exploit the confused situation in iran suggest that the communists are not ready for an all-out assault on the government, but believe that mossadeq’s continuation in power will best serve their interest in what they regard as a ‘maturing revolutionary situation.’”xxvi this conclusion that tudeh would not attempt to take over the government because they saw 8 mossadeq’s rule as conducive to their long-term interests was complemented by the position that, “the diverse nature and conflicting interest of the forces opposing mossadeq would undermine any government brought to power by his defeat and would presumably present the tudeh with a new chance to further its aim of obtaining control of the government.”xxvii this position of the cia shows concerns that mossadeq’s ouster could actually improve the position of tudeh, and therefore the ussr, to gain control in iran. such a view undermines simplistic interpretations of the coup against mossadeq as an effort to weaken communist influence. united states propaganda in iran was much more easily promulgated with the support of shah pahlavi and prime minister zahedi after the successful coup d’état. in september of 1953, theodore c. streibert of the state department wrote a telegram to the u.s. embassy in iran stating that propaganda efforts with the newly installed iranian government should focus on assuaging nationalist concerns about american imperialism. streibert advised that voice of america and other entities should emphasize “allaying iranian distrust of ‘outsiders’ (u.s. in this case) by repeating and reiterating sole interest u.s. in iran is in free, independent, strengthened iran capable taking her place in community free nations [sic].”xxviii such an emphasis countered nationalist arguments that the u.s. sought domination like other western imperialists. in the same telegram, streibert recognized that the u.s. needed to present itself as supportive of the program advocated by iranian nationalists. towards this end, propaganda outlets released positive statements about iran harnessing their own natural resources.xxix additionally, edward c. wells wrote a cable from the u.s. embassy in iran to the usis in response to streibert’s recommendations stating that they would also focus propaganda toward showing that iranian leaders and the public voluntarily chose an alliance with the u.s. to meet their national interests.xxx both of these documents reveal that american officials recognized the 9 enduring strength of iranian nationalism after the coup, and attempted to present the u.s. as supportive of iranians’ ideals for autonomy. post-coup u.s. propaganda that was anti-communist and anti-soviet was intertwined with countering iranian nationalism, as it was prior to the coup. in a memo from edward c. wells to the united states information agency, he noted that the u.s. needed to challenge communist activities that labeled u.s. policies in iran as “economic imperialism,” which resonated with iranian nationalists due to the conflict with britain.xxxi to counter communist charges, wells argued that local presses and radio stations should show that u.s. aid had numerous concrete accomplishments and therefore should not be misconstrued as economically imperialist.xxxii this example shows that anti-communist propaganda was tied to countering nationalism because the ussr promulgated nationalist sentiments to undermine the u.s. and the west. the arguments that wells made were consistent with the national security council’s 1954 report on u.s. objectives and policies in the near east. this document stated that anti-british and anti-french nationalism was a potent force, which threatened u.s. interests through american ties with europe.xxxiii like wells suggested, the nsc emphasized economic aid as a propaganda tool to counter anti-americanism.xxxiv to summarize, the cia, state department, and iranian embassy records reveal that there was widespread recognition that the nationalist movement in iran was the paramount concern for officials. between 1950 and 1953, the risk of soviet intervention or influence, or of tudeh making a power grab, was not an imminent danger. according to documents pertaining to propaganda, the imminent danger in iran was nationalist policies, not a communist take over. nationalist policies and beliefs undermined british access to petroleum, america’s ability to establish military bases, and made suspect foreign presence in iran by the us, western europe, 10 and the ussr. cia intelligence between 1950 and 1953 maintained that nationalism in iran was a powerful force, and that communist propaganda from the ussr was effective in critiquing anglo-america as imperialists. these views were shared by the state department and the u.s. embassy in iran, and they advocated numerous forms of anti-communist propaganda to challenge its critique of western exploitation that appealed to nationalists by articulating the benefits of a relationship with anglo-america. another revealing aspect of propaganda documents is the complex relationship between the american government and ideas of orientalism. the concept “orientalism” has been prominent in scholarship in middle east studies since edward said’s 1979 book of the same name. in said’s work, he defined orientalism as a body of knowledge developed by european intellectuals that was conducive to colonizing the middle east. this body of knowledge argued that people from the “east” were essentially different from europeans of the “west.” east and west were defined as cohesive cultural entities in orientalism, with their respective people possessing opposite qualities. prominent western qualities included rationality and the concomitant capacity for self-rule, while eastern qualities included irrationality, emotionalism, and a backwards or traditional outlook that prevented their historical progress and self-rule. therefore, the east’s inability to govern themselves with stability justified western intervention. during the cold war, orientalist ideas pervaded american governmental documents discussing propaganda efforts to guide iran toward a relationship with the u.s. and britain. however, the primary sources reveal that the u.s. was aware of the limitations of orientalist ideas in pursuing national interests through propaganda. american propaganda in iran often presented the east and west as having shared values and historical connections that undermined the central orientalist premise of essential differences between peoples. 11 united states government documents also have information pertaining to intellectual history and orientalism. many scholars, most notably ervand abrahamian have noted that american officials had an orientalist view of iran, like the rest of the middle east, during the cold war.xxxv such an outlook considered people in the middle east as inherently different from the west, due to qualities like irrationality and emotionalism. one prominent example of orientalism in the american government is in loy henderson’s 1951 telegram to the state department pertaining to voice of america (voa) propaganda. henderson emphasized that voa propaganda would present the u.s. as sympathetic to iranian’s aspirations, but their actions during the oil crisis prevented americans from offering aid because they were “swept by emotions” and taking “somewhat rash actions and rather unreasoning attitude.”xxxvi another orientalist perspective was prominently espoused in a 1952 state department memo about useful propaganda measures in the muslim world. it is important to note that the document often conflates “arab” with muslim, and does not delineate distinctions among arabs, iranians, and turks, so many of the passages that discuss “arabs” are applicable to iranians. this 1952 document encapsulated an orientalist view in the passage, stating, “we should be careful to see, in tailoring our cultural program, that it fits the point of view of the arabs and that it is suited to their outlook and susceptibility and not what we project upon them… the arab thinks of himself as a member of a group, or as a whole as a religious or social group… and so we have to keep that in mind when we are sending our material out into the area and we don’t make the mistake of treating the arab as if he were an american.”xxxvii this passage presents people from the middle east as different by having a “collective” mentality that prevents them from being receptive to arguments and propaganda that would appeal to americans. additionally, this state department document feared that ussr propaganda was effective 12 because people from the middle east are emotional, and do not reason with logic.xxxviii loy henderson prepared a dispatch for the state department that discussed an editorial prepared for the new york times, time, and newsweek about mossadeq’s policies. this editorial article presented mossadeq in orientalist terms as “wily,” and reckless in destroying the iranian economy through an embargo with the british. similar distinctions between people from the east and west are apparent in cia records. american orientalism is evident in the 1953 document, the battle for iran. this work was an internal history of, and for, the cia, written by dr. donald wilber and released three times (1981, 2011, 2014) to the public with varying excisions. one example of orientalism in this cia history is its discussion of iranian people as tending to be “talkative” and its depiction of mossadeq’s actions as “bizarre and irrational.”xxxix however, this work’s description of mossadeq’s irrationality also pays such methods compliment as being “calculated” towards nationalist ends.xl this example is illustrative of the complex relationship between orientalism and american policies in iran. the u.s. was able to view mossadeq as both irrational and calculating, and was similarly able to view iranians as essentially different, all the while promulgating their sameness with america and the west in propaganda. american propaganda in iran presented connections between the middle east, islamic culture, and the west. such propaganda is notable for historians because an emphasis on similarities among iran, the us, and britain contradicts the orientalist view of essential differences between the east and west, prominent in official documents. one particular program promoted by the state department in 1952 emphasized avicenna as exemplifying the connections between the east and west. aware that iran was celebrating the one thousandth anniversary of avicenna, the u.s. wanted to produce materials that showed how avicenna 13 influenced european and western intellectual history.xli this is noteworthy, because critiques of orientalism during the cold war, usually discoverable in area studies programs, deny the connections between middle eastern and european history. denying historical interaction is conducive to the argument that military, economic, and political strength in the u.s. and europe was a product of their inherent cultural ability, and therefore people from the middle east were not contributors to western growth and progress.xlii so while u.s. sources do discuss iranians, along with the rest of the middle east, in orientalist terms as irrational or different, the propaganda effort interestingly uses historical knowledge that subverts orientalist views by showing past connections between the east and west. additionally, the propaganda that made use of avicenna was a challenge to soviet attempts to emphasize avicenna as an uzbek, with ties to russian history. this program was intended to depict russian cultural affinity with iran, much like the u.s. was doing.xliii the state department also helped publish an article in the “times on sunday” about the american friends of the middle east organization that was offering a fellowship to travel to the holy land for whomever wrote the best essay for the topic, “the impact of islam on christianity.”xliv this essay contest, like propaganda using the figure of avicenna, showed that the east and west were not essentially different, but influenced each other, which contradicted the orientalist perspectives found in internal government documents. another example of american propaganda that stressed iran’s cultural affinity with the u.s. was the “voices of god” brochure. loy henderson discussed the brochure in a 1953 dispatch to the state department. the brochure had a mosque on its cover, and was filled with illustrative quotations from the koran, the persian poet hafez, jesus christ, and abraham lincoln, among others.xlv such a juxtaposition presented figures central to islamic and iranian history as having a shared message with individuals who are at the core of u.s. and european 14 history. by including religious figures, the brochure also depicted the u.s. and iran as connected through their difference from the ussr and their state atheism. an orientalist perspective of iranians is evident when reading the cia and state department records. government exchanges that discussed effective means of propaganda accepted orientalist premises that iranians were irrational and easily swayed by emotions. defining iranians in such a way suggested to americans that the situation in iran was exceptionally precarious, as the people were susceptible to soviet propaganda that evoked nationalist passions, which would undermine u.s. interests. however, declassified documents also reveal that u.s. propaganda relied on arguments that actually undermined orientalist ideas by showing commonalities between the west and iran. american propaganda in iran promulgated the historical knowledge that the abbasid caliphate shaped western intellectual history as exemplified by the figure of avicenna, highlighted shared values by religious and historical individuals as in the “voices of god” brochure, and emphasized shared cultural incompatibility with state atheism. in conclusion, a study of american propaganda in iran provides valuable insights into government perceptions of the nation. one common critique of u.s. cold war policies, and of its interventions in particular, is that the u.s. government conflated nationalist movements with doctrinaire communist revolutions that were neither connected to the ussr or destined to result in a fruitful alliance with the soviets. examining propaganda documents pertaining to iran between 1950-1954 reveals that such a critique of american policy does not always neatly apply. the cia and state department were fully aware of widespread iranian hostility toward the ussr due to its past colonial presence. with this awareness, u.s. government officials like loy henderson noted a distinction between nationalism and communism, most prominently 15 manifested in the tudeh party. u.s. intelligence generally recognized that tudeh and the soviets had little chance of taking control over the government. however, iranian nationalism represented a tremendous threat to the u.s. largely because oil collectivization would cut off britain, making america’s key cold war ally economically and militarily weaker. despite communism being less than an imminent threat, the u.s. was deeply concerned about soviet propaganda that spoke to nationalists by critiquing anglo-america as economically imperialist. therefore, anti-soviet propaganda by the u.s. was not aimed so much at thwarting communism, but nationalism. american propaganda in iran constituted textual productions like brochures and pamphlets, radio, financial aid, and other means. propaganda was broadly directed at both the urban and rural population, reflecting u.s. recognition of how widespread iranian nationalism was. to challenge nationalism, which attacked the idea that a relationship with the u.s. and britain could be equal and beneficial, the u.s. embassy in iran and state department produced propaganda that asserted western cultural affinities and historical connections with iran. such propaganda is particularly noteworthy because its underlying arguments undermined orientalist ideas that premised perceptions of iran within the u.s. government. state, embassy, and intelligence records show that iranians and mossadeq were viewed as lacking reason and being overly emotional in their actions, which was antithetical to western and american qualities. yet, american propaganda reveals that there must have been knowledge that such orientalist ideas were flawed, because u.s. officials used evidence of historical commonalities and connections with iran to further their national interests. analysis of american propaganda is a valuable lens through which scholars can discern u.s. perceptions of iranians’ actions, recognition of the threat of nationalism, and means of 16 influencing a foreign population. the state department, cia, and american embassy all recognized that nationalism was distinct from communism and was the primary threat to u.s. interests in iran. an interesting question for future scholarship to explore is how pervasive was the view that nationalism was a greater threat than communism in iran within the eisenhower administration and his inner circle? also, were there comparable regions where the u.s. recognized that nationalism was not identical to communism, contradicting the cold war paradigm? another topic that studying american propaganda raises is the influence and acceptance of orientalism as a body of knowledge within the u.s. government. as shown in this essay, american officials held many orientalist premises that were contradicted by the knowledge at the root of their propaganda efforts. this raises questions of how significant orientalism was to u.s. policymakers, and whether or not “on the ground” realities altered americans’ acceptance of orientalist ideas in iran and the greater middle east. 17 endnotes i zachary karabell, architects of intervention: the united states, the third world, and the cold war, 1946-1962, baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 1999, 61, 73. ii ibid., 62. iii mark j. gasiorowski, "the 1953 coup d'etat against mosaddeq," in mark j. gasiorowski and malcolm byrne, eds. mohammed mosaddeq and the 1953 coup in iran, syracuse: syracuse university press, 2004, 261. iv ibid., 262. v darioush bayandor, iran and the cia: the fall of mosaddeq revisited, new york: palgrave macmillan, 2010, 155. vi ibid., 175. vii ervand abrahamian, the coup: 1953, the cia, and the roots of modern u.s. iranian relations, new york: the new press, 2013, 3-4. viii loy henderson to the department of state, 29 may 1953, national security archive, document 96 (hereafter cited as nsa), 3-6, and burton berry to the department of state, 13 january 1954, nsa, document 118, 2-5. accessed online at http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsaebb/nsaebb78/docs.htm. ix loy henderson to the department of state, 2 may 1952, nsa, document 61, 1-2. x loy henderson to the department of state, 29 may 1953, nsa, document 96, 4-5. xi edward c. wells to the department of state, 12 january 1951, nsa, document 16, 3-6. xii loy henderson to the department of state, 6 september 1952, nsa, document 71, 1. 18 xiii “possibility of soviet aggression against iran,” 27 july 1950, united states: cia, u.s. declassified documents online, gale, 2-4. accessed online at http://gdc.galegroup.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/gdc/artemis?p=usdd&u=vill_main. xiv “the current crisis in iran,” 16 march 1951, united states: cia, u.s. declassified documents online, gale, 1. xv “probable developments in iran through 1953,” 13 november 1952, united states: cia, u.s. declassified documents online, gale, 6. xvi ibid., 2. xvii “communist activities in iran,” 15 februaury-5 march 1952, united states: department of state, u.s. declassified documents online, gale, 1. xviii loy henderson to the department of state, 30 january 1952, nsa, document 49, 1. xix loy henderson to the department of state, 3 february 1952, nsa, document 51, 1. xx "united states objectives and policies with respect to the arab states and israel," 7 april 1952, nsa, document 59, 4. xxi ibid., 14. xxii 106, 3. xxiii ibid. xxiv dean acheson to the united states embassy in iran, 28 july 1952, nsa, document 69, 1. xxv loy henderson to the department of state, 6 september 1952, nsa, document 71, 1. xxvi “comment on tudeh position in current iranian situation,” 3 march 1953, united states: cia, u.s. declassified documents online, gale, 1. xxvii ibid. xxviii theodore c. streibert to the united states embassy in iran, 11 september 1953, nsa, 19 document 107, 1. xxix ibid. xxx edward c. wells to the united states information agency, 15 september 1953, nsa, document 108, 1. xxxi edward c. wells to the united states information agency, 19 september 1953, nsa, document 109, 1. xxxii ibid., 2. xxxiii "united states objectives and policies with respect to the near east," 23 july 1954, nsa, document 127, 1. xxxiv ibid., 8. xxxv ervand abrahamian, “the 1953 coup in iran,” science and society 65, no. 2, (summer, 2001): 193. xxxvi loy henderson to the department of state, 21 november 1951, nsa, document 41, 1. xxxvii "working group on special materials for arab and other moslem countries," 1 april 1952, nsa, document 58, 6. xxxviii ibid., 26. xxxix ibid. xl ibid. xli ibid., 22. xlii cf. harry harootunian, “tracking in dinosaur: area studies in a time of ‘globalism’,” in harootunian, history’s disquiet: modernity, cultural practice, and the question of everyday life, new york: columbia university pres, 2000, 28-29. xliii "working group on special materials for arab and other moslem countries," 1 april 1952, 20 nsa, document 58, 22. xliv ibid., 27. xlv loy henderson to the department of state, 29 may 1953, nsa, document 96, 5. 21 bibliography primary sources gale, u.s. declassified documents online “possibility of soviet aggression against iran.” 27 july 1950. united states: cia. u.s. declassified documents online, gale. accessed online at http://gdc.galegroup.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/gdc/artemis?p=usdd&u=vill_main. “the current crisis in iran.” 16 march 1951. united states: cia. u.s. declassified documents online, gale. “probable developments in iran through 1953.” 13 november 1952. united states: cia, u.s. declassified documents online, gale. “communist activities in iran.” 15 februaury-5 march 1952. united states: department of state. u.s. declassified documents online, gale. “comment on tudeh position in current iranian situation.” 3 march 1953. united states: cia. u.s. declassified documents online, gale. national security archive edward c. wells to the department of state. 12 january 1951. national security archive, document 16. (hereafter cited as nsa). accessed online at http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsaebb/nsaebb78/docs.htm. loy henderson to the department of state. 21 november 1951. nsa, document, 41. loy henderson to the department of state. 30 january 1952. nsa, document 49. loy henderson to the department of state. 3 february 1952. nsa, document 51. "working group on special materials for arab and other moslem countries." 1 april 1952. 22 nsa, document 58. "united states objectives and policies with respect to the arab states and israel." 7 april 1952. nsa, document 59. loy henderson to the department of state. 2 may 1952. nsa, document 61. dean acheson to the united states embassy in iran. 28 july 1952. nsa, document 69. loy henderson to the department of state. 6 september 1952. nsa, document 71. loy henderson to the department of state. 29 may 1953. nsa, document 96. edward c. wells to the united states information agency. 2 september 1953. nsa, document 106. theodore c. streibert to the united states embassy in iran. 11 september 1953. nsa, document 107. edward c. wells to the united states information agency. 15 september 1953. nsa, document 108. edward c. wells to the united states information agency. 19 september 1953. nsa, document 109. burton berry to the department of state. 13 january 1954. nsa, document 118. "united states objectives and policies with respect to the near east." 23 july 1954. nsa, document 127. secondary sources abrahamian, ervand. “the 1953 coup in iran.” science and society 65, no. 2, (summer, 2001): 182-215. ervand abrahamian. the coup: 1953, the cia, and the roots of modern u.s. iranian relations. new york: the new press, 2013. 23 darioush bayandor. iran and the cia: the fall of mosaddeq revisited. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2010. mark j. gasiorowski. "the 1953 coup d'etat against mosaddeq." in mark j. gasiorowski and malcolm byrne, eds. mohammed mosaddeq and the 1953 coup in iran. syracuse: syracuse university press, 2004. harry harootunian. “tracking in dinosaur: area studies in a time of ‘globalism.’” in harootunian. history’s disquiet: modernity, cultural practice, and the question of everyday life. new york: columbia university pres, 2000. zachary karabell. architects of intervention: the united states, the third world, and the cold war, 1946-1962. baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 1999. mark w eschatological temporality, or: ‘bergson and the reign of theos’ mark william westmoreland theology and religious studies eschatology confronts us with a long list of problems. clearly, the issue of temporality is one of these. how are we to conceive of time in the eschaton? how can we reconcile the biblical witness and church tradition with various philosophical accounts of temporality? this paper will demonstrate how henri bergson‟s philosophical notion of duration is applicable to theological discourse. i will accomplish this by (1) placing bergson within the theological and philosophical tradition of augustine and kant, (2) comparing bergson to two of his contemporaries, bertrand russell and albert einstein, and (3) by describing bergson‟s notion of duration. throughout the paper, one will find mention of the phrases “the kingdom of heaven”/“the reign of god” and a discussion of how this may be understood in light of bergson‟s theory. in conclusion, we will see that bergson‟s duration offers a remedy to many of the ambiguities surrounding temporality and the eschaton. we often symbolize time as an hourglass or clock. “it is not easy,” writes bergson, “to escape the image of the hour-glass.” 1 the common way people conceive of time is by spatializing it. 2 in doing so, we lose sight of what time actually is. this becomes highly problematic for theological discussions of eternal life. i think it would be safe to claim that heaven is not merely “a really long time.” for bergson, “real duration is what we have always called time.” 3 later, the notion of duration will be discussed at length. for now, let us focus on the common way of conceiving time. in time and free will, bergson states, “the time which the astronomer [or physicist or mathematician] introduces into his formulae, the time which our clocks divide into equal portions, this time, at least, is something 1 henri bergson, creative evolution, translated by arthur mitchell (new york: henry holt and company, 1913), 18. 2 the phrase “the common way” of understanding temporality is used throughout this essay to denote the spatializing of time that is commonly accepted. typically, individuals understand time as a logical entity mathematically represented by the hands on a clock. 3 henri bergson, “the perception of change,” in the creative mind: an introduction to metaphysics, translated by mabelle l. andison (new york: citadel press, 2002), 149. different [from real duration].” 4 the common way one thinks of time is as movement over space, e.g., the movement of the earth around the sun or the hands on a clock. zeno and the eleatic philosophers found this to be a paradox. zeno considered a scenario in which achilles and a tortoise run a race in which the tortoise is given a head start. of course, one‟s experience would testify to the fact that achilles, or any able human person, would inevitably catch up and surpass the tortoise. if time is a series of instants/presents/nows, then how can achilles ever catch up to win? numerical (clock) time cannot account for this. zeno‟s point is that achilles would never reach the tortoise. each step taken by the tortoise is one more ahead of achilles. it is by confusing time with space that we arrive at zeno‟s paradox. in bergson‟s corrective to this, we also find a creative way in which we can understand the nature of reality and existence. this creative way, bergson‟s account of duration, may help us understand temporality in the eschaton. first, let us turn to two of bergson‟s historical predecessors. augustine in confessions xi, augustine raises the question of temporality in relation to creation. he first describes god as uniquely different from all created entities, which are in time. he writes, “it is not in time that you are before all time: otherwise you would not be before all time.” 5 there was no time before god created the world. god exists in “ever-present eternity.” claiming that time was established synchronically with the material world, augustine asserts that temporality is characteristic of creation and not of the divine. he then raises the more difficult question of what time actually is: “if nothing passed there would be no past time; if nothing were approaching, there would be no future time; if nothing were, there would be no present time.” 6 how can one conceive of the past and future as real if neither exist in the present? the past is no longer now and future has not yet come to be now. even the present fades into the past and is directed toward non-existence. true to the human experience, augustine admits that one may speak of past and future in terms of duration—the central focus of bergson‟s concept of time—but not the present, which is always instantaneous as a discrete moment. yet, if past and future do not exist in themselves, where can they be said to exist? augustine reconciles the existence of past, present, and future by placing all three times within the present. each time exists only in the present as “a present of 4 henri bergson, time and free will: an essay on the immediate data of consciousness, translated by f.l. pogson (mineola: dover publications, inc., 2001), 107. 5 augustine, confessions, translated by f.j. sneed. introduced by peter brown (indianapolis: hackett publishing company, inc., 1993), xi.xiii, 218. 6 ibid., xi.xiv, 219. things past, a present of things present, [and] a present of things future.” 7 on the one hand, we attempt to measure the “length” of time. on the other, we cannot measure that which no longer exists or that which is not yet. the aporia of time is corrected in two stages. one, time is not the movement of entities over an extended space and, therefore, refuses to be measured empirically. two, time is a mental construction experienced in the present and the measurement of time is rather the measurement of impressions of things passing through the mind in the present. the latter point is an important contribution to the development of philosophical accounts of time as a mental construct or intuition, e.g., as found in kant‟s account of temporality. kant like augustine, kant places temporality within human consciousness. this, of course, is done with modification. in the critique of pure reason, kant claims that time “is not an empirical conception” nor is it a “discursive or, as it is called, general conception, but a pure form of the sensuous intuition.” 8 time is the necessary condition for the possibility of experience. his exposition of time accomplishes two objectives—one negative and the other positive. kant wants to distance himself from newtonian and leibnizian views of time. both understand one‟s knowledge of time to depend upon one‟s experience of external entities. while both newton and leibniz assert that time itself is independent of the human perceiver, newtonian time has no observable properties in itself and leibnizian time is merely one type of relation between entities. kant rejects both views on the grounds that they propose time to be real in itself and fail to account for the a priori conditions for experience. kant‟s positive description of time describes time as “a necessary representation, lying at the foundation of all our intuitions.” 9 in other words, time is a pure intuition that is a necessary condition for the possibility of experience. time is not found solely within a particular experience; rather, it is already in the mind of the perceiver prior to any such experience. it is that which allows for any experience to be existentially possible. time is already presupposed in an experience in order to allow for one to grasp relations such as “at the same time” or “succeeding in time.” from his exposition, kant draws the following three conclusions: 7 ibid., confessions, xi. xx, 223. 8 immanuel kant, critique of pure reason, translated by j.m.d. meiklejohn (amherst: prometheus books, 1990), 28. 9 ibid., 28. 1. time is not something which subsists in itself, or which inheres in things as an objective determination, and therefore remains, when abstraction is made of the subjective conditions of the intuition of things. 2. time is nothing else than the form of the internal sense, that is, of the intuitions of self and of our internal state. for time cannot be any determination of outward phenomena. 3. time is the formal condition a priori of all phenomena whatsoever. 10 kant‟s conclusions reveal an interpretation of time as a subjective and formal condition for human experience. consequently, it would be faulty to describe entities as “being in time” since transcendentally ideal time is not real in itself or a quality of things independent of human consciousness. the reader should note, for our present purpose, that both augustine and kant characterize time in relation to human consciousness. according to them, time is not an entity itself nor is it reducible to the level of physical properties. it cannot be reduced to space, which is the common way of understanding time, i.e., the movement of objects traversing space from one point to another. it fails to understand the reality of relativity as given in physics, the evolutionary development of the world, and the human experience of change. two of bergson’s contemporaries in the early twentieth century, proponents of non-spatial accounts of time understood temporality in light of either logical positivism and mathematics or quantum physics. bertrand russell, one of the leading positivists and mathematicians of the time, claimed that change “over time” can only be understood objectively through mathematics. continuity cannot be thought metaphysically but only logically. in our knowledge of the external world, russell claims that change is “instants without duration.” 11 however much two instants appear to be in succession, there exists an infinite amount of fractions between them. this is not to claim that russell denies continuity, merely that continuity is a property belonging to the order of entities in the world in so far as logical analysis asserts the ordering. russell‟s positivism leads him to conclude that time is not inherent in objects themselves but is inherent in the logical ordering 10 ibid., 30. 11 bertrand russell, our knowledge of the external world (chicago: the open court publishing company, 1914), 151. russell frequently criticized bergson‟s concept of duration as metaphysical speculation. of objects. in other words, what one considers to be time is empirically experienced as a consequence of logical analysis. in physics, albert einstein‟s theory of relativity opened up news ways of understanding time. 12 like the aforementioned, einstein claims that time does not exist in itself. at the same time, einstein retains the notion of the instant. what is relative is the simultaneity of instants. gilles deleuze notes bergson‟s summary of einstein‟s theory as “everything begins from a certain idea of movement that entails a contraction of bodies and a dilation of their time.” 13 one philosophical critique of einstein is that his notion of the relativity of multiple times implies a single unified time by which this plurality is measured. while physics attempts to measure the relative plurality of instants, it fails to account the duration of time. this is the point of departure for bergson. 14 in bergson‟s account, duration escapes being subject to mathematical investigation. bergson although bergson was a major figure in the beginning of the last century, his philosophy was ignored in the wake of logical positivism and phenomenology. however, with the rise in studies on gilles deleuze, who was a scholar of bergsonism, bergson‟s philosophy regained subtle importance. today, few major contemporary philosophers, e.g., keith ansell pearson and leonard lawlor, are in dialogue with bergson‟s corpus and often place him among philosophers such as spinoza and nietzsche. what are presently taken as his two major philosophical contributions are his conception of time as duration and his distinction between continuous multiplicity and discrete multiplicity. continuous multiplicity implies duration and change. discrete multiplicity is understood as a discontinuous, static series. the common way one conceives time is to think of it as a homogenous medium, as a linear progression of static points or presents. we derive the conception of time from the spatial arrangement of objects and the movement of objects from one point to another. for bergson, however, time cannot be reduced to space; “as soon as we try to measure it, we unwittingly replace it by space.” 15 to think spatially is not to properly think duration. “the challenge of bergsonism,” 12 bergson and einstein met in paris during april 1922. in their writings, both occasionally responded to the other. 13 gilles deleuze, bergsonism, translated by hugh tomlinson and barbara habberjam (new york: zone books, 1991), 79. 14 although this is unresolved in duration and simultaneity, with reference to einstein’s theory and in the earlier time and free will, bergson‟s middle writings do well at distinguishing between a single time and a single intensity of duration. 15 henri bergson, time and free will, 106. according to lawlor, “is to think in terms of duration.” 16 the present essay will focus on the development of bergson‟s key concept—duration—in order to meet this challenge. the human perceiver does not have access to the instant/present/now as such. rather, one has access to the intensity of that which is experienced in duration. the mental states that are exhibited in an experience affect the way in which the duration is perceived. one‟s mood or attunement conditions one‟s everyday experiences. for example, she who is happy to be with her loved one will find that “time flies” when the two are together. a bored student will feel as if an average lecture “lasted for hours.” no doubt, people are aware that some experiences feel longer or shorter than others; yet, when questioned, they will appeal to the mathematical time of homogenous, discrete instants. this, in turn, fails to account for the qualitative nature of experience that leads one to describe her or his experience by using expressions such as “time flies.” “time and change,” according to paul tillich, “are present in the depth of eternal life, but they are contained within the eternal unity of the divine life.” 17 jesus, no doubt, understood this qualitative aspect of experience. while speaking of the kingdom of heaven, jesus uses loose similes. on the one hand, the kingdom has its basis in the divine. on the other, the kingdom is experienced on an individual level with varying intensities of affect. luke 17:20 records jesus saying, “the coming of the reign of god cannot be observed, and no one will announce, „look, here it is,‟ or, „there it is.‟ for behold, the reign of god is among you.” 18 the portraits of the kingdom as already actualized lend credence to the qualitative intensity. experiences of the kingdom may be found in a multiplicity, e.g., in repentance or in feeding the poor. 19 the affect (and existence) of this kingdom cannot be measured qualitatively. in time and free will, bergson criticizes the spatializing of temporality. proponents of the common way reduce time to space by emphasizing extension and succession. we plot our mental states as points on a line in order to contemplate on them simultaneously. to do this, however, makes impossible the ability to think of these points as discrete and successive. bergson provides two illustrations to make his point. in the first, he describes the movement of his finger over a surface. this experience is filled with a series of various qualities. he writes: 16 leonard lawlor, the challenge of bergsonsim: phenomenology, ontology, ethics (new york: continuum, 2003), 80. 17 paul tillich, systematic theology, vol. iii: life and the spirit; history and the kingdom of god (chicago: university of chicago press, 1976), 418. 18 all scripture quotations are taken from the new american bible. 19 see matthew 4:17; 10:7; 12:28; mark 11:10; and luke 10:9-11; 17:20-21. one of two things happens: either i picture these sensations to myself as in duration only, and in that case they succeed one another in such a way that i cannot at a given moment perceive a number of them as simultaneous and yet distinct; or else i make out an order of succession, but in that case i display the faculty not only of perceiving a succession of elements, but also of setting them out in line after having distinguished them. 20 in his second illustration, bergson contrasts duration with the swinging of a pendulum. 21 for each second, the pendulum completes one oscillation. one minute, or sixty seconds, equals sixty oscillations. bergson notes the impossibility of having one mental perception of all sixty oscillations at one moment and having this same perception include the idea of succession. this would be possible (as an abstraction) only by representing one oscillation by one point on a line. one minute is then reduced in representation as sixty points on a line, which denies the pure qualitative aspect of temporality. it can then be said that a representation of space is implied in an order of succession. consequently, to define time by space is merely symbolic. one cannot think of the series simultaneously and distinctly because to think of these instants together is to ignore the varying quality of sensations. indeed, duration itself is wholly qualitative. mental states fluidly mix together and cannot be investigated in their singularity; they have no definitive lines between them to signal the completion of one state and the beginning of another. bergson often contrasts his notion of duration with the paradoxes of zeno, in which time is reduced to the movement of entity from one position to another. 22 motion contains the following two elements: (1) the homogenous, divisible space that is traversed and (2) the indivisible, consciously real act of traversing. “the mistake of the eleatics,” according to bergson, “arises from their identification of this series of acts, each of which is of a definite kind and indivisible, with the homogenous space which underlies them.” 23 while space is infinitely divisible as extension, it would be a mistake to equate two simultaneous positions in space with the movement of entities as acts. the movements themselves, which are qualitative, do not occupy space. the common way one understands time is in terms of motion: the seconds on a clock, 20 henri bergson, time and free will, 102. 21 see ibid., 104. 22 see bergson‟s “the perception of change.” 23 henri bergson, time and free will, 113. the orbit of the earth around the sun, or the arrow flying through the air. the reduction of time to motion and, therefore, space is the same mistake as that of zeno and the eleatics. bergson‟s criticism runs as follows: 1. the space between two points is infinitely divisible into an infinite amount of intervals. 2. movement is formed by the aggregate of intervals. 3. therefore, the traversing of intervals becomes impossible. bergson‟s corrective is to understand the movement from one position to another as a mental synthesis. while it appears that bergson claims that duration is not divisible, he is in fact claiming that “duration divides up and does so constantly.” 24 this multiplicity is, for bergson, continuous and not discrete. deleuze writes, “that is why it is a multiplicity. but it does not divide up without changing in kind, it changes in kind in the process of dividing up: this is why it is a non-numerical multiplicity, where we can speak of „indivisibles‟ at each stage of the division.” 25 duration, for bergson, is a non-numerical, virtual multiplicity. in time and free will, bergson claims that this virtual multiplicity exists in human consciousness, which places him in proximity to augustine and kant. however, unlike kant, who grasps time as succession, bergson understands the present as the co-existence of past and present. he states: the interval of duration exists only for us and on account of the interpenetration of our conscious states. outside ourselves we should find only space, and consequently nothing but simultaneities, of which we could not even say that they are objectively successive, since succession can only be thought through comparing present with the past. 26 no mental state exists that is not continually changing. this is so because consciousness is formed by memory, which, when added to a mental state, qualitatively changes the mental state into something different. this is why deleuze characterizes bergson‟s duration as a non-numerical multiplicity—a multiplicity that is constantly changing into another “indivisible.” explaining how the past persists in the present, bergson writes: 24 gilles deleuze, bergsonism, 42. 25 ibid., 42. 26 henri bergson, time and free will, 116. inner duration is the continuous life of a memory which prolongs the past into the present, whether the present distinctly contains the ever-growing image of the past, or whether, by its continual changing of quality, it attests rather the increasingly heavy burden dragged along behind one the older one grows. without that survival of the past in the present there would be no duration but only instantaneity. 27 duration, therefore, exists only in consciousness: “multiplicity is real only for a consciousness.” 28 bergson later found ascribing duration and virtual multiplicity solely to consciousness was problematic for it did not account for the relationship between matter and memory and failed to account for evolutionary change. 29 one finds in bergson‟s matter and memory an overcoming of cartesian dualism. in his second major text, bergson claims that the present, which is sensori-motor, is a perception of the past and a determination of the future. subsequently, matter is “a present which is always beginning again [as] our present is the very materiality of our existence.” 30 the present is understood as one‟s holistic attitude, by which i mean both conscious and material since neither are determinate nor divisible according to bergson. this may have significance in developing a hybrid between hebraic and greek concepts of personhood. greek analytic anthropology describes the human person in dualistic terms of body and soul, i.e., platonism. the christian appropriation of this dualism has led to many of the shortcomings of christian philosophy/theology. in order to twist free of this platonism, one may turn back to the synthetic anthropology of hebraic theology. according to this view, the human person is one of flesh, life, and spirit. unlike platonism, the hebrew anthropology is not suggesting that the human person consist of divisible different parts. rather, an indivisible holism is being proposed. the indivisibility of matter and memory is further discussed in creative evolution. for now, we should recall the fundamental idea of cell development. the cells within one‟s body are ceaselessly changing. even the miniscule atoms that compose the world are constantly in motion themselves. while an object may appear to be at rest, it is continually undergoing change. imagine the following experiment. a person stares at a sheet of paper for three minutes. did the paper change? the person responds in the negative. however, this person accepts the idea that the paper will deteriorate over centuries. this would be true even if the 27 henri bergson, “what is metaphysics?,” 179. 28 henri bergson, time and free will, 120. 29 for bergson‟s overturning of mind-body dualism, see matter and memory. 30 henri bergson, matter and memory, translated by nancy margaret paul and w. scott palmer (new york: doubleday anchor books, 1959), 131. paper were to remain in the same spatial position for many centuries. the negative response given initially was based on confusing duration and change with space. returning to the question of movement, bergson again claims that motion is indivisible and that real instants are impossible. instants exist only as heterogenous, non-numerical duration. the pure multiplicity found within duration (as duration) is that by which body and mind become epistemologically distinct. at the same time, there is a unity of the conscious subject. deleuze describes bergsonian duration as “duration, tendency is the difference of self from self; and what differs from itself is immediately the unity of substance and subject.” 31 in other words, the two are distinguished by time and not space. “you define the present,” he states, “in an arbitrary manner as that which is, whereas the present is simply what is being made. nothing is less than the present moment.” 32 human existence is immanently manifest in change, in duration; the human is becoming. the question of whether or not duration is characteristic of non-human entities remains ambiguous. it is not until creative evolution that bergson provides an ontology of duration. in creative evolution, bergson describes duration as immanent to the world—a world that is itself living and conscious. the evolutionary whole of life is understood here as a qualitative, virtual multiplicity. on this point, creative evolution is best seen as a work in philosophy and not biology. the sciences only observe abstracted isolated wholes and, therefore, cannot account for the endurance of the universe as holistic and concrete. “life,” writes bergson, “is no more made of physico-chemical elements than a curve is composed of straight lines.” 33 life occurs within an open system and along actualized divergent lines within “an indivisible continuity.” 34 in other words, life is not arranged along a straight outline; rather, (the whole of) life is marked by its fluidity, by multiplicity. like the evolution of life, the kingdom of heaven has a creative growth. the gospels testify to this on a few occasions; e.g., the kingdom is like a mustard seed. 35 like yeast permeating through dough, the kingdom of heaven spreads throughout the world. 36 these illustrations reveal the organic, evolutionary nature of god‟s kingdom. this is a reign of freedom and choice, not coercion and 31 gilles deleuze, “bergson‟s conception of difference,” in the new bergson, translated by melissa mcmahon, edited by john mullarkey (new york: manchester university press, 1999), 48. 32 henri bergson, matter and memory, 143. 33 henri bergson, creative evolution, 31. see bergson‟s discussion of the elan vital on pp.87-97. 34 ibid., 31. 35 see matthew 13:31-50 and luke 13:18-19. see also mark 4:26-29 and luke 13:6-9. 36 see matthew 13:33 and luke 13:20-21. necessity. the reign of god is one of infinite love. it cannot be divided into a numerical multiplicity for it exists only in its dynamism as pure multiplicity. contra darwin, bergson portrays the evolution of life as creative and not mechanistic. his ontology of duration is as follows: “duration means invention, the creation of forms, the continual elaboration of the absolutely new.” 37 in time and free will, bergson posits duration with psychological experience. however, later, in creative evolution, he posits duration as existence. he writes, “we are continually creating ourselves…to exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” 38 bergson extends his notion of duration to apply to all other living organisms. 39 entities that are external to human consciousness endure (change) without the determinations of human mental states. in other words, duration is not something we intuit onto other entities. rather, to summarize creative evolution, duration is change. change is life. life is existence. in his fashion, bergson returns to the theme of temporality. criticizing numerical and spatial description of time, he writes, “there is no instant immediately before another instant; there could not be, any more than there could be one mathematical point touching another.” 40 the distance between points can always be divided, thereby making measurement superfluous. likewise, the evolution of life cannot be accurately understood if grasped in terms of discrete forms changing over periods of time. this is true even if these forms are characterized by speciation, variation, selection, and adaptation. for bergson, each organism is ceaselessly in a mode of change. my reader has undergone change, e.g., physiologically and psychologically, since beginning reading this paper. even while remaining in the same spatial location, the reader has acquired knowledge, has had new cellular formations, and has possibly varied in her or his attunement toward the present. in evolutionary history, there are no static steps, no discrete transitional species. this is why bergson asserts that “time is invention or it is nothing at all.” 41 37 henri bergson, creative evolution, 11. 38 ibid., 7. bergson‟s famous “sugar illustration” is found on p.9. 39 the present paper is not concerned with non-living entities. recall that darwin gave a biological theory about the development of organisms. darwin does not give a systematic account of the origin of the universe; nor does he try to apply biological principles to physical laws and vice versa. see jacob klapwijk‟s purpose in the living world: creation and emergent evolution, translated by harry cook (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2008). likewise, bergson, in creative evolution, is concerned with living organisms. for a helpful diagram of bergson‟s theory of creative evolution, see deleuze‟s bergsonism, 102. 40 henri bergson, creative evolution, 21. 41 ibid., creative evolution, 341. if duration is understood as change, then bergson‟s “the perception of change” provides a helpful exposition of temporality. for bergson, change is indivisible, despite the common way of understanding change/duration/ temporality. the common way offers an “artificial schema [that] we interpose unknowingly between reality and us.” 42 this indirect perception of reality through the artificial schematic lens is what gives us discrete, mathematical time. the result of indirect perception of temporality is clock time. in time and free will, bergson writes, “when i follow with my eyes on the dial of a clock the movement of the hand which corresponds to the oscillations of the pendulum, i do not measure duration, as seems to be thought; i merely count simultaneities, which is very different.” 43 the hand of the pendulum occupies only one position in a space since all previous positions are no longer. the clock, therefore, is taken as an illustration and not the measuring instrument of temporality. indeed, pure duration cannot be measured. bergson is continuing here his distinction between pure duration and mathematical (clock) time. duration is continuous, indivisible time; it cannot be reduced to mathematical quantificiation. quantitative time is measurable “duration,” which is divided into (spatialized) units. attempting to measure time— what would be abstractions of time—results in discontinuity. bergson‟s duration is neither eternity nor a multiplicity of presents or nows. every experience is qualitatively different. understanding duration as either of these two is to think temporality with immobility. bergson further illustrates his point by displaying the movement of his hand from point a to point b. the traversing of ab is a simple motion. we hypothesize that we could cease moving our hand at any intermediary point. to do this, however, would alter the experience and no longer have the same movement. it would be two distinct movements. movement, for bergson, is indivisible. one might respond, “each movement is divisible. even if one did not stop at an intermediary point, there would still be a division of space and time. you could subtract the amount of time that elapsed at the intermediary point and get the total amount of time elapsed during the single movement ab.” this response fails to see the insight of creative evolution; it tries to understand reality in terms of immobility, as if each point were always exactly the same. in reality, there is only synchronized motion. “movement is reality itself.” 44 all is undergoing ceaseless change. 42 henri bergson, “the perception of change,” 142. 43 henri bergson, time and free will, 108. 44 henri bergson, “the perception of change,” 143. portraying reality as immobile was the cause of zeno‟s paradoxes. the eleatics confused indivisible motion with the space traversed. bergson claims that, if we were to ask him, achilles would make a remarkable statement; zeno insists that i [achilles] go from the point where i am to the point the tortoise has left, from that point to the next point it has left, etc., etc., that is his procedure for making me run. but i go about it otherwise. i take a first step, then a second, and so on: finally, after a certain number of steps, i take a last one by which i skip ahead of the tortoise. i thus accomplish a series of indivisible acts. 45 the race between achilles and the tortoise cannot be divided like the space through which the race occurred. in creative evolution, bergson claimed that “time is invention or it is nothing at all.” 46 there is no immobility in reality in so far as real existence implies change. likewise, “if movement is not everything it is nothing.” 47 change, like motion, is indivisible. although we commonly describe motion as a series of points and change as a series of states, we have, in reality, change that is synchronic. bergson describes an object, of which the color changes. as the object changes color, one‟s perception of the object changes; as the object changes, the perceiver changes. “there is no perception,” according to bergson, “which is not constantly being modified. so that color, outside of us, is mobility itself, and our own person is also mobility.” 48 at the same time, he admits that “the breaking up of change into states enables us to act upon things, and it is useful in a practical sense to be interested in states rather than in the change itself.” 49 in other words, confusing synchronicity with mobility does have practical use; in fact, this is how we function in daily life. bergson sees this problematic only for metaphysics in so far as the interest in states focuses on appearances rather than reality. for clarity, bergson illustrates his point by describing the experience of a melody. although one may focus on the abstraction of a series of notes, one‟s hearing of the melody as a whole is a step closer to understanding duration. a melody is indivisible. he writes, “there is simply the continuous melody of our inner life—a melody which is going on and will go on, indivisible, from the beginning to the end of our conscious existence. our personality is precisely 45 ibid., 145. 46 henri bergson, creative evolution, 341. 47 henri bergson, “the perception of change,” 145. 48 ibid., 146. 49 ibid., 146. that.” 50 joseph ratzinger/pope benedict xvi uses this same metaphor to describe the redeemed: “in their being together as the one christ, they are heaven. in that moment, the whole creation will become song.” 51 to break a melody into intervals would create two distinctly different melodies even if the notes were arranged in the exact order. christian identity is intrinsically linked to christ and the community of believers. likewise, our own inner states cannot be divided along straight lines. while listening to the entirety of a melody, one experiences a fluid, continuous event in the same manner that one reflects on one‟s continual consciousness. one cannot divide the qualitative experience into smaller units without diminishing the qualitative changes produced by the experience. what, then, can then be said of the present? bergson‟s concept of the present is a significant modification of the augustinian present. the present is usually thought to exist, whereas the past no longer exists and the future has not yet come into existence. adherents to the common way consider the present in mathematical terms as an instant analogous to a point on a line. bergson considers this an abstraction with no real existence. “you could never create time out of such instants any more than you could make a line out of mathematical points.” 52 the analogy used in the common way fails to account for the relation between points. in between a and b are an infinite amount of other discrete points. by thinking the common way, one cannot account for the relation between the points and the catalyst by which the immobile becomes mobile. again, this is due to the confusion of time with space. for augustine, the past and future survive in the present. bergson asserts that the past preserves itself automatically. the present, for bergson, varies by one‟s field of attention. it contains as much to which we give attention. 53 he writes, “our present falls back into the past when we cease to attribute to it an immediate interest.” 54 moreover, that which had previously transpired still affects the present. we are continually being inscribed upon by our past. this so because the indivisibility of change is that which allows the past to be preserved in the present. what can be said of the nature of the future is far more difficult. deleuze’s present 50 ibid., 149. 51 joseph ratzinger/benedict xvi, eschatology: death and eternal life, 2 nd ed., translated by micheal waldstein (washington d.c.: the catholic university of america press, 1988), 238. 52 henri bergson, “the perception of change,” 151. 53 this assertion implies that all of the one‟s history could be held in one‟s present. this is why bergson poses the problem as one of forgetting and not remembering. see pp.153ff. 54 henri bergson, “the perception of change,” 152. let us now briefly turn to deleuze‟s portrayal of temporality in the logic of sense. 55 deleuze claims that there are two readings of time: chronos and aion. according to chronos, “past, present, and future are not three dimensions of time; only the present fills time, whereas past and future are two dimensions relative to the present in time.” 56 the present absorbs these two dimensions into itself. we should recall the accounts of temporality by augustine and kant: augustine: a. past: memory in the present. b. present: direct experience c. future: anticipation in the present kant: a. time and space are the two forms of intuition. b. time is not a concept. it is an intuition. c. it is presupposed in order to discuss relations such as “at the same time” or “succeeding time” or change. d. without a priori time, perception of alteration or change is not comprehensible. deleuze claims that the present of chronos is “in some manner corporeal. it is the time of mixtures.” 57 past and future are excesses within the embodied present. these excesses are regulated by the present and are, therefore, subject to measurement. the measuring is that of being, which, in the tradition of plato, is static. the present for a being is, subsequently, that which gives rise to clock time. 58 however, duration must be thought in terms of becoming. according to aion, there is no present as such. deleuze writes, “instead of a present which absorbs the past and future, a future and past divide the present at every instant and subdivide it ad infinitum into past and future, in both directions at once.” 59 the history of humanity is a record of our past that is always open to the future. while we live between the cross and the eschaton, the aionic present is conditioned by the meeting of these two events. the kingdom of heaven remains mysteriously upon us as “the already” and the awaited “not-yet.” yet, it is in this 55 throughout deleuze‟s corpus, one will find numerous accounts of temporality. it would be a case of neglect if we were to assume that this one account of time has the last word for deleuze. 56 gilles deleuze, the logic of sense, translated by mark lester (new york: columbia university press, 1990), 162. 57 ibid., 162. 58 the metaphysics of presence is that which jacques derrida has taken as the problematic characteristic of western metaphysics. 59 gilles deleuze, the logic of sense, 164. present and coming kingdom that we hope. 60 this hope gives rise to action, perpetuating the multiplicity of events. aion is time of the event, of experience. there is a ceaseless rupture between past and future that gives rise to that which is called the present. the past and future are continually crashing against one another according to various intensities that allow for the qualitative nature of duration. “aion,” according to deleuze, “is the past-future, which in an infinite subdivision of the abstract moment endlessly decomposes itself in both directions at once and forever sidesteps the present.” 61 consequently, we do not have access to a present as such since the abstract moment of the present is a “coming and going” that never exists in and for itself. that which we call “present” is the dynamic rupture of temporality. our existence, therefore, is marked by ceaseless change, by an evergrowing radical altering of the self, in which creative evolution never ceases. resolving eschatological temporality in conclusion, i will provide several ways in which bergson‟s notion of duration acts as an aid for conceiving temporality in the eschaton. since time is understood as duration/change/ existence, bergson would disapprove of describing eternal life as timelessness. timelessness would mean non-existence. one must think temporality as duration. in time and free will, one discovers bergson‟s claim that we only have access to the qualitative intensity of duration. perhaps our fellowship with god in eternity bears such great intensity that our existence is ceaselessly inscribed by the divine. in heaven, human persons will still be characterized by change. furthermore, the manner in which human persons relate to god here and now is continually evolving. human persons are not god and will not reach a static point at which they become god themselves. the identity of god and humanity does not radically morph into one whole. rather, the relation between the two remains a relation—one that is dynamic in its becoming. although this paper does not devote much space to matter and memory, it is worth noting one significant connection with theology. bergson asserts that perception involves both body and soul. 62 his depiction of the human person as a unity of matter and memory is compatible with biblical witness of resurrected bodies. while it may not aid us in understanding an intermediary state, matter and memory does provide philosophical support for the claims regarding a material, physical heaven—the new jerusalem. 63 60 see 1 corinthians 15:20-28. 61 gilles deleuze, the logic of sense, 77. 62 see bergson‟s matter and memory, 216ff. 63 certainly, the biblical text suggests several variations of heaven, paradise, eternal life, etc. for instance, in johannine literature, particularly the gospel of john, “eternal life,” or zoe, is the kind in creative evolution, bergson describes god as “unceasing life, action, freedom.” 64 tillich resolves the quandary of god and temporality as follows: god is eternal; this is the decisive characteristic of those qualities which make him god. he is subjected neither to the temporal process nor with it to the structure of finitude. god, as eternal has neither the timelessness of absolute identity nor the endlessness of mere process. he is „living,‟ which means that he has in himself the unity of identity and alteration which characterizes life and which is fulfilled in eternal life. 65 bergson, like tillich, notes an ontological distinction between god, who “has nothing of the already made,” and the created world. in a heideggerian sense, god is the ground of being from which beings arise. the divine spark within humanity bears close resemblance to bergson‟s elan vital. this eternal pulse ceaselessly emanates from the divine. consequently, all of creation is directed toward the divine. 66 this directionality is understood as intentionality, as “beings-towards.” for rahner, this is understood as the “supernatural existential.” his greek counterpart, christos yannaras, would describe this as theosis, becoming divine— an ontological structure and existential process in which we already find ourselves. if life is constituted by duration, then eternal life is constituted by a divine duration in which past and future continue to clash against one another. john macquarrie writes, “the past event, made present through memory, discloses possibilities for decision in the present moment…the future through anticipation, prediction, decision.” 67 as a consequence, the aionic present is formed out of this mixture. the kingdom of heaven is described in a similar fashion as that which will be established and that which has already come. this kingdom and humanity are already evolving in their relationship. likewise, the overflowing creativity and love of god provides such an intensity of affect that eternal life may easily be thought of as union. of life that god has. according to the writer(s) of john, this life occurs within our earthly existence, not something in the future or other-worldly. 64 henri bergson, creative evolution, 248. 65 paul tillich, systematic theology, vol. iii, 420. 66 teilhard de chardin is indebted to the philosophy of bergson, despite one unique difference regarding the direction of evolution. while de chardin views life as directed toward one omega point, bergson sees life evolving into a multiplicity. 67 john macquarrie, “eschatology and time,” in the future of hope: theology as eschatology, edited by frederick herzog and jurgen moltmann (new york: herder & herder, 1970), 112. temporality has become problematic in eschatological discourse due to conceiving time in the common way. accounts of mathematical time fail to accurately perceive change by grasping temporality as the traversing of positions on a plane. this certainly fails to account for eternal life, which is not an endless series of static points. bergson‟s “the perception of change” offers a corrective from which we can describe temporality in the eschaton. the point here is not to deny the spatiality of heaven; rather, it is to shed light on the nature of change. 68 change occurs regardless of traversing space. bergson‟s account of duration can easily be used to describe existence in the heavenly city as well. there should be no confusion on this point as long as eternity is not thought of as “a really long time.” god, who, according to bergson, is energy itself, summons all of creation to be relationally united with him. 69 at the same time, we are free to make ourselves who we become. the human person is characterized by a “clear and irreversible forward orientation.” 70 this characteristic, of which the mystics were well aware, does not cease in heaven since there are overdeterminations of god. in other words, human persons will always be in a state of evolving with the divine. there will always be something of the divine that is beyond our grasp. while certain matters of eschatology escape human certainty, we can in fact hope for a future in which all are united with god. 68 in other words, this paper is not concerned with whether or not heaven is a place, a state of being, or a way of living. the focus here is solely on temporality, which, according to the author, is the condition for all possible modes of life. 69 see bergson‟s two sources of morality and religion, translated by r. ashley audra and cloudesley brereton (notre dame: university of notre dame press, 1986), p.257ff. 70 karl rahner, “theological observations on the concept of time,” in theological investigations, xi, translated by david bourke (new york: crossroad, 1982), 299. bibliography augustine, confessions. translated by f.j. sheed. introduction by peter brown. indianapolis: hackett publishing company, inc., 1993. bergson, henri. creative evolution. translated by arthur mitchell. new york: henry holt and company, 1913. __ . the creative mind: an introduction to metaphysics. translated by mabelle l. andison. new york: citadel press, 2002. __ . matter and memory. translated by nancy margaret paul and w. scott palmer. new york: doubleday anchor books, 1959. __ . time and free will: an essay on the immediate data of consciousness. translated by f.l. pogson. mineola: dover publications, inc., 2001. __. the two sources of morality and religion. translated by r. ashley audra and cloudesley brereton. notre dame: university of notre dame press, 1986. deleuze, gilles. bergsonism. translated by hugh tomlinson and barbara habberjam. new york: zone books, 1991. ___. “bergson‟s conception of difference,” in the new bergson. translated by melissa mcmahon. edited by john mullarkey. new york: manchester university press, 1999. ___. the logic of sense. translated by mark lester. new york: columbia university press, 1990. kant, immanuel. the critique of pure reason. translated by j.m.d. meiklejohn. amherst: prometheus books, 1990. klapwijk, jacob. purpose in the living world: creation and emergent evolution. translated by harry cook. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2008. lawlor, leonard. the challenge of bergsonism: phenomenology, ontology, ethics. new york: continuum, 2003. macquarrie, john. “eschatology and time,” in the future of hope: theology as eschatology. edited by frederick herzog and jurgen moltmann. new york: herder & herder, 1970. rahner, karl. “theological observations on the concept of time,” in theological investigations, xi. translated by david bourke. new york: crossroad, 1982. ratzinger, joseph/benedict xvi. eschatology: death and eternal life, 2 nd ed. translated by michael waldstein. washington d.c.: the catholic university of america press, 1988. russell, bertrand. our knowledge of the external world. chicago: the open court publishing company, 1914. tillich, paul. systematic theology, vol. iii: life and the spirit; history and the kingdom of god. chicago: university of chicago press, 1976. microsoft word *callaghan final version.docx   [concept, vol. xxxviii (2015)] red ink algorithms: “wandering rocks” as a virtual city michelle callaghan english james joyce’s ulysses takes place over the course of a single day: june 16, 1904. after the introductory episodes – which star stephen dedalus, ulysses’ analog to the odyssey’s telemachus – it follows the hourly meanderings of leopold bloom as he traverses dublin. each episode is stylistically dissimilar, often to dizzyingly parodic effect. episode ten, “wandering rocks,” is perhaps one of the most comprehensible sections, but it departs from earlier episodes by abandoning a single point of view in favor of nineteen interconnected vignettes with no consistent narrative voice. the episode takes place over the course of an hour and features a cast of incidental characters walking the streets of dublin, including the earl of dudley, father conmee, and even a crumpled piece of trash floating down the river liffey. the arrangement of the characters’ paths is very particular: according to frank budgen, “joyce wrote the wandering rocks with a map of dublin before him on which were traced in red ink the paths of the earl of dudley and father conmee. he calculated to a minute the time necessary for his characters to cover a given distance of the city” (qtd. in blamires 93). this calculation was so vital because characters, objects, and sounds from many vignettes interlope on others to show that the vignettes are simultaneous. joyce’s dublin is calculated but, contrary to what its mathematical engineering might connote, feels alive. today, in the era of virtual reality and video games, users are accustomed to algorithmically-assisted immersion in fictional worlds: the pixelated barkeep in a video game is not actually serving customers when the player leaves the inn, but the immersed player will pretend he did when the coding spawns empty ale steins on the player’s next visit. a comparison between joyce’s red ink algorithms and the programmed algorithm behind virtual cities can retrospectively engage with the aesthetic joyce has crafted. the programming behind joyce’s dublin and behind open-world video game cities is necessary to establish the illusion of simultaneity in each given fictional world – in other words, to convince the readers or players that they are missing part of the action. regarding how dublin is crafted in “wandering rocks”   as a pre-virtual city reveals how it is precisely the user’s engagement with the illusion of simultaneity, mathematically designed in both ulysses and in video games, which simulates a city. in order to set ulysses in conversation with a digital medium a century after joyce’s time, i will establish the ways both might be considered spatial texts via joycean and video game scholars, argue the usefulness of linearity as a formal term for such spatial texts, and investigate the episode’s substitution of a consistent narrative voice with movement through the spatial text. using these cross-medium resonances, i will identify how joyce’s dublin is crafted to feel ever-living by its chance interlocations, interlocutions, unfollowed paths, and movement through space with careful attendance to time. one hundred years after james joyce wrote ulysses, audio-visual technology has enabled the creation of virtual worlds that can be traversed through the mediation of an on-screen avatar. interactive technologies now allow creators to puppeteer more exactingly than ever before; never has the manipulation of a network of characters and digital space so efficiently represented the experience of real movement through real space. with considerably less manual computation – computation joyce performed by hand when constructing the city of dublin in the “wandering rocks” episode – creative authors can construct villages, cities, and worlds that are populated with characters and in which societal networks are selfsustained through programming. today, if joyce chose to dabble in virtual algorithms, the permutations of dublin in “wandering rocks” could span infinity instead of an hour. human artists, however, did not just recently begin representing cities now that computer programming does the math; the fictional city did not start as a digital city. cities have been fictionally represented since well before the digital age, especially in modernist literature, and programmable maps and programmable citizenry have never been necessary components of this representation. in “wandering rocks,” for example, joyce stretches the abilities of traditional narrative structure by arranging slices of city life in a way that suggests the world of the city is perpetually alive beyond the scope of the words on the pages. the arrangement is mathematically calculated, but the effect of this calculation is a simulation of the pulse of a city – that is, much like the ever-present but unperceived human heartbeat, the feeling that life continues unperceived beyond what is shown in the nineteen close-ups – and it is achieved entirely through words. the urban simulation is highly mechanized and calculated, yet paradoxically it is this mechanization which creates the living, breathing city organism. the mechanics behind “wandering rocks” do not take away from the movement and believability of the city – just like the programming of virtual cities in video games, they illusively establish a sense of coincidence and ever-present “off-stage” action (brown 66). joyce’s dublin and open-world video game cities   are not just locations where stories are set; via the illusion of simultaneous events happening beyond the camera’s lens, events that the user might perchance stumble upon, these cities are stories themselves. spatial stories, a concept outlined by michel de certeau and applied to computer games by scholars such as sybille lammes, are stories that develop out of the movement through a space (lammes 223). the story is generated by traversing a landscape; the movement of the story is not from theme to theme or idea to idea, but from location to location in a space, and it is the physical relocation that moves the story forward, not a storyteller. lammes calls the identification with the landscape in such stories “abstract,” and suggests that via a “bird’s-eye view, the player is fixed in a depersonalized frame of mind” in which “a story can be developed without ever bringing it to the level of individual experience” (lammes 227). further, lammes says, this relationship to the environment makes the map not simply a location for a story, but instead “the hero of the story” (227). ruth frehner has made a similar argument regarding the map of dublin in “wandering rocks”; the city, not “individual characters,” is the “real protagonist” (203). joycean critics have also noted the presence of a bird’s eye view in the episode (209). however, calling the cities the protagonists in both ulysses and video games is not useful in figuring out exactly how a story is told via movement through a space; cities are not characters. they cannot be anthropomorphized. they have no intentions and they have no goals. in an episode with many minor characters and perspectives, calling the city the “protagonist” is merely a semantic move to replace the empty space left in the cast list that, in traditional narratives, an actual character protagonist with a traditional point of view might occupy. instead, it is more useful to reject the necessity for any protagonist figure as a center in spatial texts, and define the movement through the space itself as what is creating the story. no central protagonist is necessary, because the bird’s eye view negates the need for a single storyteller or story lens. the element of the story that allows meaning to be communicated without one figure as the focus or one figure as the storyteller is the movement through the space itself; this is what defines a text as spatial. these similarities in aesthetic experiences, city-as-protagonist and bird’s eye view, pose the question of how open-world video games and joyce’s textual representation of dublin can both manage the same experience of spatial storytelling when constructing cities. games consist of many moving parts that are aural, visual, tactile, and text-based, and they are easily mutable, while novels consist of static text – yet both achieve a breathing city space. the simulation is established through the characters that populate the city. open-world video games are games in which the player can roam freely in a virtual space, can achieve objectives through multiple means and storylines, and games which provide “the   sensation of being inside a large and disinterestedly functioning world” – an undeniably modernist flavor (bissell 4). open-world video games such as skyrim (2011), fallout 3 (2008), and mass effect (2007) have cities or hub worlds populated with non-player characters (npcs) who may or may not influence the player’s story, even when some are programmed to be interactive. the player may or may not choose to interact with them. npcs are often programmed with their own behaviors using cyclic scheduling, which allows them to go about their own daily routines according to an in-game clock (zhao and szafron 94). “wandering rocks” has a similar npc-aesthetic: a cast of characters – some familiar and influential in the novel and some not – come into focus without any introduction, are met and left alone, are seen again or left unfollowed, are followed mid-action and abandoned again. james joyce had a different way of categorizing the npc-aesthetic in episode ten. each episode of ulysses has been assigned, by joyce himself, a title, time, color, “persons,” an art or technic, and a meaning; these cheat sheets were created for two of joyce’s friends, carlo linati and stuart gilbert, and are referred to as the linati or gilbert schemas. in the linati schema for “wandering rocks,” joyce lists the persons as “objects, places, forces, ulysses” (gifford 260), and the idea that joyce considers objects, places, and forces “persons” in this schema resonantly addresses the network between objects, places, and forces also observed in open-world cities in video games. stumbling upon characters in “wandering rocks” actually feels like tripping over wandering pebbles; we meet them by chance and get the “sense that any slice of street or interior life might do just as well” in establishing the rhythm of the city (senn 157). this npc-aesthetic is all part of the living city vibe because the “persons” need not be people at all, and are equally as influential as objects, places, and forces; we do not need to know all of the details of their dreams and goals, their wants and needs, or even their destinations. they are no more part of the focus of the episode than objects like conmee’s letter (10.46), places like george’s quay (10.297), and forces like the pull of the river liffey (10.294). we intercept characters as we traverse the space, but they need not stop our progress through the story. interception is not a technique that can be accomplished in every text, and to call “wandering rocks” an example of a spatial text challenges the shape and trajectory usually associated with written literature. the shape most commonly referenced in the discussion of the movement of literature is the line, but that line breaks when discussing spatial stories. a traditional linear narrative might be a story told in chronological order wherein a single narrator tells a tale with an explicit beginning, middle, and end. cause and effect are easily identified because cause comes before effect. a nonlinear narrative, then, might be told out of chronological order or disjointedly present cause and effect. adam w. ruch, in an   essay on the construction of grand theft auto iv’s liberty city, argues that video games and the virtual cities presented within them are a true break from the linearity that modernist authors may have wanted to escape but never could: ulysses is as much focused on the physical movement through a city as the dramatic presentation of plot events and is the description of an experience known as player-driven or emergent narrative in game studies. yet, despite the best efforts from these modernist writers, poetry and novels, in their traditional form, are inevitably linear. (ruch 344) because worlds in video games can be “explored rather than narrated,” ruch would suggest they are nonlinear (344). ruch’s observations about modernist writing are underdeveloped and his argument leans too heavily on the linearity that spatial texts challenge. to use ruch’s distinction, for example, “wandering rocks” is not traditionally narrated and in fact might be better described as “explored” than narrated, and could therefore qualify for ruch’s definition of nonlinearity. the term “nonlinear” is oft (ab)used to describe the narrative styles in both modernist writing and video games and it can stagnate discussions of joyce’s dublin or open-world video games. if a work of fiction is not attempting to report a narrative of events, sequential or otherwise, but is instead creating a space which houses multiple instances of simultaneous movement, classifications of linear and nonlinear are unhelpful. one single character’s movement through a space might be a line but a spatial text contains the possibility for multiple movements and directions, and the bird’s eye view sees the whole map. if a spatial text is any shape at all, it is not a line but a sphere: a sphere has no beginning, middle, or end, but much like a planet, provides the space for any number of overlapping, simultaneous movements. in this spherical view, open-world video games and ulysses’ dublin are neither linear nor “nonlinear.” the struggle to settle on a shape for the narrative in spatial, spherical texts manifests in the slipperiness of how the narrative experience is determined if it is technically not narrated. many video games offer interactivity and choice; this is why their narrative styles, accurately or not, are often labeled “nonlinear.” but when an open-world video game is experienced by a player in a situated gaming experience—i.e., when a player plays through a game for the first time—the narrative is sequential. it cannot be anything but sequential, even if the events are not chronologically ordered, because a player performs a series of actions one after another. sequential is not, however, equivalent to linear. if ruch can argue that modernist novels cannot escape linearity, then open-world games in his definition must also be linear. even though a player might have a choice of what to do next, she can ultimately only choose one action at any given time. ruch does not deny   this, and says, “in a video game, events are contingent and so narrative can be made up of a selection of different textual elements in different orders” but “one cannot divorce the narrative from the situated play experience,” therefore, “multiple potential narratives exist, but this is not identical to the one single narrative a player will experience and remember as part of the player model” (ruch 334). the element of choice in games, then, and thereby the nonlinearity of games, is a carefully crafted illusion. choice exists, but only within pre-established frameworks with predetermined outcomes. a virtual city might offer any number of paths to take and any number of non-player characters to feature, but only the avenues pursued by the player become part of that player’s situated gaming experience and that player’s single narrative. in this way, the “livingness” that can be established in virtual cities – the feeling that something is always happening offstage, that stories continue even when unwatched and unfollowed – is the same “livingness” with which joyce experiments in “wandering rocks.” only when looked at from a meta-perspective, that is, from outside of the immersion of gameplay itself, is a video game’s story nonlinear. the same is true of the city of dublin in “wandering rocks:” although joyce only wrote what he wrote, and we only can experience his city through the nineteen sections he chose to show us, we have to play along with the game that something else happened before we run into the characters and that something else will happen when we leave them, unseen by us. in video games, our experience of the world is situated in the framework of choices presented by the game’s writers. likewise, our experience with joyce is situated by his framework of choices, but in both cases, the illusion of what could have been is a permanent part of the experience. in his statement regarding novels and poems as “inevitably linear,” ruch points out that the movement through the city in ulysses is stylistically identical to what is called “emergent narrative” in video game studies (334). aylett’s definition, “when npcs have complete autonomy, an interactive narrative is referred to as an emergent narrative” (qtd. in bulitko and riedl 74), clarifies ruch’s point: the complete autonomy of the npc – that is, as described earlier, a game in which npcs have their own programmed itineraries outside of the progression of the player character through the game world – creates a space out of which a narrative can emerge. as a tertiary characteristic, then, a narrative is not required for the movement through the space and does not preexist the movement through the space; it emerges from the space. neither an open-world video game nor joyce’s representation of dublin requires a narrator to report on the action, and they do not need any one narrative perspective to tell a story. in both open-world video games and “wandering rocks,” the narrator is not required but instead is a tool to be used or neglected.   even without a narrator, a spatial story is transmitted by the movement through a city. in “wandering rocks,” the fictional representation of the city of dublin is not reported by one single voice. it is arranged. john somer defines the “arranger” figure in ulysses, which is not the narrator, as “part of an author’s creative persona responsible […] for designing a fictional world” (67). “wandering rocks” is not a narrative of an afternoon in a city; it is the fictional world of the city itself. the experience of the episode is accessible whether or not it is narrated by a single reporting voice because the arranger has designed a spatial series of movements that can be navigated without a narrative voice. because of the existence of the arranger figure, “the narrator shrinks within the text and, consequently, gives readers the opportunity to encounter the narrative without a narrator” and to experience what stephen dedalus calls “the dramatic form of narration,” which gives readers the sense, according to john somer, “that they are in contact with a reality that is rendered directly to them and not one mediated through a prejudiced sensibility” (72-3). because the arranger provides the zoom effect of the bird’s eye view of dublin’s map, “wandering rocks” retains comprehensibility while shifting between different narrators, even when that shift takes place within a demarcated section. the episode keeps moving even if the experience often feels “as if each scene had its own isolated narrator who is caught in a passageway” (frehner 207), because the episode’s coherence lies not in its narration but in its arrangement. the reader’s distant bird’s eye view permits an engagement with the moving parts of a spherical whole without a hand-holding narrator. because open-world video games are designed to promote the feeling of “user agency,” they commonly implement a non-narrator figure called the “drama manager” or “experience manager” (riedl and bulitko 68), which is the twin of ulysses’ arranger. the experience manager, “an intelligent, omniscient, and disembodied agent that monitors the virtual world and intervenes to drive the narrative forward according to some model of quality of experience,” ensures “coherent story progression” while still allowing the feeling of “user agency” (riedl and bulitko 68). user agency in a video game goes hand in hand with its quasi-nonlinearity: both are illusions. the arranger, or the experience manager, is oz’s man behind the curtain. to become immersed in a virtual world means to accept the invisible borders, to agree with game-world limitations, but not to let the awareness of its mechanization break the sense of engagement. the algorithm behind “wandering rocks” – that is, the red ink paths of conmee and the earl of dudley, and the calculations, down to the minute, of the time it takes to traverse certain parts of dublin (blamires 93) – is surely mechanical. its use is appropriate, given that the featured art in the linati schema for this episode is mechanics, and it is doubly appropriate that the gilbert schema   technic for the episode is “labyrinth” (frehner 206) – how much of a challenge is a labyrinthine maze when viewed from overhead? and yet, from street level, the labyrinth feels endless and perpetually overlapping. the labyrinthine mechanics at work in the arrangement of the spatial text that is “wandering rocks” creates a city that is alive, breathing, and synchronic—but the mechanics themselves could not be more calculated. “wandering rocks,” like video game cities, functions on an algorithm. that algorithm, just like the algorithm of virtual cities, hinges on the variables of time and space, and the locations of actors on a map through the passage of time. chronology is important in ulysses, given that the novel takes place on a single day, and it is especially important in “wandering rocks,” since “the relation of time to space in the episode reminds us that it is only by virtue of the clock (and clocks) that the life of the city can interconnect” (brown 64). while pronouncing events chronologically in terms of their causes and effects – or even pronouncing causes and effects at all – is not especially important to the composition of ulysses, chronology itself, regarding the passage of time while moving through space, is the novel’s most driving formal quality. to revisit the question of linearity – and poke another hole in its use for spatial texts – linearity must exist in the construction of a day, as the human ontological construction of time is always linear (insofar as humans use the concept of time in daily life). this is also true of the perception of movement: when a human body moves within a space, it leaves one spot behind, is present at a spot, and intends to move to another spot in the future. movement and time are linear; the perceived experience of movement and time, however, is not. it is not necessary for time’s linearity to be explicit when illustrating the experience of a day; like the human pulse, it is not always perceived. chronological linearity (joyce’s stopwatch) is offstage and unperceived, a programmed element of the story, but is not necessary to the reader’s experiential progression through the novel. it is necessary for the episode itself: the illusion of offstage action in the city during wandering rocks is only possible because of joyce’s attendance to chronology. thus far, i have argued that the “wandering rocks” episode of ulysses is an example of a spatial text because it presents the same qualities of city-construction as virtual cities in video games. i have rejected the terms linear and nonlinear in the discussion of spatial texts, because such terms do not allow room for the discussion of the illusion of simultaneous city life – which, if it is any shape, is spherical. i have agreed with past critics that the organizational figure of the episode is not a narrator, or even multiple narrators, but an arranger – and that this arranger is equivalent to experience managers in open-world video games. but with all of this foundation for the understanding of “wandering rocks” as a spatial story, what, in the text of wandering rocks, establishes the illusion of the city as   alive? it is the feeling of “potential narrative expansion” (senn 157) that, whether it is acted upon or not, forms the cityness of dublin. the city’s “worldness”1 is carefully crafted through the illusion of choice and “simulated simultaneity” (frehner 201), the ever-present offstage action, interlocations, and unfollowed paths. interlocations or interpolations, of which there are thirty-one (frehner 218), are moments in which characters from other places in the city are depicted midscene without any sort of narrative cue, such as “the lacquey rang his bell” amidst the dedalus sisters’ pea soup scene and the card “unfurnished apartments” reappearing on the window sash of number 7 eccles street during a conversation between lenehan and m’coy (10.281, and 542-3). according to frehner, only one interpolation is established with the marker “while” – “while a generous arm from a window in eccles street flung forth a coin” at 10.222-3 (frehner 207). all of the other moments are simply injected into the prose without explanation or warning. these interlocations – a term used by fritz senn (163) – illustrate the lack of a single narrator with a single voice and a single perspective and reveal the presence of the arranger. these interlocations also create the notion that whatever we are reading is an interception of an event in the city; something happened prior to what we see, and something will happen after we leave the scene. it generally goes without saying (unless we are trying to unpack the mechanics of the episode) that nothing actually will happen, of course – until “wandering rocks” becomes a video game, anyway. joyce presumably did not write nineteen complete and linear scenes, cut them apart, and paste them together in their current order. he did not have to. the interspersed moments of people a few streets away, or of a throwaway on the liffey (10.294), are enough to suggest the continuous presence of action on the streets of dublin. these moments are enough to imply that the episode might have been arranged differently and still achieve the same cityness, and that a turn down any other street would give us yet another story. senn associates this availability of “alternatives,” that is, the “paths not taken by the main narrative,” with the homeric parallel that is the wandering rocks: in a navigational decision that would be right at home in any video game adventure, odysseus has a choice to face scylla and charybdis or attempt to traverse the wandering rocks, and he chooses the former (157). the episode as a whole, then, is a huge giant construct of while-you-weren’t-looking: what is happening at the wandering rocks while odysseus is not there? what is                                                                                                                           1 “worldness” is a term used in game studies to discuss the quality of being what j.r.r. tolkien called a “secondary world” – an internally consistent fictional space that extends beyond the borders of the text. cf. lisbeth klastrup, “the worldness of everquest: exploring a 21st century fiction,” game studies 9.1 (april 2009); and j.r.r. tolkien, “on fairy-stories,” in essays presented to charles williams: oxford, oxford university press (1947).     happening to stephen while molly gives a coin to the one-legged sailor? it takes gaps in the narrative – textual space – to provide for us the illusion of physical space. senn notes that homer, at one point in the iliad, “is literally talking about allomachy, other battling elsewhere,” and that as a poet, he cannot actually manage to discuss all of the actions happening everywhere in troy at once (160). joyce is dealing not with battles, but with everyday routine, and he makes no apology for his depiction of allomachy – he tosses those other “battles” right into the scene. what joyce’s dublin and virtual cities share from an artistic perspective, given their shared settings and subjects of the mundane city, is an aesthetic of eavesdropping. the reader is privy to only bits and pieces of the goings-on in dublin, and rarely are the bits and pieces the main event of any given character’s day. the episode takes a lot of creative input on the reader’s end, but it is not an unintelligible collection of actions and descriptions; compared to some of the more experimental episodes, it is one of the most straightforward sections in the entire novel. it is not, however, traditional in terms of the information it offers us about these characters’ lives, and it does not guide us to any one central focal point, a characteristic that might have led to the aforementioned urge to call the city itself the protagonist (frehner 203). we might not get enough information to follow one character’s whole story, or even get to know him beyond the name “cashel boyle o’connor fitzmaurice tisdall farrell, with his stickumbrelladustcoat dangling” (10.1102-3), but we get enough to establish the living world – we know cashel was walking somewhere before we came to merrion square, and we know he will go somewhere else afterward. but this is our duty to the poet who cannot describe all of the battles happening elsewhere: we must take the bits of information from our eavesdropping perspective and make sense out of them, for “the reader is the only consciousness with access to the linking elements of the individual episodes and characters” and only the reader “can plot these diverse itineraries on a map of dublin” (181, original emphasis). from the bird’s eye view the reader has the needed perspective to create a spatial story out of this seemingly arbitrary “series of individual itineraries bound only by their coincidence in space and time” (hegglund 178). the coincidental experience of the episode is illustrated perfectly when dilly runs into her brother, an unplanned interception, and asks “what are you doing here, stephen?” and he responds “what are you doing?” (10.854, 857). both are looking for books, clearly, but the bigger implication resounds: how did we both end up here? serendipity, perhaps – or joyce’s algorithm. willingness to play is necessary for the city illusion to work in both video games and ulysses. play is a word always used in relation to video games and rarely used in reference to joyce, but the “cityness” of joyce’s dublin is indeed a game to be played. to play the episode, the reader must imagine that the gaps that joyce leaves are not empty. the reader must imagine that the crumpled throwaway   continues to float, that the one-legged sailor continues to walk, and that all the while, the earl of dudley is riding along the streets. a popular improvisational comedy game called “four corners” utilizes this ability of the human imagination. four players stand on stage in a square, two in the front and two in the back, and every clockwise rotation presents a new pairing at the front of the stage. as the game leader (this game’s arranger figure) calls for a rotation, the scene that is no longer seen is still imagined to be taking place, so that by the time the square has fully rotated, the first scene will resume, but with the caveat that time has passed and the scene has continued while we haven’t been looking. logically, we know that the players do not imagine what is happening while they are not center stage – because they do not have a chance to – but the game only works if we agree to follow its rules and agree to fill in its gaps. the same is true of joyce’s dublin, and the same is true of virtual cities. even if the offstage action is programmed somewhere in the coding of a video game, it is not activated until the player is within visual range of the action at hand – at which point it becomes on-stage. even if joyce knows exactly what dilly is doing before she finds stephen, we do not have access to that information. we have to play the game. though it is a text and crafted entirely from words, “wandering rocks” depicts a dublin that is alive. the movement through this spatial text, in which persons and objects and forces are evenly weighted, produces a reading experience that is centered not on one focal point moving through space, but the entire space itself. this experience, like the experience of virtual city spaces in open-world video games, is constructed algorithmically, but the construction nonetheless produces a living, pulsating space – a space that presents many paths and alternatives. the sense that the reader could step into this dublin and walk into anyone’s conversations may be an illusion, but when the text is played and the gaps imaginatively filled, dublin is not a static text, but a breathing, spatial story. as technology advances, users may be very aware of the programming choices establishing their fictional immersion, but this does not break their immersion; complicity in the illusion, in both games and joyce, is the basis of the imaginative experience. works cited bissell, tom. extra lives: why video games matter. new york, ny: pantheon, 2010. print. blamires, harry. the new bloomsday book: a guide through ulysses. london: routledge,1996. print.   brown, richard. “time, space and the city in ‘wandering rocks’” ed. andrew gibson and steve morrison. european joyce studies 12 (2002): 57-72. print. frehner, ruth. “text as architecture: putting simulated simultaneity in ‘wandering rocks’ into space.” joyce on the threshold. ed. anne fogarty and timothy peter. martin. gainesville: u of florida, 2005. 200-25. print. hegglund, jon. “ulysses and the rhetoric of cartography.” twentieth century literature 49.2 (2003): 164-92. web. 17 nov. 2014. joyce, james. ulysses: the corrected text. ed. hans walter gabler, wolfhard steppe, and claus melchior. new york: vintage, 1986. print. lammes, sybille. “terra incognita: computer games, cartography, and spatial stories”. digital material: tracing new media in everyday life and technology (2009): 223-35. print. riedl, mark o., and vadim bulitko. “interactive narrative: an intelligent systems approach.” ai magazine association for the advancement of artificial intelligence, 2013. web. 17 nov. 2014. ruch, adam w. “grand theft auto iv: liberty city and modernist literature.” games and culture 7.5 (2012): 331-48. web. 17 nov. 2014. senn, fritz. “charting elsewhereness: erratic interlocations.” ed. andrew gibson and steve morrison. european joyce studies 12 (2002): 155-85. print. somer, john. “the self-reflexive arranger in the initial style of joyce's ulysses.” james joyce quarterly 31.2 (1994): 65-79. web. 17 nov. 2014. zhao, richard, and duane szafron. “using cyclic scheduling to generate believable behavior in games.” association for the advancement of artificial intelligence, 2014. web.   [concept, vol. xxxiv (2011)] seeking a hoosier home: black migration to indiana and the politics of belonging kyle brent robinson history today, greencastle, indiana is a small, typical midwestern community fifty miles from indianapolis with a population of around ten thousand. home to depauw university, the unassuming nature of this quiet hoosier college town belies the heated controversy that engulfed the state and the nation when over two hundred southern blacks left their homes in 1880 to settle in greencastle. prompted by the systematic oppression they experienced in their home state of north carolina, these men and women were part of larger phenomenon known as the exoduster movement. former slaves across the south left the place of their birth behind in order to build new lives for themselves and their families in the west and mid-west. for many, the ultimate goal was kansas, but for a contingent from north carolina, the beacon of a better life shone brightest in central indiana. the movements of these nascent hoosiers and their exoduster colleagues were part of a wider shift in the politics and values of the nation as a whole. it is no coincidence that black migration sentiment and the exoduster movement came to a head in the late 1870s and early 1880s. this was at a time when the efforts of congressional reconstruction had been abandoned. southern leaders reasserted their hegemony at the expense of the power of both the federal government and black civil and economic potential. black migration to indiana was fundamentally linked to issues surrounding the demise of reconstruction and the process of “redemption” in the southern states. moreover, the movement of blacks to indiana itself was only possible as a result of the changes wrought both in popular attitudes and legal opinions as a result of the civil war, and the transformations that appomattox brought to the hoosier state. before the sectional war, indiana barred blacks from even entering the state while hoosiers themselves held opinions similar to those across the union about the undesirability of blacks and their inability to be equal players in white society. before the civil war, white society excluded blacks from full engagement in civil society across the north. in indiana, prejudice went beyond social discrimination and was articulated in statute. the indiana constitution of 1851 restricted the exercise of the franchise to white men and, like many other midwestern states, article 13 of the constitution forbid the migration of blacks to indiana. this same article also prohibited whites from entering into contracts with blacks and prevented the hiring of any newly arrived black person. if any of these stipulations were violated, the perpetrator was fined anywhere from ten to five hundred dollars, and the money raised from this went towards the creation of a black colonizationist society. 1 provisions like these demonstrated the spread of mentalities of race and identity in the united states defined by the slave system. 2 these mentalities were not limited to the south, and were felt in every state in the union. the settlement of blacks in greencastle and in other communities across indiana represented a transformational shift in hoosier mentalities and legal definitions of citizenship and race brought about through reconstruction measures such as the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the federal constitution. black migration to greencastle provides a window into the national impact of reconstruction, as well as changing conceptions and continuities of black citizenship and racial merit experienced in indiana and across the union. yet, despite the unique perspective that migration to greencastle presents, there is not a substantial amount of scholarship concerning the movement of exodusters to indiana. the majority of scholarship has focused on the movement of blacks to more westerly destinations, primarily kansas. works like a century of negro migration, by carter woodson, exodusters by neil painter, and in search of canaan by robert athearn either entirely ignore the exodus to greencastle, or only mention it only in passing. 3 even the indiana state library, which houses publications like the greencastle banner, largely ignores black exodusters in their section on african american hoosiers. this is mainly due to the higher number of blacks migrating further west and the establishment of all black towns such as nicodemus. however, the focus on kansas has resulted in an underdevelopment in the scholarship of both the exoduster and black experience in indiana. this is especially regrettable as research into migration to indiana provides a unique opportunity to investigate how citizenship was defined for newly arrived blacks in long existing white dominated communities in the midwest. the lack of scholarship on indiana is also lamentable due to the widespread and unique collection of firsthand accounts of blacks who came to indiana and records of the reaction the migration provoked from the white population. the migration to greencastle in particular and indiana in general from various points in north carolina forms over a third of a three volume report of an 1880 senate select 1 “the 1851 constitution of the state of indiana,” article 13. 2 leon f.litwack, north of slavery: the negro in the free states, 1790-1860. (chicago: university of chicago press, 1961). 3 carter godwin woodson. a century of negro migration. (new york: russell & russell, 1969). nell irvin painter. exodusters: black migration to kansas after reconstruction. (new york: knopf, 1977). robert g athearn,. in search of canaan: black migration to kansas, 187980. (lawrence: regents press of kansas, 1978). committee. officially titled the select committee of the united states senate to investigate the causes of the removal of the negroes from the southern states to the northern states, this five member committee collected over four hundred pages of testimony from sixty-nine witnesses about the conditions of blacks in north carolina, their motivations for migration, and their experiences upon arrival in indiana. the scholarship that has used the indiana portions of this report primarily attempted to repudiate the conclusions of its democratic majority opinion. the democratic majority senators, daniel voorhees, zebulon vance, and george pendleton, despite the gathered evidence, denied the notion that blacks suffered any form of mistreatment in the south and concluded that black migration to indiana was part of a scheme to produce republican majorities in hoosier elections. democrats blamed state and local republican leaders such as george langsdale for encouraging blacks to leave the south in order create a “solid north” full of republican majorities, and in order to influence the results of both the elections and census of 1880. this accusation was branded as mere party politics and scare tactics by the small amount of later scholarship. hoosier historians like john g. van deusen dismissed charges of republican “colonization” or “africanization” of indiana as “absurd.” 4 however, while highly exaggerated by the democrats, there is a small grain of truth in the charges that has been widely overlooked by previous scholarship. george langsdale, greencastle‟s republican homme célèbre and editor of the greencastle banner was fully aware that black immigration would result in an increase in republican voters and promoted this idea on several occasions. langsdale expressed this viewpoint in an editorial he wrote for his paper encouraging black immigration to indiana on december 12, 1878 stating “what is the duty of the colored men of the south? clearly, to move to the north. let them come to this side of the ohio river and assist in making a solid north against a solid south.” 5 thus, the outright rejection of any notion that white republicans actively encouraged black migration for political reasons is unfounded. as a result, the historiographic tradition concerning black migration to greencastle is in need of correction in addition to expansion. but, black migration to indiana cannot simply be seen as a republican scheme. blacks choosing to migrate to indiana demonstrated their personal and collective agency in the face of white oppression. migration to greencastle was a rejection of the re-imposition of white hegemony 4 john g. van deusen "did republicans 'colonize' indiana in 1879?" indiana magazine of history. (vol. xxx), 346. 5 g. j. langsdale. “will they come north?” the greencastle banner. december 12 1878, 2. in north carolina, and was facilitated, not produced, by republican agents in indiana. long before george langsdale was accused of trying to rig hoosier elections, black men and women across the south were dealing with the oppression and hatred stemming from the death throes of congressional reconstruction. over the course of the decade preceding the move to greencastle, southern blacks were confronted with mounting violence in the form of white racist brutality and an increasingly inhospitable legal and political environments stemming from southern “redemption.” north carolina and its black citizens were not spared from this pan southern development. indeed, the motivations given by blacks for their exodus from the tar heel state centered on the mounting legal restrictions they faced and a fear of physical violence. the effort by southern whites to retake control of local and state government in the face of federal control was building steam throughout the 1870s and came to a head in north carolina during the 1876 election cycle. on a national level, the disputed presidential election led to the compromise of 1877 that gave the white house to rutherford b. hayes and initiated the winding down of federal intervention in the former confederate states. in north carolina, the 1876 elections were a hotbed of white supremacist activity. the depravity of reconstruction‟s “negro rule” was presented by the democratic party and their gubernatorial candidate zebulon vance as the greatest tyranny ever to befall the state, and a massive effort was made to return the state to the “white man‟s governance.” 6 this campaign, largely characterized by its anti-black tone, carried the day. 7 democrats were able to take control of the governor‟s mansion, every congressional seat save one, and attained large majorities in the north carolina general assembly. north carolina redemptionist historian joseph gregoire de roulhac hamilton characterized the election as a return to an idyllic form of white governance stating that “the cause of peace, order, and good government had triumphed.” 8 while this may have been true from a white redemptionist standpoint, it was hardly indicative of the state of affairs for black north carolinians. almost from the instant the new legislature was sworn in, it began a systematic effort to deprive blacks of their political and social claims to citizenship. the county government act of 1877 commenced the organized dismantling of black participation in governance by placing the election of local 6 joseph gregoire de roulhac hamilton. history of north carolina: north carolina since 1860, vol. iii. (chicago: the lewis publishing company, 1919), 187, 190. 7 frenise avedis logan. the negro in north carolina, 1876-1894. (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1964), 49. 8 logan. the negro in north carolina, 191. officials in the hands of the general assembly. 9 while the act affected all communities, it specifically targeted counties in the eastern part of the state with large black populations who, until this point, had been able to enter the political arena at the local level. this insured that the white majorities in the state legislature were able to monopolize local offices even when their party or their race was in the minority. thus, the whites of north carolina were willing to sacrifice local control over county affairs in order to assert and maintain white dominance. this loss of local control in order to satisfy racial prejudice was not unique to north carolina or even the american south. post emancipation societies across the western hemisphere centralized state authority in an attempt to restore a form of citizenship based on a community of white men. 10 black suffrage rights were further abridged by the act to regulate elections ratified by the general assembly on march 12 1877. 11 the act was an attempt at systematic regulation of the voting process in order to disenfranchise as many north carolina blacks as possible. this was done by granting considerable power to the local registrars to determine voter eligibility. individual voters were allowed to challenge the appearance of any name on the voter rolls, allowing less than scrupulous whites to challenge the eligibility of black men in order to prevent them from voting. 12 evidence of this is provided by the example of richmond county. in the stewartsville precinct three hundred and seven whites and four hundred blacks registered to vote. yet, on election day, the white majority challenged and subsequently reject one hundred and sixty seven black votes, while only one white voter was rejected. 13 when the legislature was confronted with black majority districts, it actively engaged in gerrymandering in order to reduce or remove this majority. this was especially the case in the eastern portions of the state which had the highest ratio of black dominated districts and towns. importantly, it was this area of the state where most of the immigrants to greencastle would originate. aside from election law, a series of other measures curbed the economic options available to blacks. the land lord and tenant act of 1877 manipulated black farmers into economic dependency on the landed classes and forced a constant state of indebtedness. all crops grown on land rented to blacks were legally regarded as the landowner‟s property, and it was the landlord‟s 9 ibid. 49. 10 eric foner. nothing but freedom. (baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 2007). 27. 11 laws and resolutions of the state of north carolina passed by the general assembly, 18761877. (raleigh: the raleigh state printer and binder, 1877), 516. 12 laws and resolutions, 518. 13 william alexander mabry. the negro in north carolina politics since reconstruction. (durham: duke university press, 1970), 22. responsibility to divide the crop between himself and his lessees. 14 this paved the way for a gross manipulation of the system by white landowners in order to exact the greatest harvest from their tenants while returning little of the crop to them. 15 any attempt to contest the practices of the landlord were sent to either the local justice of the peace or courthouse, both of which had fallen under the control of the white dominated state legislature as a result of the local government act. thus, the protests of most poor black sharecroppers fell on unsympathetic ears. any attempt to appeal the decision of white dominated local government was thwarted by the land lord and tenant act‟s stipulation that a lessee had to provide double the amount of property contested in the hearing as bond during the appeal process. 16 this stifled the possibility of appeal for the vast majority of blacks and left them at the mercy of a resurgent white landowning class that had successful regained its monopoly over local law and justice. north carolina migrants cited these limitations on black suffrage and economic potential as the main reasons for their flight to the hoosier state. indeed, in their minority report, senators william windom and henry blair pointed to the extreme economic hardships and political injustices inflicted upon blacks by whites seeking to regain and maintain their own personal dominance, and the dominance of the democratic party in north carolina. 17 these were men and women who “unable longer to endure the intolerable hardships, injustice, and suffering inflicted upon them by a class of democrats in the south, had, in utter despair, fled panic-stricken from homes and sought protection among strangers in a strange land.” 18 according to blair and windom, these injustices were building for years across the south and stemmed from a concerted effort on the part of white southern democrats to reinstitute antebellum notions of citizenship, labor, and race. the southern white effort to establish antebellum normalcy systematically deprived blacks of political and economic opportunities, and the search for these expressions of citizenship spurred emigrationist sentiment. in their own words, blacks from north carolina testified to the hardships that blair and windom elucidated in their summary of the senatorial investigation. w. g. fearring was a native of elizabeth, north carolina who became a secretary in the emigrant aid society in washington d.c. in order to “help [his] brethren to 14 laws and resolutions, 551. 15 logan, the negro in north carolina, 80. 16 laws and resolutions, 552. 17 u.s. senate, report and testimony of the select committee of the united states senate to investigate the causes of the removal of the negroes from the southern states to the northern states, senate report 693, 46 th congress, 2 nd session, part i (washington, d.c.: government printing office, 1880), xiv. 18 u.s. senate, report and testimony, part i, x. get away from north carolina.” 19 fearring noted that some of the primary motivations for the black exodus from the tar heel state centered on increased opportunities. blacks who moved to indiana took advantage of higher wages, ranging from $15-$20 a month, compared to the $6-$7 a month that blacks received in north carolina. moreover, indiana provided blacks with increased educational opportunities. fearring recounted to the committee that blacks were motivated to go to indiana because hoosier schools were open “all year around, except in summer months, when there is a vacation.” 20 he further alluded to the widespread manipulation of black votes and attempts to suppress black suffrage, noting that to have the right to vote “does not seem to do us much good” in north carolina. overall, he contended that blacks in north carolina, up until this point, had given the state and the white population every benefit of the doubt, and had exhausted every effort to try to improve their condition. with all of these efforts coming to naught, fearring stated that the only option left to his brethren was to flee the state. 21 like fearring, a letter from james a. stokes to george langsdale cited the political and economic oppression experienced by blacks in north carolina, and the increased opportunities that indiana held as the main reasons for the exodus. stoke, originally from rocky mount, north carolina, explained to langsdale that he left his native state because it was impossible for him to lead a respectable life. like the rest of the black population, he was systemically forced into perpetual debt, as a result of the landlord and tenancy act. moreover, he was prevented from earning a respectable wage and was only paid in credit to the store his landlord owned, an establishment that regularly overcharged him for basic goods. stoke also noted that he and his compatriots were unable to exercise their civic rights in north carolina. he described the affects of the suffrage acts on his own ability to vote, noting that the election process was completely controlled by the democrats who prevented blacks from voting through the use of election judges. in general, according to stoke, the black in north carolina had to “submit to insolence and insult, besides being robbed of the just reward of [his] labor.” this, explained stoke, was why he and many like him, “determined to leave that inhospitable country and seek homes in a land where we could enjoy those rights that are justly ours…and came right to greencastle.” 22 stoke‟s senate testimony highlighted the economic and political handicaps he faced in north carolina, and 19 u.s. senate, report and testimony, part i, 93. 20 ibid, 94. 21 ibid., 95. 22 u.s. senate, report and testimony, part i, 98. demonstrated his own agency through the rejection of these limitations as an exoduster. adding to the economic and political repression of blacks, r.c. badger, a lawyer and former state representative from richmond county north carolina, recounted the violence inflicted on blacks by organized groups of whites. these klan, or klan inspired organizations, instilled fear into the hearts of blacks across the south and added to the general feeling that the region was not a hospitable environment. badger claimed that the violence was a means by which whites could reestablish their political and economic control, noting that it was done “for political reasons, and a part of it for the regeneration of society.” he stated that whenever a black man “got too big for his pants” he became a target for abuse, usually verbal at first, but then physical. 23 an indication that a black man had become “too big for his pants” was usually membership in an organization like the union league and his exercise of the franchise in favor of republicans. badger further noted the systematic discrimination experienced by blacks in north carolina court rooms. in the vast majority of cases, blacks were presumed guilty rather than innocent and were almost never found innocent at the expense of a white person. 24 the discrimination experienced by blacks in the halls of justice was recorded by a number of other witnesses throughout the senatorial investigation. hilliard ellis of wilson county noted the general feeling among blacks was that they did not get fair treatment in courtrooms “because of their color.” 25 wiley lowerey of lenoir county contended that these courtroom injustices resulted from changes caused by the local government act. by removing local control of local offices, republican majority districts were transferred to democratic control. 26 the evidence given by ellis confirms the notion that the local government act was an effort by whites to monopolize political power in north carolina. by systematically removing local control from blacks, democrats eliminated republican controlled areas of the state and completed the redemption process. further, through control of the courts and elections, whites deprived the black population of its civic potential. the testimonies of these blacks called before the congressional investigation mirrors that of the leader of the exodus to greencastle, samuel perry. in his testimony, perry noted the importance that economic factors played in motivating him and his followers to exit the state. accompanying the general economic inhospitality were a series of poor harvests that further stimulated a desire to leave 23 ibid., 399. 24 ibid, 401. 25 ibid, 257. 26 ibid. 308. north carolina. as well, perry cited what can only be described as the north carolina equivalent of the corvée as one of the main grievances of the black population. the law required laborers to work on the public roads at least ten days a year, and perry testified that overseers of the public roads would specifically target blacks to work longer periods on the roads, usually during harvest time. the unpaid work took away from personal farming time and limited the economic potential of blacks. 27 indeed, economic factors were the primary motivating factors in perry's personal decision to begin an emigration movement. his original petition to solicit funds for emigration explained the need for black exodus in economic terms, stating that blacks "having labored hard for several years under disadvantages over which we had no control...our progress has been retarded as to nearly nullify all our efforts...our deliberate conviction is that emigration is the only way in which we can elevate ourselves to a higher plane of true citizenship." 28 in his petition, perry cited economic opportunity as a key motivating factor for emigration, and an essential aspect of full citizenship. like the other witnesses, perry also noted the inability of blacks to receive a fair trial in north carolina. perry experienced this firsthand upon returning to north carolina after his initial trip to indiana. he was arrested and falsely accused of forging documents in an effort to swindle $54 from the local schools. the evidence was completely fabricated and local law enforcement deliberately released the man known to be the forger in order to arrest perry. he was then forced endure a show trial where the judge categorically stated that "a nigger was no better than a beast." perry's only recourse was to sell his already mortgaged farm in order to pay down the amount he was accused of stealing. 29 the experience of the leader of the exodus to greencastle at the hands of north carolina law enforcement was typical of the experiences of his fellow blacks. blacks like perry were systematically denied fair hearings and judgments across the state and white preference ruled the day. perry himself made this perfectly clear, stating that "it does not take the same evidence to convict a colored man--that is, as much of it--as to convict a white man." as the testimony of blacks before the senate inquiry reveals, blacks in north carolina and across the south were systematically deprived of their legal rights to suffrage through intimidation and legal restrictions imposed by measures like the local government act and the manipulation of voting laws. blacks were prevented from challenging this by a systematic deprivation of their rights to the redress of grievances in the courtroom. the landlord and tenant act pushed them 27 u.s. senate, report and testimony, part i, 284. 28 ibid, 281. 29 ibid,301. into an economically subordinate position through measures such as payment only in the form of credit to an overpriced plantation store. by systematically depriving them of the rights of citizenship, this widespread climate of oppression forced the black population of north carolina into a subaltern position in relation to southern whites. by definition, the subaltern state implies a systematic deprivation of voice, influence, and participation within the hegemonic power structure of any given society or state. through their use of government structures and regulation, as well as the fostering of a climate of fear and oppression, the white population of north carolina was able to regain and re-implement the hegemonic control they had wielded in the days of slavery. the only way for the black population of north carolina, and blacks throughout the former confederacy, to reject their subaltern status was to flee the state. by making the choice to abandon north carolina, blacks challenged the white hegemonic structure and reasserted their status as citizens and attempted to redefine their place in the united states as a whole. this hegemonic structure was first challenged in north carolina during the civil war and congressional reconstruction. men like general edward a. wild blacks actively recruited blacks into “african brigades” to serve as union soldiers. these troops actively engaged in the liberation of slave population throughout north carolina and, in the process, overthrew antebellum power structures and assumptions of black identity based on their acquiescence to the slave system. 30 after the war, blacks challenged the political dominance of whites by participating in group activities such as marches to commemorate lincoln or emancipation, and by joining organizations such north carolina equal rights league. 31 the black challenge to white social and political hegemony was further advanced by the acquisition of the right to vote by black men. this equal claim to public space and political rights challenged the dominance of southern whites and their traditional political class. motivated by the challenge of black agency, whites began a systematic process to return blacks to an antebellum status through political manipulation and violence. by the late 1870s this had effectively been accomplished. thus, the migration to greencastle is part of a longer and larger process of black rejection of a subaltern status and white hegemony. the rejection of subaltern status and the migration to greencastle mirrors that of exodusters across the south, and presents in a microcosm the ways in which blacks developed and sustained networks of communication and support. emigration sentiment, according to perry, originated as early as 1872 and 30 stephen hahn. a nation under our feet: black political struggles in the rural south, from slavery to the great migration. (cambridge, mass.: harvard university press, 2003), 93. 31 ibid., 117, 124. coincided with the first inroads made by democrats in state elections and mounting klan violence. perry and his compatriots were spurred on in their exodus sentiments by the circulation of pamphlets and flyers promoting towns such as omaha, nebraska as possible places for black resettlement. 32 calls for emigration were also spread by the wide circulation of publications such as the new york herald which reported the “kansas fever” infecting the black communities of the south. motivated by this information, perry and one hundred other blacks from eastern north carolina formed the national emigration aid society to raise money for a proposed migration to the west, preferably kansas. 33 perry, and his colleague peter williams, collected twenty-five cents each from the members of their society and set off with the stated intention of finding a suitable place for resettlement somewhere in the west. however, perry and williams soon realized that they did not have enough money to make it all the way to kansas. taking advantage of a letter of introduction to the minister of the second baptist church in indianapolis that they had obtained while laid over in washington d.c., the two men stopped in the hoosier capital and made the acquaintance of local republican and black leaders. these men encouraged the north carolinians to stay in indiana, citing the opportunities for high wages and work. they gave perry another letter of introduction to the pastor of greencastle‟s african methodist episcopal church, reverend john h. clay, whose circulars advertising greencastle as a place for black settlement had run in george langsdale‟s greencastle banner and had caught the attention of perry. these local leaders convinced perry that greencastle was a suitable place for black resettlement and dissuaded him from seeking points further west. 34 after inspecting the area around greencastle and putnam county, perry, despite receiving several threatening letters telling him not to come back, returned to north carolina to spread the word about settlement in indiana. it was at this point that he experienced firsthand the discriminatory courtroom practices that he would later describe to the senate inquiry. after he escaped the drama of his courtroom ordeal, perry once again began to spread the word about indiana in the churches of eastern north carolina and started to prepare the members of his emigration society for the trip to greencastle. literature supplied for him by the reverend john clay and his ame church in greencastle provided valuable assistance in his effort. clay‟s advertisements for indiana described the state‟s economic opportunities and praised the social and legal equality that blacks would experience if they came to the state. clay described indiana as a “rich state of 32 u.s. senate, report and testimony, part i 280. 33 ibid, 281. 34 ibid., 283-284. fertile lands” with great opportunities for “farm hands and house servants [who] can readily find employment.” the legal position of blacks in the hoosier state stood in stark contrast to their position in north carolina. indeed clay advertised that “in indiana all stand equal before the law—the black man being protected in his contracts, property, and person the same as the white.” the overall tone of both perry and the reverend‟s publicity offered blacks liberation and salvation in the hoosier state and told black north carolinians to “come overland to indiana, like the children of israel marched out of egypt.” 35 residence in indiana was promoted as an opportunity to take the advantages of citizenship which were denied in north carolina. moreover, the black church also became an arena to assert black civic participation and claims to citizenship. the church served post-emancipation blacks as a nexus of family and community connection. the church, especially the rural church in places like eastern north carolina, was a center of community mobilization and political action. 36 as a result, active involvement in church life became a way to engage in politics and reassert the voice of blacks in the face of an imposed subaltern voicelessness. it is little wonder, then, that the message of emigrationism was spread in and by churches and, like clay‟s pamphlet, often utilized religious metaphors and imagery to explain and proselytize its merits. as perry explained to the senate committee, churches were regularly involved in providing money and lodging for blacks making their way to the north. perry himself turned to the church when he ran out of money on his first venture to the north looking for resettlement locations, and when he arrived in both indianapolis and later in greencastle, the first contacts he made were with black ministers. the leaders of black churches were not the only ones promoting black emigration in the north. the republican party and local republican advocates in indiana took an active role in the promotion of black migration to their state. as perry and williams noted, upon their arrival in indianapolis, some of their first contacts were with the local leaders of the republican party. these men provided essential information for the arriving north carolinians, and took an active role in promoting their exodus to the state. moreover, it was local white republicans who were charged with convincing the wider hoosier population to accept newly arrived blacks. the efforts to entice blacks to indiana and to convince the white population to accept the new tar heel hoosiers largely played out in the local press. the mouthpiece of the putnam county republican party, the greencastle 35 u.s. senate, report and testimony, part i, 166. 36 stephen hahn. a nation under our feet, 230-232. banner was one such forum for debate. owned and operated by george langsdale, the paper and its editor took an active role in the emigration debates. the articles and editorials in the banner were part of the wider debate surrounding black emigration, and contextualized white definitions of black citizenship and usefulness used to support their presence in the state. langsdale set the initial political terms of the exodus in his december 12 1878 editorial when he stated “what is the duty of the colored men of the south? clearly, to move to the north. let them come to this side of the ohio river [sic] and assist in making a „solid north‟ against a „solid south.”‟ from the white perspective, the banner presented blacks as tools in a lingering sectional and political divide. blacks were primarily seen for their political potential as republicans. langsdale made this point even clearer by encouraging blacks to come to indiana before the census of 1880 in order to be enumerated where “they will increase the number of their friends in that body [congress].” 37 indeed, in later issues he went on to say that “the charging of a rebel fortification by colored troops during the war was not a more necessary or gallant action than would be that of moving on the democratic stronghold in indiana in time to carry their works at the next election.” 38 by this statement, langsdale linked the sectional struggle of the civil war to the political potential of black men‟s votes for the republican party in the continued conflict between democrats and republicans in the post-war period. the editorial position of the banner revealed the perceived pawn-like status of blacks by the white citizens of greencastle and their local republican leaders. their potential exploitation by white hoosier politicians was one of the primary markers of their identity and citizenship. this was representative of the wider nature of the political climate in greencastle and indiana as well as a marker of blacks‟ status across the united states. little attention was paid to the reality of the black population‟s lack of social equality in indiana and across the nation. white hoosiers characterized the desire of blacks to leave the south as the result of oppressive labor practices and the inability to earn a fair wage. the banner‟s recruitment of blacks to indiana reflected a wider political process occurring across the union that emphasized labor and the economic potential of citizens, while deploring any attempt at “special interest” by any one group. 39 this was also part of the turn away from the insistence of radical republicans on the full social equality of blacks. the turn away from black civil rights, and the wider turn away from any “special interest” 37 g. j. langsdale. “will they come north?” the greencastle banner. december 12 1878. 38 g. j. langsdale. “editorial” the greencastle banner march 20 1879. 39 heather cox richardson. west from appomattox: the reconstruction of america after the civil war. (new haven: yale university press, 2007), 2. was evident in the indiana republican state platform of 1878 and in local greencastle politics. the platform of 1878 endorsed the notion of equality before the law “without regard to race color, condition, or occupation” but immediately followed this statement with a qualifier. it stated that the republican party of indiana was against any “exclusive privileges to individuals or classes.” 40 this, then, precluded any support by the party for active intervention for civil rights for the “special interest” of black hoosiers and highlighted the disparity between the stated goals of equality and the practical reality of intervention to achieve them. the general abandonment of the drive for black social equality was further reflected in the greencastle decoration day speech of 1878. the speech, given by the union veteran colonel c.c. matson, focused on national reconciliation and the virtue of the soldier. it mixed a typical medley of patriotism and martial pride in its commemoration of the nation‟s dead. it also identified the major enemy currently facing indiana and the united states, the dark and creeping menace of communism. to the thunderous applause of the audience, the spread of this ideology was cast as a “danger to life, danger to property and homes—and the most harmful danger to the welfare of the nation.” 41 painfully missing in the remembrance service was any reference to slavery and the spread of civil and political rights to blacks advocated during reconstruction or the passage of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the constitution. the main points of the speech were the “brave boys in blue” and their restoration of national unity. the possible communist perversion of the labor system was presented as the greatest danger to the nation. thus, the political dynamics of indiana linked black identity to the republican party and characterized it as an unwanted “special interest” distracting from the more salient labor issues facing the nation. indeed, blacks were implicated across the nation as a “special interest” desirous of intervention on their behalf. this limited the potential for the achievement of black social equality, and forced blacks to identify their citizenship based on their political allegiance to the republican party. additionally, this construct of black identity and citizenship also revealed a second and equally important black identity: laborers. this white conception of black citizenship was revealed by the brazil enterprise (in) which advertized a need for menial labor in local coal mines, and proposed that these positions be filled by blacks coming to the state from the south. the perspective in favor of black emigration was discussed largely in economic terms focusing on a surplus of demand and a shortage of labor, and reflected the larger politicization of black identity and 40 g. j. langsdale. “republican state platform, 1878” the greencastle banner, june 13 1878 41 g. j. langsdale. “the nation‟s dead: decoration day in greencastle” the greencastle banner, june 6 1878. economic merit. 42 this sentiment was replicated by those in favor of black emigration across the state. the banner expressed several of these sentiments in order to counter the claims made in the democratic and national press that blacks were unwelcome in indiana. interestingly, the banner mounted a defense of black inclusion in the hoosier body politic on the basis of black economic contribution as lower level laborers serving as a bulwark against communist infiltration, and not on their intrinsic equality with their fellow men. the economic justification of black membership in the hoosier community was demonstrated by several hoosiers writing in to the banner to tell how they had utilized the economic contribution of the newly arrived black migrants. a riley springer reported to “have two of the north carolina colored men” who were “first rate hands.” mr. springer described them as wonderful and diligent laborers who were able to “saw off six „back logs‟ two feet thick.” n.r. evans of groveland, indiana wrote that the state needs more good farm hands and that he wanted a black “family with two adult males and girl to work in [the house].” m.a. moore wrote that a large labor supply was the thing that putnam county and the state needed in order to double agricultural production. l.b. smith of reelsville, indiana noted the great need for labor in putnam county and that “fences want repairing and briars and bushes cut out, and logs and brush cleared.” b.p coleman deplored the state of fencing in putnam county and that “a thousand men brought into the county today wouldn‟t get the fences reset, the briars cut out of the fence rows, and the logs burned off the pastures in a year. labor is the great want of the county. we can use the colored men who come and want to work to good advantage.” 43 these letters to the banner presented the merits of black emigration and involvement in hoosier communities in terms of black labor readiness and ability to provide economic improvement. however, the potential economic contribution of newly arriving black hoosiers was fundamentally tied to their ability to labor in menial positions for white landowners. blacks were not invited to come to greencastle to become doctors, lawyers, or large scale landowners. they were an economic class whose citizenship was justified by their low level labor potential. undoubtedly, if mr. springer‟s two north carolinians were unable to chop his two big back logs, he would be less willing to employ them, and resultantly, less willing to invite them to his state. further, these testimonies reveal a rather troubling characterization of proprietorship of blacks by their white employers. mr. evans advertisement for two strong men and a girl to work in the house parallel slave advertisements describing blacks by gender, strength and skill in the field or home. as a result, 42 reported in the greencastle banner, jan. 23 1879 43 g. j. langsdale. “what the people say” the greencastle banner, december 4, 1879. when the black north carolinians under the leadership of samuel perry arrived in indiana they still faced similar mentalities concerning black identity and their role in the economy. while the pay was better and there was less outright legal discrimination, these mentalities, indicative of a turn away from radical republicanism and reconstruction, still characterized white perspectives of black identity and participation in the hoosier body politic and economic system. the exodusters to greencastle, while rejecting the reassertion of an antebellum subaltern identity in north carolina, still found themselves characterized by their economic position and political usefulness as republican voters. yet, in coming to indiana, north carolina blacks demonstrated an independence and agency that the pigeon holes of white southerners or hoosiers had attempted to deny them. moreover, by coming to greencastle, the new tar heel hoosiers did indeed claim the possibilities of greater educational, economic, and political opportunities than the redemptionists in the south were willing to allow. however, these increased opportunities must be weighed against the limiting definitions of acceptable black participation in the hoosier body politic that prevented a full attainment of social equality. as the 1880s and 1890s progressed and eventually gave way to the twentieth century, hoosier blacks faced an increasing repudiation of the very opportunities of social equality they came to indiana to obtain. the sons and daughters of the blacks who emigrated to places like greencastle increasingly left the rural environment in favor of urban spaces like the west side of indianapolis where they faced de facto segregation in housing, education, and employment. as the state increasingly industrialized, racial mentalities hardened and blacks faced mounting and violent pressures against their assertions of social equality. periodic outbursts of anti-black violence erupted in communities across the state, notably in evansville and shelbyville, and twenty blacks were lynched in indiana between 1865 and 1903. 44 indiana was also home to one of the last lynchings to occur in the north. on august, 7 1930 a 2,000 member strong white mob in marion hung thomas shipp and abraham smith, two black men accused of raping a white woman and killing her boyfriend. this incident and others helped to place hoosiers at the center of a revived klan movement that swept the united states in the 1920s and 1930s. 45 interracial social contact occurred less and less frequently as hoosier blacks faced increasing segregated from the public activities of the white population. 46 the 44 james h. madison. a lynching in the heartland: race and memory in america. (new york: palgrave, 2001), 18. 45 emma lou thornbrough. the negro in indiana before 1900: a study of a minority. (bloomington, in: indiana university press, 1993), 393. 46 ibid, 392. mounting black violence of the turn of the century and the interwar period had a variety of social and economic causes. but, at its heart, it reflected the definitions of black hoosier citizenship defined by menial labor and political pawn-ship inspired by the failures of reconstruction and the hoosier encounter with the exoduster movement. the migration of blacks to greencastle did demonstrate black agency in the face of southern attempts to restore white hegemony. however, it also revealed the less than inclusive northern constructs of black identity and the second class status slowly imposed on blacks across the union after the failure of congressional reconstruction. far from a minor footnote in indiana history, the emigration of a group of blacks from north carolina led by samuel perry is an essential story in the historiography of reconstruction and in the shifting definitions of black citizenship in the united states. bibliography 1851 constitution of the state of indiana athearn, robert g. in search of canaan: black migration to kansas, 1879-80. . lawrence: regents press of kansas, 1978. foner, eric. nothing but freedom. baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 2007. the greencastle banner hahn, stephen. a nation under our feet: black political struggles in the rural south, from slavery to the great migration. cambridge, mass.: harvard university press, 2003. hamilton, joseph gregoire de roulhac. history of north carolina: north carolina since 1860, vol. iii. chicago: the lewis publishing company, 1919. laws and resolutions of the state of north carolina passed by the general assembly, 1876-1877. raleigh: the raleigh state printer and binder, 1877. logan, frenise avedis. the negro in north carolina, 1876-1894. chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1964. mabry, william alexander. the negro in north carolina politics since reconstruction. durham: duke university press, 1970. madison, james h. a lynching in the heartland: race and memory in america. new york: palgrave, 2001. painter, nell irvin. exodusters: black migration to kansas after reconstruction. new york: knopf, 1977. richardson, heather cox. west from appomattox: the reconstruction of america after the civil war. new haven: yale university press, 2007. thornbrough, emma lou. the negro in indiana before 1900: a study of a minority. bloomington, in: indiana university press, 1993. u.s. senate, report and testimony of the select committee of the united states senate to investigate the causes of the removal of the negroes from the southern states to the northern states, senate report 693, 46 th congress, 2 nd session, iii parts. washington, d.c.: government printing office, 1880. van deusen, john g. "did republicans 'colonize' indiana in 1879?" indiana magazine of history. (vol. xxx) 335-346. woodson, carter godwin. a century of negro migration. . new york: russell & russell, 1969. microsoft word *gates spanish -on-line concept 2016.docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 1 la pluma del águila imperial y católica: la vida de san juan de sahagún como validación de la iglesia y monarquía en españa ian gates estudios hispánicos en 1604, fray agustín osorio (1554-1506) publicó su tratado “historia de la vida y los milagros del padre s. ioan de santo facundo, comúnmente dicho de sahagún de la orden de s. agustín.” en la introducción al tratado, osorio utiliza el motivo central del águila y sus flechas para promover la canonización futura de san juan de sahagún (c. 1430-1479). debido a sus atributos naturales, el águila tiene más de un milenio de historia como como icono religioso y político en la región mediterránea. este artículo discute el texto de ese tratado raro, y propone analizar la figura del ave de rapiña en la introducción escrita por osorio con la ayuda de la teoría de sujetificación abogada por la filósofa feminista judith butler. por medio de la teoría de butler, discutiremos cómo san juan de sahagún se presenta como una “flecha” del águila de san juan en tanto que símbolo de poder real y eclesiástico en la españa imperial, y legitimación del orden político y religioso español del siglo xvii. el contexto histórico se puede considerar el ministerio de san juan de sahagún durante el siglo xv como heraldo de la política unificadora, reformadora y extremadamente católica de isabel i de castilla y su esposo, fernando ii de aragón (paredes-méndez et al. 58). honrados como los “reyes católicos” por el papa en 1494, el matrimonio de isabel y fernando en 1469 marcará el fin de siglos de varias monarquías débiles en la península ibérica (kagan 28-30; merill y fillstrup 37). al fundar el imperio español y el linaje real de la monarquía, inauguran un tiempo nuevo (häusser y sturge 169; potter 263-264; vives 87). por lo tanto, la canonización de san juan de sahagún no sería solo una confirmación divina de la legitimidad de la iglesia. el reconocimiento de san juan de sahagún como héroe divino de españa validaría la autoridad divina de los reyes católicos y sus descendientes poderosos durante el tiempo de osorio. al principio del siglo xvii, fray agustín osorio del orden eremita de san agustino (o.e.s.a) quería promocionar la canonización de su beatificado predecesor, san juan de sahagún, o.e.s.a. san juan de sahagún (c.1430-1479), concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 2 era un cura, confesor, predicador y líder agustino que vivió toda su vida en el reino de castilla y león; el dominio principal de isabel i después de su coronación al final de 1474 (rubin 4; leonardi et al. 1347; manchado 15). san juan de sahagún tenía fama de poseer un corazón puro, resolver conflictos, entender bien las almas de otras personas1, y proclamar un mensaje de la reforma moral en salamanca (a. butler 775-776; leonardi et al. 1347-1348). san juan de sahagún nació en la sede de una familia noble leonesa, se dedicó a la iglesia como niño y estudió en la universidad durante el reino del juan ii, el padre de isabel i de castilla (leonardi et al. 1347-1348, rubin 17, 20). el ministerio reformador de san juan de sahagún ocurrió principalmente en salamanca durante el reino de enrique ii “el impotente” entre 1454 y 1474, y siguió durante la guerra de sucesión al principio del reino de isabel2 (a. butler 775-776, ferreira 30). los logros legendarios de san juan de sahagún incluyen: (1) renunciar todos sus beneficios menos uno para obedecer la ley eclesiástica, (2) resolver conflictos interpersonales (incluso entre los nobles) y (3) enfurecer a sus enemigos pecadores por decir la verdad (a. butler 776). felipe iii, el piadoso, fue el rey de españa entre 1598 y 1621 (thraroor 2014; ingrao 4, 32). como descendiente de los reyes católicos, felipe mantenía la política pro-católica establecida por isabel y fernando (feros 253; vives 89). bajo el dominio de los reyes católicos, y a lo largo de más de doscientos años en el país, los clérigos de la iglesia católica española disfrutaban el apoyo de la monarquía y la nobleza laica (y viceversa) (padden 28). fray agustín osorio era uno de los beneficiarios de esta colaboración entre iglesia y estado. durante su vida, osorio tenía bastante éxito como predicador, embajador, y jerarca eclesiástico en españa (jordán y garcía 406; lazcano 225-226). así, es lógico que osorio promueva la canonización de san juan de sahagún para mantener la autoridad y los privilegios de la elite religiosa. para abogar la canonización de san juan de sahagún frente a las autoridades religiosas y laicas del siglo xvii, fray agustín osorio escribió el tratado: “historia de la vida y los milagros del padre s. ioan de santo facundo, comúnmente dicho de sahagún de la orden de s. agustín” (1604). el cuerpo del tratado relata los atributos y actos de san juan de sahagún que corroboran su identidad como religioso castellano que merece la canonización. sin embargo, la 1 según butler: “he [st. john of sahagún] was favored with an extraordinary light [ability] in penetrating the recesses of the hearts of the penitents…but was severe in deferring absolution to habitual sinners.” en español: “él [san juan de sahagún] tenía una luz [habilidad] extraordinaria con la que penetraba las tinieblas de los corazones de los penitentes…pero era severo y negaba la absolución para los pecadores habituales”). se puede atribuir esta habilidad a lo divino y/o al don natural de alta inteligencia emocional y social. 2 enrique ii era el medio hermano paterno de isabel i (alonso-cortés 313). concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 3 introducción del tratado sirve para articular cómo osorio quiere que su audiencia interprete los actos, atributos e identidad de san juan de sahagún. osorio intenta presentar a san juan de sahagún no como una persona independiente, sino como el producto natural de la iglesia católica y la monarquía española (y por lo tanto, evidencia de la autoridad divina de las dos instituciones). la canonización y la teoría de la sujetificación la iglesia y la monarquía son ordenes sociales como judith butler describe en su teoría de la subjetivación. según butler, la identidad de un orden social es “reiterado y confirmado” por la sumisión de las personas dominadas por el mismo orden social (j. butler, “contingent foundations” 45-46; davies 426). además, las identidades de las personas dominadas son producidas en gran parte por el orden social que les domina (j. butler, “the psychic life of power” 2; davies 426). por ejemplo, el orden social de una escuela es “reiterado y confirmado” por la sumisión de sus estudiantes, y los estudiantes no son estudiantes sin someterse a la escuela (davies 426). también, el orden social de un ejército es “reiterado y confirmado” por la sumisión de soldados, y los soldados dependen del mismo ejército para sus identidades como militares. de este modo, el orden social de españa como país católico y real, en que todos buenos españoles son fieles al papa y su rey, es “reiterado y confirmado” por héroes divinos españoles como san juan de sahagún. según benedict anderson, las naciones son “comunidades imaginadas” o agrupaciones construidas socialmente, y así hay diversas opiniones de que es un/el concepto valido de españa (6)3. sin embargo, si se puede convencer a una población para cumplir ciertos criterios de conducta siendo estos necesarios para el orden divino nacional, se puede controlar un país política y socialmente. en otros términos, mientras más una persona se someta a un orden externo y performa4 los rituales que el orden le exige, su identidad se aproximará más al producto natural de este orden. la identidad personal, es más bien el producto de un orden, aunque lo más fácil fuera pensar que el orden externo es algo natural o 3 españa nunca se ha podido mantener (o conseguir) un estado puro de hegemonía religiosa, cultural o política (a pesar de la reconquista, la inquisición, la dictadura de franco, y varios otros intentos históricos) (marco 199, 221, 234-235, 325-327). la comunidad judía, los comunistas, la lengua vasca y las culturas distintas de las comunidades autónomas (como catalunya) todavía perduran hoy en españa. 4 según página 383 de “translating performance,” por d. taylor, la palabra performance no se traduce bien al español. ella recomienda “lo performático” como una traducción aproximada. podemos considerar “el desempeño” también como una aproximación del significado original de performance en inglés. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 4 establecido por dios (j. butler, “performative acts” 531). para finalizar, si el producto del orden es divino y milagroso, el orden debe tener los mismos atributos. se puede debatir el verdadero grado de la sumisión histórica de san juan de sahagún a los valores de la iglesia católica y la monarquía de isabel i. en consecuencia, se puede debatir hasta qué punto la identidad verdadera del san juan de sahagún encarna y afirma los valores y poder de la iglesia y la monarquía como algo natural. sin embargo, argumento que osorio sabe que si los líderes clérigos y laicos de la españa real y católica dominan el legado (la identidad póstuma) de sus héroes como san juan de sahagún, ellos pueden presentar tales héroes perpetuamente como los ejemplares perfectos de su política, legitimidad y divinidad. la canonización sería una manera ideal de dominar el legado de san juan de sahagún frente al público. al canonizar juan de sahagún, el santo no sólo recibe el crédito por el poder divino, sino el orden lo recibe también. así, el tratado de osorio “historia de la vida y los milagros…” promueve la canonización de san juan de sahagún por su narrativa diseñada para presentar, magnificar o posiblemente fabricar los atributos y acciones de juan de sahagún como héroe religioso y español producido naturalmente por el orden católico y real del país.5 análisis del motivo del águila y sus flechas para articular los atributos e identidad de san juan de sahagún como el producto natural y confirmación divina del orden católico y real de españa, fray osorio emplea el motivo central del águila y sus flechas en la introducción de su tratado (se puede ver el texto en el apéndice). en el motivo, el águila representa el orden establecido por los reyes católicos que osorio quería mantener. a su vez, osorio presenta san juan de sahagún como flecha en el plumaje del águila. según osorio, las flechas del águila son las “vidas milagrosas, de sus héroes y cosechas y virtudes.” (apéndice 2). por lo tanto, las flechas del águila son “el crédito de su real hermosura,” ergo la evidencia de su identidad especial como ser divino y natural (apéndice 2). en este último parte del artículo, voy a discutir el simbolismo del águila en la escritura de osorio y el contexto cultural y artístico de españa. el águila ya tenía una larga historia como representación de poder religioso y político en españa al final del siglo xv. por razón de los atributos naturales del águila, el pájaro majestoso era un símbolo de la profecía, el alma, la renovación y 5 de hecho, el tratado ya era parte de una larga tradición en la península ibérica de escribir biografías de santos para promover y controlar sus cultos, y luego, legitimar la autoridad y los privilegios de la elite religiosa y laica ibérica (wood 52). concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 5 la supremacía natural de ciertas personas e instituciones (entre otros significados). además, el águila tenía fama en españa durante la edad media como el emblema de san juan el evangelista y el antiguo imperio romano. por consiguiente, los reyes católicos adoptaron el águila de san juan como la base de su escudo real. el escudo de los reyes católicos aparecía en casi todos los edificios oficiales de sus dominios, incluso en las iglesias que ellos establecieron (howe 41, mateos et al. 354-355). por ejemplo, vemos en figura 1 las armas de los reyes católicos soportado por el águila en la iglesia de santo tomas el real en ávila (c. 1493). además, vemos las armas de isabel y fernando en la iglesia de san juan de los reyes en toledo, que se terminó en 1495 (figura 2). así, argumento que el águila del escudo de los reyes católicos representa la política de colaboración entre la iglesia y el estado que ellos promovieron y osorio pretendía mantener en 1604. figura 1: armas de los reyes católicos con la divisa del águila. iglesia de santo tomas el real, ávila (pidal 206) concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 6 figura 2: el escudo de los reyes católicos soportado por el águila en la iglesia de san juan de los reyes en toledo, españa. (bécquer y fernández 101) osorio dice que el nombre del águila “imperial” que figura en la introducción es “juan” (apéndice 1 y 3). desde la temprana edad media, el águila había servido en el arte religioso ibérico como el símbolo de san juan el evangelista: el discípulo “al cual amaba jesús” y el patrón de isabel i de castilla (ross-fábregas 90; el evangelio de juan 20:2, 21:7, 21:20, reina valera antigua). en figuras 3 y 4, podemos ver el águila en los brazos de san juan el evangelista en el ábside de la iglesia de san clement de tahull en cataluña (siglo xii)6. en el fresco, san juan está al lado de cristo, y tiene las alas de águila también en su espalda. figura 3: san juan a la izquierda de jesús en el ábside de la iglesia de san clemente de tahull, c. 1123 (maestro de tahull) 6 la iglesia fue consagrado en 1123, y el fresco del ábside hoy está preservada en el museo nacional de arte de catalunya en barcelona. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 7 figura 4: imagen ampliada de san juan a la izquierda de jesús en el ábside de la iglesia de san clemente de tahull, c. 1123 (maestro de tahull) podemos ver la representación de san juan por medio del águila también en la tapa de un relicario hecho al principio del siglo x para el catedral de oviedo. en la tapa figuran las cabezas de cuatro animales que representan el tetramorfo de los cuatro evangelistas. san mateo es representado por la figura de un hombre, san marco por el león, san lucas por el toro, y san juan por el águila (beigbeder 93). el tetramorfo fue inspirado por la criatura mística de cuatro caras que aparece en los libros bíblicos proféticos de ezequías y apocalipsis7: el segundo de que es comúnmente atribuido a san juan el evangelista (beigbeder 94, simon 185). figura 5: tapa de relicario con el tetramorfo, catedral de oviedo, c. 905 (simon 143) 7 ezequías 1:10 y apocalipsis 4:6-7 concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 8 el águila era considerada un símbolo de profecía y contacto especial con dios también por tener visión agudo y la habilidad de volar. había la leyenda clásica en el mundo romano que el águila era el mensajero de júpiter (rogers 82). había otro mito en el mundo medieval que la visión del águila era tan buena que no sólo tenía la habilidad de ver a distancias muy largas, sino mirar directamente al sol (una representación clásica de dios) sin cerrar sus ojos (de bernabé et al. 134). en la introducción a su tratado, osorio describe el águila “velando el ayre” para pedir “por derecho al sol, nuevas plumas” (apéndice 1). por describir las flechas del águila (que se renuevan perpetuamente) como las “vidas milagrosas, de sus héroes y cosechas y virtudes,” osorio sugiere que san juan de sahagún es uno de los sucesores de los profetas bíblicos de cristianismo y un producto de la política de los reyes católicos. como san juan el bautista y los reyes católicos, san juan de sahagún tenía fama por el poder de su fe, predicación y percepción. según albán butler, san juan de sahagún tenía la habilidad asombrosa de percibir y denunciar los pecados escondidos de las otras personas en salamanca. los reyes católicos también soportaron la inquisición española para encontrar y erradicar herejía en sus dominios (rubin 205-206). no ser católico en el imperio de isabel y fernando era una forma de alta traición contra el estado, y el águila como depredador ápice y “la reina de los pájaros” era apto para describir lo que pasaría a los que desafiarían a los reyes católicos (lópez y tavera 130). el águila, como depredador ápice y más, era el símbolo del antiguo imperio romano un milenio antes de que los reyes católicos dominaron españa y partes de italia (nolan 287-288). el águila era usada como heraldo por los legiones romanos que mantenían control de la península ibérica como provincia romana hasta la caída de roma en el siglo v (heather xi). los romanos consideraron el águila poderosa como la manifestación de los almas de sus cesares, y tenían la tradición de liberar águilas cautivas al lado de las piras funerarias de sus emperadores difuntos para llevar sus almas al cielo (werness 153). en figura 6, se puede ver la influencia del águila romana como símbolo combinado de poder político y creencia religiosa después de la caída de roma en el siglo v (heather xi). en el centro de una fíbula hecha de oro, bronce, y granates en la forma de un águila, podemos ver la cruz cristiana. la fíbula originalmente fue en la sepultura de una reina o princesa en ravena (italia) en el siglo vi (nees 86). además, tenemos evidencia que el águila romana era símbolo de lo espiritual entre los nobles de la península ibérica en la misma época. como vemos en figura 7, hay fíbulas similares de oro y vidrio hechas en el siglo vi para la necrópolis de alovera en la región de la mancha (lópez 42). concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 9 figura 6: fíbula de oro, bronce y granates. encontrado en la sepultura de una princesa o reina ostrogótica. ravena (italia) c. 500 (nees 86) figura 7: fíbula de oro y vidrio (c. 500-600). encontrado en la necrópolis de alovera (la mancha, españa), hecho en el siglo vi (lópez 42) debemos considerar las conexiones entre el escrito de osorio, el significado de las fíbulas y la creencia romana de águilas como portadores del alma. en la concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 10 introducción a su tratado, osorio dice que después de pedir nuevas flechas al sol, el águila “despide las viejas” en el cielo divino y regresa al mundo con “nuevo adorno” (apéndice 1 y 2). así, osorio refiere a las almas de héroes españoles como algo merecido y divinamente ordenado por la realeza y catolicismo de españa. además, osorio declara que el cielo divino es el destino natural de cada generación de héroes como san juan de sahagún. la restauración periódica del plumaje del águila es uno de las maneras en que el águila figura en bestiarios medievales como símbolo de la renovación perpetua (hassig 148). en la europa medieval como el antiguo imperio romano, el águila era conectada también a la leyenda del pájaro fénix, que tenía fama por restaurar su juventud cuando se envejecería por quemarse en su propio piro funerario (hassig 149). además, el águila figura como símbolo de rejuvenecimiento en la biblia también.8 por lo tanto, la restauración perpetua del águila describe bien la validación perpetua de la iglesia y la monarquía por medio de cada generación de santos y reyes. conclusión en conclusión, he discutido en este artículo como fray agustín osorio logra validar el poder del reino español y la iglesia católica en la península ibérica, presentando a san juan de sahagún como una flecha del águila heráldica de los reyes católicos. podemos considerar la dominación y sujetificación del legado de san juan de sahagún en el tratado y su introducción como obra de propaganda para acaudalar poder por manipular la memoria de una persona. sin embargo, me gustaría terminar con considerar la otra posibilidad. por medio de su introducción, fray osorio suplica a las autoridades eclesiásticas y laicas de su época que ellos emulan a tales líderes altruistas, humildes, honestos, y valientes como san juan de sahagún. porque si afirmamos que tales personas son el “crédito de [la] real hermosura” (apéndice 1) de las instituciones en que creemos, no solo damos más poder a estos organizaciones. exigimos que nuestros líderes obedecen el mismo estándar moral. apéndice el texto de la introducción al tratado: historia de la vida y los milagros del padre s. ioan de santo facundo, comúnmente dicho de sahagún de la orden de s. agustín (osorio) 8 en salmos 103:5, dice que: “el que sacia de bien tu boca de modo que te rejuvenezcas como el águila (versión reina valera antigua). concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 11 apéndice 1: primera página de la introducción al pio lector, despues que el águila (aunque en todo imperial) se habanado muchas vezes en la fuente mas clara de las montes donde habita, dizen los naturales, que apartada de su nido, con nuevo aliento aca y velando el ayre, taladrando las nubes encimandose sobre los cielos, no para hasta los umbrales de la quarta esphera a dode puesta, cara a cara, le pide por derecho al sol, nuevas plumas, nueva y fresca hermosura, despide las viejas y no vuelve a las esferas apéndice 2: segunda página de la introducción …pheras bayashaft a tener el nuevo adorno, y con los plumages nuevos renueva el credito de su real hermosura, y aun el de la sabiduria de dios que esto es lo de juan [numquid per fapentian tuam plumefeit accipiter.] o quantas aguilas en santidad cobrarian el credito perdido con las plumas se sus vidas milagrosas, de sus heroes y cosechas y virtudes. sabiduria es de dios, divina mi misericorida suya que con beatitude q estos dias hemos tenido, y con la comonizacion que muy en breve esperamos. apéndice 3: tercera página de la introducción a hvm mos, nuestra caudal águila ( q por ser juan es titulo que le vienede herencia cobre en la memoria de los mortales, y en la voluntad de los fieles, el credito evegesido de bellesa y hermosura y cobrando nuevas plumas que la hersenen, falgatan bella a los ojos de los hombres, como lo esta a los ojos de dios, y que diuise el mundo, en la cortedad de mi humilde estilo la gradez de su santidad y obras. recibe pues este breve tratadillo, y suma de su vida, y mirate en el comun espejo, que los sobras de los santos lo son de las faltas de los pecadores, apéndice 4: cuarta página de la introducción a hvm …caderes, y no mires a las mias. que lo seria grande tuya apartar los ojos del sugeto que te ofrezco, por p. boluellos a quien tatalo esta a los del mundo, ya sus lenguas como yo. vale. fray agustin osorio concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 12 obras citadas alonso-cortés, c.d. el caballero ee la reina isabel. carolina. print. anderson, b. imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. verso, 2006. print. bécquer, g.a. and fernández f.j.m san juan de los reyes. fernando iglesias figueroa, 2000. print. beigbeder, olivier. léxico de 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"how spain’s king felipe vi compares to the other felipes." the washington post 19 june 2014, worldviews sec. web. 16 dec. 2015. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 16 vives, j.v. approaches to the history of spain. university of california press, 1967. print. werness, h.b. continuum encyclopedia of animal symbolism in world art. continuum, 2006. print. wood, j. the politics of identity in visigothic spain: religion and power in the histories of isidore of seville. brill, 2012. print. microsoft word 2195 leithart 1 in her shape how lovely: the habit of virtue in paradise lost christian leithart english just as the iliad is preoccupied with rage and the aeneid concerned with piety, paradise lost is an epic poem built around a single subject. what that subject is has been the topic of many scholarly debates, to the point where some have claimed that the search is flawed from the beginning, that milton never chose an epic subject, and that we are merely wasting our time in looking for one. but milton was, if nothing else, a man with ambition. in the words of sharon achinstein, he “was surprisingly committed to a single goal, that of making his audience fit to achieve self-governance through training in virtue” (8). it was not enough for milton to treat an epic subject. he had to do it in such a way that his epic subject roused his readers to action. following in the footsteps of edmund spenser, whom he regarded as “a better teacher then scotus or aquinas” (patrides 213), milton decided that the best way to train his readers in their pursuit of virtue was through poetry. by representing what is true, good, and beautiful as accurately as possible, and showing what is false, evil, and ugly with the same exhaustive attention to detail, milton’s epic shows its readers how to live truly virtuous lives, focusing on the praise of god rather than the praise of men. borrowing from st. augustine, thomas aquinas called virtue a “habitus operativus bonus,” a habit of doing good (summa ii.1.55). for many philosophers, going back as far as aristotle, virtue was a lifelong pursuit, not something attained or possessed, but something cultivated and exercised. virtue was, in many ways, the ultimate goal of education, the wisdom to always choose a middle path instead of throwing oneself at an extreme (walker 108). as the catholic encyclopedia puts it: 2 virtue is the perfection of a thing… in its strictest meaning, however, as used by moral philosophers and theologians, it signifies a habit superadded to a faculty of the soul, disposing it to elicit with readiness acts conformable to our rational nature. (newadvent.org/cathen) the connection between virtue and rationality is well established in paradise lost – the archangel michael says explicitly that virtue is reason in xii.98. when reason and right action are divorced from one another, the results are at best ugly (see pl iii.103-111), and at worst catastrophic. the entire story of the fall hinges on a lapse in virtue, when adam and eve disobeyed god even when they knew, rationally, that what they were doing could lead to no good. milton would agree that virtue involves “acts conformable to our rational nature.” but from where would he say that the readiness arises? some scholars, such as stephen fallon, have argued that, even though milton’s prose explicitly states that we acquire virtue over time, his poetry undermines this position by emphasizing how its characters react in single, isolated moments. this is true as far as it goes – milton loved a dramatic standoff – but we should note that those isolated moments don’t appear out of nowhere. whether adam and eve stand or fall is as much due to their changing view of virtue as it is to their decisions in the moment of temptation. this is even more true of jesus in paradise regained, as bryan adams hampton has argued (167-226). but whether adam and eve display their virtue in a moment or over time is less important to milton’s project than the habits of his readers. when it comes to his audience, milton rests everything on the cultivation of virtue through habit. it is the lifeblood of all his major poetry. milton thought of poetry in more pragmatic terms than we might be used to, as he relates in a famous passage in areopagitica on “the benefits which may be had of books promiscuously read.” 3 as therefore the state of man now is; what wisdome can there be to choose, what continence to forbear without the knowledge of evill? he that can apprehend and consider vice with all her baits and seeming pleasures, and yet abstain, and yet distinguish, and yet prefer that which is truly better, he is the true wayfaring christian. (patrides 213) even unfallen angels have trouble recognizing evil when it hides (pl iii.682-685), and for humankind since the fall, the task of discerning what’s good and what’s bad is all but impossible. life throws curveballs at us, and it’s not always immediately apparent how we ought to react. in his treatise of education, milton explicitly connects this quality of the fallen world with its repair through education. the end then of learning is to repair the ruines of our first parents by regaining to know god aright, and out of that knowledge to love him, to imitate him, to be like him, as we may the neerest by possessing our souls of true vertue, which being united to the heavenly grace of faith makes up the highest perfection. (patrides 182) the purpose of education, then, is to fix the effects of the fall by teaching people to know god and love him. that’s how the “true wayfaring christian” gains the ability to choose what’s good and reject what’s evil. of course, education by itself isn’t enough. souls that would possess true virtue must be united to “the heavenly grace of faith.” education is the process of learning, by grace, to love what’s good and despise what’s evil, thereby being united to god. this sheds light on milton’s reasons for writing paradise lost. combined with paradise regained, it is a poem designed to train its readers in virtue by teaching them how to read, through an 4 accurate display of both good and evil – the best of the best and the worst of the worst. in other words, virtue is central to his project, both in the story that he’s telling and in the effect he wanted to have on his readers. for milton it appears that proper reading is closely associated with the fruits of divine virtue, carefully tended and maintained through the daily exercises of contemplation and practical obedience… (hampton 157) adam and eve cannot be perfect models of virtue since they did not stand up to temptation. in fact, they fell through the very process of growing in knowledge. as basil willey puts it, “genesis, to which milton must needs adhere, represented the fall as due to, or consisting of, the acquisition by man of that very knowledge, the knowledge of good and evil, by the possession of which alone milton the humanist believed man could be truly virtuous” (qtd. in blackburn 121). if man fell through knowledge, or in spite of knowledge, then knowledge alone is clearly not the solution to the fall. one can learn from the fate of adam and eve, in the same way that one can learn from a fable, but they give the reader no hint of how to overcome temptation. training in virtue requires something more. fortunately, there is one character whose acquired virtue provides an example for milton’s readers to follow: jesus in paradise regained, “whose extraordinary participation in the divine text anchors him through the storm of satan’s temptations” (hampton 157). christ’s successful resistance to satan’s temptation is the key to milton’s entire project, since it is, first and foremost, a display of virtue habituated over time through constant rumination on the word of god – the same thing he wanted for the readers of his poem. 5 as he makes clear in his theological treatise (de doctrina christiana) and through references to “our first parents” in of education (patrides 182) and adam’s fall in areopagitica (213), milton believed that the basic facts of his story were true. the fall was not an abstract concept for him. he truly believed he was living in a world shaped by that first disobedience and that he had an obligation to address it to the best of his ability. if, as i believe, milton saw virtue as a habit, acquired over time through meditation on the word of god, the effect of his poetry was as important to him as the words themselves. milton himself muddies the distinction between poetry and poet in an apology for smectymnuus when he says, ...he who would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things, ought him selfe to bee a true poem, that is, a composition, and patterne of the best and honourablest things; not presuming to sing high praises of heroick men, or famous cities, unlesse he have in himselfe the experience and the practice of all that is praise-worthy. (patrides 62) with this statement, milton connects writing well and living well, a relationship of mind and practice that he extends to his readers. jonathan scott has shown how milton saw the habit of virtue as a means to redeem the republican government of england. while this is true, and an important goal for milton, milton wasn’t only interested in the worldly, temporal effects of education. he was also mindful of education’s spiritual, heavenly ramifications. near the end of areopagitica, he describes the person who seeks truth as iris searching for the parts of osiris’s body. 6 from that time ever since, the sad friends of truth, such as durst appear, imitating the carefull search that isis made for the mangl'd body of osiris, went up and down gathering up limb by limb still as they could find them. we have not yet found them all, lords and commons, nor ever shall doe, till her masters second comming; he shall bring together every joynt and member, and shall mould them into an immortall feature of lovelines and perfection. (patrides 235) if virtue and the search for truth are connected, true virtue cannot be fully attained in this life. the search will never end until christ returns in the final moments of history. in paradise lost, milton commonly uses the word “virtue” as a generic term for angelic beings, possibly following the celestial hierarchy laid out by the fifth-century mystic pseudodionysius, which aquinas outlines in the summa (i.108). even this apparently humdrum usage reveals a subtle consistency in the poem. in book ii, both satan and beelzebub refer to the other fallen angels as “virtues” (pl ii.15, ii.311) in an attempt to preserve the dignity of their recently routed army. lest we think they’re just fooling themselves, the narrator adds, “for neither do the spirits damn’d / loose all thir vertue” (ii.482-83). this passage is interesting for two reasons. first, the poet highlights the fact that the loss of virtue (a certain kind of virtue, at least) is not an automatic process, like flipping a switch, but a gradual one, like a plant dying for want of light. recently cast into hell, satan still possesses impressive qualities. by the end of the poem, he is dark and unremarkable. the second interesting thing here is what the narrator calls “virtue.” the fallen angels praise satan for his willingness to risk offending god by traveling to earth, “that for the general safety he despis’d / his own” (ii.481-82). even fallen angels are awed by self-sacrifice (no matter that satan is doing it for selfish reasons). the ability to recognize a good thing (self-sacrifice, in this instance) when they see it is, to the poet, “virtue.” 7 raphael is called an “angelic vertue” in book v, and during his tale of satan’s rebellion and the ensuing war in heaven, angels are once again called virtues, first by god the father (pl v.601), then by satan (v.722), and then by abdiel (v.840). abdiel uses the term one other time when he bemoans that satan’s strength should continue even though his virtue is lost. o heav’n! that such resemblance of the highest should yet remain, where faith and realtie remain not; wherfore should not strength and might there fail where vertue fails, or weakest prove where boldest; though to sight unconquerable? (pl vi.114-18) it doesn’t sit well with abdiel that satan still looks like an unfallen angel when his “vertue” has failed. like many other characters in the poem, abdiel struggles whenever appearance doesn’t match reality. we see virtue used as a term of address in two other places. when the father commissions the son to create the world, the angels are described as virtues (pl vii.199), and then finally satan, newly returned to hell, addresses his minions as virtues just before they’re all turned into snakes (x.460). a name that once described them accurately (when used by the father in v.601) now rings as false as satan’s boasts. the contrast here underscores how difficult it can be for the characters (notably adam and eve) to discern true virtue from evil in disguise. it’s almost as if only true virtue can recognize virtue, though that’s not quite right. false virtue can also recognize true virtue, since it can’t help but be stupefied in its presence. in book iv, satan is surprised by two angels as he crouches next to the sleeping eve, filling her ear with dark thoughts. the angels bring him to a cherub named zephon, who reminds satan that the devil has lost his sheen. 8 so spake the cherube, and his grave rebuke severe in youthful beautie, added grace invincible: abasht the devil stood, and felt how awful goodness is, and saw vertue in her shape how lovly, saw, and pin'd his loss; but chiefly to find here observd his lustre visibly impair'd; yet seemd undaunted. (pl iv.844-51) here, virtue is personified as a female form, lovely even to satan. but though satan pines after goodness, grace, beauty, and virtue, lost to him, he is “abasht” in their presence, primarily because he learns that his own beauty has been diminished, the narrator tells us. the further satan gets from the source of all virtue, the more terrible it seems to him, though no less attractive. thus, we have the chief frustration of all the traitor angels: the one thing that could satisfy their desire (service to the most high god) has become hateful to them, in no small part because its existence destroys the illusion of their self-sufficiency. milton also uses the word “virtue” to describe the generative power that is the source of all life. in book iii, the narrator describes the virtue of the sun, which penetrates the earth and warms it (iii.586 and iii.608), which raphael confirms in book viii: ...consider first, that great or bright inferrs not excellence: the earth though, in comparison of heav’n, so small, 9 nor glistering, may of solid good contain more plenty than the sun that barren shines, whose vertue on it self works no effect, but in the fruitful earth… (pl viii.90-96) the sun may be the virtuous source of light and warmth on earth, but it is earth that produces life in response. similarly, god infuses virtue in others to inspire them to various virtuous acts. in book vi, the father “transfuses” virtue and grace into the son “that all may know / in heav’n and hell thy power above compare” (pl vi.704-709), giving him authority to cast out satan and his army. later, god (father/son/spirit, the distinction is unclear) creates life by infusing “vital vertue… and vital warmth / throughout the fluid mass…” (vii.236-37) of the earth. the acts of god are virtuous, and all virtue has its source in god, but the father himself is not designated as such. notably, the word “virtue” is never used in book iii, when god is introduced and when we might most expect it. satan plays with this relationship between virtue-giving creator and virtue-infused creation in book ix, using the same scientific facts as raphael in book viii, but turning the implication of them on its head. because the earth sits at the middle of stars and planets and is “productive in herb, plant, and nobler birth / of creatures animate with gradual life / of growth, sense, reason, all summ’d up in man” (pl ix.111-13), satan reasons, the earth is clearly the more worthy. he even compares earth’s position as the central receptor of virtue to the position of god at the center of all things (ix.107-09). this tells us more about satan’s state of mind than it does about the state of the earth in the cosmos. once we untangle the faulty logic, the implications are revealing. in terms of which direction the virtue flows, if we can put it that way, god is more similar to the sun than to the earth. for satan, to be the center of all means to be the receptor of all glory and virtue, not the 10 source. he has forgotten that every ounce of virtue he possesses is a gift from god. as charles williams puts it, satan has “renounced all derivation” (35), which ultimately can only end in tragedy. the word “virtue” or a variation of the form is used fifteen times in the ninth book of paradise lost, more than twice as much as in any of the other books. book ix also contains at least three different perspectives on what constitutes virtue. satan’s view of virtue has already been discussed. he says that god’s virtue is like the virtue of the sun in that it is directed outward (pl ix.110), and then wonders if the reason god didn’t repopulate heaven with new angels when satan fell was that the father had run short on virtue (pl ix.145). for satan, virtue equals power, plain and simple. it explains why he addresses his followers as virtues, and why he exhorts them to rise from the lake of fire by appealing to their virtue (pl i.320). adam’s view of virtue follows the correct pattern of receiving virtue from an outside source and letting it shape his desires. but is it the correct source? earlier, in book viii, adam waxes poetic on eve in raphael’s hearing and the angel chides him for his overzealous praise (pl viii.561-94). specifically, adam says that “what [eve] wills to do or say / seems wisest, vertuousest, discreetest, best” (viii.549-50) and that “authority and reason on her waite” (viii.554). adam has located his source of virtue in something “less excellent” when he should be aiming higher. on the other hand, receiving virtue from his relationship with eve is not always a bad thing for adam to do. in book ix, when he makes his case to eve for why they should not separate, but work together, he says i from the influence of thy looks receave access in every vertue, in thy sight more wise, more watchful, stronger, if need were of outward strength; while shame, thou looking on, 11 shame to be overcome or over-reacht would utmost vigor raise, and rais'd unite. why shouldst not thou like sense within thee feel when i am present, and thy trial choose with me, best witness of thy vertue tri'd. (pl ix.309-17) at least part of his argument makes sense. he notes that virtue is built up in community – something that is less true of the world post-fall (see pl x.884) – and that both she and he are more likely to remain obedient if they are together. “vertue tri’d” is something that adam expects, even in a state of innocence, and wants to prepare for. thomas h. blackburn rightly points out a connection between the unfallen state of virtue and the state that milton wants for his readers. virtue in paradise lost comes as a result of trial, even for unfallen creatures. to insist then, as many have, that man becomes faced with moral questions only when he is fallen, and thus lives an interesting and dramatic life only then, is to misunderstand not only the conception of innocence in paradise lost, but also the ideal of virtuous freedom and morality so eloquently set forth in areopagitica. (132) man, angel, and messiah all undergo trials through which their virtue is tested. similarly, the reader of paradise lost, existing outside the poem, can progress towards true virtue through the experience of reading, as long as the source remains the truth of scripture. trials are good as long as you stick close to your guide. 12 but once again, we are left wondering about adam’s perceived source of his own strength (and eve’s). like the earth receives warmth from the sun, he receives virtue from her looks. is he acting in the belief that his virtue comes primarily from god or from his relationship to his wife? eve’s relationship to virtue might be the most thought-provoking. in book v, the narrator describes eve as “vertue-proof” in her nakedness (pl v.384), probably meaning “proof through virtue” rather than “proof against virtue,” almost as if she is literally clothed with virtue. later, adam declares that it was eve’s virtue that caused her to turn away from him when they first met (viii.502). for her, virtue is more like protection than strength. eve is aware of this aspect of her virtue, which is most of the reason why she wants to separate from adam in book ix, leading to their disagreement about what exactly constitutes obedience. eve claims that she will never know the strength of her virtue until she tests it. adam counters that she doesn’t have to do so alone. eve wins the argument of course, and, when they part, adam leaves her with this line: rely on what thou hast of virtue; summon all for god towards thee hath done his part, do thine. (pl ix.374) according to adam, god has given eve all the virtue that she needs to withstand temptation. so how does the breakdown of virtue happen? throughout book ix, eve, prompted by satan, begins to ascribe virtue to the fruit of the forbidden tree. the tree has “vertue to make wise” (ix.778), which translates into the virtue of the tree, etc. satan also tells eve that, far from punishing her for disobedience, god will praise her “dauntless virtue” in eating the fruit. just as in every other situation, satan has made it his goal to undermine the authority of god. here, he does it by implicitly questioning the source of virtue in the world. is virtue something that comes from god, or is it something that man (eve, in this situation) can attain on his own? satan is the first one to 13 praise the power of the fruit, which eve calls him out on (pl ix.616), though she is more concerned by his “overpraising,” as she calls it, than by the idea that a snake could gain speech by eating something. it’s worth noting that satan himself never ascribes virtue to the fruit of the tree. instead, he plants seeds in eve’s mind through flattery, appealing to her sense of injured merit, the same motive that caused him to rebel in the very beginning (pl i.98). all it takes is for satan to suggest that eve deserves more than what she has been given – even to suggest that god will praise her “dauntless vertue” in taking initiative (ix.694). eve completes the rest of the temptation herself. she is completely taken in by her own folly. she calls the tree and the fruit virtuous (ix.745, 973), and it isn’t long before adam follows her lead and uses the term “virtuous” to describe the tree. once they’ve forgotten the sole source of all virtue, anything is up for grabs. paradise regained deals with the same questions of virtue’s source and continuation. the devil is the first to mention virtue in the shorter epic, in book i, when he bemoans the growth of the son to “youths full flowr, displaying / all vertue, grace, and wisdom to atchieve / things highest, greatest” (pr i.67-69). satan is back on his heels here, worried about what might come to pass now that the son of god is on earth in human form. this is not the first satan’s heard about this, however (pr i.66). the danger is compounded now that jesus has grown both physically and in virtue. jesus is called the father’s “filial vertue” by the angel choirs (i.177), a title given to him by the father, so sure they are of victory and final glory. as a divine person, the son is complete, already filled to fullness with virtue. in his human nature, however – no less innocent than his divine nature – jesus does grow, and as he wanders in the desert, he recalls his mother encouraging him to do so. 14 ...high are thy thoughts o son, but nourish them and let them soar to what highth sacred vertue and true worth can raise them, though above example high; by matchless deeds express thy matchless sire. (pr i.229-34) the rest of the poem is a debate between satan and jesus about the true nature of virtue, with satan predominating. the devil continually makes claims about what virtue consists of and where it comes from, claims which jesus repudiates. the son even goes so far as to expose the wisdom of the pagan philosophers as attempts to “in themselves seek vertue, and to themselves / all glory arrogate, to god give none” (pr iv.314-15). “jesus recognizes that there can be no freedom, for either the ruler or the ruled, without the internal bounty of virtue that is produced through virtuous cooperation with the divine [word]” (hampton 216). in his humility, christ rejects the temptation that satan presents: to locate the source of all true virtue in something other than god. milton held to a hierarchy of being that placed god at the top, followed by angels, man, the animal kingdom, and on down to plants and inanimate objects. the happiness of all created beings lies in recognizing and accepting their placement in that hierarchy. john steadman puts it this way: “to perform his proper function and offices and to observe his proper end, the rational creature must recognize his peculiar position in the scale of being and the distinctive properties which differentiate him from other creatures and from god” (qtd. in walker 103). notably, virtue does not exist in a one-to-one relationship to creaturely happiness. god will ensure that his will is done whether or not angels or men reject their own “happy lot.” in this sense, even sin and death are “virtuous” in the sense of being oriented to god’s good (118). in an ironic scene, sin attributes 15 satan’s success in the garden to his virtue (pl x.372), never imagining that god intends to use satan’s victory to defeat him and bring about something even more glorious. though god can bring good out of evil, the virtue of created beings only grows as long as the creature continues in obedience. to quote william walker again, milton envisions every characteristic of unfallen human nature as a characteristic that qualifies it in one way or another to live as god wishes. that is what it means to be made perfect, as god and raphael say they are and as adam and eve know they are (v.524, viii.642, x150): it is to be constituted in such a way that all of one’s characteristics enable and even dispose and make it easy for (but do not force) one to achieve one’s purpose well and with ease. (107) the whole question of virtue, therefore, is really a question of who god is, since it is both toward him that all of creation is oriented and from him that all of creation originates. everything in the world, including the incarnate jesus, either exists in sync with these created characteristics or does not, and since everything in the world exists in time, virtue must be a continued state of being over time. before the fall, that state of being was as natural as breathing. once adam and eve disobey – of their own free will – that state of being begins to tend away from god and needs constant refreshment and care (and assistance) to return to him. another word for that constant care might be a “habit.” stephen fallon points out that, in paradise lost, milton only uses the word “habit” by itself (as opposed to “inhabit” or “habituation”) to refer to clothing, and then only negatively (187). fallon means this as an argument against a miltonic view of “virtue as habit,” but it raises an interesting connection between virtue and clothing. after the fall, adam and eve examine each 16 other and realize that they have been stripped of their virtue, like freshly shaved samsons. what was there to protect them – what made eve “vertue-proof” – has been removed as a result of their disobedience. in a beautiful moment in the poem, the son clothes adam and eve in skins nor hee thir outward onely with the skins of beasts, but inward nakedness, much more opprobrious, with his robe of righteousness, araying cover'd from his fathers sight. (pl x.220-23) though stripped of all their virtue, they find themselves clothed in the righteousness of their future savior. the son has restored their habit of virtue to them. is it accurate to say that virtue in paradise lost and paradise regained is a habit of doing good? we can certainly say that disobedience leads to a loss of virtue, but what about the positive side – does obedience lead to virtue? in milton’s two epics, characters do grow in virtue, but virtue itself grows as well, because virtue is tied to a specific individual. of all things in the world, only jesus is able to simultaneously participate in the sinful world and not give in to its pressures, on account of his two natures, human and divine. without christ’s example, sacrifice, and brotherhood, mankind can’t gain purchase and can’t ever regain their lost innocence. the beginning of virtue, even in a fallen world (pl i.483), is recognizing the goodness of that sacrifice, as michael reminds adam (pl xii.575-587). that goes for milton’s readers as well as his characters. as milton states in the beginning of paradise lost, his goal is to assert providence, which means justifying how god can be the source of virtue in a world where sin and death run rampant. milton believed virtue was made perfect through trial, in an unfallen world as well as in a fallen one. if the incarnation of the son of god is what brings man closer to god than ever before, then the 17 fall, as the greatest trial, provides the greatest opportunity for growth in virtue. without the fall, the son would not have been made incarnate and thus, would not be an example of true virtue for milton’s readers to follow in order to return to the ultimate good and their source of true happiness. in that sense, paradise lost is the ultimate tool for training through a habit of meditation, because without the events that it relates and invites the reader to meditate on, there would be no chance of growing in virtue at all, either for milton’s characters or for fallen humanity. works cited achinstein, sharon. milton and the revolutionary reader. princeton university press, 2014. blackburn, thomas h. “‘uncloister'd virtue’: adam and eve in milton's paradise.” milton studies, vol. 3, 1971. butler, george f. “milton's ‘sage and serious poet spencer’: error and imitation in the faerie queene and areopagitica.” texas studies in literature and language, vol. 49, no. 2, 2007, pp. 101-24. fallon, stephen m. “milton and literary virtue.” journal of medieval and early modern studies, vol. 42, no. 1, 2012, pp. 181-200. giugni, astrid. “the ‘holy dictate of spare temperance’: virtue and politics in milton's a masque presented at ludlow castle.” journal of medieval and early modern studies, vol. 45, no. 2, 2015, pp. 395-418. hillier, russell m. “doped malice in john milton's paradise lost.” notes and queries, vol. 59, no. 2, 2012, pp. 176-8. hampton, bryan a. fleshly tabernacles: milton and the incarnational poetics of revolutionary england. university of notre dame press, 2012. lewis, c. s. a preface to paradise lost. oxford university press, 1961. milton, john, and c a. patrides. selected prose. university of missouri press, 1985. -------, and john t. shawcross. the complete poetry of john milton. anchor books, 1971. riebling, barbara. “milton on machiavelli: representations of the state in paradise lost.” renaissance quarterly, vol. 49, no. 3, 1996, pp. 573–597. steadman, john m. “heroic virtue and the divine image in paradise lost.” journal of the warburg and courtauld institutes, vol. 22, no. 1/2, 1959, pp. 88–105. scott, jonathan. commonwealth principles: republican writing of the english revolution. cambridge university press, 2004. 18 wadoski, andrew. “milton’s spenser: eden and the work of poetry.” sel, vol. 55, no. 1, 2015, pp. 175-196. walker, william. paradise lost and republican tradition from aristotle to machiavelli. brepols, 2009. williams, charles, and anne ridler. the image of the city, and other essays. oxford university press, 1958. wooten, john. “the poet’s war: violence and virtue in paradise lost.” studies in english literature, 1500-1900, vol. 30, no. 1, 1990, pp. 133-150.   time for conversations, room for reform: the importance of theory, history, and philosophy in teacher education programs karen zaino education “i am urging every teacher education program today to make better outcomes for students the overarching mission that propels all their efforts.” --secretary of education arne duncan, 2009 at first blush, secretary duncan’s call to strengthen teacher education programs appears irrefutable; what can be wrong with better outcomes for students? as duncan attests, today’s teachers are burdened with more demands than any others in the past: while dealing with larger and ever more diverse populations of students, teachers are simultaneously asked to “achieve significant academic growth for all students” (duncan). no child left behind, with its emphasis on high-stakes tests, is drawing closer to its terminal year. however, president obama administration’s race to the top initiative, which asks states to make significant reforms in order to gain federal funds, suggests that the government will continue to support those states that show significant gains in test scores. teachers will be expected to help students reach increasingly advanced benchmarks. indeed, when the first race to the top winners were recently announced, only two states came out with passing grades, suggesting that most states were not even close to meeting the education department’s rigorous standards (colvin). such standards – whether for schools, state governments, or teacher training programs – are laudable, and certainly, educators at all levels should be asked to achieve high benchmarks. at the same time, duncan’s plea implies that “better outcomes” are not the current “overarching mission” of teacher education programs – that student learning and achievement are not the impetus behind hundreds of schools of education across the country (duncan). duncan does not specify what current programs focus on at the expense of student learning. but his ideas for improvement – which center on more rigorous training in the content areas and increased opportunities for hands-on experience in the classroom – imply that   programs currently forgo such training in favor of “subjective, obscure, faddish… out of touch [and] politically correct” pedagogical indoctrination (levine qtd. in duncan). rather than student learning, duncan suggests, teacher-training programs emphasize lock-step politics and poorly researched educational trends. the problem with such a statement, however, is that duncan himself is petitioning for a specific political agenda (couched in the speciously objective terms of “student learning” and “achievement”) and asking schools of education to conform to it. in fact, though, in order to avoid faddish curriculum and unburden themselves of their lackluster reputations, education programs must continue to provide their students with theoretical, historical, and philosophical understandings of education – the very concepts that duncan dismisses as “obscure” and “out of touch.” although duncan presumably wishes to prioritize content knowledge and practical skills over educational theories and philosophies, these subjects are essential aspects of any program that wishes to facilitate the growth of effective and thoughtful educators – and, by extension, truly educated children. duncan’s suggested reforms point to important potential flaws in teacher education programs; at the same time, it is important to recognize, in a way that duncan does not, what does work about current programs in the academy. certainly, duncan is not wrong to advocate for content knowledge and rigorous practical training. many educational thinkers have called for similar reforms in teacher training programs, based on their belief that teachers are not as liberally educated as they need to be in order to efficiently transmit cultural and academic information to their students. for instance, duncan actually refers in his speech to e.d. hirsch, whom he calls the “father of the acclaimed, content-rich core knowledge program.” hirsch has been a long-time advocate for increased academic rigor in schools. hirsch sees effective student learning as the successful acquisition of basic skills and culturally relevant information. he has said that “the names, phrases, events, and other items that are familiar to most literate american” create a body of information whose importance is “beyond question” (hirsch x). as a result, teachers need to be experts in their disciplines, so they can effectively provide their students with this essential information. on his core knowledge website, in fact, hirsch suggests a possible curriculum for pre-service elementary school teachers. the requirements include classes in a range of subjects, from chemistry to literature, and exactly one pedagogical course: teaching reading. given hirsch’s suggestions for teacher education, he would undoubtedly support duncan’s call for more rigorous disciplinary education for teachers. mortimer adler, an educational leader who pioneered the intellectually rigorous “great books” programs in schools, has also written in favor of contentarea focus in teacher preparation programs. pre-service teachers, he says, need a “course of study that is general, liberal, and humanistic” (adler 59). he goes on to   explain that current programs “turn out students who are not sufficiently equipped with the knowledge” necessary in order to successfully teach students what they need to know (adler 60). at the same time, adler also argues that teachers need to be familiar with several types of teaching methodologies, depending on whether they are explaining facts, facilitating skill-development, or encouraging critical thinking. thus, as duncan proposes, pre-service teachers need practical experience. teachers need “practice under supervision… [and not the] lecture courses in pedagogy and teaching methods such as are now taught in most schools” (adler 61). they need practical expertise in the didactic, coaching, and questioning methods that are needed for each kind of learning. thus, while adler emphasizes the importance of content knowledge, he also acknowledges that teaching well requires a deep understanding of how to teach as well as the content to be taught. duncan’s call for increased practical experience could provide what adler considers the necessary exposure to the different teaching methodologies. adler and hirsch would both agree that schools of education need more rigorous contentarea requirements and increased hands-on experience; indeed, few philosophers could argue with the importance of developing these skills in teachers. yet duncan also makes clear his desire to analyze teacher education programs based on student performance on standardized tests. duncan states explicitly that the department of education will reward and encourage those colleges that “use data, including student achievement data, to foster an ethic of continuous achievement.” student achievement data will almost certainly mean standardized test scores. because duncan wants to be able to compare students, he must define progress as something distinctly measurable. therefore, it seems clear that schools and states will continue to measure “progress” by examining scores on standardized tests – how else but by a numerical representation can students across the country be easily compared? thus, although duncan claims he is supporting “student learning” in favor of “faddish” politics, he is actually supporting the continued use of standardized testing to measure progress and determine the effectiveness of a child’s education (this in itself is a “faddish” decision, or, at the very least, a political one). standardized testing is undeniably useful, but as a sole measure of learning, it is inadequate. nel noddings, for instance, has maintained that genuine learning and achievement do not occur in settings that emphasize rigorous homogeneous standards. noddings pioneered the concept of building schools around an “ethic of care” – of teaching students to develop skills in areas to which they are personally committed (johnson and reed 223). noddings argues that school, in its current form, is not an environment in which “students learn to care for ideas” (noddings qtd. in johnson and reed 226). indeed, she says, students are not encouraged to care at all – whether for people, things, ideas, or themselves. noddings points out   that not all students can learn all things; some students “will never understand the logic of a mathematical proof” (noddings qtd. in johnson and reed 222). it is therefore the job of educators to ensure that students have the resources and freedom to pursue those subjects about which they feel most passionate. teachers are not didactic instructors; rather, they are mediators and guides for curious students. they teach students how to learn and how to care. duncan’s emphasis on standardized testing for students – and the more rigorous, standardized curriculum that would inevitably develop for pre-service teachers – will not allow students and teachers the freedom to explore the subjects they care about. noddings raises important points about the necessity of individuation in student learning and curriculum design. her ideas have basis in other philosophies. most notably, john dewey argued extensively in favor of a progressive, more individualized program of instruction in favor of a strictly didactic approach. dewey’s social constructivist approach to education has dominated schools of education for the past fifty years. dewey points out, quite reasonably, that education is not “an either-or affair” (dewey qtd. in johnson and reed 124); the educator does not need to choose between the child and the curriculum. rather, the well-trained teacher examines the needs of the child and then presents the material accordingly. but the presentation of content alone is not enough. in fact, he says …it is a mistake to suppose that the mere acquisition of a certain amount of arithmetic, geography, history, etc., which is taught and studied because it may be useful at some time in the future, has [a positive] effect, and it is a mistake to suppose that acquisition of skills in reading and figuring will automatically constitute preparation for their right and effective use under conditions very unlike those in which they were acquired (qtd in johnson and reed 126). recognizing that nothing is educative in itself, dewey explains that a subject is educative to the child only when it is presented in a developmentally appropriate manner and within an individually meaningful context. indeed, “it is not enough that certain materials and methods have proved effective with other individuals at other times” (dewey qtd. in johnson and reed 122). rather, education grows organically between student and subject, in a way that does a disservice to neither the student nor the subject. duncan’s suggestion that the quality of teachers and students can be measured – and his insistence that teachers rely on “proven” methods – is in direct opposition to dewey’s very reasonable argument in favor of flexibility within the curriculum. in fact, duncan’s selection of standardized testing as the major means   by which to measure student achievement necessarily narrows the definition of education. he argues that he is making an unbiased decision in favor of “student learning.” in fact, though, duncan is clearly taking a political stand in favor of a standardized form of education – a form many teachers and thinkers would oppose. however, duncan has the right to make political decisions – he is, after all, a politician – even if some disagree with his politics. even if duncan is less than upfront about his partiality, all politicians must make choices that reveal their political beliefs. duncan believes that standardized tests, content-driven teacher education, and teacher residency programs are valuable assets to our country’s education program. some theorists, like dewey and noddings, support a different system, and many others, such as hirsch and adler, would speak in favor his suggestion. as secretary of education, he is required to take a political stance and organize policies around that stance – and the result will always be somewhat polarizing. at the same time, though, duncan’s stance in this case will negatively affect the quality and efficacy of education departments across the country. education, while it is certainly tied to policy, is also an academic discipline, just like literature, astronomy, geology, and philosophy. as an academic discipline, education has a history: the ideas, theories, and philosophers that create the ongoing conversation about the subject. in order for a discipline to thrive as intellectually rigorous, though, it must not be policed. it must not be monitored to the extent that certain ideas are prohibited. such prohibition drains a discipline of its intellectual lifeblood, which, for a practical discipline like education, will also have the very adverse effects on students and teachers that duncan is trying so hard to avoid. for duncan clearly does view ideas that conflict with his own as “subjective, obscure, [and] faddish…” he proclaims an allegiance to e.d. hirsch, but hirsch’s “acclaim” is slightly more contested than duncan lets on. theorists have argued that hirsch has little classroom experience, having spent his life in the academy (squire 77); stephen tchudi has likewise pointed out that hirsch has not provided research suggesting that basic skills education is successful. yet in duncan’s reformed school of education, the emphasis would be on student achievement and “rigorous” programs like e.d. hirsch’s. these schools might even be assessed based on how well their teachers go on to teach students, which, again, would presumably be measured by standardized test scores. in essence, teachers would begin to learn to teach to the test – to protect the reputation of education departments, if for no other reason. in such teacher training programs, there may not be room for the voices of thinkers like nel noddings, a.s. neill, catherine macaulay, jean-jacques rousseau, and countless other philosophers who have not necessarily developed “proven” instructional strategies. yet these diverse voices, whether they are historical or contemporary, are nonetheless essential parts of any   educational curriculum; they allow for the creativity and knowledge that are necessary for genuine and authentically new reform to take place. education policy-makers, for instance, have notoriously short memories (early and schneider 307). teachers with years of experience can tell the stories of the “reforms” they have witnessed: this year an emphasis on basic skills; then, in reaction, a rally cry for progressivism; finally, a few years later, back to basics. if teachers, educational leaders, and policy-makers had a better understanding of the history of education and the myriad educational philosophies that have been developed and studied since antiquity, perhaps they would be less inclined to seesaw between the same two pedagogical mistakes year after year (darlinghammond 344). moreover, in any discipline, real reform – that is, the “revolutionary change” of which duncan speaks – comes from the multiplicity of voices speaking at any given time, the sheer diversity of the conversation. there is no evidence that focusing on a single political ideology – liberal or conservative – has ever resulted in anything other than the stagnation of creative and inventive thought. duncan wants educational reform, but he presumably wants to exclude from teacher education programs must ideological and philosophical classes. in a curriculum devoted to content and skills, is there room for ideas like those of noddings and a.s. neill? is there room for philosophers such as mary wollstonecraft and catherine macaulay, when these thinkers have not developed methodologies that improve test scores? for duncan, there does not seem to be. yet educators cannot explore genuinely new possibilities for improving instruction unless there is a space for new, divergent thinking in departments of education. educational philosophers, even those who have not developed specific curricula or immediately successful programs, can provide insight into the nature of human development, the mind, social organization, critical thinking, social justice, subject matter, and countless other important subjects in education – none of which duncan values. such myopic focus on standardization is not only a potential infringement on academic freedom; it may even stagnate educational thought and, as a result, limit possibilities for new ideas and revolutionary change. teachers need a clear vision of what they teach and why; policy-makers need access to a variety of ideas as they consider what might make successful reform possibilities; and academics and university students deserve the opportunity to learn not just what duncan deems necessary, but what the discipline of education demands: sustained inquiry into a variety of ideologies and methodologies; the proposal and practice of new models; and the opportunity for genuine learning to take place at the level of the academy. as duncan argues, schools of education should emphasize hands-on practice and frequent classroom visits and observations. but they should also continue to provide the pedagogical,   philosophical background in theory that duncan dismisses. once these theories are explored in context, they will acquire the meaning and relevance that they may currently lack. such in-depth exploration of theory and practice may involve lengthening teacher training programs, many of which are no more than a year or two right now. the answer is not to remove theory from programs, but to combine theory and practice in a meaningful, lengthy, academic exploration of what it means to be a teacher. arne duncan is not misguided in his belief that teacher education programs need increased respect, rigor, and economic support. he is not wrong to say that pre-service teachers must know content and need to be exposed early and often to life in the classroom. but duncan omits from teacher education the philosophical, academic side of education, and that is the flaw in his proposal. education reform needs to emphasize the balance between rigorous standards and flexible, inquirybased methods. only then will education remain a vital, intellectual experience at any level and for any person – teacher or student.   references adler, mortimer. the paideia proposal. new york: touchstone, 1982. print. colvin, richard l “how tennessee and delaware won $600 million for schools.” u.s. news and world report, 30 march 2010. web. 1 april 2010. darling-hammond, l. “instructional policy into practice: the power of the bottom over the top.” education evaluation and policy analysis, vol. 12 (1990), pp. 339-347. print. duncan, arne. teacher preparation: reforming the uncertain profession. columbia university. teachers college, new york, new york. 22 october 2009. speech. earley, p.m., and e.j. schneider. “federal policy and teacher education.” handbook of research on teacher education. new york: macmillan, 1996. print. hirsch, e.d, j.f. kett, and j. trefil. the new dictionary of cultural literacy. new york: houghton mifflin company, 2002. print. johnson, tony w., and ronald f. reed. philosophical documents in education. new york: allyn & bacon, 2007. print. squire, james r. "basic skills are not enough." educational leadership, vol. 45 (december 1987/january 1988), 76-77. print. tchudi, stephen. "slogans indeed: a reply to hirsch," educational leadership, vol. 45 (december 1987/january 1988), 72-74. print. [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] a good beyond sanity: immanuel kant and ivan karamazov on the justifiability of human suffering miranda pilipchuk philosophy “do you know, alyosha—don’t laugh! i composed a poem about a year ago. . . . shall i tell it to you?”1 this poem, written by dostoevsky’s eloquent and conflicted ivan karamazov, marks an open rebellion against christianity, and against the christian god, and has been hailed as one of the strongest possible arguments in favor of atheism. 2 hidden within this critique of christianity, there is another critique, a subtler critique, that could well take aim at one of the philosophical giants of the eighteenth century: immanuel kant. dostoevsky was not a kant scholar, and the brother’s karamazov does not refer to kant directly. nevertheless, kant’s ideas were a strong part of the greater intellectual climate of dostoevsky’s time, and most scholars agree that not only did dostoevsky have direct access to kant’s work, but that kant’s work seemed to have impacted his own, to at least some extent.3 this link between dostoevsky and kant has received increasing attention over the past ten years, but one particular aspect of the link has, thus far, remained unnoticed. in his essays “conjectural beginning of human history” and “idea for a universal history from a cosmopolitan point of view,” kant argues that social antagonism, and any human suffering brought about by such antagonism, is justified by the role social antagonism plays in the development of humanity. in contrast, during his rebellion, ivan karamazov directly argues against this kind of theory, indirectly placing himself in opposition to kant’s philosophy. this paper seeks to explore the connection between the ideas of the two thinkers—kant and karamazov—and argues that while kant’s theory reveals that karamazov’s argument is logically contradictory, karamazov’s argument reveals that kant’s theory might be morally flawed. kant’s theory of social antagonism begins with human nature, and its inextricable link to rationality. in “idea for a universal history from a cosmopolitan point of view,” kant writes that nature has given the human being the capacity to reason, and that of all the creatures populating the earth, this capacity is found exclusively in the human being.4 what makes the human being a human being, what makes the human being distinct from all other earthly 1 fyodor dostoevsky, the brothers karamazov, trans. constance garnett (new york: w. w. norton & company, 1976), 227. 2 see nathan rosen, “style and structure in the brothers karamazov (the grand inquisitor and the russian monk),” in the brothers karamazov, ed. ralph e. matlaw (new york: w. w. norton & company, 1976), 844. 3 see, for example, evgenia cherkasova, dostoevsky and kant: dialogues on ethics (amsterdam: rodopi, 2009), and james p. scanlan, dostoevsky the thinker (ithaca and london: cornell university press, 2002). 4 immanuel kant, “idea for a universal history from a cosmopolitan point of view,” trans. lewis white beck, in on history, ed. lewis white beck (toronto: prentice hall, 2001), 13. creatures, is this rational capacity.5 kant defines reason “in a creature” as “a faculty of widening the rules and purposes of the use of all its powers far beyond natural instinct.”6 the human being becomes the human being, the human being distinguishes herself as a human being, when she7 uses the powers that have naturally been given to her in a way that is not dictated to her by her natural instinct.8 in the “conjectural beginning of human history,” kant uses the biblical story of the temptation of adam and eve to better explain the idea of the use of reason as a break from natural instinct. in the beginning, writes kant, humanity existed as did all other earthly beings, and was “guided by [natural] instinct alone.” 9 through the sense of smell, and its strong connection to the sense of taste and the process of digestion, natural instinct dictated that some foods were suitable for consumption, and others were not.10 “but soon reason began to stir.”11 there was one particular fruit that caught the attention of the early human beings. this fruit was forbidden by natural instinct, but the humans had other indicators that the fruit might be good for consumption.12 perhaps the fruit “tempted because of its similarity to tasty fruits of which man had already partaken.”13 or “there may have been the example of an animal which consumed it because, for it, it was naturally fit for consumption.”14 whatever the reasons, the early humans decided to eat the fruit, and they decided to eat the fruit regardless of the dictates of natural instinct. 15 the early humans did “violence to the voice of nature, and its protests not withstanding . . . [made] the first attempt at a free choice.”16 unfortunately, this first attempt at a free choice did not have positive results.17 human beings have since learned that it is unwise to eat fruits that are not naturally suited to the human constitution. all negative outcomes aside though, kant’s point with this example is to illustrate the first human break with nature. the early humans made a choice based on something other than natural instinct. they appealed to a power that went beyond the boundaries established by natural instinct, and in so doing, they first exercised their capacity to reason.18 5 ibid. 6 ibid. 7 i have chosen to use feminine pronouns throughout this paper, except when directly quoting kant. for the sake of conceptual and historical accuracy, i have left kant’s exclusive use of masculine pronouns largely unchanged. 8 ibid. 9 immanuel kant, “conjectural beginning of human history,” trans. emil l. fackenheim, in on history, ed. lewis white beck (toronto: prentice hall, 2001), 55. 10 ibid. 11 ibid. 12 ibid., 56. 13 ibid. 14 ibid. 15 ibid. 16 ibid. 17 ibid. 18 ibid. once the early humans made the first free choice and actualized their rational capacity, “it was impossible for [them] to return to the state of servitude (i.e., subjection to instinct).”19 instead, they continued to develop their rational abilities.20 they clothed themselves, thereby concealing the immediate object of sexual desire, and making possible a relationship between them that went beyond mere physicality.21 they began to anticipate the future, which “enable[d] [them] to prepare [themselves] for distant aims,” but also inspired them to worry about the troubles that coming events would bring to them, and in particular, to worry about that which “inexorably strikes all animals without, however, causing them care, namely, death.”22 finally, they began to use animals for their own benefit, clothing themselves in animal skins.23 kant argues that through this last step, the human being “came to understand, however obscurely, that he is the true end of nature, and that nothing that lives on earth can compete with him in this regard.”24 through the use of her reason, the human being distinguished herself from the animal kingdom, and established herself as uniquely human. kant holds that “all natural capacities of a creature are destined to evolve completely to their natural end.”25 the human being is no exception. as with all other earthly creatures, the human being’s capacities are meant to reach their perfect manifestation.26 for kant, the human being “was not to be guided by instinct, not nurtured and instructed with ready-made knowledge; rather, he should bring forth everything out of his own resources.”27 the human being, and the human being alone, must be responsible for the development of the human race.28 this implies two things. first, the human race must begin in a primal state, in a state of underdevelopment, so that the human being can bring the human race into a developed state. second, it is the activity of the human being herself that must develop the human race.29 the human being must struggle to find her own way to perfection. a potential problem with this process is the possibility that the human being will choose not to develop herself. if human development is to be carried out exclusively through human activity, then if the human being does not perform this activity, human development will not occur. if human development is to occur, and if human capacities are to reach a state of completion as nature intends, then the human being must be motivated to engage in activity that will further the development of human capacities. moreover, as the development of human capacities must be the work solely of the human being, the motivation to develop these capacities 19 ibid. 20 ibid., 57-59. 21 ibid., 57. 22 ibid., 57-58. 23 ibid., 58. 24 ibid. 25 kant, “idea for a universal history,” 12. 26 ibid., 14. 27 ibid., 13-14. 28 ibid., 14. 29 ibid. cannot come from a force or impetus outside of the human being. the motivation to develop the capacities of the human being must come from inside of the human being herself. kant solves this problem by appealing to the idea of social antagonism. he argues that within every human being there resides “the unsocial characteristic of wishing to have everything go according to his own wish.”30 when the human being enters into society with other human beings, this is bound to result in conflict. if what the human being wants for herself conflicts with what society itself wants, then the human being may find herself in a position of opposition to society.31 but this opposition ultimately turns out to be a good thing: “this opposition it is which awakens all his powers, brings him to conquer his inclination to laziness and . . . to achieve a rank among his fellows.”32 it is usually the most powerful members in any society that achieve what they want. if the human being makes herself into a powerful member of society, then her chances of overcoming the opposition of the other members of society and fulfilling her wishes increases dramatically. the social opposition the human being faces inspires her to develop her own capacities so that she can achieve her desires. social antagonism also serves another very important function. it requires that human beings form an agreement with each other, a law or a constitution, that protects both the rule of society and the freedom of the individual.33 social antagonism inspires the creation of “a perfectly just civic constitution,” or of the commonwealth. 34 it is in the commonwealth that the natural capacities of the human being reach their highest development. in kant’s own words, “all culture, art which adorns mankind, and the finest social order” are born from this constitution.35 this lawful civic constitution holds a significant place in kant’s theory because of its ability to balance the interests of various individual human beings. one of the difficulties with social antagonism is that it can lead to the domination of one particular human being, or group of human beings, and the repression of all other human beings. when this happens, the natural capacities of the dominant human being(s) may be developed, but the natural capacities of all other human beings will remain untouched. the capacity of the human being might progress in a limited number of cases, but human capacities as a whole will make no progress. yet kant is clear that it is as a whole that the human race moves toward its perfection, writing, “in man . . . those natural capacities which are directed to the use of his reason are to be fully developed only in the race, not in the individual.”36 the uniquely human capacity, reason, is the kind of capacity that “requires trial, practice, and instruction in order gradually to progress from one level of insight to another.”37 given the limited span of the human lifetime, if genuine human progress is 30 ibid., 15. 31 ibid. 32 ibid. 33 ibid., 16-17. 34 ibid., 18. 35 ibid., 16. 36 ibid., 13. 37 ibid. to be made, it must happen by being passed along from human being to human being.38 the development of only a few human beings simply will not suffice. by protecting the freedom of all human beings, the lawful civic constitution ensures that all human beings are given the chance to develop their capacities, and that the human race as a whole can progress forward. 39 at the same time, by retaining some amount of opposition between human beings, the lawful civic constitution ensures that the motivation for human development remains very present within human society.40 “such a society is one in which there is mutual opposition among the members, together with the most exact definition of freedom and fixing of its limits so that it may be consistent with the freedom of others.”41 under the reign of the lawful civic constitution, all human beings are motivated to develop their capacities, and all are given the possibility to do so. social antagonism, then, plays a crucial role in the development of the human being. it not only inspires the human being to develop her capacities, it also inspires her to create a state in which she and all other human beings are free to develop their capacities, and through which the human race can progress as a whole. without social antagonism, it is unlikely that any such development would take place. 42 kant writes that “without those in themselves unamiable characteristics of unsociability from whence opposition springs . . . all talents would remain hidden, unborn in an arcadian shepherd’s life, with all its concord, contentment, and mutual affection.”43 in this case, the human being would be little higher than the sheep that she herds. without social antagonism, the human being would be unmotivated to develop her natural capacities, and the human race would be unable to perfect itself.44 social antagonism makes it possible for the human being to progress into the highest manifestation of humanity.45 kant sees this as reason enough to praise the existence of social antagonism. he enthusiastically proclaims: “thanks be to nature, then, for the incompatibility, for the heartless competitive vanity, for the insatiable desire to possess and to rule! without them, all the excellent natural capacities of humanity would forever sleep, undeveloped.” 46 it is true that because of the length of time required to perfectly develop the natural human capacities, most human beings will never see the ideal manifestation of those capacities.47 rather, most human beings will be stuck in the misery caused by social antagonism.48 the individual must suffer the 38 ibid. 39 ibid., 16. 40 ibid. 41 ibid. 42 ibid., 15. 43 ibid. 44 ibid., 15-16. 45 ibid., 16. 46 ibid. 47 kant, “conjectural beginning,” 60. 48 one of these miseries, and a notable one, is war. kant interprets war as social antagonism at the level of nations. as with social antagonism, war is the means of bringing about a beneficial civil arrangement—in negative consequences required in order for the human race to progress forward.49 kant does not see a problem with this. perhaps as an individual, the human being has reason to mourn, but “insofar as he is a member of a whole (a species), he must admire and praise the wisdom and purposiveness of the whole arrangement.” 50 the end result of social antagonism makes any suffering the individual must bear worthwhile.51 it is this type of argument that ivan karamazov explicitly rejects. in the fifth book of dostoevsky’s masterpiece, karamazov presents an argument that in many ways bears a remarkable similarity to kant’s discussion of social antagonism. karamazov begins by describing a number of cases of extraordinary cruelty—particularly towards children—that he has taken from various newspapers.52 he speaks of a “well-educated, cultured gentleman and his wife” who beat their seven-year-old daughter with a “birch rod” that was “covered in twigs,” and when called to account in a court of law, justified their behavior by arguing that beating one’s child is “an everyday domestic event” that should not have to be publicly defended.53 he speaks of a second “respectable” couple who abused their five-year-old daughter equally horribly: “they beat her, thrashed her, kicked her for no reason till her body was one bruise. then, they went to greater refinements of cruelty—shut her up all night in the cold and frost in a privy . . . they smeared her face and made her eat that excrement.”54 and he speaks of a military general “of aristocratic connections,” an “exceptional” man who, on finding that an eight-year-old serf boy “threw a stone in play and hurt the paw of the general’s favorite hound,” undertook to punish the boy.55 the boy was “stripped naked,” told to run, and then the general set “the whole pack of hounds on the child.”56 they tore him to pieces.57 note that like kant, karamazov here focuses exclusively on social antagonism. the parents’ desire to abuse their children comes into conflict with the rights their children have to safety and security. the general’s desire to seek vengeance for his injured pet comes into conflict with the serf boy’s right to life. these are perhaps grotesque and extreme examples of social antagonism, but the heart of the problem in each case is that the individual human being has very distinct wishes, and is unwilling to give those wishes up for the benefit of another human being. karamazov also, like kant, can conceive of the possibility that suffering will contribute to the creation of an ideal human race, or an ideal human paradise. 58 he asserts that “all the this case a league of nations—and, as with social antagonism, this makes war an ultimately beneficial phenomenon. see “conjectural beginnings” 66-67, and “idea for a universal history” 18-21. 49 kant, “conjectural beginning,” 60. 50 ibid. 51 ibid. 52 dostoevsky, the brothers karamazov, 220. 53 ibid., 222. 54 ibid., 222-23. 55 ibid., 223. 56 ibid., 224. 57 ibid. 58 unlike kant, karamazov expresses the strong wish to experience this state of perfection firsthand: “i believe in it. i want to see it, and if i am dead by then, let me rise again” (the brother’s karamazov, 225). religions of the world are built on this longing, and i am a believer.”59 however, karamazov challenges the idea that this makes human suffering ultimately worthwhile.60 i understand, of course, what an upheaval of the universe it will be, when everything in heaven and earth blends in one hymn of praise and everything that lives and has lived cries aloud: “thou art just, o lord, for thy ways are revealed.” when the mother embraces the fiend who threw her child to the dogs, and all three cry aloud with tears, “thou art just, o lord!” then, of course, the crown of knowledge will be reached and all will be made clear. but what pulls me up here is that i can’t accept that harmony. . . . perhaps it really may happen that if i live to that moment, or rise to see it, i too, perhaps, may cry aloud with the rest, looking at the mother embracing the child’s torturer, “thou art just, o lord!” but i don’t want to cry aloud then. while there is still time, i hasten to protect myself and so i renounce the higher harmony altogether. it’s not worth the tears of that one tortured child who beat itself on the breast with its little fist and prayed in its stinking outhouse, with its unexpiated tears to “dear, kind god”! . . . i want to forgive. i want to embrace. i don’t want more suffering. and if the sufferings of children go to swell the sum of sufferings which was necessary to pay for truth, then i protest that the truth is not worth such a price.61 given the choice, says karamazov, between the sufferings of humanity contributing to a greater project or the sufferings of humanity remaining meaningless and unavenged, “i would rather remain with my unavenged suffering and my unsatisfied indignation, even if i were wrong.”62 for karamazov, the suffering of humanity is not worth any future benefit it might bring. what is particularly striking about this passage is that karamazov does not outright reject the idea of the worth of social antagonism; rather, he affirms it. karamazov equates the idea of the worth of social antagonism with belief in god, and he says, “it’s not god that i don’t accept . . . only i most respectfully return him the ticket.” 63 karamazov does not deny that social antagonism can lead to human benefit, but he does choose to not to partake in that benefit, and he makes this choice because the benefit is not worth the price.64 karamazov avows the existence of a kantian type of system, but at the same time he rejects its worth. it is important to note here that dostoevsky himself does not necessarily share karamazov’s viewpoint. in his book dostoevsky, nicholas berdyaev argues that while dostoevsky rejects the idea of evil somehow benefiting humanity, he also affirms the importance of human suffering. in bredyaev’s own words, “the theory that evil is only a moment in the evolution of good cannot be imputed to [dostoevsky]; this evolutionary optimism professed by so many theosophists is entirely opposed to his spirit. he was no evolutionist: evil for him was evil, to be burned in the 59 ibid. 60 ibid., 225-26. 61 ibid. 62 ibid., 226. 63 ibid., 226. 64 ibid. fires of hell, and that is where he cast it.” 65 at the same time, bredyaev holds that for dostoevsky, “suffering raises man to his highest level,” and that “to climb from evil to a spiritual level one must denounce the evil in oneself and suffer terribly.”66 whether or not dostoevsky himself would embrace karamazov’s rejection of the benefit of social antagonism, within a kantian framework, this rejection has a special significance. for kant, the ultimate benefit of social antagonism is the perfect development of the human capacities; it is the perfect actualization of the human being.67 to deny the worth of the ultimate outcome of social antagonism is to deny the worth of the human being in her highest form. karamazov’s rejection of the ultimate benefit of social antagonism constitutes a rejection of the human being, and not just any human being, but the best possible human being. insofar as karamazov himself is a human being, and is a part of the process of the development of the human being to her perfection, karamazov’s rejection also constitutes a rejection of himself, and of the contribution that his existence and development make to a valuable end. this self-rejection proves to be incredibly damaging. to be a human being is to be a rational animal. what this means will only be completely realized once the rational capacities of the human being are completely realized. this complete realization of the human rational capacity is the ultimate end of the human being, the end to which all social antagonism leads. by rejecting this end, karamazov also rejects the complete realization of the human being within the world. he does not reject the existence of the human being, but he does reject what for kant is the very meaning of the human being, and what ultimately constitutes the human being as the being that it is. karamazov exists in a state of limbo. he will not outright deny the human race, but if he can at all help it, he will also not allow the race to fully realize itself within the world. this is an irrational move, an absurd move, an insane move. quite literally. by the end of the text karamazov hallucinates a conversation with the devil,68 and falls into a state of utter delirium;69 karamazov goes mad. accepting kant’s idea of social antagonism as contributing to the ultimate end of humanity is unlikely to lead to this kind of madness. one of the benefits of kant’s idea is that it can serve as fortification against the evils human beings suffer as a result of social antagonism, and as an inspiration to live through these evils. kant’s idea can give humanity hope that all of this suffering will, in the end, mean something incredible. it creates the possibility that suffering can be transformed into a positive phenomenon. it opens up a space in which human beings can move forward, can develop both themselves and their race. karamazov’s argument opens up none of these possibilities. where kant’s idea leads to the flourishing of humanity, karamazov’s argument leads to nothing but madness. it leaves humanity in a terrible situation with no possible way out. this makes karamazov’s argument not only logically contradictory, but also psychologically destructive. 65 nicholas berdyaev, dostoevsky, trans. donald attwater (new york: meridian books, 1957), 94. 66 ibid., 91-92 and 94. 67 kant, “idea for a universal history,” 16. 68 dostoevsky, the brothers karamazov, 603-17. 69 ibid., 621-22. despite this destructive tendency, karamazov’s argument still poses a valuable critique of kant’s idea, and it does so for two reasons. first, it highlights how removed kant’s argument is from the everyday life of most human beings. kant’s argument is beautifully structured, but it is also highly theoretical—alluding to ideals instead of practical reality—and it therefore risks becoming disconnected from the material consequences of the idea with which it deals. in theory, it may make perfect sense to prize the development of humanity over the suffering of the individual. in reality, the price the suffering individual pays could be too high. d. h. lawrence points out that karamazov’s critique is “based on the experience of two thousand years . . . and on a profound insight into the nature of mankind.”70 indeed, nathan rosen reports that the events karamazov bases his argument on are “actual newspaper reports on turkish atrocities and horror stories of every kind.”71 kant may have worked out something sound, and rational, and noble. but the question karamazov’s argument asks is, can the sound, the rational, and the noble hold up against the dark realities of human life? the second critique strikes at a slightly deeper level. albert camus argues that karamazov’s primary plea “is for justice, which he ranks above divinity.”72 “god,” writes camus, “is put on trial. if evil is essential to divine creation, then creation is unacceptable. ivan will no longer have recourse to this mysterious god, but to a higher principle—namely, justice. he launches the essential undertaking of rebellion, which is that of replacing the reign of grace by the reign of justice.”73 camus’ analysis reveals that karamazov’s project is ultimately a moral one: he is seeking justice, not necessarily for humanity as a whole, but for the individuals who have suffered for the sake of some higher calling, and who would be swept aside in a theory like kant’s. by rejecting the idea that a higher good can justify human suffering, karamazov is appealing to something outside of kant’s framework, to a morality that transcends rationality. kant’s theory might be rational, but perhaps the real question is, is it moral? karamazov’s project might well be contradictory, and it might lead to insanity, but it is done for the sake of a justice that kant overlooks. kant gives his readers something karamazov never will—rationality, sanity, and perhaps even hope. his argument offers the possibility for human suffering to mean something, to contribute to a better humanity that will ultimately make any amount of pain worthwhile. taken within a kantian context, karamazov’s argument offers nothing but contradiction. he is a human being who seeks to prevent the perfection of the human race, and so undermine his own reason for existence. the story he tells us offers no hope for the future, just the promise of suffering, and the call to rebellion. follow karamazov, and you might well go insane. yet karamazov’s argument also points to a moral weakness in kant’s theory. karamazov calls his readers to examine the injustice done to individuals, and to reject a rationality that ignores its own material cost. he asks us: is human perfection really worth the cost? or is it better to be mad? 70 lawrence, “the grand inquisitor,” 830. 71 rosen, “style and structure in the brothers karamazov,” 844. 72 albert camus, “the rejection of salvation,” in the brothers karamazov, ed. ralph e. matlaw (new york: w. w. norton & company, 1976), 837. 73 ibid. bibliography berdyaev, nicholas. dostoevsky. translated by donald attwater. new york: meridian books, 1957. camus, albert. “the rejection of salvation.” in the brother’s karamazov, edited by ralph e. matlaw, 836-41. new york: w. w. norton & company, 1976. cherkasova, evgenia v. dostoevsky and kant: dialogues in ethics. amsterdam: rodopi, 2009. cherkasova, evgenia v. “kant on free will and arbitrariness: a view from dostoevsky’s underground.” philosophy and literature 28, no. 2 (2004), accessed february 7, 2013. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/philosophy_and_literature/v028/28.2cherkasova.html dostoevsky, fyodor. the brothers karamazov. edited by ralph e. matlaw. translated by constance garnett. new york: w. w. norton & company, 1976. kant, immanuel. “conjectural beginning of human history.” translated by emil l. fackenheim. in on history, edited by lewis white beck, 53-68. toronto: prentice hall, 2001. ___. “idea for a universal history from a cosmopolitan point of view.” translated by lewis white beck. in on history, edited by lewis white beck, 11-26. toronto: prentice hall, 2001. lawrence, d. h. “the grand inquisitor.” in the brother’s karamazov, edited by ralph e. matlaw, 829-36. new york: w. w. norton & company, 1976. rosen, nathan. “style and structure in the brother’s karamazov (the grand inquisitor and the russian monk).” in the brother’s karamazov, edited by ralph e. matlaw, 841-51. new york: w. w. norton & company, 1976. scanlan, james p. dostoevsky the thinker. ithaca and london: cornell university press, 2002. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/philosophy_and_literature/v028/28.2cherkasova.html [concept, vol. xxxiv (2011)] reading death and sacrifice in the berlin völkischer beobachter, february 1942 – march 1943 robert terrell history introduction on october 9, 1942 the front page of the berlin völkischer beobachter, the official paper of the national socialist german workers‟ party (nsdap), featured an article about the memory of horst wessel. 1 in the twelve years since his death in 1930 wessel‟s legacy, including his song die fahne hoch, served as a reminder of the struggles and sacrifices of national socialism and the german nation. in the article joachim schieferdecker, a spokesman for the propaganda ministry, criticized frequent and mindless singing of the horst wessel song. he argued that such practices diluted the notions of heroism and sacrifice which the song embodied. wessel‟s death and sacrifice, schieferdecker argued, should not constitute trivial or tenuous routine but should serve as a concrete example of the proper conduct of a german. 2 from wessel‟s death in 1930 until the destruction of the third reich, propagandists such as schieferdecker consistently reformulated the rhetoric and imagery of wessel‟s life and death to preserve the ideological function of his legacy. 3 by (re)assigning meaning to his life and death, such propagandists constructed an image that in many ways diverged from reality for the sake of a political agenda. this split between image and reality represents the “fundamental work of nazism,” of aestheticizing an existence in which “myth [takes] the place of 1 horst wessel, to be blunt, was a rather insignificant figure in life: a somewhat obscure activist for the nsdap in the weimar republic. in death, however, he became a central pillar of the propaganda campaigns. for more, see f.n. 3. 2 joachim schieferdecker, “zu horst wessels geburtstag, im vorfeld gefallen,” völkischer beobachter, october 9, 1942, berlin edition, 282, 1. 3 jay baird, to die for germany: heroes in the nazi pantheon (bloomington and indianapolis: indiana university press, 1990), 73-107. objectively conceived history.” 4 the labor of propagandists to produce subjective meanings to historical realities blurred the lines between the real and the myth. this essay probes the work of propagandists in the berlin völkischer beobachter (vb) as they constructed and reconstructed subjective meanings of war, death and sacrifice. the chronology spans from operation barbarossa, the german invasion of the soviet union, to heldengedenktag, or heroes memorial day in march 1943. within this period the wehrmacht initially won a long line of victories leading to moscow and subsequently suffered their first major defeats in moscow and stalingrad. in berlin and germany in general, bombings were rare, the material standard of life remained relatively high, and daily life was surprisingly stable. 5 still, germans had to make sense of newspaper reports, radio broadcasts and personal stories about the enormous death tolls in the east. for readers, the vb represented an episteme: a body of knowledge or information, and a resource for rationalizing or making sense of the world around them. reading the vb however, meant consuming and interpreting the iconography and aestheticized reality constructed by propagandists. although examining this iconography cannot address the extent to which berliners “bought” the propagandized image, it can show the ways that propagandists attempted to control subjective values by attaching specific subjective meanings to historical realities. 6 historian michael geyer argues that by 1942 many nazi leaders and ideologues including adolf hitler, joseph goebbels, and alfred jodl intentionally pushed the military toward mass death as a means of protecting and preserving nazi ideology. in their romanticized and aestheticized view, to die on the rubble of one‟s dreams immortalized the dream itself. men die but ideas live on. furthermore, acts of sacrifice and sacrificial death became a marker of german identity under national socialism. 7 sacrifice, as geoffrey cocks writes, was “proof of loyalty 4 modris eksteins, rites of spring: the great war and the birth of the modern age (boston and new york: mariner books, 2000), 300-331, here 313. 5 see for example götz aly, hitler’s beneficiaries: plunder, racial war, and the nazi welfare state (new york: metropolitan books, 2006). 6 robert gellately employs a similar methodology in robert gellately, backing hitler: consent and coercion in nazi germany (new york and oxford: oxford university press, 2001), especially 6. 7 michael geyer, “„there is a land where everything is pure: its name is land of death‟ some observations on catastrophic nationalism” in greg eghigian and and racial worth.” 8 in the berlin vb, the penchant for death as a means of victory or immortality extended beyond military and political officials. from barbarossa to heldengedenktag 1943, the vb increasingly advocated the act of sacrificial death and promoted it as a means to achieve victory and immortality. but along with shifting meanings of death, sacrifice, and victory, propagandists also began to restructure the “cause” or aim of the war. by march 1943, vb propagandists encouraged readers to imagine themselves as bearers of – and potential sacrifices for – a war not only about national socialism or germany, but in fact about all of european hegemony. dying for the reich in april of 1942 the party chancellery ruled that the words “wounded” and “fallen” could only be used in military obituaries. in addition, obituaries for air raid victims were deemed unworthy of the iron cross which previously accompanied them. in her recent dissertation, monica black argued that this ruling suggests that the death of a soldier – a much more “active death” than the relatively “passive death” of a civilian – denoted a much higher level of commitment to the cause. 9 to be sure, the ruling demonstrates the way the state inserted itself into the realm of subjective values. though it dealt with air raid victims, the ruling came a few months after the ostheer, or eastern army, suffered its first major defeat in moscow – a relative climax in the growing death tolls of operation barbarossa. across germany, the repercussions of the invasion had inspired the colloquialism “we are beating ourselves to death” – and indeed, by the end of the first year of barbarossa, over 1,300,000 ostheer soldiers were wounded or dead; matthew paul berg, eds., sacrifice and national belonging in twentieth-century germany (college station: texas a&m university press, 2002), 118 -147, especially 131-141. 8 geoffrey cocks, “modern pain and nazi panic” in paul betts and greg eghigian eds., pain and prosperity: reconsidering twentieth-century german history (stanford: stanford university press, 2003), 88 -109, here 103. 9 monica black, “the meaning of death and the making of three berlins,” phd dissertation, university of virginia, 2006. 107. black has recently published a monograph based on the dissertation, see monica black, death in berlin: from weimar to divided germany (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2010); see also ian kershaw, “war and political violence in twentieth -century europe”, journal of contemporary european history, 14 (2005), 107-123. almost forty percent of the campaign‟s original manpower. 10 in this period, as shown in the ruling, the state became anxious about how germans made sense of war and death. in berlin, the vb faced the task of legitimizing unparalleled levels of soldierly death and sacrifice on the battlefield. failing to capture moscow represented the first major strategic failure in the east. in the aftermath of the loss, the vb printed a letter from field correspondent hannes goditus to joseph goebbels . the letter, printed on february 4, 1942, only passively mentions the german dead as necessary sacrifices and suggests that the soviet dead outnumber their german counterparts; suggesting perhaps, the death ratio legitimized the dead. 11 in the wake of the battle of moscow, as this letter shows, the vb portrayed the war in the soviet union in an optimistic light and death and the dead as a mere necessity of victory. subsequently however, the vb iconography manifests a dramatic metamorphosis from perhaps passively dying for military objectives to actively dying for the volksgemeinschaft and heimat. the chancellery ruling on black‟s “active and passive death” was a mere month away. a brief interlude to unpack the above terms will help flesh out the sources and arguments throughout the rest of the essay. volksgemeinschaft or people‟s community or racial community should be read as the racialized interpretation of ferdinand tönnies‟s gemeinschaft or community. it represents a community which rests on organic development and a unity of human wills; something like the bond between a nuclear family of the early modern period, one linked to its work and its land through generations of toil and communalism. in its racialized form, members of the volksgemeinschaft are those deemed racially pure. 12 heimat refers not only to the homeland as it might be translated, but also to the specifically nazi view of heimat as being about “blood and soil” – a connection between the volk, or people, and 10 peter fritzsche, life and death in the third reich (cambridge: harvard university press, 2008), 185; omer bartov, hitler’s army: soldiers, nazis, and war in the third reich (new york and oxford: oxford university press, 1991) , 44-45 11 hannes goditus, “ein brief von der front” völkischer beobachter, february 4, 1942, berlin edition, 35, 3. all translations are the author ‟s unless otherwise noted. 12 ferdinand tönnies, community and civil society edited by jose harris (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2001), especially 3 -51; fritzsche, life and death, 19-142, especially 38-56; michael burleigh and wolfgang wippermann, the racial state: germany, 1933-1945 (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1991). the land of their ancestral lineage. taken together and in conjunction with struggle and war, the words suggest the roots of german identity and the foundation of the national socialist weltanschauung, or world view. 13 as subsequent sources show, propagandists in the vb attached these highly ideological sentiments to the imagery and rhetoric of war, death, and sacrifice. on march 15, 1942, the nsdap heldengedenktag, the vb published a letter from the eastern front informing a german woman of her husband‟s heroic death. more than anything, the letter made the case that the war dead constitute the necessary foundation of the living: both literally and figuratively. the deceased, werner, died a painless and iconic death: two shots to the chest and throat, and burial under a tall birch tree. yet, “like all the other fallen, [he] remains amidst our company forever. and when the company is down to the last man, all the wounded and dead are with him and he shall secure victory.” without defining “victory,” or exactly how the dead remain amongst the living, the letter continues to explain that dead soldiers construct a living reminder or memorial (lebendige mahner) in the conscience of not only soldiers but also civilians, men, women, and children. 14 as the letter continues, the memorial comes to represent that for which a soldier dies. the letter describes the war dead, werner included, literally supporting german life, symbolically represented as a …broad and massive tower. as you approach, you see that the mighty pillars of the tower are people – dead soldiers. and among them you see werner, as he was, facing you, steadying it vigorously. radiant face, he is exalted in his blessed transfiguration. you know what he carries: our german countryside, the quiet villages and the lonely lakes, the cities and the industrious factories. and you also see light-hearted and happy children playing in a blooming garden. 15 the letter encourages the bereaved, not to wallow in the gloom of death, but to exalt the dead as bearers of the nation. the previously undefined 13 for an invaluable tool for deciphering these terms see victor klemperer, the language of the third reich, lti: lingua tertii imperii (new york: continuum books, 2002). 14 friedrich w. hymmen, “gedanken über den soldaten” völkischer beobachter, march 15, 1942, berlin edition, 74, 8. 15 ibid. “victory” can thus be taken to mean a post-death service for the germanic peoples, their communities, and their livelihood; perhaps described as the immortalization of service to the volksgemeinschaft. the reminder or memorial of the dead becomes the foundation for building the future and sustaining german existence. hymmen conjures the physical landscapes of the heimat and portrays the dead as its foundational or structural supports. the letter encourages berliners to find comfort rather than pain in death – the comfort that death facilitates life. he writes that “what the dead require of you is that you not tell of the empty abyss of death.” 16 indeed for hymmen, sacrificing one‟s life represents the highest ideal. through sacrificial death, soldiers fortify the sanctity and future of the volksgemeinschaft and heimat. the letter itself, written by friedrich wilhelm hymmen, a young writer serving on the eastern front, appeared in modified form in his book, briefe an eine trauernde. vom sinn des soldatentodes (letters to a mourner: the meaning of soldierly death). published by the nsdap propaganda ministry, the book revolved around the “life-affirming power of heroic death.” for example, one story portrayed soldiers burying a fallen comrade with an oak sapling over his heart so that it could be nourished by his heroic spirit. 17 in this light, we should read the letter less as an actual piece of correspondence than as a promotion of a very specific aestheticization of death. for berliners reading the letter, this propagandized image of sacrifice and death suggests a celebration of soldierly contributions to upholding communal sanctity; they die for the reich – the telos of german history. thus in the wake of the wehrmacht‟s first major strategic failure, the iconography of death and sacrifice in the berlin vb could be read as a means to control subjective perceptions of war. control over what war meant was control over what war produced: not mere death but the perpetuation of german life. moving beyond interpretations of war and the masses of dead soldiers, the representation of death also presented the nature of sacrifice as an individual act; a service to the reich which required active work. by late august 1942, the fighting around stalingrad was in full swing. the german luftwaffe frequently carpet bombed the surrounding area as general friedrich paulus prepared his advance into the city. despite high 16 ibid. 17 friedrich wilhelm hymmen, briefe an eine trauernde: vom sinn des soldatentodes (sonderdruck fur das hauptkulturamt in der reichspropagandaleitung der nsdap, stuttgart: j. engelhorns nachf. adolf spemann, 1942) in baird, to die for germany, 226-7. death tolls, commanders on the ground thought military victory was near. 18 at the end of the month, the vb published the last letter of a dead field correspondent which ostensibly dealt with honoring the dead. adopting what had become established rhetoric, the letter refers to the dead remaining among the living – aiding in, and supporting their struggle. but beyond this repetition of rhetoric, the letter also suggests that berliners on the homefront have a responsibility to soldiers, specifically dead soldiers, on the battlefront. perhaps in reference to heroes memorial day, the fallen correspondent herbert staake argues that to honor the dead one day a year is insufficient. “the sacrifice they have given is entitled to a different appreciation and has the right to guide and be the benchmark for what we do for the nation in everyday life… [they are] reminders of the fact that we have to measure our own work.” 19 for staake, it becomes not so much an issue of simply honoring the sacrifices of the dead, but how one does so. simple meditation on special occasions must be replaced by a recalibration of one‟s entire life. by manipulating the meaning of death, staake attempts to define, or “aestheticize” death, thereby assigning a specific meaning to, and a desired attitude toward the german encounter with it. throughout history, staake writes, german hegemony has grown out of struggle and been paid for with the blood of fallen soldiers. nevertheless, he continues, the unprecedented scale of death in the east does not suggest … that the sacrifice of life has become easy… with knowledge of the dangers of the struggle, [the dead] became heroes by consciously and determinedly crossing the narrow threshold of life into the infinity of death. death on the battlefield alone is not heroic. rather, heroism is taking on danger in the total knowledge of ones own necessary sacrifice for the existence of the larger idea of the nation. 20 in other words, death and sacrifice require purpose driven action; the dead do not represent a faceless mass but a community of distinct individuals who have consciously participated in the work of sacrifice. 18 richard evans, the third reich at war, (new york, ny: penguin books, 2010), 408-10. 19 herbert staake, “vermächtnis eines gefallenen schriftleiters. die mahnung der gefallenen” völkischer beobachter, august 26, 1942, berlin edition, 238, 2. 20 herbert staake, “vermächtnis eines gefallenen schriftleiters”. but for staake that is not enough: sacrifice should not only be the work of soldiers. he writes, it is easy to lose the ability to assess the deeds and allowances of the individuals in a war. [but] we can be proud of our dead heroes only when we are worthy ourselves, and only then do we have the right to remember them and their lives and their struggle for us. then our fallen become reminders in the hour of seriousness and danger that demand the fulfillment of our duty, just as they have fulfilled theirs. 21 here staake encourages his audience not only to think of sacrifice as an individual act but also to accept the notion that they may need to do the work of sacrifice as well. staake‟s words carry a deeper sense of import or credibility due to the fact that they appear post-mortem. his plea represents not only a call to appreciate individual sacrifice but also a communication from the other side of death; advice from the dead on how to behave for the reich. thus at precisely the same time that military casualties were soaring, the berlin vb nudged its readers toward embracing not just death en masse but also the fact that it is composed of the work of individuals much like themselves. thus on the eve of the soviet counter-offensive at stalingrad, the berlin vb encouraged readers to understand death as a conscious individual act which facilitated the perpetuation of the reich: the embodiment of the national socialist volksgemeinschaft. although the physical act of death required individual action, it became, in a sense, unimportant in that it changed nothing in an individual‟s ability to support the reich. monica black aptly describes this notion of death as “the immortal soul‟s liberation from the tyranny of flesh.” 22 this understanding of death conjures traditional, if extreme, images of thermopylae – dying for the salvation and purity of one‟s homeland and culture. sacrifice represented subordinating the self to the community, the culture, and the livelihood for which one fought. to be sure this classical idea of sacrifice becomes central to the representation of the sixth army at stalingrad. but beyond soldierly sacrifice, the vb also increasingly focused on the relationship between the dead and the living and blurred the lines between soldier and civilian. 21 ibid. 22 black, “the meaning of death and the making of three berlins,” 82. the dead and the living on october 3, 1942, general willibald freiherr von langermann und erlencamp died near the don river in the soviet union. his extended obituary – a sizeable article on page three – portrays him as the ideal german soldier. it dramatically narrates his personal military history and the deeds for which he received his numerous distinguished honors: oak leaves to the knight‟s cross of the iron cross. readers can learn of his service in the great war and his membership in the fabled 5 th dragoon regiment of the prussian and imperial militaries. 23 the article makes special note of the general‟s rittergeist, or knight‟s spirit. in his service to the reich, the general frequently rallied his troops through military hardships with his knight‟s spirit . 24 as war hero of both the second and third reich, as well as a baron of the old prussian nobility, the life of this highly decorated general represents the mythologized or aestheticized trajectory of the german nation. his obituary conjures the spirit of prussian militarism, strategic decisiveness, and german unity, and serves to remind all readers that the greatness of the nation rests on the sacrifice and diligence of every individual. 25 his actions and his heroic life and death, embodied by his knight‟s spirit , strengthened the struggle of the collective. sacrifice then, represents not only an individual act but an individual act which puts the sanctity of the whole above the self. 26 two days after the baron‟s obituary, the article about horst wessel which opened this essay appeared in the vb. taken together, the two crystallize sacrifice as an individual act. but more than that, they contribute to a narrative of german behavior and identity that spans beyond the third reich. they anchor the struggles of modern germany in history: in the wars of unification, in prussian militarism, in the 23 the 5 th dragoon regiment was formed in 1717, and played a decisive role in one of fredrick the great‟s crowning victories at the battle of hohenfriedberg in 1745. 24 “der heldentod des generals von langermann und erlencamp” völkischer beobachter, october 7, 1942, berlin edition, 280, 3. 25 on the prussian militarism and strategic decisiveness referenced here see isabel v. hull, absolute destruction: military culture and the practices of war in imperial germany (ithaca and london: cornell university press, 2005), especially 110-130. 26 on this reading of sacrifice see the introduction: john borneman, “german sacrifice today,” in eghigian and berg, eds., sacrifice and national belonging in twentieth-century germany, 3-25. second reich, and in the ascension of national socialism. if death meant not an end but merely “the immortal soul‟s liberation from the tyranny of flesh,” langermann‟s and wessel‟s sacrifices perpetuate the reich and grant it historical legitimacy; to die for germany meant to join young werner in the pillars of the german heimat. although the word rittergeist does not reappear in subsequent articles and letters, the same type of rallying spirit applies to the dead amongst the living. the dead come to strengthen the struggles of the living; they come to grant those struggling for german hegemony on the battlefront and homefront a sense of historical legitimacy. the last months of the battle of stalingrad produced a gargantuan and unprecedented death toll. in combat alone over 200,000 german soldiers died. tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands more died from extreme cold, starvation, and disease. a further 91,000 german soldiers marched into captivity after the battle and were likely presumed dead. 27 on christmas eve 1942 goebbels reveled in the largely successful christmas operation (which redistributed plundered goods through the reich) but acknowledged that the now inevitable loss at stalingrad would dampen spirits at the tenth anniversary of the reich. 28 in this bittersweet context he proclaimed, “the dead have earned more than our tears, they form the national conscience and admonish us to demonstrate the same zeal and fanaticism in both work and battle that they have themselves shown.” 29 propagandists in the berlin vb echoed a similar sentiment; sacrifice increasingly became a marker of proper german identity. on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the reich, general paulus , surrounded by the red army, wrote to hitler telling him that the sixth army should be seen as an example of persistence for present and future generations. on the same day, hermann göring gave a radiobroadcast speech in which he compared the sixth army to the spartans at thermopylae. hitler echoed the insinuation – given that all the spartans at thermopylae died – on the anniversary of the reich when he promoted paulus to field marshal. paulus, as richard evans writes, understood the promotion as an invitation to commit suicide. 30 nevertheless, and in spite 27 indeed, only some 6,000 returned to the reich after the war. statistical information from evans, the third reich at war, 410-420. 28 aly, hitler’s beneficiaries, 132-134. 29 joseph goebbels, der steile aufstieg. reden und aufsätze aus den jahren 1942/43 (munich: franz eher, 1943), 101-102, quoted in baird, to die for germany, 211212. 30 evans, the third reich at war, 419. of hitler‟s repeated ordering of the sixth army to fight down to the last man, paulus and the german sixth army surrendered. hitler and other leading nazis were greatly disappointed by the surrender. it seems at this point that death served a greater purpose for the perpetuation of the national socialist utopia than life. 31 in the vb propagandists constructed a specific interpretation of the loss; an aestheticized image which pointed to the sacrifices at stalingrad as a means of fortifying the collective community. on the tenth anniversary of the third reich, the vb printed a photograph of a relief by sculptor arno breker titled “kameraden,” accompanied by a poem by herybert menzel: “if one of us shall fall/ the other stands for two./ for every soldier is a god/ amongst his comrades” (image i). 32 both artists were nazi party members as well as pioneers in developing an aesthetic to capture national socialist ideology. breker‟s work as a sculptor focused on muscular bodies inspired by hellenic and roman precedents. much of his work showcases allegorical nudes in pseudo-mythological contexts. although aimed directly against so-called “degenerate” aesthetics, avant-garde artists, modernism, cubism, dadaism and surrealism, breker‟s work could be categorized as equally unrealistic and fantastical. 33 the meticulous portrayal of every sinew, every muscle, and the large and powerful bodies with proportionally small heads reflect the nazi archetype of the übermensch, the over-man or superman as the goal of humanity – itself an unrealistic concept twisted out of history. this specific relief came from a series commissioned for hitler and albert speer‟s enormous arch of triumph in the megalomaniacal welthauptstadt germania. finished in 1940, the work served as a centerpiece for the 1940 great german art exhibition in munich. it represents the foundational ideals of nazi ideology and in the vb it conjures the ideological concepts outlined above – especially volksgemeinschaft and weltanschauung – but also conjures the word bildung, or cultivation, the perfection of the self and the community. 31 by “utopia” i mean to suggest that national socialism, like all political movements had a specific world view or ideal end state of being which guided its trajectory. in this vein see for example mark mazower, dark continent: europe’s twentieth century (new york: vintage books, 2000). 32 völkischer beobachter, january 30, 1943, berlin edition, 30, 9. völkischer beobachter, february 4, 1943, berlin edition, 35, 1. 33 caroline fetscher, “why mention arno breker today? the work of the nazi sculptor is on exhibit,” the atlantic times, august (2006), accessed october 15, 2010, http://www.atlantictimes.com/archive_detail.php?recordid=602 http://www.atlantictimes.com/archive_detail.php?recordid=602 image i. the image in the vb was highly distorted and of low quality. this specific image was taken from mortimer g. davidson, kunst in deutschland, 1933-1945 (tubingen: grabert -verlag, 1988). photograph credit: die kunst im dritten reich, ausgabe a, april 1940 (munich: franz wedding-verlag, april 1940). for my original reference, see völkischer beobachter , january 30, 1943, berlin edi tion, 30, 9. together with menzel‟s poem, breker‟s relief “kameraden” or “comradeship” suggests that the death of each individual serves to strengthen the national socialist cause. the reference to soldiers as gods suggests that german soldiers become immortal through struggle and death; the living redeem the dead – meaning both how one might redeem a failure and also how one might redeem a coupon. fittingly breker‟s relief focuses less on the dead soldier in the center than on the comrade bracing him. almost like a reverse touch of god on the sistine chapel, the deceased appears to be injecting his spirit – perhaps his rittergeist – into the living with his left hand. although central in the image, the primary work of the deceased is to fortify the strength of the living. the living soldier‟s muscles, especially his right calf, are tight and rigid in strain. yet at the same time he does not appear to be exerting himself too greatly; the dead are not a burden. rather his physical and mental focus remains on the unpictured enemy. billowing cloth presumably caught in the wind further enlivens and strengthens the drama of the continuing struggle. as suggested by the accompanying poem, the soldier becomes more than an individual – he becomes a godly warrior in the service of germany. five days later – two days after the last soldiers surrendered at stalingrad – another breker relief appeared on the front page of the vb with the caption “our oath: revenge!” (image ii). like “kameraden,” the relief “vergeltung,” translated as retaliation, retribution, or revenge, was also commissioned for the arch of triumph. two articles accompany the photo, one on each side, but neither references it directly. thus the image is positioned to speak for itself. the figure – perhaps the same figure from image i – hurls a giant rock towards an unseen foe. the warrior stands with one foot near shield and sword, suggesting that military success reflects the will and might of the soldier not the tools of war. considering the physical action in the image, the figure does not appear overencumbered. bolstered by his dead comrades, this warrior has become a godly agent of service. no fallen comrade lies on the ground; showing the deceased on a lower plane might suggest a submissive or defeated position. rather, the dead seem present only in spirit. in this sense, both living and dead are immortal; the former more god than man, the latter more spirit than corpse. the title of the picture, “our oath: revenge!” suggests that the dead have not been left behind or forgotten but rather have become metaphysical aggrandizers of military power and collective strength. the first article accompanying the image narrates the last days of the sixth army at stalingrad in a way that clashes with the historical record. the author claims that “twice the enemy‟s attempts at forcing surrender met a proud rejection… generals, officers, ncos, and other ranks fought shoulder to shoulder until the last bullet. they died so that germany could live.” 34 on both accounts this statement embellishes the historical reality to construct a myth. not only did the sixth army surrender rather than fight to the last bullet, they also did not die so that germany could live. in the last letters from stalingrad many soldiers convey a forlorn view of war reminiscent of erich maria remarque‟s all quiet on the western front . 35 nevertheless the berlin vb presented its own image of war. the author continues, “the sacrifice was not in vain [because] they gave the necessary time and opportunity for the german leadership to develop counter-measures on which the entire fate of the eastern front depends.” 36 by this account the loss at stalingrad serves as a means of developing future strategic victory. 34 “getreu ihrem fahneneid: zweimal die aufforderung zur übergabe stolz abgelehnt” völkischer beobachter, february 4, 1943, berlin edition, 35, 1. 35 see last letters from stalingrad, trans. franz schneider and charles gullans, (new york: william morrow & co., 1962). in an attempt to gauge the morale of the troops, the high command allowed soldiers to write letters which they subsequently impounded, opened, and sorted by content. this anthology is composed of such letters from the encircled sixth army. 36 “getreu ihrem fahneneid: zweimal die aufforderung zur übergabe stolz abgelehnt” völkischer beobachter, february 4, 1943, berlin edition, 35, 1. image ii. once again, this specific image comes from davidson, kunst in deutschland . davidson provides no photographic credit but the image appeared in die kunst im dritten reich, ausgabe a, march, 1941 (munich: franz -wedding-verlag, march 1941). for my original r eference, see völkischer beobachter, february 4, 1943, berlin edition, 35, 1. in conjunction with the relief “vergeltung,” the article suggests that berliners think not of the dead but of the impending victory which necessitated their death. the article on the other side of the image developed the historical significance of the stalingrad dead. written by alfred rosenberg, reich minister for the occupied eastern territories, the article historicizes the sacrifices at stalingrad. rosenberg equates the epic nature of the völkish project to the iliad and other famous myths. further, he ties the third reich to the larger struggle of the germanic people from the war torn origins of the burgundians. for rosenberg, the third reich represents the telos of a long and arduous germanic trajectory. in this interpretation the sacrifices of the sixth army at stalingrad become less a matter of awe than “only one symbolic example in the struggle of a great nation.” for rosenberg a unified germanic, and even european spirit will rise from the ashes of stalingrad as nations around the world reevaluate their position based on the threats of bolshevism. he writes, the order of this great struggle is to hold the shield of europe – the german wehrmacht has volunteered for everyone. the army sacrificed itself for everyone. it cannot be the meaning of european history to end in the dirt of bolshevism‟s pollution. it cannot be that the meaning of german history is to be the last victim of international jewish hatred. it cannot be a genuine world order that the handiwork and treacherous scheming of these powers will destroy the heritage of the greatest conflicts of our continent. 37 for the nazis, as rosenberg suggests, conflict determined history: from the invasion of the huns to the defeat at stalingrad, german hegemony reflects the military engagements of the germanic people. the story of the third reich represents almost a master narrative; a legitimization of existence. the threat from bolshevism to destroy the accumulation of “the heritage of the greatest conflicts of our continent,” suggests that not only contemporary germany, but historic and future germany, and indeed all of europe, stood on the brink of erasure. at this point, germany effectively ruled continental europe, so any notions of “europe” could be read as a europe purified and aryanized in accordance with the nazi weltanschauung. for rosenberg, the germanic spirit embodied in the third reich represents the apogee of european history. what was at stake then was german (read as european) hegemony, history, and existence. within this master narrative, individual sacrifice represents the foundation of the state built on struggle. those reading this article, rather 37 alfred rosenberg, “die helden der 6. armee” völkischer beobachter, february 4, 1943, berlin edition, 35, 1-2. than being ready and willing to sacrifice, must now come to terms with the notion that the “order,” or perhaps fate, of germany and the germans is to “hold the shield of europe” and give all that is necessary to repeal the “pollution” of bolshevism. even the language of “pollution” suggests threatening industrial grime juxtaposed to breker‟s pseudo-classical, organic over-man or superman: protector and avenger. the article makes the accompanying image and caption, “our oath: revenge!” into an archetype; every german must become a strong willed avenger, backed by the dead, seeking revenge against the threats of “bolshevism‟s pollution.” berliners must tap into the collective spirit of the volk – past and present – and attack the unseen foe. in berlin, this imagery and representation of stalingrad and the mass death of war foments an examination of the self; not only the physical self – as the articles about langermann and wessel may have suggested – but of the spiritual self as well: the internal sense of being one defines through personal, familial, and national history. by the beginning of february 1943, berliners could understand soldierly death and sacrifice as a mandatory step toward the perpetuation and ultimate victory of the reich. with each dead soldier the strength of the community grows and victory becomes more attainable. despite this contradictory relationship, the idea that death could contain life – that destruction could be constructive – does not appear historically or historiographically unprecedented. michael geyer has already argued for a push towards death as a means of ideological immortality at the highest levels within the reich. likewise, the notion of destruction as constructive smacks of albert speer‟s “theory of ruin value” in that the vb increasingly developed a subjective value – a structure – which, even in a destroyed state, mesmerizes observers long after its deterioration. 38 dying for the narrative 38 by “mesmerize” i mean to suggest not only the psychic fuel endemic in neo -nazi movements, but also that historians still dedicate chapters, indeed entire monographs, to attempting to explain the level of fanaticism seen at the end of the reich. on ruin value, see albert speer, inside the third reich: memoirs by albert speer trans. richard and clara winston (new york: the macmillan co., 1970), 59 83, especially 65-66; alex scobie hitler’s state architecture: the impact of classical antiquity (university park and london: the pennsylvania state university press, 1990), 97-106; and the film the architecture of doom. dvd. directed by peter cohen. 1989; sweden: first run features. on march 21, 1943 national socialism celebrated heldengedenktag. though the holiday commemorated all war dead, goebbels ordered all propaganda offices to focus on stalingrad as the ultimate example of heroism. the celebration was not “to be one of mourning; rather, the spirit of the heroic sixth army was to steel the resolve of the nation for the coming battle for the life or death of the germanic volk community.” 39 on the front page of the berlin vb the poet wilhelm ehmer wrote an article titled “pride and mourning.” ehmer narrates the relationship between death and life beginning with individual representations of death in obituaries and ending with the historicization of mass death and the immortalization of ideology. for ehmer, heroes memorial day facilitates the fortification of the collective spirit. he explicitly argues that individual sorrows combine into a unified mass compelled to act for the greater good and the future of the nation and volk. 40 ehmer encourages readers to imagine their individuality as part of something larger than themselves and embrace death as its foundation. he writes, “we are in the process of beginning a new chapter in the book of humanity and are forced to write the first paragraph of the chapter in blood. we must persist with the beloved, precious blood of the sons of our people.” 41 although ehmer employs dramatic rhetoric, the dead represent but the first paragraph of a single chapter. the sacrifices of the dead are necessary for the beginning of a new chapter in the book of humanity; they are not an end but a continuation. because of the war dead, the tome of humanity will forever feature the story of the german volk, and their story written in blood will forever be a memorial to the greatness of their struggle and their cause. but more than that, that someone else died is not enough, ehmer also suggests that the living must define their future through the dead. as goebbels hoped, heroes memorial day 1943 dealt more with the living than the dead. ehmer writes that the task of the immortal dead has passed; they have already fulfilled their duty. he continues, we remember the dead today; we remember our dead not in a sorrowful pain, but in the sense that the great hour of destiny has 39 baird, to die for germany, 225. 40 wilhelm ehmer, “stolz und trauer” völkischer beobachter, march 21, 1943, berlin edition, 80, 1-2. 41 ibid. come… [in which] each and every act of cowardice becomes an offense to the spirit of our fallen. they went ahead of us into battle – the flag of strength and confidence which slipped from their hands, we now hold high in the storm winds. it is a spring wind of the full force of renewal, it is the roar of a new era! 42 with this passage ehmer suggests that courage, sacrifice, and perhaps death are now the duty of civilians. the blood of the dead used to write the eternal record of human history mandates that the living not betray that sacrifice and end the chapter prematurely. ehmer situates berliners as bearers of the banner of the reich and suggests that they not fear death but acknowledge that to die may be their honorable duty. berliners should not fear this duty but rejoice in their ability to participate in the “full force of renewal.” alfred rosenberg‟s article encouraged readers to interrogate themselves; to situate themselves in the trajectory of the german nation. ehmer‟s article encourages readers to balance their position in that trajectory against the threatened future and existence of the german nation. he writes that they should gracefully and dutifully accept their role as bearers of the flag and not defile the memory and sacrifice of the dead through cowardice. in short, ehmer promotes the act of sacrifice, perhaps the act of sacrificing one‟s life, for the future of the german nation. conclusion monica black argues that there is no specifically nazi view of death but rather “a more profoundly german way of death.” 43 by this black means that nazi ideologues tapped into existing german ideas about death. on the one hand she is precisely right; in the vb the iconography of death and sacrifice conjures historical reference points. on the other hand however, they are not all german. the sources also invoke classical imagery – thermopylae, sparta, the iliad – thus moving far beyond german history. these sources, in juxtaposition to the soviet union, bolshevism and the “asiatic hordes,” advocate sacrifice not only for a germanic volksgemeinschaft, a german imagined community, or even the third reich, but also for the perpetuation of western hegemony and the values of classical antiquity. germany, which as rosenberg writes, “now holds the shield of europe,” becomes the guardian of 42 ibid. emphasis added. 43 black, “the meaning of death and making of three berlins,” 82 -3. occidental supremacy against the threats of “bolshevism‟s pollution .” and this cause, the vb suggests, was worth sacrificing and dying for. the choice to end this narrative on the eve of allied bombardment is intentional and significant. although the bombardment of berlin did not commence in earnest until november of 1943, the berlin vb attempted to cover german news more broadly and thus bombardment became a central subject almost immediately after heroes memorial day. the choice to stop before the allied bombing campaigns reflects the fact that the german narrative of struggle and survival against an oriental other breaks down when aerial bombardment and mass death, what black calls “the pure and visible reality of death,” 44 come at the hands of fellow occidentals. the years between 1943 and 1945 thus become the outlier of german identity. this precise narrative resurfaced amongst post-1945 politicians in west germany and abroad who argued the western allies realized only too late the dangers of communism. 45 and indeed the narrative set deep roots, remaining prevalent in popular culture even into the twenty-first century, to the extent that the german defeat in the east “shapes up to have been something approaching a tragedy.” 46 in the berlin vb from early 1942 to early 1943, the iconography of soldierly death and sacrifice repeatedly (re)defined the meanings of “victory” and “death.” in the beginning of this essay, sacrifice and death represented the work of soldiers as they fought for military victory. in subsequent sources, the vb encouraged berliners situate themselves within the trajectory of german and european history. as military victory slipped away, so too did the prospects of the thousand year reich. in the vb, propagandists increasingly blurred the line between the seemingly antithetical words victory and death and injected them with a sense of immortality. as ehmer writes, the dead mark the first paragraph of a new chapter in the book of humanity. but what is a chapter, indeed a whole book, if not a reference to, a reminder or memorial of, an idea which outlasts the thing; that is, something that transcends space through time? the cultural meaning of sacrificial death in the berlin vb can be read, as albert speer wrote of architectural aesthetics in the third reich, 44 ibid., 92. 45 robert moeller, war stories: the search for a usable past in the federal republic of germany (berkeley: university of california press, 2003), 43. 46 ronald smelser and edward j. davies ii, the myth of the eastern front: the nazi-soviet war in american popular culture (cambridge and new york: cambridge university press, 2008), 3. as an attempt to “transmit [hitler‟s] time and its spirit to posterity.” 47 the result of this rhetoric which blurs victory and death is something not easily articulated – perhaps fanaticism. 48 47 speer, inside the third reich, 65. 48 getting fully into the nature of fanaticism and how it comes about is beyond the scope here. briefly, the word fanatic etymologically refers to a frantic an d orgiastic devotee in the context of a system of beliefs, a religion, or a cult. fanaticism then is a state of fervor, a state of escalated faith. fanaticism is a both a communal phenomenon and an individual one. in both cases it draws on a system of beli efs and marks the point at which the belief system gains primacy over the self, the community, and the other: fanaticism violates humanity for the sake of faith. i would argue that “belief systems” and “aesthetic myths” share many similarities. in the berlin vb, the aestheticized myth of life and death, germanness and otherness shape the perceptions of what is worth fighting and dying for. further, modern war necessitates not only killers and targets but public supporters. the states and belligerent bodies that engage in war encourage their respective community of followers to believe that war, killing, and dying are a means which justify an end. the third reich shows us what happens when this formula gets pushed to the extreme. for more see matthew hughes and gaynor johnson eds., fanaticism and conflict in the modern age (london and new york: frank cass, 2005), especially 1-18. [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] examining the mythic past: 1950 westerns and interdisciplinary interpretation tom foley history popular american cinema provides a glimpse into the process of national mythmaking. it illuminates how filmmakers have conceptualized bygone eras, framed events, and demonstrated particular philosophies under the often subtle guise of engaging films. american moviegoers indirectly supported and allowed themselves to be influenced by the ideas presented in the moving picture arguments released by filmmakers and studios. since the first blockbuster, the great train robbery (1903), stormed into theaters like the western gang of railroad thieves it portrayed, westerns provided an important venue for american cultural discourse and a powerful incubator for national myths. between 1946 and 1962, westerns dominated american cinema. the genre accounted for approximately 30 percent of major hollywood films between 1947 and 1950 and over 50 debuted each year until a steady decline beginning in 1958 (explained by the increasing number of serial westerns on rapidly developing television networks).1 with that popularity, westerns became amplifiers for conversations on national issues. cinema scholar stanley corkin notes that westerns were “not only sensitive to the currents of historical change but also expressive of shifts in national mood and circumstance.”2 the relationship of the genre to the time and place of america’s mythologized self birth enabled the western to be particularly powerful, enticing, and illuminating. westerns portrayed events – fictional, factual, and fictional billed as factual – usually from the second half of the 19th century, the era of american national adolescence, so to speak, after the civil war and before the advent of the automobile. since the golden era of western film, the idea of the lone cowboy has leached into american political and cultural space, patrolling the range, acting righteously even if doing so requires a descent into the savage behavior of the dehumanized other, upholding an ambiguous and necessarily racist (according to the cowboy) moral code. presidents have played rancher and ridden horses in order to appear authentically american, and for a time, the go-it-alone mentality of the noble gunfighter devoted to the cause of the little guy and progress became national policy in the international arena. scholars from the related disciplines of history, american studies, english, and film studies have interpreted westerns to learn something about the makers and viewers of the genre. their findings reveal much about cultural norms and political philosophies, demonstrate various policy scenarios being tested, and establish central themes in how americans understood their own past. 1 stanley corkin, cowboys as cold warriors: the western and u.s. history (philadelphia: temple university press, 2004), 2. 2corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 2. corkin, in his 2004 book cowboys as cold warriors, observes that westerns “are most revealing in the way they represent their epoch of production.”3 indeed, western films embodied an american cultural language produced and accepted by filmmakers and audiences alike which now exposes for interdisciplinary scholars latent information not so much about the eras portrayed in film as the time during which and the people by and for whom they were made. in studying these films and their critical reception, we gain unique insight into the political issues and cultural controversies of that era in america. in his book hollywood westerns and american myth, robert pippin contends that many westerns employ a “core narrative” involving three main themes: “the conquest by force of arms of the aboriginal people”; “the conquest by labor, persistence, violence, and technology of an extraordinarily hostile, inhospitable natural world”; and “the conquest of inner nature, the need to establish a stable political order.” 4 pippin’s three elements of the core narrative of westerns matches the three prominent lenses through which scholars have examined western cinema in the 1950s, the high water mark of the popularity and prevalence of the genre. historiography interdisciplinary scholarship on western and american history and film is prodigious and thus it is necessary to sample a sliver of it. richard slotkin’s 1992 tome gunfighter nation, stanley corkin’s 2004 work cowboys as cold warriors, jacquelyn kilpatrick’s 1999 text celluloid indians, robert pippin’s 2010 published lecture hollywood westerns and american myth, and robin murray and joseph heumann’s 2012 book gunfight at the eco-corral all examine western cinema in attempts to better understand american politics, culture, and policy in the 1950s.5 all of these authors examine films from across the twentieth century, though importantly, all devote significant attention to films from the early to mid 1950s, a time corkin called the “golden age of the golden age” of hollywood westerns.6 collectively, these authors’ examinations of the films broken arrow (1950), shane (1953), and the searchers (1956) elucidate the richness of the genre as a primary source for the study of united states social and political thought during the 1950s, a time when the issues related to the cold war, mccarthyism, civil rights for blacks and indians, and violence in society dominated the public psyche. each of the authors (with the exception of richard slotkin, whose work is impressively broad and nuanced and employs a spectrum of lenses) mentioned utilize a particular lens in their examinations of westerns. pippin is particularly attentive to the political philosophies of the filmmakers howard hawks (not addressed in this paper) and john ford (director of the 3 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 3. 4 robert b. pippin, hollywood westerns and american myth: the importance of howard hawks and john ford for political philosophy (new haven: yale university press, 2010), 105-106. 5 jacquelyn kilpatrick, celluloid indians: native americans and film (lincoln, ne: university of nebraska press, 1999); robin l. murray and joseph k. heumann, gunfight at the eco-corral: western cinema and the environment (norman, ok: university of oklahoma press, 2012). 6 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 127. searchers) while corkin parses out indicators about the cold war sentiments of both producers and consumers of westerns. kilpatrick examines westerns with an eye to the representations of american indians and how westerns cemented some stereotypes while simultaneously attempting to reverse other racist characterizations, and mirrored u.s. policy towards american indians in the 20th century. heumann and murray uncover the central ecological themes and environmental underpinnings throughout the genre and back into the actual history of the west. these authors elaborate on the foundations of the study of western cinema and the american west constructed by the likes of slotkin, john g. cawelti, and ian cameron and douglas pye.7 additionally, gary a yoggy and edward buscombe and roberta e. pearson edited collections of essays on the western genre, both published in 1998.8 in the case of yoggy’s collection, specific actors are the focus of analysis while buscombe and pearson concentrate mainly on subgenres of the western – musicals in an article by peter stanfield, television hits in a piece by william boddy, and german films based on the western themed novels of german author karl may by tassilo schneider. as christopher frayling noted in his article “the american western and american society,” westerns have been “a legitimate subject for serious academic study” since the 1950s.9 as time moves farther from the 1950s, however, additional context becomes less ephemeral as our understanding of the past grows deeper and more nuanced. the combination of broad studies on the phenomenon of the western with focused examinations of particular elements of western cinema created the foundation and the framework necessary to support the use of analytical lenses that both contextualize the films and use them as context. pearson and buscombe included some nuanced examinations of the general themes and portrayals in western cinema, with articles on the racial and ethnic messages in “pro-indian” westerns, by steve neale, and the impact of the western on american advertising, by colin mcarthur. in their own analyses, pippin, kilpatrick, murray and heumann, and corkin represent an elaboration and expansion on the studies included in pearson and buscombe’s collection and the interdisciplinary studies of westerns as a broader popular phenomenon. in addition to the existing historiography of western film, it is important to note that the scholarship of the authors included in the examination converses and is indebted (reflected by the citations and deference of the authors) to new western historical scholarship, especially the work by patricia limerick in the legacy of conquest (1987) and donald worster in under western skies (1994). with the addition of historian ned blackhawk’s recent book violence over the land (2006), which focuses on the unifying theme of violence in the american west, 7 john g cawelti, the six-gun mystique (bowling green, oh: bowling green university popular press, 1971); ian cameron and douglas pye, eds., the book of westerns (new york: the continuum publishing company, 1996). 8 gary a. yoggy, ed., back in the saddle: essays on western film and television actors (jefferson, nc: mcfarland & company, inc., publishers, 1998); edward buscombe and roberta e. pearson, eds., back in the saddle again: new essays on the western (london, uk: british film institute, 1998). 9 christopher frayling, “the american western and american society,” in cinema, politics and society, eds. philip davies and brian neves (new york: manchester university press, 1981), 136. one has reason to hope that further examinations of westerns and their use and their portrayal of violence, both as an attempt to strengthen myth and to provide a vehicle for allegory to a different time period, will prove fruitful. the western as a primary source while the western is typically set in a historic place or framed by historical events, it is more part of history than a representation of history. westerns reveal more about the period of their development and creation than they do about the period they portray. richard slotkin notes that the mythologizing western, and more specifically the western that depicts a conflict with indians, “provides a symbolic surrogate for a range of domestic social and political conflicts” of the contemporary era.10 that the cold war as a conflict and the western as a genre rose and declined over a similar time period was not coincidence, he argues. especially in the nascent years of the soviet-american rivalry, specifically 1948 to 1954, slotkin writes that “there was more or less [a] continual exchange of symbols, themes, and concerns between the discourse of politics and movie production.”11 filmmakers borrowed topics from headlines and buried them in allegorical westerns and tested both popular and unfamiliar political philosophies disguised under a stetson hat. as slotkin observes, westerns “provided a frame in which alternative approaches to the political and ideological problems of the cold war could be imaginatively entertained.”12 the already mythologized past of the west in american memory, nurtured over time in popular culture by dime novels and wild west shows, provided a rich and relatively safe space “for ideological play,” that was enticing, in the words of slotkin, “precisely because a wide range of beliefs and agendas [could] be entertained there.”13 in a way, the audience existed as the only law patrolling and governing the figurative plains of the western cinema screen, enforcing its order by attendance referendums and executing unfavorable philosophies with disappointing ticket sales. slotkin notes that the modification of a genre, something that happened in the 1940s as the western gave way to the war film only for the two to cross-pollinate thematic and narrative devices later in the decade (largely nurtured by john ford), can be interpreted as active engineering of entertainment on the part of both the producer and consumer. the filmmaker draws upon current concerns and upcoming ideas and the audience influences the evolution of the genre by affirming or rejecting the new elements and ideas proposed through film. to slotkin, the western can be conceptualized as a form of mass conversation between viewers and film creators. similar to slotkin, stanley corkin recognizes the western as a demonstration of popular culture and as a public conversation – stretched out over multiple film openings, perhaps – 10 richard slotkin, gunfighter nation: the myth of the frontier in twentieth-century america (new york: athenaeum, 1992), 13. 11 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 347. 12 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 347. 13 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 350. between audience and auteur. corkin demonstrates how “westerns and, more generally, popular culture are not only sensitive to the currents of historical change but also expressive of shifts in national mood and circumstance.”14 corkin contends that the western provides insight into the popular political and cultural conversations dominant during the films’ production, and that westerns as “popular film narratives helped audiences assimilate major events and both predict reactions and ideological orientations.”15 a public weariness about violence after world war ii could be gauged – or encouraged – by a cowboy tired of gun fighting and riding alone across the silver screen. likewise, a policy of intervention into another’s conflict could be entertained by ruminating over a gunslinger’s debate whether to head out onto the range to help the less fortunate one more time. corkin suggests that by posing these sorts of questions, westerns tended to “take a more indirect approach, attempting to touch audiences beneath their explicit engagement with the world, offering narratives that resonate at a symbolic or allegorical level.”16 the gentle massaging of mass minds by western films observed by corkin relates to the dialogue between creator and consumer noted by slotkin. for both, the conversation is revealing about the state of collective identity and ideology. fears and desires, possibilities and unthinkable scenarios can be parsed and interpreted from the screen. like both slotkin and corkin, robert pippin observes the opportunity present in western cinema to explore “the mythic framework,” “collective self-knowledge,” and enacted “political psychology” of american society in the 1950s, producers and consumers alike.17 in pippin’s view, westerns offer the opportunity to confront the issues at hand indirectly by observing a symbolic conflict in film. the conscience is confronted with characters decorated with “psychological attitudes, aspirations, and anxieties constitutive of a historic political actuality,” and as a result the audience is able to play out reality in a fictive scenario where all the characters occupy positions possible in the real world. from pippin’s perspective, western film, created by persons attuned to the political, social, and cultural turmoil of the time, allowed for a test run of sorts for the audience, able to gauge the possibilities and acceptability of certain actions. with the mythology of the west as a popular and relatable vehicle, political philosophies and new permutations could be easily packaged and unnoticeably (for the most part) delivered. for english scholar jacquelyn kilpatrick, western films of the 1950s were not so much a test case for possible political ideas as much as they epitomized the popular stereotypes of american indians of the time and also influenced and echoed u.s. government policy concerning native american tribes. kilpatrick observes that from the 1920s through the 1950s, as the u.s. government moved from a policy of cultural preservation and self-determination for tribes and bands of american indians to a program of termination and strongly encouraged assimilation to a preference for native american autonomy and self-determination, western films mirrored those 14 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 2. 15 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 2. 16 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 6. 17 pippin, hollywood westerns and american myth, 102. developments with their characterizations of indians.18 unlike slotkin, corkin, and pippin, to kilpatrick, the western does not represent a testing ground for political ideas as much as it functions as a tool to establish, reinforce, and (later) attempt to correct stereotypes of american indians. in crafting the western as a political allegory for contemporary times, filmmakers frequently depicted american indians as the unknown and savage “other” enemy in place of real world ideological foes or as the noble but helpless “other” in place of third world nations, supposedly in need of pity, intervention, or cultural correction. whether with the sympathetic and knowledgeable tom jeffords (jimmy stewart) in broken arrow or the hateful ethan edwards (john wayne) in the searchers, the idea that the frontier is to be a white space and that it could not be “tamed” without a degree of once necessary but now unacceptable racism is portrayed and promoted at the expense of indian identity in the westerns of the 1950s, according to kilpatrick. as for murray and heumann, they approach the western genre somewhat differently. instead of rejecting a factual examination of the portrayal of the west and embracing an interpretative look at how the content and the context of the productions are mutually engaged, the authors of gunfight at the eco-corral encourage viewing western cinema through an eco-critical lens to realize the centrality of the environment and of ecological conflict to the historical west. from shane to the searchers (1956) on through pale rider (1985) and 3:10 to yuma (2007), murray and heumann argue that an environmental struggle – man against the land, man against man over land – forms the basic structure of western conflict, both as it is portrayed in film and as it played out in the past. patricia limerick supports their emphasis on the influence and centrality of the land, having written in the legacy of conquest that if western filmmakers truly wanted “to capture the emotional center of western history, its movies would be about real estate. john wayne would have been neither a gunfighter nor a sheriff, but a surveyor, speculator, or claims lawyer.”19 limerick frames the battle for land and against land as one for “legitimacy – for the right to claim for oneself and sometimes for one’s group the status of legitimate beneficiary of western resources.”20 in this regard, murray and heumann echo this sentiment for the centrality of the land, its resources, and its ecology. they demonstrably assert that the land and its ecosystems act as protagonist and antagonist, villain, victim, and puppet master in western cinema. without environmental conflict, they contend, the familiar – mythic and historic – conflicts of the west would be significantly different. three films: broken arrow, shane, the searchers given the different approaches and some related perspectives these authors maintain in their examinations of the western film genre, it is useful to examine their critical views on and interpretations of three films over which their analyses overlap. 18 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 40-41, 55-57. 19 limerick as quoted by kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 27. 20 limerick as quoted by kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 27. broken arrow released on the eve of the korean war in 1950, broken arrow starred jimmy stewart and was directed by delmer daves. the film was written by one of the blacklisted hollywood ten, albert maltz and for maltz’s work to be picked up by a studio, his friend michael blanfort had to sign it as his own script. blanfort reportedly took no money for this.21 the film tells the story of a white cowboy, tom jeffords (stewart) who desires a peaceful coexistence between white settlers and the chiricahua apache, led by the noble, brave, and articulate cochise (jeff chandler). jeffords, knowledgeable of chiricahua apache customs and fluent in their language, demonstrates “humanitarian concerns [that] take precedence over racial and political distinctions.”22 jeffords seeks to maintain peace and facilitate a treaty between the apache and the united states, both of whom claim traditional apache land. in the process of bridging the cultural gap and bringing to the table the two sides led by cochise and u.s. army general oliver howard (basil ruysdael), jeffords marries an apache woman, sonseeahray (debra paget). sonseeahray is murdered in an ambush set by white settlers targeting cochise and jeffords.23 cochise stops jeffords from murdering some of the wounded assailants, seeks to preserve the peace and along with general howard, assure jeffords his wife’s killers will be dealt with justly. the film ends with jeffords riding into the west, alone again. jacquelyn kilpatrick cites broken arrow as an example of how politics, perception, and policy influenced and were influenced by filmic representations of american indians. maltz, according to kilpatrick, injected into broken arrow much of his own experience with the mccarthy hearings and the paranoia over possible communist infiltration, thus crafting the film as a resistance to mccarthyism. “stereotypes were reinvestigated and cultural norms, such as the righteousness of manifest destiny, were questioned,” kilpatrick notes of the film as it attempted to portray american indians as “multidimensional human beings,” a monumental shift from decades of silent, savage, and subhuman portrayals.24 the result of hollywood under attack from mccarthyism was, writes kilpatrick, a run of films “with a startling degree of tolerance.”25 there was, however, a downside to this promotion of understanding: a prevalent patronizing tone. kilpatrick quotes ralph and natasha friar, authors of the article “white man speaks with split tongue, forked tongue, tongue of snake in the pretend indians: images of native americans in movies, that “[t]he worst ally and the best enemy the indians could have is a sympathetic friend.”26 in the case of broken arrow, a voice over at the start of the film by lead jimmy stewart informs the viewer that all dialogue will be in english, for the benefit of viewers, though it is to be understood that the apache characters would have spoken in their native 21 michael walker, “the westerns of delmer daves,” in the book of westerns, ed. ian cameron and douglas pye (new york: continuum, 1996), 124. 22 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 104. 23 walker, “the westerns of delmer daves,” 128. 24 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 58. 25 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 58. 26 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 58. tongue. according to kilpatrick, however, this is disruptive and disingenuous, as it weakens the indian characters’ voices, since they are already being compromised and altered from a natural rhythm and process. what is useful, kilpatrick remarks, about broken arrow’s linguistic technique is that the indian characters are able to appear intelligent, articulate, witty, and admirable, a significant shift from decades of silent indians whose solemnity came to stand for savagery, stupidity, and subhumanness. while the indians are notably not the villains in broken arrows, they are not the protagonists or the victors, either. according to kilpatrick, the indians in broken arrow are not only to be “reckoned with, but they can also be reasoned with.”27 while understanding and peace between whites and indians became imaginable in broken arrow, the idea of coexistence, particularly in a romantic or marital setting, remained impossible. the death of sonseeahray and the avoidance of interracial bliss reinforced the idea that the “other” remained a member of an unacceptable caste and ultimately doomed. 28 while the film questioned the merits and morality of manifest destiny, the inevitability of an indian past relegated to the pages of history remained the standard and would until the 1980s and 1990s. though humanized, indians in broken arrow are still damned. as it relates to mccarthyism, however, the film’s ending – with jeffords returning to the opened range and sonseeahray’s murders at the hands of justice – suggests that the bullies ultimately will find themselves undone by the alliance of cooperation and understanding forged by embattled, honorable, and wellintentioned persons. jeffords is assured by both cochise and general howard that the killers will be dealt with, perhaps a salute to screenwriters suffering under accusations of socialism. richard slotkin writes that broken arrow birthed the “cult of the indian,” a type of western that focused sympathetically on indian themes as a vehicle to discuss civil rights while the “cult of the cavalry” films that dealt with armed men forging into the wild dealt with issues related to the cold war.29 unlike kilpatrick, slotkin perceives the death of sonseeahray as “redemptive” (though obviously not for sonseeahray) in that it demonstrates the strength of the alliance and cooperation between indian and white in the interests of peace.30 slotkin observes that in broken arrow, however, the white characters do not decide indians possess humanity and dignity until they see their “whiteness.” jeffords realizes “apache could cry like white men,” general howard respects the military ability of cochise, and jeffords’ “white ways and tools” charm sonseeahray.31 for the audience, cochise’s white qualities are magnified by his portrayal by a white actor (jeff chandler) “whose pale eyes are not concealed and whose color and physiognomy are distinctly different from the indians in [cochise’s] encampment.”32 broken arrow, slotkin asserts, does not advocate acceptance and understanding of difference so much as it encourages uncovering and celebrating sameness. assimilation remained largely a one-way exercise. in a way, broken arrow presaged the u.s. policy of termination, whereby the 27 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 59. 28 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 59. 29 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 377. 30 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 377. 31 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 375-376. 32 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 375. government dismantled agencies that served tribal communities and abolished relations between congress and many individual tribes and bands. as kilpatrick writes, “in the fifties the best indians were those that had assimilated.”33 both slotkin and kilpatrick recognize the sympathetic but pathetic message of broken arrow, that a good indian is a white indian, echoing the sentiment of ralph and natasha friar that a sympathetic white made for either the “worst ally or the best enemy.”34 unlike slotkin and kilpatrick’s contextualization of broken arrow within the contemporary issues of indian policy and mccarthyism, stanley corkin argues that “broken arrow more directly speaks to the international terms of the cold war, as it offers a range of analogies between the american west and the world, between native americans and other presumed adversaries in the united states, between the nativists of the nineteenth century and the cold warriors of the twentieth.”35 corkin contends that the social utility of violence and whether peace can or should be pursued in a violent world form major themes in broken arrow. films like broken arrow, corkin suggests, examine the shift of proponents of total disarmament to the side advocating some form of military defense during the cold war, “as [such films] depict a world that should respond to rational appeals to avoid confrontation, but, because of factors of custom and impulse, will not. in such a world, those who lay down their guns may become victims of the guns of others.”36 jeffords experiences this truth asserted by corkin. corkin, slotkin, and kilpatrick recognize three influential contexts for the same film, and each emphasizes the different lenses to different degrees of importance. with film as both an art and an argument and subject to interpretation, it is more pragmatic to accept all three – mccarthyism, u.s. indian policy, and the cold war – as adding to the formation and messaging of the film than to reject one or exclude another. given the invariability of filmic interpretation and the subtle and allegoric representations in films, dealing with possible seems safer than asserting the definite. shane george stevens’ 1953 shane often garners mention as one of the greatest western films of the 20th century. starring alan ladd as the title character, the film juxtaposes homesteading cattle farmers, personified by the starrett family (jean arthur, van heflin, and brandon de wilde as marian, joe, and joey, respectively), against the corporate free-range ranching tycoon rufus ryker (emile meyer). shane rides in across the landscape to the starrett farm from an unspecific, but apparently violent past – shane no sooner takes a drink of water when he spins around, hand to holster, at the sound of young joey adjusting his toy rifle. nevertheless, shane assists the starretts as they attempt to stave off ill fortune and ryker’s attempts to dominate the landscape and the profit possibilities with his free-range cattle. by siding with the homesteading 33 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 56. 34 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 58. 35 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 106. 36 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 109. starretts and their neighborly compatriots against the tycoon and his henchmen, shane is inevitably drawn back into the violent life he sought to leave behind. shane, who seems to have affections for mrs. starrett, engages ryker and his psychopathic hired gun, wilson, but only after unfairly knocking out joe starrett to preventing the farmer from challenging ryker and wilson alone and outmatched.37 shane succeeds in killing the cattle baron and his henchmen, though not without being wounded himself. with blood flowing down his arm, shane tells young joey, who asks him to stay as a friend and a neighbor, that “there’s no going back” for him, having realized his identity as a man of with a history of violence is, inescapable. he does, however, tell joey to assure his mother that “there aren’t any more guns in the valley.” shane leaves a place he cannot remain safe for the habitation of peaceful homesteaders like the starretts.38 slotkin contends that shane cements the good gunfighter as a replicable hero and the trope of the well-intentioned and necessary but wrong action presaging a greater moral triumph in the myth of the american west. shane’s past is mysterious, but his dress and speech – symbols of refinement and gentility – certify his position on the side of the good and by proxy the protagonists, the starretts and other homesteaders. the film portrays shane as a man worn by his past as a gunfighter, a label attributed to him by men on both sides of the range struggle. in all cases, the epitaph indicates a wariness and mistrust on the part of the speaker, a neutral term acknowledging potential and waiting for a signal of decision and intent. shane, therefore, is emblematic of the “gunfighter mystique” in america, a mythic vision of the past that influenced much nationally, from foreign policy and intervention ideas to gun rights. educating mrs. starrett about firearms, shane tells her his weapon and those like it are merely tools, and that a gun is only “as good or as bad as the man that uses it.”39 the message, thus, according to slotkin, is that “’a good man with a gun’ is in every sense the best of men – an armed redeemer who is the sole vindicator of the ‘liberties of the people,’ the ‘indispensable man’ in the quest of progress.”40 for shane, through slotkin’s lens, his desire to “settle down” is overwhelmed by his drive to “sav[e] the valley.”41 demonstrated by his affection for mrs. starrett, shane need not be perfect to be a hero. he can covet his neighbor’s wife, be motivated to act against ryker with her first in his mind (reinforced by his last words to joey, “tell your mother there are no more guns in the valley”), unfairly defeat her husband for the honor to defend her indirectly, and still maintain the right of might. while these imperfections may seem slight, slotkin asserts that the idea of a white knight splattered with considerable amounts of mud represented an america wary of hostility after world war ii but also a nation ready to accept the necessity of violence in the face of more grievous dangers. shane, which debuted nearly three years into the korean conflict and at the 37 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 399. 38 bob baker, “shane through five decades,” in the book of westerns, ed. ian cameron and douglas pye (new york: continuum, 1996), 214. 39 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 396. 40 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 396. 41 slotkin, gunfighter nation, 399. time of the mccarthy hearings, reinforced what slotkin calls the “gunfighter mystique” also celebrated in the gunfighter (1950) and high noon (1952). the idea of the reluctant warrior willing to side with the side of moral right interlocked with the tradition of the american citizensoldier service tradition experienced by many in the post-war era, especially around the time of the korean war. in contrast to the historical context acknowledged by slotkin, both affecting the production of the film and in how the film produced helped solidify a new permutation on the american myth of the west, authors robin murray and joseph heumann interpret the conflicts within shane as demonstrative of the central role environment played in the forming and fighting of the american west. whereas slotkin sees shane as emblematic of the themes of the reluctant warrior and the nobleness of an imperfect hero protecting the liberties of the “little guy,” murray and heumann, engaging in an eco-critical examination to the film, see shane as an example of the struggle over how to best profit from the land.42 they emphasize the conflict in terms of “sustainable development principles” versus “fair use” of the land; homesteaders versus freerangers.43 around the time of shane’s début, ecologists were divided over the impact free-range grazing, fenced grazing, or cattle ranching in general had on the environment.44 as a result, when viewed in the context of other ranching westerns of the 1940s and 1950s, shane presents an argument in favor of fenced-grazing (as practiced by the homesteading starretts) while some other films, like the sea of grass (1947), argued that free-range was best in terms of profit and environment. murray and heumann determine that shane reveals two major environmental points: that the case for or against free-range grazing was ambiguous in the post-war period, and that the environmental struggle portrayed in shane and other westerns reveal that land played a central role in the historical struggle in the west. the west was not so much bilateral human conflict as it was a trilateral struggle involving the environment. murray and heumann’s reading of shane as reflective of the history of the west instead of mainly allegorical with the west as a trope is somewhat problematic, but understandable. with filmic studies, the range of interpretations is incredibly broad and additionally, the meaning perceived in a film viewed a half-century after its production may be different that the meaning perceived at its immediate release. the historical framework changes as more is understood about the period and as the incomparable context of first hand experience dissipates. as a result, the meaning of a film, absent the specified intentions of the filmmakers, is more a possibility than a certainty. this, in the opinion of this writer, is part of the beauty and complexity of film as a source for argument and the malleability of art as evidence. 42 murray and heumann, gunfight at the eco-corral, 4, 39. 43 murray and heumann, gunfight at the eco-corral, 39. 44 murray and heumann, gunfight at the eco-corral, 44. the searchers voted the greatest western of all time by the american film institute (which also voted shane #3), the searchers starred john wayne as ethan edwards, a confederate veteran and mercenary of sorts recently returned from work in mexico. the film, directed by john ford, begins as edwards arrives at the farm of his brother and his family, complete with two young daughters and a wife towards whom edward’s fondness is clear. edwards, who possesses a palpable hatred for indians, takes his brother’s place in a posse to track down some cattle bandits, only to return to find his brother murdered, his sister-in-law raped and murdered, and his nieces kidnapped. edwards thus embarks with a dwindling number of assistants to find the girls and the comanche warriors who stole them. as the film progresses, the ramifications of edwards’s venom towards indians (curiously interposed with his apparent knowledge of their ways) manifest fully and shockingly when the audience realizes edwards intends not to rescue the girls but to kill them, thus sparing them from miscegenation and mixed-blood relations. when edwards and his companion martin pawley (jeffrey hunter) come across two white women recently rescued from indian captors, edwards remarks, “they ain’t white anymore – they’re comanche.”45 edwards’ abhorrence of anything affected by indian influences, even women, is startling, especially given his intimate knowledge of indian traditions, and his perception that his mission is both necessary and noble is discomforting. at one point, martin steps between the monomaniacal searcher and his younger niece, debbie to prevent her murder, and is saved from death only when a comanche shoots edwards with an arrow. after years of searching, edwards and martin, along with a newly formed posse and a u.s. army cavalry detachment, kill debbie’s captor and current husband but edwards, for reasons left unclear by director john ford, does not kill his niece. the film ends with edwards dropping debbie at a neighbor’s home and walking back out into the blowing dust. for robert pippin, the searchers is akin to joseph conrad’s novel heart of darkness: it is an exploration into the self – in particular, the person of ethan edwards. edwards is racist, violent, and offensive, desecrating corpses, interrupting weddings and funerals, and spewing vitriol. pippin notes that director john ford pulls edwards in an impressive number of directions and manipulates him – and the viewer – in astounding ways to confront the viewer with the reality of edwards: that the united states forged its destiny with “a virulent racism and genocidal war against aboriginal peoples, a war that would not have been possible and perhaps would not have been won without the racist hatred of characters like the john wayne character.”46 in looking at edwards, ford makes the viewer look inward and address the american mythic self in all its ugly realism. pippin interprets the casting by ford of wayne as edwards as intentional to this end: the viewer assumes edwards to be “the john wayne type, an immensely competent, 45 douglas pye, “double vision: miscegenation and point of view in the searchers,” in the book of westerns, ed. ian cameron and douglas pye (new york: continuum, 1996), 233. 46 pippin, hollywood westerns and american myth, 104. tough loner of great integrity and heroic capacity.”47 for pippin, the searchers plays at the american consciousness and attempts to force a realization and rectifying of the flawed and mythic self, necessary from ford’s political perspective amidst the civil rights movement. pippin also notes that the central plot device of the kidnapping and the importance of kinship in the film echo “the american civil rights issues of 1956.”48 for edwards, whiteness in the film is both an inherent physical property as well as a condition. debbie is white but can become unwhite (indian). in contrast, martin, who is of mixed blood, cannot become fully white, though his whiteness develops a degree of trust with edwards. whiteness as a commodity and as a characteristic is a strong theme both in the film and in correlation to the contemporary civil rights issues surrounding the film’s first appearance. likewise, john ford’s casting of john wayne as a former confederate soldier becomes an unlikely coincidence. unlike pippin, stanley corkin frames the searchers strictly within a cold war context. corkin writes that the searchers debuted as the cold war assumed a settled quality for americans, as it premièred after the korean cease-fire armistice and before the escalation in vietnam. in corkin’s view, the film “suggests ford’s ambivalence about the dehumanization and subjugation of racialized opponents of u.s. hegemony (native americans or, by analogy, asians)” and also indicates an edge to the frontier myth and a path, like pippin understands, to “acute self-awareness.”49 corkin’s lens of analysis is from a foreign policy and cold war perspective, so understandably he reads the searchers characters and themes in such a light. edwards’ persona reminds corkin of american generals curtis lemay and douglas macarthur, military figures who “were rabidly ideological and backward looking”, who perceived empire in terms of geographic domination, and for whom international economics was a war to be “utterly dominated.”50 it is not difficult to see ethan edwards as both backwards looking and ideologically set in his ways in the searchers, characteristics portrayed in the film as decidedly negative but perhaps at one time necessary (though perhaps still not positive) in the west. of all corkin’s analyses of the searchers in the context of the cold war, his most interesting point is his observation on violence as a solution to social problems. in discussing both shane and the searchers, corkin highlights the weakness of “civic power” in the face of “martial power.” in the searchers, clayton, a reverend and a captain in the texas rangers, pales in terms of effectiveness and tenacity in comparison with the shoot-niece-first-ask-questionslater mentality of edwards. like shane, the searchers asks the question of whether the post facto social problems caused by violence are worth the expedience of military solutions. citing the election of dwight eisenhower to the presidency in 1952 and again in 1956, corkin suggests americans felt more comfortable relying on military men as opposed to bureaucrats to settle national conflicts. the ending of the searchers highlights this bifurcation of civilized society protected by men willing to reside in the uncivil outside. ethan edwards carries his rescued niece 47 pippin, hollywood westerns and american myth, 134-135. 48 pippin, hollywood westerns and american myth, 123. 49 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 129. 50 corkin, cowboys as cold warriors, 131. to a neighbors porch, where she is taken inside by husband and wife, followed closely by martin and his love, laurie. edwards remains outside, looks briefly from the porch through the doorway, and walks back into the desert amidst blowing dust. through corkin’s cold war lens, john ford constructs ethan edwards not as a man to be admired but a man who is necessary in a violent world, a world where the civil and the warriors are necessary different but mutually dependent. more similar to pippin’s view of the searchers as an allegory for the civil rights movement than to corkin’s cold war perspective, jacquelyn kilpatrick examines the film with an eye to the portrayal and treatment of american indians. kilpatrick comments that john ford was most responsible for “the ideas americans had about native americans,” and notes that while some perceive the searchers as ford’s first attempt to revise his portrayals of indians, the film “still perpetuated attitudes about native americans that were far from positive.” 51 some of ford’s impact on american perspectives was summed up by director stephen feraca, who in 1964 stated, “[indians are] not expected to come out as human beings because i think the american people do not regard them as wholly human.”52 ethan edwards’ fixation on protecting his nieces by killing them and his maniacal focus on preventing miscegenation and blood-mixing propels the plot of the film. this logic – to save the village one had to destroy it – would become systemic during the american war in vietnam. even though edwards ultimately experiences a change of heart and does not murder his niece debbie, kilpatrick observes that “[n]o in depth attempt to humanize the comanches is made in the film.” the author quotes raymond william stedman, who wrote that the apex of the film “says only that at the moment of truth john wayne cannot murder a white girl who is also a close relative.”53 if there is any redemption in the film, kilpatrick suggests, it is more in debbie’s renewed whiteness rather than that others accept her cultural identity. and, as in broken arrow, the idea that an interracial marriage is acceptable or possible remains taboo, further tempering the idea that any redemption actually occurs to redeem the film from a contemporary social perspective. the american film institute rating system of films includes different criteria than corkin, slotkin, pippin, and kilpatrick utilize in their evaluations and readings of the searchers. the film, as art and as argument with john ford shaping its vision, contains multiple layers, numerous messages, and many meanings. those parsed out by the examining authors are but a few and in the vein of french literary criticism, the context of each viewing – temporal, experiential, and informational – influence the interpretation. 51 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 60. 52 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 47. 53 kilpatrick, celluloid indians, 61; quoting raymond william stedman, shadows of the indian: stereotypes in american culture (norman, ok: the university of oklahoma press, 1982), 112. conclusion the popularity of western cinema in the 1950s cannot be understated in its significance. the dominance of the genre, its directors, and its prominent actors remains unrivaled in the history of american film. that the films enabled a conversation on contemporary issues between producers and consumers of the movies seems apparent and well argued, though the supremacy of one interpretation of a film’s influences and allegories remains problematic. scholarly interpretations, assigned meanings, and contextualizations of broken arrow, shane, and the searchers are sometimes varied and occasionally overlapping. the nature of film as an art establishes it as the subject of interpretation, regardless, to some extent, of both the intentions of the filmmaker, as well as the reality that film – and art – is broadly viewed, sometimes subtle, and often subconscious arguments. this compels their evaluation by scholars from across the academic spectrum who are interested in the study of the period of the films’ production. even actions within the film can be interpreted differently. for example, in the searchers shortly after john wayne’s ethan edwards discovers his elder niece (off screen), edwards plunges his knife into the ground. while robert pippin interprets the action as revelatory of edwards’ subconscious frustration at the loss of his beloved sister-in-law and his elder niece, jacquelyn kilpatrick deduces that edwards is cleaning his knife after discovering and killing the older sister. the meaning of a look and the implication of a particular camera angle can be difficult to interpret accurately and precisely, and as such, the possible is preferable to the precise, since exactitude is elusive. what is clear, however, is that interpretations and new understandings of westerns, particularly those of the 1950s, will continue to emerge and be debated as new contexts develop and old contexts are better understood. one could, as bob baker did in his article “shane through five decades,” examine why a film remained popular and in what new contexts was it understood and interpreted in various time periods.54 further interdisciplinary scholarship on films portraying the west hopefully will address this type of cross-temporal question. additionally, while consensus on the meanings of the films discussed remains elusive, the interpretations and dynamic lenses will prove insightful both about the periods of production and the eras of viewing. 54 bob baker, “shane through five decades,” in the book of westerns, ed. ian cameron and douglas pye (new york: continuum, 1996), 214-220. bibliography books buscombe, edward and roberta e. pearson, eds. back in the saddle again: new essays on the western. london, uk: british film institute, 1998. cameron, ian and douglas pye, eds. the book of westerns. new york: the continuum publishing company, 1996. cawelti, john g. the six-gun mystique. bowling green, oh: bowling green university popular press, 1971. corkin, stanley. cowboys as cold warriors: the western and u.s. history. philadelphia: temple university press, 2004. kilpatrick, jacquelyn. celluloid indians: native americans and film. lincoln, ne: university of nebraska press, 1999. murray, robin l. and joseph k. heumann. gunfight at the eco-corral: western cinema and the environment. norman, ok: university of oklahoma press, 2012. pippin, robert b. hollywood westerns and american myth: the importance of howard hawks and john ford for political philosophy. new haven: yale university press, 2010. slotkin, richard. gunfighter nation: the myth of the frontier in twentieth-century america. new york: athenaeum, 1992. yoggy, gary a., ed. back in the saddle: essays on western film and television actors. jefferson, nc: mcfarland & company, inc., publishers, 1998. films broken arrow. directed by delmer daves. 1950. beverly hills, ca: twentieth century fox home entertainment, 2007. shane. directed by george stevens. 1953. hollywood, ca: paramount, 2000. the searchers. directed by john ford. 1956. burbank, ca: warner home video, 1997. microsoft word driver biology final on-line version.docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   1 the phylogeny of new world chickadees in the family paridae robert driver biology introduction paridae, the tits and chickadees, are a widespread family of passerine birds, ranging throughout the holarctic as well as the old world tropics (gosler and clement, 2007). tits and chickadees share a number of features across the family; all species are seed eaters or insectivorous, and all nest in cavities (gosler and clement, 2007). they are found in a wide range of environments and some species are year-round residents at high latitudes such as the boreal chickadee in northern canada in the azure tit in scandanavia (gosler and clement, 2007). due to their abundance, boldness, and adaptability to man-altered environments, avian research has frequently focused on members of paridae such as the great tit and blue tit. the great tit’s propensity to nest in manmade boxes has made it a model for studying breeding biology, including differences in male reproductive success (lambrechts and dhondt, 1986), variation in timing of breeding (verhulst et al., 1995), inbreeding (greenwood et al., 1978), natural fitness variation (mccleary et al., 2004), nest ectoparasites (christe et al., 1996), and differential contributions from sexes in feeding young (sanz et al., 2000). the blue tit was one of the first passerines discovered to have ultraviolet colors in its plumage (hunt et al., 1998). at villanova university, a hybrid zone between the black-capped chickadee and carolina chickadee has been extensively studied as a model for avian tension zones and selectivity against hybrids (curry, 2005). here, the propensity for chickadees to nest in manmade boxes allows for the ease of study. despite the familiarity of paridae with the public and in ornithology, phylogenetics of paridae have not always been so clear. there are 59 species in paridae and the phylogeny of the family has changed over the past half century. this could be due to the morphological simplicity of the family; few species diverge from the morph of a small energetic bird with a stubby neck, proportionally long tail, and a round head. as a result, for much of the existence of paridae, over 50 species were in the single genus, parus (snow, 1967). two aberrant tit species were never placed in parus: the large-bodied and crested sultan tit is placed in melanochlora, while the warbler-like yellow-browed tit is placed, appropriately, in sylviparus (“warbler tit”) (snow, 1967). additionally, two species concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   2 formerly in other families have been placed in paridae. the fire-capped tit was previously placed with the penduline tits in remizidae and has been moved to paridae (gosler and clement, 2007). in a substantial taxonomic move, the hume’s ground-tit was placed in paridae after being incorrectly placed in corvidae, with jays and crows (james et al., 2003). hume’s ground-tit is aberrant with a curvedbill, and nests in a burrow as opposed to a cavity (james et al., 2003). all four of these aberrant species are found in the himalayas, suggesting this region may be the origin of paridae (johansson et al., 2013). subgenera were proposed to break up parus in 1996 by harrap and quinn. in 2005 frank gill, formerly of the academy of natural sciences of philadelphia, elevated five of these suggestions to genera (gill et al., 2005). important to these changes was removing all new world taxa from parus, with the seven chickadees placed in poecile and the five crested titmice placed in baeolophus (gill et al., 2005). the two crested old world species were also placed in their own genus, lophophanes (gill et al., 2005). the small blue european tits, including the blue tit and the morphologically similar azure tit, were removed from parus to form cyanistes (salzburger et al., 2002). this taxonomic distinction separated blue tit from great tit, with size as a major morphological distinction. the tufted titmouse was split into the northern tufted titmouse and the southern blackcrested titmouse (aou checklist, 2002), and the western plain titmouse was broken up into the coastal oak titmouse and the more interior juniper titmouse (aou checklist, 1996). in the future, it is possible that parus will continue to be split apart to only include the great tit and its sister taxa, the green-backed tit. authors suggest that the african tit species, still placed in parus should have their own genus, melaniparus (johansson et al., 2013). i examined two datasets for my project. one is the most recent complete phylogeny for all of paridae and the other is the more recent phylogeny only focusing on the seven american poecile chickadee species. the complete phylogeny of paridae (“a complete multilocus species phylogeny of the tits and chickadees (aves: paridae)”, johansson et al. 2013) was performed using two nuclear genes, myoglobin intron 2 and ornithine decarboxylase introns 6 and 7 and exon 7, and a mitochondrial locus, nadh 2. the three sequences were concatenated and aligned. the tree was created using maximum likelihood analysis with raxml and a bayesian interference analysis using mr. bayes 3.1.1. all species in paridae are included, and the outgroup is the sister family to paridae, with four species in the penduline tit family remizidae. many interesting conclusions can be drawn from this tree (phylogeny not shown). first, lophophanes contains two taxa, the grey-crested tit (l. dichrous), native to the himalayas and central china, and the crested tit (l. semilarvatus), one of two crested passerines found in europe. lophophanes falls sister to poecile, concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   3 including the american chickadees, and baeolophus, the american titmice. lophophanes’ position near baeolophus suggests a common crested ancestor, rather than lophophanes gaining a crest independently. another conclusion is that baeolophus is not sister to chickadees in poecile. this suggests that paridae colonized the americas twice, producing titmice and chickadees separately. my reanalyzed dna results will focus on the seven new world chickadee species in the genus poecile: the mountain chickadee (p. gambeli), mexican chickadee (p. sclateri), boreal chickadee (p. hudsonicus), chestnut-backed chickadee (p. rufescens), carolina chickadee (p. carolinenesis), black-capped chickadee (p. atricapillus), and the siberian tit (p. cinctus). the position of the new world chickadees in the 2013 complete paridae phylogeny paper is surprising from the perspective of a student in the curry lab. at villanova, we study hybridization between the black-capped and carolina chickadees in eastern pennsylvania. however, in the 2013 paridae phylogeny, the black-capped chickadee comes out as a sister taxa to the mountain chickadee, with high (.95) bootstrap support. despite short branch lengths, it is surprising that black-capped chickadee hybridizes with a species that is not its closest relative. a search of the literature shows that black-capped chickadee also hybridizes with mountain chickadee in regions of range overlap (grava et al. 2012), as well as hybridizing with boreal chickadee (p. hudsonicus) (lait et al. 2012). the hybridization with boreal chickadee is surprising: in the 2013 paridae phylogeny, only chestnutbacked chickadee is shown to be more distant to black-capped chickadee of the new world chickadees. the phylogeny of new world chickadees in 2013, the most recent phylogenetic analysis of chickadees, used a different method to create their tree (“the influence of sampling design on species tree inference: a new relationship for the new world chickadees (aves: poecile)”, harris et al. 2013). rather than obtaining gene sequences, 80 primer pairs were designed to amplify regions of the genome across chickadees. 40 of these amplified across all seven chickadees and were used in phylogenetic analyses. in addition, the nadh-2 and nadh-3 mitochondrial loci were used in the creation of the tree. the gene trees were analyzed using raxml to create a species tree, and additional analysis were also run: mrbayes, best, *beast, and stells; all yielding the same species tree with high bootstrap values (.76 is their weakest value for best analysis, second weakest is 94 for raxml analysis). the 2013 paridae phylogeny tree similarly incorporated introns and exons, thus both studies used coding and noncoding data; however, the 2013 chickadee phylogeny paper targets random sequences of dna where function, if any, is unknown. the chickadee phylogeny created from the 2013 chickadee paper is quite different from the 2013 paridae phylogeny (figure 1). the only relationship that is concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   4 the same between both papers is the phylogeny of the “brown crowned” chickadees. in the seven new world species, boreal chickadee, chestnut-backed chickadee, and siberian tit have brown crowns. both phylogenies have these three species as monophyletic. the 2013 new world chickadee phylogeny shows mexican chickadee as sister to mountain chickadee, and, as would be expected from our research at villanova, black-capped chickadee is sister to carolina chickadee. however, in the 2013 paridae phylogeny, mexican chickadee is the outgroup of the brown crowned chickadees, and mountain chickadee is sister to black-capped chickadee, with carolina chickadee as a third taxonomic group of chickadees. therefore, the 2013 chickadee phylogeny paper separates brown and black crowned chickadees, whereas the 2013 paridae phylogeny places mexican chickadee, a black crowned species, with the brown crowned species, and also has different relationships within the black crowned species. these two sets of trees contrast each other, with morphological and behavioral observations favoring the 2013 chickadee tree. a european species, the marsh tit (parus palustris), is used as the outgroup in the new world chickadee study, and the same nuclear regions were amplified in the marsh tit as with the chickadee species. figure 1. phylogenetic relationships of the seven poecile species and parus palustris. adapted from harris et al. 2013. methods to determine which chickadee phylogeny is the most accurate, i performed my own analysis on the seven chickadee species with marsh tit as the outgroup. i obtained the sequence data from genbank used in both studies, including the 40 chickadee-insert sequences used by the 2013 chickadee phylogeny paper (the 40 of 80 found across all 8 taxa), and the three genes used in the 2013 paridae phylogeny concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   5 paper, myoglobin, ornithine decarboxylase, and nadh-2, as well as two gene sequences for all 8 species that were not previously used in the above mentioned phylogenetic analyses, cytochrome c oxidase 1, and cytochrome b. i took these sequences and used geneious to create one concatenated sequence. i then used the clustalw website to align the concatenated sequences between the 8 taxa. after checking the alignment in geneious to make sure that sequences looked similar, i used the cipres website to create a maximum likelihood tree using raxml. results the resulting tree is illustrated below (figure 2): figure 2. phylogenetic tree of seven poecile species generated by my novel dataset. the phylogeny created by this analysis agrees with the 2013 harris et al. chickadee phylogeny. the brown-crowned species are monophyletic, with siberian tit (poecile cinctus) as an outgroup of the sister taxa chestnut-backed (p. rufescens) and boreal chickadee (p. hudsonicus). additionally, as with the 2013 chickadee phylogeny paper, the two western species, mexican chickadee (p. sclateri) and mountain chickadee (p. gambeli) mapped to be sister taxa. the two species of chickadee that hybridize in eastern pennsylvania also appear as sister taxa, as black-capped chickadee (p. atricapillus) and carolina chickadee (p. carolinesis) map out together. bootstrap support values were strong for my tree, with my lowest value supporting p. gambeli and p. sclateri as sister taxa (value of 69). the concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   6 second lowest is between p. carolinensis and p. atricapillus at a value of 76. the outgroup, labelled as “parus” is parus palustris, the marsh tit. discussion i believe that i obtained a phylogenetic tree similar to the 2013 chickadee phylogeny paper because i concatenated my sequences and because 40 of the 45 sequences that went into the concatenation were the anonymous loci from the 2013 chickadee phylogeny. many of these sequences were much shorter than the 5 genes added, with cytochrome b being the longest of all individual sequences, but their quantity outnumbered the genes included. in retrospect, it may have been a good idea to not include all 40 anonymous loci to have a relatively similar contribution from both datasets, considering that i was using a concatenated tree that weighs sequences equally. as a result, my tree largely looks like the chickadee phylogeny paper’s tree with slightly lower bootstrap values, presumably due to the influence of the 5 gene sequences. the phylogeny i generated supports the 2013 chickadee phylogeny paper and supports morphological and behavioral data on chickadees. the brown crowned species and black crowned species aligned together in the tree, supporting morphological features in chickadees. additionally, the mapping of p. atricapillus and p. carolinensis as sister taxa reflects the widespread hybridization that occurs between the two species in their narrow zone of contact stretching from new jersey to kansas. p. atricapillus and p. carolinensis are morphologically identical and but are readily distinguished by song, further supporting their placement as sister taxa in my tree. however, due to the distance between p. atricapillus and p. hudsonicus, my tree does not support the hybridization observed between p. atricapillus and p. hudsonicus without potential fitness consequences due to genetic incompatibilities (lait et al., 2012). this interbreeding should be explored further, as the two species represent a unique genetic distance from each other for hybridization. however, it should be noted that a genetic distance of this magnitude does not preclude avian species from occasionally hybridizing, as hybridization between genera is an observed phenomenon in the new world sparrow family, emberizidae (jung et al., 2014). chickadees and european tits are familiar to both the general public and to scientific researchers. due to their abundance, propensity to feed from manmade feeders, and ability to nest in cavities, they allow researchers to easily collect behavioral, morphological, or genetic data. in this way, some species of chickadees and tits function as models for researching topics such as hybridization or response to climate change, and help researchers understand how passerines and birds in general behave and evolve (curry, 2005). uncovering accurate phylogenetic concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   7 relationships between the species of this charismatic and well-studied group of birds will help researchers understand the evolutionary timing in the appearance of behavioral or morphological features that influence selection pressures and geographic distribution. the phylogenetic tree provides an evolutionary context for future studies of such traits. bibliography christe p, richner h, oppliger a (1996) begging, food provisioning, and nestling competition in great tit broods infested with ectoparasites. behavioral ecology 7: 127-131. curry, r (2005) hybridization in chickadees: much to learn from familiar birds. auk 122: 747-758. gill f, slikas b, sheldon f (2005) phylogeny of titmice (paridae): ii. species relationships based on sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene. auk 122: 121-143. gosler a, clement p (2007) family paridae (tits and chickadees). in: del hoyo k, elliott a, christie d, handbook of the birds of the world. lynx edicions, barcelona, pp. 662-744. grava a, grava t, didier r, lait l, dosso j, koran e, burg t, otter k (2012) interspecific dominance relationships and hybridization between blackcapped and mountain chickadees. behavioral ecology 23: 566-572. greenwood p, harvey p, perrins c (1978) inbreeding and dispersal in the great tit.   nature 271: 52-54. harrap s, quinn d (1996) tits, nuthatches and treecreepers. helm, london. harris r, carling m, lovette i (2013) the 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(poecile atricapillus) hybridization in atlantic canada. the canadian field-naturalist 126. lambrechts m, dhondt a (1986) male quality, reproduction, and survival in the great tit (parus major). behavioral ecology and sociobiology 19: 57-63. mccleery r, pettifor r, armbruster p, meyer k, sheldon b, perrins c (2004) components of variance underlying fitness in a natural population of the great tit parus major. the american naturalist 164:3: 63-74. salzburger w, martens j, sturmbauer c (2002) paraphyly of the blue tit (parus caeruleus) suggested from cytochrome b sequences. molecular phylogenetics evolution 24: 19-25. sanz j, kranenberg s, tinbergen j (2000) differential response by males and females to manipulation of partner contribution in the great tit (parus major). journal of animal ecology 69: 74-84. snow, d (1967) family paridae, titmice. in: paynter r, check-list of birds of the world. museum of comparative zoology, cambridge ma. verhulst s, van balen j, tinbergen j (1995) seasonal decline in reproductive success of the great tit: variation in time or quality? ecology 76: 23922403. which on-base percentage shows the highest true ability of a baseball player? january 31, 2018 abstract this paper looks at the true on-base ability of a baseball player given their on-base percentage. unlike a typical proportion estimation problem where one is able to make an analysis based on knowing the number of successes and number of trials, this problem only gives us the proportion of successes rounded to three decimal places. this paper presents two different bayesian models for finding the highest true on-base ability. the first bayesian model considers modeling the distribution of times on-base, plate appearances and probability of being on-base as a prior distribution and then finding a posterior distribution given an observed on-base percentage. the second bayesian model looks into the distribution of hits, walks, hit-by-pitches, plate appearances and probability of getting on-base and then creating a simulation of baseball players to see their true ability given a particular on-base percentage. after implementing the two models, it turns out that the highest reasonable on-base percentage that shows a player’s true ability is around .4. i. introduction on-base percentage (obp), defined as the ratio obp ≡ h+bb+hbp ab+bb+hbp+sf where h, bb, hbp, ab, and sf is a player’s hits, walks, hit-by-pitches, at bats and sacrifice flies respectively, is one of the main statistics used to measure a baseball player’s offensive capacity. according to the bestseller moneyball (lewis 2003), among the different statistics used to measure a player’s hitting ability, obp is one of the better measurements. however, one of the things that can be deceiving about obp is the true ability of a player given their obp. it may be that the player’s obp was achieved with a very small sample size. for 1 example, just by solely looking at the numbers, one would probably assume that a player with .833 obp is better than a player with a .398 obp. however, it is very much possible for a player to achieve a .833 obp just by getting on-base 5 out of 6 times and more likely than not, the player probably got a .833 obp in this fashion. however, in order for a player to get a .398 obp, one would need to bat at least 161 times, which shows a high degree of skill since this percentage is sustained upon a high amount of batting opportunities. in this paper, we will look at which obp’s show the highest amount of true ability p, where a higher true ability indicating a better player. the way that we will approach this problem is by turning real world baseball data into models by using random variables and probability distribution functions of these random variables. these probability density functions would retain the important details that the real world data contains. a random variable x is a variable whose possible values are outcomes of random events. we use an uppercase letter x to refer to the random variable itself and we use a lowercase letter x to refer to the possible value that the random variable can take on. probability density functions are real valued functions fx1,x2,...,xn(x1, x2, ..., xn) such that fx1,x2,...,xn(x1, x2, ..., xn) > 0 for all random variables x1, x2, ..., xn and ∫ ∞ −∞ ∫ ∞ −∞ ... ∫ ∞ −∞ fx1,x2,...,xn(x1, x2, ..., xn)dx1dx2...dxn = 1. with probability density functions, we can create conditional distribution functions which are probability density functions with extra information given with one or more of the variables in the original distribution function. we can also create marginal distribution functions which are probability density functions that isolate one of the variables through aggregating the other variables. the models presented will use conditional distributions and marginal distributions to fit the real world data in an appropriate way. sections 2 and 3 will present two different models to approach the same problem. the goal is to create such a model that if we made a simulation out of this model, we would obtain fake data that would be reasonably similar to the real world baseball data. section 4 will present the necessary methods to calculate the posterior true ability p given the obp information as well as the information that we created with both our models in sections 2 and 3. section 5 will give the results of our calculations as well as analyze some of the results’ highlights. all of the major computations were handled by r, a statistical program. the data that we used was taken from www.baseballreference.com where we recorded the offensive statistics of non-pitchers who had at 2 least one at bat during the 2015 and 2016 seasons (which were the two most recent complete data available). players who had at least one at bat for more than one team in a particular season appear in the data multiple times, once for each team. there were about 700 players who met this criterion per season so we had about 1400 players’ statistics to work with. ii. the first proposed model the first model will use bayesian statistics to model the true ability of a player given an obp thorough a formula that measures the true ability in relation to information relevant to on-base percentage. bayesian statistics studies the probabilities of events occurring given one has relevant information about the event before making the actual calculation. the probability calculated without the information is called the prior probability and the probability calculated using the updated information is called the posterior probability. in this case, we will use plate appearances, times on base, and on-base percentage as the relevant information and we will use true ability as the prior/posterior probability. we will use true ability for as a prior probability for building the model and we will use true ability as a posterior probability for determining which on-base percentages measure the better players’ offensive skill. we will aggregate the obp formula to obp = times on base plate appearances where times-on-base = h + bb + hbp and plate appearances = ab + bb + hbp + sf and find the joint distribution of the random variables tob (times-on-base), p (prior true ability), and pa (plate appearances). we first find the marginal distribution of pa. then we model the conditional distribution of p given pa. after that, we model the conditional distribution of tob given p and pa. i. plate appearances to model the marginal distribution of pa, we first made histograms of the player plate appearances totals for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. figure 1 presents the histograms of the plate appearances for the 2015 season, 2016 season, and the two seasons combined. by approximating the histograms with a combination of lines and curves, we created a probability density function for the plate appearances. the reason that we do this task is to convert the plate appearances data from a practical histogram model to a theoretical probability density function model. the probability density function will allow us to make calculations when 3 2015 season plate appearances f re q u e n c y 0 200 400 600 800 0 2 0 4 0 6 0 8 0 2016 season plate appearances f re q u e n c y 0 200 400 600 800 0 2 0 4 0 6 0 8 0 combined data plate appearances f re q u e n c y 0 200 400 600 800 0 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 0 figure 1: histogram of plate appearances for the 2015, 2016, and combined seasons respectively this distribution is combined with the other distributions in the model. notice that all three histograms were relatively similar, which allows us to form a density function that will capture the main properties of each of the histograms. the goal of the density function is to create a function that will approximate the probability of each plate appearance occurring. while one could do this by simply counting the frequencies of a plate appearance occurring and dividing by the number of players, there are a lot of variance with each of the probabilities since the probabilities would vary a lot from year to year, thus making for an unreliable model. making a probability density function using lines and curves will allow us to retain the general pattern that is observed with the baseball data over the course of multiple seasons, rather than baseball data just for a particular year. with turning a probability distribution function into a function that approximates the probabilities of individual plate appearances occurring, we will use the fact that p(pa = pa) = p(pa ≤ pa < pa + 1). this is reasonable to do since plate appearances are only integers and partitioning the domain of f(x), which is the real line, into discrete parts allows us to have the distribution d(pa) to have the domain consisting of integers. d(pa) ≡ ∫ pa+1 pa f (t)dt (1) where f is the density function 4 f (x) =  0.004779146e−.014285714x + .001013758 if 0 ≤ x < 280 0.00083273 if 280 ≤ x < 600 0.001122375 if 600 ≤ x < 700 −0.00000501319544x + 0.0038100285 if 700 ≤ x < 760 even though one could theoretically have an unlimited number of plate appearances in a season, in practice, none of the plate appearances have surpassed 760, so for the sake of this model, we assume that x < 760. ii. true ability to model the conditional distribution of prior true ability p of a player getting on-base given only pa and nothing else, we turned to the beta family of distributions. the beta distribution is a probability density function such that x is between 0 and 1 and α and β are greater than 0. with this distribution, fx(x) = xα−1(1−x)β−1 b(α,β) where b(α, β) = γ(α)γ(β) γ(α+β) and γ(α) = (α− 1)! = ∫ ∞ 0 xα−1e−xdx. frey (2007) found that one can find the true ability for batting average by modeling the mean of ability (µ(a)) given at bats and the one of the parameters of variability of ability (c) given at bats. then one can set µ = α α+β and c = α + β since these two parameters are sufficient to create a beta distribution model. we can do likewise for obp by substituting at bats with plate appearances. one can find µ by doing a lowess fit of a plot of on-base percentages versus plate appearances and creating the equation of the lowess fit line similar to what we did with the plate appearances model. figure 2 contains the lowess fit plot. this equation is meant to be an approximation of the lowess fit in figure 2. from this process it follows that µ(pa) =  0.000261494x + .253448276 if pa ≤ 194 0.000078736x + .288965517 if pa > 194 with finding c, we have to account for the fact that better players play more. as a result of this fact, the distribution of p for players with a higher number plate appearances will be stochastically larger than those with a lower number of plate appearances. what frey (2007) did for finding 5 0 200 400 600 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1 .0 plate appearances o b p figure 2: plot of plate appearances vs obp’s for the 2016 season. the extra line is a lowess fit. the variability of batting average was to first plot the variability of batting average as a function of at bats. for at bat bins [290,310), [310,330),...[690,710), he computed the within-bin standard deviations and plotted them as a function of at bats, thus creating a scatter plot of points. we can do likewise for finding the true ability for obp. once one has made the plot, one can find c by using the function var( tob pa ) = 1 pa µ(pa) + (1− 1 pa )( cµ(pa)2 + µ(pa) c + 1 )− µ(pa)2 . this variance function will act as contours on the graph of standard deviations with varying curves such that every point on a curve will have the same value of c with the locations of the curves changing as a function of c (i.e., with this function, as c increases or decreases the curve will go down or up relative to the points on the graph respectively). all we need to do is to find the curve such that half of the points fall above the curve and half the points fall below it and mark the curve’s corresponding c value. after doing this procedure, we end up having c being equal to 625. figure 3 shows the standard deviation versus plate appearances plot with the middle curve being best representation the variability in the true ability. at this point, we have established a relationship between the prior true ability and plate appearances. 6 300 400 500 600 700 0 .0 0 5 0 .0 1 5 0 .0 2 5 0 .0 3 5 plate appearances s d (o b p ) figure 3: empirical bin-by-bin standard deviations for obp. in the top, middle, and bottom curve, c=400, 625 and 900 respectively. we will use c=625 for our model. iii. times on base finally, we need to model the distribution of tob given pa and p. the most natural model for this would be to see if tob were distributed as binomial(pa,p). the binomial distribution b(n, p) is a probability mass function (probability distribution function for discrete random variables) that models the number of successes or failures of n independent identical trials where each trial only has an outcome of a success with probability p or failure with probability 1− p. the probability mass function for this distribution is fx(x) = (n x)px(1− p)n−x where (n x) = n! x!(n−x)! and n is an integer between 0 and n inclusively. in this model, we are trying to see if we are use each plate appearance as a trial and the prior true ability as the probability of getting on-base since we have found a model for plate appearances and prior true ability in the earlier sections. frey (2007) showed that one can see if hits (h) were binomial(at bats(a), prior true ability(p)) by selecting players with at least 300 at bats for the same team for two consecutive years and seeing if ( h1 a1 − h2 a2 )√ p̂(1− p̂)(a−1 1 + a−1 2 ) ∼ n(0, 1) where h1, h2, a1, a2 are the hits and at bats of two consecutive seasons respectively and p̂ = h1+h2 a1+a2 . the premise behind picking players’ data from two consecutive seasons is the fact that a 7 player’s skill isn’t going to change very much over this time frame which makes the trials more "independent" and "identical". we can do likewise for obp by substituting a with pa and h with tob. after carrying out this process by looking at a histogram and calculating the mean and standard deviation, it turns out that the times on base does follow a binomial distribution. at this point, we have established a relationship between tob with p and pa. iv. checking the model after completing our model, we decided to create a simulation of 700 players using the model and compare its scatter plot of obp to plate appearances to that of the real data. for each player, we first found a random value of pa subject to its probability density function, then found a random value of p using its conditional beta distribution with the random value of pa, and then found a random number of tob by picking a random number from it’s corresponding binomial distribution with the random value of pa and p. then we computed the obp for each simulated player using the random values of pa and tob. then we made a scatter plot with the players’ obp and plate appearances to compare it to the scatter plot of the original data. figure 4 shows the scatter plots of the data alongside with the original data. notice that the simulated data plot is very similar to that of the real data so this model captures the essence of the baseball data. 0 200 400 600 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1 .0 plate appearances o b p 0 200 400 600 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1 .0 plate appearances o b p 0 200 400 600 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1 .0 plate appearances o b p figure 4: plate appearances by obp plots. the left-most one is with the 2016 data and the other two are created by simulation with the first model. 8 iii. the second proposed model the second model will use a more specific model to better fit the obp data and will use a simulation to find the true ability given the information presented in the model. we will look at each of the numerator components of obp and find the joint distribution of the variables h, bb, hbp, p, and pa. we try to find the marginal distribution of pa, conditional distributions of ph ,pbb, and phbp given pa and then the conditional distribution of h, bb, and hbp given ph , pbb, phbp and pa. i. plate appearances in this model, the model for pa is the exact same model as the model used for pa in section 2.1 so we omit the details. ii. true ability unlike section 2.2 where we only needed to find the prior true ability of a player getting on-base given only pa, in this model, we need to find the prior true abilities for a player to get a hit (ph), walk (pbb), hit-by-pitch (phbp), and out (1− ph − pbb − phbp) given only pa. since we are looking at probabilities such that the sum of probabilities of the four components adds up to 1 (reaching on-base by fielders’ choice or by an error is counted as an out according to the definition of on-base percentage), the most natural distribution to turn to would be the dirichlet distribution. the dirichlet distribution is the multi-variable equivalent of the beta distribution where n = 2 of the dirichlet distribution is the beta distribution. the probability density function of the dirichlet distribution is fx1,x2,...,xn(x1, x2, ..., xn) = 1 b(α1,α2,...,αn) πn i=1xαi−1 i where b(α1, α2, ..., αn) = πn i=1γ(αi) γ(σn i=1αi) we can use the same process of finding the distribution as in section 2.2 by finding the means of the different abilities and the variability of the abilities. in this case, we set µ1 = α1 α1+α2+α3+α4 , µ2 = α2 α1+α2+α3+α4 , µ3 = α3 α1+α2+α3+α4 , and µ4 = 1− µ1 − µ2 − µ3 where µ1,µ2,µ3, and µ4 are the means corresponding to hits, walks, hit-by-pitches and outs respectively. in this case, c will be equal to α1 + α2 + α3 + α4. using the same process as what we used in section 2.2, it follows that 9 µ1(pa) =  0.000125969x + .187209302 if pa ≤ 230 0.000070543x + .2 if pa > 230 µ2(pa) =  0.000217241x + .04137931 if pa ≤ 167 0.000015517x + .075172414 if pa > 167 µ3(pa) =  0.000030864x if pa ≤ 232 0.000003292x + .006419753 if pa > 232 in this case, µ4 is omitted since it is just a function of the other 3 functions and carries little benefit in the model. since the process of finding c is the exact same process as in section 2.2, we omit the details with the process and say that we will use c = 625 as was used in the previous model. now we have a connection between the prior true ability with plate appearances. iii. hits, walks, hit-by-pitches finally, we need to model the distribution of hits (h), walks (bb), and hit-by-pitches (hbp) given pa, ph , pbb, and phbp. since we are modeling plate appearances as independent events that only lead to outcomes h, bb, hbp, and outs, the most natural distribution to turn to would be the multinomial distribution. the multinomial distribution is the multi-variable analogue of the binomial distribution. like the binomial distribution, the multinomial distribution measures the outcomes of n identical, independent trials. however, unlike the binomial distribution where each trial only has outcomes success and failure with probabilities p and 1− p respectively, the multinomial distribution trials have outcomes x1 with probability p1, x2 with probability p2,...,xk with probability pk where xi’s are integers with σk i=1xi = n and pi’s are probabilities such that σk i=1 pi = 1. the probability mass function for this distribution is n! x1!x2!...xk ! px1 1 p2x2...pxk k . notice that for k = 2, the multinomial distribution is the binomial distribution. however, in order for h, bb and hbp to be modeled this way, we need to have hits to be modeled as ( h1 pa1 − h2 pa2 )√ p̂h(1− p̂h)(pa−1 1 + pa−1 2 ) ∼ n(0, 1) 10 where p̂h = h1+h2 pa1+pa2 . notice that this modeled function is analogous to the one in section 2.3. we would also need walks and hit-by-pitches to be verified in a similar fashion. the way that one verifies this is the same as the technique used in the first model so we omit the details. after carrying out this process by looking at the histograms of h, bb, and hbp and calculating their means and standard deviations, it turns out that each of the formulas are normal, which means that hits, walks and hit-by-pitches follows as a multinomial distribution. iv. checking the model after completing our model, we decided to create a simulation of 700 players using the model and compare its scatter plot of obp to plate appearances to that of the real data. for each player, we first found pa using its probability density function, then found a random value of ph, pbb, phbp, and pout using the dirichlet distribution, and then found the number of hits, walks, hit-by-pitches and outs by picking a random number from it’s corresponding multinomial distribution. we then computed each simulated player’s obp by the formula hits+walks+hit-by-pitches plate appearances and made a scatter plot similar to that in the first model. figure 5 shows the scatter plots of the data alongside with the real data. notice again that the simulated data plot is very similar to that of the real data so this model captures the essence of the baseball data. 0 200 400 600 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1 .0 plate appearances o b p 0 200 400 600 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1 .0 plate appearances o b p 0 200 400 600 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1 .0 plate appearances o b p figure 5: plate appearances by obp plots. the left-most one is with the 2016 data and the other two are created by simulation with the second model. 11 iv. finding the posterior distribution i. using the first model in order to find the posterior true ability p based on obp alone, we need to find the true ability given obp. we can use the fact that p(prior true ability) ∼ beta(α, β) and x|p(prior true ability) ∼ binomial(n, p) =⇒ p(posterior true ability)|x ∼ beta(α + x, β + n− x) where a ∼ b means that random variable a has distribution b. frey (2007) found that for batting averages, one can find the posterior distribution conditional on a given batting average by listing all of the ways (a1,h1), (a2,h2),...(ak,hk) a batting average b can occur and summing a mixture of their corresponding distributions, which, in this case, each one is a beta distribution. frey (2007) also showed that the posterior p given a batting average b is the mixture k ∑ i=1 ( p(hi hits and ai at bats) ∑k j=1 p(hj hits and aj at bats) ) × beta(cµ(ai) + hi, c(1− µ(ai)) + ai − hi) (2) where p(hi hits and ai at bats) = d(a) ( γ(a + 1)γ(c)γ(h + cµ(a))γ(a− h + c(1− µ(a))) γ(h + 1)γ(a + 1− h)γ(cµ(a))γ(c(1− µ(a)))γ(a + c) ) . (3) in equation (3), d(a) is defined in equation (1). we can do the same thing with obp by substituting h with tob and a with pa. due to the similarity the formula is retained. using the formula, we can find the posterior p for each obp. however, we only considered the obp of those such that p(obp = obp) > 1 10,000,000 since other obp’s are pretty much impossible to see in practice. ii. using the second model unfortunately, with the second model, one cannot use the same bayesian techniques for the second model due to too much storage needed to accomplish this task. doing this kind of calculation would require a 14 billion entry matrix and unfortunately r can only hold 2 billion at most. instead, we simulated some fake baseball data using the second model similar to the simulation used to test the model. we made 10,000,000 fake players each with their own h, bb, hbp, pa, ph, 12 pbb, and phbp, similar to how we checked the second model by simulating fake players in section 3.4. we then computed each player’s obp, and summed each player’s ph, pbb, and phbp to find each player’s overall true ability. we then did an aggregate mean on the true ability by obp. this will give us the posterior mean p for the players. one thing to take into account with using this model is that we will need to watch for simulation errors. however with 10,000,000 players being simulated, the issue of simulation error is probably negligible since the sample size is really high. v. results i. using the first model table 1 gives the posterior true abilities and posterior standard deviations for the corresponding top ten obp’s and the corresponding bottom ten obp’s using the first model. the posterior true ability tells us what the real value of a player’s probability of getting on-base given the player’s documented obp. one interesting observation is that the top 10 posterior true abilities had obp’s that were all above .35 with posterior true abilities around .34-.36 and the bottom 10 posterior true abilities had obp’s that were less than .1 with posterior true abilities around .25. this observation makes intuitive sense since even without applying the analysis of this paper, among the laypersons, a player with an obp of more than .35 is considered to be talented and a player with an obp of less than .1 would be considered to be terrible. another observation to make is that the top 10 posterior true abilities needed at least 100 plate appearances in order for such values to exist. this also lines up with intuition as better players will have more opportunities to contribute offensively. one more interesting thing to notice is that the bottom 10 posterior true abilities require more than 100 plate appearances which suggests that only having a high number of plate appearances isn’t sufficient for being a good player. an interesting comparison to make is with frey (2007)’s data for batting average. while his top 10 posterior true abilities contained a similar pattern of having batting averages above .3, his bottom 10 posterior true abilities only contained batting averages that can be achieved with a low number of at bats (frey (2007) lacks low batting averages for his bottom 10 posterior true abilities other than .000.). the posterior standard deviations show how much a player’s posterior true ability can vary. the fact that the posterior deviations are between .015 and .04 for the top 10 obp’s suggest that there is a reasonable amount of variation with posterior true abilities. 13 obp posterior true ability p posterior sd for p obp posterior true ability p posterior sd for p 0.428 0.362 0.031 0.022 0.249 0.019 0.401 0.356 0.026 0.023 0.249 0.019 0.399 0.355 0.026 0.024 0.249 0.019 0.445 0.349 0.038 0.025 0.250 0.019 0.416 0.347 0.038 0.039 0.250 0.019 0.384 0.346 0.029 0.026 0.250 0.019 0.398 0.345 0.033 0.041 0.250 0.019 0.402 0.345 0.035 0.027 0.250 0.019 0.374 0.343 0.026 0.028 0.250 0.019 0.376 0.343 0.027 0.052 0.250 0.019 table 1: obp corresponding to the highest and lowest posterior true abilities p. we only consider obp with at least a one in 10,000,000 chance of occurring. ii. using the second model table 2 gives posterior true abilities, posterior standard deviations, and average plate appearances for the corresponding top ten obp’s and the corresponding bottom ten obp’s using the second model (we were able to find the posterior mean for plate appearances with this model). a similar analysis regarding the usage of the first model can be said with the second model since the general patterns of both tables are relatively similar (i.e., the top 10 obp’s are above .35 and the bottom 10 obp’s are mostly below .1 as well as the relatively similar posterior standard deviations). unlike the posterior true abilities in the first model, the second model have lower posterior true abilities for the bottom 10 obp. another thing to notice is that the average plate appearances for the top 10 obp’s are around 400 to 500 while the bottom ten obp’s are less than 65. one standout contrast though is that the top obp’s for both models are similar while the bottom ten obp’s are different. a standout figure that appears with this model is the obp value of .889. though this value is significantly greater than .35, it can easily be achieved with 8 times-on-base out of 9 plate appearances which does not really indicate the batter is a good player. this example shows that only having a high valued obp isn’t sufficient enough for determining a player’s offensive capacities. vi. conclusion when it comes to finding the best batters, it isn’t always the case that a batter with a higher obp alone implies a better hitting. we need a player to have both a high number of plate appearances 14 obp p sd for p posterior mean for pa obp p sd for p posterior mean for pa 0.445 0.366 0.035 449.5 0.052 0.217 0.000 58.0 0.428 0.365 0.029 493.9 0.022 0.219 0.017 45.5 0.401 0.357 0.024 519.6 0.016 0.221 0.000 61.0 0.399 0.357 0.024 521.4 0.889 0.225 0.006 9.0 0.416 0.353 0.036 458.9 0.026 0.226 0.014 38.4 0.402 0.350 0.033 474.3 0.028 0.226 0.021 36.0 0.398 0.350 0.031 481.4 0.058 0.228 0.016 54.1 0.384 0.348 0.027 503.7 0.024 0.228 0.017 41.6 0.403 0.344 0.040 446.5 0.000 0.229 0.017 4.1 0.376 0.344 0.025 500.0 0.047 0.229 0.015 43.0 table 2: obp corresponding to the highest and lowest posterior true abilities p. and a high obp. both of the models used show that the top obp’s in terms of posterior true abilities are around the .4 values, which is a reasonable conclusion to make. however, one of strange results is that the bottom 10 obp’s for both models yields values that require a reasonably high number of plate appearances as well. this result is counter-intuitive to the notion that worse players tend to receive less opportunities to go to the plate as they are less reliable for contributing to the team’s offense. it also runs a bit contradictory to frey (2007)’s results on the optimal batting average. nevertheless, this analysis shows us that we can make a model out of limited real data and apply simulations along with bayesian analysis to make a practical conclusion. with knowing only a subset of the full baseball data, we can conclude that a good baseball player will have an obp of .445, .421, .401 and other values that are high in magnitude and are only achievable through a high number of plate appearances. vii. acknowledgements i would like to acknowledge dr. jesse frey for guiding me with thoughts and insights as i worked out the details of this paper as well as answering questions that i had regarding the work that he has done with this field of study. references [1] jesse frey “is an .833 hitter better than a .338 hitter?” the american statistician, vol. 61, no. 2, may 2007, pp. 105–111. 15 [2] lewis m. 2003. moneyball: the art of winning an unfair game. new york: w. w. norton. [3] "mlb stats, scores, history, & records." baseball-reference.com, www.baseball-reference.com/. 16 introduction the first proposed model plate appearances true ability times on base checking the model the second proposed model plate appearances true ability hits, walks, hit-by-pitches checking the model finding the posterior distribution using the first model using the second model results using the first model using the second model conclusion acknowledgements board-staff relationships in small nonprofits paul bonfanti public administration introduction as the number of nonprofits in the united states has grown, so too has the literature about them. over the last two decades, nonprofits have been studied increasingly frequently by both scholars and by organizations seeking to advise nonprofits. when these studies have focused on nonprofit governance and management, they have sought to develop best practices that nonprofits can emulate to function effectively. many of the resulting best practices are beneficial and appropriate. however, the search for and overreliance on best practices can obscure the reality that nonprofits are not all alike. different nonprofits require different approaches. this is particularly true for small nonprofits, which have unique challenges that are all but ignored by the best practices literature. due to this deficiency, small nonprofits are not serving their mission or constituency by adopting best practices. although the literature about nonprofits is growing, it is still relatively small and new. as a result, there is still a lack of consensus on many important subjects, from simple definitions to complex issues such as best practices for governance (duca, 1996, p. 89). consensus does exist on a few basic subjects. governance is usually defined as the responsibility of the board of directors and the senior staff, often the chief executive officer or executive director (referred to as the executive for clarity). management is firmly within the purview of the staff, particularly the executive and senior staff. most believe that board should focus on governance while the staff has responsibility for management. the board should not perform administrative tasks, execute programs, or allow lower-level staff to circumvent the executive and meet directly with the board (wolf, 1999, pp. 61-62). however, the board has a responsibility to ensure that the organization is being directed in accordance with their wishes and the constituency they represent (governance matters, n.d., para. 1) so they must communicate regularly with the management. this communication between management and board is often one of the sources of tension in an organization, and is frequently discussed in the literature. many of the best practices attempt to address this interaction through defining roles and rules for the board and the executive. paul bonfanti 2 three models of governance perhaps the most influential model of governance is john carver’s policy governance. in carver’s model, the role of the board is to develop the organization’s values and policies, and then leave the executive and staff to enact those policies. the board creates two kinds of policies: “ends policies,” which state the goals the organization is working towards; and executive limitation policies, which proscribe certain actions. however, after the board has created the ends policies and directed the executive on how not to perform his or her job, the executive is now free to determine how to manage the organization without board interference. this model leads to executives who, once charged with their role, are very independent (carver, 2002, pp. 9-24). there are significant ramifications of this model. while the board is the ultimate authority, they do not run the organization — this responsibility is delegated to the executive. this requires that the executive be very competent, as the board should not and cannot manage the executive’s daily work. carver extends this model to question some of the typical practices of nonprofits. for example, the board should not regularly approve management documents or actions, as this only creates the “appearance of probity” while slowing organizational progress. budgeting and financial management is an executive function that should not involve the board. instead of pursuing these functions, the board monitors executive performance through its ends and executive limitation policies, and can freely request reports on the criteria set out in these policies (carver, 2002, pp. 11, 20-21, 172-173,331-333). carver’s model requires discipline on the part of both the executive and of the board. both must understand their roles and must not attempt to extend themselves into the other’s responsibilities. it also requires both the board and the executive to be strong and effective. in this respect, it follows one of the three major schools of thought around board-staff relations, that of the strong board/strong executive model. while the other schools of thought do not have as visible of a champion as carver, they do have advocates in the nonprofit community. a second school calls for the executive to focus on and lead the board. in this executive focus model, the executive is actively involved in the functioning and interaction of the board, meeting with them both as a group and as individuals. the executive works entrepreneurially with the board, promoting its productivity. the board’s primary role is to mitigate resource dependency through fundraising, personal donations, and strategic planning and mediation of the outside environment (duca, 1996, pp. 89-94). crutchfield and grant’s work forces for good follows this model, focusing largely on the actions of the executive, and suggesting the executive delegate some responsibilities to the board (crutchfield & grant, 2008, p. 218). board-staff relationships in small non-profits 3 an extreme version of this position holds that the executive’s interaction with the board is only important to the extent that it mitigates resource dependency (heimovics, herman & coughlin, 1993, pp. 425-426). in contrast to carver’s model, this might be called strong executive/passive board, as the executive is clearly the leader of the organization. the third category of models, often called the balanced partnership, views the ideal board-staff relationship as an exchange between equals. for an organization to be effective, both the board and the executive must have a clear division of responsibilities, trust, understanding, and the freedom to disagree with each other. the relationship between the two is somewhat fluid and evolves over time (duca, 1996, pg. 92-93). boardsource, an influential organization that produces books and trainings for nonprofit boards, follows this model. their “twelve principles of governance that power exceptional boards” begins “exceptional boards govern in constructive partnership with the chief executive, recognizing that the effectiveness of the board and chief executive are interdependent. they build this partnership through trust, candor, respect, and honest communication” (boardsource, 2005, para. 2). although this model has some superficial similarities with the strong board/strong executive model, they are very different approaches. while both have clearly defined roles, in carver’s model, the board is the ultimate authority — it is not a partnership. the policy governance model also rejects the notion of a fluid, evolving relationship. the roles are clearly defined in board policies. while these policies are mutable, change is a conscious board process and not an organic evolution. finally, it should be noted that partnership does not guarantee success — a weak board and weak executive could be partners, but could still be ineffective. these three models have significant differences, but share a desire to serve as best practices for all organizations. they contend that all nonprofits can benefit from following their recommendations, without recognizing the unique experiences and situations of nonprofits. in an essay entitled “is policy governance the one best way?” carver defends his assertion that all governing boards should follow his model (carver, 2002, pp. 25-28). crutchfield and grant assert that following their executive focus model, in addition to other best practices they lay out, can help nonprofits “achieve even greater levels of social change” (crutchfield & grant, 2008, p. 213). organizations such as boardsource explicitly state in their mission that they “strengthen nonprofits of all sizes and mission types” (boardsource, 2008, para. 3). paul bonfanti 4 the uniqueness of small nonprofits although these best practices certainly have merit, they overreach by claiming that they can be a perfect model for all organizations. they are particularly illsuited for smaller nonprofits, which have unique situations and challenges. there is no official size classification system for nonprofits, and the term “small nonprofits” has even been used to refer to those organizations with revenue less than $25,000. (independent sector, 2008, para. 1). for purposes of this article, the term “small nonprofits” will refer to organizations with average annual revenue below $500,000. this definition comprises approximately 70 percent of all nonprofits in the united states. 1 to better understand the situations and challenges of these nonprofits, seven small nonprofits were studied: camconnect, erthnxt.org, the philadelphia area disk alliance, the philadelphia folk song society, philadelphia parks alliance, ultimate players association, and university city green. 2 all of these organizations are 501c3 nonprofits with average annual revenue below $500,000. more information about each nonprofit is provided in appendix a. the studied organizations all have some common features. they have few paid staff, between zero and eight people, due to the size of their budgets. the paucity of staff has many ramifications. in some organizations, due to their smaller staff capacity, board members will often be called upon to volunteer more frequently. 1 there are two rationales for this definition: all seven small nonprofits interviewed by the researcher reported budgets below this threshold. this definition has been used by multiple sources as a threshold for small organizations (larson, n.d., para. 4; boardsource, 2007, p. 20). to determine the average size of a nonprofit, the researcher conducted statistical research using a sample of 1840 organizations, provided by the national center for charitable statistics. in this sample, the mean revenue was 2.68 million dollars. however, this data was highly positively skewed due to the presence of extremely large organizations in the sample, including hospitals and educational institutions. research by the urban institute has suggested that excluding hospitals and educational institutions would result in a mean revenue of 1.6 million dollars (devita & twombley, 2002, para. 5). the median revenue for the same sample was 173,517 dollars. neither the means nor the median seemed to be an appropriate threshold, so the researcher defaulted to the threshold supported by his research and used by other organizations. 2 the seven organizations were selected primarily because the researcher had access to them, which was a key consideration given existing time constraints. there may therefore be some selection bias, and it is not necessarily a representative sample. however, the researcher did attempt to introduce some variability into the sample. the missions of the organizations include two community development organizations, two athletic organizations, one arts and culture organization, an advocacy organization, and one with a youth education focus. they are headquartered in three different states, and one has a national purview. the size of the organizations range from zero to six staff, with boards ranging from 9 to 20 members. the organizations range in age from 5 to 51 years. therefore, there is diversity in the sample, and some limited ability to generalize from it. board-staff relationships in small non-profits 5 this creates a confusing dynamic in which board members, who are essentially the supervisors of the executive, may be serving in a volunteer capacity where they are directed by the executive or another staff person. in addition, many of these organizations rely upon board members’ expertise or experience in such areas as finances, legal matters, or programming. (none of the sampled organizations had active advisory boards that could perform this function.) the executive will often contact individual board members to request their assistance in such matters. while some best practices models, such as executive focus, would not consider this an issue, others, such as strong executive/strong board, would view this practice as a potential erosion of discipline (carver, 2002, p. 212). with small staff sizes, these nonprofits are unable to support self-regulatory systems such as a finance department or necessities such as a development team. finances are often handled by the executive or consultants. with no finance department ensuring the propriety of the accounting, small organizations are extremely vulnerable to an executive’s financial incompetence or dishonesty. small nonprofit boards deal with this vulnerability by requiring board approval of even modest amounts — in the case of one organization the executive could not spend more than 200 dollars on his own volition. while these boards believe this to be a necessary policy to protect the organization, some best practices models would consider this to be excessive board interference. due to the lack of development staff, in many of the nonprofits, board members are key donors or fundraisers. all nonprofits face issues with donor intent; these are worsened when the donor is or knows an active board member. an executive’s ability to oppose a board member is undermined if the executive must fear alienating the source of a significant percentage of the organization’s budget (and the executive’s salary). best practices often implicitly assume that organizations naturally want to grow larger and scale their programs (crutchfield & grant, 2008, p. 14). however, there are three reasons for a small nonprofit’s size. firstly, it may be a relatively new organization that has not had time to grow. secondly, it may lack the capacity in its leadership, board or staff, to grow beyond its current size. lastly, its leadership may have made the conscious decision that its mission is best served by the organization staying small. these three causes are not mutually exclusive, and may all be present in the same organization. nonprofits that lack the capacity to grow, or to a lesser extent are relatively new, face particular challenges. some may not have a strong executive. this deficit may be due to a lack of resources to pay a qualified person or the inability of the board to conduct an effective search and hiring process. even if the executive is capable, small nonprofits require their executive to be expert in many paul bonfanti 6 different areas, such as personnel management, fundraising, program development, finance, and board relations (larson, n.d., para. 7). a large nonprofit can afford to share leadership and bring in people with different skills sets (crutchfield & grant, 2008, pp. 161-164), but an organization with a small staff and budget cannot. of the studied nonprofits, only the largest and most established were able to remedy this issue with some specialization. in addition to or instead of a weak executive, small nonprofits may have a weak board. the best practices call for the existing board to recruit, train, and develop qualified new board members (governance matters, paras. 3-6). however, if the board is already weak, its members may lack the connections or skills to do so. there may be a lack of supply of potential board members. for a large highprofile nonprofit, participation on a board has considerable perquisites, which may not be the case for small nonprofits. as a result, fewer people wish to serve on those boards. the result is a self-perpetuating cycle of weakness. as was the case in some of the studied nonprofits, if the board is elected by the membership, they may consider many criteria other than a candidate’s capability to govern a nonprofit. even if a small nonprofit’s board is comprised of capable people, they may not place a high priority on participation on that board. staff people from two organizations noted that while their board was comprised largely of experienced business people and nonprofit executives, they were preoccupied with other responsibilities and were largely absentee board members. a stronger executive director or chair, perhaps backed with a credible threat of removal from the board, may have been able to ensure better participation, but this was not the case in these nonprofits. a particularly acute issue in small nonprofits is the founder problem. many nonprofits face issues when the founder of the organization remains active as either the executive or a board member (carver, 2002, pp. 146-147; wolf, 1999, pp. 133135). for a small nonprofit, especially a relatively new one, this issue can be even more problematic. in three of the studied nonprofits, a founder remained as an active board member. in two of those organizations, the founders had tremendous influence in the organization and often overstepped their bounds, according to interviewed staff. in one case, almost all of the board members were recruited by and were loyal to the founder. in the second case, the founder was linked to the largest fiscal sponsor of the nonprofit. in both cases, neither the executive nor the board felt able to assert their roles in conflict with the founder’s wishes. best practices in small nonprofits a proponent of one of the schools of best practices might assert that these problems are surmountable by a small nonprofit if it faithfully adheres to their board-staff relationships in small non-profits 7 models. carver claims precisely this in his article entitled “when board members are the only staff in sight.” in this short article, he deals primarily with the confusion of roles when board members volunteer, but only offers more discipline and clarity in roles as the solution (carver, 2002, pp. 228-229). boardsource seems to indicate that these difficulties can be remedied by more resources and more policies: “effective boards use policies and statements to guide themselves and protect the organization. small organizations consistently have fewer policies in place, reminding us that limited resources are a factor” (boardsource, 2007, p. 16). boardsource does publish a guide for all-volunteer organizations (masaoka, 1999), but they have no similar guide for small organizations. while carver and boardsource at least give consideration to the size of an organization, the attitude of researchers such as herman and heimovics is more common. in their article “an investigation of leadership skill differences in chief executives of nonprofit organizations,” an early example of the “executive focus” school of best practices, they study the skills of the executives of 24 organizations. in their analysis, they control for several criteria, including differences in board size, frequency of board meetings, existence of an executive committee, and average attendance at board meetings. they do not consider organization size (herman & heimovics, 1990, p. 125). by ignoring or underestimating the unique challenges of small nonprofits, the best practices models undermine their usefulness to those organizations. for something to be a best practice it must be successful over time, cause tangible improvements, and be replicable and relevant to the adopting organization (herman & renz, 2008, p. 405). the existing best practices, whether in the strong executive/strong board, executive focus, or partnership models, do not consider the peculiarities of small nonprofits, and are therefore not replicable and relevant for those organizations. addressing unique challenges small nonprofit organizations must develop their own solutions to their unique challenges. each of the seven nonprofits in this study has attempted to address these challenges, with varying degrees of success. some have attempted to adopt best practices with only limited results. however, the best approach a small nonprofit can take is to increase the quality and capacity of their leadership while creating clear roles for board and staff. some of the studied organizations have done so, and have benefited considerably. greater clarity about and a formalization of roles and responsibilities for the board and the executive is a necessary step for all small nonprofits. both the partnership model and the strong board/strong executive model of best practices paul bonfanti 8 identify this as a key to effectiveness. unlike many other elements offered by these models, quantitative and qualitative research on small nonprofits has found that this factor does significantly coordinate with success (smith & shen, 1996, pp. 281-287; fredricksen & london, 2000, pp. 234-235). most of the studied nonprofits expressed either recent initiatives towards more formalization, or a desire to do so. however, only one of the samples had a formally written policy manual that encompasses the board, while three have written statements of the responsibilities of board members. small nonprofits should create a written enumeration of board and staff responsibilities. board and staff should be involved in the process of drafting these policies, and they should be tailored to the situation of the organization rather than a generic template (laughlin & andringa, 2007). the simple existence of policies cannot guarantee that the board and the executive follow those policies. as discussed, small nonprofits are particularly vulnerable to their board’s overreaching, and executives are often unwilling or unable to hold their boards in check. there are several potential solutions to this problem. one of the most basic is to have a more capable and skilled executive. small nonprofits sometimes inappropriately use their size as an excuse for being less than professional. they should have as their goal to strengthen all leadership capacity. one studied organization had always hired enthusiastic but unqualified executives until 2003, in which they hired a professional executive. in the 5 years since she has been hired, the organization has doubled in size. for nonprofits that do not have (or want to create) a vacant executive position, they can work to improve their current executive’s skills through professional development. however, executives must take care that they do not simply learn best practices by rote. instead, they should develop their background in management and governance, strengthen their interpersonal skills, and address specific job areas in which they are weak. boards should also seek training, development, and improvement. small organizations are not served by unengaged or inexperienced boards. one organization’s executive reported that when the long-time chair, who had little experience with nonprofits, stepped down in favor of a person who had previously been the executive of a large nonprofit, the organization began seeing immediate and unprecedented success in their programming. the new chair was heavily involved in the execution of those programming, which would contradict many of the best practices’ advice. small nonprofits should seek to emulate this organization, recruiting board leadership and members who are more experienced and aware of the nature of board service. elected boards can introduce certain minimum requirements for eligibility, as one organization has, or begin to educate their membership on the qualities of a good board member before elections. training for both existing and new board members should be pursued to continue board-staff relationships in small non-profits 9 to develop board capacity and understanding. developing the board and the executive can combat other problems small nonprofits face. the ability of an overbearing founder to control and micromanage the organization would be diluted by the greater capacity in the board and executive. board members with stronger grounding in the functioning of nonprofits will understand that their incursions into the executive’s purview can damage the organization, and may have the discipline to better observe the policies that define their roles. issues around donor intent will be mitigated by fundraising ability in both the board and the executive. if a higher capacity board and executive and clearer policies is truly a path to mitigating the conflict between board and staff, and therefore towards a more effective organization, there would be data to demonstrate it. as a corollary, small organizations that have made a decision to stay small, as opposed to those too new or too weak to grow, should show the most sophistication in their board-staff relationship. not surprisingly, research has found positive correlation between organizational effectiveness and age (smith & shen, 1996, pp. 277-278). of the organizations in this study, the three newest organizations reported the most staffboard dysfunction, and there is anecdotal evidence in the sample demonstrating success has come to organizations once they have instituted these improvements. further study would be required to demonstrate the relationship more scientifically. conclusion to some extent, these recommendations are not revolutionary. most organization theorists would agree that a nonprofit would benefit from having stronger leadership and more clear policies. however, there are still a considerable number of small nonprofits that, instead of looking inward to strengthen themselves, grasp outward for best practices. these organizations would be better served to direct their limited resources to internal development. the large national nonprofits such as the united way and the red cross receive a great deal of public, media, and scholarly attention. however, the majority of the nation’s nonprofits are small organizations. these organizations provide valuable services to communities and are more able to connect to their local constituencies. despite their importance, they are not adequately researched or understood. the literature on nonprofits is still relatively nascent; perhaps in the future there will be best practices tailored specifically for small nonprofits. until then, the leaders of such organizations should use their knowledge of their organization and environment to only adopt the most applicable best practices, while increasing their own capacity. leaders in a small nonprofit have more responsibility than their counterparts in large organizations, and must have a level of professionalism paul bonfanti 10 commensurate with that responsibility. clarity in roles and stronger organizational leadership are the key for small nonprofits to improve their governance, and to better serve their constituency and their mission. references boardsource. (2005). twelve principles of governance that power exceptional boards. washington, dc: author. --. (2007). nonprofit governance index 2007. washington, dc: author. ---. (2008). mission statement. washington, dc: author. retrieved december 7, 2008 from http://www.boardsource.org/aboutus.asp carver, j. (2002). john carver on board leadership: selected writings from the creator of the world's most provocative and systematic governance model. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. crutchfield, l. and grant, h. (2008). forces for good. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. devita, c.j. and twombley, e.c. (1992). a comparison of the nonprofit sectors in arkansas, nevada, and oklahoma. washington, dc: the urban institute. retrieved december 10, 2008 from: http://www.urban.org/publications/410581.html. duca, d. j. (1996). nonprofit boards: roles, responsibilities, and performance. new york: wiley. fredericksen, p., & london, r. (2000). disconnect in the hollow state: the pivotal role of organizational capacity in community-based development organizations. public administration review, 60(3), 230-239. good governance guidelines for nonprofit organizations (nov 1, 2007). chronicle of philanthropy, 20(2). governance matters (n.d.), good governance guide. new york, ny: author. retrieved december 8, 2008 from http://www.governancematters.org/index.cfm?section_id=1086&page_id=44 28. heimovics, r.d., herman, r.d. (1990). an investigation of leadership skill differences in chief executives of nonprofit organizations. american review of public administration, 20 (2), 107-125. heimovics, r. d., herman, r. d., & coughlin, c. l. j. (1993). executive leadership and resource dependence in nonprofit organizations: a frame analysis. public administration review, 53(5), 419-427. http://www.governancematters.org/index.cfm?section_id=1086&page_id=44 board-staff relationships in small non-profits 11 herman, r.d. and renz, d.o. (2008). advancing nonprofit organizational research and theory: nine theses. nonprofit management and leadership, 18 (4), 399-415. independent sector (2008). form 990-n now in effect. washington, dc: author. retrieved on december 10, 2008 from: http://www.independentsector.org/990n.htm. larson, s. (n.d.). unique nature and struggles of traditional nonprofits. minnetonka, mn: author. retrieved december 11, 2008 from: http://www.sandra-larson-consulting.com/articles/unique-nature-andstruggles-of-traditional-small-nonprofits.htm laughlin, f. l, and andringa, r. c. (2007). good governance for nonprofits: developing principles and policies for an effective board. new york, ny: amacom. leonardo, p.a. and zagoria, a. (2005). ultimate: the first four decades. los altos, ca: ultimate history. masaoka, j. (1999). all hands on board: the board of directors in an all volunteer organization. washington, dc: boardsource. national center for charitable statistics core data [data file], washington, dc: center on nonprofits and philanthropy. smith, d.h. and shen, c. (1996). factors characterizing the most effective nonprofits managed by volunteers. nonprofit management and leadership 6 (3) 271-289. wilbur, r. h. (2000). the complete guide to nonprofit management. new york, ny: wiley. wolf, t. (1999). managing a nonprofit organization in the twenty-first century. new york, ny: simon & schuster. appendix a: organizations studied camconnect is based in camden, new jersey and seeks to increase access to information for organizations engaged in community development in camden. they were founded in 2001 and currently have four staff. their board consists of 20 people and meets three times a year. the board is elected by the membership of the organization (derek zeigler, personal communication, december 7, 2008). erthnxt.org is a philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that engages youth to serve as stewards of their environment. it was founded in 2003. the organization has three staff members and a board of 11, which meets quarterly. board members are selected by the existing board (amanda benner, personal communication, december 1, 2008). paul bonfanti 12 the philadelphia area disk alliance encourages the playing and teaching of the sport of ultimate in philadelphia and the vicinity. it was founded in 1983. its board consists of 9 people, elected by the membership. while the board meets monthly, pada has no paid staff and relies entirely on volunteers to perform all tasks. the philadelphia folk song society is an artistic organization dedicated to the encouragement and enjoyment of folk music, and has existed since 1957. it has a staff of 6 and a board of 15, who meet monthly. the board is elected by the membership (levi landis, personal communication, december 11, 2008). philadelphia parks alliance is a citywide advocacy organization that works to improve the quality of philadelphia’s parks. it currently has 11 board members and 3 staff. board members are selected by the board and executive director, and meet bi-monthly. it was founded in 1983. (lauren bornfriend, personal communication, december 12, 2008). the ultimate players association is the national governing body for the sport of ultimate. located in colorado springs, colorado, it has 8 staff and 12 board members. board members meet twice a year and are elected by the organization’s membership. the upa was founded in 1979. (leonardo & zagoria, 2005). university city green seeks to improve the quality of life in the university city section of philadelphia through horticultural improvements. it was founded in 1998. uc green has 12 board members and 2 staff people. the board meets bimonthly and selects its own members. definitions and concepts       party development and institutional influences in russia: electoral systems and the presidency   matthew baird introduction   archie brown, professor of politics at oxford university, states that ‘no country-wide democratic polity has ever been sustained without the organizing and mediating role of parties’. (brown, 2001, p211) in russia parties are notoriously weak, this paper will seek to examine the implications this has for democracy. the first section will begin with the outline of some definitions, drawing from dahl and his concept of polyarchy. it will also outline the functions of political parties in order to stress their importance for democracy. however, the main thrust of the examination will concern the impact of the electoral system on party formation and consolidation. it will begin with background information relating to party formation in the final years of the soviet regime, before addressing how parties developed in the early years of russian independence. the focus will be on the type of electoral system adopted, how it came into being, and the influence it had in the election of 1993. the development of parties throughout the elections of the 1990’s will be described, maintaining the focus on the electoral system. finally the role of the presidency will be addressed in relation to its impact on party formation. i believe i will demonstrate that the role of parties has been developing in russia throughout the 1990’s, influenced by the electoral system. however, i believe that as long as the presidency remains the source of power in russia the development of parties will be constrained.   definitions and concepts   before examining the role of parties in the democratization of russia it is important to understand the concepts behind these terms. democratization can be understood as ‘the process of change towards more democratic forms of rule’ (sorenson, 1998, p160), however, defining democracy is often more problematic. at the most basic level it can be described as ‘a form of government in which the people rule’ (sorenson, 1998, p3), but beyond this there is little consensus on a more elaborate definition.   for dahl, one of the leading democratization theorists, there are three necessary conditions for democracy which include the unimpaired opportunities for citizens to formulate their preferences, to signify their preferences, and to have their preferences weighed equally in the conduct of government. (dahl, 1971, p2) dahl also describes a number of institutional guarantees which promote these three conditions. these have been modified by brown to include; freedom to form and join political organizations, freedom of expression and access to alternative sources of information, the right to vote in free and fair elections, the right to compete for public office, political accountability and the rule of law. (brown, 2001, p546) for dahl democratization can be measured on a two dimension scale which takes into account public contestation and participation. he argues that because no large real-world system is fully democratized, it is more useful to focus on the term polyarchy. dahl defines polyarchy as a ‘regime that has been substantially popularized and liberalized, that is, highly inclusive and extensively open to public contestation.’ (dahl, 1971, p8)   when described in these terms, political parties would appear to be central to democracy, as they can play an important role in the formulation and representation of preferences. in fact, gunther & diamond have outlined a number of functions which political parties perform. (gunther & diamond, 2001, pp7-8) primarily they identify the role of parties in elections, carrying out the important tasks of candidate nomination and electoral mobilization. parties help to structure the issues which are prominent in society, representing different social bases. they engage in interest aggregation which makes the formation of government easier, playing an important role in sustaining the governmental process. parties can also play an important role in social integration, facilitating citizen participation in the political process. this list is not meant to be exhaustive but it does provide a basis for understanding why parties are important to democracy. however, this list focuses on the role of parties in established democracies and it may not be as applicable to the role of parties in democratization. fish builds on this argument by noting that if parties are defined in terms of their pursuit of placing representatives in government positions, or as groups that nominate candidates for election to a legislature, then the concept of parties in russia cannot really be addressed before 1993. instead he prefers to talk of ‘movement organizations’, which encompass a wider spectrum of institutional forms. (fish, 1995, pp80-81)   nevertheless, the role of political parties cannot be denied as russia seeks to consolidate democracy. lewis argues that although parties have been particularly weak in east european democratization they have played a role in conflict management. (lewis, 2001, p53) many organizations that formed prior to 1993 identified themselves as political parties, or engaged in activities which are associated with political parties. i will now proceed to address these developments.   political parties – 1985-1993   throughout the soviet period self-organized political associations had been suppressed by the central regime. the only political party was the communist party of the soviet union (cpsu), which dominated soviet political life. in 1985 with the introduction of policies such as glasnost gorbachev opened the way for the formation of groups which could challenge the old order. initially reforms did not create overtly political organizations, but in the spring of 1987 the amendments to articles 70 & 190 of the criminal code did allow for the formation of political associations. (mcfaul & markov, 1993, p2) in russia these new bodies did not really challenge the one-party state, or the socialist order, they were more concerned about reform within the system. however, as the political climate liberalized further more radical groups began to form. influenced by dissidents returning from exile the democratic union declared itself a political party in may 1988. (mcfaul & markov, 1993, p3) it began to mobilize people through mass demonstrations, promoting the values of democratization and human rights. coinciding with these developments russian nationalist and neocommunist groups were forming, also benefiting from the relaxation of central control. popular fronts were created in major cities arguing for democratic socialism while remaining committed to perestroika. (mcfaul & markov, 1993, pp4-5)   elections were held at a national level in 1989 and then at the republican and local level in 1990, however the new political parties were not sufficiently developed to significantly influence either of these ballots. democratic russia had been established in january 1990 to act as an umbrella organization for the 1990 election but it was not a formal party, and the democratic union boycotted the election, which meant that no parties were represented apart from the cpsu. (mcfaul & markov, 1993, pp6-9)   this cpsu dominance was addressed with the amendment of the soviet constitution. the guarantee of cpsu monopoly power was rescinded by the congress of peoples deputies in march 1990. (debardeleben, 1997, p101) by october the soviet law on public associations was passed, giving political parties and trade unions official legal standing. these events lead to party proliferation, with 457 political or politicized organizations operating in russia by late 1990, with 100 of these recognized as political parties by early 1991. (sakwa, 1996, pp78-79)   throughout 1991 russian society began to polarize with traditional communists at one end of the spectrum and liberal democrats at the other. the election of the office of russian president in june 1991 was largely non-partisan as the multitude of democratic parties decided that it was best to support the popular candidacy of yeltsin, rather than risk splitting the reform vote by running their own candidates. (debardeleben, 1997, p180)   as the situation in russia grew more tense, the august coup attempt provided the final push towards the end of the soviet union. yeltsin moved to consolidate the power of the presidency while also engineering the final dissolution of the soviet union in december 1991.   in 1992 political organizations began to register with the ministry of justice, with estimates placing the number of parties at around 25 in april 1992. (sakwa, 1996, p80) distinctive programs began to emerge in relation to the economy and foreign relations, with political groups dividing into four main blocs: liberals and democrats; centrists; national-patriotic movements; and neo-communist and revolutionary socialist organizations. (sakwa, 1996, p81)   although the liberals and democrats appeared to be in the ascendancy they were prone to fragmentation. with the dissolution of democratic russia in november 1991 the reformist tendency began to factionalize. it was not until 1993, with the prospects of election on the horizon that parties began to take shape. gaidar led ‘russia’s choice’, which was the ‘party of power’, shakhrai formed the party of russian unity and concord and ‘yabloko’ was lead by yavlinski and other ‘oppositional democrats’. these three parties represented the main liberal and democratic parties which would contest the 1993 election. (moser, 2001a, pp13-14; sakwa, 1996, p81)   in the centrist bracket there were also a number of parties. one of the most prominent was the democratic party of russia, founded by travkin in the spring of 1990. (mcfaul & markov, 1993, p10) after a brief spell within the broader coalition of the civic union, the dpr emerged as the main centrist party contesting the 1993 election. also within the centrist bloc single issue parties proliferated. they appealed to sectional groups, including women (women of russia), young people (future of russia – new names), veterans and the disabled (dignity and charity), as well as interest groups who promoted causes such as the environment (constructive ecological movement of russia). (moser, 2001a, p14; sakwa, 1996, p82)     within the nationalist-patriotic grouping the main influence was zhirinovsky’s misnamed liberal democratic party of russia. like the dpr it had been created before the break-up of the soviet union, with its founding congress on march 31st 1990. zhirinovsky had contested the 1991 russian presidential election receiving 7.8% of the vote and he managed to sustain a significant level of support through his focus on populist policies. (sakwa, 1996, p84)   the final electoral bloc which influenced the political system in the early years of the russian federation was the neo-communists. the communist party of the russian federation (cprf) acted as the successor of the cpsu, benefiting a great deal from their extensive local organizations. they had a strong social base in rural communities and amongst the elderly. similarly the agrarian party of russia also appealed to those in the countryside, however unlike the other electoral blocs the apr and cprf worked together, coordinating their efforts in order to achieve the best overall result for their ideological position. (moser, 2001a, pp14-15; sakwa, 1996, pp84-85)     however, throughout this period none of these parties exacted any great influence on the russian system. they did not impact on the presidency or the formation of government, and without elections to contest they were largely redundant. the legacy of the soviet period lead to general distrust for any group which gave itself the name ‘party’ and social conditions in russia did not facilitate party formation. the cleavages which are associated with creation of parties in established democracies were lacking, in particular class divisions were underdeveloped as the influence of capitalist market economics had not been firmly institutionalized. (mcfaul, 2001, pp1169-1170)   the impact of the 1993 election on party formation   in this context the election of 1993 was extremely significant as it provided the first opportunity for parties to play a role in the development of democracy in russia. however, before examining the results of these elections and the implications for the emerging political parties it is important to address the electoral system which was employed.   for giovanni sartori the electoral system is ‘the most specific manipulative instrument in politics’. (sartori, in moser, 2001b, p195) there is a wide body of literature which describes the effects different electoral systems can have but for the most part it is guided by some underlying principles developed by duverger. (duverger, 1954; lijphart, 1994; rae, 1971; sartori 1994; taagepera & shugart 1989) despite some flaws in the initial theory, (sartori, 1994) it is generally assumed that proportional representation (pr) systems will promote the development of multiparty systems, while plurality elections will constrain party development, particularly at the district level. (moser, 2001a, p2)   in russia there was a great debate over which system should be adopted. the first draft of the electoral law was developed by balala and the committee on local self-government and the work of the soviets. it was published in spring 1992 advocating a system of plurality single member districts, with no form of pr. a year later this was followed by a second draft developed by sheinis and the supreme soviet’s constitutional commission. it advocated a mixed system of 50% pr and 50% plurality. as the elections drew closer yeltsins aides also became involved and in the summer of 1993 they began investigating with the help of sheinis. (mcfaul, 1999, pp39-40)   at this time there was increasing tension between the legislature and the executive as both organs vied for dominance in government. as a result yeltsin and his advisors were preoccupied and could not devote their full attention to the design of the electoral system for the duma. (mcfaul, 1999, p41) in any case, as i will outline below, the elections to the lower house of the state legislature, known as the duma, were of secondary importance to yeltsin as he envisaged a strong presidential system, with the duma a subordinate body.   sheinis took this opportunity to promote a mixed system as he believed that pr would promote the development of national parties, while single member districts (smds) elected in plurality elections would foster the creation of local party organizations. he also convinced yeltsin that this mixed system would be beneficial to reform parties supportive of his agenda, in particular the ‘party of power’, russia’s choice. (mcfaul, 1999, p41)   mcfaul argues that this outcome must be seen in the context of the uncertainty which characterized russian politics at the time. (mcfaul, 1999, pp30-31)the pressure on the elite to create a whole range of institutions, combined with the nascent party system and a lack of any democratic tradition made it difficult to predict the effect that multiparty elections would have. given more time yeltsin and his advisors may have adopted a different position, but in the midst of a constitutional crisis they needed to provide quick answers to difficult problems.   on october 1st 1993, the electoral law was passed by decree. it instituted a system whereby 225 members of the duma would be elected from smds with plurality elections and 225 members from a party-list pr ballot covering a single nationwide electoral district. voters were given two ballots, one for a party or bloc on the pr list and one for a candidate in a smd. the two halves of the electoral system were not linked and a 5% legal threshold was imposed in the pr tier.   the elections were held on december 12th and produced some surprising results. most notably the success of the ldpr in winning 59 pr seats was unexpected. of the 8 parties who overcame the 5% legal threshold they were the most successful. in the smds a further four parties gained representation, however, independents gained the majority with victory in 141 seats. overall the most successful party was russia’s choice which gained 40 list seats and 30 smds. (sakwa, 1996, p391)   a number of factors influenced the failure of the electoral system to produce the expected outcomes. in particular reformist parties were hurt by their inability to coordinate. in 92 smds there was more than one reform party candidate, and in 22 of these seats the sum of the democratic vote was greater than the share of the opposition or centrist winner. conversely there were only 39 smds with more than one opposition party candidate, and in only 9 of these did the sum of the opposition vote exceed the share of the democratic or centrist winner. if the democratic reform elite had consolidated they may have achieved greater electoral success, instead of dividing their electoral base. (smith & remington, 2001, p105)   another unexpected outcome was the failure of the smd tier to constrain the number of parties. even at the district level there were often as many as a dozen candidates, contradicting the traditional consensus of the electoral systems literature, which states that even if plurality voting does not constrain the number of parties at a national level, it should at least have an impact within each individual district. (moser, 2001a, p42)   moser explains this anomaly through reference to the weakly institutionalized party system. he argues that plurality systems can only have a constraining effect when conditions allow for rational action. he believes that the lack of accurate polling information, and the general inability of parties to provide a coherent platform, prevented voters and elites from making strategic choices. the weakness of national parties to develop local organizations allowed for more influential local elites to capitalize on local celebrity and personality factors. due to the high number of candidates the winner of an smd may only have needed 15-20% of the vote, creating great opportunities for popular local personalities to achieve electoral success. (moser, 2001a, p42   moser also points out that the pr tier did not live up to expectations. he describes how it was less proportional than the plurality tier, with 9% of the votes wasted on electoral blocs which did not overcome the 5% threshold. it also did not encourage the development of national party organizations to the extent that was hoped, as often personality was used as a substitute for a well-defined social constituency. (moser, 2001a, pp38-40)   when these election results were translated into the duma, many of the independent candidates aligned with party factions. three factions were established within the first week, with 439 out of the 450 deputies affiliated with some group by april 1994. (smith & remington, 2001, pp99-101) despite these movements no party or group held an overall majority. the largest of these factions, the centrist group known as new regional policy, sided with reformers, but other centrists groups took up conservative alignments and divided the duma. (smith & remington, 2001, p106)   possible reform of the electoral system   in the aftermath of these results pressure began to mount for alterations to the electoral system. in particular yeltsin and the reformist camp favored a shift away from pr, in order to undermine the successes of the opposition. the reformist camp lacked the electoral resources of a strong social base, and well identified popular leaders, which are necessary for pr success. (moser, 2001a, pp120-124) the opposition was strong in these areas with the cprf drawing great support from the elderly and rural voters, while the ldpr gained success through the popularity of zhirinovsky. it was hoped that by increasing the number of smds it would undermine the influence of these two parties who had gained only 21 plurality deputies, compared to 91 from the pr tier.   however, when discussing the yeltsin proposal for 300 smd seats and 150 pr seats the duma did not divide on the economic reform dimension that was common in other issues. in this instance party leaders and individual deputies became less concerned with the policy that would be of greatest benefit to their ideological base, but rather they focused on the policy that would provide them the best opportunity to influence power or at least gain reelection. (smith & remington, 2001, pp107-108) for example, yabloko deputies who fell into the reformist camp had benefited far more from the pr section of the vote gaining 20 list seats, compared to only 3 smds, while the opposition agrarian party had stronger local organizations in the rural areas which made them more inclined to favor the introduction of a higher number of smds. both these parties favored electoral systems which were contrary to the wishes of their ideological bloc. there were also those such as sheinis who remained normatively committed to the mixed system because they believed it offered the best prospects for party development and consolidation at a national level. (current digest vol. xlvii, no.46 (1995) pp6-8)   after a long period of debate it became clear that yeltsin did not have the majority to effect change and as a result the final vote reflected a consensus which would maintain the status quo. this was perceived as a better outcome than the instability of a protracted standoff, with yeltsin deciding that on this occasion it was not important enough to overrule by the power of decree. going into the 1995 election the electoral system remained predominantly unchanged, except for minor alterations such as the increase in the number of signatures required for entry onto the party list. (mcfaul, 1999, p43; mcfaul 2001, pp1180-1182; smith & remington, 2001, pp108-110)   this failure on the part of yeltsin to alter the electoral system has been accounted for by mcfaul who argues that it is difficult to alter institutions once they have been created. although he does not adhere to the sociological perspective, whereby human actions are totally shaped by institutions, he also rejects a blinkered focus on rational choice. he does not believe actors are completely unconstrained in their institutional design, stressing that once decisions have been made they become very hard to alter. this approach is described as ‘path dependency’ and mcfaul believes that without a stronger impetus for change the status quo will gradually become entrenched. (mcfaul, 1999, pp28, 30-31)   the 1995 election   in the period leading up to the 1995 election there was great fluctuation in the party system. parties were formed and disbanded, with the overall effect being greater fragmentation. 43 parties or blocs were registered on the pr ballot, all benefiting from government subsidy and free television airtime. (moser, 2001a, p38) an attempt had been made to impose a two-party system from above but this had been unsuccessful. a new ‘party of power’ was created called ‘our home is russia’, it favored a more moderate economic and social program. (moser, 2001a, p13)  there were also a number of personalized parties created which were named after their leaders and acted solely as vehicles for their own political ambitions.   once more the results of the election contradicted the established beliefs about electoral systems. 23 parties gained at least one seat in the plurality tier, while in the pr tier only 4 parties gained representation. these included 3 parties from 1993; yabloko, the ldpr, the cprf and one new party, our home is russia. the previous party of power russia’s choice had been renamed russia’s democratic choice but it fell into obscurity with only 9 seats from the plurality tier. there were also 77 independents elected, which despite being a decrease from 1993, still represented a sizeable figure. (sakwa, 1996, p392)   the reasons for these unusual results remained largely the same as in 1993 with the continued weakness of the party system preventing rational action amongst voters. when parties are weak public opinion cannot be channeled effectively. transitory parties prevent voters from developing party identification, with voting preferences influenced by personality, rather than rational evaluations of party performance. (moser, 2001a, p36) in the 1995 election the 5% legal threshold continued to have little psychological effect as a deterrence to small parties, however its mechanical effect was significant. 49% of the votes cast were received by parties which failed to overcome the 5% legal threshold, with many parties or blocs receiving miniscule vote shares. four parties did come within 1% of gaining representation, but for the most part the vote was extremely fragmented amongst the diverse range of parties. (moser, 2001a, pp38-40)   the largest electoral bloc to emerge was the cprf who gained 22.3% of the pr vote, and 99 pr seats. when added to their 58 smd seats it gave them the status of the largest party in the duma, with over three times the representation they had enjoyed 2 years previously. the ldpr continued their strong pr showing, with 50 seats, while only picking up one additional smd. our home is russia did slightly better than this overall, with 45 pr and 10 smd, while yabloko gained 14 smds and a further 31 pr seats with only 6.89% of the vote. the only other party with more than 10 representatives was the agrarian party which gained 20 smds due to its continued strength in the rural areas. (sakwa. 1996, p392)   these results lead to huge disproportionality in the pr tier, (moser, 2001b, p200) with the share of seats almost double the share of votes for the four successful parties. the only party which appeared to be consolidating its position in society was the cprf. it combined success in both tiers due to its strong social base and its well developed grass-roots organizations. however, the overall picture was one of fragmentation, with party development still not taking on any coherent shape. the benefit of the pr system and its focus on parties continued to be undermined by independents who could gain representation through the smds. national campaigning and national party labels meant little at the local level. independents continued to gain success based on their standing in the local community and their promises to fight for local interests.   the 1999 election   in the period between the 1995 and 1999 election there was further debate on reform of the electoral system, (current digest vol. 50, no.4 (1998) pp5-7) but once more nothing changed. as the campaign began for the 1999 election the outlook for the party system remained bleak, however, there were some factors which appeared to point towards a stabilization in the role of parties. feelings of partisanship appeared to be increasing, with the negative connotations of the word ‘party’ becoming a more distant memory. voters began to structure their ideological preferences more, leading to stronger links with parties. (whitefield, 2001)   there also appeared to be a consolidation of parties, with the union of right forces bringing together previously divided reformist groups. changes were also made in the electoral law which prevented leaders of list parties from using free airtime to promote their candidacy in the plurality tier. these factors combined helped to reduce the number of parties on the pr ballot to only 26. (moser, 2001a, p151)   another development was the emergence of parties dominated by regional governors. (slider, 2001) for the most part they were formed by regional elites who sought to block the growth of federal institutions. the three most prominent were voice of russia, all russia, and unity. voice of russia had minimal impact, eventually being subsumed in the union of rightist forces, while all russia was slightly more influential, but it too joined a larger coalition as it allied with fatherland.   unity, however, emerged as a strong electoral force. formed through the cooperation of 39 regional leaders it became the new ‘party of power’. it aligned itself with the government but avoided any firm ideology, structure or organization. (slider, 2001, p232)   elections were held in december and an interesting picture emerged. once more yabloko, the ldpr and the cprf gained representation from the pr ballot, demonstrating that some form of continuity was emerging. unity gained 23% of the vote, the second largest share, translating into 64 pr seats. the union of right forces was also successful, showing that the elite consolidation had paid off, while fatherland-all russia performed well in both tiers, operating as a rival ‘party of power’. (moser, 2001a, pp152-153)   the electorate also appeared to be learning as smaller parties, with no chance of success, received a smaller vote share. less than 20% went to parties who failed the 5% threshold, making the pr tier more proportional than in 1995. (moser, 2001a, p154) however, more negatively the number of independents rose to 113, with the number of candidates in many districts remaining around 10. the cprf still appeared to be the only truly national party, with grassroots organization, as it ran candidates in two thirds of the smds. (rose, 2001, pp217-218)   around 60% of the vote went to parties which had not contested the 1995 election, however it can be argued that if the union of right forces is seen as a consolidation of the reformist bloc, and unity is just classed as a ‘party of power’ then it would appear that of the six major parties emerging in 1999, five had a basis in the previous election. (moser, 2001a, pp151-152; rose, 2001, p217)   for many people the russian party system would appear to be taking on a 3+1 characteristic. with yabloko, the ldpr and the cprf emerging as stable parties, joined by a different ‘party of power’ in each election. (stoner-weiss, 2001, p390) the cprf is undoubtedly the strongest electoral force, with 114 seats in the duma, while support for zhirinovsky appears to be waning as the ldpr has been reduced to only 17 pr seats.   although the party system remains weak when compared with established democracies russia appears to be moving in the right direction. however, possibly the biggest factor which undermines the development of parties has not been addressed yet, and it is to this that i now turn my focus.   the presidency   in russia by far the strongest political institution is the presidency. introduced in 1991 yeltsin used the presidency to insulate his power against the increasingly conservative congress of peoples deputies. yeltsin cultivated his position, gaining the power to rule by decree in november 1991. however, as his economic ‘shock therapy’ appeared to be failing, tension grew between the legislative and executive branches. this culminated in the fall of 1993 with the suspension of the cpd and the armed conflict which centered on the russian parliament. (debardeleben, 1997, pp140143)   the new russian constitution which was approved alongside the elections to the duma in december 1993 outlined the powers of the presidency. yeltsin enjoyed great influence, with extensive powers of patronage in government formation and the ability to dissolve the duma. he also retained the power to rule by decree, with little effective check on his power. (debardeleben, 1997, p152)   in terms of the implications for party formation the presidency has had a greatly detrimental effect. yeltsin refused to associate with any one party, as he claimed to represent all the people. the possible influence of the presidency as a constraint on the fragmentation and proliferation of parties was lost due to the highly personalized nature of russian politics. in the election of 1996 candidates such as yavlinski, zhirnovsky and zyuganov did have a party base, however, the presidential campaign did not focus on party programs. (debardeleben, 1997, p184)   the election of 2000 can also be seen in the same light. parties such as fatherland-all russia were merely vehicles for luzhkov and primakov to promote their presidential aspirations. furthermore, although putin was never a member of unity, he did endorse it prior to the 1999 duma election in a way that yeltsin had never done with the previous parties of power. due to the timing of duma elections, 6 months prior to the presidential elections, they take on the role of a primary. evidence of this can be seen in the way fatherland-all russia disintegrated after putin’s victory of 2000, despite their strong showing in the duma election. as long as the main goal in russian politics remains the office of president the development of parties will be constrained. (filipov, ordeshook & shevtsova, 1999, p11; mcfaul, 2001, pp1166-1167)   indeed the russian example would appear to fit the model of ‘delegative democracy’ outlined by o’donnell. (o’donnell, 1994) he states that ‘delegative democracies rest on the premise that whoever wins election to the presidency is thereby entitled to govern as he or she sees fit, constrained only by the hard facts of existing power relations and by a constitutionally limited term in office.’ (o’donnell, 1994, p59) this form of democracy is characterized by extremely weak horizontal accountability and although parties may exist they will not exert any great power on the office of president. delegative democracy offers strong government and swift decision making, however due to the weakness of all institutions except the presidency implementation is often a problem.   examining delegative democracy in russia, kubicek finds that the actions of yeltsin in 1993 appear to fit well with the model developed by o’donnell. he identifies that parties were weak and incapable of constraining the power yeltsin was creating for himself. (kubicek, 1994, pp426-430) mcfaul agrees, (mcfaul, 2001, p1174) also arguing that the office of president can be seen in the same ‘path dependent’ context as the electoral system. although created in a time of flux, it has consolidated its position and is now difficult to change.   conclusion   the pattern of russian party formation throughout the 1990’s has been characterized by instability and fragmentation. the office of president has undermined the creation of parties, and the weakness of russian parties has meant that the expected effects of electoral engineering have not manifested. however, russian society does appear to be evolving and some parties have begun to consolidate. the strong focus on personality politics still dominates, but party labels are beginning to become more salient. if the mixed electoral system is allowed to remain in place then it is hoped that parties will continue to seek a national impact, while also cultivating grass roots organizations. despite initial problems the mixed electoral system offers the best prospect for creating a stable party system in the duma. however, the real challenge will be to integrate parties into the race for the presidency, as it remains the most powerful institution in russia.                                                   bibliography   brown, archie (ed) (2001) contemporary russian politics: a reader (new york, ny: oxford university press)   current digest vol. 47, no.46 (1995) pp6-8 current digest vol. 50, no.4 (1998) pp5-7   dahl, robert a. (1971) polyarchy: participation and opposition (new haven, ct: yale university press)   debardeleben, joan (1997) russian politics in transition 2nd ed. (houghton mifflin company: new york, ny)   duverger, maurice (1954) political parties (london, uk: methuen press)   filipov, mikhail g., peter c. ordeshook & olga v.shvetsova (1999) ‘party fragmentation and presidential elections in post-communist democracies’ constitutional political economy vol. 10 pp3-26   fish, m. steven (1995) democracy from scratch (princeton, nj: princeton university press)   gunther, richard & larry diamond (2001) political parties and democracy (baltimore, md: johns hopkins university press)   kubicek, paul (1994) ‘delegative democracy in russia and ukraine’ communist and post-communist studies vol. 27(4) pp423-441   lewis, paul g. (2001) ‘the ‘third wave of democracy in eastern europe’ party politics vol. 7(5) pp543-565   lijphart, arend (1994) electoral systems and party systems: a study of twenty-seven democracies, 1945-1990 (oxford: oxford university press)   mcfaul, michael (1999) ‘institutional design, uncertainty, and path dependency during transitions: cases from russia’ constitutional political economy vol. 10 pp27-52   mcfaul, michael (2001) ‘explaining party formation and nonformation in russia: actors, institutions, and chance’ comparative political studies vol. 34(10) pp1159-1187   mcfaul, michael & sergei markov (1993) the troubled birth of russian democracy (stanford, ca: hoover institution press),   moser, robert g. (2001) unexpected outcomes: electoral systems, political parties, and representation in russia (pittsburgh, pa: university of pittsburgh press)   moser, robert g. (2001b) ‘the impact of parliamentary electoral systems in russia’ in brown, archie (ed) (2001) contemporary russian politics: a reader (new york, ny: oxford university press),   o’donnell, guillermo (1994) ‘delegative democracy’ journal of democracy vol. 5 pp55-69   rae, douglas (1971) the political consequences of electoral laws 2nd ed. (new haven, ct: yale university press)   rose, richard (2001) ‘how floating parties frustrate democratic accountability: a supply-side view of russia’s elections in brown, archie (ed) contemporary russian politics: a reader (new york, ny: oxford university press)   sakwa, richard (1996) russian politics and society 2nd ed. (new york, ny: routledge)   sartori, giovanni, ‘the influence of electoral systems: faulty laws or faulty method?’ in grofman, bernard and arend lijphart (eds) (1994) electoral laws and their political consequences (new york, ny: agathon press)   slider, darrell (2001) ‘russia’s governors and party formation’ in brown, archie (ed) contemporary russian politics: a reader (new york, ny: oxford university press)   smith, steven s. & thomas f. remington (2001) the politics of institutional choice: the formation of the russian state duma (princeton, nj: princeton university press)   sorenson, georg (1998) democracy and democratization 2nd ed. (boulder, co: westview press)   stoner-weiss, kathryn (2001) ‘the limited reach of russia’s party system: underinstitutionalization in dual transitions’ politics & society vol. 29(3) pp385-414   taagepera, rein & matthew s. shugart (1989) seats and votes: the effects and determinants of electoral systems (new haven, ct: yale university press)   whitefield, stephen, ‘partisan and party divisions in post-communist russia’ in brown, archie (ed) (2001) contemporary russian politics: a reader (new york, ny: oxford university press)       microsoft word gorman final version -for online.docx [concept, vol. xxxviii (2015)] the untold stories of mormonism exposed: material culture, dime novels, and mormonism in american society daniel gorman jr. history mormonism exposed, a dime novel that librarian demian katz acquired for villanova university special collections, is stored with a group of dime novels classified as the john regan five cent pamphlets. 10 centimeters long, 6.9 centimeters wide, and .10 centimeters thick, the tiny book’s yellowed pages shed crumbly paper fragments when touched and are peeling free of the stapled spine. exposed still catches the eye because of its title’s reference to a controversial religion, its cover seemingly depicting a polygamous family, and the claim on page two that it is written by a “mormon slave wife.”1 this paper is an object biography of mormonism exposed, considering the book in relation to dime novels and american mormonism. the study of dime novels as a form of book history matters because, while scholarship on pulp literature exists, the staggering quantity of extant dime novels in u.s. archives leaves many research topics unexplored. the study of mormonism and genre fiction matters, as terryl givens argues in the viper on the hearth, because pulp stories reveal non-mormons’ “hostility or contempt” toward mormons, the “cultural propagation” of prejudice, and “the psychological and ideological causes and consequences of those tensions among the non-mormon populace.”2 overall, the portrayal of mormons in pulp fiction sheds light on how mainstream christian americans envisioned the other in their society. my paper uses mormonism exposed for a case study of mormon portrayals in american pulp fiction circa 1896, therefore privileging the history of things 1 mormonism exposed, n.p. [chicago: j. regan & co.], n.d. [1896], villanova university digital library, last modified january 9, 2014, accessed august – december 2014, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:289036, 2. also: john regan five cent pamphlets, villanova university library special collections, villanova, pa. 2 terryl givens, the viper on the hearth: mormons, myths, and the construction of heresy, 1st ed. (new york: oxford university press, 1997), 4. see also: larry e. sullivan, “introduction,” in pioneers, passionate ladies, and private eyes: dime novels, series books, and paperbacks, edited by larry e. sullivan and lydia cushman schurman (new york: the haworth press, 1996), 3: “these novels maintained the cultural hegemony . . . .” technique. i also use the history from things technique, studying other mormonthemed dime novels and books from the john regan collection to establish comparative historical context.3 furthermore, this project tests karin dannehl’s ideas about reconciling the gaps between biographies and life cycle studies, so that the two methods produce a portrait of exposed from multiple perspectives.4 i argue that exposed, produced during dime literature’s shift from adult to youth readership, reveals the fluidity of the dime novel publishing industry while reusing common anti-mormon arguments from the nineteenth century, so that the makers of mormonism exposed largely conformed to nineteenth-century conventions for publishing and culture. through exposed, the creators reiterated their status quo notions of pulp fiction publishing and u.s. religion, even though nascent changes to dime novels and mormonism would soon render the book obsolete. the beadle and adams firm published the first classic dime novel in 1860, but historians have since used the term dime novel to describe several formats – story papers containing many short stories, standalone dime novels, and anthologies called libraries – that carried nineteenth-century genre fiction.5 indeed, once beadle’s ten-cent publications became popular, “the generic american term ‘dime novel’ was subsequently applied to any inexpensive paper-covered ‘sensation’ novel.”6 in nineteenth-century america, “compulsory school laws had created a demand for reading material, and more of the general public could now read and write.”7 additionally, “as the distance between residential neighborhoods and factory districts grew in the late nineteenth century, more time was spent                                                                                                                 3 giorgio riello, “things that shape history: material culture and historical narratives,” in history and material culture, edited by karen harvey (london: routledge, 2009), 25-26. phyllis andrews, manuscript librarian at the university of rochester libraries, and gerrit van dyck, mormon history and doctrine librarian at brigham young university’s harold b. lee library, provided much assistance in tracking down lds-related primary sources. 4 karin dannehl, “object biographies: from production to consumption,” in history and material culture, edited by karen harvey (london: routledge, 2009), 132-134. 5 michael l. cook, dime novel roundup: annotated index 1931-1981 (bowling green, oh: bowling green university popular press, 1983), 19-20; michael denning, mechanic accents: dime novels and working-class culture in america, the haymarket series (new york: verso, 1987), 10-12; edward t. leblanc, “a brief history of dime novels: formats and contents, 1860-1933,” in pioneers, passionate ladies, and private eyes: dime novels, series books, and paperbacks, edited by larry e. sullivan and lydia cushman schurman (new york: the haworth press, 1996), 14; john springhall, youth, popular culture and moral panics: penny gaffs to gangsta-rap, 1830-1996 (new york: st. martin’s press, 1998), 169; sullivan, “introduction,” 3. 6 springhall, youth, 169. 7 leblanc, “brief history,” 14. commuting, and cheap reading matter accompanied the journey . . . .”8 dime novels thus answered consumers’ demand for light reading. publishers regularly recycled stories and pirated the contents of other imprints, creating a fluid and contentious industry.9 in the 1870s, some publishers began using color covers to attract buyers as sales in stores, where books could be seen and compared, outgrew mail-order subscriptions.10 after 1890, movie theaters and new publications such as “the pulp magazine” began stealing adult readers, so publishers tried to recover profits by increasingly marketing dime novels to children.11 the two trends of colorization and writing for children collided in 1896, as edward leblanc relates: street and smith produced a new periodical, tip top weekly, “with colored pictorial covers,” which was such a hit that “[w]ithin a year most dime novels were being published with colored covers, and their content was mostly directed at the younger audience.”12 despite this brief surge, the dime genre went extinct early in the twentieth century, after which nostalgic collectors preserved dime novels privately or in academic archives.13 some detective work is necessary to situate exposed within the historical life cycle of dime novels. the villanova copy of mormonism exposed lacks publisher information or a publication date, which makes its provenance initially obscure. exposed’s back cover has a strip of tape or glued-on paper in the same place that several other books in the collection state some variation of the phrase, “john regan, 417 dearborn street, chicago.”14 based on the books’ shared format, font,                                                                                                                 8 denning, accents, 39. see also: sullivan, “introduction,” 3. 9 cook, roundup, 19-20; paul j. erickson, “judging books by their covers: format, the implied reader, and the ‘degeneration’ of the dime novel,” american transcendental quarterly 12, no. 3 (september 1998), humanities full text (h.w. wilson), ebscohost, accessed october 2, 2014: 249, 252; clay reynolds, “introduction: the great rascal,” in ned buntline, the hero of a hundred fights: collected stories from the dime novel king, from buffalo bill to wild bill hickock, edited by reynolds (new york: union square, 2011), xvii; lydia cushman schurman, “the librarian of congress argues against cheap novels getting low postal rates,” in pioneers, passionate ladies, and private eyes: dime novels, series books, and paperbacks, edited by larry e. sullivan and lydia cushman schurman (new york: the haworth press, 1996), 61. 10 erickson, “judging,” 258. 11 the phrase “the pulp magazine” is quoted from leblanc, “brief history,” 19. see also: erickson, “judging,” 255; demian katz, paper for the people: dime novels and early mass market publishing, “successors,” villanova university falvey library exhibits, accessed october – december 2014, http://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/dime-novels/relatives/; leblanc, “brief history,” 17, 19-20; springhall, youth, 170. 12 leblanc, “brief history,” 17. see also: springhall, youth, 172 13 cook, roundup, 9-15; leblanc, “brief history,” 20. 14 exposed, 16. another tape strip appears on pg. 15, suggesting that duplicate publisher data was also hidden. for modified regan books, see: no. 6 – dr. courtney’s guide to happy marriage, and library classification, it is clear that they all came from the regan firm. a google books entry for mormonism exposed, which lists “j. regan” as publisher and also gives an 1896 publication date, substantiates the existence of an exposed published by regan.15 the question, then, is why someone concealed the publisher of the villanova exposed. a november 1896 copy of the people’s home journal sheds some light on this question.16 the journal’s back cover features an advertisement by the sawyer publishing co. of waterville, maine, offering mormonism exposed and thirty-five other dime novels (twelve of which appear in the regan collection) for free if readers subscribe to another journal. the ad sensationally summarizes exposed: “mormonism exposed, by a mormon slave wife. telling about the rites of the danites, doings of polygamists with their numerous wives, etc. etc. this book is of thrilling interest.”17 villanova librarian michael foight has theorized that the sawyer firm gave away the regan books at a discount as a sales promotion. in this case, the tape on exposed would constitute a modification of regan books for use in sawyer’s promotion, making it seem that the books originated with sawyer.18 there is no evidence that the villanova exposed is one of the editions sawyer offered in the people’s home journal. the tape on the villanova copy may have been from a third publisher who modified mormonism exposed for publication. worldcat and google books list more versions of exposed – one published by new york’s j.b. nichols in 1896, another published by chicago’s watson supply house in 1896, and one published by a.b. courtney in 189419 – so the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       no. 7 – dr. parkhurst’s exposures of vice in new york, no. 21 – white slaves of turkey egypt and america, and no. 31 – how to get a government position in the john regan five cent pamphlets, villanova university library special collections, villanova, pa. 15 “mormonism exposed,” google books, accessed september 29, 2014, http://books.google.com/books?id=jd0hnqeacaaj&dq=%2b%22mormonism+exposed%22+ %2b%22regan%22&hl=en&sa=x&ei=maagvojvbimgyqt4poeg&ved=0cckq6wewaa. 16 the people’s home journal (new york: f.m. lupton) 11, no. 11, november 1896, villanova university digital library, last modified september 4, 2014, accessed september – december 2014, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:359167. 17 the people’s home journal, rear cover. 18 michael foight, interview with author, villanova, pa, august 27, 2014. 19 mormonism exposed (a.b. courtney, 1894), google books, accessed december 9, 2014, https://books.google.com/books?id=gztctwaacaaj&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:oclc 57149081; mormonism exposed (j.b. nichols, 1896), google books, accessed december 9, 2014, https://books.google.com/books?id=qzjcaqaamaaj&dq=editions:oclc57149081; phyllis andrews, email messages to author, september 29, 2014; search results for “mormonism exposed [title phrase, date 1896],” worldcat, accessed september 29-30, 2014. proof the j.b. nichols book is the same as villanova’s version: mormonism exposed (new york: j.b. nichols, ca. 1896), hathitrust, accessed december 9, 2014, http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ manuscript went through more iterations than merely sawyer and regan. since the text of the courtney version is not readily available online, it cannot be examined to see if it is truly the oldest edition of the book. chad flake’s monumental bibliography of mormon-themed books also fails to clarify the book’s provenance. while flake’s bibliography lists chicago as the site of exposed’s publication, the book’s entry gives no publisher name or date, so the regan, watson, or perhaps even courtney edition could be the first version.20 the origins of exposed thus cannot be determined definitively. there is no guarantee that regan was exposed’s original publisher; because of the courtney version, exposed likely predates 1896, when most of the variants were published. the many exposed variants and sawyer-versus-regan editions of the same pamphlets reveal a volatile dime novel industry, where the unlicensed reprinting and pirating of manuscripts was pervasive and standard. nineteen of the regan books in villanova’s collection appear in the sawyer ad, and given the history of dime novel piracy, it appears likely that either regan stole sawyer’s books, or sawyer stole regan’s books.21 another possibility is that regan or sawyer bought a stock of books or printing plates from the other company,22 but the considerable number of exposed variants from other publishers makes it unlikely that such an orderly sale happened every single time the book was reprinted. considering nineteenth-century consumers’ massive demand for reading material – “beadle’s total sales between 1860 and 1865 approached the then-immense figure of five million”23 – publishers likely engaged in this wild recycling of other books to answer the demand. reprinting stories without attribution fits modern standards of plagiarism and copyright infringement, but the secondary literature on dime novels lacks accounts of legal repercussions for piracy during the nineteenth century. ultimately, the convoluted provenance of mormonism exposed indicates that printers of dime literature committed constant piracy, or at least constant textual recycling, to continue reaping profits from american readers. the fact that the sawyer firm offered twenty-five cents for thirty-six dime novels, including its possibly stolen variant of exposed, has further speculative implications for dime novel economics. why so many books for so little? perhaps                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       pt?id=uc1.31175035584831;view=1up;seq=1, http://catalog.hathitrust.org/record/100182726 (the text on page 3 matches pages 3 of the vu edition exactly). 20 chad j. flake, ed., a mormon bibliography, 1830-1930: books, pamphlets, periodicals, and broadsides relating to the first century of mormonism, introduction by dale l. morgan (salt lake city: university of utah press, 1978), 438. 21 john regan five cent pamphlets; people’s home journal, rear cover. 22 demian katz brought this possibility to my attention. [demian katz, email messages to author, january 2, 2015.] 23 springhall, youth, 169. this product line was not selling well and the sawyer businessmen lowered the price to get rid of the excess stock. alternatively, perhaps sawyer anticipated selling so many subscriptions that the firm would make its money back quickly. either way, since exposed and the rest of its product line were used to entice readers into subscribing to a journal, it appears that exposed and other dime novels held some value among american readers. although dime novels were not great literature, they worked as short-term literature to be read, enjoyed, and forgotten. scholars disagree about who actually read dime novels, though. michael denning and john springhall argue that the books were meant for a working class audience, whereas paul erickson, michael cook, and clay reynolds think all classes read dime novels.24 these scholars, along with dime novel bibliographer j. randolph cox, agree that dime novels were not exclusively intended for children before the shift to an all-youth readership in the mid-to-late 1890s.25 returning to our 1896 regan edition of exposed, one book cannot reveal the intended class and age of all dime novel readers, yet the book comments on how, late in the genre’s heyday, publishers designed their books to attract readers. exposed’s cover lists the price as five cents,26 but it is difficult to find significance in that price, since a variety of dime periodicals were sold for that value and the historiography of dime novels lacks consensus on pricing. denning mentions both “nickel and dime pamphlets”; demian katz contends that nickel books “were designed to cost less than the early dime novels”; edward leblanc mentions how twenty-five-cent books were too expensive “when wages were $1.00 a day for most laboring positions,” implying that dime and nickel prices were more affordable; and springhall mentions street and smith’s successful 1896 line of color books which he describes as “nickel weeklies.”27 from this debate, it appears that, if nothing else, the nickel price helped put dime literature in the hands of more readers.28 the one historian who finds a genuine clue to the demographics of readers in the books’ pricing is leblanc, who argues that, once dime publishers sought a teenage audience instead of adults, “ten cents [was] for fiction for adults,                                                                                                                 24 cook, roundup, 19-20; denning, accents, 39, 60; erickson, “judging,” 255; reynolds, xvii; springhall, youth, 73. 25 j. randolph cox, the dime novel companion: a source book (westport, ct: greenwood press, 2000), xx; denning, accents, 30; erickson, “judging,” 254, 255; springhall, youth, 73. 26 mormonism exposed, 1. 27 quotes in order of citation: denning, accents, 12; katz, papers for the people, “evolution,” http://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/dime-novels/the-basics/; leblanc, “brief history,” 14; springhall, youth, 172.   28 still, the nickel price of street and smith’s 1896 tip top weekly was far less significant than the periodical’s all-color covers, which became the new standard for dime novels late in the genre’s life cycle. [and] five cents for teenagers.”29 if leblanc’s interpretation is taken as a given, then the price of exposed, combined with the fact that it was printed during the transition to youth readership, means that the book was meant for youths. however, if we consider the materiality of mormonism exposed, namely the book’s luxury-good advertisements for a dice game and an automatic pencil, then we get a different intended age demographic.30 page fifteen’s ad for the dice game promises that “boys will find much amusement” in playing, but the ad’s text, which also details the price and shipping for the game, could be seen as addressing the boys themselves or their parents.31 similarly, page sixteen’s ad for a mechanical pencil, which asserts that pencils are “an absolute necessity with us all,” could be targeting youth readers with extra pocket money or adult readers.32 additionally (and crucially), mormonism exposed’s plot, which i will discuss later, is not appropriate for children. when considered together, the ambiguous advertisements and plot indicate that the regan employees did not design mormonism exposed for the youth demographic. still, exposed’s 1896 publication date, during the transition to youth readership and leblanc’s argument about agerelated pricing leave some unresolved ambiguity about the intended reader’s age. indeed, exposed is such an unusually designed dime novel that one must wonder if it was actually sold for five cents, or if it was sold at all. perhaps it was merely used as a promotion of some kind.33 as for the class of the intended reader, there is evidence that the john regan firm did not intend mormonism exposed to be exclusively for workers. according to the advertisements, a bulk order of a dozen dice games cost seventy-five cents, while a bulk order of a dozen mechanical pencils cost ninety cents.34 recall that leblanc describes one dollar as a baseline daily wage in the late nineteenth century.35 the historical statistics of the united states and kathy peiss’s cheap amusements corroborate leblanc’s claim. peiss describes “six to seven dollars weekly” as a standard laborer’s wage in turn-of-the-twentieth-century new york city,36 while the statistics database lists $439 yearly, or approximately $1.20 daily,                                                                                                                 29 leblanc, “brief history,” 16. 30 oddly, exposed does not feature advertisements for other dime novels – a typical feature at the back of these books. see: erickson, “judging,” 254. 31 mormonism exposed, 15. 32 ibid., 16. 33 in our converations, demian katz raised the possibility that exposed was never sold for its cover price. [demian katz, email messages to author, january 2, 2015.] 34 mormonism exposed, 15, 16. 35 leblanc, “brief history, 14 36 kathy peiss, cheap amusements: working women and leisure in turn-of-the-century new york (philadelphia: temple university press, 1986), 53. as the average salary for non-farm employees in 1896, the year of exposed’s publication.37 if a potential reader made only a dollar each day and already spent a nickel on exposed, it seems highly unlikely that such a reader would be willing or able to spend ninety cents, almost a day’s full wage, on a triviality like a mechanical pencil. based on this analysis, the regan firm intended mormonism exposed for middle-class readers, or at least not exclusively for average laborers. figure 1. cover of mormonism exposed. dime novel and popular literature collection, digital library, villanova university. reprinted with permission. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:289036.                                                                                                                 37 robert a. margo, “daily and annual earnings of employees – all and nonfarm: 1860– 1929,” table ba4280-4282 in historical statistics of the united states, earliest times to the present: millennial edition, edited by susan b. carter, scott sigmund gartner, michael r. haines, alan l. olmstead, richard sutch, and gavin wright (new york: cambridge university press, 2006), accessed december 10, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/isbn9780511132971.ba4214-4544. labor also figures into a consideration of exposed’s artwork and layout. an unknown illustrator working for the regan firm composed the book’s cover to make it look attractive despite the tiny size, low price, and cheap acidic paper stock.38 a double rectangular bracket, 5.5 centimeters wide by 8.5 centimeters long, fills most of mormonism exposed’s front cover, enclosing the title, a series classification (“no. 5”), the price statement, and the cover illustration within 46.75 cm2. everything within the bracket is visually balanced, allowing the viewer’s eye to flow easily from one line of text to another. a tiny circle at each of the bracket’s four corners, boxed in a square, creates the illusion of a formal picture frame, thus heightening the product’s aura of respectability. small decorative details further the illustrator’s goal of creating a cover that evokes high standards. the capitalized, blocky “m” in “mormonism,” surrounded by a four-cornered box with concave left and right sides, is ostentatious. the leading “m” in “mormonism” and “e” in “exposed” are larger than the ensuing letters, emulating how, in older books, the first letter of a chapter or section of text would be much larger than ensuing letters. a diamond combined with straight lines and curls sits between “mormonism” and “exposed;” while not perfectly geometric, the pseudo-diamond looks decorative and suggests that meticulous care went into the book’s design. flowing curled lines around the cover’s central, circle-shaped illustration serve no function except ornamentation. finally, a small hook-like ornament at the top of the circular drawing suggests that the circle is a pocket watch, and the illustration is a photograph tucked inside the watch.39 these many flourishes – the round drawing, the frilly lines and decorative squiggles, varying font styles and sizes, and always a series identifying number – appear on every regan cover.40 by keeping the design uniform for all books in the series, the regan artist ensured that all the books had some emulation of high-class publishing and provided consistency of appearance for potential readers. despite these successful visual strategies inside the bracket, the design of exposed’s cover outside the bracket fails to maintain the illusion of professionalism. the bracket is tilted slightly to the right and is flush with the top of the page, so that the bracket and its contents are too far up, rather than squarely in the page’s center. the 22.25 cm2 of empty cover space not enclosed with the bracket is mostly located at the bottom of the page, making the cover illustration and title information look too small for the page, and making the page as a whole                                                                                                                 38 paper stock comment derived from: michael foight, interview with author, villanova, pa, november 6, 2014. 39 mormonism exposed, 1. there is also an unusual line under the double bracket – it is unclear, even under a magnifying glass or with digital magnification, if the line is dirt or if it was once text (the name of the cover illustrator?), now smudged beyond legibility. 40 john regan five cent pamphlets. appear unbalanced. these elements do not necessarily mean that the illustrator was untalented, though: “publishers often used the same artist for all of their publications; such an artist might have to work rapidly to produce several covers each week.”41 besides, the rapid printing and binding of a large number of dime novels would also lead to numerous variations in how the finished pamphlets turned out.42 as such, the printing errors and tilted, small image likely stem from the economic pressures of working for a fiction factory like j. regan & co., and not from a lack of artistic ability. quite a few books in the regan collection also feature tilted, incorrectly positioned, or incorrectly scaled cover illustrations, further showing that the need to meet quotas affected the output of the printers and artists engaged in dime novel production.43 exposed’s cover illustration, framed by that not-entirely-symmetrical, watch-like circle, reveals to the viewer an iconic element of the lds faith – the polygamist family unit. a bearded man dressed in a three-piece suit sits before the hearth; with his legs crossed and one arm resting on a raised surface, he appears relaxed. the reader infers that this man is a polygamist latter-day saint based on the pamphlet’s title and because four women, rather than one, sit around him. three of the women sit comically close to the hearth, another likely sign of the artist’s haste to complete his or her batch of illustrations (rather than illogically putting people so near a fire). the woman at the man’s right may be the first wife, since she is seated at the traditionally preferred right hand. she reads a book, with several more books stacked on the table. it is difficult to tell, even under magnification, but this wife may have her fingers wrapped around her husband’s arm. as for the three women (i.e., sister wives) to the left of the husband, one engages the husband in conversation; the next looks concerned, her mouth a perfect “o” (more easily visible under magnification) of alarm or surprise; and the third is only partially drawn, with no face. all the wives wear dresses with long sleeves, long skirts, and high collars, with their hair pulled up. the scene appears quite pleasant and ordinary, except for the plural spouses, who set this family apart from most non-lds american families of that era. then again, all may not be perfect in this family. the first wife’s engrossment in her book and indifference to the rest of the scene, combined with the second wife’s proximity to her husband and the third wife’s concerned appearance, suggest jealousy or contention among the wives.44 this image is striking, but although exposed discusses polygamy,45 no family like the one on the cover figures in the story’s plot.                                                                                                                 41 cox, dime novel companion, xviii. 42 demian katz, email messages to author, january 2, 2015. 43 john regan five cent pamphlets. 44 mormonism exposed, 1. 45 ibid., 8, 11, 13-14. dissonance between the outer cover and the inner text was fairly typical for dime novels. as paul erickson explains when discussing the dime novel old nick of the swamp, “the incident in the [cover] illustration does not take place anywhere in the novel, but it did allow for the inclusion of both an indian and a trapper, as well as their weapons of choice.”46 essentially, a “lively front-page illustration,”47 even if the scene had no direct connection to the novel, caught the reader’s attention and perhaps led the reader to buy the book. while discussing the rise of in-store dime novel sales from the 1870s onward, erickson also describes how “[t]he use of cover illustrations increased the similarity these novels bore to more suspicious forms of literature, since the illustrations became more lurid as competition increased.”48 erickson does not clarify what forms of pulp fiction were “suspicious,” but his use of the word “lurid” indicates that shock value, even if the shock did not spring from a book’s plot, became a key element of dime covers as the nineteenth century progressed. the frame-like bracket on mormonism exposed’s cover thus encapsulates an unreliable yet attention-grabbing snapshot of what may lie within the book: if the reader wants more secrets of these odd mormon families, read on.49 this snapshot engages the reader in a certain degree of voyeurism, spying on real and imagined mormon families, but perhaps that voyeuristic aspect is the key to capturing the reader’s interest. artwork from other lds-themed dime novels supports erickson’s claim of lurid covers becoming the norm, even before the 1896 transition to all-color, and also suggests that mormonism in particular was associated with sensationalism.50 the cover for 1876’s bessie baine: or, the mormon victim shows a man pointing angrily at a woman, who cries “i never – never shall!” to intrigue the reader, while                                                                                                                 46 erickson, “judging,” 251. 47 springhall, youth, 170. 48 erickson, “judging,” 258. 49 this concept of a bracketed sensational image seems to have endured beyond the end of the dime novel industry. the film poster for the 1919 silent film riders of the purple sage, which featured mormons as villains, has three photographs (two of them bracketed snapshots) that convey thrilling elements of the story. the first bracketed image shows two desperate-looking lovers. the second bracketed image shows a dark, villainous-looking man crouching while a terrified woman and child huddle in the background. beneath the bracketed snapshots, two men on horseback are pictured. the themes here of suspense, action, and melodrama give the viewer a sense of what will transpire in the film, in a bid to get the viewer to purchase a ticket [“riders of the purple sage [film poster advertisement],” in moving picture world, september 1918, wikimedia commons, last modified september 14, 2013, accessed october – december 2014, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:riders_of_the_purple_sage_1918.jpg]. 50 i found the majority of these books by searching the online index for northern illinois university’s beadle & adams dime novel project, marking down books with the keywords “mormon” or “danite” in their entries, and ordering them through interlibrary loan. a horrified woman and an old man sprawled on a chair look on.51 interior illustrations show a masked man visiting another man in prison and crying “i am come to lead you to trial,” as well as a recalcitrant prisoner trying to beat his executioner with a chair.52 similarly, the cover for 1884’s california joe: a story of the destroying angels showcases a vibrant horse chase, with one man tumbling off his dead white horse but clinging to a mule, a woman on a black horse trampling the dead horse and racing toward the man, and a posse on horseback in the distance.53 silver steve the branded sport’s cover depicts a mustached, stylishly dressed man bearing his branded chest to another dapper man, while a bizarre drawing of a racially stereotyped, blindfolded chinese man, subtitled “the eyeless detective,” occupies the upper right corner.54 the doomed dozen; or, dolores, the danite’s daughter (the danites being a supposed lds paramilitary organization) leads off with a firing squad, all dressed in hoods and dark robes, aiming at a young man trapped in an upright coffin.55 the pilgrim sharp’s cover shows an unkempt man in a top hat and striped pants with a revolver in each of his hands hijacking a hearse, while a crowd watches and one man raises a hand to calm him.56 finally, the color cover for cody against the mormons shows buffalo bill capturing two vexed-looking men in matching uniforms.57 these images reveal that artists frequently used action, interpersonal conflict, motion, and sensation to illustrate mormon-related stories. in contrast to these wild illustrations, exposed’s cover shows a sedate family sitting and reading, so that any degree of shock value comes from the unusual family dynamic, not action or violence. the shock of a polygamous family pales in 51 m. quad, bessie baine; or the mormon's victim. a tale of utah, the novelette, 1876 (boston: thomes & talbot), pdf copy of edition stored at: merrill-crazier special collections & archives, book collections (ll), utah state university, logan, ut, 3. 52 quad, bessie baine, 21, 28. 53 col. thomas hoyer monstery, california joe’s first trail: a story of the destroying angels, beadle’s half dime library 15, no. 376, october 7, 1884 (new york: beadle and adams), 1. 54 capt. howard holmes, silver steve the branded sport; or, the man-mystery of moonstone, beadle’s new york dime library 54, no. 701, march 30, 1892 (new york: beadle & adams), 1. 55 dr. frank powell, the doomed dozen; or, dolores, the danite’s daughter. a romance of border trails and mormon mysteries, beadle’s new york dime library 13, no. 158, november 2, 1881 (new york: beadle & adams), 1. 56 william f. cody [“buffalo bill” cody], the pilgrim sharp; or, the soldier’s sweetheart, a true story of the overland trail, beadle’s new york dime library 19, no. 243, june 20, 1883 (new york: beadle & adams), 1. 57 cody against the mormons: a tale of stirring adventures in colorado, buffalo bill library 667, n.d. [1911-1932] (london: hazell, watson, & viney, ltd.), villanova university digital library, last modified january 9, 2014, accessed october – december 2014, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl%3a292817, front cover. comparison to the action scenes depicted on the other lds-themed books. exposed looks less sensational – less entertaining – than the more lurid dime novels, a difference that would have been plain on a store shelf. indeed, exposed’s lackluster cover makes one wonder if the regan cover carried over to the sawyer or nichols editions of exposed. such a placid image might have bored customers and translated into poor sales, which would explain why the sawyer firm’s businessmen ultimately offered the book in a huge discounted bundle of dime novels. returning to the regan edition, though, exposed’s cover image lacks shading, depth, or fine detail, elements common to the art in the mormon-related dime novels discussed previously. (for instance, california joe’s cover features exquisite pen-and-line shading to detail rampaging horses.58) the cover illustration of exposed, as with all of the regan books, is also small in comparison to other dime novel covers, which tend to have considerably larger dimensions than the pocket-sized regan books. exposed might have been overlooked in stores alongside bigger pamphlets. furthermore, exposed’s black and white cover suggests that the book would have been at a disadvantage in the market of 1896, when dime publishers were rapidly embracing color covers. we do not know if the regan edition was meant for mail-order purchase, but the lack of color could indicate that exposed and other regan books were not meant for in-store sales in 1896. if regan were still using mail subscriptions in 1896 instead of store sales, the new industry standard, then exposed would have been even more at a disadvantage. aside from the comparatively unappealing cover, fewer consumers would have been likely to buy the book through the mail. one element that might have helped exposed’s sale, whether via subscription or in stores, is the claim on page two that a “mormon slave wife” wrote the book.59 nonfiction writing for dime periodicals was not unheard of; in the 1880s-90s, some pulp libraries included “standard works on diverse subjects: medicine, law, science, history, and religion.”60 more importantly, exposed resembles other fake memoirs published in the nineteenth century. as terryl givens explains, “anti-catholic and anti-mormon writers more commonly – but spuriously – claimed the genre of ‘memoirs,’ as did maria monk and maria ward, to name but two of the most successful.” writers were also exploring forms like historical fiction, the gothic novel, and captivity narratives, “but absent their adaptation, the memoir was the closest available form that allowed the presentation of detailed, lurid description with the force and credibility of the personal                                                                                                                 58 monstery, california joe’s first trail, 1. 59 mormonism exposed, 2. 60  schurman, “librarian,” 63.   account.”61 exposed thus resembles female lives of the mormons by “maria ward,” in which an author used a pseudonym to give her anti-mormon narrative trustworthiness.62 additionally, the fact that a woman slave narrates exposed suggests that the book’s author wanted to appeal to female readers and win over their sympathy (and their nickels, in buying the book). indeed, since multiple publishers reprinted this book, it appears that appealing to female readers’ sympathy was an enduring business conceit. surprisingly, the “mormon slave wife” never discusses her own (fictional) circumstances and does not beg for sympathy, but rather plunges into a polemic.63 the narrator calls mormonism “one of the monstrosities of the age,” “a creed repulsive to every refined mind,” and “a faith which commands a violation of the rights of hospitality, sanctifies falsehoods, enforces the systematic degradation of woman [etc.].”64 this lengthy comment implies that the lds church is heretical to mainstream christianity, and the claim that mormons degrade women seems like an appeal to women readers’ sympathy, even if we know nothing about this lds slave wife. the narrator deems mormonism alien to america, “an autocratic form of government” with a leader “whose despotic power was as great as that of the czar,” and a false religion based on a plagiarized historical novel.65 from there, the narrator gives a historical account, beginning with joseph smith and the golden plates, then signs of trouble (such as the danites), the start of polygamy, brigham young’s rise to power, and the exodus to utah.66 next, the narrator claims the danites, or “destroying angels,” terrorized utah and kidnapped “[f]resh women” for polygamist harems.67 the author ends with an account of the mountain meadows massacre, with mormons and native americans joining forces to murder wagon trains, and a reprise of anti-polygamy language, bemoaning the treatment of mormon women – material so grim and adult in content that this dime                                                                                                                 61 givens, viper, 110. 62 ibid., 139. see also: maria ward [mrs. benjamin g. harris], female life among the mormons: a narrative of many years’ personal experience. by the wife of a mormon elder, recently from utah (philadelphia: j. edwin potter, 1863), hathitrust, accessed october – december 2014, http://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101079828404. 63 based on the plot, it is apparent that exposed’s cover illustration undermines the author’s goal of lambasting mormonism. instead of drawing the mountain meadows massacre or another controversial anecdote from the book, and thus painting mormons as villains, the artist created a mildly surprising but not particularly compelling cover image of a polygamist home. in this way, the artist matches the historical trend of dissonance between dime novel cover and contents and reiterates that such dissonance could seriously misrepresent a book’s message. 64  mormonism exposed, 2.   65 ibid., 3. 66 ibid., 4-10. 67 ibid., 11. novel clearly was not meant as children’s fare.68 additionally, the narrative is so overwhelmingly negative that it is almost certainly not an authentic lds memoir. rather, the book uses the pulp genre and a nonfiction conceit to construct an inflammatory, prejudicial argument. the claims made in mormonism exposed were routine for nineteenthcentury popular discourse, since the era saw many anti-mormon texts published.69 as such, exposed presents nineteenth-century prejudices in a fairly unoriginal manner, while still accurately conveying the animosity and disgust many americans expressed toward mormons circa 1896, the year utah became a state.70 givens further contends that non-mormon americans attacked the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints to reinforce their own sense of national identity.71 most mainstream christian americans viewed the mormon people as cultural outliers – the other: just as anti-catholicism would be subsumed under the nobler banner of patriotism, so can we construe the civic anxiety provoked by an alien (yet not foreign) culture rooted in american soil (as mormonism came to be characterized) as the projection of religious outrage against a full-blown ‘heresy’ that stakes a vexing claim to being the authentic christianity.72 interestingly, critics of mormonism more often targeted the church’s social practices, notably plural marriage, and not so much the latter-day saints’ theological arguments: “the dissociation of mormonism from religion, in fact, reinforces the authority of tolerance as a value that constrains and shapes the terms                                                                                                                 68 ibid., 12-14. 69 for examples of typical anti-lds writing, see: the demoralizing doctrines and disloyal teachings of the mormon hierarchy (1866 [n.d. on physical edition; date derived from library catalog entry: http://bit.ly/1phm8qn]), in pamphlets. pacific states, 18 pages [bound volume of pamphlets originally published separately], william henry seward pamphlets 196e, university of rochester libraries, dept. of rare books, special collections, and preservation, rochester, n.y., 18; dr. w. wyl [pseudonym for wilhelm rifter von wymetal], mormon portraits, or the truth about the mormon leaders from 1830 to 1886. volume first: joseph smith the prophet, his family, and his friends: a study based on facts and documents, with fourteen illustrations (salt lake city: tribune printing and publishing company, 1886), university of rochester libraries, dept. of rare books, special collections, and preservation, rochester, n.y., 11, 13, 14. 70 demian katz has suggested tracking excerpts of the regan dime novels through digital humanities databases, to see if the novels’ contents were recycled from other publications. [demain katz, email messages to author, january 2, 2015.] 71 givens, viper, 14, 16, 42. 72 ibid., 18. of social conflict. in other words, tolerance and patriotism can coexist more comfortably than tolerance and religious bigotry.”73 anti-mormon americans in the late nineteenth century wanted the moral high ground, so they largely avoided accusations of heresy and couched their denunciations “in nonreligious terms.”74 exposed curiously breaks with this trend when its narrator denounces lds religious beliefs, but the book also advances routine secular critiques. moralistic crusaders pounced on the fact that “lds bishops and apostles influenced political party formation,”75 as well as more spurious “allegations that oaths involving threats of death were taken in the temples and that secret promises to avenge the martyrdom of early mormons leaders were made.”76 critics wrote topical novels denouncing mormons and plural marriage.77 for example, the novel his three wives has characters uttering anti-lds phrases such as “this hideous dogma of polygamy,”78 and “i knew that, as far back as ’56, slavery and polygamy were coupled theoretically as twin relics of barbarism.”79 like exposed, wives is a didactic anti-lds narrative, albeit in full novel form. mormonism exposed is also not the only dime novel to cast mormons as villains or portray lds society in an exaggerated, negative fashion. some dime periodicals ran short articles on mormons, such as “domestic manners of the mormons,” which describes incest, polygamist men voraciously seeking virgins, and other unsavory deeds,80 or “with the false prophet: a mormon wife’s story,” another fake memoir that describes how polygamy drains a woman’s spirit.81 other lds-themed dime novels were as long as short stories or novellas, relating                                                                                                                 73 ibid., 21. 74 ibid., 42. 75 matthew bowman, the mormon people: the making of an american faith (new york: random house, 2012), 155. 76 b. carmon hardy, solemn covenant: the mormon polygamous passage (urbana, il: university of illinois press, 1992), 128. 77 michael austin, “‘as much as any novelist could ask’: mormons in american popular fiction,” in mormons and popular culture: the global influence of an american phenomenon, volume two: literature, art, media, tourism, and sports, edited by j. michael hunter (santa barbara, ca: praeger, 2013), 5. 78 jeannette h. walworth, his three wives, or the bar-sinister: a mormon study (1885; new york: the mershon company, 1900), internet archive, last modified november 7, 2006, accessed october – december 2014, https://archive.org/stream/histhreewivesor00walwgoog/ histhreewivesor00walwgoog_djvu.txt, 222. 79 walworth, his three wives, 190-191. 80 “domestic manners of the mormons,” dodge’s literary museum (boston) 9, no. 13 (saturday, september 2, 1854), villanova university digital library, last modified january 9, 2014, accessed september – november, 2014, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl%3a288423, 199. 81 “with the false prophet: a mormon wife’s story.” scribner’s monthly, 187[-], 677-680. salacious narratives in greater depth. clair: a story of mormon life and perfidy has a forceful lds elder convert men to polygamy and lead the mountain meadows massacre,82 while esther: a story of the oregon trail features an evil mormon conspiring with an evil native american.83 california joe, heavy hand the restless, the pilgrim sharp, and the doomed dozen: or, dolores, the danite’s daughter portray the rumored danite organization as a vindictive secret society.84 silver steve and bessie baine depict mormon men as kidnappers of women and possessive of their wives.85 this survey of lds-themed stories reveals that antimormonism suffused the dime genre. of the dime novels surveyed for this paper, however, only “with the false prophet” and exposed claim to be nonfiction, making one wonder if the false memoir conceit, while common in full-length books, was not commonly used for dime novels. contrary to the portrayals in mormonism exposed and these other stories, american mormonism experienced enormous changes in the 1890s that eventually brought the religion into the country’s cultural mainstream.86 the federal government had subjected the mormons, gathered mostly in the utah territory, to intense legal persecution: “anti-polygamy laws were passed in 1862, and in 1882 the edmunds act disenfranchised polygamists, forbidding them from holding public office, including legal office. then, in 1887, the edmunds-tucker act virtually dissolved the church as a legal entity and appropriated much of its                                                                                                                 82 hudson tuttle, clair: a story of mormon life and perfidy, the american library no. 8, june 23, 1883 (chicago: donnelley, loyd, & co.), 13, 20-23. 83  ann s. stephens, esther: a story of the oregon trail (new york: beadle and company, 1889), 21-23, 91-96. 84 see: cody, the pilgrim sharp; monstery, california joe’s first trail; powell, the doomed dozen; capt. mark wilton [william h. manning], heavy hand, the restless; or, the marked men of paradise gulch (new york: beadle and adams, n.d. [beadle’s new york dime library, no. 311, october 8, 1884]). 85 holmes, silver steve, 3, 15, 30; quad, bessie baine, 8-10, 23-24. 86 mormons were also taking up apologetic writing to introduce their own voices into popular discourse. b.h. roberts’s 1900 pamphlet, the second coming of the messiah, and events to precede it, contradicts the claim made by the mormonism exposed author in 1896 that all mormons are despotic: “to the ‘mormons’ america is a land of promise, a sacred land, dedicated to righteousness, and to liberty, therefore to free institutions which alone may preserve the liberties and the rights of men” (b.h. roberts, the second coming of the messiah, and events to precede it (independence, mo: press of zion’s printing and publishing company, 1900 [n.d. on physical edition; date derived from worldcat entry]), university of rochester libraries, dept. of rare books, special collections, and preservation, rochester, n.y., 13). in this way, we see roberts countering popular anti-lds views. the roberts pamphlet is also notable for retelling early lds history, something that exposed does, but roberts frames his story in a way that lauds joseph smith instead of attacking him (second coming, 7-12). property.”87 as related by matthew bowman, the edmunds-tucker act “revoked the women’s suffrage that the utah legislature had passed in 1870,” “required that marriages in utah be regulated by state government,” “declared all children of polygamous relationships to be illegitimate and unable to inherit,” and “required all voters in the utah territory to swear that they would uphold the edmundstucker act before they would be allowed to cast ballots.”88 deeply shaken, “church leaders sought to save the church by acceding to popular demands.”89 lds president wilford woodruff rejected polygamy in 1890, and, as stated above, utah became a state in 1896, the year j. regan & co. published their version of mormonism exposed.90 americans expressed anti-mormon sentiments and used mormons as literary and cinematic villains for decades after mormonism exposed’s publication.91 as michael austin writes, “[c]onnoisseurs of popular fiction would not witness the transformation. in the 1890s, without missing a beat, fiction about mormons became almost entirely historical in nature – . . . most novelists went on writing exactly the same things about the mormon past that they once wrote about the mormon present.”92 exposed, however, still speaks hatefully of the mormons in the present, not in the past. the dime novel therefore was soon out of place in the public consciousness, where “[t]he lawless, lascivious outlaws of the utah frontier world, within two generations, [became] ultra-obedient superpatriots [sic] known for their strong family values and their sexual puritanism.”93 the lds church’s decades-long yet epochal transformation from an alien sect to a widely accepted                                                                                                                 87 douglas j. davies, an introduction to mormonism (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2003), 121. 88 bowman, mormon people, 147-148. for further information, see: kathryn m. daynes, more wives than one: transformation of the mormon marriage system, 1840-1910 (urbana, il: university of illinois press, 2001), 49. 89 davies, introduction to mormonism, 120. 90 austin, “mormons in american popular fiction,” 2; bowman, mormon people, 149, 151; davies, introduction to mormonism, 121. 91 givens, viper, 9.  randy astle describes how several anti-mormon films were made in america and great britain between 1917 and 1922. the “latter films came as part of a general anti-mormon crusade in england, but such was the historical distance from polygamy and the lds church’s growing stature that the films apparently actually helped [mormon] missionary work. after these lackluster productions the anti-mormon films, though not extinct, slid into remission. by the 1930s mormonism had outlived its sensationalism, and lurid depictions virtually disappeared from the page, stage, and screen” (randy astle, “mormons and cinema,” in mormons and popular culture: the global influence of an american phenomenon, volume one: cinema, television, theater, music, and fashion, edited by j. michael hunter (santa barbara, ca: praeger, 2013), 6). 92 austin, “mormons in american popular fiction,” 8. 93 ibid. cultural institution rendered the nineteenth-century polemics of mormonism exposed obsolete. the book had no staying power in the early twentieth century, given the church’s changing social position, so the book became ephemera. in conclusion, mormonism exposed thoroughly embodies nineteenth-century ways of thinking about the dime novel industry and american religion. the book’s multiplicity of editions reflects the persistent piracy of dime novels, inspired by consumers’ high demand for cheap fiction. the regan firm did not intend exposed to be read only by a teenage audience, showing that the company resisted the industry’s 1890s move toward the youth demographic, and reflecting the fact that, for most of the 1800s, adult americans regularly read dime novels. moreover, the regan firm designed exposed to follow the nineteenth-century tradition of fictional memoirs, appeal to women’s sympathies, and be read by multiple social classes, since the advertisements target middle-class readers with leisure money to spend. the book has a black and white cover that, while subtly shocking, ignores the late1800s innovation of lurid dime novel art (whether in black and white or color). lastly, the book reiterates many of the slanders and fears that nineteenth-century americans levied against the mormons. the regan edition of mormonism exposed housed at villanova university therefore reveals how people can believe that their social and cultural environments will never change. in other words, the regan firm’s employees believed the current state of affairs for dime novels (black and white dime artwork, a readership of adults and children alike, etc.) and mormonism (latter-day saints as cultural outliers) would endure. probably to the regan team’s utter surprise, the status quo portrayed in exposed fell apart by 1900. publishers began to make dime novels for children only. color imagery replaced black and white as the industry standard. mormons edged closer to the mainstream and ceased to frighten americans to the extent they once did. the appeal to the youth demographic and the rise of in-store dime novel sales failed to offset the industry’s declining revenues. new periodicals and motion pictures that better catered to the tastes of twentieth-century consumers caused classic dime novels to become extinct.94 history pulled the rug out from under regan’s business and worldview even as mormonism exposed went to the printers.                                                                                                                 94 an object that fully reflects these economic, literary, and cultural transformations is the girl rough-riders, a hardcover young adult novel from 1903 written by former dime novelist prentiss ingraham. the book has a color cover, quality paper stock, a child-friendly plot with no adult themes that can appeal to boys and girls alike, and a portrayal of present-day mormons as friendly, patriotic americans who welcome outsiders. see: col. prentiss ingraham, the girl rough riders: a romantic and adventurous trail of fair rough riders through the wonderland of mystery and silence, illustrated by l.j. bridgman (boston: dana estes & company, 1903) university of rochester, dept. of rare books, special collections, and preservation, rochester, n.y., also available in slightly different form: hathitrust, accessed december 2014, bibliography primary sources cody against the mormons: a tale of stirring adventures in colorado. buffalo bill library 667, n.d. [1911-1932]. london: hazell, watson, & viney, ltd. villanova university digital library. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl%3a292817. cody, william f. [“buffalo bill” cody.] the pilgrim sharp; or, the soldier’s sweetheart, a true story of the overland trail. beadle’s new york dime library 19, no. 243, june 20, 1883. new york: beadle & adams. the demoralizing doctrines and disloyal teachings of the mormon hierarchy. 1866 [n.d. on physical edition; date derived from library catalog entry: http://bit.ly/1phm8qn]. in pamphlets. pacific states, 18 pages [bound volume of pamphlets originally published separately]. william henry seward pamphlets 196e, university of rochester libraries, dept. of rare books, special collections, and preservation, rochester, n.y. “domestic manners of the mormons.” dodge’s literary museum (boston) 9, no. 13 (saturday, september 2, 1854), 199. villanova university digital library. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl%3a288423. holmes, capt. howard. silver steve the branded sport; or, the man-mystery of moonstone. beadle’s new york dime library 54, no. 701, march 30, 1892. new york: beadle & adams. ingraham, col. prentiss. the girl rough riders: a romantic and adventurous trail of fair rough riders through the wonderland of mystery and silence. illustrated by l.j. bridgman. boston: dana estes & company, 1903. university of rochester, dept. of rare books, special collections, and preservation, rochester, n.y. john regan five cent pamphlets. villanova university library special collections, villanova, pa. also: series list, villanova university digital library                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015061465707 (pgs. 293, 297, and 309 convey a positive take on the mormons). http://digital.library.villanova.edu/collection/vudl:292799?recordid=vudl% 3a289036. monstery, col. thomas hoyer. california joe’s first trail: a story of the destroying angels. beadle’s half dime library 15, no. 376, october 7, 1884. new york: beadle and adams. mormonism exposed. a.b. courtney, 1894. mormonism exposed. new york: j.b. nichols, ca. 1896. mormonism exposed. n.p. [chicago: j. regan & co.], n.d. [1896]. villanova university digital library. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:289036. also: john regan five cent pamphlets, villanova university library special collections, villanova, pa. the people’s home journal (new york: f.m. lupton), 11, no. 11, november 1896. villanova university digital library. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:359167. powell, dr. frank. the doomed dozen; or, dolores, the danite’s daughter. a romance of border trails and mormon mysteries. beadle’s new york dime library 13, no. 158, november 2, 1881. new york: beadle & adams. quad, m. bessie baine; or the mormon's victim. a tale of utah. the novelette, 1876, 1-37. boston: thomes & talbot. pdf copy of edition stored at: merrill-crazier special collections & archives, book collections (ll), utah state university, logan, ut. “riders of the purple sage [film poster advertisement].” in moving picture world, september 1918. wikimedia commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:riders_of_the_purple_sage_1918.j pg. roberts, b.h. the second coming of the messiah, and events to precede it. independence, mo: press of zion’s printing and publishing company, 1900 [n.d. on physical edition; date derived from worldcat entry]. university of rochester libraries, dept. of rare books, special collections, and preservation, rochester, n.y. stephens, ann s. esther: a story of the oregon trail. new york: beadle and company, 1889. “thirty-six books given away! [advertisement for sawyer publishing co.]” the people’s home journal 11, no. 11, november 1896, 16. new york: f.m. lupton, publisher. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:359167. tuttle, hudson. clair: a story of mormon life and perfidy. the american library no. 8, june 23, 1883 (chicago: donnelley, loyd, & co.). victor, metta victoria fuller. lives of female mormons; a narrative of facts stranger than fiction. new york: derby & jackson, 1856. walworth, jeannette h. his three wives, or the bar-sinister: a mormon study. 1885; new york: the mershon company, 1900. ward, maria [mrs. benjamin g. harris]. female life among the mormons: a narrative of many years’ personal experience. by the wife of a mormon elder, recently from utah. philadelphia: j. edwin potter, 1863. wilton, capt. mark [william h. manning.] heavy hand, the restless; or, the marked men of paradise gulch. new york: beadle and adams, n.d. [beadle’s new york dime library, no. 311, october 8, 1884 “with the false prophet: a mormon wife’s story.” scribner’s monthly, 187[-], 672-680. wyl, dr. w. [pseudonym for wilhelm rifter von wymetal]. mormon portraits, or the truth about the mormon leaders from 1830 to 1886. volume first: joseph smith the prophet, his family, and his friends: a study based on facts and documents, with fourteen illustrations. salt lake city: tribune printing and publishing company, 1886. university of rochester libraries, dept. of rare books, special collections, and preservation, rochester, n.y. secondary sources astle, randy. “mormons and cinema.” in mormons and popular culture: the global influence of an american phenomenon, volume one: cinema, television, theater, music, and fashion, edited by j. michael hunter, 1-44. santa barbara, ca: praeger, 2013. austin, michael. “‘as much as any novelist could ask’: mormons in american popular fiction.” in mormons and popular culture: the global influence of an american phenomenon, volume two: literature, art, media, tourism, and sports, edited by j. michael hunter, 1-22. santa barbara, ca: praeger, 2013. bowman, matthew. the mormon people: the making of an american faith. new york: random house, 2012. cook, michael l. dime novel roundup: annotated index 1931-1981. bowling green, oh: bowling green university popular press, 1983. cox, j. randolph. the dime novel companion: a source book. westport, ct: greenwood press, 2000. dannehl, karin. “object biographies: from production to consumption.” in history and material culture, edited by karen harvey, 123-138. london: routledge, 2009. davies, douglas j. an introduction to mormonism. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2003. daynes, kathryn m. more wives than one: transformation of the mormon marriage system, 1840-1910. urbana, il: university of illinois press, 2001. denning, michael. mechanic accents: dime novels and working-class culture in america. the haymarket series. new york: verso, 1987. erickson, paul j. “judging books by their covers: format, the implied reader, and the ‘degeneration’ of the dime novel.” american transcendental quarterly 12, no. 3 (september 1998): 248-263. flake, chad j, ed. a mormon bibliography, 1830-1930: books, pamphlets, periodicals, and broadsides relating to the first century of mormonism, introduction by dale l. morgan. salt lake city: university of utah press, 1978. givens, terryl. the viper on the hearth: mormons, myths, and the construction of heresy. 1st ed. new york: oxford university press, 1997. hardy, b. carmon. solemn covenant: the mormon polygamous passage. urbana, il: university of illinois press, 1992. katz, demian. paper for the people: dime novels and early mass market publishing. villanova university falvey library exhibits. http://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/dime-novels. leblanc, edward t. “a brief history of dime novels: formats and contents, 1860-1933.” in pioneers, passionate ladies, and private eyes: dime novels, series books, and paperbacks, edited by larry e. sullivan and lydia cushman schurman, 13-21. new york: the haworth press, 1996. margo, robert a. “daily and annual earnings of employees – all and nonfarm: 1860–1929.” table ba4280-4282 in historical statistics of the united states, earliest times to the present: millennial edition, edited by susan b. carter, scott sigmund gartner, michael r. haines, alan l. olmstead, richard sutch, and gavin wright. new york: cambridge university press, 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/isbn-9780511132971.ba4214-4544. peiss, kathy. cheap amusements: working women and leisure in turn-of-the century new york. philadelphia: temple university press, 1986. raynes, marybeth. “mormon marriages in an american context.” in sisters in spirit: mormon women in historical and cultural perspective, edited by maureen ursenbach beecher and lavina fielding anderson, foreword by jan shipps, 227-248. urbana, il: university of illinois press, 1987. reynolds, clay. “introduction: the great rascal.” in ned buntline, the hero of a hundred fights: collected stories from the dime novel king, from buffalo bill to wild bill hickock, edited by reynolds, viii-xxxviii. new york: union square, 2011. riello, giorgio. “things that shape history: material culture and historical narratives.” in history and material culture, edited by karen harvey, 2446. london: routledge, 2009. schurman, lydia cushman. “the librarian of congress argues against cheap novels getting low postal rates.” in pioneers, passionate ladies, and private eyes: dime novels, series books, and paperbacks, edited by larry e. sullivan and lydia cushman schurman, 59-71. new york: the haworth press, 1996. springhall, john. youth, popular culture and moral panics: penny gaffs to gangsta-rap, 1830-1996. new york: st. martin’s press, 1998. sullivan, larry e. “introduction.” in pioneers, passionate ladies, and private eyes: dime novels, series books, and paperbacks, edited by larry e. sullivan and lydia cushman schurman, 1-12. new york: the haworth press, 1996. turning a curse into a blessing: propaganda and the emigration of british single women sandy krogulski history surplus, matron, spinster, old maid, redundant: these words referred to the single woman in victorian and edwardian britain. far from conforming to ideal standards, these women defied british gender categorization. society scrambled to fix the growing number of single women. emigration to the colonies offered new options for relocating single women and restoring the gender balance. yet, emigration to the colonies proved to be a paradoxical option. emigration resisted oppressive ideals of women, but also redefined single women so they conformed to standard expectations. newspapers and periodicals assisted in circulating the new definition of single women. 1 propagandists redefined options for the single woman that allowed her space within the domestic sphere. instead of being redundant and a burden, propagandists championed single women as proud, valuable british citizens. feminists entered the emigration debate and made room for single women to explore emigration for their own benefit, not to maintain society‘s gender hierarchy or serve the empire. in both cases, propaganda identified the single woman as agents of imperialism and expanded concepts of british womanhood. during the victorian and edwardian eras, imperialism dominated british life. it fashioned ideologies that permeated the economic, political and social spheres. women occupied an ambiguous role in imperial society; ―they were the inferior sex within the superior race.‖ 2 separate sphere ideology, men in the public and women in the home, did not necessarily create strict gender boundaries in reality, but the separate sphere ideology constructed gender identity and organized people‘s perceptions about men and women. 3 in the nineteenth century, women‘s 1 numerous newspapers and periodicals covered female emigration. one periodical, the imperial colonist, was a major factor in encouraging female emigration from a feminist perspective. unable to gain access to this periodical, my paper used other newspapers. for a study on the imperial colonist, see lisa chilton ―a new class of women for the colonies: the imperial colonist and the construction of empire,‖ the journal of imperial and commonwealth history 31; 36 – 56. 2 margaret strobel, european women and the second british empire (indianapolis: indiana university press, 1991), xi. 3 levine, philippa. victorian feminism, (london: hutchinson, 1987), 12-13. domestic identity depended on their role as mothers. this ideology resurrected and transformed into a national, imperial duty during the twentieth century. 4 their value rested in their biological ability to reproduce and their emotional capacity to nurture. their role as mothers elevated them to an important standard of upholding british values and spreading british culture by having children and raising them to be proper british citizens. 5 the premise that, ―no colony or country can achieve greatness unless the mothers recognize and are able to fulfill their responsibilities towards their households, their children, and themselves‖ exemplified british imperial motherhood. 6 this republican motherhood gave women access to imperialism, but maintained their subordinate position in the gender hierarchy. 7 imperial discourse drew heavily on familial language that upheld britain as the mother country to her colonial children. 8 the power of motherhood in imperial rhetoric further rendered single women powerless. unmarried, the single woman occupied an ambiguous role: she created a problematic scenario for british society. 9 the single woman did not meet the traditional standards of british womanhood. she did not contribute to the perpetuation of the british race nor did she fit into the traditional ‗angel in the house‘ role. 10 women‘s duty to britain concentrated on birthing and building the next generation of british citizens. 11 this empowered imperial motherhood; it linked women to the imperial discourse and elevated them to an important role in perpetuating the race and civilization. 12 4 anne k. mellor, mothers of the nation women’s political writing in england, 1780 – 1830. (indianapolis: indiana university press, 2000), 10. 5 anna davin, ―imperialism and motherhood‖ history workshop journal, 5 (1978); 14 – 15. 6 may hely hutchinson, ―female emigration to south africa‖ nineteenth century and after: a monthly review january 1902, 73. 7 janet c. myers, in her article ―performing the voyage out: victorian female emigration and the class dynamics of displacement‖ victorian literature and culture 29 (2001); 129 – 146, states republican motherhood ―defines women‘s place in the nation in terms of their domestic and reproductive roles‖ (129). 8 julia bush, edwardian ladies and imperial power, (leicester: leicester university press, 2000), 83. 9 rita kranidis, ―introduction: new subjects, familiar grounds,‖ imperial objects, 4. 10 expression used to describe the ideal victorian woman. she was meek, graceful, submissive, self-sacrificing, pious and pure. the term is taken from coventry patmore‘s poem, published in 1854, in which he describes his wife, who he held as the ideal woman. in the poem, patmore presents a paradox: he places his wife on a moral pedestal, superior to himself. yet, she was expected to wait on her husband and ensure his happiness. in 1931, virginia woolf stated that killing the angel in the house was part of women writers‘ job description. 11 davin, 12 – 13. 12 the role of mothers was an important ideology that carried over into women‘s fight for enfranchisement. emmeline pankhurst, cofounder of the women‘s social and political union, in these two ways, motherhood encompassed biological and racial elements of imperialism. british mothers served the biological need for more children, ultimately more white citizens to become soldiers, mothers and transmitters of british culture. 13 racial beliefs that characterized british as superior substantiated the need for more white, british citizens. 14 the emphasis on motherhood allowed female imperialists to stress the differences between men and women as a means to promote their rights and abilities as legitimate british citizens. 15 men and women had different responsibilities to the empire. men were the defenders, and women were the caretakers of british ethnicity. female imperialists used this ideology to define a place within imperial politics. in addition to its biological and racial importance, motherhood represented a powerful ideal in victorian and edwardian times. in terms of the british civilizing mission, britain represented both the disciplined, rationale father and the loving, nurturing mother. this belief formed the foundation of emigration arguments in british periodicals. ―it is intoxicating to read of all england is doing for africa…never before in the history of the world, i believe, has so much been done for a conquered nation; all of which goes to prove that the impulse is one of imperious maternity. i like the words imperious maternity much better than imperialism,‖ claimed contributor mrs. chapin in the british periodical the imperial colonist. 16 imperious maternity created room for women‘s participation in the empire while reinforcing typical ideological beliefs about women‘s domestic position in british society. with this statement, mrs. chapin made a strong claim that the female identity formed the foundation of imperialism. imperialism dictated that the superior british care for and civilize the natives. this mirrored the inherent identity of victorian and edwardian mothers. imperialist rhetoric about motherhood tied it explicitly to the civilizing mission. feminizing imperialism gave women authorized access to the empire. many female imperialists focused on their colonized female counterparts; it became the white woman‘s job to speak for her uncultured, mistreated native sister. 17 in this sense, this rhetoric promoted women‘s role as a complement to that of men‘s role in imperialism. women argued women should have the right to vote precisely because they were mothers and educating the next generation. 13 julia bush, ―edwardian ladies and the ―race‖ dimensions of british imperialism‖ 278. 14 antoinette burton, burdens of history british feminists, indian women and imperial culture, 1865 – 1915. (chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 1994), 18. 15 ibid, 281 16 imperial colonist, ii (8), august 1903 as quoted in ―‗the right sort of woman‘: female emigrators and emigration to the british empire, 1890 – 1910‖ women’s history review, 3 (1994). 17 antoinette burton further explains the complications of this ideology in burdens of history. civilized by mothering, men civilized by disciplining. 18 in order to sustain the empire, both were important. constructions of gender and the subsequent contributions to imperialism guided the initial reactions to increasing numbers of single women. the female emigration debate demonstrated the gender problems in britain. cultural constructions of gender contributed to women‘s association in imperialist discourse with motherhood. 19 because motherhood commanded such a high status, it became a forced, popular belief that women‘s future was to become a mother. consequently, the single childless woman lost power in the imperial language connected to motherhood. single women defied their marital destiny. unable to provide for themselves, they depended on family for either financial support or to locate employment positions. british society scrambled to define the single woman; she needed her place in the ordered hierarchy. statistically, single women posed a problem after the 1851 census. women outnumbered men in britain, especially in the age category of twenty to thirty. 20 according to the 1851 census, there were 650,000 more women than men. 21 ten years later, that number grew to 800,000 and by 1911, there were approximately 1.3 million more women than men. 22 the fact that single women existed was nothing new to the victorian era, but the increase in number generated attention and visibility. 23 in one sense, the statistics alleviated blame from single women. essentially, their single status was not entirely their choice or completely their fault. instead, unfortunate circumstances constrained their marital prospects. individuals began to respond to the statistical anomaly and offer solutions. w.r. greg penned a pamphlet, ―why are women redundant?‖ in 1869 that analyzed the superfluous condition of women. fully blaming society for the imbalance, because ―nature makes no mistakes and creates no redundancies,‖ greg bemoaned, ―we are 18 julia bush, ―‗the right sort of woman‘: female emigrators and emigration to the british empire, 1890 – 1910,‖ women’s history review 3, (1994); 399. bush used the term emigrators to describe individuals who assisted british citizens in the emigration process. 19 rita kranidis, ―introduction: new subjects, familiar grounds,‖ 9. 20 strobel, 25. 21 faymonville, ―‗waste not, want not‘: even redundant women have their uses‖ in imperial objects, 65 – 66. this ‗surplus‘ of women had many causes, including a high rate of male infant mortality, war which inflicted great causalities amongst men, and high rates of migration amongst men. 22 ibid. 23 janet c. myers, ―performing the voyage out: victorian female emigration and the class dynamics of displacement‖ victorian literature and culture, (2001); 129; nan h. dreher, ―redundancy and emigration: the ‗woman question‘ in mid-victorian britain,‖ victorian periodicals review 26 (1993); 4. disordered, we are suffering, we are astray.‖ 24 writing that the deviant excess of women denoted ―an unwholesome social state, and [was] both productive and prognostic of much wretchedness and wrong,‖ greg suggested emigration as a solution to relieve the numerical excess of women. 25 he argued that ―an immediate result of the removal of 500,000 women from the mother-country, where they are redundant, to the colonies, where they are sorely needed, all who remain home will rise in value.‖ 26 he believed that the high numbers of single men moving to the colonies resulted in the increase in single women in britain. his proposed form of emigration revolved around the single, female immigrants meeting and marrying their single, immigrant male counterparts. this statistical problem supplied evidence to an ideological complication caused by single women. they created ambiguity in the rigidly defined british life. single women did not rightfully belong to any understood victorian status. 27 they challenged the power of marriage, and consequently posed a problem to the patriarchal society. the newly redefined single woman could succeed if she moved to a colony, married a british colonist, and conformed to domestic ideology. an anonymous writer assured the public that single women would not burden society if they were funneled into colonies. this author emphatically reassured readers, ―there are too many women in this country. are they to become a curse instead of a blessing? no, no! a thousand times no! if there are too many here, there is work for them somewhere in the world. there are homes for them to bless in the east and in the west, in the north and in the south!‖ 28 emigration gave single women the opportunity to find their proper place in society. encouraging emigration, propagandists urged single women to believe that britain‘s ―superabundant and neglected daughters will find home and happiness in the new world, and the seeming curse will become a real blessing.‖ 29 women were urgently needed in the colonies because ―the future permanence and welfare of the colonies depend[ed] upon [their] emigration – the men [were] gone, and those who [were] sometimes ironically called their ‗better-halves‘ must follow to complete the national as well as the family life of these new countries.‖ 30 thus, imperial motherhood was defined by single women‘s potential to become mothers 24 greg, ―why are women redundant,‖ 37, 39. 25 ibid, 2. 26 ibid, 38. 27 rita kranidis, the victorian spinster and colonial emigration contested subjects, (new york: st. martin‘s press, 1999), 5. 28 ―middle class female emigration impartially considered‖ english woman’s journal october 1, 1862; 73. 29 ibid, 80. 30 ―emigration‖ the englishwoman’s year book and directory, 1884, 34. where mothers were needed most: in the colonies. accepting the national call to marry in the colonies, the single woman gained an identity. domestic ideology accepted her role in the gender hierarchy and in imperial politics. she could regain agency through her personal quest to marry. propaganda in periodicals assisted in the evolving definition of single women. by exploring opportunities in the colonies, society created an outlet where single women effectively could exist as efficient, worthy british citizens. propaganda in periodicals circulated this new identity for the single woman which coexisted peacefully with the ―angel in the house.‖ this new space for single women to exist conformed to national ideology and domesticity ideology while granting opportunity to women to escape spinsterhood. propaganda in periodicals called for women to recognize the potential in emigration and seek success outside britain but within the domestic sphere. when propagandists wrote about life in the colonies, a woman‘s worth was relative to her ability to maintain a proper home. writers touted the potential for domestic-minded women in the colonies: ―it seems to me that the secret of a woman‘s success in any colony lies simply in her ability to make a home happy and comfortable – not a home such as she may have inhabited [in britain], but a home where she must be a jill-of-all-trades, if, alas, it involves her being mistress of none!‖ 31 by publicizing the notion that domesticity presented the best method to succeed in the colonies, the domestic ideal of womanhood became the only woman with value in great britain and its empire. furthermore, this statement recognized the marriage possibility in the colonies; the ultimate goal was to become her own mistress in her own home. the options opened to single women were well within the limits of domesticity. single women did have another option aside from marriage for a useful life in the colonies: domestic service. although single, the female domestic servant conformed to british gender standards by taking part in domestic activities. domestic servants imitated expected responsibilities of british wives and mothers. emigration propaganda stressed the need for domestic servants, with many articles calling to britain to ―send us women who understand domestic work.‖ 32 those who excelled at domestic labor met accepted standards and were wanted in the colonies. one author recognized that women began to desert their natural place for the pursuits of men and attempted to rouse honor in female domestic servants, 31 brice, arthur montefiore, ―emigration for gentlewomen‖ nineteenth century and after, a monthly review april, 1901, 601. 32 mrs. warner snoad, ―emigration for women‖ today’s woman: a weekly home and fashion journal, april 20, 1895, 15. the tendency of women to desert the needle for the pen, and the kitchen range for the office desk, is just as marked in the colonies as in the mother country, and consequently the demand in the colonies is for women trained in ‗home craft,‘ and this training does not usually come under the head of skilled labor, although in truth it calls for the highest possible attainments of sterling womanhood. 33 this quote limited the abilities of women to the domestic and suggested to readers that women who pursued freedom from domesticity would not find success in the colonies. british colonists attempted to mimic british society. in order for that goal to be achieved, domestic women needed to populate the colonies. a proper british colony required proper british morals. the young, marriageable single woman fit nicely into this equation. in an advertisement soliciting young women to relocate to south africa, the opening line read, the emigration of women to south africa has become a question of national importance. if that country is in the future to become one of the great self governing colonies of the british empire, warm in sympathy and attachment to the mother country, it must be peopled with loyal british women as well as british men. 34 this quote granted single women access to the biological and racial components of imperial motherhood. it reinforced the belief that single women biologically and racially served britain‘s imperial desires in the spirit of true british women. 35 the single women upheld her racial duty by providing a suitable alternative to native women for male british colonists. articles quite plainly announced this purpose, especially in regards to south africa: ―it is as well at once to face the fact that intermarriage of british men with boer women will never produce [british families.] as a rule the boer women of south africa are devoid of many of the qualities which are essential to make a british man‘s home happy and 33 f-g, m. ―should women emigrate?‖ monthly review, may, 1907, 101. 34 cecil, alicia m. ―the needs of south africa,‖ nineteenth century and after, a monthly review april, 1902, 683. 35 julia bush, ―edwardian ladies and the ‗race‘ dimensions of british imperialism‖ women’s studies international forum, 21 (1998); 283; strobel, 26. strobel also addresses the emphasis on south africa as a suitable place for surplus women. after the anglo-boer war, south africa became a colony that was a focus of anglicization. in 1901, the south african expansion committee organized and their sole job was to promote single women‘s emigration to south africa. similar needs for domestic servants were publicized. comfortable.‖ 36 ideologically, single women committed to the national cause by serving the empire through domestic service or by marriage. while this reinforced women‘s subordinate position in society, women rallied around their domestic identity and used their gender to participate in british imperialism. the emphasis on domestic work and marriage encouraged single women to remain within the domestic sphere. thus, the perpetuation of distinct gender roles remained a prominent aspect of imperialism; however, women worked within this ideology to foster female imperialism. in order to promote women‘s role in the imperial mission, it became important to stress the differences between men and women. women organized societies devoted to woman‘s imperial work. 37 often, women imperialists articulated similar views as men, but generally female imperialist had a different emphasis. 38 women‘s imperial organizations fulfilled expected womanly standards by helping children, other women and the natives. 39 the majority of women did not challenge the patriarchal empire; instead they located ways in which women‘s accommodated the empire. they continued to work within class and gender hierarchies. they did not try and access the imperial agenda through male power, but by the authority of their female identity. emigration propaganda, while it produced a space for single women to achieve their destiny and thus a place in british society, also created an opportunity for women to expand opportunities within domestic ideology. emigration became a reason for women to organize for women‘s advancement. while many female imperial organizations did not define themselves as feminist organizations, they nevertheless ―powerfully linked to a broader british women‘s movement, fed by the mingled currents of feminist equal rights activism and gender-conscious social reform.‖ 40 one organization developed a feminist agenda that focused on the needs of women, not the empire. in 1861, maria rye opened a law-copying office and advertised for copyists, hoping to employ educated gentlewomen. she was surprised to receive an enormous number of applications; in one instance she received 810 applications for one position that only paid fifteen pounds per year. unable to assist these women by hiring them all as copyists, rye privately encouraged them to move to the colonies to find suitable work. she assisted the 36 cecil, 683. 37 in addition to the female middle class society, other imperial organizations included the primose league, the victoria league, british women‘s emigration society, south african colonization society, society for the overseas settlement of british women. the focus is on the fmces because they represented a feminist organization and challenge the redefined single woman. 38 bush, edwardian ladies and imperial power, 81. 39 ibid, 80. 40 ibid, 175. emigration of twenty-two educated women by providing loans, safe passage and contacts in the colonies. 41 this success led her to establish the female middle class emigration society, or fmces, in 1862. 42 rye, herself a spinster, recognized the opportunity educated, unmarried women had in the colonies. 43 she believed that woman had the ability to change the landscape of the colonies and improve their status in british society; i would remind all who are hesitating about the advisability of emigration [of the single woman] to remember, that in olden times ten men brought evil tidings of canaan itself; yet the land was a good land, in spite of the wretched report, and it fared mightily well with those who had courage to march on and possess it. the matter is now virtually in the hands of the women of this country. they must decide their own fate. 44 rye located total agency in the single woman. she had to decide her own fate, not necessarily contribute to the greater national cause. the fmces encouraged the belief that ―gentlewomen must…fully understand that they go to work for independence, not to marry, and be idle.‖ 45 the organization focused on the improvement of women‘s quality of life and status within society. the concerns and needs of the colonies did not factor into the fmces‘ argument for emigration. the fmces worked specifically for educated, middle class single women within a decidedly feminist agenda. 46 the fmces argued the colonies offered women opportunities that would serve short term goals for their improved social and political status. 47 the fmces‘ feminist agenda informed their approach to promoting emigration. their major arguments for single, female middle class women to 41 hammerton, emigrant gentlewomen, (totowa, nj: rowman and littlefield press, 1979) 127. 42 additionally, rye independently assisted women of the working class. see hammerton, ―feminism and female emigration‖ in a widening sphere: changing roles of victorian women (bloomington: indiana university press, 1977), 61. 43 for more about maria rye‘s life and contributions to the women‘s movement in britain, see emigration and empire: the life of maria s. rye by marion diamond. 44 maria rye, times april 29, 1862. 45 ―emigration‖ english women’s journal, march 1861, 8. 46 this is in contrast with another leader of female emigration, caroline chisholm. mrs. chisholm was a wife living in the colonies and saw herself as a female imperialist, encouraging women to emigrate in order to serve the country and promote colonization. many organizations used this rhetoric to encourage british women to seek opportunity in the colonies. 47 marion diamond, ―maria rye‘s journey: metropolitan and colonial perceptions of female emigration‖ in imperial objects ed. rita krandis (new york: twayne publishers, 1998), 127128. emigrate included gainful employment, a freer life and individual agency. not only did rye acknowledge the benefits of emigration, her publications often referenced women‘s unequal status within the empire and encouraged women to search for possible alternatives to their constricted life. regardless, they worked within the bounds of womanhood. victorian and edwardian feminists did not attempt to alter gender constructions; instead, they sought to improve women‘s status by expanding the options open to women using domestic ideology. 48 popular advertised employment opportunities in the colonies included openings for nurses, teachers and governesses. rye wrote, ―as to the chances of an efficient teacher obtaining employment, the evidence is so strong as to the certainty of success, that i had almost gone so far as to say, there must be some defect in the mind or morals of a woman long unemployed in the colonies.‖ 49 rye also indicated that a significant salary difference between britain and the colonies yielded a better life for women in the colonies. in a different article, she asserted, all i can say is this: knowing as i do that while here, with extreme difficulty and great self-denial, really educated women must toil on many, many hours a-day to make 100l. a year, and that there, in the colonies, persons who in this country would scarcely be considered competent to conduct the quietest village school are receiving 130l. and 124l. a-year for salaries as governesses. 50 publicizing the promise of ample employment opportunities and high wages, the fmces made colonial life seem as though it could solve single women‘s dilemmas in the mother country and give them a better life. despite the promise of rye‘s assessment, employment in the colonies did not always live up to expected beliefs. at times, women emigrants found limited options for nurses, teachers and other positions for educated women. ultimately, domestic service proved to be most available option. openings for domestic servants were well paid and the most advertised. 51 as historian a. james hammerton wrote, organizations needed to sell domestic service to the educated woman. 52 educated women did not want to be domestic servants. those seeking to 48 levine, 13. 49 maria rye ―female middle class emigration, a paper read at the meeting of the association for the promotion of social science‖ 1862, 25. 50 maria rye, ―to the editor of the times‖ april 29, 1862. 51 lisa chilton, ―a new class of women for the colonies: the imperial colonist and the construction of empire‖ the journal of imperial and commonwealth history, 31 (2003); 40. 52 hammerton, emigrant gentlewomen, 34. employ domestic servants did not want educated women. 53 organizations publicized opinions that encouraged domestic service and elevated it to a highly coveted, proud opportunity. 54 they used different names to refer to the educated domestic servant, such as lady helps, home helps, and companions. 55 they described lady servants as highly coveted in the colonies, and propagandists advertised lady helps as occupying positions of honor, not humiliation. in one article, ―ladies as servants‖ by a mistress, the author alleged, [a lady servant] has sense enough and cultivation enough to realize that there is no disgrace involved in wearing a pretty cap and apron, and that these appurtenances are only the outward and visible signs of an honorable servitude, just as is the uniform of the solider, sailor, policeman, postman, or the cap and apron of a hospital nurse. 56 furthermore, marriage still occupied the highest level of worth in society. charles kingsley wrote in the times, ―all attempts to employ her in handicraft are but substitutes for that far nobler and more useful work for which nature intends her— to marry and bear children.‖ 57 in order to encourage women to emigrate as domestic servants, propaganda remolded the domestic servant into the educated lady help. propagandists encouraged the belief that ―the feeling of independence which must come from the knowledge that they are worth their salary to their employers‖ was worth the effort to emigrate, even as domestic servants. 58 propaganda redefined the position of domestic servant in order to fit colonial needs and suit educated women‘s expectations, at least until they arrived in the colonies. problems often occurred with job availability. australia and new zealand did not require governesses because most children attended public schools. on one occasion, rye and the fmces sent 141 women to queensland in december 1862. ninety-six of the 141 were governesses, and the remaining women were domestic servants. these women, unable to find employment, stayed in immigration 53 chilton, 41. 54 hammerton, emigrant gentlewomen, chapter 6 55 strobel, 26. 56 a mistress, ―ladies as servants‖ woman’s life vol. 21, issue 272 (feb. 23 1901); 486 57 charles kingsley, ―letter to the editor‖ the times april 11, 1862; 5. 58 evelyn wills ―emigration for women‖ womanhood: the magazine of woman’s progress and interests, political, legal, social, and intellectual, and of health and beauty culture. 1900, 382 – 384. barracks and depended on the assistance of local charities. 59 the following year, of the nine governesses sent to australia, fmces‘ records indicate that only three landed paying positions. 60 nevertheless, rye continued to preach the innumerable opportunities afforded to women in the colonies. organizations devoted to female emigration offered a clear expression of how women asserted and controlled their identity in the imperial world. writing against either a discourse that labeled single women superfluous, redundant, and useless, or one which forced single women into the domestic sphere, the fmces understood that in order to gain funds, they needed to prove single women‘s value. in doing so, these women directly contradicted the current societal valuation of single woman. their writings indicated they understood that the gender hierarchy in britain left women subordinate and weak. they recognized women suffered because they were ―over-worked and under-paid‖ 61 thus, they turned to emigration not to solve the problems of the empire, but to assist women by challenging restrictive gender ideology. rye wrote, ―colonization is capable of being effectually worked as a means for improving the condition of women; that the subject has been singularly neglected and overlooked.‖ 62 this challenge asserted women‘s value outside of marriage and the ideological constraints of empire. additionally, other organizations and propagandists recognized the gender inequalities in britain. evelyn willis, in an article encouraging emigration, declared, ―all [women‘s] lives they have been obliged to stand aside, while all that could possibly be squeezed from the family exchequer was expended upon educating the boys and launching them in professions or business careers.‖ 63 the fmces and other feminists promoted the idea that women could work and thrive on their own. they challenged traditional aspects of gender in british society. the fmces recognized that colonial life did not suit everyone. the fmces, along with other emigration organization, promoted emigration of the ―right sort of woman‖ 64 for two reasons: first, they needed to assure donors that the women emigrating were of quality and worthy of financial assistance, and also because emigrants faced a difficult transition in the colonies and they wanted women to realize the responsibilities attached to emigration. the right woman 59 marion diamond, ―maria rye‘s journey: metropolitan and colonial perceptions of female emigration‖ in imperial objects essays on victorian women’s emigration and the unauthorized imperial experience, (totowa, nj: twayne publishers 1998), 131. 60 ibid, 132. 61 maria rye ―female middle class emigration‖ the english woman’s journal (1862); 21. 62 ibid, 21. 63 willis, 382. 64 bush, ―the right sort of woman: female emigrators and emigration to the british empire, 1890-1910,‖ 385. must possess british civility, but also strength of mind and body. the fmces consciously and explicitly stated, numerous times, that it only sent women who met the high standards of british ethnicity. the fmces noted that ―it is unjust to the colonies, as well as most short-sighted policy on our part, to ship off, as a rule, only the illiterate, the unruly, and the ill-behaved.‖ 65 additionally, ―[the fmces] demand[ed] evidence of sufficient physical capability to endure the hardness of colonial life, and of a moral status likely to withstand the inevitable temptations which surround[ed] a woman placed under such peculiar circumstances.‖ 66 rye ensured potential donors and supporters that the emigration process was selective and only women who could endure the colonial situation passed. furthermore, the fmces sought to distinguish its emigrants from lower class emigrants with poor reputations. in a letter to the editor in the times, rye wrote ―i not only believe, but am confident, that there are vacant situations in the colonies for many hundreds of women vastly superior to the hordes of wild irish and fast young ladies who have hitherto started as emigrants.‖ 67 rye promoted a positive image of female emigrants, emigrants who deserved the opportunity abroad. britain‘s patriarchal and hierarchal society necessitated the emigration societies‘ moral check. society believed women, especially servant girls, of lower classes were easily tempted and quick to fall off the right path. 68 when rye spoke about female emigration, she stated that the fmces‘ high standards precluded women from workhouses, orphanages, and reformatories because ―the temptations to vice are not lessened abroad, all restraint being at once removed, and moreover a false step there can never be retraced.‖ 69 when applicants applied for emigration assistance, the fmces interviewed them to discern character and intent. women with illegitimate children or lack of references were immediately denied. 70 the fmces ensured its venture by carefully selecting worthy applicants. 65 ibid, 21. 66 ibid, 22. 67 rye, ―letter to the editor‖ 29 april 1862. 68 julia bush, in ―‗the right sort of woman‘: female emigrators and emigration to the british empire, 1890 – 1910,‖ writes that ―to be far more prone to kick over the traces both in their work and in their general behaviour‖ (396). 69 maria rye, ―female middle class emigration‖ 70 julia bush, ―‗the right sort of woman‘: female emigrators and emigration to the british empire, 1890 – 1910,‖ 396. despite such procedures, there were records of a few fallen women. the south african colonisation society, for instance, had individual cases of one woman who was seduced by the ship captain, one woman was pregnant upon arrival, and some who left domestic service to become bar maids. similarly, rye noted in letters to the fmces office that women were most tempted on the ships and some gave into lust when on the ship sailing to the colony. the fmces focused on the middle class for specific reasons. 71 middle class british women were not expected to work, but to pursue lady like endeavors such as sewing. 72 this definition of women promoted the trope that middle class women were weak, idle and incapable of thriving in the colonies. 73 the fmces challenged this gender trope by asserting that women had the ability to successfully provide for themselves in the colonies. they did not, however, step outside accepted employment for women. they challenged the limitations of the domestic ideology which denied middle class women‘s capacity to live without the assistance of a husband or father. although middle class emigration dominated the headlines, the majority of emigrants actually emerged from the working class. one scholar, rita kranidis, suggested that the emigration of working class women had little symbolic value because they did not identify with the goals of empire. these women were not republican mothers. they were not domestic goddesses. instead, they existed outside the delicate domestic sphere and worked to support themselves and their family. 74 the ―distressed gentlewoman‖ had a more complicated relationship to the empire. 75 cultural expectations and a rigidly defined duty to the empire required attention and care. single and educated, they were the potential republican mothers in the colonies. conversely, kranidis argued that britain exported what was considered an undesirable category of british society: the unmarried single woman. well-marketed, demanded, and consumed, britain exported the redundant single women in order to preserve gender hierarchy. 76 while the fmces did not have the funds to assist hundreds of women like larger organizations, it did effectively contest limitations placed on women. rye left the fmces in 1865 to pursue other options and jane lewin ascended into 71 janet c. myers explores how emigrating women maintained class distinctions on the ships that were taking them to the new colonies in her article, ―performing the voyage out: victorian female emigration and the class dynamics of displacement‖ in victorian literature and culture 29, (2001); 129 146. these women, despite their class status, were traveling on second class decks due to financial limitations. in order to combat this mixture of classes and maintain their own class distinction, middle class travelers employed certain strategies, including: using a discourse of rights, dress, ―portable domesticity, or the replication of british domestic life aboard emigrant ships, and the exercise of strategic amnesia‖ (130). 72 dreher, 4. 73 hammerton, 32. 74 kranidis, the victorian spinster and colonial emigration contested subjects, 30-31. 75 hammerton uses this term to refer to middle class women emigrants. it encompasses the stereotype of idle, helpless and victimized. a distressed gentlewoman was a lady of middle class social status, however for whatever reason she lacked financial security. 76 kranidis, the victorian spinster and colonial emigration contested subjects, 33-35. leadership. 77 lewin continued rye‘s work but focused specifically on facilitating the emigration of governesses, not domestic workers. in 1881, lewin retired and the fmces returned to a domestic-centered emigration plan. 78 in 1886, the fmces joined with the colonial emigration society, a larger organization which used domestic service and marriage to encourage emigration. 79 in total, from 1862 – 1882, the fmces assisted 302 women to move abroad, and about 113 reported back to fmces with mainly positive accounts. 80 the fmces contributed to a growing women‘s movement which proudly stood behind their womanly identity and demanded access to public activities. whereas young single women could adapt and conform to changing identities that granted access to emigration, women past the child bearing age were not encouraged to emigrate because they stood outside the imperial agenda. they presented a conundrum for british society, in that their emigration did not serve the empire‘s interests in the way that young, marriageable, single women‘s did. yet, spinsterhood yielded opportunities for women to explore colonial life without the pressures of gender expectations, especially if women lacked financial restrictions. several spinsters did take advantage of the british colonies by traveling and exploring. many women even wrote and published memoirs about their travels, including ella christie, who along with her sister published a long look at life by two victorians, mary kingsley who published travels in west africa, mary hall‘s a woman’s trek from the cape to cairo, among others. 81 these spinster travelers explored the borders of britain‘s class and gender expectations. often, while exploring the colonies, they studied plants, culture and architecture and recorded their findings in their memoirs. in keeping with imperialist beliefs, spinsters documented colonial life and championed the benefits of british civilization. gertrude bell exclaimed, ―all over syria and even in the desert, whenever a man is ground down by injustice or mastered by his own incompetence, he wishes that he were under the rule that has given wealth to egypt.‖ 82 furthermore, in their accounts, they distanced themselves from the women natives and white colonists, assuming a unique position that transcended gender boundaries. for example, mary kingsley described a missionary wife as ―a perfectly lovely french girl, with a pale transparent skin and the most great dark 77 james hammerton, ―feminism and female emigration‖ in a widening sphere changing roles of victorian women (bloomington: indiana university press, 1977); 61 – 62. 78 ibid, 68. 79 ibid, 70. 80 dreher, 5. 81 dea birkett, spinsters abroad victorian lady explorers, (new york: basil blackwell inc., 1989), 276-285. 82 gertrude bell, the desert and the sown, as quoted in birkett, 175. eyes, with indescribable charm, grace of manner, and vivacity in conversation,‖ the perfect victorian woman. 83 upon their return home, british society relegated them to ―lady travelers.‖ 84 intrigued by the exploits of its spinster females, britain analyzed and contained their adventures in a strictly feminine manner. 85 nevertheless, spinster women found agency outside emigration through traveling the colonies and publishing their memoirs. women‘s emigration societies demonstrated their ability to organize, command public attention and public space. furthermore, they confronted limiting aspects of gender ideology. increased attention to middle class emigration changed broad ideas about gender because it permitted middle class single women to work. at a time when gender underwent reexamination, emigration propaganda expanded opportunities for women. 86 british women carved an active imperial agenda within british society that used familial imperialist rhetoric to assert their positions as women. by creating space in which the unauthorized woman could succeed in the colonies, the single woman could effectively support the imperial mission and challenge the stereotype of redundancy. as domestic ideology became increasingly important to the public sphere and national ideology, lines between the public and private spheres were not as easily drawn. 87 the ideology of separate spheres remained important in defining men‘s access and women‘s access to the public sphere. imperial motherhood rhetoric, emigration organizations and publications all contested the reality of separate spheres. women‘s private lives were very much a part of their public duty, and their depiction in newspapers as important, defining actors in society achieved public access in a very public way. by commanding a place within british public life, even those who retained the status of mother, challenged domestic ideology even while working within it. 88 women redefined expectations and standards, but at the same time upheld ideology that related to domesticity. consistent with feminist methods in victorian and edwardian times, the fmces provided an excellent understanding of how feminism functioned. women did not challenge gender constructions; instead, they worked within them, embracing their domestic identity to expand options and elevate their status. 89 83 mary kingsley, as quoted in birkett, 86. see birkett, spinsters abroad victorian lady explorers, for a comprehensive study on spinster lady travelers. 84 ibid, 183. 85 ibid, 189. 86 dreher, 3. 87 mello, 6 – 8. 88 levine, 14. 89 ibid, 13. understanding female imperialists‘ role in empire has become an important lens to understanding gender relations in victorian and edwardian britain as well as empire and decolonization. women‘s place within imperial discourse demonstrated the problems of gender within the domestic and national agenda. 90 british women served their country and assisted in the maintenance and proliferation of british culture. at the time, women‘s participation was a fundamental element to the national, imperial agenda. furthermore, women‘s participation in the imperial mission was an important component to the women‘s movement in victorian and edwardian england. anti-suffragists and suffragists united over the issue of single women‘s emigration because it combined conservative, moral ideals with an assertion of women‘s place in society. 91 emigration allowed feminists to create new identities for women that challenged problematic gender boundaries in british society. additionally, the experience gained in emigration societies contributed to the development of feminist organizations. 92 with imperial agency comes historical agency as well. understanding the imperial mission and its racist tendencies, women were not excused from recent trends within historical scholarship that demonstrate the evils of imperialism. women did not challenge the imperial mission; they accepted the belief that the british were ethnically superior, and thus embraced their duty to bring civilization to the colonies. by subjugating the colonized, british women ensured their place within the hierarchy remained powerful. moreover, as historian antoinette burton highlighted, by singling out a specific responsibility to the colonized woman, imperial women understood their status in relation to colonized women. 93 the implications of women‘s actions in the colonies and in support of imperialism built upon historical precedents of imperialism and women‘s participation in developing cultural and political principles. emigration gave women access to imperialism and opportunity to expand what british womanhood entailed. women penetrated the mythical manly terrain of imperialism and actively contributed to british understanding of colonial relationships. 94 the development of emigration societies, growing interest in enfranchisement and increased educational and employment opportunities, intensified feminist tendencies. attached to imperial discourse, the expansion of single women‘s identities allowed flexibility in the definition of british womanhood. 90 krandis, thevictorian spinster and colonial emigration contested subjects, 3. 91 dreher, 4. 92 ibid, 6. 93 antoinette burton explains this concept further in burdens of history, using specifically british feminists and indian women. 94 chilton, 38. bibliography books and articles birkett, dea. spinsters abroad victorian lady explorers. new york: basil blackwell inc., 1989 burton, antoinette burton. burdens of history british feminists, indian women, and imperial culture, 1865 – 1915. chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1994. bush, julia. edwardian ladies and imperial power leicester university press, 2000. ---. ―edwardian ladies and the ‗race‘ dimension of british imperialism.‖ in women’s studies international forum. 21, no. 3 (1998); 277 – 289. received through interlibrary loan. ---. ―the right sort of woman: female emigrators and emigration to the british empire, 1890 – 1910.‖ in women’s history review, 2, no. 3 (1994); 385 – 409. chilton, lisa. ―a new class of women for the colonies: the imperial colonist and the construction of empire,‖ the journal of imperial and commonwealth history 31, 36 – 56. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03086530310001706696.> davin, anna. ―imperialism and motherhood‖ in history workshop journal, 5 no. 1 (1978); 19 – 66. jstor, <www.jstor.org/stable/4288158.> diamond, marion. ―maria rye and the englishwoman’s domestic magazine‖ victorian periodical review, 30 (spring 1997); 5 – 16. jstor, <www.jstor.org/stable/20082960.> dreher, nan h. ―redundancy and emigration: the ‗woman‘s question‘ in mid victorian britain.‖ victorian periodicals review 26 no. 1 (spring 1993); 3 7. jstor, <www.jstor.org/stable/20082640.> hammerton, a. james. emigrant gentlewomen genteel poverty and female emigration, 1830 – 1914. totowa, new jersey: rowman and littlefield, 1979. ---. ―feminism and female emigration, 1861 1886‖ in a widening sphere changing roles of victorian women. bloomington: indiana university press, 1977. 52 – 71. ---. ―gender and migration,‖ in gender and empire, edited by philippa levine. oxford: oxford university press, 2004. kranidis, rita, ed. imperial objects essays on victorian women’s emigration and the unauthorized imperial experience. new york: twayne publishers, 1998. ---. the victorian spinster and colonial emigration contested subjects. new york: st. martin‘s press, 1999. levine, philippa. victorian feminism, 1850 – 1900. london: hutchinson education, 1987. lootens, tricia. ―hemans and home: victorianism, feminine ‗internal enemies‘ and the domestication of national identity,‖ pmla, 109 (march 1994); 238 – 253. jstor <www.jstor.org/stable/463119.> mellor, anne k. mothers of the nation women’s political writing in england, 1780 – 1830. indianapolis: indiana university press, 2000. myers, janet c. ―performing the voyage out: victorian female emigration and the class dynamics of displacement.‖ in victorian literature and culture. 29 (2001); 129 – 146. jstor ,<www.jstor.org.> riedi, eliza. ―women, gender, and the promotion of empire: the victoria league, 1901 1914‖ the historical journal, 45 (september 2002); 569 – 599. jstor, <www.jstor.org/stable/3133497.> strobel, margaret. european women and the second british empire. indianapolis: indian university press, 1991. primary sources the english woman’s journal, 1860 – 1864. accessed through the gerritsen collection of women‘s history online. the english woman’s year book and directory, 1875 – 1916. accessed through the gerritsen collection of women‘s history online. greg, w.r. why are women redundant? london: n. trubner & co., 1869. access through google books. the times, 1860 – 1915. accessed through villanova university. today’s woman, a weekly home and fashion journal 1894 -1890. the woman’s gazette, 1836 – 1875. accessed through the gerritsen collection of women‘s history online. the woman’s herald, 1892 – 1893. accessed through the gerritsen collection of women‘s history online. woman’s life, 1895 – 1915. accessed through the gerritsen collection of women‘s history online. woman’s signal a weekly record and review devoted to the interests of women in the home and in the wide world, 1894 – 1899. accessed through the gerritsen collection of women‘s history online. womanhood: the magazine of woman’s progress and interests, political, legal, social, and intellectual, and of health and beauty culture, 1898 – 1907. accessed through the gerritsen collection of women‘s history online. work and leisure: a magazine devoted to the interests of women, 1875 – 1906. accessed through the gerritsen collection of women‘s history online. select articles: binnie-clark, georgina. ―how canada welcomes the emigrant girl‖ quiver march 1909, 399 – 404. b.r.p. ―what can educated women do?‖ the english woman’s journal 1860, 289 298 carina. ―female emigration‖ the woman’s gazette, june 1877; 137. ---. ―female emigration‖ work and leisure: a magazine devoted to the interests of women 1880, 331 – 332. cecil, alicia m. ―the needs of south africa‖ nineteenth century and after: a monthly review april 1902, 683 – 693. craig, isa. ―emigration as a preventive agency‖ the englishwoman’s journal. january 1, 1859; 289 – 297. ―emigration‖ the englishwoman’s year book and directory 1916; 287 – 290. ―emigration‖ the englishwoman’s review of social and industrial questions 1874; 96 – 102. ―emigration‖ the englishwoman’s year book and directory 1884, 34 – 39. f-g, m. ―should women emigrate?‖ monthly review may 1907, 99 – 105. ―female emigration‖ london journal. 1 may 1868, 396. hutchinson, may hely. ―female emigration to south africa‖ nineteenth century and after: a monthly review january 1902, 71 – 87. lewin, j.e. ―female middle-class emigration a paper read at the social science congress‖ the english woman’s journal, 1864; 313 – 318. ―middle class emigration female impartially considered‖ the english woman’s journal, october 1, 1862, 73 – 85. mistress, ―ladies as servants‖ woman’s life. february 23, 1901, 486. parkes, bessie. ―the departure of miss rye for the colonies‖ the english woman’s journal (1862), 261 – 264. s. c. i. ―emigration for educated women‖ the english woman’s journal 1861, 1 – 9. ―safe emigration for women‖ sentinel may 1882, 101 – 102. snoad, warner. ―emigration for women‖ the woman’s herald, december 17, 1892; 7. rye, maria. ―female emigration – letter to the editor‖ the times february 21, 1867. ---. ―letter to the editor‖ april 29, 1862 ---. ―letter to the editor – female emigrants to australia‖ the times july 3, 1866. ---. ―the last news of the emigrants‖ the english woman’s journal 1863, 180 – 188. ---. ―female middle class emigration‖ the english woman’s journal warner, mrs. snoad. ―emigration for women‖ today’s woman, a weekly home and fashion journal. april 20, 1989, 15. wills, evelyn. ―emigration for women‖ womanhood: the magazine of woman’s progress and interests, political, legal, social, and intellectual, and of health and beauty culture. 1900; 382 – 384. microsoft word 2196 aquilone 1 ecological landmarks in zora neale hurston’s their eyes were watching god: an ecofeminist reading victoria aquilone liberal studies landmarks are visible, noticeable pieces of the landscape or architecture by which people understand their surroundings. landmarks are inextricably grounded in or linked to the natural environment, whether the landmark is a memorable lakeside or a beautiful building suspended on the horizon. landmarks direct people through otherwise unfamiliar territory. in their eyes were watching god, janie grounds her life’s memories in various landmarks: the pear trees, the muck, the hurricane, and powerful animal characters. with these landmarks zora neale hurston “maps” janie and tea cake’s relationship as ecologically exemplary and balanced as opposed to patriarchal and hierarchical, until tea cake violates the ecosystem by abusing janie, bringing on himself the environmental judgement of the hurricane and rabies. despite tea cake’s transgression, janie immortalizes the uncorrupted tea cake via the ecological concept of renewal with both her memories and the seeds he leaves behind. janie is able to interpret and map her life uniquely as the novel is a retelling of the events that already happened, thereby immortalizing the goodness of tea cake in her continual recreation of their tragic love story. this reading classifies as ecocriticism because of the characters’ inherent tie to their surrounding ecosystems consisting of both human and non-human nature. the reading also classifies as feminist due the ways ecological principles of intersubjectivity translate to egalitarian male/female relationships, as well as the ways tea cake violates this intersubjectivity. many critics have examined their eyes were watching god through 2 ecocritical as well as feminist lenses: gurleen grewal investigates the role of trees in janie’s sexual maturation and quest to liberation from male power. for grewal, the pear trees are a vision that “blue print” (104) the perfect marriage, compelling janie to seek the pear trees in search of true love. ines casas maroto similarly explores the connection between the pear trees and janie’s marriages, arguing that the novel portrays janie as continually trying to “bring her own experience into harmony with her initial vision of the pear tree” (72). glenda b. weathers compares all of the tree images, asserting they reveal the fullness of janie’s moral character. in a different vein, brian r. roberts examines the roles of animals within the text, arguing that zora neale hurston employs powerful animal folk tales to signify important transitions in the novel. in the purely feminist camp, tracy l. bealer scrutinizes the actions of janie’s husbands as patriarchal, while yvonne mesa-el ashmawi and kersuze simeon jones provide a more moderate, gracious reading of tea cake’s flaws and the reasons for them. salient ecological assumptions guide this reading. ecology, while a scientific discipline, also refers to “thinking about nature as connected in an evolving and interactive way…ecology’s etymological meaning [is] knowledge of the household, or shared habitat, of earth in language ethically responsive to the diversity, connectedness, and well-being of earth’s offspring” as ecocritic diane mccolley explains. a properly functioning ecological system requires mutual submission from all parties, not a hierarchical submission-domination relationship. each part of the system must consider the needs of the rest of the system, as the whole system is worth more than the sum of its parts. in human relationships, an anti-ecological hierarchy produces patriarchal domination of men over women as subject over object, a system that clearly does not benefit the whole of humanity. intersubjectivity refers to an ecologically balanced male-female relationship characterized by mutual submission and equal care from and to both members of the 3 relationship, regardless of prescribed gender role (bealer). this assumption guides this reading of janie’s marriages. additionally, ecological systems tend toward balance; if one part of system is violated, many parts will direct energy towards the wound to bolster the party in need (kimmerer 20). this concept importantly supports the reading of tea cake as receiving ecological judgment for violating his ecosystem with janie. finally, healthy ecosystems continually regenerate themselves, absorbing old matter and creating anew; they constantly both degenerate and recreate simultaneously, as janie does with her memories of tea cake. meaningful natural imagery surfaces early on in hurston’s novel. when janie begins recounting her story to her friend phoeby, the narrator says, “janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. dawn and doom were in the branches” (8). here janie reveals one of her most important landmarks: trees. the way janie describes her life as “a great tree in leaf” (8) directly contrasts with the way janie describes her ailing nanny (janie’s grandmother): “nanny’s head and face looked like the standing roots of some old tree that had been torn away by storm” (12). nanny herself furthers the tree imagery when she’s explaining the state of colored people to janie: “you know, honey, us colored folks is branches without roots” (16). for janie, nanny represents the status quo of patriarchal relationships. grewal’s “‘beholding a great tree in leaf’: eros, nature, and the visionary in their eyes were watching god” elucidates nanny’s perspective on patriarchal inevitability: “nanny’s experience of oppression, her lack of autonomy and safety, gives her a pragmatic and transactional view of marriage and a shriveled, gendered script distorted by fear and insecurity from which janie must free herself” (104). nanny’s view of marriage continues to give power to the patriarchal structures of her culture according to weathers: “despite her hatred of it, however, nanny complies with the social hierarchy that places back women beneath black men” 4 (203). nanny complies with the system when she renders marriage as a transaction, evidenced when she tries to convince janie to marry killicks by describing his material wealth: his sixty acres and “de onliest organ in town” (22). nanny submits to these powers when she insists that janie marry logan killicks—essentially against her will—in hopes that janie will be protected: “’tain’t logal killicks ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection” (15). for maroto, “[nanny] sees in marriage the potential for janie to have both the protection and the respectability that neither she nor her disgraced daughter had…she is convinced that without the ‘protection’ of a male-owned home, her janie will face a future of physical and spiritual destruction” (73). while nanny genuinely believes that marrying logan killicks is best for janie, janie knows and believes differently because of what she witnessed under the pear tree, another significant landmark. janie closely observes nature and internalizes the systems and relationships she sees, forming for her an ecological vision for human interaction. janie senses a spiritual pull to commune with nature: “she had been spending every minute that she could steal from her chores under that tree for the last three days. that was to say, ever since the first tiny bloom had opened. it had called her to come and gaze on a mystery” (10). this experience evidently engages four of her senses: sight, sound, smell, and touch: she “gazes” on the “mystery;” she hears a “flute song forgotten in another existence;” she smells that “the rose of the world was breathing out smell;” and she feels that “it followed her through all her waking moments and caressed her in her sleep” (10). janie intimately knows her environment in an interconnected way, considering it with most of her senses. her senses are heightened as she encounters the ecosystem of the pear tree for the first time. the story’s first occurrence of the pear tree is a beautiful description of a wellfunctioning ecosystem: 5 she was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her. she saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. so this was a marriage! (11). janie ostensibly witnesses the pollination of a flower, a biological process that scientists have delineated in sexual terms. the process of pollination requires the cooperation of various parties, with not one role being more important than another. there is no hierarchy in the exchange of pollination, only different roles. tracy l. bealer elucidates the ecological implications of this passage further: “the vision is persistently communal: a throng of ‘visiting bees’ meets the tree, and the single bee on which janie focuses contacts multiple feminine ‘calyxes’ resulting in pleasure that engages the entire tree ‘from root to tiniest branch.’ the interaction is egalitarian” (314). significantly, janie sees this process and recognizes it as marriage, but not the marriage that nanny tells her about. nanny tells her of a transaction, not mutual submission and care. as janie considers her experience, she conflates herself with the pear tree and asks, “where were the singing bees for her?” but “nothing on the place nor in her grandma’s house answered her” (13). as moroto explains, “janie’s awakening to romance and sexual desire constitutes a powerful antithesis to her grandmother nanny’s metaphors of the black woman as the mule of the world and the spit-cup of men, with all their suggestion of dehumanization and sexual exploitation” (72). weathers takes a similar view to moroto, arguing that the pear tree challenges nanny’s view of marriage: “replete with the promise of fecundity, the pear tree argues against the tyranny of control that nanny unwisely, perhaps unwittingly, chooses” (203). while janie 6 knows from her pear tree experience that good relationships are intersubjective and mutually submissive, her marriage with logan killicks fails to meet the standards of an ecologically balanced relationship. janie has hope for her marriage to killicks at the onset. as she considers what constitutes love, janie reflects on her coming marriage to killicks: “did marriage end the cosmic loneliness of the unmated? did marriage compel love like the sun day?” (21). janie knows of an egalitarian relationship as represented in the pear tree, but she processes whether killicks will offer her a similar balanced relationship: “in the few days to live before she went to logan killicks and his often-mentioned sixty-acres janie asked inside of herself and out. she was back and forth to the pear tree continuously wondering and thinking” (21). in her naiveté, janie hopes and resolves that “yes, she would love logan after they were married” (21). unfortunately, janie quickly realizes that killicks does not mimic the pear tree. shortly after the wedding, janie returns to nanny’s house to tell her she doesn’t love him yet, and janie construes the inadequacy in light of the pear tree: “ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think…” (24). janie realizes that “marital relationships do not replicate the rhythmic and sacred patterns of the natural world” (bealer 316). nanny answers janie’s dismay: “youse young yet no tellin’ what mout happen befo’ you die. wait a while, baby. yo’ mind will change (24). for nanny, love isn’t the most important part of marriage; the transaction is. janie knows differently. she landmarks her waiting with the seasons and the tree imagery each season produces: she waits “a bloom time, and a green time and an orange time,” (25) and she hasn’t changed her mind. logan killicks’ true colors really manifest after nanny’s death. “long before the first year was up” (26), the narrator tells the reader that killicks had “stopped talking in rhymes to 7 her” (26). he had “ceased to wonder at her long black hair and finger it” (26). further, killicks starts ordering her around like hired help: “if ah kin haul de wood heah and chop it fuh yuh, look lak you oughta be able tuh tote it inside. mah fust wife never bothered me ’bout choppin’ no wood nohow…you done been spoilt rotten” (26). while he never beats janie, his objectification of her evidences itself. maroto elaborates on killicks’ treatment of janie: “killicks acts like a slave master with his insults and threats of violence when janie refuses to obey him” (74). janie’s first recorded response to his verbal abuse reveals the transactional nature of their relationship: “ah’m just as stiff as you is stout. if you can stand not to chop and tote wood ah reckon you can stand not to git no dinner” (26). rather than a marriage of equals who mutually consider the needs and strengths of each other as well as the ecosystem as a whole, janie and killicks withhold affection from each other and don’t share the labor with a good attitude. their division of labor becomes a source of contention and passive aggression rather than productive conquering of different household spheres. further, killicks believes he treats janie well: “ah thought you would ’preciate good treatment. thought ah’d take and make something outa yuh” (30). killicks objectifies janie by thinking he should mold her into a proper wife with emotional abuse and forced labor, affirming the view of marriage nanny perpetuated. for janie, killicks “desecrate[es] the pear tree” (14) with his verbal and emotional abuse that fails to exemplify the ecological principles of intersubjectivity and mutual care. janie’s hope for an egalitarian marriage derives directly from her relationship to and knowledge of nature, while killicks’ objectification of janie mirrors his utilitarian view of nature. as explored above, janie looks to the pear tree for guidance on love and relationships, but she also displays intimacy with other natural phenomena. for example, after nanny dies and janie reflects on the state of her marriage, revealing a closeness to nature: 8 …she began to stand around the gate and expect things. what things? she didn’t know exactly. her breath was gusty and short. she knew things that nobody had ever told her. for instance, the words of the trees and the wind. she often spoke to falling seeds and said, “ah hope you fall on soft ground,” because she had heard seeds saying that to each other as they passed (25). in feminist criticism, the patriarchy results in a hierarchy of man over woman, and, subsequently, culture over nature, in which men and culture and women and nature are conflated. therefore, it is risky to argue that janie is close to nature, but it actually benefits her character and is not an insult. janie is close to nature in such a way that she exists within the ecosystem as a part of it and learning from it. she “knew” things from “the words of the wind” indicating she is a student of nature (hurston 25). not only does she know nature, but she also communes with it when she speaks to falling seeds. it is no slight against janie that she is close to nature; however, it is a slight against killicks that he is far from it. while killicks is physically close to nature as a farmer, he is far from nature in a communal sense; he objectifies nature the way he objectifies janie. grewal explicates this phenomenon: “with his 60 acres and a mule, logan killicks’s relationship to nature is utilitarian, plodding, and deadly to the imagination as his last name suggests” (107). if killicks communed with nature—rather than using it only for his benefit— perhaps he would see the ecological imbalance of his forceful authority over janie. janie’s marriage to killicks does not last long, but her next husband isn't much better. jody too is far from nature and actually embodies culture quite robustly, and he fails to attain janie’s vision of the pear tree with an ecologically balanced relationship. from the first time janie sees joe, he exemplifies the meaning of culture in the nature versus culture dichotomy. as janie spots joe coming down the road, she describes him as “a citified, stylish dressed man with 9 his hat set at an angle that didn’t belong in these parts. his coat was over his arm, but he didn’t need it to represent his clothes. the shirt with the silk sleeveholders was dazzling enough for the world” (27). joe learned his culture from “workin’ for white folks all his life” (28). joe further reveals his distance from nature when janie explains to him that her husband is away getting a mule so she can help plow: “you ain’t got no business cuttin’ up no seed p’taters neither. a pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo’self and eat p’taters dat other folks plant just special for you” (29). what joe doesn't realize is that janie actually desires to be close to nature; it’s her community and teacher. at first, joe’s offer that “he would be a big ruler of things with her reaping the benefits” (29) seems like a welcome reprieve from the dominance of logan killicks. while janie recognizes right away that joe “did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees” (hurston 29), joe does “[speak] for far horizon” (29) giving janie hope that this marriage will more closely embody what she knows from nature. unfortunately, joe’s evasion of nature’s principles and devotion to culture cause him to mistreat and appropriate janie for his own benefit. grewal highlights the tension between joe’s devotion to culture and janie’s propensity toward nature: “joe starks waited for janie up ahead with ‘a hired rig.’ but the ‘high ruling chair ‘ joe starks sat on is incompatible with flower dust” (107). joe’s plans for janie actually mirror killicks’ attempt to “take and make somethin’ outa [her]” (hurston 30). grewal explains that “[joe] wants to transform janie into a house-wife. he wants to emulate the protocols of class and make her a lady” (107). once janie marries joe, the reader realizes how concerned with authority and hierarchy joe really is. as they enter the new town, joe searches for the mayor and is incredulous to hear they don’t have one: “i god, where’s de mayor?...ah want tuh speak wid de mayor…ain’t got no mayor! well, who tells y’all what to do?” (34-35). weathers expounds upon this passage and joe’s desire for authority: “hungering 10 for power and authority, starks booms his entrance into the town…hurston’s spelling transforms his expletive into declaration: i god. joe starks’s ‘god’ with its lowercase g and capital m essentially reduces god while raising the mayor wannabe to new dominance” (204). weathers further argues that “starks covets the mayoral position, forges his authority from the subjection, fear, and awe of the citizens, and perpetuates his stronghold by parading his successes, one of which is janie—ornament-wife, a notch on his sword” (204). weathers’ argument highlights the way joe objectifies janie as a wife by controlling her for his own image. bealer contributes to the same discussion, pointing out that “joe also insists that janie conform to his idea of genteel femininity at the price of her ability to interact with the eatonville residents” (317) as well as nature. joe imposes on janie’s feminine presentation of herself for his own benefit when the store opens: “jody told her to dress up and stand in the store all that evening. everybody was coming sort of fixed up, and he didn’t mean for nobody else’s wife to rank with her…so she put on one of her bought dresses and went up the new-cut road all dressed in wine-colored red” (41). early on, janie enjoys the abundance and attention; however, joe’s treatment of her quickly devolves into overt ownership. maroto supports weathers’ and bealer’s arguments: “joe confines janie…by limiting her life to the inside of his store and his white house, which resemble that of a slave master. he wanted janie to sit on the pedestal—the black equivalent of the southern lady, beautiful, pure submissive—without the least concern for her individual wants and needs” (75). bealer’s quotation illuminates the ecological lack of joe and janie’s relationship: joe takes from janie what he wants and needs without providing her what she wants and needs. joe’s evasion of janie’s needs reveals itself when janie honestly tells joe she’s dissatisfied with the current state: “‘you’se always off talkin’ and fixin’ things, and ah feels lak ih’m jus’ markin’ time. hope it soon gets over.’ ‘over janie? i god, ah ain’t even started good. 11 ah told you in de very first beginnin’ dat ah aimed tuh be uh big voice’” (46). as weathers pointed out previously, hurston again writes joe saying “i god,” associating him with overt power structures. when janie vulnerably reveals her fears to joe, he crushes her with his selfishness, leaving janie with “a feeling of coldness and fear [that] took hold of her. she felt far away from things and lonely” (46). their relationship continually devolves into object-subject ownership evidenced by joe’s insistence on janie covering her hair in the store, which the reader learns from gossiping men: “whut make her keep her head ties up lak some ole ’oman round de store? nobody couldn’t git me tuh tie no rag on mah head if ah had hair lak dat” (49). the narrator later describes the impetus for joe’s requirement of the head covering: “one night [joe] had caught walter standing behind janie and brushing the back of his hand back and forth across the loose end of her braid ever so lightly so as to enjoy the feel of it…that night he ordered janie to tie up her hair around the store….she was there in the store for him to look at, not those others” (hurston 55). joe’s interaction with janie’s head covering reveals his entitlement as her owner and authority. joe does not consider the fact that “this business of the head-rag irked [janie] endlessly” (55), he only cares about confining her for his own sense of superiority and ownership. hurston interestingly ties joe’s treatment of the head covering to the incident with matt bonner’s mule, indicating a relationship between how joe treats janie and how he treats this mule. after the reader learns that janie is in the store for joe to look at, the narrator continues, “but he never said things like that. it just wasn't in him. take the matter of the yellow mule, for instance” (hurston 55). the narrator then launches into the drawn out story of the death of matt bonner’s mule. at first, when the men tantalize the mule, both janie and joe appear to have 12 sympathy for the animal; however, the reader later learns that only janie’s sympathy was true. janie, in her closeness to nature, truly despises the mistreatment of the mule: everybody was having fun at the mule-baiting. all but janie. she snatched her head away from the spectacle and began muttering to herself. “they oughta be shamed uh theyselves! teasin’ dat poor brute beast lak they id! done been worked tuh death; done had his disposition ruint wid mistreatment, and now they got tuh finish devilin’ ’im tuh death”…a little war of defense for helpless things was going on inside her (hurston 56-57). janie’s sympathy for the mule reveals both her closeness to nature and her ability to identify with the mule. sympathy for the “helpless things” of nature reminds the reader of when janie spoke to the seeds, hoping they would fall on soft ground. additionally, though, janie identifies with the mule. both her previous and current husband exploited her for labor and mistreated her due to their hierarchical rather than ecological approach to marriage and relationships. at first, it seems that joe actually echoes janie’s sympathy for the mule by buying him off of bonner, so the mule could rest (58). when the mule finally dies, the townspeople must drag him out of town for sanitation purposes, and they hold a mock funeral where they “mocked everything human in death” (60). joe shows a blatant disrespect for the animal when he “stood on the distended belly of the mule for a platform and made gestures” (60). the mock funeral became absurdly funny to the point that “the sisters got mock-happy and shouted and had to be held up by the menfolks” (61). weathers elucidates the powerful imagery of the mule funeral in its implications for janie arguing that “starks treats janie as irreverently as he does the mule” (204) fulfilling nanny’s fear that janie would be the mule of the world (weathers 204). joe’s distance from and disrespect for 13 human and non-human nature manifests itself powerfully in his treatment of the mule, which mirrors his treatment of janie. after the death of the mule, joe and janie’s relationship sharply declines; they could no longer contain their marital strife to their home, and they fight in the public sphere of the store. when joe accuses janie of misplacing a bill of lading, he insults her in front of the store: “‘dat’s ’cause you need tellin’,’ he rejoined hotly. ‘it would be pitiful if ah didn’t. somebody got to think for women and chillum and chickens and cows. i god, they sho don’t think non theirselves’” (71). joe degrades janie (and all women) by lumping her with children and animals in her inability to think. the seed of joe’s patriarchal mindset grows after this incident in the store, and his verbal abuse escalates into physical abuse: “he slapped her face in the kitchen…until she had a ringing around in her ears” because her dinner recipe flopped (71-72). as bealer points out, “joe’s blows leaves a ‘ringing sound in her ears.’ drowning out all other sound and forming an ugly inversion of the bees’ ‘alto chant’” (318). after he slaps her, “she wasn’t petal open with him anymore” (71) and “she had no more blossomy openings dusting pollen over her man, neither any glistering young fruit where the petals used to be” (72) signifying that janie continues to landmark her experiences with the natural imagery of the blossoming pear tree. interestingly, when janie realizes she “wasn’t petal open with [joe] anymore” (71), she has a premonition that another man awaits to fulfill her pear tree dreams: “she was saving up feelings for some man she had never seen” (72). vergible “tea cake” woods strolls into janie’s life shortly after joe dies and frees her from the bondage of their imbalanced marriage. tea cake’s approach to janie immediately counters joe’s patriarchal dominance when tea cake invites her to play checkers, an invitation that contrasts a scene earlier when joe rudely addressed 14 janie and ordered her to bring him the checkerboard so he could play with someone else: “‘you getting’ too moufy, janie,’ starks told her. “go fetch me de checker-board and de checkers. sam wtson, you’se mah fish.’”(hurston 76). while janie and tea cake laugh together in the store, tea cake never critiques her for “mouthiness” and instead asks, “ ‘how about playin’ you some checkers? you looks hard tuh beat’” (hurston 95). even hurston’s style choice to employ italics in these passages reveals the nature of the juxtaposition: joe’s emphasized and highlights joe’s exacting demands of janie by adding to the orders he dispenses; conversely, tea cake’s emphasized you indicates that he is actually interested in janie and having fun with her. by asking her to play checkers, tea cake invites janie into a male space she was previously denied access to. janie realizes the gravity of tea cake’s invitation: “[janie] found herself glowing inside. somebody wanted her to play. somebody thought it natural for her to play. that was even nice” (95-96). furthermore, tea cake and janie actually have fun together: “they scrambled and upset the board and laughed at that” (96). their shared fun in a previously male-dominated space equalizes them as peers and friends rather than maintaining the hierarchy previously inherent in the game of checkers. further, as bealer points out, “tea cake’s desire for mutual enjoyment through play recalls the ‘natural’ space of pleasure and satisfaction janie discovered under the pear tree” (320). janie remains insecure in some ways due to joe’s abuse; however, tea cake slowly builds her back up, dismantling the hierarchy further: “‘jody useter tell me ah never would learn. it wuz too heavy fuh mah brains.’ ‘folks is playin’ it wid sense and folks is playin’ it without. but you got good meat on yo’ head. you’ll learn’” (96). janie draws directly on the conversation where joe likened her to animals and children, yet tea cake challenges the notion that janie lacks sense or intelligence, assigning her dignity as a subject rather than catering to joe’s previous objectification. even their initial friendship balances out the hierarchy janie 15 experienced in her first two marriages. tea cake sees janie as an equal who possesses inherent value and deserves friendship and affection. as their relationship grows, countless indicators of an ecologically balanced relationship arise. tea cake shows up on janie’s porch with “a string of fresh-caught trout for a present” and suggests “ah’ll clean ‘em, you fry ‘em and let’s eat” (103). not only does he bring janie a present—a token of affection the reader never sees with logan or joe—tea cake suggests a mutually beneficial way of enjoying the gift together. tea cake suggests a division of labor that plays to each person’s strength and leaves no one in dominance over another. they equally share the fruits of their labor. tea cake does not seek to only gain from the relationship; he also gives. similarly, tea cake gifts janie with true affection. while joe made janie cover her hair, tea cake adores her hair, and she wakes up to him “combing her hair and scratching the dandruff from her scalp” (103). as she is only used to someone policing her appearance, janie seems quite incredulous that anyone would take this sort of interest in her hair: “why, tea cake? whut good do combin’ mah hair do you? it’s mah comfortable, not yourn” (103). tea cake’s reasoning reveals his inherent value of janie: “it’s mine too. ah ain’t been sleepin’ so good for more’n uh week cause ah been wishin’ so bad tuh git mah hands in yo’ hair. it’s so pretty. it feels jus’ lak underneath a dove’s wing next to mah face” (103). bealer comments on this passage as well: “tea cake does not value janie’s beauty for how it can benefit him in the sociopolitical realm, but for the sensory pleasure it affords him, and more importantly, janie herself” (320). unlike joe, who polices janie’s hair in an attempt to own her, tea cake appreciates her hair, and physically engages it in a way that benefits them both rather than just himself. tea cake shows consideration of janie’s comfort and genuinely appreciates her beauty rather than objectifying it. 16 tea cake’s confession of love for janie further uncovers his inherent value for her as a person, rather than what she can do for him economically: “de thought uh mah youngness don’t satisfy me lak yo’ presence do” (105). janie has trouble believing that tea cake really desires her this way, so tea cake truncates the conversation with a tree analogy: “look lak we done run our conversation from grass roots tuh pine trees” (106). tea cake’s invocation foreshadows his closeness to nature, which the novel reveals in detail in the coming chapters. after his confession of love, janie can’t stop thinking about him, and she also invokes the pear tree imagery: “he could be a bee to a blossom—a pear tree blossom in the spring” (106). janie’s tentativeness reflects the insecurity about her pear tree image her last two husbands have produced. after the official “beginning of things” (107), tea cake continues to display an egalitarian mindset towards janie that mimics the pear tree imagery. when tea cake asks her to attend the picnic with him, janie fears that he doesn’t want to be seen with her; however, tea cake not only allays her fears, but he also encourages her to use her voice. “naw, it ain’t all right wid you. if it was you wouldn’t be sayin’ dat. have de nerve tuh say what you mean” (109). tea cake invites janie into honest conversation; he doesn't require her to clean up her speech to please him because he actually cares what she thinks, quite unlike joe or logan. additionally, unlike joe or logan, tea cake does not confine janie to any othered spaces, but he shares spaces with her. when a friend asks janie about all the activities she does with tea cake, insinuating that he’s not classy enough for her, janie replies, “jody classed me off. ah didn’t. naw pheoby, tea cake ain’t draggin’ me off nowhere ah don’t want tuh go. ah always want tuh git round uh whole heap, but jody wouldn’t ’low me tuh” (112). janie and tea cake’s relationship is characterized by mutual consent and therefore intersubjectivity. janie actually desires to do these activities with tea 17 cake, and never does anything she doesn’t want to do. janie consents to follow tea cake to jacksonville to get married and start over. after some time in jacksonville, tea cake suggests they go to the muck in the everglades: “oh down in de everglades round clewiston and belle glade where dey raise all dat cane and string-bean and tomatuhs. folks don’t do nothin’ down dere but make money and fun and foolishness. we must go dere” (128). tea cake’s suggestion hearkens back to bealer’s assertion about his inclination to have fun as well as reveals his desire to be close to nature. the narrator elucidates janie’s thoughts upon arriving in the glades: “to janie’s strange eyes, everything in the everglades was big and new. big lake okechobee, big beans, big cane, big weeds, big everything…ground so rich that everything went wild” (129). while logan forced janie to labor over nature, and joe sectioned janie off from nature, janie feels free in the everglades, evidenced by the bigness and wildness of it all. the everglades and the muck, as another ecological landmark, embody the same fecundity of nature janie saw in the pear tree. while in the everglades, tea cake further reveals his closeness to nature and his love for janie. his closeness to nature manifests itself in his bean planting and work on the muck. while he works on the muck, he begins to miss janie during the day and comes home to see her, highlighting his true affection for her: “janie, ah gits lonesome out dere all day ’thout yuh” (133). because he misses her, tea cake invites her to come work with him: “after dis, you betta come git uh job uh work out dere lak de rest uh de women—so ah won’t be losin’ time comin’ home” (133). tea cake’s invitation is powerful. he invites her to share workspace with him among nature in contrast to her other two husbands who forced her to labor or prevented her from communing with nature. janie accepts the invitation and “got ready to pick beans along with tea cake” the next morning (133). janie and tea cake have fun working together, and 18 since they both spend the day working, “tea cake would help get supper afterwards” (133) indicating a balanced division of home labor. while janie and tea cake have some of their most enjoyable times together in florida, the everglades bring challenges to their balanced relationship. both tea cake and janie experience their first bouts of jealousy on the muck, and the respective ways they deal with their jealousy expose the depths of their character. janie gets jealous first when “a little chunky girl took to picking a play out of tea cake in the fields and in the quarters” (137). one day janie “rushed around into the cane and about the fifth row down she found tea cake and nunkie struggling” (137). janie intervenes and the girl runs away, leaving her and tea cake to talk it out. tea cake defends himself: “‘she grabbed mah workin’ tickets outa mah shirt pocket and ah run tuh git ’em back,’ tea cake explained, showing the tickets considerably mauled about in the struggle” (137). at first, janie doesn't believe him and accuses him of being unfaithful. their fight evolves into a sexual encounter of reconciliation. bealer examines the fight and sexual encounter, concluding that “the evolution of the physical fight into sexual reconnection physically enacts productive conflict negotiation between subjects” (322). even though tea cake hurts janie, she forgives him and reconnects with him physically to restore balance to the ecosystem, revealing her devotion to the greater good of their relationship rather than her own selfish desires. conversely, tea cake responds extremely poorly to his bout of jealousy. as janie gets close to mrs. turner, tea cake overhears mrs. turner suggest that janie consider a relationship with mrs. turner’s brother. then, mrs. turner actually brings her brother to the muck to meet janie, and tea cake gets upset: 19 tea cake had a brainstorm. before the week was over he had whipped janie. not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him. being able to whip her reassured him in possession. no brutal beating at all. he just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss (146). tea cake betrays their egalitarian relationship for a hierarchical one in which he is “boss” to selfishly assuage his own fears and insecurities. bealer agrees that “tea cake’s reaction to the ‘awful fear’ that he will lose janie leads him to enact the one hierarchical role in which his masculine power is secure” (322). additionally, “tea cake’s violence temporarily transforms the structure of his marriage from work and play between equals to domination by a male ‘boss’” (bealer 322). tea cake’s jealousy causes him to transgress his and janie’s ecosystem by beating her to display ownership. further, tea cake explains to his friends that he beat janie to make a public point: “ah didn’t whup janie ’cause she done nothin’. ah beat her tuh show dem turners who is boss” (148). effectively, tea cake exploits janie to prop himself up in front of people who make him feel small. he betrays janie and her love for him when he uses her this way. similarly to logan, tea cake effectively desecrates the pear tree he was previously emulating. tea cake wounded his previously well-functioning ecosystem; therefore, nature sought to rebalance what tea cake beat askew. janie’s jealousy balanced out with the equalizing intimacy of sexual intercourse. since tea cake’s jealousy escalated the wound of the ecosystem, something greater had to bring balance back to the relationship. the hurricane and the rabid dog effectively balances out tea cake and janie’s relationship by punishing tea cake for his transgression against the ecosystem. when people warn tea cake of the hurricane, his arrogance and desire for money prevent him from listening to nature’s cues (155-156). he and janie stay, and the hurricane comes full force. 20 hurston poignantly personifies the hurricane: “a big burst of thunder and lightning that trampled over the house…and the lake got madder and madder with only its dikes between them and him” (158-159). the thunder and the lake are angry at tea cake for violating the ecosystem in his betrayal of janie. “the wind came back with triple fury” (160) finally signifying to tea cake that they were in danger. as they run from the lake, the rising waters echo the judgement in the story of noah’s ark: “and the lake. under its multiplied roar could be hear a mighty sound of grinding rock and timber and a wail” (161) until “he seized hold of his dikes and ran forward until he met the quarters; uprooted them like grass and rushed on after his suppose-to-be conquerors, rolling the dikes, rolling the houses, rolling the people in the houses along with other timbers. the sea was walking the earth with a heavy heel” (161-162). janie and tea cake are caught in the water then the rabid dog presents itself. it tries to bite janie but “tea cake rose out of the water at the cow’s rump and seized the dog by the neck. but he was a powerful dog and tea cake was over-tired. so he didn’t kill the dog with one stroke as he had intended…they fought and somehow he managed to bite tea cake high up on his cheek-bone” (166). after the excitement of the hurricane, we learn that the dog was rabid and infected tea cake. rabies is an interesting biological phenomenon to consider, for it corrupts that which is inherently good. while the dog is corrupted by rabies, tea cake was corrupted by jealousy, which caused him to betray his ecosystem. hurston conflates tea cake and the rabid dog when the dog infects tea cake to highlight tea cake’s corruption. bealer humorously calls this choice of hurston’s a “canis ex machina to dispose of tea cake” (323). tea cake eventually dies as a result of his infection when janie kills him defender herself from his rabid insanity. while tea cake betrays his and janie’s ecosystem resulting in ecological judgement, janie immortalizes tea cake in her memories, the only place where he is not corrupted. it’s 21 important to note here that the entirety of the novel is janie’s retelling of this story. considering the ecological principle of regeneration, janie’s memories continually recreate the most beautiful parts of tea cake. this process begins after janie shoots tea cake, and she holds him in her arms weeping: “janie held his head tightly to her breast and wept and thanked him wordlessly for giving her the change for loving service” (184). when janie returns to their house, she finds seeds tea cake intended to plant: “the seeds reminded janie of tea cake more than anything else because he was always planting things…now that she was home, she meant to plant them for remembrance” (191). tea cake’s propensity to plant resulted from his initial closeness to nature, which resembled his egalitarian relationship with janie. by planting these seeds, janie intends to both remember and recreate the best parts of tea cake. bealer suggests that because tea cake was corrupted, “[janie’s] mind is in fact the only place where such a love can endure” (323). grewal adds to the discussion when she asserts that “the novel does not end with the sorrow of tea cake’s death” (110) for janie says “of course he wasn’t dead. he could never be dead until she herself had finished feeling and thinking. the kiss of his memory made picture of love and light against the wall” (193). tea cake is so immortalized that thoughts of him fill janie’s bedroom (191) even though they never lived in that home together. bealer argues that “janie…excises the unpleasant aspects of tea cake and only retains the version of her husband that reflects the pear-tree vision” (324). ecologically speaking, death always brings new life. janie’s story is a cycle of growth “with dawn and doom in the branches” (8) that ends in the perfect balance of the horizon, for tea cake lives on in both her memories and her seeds. the novel exists as a poignant retelling of the janie and tea cake love story. janie maps her life with the ecological landmarks to retroactively describe her relationship with tea cake. janie’s pear trees guide her from exploitive and abusive situations until she finds the one with 22 whom she can coexist in ecological and egalitarian balance. animals in this story also stand as landmarks, albeit more somber ones. logan’s mule and matt bonner’s mule reflect nanny’s sobering words from the first pages of the story, and the mules represent janie in her early marriages, which were characterized by patriarchal hierarchy and exploitation. the rabid dog represents tea cake’s corrupted nature, and the hurricane presides in judgment over tea cake’s ecological transgression. since judgement was served to tea cake in his infection and death, janie is free to immortalize the best parts of him in both her seeds and her memories. janie, as a person who is close to and communes with nature, employs these landmarks to guide, understand, and recreate her time with tea cake. 23 bibliography ashmawi, yvonne mesa-el. “janie’s tea cake: sinner, saint, or merely mortal?” the explicator, vol. 67, no. 3, 2010, pp. 203-206. bealer, tracy l. “‘the kiss of memory’: the problem of love in hurston’s their eyes were watching god.” african american review, vol. 43, no. 2/3, 2009, pp. 311-327. grewal, gurleen. “beholding ‘a great tree in leaf’“: eros, nature, and the visionary in their eyes were watching god.” “the inside light”: new critical essays on zora neale hurston, ed. deborah g. plant, praeger, 2010, pp. 103-111. hurston, zora neale. their eyes were watching god. harper perennial, 2006. kimmerer, robin wall. braiding sweetgrass. milkweed, 2013. maroto, ines casas. “‘so this was a marriage!’: intersections of natural imagery and the semiotics of space in zora neale hurston’s their eyes were watching god.” journal of english studies, vol. 11, 2013, pp. 69-82. mccolley, diane kelsey. “milton’s environmental epic: creature kinship and the language of paradise lost.” beyond nature writing: expanding the boundaries of ecocriticism, ed. karla ambruster and kathleen r. wallace, the university press of virginia, 2001, pp. 57-74. roberts, brian r. “predators in the ’glades: a signifying animal tale in zora neale hurston’s their eyes were watching god.” southern quarterly, vol. 41, no. 1, 2002, pp. 39-50. simeon-jones, kersuze. “masculinity in hurston’s texts.” “the inside light”: new critical essays on zora neale hurston, ed. deborah g. plant, praeger, 2010, pp. 23-31. 24 weathers, glenda b. “biblical trees, biblical deliverance: literary landscapes of zora neale hurston and toni morrison.” african american review, vol. 39, no. ½, 2005, pp. 201212. microsoft word our lord hitler for concept final 1 kenneth mumma liberal studies our lord hitler: the historical basis for the theocracy in swastika night if i can accept a divine commandment, it’s this one: thou shalt preserve the species. (adolf hitler, qtd. in scarlett 394) serious critical analysis of katharine burdiken’s dystopic novel swastika night began nearly fifty years after it was first published in 1937. the first feminine press’s publication of its edition in 1985 placed the book and its author squarely into two burgeoning streams of analysis. one stream focuses on the rediscovery of feminist literature written and published during and between the two world wars. the other stream has to do with a new look at dystopic fiction in light of the advent and passing of the year 1984, which served as the setting for george orwell’s famous novel. though the critical thinking about swastika night has crossed both of these streams, it has been weighted in the direction of burdiken’s feminist message. daphne patai for example, in her introduction to the 1985 edition, focuses on burdiken’s critique of “gender ideology and sexual politics” (iii). swastika night provides ample material for this important line of analysis. for example, a woman’s lowly place in the dystopic social hierarchy, as well as the fact that she does not have a soul and is not human, is established in the first chapter of the book. but this perspective suggests a limited view of burdiken’s contribution to dystopic literature. burdiken envisions her state as a theocracy, which provides the very foundation for her dystopia. my aim in this essay is to suggest a reading of the novel based on the primacy of this proposition and that, grounded as it and its fundamental tenets are in the reality of hitler’s place in germany at the time, the dismal future of swastika night is all the more realistic and frightening. 2 unlike orwell or aldous huxley, burdiken does not stake the night in her future on an imaginary cataclysm. rather, as i shall argue, her dystopia is a plausibly projected consequence of the actual state of things as they were when she wrote. as we shall see, burdiken’s hitlerism as religion was already nascent in the early 1930s. the preeminence of violence for the nazis had been established. the fate of women, jews, and of christians for that matter, was prefigured. homosexuality, though publicly condemned, was tacitly tolerated at the highest levels of nazi leadership, and homoeroticism was portrayed in propagandist art. even the formal movement to change history, or the public’s perception of it, was imminent. all of these elements of the nazi order are embedded in the theocratic structure of swastika night. burdekin establishes a theocracy during the worship service at the beginning of swastika night, burdiken reveals the theology, based on the deification of hitler, which rules her germany. the congregation sings the creed, “i believe in god the thunderer…, and in his son our holy adolf hitler. who was not begotten, not born of a woman, but exploded! from the head of his father, he is perfect, the untainted man-child, whom we, mortals and defiled in our birth and in our conception, must ever worship and praise” (burdiken 6). after thus mimicking the birth of athena from the head of zeus, the creed continues with a christ-like story of hitler’s holy journey, concluding with the belief that he will come again after all heathens have been converted to hitlerism. the character of the old knight, von hess, who is officiating the ceremony, proceeds to recite the fundamental immutable law of hitler society: as a woman is above a worm, so is a man above woman. 3 as a woman is above a worm, so is a worm above a christian. (7) and then, after a ritual warning against race defilement, he delivers the other laws: as a man is above a woman, so is a nazi above any foreign hitlerian. as a nazi is above a foreign hitlerian, so is a knight above a nazi. as a knight is above a nazi, so is der fuerher (whom may hitler bless) above all knights, even above the inner ring of ten. and as der fuehrer is above all knights, so is god, our lord hitler, above der fuehrer. but of god the thunderer and our lord hitler neither is pre-eminent, neither commands, neither obeys, they are equal in this holy mystery, they are god. (7-8) here burdiken establishes the theocratic nature and structure of the novel’s world. the laws describe a social and religious hierarchy. moreover, the social or civil law derives from lord hitler, or god, and is mediated by the knights, who serve the law through ecclesiastical and civic functions. thus, we see von hess take responsibility for the young nazi character 4 hermann’s deposition in the courtroom in addition to overseeing the worship service (40). the central place of religiosity is a distinctive feature of swastika night. more popular dystopias, such as orwell’s 1984 or huxley’s brave new world, neither refer to a theology nor describe a deity as guiding the world order. homage is paid to orwell’s big brother as a referent to embody the party’s ideology, not to an actual deity. likewise, the citizens of huxley’s world state refer to our ford and engage in pseudo-religious rituals worshiping the t (as in model-t), not because ford is a god, but because world state had inherited its values of mass production and consumerism from the historical henry ford. one might argue here that, burdiken’s portrayal of hitler as a god notwithstanding, my characterization of night’s theology is not qualitatively different from what huxley and orwell espouse as ideology. specifically, for example, one might say the content of hitlerian creed is just the same as ideology, thus blurring the distinction i make between burdiken’s source of authority and that of orwell and huxley. that seems to be patai’s view. for her, burdiken’s cult of masculinity is the most fundamental principle (patai, “orwell’s despair” 88). according to this train of thought, the immutable laws of hitlerism reflect an ideology justifying such a cult, and the religion just serves as another institution that subjugates women in support of masculine supremacy. however, this view disregards the distinctions between religion and ideology, as well as the historical context on which burdiken draws to articulate her novel’s religiosity. a religion may embody an ideology, or content that could be an ideology outside the religion. one might, for instance, strive to help the poor because one believes in an ideology of social justice based on the equitable distribution of goods. on the other hand, a christian who is true to her faith may seek to help the poor because she believes there are spiritual consequences for herself and the person she helps. the historical literature on totalitarianism reveals more 5 refined arguments about the differences between religion and ideology. in her survey of the recent literature, ulrike ehret points to the work of george mosse as “an essential inspiration to the current scholarship of totalitarian culture” (1237). mosse, a jew whose family fled germany in 1933, maintained that fascism was not an “ideology in the traditional meaning of that term, but a faith which could not be explained in rational terms,” and which was created by the participation of people in mass ceremonies, and the repetitious use of symbols and slogans (mosse 46, qtd. in ehret 1241). emilio gentile extends the notion of fascism as faith to the concept of political religion, which he defines as follows: a type of religion which sacralises an ideology, a movement or a political regime through the deification of a secular entity transfigured into myth, considering it the primary and indisputable source of the meaning of the ultimate aim of human existence on earth. (328) a political religion, being secular, occupies a middle space, so to speak, between ideology and spiritual religion. but how are we to make sense of a secular religion? gentile interprets “religion as a phenomenon that expresses the dimension of the sacred as a human experience and, consequently, does not necessarily coincide with the dimension of the divine” (364). as ehret says, secular religion “elevates its principles to the heights of faith” (1242). thus, secular religion is not to be equated with mere ideology, but neither, in the absence of the divine, does it include a spiritual dimension that we would normally ascribe to religion. burdiken however assigns a spiritual authority for the laws of hitlerism. in swastika night, men are not seeking to subjugate women merely for their own ends; nor do they attend worship services to listen to a recitation of the fundamental law just to experience the sacred. there is an other-world, divine consequence for belief in the creed and adherence to the laws: 6 once every individual has been converted to hitlerism, hitler will reincarnate to complete his salvation of the race (burdiken 6). burdiken has not only moved beyond the ideology prevalent in other dystopias, but also beyond the political religion often used to analyze fascism. to substantiate my claim that the power of burdiken’s dystopic theocracy derives from its grounding in reality, we turn to an exploration of the circumstances on the ground in germany of the 1930s. the religious nature of nazi germany unlike burdekin’s world, nazi germany was not formally governed as a theocracy. the government was a civil authority based on a constitution, however corrupted the intent of that constitution may have become. to find the seeds of the religion in swastika night, we must look to the historical person of adolf hitler. the first thing to note about hitler in relation to the incipient religiosity of nazi germany is his ability to stir the masses, inciting a rapturous state among those in his audience, through his speaking ability. in the preface to his autobiography, mein kampf, he thus acknowledges the importance of speech, “i know that fewer people are won over by the written word than by the spoken word and that every great movement on this earth owes its growth to great speakers . . .” (n.p.). conscious as hitler was of the importance of speaking, he developed a rhetoric that would encourage reverence and devotion among his followers (robinson and topping 195). noted journalist h. r. knickerbocker, who met hitler many times and had observed him closely since 1923, attested to his successful speaking ability, calling hitler, “probably the greatest spellbinder of all time. he talked himself into power in germany and thereafter he talked the great german nation into becoming his blindly obedient and fanatically loyal herculean 7 slave” (38). on moving the masses, knickerbocker said he was “the most effective mob master ever to step on a platform. he [swept] his audience with him" (39). young alfons heck, in attendance at the day of hitler youth during the nuremberg party congress in 1938, gives a more personal account of an emotionally compelling speech hitler gave there to 80,000 boys and girls. after the speech, “[w]e erupted into a frenzy of nationalistic pride that bordered on hysteria. for minutes on end, we shouted at the top of our lungs, with tears streaming down our faces: sieg heil, sieg heil, sieg heil! from that moment on, i belonged to adolf hitler body and soul” (heck 23). the personal experiences of knickerbocker and heck captured what was for gentile an essential manifestation of the political religion emblematic of fascism: in the totalitarian state, civil life was a continuous spectacle, where the fascist new man was swept away in the flow of orderly collective existence, in the reenactment of rites, in displaying and worshiping symbols, in the constant appeal to collective solidarity to the point of mystic fusion, at least in peak moments, of psychological and emotional ecstasy, of one’s own individuality with the unity of the nation and the race through the magical meditation of the leader. (gentile 339) at a minimum then, we have established the presence of secular religious conditions in hitler’s germany. the validity of my claim that the germ of burdiken’s dystopian theocracy was present in germany will depend upon whether a spiritual religion was also present in some form. to put the question another way: was hitler indeed a spiritual leader, which could justify his future deification by burdiken? 8 hitler as messiah. in 1938, knickerbocker visited the psychiatrist carl jung for his insight into what made the dictators tick. much of dr. jung’s “diagnosis” of hitler was couched in spiritual or religious terms. jung noted, for example, that many nazis were then referring to hitler as the holy ghost and a prophet (knickerbocker 54). as george scarlett points out in his analysis of hitler’s faith, hitler himself had a strong sense of his divine role as “an instrument of providence. his selfimage as an instrument of providence became, then, [a] core image defining his faith" (398). jung also understood that hitler’s ability to tap the feelings of every german was at the heart of his spiritual power. according to knickerbocker, jung said: “hitler is the mirror of every german’s unconscious . . .. he is the loud-speaker which magnifies the inaudible whispers of the german soul until they can be heard by the german’s conscious ear. he is the first man to tell every german what he has been thinking and feeling all along in his unconscious about german fate, especially since the defeat in the world war, and the one characteristic which colors every german soul is the typically german inferiority complex, the complex of the younger brother, the one who is always a bit late to the feast. hitler’s power is not political; it is magic.” (knickerbocker 46) here we see hitler’s connection with another core image of his faith, the volk — the german community for which the individual must subordinate his own interests. this is the key to understanding hitler’s drive for the purity of the race. for as he says in mein kampf, the “selfsacrificing will to give one’s personal labor and if necessary one’s life for others is most strongly developed in the aryan. the aryan is not greatest in his mental abilities as such, but in the extent 9 of his willingness to put on his abilities in the service of the community" (142). and so, in the words of historian joachim fest: [hitler’s] sincerest and most solemn thought, . . ., his one positive concept, was this: to gather again the aryan blood that had wasted itself . . . and to guard the precious grail for all time in the future, thus becoming invulnerable and master of the world. all the calculations of power tactics and all cynicism stopped short of this vision. (fest hitler 533) hitler was on a messianic mission to conquer the world and to literally sow the seeds of a pure aryan race, which alone had the capacity to realize the best sort of society for mankind. hitler’s personal faith was the foundation for a religion, which knickerbocker and jung discussed as hitlerism during their conversation. jung is reported to have said the following: “hitler’s 'religion’ is the nearest to mohammedanism, realistic, earthy, promising the maximum rewards in this life, but with a moslem-like valhalla into which were the germans may enter and continue to enjoy themselves… [i]t occurs to me that the religious character of hitlerism is also emphasized by the fact that the german communities throughout the world far from the political power of berlin, adopted hitlerism. look at south america.” (knickerbocker 49) the nazi state essentially demanded both temporal and spiritual power. therefore, it is not so far-fetched to consider that had germany prevailed in world war ii, the evolution of something like burdiken’s theocracy could have ensued. having established the credibility of burdiken’s theological foundation for swastika night, we turn now briefly to the extant conditions underlying her treatment of violence, christians, homosexuality and the corruption of history. 10 historical seeds of burdiken’s elements of hitlerism. the foundational principles and fundamental tensions in burdiken’s dystopia are likewise to be found already, at least in germinal form, in hitler’s nazism. burdiken’s hitlerian creed closes with the belief “in pride, in courage, in violence, in brutality, in bloodshed, in ruthlessness, and all other soldierly virtues” (6). the virtues cited could have been drawn almost verbatim from hitler’s own words in speaking about his educational philosophy. my pedagogy is hard. the weak must be hammered away. in my castle of the teutonic order a youth will grow up before which the world will tremble. i want a violent, domineering, undismayed, cruel youth. youth must be all that. it must bear pain. there must be nothing weak and gentle about it. the free, splendid beast of prey must once more flash from its eyes. (qtd. in fest face of the third reich 233) this description so accurately sums up the basest qualities of burdiken’s young nazi, hermann, particularly the kind of violence with which he attacks the young boy in the woods (burdiken 334). like burdiken’s good nazi, hitler’s use of violence served to model his pedagogical injunction. early in his ascendancy, he used the force of his brownshirts to round up communists and force them into his first concentration camps. within a year, he further demonstrated his ruthlessness by turning on his friend, ernst röhm, and other storm troopers leaders in the night of the long knives (ingrao 5). the subsequent litany of nazi violence, from the cruelties of the polish ghettos to the inhumane brutality of the concentration camps, is well documented and need not be recited here. though the persecution of jews is well known, the case of hitler’s persecution of jehovah’s witnesses is instructive for what it portends for all other religions under hitlerism. 11 first we note the behavior of the catholic and mainstream protestant churches in germany. the protestant church had been influential in the imperial government. the weimar republic, however, was more agnostic about its recognition of the authority of different denominations. many clergymen in the protestant church, “hoping for restoration of its own privileges through a new political and national power . . ., saw in hitler a ‘great man sent by god’ — a man who would introduce the birth of a new protestant germany” (yonan 311). the catholic church, on the other hand, supported the weimar republic and initially rejected the national socialists. within months after hitler took power, the church completely switched its position and entered a special agreement with hitler in an attempt to secure its future. as yonan points out, “[t]his was a mistake since hitler had no intention of keeping any agreements" (312). furthermore, both the protestant and catholic churches tacitly condoned the persecution of jews and other groups, partially justifying, and perhaps motivating burdiken’s position that christians were responsible for the extermination of jews. the resistance of jehovah’s witnesses represents a special case of christian denominations. witnesses were virtually unanimous in their immediate resistance to hitler’s rise and the nazi regime. retribution was swift. one scholar noted, “[o]f the more than 20,000 jehovah’s witnesses [in germany] in the year 1933 . . ., almost one out of two was arrested . . . [and a] total of 6,019 were put in prisons concentration camp" (yonan 310). with the advent of hitlerism, there could be no space for any other religion. jews are nonexistent in swastika night, and after 720 years of evolution, burdiken’s immutable law that a christian is below a worm is quite imaginable. of the homoeroticism and homosexual inferences in swastika night, one could rightly say that they are logical consequences of the extreme devolution of the cult of masculinity to the point where women are no more than animals. even so, we need not abandon our project of 12 seeking the seeds of this theme the circumstances surrounding hitler’s ascendancy. indeed, one of the early founders of the nazi party, and for some time one of hitler’s closest friends, ernst röhm, was blatantly homosexual. according to knickerbocker: [röhm] as the head of 2,500,000 storm troops had surrounded himself with a staff of perverts. his chiefs . . ., commanding units of several hundred thousand storm troopers, were almost without exception homosexuals. indeed, unless a storm troop officer were homosexual, he had no chance of advancement. all this was known to every intelligent observer in germany and of course was known in every detail to hitler. (34) after hitler turned on röhm and the other leaders of the storm troopers in 1934, homosexual men in particular were mercilessly persecuted and abused. yet, until the night of the long knives, hitler had protected röhm from arrest and prosecution under long-standing laws and nazi party policy. subsequently official party policy took a 180 degree turn. hence, burdiken’s hitlerian creed names röhm as one of the four arch-fiends defeated by hitler (6). the new antihomosexuality policies influenced the official state view of art, particularly depictions of the male body. as pursell articulates in his essay “queer eyes and wagnerian guys”, efforts to model images of the masculine form to idealize virtues of strength and virility were intended at the same time to denigrate, or even demonize, any effeminate traits, which were associated with homosexuals and jews. consequently, though “the third reich attacked homosexuality, . . . the art it endorsed was filled with images of male bonding and muscled bodies” (pursell 134). “in the case of the hypermasculine art of the third reich, a gay reception . . . can ascribe meaning to these physiques that is diametrically opposed to the homophobic and anti-semitic signifier ascribed to them by . . . the art critics of the third reich who worked very hard to attach those 13 meanings to the bodies” (134). party intentions notwithstanding, the meaning and effect were in the eye of the beholder. this dynamic is evident in lesbian and gay activist sarah schulman’s observations of homoeroticism in the work of leni riefenstahl. in reference to triumph of the will, riefenstahl’s documentary of the nazi party, schulman claims that its “fascist aesthetic … may be the single greatest influence, since the greeks, on gay male representation” (n.p.). the complex issues and ambiguous perceptions surrounding the nazi propagandist portrayal of male bodies and relationships coupled with the puzzling fact of hitler’s long-standing tolerance of illicit homosexuality until the purge of 1934 provide the historical basis for burdiken’s treatment of these issues in her novel. the future of burdiken’s dystopia hangs on the fate of von hess’s secret book and photograph of the real hitler, which together discredit the whole of known history according to burdiken’s hitler bible. of course, using a device typical of many dystopic novels, the hitler bible contains a false history. again, my project calls on us to look beyond the literary effects of the device to consider its potential source in the history of 1930s germany. there is at least one point to note in this regard. that is that by 1937 the national socialist teachers association had already played an important role in providing political guidance to teachers. then in 1938, official guidelines were issued for teaching history, an excerpt of which follows: a new understanding of the german past has emerged from the faith of the national socialist movement in the future of the german people. the teaching of history must come from this vital faith, it must fill young people with the awareness that they belong to a nation which of all the european nations had the longest and most difficult path to its unification but now, at the beginning of a new epoch, can look forward to what is coming full of confidence. 14 . . . . . . [o]nly the important events, those which have a major impact on life, should be portrayed in history lessons. (“guidelines for teaching history”) though the falsification of history was endemic under nazi rule, we see that it had become official policy even as burdekin was writing swastika night. by the time her story unfolds, seven hundred years have elapsed, over which span we can easily imagine these early efforts to manipulate history would have evolved into the full-fledged denial of history in favor of the selfserving false hitler bible. conclusion we can now return to our original notion that burdiken bases her novel on a theocracy grounded in the contemporary reality of 1930s germany, lending a credibility to the story that supports and strengthens its dystopic vision. i have demonstrated that nazi germany was spellbound by something beyond ideology, even by something beyond political, or secular, religion. hitler was a spiritual leader, both seeing himself as such and being seen in that light by the german people. burdiken took the next logical historic step and made him god. furthermore, the tenets of burdiken’s hitlerian creed and immutable social laws are precisely those that held sway in the hitlerism of the historical nazis. of these fundamental tenets, the only one i have not addressed here is the place of women. the subject has been treated thoroughly by daphne patai and others, and to add to their analysis is unnecessary. my view of swastika night only addresses patai in so far as she holds the novel’s religion to be merely another institution demonstrative of the cult of masculinity. it is a tribute to katharine burdiken’s prescient understanding of the forces at work 15 during hitler’s ascendance that the strength of her feminist message rather lies in the historical foundation of swastika night’s theocratic setting. 16 works cited burdiken, katharine (murray constantine). swastika night. new york: feminist press, 1985. print. ehret, ulrike. “understanding the popular appeal of fascism, national socialism and soviet communism: the revival of totalitarianism theory and political religion.” history compass 5.4 (2007): 1236-1267. web. 1 dec. 2015. fest, joaquim. the face of the third reich: portraits of the nazi leadership. new york: da capo press, 1999. print. ---. hitler. trans. richard and clara winstton. new york: harcourt brace, 1973. kindle. gentile, emilio. “fascism, totalitarianism and political religion: definitions and critical reflections on criticism of an interpretation.” totalitarian movements and political religions 5.3 (2004): 326-375. web. 10 dec. 2015. “guidelines for teaching history (1938).” german history in documents and images. washington: german historical institute. web. 10 dec. 2015. www.germanhistorydocs.ghidc.org. heck, alfons. a child of hitler: germany in the days when god wore a swastika. phoenix, az: renaissance house, 1985. print. hitler, adolf. mein kampf. trans. ralph manheim. new york: houghton mifflin, 1943. print. huxley, aldous. brave new world. new york: harpercollins, 1932, 1946 (epub edition 2014). kindle. ingrao, christian. “general chronology of nazi violence.” online encyclopedia of mass violence. 14 mar. 2008: 1-32. web. 7 dec. 2015. knickerbocker, h. r. is tomorrow hitler's? cornwall, ny: cornwall press. 1941. kindle. 17 mosse, george l. the fascist revolution: toward a general theory of fascism. new york: h. fertig, 1999. print. orwell, george. animal farm and 1984. new york: houghton mifflin harcourt, 2003. kindle. patai, daphne. introduction. swastika night. by katharine burdiken. new york: feminist press, 1985. iii-xv. print. ---. “orwell's despair, burdekin's hope: gender and power in dystopia.” women's studies international forum 7.2 (1984): 85-95. pdf. pursell, tim. “queer eyes and wagnerian guys: homoeroticism in the art of the third reich.” journal of the history of sexuality 17.1 (2008): 110-137. project muse. web. 31 jan. 2017. robinson, jill l., and danielle topping. “the rhetoric of power: a comparison of hitler and martin luther king jr.” journal of management inquiry 22.2 (2013): 194-210. sage. web. 1 dec. 2015. scarlett, w. george. “spiritual pathology: the case of adolf hitler.” religions 3.2 (2012): 389406. proquest. web. 1 dec. 2015. schulman, sarah. “a thought about leni riefenstahl, maya deren, and gay and lesbian film.” millennium film journal 43 (2003). web. 30 jan. 2017. http://mfjonline.org/journalpages/mfj41/schulmanpage.html. yonan, gabriele. “spiritual resistance of christian conviction in nazi germany: the case of the jehovah's witnesses.” journal of church and state 41.2 (1999): 307-322. proquest. web. 1 dec. 2015. healing walls: givingvoice to those silenced [concept, vol. xxxv (2012)] when silenced voices become wall-scale public discourse: a social constructionist analysis of two philadelphia murals silvana pop communication on the 3,000 block of germantown avenue in north philadelphia’s badlands section two murals rise three-stories tall: the healing walls: victim’s journey and the healing walls: inmate’s journey completed in 2004 in an effort by philadelphia’s nationally acclaimed mural arts program (map). 1 the healing walls are among over 3,000 murals created by map since its in inception in 1984, when it was known as philadelphia’s anti-graffiti network. today, map is the largest public arts initiative in the nation, having engaged over 20,000 underserved youth free of charge in neighborhoods across philadelphia, and involving more than 100 communities in mural-making activities each year (golden, rice, & kinney, 2004). conceived by artist cesar viveros in partnership with artist parris stancell, the healing walls were created under map’s restorative justice program, which involves hundreds of inmates, ex-offenders, and juvenile delinquents every year working on a variety of indoor and outdoor murals (created inside the prisons on parachute cloth and later affixed to community walls). through art instruction, mural-making programs, and community service, this initiative offers an avenue for those marginalized by society to begin the reintegration process into their communities, having been given voice after “consistently having felt disconnected from society” (map, 2010). participants in the mural-making projects are offered a space for mutual conversation in an effort to break the cycle of crime and violence through the restorative power of art (golden, rice & pompilio, 2006). reflecting the traditions of this program, the healing walls came to life as the result of a collaborative process that involved over 100 individuals, among them inmates at the state correctional institution at graterford (a maximum security prison located 30 miles west of philadelphia), as well as victims of crime, victim advocates, and community members from philadelphia’s badlands section (golden et al., 2006). murals hold a distinctive place in civic life as they represent the world through the eyes of the “common people,” as barnett (1984) asserts. murals are a movement of authentic people’s art that “asserts the fundamental concerns of community life” (barnett, 1984, p. 10). they enable neighborhoods to develop “a community-based culture that gives them the means to represent their existence as they know it, and if they so decide, to act to change it” (barnett, 1984, p. 12). by drawing on conquergood’s (1991) essay “rethinking ethnography: towards a critical cultural politics,” and berger and luckmann’s (1966) book the social construction of reality, in addition to a few related works (clifford, 1988; de certeau, 1984; pearce & cronen, 1980; 1 this paper was presented as part of the “convention theme” unit at the national communication association’s 97 th annual convention, new orleans, la, november, 2011. rosaldo, 1989; trinh, 1989), i argue that the healing walls not only facilitate dialogue and reestablish social connections, but they represent a site of identity building, re-entering of and reintegration into society, personal and collective voice, and the reclamation of public space. i situate this analysis as an innovative project within social constructionism by allying a visual analysis with a social constructionist perspective by bringing conquergood’s (1991) analysis surrounding boundaries and borderlands, and of the self as the “polysemic site of articulation” (p. 185) in dialogue with berger and luckmann’s (1966) social constructionism. while previous analyses of murals (and public art more generally) have frequently been discussed within the frameworks of critical visual communication and/or visual rhetoric (e.g. bartal, 2000; laware, 1998; moss, 2010; smith, 2008), i propose to apply a social constructionist perspective to the visual analysis of murals. in doing so, my approach highlights the dialogic nature of murals and recognizes their role in mediating communication by involving the community in urban regeneration initiatives through art. in what follows, i first describe the collaborative mural-making process that led to the creation of the healing walls, and also provide a description of the two murals. i then turn to a discussion of the social constructionist framework through which i analyze the murals. from there, i show that the healing walls provide a communicative space in the public sphere for those marginalized (i.e. victims of crime and prison inmates) by society to make their voices heard, and reclaim their identities and their civic space, in a critical effort to challenge public perceptions (typifications) of the other, while re-establishing communal connections. the healing walls: a collaborative effort made up of a diverse mix of working-class residents (mainly african-americans, puerto ricans, and irish-americans), the badlands have long been known as one of philadelphia’s neighborhoods most decimated by violence, substandard housing, and poor schools. between the late 1980s and early 1990s, the badlands’ crime rate, mostly related to gang activity and drug trafficking, was the highest among the city’s neighborhoods (martinez, 2010). in 2003, the year the healing walls were first conceived, the badlands witnessed 34 murders, 91 rapes, and 640 registered robberies (national public radio, 2004). it was in this neglected community plagued by violence that jane golden, longtime executive director at map, and her team wanted to empower residents to tell their individual and collective stories in hopes of bringing together two disparate groups, while inspiring civic pride and revitalizing their public space. in the muralmaking process, the main focus would be on the involved community members, rather than the trained artists who, like viveros, “simply facilitated the community’s mural-making, claiming no pride of ownership” (golden et al., 2006, p. 27). rather than just soliciting residents’ design approval, map was committed to maintaining a close collaboration and respect between artists and community members throughout the entire mural-making process. as a result, the healing walls were uniquely designed and produced by the people, for the people. in that sense, the murals reflect a “democratic creative process” for personal stories and community-based reflections of truth (smith, 2008, p. 6). while victim’s journey depicts the viewpoint of those afflicted by crime who have embarked on the journey toward healing, and who have come to terms with a difficult past, inmate’s journey gives voice to the offenders as they proceed on their path toward rehabilitation, reconciliation, and potential redemption. thus, traditionally silenced voices are given a space to speak out, publicly acknowledging the lasting emotional and physical scars they continue to bear, engaging their community in the process, while also celebrating life, faith and forgiveness. figure 1. the healing walls: victim’s journey. located at 3065 germantown ave., philadelphia. (source: mural arts program, 2004) the healing walls: victim’s journey is framed on the right side and along the bottom by three stone angels carved as if for tombstones, with their wings spread. immediately below the angel in the right top corner stands a stone cemetery monument in the shape of a woman draped by a long robe. in the right lower corner of the mural stands a young boy with his back facing the viewer, and his arms raised to the sky in fists, his head tilted up toward the cemetery monument and the angel above. at the boy’s feet lies a white stone dove, along with an assortment of white stones that flow into the lower body of the praying angel, in which the word “healing” is etched, the letter “l” broken by a tear in the angel’s stone pedestal. the central figure depicted in victim’s journey is victoria greene, a middle-aged africanamerican woman and longtime badlands resident who works as a prison counselor and who was heavily involved in the creation of the mural. greene lost one of her three sons during a drug deal related shooting in 1997 (golden et al., 2006). the woman is shown standing over ten feet tall, to the left of the praying angel, wearing a purple jacket, black hat and pants with a bright orange silk scarf, looking upward into the distance. she is flanked on her right in the far corner of the mural by two middle-aged women, one african-american who is kneeling with a sad gaze, comforted by a caucasian woman who is grasping the other’s shoulders, looking up towards greene. above the women’s heads fly eight white doves closely clustered. the women’s legs, meanwhile, are covered by a tombstone near an african-american boy whose head is resting on his right arm, his somber eyes looking almost straight at the viewer. behind greene, in smaller size, is pictured a young african-american man sternly looking into the distance. a young woman holds onto the man’s left arm, while a young girl holds his right hand. greene’s right hand holds that of a young latina who is also looking into the distance. by greene’s right side stands an african-american girl in a bright pink dress, holding a dim light in her right hand, eyes closed, head facing upward. the same girl is depicted twice more in soft tones of light blue and white, ghost-like, floating upwards into the heavens, as if ascending out of the body of the girl holding onto greene’s hand. the light depicted in the hand of the highest floating of the girl’s dead bodies is bright yellow, shining in the sky (and starkly different from the dim light below). the girl is positioned immediately next to the angel, illuminating the upper left corner of the mural above greene’s head in cheerful tones of soft pink, lavender, and blue in circular brush strokes. leading these grieving children, victims of crime, through a graveyard, greene is central in this memorial to the victims and survivors of crime. she stands tall, her head up, looking out into her surrounding neighborhood, representative of all those families who have suffered pain and are on the difficult path of healing. figure 2. the healing walls: inmate’s journey. located at 3049 germantown ave., philadelphia. (source: mural arts program, 2004) the healing walls: inmate’s journey, meanwhile, illustrates the perpetrators’ personal struggles from incarceration to potential redemption, in hopes of breaking the cycle of violence by transforming themselves and, in effect, their community. while victim’s journey is illustrated in a palette of bright colors, and only the stone angels are in dimmer shades of grey, the two most prevalent colors in inmate’s journey are deep reds and blues. specifically, blue frames the entire mural, and is dominant in the figures’ clothes depicted in the right half of the mural. meanwhile, shades of deep red are predominantly used in the left half, for both the figures and their clothing. in the lower left corner of the three-story tall inmate’s journey stands a middle-aged african-american man, his back turned halfway, looking towards the viewer, surrounded by dark tones of blue and black. his pants and sweater are drawn in tones of deep maroon and brown. in line with his chest, one sees a deep blue floating heart that is larger than the man’s head. to his lower left side, on the ground level of the mural, in deep tones of blue stand seven individuals (likely crime victims) ranging in ethnicity, most of them women, and one young boy. their faces cannot fully be made out, as they nearly blend into the background. next to the man kneels a praying middle-aged latino dressed in a white shirt beneath an unbuttoned red oxford shirt, his head lowered against his folded hands. his gaze towards the ground, the man looks contemplative. in front of him, standing almost eleven feet tall is a bald african-american middle-aged man, in a very similar outfit as the kneeling latino man, except his red oxford shirt is fully buttoned. his left arm is raised upward at chest-level, palm facing up, his gaze concentrated. a navy blue heart is depicted on his chest, seemingly affixed to his shirt. from his open palm fly red and blue glowing gem-like particles that also appear at the very top of the mural in tones of blue, as well as on the mural’s right side in tones of red. immediately behind him is a barred jail door, through which a middle-aged latino dressed in trousers, a white oxford shirt and tie, reaches out his arm from behind the bars, as he sternly looks into the distance. the remainder of inmate’s journey is framed along the bottom by an african-american teenage boy who lies—his arms crossed over his chest, covered by a blue cloth—as though he is in a casket. his face and arms are lit in warm tones of orange, his demeanor strikingly peaceful. above the adolescent body grow thick, dark green thorned roots, which appear to be growing into the roots of a robust tree stump that rises high towards the very top of the mural. in place of the tree’s branches rises a man’s bare torso, his arms widespread, depicted in the same green tones as the tree stump. the man is flanked by a second, ghost-like depiction of the same man also shown behind bars, although this time his body appears in light blue tones, and is almost translucent. he stands tall, looking upward with confidence. the most striking part of his body is the bright red heart drawn on his chest, in stark contrast to the rest of his ghost-like figure. immediately next to the ghost-like body stands a young girl depicted in bright tones of red and blue, her black hair flowing in the wind. the girl holds the translucent man’s hand as though she is guiding him, as she looks off into the distance, her feet firmly anchored on the tree’s roots. along the right side of the mural, above the thorns, meanwhile, an african-american teenage girl’s upper body is shown. above her extended, upward-facing palm a heart on fire is depicted in bright tones of red and blue. above the teenager, slightly smaller, stands an older woman in a green dress, her left hand rested on her chest; her heart, too, is depicted in red. together, the healing walls tell the story of a beleaguered neighborhood. as golden (2004) articulates, “art sometimes flourishes in the bleakest settings. people can be inspired to create by an incredible feeling of powerlessness” (p. xvi). through the restorative power of art, the residents of the badlands converted their feelings of powerlessness, anger, and grief into public discourse that gives voice to those traditionally not granted the opportunity to speak out publicly. in doing so, the healing walls also offer an important venue for the transformation and reclamation of the public space in which both the involved individuals and the community as a whole are able to actively engage and cooperate in a “world-making process” (berger & luckmann, 1966). situating the healing walls within a social constructionist perspective drawing on the work of alfred schutz (1967), berger and luckmann (1966) argue that the world presents itself to us as the world of everyday life. further, “the world of everyday life is not only taken for granted as reality by the ordinary members of society in the subjectively meaningful conduct of their lives” (berger & luckmann, 1966, p. 19), but this world is socially created in the minds and actions of those inhabiting it. everyday life, then, “presents itself as a reality interpreted by men and subjectively meaningful to them as a coherent world” (berger & luckmann, 1966, p. 19). social reality, as pearce and cronen (1980) assert, “is what people believe that people believe…the locus of social reality is in the heads of individuals, and it has the peculiar attribute of being perceived as shared by others” (p. 233). communication is central in the sense-making process and for the understanding of this socially constructed world. in the context of social interactions, pearce and cronen (1980) contend that “persons construct an interpretable universe or known space within which they live and move and have their being” (p. 6). essential to the very nature of communication are the concepts of “typification” and “objectivation,” which are “socially approved” (schutz, 1962, p. 149) and enable us to make sense of everyday life (berger & luckmann, 1966). objectivations are the result of the process by which products of human activity become indicators for subjective processes that remain constant beyond the “here and now” (berger & luckmannn, 1966). objectivations are not only crucial to the human production of signs, but are integral to language, which has the ability to “anonymize” our experiences, thus further detaching us from the “here and now.” typifications, however, enable us to not only label things and people, but also to appoint schemes of clarification to them that activate a portion of our social stock of knowledge (natanson, 1986). that is, by typifying something and/or someone, we interpret them as having certain qualities. in a way, typifications create standard schemes of meanings and patterns of interaction. when we apprehend someone, we typify him or her in a certain way (i.e. interpret him or her as having certain qualities), while they also typify us, which guides our interaction on the basis of our prescribed typifications. in that sense, we are “participat[ing] in each other’s being” (berger & luckmann, 1966, p. 130). meanwhile, the situation itself in which we encounter the other is also typified, and thus approachable and meaningful to us. by participating in communication, individuals transform what they are surrounded by into meaningful things that can be talked about with others. on the basis of the concepts surrounding the social construction of reality, berger and luckmann (1966) further argue that our everyday life is made up of typifications and the communication patterns they produce. by mutually engaging in communicative acts, our social structure is established and maintained, while we are subjectively creating meaning through participation in a shared situation or context. social structure, as a result, is “the sum total of these typifications and of the recurrent patterns of interaction established by means of them” (berger & luckmann, 1966, p. 33). the way individuals experience their social world, and in turn, reality is guided by the total sum of typifications; they are “an essential element of the reality of everyday life” (berger & luckmann, 1966, p. 33). within a socially constructed world, berger and luckmann (1966) emphasize a fundamental sense of “at home-ness” that humans share collectively and in which they are comfortable. that is to say, individuals are at home in their world. when individuals find themselves outside or displaced from this comfortable sphere, however, they must engage in a renegotiation process of their sense of self. this notion points to an interesting link between berger and luckmann’s (1966) concepts and conquergood’s (1991) discussion on boundary phenomena and border negotiations, which complicates the sense of “at home-ness” that berger and luckmann (1966) presume. conquergood (1991) urges us to rethink the relationship between the center and the margins of society, instead advocating the centrality of borderlands, “a rethinking of identity and culture as constructed and relational, instead of ontologically given and essential” (p. 184). he thus undermines a centralized perception or static view of self/identity. instead, conquergood (1991) perceives the self as encapsulated in an emerging process that is fluid, ongoing, and generative, while part of an ever-changing social structure. this social structure, as berger and luckmann (1966) assessed, is subjectively meaningful and created in the thoughts and actions of people. the self, importantly, is characterized by a sense of plasticity and between borders, rather than squared inside one culture (conquergood, 1991). of particular interest here is conquergood’s (1991) drawing on rosaldo (1989), who asserts that “in a world where ‘open borders’ appear more salient than ‘closed communities,’ one wonders how to define a project of cultural studies” (p. 45). in today’s postmodern world, border crossing and the blurring of borders have challenged theorists to alter their approach and move “from centers to ‘borderlands,’ ‘zones of difference,’ and ‘busy intersections’ where many identities and interests articulate with multiple others” (conquergood, 1991, p. 184). conquergood (1991) articulates a self from the boundary perspective, in which “the idea of the person shifts from that of fixed, autonomous self to a polysemic site of articulation for the multiple identities and voices” (p. 185). in the socially constructed world that we live in, the self is in flux, made up of what trinh (1989) identifies as “infinite layers.” this is particularly the case for individuals that have incessantly been marginalized by society. these individuals do not have a central point of identification, but rather one that is in flux in between different worlds; they are always separate from the other, always on the margins, and never “at home.” like refugees, marginalized people come to use space not for the space itself, but they shape it to fit into their identifying process (conquergood, 1991). as such, marginalized individuals are involved in a continuous process of socially creating their reality, a world of their own, much like berger and luckmann (1966) articulated. or, as clifford (1988) so poignantly describes, displaced people engage in an “inventive poetics of reality” (clifford, 1988, p. 6) in which they need to not only come to an understanding of their environment, but of their identities within that environment and community. identity, then, “is invented and contingent, not autonomous” (conquergood, 1991. p. 184). or per clifford (1988), “continuity, coherence, and unity” make room for “mixed, relational, and inventive” selves (clifford, 1988, p. 10). through a dialogic process on both a personal and collective level, those marginalized work towards crafting a more united self, and thus, a shared identity with their community. as those marginalized (or, those on the margins) “recollect[ ], recontextualize[ ], and refashion[ ] their identities,” (conquergood, 1991, p. 185), they also recontextualize their environment and those around them. in making sense of their new world, marginalized individuals learn a new stock of knowledge, and with that, reappoint schemes of clarification to their environment. in line with berger and luckmann (1966), this process also involves the recontextualizing of their objectivations and typifications. the previously assigned and socially approved schemes of clarification appointed to certain people and circumstances are refashioned. thus, those individuals previously apprehended in a particular way (by means of typification) are re-typified in a new light, and are open to new associations. as these new typifications take hold by means of communicative acts, the social structure is reorganized, and a new reality emerges. identity construction, community revival, and the reclamation of public space the conceptual framework surrounding the social construction of reality (berger & luckmann, 1966), combined with conquergood’s (1991) articulation of a self characterized by a sense of plasticity, situates the healing walls as a communicative act that conveys issues of identity building, re-entering of and reintegration into society, personal and collective voice, and the reclamation of public space. the healing walls create a space for dialogue between not only those directly affected by or inflicted with crime, but between the viewer and the community they represent. in this space, public conversation occurs about the impact of crime among groups who may rarely interact due to their stark differences and (physical and emotional) separation. the murals thus serve as a political statement that creates a visual confrontation by boldly thrusting itself in the present and the physical space of the neighborhood they represent and that helped create them; they are there for all to see. as golden (2004) argues, murals are “perfect vehicles to explore this terrain; they are big, bold paintings that reside in our communities… murals in this city have become a part of the phenomenon of…seizing change from the jaws of defeat” (p. xviii). drawing on both individual and collective stories, the healing walls serve an argumentative purpose by drawing from the depths of a community’s heartbeat. this boldness is crucial as it reminds the community of its violent past in hopes of confronting the present and collectively striving for a brighter future. while the murals as visuals are situated within the individual memory of those directly affected by crime or those directly involved in criminal acts, the healing walls speak beyond the individual memory by situating themselves in a collectively shared memory: a memory shared by the badlands community. that memory serves as the backbone of these murals. the healing walls serve as a bridge between victims and inmates as the murals break down barriers and give a voice to all those impacted by crime. these voices are deeply personal as they speak from the hearts of struggling individuals who, having been involved with or targeted by violence, are in the process of re-identifying themselves as they heal. both victims and inmates are engaged in identify negotiation. they are, in conquergood’s (1991) sense, selves in process. influenced by a myriad of, at times, challenging experiences, their identities are “more like…performance[s] in process than…postulate[s], premise[s], or originary principle[s]” (conquergood, 1991, p. 185). as events unfold, their identities are correspondingly modified in a fluid process. as clifford (1988) explains, their identities are in “an ongoing process, politically contested and historically unfinished” (p. 9). this historically unfinished, ongoing process is brought vividly to light when examining specific visual aspects of inmate’s journey. for instance, the man on the far left of the mural whose back is turned halfway, his gaze towards the viewer, is surrounded by the deepest shades of blue found in the mural. the blue tones, in connection with the dark blue floating heart in front of his upper body are representative of the dark place the man finds himself in after committing a crime. he is, in the most literal sense of the word, heartless, in a very dark place— psychologically and physically, as doubly depicted in the mural. having committed a heinous act against an innocent individual, he finds himself removed from all good in his mind and body, left only with darkness, as depicted in both the man’s maroon clothing and the shades of blue that engulf him. his victims, meanwhile, are close to his mind, firmly impressed on his psyche. this closeness is visually translated in the mural through the depiction of the adolescent africanamerican who lies like he is in a casket, and the group of individuals in the left corner of the mural. though they are in close proximity to their perpetrator, the individuals’ faces are not stern like that of the predator, but content, some even cheerful. that is to say, they are depicted as they were when they were living, before the man ripped them away from their families and homes. now, all that is left of them is a dark memory, as represented in the blue tones and the almost translucent victims’ bodies. having realized what he has caused and living through the consequences of his actions, the man begins the long and strenuous path towards rehabilitation, as shown in the kneeling, praying latino. as he serves his time, he reflects on his acts, struggling to come to terms with who he is. carrying the weight of his criminal acts, his heart is still cold, as depicted in the blue heart on the shirt of the standing man. yet, he is ready to stand up, face his demons, and ask for forgiveness, as shown by the gesture of the extended arm with the palm facing up. he is now eager to leave behind his dark self, and refashion his new, improved identity. similarly, the man reaching out behind bars is indicative of this act of pulling oneself together (depicted in the man’s neatly assembled outfit). this development is exemplary of the very fluid process conquergood (1991) describes. the inmate, in facing his violent past in an attempt to articulate remorse, is vulnerable and empathic to the point where redemption may be possible and his new self can take hold. the identity of the inmate changes in a way that reflects the different influences on his life. the inmate thus is not only characterized by a sense of plasticity, but he is between borders; he is at the cusp of his old violent self, whilst at the border of a new self. the inmate’s existence between borders can be likened to the fate of refugees that conquergood (1991) discusses: “betwist and between worlds, suspended between a shattered past and insecure future, refugees and other displaced people must create an ‘inventive poetics of reality’ (clifford, 1988, p. 6) for recollecting, recontextualizing, and refashioning their identities” (p. 185). like the refugee, the inmate has been removed from his community and must recollect, recontextualize and refashion his identity in order to re-enter society. with this “displacement, upheaval, [and] unmooring, come the terror and potentiality of flux, improvisation, and creative recombinations,” as conquergood (1991) argues (p. 185). this, of course, is an extensive and demanding process, as so vividly depicted in inmate’s journey. the man must not only understand the terror he has inflicted on his victim’s family, but how his actions may have affected his entire community. while incarcerated, the man has time to reflect on his actions and may be able to draw “unexpected results from his situation” (conquergood, 1991, p. 185), which can be likened to de certeau’s (1984) assessment about the refugee who, living a borderlands life, must “create[ ] for himself a space in which he can find ways of using the constraining order of the place …which lays down its law for him” (p. 30). in prison, the inmate must not only accept the law, but he must reflect and come to terms with his wrong doings, as he finds himself outside of his known environment. as he finds himself living “a borderlands life” (conquergood, 1991, p. 185), the inmate must actively engage the long process of shifting his identity, if he desires to move beyond his actions, and potentially be allowed to re-enter society. once the inmate has crossed the border from terror and crime to a life on the margins (in prison), he must engage in “creative combinations” (conquergood, 1991) to learn from his actions. as he reflects and learns, he slowly transforms and grows into a new identity with a fresh, living heart, as depicted by the man rising from the tree, as well as the ghost-like figure who was first reaching out behind bars, and who now carries a bright red, beating heart, firmly holding the young girl’s hand. in order to re-enter his community, however, the man must gain the approval of his fellow community members. visually, this is most predominantly depicted in inmate’s journey by the girl standing on the tree stump, holding the former inmate’s hand. the hand-holding symbolizes the community’s necessary involvement with and acceptance of the man as he attempts to reenter his community. the young girl with the extended arm, as well as the woman in the green dress with the bright red heart, furthermore symbolize the community’s support and tolerance, which is vital in the reconfiguration of the man’s identity, and also exemplary of berger and luckmann’s (1966) typifications. namely, having been convicted of a violent act, the predator is no longer “human,” but seen as the embodiment of evil. by typifying him as “predator” or “criminal,” the community attaches very specific attributes to him (e.g. “evil”), stripping away any human-like attributes. by typifying him as such, the community is able to make sense of the violent reality inflicted upon not just the affected family, but also the entire neighborhood. per berger and luckmann (1966), any interactions with that person are then guided on the basis of the associations society makes through those typifications. once the man is typified as “criminal” or “predator,” the interactions with and associations of him are strictly guided (and limited) by the typifications. once typified, all commonalities between him and humanity have been removed. as berger and luckmann (1966) assert, “language also typifies experiences, allowing me to subsume them under broad categories in terms of which they have meaning not only to myself but also to my fellowmen” (p. 39). once the person has been objectified as “criminal,” the community has set the individual in a narrow category, on the basis of the association made by that category or typification. the community is thus able to collectively come to an understanding of their reality as afflicted by the “criminal” and can communicate about the associated events on the basis of their typifications. in that sense, the typifications serve a collective purpose, as they only function when understood and repeatedly communicated by community members. inmate’s journey effectively questions society’s typifications and the social stigma about prisoners. by portraying those who have committed crimes not just as “criminals,” but as human beings with a heart, longing to re-enter society after a long and challenging internal battle, inmate’s journey calls on us to rethink and redefine our typifications. by situating itself in the midst of the neighborhood, the mural calls on us to question our stern judgments about inmates as the embodiment of evil. inmate’s journey portrays the men not just as “criminals,” but as “humans,” by repeatedly making use of the depiction of hearts—both cold, blue hearts, and warm, living, red hearts—and thus producing a shift in typifications. as the hearts turn from dark blue to warm tones of red on the bodies of the conceived “criminals,” the men become “human” again. once they have stepped out of the (literally) dark side, the men are able to ask for the approval to re-enter society, by (literally) reaching out their hands, asking for repentance and forgiveness in order to reconnect and re-enter their community. even though deeply hurt and in the process of healing, the community is willing to take the men back and re-typify them. this is visually expressed through the beating hearts and the red and blue gem-like particles that flow from the men’s hands into the hearts of the community members, thus reconnecting two separated groups, and making them whole again. through this re-typification process, the individuals are able rebuild their communal bonds and trust in one another. another way in which inmate’s journey encourages us to rethink our typifications is through the use of direct eye contact made by the man standing in the far left corner, in the darkest spot of the mural. this visual detail is significant because the direct gaze establishes a relationship between the man and the viewer. the man is asking us to relate and identify with him, engage in conversation with him. in turn, we are asked to stop and problematize our typifications, and with that, the way we encounter our socially constructed world. that is, the man is asking us to consider him not as the untouchable, socially unclean “criminal,” but as one of us, as human. his gaze functions as a communicative act that directly and effectively challenges the associations we have made with a specific person by means of typifications. his gaze also challenges his anonymity, and thus aids in re-establishing him as human. it is through this dialogue that the process of re-typification can occur. that dialogue, of course, was mirrored by the mural-making process itself, in which both victims and victims’ advocates engaged in conversations with inmates and ex-offenders, as they met repeatedly in the prisons over the course of several months. those face-to-face interactions were patterned, as berger and luckmann (1966) contend, by the typifications “as long as they do not become problematic” (p. 31). and that is precisely the key factor: only when our typifications become problematic do we question them. this is exactly what happened as the two parties engaged in the, at times difficult and emotionally draining, mural-making process and the conversations that evolved as part of it. participants began the process as “criminals” and “victims,” but through interaction their typificatory scheme was modified, and subsequent dialogues “planned differently in accordance with this modification” (berger & luckmann, 1966, p.31). the remodeling of their typifications led to an enlightened and remodeled social reality “apprehended in a continuum” of the sum of their redefined typifications (berger & luckmann, 1966, p. 33). after the murals were completed, their physical wall-scale presence remained as a constant reminder of that dialogue and the need for that discourse to continue beyond the murals’ walls—even for those outside of the immediate community. in that sense, the healing walls “appeal to both cultural ‘insiders,’ those who see aspects of themselves represented directly, and cultural ‘outsiders,’ who are invited to consider the figures in novel ways within the broader social discourse” (moss, 2010, p. 387). by engaging “cultural outsides,” the murals become even more of a political statement, as they address the vital dialogue that must occur on a larger scale to ultimately create a more just world. just as society tends to objectify inmates, so too do victims face a reality shaped by having been labeled “victim” by their fellow community members, as well as their offenders. having lost a loved one, or having lived through a violent act, victims seldom have an opportunity to publicly speak out about their grief, anger, and their personal violations. victim’s journey enables those silenced voices to come forth, and boldly step out of the associations made through being objectified, or typified, as “victim.” by working through their grief, anger, and dismay, and publicly acknowledging that there is life after crime, individuals like victoria greene become human agents for change, as they stand for all those not with us anymore, or those not ready to stand tall and make a political statement. victim’s journey portrays greene as a strong woman, capable of taking the lead and guiding those still grieving on the path toward healing, as depicted by the two grieving women in the left corner of the mural. greene is no longer the face of “victim,” but that of woman, mother, activist and human agent for change. in conquergood’s (1991) terms, she is a self that is in process, reflecting the different influences in her life. having stepped outside of the typification “victim,” greene has passed the border from grief, anger, and pain by reclaiming not only her full identity, but through the mural, she (and all those whom she represents) has reclaimed her civic space, her community, her neighborhood. as greene stated in an interview after the mural’s completion, “within these neighborhoods are people who work hard, who want the american dream, who have religious values, know right from wrong. this is a symbol for them to stand up, and have a voice, and have a picture” (npr, 2004). thus, the image of greene is, in conquergood’s (1991) sense, a “polysemic site of articulation for multiple identities and voices” (p. 185). while losing her child to violence will forever remain a part of her identity, greene is no longer limited only to that one identity of grieving mother, but instead takes on the identity and voice of human agent and leader; she is no longer confined to one domain of our culture (conquergood, 1991). interestingly, greene stands between the two worlds depicted in the healing walls, as on the one hand, she has lost a child to crime, and on the other hand, she works as a counselor in the prison system. she is familiar with the struggles those incarcerated face, and thus stands in between the social divide of victimhood and crime. as a result, greene has to defy the very objectifications she places on predators, whilst also having to work through her own struggles in redefining herself after having been afflicted by crime and losing a child. much like the refugees’ experiences conquergood (1991) attends to, greene encountered “experiences that are both violent and regenerative” (p. 185), and she now stands between the borders of victim and advocate, establishing within them “a degree of plurality and creativity” (de certeau, 1984, p. 30). the creativity in greene’s case was in fact the lengthy mural-making process and the accompanying conversations she engaged in with inmates, victims’ advocates, and community members. beyond creating the murals, they collectively created a dialogic space for the flow of ideas by sharing deeply personal experiences. through their interactions, they were able to redefine themselves, transcend, and reassign their socially created typifications, which otherwise would have made the process of healing and rehabilitation much more challenging. the collaborative effort and lengthy painting sessions necessary to create the healing walls not only gave victims and inmates an opportunity to negotiate “their collective pain, [but] they learned there was a blurred line between victims and perpetrators. they saw that the impact and consequences of crime are more widespread than they thought” (golden et al., 2006, p. 10). as such, the healing walls address identity on both the personal and collective level, as they speak to our core values and our experiences with the world. visually, this sense of collective identity and unity is visually expressed in the repetition of gestures, like the hand-holding in both victim’s journey and inmate’s journey, as well as the hands reaching out, or guiding and comforting others. such repeatedly appearing elements as the hearts in inmate’s journey, as well as the angels and doves (signs of peace and harmony) in victim’s journey also are representative of the communal bond, shared identities, and collective hopes and dreams of a community. the figures’ gazes, moreover, indicate a sense of commonality among disparate groups, with the inmates’ and the victims’ facial expressions equally conveying pain, as well as confidence and hope. such common expressions reaffirm that while different, humans are still one. the badlands, while struggling and torn, is still one community. as a result, its residents must collectively engage in the process of re-typification in order to reshape their social stock of knowledge and create new associations between one another and their environment, and, in effect, revive their communal bonds and collective identity. in reading the healing walls through the lenses of conquergood (1991) and berger and luckmann (1966), a dialogue between two traditionally disparate groups can be explored in which community members’ objectifications of the other are laid aside, typifications are redefined, and identities are seen not as stagnant, but as evolving and fluid, as living bodies in process. the personal and collective stories told through the murals not only serve as the backbone of this symbolic artifact, but they are exemplary of concepts surrounding identities that are in process (conquergood, 1991), as well as how the concepts at the core of a socially constructed world are lived in everyday life (berger & luckmann, 1966). as such, the healing walls represent a significant communicative act and positive force on both the individual and communal level, providing an opportunity for seemingly “plain folks, perhaps for the only time in their lives, to express themselves and have a say in what they wanted to see every day in their neighborhoods” (golden et al., 2004, p. 7). by engaging the viewer and stirring up questions, the healing walls are capable of freeing people from their preconceived notions (typifications) of the other, shifting their consciousness, and challenging their perceptions of the world. “imbued with a mysterious energy that radiates outward, touching who sees them” (golden et al., 2004, p. 11), the healing walls provide a significant communicative space for those marginalized by society to speak up, reclaim their identities, and revive their communal union. references barnett, a. w. (1984). community murals: the people’s art. cranbury, nj: art alliance press. bartal, r. (2000). where has your beloved gone?: the staging of the quarere deum on the murals of the cistercian convent at chelmno. word & image, 16(3), 270-289. berger, p. l, & luckmann, t. (1966). the social construction of reality. new york: anchor books. clifford, j. (1988). predicament of culture. cambridge: harvard university press. conquergood, d. (1991). rethinking ethnography: towards a critical cultural politics. communication monographs, 58(2), 179-194. de certeau, m. (1984). the practice of everyday life. (s. randall, trans.). berkeley: university of california press. golden, j. (2004). writings on the healing walls. philadelphia: city of philadelphia mural arts program. golden, j., rice, r., & kinney, m. y. (2004). philadelphia murals and the stories they tell. philadelphia: temple university press. golden, j., rice, r., & pompilio, n. (2006). more philadelphia murals and the stories they tell. philadelphia: temple university press. laware, m. (1998). encountering visions of aztlan: arguments for ethnic pride, community activism and cultural revitalization in chicano murals. argumentation and advocacy, 34(3), 140-153. martinez, v. (2010, august 13). child photographers find good in the badlands. philadelphia inquirer. retrieved from http://articles.philly.com/2010-08-13/news/24971692_1_badlandsurban-decay-photography-class/2 moss, k. l. (2010). cultural representation in philadelphia murals: images of resistance and sites of identity negotiation. western journal of communication, 74(4), 372-395. mural arts program (2010). restorative justice. retrieved from http://muralarts.org/learn/restorative-justice natanson, m. (1986). anonymity: a study in the philosophy of alfred schutz. bloomington: indiana university press. national public radio. (2004) healing walls: a battered community turns to art. retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=4120730 pearce, w. b., & cronen, v. (1980). communication, action, and meaning: the creation of social realities. new york: praeger. [photograph of the healing walls: inmate’s journey]. (2004). philadelphia mural arts program. digital file received via email from mural arts program. [photograph of the healing walls: victim’s journey]. (2004). philadelphia mural arts program. digital file received via email from mural arts program. rosaldo, r. (1989). culture and truth: the remaking of social analysis. boston: beacon. schutz, a. (1962). collected papers, vol. i: the problem of social reality. ed. m. natanson. the hague: martinus nijhoff. schutz, a. (1967). phenomenology of the social world. evanston, il: northwestern university press. smith, w. a. (2008). everyone but rizzo: using the arts to transform communities. forum on public policy: a journal of the oxford roundtable, summer 2008, 121. retrieved from http://www.forumonpublicpolicy.com/summer08papers/aandssum08 trinh, t. m. (1989). woman, native, other: writing postcoloniality and feminism. bloomington: indiana university press. queering an icon queering an icon: the legend of zelda and inclusive diversity kyle schrader classical studies i. introduction: the legend of zelda and queer theory when analyzing media for structures and communications that inform and construct personal identity, it is always of extreme importance to focus on the main character of relevant stories, films, shows, and video games. for video games in particular, the main character serves as the player’s interactive avatar with the game world, a stand-in for themselves that serves as their contextual point for navigating the experiences within the game. in their work toxic geek masculinity in media, anastasia salter and bridget blodgett identify the consistent use of white male avatars in video games to restrict the ability of non-white, non-male, non-heterosexuals to properly identify with their liaison into the game worlds. this is an extremely valid criticism of the game industry at large, but one of their primary examples leads to a major point of contention.i in tracing the lineage of white male protagonists in video games, the authors of toxic geek masculinity set link from the legend of zelda series firmly in their sights as the stereotypical white, male, blonde hero with a princess to save; part of the strain of straight white male characters that fail to represent all gamers equally and, in fact, actively push those outside the archetype away from the medium.ii their analysis of link and the tropes of protagonists in video gaming ignore the nuances of the communities surrounding such characters and how interaction with the art and game themselves can help to alleviate these concerns, though it is through these communities that the games and characters are disseminated to the public. fan communities have been able to begin a process of transformation, taking once archetypal male 1 fantasy heroes and making them more inclusive to everyone, not only to women, but also those of the queer (lgbt) community. jack halberstam argues that fictional avatars, regardless of the character’s direct agency in whatever medium they exist in is as such, are the centrally important component in any individual’s experience with a piece of art.iii link is, and has always been, depicted as a silent protagonist whose agency is given to him by either a prophecy, the player directly, or a combination of the two. in the character’s newest adventure, breath of the wild (botw), link received further character alterations to make him appear more androgynous than some previous renditions of the character. it is this version of the character, as well as those from far older titles such as ocarina of time, that fans of the series have taken to for fanart and discussion on forums across the internet. despite link’s white, male, supposedly straight identity, gamers have managed to express different forms of identity through link’s canonical appearances and attitudes, as well as those players are able to ascribe to him due to their control of his actions directly through botw and other titles.iv andrea wood argues that women and others can easily identify with male characters such as link once a certain aesthetic threshold has been breached, allowing fan communities and creations to have the distinct power of making traditional icons queer-inclusive.v identity construction and affirmation through gaming and other nerd culture activities requires an unconventional disciplinary approach. jack halberstam, a proponent of queer theory, argues that analyzing and deconstructing media works to allow for a culture of understanding; media is the language through which identity is dispensed, distilled, and crafted, the place where all identities can be represented regardless of intent of the author or creator.vi in addition, the communities formed around minority gaming and media groups have managed to create their 2 own interpretations of media to suit their identity needs.vii link, a character originally designed in the 1980s, has had a lot of time to become adapted and adopted into these various communities and become a figure of much broader appeal and avatar potential than would otherwise be assumed of a white male character. 3 ii. the hero of time: archetype of masculine heroism the figure to the right is the basic image of link that nintendo spreads around as his primary state of being. this art, from hyrule warriors, a decidedly more militaristic take on the character, shows the green-clad link equipped for battle and in a pose that suggests not only strength, but also courage, as he leaps towards the enemy. courage is a major aspect of link’s canonical character, as it is the part of the triforce (a three-part artifact that is usually mentioned but rarely pivotal in more recent games in the series) link himself is most closely related to. the heroic archetype that link is intended to fulfill is that of the courageous warrior with a heart of gold, evidenced by nintendo’s continued association of the character with nature and the simplicity of quests he undertakes from helping local farmers to saving the kingdom in which he lives. the original artwork depicting a fully three-dimensional link comes from the first nintendo 64 legend of zelda title, ocarina of time. the game features link as two different ages, a young link and then a time-skipped adult link; the age difference only shows in their facial structures and overall size, with young link’s eyes being slightly too large, but the body maintaining the heroic masculinity of the older figure. these 4 pictures include a furrowed, determined brow, angled features, and defined but not overly muscular extremities.viii in an interview, one of the artists for ocarina of time’s link, yusuke nakano claimed that this link was meant to be “handsome, cool” and was based on a famous hollywood actor at the time, likely referring to leonardo di caprio.ix the late 1990s was an important time for cartoons, anime, and video games in the united states, and this depiction of the central protagonist as manly and heroic was central to its entrenchment in this nascent video gaming culture entering a traditionally male space.x the 2006 addition, twilight princess, was designed even more masculine, with the artists behind the more recent depictions suggesting they wanted to link to be less skinny and more manly so as to seem more realistic when fighting large monsters, as well as making link more wild and “wolfish.”xi the most recent release for the series is breath of wild (botw), whose link is far less masculine than these iterations, and the artists aimed to set this link apart from earlier renditions due to the customizability of his appearance and equipment. they also sought to combine aspects of all of link’s portrayals, including those of the more cartoony games, and that led to a shrinking down of link’s physique again, which, along with the popularity of botw, has in turn led to a large amounts of fan recreations of this version of the character.xii link does fit within the grander narrative of game protagonists that are male and seek to save a helpless female character. as salter and blodgett argue, there is an over prevalence of games wherein “the white male hero plays out a classic narrative of save the world and rescue the girl.”xiii although the newest game in the legend of zelda series, breath of the wild, inverts this trope, the communities surrounding link and the game series enjoy some aspects of this masculine hero figure. kunniki kaitlin tai’s “link” takes the heroic portrayal of link and brings 5 it to the botw version that nintendo sought to make less gritty than some earlier portrayals of the character. this image presents a darker aspect onto the normally brightly depicted botw images.xiv compared to nintendo’s official artwork, tai’s version more closely follows elven tropes of androgyny with regards to facial structure, though the upper body is identifiably male and harkens back to the twilight princess bulkier and stronger link. he lacks a shield, as well as his various other accoutrements in this depiction, in opposition to nintendo’s portrayal focused on the variability of equipment. this is also similar to the hyrule warriors link, and a similar depiction has served as link’s representation in nintendo’s newest super smash brothers game which includes mascots from across nintendo’s game worlds. the company has pushed this side of the character as the primary face of his series, and numerous fans have joined them in creating new versions of this heroic, male link. 6 iii. the cute and gentle hero the heroic, hyper masculine, often white video game heroes of the 1990s and 2000s, as well as the practice of objectifying women in many of those same games, were long seen as a barrier to keep non-straight white males from both enjoying and identifying with both the protagonists as well as, more generally, video game culture.xv a large facet of online culture and fandom over the past few years has been centered around the cute and adorable. rukmini pande argues that “cybercultural” exchange, defined as the symbolic forms of discussion and cultural production between individuals and groups on the internet, has dominated fan discussion around video games within more marginalized groups, such as women and those of the queer community.xvi fan art draws inspiration from the yaoi manga that has managed to penetrate the female and queer readerships of north america and europe, presenting traditionally male-centric characters with features that inspire quite a different array of feelings.xvii artist mmimmzel’s rendition of link, again based upon the breath of the wild model, portrays the hero of time as a more caring and “cute” figure, containing the normative features of cuteness including large eyes, small smile, and relaxed look/posture.xviii unlike the piercing eyes of nintendo’s artists or the pensive, evasive eyes of tai’s piece, this link’s gaze is inviting, as if he wants you to take a seat beside him. he is also outfitted with numerous accessories, including the small pouch on his hip, the cloak overtop of his shirt, and what is likely a shield that is not his standard one (unlike the blade which is the usual master sword). the customization of accessories harkens back to nintendo’s 7 various models, and the softer face is reminiscent of the younger and more cartoon-ish variations of link nintendo has put out for some of the spin-off titles. nintendo’s link is present in mmimmzel’s version, the major differences belonging to the hero’s pose and overall tone of the image. instead of the upright, combative stance of the more hyper-masculine link, this link is seated and is leaning on his blade rather than threateningly brandishing it. changing link’s demeanor and pose is a relatively innocent form of “transgressive intimacy” practiced in female and lgbt fan art and online communities as described by patrick galbraith.xix galbraith argues that these communities enforce their own visions onto male characters in order to bring themselves into the greater community surrounding those characters, with the least cultural transformation being related to a sense of “cute” and the most represented by “yaoi,” or malemale relationships between otherwise straight male characters. intimacy, however, is the central component to galbraith’s theory, and the way in which link is looking at the viewer of mmimmzel’s piece distinctly shows a kinder, more intimate hero with whom someone could talk and relate.xx user negoto_z’s link is also based upon the breath of the wild avatar of the character, this time focused on presenting the hero as a lover and caretaker of nature, decorated as he is with flowers. the focus on the steed is important here, as nintendo traditionally has shown link atop his canonical horse, epona, in much the same way knights of the medieval period were depicted heroically atop their own mounts. the image represents a push towards genderneutrality for link as well, with his hair longer and more flowing that in official representations and most renditions focused on more masculine traits such as combat, hunting, or stoicism. comparing it to mmimmzel’s piece, negoto’s version maintains a similar air of intimacy with both the audience and the horse as well as many of the standard feminine and “cute” impulses of 8 modern japanese art, including the blush marks under the eyes, the wide open smile, and the action marks indicating the kiss-like gesture of the horse to link’s face.xxi the feminine traits of this link are muted in comparison to the next section’s, but in terms of exploring alternative traits for nintendo’s, negoto’s represents the peak “cuteness” of the more faithful adaptations to the original design from breath of the wild, before moving into the queer worlds of yaoi and expressions of alternate sexuality provided by further examples. 9 iv. gerudo link and alternative masculinity the legend of zelda: breath of the wild contains a major quest chain that includes link needing to gain entrance to a village of all female warriors, similar to the amazons of greek and roman myth. the gerudo, as they are called, reject the need for “voes” or males in their society and so are very strict about them entering their holdings. in order to enter the village and speak with its leader, the player must acquire some feminine clothing for link so he can attempt to fool the guards into thinking he is a woman. interacting with certain characters wearing the armor indicates much of the comedy supposedly involved with crossdressing, as it is a common comedic trope in japan, with them being surprised or confused by link’s attractiveness in the costume.xxii the leader of the village recognizes link’s facade immediately, but admits that he looks adorable in the clothing regardless. this series of events has been absolutely devoured by the female and queer online communities surrounding link. despite the comedic take nintendo took on the issue, many in the queer community have flocked towards this feminine link as a representation of a more fluid masculinity, as well as a possible transgression of gender roles and the gender binary itself. kai texel’s “gerudo link” perfectly symbolizes the feminine link fans have created based on the circumstances nintendo presented. this link has the long hair of negoto’s while also gaining highly pronounced eyelashes as if they were put on with makeup. the pose of the figure is reminiscent of belly 10 dancers, and the hero’s hips and upper chest are accentuated to appear more feminine. texel’s “gerudo link” has seen numerous other appearances in doujins, or fan-made comics, typically depicting him as the object or “bottom” of a yaoi relationship.xxiii this depiction of link can have multiple gender interpretations, as the canonical knowledge of his male status is irrelevant within the fan-made creation at hand, despite the doujins focusing on link has both the dominant and submissive male partner of other men.xxiv halberstam argues that characters in costume do not necessarily have genders, using the specific examples of batman and catwoman whose sexual relationship is bound to their leatherclad personas, and that a supposed fictional male in clothing has and lacks a penis at the same time.xxv modern gender and sociological theories suggest that the “conceptual penis,” that being the social construct of male genitalia based on gender performance, allows individuals and images to maintain enough ambiguity of gender in order to match the interpretation others place upon it.xxvi these renditions of link in the gerudo clothing allow for a more representative gender and sexual existence of the character that the nintendo versions don’t cater to nearly as much. they also illustrate the connection between the female and queer fan communities, providing a more feminine archetype to a traditionally male character role and game. gerudo link is not simply emblematic of cultural transformation and transgression from the female and queer communities; the figure also provides an arena in which to discuss the ties between masculinity and femininity. mellalyss’ version of gerudo link takes the standard poses of nintendo and adds in some of the more feminizing traits in kai’s version. link is brandishing a blade before him, not his normal master sword but a curved gerudo blade instead, and looks intimidating rather than intimate or cute. the image retains styled eyes suggesting makeup and the hair and garments themselves are still flowing as symbols of the feminine, but the intensity of 11 the gaze has a decidedly masculine poise to it. the stomach is more muscular than kai’s piece and maintains that, despite the feminine appearance, this link is both highly competent and dangerous, mixing the feminine with the masculine in a way that makes him look more deadly rather than less, like a male femme fatale.xxvii applying the theory of the conceptual penis to mallalyss’ image, the figure presents as female but performs as male, allowing those in the dichotomous camps to associate with the figure as well as those not bound by standard gender definitions. this link both has and does not have a penis in the sense that it matters most; practically, anyone can identify with this image so long as their perception has not been tinted one way or the other, and the phallic image of the blade can replace the existence of a physical penis as a projection of power.xxviii this allows mallalyss’ depiction of gerudo link to serve as a bridge between the male dominated video game industry and the need for representation much of the modern literature represents. such versions of the character, as well as the appeal the series has had for women over the past few years, may have led to nintendo’s inclusion of linkle into hyrule warriors as an entirely reimagined female link. 12 v. conclusion: heteronormative hero or the perfect self-insert? user z_sobobo.07’s (sobobo) rendition of the hero of time in stealth-based sheikah armor takes the feminizing features of the gerudo links and returns the figure to the standard armor, equipment, and ferocity of nintendo’s heroic link. this portrait contains the longer hair, along with the traditionally male japanese bun, curved body, and feminine stance accentuating the legs and curvature of his lower body.xxix this armor is worn by male characters in breath of the wild, and does not have the cross-dressing theme that the gerudo armor does in the game, and yet the armor lends itself to a similarly feminine interpretation of link. the masculine, heroic norms the original nintendo artists strived for in link’s design remain in the image, unlike the yaoi-based gerudo equivalents, such as a determined gaze and combative stance with weapon at the ready. this figure is not the heteronormative, masculine hero depicted by salter and blodgett, and though unofficial, the community around the legend of zelda have taken inspiration from the games directly to create this alternative link that serves all communities rather than one. jungmin kwon, while discussing larger questions on online female and queer identity in east asia, argues that altering existing male models into ones more representative of female tastes and appearances queers the characters and makes them inherently more inclusive regardless of the source material.xxx link is, and has always been, a major male character in the 13 long line and white, male protagonists saving a princess, despite nintendo’s recent inversions of both link’s gender (through linkle) and the princess in peril trope (through the powerful female characters of midna in twilight princess and zelda in breath of the wild). this has not stopped fans from morphing the character into a far more inclusive version of his original self, one that blurs the lines between sexual preference, gender, and performance to allow for gender and sexual minorities to be represented in the series along with the larger group of women the transformations were originally targeted towards. nintendo’s hero of time is not alone in having been queered to the point of inclusivity, with numerous other cultural characters receiving a similar treatment. the fan program “hawkeye initiative” across the internet has focused on portraying marvel’s hawkeye in positions and situations female superheroes often find themselves in, with the goal being the normalization of men in compromising positions in order to change the culture at large.xxxi fan cultural acquisition of characters fills a hole in representation that traditional media has been slow to fill, one of diversity and inclusivity, and link, rather than being the stereotypical male-centric hero fans must take down in order to receive true female heroes, represents a major aspect of this movement. the amount of images involving a more queer representation of link are numerous, as are the communities devoted specifically to this aspect of the character, and the identities of those involved not only receive validation through this creative act but also encourage others to embrace themselves through viewing it.xxxii from the masculine, heroic archetypes of the past, communities can create new, queer models from which the cultural industry can then adapt and provide the stories needed for more diverse sets of individuals. 14 i anastasia salter and bridget blodgett, toxic geek masculinity (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2017), 77. ii salter and blodgett, toxic geek masculinity, 76-77. iii jack halberstam, “queergaming: gaming, hacking and going turbo,” in queer game studies, ed. bonnie rubergand adrienne shaw (minneapolis, mn: university of minnesota press, 2017), 192-193.). iv link is never canonically straight, nor does he marry the princess he saves. v andrea wood, “‘straight’ women, queer texts: boy-love manga and the rise of a global counterpublic,” women’s studies quarterly 34, no. 1/2: (2006): 396. vi jack halberstam, “queergaming: gaming, hacking and going turbo,” in queer game studies, ed. bonnie ruberg and adrienne shaw (minneapolis, mn: university of minnesota press, 2017), 188. vii adrienne shaw, “the trouble with communities,” in queer game studies, ed. bonnie ruberg and adrienne shaw (minneapolis, mn: university of minnesota press, 2017), 159. viii aria tanner, trans., the legend of zelda: art & artifacts, (milwaukie, or: dark horse books, 2017), 158-159. ix tanner, the legend of zelda: art & artifacts, 412. x salter and blodgett, toxic geek masculinity, 75-76. xi aria tanner, the legend of zelda: art & artifacts, 420. xii tanner, the legend of zelda: art & artifacts, 427. xiii salter and blodgett, toxic geek masculinity, 77. xiv original images based upon those in keaton white, trans., the legend of zelda: breath of the wild, creating a champion. (milwaukie, or: dark horse books, 2018), 1-11. xv salter and blodgett, toxic geek masculinity, 76-77. xvi rukmini pande, squee from the margins: fandom and race (iowa city: university of iowa press, 2018), 21. xvii wood, “’straight’ women,” 396. xviii weijung chang, "exploring the significance of ʺjapanesenessʺ: a case study of fujoshiʹs bl fantasies in taiwan," in boys’ love, cosplay, and androgynous idols: queer fan cultures in mainland china, hong kong, and taiwan, edit., lavin maud, yang ling, and zhao jing jamie (hong kong: hong kong university press, 2017), 182. xix patrick w. galbraith, "fujoshi: fantasy play and transgressive intimacy among “rotten girls” in contemporary japan," signs 37, no. 1 (2011): 212. xx galbraith, “fujoshi,” 213. xxi rea amit, "on the structure of contemporary japanese aesthetics," philosophy east and west 62, no. 2 (2012): 180. xxii chang, "exploring the significance of ʺjapaneseness,” 184. xxiii cathy camper, "essay: "yaoi" 101: girls love "boys' love"," the women's review of books 23, no. 3 (2006): 24-25. xxiv galbraith, “fujoshi,” 213-214. xxv for more on clothing, fictional characters, and a lack of gender in certain sexual encounters, see jack halberstam’s “queer creatures,” on our backs, nov/dec 1992. xxvi lindsay and boyle, “the conceptual penis as a social construct,” cogent social sciences, 3 (april 2017), 2. xxvii jennifer malkowski and treaandrea russworm, gaming representation: race, gender, and sexuality in video games (bloomington, in: indiana university press, 2017), 21. xxviii lindsay and boyle, “the conceptual penis,” 3. xxix amit, “on the structure of contemporary japanese,” 177. xxx jungmin kwon, "girl fans queered," in straight korean female fans and their gay fantasies (iowa city: university of iowa press, 2019), 36. xxxi see the official site: https://thehawkeyeinitiative.com/. xxxii hanna brady, “building a queer mythology,” in queer game studies, ed. bonnie ruberg and adrienne shaw (minneapolis, mn: university of minnesota press, 2017), 68. bibliography primary artworks of independent artists are taken from their public-facing profiles on artstation, tumblr, and twitter and are in the public domain for research and scholastics. nintendo. legend of zelda: breath of the wild. nintendo switch. kyoto, japan: 2017. tanner, aria. translator. the legend of zelda: art & artifacts. milwaukie, or: dark horse books, 2017. white, keaton. translator. the legend of zelda: breath of the wild, creating a champion. milwaukie, or: dark horse books, 2018. secondary amit, rea. "on the structure of contemporary japanese aesthetics." philosophy east and west 62, no. 2 (2012): 174-85. camper, cathy. "essay: "yaoi" 101: girls love "boys' love"." the women's review of books 23, no. 3 (2006): 24-26. chang, weijung. "exploring the significance of ʺjapanesenessʺ: a case study of fujoshiʹs bl fantasies in taiwan." in boys’ love, cosplay, and androgynous idols: queer fan cultures in mainland china, hong kong, and taiwan, edited by lavin maud, yang ling, and zhao jing jamie, 179-94. hong kong: hong kong university press, 2017. lindsay & boyle, “the conceptual penis as a social construct,” cogent social sciences, 3 (april 2017). galbraith, patrick w. "fujoshi: fantasy play and transgressive intimacy among “rotten girls” in contemporary japan." signs 37, no. 1 (2011): 211-233. harper, helen. “studying masculinity(ies) in books about girls.” canadian journal of education 30, no. 2 (2007): 508-530. ishida, kimi. "making fujoshi identity visible and invisible." in fandom unbound: otaku culture in a connected world, edited by okabe daisuke, ito mizuko, and tsuji itzumi, 207-24. yale university press, 2012. kwon, jungmin. "girl fans queered." in straight korean female fans and their gay fantasies, 31-62. iowa city: university of iowa press, 2019. pande, rukmini. "dial me up, scotty: fandoms as platforms for women’s online identity." in squee from the margins: fandom and race, 21-44. iowa city: university of iowa press, 1 2018. ruberg, bonnie and shaw, adrienne. queer game studies. minneapolis, mn: university of minnesota press, 2017. salter, anastasia and blodgett, bridget. toxic geek masculinity. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2017. tamaki, saitō. "otaku sexuality." in robot ghosts and wired dreams: japanese science fiction from origins to anime, edited by bolton christopher, csicsery-ronay istvan, and tatsumi takayuki, by bolton christopher, 222-49. university of minnesota press, 2007. wood, andrea. “‘straight’ women, queer texts: boy-love manga and the rise of a global counterpublic.” women’s studies quarterly 34, no. 1/2: (2006): 394-414. alexander williams paradise re-envisioned: william blake’s milton as the redemption of selfhood alexander williams english as if in answer to the opening invocation of william wordsworth’s london 1802, “milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour / england hath need of thee… / thy soul was like a star and dwelt apart,” william blake undertook this call of poetic duty by rewriting john milton in milton: a poem. that milton’s mission attempted in paradise lost remained unfulfilled in its prophecy of liberation is evidenced by the inscription on the frontispiece to milton, “to justify the ways of god to men.”1 it is recorded that milton appeared to blake, “...as an old man…he came to ask a favor of me. he said he had committed an error in his paradise lost, which he wanted me to correct,” yet, regardless of legend, blake re-invokes the question of theodicy not to reaffirm milton’s magisterial epic, but to correct the history of selfhood – the false covering of the immortal spirit forged within the individual and perpetuated by external repressive institutions.2 although milton had written extensive anti-monarchical, anti-episcopal, and pro-divorce pamphlets, and that these works of the “left hand” embodied blake’s imaginative concept of revolutionary energy, this faculty was relegated to the realm of the diabolic in paradise lost. in the wake of the napoleonic wars, the spread of post-enlightenment ideas, deism, natural religion, and a catalogue of other contemporaneous social ills, blake adapts paradise lost to “rouze up” the “young men of the new age” to correct a “class of men whose whole delight is in destroying.”3 this paper proposes 1 milton, john, john milton: complete poems and major prose, ed. hughes, merritt y., (new york: odyssey press, 1957), i.26; hereafter, line references will be provided in the text. 2 crabb robinson, in arthur symons, william blake, (new york: e.p. dutton and company, 1907), p.295. 3 milton: a poem, from blake’s poetry and designs, ed. mary lynn johnson and john e. grant, (new york: w. w. norton & company, inc., 2008), p.147; hereafter plate and line references will be provided in the text. that milton is not only a critical adaptation of paradise lost designed to correct the individual errors of selfhood demonstrated by england’s poet, but, by extension, becomes a universal vision to redeem humanity in the “new age” where “painters!...sculptors! architects!,” such as blake, “will not cease from mental fight” against the degenerative “mind-forg’d manacles” of imaginative oppression (147; i/13). by reading paradise lost against milton and its introduction, the marriage of heaven and hell, one is granted a vision of the self-annihilation necessary to cast off the selfhood that intervenes between humanity and its divinity; through this purgation, the individual will lift the veil of delusory institutions that preclude the immanent paradise of “jerusalem / in england’s green & pleasant land” (15-16). in privileging pure reason as humankind’s supreme faculty over “mimic fansie,” the “misjoyning shapes” that palely “imitate” reason (pl v.110-11), milton created a “history” of the restraint of regenerative desire (mhh, 5) rather than a prophecy of spiritual liberation. according to blake, milton had “mistaken” urizen for god, the father is “destiny,” the son as an enlightenment materialist, “a ratio of the five senses,” and the holy ghost as “vacuum,” but the flawed yet vital faculty of revolutionary energy is the real messiah, milton’s “satan or tempter” (mhh, 6).4 this leads blake to conclude that milton “wrote in fetters when he wrote of angels & god, and at liberty when of devils & hell” because “he was a true poet and of the devil’s party without knowing it” (ibid); but why would milton be unaware of such authentic and poetic energy? for it was in the state of selfhood that paradise lost was composed and which relegated revolutionary energy to the realm of the diabolic, unlike his highly “diabolic” prose works that demonstrated an antagonism towards repressive state apparatuses. selfhood is the false covering of the immortal spirit, a defense mechanism deriving from repressive “mind-forg’d manacles” within interior personality and perpetuated by exterior institutions; it is opposed to the human center of creativity and individuality, or the universal faculty of the poetic genius (poetic in the greek sense, “making,” and genius in the latin sense, “guiding spirit”). furthermore, as selfhood is opposed to central humanity, it pathologically develops into one’s spectre, or the false rational power of the divided man who is no longer empathetic to the other, and as such becomes 4 blake’s interpretation of the holy trinity relies upon god’s ostensible endorsement of calvinist predestination (to be discussed below) in paradise lost (iii.184-85), the son’s lockean physicality of the enclosed five senses (vii. 224-31), and the holy spirit’s conspicuous absence from the main narrative. one’s satan. thus milton is the recorded vision of john milton’s fall and redemption through the epic process of self-annihilation. by annihilating this satanic selfhood within himself, milton’s theodicy of paradise lost will be regained through blake’s milton and offer a vision of divine humanity in universal harmony. before proceeding into an analysis of milton as a corrective adaptation of paradise lost, it is complementary to the discussion of the human divinity to pursue why milton served as the exemplar of antithetical selfhood in blake’s vision. after reading samuel johnson’s “milton” in lives of the english poets to prepare for the portrait of milton commissioned by william hayley, blake encountered a milton characterized by “an envious hatred of greatness, and a sullen desire of independence; a petulant impatience of control and pride disdainful of superiority” (37-38). it is this self-aggrandizing pride typical of satan in paradise lost that, as john howard states in blake’s milton: a study in the selfhood, helped blake envision milton as “the corrupted guardian of liberty who served the satanic cromwell, the warmongering, moralistic latin secretary” and the “domestic tyrant” that characterizes the forces of evil in his poetry (187). this vision of milton as the latin secretary under cromwell who helped justify the execution of charles i is even provided in a direct allusion that perverts the christian atonement through self-motivated political desire, “charles calls on milton for atonement. cromwell is ready” (5:39). continued further, selfhood in morality is manifest in apology for smectymnus through milton’s apparent “niceness of nature, an honest haughtiness and selfesteem” (hughes, 694), while selfhood in the artistic realm is evident in johnson’s characterization of milton as “lofty and steady confidence in himself, perhaps not without some contempt of others” (60). this inability to empathize with the other not only redirects spiritual energy towards antagonistic selfhood, but encloses the self from harmonization with the human divine; for the “true” worship of god is “honouring his gifts in other men, each according to his genius, and loving the greatest men best” for those who “envy or calumniate great men hate god, for there is no other god” (mhh, 23). furthermore, milton’s aeropagitica, while arguing for the universal right of free speech, contradicts itself by exempting roman catholics from this prerogative even though it requires “many schisms and many dissections made in the quarry and in the timber, ere the house of god is built” (patrides, 238), an exclusionary tactic that condemns those who are “true” to their imaginative vocation. milton also displayed an inclination towards theologically repressive modes of sexuality through his insistence that his second and third wives “be virgins” to spare him from “the gross and indelicate” predicament of being a “second husband” (johnson, 79). this patriarchal categorization of the feminine as ontologically virgin, wife, or harlot is a result of both personal insecurity and social construction, a repressive ethic of sexuality that would “catch virgin joy / and brand it with the name of whore: & sell it in the night” amidst “religious dreams and holy vespers” (visions of the daughters of albion, 9/6:11-14) when one should cry out against repressive sexuality, “love! love! love! happy happy love! free as the mountain wind!” (10/7:16). in the attempt to illustrate the pre-freudian proverb that “prisons are built with the stones of law / brothels with bricks of religion,” blake most explicitly examines the self-annihilation required for the purgation of miltonic selfhood in his preface and invocation to milton (mhh, 8). although in the preface to the reason of church government milton rejects “dame memory and her siren daughters,” in favor of the spirit who inspired the biblical prophets (hughes, 611), in paradise lost, milton’s invocations of the holy spirit through pagan circumlocutions reveal what blake considered an excessive deference to warmongering classical models, “shakespeare & milton were both curbd by the general malady & infection from the silly greek & latin slaves of the sword” (147). because blake does “not want either greek or roman models,” the poet liberated from selfhood must “be just & true to our own imaginations, those worlds of eternity in which we shall live forever” and transform the repressive daughters of memory, or the “heav’nly muse” urania (pl i.6), into the “daughters of inspiration” (147). the invocation to milton thus calls upon the “daughters of beulah” who descend from the “portals of [the] brain” where the “eternal great humanity divine planted his paradise” (2.1;8), rendering the miltonic eden of remote history recoverable within the mind of the inspired poet, a variation on raphael’s “paradise within” that comforts fallen adam and eve (pl xii.587). thus blake re-envisages milton’s christianized adaptation of classical formulas and biblical creation myths by replacing jehovah with a vision of divine, not fallen, humanity, and refrains from miltonic selfhood by representing a subjective vision of beulah, not the unchangeable divine revelation of absolute truth. although the historical milton is known to have been theologically radical insofar as he rejected the orthodox notion of the trinity, his view of the atonement was traditional.5 as if in direct response to adam’s theological inquiry in paradise lost, “ah, why should all mankind / for one 5 that is, in the sense that god demands the death of man as payment for sin but accepts the sacrifice of jesus as a substitute, cf. pl iii.210-12. mans fault thus guiltless be condemned / if guiltless?” (10.822-24) the introductory invocation to milton initiates a critique of original sin and, consequently, the atonement, which corrects milton’s spiritual error as well as rendering immanent a universal method of forgiveness; for it is through the process of self-annihilation that the delusional barriers that obfuscate the true essence of humankind are cast away. after invoking the daughters of beulah, the narrator commands, “tell also of the false tongue! vegetated / beneath your land of shadows: of its sacrifices, and / its offerings” (2:1012), which directly alludes to a “vegetated” or imaginatively fallen nature of the “false tongue” inspired by psalms (120:2-4) that blake employs for his critique of the doctrine of original sin and the consequential sacrifice of the son in order to redeem humankind. through the history of church doctrine and milton’s conventional rendering of the son, blake witnessed how “jesus, the image of the invisible god / became its prey; a curse, and offering, and an atonement” (2:12-13), but initiates through the rhetorical play of parody a secularization of an abstract act of divine sacrifice. in order to expose the illogical chain of reasoning perpetuated by conventional christian doctrine, the narrator employs an “if…must…therefore” formula which begins, “if the guilty should be condemn’d, he must be an eternal death / and one must die for another throughout all eternity” (12/11:17-18), which blake perceived as a reductio ad absurdum philosophy negotiating one death for another, “but must be new created continually moment by moment,” threatening to continue ad infinitum (20). the concluding “therefore” rests upon the association of the calvinist elect being identified with “the class of satan,” or in selfhood, where values of divinity are abstracted beyond the power of the individual (21). h.c. robinson reported that blake considered the atonement in the ordinary calvinistic sense” a “horrible doctrine; if another pay your debt, i do not forgive it,”6 but in the effort to correct an endless chain in the law of retribution from one man to another (“dye hee [man] or justice must,” pl 3.210), milton provides a redemption of original sin through self-annihilation rather than the “druidical” blood sacrifice god demanded before offering the grace of forgiveness, “unless for him…death for death…just th’ unjust to save” (210215), not through the requirement of an abstract verdict, but available for humanity in another context. as for blake’s portrayal of milton himself, milton, “who walkd about in eternity…pondring the intricate mazes of providence” (2.16-17), is associated with the fallen angels of paradise lost who “reason’d high / of 6 bentley, g.e., jr., blake records (oxford: claredon press, 1969), p.548 providence, foreknowledge, will and fate…and found no end, in wandring mazes lost” (ii.559-61), and wanders in moralistic labyrinths as his selfhood-breaking imagination does not let him rest peacefully. furthermore, blake employs adam’s rhetorical musings to align milton with a fallen state of humanity as well, “all my evasions vain, / and reasonings, though through mazes, lead me still to my own conviction” (x.829-31), yet this lapsed power shall be absolved not by the son, but by milton when he descends from the elect in heaven to undergo self-annihilation. the description of milton as “unhappy tho in heaven, he obey’d, he murmur’d not, he was silent” (2.18), directly echoes milton’s original theme “of man’s disobedience” (pl i.1), but this is adapted by blake as his central matter and suggests that milton was “mistaken” in believing god requires obedience over all. although the historical milton is known to have rejected calvinist predestination of the elect in de doctrina christina (first published in 1823, after blake’s final revisions of milton), blake sought to correct what milton’s god ambiguously decrees, “some i have chosen of peculiar grace / elect above all the rest” (iii.183-84) while others untouched by conscience will “hard be hard’n’d, blind be blinded even more, / that they may stumble on and deeper fall” (ll.199-201). blake inverts this traditional paradigm through an elect “who cannot believe in eternal life except by miracle & a new birth” while the reprobate, those such as blake’s jesus who transgress old codes of urizenic restraint and obedience in favor of liberating revolutionary desire, “never cease to believe” in the holiness of the regenerative imagination (milton 25:31). yet blake does not fall into unchangeable categories of divine predestination, for humankind can both fall and liberate themselves between “the pulses of an artery” (3/29:3) without the atonement the traditional paradigm of the elect, redeemed and reprobate is developed by blake further, rendering immanent the individual as intercessor through the process of self-annihilation and the coming of the last judgment. although milton rejects the pelagian controversy, which heretically relocated the power of salvation through individual works and faith without redeeming grace, by voicing through the father that “man shall not quite be lost, but sav’d who will, / yet not of will in him, but grace in me / freely voutsaft” (pl iii.17375), blake adopts this controversy and provides an instruction on how to “judge then of thy own self…what is eternal & what changeable? & what annihilable?” (35/32:30-31). as milton’s epic revolves around the end of the cycle of guilt perpetuated by the atonement aforementioned and divinely predestined salvation or condemnation, blake employs the michael/adam instructional dialogue of paradise lost through hillel/milton to reveal what will come to pass not in the distant future, but within mere moments. in the philosophical conversation that follows, hillel tells milton that “satan & adam are states created in twenty-seven churches / and thou o milton art a state about to be created” (25-26), for as “states change: but individual identities never change nor cease,” milton can freely judge himself and annihilate his delusional satanic-elect state/class. rather than “to [god] ow, / all his deliv’rance, and to none but [god]” (pl iii.181-82) at the end of mortal existence, or wait until the son “shall bruise the head of satan, crush his strength / defeating sin and death, his two main arms” (xii.430-31), milton will willingly undergo a last judgment of his selfhood. by annihilating the current state within which milton resides and creating a new state that will encompass the rejection of selfhood and the reclaiming of his emanation, ololon (man’s female counterpart, for milton composed of a composite of his poems, his sexual impulses, and his three wives and daughters), the “eternal humanity divine” will no longer be divided within itself, but re-harmonize in the final battle between milton and satan. blake initiates a revolutionary awakening of consciousness of not only miltonic selfhood, but the universal phenomenon of institutional oppression found in conventional christian doctrine when milton awakens from false-consciousness among the elect by the bard’s song that equates him with satan. after realizing that the poetic genius is the eternal divine humanity, aforementioned in the invocation of the daughters of beulah, milton “took off the robe of the promise, & ungirded himself from the oath of god” (15/14:13), or the “garments of salvation” and the “robe of righteousness” of isaiah (61:10). in realizing that his assertion of “eternal providence” and justification of “the wayes of god to men” (pl i.25-26) was rooted in selfhood, he ontologically identifies himself with satan, “i in my selfhood am that satan: i am that evil one! / he is my spectre! in my obedience to loose him from my hells / to claim the hells, my furnaces, i go to eternal death” (15/14:30-32). as if literalizing the request to “return me to my native element” (pl vii.15), milton descends back to earth to reclaim the energy he had poured into his erroneous representation of evil in paradise lost and correct the history restrained desire. as mary lynn johnson explains in “milton and its contexts,” the “instantaneous revelation of ‘truth or eternity” could, for blake, “occur at any time, with the burning up of error ‘the moment men cease to behold it’” (241), and it is this moment of previously unfathomable identification that compels milton to redeem himself immediately. for unlike the satan of paradise lost, however, who realizes his ontological fall is irreversible, “which way i flie is hell; my self am hell” there is a place yet for redemption, but attainable by the last judgment, or the momentous casting off of error obfuscating the immortal spirit that institutionalized christianity rendered abstract and faintly perceivable. now able to identify satan as his self-hood, milton provides an exemplarly model for the disobedience he condemned by not only repudiating satan, but the conventional christian image of god. in milton’s coming to “discover before heaven & hell the self righteousness / in all its hypocritic turpitude,” satan attempts to imitate himself further with the conventional god of paradise lost, “i am god the judge of all, the living & the dead / fall down therefore and worship me, submit thy supreme / dictate, to my eternal will” (43/38:43-44;51-53), an echo of the selfrighteous “god-like imitated state” (pl ii.511). milton, however, rejects the discourse of rationality and natural religion that led him to contemplate this false god urizen. by “cast[ing] off rational demonstration by faith in the saviour” (48/41:3), milton disobediently repudiates raphael’s imperative to faith and works modeled on the rational chain of being in paradise lost, “one almightie is, from whom / all things proceed, and up from him return” (v.469-70). continuing this purgation of false doctrine bred by selfhood, milton then casts off the repressive muse of restrained history, or urania whom he invokes throughout paradise lost, “the rotten rags of memory by inspiration” (48/41:4). this second repudiation is in accordance with blake’s daughters of memory, offering subjective vision over unchangeable decree. furthermore, milton then casts off the enlightenment dialectic of the passionate body contra rational soul and harmonizes the one as extension of the other by rejecting “bacon, locke & newton from albion’s covering” (5) thus providing a model for imaginative regeneration to complete blake/milton’s personal theodicy and, by extension, combating institutional repression by granting a universal vision of redemption. milton for blake was as virgil to dante insofar as blake echoed milton’s condemnation of “hirelings in the camp, the court, & the university: who would if they could, for ever depress mental & prolong corporeal war” (147), but blake believed that milton’s task had remained unfulfilled. milton’s epiphany that moves him from the elect status in heaven, “i in my selfhood am that satan: i am that evil one!” (15/14.30) reveals that his history of the restraint of desire in paradise lost was but a “spectre” (15/14.31), or the product of selfhood determined to justify selfish desires under false reasoning that ultimately inhibit, rather than unite, humanity and its universal divinity. for it is through this adaptation of paradise lost that blake thought he and the spirit of milton could correct the nations that “still / follow after the detestable gods of priam; in pomp of warlike selfhood, contradicting and blaspheming” (15/14.15-16) and answer england’s call for a poetic liberator. as t.s. eliot commented on the artistry that posits there is not much difference “between identifying oneself with the universe and identifying the universe with oneself,”7; this progression of the eternal and divine identity might have been aesthetically inevitable for blake. as he sought to correct the history of restraint in this imaginative universe through his critical adaptation of paradise lost, blake liberated the immanent eternal divine within the very human from the divisions that plague the internal self and the external forces of society. 7 “shakespeare and the stoicism of seneca” from selected essays, (new york: harcourt, brace & company inc., 1950), p.140. bibliography bentley, g.e., jr., blake records, (oxford: claredon press, 1969). blake, william, visions of the daughters of albion, marriage of heaven and hell and milton: a poem, from blake’s poetry and designs, ed. mary lynn johnson and john e. grant, (new york: w. w. norton & company, inc., 2008). eliot, t. s., “shakespeare and the stoicism of seneca” from selected essays, (new york: harcourt, brace & company inc., 1950). howard, john, blake’s milton: a study in selfhood, (london: associated university press, 1976). johnson, mary lynn, “milton and its contexts” from the cambridge companion to william blake, ed. morris eaves, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2003). johnson, samuel, milton (1778) from lives of the english poets, ed. ernest rhys, (london: dent, 1925). milton, john, paradise lost, apology for smectymnus, de doctrina christiana and the reason of church government from john milton: complete poems and major prose, ed. hughes, merritt y., (new york: odyssey press, 1957). milton, john, aeropagitica, from selected prose, ed. c. a. patrides, (columbia: university of missouri press, 1985). symons, arthur, william blake, (new york: e.p. dutton and company, 1907). concept paper submission final the primary dynamics governing the rise and maintenance of authoritarian regimes michael a. podgorski – political science “every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity...” – victor frankl, man’s search for meaning “…the effectiveness of a doctrine should not be judged by its profundity, sublimity, or the validity of the truth it embodies, but by how thoroughly it insulates the individual from his self and the world as it is.” – eric hoffer, the true believer the purpose of this paper is to outline and explore the primary dynamics, which have allowed for and still do allow for the rise of authoritarian regimes. these primary dynamics are not necessarily deterministic in nature. despite the temptation to present and determine ironclad interlinkages of causal factors which would require a more advanced statistical analysis, this paper will focus on a general outline of prescient theories and reasoned descriptions, with an eye toward how these dynamics provide fertile ground for the rise of authoritarian regimes based on an amalgam of historical and recent literature, which in their entirety provide a more robust explanation for the existence of authoritarian regimes. there is no simple explanation which can account for the rise of authoritarian regimes; and so, this paper will attempt to speak to its likelihood and is not intended to contradict any of the existing analysis, but rather to augment it. this paper is not meant to be exhaustive; and undoubtedly, there will be some dynamics, which may have been worthy of covering, but will have been overlooked. the dynamics to be discussed are observable and ascertainable via their repetition through modern history, up to and including the present time, and will be shown to have contributed to one of the most well-known authoritarian regimes in modern day russia. this paper will avoid becoming bogged down in contentious discussions of the distinctions between totalitarianism and authoritarianism, such as those drawn by juan linz in totalitarian and authoritarian regimes; and hannah arendt certainly would argue that totalitarian regimes are not simply more drastic in nature than authoritarian regimes, but rather fundamentally different (460). in the future is history, masha gessen presents compelling evidence that present day russia is not ruled by simply an authoritarian regime; but rather, she argues that it meets the different set of standards for being considered a totalitarian regime. despite these distinctions, many of the very same explanatory dynamics are applicable to both types of regimes, but it is not the purpose of this paper to explore this in any detail. first, a discussion of concepts to be employed here is warranted, one of which is the idea of existential security, an idea borrowed from sacred and the secular by norris and inglehart. they present this idea as an axiom to their main proposition, the religious values hypothesis. existential security is defined as “the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted” (norris & inglehart 4). in contrast, this paper will also employ the converse concept, existential insecurity, which is best defined as “the human psychological sense of pervasive danger, a deep and fundamental threatening anxiety, without a sharp focus on a specific danger” (marcuse 924). although he did not cite this term directly, i believe that the psychological state of mind of modern man, which erich fromm describes in escape from freedom, is most aptly characterized as existential insecurity. according to fromm, the authoritarian personality is a psychological response to this condition of existential insecurity, which has its roots in the paradox of new found freedom, born from the rise of market economies, i.e., capitalism. writing in 1941, fromm states that, “what characterizes medieval in contrast to modern society is its lack of individual freedom. everybody in the earlier period was chained to his role in the social order” (40). however, “although a person was not free in the modern sense, neither was he alone and isolated. in having a distinct, unchangeable, and unquestionable place in the social world from the moment of birth, man was rooted in a structuralized whole and thus life had a meaning which left no place and no need for doubt” (fromm 41). the consequence of the rise of the market economies leaves, “the medieval social system destroyed and with it the stability and relative security it had offered the individual,” with the result that, “the individual was left alone; everything depended on his own effort, not on the security of his traditional status” (fromm 59). to summarize, “freedom from the traditional bonds of medieval society, though giving the individual a new feeling of independence, at the same time made him feel alone and isolated, filled with doubt and anxiety, and drove him into new submission” and hence, to seek an escape from freedom (fromm 103). arendt wrote of a related and similar psychological process, in which she believed that: …the masses are obsessed by a desire to escape from reality because in their essential homelessness they can no longer bear its accidental, incomprehensible aspects … the masses’ escape from reality is a verdict against the world in which they are forced to live and in which they cannot exist, since coincidence has become its supreme master and human beings need the constant transformation of chaotic and accidental conditions into a man-made pattern of relative consistency. (352) taken in historical perspective, escape from freedom, written in 1941 and the origins of totalitarianism, written in 1951, both arrived right on the heels of the chaos of two world wars, the russian revolution, nazi germany, stalinism and the resulting, multiple periods of severe economic depression and societal breakdown. the books’ authors were certainly witness to some of the most catastrophic events of the 20 th century, which certainly produced some of the most extraordinary threats to almost any person’s sense of existential security. exacerbated by such existential threats, the masses were primed for a particular psychological response, the authoritarian personality, which is characterized by the masses’ ready submission to an authoritarian regime. as described by fromm: the annihilation of the individual self and the attempt to overcome thereby the unbearable feeling of powerlessness are only one side of the masochistic strivings. the other side is the attempt to become a part of a bigger and more powerful whole outside of oneself, to submerge and participate in it. this power can be a person, an institution, god, the nation, conscience, or a psychic compulsion. by becoming part of a power which is felt as unshakably strong, eternal, and glamorous, one participates in its strength and glory. one surrenders one’s own self and renounces all strength and pride connected with it, one loses one’s integrity as an individual and surrenders freedom; but one gains a new security and a new pride in the participation in the power in which one submerges. one gains also security against the torture of doubt. the masochistic person, whether his master is an authority outside of himself or whether he has internalized the master as conscience or a psychic compulsion, is saved from making decisions, saved from the final responsibility for the fate of his self, and thereby saved from the doubt of what decision to make. he is also saved from the doubt of what the meaning of his life is or who “he” is. these questions are answered by the relationship to the power to which he has attached himself. the meaning of his life and the identity of his self are determined by the greater whole into which the self has submerged. (154-155) the fundamental process outlined functions as such: the individual makes an exchange with the state, his freedom for existential security, and paradoxically using his free will to choose a new condition in which he has forsaken his free will to choose. this is the basic psychological mechanism by which authoritarian regimes gain and maintain their power. authoritarian regimes exploit this psychological predilection of modern man by providing a narrative which manifests a sharp focus on an object of fear, be it through nationalism, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, or the existential threat posed by a determined enemy, despite that these threats may be real or imagined. the regime goes on to solve or promise to solve these existential phobias, which it often originates, thus providing existential relief for the individuals affected and through repetition, which in turn creates a self-reinforcing loop. just as hannah arendt had noted in the origins of totalitarianism, this process must be repeated for the sake of maintaining power. either an authoritarian regime must exploit the existential threat posed, for example, by a terrorist attack, or it must exploit modern man’s fears of foreigners, intrusions upon sovereign jurisdictions, and those who represent the other in contrast to what is considered traditional, and so forth. by reminding modern man of his precarious state, and providing paths to secure it, authoritarian regimes gain and maintain their power. with this basic premise in mind, let us turn now to some of the other dynamics which give rise to and allow for the maintenance of authoritarian regimes, using russia as an exemplar. some of the dynamics and factors discussed here may fall into two broad categories: those which allow authoritarian regimes to manifest and those which allow these regimes to persist, and in some cases, both categories. as james c. scott remarked in seeing like a state, one of the primary elements contributing to the likelihood of the establishment of an authoritarian regime is large scale, human catastrophe. “the most fertile soil … has typically been times of war, revolution, depression, and struggle for national liberation. in such situations, emergency conditions foster the seizure of emergency powers and frequently delegitimize the previous regime.” (5) these periods are often marked by a lack of democracy or only fragile/nominal democracy. some of the most obvious examples include the russian revolution of october and february of 1917, itself partially brought about because of severe economic conditions, and the failure of democracy and the severe economic depression in the weimar republic following wwi. although the failed coup by soviet leaders in 1991 may not seem relevant or as prominent, it was just as important, because it lead to the eventual constitutional crisis of russia in 1993. although yeltsin is thought of as a reformer in some regards, he certainly laid the groundwork for a state that was conducive to authoritarian rule via the establishment of a new constitution which created an unrestrainable executive and a weak representative branch. further, his economic policy manifested extreme income inequality, vastly increasing poverty for the general populace while concentrating much of the nation’s wealth in the hands of a few oligarchs. as we will see, this economic policy was an incredibly important element to the rise of an authoritarian regime in post-communist russia. as scott mentioned, depression can play a major role in the establishment of authoritarian regimes and one need only think of the hyperinflation and depression that resulted from the victors’ imposition of war debts during the years of the weimar republic to immediately grasp its importance as an element paving the way for an authoritarian regime. although the weimar republic’s situation appears to be the result of its indentured servitude to the victors of the great war, there is a deeper story to this. it should be readily apparent to the reader why war and revolution, especially one as violent as the russian revolutions of 1917, contribute to an individual’s sense of existential insecurity, just as it might be obvious why an economic depression falls into that group of events; however, in can democracy survive global capitalism?, robert kuttner proposes that depressions are a symptom of a larger set of issues, including an ever-encroaching global capitalism and a failed set of fiscal and economic policies, and he contends that representative democracy plays a pivotal role in the prevention of authoritarian regimes coming to power in the first place via their particular implementation of economic policy. as he sees it, representative democracy is supposed to reign in unfettered capitalism through a series keynesian economic policies designed to provide the most social good for the largest number of people. when governments fail to do so, when they in fact promote classic laissezfaire capitalism characterized by deregulation, fiscal austerity measures, and stripping unions of their power, the result is that economic downturns are more frequent, more severe and tend to last longer. additionally, in poorly regulated market economies, wealth tends to become concentrated in the hands of the few, known as elites, rather than the many, and as a result of these processes, the masses suffer the brunt of the economic hardship, and these periods are characterized by huge disparities in economic equality. since wealth tends to buy more political access and influence, and since political leaders appear more concerned with the needs of the elite, the masses become disenfranchised with democracy and are left with a sense that government does not serve them, but rather only serves those with money. kuttner sees the relationship between democracy’s legitimacy and its ability to mitigate market forces inextricably tied together in mutual beneficial symbiosis. “when the system is in balance, strong democracy tempers market forces for the general good, in turn reinforcing democratic legitimacy” (xvi). when democracy is reigning in capitalism it can perform its role as, “both a bulwark against totalitarianism and a shield against economic concentration” (14). from a historical perspective, kuttner argues that, “fascism thrived on the failure of parliamentary democracy to solve urgent problems. in the aftermath of world war i, these included national humiliation and economic catastrophe, never a good combination. the failures, in turn, discredited democracy itself, to the point where people were willing to turn to dictators.” (263) in addition, the weimar republic employed extreme fiscal austerity policies, which only deepened its depression. post-communist russians certainly suffered some national humiliation, witnessing the loss of a great empire to be followed by a president who was supremely embarrassing because of his buffoonery and drunkenness seen across the globe. and yeltsin’s economic policies, including a fire sale of government assets, led to extreme economic inequality, which was not only a problem that the nascent democracy had caused, but could not solve. whereas war reparations on the weimar republic were imposed from external sources, russia’s economic hardship was imposed from internal forces, essentially self-imposed. the effect is the same, but the distinction is important. it is far too easy to attribute the rise of hitler to the imposition of unbearable war debt, without grasping how economic policy, even that employed by present day governments, could push a population towards authoritarianism, if that government’s economic policy was similar to that of the weimar republic. and it might be just as tempting to blame russia’s economic circumstances on its leaders’ lack of experience creating and managing a market economy, satisfied that such a situation could not arise in the west because of its deep experience with managing market economies, but this overlooks the more important consequence of how russia’s situation in the late 1990’s contributed to the rise of an authoritarian regime. although russia’s transition to a market economy would have been vastly difficult under any circumstances, the result of extreme economic inequality is still similar to the current situation kuttner finds in many present day western societies. again, russia appears to be an exception, because of its abortive attempts to implement democracy, as evidenced by the constitutional crisis of 1993 when the representative branch of russia’s government would not yield to its executive, and subsequently yeltsin shelled the building housing the representative branch, effectively shelling russia’s nascent representation of democracy. to be sure, a nominal democracy existed after new elections, but was quite fragile, and was (and still is) subject to an executive branch with broad ranging powers and the ability to easily encroach upon the representative branch. the point is that it is quite easy to overlook the exception and fail to realize its applicability to present day democracies, which is a sentiment best captured by pomerantsev, quoting an associate: ‘we used to have this self-centered idea that western democracies were the end point of evolution, and we’re dealing from a position of strength, and people are becoming like us. it’s not that way. because if you think this thing we have here isn’t fragile you are kidding yourself. this, ‘and here jamison takes a breath and waves his hand around to denote maida vale, london, the whole of western civilization, ‘this is just fragile.’ (227) in the wake of the fall of the ussr, the notion was floated that capitalism had defeated communism, and many had made the assumption that a market economy in russia would go hand in hand with the burgeoning democratization of the country, yet as tony judt points out in ill fairs the land: … if we give the matter a moment’s thought, we can see that the 20th century morality tale of ‘socialism vs. freedom’ or ‘communism vs. capitalism’ is misleading. capitalism is not a political system; it is a form of economic life, compatible in practice with rightwing dictatorships (chile under pinochet), left-wing dictatorships (contemporary china), social-democratic monarchies (sweden) and plutocratic republics (the united states). whether capitalist economies thrive best under conditions of freedom is perhaps more of an open question than we like to think. (145) but rather than assisting in the democratization of russia, the introduction of a free-wheeling market economy likely hastened the country’s trajectory towards authoritarian rule, as old forms of stability were cast aside in favor of a system which created extreme economic inequality. although obviously imperfect, the communist party had provided much of the connective tissue within russian society with its multifaceted roles organizing civic society, providing ladders for individual economic advancement, operating government, providing communication channels for people to voice a limited scope of opinions and desires, and guaranteeing a certain minimum living standard, including a job and a pension. but with the collapse of the party and its system of rule, there was the sudden liberation from the relative security and stability which it had provided, and its citizens were faced with a period of existential insecurity due to conditions quite similar to those described by fromm. without recourse to remedy their situations through a truly democratic institution and without the stability of the old regime, people were ready to seek out a higher power in which to immerse themselves in order to regain their sense of existential security. with the introduction of income inequality, existential security is degraded yet further. wilkinson and pickett, in the spirit level, present convincing data-driven, empirical evidence which supports the case that income inequality is the single most explanatory variable for measurable levels of social trust, mental health, drug use, physical health, life expectancy, obesity, educational performance, teenage birth, social mobility, violence and imprisonment. and the greater the income inequality within a society, the more adversely affected these areas are. although the us was the focus of the authors’ book, the gini coefficients for both the us and russia are historically comparable over the last 25 years. the authors also note that in the 1990’s, russia’s transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy was “accompanied by a rapid rise in income inequality” (87). however, the authors are careful to limit the scope of their conclusions and without a specific study related to existential insecurity, what can be safely stated here is that income inequality does adversely affect many areas which, at least superficially, would seem to exacerbate existential insecurity. it may be worth reviewing the original definition of this idea with emphasis italicized, which states that it is, “the human psychological sense of pervasive danger, a deep and fundamental threatening anxiety, without a sharp focus on a specific danger” (marcuse 924). it is tempting to draw more conclusive causal links, but this must suffice as another theorized piece of evidence that helps affirm the idea that income inequality may heighten existential insecurity and in turn this dynamic increased the possibility that russians would respond to these stimuli with an authoritarian personality. by the time that vladimir putin rose to power, russia’s populace was primed for an autocratic leader, and for a time putin was able to provide a measure of existential security in the form of being credited with russia’s economic boom of the 2000’s and rescuing some of the population from extreme poverty and economic deprivation and taking the first step towards reinforcing his role as chief rescuer. and yet at the same time, he has continued to undermine representative democracy with various changes to the election or appointment of members of the upper and lower house. some authors have contended that the duma is a place where opposition opinions can be voiced, but it has also become an echo chamber for putin’s populist hard right messages, and therefore, as a framing device for positioning his political points of view as centrist. this frame allows him to be seen as a moderate. since the economic downturn in russia after 2008, putin has been able to use the resulting circumstances to his advantage, sharply focusing the population’s fears by providing narratives on foreign interference, foreign economic sanctions, terrorism, and ostensibly subversive elements within society to explain what ails russians, rather than addressing one of the country’s largest issues, the looting of russia’s resources by an elite class of oligarchs and a lack of real representative democracy. compounding these issues, russia has no inherited, collective memory of what a traditional, functioning democracy actually looks like due to the transition from communism. in such an environment, how is democracy to take root? is the rise of an authoritarian russian state nearly inevitable at this point? kuttner believes that his proposed causal link between democracy’s inability to regulate capitalism and the rise of authoritarian states finds its roots in the hard right politics of the masses and warns against the possibility of people turning to autocratic-styled leaders who are able to focus the anger and fear of the societies and in particular, the west, but this does not exempt the study of russia’s political state of affairs or the lessons which could be drawn from it as inapplicable to western societies. “today, large numbers of citizens throughout the west are angry that the good life is being stolen from them. they are not quite sure whom to be angry at – immigrants, corporations, the government, politically correct liberals, the rich, the poor? the anger is both unfocused and inchoate, but increasingly articulated by a neofascist right” (kuttner xv). faced with the erosion of confidence in the institutional efficacy of modern western governments and their seeming inability to provide the economic security they once did, people are turning in greater numbers toward right-wing populism: today’s right-wing populism is a repudiation of liberalism in its multiple forms. ultranationalist leaders are contemptuous of the norms of parliamentary democracy. radically nationalist masses reject such liberal values as tolerance, compromise, universal rights, and informed deliberation. there are national variations, but the common elements include a feeling that the system has failed the citizenry; that the nation must be taken back from the cosmopolitans; and a belief that a strong leader who embodies the true popular will is preferable to squabbling and corrupt parliamentarians. (kuttner 260) putin is the embodiment of a strong authoritarian leader that kuttner is warning against, one who provides convincing popular narratives, which help russians make sense of an insensible world, by making claims that the world does not give russia the respect it deserves, or that the west is hypocritical by breaking international laws it attempts to enforce on russia, etc. and putin is also the leader that russians have turned to after their relative security was swept away after the fall of the ussr. the next dynamic to be examined is the loop of putin’s reinforcement of power. critics will rightly point out that putin has not consistently eliminated his political opposition, as thoroughly as one might expect an authoritarian leader necessarily to do, but that opposition is at times necessary to the maintenance of the regime’s power. certainly, there are natural ebbs and flows in the stability of any state, each new instance of instability offering a strong authoritarian leader an opportunity to coopt it for the purposes of the regime. according to walzer, within totalitarian states, “social control ... is dependent upon continuous upheaval, crisis, struggle, and instability. all those together breed uncertainty and distrust among the people ... and mutual distrust (as aristotle said) is the key to all tyrannical rule” (walzer 111-112). while this may seem selfevident, it should also be just as self-evident that only a near permanent sense of existential insecurity is essential to the survival of the regime. coopting an organically grown opposition movement by creating an alternative narrative for its existence in order to heighten a feeling of existential insecurity among the masses is perhaps preferable to manufacturing a threat like stalin’s doctors’ plot, and is at least more convincing when protestors fill the streets. arguably, even if putin does not dispatch with most of his political opposition through assassination, he heavily handicaps them by forcing them from prominence by jailing them, stripping them of resources, position and credibility, or forcing them into permanent exile. there are certainly arguments in favor of the masses’ ability to organize their opposition using social media platforms. to be sure, advances in technology have facilitated better organizational capability and greater access to readily available information. that is not in question, but the quality of that information is. as i cited in a previous paper, jared diamond wrote, “the kings and priests of ancient sumer wanted writing to be used by professional scribes to record numbers of sheep owed in taxes, not by the masses to write poetry and hatch plots” (235). further, citing the renowned anthropologist, claude levi-strauss, he wrote that, “ancient writing’s main function was ‘to facilitate the enslavement of other human beings’” (235). thus there is a long standing historical tradition of centrally commanded state authorities attempting to exercise control over the masses by employing technology against them and preventing that technology from reaching the masses with the understanding that it could be used to spread information to subvert its power. in the red web, soldatov and borogan document the creation and nearly immediate, subsequent destruction of the first xerox machine in late soviet russia, thus establishing its place in the same historical vein. soviet russia had a well-documented and long standing tradition of attempting to eradicate certain parts of its official history, including obviously the technology which could have spread it as well, hence the masses’ solution of samizdat. but in modern day russia, the total destruction of information and the technology used to spread it, is not an option for putin’s regime. essentially, computers are extremely efficient copying machines and the internet is the supreme copying machine, spreading information far and wide, unrestricted, and fully open to anyone willing to pay a nominal monthly fee. and despite the vast repository of factual information to be found on the internet, it is completely packed with disinformation, distortions of objective facts, “alternative” histories, and falsified results of “scientific” studies, faked firsthand accounts, and of course, endless personal opinions, punctuated by the ability of just about anyone to anonymously harass anyone who attempts to interact with others in this realm. in large part, the creation of this misleading information is backed by the resources of the regime and spread by state controlled entities; and subsequently, much more is organically spread yet further by loyalists to the regime. putin’s regime adapted the most open platform ever for the sharing of information in the most effective way possible, by coopting the very mechanism that allows the opposition to organize itself; and therefore increasing the regime’s organizational capacity in parallel. in combination with a predominantly state controlled mass media, the echo chamber that is the representative branch of government, and the cooption of technology based organizational platforms, putin (and his supporters) are able to shape, manipulate and disseminate putin’s narrative of events with unprecedented efficiency and ease. beyond this, for all the ostensible openness of the internet, soldatov and borogan document a country wide system of internet surveillance, initially installed and forced upon internet providers without legal precedent, but gradually, under the auspices of security implementations to inhibit potential terrorist attacks, this system is now partially legalized. the authors also document ideas by the state to create the ability to “turn off” the internet from outside of russia, also for security purposes. finally, according to various websites, russia has forced instagram to remove the online videos of opposition leader, alexei navalny, and youtube has at times temporarily removed navalny’s videos at the russian federation’s request (coldewey). so while the regime cannot completely eradicate information, it still does exercise great power in forcing the hands of technology companies to its own will. masha gessen’s the future is history documents the lives of several people who grow up in post-soviet russia, including the story of young gay man who eventually teaches courses in gender studies at perm university, but is subsequently forced from his position and seeks asylum in america because the threat to his life, due to his sexual orientation, becomes increasingly tangible and entirely possible, as gessen documents deadly attacks on young gay men which go unprosecuted (411-418). gessen also documents attempts by legislators to pass laws which essentially conflate homosexuality with the sexual molestation of children and to punish gay people accordingly. one legislator lamented that if only such laws were in place, citizens would not have to take justice into their own hands. by omission of action, the state no longer needs to terrorize its people; rather instead, it lets factions of its people lash out violently and with impunity against other members of society. the law discussed here, more widely known in the west as “the gay propaganda law,” did pass to become official state law. surely it only emboldened the extreme elements of russian society. with this conflation, an open dialog surrounding sexual orientation cannot even take place because supposed deviants have been legally villainized and sanctioned. and in this way, the regime has once again hijacked open discourse with its own narrative, locating the ills of society with a particular group, and giving focus to peoples’ fears and then “remedying” the situation, thus reinforcing the loop of the authoritarian personality response. rather than attempting to absolutely control information and abolish the spread of undesirable information, the regime has adopted multiple approaches to the spread and quality of information available. and with so many echo chambers, the regime can avoid the appearance of being the entity originating its own narratives or acting in a way which places the official responsibility for terrorizing the population with the regime. by far, this is one of putin’s most effective strategies, that is to refer to the law incessantly and emphasize its importance; and yet, distancing the regime from anything outside of its official, lawful capacity, while at the same time, allowing “organic” movements to act as unofficial surrogates serving the state’s purposes, whether it be online trolls, anti-opposition groups, or troops engaging in the ukrainian civil war. in this way, the classic roles of both technology and law are subverted to the regime’s needs. and when putin answers a question by prefacing his statements with a reference to the law, he seemingly makes himself appear subservient to the law, almost self-effacing and modest; and yet actually, this is a very self-reflexive action because it reinforces his own authority since he possesses the constitutional ability to issue wide ranging decrees, which may encroach upon or restrict the representative branch and the constitutional rights of russian citizens. but more importantly, according to lilia shevtsova, “the russian president’s status makes it possible for him to constantly expand his powers” and thus, “the constitution is thus both the main guarantor and main instrument for keeping russia’s authoritarian system in place” (22). what then is the exact horizon of putin’s lawful powers? as fromm suggested earlier, god or an institution may serve as the power with which man may exchange his freedom for security, which when combined is likely an organized religion. norris and inglehart have already proposed that religion may play a role in mitigating existential insecurity. but here again, putin’s russia of 2018 has embraced the church, and endorsed the church’s less tolerant views on social issues such as sexual orientation (the economist). thus, the regime has not only coopted religion’s potential role mitigating existential insecurity created by the regime, it has in turn eliminated a competing, alternative source of existential security, and it has also located yet another surrogate that can act on the regime’s behalf by energizing adherents of both the church/state to mobilize against their fellow citizens who adhere to less accepted traditions. to conclude, the rise of authoritarian regimes has some of its primary roots in human psychological reactions to modern economic conditions, including the rise of market economies and laissez-faire capitalism, and conditions which can be further exacerbated by man-made catastrophes. although kuttner warns that only democracy can serve as a bulwark against the rise of authoritarian regimes, in several cases it has failed to do so, but the deeper nature of these cases, like that of the weimar republic are generally overlooked as relates to the rise of authoritarian states. potential lessons from russia’s political development over the past 30 years may also fail to be realized due to the west’s notion of its supremacy of political and economic systems, while treating russia as an exception. although not inevitable, many of the circumstances, which provided an opportunity for an authoritarian leader to come to power, were present in russia before putin took office. the collapse of the ussr ushered in a market economy, which dislodged its populace from an established sense of societal order and security that had been kept in place by the communist system of government. in this system, each person could count upon certain minimum standards, but the rise of the market economy swept them away and also brought about extreme income inequality, which was additionally exacerbated by yeltsin’s “loan for shares” scheme. the russian populace was ready respond to its state of existential insecurity with fromm’s psychological response, the authoritarian personality. since he has been in power, putin has been able to maintain his power through repurposing the classic roles of law, technology, the representative branch and the church, allowing him to use them as surrogates in order to hijack open discourses to spread his narrative of events, act with force where he cannot with plausible deniability, and raise the specter of constant threat against russia’s populace. all of this gives sharp focus to the sense of existential insecurity experienced by a great deal of russia’s population, who in their search for a sense of existential security turn to putin time and again, and have given their allegiance to him, but more essentially traded their freedom, for a sense of security. given that there is some truth to this idea, it must be remembered that nothing about authoritarian regimes is deterministic. hannah arendt, erich fromm and viktor frankl have all remarked upon man’s incredible gift of freedom, and the ways in which it can be used to empower the self through conscious, deliberate choice, which one might describe as democracy on the scale of the individual self. bibliography: arendt, hannah. totalitarianism: part three of “the origins of totalitarianism”. new york, harcourt hbj, 1968. coldewey, devin. “under russian pressure to remove content, instagram complies but youtube holds off.” techcrunch, http://social.techcrunch.com/2018/02/15/under-russianpressure-to-remove-content-instagram-complies-but-youtube-holds-off/. accessed 27 jan. 2019. diamond, jared. guns, germs and steel: the fates of human societies. new york, w.w. norton & company, 1997. frankl, viktor e. man’s search for meaning. boston, beacon press, 1959. fromm, erich. escape from freedom. new york, henry holt & company, 1941, 1965. gessen, masha. the future is history. new york, riverhead books, 2017. judt, tony. ill fares the land. new york, the penguin press, 2010. kuttner, robert. can democracy survive global capitalism. new york, w. w. norton & company, 2018. marcuse, p. (2006). security of safety in cities? the threat of terrorism after 9/11. international journal of urban and regional research, 30.4, 919-929. doi: 10.1111/j.1468 2427.2006.00700.x norris, pippa and ronald inglehart. sacred and secular: religion and politics worldwide. new york, cambridge university press, 2004. pomerantsev, peter. nothing is true and everything is possible. ny, public affairs, 2014. scott, james c. seeing like a state: how certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. new haven, yale university press, 1998. shevtsova, lilia. interregnum: russia between past and future. washington, carnegie endowment for international peace, 2014. soldatov, andrei and irina borogan. the red web: the kremlin’s wars on the internet. new york, public affairs, 2017. “vladimir putin embraces the russian church.” the economist, feb. 2018. the economist, https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/02/03/vladimir-putin-embraces-the-russian-church. walzer, michael. “on failed totalitarianism,” in: irving howe (ed.), 1984 revisited: totalitarianism in our century. new york, harper and rowe, 1983. wilkinson, richard and kate pickett. the spirit level. new york, bloomsbury press, 2009. microsoft word soto history final for on-line 2016 concept.docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 1 2016 graduate research prize purchasing the status: religious confraternities in late-colonial venezuela andreina soto history in the year 1756, the ordinance of the confraternity san juan bautista, established in the city of caracas, arrived at the council of indies for their final approval.1 this document was written by administrator (mayordomo) juan isidro gutiérrez de medina who, stating his condition of free-black (moreno libre), represented the interests of his brothers (cofrades) to create this organization. juan isidro issued the document as a way to guarantee “the spiritual and economic government of the confraternity,” which is shown in his emphasis to address religious as well as administrative matters. the document also indicates the relevance of determining the socioracial and economic conditions of the principal members (cofrades principales or supernumerarios). the ordinances established that these brothers would only be like juan isidro, black men (morenos), “of good life and shape, timorous and devotees, no women, no handicapped, nor those sick in bed.”2 more importantly, these men had to prove their commitment to the confraternity by providing an almsgiving of four pesos and one pound of wax.3 the monetary contribution granted these men decision-making power, the right to vote for administrative positions, and visible participation in the religious practices of the brotherhood. the payment also guaranteed the proper passing of their souls to the                                                                                                                           1 archivo general de indias (agi), santo domingo, 733. 2 ibid., f. 1v. 3 in spanish-america, one peso of silver was equal to eight reales. based on an inventory from a commercial establishment (bodega) owned by alberto reverón in the city of la victoria (1803), we can estimate four pesos was the value for household items such as two pairs of metal chandeliers or forty pounds of almonds. other items on the list included two crystal bottles for one peso and one real, copper items worth in six pesos, one pound and a half of cinnamon for six pesos, and thirteen and a half almudes (boxes of 10-11 cm3) of cocoa, with a total value of twenty pesos and two reales. josé rafael lovera, historia de la alimentación en venezuela (caracas: monte ávila, 1998). concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 2 afterlife, since the confraternity provided the coffin and the necessary ornaments for the funerary rituals.4 in the same way as the confraternity of san juan bautista, different brotherhoods of the province of caracas also requested their legitimation by the council of indies. the structure of these ordinances was a repeated pattern in which the calidad (condition or quality) and the payment of almsgiving seem to have had an important role in determining the hierarchies and the level of participation in the confraternities. taking into consideration this pattern, a question emerges: does the organization of confraternities reveal new dynamics and categories within the socioracial structure of the province of venezuela? even though the ordinances show a theoretical functioning of these organizations, the relationship between socioeconomic aspects and spiritual practices seems to suggest brotherhoods were not just spaces for religious devotion. instead, the ordinances of the confraternities suggest that brotherhoods in the province of caracas served as social spaces that allowed for identity formation and bonds of solidarity based on economic and socioracial terms. furthermore, since they were organizations opened to different levels of the colonial society, it is possible to assume they served as avenues for social mobility during a period when the purchase of whiteness seemed restricted by the local power of the creole elite.5 the following paper will analyze the ordinances of different confraternities founded in the province of venezuela during the eighteenth century to understand the relation between religious organizations and socioeconomic mobility. in my research, i will explore the construction of socioracial categories and power relations in venezuela’s colonial society, and the relevance of almsgiving to creating forms of alliance and exclusion in the conformation of confraternities. more than a charitable action, the payment of alms was a financial transaction that provided revenues, which the brotherhoods utilized to fund their activitities. this payment also created internal hierarchies within the confraternity and channels of social mobility for the brothers. finally, i will explore how the almsgiving also created a different status in the afterlife. confraternities in the province of venezuela controlled both the material and the spiritual elements necessary for funerary rituals, and the amounts each person paid created multiple ways in which the brothers proceeded with the postmortem practices of the deceased members. the ordinances analyzed in this paper offer a look into “the conventions that confraternities observed, from mundane matters such as protocols for particular                                                                                                                           4 agi, santo domingo, 733, f. 4. 5 twinam has an interesting discussion about the extent and effectiveness of gracias al sacar for mulattos and pardos in the province of venezuela. ann twinam, purchasing whiteness. pardos, mulattos, and the quest for social mobility in the spanish indies (california: stanford university press, 2015), 29-32. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 3 circumstances, to such formal concerns as memberships in obligations and internal governing policies.”6 these documents provide a theoretical perspective of the way these individuals created their corporate identity, which is why it is important to keep in mind their values and limitations. first, these ordinances were written by professional scribes, who were familiar with the rules pertaining to confraternities, “including those of clerics and aristocrats.”7 hence, we must be aware that these documents represented a communal identity and contained the voices of multiple actors–mayordomos, principal brothers, attorneys, and scribes–were all involved in their production. even though it is impossible to discern the degree of agency of each individual, these documents reflect a common thread of legal thinking and the main interests of the colonial confraternities. additionally, since the main goal of these documents was to gain the approval of the bishop and the council of indies, they were carefully crafted to please their readers. these constitutions might not necessarily hold the everyday life of the cofrades, but they do show the ways in which they defined themselves in socioracial and economic terms, and how they created a group identity with legal, religious, and financial faculties. hence, by analyzing the social and economic dynamics created through the confraternities, this study provides a different dimension for understanding the social fabric forming in the province of venezuela from the perspective of local organizations and monetary exchange. socioracial categories in late-colonial venezuela in her study about the gracias al sacar—a spanish royal decree that freed individuals from the casta system with their legal recognition as “white” persons— historian ann twinam examines the relationship between race and racism as interrelated dimensions in the colonial identities. according to twinam: [spanish america] was universalist and racist in its assignation of blackness as an inferior category justifying discrimination. it was constructionist in that it recognized variable statutes between white and black and brown and spanish and african and native and permitted movement among categories.8                                                                                                                           6 maureen flynn, sacred charity. confraternities and social welfare in spain, 1400-1700 (new york: cornell university press, 1989), 8. 7 flynn, sacred charity, 9. 8 twinam, purchasing whiteness, 43. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 4 twinam’s analysis examines the different elements that defined the social relations of spanish-american groups, and highlights its changeable character and fluidity in the making of the spanish indies. her study also exposes how this “malleability” was confronted with barriers of the colonial system in which different forms of differentiation based on the calidad or quality—based on the skin color, the purity of blood, and economic wealth—determined closed and hierarchical groups. the term calidad was used as a diagnostic strategy that was based on physiognomic constructs, such as the purity of blood and lineage, in order to distinguish between white and non-white individuals, and to grant social and civil prerogatives.9 hence, when discussing socioracial categories in the colonial context, it is important to keep in mind the importance of the term calidad as the main emic category of social identification, which comprises physical, moral, and economic values.10 historian magaly carrera, who examines portraitures and casta paintings in new spain, also suggests the importance of the term calidad in understanding the social values behind these colonial paintings. for carrera, casta paintings and portraitures were representations of the bodies and the social attributes of emic categories such as white (blanco), indigenous (indio), mixed-race (mestizo), and black (negro/moreno). these categories were based on ethnic and racial components, but they were also based on the construction of social, behavioral, and material markers. in a context where imperial anxieties in spain increased due to miscegenation in the spanish indies, the applications of socioracial boundaries, the composition of mechanism of evaluation and surveillance, and the legitimation of blood purity highlights the need for the colonial system to control the “hybrid bodies.” while carrera studies this phenomenon through colonial art in new spain, there are other authors who have analyzed the functioning of these mechanisms through written records. for instance, joanne rappaport explores the legal disputes in new granada and examines the significance and ambiguity of the                                                                                                                           9 carrera, imagining identify, 9; 13. 10 emic and etic are terms developed in anthropological research to distinguish between the entities and processes of social life that are real and important to the individuals (emic) and processes the researchers are capable of explaining a person’s thoughts and practices (etic). like ann twinam and magaly carrera, i will use the term socioracial instead of race and ethnicity as our etic category, since it allows us to consider broader elements in the composition of identities in spanish america, including physical attributes as well as moral, social, and economic conditions. marvin harris, “history and significance of the emic/etic distinction,” annual review of anthropology 5 (1976): 329-350; ann twinam, purchasing whiteness; magaly carrera, imagining identity in new spain. (austin: university of texas press, 2003). concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 5 category mestizo.11 rappaport argues that the adoption of certain calidades is part of a “speech act” that intertwines institutional impositions and individual/group perceptions.12 similarly to twinam and carrera, rappaport explains that the analysis of the socioracial categories that define calidad is central to understanding how people negotiated and disputed their identities in the spanish indies. rappaport maintains that the varied and changeable categories people used during their court testimonies shows the fluidity and malleability of the socioracial terms they applied to their identities during the colonial period. therefore, rappaport unveils how the varied use of categories such as mestizo, mulato, and blanco shows the agency of individuals in the construction of their own identities. the province of venezuela was not exempt from the complex and ambiguous relations that existed throughout the social structure of spanishamerica. in this regard, twinam offers a rich analysis of the historiography of venezuela and maintains that the region is a very particular case, which makes scholars differ in their analysis of the social structure in colonial venezuela.13 according to twinam, the different interpretations of authors such as fréderique langue, michael mckinley, alí enrique lopez bohorque, laureano valenilla lanz, and arlene díaz focus on particular aspects which produced diverse conclusions about the lack of tensions within venezuela’s social structure, specifically whether they existed in the first place and, if so, for how long.14 according to twinam, in caracas, as in any other territory of spanish-america, there were different socioracial groups who defied discriminatory legislations, who sought upward mobility by whitening, and who achieved economic success. at the same time, there was an urban elite organized in municipal councils to secure their own economic and social status; these two groups were often at odds with each other. the particularity of caracas lies in the extreme nature of these two dimensions:                                                                                                                           11 joanne rappaport, the disappearing mestizo. configuring difference in the colonial new kingdom of granada (durham: duke university press, 2014). 12 ibid. 66. 13 twinam, purchasing whiteness, 205. 14 fréderique langue, aristócratas, honor y subversión en la venezuela del siglo xviii (caracas: academia nacional de la historia, 2000); p. michael mckinley, pre-revolutionary caracas: politics, economy, and society 1777-1811 (new york: cambridge university press, 1985); alí enrique lópez bohorque, los ministros de la audiencia de caracas, 1786-1810 (caracas: academia nacional de la historia, 1984); laureano valenilla lanz, cesarismo democrático: estudio sobre las bases sociológicas de la constitución efectiva de venezuela (caracas: tipografía garrido, 1961); arlene díaz, citizens, patriarchs, and the law in venezuela, 17861994 (lincoln: university of nebraska press, 2004). twinam, purchasing whiteness, 205. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 6 there was a substantial pardo presence; there had been significant mobility; and there existed intense repression. such combination created an atmosphere where not only white but every caste category—pardos, mulattos, tercerones, quarterones, quinterones, mestizos, zambos, slaves, and natives—engaged in exquisite calibrations of those genealogical linkages that created their distinctive designations.15 twinam examines the tensions between the mixed-race population (pardos) and the white elites and exposes the limitations the caracas council presented to the pardos in their quest to obtain gracias al sacar by the end of the eighteenth century. her research also suggests that organizations such as guilds and militias were avenues that permitted social alliances for these subordinated groups, and channels to obtain local status and social cohesion. based on this idea, it is also possible to consider religious confraternities as organizations that permitted socioeconomic transactions while using the legal frame of a religious institution. historian graciela soriano, who studies the social structure of late-colonial venezuela, explains that the social structure was based on the casta system, the purity of blood, and the lineage.16 she explains the importance of determining the “degree” of whiteness in order to establish social differences and social status. even though socioracial terms such as white, pardo, indio, and black were part of the everyday language spoken in the province, soriano states that the casta system is not sufficient enough to understand the colonial relations in the province of venezuela. for soriano, the casta system intertwined with other structures and criteria in which the clergy, the nobility, and the state also created social, legal, and political distinctions among the population. thus, there were emerging official figures that “consolidated the corporative organization of municipalities, urban guilds, communities, provinces, [and] universities, through the acquisition of subjective rights that translated in privileges, prerogatives, and immunities.”17 this dynamic character and the existence of emerging channels of mobility were built upon socioracial alliances and economic access. according to soriano, this is evidenced by the increasing rate of pardo population, and how the local society established their own criteria and assessments based on color, dignity, and wealth.18 the fluidity of the socioracial terms and the negotiation of socioracial identities is evidenced in the ordinances of the confraternities in the province of                                                                                                                           15 twinam, purchasing whiteness, 206. 16 graciela soriano, venezuela 1810-1830: aspectos desatendidos de dos décadas (caracas: cuadernos lagoven, 1988), 39. 17 soriano, venezuela 1810-1830, 42. 18 ibid. 46. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 7 venezuela. these ordinances show how the socioracial categories, based on calidad, helped to construct a legal image for the confraternities, using a religious organization in order to obtain socioeconomic advantages. the ordinances also show how socioracial identification is a matter of visual, verbal, and written constructions that convey surveillance and self-representation. take, for example, a request made by the confraternity of the inmaculada, pura y limpia concepción, located in la victoria in 1766.19 the brotherhood, in the name of the neighbors and residents of the town, issued a petition to the council of indies and the spanish king—who had the last say in the matter—asking for authorization to perform sacramental acts and mystic comedies. the brothers emphasized that these activities would increase their revenues, improve the adornment of the church, and deepen the devotion to the virgin.20 the official roster of members lists don joseph de castro, captain of company of whites and the militiamen don atonio de leon siso, don thomas joseph de alarcon, don joseph antonio rodriguez y pena, diego joseph diaz, and gines franco morales. the petition states the calidad (white) of some members and addresses the military titles they held. but, even though these socioracial and official terms would have increased the socioracial status of the brotherhood, there are also signers with names lacking any specific category or titles (e.g. “don”). at first glance, it seems the confraternity included a variety of calidades, thus permitting socioracial integration between whites and the castas. moreover, the petitioners declare the poverty of the confraternity and the inability of its members to augment the rents with the almsgivings they received. on the surface, it seems the low rents obey the flexibility of the brotherhoods that, in theory, admitted persons of different socioracial categories. however, this also reflects certain ambiguities, as socioracial terms like “white” did not correspond with the ideal of economic status or social boundaries—the brotherhood defines itself as poor and lists white male and persons of unknown calidad. the file suggests that the calidad of its principal members could provide socioracial status, but the lack of economic sustaining weakened their identity as a religious institution. the financial aspect even turned into a matter of concern for the spanish king who, before making any final decision, wanted more information about the composition of the brotherhood. the king ordered the council of indies and the bishop of caracas to provide socioracial and economic information that identified the calidad of the brotherhood. he asked “what kind of people forms [the brotherhood], and which are the execises of devotion employed, which rents or                                                                                                                           19 agi, caracas, 206. 20 agi, caracas, 206. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 8 effects owned.”21 the file does not contain further answers to these questions, but a prosecutor of the council of indies denied the petition, citing the inappropiate character of the acts the brothers wanted to perform. the verdict also emphasized the necessity of gathering more information about the confraternities of the province and urged the governor and captain general to send copies of the ordinances to the council of indies. like the king, this prosecutor demanded information about the calidad of the members, which devotional practices they performed, the nature of their rents, and the fee for admission.22 his concerns reflect the necessity of surveillance. this document shows the different levels necessary to understand the use of socioracial categories negotiated in the confraternities in the province of venezuela, first, as a method of surveillance in the midst of an ambiguous society, in which ethnic, social, cultural, and econmic factors determined the identity of individuals and groups; and secondly as a way to show how common people used socioracial categories and economic transactions to form associations. as rappaport mentions, “socioracial identification was counterbalanced by social interaction and [points] to the multiple, overlapping, and ever-changing circles.”23 hence, the sole reliance on racial categories and the prevalence of castas as a fixed and closed system lost sight of other mechanisms in which “diversity was managed and negotiated in the colonial period.”24 taking into consideration graciela soriano’s argument, it is feasible to assume that confraternities in the province of venezuela were organizations that took part in the variable dynamics of the period. furthermore, the analysis of confraternities in the province of venezuela permits us to understand the interrelation between socioracial categories, based on calidad, and economic transactions, with the practice of almsgiving. corporate identity: confraternities, almsgiving, and the purchase of status confraternities were religious institutions that served to channel popular devotion in medieval spain and were subsequently imported to the americas. the catholic church defined confraternities as the voluntary association of laic devotees under the name of a religious avocation, to venerate a patron saint and inspire greater consecration. the main functions of the brotherhoods usually centered on charitable practices, and the funerary rites of its members and supporters.25                                                                                                                           21 ibid. f. 2v. 22 ibid. f. 1v. 23 rappaport, disappearing mestizo, 72. 24 ibid. 209. 25 baltazar enrique porras, ana hilda duque, niria suárez, and raquel morales, el patrimonio eclesiástico venezolano: pasado y futuro, v. 3 (caracas: universidad católica andrés bello, concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 9 according to baltazar enrique porras et al., the evangelization process of the indigenous population in venezuela relied on the formation of brotherhoods, whose members “enjoyed partial and plenary indulgences, which guaranteed an afterlife next to the lord.”26 these authors maintain there is a difference between the indigenous and the urban confraternities in venezuela. the indigenous brotherhoods were imposed upon indigenous societies aiming to exterminate native religion by indoctrination and “responding to the political organization imposed by the spanish crown.”27 the urban confraternities, usually formed by european settlers and their descendants, were a “necessity” for their members, recreating their iberian customs and religion, which, at the same time strengthened power relations. nonetheless, brotherhoods through time did not limit their permeation into other groups and did not restrict themselves to religious practices. the most fundamental change in colonial cities was the inclusion of different socioracial groups beyond the limits of the white elites. this shows a certain degree of flexibility and reflects the local identities and social divisions that formed in spanish-america.28 historian ermila troconis exposes this in-depth in her analysis of three black brotherhoods that operated in caracas between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.29 troconis explains that confraternities were a form of organization that permeated different sectors of society. through their legal basis as religious organizations, the confraternities allowed individuals to create mechanisms of economic improvement. these brotherhoods helped their members gain a “certain degree of representativeness of their power as social groups, claiming them as prerogatives based on acquired rights, and in the certainty that they were responsible for the economic bonanza that characterized [them].”30 troconis suggests that the creation of confraternities reflects the “closed cores of ethnic groups, in which multiple degrees of social hierarchy are noticed.”31 but troconis also argues that ethnic identity intertwines with economic factors, which exposes the permeability of these “closed cored groups” and permitted the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         2007). josé-luis salcedo bastardo, historia fundamental de venezuela (caracas: ediciones de la biblioteca, universidad central de venezuela, 1996) 26 porras et al, patrimonio eclesiástico, 62. 27 ibid. 63. 28 nicole von germeten, black blood brothers, confraternities and social mobility for afromexicans (gainesville, university press of florida, 2006), 2. 29 ermila troconis, “tres cofradías de negros en la iglesia de san mauricio de caracas,” montalbán 4 (1976): 339-376. all quotations from this article have been translated from the spanish by the author. 30 troconis, “tres cofradías de negros,” 340. 31 ibid. 339. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 10 admission of pardos and indios, for example, based on almsgiving fees. hence, the almsgiving seems to be a determining factor for these organizations, in which the economic transactions had the same value as the religious ideology. the ordinances do not allow us to go beyond their legal frames, but they show the transformations these spanish institutions underwent in the americas by the turn of the eighteenth century. at the same time, they show how the financial element (the almsgiving) perpetuated differentiated relations within the confraternities. as twinam sustains, “law, custom, religion, necessity, time, and region influenced mobility, creating potential interstices,”32 and provided different avenues for upward mobility, e.g. gracias al sacar, marriages, guilds, and militias. religious confraternities were one of the institutional avenues individuals used to create a corporate identity with legal faculties based on economic and socioracial exclusionary practices. in them, almsgiving was a key mechanism of cohesion, segregation, and status even among subordinated groups. even though confraternities did not have the political power of administrative institutions, such as city councils, the documents from the period suggest their critical importance in the definition of socioracial identities, religious affiliation, and economic mobility.33 the following chart (table 1) shows the data from five different confraternities founded between the years 1737 and 1756 in the cities of caracas, la guaira, and la victoria and connects the socioracial and economic determinants these groups utilized to define their corporate identity. in order to provide an overview of the emic terminology, the table shows the calidad of each brotherhood, through which they reasserted their socioracial status. the next two columns show the relation between economic transactions, social hierarchies and religious practices. the distribution of the alms each confraternity requested depended on the activities they organized each year. the name of the patron saint usually determined the annual festivities of the brotherhood, along with other religious practices that organized with the community and the church. since the alms sustained these organizations, the ordinances show a great concern for establishing administrative duties and specifying the purpose of the rents each corporation received since its foundation and throughout the year.                                                                                                                           32 twinam, purchasing whiteness, 122. 33 twinam, purchasing whiteness, 204. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 11 table 1. confraternities in the province of venezuela (almsgiving and activities) confraternity socioracial category almsgiving purpose of the alms nuestra señora de guía san mauricio church. caracas, march 31 1737 negros/ morenos 5 pesos and one pound of wax admission fee as principal member. any other person who gave the same fee could enjoy the same rights in the decision making. the amount secured funerary rituals and ornaments. 4 reales membership for other brothers. this amount determined a lower quality of funerary ritual. 10 pesos annual investment for the festivity of nuestra señora de guía. the total covered the deacons and the procession. 10 pesos. annual investment for the sermon given during the festivity of the virgin. the total also covered the ornaments, the musicians, and the scents (myrrh?). 2 pesos almsgiving every saturday to cover the mass. 1 peso annual commemoration of the deceased brothers. n.s. alms requested every saturday of the brothers and the devotees to continue the devotion of the holy rosary with a mass and a procession. the alms covered the candles. 1 coin (n.s.) for the sick brothers. 20 reales when a brother wanted to guarantee the remission of his soul. nuestra señora de la concepción nuestra señora de la victoria church. la victoria, april 7 1739. white spanish and “first founders” 4 pesos of silver (valued in 8 reales each) membership fee as principal member. the amount secured the funerary rituals 8 reales. membership for any person who wanted to join the confraternity, women and men of any calidad. the fee guaranteed the funerary rituals. 10 pesos. annual contribution, requested to the principal members for the maintenance of the confraternity. n.s. for the annual commemoration of the deceased brothers. half real of silver monthly contribution for the maintenance of the confraternity. the total amount was split between the festivities for the virgin and the death brothers’ memorial. n.s. every december 8th, for the festivity of the virgin nuestra señora de la pura y limpia concepcion and for the improvement of the confraternity. n.s. weekly almsgiving requested to the neighbors and residents for the maintenance of the brotherhood. santísimo sacramento san pablo church. caracas, april 3 1748. "don" white creole (?) 10 pesos, 8 reales, and one pound of wax membership as principal brother. the amount secured the funerary rituals, the burial place and the ornaments. 4 pesos and one pound of wax other members. this amount was included later in the ordinances, by request of the bishop. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 12 2 pesos alms requested to pay the priest during every celebration for nuestra señora del carmen, corpus christi, and others. the rest of the expenses were covered by the rents of the brotherhoods. n.s. weekly donations to celebrate of the holy sacrament, requested among the brothers and the neighbors of the parish of san pablo. the brotherhood provided 12 lights (candles) with candlesticks and lanterns for thursday and friday during easter. annual alms for funeral masses. jesús de nazareno san pedro church. la guaira, april 18 1750. "don" white creole (?) 4 reales fee for admission. even though the regulations did not establish differentiated fees, the oldest members would have a higher status and would have to be white. 1 peso each tuesday, to brothers and neighbors, for the celebration of a sung mass in the name of the confraternity and the devotees. 3 reales every october, for the expenses of festivities of san antonio de padua. this amount also covered the celebration of jesus de nazareno on the wednesday of every easter (procession with a sermon). for the expenses of the deceased brothers’ memorial. 8 pesos annual contribution requested to the brothers for the octava de difuntos (death brothers’ memorial). san juan bautista san mauricio church. caracas, november 8 1756. morenos libres 4 pesos and one pound of wax admission fee as principal brother. this amount secured funerary rituals and ornaments. 8 reales of silver. admission for other members. 2 pesos alms given for sung masses in honor of a deceased brother. 1 real of silver. requested to each brother, which would secure the remission of their souls and the proper masses. n.s. monthly alms requested of all members and devotees (women and men) until gathering 100 pesos that were destined to pay for the maintenance and services of the confraternity. celebration of the corpus christi at the church of san mauricio, paying the priest 2 pesos, and covering the expenses for the musicians and ministers. celebration of the holy sacrament, using 1/3 of the total rents and alms to cover the procession and the monuments for the holy week. annual festivity of san juan bautista. annual alms for octava de difuntos (death brothers’ memorial). the ordinances show how socioracial perception is a constant element in the way these confraternities shaped their legal images. the documents indicate the name concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 13 and calidad of the administrator reflected the same criteria for the admittance of the principal members. however, these categories and the institution itself also relied on finances, in the form of regular almsgiving. anyone who wanted to belong to these institutions had to pay a fee for their admittance, and these amounts were usually the highest among the almsgiving rates. in exchange, this fee granted the payer a position of status that, as we will discuss later, secured their funeral. the ordinances also determined other recurrent payments from the principal members and the devotees to develop their practices, which included the festivities for the patron saint, weekly masses, corpus christi, easter, and the annual memorial for the death brothers (octava de difuntos). although the regulations appointed the officers to be in charge of maintaining the religious spirit of the confraternities, their duties were fundamentally linked to administrative activities that secured the preservation of the corporate identity. their role and their continuous payment of alms secured a prominent position within the quotidian and ritual activities of the organization. the brotherhood of nuestra señora de la concepción, for instance, states that all the principal members should be exemplary individuals of the community who showed constant devotion to the church and served as a referent for the “naturals” (indigenous) of the town. however, while the first part of the document supported inclusive practices based on devotion and moral example, other rules show that the almsgiving defined hierarchies and duties. the principal members, in charge of the administration of the brotherhood, were selected only among “white spanish” who paid eight reales as a “contribution.”34 the confraternities of nuestra señora de guía and san juan bautista, both organizations of morenos, relied on similar financial principles and established different rates based on the position a person could afford. the brothers of nuestra señora de guía had to “donate” five pesos and one pound of wax, which guaranteed them the right to opt for administrative duties. these officers were mainly in charge of managing the annual rents and organizing the religious celebrations of the confraternity. the most important position was the administrator (mayordomo), the person in charge of managing the alms, revenues, and material possessions. the procurator (procurador) was responsible for collecting the contributions of the devotees and the pending payments of those who owed money to the brotherhood.35 meanwhile, four deputies (diputados) were in charge of organizing and summoning the members for the rituals and meetings. these titles were selected annually and only the principal members—those who paid the highest membership—could opt for these positions.                                                                                                                           34 agi, santo domingo, 728b, f. 6. 35 agi, santo domingo, 733, f. 2-2v. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 14 likewise, the confraternity of san juan bautista seems to have relied heavily on donations and, based on the almsgiving rates, determined three levels in their internal hierarchy. the brotherhood also augmented the number of positions available: two procurators instead of one, and six deputies instead of four.36 san juan bautista also created the role of constable, who assisted the administrator. this confraternity requested a fee of four pesos and one pound of wax for admission as a principal member (cofrade numerario). other affiliates (cofrades supernumerarios) could pay eight reales of silver. these type of brothers enjoyed certain privileges in the funerary practices, but the administrative offices remained exclusive for the principal members. on a third level were the rest of the devotees associated with the church, who would support the religious activities with monthly or annual contributions for the maintenance of the confraternity and to celebrate annual festivities. the confraternity did not offer them any benefits despite their donations. the ordinances usually ordered that any person who wanted to join their corporation could present their request. however, the rates for the “contributions” show that economic revenue was an important limitation to obtain membership. the brotherhood of jesús de nazareno, which functioned in the city of la guaira since 1742, suggests these alms were probably difficult to afford for the majority of the devotees.37 the document does not give precise reasons, but in 1750 the brothers decided to change its name for the avocation of jesús de nazareno. in spite of this change, most of the administrative and devotional elements of the former corporation remained the same. the “new” organization would be working under the jurisdiction of the church of san pedro, developing activities to “keep and augment the cult to jesús de nazareno and the devotion of the glorious san antonio.”38 as with any other brotherhood, their ordinances stated the acceptance of “all kinds of persons of both sexes who desired it, of all ages and conditions.”39 nevertheless, the admittance as a cofrade was restricted by the socioracial and financial conditions. those who wanted to enter as a “secondary” member had to contribute the amount of four pesos. moreover, even if the admission was open, “white persons and no others” could assume a principal membership.40 the same procedures are shown in the ordinances of the confraternity nuestra señora de la guía, a brotherhood of black men. this corporation maintained that “to make [this confraternity] more perfect, it will be formed by persons of all states and calidades,                                                                                                                           36 agi, santo domingo, 705, 3v. 37 agi, santo domingo, 731. 38 ibid. 39 ibid. f. 1.v. 40 ibid. f. 2. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 15 without excluding anybody no matter how humble he is.”41 regardless of this principle, though, the brothers established two rates of almsgiving for admission which, at the same time, provided differentiated positions and access to the brotherhood. even though there were regular requests for alms, these payments became unsustainable when colliding with the principle of confraternities as charitable institutions. the confraternity santísimo sacramento, which was in operation by 1748, sets a great example. the ordinance of this confraternity contains a request signed by the priest dr. don juan chirinos who requested the confraternity to admit women and men for a lesser amount. chirinos exposed the necessity of this movement, as several persons from the community expressed their desire to join the brotherhood but could not afford the alms of ten pesos and one pound of wax.42 the brothers authorized the request and stated that those persons who contributed less money could be admitted. nonetheless, the requirement of monetary contribution persisted, as an almsgiving of four pesos secured the admission and funerary honors of these new members. when discussing the terms of admittance in new spain’s brotherhoods, nicole von germeten argues that the payment of fees and socioracial criteria played an important role in determining the internal structure of the colonial confraternities.43 the limitations based on calidad and revenue for the acquisition of a title prevented “anyone with another racial designation or place of birth from assuming leadership of their group.”44 the cases of jesús of nazareno, santísimo sacramento, and nuestra señora de la guía are examples of a pattern that repeated in different socioracial groups that were seeking ways to create their corporate identity through the conformation of religious brotherhoods. ermila troconis also suggests this in her work about black confraternities, which were similar to the white elites in their jealousy of other institutions and in their desire to preserve their “purity.”45 regardless of their calidad, the status of the confraternities strongly depended on the almsgivings. this payment, at the same time, allowed these corporations to create legal strategies for the conformation of alliances, internal hierarchies, and socioeconomic status. these stipulations show that religious confraternities permitted alternative channels of upward mobility based on economic transactions. furthermore, these negotiated identities also influenced the passing of the soul to the afterlife.                                                                                                                           41 agi, santo domingo, 705, f. 3v. 42 agi, santo domingo, 731, f. 7-7v. 43 von germeten, black blood brothers, 192. 44 ibid. 192. 45 troconis, “tres cofradías de negros,” 339. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 16 purchasing the “good death” in theory, confraternities sought to channel different charitable practices in order to provide relief to socioracial groups under limited economic conditions.46 however, the corpus of ordinances gathered in this paper do not indicate a great concern for the development of altruistic activities outside the jurisdiction of their members. only the file pertaining to the regulation of the brotherhood nuestra señora de guía shows, in a later document from 1735, a request the mayordomo made to the bishop to ask the brothers for “one coin of alms for the sick brothers.”47 the document also stated that those members who wanted to redeem their souls before death could do so by paying the brotherhood the amount of twenty reales, regardless of whether they were sick or healthy. on the other hand, confraternities fostered devotional practices based on the avocation they associated with their corporate identity—san juan bautista, nuestra señora de la concepción, nuestra señora de guía, jesús de nazareno, nuestra señora de altagracia, etc. the ordinances specify the constant planning of annual masses and processions in the name of the patron saint, but despite these examples, it seems benevolent activities are not as relevant as the salvation of the brothers’ souls afterlife. the ordinances show more concern with death, judgement, and resurrection, and the responsibilities of the confraternities regarding material and spiritual elements to perform postmortem practices.48 the following chart (table 2) shows how each brotherhood distributed the alms destined for funerary practices. the first column contains the different amounts for each activity, which consisted of the burial of deceased members or the annual celebration of all the departed brothers that belonged to the confraternity (octava de difuntos). usually, the mayordomo kept records of their names in a book, in which he also stated the amount each person gave as a contribution from the time of their admission. as mentioned earlier, the amount paid granted a particular position in the brotherhood and, at the same time, the alms also determined the quality of the burial. the table shows how the confraternities made differentiations between the quantity of masses or prayers and the extent of the responsibilities of the corporation based on the almsgiving the payer provided. other brotherhoods also stipulated the extra “donations” the person could give prior to his death in order to augment certain privileges in their                                                                                                                           46 von germeten, black blood brothers; troconis, “tres cofradías de negros;” brian larkin, “confraternity and community. the decline of the communal quest for salvation in eighteenth-century mexico city,” in local religion in colonial mexico, edited by martin austin nesvig, 189-214 (albuquerque: university of new mexico, 2006). 47 agi, santo doming, 705, f. 13. 48 larkin, “confraternity and community,” 192. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 17 rituals. the brotherhoods also committed to providing the material elements, such as the coffin, the candles, black cloths, and the black banner, all of them necessary to the funerary practice. table 2. the “good death:” almsgiving and funerary practices confraternity almsgiving funerary ritual funerary ornaments nuestra senora de guía 5 pesos and one pound of wax admission fee as principal member. the confraternity committed to covering all the expenses and a sung mass with response the day of the burial. coffin, 4 candles, six candlesticks, black cloths. if the brother died away from the city, the confraternity would still present an empty coffin during the mass. 4 reales membership for other brothers. the confraternity committed to attend the funeral masses and cover the lights. 6 candles the brothers would carry during the procession and the burial. 1 peso annual memorial of deceased brothers. the ritual consisted in 16 sung masses, the preaching of the gospel book until the communion, and a procession led by the brothers. oblations (wine and bread), musicians, deacons, six candles with candlesticks, and two cirials. nuestra señora de la concepción 4 pesos of silver (valued in 8 pesos each) admission fee, covering a sung mass. while the mass was taking place, a black cloth was put on the floor or over the casket and six candles were placed at the altar of the virgin. the brothers accompanied the coffin in a procession from the deceased’s house to the church, and then to the burial ground. six candles, two cirials. black banner with the image of the virgin, black cloths, and six candlesticks to accompany the deceased brother. the candles must weight half pound. if the brother died out of town, the confraternity committed to ordering a sung mass in his name, paying the “accustomed alms” for the services of the priest. the confraternity committed to covering all the expenses for the mass, and contributed six candles to the altar of the virgin. 8 reales. admission fee for any person who wanted to join the confraternity. the fee guaranteed the funerary ritual of the person. n.s.     concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 18 n.s. contributions given among the brothers to cover the funerals of poor people, who could not afford their funeral. the confraternity gave a casket for the deceased, and the funerary ornaments: a black banner with the image of the virgin, black cloths, and six candlesticks to accompany the deceased brother. n.s. annual alms for the celebration of the octava de difunto every november, with a sung mass at the church. all the brothers had to assist in the ceremony. the mass had to take place in front of the altar of the virgen of the conception, if not, in front of the altar of the animas. the total covered the expenses of the priest, candles, and altars. 8 reales or half real of silver. for the anniversary of deceased brothers. n.s. 8 reales for the funeral of a death brother. n.s. weekly almsgiving the confraternity requested to the neighbors and residents for the maintenance of the brotherhood. santísimo sacramento 10 pesos, 8 reales, and one pound of wax membership fee. the amount secured the funerary rituals, with masses and honors in the name of the death brother. the confraternity provided the black cloths, a black banner, a coffin, and candlesticks. the membership fee secured a place in the burial plot of the confraternity, located at the san pablo church. 4 pesos and one pound of wax other members who could not afford the higher fee (later regulation by request of the bishop). 4 reales four sung masses when the brother died. 2 reales one sung mass when the brother died.     concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 19 n.s. almsgiving collected among brothers and devotees to celebrate the annual memorial of the deceased brothers, every november. from the total, the confraternity payed 2 pesos to the sacristan. if they wanted to include a sermon, they would pay 4 pesos instead. they also paid for the musicians. oblations (wine and bread). jesús de nazareno 4 reales fee for admission that secured the funerary rituals. the brother would accompany the body of the deceased brother with a procession from his house to the church. the brotherhood provided the place for burial at the church of san pedro and 12 candles for the procession of the body. 3 reales annual contribution distributed between festivities of the saints and the annual memorial of the deceased brothers. n.s. 8 pesos annual contribution requested for the octava de difuntos. the ritual consisted in a sung mass and procession in the name of the deceased brothers. san juan bautista 4 pesos (8 reales of silver each) one pound of wax admission fee for the principal members. this amount secured funerary honors, with a mass and three days of prayers by the members of the confraternity, with response, and a third part of the rosary. the confraternity provided a black banner, black cloths, candlesticks, lights, and all necessities for the burials. 8 reales of silver. admission fee for the other members. this amount secured funerary honors, with a mass and three days of prayers by the members of the confraternity, with response, and a third part of the rosary. 2 pesos if the person wanted more sung masses during their funeral. 1 real of silver. requested of each brother, which would secure the remission of their souls and sung masses during their funeral. n.s. annual alms for the annual memorial of the deceased brothers. n.s. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 20 the confraternities’ emphasis on the procurement of a proper passing shows that the significance of death in the colonial period was not exclusive to higher administrative institutions. conversely, “the control of dying, the rules according to which one dies, the rules over the possession of the dead and the possession of the corpse, the exchanges tying the ancestors to the living” made up the fabric of everyday life.49 according to nicole von germeten, the intervention of confraternities in funeral practices secured “the good death” of their members who “depended on their brotherhood to pay for their funeral mass and burial, and they specially trusted other members to pray for their soul.”50 this dynamic also reasserts the importance of alms as a crucial element that guaranteed differentiated status within the confraternities as well as in the performance of postmortem rituals. in the confraternity santísimo sacramento, for example, a cofrade could pay for his funeral four reales for four masses, or two pesos for one sung mass. the confraternity provided the wax for the candles, the coffin, and the minister to accompany the deceased’s body from the church to the cemetery.51 those who did not pay the same amount could enjoy a proper funeral, but their passing was not as prominent as the funeral of a principal member. in these cases, the confraternity committed to assisting them “with the mass and six lights that they would bring to all the burials.”52 this confraternity in particular had the right to bury its members at the church of san pablo and the administrator kept records of their places at the cemetery. the vicar of the church demarcated the places within the plot, and assigned the location of each principal member. the document does not specify if this is a privilege that applies to all the persons associated with the brotherhood, but it seems that the membership fee was a determinant in securing the burial place. on the other hand, the confraternity of san juan bautista only provided the ornaments for the ritual: black cloths, candlesticks, and the coffin for any deceased member. this confraternity did not provide a burial place and the disposition of the ritual varied depending on the amount of the contribution. the cofrades de número, who paid the highest amount of alms, were honored by his brothers with a mass for the death at the church of san mauricio. if the deceased gave two extra pesos, the confraternity would also exhibit the coffin at the church surrounded with candles. for the members who paid a lesser amount or held an inferior title, the                                                                                                                           49 lawrence taylor, “introduction: the uses of death in europe,” anthropological quarterly 62, 4 (1989): 149-154; 150. 50 von germeten, black blood brothers; martina will de chaparro and miruna achim, death and dying in colonial spanish america (tucson: university of arizona press, 2011), 8. 51 agi, santo domingo, 731, f. 4-4v. 52 ibid. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 21 brothers only had to pray in the church for three consecutive days and do three parts of the rosary.53 as suggested by these documents, confraternities were communities that performed a fundamental role during the transition between life and death.54 the recurrence of postmortem practices unveils how funeral ceremonies became part of a quotidian space that reaffirmed the bonds of solidarity created through the confraternities, bonds that extended to the afterlife. this shows how the cultural beliefs about death were not unidirectional and solely under the control of higher institutions. on the contrary, local communities had an active role in the redefinition of the ideas and practices imposed by the church and the state, taking new forms through the local imagery and the financial access. as taylor expresses, death takes part in the more general dialectic between local and “official” religion. whether and to what extent local communities or lower classes are successful in maintaining their own interpretation of church generated symbols probably depends on their general degree of cultural autonomy.55 thus in the province of venezuela death and dying was not a private matter, but a collective practice that was grounded in social bounds that permeated the whole spectrum of the colonial structure, controlled by local institutions such as religious confraternities. moreover, these practices show how the socioeconomic differentiations that determined the alliances made through the confraternities affected the afterlife of brothers and devotees. along with the socioracial categories, the honors for the dying depended greatly on financial access to corporate identities. thus, the purchasing of status in a confraternity determined hierarchic relations in life and in death. conclusion the analysis of the constitutions of different confraternities that formed in the social and economic fabric of the province of caracas provides greater insight about the form these organizations took by the eighteenth century. the legal construction manifest in these documents provides a narrative in which the cofrades of different brotherhoods defined themselves in socioracial terms determined forms of alliance and exclusion in their corporate identity. these bonds and their limitations also exposed the relevance of the almsgiving that, more than a                                                                                                                           53 agi, santo domingo, 733, f. 4. 54 larkin, “community and confraternity,” 192. 55 taylor, “the uses of death, 150. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 22 charitable action, was a financial transaction that provided economic revenues to the institution and mechanisms of social mobility for its members. in a context highly restricted by the anxieties and fears of the white elites, these “alternative” mechanisms seemed to provide a more suitable avenue to gain socioracial privileges that sustained in economic transactions (almsgiving). in addition, the analysis of the funerary practices the confraternities performed shows the importance of postmortem rituals for the ratification of socioracial and economic differences. the material and spiritual control of the “good death” reflects the power local confraternities acquired in the social fabric of late-colonial venezuela. bibliography primary sources archivo general de indias, seville, spain. santo domingo no. 700. el capellán de la iglesia de san sebastián y los mayordomos de las cofradías de nuestra señora guía y san juan bautista informan la mucha pobreza de su fábrica por no tener renta fija. 14 de noviembre de 1726. no. 705. el gobernador de caracas. d. gabriel de zuloaga da cuenta a sm de lo ocurrido con el juez eclesiástico, con motivo de haber nombrado a un alcalde ordinario para que asistiese a la junta o cabildo que se celebra por los hermanos de la cofradía de nuestra señora de altagracia de dicha ciudad. acompaña testimonio de autos. caracas, 16 de julio de 1741. no. 705. sm aprueba y manda se observen las insertas constituciones de la cofradía de nuestra señora de guía, sita en la iglesia de s. mauricio de la ciudad de caracas, con la calidad que se expresa. el pardo, 31 de marzo de 1737. no. 728 b. los fundadores y cofradías de nuestra señora de la concepción, sita en la parroquia del pueblo de la victoria, obispado de caracas, piden se les aprueben las constituciones que han hecho. 7 de abril de 1739. no. 731. petición de don ignacio zorazaval, mayordomo de la cofradía de jesús nazareno sita en la parroquia de la guaira, pide se aprueben sus estatutos. consejo, 18 de abril 1750. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 23 no. 731. don francisco de arreste y reina, vecino de caracas, mayordomo de la cofradía del santísimo de la iglesia de san pablo, pide se aprueben las constituciones de dicha cofradía. 23 de abril de 1748. no. 733. petición de la cofradía de san juan bautista, de la iglesia de san mauricio de caracas, para que se aprueben sus constituciones. consejo, 8 de noviembre de 1756. caracas no. 206. las cofradías de la inmaculada concepción sita en la parroquia de nuestra señora de la victoria de caracas, solicitan poder representar actos y comedias. 1767. secondary sources carrera, magaly. imagining identity in new spain. austin: university of texas press, 2003. flynn, maureen. sacred charity. confraternities and social welfare in spain, 1400-1700. new york: cornell university press, 1989. harris, marvin. “history and significance of the emic/etic distinction.” annual review of anthropology 5 (1976): 329-350 larkin, brian. “confraternity and community. the decline of the communal quest for salvation in eighteenth-century mexico city.” in local religion in colonial mexico, edited by martin austin nesvig, 189-214. albuquerque: university of new mexico, 2006. lovera, josé rafael. historia de la alimentación en venezuela. caracas: monte ávila, 1998. nesvig, martin austin ed. local religion in colonial mexico. albuquerque: university of new mexico, 2006. rappaport, joanne. the disappearing mestizo. configuring difference in the colonial new kingdom of granada. durham: duke university press, 2014. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 24 salcedo bastardo, josé-luis. historia fundamental de venezuela. caracas: ediciones de la biblioteca, universidad central de venezuela, 1996. soriano, graciela. venezuela 1810-1830: aspectos desatendidos de dos décadas. caracas: cuadernos lagoven, 1988. taylor, lawrence. “introduction: the uses of death in europe,” anthropological quarterly 62, 4 (1989): 149-154. troconis, ermila. “tres cofradías de negros en la iglesia de san mauricio de caracas,” montalbán 4 (1976): 339-376. twinam, ann. purchasing whiteness. pardos, mulattos, and the quest for social mobility in the spanish indies. california: stanford university press, 2015. intro, chapter 1, 3, 4, 7, and 13. von germeten, nicole. black blood brothers, confraternities and social mobility for afro-mexicans. gainesville, university press of florida, 2006. will de chaparro, martina and miruna achim. death and dying in colonial spanish america. tucson: university of arizona press, 2011. microsoft word lasky_tribe to nation from tribe to nation: assessing the influence of political exclusion and access to mobilization resources on kurdish ethnonationalism joseph lasky political science abstract: more than nine of every ten ballots dropped into ballot boxes scattered across iraqi kurdistan in late september affirmed a national desire for independence. the referendum was denounced by regional and global actors alike, and the central government in baghdad quickly moved to weaken and silence the kurdish separatist movement. how are we to understand the 2017 referendum, and how might this moment be contextualized within the broader trajectory of kurdish ethnonationalism? far from an outlier, the referendum was the most recent effort to create an independent homeland for kurds – a singular point along a timeline dotted with ethnonational developments. separatism has waxed and waned throughout the kurdistan region, with state responses to kurdish ethnonationalism varying in iraq, iran, and turkey. considering relationship dynamics between ethnonationalist groups, separatist groups, and central governments, i ask the following: how do state attempts at political inclusion or exclusion influence the form and goals of ethnonationalist mobilization? i find support for a correlation between political exclusion and both ethnonationalist identity salience and collective goal coherence. the internal variation evident in the cases i examine support a causal relationship: salience and coherence are reactions to state policies. in brief, ethnonationalism has been strengthened and prioritized by kurds when politically excluded from state power structures. [end abstract] more than nine of every ten ballots dropped into ballot boxes scattered across iraqi kurdistan in late september affirmed a national desire for independence.1 far from an outlier, the referendum was the most recent effort to create an independent homeland for kurds – a singular point along a timeline dotted with ethnonational developments. baghdad’s tanks have since rolled across strategic sites in northern iraq and, less than two months after the historic referendum was held, the popular mandate has effectively been stripped of its potency.2 the borders of iraq are under no immediate threat of redesign by an emergent kurdish state. the kurdish democratic party (kdp), the organization responsible for the timing and content of the referendum, faced predictable hostility from baghdad, ankara, and tehran – the latter two concerned with political ripples stirring up ethnonational sentiment among kurds within their own borders.3 typically, the kdp was also undercut within its own territory by kurdish political adversaries coordinating with baghdad,4 reflecting an equally long history of state cooptation and intragroup division. many modern states comprise ethnically heterogenous populations and ethnonationalism is often a central element of separatist movements, but ethnic diversity is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for ethnonationalism or separatism. the salience of ethnic identities may fluctuate as a function of both intragroup relations and group-state relations. heightened ethnic identity salience is a logical precursor to a strong ethnonationalist movement, though salience does not predict the form a movement may take. though numbering roughly 25 million, the current international borders have divided kurds and left them an ethnic minority wherever they are found: kurds constitute roughly 23% of the populations of both iraq and turkey and 10% of the population in iran.5 ethnonationalist movements of varying character are present in each of these states; official state responses to ethnonationalism have varied temporally and geographically. while kurds in northern iraq have enjoyed relative autonomy at times, the kurdish community in 2 turkey has been consistently repressed and denied recognition. movements in each state have at times taken up arms against central authorities, but violence is by no means the primary expression of kurdayetî, or kurdish national identity.6 considering the diversity of state policies addressing ethnonationalism and the various forms kurdish ethnonationalism has taken, i ask the following: how do state attempts at political inclusion or exclusion influence the form and goals of ethnonationalist mobilization? inclusion-moderation theorists suggest that incorporating previously excluded groups leads to moderation through the opening of effective, peaceful, political channels and alternatives.7 when kurdish ethnonationalism is conceptualized as a reactive movement, constituted in response to political exclusion and repression,8 inclusion-moderation theory offers promise in elucidating the salience of group identity and the construction of collective goals. inclusion may detract from the political relevance of an ethnonationalist identity and mitigate collective goals (e.g. autonomy or independence). exclusion may encourage collective action along ethnonationalist lines, but exclusion alone may not predict whether the movement takes on a violent or peaceful form. rather, mobilizing and sustaining a violent ethnonationalist movement requires access to resources. i argue that political exclusion heightens ethnonationalist identity salience and contributes to collective goal coherence. furthermore, i argue that excluded groups turn to violence when sufficient mobilization resources are available. i examine the evolution of kurdayetî within several states, tracking expressions of ethnonationalism as they relate to changes in political inclusion and access to mobilization resources to support my arguments. i turn to three cases to address my research question: kurdish ethnonationalism in iraq, iran, and turkey. these three states have rolled out policies that span the political inclusion spectrum and each case provides examples of peaceful and violent expressions of kurdayetî while 3 the minority ethnic group, kurds, remains a constant. my argument is structured along two axes – political inclusion/exclusion and mobilization resources – thus my hypotheses address both facets: h1: political exclusion heightens ethnonationalist identity salience; h2: political exclusion contributes to collective goal coherence; h3: greater access to resources increases the likelihood of violent ethnonationalism. i find support for a correlation between political exclusion and both ethnonationalist identity salience and collective goal coherence. the internal variation evident in the cases i examine support a causal relationship: salience and coherence are reactions to state policies. while i do find a correlation between access to resources and the likelihood of violent ethnonationalism, i am not able to discern causality from the cases examined. resources are a requisite condition for sustained violence, but it is unclear if violent intent precedes resource acquisition. this research is important for governing elites concerned with ethnonationalist trajectories as well as academics considering the generalizability of inclusion-moderation theory. i discuss the current inclusion-moderation theory literature in the next section, followed by case selection, definition of terms, and methodology in the subsequent section. one potential confounding variable is selective political inclusion. kurds have traditionally prioritized tribal affiliations over broader nationalist identities,9 creating vulnerability to strategic state cooptation of select tribal elites. i distinguish between cooptation and inclusion by examining the target of state policy: elites or groups. i then examine my three cases, provide analysis, and offer concluding remarks. ethnic identity salience and political inclusion discussion of ethnonationalism requires a preceding note on conceptualizations of ethnic and nationalist identities. community is generally a fundamental component of any vision of the nation, but what defines this community varies immensely. a community may be bound by spiritual ties, language, shared values, or any number of concepts that draw distinctions between 4 one group and the global population.10 what constitutes a nation and who may be a part of that nation varies by observer. membership may be ascribed, as evidenced by kinship or ancestry-based concepts of the nation, but membership may also be gained or projected. i am concerned here with highlighting the amorphous and socially-constructed nature of ethnicity and nationalism. the direction of this construction is integral to my study. current literature offers two relevant explanations of ethnic and national identity development: instrumentalism and constructivism. instrumentalists suggest that individuals form groups in order to align themselves with a community, strengthening social, political, and economic prospects through the actions available to the collective as a larger, cohesive entity. by extension, individuals within the collective share in these augmented prospects. membership in ethnonational groups provides an advantage relative to those who are nonaligned or members of smaller groups, something that may prove vital when competing over access to limited resources, such as land, access to markets, education, and employment.11 facets of instrumentalism are evident in tribal kurdistan, for instance with land ownership practices. land occupied by kurdish tribes was conventionally only eligible to be sold to members of the same tribe, and pasturelands were a collective commodity that was available to members.12 conversely, constructivists posit that ethnic and national group consciousness is not a product of masses seeking collective group advancement, but rather a function of elite narratives. elites may contextualize social, political, and economic developments within a communal, groupcentric, or xenophobic framework.13 transgressions between individuals of differing groups are reimagined as affronts to each community, deepening intercommunal divides and potentially contributing to intragroup cohesion. institutional design may encourage elites to prioritize groupcentric narratives as a means of consolidating power, for instance in a democracy where political 5 gains may be secured by activating a geographically concentrated ethnic base.14 elite-constructed group identities and instrumentalist identity formation are not mutually exclusive, and it is plausible that kurdish ethnonationalism is continually evolving through both constructivist and instrumentalist processes. shifting from group identity development, a second body of literature requiring attention is that of inclusion-moderation theory. social, political, and economic inequalities at the group level of analysis provide substance for collective grievances. these grievances may then be articulated by group elites and translated into collective action.15 political exclusion both exacerbates group disadvantages and limits the channels available for redressing group-based inequalities. inequality forms the basis of collective action while political exclusion forces the expression of collective action to take extralegal or illegal forms. collective action may also be influenced by unrelated tangibles: the likelihood of collective action taking on a separatist character increases when these politically-excluded groups are based in remote, rugged terrain far from the capitals of the states in which they operate, e.g. kurds in kurdistan.16 inclusion-moderation theorists suggest that altering the political dynamic to incorporate excluded groups mitigates separatist, revolutionary, or other paradigm-shifting demands.17 two mechanisms for the moderation of demands exist: redressing inequality and the provision of alternatives. first, it is plausible that groups moderate their demands when political inclusion decreases inequalities between groups and eliminates institutionalized disadvantages.18 for instance, sarigil finds that relative-deprivation is a driver of kurdish ethnonationalism in turkey. increases in socioeconomic status correlate with decreases in kurdish ethnonationalism.19 second, political inclusion creates a new space for collective action, providing alternatives to separatism or revolution for groups seeking to redress inequality.20 thus, where exclusion exacerbates 6 inequality and limits choices for collective action, inclusion may ameliorate inequality and provide alternatives where none previously existed. contrasting with a clean narrative of political inclusion, tezcür creates an important distinction between ethnonationalist movements and the organizations associated with them. though political inclusion may moderate the movement at large, it is possible that individual organizations may be threatened by the political competition that liberalization and inclusion may foster. these organizations may then prefer radicalization to the prospect of being subsumed.21 additionally, partial political inclusion may siphon moderates from revolutionary movements, eliminating existential threats to regimes without necessitating the temperance of radicals. coalitions eliminated by partial inclusion do not destroy or moderate radicals, yet the regime is able to mitigate the threats they pose.22 finally, ideologically-driven groups may be unresponsive to political inclusion, instead retaining their platform regardless of incorporation.23 organizational survival, partial inclusion, and ideology may all play roles in the various kurdish assemblages spread throughout iraq, iran, and turkey, complicating an analysis of political inclusion and moderation throughout the region. cases, terms, and methodology kurdish-state relations offer valuable insight when considering the guiding question: how do state attempts at political inclusion or exclusion influence the form and goals of ethnonationalist mobilization? kurds are proportionately sizable minorities in iran (23% of the population), iraq (23%), and turkey (10%). each state has altered approaches to its relationship with kurds, but traditionally turkey has been the most repressive and politically-exclusive, while iraq has been the most politically-inclusive. iran has oscillated between the two. 7 i limit the scope of my case studies to the year modern iterations of each state come into being and ending at the close of the 1980’s. the starting year for each is 1932 (iraq), 1925 (iran), and 1923 (turkey). there are three important reasons for choosing these dates: first, the temporal proximity forms a strong base for examining ethnonationalist development in comparative perspective; second, kurdish ethnonationalism was incoherent and weak; third, it was during this time that elites within each state began directing domestic policy. colonial, imperial, and dynastic powers determined the status and treatment of ethnic and nationalist groups prior to these years. i selected the end of the 1980’s as the upper limit because there was distinct, visible kurdish ethnonationalism in each case by this time. my argument centers around two independent variables, political exclusion and access to resources, and three dependent variables: ethnonationalist identity salience, goal coherence, and the form of collective action. these first two variables are not easily or accurately quantified. furthermore, identity salience, ethnicity, and nationalism are not static qualities. political exclusion is the barring of organized political activity as a kurdish group. this is operationalized as the absence of political group recognition and the illegality of ethnonationalist political parties. ethnonationalism refers to the delineation of a group promoting or protecting kurdish languages, culture, ethnicity, rights, and territorial claims. identity salience is measured by the outward expressions of kurdish-specific culture, ethnicity, politics, or nationalism. the support for inherently kurdish political groups or the emergence of kurdish cultural products, such as novels or poetry, are indicators of identity salience. goal coherence is closely related but addresses one facet of ethnonationalist expression. coherence is measured by the presence and cohesiveness of kurdish political goals as expressed by organized entities, which include political parties but are not limited to legalized channels. for instance, as kurds shifted from non-aligned tribal networks 8 to the recognition of a broader group acting to perpetuate shared interests, this would reflect an increase in ethnonationalist goal coherence. militant groups with political ends and underground parties are both incorporated into the measure of goal coherence. resource access is measured by assessing resource networks, particularly whether groups are supported by other kurdish groups or state actors. finally, the form of collective action measure is a distinction between peaceful and violent movements. this is measured by documenting instances of two-sided violence, not simply violent state repression of kurds. violence is quantifiable, but reliable and consistent data on iraqi, iranian, and turkish non-state violence covering this time period is lacking. kurdish identity in the early 20th century before addressing the evolution of kurdayetî in iran, iraq, and turkey, it is important to establish a baseline by asking what it meant to be kurdish when each of the modern states were constituted. shared language, ethnicity, culture, religion, and territorial ties often define a nation. territorial claims have consistently aligned with the mountainous regions overlaying the junction of iraq, iran, and turkey.24 however, the mountains that form a unifying element among kurds have also inhibited them from constructing a coherent sociopolitical entity.25 kurds speak different languages, adhere to different religions,26 and historically operated within tribal structures not as members of a broader kurdish community.27 furthermore, it is unlikely that kurds share a common ancestry,28 which – genuinely or putatively – often forms the foundation of a constructed nation. socioeconomic cleavages have been pronounced against the backdrop of an incoherent national kurdish identity. aghas were the traditional leaders of tribes and confederations, performing both intragroup and intergroup functions: “they act as arbitrators of disputes and allocators of resources, benefits and duties. beyond the tribal group, the chief acts as mediator either with his peers…or with the state.”29 aghas exercised extensive control over their tribes, 9 fostering clientelism and, in some instances, feudalism.30 furthermore, while kurdish territorial claims have consistently centered around the same geographic region, in reality territorial claims were tied to tribes, not the nation writ large.31 thus, the baseline of kurdayetî is one that is more vacuous than substantial. kurds were distinct from other groups, as indicated by identifiable tribalism and the use of kurdish languages, but an intragroup sense of nationalism was absent. kurdish social structures paralleled each other across kurdistan, so the structures themselves indicate a shared sociopolitical culture, but a culture that enervated the evolution of a broader identity. the combination of the agha-peasant socioeconomic divide and tribal power structure presaged the divergent goals of the two socioeconomic poles of kurdish society: aghas would seek a dynamic with emergent states that would imbue them with greater power and authority or, when threatened by governments consolidating power, would act to retain what influence they could. meanwhile, peasants would become the object of tension between the state and the aghas, the target of identity politics. iraq: oscillating autonomy iraq gained increasing independence from britain in managing domestic policy in 1932. kurdish elites advanced a notion of autonomy within the framework of an iraqi state during this initial period, meaning kurds as autonomous but iraqi first. however, this concept did not draw the support of the entire iraqi kurdish base; rather, the autonomy proposal competed with socialist ideas of iraqi statehood. similarly, iraqi arabs were split between leftist and arab nationalist state-building prospects.32 kurdish writers took an increasingly ethnonationalist tack during the 1930’s, addressing group origins and alluding to a fatherland, but kurdayetî remained incohesive through the 1940’s and the tribe continued to be the functioning unit within the kurdish sphere.33 the durability and decentralization of the traditional tribal structure resulted in varied relationships 10 between different tribes and the central state. kurdish nationalism was developing in the waning years of british control, but it was not widespread among iraqi kurds and was not a source of cohesion, either among kurdish elites or between elites and masses. interestingly, it was during this period that the kurdish democratic party was established (1946), though the internal platform contradictions – such as reliance on traditional tribal elites to support progressive socioeconomic policies34 – and weak support from the kurdish masses reflected division and disconnection. an independent iraqi state emerged from revolution in 1958. the immediate postrevolutionary period was characterized by political inclusion: president qasim elevated the status of the ambiguous kurdish nation through discourse. qasim engaged kurdish elites as representatives of a sociopolitical entity, not as individual iraqis.35 kurdish ethnonationalism was not manifestly salient and kurds remained divided along socioeconomic lines.36 for instance, kurds formed a significant portion of the membership for communist and socialist parties while the kdp sought to create cultural protections within a quasi-binational framework (kurdish and arab).37 this cooperative environment was short-lived; qasim altered his stance in response to pressures from arab-nationalists. the state shifted to the offensive, attacking both the symbols and political structures of the nascent kurdish nation.38 the kdp, led by the militant tribal leader mullah mustafa barzani, was forced underground and within this environment of repression. tension between the kdp and the state turned violent in 1963 when the central government attacked the kurdish city of sulaymaniyah.39 hostilities persisted through the 1960’s, but unity through fighting a common enemy proved insufficient beyond the shared goal of survival: “while the kdp pledged to follow the ideological imperatives of national liberation struggles, barzani’s forces relied on the conservative, religious, and tribal forces.”40 however, a watershed moment 11 arrived in 1970 when the autonomy agreement was reached between barzani and the nascent ba’ath regime, which came to power in 1968. the agreement re-legalized the kdp and stipulated the unification of kurd-dominated areas into a self-governing unit.41 thus we see a noteworthy trend: the initial political inclusion of the immediate post-revolutionary period correlated with fragmented and incoherent ethnonationalism while the politically repressive and violently hostile environment of the 1960’s led to greater cooperation among kurds along explicitly ethnonational lines and the enunciation of concrete political goals. succinctly, i find initial supporting evidence for h1 and h2. history repeats itself, as it is wont to do: relations between the kdp and the central government deteriorated once the ba’ath regime consolidated power in iraq. the central government failed to adhere to the autonomy agreement, instead increasing the political repression of the kurds, and the dynamic once again devolved into violence.42 notably, while it is unclear what access to resources barzani and the kdp had initially, it is evident that renewed violence in the 1970’s was supported by the us, iran, and israel,43 lending tentative support to h3. congruency between repression and ethnonational evolution is obfuscated following the collapse of the unified barzani-kdp rebellion. the iran-iraq war (1980-1988) initially exacerbated intragroup divisions and further toxified kurd-state relations by shifting the regional paradigm: the kdp aligned with tehran against the kdp iran, the newly formed iraqi patriotic union of kurdistan (puk, founded in 1975), and baghdad.44 however, by 1986, iraqi kurds pivoted toward cooperation and unified against the iraqi central government. both the kdp and the puk noted failing legitimacy: the kdp for targeting other kurdish groups and the puk for collaborating with the iraqi central government.45 shifting back to the hypotheses, by the late1980’s iraq had excluded kurds from the political power structure. h1 and h2 predict that this 12 will heighten ethnonationalist identities and contribute to collective goal coherence. indeed, by 1988, the previously fragmented iraqi kurdish elites had unified against the central government in pursuit of liberation (h2), and this unification came about because of broad support for combatting the central government along ethnonationalist lines (h1). kurdish elites unified because kdp and puk legitimacy became rooted in kurdayetî. furthermore, violent rebellion against the central government was enabled by iranian support. broad-based support for the puk and kdp throughout kurdistan also increased mobilization resources relative to the traditional tribal structure. both of these developments lend more concrete supportive evidence for h3. iran: kurds among persians general reza khan consolidated power in the wake of the first world war, during a time when iran was reeling from the collapse of the qajar empire. iran was transformed into a constitutional monarchy with semi-colonial ties to britain by 1925 and reza took on the title of shah.46 initially, reza shah targeted traditional power structures that presented political challenges, such as kurdish tribalism. kurdish ethnicity was tolerated in the comparatively liberal cultural sphere. aghas were integrated into a secularized and modernized economy while nomadic lifestyles were curtailed by the state, creating a more legible society disposed to effective centralized governance.47 kurdish economic elites were well represented in the majlis, the iranian parliament, not because of their ethnic identity but because aghas formed a significant portion of the landowning class.48 the 1930’s were years of political inclusion along socioeconomic lines, while kurdish culture was left largely unchallenged. reza shah and the subsequent rulers of the pahlavi dynasty embraced increasingly persiancentric national narratives in the late-1930’s and 1940’s. for instance, the shah celebrated the region’s pre-islamic history, forging a cultural connection between his regime and ancient persia.49 13 persianized narratives were accompanied by language purification – the expungement of words of non-persian roots – and the prioritization of persian over kurdish languages.50 salience of kurdish ethnonationalist identity grew as persianization was projected into iranian kurdistan. the predecessor of the kdp-iran (kdpi) was established in 1942 in mahabad and kurdish poetry adopted a clear ethnonationalist tone at this time.51 it was during this period of non-persian cultural subversion and the political exclusion of kurds as an ethnic entity that the mahabad republic was established (1946): “a miniscule territory which incorporated the market towns of mahabad, bukan, naqada and ushnaviya.”52 this was a clear, visible, and coherent expression of kurdayetî, a development supportive of both h1 and h2. furthermore, the small republic was backed by the soviet union, providing resources disproportionate to the size of the polity.53 the armed forces of the republic were involved in several skirmishes with iranian-aligned troops.54 the experiment in independence collapsed when soviet support diminished and tribal divides resurfaced.55 violent resistance to tehran ended as soviet support evaporated, providing support for h3. kurdish nationalists were forced underground or exiled during the period between the collapse of the mahabad republic in 1947 and the iranian revolution in 1978. the underground faction of the kdpi “clandestinely expressed a highly ethnicized nationalism tied to the liberation of all kurdistan…still, kurdish nationalism was unable to develop openly and legitimately…”56 meanwhile, the state moved to coopt the remaining kurdish socioeconomic elite. tehran introduced extensive agrarian reforms during this period that augmented the power and wealth of large landowners while inducing peasants, uncompetitive in the new arena, to abandon rural life and migrate to urban areas.57 these reforms weakened the resistance capabilities of the tribes. this was a period of political exclusion with limited observable evidence of kurdayetî. 14 the state transitioned from a constitutional monarchy to the islamic republic of iran through revolution in 1978-1979. mirroring the initial overtures of first qasim and later the ba’athists in iraq, spiritual leader and instrumental revolutionary ayatollah khomeini prioritized power consolidation, placating kurds and other potential rival groups through fostering a less repressive political and cultural environment. for instance, he released kurds imprisoned by the shah, met with ethnonationalist kurdish elite – an arguably legitimizing action, as it had been between qasim and kurds – and, in contrast to the persianized narratives of the previous regime, sought to construct an inclusive pan-islamic iranian nation. proceeding from this initial comity, the state strategically legalized some kurdish political groups, such as the kdpi, while repressing leftist kurdish groups.58 the regime promoted religious identity salience by prioritizing relationships with muslim citizens, for instance by requiring local mosque approval for government appointments.59 significantly, the state “tolerated kurdish cultural organizations, events, and certain publications.”60 generally, in postrevolutionary iran, socioeconomic and religious identities were useful in the political sphere, while ethnic identities were respected in the cultural realm. no coherent, cohesive expression of kurdayetî surfaced in iran after the fall of mahabad, yet the political sphere was not tolerant of kurdish ethnonationalism. in contrast to iraqi kurds, disunity among iranian kurds was pronounced during the iran-iraq war: the kdpi was largely pro-tehran, while smaller kurdish groups and a faction within the kdpi aligned against the regime.61 how do developments in 1980’s post-revolutionary iran impact the three hypotheses? where iraq and pahlavi iran created an explicitly anti-kurdish social and political atmosphere, occasionally characterized by violence, the islamic republic positively constructed cross-cutting religious and socioeconomic identities while preserving kurdish cultural spaces. pertaining to h1, 15 ethnonationalism was apparently less salient in iran during this period than in the preceding years, but political exclusion was not as extensive. moderate kurdish political groups were tolerated and tehran intermittently negotiated with the kdpi. kurdish elites were consistently divided between compromising and intransigent stances toward tehran. this was illustrated by both the fractures in kdpi leadership and by the strengthening of competing, uncompromising kurdish ethnonationalist groups (e.g. komala, a revolutionary kurdish political group founded in 1969).62 thus, iran created a predominantly exclusive ethnopolitical environment with limited inclusion for ethnonationalist kurds, but promoted socioeconomic and religious identity salience among kurds in tandem with protectionist policies for cultural kurdish identities. support for h1 and h2 is not manifestly evident, but the case of post-revolutionary iran does not detract from either hypothesis. h3 remains intact, considering the minority of kurds that did violently combat the state during the iran-iraq war were those that received support from the puk, at the time itself supported by baghdad.63 turkey: an identity denied the republic of turkey was established in 1923. markedly different from the transition periods in iraq and iran, the new republic made no attempts to align kurds with the new state on the basis of ethnicity. while qasim, the ba’athists, reza shah, and khomeini each courted kurdish elites during periods of power consolidation, president mustafa kemal sought to create a secular, modern, and centralized single-party state rooted in turkish nationalism. distinct from arab nationalism in iraq, which claimed the state for arabs and framed kurds as a minority in an arab homeland, kemal constructed an ethnonationalist narrative that framed kurds as ethnic turks.64 kurdayetî was not repressed; it was overwritten by an emergent turkish constructivism. 16 the subversion of kurdish ethnicity was accompanied by the targeted assault on kurdish nationalists. while notions of kurdish nationalism were as of yet underdeveloped and not broadly supported, the kemal regime arrested or executed ethnonationalist kurds and banned kurdish political parties, effectively inhibiting what coherence of kurdayetî existed.65 furthermore, kemal supported economic policies that favored industrialization in western turkey, disadvantaging the predominantly eastern rural kurds.66 kemal courted the agha class as the kurdish ethnonationalist elites were eliminated and kurdish political expressions were illegalized. the regime engaged select tribal leaders, in some cases decentralizing state control and delegating power to aghas.67 by imbuing select aghas with state power, the regime was able to exacerbate both socioeconomic cleavages between tribal leader and peasantry as well as inter-tribal divisions. powerful aghas could check each other and influence weaker tribes while kurdish peasants, trapped between a repressive state and a coopted tribal leader, became immobile resources. the centralized and ethnicized political environment in turkey precluded legal expressions of kurdayetî, so assessing ethnopolitical salience and goal coherence requires looking elsewhere. kurdayetî became increasingly ethnicized and violent in this highly divisive and repressive atmosphere. kurdish tribes initiated several violent revolts in the kemal years, but by 1930 hostilities were distinctly between the state and kurds as an ethnonational entity. this is evidenced by the increasingly transnational character of kurdish resistance: iranian kurds aligned with turkish kurds, contributing troops and supplies. armenians were a source of supplies as well.68 violent rebellion continued through the 1930’s, concluding with overwhelming assaults by the turkish military in turkish kurdistan. these offensives were followed by the creation of a permanent military presence in the area.69 kurdish military strength was depleted and expressions 17 of kurdish ethnonationalism were largely invisible through the mid-1940’s, the final years of the single-party era of turkish politics. kemalist turkey presents interesting data with which to assess the three hypotheses. first, it seems evident that political exclusion combined with cultural repression contributed to the salience and coherence of kurdish ethnonationalism, albeit within a negative space, not through positive identity formation. iraq and iran both acknowledged kurdish ethnicity, lending outward legitimacy. ethnonationalism certainly developed in response to iraqi and iranian political exclusion, but it was not solely a reactive movement. conversely, ethnonationalism in turkey was survivalist in a very real sense. intragroup identity development was not apparent. nonetheless, i find support for h1 and h2, though with emphasis only on intergroup mechanisms. political exclusion and the crucible of violence contributed to ethnonational identity salience and coherence, defined not by positive constructivism but in a distinctly negative space: kurds are not turks. support for h3 is present as well: violent struggle increased in correlation with access to transnational kurdish and armenian resources. tribal-level revolts were active without evidence of significant access, but these were not inherently ethnonationalist struggles. the single-party system dominated by the republican people’s party fractured, and political opposition emerged in 1946. administrations were largely consistent in coopting the agha class by promoting economic policies that strengthened the landowners.70 however, a period of limited sociocultural liberalization followed the advent of the turkish multi-party system, creating openings for cultural expressions of kurdishness.71 for instance, ileri yurt and other kurdish publications were popularized.72 salience and coherence of ethnonationalism increased during this period, illustrated by the founding of the democratic party of turkish kurdistan (kdpt) at some 18 point during the early 1960’s. the kdpt was an illegal, underground entity from its inception, unlike the kdp and kdpi.73 political pluralism presented kurds with additional options to increase their political efficacy. the turkish worker’s party (tip) offered a socialist political alternative for impoverished kurds tied either to traditional tribal institutions or newly incorporated into the industrialized economy. conversely, aghas continued to enjoy a beneficial relationship with the conservative regimes rotating through the state apparatus.74 this new reality threatened ethnonationalist development by exacerbating socioeconomic divides and continually empowering tribal institutions in rural turkish kurdistan. however, it was during this same period that revolutionary eastern cultural hearths surfaced throughout the region – bastions of kurdish nationalism. the hearths were quickly targeted and eliminated by the state,75 but their significance lies in their existence as broad cultural expressions of kurdayetî, not in their ability to resist the state. turkish kurds witnessed a paradigm shift brought about by the newly-formed partiya karkerên kurdistan (pkk) in the late 1970’s and 1980’s.76 the pkk injected militant kurdish ethnonationalism into the repressive turkish political sphere, galvanizing kurds against the state as well as the coopted segments of the agha class. pkk tactics were typified by ruthless attacks on state forces and any kurds that aligned with the state. the pkk developed relationships with the kdp and puk, who provided aid and granted pkk militants asylum in northern iraq.77 resources were extracted domestically from tribal leaders – sometimes voluntarily and sometimes through coercion.78 regionally, the pkk forged a network that incorporated supporters in lebanon and syria. the militant group turned to diaspora communities in europe as well, constructing a flow of finances and personnel.79 19 the pkk’s manifesto called for a kurdish revolution, with the first stage being a coherent national direction. additional kurdish groups, including the turkish kurdish socialist party and rizgarî, stressed the nationalist character of a needed kurdish revolution as well.80 in the politically exclusive environment of 1980’s turkey, we witness a clear, cohesive expression of kurdish ethnonationalism. in terms of hypotheses, the advent of the pkk and similarly nationalistic organizations provides support for h1 and h2. the violent tactics of the pkk within the context of its expansive resource network – both domestically and internationally – provides additional support for h3. analysis: ethnonationalism refined through political repression the three cases of kurdish ethnonationalism in iraq, iran, and turkey illustrate several trends supportive of the three hypotheses: h1: political exclusion heightens ethnonationalist identity salience; h2: political exclusion contributes to collective goal coherence; h3: greater access to resources increases the likelihood of violent ethnonationalism. from a macro lens, it is evident that kurdish ethnonationalism was weak, incoherent, or nonexistent within each state at the dawn of the 20th century. traditional tribal structures dominated kurdish society, with loyalty and cohesion limited to tribal units or, at best, tribal confederations. by the close of the 1980’s, kurdish identity salience was comparatively high, and organizations promoting coherent goals of either kurdish autonomy or independence had been established in each state. yet, the evolution of kurdish ethnonationalism followed different trajectories before converging. the central government in iraq oscillated between inclusive overtures and politically-exclusive arab nationalism. traditional socioeconomic divides were apparent during periods of comity between the central government and the kurds, with the latter supporting political platforms based on socioeconomic classes. however, by the middle of the 20 iran-iraq war, kdp and puk legitimacy among kurds was rooted in kurdayetî. this illustrates the salience of kurdish identities among the masses while the cooperation between the kdp and puk reflects broad cohesion and goal coherence. pahlavi iran demonstrates similar support for h1 and h2: political exclusion and cultural repression marked 1930’s and 1940’s iran, a period when iranian kurds shifted from weak ethnonationalism to a bold and precise endorsement of kurdayetî – the establishment of the mahabad republic. post-revolutionary iran does not contribute to or detract from support for h1 and h2. rather, this period signals the effectiveness of partial inclusion. by protecting the cultural space for kurds, iran was able to emphasize socioeconomic and religious identities in the political sphere. the turkish state was most consistent in repressing political and cultural expressions of kurdish ethnonationalism, targeting nationalistic elites from the inception of the modern polity. brutality on the part of the state was met with armed rebellion, first through tribal guerillas and then through a more cohesive kurdish front. h1 and h2 are supported by the rise of the pkk: a purely kurdish ethnonational organization, forged in an environment of violent political, social, and cultural repression. the pkk and other kurdish ethnonationalist organizations that appeared on the scene in the 1970’s and 1980’s offer perhaps the most convincing evidence: the state continually repressed kurdish ethnonationalism on every front, and while ubiquitous tribalism inhibited kurdish ethnonational development in the early 20th century, a clear vision of national liberation drew broad domestic and transnational support, eclipsing challengers within the kurdish sociopolitical sphere.81 the congruency between political exclusion and ethnonationalist development suggests causation. i root this claim in the variation evident between the three cases, not simply the 21 perception of kurdayetî in 1920 versus 1980 – though this in itself does demonstrate correlation. kurdish ethnonationalism has been reactive in each case, developing in response to external forces. an identity was ascribed to kurds through state repression. whereas arab, persian, and turkish nationalism were constructed positively by elites, kurdish nationalism was borne out of forces acting upon it, driving loose-knit tribes toward a broader identity. furthermore, this process was not irreversible, as evidenced by post-revolution iranian cultural inclusion mitigating the saliency of kurdish identities in the political sphere. plausibly, heightened ethnonationalism and state repression may be cyclical: exclusion contributes to ethnonationalism, while ethnonationalism may be perceived as a threat by the state and induce repressive reactions. the causal chain pertaining to h3 is unclear from the evidence examined. violent ethnonationalism generally correlated with access to resources – particularly international resources – and the cases offer support for h3. however, access to resources is a requisite condition for sustained hostilities, so it is logical for this correlation to exist. what is not clear is whether greater access to resources encourages movements to take on a violent character, or if violent movements seek out access to resources to sustain their methods. it is likely that both of these paths are taken, with the puk aligning with the former and the pkk aligning with the latter. the puk was supported by the central government in iraq and turned violent once imbued with state resources. alternatively, the pkk seems to have built their financial networks in order to support a violent agenda. further research would be required to establish the causal chain (or chains). concluding remarks tracing the evolution of kurdish ethnonationalism has led to the juxtaposition of a primarily reactive identity cast upon a background of proactively constructed national narratives. arab, persian, and turkish elites projected nationalism while kurds adapted, shedding tribalism 22 for the protection and clout of a collective kurdish nation. this creates a matrix of ethnonationalism, with constructivism and instrumentalism on one axis and reactive and positive identity formation on the other. barzani-style mobilization would be an example of reactionary elite constructivism, while the pkk may most appropriately be situated in the reactionary instrumentalism quadrant (these are of course more fluid categories than a rigid matrix could convey). the grassroots iteration of arab nationalism in iraq most reflects positive instrumentalism, while pahlavi persianization serves as an example of positive constructivism. with this matrix in mind, is it plausible that political exclusion would have the same impact on ethnonationalism born from the positivist half? does exclusion continue to strengthen ethnonationalism in a linear fashion, or would there be a point of diminishing influence? these inquiries may prove to be fruitful endeavors for future research. notes 1 tamer el-ghobashy, mustafa salim, and kareem fahim, “kurds in iraq vote in historic independence referendum,” washington post, 25 september 2017. 2 loveday morris and karen deyoung, “iraqi forces retake the oil-rich city of kirkuk in escalating dispute with kurds,” washington post, 16 october 2017. 3 tamer el-ghobashy, mustafa salim, and kareem fahim, “kurds in iraq vote in historic independence referendum,” washington post, 25 september 2017. 4 loveday morris and mustafa salim, “iraqis seize military base, oil field from kurdish forces near contested kirkuk,” washington post, 16 october 2017. 5 david mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, 3rd edition (new york: i.b. tauris, 2004), p. 3. 6 denise natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran (syracuse: syracuse university press, 2005), p. xvii. 7 carrie rosefsky wickham, “the path to moderation: strategy and learning in the formation of egypt’s wasat party,” comparative politics, 36:2 (january 2004), p. 225. 8 abbas manafy, the kurdish political struggles in iran, iraq, and turkey: a critical analysis (new york: university press of america, inc., 2005), p. 16. 9 david mcdowall, “the kurdish question: a historical review,” in philip g. kreyenbroek and stefan sperl, eds., the kurds: a contemporary overview (new york: routledge, 1992), p. 12. 10 for a variety of definitions of a nation, see john hutchinson and anthony d. smith, eds., nationalism (oxford: oxford university press, 1995), pp. 15-46. 11 robert h. bates, “ethnic competition and modernization in contemporary africa,” comparative political studies, 6:4 (january 1974), pp. 460-461; matthew lange, educations in ethnic violence: identity, educational bubbles, and resource mobilization (new york: cambridge university press, 2012). 12 martin van bruinessen, agha, shaikh and state: the social and political structures of kurdistan (london: zed books ltd., 1992), p. 54. 13 ashutosh varshney, “postmodernism, civic engagement, and ethnic conflict: a passage to india,” comparative politics, 30:1 (october 1997), p. 2. 23 14 daniel n. posner, “the political salience of cultural difference: why chewas and tumbukas are allies in zambia and adversaries in malawi,” the american political science review, 98:4 (november 2004), pp. 529-530. 15 ted robert gurr, “why minorities rebel: a global analysis of communal mobilization and conflict since 1945,” international political science review, 14:2 (april 1993), pp. 167. 16 lars-erik cederman, halvard buhaug, and jan ketil rød, “ethno-nationalist dyads and civil war: a gis-based analysis,” journal of conflict resolution, 53:4 (august 2009), pp. 516, 518. 17 jeffrey j. ryan, “the impact of democratization on revolutionary movements,” comparative politics, 27:1 (october 1994), pp. 31-34; zeki sarigil, “curbing kurdish ethno-nationalism in turkey: an empirical assessment of pro-islamic and socioeconomic approaches,” ethnic and racial studies, 33:3 (september 2009), pp. 544-545; wickham, “the path to moderation: strategy and learning in the formation of egypt’s wasat party,” pp. 207, 223225. 18 sarigil, “curbing kurdish ethno-nationalism in turkey: an empirical assessment of pro-islamic and socioeconomic approaches,” pp. 544-545; gurr, “why minorities rebel: a global analysis of communal mobilization and conflict since 1945,” p. 176. 19 sarigil, “curbing kurdish ethno-nationalism in turkey: an empirical assessment of pro-islamic and socioeconomic approaches,” pp. 544-545. 20 güneş murat tezcür, “when democratization radicalizes: the kurdish nationalist movement in turkey,” journal of peace research, 47:6 (november 2010), pp. 781. 21 ibid., pp. 776, 785. 22 ryan, “the impact of democratization on revolutionary movements,” pp. 31-34. 23 janine a. clark, “the conditions of islamist moderation: unpacking cross-ideological cooperation in jordan,” international journal of middle east studies, 38:4 (november 2006), pp. 555-556. 24 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 5. 25 manafy, the kurdish political struggles in iran, iraq, and turkey: a critical analysis, p. 2. 26 martin van bruinessen, “kurdish society, ethnicity, nationalism and refugee problems,” in philip g. kreyenbroek and stefan sperl, eds., the kurds: a contemporary overview (new york: routledge, 1992), pp. 35-38 27 james ciment, the kurds: state and minority in turkey, iraq and iran (new york: facts on file, inc., 1996), p. 86; van bruinessen, agha, shaikh and state: the social and political structures of kurdistan, pp. 51-59. 28 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 8. 29 ibid., p. 15. 30 cengiz gunes, the kurdish national movement in turkey: from protest to resistance (new york: routledge, 2012), p. 86; mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 17. 31 van bruinessen, agha, shaikh and state: the social and political structures of kurdistan, pp. 53-56. 32 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 35. 33 ibid., pp. 38-39. 34 manafy, the kurdish political struggles in iran, iraq, and turkey: a critical analysis, p. 78 35 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 49; mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 302. 36 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, pp. 298, 305. 37 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 51. 38 ibid., p. 52. 39 manafy, the kurdish political struggles in iran, iraq, and turkey: a critical analysis, p. 84. 40 ibid., p. 84. 41 manafy, the kurdish political struggles in iran, iraq, and turkey: a critical analysis, pp. 86-88; mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 328; natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 60. 42 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 60. 43 manafy, the kurdish political struggles in iran, iraq, and turkey: a critical analysis, pp. 90-91. 44 ibid., pp. 92-95. 45 ibid., p. 94. 46 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, pp. 214-221; natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 117. 47 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 122; legibility pertains to the arrangement of a population “in ways that simplified the classic state functions of taxation, conscription, and prevention of rebellion.” james c. scott, seeing like a state (new haven: yale university press, 1998), p.2. 48 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 123. 24 49 christopher houston, kurdistan: crafting of national selves (indianapolis: indiana university press, 2008), p. 116. 50ibid., pp. 116-117. 51 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, pp. 126-127. 52 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 241. 53 ciment, the kurds: state and minority in turkey, iraq and iran, p. 128; natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 128. 54 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 243. 55 ibid., p. 244. 56 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 135. 57 arang keshavarzian, “iran,” in michele penner angrist, ed., politics and society in the contemporary middle east (boulder: lynne rienner publishers, 2010), pp. 233-234; mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 249; natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 136. 58 ibid., p. 146. 59 ibid., pp. 143-148. 60 ibid., p. 152. 61 ciment, the kurds: state and minority in turkey, iraq and iran, p. 97; mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 273; natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 144. 62 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, pp. 265-266. 63 ibid., p. 275. 64 gülistan gürbey, “peaceful settlement of turkey’s kurdish conflict through autonomy?” in ferhad ibrahim and gülistan gürbey, eds., the kurdish conflict in turkey: obstacles and chances for peace and democracy (new york: st. martin’s press, 2000), p. 59; houston, kurdistan: crafting of national selves, pp. 110, 126. 65 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, pp. 79, 84. 66 ibid., p. 82. 67 ibid., p. 87. 68 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 205. 69 ibid., p. 209. 70 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, pp. 400-401; natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 93. 71 hamit bozarslan, “why the armed struggle? understanding the violence in kurdistan of turkey,” in ferhad ibrahim and gülistan gürbey, eds., the kurdish conflict in turkey: obstacles and chances for peace and democracy (new york: st. martin’s press, 2000), p. 23; gunes, the kurdish national movement in turkey: from protest to resistance, p. 51; mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, pp. 398-408. 72 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 405. 73 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 408; natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, p. 96. 74 natali, the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran, pp. 99-102. 75 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, pp. 411-412. 76 gunes, the kurdish national movement in turkey: from protest to resistance, pp. 91-92, 101. 77 mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, p. 422; robert olson, the goat and the butcher: nationalism and state formation in kurdistan-iraq since the iraqi war (costa mesa: mazda publishers, 2005), p. 8. 78 bozarslan, p. 25; mcdowall, a modern history of the kurds, pp. 420-426. 79 gunes, the kurdish national movement in turkey: from protest to resistance, p. 99; ferhad ibrahim, “the foreign policy of the pkk: regional enemies and allies,” in ferhad ibrahim and gülistan gürbey, eds., the kurdish conflict in turkey: obstacles and chances for peace and democracy (new york: st. martin’s press, 2000), p. 103. 80 gunes, the kurdish national movement in turkey: from protest to resistance, pp. 88-89. 81 gunes, the kurdish national movement in turkey: from protest to resistance, p. 102. 25 bibliography angrist, michele penner, ed. politics and society in the contemporary middle east. boulder: lynne rienner publishers, 2010. bates, robert h. “ethnic competition and modernization in contemporary africa,” comparative political studies, 6:4 (january 1974), pp. 457-484. bozarslan, hamit. “why the armed struggle? understanding the violence in kurdistan of turkey,” in ferhad ibrahim and gülistan gürbey, eds., the kurdish conflict in turkey: obstacles and chances for peace and democracy. new york: st. martin’s press, 2000. cederman, lars-erik, halvard buhaug, and jan ketil rød. “ethno-nationalist dyads and civil war: a gis-based analysis,” journal of conflict resolution, 53:4 (august 2009), pp. 496525. ciment, james. the kurds: state and minority in turkey, iraq and iran. new york: facts on file, inc., 1996. clark, janine a. “the conditions of islamist moderation: unpacking cross-ideological cooperation in jordan,” international journal of middle east studies, 38:4 (november 2006), pp. 539-560. el-ghobashy, tamer, mustafa salim, and kareem fahim. “kurds in iraq vote in historic independence referendum,” washington post, 25 september 2017. gunes, cengiz. the kurdish national movement in turkey: from protest to resistance. new york: routledge, 2012. gurr, ted robert. “why minorities rebel: a global analysis of communal mobilization and conflict since 1945,” international political science review, 14:2 (april 1993), pp. 161201. gürbey, gülistan. “peaceful settlement of turkey’s kurdish conflict through autonomy,” in ferhad ibrahim and gülistan gürbey, eds., the kurdish conflict in turkey: obstacles and chances for peace and democracy. new york: st. martin’s press, 2000. houston, christopher. kurdistan: crafting national selves. indianapolis: indiana university press, 2008. hutchinson, john and anthony d. smith, eds., nationalism. oxford: oxford university press, 1995. ibrahim, ferhad. “the foreign policy of the pkk: regional allies and enemies,” in ferhad ibrahim and gülistan gürbey, eds., the kurdish conflict in turkey: obstacles and chances for peace and democracy. new york: st. martin’s press, 2000. ibrahim, ferhad and gülistan gürbey, eds. the kurdish conflict in turkey: obstacles and chances for peace and democracy. new york: st. martin’s press, 2000. keshavarzian, arang. “iran,” in michele penner angrist, ed., politics and society in the contemporary middle east. boulder: lynne rienner publishers, 2010. kreyenbroek, philip g. and stefan sperl, eds. the kurds: a contemporary overview. new york: routledge, 1992. lange, matthew. educations in ethnic violence: identity, educational bubbles, and resource mobilization. new york: cambridge university press, 2012. manafy, abbas. the kurdish political struggles in iran, iraq, and turkey: a critical analysis. new york: university press of america, inc., 2005. mcdowall, david. a modern history of the kurds, 3rd edition. new york: i.b. tauris, 2004. mcdowall, david. “the kurdish question: a historical review,” in philip g. kreyenbroek and 26 stefan sperl, eds., the kurds: a contemporary overview. new york: routledge, 1992. morris, loveday and karen deyoung. “iraqi forces retake the oil-rich city of kirkuk in escalating dispute with kurds,” washington post, 16 october 2017. morris, loveday and mustafa salim. “iraqis seize military base, oil field from kurdish forces near contested kirkuk,” washington post, 16 october 2017. natali, denise. the kurds and the state: evolving national identity in iraq, turkey, and iran. syracuse: syracuse university press, 2005. olson, robert. the goat and the butcher: nationalism and state formation in kurdistan-iraq since the iraqi war. costa mesa: mazda publishers, 2005. posner, daniel n. “the political salience of cultural difference: why chewas and tumbukas are allies in zambia and adversaries in malawi,” the american political science review, 98:4 (november 2004), pp. 529-545. ryan, jeffrey j. “the impact of democratization on revolutionary movements,” comparative politics, 27:1 (october 1994), pp. 27-44. sarigil, zeki. “curbing kurdish ethno-nationalism in turkey: an empirical assessment of pro islamic and socioeconomic approached,” ethnic and racial studies, 33:3 (september 2009), pp. 533-553. scott, james c. seeing like a state. new haven: yale university press, 1998. tezcür, güneş murat. “when democratization radicalizes: the kurdish nationalist movement in turkey,” journal of peace research, 47:6 (november 2010), pp. 775-789. van bruinessen, martin. agha, shaikh and state: the social and political structures of kurdistan. london: zed books ltd., 1992. van bruinessen, martin. “kurdish society, ethnicity, nationalism and refugee problems,” in philip g. kreyenbroek and stefan sperl, eds., the kurds: a contemporary overview. new york: routledge, 1992. varshney, ashutosh. “postmodernism, civic engagement, and ethnic conflict: a passage to india,” comparative politics, 30:1 (october 1997), pp. 1-20. wickham, carrie rosefsky. “the path to moderation: strategy and learning in the formation of egypt’s wasat party,” comparative politics, 36:2 (january 2004), pp. 205-228. microsoft word mihailoff in what sense is the prototokos a kosmos doyle edit.docx [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] in what sense is the prototokos a kosmos? origen’s exegesis of john 8:32 andrew mihailoff theology introduction to conclude a discursive exegesis of john 8:32,1 origen asks in what way the, “firstborn (prototokos) of all creation is able to be a world.” the word translated as “world” in john’s gospel and in origen’s text is κόσµος (kosmos). origen then proceeds to explain in what sense he thinks the prototokos is able to be a kosmos— but the explanation itself seems to require explanation. what sense of the word kosmos does origen mean? the problem is unresolved. in fact, the use of kosmos here is so cryptic that even in lampe’s lexicon the lexical entry for κόσµος contains a sub-definition that cites only the present passage from origen as an example of this particular meaning of the word. yet the meaning itself remains unclear. origen is using the word in a new way, and in so doing makes a radical christological claim. this article will present the problem as it stands, introduce prior attempts at interpreting the cryptic passage, and finally put forth an original interpretation. in addition to attempting a better understanding of this particular passage in origen’s commentary on john, the question has implications for our understanding of how origen viewed the very dynamics of creation. the kosmos origen is quite clear that he does not mean that the first-born is a “world” in any kind of physical sense (οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς ὕλης), and so we are encouraged to consider how the first-born might be a kosmos in another sense of that word. the meaning of kosmos that refers to the physical world is actually a relatively late one in the semantic development of the word. in classical greek the word kosmos is related to the verb κοσµέω (kosmeō) which means “to set in order”. the original meaning 1 and he said to them: you are from below, i am from above. you are of this world, i am not of this world. of kosmos is thus “order” as in “measure”. its literary heritage stretches all the way back to homer.2 the word also comes to mean “ornament” or “decoration” (cf. eng. “cosmetic”) especially of women.3 another later meaning is “ruler” as in the one who orders or regulates the state.4 the meaning of kosmos as “world” or “universe” as its origins in philosophy, and is particularly well illustrated in the well-known quote of heraclitus: κόσµον τόνδε οὔτε τις θεῶν οὔτε ἀνθρώπων ἐποίησεν, ἀλλ’ ἦν ἀεὶ καὶ ἔστιν καὶ ἔσται πῦρ.5 no one of gods or of men made this world, but it always was and is and will be fire. most of these meanings of kosmos given above find expression also in the septuagint and among the new testament authors. for instance, in 1 peter we read: your adornment [κόσµος] should not be an external one: braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of god.6 by far the most common meaning of kosmos, however, among the new testament authors is that which refers to the “world” in the sense of the english word, whether this world be the planet earth,7 humanity in general,8 the human experience,9 or the fallen world as the world as opposed to the divine existence.10 it is this latter most sense that the author of the fourth gospel likely intended the word kosmos to be understood at 8:23.11 when jesus says, “you 2 cf. il. 10.472, εὖ κατὰ κόσµον, “in good order” i.e. “duly”; also od. 8.179, οὐ κατὰ κόσµον, “shamefully”. 3 cf. pl. rep. 2.373c, γυναικεῖος κόσµος, “women’s adornment”. 4 cf. arist. pol. 1272 a 6. 5 heraclitus fr. 30, trans. mine. 6 1 peter 3:3 − 3:4. 7 cf. mt. 4:8, ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσµῳ. 8 cf. jn. 8:12, ὁ σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσµου. 9 1 cor. 7:33, τὰ τοῦ κόσµου, “the affairs of the world”. 10 cf. jn. 12:31, ἄρχων τοῦ κόσµου i.e. the devil; 1 cor. 1:20, σοφία τοῦ κόσµου vs. σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ; cf. also eng. “worldliness”. 11 brown, raymond. the gospel and epistles of john: a concise commentary (the liturgical press: collegeville, 1986) 53. belong to what is below, i belong to what is above. you are of this world, i am not of this world,”12 he is responding to “the judaeans” who are questioning what he meant in a previous statement where he says, “but you will die in your sin. where i am going, you cannot come.”13 jesus is represented as an ambassador to the father in much the same way as he was first introduced to nicodemus.14 in fact this “from above” and “from below” dichotomy is sometimes one of the central interpretative keys to understanding the fourth gospel. origen’s exegesis of john 8:23 origen’s exegesis of john 8:23 is his fullest discussion of the idea of the kosmos in the commentary on john (commjohn), but this is due to an accident of history. in his exegesis of john 1:29 (ἴδε ὁ ἀµνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ αἵρων τὴν ἁµαρτίαν τοῦ κόσµου) origen asks the reader to consider “what we have said in earlier books about the meaning of the term ‘world’ in scripture” so that he does not have to repeat it here.15 in order to frame the analysis of the special sense in which origen calls the prototokos a kosmos, it will be good to review briefly the exegesis of john 8:23 that leads up to that cryptic sentiment. “and he said to them: you are from below, i am from above. you are of this world, i am not of this world.” after quoting 8:23 origen adduces a passage from earlier in the gospel, “he who is of the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. he who comes from heaven is above all. what he has seen and heard, to this he bears testimony.”16 the most pressing question on his reader’s mind, origen anticipates, will be whether “to be of the earth” and “to be from below” are the same. origen thus sets out on a discussion of what it means to be “from below” and “from above,” and what it means to be “of this world” and “not of this world.” the contents of this discussion (commjohn 19.130 − 145) illustrate the various ways origen thinks kosmos can be understood. there are in fact three different interpretations of the word kosmos in origen’s exegesis of john 8:23, all of which mean “world” in some sense. the first is the kosmos that is the physical world, which includes both the heavens and the earth, that is, land and sky. the second is the kosmos that is the sinful world, as 12 ὑµεῖς ἐκ τῶν κάτω ἐστέ, ἐγὼ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω εἰµί· ὑµεῖς ἐκ τούτου τοῦ κόσµου ἐστέ, ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰµὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσµου τούτου. 13 jn. 8:21. 14 cf. jn. 3:13, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ µὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. 15 commjohn 6.301. heine (1993) agrees with blanc (1970) that this discussion must be missing from the extant portions of the commentary. all translations are those of heine (1993) unless otherwise indicated. 16 jn. 3:31 − 3:32. opposed to the divine world. it is this sinful kosmos that the savior frees us from. the third is the kosmos that is not able to be seen (κόσµος ἀόρατος) and that is “spiritual” (νοητός). this is not the first place in the commjohn that origen has introduced this idea of a spiritual world. it comes up in book one of the commentary in a discussion of light and with particular reference to the sense in which jesus calls himself the light of the world.17 there, origen is grappling with the question of what it means that christ has been given various titles to do with light—the light of men,18 the true light,19 the light of the gentiles.20 the light must be one of a metaphorical sense, since “the sun is the light of the world perceived by the senses” (αἰσθητὸς κόσµος).21 origen thus supposes that “the savior is the light of the spiritual world (νοητὸς κόσµος) because he shines on those who are rational and intellectual, that their mind may see its proper visions.”22 the terms under which one is able to behold this spiritual world are described in book one in ways similar to those of book nineteen—the spiritual world is an invisible world that is apprehended only by the pure of heart in the light of christ. since the question of what origen means by kosmos in the subsequent exegesis requires some unpacking of his text, it will be helpful first to offer the text itself in full along with the translation of heine. ζητήσεις δὲ εἰ κατὰ τι τῶν σηµαινοµένων δύναται ὁ πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως εἶναι κόσµος, καὶ µάλιστα καθ’ ὃ σοφία ἐστὶν ἡ πολυποίκιλος· τῷ γὰρ εἶναι πάντας οὑτινοσοῦν τοὺς λόγους, καθ’ οὓς γεγένηται πάντα τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν σοφίᾳ πεποιηµένα, ὥς φησιν ὁ προφήτης· “πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας,” ἐν αὐτῷ εἴη ἂν καὶ αὐτὸς κόσµος, τοσούτῳ ποικιλώτερος τοῦ αἰσθητοῦ κόσµου καὶ διαφέρων ὅσῳ διαφέρει γυµνὸς πάσης ὕλης τοῦ ὅλου κόσµου λόγος τοῦ ἐνύλου κόσµου, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς ὕλης, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τῆς µετοχῆς τοῦ λόγου, καὶ τῆς σοφίας, τῶν κοσµούντων τὴν ὕλην κεκοσµηµένων. but you will inquire if, in some sense, the first-born of all creation can be a world, and especially in so far as he is the manifold wisdom. for by being the principles of absolutely everything according to which all things made by god in wisdom have come to be as the prophet says, “you made all things in wisdom” in himself he would himself also be a “world” that surpasses the world of sense perception in its diversity and excels it as much 17 commjohn 1.158; cf. jn. 8:12. 18 jn. 1:4. 19 jn. 1:9. 20 cf. is. 49:6. 21 commjohn 1.160. 22 ibid. 1.61. as the principle stripped of all the material of the whole world differs from the material world, a “world” constituted, not on the basis of matter, but on the participation of the things that have been set in order in the word and wisdom, which set matter in order.23 it is a difficult passage even in english and there are points at which i disagree with heine’s translation, but i have included that translation here simply to illustrate the ambiguity of the translation of kosmos as “world”, which is the very problem this paper seeks to address. other possible readings of this text will be discussed later, but for the time being let us simply look at the general structure of origen’s argument. if we were to construct a bulleted list of origen’s argument as to why or how the prototokos is able to be a kosmos, it might look something like this: • because he is “the manifold wisdom” (σοφία ἡ πολυποίκιλος) • by his being ‘the principles’ of creation (οἱ λόγοι) • and creation was fashioned by god in wisdom (ἐν σοφίᾳ) • not because of his material nature (οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς ὕλης) • but because he participates in word and wisdom (ἀπὸ τῆς µετοχῆς τοῦ λόγου, καὶ τῆς σοφίας) • and these are what set matter in order (κοσµούντων τὴν ὕλην) it is quite clear that here we are dealing with a sense of the word kosmos which origen has not yet introduced in the preceding exegesis of john 8:23. maurice wiles assumes that origen here is equating the spiritual world (νοητὸς κόσµος) with the son of god.24 wiles writes, “he does suggest that in one sense at least the νοητὸς κόσµος may be identified with the son. this world is a κόσµος by virtue of the λόγος and the wisdom by which its basic material is ordered.” this is partly true, inasmuch as the son as a kosmos has something to do with λόγος and σοφία, but here, at least, origen is clearly not equating the son with the spiritual world he has just described. the νοητὸς κόσµος is a kind of state of being, access to which is granted to persons who were originally from below but who have achieved a purity of heart through spiritual ascendency. origen, however, is asking a completely different question. how is the son, as the firstborn of creation (i.e. the prototokos), able to be a kosmos? tzamalikos comes closer in asserting that, in this particular passage, origen is using the term 23 trans. heine (1993). 24 wiles, maurice f. the spiritual gospel: the interpretation of the fourth gospel in the early church. (cambridge university press: cambridge, 1960) 77. kosmos as a kind of metaphor, “in order to indicate the ‘multi-decorated’ wisdom of god.”25 but origen ascribes kosmos to the son not only on account of wisdom, but also in relation to οἱ λόγοι, the “principles” of creation, as well as by the son’s participation in the λόγος and σοφία together, which “cosmify” the world, that is, set it in order (κοσµούντων). thus – and this is essential – the son as kosmos somehow involves the meaning of kosmos that echoes the verbal meaning involving “ordering” or “arranging”. it must also be kept in mind that origen doesn’t call the son a kosmos, but he specifically calls the firstborn (πρωτότοκος) a kosmos. kosmos itself there is no scholarly consensus on the proper understanding of commjohn 19.147. this is largely due to difficulties inherent to the text. in 1954 ralph marcus of the university of chicago published a short note in harvard theological review discussing a disagreement of the then four modern editors of origen’s text (lommatzsch, migne, preuschen, and brooke) about the punctuation (and therefore the meaning) of this passage.26 the main point of disagreement discussed in that note is the correct sense in which to read ἐν αὐτῷ after the scriptural quote. lommatzsch, preuschen, and brooke give a comma after the prepositional phrase, connecting it with the preceding infinitival phrase (τῷ γὰρ εἶναι). migne places a comma after the quote, connecting ἐν αὐτῷ with what follows. there are also some minor issues with the text itself. for instance, in the bodleian codex ὅλου is missing from τοῦ ὅλου κόσµου. also for migne’s accusative πάντας marcus reads a genitive πάντος, connecting it with οὑτινοσοῦν instead of τοὺς λόγους. marcus thinks migne’s punctuation is the correct reading, but he also thinks that such a reading would leave the infinitival phrase lacking “an adverbial complement to εἶναι.”27 he therefore posits that either ἐν σοφίᾳ or ἐν αὐτῷ has been omitted after εἶναι. marcus senses an omission because of his reading of the syntactic function of the dative of the articular infinitive, which he understands as introducing a full subordinate clause dependent on a main clause whose verb is εἴη. as such, he understands the dative causally. in each of the three possible translations marcus gives in his note, he renders the infinitival phrase as “since the logoi of anything whatever […]”, the logical consequence of which he understands to be expressed 25 tzamalikos, p. origen: cosmology and ontology of time. (brill: boston, 2006) 117. 26 marcus, ralph. “a note on origen” the harvard theological review, vol. 47 no. 4 (oct., 1954), pp. 317 − 318. 27 ibid. p. 317. in the main clause ἐν αὐτῷ εἴη ἂν καὶ αὐτὸς κόσµος. for this reading to work, τοὺς λόγους must be taken as the grammatical subject of the infinitive εἶναι, in which event some kind of predicate adjective, a noun, or an adverbial phrase is lacking to answer what, where, how, etc. the logoi of each thing are. marcus thus suggests an omission, that the logoi are either “in wisdom” or “in him” (i.e. the prototokos). if one takes the expressed ἐν αὐτῷ following the scripture quote as the adverbial complement to εἶναι (as do lommatzsch, preuschen, and brooke), then the following εἴη also lacks an adverbial complement. thus marcus suggests an omitted prepositional phrase within the infinitival phrase, and translates the passage in the following way: for since the logoi of anything whatever, in accordance with which all things created by god in wisdom came into being, as the prophet says, ‘all things hast thou made in wisdom’, are [in wisdom] (or [in the first-born / the logos]), (then) there would also be in it (i.e. the logos) the (intelligible) world which is as much more manifold than the sense perceptible world and different from it as the logos of the whole world, which is bare of all matter, differs from the enmattered world, not because of its matter but because of its participation in the logos and wisdom, which (both) order the matter of ordered things.28 by “intelligible” world, marcus seems to mean the invisible or spiritual world (κόσµος νόητος). this spiritual world then is understood to be within the logos but the antecedent of αὐτῷ, which marcus reads as logos, cannot be logos but rather must be prototokos. origen’s question is not how the logos is able to be a kosmos, but how the prototokos is able to be a kosmos. indeed, marcus seems to regard the two titles as nearly synonymous. an additional inadequacy of the translation is the complete neglect of αὐτός, which he must understand as a modifier of κόσµος, yet omits in his translation. heine’s translation reflects a different reading of the text at a couple of points, the first of which is his rendering of the infinitival phrase, which he does not regard as fully subordinate to the main clause. in other words, the grammatical subject of each clause, according to heine’s reading, is the same — an unexpressed πρωτότοκος. unlike marcus, heine thus reads τοὺς λόγους not as the grammatical subject of εἶναι but as the predicate nominative qualifying an unexpressed πρωτότοκος: 28 ibid. p. 318, all punctuation and bracketing his. for by being the principles of absolutely everything according to which all things made by god in wisdom have come to be (as the prophet says, ‘you made all things in wisdom’), in himself he would himself also be a ‘world’ that surpasses the world of sense perception in its diversity and excels it as much as the principle stripped of all the material of the whole world differs from the material world, a world constituted, not on the basis of matter, but on the participation of the things that have been set in order in the word and wisdom, which set matter in order. removing the relative clause reveals the differences between the two renderings even more clearly: marcus: for since the logoi of anything whatever are in wisdom (or in him), then there would also be in him the (intelligible) world … heine: for by being the principles of absolutely everything, in himself he would himself be a ‘world’ … a second point at which heine differs from marcus is his understanding of ἐν αὐτῷ and αὐτός, the latter of which marcus does not even translate. heine’s translation is questionable at this point; he reads ἐν αὐτῷ as a reflexive (“in himself”), which it cannot be, and he reads αὐτός as an intensive adjective modifying not κόσµος but again an unexpressed πρωτότοκος. this reading puts quite a strain on the grammar. neither of these renderings of αὐτῷ or αὐτός is a common or natural one. in order for αὐτός to act as the intensive, the modified noun must be expressed—otherwise it must be understood as the third person pronoun, “he” or “it” (as in ἐν αὐτῷ, “in him”). it would be very unusual indeed to see αὐτός as an intensive in the absence of a modified noun. grammatically speaking, the regular way to understand αὐτός in this passage is in fact the one which both marcus and heine have neglected, and that is to take it as the intensive adjective modifying κόσµος, “the kosmos itself” or “kosmos itself.” here we must note also the third major point at which marcus and heine differ, and that is their reading of the verb εἴη. marcus takes this as an example of the so-called “existential εἰµί” which is usually found at the beginning of a clause and, if in the present indicative, is accented (ἔστι, “there is”), i.e. is not enclitic. here the verb is optative; thus marcus translates, “there would also be…” heine takes it as a regular copulative verb with an unexpressed subject modified by an unusual use of αὐτός as a bare intensive; “he would himself be …” from a grammatical point of view marcus clearly has the stronger reading. the positioning of εἴη in front of αὐτὸς κόσµος certainly suggests its being understood impersonally (i.e. “existential” εἰµί). reading εἴη as a copulative verb in the manner of heine requires a very strained use of αὐτός as an intensive modifying, not the noun that immediately follows it (κόσµος), but one that is unexpressed. it should also be noted that heine, along with marcus, follows migne in placing a comma after the scripture quotation in order to connect ἐν αὐτῷ with what follows. with respect to the infinitival phrase, heine’s reading must be preferred (i.e. “for by being the principles…”) in opposition to the suggestion of marcus that an adverbial complement has been omitted. in the main clause, however, the reading of marcus is to be preferred over that of heine, for the reasons already given. marcus however neglects to translate αὐτός, which should be taken as an intensive adjective modifying κόσµος, i.e. “the kosmos itself.” in light of these considerations, my reading of commjohn 19.147 is the following: and you will ask in what sense the firstborn of all creation is able to be a ‘kosmos’, especially inasmuch as he is manifold wisdom. for by being the principles of absolutely everything according to which all things made by god in wisdom have come into being (as the prophet says, ‘you made all things in wisdom’), in him there would be kosmos itself, surpassing the perceptible kosmos and excelling it as much as a principle stripped of all the matter of the whole kosmos surpasses the material kosmos, not on account of its matter but on account of its participation in the logos and in wisdom which order the matter of ordered things. as noted in the previous section, it is not at all clear in what sense αὐτὸς κόσµος is to be understood in this passage. i have retained the greek word kosmos in this translation in order to reflect this ambiguity; but i do think it is possible that origen is using the word kosmos here in a rather specific way. if it is correct to take αὐτός with κόσµος, as i think it is, what would “kosmos itself” mean, other than the original etymological meaning of kosmos, that is, order? origen’s reasoning is actually rather clear. the reason the prototokos is kosmos itself is on account of its “participation in the logos and in wisdom, which order the matter of ordered things” (τῶν κοσµούντων τὴν ὕλην κεκοσµηµένων). what connects the prototokos as kosmos to the logos and to wisdom is the the creative process of the ordering or arranging of matter. gerald bostock has recently proposed that, “it is the fundamental notion of ‘cosmos’, meaning a reasoned and patterned order, which is determinative for [origen’s] philosophy of creation. this order stands in contrast to the infinite variability of matter, and thus reflects the antithesis in genesis i between the polarities of chaos and ‘cosmos’.”29 a reading of the text of commjohn 19.147 such as has been suggested in this paper would seem to support this claim. it is order itself (himself?) that takes the chaotic existence of matter and fashions it into the perceivable kosmos (ὁ αἰσθητὸς κόσµος). this is made possible by order’s participation in logos and sophia (ἀπὸ τῆς µετοχῆς τοῦ λόγου, καὶ τῆς σοφίας). conclusion in the opening chapters of the commjohn before offering exegesis on the text itself origen makes a few comments on what he thinks the nature of the gospel to be. he says, “if the good things [τὰ ἀγαθά] in the proclamation of those who preach the good news are investigated, the apostles preach jesus.”30 later he writes, “and let no one be surprised if we have understood jesus to be announced by the plural ‘good things.’ for when we have understood the things of which the names which the son of god is called are predicated, we will understand how jesus . . . is many good things.”31 the gospel illustrates the many good things of jesus which give rise to his many titles and names. indeed, much of the first book of the commjohn is dedicated to explaining this multitude of names. inasmuch as the son of god is wisdom, origen tells us in book 19, he is also kosmos, that which orders the physical matter of creation. it would not be a cause for concern to origen that this title is not given to the son of god in scripture, for he says, “but one who presents how jesus is a multitude of good things can infer [καταστοχάζεσθαι] from these innumerable things written about him that the things which are in him in whom all the fullness of divinity ‘was pleased’ to dwell ‘bodily’ are by no means contained in writings.”32 this process of inference is precisely what leads origen to call the prototokos a kosmos. notice this process is not properly eisegesis, which aims to confirm already held beliefs by “proof-texts”. origen begins from the text and makes inferences which, to him, appear logical. one could certainly argue to the contrary, that origen holds clear convictions about the nature of the kosmos and reads these convictions into the text; but what emerges from a sympathetic reading of origen’s text, i think, is that origen who is as much a product of his education as anyone in history has been yet moves from one sentiment to the next in a kind of path of discovery. in calling the prototokos a kosmos, origen is aware the statement is a difficult one to understand, yet he invites the reader (ζητήσεις) to 29 bostock, gerald. “origen’s doctrine of creation.” the expository times. vol. 118 no. 5 (2007) p. 223. 30 commjohn 1.47. 31 commjohn 1.52. 32 commjohn 1.60. consider what might (εἴη) prove to be one of those “mystical meanings stored up like treasure in the words.”33 bibliography brown, raymond. the gospel and epistles of john: a concise commentary (the liturgical press: collegeville, 1986) origen., & heine, r. e. (1993). commentary on the gospel according to john: books 13-32. washington, d.c.: catholic university of america press. wiles, maurice f. the spiritual gospel: the interpretation of the fourth gospel in the early church. (cambridge university press: cambridge, 1960) tzamalikos, p. origen: cosmology and ontology of time. (brill: boston, 2006) marcus, ralph. “a note on origen” the harvard theological review, vol. 47 no. 4 (oct., 1954) bostock, gerald. “origen’s doctrine of creation.” the expository times. vol. 118 no. 5 (2007) 33 commjohn 1.89. microsoft word essay 3 holmes.docx [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] 2014 graduate research prize “i trust the gospel and all its contents”: the disputation of jirji the monk and medieval islamic knowledge of the bible james holmes history in 1217, a melchite monk from a monastery to the southwest of antioch engaged three scholars and holy men of islam in a religious debate in the presence of the emir al-zafir, son of the famous saladin. the monk, known as “jirji,” anglicized in some texts as “georgi,” hoped to prove that christianity was the better religion: he discusses christ’s salvific nature, which proves his divinity. in comparison, he claimed mohammad’s character is less reputable, which leads christianity to reject mohammad as a prophet; in addition, jirji asserted that the qur’an actually proves the truth of christianity, particularly in regard to the doctrine of the trinity. the debate is an interesting example of interaction between these two religious groups at a time when crusades from the west were typically bringing muslims and both eastern and western christians into much more hostile exchanges. jirji’s successes at defending christianity against the muslims, and his clever arguments against islam, seem to have been a very popular read among coptic christians, who had six manuscripts of the disputation dating at least to the seventeenth century.1 the narrative, written as part of a genre of christian literature dedicated to defending the truth of christianity, succeeds in bolstering the religion, always an important goal for christians, but particularly during an era of crusades. perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the debate, though, is the relative ease the opponents have in understanding each other. on the one side, jirji shows a significant knowledge of islam and of its prophet, leading one to wonder at his familiarity with the qur’an and with the muslim community. equally striking, though, is the level of muslim familiarity with christianity, particularly with biblical texts. nowhere in the disputation does a muslim scholar ask for additional information regarding 1 “jirji al-sim’ani,” claremont coptic encyclopedia. christian scripture, and one even goes as far as saying “i trust the gospel and all its contents,”2 revealing a different familiarity with and even respect for the other religion. in looking closer at islam, in fact, we see that “the suras [verses] of the qur’an dating from the meccan period reveal a certain familiarity with jewish and christian lore,”3 a familiarity which becomes important with regard to islam’s desire to legitimate itself and to understand and argue against the other monotheistic religions it came in contact with, beginning in its early history. the matter of the bible at this point in history, though, deserves some discussion. at the time that mohammad was preaching islam, no official biblical canon had been established yet by any christian sect. while there was a certain amount of agreement about which things were important, particularly the gospels and the acts of the apostles, a variety of other materials, including various epistles of the early church, were far more contentious. similarly, the old testament had its own variants: judaism had a series of important texts, including the torah, altawrat in arabic, and the later prophets, including isaiah and jeremiah. mainstream judaism disagreed with the samaritans, who acknowledged the importance of the torah but almost none of the prophets. this led to the existence of two different forms of the old testament, both of which were completely separate from the christian scriptures. in the wake of this sea of potential scriptures, mohammad introduced the qur’an, which claimed to be the exact word of god as revealed to mohammad, which completed, and sometimes abrogated, earlier revelations. the question became, though, which version of these revelations should be used to understand the role of islam. rather than learning various scriptures from various religious groups in their entireties, it seems that it was the various stories told within the various faith traditions that became more important for islam—in effect, islam was less concerned with the theological underpinnings of these religions and more concerned with their lore, which could be used to legitimate islam as the final revelation. and islam was fortunate: there was also no lack of christians and jews who wanted to share their stories, as “members of both monotheistic faiths seem to have been quite eager to provide information about the contents of their scriptures.”4 islamic leaders became more and more familiar with the stories the different faiths told even as muslims became more and more suspicious of the theologies those stories were used to bolster. very important to the transmission of lore was the place these religions held within islamic society; both religious groups occupied special positions within the 2 “a christian/moslem debate of the 12th century,” fordham internet medieval sourcebook, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/christ-muslim-debate.asp 3 camilla adang, muslim writers on judaism and the hebrew bible: from ibn rabban to ibn hazm (leiden; new york; koln: e. j. brill, 1996), 3. 4 ibid., 2. islamic worldview. unlike the pagan arabs that early muslims encountered and fought, jews and christians became known as ahl al-kitab, “‘people of the book’ or ‘scripture people.’”5 the ahl al-kitab were to be treated with some degree of respect, allowed to live within islam with a certain degree of religious freedom because of the importance of their scriptures. jewish and christian scripture held some small form of legitimacy within islamic society, because, as we shall see, according to islam, jewish and christian scripture points inevitably to mohammad: indeed, “in the qur’an itself, god says to the muslims: ‘if you are in doubt about what we have sent down to you, ask those who were reading scripture before you.’”6 it became important very early for islam to interact with these other faith communities: only by interacting could they understand these people of different faiths and bring them to islam. arabic knowledge of judaism and christianity actually dates to before the rise of islam. within the arabian peninsula and the levant, jewish and christian communities had been well established: judaism was centered around jerusalem, and after the destruction of the temple and the beginning of the diaspora, jews expanded throughout the mediterranean. the acts of the apostles refers to “jews who are parthians, medes, elamites, residents of mesopotamia, cappadocia, pontus, asia, phrygia, pamphylia, egypt, cyrene, rome, crete, and arabia. the largest jewish centers of the diaspora were in rome, alexandria, and antioch, the three largest cities of the roman empire.”7 similarly, christianity had spread throughout the middle east, with antioch being one of the central patriarchical sees in the early church: in fact, “the antiochene order came to dominate the church of the province of arabia where the many congregations that had formed worshipped in greek,”8 although greek would also be joined by syriac and aramaic as the languages of the early arab christians. the first converts to islam would have interacted with christians and jews who lived in arabia, beginning early in their history in mecca, when muslim traders “were in contact with the christians of syria through commercial relations.”9 trade interaction would have continued between muslims and non-muslims living outside of the land of islam, but within islamic territories, muslim and non-muslim contact began to take on a 5 sidney griffith, “arguing from scripture: the bible in the christian/muslim encounter in the middle ages,” in scripture and pluralism: reading the bible in the religiously plural worlds of the middle ages and renaissance, ed.,thomas j. heffernan and thomas e. burman (leiden; boston: brill, 2005), 30. 6 ibid., 30. 7 j. l. mckenzie, “diaspora, jewish,” new catholic encyclopedia 4 (detroit: gale, 2003). 8 j. s. trimingham, christianity among the arabs in pre-islamic times (london: longman group ltd., 1979), 43. 9 ibid., 258. different shape. even as mohammad and his early successors, the caliphs, brought more territory under the command of islam, jews and christians, who as we have seen were living in those territories, remained there. as a result, islamic society developed in a situation where people who did not adhere to their religion lived within their territory. the level of interaction between muslims and non-muslims living in muslim lands was cautiously regulated in the laws of islam: according to the pact of umar, a law code established by the caliph umar, christians and jews living in conquered territory, who were known as dhimmis, had special restrictions on public displays of their religions, and particularly against teaching any muslim about christianity or judaism: dhimmis swore “that we will not make a show of the christian [or jewish] religion nor invite any one to embrace it; that we will not prevent any of our kinsmen from embracing islam, if they so desire.”10 in addition, dhimmis paid a special tax, the jizya, in deference to the new rulers of the land. while these rules could be restrictive to christians and jews, they also prove that islamic society was attempting to create a social order that permitted the inclusion of non-muslims rather than expelling them. in fact, the rules established over the dhimmis actually may have spurred the beginnings of linguistic interaction between christians, jews, and muslims; the umayyad caliph al-walid (705-715) ordered that all official records were to be kept in arabic. prior to this, while the arabs would primarily have used arabic, christians and jews would have used their own languages: jews would have used hebrew, while christians in the middle east used a variety of languages, including aramaic, persian, ethiopic, and syriac. in fact, each of these languages left their own lasting impression on islamic literature, since “the vocabulary of the qur’an contains numerous loan words from [each of those languages] . . .the dominant influence is naturally syriac, since this was the semitic language with which the arabs were most closely in touch . . . .”11 al-walid’s decision to make arabic the main language of record-keeping brought about resentment on the part of christians. in turn, “christians first responded to the challenge of islam in writing, first in greek and syriac, but very soon in arabic.”12 as greek and syriac slowly retired from even the private sphere, christians defending their own faith had to adopt a language which their attackers would understand: soon enough, arabic became the chief language the christians themselves spoke. “there was an analogous movement among the jews”13 to adopt the language which was being used throughout their towns and the part of the world they lived in. both judaism 10 “pact of umar.” http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jews-umar.asp 11 trimingham, christianity among arabs, 266. 12 sidney griffith, the bible in arabic (princeton; oxford: princeton university press, 2013),102. 13ibid. and christianity developed their own dialects within arabic: judaism created judeo-arabic, which is written with the hebrew script but “accords with the cognate letters in arabic script.”14 christians developed a “christian arabic,” a much less consistent form of the language, which drew less from classical arabic, the form of arabic that developed codified rules underneath the umayyad and abbasid caliphates, and more from middle arabic, which directly preceded classical arabic. for both faith groups, the languages they had been speaking for centuries fell out of usage, and they had to adopt the new lingua franca in order to continue the sort of lives they had grown used to. in addition to the development of the dhimma as a community of nonmuslims under muslim rule, islam also identified other significant groups of christians in their world: “from the onset of islamic history . . . christian communities played a significant role in the development of arab islamic society.”15 the first group, the nasārá, comprised “the christians mentioned in the qur’an and with whom muhammad . . . was acquainted. subsequently, the term referred as well to the indigenous christian population living under muslim rule and protection.”16 the nasāra are thus a part of islam’s heritage—christians who contributed at least in some way to the development of the religion. the antithesis of the nasāra was the rûm, a term that “primarily refers to the byzantines who were at once an enemy of islam and a source of supply of some of the craftsmen and artisans of its building program . . . although the rûm were the enemy, they merited the respect of muslims in general.”17 unlike the nasāra, the rûm were clearly outsiders; at the same time, understanding the scriptures of the rûm could be valuable, if the christians could be brought to islam. much later than the islamic encounter with the rûm was the rise of the ifranj, or “franks,” the people the arabs began to meet following the conquest of iberia in the eighth century. the view the arab sources took of this group “was that of a people not dissimilar from other remote barbarians, lacking in sophistication as well as in the creativity of either the byzantines or the indigenous christians.”18 each of these groups, dissimilar as they were, demonstrate the nuanced view the arab sources took of the various christians in their world. some were meant to be protected, others scoffed at, and still others respected and mistrusted at the same time. the various values and threats these groups posed to islam would ultimately shape the islamic use of christian scriptures. 14 ibid., 104. 15 hanna e. kassis, “a bible for the masses in the middle ages: translating the bible in medieval muslim spain,” annual of medieval studies at the ceu 8 (2002): 208. 16 ibid. 17 ibid. 18 ibid. equally early in its history, islam needed to develop a view of different groups of jews. they could sometimes fill the role of a “rival power,” like byzantium or francia. one example is the kingdom of himyar, which, in the sixth century, was ruled by a jewish king, yusuf dhu nuwas, who “engaged in a military action against the city of najran that resulted in the tragic deaths of numerous christians.”19 however, jews usually occupied a position within early islamic society, as a protected people, rather than as a rival group of outsiders. they could be found throughout arabia, “in the oasis communities of khaybar as well as in yathrib (medina), where they were known by their tribal identities . . . . ”20 mohammad’s stay in yathrib was the first time that he interacted with a larger jewish community, rather than individuals he had met around mecca; while interacting with them, “his knowledge of their beliefs, customs, and traditional lore—if not their scripture—grew commensurately.”21 however, much to his disappointment, the jews rejected mohammed’s prophethood as well as his claims that the torah pointed to him and his legitimacy. this, combined with their siding with the meccans against mohammad, caused relations between jews and the early muslims to deteriorate. in the wake of these problems, mohammad seems to have ordered his secretary, zayd b. thabit, to learn the kitab al-yahud, or “book of the jews.” while there is significant scholarly debate about what exactly this entails,22, the fact that mohammad recognized that he would need greater knowledge of hebrew scriptures in order to improve relations with jews and eventually bring them to islam is quite telling with regard to mohammad’s universalist view of islam; in addition, mohammad “discourage[d] believers from consulting the ahl alkitab on their scriptures.”23 thus, it fell only to the scholars to study and understand other religions, by studying their scripture and traditions. as the islamic conquests continued, jews and christians alike fell under the law of the dhimmi, protected within the islamic community but also unable to publicly express their religion, unable to preach their faith to muslims, and required to pay the jizya. as we have seen, perhaps the most significant source for islamic understanding of the scriptures of the ahl al-kitab is the qur’an itself. “the qur’an is very conscious of the bible and sometimes presents itself as offering once again a revelation previously sent down in the torah and the gospel,”24 thus giving muslims a lesson in the religions that preceded their own every time they 19 griffith, bible in arabic, 10. 20 ibid. 21 adang, muslim writers, 4. 22 see ibid., 6-7. 23 ibid., 7. 24 griffith, bible in arabic, 54. encountered their own scripture. while it may have been impossible for the qur’an to give a theology lesson in the teachings of christianity and judaism, this was not the intention anyway. for the islamic world, these stories were not solely the property of judaism or christianity, but also of islam, which believes the earlier prophets, like noah, abraham, moses, and christ, pointed to mohammed and the beginnings of islam, and so were important in understanding god’s revelation to his people—thus, they were every bit as much a part of the story of islam as they were of other faiths. it was important for muslims to recognize their own history and lore within the history and lore of the scriptures of the ahl al-kitab. however, “for all its obviously high degree of biblical awareness, the qur’an virtually never actually quotes the bible.”25 often, it has oblique references to jewish and christian scriptures, which are frequently not in a form that would be immediately recognizable to jews or christians. for example, while still not attempting to represent jewish teaching, the qur’an stays close to the jewish understanding of the exodus: regarding moses, the qur’an “proceeds to recount in some detail moses’ and aaron’s dealings with pharaoh and the subsequent exodus from egypt,”26 as well as the reception of the law, which god says “we wrote for him in the tablets about everything.”27 likewise, the representation of abraham’s early history is very similar to the jewish telling, following “abraham’s rejection of the gods of his father and his ancestors . . . [but] nowhere are there actual quotations from the bible.”28 it is particularly in the representation of the gospels that the qur’an deviates significantly from the traditional christian story, which comes as no surprise: any reference to jesus’ divinity is absent from the qur’anic telling, which presents jesus as a loyal prophet of god, not as the second person of the trinity. in fact, “the gospel that the qur’an confirms is not the gospel as christians recognized it . . . rather, following the model of its own distinctive prophetology, the qur’an speaks of the gospel as a scripture god gave to jesus.”29 jesus is a particularly interesting personage within the qur’an, which names him some twenty-five times, calls him sinless, and gives him the title “messiah” eleven times. nevertheless, he is not any greater than the rest of the prophets he is listed among, and completely lacks the divine nature he has in the christian gospels. in fact, the qur’an expressly states that “the messiah, jesus, the son of mary, is only god’s messenger, his word that god put into mary, and a spirit from him. so believe in god and his messengers and do not say ‘three,”’30 clearly attempting to 25 ibid., 55. 26 ibid., 66. 27 ibid., 58. 28 ibid., 66. 29 ibid., 58. 30 ibid., 87. undermine the christian teaching of the trinity. never named the son of god, jesus is only spoken of as the son of mary, no more divine than any other human. it is in this role, as mary’s son, that jesus may have his most important role within qur’anic literature: if we look at the narrative of the qur’an, we can “notice that it in fact focuses rather more attention on mary than on jesus.”31 according to david marshall, associate professor of the christian-muslim relations at duke divinity school, mohammad perhaps did not see jesus as a crucial figure early in islam, whereas mary represented something both the prophet and his followers could understand: “the fact that jesus features in only one extended narrative from the whole meccan period is a strong indication that . . . he did not, at this stage, represent an especially relevant model to mohammad.”32 certainly, jesus was a prophet of god, but, like so many of the stories of the qur’an (and, indeed, of jewish and christian scripture), jesus’s story is one of being a messenger of god sent to the unbelievers in an attempt to bring them back to god, and who is ultimately rejected by those unbelievers. indeed, we can see a certain similarity with lot, who cautioned sodom and gomorrah of their impending destruction, or moses’ warnings to pharaoh of the plagues of egypt. mary, on the other hand, reflected something which the early muslim community, and mohammad in particular, may have felt: “mary experiences rejection and vilification by her own people because of this divine initiative singling her out for a special task,”33 not unlike mohammad himself, when he was rejected by the quraysh. the story of the nativity has mary withdrawing to a faraway place where she gives birth to jesus and is provided with food from heaven, strongly reminiscent of the story of ishmael and hagar and their own journey after being cast out by sarah. it is not difficult to see some similarities with mohammad’s flight from mecca and his relatives—doubtless, mohammad and his earliest followers would have been able to commiserate with righteous mary’s rejection by her own people. up until this point in the story, christians would have been able to recognize the traditional narrative, with only fairly minor differences from the nativity christians were familiar with; however, the drama is only ended by a miracle, where “the infant jesus speaks from the cradle, thereby implicitly vindicating his righteous mother and shaming her detractors.”34 even though the story is ultimately changed, the early muslim community valued the nativity narrative enough to keep at least the concept as part of their traditions. 31 david marshall, “christianity in the qur’an,” in islamic interpretations of christianity, ed.. lloyd ridgeon (new york; st. martin’s press, 2001), 5. 32 ibid. 33 ibid., emphasis added. 34ibid. in other places, the qur’an references the ways of life of the christians in early islamic arabia. the view of christian life is actually quite varied, often discussing divisions within the christian community. for example, the bishops and monks are seen as consumers of “the property of the people in vanity, and divert [the people] from the way of god. those who treasure up gold and silver and do not expend it in the way of god—give them tidings of a painful chastisement!”35 much like the earlier pagan roman historians, and the later protestant reformers, early islamic leaders held that the bishops and monks were parasitical, taking from society without contributing back to it. on the other hand, the christian idea of monasticism was held with some esteem: “as for the monastic state they framed it for themselves . . . simply out of a desire to please god . . . .” although this respect is still somewhat grudging, and ends with the sting “though they did not, however, manage it aright.”36 by and large, though, the references to christianity and judaism, as established religious communities, are scant: the text remains concerned with presenting the stories those faiths told in an islamic light. in addition to the qur’an, the hadith literature, or the sayings and actions of mohammed, reveal muslim attitudes towards aspects of christian and jewish scripture. again, the goal of the hadith is not to accurately reflect the teachings of the other religions; islam is not concerned with defending other religions, which, no matter how right, are still ultimately incorrect. indeed, much of the hadith’s sections regarding christianity assert that christians are wrong: wanting to ensure that muslims did not fall to worshiping mohammad, “umar said that he heard muhammad say ‘do not extol me as the christians extolled the son of mary….’”37 likewise, the hadith agrees that monks are reprehensible, although it focuses more on their decision to remain celibate: mohammad “judged celibacy to be reprehensible . . . muhammad said ‘we have no directive regarding monasticism . . . the monasticism of this people is struggle (jihad) in the way of god.’”38 however, some strong similarities between the hadith and the bible nonetheless remain, similarities, which are difficult to ignore. for example, mohammad tells a parable of workers hired to do a day’s work for a day’s wages. they worked until noon, after which they went to the master, complained about the work, and left without completing their task and without their wages. the master hired another group of laborers to work, promising them the same wages as the first. this second group worked until mid-afternoon, then, like their predecessors, also left without completing their work or receiving their wages. the master went to a third group, 35 trimingham, christianity among arabs, 265. 36 ibid. 37 marston speight, “christians in the hadith literature,” in islamic interpretations of christianity, ed. lloyd ridgeon (new york; st. martin’s press, 2001), 37. 38 ibid., 36. who completed all of the work and received the wages of all three groups. the similarity between this story of workers and their wages and the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, found in matthew 20:1-16, is particularly striking. while it is far from fair to say that because these passages are so similar, the later one derives from the earlier, the fact that they are so similar, and knowing of mohammad’s familiarity with christian lore, makes it tempting to suggest that he did at least plan for the similarity. eventually, copies of jewish and christian scripture began to appear in the islamic world in arabic. however, it was not usually muslims making the translations: instead, “bible translations into arabic were usually made by jews and christians for the use of jews and christians.”39 the various versions depended on the group translating: “not surprisingly, the gospels seem to have been among the earliest biblical texts translated by arabic-speaking christians,”40 but the christians also translated popular versions of the torah, al-tawrat in arabic, and the psalms as well.41 jewish translations, on the other hand, “were not for the purpose of official, liturgical proclamation in the vernacular . . . they functioned, rather, as means to interpretation and commentary.”42 while christians used the arab versions of their texts in their liturgy, jews used these translations for discussion, while retaining hebrew as the language of worship. of particular note is the fact that in dealing with jewish and christian texts, islamic scholars would sometimes come across a passage which they did not understand. in order to improve their understanding, they “consulted jews and christians orally and received different ad hoc translations of specific verses, even from the same person.”43 while these various translations and forms would sometimes lead to frequent and long-standing mistakes within future texts, it also shows desire on the part of muslims to understand, even to the point of seeking out the ahl al-kitab and asking for their insight. furthermore, doubtless those jews and christians would have shared their experience discussing their religious texts with muslims with their coreligionists; as a result, the stories of muslims discussing the bible with a clearly educated background would not have been so hard to believe. these translations of the bible into arabic were certainly fueled in part by the changes in the linguistic landscape that have already been noted: arabic had replaced greek, aramaic and syriac as the language of the land. however, sidney griffith, professor of semitic languages and literatures at the catholic university 39 hava lazarus-yafeh, intertwined worlds: medieval islam and biblical criticism (princeton: princeton university press, 2013), 115. 40 griffith, bible in arabic, 113. 41 ibid., 129. 42 ibid., 157. 43 lazarus-yafeh, intertwined worlds, 119. of america, also proposes an additional impetus for translation: as jews and christians became more familiar with the qur’an, they recognized that it tells similar stories to their own sacred scriptures, but with several notable differences. “one might imagine that it did not take the arabic-speaking jews and christians long to take exception to the qur’an’s prophetology and to its interpretation of many aspects of the bible stories,”44 especially where the qur’an seems to attempt to “correct” jewish and christian “misconceptions,” such as the divinity of christ. these communities, despite being heavily arabized and relegated to lower status within society, took the opportunity to “set the biblical record straight in arabic.”45 the knowledge muslims had regarding the bible shows that they may have had some success with this. it was in this environment that jirji the monk encountered al-zafir and the holy men of his court. in establishing the disputation, the narrator explains the background of jirji, only referred to as “the monk” in the text: “among the followers of the abbot [of st. simon the fisherman] was an old monk who was very versed in knowledge. he spoke very well, too. everybody liked to listen to him. he entered the convent in his childhood and profited of the books there; he acquired the virtues and good manners of the monks.”46 after we meet the hero of the story, we immediately proceed to his meeting with the prince, who asks the monk questions about monastic life. one does not get the sense, however, that the prince asks because he does not know, but rather out of disbelief—“o monk, don’t you eat any meat? . . . . don’t you get married?”47 the prince seems more shocked at the monk’s responses: his answer to the second question would be particularly bad for the prince, since in the hadith mohammad himself speaks out against unnecessary celibacy, and excoriates monks for holding to needless laws, even if they are only trying to please god. the monk has a ready response to the questions, though, applauding the asceticism of the monasteries, to which the prince responds positively, even if not convinced. he then calls for his theologians to come, and, giving ample room for back-handed compliments, asks them “how do you like [the monk’s] appearance? one of them called abu-zaher, from baghdad, said, ‘may i be made your ransom, o prince, he has a smiling mouth and a handsome face. how regretful that he is christian.’”48 after this, the debate starts. the scholar abu-salamah ibn saad, known in the text as the moslem, points out that muslims revere and honor christ and rank him as the most important 44 griffith, bible in arabic, 126. 45 ibid. 46 “christian/moslem debate” 47 ibid. 48 ibid. prophet other than mohammad. christians, on the other hand, do not revere mohammad at all. in effect, muslims acknowledge the importance of jesus, both historically and religiously, while christians reject mohammad entirely. in his responses, the monk uses traditions common to both religions: he asks whether god created all creatures on earth, as well as all people on the earth. there is no scriptural passage here, no question whether genesis is accurate, only whether god created all creatures and people of the earth. in this code switching, the monk makes it easy for the moslem to agree with him—in fact, it would be heresy for him to disagree. the monk immediately finishes his attempt to speak the same language as his interlocutors, though, and asserts that, since god wants the salvation of the entire earth, he would have sent his messengers to the whole world, and thus it only falls to the faithful to determine which messengers are real messengers of god’s. the true messengers receive “a power from god to confirm his message,” and this power includes “to make miracles, to speak various languages and avoid worldly things,” powers given to the apostles of christ.49 clearly, the moslem must be familiar enough with the stories of the apostles to be able to follow the monk’s claim—he does not question the miracles of the apostles, nor their ability to speak various languages. indeed, the monk points out that the proof of the power of the apostles is evident in the world: “at any direction you look, east, west, south or north, you find the devotion to christ at the farthest regions of the world. no one region is empty of it . . . . do you have, abusalamah, any doubt on those . . . things?” to which the moslem replies “this is evident, without any doubt.”50 the next section of the discussion moves into one of the major aspects of islamic understanding of non-muslim scriptures: that of alteration. according to islamic teaching, jews and christians altered the bible in order to use it to prove their own views—which explains the variations between non-muslim and muslim texts. indeed, the moslem, immediately after saying that he accepted the truth of the gospel, complains that the christians “altered it to be as you wanted.”51 in order to defend the legitimacy of the gospels, the monk has to give a brief history lesson: “how many years had passed from the christ until mohammad? . . . . i give the answer: from christ to mohammad, six hundred and some more years passed.”52 the monk explains that, in all that time, and with the incredible extent of christianity—which the moslem does not dispute, but in fact says that there were more christians then “than there are now”—there would have been no way 49 ibid. 50 ibid. 51 ibid. 52 ibid. for all of the christian communities throughout the world, with their various languages, to all change the gospels. sadly, the text does not continue along this track: it would have been fascinating to see what a muslim scholar would have argued against this logistical problem in order to maintain the idea that christians had fabricated their gospels. instead, they move on to the problem of mohammad’s integrity, a section where the monk continues to reveal his own familiarity with islam. in this section, though, the moslem draws some interesting parallels between mohammad and jesus, at least according to the islamic tradition: “don’t you know, monk, that mohammad governed the arabs, and that he is god’s prophet and messenger, because he guided ishmail’s descendants and passed them from the idolatry to the worship of the living god, like what did christ and his apostles?”53 clearly, the moslem has some knowledge of the deeds of christ and the apostles, even if that knowledge seems rather simple: even medieval christians could hardly say that the jewish community which christ was preaching to was guilty of idol worship. however, the critical thing for islam was showing that mohammad fit into the prophetic mold, coming to unbelievers and bringing them to god. the monk refuses to accept this interpretation, naturally, and explains why christians, and, for many of the same reasons, jews, reject mohammad, focusing largely on his violence and his desire for women. it is fortunate for him that he remains under the prince’s protection, otherwise the scholars could doubtless grow angry with his insults to their greatest prophet. later, while discussing prayer, the moslem asks “don’t you pray, you christians, on your christ?”54 the format of the question, like the questions the prince posed earlier, shows that the asker already has an answer, and needs the other person to validate that answer; in this situation, though, the monk has to disagree, saying “absolutely not! on the contrary we pray to him, because he is our god and creator and he accepts the prayer of his servants if they do, and forgives their faults.”55 immediately, the moslem responds with “what an evident blasphemy and bad idea!”56 the moslem already knew that the monk would explain his view of the trinity, which, in the islamic understanding, denies the oneness of god. the only way that the moslem could have known about the christian view of christ, though, was to have interacted with them, to have read what they wrote and heard what they said about jesus; rather than assuming that christians naturally held the same views as him, he had seen that christianity taught something completely different from islam. 53 ibid. 54 ibid. 55 ibid. 56 ibid. the disputation ends when the monk compels the moslem to agree that both islam and christianity recognize god, as well as his word, which, in christianity, is christ, and his spirit, or the holy spirit. while the moslem only agrees to admit that he believes in god, in god’s word, and god’s spirit, the prince laughs, seeing that the moslem has agreed with the monk’s statement: “the prince was laying down. he then stood up, glanced to the moslem, laughed and told him—‘abusalamah, the monk christianized you and introduced you to the christian’s religion; you are then christian.’”57 this is perhaps the most troublesome aspect of the source: ultimately, it comes from a christian perspective, and is part of a larger genre of christians defending their faith. however, the disputation of jirji shows that christians knew that muslims had encountered the bible in some fashion, and were familiar enough with it to argue against christians using it. indeed, as we have seen, muslims turned to christians and jews in order to ask their help in interpreting scriptures. clearly, the fact that arabs were familiar with the bible was well-known even outside the middle east. beginning in the early history of the middle east, even before the rise of islam, jewish and christian sacred scriptures were being disseminated at an astounding pace, to the point where the earliest adherents of islam would have encountered many of them, and used aspects of them in their own scripture. islam was concerned with legitimating itself, by drawing a lineage from the earliest prophets of judaism and christianity, but presenting them in an islamic light. the qur’an became the first point where muslims could encounter jewish and christian sacred lore. as the multiplicity of languages in the middle east became replaced with an arabic hegemony, and christians and jews found themselves subject peoples under the banner of islam, the need for arabic translations of nonmuslim scriptures increased, as did muslim knowledge of those scriptures. ultimately, the arabic world, both attempting to establish a working social order which included non-muslims as well as hoping to bring those non-muslims into islam, found itself needing to understand the scriptures of jews and christians. this knowledge became particularly important as a means of interacting with jews and christians, as the proceedings of the disputation of jirji the monk give evidence to: just as jirji uses his knowledge of islam to present his case against it, his opponent the moslem uses his knowledge of christian scripture to dispute christian teaching and attempt to prove the validity of his own faith. bibliography 57 ibid. primary sources “a christian/moslem debate of the 12th century.” fordham university internet medieval sourcebook. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/christmuslim-debate.asp. “jewish history sourcebook: islam and the jews: the pact of umar, 9th century ce.” in jacob marcus, the jew in the medieval world: a sourcebook, 3151791 (new york: jps, 1938), 13-15. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jews-umar.asp. secondary sources adang, camilla. muslim writers on judaism and the hebrew bible: from ibn rabban to ibn hazm. leiden; new york; koln: e. j. brill, 1996. griffith, sidney. “arguing from scripture: the bible in the christian/muslim encounter in the middle ages.” in scripture and pluralism: reading the bible in the religiously plural worlds of the middle ages and renaissance, thomas j. heffernan and thomas e. burman, eds., 29-58. leiden; boston: brill, 2005. —. the bible in arabic. princeton; oxford: princeton university press, 2013. “jirji al-sim’ani.” from the claremont coptic encyclopedia, vol. 4, ed. aziz suryal atiya (1991). http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/cdm/ref/collection/cce/id/1082. accessed 11/15/2013. kassis, hanna e. “a bible for the masses in the middle ages: translating the bible in medieval muslim spain.” annual of medieval studies at the ceu 8 (2002), 207-221. lazarus-yafeh, hava. intertwined worlds: medieval islam and bible criticism. princeton: princeton university press, 1992. marshall, david. “christianity in the qur’an.” in islamic interpretations of christianity, ed. lloyd ridgeon (new york; st. martin’s press, 2001), 3-29. mckenzie, j. l. “diaspora, jewish.” new catholic encyclopedia, vol. 4. detroit: gale, 2003. 730-731.gale virtual reference library. accessed 3 dec. 2013. speight, marston. “christians in the hadith literature.” in islamic interpretations of christianity, ed. lloyd ridgeon (new york; st. martin’s press, 2001), 30-53. trimingham, j. s. christianity among the arabs in pre-islamic times. london: longman group ltd., 1979. always the seer is a sayer       always the seer is a sayer     victor sensenig department of english     always the seer is a sayer. ralph waldo emerson             satan’s escape from the prison of hell and traversal of chaos in book ii of john milton’s paradise lost not only marks a beginning of humankind’s woe but presents the poet with a more pressing dilemma in the progression of his undertaking.  having sprung his protagonist, milton must now imitate the fallen spirit’s ascension, fraught with “difficulty and labour hard” (2.1021), with his own “hard and rare” flight.  milton will venture “through utter and through middle darkness” (3.16) and attempt to scale even the summit of heaven, where he proposes to continue what he has called his “adventurous song” (1.13).  the sulfurous odor of the pit or some dark materials of the void may yet cling to him as he offers his seemingly confident greeting, “hail holy light” (3.1).  his next question seems to reflect his anxiety concerning the appropriateness of his sudden transition and imitation of satanic flight or the possible inadequacy of his fallen mind to address its holy subject: “may i express thee unblam’d?” (3.3)  the poet requests permission to look about him and express what he sees, to imbibe celestial light and convert it to sacred song.  he asks a valid question in a poem full of problematic looking and everywhere permeated by the envious, lustful, and aggressive gaze of satan.  the archangel uriel, one of god’s eyes on earth, concludes book iii with the key to blameless looking.  he reveals that an appropriate desire to know ultimately seeks to glorify the “work-maister.”  if uriel instructs correctly, the poet may express holy light “unblam’d” if he looks in order to praise what he sees, in other words, privileging “open admiration” over the “secret gaze.”  this directive to worship by seeing and telling, while overtly presented, may obscure an alternate reading of book iii.  the susceptibility of sight and the primacy of the word call into question the purported sequence of seeing and telling, and milton’s poem presents instead the possibility of the story creating the sight.            in paradise lost, everybody watches everybody else, and book iii systematically captures and critiques the gazes of satan, god, and the unseeing narrator.  a host of dangers accompany sight, the most significant sense of paradise lost. these dangers become fully apparent as the poem progresses, as the narrator clearly identifies the roving eye as the first step toward transgression and nearly a sin in itself.  according to raphael’s explanation to adam, when the unfallen satan sees the coronation of christ, his resentment rises, and he cannot close his eyes to sleep.  raphael presents satan’s sin as rooted in a visual comparison of elevation; he “could not bear/ through pride that sight, and thought himself impaired” (5.664-5).  satan will later use the means of his own downfall to trap god’s new creatures.  as he tempts eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, “fix’t on the fruit she gaz’d, which to behold/ might tempt alone” (9.735-6).  satan’s main objective consists of enticing eve to the tree; the sight of the fruit, drawing eve to possess by devouring, can accomplish the rest.  voyeurism, viewing that victimizes its object and desires to see without being seen, ranks high among the dangers of looking in the poem.  regina schwartz provides a reading of satan’s predatory spying in which “satan has turned eve-the-exhibit into eve-the-voyeur; for once he fixes her/his gaze on that fruit, she must possess it, just as satan possesses her . . . having dared to look, she must suffer exposure.  eve becomes aware that she is naked” (91).  although schwartz later explains the problem with this reading, she admits “evidence that this is a poem preoccupied with voyeurism” (152).  book iii represents milton’s attempt to unravel the tangle of gazes and discern what kind of gaze may be appropriate, beginning with his own narrator’s angle of vision.  in his invocation of the holy light of heaven, the narrator’s blindness presents a presumably significant difficulty.  placing himself beneath the celestial light of god, he feels “thy sovran vital lamp; but thou/ revisit’st not these eyes, that rowl in vain/ to find thy piercing ray” (3.22-4).  his blindness, however, does not quench his “love of sacred song” and, inspired by blind “prophets old,” his imagination will “feed on thoughts.”  finding the “book of knowledge fair” closed to him, he opens another door for wisdom, requesting celestial light to: shine inward, and the mind through all her powers irradiate, there plant eyes, all mist dispel from thence purge and disperse, that i may see and tell of things invisible to mortal sight                                                 (3.52-55) the phrase “see and tell” provides a key to reading this book and paradise lost as a whole for the one justifies the other. the narrator intends to repay his debt for divinely granted eyes by telling of the glory he sees with them.  by situating his poem as a hymn of praise, the narrator justifies the lofty proposal of his first book to compose a song “that with no middle flight intends to soar/ above the aonian mount” (1.14-15).  as uriel later states, the glorification of god can reach no excess.  even more fundamentally, the poem’s invocation reinforces the necessity of sight, if not physical then intellectual or spiritual, for the poetic venture.  milton’s narrator must examine the ways of god before justifying them; he must see in order to tell.            he wastes no time in putting his vision to use now that the mist has been purged and dispersed.  the narrator’s eyes turn upward, and we suddenly find ourselves looking upon the one who sees all:      now had th’ almighty father from above, from the pure empyrean where he sits high thron’d above all highth, bent down his eye, his own works and their works at once to view                                                                    (3.56-59) while god does bend down his eye, the narrator does not disclose the precise location of these divine organs of sight.  indeed, seven angels, including the archangel uriel, serve as god’s eyes as they rove through the heavens and earth (3.650-51).  the nature of god’s look also escapes definition.  god does not observe passively, and the effects of his sight exceed the power of language.  around his throne stand sanctities of heaven, who experience the benefits of the power of his divine sight and “from his sight receiv’d/ beatitude past utterance” (3.61-62).  on the other hand, god’s look does not unduly interfere with his creatures.  william kerrigan observes that vision has traditionally represented god’s presence in the world because eyes, unlike some other senses, can see without disturbing the object of sight; foresight, in this sense, does not imply determination (141).  yet this looking without the object’s awareness suggests voyeurism and invites an interesting question for milton’s reader.  to what extent, despite the life-giving quality of god’s look, does the narrator present the almighty father as the “transcendental voyeur”?  from his lofty position the father first beholds the “two first parents” in the happy garden and then surveys hell, chaos, and satan coasting toward the new world.  one figure, the narrator, does watch god, but only after god sees him and the celestial light has shone through every corner of his mind.  the narrator makes it clear that we never actually see god, as we do all the other characters in the poem.  a choir of angels praises the father as the “fountain of light, thy self invisible/ amidst the glorious brightness where thou sit’st/ thron’d inaccessible” (3.375-77).  one would risk blindness in the attempt to view god, for even the brightest angelic beings do not dare to approach but veil their eyes with their wings.  the brightness so overwhelms the eye “dark with excessive bright thy skirts appeer” (3.380).  sequestered from the sight of others, the father even operates a spy camera with rewind and fast forward functions, observing from a high prospect “wherein past, present, future he beholds.”            the presence of the son somewhat mitigates the implication of god as the ultimate voyeur.  as the narrator tells it, he “to his onely son foreseeing spake” these words: “onely begotten son, seest thou what rage/ transports our adversarie” (3.79-81).  the word “foreseeing” could describe the prophetic nature of the father’s forthcoming speech, but it could also refer to the “son foreseeing,” eliminating the idea that the son had not been looking or had even been distracted by some more petty concern.  in any case, the differentiation in the godhead allows the father to see and then turn and tell what he has seen, the poem’s formula for blameless looking.  the appearance of the son also justifies the gaze of god by providing an indirect way to see the almighty.  as god speaks and fills heaven with ambrosial fragrance: beyond compare the son of god was seen most glorious, in him all his father shon substantially express’d, and in his face divine compassion visibly appeered, love without end, and without measure grace                                                           (3.138-41) the son provides visual access to god, so that the beings of heaven may view god’s substance and nature by seeing this translation of god’s light.  the emphasis of this passage lies on the way the son “was seen” or “appeered.”  part of the goodness of god, suggests the narrator, consists of his adoption of an appearance that reflects his true nature.  immune to the hypocrisy of false appearance, the nature of god, as seen in the son, may be understood upon observation.  this line of thought derives from neo-platonic theories of beauty and goodness, and castiglione’s pietro bembo perhaps demonstrates it best in a conversation in the book of the courtier: i say that beauty springs from god and is like a circle, the center of which is goodness.  and so just as one cannot have a circle without a center, so one cannot have beauty without goodness.  in consequence, only rarely does an evil soul dwell in a beautiful body, and so outward beauty is a true sign of inner goodness. (330)    the radiance of christ perfectly communicates the inner goodness of god, and the assumption of trustworthy appearance immensely benefits a poet committed to “see and tell.”  to follow bembo’s logic, looking upon god and understanding god amount to the same thing, and this vision bolsters the poet’s confidence that his sight may effect a true telling.  satan soon arrives to disturb any confidence in the virtue of a beautiful body.  his arrival on earth becomes a catalog of the transgressions of the satanic gaze.  satan, in book iii, first alights on the outer regions of the world.  it seemed a globe at a great distance, but now it seems to him “a boundless continent/ dark, waste, and wild, under the frown of night” (3.422-23).  the dangers of perspective characterize the satanic gaze, a way of looking that changes depending on the angle, proximity, or the focus of the eye.  such a way of looking at god may have led the devil to believe that he could overthrow the almighty.  close to god in heaven, satan could not grasp the vastness of omnipotence.  plotting after his fall to hell, he nursed his contempt and renewed hope of success due to the visually diminishing effects of distance.  his difficult journey through chaos completed, satan wanders for a long time until “a gleam/ of dawning light turnd thither-ward in haste/ his travell’d steps” toward the stairway to heaven (3.499-501).  later the sun also “allur’d his eye” (3.573).  for a poem so concerned with establishing satan’s guilt, such a deflection of responsibility may surprise the reader, but a look at renaissance visual theory may serve to explain this: before kepler, light was not central to the process; rather, objects were visible by their own agency.  visual power lay not in the eye of the observer, but in the object seen, for it generated infinite images of itself through space until it reached the receptive human eye.  images were active; the eye was passive. (schwartz and funicci 7)   such passivity, associated with satan, may characterize the fallen eye and emphasize the need to control where the eye wanders and probes but to also closely guard the eye from the attack of the active object.  able to control his line of sight, god bends down his eye to the objects below, while satan find his eyes pulled this way and that by the random transmission of images by the objects themselves. standing on the lower step of the forbidden stairway to heaven, satan “looks down with wonder at the sudden view/ of all this world at once” (3.542-43).  this look of satan seems intent to capture, to wrap the whole earth in the predatory grasp of his vision.  as stevie davies observes, “an image seen at this remote perspective is diminished enough to be assimilated into the eye of the voyeur in its totality.  the eye engrosses and corrupts its object” (134).  satan’s eyes seem to transgress in their attempt to look from god’s perspective; his vision becomes a flight to where he can view all from a lofty perspective.  indeed, the dream he feeds the organs of eve’s fancy involves a flight above the clouds where eve sees the “earth outstretcht immense, a prospect wide/ and various” (5.88-89).  wonder seizes the devil, “but much more envy seis’d/ at sight of all this world beheld so fair” (3.553-54).  the feeling of wonder opens the possibility of praising the maker of this sight, marvelous even to one who has seen heaven, but the abruptly ensuing envy precludes this response and more fully characterizes the lustful satanic gaze. satan’s voyeuristic tendency, fully exhibited later in his temptation of eve, becomes apparent in book iii.  spying uriel on the sun, satan approaches him for directions in the guise of a stripling cherub with flowing curls and gold-sprinkled wings.  he expresses his desire to visit the new creation, an “unspeakable desire to see, and know/ all these his wondrous works, but chiefly man” (3.662-63).  unlike the narrator who proposes to “see and tell,” satan lets slip his voyeuristic intent to “see and know.”  his stated purpose most tellingly reveals the vast difference between hidden lust and the acknowledgement of worship: “that i may find him, and with secret gaze,/ or open admiration him behold” (3.671-72).  even as he speaks, he remains “unperceiv’d,” though uriel to him “strait was known”; only the narrator observes his secret gaze.  uriel moves to mildly correct him and points the way to blameless looking: fair angel, thy desire which tends to know the works of god, thereby to glorifie the great work-maister, leads to no excess that reaches blame, but rather merits praise the more it seems excess, that led thee hither from thy empyreal mansion thus alone, to witness with thine eyes what some perhaps contented with report hear onely in heav’n                              (3.694-98) this young angel could well remain in at ease in glory and simply pick up stories of the new creation from among the swirling rumors of heaven, but uriel affirms the privileging of seeing over hearing in the precocious cherub’s desire to see and then be one who tells.  uriel’s instructions sum up the ostensive message of book iii thus far: look, if you desire, but only to glorify, lest it lead to the gaze of satan, lustful, envious, and destructive.  the observant reader will note some hesitation on the part of the narrator to fully endorse uriel’s credibility.  this high-ranking spirit, victim of the first disguise, both sees falsely and tells ignorantly, ushering in a host of sorrows by informing satan that the “spot to which i point is paradise” (3.733).  when uriel declares that the angel’s desire “seems excess,” the iambic pentameter pushes out to eleven syllables, perhaps suggesting that his desire is excess.  while much evidence for the preeminence of sight and the duty of worship exists in the text, other evidence expresses the vulnerability of sight and thus undermines the purported sequence of seeing and telling.  “admonisht by his ear” at the sound of satan’s approach, uriel turns and sees only an innocent stripling cherub, a sight that relaxes his guard.  “admonisht” suggests the warning of a danger that his subsequent sight will not communicate; uriel would have done well to heed this admonishment by one of his “lesser” senses.  the archangel himself hints at the epistemological problem at the center of this episode: to see is not necessarily to know.  he offers the caution that the created mind cannot comprehend the infinite wisdom behind god’s works that “brought them forth, but hid thir causes deep” (3.707).  with his own eyes he saw order spring from disorder, yet he admits to lacking a complete understanding.  uriel’s instruction points to the conclusion that worship stems from the acknowledgement of this limited sight, but the narrator suggests another lesson.  a naïve reliance on the sight as a judge of character comes under question in book iii of paradise lost in the character of satan and his cherubic disguise.  even the “sharpest sighted spirit of all in heav’n” cannot pierce his fraudulent disguise; god alone (and, implicitly, the narrator) can discern hypocrisy, “the only evil that walks/ invisible” (3.683-84).  significantly, the first glimpse we have of satan in book i are his eyes—“round he throws his baleful eyes/ that witnessed huge affliction and dismay/ mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate” (1.56-57).  immediately after seeing satan look about him, the poet lets us look through those baleful eyes, and we see what the fallen angel sees: “the dismal situation waste and wild,/ a dungeon horrible” (1.60-61).  this narrative move demonstrates the ease with which the reader may adopt the satanic perspective and the danger that a looking at may become a looking with.  regina schwartz, in her discussion of voyeurism in paradise lost, demonstrates how the poem ultimately muddles the seemingly discernable lines of sight.  according to schwartz, the poem challenges the conventional understanding of voyeurism.  voyeurism supposedly assumes an unseen watcher and positions a subject and object, but in paradise lost, someone else always watches, and the subject both looks at the object of sight and identifies with it.  in paradise lost, the polarization of voyeur/victimizer/man over against exhibit/victim/ woman is attached most persistently, as we have seen, to satan, to the temptation of eve, and to the fall.  satan does not only prey upon eve; his impulse to polarize power begins when he regards the son’s elevation as his own reduction . . . eve’s error may not be seizing the gaze but interpreting it (like so many film critics) as polarizing power into victims and victimizers (154-55).   schwartz ultimately intends to portray eve as an “active exhibit” and empower her by demonstrating that viewing an object does not mean degrading it.  schwartz’s empowerment of eve as the “object” of sight cannot occur without the simultaneous drainage of power from the poem’s range of lookers—satan, god, and, most significantly, our intrepid narrator.  i find her argument most useful for my own purpose of troubling the authoritative nature of sight, visual and intellectual.  to “see and tell” entails the subjugation of the sight by the imagination and language of the storyteller.  not only, as uriel demonstrates, does the sight fall prey to deception, but seeing is essentially artificial and already an act of creation.  it creates victims and victimizers and objects and subjects.  schwartz observes that “it is not possible to determine clearly where god ends and his objects of his sight begin, where the narrator ends and his delineations of the cosmos begin, and where the reader end and her vision of all of the above begin” (157).  the separation of all these elements begins with a story that delineates figures and distinguishes lines of sight.            even the nature of celestial light points to the primacy of the word of god.  addressing the “holy light” in his invocation, the narrator takes a stab at understanding its origins.  it may be the first creation, the “offspring of heav’n first-born” (3.1), or an uncreated aspect of god, “bright effluence of bright essence increate” (3.6).  the poet also concedes that the possibility of an entirely obscure origin, with light springing from a “pure ethereal stream,/ whose fountain who shall tell?” (3.7-8)  but he does approach an answer in the following lines, as light “at the voice/ of god, as with a mantle didst invest/ the rising world of waters dark and deep” (3.9-11).  in the hebraic account of creation, light originates in the words of god: “god said, ‘let there be light,’ and there was light” (gen. 1:3).  milton’s narrator, while not specifying the origin like genesis, does describe light moving at the voice of god, signaling, at least, a hierarchy of divine emanations and the primacy of the word.  as uriel remembers, “i saw when at his word the formless mass,/ this worlds material mould, came to a heap” (3.708-9).  god commences creation with an act of telling which precedes and enables the ability to see through the vehicle of light.      the complication of the injunction to “see and tell” requires the reader to view the invocation of book iii in a new light.  given the prominent place of sight in paradise lost, one might expect a passage similar to the complaint of samson at the beginning of samson agonistes, written at some point during the composition of paradise lost.  of all his complaints, samson most bewails his loss of sight: since light so necessary is to life, and almost life it self, if it be true that light is in the soul, she all in every part; why was the sight to such a tender ball as th’ eye confined? (90-4)   for samson, the absence of light almost entails a living death, demonstrating his fundamental confusion concerning the nature of light.  aware of the vulnerability of sight to temptation and deception, milton’s blindness seems to have engendered an awareness of the extreme sensitivity of the organs of sight, his quenched and veiled “orbs.”  parts of the invocation in book iii do resemble a samson-like complaint as “not to me returns/ day, or the sweet approach of ev’n or morn.”  the poet finds himself surrounded by everlasting dark and “from the cheerful wayes of men/ cut off” (3.46-47).  ironically, samson’s apparent weakness ultimately provides him with the opportunity for revenge when he pushes over the pillars of the theatre to kill the assembled philistines.  the narrator of paradise lost comes to a similar conclusion.  the privileged position of sight receives the ultimate challenge with the poet’s suggestion that his inspiration does not simply overcome but derives from his loss of sight.  with nature’s works “expung’d and ras’d” and “wisdom at one entrance quite shut out,” the poet allows that “so much the rather” may the celestial light flood through him.   kerrigan effectively argues this point from a psychological standpoint: “we know that blindness for milton was a sign of artistic power and spiritual favor, linking him to god in proportion as it distanced him from men” (132).  a person will usually defend against loss by devaluing the lost object, but the narrator persistently praises light throughout his poem, especially in book iii.  kerrigan argues that milton’s loss did not impede but initiated paradise lost, and he quotes a line from milton’s second defense to demonstrate this point.  milton writes, “there is a road which leads through weakness, as the apostle teaches, to the greatest strength” (134).  though his body proved weak and his eyes dimmed and went out, milton somehow rallied the psychic energy to read his affliction in a way that encouraged him to write.  not a means to deny his blindness, the poem “arose from a centering acceptance of his blindness as a sign in need of meaning and a meaning in need of interpretation” (135).  kerrigan’s commitment to psychoanalysis inspires his reading in terms of ego, the rational and conscious aspect of the psyche, and superego, the part of the psyche that has internalized societal norms.  while psychoanalysts typically view ethical maturity as the slow “assimilation of the superego into the ego,” kerrigan understands milton as empowering himself by resisting this dissolution and refashioning the superego into a “sacred complex” (7-8).  by so doing, kerrigan discovers the means to describe the encounter between psychoanalysis and religion and maintain the relevance of a work like paradise lost that presupposes what he considers a discarded image of faith.  while i find kerrigan’s argument for the psychogenesis of paradise lost convincing, i would contend that milton was very much aware of the contingent nature of his faith as evidenced by the nuanced interplay of seeing and telling as it appears in book iii of paradise lost.  his exploration of seeing and telling suggests his comprehension of the interplay in his own mind between the strictures of his religious framework and his vision of his own creative range as a poet.  while a belief in god and commitment to religious principles underlie his poem, he also remains aware that in writing about god he creates his own belief.  thus, the opening question, “may i express thee unblam’d?” becomes all the more poignant, as it essentially entails the extremely complex query “may i create thee unblam’d?”  to quote kerrigan: to justify the ways of god, milton had first to delineate the deity on trial, and the ways to be adjudicated.  like other religious poets, he submitted his desire to the legalities of his faith, teaching obedience and reconciliation.  yet this champion of “eternal providence claimed the freedom to impose some measure of his own disposition on the doctrine’s concerning god’s ways. (129)    milton suggests that perhaps the telling precedes the sight.  the primary impetus for his poem lies in his delineation of his subject, or his creation of a god he can see.  the narrator constitutes worship as seeing and then telling, not to glorify an attention-craving calvinist deity, but because it establishes the primacy of sight, belief, and assertion.  but the narrator also indirectly admits the other possibility that such sight derives from a narrative.  milton compiles this story from the various books of knowledge available to him—the text of the scriptures, the external creation, and his self-awareness of the workings of his own mind.  the third book of paradise lost does indeed merit a measure of anxiety for the poet because he must tell of god, construct god, before seeing him and justifying him.  in effect, he situates a telling that occurs before seeing in the narrator’s mind.  in paradise lost, milton wrote what he believed, promising to record the findings of his inner sight.  but even more primarily, he believed what he wrote, and we can read paradise lost as the means of a humiliated survivor of a failed revolution to justify the ways of god in order to enable his belief.                    bibliography   castiglione, baldesar.  the book of the courtier.  trans. george bull.  new york:  penguin, 1967.   davies, stevie.  milton.  new york: st. martin’s press, 1991.   kerrigan, william.  the sacred complex.  cambridge: harvard university press, 1983.   milton, john.  paradise lost.  the complete poetry of john milton.  ed. john shawcross.  new york: doubleday, 1971.  249-517. ---.  samson agonistes.  the complete poetry of john milton.  ed. john shawcross.  new york: doubleday, 1971.  573-620.   schwartz, regina.  “through the optic glass: voyeurism and paradise lost.”  desire in the renaissance.  ed. valerie finucci and regina   schwartz.  princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1994.  146-66.   schwartz, regina, and valerie finucci.  “worlds within and without.”  introduction.  desire in the renaissance.  ed. finucci and schwartz.  princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1994. 3-15.   jones 1 tracing the missing letter: reassembling nonhuman agency in jhumpa lahiri’s the namesake anne jones english diasporic dislocation, cultural ambivalence, and intergenerational conflict all, understandably, mark the protagonist of jhumpa lahiri’s the namesake. after all, this is a novel, on the one hand, about an indian couple, ashoke and ashima ganguli, who emigrates to boston in the 1960s, and, on the other, their american-born son. what makes life doubly frustrating for their son, however, is his quirky name: gogol ganguli. needlessly (and despairingly) alliterative and neither american nor indian in origin, gogol’s name is the result of a missing post from india. because this letter, containing his official name ceremoniously chosen at his birth by ashima’s grandmother, never arrives, gogol is cursed with a name that sticks like an unwanted stain all his life. how can a mere piece of paper wield so much power over the lives of these characters? what networks are created or dismantled through this one object that goes missing? that the letter is crucial to the formation of social reality in this novel is obvious. however, scholarship on the namesake is curiously one-sided, largely choosing to focus on the representational qualities reflected by the narrative. for example, min hyoung song, and bakirathi mani show how the novel promotes a heteronormative and patriarchal discourse that destabilizes its representational validity. in a similar vein, tamara bhalla writes that her initial readerly identification with gogol’s story takes a backseat because “[her] representational jones 2 investment as a literary scholar” (110) leads her to denounce lahiri’s portrayal of ethnicity and women. bhalla’s linkage of literary scholarship and a specific mode of reading reflects the larger concerns of this paper. what these readings have in common is a “suspicion” of the text’s discursive elements; it sees social reality (both within the text and outside it) as produced solely by underlying power structures that should be brought to light. indeed, critical inquiry within academia more broadly has often centered on the primacy of analyses that uncover these discourses of power and bias that are “hidden” within the folds of a text or social reality.i a “critical” mind is one that not only asks what the text is saying but what the text is really saying. this “hermeneutics of suspicion”, as paul ricoeur famously called it, is elevated to such heights that a surface-level descriptive assessment of reality is tantamount to naivete. “do you not see all the insidious ways this text promotes hegemonic ideology?” the critical scholar might say to the “undiscerning” lay reader who is moved to an affective attachment of a text like the namesake. ii i do not deny that this marxian-freudian-foucauldian-inspired mode of “suspicious” critique has its place in literary and social analyses. power structures are real, sometimes invisible, always exclusionary, and play a central role in the formation of reality. questions like “how is middle-class privilege and the model minority myth of educated south asians reflected in this text?” “how does religion appropriate the woman’s body as a site of conflict?” are all important. but this form of interpretation is only one mode of reading—one that often passes off as superior and “scholarly”. in this paper, i suggest it is important to note how social reality is not only formed through discourse but also through an interaction between actors. i draw jones 3 from an alternative tradition of scholarship called postcritical reading, espoused by critics like eve kosofsky sedgwick, heather love, and rita felski who are attempting to decenter critique from its hallowed interpretational position within academia by offering other descriptive-based modes of reading. this essay wants to analyze how social reality comes to take its specific shape through transhistorical, transnational associations. in other words, i ask: what interactions take place on the surface of this text and how do these give rise to attachments, conflicts, and resolutions? in particular, i analyze the namesake through the methodology offered by bruno latour’s actor-network theory (ant). while sociological in its original conception, i show here how ant’s methodology of tracing associations between entities can be translated for literary analysis as well. in viewing reality as the product of the associations between human and nonhuman actors, latour urges us to “reassemble” social agents to effectively understand the way the (textual) world works. reassembling is key to this paper. this analysis follows the “trace” left by a single nonhuman actor—the letter from india that contains gogol’s official “good” name but that gets lost forever in transit. in showing that the absence of this entity evinces it as a social agent in relation with a multitude of other agents, we see how nonhuman actors are fundamentally entangled with human actors in indispensable ways. how does a missing letter become a key player in the formation of identities and social realities? what other actors does it interact with? how do lives change in the process? ironically, as i will show, it is not the presence of this object that reveals its nature as an actor but its pervasive absence. in the breakdown of the postal system’s reliability, a network becomes unhinged, and causes ripples that extend throughout the entire narrative. moreover, this essay reassembles not only the social agents jones 4 within a text but also outside it, showing how the namesake itself is an actor within the real world. thus, the text (like the fictional letter) is relationally embedded in a network along with its author and readers. together, this triad too behaves as agents colluding to create social reality. viewing social formation in a manner that takes into account how actors—human and nonhuman—behave relationally within a network will enrich literary analysis by offering an alternative to currently dominant forms of discursive readings that confine the definition of social reality. * objects as nonhuman actors it will be helpful to begin with a look at bruno latour’s actor-network theory (ant) as it will orient our focus on nonhuman actors and the importance of their role within society. in reassembling the social, a crucial work in the development of ant, latour reworks the takenfor-granted notions of the social that his field has come to embody. he espouses for a “sociology of associations” in which analysts study how human and nonhuman agencies form networks through entangled relationships with each other. the figurations of these agencies are called actors, which, for latour, are anything that modify “a state of affairs by making a difference” (71). thus, each actor exists within an assemblage, and conversely, each social assemblage contains a multitude of actors. latour prods the sociologist to “follow the actors” (68) so that the actors themselves can define their trajectories, weaknesses, and durability jones 5 instead of having preconstructed social explanations imposed on them. material things, therefore, are not passive intermediaries but participants and mediators in the formation of reality. in viewing an object as a thing that is gathered and that prompts a gathering, latour draws from heidegger. however, he adds an important element: merely seeing an object as a scientific and political entity, what he calls a matter of fact, is only a portion of reality; to see its “thingness”, its essentially gathered qualities, is to convert a matter of fact into a matter of concern. crucially, latour extends this concern with gathering to the role of the critic: “the critic is not one who debunks, but the one who assembles” (latour “why has critique”, 246). this notion of assembling and looking for assemblages will inform my reading of the namesake. latour’s view of objects as actors is often ignored by critics who see them as static, easily replaceable things lacking relational and agential power. take, for example, vijay mishra’s discussion of the importance of objects to the diasporic community.iii he points out that for the members of the “old” diasporic communities, like indentured laborers of the classic capitalist era, “imagination was triggered by the contents in gunny sacks: a ganesha icon, a dog-eared copy of the ramayana or the qur’an, an old sari or other deshi outfit, a photograph of a pilgrimage, and so on” (4). for mishra, however, this is in contrast to those of the “new” diasporic community whose migrancy after 1960 coincided with globalization and modern means of communication (emails, airplanes, telephones). for them, he claims, “’homeland’ is now available in the confines of one’s bedroom … networking now takes over from the imaginary” (4). i agree that the objects the earlier diaspora carried were perhaps the only physical reminders of home. however, i would argue that mishra’s claim that an attachment to material objects from the homeland is now nullified and overtaken by “a simulacral world of jones 6 visual media” (4) is exaggerated. he divorces materiality from its relational connections, ignoring the entanglement of things and people that persists through affective associations and in spite of technological advancements. “networking” cannot fully remove the relational value of things because of the networks formed between things and humans. additionally, what changes is not a human’s attachment to things but the nature of the things that she is attached to. therefore, while a ganesha icon or an old sari may no longer be in an emigrant’s suitcase (although one can easily imagine that they could were they handed down to her, say, by her mother back home), what becomes the object of affection is the mobile phone she uses to call home. nonhuman actors are deeply embedded in the sustenance of social reality and the maintenance of affection.iv the agency of a piece of paper in the namesake, letters are crucial nonhuman agents. these bits of papers are not merely helpless intermediaries sent between countries by individuals who wield ultimate power over them. they are things that assemble bodies and relations, and in forming these assemblages, they have the capacity to reduce the alienating effect of distance. letters are the primary method of communication between the gangulis and their families back homev— ashima writes of her life in america, providing mundane details like the workings of her fourburner stove and “the remarkably unblemished sugar, flour, rice, and salt” (10), and their families write back about the happenings in india. these seemingly quotidian details, exchanged back and forth through a larger postal network that cuts cross spatial and temporal jones 7 scales, form the basis of ashima’s existence. they control her movements and daily schedules as she “keeps her ear trained, between the hours of twelve and two, for the sound of the postman’s footsteps on the porch, followed by the soft click of the mail slot in the door.” (36). the letters gather a multitude of entities and interactions—ashima and her physical faculties, her family in calcutta, the postman who delivers the letter to pemberton road, the mail slot that is the temporary metal container, travel technologies, temporal schedules, human officials, and stamps. additionally, they have the power to control her emotions with their very presence (“he has come home from the university to find her morose, in bed, rereading her parents’ letters”, 33), and their absence (“she cries after the mailman’s visit because there are no letters from calcutta”, 34). for even when ashima is in her late forties, she devotes an entire day reading her dead parents’ letters, preserved in her closet, and lets herself weep (160). letters are not only reminders to her of the relationships she is connected to via the postal network but are also the papery remainders of her relationships that she is simultaneously disconnected from by distance. the agency wielded by letters is connected to their role as a stand-in for the humans who write them. this figuration generates action that in turn mobilizes other nodes of actors. ashima tapes on the wall over gogol’s crib the animals her father has drawn on the margins of the letters; if he will not be able to see his grandfather, at least the baby will see his drawings from his crib. even the very act of writing home allows her parents to inhabit the same space as her. thus when she writes to her mother “to avoid being alone” (lahiri, the namesake 50), physical space and mental space is enfolded. ashima’s isolation is taken away by the letter’s ability to people the room she inhabits. jones 8 nowhere is this agential attribute more evident or powerful than in one of the novel’s most defining moments. when their baby is born, ashoke and ashima wait for a letter that will reveal what their child’s “good” name (or official name) will be. at the hospital, when ashima explains that her grandmother will be choosing their baby’s name, the nurse asks, “will she be here soon?” ashima responds, “no. but a letter will.” (lahiri, the namesake 26) her grandmother does not have to be physically present to name the child because she has delegatedvi that role to a piece of paper. at this juncture, the letter is part of a node that entangles a heterogeneity of socio-material actors. her grandmother is not only networked in a relationship with ashima but more crucially, with the unnamed baby and, as the novel reveals, his future. that the letter contains a name also embeds her within larger state and legal requirements in america, as ashoke finds out when the doctor tells him that their baby cannot be released from the hospital until his birth certificate has a name. naming practices in india and america clash explicitly through this nonhuman actor that the gangulis are waiting for. this letter, however, never arrives. the rupture in what had until then seemed like a well-oiled postal network forces the baby’s pet name, originally meant only for intimate familial use, to stick on as his formal name. gogol is named after ashoke’s favorite russian writer nikolai gogol. however, ashoke’s appreciation for the writer transcends his literary expertise. we find out that ashoke had been involved in a train crash while a student in calcutta; lying among the rubble, he has no way to attract the attention of the rescue team except to drop the crumpled paper he had been clutching—a page from gogol’s short story the overcoat that he had been reading on the train. this episode and the concomitant physical injury that left him bedridden for months had urged him to move to america, study at mit, and eventually settle jones 9 there. later, ashoke tries to assert on gogol’s first day of elementary school that his son’s official name is nikhil (a play on the writer’s first name). gogol ganguli, however, is sent back with a letter from the principal stapled to a string around his neck. this letter, in contrast to the grandmother’s missing one, informs ashoke that his son will be called gogol after the child’s preference. while one name is lost, the other is chained around his neck. what is in a name? gogol’s dissatisfaction with his name forms the crux of this novel. several scholars have argued that the idiosyncrasy of his name can be seen as a metaphor for the cultural confusion and displacement of second-generation immigrant children.vii neither an indian nor an american name, gogol carries “all the ambivalence of ethnicity” through its intertextual reference to a third culture (cardozo 14). i want to focus, however, not on the larger metaphors it may represent but on the rippling effects his name causes. he is teased in school, and imagines a dismal romantic life on account of it. by fourteen, he detests the very sight of his name on magazine subscriptions and name tags, so that when his father gifts him the short stories of nikolai gogol on his birthday, gogol the teenager is relieved to see no resemblance between him and his russian namesake. the book his father regards as emblematic of saving his life is untouched and relegated to a top shelf for almost two decades. in that moment, an entity that has the potential to become a thing that gathers father and son turns into a discarded object, a matter of fact requiring no concern. jones 10 gogol’s dismay with his name is so strong that he tries “to correct…that error” (lahiri, the namesake 287) by legally changing it to nikhil when he turns eighteen. when he steps out of the court, he is ebullient. “he wonders if this is how it feels…for a prisoner to walk free” (lahiri, the namesake 102). his name no longer hangs around his neck, marking his confinement. gogol however quickly finds that this procedure has created an almost split personal history: “he doesn’t feel like nikhil…the people who now know him as nikhil have no idea he used to be gogol” (lahiri, the namesake 105). as heinze observes, his new name “has not been filled with his own past, not in a way that he can identify with it” (196). as he gets involved with different women over the course of the narrative, gogol also finds that a change in name did not, in the end, ensure a thriving romantic life. his problems still persist—his distance from and embarrassment of his first-generation immigrant parents, his sense of a lack of control of his own life, his boredom with communal gatherings. ashima’s grandmother’s letter, had it arrived, would have had the force of an active participant in the creation of social reality. it would have been one among the many nodes forming a network to avoid “the accident of being named gogol” (lahiri, the namesake 287). however, as latour writes in reassembling the social, …there might exist many metaphysical shades between full causality and sheer inexistence. in addition to ‘determining’ as serving as a ‘backdrop for human action’, things might authorize, allow, afford, encourage, permit, suggest, influence, block, render possible, forbid, and so on (72). jones 11 while the presence of the letter would have allowed certain important things, the absence of the letter exerts even more influence over the gangulis’ life, ironically covering the whole gamut of “metaphysical shades” that latour reserves for an agent that is physically present. as an absent presence, the letter also creates a new topology of associations. the crucial new node that enters this reality is that of the russian writer nikolai gogol and his book of short stories. as we have already seen, these actors don’t not exist in isolation. not only is the protagonist connected to the writer through his name, both gogols are entangled in a relationship with ashoke as well. ashoke does not only regard the earlier gogol as an exemplary writer, he also regards him as his savior (lahiri, the namesake 21). moreover, the physical books he has written become for ashoke the very embodiment of their author. he derives a particular comfort in seeing gogol’s name on the spines of the books in his library, an attachment that cuts across centuries and continents. when he names his son gogol, the hapless protagonist too enters this matrix of interacting actors—ashoke’s traumatic train wreck, his passion for russian literature, gogol the writer, his books, russia, and the overcoat and its quirky-named protagonist akaky akakyevich. within this matrix also enters the book of short stories ashok had given to gogol on his son’s fourteenth birthday. by the time gogol (and the reader) returns to this book in the final pages of the namesake, his father has died of a heart attack, his mother is preparing to leave their home in america to return to india, and gogol has had a divorce. he spots the book among a box full of other books ashima intends on giving away: jones 12 the jacket is missing, the title on the spine practically faded. it's a thick clothbound volume topped with decades-old dust. the ivory pages are heavy, slightly sour, silken to the touch. the spine cracks faintly when he opens it to the title page. the short stories of nikolai gogol. "for gogol ganguli," it says on the front endpaper in his father's tranquil hand, in red ballpoint ink, the letters rising gradually, optimistically, on the diagonal toward the upper right-hand corner of the page. "the man who gave you his name, from the man who gave you your name" is written within quotation marks. (lahiri, the namesake 288) the book is no longer a discarded object; it is a many-textured thing, layering within its folds the physical remnants of the past—dust and his father’s handwriting. “the man who gave you his name” might refer to the author of the book he holds, his namesake, and “the man who gave you your name” to ashoke himself, pointing to gogol’s surname. but lahiri seems to leave this ambiguous. surely these signifieds can be reversed and still hold true, because “his name” and “your name”, nikolai gogol and ashoke gogol, gogol ganguli and ashoke ganguli, (nikhil) gogol ganguli and nikolai gogol all transpose onto each other within the name and person of gogol ganguli. each man has named the protagonist, and the protagonist has been named after both men. in the end, the book not only embodies for ashoke the writer who saved his life, but also embodies for gogol his father who “dwells discreetly, silently, patiently, within its pages” (lahiri, the namesake 290). the book becomes an assemblage of various actors across time and space; it renders possible the beginning of gogol’s reconciliation with his namesake and his father who named him. jones 13 the novel ends with gogol starting to read the book. the act is significant—until then, he had shunned the book because he had believed that to read it “would mean paying tribute to his namesake” (lahiri, the namesake 92). more importantly, the short stories of nikolai gogol is no longer buried; first ashoke, and then his son ensures “the busy afterlife of [this] literary artifact” (felski 160). that the act of reading puts the reader in connection with not only the book but also its author is not true only within lahiri’s fictive world. if we were to view the namesake itself as an agential actor within a lattice of other actors, what would we discover? the namesake as an actor in arguing that the writer, the reader, and the text are all coactors that mediate the production of meaning and the durability of a work of art,viii rita felski draws our attention to how novels cannot be wrenched out of the variegated interactions it sustains. firstly, this novel is intimately connected with its author. many elements of the work are autobiographical— lahiri’s parents had an arranged marriage in calcutta and then moved to new england where her father worked at a university, lahiri herself was a second-generation bengali-american, and she had an abiding interest in how books connect parents and children.ix the namesake, then, exists in a relationship with not only lahiri the writer but also with her larger personal experiences, relational ties, and the immigration policies that allowed her parents to move to america. lahiri’s heterogenous subject position itself—an indication of the array of networks she occupies—has prompted an entire collection of essays called naming jhumpa lahiri, in which the editors wonder if she should be categorized as a bengali writer, an indian writer, as jones 14 asian american writer, a postcolonial writer, an american writer, or a global writer.x like gogol ganguli’s name cannot be pinned down into neat categories, neither can his author’s literary position. secondly, this text actively participates with its readers, like the literary critics this essay opened with. social connections are strengthened through reading groups, book reviews, academic institutions and their syllabi, movie adaptations,xi critical scholarship that engage with the work, and, this is often overlooked, word-of-mouth endorsement from one affected reader to another. the attachment that books create with their readers is part of its process of “latching on to receptive hosts” (felski 166). in this way, the namesake affords sociability and identification among its readers (just as much as it affords critique and accusations of its “hegemonic and middle-class narrative of immigration”xii). lastly, and this is connected to the previous two points, as a reader of the namesake and the writer of this essay, i too exist as an actor in the network generated by this book. my own diasporic subject position within academia informed not only my decision to read this book but also my opinions about it. the book as a nonhuman actor, through its interaction with me and countless other actors, has altered, in some sense, the literary, social, and personal landscape it is embedded within. what this network would have looked like if ashima’s grandmother’s letter never got lost, we do not know. however, in tracing the associations that the (absence of the) letter triggers through the novel and outside it, we see how nonhuman actors play powerful roles in the formation of subjectivities and interactions. they push us to recognize their agential jones 15 existence and their inevitable entanglement with humans. a suspicious interpretation of this text would have focused on the discourses it reflects and solidifies. this, i contend, would have given only a partial view of the social reality it creates. we would have missed the objects in this novel that play an indispensable role in the production of that reality. thus, through a study of assemblages, we have a richer analysis of the diasporic world generated by the namesake. jones 16 notes i see felski, latour. ii see tamara bhalla on how members of netsap, a south asian reading community in america, reacted largely positively to the namesake; these lay readers identified strongly with its diasporic themes and conflicts, as opposed to bhalla herself. iii the term “diaspora” has a rich history of negotiations. initially used to refer to the jewish dispersion, it later expanded to include a whole host of migrants including expatriates, political refugees, exiles, mobile laborers, and indentured laborers. for a detailed analysis of the socio-historical complexities of this term, and the ways it has been reworked, see mishra, tölölyan. for the purpose of this paper, ‘diaspora’ will refer to that group of middleclass south asians who started moving to america with the passing of the immigration act of 1965, looking for an american education and upward economic mobility. this is the demography that lahiri also focusses on in the novel. iv consider also, for example, family heirlooms that are passed down, or even tawdry-seeming items like christmas ornaments that become the carrier of tradition and meaning even in the age of “networking”. v ashima, rather than ashoke, is depicted as predominantly maintaining communications with family in india. within the novel in general, ashoke shows little sign of the cultural dislocation that ashima undergoes, one that seems to be connected with her role as a housewife and his work at mit as a professor. this corroborates reshmi dutt-ballerstadt’s assessment that “lahiri deliberately portrays first-generation migration and foreignness as a gendered phenomenon to explore the split between the private and public selves and the domestic versus exterior spaces shared by these first-generation subjects” (169). vi the notion of delegation is important in ant because it refers to how one actor makes another actor do things. social action is shifted or dislocated from one node in the network to another that then becomes part of that network. see latour, reassembling 70. vii see cardozo 18, heinze 193. viii see felski 12, 84, 171. ix see lahiri’s piece “trading stories” in the new yorker. x see dhingra and cheung, ix. xi the namesake was made into a movie of the same name by mira nair in 2006, starring kal penn, irrfan khan, and tabu in leading roles, and featured a cameo role by lahiri herself. xii see mani 69. jones 17 works cited anker, elizabeth s. and rita felski, editors. critique and postcritique. duke university press, 2017. bhalla, tamara. reading together, reading apart: identity, belonging, and south asian american community. university of illinois press, 2016. cardozo, karen. “mediating the particular and the general: ethnicity and intertextuality in jhumpa lahiri’s oeuvre.” naming jhumpa lahiri: canons and controversies, edited by lavina dhingra and floyd cheung, lexington books, 2012. dhingra, lavina and floyd cheung. introduction. naming jhumpa lahiri: canons and controversies. lexington books, 2012, pp. vii–xxii. dutt-ballerstadt, reshmi. “gendered (be)longing: firstand second-generation migrants in the works of jhumpa lahiri.” naming jhumpa lahiri: canons and controversies, edited by lavina dhingra and floyd cheung, lexington books, 2012, pp. 157–81. felski, rita. the limits of critique. the university of chicago press, 2015. heinze, ruediger. “a diasporic overcoat?” journal of postcolonial writing, vol. 43, no. 2, aug. 2007, pp. 191–202, doi:10.1080/17449850701430598. accessed 15 nov 2019. kosofsky, eve sedgwick. “paranoid reading and reparative reading, or, you’re so paranoid, you probably think this essay is about you.” touching feeling: affect, pedagogy, performativity, duke university press, 2003, pp. 123–51. lahiri, jhumpa. the namesake. first mariner books, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449850701430598 jones 18 ---. “trading stories.” the new yorker, june 2011. www.newyorker.com, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/06/13/trading-stories. accessed 15 nov 2019. latour, bruno. “why has critique run out of steam? from matters of fact to matters of concern.” critical inquiry, vol. 30, winter 2004. ---. reassembling the social: an introduction to actor-network-theory. oxford university press, 2005. love, heather. “close but not deep: literary ethics and the descriptive turn.” new literary history, vol. 41, no. 2, spring 2010, pp. 371–91. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/40983827. accessed 14 nov 2019. mani, bakirathi. “postcolonial locations: jhumpa lahiri’s interpreter of maladies and the namesake.” aspiring to home: south asians in america, stanford university press, 2012, pp. 30–75. mishra, vijay. the literature of the indian diaspora: theorizing the diasporic imaginary. routledge, 2007. song, min hyoung. “the children of 1965: allegory, postmodernism, and jhumpa lahiri’s ‘the namesake.’” twentieth century literature, vol. 53, no. 3, fall 2007, pp. 345–70. tölölyan, khachig. “diaspora studies: past, present and promise.” imi working papers series, no. 55, apr. 2012, pp. 1–14. https://www.migrationinstitute.org/publications/wp-55-12. accessed 14 nov 2019. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/06/13/trading-stories http://www.jstor.org/stable/40983827 https://www.migrationinstitute.org/publications/wp-55-12 microsoft word kopaczewski final version -for online.doc [concept, vol. xxxviii (2015)] 2014 graduate research prize “if i get home safe”: william c. white’s experiences in the american civil war james g. kopaczewski history on march 25, 1862, william c. white was stationed in washington, d.c. as part of the massive detail protecting the federal government. after obtaining a one day pass to tour the city, he and some of his comrades decided to enter the capitol. they were astounded by what they saw. white described his trip to the capitol as follows: a few of us went up to the capitol and went up to the dome. in a room there is some splendid pictures of washington and scott on his horse, life size, all oil paintings. it is a beautiful scenery. the pictures is all life size. we nearly got lost. i happened to find the senate. we went in and i never thought there was such a splendid place in the world.1 even though his journey to the capitol may not have been the culmination of his experiences in the american civil war, it certainly left a lasting impression. like many other irish-catholic philadelphians, white’s actions in the civil war allowed him to proudly identify as an irish-american. while thousands of letters from union and confederate soldiers exist, william c. white’s letters, 1861-1869 provides an intriguing new perspective on the war. as an irish-catholic philadelphian, white was raised in a tradition and culture that has not received much attention from scholars. white’s upbringing in the tough ethnic districts of philadelphia was marked by prejudice, poverty, and outright violence. despite philadelphia’s standing as a cultural, economic, and political power, waves of ethnically focused violence periodically occurred. this violence climaxed with the destructive and deadly nativist riots of 1844. irish men, women, and children were physically and verbally assaulted, irish-catholic churches burned, and irish laborers forced to work for the lowest paying, most menial jobs available. white grew up in this highly charged ethnic context, and it helped to shape the ways in which he                                                                                                                           1 white to his parents, march 25, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-169 (mc17).     understood the war. yet, when the civil war erupted in april 1861, white rushed to sign up for the union army. he joined the predominately irish sixty-ninth pennsylvania volunteer infantry regiment (69th pa) and was quickly whisked off to washington, d.c. white experienced some of the most pivotal moments of the war with the 69th pa, including the battle of antietam, the battle of fredericksburg, the battle of gettysburg, and the overland campaign. white’s service in the union army, his irish-catholic upbringing in philadelphia, and his marvelous set of letters offer scholars the opportunity to use white’s life to study the experience of irish-catholic soldiers from philadelphia. reminiscent of african-americans’ and women’s civil war experiences, the war would become an arena for william white and irish-catholic philadelphians to prove their loyalty and claim their stake in the future of the united states. white’s experiences cannot be simply described by notions of fighting for “cause” and “comrades,” for this picture is too clear. rather, white and irish-catholic philadelphians fought to cast aside identities as irishmen and realize identities as irish-americans. the process of developing an irish-american identity entailed service in the military, ardent unionism, and devout religious belief. in all, the story of william white’s war experiences is the story of all irishcatholic philadelphians struggling to build a new life in a new land, navigating the complexities of urban america, and creating a future in a country that begrudgingly welcomed them. this monument marks the 69th pa’s location at the battle of gettysburg. the 69th pa was stationed near the copse of trees and the angle, which took the brunt of pickett’s charge.2                                                                                                                           2 69th pennsylvania volunteer infantry regiment monument at gettysburg national military park, gettysburg pa (photo by author). william c. white’s letters, 1861-1869 is the primary foundation of this essay.3 in sixty-six letters to his parents, white discusses the mundane life of a union soldier, describes bloody battles, asks for supplies from home, alerts his parents to the welfare of his friends and neighbors, and comments on politics. white’s letters are often introspective, typically critical, and always candid. while white was an opinionated and clear writer, the passing of 150 years can create ambiguities in his accounts. specifically, white often discusses obscure skirmishes, the command hierarchy of the 69th pa, and wounded neighbors. in an effort to clarify these ambiguities, anthony w. mcdermott’s a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteers: from its formulation until final muster out of the united states service, a regimental history of the 69th pa published in 1889, will be utilized.4 mcdermott was a dear friend of white’s and wrote the most comprehensive history of the 69th pa.5 mcdermott lists the commanders of the regiment, details actions in the field, and attempts to compile information on the 69th pa for “more competent historians.”6 to reconstruct white’s life and military service, a host of military records, census data, and city directories will be employed.7 in particular, pension forms, veteran schedules, and muster rolls indicate where white served, how long he served, and his physical condition. the primary source base for white is significant but, to truly understand white’s experiences, a broad range of secondary literature must be consulted.                                                                                                                           3 unfortunately, white’s letters only cover 1861, 1862, and 1864. the sole surviving letter from 1863 was white’s description of the battle of gettysburg. i transcribed white’s letters and quoted white word for word. as a result, i have included his misspellings and have not edited passages that include racially offensive language. william c. white, letters, 18611869 (mc17) (philadelphia: philadelphia archdiocesan historical research center). 4 anthony w. mcdermott, a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteers: from its formulation until final muster out of the united states service (philadelphia: d.j. gallagher & co., 1889). 5 white constantly wrote to his parents that mcdermott was safe and healthy. he even called mcdermott a “friend” in a letter home on march 20, 1864. white to his parents, march 20, 1864: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc 17). 6 mcdermott, a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteers…, 3. 7 william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17); ancestry, united states city directories, 1821-1989; ancestry, 1880 census; ancestry, 1890 veterans schedule. an example of white’s penmanship.8 the vastness of civil war scholarship raises questions such as how to narrow the source base and how far back in the literature to explore. in terms of this paper, the most recent applicable work comes from gary w. gallagher’s the union war, which was published in 2011.9 gallagher resurrects the notion that men truly fought for “union,” which he believes is an idea that has been lost on historians. as a companion piece to his seminal work, the confederate war, gallagher pushes scholarship in new directions and attempts to spark historiographical debate. gallagher asserts that northern men, much like white, could fight for union while disavowing emancipation. paul a. cimbala discusses soldiers’ ideals in soldiers north and south: the everyday experiences of men who fought america’s civil war, which was published in 2010.10 cimbala intricately details the lives of union and confederate soldiers in nine essays that cover topics such as “daily camp life,” “approaching battle,” and “engaging the enemy.” with an emphasis on ordinary soldiers, cimbala shows that men, north and south, faced similar circumstances. namely, bad food, distaste for company drill, frightening battlefield experiences, and a home front they deemed not loyal. cimbala describes what life at the front and in camp would have been like for white. randall m. miller provides another important civil war account in religion                                                                                                                           8 william white to his parents, february 12, 1864. william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17) (philadelphia: philadelphia archdiocesan historical research center) (photo by author). 9 gary w. gallagher, the union war (cambridge: harvard university press, 2011). 10 paul a. cimbala, soldiers north and south: the everyday experiences of men who fought america’s civil war (new york: fordham university press, 2010).     and the american civil war. miller’s essay, “catholic religion, irish ethnicity, and the civil war,” asserts that religious belief was essential to the development of irish-american identity.11 as a part of a larger collection of essays, this argument places catholicism within the spectrum of religious belief in the civil war era. miller claims that irish-catholic men felt deep religious devotion, attended mass when it was offered, and sought absolution before going into battle. james m. mcpherson also discusses the religious beliefs of soldiers in his classic work, for cause and comrades: why men fought in the civil war.12 published in 1998, for cause and comrades has become a crucial work for understanding civil war soldiers’ motivations. mcpherson claims that soldiers on both sides joined the ranks for “cause” which was defined by victorian ideas of duty to one’s family and country. while they may have joined for cause, mcpherson asserts that what made men actually fight when in battle was the protection of their “comrades.” the bonds of friendship and camaraderie built during long marches, harsh conditions, and battle were the reasons why men fought so hard in the civil war. while mcpherson aptly describes the majority of civil war soldiers, white’s motivations do not neatly fit within his framework. furthermore, mcpherson is in conversation with gerald f. linderman’s embattled courage: the experience of combat in the american civil war, which was published in 1987.13 linderman posits a more critical view of individual motivations. in fact, he draws a distinction between the volunteers of 1861 and 1862, and the conscripts and bounty-induced men of 1863 to 1865. linderman believes that the earliest recruits fought out of courage and for the defense of their country. later recruits fought for their own financial gain or were simply forced to fight after being drafted. linderman presents a fuller framework than mcpherson for understanding white’s, and many other irish-catholic philadelphians’, service. yet neither linderman nor mcpherson provides the perfect formula for understanding irish-catholic philadelphians. as a result, the inclusion of specialized histories becomes necessary to complete the picture of william white’s war experiences. daniel r. biddle and murray dubin’s tasting freedom: octavius catto and the battle for equality in civil war america, published in 2010, outlines african-americans’ fight for equality in philadelphia.14 biddle and dubin center their work on octavius catto, an african-american activist and teacher, and how the struggles in his                                                                                                                           11 randall m. miller, “catholic religion, irish ethnicity, and the civil war,” in religion and the american civil war, editors randall m. miller, harry s. stout, and charles reagan wilson (new york: oxford university press, 1998). 12 james m. mcpherson, for cause and comrades: why men fought in the civil war (new york: oxford university press, 1997). 13 gerald f. linderman, embattled courage: the experience of combat in the american civil war (new york: free press, 1987). 14 daniel r. biddle and murray dubin, tasting freedom: octavius catto and the battle for equality in civil war america (philadelphia: temple university press, 2010). life paralleled those of african-americans generally. in developing their argument, biddle and dubin recreate pre-war philadelphia and dedicate an entire chapter to irish-catholic philadelphians.15 overall, biddle and dubin highlight racial tensions in philadelphia and show the social environment into which white was born. in addition, jay p. dolan provides a complete history of irish-americans in his 2008 work entitled, the irish americans.16 dolan sketches the role of irish men and women in the united states from the 1700s through the election of president john f. kennedy in 1960. while dolan writes a broad history, his discussions of the irish in philadelphia before and during the civil war are excellent. dolan asserts that philadelphia was the capital of irish-american identity in the 19th century and held a posture of political, social, and religious control in irish america. while dolan discusses irish-americans broadly, susannah ural bruce’s the harp and the eagle: irish-american volunteers and the union army, 1861-1865 solely discusses irish-catholic soldiers.17 the harp and the eagle, which was published in 2006, is the most important work on irish-catholic soldiers in the civil war and why those men fought. bruce asserts that irish-catholics had dual, and competing, loyalties to both ireland and america. subsequently, irish-catholic troops fought for a myriad of reasons including money, union, and irish nationalism. while no one reason explains why irish men fought, bruce claims that service in the union army fostered a new allegiance to the united states. even though an irish-american identity would develop slowly, bruce shows that the process began in the american civil war. while bruce discusses irish-catholic involvement in war, j. matthew gallman’s receiving erin’s children: philadelphia, liverpool, and the irish famine migration, 1845-1855 outlines the migratory connections between philadelphia and liverpool, england.18 receiving erin’s children, published in 2000, describes a migration process in which irish immigrants fled from ireland to liverpool to philadelphia. gallman provides vivid detail about the living conditions of philadelphia’s irish community with a particular emphasis on health, religion, and violence. william l. burton also discusses ethnic soldiers and their regiments in melting pot soldiers: the union’s ethnic regiments.19 published in 1998, melting pot soldiers details the service of mainly german and irish regiments in the civil war. specifically, burton looks at irish soldiers’ hatred of abolitionists and irish actions at fredericksburg. burton also states that while                                                                                                                           15 see chapter 6, which is titled, “the irish, the killers, and squire mcmullen.” ibid., 115.   16 jay p. dolan, the irish americans (new york: bloomsbury press, 2008). 17 susannah ural bruce, the harp and the eagle: irish-american volunteers and the union army, 1861-1865 (new york: new york university press, 2006). 18 j. matthew gallman, receiving erin’s children: philadelphia, liverpool, and the irish famine migration, 1845-1855 (chapel hill: university of north carolina, 2000). 19 william l. burton, melting pot soldiers: the union’s ethnic regiments, second edition (new york: fordham university press, 1998). irish regiments may have seemed united to outsiders, they were in fact riddled with factions. each faction was looking for advancement and power in post-war america. james hennesey, s.j. outlines a differing aspect of irish-americans’ war experiences in american catholics: a history of the roman catholic community in the united states.20 published in 1981, american catholics is a comprehensive history of catholics in america from the first catholic diocese in baltimore to the early 1980s. while most of hennesey’s arguments are beyond the scope of this work, he does have a fine chapter on catholics in the civil war. hennesey argues that the catholic church remained intact during the war due to an abundance of priests. also published in 1981 was john modell’s and lynn h. lees’s essay, “the irish countryman urbanized: a comparative perspective on the famine migration.”21 modell and lees argue that philadelphia was a critical point of entry for irish immigrants. they claim the highly urbanized environment of philadelphia was markedly different from ireland and, as a result, immigrants had to adapt to this new lifestyle. dennis clark’s the irish in philadelphia: ten generations of urban experience continues this theme and is the only full-length account of the irish in philadelphia.22 published in 1973, the irish in philadelphia was an early attempt at uncovering the lost story of irish philadelphians. clark focuses on social aspects such as housing, fraternal clubs, and other irish causes. clark’s work is a start to understanding the irish community of philadelphia but, more than forty years later, much work remains. for purposes of brevity, only one or two of the most crucial sources for each of my arguments have been cited. since irish-catholic philadelphians in the civil war have not received much scholarly attention, it was vital to read the newest works since each contained newly discovered material. therefore, only relatively new scholarship ranging from the 1970s to the present has been utilized. in this paper, i argue that irish-catholic service in the union army was out of devotion to unionism. this argument is in line with gary gallagher’s placement of unionism at the core of why many northern soldiers fought. in order to better understand this unionism, william burton’s detailed discussions of ethnic regiments have been included. moreover, randall miller provides a framework for understanding irish-catholic religious belief. i argue that an irish brand of catholicism was vital to keeping men in the field and helping to define what it meant to be irish-american. finally, bruce allows for a detailed discussion of irish-american identity through her claims that the irish had                                                                                                                           20 james hennesey, s.j., american catholics: a history of the roman catholic community in the united states (new york: oxford university press, 1981).   21 john modell and lynn h. lees, “the irish countryman urbanized: a comparative perspective on the famine migration,” in philadelphia: work, space, family, and group experience in the 19th century, editor theodore hershberg (new york: oxford university press, 1981). 22 dennis clark, the irish in philadelphia: ten generations of urban experience (philadelphia: temple university press, 1973). competing loyalties. bruce asserts that irish-catholics viewed themselves as both irish and american. i slightly disagree and argue that a distinct irishamerican identity, which placed america above ireland, developed during the civil war era. to understand william white’s war experiences, we must understand his life and the social environment in which he was raised. however, reconstructing white’s life poses some challenges. one such challenge is piecing together his childhood. white’s birth records have been lost, he does not appear in census data until 1880, and he does not speak of his childhood in his letters. after combining information from muster rolls and a pension form dated 1892, entitled “declaration for an original disability pension,” it seems likely that white was born in 1844.23 his parents were both born in ireland and migrated to philadelphia before the great famine of the late 1840s.24 since white commonly discusses the “12th street boys,” a nickname for his company in the 69th pa, it is reasonable to assert that white grew up in the moyamensing section of south philadelphia.25 while white’s childhood is murky, he comes into clearer focus during the civil war. the pension form from 1892 lists white’s height as 5 foot 9 inches, his complexion as light, his hair as light, and his eyes as green.26 white joined the 69th pa on august 19, 1861 for a three year enlistment.27 he was promoted to corporal on february 1, 1862 after just five months’ service and promoted to sergeant one year later on february 1, 1863.28 white was mustered out of the army on august 26, 1864 when his three year enlistment expired.29 following the war, white disappears from the record until july 1869, when he wrote his parents from duluth, minnesota where he was working as a laborer for the lake superior and mississippi rail road.30 it is unknown how long white stayed in minnesota, but by 1880 white was back                                                                                                                           23 muster rolls: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17); declaration for an original disability pension: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 24 ancestry, “william white,” in 1880 census. 25 this information was derived by combining white’s discussions on 12th street and the fact that s. 12th street was located in the ethnic neighborhood of moyamensing. it seems likely that moyamensing is where white lived. this cannot be completely verified but it would be illogical for white to mention 12th street so fondly without having some personal connection. white to his parents, january 11, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 26 the form also claims that a middle aged white had “rheumation,” “impaired vision in both eyes,” and “heart disease.” declaration for an original disability pension: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 27 muster rolls: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17); ancestry, “william c white,” in 1890 veterans schedule. 28 muster rolls: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 29 muster rolls: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17); ancestry, “william c white,” in 1890 veterans schedule; declaration for an original disability pension: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 30 white to his parents, july 13, 1869: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). in philadelphia working as a trolley car driver.31 white never married and did not own a home. instead, he lived as a boarder in the house of a german immigrant named anne gasslein at 1629 filbert street from 1880 until at least 1892.32 documentary evidence for white ends in 1892 so it is impossible to know when and where white died. as a whole, white’s life was typical for an irish-catholic philadelphian. he was born to immigrant parents, worked menial jobs, and rented a room in a boarding house. it was white’s conventional life that makes him fascinating because he allows scholars to begin to understand average irish-catholic philadelphians. while reconstructing white’s life poses challenges, reconstructing the social environment in which he was raised is much easier. antebellum philadelphia was a hotbed of nativist sentiment. know-nothingism had a strong presence in philadelphia in the 1840s and its heated rhetoric engendered intolerance towards catholics, particularly irish-catholics. burton describes this prejudice in philadelphia when he states, “brotherly love was conspicuous by its absence in philadelphia in the middle of the nineteenth century.”33 waves of periodic violence directed towards irish-catholics occurred throughout the prewar period, but none were as serious as the nativist riots of 1844.34 the riots began at the nanny goat market in kensington and quickly spread across the city.35 nativist rioters beat, shot, and stabbed irishmen and also burned st. augustine’s, an irish-catholic church located at fourth and vine.36 the burning of st. augustine’s indicates that rioters specifically targeted irish-catholics. for instance, bruce states, “protestants passed several german catholic churches in rioting in kensington and left them unscathed, focusing instead on irish catholics, whom they viewed as the most impoverished, lazy, and criminal in america.”37 the nativist riots of 1844 ended when the militia imposed martial law, but the damage was done and ten people had died.38 despite periods of violence, antebellum philadelphia, as dolan states, was “the capitol of irish america.”39 in fact, modell and lees point out that philadelphia in 1850 had the sixth largest population of irish people in the                                                                                                                           31 ancestry, “william white,” in 1880 census; declaration for an original disability pension: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 32 ancestry, “william c white, 1881,” “william c white, 1886,” “william c white, 1887,” “william c white 1889,” in united states city directories, 1821-1989; ancestry, “william white,” in 1880 census; declaration for an original disability pension: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 33 burton, melting pot soldiers: the union’s ethnic regiments, 27. 34 the nativist riots occurred the same year that white was likely born. he was born into a city that was deeply divided along ethnic lines. 35 biddle and dubin, tasting freedom, 127. 36 ibid., 129. 37 bruce, the harp and the eagle, 12. 38 biddle and dubin, tasting freedom, 129-130. 39 dolan, the irish americans, x. world.40 by 1850, irish-catholic philadelphians represented 18 percent of the city’s population.41 as a result of this massive influx of immigrants, irishcatholic philadelphians grouped together in ethnic neighborhoods such as northern liberties, kensington, and southwark.42 dolan describes the living conditions of the irish in philadelphia as “not as congested as new york or boston, but the irish neighborhoods still housed some of the worst tenements, described by one observer as ‘no better in any respect than pens of cattle.’”43 this heavily populated urban environment was profoundly different from the green fields of ireland. philadelphia was an industrial city which clark describes as “one of the greatest conceivable contrasts to the fields and villages of the irish countryside.”44 instead of agricultural work, which was common in ireland, irish-catholic philadelphians worked as laborers, stevedores, and ditch diggers. biddle and dubin call this work “donkey labor” and state, “it was common to hear gaelic on those docks as irishmen loaded cargo from wagons onto ships and from ships onto wagons.”45 workers were paid menial wages, worked long hours, and often were barred from higher paying jobs.46 these harsh conditions caused most irish-catholic philadelphians to live in poverty and under the constant threat of nativist violence. even though irish-catholic philadelphians had difficulties at home, they eagerly filled the ranks of the union army at the outbreak of the civil war in 1861.47 white joined the newly created company i of the 69th pa, which was carved out of the second regiment of the philadelphia county militia, following the expiration of lincoln’s initial call for troops in april 1861.48 the 69th pa was a predominately irish-catholic regiment and was led by colonel joshua ‘paddy’ owens, who was actually welsh, not irish.49 bruce claims that the 69th pa was heavily influenced by the renowned sixty-ninth new york regiment of the irish brigade, “right down to their regimental number.”50 on august 19, 1861, the 69th pa was mustered into service with the colors of both the united states and ireland flying proudly. bruce highlights the 69th pa’s                                                                                                                           40 these numbers include ireland and great britain. modell and lees also state that “the irish inflow into both london and philadelphia around 1850 was larger than the contemporary movement into dublin or any other city in ireland.” modell and lees, “the irish countryman urbanized: a comparative perspective on the famine migration,” 358. 41 dolan, the irish americans, 38. 42 ibid., 25. 43 ibid., 89. 44 clark, the irish in philadelphia, 29. 45 biddle and dubin, tasting freedom, 117. 46 ibid., 123; biddle and dubin claim that irish workers typically made between 63 and 80 cents a day. 47 dolan claims that approximately 140,000 irish men served in the union army throughout the war. dolan, the irish americans, 98. 48 mcdermott, a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteers, 5. 49 burton, melting pot soldiers: the union’s ethnic regiments, 148. 50 bruce, the harp and the eagle, 73. colors when she states that they were “edged with gold trim, the green banner bore an image of the old irish harp, with its maid of erin, on one side and the coat of arms of pennsylvania on the other.”51 in fact, white requested that his parents send him “anthony mcdermott’s photographs of the national and irish flag of our regiment.”52 these dual flags were a visual representation of how the 69th pa understood their identity. participation in battle also helped soldiers develop an irish-american identity. white’s first combat experience came at the battle of white oak swamp on june 30, 1862.53 this engagement was a part of the seven days battles during major general george mcclellan’s peninsular campaign. 54 the peninsular campaign aimed to capture the confederate capitol of richmond by landing troops on the virginia peninsula. while the battle of white oak swamp was indecisive, the seven days battles were a resounding confederate victory and caused the peninsular campaign to fail. in describing his first combat experience, white was surprised at how he reacted to battle. he writes, “well i never knew what it was to be in a battle until the battle of white oak swamps. i thought a fellow would be skeered out of his wits but instead of that it seemed like play for we would be laughing and talking to each other yelling and firing away.”55 even though white thought battle “seemed like play,” he did constantly discuss how loud and distressing the sound of battle was. white states, “we can sit in our tent and hear the sound of the cannon on this side and in a few seconds the explosion of the shell on the other side.”56 the sounds of battle included constant explosions and the sound of men dying, which cimbala claims created an “aural hell.”57 at this point in the war, white confidently boasted of a quick union victory, supported the army’s commanders (particularly mcclellan), and cheerfully wrote of his experiences in camp. this would all begin to change when white and the 69th pa entered sharpsburg, maryland. after defeating the union on the peninsula, confederate commander robert e. lee pressed his advantage and invaded maryland. the army of northern virginia and the army of the potomac met at sharpsburg, and the                                                                                                                           51 ibid., 166; white also discusses the regiment’s flags when he states “col owens [joshua owens] went on to harrisburg to get flags for the regiment. i believe an irish flag, the harp.” white to his parents, january 9, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 52 this is the same anthony mcdermott that wrote the 69th pa’s regimental history. white to his parents, july 9, 1864: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 53 mcdermott, a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteers, 14. 54 as white was transported to the peninsula via ship, he saw the armored union steamer, the uss monitor, and was less than impressed. white writes “if you seen that boat the monitor which fought the merrimac you would laugh at it….it is about 3 inches out of the water and plated with iron…i had to laugh at it. it is like a raft with a cheese box on it.” white to his parents, april 11, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 55 white to his parents, july 13, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17).     56 white to his parents, february 13, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 57 cimbala, soldiers north and south, 156. result was the single bloodiest day of the war. on september 17, 1862, white and the 69th pa were sent into a tough battle where white was appalled at the bloodshed.58 white described the aftermath of the battle of antietam as follows: i took a walk over to the battlefield. i saw, it made me sick. it is worse than fair oaks. it was four miles long and the dead lie all along. in one place there was a regular line of battle for about one hundred yards. they layed in twos when rickett’s battery opened grape and canister. it mowed the rebels down like grass. i saw a great many of our dead, but twice as many rebels.59 white continued his description of the battle of antietam on october 14, 1862. he states, “our company is very small now. when we went to camp observation we had ninety left. we lost fifty-five dead, wounded, and deserted. our regiment had 900 men when we left camp observation. now we cannot raise four hundred.”60 white was obviously shaken by the mass casualties of the battle of antietam and how those casualties reorganized his regiment. while white was still optimistic about the prospect of union victory, he began to question whether the union army’s means justified its ends. the battle of fredericksburg helped to clarify white’s and many irishcatholic philadelphians’ questions about the war. on december 12, 1862, white and the 69th pa entered fredericksburg, virginia where they dodged confederate fire and looted the town. white describes foraging when he states, “we could get anything we wanted. we got one thing we wanted that was chewing tobacco. we got boxes of it. i have got from ten to fifteen dollars worth.”61 while december 12 was full of looting, december 13 became infamous for irish-americans. the newly appointed head of the army of the potomac, general ambrose burnside, ordered an uphill attack on a protected confederate position.62 white and the 69th pa charged up marye’s heights where they were quickly cut down by thick confederate fire. white describes the attack when he states: that was a terrible battle at fredericksburg. our brigade was in the hottest of it. they tried to relieve our brigade four times but as soon as the                                                                                                                           58 mcdermott, a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteer, 19. 59 white to his parents, september 26, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 60 white to his parents, october 14, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 61 white also notes that men stole jewelry, silverware, “a splendid gold watch,” and all kinds of groceries. he states that the paper he wrote his letter on was a “sheet of fredericksburg paper.” white to his parents, december 15, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 62 george mcclellan was replaced by president lincoln after the failure of the peninsular campaign and mcclellan’s reluctance to pursue the army of northern virginia following the battle of antietam. line would get ahead of us they would break and run in every direction, so they had to wait until dark before they relieved as the bullets and shells were coming too hot for them.63 after failing to take the heights, white had to lie prone on the ground as confederate fire whizzed over his head. it was not until nightfall that white and the 69th pa could safely escape down the heights and back across the rappahannock river. white describes the scene for his parents in terms easier for them to understand when he states: it was like as if the rebels were on top of fairmount and us charging up the hill and the rebels keeping a steady fire of musketry and grape canister on us. any man of sense would know that it could not be taken. old burnside did not get a good name this time for all the soldiers call him butcher burnside.64 the disdain for general burnside was the first indication of white’s and irishcatholics’ changing view of the war. irish regiments took heavy casualties at fredericksburg, which caused many irish-catholics to wonder if union commanders were purposely placing irish regiments in positions to be slaughtered. the nickname butcher burnside would stick and irish-catholic support for the war would never fully recover. despite the disaster at fredericksburg, white did not desert the army or fail to support the cause of union. in fact, white and the irish-catholic philadelphians of the 69th pa played a prominent role in perhaps the most crucial moment of the war. july 3, 1863 was the third day of a massive battle between union and confederate forces in gettysburg, pennsylvania, only 150 miles from philadelphia.65 white and the 69th pa were stationed in the direct middle of the union line behind a low stone wall on cemetery ridge. bruce describes the position of the 69th pa at the battle of gettysburg when she states, “although they did not know it at the time, the 69th pennsylvania’s line rested near two of the most famous landmarks at the battle of gettysburg: ‘the angle’ and the ‘copse of trees.’”66 this position placed the 69th pa as the main target of what would become known as pickett’s charge. after a two hour artillery bombardment, the 69th pa faced a mile-wide, 12,500-man confederate force marching toward their position. white describes the first part of the confederate                                                                                                                           63 white to his parents, december 22, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 64 white to his parents, december 25, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 65 mcdermott, a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteer, 29-30; white described the fight on july 2, 1862 as “on the 2nd of july the rebels marched out on us and drove the men in front of us back and then marched to our stone wall. we fought them over an hour and then they turned and flew in all directions.” white to his parents, july 5, 1863: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 66 bruce, the harp and the eagle, 168. advance on july 3: “on the 3rd they opened fire on our stone wall with over one hundred pieces of artillery. the shot and shell flew thick and fast…. after they shelled us for about two hours they marched out in line of battle and charged on our stone wall.”67 as confederate major general george pickett’s forces came closer, union artillery loaded with grape shot and canister as well as union musket fire destroyed large sections of the confederate lines. however, the confederate advance overran white’s initial position by “about 50 yards” before white and the 69th pa “turned and drove them back.”68 the confederate penetration of union lines on july 3, 1863 was the high water mark for the confederacy. confederate forces would not come closer to victory than they had at gettysburg and they would not invade the north again. because of white and the 69th pa, pickett’s charge ended in abysmal failure and helped to turn the war in favor of the union.69 even though white had a vital role in the victory at gettysburg, he decided to not reenlist at the end of his three year enlistment period. while it is impossible to know exactly why white refused to reenlist, it is possible that white was tired of fighting and felt he had honorably served his country long enough.70 white details his decision to not reenlist when he states: you need not expect me to reenlist. there is not much talk of it in our brigade. i don’t think there is twenty five in the brigade that have reenlisted. them that did reenlist got their eye shut on the thirty day furlough. i am sure that they will not get me again, no matter how much they try.71 as white served out his final few months, he was thrust to the fore in the overland campaign and the siege of petersburg. the overland campaign, which ran from may to june 1864, and the siege of petersburg, which ran from june 1864 to march 1865 were part of lieutenant general ulysses s. grant’s plan to break the army of northern virginia by constant campaigning.72 white describes the overland campaign as never-ending and states, “the campaign is still going on and i don’t know when it will end but i hope it will not last long . .                                                                                                                           67 white to his parents, july 5, 1863: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 68 ibid.     69 the 69th pa monument is just to the right of the high water mark of the confederacy if you are looking at the union line from the confederate line. the monument was built with donations from the 69th pa’s members and mcdermott lists “w.c. white” as donating $5 towards construction. mcdermott, a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteer, 101. 70 it is also possible that white refused to reenlist due to his disagreement with union war policy or circumstances at home. what we do know is that white felt he had done his time and decided to move on. 71 white to his parents, january 13, 1864: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 72 mcdermott, a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteer, 38 and 47. . we have been sent into other brigades to fight where regiments of nearly one thousand strong have broken and run.”73 while white wished to finish his service peacefully, he engaged in numerous large battles and small skirmishes. white’s final battle was the second battle of ream’s station, which occurred on august 25, 1864.74 he describes the battle and his ensuing mustering out of the service the next day, august 26, 1864, when he states, “i am still well after going through about as tough a fight as ever i was in which i will tell you about if i get home safe. it was on the weldon railroad but i suppose you have heard of it by this time.”75 with that, white’s experiences in the field ended and he was honorably discharged from service. white’s experiences reveal his deep seated support of the union. white and many other irish-catholic philadelphians were strict unionists who fought for the ideals of freedom and democracy. as gallagher points out, a union victory “meant keeping aloft the banner of democracy to inspire anyone outside the united states who suffered at the hands of oligarchs.”76 the ideal of keeping freedom and democracy alive in the united states became a popular cause among irish-catholics. indeed, many irish troops thought preserving the union gave hope to those in ireland suffering under british rule. for instance, mcpherson states, “if secession fragmented america into the dis-united states, european aristocrats and reactionaries would smile in smug satisfaction at the confirmation of their belief that this harebrained experiment in government of, by, and for the people would indeed perish from the earth.”77 irish-catholics wanted to ensure that american democracy and hopes for irish independence would not be destroyed. however, irish-catholic loyalty to unionism was tested when george mcclellan, a philadelphian, was relieved of command. mcclellan was a committed democrat, which made him popular with the democraticleaning irish community. white recalls mcclellan’s somber ride away from the army, “all the boys was sorry about mcclellan leaving. when he passed us he said: ‘boys stand by your green flag.’”78 however, white’s racism and anti-abolitionism are also evident.79 for instance, white states, “we’ve heard that lincoln and grant visited the hospitals at city point and the wounded cursed them out of the hospital. the papers say lincoln was cheered wherever he went. down here it must have been the niggers and mules that cheered him.”80 white’s 1864 description of only “niggers and mules” cheering lincoln and grant indicates that he did not agree                                                                                                                           73 white to his parents, may 31, 1864: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 74 mcdermott, a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteer, 47. 75 white to his parents, august 26, 1864: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 76 gallagher, the union war, 34. 77 mcpherson, for cause and comrades, 112. 78 white to his parents, november 23, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 79 white was a proud democrat, a war democrat, but a democrat nonetheless. he disagreed with lincoln and grant, but also felt that the war had to be conducted until union victory. 80 white to his parents, june 26, 1864: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). with union policy following the announcement of the emancipation proclamation. in fact, white’s letters are rife with derogatory and stereotypical descriptions of african-americans. white describes runaway slaves escaping to freedom in maryland as “two niggers that swam across from virginia on horses.”81 in describing the south to his parents, white states, “the south is as far as i seen of it that it is nothing but niggers and wilderness, swamps and woods.”82 white also indicates that the men of the 69th pa commonly discussed african-americans, concluding that “all the men around here swear they will drive every nigger out of philadelphia.”83 when in 1863 the lincoln administration finally allowed for the creation of united states colored troop regiments, white described their lack of fortitude in battle in an 1864 letter, writing, “there is niggers in the 9th and 18th corps. when the niggers got in the second line they broke and ran in all directions.”84 such descriptions of africanamericans were common for an irish-catholic philadelphian. africanamericans often lived in close proximity to irish-catholics and they would compete for the same jobs.85 these race-based tensions caused many irishcatholic philadelphians to verbally, and at times physically, assault africanamericans. despite white’s disagreement with emancipation as official union policy, he served out his enlistment. white served his country for three years and was a part of some of the most crucial moments of the civil war. he and his comrades’ actions on their home soil at gettysburg helped to save the union. white’s enlistment early in the war and the absence of discussions about bounties or money indicate that white likely served out of loyalty to the union. it was this sense of protecting democracy, freedom, and union that caused irish-catholic philadelphians to fight and die. burton aptly summarizes irish-catholic notions of service: “irish soldiers dying before the stone wall at fredericksburg did not sacrifice their lives for irish independence; for the most part they fought for the same reasons their compatriots fought – to support their friends and comrades and to preserve the union.”86                                                                                                                           81 white to his parents, december 1861: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 82 white to his parents, july 13, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 83 white to his parents, may 1, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 84 white to his parents, july 31, 1864: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 85 biddle and dubin, tasting freedom, 119; dolan, the irish americans, 53. 86 burton, melting pot soldiers: the union’s ethnic regiments, 153. “wm c white” is listed under corporals in the middle pane for company i.87 nevertheless, irish-american identity was not solely based on military service or unionism. white’s experiences in camp show that catholicism had a key role in developing an irish-american identity. white was a devout adherent to catholicism and attended mass whenever it was possible. army movements, drill schedules, and picket duty commonly disrupted the ability of priests to conduct mass, but when it was available white attended. white describes attending mass while moving through harpers ferry, west virginia when he states, “there is a splendid little church painted fancy in harpers ferry, so we went down there yesterday, sunday, and heard mass.”88 while attending mass was important for all catholic soldiers, mass was particularly vital for irishcatholic soldiers. irish-catholics composed a large portion of northern catholics, especially philadelphia catholics, and they created their own brand of “militant catholicism.”89 this brand of irish catholicism sought to pacify nativism, eradicate anti-catholic sentiments, and build irish-dominated parishes.90 for example, white writes, “we had a mass here this morning by one of the priests of the irish brigade. father dillon, he comes over every sunday and says a mass…. i never wore that little irish prayer book, the other i always carry in my pocket.”91 the protection of white’s “little irish prayer book” and                                                                                                                           87 pennsylvania monument at gettysburg national military park, gettysburg, pa (photo by author). 88 white to his parents, march 3, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 89 miller, “catholic religion, irish ethnicity, and the civil war,” 262-264. 90 ibid., 262-264; miller also asserts that church leaders understood that catholics would be judged, whether rightly or wrongly, off their service in the army. as a result, miller states, “the catholic church therefore sought to ensure that the soldiers fought bravely, acted responsibly, and honored their catholic faith.” 91 white to his parents, july 13, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). his attendance of irish brigade masses speak to this brand of irish catholicism. in addition, the irish brigade masses white spoke of were typically conducted by father william corby (or who white identified as “father corbin of the 88th n.y”).92 when corby could not say mass, james hennesey asserts that “jesuits from the french missions in new york and the south and the maryland province, holy cross priests from notre dame, redemptorists and secular priests from a score of dioceses” could fill the void.93 the connection between priest and soldier was most profound in the moments before battle when men sought absolution. men had their faith tested before entering battle and the comforting words of a priest could give men the strength needed to sustain their belief.94 this role of catholicism for white, and other irishcatholic philadelphians, was in line with soldiers of different religious belief in both armies. for example, gerald linderman states that soldiers believed “god would ensure the survival of the soldier of perfect faith, the battlefield victory of the army of devotion, and the triumph of its cause.”95 thus, the catholic church was not only a constant source of comfort and strength, but it was also a way to ensure union triumph. whether it was through sunday mass in camp, absolution before battle, or a prayer book in a pocket, a particularly irish brand of catholicism became inextricably linked to what it meant to be irishamerican. in all, white’s experiences as well as those of other irish-catholic philadelphians indicated that the civil war helped to develop an irish-american identity. a song written for white’s 69th pa perhaps best condenses this notion: our country we are bound to save, and keep evermore, and soon the stars and stripes shall wave, on all our glorious shore. the stars and stripes, our own true flag, that we do prize so dear, there is nothing like brave owens, and his irish volunteers.96 foremost in this song is the claim that the 69th pa was “bound to save” their “country.” the country invoked in the song was not the home of the 69th pa’s                                                                                                                           92 corby is best known for the general absolution he gave to soldiers before the second day of battle at gettysburg. white to his parents, december 22, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 93 hennesey, american catholics, 155. 94 miller, “catholic religion, irish ethnicity, and the civil war,” 268. 95 linderman, embattled courage, 103. 96 “col. owens gallant irish volunteers” composed by arthur fadden, published by j.h. johnson’s card and job printing office, philadelphia, pa: william c. white, letters, 18611869 (mc17). ancestors, ireland, but their home, the united states. the song continues by claiming that the stars and stripes were the 69th pa’s “own true flag.” even though the 69th pa carried both the colors of the united states and ireland into battle, this song indicates which of those two was more important. in general, irish-american identity tended to be overtly patriotic. this patriotism was vividly represented by white when he states, “we will march away from dixie land to the tune of yankee doodle. i would like to spend the 4th of july in philadelphia.”97 white spoke of fourth of july celebrations because they became important social occasions for irish-americans. white describes july 4, 1862 as, “it is fourth of july. here the cannons is roaring all day and the bands playing. gen’l mcclellan reviewed us today.”98 irish-american inclusion in fourth of july celebrations became symbolic of their inclusion in american society. no longer did they consider themselves irishmen living in america, but full americans albeit with irish ancestors. tied to this irish-american identity were, as miller states, “loyalty to the memory of irish ancestors, the needs of irish liberation, and the demands of the catholic church.”99 irish-americans aided newly arrived irish immigrants and irish liberation causes through monetary donations.100 with the exception of a handful of men in the fenian brotherhood, almost all irish-americans began to distance themselves from ireland.101 instead, they focused on building their local communities and devoting themselves solely to america.                                                                                                                           97 white to his parents, june 14, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 98 white to his parents, july 4, 1862: william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). 99 miller, “catholic religion, irish ethnicity, and the civil war,” 273. 100 bruce, the harp and the eagle, 244. 101 ibid., 193; the fenians served in the union army to gain military experience which they could export back to ireland and use to fight against british rule. ultimately, the fenians did not accomplish much but they did hold a noticeable place within the irish community for a period of time in the mid-nineteenth century. a hand drawn shamrock placed directly next to white’s signature.102 in conclusion, william white’s experiences in the american civil war were also the experiences of irish-americans creating a unique identity. through service in the union army, ardent unionism, and devout religious belief, individuals of irish descent changed the ethnic paradigm. no longer would the irish be victims of prejudice, poverty, and violence, but members of a unique american community. while the civil war may have been incredibly destructive for many aspects of american life, it was constructive for irishamericans as they began to create a new identity. white’s experiences highlight this construction and show that ordinary individuals had a profound impact on what being irish-american meant.                                                                                                                           102 william white to his parents, march 15, 1864. william c. white, letters, 1861-1869 (mc17) (philadelphia: philadelphia archdiocesan historical research center) (photo by author). bibliography primary sources ancestry. united states city directories, 1821-1989. -“william c white 1881.” accessed on april 23, 2014. http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgibin/sse.dll?new=1&gsfn=willi am+c.&gsln=white&rank=1&gss=angsg&mswpn__ftp=philadelph ia%2c+philadelphia%2c+pennsylvania%2c+usa&mswpn=15151 &mswpn_pinfo=8|0|1652393|0|2|3244|41|0|2341|15153|0|&pcat=r oot_category&h=145224599&db=ususdirectori&indiv=1 &ml_rpos=45. -“william c white 1886.” accessed on april 23, 2014. http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgibin/sse.dll?new=1&gsfn=willi am+c.&gsln=white&rank=1&gss=angsg&mswpn__ftp=philadelph ia%2c+philadelphia%2c+pennsylvania%2c+usa&mswpn=15153 &mswpn_pinfo=8|0|1652393|0|2|3244|41|0|2341|15153|0|&pcat=r oot_category&h=172976372&db=usdirectories&indiv=1& ml_rpos=26. -“william c white 1887.” accessed on april 23, 2014. http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgibin/sse.dll?new=1&gsfn=willi am+c.&gsln=white&rank=1&gss=angsg&mswpn__ftp=philadelph ia%2c+philadelphia%2c+pennsylvania%2c+usa&mswpn=15153 &mswpn_pinfo=8|0|1652393|0|2|3244|41|0|2341|15153|0|&pcat=r oot_category&h=145506264&db=usdirectories&indiv=1& ml_rpos=34. -“william c white 1889.” accessed on april 23, 2014. http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgibin/sse.dll?new=1&gsfn=willi am+c.&gsln=white&rank=1&gss=angsg&mswpn__ftp=philadelph ia%2c+philadelphia%2c+pennsylvania%2c+usa&mswpn=15153 &mswpn_pinfo=8|0|1652393|0|2|3244|41|0|2341|15153|0|&pcat=r oot_category&h=146419488&db=usdirectories&indiv=1& ml_rpos=30. 1880 census. -“william white. year: 1880; census place: philadelphia, philadelphia, pennsylvania; roll: 1171; family history film: 1255171; page: 93d; enumeration district: 162; image: 0747.” accessed on april 23, 2014. http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgibin/sse.dll?rank=1&new=1&msav=1&mst=1&gss=angsg&gsfn =william+c.&gsln=white&msbdy=1842&msbpn__ftp=philadelphi a%2c+philadelphia%2c+pennsylvania%2c+usa&mmsbp=15153 &msbpn_pinfo=8|0|1652393|0|2|3244|41|0|2341|15153|0|&msfm c=1&catbuckca=rstp&uidh=ib1&msbdp=5&pcat=root_cate gory&h=272224&db=1880usfedcen&iindi=1&ml_rpos=95. 1890 veterans schedule. -“william c white. year: 1890; census place: philadelphia, philadelphia, pennsylvania; roll: 79; page: 1; enumeration district: 173.” accessed on april 23, 2014. http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgibin/sse.dll?new=1&gsfn=willi am+c.&gsln=white&rank=1&gss=angsg&mswpn__ftp=philadelph ia%2c+philadelphia%2c+pennsylvania%2c+usa&mswpn=15153 &mswpn_pinfo=8|0|1652393|0|2|3244|41|0|2341|15153|0|&pcat=r oot_catcateg&h=696416&recoff=10+11+12&db=1890veter ans&indiv=1&ml_rpos=49. mcdermott, anthony w. a brief history of the 69th regiment pennsylvania veteran volunteers: from its formulation until final muster out of the united states service. philadelphia: d.j. gallagher & co., 1889. smith, william morris photographer. [gettysburg, pennsylvania]. field and staff officers, 69th pennsylvania. washington, d.c.: library of congress, june 1865. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/item/cwp2003006470/pp/. white, william c. letters, 1861-1869 (mc17). philadelphia: philadelphia archdiocesan historical research center. secondary sources biddle, daniel r. and murray dubin. tasting freedom: octavius catto and the battle for equality in civil war america. philadelphia: temple university press, 2010. bruce, susannah ural. the harp and the eagle: irish-american volunteers and the union army, 1861-1865. new york: new york university press, 2006. burton, william l. melting pot soldiers: the union’s ethnic regiments, second edition. new york: fordham university press, 1998. cimbala, paul a. soldiers north and south: the everyday experiences of men who fought america’s civil war. new york: fordham university press, 2010. clark, dennis. the irish in philadelphia: ten generations of urban experience. philadelphia: temple university press, 1973. dolan, jay p. the irish americans. new york: bloomsbury press, 2008. gallagher, gary w. the union war. cambridge: harvard university press, 2011. gallman, j. matthew. receiving erin's children: philadelphia, liverpool, and the irish famine migration, 1845-1855. chapel hill: university of north carolina, 2000. hennesey, s.j., james. american catholics: a history of the roman catholic community in the united states. new york: oxford university press, 1981. linderman, gerald f. embattled courage: the experience of combat in the american civil war. new york: free press, 1987. mcpherson, james m. for cause and comrades: why men fought in the civil war. new york: oxford university press, 1997. miller, randall m. “catholic religion, irish ethnicity, and the civil war.” in religion and the american civil war, editors randall m. miller, harry s. stout, and charles reagan wilson. new york: oxford university press, 1998. modell, john and lynn h. lees. “the irish countryman urbanized: a comparative perspective on the famine migration.” in philadelphia: work, space, family, and group experience in the 19th century, editor theodore hershberg. new york: oxford university press, 1981.     [concept, vol. xxxv (2012)] the reconstitution of sisterhood in augusta webster’s “a castaway” grace oh english in contrast to so many of the prostitutes that emerge in victorian literature, eulalie, the “fallen woman” at the center of augusta webster’s 1870 poem “a castaway,” has been hailed as a woman of remarkable “self-sufficiency” (mermin 80) who defiantly “claims her right to selfassessment and self-representation” (brown 92). indeed, many critical studies have fruitfully discussed the keen strength of eulalie’s voice and the powerful ways she analyzes and condemns the social and economic conditions that drove her, and women in general, to prostitution. yet such critics have also often overstated the case. in choosing to interpret eulalie’s devastating critique of society as a sign of her independence from it, critics have neglected to reflect substantively on aspects of the poem that suggest that eulalie may not be so self-sufficient after all. eulalie’s sense of her own identity is intimately linked to her relations with others – specifically, to the ties that she does or does not have to the different “sisterhoods” that exist in her society. through eulalie’s narrative, the poem exposes the ways in which the ideology and the language of kinship can be deployed to circumscribe women’s identities, and to compel conformity to victorian standards of gender roles and proper spheres. previous readings – even those that stress eulalie’s ambivalence and dispute the notion of her “self-sufficiency” – have not yet adequately analyzed such aspects of the poem. 1 however, the poem does not altogether reject the idea of “sisterly” bonds among women. indeed, the poem helps imagine a new, ideal sisterhood that departs from former models. beginning with a glimpse at the solidarity that exists among fallen women, “a castaway” gestures toward the possibility of a new, productive community of women that – rather than demand adherence to a particular, proper identity – makes room for difference precisely – because it acknowledges that identities need not be fixed, 1 see, for instance, readings by angela leighton and e. warwick slinn which provide helpful discussions on the ways in which eulalie’s sense of self is compromised by public discourse, but nonetheless make little mention of kinship ideologies and the language of kinship. an exception is christine sutphin’s essay. in it, as part of a more general discussion on how eulalie critiques different kinds of public discourse on prostitution, sutphin provides analysis on how eulalie “calls into question even progressive attempts to resolve problems associated with prostitution, particularly the rhetoric of sisterhood and redemption through maternity created by sympathetic women reformers and writers” (516). i refer to her insights later in the essay. that identities are in fact continually revised and constituted through ongoing relations with others. early on in the poem, eulalie shows herself capable of responding directly and eloquently to the discourse of her many accusers, be they the “virtuous worthy men” (91) of society, the “safely housed” wives with their “shrill carping virtues” (112), or the self-righteous “tartuffe” (149) with his religious tract. but her tone shifts dramatically when she recalls her brother’s scorn: only, i think, my brother – i forgot he stopped his brotherhood some years ago – but if he had been just so much less good as to remember mercy (480-483). as soon as the memory of her brother enters her thoughts, eulalie’s defiant, biting irony vanishes. upon her brother alone eulalie never casts any direct blame. he “might have” (521) remembered “mercy,” and he might have remembered how much she “priz[ed] him” (484), but she concedes “‘twas no one’s fault” (502). indeed, it was her brother’s judgment, his condemnation, that instigated the alteration in eulalie’s sense of self, her final acceptance of her identity as a fallen woman. … oh how his taunts, his loathing fierce reproaches, scarred and seared, like branding iron hissing in a wound! and it was true – that killed me: and i felt a hideous hopeless shame kill out my heart, and knew myself for ever that he said, that which i was – oh it was true, true, true. (517-23) her brother’s denunciation – “that,” she confesses, “killed” her and “kill[ed]” out her heart “for ever.” from this point in the poem, eulalie perceptibly turns the blame, as well as the irony, upon herself, recalling the “fine scorn” (592) and “idiot’s pride” (596) with which she brought about her own degradation. why eulalie – who so stridently countered the discourse of others – falls so meekly this way before her brother becomes clearer when one considers victorian ideas about siblinghood, what “being his sister” (604) would have meant to someone like eulalie. though discussions on victorian domestic ideology have conventionally focused on the wife/mother as the moral anchor of the family, in disorderly sisters (2001), leila may argues instead for the centrality of the sister figure in the victorian family. even the most ideal wife/mother, as she points out, is a figure always already tainted, implicated by her sexual relation with the husband/father (who is himself tainted by contact with the immoral world outside the home). only the sister remains as the model of true virginal femininity, the “sanctum sanctorum of moral virtue” (may 18), and it is up to her to “sustain that most ‘natural’ of all structures, the family” (may 40). conduct literature emphasized in particular a woman’s “sisterly duties” to her brother: the young girl learns that she must serve and, through submission, become the locus of tenderness and spirituality in the family. she is taught that she must defer to and minister to her brother … she begins to learn her role as wife and mother by solicitously deferring to her brother, and thereby become an idealized (future) wife. she must learn to identify the desire of the (br)other, and then come to identify it as her own.” (may 18-9) in this way, by nurturing a “sibling bond [that] models future families” (19) the sister functions as the moral bulwark of the family, and thereby, as may argues, the bulwark of society itself; for it was after all in the name of protecting and providing for the family that men entered the battlefields of the public sphere to expand industry and empire. endowed with such a grave moral task, girls were taught that they possessed no viable identity apart from their relation to the family, particularly their brother(s); according to sarah ellis, women were “from their own constitution, and from the station they occupy in the world … relative creatures” (qtd. in may 18). we see then, in “a castaway,” that eulalie played the sister role exceptionally well in her youth. though she “heard girls lament” (487) at such self-abnegation, eulalie for her part “saw never aught to murmur at” (489). “prizing” her brother “as sisters do,” we read that she remained “content to learn for him / the lessons girls with brothers all must learn, / to do without” (484-7) – since it was, presumably, he who would be “launched forth on the rude sea / of this contentious world” (503-4). thoroughly indoctrinated, eulalie uncomplainingly accepted her station as a “relative creature” whose identity held value insofar as she performed her role well, upholding the life of her brother as well as her family – and indeed, that of society itself. reading eulalie’s former relationship to her brother against contemporary discourse on sisterhood surfaces the excruciating drama of eulalie’s situation. in the fall from sister to whore, eulalie has gone from the model of the pure virgin who prepares men for future marriage to the “larcenous” (130) “other woman” who instead threatens that very institution. she has gone from embodying the moral guardian of society to embodying the “great social evil” – one who threatens to “snare men’s souls” (41) and undo the fabric of society itself. still more, reading eulalie’s history with her brother against contemporary discourse helps more adequately explain why it is, as we saw earlier, eulalie’s self-rejection hinges on her brother’s rejection, why her self-dissolution depends on the dissolution of her tie with him. having learned from youth to defer in all things to her brother, to define her very identity in relation to him, she has little choice but to submit once he disavows his “brotherhood” and judges her a whore. eulalie confesses, “i felt a hideous hopeless shame kill out my heart, / and knew myself for ever that he said, that which i was”; far from self-sufficiency and self-assessment, eulalie here defers to the sufficiency of her brother’s assessment. she feels herself “killed” if she cannot be her brother’s sister; that former self has died, and she must accept a new self, the new identity that her brother casts upon her as he casts her away. painful as this concession is, the loss of her former identity and the internalization of a new one nevertheless provide eulalie with the opportunity to form new insights. cast away as a “fallen woman,” an irretraceable distance forced between past and present, she can now, from that very distance, more objectively consider and evaluate that former identity she possessed as edward’s sister. indeed, the old self is at this point so foreign, so other, that she feels compelled to refer to it in the third person. “poor little diary, with its simple thoughts” (1), she begins, personifying her diary and attributing her youthful thoughts to it instead. as eulalie looks back, her response rings not of nostalgia but instead, wonder and pity. she continues, . . . was i this good girl, this budding colorless young rose of home? did i so live content in such a life, seeing no larger scope, nor asking it, than this small constant round – old clothes to mend, new clothes to make, then go and say my prayers, or carry soup, or take a little walk and pick the ragged-robins in the hedge? (7-14) her life as a “good girl,” as her brother’s good sister, was choreographed around a “small constant round” of domestic tasks and hobbies. if she was a rose, she was a “colorless” one, possessing “no wishes and no cares, almost no hopes” (21-22). with the image of the “constant round” and the repetitious diction (“no… no… no”), the text emphasizes the insular, almost stupefying, nature of confinement within the domestic sphere, a “round” that effectively circumscribed eulalie’s life. indeed may’s study reveals the ways in which “the nineteenth-century bourgeois familial formula required the strict surveillance, disciplining, mediation, and channeling of the sister’s will, of her desire” (24). now that eulalie has been forced out of the “familial formula,” as it were, she can “coolly” (135) remark on the ways she too, as a sister, was under strict surveillance – the ways that the truth was “veil[ed]” and the “scope” of her vision severely limited. she can comment on how her “wishes,” “cares,” and “hopes” – the very limits of her “ambition” (15) and “gaiety” (18) – were disciplined, mediated, and channeled into a “small constant round” of feminine virtue. having transgressed and experienced life out of that private sphere, she can now judge; the “good days” of “quiet” and “innocence” (210) are also, unmistakably, “the dear old stupid days” (209). though the good sister “saw never aught to murmur at,” eulalie the fallen one now sees much to “murmur at.” the history between eulalie and her brother illustrates that eulalie painfully experienced firsthand the hard demands of sisterhood (in this case, her sisterhood to her brother): the hard reality that a particular set of behaviors – a particular circumscribed identity – was required for the privilege of sisterhood. moreover, she has also tasted the particular dangers of sisterhood. she had lived as a “relative creature,” staking her identity, her very sense of self and self-worth upon her role as “sister” to another. when that sisterhood was revoked, she felt her very self “killed,” dissolved. eulalie now has the eyes to perceive that the privilege of sisterhood and kinship does not come free; it is a privilege that comes with strict rules and conditions – even when understood metaphorically in non-familial contexts. scholars like mary jean corbett have analyzed the ways in which the victorians “decenter[ed] the biological basis for family ties” (xii), employing terms of kinship outside the family to define and construct societal relations at large. as she shows, different forms of “affinity … ‘inclination or attraction’ among individuals incite[d] the use of family language” (156) and lent great “affective and political power” (xii) to non-familial associations. yet, while corbett discusses the benefits of such liberal uses of kinship terms, she also highlights the dark side, citing instances where “proliferating linguistic acts through which ‘others’ appropriate or perform familial standing” also “registers a latent threat in the terminology that makes strangers into ‘cousins,’ ‘sisters,’ or ‘brothers’” (44). in “a castaway,” eulalie gestures toward such an insight as well; attuned as she is to the dark side of kinship, she is able to register the risks latent in images of kinship outside the family. midway through the poem, eulalie recalls her time as a governess soon after her mother’s death: “[s]till new in my insipid treadmill life” (329), “i thought then / that i might plod, and plod, and drum the sounds / of useless facts into unwilling ears” (333-5). again she cannot suppress the estrangement she feels from that former self: “teach, teach / for years, a lifetime – i!” (340-2). a different “i” now, she can again enter into an evaluation of her former life, and she finds that just as her life as a young girl revolved about a “small constant round,” this life too was one of stultifying, insular circularity. it was a “treadmill life” contained in a “safe dull place” (346) “where all days / jogged on sedately busy” (347-8), “where all seemed measured out, but margins broad” (349). yet had she “clung on” (345), she reflects, she might have found a second “home” (350), a second family: “i felt my pupils would be dear young sisters soon, / and felt their mother take me to her heart, / motherly to all lonely harmless things” (351-3). eulalie highlights how even in such a context, sisterhood – kinship connection with others – come with a price. kinship here requires that she share with these other women particular “affinities” – that she pledge herself, like them, to a life that allowed “smiles / but never merrymakings” (346-7), a life that required adherence to a “measured” sphere and brooked no deviance into the “broad margins.” eulalie also resigns this sisterhood when she veers, as it were, out into those margins. she loses her position because she decided, “i must have a conscience, must blurt out / my great discovery of my ignorance!” (354-5). she dared, that is, to admit to her employer that she herself was incapable of teaching her girls as they deserved; she dared to imagine that they deserved substantive knowledge that might be of use in “real grown-up life” (382), outside the margins of the domestic sphere. it was presumably the kind of knowledge to which male students surely would have had access, and knowledge which eulalie desired for her girls, but could not herself offer as their governess. only in retrospect does she recognize the futility of her conscientious act; the teacher of “perfection” (363) that replaced her, who “teaches all / on a patent method never known to fail” (367-8) has served the girls no better. “well, well, the silly rules this silly world / makes about women! this is one of them” (376-7): girls must be taught what no one ever cares that they should know what, grown out of the schoolroom, they cast off like the schoolroom pinafore, no better fit for any use of real grown-up life. (379-382) this is the “rule” she had disobeyed in imagining her girls worthy of a richer education. though this last home promised her a family, a sisterhood, eulalie rejects this “treadmill life” as well – “treadmill” not only because of its incessant tedium and confinement, but “treadmill” also because she must as governess impute to her girls an education that will lead them literally nowhere. her transgression off the treadmill, then, loses her a family, and constitutes the beginning of her swift fall into prostitution. yet even after this fall, as we learn, eulalie encounters one more opportunity to find a “safe” family – a “good” sisterhood – when she enters the refuge. eulalie refers to her week at the refuge as “doing magdalene” (202) implying, obviously, that she was following in the footsteps of that biblical archetype in turning away from prostitution. but records also show the existence of an actual refuge called the saint mary magdalene’s penitentiary at highgate, founded in 1855 and run by an anglican sisterhood as a ministry for fallen women. we cannot be sure from the poem whether “doing magdalene” ought to be read as implying eulalie actually entered that particular refuge, but it is nevertheless helpful to consider some of what we know about such institutions in order to contextualize our reading of the poem. as susan mumm shows, anglican sisterhoods in victorian britain were progressive in a number of ways, claiming a place for their “domestic” work outside of the private sphere, as well as dissenting from conventional opinion by insisting that fallen women were redeemable. yet for all their admirable intentions and radical views, these sisterhoods too, had strict conditions for the privilege of kinship. behavior and identity were carefully disciplined, and homogenized, within the walls of such refuges: like sisters, penitents wore a uniform dress, did not use their surnames, curtsied when passing their seniors or superiors, could be dismissed for bad behavior, observed regular hours of silence, were not permitted to enter others’ rooms without permission, were discouraged from talking about their families or their pasts, and were not permitted to find fault with one another. (mumm 538) but more crucially the ultimate goal was of course a permanent change in behavior and identity. the goal, as mumm writes, was to “manage the morals of women who had transgressed against sexual or social convention” (528) and produce in place a “respectable woman” (527). the sisters sought to see in their penitents “first, the acquisition of a deferential and respectful demeanor; second, the instilling of middle-class values; and third, the inculcation of religious belief” (537). indeed, they predictably, if understandably, sought to redeem the penitents right back into the domestic sphere. “after their rehabilitative course in the penitentiary, the sisters sent them out again to [domestic] service” (537), and “most married within a year or two of leaving the penitentiary” (541). 2 to convey their women to this final goal, the idea of kinship was crucial. as mumm writes, the sisters “attempted to control penitents’ behavior by creating bonds of attachment to individual sisters, creating a sense of guilt over the past, and fostering feelings of obligation and gratitude to the community” (538), a community conceived as “a new ‘family’ for the former fallen woman” (541). eulalie, one can surmise, entered such an institution, desiring, as she says, to “change / my new self for my old” (205-6). yet, she finds nevertheless that she no longer could bear the narrow confinement and the regimenting discipline of such a life. restricted to a “dreary hideous room, / coarse pittance, prison rules” (239-40) and “so much alone” (241) eulalie confesses that she “could not bear it” (239). what is more, eulalie implies that she could not have taken up, even hypothetically speaking, the life to which the sisters in the refuge sought to return its fallen: “and could i fit me to my former self?” (215). she reflects: i might again live the grave blameless life among such simple pleasures, simple cares: but could they be my pleasures, be my cares? the blameless life, but never the content – never. how could i henceforth be content in any life but one that sets the brain in a hot merry fever with its stir? what would there be in quiet rustic days, each like the other, full of time to think, to keep one bold enough to live at all? (225-234). eulalie can no longer be content, that is, in the life of the “respectable woman.” notwithstanding the real difficulties of her present life, eulalie – having tasted the “hot merry fever” and “stir” of life outside the “margins,” outside the domestic sphere – finds she no longer desires to return to such confines. the refuge promised a “shelter” (218) from “the whisper and leers” of the “scurrilous world” (220), as well as the shelter of sisterhood. it also offered, by redeeming her, the 2 mumm notes the irony of the former: “the great unresolved contradiction in the philanthropic efforts of the sisters with their penitents is the problem of the nature of women's work. most of the penitents had 'fallen' while in domestic service, often as a direct consequence of the nature of that occupation. yet after their rehabilitative course in the penitentiary, the sisters sent them out again to service” (537). possibility of a permanent shelter down the road if she should marry – a new home, a new family. yet we see here clearly that the insular “treadmill” life of “quiet rustic days, / each like the other” – whether in the refuge or in the respectable home thereafter – is no longer a viable prospect for eulalie. “well, i came back” (248), eulalie tells us. the refuge too represents an (albeit well-meaning) “treadmill” of sorts, taking women who fell from the domestic sphere and circling them right back into it. we also might note here that in rejecting a domestic life as an eventual wife and mother, eulalie rejects the aid of another “sisterhood.” as christine sutphin points out in her study, eulalie “calls into question … the rhetoric of sisterhood and redemption through maternity created by sympathetic women reformers and writers” (516) like josephine butler and mrs. lewis. a confined life as a “nursery saint” (419) “lived by the rule” (398), one that requires her once again to play the “deferential and respectful” “relative creature” “rul[ing] [her] small sphere” (401) now seem unimaginable for eulalie. eulalie exposes over the course of “a castaway” the many sisterhoods that require allegiance to victorian ideologies of gender, ideologies that consign women to the domestic sphere and render them as “glass-case saints, dianas under lock and key” (128), “summer roses in soft greenhouse air” that never venture “out of doors” (493). indeed eulalie’s unwholesome unconventionality – her irrepressible desire for a life outside domesticity and the “trade” (67) to which she must resort to support it – bars her from still other kinds of “sisterhoods.” it renders her a sworn enemy to countless women who might have been considered friends, “sisters,” in another life; “wives,” she says, are some of her most “spiteful” and “rancorous” (115) revilers, and just as she must remain “dead” (606) to her brother, so must she remain to his wife, her “sister-in-law” (616). in sororophobia, helena michie discusses the troubling ways that feminist conceptions of sisterhood have tended to deny differences among women and the individuals that have been marginalized as a result. eulalie is in this poem one such marginalized figure. as an outcast “fallen woman” harboring unfeminine desires, eulalie must distance herself from a matrix of sisterhoods open only to those who share the same “affinity” for traditional gender standards. she displays a classic case of “sororophobia” – “both the desire for and the recoil from identification with other women” (michie 9). we have thus far examined various sisterhoods from which eulalie has had to “recoil.” the poem does, however, present one more sisterhood that remains available, and invaluable, to eulalie – the sisterhood she shares with other “fallen women.” early in the poem, as eulalie struggles internally to combat her “accusers and judges,” she finds herself tempted to elevate her own station by distinguishing herself from “her likenesses / of the humbler kind” who stand “drunk in the streets” and “ply … for hire / at infamous corners” (47-49). she soon reverses course, however, reproaching herself for “play[ing] hypocrite” (59), and proceeds instead to a bold claim of solidarity: . . . and, for me, i say let no one be above her trade; i own my kindredship with any drab who sells herself as i . . . (65-8) upon this acknowledgement of solidarity, eulalie quickly seems revitalized, able immediately to launch a counterattack on the hypocrisy of a world that condemns them while honoring the vices of other (male) trades. the sequence observed here suggests the critical place of kinship, or sisterhood, among fallen woman. indeed, in many of the defiant avowals that follow – some of them the very passages critics have cited as eulalie’s strongest moments of agency – eulalie switches from the singular to the plural, from “me” to “us” and from “i” to “we”: “how dare they hate us so? what have they done, / what borne, to prove them other than we are?” (125-126). there is a marked vigor to eulalie’s voice when she speaks from the safety of an imagined sisterhood. beyond such abstractions, the poem also provides glimpses of the real-life sisterhood that exists among eulalie and her fellow prostitutes. amidst her dreary thoughts, eulalie seeks to rouse herself by recalling the “rare fun” with which she and her cohorts “digested” the tartuffe’s religious tract. she begins to replicate that scene now on her own: . . . ‘i prey on souls’ – only my men have oftenest none i think: 'i snare the simple ones' – but in these days there seem to be none simple and none snared, and most men have their favorite sinnings planned to do them civilly and sensibly: 'i braid my hair' – but braids are out of date: 'i paint my cheeks' – i always wear them pale. (153-160) “digestion” as a metaphor suggests a positive work of active undoing, of taking one substance, disintegrating and transforming it to render something of value to the body. the fallen women, in together “digesting” the tract, likewise actively undo the opponents’ discourse, twisting the words to their own productive purpose. they engage in a “laugh[ing]” labor, the “rare fun” of subversive word-play, neutralizing with wit the tract’s vicious pronouncements. indeed, the images of food and fun among these women, among these “sisters,” represent an empowering form of nourishing subversion. yet eulalie soon aborts the attempt: “[t]he trash,” she thinks, “is savourless to-day: / one cannot laugh alone” (161-162). “will no one come?” she asks, “‘tis dreary work alone” (186187). with no sister to join her in the “work” of self-defense, eulalie soon begins to “loathe herself and sicken on her thoughts” (237). alone, as we saw, she gloomily meditates on the past and the many sisterhoods she has been forced to surrender. deprived of the “feast” and “merriment” of her “fallen” sisters, her isolation as a societal castaway becomes more magnified, and more unbearable: “oh i am wild, am ill, i think, to night: will no one come and laugh with me? no feast, no merriment to-night. so long alone! will no one come?” (452-454) as she recalls the alienation between herself and her brother (“good god! to think that we were what we were / one to the other ... and now!” (607-8)), eulalie seems close to breakdown, fighting an impulse to “roll on the ground and sob” (620). but just in time, a visitor finally arrives: “was that the bell? / some one at last, thank goodness. there’s a voice / and that’s a pleasure” (623-624). yet puzzlingly, eulalie expresses a measure of disappointment when she discerns the visitor’s identity: “why did she come alone, the cackling goose? / why not have brought her sister? – she tells more / and titters less” (625-627). this might be an odd response in the face of eulalie’s desperation for company. yet the reaction becomes clearer if we observe that there is a subtle but not insignificant difference between “laughing” and “tittering” or “cackling.” the latter acts imply trivial frivolity, a lack of seriousness that the former does not necessarily convey. indeed, eulalie’s mild disapproval of the “titter[ing]” and “cackling” show that the desire to “laugh with” another sister does not arise from a desire for frivolous diversion. eulalie has in mind “work” in the act of laughing; in her present state, she would prefer a “sister” who “tells more” – a voice that speaks substantively, rather than dissolve vapidly into titters and cackles. nevertheless, “no matter,” she thinks, “half a loaf / is better than no bread” (627-628). “welcome, dear,” she says, welcoming this “sister”; she too represents a sister with whom she might find sustenance. in her work on victorian prostitution judith walkowitz provides a glimpse into the “strong female subculture” (25) that existed within groups of nineteenth century “fallen women.” many external observers, as she shows, registered, if hesitantly, the power of such fellowship. mary higgs, an “explorer” who entered prostitutes’ homes in disguise in order to report on their plight, writes of one particular girl she attempted to “save”: “on her soul lay the knowledge of the horror of respectable society towards what she had become and the attraction of the fellowship of those who would receive her freely” (qtd. in walkowitz 27). indeed, numerous observers remark on the “generosity” and “group solidarity” (27) among prostitutes. mayhew, a “narrator” of the london underworld, testifies, for instance that “one of their most remarkable characteristics is their generosity, which perhaps is unparalleled by the behavior of any others, whether high or low in the social scale. they will not hesitate to lend one another money if they have it, whether they can spare it or not” (16). nevertheless – like the sympathetic but limited sisterhoods discussed earlier – a neutral view of the fallen was not to be expected. walkowitz, for instance, points to a horrified, if clearly fascinated, account by higgs (herself a would-be “sister” to the prostitutes): “‘round the fire was a group of girls far gone in dissipation, … shameless; smoking cigarettes, boasting of drinks or drinkers, using foul language, singing music-hall songs, or talking vileness. the room grew full and breakfasts were about” (27). what such reports perhaps hint at, but will not, or cannot acknowledge, is the important merry “work” that might have been occurring in just such scenes. recall here eulalie’s comment, “we had rare fun / over that tract digested with champagne.” could the smoking, drinking, “shameless” girls “talking vileness” and feasting on “breakfasts” in the scene above have been engaged in similar “rare fun”? consider how mayhew, for instance, hints at what he considers an improper intimacy among these women: “[prostitutes] form an acquaintance with the girls who inhabit the same house, and address one another as ‘my dear,’ an unmeaning, but very general epithet, an hour or two after their first meeting” (16, my emphasis). when eulalie greets her visitor at the end of “a castaway” with a “welcome, dear,” it shows such a “general epithet” might not have been so “unmeaning” after all. eulalie’s voice brings to the fore a glimpse of the empowering, subversive possibilities of sisterhood among prostitutes. to consider in still another light the poem’s image of sisterhood among prostitutes, one might at this juncture turn to amanda anderson’s work on the idea of fallenness in victorian texts. anderson argues that the figure of the “fallen woman” was frequently employed by victorian writers to displace anxieties about the nature of agency and selfhood. she argues that literary representations often “reserve more idealist conceptions of the self for their masculine or pure characters, while invoking forms of materialism and determinism when conceiving of fallen women” (18), casting her as the other who lacks autonomy and agency, “subject to a number of threatening determinations – social, economic, cultural – that the author himself wishes to ward off” (11). thus one finds depictions of “encounters between fallen women and other characters, who often perceive the fallen woman as a text that is already written rather than an agent capable of dialogical interaction” (10). an exception can be found, however, in elizabeth barrett browning’s aurora leigh, according to anderson. in the poem, by having aurora identify sympathetically with, and choose to revise her own responses to, the compromised marian, barrett browning registers a “developed notion of reciprocal recognition” – a vision of “sympathetic reciprocity and social indeterminacy” (20). through the relation between aurora and marian, the poem illustrates a positive picture of the “constitutive force of intersubjective practices,” a hopeful vision of “identity … understood as constituted in and through ongoing relations with others, even as we acknowledge and analyze our places within larger systems” (19). in “a castaway,” one witnesses the ways in which eulalie is determined and “written” by larger [economic and social] systems” and the reifying, othering, discourse of others (her brother’s for instance). yet through the glimpses the poem gives of eulalie’s sisterhood – her “ongoing relations” with – other fallen women, one can simultaneously register her (and their) capacity for “dialogical interaction.” that is, one might surmise that because of their shared status, because they can identify with each other, these “fallen women” are better able to exert a “sympathetic reciprocity”; they are more likely to approach each other as subjects and less likely to approach each other as “texts” “already written.” they gather together instead to overturn the reifying discourse of their detractors: “‘i paint my cheeks’ – i always wear them pale.” through such “rare fun,” through such “merry” “work” in their ongoing relations with each other, these women sketch a powerful picture of what anderson terms “intersubjective reciprocity and social participation.” they gesture toward an ideal, “intersubjective practice” through which they might work together, as equals, to reconstitute broken identities, and begin to regain, bit by bit, some form of agency. sisterhood, then, need not always be a circumscribed space in which identities are oppressively policed and reified; they also can provide a safe space that enables the undoing of reification and allows for positive, ongoing reconstitution of identities. there is, furthermore, a way in which the poem, as a dramatic monologue, can itself be read as an agent, inviting its reader to a positive intersubjective dialogue. e. warwick slinn asserts that the speaker of the dramatic monologue always assumes an auditor, or an “interlocutor” – “whether actually present or absent and imagined” – and moreover, that this interlocutor always has an “active, if literally silent, role.” such qualities, he asserts, points “to the inherently intersubjective” nature of a form that is “otherwise too easily read as a merely intrasubjective drama” (81). in this way, webster’s dramatic monologue invites its readers (its particular interlocutors) into intersubjective dialogue, dialogue that can help actively forge an array of new identities for the “fallen woman” who has heretofore so often remained reified, “already written” into one particular identity. but an objection immediate arises that perhaps this would not be an ideal “intersubjective” encounter after all; our textual fallen woman here is, unlike her readers, literally “written.” what power does eulalie, or the poem itself, have to revise and reconstitute the identity of the reader? the advantage seems to lie heavily on one side. yet, that does not have to be, considering the critical leveling work that this poem accomplishes. “a castaway,” by exposing the various sisterhoods’ boundness to oppressive ideologies, points more broadly to the general condition of all women. the poem suggests that all women – from the prostitute to the good sisters – are, to a greater or lesser degree, bound by oppressive ideologies. all women are circumscribed, under some form of “lock and key.” for all the differences between women, then, the poem implies that they have this in common. they are all othered in a male-dominated society, and they are all, to some extent, “written” creatures. if the poem can help the “respectable” female reader grasp this reality – if the reader can come to recognize herself as much a “written” creature as the “fallen woman” of the poem – a space opens up for “sympathetic reciprocity,” some form of positive “intersubjective practice.” not only can the reader reconstitute, through an array of literary interpretations, the identity of the fallen woman, the poem (or eulalie) in turn, through that same process, can prod the reader herself to a self-awareness that propels a reconstitution of her own identity. in short, eulalie can shape the reader as much as the reader can shape eulalie. metaphorically speaking, in this way a new ideal “sisterhood” can be forged in the poetic encounter. the “respectable” and “fallen” women can engage in a transformative “intersubjective” practice that leads to new identities – identities that go beyond the ones that have been constructed for them by patriarchal ideologies. this was, after all the age of the new woman. indeed, even as the poem draws attention to the potential dangers of sisterhood, neither does the poem give it up for a lost cause. midway through the poem, eulalie reflects on how her life could have turned out differently: . . . i think indeed if some kind hand, a woman’s – i hate men – had stretched itself to help me to firm ground, taken a chance and risked my falling back, i could have gone my way not falling back. (256-260) we could read the “kind hand” between women as a metaphor for the intersubjective reciprocity between women discussed above. but here, eulalie includes a warning; the woman who would extend a “kind hand” must also “risk[]” her “falling back.” when one extends a hand to another, that is, one always takes the risk that the fallen might fall back and pull the helper down with her. eulalie’s warning is indeed apt, for there is always a risk in intersubjective relations. to submit to a constitutive, intersubjective practice is ultimately to admit that the notion of complete autonomy, a self-sufficient identity and agency apart from others, is an illusion. it is to admit to indeterminacy and to admit that one’s identity is capable, through intersubjective relations, of being shaped for good or ill. 3 the specter of attenuated autonomy, as anderson argues, was precisely what so many victorian writers, from dickens to d.g. rossetti, sought to “ward off” by displacing onto the figure of the fallen woman. webster’s poem, in contrast, is not interested in warding off; rather, by showing that all women live with attenuated autonomy, she has the fallen woman contaminate other women, as it were. this attenuated autonomy – from the marginalized prostitutes to the wives and sisters under “lock and key” – is in one sense certainly to be condemned and combatted. but in another sense, the admission of attenuated autonomy is also precisely what might permit a new model of sisterhood. it is a sisterhood marked by productive intersubjective relations – a sisterhood that highlights shared bonds, but also acknowledges that identities are fluid and capable of change, that ongoing relations between subjects will continuously refashion identities. it is a sisterhood that necessarily makes space for difference. as a poem that invites the reader to an act of “sisterly” intersubjective dialogue and moreover, a new vision of sisterhood, “a castaway” might be read as webster’s “kind hand” stretched to women, both the “fallen” and the upstanding. 3 or indeed, perhaps more obviously, there is the risk that relations that shape identities can easily become anything but intersubjective if one plays subject while the other plays object. we saw that unfold in eulalie’s relation to her brother; edward’s overpowering hold over eulalie fells her, transforms her into a “fallen woman. all this is after all why, as anderson writes, habermas insists on the need to be “selfreflexive about the regulative ideals that guide communicative action” (20), and anderson in addition insists on the necessity of “sympathetic reciprocity.” works cited anderson, amanda. tainted souls and painted faces: the rhetoric of fallenness in victorian culture. ithaca, ny: cornell university press, 1993. print. brown, susan. “economical representations: dante gabriel rossetti’s ‘jenny,’ augusta webster’s ‘a castaway,’ and the campaign against the contagious diseases acts.” victorian review 17:1 (summer, 1991): 78-95. jstor. web. 1 april. 2011. corbett, mary jean. family likeness: sex, marriage, and incest from jane austen to virginia woolf. ithaca: cornell university press, 2008. print. cronin, richard, alison chapman, and antony h. harrison. a companion to victorian poetry. malden, ma: blackwell publishing, 2002. print. leighton, angela. victorian women poets: writing against the heart. charlottesville, va: university of virginia press, 1992. print. may, leila silvana. disorderly sisters: sibling relations and sororal resistance in nineteenthcentury british literature. lewisburg, pa: bucknell university press, 2001. print. mayhew, henry. the london underworld in the victorian period: authentic first-person accounts by beggars, thieves, and prostitutes. mineola, ny: dover publications, 2005. print. michie, helena. sororophobia: differences among women in literature and culture. new york, ny: oxford university press, 1992. print. mumm, susan. “’not worse than other girls’: the convent-based rehabilitation of fallen women.” journal of social history 29:3 (spring,1996): 507-546. jstor. web. 1 april. 2011. slinn, e. warwick. victorian poetry as cultural critique: the politics of performative language. charlottesville, va: university of virginia press, 2003. print. sutphin, christine. “human tigresses, fractious angels, and nursery saints: augusta webster’s ‘a castaway’ and victorian discourses on prostitution and women’s sexuality.” victorian poetry 38:4 (winter, 2000): 511-532. jstor. web. 1 april. 2011. walkowitz, judith r. prostitution and victorian society: women, class, and the state. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1980. print. angeline nies-berger final manuscript concept nies-berger !1 maxine hong kingston’s complex, multi-faceted, and paradoxical postmodernism in the woman warrior: memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts. angeline nies-berger english when maxine hong kingston’s the woman warrior: memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts was published in 1976,1 the novel’s reception was the epitome of controversial: while some critics saw the novel as subversively feminist, swapping a hero for a heroine living her life against the currents of the chinese patriarchy which thought having girls was a waste resources (“better to raise geese than girls”), others, including prominent figures of asian american literary critique, said about the work that it reinforced chinese stereotypes and was written purely for the enjoyment of racist western societies.2 the controversy is mainly created by kingston’s propensity to shed light on violent and old traditions such as torturing baboons and enslaving unwanted daughters, as well as by her tendency to re/invent chinese mythology. given that western readers often read fiction as the testimony of a human reality, and in this case, as the voice of an “experience” that is other, or even “exotic,” asian american critics such as frank chin were worried occidental readers would confirm their racism through reading her fallacious story. these concerns are all the more understandable given that her novel is categorized as autobiography and places the narrative in an absolute position of authority. indeed, they are right: white readers often make the mistake of forcing representation on non-white novels,3 and i will always defend fictional literature’s ability to provide the reader with valuable insight and a powerful voice against the status quo. i could quote the combahee river collective on “the personal [being] political,” for instance,4 as well as jean-françois lyotard when he says of the text that it can incite “the metamorphoses of [its] potential energy into other things—other texts, but also paintings, […] political actions, decisions, erotic inspirations, acts of insubordination, […] etc.”5 yet, i wish to argue in this paper that the woman warrior is not meant to be read as just the testimony of a young chinese american woman trying to deal with being the “other” in the united states—let alone the representation of “chinese culture.” the woman warrior is also, and maybe first and foremost, the fragmented and personal report of memories she doesn’t have —memories that belong to “chinese-chinese” voices she heard or were told to her by her own family, memories from a past she tries to piece together in order to explore her identity. maxine hong kingston says, in an interview, that she prioritized what was “real” to her and her family, thus basing her narratives on the talk-stories she heard.6 writing the “real,” for her, means writing as the people talk, and kingston argues that imagination being created from emotions and sensitivity, they cannot, by nature, be fake; on the contrary, they provide multiple stories that are equally valid. in conversations with maxine hong kingston, it is reported that she said the following of memory and contradicting stories: “i like the difference in seeing [her brothers’ and sisters’ and her points of view] because it could have been either way; one remembered it one way and one the other. that gives me two stories of an event.”7 additionally, when she perpetuates stereotypes of chinese culture, she does so in a paradoxical way: since the majority of these stories were told to her thanks to the “talk-story” ritual kingston relies on imagination and stereotypes to fill in the void left by incomplete stories. moreover, maxine hong kingston's craft makes her intention all the more peculiar, as she often uses postmodern tools in her writing, but to an anti-deconstructing end. indeed, imagination and invention, as well as the process of maxine hong kingston meandering through fragments of history and identities, connect the woman warrior to postmodern techniques despite the paradoxical goals behind her work. however, by reading a fragmented soul’s searching in the midst of a fragmented verbal and imaginary heritage, and with some help from china men,8 a later work of hers, i will study where kingston employs postmodern techniques and subverts the postmodern deconstructing of the self in order to actually reassign and re/construct identities. since i am aware that postmodern thought and critique are proteiform, i wish to clarify elements of my methodology. i focus on michel foucault and jean-françois lyotard’s perceptions of postmodernism and use steven best and douglas kellner’s postmodern theory: critical interrogations along with gregory castle’s literary theory handbook for condensed help with the complex theoretical and philosophical current. from foucault i will use the definition of institutions as entities that exercise power over populations thanks to a pre-defined, constructed and imposed understanding of knowledge;9 of lyotard, i will apply the concept of poetics preceding meaning, as well as the sign/signifier relationship needing to be challenged along with the social construct that establishes it;10 then, with both critiques in mind, i will explore notions of the fragmented self and of a fluid, de-centered identity.11 for the purpose of this paper, my definition of the “fragmented self” will be one of an i torn between two worlds— chinese and american—, filled with contradicting family stories, and longing for paradoxes that can never seem to be reconciled. similarly, “de-centering” the self will evoke the questioned and destabilized identity, traveling across time and space, carried by different bodies, and emerging through so many varieties that will not only make the self complex and multiple—it will be ungraspable, ever-changing, and fluid in its characteristics and tendencies. however, in addition to the general and multi-national theoretical background described above, and since theorists of the postmodern are widely known for their combat against power structures, and because one of the most powerful system of power in our world is white, male, and of western european ancestry, i made sure that the specific critics under whose light i shall comment on maxine hong kingston’s complex art primarily include critics of asian american identity; making me, a white woman, the mere interrogator and mediator of the different arguments that will build up on my fascination for kingston’s literary world. jean-françois lyotard anchors his vision of art and literature in the postmodern condition in the pleasure of the artist,12 and revolves his theory around the individual instead of the nation, multiplicity rather than coherence, les petits récits (micronarratives) versus the enlightenment’s universal truths.13 best and kellner write that: “most postmodernist art often took delight in the world as it is and happily coexisted in a pluralism of aesthetic styles and games” (ptci11). maxine hong kingston’s art in the woman warrior (and china men as well) is oddly similar to those perspectives, and the reader quickly understands that she, too, will prioritize the local over what lyotard dismisses as the modernist “grand narrative”.14 the woman warrior will be about her chinese family from the hyper-locality of their small village, and even the legend of fa mu lan, the legendary woman warrior more internationally known as mulan who enrolled in the army disguised as a man so her own father would not have to go, is deeply tied to the heroine’s village—and this song will follow the already textually fragmented identity of maxine the narrator, maxine the character, and kingston the author throughout this strange autobiography. translated as “the ballad of mulan” in diane simmons’s maxine hong kingston,15 the song originally called “ode to mulan” features a peasant’s origin story that recalls the “populism” and the turn to “kitsch and popular culture” best and kellner mention in postmodern theory: critical interrogations.16 in this ballad, fa mu lan sits inside of a house doing housewife work, and when she sighs only a sow hears her and replies.17 there are no expectations for her other than being where she is, “at the window weaving.” it is said that “[s]he’s longing for no one at all,/she’s thinking of no one special.” as she secretly prepares for the war, fa mu lan buys a horse and armory from markets all over the area, maybe in a way not to rise suspicions (since a woman can’t fight in the army); but this geographical depiction also emphasizes how she belongs to the community and land. she knows what to find where, and seems to be at the center of four cardinal points among which she distributes her errands: in the eastern market she bought a steed, at the western a saddle and cloth; in the southern market she bought a bridle at the northern a whip[.]18 later, after having ridden through mountains and fields and placated the tartar army, fa mu lan is offered riches and a place in the government to compensate for her heroism. but the warrior turns the offer down in a way that would make the anti-power postmodernists proud, and asks instead to return to her village: then the khan asked what mulan desired: “i have no use for a minister’s post, just lend me a famous fleet-footed camel to send me back to my village.”19 she goes back to her tent, trades her armor and disguise for her “robes of old,” and refuses the recognition and power she well deserves, preferring modesty and the proximity of her parents. fa mu lan is thus in another center: she has a choice between a position of wealth and authority that will provide her with an individuality as well as great responsibilities; or losing her self by going back to living in a community where she might no longer be a hero, and where, instead, she is part of a system. fa mu lan choses domesticity and her “robes of old” that aren’t invested with her heroism—but the postmodern paradox isn’t solved: if hyper-locality is favored over a grand narrative, what to make of the blending of the individual in the globality of the village's community? when she revisits mulan’s legend in the woman warrior, kingston adds a non-negligible subtlety. imagining herself as fa mu lan, fa-ma-xine gives her character a husband and a child whom she hides respectively in her tent and in an adapted armor, before sending them back to her village while she finishes the war. doing this, kingston adds another alternative to fa mu lan’s story, and enriches her with individual purpose and goals as a wife and mother. additionally, the use of mulan’s story thus helps introduce another aspect of lyotard’s postmodern view of literature: the redefining of the sign/signifier relationship. like his colleagues gilles deleuze and félix guattari, lyotard challenges the traditional sign/signifier relationship, arguing that it is based on a social construct itself relying on arbitrary rules that need to be questioned. in addition to pointing out this social consensus on which all human interactions in a same system are based, lyotard conceptualizes a “language game” that pinpoints how institutions depend on the general consensus to exercise their authority, and, ultimately, pit a player against another in the game. in the postmodern condition, lyotard calls speech (prise de parole) an “utterance,” and “every utterance [emphasis in original] should be thought of as a ‘move’ in a game.”20 but these moves aren’t unmotivated: “to speak is to fight,” he then adds, “in the sense of playing, and speech acts fall within the domain of a general agonistics.”21 using the vocabulary of ancient greek games and contests, lyotard denounces the negative motivations behind such a natural act as talking, and argues that the same power play is attributed to literature. the power play also has the effect of engrossing language, written or spoken, with meaning and purpose, and as needing to strive for universal peace and worldly coherence. but lyotard disagrees with this position, and prioritizes poetry and aesthetics, the “erotics of art,” over hyper-locality instead of the universal narrative.22 writing that, “[a] move can be made for the sheer pleasure of its invention,”23 he sees literature as a domain where traditional semiotics do not necessarily apply, and where the figurative can supplant the signifier. kingston often favors the metaphoric and the figurative in her narratives, notably when she imposes incorrect or approximate translations on her narrator. as young maxine imagines herself as fa mu lan, either in her dreams only or during the day as well (it is not clear when the story occurs or if it is part of one stream of un/consciousness), there is a passage where the future warrior wishes to learn how to interrupt her menstruations. however, her guardian informs her that it is neither possible to do so nor is it vile to menstruate, and that she should “‘[l]et it run’ (‘let it walk,’ in chinese)” (ww22). while i have no way of knowing the chinese expression kingston intended to translate, there is a suspicious coincidence in a literal translation that calls for even more patience than the adapted english version. this could illustrate how kingston manipulates a language she should understand, and hides behind her assigned credibility to revisit chinese sign’s (in all the senses of the term) signifiers. similarly, closer to the end of the book, the narrator is pondering the meaning of “ho chi kuei” (ww204). it seems difficult to find chinese-speaking people who can agree on a specific meaning, and we read that she claims to have found that “chi” means “[…] grub, bastard carp, chirping insect […],” but also “dustpan-and-broom,” which, in turn, she claims to be “a synonym for wife.” she also draws the same parallel between the word for “slave,” stating that it is another word for “woman”—something against which frank chin vehemently argues in his article “come all ye asian americans of the real and the fake.” one might rightfully argue that kingston here is exploring language through the feminist scope: by developing new interpretations of words and expressions, she can use them in favor of a meaning that better corresponds to maxine’s experience of the expression, and therefore reappropriate language and memories. such a stance would answer to lyotard’s point of view on language being a system in which sender, addressee, and referent share a maleable utterance that should not be frozen in normatized significance. there is also the question of authority with regards to the utterance transmitted: depending on who is the sender to the addressee and referent, and what the intention is behind the act of speech, there is more or less knowledge that goes with the message—meaning that there is more or less authority and respect granted to the utterer. from both the feminist and the chinese american scopes, reassigning meanings even to such old terms thus involves subverting who has authority over whom, and here allows kingston to take the reins of what defines her and her experience of “chinese culture.” the figurative also emerges when the world of the “real” and the world of ghosts are merged into one. lyotard calls the artist an “inventor,” attributing to these inventors a “paralogy”— an art that goes beyond traditional reason and logic.24 he might as well be talking about maxine hong kingston directly, since, indeed, kingston’s narrative merges fake and real into the complex multi-layered story of her childhood and of her family. when maxine the narrator recalls a moment in her childhood when she and her mother used to sing “ballad of mulan,” she mentions how the song was “given” to her by her mother (ww20)—to be her own, and to breathe strength into her daughter, potentially: “i had forgotten this chant that was once mine, given to me by my mother.” through remembering how she used to share the song with her mother, and through revising the world it opened in her youthful mind, kingston affirms that the story she tells, whether it be that of herself as fa mu lan or the entire book, is hers—and the process that she initiated in her autobiography should go to show that the only representation she seeks is how her and her family represent themselves in their own mythology. revisiting the legend of fa mu lan is also the reader’s first encounter with a prolonged tale that eventually blends in with the primary narrative, and blurs whatever boundaries should separate different layers of the story. just as postmodernism opposes coherence and celebrates the plurality and fragmentation of human life, kingston confuses her readers with intra and extradiegetic rules that don’t apply anymore. even though an imaginary maxine as fa mu lan recalling her dreamed adventures as an apprentice swordswoman may recall ulysses recounting his journey to alcinous,25 the reader’s feeble literary confidence is quickly overthrown by the brutal tense change in fa-ma-xine’s adventures. going from hypothesis (“i would have to grow up a warrior woman. the call would come from a bird that flew over our roof. […] suddenly, without noise, i would break clear into a yellow, warm world.”26) to factuality (“the door opened, and an old man and an old woman came out carrying bowls of rice […].”27), the narrator integrates the heterodiegetic storyline of the alternative character she imagines being into the homodiegetic relating of maxine’s childhood. moreover, the reader quickly realizes that what sounds fantastical and magic is not kept distinguished from maxine’s mother’s life, as shows her story at keung school, where brave orchid studies medicine to become a doctor. on the contrary, both universes, imagined and lived, are part of the same world and of the same physicality. when brave orchid arrives at the school, she hears the younger students talking about a ghost that haunts another room on the dormitory floor. although we already knew how deeply maxine’s mother believes in ghosts, it is the first time the reader witnesses her actually interacting with one. she calls this one boulder, a “sitting ghost,” and she decides to confront to in order to try and chase him away.28 however, insulting the ghost and showing her confidence are not enough, and, when she comes back to her senses and the girls ask her what happened, brave orchid realizes she had been torn between two very different timelines and spaces: that of her confrontation with boulder who lets her see misery and sadness over a twelve-year span, and that of the reality of the dormitory in which she is unconscious for only an hour (ww73). this superimposing of timeframes, along with the layering of a story into different sub-stories and parallel events, could be the simple image of a character's life flashing before their eyes while death threatens to take them—however, it also resounds with the lack of coherence postmodernism strives for. fragmentation, here, operates to separate one same existence between multiple levels of space and time, as well as identity. kingston explores an indeterminacy and plasticity that shows the self’s shape-shifting capacities, and de-centers identity in order to let it surf on alternative eras, realities, and potentialities. however, some of kingston’s postmodern narrative techniques are less obvious, and her complexities lie on more than intricate layerings. her goal in both the woman warrior and china men is to retrace her family’s history and explore the memories attached, and ultimately set the “historical framework” foucault sees surrounding the fleeting self. best and kellner also mention how the past may be used in postmodern art when they speak of a “[p]astiche, quotation and play on past forms” that indeed echoes with kingston’s unearthing of chinese traditions in order to adapt and rewrite them for her family. in fact, the multi-layered stories and complex spatiotemporal frames kingston applies in her books serve to explore a past that she either didn’t know or doesn’t fully understand, and allow her to create her family’s own mythos. but the multiplication of perspectives and imbrication of stories within stories also serve to draw a network of relations connecting what lyotard called “nodal points.”29 nodal points for lyotard are the individuals’ localities on the social web on which rules bounce, institutions thrive, and messages circulate. lyotard seems to say that, even though the occurring interactions are socially constructed, messages make it possible for each individual to be briefly in power: they receive the utterance, are in charge of passing it over, and may even add their own understanding of it before transmitting the message. i would argue that this does not necessarily apply to minorities: in order to be a nodal point, their voices need to be heard and amplified through transmission. however, maxine hong kingston’s mythologizing, along with the theoretical paradox that comes with her filling in of gaps through imagination, might provide chinese and chinese american minorities with a newly found voice. the paradox lies in how maxine hong kingston goes against the grain of deconstructing the self that many postmodernists encourage in the wake of derrida’s theory, and explores identity in the woman warrior with the goal to re-center selves. that way, distancing herself from what was given to her by imagining the entire mythos, subverting meaning and traditions, and trying to oppose her mother’s initial wish for her not to tell certain people’s stories, contribute in maxine hong kingston’s very non-postmodern goals. in china men, for instance, kingston multiplies different versions of her father’s immigration story and creates the modern mythology of his travels to a strange country. usually families could not afford emigrating wives and children, and left them behind in china while the fathers immigrated to the united states. they would find a job and send money home to provide for the rest of the family (and sometimes neighbors). the men’s stories are thus less dreamy and empowering; instead, they are more concrete and dramatic, as kingston reports from her father’s own words: “baba became susceptible to the stories men told, which were not fabulations like the fairy tales and ghosts stories told by women” (cm41). again, kingston offers different versions of her father’s immigration. she even introduces them with “i think this is the journey you don’t tell me:” (cm49), and “of course, my father could not have come that way. he came a legal way, something like this:” (cm53). the first story depicts baba in a box in a boat, with tiny but discreet holes pierced for him to be able to breathe without the staff noticing a live being could be hiding in there. he observes and listens to men describing beautiful america, and waits until the journey is over. in the second story, however, he is detained by immigration and waits in jail for about a year until he is set free and signed as legal by “white demons” (instead of “american ghosts” in the woman warrior). the first story could be partially true for many other immigrants who are trafficked and expedited to other countries; the second could be false considering how long some prisoners are kept in prison for mere administrative reasons. but they both push baba so deeply into his self and into an ambiguous and fake mythology, that kingston appears again to be exploring the postmodernist paradox of her art: while she develops the ambiguity of timeless and mostly invented stories taken as truth, she recreating a self instead of deconstructing it into rootless morsels. indeed, in both scenarios, kingston re-centers baba in himself through utterly physical sensations: in the box he can only rely on his senses to feel that he is jostled around, that the weather and spoken languages change, and that he experiences fear on multiple occasions when americans come near his box in the cargo and might notice him. he imagines them executing him, and is projected into his humanity for its basic natural emotions and bodily needs; in the second scenario, baba is assaulted into his physicality: an official “poked him in the ass and genitals, looked in his mouth, pulled his eyelids with a hook” amongst other brutalities. nevertheless, while baba could lose himself under both inhumane treatments that bring him down to the status of an animal, he uses his powerful mind to fly over what his body endures, and eventually find a way out of both jails.30 maxine hong kingston thus works toward anchoring some of her characters’ selves rather than just transcending them over their bodily existences, denied or accepted. this might be even more notably done through the retold story of her unnamed aunt, or rather re-baptized “no name woman” by her family. she actually opens the book with the story of the ostracized aunt even though her mother forbade her to repeat the story (“you must not tell anyone […] what i am about to tell you” (ww1)), thus symbolically announcing that she is the master of this narrative, and claiming she will reassign identity to the forsaken. thanks to kingston’s particular style and techniques for shaping incomplete stories, she is able to create the mythology of no name woman, raped and impregnated and forced into motherhood, treated as a whore then terrorized out of her home by her family, before she is finally pushed to kill both herself and her newborn baby. through saying that no name woman's story is taboo and sharing the process of her annihilation, maxine hong kingston writes the short story of this woman who contributed not in her thinking that she should follow what is expected from women: she expresses the dread and pain of this who illustrates unjust and cruel treatment of women. but no name woman is not the only one whose voice was stolen. after kingston spends time reaffirming the damned and drawing her mythology, she can focus on her own story and explore how her heritage influenced young maxine into having a complicated relationship with authority and speech. maxine hong kingston herself ends up talking-story the complexity and instabilities of the mythos she created, showing how she has taken over the responsibility of carrying a past that she didn’t necessarily witness. this firm grasp of her origins is allowed by exploring the negative space left by incomplete memory and stories, and adding her own thread to the web of her family’s history. this is a notable act from kingston, who, towards the end of what finally becomes a more traditional autobiography, says that she had trouble speaking up as a child. “quacking like a duck,” (ww192) “whispering” (ww200), or not speaking at all describe maxine’s past relationship with acts of speech. she is self-conscious about speaking “american-feminine” at school (ww172), which involved not being too loud and being quiet instead, while, at home, she interrogates her mother for details about some of the talk-stories she had previously shared with her. a woman from their neighborhood, an authoritarian villager (either someone they really knew from the villager where they used to live, or a neighbor from the area of san francisco that was now their new village), points out to maxine’ mother that her voice is so awful, she might never marry. speaking thus became a shameful act for kingston, and young maxine even takes to bullying another young girl who doesn’t speak at school (ww176-181)—a space where judgments are made, and the kids perform their public personas (guy debord’s “société du spectacle”). however, if we come back to lyotard’s utterances and think of how the french translation of “act of speech” is prise de parole, we may draw a corollary between the active verb of prendre, “take,” and maxine hong kingston’s work on reappropriation in the woman warrior. we might therefore see that, by trying to unravel the events of a heritage that she can’t fully grasp, and by giving voice to untold stories and repudiated consciences, (the “abjected,” grace kyungwon hong would say31) maxine hong kingston might be trying to reverse the power both chinese and american knowledge have over her. she might be applying sue-im lee’s proposition of asian american literary critique trying to “‘speak’ the material realities of hitherto ‘invisible,’ ‘disenfranchised,’ or ‘silent’ subjects,” all the while departing from the material to transcend the whole into the powerful immaterial.32 additionally, in deploying her family’s history, and in trying to understand where she comes from, kingston regains the potency of her own voice. she claims back her discursive capacities from her confused younger self—confused by the transnational upbringing, as well as by the very thin limit between reality and what usually reads as fantasy in the occidental world —, and from what her mother embodies. to that effect, she tries to chase away her own “boulder,” the burden of living up to her heritage, of not knowing what is true or not, as well as the contemporaneous burden of representation on both sides of the spectrum of her dual identity. the fact that she invents myths, disassociates meaning and reallocates new ones, along with the process of re/imagining events and the gaps that puncture the stories into fragmented ones, might show how she subverts general knowledge (of china by the chinese, and of china by the americans) in order to build a new fantasy that will make more sense to her, and that she will be able to proclaim as her very own. as laura e. skandera-trombmey put it in critical essays on maxine hong kingston: “[m]emory can serve as a kind of narrating subject, making coherent wholes out of meaningless fragments”.33 by trying to draw a picture of her history, kingston lets her narrative invest space and time, and writes the flow as it constructs itself. and only towards the end, after the narrator has told the stories of china before her mother finally settled in america, does maxine get back in touch with her own self, the identity for which she explored the foundations—one that is forever haunted by talk-stories and ghosts. thanks to the journey that took place earlier, she might thus be able to downplay the pressure some chinese traditions, embodied by her mother who sometimes represses her voice, have over her by redefining what she doesn’t understand, what she’s been told, and by ultimately reversing on which side knowledge stands. kingston might also be even more postmodern than some aspects of die-hard postmodernists’ positions, then, if she is able to reassign self using modernist tools. desperately looking for her origins and the traditional justifications behind events and behaviors; re-selving selves that had been deprived from their identities to the point that even their bodily existences were annihilated; reveling in her mother’s grounding in what western readers might enjoy as “the chinese culture”: maxine disobeys the rules of the postmodern way. but what makes her art so complex and unique is first and foremost the fact that the techniques she employs in order to achieve these seemingly non-postmodern goals are what we could call “postmodern” (reassigning meaning, exploring the figurative and turning it into fact, playing with narration, timelines and alternative plots), and, ultimately, bring kingston towards an unexpected achievement. indeed, by applying innovative discursive and narrative tools on memory and identity, two social constructs that entrap the individual in unjustly assigned characteristics according to the great postmodern figures such as lyotard and foucault, she succeeds in reappropriating the past of her family, and turning it into an incredible, special, time and space-transcending mythology—that, in the end, seems to conclude in a satisfactory way as maxine hong kingston ends with an ambiguous “[i]t translated well” (ww209). notes 1. kingston, maxine hong. the woman warrior: memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts. vintage international ed., vintage books, 1989. 2. maxine hong kingston’s most vocal detractor was frank chin. of the woman warrior in general, and if kingston’s exploration of the legend of mulan in particular, chin said that she “rewrites the heroine, fa mulan, to the specs of the stereotype of the chinese woman as a pathological white supremacist victimized and trapped in a hideous chinese civilization” (“come all ye asian american writers of the real and the fake,” the big aiiieeeee!: an anthology of chinese american and japanese american literature (new york: meridian, 1991), 1–28.). in conversations with maxine hong kingston (see footnote 7), kingston even admits to having been physically threatened by chin, he thought her literature was so harmful to chinese american identity. 3. gayatri chakravorty spivak, in “can the subaltern speak?,” denounces forcing the “multicultural” reading on works of non-white authors; the combahee river collective criticizes that as well, mentioning how it’s not people of color’s roles to educate white people about race. 4. “combahee river collective statement,” 1979, in moraga, cherríe, and toni cade bambara, editors. this bridge called my back: writings by radical women of color. 2. ed., 7. printing, kitchen table, 1983. 5. as translated by best, steven and kellner, douglas in postmodern theory : critical interrogations. guilford press, 1991, p.147. 6. talk-stories, for maxine, are a ritual mainly perpetuated by her mother in the woman warrior, and by her father and other male generations in china men. they seem to be part of other asian cultures and to have been explored by amy tan in the joy luck club (1989), and the hawaiian anthology talk-story: an anthology on hawaii’s local writers (1978). 7. conversations with maxine hong kingston. university press of mississippi, 1998. p. 51. 8. kingston, maxine hong. china men. 1st ed., knopf, 1980. 9. best and kellner in postmodern theory: critical interrogations: “against modern theories that see knowledge as neutral and objective (positivism) or emancipatory (marxism), foucault emphasizes that knowledge is indissociable from regimes of power.” p. 50. 10. best and kellner in postmodern theory: critical interrogations: “indeed poststructural and postmodern theorists would stress the arbitrary and conventional nature of everything social—language, culture, practice, subjectivity, and society itself.” p. 20 11. best and kellner in postmodern theory: critical interrogations: “postmodern theory also rejects modern assumptions of social coherence and notions of causality in favour of multiplicity, plurality, fragmentation, and indeterminacy. in addition, postmodern theory abandons the rational and unified subject postulated by much modern theory in favour of a socially and linguistically decentered and fragmented subject,” pp. 4-5. 12. lyotard, jean françois. the postmodern condition : a report on knowledge. university of minnesota press, 1984. 13. gregory castle, the literary theory handbook. john wiley, 2013. p.40. 14. lyotard. the postmodern condition: a report on knowledge, xxiii. 15. simmons, diane. maxine hong kingston. twayne publishers, 1999. p 48. 16. page 10. 17. the sow is mentioned in the translation provided by laura e. skandera-trombley’s critical essays on maxine hong kingston. 18. “ode to mulan,” https://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/mulan.php. 19. ibid. 20. jean-françois lyotard, the postmodern condition: a report on knowledge, p. 10. 21. ibid. 22. jean-françois lyotard, the postmodern condition: “the new sensibility, by contrast, immerses itself in the pleasures of form and style, privileging an ‘erotics’ of art over a hermeneutics of meaning,” p. 10. 23. jean-françois lyotard, the postmodern condition: a report on knowledge, p. 10. 24. jean-françois lyotard, the postmodern condition: a report on knowledge, xxv. 25. homer’s odyssey, chant viii. ulysses is welcomed by alcinous at the very beginning of his journey. ulysses tells the story of his life and travels as a way to show gratitude, and as https://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/mulan.php conventions dictated at the time. staying anonymous and secretive was an insult to the host, as opposed to sharing the voyage being a way to entertain and enrich with new stories. 26. the warrior woman, p. 20. 27. the warrior woman, p. 21. 28. a sitting ghost, according to kingston’s retelling of her mother’s explanations, kills the living by sitting on their chest and suffocated them under its weight. the weight is psychological as well, and the soul can go crazy as a black haze takes over the individual’s conscience, and tears them from the human world. 29. jean-françois lyotard, the postmodern condition: a report on knowledge, p. 15. 30. in the second scenario, immigration services try to trick him into giving the wrong answers to their questions. however, he outsmarts them and soon becomes “the legal father” in the narrative. 31. hong, grace kyungwon. “‘the future of our worlds’: black feminism and the politics of knowledge in the university under globalization.” meridians, vol. 8, no. 2, 2008, p.99. 32. introduction. davis, rocio g., and sue-im lee, editors. literary gestures: the aesthetic in asian american writing. temple university press, 2006. 33. skandera-trombley, laura e., editor.“mhk and her fake books” critical essays on maxine hong kingston. g.k. hall; prentice hall international, 1998, p. 52. works cited best, steven. postmodern theory: critical interrogations. guilford press, 1991. castle, gregory. the literary theory handbook. john wiley, 2013. chan, jeffery paul et al. (eds.), the big aiiieeeee!: an anthology of chinese american literature (new york: meridian, 1991). davis, rocío g., and sue-im lee, editors. literary gestures: the aesthetic in asian american writing. temple university press, 2006. hong, grace kyungwon. “‘the future of our worlds’: black feminism and the politics of knowledge in the university under globalization.” meridians, vol. 8, no. 2, 2008, pp. 95–115. kingston, maxine hong. china men. 1st ed., knopf, 1980. —. conversations with maxine hong kingston. university press of mississippi, 1998. —. the woman warrior: memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts. vintage international ed., vintage books, 1989. lyotard, jean françois. the postmodern condition: a report on knowledge. university of minnesota press, 1984. moraga, cherríe, and toni cade bambara, editors. this bridge called my back: writings by radical women of color. 2. ed., 7. printing, kitchen table, 1983. “ode to mulan.” —. translation by laura e. skandera-trombley, editor. critical essays on maxine hong kingston. g.k. hall; prentice hall international, 1998. —. translation by “yellow bridge.” https://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/mulan.php. https://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/mulan.php skandera-trombley, laura e., editor. critical essays on maxine hong kingston. g.k. hall; prentice hall international, 1998. spivak, gayatri chakravorty. “can the subaltern speak?” morris, rosaling c., editor. reflections on the history of an idea. columbia university press, 2010. [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] the legitimacy and etiology of dissociative identity disorder alexandra m henning psychology abstract there exists a significant amount of disputation surrounding both the legitimacy and etiology of dissociative identity disorder (did); two separate conflicts that are not mutually exclusive. it is unclear whether did should be considered a valid diagnosis, stemming from questions about the reliability of the diagnostic criteria included in the current diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, published by the american psychological association, and from the debate between etiological hypotheses. specifically, the post-traumatic model and the sociocognitive model proffer separate etiological explanations that are often interpreted as mutually exclusive and that have implications for the current conceptualization of did as a legitimate or valid mental disorder. the current review explores the debates associated with this disorder and suggests that defining a reliable did syndrome is necessary for claiming legitimacy and that future research on the disorder could be hindered by necessarily assuming that the proposed etiological hypotheses are mutually exclusive. the legitimacy and etiology of dissociative identity disorder a significant amount of controversy has surrounded the legitimacy of a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder (did – previously known as multiple personality disorder, mpd), particularly within the framework of disagreements on the disorders etiology. several models exist to explain the development of did, including the post-traumatic model (ptm) and the sociocognitive model (scm). the ptm suggests that did develops as a reactionary defense mechanism after exposure to a traumatic experience and can include multiple identities that have differential access to memories (gleaves, 1996). the scm, on the other hand, posits that did develops as a result of influences from the media and therapist expectations or demands (spanos, 1994). the models and their purported supporting evidence will be further discussed below; however, it is first necessary to establish the syndrome of did as a specific, differentiable disorder. largely in response to the uncertainty and disputation about how did develops, the legitimacy of did as a diagnosis has come into question. this is because if the scm is true, it has implications for the effectiveness and potential negative outcomes of treatment. if did arises through elicitation by the therapist, the disorder seems less “real”, or less authentic. however, if this model is accurate, does that necessarily make did illegitimate as a diagnosis? the dsm provides descriptions of symptomology for the use of differential diagnosis; it does not imply specific etiology. if did presents as a particular set of symptoms, it is therefore classifiable and diagnosable. additionally, it is undeniable that these individuals often exhibit distress and impairment in their everyday lives as alters intrude on their cognitive and behavioral processes. it clearly remains necessary to continue research in determining the etiology of did to inform appropriate treatment options; however, the legitimacy of did as a diagnosis covers more than etiology. phenomenology of dissociative identity disorder the dsm-iv-tr lists did under the section of dissociative disorders and describes it as having “the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states” characterized by “an inability to recall important personal information… too great to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness” (apa, 2000, p. 526). this description illustrates the phenomenology commonly associated with did. the multiple identities characteristic of the disorder are commonly called alters. although the dsm-iv-tr also describes the alters as a fragmentation of identity, it is often colloquially thought of as a production of separate, complete personalities. however, more commonly, the host appears affectively flat while the alters show a specific exaggerated mood, none of which individually seem to constitute a well-rounded personality (humphrey & dennett, 1989). additionally, in concordance with the specific exaggerated emotion, each alter appears well suited to deal with a particular set of social experiences. this is more consistent with did presenting as a fragmentation of identity. however, the patients seem convinced that the alters constitute separate selves, rather than acting roles, and insist on such (humphrey & dennett, 1989). they are similarly capable of convincing others, particularly their therapists, that the alters are truly non-acted, separate personalities. in addition to the diagnostic criteria included in the dsm-iv-tr, there are a number of other characteristic features present in individuals with did. dissociative disorders in general can exhibit dissociative features in multiple functions of consciousness, including the perception of the self and the environment, the experience of identity, and memory (gast, 2006). did is thought to be the most serious dissociative disorder and displays dissociative features in all three categories. more specifically, a reliable did syndrome has been found to include thirteen different dissociative symptoms cohesively termed the subjective/phenomenological model: amnesia, conversion symptoms, voices, depersonalization, trance states, self-alteration, derealization, awareness of the presence of other personalities, identity confusion, flashbacks, psychotic-like dissociative symptoms, auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations and schneiderian first-rank symptoms (dell, 2006). the dsm arguably describes only two of these symptoms, amnesia and the presence of other personalities. therefore, it appears that the dsm narrowly views did as an alter disorder when it is truly characterized by a number of other descriptive symptoms that should be taken into account in the phenomenological picture of did. dissociative identity disorder as a valid diagnosis whether using the description of did provided by the dsm or by the subjective/phenomenological model, a syndrome characteristic of did appears to truly exist and be reliably found, at least in north american populations. additionally, there are a number of factors that are thought to increase the diagnostic validity of the disorder (gleaves & may, 2001). these factors include a sufficient amount of existing academic literature on did, a systematized diagnostic criteria, reliability in diagnosis with instruments such as structured interviews and self-report measures, a syndrome of co-occurring symptoms, and differentiation from other mental disorders. however, others have disagreed on this latter point, suggesting that did can be confused with a number of other mental disorders, including other dissociative disorders, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder and temporal lobe epilepsy (osei, 2004). this is not surprising, considering a number of features characteristic of did are found in other mental disorders. for example, auditory and visual hallucinations and schneiderian firstrank symptoms are often found in patients with schizophrenia. flashbacks, depersonalization and derealization can be found in post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd). while it is not abnormal for core symptoms of a mental disorder to be present in others, such as anxious or depressive features, this overlapping of characteristics may support the development of a more inclusive diagnostic criteria for did, such as with the subjective/phenomenological model. alternatively, a diathesis-stress model suggests that did could be a complex form of ptsd given that both are often conceptualized as responding to a traumatic event (gast, 2006). in the case of did, the traumatization occurs during childhood, a time where development of an integrative self is still occurring and is therefore disrupted, leading to the development of a fragmented identity, along with the other dissociative features often found with ptsd. this explanation is characteristic of the post-traumatic model of did, which will be discussed in further detail below. for the moment, it is important to note that this theory suggests that rather than altering the current categorical diagnostic criteria for did, it would be more beneficial to conceptualize dissociation as a dimension with did being a more extreme dimensional form of ptsd. similarly, did has been posited to represent a personality disorder along a continuum of repression and splitting features, related to both borderline and narcissistic personality disorder (fahy, 1988). these inconsistencies in diagnostic suggestions for did illustrate that it is not completely formed as a valid diagnosis, though it shows an obvious existence as a syndrome. it is clear that the phenomenon of did exists and that these individuals show distress and impairment that would benefit from psychological treatment (humphrey & dennet, 1989). however, the specific etiology of did also remains unclear and disputed. understanding how the dissociative symptoms develop may not only be helpful in describing the disorder as a whole, but also in informing how its treatment should be framed. inter-identity variances as one of the core features of did mentioned in the dsm, the development and maintenance of alters is of particular interest. the development of alters is associated with etiology of the disorder, and so understanding the characteristics of how they exist and function could inform various etiological hypothesis. one line of research focuses on investigating the observable differences between the reported alters to both legitimize their existence as separate selves and to determine their functional use. this research involves the study of differences in memory and other physiological measurements between alters. the current review attempts to show a representative rather than an exhaustive discussion of such research. inter-identity amnesia there are several different forms of inter-identity amnesia reported by did patients that differ in directionality of forgetfulness (eich, macaulay, loewenstein, & dihle, 1997). this discussion of alters will restrict descriptions to comparisons between two alters, designated identity a and b. these identities can be mutually amnesic or mutually cognizant of each other. alternatively, two identities may show one-way amnesia, which will currently be described as identity a being amnesic for b while identity b is cognizant of a. a number of experiments have investigated inter-identity amnesia for explicit knowledge, such as episodic memory, versus implicit knowledge, such as procedure skills; however, results are largely mixed (peters, uyterlinde, consemulder, & van der hart, 1998; huntjens, peters, woertman, van der hart, & postma, 2007; huntjens, postma, peters, woertman, & van der hart, 2003, huntjens, postma, woertman, van der hart, & peters, 2005). these inconclusive results are further complicated by the fact that not all experiments utilize a simulating control group in which normal participants are instructed to mimic the features of did, acting as a separate alter for specific parts of the experiment. however, the interpretation of simulating control group results itself is controversial, considering the idea of manifesting alters as “role-playing” in did may be qualitatively different from controls pretending to have the disorder. additionally, these experiments largely utilize a population of did patients that are able to switch to an alter on command either freely or during hypnosis. this may only reflect a sub-population of did patients, which may be a particularly important distinction if did can be developed in multiple ways, as will be discussed below. experiments using explicit memory tasks exhibit mixed results. for example, a study using one-way amnesic did patients showed transfer of explicit information about emotionally neutral stimuli from identity a to b, but not from identity b to a (peters et al., 1998). this is consistent with one-way amnesia for explicit information, though no simulator control group was used as comparison. additionally, one patient in this study showed some transfer of explicit information from identity b to a on a free recall test, suggesting some leakage of explicit information. several studies using an interference paradigm have shown in-tact memory in recall and recognition tests in did patients, contrary to reported one-way amnesia (huntjens et al., 2007; huntjens et al., 2003). in this task, word list a is shown to identity a and word list b is shown to identity b. each identity is then later tested for intrusion of words from the list given to the other identity in recall and recognition of the words from their own list. patients did show intrusions for negative, positive and neutral words, conflicting with the reported subjective amnesia. additionally, when asked to characterize words in the recognition test as known or remembered, did patients showed no difference in response for recognizing words learned in the two different identities. this suggests that they do not experience recognizing words learned in separate identities differently, such as recollecting an event experience by a different identity as if watching from a third person perspective. on the other hand, there are studies that support exhibition of amnesia for explicit information learned in another identity differently from simulators. one experiment studied performance of did patients, simulators and guessers, the latter being naïve to all study material at test (huntjens et al., 2006). on a recall test, the patient’s exhibited no knowledge of the story learned in another identity. however, on a multiple choice recognition test, the guessers showed chance level performance while the patients and simulators showed below chance performance, suggesting they used knowledge of correct answers to choose the incorrect answers. interestingly, the simulators and patients showed different strategies in choosing incorrect answers from the multiple choices, the former choosing more implausible answers. overall, the results from explicit memory tasks suggest that did patients do not show strict amnesia as is subjectively reported, but instead exhibit a leakage of information between identities. however, patients still show differences in performance from simulators, such as strategy of exhibiting amnesia, that suggest they are not simply acting or pretending to not remember information from other identities. while procedural memory is normally thought to transfer across alters implicitly, this result is not always found. for example, one experiment investigated performance of did patients, simulators and normal controls on serial reaction time (srt) task (huntjens et al., 2005). in this task multiple blocks are given to a participant in which they parrot a presented finger pressing sequence that is either random or repeated within the block. normal controls show a decreased reaction time with repeating sequence blocks as they implicitly learn the procedural skill and a subsequent increase in reaction time when switched to a random block. both patients and simulators showed a pattern consistent with inter-identity amnesia with a decrease in reaction time during a subsequent repeating block after a switch to a new identity. the patient’s results are therefore ambiguous as to whether they exhibit true inter-identity amnesia or a simulation of it. alternatively, another study found an intact affective priming effect in did patients, consistent with functional implicit processing of conditioned responses (huntjens, peters, et al., 2005). in this study, patients were shown pairs of neutral words that were previously associated with either positive or negative, trauma-related words. like normal controls, patients show faster response times to the target word when the neutral words were previously paired with congruent affective words (negative and negative, or positive and positive) versus incongruent affective words (negative and positive). this suggests intact transfer of the affective associations made with one identity to the testing performance of another identity. the transfer of implicit information across identities, as with explicit information, shows mixed result; however, implicit memories are commonly thought of as more transferable between identities than explicit memories. importantly, there may be a difference in the transfer of implicit information with tasks that vary in amount of data-driven processing. one experiment administered a word stem completion task and a picture-fragment completion task to did individuals (eich et al., 1997). one identity was asked to rate a list of words that was meant to prime answers for a word-stem completion task in the second identity. additionally, one identity was administered a picture-fragment completion task, in which progressive pictures with more detail are given until object identification, that was meant to prime faster identification of the same objects in the second identity. did patients showed no inter-identity priming for the stem-completion task but showed evidence of priming in the picture-fragment task. this might reflect the fact that the word-stem completion task allows for multiple responses where differing interpretive processes of identities may operate. the picture-fragment task, on the other hand, requires more data-driven processes and only one specific answer. leaking across identities may therefore be better characterized as dependent on the extent to which varying inter-identity processes can operate on the encoding and retrieval of a particular type of memory, as opposed to dependent on whether the memory is explicit versus implicit per se. in sum, there appears to be a disconnection between what patients subjectively report as strict amnesia, and what is often found to be either leaky amnesia or a lack of it completely. it has been suggested that amnesia found in did patients may be related to a dysfunction in metamemory as opposed to actual memory (kindt & van den hout, 2003). one study showed participants aversive fragments of a film that included sexual and physical violence to induce state dissociation (which is separate from trait dissociation). there was no correlation between state dissociation scores and actual memory, measured by a sequential memory task where they were asked to place clips in the originally presented order. however, there was a significant correlation between state dissociation and meta-memory, measured by asking for the subjective characteristic of their film recollections. dissociation after watching an aversive film was therefore related to the subjective experience of memory fragmentation as opposed to actual fragmentation of memory performance. these memory studies suggest that dissociation could be related to alterations in metamemory as opposed to actual memory accuracy, another important distinction beyond simply distinguishing explicit from implicit memory. this idea is consistent with the fact that while patients subjectively report inter-identity amnesia, a meta-memory process, the memories may, in fact, be accessible across identities. additionally, the amount of data-driven versus conceptually-driven processing may influence the amount of leakage occurring across identities, considering that separate alters may exhibit varying conceptual schemas. notably, this may be reflected in the fact that explicit memory is more conceptually-driven than implicit memory, the latter showing more leakage across identities. inter-identity physiological differences a number of experiments have also aimed to determine the physiological differences between identities. not only are there behavioral reports of memory loss, but a specific neural system is thought to be involved in purposeful forgetting or memory suppression (anderson et al., 2004). during a think/no-think task, participants were presented with one member of a pair and asked to either suppress or recall the associated member. it appears that activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and deactivation of the hippocampus was associated with suppressing the unwanted memories and, importantly, with their subsequent impaired maintenance. while this active suppression may mimic simulator participant’s processes more closely than those of patients, it would still be informative to determine whether there were differences in brain activation of this neural system in did patients that show one-way amnesia. does the suppression, or repression, of memories from identity b by identity a show activation of similar brain areas? a large portion of the studies investigating differences in cerebral blood flow have looked at reactions to neutral or trauma-related scripts in varying identities. these studies often designate two separate identities, one as a neutral-identity state, and one as a traumatic identity state, the latter of which is thought to be fixated on and reactive to the experienced trauma. multiple experiments have found differential cerebral activation to the two scripts across identities that suggest differential processing of the two scripts in the neutral versus trauma identity state (reinders et al., 2006; reinders, willemsen, vos, den boer, & nijenhuis, 2012). when compared to previous research exploring self versus non-self memory retrieval, the neutral identity appears to process the trauma-related script in a non-biographical manner, consistent with the idea that this identity dissociates to a trauma identity in order to not directly experience the traumatic event. in a similar experiment, it was suggested that simulating controls did not satisfactorily replicate the neural differences found between identities in did patients (reinders et al., 2012). however, it may not be surprising that simulators create alters for themselves differently from did patients. this is consistent with the fact that patients seem to truly believe in the existence of the alters, and also the finding described above in which these groups show different strategies in exhibiting amnesia. there are a number of anecdotal reports on the differences between alters of the same individual. these include changes in posture, handwriting, mannerisms, voice patterns, allergic reaction and responsivity to alcohol and sedatives (humphrey & dennett, 1989). a number of these are consistent with physiological alterations between identities. similarly, experiments have also shown variations in responses to neutral versus trauma-related scripts in cardiovascular response (reinders et al., 2006). however, these physiological results may be explained by a change in the level of subject arousal during separate alter presentations (fahy, 1988). viewed in this way, it may not be surprising that different alters exhibit changes in heart rate or neural activity. additionally, these variations could lead to the psychological experimental results on memory described in the previous section. differences in memories across identities could occur through state-dependent learning, in which bodily state during encoding and retrieval affect the ability to remember a memory (fahy, 1988). this is consistent with the finding that a data-driven task is less susceptible to inter-identity amnesia because it may be less influenced by statedependent factors. additionally, differences in level of arousal between identities may serve as the state-dependent distinction. in sum, differences can readily be found between alters with psychological and physiological tests. these separate selves are convincingly so and constitute a core symptom in the syndrome of did. however, the split between alters is clearly not complete, often exhibiting leakage of information. it is likely that in the development of alters, meta-memory, rather than actual memory per se, is affected, leading to a subjective amnesia between identities. fully identifying the characteristics of how patients differentiate the alters could be useful for informing treatment of did. additionally, the way in which these alters are developed, which is inevitably related to the characteristic of the splitting, would similarly be informative. however, there is disagreement about the etiology of did, largely divided into two camps: supporters of the post-traumatic model and those of the sociocognitive model. etiological models for dissociative identity disorder many proponents of the post-traumatic model (ptm) and the sociocognitive model (scm) of did dispute each other’s model as if they were mutually exclusive. this is evident in a series of articles responding to and disagreeing or even arguing with each other (spanos, 1994; gleaves, 1996; lilienfeld et al., 1999). however, as we will see, not all components of these models are mutually exclusive, nor is it necessary for there to be a single explanation for the phenomenology exhibited by did patients. post-traumatic model the ptm suggests that individuals who experience a traumatic event compartmentalize these experiences into alters as a defense mechanism for coping with the emotional and physical pain of the trauma (gleaves, 1996). this model is consistent with the previously mentioned theory that did can be conceptualized as a form of ptsd. it is also consistent with the phenomenon that people who experience a stressful event can exhibit subsequent amnesia for it. for example, a person who commits a violent murder sometimes report going into a “craze” and not remembering committing the murder (gleaves, 1996). perhaps an individual who experiences childhood abuse exhibits the same phenomenon during traumatic events, which then becomes a patterned or entrained mechanism to deal with the environment, which often involves repeated traumas, that develops into the syndrome of did. sociocognitive model the scm, on the other hand, states that alters develop through patient role-enactment that appears governed by rules and goal-directed (spanos, 1994). the alters are therefore elicited, crystalized and preserved by social reinforcement, largely within the context of therapy. rather than occurring through conscious deception, the role-enactment is thought to occur spontaneously in suggestible individuals without conscious intent (lilienfeld et al, 1999). the surrounding culture is thought to influence the expectations of how did is manifested. for example, in india changes between alters often follows a period of sleep, which is the common presentation of did in the movie culture of the country (spanos, 1994). we already act differently in different situations, which may show extreme variations in response to stressors. during therapy, certain suggestible individuals are thought to crystalize these differences into alters in response to suggestions from the therapist (lilienfeld et al., 1999). this model emphasizes the importance of therapy in the actual development and maintenance of the alters, particularly when using hypnosis and other leading techniques. the therapist is thought to implicitly supply demand characteristics for did symptoms, which patients then respond to appropriately. in comparing the ptm and the scm, it is useful to view them in the framework of how did shows variations across history and across cultures. the influence of iatrogenic factors, or negative outcomes of therapy, on alter creation and the link between childhood abuse and did are also important in distinguishing, as well as synthesizing, the different models. variations in the expression of dissociative symptoms the expression of dissociative symptoms show differences both throughout history and across cultures. while this does not necessary rule out the ptm as an explanation, it is highly consistent with the scm. a brief history of dissociative identity disorder there has been an exponentially increasing number of reported did cases throughout recent history. the first purported case of did was reported in 1816, after which several cases in the late 19th century led to a lengthy published discussion between several authors (merskey, 1992). after this, the number of cases reported showed surges after the publication of books on the disorder, such as the three faces of eve in 1957 and sybil in 1973. additionally, after multiple personality disorder (mpd) was established as a category in the dsm-iii in 1980, the number of cases increases. the surge of reported cases is illustrated by the fact that their number changed from 79 in 1970 to about 6,000 in 1986 to the tens of thousands by the end of the 20th century (lilienfeld et al., 1999). this exponential increase in the number of cases could potentially be consistent with both the ptm and the scm. it appears to indicate that as the surrounding culture becomes more specified and vocal about the disorder, the number of cases increases as a response to culture expectations. however, it could also be consistent with the fact that an increased awareness of the disorder could lead to more accurate diagnoses of patients. of particular note was the proliferation of public knowledge about did after the publication of the book sybil, by flora schreiber, and its subsequent movie production. this movie appears to have precipitated not only a surge in did diagnoses but also an explanation of the disorder as causally linked to childhood abuse, which is largely highlighted in the movie (lynn & deming, 2010). interestingly, while the book was based on an actual patient, sybil was later evaluated to be highly suggestible and thought to have contrived the multiple identities to satisfy her therapist, who held an inappropriately close relationship with her client. this appears more consistent with the scm, which suggests clients may create alters to please the therapist, whether conscious or not. additionally, the increase in reports of childhood abuse linked to did is not as convincingly explained by the ptm; although it could still be argued that increased awareness led to uncovering an actual, pre-existing link. similarly, recently the number of abuse cases involving satanic ritual abuse has markedly increased (vogelsang, 2010). however, over years of investigation, federal law enforcement has continually been unsuccessful in uncovering underground satanic groups of a size that would account for the amount of satanic abuse currently reported by did patients. together with the fact that increased rates of other childhood reported traumas are not always corroborated, this suggests that the expression of did has altered as a response to historical expectations. the earliest descriptions of did cases do not appear to reflect the current syndrome normally associated with did patients. instead, many of these cases showed evidence of organic disease, brain damage, and epilepsy, or more closely resembled fugues, somnambulistic states, hypnotic induction or bipolar disorder (bpd; merskey, 1992). these cases were a large portion of the principal 19th century cases that initiated the developing interest in did. in examination of cases after the turn of the 20th century, it is suggested that no case has been found to undoubtedly emerge unconsciously and without influence from the popular media, particularly after the popularization of the three faces of eve and sybil. this suggests that did developed as a historically new syndrome from a misinterpretation of other disorders in early reported cases. subsequently, the assumption of knowledge of did as a syndrome led to a proliferation of cases that responded to expectations from these assumptions and developed into the current picture of did. consistent with this idea, the expression of dissociative and somatoform disorders has changed with passing history as expectation have changed for prevailing characteristics of the disorders. during the 19th century, sudden somatic symptoms were common relative to previous historical rates, which was then replaced by fainting spells, also known as the vapors (lilienfeld et al., 1999). at the end of the 19th century, conversion disorders were relatively common and may have been subsequently replaces by did as the “in season” disorder. therefore, dissociative symptoms appear to traverse historical contexts under the name of what is thought to be popular and appropriate at the time. viewing this disorder within a historical context appears most consistent with the scm, which is developed under the assumption that cultural context influences the expression of what we now call did. dissociative identity disorder across cultures similar to influences of historical context, dissociative symptoms appear to traverse cultures and be expressed in ways found appropriate by the surrounding society. these expressions can range from did, demonic possession, and mass hysteria to glossolalia (spanos, 1994). additionally, did itself exhibits different rates of prevalence across varying cultures. the proliferation previously discusses occurred largely in north american, whereas a number of other countries continue to exhibit a dearth of cases, such as in japan, france, england, india and russia (merskey, 1992). however, it has also been reported that did can be found in a variety of countries, including the united states, china, turkey and australia (ross, 2006). the idea that culture can influence the exhibition of a mental disorder is not new; several “culture-bound syndromes” are acknowledged. for example, taijin-kyofusho, or the fear of offending others particularly with one’s own body odor, primarily occurs in japan. therefore, it seems to reason that culture could influence the particular fashion in which a dissociative state is both explained and exhibited. a wide variety of states have been described that suggest dissociation as a common trait colored by the particular culture (somer, 2006). kinetically induced dissociation occurs with rhythmic music and dance, often used to promote well-being and relieve distress, particularly in african indigenous communities. kinetically associated dissociation is also found in a variety of religions to express devoutness and commune with the creator, such as with torso-rocking movements in jewish prayer. additionally, trances are often explained as possession by a spiritual being or deity. interestingly, this possession can range from socially sanctioned, positive deity possession to unsanctioned, negative demonic possession. it is thought that these dissociative states can have ameliorative characteristics through self-hypnotic analgesia and the cathartic expression of unsanctioned thoughts or behaviors, such as outbursts from females in strict, patriarchal societies. the scm suggests that dissociative symptoms are enacted through a cultural context of what is considered appropriate. the variations in expressing dissociative symptoms and the differences in did rates across cultures is therefore consistent with the scm. however, it is also important to note that these observations do not necessarily rule out the ptm, which states that the variation in did rates across cultures could be due to a difference in the ability to diagnose did because of diverse levels of understanding and acknowledgement it. in north america, where did is highly prevalent in comparison to other cultures, the scm suggests that therapists play a major role in the cultural formulation of dissociative symptoms in did. iatrogenic influences on dissociative identity disorder iatrogenic effects refer to negative outcomes resulting from treatment or diagnosis, in this case of did (bootzin & bailey, 2005). in the scm, therapists that use suggestive techniques, often involving hypnosis, are thought to cause such effects by eliciting the development of alters that were not previously manifested. this ability to influence symptom expression in patients is thought to be related to suggestibility, absorption and fantasy proneness. suggestive therapy and hypnosis it has been noted that a significant portion of did diagnoses are reported by a small number of therapists, whereas others report encountering no cases at all (merskey, 1992). proponents of the scm suggest that this reflects the influence of therapist expectations on the outcomes of patients’ symptom expressions. supporters of the ptm, on the other hand, state that this occurs because particular therapists are aware and knowledgeable about the disorder, and so are able to elicit alters that were previously established after a traumatic event during childhood. during the treatment of did, therapists may tend to ask leading questions that can influence suggestive individuals into creating alters to assume the role being elicited. such leading questions include statements such as “do you ever feel as if you are not alone, as if there is someone else or some other part watching you?”, “everybody listen”, and instructions that “there will be a chair for every personality in the system” (lilienfeld et al., 1999). these leading questions are particularly influential during hypnotic interviewing, which is often used to elicit alters. guided imagery is another therapeutic technique that could potentially elicit the creation of alters, such as with hypnosis (lilienfeld et al., 1999). it is quite easy to see how therapists who support the ptm would be more likely to generate alters in this way during treatment than those who support the scm. hypnosis is a common therapeutic technique used by therapists to elicit alters in patients who they believe to have did. the leading questions previously described often occur during hypnotic interviewing. additionally, both during treatment and at the time of diagnosis, did patients that were hypnotized during therapy show a greater variance in their number of alters than those who were not (lilienfeld et al., 1999). hypnosis has also been found to elicit different personalities in normal individuals, such as during age-regression to previous life times (fahy, 1988). however, these personalities tend to be less complex than those exhibited by did patients and are transitory, though the long-term effects of such hypnosis are unknown. also, while hypnosis has not been shown to increase memory accuracy, it may instead increase the confidence one has in false memories, which may lead to an increase in reporting false memories of abuse. it is clearly important to understand the etiological factors of did to inform therapy and prevent what could be considered an unethical worsening or maintenance of symptoms. hypnotic ability, absorption and fantasy proneness associations have been found between did and hypnotic ability, absorption and fantasy proneness. high scores on the dissociative experiences survey (des) were associated with high levels of normal involvement of the imagination, such as with fantasy proneness, absorption and daydream immersion (levin & spei, 2004). additionally, did patients exhibit higher hypnotizability scores than normal individuals, as well as patients with schizophrenia, mood disorders, or anxiety disorders (frischholz, lipman, braun, & sachs, 1992). this may suggest that assessment of hypnotizability could be helpful in differentially diagnosing dissociative patients. it may also suggest that individuals who are highly hypnotizable, and therefore highly suggestible, are more likely to be influenced by the leading questions from therapists described above, precipitating the development of did features. there are also individuals who report difficulties in distinguishing between dreams and reality, which may lead to the creation of false memories (rassin, merckelbach, & spaan, 2001). interestingly, these individuals also tend to exhibit high scores in measures of fantasy proneness and dissociation. this has implications for the ability of people who score highly on these measures, such as individuals with did, to easily create false memories, such as of traumatic events like child abuse. consistent with this idea, dissociation is found to show a propensity for false memories, which raises questions about the accuracy of reported traumatic memories (lynn, lilienfeld, merckelbach, giesrecht, & van der kloet, 2012). consistent with this, memories of events prior to age 1 are thought to not exist and those prior to age 3 are said to exhibit questionable validity (lilienfeld et al., 1999). there are cases in which did patients report memories for abuse or for the emergence of alters during these ages, which may reflect such false memory production. however, it remains possible that the connections between propensities for dissociation, fantasy proneness, hypnotizability and false memories could exaggerate the already existing link between trauma and did. trauma may also lead to characteristics such as fantasy proneness that lead to highly suggestible individuals that are then more susceptible to developing did through iatrogenic factors. clearly, there are a variety of explanations that need not exclusively focus on the ptm versus the scm. it is possible that both models describe processes through which did could develop or that they, in fact, interact with each other. as another example, self-hypnosis refers to the automatic ability to place the self into a trance, which can be trained by a hypnotist, but may also exist as a natural ability in certain individuals (fahy, 1988). if these individuals are exposed to extremely stressful events, such as sexual abuse, the use of self-hypnosis may lead to the development of did features. childhood abuse a major controversy between the ptm and scm model is the validity of childhood abuse reports from did patients. the scm model calls these reports into question because of the recent surge in their occurrence and in the historical change in their content of satanic ritual abuse, and because of the described propensity for false memories in these individuals. one study claimed to have concretely established the link between did and traumatic childhood abuse (lewis, yeager, swica, pincus, & lewis, 1997). in this study, the abuse and the existence of dissociative symptoms in childhood for a number of did patients was corroborated with multiple sources. however, these authors used a population of inmates on death row who had committed murder, and so may be examining a population that is not generalizable to all did patients and who may be particularly likely to have associated childhood abuse. this study does, on the other hand, exemplify the ability to amass evidence that corroborates childhood abuse and the existence of dissociative symptoms in those individuals prior to treatment. this technique should be used on a much larger scale with a variety of did patients to more generally determine the relationship between childhood abuse and did. however, as it stands, a concrete link between abuse and did has yet to be seen. again, it is important to note that while the models appear largely divergent on the issue of childhood abuse in did patients, the scm is not necessarily exclusive about abuse not truly having occurred in these individuals (lilienfeld et al., 1999). it is possible that such events lead to a predisposition for qualities such as fantasy proneness or absorption that, as discussed, increase an individuals’ susceptibility to suggestion during therapy. additionally, it is possible that during childhood abuse, the perpetrator elicits alters in the victim in a way similar to therapeutic suggestion (humphrey & dennett, 1989). in these situations, the perpetrator may call the victim by a different name during the abusive sessions, which could crystalize an alter during a dissociative state, much like how asking for a patient to give the identity a name during therapy crystalizes it as a separate self. the ptm would be called into question if a large amount of did cases were found to not exhibit a history of childhood abuse (lilienfeld et al., 1999). however, it is difficult to rule it out completely, considering that proponents of this model believe the patients may repress the memories of the traumatic event to cope with it. in this case, absence of evidence does not equate to evidence of absence. additionally, the scm may be undermined by evidence for the existence of alters well before the time of therapy. however, as discussed, the cultural influence that demands role-enactment does not necessarily have to come from a therapist. it could originate from self-expectations after watching the movie sybil, or even from the perpetrator of childhood abuse. concluding remarks a syndrome that we currently name did reliably exists within several populations, particularly in north america. however, the current diagnostic criteria may require some revisions to increase the disorder’s diagnostic validity. for example, it may be useful to expand the criteria to include the characteristics described by the subjective/phenomenological model. however, much current research is limited by simply canvasing the existence of particular symptoms in did. while this is necessary in developing reliable criteria for diagnosing the disorder, it also limits comparison to other disorders as descriptive of current phenomenology. other methods of studying the connection between did and other disorders should be explored. for example, it should be explored whether did is better categorized as a complex version of ptsd. it could be useful to determine whether trauma during childhood, when integration of the self is still developing, can lead to ptsd or only did. the factors involved in developing one or the other could inform whether they represent completely separate disorders or levels of the same stress diathesis. alternatively, it could be useful to determine what disorders may be exhibited by patients prior to the development of did, considering its historical relationship with inappropriately diagnosing disorders such as bpd. beyond the changes that could be made to the criteria for did, the reality of the disorder as an existing syndrome is characterized by measurable differences in memory and physiological reactions between the manifested alters. the differences in reported memory may be largely driven by a deficit in meta-memory in which the patient subjectively believes that the alters retain separate memories when, in fact, subconscious access to memories is universal. additionally, the amount of leakage between alters may be largely based on the type of processing involved in the memory task. highly conceptually-driven memories may be easily distinguishable between alters because of their varying memory schemas, which are perhaps directed by the deficient meta-memory. on the other hand, leakage between alters may be difficult to prevent with data-driven memories. this suggests that future research should not be limited in broadly comparing explicit and implicit tasks, and should instead include investigations of both meta-memory and processing levels involved in memory tasks. additionally, the physiological differences between alters, such as heart rate, may be involved in state-dependent memory that dictates when to subjectively experience amnesia. future research may therefore benefit in measuring physiological differences, such as arousal, while in the process of completing such memory tasks as discussed above. alternatively, it would be interesting to see whether inter-identity amnesia could be influenced by priming arousal levels between alters. while the ptm and the scm do not necessarily define what the psychological or physiological differences between alters should be, the idea that meta-memory is highly involved mimics the tenant of scm that beliefs in how dissociative symptoms should be expressed influence how they are actually manifested, in this case as amnesia between alters. however, these results are also not necessarily inconsistent with the ptm. in either case, the psychological and physiological differences that are found between alters are consistent with considering did as a legitimate diagnosis in terms of its symptoms being truly manifested in some way. the variations in the expressions of both did and dissociative symptoms across history and cultures are highly consistent with the scm. however, it does not necessarily rule out the ptm. similarly, reports of childhood abuse have not been concretely linked to did without a possibility of false memory creation. more thorough corroboration of these reports may help to better understand the relationship between did, abuse, and perhaps other factors such as hypnotizability, fantasy proneness and absorption. while the development of did without a history of child abuse may rule out a strict interpretation of the ptm, abuse may still be a factor in some patients. unfortunately, it appears that there are a variety of issues in attempting to prove or disprove either the ptm or the scm. this may be a reflection of the fact that these models need not be mutually exclusive and may actually interact in leading to the development of did. for example, an individual who exhibits a proneness for fantasy or dissociation may come to explain their own variant behaviors by developing alters. this development could be exacerbated or instigated either by suggestive therapeutic techniques, such as hypnosis, or by a traumatic childhood event. while it appears difficult to differentiate between the ways did develops, it remains important for informing therapeutic techniques. did patients are often ignorant of the other identities prior to therapy, and as treatment continues, the number of alters tends to increase (lilienfeld et al., 1999). this is explained by the ptm as patients hiding their symptoms prior to treatment and by the scm as being iatrogenically elicited. clearly, the difference between these explanations would influence whether therapists should attempt to elicit alters at all. if hypnosis is used, perhaps the therapist should ignore references to third person variants of the self in case this leads to crystallization of alters and a full blown manifestation of the did syndrome. perhaps these etiological hypotheses should be considered in parallel, rather than as mutually exclusive. alternatively, supporters of either model must develop methods that can conclusively differentiate between the models, which, as has been described, is largely absent in the literature. in light of historical and cultural contextual changes in dissociative symptom expressions, it is likely to change again with the proceeding of the current century. it may therefore be more beneficial to study the dissociative symptoms individually, focusing on the specific processes involved in them, which will inevitably inform the diagnoses that include them, but will also remain pertinent with the coming changes. in fact, altering the approach of investigating did would influence the cultural expectations of the disorder and possibly lead to these changes in symptom expression. additionally, investigating the relationship between dissociative symptoms and childhood traumas, hypnotizability, fantasy proneness and absorption may help in understanding which aspects of the ptm and the scm are pertinent in the etiology of did. understanding the role of particular dissociative symptoms, and the influence of other factors on those symptoms, will ultimately aid in developing a more concretely legitimate picture of did as a diagnosis. references american psychological association. 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(2010). dissociative identity disorder: the mystery surrounding its etiology and its connection to satanic ritual abuse (master’s thesis). adler graduate school, richfield, mn. “the thing and the feeling of that thing:” the poetics of william carlos williams, neural representations of conceptual primitives, and grounded cognition jake leonard psychology science is cruder [than philosophy], more directly useful, more intimate to our lives, more embedded in our errors of perception and so harder to eradicate from the mind. —william carlos williams, imaginations, 305 william carlos williams’ poetry is preoccupied with the mundane objects of rutherford, new jersey: a firetruck or a red wheelbarrow glazed with rain. willard (1965) calls williams a “poet of things” whose chief “desire [is] to create poetry based on the careful examination of concreate things as a way to attain poetic truth” (p. 311). his poetry is characterized by a sense of sensual and emotional immediacy, which aims to achieve contact with a world of objects, and williams states that he takes “contact to mean… man with nothing but the thing and the feeling of that thing” (ramazani, ellmann, & o’clair, 2003, p. 285). simply put, williams seeks to linguistically represent objects as they actually are, to offer representations that resemble the referent as closely as possible. critics such as easterbrook (1994) have argued that williams’ goal is ultimately futile: the divide between linguistic representations and experiences of a thing-itself remains unbridgeable. easterbrook (1994) writes, “the ‘core’ [of the object] is recognized as a myth… not simply one of the ‘many disguises’ poetry has taken up” (p. 40). while most explanations of williams’ work rely on biographical accounts or philosophical theory, recent developments in cognitive neuroscience, namely martin’s (2016) grounded representations in action, perception, and emotion systems (grapes) model for the cognitive representation of object properties and concepts, lends support for williams successfully recreating the experiences of things linguistically. his poem “the great figure” exemplifies the ways williams’ poetry fit into the grapes model. moreover, oakey (2015) suggests that williams’ poetry acts as an epistemology to understand the world. his notion “no ideas but in things” (ramazani et al., 2003, p. 286) ultimately corresponds to hayes and kraemer’s (2017) description of the benefits of grounding abstract concepts in the tangible. “the red wheelbarrow” demonstrates williams’ use of concrete objects to convey abstract ideas. ultimately, insights from empirical cognitiveneuroscientific research provide a novel understanding of william carlos william’s “poetry of things.” typically, critics evaluate williams’ poetry and its ability to represent the experience of things through biographical details or rationalist musings linked to philosophical theory. perkins (1976) explains williams’ poetics through biographical information, and attributes much of his style to his profession as a physician: “part of his theory of poetry—for example, the emphasis he placed on immediacy and spontaneity—were motivated, among other considerations, by the need of a busy doctor to justify a type of poetry he had time to write” (p. 545). while biographical details undoubtedly offer insights into the origin of williams’ style, they do little to address the ability of his verse achieve his goal of recreating the experience of a thing. similarly, critics rely on rationalistic philosophy to determine the efficacy of williams’ verse. for instance, easterbrook (1994) writes, “descartes’s mind-body dilemma does not differ from williams’s word-thing problem” (p. 36), and frye (1989) states, “one of these [ontological reassurances] is that the artist's relation to nature is not causal; williams' poems become sullen in the company of edmund husserl's phenomenological applications” (p. 12). these critics apply previous philosophical ideas to williams’ poetry in order to understand its effect on the reader. their conclusions of williams’ efficacy—easterbrook suggests failure while frye implies success—stem from their own musings, and do not rest on empirical support. while their tactics shed light on williams’ work and the traditions from which it stems, their methods rely on strict rationalism and thoughts of human experiences, instead of empirical studies the impact of linguistic representations of an object on our experiences. although empirical scientific research is seldom used as a lens for literary criticism, the grapes model for neural representations of object properties, proposed by martin (2016), elucidates and ultimately supports williams’ success in capturing the experience of an object through verse. the grapes model depicts how “mental representations become connected to the things they refer to in the world” and suggests a structure for neural representations of concept primitives, universal object-associated properties, such as color, physical form, the way a thing moves, and the affective response associated with the thing (martin, 2016, p. 980). according to the grapes model, the brain stores these concept primitives as a distributed representation across our perception, action, and emotion systems, and a growing body of neuroimaging data supports the model’s claims. for instance, neuroimaging data finds that neural activity increases in brain regions associated with color perception when participants were asked to name a color associated with an object (“yellow” when prompted with “pencil”). similarly, brain regions associated with motion perception responded with increased activity in response to naming an object-associated action (“write” when prompted with “pencil”). this overlap of neural activity when accessing object-property information and when perceiving/sensing an object suggests that the processes related to concepts and sensation/perception are emmeshed. in addition to areas associated with color and motion perception activating while accessing object concepts, areas associated with taste activate when participants are presented with images of appetizing food. this data suggests that williams’ linguistically image-rich verse triggers conceptual primitives of the objects he seeks to represent. moreover, importantly for williams’ poetics, conceptual primitives can be accessed through a variety of modalities: “information about how dogs look is accessed automatically when we hear a bark, or when we read or hear the word ‘dog’” (martin, 2016, p. 980.) in many ways, the grapes model suggests that williams achieves his goal of contact and provides “the thing and the feeling of that thing.” despite the similarities in activation, martin (2016) does not suggest that accessing conceptual primitives is the same as actually experiencing or perceiving an object. moreover, while proponents of grounded cognition believe and argue that stored object-concept information is formatted in a depictive, iconic, modality-specific way, current neuroimaging techniques cannot rule out the possibility of abstract, language-like representations that are merely interactive with action, perception, and emotion systems. nonetheless, despite the continued debate of the format of cognitive primitives’ representations, the grapes model still asserts williams’ poetry as achieving its goal of most closely representing the experience of a thing. his words activate conceptual primitives, which are represented across the brain areas associated with action, perception, and emotion—the basic aspects of the thing. williams’ poem “the great figure” (see appendix a) exemplifies his recreations of the experience of an object, and demonstrates how his poetry accesses cognitive primitives to elicit object-associated responses in the reader. he begins with images of “rain” and “lights.” williams’ clear language is free of specifiers or flowery verbiage, and instead of adjectives to describe the night, he employs nouns to evoke the conceptual primitive of rain and lights, according to the grapes model their form and feeling. the “figure 5 / in gold” is separated from its semantic meaning. normally “5” refers to a specific cluster of objects, but here he presents “the figure 5”—using its visual symbol instead of alphabetic representation—to evoke its shape and bring us close to the experience of the thing. because 5 is not associated with a color, he provides the thing’s hue: “gold.” he adds context to the figure: “on a red / firetruck.” again, his language is simple, the bare-bones description being enough, the grapes model suggests, to elicit neural responses associated with a firetruck’s object properties. the inclusion of superfluous modifiers and metaphors would only further remove the poem from the experience of the referent by adding unnecessary layers of abstraction to the representation, noise and static in the activation of conceptual primitives. williams continues with linguistic representations of motion (“moving / tense / unheeded”), and again, the grapes model suggests these action words trigger neural activity in the brain region associated with motion perception. he further adds representations of auditory stimuli: “gong clangs / siren howls.” just as pictures of musical instruments produce increased activity in audition-perception regions (martin, 2016), so too does his auditory imagery. importantly, williams’ pared-down descriptions evoke a visceral, emotional response, one of urgency and danger. the grapes model suggests this arises from a distributed representation of the object properties across the emotional system, as well as perceptual and action systems. simply put, the grapes model supports that williams’ poetics accurately represent the experience of a thing on a neural level. in addition to his chief goal of recreating the experience of a thing, critics have asserted that williams viewed his poetry as way of gathering information about the world, his poems “epistemologically motivated” (oakey, 2015, p. 199). oakey (2015) writes, “epistemology was not just an incidental concern for williams… but rather explicitly shaped the way his poems configured relationships between subject and object, and established the poem as an arena of knowledge formation” (p. 199). williams’ famous assertion “no ideas but in things” (ramazani et al., 2003, p. 285) lies at the center of his epistemology of using poetry to gather and convey information about the world, and “grounded” theories of cognitive representations of abstract concepts, namely martin (2016) and hayes and kraemer (2017), support williams’ tactic of using the tangible to convey the abstract. simply put, the grapes model suggests that even abstract concepts are “grounded”— ultimately represented—in action, perception, and emotion systems in the brain; therefore, abstract concepts such as bravery or peril are represented through tangible object properties similar to those of, for instance, a firetruck (martin, 2016). hayes and kraemer (2017) demonstrate the utility of grounding abstract concepts, specifically scientific concepts such as mechanical force, in body-centered metaphors to illustrate the concept bolsters our ability to learn those concepts. while their article only discusses the efficacy of grounded cognitions in conveying abstract concepts from science, their findings may be applied while evaluating the efficacy of williams’ “poetry of things” to convey abstract ideas. williams’ “the red wheelbarrow” (see appendix b) provides a prime example of the way williams represents abstract ideas through quotidian and concrete objects. he begins with ambiguity and moves towards the tangible: “so much depends / upon // a red wheel / barrow.” what “much” refers to remains distant and open to possibilities. taken simply, williams suggests that “so much” of rural life depends on simple tools, such as a wheelbarrow. however, the lack of an antecedent for “much” allows for nonliteral interpretations, and the poem can be read as a metaphor for poetry. williams suggests that the entirety of the poem relies on the “red wheel / barrow // glazed with rain / water // besides the white / chickens.” instead of using indirect and flowery language to convey his insight on the importance of the poetic image, williams opts for tangible objects to ground the abstract literary concept in the concrete and visceral, just as hayes and kraemer (2017) suggest doing with abstract scientific concepts. simply put, empirical neuroscientific research sheds light on williams’ ability to represent the experience of a thing and convey abstract ideas about literature through imagery of the concrete world. importantly, these insights exemplify the importance of novel analytical lenses in understanding the impacts of literature on our minds and underscore the necessity of interdisciplinary approaches across traditionally disparate fields. siloed information proves detrimental to our ultimate understanding of any given topic, no matter how niche. attempts at understanding the impact of williams’ poetry, a pediatrician’s verse that strayed from contemporary literary convention, provides a prime example of the importance of these interdisciplinary approaches and their benefits. references easterbrook, n. (1994). "somehow disturbed at the core": words and things in william carlos williams. south central review, 11(3), 25-44. retrieved from jstor database. frye, r. r. (1989). seeing the signs: objectivist premonitions in williams' spring and all. sagetrieb, 8(3). hayes, j. c., & kraemer, k. j. m. (2017). grounded understanding of abstract concepts: the case of stem learning. cognitive research: principles and implications, 2(7). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-016-0046-z martin, a. (2016). grapes—grounding representations in action, perception, and emotion systems: how object properties and categories are represented in the human brain. psychonomic bulletin & review, 979-990. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-015-0842-3 oakey, c. (2015). re-thinking william carlos williams's objectivity through the poetic epistemology of sour grapes. paideuma, 42, 197-221. perkins, d. (1976). a history of modern poetry: from the 1980s to the high modernist mode. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. ramazani, j., ellmann, r., & o'clair, r. (2003). william carlos williams: 1883-1963. in j. ramazani, r. ellmann, & r. o'clair (eds.), norton anthology of modern and contemporary poetry (3rd ed., vol. 1, pp. 283-286). new york: w. w. norton & company. willard, n. m. (1965). a poetry of things: williams, rilke, ponge. comparative literature, 17(4), 311-324. retrieved from jstor database. williams, w. c. (1951). the collected earlier poems of william carlos williams. new york: new directions. appendix a the great figure among the rain and lights i saw the figure 5 in gold on a red firetruck moving tense unheeded to gong clangs siren howls and wheels rumbling through the dark city. (williams, 1951, p. 230) appendix b the red wheelbarrow so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens (williams, 1951, p. 277) [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] women in caskets: commodities in shakespeare’s pericles rebecca hepp english fair glass of light, i loved you, and could still were not this glorious casket stored with ill. (1.1.77-78) the choice of the word “casket” in these early lines of pericles brings to mind other famous shakespearean caskets: the gold, silver and lead caskets with which portia’s deceased father negotiates her marriage in the merchant of venice. few scholars have explored the possible parallels of these two scenes, perhaps because of their varied genres – comedy versus romance – and the contentious authorship of pericles itself. but the allusion back to merchant with the word “casket” begs for a deeper analysis of these two scenes. what emerges are surprisingly direct parallels that link not just the action of the two plays, but several of their underlying themes. the incest taboo arises in merchant, while an involvement with commerce and commodity comes to light in pericles. the hypothetical incest in the merchant casket episode has been well-documented in scholarship, particularly by robert darcy in his article “freeing daughters on open markets: the incest clause in the merchant of venice.” but the language of exchange and commodity – especially the commodification of the female body – that permeates pericles beyond the brothel scene has mostly escaped notice. once these two casket scenes are put into conversation, commodity as a theme becomes more prominent throughout pericles, potentially complicating other genre-specific themes identified by critics, including “a celebration of benign generativity and of the restored ‘natural’ family” and its “ritualistic” and folkloric elements (adelman 186, gorfain 133). a close comparison to the merchant casket episode exposes the language of exchange throughout pericles and complicates the romantic reunion conclusion and the folkloric aura that surrounds it. because “money and commercial thinking abound in the literature of the period,” it is no surprise that the merchant of venice has often been identified as a play that “places homo economicus under the microscope” (woodbridge 9, grav 84). within the casket episode, this theme of exchange focuses on the commodification of women. portia says: …o me, the word “choose”! i may neither choose who i would nor refuse who i dislike, so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father. is it not hard, nerissa, that i cannot choose one, nor refuse none? (merchant 1.2.22-26) portia’s late father created the casket test in order to regulate the exchange of his daughter in marriage, ensuring his will is still met even when he is not there to broker the deal in person. luce irigaray’s seminal work this sex is not one provides a useful feminist reading of marx’s notion of commodity, which informs the merchant of venice’s treatment of women. according to irigaray, “the society we know, our own culture, is based upon the exchange of women. without the exchange of women, we are told, we would fall back into the anarchy (?) of the natural world, the randomness (?) of the animal kingdom” (170). irigaray places the exchange of women as commodity at the center of any patriarchal society, and as the system on which all social order is based. as such, “the exchange of women as goods accompanies and stimulates exchanges of other ‘wealth’ among groups of men” (172). this becomes clear through bassanio’s marriage to portia, which puts the economic exchanges between venetian men into motion. he first identifies her as “a lady richly left” and once he wins her hand by the casket test, claims that she is his “new int’rest” (merchant 1.1.161; 3.2.221). she has become a vehicle for the exchange of inheritance and wealth, and bassanio immediately capitalizes on this by inviting his friends to his newly acquired house and uses portia’s wealth to pay his debt to antonio. intrinsically linked to the notion of woman as commodity as highlighted in the merchant of venice is what darcy coins “psycho-symbolic” incest (196). for darcy, the casket test is an example of a “a closed arrangement, an incestuous hoarding and withholding of the daughter until such time as a paternal surrogate and endogamous match can arrive in bassanio’s person” (193). irigaray explains darcy’s use of the phrase “endogamous match” to refer to bassanio’s role within the play because “exogamy doubtless requires that one leaves one’s family, tribe, or clan…[but] it does not tolerate marriage with populations that are too far away, too far removed from the prevailing cultural rules” (172). thus, even though bassanio is not from belmont and not of portia’s family, he embodies the traits valuable to portia’s father. portia’s father, in withholding his daughter’s sexuality, participates in psycho-symbolic incest, regulating her sexual behaviors according to his own desires. portia herself alludes to this incestuous hoarding when she laments “i will die as / chaste as diana unless i be obtained by the manner / of my father’s will” (merchant 1.2.105-107). again, when bassanio, a man “worthy of thy praise,” tries his luck, she insinuates her desire for his success in the test: “i am locked in one of them; / if you do love me, you will find me out” (1.3.120; 3.2.40-41). she is symbolically trapped in the casket of her father’s making, denied any freedom to choose her sexual partner, even when an appropriate match presents himself. the link between female exchange and incest is made clear through irigaray, who notes, “the passage into the social order … is assured by the fact that men, or groups of men, circulate women among themselves, according to a rule known as the incest taboo” (170). the incest taboo, which “represents [a] refusal to allow productive nature to enter into exchanges among men,” compels men to both remove mothers from the exchange market and exchange virgin daughters to thwart any potential sexuality between father and daughter (185). the casket test, however, highlights the contradiction inherent within the exchange market, as a father must participate in psycho-symbolic incest by regulating daughterly sexuality in order to secure her successful marriage to an appropriately chosen mate. incest, and its often characteristic economic underpinnings, is again portrayed by shakespeare in pericles, although this play stages not psycho-symbolic but physical incest. sharon hamilton, in her book shakespeare’s daughters, is one of the few critics to notice that antiochus’s riddle “is a malevolent form of the contest that portia’s late father establishes for her suitors in the merchant of venice” (153). as the play’s chorus, gower tells the audience in the first few lines of the play: so buxom, blithe, and full of face as heaven had lent her all his grace; with whom the father liking took and her to incest did provoke. (pericles 1.cho.23-26) this incest, unlike that alluded to in the merchant of venice, disrupts the female exchange market because antiochus is both the broker and the buyer for his daughter. in order to combat the social upheaval this would inevitably cause, he creates a riddle “to keep her still, and men in awe” (1.cho.36). on the surface, the riddle operates with the same intentions as portia’s casket test: a “mechanism … which offers portia [and antiochus’s daughter] blindly to any and all comers” (darcy 193). however, the repercussions for guessing wrong signify the magnified stakes in antioch. in belmont, portia tells her suitors “if you choose wrong / never to speak to lady afterward / in way of marriage” (merchant 2.1.40-42). because there is no secret to contain, “the trial effectively sterilizes some of the more influential members of a generation of foreign bachelors, disrupting local dynasties all over the mediterranean and europe” (darcy 190). as an economic tool, portia’s test is extremely effective because “it manages to insure one’s own advantage while seriously compromising the strength of one’s competitors, even as it makes a convincing show of even odds and equal chances for all” (190). in contrast, the riddle in pericles goes to the extreme, not just sterilizing the competitors for the daughter’s hand but killing them. gower proclaims that for antiochus’s riddle, “that whoso asked for her for his wife / his riddle told not, lost his life” (pericles 1.cho.37-38). considering pericles’s plight upon realizing the answer to the riddle, it is likely many of the unfortunate suitors perceived the meaning and were killed anyway to keep the secret. while this riddle also disrupts the foreign dynasties, it does so with the expressed intent of hoarding the daughter indefinitely in the father’s house as his own prize. because antiochus’s riddle is designed with drastically different intentions, it propagates a drastically different outcome from that of portia’s casket test. portia marries bassanio, directly addressing the exchange of goods in the process: …but now i was the lord of this fair mansion, master of my servants, queen o’er myself; and even now, but now, this house, these servants, and this same myself are yours, my lord’s. i give them with this ring. (merchant 3.2.167-171) she may have preferred him to all other suitors, but she also realizes the loss of freedom that comes with marriage. not only did bassanio win portia through the casket test but the test also transfers her land and financial security to him. pericles has no such luck in antioch, where he finds not a desirable commodity but something akin to damaged goods. pericles initially travels to antioch with similar hopes as bassanio, the “purchase of a glorious beauty” (pericles 1.2.71); but after interpreting the riddle, he realizes the danger of actually winning the daughter, saying: “being played upon before your time, / hell only danceth at so harsh a chime. / good sooth, i care not for you” (1.1.85-87). incest has stripped her of value, and pericles no longer wants the goods being offered. understood in irigaray’s terms, because she has been “deflowered,” she is now “relegated to the status of use value, to her entrapment in private property; she is removed from exchange among men” (186). the riddle in antioch works to hide this seeming virgin’s deflowering while at the same time removing her from the exchange market. she has already been “played upon” before her time and transferred from exchange value to use value – and is thus already relegated to the private property of her father. as a valuable commodity, being the king’s daughter, the exchange market assumes her participation as a virgin bride, and only a riddle with such deadly consequences could mask her un-exchangeability with a show of open contest for her hand. after his encounter with incest and the disrupted marriage market, pericles flees, beginning a series of maritime adventures. walter cohen argues that pericles is one of only a few plays to avoid a mercantile theme. according to him, “the doubts about maritime experience are complemented by the play’s anti-commercial outlook, an outlook that links it especially with timon of athens (1607)” (cohen 150). he goes on to mention both the feeding of tarsus and pericles’s interaction with the pentapolis fishermen as examples of denounced commercial ventures. however, cohen ignores the underlying preoccupation with exchange that saturates both of these scenes. linda woodbridge generalizes that “commercial language permeates even plays whose plots are not primarily money-oriented, even lyrics devoted primarily to love or to religion, even the most heroic of epics, the most elegiac of elegies” (10). thus, comparing pericles to the merchant of venice reveals that it is not a play with an “anti-commercial outlook,” but one steeped in the language of exchange. pericles first flees tyre and heads to tarsus, a country fraught with famine, and king cleon laments that “those mothers who to nuzzle up their babes / thought nought too curious, are ready now / to eat those little darlings whom they loved” (pericles 1.4.42-44). pericles arrives with a fleet bearing “corn to make [their] needy bread,” just in time to save the country from starvation (1.4.95). critics such as jeanie moore and leonard tennenhouse argue that this episode stands as an example of pericles’s generosity, supporting cohen’s thesis that the play condemns any language of commodity (moore 38). however, stephen dickey posits that the “gesture, however commendable, is a bribe for asylum in his flight from antiochus” (556). dickey alludes to pericles’s response to cleon’s gratitude, and moore, tennenhouse, and cohen all fail to notice the exchange implied in the following lines: “we do not look for reverence, but for love, / and harborage for ourself, our ships, and men” (pericles 1.4.98-99). fleeing from antiochus’s assassin, pericles needs a place to rest, as well as food and shelter for his fleet. while the corn saves the nation, it also acts as a bartering tool for pericles. desperate for relief from the famine, cleon cannot turn pericles away and must accept the exchange of corn for safe anchorage for the tyrian fleet. the corn, which bought a safe haven for pericles initially, once again surfaces as a tool of exchange when pericles is in need of another safe harbor later in the play. he seeks foster parents for his motherless child in act iii, and he heads for tarsus as the closest friendly shore. reversing the role of assistance, pericles asks cleon: “here i charge your charity withal, leaving her / the infant of your care, beseeching you to give her / princely training, that she may be mannered as she is born” (3.3.14-16). even though he asks cleon to care for his daughter out of “charity,” cleon immediately recognizes the debt that still regulates his relationship with pericles. he promises: fear not, my lord, but think your grace, that fed my country with your corn, for which the people’s prayers still fall upon you, must in your child be thought on. if neglection should therein make me vile, the common body, by you relieved, would force me to my duty … (3.3.17-22) taking charge of marina is a continued repayment for the corn, and cleon understands that it is his duty, particularly in the eyes of his people, to defer to pericles’s needs. this exchange between two men places marina into the exchange market, where she is transferred from one man to another through an exchange of commercial goods: corn. although the exchange is not a marital exchange, it nonetheless highlights the interchangeability between women and other economic commodities within the play. it also harkens back to the incest plot, as pericles must rid himself of his infant daughter to distance himself from any future incest. lagretta lenker relates pericles’s abandonment of marina in tarsus to his fear of incest, saying, “after the blatantly incestuous couple in the first two acts of pericles, shakespeare recoils from the sight of ‘evil’ and depicts the approach / avoidance technique of father-daughter distancing to avoid any temptation to incest” (63). the distancing method depicted here is through a commercial exchange which reverses that of the marriage exchange. pericles pays for the care of his infant daughter with corn, rather than cleon paying for a marriageable bride. pericles, using cleon’s debt to him, is thus safely removed from his daughter. a second episode highlighted as “anti-commercial” by cohen is the conversation between pericles and the fishermen of pentapolis. cohen notes that “the master fisherman who helps pericles at pentapolis denounces ‘our rich misers’” (150). despite the fishermen’s denouncement, their interaction with pericles is saturated with the language of commercial exchange. pericles has just lost his fortune in the shipwreck and needs help reclaiming his honor, so asks “thou givest me somewhat to repair myself / and though it was mine own, part of my heritage / which my dead father did bequeath to me” (pericles 2.1.123-125). he begs them to return his armor so that he can compete for the affection of the king’s daughter. although hamilton notes that “pericles’ material fortunes may be at a low point, but his emotional and spiritual heritage is rich,” pericles nonetheless looks forward to an increase in material fortunes by marrying the king’s daughter (154). having nothing in his possession with which to barter, he promises: “if that ever my low fortune’s better, / i’ll pay your bounties; till then rest your debtor” (2.1.143-144). pericles is promising a theoretical repayment, yet the fishermen clue in immediately to the more immediate financial benefits of a marriage with thaisa. their response proclaims the obvious economic exchange inherent in marriage with the king’s daughter: “why, wilt thou tourney for the lady?” (2.1.145). knowing he is pursuing a fortune, the fishermen then help pericles prepare, and what on the surface seems to be charity is nothing more than an understanding of future repayment for services rendered. the fishermen are sure to remind pericles of his debt to them as he leaves, saying, “i hope, sir, if you thrive, you’ll remember from / whence you had it” (2.1.152-153). the bartering between pericles and the fishermen alludes to the commodification intrinsic in the marriage exchange with king simonides: pericles’s initial motivations for marrying thaisa are financial. according to darcy, “much work has been done to show how renaissance traffic in women is an act not limited to the brothel and how in fact daughters are commonly used as commodities of transaction in marriage suits” (196-197). the tourney and subsequent marriage between pericles and thaisa exemplify this commodification, and king simonides admits that “he hopes by you [thaisa] his fortunes yet may flourish” (pericles 2.2.47). even though pericles gains financial security and a new kingdom in the marriage, he strangely becomes the commodity within the courting scenes. both father and daughter view pericles as a desired commodity, saying “these cates resist me, he not thought upon” and “all viands that i eat do seem unsavory, / wishing him my meat. – sure he’s a gallant gentleman” (2.3.29, 31-32). like the corn in tarsus, pericles here becomes a much desired food commodity. thaisa further characterizes pericles as a precious jewel, claiming “to me he seems like diamond to glass” (2.3.36). wary from his first failed marriage exchange, pericles fears “’tis the king’s subtlety to have my life,” understanding that he has become a commodity the king is trying to procure for his daughter (2.5.44). in an ironic twist, the commodification of women as exchangeable goods in a marriage instead plays out as the commodification of the groom, where pericles is the merchandise for which the king is bartering. in an exact inversion of the merchant casket test, pericles is at the mercy of thaisa, who has the ability here to choose her groom among many suitors, regardless of the tourney. the inverted exchange wins for thaisa an entire kingdom, as simonides suspects that pericles may be “as great in blood as i myself” (2.5.80). once pericles and thaisa marry – combining the kingdoms of pentapolis and tyre – the play’s plot focuses on the second generation: their daughter marina. here, even cohen admits that the language of commerce penetrates the text, although “with predictably negative connotations” (150). marina becomes the property of a brothel, and “naturally, such crass exploiters are interested in marina only for the price she can command” (hamilton 158). boult, after demanding no less than “one doit of a thousand pieces” for marina, is instructed by the bawd to seek customers for her (4.2.48): boult, take you the marks of her – the color of her hair, complexion, height, her age, with warrant of her virginity; and cry, “he that will give most shall have her first.” such a maidenhead were no cheap thing, if men were as they have been. get this done as i command you. (4.2.53-58) marina is extremely valuable as a virgin in this market of use value. irigaray explains the transformation of the exchange market in the world of the brothel when she states, “prostitution amounts to usage that is exchanged. usage that is not merely potential: it has already been realized. the woman’s body is valuable because it has already been used” (186). while “deflowered” women are usually “relegated to the status of use value” and “removed from exchange among men” (as discussed in relation to antiochus and his daughter), in the brothel market women are valuable because they have use value (186). marina, as a virgin, is more valuable because she still operates, at least for the first buyer, as “pure exchange value” (186). however, marina refuses to participate in the exchange, and only remains valuable as a commodity of domestic productivity. she is paid for her virtue by customers like lysimachus, who says: “thou are a piece of virtue, and / i doubt not but thy training has been noble. / hold, here’s more gold for thee” (4.6.105-107). she in turn transfers this wealth to boult, in effect buying her virginity from him. she tells boult: …that the gods would safely deliver me from this place! here, here’s gold for thee. if that thy master would gain by me, proclaim that i can sing, weave, sew, and dance, with other virtues, which i’ll keep from boast; and i will undertake all these to teach. (4.6.172-178) she replaces her value as an embodied commodity with value as a domestic laborer. she continues to work within the language of brothel exchange, prostituting her skills rather than her body, daring boult: “prove that i cannot, take me home again / and prostitute me to the basest groom” (4.6.82-183). although grav believes “marina’s forays into the brothel in pericles coalesces with that play’s thematic concern with rebirth and reconciliation,” this episode also blatantly addresses the commodification of women, both within and outside of the brothel (121). some of the most overt references to commodity in the play interrupt the sentimental and emotional reunion scenes between pericles, thaisa, and marina. according to hamilton, “in that fable of the resurrection of the beloved daughter and the forgiven father, shakespeare once again taps the deepest sources of drama’s capacity for healing ritual” (164). pericles and marina exchange their stories and perform an “exquisite scene” of recognition and reuniting (beckwith 89). however, this “healing ritual” is immediately compromised by pericles’s sudden bequeathal of marina to lysimachus. pericles recognizes marina at line 207 in act v, scene i, and promises her to lysimachus only 45 lines later. realizing marina is in fact “of gentle kind and noble stock,” lysimachus informs her father “when you come ashore, / i have another suit” (pericles 5.1.64; 5.1.250-251). with barely a thought, pericles promises: “you shall prevail, / were it to woo my daughter; for it seems / you have been noble towards her” (5.2.252-254). for moore, lysimachus is not noble, but “shallow, if not opportunistic” (42). only a few scenes prior to this betrothal, he attempted to purchase marina as a prostitute, and his quick conversion remains suspect not only because he pays her then, but because he immediately solicits for her hand in marriage once she is revealed to be a wealthy princess. darcy attempts to explain pericles’s sudden decision to exchange marina, saying: despite their ostensible love and fondness for their children, and for daughters in particular, fathers nonetheless are expected to offer them as tokens of liberal exchange…softened though it may be by the gestures of love and kindness that fathers can make in compensation for their economic machinations. (197) darcy sees this exchange as the necessary machinations of the marriage market, and even pericles, reunited with his daughter for only a few minutes, is not exempt from the commodification inherent in having a marriageable daughter. likewise, exchanging marina as soon as he meets her “will allow him to avoid ever confronting the oedipal problem” (moore 42). in direct contrast to the riddle in the play’s opening scene, pericles participates fairly in the marriage exchange, ensuring a continued sexual distance from his virginal daughter. even in this restorative scene, the language of both exchange and incest permeate the text, grounding the action in socially understood familial complications. the final reunion scene between pericles and thaisa is even more saturated with the language of commerce and wealth. according to sarah beckwith, “the more normal route taken in romance recognition scenes is the revelation of identity through tokens and signs” (89). following beckwith’s “normal route,” shakespeare uses tokens – in this case economically significant jewels – as the mode of romantic discovery in what seems to be a purely sentimental scene. cerimon proves that thaisa is pericles’s wife, and says “i oped the coffin, / found there rich jewels; recovered her, and placed her / here in diana’s temple” (pericles 5.3.23-25). when first discovered by cerimon, “like the leaden casket in the merchant of venice, this coffin contains a human rather than an inanimate treasure” (dean 134). however, as evidenced by cerimon’s obsession with the jewels, thaisa is trapped in a casket even more valuable than portia’s; this one does contain treasure, not lead, and cerimon is sure to remind pericles of it. upon seeing thaisa for the first time in fourteen years, pericles does nothing more than ask after the jewels, questioning cerimon “may we see then?”, ignoring his fainting wife on the floor in favor of riches long lost (5.3.26). likewise – and no surprise, given pericles’s fourteen-year beard – thaisa only believes in pericles’s return once she recognizes the ring her father had given. exchanges and reunited wealth take precedent in the scene, and amid the joyous reunion, cerimon reminds pericles of his buried wealth, claiming, before he reveals thaisa’s rescue story: beseech you first, go with me to my house, where shall be shown you all was found with her; how she came placed here in the temple; no needful thing omitted. (5.3.66-69) the jewels have become just as, if not more, important in this final reunion. critics fail to notice that pericles gains not just his wife, but some of his former wealth as well, and the parting words of the play’s hero do not relate to his reunited family, but to his restored empire. pericles says, after finding out simonides is dead: heavens make a star of him. yet there, my queen, we’ll celebrate their nuptials, and ourselves will in that kingdom spend our following days. our son and daughter shall in tyrus reign. (5.3.79-82) pericles has recovered not just his family, but he has also regained control of both pentapolis and tyre, and he formulates a plan that divides his family in order to keep control of both empires. as one of shakespeare’s last plays, pericles has been highlighted by critics as romantic and folkloric, and hamilton in particular argues that “generic conditions of the romance have been fulfilled” by the final scenes of the play (43). yet, the entire text is fraught with the language of exchange and commerce, which resists the romantic conclusion. moore identifies one of the major complications in the play, stating: “while the play may clearly state what is wrong or evil [incest], the alternative remains undetermined” (34). the comparison between the opening scene of pericles and the merchant of venice uncovers both the commodification of women and psyco-symbolic incest, suggesting the alternative good in pericles is undetermined simply because it is tainted with the language of exchange. the most romantic reunions still operate within the same system as antiochus and his riddle. thaisa is trapped in a casket with her husband’s wealth, and pericles exchanges his daughter as soon as possible, valuing his wealth and empire above a reunited family unit. once the language of exchange reveals itself in the text, pericles becomes not the romantic hero, the “benevolent patriarch” as hamilton concludes, but the typical, economically driven suitor and father (154). looking below the surface of the text, particularly with a comparison to the merchant of venice, reveals “idiosyncrasy and individuality that make any discussion of romance typology a drastic oversimplification (dickey 551). what emerges is not just a folkloric tale, but also a play that struggles with contemporary issues of capitalist language and female commodification. works cited adelman, janet. “masculine authority and the maternal body: the return to origins in pericles.” in skeele, david, ed. pericles: critical essays. new york: garland publishing, 2000,184-190. beckwith, sarah. shakespeare and the grammar of forgiveness. ithaca: cornell up, 2011. print. cohen, walter. “the undiscovered country: shakespeare and mercantile geography.” howard 128-158. darcy, robert f. “freeing daughters on open markets: the incest clause in the merchant of venice.” woodbridge 189-200. dean, paul. “pericles’ pilgrimage.” essays in criticism 50.2 (2000): 125-144. oxford journals. web. 2 apr. 2012. dickey, stephen. “language and role in pericles.” english literary renaissance 16.3 (1986): 550-566. print. gorfain, phyllis. “puzzle and artifice: the riddle as metapoetry in pericles.” in skeele, david, ed. pericles: critical essays. new york: garland publishing, 2000, 133-146. grav, peter f. shakespeare and the economic imperative: “what’s aught but as ’tis valued?” new york: routledge, 2008. print. hamilton, sharon. shakespeare’s daughters. north carolina: mcfarland & co., 2003. print. howard, jean e. and scott cutler shershow, eds. marxist shakespeare. new york: routledge, 2001. print. irigaray, luce. this sex which is not one. trans. catherine porter and carolyn burke. ithaca: cornell up, 1985. print. lenker, lagretta tallent. fathers and daughters in shakespeare and shaw. connecticut: greenwood press, 2001. print. moore, jeanie grant. “riddled romance: kingship and kinship in ‘pericles.’” rocky mountain review of language and literature 57.1 (2003): 33-48. jstor.web. 26 apr. 2012. netzloff, mark. “the lead casket: capital, mercantilism, and the merchant of venice.” in woodbridge, linda, ed. money and the age of shakespeare: essays in new economic criticism. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003, 159-176. shakespeare, william. the merchant of venice. ed. kenneth myrick. new york: penguin group, 1998. print. -pericles prince of tyre. ed. stephen orgel. new york: penguin group, 2001. print. skeele, david, ed. pericles: critical essays. new york: garland publishing, 2000. print. woodbridge, linda. introduction. money and the age of shakespeare: essays in new economic criticism. ed. woodbridge. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003. 1-18. print. microsoft word 2191 butler 1 “ship of fools”: democracy and religious performance in melville’s the confidence-man james butler english in book vi of plato’s republic, socrates, illustrating a thought experiment, describes a mutiny aboard a ship. during the mutiny, every member of the crew begins to jockey for the position of captain, and each sailor makes his case despite his apparent unfitness for the job. without true steerage, or any qualified captain for the job, the ship drifts aimlessly. the sailor who might actually be able to command the ship—one who is attentive to the wind, stars, and other minute details of navigation—is never considered. instead, socrates explains, his fellow shipmates regard him as “a real stargazer, a babbler, and a good-for-nothing” (plato 162). this analogy of the “ship of fools,” which functions as one of plato’s more potent critiques of democracy, provides an interesting way into examining herman melville’s famously difficult 1857 novel the confidence-man, his masquerade. plato lends his focus to his “true captain,” intending his audience to consider the qualities he believed a leader should possess. yet, in his novel—even invoking plato’s “ship of fools” in chapter three—melville takes the opposite tact. rather than emphasize democracy’s failings by denouncing groupthink and the tyranny of the majority (as plato does), melville examines the philosophical viewpoints of democracy’s “fools” in order to better understand the drifting political institution they inhabit. in particular, melville is interested in using the variety of religious and political opinions aboard his “ship of 2 fools” to investigate the role that religion plays in american democracy, here figured as a steamship travelling the mississippi river (on april fool’s day) ironically named fidele. through this, melville echoes the political philosophy of alexis de tocqueville, as he goes about dramatizing tocqueville’s observation that “when authority in the matter of religion no longer exists, nor in the matter of politics, men are soon frightened at the aspect of this limitless independence” (418). melville’s novel seems an extended proof of tocqueville’s assertion that democracy and secularism are mutually exclusive ends, as melville explores the implications of what occurs once we throw the philosophical baby out with the bathwater. perhaps in part due to its resistance of traditional genre conventions, scholarship on the confidence-man is wide-ranging and often contradictory (much like the novel itself). lawrance thompson, in his seminal 1952 critical work melville’s quarrel with god, asserts that melville’s confidence man acts as a shape-shifting agent of a malevolent god, preaching christian doctrine only for selfish gain (thompson 297). on the contrary, more contemporary critic jonathan cook calls the novel a “satirical apocalypse” and seems to take a diametrically opposite view: “the confidence-man is a literary theodicy dramatizing the author’s obsession with the problem of evil, the existence of god, and man’s limited capacity to known god or comprehend the truths that would justify the ways of god to man” (cook 10). the novel’s inconsistency of message, as well as the difficulty of sometimes perceiving melville’s subtle irony, allows these two supposedly diametrically opposed readings to both contain a kernel of truth. yet, if we consider the novel as making an overall political statement rather than a simply theological one, these critical differences are perhaps easier to square. while melville is 3 certainly interested in questions of god’s justice and epistemological matters such as the availability of divine knowledge, the confidence-man—through its political and performative paradoxes—seems to also demonstrate how varieties of religious performance (and the ensuing uncertainty) serve to destabilize a democratic republic.1 from the beginning of the novel, it is clear that melville intends for his reader to consider the fidele as a self-contained political institution. of course, melville uses the ship as a political microcosm elsewhere in his fiction. but, more than this, in the second chapter of the confidence-man, melville specifically describes it as such: “the fidele…might at distance have been taken by strangers for some whitewashed fort on a floating isle” (13). in this way, we see the fidele as a contained political space (indeed a “fort”) that is forced to make sense of internal multiplicity and diversity. yet even that diversity takes on a mythological and religious tint of pilgrimage: “as among chaucer’s canterbury pilgrims, or those oriental ones crossing the red sea towards mecca in the festival month, there was no lack of variety…in short, a piebald parliament, an anacharsis cloots congress of all kinds of that multiform pilgrim species, man” (14). in the space i have elided from that quotation, melville launches into a whitmanian epic catalog describing the assorted masses contained on the boat. like whitman’s infamous homeric catalogs in “song of myself,” this listing serves to create an inclusive and representative picture of american democracy. like whitman, melville intends for his ship to reflect the religious and ethnic diversity of american society. for our purposes, the religious diversity of the ship’s makeup (featuring “eastern philosophers,” “french jews,” and “hard-shell baptists” among others) is of special importance, as it demonstrates the depth of melville’s investment in ensuring that his narrative’s religious 4 commentary is not solely limited to the christian viewpoint of its most vocal characters. in addition, it is crucial that melville—while taking pains to demonstrate the diversity of the ship’s participants—still refers to them as a political collective with revolutionary motive (“an anacharis cloots congress,” after a crucial figure in the french revolution). in addition to these political attributions, melville also has invested the fidele with religious purpose as a ship of “pilgrimage.” we saw this at first with his comparison to chaucer’s “canterbury pilgrims,” but there are additional resonances with his characterization of man as “that multiform pilgrim species.” when we consider the political configuration of the ship, which clearly represents a democratic entity winding through the heart of america, as well as the chaucer allusion, it is perhaps inevitable that the fidele never reaches its final destination of new orleans. the novel instead ends open-endedly. due to the resultant insinuations, it is still up for debate whether melville intends the fidele’s status as “pilgrimage” to be meant ironically, as jonathan cook certainly believes: melville’s placing of the action [of the novel] on a ship of fools on april fool’s day is symptomatic of his religious predicament…[referencing st. paul’s notion that “we are fools for christ’s sake” from 1 corinthians 4:10]…being a fool of christ could mean either becoming redemptively ‘wise’ or else falling prey to a pious hoax created by an evil or amoral creator. (cook 10) in this respect, cook reads melville’s pilgrimage rhetoric as yet another example of the characters being “conned.” this connects with cook’s larger reading of the novel as a “satirical apocalypse,” wherein he views earnest religious belief as alongside numerous 5 other satirical targets (both historically specific and conceptually general). melville’s religious skepticism is certainly on display in the novel, particularly in the way he figures belief as essentially requiring hypocrisy, however the role of religion in the novel (and in particular the political implications of this role) seems to be clearly much more complex than simple skepticism. rather than present a single monolithic religious authority, melville presents a plurality of philosophical and religious stances, all of which are undercut by irony as they jockey for dominance of the novel’s world. like the worlds of the pequod in moby-dick and the bellipotent in billy budd, the fidele is a political blank slate waiting to be dominated by a monolithic ambition. yet unlike those other ships—which are dominated by a monomaniacal desire for metaphysical justice and totalizing martial law (respectively)—the fidele alternatively values any number of different philosophies, each revolving in and out of the narrative interchangeably. on this issue, gary lindberg remarks: because the familiar bases of authority, class, and social position have been systematically uprooted in the culture melville projects, each social gathering requires the creation of a credible authority…social relations appear as games of confidence. if the breakdown of communal patterns frees the characters to create and assume their own identities, it also removes their security in identifying others or knowing how to relate to them. (lindberg 24) this idea of “created” authorities, none of which privileged by melville over others, provides the common impression of the novel as a “postmodern” text. some of this 6 impression can certainly be traced to the confidence man character himself, who fades in an out of the novel in assorted guises (many of which will be addressed as this study proceeds). yet, despite this unity of character working as a through-line between the novel’s many disparate dialogic scenes, melville never allows any of the discussions to be concretely resolved or continued serially for any length across the novel. in these different dialogic scenes, the confidence man character takes various assorted (and sometimes contradictory) positions, shifting his convictions so that he might prove a more provocative interlocutor. this continuous dialogic structure then has the effect of knocking down each respective authority that emerges, replacing them instead with a deep distrust of social authority more generally. through this technique, melville appears to undercut the idea that there might be a totalizing social authority at all. yet rather than asserting a postmodern resistance to narrative authority in all forms, melville instead allows for individuals to (at times) express earnest and compelling viewpoints, even if he later demonstrates the hypocrisy of those positions. the first chapter of the book immediately sets up this competition of philosophical viewpoints, as it pits christian charity against suspicious nihilism. the deaf-mute (the first iteration of the confidence man character), who acts as the catalyst for this initial action, provides a conceptual framework for understanding the actions that follow.2 at this start of the fidele’s journey, the deaf-mute brings a chalkboard upon which he writes verses concerning the nature of “charity”: “charity thinketh no evil”; “charity suffereth long, and is kind”; “charity endureth all things”; and “charity never faileth” (melville 8-9). these axioms are paraphrases of paul’s famous description of “love” (translated in the king james version as “charity”) from 1 corinthians 13:4-8. 7 melville casts the deaf-mute in opposite to the steamer’s barber, who writes “no trust” on his corresponding chalkboard which—contrary to the “charity” verses—“did not, as it seemed, provoke any corresponding derision or surprise, much less indignation; and still less, to all appearances, did it gain for the inscriber the repute of being a simpleton” (melville 10). from the start, the passengers on board the fidele, by embracing the barber’s view and attacking the deaf-mute, seem to indicate that the prevailing attitude of the ship is “no trust” and—consequently—no truth. hence, when the deaf-mute drifts to sleep at the end of the chapter, marking the slumber of pure christian altruism in the text, melville figures him almost as a sacrificial lamb: “gradually overtaken by slumber, his flaxen head drooped, his whole lamb-like figure relaxed, and, half reclining against the ladder’s foot, lay motionless, as some sugar-snow in march, which, softly stealing down over night, with its white placidity startles the brown farmer peering out from his threshold at daybreak” (melville 11). this impressionistic description seems meant to emphasize that the deaf-mute, unlike many of the other christian caricatures throughout the novel, is portrayed earnestly and with a valuable message that is clearly lost on his fellow passengers. further, we can perhaps even view the deaf-mute as a forerunner of billy budd, with the deaf-mute’s “lamb-like figure” and “white placidity” serving as markers for a type of archetypal innocence that melville would employ with great effect in his last work of fiction.3 in addition to his sacrificial and metaphorically charged slumber, the deaf-mute functions as a thematic prelude to the philosophical games that will soon follow. “without his appearance at the beginning, the whole book would be different,” tom quirk writes. “although he ‘cons’ no one out of anything, he is an apostle of charity who, 8 in contrast to the barber and his sign of no trust, advocates faith, thereby setting the ironic stage that melville’s antihero occupies while he preys upon these christian virtues as well as upon the occasional hopes of his victims” (quirk 69). the deaf-mute, perhaps because of his muteness, serves in a way as the ideal paragon of the novel’s christian message. he also works to set the stakes of the book’s comment on democracy, demonstrating the people’s hostility to an outright message of faith when delivered without an external motive. following the slumber of the innocent deaf-mute, the novel begins to interrogate in earnest the religious contradictions of its characters, notably considering a sober methodist minister in chapter three. the minister attempts to advocate “charity” towards the confidence man (in the guise of the black guinea), who is being interrogated by a wooden-legged man. after a physical confrontation with the man, he gives a soliloquy about the importance of mutual trust in a society: “let us profit by the lesson; and it is not this: that if, next to mistrusting providence, there be aught that man should pray against, it is against mistrusting his fellow man” (melville 22). yet nearly immediately after this, the methodist too eyes the black guinea with mistrust: “with an irresolute and troubled air, he mutely eyed the suppliant; against whom, somehow, by what seemed instinctive influences, the distrusts first set on foot were now generally reviving, and, if anything, with added severity” (melville 23). the hypocrisy shown in this scene soon enough becomes a common occurrence and theme of the novel. helen trimpi, identifying the character as an allusion to methodist preacher william gannaway brownlow, states melville’s purpose with the character was to emphasize “the contradiction of the profession of christian principle with the practice of a christian minister” (trimpi 69). 9 and so it goes with much of the novel’s christian figures, as well as those professing almost any ideological system in the novel. this dissonance, between characters’ professed beliefs and their inability to put them into practice, cuts to the heart of melville’s political intent in the confidence-man, particularly its assessment of the various religious truths and traditions the book represents. by uniformly demonstrating the difficulty of living up to one’s professed beliefs, melville asserts a sort of democratic equality upon all religious belief. all believers are subject to hypocrisy at times; all belief is fundamentally inconsistent. instead of genuine religious devotion and adherence to principles, we see the methodist present a type of religious performance, mimicking the message and prestige of american religious devotion while never fully committing to the role. throughout the novel, characters like these are left as enigmas: “we never learn whether characters are crooks or not, whether decisions to give or withhold trust are wise or foolish, ethical or wicked” (lee 118). indeed the novel seems obsessed with this type of moral ambiguity and the competing political fragments that result from it, especially when applied to notions of nation, self, or both. we can then think about every character throughout the confidence-man, and indeed the confidence man himself, as a cipher: an empty performance whose actual beliefs are subject to discussion. “all the characters on the fidele wear costumes; none has a self” (rogin 243). in this vein, helen trimpi asserts the inconsistency of the novel’s characters acts as a commentary upon the inability to maintain the political unity of “the states as a nation” (a message that would certainly resonate in 1857 as the nation hurdled towards the civil war): 10 against such unity [melville] has set up a multiplicity of fragmenting political and philosophical agents—satirizing each and all of them as betrayers, for various reasons, of the national “faith” in political unity and in the founders’ “dream” of the trustworthiness of men to govern themselves. (trimpi xiii) this returns, in part, to the ship’s attack upon the christian deaf-mute from chapter one. without defined religious authority, and given the ambiguities of democracy’s political authority, the people are constantly in conflict with each other and with themselves. indeed, the novel’s democratic conflict seems a proof of james madison’s assertion in federalist no. 51, “but what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? if men were angels, no government would be necessary.” in his insistence that government serve as a check on the impulse of man, madison shows an acknowledgement of the same truth that melville seems to intimate: that inconsistent mankind alone cannot be trusted to create functioning political democracy. later in the novel, we see melville furthering an even more explicit viewpoint on the role of religion in society, one that he again hedges by filtering it through the herb doctor (another of the confidence man’s guises). in chapter nineteen, the herb doctor responds to a pessimistic cripple who sarcastically calls his country “free ameriky.” after chastising him for his lack of gratitude and patriotism, the herb doctor embarks upon another of the novel’s signature soliloquies: but it is never to be forgotten that human government, being subordinate to the divine, must needs, therefore, in its degree, partake of the characteristics of the divine. that is, while in general efficacious to 11 happiness, the world’s law may yet, in some cases, have, to the eye of reason, an unequal operation, just as, in the same imperfect view, some inequalities may appear in the operations of heaven’s law; nevertheless, to one who has a right confidence, final benignity is, in every instance, as sure with the one law as the other. (melville 120) once again, the herb doctor certainly has ulterior motives, and he later succeeds in getting the cripple to buy his medicine. yet, as we must do with every speech in the novel, it is important to judge the value of his words apart from their utilitarian value in the confidence game. indeed, the doctor here seems to echo the distrust melville shows over the ability of individuals to have faith in the american project as well as to act rationally in their long-term best interests. the herb doctor’s final point—that, in essence, we are powerless to perceive the workings of law and thus must “have confidence” in the larger authority—seems a conciliatory rhetorical move not unlike that at the close of job (a book melville cites in the “extracts” opening to moby-dick).4 in other words, the herb doctor advocates the long view of law’s efficacy, as he indicates that one must trust one’s institutions whether religious or secular. one can also read the herb doctor’s speech as an argument for the long-term benefits of political freedom over the more immediate benefits of political equality. he seems to assert that the pursuit for immediate equality is itself a confidence game, trading the (far more valuable) benefits of long-term freedom for short-term fulfillment through equality. tocqueville describes a similar viewpoint: “the goods that freedom brings show themselves only in the long term, and it is always easy to fail to recognize the cause that gives birth to them. the advantages of equality make themselves felt from now on, 12 and each day one sees them flow from their source” (tocqueville 481). in this way, we can consider the herb doctor as an apologist for justice, not only in the cosmic, joban sense but also in the literal, political sense. hence, by advocating for confidence in these matters, the herb doctor actively ties religious faith (and the authority that it trusts in) to faith in an american democratic system and the freedom it is designed to enshrine. in this way, melville seems to again tie the religious performance of the herb doctor (as he attempts to sell his medicines through appeals to christian charity and american patriotism) to larger political questions surrounding equality and the ability of government to pursue it. the introduction of the cosmopolitan, the most stable iteration of the confidence man, makes this issue of performance even more pronounced. the cosmopolitan’s presence overwhelms the second half of the novel, and his digressions and soliloquies provide the reader with some of the most vibrant and philosophically nuanced language in the book. jonathan cook emphasizes the change thus: “in broad terms, the most prominent difference between the confidence man in the first and second halves of the novel are those between a national and an international operator, and between the exploitation of the knave and the victimization of the fool” (68). thus, we may perceive the cosmopolitan’s message as perhaps less self-contradictory and less exploitative than previous iterations, especially in his honest and unabashed self-interest. in his introductory chapter, he famously characterizes life as a performance in the novel’s most quotable lines: “sad business, this holding out against having a good time. life is a picnic en costume; one must take a part, assume a character, stand ready in a sensible way to play the fool” (melville 161). this notion has countless formulations throughout history 13 and literature, from shakespeare’s “all the world’s a stage…” soliloquy (which is actually alluded to in chapter forty-one) to the twentieth century sociological theories of erving goffman (in his 1959 book the presentation of self in everyday life). yet perhaps the most apparent use of such a characterization in this novel is that it helps mark the distinction between the public and private self, where one may hold and perform a public position while still participating in hypocrisy all the while—a crucial lens by which to interpret various characters’ religious stances. by emphasizing the artificiality of performance (and asserting life as fundamentally part of a performance), the cosmopolitan is able to indicate how logic and cause-and-effect reasoning break down on board the fidele. in this formulation, democracy becomes a world of games, in which there will always be both winners and losers. gary lindberg views the cosmopolitan character’s emphasis on performance to be key to comprehending the novel’s inner workings: once we leave the conditional world of human encounters to predicate something absolute about one of the characters, we discover that logic fails…the many religious allusions in the novel may seem like hints at a subtext in which ambiguous appearances are clarified in fixed interpretations. but the very abundance of the allusions creates the effect of metaphysical punning, in which every appearance is, for allegorical purposes, multivalent…a reader cannot follow this novel by having a personal stake in the characters, an intellectual stake in the metaphysics, or a moral stake in the principles. we follow the immediate action of the confidence-man as we follow the moves in a game. (25-26) 14 this obviously has resonances in the idea of personal inconsistency (discussed earlier). however, lindberg particularly identifies melville’s refusal to ever fully enumerate a coherent ideology. instead, the novel paints democratic society as a grand game of ideas, a performance of competing fools, wherein there will never truly be a winner. melville seems to delight in the text’s inscrutability, as he distances his authorial voice and masks the true intentions of his characters. however, the multi-valence of meaning in the novel does not invite value judgments. the novel is not a one-to-one political or metaphysical allegory; there is no exact correspondence to reality for the many messages and conflicts it describes. instead, melville seems to dramatize the problem of existence within a political society that values both equality and religious difference simultaneously. as tocqueville writes: “the greatest advantage of religions is to inspire wholly contrary instincts…religious peoples are therefore naturally strong in precisely the spot where democratic peoples are weak” (419). tocqueville sees religion as crucial for a democratic society because it inspires individuals out of self-interest. when there is widespread democratic and political equality, yet there is no check to ensure that individuals think also of the greater good, society runs the risk of becoming morally and philosophically unmoored. in a demonstration of this unmooring, the cosmopolitan refuses to admit that there is a difference between a truth and a lie. instead, in chapter 28, he insists that there is only faith or an absence of faith: i do not jumble [misanthropy and infidelity]; they are coordinates. for misanthropy, springing from the same root with disbelief of religion, is twin with that. it springs from the same root, i say; for, set aside 15 materialism, and what is an atheist, but one who does not, or will not, see in the universe a ruling principle of love; and what a misanthrope, but one who does not, or will not, see in man a ruling principle of kindness? don’t you see? in either case the vice consists in a want of confidence. (melville 188) this differential, which asserts that there are only those who believe and those who do not, seems an especially interesting comment to come from melville, about whom nathaniel hawthorne famously declared “could neither believe nor be comfortable in his unbelief” (delbanco 253). in this way, the cosmopolitan asserts a false duality between confidence and lack thereof. there is—and, accounting for the multiplicity of democracy, must be—middle ground between confidence and lack of confidence. contrary to what he says, the cosmopolitan seems to instead illustrate that there is no middle ground in religious performance. when he claims, “one must take a part, assume a character, stand ready in a sensible way to play the fool,” the cosmopolitan is demonstrating that performance only manifests in extremes (melville 161). when performing an ideal of religious faith, there is no room for doubt. in this light, it seems that many critical readings of the novel—which often assert that the novel furthers postmodern themes—are misguided. andrew delbanco, in his critical biography of melville, summarizes this critical perspective well: “melville’s book now seems a prophetically postmodern work in which swindler cannot be distinguished from swindled and the confidence man tells truth and lies simultaneously” (248). yet it seems clear from this study so far that the confidence man does not tell truth and lies simultaneously, rather he tells them alternatively and for a particular motive. further, it is 16 indeterminate the length to which the confidence man tells lies at all: “[the reader] does not have the privileged view of the past or of the future…that would bear out his or her suspicion that anybody in the novel is ever actually deceived” (johnson 126). thus, rather than making a postmodern point about the subjective nature of truth, as some critics assert, melville instead seems to further a (typically melvillian) point about the indeterminacy and inscrutability of any presented reality. this would again line up well with the understanding of these characters as all featuring indeterminate levels of confidence more generally, despite their performances of one extreme or another. indeed, melville’s larger point is to indicate the ways to which totalizing philosophies (religious or secular) are unsatisfying in a democratic environment, as we see in mark winsome, melville’s satire of ralph waldo emerson (which begins in chapter thirty-six). the primary point of contention between the cosmopolitan and winsome regards the basic goodness of humanity, particularly stated by one of winsome’s opening greetings: “yours, sir, if i mistake not, must be a beautiful soul—one full of all love and truth; for where beauty is, there must those be” (melville 224). the cosmopolitan balks at this generous view of human nature, and their exchange goes on to consider general aspects of transcendentalist thought as it relates to the possibility of “confidence.” winsome, in his debates with the cosmopolitan, is arguably a more overt confidence man than any of the titular figures throughout the novel. unlike the various guises of the confidence man, who alternatively preaches truth and falsehood, winsome’s philosophy is entirely incoherent: “for death, though in a worm, is majestic; while life, though in a king, is contemptible. so talk not against mummies. it is a part of my mission to teach mankind a due reverence for mummies” (melville 230). melville 17 renders winsome as a purposefully haughty and disdainful thinker, unwilling to hear different points of view and full of “infantile intellectuality” (melville 225). unlike the cosmopolitan, whose motives are (at the very least) discernable and stated, winsome’s (and by extension emerson’s) purposes are more opaque. brian yothers gives a helpful analysis of melville’s critique: by the standards of, say, the sober methodist minister [from chapter three], winsome is clearly heretical, but he is at the same time deeply concerned with questions of morality, immortality, and the nature and destiny of humanity. winsome presents an uncompromising argument for a way of viewing humanity that compliments human nature with a vision of its perfectibility, but also makes demands of human nature that seem wildly out of keeping with its frailties. (122) for melville, who (throughout his entire career) is concerned with issues of man’s insignificance in the universe, emerson’s philosophical “confidence”—in the ability of man to transcend a broken reality as well as the ability of humanity to forge an “original relation” to the universe—rings as false and misleading. keeping in mind the tocquevillian idea that religion should draw our focus away from our selves, melville fears that transcendental ideas of the perfectible self have the contrary effect of drawing a democratic citizenry deeper into self-absorption. to counter these emersonian ideas, melville allows the confidence man to reflect their opposite: “emerson postulates a being who can exist quite independent of social relations; melville counters with an agent who exists only in the mutability of those relations” (lindberg 43). 18 to further add to the critique, melville endows winsome with the same hypocrisy that effects all other inhabitants of the confidence-man’s world. in this instance, melville draws directly upon the historical details of emerson’s life to endow winsome with emerson’s own political biases, in this case against the southern beggar (thought to satirize edgar allan poe). in so doing this, melville not only satirizes two of his fellow nineteenth century literary giants, but he also gives vivid insight into the politics of an american democracy on the verge of civil war. helen trimpi evaluates this connection as such: “there is evidence in emerson’s writings to show that he intensely disliked and distrusted not only southerners like poe who defended the slave system but northern men who defended southern rights under the constitution, at the same time as he admired, liked and trusted northern men of pronounced antislavery views” (trimpi 205206). through his evocation of emerson’s bias, melville once again makes a specific link between political stances and (quasi-) religious ones. and indeed, the link that he makes here (unlike the others earlier in the novel) is between a flawed philosophical stance and a confrontational political one. other moments in the novel may be ambiguous as to whether they pass judgment on the views espoused; this is certainly not one of them. yet, following the examinations of winsome/emerson (as well as his disciple egbert, commonly read to satirize henry david thoreau), the novel takes a surprisingly meditative turn in its final reflections. the closing chapter of the novel, aptly titled “the cosmopolitan increases in seriousness,” demonstrates melville’s resistance to assert religious meaning on the book while also demonstrating his insistence on religion’s political value. the chapter features the discussion between the cosmopolitan and an old man about the vagaries of religious 19 belief and, of course, confidence. like the soliloquy of the herb doctor, both interlocutors assert the necessity of confidence in interlocking religious and political terms: the old man asserting religious confidence, the cosmopolitan attempting to argue this should require worldly financial confidence. as many of these other dialogues do, the scene ends in uncertainty, as the audience is unsure whether or not the old man has been defrauded. brian yothers reads this scene, however, as key to the novel’s religious message: “melville has brought us at the end of the confidence-man…to an agnostic stance in its strongest and richest sense…it is emphatically not a state of disengagement from the ultimate questions, but rather an especially bold and consistent probing of those questions” (125). yothers is especially interested in a minor pun in the chapter: as the old man makes reference to the bible as “apocrypha,” another man interrupts to ask “what’s that about the apocalypse?” (melville 287). yothers remarks that this minor detail hits to the heart of the novel: “things hidden are conflated with things revealed, the word of god is conflated with the words of human beings, and a fundamental uncertainty about the status of religious knowledge is encapsulated in the pun of a sleepy and perhaps drunk passenger” (126). through this scene, yothers helpfully encapsulates the final notes of the novel as well as the ways in which we can attempt to make sense of the novel as a whole. the confidence-man, in its refusal to advance any concrete religious or political views, indeed acts as a fascinating text for considering the way in which melville coopts his ideas concerning metaphysical inscrutability (as we see in works such as moby-dick) for more overt political and social motives. in critically addressing these ideas, brian yothers’s discussion of religious difference in the novel again perhaps is most applicable. 20 in particular, he emphasizes that melville marks the separation between the private religious self and the public, social self, and he identifies this stance as prefiguring philosophical works such as charles taylor’s a secular age (a theoretical influence for this study as well). yothers explains the ways in which melville both associates religious and political issues while also demonstrating the way in which they deviate from each other: “time and time again in the confidence-man, characters affirm religious and philosophical identities that they have adopted, but the world in which they live and move is one in which the choice of whether or not to lend $100 to the person who requests it is one that transcends any sort of religious commitments” (yothers 128). in this way, we can consider the personal inconsistencies of characters across the novel as demonstrating the way in which the modern world is disentangling two previously associated acts—charity and the monetary charitable giving that so often accompanied it. further, melville seems to probe the philosophical foundations of this disentanglement in an attempt to demonstrate the extent to which american political structures have always inevitably headed for this crossroads. the confidence-man, as one of melville’s simultaneously least-popular and mostdifficult works, resists meaning and easy categorization for a reason. and while it is perhaps a cliché in this day and age to indicate that melville’s work is “before its time,” this characterization seems perhaps more true in regards to this work, the final novel melville published in his lifetime. rather than engage in a critique of democracy (such as the one advanced by ancient writers like plato), where political actors’ self-interest and performativity might undermine political unity, melville stubbornly continues to advocate for democracy, despite its contradictions. in this way, the confidence-man 21 remains a startling testament to both the importance of democracy as well as the difficulty of maintaining it—issues that have only grown in importance since melville’s time. today, we can recognize the performances of the confidence man not only in tv commercials and political advertisements, but we see him in our neighbors and even in ourselves. in an increasingly commoditized world in a secular age, it seems more and more evident that, to make sense of our democratic society and our own roles in that society, we must take moral account of our personal inconsistencies as well as our own religious performances. through this demand upon the reader, melville’s feat in this novel—demanding introspection and serious thought from a book that seems to mock those same values—is a singular accomplishment, and it boldly makes its own place among both his already impressive oeuvre and the annals of american literature. 22 notes 1. significant scholarship has also been done—most notably by critics such as helen trimpi and michael rogin—to pursue melville’s specific allusions and historical references in the text of the novel. this is interesting and important work that i hope to draw on, though it will not be my main focus. this study will instead proceed with a more theoretical and philosophical reading of melville’s religious politics in the confidence-man. 2. critical consensus reads the confidence man as a shape-shifting character who inhabits many roles over the course of the novel, and this reading will be assumed here. however, it is worth noting, there is a small minority of scholarship that dissents from this view. 3. the appearance of “whiteness” in any melville text certainly must draw comparisons to chapter 42 of moby-dick, “the whiteness of the whale.” thinking of the deaf-mute in this light, with whiteness signifying atheistic absence, perhaps renders the character more in line with cook’s notion of the confidence man as oscillating between alternate roles of both devil and angel. 4. see job 38:4, “where wast thou when i laid the foundations of the earth?” (kjv). god’s proof of his justice is an argument from power, that job cannot understand god’s ways because of the differing orders of magnitude. 23 works cited cook, jonathan a. satirical apocalypse: an anatomy of melville’s the confidence-man. westport, ct: greenwood press, 1996. print. delbanco, andrew. melville: his world and work. new york: vintage, 2006. print. johnson, bradley. the characteristic theology of herman melville: aesthetics, politics, duplicity. eugene, or: pickwick publications, 2012. print. lee, maurice s. “skepticism and the confidence-man.” the new cambridge companion to herman melville. ed. robert s. levine. new york: cambridge up, 2014. 113-126. print. lindberg, gary. the confidence-man in american literature. new york: oxford up, 1982. print. madison, james. federalist no. 51. the federalist papers. library of congress. web. melville, herman. the confidence-man, his masquerade. 1857. new york: penguin, 1990. print. plato. republic. trans. g.m.a. grube. revised by c.d.c. reeve. indianapolis: hackett, 1992. print. quirk, tom. melville’s confidence man: from knave to knight. columbia, mo.: university of missouri press, 1982. print. rogin, michael paul. subversive genealogy: the politics and art of herman melville. 1983. berkeley: university of california press, 1985. print. thompson, lawrance. melville’s quarrel with god. princeton: princeton up, 1952. print. 24 tocqueville, alexis de. democracy in america. trans. harvey c. mansfield and delba winthrop. 1840. chicago: university of chicago press, 2000. print. trimpi, helen p. melville's confidence men and american politics in the 1850s. hamden, ct: archon books, 1987. print. yothers, brian. sacred uncertainty: religious difference and the shape of melville’s career. evanston, il: northwestern university, 2015. print. 1 resistance to reconstruction: virginia women’s resentment in 1862-1870 madeleine stout – history on april 12, 1865, elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne wrote in her diary “i pray god, that i may yet live to see his vengeance exercised against our enemies; that i may live to see our brave, our noble army rise up from the ashes of our burning homes, and yet avenge the death of our heros [sic] slain. if they could chose [sic], how few would come back to this life, for what is life compared with honour.”1 elizabeth’s entry reacted to news of robert e. lee’s surrender on april 9, 1865, and the confederate defeat. by april 1865, the civil war had run rampant through virginia leaving behind destroyed cities, crops, and confederate governments. reconstruction is traditionally perceived as ranging from 1865-1877, but slaveholders in virginia began experiencing the dissolution of slavery as early as 1861.2 although abraham lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation in 1863, some virginians felt the effects of emancipation two years prior. as a result of the crumbling of slavery some wealthy slave-owning families experienced the reconstruction of their domestic lives from 1861-1865. thus elizabeth encapsulated the resentment many elite, white southern women in virginia felt when faced with emancipation. virginia, also known as the old dominion, was occupied by two warring armies from 18611871.3 studies of resistance to white slaveholding women to reconstruction and emancipation, focus on the physical violence perpetuated by white southern men, but information on white women’s resistance is often overlooked. how did white women in virginia react to and navigate reconstruction and living under military occupation? according to the diaries of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne and lucy rebecca buck they reacted to reconstruction with contempt and bitterness. women resisted the rule of military occupation and republican laws in unconventional ways through their prayers and religious work and supporting the erection of 2 confederate monuments. for women like elizabeth and lucy, military occupation was a part of reconstruction. the connection between the arrival of union troops and the fleeing of slaves from their owners caused elite white women to associate the occupying soldiers with the new hardships they faced when their slaves disappeared. elizabeth and lucy demonstrate the ways women resisted reconstruction through their resistance to occupation. this paper will cover women’s lives, reaction, and resistance starting with military occupation during 1862 and ending in the 1870s when elizabeth alsop’s writings grew less frequent. it will track the response white slave-owning women had to military occupation in 1862, their use of religion to further resist and react with contempt, and the role ladies memorial associations played after 1865. in the years following 1865, as women of privilege adjusted to reconstruction in virginia, most southern women stopped writing in diaries and journals. it is hypothesized this occurs due to the changes in elite southern societies, specifically the high losses of eligible suitors and the need for women to engage in physical labor to compensate for the labor previously conducted by slaves.4 an example of the sudden departure from writing down one’s thoughts is shown in lizzie’s entries becoming less frequent between 1869 and 1878. the union army occupied towns in virginia, such as fredericksburg, during the civil war and after the war created tension between local virginians, mainly women, and federal troops.5 the main goal of reconstruction was to admit the former confederate states back into the union by creating and passing a new state constitution, adhering to emancipation, registering african americans to vote, and ratifying the fourteenth amendment.6 in 1867, congress passed the first reconstruction act which divided the south into five different military districts. virginia was labelled “military district one.” the second reconstruction act vested in the 3 military district commander the duty to oversee the process of reconstructing his district. in 1867, the commander over virginia was general john m. schofield. hundreds of federal troops had occupied fredericksburg since june 1865, at most the city housed 1,746 troops.7 virginia was still under occupation in 1869 and did not experience a decline in soldiers’ presence until receiving re-admittance into the united states. the women living under occupation in virginia throughout 1861-1871 provide a picture of how women resented and resisted the presence of union troops. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne and lucy rebecca buck were from elite, slaveholding, white families in the south.8 these women not only experienced military occupation by union troops, but the disintegration of slavery in virginia. both women were daughters of wealthy, white families who owned slaves, they were close in age, they were both unmarried from 1861 to 1871, and wrote of union troops with resentment.9 when slavery began eroding in virginia after july 1861, with benjamin butler’s acceptance of enslaved refugees at fort monroe in hampton, virginia, these women were affected in the years that followed. in their personal writings the women refer to their family’s slaves as “servants.” in 1860, the alsop family owned at least forty-eight enslaved men, women, and children.10 elizabeth maxwell alsop first wrote of her servants running away on may 25, 1862. she recorded “three of our servants have already left, viz; georgianna, mary ann, and john. the others can leave whenever they feel so disposed.”11 occupation in fredericksburg, virginia led to the battle of fredericksburg on december 11-12, 1862. in contrast to elizabeth, lucy rebecca buck recorded her family’s servants leaving on june 9, 1863, approximately five months after abraham lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation. she wrote “the servants had all left in the night and carried our three horses with them.”12 buck connected the value of the slaves and horses to her family’s wealth, she continued 4 “their ingratitude in taking the horses when they knew they were our main dependence of support” and “poor father his loss is the heaviest of all, amounting, it is thought to some sixteen thousand dollars.”13 the absence of slavery in the buck family led to a reconstruction of domestic labor at their home known as bel air. to uncover the reaction of elite white virginia women to the enforcement of reconstruction legislation, mainly the 13th amendment, in the old dominion requires extensive primary source analysis. a challenge in researching southern, white women’s reactions to reconstruction is the lack of sources for poor and common women. one has to read the sources of elite white women to find the “hidden transcripts” of poor, white women. 14 the diary of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne serves as the central collection surveyed. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, more commonly referred to as “lizzie”, began writing in her diary in 1862 at age 15. from 1862 to1863, lizzie travelled to richmond to attend school at the southern female institute. her diary provides one example of the opinions of southern women during reconstruction.15 in addition to her travels, the diary includes her life at home in fredericksburg, her religious beliefs, and her thoughts on the expectations of southern society for women. lizzie’s original diary resides at the virginia historical society within the wynne family papers collection in richmond, virginia; andrew h. talkov completed a full transcription of her diary which is available by permission of talkov.16 lizzie’s diary is a valuable and underutilized source on the opinions of young, southern women during reconstruction. lucy rebecca buck provides a similar narrative to lizzie. lucy lived in front royal, virginia, approximately seventy miles from fredericksburg. buck was eighteen at the outbreak of the civil war and belonged to a slave-owning family. by 1860, it is estimated the buck family owned at least ten slaves.17 her father, william mason buck, owned the plantation on the 5 perimeter of front royal known as bel air.18 lucy’s diary provides information on how the crumbling of slavery, brought on by the civil war and union occupation, affected the domestic sphere in the south. elizabeth r. baer served as editor for the 1997 reprint of lucy’s diary, shadows on my heart: the civil war diary of lucy rebecca buck of virginia. lucy’s diary is housed in the library archives of randolph college in lynchburg, virginia. baer notes that she deleted redundancies, repetitions, and added punctuation to lucy’s entries in her publication of the diary. she defends her decisions in order to “provide a readable text” and “maintain the integrity of lucy buck’s writing.”19 historians of reconstruction write mostly of the changing political atmosphere, and not the social and cultural changes women encountered. eric foner, one of the most acclaimed scholars of reconstruction, leaves out the role and response of southern women from 1865 to 1877 in his comprehensive study, reconstruction: america’s unfinished revolution, 18631877.20 in response historians, such as anne firor scott, drew gilpin faust, laura f. edwards, hannah rosen, and jane turner censer, study women during reconstruction. these women focus on definitions of southern womanhood, and how wealthy, white women in the south lived and adapted to changes brought on by reconstruction. the historiography of these women’s behaviors and attitudes during reconstruction begin in the 1970s with scott’s work, the southern lady: from pedestal to politics. scott argues that after the civil war “southern women became in time a distinct type among american women.” she states the goal of her work is “to describe the culturally defined image of the lady; to trace the effect this definition had on women’s behavior; to describe the realities of women’s lives which were often at odds with the image; to describe and characterize the struggle of women to free themselves from the confines of a cultural expectation.”21 scott serves as the starting point of white southern women’s history 6 in academia. she limits her scope to southern elite women who were part of educated and wealthy families. scott notes that while states in the south differ in politics, economics, and culture; the behavioral patterns and images of women prior to 1861 were identical throughout the region.22 scott claims that the civil war broke southern life norms, especially women’s role in society, and following 1865 women began to create a public record as they lived and acted within the broader society. writing in the 1990s, drew gilpin faust criticizes bell irvin wiley’s work as being “limited by its biographical approach.”23 in her book, mothers of invention: women of the slaveholding south in the american civil war, faust examines how white southern women navigated the changing ideas of gender and household brought on by the civil war. she argues that white women, “invented new selves designed in large measure to resist change” in order to “survive in the altered postwar world of defeated confederates, regional poverty, and black freedom.”24 faust focuses on the identity crisis southern women experienced during and after the civil war. faust uses newspapers and the diaries, letters, and memoirs of slaveholding white women to analyze the change in elite white women’s lives during the civil war. she evaluates the role of ladies memorial associations in communicating lost cause narratives as well as helping rehabilitate the honor of white southern men who supported the confederacy.25 faust’s work serves as part of the foundation for research on elite, white southern women. in 2000, laura f. edwards published scarlett doesn’t live here anymore: southern women in the civil war era, in which she critiqued the lack of focus on women during the years of the civil war and reconstruction.26 edwards builds on research done by anne firor scott and drew gilpin faust to show the role white women played during the civil war and reconstruction eras.27 her study broadens faust’s focus on elite women to include women of 7 various social classes. edwards argues that southern women “played key roles” in the civil war because the “civil war and emancipation shattered the regions’ households and political institutions.”28 edwards points out that women were engaged in politics and change before they invented memorial societies and advocated for female suffrage. she acknowledges that elite white women’s sources are more easily available than those of poor women, but she still crafts a narrative for the common white woman using court records, trials, and newspapers.29 edwards’s scope of research also includes african american women, and encompasses the confederate states. edwards constructs a synopsis of work that has been done in the twentieth century on southern women’s history and adds a deeper analysis of the social mobility the civil war and reconstruction created for white women to the field. jane turner censer contributed to the historiography of white southern women’s history with her work on the redefining of white womanhood in the south during reconstruction. her book, the reconstruction of white southern womanhood 1865-1895, published in 2003, builds on laura edward’s research on the changing notions of women in the south.30 censer argues that the “image of the women in the south immediately after the war has changed relatively little” despite the broad range of scholarship published by historians, such as scott, edwards, and faust.31 she claims that as the south was being reshaped in the years after the war by emancipation and reconstruction legislation, elite white women in the south became more polarized between a revival of the “southern belle” image and the emancipated new woman.32 unlike edwards, censer focuses solely on the issues white women reacted to during reconstruction. censer also narrows her geographical focus by analyzing the circumstances in virginia and north carolina. censer claims that virginia adapted to rapid industrialization faster than other southern states and that industrialization played a significant role in the lives of white 8 women.33 censer also explores the differences between generations of women, primarily how younger women tended to fight the concept of the feminine and submissive southern belle that permeated fiction and histories of southern white women in the civil war era.34 contrary to edwards’ work, censer claims no one had attempted to revise scott’s work on postwar women, and sets out to show how they defied stereotypes and reacted to the changing ideas of courtship, education, marriage, and politics in the years after the civil war. in her work, burying the dead but not the past: ladies memorial associations and the lost cause, caroline e. janney analyzes the formation, maintenance, and erasure of ladies memorial associations from 1865 to 1915. janney argues that virginia women, “came to shape the public rituals of confederate memory, reconstruction, and reconciliation.”35 janney contends that when studying reconstruction, historians should analyze the 1860s to the 1880s through the lens of women’s experiences to gain a better picture of southern society in the latter half of the nineteenth century. she connects virginia women’s mourning of the loss of the confederacy to political resistance of reconstruction legislation and black equality.36 building on anne firor scott, janney claims that the civil war created opportunities for women to become more politically and socially involved in southern society, evidenced by how quickly women mobilized in ladies memorial associations and began affecting the memory of the civil war during reconstruction. she points out that these associations in virginia were formed in 1865 and a majority of white women in virginia joined these associations where they pushed the lost cause narrative.37 in addition she disagrees with the idea that the lost cause narrative began in the 1880s and was perpetuated by men. janney supports her argument with diaries, letters, meeting minutes of ladies memorial associations, and newspapers. 9 the historiography of white southern women during reconstruction ties into how women in virginia navigated the changing atmosphere brought on not only by the civil war, but the post war political climate. historians have begun to uncover ways in which white slave-owning women in the south reacted to and navigated the changing society in 1862, brought on by the presence of union troops and the fleeing of slaves. these women in the south reacted with resentment toward union troops, and complained of servants fleeing their property. while there were incidents of physical resistance toward union officers in virginia, elite women engaged in secretive, less violent, acts of resistance.38 they turned to religion, refusal to comply with orders when under occupation, and personal talks with family members to resist troops from 1862 to 1865. after 1865, some of these women relied on religion and their service in ladies memorial associations to convey their resentment and qualms with post-war military occupation. union troops first occupied fredericksburg, virginia on april 18, 1862, with the idea that military rule would restore loyalty in the old dominion. instead, slaveholding families, such as the alsop family, refused to display loyalty to the united states. elite white slaveholding women, such as elizabeth alsop, believed that the union occupiers were the main reason slaves were leaving their owners in 1862. on june 6, 1862, lizzie alsop wrote “the federal army commit many depredations upon private property, but principally in the country. they shoot father’s hogs and try and make the servants stop their work.”39 her entry is an example of the disdain white elite women in virginia felt toward military occupiers as well as the connection between occupiers and the beginning of reconstruction in virginia. she equates the union soldiers with endangering her father’s finances both in the form of the pigs slaughtered and the loss of revenue generated by slave work, as well as the effects the federal army had on enslaved workers. in the same entry, lizzie recalled that two of her family’s wagons “were loaded with 10 slaves…and the drivers [sic]were absolutely forced [sic] to drive them into town and over to the yankee encampment.”40 lizzie mentioned that confederates, especially women, “treat the yankees with silent contempt” and states union soldiers “little know the hatred in our hearts towards them, or the great scorn we entertain for yankees.”41 her private remarks support the argument that elite, white southern women resisted emancipation in secretive and unconventional ways. elizabeth shared these feelings in conversations with her family, which is how she knew of the tension over the wagons being redirected by troops. on may 3, 1862, lucy recorded the full occupation of front royal by the union army. she states “martial law was proclaimed in poor little front royal and sentinels stationed at every avenue from the place.”42 she recalled a scene similar to elizabeth in which her family’s servants were detained and moved to the union encampment nearby, and when her father went to retrieve his property, he was met with refusal by union soldiers.43 elizabeth and lucy’s displeasure with union occupation in 1862 continued for months. on april 30, 1862, lucy wrote of “the entrance of three uncouth yankees” arriving at bel air and demanding dinner. she expresses resentment by writing “i was angry enough to have given them battle” to which her mother responded by to “not let nellie or i put our heads out the door while the yankees were here.”44 her anger continued on may 14, 1862, when union officers set up headquarters at bel air, which lucy recorded in her diary. she wrote of the union troops destroying the family mill, stealing their pigs and cows, as well as demanding food from her family while setting up camp.45 lucy spoke angrily in private with her parents on her opinions of union occupiers in a different fashion than lizzie alsop. lizzie’s entries reflect despair instead of contempt, on june 10, 1862, she wrote “it is the first time i have ever thought that we would be here more than a few weeks longer with the yankees, but i feel desponding now, and just as if 11 some terrible calamity was about to befall us.”46 lucy wrote of her desire to physically resist union occupiers on april 30, 1862, but was unable to, whereas lizzie used her body to exhibit small signs of resentment and resistance. on july 2, 1862, lizzie mentioned she and her friends were on a walk and refused to travel under the union flag. this small action was one unconventional way in which elite white women in the south resisted federal military occupation and displayed their resentment for soldiers from 1862-1871.47 lizzie chose to dirty her clothes instead of bowing her head in support of the united states. in 1863, lucy’s opinions of union occupation and actions did not change. on january 12, 1863, she refers to the union cavalrymen as looking “like demons” when they rode their horses in town and raided shops and homes.48 on may 16, 1863, she recalled a raid on her home by union soldiers looking for supplies for the army and any rebel troops. she mentioned her father “had gone to send the horses off to a place of concealment” to protect the family’s wealth.49 during the years 1863 and1864, the buck family witnessed even more raids by union troops. lucy’s diary contains information on battles around winchester, the confederate victory at vicksburg, the death of stonewall jackson, and her continuous anger at the actions of union troops coming and going from bel air. wealthy white women in the south faced hardships in 1865. some of the women in virginia had been without slaves since 1861, but 1865 ushered in complete enforced emancipation. elite white women were expected to contribute more to maintaining the home.50 on april 13, 1865, news of robert e. lee’s surrender reached lucy to which she wrote “god only knows how nearly mad i must have been” when she heard the news; she continues “i’m desperate and wicked tonight.” lucy’s response is similar to lizzie’s. though lizzie showed a desire for vengeance at the news of lee’s surrender, both women exhibited anger and frustration. 12 elizabeth solemnly recounts the presence of federal troops in fredericksburg, virginia during 1865. on april 22, 1865, she wrote, “how hard it is! how hard! seeing them (our enemies) walking our streets, forcing our grey-headed fathers to take the oath; and feeling that our cause is lost.” she continued by stating her grief at the loss of the confederate army and government. she explained that she is overcome by grief at the fall of the confederacy and the presence of soldiers in her home.51 on may 18, 1865, elizabeth mentioned the federal troops coming through fredericksburg “hour after hour” and claimed she can never “forgive them all they have done to us; the desolation, the grief over all our land.”52 on may 29, 1865, she recalled a “yankee general” visiting the home and leaving believing her mother “as true a southerner as ever,” implying that her mother treated the general negatively.53 shortly after learning of the defeat of the confederate army, lucy ceased to write due to being overcome with grief and having to adjust to the integration of freedmen and women into virginia’s postwar society.54 the role of religion from 1861 to 1865 to white women in the planter class consisted of the belief that women were subordinate to men, but above their slaves.55 while elizabeth wrote of her misery, hatred, and inability to forgive federal troops and the enemies of the confederacy, she and lucy illustrated how virginians used religion to react to occupation as a form of resistance. from 1861 to 1865, pulpits across the south issued sermons declaring that losses in battles and of loved ones, were not signs of an impossible victory, but of the impurity of the confederate supporters.56 these sermons influenced southerners to pray for victory and use religious activities as tools of resistance.57 it is unknown what lucy buck’s relationship with religion was from 1861 to 1865, however, her diary insinuates she and her family were a denomination of christianity, as they frequented church weekly. it is unknown which church she attended but she did reference her family and herself going to church services. lucy wrote on 13 march 16, 1862, her family attended church where she and her sister spoke with other women of the uneasiness they felt of the union occupiers. on january 1, 1863, lucy recalled feeling thankful to god for “the successes” of the confederate people during occupation.58 from 1862 to 1865, churches in the south served as areas where elite southern families could secretly speak their minds without suspicion, and learn of news about civil war battles and politics.59 in the case of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, the church served as a place where virginians, men and women, could express anti-union and anti-occupation thoughts and freely speak of resistance to reconstruction. on july 10, 1865, she recalled a sermon in the local presbyterian church where the preacher claimed, “those now in authority over, that the lord might change their hearts, and make them enact wise and righteous laws, & god might deliver us from the curse of wicked rulers.”60 elizabeth followed this quotation by ensuring that sermons such as this one comforted southerners who mourned the loss of the confederacy. after lizzie’s baptism and conversion to christianity in september of 1865, her diary centers on her allegiance to god and her faith.61 this idea ties in with janney’s statement that mourning after the end of the war was a form of political resistance.62 following caroline janney’s argument, the activities of ladies memorial associations are one way virginia women reacted and resisted reconstruction rhetoric. ladies memorial associations were formed as early as 1865, beginning with the ladies memorial association of winchester, virginia.63 the associations were created after the war to honor confederate dead and their memory because the federal government focused on honoring northern soldiers who fought during the war. the majority of women involved in ladies memorial associations were devout christian women who regularly attended church.64 this connection between church women and ladies memorial associations is another example of how religion was used to resist 14 reconstruction from 1865 onward. it was through ladies memorial associations, such as the ladies memorial association of fredericksburg (may 10, 1866) and the ladies memorial association for the confederate dead of oakwood (may 5, 1866), that elite, white southern women were able to keep secessionist and confederate identity alive and strong in the years following the civil war.65 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne joined the ladies memorial association of fredericksburg in 1869 and participated in activities with the association in june, 1869.66 on june 19, 1869, lizzie wrote about decorating the graves of the confederate dead as her duty in the ladies memorial association.67 this was the first entry where lizzie recorded her work in the memorialization of confederate legacy and the lost cause. from 1869 to 1873, she participated in talks on the memory of robert e. lee, and the confederate memorial day celebration in fredericksburg.68 it is unknown if lucy buck participated in any activities with the ladies memorial associations as she had stopped writing from 1865 to 1873, but as a single, white woman who wrote passionately in support of the confederacy she may have helped with organization of memorials for confederate dead. caroline e. janney, states the ladies memorial associations allowed women to do more than honor the confederate dead, but also to express their confederate patriotism. by continuing to exhibit confederate patriotism while under military occupation after 1865, elite, white southern women were able to memorialize lost cause rhetoric as early as 1866.69 while the reconstruction of governments in the south did not begin to take place until 1865 and the surrender of the confederacy, women experienced a reconstruction of the domestic sphere much earlier. reconstruction for wealthy, white slave-owning women in virginia began gradually in 1862 with the increased presence of military troops occupying key cities, such as 15 front royal, fredericksburg, and winchester, and the running away of slaves prior to 1863. as seen in the diaries of elizabeth alsop and lucy buck, when their slaves ran away, women’s roles had to be adjusted. it started with increased domestic work, house cleaning, gardening, and cooking, but after 1865 elite women in the south began to see themselves as political actors. prior to 1865, men and women in the south believed women to be naturally nonpolitical, timid, southern belles. after 1865, southern white women exercised more control, especially in the postwar battle over confederate memory.70 ladies memorial associations provided women with an outlet to flex their political abilities: they lobbied for funding for confederate cemeteries and monuments, organized memorial parades, and educated their children on the noble cause of the confederacy. some elite, white southern women also saw a slight elevation in the domestic sphere of the home. elizabeth alsop was in charge of her family’s affairs after her father became paralyzed and died in 1872.71 without her parents or a husband, and thus no stable income, lizzie declared on december 12, 1873, the sale of her family’s two properties, their home in fredericksburg and their farm, sunny side. she wrote “george’s financial troubles, the sale of this place, and some ill feeling existing in the family…& sunny side is to be sold. truly we are led by paths we know not.”72 her diary entry is an example of the turn many elite, white slave-owning families’ lives took in the late 1860s-1870s. the financial trouble brought on with emancipation led many wealthy white men and women to sell their estates. lucy buck’s experience is different than lizzie’s; lucy never married, she did not manage her family’s estate, and her family was forced to sell bel air in 1897 due to falling prices of wine.73 white women from slave-owning families resisted reconstruction in physical, unconventional, and secretive ways. the diaries of elizabeth alsop maxwell wynne and lucy 16 rebecca buck provide examples of covert resistance to reconstruction. they demonstrate how women reacted to the presence of union troops from 1862 onward with resentment and contempt. they reveal how emancipation and slaves running away to find freedom drastically reconstructed the domestic sphere before the emancipation proclamation in 1863. they expose the importance of religion as not only a tool for resistance, but as an institution where women could speak their minds to one another, gather information, and organize into political groups in the form of ladies memorial associations, which advocated for the honoring of the memories of the confederate soldiers and the lost cause. these elite, white southern women experienced and began resisting reconstruction in 1862 and continued to resist it well in the twentieth century. their methods of resistance remain today, seen in confederate monuments and cemeteries, even though the ladies themselves are gone and all but forgotten by history. 17 endnotes 1 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 1, april 12, 1865. 2 rebecca capobianco argues “women’s stories move the process of emancipation along a different timeline than that of official policy and demonstrate that the personal decisions of individual people determined when and how emancipation occurred, and what it meant”. her work articulates that women in virginia began adjusting to emancipation, and the crumbling of slavery in 1861 with the first slave refugees in hampton, virginia at fort monroe. rebecca capobianco, “southern women and emancipation during the civil war” in women and the american civil war: north-south counterpoints, edited by judith giesberg and randall m. miller (kent: the kent state university press, 2018) 83. see also, wendi maloney, “new online: diarist documents eventful times on the confederate home front” library of congress blog, https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/10/new-online-diarist-documents-eventful-times-on-theconfederate-home-front/ (accessed december 6, 2018). 3 university of richmond. “the story of virginia’s reconstruction” reconstructing virginia: the richmond daily dispatch, 1866-1871. https://reconstructingvirginia.richmond.edu/overview (accessed november 15, 2018). 4 elizabeth r. baer notes after 1865 southern women were coping with the loss of a large number of southern men, the inability to find a spouse, the loss of fathers, sons, and brothers, and the change in domestic life as reasons for women to suddenly stop writing in diaries in the years after the war. john g. selby states a similar reason as baer for the sudden conclusion or gaps in diaries after 1865. selby divides the years after the war into two periods, the “building years” from 1865-1880 in which men and women in the south devoted their time to finding work and recovering from the financial loss brought on by confederate defeat. selby states women typically did not find employment so they “stayed where they were, either assisting in or running a household.” from 1865-1871 lucy, and lizzie both leave large gaps in their diaries which reflect the trend of the “building years.” ed. elizabeth r. baer, shadows on my heart: the civil war diary of lucy rebecca buck of virginia. (athens: the university of georgia press, 1997) 321-323. john g. selby, virginians at war: the civil war experiences of seven young confederates. (wilmington: scholarly resources inc., 2002) 213-214. 5 andrew f. lang argues that union soldiers struggled when occupying southern cities and states to adapt to citizen soldiers, usually consisting of women and children. lang explains union occupying forces followed a code of masculinity in which uniformed soldiers, mainly men, engaged in combat while women remained in the gendered position of submissive housewife. lang points out white southern women turned this gendered concept on its head and engaged in physical altercations with occupiers to combat the invasion of their lives and practices. andrew f. lang. in the wake of war: military occupation, emancipation, and civil war america. (baton rouge; louisiana state university press, 2017) 64-65. 6 richard lowe. republicans and reconstruction in virginia, 1856-1870. (charlottesville: university press of virginia, 1991) 75-76. 7 gregory p. downs and scott nesbit, mapping occupation: force, freedom, and the army in reconstruction, http://mappingoccupation.org, published march 2015, accessed october 29, 2018. 8 from 1861-1871, elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne was known by her maiden name elizabeth maxwell alsop. throughout the paper she will be referred to as “lizzie” or “elizabeth alsop” since she was not known as elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne until after her marriage on march 20, 1878. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 8, march 20, 1878. 9 elizabeth and lucy’s fathers did not serve in the confederate or union armies during the civil war. these two women did not experience what leeann whites and alecia p. long state as a recurring dynamic for southern elite white women from 1861-1865. whites and long explain that wealthy white women from 1861-1865 usually experienced a heavier workload of domestic responsibilities at the absence of husbands and father figures. whites and long note some elite white women would hire male laborers, or rely heavily on their slaves to compensate. lizzie and lucy did not have to fill gaps in housework until their slaves ran away in 1862 and 1863. leeann whites and alecia p. long, occupied women: gender military occupation and the american civil war, (baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 2009) 3. https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/10/new-online-diarist-documents-eventful-times-on-the-confederate-home-front/ https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/10/new-online-diarist-documents-eventful-times-on-the-confederate-home-front/ https://reconstructingvirginia.richmond.edu/overview 18 10 1860 u.s. census, spotsylvania county, virginia, slave schedules, st. georges parish, page 336. 11 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 1, may 25, 1862. 12 baer, shadows on my heart, 208. 13 on june 10, 1863, lucy expresses the sudden change in her life that emancipation has brought. she wrote “rising and working before sunrise this morning made me so deathly sick.” her statement is an example of the work wealthy slave owning women were unaccustomed to performing when they had slaves. three days later she notes struggling to turn the oven on and bake bread. on july 10, 1863 she recalled feeling exhausted after working all day. the change in lucy’s daily life from leisure to being responsible for housework aligns with laura edwards claim that “the abolition of slavery called the position of all women into question”. lucy’s role as daughter was reconstructed to include performing work formerly done by her family’s slaves. laura f. edwards, scarlett doesn’t live here anymore: southern women in the civil war era. (chicago: university of illinois press, 2000), 4. ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 209, 214, 230. drew gilpin faust, mothers of invention: women of the slaveholding south in the american civil war (chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 1996) 249-250. 14 james scott argues that the historical record is full of “hidden transcripts”, which he defines as, “a critique of power spoken behind the back of the dominant”. scott advocates historians read between the lines and try to uncover the hidden meaning behind primary sources. in relation to white women in virginia’s resistance during reconstruction, the meaning behind the words of these women could reveal something new about their methods and perceptions of resistance. james c. scott. domination and the arts of resistance: hidden transcripts. (new haven; yale university press, 1990) xii. 15 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. 16 talkov, andrew h. “the journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862-1878” (master’s thesis, virginia commonwealth university, 2013). 17 ancestry.com. 1860 u.s. federal census slave schedules [database on-line]. provo, ut, usa: ancestry.com operations inc., 2010. 18 baer, shadows on my heart, xv. 19 baer, shadows on my heart, xxxv. 20 eric foner briefly covers virginia during reconstruction, and when he does he focuses on the economic conditions and not the social or cultural issues. he concludes that virginia did not experience radical reconstruction in the 1860s, and instead saw change during the virginia readjuster movement in the 1870s-1880s. foner defines the readjuster movement as one where the reconstruction government in the late 1870s in virginia, “poured funds into the public schools, abolished poll tax, raised taxes on corporations…and moved to reinforce blacks’ civil and political rights.” eric foner. reconstruction: america’s unfinished revolution 1863-1877. (new york: harper perennial modern classics, 2002) 412-413, 592. 21 anne firor scott, the southern lady: from pedestal to politics 1830-1930. (chicago: the university of chicago press, 1970) x. 22 scott, the southern lady: from pedestal to politics 1830-1930, xi. 23 bell irvin wiley explored the lives of white women in the south in his 1975 work, confederate women. wiley, a prominent early writer of civil war history, argued women played an important role in the bid for southern independence during the civil war. wiley crafted a biographical narrative of the lives of elite, white confederate women from 1861-1870. he provides context on the upbringing of elite, white southern women, their education, marriages, travels, and thoughts. wiley’s research uses memoirs, letters, and diaries of mary chesnut, virginia tunstall clay, and varina davis. wiley followed the lives of these women through the end of the civil war and into reconstruction. wiley’s work has received criticism as it is not representative of all southern women, and follows a narrative without supporting an argument. bell irvin wiley. confederate women. (westport: greenwood press, 1975) xi. drew gilpin faust, mothers of invention: women of the slaveholding south in the american civil war. (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1996) 311. 24 faust, mothers of invention, 8. 19 25 the lost cause of the confederacy, more commonly referred to as the lost cause, was the ideology believed to have come about in the 1880s, but actually began in the 1866 in which the confederate cause was a heroic and noble one, and not treasonous and vile. eds. gary w gallagher and alan t nolan. the myth of the lost cause and civil war history. (bloomington: indiana university press, 2000) 1. faust, mothers of invention, 252. 26 edwards, scarlett doesn’t live here anymore, 1, 8. 27 edwards also builds on elizabeth fox-genovese’s work, within the plantation household: black and white women of the old south. fox-genovese argued elite white women “took slavery for granted, for it grounded her life and pervaded her sense of herself in the world”. edwards adds to the argument the political involvement of white elite women, and brings their actions outside of the domestic sphere unlike fox-genovese who keeps women within the home. in addition, edwards also illustrates that elite, southern white women were not always submissive to their husbands during the war, instead these women were often responsible for helping run the internal workings of the home providing them a chance at upward mobility. edwards, scarlett doesn’t live here anymore, 1-8. elizabeth fox-genovese, within the plantation household: black and white women of the old south, (chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 1988) 24-26, 30-31. 28 edwards, scarlett doesn’t live here anymore, 2. 29 edwards, scarlett doesn’t live here anymore, 4, 8. 30 jane turner censer, the reconstruction of white southern womanhood 1865-1895. (baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 2003). 31 censer critiques elizabeth fox-genevese in a manner similar to laura edwards. censer disagrees with foxgenovese’s argument that white women preferred a hierarchical society where they were subordinates to men as long as they could use the hierarchy to be seen as above slaves and the poor whites. censer instead suggests white women in the south had differing opinions on the patriarchal hierarchy, she claims elite white women are more complex than fox-genovese portrayed in the 1980s. censer, the reconstruction of white southern womanhood 1865-1895, 2-3. 32 censer, the reconstruction of white southern womanhood 1865-1895, 9. 33 censer, the reconstruction of white southern womanhood 1865-1895, 4. 34 edwards, scarlett doesn’t live here anymore, 6. 35 caroline e. janney. burying the dead but not the past: ladies memorial association and the lost cause. (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 2008) 2. 36 janney, burying the dead but not the past, 3. 37 janney, burying the dead but not the past, 5, 7-8. 38 one such incident involves a famous confederate spy, belle boyd, who lived along the border of virginia and west virginia during the civil war. boyd took a gun and shot a soldier who she perceived spoke to her mother in a disrespectful way. ruth scarborough, belle boyd: siren of the south. (macon: mercer university press, 1983) 18-19. 39 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 1, june 6, 1862. 40 lizzie adds to her entry that when her father went into town to retrieve his slaves he was informed by a union officer “that by taking the oath he could very easily get them again” to which her father responded he “was a virginian & southern man and would not take an oath to support a northern government.” she mentioned nine more of her family’s slaves have left and that there are no longer any male slaves working their property. the “oath” lizzie mentioned is the oath of allegiance which union occupiers offered confederate supporters to take in exchange for protection of property. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 1, june 6, 1862. capobianco, “southern women and emancipation during the civil war” in women and the american civil war, 85. 41 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 1, june 6, 1862. 42 ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 61. 43 lucy recalled, “father attempted to go over and have them released, he was halted by the sentinel and told that he would not be permitted to return home again if he should go within their lines.” lucy also mentioned seeing a former servant of a family acquaintance in union uniform passing by her home. she continues referring to union https://books.google.com/books?id=5sjvuwydbhuc&pg=pa28 20 soldiers as “villains” from this point onward. while living under occupation, lucy expresses feeling as though she is living “the awful consequences of subjugation” at the hands of the union soldiers. she wrotes of federal troops enforcing curfews, stealing food, and claiming they were the masters of the people of front royal. ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 61-62 64-65. 44 lucy’s readiness to engage and display her resentment publicly to the union soldiers differs from lizzie’s tendency to ignore and keep her anger privately to her parents and diary. ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 59. 45 the presence of soldiers within the homes of southerners from 1861-1865 was a common and reoccurring act. elite, white southern women were not only consumed by the daily news of the war, and worry for loved ones, but also with being occupied by men in their homes. whites and long equate the occupation of the home by foreign men primarily a southern occurrence. ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 69-71. 46 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 1, june 10, 1862. 47 lizzie wrote “we all went into the street preferring to get our dresses dusty to bending our heads beneath the stars & stripes.” she recalled a man scolding her and her friends, but they pretended not to hear him and continue their walk. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 1, july 2, 1862. 48 ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 177. 49 ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 201. 50 edwards, scarlett doesn’t live here anymore, 121-122. 51 in her entries from april and may, lizzie repeatedly refers to the confederate cause as the lost cause, an example of caroline janney’s point about the lost cause rhetoric beginning in the years after the war ended and not the 1880s. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 3, april 22, 1865. may 18, 1865. janney, burying the dead but not the past, 2, 4. 52 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 3, may 18, 1865. 53 lizzie also expressed concern about the imprisonment of jefferson davis, and the rumor of robert e. lee being hung for treason. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 3, may 29, 1865. 54 ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 309, 320-321. 55 elite, white southern women perceived god as the head of the christian and spiritual household, but their husbands were the center of the physical household. laura edwards connects religious salvation for wealthy white women with obedience under their husbands will and fulfilling social norms fitting their role as wives of slaveholders. after the war ended with a large portion of southern men dead, white women struggled to fulfill the traditional notion of religion from the antebellum period. lizzie and lucy embody this struggle in their inability to find husbands in the five years following the surrender of the confederacy. edwards, scarlett doesn’t live here anymore, 19. 56 faust, mothers of invention, 182. 57 faust claims that “casting hardships of war into a narrative of punishment, reformation, and deliverance, clergy offered southerners a basis for strength and confidence evening amidst disaster.” lizzie and lucy both look to religion to inspire their beliefs in confederate victory. they both use religion to ask for the removal of union occupiers and express displeasure with the presence of union troops. lucy recalled a sermon in which the subject gave comfort to her despite her feelings of fear, anger, and helplessness at the hands of military occupation. faust, mothers of invention, 182. ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 36. 58 ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 173. 59 ed. baer, shadows on my heart, 36, 39. 60 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 3, july 10, 1865. 61 on september 15, 1865, lizzie wrote in her diary about becoming a christian and feeling, “much happier” after her confession and baptism. she recounts that the loss of the confederacy during the civil war had made her resentful toward god and religion, but she felt that being a christian would lead her to live a better life. after her 21 baptism, lizzie’s diary contains prayers, poems, and readings from her bible. lizzie’s devotion to christianity seen in her diary entries after september, 1865, are examples of anne firor scott’s “religious perfection” elite, white southern women desired to achieve. scott explains that women struggled to “live up to what god was presumed to expect of women” by keeping a religious diary devoted to scriptures and meditations. lizzie not only tried to repent and change her ways after converting, but she also used church meetings, and her prayers to secretly resist to virginia after 1865. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 3, september 15, 1865. scott, the southern lady, 9-11. 62 janney, burying the dead but not the past, 3. 63 janney, burying the dead but not the past, 39-40. 64 drew gilpin faust explains the richmond examiner called upon churchwomen to assume the role of caretaker for the memorialization of confederate dead in 1866. drew gilpin faust, the republic of suffering: death and the american civil war (new york: alfred a. knopf, 2008) 238. 65 faust, the republic of suffering, 238-239. 66 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 5, june 19, 1869. 67 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 5. june 19, 1869. 68 elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 7, october 14, 1870. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 8, june 5, 1873. 69 janney states that lmas allowed women to expand on two post-war trends. “the creation of an organized womanhood among southern white women and a sense of white southern solidarity among ex-confederates”. janney, burying the dead but not the past, 39-40. 70 janney, burying the dead but not the past, 40. 71 elizabeth’s father died on june 26, 1872, she had cared for him while he was paralyzed for a few months before he passed. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 7, june 26, 1872. 72 george is one of elizabeth’s brothers who returned home after their father’s death in 1872. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va. volume 8, december 12, 1873. 73 an interesting note is that lucy does pay to have a house designed and built in front royal ,virginia in 1904, implying she did have some success with managing her own finances while single later in her life. baer, shadows on my heart, 322. 22 bibliography primary sources “southern women” commercial bulletin, june 8, 1865. accessed november 15, 2018. https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=tcb18650608.1.2&srpos=12&e=------186-en-20-1--txt-txin-women----1865- 1860 u.s. census, spotsylvania county, virginia, slave schedules, st. georges parish, page 336. ancestry.com. 1860 u.s. federal census slave schedules [database on-line]. provo, ut, usa: ancestry.com operations inc., 2010. chesnut, mary boykin. ed. ben ames williams. a diary from dixie. boston: the riverside press, 1949. elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne. journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862 – 1926. wynne family papers, 1809-1967. mss1 w9927 a. virginia historical society. richmond, va ed. strode, hudson jefferson davis: private letters 1823-1889. new york: harcourt, brace & world inc., 1966. talkov, andrew h. “the journal of elizabeth maxwell alsop wynne, 1862-1878” master’s thesis, virginia commonwealth university, 2013. secondary sources capobianco, rebecca. “southern women and emancipation during the civil war” in women and the american civil war: north-south counterpoints, 81101. edited by judith giesberg and randall m. miller. kent: the kent state university press, 2018. https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=tcb18650608.1.2&srpos=12&e=------186-en-20--1--txt-txin-women----1865-https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=tcb18650608.1.2&srpos=12&e=------186-en-20--1--txt-txin-women----1865-23 censer, jane turner. the reconstruction of white southern womanhood, 1865-1895. baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 2003. edwards, laura f. scarlett doesn’t live here anymore: southern women in the civil war era. chicago: university of illinois press, 2000. faust, drew gilpin. mothers of invention: women of the slaveholding south in the american civil war. chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1996. the republic of suffering: death and the american civil war. new york: alfred a. knopf, 2008. foner, eric. reconstruction: america’s unfinished revolution 1863-1877. new york: harper perennial modern classics, 2002. gallagher, gary w.; nolan, alan t., eds. the myth of the lost cause and civil war history. bloomington: indiana university press, 2000. janney, caroline e. burying the dead but not the past: ladies memorial associations and the lost cause. chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 2008. lang, andrew f. in the wake of war: military occupation, emancipation, and civil war america. baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 2017. scott, james c. domination and the arts of resistance: hidden transcripts. new haven; yale university press, 1990. wiley, bell irvin. confederate women. westport: greenwood press, 1975. microsoft word essay 1 arnold.docx   [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] “none but i bestir me”: failed elegy as the absence of communal language in kyd’s the spanish tragedy corey waite arnold english in his essay “of sadness,” michel de montaigne describes the state of grief as a “bleak, dumb, and deaf stupor,” an emotional state so extreme and profound that it is as if the bereaved has been turned to stone (montaigne 7). citing the myth of niobe, who transformed into a rock after losing her seven sons and seven daughters, montaigne insists that entering this state of “benumbed” silence is the definitional impact of loss (7). if montaigne’s assertions are correct, the formal elegy seems like a curious form: an eloquent articulation that ostensibly expresses the speaker’s grief in an attempt to immortalize the memory of the departed. hardly “benumbed,” the speaker of elegy seems perfectly capable of speech, and even formal composition. at some point between observing the death of a loved one and producing the elegy, the elegizing subject has regained the capacity for articulation. taking this view of elegy, it is clear that the form does more than describe the tragic life and death of the deceased; it re-introduces the bereaved into the community of language. the elegiac process, when successful, recuperates language itself as a tool for representing the emotional state of the speaker, the absent loved one, and also the world at large. thomas kyd’s the spanish tragedy stages the dramatic consequences of the failure to elegize, and in doing so initiates a cycle of violence wrought not only upon persons, like lorenzo and balthazar, but upon language itself. the play’s apocalyptic conclusion portrays a world in which language has lost its representative capacity, a world whose strongest precedent is the biblical scene at the tower of babel. importantly this vengeful apocalypse, enacted under the direction of hieronimo, begins when he and his wife isabella fail to properly elegize the death of their son horatio. a close examination of their particular attempts at elegy reveals their inability to use the form as a way of integrating themselves into local, domestic, and archival communities of language. this failure eventually results in their individual and inevitable returns to montaigne’s   “benumbed,” pre-linguistic realm, a place karen weisman describes as characterized by the “inchoate gasp” rather than the “formalized utterance” (weisman 1). in this way the spanish tragedy articulates cultural anxieties about the degeneration of individual language as a representative tool, a degeneration that i will argue is caused by the departure from potentially restorative forms of communal speech such as song, symposium, and meaningful interaction with the archive of classic poetry and imaginative literature. while it is clear that the elegiac tradition began in antiquity, it is difficult to find a totalizing definition of the form. as weisman argues in her introduction to the oxford handbook of elegy, “there is little scholarly consensus about what constitutes an elegy, or how to distinguish between elegy and the broader category of elegiac literature” (1). though the definition of elegy continues to elude scholars, its characteristics remain clear enough: elegy seeks to describe the impact of loss and to recuperate its absent subject in language. recognizing that the elegy can serve many functions, this paper will focus on the mediating capacity of the form, in particular the elegy’s role as a medium between individual, silent suffering and communal, uttered restoration. in a recent article that explicates previously unexamined formal characteristics of ancient greek elegy, gregory nagy analyzes the unique meter of the elegiac couplet to characterize the form as a communal process of grieving rather than an autonomously derived and individually crafted speech act. nagy points out that greek elegy combines “two particular verses . . . the elegiac hexameter and the elegiac pentameter,” to build the elegiac couplet, and argues that the unique co-dependency of these two verses produce what is now understood as the formal elegy (nagy 13, original emphasis). drawing a distinction between lament as a traditionally female “act of singing in response to the loss of someone near and dear” and elegy as a traditionally male response to lament that orders the woman’s sung grief into more formalized speech, nagy argues that both expressions relied on public address and participation from the community at large (13). in the case of the woman’s lament, the “prime mover” of the song “sings her lament. and in singing her lament, she can cry while she sings and sing while she cries (in traditional lament, the physiology of crying and gesturing is integrated with the art of singing)” (nagy 21). the women of the community then take up the song as a chorus, as “the ensemble responds to the lament of the lead singer by continuing it” (21). in this way the women’s chorus becomes both the audience and producer of the song of lamentation, simultaneously overhearing and articulating the grief of the “prime mover.” the male component of the elegiac process, too, depends upon an audience; in response to the lamentations of the women in the chorus, the man crafts the formal elegy, traditionally delivered at symposia or a public festival (35, 38).   nagy’s historical and formal analysis describes a process by which tears and the “inchoate gasp” become song, the song becomes public speech, and the public speech becomes formalized poetry. importantly, every step in this process requires both an audience and that audience’s active participation in what nagy calls the “communalization of emotions” (29). this process describes the codependency between female lament and male elegy reflected in the elegiac couplet, which channels feminine lament into the hexameter line and then responds to it with masculine “sympotic” speech in the pentameter line (38). nagy’s argument describes the elegy as a form built by a community in response to loss rather than one articulated by an autonomous subject as a way of describing his or her private grief. it foregrounds the role that communal speech, such as song and symposium, plays in the grieving process, and describes the community’s role in the recuperation of language as a representative tool more generally. while early modern iterations of the formal elegy tend to eschew greek elegiac form, in particular the alternation of hexameter and pentameter verse, they maintain nagy’s sense of grief as communal expression, and often recast that sense as anxiety about the authenticity of individual speech. as lauren shohet argues in her article on women’s elegy in the period: the form of elegy is inherently concerned with the ways that poetry emerges through relationships between collectivity and individuality: the collective experience of mortality, the individual experience of mourning a particular death; the collective archive of the elegiac tradition, the individual voice of the current poem. (shohet 433) as nagy points out, elegy in its greek form had little, or perhaps no concern with the “individual voice” of the speaker or poem and instead focused on the collective recuperation of language to adequately address loss. given this communal process of elegiac production, it is possible that insofar as the early modern elegist attempts to locate and describe the authenticity of grief individually, he or she does damage to the form itself and undermines its potential for producing consolation and catharsis. under this view, any inward seeking gesture in elegy proves necessarily destructive, not only to one’s emotional health but to one’s linguistic capacity, which vanishes into the realm of the “inchoate gasp” at exactly the same rate that it retreats from the larger community. hieronimo and isabella’s elegiac attempts, while seemingly cogent, constantly seek validation and participation from a community fully absent from both the world of the play and its moment of historical performance. neither the spanish court nor the real-world audience of the spanish tragedy provide the communal participation necessary for the elegiac process to provide consolation to   the bereaved and re-establish the representative potential of language. as a result, hieronimo and isabella’s elegies emerge as incomplete because they lack communal participation and are thus devoid of the definitional characteristic of their form. their laments look increasingly inward as the play nears its final scene, and as bereaved characters they retreat further and further towards the realm of silence described by montaigne, or the “inchoate gasp” described by wiseman. their elegiac lamentations late in the play articulate both the yearning for a community and the destructive potential of seeking authenticity in individual expressions of grief, and ultimately portray the poverty of autonomous speech in the wake of loss. peter sacks, quoting lorenzo, aptly sums up the end of such a cycle: “where words prevail not, violence prevails” (sacks 69). in the spanish tragedy, the degeneration of speech expresses itself as violence to both the self and others as the play spirals towards its blood soaked and literally incomprehensible conclusion. the failed expression of hieronimo and isabella’s grieving begins in act ii scene v, in which they discover the body of their son horatio hanging in an arbor. at first glance, it seems as if their reaction to their son’s death falls in line with nagy’s elegiac process, in which the woman stages an emotional lament that the man translates into a more formal elegiac address. after hieronimo finds horatio, isabella enters the stage, and her husband explicitly seeks her participation in the grieving process when he cries: “here, isabella, help me to lament, / for sighs are stopped and all my tears are spent” (2.5. 36-37). isabella then responds with a dramatic comingling of crying and speaking consistent with nagy’s description of lament: isabella: then is he gone? and is my son gone too? o, gush out, tears, fountains and floods of tears; blow, sighs, and raise an everlasting storm: for outrage fits our cursed wretchedness (2.5. 42-45) finally, hieronimo closes the scene with a formal elegiac dirge delivered in latin, an address reminiscent of the public speech act delivered by male producers of elegy in ancient greece. however, while this sequence unfolds according to a process of communal grieving and elegy production, it is conspicuously devoid of an actual community and thus the elegies produced within it prove vacant of meaning and ultimately ineffectual. first, while isabella could be reconceived as the “prime mover” of the lament she delivers in her immediate grief, there is no chorus of women on stage to “respond to her lament by continuing it” (nagy 21). she remains a lone stricken mother on stage, absent the female community necessary to ease her out of the   realm of the “inchoate gasp” and into the proper song of lamentation. indeed, the failure of the community at the spanish court to adequately respond to the injustice of horatio’s death and thus recognize isabella and hieronimo’s grief becomes a defining feature of the play as it nears its close. although isabella seems initially convinced that “the heavens are just, murder cannot be hid,” the various institutional apparatuses of the spanish court seem increasingly incapable, or unwilling, to address horatio’s death as the play moves forward (2.5.57). finally, isabella becomes completely detached from her community and delivers an apocalyptic soliloquy indicative of this isolation to which this paper will return later. hieronimo’s latin dirge similarly communicates a failure to adequately engage with the various communities that could potentially render his elegy meaningful and thus contribute to his consolation. if we reconstitute this scene in performance, it becomes clear that the spectating audience itself emerges as one possible community with whom hieronimo fails to engage. william n. west employs this strategy in his essay on the role of confusion in the spanish tragedy and foregrounds “moments where the performance of the play seems to try to produce confusion in its audiences (which might include actors) rather than merely representing it” (west 224). in reconstituting the final scene of the spanish tragedy, west reminds us that hieronimo’s play within a play was very likely performed in four different languages, a moment which would render the audience completely oblivious to the machinations of the revenge plot the play is meant to conceal. similarly, the audience-witnesses of hieronimo’s dirge, not likely fluent in latin, would have no way of translating and understanding it. if we agree with nagy that public delivery and communal consumption are constituent features of formal elegy, then hieronimo’s dirge fails in its elegiac capacity precisely because it does not adequately “communalize” his grief. reimagining this moment in performance, we can envision hieronimo’s earnest, learned, and ritualized attempt to address a body of spectators who hear his speech as pure nonsense, a string of sounds that may as well be meaningless vowels and consonants. in this way, the scene dramatizes the failure of hieronimo to build a communal bond with the audience, effectively foregrounding the broken circuit between the bereaved individual and the larger world and presenting it as a failure in linguistic representation. the surviving frontispiece of the spanish tragedy in print reiterates this audience failure and expresses the unbridgeable gap between hieronimo in performance and the audience as communal witness; there, the full title of the play runs “the spanish tragedie, containing the lamentable end of don horatio, and bel-imperia: with the pitifull death of olde hieronimo.” (the spanish tragedy 1). by describing horatio’s death as “lamentable,” the frontispiece foregrounds hieronimo’s incomplete and unrequited grieving, as if the death is not   “lamented” but remains forever “lamentable.” although the frontispiece explicitly permits lamentation from the audience and reader, they remain unable to join hieronimo in his elegy, and instead must observe in mute witness. while the performance of the latin dirge foregrounds hieronimo’s inability to connect with the community of the audience, the contents of the dirge foreground his failure to meaningfully connect with the larger archival community of classical elegy. lauren shohet remarks on the potential for engaging with a community of poets that the early modern elegiac form offers in her reading of “a doleful lay,” a poem from the multi-authored piece a pastoral elegy upon the death of the most noble and valorous knight, sir phillip sidney. shohet focuses on the pastoral speaker clorinda, sister to the deceased astrophil, and argues that clorinda’s poem “thoroughly interweaves community and individuality to produce poetic voice” (shohet 435). the article draws a distinction between clorinda’s early lamentations, which focus on isolation and individual mourning (“to myself will i my sorrow mourn”), and her later recognition of the restorative function of polyphony, concluding that “entering into poetic community produces art” (435). in an era defined by classical humanism, the literary past proved particularly important and could theoretically yield examples of successful elegiac expression with which hieronimo could productively engage as a means of reaching consolation. hieronimo’s dirge, however, rather than finding solace in the poetic archive, dramatizes a violent schism between several diametrically opposed modes of discourse by drawing equally from classical elegiac literature and the literature of the revenge tradition. as the footnotes to the new mermaid edition of the spanish tragedy describe, the dirge “contains reminiscences of lucretius, vergil, and ovid, [and] is a pastiche, in kyd’s singular fashion, of tags from classical poetry, and lines of his own composition” (the spanish tragedy 46). the early lines in the dirge look outwards, seeking remedy from the pain of grief in the community: “let someone bind for me the herbs which beautiful spring fosters, and let a salve be given for our grief; or let him apply juices, if there are any that bring forgetfulness to men’s minds” (46). while the historical provenance of these lines remains unclear, their adherence to nagy’s model for the communal production of elegiac literature suggests that they constitute one of kyd’s borrowings, likely from the poets of antiquity. as argued above, hieronimo’s communal plea falls on uncomprehending ears; only the audience and the equally bereaved isabella overhear his dirge, and for this reason it is clear that he will not find the “someone” who can produce a “salve” to soothe his grief. although hieronimo is right to look towards the archive of classical elegy to find words for his immediate grief, his coopting of that form proves mistaken precisely because the classical form depended   upon a community he sorely lacks. therefore the elegy is stripped of meaning the moment it leaves his mouth and can provide him no consolation. as if he has recognized this failure in his first lines, hieronimo turns inward in the middle portion of his dirge, and insists upon his autonomy and private inner strength as a means of seeking remedy from his grief: i myself shall gather anywhere in the great world whatever plants the sun draws forth into the fair regions of light; i myself shall drink whatever the wise woman devises, and whatever herbs incantation assembles by its secret power. i shall face all things, death even, until the moment our every feeling dies in this breast. (46) here hieronimo resorts to the inflated, hyperbolic speech common to the heroes of the virgilian epic. however, while these grandiose pronouncements prove inspirational in the context of an epic virgilian battle, they seem absurd in the context of a 16th century revenge drama. given that the audience knows hieronimo is doomed to fail from the opening moments of the drama, the heightened register of these lines play as ironic, and hieronimo’s repeated insistence on “i, myself” only serves to foreground the empty redundancy of that phrase. hieronimo very quickly abandons this inward-seeking language in the final lines of the dirge, and this abandonment suggests that his autonomously derived and self-insistent language could not adequately solve the problem of his grief. failing to produce both communal and individual language capable of alleviating his pain, hieronimo’s final recourse is to turn towards violence, specifically the violence of the revenge tradition: “i shall perish with you; thus, thus would it please me to go to the shades below. but none the less i shall keep myself from yielding to a hastened death, lest in that case no revenge should follow your death” (46). hieronimo’s failure to engage with the available archives of traditional and classic elegy forces him to seek language within himself capable of alleviating grief, a quest that will necessarily fail given that elegiac language relies upon communal rather than individual production. this linguistic failure further isolates him from the community and leaves him in a realm of silence from which only violence can emerge. peter sacks describes this degeneration from elegized speech into violence in his essay on elizabethan revenge drama, arguing that revengers “are, in a sense, elegists manqués” (sacks 65.) sacks argues that revengers, having no recourse towards justice in the community, must turn inward to dispatch a private brand of justice, a turn that inevitably dooms them to the same bloody fate as their enemies. under my argument, elegiac language has the same fate if it is not communally produced according to a process similar to the one described by nagy. the moment an elegist turns inward to produce language to solve the problem of   his or her grief, the elegy implodes, leaving behind only the pre-linguistic silence described by montaigne. it is appropriate, then, that hieronimo’s dirge ends here: having sworn an oath to revenge horatio, his powers of language are no longer necessary, and only his revenging actions prove important. again, as sacks argues via lorenzo: “where words prevail not, violence prevails” (69). hieronimo and isabella’s elegiac expressions late in the play signal both isolation from a meaningful community and the poverty of language itself as a tool for representing grief, and in doing so highlight the impossibility of producing autonomous speech capable of either representing grief or recuperating loss. hieronimo addresses this impossibility in soliloquy in act 3 scene 7: hieronimo: where shall i run to breathe abroad my woes, my woes, whose weight hath wearied the earth? or mine exclaims, that have surcharged the air with ceaseless plaints for my deceased son? the blust’ring winds, conspiring with my words, at my lament have moved the leaveless trees, disrobed the meadows of their flowered green made mountains marsh with spring-tides of my tears and broken through the brazen gates of hell. yet still tormented is my tortured soul with broken sighs and restless passions (3.7.1-9) before moving on the particulars of these lines, it is important to note that as a soliloquy hieronimo’s lament holds a privileged place in the discourse of individual, autonomous speech versus communally conceived language. given that an actor delivers a soliloquy onstage alone, it is possible to understand the theatrical device as the verbal expression of the speaking character’s interior, his or her private thoughts made public in theatrical performance. here, hieronimo enters the stage begging for a place to go where his lamentations will be overheard, somewhere to “breathe abroad his woes” where a community will overhear and respond to them. existing as they do only as interior expression and not communal address, his “plaints” remain “ceaseless,” and as a result the words themselves eventually begin to break down and become meaningless. his “sighs” are “broken,” and though his words “move the leaveless trees,” they never find a human community to overhear them. the soliloquy concludes with hieronimo complaining that though his complaints reach great heights, the heavens “resist my woes, and give my words no way,” suggesting that his lack of community corresponds to a failure in language (3.7.18).   isabella’s response to the community failing to recognize her grief proves far more apocalyptic and demonstrates the process by which failed elegizing can lead to both a violent disavowal of both language and the possibility of a future. crazed with grief, isabella returns to the arbor where horatio was hanged, declaring that “since neither piety nor pity move, / the king to justice or compassion,” she must not only destroy the tree itself but rip up its roots and destroy its soil to prevent any further growth. (4.2. 3-4). in destroying the tree and its soil, isabella instantiates the failure of her own productive capacity, both linguistic and maternal, and renders the world “barren.” because she has been rendered incapable of effective utterance and has continually failed to successfully mourn her son’s death in elegy, she, like hieronimo, turns to revenge and violence, and destroys the productive capacity of the arbor, a metonym for the community of the spanish court that has failed her. isabella’s last words finalize this gesture and signal the pressures of autonomy and painful isolation that produced them: isabella: and none but i bestir me—to no end. and as i curse this tree from further fruit, so shall my womb be cursed for his sake, and with this weapon will i wound the breast, she stabs herself the hapless breast, that gave horatio suck. (4.2. 34-39) like niobe transforming into a rock, the grieving mother here retreats into the prelinguistic state better suited for individual sufferers of grief, in this case by ending her life. her words “none but i bestir me—to no end” foreground the ineffectiveness of her speech, her extreme isolation, and her profound longing for a community with which to grieve. isabella’s dramatic and apocalyptic final gestures articulate the danger of losing one’s expressive capacity and perform the inevitable violence resulting from the realization that language can no longer adequately represent the interior world of emotions nor the exterior world of the community at large. although he does not take his own life, hieronimo’s last violent act similarly instantiates his failure to elegize and mourn his son’s death, and initiates a literal return to montaigne’s realm of “benumbed silence.” after fulfilling his oath as violent revenger, hieronimo vows never to reveal “the thing which i have vowed inviolate,” and then bites out his own tongue as proof (4.4. 188). having failed to enter into any form of communal speech that may have contributed to the production of successful elegy, hieronimo disavows language completely in the final moments of the play, convinced that it no longer has the power to represent his emotions in grief. in the wake of this gesture there remains only the severed   tongue, a visual reminder of the violent but inevitable result of facing the inadequacy of language alone in grief. works cited kyd, thomas. the spanish tragedy. ed. j.r. mulryne. new york: new mermaid, hill and wang (1970). print. montaigne, michel de. the complete essays of montaigne. ed. donald m. frame. stanford: stanford university press (1976). print. 6-8. nagy, gregory. “ancient greek elegy.” the oxford handbook of the elegy. ed. karen weisman. oxford: oxford university press, 2010. 13-45. print. sacks, peter m. the english elegy: studies in the genre from spenser to yeats. baltimore and london: john hopkins university press (1985). print. shohet, lauren. “women’s elegy: early modern.” the oxford handbook of the elegy. ed. karen weisman. oxford: oxford university press, 2010. 433441. print. weisman, karen. “introduction.” the oxford handbook of the elegy. ed. karen weisman. oxford: oxford university press, 2010. 1-9. print. west, william n. “but this will be a mere confusion”: real and represented confusions on the elizabethan stage.” theatre journal. vol. 60, no. 2 (may 2008): 217-233. web. microsoft word hurley_inappropriate formation an inappropriate football “formation:” beyoncé’s 2016 super bowl performance, mystery, and the narratives of football and race in america richelle hurley communication abstract: sports often serve as a microcosm for culture and society, and thus when meanings surrounding sports are disrupted, it likely represents a larger disruption of cultural and societal meanings, as well as group and individual identities. one can view beyoncé’s 2016 super bowl performance as disruption to constructed meanings—particularly meanings surrounding sports— as the american public voiced mixed reactions to the performance and its context. through a social constructionist lens, and through an analysis of perspectives from pearce, dewey, and berger & luckmann, this essay understands beyoncé’s 2016 super bowl performance as a mystery and an alternative narrative to the constructed meanings of sports, activism, and race in america. [end abstract] 2 introduction 2016 was a big year for superstar singer beyoncé knowles. she released a new album, titled “lemonade,” which was supplemented by an hour-long film that expanded on the album’s themes, and included a full narrative with context and imagery. the album sparked lots of conversation for its themes of infidelity, black womanhood, and race in america (hilmantel, 2016). following the release of the album and film, 2016 also found beyoncé embarking on the “formation world tour,” during which she performed at sold-out stadiums around the world. she performed at a number of awards shows throughout the year, and performed at a concert in cleveland to endorse presidential candidate hillary clinton and to promote voting in the 2016 election. her year ended with nine grammy nominations, potentially making her the female artist with the most grammy wins of all time. all of the year’s success and attention, however, began in february of 2016 when the artist made headlines for her provocative performance at the super bowl. the performance sparked both applause and criticism, as the public began to debate the performance, appropriateness, and validity of beyoncé’s message. although this debate has largely featured writings drawing on critical race and feminist perspectives, in this essay i contend that another, overlooked perspective can be just as valuable in unpacking its complexities: the constructionist perspective of communication. as the remainder of this essay will make clear, i believe that constructionists authors such as john dewey, w.b. pearce, peter berger, and thomas luckmann offer an important understanding of communication in which meaning is not absolute, but is instead a public process where people use communication to create meaning and make sense of the world. as a result, through this constructionist perspective on communication, we can read 3 beyoncé’s 2016 super bowl performance as revealing mystery, an alternate definition of reality that actively opposes the collectively constructed meanings surrounding american football— and, further, this mystery therefore reveals how these meanings support the institution of race in the united states. “formation” the significance of beyoncé’s performance began to form the day before the super bowl, on february 6th, 2016. without any warning, the singer released the song “formation” and its music video to tidal, an online music streaming service owned by the singer’s husband, rapper jay-z. the “formation” video features a myriad of images and lyrics that speak to several different tensions in and critiques of present-day america. the video opens with beyoncé sitting on a new orleans police cruiser sinking in water, with an accompanying voiceover that asks, “what happened after new orleans?” the images and lyrics that follow present a number of identities, themes, and political statements that are crucial to the significance of the album. in one prominent theme, beyoncé highlights and celebrates her black southern heritage, with images of herself and other black women sitting in a parlor dressed in lace dresses, twirling umbrellas and fanning themselves with lace fans—all images reminiscent of life in the old south. shots of new orleans and mardi gras appear repeatedly throughout, along with choreography reflecting “black southern parade and club cultures…from the parlor to the street, the black south slays in rhythm and formation” (robinson, 2016). these images are supplemented by lyrics in which beyoncé references her own southern ancestry: “my daddy alabama, my momma louisiana, you mix that negro with that creole make a texas-bama” (beyoncé, sremmurd, r., frost, j., hogan, a., & mike will made it, 2016, track 12). beyoncé then sings, “earned all this money, but they never take the country out me,” later followed by a 4 voiceover that proclaims, “i like cornbreads and collard greens, bitch, oh, yes, you besta believe it.” and in one of the most famous lines from the song, beyoncé definitively states, “i got hot sauce in my bag, swag” (beyoncé et al., 2016, track 12). through these images and statements, the video and song work together to create a bold proclamation of black southern pride. however, in addition to celebrating black southern heritage, “formation” does not shy away from politics, as the video makes explicit references to the current state of race relations in america. the strongest statement comes towards the end of the video, as a young black boy wearing all black clothes dances in front of a line of armed police officers, and then stops dancing to stand directly in front of the officers with his hands up. the camera then pans across a brick wall that displays the black graffiti declaration: “stop shooting at us.” the imagery is powerful, and is, at its most basic level, a clear acknowledgement of the increasingly publicized occurrences of police brutality in america and a sign of support for the black lives matter movement. granted, these two themes do not exhaust the more complex layers and nuances of “formation.” as one new york times article put it: “‘formation’ isn’t just about police brutality — it’s about the entirety of the black experience in america in 2016, which includes standards of beauty, (dis)empowerment, culture and the shared parts of our history” (caramanica, morris, & wortham, 2016). the video’s release created an explosion of discussion on social media sites about the video’s various themes and messages, all of which increased the suspense leading up to beyoncé’s super bowl performance the following day. unsurprisingly, the performance was an extension of the video, and created an even larger uproar because of the event’s prominence and audience size, the context of the event, and the composition of the audience; in comparison to beyoncé’s usual fan base, football usually 5 draws a large male (and white) audience. the super bowl is often the year’s top-rated television program, and 2016 was no exception. the february 7th broadcast drew 111.9 million viewers, making it the third most-watched event in u.s. television history (bauder, 2016). the peak viewership period of the program was between 8:30 and 9:00pm, which was about the timespan of the halftime show (pallotta & stelter, 2016). beyoncé’s section of the performance was sandwiched in between performances by pop singer bruno mars and pop-rock group coldplay. her portion, which lasted about one minute, featured her, 30 other black female dancers, and a small all-black, all-female marching band performing an abbreviated version of “formation”— which then transitioned into a collaborative performance with mars and coldplay in a rendition of mars’s song “uptown funk.” since many people had already heard the song the day before, much of the performance’s significance came in the choreography, outfits, and context of the event. beyoncé’s dancers wore leather long-sleeve tops and shorts, bullet belts, black boots, and donned black berets over afro hairstyles – all resonant of the black panther movement, which, likely to beyoncé’s knowledge, started in oakland, california exactly 50 years prior to the performance (rao, 2016). beyoncé herself wore a black leotard with a gold bandolier of bullets, an item identical to one that michael jackson wore during his 1993 super bowl performance and world tour (zaru, 2016). the choreography also alluded to the black panther movement when dancers raised their fists in unison as beyoncé sang, “i just might be a black bill gates in the making.” at another point in the performance, the dancers formed a large “x” formation, which some speculate was a reference to civil rights leader malcolm x. the political statements continued after the show, as the dancers posed in pictures (which they later posted to various social media sites) with signs 6 calling for justice for mario woods, a 26 year-old black male from san francisco who was shot over fifteen times by police officers after he “slashed” a stranger (rogers, 2016). the combination of the song, video, and performance sparked a large controversy over beyoncé’s message. some viewers were supportive, and applauded the singer for using such a widely viewed event like the super bowl to make a much-needed statement about social injustice. for example, black lives matter activist erika totten felt beyoncé’s performance decision was appropriate: “‘i think [the message] absolutely belongs in the super bowl,’ totten said. ‘our goal is to disrupt the status quo and bring the message wherever the message may not be heard’" (zaru, 2016). others, however, thought the super bowl was an inappropriate space for the message, and saw it as an attack on law enforcement. in one example, following the performance, former new york city mayor rudy giuliani spoke with fox news and said, “this is football, not hollywood… and i thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive” (zaru, 2016). police officers and groups across the country had similarly negative reactions. national sheriffs’ association executive director jonathan thompson claimed the performance was “inciting bad behavior… art is one thing, but yelling fire in a crowded theater is an entirely different one” (chokshi, 2016). one precinct in miami decided to take action, and collectively called for a boycott of beyoncé’s upcoming performance in the city: “the miami fraternal order of police said in a statement that it had voted to let its members boycott the show, scheduled for april 27, because it believed beyoncé had used this year’s super bowl halftime show ‘to divide americans by promoting the black panthers’” (rogers, 2016). the group called for other law enforcement organizations to boycott her concerts as well (rogers, 2016). beyoncé then took 7 advantage of the backlash, and sold “boycott beyoncé” t-shirts at her concerts for fans to wear. on the whole, beyoncé’s performance was explosive, and reignited already-tense conversations surrounding race and police brutality and america. race, sports, and communication context and setting were crucial to the significance of and uproar over beyoncé’s performance, as the super bowl is arguably the biggest sports spectacle in american culture. the sports world is one that has long dominated american culture, and thus it holds an influential place in our society. as a result, scholars have long recognized the significance of sports and communication. one can see this cultural pervasiveness in the way that sports communication has infiltrated everyday speech through the adoption of sports mentalities and sports metaphors in non-sports contexts (kassing et al., 2004, p. 375). sports speech influences much of culture, as it can, for example, build an emphasis on winning, masculinity, and aggression (kassing et al., 2004). sports can also serve as a source of identity for viewers. after all, sports are not just about entertainment, but are an opportunity for viewers to become part of a community, to communicate an affiliation, and to show loyalty and empathy to a team or athlete and/or a united hatred to opposing teams or athletes (kassing et al., 2004, p. 390). this identification, however, can also make fans susceptible to identity threats when events violate set norms and expectations, both on and off the field (sanderson et al. 2016, p. 307). whether a player drops a crucial pass or the media reveals a scandal about a team’s ceo, fans change their communication so as to align with the constructed norms of fan loyalty. as studies like these have demonstrated, sports are influential on culture as a whole, but also on an individual’s identity. 8 further, sport serves as a microcosm for culture because the world of sport mirrors significant patterns and behaviors evident within society as a whole. for example, many communication scholars have examined the issue of race in sports, which can serve as a window into broader patterns of racial injustice in culture (halone, 2008, p. 23). one particularly popular avenue of such research is the analysis of media portrayal of athletes. studies have found discrepancies in how athletic intelligence is discussed in the media, as white athletes are often portrayed as more intelligent than their black counterparts (kassing et al., 2004, p. 386; halone, 2008, p. 23). athletic ability is also attributed differently, as commentators often attribute white athletic success to hard work and black athletic success to innate ability (kassing et al., 2004, p. 386; halone, 2008, p. 23). in addition, white athletes are also more likely to be regarded as natural leaders over black athletes (kassing et al., 2004, p. 386; halone, 2008, p.23; wonseck, 1992). many of these discrepancies are a reflection of the racial ideologies existent within society, and thus the communicative study of sports can serve as an avenue for cultural exploration and understanding. yet, while sports may in this way mirror many social practices and patterns, it is also organized according to its own unique rules, especially when it comes to social campaigns or statements. on the surface, sports can be a great space for advocacy or awareness, as “sport can be fertile ground to launch many types of social and marketing campaigns since sport encompasses broad territories of meaning. sport has legions of participants and massive audiences of potential consumers” (duvall & guschwan, 2013, p. 304). however, there are rules—often informal ones, created and reinforced by fans—that determine which types of campaigns are acceptable, and which are not. sanderson et al. (2016) conducted a content analysis of social media posts following an incident in which five black st. louis rams football 9 players displayed a “hands-up” gesture during a game as a response to the michael brown case in ferguson, missouri. sanderson et al. (2016) found that many fans rejected the action, as “unequivocal support of law enforcement was a non-negotiable group value” (p. 315). in this particular case, the protest action violated constructed group values, and thus the fans responded negatively. sanderson et al (2016) concluded that the groups values of rams fans “fell along two strands: (a) that sporting events (in this case, a football game) are inappropriate venues for activism and (b) that law enforcement is an authoritarian entity that is not to be questioned” (p. 315). as this study suggests, sports may be an opportune space to communicate a message because of its large and attentive audience, but the messages must align with the constructed meanings of the event in order for them to be well received. other studies indicate that this conditional relationship between sport and advocacy is also characteristic of the olympics. as bass (2002) explains, former head of the international olympic committee avery brundage believed “that the olympics were ‘the one international affair for negroes, jews, and communists’ rather than a place to rally for human rights” (p. 186). since the olympics have been defined as representing unity, any opposing narrative will likely face resistance. the associated sporting events are typically framed as harmonious and/or nationalist events, and thus activism can easily infringe on group values and threaten group identity. this may result in rejection or criticism of participating athletes: “athletes who question authority will be subjected to harsh reactions from in-group members (fans), who equate sport (in this case football) as being distinct from social and political issues, or at least a place where these issues should not be challenged” (p. 317). while race and sports have long served as topics of academic inquiry, most of the research in this area focuses on sports media, and/or the social psychology and sociology of 10 sports phenomenon. much less research exists on how meaning is created in the sports world, and how these constructed meanings might conflict with the meanings constructed by activist actions undertaken by athletes and others. as a result, this essay seeks to broaden the communication literature on race and sports by engaging the social construction of sport and activism; to that end, the remainder of this essay offers a study of the constructionist perspective of communication as it relates to beyoncé’s 2016 super bowl halftime show performance. constructionist communication perspective although encompassing a variety of writers and concepts, the constructionist perspective of communication generally views meaning as not inherent, but rather constructed collaboratively through language and other forms of communication. john dewey (1988), one of the early contributors to this perspective, presents communication as the primary vehicle for the construction of meaning. for dewey, communication is freeing: “communication is uniquely instrumental and uniquely final. it is instrumental as liberating us from the otherwise overwhelming pressure of events and enabling us to live in a world of things that have meaning” (p. 159). without communication, we could not create meaning, and without meaning we would not be able to process or make sense of the world. decades later, w.b. pearce (1989) similarly approached language as a freeing tool, describing it as a “liberation of mere facticity”; as he explains: the term ‘liberation of mere facticity’ is deliberately provocative. i use it deliberately to name the emancipation that comes as an unintended consequence of naming the world around us and then ensconcing those names within the webs of grammar and the plot lines of stories. all at once we live in a world of our own creation – and whose nature we often forget, confusing the stories told with the process of storytelling (p. 73). 11 language is freeing as it allows us to name our world, but this naming simultaneously complicates human existence far beyond the bounds of nature or biology. the more we name our experiences, the more complex the networks of our world become. as complicated as the naming process becomes, it is vital to human existence. after all, a world without communication and meaning is a world of passive existence where events happen to people who are helpless in trying to make sense of them. communication frees us from this state, and allows us to collectively convert happenings into stable objects of contemplation and action: “when communication occurs…events turn into objects, things with a meaning… where communication exists, things in acquiring meaning, thereby acquire representatives, surrogates, signs, and implicates, which are infinitely more amenable to management, more permanent and accommodating, than events in their first estate” (dewey, 1988, p. 132). through communication people assign meaning to an event, thereby making it an object, and then that object is reconsidered, revised, and re-adapted to fit the given situation (dewey, 1988, p. 132). for this reason, context plays a significant role in meaning creation. pearce (2005) explains the importance of context in his “coordinated management of meaning”: because actions are meaningful in contexts, the interpretive process of describing the embedded contexts helps answer the question, ‘what did they do?’ to address the subsequent question, ‘why did they do that?’ we used the philosophical concept of ‘deontic logic.’ this is a logical system that uses terms of ‘oughtness’ to act rather than the verb ‘to be.’ that is, rather than starting with the premise that ‘all men are mortal,’ deontic reasoning might start with the premise ‘i should not kill innocent people.’ as we employ the concept in cmm, it is a way of expressing the extent to which all of us, when 12 interacting with each other, feel that we must/should/may/must not respond in certain ways. (p. 40) this deontic logic implies that in our process of meaning creation, we establish appropriate places and times for behaviors. we make events into objects, and then we categorize those objects based on “oughtness.” from pearce’s (1989) perspective, this meaning creation process can be described as storytelling. as we assign meaning to the world, we tell stories about it. in order for the meaning to hold, people need to believe the story, and thus enter into a suspension of disbelief: “particular symbolic systems encourage certain ways of thought and action, and to the extent that those who use the language will have suspended their disbelief is in those stories, they will think and act in those ways” (p. 40) the more people believe the stories and meanings we attribute to events, the more people will act in accordance with the ideas of the story. the more a person suspends their disbelief in the story that beauty means a slim figure, the more that person will try to attain and/or maintain a slim figure. this dedication to a story is what pearce (1989) calls “enmeshment,” and it can have serious implications for social meaning creation. stories and meanings are products of human collaboration, and exist exclusively in the public sphere. communication allows for meaning creation to be a collaborative process, and for this reason dewey (1988) argues that no meaning is inherent, absolute, or existent solely in one’s mind: meaning is objective as well as universal. originating as a concerted or combined method of using or enjoying things, it indicates a possible interaction, not a thing in separate singleness. a meaning may not of course have the particular objectivity which is imputed to it, as whistling does not actually portend wind, nor the ceremonial sprinkling of water 13 indicate rain. but such magical imputations of external reference testify to the objectivity of meaning as such. meanings are naturally the meaning of something or other; difficulty lies in discriminating the right thing. (p. 148) meaning only exists because of its connection to at least one other communicated experience, not in “separate singleness.” meaning therefore is not absolute, but may change depending on the context of a situation or after the occurrence of a new event. the process of social construction is a cycle with many moving parts. as pearce (2005) explains in his coordinated management of meaning theory, communication and worldbuilding require interactions: cmm envisions communication acts as doing things (i.e., as performatives) and thus as making the events and objects in our social world. however, communicative acts cannot be done alone. each act is done to, for, or against someone. further, what is done is usually after and before what others do. the events and objects of the social world are not only made in communication, the process is one of co-construction, of being made by the conjoint action of multiple persons. (p. 43) every meaning is a result and cause of another. with each new event and/or interaction, meaning creation evolves and imposes its consequences. “but when an event has meaning, its potential consequences become its integral and funded feature. when the potential consequences are important and repeated, they form the very nature and essence of a thing, its defining, identifying, and distinguishing form” (dewey, 1988, p. 143). a new communicated meaning will be put to the test every time that event occurs again. if the event occurs again and the original designated meaning still stands, then that meaning becomes more ingrained and it more deeply defines the identity and reality of the event. however, if the event repeats and the 14 communication surrounding it changes, then the meaning of the event changes. dewey does not suggest meaning to be absolute, but he notes that a meaning may become near absolute the deeper it ingrains itself into an event. pearce (1989) warns against such a deep ingraining, or enmeshment, and instead advocates for mystery. according to pearce (1989), becoming too enmeshed in stories is dangerous: “entranced by the liberating power of the stories in which we are enmeshed, we are often blinded to the alternative worlds created by the stories of our neighbors, our ancestors, and our descendants” (p. 79). becoming deeply enmeshed in stories can prevent people from seeing possibilities of other stories. this is why pearce (1989) argues for the necessity of mystery: “mystery is the reminder that such lines are ultimately arbitrary distortions, no doubt necessary but not to be read with a complete suspension of disbelief” (p. 81). we need mystery as a reminder that our stories and meanings are not absolute, and that for every story there exists a mysterious alternate story. the desire for power and social structures can often cloud the necessity of mystery from collective memory, and can selfishly work to establish one particular meaning as seemingly absolute. berger and luckmann (1966) outline different ways through which humans create and change reality. berger and luckmann (1966) explain the role the meaning creation process plays in power dynamics and social structures: “a second consequence is a strengthening of traditionalism in the institutionalized actions thus legitimated, that is, a strengthening of the inherent tendency of institutionalization toward inertia. habitualization and institutionalization in themselves limit the flexibility of human actions” (p. 108). berger and luckmann’s (1966) traditionalism within institutions is similar to pearce’s (1989) enmeshment. the more that a meaning is attributed to a given event, and enshrined in an institution or structure, the more 15 normalized, traditional, and habitual that event becomes (or, in pearce’s case, the more enmeshed in the story we are, and the less room there is for mystery). a deep enmeshment supported by social structures and institutions can have vital implications, as the attendant meanings may become extremely difficult to change; this is particularly dangerous if the tradition or institution is one that causes oppression or disadvantages a large number of people. this is not to say that change and mystery cannot occur, but they do require human action. as berger and luckmann (1966) explain, “because they are historical products of human activity, all socially constructed universes change, and the change is brought about by the concrete actions of human beings” (p. 107). just as humans build the universe, they are also able to take it down and build it back up. however, this process is not easy and often opposing definitions can create tension: “these considerations imply that there will always be a socialstructural base for competition between rival definitions of reality and that the outcome of the rivalry will be affected, if not always determined outright, by the development of this base” (berger & luckmann, 1966, p. 110). after all, the more that people become enmeshed within stories of meaning, the harder it is to see an opposing view, or the mystery of an alternate narrative. pearce (2005) addresses this tension as it exists within intercultural contexts, and argues that both sides of the issue must cooperate for change to occur: “in these conflicts between incommensurate social worlds, a minimal requirement of satisfactory performance includes an awareness of one’s own cultural resources, a willingness to move beyond them, and the ability to find ways of cooperatively dealing with the conflict that transcend the social worlds of the participants” (p. 45). after all, meaning is a collaborative process. just as humans work together to create meaning, humans have to work together to change it. this process does not come easily, and it often meets resistance, especially in settings where people hold tight to 16 traditional meanings. this is particularly true for sports settings, which are spaces where members hold tightly to traditionally constructed meanings. meaning creation and change requires collaboration, but oftentimes people do not want to participate in this process. the next section of the essay will understand this tension through an analysis of beyoncé’s 2016 super bowl performance. the wrong football “formation” beyoncé’s super bowl performance is not an event that derives meaning or significance from “separate singleness” (dewey, 1988), but rather retains its meaning from the history and associated stories of sports and political protests in america and the tension that exists between them. the performance moved from an event to an object as people assigned meaning to it, exemplifying dewey’s (1988) explanation of the constructionist abilities of communication. the communication event of beyoncé’s performance took on multiple meanings, and acquired varying “representatives, surrogates, signs, and implicates,” (dewey, 1988, p. 132) as people began to categorize the event as positive, negative, or somewhere in between, all based on their own experiences with related meanings and events. people assigned meaning to the performance as they posted on social media, wrote articles online, reported the event on the news, and talked about it around the water cooler. these assigned meanings come from and build upon previously told stories about beyoncé, football, sports, race, and political protests. as constructionist authors explain, meaning is a process of chain reactions, of reinforced, readjusted, and readapted meaning creation and storytelling. beyoncé’s video and performance was in itself a part of the chain reaction that pearce (2005) describes in his coordinated management of meaning. pearce explains that every action is done in a response to something, aimed at someone else, and elicits a response from someone in return. beyoncé’s performance 17 was a supplement to her video, which was arguably a response to a number of other objectivized events, from police brutality, to hurricane katrina, to race relations in america. the performance was directed at many different audiences: levi’s stadium attendees, 111.9 million television viewers, and the innumerable people who saw or heard about the event after the live performance finished. the performance then elicited countless responses in the form of social media posts, television reports, online articles, public statements, and conversations between friends and family. the performance did not occur in isolation, but was an event that occurred in a large network of other meanings and events. pearce also argues that context and “oughtness” plays a large role in meaning creation. what people “ought” to do are large themes in the stories we tell. in beyoncé’s case, the questions surrounding context came in the form of either support or criticism for the choice to make a political statement at a super bowl game. the super bowl, along with football and american sports, is tied to its own set of meanings and stories that have developed over time through communication, thus influencing the meaning creation process following beyoncé’s performance. the dominant story is that american sports are for enjoyment. by this point in american history, the public has suspended a substantial amount of disbelief in this story, and they have collectively and continuously reinforced this narrative. people set aside their sunday afternoons to watch games starting at 1pm and ending at 11pm. beer companies work hard to reinforce this narrative, as they promote their product with images of young people at a bar, or in their living rooms, or at a stadium, all watching football and consuming beer as a way to enjoy the game and celebrate their team. the narrative of football and enjoyment is heightened on the day of the super bowl, as people across the nation host and attend game-watch parties, thus making the event the most18 viewed program on american television. spectators want to enjoy the event, and thus suspend disbelief that football is anything but fun and camaraderie. in this story, people “ought” to enjoy the game and create a fun experience. as pearce (1989) explains, the more people believe a story or meaning, the more that they act accordingly with the set behaviors of that story. so, the more people believe football to be a happy occasion, the more they will act accordingly by abiding by the rules of “oughtness” (e.g., watching games, drinking beer, throwing super bowl parties), and the more they will resist opposing stories. football’s constructed and communicated meaning of pleasure contributes to the chain reaction of meaning creation leading up to beyoncé’s performance, and is also a source of tension in the varying responses to the show. beyoncé’s performance, in isolation, had many political undertones alluding to racial injustice in america, from the song lyrics to the symbolism within the performance. in the context of the super bowl, essentially the peak of american professional sports, beyoncé’s narrative clashed with the story of football. the performance was not simple and fun unity. the performance was provocative, political, and strategic. the performance was a call to pull viewers out of their suspension of disbelief that football could be anything but pleasure, and to bring social issues to their attention. in the action of wearing black berets and raising fists to recall the black panthers, beyoncé and her dancers brought civil rights and all of its related meanings to the super bowl. many know that the civil rights movement was not a period of enjoyment, but rather of national tension, pain, and strife. the video to “formation” evokes similar struggles as it highlights the aftermath of hurricane katrina and the horrors of police brutality, a commentary furthered by the dancers’ posts about mario woods following the super bowl performance. through “formation,” both the video and the 19 super bowl performance, beyoncé tells a story of black struggle and black power, and a story of holding people accountable for the injustice they cause. by bringing the civil rights movement and statements regarding modern racial injustice to the super bowl, beyoncé provides a story that is a liberation from the seeming facticity of both football narratives and narratives of general american life. it is an alternate narrative that suggests that socially accepted norms do not have to reign supreme. football does not have to be a space free of political commentary, and americans should not ignore the racial injustices occurring in the united states. this alternate narrative, when viewed through the perspective of pearce (1989), can be seen as mystery, for it suggests that our constructed meanings are not absolute. pearce (1989) advocates for mystery, and warns against deep enmeshment. we can see the consequences of deep enmeshment when viewing beyoncé’s performance through pearce’s lens. as expected, the people who are deeply enmeshed in the story of football and american sports, such as former mayor giuliani, had a more difficult time accepting the mystery of a story in which the super bowl is a platform for social and political commentary. beyoncé’s performance is not the first time that a political statement in an athletic context by a black person received resistance. in the 1968 olympics, american gold and bronze medalists tommie smith and john carlos, respectively, stood on the olympic podium with raised fists to both protest black poverty and stand to promote black american strength and unity. this simple political act had huge implications, and the athletes ended up losing their medals as a consequence: "it was a polarizing moment because it was seen as an example of black power radicalism… mainstream america hated what they did” (davis, 2008). medal ceremonies in the olympics hold a meaning of national pride and celebration, so a story where athletes protest their country on the podium is a blatantly opposing narrative. in a more recent 20 example, san francisco 49ers quarterback colin kaepernick knelt during the national anthem during every football game of the 2016 season as a silent but overt protest against racial injustice (wyche, 2016). this controversial act continues to receive widely mixed reviews and criticisms, as some see the act as admirable, and others view it as a protest against america and the american military. this act not only challenges the narrative of behavioral “oughtness” at national sporting events, but it provides an alternate, liberating, mysterious narrative that supports political protest in the professional sports arena and erases the absoluteness of prior meanings surrounding sports. for each of these instances of political protest within the context of american professional sports, protestors have faced consequences. tommie smith and john carlos lost their medals, colin kaepernick has received criticism from army officials, supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg, and countless political commentators—and currently remains unsigned by any nfl team—and beyoncé received calls for boycotts from police departments throughout the country. this is consistent with dewey and pearce’s understanding that communicated meanings having consequences. new events can either reinforce or change previously constructed meanings. in beyoncé’s case, opposing critics of her performance reinforce the narrative of football existing as an exclusively enjoyable space. supporters of the performance, however, fuel a change in the narrative of football. so, which meaning will prevail, new or old? the answer goes back to berger and luckmann’s (1966) explanation of communication, traditionalism, and institutions. as traditional meanings are strengthened through reinforcement, so is the strength of the institution it supports. on the surface, it may seem as though the institution facing opposition here is football and american professional sports. however, the meanings go deeper than that, and so do 21 the institutions at play. after all, what do tommie smith, john carlos, colin kaepernick, and beyoncé have in common? not only are they all prominent black figures, but they all made statements about racial injustice at a professional sports event, and people were angry about it. thus, amidst the various meanings of beyoncé’s performance exists the institution of race in america, although not explicitly stated. instead of attacking beyoncé’s narrative regarding racial injustice, critics questioned the sub-narratives of the performance, including the appropriateness of the setting combined with the content of the performance (allusions to the black panthers, support of mario woods, all of the racially-charged messages within the “formation” video that preceded the performance) and the interpreted attack on police officers. however, these narratives all focused on the performance and the video rather than the larger messages and social problems, which feeds into the support of the institution of race in america, an institution that the narrative of football supports and beyoncé’s performance challenges. race in itself is a story americans have told and molded through communication for centuries. there is no absolutism that can be attributed to it. white people are not inherently superior, nor are people of any other race inherently inferior. race has no inherent meaning. humans have communicated meanings around race to make sense of aspects of their world, and have reinforced and recreated the details of the concept as events occurred throughout history, much to the benefit of some groups and the detriment of others. after hundreds of years of reinforcement, race has become a strong tradition and institution created through meaning construction, as per the process berger and luckmann (1966) describe. the structure has certainly evolved over time, and events such as the abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement, and the black lives matter movement have challenged the narrative of race and have changed its definition. recent public discourses regarding race have discussed different 22 perspectives such as white privilege, systemic racism, and whether or not we currently live in a post-race society. however, what has not changed is that the institution of race benefits whites, and thus because it maintains power for the powerful, the powerful try and maintain the tradition, and communicatively strengthen the institution through meaning reinforcement. the way to maintain the institution and reinforce its meaning is to not talk about it at all, or classify it as an event that “ought” not be discussed in particular spaces. this way, the event will not challenge the institution and no change will take place. football’s narrative of enjoyment and entertainment, and therefore rejection of political commentary and institutional opposition, is one that benefits whites because conversations about race do not equate to fun entertainment, so conversations about race “ought” not exist in the context of football. thus, when beyoncé’s performance clashed with the pleasantry narrative, she challenged the institution of race that otherwise can hide behind the safe and enjoyable narrative of football. similarly, in the chain reaction of meaning creation, when people articulated responses to the performance that reinforced the story of football, they indirectly and unintentionally reinforced the institution of racial inequality. people deeply enmeshed in the stories of football and race acted in accordance with their suspension of disbelief, and thus responded in a way that reinforced the stories they believe. the institution and traditions of race in america are deeply ingrained, as they have existed in the stories of america since the country’s beginning. countering these traditions, or offering mystery narratives that turn into accepted narratives, is no easy task, even for a superstar like beyoncé. however, berger and luckmann (1966) and offer arguments for how constructed meanings can change. berger and luckmann (1966) acknowledge the difficulty in changing stable structures but also note, “breakdown in the taken-for-granted acceptance of the monopoly 23 accelerates social change” (p. 113). beyoncé’s performance was a notable breakdown in the acceptance, or suspension of disbelief, in the monopoly of meanings surrounding football and race, and thus holds the potential to accelerate social change. beyoncé will not likely create this change singlehandedly, but could progress a chain reaction of meaning creation that will have an impact. after all, berger and luckmann (1966) argue that it is human action that builds up structures and traditions, so “the change is brought about by the concrete actions of human beings” (p. 107). beyoncé’s performance is a concrete action that facilitates change through the offering of a mystery narrative that challenges the dominant meanings and constructed definitions of reality within the context of football and the institution of race. however, this one act will not guarantee change. as we see from pearce (2005), two conflicting meanings require people to cooperatively choose and work to change a cultural meaning and norm (p. 45). both sides of the conflict must contribute to the process of redefining reality by suspending disbelief into the opposing narrative. after all, meaning creation is collaborative. one person, such as beyoncé, cannot create or dictate meaning, but rather the entire public must work together to create meaning, even if that means acknowledging and resolving conflicting definitions of reality. mystery: the gateway to social change the constructionist perspective puts the power of meaning creation and construction into the hands of collective communication, and thus the entirety of human life is made up of constructed meanings. one sees this process in beyoncé’s super bowl performance and the discourse following the event, discourse which both stems from the previously created meanings of football in america and also works to define and redefine the meanings of the performance, football, and the institution of race. if one enmeshes themselves deeply within the story of 24 football, then they will believe beyoncé should not have presented a politically charged performance. however, beyoncé’s story is the mystery. it is the alternate narrative that reminds everyone that no meaning is absolute, and that it is dangerous to suspend ones disbelief too deeply into the stories of any given tradition or institution. mysteries are the gateway to social change, as they expose people to new meaning possibilities and new worldviews. because meaning is collaborative, these alternate meanings must find attention and acceptance in the public sphere in order to be successful. beyoncé alone cannot change football or the institution of race, 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(2016). beyonce gets political at super bowl, pays tribute to 'black lives matter'. retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/08/politics/beyonce-super-bowlblack-lives-matter/ [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] 2012 graduate research prize essay diagnosis of late-life depression: a critical review shaina garrison psychology introduction over the past 150 years, the average life expectancy has dramatically increased from 40 years to 80 years (aw, silva, & palmer, 2007). due to continued advances in medicine, the relative proportion of people over the age of 65 is predicted to increase from its present 18% to 25% of the worldwide population by 2031 (aw et al., 2007). due to the rapid expansion of this age demographic, there is an increased need for research that identifies specific issues that the older population will face in order to help them enjoy long, healthy lives. for most people, late life is associated with improved emotion regulation and an increased motivation to focus one’s attention on emotionally gratifying information (carstensen & mikels, 2005). however, for some proportion of the older population, depressive symptoms will interfere with their ability to experience satisfaction with their lives. in older adults, both clinical and subthreshold depression diagnoses have been linked to severe impairment and health risks (e.g., beekman, deeg, braam, smit, & van tilburg, 1997; beekman et al., 2002; bruce, 2001). therefore, it is logical that clinicians and researchers would want to know as much as possible about the prevalence, etiology, course, and most beneficial form of treatment of depressive disorders in the geriatric population. in the general population, the lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder (mdd) is believed to be between 10% and 25% in women, and from 5% to 12% in men (dsm-iv-tr, 2000). a review of the existing literature on age effects on depression revealed that past studies that attempted to quantify the prevalence of depression in the older adult population have yielded mixed results due, in part, to differences in diagnostic methods. without a standard method for defining and diagnosing depression in older individuals, a coherent understanding of age-related changes in depression cannot be reached. in addition, the lack of standardization in assessment methods can lead to unreliable diagnoses on the part of clinicians, resulting in older adults not always receiving appropriate treatment for their symptoms. the following paper reviews the literature on the diagnosis of clinical depression in elderly individuals. the development of the existing assessment techniques and the movement toward a standardized diagnostic technique will be discussed. in addition, the methods of control used in research for defining and diagnosing depression will be critiqued. pros and cons of available control and assessment techniques will be considered, and suggestions will be made for future research endeavors in this field. characterizing depression some of the discrepancy in the literature over the prevalence of depression in advanced age stems from the fact that some studies characterize depression as mdd as defined in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.; dsm–iv–tr; american psychiatric association, 2000), whereas other studies define depression in terms of the number of depressive symptoms one experiences, without the necessity of an mdd diagnosis. the dsm-iv-tr defines mdd as the presence of one or more major depressive episodes without the presence of any manic, hypomanic, or mixed episodes or psychotic disorders. mdd may consist of a single major depressive episode, or it may be recurrent. the current clinical status and features of the mdd may be further specified. older adults are more likely to present with melancholic features than other forms of mdd (blazer, 2003; parker, roy, hadzipavlovic, wilhelm, & mitchell, 2001), in contrast to younger adults, who are more likely to experience atypical features (dsm-iv-tr, 2000). overall, the prognosis for older adults with mdd is very poor (beekman et al., 2002). mdd has been linked to severe impairments in the elderly population including increased risk of mortality (beekman et al., 2002) and increased likelihood of disability (bruce, 2001). imaging research indicates that severe mdd is associated with decreased volume in the prefrontal lobes (kumar, jin, bilker, udupa, & gottlieb, 1998), which may contribute to the cognitive difficulties often reported in late-life depression (dsm-iv-tr, 2000). specific cognitive difficulties that are associated with mdd include impairments in verbal recall and mental flexibility (elderkinthompson et al., 2003). however, research indicates that even subclinical levels of depressive symptoms can still be chronic and debilitating in older adults. if an individual presents with between two and four of the major depressive episode features, he or she is considered to have subthreshold depression, also referred to as minor depressive disorder (blazer, 2003; dsm-iv-tr, 2000). the dsm-ivtr (2000) states that, on average, people with minor depressive disorder are significantly less impaired than people with mdd and may be able to function at nearly normal levels, although it may require more effort than usual to complete one’s daily tasks. for elderly people with minor depression, however, the prognosis is still unfavorable, although not as poor as that for elderly sufferers of mdd (beekman et al., 2002). for example, older adults with subclinical depression are at high risk for developing clinically significant affective disorders (beekman et al., 2002). minor depression is also associated with deteriorating physical health, in contrast with major depression, which seems to be independent of physical health (beekman et al., 1997). subclinical depression can also lead to impaired executive functioning in elders (elderkinthompson et al., 2003). both mdd and minor depressive symptoms are associated with excessive use of public health services such as hospitals and social work agencies (beekman et al., 1997). this finding has significant public health implications, as healthcare is costly, and the overuse of public health services by older adults can overwhelm some aspects of the public healthcare system. it is also important to note that depressed elders experiencing financial difficulties or legal struggles may seek the help of public service providers such as social workers, not realizing that their problems may stem from depression (brink et al., 1982). if the individual’s symptoms are somatic, as they often are in old age, they might seek treatment from physicians for their physical ailments. it has been reported that older adults are reluctant to seek the help of mental healthcare specialists, perhaps due to a negative view of mental health issues (brink et al., 1982). this bias might lead elders to seek the help of public servants who do not specialize in mental health. however, these workers, not being trained in the recognition and treatment of depression to the same degree as psychiatrists, will not be able to treat the root of these individuals’ impairments. as a result, any benefits the older individuals receive from this sort of assistance will be short-lived, and the cycle of misdiagnosis, impairment, and overuse of public services will continue. it is important to take note of how depression is defined when looking at studies that assess the prevalence of depression in the older adult community. many studies that assessed depression along a continuous scale found a u-shaped association between age and the number of depressive symptoms reported in individuals, such that depressive symptoms decrease in frequency until middle age and increase in frequency throughout early and late old age (e.g., blazer, burchett, service, & george, 1991; wu, schimmele, & chappell, 2011; yang, 2007). however, when depression is categorized in terms of meeting the diagnostic criteria for mdd, a negative association between advanced age and depression is often found (e.g. jorm, 2000; yang, 2007). additionally, the way in which depression is defined affects the absolute prevalence rates. for example, a 1995 cross-sectional study of older adults in the netherlands found that while the prevalence of mdd was only 2.02%, 14.9% of the population had clinically relevant levels of depressive symptoms, encompassing both major and minor depression (beekman et al., 1995). clearly, variation in the definition of depression has contributed to much of the divergence in the literature regarding the prevalence of late-life depression. the discovery that major depression and minor depression have different etiologies highlights the importance of differential diagnosis. subthreshold depression seems to develop as a reaction to exogenous stressors associated with late life such as loneliness and poor subjective health (beekman et al., 1995). in contrast, late-life mdd is associated with personal and family histories of mood disorders (beekman et al., 1995). these differences clearly show that major and minor depression are different syndromes and should be addressed differently in both the research and clinical domains. knowledge of the etiological differences between major and minor depression is essential in the clinical setting for selecting the appropriate treatment for the patient’s syndrome. while the first line of therapy for mdd is treatment with serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors (ssri) and psychotherapy, ssris are not usually recommended for treatment of minor depressive disorder unless the symptoms become chronic (blazer, 2003). thus, older adults suffering from minor depression are generally advised to take part in psychotherapy to address the stressors that are causing their suffering and impairment. accurate diagnosis of depression by clinicians is particularly essential for older adults, as misdiagnosis can have severe consequences. false diagnosis with mdd in an individual who is only experiencing minor depressive symptoms can lead to unnecessary pharmacological interventions, which may exacerbate the individual’s existing symptoms and actually worsen their suffering (cooke & tucker, 2001). in addition, depression that is left untreated can result in the problems discussed earlier, including increased impairment and suicidality. despite the growth of research that emphasizes the importance of accurate diagnosis, diagnostic accuracy remains an issue among healthcare providers. for example, in a 2001 study of six nursing homes in new york, fewer than 50% of cases of mdd were accurately recognized and diagnosed by nurses and social workers on the nursing home staff (teresi, abrams, holmes, ramirez, & eimicke, 2001). once depression is defined, how is it determined which individuals meet the criteria for that definition? the following section discusses the ways in which depression has been assessed in past studies that investigated the role of age in depression. available techniques for assessment of depression in older adults the diagnostic criteria provided by the dsm-iv-tr (2000) are currently the most widely agreed-upon set of criteria used to diagnose mdd and other depressive disorders (cooke & tucker, 2001). however, there is variation in the methods that clinicians and researchers use to determine which of these criteria an elderly individual meets. the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (ces-d) was developed in the 1960s to measure depressive symptoms in the general population (radloff, 1977). the 30-item ces-d was originally included as part of a longer structured interview used to assess a variety of psychological constructs including mood, well-being, and social desirability. however, many researchers use the ces-d alone to measure how many depressive symptoms an individual has from each of the major components of depression, defined as depressed mood, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, psychomotor retardation, loss of appetite, and sleep disturbance (radloff, 1977). individuals rate the frequency with which they experience each symptom on a scale from zero to three. the ces-d has been validated against many other depression scales, has been tested in a variety of demographic populations, and is considered to be highly reliable when assessing depression in the general population (radloff, 1977; watson & pignone, 2003). however, in elderly populations, the ces-d has been found to be less sensitive for diagnosing minor depression than mdd (watson & pignone, 2003). the geriatric depression scale (gds) was developed in the early 1980s when researchers began to notice that depressed older adults often presented with features that were distinct from those typically reported in younger and middle-aged adults (montorio & izal, 1996). in particular, the scale did not include somatic symptoms due to the prevalence of confusion in older adults about whether their physical symptoms were a result of depression, a general medical condition, or the normal effect of the aging process on the human body (brink et al., 1982; montorio & izal, 1996; watson & pignone, 2003). the gds also uses a simplified yes/no answer format in order to reduce confusion in elderly people who may be experiencing cognitive decline. the gds can be used in its full, 30-item format or in an abridged, 15-item format for expedited administration1. like the ces-d, the gds has been extensively evaluated and validated against other scales (brink et al., 1982; watson & pignone, 2003). the 15-item gds has been found to be more sensitive than the ces-d at detecting minor depression in older adults (watson & pignone, 2003). the ces-d and gds are both self-report scales, which have costs and benefits in both the clinical and research domains. one advantage of self-report scales is that they can be used to quickly screen and categorize patients without the need for extensive interviewing and observation, which can help clearly disordered individuals receive treatment faster (brink et al., 1982). the need for fast treatment is particularly important for the depressed elderly, who are at high risk for suicidal ideation (blazer, 2003) and completed suicide (cooke & tucker, 2001). however, an alternative view of this expedited clinical process is that patients who are on the borders of the cut-off scores for clinical significance might benefit from a more lengthy and indepth diagnosis protocol. in this way, more detailed structured and semi-structured interviews could lead to reductions in both false positives and false negatives when diagnosing depression. the following section encompasses a fuller discussion of limitations of past research. it also makes suggestions for ways in which future researchers can address these limitations, which will ultimately benefit both the research and clinical domains. issues of control and directions for future research it is not clear from the literature why some studies assess depression in older adults using the ces-d, others use the gds, and others use the two in conjunction with each other or with other depression scales. at first glance, it seems as though the gds should always be the better choice for diagnosing late-life depression due to its simplicity and the omission of the somatic and psychomotor symptoms that are often confusing to older adults. however, it is important to remember that older adults are more likely to present with melancholic depression, some features of which are somatic (i.e., significant changes in weight) and psychomotor (i.e., psychomotor retardation or agitation) in nature (dsm-iv-tr, 2000). in fact, melancholic depression has been shown to lead to more psychomotor disturbance in older adults than in younger adults (parker et al., 2001). by neglecting to assess this subset of systems, there might be an increased rate of false negatives when diagnosing depression in older adults. thus, clinicians and researchers would benefit from the administration of both the gds and the ces-d, in conjunction with a physical examination to ascertain the cause of any somatic symptoms (blazer, 2003). 1 the long and short versions of the gds are in the public domain. they may be found at www.stanford.edu/~yesavage/gds.html furthermore, tests of cognitive functioning such as the mini-mental state examination (mmse) or the clinical dementia rating scale should be given in order to assess whether (a) the individual is competent to self-report his or her symptoms and (b) the underlying cause of any cognitive impairments is dementia or another source of cognitive decline (blazer, 2003; montorio & izal, 1996). the standardization of this diagnostic workup would lead to improved interclinician reliability and increased consistency across research studies. a major issue in the existing research on aging and depression is that cross-sectional studies can result in cohort effects; in other words, changes over time in education and awareness about mental health issues, availability of mental health resources, economic issues, average stress levels, and other factors may contribute to observed differences in depression between younger and older people (wu et al., 2012; yang, 2007). in this way, cross-sectional studies only tell us about the prevalence of depression in the current population, but they do not provide an accurate picture of how depression changes in individuals as a result of the aging process. in addition, there may be age bias in cross-sectional studies related to differential validity of the test items across age groups (jorm, 2000). for these reasons, there is a need for more longitudinal research that assesses changes in depression in individuals over time. another problem in the literature on late-life depression is that severely depressed elders are more likely to drop out of or miss observations in longitudinal studies (e.g. beekman et al., 2002). for this reason, our knowledge about severe depression is limited. future research attempts should focus on decreasing attrition in the most severely depressed old adults by offering additional compensation for full cooperation and complete participation in studies. the self-report measures that are commonly used in studies of depression may be completed from the privacy of one’s home, which could make participation in these studies more attractive to severely depressed individuals. increased mortality in the clinically depressed elderly also leads to increased rates of attrition in both longitudinal and cross-sectional research (blazer, 2003). continued efforts to improve recognition and treatment of mdd and its precursors in the geriatric population will hopefully lead to improved prognoses for depressed individuals, which will, in turn, benefit future research efforts. late-life depression is often comorbid with medical conditions as well as other psychiatric disorders. in fact, many general medical conditions have been shown to cause, exacerbate, or mimic depressive symptoms (cooke & tucker, 2001; dsm-iv-tr, 2000). for this reason, there have been attempts in relatively recent research to control for these comorbid conditions in order to tease apart the effects of aging on depression independent of other conditions. blazer et al. (1991) discovered that frequency of depressive symptoms was associated with advanced age, being female, cognitive impairment, disability, and lack of social support. without the inclusion of these factors in the regression analysis, there was a positive correlation between advanced age and depression in people over the age of 65. however, when these factors were controlled for, the association reversed, such that the oldest old participants had the fewest depressive symptoms. similarly, wu et al. (2012) identified that the linear increase in depressive symptoms in elderly people results from an increase in medical comorbidity in late life. after controlling for medical illness, there was no relationship between age and depressive symptoms. these findings convey that psychological and physiological factors associated with advanced age influence the frequency of depressive symptoms above and beyond the role of aging itself. from these findings, we can also ascertain that some risk factors for late-life depression, such as availability of social support and seeking treatment for medical conditions, are potential sources of intervention in order to diminish the likelihood that some older people will develop depression. it is important to note that studies that utilize depressed elders do not always report or control for the age of onset of depression, thereby lumping together people who have had chronic depression since childhood and people who may have had their first major depressive episode in their old age. there is evidence that late-onset depression is more likely to occur due to exogenous stressors, whereas early-onset depression is likely related to endogenous factors such as neuroendocrine dysregulation and genetics (klein, 2010). these differences in etiology indicate that future studies should make an effort to control for onset. future studies of aging and depression should continue to use scales such as the gds that are designed to be short, simple, and easily visible to healthy older adults, who may be visually impaired or experiencing mild cognitive decline. more research is also needed to fully understand the interaction of dementia and depression. despite the relative simplicity of the gds, it is not recommended for use with individuals who are more than mildly demented on the clinical dementia rating scale (montorio & izal, 1996). specifically, patients with dementia may not be able to accurately remember and report on their experience of depressive symptoms over the past week, as required by the gds. future research should attempt to develop new scales that clinicians can administer to more severely cognitively impaired individuals, perhaps by including reports from caregivers and asking patients to report their present symptoms rather than remembering past experiences of symptoms. this research will further scientific knowledge about the prevalence of depression in dementia patients in hopes of ultimately providing these individuals with accurate diagnoses and beneficial treatment plans, thereby improving their quality of life. conclusions as the years pass, there will be increasing numbers of elderly adults in the population. they will be our co-workers, our neighbors, our family members, and someday, ourselves. recent research has indicated that social workers, nurses, and other healthcare providers are not adequately trained to recognize and treat signs of depression in geriatric populations (blazer, 2003). it is exceedingly important to educate healthcare providers and the general public about the ways in which late-life depression differs from early-life depression in appearance, etiology, and appropriate treatment in order to improve recognition of depressive symptoms and increase the proportion of depressed elders who receive adequate treatment. furthermore, improved diagnostic success will lead to increased knowledge about the community prevalence of depression and changes in depression in individuals over time. for most people, old age is a time to focus on maintaining intimate relationships and reflect on the most meaningful achievements of their lives (carstensen & mikels, 2005). since medical advances mean that we have greater longevity (aw et al., 2007), we can be productive and happy members of our community for longer and accomplish more with the time we have. however, for some, aging and its associated stressors can result in mood disturbances such as major and minor depression, which significantly detract from their quality of life. late-life depression is treatable, but improvements in research and clinical practice are needed to ensure that more people are accurately diagnosed and treated. references american psychiatric association. 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(n.d.) mood scale (short form). retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/~yesavage/gds.english.short.score.html microsoft word borrowman final version -for online.docx [concept, vol. xxxviii (2015)] rousseau on health: a study of our relations kelsey n. borrowman philosophy “i would say that our society has been afflicted by a disease, for which we haven’t yet found a name; and this mental disease has a very curious symptom, which is that the symptom itself brought the mental disease into being.” michel foucault, 19711 jean-jacques rousseau is rare among eighteenth century philosophers for his enduring commitment to the interrelation of the body and mind. for rousseau, the body and mind are not independent, and, as such, each must be cultivated, if not simultaneously, then with regard to the other, for the other (rousseau 1979, 125).2 however, he remarks on the body in a contradictory manner, valorizing the “strong” and “robust” as “healthy” and admonishing weakness in the body. in what follows, i begin by addressing what rousseau says about the body in a general sense, highlighting the causal connections he draws between the strength of body and the development of mind and, secondly, the importance they each hold for the cultivation of virtue. then, i turn to his comments regarding the body, which are more troublesome, particularly with regard to sickness. however, while he is using the negative claims as negative claims – for example, the way he deplores sickness because it “constricts” us to ourselves and focuses our attention on our body, disallowing other senses to develop – to over emphasize this negativity is to miss something in what is essential to rousseau’s project: namely, that the experience, knowledge, and recognition of sickness is the condition for the proper cultivation of pity. regarding pity, rousseau marks out two different paths: (1) amour-propre and (2) “properly cultivated” pity, or what is now called compassion.3 the latter 1 noam chomsky and michel foucault, the chomsky-foucault debate: on human nature (new york: the new press, 2006), 59. 2 unless otherwise noted, page numbers refer to rousseau 1979. 3 i use compassion in order to distinguish between properly cultivated and, to use frederick neuhouser”s language, “inflamed” amour-propre. while the debates about this doubling or dividing of amour-propre are contentious within scholarship on rousseau, the primary gives us a different account of sickness and suffering than the earlier pages of emile: or, on education, rousseau’s lengthy treatise concerning the proper education of man, in which he creates the character “emile” to represent not a universal education applicable in all scenarios but, rather, a general guide to use and modify for particular pupils. sickness, precisely because it is common to all, becomes the occasion for the proper development of pity; sickness is how rousseau gets intersubjectivity – that is, the recognition of others – off the ground. this is not a moot point, as it is through compassionate recognition of others that equality among men becomes self-evident. based on this reading, i argue that the body becomes the site of the development of a social life based in equality and that, moreover, health, itself a relational accomplishment, is facilitated by affective sensibilities and relational capacities. thus, rousseau can be read – especially, but not exclusively, in emile – as explaining the experiences and relations through which bodies, individually and collectively, become healthy and man becomes virtuous. introduction to the problem as jean starobinski notes, “rousseau does not hesitate to yoke opposites in his narrative, to join them inextricably” (starobinski 340). this tendency of rousseau’s, his ostensible contradictions, has led to his being referred to as the philosopher of paradox. the ostensible contradictions are in part due to the invocation of the body and its health at both the level of the individual and of the state. rousseau anticipated this problem and recognized that the metaphor of the “body politic, which he also employs, is common, but imprecise (rousseau 1997a, 6). what we are able to glean, however, is that, for rousseau, there is a healthy constitution of the individual and of the state, and the conditions for each mirror one another. secondly, rousseau moves almost imperceptibly between multiple voices, at times prescriptive and others descriptive. as i argue below with regard to sickness as constricting, rousseau is not only making evaluative judgments, but statements based on personal experience.4 there is an autobiographical element to be aware of. in other instances, rousseau sees himself as describing the state of things in his particular historical conjuncture. that is, rousseau is aware that there is a relationship between “bodily integrity and political opportunity” (wingrove motivation for this decision is to highlight a certain sweetness in compassion whereas pity has since acquired a tone of condescension. see frederick neuhouser, rousseau”s theodicy of selflove: evil, rationality, and the drive for recognition (new york: oxford university press, 2010). 4 see, especially, jean-jacques rousseau, reveries of a solitary walker, but i will argue that this element also undergirds the negative statements found early in emile. 12). he recognizes that the body – whether we are considering gender norms or able-bodied assumptions – is a “figure of political possibility” (wingrove 17). this is not simply an aside; rather, his awareness of the role the body plays in political and social life is precisely why it is important to cultivate its strength and why it must not be lost, as it is when reason is our sole guide. it is worthwhile to take rousseau at his word when he writes that the apparent contradictions that his reader will lambast him for are not contradictions of ideas, but of expressions (108). in rousseau, judge of jean-jacques – a later text in which the character “jean-jacques,” who is not the writer rousseau but someone familiar with his works, converses with “frenchman,” who has listened to popular opinion concerning the works of “rousseau,” and, thus, does not think highly of him – rousseau asserts, via his formerly disparaging interlocutor, that he has offered a “coherent system” of “nothing contradictory” (rousseau 1990, 209). as i see it, the task becomes locating and extracting tendencies and putting them to work within his coherent system, to bring, i hope, something new and useful to his theory while remaining faithful to its principles. we must first, however, contend with rousseau’s negative remarks regarding ill-health and sickliness. sickness and learning how to live well in multiple places throughout his oeuvre, rousseau asserts the importance of a vigorous, robust body for the education of the soul. in the first discourse, for example, the maintenance of the body’s vigor is the soil out of which the soul grows (1997a, 98). i suggested in the introduction to this essay that rousseau gives us reason to be suspicious of any diametric between the mind and the body and asserts that the cultivation of body and soul or of body and mind are for one another: they “grow together,” and each is “extended by the other” (118).5 nonetheless, his insistence on the importance of exercise “in order to make [emile] wise and reasonable” (118; emphasis mine) implies that the healthy body is a necessary condition for intelligence and virtue, and that one is inaugurated by the other. in turn, this implies that a “weak” or “ill-constituted” body is precluded from the development of mind and virtue. we could, as rousseau would like us to do, account for this implied diametric as a contradiction of expression; that is, it is not because one is the condition for the other, but developmentally speaking – in 5 in emile, where rousseau also writes that the body and soul must be exercised together: “the more he makes himself strong and robust, the more he becomes sensible and judicious. this is the way one day to have what are believed to be incompatible and what are united in almost all great men: strength of body and strength of soul; a wise man”s reason and an athlete”s vigor” (119). the sense of childhood development – the capacity for reason comes long after the capacity for bodily strength, and hence, the latter is developed first. however, when rousseau expresses his preference for emile to be “wellformed, vigorous, and healthy” (53) he seems to be suggesting that an ill constitution forecloses the possibility of education in the way he imagines it for emile. it would, at the least, look very different than how our tutor proceeds with his healthy pupil (rousseau 1997b, 135).6 in what follows, i recount his preference for a healthy pupil, expressed primarily as a condemnation of its opposite, then turn to the reasoning behind his reluctance. this project should by no means be taken as reconciliatory, nor is the intention to resuscitate or validate the sociohistorical sentiments that undergird rousseau’s arguments, and which still inform our perceptions of disabled or chronically ill persons and the (lack of) value we attribute to their lives. this reconstruction intends primarily to argue that even his most egregious expressions, themselves not redeemable, are undergirded by a logic consistent with his treatise on education. in order to make clear that rousseau is not expressing a universal contempt for sickness, i then illustrate the value he sees in the experience of sickness and show how, in fact, experiencing and learning to bear sickness is critical to emile’s education both with regard to his personal strength and, as i argue in the following section, the development of compassion. nowhere is rousseau more contemptuous of the “sickly” or “ill-constituted” than in his reasoning that his pupil ought to be healthy. rather than elucidating the positive reasons for this, such as the many privileges health affords, and despite granting equality to the “crippled or not,” the “sickly or robust,” he refers to the ill constituted child as “useless to himself and others” as he is the one “whose body does damage to the education of his soul” (53). he would never take on a “valetudinarian,” one who is weak or sickly, but, especially, one who is morbidly concerned with their health (53). but why does he not want to take a “sick” pupil for his educational treatise? what does a healthy constitution afford emile and his education? i would like to suggest two related attributes or effects – constriction of freedom and occupation with death – that rousseau, here, strongly attributes to the ill-constituted. it should be noted, however, that these attributes do not pertain only to the ill-constituted individual, but inform how he distinguishes between—and what he means by – a “healthy” society and a “sick” one. when rousseau writes that the ill-constituted child is “useless to himself and others,” his contention is that the child is “involved uniquely with preserving himself” (53). this unique involvement is problematic for rousseau in three ways. first, as he states later in emile, sickness divides our attention, even “shackles” the 6 rousseau writes, “just as the regimen of healthy people is not suitable or the sick, one should not want to govern a corrupt people by means of the same laws that are suited to a good people.” mind, disallowing one the freedom “to be me without contradiction or division” (53, author emphasis). in reveries of the solitary walker, his more apparently autobiographical work, he writes that only when he was able to forget about the interests of his body was he able to find “any real charm in the pleasures of the mind” (rousseau 1980, 111). these statements share the common argument that the sick body demands attention, drawing it away from other pursuits. it is in this sense that he means that sickness constricts our freedom. when he suggests that we must make our body obedient, through both exercise and convalescence, it is so that we may recover this freedom (54). for rousseau, docility is not constriction, but a condition allowed for by the state of freedom and, thus, a virtue; that is, when one is free, one has no reason to revolt or to become angry and, thus, has the freedom to be docile. the second way in which this unique self-involvement is problematic for rousseau is even more important than the first as it affects our relations with others. the concern for self-preservation “concentrates us within ourselves” (168), constricting our ability to recognize and attend to the sufferings of others. with this in mind, he writes that “in a state of power and strength the desire to extend our being takes us out of ourselves and causes us to leap as far as is possible for us” (168). emile, quite young in the treatise, has not yet developed the capacity for imagination, which enables one to imagine the suffering of others. he is still limited in his ability to see “farther than [his] eyes.” at this point, then, emile is still developing his strength so that he has the power to extend beyond himself (229). one must be strong to be able to be concerned with others, or, rather, strength means being – that is, is the condition that allows oneself to be – able to be concerned with others. without it, one cannot be in a social relationship based on equality, which is what rousseau means when he says the valetudinarian is “useless to others.” there is at least one other concern that prohibits rousseau from even considering an ill-constituted pupil. here, again, the involvement with selfpreservation is at issue. when rousseau writes that the “sickly and ill-constituted child” is one “whose body does damage to the education of his soul,” it is not the sickliness itself, but the morbid concern with death that damages the soul. here, rousseau assumes that a sickly person is “one who thinks of nothing but how to keep himself from dying” (53). to reiterate, this is troublesome for the reasons rousseau discusses earlier in the treatise: namely, because it consumes both time and thought, keeping the mind from other pursuits and foreclosing the possibility of extending beyond oneself. but, secondly, one who is afraid of death does not make use of her life (54). to not make use of one’s life is to consider oneself already dead, and it is not rousseau’s talent, nor his concern, to “make cadavers walk” (54). his insistence on his pupil’s healthy constitution is the fear of death he presumes comes with its opposite.7 to fear death is, he writes, to hasten it, to “make it felt ahead of time” (54). this is why his use of valetudinarian is telling: it is not simply that rousseau’s concern is sickliness or weakness, but rather that he is concerned with people having a constant preoccupation with their own health. the preoccupation with one’s health is equally poisonous for those of a healthy constitution, and it will be a part of emile’s education to not worry constantly about that which will naturally occur at times. for instance, in our tutor’s parting words to sophie, he warns that one ought not to be so concerned with health that it comes at the expense of happiness (479). sickness is unavoidable – it is a natural ill and, therefore, common to us all. before one is able to recognize suffering in others, they must themselves be familiar with this suffering. learning to bear sickness not only is a preparatory stage for the cultivation of pity, but it strengthens the individual as well. learning to bear suffering is “nature’s art” (55). as such, rousseau does not protect emile to the extent that he never experiences suffering: “i would be most distressed if he were never hurt and grew up without knowing pain. to suffer is the first thing he ought to learn and the thing he will most need to know” (78; emphasis mine). the necessity of learning how to bear suffering – where, for rousseau, sickness and suffering are explicitly connected—is also the justification of rousseau’s insistence on exercise, the hardships of which prepare emile for the hardships of illnesses (126).8 in learning to bear “slight pains without terror, one gradually learns to bear great pains” (78). if we do not know how to suffer, we suffer more, rousseau writes, “and we give ourselves more torment in curing our maladies than we would have in enduring them” (82). thus, learning to suffer well is learning how to live well. it is, in part, a cultivation of patience and an early lesson in the art of discernment, insofar as one learns to discern between what ills are of a natural suffering and those that are “of our own making.” in becoming familiar with suffering, which “does not admit of exceptions” (131), emile is “cured” of the common impatience that drives us toward medicine, that “lying art” (54). notably, a lengthy condemnation of doctors and medicine follows the pages in which rousseau admonishes the valetudinarian, further illustrating that it is the constant concern with our health – which bespeaks a fear of death – that “weakens the soul.” it drives us into the hands of the doctor, along with the priests and philosophers, who all teach us how to die. thus, rousseau advises, “live 7 we should be suspicious of this claim, that the ill-constituted think only of death. queer theory and crip theory challenge this on a number of fronts, asserting a different relationship with death and even conceptions of “health.” 8 see also the discussion of submitting emile to various temperatures of both climate and bath water (68, 127-28). according to nature, be patient, and drive away the doctors. you will not avoid death, but you will only feel it once” (82). for rousseau, sickness is only “disabling” if one does not learn how to bear it and instead turns to those doctors who give us more remedies than cures. while it is true that he asserts that a frail body risks weakening the soul, it is also true that if “the physical prospers,” if one goes untouched by the wounding, bruising, and other pains of the body, then the moral is corrupt (87), hence his insistence that the mind and body must be cultivated continuously and together. rousseau, then, decides to tutor a healthy child while also allowing him to become sick so that the child will know how to be sick. to know how to be sick, to learn how to cure oneself, is not the opposite of health, but essential to it. pity as compassionate recognition as discussed above, rousseau argues that the experience of suffering comes to play an important role in the recognition of others. without having suffered himself, emile could not know “the tenderness of humanity or the sweetness of commiseration. his heart would be moved by nothing. he would not be sociable. he would be a monster among his kind” (87). at this stage, however, though emile already knows suffering, he does not know that others suffer, too. he knows only his own ills (222). “little by little,” however, “the blood is inflamed,” and “a superabundance of life seeks to extend itself outward” (220). it is at this point that we begin to take notice of those around us and “one begins to feel that one is not made to live alone. it is thus that the heart is opened to the human affections and becomes capable of attachment” (220). having first experienced the desire to extend beyond oneself, even though he does not know yet what it is that he desires, emile is no longer isolated (214). now that his senses have lit the “fire of imagination” (222), its first act must be “to teach him that he has fellows” (220). rousseau warns, however, that lest his inflamed blood become too intense and become carried away or angered, sentiment must “enchain imagination” (219). this is to say that he must develop the sentiments that correspond to the imagination that puts him in proximity to his fellows. and it is here that sickness – which, as i have argued, entails learning how to bear suffering as well as learning how to discern that suffering which is natural to man – becomes the occasion for emile to recognize others and enter into a relationship – friendship or courtship are our examples in emile – that is based on equality. to become sensitive to others, one must recognize his fellows as beings who suffer like him. rousseau writes that we are connected to others “by the sentiment of their pains” because in them we can see “the identity of our natures with theirs and the guarantees of their attachment to us” (221; emphases mine), an early foreshadowing of the reciprocity in proper recognition that i will turn to in greater detail below. as it is our nature to experience suffering, and because emile’s imagination is still nascent, we ought not expose him to “the pomp of the courts, the splendors of palaces, or the appeal of the theatre” (221-222), as this will turn him back on himself and he will wallow in his own suffering for not living in such pomp. this can only come after he has properly trained pity; that is, after he has the capacity to judge “the deceptive image of the happiness of men” in itself. rather, emile ought to be exposed to that which is common to us all: men are not naturally kings, or lord, or courtiers, or rich men. all are born naked and poor; all are subject to the miseries of life, to sorrows, ills, needs, and pains of every kind. finally, all are condemned to death. this is what truly belongs to man. this is what no mortal is exempt from. begin, therefore, by studying in human nature what is most inseparable from it, what best characterizes humanity. (222) thus, the ideal moment for emile’s first lesson in pity, and the one that rousseau chooses, is seeing his sick father, mother, or governor. emile, having not been shown “the art of affecting sadness he does not feel,” cannot put on the proper countenance. because he has himself experienced sickness and, moreover, has already formed a bond with his sick governor, he does not need to affect sadness, in the sense of displaying an emotion he does not feel. rather, he recognizes that which commonly befalls each of us and, in seeing the suffering of his fellow, he feels himself in their suffering. this recognition, enabled by the development of imagination, transports “ourselves outside of ourselves” and toward humanity. it is this first “picture of suffering humanity” that brings “to his heart the first tenderness it has ever experienced” (222). thus is born pity. sickness, as it makes no exception, becomes the occasion and opportunity for compassion through gestures of pity toward one another. pity is the “first relative sentiment, which touches the human heart according to the order of nature” (222; emphasis mine). pity arises in accordance with nature “because it is that sentiment that arises out of and responds to each our common human experience of pain, weakness, suffering and need, setting aside issues of rank, privilege and power which, if they intrude at all, tend to silence the voice of pity” (dent 332). the suggestion that human vulnerability sets aside social rank and privilege is to say that each of us, despite our station in life, risks suffering equally. knowing this is a condition for pity. rousseau’s second maxim for the proper cultivation of pity speaks to this point: “one pities in others only those ills from which one does not feel oneself exempt” (224). by being able to imagine that, the next day, he could be in the position of the one he helps today, emile is bound to his fellows. in other words, recognizing that the plight of a fellow could befall him equally, emile does not differentiate himself from this other on the basis of the present condition, but, rather, identifies the very possibility of succumbing to such a condition as forming, in part, the commonality that exists between emile and his fellow person. for emile, having just been introduced to the suffering of others, pity is still a “nascent sensibility,” and, thus must be attended to with great care in order “ to excite in him goodness, humanity, commiseration, beneficence, and all the attractive and sweet passions pleasing to men, and to prevent the birth of envy, covetousness, hate, and all the repulsive and cruel passions which make sensibility, so to speak, not only nothing, but negative” (223). the significance of pity’s nascent quality is that it can potentially develop in two opposing directions. the first, which we have begun to introduce above, is based in an understanding of human nature, and which will set the conditions for a social life rooted in equality. the second, motivated by self-interest, uses reason to think abstractly about man’s character, but is also inherently blinded by prejudice and vanity, and compels emile to think that he is happier than his fellows, making him naturally superior to them. in the second discourse, rousseau (1997a) writes that pity, “a disposition suited to beings as weak and as subject to so many ills as we are” (152), produces commiseration, which “is nothing but a sentiment that puts us in the place of him who suffers” (153). he continues: indeed commiseration will be all the more energetic in proportion as the onlooking animal identifies more intimately with the suffering animal: now this identification must, clearly, have been infinitely closer in the state of nature than in the state of reasoning. it is reason that engenders amour propre, and reflection that enforces it; reason that turns man back upon himself; reason that separates him from everything that troubles and afflicts him: it is philosophy that isolates him; by means of philosophy he secretly says, at the sight of a suffering man, perish if you wish, i am safe. (1997a, 153) here, we have the image of the philosopher as the one who does not know how to be compassionate in the face of suffering. when he sees suffering, he believes himself to be safe from what rousseau understands as our common plight. incapable of the “super-abundant sensibility” that leads one into a relationship with his fellows, his philosophy constricts him only to himself. this is reinforced by the vain assumption that he—the philosopher without compassion—is naturally superior, that he is above the sufferings that “truly belong to man.” he cannot, then, but conceive of equality abstractly. the vanity that amounts to mistaking inequality as natural is a sickness of memory: “some illnesses overwhelm men’s minds and deprive them of the memory of the past” (rousseau 1997b, 72). without the experience of suffering and without the memory that allows the recollection necessary to see oneself in others’ sufferings, one is unable to properly discern, or perhaps remember, what is common to us all. this sort of vanity, for which there is no cure, is precisely what must be avoided for emile, and it is why the proper cultivation of amour-propre is the ground upon which we construct a society based on equality.9 as soon as we have the desire to extend beyond ourselves, to see the others around us, “the relative i is constantly in play, and the young man never observes others without returning to himself and comparing himself with them” (243). but emile, through experience, has been equipped to discern between the hearts of men and to discern himself from others without being deceived by the source of his superiority: therefore, if as a consequence of my care emile prefers his way of being, of seeing, and of feeling to that of other men, emile is right. but if he thus believes himself to be of a more excellent nature and more happily born than other man, emile is wrong. he is deceived. one must undeceive him or, rather, anticipate the error for fear that afterward it will be too late to destroy it. (245; emphasis mine) if one believes they are more worthy of happiness than their suffering fellow by nature – and let us be reminded that “men are not naturally kings, or lords, or courtiers, or rich men” (222) – there is nothing to engender the mutual dependence that, in replacing the dependence on individuals, allows for freedom and equality. the question then becomes one of extending the principles of compassionate recognition beyond individual relationships. that is, how does a healthy society – one that takes equality and freedom as its basic principles – amount from or depend on the proper cultivation of pity? or, how do we transition between a relationship of equality between men to relations of equality among men? sickness, then, is implicated in society in two distinct ways. there is, first, sickness as a natural state of the body that implicates culture as the demand for and cultivation of compassion, and, secondly, the sickness that is the society of individuals who lack the proper cultivation of compassion toward our shared 9 “the sole folly of which one cannot disabuse a man who is not mad is vanity. for this there is no cure other than experience—if, indeed, anything can cure it.” in the proceeding statement, he notes that if one arrives at this level of vanity, he is deceived. “one must undeceive him, or, rather, anticipate the error for fear that afterward it will be too late to destroy it.” (rousseau 1979, 245) human vulnerability. having established that sickness operates differentially, we can understand the coexistence of both positive and negative attitudes, as well as the alternating accounts of ills as natural and, elsewhere, as of our own making; rousseau writes, “take away the pains of the body” and “all our ills are imaginary” (81). in other words, we can distinguish a different attitude toward the body such that the troublesome comments of the earlier pages in emile take on a new meaning: the illnesses for which there are no cures or remedies, the ill-constituted, and the weak bodies that rousseau admonishes are not instances of natural and equal-opportunity suffering, those that remind us of our common vulnerability and thus demand our attention and care. rather, they are instances of cultural diagnosis, where sickness, in its negative sense, “belongs primarily to man living in society” (rousseau 1997a, 136-137). to echo the methodological points made in the first section of this essay, rousseau’s contrasting statements are neither for the sake of being opaque nor an unintentional contradiction, but remind us of the problem he is identifying – namely, the problem of man and his relations (214). health as equality the discussion of the specific relations that are necessary for a healthy society for rousseau, as he addresses especially in the second discourse and the social contract, would entail a lengthier discussion than what i am able to offer within the scope of this essay. however, it is necessary to gesture toward the importance of our relations within society in order to illustrate, firstly, that the cultivation of pity is the condition for equal relations between men. this, in turn, encourages our return to the meaning of health. this final section, then, entails the extension of pity to mankind, the importance of this generalization, and, more specifically, how it reveals that health depends on the proper cultivation of our relations. now that emile has experienced a “superabundance of life,” “his heart is no longer alone” (214). previously, when he was limited to his own experience, his actions were not morally guided: “it is only when [his sensibility] begins to extend outside himself that it takes on, first, the sentiments and, then, the emotions of good and evil which truly constitute him as a man and an integral part of his species” (219-220). after he takes an interest in others, he is social. or, from the first ‘sight,’ from the moment one’s eyes extend beyond oneself, the i becomes relative; that is, we are in relation to the others around us; we are in a relation with the others around us. though rousseau introduces this instinct to extend beyond oneself with reference to love and one sex desiring the other, he also notes that the first sentiment, once the heart has been opened to others, is not love, but friendship. when he writes, “love must be reciprocal,” we should hear this as a more general sentiment. in other words, to say, as he does, that “to be loved, one has to make oneself lovable,” despite the invocation of love, this is reflective of his more general statement that “one wants to obtain the preference that one grants” (214). as emile recognizes his fellows as equal, they, in turn, ought to return the sentiment. as discussed earlier, suffering binds us to one another. let us recall that, as our common miseries unite us, as we recognize this attachment to others, it is “the identity of our natures with theirs and the guarantees of their attachment to us” (221; emphases mine). while rousseau tends to express reciprocity with regard to relationships between the sexes, the importance of reciprocity is apparent even in the first moment of recognition. it is our nature that we see; their suffering binds them to us and, because of our capacity for imagination and memory, binds us to them. in this way, what was a developing sentiment becomes a noble one. in order to prevent pity from developing into jealousy, envy, and hate, “it must, therefore, be generalized and extended to the whole of mankind” (253). in extending it to other beings, pity transforms into a virtue (252). by concentrating on others to such an extent that it is his “first interest after his private interest,” emile avoids any preference for individuals, which has a basis in an unjust bias: the more one generalizes this interest, the more it becomes equitable, and the love of mankind is nothing other than the love of justice. [. . .] then one yields to [mankind] only insofar as it accords with justice, because of all the virtues justice is the one that contributes most to the common good of men. for the sake of reason, for the sake of love of ourselves, we must have pity for our species still more than for our neighbor . . . . (252-253) pity and recognition are now no longer limited to a relationship between individuals. as bertrand de jouvenel depicts it, “it is a question of forming, in a small and closely connected society, a common sensitivity that is so lively that society guides itself by the same natural reactions found in an individual man” (jouvenel 130). pity must be generalized and extended, given to humanity even before a loved one. rousseau demonstrates this through a profession spoken by emile. he addresses sophie after our tutor recalls their adventure in helping the man who has fallen off of his horse, thus delaying their expected arrival: “you can make me die of pain. but do not hope to make me forget the rights of humanity. they are more sacred to me than yours. i will never give them up for you” (441). she, recognizing his virtue, is overwhelmed by his pity, his duty to others over his self-interest and inclination, even in the face of his persistent and nearly feverish impatience for their visits. sophie, too, cares for the sick. despite her concern for hygiene, she is “rebuffed neither by the dirtiness [. . .] nor the bad smell and knows how to make both disappear without ordering anyone about and without the sick being tormented” (442).10 she does not shame the sick, knowing the same fate could befall her, and privileges charity even over modesty. the point here is that, even in emile, we see that rousseau does not think of pity as merely a preferred characteristic in an individual. rather, the extension and generalization of pity begs us to consider society as a whole. to borrow from allan bloom in his introduction to emile, “the recognition of our sameness and our common vulnerability dampens the harsh competitiveness and egotism of egalitarian politics” (bloom 19). it is “compassion resulting from equality,” an equality which considers our material conditions and our embodied commonality, that rousseau uses “as the glue binding us together” (bloom 19). rousseau has given us a man who loves truth and reason, but does not let this reason guide him, at least not at the expense of forgetting his body. as jouvenel points out, “a man who reacts to what menaces or harms the body, which he considers as his body, reacts with a very different energy, according to rousseau, than the man who consults universal reason” (jouvenal 130). in wanting to avoid what he sees as the pitfalls of living guided by reason, the consequence of which is unor wrongly cultivated pity, rousseau injects the body with a weighted importance in the development of virtue. by highlighting the body’s vulnerability, in making it that which binds us to others by offering the occasion for the proper cultivation of pity, pity becomes a “code of democracy and it is always and primarily an embodied code” (slattery, 86). pity is intelligible through invocations of the body, and we are connected to the outside world through this embodied sensibility. the “suitable study for man is that of his relations” (214). what i hope to have shown in this essay is how emile can be read as a study of the cultivation of healthy relations among men in such a way that they are lively enough to guide society. a relationship of equality is only possible through the development of the proper form of comparison, one based not in self-interest or egoism, but facilitated by our affective sensibilities and relational capacities. a society’s health depends on proper relations, and, so, to be healthy, we study our relations. in other words, it is our relations that must be judged as healthy or sick, and health, for rousseau, is, if anything, vigorous freedom. 10 the significance of this comes from the earlier discussion of the senses, where rousseau suggests that women have a stronger sense of and sensitivity to smells. works cited bloom, allan. “introduction.” in emile: or, on education. new york: basic books press, 1979. chomsky, noam and michel foucault. the chomsky-foucault debate: on human nature. new york: the new press, 2006. de jouvenel, bertrand. “an essay on rousseau’s politics.” in jean-jacques rousseau: critical assessments of leading political philosopher, vol. 1, edited by john t. scott. new york: routledge, 2006. neuhouser, frederick. rousseau’s theodicy of self-love: evil, rationality, and the drive for recognition. new york: oxford university press, 2010. rousseau, jean-jacques. emile: or, on education. new york: basic books press, 1979. ---. 1997a. rousseau: “the discourses” and other early political writings, edited by victor gourevitch. new york: cambridge university press, 1997. ---. 1980. reveries of the solitary walker, london: penguin books, 1980. ---. 1990. rousseau, judge of jean-jacques: dialogues, translated by judith r. bush et. al., university press of new england, 1990. ---. 1997b. rousseau: “the social contract” and other later political writings, edited by victor gourevitch. new york: cambridge university press, 1997. slattery, dennis patrick. the wounded body: remembering the markings of flesh. albany, ny: state university of new york press, 2000. starobinski, jean. “the antidote in the poison: the thought of jean-jacques rousseau.” in jean-jacques rousseau: critical assessments of leading political philosopher, vol. 1, edited by john t. scott, 340-387. new york: routledge, 2006. wingrove, elizabeth rose. rousseau’s republican romance. princeton, nj: princeton university press, 2000. microsoft word essay 6 ward.docx [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] the process and implications of self-stigma in schizophrenia deborah e. ward psychology despite increased understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders, misperceptions about these disorders persist, leading to stigma and discrimination toward those who live with them. for the purposes of this article, stigma refers to the devaluation of certain persons on the basis of some characteristic they possess, such as possession of a mental health disorder diagnosis. when an individual living with mental illness endorses the discriminatory beliefs regarding their specific disorder and applies it to their self, they are engaging in self-stigma (corrigan & watson, 2002). self-stigma can lead to a variety of negative outcomes, including diminished self-esteem and failure to adhere to treatment programs, leading to poor prognosis (link, 1982; ritscher & phelan, 2004; corrigan, watson, & barr, 2006; yap, wright, & jorm, 2011). perhaps the most widely stigmatized mental disorder is schizophrenia. affecting about 1% of the united states adult population, schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder characterized by maladaptive thought patterns and poor emotional responses (american psychiatric association, 2000). common symptoms of schizophrenia include delusions, such as paranoia; hallucinations, such as hearing voices that are not there; disorganized or illogical patterns of thought; lack of emotion; and lack of motivation. individuals with schizophrenia are often portrayed in media sources ranging from newspapers to feature films as burdens on society and dangers to others (baker, 2012). in popular culture, the term “schizophrenic” has become a synonym for “crazy,” “weird,” “dangerous,” and even “unfashionable” (tripoli, 2012; baker, 2012). the following review will examine how stigma and self-stigma are propagated as well as the effects of selfstigma on individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. what is stigma? the term “stigma” derives from the historical practice of physically branding members of devalued groups so that they carried a visible sign of disgrace. the   marks signaled the flawed, deviant nature of their bearers, allowing all of society to know the individual's degraded status (e.g., goffman, 1963; hinshaw, 2007). hinshaw (2007) construes the process of stigmatization as a typically social one. people tend to think in terms of categories, forming clusters of related experiences to simplify the environment and allow for quick comprehension of situations (allport, 1954). this cluster formation extends to groups of people as well, and humans will even classify themselves as belonging to particular groups (e.g. college students, pennsylvanians, asian-americans). prejudice, or a general negative affect directed towards a person or group, can occur when a perceiver identifies some characteristic as suggestive of membership in an out-group, a group to which the perceiver him or herself does not belong (allport, 1954). intense devaluation of the characteristic, resulting from this general negative feeling towards the out-group identity with which the characteristic is associated, changes recognition of a characteristic into stigmatization of the out-group as a whole (e.g., goffman, 1963; hinshaw, 2007). most stigma scholars regard stigma as a social construction, a label attached by society (major & o‘brien, 2005). the process by which stigma develops suggests that a devalued attribute becomes associated with negative evaluations and stereotypes, and these evaluations and stereotypes are generally widely shared and well-known among members of a culture (crocker et al., 1998). the devalued attribute then becomes a basis for excluding or avoiding members who possess it (allport, 1954; major & o‘brien, 2005). for widespread stigmatization of a particular characteristic to occur, those who deem the characteristic undesirable must be able to exert social influence (hinshaw, 2007). both powerful and powerless groups may stereotype and negatively evaluate others but, because powerful groups control access to resources, their beliefs are more likely to persist (allport, 1954; fiske, 1993; link & phelan, 2001). when power shifts occur, formerly stigmatized traits and attributes can be upgraded in status, indicating malleability in the stigma process (hinshaw, 2007). stigma in society it is important to recognize that individuals who are stigmatized live in the same society as those who stigmatize them. this means that stigmatized individuals tend to share the same world-view and hold the same beliefs of what is “good“ or “bad” and “right“ or “wrong” as those who stigmatize them. erving goffman, one of the first scholars to define the concept of stigma, wrote: the stigmatized individual tends to hold the same beliefs about identity that [nonstigmatized persons] do: this is a pivotal fact . . . . the standards he   has incorporated from the wider society equip him to be intimately alive to what others see as his failing . . . . shame becomes a central possibility, arising from the individual's perception of one of his own attributes as being a defiling thing to possess. (goffman, 1963, p 7) or, as hinshaw (2007) phrased it, “demeaning attitudes of perceivers may come to be internalized by the possessor of the devalued attribute in question” (p 25). further, because of associative linkages in memory between stereotypes and the behaviors they imply, activation of stereotypes can automatically lead to behavior that assimilates to the stereotype (major & o'brien, 2005). for example, consistent with stereotypes about mathematical ability, asian-american women who were primed with their asian identity produced superior performance on a math test whereas participants primed with their female identity produced decreased performance relative to women in a control group (shih, ambady, richeson, fujita, & heather, 2002). common stereotypes about people with mental illness include that they are dangerous, incompetent, and to blame for their illness (corrigan & kleinlein, 2005). when individuals face the onset of a mental illness, such as schizophrenia, these stereotypes become relevant to the self. one recent study suggests that the general public’s understanding of the causes of mental illness has broadened in the past 30 years (link & phelan, 2001). one would hope this means that stigma is “becoming a thing of the past” (corrigan & watson, 2002, p 36), however, the same study showed that attitudes about persons with mental illness have become more stigmatizing, particularly in terms of perceptions of danger (link & phelan, 2001). research performed with english and american citizens identify three common prejudices regarding persons with mental illness: 1) persons with severe mental illness should be feared and, therefore, be kept out of most communities; 2) persons with severe mental illness are irresponsible, so their life decisions should be made by others; and 3) persons with severe mental illness are childlike and need to be cared for (link & phelan, 2001). individuals with mental illness may agree with and internalize these prejudices as well as prejudices regarding their specific disorder. this process is known as self-stigma. self-stigma self-stigma is defined as the devaluation of the self as a result of internalizing a stigmatized identity associated with the negative stereotypes about one’s social group (corrigan, larson, & rusch, 2009). long-standing theories have represented self-stigma as the automatic result of being a member of a stigmatized group (allport, 1954; corrigan & watson, 2002). however, not everyone who   experiences stigma necessarily experiences negative effects, such as diminished self-esteem or self-efficacy (corrigan & watson, 2002; watson, corrigan, larson & sells, 2007). some people react to stigma by becoming energized and empowered; others remain relatively indifferent and unaffected (corrigan & watson, 2002; watson, corrigan, larson & sells, 2007). many individuals who can be categorized as a member of a stigmatized group (e.g. overweight, mentally ill) are aware of the stereotypes that exist regarding their group. the awareness of stigma is not necessarily synonymous with internalizing it (corrigan & watson, 2002). corrigan and watson (2002) have created a model to define the parameters of self-stigma, offering an explanation as to how one person comes to internalize stigma as self-stigma while another might not. for example, many persons with mental illness report being aware of the negative stereotypes about them but do not necessarily agree with these stereotypes (corrigan & watson, 2002). the authors argue that being aware of potential discrimination and prejudice does not cause self-stigma; stigma awareness is a necessary, but not sufficient, component of selfstigma. stereotype agreement is another necessary component for self-stigma, and this occurs when an individual agrees with the common public prejudices. the process becomes self-stigmatizing with the addition of stereotype self-concurrence, in which an individual applies the culturally internalized beliefs to him or herself (corrigan & watson, 2002). the effects of self-stigma research suggests that people who endorse self-stigma are more likely to report diminishment in self-esteem and self-efficacy (watson et al., 2007; corrigan et al., 2006; yap et al., 2011; ritsher & phelan, 2004). ritsher and phelan (2004) surveyed outpatients with a “serious mental illness” (defined as a diagnosis of schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, and/or ptsd). their goal was to determine whether internalized stigma and perceived devaluation and discrimination predicted deteriorations in self-esteem and depressive symptoms over a four-month time span. internalized stigma in general was common amongst participants and high levels of internalized stigma at baseline were associated with more depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem at a follow-up four months later (ritsher & phelan, 2004). more specifically, individuals who expressed experiencing alienation, stereotype endorsement, and social withdrawal were more likely to have symptoms of depression and lower levels of self-esteem at their four month follow up. corresponding with corrigan and watson’s (2002) model, perceptions of current discrimination did not predict reduction in self-esteem or increase in   depressive symptoms (ritsher & phelan, 2004). only when stigma was applied to the self did it have an impact on self-esteem (ritscher & phelan, 2004; corrigan et al., 2006). findings from an additional study by corrigan et al. (2006) indicated that diminishment in self-esteem and self-efficacy results from self-stigma (regarding mental illness). created for this study, the self-stigma of mental illness scale (ssmis) assesses participants’ awareness of stigma, agreement with stigma, application of stigma to the self, and stigma’s harm to self-esteem (corrigan et al., 2006; corrigan, michaels, vega, gause, watson, & rusch, 2012). stereotype agreement was significantly associated with self-concurrence and self-esteem decrement, and this occurs because stereotype agreement is primary to selfconcurrence. a person has to agree with a stereotype before they apply it to him or herself (corrigan et al, 2006). self-esteem and self-efficacy were not found to be significantly associated with stereotype agreement, indicating that just because people endorse stigma of a mental illness does not mean they will internalize it and suffer diminished self-esteem and self-efficacy as a result (corrigan et al., 2006). in addition to diminishment in self-esteem and self-efficacy, research suggests that people who endorse self-stigma are more likely to limit their prospects for recovery (watson et al., 2007; yap, wright, & jorm, 2011; corrigan, larson & rusch, 2009). limiting of prospects includes not seeking treatment and not adhering to prescribed treatments. self-stigma may undermine adherence to empirically validated services (golberstein, eisenberg, & gollust, 2008; yap et al., 2011) as well as interfere with pursuit of rehabilitation goals (link, 1982). for this reason, it is important to examine self-stigma within the context of a specific mental disorder, such as schizophrenia. schizophrenia as stated previously, schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder characterized by maladaptive thought patterns and poor emotional responses (american psychiatric association, 2000). schizophrenia is the most debilitating and costly of all adult psychiatric illnesses (combs, mueser & gutierrez, 2012). roughly $22.7 billion of the u.s. dollars spent on schizophrenia is directed to treatment and medical needs, yet the impact on a person's social and occupational functioning may be even more devastating (combs, mueser & gutierrez, 2012). schizophrenia is characterized by impairments in social functioning, including difficulty establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, problems working or going to school, and difficulties caring for one-self. additionally, individuals with schizophrenia can experience a wide range of cognitive symptoms, including hallucinations, delusions, thought disorganization, apathy, and difficulty with memory as well as   depression and anxiety (combs et al., 2012). the prognosis of schizophrenia is generally poor to fair, and impairments tend to be long term and fluctuate in severity over time. despite this, research shows that many individuals with schizophrenia can attain symptom remission and recovery with the appropriate pharmacological and psychosocial treatments (combs et al., 2012). around one in three people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia also have a social anxiety disorder. it has been suggested that stigma may be closely related to the social anxiety displayed within so many individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia (van zelst, 2009). presence of social anxiety is predicted by greater experience of shame related to diagnosis (van zelst, 2009). this finding is relevant considering that higher levels of anxiety are associated with a more frequent presence of symptoms, such as hallucinations and depression, as well as poorer function and restricted quality of life. there is also evidence that prejudice and discrimination related to schizophrenia result in an increased probability of misuse of drugs and alcohol (van zelst, 2009). self-stigma and schizophrenia treatment adherence fung, tsang and corrigan (2008) examined whether individuals who endorsed self-stigma were more likely to demonstrate poorer health-seeking behaviors in terms of treatment participation and attendance. fung et al. (2008) gathered a sample of approximately 90 participants who had, on average, been living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia for 13 years and currently exhibited many of the socially debilitating symptoms associated with schizophrenia (e.g. hallucinations, delusions, blunt affect). each participant completed the psychosocial treatment compliance scale, which assesses the level of adherence a participant pays to their treatment program (ptcs; tsang, fung, & corrigan, 2006). treatment programs include social skills training, vocational rehabilitation, cognitive behavioral therapy, and family intervention. participants also completed measures assessing perceived stigma and self-stigma pertaining to mental illness (via the ssmis) as well as self-esteem (via the rosenberg self-esteem scale) (rses; rosenberg, 1965). results indicated that better self-esteem and insight regarding the social consequences of mental illness were significant predictors of better psychosocial treatment participation. higher levels of self-stigma and poorer insight into the social consequences of mental illness were found to be significant predictors of poor psychosocial treatment attendance (fung et al., 2008). in general, these findings suggest that when people with schizophrenia concur with public stigma and internalize it, they are more likely to show poor adherence to psychosocial treatment. failure to promote treatment adherence will inhibit treatment outcomes   and act as a barrier for the recovery of people with schizophrenia (fung et al., 2008; lysaker, roe, ringer, gilmore & yanos, 2012). fung, tsang & cheung (2011) have developed and tested a self-stigma reduction program. their proposed program contains 16 sessions, including group and individual sessions, which integrate treatment strategies from a variety of modalities: psychoeducation, cognitive behavior therapy, social skills training, and goal attainment. the program was tested on participants who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had at least a primary school education (fung et al., 2011). findings suggested that the self-stigma reduction program increased self-esteem, facilitated the change of problematic personal behaviors, and enhanced participation in psychosocial treatment programs (fung et al., 2011). it is important to note, however, that the therapeutic effects of the self-stigma reduction program were not long lasting and could not be maintained after the completion of the program (fung et al., 2011). methodological issues and directions for future research most empirical studies regarding stigma have relied on survey measures as the sole assessment technique. many of the studies described above even rely on the same exact measures to assess self-stigma. brohan, slade, clement, and thornicroft (2010) reviewed measures of the three aspects of stigma: perceived stigma (how the individual thinks society views him or her as a member of the stigmatized group), experienced stigma (experience of actual discrimination on the grounds of the stigmatized individual’s perceived inferiority), and self-stigma (internalization of the shame, blame, hopelessness, guilt, and fear of discrimination associated with mental illness). across the 57 papers identified as focusing on these three aspects of stigma, only 14 different scales were used to assess the three types of stigma, and some of these scales did not meet acceptable scores for internal consistency or test-retest reliability. this lack of methodological variability and test validity limit the conclusions that may be drawn from the current body of research. additionally, perceived stigma was assessed in 79% of the studies, experienced stigma in 46% of the studies, and self-stigma in only 33% of the studies. given the implications for patients, self-stigma needs to become more of a focus in current research. at this time, most of the work on the subject of self-stigma has been completed by the same handful of authors. replications and continuations of this line of research by different groups of researcher will help generate new methodologies, samples, and theories to move the study of self-stigma forward. for example, current studies on self-stigma are largely retrospective and are, therefore, subject to bias and hindsight on the part of participants. the handful of longitudinal studies in publication cover a timespan of less than a year (rusch,   corrigan, todd & bodenhausen, 2011). current literature has limited focus on experience of stigma in adolescents and adults. it would be beneficial to begin longitudinal studies and to seek out samples of children with mental disorders in order to more convincingly ascertain the causal aspects of self-stigma. more recently, there has been publication of research that uses alternative methods of measuring stigma, such as qualitative data and implicit measures (rusch et al., 2010; rusch et al., 2011). rusch et al. (2010) indicated that implicit self-stigma is a measurable construct and is associated with negative outcomes. continuing this line of work, rusch et al. (2011) used the lexical decision task (ldt) to assess automatic stereotyping. the ldt focuses on the speed with which respondents can identify particular letter strings as valid words (wittenbrink, judd, & park, 2001). the purpose of the ldt is to determine whether activation of a particular concept (such as “mental illness”) will facilitate the identification of stereotypically associated words (such as “dangerous”). automatic stereotyping, as measured by the ldt, was compared between individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and individuals with no diagnosis of mental disorder. if individuals with mental illness internalize the views of society at large, they should also engage in automatic stereotyping (rusch et al., 2011). rusch et al. (2011) also sought to determine if automatic stereotyping was related to self-reported emotional reactions toward mental illness, such as anger and shame. results revealed markedly less negative stereotype-specific automatic reactions in individuals with mental illness than in the general public control group. however, greater anger-related prejudice was expressed in individuals with mental illness toward their in-group than was expressed by members of the general public (rusch et al., 2011). future research on stigma should continue to use implicit measures in conjunction with the self-report measures most commonly seen. among empirical studies of self-stigma reduction strategies, two approaches for self-stigma reduction have emerged: 1) interventions that attempt to alter the stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes of the individual, and 2) interventions that enhance skills for coping with self-stigma through improvements in self-esteem, empowerment, and help-seeking behaviors (mittal, sullivan, chekuri, allee, & corrigan, 2012). this is a start, but further work is needed in evaluating selfstigma interventions; many of these studies have been exploratory or pilot investigations with limitations such as small sample size, lack of randomization, and no control group (mittal et al., 2012). continuing with these types of studies will advance the body of research from describing the phenomena of stigma and self-stigma to refining treatment programs that will aid individuals with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses in their rehabilitation. references   allport, g. 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(2006). psychosocial treatment compliance scale for people with psychotic disorders. australian and new zealand journal of psychiatry, 40 (6-7), 561-569. watson, a., corrigan, p., larson, j., & sells, m. (2007). self-stigma in people with mental illness. schizophrenia bulletin, 33 (6), 1312 1318. wittenbrink, b., judd, c., & park, b. (2001). spontaneous prejudice in context: variability in automatically activated minds. journal of personality and social psychology, 81 (5), 815-827. yap m., wright a., & jorm a. (2011) the influence of stigma on young people's help-seeking intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of various sources of help. social psychiatry psychiatric epidemiology, 46(12), 1257-65. van zelst, c. (2009). stigmatization as environmental risk in schizophrenia: a user perspective. schizophrenia bulletin, 35 (2), 293-296.   the wørd made fresh: a theological exploration of stephen colbert rena black theology comedian stephen colbert is one of the most prominent and influential catholics in america today. his late-night show on comedy central, the colbert report (pronounced ―colbear repoor‖), is a highly popular spinoff of the daily show, a ―fake news‖ program hosted by jon stewart. on the report, colbert assumes a character best described as a caricature of several right wing television pundits, most notably fellow catholic bill o'reilly. this character is confusingly (and perhaps tellingly) also called stephen colbert. like his character, the out-ofcharacter colbert unflinchingly self-identifies as catholic. it will likely become clear through the course of the following investigation that any attempt to divine if colbert is ―really‖ catholic is not only impossible, but unnecessary. 1 what can be argued is whether or not colbert belongs to a recognizably catholic culture, as defined by a shared system or storehouse of distinctive symbols and language. similarly, i will refrain from referring to the ―real stephen colbert,‖ because if there is such a person at all, i certainly do not have access to him. i will argue that the stephen-the-character and the ―out-of-character‖ stephen are not, as some have proposed, mere opposites, but are mutually implicating and suggest a stephen colbert whose religious belonging and orientation toward the world are, in a deep sense, catholic. this deep sense of catholicism and colbert's method of approaching the world of politics are closely related, and i believe that relationship provides a fruitful model for engaging in the theological task. why stephen colbert? an apology for seeming triviality at first, stephen colbert may seem a laughably unlikely topic for a scholarly essay. surely there are more important topics to be examined? of course, what is intellectually important is dependent upon one‘s audience and what one values as a significant contributor to academic ―culture.‖ ivory-tower traditionalists may scoff 1 it is doubly impossible, first of all because what makes one a ―real‖ catholic is and will likely to continue to be hotly contested, and secondly because any claim to know the true inner orientation of another person, especially a public figure only known from a distance, is epistemological nonsense. it suggests a static selfhood which can be perfectly communicated to others — on both counts, a sort of selfhood human beings have yet to possess. at the proliferation of ―…and philosophy‖ books 2 and exegeses of immensely popular literary phenomena such as the harry potter heptology and the twilight series, but the accessibility and clarity of the ―through pop culture to academic culture‖ approach seems likely to play a significant role in the preservation of the philosophical-theological task in the twenty-first century. if the following investigation proceeds with a similar sort of clarity and accessibility, thereby bringing both a popular audience and an academic audience into closer communication with one another and with the contested category of the ―catholic,‖ it will have been a success. stephen colbert is a particularly fitting subject for such a project because the report is already prominent and accessible, but also because colbert is a clearly self-identified catholic. he is not only a very public catholic, but his comfort and facility with distinctively catholic language and symbols on the report suggests that his catholic identity is strong and well-examined, informed by thoughtful philosophical and theological inquiry as well as remarkably good catechesis. 3 the prevailing opinion is that stephen's ―true‖ thoughts on the issues he discusses are likely to be the ―polar opposite‖ of those his on-screen character expresses. i contend, however, that to speak of polar opposites is to miss entirely the point of colbert's project. as a product and member of a catholic culture, colbert gives the lie to this oversimplification, this supposition that to satirize is to reject and that to express elements of an identity is to claim wholesale the identity itself. rather, colbert's satire stems from a deep self-identification with a particular, ―intellectual‖ and ―very devout‖ catholic culture which presents a vision of a world better than the one at present, a ―kingdom not of this world.‖ 4 2 popular graphic novels (e.g., batman or watchmen), video games (world of warcraft), television shows (house: md, seinfeld, south park, or battlestar galactica), movies (star wars, the matrix trilogy, or the wizard of oz), musical artists (jimmy buffett, u2, or pink floyd), sports teams (the red sox), or gadgets (facebook and the ipod) are favorite subjects for this type of book. the familiar popular subject is used to concretely illustrate philosophical positions and thought experiments to the general population (in rahnerian terms, this sort of move is called ―thematizing the unthematic‖). one of the bestselling examples of this genre, stephen colbert and philosophy: i am philosophy and so can you! (aaron allen schiller, ed. open court, 2009) is a particularly appropriate example in this case. 3 in other words, education in practices and their shared meanings which arises more from within the life of the church than from within the academy. 4 david cote, ―joyce words.‖time out new york, no. 506 (june 9-15, 2005). http://web.archive.org/web/20060820014908/ http://www.timeout.com/newyork/detailsar.dofile=hotseat/506/506.hotseat.m. http://web.archive.org/web/20060820014908/ the out-of-character colbert, the youngest of eleven children 5 , is quite open (and not always for comedic effect) about his catholicism. it appears to be something more than nominal: david cote: you created the daily show religious-satire segment, ―this week in god.‖ how do you square your catholicism with comedy? stephen colbert: i love my church, and i'm a catholic who was raised by intellectuals, who were very devout. i was raised to believe that you could question the church and still be a catholic. what is worthy of satire is the misuse of religion for destructive or political gains. that's totally different from the word, the blood, the body and the christ. his kingdom is not of this earth. 6 colbert's eucharistic and eschatological language, as well as his juxtapositions of loving with questioning and intellect with devotion, confound the usual polarized categories of american political discourse while also gesturing toward the presence of god now and the kingdom to come. these fruitful tensions between so-called opposites are the bread and butter of vibrant, dynamic catholicism, and offer a fresh alternative to the stagnant polemic most prevalent in current public discourse, even in political comedy. colbert‘s satire critiques not religion, but the misuse of religion for destructive or political gains — even the ―right‖ (or, as it were, left) political gains. if one were to subsume colbert under a single identity, it seems that the run-of-the-mill liberal (even liberal christian) suggested by the ―polar opposite‖ hypothesis of the ―real stephen colbert‖ would not be the most appropriate one. even if we allow for multiple and intertwined identities, the stubborn fact of colbert‘s catholicism makes the ―polar opposite‖ hypothesis untenable — and suggests that there is a way to be catholic that is a rich and multifaceted source of identity, a field in which more static categories, such as those promoted by our political environment, can be stretched and shaped to allow an actual human person to live in them. the out-of-character colbert is also unambiguously involved in the life of 5 ibid.; i mention colbert's ten-sibling family quite purposefully here: many people, upon reading ―eleven children,‖ will have immediately associated such a large family with catholicism. this association is not so much a product of a rational deduction, but the result of repeated conditioning to the coincidence of ―catholic‖ and ―large family.‖ this sort of experience of evocative — rather than exclusive — association with catholicism is the type of cultural identification with which this paper is concerned. 6 cote, ―joyce words.‖ the institutional church. he serves as a catechist, 7 admitting that the sunday school classroom is a place where he can momentarily put aside the difficulty he encounters in presenting himself as both a comedian and a faithful catholic: colbert bolsters his catholic karma by teaching at a local sunday school. ―in what i do there's not a lot of people who go to catholic church,‖ he says. the children he addresses at sunday school are too young to recognise [sic] the television star in front of them, which he is delighted about. ―so i get to actually talk to someone who will take me seriously when i talk about religion — albeit i have to find somebody who's seven to take me seriously.‖ 8 for the out-of-character colbert, religion is a serious matter, although his comedic treatment of it is rarely taken as evidence of its importance — in fact, the opposite seems to be the case. his recognizability actually impedes his attempts to talk about religion, because his admirers tend to preemptively decide what it is that he wants to communicate. 9 it is a ―delight‖ and a relief for colbert when he is taken seriously, since his usual medium is often interpreted as flippant and dismissive. it might not be a bad idea to take the childlike, imaginative, receptive, and yet rational faith of the seven-year-old as a starting point, for the moment taking seriously what colbert has to say about religion and his catholic faith, trusting his investment in it even when his presentation is anything but serious. beyond colbert‘s out-of-character and on-screen identity as a proud catholic 10 , the colbert report itself is saturated with religion stories. in the 7 colbert also discusses the role of the sunday school teacher while interviewing protestant author anne lamott; anne lamott, interviewed by stephen colbert, the colbert report, comedy central, april 29, 2008. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/167059/april-29-2008/anne-lamott. 8 stephen daly, ―stephen colbert: the second most powerful idiot in america.‖ telegraph online (18 may 2008). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3673509/stephen-colbertthe-second-most-powerful-idiot-in-america.html. 9 for example, researchers baumgartner and morris imply that the effects on colbert's largely liberal, young audience of ―greater affinity to the republican party‖ (630) and ―a significant increase in the tendency to agree that politics and government seem complicated‖ (633) must amount to a failure of understanding on the part of colbert's audience because they mirror the statistical effects of the o'reilly factor instead of those of the daily show. it is my contention that such a move toward the ―center‖ and a concurrent ―complication‖ of the political landscape reflects instead the success of colbert's project. it would have be particularly interesting if the specific issues baumgartner and morris traced had included religiously-tinged issues such as abortion or gay marriage, but even as it stands, the scholars' analysis of their findings provides a formal and potent example of the ―polar opposite‖ hypothesis at work; jody c. baumgartner and jonathan s. morris, ―one 'nation' under stephen? the effects of the colbert report on american youth,‖ journal of broadcasting & electronic media (december 2008), 622-643. 10 a complete analysis of the ways in which colbert acts and speaks ―catholicly‖ on the official online video clip archive, 300 clips are tagged ―religion‖ — more clips than ―elections‖ (242), ―economy‖ (217), ―money‖ (235), ―health‖ (249), ―movies‖ (164), ―media‖ (247), ―sports‖ (224), ―wars‖ (289), and ―america‖ (228). more clips are tagged ―religion‖ than ―congress‖ (170) and ―history‖ (107) combined. excluding tags referring to recurring elements of the show (like ―the wørd‖ [372], ―intro‖ [576], and ―interview‖ [902]), only ―iraq‖ (362), ―barack obama‖ (434), and ―books‖ (467) are tagged more often than ―religion.‖ 11 the show has its own ―chaplain,‖ jesuit fr. james martin. martin, fittingly enough, also serves as culture editor of the catholic weekly magazine america. 12 it should also come as no surprise that one of colbert‘s usual segments on the daily show included a ―god machine‖ — a gimmick which gathered multiple religion stories together for commentary from colbert, serving much the same purpose (though with a very different tone) as the report‘s recurring ―yahweh or no way‖ segment. 13 colbert's rise to prominence has not gone unnoticed. the more ―respectable‖ honors the report has received include an emmy, a grammy, and the peabody journalism award. 14 colbert‘s neologisms have attracted a lot of attention, as well. most famously the term ―truthiness‖ — which means ―truth that comes from the guts and not books‖ and was introduced on the report's inaugural broadcast — was chosen by the ―wordinista‖ community as the american dialect society's word of the year in 2005 and merriam-webster's word of the year in 2006. 15 some have noted stephen's remarkable web-savviness 16 , which is perhaps a better indicator of his influence than his reception by the media establishment. 17 report outstrips the course of this paper, but the segments and interviews i have chosen to explore offer a glimpse into the sort of verbal and behavioral resonances i mean to point out. 11 ―all tags.‖ http://www.colbernation.com/alltags. (numbers current as of december 4, 2009). 12 ―tags: james martin.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/james+martin; ―james martin, s.j.: culture editor, america, 1998 – .‖ http://www.americamagazine.org/content/staff.cfm?id=8. 13 ―tags: yahweh or no way.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/yahweh+or+no+way. 14 stranger ones include the naming of an ice cream flavor, several animals, and at least one youth sports team in his honor. ―tags: emmy awards.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/emmy-awards; ―tags: grammy awards.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/grammy+awards; ―tags: peabody award.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/peabody+award. 15 sue khodarahmi, ―words of the year,‖ communication world (march-april 2007), 11. 16 colbert was named ―webby person of the year‖ in 2008, in ―recognition for his pioneering role in utilizing the internet as a significant tool for interaction with fans of the colbert report...embod[ying] the true participatory spirit of the web‖; don j. waisanen, ―a citizen's guide to democracy inaction: jon stewart and stephen colbert's comic rhetorical criticism,‖ southern communication journal, no. 74:2 (april-june 2009), 120. 17 colbert's act at the 2006 white house correspondents' dinner received top download status http://www.colbernation.com/alltags another indicator of his influence is the ―colbert bump,‖ a fairly well-documented phenomenon in which, following an appearance on the report, sales of a guest‘s book or album skyrocket. 18 a similar effect can be noted in the cases of the neologism ―wikiality‖ 19 and of ―operation humble kanye.‖ in ―operation humble kanye,‖ colbert asked that his viewers purchase his own album a colbert christmas: the greatest gift of all, so that it would overtake the album of notoriously arrogant hip-hop star kanye west 20 in sales on itunes, thereby ―humbling kanye.‖ the only way to ―stop kanye's arrogance is with my arrogance,‖ colbert said. his directions were incredibly specific and targeted, urging viewers to digitally purchase the album ―wednesday [at] 5 pm eastern,‖ to ―propel it to the number one spot and, possibly, crash the national power grid.‖ 21 he repeated the challenge the next night (although the album had already creeped up one place in the sales rankings overnight). 22 on the episode following that fateful wednesday, colbert reported that overnight, the christmas special album (now #2) had in fact surpassed west's 808s and heartbreak (now #4) on the itunes chart — despite west's dismissive reaction to the campaign on twitter (as colbert reports it, west asked, ―who the f*** is stephen colbert?‖). 23 the responsiveness of the ―colbert nation,‖ stephen's loyal viewership, in these and other cases on itunes and 2.7 million (presumably) non-journalist viewers on youtube in its first 48 hours, viewers to whom it seemed a ―remarkable event where a sharp political satirist punctured the elite bubble that normally insulates the white house [and the media] from direct [sic] criticism.‖ the media, at whom colbert took rather bold aim during the act, generally agreed the act was ―inappropriate‖ and ―not funny‖; steve randall, ―that's not funny,‖ extra! update: the newsletter of fair — the media watch group (june 2006), 1; waisanen 120. 18 ―tags: colbert bump.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/colbert+bump 19 ―the wørd: wikiality.‖the colbert report. episode no. 129, first broadcast 31 july 2006 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/72347/july-312006/the-word---wikiality; ―tags: wikiality.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/wikiality. 20 west is infamous for his on-air assertion following hurricane katrina that then-president george w. bush ―does not care about black people,‖ and colbert mentions in the initial segment of operation humble kanye that west had recently crowned himself ―the voice of this generation of this decade‖; ―operation humble kanye.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 483, first broadcast 1 december 2008 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbertreport-videos/211966/december-01-2008/operation-humble-kanye. 21 ibid. 22 ―operation humble kanye — buy stephen's album.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 484, first broadcast 2 december 2008 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbertreport-videos/211988/december-02-2008/operation-humble-kanye---buy-stephen-s-album. 23 ―operation humble kanye — buy stephen's album.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 486, first broadcast 4 december 2008 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbertreport-videos/212032/december-04-2008/operation-humble-kanye---stephen-beats-kanye. indicates that a substantial group is actively engaged with the program. 24 this engagement is not unironic 25 , but nevertheless suggests an easily mobilized audience. colbert and the satirical both-and it is crucial to understand colbert's particular satirical method both in light of the satirical tradition proper and the stream of catholic thought in which he stands. the two most prominent examples of catholics in the satirical tradition are two contemporaries, known to one another, (saint) thomas more and desiderius erasmus. more in his utopia and erasmus in his in praise of folly wrote in a satirical style which sometimes took aim at the church, but was written ultimately in service of the church which both men prized, one as a monk and the other as a martyr. in praise of folly takes the decadence of the renaissance church as its main subject, illustrating the possibility of using satire as a sort of dissent without complete dismissal. utopia is less explicitly about the church, but it illustrates the other main advantage of satirical techniques: almost nothing in utopia can or should be taken at face value, and so more has greater freedom of expression than he might if he chose to write in a more direct style. 26 this freedom refers not only to freedom to dissent, but freedom to explore supposedly opposite possibilities simultaneously. for example, more describes at length and in painstaking detail a place that is ―ideal,‖ but which he also names ―no place‖ — whether ―no place yet‖ or ―no place ever‖ is unclear, and fruitfully so. this ambiguity of orientation toward and treatment of one's subject might be called ―the satirical both-and,‖ echoing a familiar but still powerful trope in catholic thought — that the truth of a matter can never really be expressed in an either-or statement, but only (perhaps) in a both-and statement. colbert takes advantage of the warrant more and erasmus represent, while at the same time doing something refreshingly new. his character is not entirely consistent, but this inconsistency is fruitful and illustrative. for example, colbert routinely refers to fellow cable pundit bill o'reilly as his cuddly ―papa bear,‖ 27 but bears — those ―murderous eating machines‖ 28 — are also a regular feature on 24 ―tags: colbert nation.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/colbert+nation. 25 after all, its movements have been humorous in intent and directed toward websites and media sales, not toward solving world hunger or human trafficking. 26 thomas more. utopia. trans. clarence h. miller (new haven, ct: yale university press, 2001), 143. 27 ―tags: bill o‘reilly + papa bear.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/bill+o'reilly%7c-papa+bear. 28 ―threatdown: antibacterial soap.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 6, first broadcast 25 his ―threatdown‖ segment, often as the top threat. 29 colbert's attitude toward o‘reilly is necessarily and purposefully ambiguous, even if colbert-the-character seems unaware of the implied contrast. in a more self-reflexive mode, colbert‘s doom-heralding ―four horsemen of the a-pop-calypse‖ include ―tv, movies, music, and books‖ 30 — television, colbert‘s own medium, and three others which describe the vast majority of the subject matter discussed and promoted by guests on the show. in the same segment, colbert decries sinead o'connor's latest album on principle, though it is entitled theology, because of the musician's most infamous act — ripping up a photograph of pope john paul ii. 31 the irony is that colbert is himself a bit iconoclastic when it comes to the pope — the holy father is not off limits, although colbert will admit that his infallibility is ―very hard to argue with.‖ 32 for example, he once referred to the pope as ―god's usual date.‖ 33 he has talked of the possibility of a ―spider pope,‖ 34 laughed off the vatican's commitment to going carbon-neutral because ―pope-announcing smoke‖ can't contribute that much to global warming, 35 and on more than one occasion commented snarkily on pope benedict xvi's haggard appearance and colorful attire. 36 october 2005 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-reportvideos/24372/october-25-2005/threatdown--anti-bacterial-soap. 29 ―tags: threatdown + bears.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/threatdown-%7cbears. 30 ―four horsemen of the a-pop-calypse.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 281, first broadcast 27 june 2007 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-reportvideos/183108/june-27-2007/four-horsemen-of-the-a-pop-calypse---shaq 31 ibid. 32 ―pope goes green.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 122, first broadcast 18 july 2007 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/90113/july-182007/pope-goes-green. 33 ―yahweh or no way: father cutié — miss california.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 557, first broadcast 12 may 2009 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbertreport-videos/227664/may-142009/yahweh-or-no-way---father-cutie---miss-california. 34 ―spider pope.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 614, first broadcast 29 september 2009 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/250601/september-292009/spider-pope. 35 ―pope goes green‖; he also suggests that reducing catholic celebration of reproduction might be a better route to reducing the vatican‘s carbon footprint, since the ―last time [he] checked, babies are made of carbon.‖ 36 ―father james martin.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 284, first broadcast 21 april 2008 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/166723/april-212008/father-james-martin. while interviewing yusuf, the artist formerly known as cat stevens, colbert says, ―i‘m calling you a coward and telling you i love you at the same time.‖ 37 here again the coexistence of loving and questioning is startling, but stephen's meaning is perfectly clear: ―i love you, and because i love you i wish you weren‘t such a coward.‖ 38 to his beloved church, to those in political and social power, colbert says, ―i love you, i value you, i respect you, but i also respect the truth: and so i want you to be better.‖ he is ―here to educate,‖ 39 to constructively criticize, not to simply ridicule with no greater purpose. he knows and loves the value of what already is, but he does not settle for its imperfection because he is also awaiting the eschatological not-yet. he hopes for the better and best which the catholic faith professes god has promised to us, and recognizes that the works which now flow from faith in the coming of that ―kingdom not of this world‖ play an important role in its eventual advent. stephen interviewed poet and chair of african american studies at yale elizabeth alexander after she had read a poem of her own at the obama inauguration. 40 their conversation, in large part due to the leading pressure of colbert‘s back-handed statements, illuminates a fundamental tenet of what has been called the ―catholic imagination‖: something may be fictional, but that doesn‘t mean that it isn‘t true. colbert starts by asking what seems to him, paradoxically, a burning question with an obvious answer: stephen colbert: ―poems aren‘t true, are they? they‘re made up, right, they‘re made up?‖ elizabeth alexander: ―it‘s not true in the way that the newspaper is true—‖ sc: ―well, the newspaper is never true. have you read the new york times?‖ ea: ―— well, [the way the newspaper is] meant to be true. it‘s not true in the sense of the strictly factual, but a poem should be true in some way: emotionally true, true to the language that it has. so that‘s why, for example, ‗[the love song of] j. alfred prufrock‘ might speak to you, because there‟s something in the poem that resonates, that feels true to you, and that‘s how people connect with poems…the point is that that language is „off ‟ enough, 37 yusuf, interview by stephen colbert, the colbert report, comedy central, 14 may 2009. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/227669/may-14-2009/yusuf. 38 the use of the word ―coward‖ here is hyperbolic, of course, and not meant to actually imply that yusef's conversion to islam and subsequent withdrawal from stardom was in fact cowardly or wrong. 39 yusuf, interview by stephen colbert, the colbert report, comedy central, 14 may 2009. 40 ―biography & cv.‖ http://www.elizabethalexander.net/biography.html. decentered enough from the way that you hear language every day that it makes you stop and think about what that could mean.‖ sc: ―let‘s talk about meaning for a second. metaphors: what‘s the difference between a metaphor and a lie?‖ [this gets hearty laughter from the guest and audience, perhaps because it‘s actually a rather serious question.] ―ok, because ‗i am the sun, you are the moon‘ — that‘s a lie. you‘re not the moon. i‘m not the sun, ok? what‟s the difference between a metaphor and a lie?‖ ea: ―well, that was both a metaphor and a lie, so the two are not necessarily exclusive. a metaphor is a way of using language where you make a comparison to let people understand something as it relates to something else, and that‘s how you use language to increase meaning.‖ sc: ―well, why not just say what you mean, instead of dressing things up in all this flowery language? like you know, the great romantic poets, you know, ‗shall i compare thee to a summer‘s day?‘ why not just say, ‗you are hot. let‘s do it. let‘s get it on. i got a mountain in my pants, and that is not a metaphor. that is not a lie.‘‖ 41 stephen, of course, misses the point — the ―mountain‖ in his pants is a metaphor, and therefore a lie, but it may still be true. like a metaphor, there is something in colbert‘s method that resonates, that feels true even when the literal meaning is silly and patently false. his strange and exaggerated presentation of reality is “off” enough, decentered enough from the way that reality is presented every day that it makes us stop and think about what he could mean, what could be missing from the usual treatment of the subject at hand. and that is why he chooses not to just say what he means, not to passionately or rationally argue for his position in a direct way. colbert‘s indirect, dehabituating method of satire and related techniques prompts exactly the type of reflection and openness he hopes to create in his audience, the now-rare type of active receptivity to the truth which precedes any possibility of rational argument. a metaphor's indirectness, in alexander's language, ―increases meaning‖ — it increases the possibilities of what may be recognized or learned in a linguistic encounter. colbert's satirical indirectness, although involving the adoption of a literally false façade, increases his possibilities for communicating truth. it decenters and disarms, throwing one off 41 elizabeth alexander, interview by stephen colbert, the colbert report, comedy central, january 21, 2009; http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/216596/january-212009/elizabeth-alexander; transcript by author, emphasis added; see also paul ricoeur‘s notion of the indirect (especially parables) and the poetic in his figuring the sacred: religion, narrative, and imagination (minneapolis, mn: augsburg fortress, 1995), 217-235. balance, and at that very moment one's ―freed hands‖ may grab hold of a more secure anchor than the one to which they had been clutching before. colbert's case for faith not only does the concept of ―true fiction‖ help legitimate colbert‘s satirical project, it also suggests that ―truthiness‖ may be a more valid form of knowing than previously suspected. if, after all, alexander‘s justification of literally false poetry and metaphor is that it feels true and resonates, truthiness would not be an unfair way to describe the sort of knowledge that one experiences while reading or hearing good poetry. if metaphor and truthiness are related in this way, it is appropriate to ask, what‟s the difference between truthiness and a lie? matthew f. pierlott, a contributor to the popular colbert report addition to the ―...and philosophy‖ genre, asserts that there is indeed an important difference. there are four basic orientations to truth, in pierlott's estimation: the ―factual‖ truth-seeker, the ―truthy‖ truth-seeker, the liar, and the bull****er. the factual truth-seeker is what one usually imagines as an honest, rational thinker, whose conclusions are not thereby necessarily true but whose method is generally accepted as the ―most reliable‖ method of truthseeking. the ―truthy‖ truth-seeker has a similar desire for the truth, but prefers the sort of truth which relies on ―an implicit logic...that the person simply has difficulty making explicit‖ — in other words, a conviction that comes from the gut or heart (pascal, for example, sounds at times like a ―truthy‖ truthseeker, but so does colbert's favorite example, former president george w. bush). 42 the liar, although false on the surface, also has an implicit respect for the truth. 43 the bull****er alone disregards truth completely — his or her purpose is entirely selfish and independent of any reality outside the needs of the bull****er himor herself. 44 it is the existence of the bull****er, the loose cannon of the truthseeking world, that for pierlott provides a rationale for an appropriate application of truthy truthseeking. because the bull****er, the deceiver, and the incompetent truthseeker can be distinguished only by the speaker's inaccessible intention, the ―reliable‖ process of rational argumentation is compromised. politicians speak ―at cross-purposes‖ and so the ―facts,‖ the premises one might use in a rational argument, are suspect. moreover, ―there's far too much information from far too many sources for the individual citizens to stay on top of 42 matthew pierlott, ―truth, truthiness, and bullshit for the american voter,‖ in colbert and philosophy: i am philosophy and so can you, edited by aaron allen schiller (chicago: open court, 2009), 81. 43 ibid., 86. 44 ibid., 87. it all.‖ 45 pierlott's conclusion is that our only resource and the method we all ultimately use in making political decisions is truthiness, that quality by which we try to discern the truthworthiness and intention of the strangers we vote to elect. 46 this affirmation of truthiness as a valid, practical resource when making decisions based on the mind of another person and on amounts of information too vast for one to fully analyze is important to keep in mind when imagining how the question of faith might be answered by a son of ―intellectual‖ and ―very devout‖ catholic parents. colbert has interviewed popular biologist and evangelist of the ―new atheism‖ richard dawkins twice, once in 2006 when dawkins was promoting his the god delusion (houghton mifflin 2006) and once in september of 2009. this second interview shows dawkins, to his great credit, as quite capable of playing by colbert's unusual rules. it also leads to an affirmation of a something, difficult to describe, which transcends a rigidly rationalistic grasp of the world. the transcript below is lengthy, but quite illuminating: stephen colbert: ―now, you have a new book, called the greatest show on earth: the evidence for evolution. what evidence for evolution?‖ richard dawkins: ―read the book and you'll find out.‖ sc: ―i don't read books. you know, i read the world, i look around the world and i see complexity. things are too complex for them to just have happened by accident.‖ 47 rd: ―they didn't happen by accident. as i explained to you last time — ― sc: [laughing] ―i didn't listen to you last time. see, you don't know how this works. okay. what do you mean? of course they happened by accident.‖ rd: ―you get complexity by non-accident, natural selection, darwin's theory of natural selection. it's the opposite —‖ sc: ―but how did this selection come about? how did these mutations come about, sir?!‖ rd: ―now, they're accidents.‖ sc: ―they're accidents! — ‖ rd: ―but selection is not accident.‖ sc: ―absolutely it is.‖ 45 ibid., 89. 46 ibid., 89-90. 47 i cannot help noting here that the notion of ―reading the world‖ is a thoroughly christian one, rooted in a claim that creation is fundamentally good and that it reveals something true about reality and about god. for just two examples, see bonaventure‘s notion of the ―book of creation‖ and thomas aquinas‘ cosmological ―proofs‖ of god‘s existence. rd: ―no, no, no...selection — ‖ sc: ―what do you mean, it's not an accident that a giraffe has to have a longer neck to get to the leaves up there?‖ rd: ―that's not an accident —‖ sc: ―god did it! you admit that there's a plan here!‖ rd: ―now look, listen: those that were best at getting to the tops of the trees were the ones that had the most children. they passed on the genes for getting to the tops of the trees. it's a series of sieves going through the generations increasing the lengths, little by little.‖ sc: ―but what the sieves are is an accident?‖ rd: ―no, that's survival.‖ sc: ―but you're saying survival is an accident.‖ rd: ―no, it's not.‖ sc: ―there's no purpose to life. the stars blindly run in your scenario.‖ rd: ―there is no purpose to life, but it's not an accident which giraffe —‖ sc: ―so there's no reason for us to be here? there's no reason —‖ rd: ―you make your own reasons.‖ sc: ―you can make reasons, but god can't.‖ rd: ―well —‖ sc: ―you're better than god. you can make up reasons but god can't. your just said that. your words, sir.‖ [sic] rd: ―if he existed.‖ sc: ―god does exist. god is now, always has been, and ever shall be, world without end. amen.‖ [scattered cheers from the audience — and does this formulation sound familiar? catholic, even?] rd: ―you asked me for the evidence for evolution. where's the evidence for god?‖ sc: ―where's the…uhh...reese's peanut butter cups.‖ [loud laughter and applause] ―ok. explain that away. ‗that just naturally happened, that my peanut butter got in my chocolate.‘ no. that can't happen. someone had to design those peanut butter cups.‖ rd: ―correct.‖ sc: ―correct. ok. but, but, wait, wait, wait...so design exists in the universe.‖ rd: ―design exists where there are humans.‖ sc: ―ok, and, humans exist, and design, that capability is within us. right?‖ rd: ―yes.‖ sc: ―so we can't just make something out of nothing, because ‗nothing comes from nothing.‘ and therefore design existed before our use of design—‖ rd: ―and where did design come from then?‖ sc: ―god! are you deaf? it came from god. he knew you in your mother's womb.‖ [colbert's scriptural reference here comes easily, indicating his familiarity and comfort with it.] rd: ―in the beginning was simplicity, simplicity's easy to understand, and we can explain, science can explain, i can explain in there [in the book] how you get from simplicity to complexity. once you've got complexity, then you've got design. you've got people, who can design anything you like, much better than —‖ sc: ―see, you're just using big words to confuse me.‖ [laughter] rd: ―not for the first time.‖ sc: ―let's me tell you something. i think you're trying to sucker people. i'll tell you why, because this is called the greatest show on earth: p.t. barnum said that. know what he also said? ‗there's a sucker born every minute.‘‖ rd: ―he did. you're absolutely right.‖ sc: ―why, why didn't you call your book that?‖ [laughter] rd: ―well, i tell you, i didn't get that book from p.t. barnum, that title, i got it indirectly from a tee-shirt someone sent me from america. it said, ‗evolution: the greatest show on earth. the only game in town,‘ and that's what i really wanted to call my book: ‗the only game in town.‘ the publisher wouldn't let me. because i think, and i've argued elsewhere, that anywhere in the universe that there's life, it'll turn out to be darwinian life. it's the only game in the universe, not just earth. [pause] floored you?‖ sc: ―floored me? oh no, i wasn't listening. [laughter] but...but if there is no god, if we are not intelligently designed, why is there beauty?‖ rd: ―well for one thing, because we have brains that perceive beauty because we've evolved our brains to see beauty. so natural selection has favored the ability to see beauty for certain reasons, notably for example in the opposite sex. darwin himself said this, that we've got —‖ sc: ―so there's an evolutionary advantage to see beauty and to be beautiful.‖ rd: ―yes.‖ sc: ―okay, okay, if that's true, and we've had a million years of doing this, why are there still so many ugly people?‖ rd: ―that's a very good point!‖ sc: ―thank you so much. when you've got an answer to that, please come back!‖ 48 what is wonderful about the whole exchange is how the atheist and the catholic are able to have a conversation not unlike the sort of conversation one might have with a friend about evolution and intelligent design. there is much at stake in what is being talked about, but the manner in which they are proceeding makes it possible for each man to concede when the other has made a valid point. while colbert does not explore here the possibility of the compatibility of a creator with evolution beyond of the terms of ―intelligent design,‖ he comes close to that now-standard catholic response by pointing the conversation toward pleasure and beauty. the first piece of ―evidence‖ colbert offers for the existence of god is funny, but not therefore a bad starting point: reese's peanut butter cups. without allegorizing too much, it is possible to say that the coincidence of peanut butter, chocolate, human beings who decided to put them together, and human taste buds which can enjoy the combination is quite serendipitous — but the argument for god from gustatory pleasure is one dawkins could easily place in the context of bodily need and therefore rationalize in a merely evolutionary universe. however, when colbert asks for a reason for beauty, dawkins is unable to come up with a satisfactory answer, sounding instead mildly tautological. that we have developed brains to recognize beauty and that one instance of why the beautiful is desirable is that it shows us who might be a good mate only takes us so far. it is possible, although dawkins has neither the time nor inclination at the end of the interview to argue it, that human beauty reflects fertility and virility and so the humanly beautiful is the good mate, pure and simple. but even that does not explain why trees are beautiful, or the sky, or mountains. i do not want to mate with any of these things, and the evolutionary purpose of my being so distracted by them is at best tangential and at worst detrimental to my search for food and reproduction. dawkins' explanation does not account for why we find in music or art or technology, ―designedly‖ human creations, something akin to the ―undesigned‖ beauty of nature. most of all, dawkins does nothing to tell us what that striking thing beauty actually is. the question of beauty is an instance in which the appeal of ―truthiness‖ actually does get us a bit further than merely rational arguments, because the beautiful always resists quantification — it ceases to be beautiful once it is merely symmetrical, or harmonious, or nutritious. in fact, the relationship of beauty to imperfection, to asymmetry, and to dissonance makes it a 48 richard dawkins, interviewed by stephen colbert, the colbert report, comedy central september 30, 2009, http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/250617/september30-2009/richard-dawkins; transcript by author. very apt concept with which to push back against the reduction of all things to science. dawkins' ―greatest show,‖ precisely because it is a show — something pleasurable, wondrous, beautiful, and serendipitous — gives the lie to its own self-explanation. it escapes our grasp and in so doing suggests that there may be other things in the universe which also exceed our ability to grasp them intellectually. colbert and catholic culture to this point, it seems there is a solid case for colbert's support of a broadly religious approach to life. but what makes colbert distinctively catholic? in other words, is it fair to say that colbert belongs to something like a catholic culture? i will turn here to clifford geertz's influential anthropological description of religion as a ―cultural system,‖ 49 as briefly applied by historian of american catholicism mark s. massa. massa supposes that he can make a case for catholic and senator joseph mccarthy's use of catholic cultural idioms in his public discourse. what is useful for our current purpose is just how massa proposes to make a case for mccarthy's use of a geertzian catholic cultural system in his rise to prominence and effort against the so-called communist infiltration. massa writes: [t]o argue for a catholic ―cast‖ to mccarthy's crusade has little (or nothing) to do with formal catholic theology, official teaching by theologians and bishops, or public ecclesiastical pronouncements on social and political questions. it rather has to do with considering the different kinds of dispositions, motivations, and self-perceptions that informed the cultural reception and expression of catholicism among many catholics. 50 to replace ―mccarthy‖ with ―colbert‖ in this passage, it is important to note the oft-cited ―collapse of the catholic subculture‖ and to thereby revise the sort of reception and expression which characterizes younger catholics of today (colbert himself is in his mid-forties, part of ―generation x,‖ while many of his viewers belong to his generation or to the younger ―millenials‖; both groups largely or completely missed the mid-twentieth century centralization of american catholic life as well as the most immediate ramifications of the second vatican council). colbert obviously does make statements on ―social and political questions‖ on his 49 clifford geertz, ―religion is a cultural system,‖ in the interpretation of cultures: selected essays (new york: basic books, 2000 [reprint of 1973 original]), 87-125. 50 mark s. massa, ―catholicism as a cultural system: joe mccarthy, clifford geertz, and the 'consiracy so immense,'‖ in catholics and american culture: fulton sheen, dorothy day, and the notre dame football team (new york: crossroad, 1999), 64. show, but it is less these than the shared catholic system of language, behavior, and symbols which marks him as a member of a certain catholic culture. contemporary theologian kathryn tanner would have us speak of a theological ―style,‖ reflected in practices, rather than geertz's more static (and some say passe) ―system of signifiers.‖ 51 indeed, in part because of the collapse of the american catholic subculture, any coherent and complete notion of a symbolic system must give way to a more impressionistic and evocative understanding of what might denote catholic culture. in the colbert's case, however, the two conceptions amount to the same thing — onscreen words, postures, and actions which evoke the experience of a certain ―catholic culture,‖ a thing difficult to define but unmistakable to those conversant with or immersed in it. what is at stake in this instance is a ―ring‖ or ―resonance‖ of catholicity (not catholicity although the two are not strictly distinct). to use a medieval term, one ―contuits‖ colbert's catholicism, seeing it alongside the subject matter at hand, as it were peripherally, rather than taking it in directly and communicably as one‘s main object. for example, at least twice in the context of the report, colbert has recited portions of the nicene-constantineopolitan creed on air. this creed is shared by most christian denominations, but because catholics recite it en masse at each sunday liturgy it sounds with a particularly strong resonance in a ―catholic ear.‖ there is something in the rhythm of colbert's recitation which is familiar, which is unlike the way a single person would recite something. in fact, it seems as if colbert is being carried along on the tide of the creed's rhythm as happens when reciting it along with a crowd, and he must complete a ―rhythmic phrase‖ rather than merely a meaningful phrase before he can halt the onward thrust of his recitation. 52 the meaning of colbert's reference to the creed is not exclusively catholic, but it adds a dimension, a ―cast,‖ to what has been communicated. it is more meaningful, in this sense, to those who share colbert's system of catholic language, liturgical behavior, and speech patterns, than it is to the general public. 51 kathryn tanner, theories of culture: a new agenda for theology (minneapolis, mn: fortress press, 1997), 144-155; see also david morgan‘s exploration of ―felt-life‖ in ―reconsidering civil religion: the social body of belief,‖ the immanent frame, 15 january 2010, http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2010/01/15/the-social-body-of-belief/. 52 ―the wørd: symbol-minded.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 622, first broadcast 13 october 2009 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-reportvideos/252639/october-13-2009/the-word-symbol-minded; richard dawkins, interview by stephen colbert, the colbert report, comedy central, september 30, 2009. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/250617/september-30-2009/richarddawkins. colbert also spent ash wednesday of 2006 sporting a cross of ashes on his forehead through the entire episode, 53 referring to it only early in the broadcast. he says: ―it's ash wednesday. unless this is a repeat, in which case i'm just filthy.‖ he goes on to say that those of his viewers who are ―smacking [their] foreheads because [they] forgot‖ to attend an ash wednesday service can just rub their foreheads against his. he moves close to the camera and, after a moment, asks if everyone has finished. this is funny precisely because any catholic who has participated in this particular ash wednesday ritual knows how easy it is to forget about the smear of ashes on one's forehead and to transfer errant ashes to one's hands and clothes, distorting the original cross into an unrecognizable blob of dirt in the process. many non-catholics have some sense that catholics walk around with dirty foreheads on ash wednesday 54 , but there is a certain closeness of address to the viewers whose own foreheads mirrored his that evening. the simple intimacy suggested by stephen's offer to rub his forehead on the viewer's own reminds one both of an interactive moment in a children's show and of the actual flesh-to-flesh intimacy of the ritual itself. he goes so far as to say that if someone has forgotten, he can perform a makeshift version of the ritual right through the television; he's ―been deputized,‖ he says, which is not actually too bad of a description for the universal call to spread the good news of the gospel, the sending forth into the world that one receives in the course of any catholic liturgy. the difference is that most of us do not have the medium of late night cable at our disposal when dispatched to perform our apostolic duty. at the same time, the dirtiness of ashes and the childlike silliness of transferring them through a television screen makes the very distressing and challenging shared experience of the start of lent into something a little funny, a discomforting sign made accessible to the initiated and to the clean-foreheaded alike. latin phrases and scripture references, oftentimes quoted verses, appear often enough and disappear quickly enough in colbert's speech that tracking their prevalence would be a daunting task indeed. instead, another interview may shed some light on colbert's understanding of the scriptural tradition of the church. in my estimation, it is a fine complement to the sacramental aesthetic evidenced by 53 ―intro: march 1, 2006.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 58, first broadcast 1 march 2006 by comedy central. central.http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/181622/march-01-2006/intro--3-1-06. 54 the ritual of having ashes smeared on one's forehead is of course not exclusively catholic, but in america it is a distinctively catholic practice, so that its primary association is with catholicism and not with any other traditions which may also participate in the practice or a similar one. his wearing of penitential ashes, his recourse to an argument from beauty, and his evocations of the nicene creed with its verbal resonance to the sunday liturgy most familiar to the catholics in his audience. bart ehrman is a biblical scholar and author of several works of popular theology, including misquoting jesus: the story behind who changed the bible and why (harperone 2005). the basic premise of the book is to expose the gradual development and imperfect transmission of what would become the canon of the christian bible as evidence against any sort of belief in the words of the bible as the words of god. for ehrman, the discrepancies in various manuscripts and the inconsistencies in the biblical texts themselves are strong arguments against trusting as authentic any of the ―words of jesus‖ as transmitted in the bible. his agnosticism featured as one of the major topics of discussion in ehrman's first onscreen meeting with colbert, and, unfortunately, it sounds as if ehrman's decision to pursue biblical scholarship resulted directly in the loss of a faith he once claimed as his own. what is clear, however, is that ehrman is struggling against an essentially fundamentalist interpretation of what it means to say that the bible is divine revelation. colbert takes on this fundamentalist tone toward the start of the interview. he says, ―let me lay my cards on the table here: i believe that the bible is inerrant, without flaw, and directly from the mouth of god. let's have a reasonable discussion.‖ the implication is that while colbert-the-character often appears as a catholic with commitments which resemble a fundamentalist evangelical (republican) christian, colbert is aware that an agnostic and a fundamentalist, as such, will never agree to terms leading to a ―reasonable discussion‖ of scripture. 55 (in fact, in catholic terms, viewing the bible as inerrant, without flaw, and from the mouth of god is not actually an impediment to a reasonable discussion — at issue is the ―directness‖ of its transmission, and this question‘s answer which nuances what one means by the first three.) in 2009, ehrman returned to the report to promote jesus interrupted, a book in a similar vein to that of misquoting jesus. the interview is important in several respects: first of all, in it colbert develops an approach to scripture which beautifully — if somewhat prosaically — expresses the both-and orientation of catholic thought on the matter; and secondly, this is one of the best examples of the wrong way to be interviewed by stephen colbert. ehrman, perhaps having not 55 bart ehrman, interview by stephen colbert, the colbert report, comedy central, june 20, 2006. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/70912/june-20-2006/bart-ehrman; colbert later reveals his familiarity with mainstream historical-critical biblical theology, belying any impression that he is uncritical reader of scripture: ―let's take the gospel of mark. it's often thought that's the first one written...about 60, 70 ad?‖ thoroughly enjoyed his experience in the previous interview, comes in on the defensive and is determined to get his point across this time, come hell or high water. instead of relaxing and giving in to the waves of colbert's comedic agility, ehrman tenses and fights and refuses to laugh at himself. one might think colbert unfair for interrupting ehrman so often, but this is his usual approach to interviewing, not some special attack on ehrman, and without fail, the interruption is followed by laughter from the audience — which, after all, is the goal of a comedic show, however deep its subject matter or erudite its guests. the facial expressions throughout the interview are so nuanced as to be impossible to describe with any brevity, but even a lightly annotated transcript provides some sense of how most of the interview turns into such a trainwreck for ehrman: bart ehrman: ―early jews didn't understand that the son of god was a divine being, but was a human being. for example in the old testa — ‖ stephen colbert: ―oh, you know the early jews better than the early jews. that's what you're saying. wait a second, wait a second, what am i hearing? you're saying we've got a misinterpretation of jesus and the early jews are to blame? i can't believe you're blaming this on the jews!‖ [audience laughter] be: ―right.‖ sc: ―that is so anti-semitic.‖ ehrman ignores this and plows on, restarting his earlier point about the hebraic understanding of the term ―son of god.‖ colbert, as might be expected, again interrupts. sc: ―what's the son of a duck? it's a duck.‖ [audience laughter] be: ―right.‖ [ehrman stops responding and both he and colbert simply nod at each other for a moment.] sc: ―if it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, and it can raise the dead like a duck, it's a duck.‖ ehrman doggedly returns a third time to his old testament ―son of god‖ argument. he gives solomon and moses as examples, but colbert counters him by saying that moses didn‘t raise the dead. ehrman rightly responds by saying that jesus wasn't the first in the tradition to do miracles but colbert points out that they didn't also call themselves ―son of god.‖ ―two points make a line, that's all i'm saying,‖ he quips. erhman finally completes his argument, pointing out that the divinity of jesus isn't found in matthew, mark, or luke. colbert helpfully explains, ―that's why john's last. the first three were rough drafts, then you get to john and he gets it right. [sic]‖ ehrman again answers, ―right,‖ which by this point has become a code word for, ―i'm not really sure how to redirect the conversation.‖ he finally tries to give in to colbert's playful and ridiculous arguments, conceding: ―in john, jesus is clearly divine. he says in john 15, ‗i am de vine, you are de branches.‘‖ the reception of his abrupt, corny joke is outstandingly cold, mostly groans or near-boos with a few scattered laughs. colbert takes up the tone of his audience, solemnly stating: sc: ―god is not a fan of puns, sir.‖ [the tension breaks.] be: ―but...‖ [he is clearly thinking hard about what to say next.] sc: ―that is one of the seven deadly sins.‖ be: [a little sheepishly] ―but, i-i-i think he does like your show, though.‖ [is ehrman finally starting to ―get it‖?] sc: ―ok, good. i think so, too, because i'm willing to defend him right now. okay. you say that, uh, you have a problem with [consulting his notes] conflicting versions of jesus' crucifixion.‖ be: ―yes.‖ sc: ―ok, first of all, selfish that you should talk about this the day before good friday, but i'll give you a shake right here. all of the gospels do mention that he's crucified, right?‖ be: ―that's right.‖ sc: ―aren't you kind of burying the lede, then? aren't you nitpicking by saying he said this thing in one, and that thing in the other. banner headline is: ‗god dies.‘‖ ehrman reiterates (fairly enough) the non-divinity of jesus in matthew, mark, and luke. he proceeds to describe the agonized jesus of mark, quoting psalm 22 on the cross, and luke's very different faith-filled jesus, crying out ―father, into your hands i commend my spirit.‖ he says that people have combined the gospels into one big gospel which is unlike either mark's or luke's gospel. colbert, having given him ample leave to explain this (ehrman, after all, has made quite a valid if less than revolutionary observation), responds (pantomiming the story amidst steady audience laughter): let me tell you a little parable, ok? four different blind men are stumbling along through the jungle and they fall into a pit where an elephant has already fallen, ok? they're like, ―what is this thing in here with us, so much greater than we are?!‖and they start touching it, and one person thinks it's a wall, and one thinks it's a tree, and one thinks it's a snake, and another one thinks it's spears. isn't it just possible that you're missing the point... [he pauses, searching for the right words.] ...and that jesus is an elephant? [loud laughter] an elephant so big that each of these four men could only see part of him? [applause and cheering, the rare hallmark of the audience's genuine agreement with stephen.] ehrman simply nods, while colbert closes the interview by saying, ―i tell you what, why don't we both die and let god settle it?‖ and thanking his guest. 56 what colbert has expressed — the primacy of the gospels' univocity regarding jesus christ as the crucified one, and the symphonic beauty of multiple perspectives — lands him firmly in the company of myriad eminent catholic thinkers. what erhman has revealed — that to be unbendingly firm and defensive of one's position to the point of rejecting an opportunity to playfully recognize the limits of human grasp of the truth is to be brittle and ultimately to break — is a lesson applicable not only to colbert's guests, but to anyone who seeks to grasp the most ungraspable of truths, god. the wørd made fresh: toward a colbertian theological method the above investigation has offered a presentation of stephen colbert as a catholic and of the legitimacy of his indirect, sometimes literally false techniques for a person of the catholic faith, a ―squaring‖ of his ―catholicism to comedy.‖ 57 the final move from this point must be a constructive one, building on this apologetic-evidentiary foundation an application of its findings to the theological task. it is well and good to provide evidence of his catholicism and to support its compatibility with comedy, but this is not explicitly important for theology as such unless there is some theological insight to be gained from the attention we have paid to stephen colbert. early on, i suggested that taking on the trusting, un-starstruck perspective of colbert's young sunday school students might not be a bad idea. to take that paradigm a step further, and to again offend the sensibilities of those wedded to a highly professional, mature, serious sort of theology (if indeed they have followed me this far), i would like to make another, perhaps silly suggestion: that theology might benefit from what may be called a colbertian theological method. a colbertian theological method would have more in common with a game of peek-a-boo than with a debate or even a serious, thoughtful conversation (the above analysis of bart ehrman's struggle against colbert's silliness is a potent 56 bart ehrman, interview by stephen colbert, the colbert report, comedy central, april 9, 2009; transcript by author. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-reportvideos/224128/april-09-2009/bart-ehrman. 57 cote, ―joyce words.‖ example of the difference between the two modes). a child can look around a corner and encounter a stranger, with whom they seemingly have nothing in common, and within moments — after a few cycles of withdrawing behind and emerging in front of the wall — both child and stranger can be completely immersed in effervescent laughter. theorists have already approached the innocent, relatively free-form model of play as a possible paradigm for the theological task. 58 but by placing colbert's satire — with its concealed but nonetheless real concern for its subject matter — into the context of a game, the practices of play are more easily parsed into the primarily linguistic modes of theological discourse, without completely relinquishing their performative aspect. the joke and the game, two elements of play equally suited to the life of a young child and to the goings-on on the report, both function on an ―economy of language,‖ a short-cut not unlike the shortcut of metaphor colbert discussed with elizabeth alexander. a joke is about juxtapositions and omissions; a game, like peek-a-boo, is about shared rules and implied reasons for those rules. jokes are funny because they place words and sometimes actions into strange relationships, which sound weird or form a pun, or because they leave something out which one expects to be included. colbert is funny for these same reasons. he uses satire, which omits some expected things while overemphasizing others. 59 he uses techniques of contrast 60 , which juxtapose words and statements so that the ensuing dissonance creates a moment of clarity. the report is one big joke (which, like a metaphor, is often more or less a lie), in the sense that each moment is carefully designed to be funny — that is, pleasurable and destabilizing — and thereby to 58 george aichele, jr., theology as comedy: critical and theoretical implications (lanham, md: university press of america, 1980), 99-144, offers a helpful overview and gestures toward a shift from ―theology as play‖ to a ―comic‖ theology; waisanen (120) says that colbert also ―link[s] playfulness to the 'public sphere.'‖ 59 he both ―deliver[s] according to our performance expectations and changes[s our] expectations‖; sandra l. borden, ―the role of journalist and the performance of journalism: ethical lessons from 'fake' news (seriously),‖ journal of mass media ethics, no. 22:4 (2007), 310. 60 don j. waisanen describes the rhetorical techniques colbert uses as ―parodic polyglossia‖ (the use of multiple ―characters‖ or ways of speaking), ―satirical specificity‖ (the use of concrete, specific examples to make a broader point), and ―contextual clash‖ (the use of juxtaposition, especially placing the familiar in an unfamiliar context); his appropriation of kenneth burke's ―comic frame,‖ p. berger's notion of the comic's creation of an alternate world, and his thoughts on the ―normal person in an abnormal situation/abnormal person in a normal situation‖ inform and undergird much of what follows below; ―a citizen's guide to democracy inaction: jon stewart and stephen colbert's comic rhetorical criticism,‖ southern communication journal, no. 72:2 (april-june 2009), 114-140. create a rhetorical situation where new meanings or discoveries of meaning are possible. a game is fun because, first of all, there is a shared sense of what is ―going on‖ when one is playing; everyone has seen (or been) the child who stomps off in frustration when their playmate ―keeps changing the rules.‖ it's not that the rules to most children's games are particularly rigid, just that one cannot just completely disregard established patterns and expect anyone else to be able to keep up. the rules can change if they somehow remain rules in that change, somehow continuous with the concerns of those involved in the game. when the rules change abruptly and without consensus, the game is at best no longer the same game and at worst no longer a game at all. a game is fun also because it evokes some shared goal or implication of why anyone would want to engage in it. when i play peek-a-boo with a little girl in a café, whom i have never met before, there is something implied in our interaction — we both think disappearing and reappearing suddenly is funny, for some reason, and we both like to laugh. that recognition of sharing something with a stranger is pleasurable itself, and is one aspect of our remarkable comfort in continuing to play with one another in a culture where eye contact with strangers is taboo. 61 from the moment she initiates the encounter by peeking around the corner and disappearing again, and i reciprocate by paying attention and pulling faces at her, we are bound by an implied understanding of what it is we are about to do. i may laugh more because she is an adorable child and her laughter is so unlike ―adult‖ laughter, she more because she is just discovering that the permanence of objects doesn't depend on her seeing them, but we are both in it for the same reason: the sheer joy of laughing, an activity which rarely occurs in isolation. laughter, however, is not an unambiguously positive outcome. the laughter that happens on the report is in many ways ―adult laughter.‖ my peek-a-boo partner is not old enough to understand puns, or even knock-knock jokes, much less political satire and more complex allusive or contrastive humor. 61 i am thinking here of the ―intimizing‖ pleasure a catholic experiences when he or she recognizes a shared experience with colbert, such as his cross of smeared ashes at the start of lent or the rhythm of his recitative allusions to the nicene creed. there is something in this shared experience that is itself funny — that i should share something with a tiny child, or with someone on television, is both surprising and pleasurable. i am a part of a community larger than the one i usually consider, part of many communities i often do not think about. in geertzian terms, colbert and i are part of a certain catholic culture, and the little girl and i share in what might be called a ―peek-a-boo‖ culture, however trivial that may sound. it feels good to belong to a community, and it feels even better to belong to a community of which i have just been reminded. yet i would venture to say that the distinction should not so much be between ―child‖ and ―adult‖ laughter, or ―clean‖ or ―dirty‖ jokes — some of the funniest puns, after all, are ―corny,‖ simple, and clean, and some of the dirtiest jokes (in the broad sense) can be found in original language biblical texts. a more fruitful distinction might be to distinguish ―innocent‖ laughter from ―malicious‖ laughter, or perhaps ―open‖ from ―closed‖ laughter. innocent, open laughter is a response to the pleasurable surprise that comes from being shown something in a new light or from a new angle. it feels and sounds brighter and fresher, more like laughing at a peek-a-boo game than at someone falling down. malicious, closed laughter is the sort of laughter that comes from confirmation of one's existing perspective, from the reaffirmation of the boundaries between one's community of right and the other, wrong community. it is smug, funny at the expense of an ―outsider‖ or ―outsiders,‖ more like egging a house than playing a game. 62 when colbert-the-character talks about his ―it-getters,‖ 63 he is definitely referring to an ―in-crowd‖ which agrees with his (ostensible) positions. but the fact that this in-crowd is named in a context of satire highlights the usual context of incrowds in one pole or another of public discourse. the real ―it-getters‖ are those who realize that the ―it‖ they're ―getting‖ is not some static platform, but the experience of being jostled outside one's usual frame of reference by the invasion of innocent, open laughter. if the ―game‖ is theology, and the goal of the game is innocent, open laughter — the experience of being surprised into new possibilities for meaning — then a ―joke‖ is an instance of theology. an instance of theology should juxtapose familiar concepts in a new way, just as words are juxtaposed in a new way in a pun or in colbert‘s ―the wørd‖ segment. or it should omit something taken for granted, either to expose its superfluity or to reemphasize its necessity. a ―joke‖ is never presented dogmatically, that is, it is never presented as the truth itself, as a proposition. instead, a ―joke‖ or a theological instance must be presented as an adventure, an invitation to experience a moment of fresh meaning the joker 62 colbert‘s colleague jon stewart, unfortunately, often produces the latter sort of laughter, because his techniques rely less on indirect evocation and more on direct ridicule of the hypocrisy and of public figures. while such direct techniques are both appropriate and effective, and stewart's value is not to be discounted in the least, his techniques rely heavily on the polarization of political culture and on closed laughter, rendering them inappropriate to the theological task. it may be funny, important, and cathartic to point out what stewart points out, but it is hardly a fruitful starting point for discourse outside the paradigm of polarization. (it is impossible to definitively say that the fact that colbert is a catholic and stewart is not has some causal bearing on their respective approaches to comedy, but such a connection certainly seems possible). 63―tags: it-getters.‖ http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/it-getters. theologian wants to share. the ―joker‖ discovers or constructs a new resonance between words or concepts, and wants to share it because it is ―funny‖ — because the end result is a pleasurable new insight, a new possibility for meaning. 64 the audience may or may not accept the invitation. the joke may or may not work; it may not be ―funny‖ enough in the end to evoke innocent, open ―laughter.‖ the audience may accept the joke in the wrong spirit, although this is much less likely if the ―joker‖ is open and innocent in her invitation to the shared experience. but the point is that the theological task is no longer invested in producing a closed — sometimes maliciously closed — conclusion in its audience, but instead in sharing an instance of ―the word made fresh,‖ the familiar made surprising. the success or failure of a particular theological task is thus less easily measured, because its effect will be more subtle than verbal agreement — more subtle, but probably more lasting, because more fundamental. the ―joker‖ is also a professional ―comedian,‖ who will try again tomorrow evening with a slightly different joke, with a different audience, learning by trialand-error what is funny. this comedian is not dismayed because her act is not always received with thunderous laughter and applause, because funniness — freshness — is contextual and always changing. jokes are not life itself, nor are theological instances faith itself. theology is certainly not god godself. god loses nothing in a failed attempt to share with others an insight which springs from a genuinely funny ―inside joke‖ in our own playing with god. the joke is no less funny for being inapplicable to the perspective of another or of many others, only incomplete as all jokes — as all instances of theology — must be. what is key is that you do not know how to tell a joke well until you have tried, and cannot try to tell one with any chance of success unless you have already experienced a surprising influx of the ―funny‖ for yourself. the study of god is surely something that must be undertaken with a certain level of seriousness and reverence, but the sort of god christian theologians study requires of us something more than academic rigor. this god is both immanent and 64 approached by ―entertaining multiple realities,‖ waisanen 121; also (again) alexander and ricoeur on the poetic. when colbert was promoting his christmas album in the run-up to ―operation humble kanye,‖ he suggested a reason for watching reruns of his christmas special by saying, ―you know, there's something new in every viewing.‖ the reference is tongue-incheek, of course, but it should be clear by this point that this does not mean that colbert does not mean that there is no truth in such a statement. every viewing, in a colbertian theological framework, should offer the opportunity for ―something new.‖ ―operation humble kanye.‖ the colbert report. episode no. 483, first broadcast 1 december 2008 by comedy central. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/211966/december-01-2008/operationhumble-kanye. transcendent, bright light and consuming darkness — in christ both human and god. it is not blasphemous to say that in this way god plays a sort of game of peek-a-boo with humanity, revealing and concealing godself in turns and in simultaneity. like myself and the little girl (i will not presume to know which of us is more godlike and which is more like humanity), god and humans may have very different reasons for playing their part in the ―game‖ of theology. the ―peeking‖ effect is likely more a feature of human perception than some inconsistency of god in godself, but it is nonetheless an apt description of what it is like to engage in the theological task. there will always be something unpredictable, something unaccounted for, something not circumscribed by the rules, something excessive: this is the payoff which is a-linguistic and ineffable, which the theologian can merely evoke or provoke, the theological equivalent of innocent laughter. the task is no longer to concretize the broad and shifting rules of the game 65 , but to join in it, offering new possibilities for fun which one can only provide from one's own experience of playing — to evoke an opportunity to be pleasurably overtaken by a newness one could not have grasped from one's usual perspective. this is a newness given by the spirit who sees from all perspectives at once the continual unfolding of the ever-living word, a word ever spoken from the mouth of the first and best comedian, the always surprising father of innocent joy. 65 the general outlines have been rather well-documented by other theologians, and moreover are uniquely implied and inflected in each particular theological context. microsoft word tavakoli final version -for online.docx [concept, vol. xxxviii (2015)] inequality in the caribbean: a case study of hispaniola ariana n.k. tavakoli political science introduction the island of hispaniola provides an interesting juxtaposition with regard to political and economic progress and inequality in the caribbean. from colonization to independence, through dictatorships and democracies, the island – comprised of haiti to the west and the dominican republic (dr) to the east – has been transformed throughout the past few hundred years, undergoing numerous political and economic upheavals and changes. to borrow jared diamond’s chapter title in collapse, hispaniola truly is “one island, two peoples, two histories.”1 haiti and the dr share a similar historical narrative of colonization. haiti grew to be the most wealthy and successful colony in the caribbean, known as the “crown jewel” of france’s overseas empire.2 although the dr did not enjoy an equal level of economic success as a colony, it nonetheless experienced periods of spanish colonization and control, in addition to an intermediary haitian invasion, before independence was eventually established.3 both haiti and the dr were able to achieve independence in the first half of the 19th century, but this posed many economic and political challenges. the extractive economies of colonization depleted hispaniola of many resources and the major world trading partners were not open to negotiation with these new states.4 post-colonization, haiti and the dr were left with weak political institutions and they struggled to implement strong, stable governments. each country experienced multiple coups and political instability post-independence; authoritarian regimes and dictatorships seemed the                                                                                                                 1sherrie bayer, “hispaniola’s environmental story: challenging an iconic image,” callaloo 37, no. 3, 2014 on collapse, by jared diamond. 2george a. fauriol, “haiti: the search for democratic governance,” latin american politics and development, eds. howard j. wiarda and harvey f. kline (boulder, co: westview press 2011), 595. 3esther skelley jordan, “the dominican republic,” latin american politics and development, eds. howard j. wiarda and harvey f. kline (boulder, co: westview press 2011), 578. 4fauriol, “haiti,” 595-597. only way to maintain and secure power on the island.5 these authoritarian regimes ultimately contributed to limiting overall economic, social, and political growth. with regard to political and economic inequality, the authoritarian and economic experiences of haiti and the dr were relatively similar until the 1980s. in this decade, latin america underwent a drastic transformation as a wave of democracy flooded the region: political transfigurations and competitive elections swept the hemisphere.6 a massive economic crisis accompanied this democratic trend; however, democracy continued to grow in the countries that were willing to transform, and the economic downfall had less of a direct impact on these transitional states. 7 it was during this period that great divergence occurred between the haitian and dr narratives: the dr took slow steps toward democratization and modernization, whereas the duvalier regime struggled to maintain its hold on haiti until the mid-1980s. since this shift towards democracy in the mid-1980s, the dr has done a much better job than haiti at achieving economic and political success. today, haiti is not only the poorest country in the caribbean, but the poorest country of the western hemisphere and one of the poorest countries of the world, ranking 25th among the poorest twenty-five world nations.8 the dr, which is considered one of the poorer countries of the caribbean, is performing at an economically higher success rate when compared to haiti; in fact, the world bank regards dr as an upper middle-income level country.9 therefore, focusing on haiti and the dr makes for a compelling comparison, as over the course of history these two countries have essentially switched “success” statuses – from success as a colony to struggling for political and economic stability, how is it that one country in hispaniola faces political triumph and the other is experiencing stunted growth? this paper intends to examine why the dr, which has a similar population size, geographical landscape, and political history to haiti, is excelling in the political and economic arenas in which haiti is currently struggling. is the dr’s political and economic success due largely to the sustained experiment with democracy and peaceful transfers of power from the 1980s? by using a historical case study analysis and gathering modern data, i aim to identify what factors                                                                                                                 5ibid. 6karen l. remmer, “the political impact of economic crisis in latin america in the 1980s,” the american political science review 85, no. 3, september 1, 1991: 778. 7ibid. 8“data: gdp per capita,” world bank, accessed 14 december 2014. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ny.gdp.pcap.cd?order=wbapi_data_value_2011+wbapi_ data_value&sort=asc 9“dominican republic.” world bank. accessed 14 december 2014. http://data.worldbank.org/country/dominican-republic     explain the economic and political inequality found on hispaniola. literature review in order to better understand the wave of democracy that hit latin america in the 1980s, it is necessary to understand why this form of government was sought after and then to evaluate what benefits democratization has for a state, as opposed to other methods of governance. the first school of thought identified in this literature review, democratization, sheds light on why democracy has become so widespread and why the world’s political climate looks favorably upon this “universal value.”10 the second school of thought discussed is institution building and its effects on political and economic success. both of these schools of thought rely on the theoretical underpinning of institutionalism, namely that the extent of inequality in or between nations can be explained as a joint product of internal and external forces, and in this case due to the success or failures of democracy and/or political institutions. institution building in latin america is affected by both democratization and colonialism, which leads to the third school of thought identified in the literature, colonialism, with particular attention paid to colonialist legacies and its effects on political and economic development and underdevelopment. the literature also identifies different types of colonialism and presents the various challenges the legacy of colonialism poses to democratizing and modernizing societies. this school of thought builds upon institutionalism, arguing that colonialism has a direct effect on institutional frameworks, but it also relies on the theoretical underpinning of modernization, that external forces are responsible for contributing positively (or, in absence, negatively) towards internal political and economic change. additionally, evidence for a comparative historical case study was gathered and analyzed in order to better frame the issues of democratization, colonialism, and political and economic inequality in haiti and the dominican republic. this is presented later in the paper, under “description of data.” democratization and institutionalism recent literature emphasizes the importance of democratization, or the transitioning to democratic political regimes, and maintaining strong democratic governmental institutions to the creation of better political, social, and economic equality.11 in “democracy as a universal value,” economist and philosopher amartya sen traces how the idea of democracy has a universal commitment and is                                                                                                                 10amartya sen, “democracy as a universal value,” journal of democracy 10.3 (1999): 3-17. 11 ibid. regarded in the twentieth century as the “default” or best mode of governance.12 sen argues that democracy is the ground on which legitimate political institutions can form. sen’s key contribution to the theory of democratization lies in his argument that the twentieth century has seen a change in the way theorists view democracy: ultimately, instead of states being deemed fit for democracy, states become fit through democracy, and democracy is now the sought-after mechanism states use to better themselves.13 former brazilian president fernando henrique cardoso (1995-2003) expands upon the trend of democratization in latin america, claiming that the idea of democracy has posed one of the largest challenges for the region in the postcold war era.14 as cardoso explains, there was no space for military dictatorships in the changing political arena, and no longer any powerful bloc to support them.15 therefore, democratization was essentially inevitable for the region and although the transition to democracy was more or less accomplished on a large scale, the foundations of democracy – a truly democratic civil culture with political equality – was and has not been reinforced. cardoso highlights the corruption within election systems and political parties and the lack of due process of law.16 he states that latin america has “created the infrastructure of democracy, but the soul is missing.”17 cardoso states that the biggest challenge latin america faces with regard to democracy is the fluctuation between institutions and personalism. in other words, cardoso claims that the charismatic nature of “leaders” halts the overall process and effectiveness of a true democracy.18 cardoso argues that when slow national economic growth occurs, democracy itself, not only the economy, is blamed for the failure to respond promptly to popular demands.19 however, as sen suggests, there is “no convincing general evidence that authoritarian governance and the suppression of political and civil rights are really beneficial to economic development.”20 therefore, the type of political system does not necessarily equate to economic development and success; however, the opportunities for capital investment and large-scale popular                                                                                                                 12 ibid. 13 ibid. 14 fernando henrique cardoso, “new paths: globalization in a historical perspective,” development and underdevelopment: the political economy of global inequality, eds. mitchell a. seligson and john t. passé-smith (boulder, co: lynne rieneer publishers, inc., 2014): 309320. 15 ibid., 310. 16 ibid.   17 ibid., 311. 18 ibid. 19 ibid., 312. 20 sen, “democracy as a universal value.” involvement that are found within democracies are considered better mechanisms for reducing both political and economic inequality. institution building institutions serve a dual purpose: they have the power to shape governments and in turn can be shaped by governments. daron acemoglu, simon johnson, and james robinson emphasize that the colonial experience is one of the many factors that affect the structure and effectiveness of institutions. likewise, sen demonstrates that democratization is also a factor that shapes which institutions are put into place. however, creating new institutions can be seen as an act of proactive democratization in itself.21 sen argues that by creating new institutions, people have the opportunity to exercise their rights more often. democratic governments and institutions require a higher moral ground of operation and are more accepting of greater political participation.22 additionally, the institutions established by democracies allow for greater economic growth. acemoglu et al. argue that present-day countries with “better” or more inclusive institutions are more likely to invest in human physical capital, which in turn will result in a greater level of national income.23 dani rodrik, arvind subramarian, and francesco trebbi agree, and argue that when investors believe their property rights are protected, the economy ends up richer.24 this builds upon acemoglu et al.’s argument that modern-day extractive states face economic hardships as their institutions are designed with little to no property rights, whereas neo-european colonies have fared better with the rule of law and protection of property instilled in their institutions. thus, with strong institutions in place, it can be expected that the economy will attract more investment and experience an increase in growth. this argument – that strong or democratic institutions allow for better political and economic equality and growth – is the                                                                                                                 21 ibid. therefore, for this research paper and literature review it is important to note that the literature regarding institutionalism and institution building is difficult to categorize, as it can be appropriately listed under “colonialism” and “democratization” alike, and also can be measured by political and economic inequality variables simultaneously. 22 ibid. 23 daron acemoglu, simon johnson, and james robinson, “the colonial origins of comparative development,” development and underdevelopment: the political economy of global inequality, eds. mitchell a. seligson and john t. passé-smith (boulder, co: lynne rieneer publishers, inc., 2014): 120. 24 dani rodrik, arvind subramarian, and francseco trebbi, “institutions rule: the primacy of institutions over geography and integration in economic development,” development and underdevelopment: the political economy of global inequality, eds. mitchell a. seligson and john t. passé-smith (boulder, co: lynne rieneer publishers, inc., 2014): 116. fundamental component in evaluating the inequality between haiti and the dominican republic. acemoglu et al. argue that the extractive institutions set up by colonialists have persisted long after the respective colonial regimes ended. citing the work of crawford young, the authors explain that these newly independent post-colonial states are the successors to the colonial regime, inheriting its structures, practices, and hidden theories of governance.25 it is this institutional legacy that has impeded economic progress and growth in modern colonies-turned-states. thus, the authors argue that improving the institutions in former extractive-state colonies could make substantial economic gains.26 rodrik et al. take a different view regarding the primacy of institutions. in “institutions rule: the primacy of institutions over geography and integration in economic development,” the authors identify the three common explanations that explain the gap between rich countries and poor countries: (1) geography, (2) participation in international trade, and (3) the establishment of effective government institutions. rodrik et al. strongly critique the work of acemoglu et al. and argue that the importance of institutions does not imply policy ineffectiveness.27 essentially, the authors are arguing that policy innovations can provide fundamental changes to the economy without affecting the institutional structure in place. however, rodrik et al. do agree that institutions have the power to effect economic development but they do not do so independently: a combination of factors is responsible for the varying income levels seen worldwide. jared diamond agrees with rodrik et al. that multiple and diverse factors explain why nations differ in wealth. in “what makes countries rich or poor?” diamond critiques the work of acemoglu et al. and argues that alongside institution building, the geography of a state should be considered as a factor impacting power, prosperity, and poverty in a country.28 diamond suggests that rodrik et al. make a valid argument that politics and political institutions determine what economic institution the country will have, but also notes that the challenges geography poses complicates this process. for example, countries that rely on tropical agricultural productivity are limited by their geography, climate,                                                                                                                 25 acemoglu et al, “the colonial origins of comparative development,” 123. 26 ibid., 129.   27 rodrik et al., “institutions rule: the primacy of institutions over geography and integration in economic development,” 111-117. 28 jared diamond, “what makes countries rich or poor?” development and underdevelopment: the political economy of global inequality, eds. mitchell a. seligson and john t. passé-smith (boulder, co: lynne rieneer publishers, inc., 2014): 376. and biology with regard to economic output.29 these limitations will directly impact whatever economic system is put into place, and while scholars look at institution building from a top-down approach, diamond’s example shows institution building from a bottom-up theory. ultimately, diamond is arguing that if a political institution wishes to change its economy by changing the main exports and imports, it will be highly unsuccessful if it does not account for natural and geographical limitations. colonialism in “the colonial origins of comparative development,” acemoglu et al. argue that the contemporary gap between rich and poor nations can be traced to the age of colonization. more specifically, the authors claim that present-day inequality is related to the type of colonial state that was initially established by the colonizing european powers.30 acemoglu et al. suggest that two different kinds of colonies were established by europeans: the first, the “extractive state,” used by european colonists whose aim was to transfer as many resources and wealth as possible back home to the imperial crown; the second, the “neo-european” colonies, used by european colonists for settler purposes, with the goal of replicating european institutions abroad. extractive state colonies did not allow for the protection of private property nor did they provide checks and balances against government expropriation, while neo-european colonies emphasized property rights and were designed to institutionally place a check against government power.31 most of the colonial experience in latin america followed the extractive model, especially during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when spanish colonization had the goal of obtaining as much gold and other valuables as possible from the americas. acemoglu et al. argue that extractive states, focused on transferring resources quickly to the metropole, had an institutional design that was detrimental to investment and economic progress.32 similarly, andrew gunder frank suggests that the world’s current struggling, underdeveloped nations are the ones who have had close ties to colonial metropolises in the past.33 in “the development of underdevelopment,” frank argues the underlying cause of underdevelopment is that great colonial powers became wealthy at the expense of the colonies they exploited and that these same                                                                                                                 29 ibid., 376-378.   30 acemoglu et al., “the colonial origins of comparative development,” 119. 31 ibid., 120-121. 32 ibid., 128. 33 andre gunder frank, “the development of underdevelopment,” development and underdevelopment: the political economy of global inequality, eds. mitchell a. seligson and john t. passé-smith (boulder, co: lynne rieneer publishers, inc., 2014): 283-293.   powers continue to exploit the colonies post-independence.34 frank believes that a historical approach to the problems of development and underdevelopment shows that contemporary underdevelopment is “in large part the historical product of past and continuing economic and other relations between the satellite underdeveloped and the now developed metropolitan countries.” 35 these metropolis-satellite relations continue to affect the economic, social, and political life of latin american colonies and countries. development and underdevelopment in “development: which way now,” amartya sen addresses how development economics play an important role in underdeveloped and developing countries. sen argues that economic growth is not the same as economic development, and the reason economic development is slow in developing countries is due to a lack of planning and state activism.36 additionally, low growth can be attributed to a failure of labor mobilization as well as capital accumulation. to combat this, a strong government or institutional framework is needed to bolster economic progress. sen argues, “the point is not so much that the government is powerful in the high-growth developing countries. it is powerful in nearly every developing country. the issue concerns the systemic involvement of the state in the economic sphere, and the pursuit of planned economic development.”37 ultimately, sen argues, government involvement in fostering economic growth and encouraging industrialization, which is easier to obtain due to the abundance of this alreadyexisting technology, can greatly improve underemployment and low growth in developing countries.38 in “the development of underdevelopment,” frank argues that underdevelopment is not due to the survival of “archaic” and ineffective institutions or the existence of capitalism in privileged regions, but rather underdevelopment is and continues to be generated by the development of capitalism and the continuous cycle of metropolis-satellite relations, supported by dependency theory.39 frank argues that the expansion of capitalism has penetrated even the most isolated corners of the world, meaning that the current institutions and examples of global inequality cannot claim to be “behind” in terms of                                                                                                                 34 ibid., 283. 35 ibid., 284. 36amartya sen, “development: which way now?” the economic journal, vol. 93, no. 372 (dec. 1983), p. 745-762. 37 sen, “development: which way now?” 752.   38 ibid. 39 frank, “the development of underdevelopment,” 285. knowledge or access to some sort of capital economic system. 40 therefore, underdevelopment of a region cannot simply be due to its isolation from the world market and its pre-capital institutions. additionally, frank argues that the cycle of metropolis-satellite relations repeats itself, but only when convenient for the metropolis. essentially, frank argues that satellites will experience the most economic growth and classic capitalist industrial development when their ties to a metropolis are weak, or when the state is left to its own devices.41 this argument counters widely accepted scholarship that claims contact with developed nations will actually help underdeveloped nations grow. frank’s article suggests that underdeveloped nations, which he presumes have contact with capitalism, will increase their own development if they move beyond the legacy of colonialism and the metropolissatellite cycle and place all surplus capital in the world market, effectively breaking away from economy-sucking metropolis powerhouses.42 cardoso agrees with frank that capitalism has affected most regions of the world, arguing that its growth in latin america is due to the globalization trend of democracy and capitalism in the 1980s and post-cold war era. ideas about capitalism and competing in the global market affected the political makeup of each latin american country, as the states with better institutions that observed contracts and the rule of law were able to attract more investment of international capital.43 however, not all countries in the region had the necessary conditions to join the new world order. cardoso argues that the countries that lack a diversified economy experience greater difficulty in adjusting to the ideas and pressures of world capitalism, which can explain the greater economic inequality between states. when slow growth occurs, cardoso argues, democracy itself, not only the economy, is blamed for the failure to respond promptly to popular demands.44 however, as sen notes, there is “no convincing general evidence that authoritarian governance and the suppression of political and civil rights are really beneficial to economic development.”45 therefore, the type of political system in place does not necessarily translate into economic development and success; however, the opportunities for capital investment and large-scale popular involvement that are found within democracies are considered better mechanisms for reducing inequality.                                                                                                                 40 ibid., 285-286. 41 ibid., 288. 42 ibid., 285-288. 43 cardoso, “new paths,” 311. 44 ibid., 312. 45 sen, “democracy as a universal value.”   hypotheses the existing literature regarding democratization, the primacy of institutions, and the effects of colonialism on development demonstrate how present-day inequality cannot simply be explained as a matter of democratic transformation or colonial legacy. the literature highlights that a number of variables, working collectively together, explain why developing countries experience differing levels of political and economic inequality. thus, the variables this paper intends to research are democracy, institutions, and the colonial legacies left in haiti and the dr. the theoretical underpinnings of institutionalism and modernization best fit the scope of my paper. this paper hypothesizes that external forces, such as the wave and implementation of democracy and democratic institutions, and the end of colonialism, coupled with the emergence of a global capitalist market, have contributed to the political and economic disparities between the nations of haiti and the dr. more specifically, this paper hypothesizes that the legacy of extractive state colonialism explains why haiti and the dr have experienced similar difficulties in creating stable institutions and economies. however, amartya sen’s idea that “a country does not have to be fit for democracy, but becomes fit through democracy” lays the central foundation for my argument. this essay hypothesizes that haiti’s poor economy and lack of political and economic growth is due to the government’s failure to adopt and implement democracy and its inability to maintain strong government institutions. additionally, i argue that the dominican republic’s willingness to adopt democratic values is key to why the eastern-most part of hispaniola experiences stronger political institutions, better economic growth, and less overall political and economic inequality. in addition, i will show that the roles of democracy and institutions are at the heart of why such inequality exists in hispaniola. sources of data for my research, i use a historical case study analysis of haiti and the dr. i rely heavily on the qualitative and descriptive data presented in howard wiarda and harvey kline’s seventh-edition latin american politics and development. in particular, i draw on esther skelley jordan and georges a. fauriol accounts of the historical backgrounds of the dr and haiti respectively, while also analyzing their current stance with regard to political and economic development. i supplement these historical accounts with additional scholarly articles from the social sciences that retrace the political histories of both countries. while this research is mostly focused on analyzing descriptive data and providing explanations, it also references statistical data provided from the world bank and international monetary fund. defining the variables democracy democracy is used as a tool to measure both political and economic inequality in haiti and the dr. with regard to measuring strictly political inequality, democracy is evaluated by the methods undergone to adopt democratization, taking account of the year and process of democratization, and factoring in the general reception of democracy by each state. elections, presidencies, and political participation are a few components i am looking for in order to detect how democratic the states have become. institution building more broadly, institution building is measured by the longevity, authority, and legitimacy of institutions put in place post-colonialism. this includes various regime changes and institutional upheavals, and will account for the change in institution building after democratization is introduced to both haiti and the dr. institution building will account for both political and economic institutions, should they exist in both haiti and the dr. colonialism colonialism is measured by examining each state’s historical experience with european colonizing powers. it is then evaluated by whether an extractive or neo-european state was established and is traced to see how and if the mode of colonialism affects modern institutions, economics, and politics today. this variable will account for the goods and services exchanged under colonialism and seek to find similar economic patterns in present-day haiti and the dr. description of data hispaniola the island of hispaniola, discovered by christopher columbus in 1492, was originally founded as a spanish colony and was consequently designed as an “extractive state”.46 spain’s colonial mission was to gather as much gold and valuables as possible from the americas and to bring the wealth back to europe to support the crown.47 the diseases brought by the spanish wiped out a large number of the island’s indigenous populations, and slave labor was brought in from africa in order to continue the mining and extraction economy the colonists had in                                                                                                                 46 acemoglu et al., “the colonial origins of comparative development,” 119. 47 ibid., 123.   place.48 soon, the spanish became uninterested in hispaniola as the extractive minerals were depleting, which caused a scramble for power among other colonizing powers for control of the island: ultimately, the french gained control of the western part of hispaniola, which came to be haiti in 1697, and the two european powers redrew political and socio-geographical lines on the island. haiti haiti emerged as an independent nation in 1804 and was the first of its kind to break away from slavery and colonial rule in the caribbean. once known as the “crown jewel” of france’s overseas empire, the newly independent nation suffered from a ruined economy with no international network or allies to provide economic support. haiti experienced post-colonial instability in numerous ways: a strong mistrust of whites and foreign alliances circulated through haitian society, and racial prejudice and ethnic cleansing turned compatriots against each other; the economy, reliant on agriculture and subsistence farming, faced environmental, ecological, and political endangerment, especially as it struggled to modernize, democratize, and enter the world marketplace; and the country received little foreign investment to support its economy and government.49 since its early independence, haiti has struggled to establish political and economic stability. the country has had powerful authoritarian personalities and regimes in power for over one hundred and fifty years. haiti has experienced military coups, “emperors,” countless presidents, authoritarian dictatorships (i.e., the duvalier era), and most recently the controversial aristide presidency. the institutions implemented throughout each of these governments were extremely weak, as they were continuously changed and bent to the will of the elites in power. these institutions and dictatorships stifled economic growth and minimized political participation and equality. as the third wave of democracy hit latin america in the 1980s, haiti remained under the duvalier dictatorship, under “baby doc” jean-claude duvalier, who had been in power since 1971 as the successor to his father’s brutal regime.50 previously, “papa doc” duvalier had brutally oppressed all opposition, limiting all political participation and personal freedoms in haiti. baby doc continued many of the same oppressive traditions, but during most of his reign haiti was less violent. after the pope visited haiti in 1983 and called for political, economic, and social reforms, widespread discontent spread throughout the                                                                                                                 48  jordan, “the dominican republic,” 578.   49 fauriol, “haiti.” 592-607. 50 jean-germain gros, “haiti’s flagging transition,” journal of democracy 8, no. 4 (1997), 9496. country, putting pressure on the administration. revolts and protests broke out throughout haiti, which eventually led to duvalier’s exile.51 haiti then tried to hold democratic elections, as democracy was sweeping latin america, but the attempts proved to be corrupt and short-lived. aristide, the first president of haiti to be “democratically” elected in 1990, exemplifies the difficulties haiti faces with democratization and the stabilization of institutions. aristide was overthrown by a coup after eight months and replaced with periods of military power until his reinstatement in 1994. political, economic, and social inequality increased in the state during this unstable period.52 the united states and its haitian allies attempted coups d’état on several occasions in efforts to reinstate democracy, but by doing so, the existing political and economic institutions further crumbled, and new institutions put in place by the us, un, or haitian elites lacked legitimacy, stability, and majority approval.53 the united states, which has a much-involved imperial and foreign policy in haiti, has attempted to reinstate democratic systems and values by dismantling old legislatures and institutions and forming us-approved mechanisms. however, as roger annis and kim ives explain, by doing so the us has destroyed what little remains of haitian democracy and sovereignty, especially since the country appears unable to rebuild its physical, political, and economic infrastructure on its own.54 haiti has attempted to overcome repression and has tried to hold free and fair elections since the collapse of the duvalier dictatorship in 1986, but however valiant the country’s efforts, haiti cannot seem to shake off its unstable past. as annis and ives explain, even the more recent 2010 general election was plagued by widespread fraud, manipulation, and disenfranchisement. thus, haiti continues to experience instability, continuing the trend of military coups and political inequality.55 the current prime minister, as of december 13, 2014, has resigned his position due to the political unrest in haiti. with elections being overdue, corruption in government, and political protesting, this resignation was an attempt to make a comment on the political crises haiti continues to face.56 although “haiti is far from the hell that it was under the duvalier dynasty (1957-86) and the                                                                                                                 51 roger annis and kim ives, “haiti’s election debacle: a coup legacy,” part of special issue: ¡golpistas! coups and democracy in the 21st century 44, no. 1 (february 1, 2011): 22. 52 fauriol, “haiti.” 592-607. 53 amis and ives, “haiti’s election debacle,” 22. 54 ibid. 55 annis and ives, “haiti’s election debacle: a coup legacy,” 40. 56 “prime minister resigns amid political crisis.” the economist, intelligence unit. accessed 15 december 2014. murderous military regime of coup leaders raoul cédras and michel françois (1991-94),”57 it still has a long way to go to reach political and economic stability. haiti, regardless of its many efforts and attempts throughout the years, has essentially failed at “fair and free” democratization. this failure to democratize and to establish stable institutions has directly impacted the haitian economy, which relies heavily on foreign aid, especially from the united states.58 haiti owns 0% of the caribbean community and common market (caricom) regional market.59 the world bank classifies haiti as a low-income level country, accruing $8.459 billion gdp annually, and with a gni per capita of $810 (2013).60 this is significant poverty, as haiti has a population of 10.32 million people61 – about equal in population size to its neighbor, the dr, only with one-half of the geographical space.62 currently, 58.5% of the haitian population lives at or below the poverty line, with a life expectancy of 63 years.63 as a low-income country faced with such inequality, remittances have become the steadiest source of income.64 in addition to its weak political institutions and struggles adopting democracy, haiti has a crippled economic sector. the geographical location of haiti makes it one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world, and the costs associated with the frequent recurrence of natural disasters are high. the effects of natural disasters limit whatever growth, debt, and progress the state has made, but because of its debt, low levels of export, and economic output, there seems little hope for haiti to rebuild itself as it faces this cycle of environmental-economic disaster. dominican republic the dominican republic achieved its colonial independence from spain in 1821; however, it was ruled by haiti until 1844.65 from 1844 until 1930, the dr                                                                                                                 57jean-germain gros. “haiti’s flagging transition.” journal of democracy 8, no. 4 (1997): 94109. 58 annis and ives, “haiti’s election debacle: a coup legacy,” 40. 59 caricom integration and regional programs department, “caricom report,” the interamerican development bank, institute for the integration of latin america and the caribbean idb – intal, buenos aires, argentina, 2005. 60 world bank, “data: gdp per capita.” 61 world bank, “haiti.” 62 ibid. 63 ibid. 64 international monetary fund, “caribbean small states: challenges of high debt and low growth,” 2013: 5. 65 michael r. hall, “the transition from dictatorship to democracy in the dominican republic,” journal of third world studies 23, no. 1 (spring 2006): 13. experienced an internal war, foreign intervention and invasion, and bouts of military coups and authoritarian dictatorships.66 although the nation has been marked by violence, its viable sugar industry became the cornerstone of dominican society and its post-colonial economic foundation. in 1930, rafael leonidis trujillo molina overthrew the dr’s unstable government and restored the economy, but at the expense of democracy and human rights. trujillo was known for brutally oppressing all political opposition and critics, yet he managed to bring industrialization to the country and promoted the dr’s sugar industry, to the state’s benefit.67 his institutions were able to repay all dr foreign debt, but at the expense of its people: poverty was widespread and political inequality was abundantly obvious.68 due to this oppression and trujillo’s plans to kidnap and assassinate other leaders and critics in power, the elites in dr society, supported by the us, carried out trujillo’s assassination in 1961. the next few years were plagued by another military coup, a battle between joaquin balaguer and juan bosch for power, and another us invasion (inspired by cold war politics) to ensure that the dr would pursue democracy and avoid becoming a socialist state. as the 1980s’ wave of democratization spread to hispaniola, the dr responded effectively. the first two presidencies of the era stifled political and economic growth, and were faced with mass protest. consequently, balaguer was re-elected to power in 1986, where he focused his regime on establishing stability and promoting modernization.69 according to samuel martinez, the change in state governance, specifically the shift from a weak institution to a stronger central government, explains the shift towards economic success in the dr.70 the dr restructured its government to have strong legislative and judicial branches to balance the executive, which still struggles to adhere to democratic values. however, all components of government have been working together more effectively since the wave of democratization to produce better domestic and economic policies. martinez argues that after the age of democratization, the dr state began to strengthen and grow internally and thus it was able to exert its influence on the economic sector by impacting the elites in charge of sugar                                                                                                                 66 ibid.   67 jordan, “the dominican republic,” 578. 68 hall, “the transition from dictatorship to democracy in the dominican republic,” 14. 69 jordan, “the dominican republic,” 578. 70 samuel martinez, “from hidden hand to heavy hand: sugar, the state, and migrant labor in haiti and the dominican republic,” latin american research review 34, no. 1 (january 1, 1999), 59.   production.71 the sugar-dependent economy grew in the 1990s and gave way to a sustained average growth of over seven percent.72 during the 2000s, the dr had peaceful elections and exchanges of power. this stabilization, coupled with an increase in gdp ($36.7 billion gdp, more than triple that of the early 1980s) resulted in a more economically content, politically active dr. the economy continues to become more diversified, as the dr is moving away from the agricultural sector and relies more on us foreign investment, the united states being one its strongest trading partners in the caribbean.73 slowly, the dr has emerged in the global marketplace. with a population of 10.4 million (2013), a gni per capita of $5,260, and a gdp of $60.61 billion, the dominican republic is now classified as an upper middleincome level country. 74 although the economy has progressed since democratization, economic inequality does still exist inside the dr. 40% of the population live at or below the poverty line and the life expectancy is estimated at 73 years.75 discussion of hypothesized relationships in light of data haiti and the dr have similar colonial histories. the island of hispaniola was institutionally set up by the spanish to extract as many resources as possible from the americas, in order to increase spanish wealth and influence back home.76 this extractive state established by the spanish, and echoed by the french, set up the island and its two countries for failure, as the colonial design did not allow for strong institutions, political participation, or economic growth and independence. post-independence, haiti and the dr were affected by similar political trends. both countries were shaped by dictatorships that weakened social institutions, stifled growth, and required outside military involvement (us in the cold war) to either intervene or impose ideals upon state governance and politics. however, the wave of democracy in latin america during the 1980s proved to be the divergent point for haiti and the dr. haiti, under strict authoritarian rule until the mid-1980s, resisted external and internal pressure to democratize. the dr was able to successfully, although slowly, adapt democratic ideals and values and implement them in dominican society throughout the latter half of the 1900s, and were able to best exemplify these ideals into the 2000s.                                                                                                                 71 ibid. 72 jordan, “the dominican republic,” 578-579. 73 ibid., 579. 74 world bank, “dominican republic,” accessed 14 december 2014. 75 ibid.   76acemoglu et al., “the colonial origins of comparative development,”123. relating to the literature the dr has achieved better economic and political success due to the efforts made by the state to become “fit through democracy.”77 their slow, albeit imperfect, attempts at democratization explain why the country has been more stable and has better economic success. additionally, due to the dr implementing better institutional reform, more people are able to take part in the political process. as mainwaring and scully explain, “effective states are important for successful democratic governance. without an effective state, neither democracy nor development will flourish.”78 this supports sen’s arguments that creating new institutions give people the opportunity to exercise their rights more often, thus creating a more content democratic society. 79 this also correlates with the institutional arguments made by rodrik and subramanian. the dr serves as both an example and an exception to the theory of colonialism and comparative development, as put forth by acemoglu et al. the authors essentially argue that former “extractive state” colonies, such as the dr and haiti, had a built-in disadvantage, as the legacy of colonization set the foundation for weak political institutions and improper mechanisms to promote economic growth in both nations.80 the historical case studies of both haiti and the dr adhere to this theory, as each country struggled to establish legitimate, stable, and long-lasting institutions to govern post-independence. this colonial legacy of the extractive state made military coups and dictatorships more likely in hispaniola, and can partly explain why both caribbean countries struggled to excel economically after independence. however, acemoglu et al. also argue that present-day countries with better institutions are more likely to invest in human physical capital, which in turn will result in a greater level of national income.81 this argument favors the dr and their institution building, specifically their ability to adopt and sustain a democracy, and explains why the dr is achieving a much greater level of income and more investments in its human and physical capital than haiti. refuting the theory of dependency and suggesting the cycle of underdevelopment, andre gunder frank argued that satellites experience the most economic growth and classic capitalist industrial development when their ties to a                                                                                                                 77sen, “democracy as a universal value,” 1999.   78 mainwaring, scott, and timothy r. scully. “latin america: eight lessons for governance.” journal of democracy 19, no. 3 (2008): 113–27. 79 ibid. 80acemoglu et. al, “the colonial origins of comparative development,” 120. 81 ibid.   metropolis are weak.82 this argument counters scholarship which claims that contact with developed nations will help underdeveloped nations grow. this case study of hispaniola disproved frank’s findings: through democratization, adopting capitalist policies, and engaging in trade relations with major metropolises (e.g., the us), the dr is experiencing much more economic growth as it strengthens its ties with countries in the international marketplace.83 it is specifically the contact with developed nations that is contributing to the dr’s success, which contradicts frank’s argument. additionally, haiti is experiencing a reverse trend in economic growth, with lower projected annual gdp rates for the next year84, and it has weak economic ties with major metropolises, due to simply being a recipient of aid. this further disproves frank’s theories of developing underdevelopment. ultimately, this combination of sustained democracy, stronger institutions, and a favorable international market climate for dr’s main products plays an important role in why the dr is performing better than haiti and is experiencing less political and economic inequality on the island of hispaniola. since the wave of democracy in latin american in the mid-1980s, the dr has done a much better job than haiti largely due to a sustained effort of democratizing and changing its economic landscape to fit the world market. the world bank anticipates a decline in haiti’s gdp for the next year, whereas it predicts an increase in gdp for the dr. 85 therefore, due to the uneasy relationship with the country’s political behavior and economic performance, it seems clear that haiti will not experience a lessening gap in inequality until stable democratic governance becomes implemented and sustained in the country.                                                                                                                 82 ibid., 288. 83 world bank, “dominican republic.” 84 “data: gdp per capita.” world bank. accessed 14 december 2014. 85 world bank, “latin america and the caribbean: country forecasts,” http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/global-economic-prospects/regional-outlooks/lac#2.     bibliography acemoglu, daron, simon johnson, and james robinson. “the colonial origins of comparative development.” development and underdevelopment: the political economy of global inequality, eds. mitchell a. seligson and john t. passé-smith (lynne rieneer publishers, inc., boulder, co), 2014: 119130. annis, roger, and kim ives. “haiti’s election debacle: a coup legacy.” part of special issue: ¡golpistas! coups and democracy in the 21st century 44, no. 1 (february 1, 2011): 22–40. baver, sherrie. “hispaniola’s environmental story: challenging an iconic image.” callaloo 37, no. 3 (2014): 648–61. cardoso, fernando henrique. “new paths: globalization in a historical perspective.” development and underdevelopment: the political economy of global inequality, eds. mitchell a. seligson and john t. passé-smith (lynne rieneer publishers, inc., boulder, co), 2014: 309-320. carey, henry f. “militarization without civil war: the security dilemma and regime consolidation in haiti.” civil wars 7, no. 4 (winter 2005): 330–56. caribbean community secretariat. “caricom.” http://www.caricom.org/. accessed 19 oct. 2014. “data: gdp per capita.” world bank. accessed 14 december 2014. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ny.gdp.pcap.cd?order=wbapi_data_ value_2011+wbapi_data_value&sort=asc diamond, jared. “what makes countries rich or poor?” development and underdevelopment: the political economy of global inequality, eds. mitchell a. seligson and john t. passé-smith (lynne rieneer publishers, inc., boulder, co), 2014: 371-381. “dominican republic.” the economist, intelligence unit. accessed 15 december 2014. http://country.eiu.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/article.aspx?articleid=1072561491 “dominican republic.” world bank. accessed 14 december 2014. http://data.worldbank.org/country/dominican-republic fauriol, georges a. “haiti.” latin american politics and development. howard j. wiarda and harvey f. kline eds. westview press: boulder, co. 2011: 592607. frank, andre gunder. “the development of underdevelopment.” development and underdevelopment: the political economy of global inequality, eds. mitchell a. seligson and john t. passé-smith (lynne rieneer publishers, inc., boulder, co), 2014: 283-293. gros, jean-germain. “haiti’s flagging transition.” journal of democracy 8, no. 4 (1997): 94–109. “haiti.” the economist, intelligence unit. accessed 15 december 2014. “haiti.” world bank. accessed 14 december 2014. http://data.worldbank.org/country/haiti hall, michael r. “the transition from dictatorship to democracy in the dominican republic.” journal of third world studies 23, no. 1 (spring 2006): 13–16. horn, maja. “dictates of dominican democracy: conceptualizing caribbean political modernity.” small axe 18, no. 2 (2014): 18–35. integration and regional programs department. “caricom report.” the interamerican development bank. institute for the integration of latin america and the caribbean idb – intal. buenos aires, argentina. 2005. http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=33036344 international monetary fund. “caribbean small states: challenges of high debt and low growth.” 2013: 1-22. jordan, ester skelley. “dominican republic.” latin american politics and development. howard j. wiarda and harvey f. kline eds. westview press: boulder, co. 2011: 574-591. “latin america and the caribbean: country forecasts.” world bank. accessed 14 december 2014. 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(dec. 1983), p. 745-762. wiarda, howard j. and harvey f. kline eds. latin american politics and development. westview press: boulder, co: (2011). microsoft word *hoban mathematical sciences.docx   [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] a review of mathematical models of metastatic cancer katrina hoban mathematical sciences   i. introduction: the metastatic process of cancer when cancer cells detach from an original tumor site to spread throughout the body, it is called metastasis. metastatic cancer cells can move either by direct contact with new organ sites or through the blood or lymphatic systems of the body, but there is a generally accepted path process for this spread (1). first, the cells invade healthy tissue close to the original cancerous site, most likely by lymph or blood vessels—this is called intravasation (3). once they are in one of these circulatory systems, the cancer cells travel to distant parts of the body. they stop in small blood vessels called capillaries where they traverse through the vessel walls and into surrounding tissues through a process called extravasation. the cells reproduce to develop small micrometastatic tumors. if the small tumor is able to stimulate growth of new blood vessels to attain a blood supply, the tumor can grow larger into a full-fledged metastatic tumor. thriving metastases are also contingent on the properties of the noncancerous cells, such as immune system cells at the original and new sites as well as ones they encounter on their journey through the body (1). while it is believed that all types of cancer are able to spread metastatically, not every singular cancer cell has the ability to metastasize on its own. the most common sites of metastasis for all cancers (excluding lymph nodes since they are a method of transit for the cells) are the bone, liver, and lungs (1). the diagram below shows how cancer will spread from any original tumor site to various metastatic growth sites in the body.   an overview of the metastatic process (3) it is important to note that even after the cancer has established a metastatic tumor in a new area of the body, the cancer itself is still the original type of cancer. for example, if cancer of the lung grows in the breast, the new tumor is still lung cancer that happens to have grown in the breast. the new cancer often has similar molecular features and causes the same protein and chromosome changes as the original (1). it is possible for cancer to metastasize and lie dormant for years or even forever without growing enough to show symptoms of cancer at the new site. since all types of cancer are susceptible to metastasis, experts have been working for decades to develop mathematical models to show the likelihood of metastasis in different locations of the body for all types of cancer. creating a general model of metastasis has proven to be very difficult because cancer is a multifaceted process dependent upon a variety of cellular and micro-environmental parameters (11). cellular parameters include “altered rates of cell proliferation, apoptosis [programmed cell death (15)], migration, adhesion, metabolism and mutation” (11). microenvironmental constraints consist of “extracellular matrix composition,   angiogenesis [development of new blood vessels (15)], inflammation and proteases [“enzymes that catalyze the splitting of proteins into smaller peptide fractions and amino acids by a process known as proteolysis” (15)]”. the most common methods of modeling are the use of markov chains, or partial differential equations, to determine the probability of different metastatic scenarios for different kinds of cancer. while some studies focus on cancer in general and others focus on specific cancer types, each study is useful since the process of metastasis is believed to be virtually the same for all cancers, even though the sites change from type to type. this paper will summarize five existing models and evaluate their dissimilarities to determine the best course of action in predicting metastasis in several types of cancer. ii. models of metastatic cancer a. markov  chains newton et al. (8) took a markov approach to identify the timeline and design of metastatic spread. they focused on lung cancer alone to gain a better understanding of the exact process of how the cancer cells reproduce and spread from the lungs to other parts of the body (3). through their model, they showed that metastatic cancer is multi-directional, not unidirectional as many studies originally believed (8). the traditional “seed and soil” view was that circulating tumor cells (ctcs) are responsible for the spread by detaching from the primary tumor and traveling through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to new organs where, if conditions are favorable, they are able to reproduce and induce tumor growth. this model was unidirectional in that the ctcs travel from the primary to the new site only and do not return to the primary. newton et al. cited more recent studies that had introduced the idea of “self-seeding”, where ctcs that have left the primary site return and begin reproducing again. they also suggested that metastatic self-seeding (“metastasis from metastases”) may even be possible. in their study, the authors defined three general classes of the cancer progression: self-seeding of the primary tumor, reseeding of the primary tumor from a metastatic site, and reseeding of metastatic tumors (8). newton et al. began by developing a network of organs susceptible to the cancer and assumed that any organ could receive the cancer from any other organ in the chain. since they were using the data from autopsy results after long-term progression of the disease, they started the study already   knowing the final steady-state vector that would normally be found after many iterations of the transitional matrix. they then used an iterative monte carlo method—one that generates random numbers and observes the fraction of the numbers that obey a property or properties (14)—to solve for the probabilities of cancer cell transition between each organ to find the original p transitional matrix. they applied a discrete markov chain system to this p matrix to determine the probabilities of different metastatic routes. from this data, they developed the diagram below to show how the cancer can spread from the lungs. the innermost ring consists of “first-order” sites, ones in direct contact with the lungs, starting with the most probable first step of metastasis (regional lymph nodes) at 12:00 with probability decreasing clockwise around the circle to the least likely first step of metastasis (skeletal muscle). the outer ring consists of “second-order” sites, ones where, for cancer to metastasize, it usually must first pass through a first-order site (8). their diagram accounts for the multi-directional steps that allow the cancer to feed back into the lung or any metastatic site with arrows directed back toward those sites. overall, they identified 756 possible two-step paths. they defined the strongest metastasis re-seeders as lymph nodes, followed by liver, adrenal bone, and kidney (8). they did a convergence analysis of their algorithm against the data set and noted that the only non-convergence occurred when they eliminated any possibility of primary metastasis or metastatic re-seeding and made the model unidirectional. however, when all connections in the diagram were allowed, the algorithm converged to a solution and produced a transitional matrix with many connections from site to site. they noted that after two iterations of their markov chain, the state-vector had almost converged to the steady-state vector for metastatic tumors, effectively showing that lung cancer metastasis is a two-step process (8).   diagram of metastatic spread of cancer from the lungs (8) through their study, newton et al. were able to identify sites as either contributors to metastatic spread or as absorbing states by comparing the probability of cancer cell movement out of the site (pout) over the probability into the site (pin) (8). they defined “spreaders” like the adrenal gland and kidney as sites where pout > pin, meaning that if the cancer came to those organs it would likely be dispersed to other organs as well. contrarily, they called sites like regional lymph nodes, the liver, and bone “sponges”, where pin > pout, implying that the cancer would be limited to these locations instead of traveling and metastasizing elsewhere in the body. their study included a graph of time-progression of the cancer through the different metastasis sites. while a patient’s doctor may not be able to definitively predict the location of his or her cancer’s first metastasis, this graph would be helpful in determining the timeline and future progression of the cancer once the first site is known. the graph can also be used to suggest treatment   methods of a specific cancer progression, especially whether resections at certain sites would be helpful or of no significant benefit to the patient. timeline of lung cancer progression and treatment (8) liotta et al. also used a markov approach, but instead of only studying the movement of single ctcs, they considered that cancer cells travel in masses of assorted size (2). their model consists of three types of tumor clumps: “tumor cell clumps in the circulation, tumor cells clumps arrested in the pulmonary capillary bed, and pulmonary metastatic foci” (2). they used their experimental data to base their study on the assumptions that clump death rate is inversely proportional to its size, that colonization rate is linearly correlated with clump size, and that the entry rate of clumps depends on size and follows a decaying power-law. they defined their overall objective as being to “provide a framework for predicting the development of metastatic foci from clumps in the pulmonary vessels and the probability of no metastatic foci existing after tumor initiation” (14). liotta et al. developed a two-dimensional markov process to determine the probability of the population sizes of metastatic foci and tumor cell clumps at any time (14). the first state involves cancer cells penetrating the tumor wall to become exposed on the inner vessel surface. once they are exposed, the tumor cells enter the blood circulation in clumps of varying size. liotta et al. determined that clumps of four cells or greater would progress in the pulmonary blood vessels, but that smaller clumps and singular cells would adhere to the inner layer of the vessel and stop moving. they established that death of cell clumps could occur due to a variety of causes and created a probability equation to account for these reasons, which   included “destruction by host defense, removal from the pulmonary vessels, aging factors, or sheer stress damage” (14). this equation did not account for the loss of tumor cell clumps that had transformed into metastatic foci; they instead established a separate equation for the formation rate of metastatic foci from a tumor clump. they found that there is a direct correlation between the number of cancer cells that enter the bloodstream and the subsequent number of pulmonary metastases. they also determined that if cell clumps are larger, there is a greater number of resulting metastases, even if the overall number of cells entering the circulatory system is the same. they noted that in cancer cases, their model for the survival of cancer cells in the bloodstream might have significance in the prognostic process of a metastatic cancer (14). divoli et al. (5) also utilized a markov approach, but instead of basing their study solely on raw data or experiments, they also interviewed 28 experts in different medical disciplines (breast, prostate, gastrointestinal, genetics, etc.). in these interviews, they requested a personal definition of metastasis from each interviewee and attempted to gain insight on the experts’ answers to key questions: “when do cells acquire metastatic abilities? what is the basis and importance of tropism [‘an involuntary orienting response; positive or negative reaction to a stimulus source’ (15)]? what (if any) is the relationship between metastasis, development and evolution?” (5). they analyzed the results in two ways. first, they used a chi-squared statistic to determine disparities in answers across the question topics and the difference in interest of each topic between the expert groups. then they quantified similarity and dissimilarity between pairs of experts by employing a metric that corresponded each stage of metastasis with a letter to determine each expert’s thoughts on the chain of metastasis and then comparing his or her chain with another expert to determine the level of similarity (sij) or dissimilarity (dij). they defined similarity as “twice the number of ordered pairs common to the two sets” where sij = sii + sjj (15). they defined dissimilarity as “similarity minus the sum of all unmatched pairs of event from the two sets,” where dij = sii + sjj – 2 sij. they were able to create a set of quantitative data to use in a markov chain process to determine each expert’s opinion of the sequence of events in metastasis and create a standard to measure future experimental and observational data against (15). to begin their markov calculations, they created a transitional matrix p to represent each expert’s proposed path of metastasis with each entry of the matrix pij representing the probability of transition from state i to state j. they assumed each metastatic stage would depend only on the one directly   before, that transitional probabilities from one state to another would not change across the sequence, and that the cancer would not transition to itself. they defined n=28 possible states within the metastatic path (one from each expert), with each path starting at a state s and ending at a state e, and found that always ending the chain at stage e results in a steady state distribution vector of π = (0,0,…,1) defined by the distribution of transition probabilities using a dirichlet distribution: {𝜌!"}!!!;!!!;!!!,…!~dirichlet 𝛼 𝑁 − 2 ,… , 𝛼 𝑁 − 2 . 𝑓 𝜌!!,… ,𝜌!" 𝛼 = γ(𝛼) γ[ 𝛼 𝑁 − 2] ! !!! 𝜌!" ! !!!. | !!! !!! assuming α ≥ n-2. they also determined that the posterior distribution for pij was a conjugate dirichlet distribution: {𝜌!"}!!!,…,!~dirichlet 𝛼 𝑁 − 2 + 𝑐!!,… , 𝛼 𝑁 − 2 + 𝑐!" . with the posterior expectation estimate of pij given by 𝜌!" !" = 𝑐!" + 𝛼 𝑁 − 2 𝐶! + 𝛼 . and a maximum a posteriori estimate of pij of 𝜌!"!"# = 𝑐!" + 𝛼 𝑁 − 2 − 1 𝐶! + 𝛼 − 𝑁 + 2 , 𝛼 ≥ 𝑁 − 2, 𝑖 ≠ 𝑗, 𝑗 > 0. where {cij} is the set of observed counts of metastasis transition from all experts and 𝑐!" = 𝐶! . ! !!! during the interviews, divoli et al. (5) presented each expert with a supposed belief of the metastatic process that was purposely confused, expecting corrections and revisions. the experts would then suggest additions, deletions, and changes in the sequencing, which is shown in the diagram below. overall, all experts agreed on the significant events   throughout the process, but not on the exact path of progression. they did, however, describe the steps in similar ways and, for the most part, agreed on the relative importance of each stage (5). visualization of expert views about the important stages of metastasis (9) since there was a significant disparity in how each expert considered the metastatic process, the team introduced a metric to compare two series of elements (two experts’ descriptions) to determine the probability of any random pair of experts agreeing or disagreeing on at least k statements (5). they noted that the probability of agreement quickly dropped with k increasing while the probability of disagreement grew more gradually, which is shown in the graph below.   quantifying the agreement between expert scenarios of metastasis (9) in the conclusion of their study, divoli et al. noted that the results they found were much more diverse and disconnected than they were expecting (5). the team anticipated some disparity in the experts’ opinions of the smaller details but thought they would agree on the larger, more important aspects of the process. however, each expert’s interpretation of metastasis was distinctly different from the rest. the amount of disproportion in the results reinforces the notion that metastasis is an extremely complex process with many different factors and possible paths. the markov model that divoli et al. presented is a first step and incentive to continue further research and development of a standardized consensus to gauge individual cancer progression so that clinicians will be able to better predict how metastasis will progress in every case.   b. partial differential equations ramis-conde et al. (9) focused their study of metastasis development not on the stages or chain of cancer cell movement, but on how the ctcs are able to leave the original tumor to migrate to other organs and tissues. they acknowledged that it is first necessary for the cancerous cells to penetrate the extracellular matrix (ecm) of the original site in order to invade surrounding tissue or enter the blood stream or lymphatic system to move throughout the body. they noted that the cancer cells must have the capability to produce reactions that would allow them to travel through the ecm, which would require degradation of the ecm. therefore, they developed a hybrid model using partial differential equations that incorporated the interactions of individual cells with the ecm as well as the interactions of cells with each other. the first part of their model assumes that the process of migration of a ctc through the ecm is triggered by contact between the ecm and the cell (9). when a cancer cell touches the ecm, it releases matrix metalloproteinases (mmps) to degrade it. they defined the following equations: 𝜕 𝜕𝑡 𝐸 𝑥, 𝑡 = 𝜆𝑁 𝑥, 𝑡 𝑀 𝑥, 𝑡 + 𝜒!δ𝐸 𝑥, 𝑡 − 𝜇!𝐸 𝑥, 𝑡 , 1 𝜕 𝜕𝑡 𝑀 𝑥, 𝑡 = −𝛽𝐸 𝑥, 𝑡 𝑀 𝑥, 𝑡 , 𝜕 𝜕𝑡 𝐴 𝑥, 𝑡 = 𝛾𝐸 𝑥, 𝑡 𝑀 𝑥, 𝑡 + 𝜒!δ𝐴 𝑥, 𝑡 − 𝜇!𝐴 𝑥, 𝑡 , where m is the density of the ecm, e is the concentration of the mmps, and a is the resulting density of the degraded ecm, which stimulates sells to migrate through the ecm. the tumor cell size n at a time t in a neighborhood of x is defined by 𝑁 𝑥, 𝑡 = 𝐼!! ! (𝑥! !!! !!! ) where ibε(x)(xi) is a heavyside function   and bε(x) is the ball of radius ε, centered at x. xi is the position of the ith cell. 1 refers to the immediate production of enzymes by the cells within that radius, meaning that production is non-existent (0) if it is outside of the radius. they incorporated the interactions between cells in this model by assuming they would interact via the potential function below if their distance apart is less than ε, which they standardized as twice the size of the average cancer cell. the potential energy v between two cells at a time t is given by where d is the distance, h is the capacity to bond, and e∞ is the maximum possible energy. they represented the bonds connecting a set of cells greater than two as where bε(xi) is a neighborhood with center xi and radius of the maximum intercellular distance of ε. they assumed that cells would move closer to minimize the potential function between them at a constant speed, defining the direction of the cells movement (d) as where r indicates the cells’ sensitivity to the chemoattractants—properties that incite cells to interact with each other. as they proceeded in their study, ramis-conde et al. realized that they could drop off their original equation for ∂/∂t e(x,t) once they found evidence that the matrix degradation was confined to the areas of the ecm in contact with cells, and that the degradation process could be quantified without requiring the knowledge of the concentration of the mmps. they considered the more straightforward system which they solved to determine that the ecm is defined by   and the density of the degraded ecm by an individual cell is given by , taking into account the chemoattractants it is simultaneously releasing. while they began their study hoping to demonstrate how one cell degrades the ecm and contributes to cancer spread, they ultimately realized that the degradation of ecm is positively correlated to heightened interactions between cells, as shown by the diagram below. even when treating cells as individual entities, the chemoattractant gradients of those cells are extremely important in the invasion process. ao et al. (7) assumed that cancer progression is a stochastic process that can unintentionally transition cells from one stable tumor site to another, so cancer can spread unexpectedly and drastically even if it has remained in one spot for an extended period of time. they aimed to determine the cancer’s endogenous network by mapping the pathways and modules that the cancer and other molecular and cellular agents may develop. they hypothesized that there is at least one level of virtually independent interaction between genetic and environmental factors that would allow one to map the spread of a cancer. ao et al. began by establishing the interactions between endogenous agents—ones that contribute to cancer growth in the body—and the enzymes plots of evolution of cancer cells as they invade the ecm (9)     that activate or inhibit those agents from spreading through the body (7). they focused their study on prostate cancer, which is denoted by the occurrence of androgen receptor (ar) and the insulin-like growth factor receptor (igf-1r) in the table below. table of interactions among cancer agents from targeted pair-wise experimental data (7)   directed graph representation of the interactions from the table above (7) they then formed an equation to represent the set of stochastic dynamics found in this network: dx/dt = f(x) – x/r + ε(x,t), which shows that the deterministic force f can be modeled as sigmoidal (s-shaped) functions between 0 and 1 (7). they also defined the equations for activation, fa(y) = ayn/(1 + ayn), and inhibition, fi(y) = 1-fa(y) = 1/(1 + ayn), where the variables are normalized to the values a = 10 and n = 3 and the degradation time r is constant. they modeled this using a diffusion matrix d that they chose to be diagonal to simplify the calculations. ao et al. assumed that there would be multiple stable states and therefore there would be 3 possible outcomes of interactions with endogenous agents: states that parallel the healthy ones under normal conditions, stressful states that may lead to tumor growth, and ones in the tumor growth phase (7). the values in the table below are given in terms of their maximum activity.   table showing endogenous agent activity in 3 possible states of cancer growth (7) ao et al. stressed the need for a minimum amount of endogenous agents (37 in their model for prostate cancer) in order for cancer to spread. they noted that the table of activity above indicates that there is a limited probability that cancer will occur spontaneously, even without mutations or other debilitating factors, and that with further experimental observation, a more accurate quantitative model of cancer genesis and progression using endogenous agents is possible (7).   iii. evaluation: disadvantages there are aspects of each of these studies that can be helpful in future prognoses of cancer, but there are also many disadvantages. the studies by newton et al. (8) and ao et al. (7) considered only specific types of cancer: lung and prostate, respectively. while both studies presented a rough network of ctcs in the body, one can’t assume that the pathways they discovered would be applicable to every cancer possible. there are many environmental factors that could affect other types of cancer differently, like proximity to other organs. one major drawback of the divoli et al. (5) study was that they did not use any scientific or experimental data—their entire study is based on the opinions of 28 humans. while these humans were experts in their fields, the sample size was extremely small compared to the different amounts of cancerous and metastatic situations that can arise. ramis-conde et al. (9) accounted for many factors that could inhibit the progression of cancerous cells through the body, but their study did not include any information on the timeframe of metastasis, where the metastases would occur, or the amount of metastasis locations that are possible. liotta et al. (14) also neglected to identify any metastatic pathways or networks. iv. conclusion through this research, over ten different mathematical models of cancer were considered, including not just the markov chains and partial differential equations mentioned here, but also ordinary differential equations (6), cellular automata (10), least squares and time-branching (4), and graph evolution (11), among others. the amount of data on the subject seems overwhelming, but it becomes clear why such a large number and different types of studies are necessary after learning more about the process and factors of metastasis. since metastasis is such a multi-faceted, complex process with so many factors contributing to its progression, it would be extremely difficult to attempt to create one model to determine metastatic spread of all cancers and take into account every possible scenario. in the past few decades, researchers have developed studies on different aspects of the metastasis dilemma, such as how cancer leaves the primary tumor, how it travels through the body, factors in the body and cancer cells that prohibit it from surviving a journey, factors that allow cancer to settle in a new area, and what stages are included in the metastatic process. since it is so problematic to establish a universal model, it is helpful to have models on so   many different stages of the disease that can be combined to determine an individual cancer’s progression and decide the best course of treatment for that person. ultimately, the largest benefit of these models is not to accurately predict the exact path the metastasis will take, but to be able to anticipate whether metastasis is likely or not. once this is known, the physician can determine whether a general cancer treatment like chemotherapy is necessary or if removing the primary cancer with radiation or resection would be enough to rid the body of dangerous cancer cells. while the studies that were discussed have various limitations, there are results in each that can either be used or built upon to become beneficial instruments in the prognosis of cancer and increasing a patient’s likelihood of remission. bibliography metastatic cancer fact sheet. national cancer institute 2013 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/sites-types/metastatic w.y. tan, a stochastic model for the formation of metastatic foci at distant sites, mathematical and computer modeling, volume 12, issue 9, 1989, pages 1093-1102, issn 0895-7177, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0895-7177(89)90230-6. 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(2006). in press. quaranta, v, weaver, a.m., cummings, p.t., anderson, a.r.a. mathematical modeling of cancer: the future of prognosis and treatment. clinica chimica acta 357 (2005) 173-179. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15907826 gunduz-demir, c. mathematical modeling of the malignancy of cancer using graph evolution. mathematical biosciences 209 (2007) 514-527. ali, s. z., & cibas, e. s. metastatic cancers serous cavity fluid and cerebrospinal fluid cytopathology 11 (2012) 77-131. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-1776-7_5 weisstein, eric w. “monte carlo method.” from mathworld--a wolfram web resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/montecarlomethod.html liotta, l.a., saidel, g.m., kleinerman, j. stochastic model of metastases formation. biometrics 32 (1976) 535-550 biology-online.org. online dictionary of medical and scientific terms.       microsoft word 2182 dodson 1   the barroom blitz: competing neural underliers of impulsive aggressive phenotype have different implications in antisocial personality disorder katherine dodson psychology imagine a meeting of three characters in mclush's pub. steve--a generally well-functioning, popular guy with a bit of a manipulative streak--is out at the pub having fun with friends. he is celebrating his recent pay raise, which he "earned" by blackmailing his supervisor, who steve discovered having an affair with an intern. nick, who has a more colorful (documented) legal history than steve, is spending more money than he can afford drinking himself into a stupor over the possibility of being evicted after a dispute with his landlord nearly led to a fistfight, as well as the restraining order his ex-girlfriend recently filed against him. nick is really not a bad guy under most circumstances, he just has a very short fuse. he is trying to forget how ashamed he is of himself. andrea is sitting in the corner of the bar feeling anxious about her workload and is trying to relax with some wine, but she's considering leaving because the bar is very loud due to steve and his party. unfortunately, steve and nick both spot andrea at the same time. steve would like to get andrea's phone number, and he sees that nick is also flirting with her. steve says something snarky to make nick look foolish. nick did not need help with this because he is already heavily intoxicated. andrea is annoyed and tries to communicate that she is not interested. nick becomes incensed at the injustice of it all. he is reminded of his ex-girlfriend and his landlord. nick is angry at everything. he decides to take it out on steve, who "started it." steve normally has much better self-control, but he has already had a few drinks. he thinks he will look pretty cool if he "subdues" this potentially dangerous jerk in front of a crowd. he continues goading nick because he wants a chance to show off. the fighting between the two intensifies and becomes physically barroom blitz 2 aggressive after nick predictably snaps and starts the fight. steve employs unnecessarily zealous restraints to make it look as if he is merely "subduing" nick while deliberately trying to break nick's arms. andrea becomes progressively more irritated by their behavior. even as they move farther away, she can't bring herself to get up and leave because she keeps stewing about how loud, boorish, and annoying they are. feeling overwhelmed by her pre-existing anxiety, combined with her rage at steve and nick and the overall noise level in the bar, andrea snaps. almost before she knows what she is doing, andrea is across the bar, picking up a stool and smashing it directly over the two men fighting on the ground, injuring both while screaming at them to shut up in florid language. based on the information given about each character's thoughts and emotions, it is easy to tell that different subjective experiences motivate steve, nick, and andrea's aggression, but this may not be as obvious if the same story is told describing only their actions. unluckily, this hypothetical second version of the story is often the only one that psychiatric and criminal justice professionals hear. introduction the diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder (aspd) described in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm-v) focus on criminal history, confrontational behavior, impulsivity, social and occupational unreliability, manipulative behavior, lack of remorse, and failure to take responsibility for the seriousness of one's offenses (apa, 2013). therefore, although violence and impulsiveness are not necessary for all forms of criminal or aggressive behavior, impulsive/ aggressive phenotype is a salient feature associated with aspd. unfortunately, concentrating primarily on behavioral data casts a very wide diagnostic net, enabling the criteria to describe various individuals with little in common aside from a history of rule-breaking (hare, hart, & harpur, 1991). this is illustrated by the fact that aspd is frequently co-diagnosed with externalizing disorders such as borderline personality disorder (bpd) and intermittent explosive disorder (ied; lenzenweger, lane, barroom blitz 3 loranger, & kessler, 2007) or with psychopathy, all of which manifest with impulsive/aggressive behaviors like substance abuse, risk-taking, aggression, and criminal history but are also characterized by specific affective and attentional symptoms that can differ significantly. due to the poor discriminant validity of aspd diagnostic criteria, individuals in these three clinical populations are easily conflated with one another, although the underlying reasons for their behavior may be quite different (hare et al., 1991). by reviewing literature on psychopathy, bpd, and ied, the current paper aims to highlight the different motivations for aggression in these three populations by describing the distinct neural traits of each. discussion of these differences will clarify processes that lead to distinct subjective experiences contributing to impulsive/aggressive behavior. psychopathy: fearlessness, reward sensitivity, and proactive aggression disorder overview psychopathy is not a diagnosis included in the dsm-v, but it is a well-defined construct recognized by academics in the field of psychology. as a diagnostic term, aspd has been used interchangeably with psychopathy by both laymen and clinicians (hare, 1996). however, only 50% of the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy overlap meaningfully with those for aspd, and measures of psychopathic traits suggest that psychopathy is less prevalent than aspd. the psychopathy checklist (pcl-r) is the preferred tool for assessing psychopathic traits due to evidence of high reliability and validity. the maximum score is 40, with scores above 25 or 30 reflecting clinical severity. two factors are assessed by the individual's self-report or other sources. factor 2 overlaps considerably with the behavior-focused aspd criteria, measuring criminal history and recidivism, parasitic lifestyle, impulsiveness, brief relationships, substance abuse, lack of longterm goals, and irresponsibility. factor 1, however, reflects personality traits, empathic capacity, and interpersonal behaviors by assessing superficial charm, grandiosity, need for stimulation, pathological barroom blitz 4 lying, manipulation, lack of empathy or remorse, and limited affect. research suggests that, while total pcl-r scores strongly correlate with aspd symptom scores, much of the relationship is attributable to items measuring factor 2, while items measuring factor 1 traits contribute least (hare et al., 1991). constructs on other assessments that are particularly effective at distinguishing psychopaths from nonpsychopaths include "fearless dominance," "arrogant and deceitful interpersonal style," and "deficient affective experience" (patrick, venables, & drislane, 2013). comorbidity statistics bolster the claim that psychopathy as a clinical construct is distinct from aspd. while as many as 50-80% of inmates meet aspd criteria, only 15-25% of most prison samples have clinically severe pcl-r scores. studies considering incarcerated and community samples estimate that while 81% of psychopaths meet aspd criteria, only 38% of aspd-sufferers meet the pcl-r cutoff score. overall prevalence rates of aspd (3-5% of the general population) are also higher than those of psychopathy (roughly 1% of the population; ogloff, 2006). the small overlap of clinical pcl-r score with aspd diagnosis suggests that psychopaths may have unique reasons for participating in criminal/aggressive behaviors, that they may commit fewer crimes than expected, or that they are simply less likely to be caught. these possibilities are consistent with the neural profile associated with psychopaths, as compared to other aspd-qualifying individuals. neural profile converging evidence from a large number of studies suggests that psychopathy is characterized by primarily right-lateralized grey matter volume reductions, hypoactivity, and poor structural and functional connectivity amongst structures mediating limbic (emotion) function, impulse control, errormonitoring and healthy levels of anxiety in uncertain situations, and social cognition including emotional perspective-taking (kiehl et al., 2001). it is therefore unsurprising that psychopaths display reduced anxiety, occasional lapses in impulse control, and blunted feelings of remorse (hare, 1996). barroom blitz 5 while structures like the anterior cingulate--which aids impulse control--and the insula--which contributes to emotional sensations of introspection, shame, and uncertainty--clearly show disturbances in psychopaths, dysfunction in the amygdala and its disrupted connections with prefrontal regions receive the most focus from researchers. amygdala dysfunction correlates strongly with both factors 1 and 2 and offers a parsimonious explanation for most of the symptom complex (blair 2007, 2008). in healthy individuals, the amygdala mediates rapid attention to emotional stimuli, particularly threat. lesions abolish the ability to quickly attend to threats, demonstrating that this structure is crucial for appropriate fear responses (vuilleumier, 2005). the natural result is that a psychopath's ability to notice and respond to threat is very limited, leading to fearless, overconfident, uninhibited, and emotionally insensitive behavior. psychopaths are slower and poorer at recognizing emotional stimuli. for example, they present with average accuracy but much slower reaction time than controls when identifying scrambled emotion words, implying impaired use of emotional cues to identify words (lorenz & newman, 2002). their emotional responses to negative stimuli are blunted, as suggested by psychopaths making low moral transgression severity ratings when asked to react to images depicting injustice (harenski, harenski, shane, & kiehl, 2010), and they present with poor recognition of facial expressions (dadds et al., 2006). psychopaths are also more willing to make risky decisions under conditions of uncertainty, such as in gambling or go/no-go tasks (bechara, tranel, damasio, & damasio, 1996). this is likely due to impairment of their natural fear and anxiety responses, as suggested by blunted physiological responses to emotional stimuli, uncertainty, or anticipation of an aversive stimulus. psychopaths have been distinguished from non-psychopathic aspd-qualifying individuals by demonstrating blunted startle-potentiated blink, electrodermal (sweat) response, and p300 wave (reflects attention to novelty) in response to sudden auditory probes, negative images, and barroom blitz 6 impulse-control tasks (drislane, vaidyanathan, & patrick, 2013; patrick, bradley, & lang, 1993; verona, sprague, & sadeh, 2012). interestingly, humans and animals with full amygdala lesions do not demonstrate these behaviors, suggesting specific, rather than general, amygdala dysfunction in psychopaths. in fact, grey matter reductions are most prominent in the basolateral amygdala (bla) of psychopaths, with central amygdala (cea) structure often appearing unaltered (yang et al., 2009). human neuroimaging studies and animal lesion studies have demonstrated that bla activity is associated with directing attention and processing comparative values of stimuli, while cea activity is associated with understanding valence of stimuli and with reward-seeking behavior. studies of contingency and reversal learning indicate that bla damage or lesion impairs the ability to learn from experience to avoid threats, but spares normal acute approach/avoid responses. conversely, cea damage spares the ability to learn from changing experiences but blunts approach responses. therefore, the combination of hypoactive bla and normally-functioning cea may predispose to a pattern of behavior marked by oversensitivity to positive stimuli and disinterest in negative stimuli, regardless of the comparative importance of each, and aggressive pursuit of reward even when threatened with punishment, regardless of prior punishments (moul, killcross, & dadds, 2012). this pattern of amygdala damage clarifies psychopaths' tendency to ignore threats to themselves and others when pursuing a goal, as well as their low anxiety levels, fearlessness, excessive optimism and overestimation of abilities, and recidivism. the orbitofrontal cortex (ofc) mediates impulse control, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmpfc) associates emotional stimuli with previous scenarios and outcomes. together and via connections with other limbic structures, they mediate social and emotional decision-making. neuroimaging results have revealed grey matter reductions and hypoactivity in these areas in psychopaths (de oliveira-souza et al., 2008; yang & raine, 2009), corresponding to evidence of barroom blitz 7 impoverished decision-making in behavioral tasks (bechara et al., 1996) and leading researchers to believe that executive function deficits are a defining characteristic of psychopathy. however, more recent research has implied that prefrontal disturbances do not correlate as strongly with factors 1 and 2 as do other neural markers, such as amygdala hypofunction (yang et al., 2009), and they are more common in incarcerated psychopaths, even if incarcerated and non-incarcerated pairs have similar pcl-r scores (yang et al., 2005). furthermore, findings of grey matter loss or hypoactivity in the vmpfc, ofc, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlpfc), or anterior cingulate sometimes occur in the context of aspd, without distinguishing between those who do and do not meet psychopathy criteria (verona & patrick, 2015). psychopaths have in some cases shown improved medial pfc activity when explicitly asked to perspective-take and have demonstrated excessive activation in the dlpfc during emotional processing or empathizing tasks. this may relate to the fact that the dorsal and lateral pfc have fewer limbic connections and are associated with overall cognitive processing power and flexibility, planning and fact-based decision-making, deception, and problem-solving. thus, psychopaths may be forced to rely on highly logic-based reasoning in situations that typically require emotional reasoning (meffert, gazzola, den boer, bartels, & keysers, 2013). finally, pfc impairments are common in "acquired" or "secondary" psychopathy, which results from damage to the frontal or temporal lobes, such as by traumatic brain injury or frontotemporal dementia. it is worth noting that those with "acquired" psychopathy display comparable impulse control and moral decisionmaking deficits to primary psychopaths but overall less callous behavior (kiehl et al., 2001). these facts suggest that pfc disturbance is less related to psychopathy than amygdala hypofunction. although prefrontal dysfunction on its own may not be critical to symptom development, impoverished interaction between limbic and prefrontal structures clearly plays a role. poor coordination of activity amongst areas like the amygdala, anterior cingulate, insula, and medial pfc, barroom blitz 8 during task-performance as well as at rest, has been correlated strongly to factors 1 and 2 (motzkin, newman, kiehl, & koenigs, 2011; pujol et al., 2012) and has predicted poor performance by psychopaths in various social interaction and moral judgment tasks (li, mai, & liu, 2014). this is unsurprising, considering that coordination within this network enables certain complex cognitive abilities, including learning to approach rewards and avoid threats according to context and in response to experiences, recognizing and responding appropriately to the emotions of others, moral decisionmaking, emotional perspective-taking and empathizing. poor physical connections amongst these structures appear related to stunted development of a major white matter tract, the uncinate fasciculus. reduced volume and stability of the uncinate has been observed in the right hemispheres of incarcerated psychopaths and community members with psychopathic traits. these disturbances correlate strongly with both factors, but most strongly with factor 1. intriguingly, the uncinate appears sensitive to developmental stressors--common in primary psychopathy--and traumatic brain injury-common in acquired psychopathy (wolf et al., 2015). based upon these findings, field expert r.j. blair (2007, 2008) and others have suggested that, although it may not seem this way to victims, most of a psychopath's behaviors do not stem from malicious intent. hypoactivity of structures mediating limbic and impulse control functions would not predispose to chronic irritability, reactive aggression, or vindictiveness--in fact, it would do the opposite. instead, psychopaths' thoughtless actions are an epiphenomenon of disinhibition caused by impaired attention to threats and other emotional stimuli and subsequent reduced fear and emotional responses. this prevents them from acknowledging risks to themselves or the physical and emotional well-being of others and may prompt excessive optimism or grandiose belief in one's ability to succeed. failure to learn connections between emotional stimuli and appropriate social responses makes the viewpoints of others difficult to understand on an affective level and genuine remorse barroom blitz 9 unachievable. use of non-limbic-mediated decision-making abilities may enable them to function reasonably well and conceal their deficits in daily life, but it reinforces a logic-driven, utilitarian mindset that values personal benefits over communal ones. failure to respond to or learn from fear, juxtaposed with normal reward-seeking responses, results in impulsivity in the presence of potential rewards and maintained fearlessness even after repeated punishments, prompting recidivism. although the public associates psychopathy with violent crime, the low emotional reactivity of the average psychopath may lend itself just as well to non-violent unethical behaviors. relationship between neural and behavioral features in research this neural profile aligns itself quite well with research suggesting that factor 1 of the pcl-r and the "fearless dominance" construct are critical to differentiating psychopathy from aspd. it also coheres with the characteristics of psychopaths highlighted by prominent early researchers such as cleckley (1951) and hare (1996), including low physiological response to threat or risk, suicidal threats that are rarely carried out, and low levels of affective distress. criminal activities and incarceration trends displayed by both inmates and community members with psychopathic traits also make sense in light of this information. the capacity for superior non-limbic-mediated executive function may explain the disparity between aspd-qualifying inmates and psychopathic inmates by enabling some psychopaths to plan and conceal their discretions more carefully. for example, in selfreport research on community members with moderate pcl-r scores, a large number of participants admitted to criminal behavior, but less than 40% reported an arrest record (dematteo, heilbrun, & marczyk, 2005). another trademark psychopathic quality, "criminal versatility," was recognized by cleckley, who wrote, "the typical psychopath, as i have seen him, usually does not commit murder or other offenses that promptly lead to major prison sentences." both cleckley and hare have described symptomatic individuals who function successfully in the community and are nonviolent, instead barroom blitz 10 presenting with serial lying; fraud, theft, or embezzlement; blackmail; corrupt politics; professional malpractice; callousness while engaging in traditionally care-based professions like teaching or nursing; and various interpersonal betrayals. current studies have established that while pcl-r score predicts recidivism, it does not necessarily predict violence (shepherd, campbell, & ogloff, 2016). conversely, this neural profile makes associations made between psychopathy and certain other disorders appear particularly dubious. although factor 1 correlates negatively with anxiety and internalizing problems (verona & patrick, 2015), some literature, which generalizes all "antisocial" behaviors to reflect psychopathy, has described a subtype of "anxious psychopaths" (schmitt & newman, 1999). this potentially occurred due to the conflation of psychopathy with aspd in the context of comorbidity data associating aspd with anxiety, mood disorders, and suicidality (werner, few, & bulcholz, 2015). it is not unlikely that many diagnosed with aspd are anxious; however, it should become immediately apparent that those individuals are not psychopathic. this information collectively suggests that only a minority of aspd-sufferers are likely to show clinically-relevant features of psychopathy. the majority of aspd-qualifying individuals may have more in common with populations that consistently display signs of impulse control deficits and anxiety disorders, and that are predisposed to less planned, more emotional and potentially violent criminal behavior--qualities that are observed in the bpd and ied populations. borderline personality disorder: high emotionality, threat sensitivity, poor impulse control disorder overview the national comorbidity survey replication and other research has reported moderately high correlations (r=0.64) and percentages reflecting aspd/bpd comorbidity, with roughly 25-45% of bpd inmates meeting aspd criteria (black et al., 2007; lenzenweger et al., 2007). however, the diagnostic criteria for bpd, unlike aspd, focus on impulsive behaviors that are not necessarily barroom blitz 11 criminal or aggressive. furthermore, many such non-violent impulsive behaviors--such as self-harm or suicide attempts, frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, frequent interpersonal disputes, substance abuse, or reckless spending or sexual activity--appear to be driven by emotional lability, depression, and irritability. because aspd is often associated with psychopathy, the link between disorders may seem unusual. however, additional data suggests that the diagnostic overlap is influenced by gendered expressions of bpd symptoms. for instance, zanarini et al. (1998) reported that only 16% of female inmates, but 48% of male inmates diagnosed with bpd also met aspd criteria, and men are 3 to 5 times more likely than women to be diagnosed with aspd. public misperception of psychopaths as hostile misanthropes may stem from the fact that the aspd criteria capture many bpd-sufferers, whose hyperemotional natures can predispose them to reactive aggression at times. neural profile in sharp contrast with psychopaths, individuals with bpd demonstrate predominantly rightlateralized grey matter increases (minzenberg, fan, new, tang, & siever, 2008) but left-lateralized decreases in the amygdala (o’neill & frodl, 2012) and amygdala hyper-response to emotional stimuli and facial expressions. this reaction is more profound in response to aversive than positive stimuli, and bpd patients often interpret neutral expressions as threatening, suggesting the processing of ambiguity as negativity (herpertz, 2009). amygdala hyper-reactivity is accompanied increased activity of structures enabling visual functions--including the fusiform gyrus, which mediates facial recognition--in these subjects, suggesting that the amygdala influences the visual perceptual system to create high attentional bias to emotional stimuli (koenigsberg et al., 2009). while executive function deficits do not appear universally in psychopaths, bpd patients regularly display impulse control and emotion suppression-related executive function deficits, which are unrelated to intelligence. neuroimaging studies have revealed grey matter reductions in prefrontal impulse control areas, such as barroom blitz 12 the left orbitofrontal cortex (ofc) and right anterior cingulate (minzenberg et al., 2008), as well as reduced activity in the ventromedial pfc (vmpfc), ofc, anterior cingulate, dorsolateral pfc (dlpfc), and premotor cortex at baseline and under conditions of negative emotion (o’neill & frodl, 2012). as in psychopaths, structural and functional connections between the amygdala and pfc are disturbed in bpd, although the implications are different, due to the combination of a hyperactive amygdala and underactive medial pfc rather than hypoactive amygdala and less impaired pfc. reduced stability of inferior frontal white matter tracts connecting to limbic structures has been observed in bpd and associated with a higher degree of impulsivity, aggression, and suicidality (grant et al., 2007). new et al. (2007) observed reduced functional connectivity between the amygdala and ofc in bpd participants, compared to controls, both at baseline and during pharmacological challenge. in multiple studies, the extent of the medial pfc hypoactivation in combination with amygdala hyperactivation during an impulse control task, emotion-suppression task, or viewing images of emotional (especially angry) human faces--understood as a failure of the prefrontal regions to regulate emotional response--correlated with self-reported impulsivity and aggression (silbersweig et al., 2007). while bpd patients display less activity than controls in medial pfc and less functional connectivity with limbic structures under conditions of negative emotion, bpd patients appear to recruit more right-sided dlpfc than medial pfc activity in conjunction with amygdala activity when attempting to suppress emotion. decreases in medial pfc activity and increases in right dlpfc activity in response to negative emotion were associated with the degree of difficulty suppressing emotion and the severity of bpd symptoms (new et al., 2007). intriguingly, while numerous studies have observed hypo-response in the medial pfc, others have reported hyperactivity in the vmpfc, ofc, and anterior cingulate when describing characteristics of the self and others, and under conditions of emotional challenge or provocation, such as the point subtraction aggression paradigm, lab-simulated social barroom blitz 13 exclusion, viewing emotional faces, and remembering negative life events (ruocco et al., 2010). mixed findings may hint at heterogenous participant samples. neuroimaging findings implying intensified processing of emotional information and altered attention are supported by electrophysiological findings. late positive potential (lpp) waves--which are related to the p300 wave and indicate the active (usually emotional) processing of stimuli--are exaggerated in bpd patients, compared to controls, in response to negative stimuli during an emotion suppression task (marissen, meuleman, & franken, 2010). also consistent with neuroimaging results, the exaggerated lpp wave suggests hyperactivity in the visual perceptual system (sabatinelli, lang, keil, & bradley, 2007). p3a, a wave associated with novelty detection and attention switching, is also elevated in the right, but not left, pfc of bpd patients during an auditory change-detection task, and is more elevated in bpd patients than in controls. in bpd patients, the p3a wave also does not habituate over time, a finding reflecting poorer inhibitory control and disrupted attentional orienting. because right-lateralized structures bear more overall responsibility for mediating emotional responses than left, the right-lateralization of the disturbance implies poor regulation of emotional responses (meares, schore, & melkonian, 2011). although emotional processing may be altered during initial exposure to a negative stimulus, such as an image, memory, or social event, bpd patients show comparable eeg activity to that of controls when asked to "reappraise" their reactions (marissen et al., 2010). clearly the inverse of the typical psychopath, this is a high emotional-responder with poor impulse control, as indicated by high limbic system response to emotional stimuli and potential threats, and impaired or abnormal prefrontal performance during attempts to inhibit emotional responses. the attentional patterns of bpd patients, as indicated by eeg and neuroimaging studies, depict individuals whose attention is easily captured by emotional cues, making them sensitive to changes in the social environment. their pattern of general amygdala hyperactivation unaccompanied by indicators of barroom blitz 14 exaggerated reward seeking, greater attentional processing of negative than positive stimuli, and interpretation of neutral stimuli as threatening, suggests that, while impulsive, they may not be excessively reward-driven and may have averse reactions to uncertainty or ambiguity. while this may predispose to mood swings in general, it may also encourage irritability or quickness to anger. this may make reactive aggression due to perceived threat more likely than instrumental aggression driven by goal-pursuit, leaving bpd-sufferers potentially prone to aggressive "crimes of passion" under certain circumstances. still, it is ironic that bpd patients are sometimes described as "psychopathic" due primarily to their capacity for violent behavior, because these individuals are far more likely to feel genuinely remorseful for criminal acts. this is suggested by their relatively normal cognitive reappraisal abilities and their high limbic activation and attentional biases toward emotional cues from others, which, when not mediating aggressive responses, may be associated with enhanced empathy. this capacity for intense hostility followed by genuine remorse and exaggerated emotional experience may lead to low self-esteem, unlike psychopaths' grandiosity. relationship between neural and behavioral features in research this neural pattern coheres very well with behavioral patterns exhibited by bpd patients. while prone to angry outbursts that may or may not involve violence, and comprising about 35% of inmates, they are also prone to auto-aggression and self-defeating behaviors, such as suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self-injury, which tend to be triggered by social threats such as abandonment, insults, or betrayals. furthermore, individuals with bpd tend to suffer from low self-esteem, often related to retrospective views of their own outbursts. unlike psychopaths, bpd patients tend to respond with elevated startle and other physiological responses to stressors (hazlett et al., 2007), indicating increased fear of potential punishment. they make more errors of commission and display shorter reaction time than controls on the "no-go" trials of go/no-go tests, implying poor impulse control barroom blitz 15 that is not driven primarily by reward-sensitivity (rentrop et al., 2007). bpd patients also exhibit slower performance related to emotional interference during a stroop task (wingenfeld et al., 2009) and often suffer from comorbid mood or anxiety disorders (zanarini et al., 1998). the fact that factor 2 of the pcl-r has been shown to correlate not only with criminal activity but also with anxiety, mood disorders, and suicidality may partly explain the confusion of the bpd and psychopathy communities within the context of aspd. the close relationship of bpd to aspd may help to explain the confusing association of aspd with anxiety, mood disorders, and suicide attempts, and prefrontal grey matter loss or executive function deficits, which leads some to mistakenly associate such traits with psychopathy. furthermore, recall the aforementioned studies showing blunted p300 waves and limbic activity in psychopathic inmates who were reacting to emotional stimuli. in the context of bpd research findings, it makes more sense that the same studies found that members of non-psychopathic but aspd-qualifying comparison groups displayed increased p300 during "no-go" requirements, more interference of emotional stimuli during impulse control tasks, and higher moral transgression severity ratings associated with increased limbic activity (harenski et al., 2010). intermittent explosive disorder: high emotionality, poor attentional switching disorder overview reasonably high percentages reflecting comorbidity of aspd with ied have been documented in the national comorbidity survey replication, with 34.2% of aspd-sufferers meeting ied criteria (lenzenweger et al., 2007). however, as is the case with aspd-sufferers with comorbid bpd, this does not appear to imply an overlap with psychopathy. in a study of self-report data from personality assessments of psychiatric and control participants, coccaro, lee, and mccloskey (2014) found that only a modest proportion of ied-qualifying participants displayed features of psychopathy, and that measures of trait aggression and anger, rather than psychopathic traits, correlated most strongly with barroom blitz 16 ied assessment scores. measures of psychopathic traits also failed to discriminate between ied participants and healthy controls. the percentages depicting bpd/ied comorbidity (38%) are also higher than those depicting ied/aspd comorbidity, suggesting that these two populations may have more common traits. indeed, ied is a controversial diagnosis, as some believe the syndrome is merely an epiphenomenon of bpd. however, while over 25% of those with primary aspd or bpd diagnosis meet criteria for ied, much smaller percentages of those with primary ied diagnosis meet the criteria for aspd (4.5%) and bpd (12.3%). these numbers imply that while many aspd and bpd patients share symptoms with iedsufferers, ied likely has its own distinctive characteristics and is not completely subsumed by bpd or aspd (kessler et al., 2006). little research on ied has been completed, but the limited body of findings suggests that ied patients have more in common with bpd patients than with psychopaths. findings suggest hyperactive amygdala response to negative stimuli, including angry facial expressions (mccloskey et al., 2016); interpretation of neutral facial expressions as threatening (best, williams, & coccaro, 2002); reduced grey matter volume in the orbitofrontal (ofc) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmpfc), anterior cingulate, amygdala, and insula (coccaro, fitzgerald, lee, mccloskey, & phan, 2016); reduced amygdala and medial ofc coupling; reduced ofc activity while viewing negative social stimuli (coccaro, mccloskey, fitzgerald, & phan, 2007); and reduced white matter tract connectivity between limbic and frontal lobe structures (lee et al., 2016). however, due to the large number of studies in which participants have a primary or comorbid diagnosis of bpd, ied may be overly-confounded with bpd in a manner similar to how aspd is closely, but mistakenly, associated with psychopathy. this is further indicated by aforementioned patterns in prevalence data. ied patients do consistently selfreport a greater degree of impulsivity and aggression. compared to other psychiatric patients, in laboratory tasks, ied patients show more impulsivity and aggression, are more likely to attribute barroom blitz 17 negative intentions to others' behavior, and show profound interference of anger-related words when completing emotional stroop tasks (coccaro, noblett & mccloskey 2009). still, these findings cannot definitively distinguish ied patients from bpd/aspd patients, as ied-sufferers could merely be a group of personality-disordered patients with especially severe symptoms. however, researchers have begun to observe and replicate findings distinguishing ied based on prefrontal function. neural profile field expert michael mccloskey and others have, in fact, observed ied participants demonstrating pfc hyperactivation, rather than hypoactivation, and increased functional connectivity between the ofc and amygdala at baseline and under stress. in some studies, mccloskey and colleagues observed hyperactive amygdala activity, but also no significant differences between medial ofc responses in ied-sufferers and controls, and greater positive coupling between ofc and amygdala than what was observed in controls or personality-disordered patients, during exercises involving provocation or elicitation of negative emotion (mccloskey et al., 2016). mccloskey (2013) and colleagues also observed greater dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlpfc) activation when viewing negative images in ied subjects compared to controls, and moeller et al. (2014) similarly observed greater dlpfc error-related activity in ied patients than in controls, which corresponded to the selfreported anger levels of ied participants. note that bpd, in contrast, has not been associated with elevated dlpfc activity, per se, but with above-average functional connectivity of dlpfc with amygdala when medial ofc coupling is more appropriate (new et al., 2007). at least one study that employed eeg assessments of ied patients reported excessive beta band (fast wave) activity and reduced theta and alpha (slower wave) activity in frontal and frontotemporal areas at baseline and in response to both calm and emotional musical stimuli, which the authors speculate reflects higher responsiveness to sensory stimuli in general (koelsch, sammler, jentschke, & barroom blitz 18 siebel, 2008). this could potentially be an important discriminating characteristic, and may also explain the occasional, perplexing reports of medial pfc hyper-response in the bpd literature, if in fact that finding resulted from a heterogenous sample. another eeg study observed no aberrant amygdala activation in these patients at baseline (koelsch, 2008). considering this, and the fact that other observations of amygdala hyperactivity in ied have been made in response to a task and not at baseline, it is possible that in ied, agitation is purely in reaction to transient stimuli and not chronic. providing an additional distinguishing factor, ied-sufferers, unlike bpd-sufferers, demonstrate a blunted prefrontal p3a response to sensory stimuli (koelsch, 2008), indicating poor attentional switching. one might expect excessive attention switching comparable to what is observed in bpd. however, it is possible that, while a state of easy distraction and automatic orienting toward negative emotional stimuli may lead to agitation and possibly aggression in bpd patients, a state of hyperfocus may do the same for ied-sufferers. this is not intentional hyperfocus, which would more likely be indicated by a blunted p3b wave (a marker of manual, rather than automatic, attentional switching), but hyperfocus induced by failure of other stimuli in the environment to distract from an aversive stimulus. perhaps, once focused on a stressor, ied individuals have difficulty allowing their attention to be naturally captured by competing stimuli, allowing some focus to remain on the stressor or predisposing to rumination, which is also associated with prefrontal hyperfunction (yoshimura et al., 2014). although ied's distinguishing features have been obscured by research conducted on comorbid bpd and aspd patients, the available information suggests that ied may be characterized by the combination of amygdala hyper-responsiveness to stressors, excessive prefrontal feedback to amygdala during these situations, and difficulty switching attention. what emerges is the profile of a person who may not be chronically irritable but is hypersensitive to aversive stimuli when they appear because they are unable to distract themselves. this state of hyperfocus, unlike that of a psychopath pursuing a barroom blitz 19 goal, takes on a different tone in the presence of strong amygdala activation, generating a sense of anxiety or irritability that stands in stark contrast to the indifference that would be experienced by the average psychopath. this may result in uninterrupted, escalating emotion that results in an outburst. relationship between neural and behavioral features in research indeed, this profile corresponds well to the dsm-v criteria for ied and subjective reports describing a pattern of a few intense, interspersed outbursts (e.g. 3 intense outbursts in a 12 month period) that can be separated by periods of normal socio-emotional functioning and impulse control, during which much more subdued expressions of aggression may occur (e.g. heated verbal disputes). this stands in contrast to the more frequent irritability and outbursts observed in bpd (apa, 2013). also speculative but thought-provoking are comparisons between the experience of ied outbursts and clinically-defined panic attacks or compulsive urges. one study of self-report data describing subjective experiences of ied-sufferers during outbursts found frequent reports of not only feelings of rage, but also of intense anxiety and panic, hot flashes, trembling, and heart palpitations that were experienced as a "prodrome" minutes before the outburst. the outbursts were followed initially be feelings of relief, which was transient and rapidly replaced by remorse and embarrassment (kulper, kleiman, mccloskey, berman, & coccaro, 2015). it is worth noting that ied shows high comorbidity with anxiety and mood disorders, and many anxiety and mood disorders have also been associated with excessive medial pfc and anterior cingulate activity (kessler et al., 2006). bpd and some aspd patients are prone to anxiety as well, but these panic attack-like phenomena are not a guaranteed aspect of either symptom complex, whereas virtually all ied-qualifying patients experience them. limited treatment opportunities as a result of misinterpretations as many citations in this review have already served to indicate, one result of conflating individuals with different neural presentations based on iap alone is the use of heterogenous research barroom blitz 20 populations that do not generate useful or generalizable results (hare et al., 1991). one negative outcome of non-generalizable research is difficulty determining ideal treatments across individuals with the same diagnosis, or even limiting treatment opportunities for some patients. this has serious consequences for the aspd population, which is more than likely to cover a very heterogenous group. there is evidence that aspd-sufferers who do not meet psychopathy criteria, such as those who meet criteria for bpd and ied, can benefit from specific behavioral and pharmacological treatments (mccloskey, 2013). unfortunately, because of the ill-supported association of aspd with psychopathy, if an individual who presents with qualities of bpd or ied is given a primary or secondary diagnosis of aspd, he/she may not be referred for appropriate treatment due to the belief that psychopaths are a completely treatment-refractory population. this is technically supported by a large body of evidence linking high pcl-r scores to high recidivism rates and poor outcomes in various rehabilitation programs (ogloff, 2006). in spite of the obvious need for intervention, however, few targeted treatments for aspd-sufferers have been developed, few that have been developed have achieved success, and few appear to be in development, in part due to clinicians remaining pessimistic about the treatability of this population. literature on the subject includes statements such as, "the only effective treatment for aspd appears to be the passage of time. those individuals who do not get killed or kill themselves and survive into their 40s tend to mellow" (hatchett, 2015). such stigma is harmful both to individuals diagnosed with aspd who present with features akin to bpd or ied, as there are treatments that have been proven effective for these populations, and to those with psychopathic traits, as stigma quashes creativity and innovation amongst medical professionals, thus hindering potential treatment development. barroom blitz 21 references american psychiatric association. 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(1998). axis i comorbidity of borderline personality disorder. american journal of psychiatry, 155, 1733-1739. microsoft word mrozinski_dedalus vampire 1 is stephen dedalus a vampire? bodily breath, creation, and art in “proteus” and “aeolus” amelia mrozinski english in a portrait of the artist as a young man, stephen dedalus theorizes that true beauty expressed by the artist “cannot awaken in us an emotion which is kinetic or a sensation which is purely physical. it awakens, or ought to awaken, or induces, or ought to induce, an esthetic stasis” (223). if this theory is true, then stephen’s own body ought not to interfere with his process of artistic creation. his art should create a sense of stasis and removal from the physical world. rather than be grounded in bodily experiences, his artistic creation should be rooted in the world of abstract essences and ideals that evoke a static emotion removed from embodied experience. how, then, can this theory of stasis be reconciled with stephen’s apparently very bodily experiences related to his production of art, particularly his moments of respiration/breathing, in the “proteus” episode in ulysses?1 is what stephen produces in “proteus” (and, later, in “aeolus”) really art, and, if so, what does this say about the nature of his vocation as an artist? how can what we glean from stephen’s artistic efforts illuminate how we read the book and how we understand the nature of the other types of creation in ulysses, especially bloom’s advertising efforts? in joyce’s reading bodies and the kinesthetics of the modernist novel, carrie j. preston argues that ulysses “engage[s] the kinesthetic potential of language,” emphasizing—both in what the characters do and the effects of the characters’ actions on the reader—the role of the body in perceiving and interpreting language and art (reading 233). kinesthetic theory, applied to literature by early twentieth century theorist vernon lee, is an approach that focuses on the role 2 bodies play in perceiving and interpreting language and art. ulysses “binds language to its source in human bodies” (reading 248). preston contends that in ulysses, “stephen’s own body undermines his claims to aesthetic stasis, an important irony often missed in autobiographical readings of the character” (234). preston is breaking with the gilbertian tradition of reading stephen’s theory of artistic beauty as a reflection of joyce’s own theory. in particularly, her arguments contrast with stuart gilbert’s claim that “the artist’s aim […] is to ban kinetic feelings from his readers’ minds, and in ulysses we find the ideal silent stasis of the artist” (gilbert 22). the emphases on the movements of and changes in bodies throughout a portrait and ulysses are what undermines stephen’s theory of esthetic stasis. the “proteus” episode is particularly focused on movement of bodies, making it a compelling episode to analyze in light of preston’s helpful claims. indeed, critics like david hayman have pointed out that “proteus” can be read as a challenge to stephen’s theory of stasis: “why do these pages contain more potentially kinetic (in the dedalian sense of the non-static art) elements than any of stephen’s musings elsewhere?” (7). the abundantly present “body” of stephen throughout the episode—a body who records his physical sensations, makes many visual observations, and, most obvious of all, is physically meandering around sandymount strand—is, after all, perplexing when trying to reconcile stephen’s theory of stasis with his physical “being”-ness. preston’s kinesthetic theory can be used to explain this tension, and can be extended even further: stephen’s kinesthetic practices are tied not only to his ability to perceive language and art, but also to his ability to create art. two particular moments of stephen’s respiration/breathing in “proteus” can be read as complicating (and yes, even undermining) his theory of stasis. in these two moments—one in which stephen’s breathing seems to physically unite him with death, and one in which his breath 3 allows him to try to create a poem—stephen’s breath effectively functions as a “bridge” between his embodied, sensory experiences and his movements toward esthetic, artistic stasis. at the same time, these moments of breathing illuminate the veracity of the nature of his role as an artist, a role that unites him with the voices of dead artists and allows him to create his own art. as stephen wanders around sandymount strand, he contemplates the relationship between the observable things in the world and their true substance, the “ineluctable modality of the visible” (ulysses 31). the first instance of stephen’s breath considered here appears to unite him with the dead: “dead breaths i living breathe, tread dead dust, devour a urinous offal from all dead” (ulysses 42). sensorial breathing in of waste (offal/dust/urine) marks a communion between stephen and the invisible world of dead bodies. the physical breathing in of waste, literally produced by past bodies, allows him to transcend the realm of the purely physical and unite, in a more immaterial sense, with the realm of the dead. here, his breath functions as a “bridge” between his embodied experience and the abstract, and, in line with christopher kempf’s arguments, stephen “cannot quite loose himself from the visuality of ‘things,’” and thus his feelings of abstract communion “remain complexly tethered to the commodity forms from which they emerge” (30). without his bodily breath, there would be no relationship with that which is beyond the visible. his senses are essential to his perception of his communion with an abstract world of the dead. the macabreness of stephen’s communion is also significant. why does he feel a communion with, out of all things, the dead? of course, perhaps the gruesomeness of this instance of stephen’s death-uniting breath may just point to his obsession with his mother’s recent death. perhaps stephen’s thoughts are inextricably centered on death in general. 4 nonetheless, i argue that this moment crucially illuminates the nature of his role, or “vocation,” as an artist. stephen’s “vocation” as an artist cannot be considered without taking into account the priesthood he rejects in a portrait. as kevin farrell argues, the constant reminders that stephen could have been a priest “draw attention to joyce's structural model in a portrait, where stephen's progression towards the life of the artist is made possible by his simultaneous progression towards the life of the priest” (30). farrell marks a type of interdependence between the vocation of priest and artist that is helpful when parsing the meaning of stephen’s deathly communion in “proteus.” once he embraces the role of the artist, stephen calls himself “a priest of the eternal imagination” (portrait 240). the following passage in the bible’s account of creation is interestingly comparable to the creation stephen is about to attempt: “then the lord god formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (gen 2:7). stephen’s breath, like god’s breath, uses waste (see the use of “dust” in both passages) for creation. stephen’s breath is steeped in waste and is a sort of reincarnation, or metempsychosis, of what has already existed (“god becomes man becomes fish becomes barnacle goose becomes featherbed mountain” (ulysses 41-2)). this new priesthood appears to be a distortion of catholic priesthood in the sense that it is grounded in communion with death, not life. stephen’s breath, unlike god’s, brings him into communion with the dead, rather than with the living, as god’s breath appears to do. additionally, the bible accounts for god’s creation of the dust itself. god creates ex nihilo, while stephen uses the materials of the existing waste of the world. 5 this claim that stephen is ultimately unable to create ex nihilo builds on the similar claims of scholars like calvin thomas and michael schandorf. thomas, in assessing stephen’s anxiety over artistic production, aptly argues that stephen’s problem […] is that language itself was someone else’s before it was his. he cannot speak or write any words without unrest of spirit precisely because all speech was always acquired. stephen’s soul frets in the shadow of language itself, and he cannot accept its words precisely because he has not made them, because he cannot be the punctual origin and author of his own semiotic flow. (297) stephen thus faces what thomas terms a “fundamental lack of priority” in his artistic endeavors (300). using the “waste” of acquired language as his instrument of creative production makes it innately impossible for stephen to create anything entirely new. schandorf analyzes the influence of percy bysshe shelley’s work on stephen (and joyce), arguing that stephen’s decision to become an artist-priest is itself inspired by what schandorf terms “shelley’s ethos,” shelly’s conviction in the superiority of art to the church (418). interpreted this way, stephen’s decision to become an artist is itself predicated on the promptings of past poets. it thus seems unlikely, if not impossible, that anything stephen creates from this sort of interdependent vocation could be wrought ex nihilo. the second instance of stephen’s breath considered here further emphasizes the recyclic quality of his artistic efforts. in addition to marking his communion with the dead as a new type of artist-priest, stephen’s breath is what allows him to begin sounding out the syllables for a poem: “his lips lipped and mouthed fleshless lips of air: mouth to her womb. oomb, allwombing tomb. his mouth moulded issuing breath, unspeeched: ooeeehah: roar of cataractic planets, globed, blazing, roaring wayawayawayawayawayaway” (ulysses 40). preston argues that in this 6 experimentation, stephen both “theorizes and models kinesthetic approaches to language” (reading 242). not only imitative of stephen’s words, stephen’s bodily efforts here are also necessary for his gestures at artistic creation. this body-centric moment in “proteus” is a crucial moment of connection between stephen’s body and his attempts at creating art that undermines his theory of stasis. it is only after stephen’s non-static, sensory experimentation with kinesthetically sounding out words (issued by his breath) that he is able to physically write words down: “turning his back to the sun he bent over far to a table of rock and scribbled words” (ulysses 40). his body, united with waste and with the dead, provides the very materials for his ability to try to create, marking a clear and unignorable connection between the sensory realm and the “stasis” he believes art should induce. to provide a comprehensive look into stephen’s work as an artist, the originality and artistry of the poem itself needs to be evaluated. for his theory (that art should evoke esthetic stasis) to truly be undermined, what he produces on the beach would need to be true art. if what he produced were not true art, stephen’s bodily breath would not be a true “bridge” that allows him to create, and it would be possible that artistic creation could still work in accordance with stephen’s a portrait theory. however, the lines stephen begins to create on the beach are, in fact, art. in her book modernism's mythic pose: gender, genre, solo performance, preston helpfully argues that the invocation of kinesthetic experiences “highlights one of the central motifs of modernism: the desire to make sense of the body, to account for and somehow encompass bodily experiences in art, and to figure movement in words, sculpture, painting, and other media” (21). crucially, stephen’s kinesthetic experiences are integral to his creation of art. what he creates as a result of his efforts is a specific type of modern art, the nature of which (as i 7 will later describe) is closely connected with the dead, and with the breath-y communion stephen experiences with waste and the dead. critics are not in accord when it comes to the nature of stephen’s “proteus” poem, and have disagreed about whether or not it is a true work of art or a real act of creation. david hayman calls stephen’s poem “semi-original” (8). robert adams day argues that stephen’s poem is “a real act of creation” (183). michael murphy contends that stephen’s lines are “largely the waste product of what stephen has ingested mentally” and stephen ends up a “would-be maker of original things” (76, 78). michael seidel claims that the poem is “essentially a few lines cribbed from douglas hyd[e]” (419). central to this critical terrain is the question of the degree to which stephen’s poem is original or a set of lines that overborrows from douglas hyde’s, the first president of ireland’s, poem entitled “my grief on the sea.” interestingly, this poem is itself not actually hyde’s creation, but is a translation of a gaelic folk song; the import of this point will be considered later. first, the similarities between the poems will be explored in detail, and the underlying questions at the heart of the critical debate over its originality will be brought to light. stephen’s first draft of his poem, created mentally in “proteus,” reads as follows: “he comes, pale vampire, through storm his eyes, his bat sails bloodying the sea, mouth to her mouth’s kiss” (ulysses 40). the final draft of his poem, no longer prose-style but now versified, is revealed in the “aeolus” episode: on swift sail flaming from storm and south he comes, pale vampire, mouth to my mouth. (ulysses 109) 8 three of hyde’s six stanza poem, “my grief on the sea,” are quoted here. critics generally point to the last stanza to evince its similarities with stephen’s poem: my grief on the sea, how the waves of it roll! for they heave between me and the love of my soul! […] were i and my darling— o, heart-bitter wound!— on board of the ship for america bound. […] and my love came behind me— he came from the south; his breast to my bosom, his mouth to my mouth. (hyde 130) there are clear resemblances here. day argues that stephen “borrows hyde’s metrical pattern, the idea of someone’s arrival, and ‘south-mouth’ rhyme, and the last line […] but that is all” (186). day doesn’t mention several other (albeit obvious) thematic similarities: the storm, the sea, and a kiss. he also doesn’t point out, though it is perhaps too obvious a similarity, that both poems (the “aeolus” version and hyde’s) are quatrains with one rhyme on the end of the second and fourth lines. the metrical patterns of both poems (again, the “aeolus” version and hyde’s) are indeed similar, except for the first line. the second and fourth lines of each poem contain 9 monosyllabic words and two stressed syllables per line. stephen’s version, however, has two neat iambs in each line, while hyde’s lines each contain one iamb followed by one anapest. the concluding lines are, of course, nearly identical except for stephen’s omission of the word “his.” many critics have also found strains of poets other than hyde in stephen’s verse. hayman contends that stephen’s poem “alludes among other things to hamlet’s attitude toward his ‘unfaithful’ mother” (8). if the poem’s speaker is interpreted as stephen’s mother, then yes, perhaps the kiss can be read as a sort of macabre, unfaithful embrace between a woman and someone other than her husband. referencing to stephen’s earlier sounding out of syllables at the beginning of this poetic process, gilbert argues that the “womb-tomb (birth-death) rhyme has interesting shakespearean and blakean associations” (133).3 harry blamires even finds a connection between stephen’s poem that echoes back to garrett deasy’s letter on foot and mouth disease from the “nestor” episode: “‘mouth to my mouth’ in the lyric counterpoints the ‘foot and mouth’ theme” (51). this abundance of potential sources for stephen’s poem has led many of these critics to discount the validity of its artistic originality and instead characterize stephen as a plagiarist. again, the question of the poem’s artistry is intimately bound up in its associations and allusions to the works of earlier poets. underlying the issue of originality in stephen’s artistry are two foundational questions about the nature of art: does art need to be totally original to be real art? can “true” art draw from the works of other artists (in this case, other poets)? though both versions of stephen’s quatrains are, in many ways, recycled from the words of earlier poets, this does not necessarily mean his quatrain is not art. instead, it indicates the opposite. as t.s. eliot suggests in his essay tradition and the individual talent, drawing from the words of past poets does not preclude a work from being distinct or worthwhile. doing so actually strengthens 10 the value and originality of the poem: “we shall often find that not only the best, but the most individual parts of [a poet’s] work maybe those in which the dead poets, his ancestors, assert their immortality most vigorously” (eliot 48). eliot highlights the interdependence of the creating poet and the voices of the dead: “no poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. his significance, his appreciation is the application of his relation to the dead poets and artists” (49). recyclic metempsychosis is thus a hallmark of modernist artistic creation. in this sense, then, stephen’s poem is significant, individual, and valuable precisely because it draws on the voices of people like hyde, shakespeare, yeats, and blake. it is, as day claims, a true act of creation. within the context of “proteus,” it is also notable that the poem’s significance is not necessarily diminished by two aspects of the scene of its creation that emphasize its secondhandedness: the facts that it is written on a “blank end” of a torn off piece of deasy’s letter, and that the poet himself wears mulligan’s castoff clothes (ulysses 40). the valuation of the voices of other poets brings us back the previously-considered instance of stephen’s breath, the moment in which he found communion with the dead through his breath. stephen’s communion can be read as his initiation into the life of the modern artist, an initiation in which he physically communes with the dead and is able to produce individual words with his living body. again, this art is only made possible by the “bridge” of stephen’s breath. two obvious (and important) differences, however, between the translated words of hyde and those of stephen are stephen’s focus on the body and his inclusion of the vampire character. these differences are stephen’s additions to the recycled words of past poets, and these additions further clarify the nature of modern art. preston points out that both versions of stephen’s poem emphasize body parts and kinetic movement more than hyde’s version (reading 241). indeed, stephen uses the corporeal words “eyes,” “mouth,” “bloodying,” and the kinetic 11 movements “kiss” and “comes.” this shift in emphasis further destabilizes stephen’s a portrait theory of stasis; even the art he creates has a focus on the body and the movements of the body. the poem essentially articulates the physical journey and embodied experiences of its characters (the speaker and the vampire). interestingly, the subjects of the poem are also caught up in the application of kinesthetic theories of language in the “mouth to my mouth” line, suggesting that the physical action in the poem of putting mouth (the vampire’s) to mouth (the speaker’s) is related, perhaps even necessary, for speaker’s ability to speak. the focus of stephen’s work and the actions of the characters in the work itself are the kinetic movement of bodies, thus ironically subverting stephen’s earlier claims of stasis. vampires themselves are mythic undead bodies that depend on the living, and stephen’s use of this image further exposes the nature of the artistic interchange between the living and the dead. vampires can only “sustain their miserable lives by having their astral bodies rob the lifeblood from living persons” (madame blavatsky, in seidel 419). returning to the “mouth to my mouth” line, the physical union between the two characters evinces the idea that vampires are both wildly dependent on, as well as nourishing to, the living. vampires both take life (from the living) and give life (in the sense that they create new life as they take away); this interdependence is highlighted even more by the fact that, of all the lines in stephen’s quatrain, the “mouth to my mouth” one is the most similar to hyde’s. as preston argues, “the lover becomes a vampire, a creature that feeds on the blood of another living body, and also perhaps a figure for the way literature feeds on or borrows from other works” (reading 241). the recycled quality of the poem’s form is compounded by the imagery it contains, and the combination further emphasizes the recycled nature of valuable art (espoused by eliot). 12 just as vampires both nourish and take life, modern art continually negotiates the relationship between dead words and living bodies. thus, as eliot says, the artist’s progress is “a continual self-sacrifice” (53). stephen sacrifices himself to his vocation, to the bodily breathing in of the remains and waste of the dead, and breathes out the syllables of inchoate art that eventually evolve into a created poem. hyde, too, was in a sense “breathing in” the folkloric words of an irish past when he translated “my grief on the sea” (and many other irish poems) in the first place (coffey vii). hyde, the man who is typically cited as one of, if not the, primary source of stephen’s quatrain, is himself involved in the vampiric interplay between the dead and the living. the vampire-poets of the past never die and depend on the living for their life; artists like stephen (and even hyde) resultingly live in “not merely the present, but [in] the present moment of the past” (eliot 59). stephen, like all modernist artists, faces tension between living in the present now and dwelling on (and drawing from) the voices of dead artists. two additional moments of stephen’s musings in “proteus” clearly show how stephen acknowledges his identification with the dead, thus providing further evidence of his role as a modernist artist. stephen thinks about the man who drowned nine days ago off maiden’s rock: “his human eyes scream to me out of horror of his death. i … with him together down” (ulysses 38). stephen is considering whether he’d be hypothetically able to (or want to) save the dying man, and comes to identify himself with him. soon after, a live dog comes to sniff the corpse of a dog on the beach: “the carcass lay on his path. he stopped, sniffed, stalked round it, brother, nosing closer, went round it, sniffling rapidly like a dog all over the dead dog’s bedraggled fell […] ah, poor dogsbody! here lies poor dogsbody’s body” (ulysses 39, emphasis added). again, stephen appears to identify himself with a dead body; the “here” can be interpreted as referring to himself, stephen. stephen simultaneously seems to be identifying 13 himself with the live dog, or, at least, he makes the link between the description of the live dog and the dog itself strangely tenuous with the phrase “like a dog.” why include the phrase “like a dog” to straightforwardly describe a dog? perhaps he is referencing, at least in some part, to himself. his creative process is, after all, like the doggish nosing of a carcass. in his attempts to create art and sound out words, stephen comes across the word-carcasses of the poets who have gone before him. his ties to past poets place him in both the realm of the non-static, sniffing, sensory living and the surplus, dogsbody, drowned realm of the dead. *** by the end of “proteus,” however, stephen is still not done writing his poem. the next draft of the quatrain is revealed in the freeman newspaper offices in “aeolus.” the climate of this episode varies immensely from that of “proteus,” and the fact that stephen’s poem is revealed here complicates, even seems (in an initial analysis) to challenge, the nature of its artistic value. “aeolus” is filled with frantic newspaper and advertising work and verbose dialogue. as harry blamires points out, “there is ‘gas’ everywhere, not least the gas of inflated rhetoric and hectoring, wordy conversation. the rush of words, of rumor, of news, let loose daily from this pulsing, hectic organ, is pumped into the life of dublin as newsboys are exhaled on to the streets” (45). breath and respiration are also ubiquitous. gilbert lists the “lung” as the schematic organ of “aeolus” (175). the very environment of the episode is itself a breathy one in which rhetoric itself is portrayed as a kind of rhythmic respiration, a “way in. way out” (ulysses 97). even the newspapers contain information about airy things like flatulence and balloons, and the characters in the newspaper office mock the “inflated windbag” of overblown speech (ulysses 98, 104). the poem’s revelation in such close proximity to this environment of 14 exaggerated and profit-minded prose certainly seems to—though it will be argued does not ultimately—degrade the value of stephen’s art. the foundation of this cheap rhetoric (what i will refer to as “aeolean rhetoric”) is a kind of breathing, and breath functions throughout the episode as a bridge between the inhaling of information and the exhaling of rhetoric in the form of cheap dialogue, newspaper writing, and advertisements. in “aeolus,” the breathing that was so personal for stephen becomes the collectivized and mechanized breathing of the “lungs” of the press, or what karen r. lawrence refers to as the “agency of collective authorship” (394). thus emerges a strong parallel between the breathing of this episode and the breathing of “proteus,” a parallel that emphasizes a partial similarity between the art of cheap rhetoric and the art of poetry. the two particularly helpful parallels that will be considered here are bloom’s advertising efforts and the stylistic format of the episode. there are, firstly, some notable similarities between the artistic work of stephen and the advertising work of leopold bloom. both men are recyclers of previous material for their own creations. bloom’s recycling efforts are more straightforward than those of stephen. like stephen, bloom’s creative effort is a very physical process. for the basis of his discussion of the advertisement, bloom uses a physical cutout from a previous newspaper. before bloom visits nannetti’s office, “red murray’s long shears sliced out the advertisement from the newspaper in four clean strokes. scissors and paste” (ulysses 97). bloom tries to pitch the idea of for a new design for an advertisement for alexander keyes to councillor nannetti, the office’s master printer. the pitch is a verbal one, meaning bloom is using his bodily breath and words for his attempts at artistic creation. 15 after bloom tries to describe the advertisement for the ad, and nannetti asks him for the design, boom says, “i can get it […] it was in a kilkenny paper” (ulysses 100). bloom is suggesting the keyes advertisement use a design explicitly similar to the house of keys symbol, the emblem of parliament on the isle of man (which has home rule). in saying he can “get” the design from a past newspaper, it becomes apparent that the house of keys symbol has already been used in a different paper, though not as a keyes advertisement. bloom’s use of the design specifically for the keyes ad is a new idea and becomes, in a way, his addition to the creative process of artistic (and political) recycling. here, bloom’s position (similar to stephen’s) as a recycler becomes clear, since he is using an already-used idea—an idea that like hyde’s poem, is itself taken from another preexisting creation—for his own creation. additionally, the “scissors and paste” sentence, quoted above, has dual significance for the type of creation bloom is working towards. first, it emphasizes the sense of collaging and reutilization that constitutes bloom’s efforts. like stephen, bloom is using past examples (in this case, an existing emblem and a piece in a past newspaper) for his efforts to create a piece of art (in this case, an advertisement). secondly, as francis phelan points out, “scissors and paste” is also a reference to scissors and paste, a newspaper created by arthur griffith, the founder of the irish nationalist republican political party sinn féin. the newspaper itself was designed to avoid censorship—phelan refers to it as an “anti-censorship journal”—and was itself a literal collage of previously-published newspaper articles (147). griffith used this publication method as an avenue for publicizing and circulating his own commentary about the current events in dublin. though physically repurposing and collaging the words of others, griffith was still creating something new with commentary. in repurposing the house of keys emblem for an advertisement, it is clear that bloom, too, is using a collage-type method to convey a message, 16 one that subtly evokes the idea of home rule while at the same time advertising for alexander keyes’s tea, wine, and spirits. bloom is a recycler, but—similar to stephen’s vampire character—he adds a previously unincorporated dimension to the advertisement. on a stylistic level, the construction of the “aeolus” episode, particularly the inclusion of section headlines, is also reflective of the recyclic quality of aeolean rhetoric. the inclusion of these headlines marks a point at which the “art” of the episode penetrates its very structure. as stephen donovan points out, the headlines “served as convenient devices for joyce to foreground the ‘art’ of the episode—rhetoric” (520). on another level, the interpolation of headlines throughout the episode play more generally on the stereotypes of journalistic language and newspaper formatting. critical tradition,2 as donavon points out, has read “aeolus” as “a straightforward indictment of journalism in dublin and at large” (532). while this is partially true, a more rigorous analysis of the headlines/interpolations reveals that their inclusion is not quite so straightforward. aside from a pure indictment of dublin journalism, the headlines can be read as devices that reflect the way journalism, like poetry, is a great recycler of existing materials. the bizarreness of these headlines and the jolting interruption they cause for the reader emphasize the way old words and phrases insert themselves into new rhetoric. indeed, as lawrence aptly suggests, “the language of the novel is invaded by a language not its own, as if the pen received automatic writing and the voice could produce only an echo of other voices. writing thus becomes an act of rewriting, the recycling of phrases which retain the memory of their prior use” (395). the formal inclusion of headlines thus is a formal element that emphasizes the recyclic quality of the episode itself. *** 17 after mentally reciting his revised quatrain, stephen tries to divide himself once more from his surroundings to work on his poem. the formal construction of stephen’s thought process here is again illuminative of the nature of art: mouth, south. is the mouth south someway? or the south a mouth? must be some. south, pour, out, shout, drouth. rhymes: two men dressed the same, looking the same, two by two. . . . . . . . . la tua pace . . . . . che parlar ti piace mentrechè il vento, come fa, si tace. he saw them three by three, approaching girls, in green, in rose, in russet, entwining, per l'aer perso in mauve, in purple, quella pacifica oriafiamma, gold of oriflamme, di rimirar fè più ardenti. but i old men, penitent, leadenfooted, underdarkneath the night: mouth south: tomb womb. (ulysses 114) like his hyde-influenced artistic efforts on sandymount strand, stephen’s efforts at creative production in “aeolus” are infused (this time more explicitly) with the words of other poets. stephen’s thoughts here explicitly quote dante’s original italian words from inferno and paradiso. like the intrusions of the headlines, dante’s words vampirically interject themselves into stephen’s thought process, quite forcefully disrupting even the way the text is displayed on the novel’s page. dante’s words themselves become intermingled with stephen’s, demonstrating the way poets incorporate the words of other poets. directly after this interior thought process and mental interruption, stephen is met with a second bodily interruption: o’madden burke tells him “speak up for yourself” (ulysses 114). like his sounding out of rhymes on sandymount strand, stephen has been speaking his creative process aloud; his body has yet again interpolated 18 itself into his artistic process, despite his theory of stasis. as murphy suggests, “the demand of o’madden burke suggest[s] […] the increasing pressure […] that he respond to the reality around him” (545). stephen’s triple interruption—dante’s words, his (stephen’s) own body, and o’madden burke’s words—is another reflection of the way the creation of art inevitably collides with and involves the words (and bodies) of others. though this moment takes place in “aeolus,” it emphasizes many of the same qualities of stephen’s poem that were introduced in “proteus,” providing further evidence that what is created in each episode, whether stephen’s or bloom’s or even joyce’s, is actually quite similar. it is still valuable, however, to consider the differences between stephen’s poem and bloom’s advertisements. one primary difference between their art is the materials each chooses to recycle. bloom’s material is the physical clipping of a past newspaper issue, while stephen’s materials are the words of another poet(s). it seems that stephen’s materials are of a higher quality than bloom’s. yet, as archie k. loss contends in his analysis of the assortedness (or “collagey”-ness) of the visual arts in “aeolus,” “any materials are valid as long as they are put to artistic use” (176). in this way, perhaps bloom’s materials are just as valuable as stephen’s. there is still one important difference between their art: the ends they serve. stephen is decidedly not going to use his art for monetary ends; he even bristles as crawford asks him to write something for him (ulysses 111). bloom, on the other hand, is creating an advertisement designed to win business for keyes. it is not, then, the method by which stephen and bloom create their respective art, but the ends for which their art is created that marks the primary difference between their work. the poem and the advertisement are certainly created in similar ways. the sole way in which stephen’s poem differs from the gassy rhetoric and advertising efforts in this episode is that his poem is not created for practical, utilitarian ends. stephen and 19 bloom’s art is not foundationally different, but their creations are different in their degrees of purity, since bloom’s is created for a purpose other than existing for itself. in the end, though, both types of art—the utilitarian, cheaper art of gassy rhetoric and the for-itself, modern art of poetry—are derived from, and are themselves constructions of, waste and deathly excess. stephen’s art is generated from the dust, waste, and “urinous offal” of the dead that he breathes (ulysses 42). bloom’s art is a collage of other creations, reminiscent of what simon dedalus calls the “shite and onions!” of aeolean rhetoric (ulysses 104). the artists, advertisers, and rhetoricians of ulysses cannot work towards creation without their living bodies inevitably coming up against the waste and leftovers of what has already been produced by other (sometimes dead) bodies. bloom and stephen both fit the description murphy gives of the artist’s efforts: “he is a dog sniffing and partly digging up old dogsbodies, an intellectual cocklepicker or a ragman dealing in scraps of texts of poets and philosophers”—or, in bloom’s case, the literal scraps of newspapers (74). these scraps, as has been demonstrated, are valuable and essential, and can illuminate the way we approach the art of ulysses—both the art that the novel contains as well as the art of the novel itself—as a whole. as lawrence argues, joyce “shows that all of life is significant, that all things are, in a sense, ‘newsworthy’ […] joyce’s solution to a central problem of the english novel [of how to transform waste into art] is to include in his novel as much as possible of the ‘splendid waste of life’” (402). joyce’s decision to include seemingly castoff, dead waste as material for true artistic creation evinces the idea that waste, in a joycean/modernist world, is supremely productive. though stephen and bloom add their own dimensions to the art they create, each “artist” is still rooted in, and thus indebted to, the waste and words of the past. 20 what remains inescapable in this modernist world of artistic waste is the physicality of existing. as preston argues, “in scenes featuring acts of reading and composition, the text calls attention to the bodies that produce words and influence the movements of those bodies” (reading 246). attempts both to understand and, as i have argued, to create, inevitably involve the non-static body, whether what is being created is an advertisement for monetary ends or a poem to exist for art’s sake. bloom uses a physical newspaper cutout for his embodied visit to nannetti, verbally explains his idea to him, and then must physically “get” the house of keys emblem example about which he speaks. stephen needs his breath to clarify his vocational calling to the life of the artist, uses his breath to produce a poem about kinetic bodies, and continues to use his body to refine his poem. as embodied readers approaching the text, recognizing the approach of the text’s characters can help clarify the role we play in drawing meaning from what is written. our bodies are necessary to approaching the text: as preston argues, “literary invocations of bodily performance forms […] promote kinesthetic experiences that dislodge the seemingly static practice of reading” (mythic 23). both the text’s structure (as in the headlines in “aeolus”) and the artistic processes of the text’s characters showcase experimentation with waste prior to production; our immersion in the words of joyce of the past can be viewed similarly. our bodies, like the bodies of stephen and bloom, play an active role in receiving and interpreting the words of ulysses, words of a dead artist that can (and do) yet give life to the words and art of living bodies. 21 notes 1. in the context of this argument, stephen dedalus will be read as the same character in both a portrait and ulysses. 2. gilbert references romeo and juliet, ii, iii: “the earth that’s nature’s mother is her tomb; / what is her burying brave, that is her womb” and blake’s the gates of paradise: “the door of death i open found / and the worm weaving in the ground: / thou’rt my mother from the womb, / wife, sister, daughter, to the tomb, / weaving to dreams the sexual strife / and weeping over the web of life” (133). 3. donavan points specifically to richard ellmann, c.h. peake, and len platt as proponents of the theory that “aeolus” is essentially a critical take on dublin journalism. 22 works cited blamires, harry. the new bloomsday book: a guide through ulysses. 3rd ed., routledge, 1996. coffey, diarmid. douglas hyde: an craoibhin aoibhinn. maunsel, 1917. day, robert adams. “how stephen wrote his vampire poem.” james joyce quarterly, vol. 17, no. 2, 1980, pp. 183–197. donovan, stephen. “‘short but to the point’: newspaper typography in ‘aeolus’.” james joyce quarterly, vol. 40, no. 3, 2003, pp. 519-541. eliot, t. s. “tradition and the individual talent.” the sacred wood: essays on poetry and criticism. 7th ed., methuen & co., 1950, pp. 47-59. farrell, kevin. “the reverend stephen dedalus, s.j.: sacramental structure in ‘a portrait of the artist as a young man.’” james joyce quarterly, vol. 49, no. 1, 2011, pp. 27–40. gilbert, stuart. james joyce's ulysses: a study. vintage books, 1955. hayman, david. “stephen on the rocks.” james joyce quarterly, vol. 15, no. 1, 1977, pp. 5–17. hyde, douglas. “my grief on the sea.” a book of irish verse, edited by w.b. yeats, 1895, routledge, 2002, pp. 130. joyce, james. a portrait of the artist as a young man. edited by seamus deane, penguin books, 2003. ---. ulysses. edited by hans walter gabler, wolfhard steppe, and claus melchior, random house, 1986. kempf, christopher. “‘addicted to the lubric a little’: spectacle, speculation, and the language of flow in ulysses.” modernism/modernity, vol. 24, no. 1, 2017, pp. 23-43. lawrence, karen r. “‘aeolus’: interruption and inventory.” james joyce quarterly, vol. 17, no. 4, 1980, pp. 389-405. 23 loss, archie k. “joyce's use of collage in ‘aeolus.’” journal of modern literature, vol. 9, no. 2, 1982, pp. 175–182. murphy, michael. "‘proteus’ and prose: paternity or workmanship?." james joyce quarterly, vol. 35, no. 1, 1997, pp. 71-81. phelan, francis. “a source for the headlines of ‘aeolus’?.” james joyce quarterly, vol. 9, no. 1, 1971, 146-151. preston, carrie j. “joyce's reading bodies and the kinesthetics of the modernist novel.” twentieth century literature, vol. 55, no. 2, 2009, pp. 232–254. ---. modernism's mythic pose: gender, genre, solo performance. oxford university press, 2011. schandorf, michael. “romantic ‘ghoststory’: lingering shades of shelley in ulysses.” texas studies in literature and language, vol. 51, no. 4, 2009, pp. 416-425. seidel, michael. “‘ulysses’ black panther vampire.” james joyce quarterly, vol. 13, no. 4, 1976, pp. 415-427. the bible. revised standard version, ignatius press, 2001. thomas, calvin. “stephen in process/stephen on trial: the anxiety of production in joyce's ‘portrait.’” novel: a forum on fiction, vol. 23, no. 3, 1990, pp. 282-302. microsoft word somalwar math final for on-line edition.docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 1 analysis of fractals from a mathematical and real-world perspective anup a. somalwar mathematics historical background fractals give us a way to visually and quantitatively observe various abstract and real-world phenomena. mathematician benoit mandelbrot coined the word “fractal” in 1975 (stewart, clark, mandelbrot, et al., 5) while working at ibm but other mathematicians had studied these geometric structures long before him. during the 18th and 19th centuries, calculus was gaining mass appeal. most mathematicians of this period believed that all continuous curves could have tangent lines drawn at any point on the function, except at cusps. in 1872, mathematician karl weierstrass, described a family of curves that were continuous but not differentiable at any point (stewart, clark, mandelbrot, et al., 6-7). this discovery surprised mathematicians because it challenged current ideas about mathematics (eglash, 12). mathematicians were somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of continuous curves that could repeat, or iterate, themselves infinite times within a finite space. two questions arose from this period: what are the dimensions of these curves, and can we measure the lengths of these “pathological curves” as they iterate over and over again in a finite space? in the early 20th century, mathematician felix hausdorff, helped make the idea of fractional dimension clear, believing fractals to be in an in-between dimension as they were not quite two-dimensional objects or one-dimensional mathematical structures. his main contribution to this area of mathematics was the hausdorff dimension (barnsley, p. 171): 𝑑 = ln𝑁 ln 𝑠 where d is the dimension, n is the number of self-similar pieces of the geometric object in question, and s is the scaling or magnification factor. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 2 mandelbrot took hausdorff's idea one-step further when he explored how to measure the coastline of great britain using different measures. he determined that if you use a smaller and smaller measuring instrument approaching a length of zero units, the approximation of the coast gets larger and larger, approaching infinity. he also discusses the idea of fractional dimension, comparing the coastline of england to the koch snowflake, yielding a dimension of 1.26 for the koch snowflake and 1.25 for the coastline (mandelbrot, 1-5). he was not implying that the koch snowflake and the coastline of england had the same structure but that the overall dimension, or statistical self-similarity, was similar. this historical background lays the groundwork for our study of the mathematics underlying fractals and their applications to our world. definitions and classic examples of fractals a fractal is “a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole” (frailey, “fractals”). four main mathematical characteristics define fractals: recursion, self-similarity, fractional or non-integer dimension, and the concept of infinity (eglash, 17). 1. recursion refers to an algorithmic reliance on the previous iteration of a fractal to produce the next iteration of the fractal design. a recursive example that may be familiar to readers is the fibonacci sequence: 1,1, 2, 3, 5, 8… which can be defined as f1 = 1, f2 =1, fn = fn-1 + fn-2, where fn is the nth term of the sequence, and fn-1 and fn-2 are the two previous terms. 2. self-similarity refers to a fractal representing its original form at different levels of magnification; in layman’s terms, whether you zoom in or out of the graphical representation of the fractal, the fractal maintains its original structure. mandelbrot (p. 1) defined statistical self-similarity as “each portion can be considered a reduced scale image of the whole,” referring to the scaling dimension. 3. fractional dimension, calculated via the hausdorff dimension definition, relates to the self-similarity characteristic of a fractal appearing the “same” despite the scaling factor. 4. many fractals, such as the cantor set, make use of the concept of infinity as they can iterate themselves an infinite number of times within a finite space. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 3 fractals are examples of dynamical systems, so it is important to review some important definitions and terms: 1. a dynamical system, in very simplistic terms, describes how a set of variables behaves under different states or conditions over time (devaney, 27). 2. chaos describes the phenomenon that occurs when slight changes to initial conditions, in the dynamical system, result in varied behavior for the entire system (devaney, 49-50). a famous example is the lorenz attractor. this result was produced after dr. edward lorenz was trying to make weather predictions using differential equations and found you could not make accurate long-term predictions due to the chaotic nature of the system. 3. when polynomials and trigonometric functions are iterated, they produce simple dynamical systems. the dynamics of these systems can be described by orbits, or set of iterated points, that may converge to fixed point(s) or periodic points, or may never converge, moving chaotically throughout the space. 4. fixed points can behave as attractors or repellers. if a fixed point behaves as an attractor, nearby orbits of the dynamical system will converge to the value of the fixed point. however, on the other hand, if a fixed point behaves as a repeller, nearby orbits of the dynamical system will not converge to the value of the fixed point of interest (devaney, 17-37). through the use of phase-portraits and cobweb diagrams, it is possible to qualitatively observe the behavior of these dynamical systems and make inferences regarding their behavior. figure 1 – cobweb diagram concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 4 the classic example of a fractal is known as the cantor set, created by georg cantor. he devised this fractal by taking a line segment of length 1 and proceeded to cut the line segment into pieces by removing the middle third of each line. in other words, you start out with line segment on the real number line on [0,1], then you break this down into two sub-interval [0,  ! ! ] u [! ! ,1], and continue iterating or repeating the process resulting in the union of infinite sets, each a subset of [0,1]. another interesting result is what happens to the length of the set upon iteration, it starts out at 1, then 1 ! ! =  ! ! , followed by ! !  − ! ! (! ! ) = ! ! − ! !  = ! ! ,  ... . the length gets smaller each time. the geometric series ! ! ! ! !𝑛  ! !!! , describes the lengths of the all the segments being removed, and using the results from calculus, we know this series converges to !𝑎 !!!𝑟 = ! ! !!!! = ! ! ! ! = 1, where a is the first term of the geometric sequence and r is the common ratio (crilly, earnshaw, jones, 10). however, if the entire length of the interval is 1 and the convergence of all the parts removed is also 1, then 1 -1 = 0, meaning the length of the entire cantor set is 0. if you continue this recursive process, the nth iteration of this fractal will consist of an infinite number of points. these points will be disconnected from each other and eventually reach length zero on [0,1]. the dimension of the cantor set can also be found using the hausdorff dimension definition, 𝑑 = !"  ! !" !  = !" ! !"  (!) = 0.63 (“dimension of cantor set”). notice: there are 2𝑛  divisions of the intervals and you are scaling down the cantor set each time by a factor of 3 or one third. similarly, we can explore the behavior of the koch curve created by helge von koch. to create the koch curve, you start out with a line segment of with length of one unit. instead of removing the middle-thirds of the line segment as you do in the cantor set, you actually add two segments of length one third of the original line. another way to think about this is that you take the middle third of the original line segment and replace it with the top part of an equilateral triangle. this process is iterated over and over again to produce more intricate geometric design. you can clearly see that through the various iterations of the koch curve, since you are adding line segments of (! ! )! during each iteration, the curve will get longer and longer over time. one interesting result we can show is that although the koch curve has infinite length, the koch snowflake encompasses an area that is finite. the koch snowflake is a variation of the koch curve (figure 2). we first start out by finding concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 5 the area of an equilateral triangle, given to us by the formula a = ! ! 𝑠!. when there are no iterations, we obtain the area of the original triangle which is given to us by ! ! 𝑠!, then for the first iteration, each side of the three new triangles is cut into thirds, so we add on 3 ! ! (! ! )! to the area previously obtained, and continue the process. notice, there is a pattern regarding the new triangles added on to base triangle, 3, 12, 48, ... = 3* 4!!!. written out, the expanded area looks like: ! ! 𝑠! + 3 ! ! (! ! )!+ 12 ! ! (! ! )! + 48 ! ! ( ! !" )! +... = ! !  𝑠!(1 + ! ! + !∗! !! +!∗! ! !! +  …) = ! !  𝑠!( 1+   !∗  !!!! !! ! !!! ) . now using the results from calculus, we have a geometric series that converges to ! !!! = ! ! !!!! = ! ! ! ! = ! ! and since we shifted the series, 1 + ! ! = ! ! .   this implies that the area for the koch snowflake, whose construction begins with a triangle with side length s is equal to   ! !  𝑠! ! ! =   ! ! !  𝑠!, has a finite area (riddle, “area of the koch snowflake”). we check the hausdorff dimension to verify that the koch curve is a fractal: there are four self-similar pieces after the first iteration and the curve shrinks by a factor of one third or 3, 𝑑 =   !" ! !" ! = 1.26,  a fractional dimension! figure 2 – koch snowflake another famous example of a fractal is known as sierpiński's triangle created by wacław sierpiński. in order to construct the fractal, first create a equilateral triangle. then after identifying the midpoints of each side, connect those points to concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 6 make another triangle and leave this triangle unshaded while shading in the other triangles that are formed. then iterate the process a few times, always leaving the middle triangle in each larger triangle unshaded. notice, after the first iteration, there are four triangles, but one triangle of half-scale, or, an area of one-fourth the original triangle, is unshaded or removed. after the second iteration, there are three additional triangles at one-fourth scale, or one-sixteenth the area of the original triangle being removed (figure 3), after the nth iteration, triangles of ! ! ! area will be removed; in other words, the size of the triangles being removed is getting smaller and smaller, eventually reaching an area of zero as n approaches infinity. you should also notice that there is a pattern with the numbers of triangles being removed from the original triangle: 1, 3, 9, 27... 3! triangles will be removed upon n iterations. it appears that if this pattern continues, we will have an infinite number of triangles in a finite region, supporting the idea that this is an example of a fractal. combining the observations we have just made, we can create a geometric series that describes the area removed from the original triangle: ! !   ! ! ! ∗  3! = ! ! !! !! ∗  3! = ! ! ! !! ∗ 3! =   ! ! !! !! ! 𝑖!! ! 𝑖!!  ! 𝑖!! ! 𝑖!! = ! ! ! ! ! ! 𝑖!! (crilly, earnshaw, jones, 14). similar to the argument for the cantor set, we can use results from calculus to find where this geometric series will converge: ! !!!  =   ! ! !!!!   = ! ! ! ! =  1.   this suggests the unshaded regions will eventually take over the space of the entire triangle over time. finally, to absolutely make certain the sierpiński triangle is a fractal, we need to identify the dimension. using the hausdorff dimension definition, we see that there are three self-similar pieces of the triangle after the first iteration with a magnification scale of two (half scale). this gives us a fractional dimension of !" ! !" ! = 1.58, supporting our argument regarding the fractal behavior of this geometric structure (devaney, “the sierpiński triangle”). concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 7 figure 3 – sierpiński’s triangle our next exploration of fractal geometry will involve discussion of the julia and mandelbrot sets. both sets exist within the realm of the complex plane, whose subset is the real number line. complex numbers are defined as z = a+bi, where a is a real number and the b is the imaginary component. the lower case i is notation for the square root of negative one, a number that does not exist in the set of real numbers. you can visualize a complex number on an xy-coordinate plane, where the x-coordinate represents the real number and the y-coordinate represents the imaginary component. the mandelbrot set is created by the rule: 𝑧!!!  → 𝑧!! + 𝑐, where 𝑧! is a complex number, c is a complex number and 𝑧!!! represents the iterated complex number. in order to use this formula, you take 𝑧!,   square the number and add c to it. this creates a new complex number, 𝑧!. you then iterate the process n-number of times. adding the complex number, c, to your original complex number, 𝑧!, allows us to create different fractal sets. as noted above, each complex number can be plotted as a point so this deterministic rule generates many points in the plane after a few iterations. if you iterate this process, you will find that the new points either diverge to infinity or remain bounded for all time. the julia set is actually the boundary between the elements in the orbit that remain bounded and those that diverge to infinity. the julia set can be created by iterating points using the same rule as the mandelbrot set:  𝑧!!!  = 𝑧!! + 𝑐. the julia set is the set of starting values that remain bounded under iteration for a fixed value of c; the mandelbrot set is the set of values of c for which the iteration remains bounded when starting at 0 (crilly, earnshaw, jones, 22-23). computer models gave mandelbrot, and later mathematicians, the ability to create rich visual representations of both sets. first, we will discuss how the computer can be used to generate julia sets and then mandelbrot sets. the computer recognizes each iteration of the rule, 𝑧!!!  → 𝑧!! + 𝑐, as a point or pixel and uses the distance formula to determine if the distance between the point and the origin is greater than or less than some pre-specified number. if the distance is larger than the pre-specified number, the point is outside the julia set for that c concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 8 value. similarly, if the distance is smaller than the pre-specified number, the point is inside the julia set for that c value. computers have typically been programmed to produce different colors depending on the distances the iterated points are from the origin. other color effects, also known as escape value, or how many iterations it took to end up outside a given distance from the origin, can produce even more visual effects. the c value used for calculations of the julia set, will give your visual representation various forms. this gives us some qualitative support that this mathematical structure has chaotic properties. similarly, the c value also determines if the julia set is connected or not. a julia set is connected if you can draw a line (or curve) between any two points in the set with the line remaining contained within the set. a julia set is considered disconnected when you cannot do this; visually it appears to form a “dust” when the julia set is disconnected. the mandelbrot set is formed when the julia set is connected (crilly, earnshaw, jones, 22-23). figure 4 – mandelbrot set in 1984, mathematician mitsuhiro shishikura of the tokyo institute of technology and the state university of new york at stony brook, proved that the boundary of the mandelbrot set has dimension two using a proof involving the concept of bifurcation of parabolic periodic points (mandelbrot, 111). a bifurcation occurs at a parameter value at which some variation induces dramatic changes within the dynamical system. an important idea used in the proof was that forming a union of all the connected julia sets could create mandelbrot sets. each connected julia set represents a point in the mandelbrot set. shishikura shows the dimension of the mandelbrot set is related to the dimension of the julia sets that concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 9 make it up. as the dimension of the julia sets increases, so does the dimension of the mandelbrot set, eventually reaching dimension two (brown, “mandelbrot set is as complicated as it could be”). applications of fractals our exploration of the mathematics behind fractals has helped prepare the way for the second half of our journey: applications of fractals to the real world. you may be wondering how this knowledge of fractals could be useful to stem professionals? fractals have been useful in helping quantify and explain brownian motion, applications in biology, the stock market, and used in various technologies. we will also explore how secondary mathematics teachers may introduce students to fractals, possibly piquing their overall interest in mathematics, and challenging some negative cultural stereotypes. brownian motion in 1827, robert brown discovered that particles of a substance, suspended in liquid, would continue to move. this phenomenon would later be known and studied as brownian motion (gordon, clarke, mandelbrot, et al., 11). in 1908, einstein took his work further when he was studying how particles of a substance behave when exposed to heat and suspended in a liquid. he was able to use the mathematics of physics to quantify what he observed (kinetic-molecular theory of heat) in an experiment. ultimately the findings of his experiment lead him to believe that the behavior of the particles could be predicted to some degree (lee and hoon, “brownian motion”). figure 5 – brownian motion concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 10 brownian motion of a particle, under a microscope, is said to have a fractional dimension of two. this is because if you try to predict the movement of a particular particle from one location to some other location under the microscope, you will find it will most likely have to take a path that fills the entire space before reaching the desired “stopping” point. fractals are involved in fractional brownian motion models; utilizing a random walk (a mathematical representation of the random behavior that occurs) and a random iteration algorithm (a deterministic rule that produces a “random” pattern), (lee and hoon, “brownian motion”). fractal geometry and brownian motion have helped medical imaging technologists make more accurate diagnostic test readings through two primary avenues: classification and edge enhancement for ultrasonic liver images. classification is when you use brownian fractional motion to produce a motion vector that will accurately portray the surface of the liver. edge enhancement is when you take each individual pixel from the current image of the liver and calculate its fractional dimension in comparison to the whole image. doing these types of calculations helps the medical imaging technologists obtain a better picture of what is happening to the liver without an actual physical procedure—reducing unnecessary risk and time. medical researchers basu, barba and chan (“texture analysis in cytology using fractals”) show how fractional dimension can be used to try to distinguish between healthy and malignant cells after noticing that malignant cells consistently have a different fractional dimension compared to the healthy cells, independent of the type of cell: breast, bronchial, ovarian, and uterine. similarly, smith, lange, and marks (“fractal methods and results in cellular morphology...”) give us insight into the methods in which biologists are using mathematical techniques to better understand cell morphology, relating to the overall physical characteristics of cells. there exist two major methods of calculating fractional dimension of these cells: using length (previously discussed with the rulers example in the introduction) or the mass of an object. the mass method involves “counting of border pixels in a sampling region, such as disc diameters, as a function of the sizes of the sample regions” when given a digital representation of the image (smith, lange, and marks, “fractal methods...”). the computer is then programmed to count the number of pixels contained in these round or box regions placed randomly all around the border of the image. typically, the scientists will plot a diagram comparing the log of the pixels within each box vs. the log the measuring unit length. the power law describing this behavior can be represented mathematically as: µ(r) = a𝑟𝑑, where µ(r) is the number of pixels (considered mass), r is the length of the edge of the boxes or circle diameter, a is a pre-factor (a concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 11 periodic function whose period is independent of the fractal dimension), d is the mass fractional dimension or slope of the plot of log µ(r) vs. log r. (smith, lange, and marks, “fractal methods...”). scientists must also account for lacunarity when trying to use fractals to measure the dimensions of cells. lacunarity is a measure of “non-uniformity of structure or the degree of structural variance within an object;” a fractal structure that has high lacunarity may have large gaps or holes in its design and/or loses selfsimilarity when rotated 90 degrees (smith, lange, and marks, “fractal methods...”). lacunarity is used to determine the differences in objects with similar fractional dimensions (gould, vadakkan, poche, dickinson, “multifractal and lacunarity analysis of microvascular morphology and remodeling”). we calculate lacunarity, or l, by calculating the mean and standard deviation of either the length or mass of the desired portion of the image, then normalizing those two values by dividing the variance by the square of the mean of all box or disc regions surveyed in the image (smith, lange, and marks, “fractal methods...”). a similar method to calculate l is dividing the standard deviation by the mean of all boxes or discs used, a statistical calculation, also known as the coefficient of variation. multifractals, or “objects whose fractal dimension varies as a function of location within in a set (image, frame)” (smith, lange, and marks, “fractal methods...”), were introduced to the author via the context of a biological application of fractal dimension but also have connections to the financial stock market as well. previously, brownian motion models utilizing a random walk and statistical distributions have been used to try to make accurate predictions about financial systems. however, real world events, such as the global stock market crisis of 2008, have revealed the flaws of using brownian motion modeling systems, primarily with the inability to account for large spikes of sales or losses within the system within a short period of time (clarke, mandelbrot, stewart, et. al., 127). financial market modeling using fractals financial systems are good candidates to be modeled by fractals because the graphical representations of the rise and fall of stocks look similar on different scales when comparing price vs. time (idea of self-similarity). mathematicians can replicate stock market prices using an initiator/generator model. in order to construct this model, first start out with the trend line called the initiator. next, pick an interval of the graph you are interested in studying and apply the generator to that portion. the generator is a modification much like the replacement algorithm in the koch curve in which each segment is replaced by a modified concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 12 curve (with four segments in the case of the koch curve). however, on a different portion of the same interval, you will iterate an inverted version of the generator. (imagine the koch substitution with the added triangular piece not symmetric. on one interval, substitute the original, and on the other, substitute the flipped version.) note: the points on the generator must satisfy the conditions: |dyi| = (dti)1/2 , where |dyi| is the height of some point (typically representing cost of the stock in a financial setting) and (dti)1/2 is the distance that point travels on the t axis or time (brennan, “fractals and financial risk”). as you continue to break the interval up using more and more initiators, it produces a graph that more accurately represents the fluctuations than just a brownian motion model, primarily due to the inverted generator. an even better representation of financial markets lies within a multi-fractal initiator/generator model according to mandelbrot. the multi-fractal model allows the financial analysts to incorporate the fact that many people will be buying stocks at different times and at different rates. budinski-petkovic, loncarevic, jasksic and vrhovac (“fractal properties of financial markets”) demonstrated that the u.s. s&p 500 financial bubbles in 1987, 2000, and 2007 could be well modeled by the besicovitch-ursell (b-u) fractal model. a financial bubble is a period of extreme growth (generally exponential in nature), sometimes followed by a cataclysmic drop in stock prices, or crash. one method econophysicists use to determine trends and make predictions about crashes is by fitting the financial data to the log-periodic power law using log-bylog plots. the researchers in the paper first defined a saw-tooth, or tent map f(x) and an another function, g(x), to derive h(x), a b-u function. the b-u function is a type of dynamical system that behaves as a fractal since it has a dimension of at most two and it has “almost periodicity”behaving similarly but not exactly the same upon each iteration. the researchers used a non-linear fitting algorithm in matlab to show the b-u function produced relatively small regression errors. this gives further support to the argument mandelbrot had made regarding the use of fractals in making financial predictions. practical applications of fractals in technology cell phone technology also has benefited from this area of mathematics. in 1999, dwight jaggard and douglas werner found cell phone antennas arranged in a fractal pattern were superior in transmitting radio signals over other arrangements of the antenna (stewart, clark, mandelbrot, et al., 21). other researchers, nathan cohen and robert hohfeld, proved antenna designs that had self-similarity and symmetry properties (both of which are found in most fractals) performed well at various frequencies. fractals are also useful in computational applications such as concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 13 image and data compression, as well as data mining (barnsley, saupe, and vrscay, 2-9). the internet also behaves in fractal-like ways when looking at how websites, search engines, and users interact with each other. the following observations help us see some patterns with information transfer across the internet: 1. as a page’s connectedness (linking of one page to another) increases, traffic to the website also increases. 2. the more traffic that a page generates, the greater its connections to other websites. 3. the greater a page’s rank (where it appears on a search engine search), the greater its traffic. 4. the greater a page’s rank, the greater its connectedness. 5. as the traffic increases, so does the page’s rank. 6. similarly, as the page increases its number of connections, the ranking of the page also increases (stewart, clark, mandelbrot, et al., 93). expanding on these observations to form a type of system, you can see that the internet can produce patterns that are self-organizing, and give the overall system some sense of predictability and order. researchers have determined patterns of self-organization within hyperlinks, physical connections providing access to the internet, the information being exchanged on the internet, in the form of files, traffic patterns of data transmitted, and the ways in which people are accessing the data (stewart, clark, mandelbrot, et al., 94). computer scientists use a power-law distribution to study these types of phenomenon, similar to the techniques of the econophysicists. they discovered that when looking at data traffic, regardless of the time scale, self-similarity emerges. most of the internet traffic is small, checking an email, or browsing a website. however, this trend is often interrupted by spikes of high data transfers, such as when someone streams video on netflix. mathematically, the self-similarity and self-organizing results are due to the power law, which states, “the frequency of an item of size x is proportional to x-b, where b is a constant” (stewart, clark, mandelbrot, et al., 96). the power law, also known as the power law distribution, is called heavy-tailed because the right side of the distribution contains more data points than the other parts of the distribution (in comparison to the gaussian or normal distribution). fractals in education in our final analysis of applications to the real world, we will discuss how secondary mathematics teachers might instruct students about fractals. although concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 14 fractals are not directly covered as a common core mathematics standard, basic concepts regarding fractals can be taught indirectly. fractal investigations such as creating a sierpiński triangle and identifying particular properties of the model relate to students’ abilities to create mathematical models, which is a common core standard. students can explore the idea of fractional dimension through observing and quantifying observations they make about natural and man-made phenomenon. students in algebra and geometry must understand ideas involving proportions and scale that directly relate to the concept of self-similarity. the wide range of applications involving fractals gives opportunities for teachers to enhance and widen the scope of their curriculum. one mathematician, dr. ron eglash, designed culturally situated design tools (csdt, csdt.rpi.edu), for teachers and students to engage with fractals. the tools do not overwhelm the students with the mathematics behind fractals but do provide teachers with tools needed to better explain the mathematical concepts to students. the java applets allow the teacher to better differentiate (meet the needs of all the students in the classroom) as they can explore the tools at their own speed and the teacher can generate extension activities based on the needs of the students. one positive benefit of using the csdt tools is that students make the connection between mathematics and the real world, often times, exploring their own culture or the cultures of their peers (eglash, 222-223). this helps them challenge negative stereotypes they have regarding their own mathematics abilities as well as their peers, a powerful way to address issues of race and class in the mathematics classroom. the african fractals java applet is excellent example of meshing theoretical mathematics and making it accessible and relevant for high school students. the tool is divided into three sections, background, applications, and african culture. in the background section, students explore some fundamental definitions that make up fractal geometry such as recursion, fractal dimension, and iterate their own fractal design based on the koch curve. in applications, students investigate and design fractals that come from natural occurring phenomena such as non-linear spirals from plants, ferns/algae, iterations with da vinci’s tree drawing, crystal structures, engineering such as sierpiński gasket antenna models for cell phones, and human structures such as lungs. finally, in the african fractals section, they explore background regarding fractals in african architecture, art, religion, and how they may be used in the future of their society. students are able to design the fractals in-between the historical and cultural discussions, via the java applets (eglash, “csdt”). concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 15 conclusion we have discussed the mathematical roots of fractal geometry, applications to the real world, and finally, ways of introducing secondary students to this topic. as more research is done utilizing fractals in both pure and applied settings, scientists, mathematicians, econophysicists, and computer scientists will find ways to better explain phenomena using this tool of mathematics. the future looks bright for fractals! bibliography barnsley, michael. fractals everywhere, second edition. ed. cambridge, ma: academic press, inc., 1993. print. barnsley, michael, dietmar saupe, and edward vrscay. fractals in multimedia. newyork: springer-verlag, 2002. print. banu, s., j. barba, and k.s. chan. “texture analysis in cytology using fractals.” applications of digital image processing 273: 1990. web. 22 july 2014.<http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.962330> brown, william. “mandelbrot set is as complicated as it could be.” new scientist 28 sept. 1991: n.d. web. 17 july 2014.<https://www.math.auckland.ac.nz/~king/745/fractdim.pdf> brennan, will. “fractals in finance and risk.” notre dame university, n.d. web. 22 july 2014. <http://www3.nd.edu/~malber/sem_un/project%201/fractals%20in%20fina nce%20and %20risk.ppt>. budinski-petkovic, lj., i. loncarevic, z.m. jaksic, and s.b. vrhovac. “fractal properties of financial markets.” physica a 410: 43-53. fractal properties of financial markets. web. 22 july 2014. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0378437114003811> crilly, a.j. , r.a. earnshaw, and h. jones. fractals and chaos. new york: springer-verlag, 1991. print. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 16 devaney, robert. an introduction to chaotic dynamical systems. ed. boulder, co: westview press, 2003. print. devaney, robert. “the sierpirt. triangle.” n.p., 2 apr. 1995. web. 10 july 2014. <http://math.bu.edu/dysys/chaos-game/node2.html> eglash, ron. african fractals: modern computing and indigenous design. piscataway, nj: rutgers university press, 1999. print. eglash, ron. “culturally situated design tools: teaching math and computing through culture.” rensselaer polytechnic institute, 1 jan. 2003. web. 22 july 2014. <http://csdt.rpi.edu/>. frailey, danielle. “fractals.” university of georgia , n.d. web. 10 july 2014. <http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/emat6680fa11/frailey/fractalessay.htm> gould, daniel, tegy vaddakan, ross poche, and mary dickinson. multifractal and lacunarity analysis of microvascular morphology and remodeling. nih, 1 feb. 2011. web. 22 july 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/pmc3049800/>. jacobsson, emilie. “how to predict crashes in financial markets with the logperiodic power law.” stockholm university, 1 sept. 2009. web. 22 july 2014.<http://www.chronostraders.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/08/research _on_lppl.pdf.> johnson, niles. “point set toplogy.” . n.p., n.d. web. 10 july 2014. <http://www.nilesjohnson.net/point-set-topology-topics.html>. “koch curve.” fractal foundation, 1 jan. 2013. web. 10 july 2014. <http://fractalfoundation.org/resources/fractivities/koch-curve/>. lee, y.k., and kelvin hoon. “brownian motion.” . n.p., 1 jan. 1995. web. 22 july 2014. <http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_95/journal/ vol4/ ykl/report.html>. lipa, chris. “chaos and fractals: the mandelbrot set.” cornell university, n.d. web. 17 july 2014. <http://www.math.cornell.edu/~lipa/mec/lesson5.html>. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 17 mandelbrot, b.b. . “how long is the coast of britain? statistical self-similarity and fractional dimension.” science 156: 636-638. web. 3 july 2014. o'connor, j.j., and e.f. robertson. “edward norton lorenz.”. school of mathematics and statistics university of st andrews, scotland , 1 july 2008. web. 1 june 2014. <http://www-history.mcs.stand.ac.uk/ biographies/lorenz_edward.html>. riddle, larry. “area of the koch snowflake.” . larry riddle, 1 may 2013. web. 10 july 2014. <http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~lriddle/ifs/ksnow/area.htm>. “sequences and series – von koch's snowflake curve.” . n.p., n.d. web. 10 july 2014. <http://astarmathsandphysics.com/ib-maths-notes/sequences-andseries/ib-maths-notes-von-kochs-snowflake-curve.html>. shishikura, mitsuhiro. “the hausdorff dimension of the boundary of the mandelbrot set and julia sets.”annals of mathematics 142: 225-267. web. 22 july 2014.<http://ftp.math.sunysb.edu/preprints/ims91-7.pdf> stewart, ian, arthur clarke, benoit mandelbrot, michael barnsley, louisa barnsley, will rood, gary flake, david pennock, and nigel lesmoirgordon. the colours of infinity: the beauty and power of fractals. london: springer-verlag, 2010. print. smith, t.g., g.d. lange, and w.b. marks. “fractal methods and results in cellular morphology--dimensions, lacunarity and multifractals..” journal of neuroscience methods 69: 123-136. web. 22 july 2014. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0165027096000805> 1 an instrument of gender: re-evaluating the role of the male-midwife and the lyingin chamber in seventeenth and eighteenth century england guy sechrist english “any genuine concern about the implications of such a culturally distorted science-based civilization, or about the role of women within it, demands an explanation. for the male identity of science is no mere artifact of sexist history; throughout most of its evolution, the culture of science has not simply excluded women, it has been defined in defiance of women and their absence….how did so strange a scientific culture emerge, one that proclaimed so boldly the power of the species while at the same time shrinking in horror from half the species?”-david noble1 discussion on experimentation during the advent of science by learned men in the seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries in england has garnered significant research by both historians and literary theorists. such research has attempted to address not only the implications and significance of the physical instruments within the scientific community, like that of robert hooke’s microscope and robert boyle’s air-pump, but they have also examined the physical space(s) in which experimentation and instrumentation were used.2 as a result, instruments, and the places where they were utilized, have been important topics of discussion for understanding what social-historian steven shapin has called, the house of experiment.3 the house of experiment has only one gendered understanding of experimentation; the male’s. gender and its’ relationship within science has long been a significant focus of historians of science, like londa schiebinger, who has attempted to situate the role of women within the origins of modern science and medicine. however, the role of gender, instrumentation, and the space of experimentation, have yet to be closely examined and understood within the larger context of gender relations as they pertain to science and medicine in early-modern england.4 2 the feminist-anthropologist and literary theorist, donna haraway, has contended that experimentation and the use of instruments, like that of boyle’s air-pump, helped to create a scientific space that enabled “the air-pump [to become] a technology of gender at the heart of scientific knowledge” by proxy of its sole use by men within a fundamentally male space. moreover, she has argued that “it was the general absence, not the occasional presence, of women of whatever class…that gendered the experimental way of life in a particular way.”5 ‘a particular way’ that, according to schiebinger, has attempted to “distance science from women and the feminine.”6 female distance from science, as this essay will argue, was not only ideological, but was also physical. to mirror haraway’s sentiments, understanding the spatial relationship between both men and women in regards to science, medicine, and instrumentation is important as spatial practices of the sciences enables further understanding of gender relations in early-modern england. what then, is the best approach to understanding the relationship between both men and women as it pertains to (1) physical space, (2) instrumentation, and (3) science and medicine? in what ways did these three separate, but often contingent, aspects of the “experimental way of life” shape the gender relations of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? these questions are best answered by further examining the relationship of gender within the history of science and medicine, and paying particular attention to the role that the forceps, played in gender relations not only between men and women, but also between midwives and male-midwives. the decision of choosing forceps as an instrument of science and medicine is due, in part, to their relation not only to the lyingin chamber (a solely female space), but also their relation to the female body. the goal of this essay is to treat, like haraway has with boyle’s air-pump, the forceps as a “technology of gender.”7 3 by focusing on the forceps as a technology of gender, i will argue that they were indeed the “key [in]to the lyingin room.”8 while the historian adrian wilson has argued adamantly that the forceps did not enable the male practitioners of early-modern england to enter into the lyingin chambers of women; thus minimizing and limiting the role of women within medicine, this essay will argue the opposite. like the air-pump, the forceps helped to separate men and women, while simultaneously allowing men to assert themselves and science within the art of midwifery. by viewing the forceps as a technology of gender, it is clear that they also served as a technology of power. therefore, the forceps enabled male access into a female space; the women’s lying-in chamber. prior to the creation and use of the forceps, in seventeenth-century england, the process of childbirth and midwifery was solely administered by women in a fundamentally private space known as the lyingin chamber. in a room solely occupied by women, where men were not allowed to enter, the mother-to-be, shortly before her expected time of giving birth, would surround herself with women she knew. known as god-siblings (and referred to as ‘gossips’ by men), these women would have either been close relatives, friends, or neighbors of the pregnant mother. their assistance provided the essential care to the mother, and was vital while the midwife performed her duties of delivering a healthy child. with the absence of men, the midwife had total control and authority over the process of the delivery. usually older and commonly referred to as “grave matrons,” midwives were usually trained by currently practicing midwives, known as “deputy midwives,” before they could obtain their own license.9 the process of licensing, however, was not facilitated or administrated by any medical institutions, such as the royal college of physicians. instead, the process of receiving a license was controlled and regulated by ecclesiastical powers, usually within a parish 4 or diocese.10 acquiring a license was not easy and it was expensive. the midwife in training had to prove to the ecclesiastical authorities of her parish that she was worthy and capable of performing the art of midwifery independently, and was required to substantiate her claims by relying on another midwife (such as a deputy midwife) to vouch for her skills under oath.11 midwifery was a network of women, whose practice was legitimized through ecclesiastical powers. once she was awarded the license, the midwife was then required to pay up to £2 (a very high cost) before she was permitted to practice.12 additionally, the parish or diocese required that practicing midwives maintained their licenses by paying an annually required ‘inspection’ and ‘visitation’ fee.13 the process of becoming a licensed midwife was not only difficult, but also costly; and once licensed, a midwife was responsible for finding her own cliental. the techniques and skills of the midwife, culminated by experience and passed down from the experienced, were numerous. covered in oils and liniments, the hands of the midwife were the essential tools by which the midwife used to draw forth the child.14 used for entering the body, guiding, and ultimately safely pulling children out of the womb; her hands not only brought the infant into the world, but were meant to assuage the pain of the mother. the famous midwife jane sharp, whose work, the midwives book. or the whole art of midwifery, printed in 1671, insisted that the midwife be sure to lather the mother’s genitals with duck fats and almond oil as to prevent pain and induce labor.15 once the child breached, the midwife drew forth the child, took care of the after-birth, and cut the umbilical cord. all of this was done with the midwives hands. the child, once cleaned and swaddled by the midwife, was presented to the mother.16 the lyingin chamber, filled with its’ gossips, midwife, midwives in training, and the mother-to-be was a private space only occupied by women. childbirth was a “secret, private 5 affair, left to the management of women alone,” and was performed in a closed off space away from the public and men.17 so, how and why did the lying in chamber come to be occupied in the early-eighteenth-century by men? moreover, we must ask the same question that steven shapin has asked regarding experimental space; “what were the formal conditions of entry” to the lying in chamber by men?18 literary theorist, elizabeth harvey, has argued that the first “invasive male” activity into the solely female space of midwifery resulted from the vernacular works that had been written and printed in the early-sixteenth and seventeenth-centuries by male authors, like rosselin, whose famous the byrth of mankynde, otherwise named the womans booke, ultimately catered to a male audience and undermined the knowledge of midwives and women.19 adrian wilson has argued that in the seventeenth-century there were numerous paths by which a male practitioner was able to access the cloistered room.20 the most important being that of the “emergency call,” which could be made by women within the lying-in chamber who “sent for [the male practitioner] only after some serious difficulty had arisen” during the labor.21 in the case of emergency calls, the midwife or any one of the gossips could be responsible in seeking out a nearby physician during a difficult birth. wilson has contended that during the seventeenth-century most of the emergency calls that required the presence of a male were for obstructed births. these complicated cases usually resulted in the surgical perforation of the skull of a fetus, ease the delivery, and providing safety for the mother. known as a craniotomy, the physician was likely to use a “sharp hook or crotchet” to cut into the infants skull, providing ease for the mother, and thereby allowing the physician the ability to remove the child. in almost every case in which this procedure was done, the child died.22 complicated 6 births that involved craniotomies, however, wilson argues, were very rare, and he contends that they were not common enough to allot for how physicians became male-midwives.23 the historian lisa cody, however, has argued that while “most scholars have long emphasized how men became midwives via emergencies in childbirth, there was another, equally important route to female clients that ultimately led to obstetric practice” and the lyingin chamber.24 cody’s work reveals that while emergency births relied on barber-surgeons, midseventeenth-century physicians also began “specializing in gynecology.” overtime, this allowed them, she argues, to enter the lyingin chamber as knowledgeable practitioners specializing in obstetrics and women’s health.25 ultimately, as physicians themselves became ever increasingly interested in women’s health and childbirth, they became increasingly more focused on what took place inside the lyingin chamber by the end of the seventeenth-century.26 it should be noted that jane sharp, as early as 1671, wrote, “the best learned men will grant…when they are forced to borrow from us the very name they practice by, and to call themselves men-midwives.” this passage not only suggests that sharp was adamant that midwives were the “natural authorities”27 over childbirth, but it also reveals that there were at least a number of cases in which men were a part of deliveries, and therefore, were permitted inside the lyingin chamber as early as 1670.28 furthermore, cody’s work has revealed that by the 1670’s, the royal society’s publication of philosophical transactions became more focused on “articles published on reproduction [that] addressed embryology, microscopic observations of the sperm, insect eggs, or more complex anatomical experiments.”29 as a result, the society began paying less attention to the actual processes of childbirth and delivery. by shifting attention to generation and reproductive knowledge, childbirth became scientific venture that could only be done and known 7 by learned men. this meant the exclusion of women from the discussion, as childbirth became a topic of reproduction and was viewed through the lens of science.30 knowledge that had once been “private, domestic, marital…and deeply hidden, [in the] interior recesses of the body…[the royal society now] helped to transform reproduction into a public topic that men could engage and master.”31 the secrets of reproduction solely became the territory and domain of learned men and natural philosophers. while it can be argued that the experiments performed by the royal society “did not directly affect the midwife’s access to or authority over childbirth,” the royal society’s interest in reproduction nonetheless created a dichotomy that placed preference for and emphasis on male knowledge over women’s.32 another way in which men began to enter into the lyingin chamber was with the invention and implementation of a new medical instrument; the forceps. this new instrument changed the ways by which midwives performed how children were delivered. in 1673, just two years after the printing of sharp’s the midwives book, hugh i (1620-1720), the son of dr. peter chamberlens (1601-1683), had re-petitioned the crown of england, as previous generations of his family had done, to patent an instrument by which his family had gained much notoriety for as practicing male midwives. the chamberlen family, four generations of male midwives (roughly 1620 to 1730), had kept their instrument a secret, only passing the knowledge of it down to their male heirs. in 1673, however, hugh i had announced that if “a child that comes right, and yet because of some difficulty or disproportion cannot pass” out of the mother, he and his family “had long practiced a way to deliver women…without any prejudice to them or their infants; tho all others…do, and must endanger, if not destroy one or both with hook.”33 the goal of the chamberlen family was to establish institutional and medical claims to the practice of midwifery, which was, as discussed, only facilitated by ecclesiastical powers. 8 hugh i’s claim to the king stated that he and his family had come to master a skill that allowed them to deliver an obstructed child that did not require a craniotomy. hugh i wrote, “to offer an apology for not publishing the secret i mention we have to extract children without hooks, where other artists use them, viz. there being my father and two brothers living, that practice this art, i cannot esteem it my own to dispose of, nor publish it without injury to them.” he later continued: “to prevent the loss of 2,100 or more children yearly…by confiding his particular secret to two or more discreet persons in each country of england…the king being supposed to lose £10 by the loss of each subject and the public 100 times as much.”34 hugh i never mentioned what the secret was. whether or not the chamberlen’s secret was an instrument or a technique was not noted in the petition that was ultimately rejected by the king.35 fourteen years later, in an attempt to once again establish presidence within the practice and regulation of midwifery, he petitioned the college of physicians of london. however, chamberlen was again rejected.36 this time, however, the family was met with opposition from not only the college of physicians, but female midwives who had also petitioned against the chamberlen’s involvement in the art.37 how then did the forceps become a key by which men were able to gain access into the lyingin chamber if neither the king nor the college of physicians of london accepted either of the petitions promoted by the chamberlen family? wilson has argued that “until the 1690’s, there is no indication that anyone outside the chamberlen family possessed the forceps.”38 the only other individual within england who used the forceps outside of the chamberlen dynasty was a physician, and friend of hugh i, by the name of james douglas.39 his interest in obstetrics 9 ironically led to his directed use of the forceps, by hugh i himself, which ended shortly thereafter given that douglas was unable to correctly use them.40 by 1720, however, proceeding hugh i’s death, his son hugh ii (1664-1728) found that selling the forceps to other male midwives was more lucrative than attempting, and failing, at petitioning the college of physicians. therefore, wilson has concluded that “all the english forceps had come from hugh chamberlen ii, the last surviving member of the chamberlen dynasty.”41 at the age of 56, hugh ii was left no choice but to seek out a lucrative venture in selling the family secret. he founded buyers across england; from essex, oxford, middlesex, and london, hugh ii sold his forceps to already practicing surgeon-barbers and male midwives. by 1733, the forceps were patented by male midwives and physicians, for use during childbirth, as an instrument of obstetrics.42 furthermore, unlike douglas, who was not properly trained by hugh i to use the forceps, hugh ii had, once he began selling his forceps, offered “as part of the deal…a period of sustained instruction in their use.”43 shortly after the end of hugh ii’s life, the forceps became an instrument not only synonymous with childbirth, but also male midwifery.44 more strikingly, doreen evenden has recorded that during the same year that hugh ii began to sell the family secret to other male midwives throughout england, the ecclesiastical licensing system, by which women became midwives, also began to break down.45 as a result, in 1720, the very system that had provided legitimization through the process of paid dues and licensing to midwives deteriorated. evenden has suggested that while many historians have linked the demise of midwifery licensing to the overall decline of the church’s power, evidence actually “indicates less a decline in power than a changing attitude toward the role of the church in the licensing of midwives.”46 while the church’s licensing of midwives was not necessarily the most central aspect to the experience and skills of women who had practiced the art, it was 10 certainly critical for their societal legitimization as a “credit of the traditional profession.”47 for these reasons, women paid their dues, purchased their licenses, and attended their visitations, not simply to prevent excommunication from the church, but also to maintain their legitimization and status within society. evenden has argued that “by the 1750s midwives’ traditional, practical skill proved no match for the claims of the male midwife, waiting in the wings with his shiny instruments and promises of ‘scientific expertise.’”48 as the licensing of female midwives by the church disappeared, the 1730’s saw an increased rise in the practice of male midwifery. surgeons, apothecaries, quacks, and even physicians took to establishing themselves as male midwives. in search of patients in a new and very lucrative medical marketplace, male midwives sought to establish their practices with the hope of gaining wealth. for some men, like surgeons, this new “untapped, pseudo-medical arena” provided the perfect opportunity for building and maintaining a successful career in the health care system of england.49 the changing role of women within midwifery and their growing absence from the practice in general resulted in more more consequences than simply unemployment.50 ultimately, the implementation of the forceps in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries served as a technology of gender that allowed for men to not only gain access to the lyingin chamber, but also allowed them physical entrance into the female body. no longer was there a need for the oiled hands of the midwife. with the rise in scientific instruments and experimentation that became of interest to the royal society in the 1660’s, the forceps enabled men to assert their scientific domain within a place had been strictly female. the forceps allowed for the male-dominated field of science and experimentation to not only enter the physical space of the lying-chamber, where men of science and medicine would lay claim over; but the forceps 11 would also allow for men to lay claim and knowledge over the female womb, and ultimately her body. the forceps, then, re-inverted the lyingin chamber as a place that not only enabled men’s presence, it deemed their presence necessary. for this reason, the lyingin chamber became a place of science and medicine, and by proxy, a place that belonged to men. the forceps imitated the hands of the midwife. they allowed for distance, instrumental precision, and of course, it allowed for the art of midwifery to become a medical profession by which men could define and redefine their careers as practitioners.51 the lyingin chamber also became a place where men could define, with the help instruments, nature. the womb, the female body it was attached to, and the place in which it was examined was to be re-defined according to science. similar to shapin’s article on the house of experiment, to which he has outlined in the “rights of passage” into the experimental space of gresham college, the ability to enter places of experimentation really relied on one factor; the status of being a gentleman.52 more importantly, what shapin’s article highlights is the process by which experimentation (knowledge making) is conducted, how it is tried, showed, and ultimately discussed.53 each process differs based on the space in which the experimentation is done. most likely the space in which the experiment is conducted is private. the space in which an experiment is shown is generally a private space with a public audience comprised of gentleman only. the space, in which the experiment is discussed, however, is usually done in a private setting among gentleman, but perhaps too, the discourse may have been circulated through print, like the philosophical transactions, and therefore became very public.54 shapin’s work, in conjunction with the lying in-chamber, allows for the lying-in chamber to be viewed and analyzed, as a physical space that can be contrasted with the house of 12 experiment. the entire process of experimentation with the forceps was carried out in the lyingin chamber. it was a space that was private, yet simultaneously had an audience; the female gossips. it was a place where the forceps could be introduced, used to conduct the delivery of an obstructed infant, and was ultimately a place that facilitated discourse on the instrument. perhaps it can be speculated that gossips would have left after having witnessed a successful delivery through the use of the forceps and helped to spread the word of the instrument’s success much like a colleague of robert boyle’s would have done after he left gresham college to return to france, or elsewhere, with the news of the air-pump. the lyingin chamber was, at the same time, both private and public. not all could enter, but the news regarding the successful use of the forceps by a male midwife could certainly exit. it was also a place that could afford “experimental trials.”55 behind the closed doors of a lyingin chamber, the male midwife and his forceps could fail to produce a living child. on another occasion, the reverse could occur. the results could offer a living child without the need of a craniotomy. but what makes the lying-in chamber so uniquely different from that of shapin’s house of experiment is the fact that once an experiment was shown, “the status of what had been produced or witnessed was a matter for judgment.”56 it was a matter for judgment, perhaps, by the gentleman scientists who witnessed the experiment. but what about the gossips who witnessed the male midwife and his forceps? they were women, not gentleman, they had no official training in either the profession of science or medicine, and so they could not make scientific judgments. their role as an observer was not just simply to gasp in awe when the infant was successfully drawn from its’ mother, it was also to accept that what they were watching was a sheer act of man’s genius display of instrumentation and medical/scientific knowledge. they were observing a display of power within the lying in chamber. 13 therefore, while the forceps were an instrument of gender, they were simultaneously an instrument of power. they were a tool that not only served as a key into the female space, but they were also what prevented female midwives from re-entering that space as midwives.57 the forceps not only opened the door, they changed the lock. they were, like the air-pump, representative of science, and science was only represented by men. it would, however, be anachronistic to assert the argument that the forceps were what displaced women in general from the sciences. while they certainly did help to prevent and diminish the role of female midwives, it should be noted that the forceps were essentially the last nail to a coffin that had been created some fifty years prior to their patent. the forceps were the last key to removing women from a space of science/medicine. they were a key that was not only used to enter the door of a solely female space, to enter the female body as well; they opened both. what had occurred fifty years prior to the 1730’s that impacted women and their relationship with science? published in 1666, observations upon experimental philosophy, printed one year prior to her visit to the royal society, the natural philosopher and writer, margaret cavendish wrote, “for though the muses, graces and sciences are all of the female gender, yet they were more esteemed in former ages, than they are now; nay, could it be done handsomely, they would turn them all from females into males; so great is grown the self conseit of the masucline, and the disregard of the female sex.”58 aware of the absent role of women within science and philosophy, cavendish’s play, the female academy (1667), not only echoed the problems concerning the lack of educated women, it also postulated an entire institution centered on the education of them. 14 the opening lines of the female academy are important for a number of reasons. they reveal that an academy designed for the sole purpose of educating women was not common. rather, for the play’s character “2 lady,” a female academy was unheard of.59 furthermore, as briefly mentioned above, the fact that the “ladies are instructed by old matrons” is a possible reference to and description of the teacher’s similarity to midwives who were also referred to as old matrons. given that cavendish would have been aware of this reference, she perhaps was alluding to the fact that midwives, who were almost always older women, would have been viewed as able teachers.60 finally, the criterion that both an “honourable birth” and wealth are necessary to grant the women access into the academy echoes closely the to status of gentleman and the rights of passage of male scientists that shapin has contended.61 in cavendish’s play, the female academy is a solely female space where young women learn and discuss “whether women are capable to have as much vvit or vvisdome as men.”62 unable to attend the lectures, the men become angered by their inability to enter and decide to set up their own academy adjacent to the women’s.63 given the proximity of both academies, the men use their room to listen in on the ladies’ lectures. one gentleman states, “for they have made that room which they stood in to see and hear the ladies speak in, so a place for themselves to speak in, that the ladies may hear what they can say.”64 the one gentleman states that the men are angered with the women since there are “so many fair young ladies [that are] so strictly inclosed, as not to suffer men to visit them in the academy.”65 ultimately, the ladies of the academy pay no mind to the men. still angered by their inability to interrupt the learning of the women, the men begin to blow loud trumpets with the hopes of disrupting their lectures. they proclaim that the ladies “take no notice of the academy of men…they neither mention the men, not their discoursings, or the arguments, or academy, 15 as if there were no such men.”66 the women then are referred to as bees that are cloistered away from the men. one of the most interesting lines comes from a man who argues that “if the men should be admitted into their academy, there would be work enough for the grave matrons, were it but to act the part of midwives.”67 the line not only suggests that the women are only good for copulating with, which is also reiterated by the referencing of the women to bees, but that the only thing that the old matrons would be useful for would be delivering the children. here the old matrons are considered as midwives. the ending of the play is also interesting. when the matron of the academy is confronted by the men, who argue that the women are cloistered away from them, she retorts back, “gentlemen pray give me leave to inform you, for i perceive you are in great error of mistake, for these ladies have not vowed virginity, or are they incloystred; for an academy is not a cloyster, but a school, where in they are taught how to be good wives when they are married.”68 here, cavendish seems to be straddling a very fine line. on one hand she is arguing for the education of women, but on another she has to reiterate that the education of women must be for the sole purpose of being a good wife. nonetheless, her play reveals that no matter how hard women try to educate themselves within a space that is solely theirs, they will always be met with the resistance of men.69 cavendish’s play reveals a much larger issue facing women during the end of the seventeenth century in england. her female academy, which mirrors that of the lying in chamber, was aggressively disturbed by the learned men who spent most of the play worried about disrupting the women’s learning than actually learning themselves. cavendish’s play should be read as an analogy to the very real limitations concerning women and learning. the parallels between the men who drilled “a small hole into the lecture room of the female 16 academy” and the men who used the forceps to legitimate their entrance into the female lying in chamber are very similar.70 perhaps aware of the issues concerning midwives versus male midwives, cavendish’s the female academy is a useful source for understanding the broader gender issues in england. although the play was written roughly fifty years prior to the decline of female midwives, the work can be viewed as a foreshadowing of just how invasive learned men were when it came to women’s space. therefore, the purpose of this essay has been to articulate and show just how influential the forceps were in displacing female midwives from the solely female space of the lying in chamber. a technology of gender and power, the forceps served as a key into the lying in chamber. like the men who set up their academy alongside the women’s, the creation of the male midwife and the instrumentation he used allowed for male centered practice of science/medicine to extend into the space of women. but entrance into the lying in chamber was not enough, the forceps also allowed for men to gain entrance into the female body. since science was solely reserved for men, the art of midwifery disappeared, the ecclesiastical licensing system diminished, and the role of the midwife became masculine. 17 appendix a: act i. scene 1. enter two antient ladies. 1 lady. if you would have your daughter virtuously and wisely educated, you must put her into the female academy. 2 lady. the female academy, what is that? 1 lady. why a house, wherein a company of young ladies are instructed by old matrons; as to speak wittily and rationally, and to behave themselves handsomly, and to live virtuously. 2 lady. do any men come amongst them? 1 lady. o no; only there is a large open grate, where on the out-side men stand, which come to hear and see them; but no men enter into the academy, nor women, but those that are put in for education; •o• they have another large open grate at the other end of the room they discourse in; where on the out-side of that grate stand women that come to hear them discourse. 2 lady.: i will put my daughter therein to be instructed. 1 lady.: if your daughter were not of honourable birth, they would not receive her, for they take in none but those of antient descent, as also rich, for it is a place of charges. 2 lady: vvhy then they will not refuse my daughter, for she is both ho∣nourably born, and also rich.71 18 notes 1 david noble, a world without women: the christian clerical culture of western science (alfred a. knopf, new york, 1992), xiv. 2 see simon schaffer and steven shapin, leviathan and the air-pump: hobbes, boyle, and the experimental life: including a translation of thomas hobbes, dialogus physicus de natura aeris by simon schaffer (princeton, nj: princeton up, 1985). 3 see steven shapin, “the house of experiment in seventeenth-century england,” in isis vol. 79 (1988). 4 londa, schiebinger, the mind has no sex?: women in the origins of modern science (cambridge, ma: harvard up, 1991). 5 donna haraway, modestwitness@second₋millennium.femaleman₋meets₋oncomouse: feminism and technoscience (new york: routledge, 1997), 28. 6 schiebinger, the mind has no sex?, 9. 7 haraway, 28. 8 radcliffe, 26. 9 doreen evenden, the midwives of seventeenth-century london (cambridge: cambridge up, 2000), 50-51 and 54. 10 ibid., 24-27. 11 evenden, 34-37. 12 ibid., 38. 13 ibid., 42-43. 14 lisa forman cody, birthing the nation: sex, science, and the conception of eighteenthcentury britons (oxford: oxford up, 2005), 37. 15jane sharp, the compleat midwife’s companion: or, the art of midwifry improv’d. directing child-bearing women how to order themselves in their conception, breeding, bearing, and nursing of children. (london: printed for john marsall, 1725), 191. 16 cody, birthing the nation, 36-37. 17 adrian wilson, the making of man-midwifery: childbirth in england, 1660-1770 (cambridge, ma: harvard up, 1995), 26 and cody, birthing the nation, 31. 18 shapin, “the house of experiment in seventeenth-century england,” 388. 19 elizabeth harvey, ventriloquest voices: feminist theory and english renaissance texts (london: routledge, 1992), 79. also see e. rosselin, the byrth of mankynde, otherwise named the womans booke (london, 1545). 20 wilson, 48. for all of the “paths” by which a man was summoned, see adrian wilson’s section “male paths to childbirth,” 47-49. this section mainly addresses the types of calls and who made them when seeking after a male practitioner. 21 ibid., 48. 22 wilson, 50-51. 23 ibid., 53. 24 cody, 41. 25 ibid., 41-42. 26 see laurinda s. dixon, perilous chastity: women and illness in pre-enlightenment art and medicine (ithaca, new york 1995) for more information on physicians who engaged with women during illness. 27 cody, 41. 19 28 sharp, introduction, 4. 29 cody, 97 30 see robert hooke’s micrographia. published in 1665, it was the first text to utilize a new instrument, the microscope. the idea that small organisms could be viewed in great detail sparked interests in understanding reproduction. 31 cody., 97 32 ibid., 97. 33 wilson, 53. 34 wilson, 54. the text was provided by adrian wilson whose sources are; hugh chamberlen (trans.), the accomlisht midwife (1673), “the translator to the reader” and cspd, 1678, p. 610; dated “after 1676”; since it is in the state papers of the reign of charles ii, it was probably before 1685. 35 cody, 42. 36 wilson, 55. evenden, 178. 37 sir george clark and a. m. cook, a history of the royal college of physicians of london (oxford, 1964-1972), 235-238 and 361. 38 wilson, 66. 39 cody, 44. 40 wilson, 68. 41 wilson, 71. 42 ibid., 69-70. 43 ibid., 72. 44 walter radcliffe, milestones in midwifery and the secret instrument: the birth of the midwifery forceps (jeremy norman co, 1989), 31-33. 45 evenden, 174. 46 evenden., 175. 47 ibid., 175. 48 evenden, 175. 49 ibid., 176. 50 schiebinger, 109. 51 see stanely reiser’s chapter, “the stethoscope and the detection of pathology by sound,” in medicine and the reign of technology (cambridge up, 1981), 23-47. 52 shapin, “the house of experiment in seventeenth-century england,” 389. 53 ibid., 399. 54 shapin, “the house of experiment in seventeenth-century england,” 399-401. 55 ibid., 401. 56 ibid., 402. 57 evenden, 182. 58 margaret cavendish, observations upon experimental philosophy (london, 1666), introduction, 2. 59 see the appendix for the opening scene of the play. 60 evenden, 113-114. 61 shapin, “the house of experiment in seventeenth-century england,” 388-389. 62 cavendish, the female academy (london, 1667), 654. 63 ibid., 656. 64cavendish, the female academy, 657. 20 65 ibid., 657. 66 ibid., 672. 67 ibid., 657. 68 ibid., 679. 69 schiebinger, 34. 70 ibid., 34. 71 cavendish, the female academy, 653. bibliography primary: cavendish, margaret. observations upon experimental philosophy . london, 1666. 21 cavendish, margaret. the female academy. london, 1667. rosselin, eucharius. the byrth of mankynde, otherwise named the womans booke. london, 1545. sharp, jane. the compleat midwife’s companion: or, the art of midwifry improv’d. directing child-bearing women how to order themselves in their conception, breeding, bearing, and nursing of children. (london: printed for john marsall, 1725. secondary: cody, lisa forman. birthing the nation: sex, science, and the conception of eighteenth-century britons. oxford: oxford up, 2005. clark, sir george and a. m. cook, a history of the royal college of physicians of london. oxford, 1964-1972. dixon, laurinda. perilous chastity: women and illness in pre-enlightenment art and medicine. ithaca, new york 1995. evenden, doreen. the midwives of seventeenth-century london. cambridge: cambridge up, 2000. girouard, mark. life in the english country house: a social and architectural history. new haven: yale up, 1978. haraway, donna jeanne. modestwitness@second₋millennium. femaleman₋meets₋oncomouse: feminism and technoscience. new york: routledge, 1997. harvey, elizabeth. ventriloquest voices: feminist theory and english renaissance texts. london: routledge, 1992. noble, david noble. a world without women: the christian clerical culture of western science. alfred a. knopf, new york, 1992. mclaren, angus. reproductive rituals: the perception of fertility in england from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century. london: methuen, 1984. radcliffe, walter. milestones in midwifery and the secret instrument: the birth of the midwifery forceps. jeremy norman co, 1989. rees, emma l. e. margaret cavendish: gender, genre, exile. manchester, uk: manchester up, 2003. 22 schiebinger, londa l. the mind has no sex?: women in the origins of modern science. cambridge, ma: harvard up, 1991. shapin, steven. “the house of experiment in seventeenth-century england,” in isis vol. 79, 1988. shapin, steven, simon schaffer, and thomas hobbes. leviathan and the air-pump: hobbes, boyle, and the experimental life: including a translation of thomas hobbes, dialogus physicus de natura aeris by simon schaffer. princeton, nj: princeton up, 1985. stanely reiser’s chapter. medicine and the reign of technology. cambridge up, 1981. wilson, adrian. the making of man-midwifery: childbirth in england, 1660-1770. cambridge, ma: harvard up, 1995. appendix a: act i. scene 1. microsoft word 2197 halleran nothing but a good man feeling bad: how toomer sings the blues in cane kevin halleran english oh! the blues ain’t nothing oh! the blues ain’t nothing oh! the blues ain’t nothing but a good man feeling bad —lee roy “lasses” white “negro blues” sing the blues. anybody in at least his or her teens has heard this phrase and generally understands what it means. to sing the blues is to express despair, typically through music although sing could also represent other forms of expression. however, because that generic interpretation has become so commonplace, we seldom stop to consider what the blues really represents and why it is so effective at conveying emotion. blues historian william barlow reminds us that the origins of the blues come out of “the collective expression of the experiences of a new generation of african americans born after slavery but still living with its legacy, still caught up in a life-or-death struggle for survival and freedom” (8). jean toomer’s cane evokes the cultural essence of the blues by employing techniques that actually transform toomer’s novel into a form of blues itself. critics have made comparisons between cane and the blues, but they almost invariably do so to support cane as an elegy for the southern black folk culture, which was dying out during the great migration of the early twentieth century, as masses of southern african americans relocated to the urban centers of the north. a. yemisi jimoh’s analysis provides a good example of this interpretation: 2 certainly toomer perceives that black folk culture in the united states is dying as the modernism of an urban machine culture changes the expressive lives of african americans from a deep and complex resonance of emotions found in the paradox of the spirituals to a deep yet fragmented, many-layered, complex jazz expressive attitude that confronted the contradictions of african american life with a musical boldness that slavery had limited but not eliminated. (15) for critics like jimoh, the blues are merely a metaphor in cane, something to symbolize the old south and contrast against the popular new jazz sounds representing harlem and other northern cities of the 1920s. i want to argue that toomer is not merely evoking the spirit of the blues as a kind of historical reference; he is actually mimicking the blues, in a sense crafting the entire book as one long blues verse. structurally and aesthetically, the book is not symbolic of the blues but actually functions as blues. the result is that reading cane offers a similar experience to listening to the blues. to compare these two experiences, i want to examine three important virtues of the blues that also emerge in cane: (1) the blues are rebellious; (2) the blues are communal; (3) the blues are cathartic. through this comparison, i hope to show that cane is ultimately a positive and inspirational novel, one that celebrates life by finding the beauty that makes the racism, hatred, and violence bearable and, like the music it mimics, provides “a joyful experience, a vibrant affirmation of life and its possibilities in an appropriate esthetic form” (cone 31). the blues evolved from black spiritual songs, or what w. e. b. du bois fittingly called “sorrow songs” (154). james h. cone describes the blues as “secular spirituals,” 3 and although the spirituals rose out of life during slavery whereas the blues deal with post-slavery existence, they both provide an important voice for the black experience: “like the preacher in the church, they proclaimed the word of black existence, depicting its joy and sorrow, love and hate, and the awesome burden of being ‘free’ in a racist society when one is black” (102). toomer shows an understanding of this association between religion and music in a letter to his friend and fellow writer waldo frank: “have you ever been in a negro church? not the white-washed article of respectable colored folks; but the shanty of the peasant negro. god, but they feel the thing. sometimes too violently for sensitive nerves; always sincerely, powerfully, deeply. and when they overflow in song, there is no singing that has so touched me” (152). the transformative power of music toomer describes here is what he strives for in his own version of the blues. depending on how broadly one wishes to stretch the term, the blues genre can encompass a wide range of styles. however, when we talk about a traditional blues song, we are typically referring to what is known as a twelve-bar blues format. in a twelve-bar blues, each verse has only three chords and three lines of lyrics. the chords are familiarly referred to as the i, iv, and v (one, four, and five) chords, and each of the three lines is sung over one chord. lyrically, the first two lines are identical while the third is unique and forms a rhyme with the first two. as an example, here are the lyrics to the first verse of robert johnson’s “cross road blues” with the accompanying chords noted in parentheses: (i) i went down to the cross road, fell down on my knees 4 (iv) i went down to the cross road, fell down on my knees (v) asked the lord above, “have mercy, save poor bob if you please.” to summarize, the only thing that changes between the first and second lines is the chord—the background or setting, if you will. the third line is unique both musically and lyrically but obviously still connects to the first two lines in its meaning and rhyme. with this in mind, we can see that cane is structured like the verse of a blues song. the book is divided into three sections, the first two sections being similarly structured: a mix of short prose narratives and poems with the sequence typically being one prose piece followed by two poems followed by another prose piece, etc. (although the second section deviates at times from this exact pattern). the major difference between the first two sections is the setting; the first section takes place in rural georgia while the second section is set in northern cities (mostly washington d.c.). in this way, the book closely follows the first two lines of a blues song—what changes is the background (the chord in a song or the setting in cane) while the lyrics/text remain similar. the third section of cane is completely different from the first two. it consists of only one very long piece, “kabnis,” which itself differs from any other piece in the book in both its length and its resemblance to a stage play format, where the dialogue is indicated by the character’s name and a colon rather than traditional quotation marks. this makes “kabnis” stand out from any of the other pieces in the book, and the third section as a whole stands out in that it only contains one long piece rather than several short pieces. thus, the third section follows the blues structure of the v chord by being completely distinct from the first two sections. in this way, the entire structure of cane mimics a twelve-bar blues verse—the first two sections merely change the background while the third section is completely different. 5 the book also has a circular structure implied by the semi-circle images at the beginning of each section, which encourages us to think of the book looping back upon itself the same way that the end of a blues verse will take us back to the first chord and the first line of the next verse. although this structure may be too subtle to be immediately evident upon our first reading, toomer manages to subconsciously prepare us for an experience that is akin to listening to the blues. using the blues structure in cane provides unity to a text that might otherwise seem sprawling and disjointed. it encourages us to look for reverberations and contrasts in a larger framing. the noticeable change in setting between sections one and two forces us to consider the role that location plays in the characters’ lives and how they might be different if they lived elsewhere. gossip, for instance, plays an important role in section one’s “becky” and section two’s “bona and paul” but with very different results. in the southern-based “becky,” the bitter and vocal gossip over the white becky and her two black sons leads to her exile. both the black and white community can be considered responsible for her death, for driving her into isolation and then neglecting her. in the chicago-based “bona and paul,” the gossip has a more passive nature. nobody directly confronts or acts out against the light-skinned paul, but continually hearing the rumors about his race and sensing the stares of others upon him causes him to feel separate from other people. rather than drive him away, this separation actually supplies him with a sense of identity: “their stares, giving him to himself, filled something long empty within him, and were like green blades sprouting in his consciousness. there was fullness, and strength and peace about it all. he saw himself, cloudy, but real” (74). whereas the gossip in the south drives becky into isolation, the gossip in the north creates a sense of 6 individualism in paul. the contrasts in these two stories reveal subtle distinctions between the two geographic regions that we might not have considered otherwise, and it demonstrates how the blues structure of cane helps us navigate throughout the seemingly disparate poems and stories. toomer also uses language to mimic the blues, especially in his use of repetition. in the same way that a twelve-bar blues repeats the first two lines, toomer frequently repeats phrases and verses, and just as repeated blues lyrics deliver a slightly different emotional response for the listener because of the chord changes underneath, these repeated lines and verses in cane create different responses in the reader based on when they appear in the text. as gayl jones notes, “repetition in this tradition does not mean stasis, but change/new recognition; a turning point or carrying forward of experience follows each repeated line” (jones 299). in cane’s opening piece, “karintha,” a lyrical verse appears at the beginning and end of the narrative: her skin is like dusk on the eastern horizon, o cant you see it, o cant you see it, her skin is like dusk on the eastern horizon …when the sun goes down. (5) this passage seems lovely when we first encounter it. the image of dusk on the horizon conjures up warm, orange sunsets, and the echoing second line, “o cant you see it, o cant you see it,” invites us to share in appreciating this woman’s beauty. however, this passage takes on a very different feel when we reencounter it after hearing karintha’s story. by now we have seen how karintha has been an object of sexual desire since she was a young girl, how the men around her continually lust after her as she grows, and 7 how she indulges their desires even though she has “contempt for them” (6). we have seen how she uses her beauty to win money and affection from men and how she apparently abandons (possibly even kills) her own baby in the woods. when this lyrical passage reappears at the end, dusk no longer feels like a warm sunset; it feels like death, like smoldering ash, or as toomer says, like the soul of a “growing thing ripened too soon” (6). the echo of “o cant you see it, o cant you see it” is no longer an invitation but a condemnation: why didn’t we see what was happening to karintha? why did we allow her to be treated like an object? couldn’t we have predicted what she would become because of it? the verse still retains its beauty and lyrical quality in and of itself, but the perceived change in tone forces us to pause and reflect. “if the introductory verse raises a question,” jones says, “the repeated last verse does not answer it completely, but makes the question more complex in light of the whole experience” (jones 297). the story would still be powerful without this passage, but its inclusion, and specifically its repetition, adds that emotional sensation that music can produce without words. this is the type of effect jones refers to when she says, “one not only reads toomer, one hears him; his words live beyond the page, full of rhythm and metaphor, sight and sound, lyrical drama. his work has the dynamics, the spring and seasoning of speech and music” (297). besides repetition, improvisation is another technique almost synonymous with the blues. barlow calls it “the centerpiece of the blues performers’ aesthetic approach to their medium” (326). but given the fixed nature of a literary text, it would seem difficult to be able to mimic improvisation. as sherley a. williams notes in her essay, “the blues roots of contemporary afro-american poetry,” “blues is essentially an oral form meant 8 to be heard rather than read; and the techniques and structures used to such powerful purpose in the songs cannot always be transferred directly to the literary traditions within which, by definition, afro-american poets write” (542). nonetheless, toomer manages to infuse a sense of spontaneity and performance into cane through wordplay and stream of consciousness that give his writing a “live” feel. in “seventh street,” after an introductory verse, the narrator proceeds to riff in prose form: seventh street is a bastard of prohibition and the war. a crude-boned, soft-skinned wedge of nigger life breathing its loafer air, jazz songs and love, thrusting unconscious rhythms, black reddish blood into the white and whitewashed wood of washington. stale soggy wood of washington. wedges rust in soggy wood…split it! in two! again! shred it!...the sun. wedges are brilliant in the sun; ribbons of wet wood dry and blow away. (41) although formatted as prose, this passage feels closer to the lyricism of poetry. images fly by at breakneck pace without seeming to form any cohesive narrative. instead, wordplay unifies the passage and places the emphasis on the language itself, especially its aural quality. the second sentence, for instance, ends with a tongue-twister: “the white and whitewashed wood of washington.” in addition to the alliteration, the words white and wash each appear twice, either on their own or as part of a larger word. although the implication in its meaning is serious—toomer calls attention to the fact that the nation’s capital is dominated by white society—it is presented in a playful and humorous manner, which williams argues is a key component of the blues: “the blues singer strives to create an atmosphere in which analysis can take place. this necessary analytic distance is 9 achieved through the use of verbal and musical irony seldom found in the singing of the spirituals or the gospels” (544). this tongue-twister section in “seventh street” also introduces the wood motif that dominates the rest of the passage. the next two sentences are linked by the phrase “soggy wood,” which suggests that the white controlled wood is old and weak. then comes an abrupt and aggressive interruption: “split it! in two! again! shred it!” this feels like a different voice, like someone unexpectedly barging in and urging the narrator and reader to take action and chop down that soggy wood, in other words to attack the white control of the country. after this brief interruption, we return to what feels like the original narrator’s voice as he describes the now shredded ribbons of wood blowing away. what we see here is that the entire passage does have a logical and linear flow but has been deliberately constructed to give the impression of a loose, improvised performance. another way in which toomer can be seen to improvise is by describing the interiority of a character’s thoughts in a seemingly off-the-cuff, stream of consciousness manner. a good example is dorris in “theater,” who notices john lusting after her during dance rehearsal and speculates on what will happen if she gives into him: i bet he can love. hell, he cant love. he’s too skinny. his lips are too skinny. he wouldnt love me anyway, only for that. but i’d get a pair of silk stockings out of it. red silk. i got purple. cut it, kid. you cant win him to respect you that away. he wouldnt anyway. maybe he would. maybe he’d love. i’ve heard em say that men who look like him (what does he look like?) will marry if they love. o will you love me? and give me kids, and a home, and everything? (i’d like to make your nest, and 10 honest, hon, i wouldnt run out on you.) you will if i make you. just watch me. (53) in this scene, dorris becomes lost in her own thoughts. she contradicts herself (“i bet he can love. hell, he cant love”), rebukes herself (“cut it, kid. you cant win him to respect you that away.”), gets sidetracked wondering which color stockings to ask for, and finishes with a boastful threat. her tone ricochets between anger, defeatism, hopefulness, materialism, and menace. she cannot stay focused; too many thoughts are swirling around inside her. toomer depicts dorris’ thought process like an improvised performance that has to explore and discover itself during its creation. in this case, the conflicting tones and self-contradictions provide the irony and distance that williams says is necessary in order to allow analysis. by the end, we have a better sense than dorris does of what she really wants—not john himself, but the comfort and stability he can provide. up until now, we have examined some specific ways in which cane mimics the performance of the blues, but what are some of the larger, overall effects that this has on our reading? what are some of the key virtues that distinguish the blues, and how can they help us to better understand cane? first, the blues are rebellious. they rebel against white culture in a number of ways but first and foremost in how antithetical the music is to classical european music. rather than assimilate europe’s musical traditions, blues musicians contradict it: “the trick in blues harmony is in the so called ‘blue note.’ the third, fifth, and seventh notes of the major scale are flatted, diminished to produce chords that can only truly come together in a quarter tone” (cager 58). this is essentially to say that a “blue note” is not a perfectly pitched note but one deliberately played slightly out 11 of tune. this not only affects how the music is performed but, as elijah wald explains, plays a major role in the choice of instrumentation: “many of the most popular blues instruments—the slide guitar, the harmonica, the saxophone, and the standard guitar as played by note-bending virtuosos like lonnie johnson and b. b. king—are favored specifically because they can play those ‘in-between’ notes” (6). a singer’s voice, which is his or her instrument, also needs to be able to meet these expectations: “any good blues singer uses a broad range of microtones and moves between them with a freedom and subtlety that cannot be captured in western notation” (wald 6). the preferred instruments for the blues, therefore, differ sharply from the kinds of string and woodwind instruments typically found in a classical orchestra, and a vocalist’s ability to sing the blues does not rely so much on his or her vocal range (which is critically important in opera, for instance) but on his or her ability to employ these imperfect “blue notes.” all this is to say that the fundamental prerequisites for the blues are the antithesis of those in classical music. similarly, we can see cane as rebelling against the conventions of european literature through its unorthodox and sometimes inscrutable style. its format resists categorization (is it a novel? an anthology? a story cycle?), which presents a challenge in how to approach reading and discussing it. also, its narrative style is jarring (pieces often leap about temporally and switch perspectives suddenly), and its expressionistic language can frustrate readers seeking a clearer meaning. the beginning of “rhobert” demonstrates this rebellious literary style that might frustrate and discourage readers: “rhobert wears a house, like a monstrous diver’s helmet, on his head. his legs are bantybowed and shaky because as a child he had rickets. he is way down. rods of the house 12 like antennae of a dead thing, stuffed, prop up in the air. he is way down. he is sinking” (42). the first sentence must certainly be a metaphor, but for what? dropping us into this image without any grounding disorientates us and creates a kind of sink-or-swim moment—we feel in danger of drowning if we don’t quickly find something solid we can latch onto. the second sentence seems more concrete, although the “banty-bowed” description is a bit obscure (it seems to refer to a rooster’s legs). this sentence also contains a reference to rhobert’s childhood, which suggests he is an adult now, although we have no way of discerning his true age. there is also the question of the narrator. whose voice is this? is it the omniscient voice of toomer or a more limited narrator closer to rhobert’s interiority? either reading seems justifiable. nebulous moments like this in cane may have been what caused one critic at the time of its publication to deride “certain innovators who conceive language to be little more than a series of ejaculatory spasms” (whalan 377). however, instead of simply dismissing it as stylistic posturing, we can see this jarring, ambiguous language as mimicking the “blue notes” or microtones of the blues. like the good blues singer wald describes above, toomer slides between these microtones of words creating something that never feels solidly in tune yet still manages to convey some sense of meaning. finally, it is worth mentioning the repeated phrase “he is way down” since the idiomatic notion of being down, meaning to feel bad, is so prevalent in blues lyrics. in “rhobert,” “way down” can be read as continuing the metaphor that rhobert is somehow being crushed by a house, but it can also be read in the blues way to mean that rhobert feels dejected. according to james h. cone, rebellion in the blues is not only a musical rebellion but a political one: 13 [blues music] is black and thus articulates the separateness of the black community. it is an artistic rebellion against the humiliating deadness of western culture. black music is political because in its rejection of western cultural values, it affirms the political “otherness” of black people. through song, a new political consciousness is continuously created, one antithetical to the values of white society. (5-6) in cane, we can see this come through strongly in “song of the son,” one of the pieces that clearly does show toomer lamenting the disappearing folk culture of the southern black community: o land and soil, red soil and sweet-gum tree, so scant of grass, so profligate of pines, now just before an epoch’s sun declines thy son, in time, i have returned to thee, thy son, i have in time returned to thee. in time, for though the sun is setting on a song-lit race of slaves, it has not set; though late, o soil, it is not too late yet to catch thy plaintive soul, leaving, soon gone, leaving, to catch thy plaintive soul soon gone. (16) everything about this poem “affirms the political ‘otherness’” of african americans that cone describes. not only is the black race its subject but also its intended audience since much of 1920s white society would be unlikely to sympathize with the disappearing 14 black folk culture. it also makes an audacious political move in its metaphor of the black race as the “son” of the land, implying that the southern united states belongs, spiritually, to black people. this would certainly constitute “a new political consciousness,” especially in the jim crow days of the early twentieth century. finally, the repetition of the final two lines in each of these verses recalls the repetition in blues lyrics. along with the very word song in the title, this conveys a strong sense of black music coming through in the poem. in every regard, this is a black poem: it speaks to black people, about black people, and in a black musical style, all of which expresses a self-conscious desire to be distinguished from white culture. creating a sense of black consciousness or “otherness” directly ties into another important virtue of the blues: the blues are communal. the simplicity of the blues structure makes it extremely easy for musicians to adapt to. there is such a familiarity in the blues—like a universal musical language—that when a group of musicians get together, even if they have never met before, they can spontaneously and successfully collaborate within the blues. when it comes to crafting lyrics, wald says blues singers draw “on all the sources available to them,” (114) including other singers’ lyrics: “even the greatest blues songwriters have seen no harm in reworking each other’s phrases. as with hip-hop sampling, the idea is to create something unique and new by a combination of borrowing, reworking, and adding original touches” (116). in these ways, the blues form a community among musicians, but they also form a community with audiences through performance. barlow says, “audience participation made blues performance a communal art form. call and response between artist and audience was common, while kinetic exchanges took place through handclapping and dancing….in the long run, the 15 collective memories that emerged from these cultural rituals promoted solidarity and cohesion” (327). in cane, we see this kind of kinetic communion in the way the narrator frequently addresses the reader directly. this often occurs in the poems, such as in “cotton song”: “come, brother, come. lets lift it; / come now, hewit! roll away! / shackles fall upon the judgment day / but lets not wait for it” (13). here, the narrator passionately encourages the reader to rise up to freedom now rather than wait for the enslavement of judgment day. the use of the first person plural (“lets lift it,” “but lets not wait for it”) contributes to the inclusivity, joining the narrator and reader together. later in the poem, we get the audience’s response to the narrator’s call: “we aint agwine t wait until th judgment day! / nassur; nassur, / hump. / eoho, eoho, roll away! / we aint agwine t wait until th judgment day!” (13). not only are these lines offset from the narrator by the use of quotation marks, the dialect is clearly a different voice, reinforcing the sense that this is an actual audience response rather than an imagined response from the narrator. phonetic words such as “hump” and “eoho,” like some guttural hollering, create the aural illusion of a large audience shouting their support. this gives the audience’s response a passionate intensity that matches or even exceeds that of the narrator, which creates the feeling that a meaningful communion has been established. in “cotton song,” the audience responds on behalf of the reader, but in some of cane’s other pieces, the address to the reader leaves it for us to decide how to respond. this occurs in “seventh street,” where the narrator repeatedly asks the reader, “who set you flowing?” (41), and particularly in “fern,” where the narrator pleads with the reader for advice about how to combat his desire for fern, which he knows will go unrequited: 16 i ask you, friend…what thoughts would come to you—that is, after you’d finished with the thoughts that leap into men’s minds at the sight of a pretty woman who will not deny them; what thoughts would come to you, had you seen her in a quick flash, keen and intuitively, as she sat there on her porch when you train thundered by?...would you tell your wife or sweetheart about a girl you saw? your thoughts can help me, and i would like to know. (20) as opposed to the more fervent tone in “cotton song,” where the narrator leads the audience to a shared emotional peak, here the narrator gives control to the reader and asks us to lead the way. this creates community by putting the narrator and reader on equal ground; the narrator implies: you and i are alike. we share the same concerns and the same desires. we can help one another. cone suggests that the blues serve as a meeting place for the shared history of african americans: “it is impossible to sing the blues or listen to their authentic presentation without recognizing that they belong to a particular community. they were created in the midst of the black struggle for being. and because the blues are an expression of that struggle, they are inseparable from blackness and trouble (111).” in this sense, the blues can provide a kind of support network for african americans to remind them they are never alone in their troubles. more importantly, the blues can provide a way of sharing the spirit necessary to overcome these troubles. for cone, black rebellion in america did not begin with the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s but back in the earliest days of slavery: “it began when the first black person decided that death would be preferable to slavery. if white people could just realize this, then they might be able to understand malcolm x and other black 17 revolutionaries” (24). w. e. b. du bois speaks similarly about the black attitude toward death: “of death the negro showed little fear, but talked of it familiarly and even fondly as simply a crossing of the waters, perhaps—who knows?—back to his ancient forests again” (161). it therefore seems inevitable that we should see this preference for death over suffering appear in the blues, such as sara martin’s “death sting me blues” (“blues, blues, blues, why did you bring trouble to me? / oh death, please sting me and take me out of my misery”) or howlin’ wolf’s “how many more years” (“how many more years have i got to let you dog me around? / i’d soon rather be dead sleeping six feet in the ground”). however, despite the initial impression these examples might give, the blues are far from being nihilistic or defeatist. instead, what we see at work in these and other seemingly morose or pessimistic songs is more of the irony previously mentioned by sherley a. williams and described in even richer detail by ralph ellison: the blues is an impulse to keep the painful details and episodes of a brutal experience alive in one’s aching consciousness, to finger its jagged grain, and to transcend it, not by the consolation of philosophy but by squeezing from it a near-tragic, near comic lyricism. as a form, the blues is an autobiographical chronicle of personal catastrophe expressed lyrically. (78-79) for ellison, the blues are a form of catharsis, a way of using suffering against itself in order to transcend it. this cathartic approach to music can be seen as yet another form of black rebellion, a way of creating an otherness separate from white culture: “in mozart’s enlightenment-era vienna, musicians sought to express beauty through order, balance, 18 and harmony. in [blues musician] charley patton’s jim crow-era delta, musicians expressed beauty through pain, dissonance, and irony” (lawson 11). in cane, we see this expression of beauty through pain in a poem such as “november cotton flower,” which describes how, in spite of the cold winter drying up the fields and killing the crops, a single flower manages to bloom at the end: “old folks were startled, and it soon assumed / significance. superstition saw / something it had never seen before: / brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear, / beauty so sudden for that time of year” (8). this cannot be considered a completely happy ending since the majority of the crops, so crucial to a rural economy, are still dead. practically speaking, therefore, there is still great cause for concern. however, this one small symbol of beauty manages to transcend that and, at least momentarily, relieve the people’s fears. in “face,” toomer uses curiously somber imagery to describe feminine beauty: hair— silver-gray, like streams of stars, brows— recurved canoes quivered by the ripples blown by pain, her eyes— mist of tears condensing on the flesh below and her channeled muscles are cluster grapes of sorrow 19 purple in the evening sun nearly ripe for worms. (12) the juxtapositions of a beautiful face with “ripples blown by pain,” “grapes of sorrow,” and the mention of worms, which evokes images of a rotting corpse, creates a paradox: we are forced to perceive beauty as sorrow and sorrow as beauty; toomer denies us the ability to have one without the other. to see this woman’s face is to know that she is suffering inside, but it is also to know that her suffering cannot suppress her beauty. once again, we do not have a happy ending but an ending that finds an acceptance of both suffering and beauty. fittingly, toomer saves the most powerful example of catharsis, “kabnis,” for the end. kabnis’ problem is not his anger but his inability to transcend it, his inability, in the blues way, of expressing that anger as beauty. “here,” robert mckeever says, “is the black artist as educator who can only intellectualize his blues” (455). unlike lewis, who can laugh off insults and threats and carry on with his life, kabnis stews impotently in his anger and thus can only express anger himself: “th form that's burned int my soul is some twisted awful thing that crept in from a dream, a godam nightmare, an wont stay still unless i feed it. an it lives on words. not beautiful words. god almighty no. misshapen, split-gut, tortured, twisted words” (109). words are torturing kabnis because he cannot find any beautiful words with which to feed his soul. all he can do is tell himself ugly things, which fuels his anger that much more. until he embraces the notion that there can still be beauty along with suffering—in other words, until he can tell himself something beautiful—he will continue to suffer. 20 this moment finally comes for kabnis near the end when, after he ridicules the old man, carrie “turns him to her and takes his hot cheeks in her firm cool hands. her palms draw the fever out. with its passing, kabnis crumples. he sinks to his knees before her, ashamed, exhausted” (114-115). like the flower that blooms in the dry soil in “november cotton flower,” this act of kindness and compassion from carrie is the one sign of beauty kabnis has managed to find so far in this ugly world, and it extinguishes his anger in an epiphany where he comes to realize what lewis already knows, that “a man’s life is not supposed to be a chronicle of personal catastrophe but rather a celebration” (mckeever 457). afterwards, “kabnis” and cane come to a close with the start of the new morning: “the sun arises. gold-glowing child, it steps into the sky and sends a birth-song slanting down gray dust streets and sleepy windows of the southern town” (115). cane, which begins at dusk in “karintha,” ends at dawn with a sense of rebirth—a “birth-song” no less. the final two measures of a twelve-bar blues are known as “the turnaround,” after which the music loops back to the first measure for the start of the next verse. the sunrise at the end of “kabnis” is the turnaround for cane, the end of this verse. the circular structure of the book suggests that the painful and ugly moments described throughout will come again, but in the end we will always return to the sunrise. in spite of its often bleak nature, cane ultimately needs to be seen as a hopeful, optimistic book—not because it ends in beauty but because, like the blues, it teaches us a way of working through suffering. “blues music,” says cone, “is music of the black soul, the music of the black psyche renewing itself for living and being” (104). reading cane is a renewal of the soul, a lesson in how to survive spiritually. 21 works cited barlow, william. looking up at down: the emergence of blues culture. temple university press, 1989. cager, chezia thompson. teaching jean toomer’s 1923 cane. peter lang publishing, 2006, pp. 55-75. cone, james h. the spirituals and the blues: an interpretation. orbis books, 1972. du bois, w. e. b. the souls of black folk. edited by henry louis gates, jr. and terri hume oliver, w. w. norton & company, 1999. ellison, ralph. shadow and act. vintage, 1972. jimoh, a. yemisi. spiritual, blues, and jazz people in african american fiction. university of tennessee press, 2002. johnson, robert. “cross road blues.” the complete recordings, columbia records, 1990. jones, gayl. “blues ballad: jean toomer’s ‘karintha.’” cane, edited by rudolph p. byrd and henry louis gates, jr., w. w. norton & company, 2011, pp. 296-304. lawson, r. a. jim crow’s counterculture: the blues and black southerners 1890-1945. louisiana state university press, 2010. martin, sara. “death sting me blues.” the blues line: blues lyrics from leadbelly to muddy waters, edited by eric sackheim, thunder’s mouth press, 1969, p. 55. mckeever, benjamin f. “cane as blues.” jean toomer: a critical evaluation, edited by therman b. o’daniel, howard university press, 1988, pp. 453-458. toomer, jean. cane. edited by rudolph p. byrd and henry louis gates, jr., w. w. norton & company, 2011, pp. 1-115. 22 toomer, jean. “to waldo frank, august 21, 1922.” cane. edited by rudolph p. byrd and henry louis gates, jr., w. w. norton & company, 2011, pp. 151-152. wald, elijah. the blues: a very short introduction. oxford university press, 2010. whalan, mark. “jean toomer and the avant-garde.” cane. edited by rudolph p. byrd and henry louis gates, jr., w. w. norton & company, 2011, pp. 377-386. williams, sherley a. “the blues roots of contemporary afro-american poetry.” the massachusetts review, vol. 18, no. 3, 1977, pp. 542-554. wolf, howlin’. “how many more years.” moanin’ in the moonlight, mca records, 1986. [concept, vol. xxxiv (2011)] 2011 graduate research prize essay kurtz and modernity: the epistemological crisis at the heart of darkness benjamin raymond english a work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line. and art itself may be defined as a single-minded attempt to render the highest kind of justice to the visible universe, by bringing to light the truth, manifold and one, underlying its every aspect. it is an attempt to find in its forms, in its colours, in its light, in its shadows, in the aspects of matter and in the facts of life what of each is fundamental, what is enduring and essential — their one illuminating and convincing quality — the very truth of their existence. joseph conrad, preface to the nigger of the ‘narcissus’ joseph conrad lends precious little light to heart of darkness. “the reader is warned that this book cannot be read understandingly,” wrote athenaeum months after its second publication in 1902 (sherry 139). nowhere is the novel‟s ambiguity more shadowed, more obscured than in the enigma lying at the end of marlow‟s quest: the barbaric missing agent, kurtz. what do we actually know about the man? what is true, what is myth? the reader‟s distance from kurtz is vast, mediated by an unnamed narrator recounting marlow‟s own recollection of kurtz given nearly two full years after their encounter. can the reader actually know anything about the “real” kurtz? this epistemological crisis at the heart of conrad‟s novel originates in the ambiguity and complex phenomena of language. the reader and marlow are united in the vagueness surrounding the specter of kurtz, a vagueness perpetuated by language, discourse, and the dislocation of meaning. just as the reader must sift through the threefold mediation of the narrator, marlow, and time to decode or locate the “real” kurtz, so too does marlow himself face a similar impasse of language when his mythologized impression of kurtz is fractured upon meeting the man in the flesh. the great upheaval observed between marlow‟s impression of kurtz-asdiscourse and kurtz-embodied is born of the disparity between linguistic signifiers and their intended signified, as first detailed by swiss founder of linguistics and semiology, ferdinand de saussure. this fundamental ambiguity of linguistics, of the near impossibility of expressing completely “what-really-is” in language, saturates each page of conrad‟s novel and is consummated in the “atrocious phantom” (conrad 59) 1 for whom marlow searches. marlow and the reader together become enraptured with the man behind the mythology, a mythology which, once lost as kurtz‟s body withers away, is again restored to its original fascination and uncertainty in the dying man‟s indecipherable last cry, “the horror! the horror!” through a close and thoughtful exploration of the text and of the linguistic phenomena that inform it, we can see how conrad‟s novel serves as a unique and illuminating literary expression of the crisis of knowledge that so defined modernity at the turn of the twentieth century. ~~~~~ to better understand the complicated linguistic theories operative in conrad‟s work, a concise but thorough examination of ferdinand de saussure‟s course in general linguistics (1916) is necessary. the cours, published posthumously from notes taken by saussure‟s students, charles bally and albert sechehaye, is the foundational text in linguistic and semiological theory, built upon and reconfigured by later thinkers such as roland barthes, noam chomsky, and jacques derrida. saussure details dozens of theories in the cours, the most important of which are his distinction between langue and parole, the lexical quality of individual signifiers, and the tremendous ambiguity of meaning which arises from the disparity between linguistic “signifier” and its intended “signified.” of the discipline of linguistics, saussure famously writes, “there is no other field in which so many absurd notions, prejudices, mirages, and fictions have sprung up” (saussure 7). saussure recognized, as his successors would continue to explore, that the deeper one excavates the qualities of language the more one recognizes its limits, its fundamental inability to communicate knowledge with any semblance of the clarity it was once assumed to achieve. for saussure, the vagueness of language arises elementally from its most basic unit, the word or “linguistic sign.” “the linguistic unit,” saussure writes, “is a double entity, one formed by the associating of two terms,” which he calls the “signifier” and 1 all citations from the novel will henceforth be written as page numbers only; e.g. (59). “signified” (saussure 65). for saussure, the communicational effect of language is not located in the units of language themselves — e g. the word, or “linguistic sign” — , but in the associative bond formed between the signifier and that concept to which it refers, the signified. saussure continues, “in addition, the idea of value…shows that to consider a term as simply the union of a certain sound with a certain concept is grossly misleading” (saussure 113). in other words, saussure warns that to assume a given signifier communicates clearly the abstract concept which is intended to be relayed from one party to another appropriates to language a level of precision which it cannot and will never realize. the “associative bond” formed between signifier and signified is not essentially a strong one. an amount of abstract, “language-less” information is always lost in translation from speakerconcept, to chosen-signifier, to auditor-signified. the disintegration of intended meaning along this linguistic trajectory is due in large part to what saussure terms “a problem of semiology.” “the language problem,” he says, “is mainly semiological, and all developments derive their significance from that important fact” (saussure 17). in layman‟s terms, saussure recognizes that any given word — or linguistic sign — is not a uniform concept, but a multi-faceted complex of separate signifieds and meanings. as semiology shows us, a given word is not essentially semantic, but lexical; that a given word can indicate or connote a multitude of different signifieds demonstrates that a word is in essence a “lexeme,” a lexicon of various qualities, and not a “seme” of uniform, irreducible meaning. 2 saussure treats this concept over the course of several chapters, but summarizes the loss of meaning in semiology in writings on general linguistics: one cannot stress enough the fact that the values which basically make up a language system…a system of signals does not consist of either forms or meanings, of either signs or what they signify. they consist of the particular resolution of a certain general relationship between signs and meanings, based on the general difference of the signs plus the general difference of the meanings plus the previous attribution of certain meanings to certain signs and vice versa. (writings 13) 2 for example, the word “boy” is a lexeme comprised of the semes “young,” “male,” and “person.” this particular lexeme is not at all difficult to interpret. but when one considers highly abstract concepts such as “love,” “eternity,” or “evil,” the multitude of heterogeneous semes which may comprise these lexemes is impossible to list or quantify. this impossibility is the semiological account for the ambiguity of language. in short, meaning is not located in the word itself, but in the myriad values or significations which linguistic signs can signal, to be interpreted by the listener or reader. this phenomenon, whereby intended meaning is obscured by the complexity and imprecision of linguistic signs, is significantly amplified in discourse, which saussure separates into langue, or the language in which a given discourse participates, and parole, the execution of langue by the individual. saussure explains that “language is not complete in any speaker; it exists only within a collectivity” (saussure 14). conversely, “execution is never carried out by the collectivity. execution is always individual, and the individual is always its master: i shall call the executive side parole” (saussure 13). kurtz‟s dying words, “the horror! the horror,” which will be treated at length later in this piece, provide a useful example of this crucial distinction. in interpreting “the horror! the horror,” we are examining the saussurean parole; kurtz‟s utterance is the individual execution (parole) of words or signifiers belonging to the english language (langue). saussure scholar david thibault explains of the importance of parole in language, “…individuals are endowed with causal powers in so far as human actions are characterizable in terms of will, purpose, individual intelligence and intentionality…” (thibault 24). these “causal powers” of “will and purpose,” as thibault describes them, are the source of ambiguity in discourse. as saussure notes, individual execution of parole is never complete, as is the language system in which it participates. therefore, as will soon be explored, the yarns spun by the sailors on marlow‟s steamboat, marlow‟s recitation of his journey to the anonymous narrator, and the novel‟s narration all serve, collectively, to highlight the incompleteness of marlow‟s account of his encounter with kurtz and the resultant dislocation of meaning. some may wonder why saussure is preferred herein over more contemporary linguists or semiologists like roland barthes 3 or christian metz, or philosophers like chomsky and derrida who consider his work specious and outdated. scholar roy harris summarizes derrida‟s issue with saussure writing, “saussure is, for derrida, one of the founders of modern linguistics and, as such, one of the culprits responsible for perpetuating in the name of „science‟ an ancient, ethnocentric and flawed view of the relationship between speech and writing” (harris 171). right as harris is, and as valuable as is derrida‟s criticism of saussure, derrida bases much of his own theories on the signifier-signifiedreferent scheme saussure first outlined and unapologetically borrows saussure‟s 3 for a more detailed examination of barthes‟s position on saussure, see: harris, roy, “barthes‟s saussure,” pp. 133-152 in saussure and his interpreters (2001). own terms to explain them. the issue derrida takes with saussure is most essentially a conflict of politics, not methodology. for the purposes of understanding how heart of darkness expresses the epistemological crisis of meaning in modernist literature, saussure‟s foundational work is preferable to the highly — some would say, overly — scientific study of linguistics of these and other later-century theorists. ~~~~~ explication of the linguistic theories informing this piece now behind us, the critical question still remains: how is the inherent ambiguity of language expressed by heart of darkness? critic edward garnett of academy and literature seems to anticipate this inquiry, writing in 1902 that conrad‟s novel is best described as “an impression, taken from life” (garnett 132). garnett‟s choice of term here is noteworthy. heart of darkness is from beginning to end an impression, a vague, unknowable, albeit impacting, impression of marlow‟s storytelling, which itself never achieves the vividness of what he felt upon meeting kurtz deep in the congo. the impressionistic quality of the novel, the epistemological impossibility of truly knowing kurtz, begins with the vast distance conrad establishes between him and the reader: a threefold mediation of marlow, the primary narrator, and the passage of time. 4 the narrator himself feels this distance, lamenting “[the] idleness of a passenger, my isolation amongst all these men with whom i had no point of contact…seemed to keep me away from the truth of things, within the toil of a mournful and senseless delusion” (13). this distance is multiplied for the reader, whose own contact with kurtz is filtered through marlow and the narrator, who remarks of marlow‟s storytelling, “the yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. but marlow was not typical…to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze…” (5). the narrator‟s musings here signal to the reader that the value of marlow‟s storytelling is valuable precisely because its “meaning” is complex, vague, and “brings out a haze.” for the reader, however, this haze condenses into a thick fog further occluding the meaning or truth of marlow‟s journey to kurtz. to wit, vincent pecora writes, “the words spoken by marlow and kurtz at the time are inevitably changed, are socially and morally transformed by marlow's re-presentation of them to the community on board” (pecora 998). these multiple mediations compound the interpretive bewilderment felt by the reader, who must constantly scrutinize 4 marlow recounts his story “more than a year” after his journey concluded (73). marlow‟s recollections and the unnamed sailor‟s narration to decipher the truth about kurtz, whose inscrutability intensifies with each new revelation in the unfolding of their cooperative discourse. this inscrutability, which haunts both marlow and the reader throughout the novel, is no accident of authorship. as cedric watts aptly notes, “conrad took greater pains than did most users of the oblique narrative convention to preserve the possibility of critical distance between the reader and the narrator” (watts 55). conrad employs this vast interpretive separation between kurtz and the reader to lend mystery and menace to the phantom at the heart of darkness. the haunting, ominous, even terrifying figure kurtz strikes is achieved through the vagaries of the elaborate discourse which constructs him for both marlow and the reader. marlow is keenly aware of the profound affect language and discourse once had on his impression of kurtz, which is transformed, even destroyed upon meeting him in the flesh. “for a time,” marlow recalls, “i would feel i belonged still to a world of straightforward facts; but the feeling would not last long. something would turn up to scare it away” (14). this “world of straightforward facts,” conrad shows us, was never straightforward and was never inhabited by many facts. this world of marlow‟s was in truth constructed, vividly, but deceptively, by the power and ambiguity of discourse. his impression of kurtz before meeting him in the congo was just that, an impression, grounded not in reality, but in psychological projection and cognitive construction. the kurtz marlow “knew” before their meeting was mere discourse, an elaborate psychological edifice built block-by-block from hearsay, storytelling, and anecdote. marlow himself reflects deeply on the impression of kurtz-as-discourse he possessed before facing kurtz-embodied in the african wilderness. speaking to the unnamed narrator aboard the steamboat, marlow, exasperated, tries vainly to convey what he felt about “that kurtz whom at the time [he] did not see”: i became in an instance as much of a pretence as the rest of the bewitched pilgrims. this simply because i had a notion it somehow would be of help to that kurtz whom at the time i did not see—you understand. he was just a word for me. i did not see the man in the name any more than you do. do you see him? do you see the story? do you see anything? it seems to me i am trying to tell you a dream—making a vain attempt, because no relation of a dream can convey the dream-sensation, that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible…. (27) here, marlow seems almost to act as a mouthpiece for conrad speaking consciously to the reader. “do you see him,” marlow asks. “do you see the story? do you see anything?” though ostensibly we have marlow speaking solely to our narrator, the use of the second-person here, particularly given the novel‟s attention to the dynamics of language, signals a gesture towards the reader herself. at this point in the text, the reader could not possibly “see” kurtz; we have not met him, he is “just a word.” marlow‟s frustration with his inability to “convey the dreamsensation” and “bewilderment” of “being captured by the incredible” mirrors the reader‟s own anxieties about the formless, merely verbal recollection of kurtz-asdiscourse. our fascinations are piqued first by the profound impact this “kurtz” has on marlow, and second by the very absence of specific or “real” details we have about his person. in this way, the vagueness of kurtz-as-discourse in fact breeds a more dramatic mind‟s-image of the man than does the immediacy of kurtz-embodied later in the novel, as will soon be treated. the reader, like marlow and the narrator, is more intensely invested in knowing something real about kurtz exactly because we are given nothing verifiable, nothing “real” about him—only language, numerous signifiers without a signified. though this discourse-constructed image of kurtz may be more dramatic, it is by no means satisfying. our hunger to know kurtz is arrested at every effort by his absence amidst the aggregate of signifiers. critic perry meisel cleverly summarizes this confusion, remarking, “those readers who write about what they discover in marlow's tracks pursue what marlow himself says he is unable to disclose: the substance, the essence, the details of what it is that kurtz has done, and what it is that he represents” (meisel 20). this pursuit of the “substance” or “essence” of kurtz, as meisel notes, is impossible for the reader: how can we know that which our narrator(s) cannot or will not tell us? ~~~~~ the kurtz that marlow and the reader “know” through hearsay, storytelling, and narration soon matures from the mysteries of discourse to the makings of a mythology. for linguistic theorists like saussure and later roland barthes, the evolution of discourse into mythology is a natural and easily demonstrable extension of language phenomena. in his seminal work, mythologies (1957), barthes writes of language and its elevation to myth, “we must here recall that the materials of mythical speech…however different at the start, are reduced to a pure signifying function as soon as they are caught by myth. myth sees in them only the same raw material; their unity is that they all come down to the status of a mere language” (barthes 114). barthes elaborates, first, that mythology is cultivated by language and language alone and, second, that the “raw material” of myth, as it is with kurtz in heart of darkness, is “mere language” or discourse which, after consistent repetition over time, is imported as assumed truth. when marlow asks the company manager “who is this mr. kurtz?” (25), the manager replies, “he is a prodigy. he is an emissary of pity, and science, and progress, and devil knows what else. we want…for the guidance of the cause entrusted to us by europe, so to speak, higher intelligence, wide sympathies, a singleness of purpose” (25). through language alone, kurtz here begins to reach near-mythic status, spoken of in godlike terms as a “higher intelligence” in possession of a “singleness of purpose.” marlow perceives this slow-but-steady growth of kurtz into a mythic, godlike character as he recounts: i fretted and fumed and took to arguing with myself whether or no i would talk openly with kurtz, but before i could come to any conclusion it occurred to me that my speech or my silence, indeed any action of mine, would be a mere futility. what did it matter what any one knew or ignored? […] one gets sometimes such a flash of insight. the essentials of this affair lay deep under the surface, beyond my reach and beyond my power of meddling. (38) marlow believes that his “speech” or “silence” would be worthless, impotent before the foreboding condescension of the mythic kurtz. still, marlow is unable to access “the essentials” of his experience with kurtz, which still “lay deep under the surface” of the tantalizing vagueness of language. the transition from kurtz-as-discourse to kurtz-myth begins its final transformation when kurtz‟s disciple, the nameless russian trader professes to marlow that “[kurtz] came to [the natives] with thunder and lightning, you know — and they had never seen anything like it — and very terrible. he could be very terrible. you can‟t judge mr. kurtz as you would an ordinary man […] there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleased” (56). here, kurtz is glorified to the point of apotheosis. kurtz-as-discourse is now deified, transformed into the status of myth for marlow and the reader alike. earlier in the text, but chronologically after his conversation with the russian trader, marlow recalls that “[kurtz‟s] nerves went wrong and caused him to preside at certain midnight dances ending with unspeakable rites, which — as far as i reluctantly gather from what i heard at various times — were offered up to him — do you understand — to mr. kurtz himself” (49-50). the kurtz-myth is here fully realized as marlow gives his account of the dark and horrible ceremonies which the african natives devoted to kurtz. shortly thereafter, marlow reads kurtz‟s reports to the company, wherein kurtz gives the bloody details of his brutal and tyrannical treatment of the natives (50). in so doing, the reader graduates from one level of interpretive mediation, from marlow and the anonymous sailor‟s narration, to kurtz‟s own writing. still far from an intimate experience of the “real” kurtz, conrad nevertheless brings marlow and, to a lesser but still noteworthy extent, the reader closer to the object of our search. conrad begins to further solidify, albeit minimally, our impression of kurtz in the chilling image of the shrunken heads outside kurtz‟s lodgings. marlow recalls, “i returned deliberately to the first i had seen — and there it was black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids — a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole, and with the shrunken dry lips showing a narrow white line of the teeth, was smiling too, smiling continuously at some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber” (57). the linguistic symbols and growing mythology behind our impression of kurtz are here reified into a tangible symbol of the power, violence, and death which haunt us at the mere mention of kurtz. marlow himself gives a careful symbolic analysis of what he believes the decapitated heads signify or reveal about kurtz. “but i want you clearly to understand,” he tells our narrator, “that there was nothing exactly profitable in these heads being there. they only showed that mr. kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts, that there was something wanting in him…whether he knew of this deficiency himself i can‟t say. i think the knowledge came to him at last — only at the very last” (57). conrad here puts marlow in the position of semiological commentator, interpreting critically the symbols he observes before him, speculating as to what they reveal about the man whose conversation he both seeks and fears. despite marlow‟s impression here, the reified symbol of the shrunken heads is, in fact, “profitable” because it serves as a vague but poignant symbol of kurtz‟s violence, exaggerating fear of him, which itself intensifies his mythic power. further, it is extremely important to remember that the heads signal to marlow a deficiency in kurtz in hindsight. marlow interprets, or rather re-interprets his impression of the shrunken heads, an interpretation which is now informed and defined by the cataclysmic change he observes when encountering kurtz in the flesh. it is certain that as marlow approached kurtz‟s window, then knowing nothing of kurtz‟s real nature or bodily weakness, he would have been uneasy, even intimidated not unlike the natives upon which kurtz preys. here again we see how language and discourse fundamentally manipulate knowledge and that the contradiction of that discourse through intimate experience can lead one to a profound epistemological crisis where meaning is dislocated and failed preconceptions leave the very possibility of true knowledge uncertain. ~~~~~ for marlow and the reader alike, this epistemological fracture occurs when the nebulous, mythologized impression of kurtz is supplanted by the “reality” of encountering him in the flesh. once embodied, marlow sees kurtz not as the towering, omnipotent figure constructed by discourse, but as a broken, hollow shell of a man whose body and mind seem to decompose before him. early in the novel, marlow recalls this catastrophic change of impression, “i‟ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but by all the stars these were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils that swayed and drove men—men, i tell you. but as i stood on this hillside i foresaw that in the blinding sunshine of that land i would become acquainted with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious pitiless folly” (16). in marlow‟s mind, the kurtz who was once a great and terrible “red-eyed devil” who “swayed and drove men” has denatured irrevocably into a “flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil” who now elicits a pathetic fascination where we once anticipated nearly transcendent awe. conrad takes great pains to give a detailed description of kurtz‟s corporeality in order to strike a stark contrast between the real kurtz and the abstract, mere-language kurtz-myth marlow and the narrator construct before the fateful encounter. marlow remembers of his first glimpse of kurtz, “i resented bitterly the absurd danger of our situation, as if to be at the mercy of that atrocious phantom had been a dishonouring necessity. i could not hear a sound, but through my glasses i saw the thin arm extended commandingly, the lower jaw moving, the eyes of that apparition shining darkly far in its bony head that nodded with grotesque jerks. kurtz — kurtz…” (59). the “universal genius” (28) who was once supposed to “come with thunder and lightning” (56) to all who crossed his path has been discovered to be an “atrocious phantom,” an “apparition” with a “thin arm” and a “bony head” that moves in “grotesque jerks.” conrad continues his depiction of kurtz as marlow tells us, “i could see the cage of his ribs all astir, the bones of his arm waving. it was as though an animated image of death carved out of old ivory had been shaking its hand with menaces at a motionless crowd of men made of dark and glittering bronze” (59). the more microscopic marlow‟s scrutiny of kurtz‟s person becomes, the wider the gap grows between his internal narrative of kurtz‟s mythic vitality and the grave, bewildering reality of his decay. soon after their encounter, marlow recalls that “[kurtz] rose, unsteady, long, pale, indistinct like a vapour exhaled by the earth…when actually confronting him i seemed to come to my senses; i saw the danger in its right proportion” (65). marlow can no longer sustain the narrative; the kurtz he thought he “knew” is nothing like kurtz actually is. “like a vapour exhaled by the earth,” the kurtz mythology here begins to evanesce. the reality of kurtz‟s ever-weakening hold on life hits marlow hard, disintegrating not only his dramatic but ephemeral impression of the man, but also his very trust in the ability to truly know anything in life with reasonable certainty. in perhaps the most revealing passage of the text, marlow confesses the epistemological, even existential crisis brought on by his fateful meeting with kurtz. supposing kurtz is dead following his gunshot wound, marlow recounts: there was a sense of extreme disappointment as though i had found out i had been striving after something altogether without a substance. i couldn‟t have been more disgusted if i had travelled all this way for the sole purpose of talking with mr. kurtz….[i] became aware that that was exactly what i had been looking forward to — a talk with kurtz. i made the strange discovery that i had never imagined him as doing, you know, but as discoursing…the man presented himself as a voice. not of course that i did not connect him with some sort of action. hadn‟t i been told in all the tones of jealousy and admiration that he had collected, bartered, swindled, or stolen more ivory than all the other agents together. but that was not the point. the point was in his being a gifted creature and that of all his gifts the one that stood out preeminently, that carried with it a sense of real presence, was his ability to talk, his words—the gift of expression, the bewildering, the illuminating, the most exalted and the most contemptible, the pulsating stream of light or the deceitful flow from the heart of an impenetrable darkness. (47) though kurtz is not in fact dead, and marlow has yet to discover the lowly station to which he has descended, this passage nevertheless speaks volumes to the desperate hold marlow has on the mythology of the man who “presented himself as a voice” and the debilitating aporia which follows its collapse. marlow is distraught at the mere thought that kurtz may have died before he is able to speak with him. he makes “the strange discovery” in this moment that he “never imagined [kurtz] as doing…but as discoursing,” an indication of the tremendous influence language has had on his impression and a pointed foreshadowing on conrad‟s behalf of the upheaval to come when kurtz, that “gifted creature,” becomes more than a “voice.” continuing to pick apart this passage, it is absolutely critical to remember that this account of kurtz is, again, given after the fact. with the gift of hindsight and careful meditation, marlow narrates a re-interpretation of the short time in which he believed he would never meet kurtz face-to-face. this re-interpretation is loaded with language pertaining to the importance of discourse and “voice,” a clear and crucial indication of the effect language had on marlow‟s entire experience. marlow “had been striving after something altogether without a substance,” searching for a man who “presented himself as a voice” and whose greatest gift “was his ability to talk, his words — the gift of expression” which “carried with it a sense of real presence.” marlow‟s recollection here achieves nothing short of nostalgia. remembering fondly how he imagined kurtz on his journey into the congo, marlow emphasizes that it was language, “discoursing,” and “voice” that stoked his fascination with kurtz. in so doing, conrad further calls our attention to the great gulf soon to be revealed between this fascination born of language and the impending disgust which follows visions of kurtz embodied. during his time on the steamboat with the dying kurtz, marlow considers the apparent change which has come over the dying man, a change which is defined in marlow‟s mind by the difference between the mythology and the reality of kurtz‟s character. marlow tells our narrator, “the shade of the original kurtz frequented the bedside of the hollow sham whose fate it was to be buried presently in the mould of primeval earth” (68). the specter of the once-mythic kurtz looms heavy over marlow‟s now disgusted impression of the man he once elegized. the misleading, ambiguous nature of language and discourse have formed for marlow an equally misleading, ambiguous impression of kurtz. as kurtz dies, marlow states,“it was as though a veil had been rent. i saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror” (69). the “veil” of language, hearsay, and myth has been “rent” from marlow and the reader at once. the man who was once supposed to breed insurmountable fear is now reduced to suffer the “craven terror” of death each must face alike. of the true nature of death, marlow professes, “i have wrestled with death. it is the most unexciting contest you can imagine. it takes place in an impalpable greyness with nothing underfoot, nothing around, without spectators, without clamour, without glory, without the great desire of victory, without the great fear of defeat, in a sickly atmosphere of tepid scepticism, without much belief in your own right, and still less in that of your adversary” (70). piece by piece, trope by trope, marlow here de-mythologizes death by separating the language which elevates it from the true, ignominious reality of death as he has seen it personally in kurtz. 5 death does not come with “spectators,” “glory,” or “victory” as common discourse would have us believe. it comes with “an impalpable greyness” with “nothing underfoot, nothing around” and in “a sickly atmosphere of tepid scepticism.” in marlow‟s philosophizing on the grim, unceremonious reality of death, conrad provides a microcosm of the larger, more totalizing epistemological crisis of language facing turn-of-the-century modernity. ~~~~~ 5 in his article, “lying as dying in heart of darkness,” scholar garrett stewart writes, “kurtz‟s wasted person when finally encountered bears out this sense of him as language incarnate, for his flesh has withered to the bone, leaving only a speaking soul, a direct effluence from the heart of darkness,” p. 321. as i interpret marlow‟s encounter with kurtz, the dying man is not at all “language incarnate”: in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. on the contrary, marlow‟s impressions of kurtz preand post-encounter are nearly antithetical. the kurtz-myth marlow once believed in is herein destroyed by observing kurtz in the flesh, as he truly exists in the real. language has failed miserably to communicate a true knowledge of kurtz. in this way, kurtz is not “language incarnate,” but “language disintegrated.” nowhere in heart of darkness is the ambiguity and bewilderment of language in greater relief than in kurtz‟s famously vague final words, “the horror! the horror!” (69). as marlow builds to the climactic revelation of kurtz‟s dying utterance, he says to the narrator, “i‟ve been telling you what we said — repeating the phrases we pronounced — but what‟s the good. they were common everyday words — the familiar vague sounds exchanged on every waking day of life. but what of that?” (66). the text here signals that language collapses before achieving true meaning. marlow laments the futility of relaying merely the language of the past, which, dramatic as it can be, can never fully embody or effectively communicate the meaning that past has for those who experienced it. this gulf between language and meaning, signifiers and signified, verbalized impressions and actualized knowledge, provides the philosophical subtext for kurtz‟s notorious final words. marlow recites to our narrator, “he cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision — he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath: „the horror! the horror!‟” (69). in the immediate aftermath of kurtz‟s death, marlow remains disgusted and disappointed by their fateful encounter. he remarks, “i went no more near the remarkable man who had pronounced judgment upon the adventures of his soul on this earth. the voice was gone. what else had been there? but i am of course aware that the next day the pilgrims buried something in a muddy hole” (69). marlow remains indifferent to the real, embodied kurtz, that voiceless “something” the pilgrims buried “in a muddy hole.” the invincible difference between the “voice” of kurtz which marlow once believed in and the reality of the man buried in the soft earth plagues marlow, leaving him unable to reconcile the “rent veil” of language he once thought would reveal true knowledge. but kurtz‟s dying words, by their very vagueness and indecipherability, soon restore for marlow the mythologized narrative impression of kurtz he once possessed. kurtz cries out “at some image, at some vision” unknowable to either marlow or the reader. upon reflection, the very ambiguity of kurtz‟s utterance restores the narrative and mythology which once defined marlow‟s impression of the man. kurtz‟s final words, “the horror! the horror,” are vague signifiers with no signified, a hermeneutical goldmine and epistemological nightmare that allow marlow to reconfigure and repossess the mythic impression of kurtz he once relinquished to the impingement of reality. “he had summed up,” marlow sermonizes excitedly, “he had judged. „the horror!‟ he was a remarkable man. after all, this was the expression of some sort of belief; it had candour, it had conviction, it had a vibrating note of revolt in its whisper, it had the appalling face of a glimpsed truth — the strange commingling of desire and hate” (70). marlow lends a complex, psychologically projected narration to kurtz‟s last words, giving discourse to a mere sign, a complex matrix of meaning to a lone signifier which kurtz could have intended to signify an infinite number of different, perhaps contradictory meanings. marlow continues his re-interpreted narration of kurtz‟s death, “it was an affirmation, a moral victory paid for by innumerable defeats, by abominable terrors, by abominable satisfactions. but it was a victory. that is why i have remained loyal to kurtz to the last, and even beyond, when a long time after i heard once more not his own voice but the echo of his magnificent eloquence thrown to me from a soul as translucently pure as a cliff of crystal” (70). the vague yet dramatic impression of kurtz which he lost upon observing the man‟s bodily weakness is restored by this “echo of his magnificent eloquence” that speaks to marlow “translucently,” clear as a “cliff of crystal.” marlow‟s impression is, of course, vivid solely because kurtz‟s death-throe whisper is so unknowable. it is impossible for kurtz, the narrator, or the reader to know to any degree of certainty what kurtz intended to convey, if anything, when he cried “the horror! the horror!” but the very vagueness of this brief utterance affords marlow the opportunity to reapply the mythic narrative of kurtz he once subscribed to. but the question remains: why? it is easy enough to see how the ambiguity of “the horror!” invites numerous interpretations. but what is so attractive about this ambiguity, and why would marlow rejoice at the chance to reenter a psychological impression which has proven to be misleading, even untrue? the answer is that the final vague, ominous, unknowable utterance whispered from kurtz‟s dying breath allows marlow to occupy a psychological impression or narrative of kurtz which is compatible with that impression which fundamentally and essentially defines his “knowledge” of the man. in other words, the ambiguity of kurtz‟s final words reconciles for marlow his pre-encounter impression of the kurtz-myth with the post-encounter reality of kurtz-embodied. marlow thereby rationalizes-away an epistemological or existential crisis of meaning and knowledge which may still plague the reader whose impression of kurtz remains as nebulous as it ever was. “he lived then before me,” marlow tells us, “he lived as much as he had ever lived — a shadow insatiable of splendid appearances, of frightful realities, a shadow darker than the shadow of the night, and draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence” (73). those happy shadows return for marlow, allowing him to reconcile the “frightful realities” of the real kurtz with the “gorgeous eloquence” of the narrative he has re-formed in his own mind. a number of literary critics have commented on the restoration of marlow‟s elegiac reverence for kurtz, but have left the full import of this observation largely undiscovered. in her article “the failure of metaphysics,” daphna erdinastvulcan writes, “marlow sets out on a journey in search of that lost vitality, the essential wholeness man has lost in the course of his material progress…marlow‟s quest is an attempt to reintegrate the „symbolic‟ and the „real,‟ the sacred and the profane” (erdinast-vulcan 416). erdinast-vulcan is right to note the desperate tenor of marlow‟s journey, that his mission is as much about achieving once more the wholeness of knowledge he has lost. but unlike erdinast-vulcan, i believe the real crisis in the novel is not due most essentially to a failure of metaphysics, but to the inherent limits of language. the epistemological crisis facing marlow and the reader alike is indeed metaphysical, but only incidentally; the metaphysical impasse here is symptomatic of the more causal disparity between language and knowledge. just as marlow is compelled to reconcile his language-cultivated impression of kurtz with the harsh reality of his person, the reader, too, is forced to vainly search through the language of the text to find some, any interpretive solid ground upon which to construct some verifiable knowledge of kurtz. as perry meisel writes, “the horror that assails marlow has to do with the impossibility of disclosing a central core, an essence, even a ground to what kurtz has done and what he is. there is no central thread in the weave of the evidences that constitute his character, much less no deep center to his existence as a surface of signs” (meisel 25). the inability to achieve true knowledge or certainty about kurtz is, for both marlow and the reader, a fundamentally linguistic issue. william w. bonney gives a thorough treatment to this linguistic impasse in conrad‟s fiction in his article, “joseph conrad and the betrayal of language” (1979). bonney writes, “…by betraying the communicative function of language through subversion of clarity, conrad reveals the potential within language for effecting its own betrayal of simple selves which are uncritically founded upon its treacherous surfaces…” (bonney 153). in effect, bonney argues that the opaque and deceptive quality of conrad‟s writing expresses language‟s “betrayal” of meaning. as valuable as bonney‟s piece is, this interpretation is misleading, for language itself does not “betray” meaning — it communicates it as fully as is possible given its inherent limitations. for the purposes of my own treatment of the text, it is important to note that bonney‟s thesis misappropriates the causality of the bewilderment which arises from linguistic ambiguity. language does not “betray” meaning any more than it embodies it. the “betrayal” bonney observes is, more accurately, a social or intellectual ignorance of the inherent limitations of language, not a failure of language to fulfill its supposed promises. linguistic signs are constructed and inculcated en masse as gestures toward that concept, thing, image, etc. which they are intended to evoke. the authenticity of a linguistic sign is not determined by the sign itself, but by the complex interrelationship between the intended meaning of the speaker—condensed in the chosen linguistic sign—and the interpretation of what that sign signifies by the auditor. the meaning or intention of a word or phrase can be distorted or lost at any of a multitude of points of translation from speaker to auditor: speaker selects misleading signifier for le mot juste, auditor does not understand chosen signifier, auditor misinterprets the intended meaning of chosen signifier, and so on. signifiers themselves are at the mercy of interpretation by both speaker and auditor. in effect, bonney‟s argument is the linguistic equivalent of “killing the messenger.” ~~~~~ killing the messenger is, in fact, the appropriate gesture when one considers the final pages of heart of darkness as marlow curiously and unexplainably lies to “the intended” about her fiancée‟s dying words. the motivation behind marlow‟s lie has been examined by nearly every scholar who has written on the novel and will forever remain one of the most vexing of the work‟s many mysteries. conrad establishes the important place lying will take in marlow‟s tale early in the novel as marlow professes, “you know i hate, detest, and can‟t bear a lie, not because i am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appals me. there is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies — which is exactly what i hate and detest in the world — what i want to forget” (27). why, then, if he hates and detests lies so vehemently does marlow lie to the intended? the most persuasive answer to this question is again rooted in the phenomena of language and the epistemological crisis which arises from its limits. when one carefully considers just how impacted the intended is by marlow‟s simple, arguably compassionate lie, one comes to recognize how profoundly the substitution of one linguistic signifier for another effects not only the meaning of a given utterance, but how deeply and adversely it can come to affect our ability to achieve knowledge itself. waiting in desperation to hear that her fiancée loved her until the end, the intended cries to marlow, “something must remain. his words at least have not died” (76). the intended desires kurtz‟s words, words which she believes hold the entirety of his affection for her. in lieu of the truth, marlow tells her, “the last word he pronounced was— your name” (77). this revelation, which the intended takes as gospel, transforms her reality instantaneously. marlow recalls: i heard a light sigh and then my heart stood still, stopped dead short by an exulting and terrible cry, by the cry of inconceivable triumph and of unspeakable pain. „i knew it — i was sure!‟…she was sure. i heard her weeping; she had hidden her face in her hands. it seemed to be that the house would collapse before i could escape, that the heavens would fall upon my head. but nothing happened. the heavens do not fall for such a trifle. (77) the intended cries passionately, in what marlow perceives as a mixture of “inconceivable triumph” and “unspeakable pain.” the poor woman is “sure” that this was true, that her beloved kurtz had indeed spoken her name with his dying breath, confirming forever his love for her. but of course marlow and the reader both know that this is not true, that the intended as been deceived, and that her reality has been forever altered not because of what is, but because of what was communicated. the linguistic significance of lying is massive, as conrad demonstrates in heart of darkness. 6 a simple change in signifier, from “the horror!” into the intended‟s name, demonstrates the unique capacity of language to alter one‟s very reality, as it does with the intended, solely through the substitution of a false signifier for the “true” one. of course marlow‟s lie does not change the fact that kurtz did not utter the intended‟s name, but the lie does, in every sense of the term, alter the intended‟s own particular reality by simple virtue of her accepting language as containing a truth in and of itself. as the times literary supplement wrote in 1902, “the concluding scene of the „heart of darkness‟…a woman‟s ecstatic belief in a villain‟s heroism—is reached by an indulgence in the picturesque horror of the villain…” (sherry 136). this “indulgence” in a fabricated portrait of kurtz is rooted in the phenomena of language. the moniker “the intended” itself contains a double-meaning signaling its linguistic significance. kurtz never reaches his intended and marlow, at the very moment when some true message or meaning may have been imparted, lies to the intended. in a sense, no truth or knowledge ever fully reaches the “intended,” neither the woman nor the figurative meaning kurtz “intended” to convey on his deathbed. just as kurtz never returns to the intended, so too are the intended significance of language and its particular expression forever separated, obscuring truth and meaning. the intended lies at the very end of the novel, but is never united with kurtz, or with language that expresses it honestly. ~~~~~ to conclude my examination of heart of darkness and the epistemological crisis which its treatment of language expresses, it seems fitting to turn again to conrad‟s preface to the nigger of the ‘narcissus’ which opens this piece. in his preface, conrad writes, “my task which i am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel — it is, before all, to make 6 thomas dilworth gives an interesting interpretation of lying in the novel in his 1987 article, “listeners and lies in „heart of darkness.‟” dilworth writes, “in the intended, conrad gives us a palimpsest or literary double exposure, in which the human reality is faintly visible beneath the idealized convention” (dilworth 519). you see” (281). upon first reading the novel, it does not appear conrad achieves his task in heart of darkness, a text whose content, form, and meaning together are obscured by the vagueness and drama of language. but perhaps this is what conrad, “by the power of the written word” wishes us to “see”: that the essence of meaning and knowledge cannot be conveyed in language. “no it is impossible,” says marlow, “it is impossible to convey the lifesensation of any given epoch of one‟s existence—that which makes its truth, its meaning — its subtle and penetrating essence. it is impossible. we live, as we dream — alone” (27). the true value of heart of darkness is that it communicates, paradoxically, just how impossible is the quest to obtain certainty or real knowledge within the confines of language. in the character of kurtz, conrad personifies the epistemological anxieties which lay at the heart of modernity. “indeed, it would appear,” vincent pecora summarizes, “that the problem of voice — both literary and human — is absolutely central to the whole phenomenon commonly called modernism in western literature” (pecora 993). few figures in the canon of modernism express this epistemological crisis better than joseph conrad in heart of darkness. works cited barthes, roland. mythologies. trans. annette lavers. new york: hill and wang, 1972. bonney, william w. "joseph conrad and the betrayal of language." nineteenthcentury fiction 34.2 (1979): 127-53. conrad, joseph. heart of darkness: authoritative text, backgrounds and contexts, criticism. ed. paul b. armstrong. new york: w.w. norton & co., 2006. dilworth, thomas. "listeners and lies in 'heart of darkness.'" the review of english studies ns 38.152 (1987): 510-22. erdinast-vulcan, daphna. “the failure of metaphysics.” heart of darkness: authoritative text, backgrounds and contexts, criticism. ed. paul b. armstrong. new york: w.w. norton & co., 2006: 415-21. garnett, edward. “unsigned review.” academy and literature (6 december 1902). conrad: the critical heritage. ed. sherry, norman. london: routledge and kegan paul, 1973. 131-33. harris, roy. ea i g aussure ritica o e tar o the ours e i guisti ue ra e. la salle, il: open court, 1987. harris, roy. saussure and his interpreters. new york: new york up, 2001. meisel, perry. "decentering 'heart of darkness.'" modern language studies 8.3 (1978): 20-28. pecora, vincent. "heart of darkness and the phenomenology of voice." elh 52.4 (1985): 993-1015. saussure, ferdinand de. course in general linguistics. ed. charles bally and albert sechehaye. trans. wade baskin. new york: mcgraw-hill book, 1959. saussure, ferdinand de. writings in general linguistics. oxford: oxford up, 2006. stewart, garrett. "lying as dying in heart of darkness." pmla 95.3 (1980): 31931. thibault, paul j. re-reading saussure: the dynamics of signs in social life. london: routledge, 1997. “unsigned review.” athenaeum (20 december 1902). conrad: the critical heritage. ed. sherry, norman. london: routledge and kegan paul, 1973. 137-39. “unsigned review.” the times literary supplement (12 december 1902). conrad: the critical heritage. ed. sherry, norman. london: routledge and kegan paul, 1973. 136-37. watts, cedric. “heart of darkness.” ed. stape, j. h. the cambridge companion to joseph conrad. cambridge [england]: cambridge up, 1996. 45-62. microsoft word mary ann kraftschick final.docx [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] “too inhuman”: the destabilization of empire in woolf’s the voyage out mary ann b. kraftschik english ant and the voyage out virginia woolf closes her novel the voyage out in the lobby of a brazilian hotel, with the character st. john lying “half asleep, and yet vividly conscious of everything around him. across his eyes passed a procession of objects, black and indistinct, the figures of people picking up their books, their cards, their balls of wool, their work baskets, and passing him one after another as they went their way to bed” (375). the litany of objects that propagate human work or action in these last few lines contrasts with the relative inactivity of humans, lying or on their way to bed, and situates the non-human as vital agents in the creation of human activity. the realization that the “procession of objects” passing before st. john’s eyes refers to the “figures of people” serves to further confuse a traditional binary that would differentiate between the categories of human and non-human in the novel. in these final lines of the voyage out, the narrator highlights the essential role the non-human, both biological and inanimate, plays in what might otherwise be thought of as human action (and interaction). bruno latour’s understanding of act-network theory, or ant, uncovers interactions involving the non-human that may have otherwise gone unobserved. staging an intervention into traditional meanings of the social, which view it as an explanation for certain groupings or actions, latour understands the social to be instead a “fluid visible only when new associations are being made” (79). in other words, “there is no society, no social realm, and no social ties, but there exist translations between mediators that may generate traceable associations” (108). his theory is useful to this project in that it includes as “actors” any thing that can influence or transform a state of affairs (71); he does not relegate social interactions to humans only. he adds that “in addition to ‘determining’ and serving as a ‘backdrop for human action’, things might authorize, allow, afford, encourage, permit, suggest, influence, block, render possible, forbid, and so on” (72). he makes a careful distinction between intermediaries, which “simply transport meaning without transformation” and mediators, “which transform, translate, distort, and modify the meaning of elements they are meant to carry” (39). in the voyage out the non-human consistently acts as latourian mediators, impacting networks as much as, if not more than, the characters in the novel, and ultimately destabilizing the efforts of anthropocentric colonial imperatives. latour’s theories resonate with woolf's own philosophy, articulated in the following oft-quoted excerpt from her “a sketch of the past”: that behind the cotton wool is hidden a pattern; that we—i mean all human beings—are connected with this; that the whole world is a work of art; that we are parts of the work of art. hamlet or a beethoven quartet is the truth about this vast mass that we call the world. but there is no shakespeare; there is no beethoven; certainly and emphatically there is no god; we are the words; we are the music; we are the thing itself. (72) woolf’s hidden “pattern” seems similar to a latourian social network, a fluid structure that can only be discovered by tracing the interactions or connectivity of different mediators or things. her insistence that “we,” which initially only refers to “human beings,” must also encompass “words,” “music,” and “the thing itself,” recognizes the agency of the non-human through its involvement in what derek ryan has called woolf’s “world-making,” as opposed to “simply word-making or subject-making” (2). uncovering the impact of the non-human accords with many of the ecocritical projects surrounding woolf studies in the past decade, including those by ryan and christina alt. ryan, who focuses primarily on woolf’s work between 1920 and 1930, lays important groundwork for this paper, asserting that “woolf’s writing offers new conceptualizations of the material world where the immanent and intimate entanglements of human and non-human agencies are brought to the fore” (4). his project seeks to read woolf’s writings in light of a post-humanist conception of the world, which “accounts for the material entanglements of humans with non-human objects, animals, and environments” (12), a theory informed by gilles deleuze. ryan also draws from new materialist theory, which is helpful in that it understands all matter to have agency (13). additional works by liesl olson and douglas mao, which examine woolf’s objects in terms of the ordinary and consumerism, respectively, will also inform this paper’s discussion of non-human agency. none of these projects expressly link the non-human to antiimperialist agendas in woolf’s work, or use latour’s theories to do so, which is where this paper hopes to contribute to the critical discussion. considerable attention has also been paid to anti-imperialist sentiments in woolf’s oeuvre through work by jane marcus, bonnie kime scott, julia briggs, and kathy j. phillips. marcus asserts that “india and often africa is a haunting presence in all of woolf’s fiction” (70), pointing to woolf’s interest in exploring british colonial relations. though brazil, the native land featured in the voyage out, was not part of the british empire, it still serves as a space where the british empire may be investigated. bonnie kime scott asserts that, though woolf avoids a british colonial setting in the voyage out, like conrad, “she invites reflections on imperialism and offers characters whose personal histories intertwine with empire” (139). compounding this technique is the way british culture, by way of newspapers, letters, or even observance of tea times, seeps into the south american country throughout the novel. scott speaks further to woolf’s development of anti-imperialist sentiments explaining that, “as she became increasingly aware of feminist and pacifist standpoints, woolf grew skeptical of “‘englishness’—national identification with a place often used to promote patriarchal and national projects, including war” (114). connecting the novel’s strong anti-imperialist undercurrent to the study of the non-human, i hope to put post-colonial and ecocritical scholarship into conversation with each other, and, in doing so, illuminate woolf’s use of the non-human to undermine colonial imperatives. revealing non-human mediators woolf’s interest in what olsen terms the ordinary—daily, often mundane tasks, objects, and settings—informs the investigation of the non-human in the voyage out. drawing from woolf’s “a sketch of the past,” olsen explains how woolf differentiated between “moments of being” and “moments of non-being,” the latter of which olsen aligns with the ordinary. while moments of being seem to represent to woolf experiences that are mentally stimulating and vividly remembered, moments of non-being account for forgotten time, often taken up in ordinary tasks, such as “washing, cooking dinner, and bookbinding” (62), the examples olsen lists for woolf. in order to participate in each of these ordinary tasks, the human must rely on objects (clothes, water, food, pots, books), a trend that showcases the ordinary’s involvement with the non-human. olsen uses her discussion of the ordinary to examine woolf’s construction of character in mrs. dalloway, but this paper will extend her ideas to examine the impact of the ordinary, which is grounded in the non-human, on the social action of the novel. a passage from chapter ix of the voyage out demonstrates the impact of the non-human ordinary as it illuminates the dependence of human action on the non-human. the chapter opens with a description of the evening habits of several different characters in the hotel. the reader moves from room to room watching first miss allen, who “folded her clothes with neat, if not loving fingers, screwed her hair into a plait, wound her father’s great gold watch, and opened the complete works of wordsworth” (103), then susan warrington, who prepares for bed by brushing her hair while looking in the mirror and recording the day’s events in a journal (104). this is followed by a brief description of mr. elliot, who comes late to the room, and answers his wife’s complaint, “you know that i can never sleep when i’m waiting for you,” with a terse “well then, we’ll turn out the light” (105), and, finally, a few lines about old mrs. paley, who “having woken hungry but without her spectacles, was summoning her maid to find the biscuit-box” (105). before turning to the next scene, the narrator concludes, “the maid having answered the bell, drearily respectful at this hour though muffled in mackintosh, the passage was left in silence” (105). while these ordinary interactions doubtless offer valuable insights into the characters woolf is introducing, as olsen might assert, of more interest to this project is the dependence of characters in the novel on the non-human to achieve action in these few scenes. all of the actions listed above require interaction with objects: miss allen needs the book to read and write and the watch to mark the time; susan warrington uses of the brush and mirror to jumpstart musings on her physical attractiveness and its potential to secure her a husband; mr. elliot requires the light switch to effectively end a conversation he doesn’t want to have; and mrs. paley demands the biscuit, and the biscuit-box, to satisfy her hunger. the grammatical positioning of “the passage” as the section’s final subject also figures it and by extension the non-human as important actors in the social. these ordinary moments of non-being actually represent the latourian social as driven by non-human actors. latour explains that an actor is “what is made to act by many others” (49), stressing the interconnectivity of each actor’s action and the fact that not all actors may be human. the “social” interaction that occurs for example, between mrs. paley and her maid, is actually created through an intricate network of non-human actors: the bell that calls for the maid, the passage that allows her to reach mrs. paley, the biscuits which prompted the ring, and the biscuit-box which has kept the biscuits from becoming stale through interaction with the surrounding air. the absence of mrs. paley’s spectacles, possibly hidden by another object in the room, also contributes to the action of the scene by making it necessary for the maid to come. remove any of these pieces from the network and the “drearily respectful” (105) response from the maid, which constitutes the traditional social of the scene, could not occur. while perhaps forgettable in the span of the novel, this scene nevertheless offers one of the many instances of nonhuman supported networks that allow for human action, a phenomenon that this paper will now move to investigate on a larger scale. reorganizing networks the non-human in the voyage out generates many of the pivotal scenes for rachel vinrace, the protagonist, a fact that may upset readings of the novel that figure it as a type of bildungsroman or journey to sexual and social maturity. these types of readings would take for granted that, more than anything, people stimulate the protagonist’s development—those who teach her, wrong her, inspire her, rescue her, or love her—and fail to take into account the other actors that may be involved. but, scenes seemingly indicative of rachel’s development, including rachel’s kiss with richard, first meeting with terence, and debate with terence after their engagement, also promote anti-imperialist sentiments when understood by latour’s actor-network theory. the revelation of non-human impact on what may have been considered human action works as part of an effort to destabilize an anthropocentric imperialist system, for it minimizes the impact of humans in the larger network of the world. before analyzing this effort, it is necessary to fully explain the difference between latourian mediators and intermediaries. an intermediary, as mentioned earlier, “transports meaning or force without transformation,” while mediators “transform, translate, distort, and modify the meaning of elements they are meant to carry” (latour 39). put another way, intermediaries have no effect on the world around them; they do not stimulate action. an example might be a piece of mail waiting on a doorstep to be read. unread and unnoticed, it remains an intermediary. it would also remain an intermediary if it was read but forgotten or disregarded. but, if someone reads it and responds to it, sending another letter, that original piece of mail becomes a mediator; it has effected change. a mediator also possesses the power to “make others do unexpected things” (latour 106), while for an intermediary, “defining its inputs is enough to define its outputs” (latour 39). mediators set chains of action in motion, often in multiple directions, while intermediaries do nothing to effect the current network. rachel’s kiss with richard dalloway marks a first place where non-human mediators effect change in humans. upon leaving his cabin, richard encounters a mediating wind that “buffet[s]” him, causing him to walk with “his head slightly lowered” as he “sheer[s] round the corners” (75). his responsive posture then couples with the physical dimensions of the boat, the next set of mediators, and cause the “collision” between him and rachel that jumpstarts their conversation. because they are “too blown about to speak,” rachel opens the door of her cabin and “steps into the calm. in order for him to speak to her, it was necessary that richard should follow” (75). the weather and the ship’s particular geography, including the calm cabin, modify what might have been a casual greeting offered in passing. once in the room, the surrounding objects encourage conversation, such as the papers, music, and the books cowper’s letters, and wuthering heights. the two try to communicate for a moment without the aid of objects, though richard’s question to her, “what are your interests and occupations?” (76), relies inadvertently on things. rachel’s response, “you see, i’m a woman,” allows him to begin to express his admiration for her—“how strange to be a woman! a young and beautiful woman . . . what couldn’t you do” (76)—and seems to set the stage for romantic, human-generated action. had he made the move to kiss her right then, it would be easy to only read the scene as an initiation into an adult world of gendered roles. however, their kiss comes as an unexpected result of the interaction between the ship and ocean, two non-human mediators. the narrator explains that, in the midst of richard’s speech, “the ship lurched. rachel fell slightly forward. richard took her in his arms and kissed her,” making the kiss seem an accidental aftereffect of a fall caused by the interaction of the waves and the ship rather than a human-initiated action. the moment of the novel that might otherwise be read as the awakening of rachel’s sexuality by a sexuallyexperienced male is actually caused by an elaborate interplay of non-human mediators. human intention becomes irrelevant as the novel shows the most influential actions to be accidental and generated by the non-human. rachel and helen’s subsequent visit to the hotel, where they first meet rachel’s future fiancé terence, is likewise made possible by nonhuman mediators. the women are guided up to the hotel by a “completely straight” “avenue of trees” that runs alongside the road (100). then, “the trees suddenly came to an end; the road turned a corner, and they found themselves confronted by a large, square building.” (100). the juxtaposition of verbs modifying the non-human, such as “turned” and “confronted” with the verb modifying the humans, “found,” points to a network generated by the former. the fact that “found” is used as a reflexive verb points to the self-interested, anthropocentric tendency of humans, at this point in the novel, to believe they themselves are effecting all change. rachel and helen realize they are on the terrace, next to “a row of long windows…they were all of them uncurtained, and all of them brilliantly lighted, so that they could see everything inside. each window revealed a different section of life in the hotel” (100). the architecture of the hotel, along with the help of the electric lights, make possible rachel and helen’s first interaction with its guests, compelling them to move closer to look and mediating the network about to be created. unbeknownst to them, even as they watch the others, rachel and helen are watched by st john, who goes unnoticed at first because he is hidden behind “a spot where the curtain hung in folds.” the non-human dominates the scenes framed by the windows as well, such as the chessboard, books, newspapers, letter, and sewing materials. the meeting of our main characters, rachel and helen, with terence and st. john is the effect of the interaction between trees, the road, windows, electric lights, and curtains. the meeting then allows the next to occur— the voyage up the mountain—which is, of course, arranged by letter (125), as so many of rachel and terence’s future interactions will be (222-3). woolf’s emphasis on the non-human in these interactions deconstructs human intent and impact and begins to underscore an anti-imperialist agenda. in addition to heightening the action generated by the non-human, the novel concurrently works to minimize the effect of human action. a notable example occurs when, newly engaged, terence and rachel begin debate the merits of music and poetry, but turn to discuss their understandings of how they are connected to the world (or network) around them. in defense of poetry, terence decides to read rachel some unnamed verse: but she paid no attention, and after an interval of meditation she exclaimed: . . . . “does is ever seem to you, terence, that the world is composed entirely of vast blocks of matter, and that we’re nothing but patches of light—” she looked at the soft spots of sun wavering over the carpet and up the wall— “like that?” “no,” said terence, “i feel solid; immensely solid; the legs of my chair might be rooted in the bowels of the earth . . . .” rachel continued, “the day your note came, asking us to go on the picnic, i was sitting where you’re sitting now, thinking that; i wonder if i could think that again? i wonder if the world’s changed, and if so, when it will stop changing, and which is the real world?” (292-3). this exchange is notable because of the characters’ dependence on the non-human in the room to express their connection to the network surrounding them, but more importantly it demonstrates a change in perspective for rachel, one that is different from that of terence. terence’s understanding of himself as “immensely solid” and unmoving implies a positioning of himself as central in his world, a sun around which everything else orbits, the british empire itself. for all intents and purposes, he is his world, connected directly to its center. rachel, on the other hand, sees the transience and the minimal impact humans have on the larger world around her. the “real world,” which she is just beginning to discover, is one where humans do not have complete control, but merely pass through as “patches of light” in a room, impacting change when they work as mediators, but otherwise leaving the nonhuman, “the vast blocks of matter” ready for the next human to pass over. rachel sees herself and other humans as mere intermediaries. the timing of this realization is also important, for it occurs in the first scene where the reader observes rachel since the trip upriver, where she presumably caught the disease that will kill her. she has, at this point, been contaminated by a mediator that will produce most unexpected effects, and her understanding of the world begins to change accordingly. her description of the world as “vast blocks of matter” echoes woolf’s labeling of the world as a “vast mass” in “a sketch of the past”. it seems that, for rachel, the “cotton wool” has been lifted as a result of her interactions with mediators on her voyage upriver. the focus of the novel becomes less about rachel and more about the ways in which the non-human, as mediators, progressively destabilize human imperatives like love, or even empire. “humans beings,” so often the subject of rachel’s gaze (135) and thoughts are revealed to be controlled by non-human mediators, a revelation that upsets anthropocentric imperatives in the novel. love and empire are more connected than they may appear to be. throughout the novel, rachel searches to find unity and connection, most especially to terence, and repeatedly fails to do so. shortly after the “patches of light” discussion, she wonders “would there ever be a time when the world was one and indivisible? even with terence himself—how far apart they could be, how little she knew what was passing in his brain now!” (296). similarly, terence later resents “the force outside them that was separating them” (332). it is not until rachel is dead that terence notes, “they had now what they had always wanted to have, the union which had been impossible while they lived” (353). only at the extreme intervention of a non-human mediator can the two young lovers connect. the impossibility of direct human to human connection discredits any larger human project, such as imperialism, that would require humans to join together, forming a unified, dominant network. as rachel’s sickness progresses, terence too becomes aware of their limited impact on networks around them. rachel’s “real world” realization is echoed in terence’s thoughts as rachel is dying. the “picture of all the world that lay outside his window” (345) is overwhelmed by dominant nature—“the immense river and the immense forest,” “the vast stretches of dry earth and the plains of the sea,” the “enormous” sky—which seems all the more powerful when contrasted with the “tiny men and women” living in the “few” towns “scattered here and there” (345). more abstractly, he moves to think of the world as “vast” and “a great space” (345), terms reminiscent of those rachel uses in her realization. dwarfed by the natural non-human, terence concludes: oh, it was absurd, when one thought of it, to sit here in a little room suffering and caring. what did anything matter? rachel, a tiny creature, lay ill beneath him, and here in his little room he suffered on her account. the nearness of their bodies in this vast universe, and the minuteness of their bodies, seemed to him absurd and laughable. nothing mattered, he repeated; they had no power, no hope. (345-6) the powerlessness, minuteness, and ineffectiveness of the humans terence describes continue to showcase the futility of human imperatives, such as imperialism. the “cotton wool” that might have perpetuated anthropocentric views of the world’s networks has been ripped away. perhaps the most compelling example of the impact of the non-human world over humanity occurs through rachel’s death by disease, one which makes her bed “become very important, and the world outside, which when she tried to think of it, appeared distinctly further off” (329). the disease works effectively to separate rachel from the human-oriented world in which she has been participating: “every object in the room” becomes “more important to her,” until she is “completely cut off, and unable to communicate with the rest of the world, isolated in her own body” (330). importantly, these effects are caused not by another human in general or brazilian in particular, but by a native organism. by attributing her death to a non-human, woolf transcends a conflict that would have pitted british citizen against brazilian native, a conflict that certainly would have highlighted tension between the two cultures. in this way, she destabilizes the established binary of colonizer vs. colonized, and takes another important step to disempowering the imperialist project. dissolution of empire woolf solidifies her anti-imperialist stance, which is highlighted by terence’s and rachel’s transformed world-views and furthered by rachel’s meaningless death, through her critical portrayal of the environment and commodities. she problematizes imperialist agendas through the tension produced between the ideology of british patriotism and the physical reality of the island’s size. clarissa dalloway’s impassioned exclamation that “one couldn’t bear not to be english!” (51) exemplifies a type of blind patriotism required to engage in colonial imperatives. but patriotism becomes limited as a country’s non-human resources fail to sustain its population. the novel addresses this problem in its opening sentence, which features england as too small for the current population to act effectively (or together): “as the streets that lead from the strand to the embankment are very narrow, it is better not to walk down them arm-in-arm” (9). later, brazil becomes similarly overcrowded with the english, as “every ship that came from england left a few people on the shores of santa marina” (220), hinting again at the inability of humans to sustain themselves, much less their anthropocentric ideologies without the non-human. off-shore, patriotism is espoused and satirized through the figures of richard and clarissa dalloway, who are traveling due to “one of the accidents of political life” that has presumably left richard unelected to parliament for a term, “with a view to broadening” his mind (39). the narrator remarks that “for this purpose, the latin countries did very well, although the east, of course, would have been better” (39), alluding to the dalloways’ understanding of foreign countries as a type of commodity used to help bolster both richard’s career and england’s larger imperial project. in fact, the dalloways are encircled by commodities from the moment they enter the novel. clarissa appears “wrapped in furs, her head in veils” while richard stands “surrounded” by “many solid leather bags of a rich brown hue” (40). richard also “carried a dispatch box, and his wife a dressing-case suggestive of diamond necklaces and bottle with silver tops” (40). surrounded by objects and objectifying other cultures, the dalloways work to dominate the things around them, an effort that accords with their imperialist sympathies. mao accounts for how modernist theoretical problems were connected to practical confrontations with objects in commodity culture, asserting: the two questions of the existential dilemma—that of how meaning can inhere in being, and that of how human lives can be lived meaningfully— both seem to find a possible resolution in production, inasmuch as the subject appears to do something meaningful in leaving a trace on the object world, while the object world appears to accede to meaning through the work of the subject upon it. (20) acting upon objects gives the dalloways the illusion of productivity, of a meaningful life; yet their reliance on these commodities to validate their positions as subjects demonstrates their dependence on the non-human in their worldmaking. in the last paragraphs of his chapter on woolf, “the test of production”, mao considers between the acts and indicates that “abstract domination over objects can converge with actual domination of humans and the actual destruction of the object world” (88). this philosophy is contextualized in the following passage from the voyage out where rachel gazes at a view of the brazilian shore: “the water was very calm . . . . probably no human being had ever broken that water with boat or body. obeying some impulse, she determined to mar that eternity of peace and threw the largest pebble she could find. it struck the water, and the ripples spread out and out” (210-11). rachel’s “impulse” to “mar” or make her mark on the non-human situates the desire to conquer as an innate human imperative, one that even the most innocuous character could embody. it also highlights the human’s dependence on the non-human to create this effect. rachel could not “mar” without some thing to mar. her interaction with the environment serves as a microcosm in which human action requires the non-human to sustain it. the non-human in the form of commodities also inspires the trip up-river. seeing that rachel has become “restless” as she watches her paint in her hotel room, mrs. flushing encourages her to “‘open the wardrobe . . . and look at the things’” (234), which include “shawls, stuffs, cloaks, embroideries . . . beads, brooches, earrings, bracelets, tassels, and combs” (234) that mr. flushing buys “cheap” off of natives and sells to “‘smart women in london’” (235). it is the mediating capacity of the things themselves that allow for the economic gain of the flushings as well as the visual perpetuation of social class in london. regarding the objects then motivates mrs. flushing to travel upriver herself—an idea she and rachel flesh out during the remainder of the scene on various slips of paper (235). imperialist characters are so entrenched in their dependence on the nonhuman to perpetuate their agendas that they frequently figure other humans as objects in their interactions with them. like the objects used to perpetuate empire, women are used—objectified through marriage and commodified for their (re)productive capacities—in the interest of empire. the projection of the human/object dynamic onto one of the few instances where humans act as mediators (procreation) again diminishes human agency. it shows that humans must act as objects in order for humans to be mediators. the unexpectedness of rachel’s death in what seemed to be a traditional marriage plot has generated multiple readings of the text’s stance on marriage and larger questions of gender, class, and race, as june cummins and andrea lewis have shown. in particular christine froula’s understanding that rachel died rather than enter, by marriage, into the patriarchal society of england provides compelling insight into the novel’s final chapters. however, so many other couples abound in the novel, including the newly engaged susan warrington and mr. venning, that rachel’s death, as a statement against marriage, seems to be somewhat obscured. additionally, there are several female characters that are able to refuse marriage while remaining alive, including the much-sought after evelyn murgatroyd and miss allen, who supports herself by writing scholarly texts. given the actions of these other characters, this paper will extend froula’s reading of rachel’s death as a statement against the patriarchy to one that reads it in terms of its relation to empire. as already mentioned, rachel’s death by disease serves to demonstrate the agency of the non-human mediators over human ones. this is especially the case here, as her death before marriage prevents her from procreating, one of the very few interactions that requires only human mediators to effect change. through marriage, english women legally became the “property” of their husbands (marcus 26), relegating them to object status. woolf’s labeling of english marriage as slavery (marcus 26) infuses this status with anti-colonial sentiment. it is no surprise then that richard dalloway, the novel’s staunch patriot, also expresses the “utter folly and futility” of women’s suffrage (43), for empire is inextricably linked with the oppression of women in the novel. peopling land, and even sending people to a land, like the fictional santa marina, is accomplished institutionally through the objectification of women in marriage and childbearing. after the elizabethans conquered the land through the extraction of its commodities—“bars of silver, bales of linen, timbers of cedar wood, golden crucifixes knobbed with emeralds” (68)—the narrator explains, “settlement was made; women were imported; children grew. all seemed to favor the expansion of the british empire” (89). the description shows a chain of events where native goods are exported while women are imported, both for the perpetuation of empire. figuring women as commodities links issues of marriage and procreation to the “abstract domination of objects” that mao warns can turn into “actual domination of humans” (88): the imperialist agenda. concerns of production inform concerns of reproduction. children, the products of marriage, are often the ones perpetuating the empire in the novel. clarissa heralds the “boys from little country villages” that help secure land for the british (50-51). mrs. thronbury, who has an unidentified number of sons in the navy, two more in the army, and “one son who makes speeches at the union—my baby” (113) further exemplifies the role of children in perpetuating empire. during the course of the novel, one of mrs. thornbury’s sons is even made “governor of the carroway islands” (294), as terence tells rachel when reading mrs. thornbury’s letter congratulating them on their engagement. he approvingly explains that ralph is “the youngest governor in the service; very good, isn’t it?” (294). the fact that this information interrupts rachel and terence’s discussion of their future highlights the threat of imperialism that comes with marriage and rearing children. demands of the british government are further tied to the practice of childbearing through the character of mrs. elliot, who is unable to have children. mrs. elliot interrupts mrs. thronbury’s discussion of the roles of women in their time: “’dreadful, dreadful!’ exclaimed mrs. elliot. ‘the crown, as one may call it, of a woman’s life. i, who know what it is to be childless—‘she sighed and ceased.” (115-116). calling children “the crown” of a woman’s life highlights the thinly veiled imperialist agenda of childbearing in the novel. of course, hughling elliot, mrs. elliot’s husband, does not die when he contracts a disease during his stay in brazil, but comes out of it seemingly unscathed, playing chess in the final paragraphs of the novel with the same vigor with which he plays it the first night rachel and helen saw him through the hotel windows. perhaps it is because they will not procreate that the novel allows him to live. rachel, on the other hand, who presumably would have given birth to the children she and terence imagine together (294), dies, demonstrating the ability of the non-human to override anthropocentric efforts. the brazilian landscape also overpowers humans, as it consistently dwarfs characters in another of the novel’s anti-imperial efforts. when this happens, the character often has a momentary panic, as if they are remembering they do not have control over the world. clarissa’s complaint about views, “they’re too inhuman” (59), articulates this fear precisely. viewing the brazilian landscape, or any landscape, causes a human to be confronted with too much non-human, and the subsequent realization of her relative powerlessness. reaching the top of the mountain, the group of travelers behold “an immense space—grey sands running into forest, and forest merging in mountains, and mountains washed by air,—the infinite distances of south america . . . . the effect of so much space was at first rather chilling. they felt themselves very small, and for some time no one said anything” (131-2). here is another moment when the “cotton wool” is lifted— when human beings in the novel realize, however fleetingly, the extensive network creating their world and their relatively small impact on it. as part of her argument that characters desire to subordinate nature to human reason, christina alt claims that “the travelers [in the voyage out] combat this sense of their own insignificance by offering judgments of the view—‘splendid!’—and inscribing the vastness with human meaning by iterating the points of the compass, ‘north— south—east—west’” (alt 94). the ultimate failure to withstand nature demonstrates again the agency of the non-human mediators in the novel and the relative powerlessness of the human. latour claims that ant exposes asymmetries in power that the traditional understanding of the social glosses over. at the end of his book, latour argues that the sociology of the social, which he critiques for overlooking many of the nonhuman mediators that generate social networks: has always been very strongly linked to the superiority of the west— including, of course, its shame at being so overpowering and hegemonic. so if you really think that the future common world can be better composed by using nature and society as the ultimate meta-language, then ant is useless. it might become interesting only if what was called in the recent past ‘the west’ decides to rethink how it should present itself to the rest of the world that is soon to become more powerful. after having registered the sudden new weakness of the former west and trying to imagine how it could survive a bit longer in the future to maintain its place in the sun, we have to establish connections with others that cannot possibly be held in the nature/society collectors. or, to use another ambiguous term, we just might have to engage in cosmopolitics. (262) latour’s final message resonates eerily with the problem confronting the characters in the voyage out. old binaries that privilege society over nature give way when examined under latour’s theory, since both categories are actually made up of interconnecting networks that include human and non-human mediators, a realization that rachel and terence approach by the end of the novel. other binaries that would subjugate colonized to colonizer, or even woman to man, are likewise dissolved. ant’s shattering of the social façade that formerly empowered the west can also speak to the issues of imperialism in the novel. the british empire, heralded as all-powerful, becomes simply a title that is used to mask a network of mediators. what actually sustains the empire is a network of nonhuman mediators that can easily overpower the human “patches of light” passing through. works cited alt, christina. virginia woolf and the study of nature. cambridge: cambridge up, 2010. print. briggs, julia. “‘almost ashamed of england being so english’: woolf and ideas of englishness.” at home and abroad in the empire: british women write the 1930s. comp. robin hackett, freda hauser, and gay wachman. newark: university of delaware press, 2009. 97-118. print. cummins, june. “death and the maiden voyage: mapping the junction of feminism and postcolonial theory in the voyage out.” eds. beth rigel daugherty and eileen barrett. pace up, 1996. 204-210. proquest. web. 7 oct. 2013. froula, christine. “out of the chrysalis: female inititation and female authority in virginia woolf’s the voyage out.” tulsa studies in women’s literature 5 (spring 1986): 63-90. print. latour, bruno. reassembling the social: an introduction to actor-network-theory. oxford: oxford up, 2005. print. lewis, andrea. “the visual politics of empire and gender in virginia woolf’s the voyage out.” woolf studies annual 1 (1995): 106-19. proquest. web. 7 oct. 2013. mao, douglas. solid objects: modernism and the test of production. princeton, nj: princeton up, 1998. print. marcus, jane. hearts of darkness: white women write race. new brunswick, nj: rutgers up, 2004. print. olson, liesl. “virginia woolf and the ‘cotton wool of daily life’” modernism and the ordinary. oxford: oxford up, 2009. 57-87. print phillips, kathy j. virginia woolf against empire. knoxville: university of tennessee, 1994. print. ryan, derek. virginia woolf and the materiality of theory: sex, animal, life. edinburgh: edinburgh up, 2013. print. scott, bonnie kime. “the art of landscape, the politics of place.” in the hollow of the wave: virginia woolf and modernist uses of nature. charlottesville: university of virginia, 2012. 111-53. print. woolf, virginia. moments of being: unpublished autobiographical writings. ed. jeanne schulkind. new york: harcourt brace jovanovich, 1976. print. -----------. the voyage out. san diego: harcourt, 1920. print. microsoft word sievers philosophy final for on-line edition.docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   1 the writing living in papyrus and wool zack sievers philosophy so. “it is a discourse that is written down, with knowledge, in the soul of the listener; it can defend itself, and it knows for whom it should speak and for whom it should remain silent.” ph. “you mean the living, breathing discourse of the man who knows, of which the written one can be fairly called an image.”1 theuth: “i have discovered a potion [pharmakon] for memory [mnemesis] and for wisdom [sophia]…” thamus: “you have not discovered a potion [pharmakon] for remembering [mnemesis], but for reminding [hypomnemesis].”2 introduction when those living in cultures and times clothed in literacy write about plato’s writings concerning writing, weaving and technology, they tend to forget or pass over the burden of considering the ancient’s lived, embodied experiences of technaī and logos. this essay seeks to remedy such forgetting by attending to two interrelated questions. first, how might plato himself have experienced writing (and reading)? to be certain, philosophers spend most of their time diagramming plato’s arguments and debating his intentions—insofar as they can be inferred from and theorized through the literary, mythical and intellectual dimensions of text. these approaches, although important, tend to occlude the brute, material circumstances of ancient writing as well as plato’s particular, lived experience of                                                                                                                           1 phaedrus 276a. (plato. phaedrus. trans. nehamas and woodruff. indianapolis: hackett, 1995) all further citations from this document will be marked phaedrus, followed by the line #. 2 phaedrus 275a. in this passage, hypomnemesis takes the genitive form— ὑποµνήσεως— literally, “from under memory.” later on, the only other time the term hypomnemesis is used in the phaedrus is in 278a, where the noun takes the dative form: “he believes that at their very best these can only serve as reminders [ὑπόµνησιν] to those who already know.” here, this use of the dative shows the direction of either towards or under, i.e. “towards memory or under memory.” many thanks to morey williams for helping me work out the greek in this passage. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   2 writing during the revolutionary times between orality and alphabetical literacy in ancient greece.3 in order to take this dimension of ancient writing into account, i will call upon papyrology, a combinatory field of archeology, paleography, epigraphy, linguistics, classical scholarship and philosophy, in order to, as the papyrologist claims, “make direct contact with the writers of 2000 years ago.”4 my first task will be to describe the experience of writing and reading papyrus in ancient greece between the end of the fifth century b.c. and the middle-late fourth century b.c., the time during which plato lived and wrote about writing. then i will visit plato’s phaedrus and address what is written about writing, as it is the dialogue that makes attending to the question of good, bad, and artful speechwriting its task. my second question concerns how plato tailors his writing about logos with a metaphorics of weaving. how do living bodies, technological practice, and metaphor work and weave together in writing? upon better understanding the textual practice of writing in ancient greece, i will approach what has been written about writing (text)—by plato himself, as well as by scholars of plato— with attention to weaving (textiles) as it is employed paradigmatically (statesmanship) and metaphorically (writing). in exploring the material practice of ancient weaving, i will turn to plato’s statesman, the platonic dialogue which best exemplifies plato’s living knowledge of weaving. through exploring ancient material praxes of writing and weaving as they were lived and experienced, i will arrive at phenomeno-pharmakological contact with plato’s writing about writing—as well as his writing about weaving. can we come into contact with the texture of plato’s texts? can the pharmakon, knotted into writing as ink scratches and bleeds into papyrus, be allowed to show itself in the bodily ways humans learn to know their technologies?                                                                                                                           3 an alphabetical script can be understood as a unique type of writing technology that appears for the first time in western history with the ancient greeks. an alphabetical script transcribes non-alphabetical syllablary scripts into a script (system of letters, characters), which images or represents the range of vocal sounds made by oral, spoken language in a manageable and efficient way. this is revolutionary technology, for never before had humans made so efficient the technological practices of reading and writing; the efficiency of such technology allowed literacy to spread throughout the western world. see havelock’s chapters, “the greek alphabet” and “the alphabetization of homer” in his the literate revolution in greece and its cultural consequences. 4 turner, e. g. greek papyri: an introduction. new jersey: princeton university press, 1968. (v) concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   3 method: phenomeno-pharmakology (pharmakon, technē, physis, lived experience) the enterprise of this essay is methodologically phenomeno-pharmakological, that is, it seeks to experience, understand, and describe weaving as it manifests or shows itself (phenomena) textually (logos) to describe writing, the pharmakon. it becomes pertinent, then, to gather conceptual guiding threads from derrida, and heidegger, and, to especially give attention to the lived-practical experience of ancient writing and weaving, found in merleau-ponty. derrida’s text dissemination focuses on the “textual, the textile, and the histological” graphic relations “between the living and the dead.”5 provoked by the presence of phaedrus himself holding a handwritten copy of lysias’ speech,6 derrida argues that the “central nervure” of phaedrus concerns questioning the difference between writing dishonorably and beautifully. within this question, derrida discovers a litany of instances where pharmakon (polysemically the drug, the remedy, the recipe, the poison, the philter7), pharmakeia (pharmacia the mythical persona, but also the noun signifying the administration of the pharmakon8), and pharmakeus (magician, sorcerer, the one who poisons9) appear ambiguously as well as ambivalently to describe the technaī of writing and speech. writing as pharmakon remains dangerous, oblique and ambivalent because writing blurs differences between life and death—the live, interrogative dialogue of speaking gets translated into monuments of dead inky words. writing blurs the differences between inside and outside—written speech as discourse becomes errant, pouring or spilling out of the author over the papyrus: still the author’s words, yet now vulnerable to haphazardous, convenient, or disingenuous misappropriations. the dangers of writing, as we know from plato’s play with egyptian mythology10 in the phaedrus, is that words can too easily masquerade as tools for wisdom and memory without inciting true memory in the reader (“you have not discovered a potion [pharmakon] for remembering [mnemesis], but for                                                                                                                           5 derrida, jacques. dissemination. trans. barbara johnson. london: the athlone press, 1981): 65. hereafter cited in the notes as d, followed by the page number. 6 all greek text was handwritten at this time. punctuation, text character, grammar, and spelling were not yet standardized features of alphabetical literacy. 7 d., 71. 8 ibid., 70. 9 see plato’s use of pharmakeus in symposium at 203d “… he [pharmakeus] is a schemer after the beautiful and the good; he is brave, impetuous, and intense, an awesome hunger, always weaving snares, resourceful in his pursuit of intelligence, a lover of wisdom through all his life, a genius with enchantments, potions, and clever pleadings.” 10 phaedrus, 275a. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   4 reminding [hypomnemesis]”).11 but how might we understand the pharmakon, this doubled-edged blade, writing technology, within the ancient greek concept of technē? heidegger’s account of technē (art, skill, craft) gives a broad, nuanced reading of the greek concept. rather than merely craft-making or artwork, rather than merely a “means to an end” and/or a “human activity” (i.e. mere manual labor),12 heidegger claims that “technē manifests a mode of knowing. to know means to have seen, in the widest sense of seeing, which means to apprehend what is present, as such.”13 i want to stress that, even for heidegger, such seeing and knowing need not be exempt from the bodily, the nervous, the tactile, or the visceral. within whatever words one can use to grasp and describe writing as such, there are sheaths of flexor tendons braiding the insides of each writer’s fingers; one knows writing during the present of writing, through carrying the weight of the reed pen, through pinching the thickness of the papyrus scroll and stirring through the viscosity of molten ink. such knowledge, for plato and for heidegger, always happens within and in relation to physis—the “arising of something out of itself,”14 a bringing forth or giving birth which happens otherwise than our projects, a generativity which becomes regardless of us but moves and happens through us. socrates worries about the text’s ability to arise out of and defend itself, to speak vitally on behalf of its author. he worries that the dead matter making up the words will fail to sound and grow with the living. but writing can rise from the dead through reading. the ways we know writing cannot be separated completely from the ways reading resurrects what is written. these are technological ways.15 the question arises: how can the way plato lived inform our understanding of                                                                                                                           11 phaedrus enters the dialogue holding lysias’ speecha piece of writing which seems to know love, but which rather forgets the live-erotic dialogue which must come to risk and play in the lives of living people. 12 heidegger, martin. the question concerning technology. translated by william lovitt. new york: harper & row, 1977. 4. 13 heidegger, martin. basic writings. translated and edited by david ferrell krell. new york: harper sanfrancisco,1977 (heidegger selections 1927-1964):184. 14 ibid., 10. 15 heidegger argues that the ways of modern technology threatens to monopolize and fix the manifold of potential ways of knowing into stasis. modern technology—itself the greatest monument of text ever constructed—has covered over (buried, entombed) original greek knowing because its essence is “en-framing” [ge-stell]: a way of technological revealing which only reveals what it has already grasped, gathered, assembled and ordered (what is written, permanently inked) in its reserves. heidegger writes: “according to ordinary usage, the word gestell [frame] means some kind of apparatus, e.g., a bookrack. gestell is also the name for a skeleton” (question concerning technology, 20-21). concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   5 what he wrote about writing and weaving? to be intertwined with derrida and heidegger are merleau-ponty’s ways of reading and writing, his textual praxes, which return to the bodily dimensions of lived experience. the phenomenopharmakological method now makes contact with writing and weaving by attending, first, to the living, richly sensuous bodily dimensions of experience, rather than exclusively to those dimensions, which are reflective or strictly cognitive. phenomeno-pharmakology concerns how living organs and senses work together through technaī and logos to gather, together, store and exercise knowledge (episteme) of their own—a knowledge that ultimately weaves itself into reflection, cognition and analysis. what is inked in the papyrus classics scholars, epigraphists, and papyrologists place greece’s acquisition of its own, alphabetical written language somewhere between 850 and 700 b.c.16 in the centuries that follow this monumental technological achievement, the exact circumstances of greece becoming literate remain unknown. controversially17, eric havelock argues that, in the time of plato, greek culture should be described in terms of craft-literacy and pre-literacy rather than in any sense of “literate” that the modern west understands.18 greece cannot be called “literate” if literacy is thought of as widespread, standardized reading and writing. when papyrologists and epigraphists look at the differences in textual practice between documentary scribes, commentators, stone masons, isolated authors, and bookhands,19 they discover that greek alphabetical literacy—both reading and writing—was utterly idiosyncratic to each writer, and therefore unpredictable from author to author.                                                                                                                           16 the exact circumstances of debate over alphabet acquisition are worth noting, especially for their speculative character. it is known that the greek alphabetical script is an adapted version of phonecian script and that this technology was probably developed on the island of cyprus for a century or more before it started to spread. the translation of oral language (phonetics) into written alphabetical text (standardized representations of phonetic sounds into a system of images) was probably pursued as a technology which would help preserve the memory of greek culture. 17 havelock’s theses are controversial in that they examine a slew of presuppositions that classical and philosophical scholars bring to their analyses of ancient texts. in summary, havelock argues that the greek literacy is incomplete as well as constantly in tension with oral culture during classical antiquity. 18 havelock, “spoken sound and inscribed sign” in the literate revolution in greece and its cultural consequences, 59. 19 turner, e. greek manuscripts of the ancient world. new jersey: princeton university press, 1971. 22-24 concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   6 punctuation had not been standardized (there are not yet question marks, apostrophes, commas, but only signs that demarcate changes in speakers); text was written without separating letters into words as a continuous, single sequence of script, a thread without case sensitivity, without standardized lettering or font.20 turner, a classical papyrologist, notes that in the idiosyncrasies of these earliest greek papyri (late-middle fourth century b.c.) “…we can see the limitations imposed on the writer by the material and by format, on the reader by layout.”21 too, there are significant divergences between tutored and untutored handwriting.22 herein, we notice the greeks struggling to achieve a new discipline of standardizing dexterity in their hands. the fact that writing on papyrus did not usually happen on tables but instead occurred while sitting on the ground and stretching one’s tunic over one’s knees as a makeshift desk23 further emphasizes the difficulties such discipline faced. while balancing the papyrus, the writer would have to practice feeling for and applying his reed pen with the right, timely amount of pressure—enough force to make his mark without tearing through the sheet, the board, or his garment. i interpret such skill in terms of kairological finesse—the living body’s timing, grace and poise in working over the physis through logos and technē24. the way a tightrope walker withstands an unexpected breeze; the way an archer’s pupils dilate during the arrow’s narrow twilight release; the way an ancient writer learns to apply the right amount of pressure to the pumice as it grinds into the papyrus and erases the ink, learning to feel through the depths of friction without wounding the text; these moments are evidence of kairological finesse. a signature, the subtle impression of the art of one’s own touch, achieves itself in the nuances of carving and hollowing the tip of one’s hard reed pen; this tip became a vessel for the writer’s homemade ink, a potion of heated gum and lustrous carbon black ash (perhaps, ashes from burnt papyrus).                                                                                                                           20 these observations are culled from e. turner’s text greek manuscripts of the ancient world. 1-22. 21 turner, e. greek papyri: an introduction. new jersey: princeton university press, 1968. 99. 22 ibid,. 89. “rough, untutored hands can be easily picked out…the same letter may be so clumsily made that it appears to have several distinct forms, yet by studying the direction of the individual strokes one observes that attempts to make it proceed in the same way. usually there will be gross spelling errors also—letters and syllables are omitted, and so on…” 23 ibid., 2-3. this practice also came from ancient egypt, as certain ancient greek travelers have noted. turner speculates that greeks may have developed mats of some kind, which, placed underneath the papyrus, provided a harder surface which prevented punctures and tearing. 24 consider the greek concept of kairos here, in the context of having the “right” and “timely” kind of physical strength, finesse, and dexterity to write complex systems of characters. the practice of writing with hard reed into papyrus differs starkly from ancient egyptian methods, which used ink brushes to paint their hieroglyphics on the papyrus. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   7 add to such difficulties the fact that the ancient greeks recite their literacy: reading and writing are simultaneously spoken out loud. in this way, their writing maintains archaic vestiges of orality: the living rhythms of speaking bodies make impressions into every character written and read. logos resonates within the breath of lungs as well as the breadth, flexibility and durability of the lips and vocal chords; it makes its mark in the text, the voice’s knowledge flowing through the fingertips staining their signatures. the momentum of the heart beats through speech, echoes through the speakers hands and fingers; together they clothe the papyrus in black, the color which plato says contracts the visible.25 what is inked in the papyrus is the living blood carried through contractions, through the reed’s tip, to be born beyond them, the pulse blackening and hardening as it dries outside of the living body, dyeing. the tension between orality and literacy, within which plato wrote, was a tension between different ways living bodies learn to work over and through logos. interpreting the circumstances of plato’s lived experience of ancient writing materials confirms this claim.26 it is agreed upon by classical epigraphists and papyrologists that plato’s dialogues were written on papyrus (cyperus papyrus,)27 a green, sedge-growing, starchy, fibrous plant which could not grow in the aegean regions where plato lived. in ancient greek, the term for green, chloros, suggested moisture, fluidity, freshness and living.28 papyrus was imported from egypt by greece and was probably harvested from the banks of the nile in the months after it would flood. the hot dry summers and cold wet winters of greece did not allow the survival of any complete, original platonic texts—they have been erased, just as that same tumultuous and fecund climate erased nearly all of the textiles made and worn by ancient greeks.29 the oldest literary greek papyri are found south of                                                                                                                           25 plato. plato’s cosmology [timaeus]. trans. francis macdonald cornford. new york: bobbsmerrill, 1957. (timaeus, 67e) 26 “evidence for the date of the invention of the alphabet and its earliest use is supplied by epigraph. but material evidence for literacy is something else. reading is a habit which does not leave its impress upon a material object. nor can you build it up upon the basis of a fund of inscriptions. what is needed is a body of documentation in quantity available in private houses, easily transmissible between persons, fluently and easily written. in short, a ready supply of material surfaces receptive to ink and light in texture.” havelock, “the pre-literacy of the greeks” in the literate revolution in greece and its cultural consequences, 190. 27 lewis, naphtali. papyrus in classical antiquity. great britain: oxford at the clarendon press, 1974. 87 28 plato sees colors as “flames streaming off from bodies of every sort” because he understands the eyes to be organs that negotiate thermodynamic moisture. see timaeus, 67c-68d. 29 plato’s own handwriting, then, like his living voice, remains a mystery. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   8 greece, across the mediterranean sea, in egypt30—egypt’s deathly winds and sands best preserved what was already dead.31 ancient books were not books as we understand them, but rather were rolls of papyrus.32 the papyrus sheets themselves were, to some extent, woven out of crisscrossing horizontal and vertical layers of the plant.33 papyrus was not only used for writing: plaited baskets, tunic fasteners, ship’s cables and ropes, wicks for lamps and candles, sandals were made of papyrus. “they even make boats from [papyrus],” writes theophrastus, “and from the fiber they weave sails.” farmers and workers chewed the softer parts of the papyrus stalk for the taste of its refreshing, juicy pulp.34 papyrus plants’ feathery crowns were used for ceremonial decorum and interior design. when it was burned, papyrus ash was used for perfumes, incenses and aromatic powders. papyrus also had medicinal functionality: “…it was used from very early times as an ingredient in a large variety of medicinal recipes; its residual ash when burnt (like all vegetable matter) has a mildly caustic and desiccatory property35…alone or with other ingredients the ash went into potions and ointments prescribed for fistulas, tumors and a host of other ailments from alopecia to ulcers—even for insomnia (if taken in wine).”36 stripped from the stalk, dampened with oils and infused with powders, papyrus also covered wounds, bandaged human flesh. in the themes just articulated, papyrus is used for clothing, travel, festival decoration, nourishment, writing, and medicine. papyrus is used by greece between home and the foreign, between life and death. it makes literal, as well as                                                                                                                           30 the oldest fragments and commentaries date to the second half of the fourth century b.c., three hundred to four hundred years after the alphabetization of greek had occurred but before literacy is standardized, let alone widespread. see cavallo, guglielmo. “greek and latin writing in the papyri” in bagnall, roger s. ed. oxford handbook of papyrology. new york: oxford university press, 2009. (102) 31 many of the earliest papyri fragments of platonic dialogues are found in the papyrus wrapping the limbs of egyptian mummies—literally, for eternity, these dead bodies were to be clothed in copied texts of plato. the difference between text, textiles and death becomes blurry here. 32 turner, e. g. greek papyri: an introduction. new jersey: princeton university press, 1968. (7). as opposed to the spine-bound papyrus codices of later antiquity which could sit and stand on a desk and remain open, needing only one hand to turn the pages, the papyrus scroll “was convenient, impermanent, and not very capacious…two hands were needed to hold it open…” 33 ibid., 4. 34 this practice was more predominant in egypt and, in fact, greeks thought it to be a bit distasteful. 35 lewis, naphtali. papyrus in classical antiquity. great britain: oxford at the clarendon press, 1974. (31) 36 ibid., 97. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   9 literary sense that plato would term papyrus writing and the papyrus rolled scrolls of his age as pharmakon. woven thick with bodily praxes of writing are the habits and customs surrounding the textual praxes of ancient academia. while this issue deserves more time than i can devote to it, one point must be made. the anxiety felt about writing was fueled by confusion regarding issues that today we relate to author intention and academic integrity. the majority of academic writing in plato’s time was conducted with “commentaries” (hypomnemata), handwritten copies of isolated passages which served the student during lectures. turner describes these texts, hypomnemata, as pre-critical interpretative texts: literary and historical scholarship are impossible unless the reader respects the words of the author he is reading, and reproduces them with all the accuracy of which he is capable. this presupposition of scholarship we take for granted, but it was not part of the tradition of classical greece. used to the cut and thrust of oral dialectic, the greeks tended to be careless of exact quotation or copying and of precise chronology, undisturbed by anachronisms. in a famous passage of the phaedrus (274 f) plato decries the use of books: they inhibit thought, they can’t answer back, they merely provide hypomnemata or aids to memory. plato’s protest is not against exact thinking, it is not even against pedantry: it is against the tendency encouraged by books to depend on others and consequently to cease to think oneself, to close one’s mind when the problem has been stated and given a solution.37 in addition to the idiosyncrasies of the written texts of that day, as well as their being prone to errors, the practices of copy-making and recitation in the ancient world ran the regular risk of distorting the author’s original words, plagiarism, slander—especially in hypomnemata. recalling the ambivalence of the pharmakon, perhaps describing plato’s reaction to writing simply as “protest” gets a bit more problematic. plato is protesting the art of writing from within writing— this is a fact observed by anyone who has thought twice about phaedrus. ancient writing in phaedrus i am interpreting plato’s intentions in phaedrus as grafting from, into and upon his lived experiences of writing—they live in the finessed carving and bleeding of                                                                                                                           37 ibid.,107. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   10 inked reed crisscrossing into and through the depths of crisscrossed papyrus. the duplicity of the potion, the pharmakon, writing, in the passages quoted at the beginning of this essay, is written as a difference between technology for mnemesis and hypomnesis, that is, the dangerous difference between a living-recollected memory and a dead, artificial memory. we feel anxiety surrounding this danger in the mythical words plato has socrates speak, and that socrates says are spoken by egyptian kings and gods: …[writing] will introduce forgetfulness into the soul of those who learn it: they will not practice using their memory [mnemesis] because they will put their trust in writing, which is external and depends on signs that belong to others, instead of trying to remember from the inside [mnemesis], completely on their own. you have not discovered a potion for remembering [mnemesis] but for reminding [hypomnemesis]…38 the carefully imaged tapestry this myth presents to the reader is already woven thick with the lived experience of writing in classical antiquity. the ways mnemesis differs from hypomnemesis parallel the ways oral culture is in tension with literacy. plato’s writing inhabits this tension and his anxiety stems from those living, first encounters with writing as being essentially different from living speech: writing was still new technology, and the myth depicts it this way, bringing us into contact with the moment of writing’s birth and the anxiety witnessed and felt therein. writing, for plato, embodied an ambivalent relation between life and death, between home and what is foreign. the presence of the egyptian speakers in socrates’ mythos concerning the invention of writing (theuth and thamus) does not seem so strange anymore—in fact, it makes perfect sense that the myth displaces itself even further outside of athens (into egypt), as socrates himself already tells it standing outside of his city’s limits. one clue is that the myth begins in naucratis,39 a greek trading colony in egypt. a conversation concerning writing carried socrates outside of athens because the material practice of writing already depended on sources beyond greece. the presence of egyptians in this myth, akin to the pharmakon, is ambivalent, duplicitous. on the one hand, “egyptians were known in greece for their ancient records and their efforts to retain the memory of the past.”40 this is clear, too, from the timaeus’ discussion of natural disasters                                                                                                                           38 phaedrus, 274e-275a. 39 phaedrus, 274c. 40 see nehamas’ and woodruff’s commentary to phaedrus on relevance of egyptian mythology (fn 177, page 78). concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   11 related to water in relation to irrigation and record-keeping technology in egypt.41 on the other hand, egyptians were known for the malicious erasure of the texts of their predecessors: pharaohs deliberately erected monuments over those made by their predecessors, going so far as to erase their cartouches from the stone.42 we cannot forget that writing is born of an ancient egyptian culture that was preoccupied with the task of monumentalizing death on a scale unsurpassed even by modern architectural technology. the pyramids, like many other colossal egyptian temples (to name just two: abu simbel, a monument scratched into the face of mountain rock; saqqara, egypt’s “city of the dead”), are first and foremost tombs43—perhaps plato thought of such architecture when describing lysias’ speech as an epitaph or tomb inscription.44 phaedrus, holding this tomb inscription, is the instance which charges readers of phaedrus to explore the problem of deciding how writing can be good, bad…artful.45 i have argued that knowing how to write involves how bodies live through and practice technē and logos. recall the many moments in phaedrus where socrates stresses the importance of demonstrating a living knowledge (mnemesis)—living between technē and physis—in one’s writing or                                                                                                                           41 timaeus, 22-23. 42 the defacement and erasure of egyptian monumental writing is common knowledge for egyptologists and egyptian epigraphists. the question to be asked is: to what extent was plato, and for that matter were greeks of his time, familiar with egyptology? the use of egyptian mythology in phaedrus suggests evidence in the affirmative. was plato familiar with the battles between egyptian pharaohs concerning eternity, monument and memory? allow me one example: thutmose iii (1479-1425 b.c.), sometimes referred to as thothmes after thoth, the egyptian god of knowledge and writing (recall theuth, in phaedrus, can also be called thoth) was thought to have purposefully destroyed the monuments of his predecessor, hatshepsut. epigraphists still debate the exact circumstances of this erasure, but its malice is not in the least uncommon to egyptian pharonic history (see: caminos, ricardo. “the recording of inscriptions and scenes in tombs and temples” in ancient egyptian epigraphy and palaeography. new york: metropolitan museum of art, 1976.) 43 one of the first, principle books of egyptology, a hodge-podge collection of the earliest egyptian mythological fragments, is known as the “book of the dead”—precisely for the reason that it is almost entirely preoccupied with ritualizing and monumentalizing death (albeit, for purposes as of rebirth, as the first translators of hieroglyphics found). interestingly, derrida was quite preoccupied with this text as well as egyptology. 44 writing, specifically lysias’ speech, is described by analogy to epitaph, an epigram inscribed on the tomb of midas (264c). 45 phaedrus, 276b: “the issue which brought us to this point in the first place: we wanted to examine the attack made on lysias on account of his writing speeches, and to ask which speeches are written artfully and which not.” concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   12 speechmaking.46 along these threads, remember socrates speaking for “a discourse that is written down, with knowledge, in the soul of the listener; it can defend itself, and it knows for whom it should speak and for whom it should remain silent.”47 recall also socrates’ argument that good speech must be put together like a “living creature, with a body of its own.”48 our focus on ancient fingers gripping the reed dipped in ink, this reed’s carving valleys in the papyrus and filling them with lustrous black carbon, has been in aid of attending to such living, experiential knowledge: the kairological finesse of the writer. the knowledge in kairological finesse is a living knowledge of the difference between writing and speechmaking: a knowledge which in turn questions the differences between the material practices of writing and speechmaking, the differences between voice and ink, larynx throat and reed, living body and dead papyrus. socrates concludes the dialogue by composing for phaedrus an image of the man who knows these differences: he believes that at their very best [written discourses] can only serve as reminders [hypomnemesis] to those who already know. and he also thinks that only what is said for the sake of understanding and learning, what is truly written in the soul concerning what is just, noble, and good, can be clear, perfect, and worth serious attention: such discourses should be called his own legitimate children, first the discourse he may have discovered already within himself and then its sons and brothers who may have grown naturally in other souls insofar as these are worthy; to the rest, he turns his back. such a man, phaedrus, would be just what you and i both would pray to become.49 socrates prays to become the man who knows how to write and speak the difference between mnemesis and hypomnemesis—the difference between living memory and those dead monuments to memory that remain, which are reminders— insofar as writing, reading and speaking are possible. but socrates, it                                                                                                                           46 phaedrus, 277b. “first, you must know the truth concerning everything you are speaking or writing about; you must learn how to define each thing in itself; and, having defined it, you must know how to divide it into kinds until you reach something indivisible. second, you must understand the nature [physis] of the soul, along the same lines…then, and only then, will you be able to use speech artfully [technē], to the extent that its nature [physis] allows it to be used that way…” 47 phaedrus, 276a. 48 phaedrus, 264c. 49 phaedrus, 278a. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   13 has been speculated, never, himself, wrote. does plato’s portrayal of this great philosopher now appear a bit hypocritical, if not facetious? in writing, the man who never writes challenges his interlocutor, a reader and writer, concerning his lack of living, self-knowledge regarding these technological praxes. here, socrates’ knowledge of how these technaī are woven and inked into the papyrus with logoi, between body, soul and physis, begins to wither and fray. what is dyed in the wool “held closer to the light” for a moment in the phaedrus, what socrates and phaedrus have been weaving with logos shows itself akin to “threadbare fabric,” 50 as if poorly crafted speech or dialogue can reveal, as well as the nudity of a body, the fragility and vulnerability of human discourse. plato seems anxious about the facts of this material: discourse can be stripped, torn to tatters, opened to suffering—perhaps even wounded. yet earlier in the dialogue, before giving his first speech, socrates stands under the high-noon sun, inundated by the cicadas’ screaming. he appears to be overheating—from the weather as well as from his proximity to phaedrus. to prevent himself from ‘losing the thread of his argument,’ socrates covers his head and face with a cloth.51 this cloth seems to be thicker than the discourse: among other things, it lends socrates the shade necessary to continue weaving with logos. does the thicker cloth reveal less than one that is threadbare? is one more vital than the other? while these cloths are equal in ink and papyrus, what can be gathered from plato’s use of threadbare fabric as a metaphor for written discourse remains unclear. his choice of such metaphors, when we look at their history in discourse, seems less a choice and more the participation in a custom—plato is, by far, not the first to employ a metaphorics of textiles and weaving for describing various threads of logos.52 in fact, the cultural work performed now, and in plato’s time, by texts was for much of western history achieved in textiles. as kathryn kruger notes, “the connection between weaving (textiles) and language (texts) [and technē] becomes so entangled as to be almost impossible to separate.”53                                                                                                                           50 phaedrus, 268a. 51 phaedrus, 237a. 52 see: kruger, kathryn. weaving the word: the metaphorics of weaving and female textual production. new jersey: rosemont publishing, 2001. (cited hereafter as weaving the word) 53 weaving the word, 29. continued: “in many languages including english, the verb to weave defines not just the making of textiles, but any creative act. likewise, the noun text comes from the latin verb texere, also meaning ‘to construct or to weave.’ in greek this verb, [technē], refers to art, craft and skill.” concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   14 archeologists and historians understand the practice of weaving to be the major technological predecessor to writing: writing is born of and through weaving, and in prehistoric cultures, myths and stories are woven by communities of female authorship.54 the technological weaving vocabulary that plato employs, much akin to the ritual practice of praise given to athena, athens’ patron goddess of weaving (and, as athene parthenos, patron of the literary arts55), originates millennia prior to greece’s fitful transitions to literate culture.56 it appears less confounding, then, that plato continues the custom of using metaphors of weaving to address the complex activities and movements that carry the generative potential of logos. but in a literal sense, writing clothes logos with technē designed to withstand natural disaster and preserve the records of a culture for eternity. weaving as a metaphor for writing works to articulate the ways logos goes into labor for generation and preservation. thus weaving, as it shows itself as a metaphor for writing in writing, tends to appear when plato tries to articulate gestation, growth, and endurance. gestation: the weaving carries and harbors logos against physis and destruction, before writing is read or spoken. growth: socrates, the speaking midwife, delivers increasing intimacy between the living bonds of technē, physis, philosophy and statesmanship—all while being able to keep them distinct.57 endurance: weaving produces technology for the long haul—it is literal                                                                                                                           54 ibid., 12-13. the scope of this paper cannot adequately address the dimensions of gender and work at stake in these historical facts which archeologists and historians are only recently beginning to piece together. from my research i can gather that women played a much greater role in culture prior to literacy, in addition to roles concerning textile manufacture, medicine and education. e.j.w. barber’s research on women’s work in textiles is of landmark importance to approaching questions concerning gender, history and labor. see: women's work: the first 20,000 years women, cloth, and society in early times; see also: prehistoric textiles: the development of cloth in the neolithic and bronze ages with special reference to the aegean. 55 weaving the word, 24. 56 see barber’s women’s work, 243: “good evidence exists that the basis of athena’s mythology lies far back in aegean prehistory, long before the greeks themselves arrived. the names of athena and athens are not greek or indo-european names but come from an earlier linguistic layer. furthermore, the greek weaving vocabulary is not indo-european. the proto-indo europeans seem to have had scant knowledge of weaving, their women knowing only how to weave narrow belts and bands…the people who taught the greeks this technology, vocabulary, and associated mythical lore must have been the ‘indigenous’ inhabitants of the balkans (skilled in weaving since the middle of the neolithic, perhaps even 5000 b.c.). the athenians referred to these natives as ‘autochthonous’—born of the land itself—and athena must belong originally to them.” 57 see sophist at 259e: “…speech has arisen [read: physis, generation] for us through the interweaving of the forms.” at 262d-e, in a conversation concerning how one learns the art of speaking: “…we say that [the learner] speaks and does not merely name; what’s more, we utter concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   15 and cultural technology, which provides comfort as well as survival from disaster and annihilation. thus, plato’s graphic depictions of real weavers, their materials, and the complicated techniques of their craft continue and follow along these threads.58 in the statesman, plato leaves the reader with a “wool cloak,” a “bond” of interrelating statecraft and citizenry, which weaves and holds together, in the end, as a “drug [pharmakon] provided by art.”59 the pharmakon returns to logos, and this time it is weaving in writing. before approaching the nature of metaphor—the carrying and bearing beyond—in more bodily ways, two questions arise for orientation. first, how does the wool cloak communicate the bonds that statesmen weave? second, how and why did greeks wear wool? these questions will weave together as they approach the context within which plato writes about weaving in the statesman. ancient weavers in the statesman plato’s eleatic stranger employs a paradigm to aid practicing giving a verbal account (communicate) of the art of statesmanship. a paradigm is metaphorical technology that shows the art of statesmanship alongside the art of weaving wool60 in order to bring forth or reveal something not yet recognized about both.61 although the stranger is certain that “no one in his right mind would be willing to hunt down the account of weaving for the sake of weaving itself,”62 i am not convinced that the domain of the body and its lived experiences weaving wool should (or can) be omitted from the intelligibility of plato’s metaphor. rather, the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         the name ‘speech’ for this weaving…” recall aristophanes’ speech in the symposium at 191ad. after describing the primordial wound zeus lacerates into humankind, we are told of the ways humans “throw their arms around each other, weaving themselves together, wanting to grow together… whenever one of the halves died and one was left, the other that was left still sought another and wove itself together with that.” herein we glimpse weaving as the metaphorical technology, which can work between life (generation, movement) and death (destruction, stasis). 58 see republic at 369d-370e, for an instance of weaving being associated with woman’s work. 59 statesman, 310a. 60 statesman, 277d. 61 the paradigm reveals similarities of nature between whatever it intertwines; it also preserves what is other as other, what is same as same; it addresses sameness and otherness together, intertwining them. “through comparison,” says the stranger, the generation of the paradigm “brings to completion one true opinion about [statesmanship and weaving wool] as about both together” (278c). 62 statesman, 285d. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   16 living body’s kinaesthetic finesse in weaving and wearing wool provides the very first frameworks for their intelligibility; these are the reservoirs rich with bodily knowledge and material, the reserves which condition the possibility of carrying and bearing resources beyond embodiment. to be sure, the stranger’s playful warnings against pursuing an account of weaving for “weaving itself” is followed by claims that degrade the bodily dimensions of the technē as those which are easiest to make plain, those which are lesser. the greater and more honorable account concerns bodiless things. the philosopher stanley rosen seems to agree with this when he describes the stranger’s specificity regarding the nuances of weaving as a material practice, not ironically, as “too much material.”63 nevertheless, rosen argues that the stranger’s …theory is tangled together with practice…[the] more separate from practice, the farther we are removed from human existence, the less accurately we understand it as it is actually lived. the perspective of the mathematician or the astronomer is not suited to the study of politics. and there is a deeper or more theoretical inference to be drawn. we cannot finally separate theory from practice because theory is itself in part practice. the pure viewing of platonic forms is impossible for an incarnated soul, which must “recollect” these forms or view them in images, which are artifacts of the cognitive and perceptual process.64 if theory tangles with practice, and if the practice of recollection is necessarily incarnated, this means living, bodily experiences necessarily graft themselves into cognition and perception. their threads and sutures cannot be entirely severed, for the arts of weaving and writing, after all, “tend to produce artifacts by the hand.”65 hence the need to interpret the massive amount of “material” concerning weaving in the paradigm’s graphic account of wool cloaks.66 this material is vital to how the reader and interlocutors, through a series of distinctions, reach the production of wool cloaks: from defenses against suffering (paschein: suffering, the opposite of self-power, agency, movement and cause) come barriers, screens; there are screens which wrap around to protect, screens which are made, without stitches, from hair; such protectors (alekseteria: remedy or medicine, as distinct from pharmakon) bind together; “to these very defenses and coverings, worked by                                                                                                                           63 rosen, stanley. plato’s statesman: the web of politics. new haven: yale university press, 1995 (104). 64 ibid., 111. 65 ibid., 113. 66 statesman, 279c-280a. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   17 fastening them together with themselves,” says the stranger, “we give the name ‘cloaks.’” this technē which forges cover from physis “defends from winter storms, fashions barriers of wool, and is called by the name of the weaving art.”67 plato’s choice of the garment’s material as wool is significant. wool68 was, in fact, the most available source of fabric in the ancient world, especially in greece. it was available because practices of selective breeding sheep and goats already stretched far back into the cultures of pre-historic, oral epochs. not only did most families in greece rear, tend to, and cultivate their own sheep; greek women (wives, daughters and slaves) routinely sheered wool in their homes, washed and beat it, spun and even dyed it. wool-working unites greece in sharing the domestic practice of weaving as technical expertise. while wool-working was a family practice close to home, ancient greece’s major export markets were, in fact, driven by demands for wool textiles. wool wove together what was home and what was foreign, and greeks found pride and meaning in their mutual prosperity. weaving succeeded partly because greek experts worked at all levels of weaving processes— efficient technical praxes of teamwork and specialization were already well developed and underway. the reader cannot forget that effectuating the efficiency of any economy depends upon the efficacy of communication and education. within the success that the greek’s kairological finesse for weaving provided there is a material dimension which concerns the unique virtues of wool itself. first, the kairological finesse which weaving demands of the weaver shows itself in the shuttle’s movement back and forth, a motion which accords with the ways bodies live and work, the ways they walk together in and out of harmony.69 the weaver aims at meticulousness, accuracy and speed in production—efficient due measure, kairos. the finesse required here, akin to writing, concerns the heart as well as the subtlety of touch; finesse is learned in and through the pulsating nerves, the veins and skin. in the timaeus, skin is born and gestates according to moisture70 in the brain; it grows by stretching into “long threads” that wind into “knots clothing the                                                                                                                           67 statesman, 280e. 68 the remarks i am about to make concerning wool can be confirmed by variety of different sources. see below in my “selected bibliography” the texts by barber, becker, blümner, krueger, as well as the section “greece” in the cambridge history of western textiles. 69 “harmonia, close fitting, can be a feature of the tightly woven text only: a textile with a loose weave is not, so to speak, ‘harmonious.’” see mcewen, indra kagis. socrates’ ancestor: an essay on architectural beginnings. cambridge: mit press, 1993. (83) 70 recall the green of papyrus, its living freshness and association with the sensation of moisture. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   18 body all around.”71 “further, where the fabric of the sinew, skin, and bone is finished off in the fingers and toes, a compound of the three, when it is dried off, forms a single hard skin containing them all.”72 the rhythm of weavers’ hearts— their “knot of veins and fountain of blood which moves impetuously round throughout all [their] members”73—involves the timing of their steps to their breathing. lungs, for plato, provide relief for the throbbing and swelling heart.74 the kairological finesse with which weavers wield the power of their fingers together impresses traces of their experience into the fabric wrought. perhaps, like mystic weavers of the middle ages, ancient greek weavers sang or hummed as they wove, their voices and limbs working together to become communities of living metronome.75 kairological finesse, the living body’s proper timing and poise, requires timely material. there are materials which, in the moment, best clothe the bodies and texts of incarnated spirits. the metaphor that is timely gathers these materials into logos and carries them beyond their brute materiality. necessarily, this movement “beyond” is a movement that retains the living body’s knowledge. the subtle longevity of the ink soaking into the papyrus, the wool enduring winter storms and summer-sun, these are kairological materials. the unique virtues of woolen materials show themselves when compared to the fragility of finer linens such as cotton, flax, or silk. this is clear from statesman’s paradigm dividing plant fibers from hair and then choosing the latter. wool provided the ancient world with a plentiful source of flexible, durable material for textile manufacturing. choosing wool as the material of the paradigm follows from and anticipates ways of living that clothe themselves in the virtues of wool: wool is both flexible and durable. due to the complexity of its fiber structure, wool resists soiling and permeation; it is flame retardant and retains its shape in movement under duress. remember natural disasters, fires, torrential downpours and the longevity of papyrus and ink, and then remember how clothing can save the living or allow them to perish. wool works to protect whoever wears                                                                                                                           71 timaeus, 76a. 72 ibid., 76d. 73 ibid,, 70b. 74 ibid. 75see michelet’s the people (trans. john p. mckay) 46-47: “the mystic weavers of the middle ages were famous under the name of lollards because while they worked they actually lulled, that is, sang and hummed in low tones some nursery rhyme. the rhythm of the shuttle, pushed forth and pulled back at equal intervals, patterned itself to the rhythm of the heart, and by evening it often happened that in addition to the cloth, a hymn or a ballad had been woven.” concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   19 it during the extremities of physis—it is timely during turbulence and calm. the ancients knew the virtues of wool because knew kairos—materially and in finesse. during all greek seasons, wool was worn by many.76 in all seasons means in all weather—even the most comfortable days. wool can be exceptionally comfortable. clothing is, after all, technology that can become more useful as it frees its wearers more and more from their subtle pains and discomforts. it is in this sense that wool, like papyrus, offers to life a dependable, portable locality—an artifice that lasts through time and disaster, the right place and the right time for logos to engage with statesmanship and discourse philosophically.77 the dynamic strife and intimacy between storm and calm, comfort and excruciation, horror and eroticism is clothed in wool. choosing wool for the paradigm taps into shared human experiences of clothing ourselves and being clothed—the living experience of technology. the wool cloak becomes more than wool in plato’s logos. carried beyond the paradigm, the statesman’s woven wool cloak becomes a bond78 that must care for everyone and everything living and dead, manmade and natural, divine and human in the city, weaving them together. the statesman must determine how best to divide and intertwine everyone and everything—most notably, the statesman must mix those naturally defined by virtues of courage or moderation in order to best advance the good in the city, depending upon the educators who cultivate the right beliefs about the good, justice, and the beautiful. recall that the divisions and intertwinings of different hairs of woolen cloaks were said to be “bound together with themselves.”79 recall also the role                                                                                                                           76 by many, i mean men of all socio-political classes (even slaves). women tended to wear other materials and thinner fabrics in summer. 77 it is easiest to forget the body en route to philosophizing bodiless things when advances in clothing and other technologies makes it possible to live in states of uninterrupted comfort, or, at the very least, provide living with stable equilibriums of sensation, perception and experience. think of the air-conditioning, the cushioned chairs, and the large, flat tables under 24-hour fluorescent lighting that populate nearly all university libraries. the environments in which philosophy (and the sciences) can pursue disembodied knowledge are environments that are conducive to forgetting about how our bodies feel, but does this mean that we can forget feeling absolutely? i understood such environments as incubators for those armchair theoreticians whose sedentary living tends toward controlling climate and silencing the noise of discomfort. note: socrates and phaedrus stand amidst the cicadas’ screaming under the high-noon sun. 78 the vocabulary of bodily weaving is employed to describe the bond: “…kingship attempts to bind together and interweave those natures …we should claim that this bond is implanted through the laws for those alone who are both well-born from the beginning and nourished by customs that are according to nature, and that for just these men it is the drug provided by art…” (statesman, 310a). (my emphasis) 79 statesman, 279e. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   20 that education must play for the state, for community and for communication. recall finally that greek education prioritizes athleticism, harmony, risk, play, and trust. the stranger claims that the art of statesmanship must direct and facilitate the education of citizens by mixing them together. the bond entangles and bears the traces of living bodies interweaving art and speech, technaī, logos, episteme, and kairos. the greek word sun-teinou is translated here as ‘bond.’ sun means “together”; teinou means to stretch, to draw tight, to brace up—to strain to the uttermost, to exert. sunteinou, the bond, can be understood as a straining and stretching together, an artifact made to contain yet allow living tension and motile contact under duress. the flexible durability of this bond shows itself living through, along and inside the wool cloak, because the wealth of knowledge gathered through lived experiences of weaving and wearing wool shares itself even in being carried beyond into and beyond the text. the bond between writing and weaving living in papyrus and wool technē and logos weave together to bond bodies of written text. while metaphors of weaving in writing do go beyond the brute experiences of living bodies, they do not completely escape these experiences. theory, inextricably, remains tangled with practice. odysseys of thought and journeys to the forms in writing, as they are born of weaving through writing, gather, stretch and tighten their harmonies with dexterity, finesse, and materials that are timely. if writing is born of weaving and weaving weaves a bond, to what or who does writing give birth? the answer, at least in part, concerns how we understand the bond. for plato, the bond bonds as weavers weave wool into cloak. the bond lives as our living bodies work raw materials into technologies. the efficacy of technology subsists and improves with the lived experiences of practicing technology. it is this aspect of the problem that prompts the question: how is the bond lived, the garment worn? the virtue of weaving and the flexibility and durability of wool shows themselves in the experience of siege and storm. plato and his readers knew this, viscerally. akin to doctors and writers, the statesman-weaver’s art (a technē that is pharmakon) can become remedy or poison. deciding the art forever one way or the other begins tyranny and bondage: the bond cannot be finished, let alone perfected; it must avoid the death of stasis (stasis: suffering the standstill of internal opposition). the fetters and chains imposed by tyrants, the technology designed to immobilize and immure living citizens by deadening their livelihood (much akin to hypomnemata, the copies which deaden living speech by writing for readers only concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   21 reminders, logos entombed)—such carceral technology is not the bond of the proper statesman. incompleteness, vicissitude, and aporia must remain dyed in the wool.80 the statesman must learn, from moving and living, how to keep movement alive. educated in music and rhythm, the bonds woven become bands. their selforiginating movements play in harmonies, become elastic, tolerate, coordinate, collaborate, improvise. these bonds take risks; they test and are tested, endure trials and tribulations. such flexible durability can tolerate the vicissitudes of play. leaping and bounding in games of education and gymnasia, the bonds allow for the manners in which moderation and courage, family, state and the foreign, can divide and interweave, binding together. in play, risks are taken, tremendous energy is exerted—the joy of play leaves us bursting at the seams. there can be something excessive and perhaps dangerous about the risks taken in play: the bond must be flexible and durable enough to withstand unpredictable expenditures of energy and resource, the storms of laughter and throes of sorrow, the feasts of dionysian frenzy.81 once we start thinking of the way bonds can clothe, explore and negotiate the dangers of living— at the right time helping but sometimes harming according to the remedy or poison administered—we realize that these bonds might also protect, replenish and repair. these bonds not only move harmonically as bands but protect and heal as bandages. administering the bond as band and bandage means that the experts of weaving, writing, medicine and statecraft are, in fact, experts of kairological material and finesse. i have shown that these experts know these bonds in and according to lived, bodily experience. the possibility of carrying this knowledge beyond bodies—the efficacy and potential of metaphor— generates from living, bodily experiences of memory and speech. the knowledge in the hands of the weaver impresses itself into wool that is woven and worn by the writer. when the writer writes about writing in terms of weaving, the writer carries                                                                                                                           80 there is an uncanny proximity, a janus-faciality between the greek words for completing or “making perfect” [teletē] and death [teleute]. dyeing incompleteness into the wool, inking it into the papyrus, is technology which activates and supports humankind’s living struggles against stasis, immobility, perfection, death. in this struggle, the wearers of wool and the readers of papyrus know the virtue of papyrus and wool because they feel it. 81 recall the ways children destroy their clothing as they learn to play—the ways their garments fray and tear in the course of making violent, first contacts, the ways that grass, mud, rust, and blood stain their garments. think of the ways clothes learn to fit each body according uniquely to its movements—recall the strange experience of wearing someone else’s clothing, the experience of stepping into another’s shoes. i think of how new clothing has yet to be broken in, how old, well-worn clothing becomes frail, falls apart—the way the cadaver’s clothing reeks of decay, the way prison uniforms smell of concrete, steel and barbed wire. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   22 these impressions into the text itself; the ways the writer impresses the papyrus with inked words for weaving are ways of clothing the text. these interwoven impressions are traces of the reservoirs of living, bodily knowledge. metaphor taps into the wealth of these reservoirs in order to carry and bear such knowledge beyond bodies and text. i must stress, one final time: going beyond the texts and textiles of living bodies does not completely leave them behind—there can be no absolute separation, no completion, no perfection in logos. to claim that metaphorical logos can completely sever itself from lived experience is to claim that metaphors practice the death of logos rather vivify it. in absolute silence we can still feel and hear our hearts and lungs beating and breathing. always there lurks the threat of losing one’s threads. what the mind and hands can grasp and carry innervates with what is incarnate and mortal. pausing to feel through and reflect on the text’s craftsmanship, i stretch over my eyes and hold up to the sun what i have wrought here and see that it now appears threadbare, but nevertheless thicker than before. i savor this fabric’s texture while beholding the light that slips through its crevices. i know that the freshness of this feeling is already fading, the ink drying, the skin wrinkling, the living dying. selected bibliography bagnall, roger. ed. oxford handbook of papyrology. new york: oxford press, 2009. cavallo, gulielmo. “greek and latin writing in the papyri.” oxford handbook of papyrology. ed. roger bagnall,,new york: oxford press, 2009: 101-148. dicky, eleanor. “the greek and latin languages in the papyri” oxford handbook of papyrology. ed. roger bagnall,,new york: oxford press, 2009: 149-169 barber, e.j.w. women's work: the first 20,000 years women, cloth, and society in early times. new york: w.w. norton & company, 1994. becker, wilhelm adolf. charicles or illustrations of the private life of the ancient greeks. trans. frederick metcalfe. london: longmans, green, 1866. bergren, ann. weaving truth: essays on language and the female in greek thought. massachusetts: harvard university press, 2008. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   23 blümner, hugo. the home life of the ancient greeks. trans. alice zimmern. new york: cassell and co., 1910. the cambridge history of western textiles. “greece.” ed. david jenkins. new york: cambridge university press, 2003. caminos, ricardo. “the recording of inscriptions and scenes in tombs and temples” in ancient egyptian epigraphy and palaeography. new york: metropolitan museum of art, 1976. derrida, jacques. dissemination. trans. barbara johnson. london: the athlone press, 1981. haas, christina. writing technology: studies on the materiality of literacy. new jersey: lawrence erlbaumassociates, 1996. havelock, e. the literate revolution in greece and its cultural consequences. new jersey: princeton university press, 1982. --------------. the muse learns to write: reflections on orality and literacy from ancient to present. new haven: yale university press, 1986. havelock, e. and jackson hershbell eds. communication arts in the ancient world.. new york: hastings house, 1978. --------------. basic writings. translated and edited by david ferrell krell. new york: harpersanfrancisco, 1977 (heidegger selections 1927-1964). heidegger, martin. the question concerning technology. translated by william lovitt. new york: harper & row, 1977. kruger, kathryn. weaving the word: the metaphorics of weaving and female textual production. new jersey: rosemont publishing, 2001. lewis, naphtali. papyrus in classical antiquity. great britain: oxford at the clarendon press, 1974. mcewen, indra kagis. socrates’ ancestor: an essay on architectural beginnings. cambridge: mit press, 1993. plato. plato’s cosmology [timaeus]. trans. francis macdonald cornford. new york: bobbs-merrill, 1957. --------------. phaedrus. trans. nehamas and woodruff. indianapolis: hackett, 1995. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   24 --------------. statesman. trans. brann, kalkavage, and salem. newburyport: focus, 2012. rosen, stanley. plato’s statesman: the web of politics. new haven: yale university press, 1995. --------------. greek papyri: an introduction. new jersey: princeton university press, 1968. turner, e. g. greek manuscripts of the ancient world. new jersey: princeton university press, 1971. woodward, roger. greek writing from knossos to homer. new york: oxford university press, 1997. [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] ptsd in pre-school children: a review and synthesis of research on the need for a separate dsm category tara frem psychology there has been a surge of research on post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) in recent years, especially in the context of us military men and women returning home from duty from such places as iraq and afghanistan. since the inclusion of ptsd in the diagnostic and statistical manual 3rd edition (dsm-iii) in 1980, research in the field has been plagued by controversy. spitzer, first, and wakefield (2007) argue that the diagnosis of ptsd has generated more controversy than any other mental disorder with regards to the threshold levels for diagnosis, specific diagnostic criteria, clinical utility of the diagnosis, and true prevalence rates in different populations. other researchers, such as scott (1990) and summerfield (2001), go so far as to question the objectivity of ptsd as a mental disorder because its introduction into the dsm-iii was based heavily on the social and political context of the post-world wars and vietnam war era. the connecting link across all the different facets of the controversy is that ptsd as a diagnostic category has questionable validity. to take the debate one step further, questions regarding the validity of the diagnosis of ptsd in adults seem trivial compared to the discussion on the utility of the criteria in children. vietnam veterans were the impetus to include a disorder category in the dsm-iii for ptsd. the diagnostic criteria are therefore centralized around adults, yet young children are diagnosed under the same category (kaminer, seedat, & stein, 2005). the non-specific, nondevelopmentally sensitive criteria may explain why the diagnosis rate for ptsd in preschool children appears to be so low (scheeringa, wright, hunt, & zeanah, 2006; scheeringa, zeanah, myers, & putnam, 2003; zeanah & gleanson, 2010). the dsm-iv-tr (american psychiatric association [apa], 2000) does comment on some special considerations when assessing children (see appendix). however, the focus is still on having enough symptoms at a certain frequency, rather than concentrating on the intensity of the symptoms and the level of impairment, which are found to be more discriminatory for younger children (carrion, weems, ray, & reiss, 2002; cohen & scheeringa, 2009). as such, an alternative, more behaviourallyanchored set of diagnostic criteria was proposed and supported by experimental evidence as a better and more valid diagnostic tool for preschool children (scheeringa, zeanah, drell, & larrieu, 1995; scheeringa, peebles, cook, & zeanah, 2001; scheeringa et al., 2003). this review paper was undertaken to synthesize the research on the need for alternative criteria for pre-school children (0-6 years old) by presenting (a) the objective and subjective value differences of stressors in children, (b) the importance of focusing on both the intensity and frequency of symptoms, (c) the research behind and an evaluation of the modifications proposed for alternative diagnostic criteria, (d) an introduction to the dsm-v, and (e) implications for the disorder as a whole and potential future directions of research in the field of child traumatology. ptsd stressors in children criterion a: traumatic stressors a heated area of debate in the field of ptsd assessment regards identifying stressors (criteria a) capable of producing re-experiencing, avoidance and numbing, and hyperarousal symptoms to qualify for a ptsd diagnosis (mcnally, 1991). according to the dsm-iv-tr’s (apa, 2000, pp. 463-464) description, traumatic events that are experienced directly include, but are not limited to, military combat, violent personal assault (sexual assault, physical attack, robbery, mugging), being kidnapped, being taken hostage, terrorist attack, torture, incarceration as a prisoner of war or in a concentration camp, natural or manmade disasters, severe automobile accidents, or being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. for children, sexually traumatic events may include developmentally inappropriate sexual experiences without threatened or actual violence or injury. witnessed events include, but are not limited to, observing the serious injury or unnatural death of another person due to violent assault, accident, war, or disaster or unexpectedly witnessing a dead body or body parts. events experienced by others that are learned about include, but are not limited to, violent personal assault, serious accident, or serious injury experienced by a family member or a close friend; learning about the sudden, unexpected death of a family member or a close friend; or learning that one's child has a life-threatening disease. it appears as though many events qualify as traumatic stressors. however, though some stressors can straightforwardly be characterized as traumatic, other cases are plagued by ambiguity, especially with regards to children. march (1993) argues that when deciding if an event is traumatic or not, several factors need to be considered: (i) the intensity and duration of the event, (ii) the consequence of the event, such as physical injury and death, and (iiii) subjective responses to the event. the latter factor is important to keep in mind for the section on the objective and subjective value of traumatic stressors. cases of child sexual abuse are prime examples of equivocal stressors, particularly when evidence is absent or ambiguous (american academy of child and adolescent psychiatry, 1988), when the case is based on recovered memories, or when too much time has elapsed since the last incident. de jong (1985) addresses issues such as why children may delay reporting of the event(s). since abuse is typically recurrent, the child opts to adapt to the situation by assuming blame and therefore delays disclosure. if and when the child finally admits to the abuse, the parents and authorities may not believe the child’s declaration, especially if the child’s daily and academic functioning is not impaired. objective and subjective value differences of stressors the dsm-iv-tr (apa, 2000) characterizes a stressor based on its objective magnitude – the existence of a traumatic event (criterion a1) – and the subjective value – the individual’s response to the event (criterion a2). dyb (2005) provides evidence that assessing the effect of both the objective and subjective features of a traumatic event is gaining popularity in research. researchers have found that criteria a1 and a2 contribute independently to the development of ptsd (goenjian et al., 2001). however, despite the established importance of assessing both the objective and subjective magnitudes of a stressor, current instruments used to diagnose ptsd only focus on criteria b, c, and d – respectively, reexperiencing the event, avoidance and numbing, and hyperarousal – since they are more behavioural and observable in nature (dyb, 2005). blashfield, flanagan, and raley (2010) wrote that the dsm-iii improved on previous versions by being a classification system based on evidence not consensus, and using specific diagnostic criteria rather than prose based on patients’ self-report. perhaps such a focus on observables explains the current emphasis on more behavioural rather than internally subjective criteria (a2) in the assessment of ptsd. however, as will be elaborated on below, the subjective and objective effects of a stressor have independent significance for diagnosis, specifically for levels of impairment. ptsd symptoms ptsd symptoms specific to younger populations terr’s (1979) investigation into the twenty-six children of chowchilla who were kidnapped and buried alive, but able to dig themselves out, initiated the inclusion of more age-specific features in the ptsd description in the dsm-iii-r. she found that children re-experienced the traumatic event through play – such as kidnapping games – rather than flashbacks, the children regressed in certain developmental skills, and the victims exhibited cognitive disturbances other than amnesia – such as recalling the events out of order and having hindsight bias. the current version of the dsm, dsm-iv-tr (apa, 2000), includes specifications for children. for criterion a2, children may express disorganized or agitated behaviour rather than fear or horror. criterion b1 specifies that young children may engage in repetitive play that demonstrates certain aspects of the trauma, criterion b2 may be expressed as frightening dreams, and children may display criterion b3 through trauma-specific re-enactment. however, criteria c and d remain unchanged, and yet all criteria must be met for children to be diagnosed with ptsd. frequency and intensity of symptoms: effects on impairment and ptsd diagnosis cohen and scheeringa (2009) address a specific challenge related to ptsd diagnosis in children: those cases that are symptomatic and impaired, but not diagnosed. they argue that the dsm-iv diagnostic criteria underestimate the true prevalence of ptsd in children and adults that are functionally impaired due to symptoms, but do not meet diagnostic cut-offs. the reason is because the current criteria do not adequately represent the intensity of symptoms, but focus only on the number or frequency of symptoms. carrion et al. (2002) also found that children and adolescents who do not meet the full criteria to be diagnosed with ptsd still show significant impairment and distress. the level of impairment and distress in children who met the threshold for two clusters did not differ from those who met criteria for all three clusters. similarly, scheeringa et al. (1995) and scheeringa et al. (2003) demonstrated that though children may have subsyndromal ptsd, their impairment is still clinically significant. in addition, carrion et al. (2002) make note of the fact that there is little research that supports the use of three-part clustering of symptoms with children. therefore, the argument is that instead of seeking a certain number and frequency of symptoms, clinicians should evaluate the intensity of the symptoms and their relation to functional impairment when dealing with cases of pediatric ptsd. carrion et al. (2002) specify the difference in effects of symptom frequency and intensity on ptsd diagnosis and level of impairment. they found that symptom intensity, not frequency, of some symptoms (e.g. criteria c1: avoidance of feelings, thoughts, and conversations; b4: distress at exposure to trauma-related cues) predicted functional impairment. intensity of criteria d3 (difficulty concentrating), c2 (avoiding people and places), and b3 (feelings of reoccurrence) predicted ptsd diagnosis, but the frequency of these symptoms did not. furthermore, some symptoms – for example, exaggerated startle response – were predictive of ptsd diagnosis, but not functional impairment, perhaps because such criteria underscore ptsd vulnerability in childhood rather than impairment. the reverse was also observed, such that some symptoms like diminished interest were associated with functional impairment but not ptsd diagnosis. the above mentioned studies all allude to the need for more age-specific diagnostic criteria that account for the fact that children express different symptoms than adults, and at different intensities and frequencies. a stepping stone in that direction is adequate assessment tools specifically targeting that age group. age-specific ptsd assessments the need for age-specific assessments and sources of information terr (1988) studied children exposed to trauma between the ages of 0 to 58 months, with the time between exposure and evaluation ranging from 5 months to 12 years. the study alludes to the need for more developmentally sensitive assessment tools of ptsd for very young children, as demonstrated by the four important findings: (i) being 28 to 36 months of age at the time of the trauma is the threshold for children to have full verbal recollection capacity of their trauma, but girls appear more able to verbalize memories prior to that threshold than boys; (ii) behavioural memories are established at any age and persist despite the inexistence of verbal recollections, perhaps because behavioural memories result from visual rather than verbal memory; (iii) the general accuracy of verbal memories remains constant, despite individual variability in adding or deleting details from the memory; and (iv) short, single traumatic events are more likely to be remembered verbally compared to longer, multiple events. these four findings indicate the need for assessment measures that do not rely on verbal reports since children have difficulty verbally recollecting and communicating early trauma. zeanah, boris, and scheeringa (1997) provide additional reasons as to why assessing psychopathology in early childhood is more complicated than in adulthood. preschool children (0-6 years old) require special attention since they are in the preverbal stage of development, and they therefore cannot directly report on their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. instead, parents and teachers are heavily relied on to provide information on symptomatology and functioning. research on the accuracy of collateral sources according to achenbach, mcconaugh, and howell’s (1987) meta-analysis, though the correlations between similar informants was 0.60 (pairs of parents, teachers, mental health workers, observers, peers, or the subjects), the correlation dropped to 0.28 for different types of informants (for example, between parents and teachers), and to only 0.22 between the subjects (children between 1.5-19 years of age) and other informants. therefore, clinicians and researchers cannot only rely on parents’ reports for understanding the symptoms of the child since varying sources of information provide different information. when dealing with such a young population, combined parent and child interview scores should be considered to ensure accurate diagnoses. scheeringa et al. (2006) demonstrated that combined parent and child scores increase assessment sensitivity by significantly increasing rates of symptom and cluster endorsements than parent-alone data for all criteria and for the overall diagnosis. there is an 8.9-fold increase in ptsd diagnoses when combining parent and child reports (38% with combined scores compared to 4% with parent reports only), which suggests that only relying on parent reports for children in the preverbal stage may underestimate the true numbers. zeanah et al. (1997) provide a review of the evidence of reporting bias of parents. parent reports of children are affected by the parents’ individual characteristics (example: social class and personality) and expectations during pregnancy, and poor reliability across different observers despite stability within different group of observers. specific to psychopathology, they argue that parents need a frame of reference to know if the child’s behaviour is in fact deviant and sufficiently problematic to warrant attention. for example, stallard (1993) found that parents with only one child found more concern with certain levels of behaviour than parents with at least two children. scheeringa et al. (2001) also found mothers of traumatized children overendorsed items when comparing maternal reports and clinician observation of children. they conclude that more rigorous interview procedures are needed to question caregivers about symptom frequency, intensity, duration, onset, etcetera. cohen and scheeringa (2009) also comment on the reliance on parent reports. on the one hand, it may lead to false-negatives, since some caregivers minimize, deny, or are unaware of the symptoms of the child. on the other hand, caregivers are important for the identification of certain symptoms. for example, with regards to the avoidance criterion, if children are successful at avoiding trauma cues, they would be unaware of their actions and caregivers would therefore have to report behaviours that qualify for that criterion. a more recent meta-analysis by eiser and more (2001) also concluded that obtaining information from both parents and children is necessary. there is greater agreement between parent and child ratings for observable, physical indicators of quality of life (r >0.50) than more social and emotional aspects (r <0.30). therefore, developmentally-sensitive assessments need to be developed that can use children as the source of information to uncover the more emotional components of ptsd that parents do not have access too. hawkins and radcliffe (2006) did a review of current measures of ptsd used for children and adolescents, and found that few measures have been designed specifically for young children. increasingly, multi-informant approaches are used, such as asking parents and children, but there is still discussion on exactly how to use the information from different sources. as hawkins and radcliffe (2006) conclude, description and diagnosis is critical due to the implications for treatment and prognosis. therefore, more research needs to be done on developing ptsd assessment tools specific for young populations. alternative criteria to address the need for more developmentally-sensitive diagnostic criteria, scheeringa et al. (1995) proposed an alternative that relied on behaviourally anchored criteria, which was subsequently found to have greater content and criterion validity than dsm-iv criteria. such an alternative is important in light of scheeringa et al.’s (2006) finding that children do not reach ptsd criteria threshold according to dsm-iv standards until the age of 7. scheeringa et al. (1995) were the first to empirically demonstrate that dsm-iv (apa, 1994) criteria are not suited for younger populations; subsequently, they designed an alternative set of criteria specifically for infants and young children. they argue that one of the biggest challenges in diagnosing ptsd in infants is developmental in nature given that they are in the pre-verbal stage of development, which makes inferring thoughts and feelings that much more difficult. scheeringa et al. (1995) and kaminer et al. (2005) comment on the fact that eight of the dsmiv-tr (apa, 2000) criteria require verbal subjective descriptions, which only leaves 10 items that can be used in infants. development of the alternative criteria the first phase of scheeringa et al.’s (1995) study involved two raters that rated 20 published cases using dsm-iv criteria. the results were significant: the two raters were 100% in agreement that none of the 20 cases met dsm-iv ptsd criteria. based on these results, scheeringa et al. (1995) created alternative criteria for ptsd in infants (see table 1 in appendix 1) to address the issue that the existing criteria may lack the sensitivity needed for such a young age group. the modified criteria were more behaviourally anchored and salient, and were based on the items rated more frequent by the raters, had higher interrater reliably, and were supported by clinical judgments. explanation for some of these modifications is warranted (scheeringa et al., 1995; 2001; 2003; zeanah & gleanson, 2010). first, criterion a2 was removed since preverbal children would not be able to express such a reaction and it would therefore be dependent on caregivers recognizing the reaction. zeanah and gleanson (2010) make the argument that if a2 is retained by the dsm-v workgroup, “displays agitated behavior” should be added to the criteria. second, in b1, a note is added that distress may not be evident in preschool children, despite being preoccupied with trauma reminders. third, a new developmental criterion related to avoidance/numbing was added due to its frequency in previous studies and cases: loss of developmental skills. fourth, a new cluster was added based on frequently observed symptoms: new separation anxiety, new aggression, and new fears. lastly, the cut-off threshold for the clusters was changed such that only one symptom for each cluster is needed instead of a minimum of three. research on the alternative criteria the third phase of scheeringa et al’s (1995) research applied the modified criteria to 12 new cases of infants between 17 and 41 months of age at the time of the trauma. the cases were rated by the same 2 raters, as well as 2 new raters. the results revealed that according to three of the four raters, none of the 12 cases met criteria for diagnosis using dsm-iv standards, but three of the raters were 100% in agreement that 9 cases had ptsd according to the alternative criteria. dsm-iv criteria had lower interrater reliability than the alternative criteria by clusters and by items. scheeringa et al. (1995) acknowledge that these were preliminary findings, but more research has been done since and attest to the validity of the alternative criteria. zeanah and gleanson (2010) cite several studies that together make the argument that the alternative criteria proposed by scheeringa et al. (1995) have discriminant, predictive, and criterion validity in preschool children, unlike dsm-iv criteria that have no validity in this age group, other than “derivative” validity from older individuals. scheeringa et al. (2001) replicated the 1995 study on 15 new cases of children younger than two years of age. examples of cases include a child who witnessed domestic violence from 0-26 months and then was subjected to sexual abuse at the age of 35 months, a child who witnessed their father’s suicide at 31 months, and a child who witnessed domestic violence at 12 months, was attacked by a dog at 24 months, witnessed a shootout at 24months, and was sexually abused at 28months. thirteen children experienced more than one traumatic event, and nine experienced more than one type of trauma. two blind raters reviewed videotapes of the children being assessed with a standardized procedure and a semi-structured diagnostic interview: the posttraumatic stress disorder semi-structured interview and observational record for infants and young children (0-48months) that included dsm-iv and modified alternative criteria. the child and parent were interviewed, and the interviewer also engaged in trauma-reenactment with the children. scheeringa et al.’s (2001) study replicated previous findings that the alternative criteria are better able to diagnose cases of ptsd than dsm-iv criteria. scheeringa et al. (2003) replicated the 1995 study with 62 traumatized subjects from 1-6 years of age and included a control group of children who had not experienced a trauma. the measures were the posttraumatic stress disorder semi-structured interview and observational record for infants and young children (semistructured interview of the primary caregiver), the national institute of mental health diagnostic interview schedule for children, version 4.0 (symptoms of separation anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder), and the child behavior checklist. they identified which were the most commonly endorsed symptom clusters and if those symptoms led to a ptsd diagnosis. cluster b (reexperiencing) was endorsed 68% of the time, cluster c (avoidance/numbing) was rare (2%) according to dsm-iv criteria but more common (39%) when the threshold was lowered to one symptom with the alternative criteria, cluster d (arousal) was common (45%) with dsm-iv standards but even more common when only one symptom was required (73%), and the new cluster was the most commonly endorsed (79%). all in all, 0 of the 62 cases were diagnosed with ptsd using dsm-iv criteria, but the rate rose to 26% when only one cluster c symptom was required. scheeringa et al. (2003) identified four areas worth expanding on with the dsm-iv criteria for younger populations. first, though cluster e was the most common, it prevented one case from being diagnosed with ptsd, which led to the conclusion that cluster e was not useful in differentiating ptsd cases from non-cases. second, though reducing cluster d threshold requirement increased the number of cases that met the criteria for that cluster, it was judged that a two-symptom requirement endorsed 45% of the time was an appropriate and conservative threshold. third, though the “loss of developmental skills” increased the ptsd rate and therefore suggests that it is helpful to identifying more cases, scheeringa et al. (2003) suggest that, because rates of comorbidity do not differ whether the new symptom was included, the most conservative strategy would be to drop this symptom and reduce the dsm-iv threshold cut-off for cluster c to one symptom. finally, regarding the number of symptoms required from cluster c, the same conclusion from point 3 was drawn: requiring only one symptom. therefore, the new modifications to scheeringa et al.’s (1995) criteria are to lower the cluster c threshold to one symptom and remove the “loss of developmental skills” symptom. such a modification is supported by scheeringa et al.’s (2006) study that demonstrated that cluster c symptoms, but not cluster b or d, increased significantly with age and that the 0-6-year-old group had significantly less criterion c symptoms. in that age group, the prevalence of cluster c symptoms increased to 24% from 5% when the threshold was lower to only requiring one symptom. evaluation it is important to evaluate the research on the alternative criteria before accepting the results at face value. scheeringa et al.’s 3 studies (1995; 2001; 2003) will each be looked at in turn. scheeringa et al. (1995) was a turning point in the field of pediatric ptsd. after demonstrating that ptsd does in fact occur in young populations, they worked to modify dsm-iv criteria to make them more developmentally sensitive and applicable to younger populations. the results were encouraging in terms of being more sensitive and have better validity than dsm-iv criteria. nonetheless, the first phase of their research has several limitations worth mentioning. first, the two raters involved were aware of the purpose of the study, so their expectations and personal biases may have affected the results. second, the cases analyzed were not randomly selected, and could have been chosen because they were the most symptomatic and therefore the most likely to ensure that the alternative criteria would be found to be applicable. third, the case information was based on published information and could consequently be biased by previous interpretations of the data and observations of the children. the third phase of scheeringa et al.’s (1995) study addressed some of the problems by introducing an additional two new raters that were blind to the purpose of the study. in addition, the raters were looking at new, unpublished data and were therefore making their own analyses of the data rather than basing their decisions on previous investigators’ interpretations. however, this phase of the research, just like the first one, had a small sample size. in scheeringa et al.’s (2001) study, the raters used were blind to the purpose of the research and reviewed videotapes of assessments completed for this study, rather than reading published cases. it is encouraging that the 1995 study’s findings were replicated 6 years later and with a new set of cases and raters. the two raters’ ratings were checked using a best-estimate diagnostic method and their notes were reviewed by a third rater if ever there was disagreement. however, the 2001 study also utilized a small sample size with most cases being representative of extreme cases of trauma. for example, many cases were of children who experienced repetitive trauma, which may not be typical of all children at such a young age range (all younger than 48 months of age). finally, as with all laboratory research, there is a problem of external validity. part of the research involved comparing parent versus clinician ratings; however, the raters only had access to laboratory videotaped sessions of interviews and play, and therefore did not have access to the same information as the mothers. if the laboratory sessions are not representative of how the child is at home, the raters’ conclusions may not be accurate. scheeringa et al.’s (2003) study was important in assessing the utility of the proposed alternative criteria and in addressing a major limitation of the previous studies. by including a larger sample size with a variety of cases, the authors were able to say with confidence that the alternative criteria were not only diagnosing children that were mildly symptomatic. in addition, the study was novel in confirming that high rates of comorbidity are found in younger populations, not only in older children and adults. however, though the sample size was larger compared to previous studies, it is still small relative to other studies published in the field of psychology. proposed dsm-v posttraumatic stress disorder criteria zeanah and gleanson (2010) address the proposed developmental changes to the dsm-v: each disorder will have a text section specific to age-related features, disorders may have additional text to address age-related manifestations of specific criteria to the disorder, and depending on the disorder, there may be developmental subtypes if there are differences in, for example, the number of criteria needed to meet threshold for one age group but not another. the proposed changes for the ptsd diagnosis in the dsm-v are found in appendix 2. other than including a 0-4 severity scale for certain symptoms in the past 7 days (see appendix 2, table 2), the proposed changes also include a pre-school subtype for children aged 6 and under. it is evident that the above-mentioned research on the need for more developmentally sensitive criteria was taken seriously and incorporated, at least in part, in the upcoming version of the dsm (expected date: may 2013). conclusions implications the implications of the above research center on the fact that the alternative criteria were found to be superior to the dsm-iv criteria. the reason the rate of ptsd in preschool children was previously found to be low is not because the disorder does not exist in young children, but because the existing assessment tools and diagnostic criteria were not sensitive enough for the age group. by developing adequate criteria, young children adversely affected by trauma can be properly diagnosed and therefore treated. early detection is crucial since the pre-school children are at such a critical stage in development. terr (1991) presents a paper on childhood traumas and notes that properly dealing with cases of childhood trauma is crucial because of the long-term consequences. for example, she claims that childhood trauma leads to numerous mental changes that are the precursors to other character problems typically seen in adults, such as psychotic thinking, self-mutilative episodes, and anxiety problems. in addition, even when only looking at childhood rather than the consequences for the child as an adult, the child in question can be diagnosed with conduct disorder, phobic disorder, panic disorder, etcetera. terr’s paper therefore points to the importance of properly diagnosing and treating cases of childhood trauma to ensure that the child has a fair chance of developing normally with minimal long-term problems. in addition all the research on the need for collateral sources of information highlights the need for rigorous assessment procedures. these procedures must be capable of uncovering subtleties in cases where the population is in the pre-verbal stage of development and can therefore not directly report on how they feel. as hawkins and radcliffe (2006) argue, more research is needed in this domain. once adequate assessment tools are developed and validated, diagnosis will be easier and more accurate; as a result, treatment will be more effective and allow for a more positive prognosis. future directions based on all the research that children require different diagnostic tools and criteria than older victims of trauma, it is clear that they deserve a separate category in the dsm, whether it be a subtype of general ptsd, as is proposed for the dsm-v, or a new category entirely. more research is needed to further refine the new diagnostic criteria for preschool children, but the field is moving in the right direction. now that attention has been drawn to assessing ptsd in preschool children, the next important step is treatment and prevention. evidently, treating cases of pediatric ptsd is heavily reliant on the cooperation of caregivers; however, what happens when the cause of the child’s trauma is the caregiver or if the caregivers have been killed as a result of the trauma? the social environment of the child is just as important as the internal psychological processes. treatment must therefore be inspired by multiple levels: the individual (psychologically and physically), the family dynamics, and the society as a whole. when the source of trauma is civil conflict, it is impossible to treat ptsd in a child or an adult without accounting for the fact that trauma may reoccur considering the unstable environment. furthermore, as previously mentioned, effective treatment is reliant on accurate diagnosis, and, by extension, proper assessment tools. future work in the field of pediatric trauma must begin with developing procedures and measures capable of assessing ptsd in a population of children unable to verbalize their symptoms, with minimal insight, and perhaps with no awareness of the extremity of the trauma that occurred. in conclusion, trauma affects people of all ages, even infants younger than two years of age. it is therefore imperative that adequate assessment methods and criteria are developed and implemented to ensure that society’s most vulnerable members have a chance at proper development to reduce the long-term consequences of childhood trauma. from all the research conducted, it is evident that the field of pediatric trauma has gained attention; 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(1995). two approaches to the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder in infancy and early childhood. journal of the american academy of child and adolescent psychiatry, 34(2), 191-191. scheeringa, m. s., zeanah, c. h., myers, l., & putnam, f. w. (2003). new findings on alternative criteria for ptsd in preschool children. journal of the american academy of child & adolescent psychiatry, 42(5), 561-570. scott, w. j. (1990). ptsd in dsm-iii: a case in the politics of diagnosis and disease. social problems, 37, 294-310. spitzer, r. l., first, m. b., & wakefield, j. c. (2007). saving ptsd from itself in dsm-v. journal of anxiety disorders, 21(2), 233-241. stallard, p. (2006). the behaviour of 3‐year‐old children: prevalence and parental perception of problem behaviour: a research note. journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 34(3), 413-421. summerfield, d. (2001). the invention of post-traumatic stress disorder and the social usefulness of a psychiatric category. british medical journal, 322(7278), 95. terr, l. c. (1979). children of chowchilla: study of psychic trauma. psychoanalytic study of the child, 34, 547-623. terr, l.c. (1988). what happens to early memories of trauma? a study of twenty children under age five at the time of documented traumatic events. journal of the american academy of child & adolescent psychiatry, 27(1), 96-104. terr, l.c. (1991). childhood trauma: an outline and overview. american journal of psychiatry, 148, 10–20. zeanah, c. h., boris, n. w., & scheeringa, m. s. (1997). psychopathology in infancy. journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 38(1), 81-99. zeanah, c. h., & gleanson, m. m. (2010). proposal to include child and adolescent age related manifestations and age related subtypes for ptsd in dsm-v. american psychiatric association. www. dsm5. org. appendix 1 table 1: dsm-iv (apa, 2000) and the alternative criteria (scheeringa et al., 1995) dsm-iv alternative a. the person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present: (1) the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others (2) the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. note: in children, this may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior b. the traumatic event is persistently reexperienced in one (or more) of the following ways: (1) recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions. note: in young children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed. (2) recurrent distressing dreams of the event. note: in children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content. (3) acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those a. same deleted b. reexperiencing. one item needed (1) posttraumatic play: compulsively repetitive, represents part of the trauma, fails to relieve anxiety and is less elaborative than usual play (2) play re-enactment: represents part of the trauma but lacks the monotonous repetition and other characteristics of posttraumatic play (3) recurrent recollections of the traumatic event other than what is revealed in play, and which is not necessarily distressing that occur on awakening or when intoxicated). note: in young children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur. (4) intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event (5) physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event c. persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by three (or more) of the following: (1) efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma (2) efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma (3) inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma (4) markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities (5) feeling of detachment or estrangement from others (6) restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings) (7) sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span) d. persistent symptoms of increased (4) nightmares may have obvious links to the trauma or be of increased frequency with unknown content (5) episodes with objective features of a flashback or dissociation c. numbing of responsiveness. one item needed deleted deleted deleted (1) constriction of play. child may have constriction of play and will have posttraumatic play or play reenactment (2) socially more withdrawn (3) restricted range of affect deleted (4) loss of developmental skills, especially language regression and loss of toilet training arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two (or more) of the following: (1) difficulty falling or staying asleep (2) irritability or outbursts of anger (3) difficulty concentrating (4) hypervigilance (5) exaggerated startle response e. duration of the disturbance (symptoms in criteria b, c, and d) is more than 1 month. f. the disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. d. increased arousal. one item needed (1) night terrors (2) difficulty going to sleep which is not related to being afraid of having nightmares or fear of the dark (3) night-waking not related to nightmares or night terrors deleted (4) decreased concentration; marked decreased in concentration or attention span compared to before the trauma (5) hypervigilence (6) exaggerated startle response e. new fears and aggression. one item needed (1) new aggression (2) new separation anxiety (3) fear of toileting alone (4) fear of the dark (5) any other new fears of things or situations not obviously related to the trauma f. duration of the disturbance greater than 1 month deleted appendix 2: proposed dsm-v ptsd criteria g 03 posttraumatic stress disorder: proposed dsm-v revisions note: the following criteria apply to adults, adolescents, and children older than six. there is a pre-school subtype for children age six and younger (see below). a. exposure to actual or threatened a) death, b) serious injury, or c) sexual violation, in one or more of the following ways: 1. directly experiencing the traumatic event(s) 2. witnessing, in person, the traumatic event(s) as they occurred to others 3. learning that the traumatic event(s) occurred to a close family member or close friend; cases of actual or threatened death must have been violent or accidental 4. experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the traumatic event(s) (e.g., first responders collecting human remains; police officers repeatedly exposed to details of child abuse); this does not apply to exposure through electronic media, television, movies, or pictures, unless this exposure is work-related. b. presence of one or more of the following intrusion symptoms associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning after the traumatic event(s) occurred: 1. spontaneous or cued recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories of the traumatic event(s) (note: in children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the traumatic event(s) are expressed.) 2. recurrent distressing dreams in which the content or affect of the dream is related to the event(s) (note: in children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content. ) 3. dissociative reactions (e.g., flashbacks) in which the individual feels or acts as if the traumatic event(s) are recurring (such reactions may occur on a continuum, with the most extreme expression being a complete loss of awareness of present surroundings. (note: in children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur in play.) 4. intense or prolonged psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event(s) 5. marked physiological reactions to reminders of the traumatic event(s) c. persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning after the traumatic event(s) occurred, as evidenced by avoidance or efforts to avoid one or more of the following: 1. distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings about or closely associated with the traumatic event(s) 2. external reminders (i.e., people, places, conversations, activities, objects, situations) that arouse distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings about, or that are closely associated with, the traumatic event(s) d. negative alterations in cognitions and mood associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning or worsening after the traumatic event(s) occurred), as evidenced by two or more of the following: 1. inability to remember an important aspect of the traumatic event(s) (typically due to dissociative amnesia that is not due to head injury, alcohol, or drugs) 2. persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs or expectations about oneself, others, or the world (e.g., “i am bad,” “no one can be trusted,” "the world is completely dangerous"). (alternatively, this might be expressed as, e.g., “i’ve lost my soul forever,” or “my whole nervous system is permanently ruined”). 3. persistent, distorted blame of self or others about the cause or consequences of the traumatic event(s) 4. persistent negative emotional state (e.g., fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame) 5. markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities 6. feelings of detachment or estrangement from others 7. persistent inability to experience positive emotions (e.g., unable to have loving feelings, psychic numbing) e. marked alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning or worsening after the traumatic event(s) occurred, as evidenced by two or more of the following: 1. irritable or aggressive behavior 2. reckless or self-destructive behavior 3. hypervigilance 4. exaggerated startle response 5. problems with concentration 6. sleep disturbance (e.g., difficulty falling or staying asleep or restless sleep) f. duration of the disturbance (criteria b, c, d, and e) is more than 1 month. g. the disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. h. the disturbance is not attributed to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., medication, drugs, or alcohol) or another medical condition (e.g. traumatic brain injury). specify if: with delayed expression: if the diagnostic threshold is not exceeded until at least 6 months after the event (although the onset and expression of some symptoms may be immediate). subtype: posttraumatic stress disorder in preschool children a. in children (less than age 6 years), exposure to one or more of the following events: death or threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violation, in one or more of the following ways: 1. directly experiencing the event(s) 2. witnessing, in person, the event(s) as they occurred to others, especially primary caregivers (note: witnessing does not include events that are witnessed only in electronic media, television, movies or pictures.) 3. learning that the traumatic event(s) occurred to a parent or caregiving figure; b. presence of one or more intrusion symptoms associated with the traumatic event(s) , beginning after the traumatic event(s) occurred: 1. spontaneous or cued recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories of the traumatic event(s) (note: spontaneous and intrusive memories may not necessarily appear distressing and may be expressed as play reenactment.) 2. recurrent distressing dreams in which the content and/or affect of the dream is related to the traumatic event(s) (note: it may not be possible to ascertain that the frightening content is related to the traumatic event.) 3. dissociative reactions in which the child feels or acts as if the traumatic event(s) were recurring, (such reactions may occur on a continuum with the most extreme expression being a complete loss of awareness of present surroundings). such traumaspecific re-enactment may occur in play. 4. intense or prolonged psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event(s) 5. marked physiological reactions to reminders of the traumatic event(s) one item from criterion c or d below: c. persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event, beginning after the traumatic event occurred, as evidenced by avoidance or efforts to avoid: 1. activities, places, or physical reminders that arouse recollections of the traumatic event 2. people, conversations, or interpersonal situations that arouse recollections of the traumatic event. d. negative alterations in cognitions and mood associated with the traumatic event, beginning or worsening after the traumatic event occurred, as evidenced by one or more of the following: 1. markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities, including constriction of play 2. socially withdrawn behavior 3. persistent reduction in expression of positive emotions e. alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the traumatic event, beginning or worsening after the traumatic event occurred, as evidenced by two or more of the following: 1. irritable, angry, or aggressive behavior, including extreme temper tantrums 2. hypervigilance 3. exaggerated startle response 4. problems with concentration 5. sleep disturbance (e.g., difficulty falling or staying asleep or restless sleep) f. duration of the disturbance (criteria b, c, d and e) is more than 1 month. g. the disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in relationships with parents, siblings, peers, or other caregivers or with school behavior. h. the disturbance is not attributable to another medical condition. table 2: severity rating for dsm-v ptsd: national stressful events survey ptsd short scale (nsessss) not at all a little bit moderately quite a bit extremely 1. having “flashbacks”, that is, you suddenly acted or felt as if a stressful experience from the past was happening all over again (for example, you re-experienced parts of a stressful experience by seeing, hearing, smelling, or physically feeling parts of the experience) 0 1 2 3 4 2. feeling very emotionally upset when something reminded you of a stressful experience 0 1 2 3 4 3. trying to avoid thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations that reminded you of a stressful experience 0 1 2 3 4 4. thinking that a stressful event happened because you or someone else (who didn’t directly harm you) did something wrong or didn’t do everything possible to prevent it, or because of something about you 0 1 2 3 4 5. having a very negative emotional state (for example, you were experiencing lots of fear, anger, guilt, shame, or horror) after a stressful experience 0 1 2 3 4 6. losing interest in activities you used to enjoy before having a stressful experience 0 1 2 3 4 7. being “super alert”, on guard, or constantly on the lookout for danger 0 1 2 3 4 8. feeling jumpy or easily startled when you hear an unexpected noise 0 1 2 3 4 9. being extremely irritable or angry to the point where you yelled at other people, got into fights, or destroyed things 0 1 2 3 4 microsoft word connolly theology on-line final.docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 1 the δοῦλος of pauline literature: slavery and freedom in the new testament epistles patrick connolly theology and religious studies introduction in contemporary sociological discourse there is a grievous misunderstanding of pauline literature, which arises out of the equivocation of authentic pauline epistles with pseudo-epigraphy in the pauline corpus. because of this, paul appears to support various systemic oppressions in the roman empire, particularly slavery. even worse, this problematic equivocation has been used to support similarly oppressive regimes throughout the history of christendom. recent biblical scholarship that discounts the equivocation of authentic and pseudo-epigraphy, however, devalues the notion that paul endeavored to employ the gospel message as a means of supporting the illicit system of slavery. if the findings of contemporary biblical scholarship are true, additional fields of theology immediately benefit from the subsequent reworking of pauline social theory. this paper, then, will seek to establish a new understanding of the pauline conception of slavery throughout the pauline corpus. furthermore, this paper will endeavor to prove that in the authentic pauline corpus, the use of the greek term for slave was meant to seem strange and unusual to his audience, and in fact, paul disliked slavery due to the tension it created in the community of the gospel message. thus, deconstructing a common conception of his time and turning it on its head, paul critiques contemporary christian communities that professed to be followers of christ but continued to live hypocritically in oppressive social relationships. while paul may not have supported his contemporary iteration of slavery, it provided a ready image for his audience. the δοῦλος (the greek term for slavery used in the pauline corpus, pronounced doo-loss) is a common image throughout the new testament, but the variety of ways it is used allows for ambiguity. δοῦλος appears 61 times in several of paul’s letters, normally in either its noun form, a contraction, or its verbal form. certainly, though, paul’s audience would have well understood the horrible implications of slavery in the contemporary new testament era. though it has an ambiguous meaning, the use of the term δοῦλος was deliberate and intended to evoke painful images and feelings. this paper seeks to ascertain its meaning in pauline literature, not only in the authentic pauline concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 2 corpus but also the deutero-pauline and the pastoral epistles, by combining a study of its historical context, exegetical method, and contemporary scholarly work. finally, this paper will seek to begin uncovering the implications of its reworking of the pauline conception of slavery. any conclusions reached in the area of biblical scholarship should provide a new framework in which to discuss pauline social theory. thus, new theological methods that seek to rediscover the egalitarian message of the early jesus groups, primarily liberation theology, will finally have a powerful canonical tool to aid their efforts. paul’s understanding of slavery, having been shown to be subversive towards his contemporary unjust social order, will create a framework for contemporary theologians to subvert oppressive iterations of their social orders, as well. distinction between διάκονος and δοῦλος whenever speaking of slavery in the new testament, a distinction must immediately be made between two greek terms, which the english translation often renders equivocally as servant, διάκονος and δοῦλος. διάκονος, from which english derives its modern word “deacon,” would best be rendered as assistant or minister, often one who acts as an intermediary in a transaction for a superior.1 this meaning is not far from the contemporary english connotation of the word, especially as the term was subsumed and codified within the early christian movement. “deacon” denotes one who is an official within the christian church.2 the term διάκονος, during the period of the first century in the roman empire, denotes one who subjects him-or-herself to the authority and will of another person, generally one who possesses a higher rank in the same community, movement, or group. this understanding of the term developed from its prior meaning of a person who served those sitting at table.3 though this can be a proper place for someone of a certain social class, a διάκονος is clearly a person in an inferior social, political, or economic position. regardless, the judeochristian tradition appropriated this notion during the early new testament period to describe the more communal aspect of love for one’s neighbor.4 thus, the more common meaning during the new testament period comes from this more recent 1 walter bauer, a greek-english lexicon of the new testament and other early christian literature ed. frederick william danker (chicago: university of chicago press, 2001). [bdag] 2 merriam-webster’s collegiate dictionary. 11th ed. springfield, ma: merriam-webster, 2003. 3 gerhard kittel and gerard freidrich, theological dictionary of the new testament (grand rapids: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 1984). [tdnt] 4 tdnt concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 3 notion of the strong community member, who often stands in place for christian love. contrasting the much more uplifting notion of a disciple or member of the new testament jesus-groups as direct minister or assistant for jesus is the more insidious notion of the slave, or δοῦλος. the δοῦλος is a male slave.5 the only legitimate importance of distinguishing that the δοῦλος is a male slave is to recognize that, while not even poor men were necessarily forced into slavery, women and children were always considered property. furthermore, the δοῦλος is a rarely understood concept in both historical and new testament scholarship. the most immediate distinction to be made, though, concerns the fact that the δοῦλος is an owned person. whereas the διάκονος can possess the rights of citizenship and often willingly submits him/herself to the will of another, the δοῦλος does not possess the autonomy to allow for being submitted. rather, the δοῦλος, by his very nature, must serve and obey a master.6 historical background of the δοῦλος the δοῦλος remains a disputed figure in pauline scholarship, in part because the older, more dominant understanding of the δοῦλος, led by the work of bartchy, paints a more beneficent picture of the roman system of slavery, while the newer, minority position of scholarship, begun by patterson and followed by several others, tends to highlight the more brutal aspects of the system.7 the work of bartchy was the first comprehensive study of slavery done by biblical exegetes, as many classicists tended to overlook the question of slavery, due to its unsavory nature.8 bartchy, who based his work on greek, roman, and jewish texts influences nearly all subsequent discourse by creating the paradigm within which most scholars debate. most debates, in fact, seek to further explicate many of the finer points or implications of bartchy’s assertions, better helping the field of exegesis to understand paul’s metaphors concerning the δοῦλος, by contextualizing its historical background. many of bartchy’s assertions were based on legal codes and religious texts in the society or tradition of paul,9 but assume many rather contentious claims, including homogeny in slave conditions, ideal enforcement of laws, and that urban 5 bdag 6 ibid. 7 john byron, paul and the background of slavery: the status quaestionis in new testament scholarship, currents in biblical research 3, no. 1 (2004) 116. 8 ibid., 116. 9 ibid., 117-8. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 4 slave conditions reflected those of rural slaves. regardless of these issues and oversimplifications, bartchy does establish a considerable basis of the conditions and situations of the first century slave.10 slavery in the first century was not based on racial factors, though in time periods before paul, roman prisoners-of-war were often enslaved. slaveholders encouraged education and could place slaves in high governmental positions; furthermore, slaves could own property, could participate in religious and cultural traditions like a freeborn, were not prohibited from public assembly, and could anticipate freedom after the age of 30.11 slaves were not in their own social class, but often reflected that of their masters.12 the prospect of manumission was true and legitimate for most slaves who could survive until such an age, ensuring motivation for hard work and self-discipline. the good that existed in an otherwise undesirable and unpalatable system helped ensure that it could build the economic wealth and superiority of the roman empire in an age eighteen hundred years before the advent of machinery.13 several scholars of various disciplines (including biblical exegesis, history, classics, law, sociology, and anthropology) have expounded upon the oversimplifications of bartchy’s comprehensive work, ensuring that we have a better understanding of slavery for our mission with paul. patterson asserts that slavery was a matter of control through power relations.14 furthermore, slavery was brutal since “slaves were estranged from their family and ethnic backgrounds… undergoing a death experience on a social level,” due to the familial nature of ancient culture.15 further scholars in the tradition of patterson, including bradley, assert that slavery was not palatable in any way, but the likely possibility of freedom and familial life ensured its survival.16 glancy reasons that total subjection to the master included sexual exploitation, thus denying slaves even a modicum of their natural autonomy.17 one redeeming attribute discovered by brown reminds scholars that, since slavery was an aspect of business, masters had reasons to protect slaves as an investment, just as slaves had reason to promote their master.18 though the intention behind this reality is less than charitable, the fact remains that slaves were able to benefit from their master’s pragmatic 10 ibid., 119. 11 anchor bible dictionary 66. 12 ibid. 13 ibid., 70-1. 14 byron, status, 119. 15 ibid., 120. 16 ibid., 121. 17 ibid., 127. 18 ibid., 124. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 5 goodwill. this minority of scholars discovered that, while many of bartchy’s conclusions about slavery were technically true, slavery was never a benevolent system. rather, slave conditions ensured that slaves could accept some “combination of protection, provision, abuse, and exploitation.”19 furthermore, as the δοῦλος could have been sold off into another family at any given time, he could not participate in the process of progeny, which dictated the normal direction of the entirety of life for the roman empire. in being stripped of what stood as the foundation of familial and social life, the roman δοῦλος was unequivocally the lowest member of roman society. 20 pauline usage of δοῦλος this paper shall deal with the prospect of the δοῦλος (hereafter referred to by its english translation unless necessary) in all aspects of pauline literature, including the generally accepted chronology of the authentic letters (1 thessalonians, 1 and 2 corinthians, galatians, philippians, philemon, and romans,) the deutero-pauline letters (ephesians, colossians, and 2 thessalonians,) and the pastoral epistles (1 and 2 timothy and titus.) since they likely possessed different authors who were not paul, the placement of the deutero-pauline letters and the pastoral epistles within an exact internal chronology is not an important task. we must, however, establish a suitable timeline for the chronology of the authentic letters of paul, if we wish to study the development of pauline thought on the subject of slavery. thus, we shall employ the use of the timeline provided by malina in establishing the authentic letters to begin with 1 thessalonians, 1 and 2 corinthians, galatians, philippians, philemon, and romans.21 in so doing, we will better be able to trace paul’s own development within the jesus movement, which challenged his pre-judgments concerning the nature of slavery, both as a roman citizen and a jew. 1 thessalonians has only one occurrence of the term slavery, in its verbal form. paul compliments the people of thessalonica in their willingness to turn “from idols to serve [be enslaved to] the living and true god” (1 thess. 1:9).22 paul, then, offers the image of enslaving oneself to the just and true cause espoused 19 ibid., 134. 20 gerald f. hawthorne and ralph p. martin, dictionary of paul and his letters (downersgrove: intervarsity press, 1989) 881. 21 bruce j. malina and john j. pilch, social science commentary on the letters of paul (minneapolis: fortress press, 2006) 1. 22 the catholic study bible, ed. the new american bible: revised edition (new york: oxford university press, 2011). concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 6 by the jesus-group as a worthy and honorable action. paul displays his recognition of the radical submission required by obedience to the will of god, by turning the image of slavery on its head, in this manner. 1 corinthians has seven occurrences of the term slave, in both its verbal and noun form. the first occurrence is an instance of how paul believes people should relate to one another. brothers or sisters in the community should not be enslaved into believing (1 cor. 7:15), for believing in god should bring peace. furthermore, though some people are slaves when they are called, a jesus-group member should not be concerned with their state in this manner (1 cor. 7:21). believers must recognize the dichotomy caused by service to the lord. it does not matter if one is a slave in their social station, for they shall be freed in the lord (1 cor. 7:22), just as one who is a freed person must be enslaved to the lord (1 cor. 7:22). in so saying, paul reminds the jesus-group members that the social stations in which they enter the group and are converted cannot be considered to determine how they should relate to one another. the jesus-group should pull up those who are marginalized by societal forces, while humbling those who would otherwise be honored by societal forces. for god is above the social order, regardless of whether or not the social order is pagan or christian. this distinction becomes most explicit when paul reminds the jesus-group members of corinth that they are not to become slaves to human beings (1 cor. 7:23). paul also points out that, “though he is free in regard to all,” he has purposefully made himself a slave so that he may win converts (1 cor. 9:27). furthermore, paul enslaves his body, trains it, so that he may be considered qualified to preach (1 cor. 9:27). thus, paul turns his audience’s understanding of slavery on its head. what was so obviously an unfortunate circumstance in which one could exist, paul now offers it as a voluntary state, which those who serve god shall willingly undergo for the sake of the gospel message. furthermore, paul’s willingness to suffer this injustice of being considered a slave, both in his own eyes and the eyes of god, should remind the corinthians that they should not consider themselves great simply by virtue of possessing the message. rather, they are to be considered as the lowest members of society, especially within the eyes of god. 2 corinthians includes only one occurrence of the term slave. paul reminds the corinthians, who have chosen to question his authority, what the authority of a true change agent will entail. any authoritative jesus-group change agent will preach in a way that glorifies jesus solely, and humbles the change agents. in other words, paul reminds the jesus-group in corinth that he and his group sought to reveal “jesus christ as lord, and [paul and his colleagues] as [the corinthian jesus-group’s] slaves for the sake of the gospel” (2 cor. 4:5). the corinthians should realize that change agents should always be at the service of those members concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 7 of the jesus-group willing to adhere to the message. additionally, change agents should even be willing to suffer enslavement to people who are completely unworthy, if the gospel should require such suffering. there are eleven occurrences of some form of the word slave in the letter to the galatians. paul questions a claim of the galatians that he should seek to please members of the jesus-group, reminding them that to try to please people is to not be a slave of christ (gal. 1:10). to be a slave of christ is clearly a positive state of being, meaning that any desire that runs counter to allowing this submission to occur should be considered negative, including the desire to please people. paul also discusses the positives that the faith has brought to members of the jesusgroups, which includes the fact that there are no longer any distinctions or divisions in christ; “there is neither slave nor free person” (gal. 3:28). he elucidates upon this claim in his discussion of whether jesus-group members are slaves or heirs to god. paul notes that an heir was no different from a slave, if he was not of legal age (gal. 4:1). in the same way, when the jesus-group members were not of age, or were incapable of properly receiving the gospel message, they remained enslaved to the powers of the world, as a matter of nature (gal. 4:3). god, however, in sending the spirit of his son (gal. 4:6), ensures that the jesusgroup members should no longer be considered slaves but children and heirs of god (gal. 4:7). it may be worth noting that this clearly means that jesus-group members should not consider themselves free to satisfy their desires. rather, they must seek to please god in a way similar to social and cultural expectations for children, in recognition of their radical dependence, and in honor of their spiritual progenitor who, by his mercy, chose to adopt them. during the time in which jesus-group members did not know god, they necessarily became slaves to false gods (gal 4:8). thus, paul exhorts his audience to take advantage of their newfound freedom from the false gods by remaining free and to resist sinking back into slavery (gal 4:9). though the audience possesses the knowledge of the gospel message, paul reminds them that they are not exonerated of the responsibility that he entrusted to them earlier in the letter. rather, if they should choose to fail in their duties to god, they will no longer be free. additionally, paul invokes a metaphor by comparing the slave woman, hagar, and the free wife of abraham, sarah. he points out that hagar represents mount sinai, or the jerusalem below, as one bearing children for slavery (gal 4:24). she, and therefore jerusalem, remain in slavery to the present time with her children (gal. 4:25). slavery, then, can also represent the obligations of the law, which paul discusses in other parts of the letter. by virtue of the jesus-group message, the galatians should seek to overcome the obligations of circumcision and the law, concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 8 which are no longer required for the freeborn children of sarah, or the citizens of the heavenly jerusalem (gal 4:26-7). finally, paul concludes his discussion of slavery in galatians with an appeal to the galatians about the nature of their freedom. christ set the jesus-group members free, that they might be free. thus, they should stand against the yoke of slavery (gal 5:1), into which they can so easily slump, once more. furthermore, there does exist a proper aspect in which one can exercise his/her freedom. freedom should never be used as an opportunity for the flesh. instead, jesus-group members should willingly exercise their freedom to become enslaved to one another through love (gal. 5:13). thus, the greatest and most proper decision for a jesus-group member, regardless of societal standing, is to act towards the good of another in a state of complete and total submission. the letter to the philippians begins with paul’s immediate self-identification of himself and timothy as slaves to all of the holy ones of christ jesus (phil. 1:1). this designation poses a rather interesting dilemma for the audience at philippi because it implies fairly straightforwardly that paul and timothy are doing the will of christ in serving those to whom they submit, and that those with whom paul and timothy disagree or those they choose not to serve are not truly holy ones! thus, in designating themselves as slaves to the holy ones, paul and timothy actually assert their authority over and against dissenting members of the philippian jesusgroup. the next appearance of slave, though, is perhaps the most perplexing in its implications, as it comes during the kenotic hymn. quoted in full, it reads “rather, he emptied himself, / taking the form of a slave, / coming in human likeness, / and found human in appearance” (phil. 2:7). though the theological implications of even this single verse are vast, we shall concern ourselves with the immediate problems posed by the peculiarity of the inclusion of the term slave. to become a slave is clearly a matter of emptying and humbling, for one so worthy as jesus, but how does it compare for other human beings? paul equates the idea of the form of a slave and the likeness of a human. to be human, therefore, is to be a slave. paul’s basic understanding of anthropology is summed up in the implications of this single verse: that the natural state of a human being is in slavery. finally, to serve as the opposite end of this three-part chiastic structure concerning slavery, paul speaks of timothy’s willingness to serve as a slave to paul, as though he were timothy’s own father, for the sake of the gospel. thus, human beings, even and especially members of the jesus-groups, must imitate the example of jesus in being willing to be a slave for the sake of the gospel. the letter of philemon, though about a slave, possesses only two occurrences of the term slave, both in the same sentence. even though the letter is short, this is a rather strange phenomenon. through the letter, paul asks philemon concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 9 to receive onesimus, no longer as a slave but as something more than a slave, as a brother (philemon 16). paul only includes the idea of onesimus as a slave when referencing how philemon likely views onesimus but ought not to view him. in other instances, paul refers to onesimus as his child (philemon 10), his own heart (philemon 12), as a brother beloved by paul (philemon 16), and as a man in the lord (philemon 16). thus paul deconstructs the inappropriate hierarchies of his contemporary jesus-groups. a member of the jesus-group ought to view another ingroup member as a brother, regardless of social standing. thus, sociologically, paul views slavery in a negative light, since it validates one ingroup member’s active choice to treat another ingroup member in a way that does not properly reflect the charity or fraternity sought within the group. the letter to the romans begins unlike any other, in that paul references himself both as an apostle and a slave (rom. 1:1). though paul often references himself as an apostle when he seeks to defend his authority, or as a slave when he wishes to question the commitment of jesus-group members, he chooses both titles to introduce himself to the jesus-group that he does not know, the romans. later in the letter, paul speaks about the common beliefs held between him and the romans, namely that the old self was crucified in the sinful body for freedom from slavery to sin (rom. 6:6). then, he uses seven different slavery words in quick succession (rom. 6:16-20, 22). paul defines slavery as being obedient, or a slave, towards the one to whom an individual is obedient (16). thus, once the jesusgroup members were slaves to sin; since, human beings have always sinned (17). having been entrusted with the teaching of the gospel message, an ingroup member has been freed from slavery to sin and has become a slave of righteousness (18). whereas once they presented their bodies as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, now they may present their bodies as slaves to righteousness for sanctification (19). the body then, as asserted similarly in 1 cor. 9:27, reveals the inner workings and desires of the spirit, in that what one turns towards will be underscored in one’s actions. when human beings were enslaved to sin, they believed themselves “freed” from righteousness (20). the gospel message has ensured that, being freed from sin, human beings became slaves of god to be sanctified and have eternal life (22). slavery exists as the normal state of existence for human beings, thus granting further insight into paul’s understanding of anthropology. the positive-negative differentiation of slavery will only turn on that to which one is enslaved. jesus-group members should strive to be slaves to god, instead of marinating in their own perceived freedom, which paul asserts to more closely resemble slavery to sin than any notion of freedom. this understanding of slavery to sin may also very easily be extended to paul’s discussion of the law. the law was the force that long held captive the jews, concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 10 especially since the law exhibited itself as unnaturally complex and often contradictory. in being crucified with christ, not only do the jesus-group members die to sin, but they also die to the law, which exists only for the living (rom. 7:1). jesus-group members are released from the law, which held them captive, so that they may once more enslave themselves in the newness of the spirit (rom. 7:6). furthermore, paul recognizes the difficulty that one may have when trying to escape the slavery to which they have been subjected without the help of god. paul thanks god, through jesus christ, that he may enslave himself to the law of god with his mind, even if his flesh should remain enslaved to the law of sin (rom. 7:25). again, god did not give the jesus-group members a spirit of slavery but one of adoption (rom. 8:15). as pointed out in gal. 4:7, god no longer treats human beings as slaves who have no relationship to the father, except one of subjugation. rather, he grants to them the glory of a spirit of adoption and a special role in the process of salvation, that the entirety of creation might be set free through them (rom 8:21). paul furthers this understanding of creation’s natural state of subjection and servitude through the law with the analogy of the story of esau and jacob. god granted that from the beginning of the relationship, the older brother, esau, would be enslaved to the younger, jacob (rom. 9:12). for anyone who thinks that this decision by god is something done in an unjust manner, the natural state of slavery for human beings ensures that the only real justice would be to let creation wallow in its own sin. god provides mercy and pity of his own free will to someone regardless of what they have done (rom. 9:15). thus, god does not desire that a human being attempts, and paul does not believe it to be possible, to save themselves by virtue of their works, especially works under the law. it is only through god’s grace that one can be freed, and the jesus-group members must accept that attitude of grace through their faith (rom. 9:32). therefore, the jesusgroup members cannot grow slack in their desire, but they must remain fervent in spirit as to enslave themselves to the will of the lord (rom. 12:11). in this way, one must enslave oneself to the other ingroup members who accept the gospel if one seeks to please god and seeks the approval of other jesusgroup members (rom. 14:18). even though the jesus-group members are freed from the obligations of the law, including food laws, they cannot use this newfound freedom as an opportunity for scandal or recreating the social hierarchies that the gospel message seeks to destroy (rom 14:15). since the jesusgroup is about unity and accord through love, a proper ingroup member must enslave him/herself to other members of the ingroup, lest he/she fracture the unity of the group. in the same vein of thought, paul concludes his letter with an assertion that those who enslave themselves to their appetites, and not christ or, by concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 11 extension, other members of the jesus-group, deceive the hearts of the innocent and create dissension. paul argues that the only legitimate purpose for being enslaved to, or enslaving oneself to, other ingroup members is to ensure that a jesus-group member serves god by serving the unity of the ingroup. never should an ingroup member be enslaved for the sake of preserving lifestyles that are not conducive to the gospel message. in the authentic pauline texts of 1 thessalonians, 1 and 2 corinthians, galatians, philippians, philemon, and romans, paul has two distinct elements to his understanding of slavery: anthropological and sociological. as first implied in galatians and philippians, and further explored in the letter to the romans, paul understands slavery to be an inherent aspect of life as a human being. god took the jesus-group members who were slaves to the elemental forces or their own sin in the flesh and made them heirs worthy of the grace and goodwill of god, though they remained in a natural state of subjection, as does an heir (gal. 4:1-9). similarly, the kenotic hymn describes the humility of jesus in becoming human, which requires him to take the form of a slave, equating the idea of human nature and slave nature (phil 2:7). slavery to sin is not a state in which god does or an individual ought to wish a human being to exist (rom. 6:17), and god frees human beings for this reason (rom. 8:15). god does not free human beings that they might do whatever they wish to do (rom. 7:6). the freedom attained by the sacrifice of the cross and the gospel message requires a deep, slave-like commitment. the sociological understanding of slavery for paul, then, pivots on philemon. only in the letter of philemon does paul directly address the question of a human being possessing the status of slave, and he does so rather unusually. paul never once addresses onesimus as a slave. rather, he addresses onesimus with four different titles arising out of the fraternal tradition of the jesus-group (philemon 10, 12, and 16). the only time that paul uses the word slave to describe onesimus is when he refers to the mindset of a slave-owner, who also is a member of the jesus-group. perhaps, then, the interpretive key to paul’s sociological understanding of slavery is the example of onesimus. perhaps, a jesus-group member should not be subjected completely and totally to another ingroup member. almost certainly, paul seeks to reestablish the way in which ingroup members ought to relate, eschewing elements of subjugation and marginalization, and addressing the obvious tension of a jesus-group member who fails to treat all other ingroup members with love. all of the instances when paul requires the jesus-group members to enslave themselves to one another apply unequivocally, regardless of perceived social standing in the roman tradition. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 12 deutero-pauline usage of the δοῦλος ironically enough, the deutero-pauline and pastoral traditions accept paul’s anthropological understanding of slavery, but they use it to justify a sociological understanding of slavery, which runs counter to paul’s own message. ephesians only has one major series of appearances of the term slave (four in all,) and this series also constitutes the first appearance of what has come to be known in contemporary scholarship as the “household codes.”23 the author of ephesians exhorts obedience from slaves towards their masters, with fear and trembling, as to christ (eph. 6:5). the only other occurrence of this phrase “fear and trembling” in the entirety of the pauline corpus appears when paul seeks to explain to the philippians the attitude one must take towards achieving salvation (phil. 2:12). in so equating the two concepts deutero-paul asserts that the only way for a slave to work out his salvation is to serve his master as if he were christ! one must serve their master as a slave of christ (eph. 6:6), from within the will of the heart, enslaving oneself to the lord and not human beings (eph. 6:7), as if to enslave oneself to a master is not to be enslaved to a human being but to the lord god. furthermore, the good that is done will be requited, implying reciprocation as salvation, whether one is enslaved or free (eph. 6:8). combining this statement with the following idea, that even the masters have the same master in heaven as their slaves (eph. 6:9), ensures that some form of an understanding of the anthropological account of universal slavery survives. there still exists, however, a stark contrast in the forms that slave-like obedience must take. sociologically, slaves are to show total obedience and submission, which paul held as only appropriate towards god; while, masters need only show some form of sympathy towards their slaves. the contrast between paul’s sociological understanding of slavery and that of deutero-paul results in a clear hierarchy within the community, which paul constantly argued against in his letters to the jesus-groups. colossians possesses a more fluid and ambiguous understanding of slavery that, while more developed than the deutero-pauline one in ephesians, still stands in stark contrast to the authentic paul. the thanksgiving opening of the letter speaks of a slave, epaphras, beloved in the community (col. 1:7). though he is a slave, epaphras is also a minister within the community, capable and with authority. that he reports to deutero-paul and is granted authority within the community appears to offer some hope that the author of this letter possesses a more robust pauline understanding of slavery. furthermore, there are to be no 23 brad ronnell braxton, , the tyranny of resolution: 1 corinthians 7:17-24 (atlanta: society of biblical literature, 2000) 239. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 13 distinctions in christ, even between slave and free (co. 3:11). this harkens back to the pauline assertion in gal. 3:28 that states that christ is the unifying force of the jesus-group, such that distinctions cease to exist. slaves, in their new selves, should not have to reduce their ability to serve god with meaningless and petty distinctions of the present age. this apparently robust understanding of slavery in the pauline tradition quickly takes a turn for the worse with the introduction of another series of household codes. slaves must obey their human masters in everything, as in their fear of the lord (col. 3:22). to respect and revere god is to serve one’s masters in all that they require. furthermore, due payment of the inheritance shall come from the lord, if one is a slave to christ, in this manner (col. 3:24). the salvation of slaves is held for ransom, and the ransom that each slave must pay is total obedience to an earthly master as if such a master were his heavenly one, in direct contradiction of paul’s claim that to seek to please others is akin to not pleasing god. colossians, just like ephesians, possesses a short exhortation from deuteropaul towards the slave-masters: that they must treat slaves well, knowing that they both share “a master in heaven” (col. 4:1). the same trick occurs in noting that deutero-paul has substituted the anthropological pauline understanding of slavery as a freeing aspect in the sociological state of affairs. deutero-paul redefines paul’s ideal relationship structure, enabling him to use an anthropological understanding of universal slavery to god to justify a sociological state of slave-master relationships. the household code of colossians serves as an interpretive key for the final two occurrences of the letter. tychius, a beloved brother, trustworthy minister, and slave of the lord, will deliver this letter and news about the deutero-pauline leader of the jesus-group (col. 4:7). the clear implication of the term slave is an anthropological one, namely that anyone who serves god in a noteworthy manner possesses the honorific “slave of god.” the second occurrence, which once again mentions epaphras, finished the chiastic structure of slavery that began the letter. the first full half of the verse says, “epaphras sends you his greetings; he is one of you, a slave of christ, always striving for you in his prayers” (col. 4:12). the grammar for this verse is crucial to its interpretation, though, because it is fully a matter of interpretation for the translator, since greek manuscripts were written without punctuation marks. though a possible reading would posit that epaphras is a slave just like members of the ingroup, another less charitable phrase would be more consistent with the ideas of the household codes. the first reading involves epaphras as a slave in an anthropological sense. the greek, however, could just as easily be rendered as implying that epaphras the slave is from colossus and does concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 14 not necessarily denote any sort of equality between him and other jesus-group members. the pastoral epistles continue the trend begun by the deutero-pauline tradition of further devaluing the slave sociologically. whereas the earlier deuteropauline letters require that slaves be respected at least, regardless of position, 1 timothy requisitions this requirement, stating that slaves must regard their masters as worthy of full respect (1 tim. 6:1). though an immediate issue with this requirement centers upon its unconditional nature as an imposition on the part of jesus-group slaves, the author himself admits that slaves must only treat their master with full respect in order that jesus-groups may not be viewed as countercultural and subversive (1 tim. 6:1), though the gospel message must be so by its very nature. furthermore, slaves with ingroup member masters must not take advantage of their masters as brothers, but the slaves must even treat them better than they would a non-ingroup master (1 tim 6:2). these slaves must do so because all the community of believers will profit, which most likely means that the upper-class members will be able to partake of the ritual “table of the lord,” without denying themselves any expected comforts or resorting to hierarchical upheaval. these two verses included several important implications and instances of how the pastoral tradition of 1 timothy has chosen to deny even the importance of an anthropological understanding of slavery, while upholding traditional social structures concerning slavery. the only mention of slavery in 2 timothy resembles more of an anthropological understanding of slavery than it does a sociological one, since it refers to teachers within the community. teachers should not waste their time seeking to debate or defeat other members of the jesus-groups (2 tim 2:23). those who consider themselves slaves of the lord ought to seek out the act of teaching in a gentle manner, with an attitude of tolerance (2 tim 24). the letter has no real argument about a sociological nature of slavery, as does 1 timothy or the letter to titus, nor does 2 timothy introduce any ideas, which are substantially different. the author of the letter to titus introduces himself as paul, a slave of god and an apostle for the sake of the chosen ones of god (tit. 1:1). there is an immediate and clear difference between the author of this letter and those within the authentic pauline tradition, in calling the ingroup members chosen ones instead of holy ones, identifying their electability instead of their actions. for the actions of an elect group need not be rationalized or defended, but those of the non-elect would be viewed with constant suspicion. the author of the letter also exhorts the older women of the community to seek not to be addicted [enslaved to] drink, that they might be capable of training young women (tit. 2:3). older women need to remain free from drink, that their example might train women to be under the concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 15 control of their husbands, again that the jesus-group message might not be considered counter-cultural (tit. 2:5). additionally, slaves should be under control of their masters in all respects (tit. 2:9). to refrain from disrespecting their masters would be to adorn the doctrine of god (tit. 2:10) by refraining from being part of a counter-cultural message in a way that would attract unwanted attention to the jesus-group message. the letter to titus denies the robust anthropological understanding of slavery. the author seeks to elucidate the christian message as a reason to remain within the boundaries of culture, even if the earlier pauline tradition sought to be counter-cultural. only in the finale of the letter does the author of the pastoral tradition mention that human beings, prior to the arrival and consummation of god’s salvific work, were enslaved to their desires and pleasures (tit. 3:3). the anthropological understanding of slavery reappears as the author recognizes that humans beings without the love of god (tit. 3:4), which saves human beings (tit. 3:5), cannot overcome themselves. he does not, however, imply that, being freed from the desires of the flesh, human beings ought to enslave themselves to god. the traditions of deutero-paul and the pastoral epistles exemplify the degree to which the christian message can be watered down and corrupted by jesus-group members as they re-assimilated to the greco-roman society they once detested. both traditions seek to prove that slavery is a worthwhile and honorable status within the tradition, capable of delivering salvation to those who seek to honor and respect their masters. nowhere in this sociological understanding of slavery does there arise any implication that slaves should not be subjugated to other ingroup members. nor does there exist an element of inert-ingroup enslavement, regardless of social status. the only major difference between these two traditions is how the anthropological pauline understanding of slavery is treated. since the pastoral epistles have only a minute understanding that all human beings are slaves by nature, it does not propose that powerful ingroup members remain slaves to god or their sins. the deutero-pauline tradition does suggest that all human beings are slaves by birth, freed from this natural effect by god, but never does it indicate that one should re-enslave one’s self to a more honorable cause, be it other ingroup members or god. thus, in their construction and usage of earlier pauline images and vocabulary, the post-pauline epistles validate and provide theological basis for social norms in an effort to preserve the growing acceptance of christianity in temporality, as opposed to remaining counter-cultural. understanding paul in conjunction with contemporary theology concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 16 as most fields of theology have a deep-rooted integration of paul, anything as radical as a new understanding of paul’s sociological theories would have powerful ramifications. of all sociological theologies, liberation theology stands to benefit to the greatest degree. liberation theology arises out of the gospel “revealing to [human beings] their vocation as children of god…elicit[ing] in the hearts of mankind [sic] a demand and a positive will for a peaceful and just fraternal life in which everyone will find respect and the conditions for spiritual as well as material development.”24 in other words, liberation theology attempts to remind contemporary society that a christianized world would seek the justice and love of the gospel message for all human beings, without attributing sickness, poverty, and premature death to pelagian notions of personal sins and failures. in this way liberation theology proves a powerful counter to the protestant work-ethic and other elements of capitalism in the developed west. additionally, liberation theology, while not necessarily mainstreamed in the affluent countries of the west, affects theological discourse in traditionally marginalized countries and regions, most notably latin america.25 what some deem the catholic version of postcolonialism,26 liberation theology seeks to undo the injustices of the aforementioned forces of capitalism in the west. one of the major barriers to liberation theology is a traditional and somewhat flawed understanding of the pauline corpus as written entirely by paul and, therefore, proof that the church should seek to defend the social and gender roles or norms each society proposes in its cultural context. with the advent of third wave feminism in the west, particularly its manifestation in the united states, many scriptural texts were subjected to the historical-critical technique in order to determine whether or not christianity could exist peacefully with greater autonomy for traditionally marginalized groups, such as women and minorities.27 the results were very hopeful. they affirmed a more liberating understanding of the human person, both within the tradition and the texts themselves.28 in several ways this new phenomenon could be applied to paul, both in re-interpreting the ways the pauline corpus has been misinterpreted by those who wished to engender or sustain inhumane practices, as well as to determine how to ascertain biblical defensibility for modern liberation movements. the discovery of the authentic 24 instructions on certain aspects of the theology of liberation (catholic church: congregation pro doctrina fidei, 1984) 194-204. 25 fiorenza, francis schüssler, systematic theology: roman catholic perspectives (minneapolis: fortress press, 2011) 47. 26 gutiérrez, gustavo, theology of liberation (orbis books, 1988). 27 fiorenza, systematic 48. 28 fiorenza, systematic 49. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 17 pauline sociological and anthropological understandings of slavery provides for a more robust understanding of the earlier christian church as an institution that sought to undermine hierarchical distinctions embedded within society. furthermore, the knowledge that the household codes existed to counteract the early roman notions of the strange and counter-cultural nature of christianity proves paramount to reinterpreting paul. christianity in the contemporary sphere can perhaps better enable liberation theologians to undo and deconstruct these societal presuppositions built from misinterpretation of the gospel message by ancient biblical authors and modern scriptural exegetes. liberation theology has the most to gain from paul because it seeks to undermine any “improper christianity” resulting from poor exegetical discourse, which engenders a theology of marginalization and disregard for the poor and downtrodden members of society. microsoft word *given final version.docx [concept, vol. xxxviii (2015)] letting the finite vanish: hegel, tillich, and caputo on the ontological philosophy of religion jacob given theology and religious studies in general, kant’s critique of metaphysics still holds up, especially for religious metaphysics. most metaphysical arguments rest on indemonstrable assumptions. the cosmological argument for the existence of god assumes that matter is created, and that an outside force must cause it to come into existence. however, if we assume that matter is eternal, then no such unmoved mover is necessary and we may argue for atheism. for every theistic argument, there is an equally convincing (or unconvincing) atheistic one. this situation does not necessarily debunk the truth of either position, but it has produced, as jean-françois lyotard suggests, a “postmodern condition” defined by incredulity toward metanarratives. in other words, metaphysics has lost its appeal; apologetic arguments no longer sway us. i argue that the ontological philosophy of religion (in the tillichian sense) is an interesting and productive avenue for current philosophy of religion in that it does not rely on the sort of metaphysical argumentation that so often ends in stalemate – though this does not preclude religious truth claims. rather, we must reimagine religious truth and work at understanding the status of our confessions in the context of a hermeneutic phenomenology. we must recognize that interpretation goes all the way down, and that our faith is not assured in any modernist metaphysical sense. drawing primarily from paul tillich and georg wilhelm friedrich hegel, i will examine the ontological methodology as it is employed in the current debate surrounding religion with or without religion.1 as philosophy of religion becomes more oriented toward phenomenology, our metaphysical beliefs will gain more existential traction. the two types of philosophy of religion in “the two types of philosophy of religion,” tillich lays out two modes of approaching god: (1) ontological philosophy of religion and (2) cosmological philosophy of religion. tillich characterizes the distinction between the two 1 this concept of “religion without religion” is addressed below in section 2. approaches as the difference between overcoming estrangement versus meeting a stranger. in the first instance, we find something from which we have never been apart; we simply need it brought to our attention. “in the first way man discovers himself when he discovers god; he discovers something that is identical with himself although it transcends him infinitely, something from which he is estranged, but from which he never has been and never can be separated.”2 tillich here highlights humankind’s immediate and transcendental awareness of the divine as inextricably caught up in being. in recognizing that existence is situated in the divine, humanity can overcome estrangement. in the second instance, we search for something unknown that exists apart from us, some object “over yonder” as hegel put it. in the second way man meets a stranger when he meets god. the meeting is accidental. essentially they do not belong to each other. they may become friends on a tentative and conjectural basis. but there is no certainty about the stranger man has met. he may disappear, and only probable statements can be made about his nature.3 this notion of god is qualitatively different from the first in that god is cut off from being-as-such, and becomes just one being among others. these two methodologies, “ontological” in the first instance and “cosmological” in the second, represent distinct types of philosophy of religion. the essential task of the philosopher of religion is to characterize the relationship between the two absolutes: being and god. tillich describes the ontological methodology as “the augustinian solution.” deus, god, and esse, being, coincide in veritas, truth. this idea of truth is presupposed any time we ask a question. even if we deny truth itself, we must do so in the name of truth. when augustine identifies god with truth, he makes god into the presupposition of the question of god. in order to inquire about the existence of god or the nature of god, we must presuppose that god is, in some sense, as the condition for the possibility of all being, all knowledge, and all discourse. “this is the ontological solution to the problem of the philosophy of religion. god can never be reached if he is the object of a question, and not its basis.”4 deus est esse, god is being. this “augustinian solution,” then, is countered by “the thomistic dissolution.” this methodology does away with augustine’s key insight and 2 paul tillich, theology of culture, (new york: oxford university press 1978), 10. 3 ibid., 10. 4 ibid., 13. instead turns to a sense-based epistemology that requires the mediation of argumentative rationality. instead of an immediate knowledge of god, as in the ontological approach, aquinas relies on observing the “effects” of god in order to demonstrate what god is. tillich observes: aquinas cuts the nerve of the ontological approach. man is excluded from the primum esse and the prima veritas. it is impossible for him to adhere to the uncreated truth. for the principles, the trascendentalia, are not the presence of the divine in us, they are not the “uncreated light” through which we see everything, but they are the created structure of our mind. it is obvious that in this way the immediate knowledge of the absolute is destroyed. sapientia, the knowledge of the principles, is qualitatively not different from scientia.5 so, for tillich, aquinas seeks to prove god as the highest being on the basis of observing the cosmos. “this is the final outcome of the thomistic dissolution to the augustinian solution. the question of the two ultimates is answered in such a way that the religious absolute has become a singular being of overwhelming power, while the philosophical absolute is formalized into a given structure of reality in which everything is contingent and individual.” 6 in divorcing the concepts of god and being, the cosmological methodology makes god an unreachable and unknowable stranger.7 a sketch of hegel’s distinction between reason and understanding will here deepen our analysis of tillich and provide a context for current debates concerning the practice of philosophy of religion. here i turn to hegel’s lectures on the philosophy of religion. hegel’s distinction between reason [vernunft] and understanding [verstand] is roughly parallel to tillich’s division between the ontological and cosmological philosophies of religion. critical of the metaphysical proofs of god’s existence (the existence of an unknowable stranger, in tillich’s 5 ibid., 17. 6 ibid., 19. 7 i want to be careful to add that tillich gives us a brief and uncharitable read of st. thomas. this is partly due to his attempt to make two neat, compartmentalized approaches to the philosophy of religion in such a short essay. in order to create such a stark divide between the two approaches in an economic way, he needs augustine to play the hero and aquinas to play the villain. however, as caputo points out in heidegger and aquinas, thomas has a negative theology at the core of the summa. nonetheless, tillich’s characterization of the cosmological approach to the philosophy of religion is not altogether wrong. many neo-scholastics and thomists have bought into this scheme completely. even worse, many protestant apologists have issued textbook cosmological arguments in aquinas’ name. so, while i do want to give st. thomas some kind of break, i certainly do not want to excuse the entire thomistic tradition. terminology), hegel points out the absurdity of trying to prove the infinite god as if god were an object among objects. the result of the proofs for god’s existence is that god becomes something less than god: in the proofs it is argued that, because the finite is, for that reason the infinite is, too. what is expressed here, therefore, is that the finite is; this is the point of departure, the foundation. from this arises the objection against these proofs that they are said to make the finite into the foundation for the being of god. the finite is an abiding point of departure, and in this procedure the being of god is mediated through the being of the finite … for the understanding there are, in the mediation, two actual beings: on this side there is a world and over yonder there is god, and the knowledge of the world is the foundation of the being of god.8 this, it seems, is his summation of the cosmological methodology. hegel points out that, for the cosmological philosophers, the rational way to god is through deducing the infinite from the finite. yet the methodology self-destructs in that it makes god into a finite being “over yonder,” alongside the world, because it supposes that the world itself has its own, self-contained, autonomous being. this is how the understanding [verstand] works. it deals in positive, measurable, atomic concepts which all rest on the same plane. you have the world, and you have god – “over yonder” – the object. alternatively, hegel suggests that we understand finitude only as a limit, and not as pointing toward being. as he says, “the finite element has no truth, and reason [vernunft] is precisely the insight that the finite is only a limit.” here he sets up the secondary and derivative nature of the merely finite. finitude is merely a visible demarcation, a rendering intelligible of invisible infinity. the next sentence contains the magic of hegel’s approach: “but inasmuch as we know something as a limit, we are already beyond it.”9 this knowledge of limitation, this reason [vernunft], is precisely the direction toward the knowledge of god. to know the finite as finitude is to become aware of the underlying infinity, to open one’s self up to it, to become exposed dialectically. one could say that hegel’s approach is not so much an attempt to grasp god as it is an attempt to understand ourselves as always already grasped by god. hegelian philosophy of religion, then, understands through reason [vernunft] the underlying infinity that is the unity of all finitude. it might be close to something like pantheism or 8 hegel, lectures on the philosophy of religion, (berkeley: university of california press 1988), 171-172. i supplied the german parenthetical. 9 hegel, 173. panentheism if taken metaphysically. if taken onto-phenomenologically, however, as in the vein of heidegger, this sort of underlying infinity can be seen as being itself, that unintelligible principle by which existing things are themselves intelligible. in the metaphysical interpretation, hegel is telling us something about the world itself. in the onto-phenomenological interpretation, hegel is giving us a phenomenological methodology for reaching awareness of god through vernunft as the condition for our own existence. it is this methodological insight that tillich notices in “the two types of philosophy of religion.”10 the distinction between ontological and cosmological philosophy of religion is clear, then. in the ontological approach to philosophy of religion, we overcome estrangement to realize the depth of the existence that we experience every day. god is being, intuitively grasped as the ineffable condition for the possibility of all existence and knowledge. in the cosmological approach, we search for a stranger, an elusive object that is unlike anything with which we are familiar. god is only one being alongside many, although it happens that god is incredibly powerful. further, we are not immediately acquainted with god. in the ontological approach, god is already present. in the cosmological approach, god is hiding among other objects in the world. the ontological approach is immediate, finding god beneath the self and overcoming estrangement from the ground of our being. the cosmological approach is mediated, using argument and observation to search for god the stranger. reframing the problem: post-kantian and post-hegelian philosophy of religion the distinctions discussed above are valuable in sorting out the contemporary debates in continental philosophy of religion. there is some sort of radicalism inherent in all postmodern thought, usually in the form of an admission of the historical nature of reason and situation of the human person. often seen as the contemporary radical theologian, john caputo argues for religion without religion, 10 here i should note a difference between tillich’s and kant’s use of the term “ontological.” the original nomenclature for the “ontological argument” comes from kant’s critique of pure reason. for kant, the term “ontological” means precisely that the existence of a supreme cause is concluded from a priori conceptions alone. there is a move from concepts to deity, highest being. (see kant, critique of pure reason [rutland: charles e. tuttle co. 1991] 346.) this is, of course, very different from tillich’s intention in employing the word “ontological.” for tillich, in an ontological approach “man discovers himself when he discovers god; he discovers something that is identical with himself although it transcends him infinitely, something from which he is estranged, but from which he never has been and never can be separated,” (tillich, 10). a content-less religious form of life, religiousness as such. this religion without religion, informed by derrida and deconstruction, seeks to do away with religious determinacy in order to remain open to the event of god. there is an essential question that needs to be asked: is caputo actually advocating a negation of particular metaphysical claims, or is he offering a hermeneutic-phenomenological description of religiosity? this is a point of intense debate in the continental philosophy of religion. j. aaron simmons and stephen minister edited a compilation of essays questioning the necessity of religion without religion, entitled reexamining deconstruction and determinate religion: toward a religion with religion. the concluding paragraph in westphal’s penultimate chapter of the compilation sums up the thrust of the argument: it seems to me that the option of religion without religion is just that, an option, a choice, a decision— as risky as the option of religion with (some particular) religion. for postmodern and deconstructive analyses, the limits of human insight and language simply do not require that our religion, if it be that, be without religion. our theories do not make our choices for us, nor do they provide the kind of guarantees we would like. that is what modernity failed to understand.11 here, westphal seems to buy into the undecidability of the truth of particular religious traditions, and counts religion without religion as one more option, one more choice which we make. this choice is an either/or for westphal. either you go along with derrida and caputo or you buy into the creeds of a particular tradition. this either/or is characteristic of verstand, but i want to suspend our either/or judgments for the moment in order to recognize the underlying unity. to see the limits of the understanding as precisely that, as limits, and to let the understanding vanish, for however short a time, in order to properly orient our understanding within hegelian vernunft. simmons and minister opted to give caputo the last word in their volume. his essay, entitled “on not settling for an abridged edition of postmodernism: radical hermeneutics as radical theology,” addresses the division between postkantian and post-hegelian philosophy of religion. the post-kantian strain represents most of the contributors to the volume, including westphal, while caputo claims that his project is post-hegelian. he states: 11 merold westphal, “conversations on religion with or without religion,” in deconstruction and determinate religion reexamined, eds. j. aaron simmons and stephen minister (pittsburgh: duquesne university press, 2012), 270. the overarching difference between the other contributors and me can be seen as a debate between a postmodernism that descends from kant and a postmodernism that descends from hegel … i think that it is a strategy they have come up with for limiting the exposure of christian faith to postmodern analysis and that postmodernism interprets christianity more holistically and comprehensively by treating religion as an historical form of life … the result of my analysis is to make it a good deal more unsafe than theirs. they start out by asking, “how is faith possible in the postmodern situation?” i begin by asking, “what is the human condition?,” to which faith like everything else is irrecusably subject . . . . the kantian model results in an apologetics, not a classical-modern version but an updated postmodern one . . . . the hegelian model, however, does not issue in apologetics but in a theology of the event that feels around for the underlying experiences to which concrete religious traditions give form and figure, nomination and actualization.12 the post-kantian model of philosophy of religion only deals in atomic facts, in verstand, which, at its worst, renders a rather flat model of religion-as-beliefs, and epistemology as the only field for philosophy of religion. for caputo, post-kantian philosophy of religion deals with delimiting knowledge in order to make room for faith. the post-hegelian route that caputo takes, however, utilizes vernunft to get at the event, the underlying we-know-not-what past the limit of understanding, the infinite, that which nothing greater can be thought. of course, we do not get at it directly or positively, but only by letting verstand fall in an act of negation. this is the idea of religion without religion: the position and negation of religion to let the infinite stuff of religion loose. in my estimation, religion without religion functions well as phenomenology of religion, calling into question the finality of determinate creeds without completely abandoning them. westphal’s essential mistake, then, is to make these two positions, creedal religion and deconstructed religion, mutually exclusive, to make an “either/or” out of a “both/and.” christianity, for example, stands in contrast to a simple negation like atheism. if both positions make exclusive truth claims, then there really is an either/or present and there really is a decision to be made. but this either/or rests on verstand. religion without religion does not 12 john caputo, “on not settling for an abridged edition of postmodernism: radical hermeneutics as radical theology,” in deconstruction and determinate religion reexamined eds. j. aaron simmons and stephen minister (pittsburgh: duquesne university press 2012), 271272. dispose of christianity, but pushes beyond the edges of the finite in order to get at the infinite stuff of christianity. this deeper probing into religion, on the edges of infinity, does not invalidate or do away with religion necessarily. rather it deepens and accounts for the determinate position. there is no either/or between deconstructive religion without religion on the one hand, and determinate religion on the other. religion without religion functions at a different, ontophenomenological level. this makes it qualitatively distinct from the belief systems and dogmatic structures of determinate religion. there can be no either/or. conclusion: toward a post-hegelian, ontological philosophy of religion with religion the task of the religious individual is to overcome estrangement, requiring a vernunft which is present in the recognition of a limit as a limit. ontological philosophers of religion will use this post-hegelian ontological philosophy to describe the religious experience in a hermeneutic phenomenology. this description will deepen and enliven our religious confessions. in our pursuit of religious truth, we will begin to seek the event harbored in the name of god that sustains us, which lies underneath the name of god itself. we will employ vernunft in order to give depth to our verstand; we will work out our doctrine for the sake of our ultimate concern. philosophers of religion will not treat doctrine apart from inward existential deepening, the two go hand in hand. in meeting god as that which is immanent yet infinitely transcendent of us, we will work out our understandings to facilitate this event. the event harbored in the name of god will prevent dogmatic confession from becoming an end in itself, but will nonetheless bring new life to our verstand. like kierkegaard, ontological philosophers will delve into the religious infinite in order to return to the universal with a deeper awareness of just what it is we are doing here. in letting the finite vanish, we can expose our confessions to that which we are confessing: the ineffable, infinite wholly other. bibliography caputo, john. “on not settling for an abridged edition of postmodernism: radical hermeneutics as radical theology,” in deconstruction and determinate religion reexamined, eds. j. aaron simmons and stephen minister. pittsburgh: duquesne university press, 2012. hegel, georg wilhelm friedrich. lectures on the philosophy of religion. berkeley: university of california press, 1988. tillich, paul. theology of culture. new york: oxford university press, 1978. westphal, merold. “conversations on religion with or without religion,” in deconstruction and determinate religion reexamined, eds. j. aaron simmons and stephen minister. pittsburgh: duquesne university press, 2012. microsoft word zetts_reimagining revolution   1 reimagining the american revolution: jonathan boucher’s loyalist perspective andrew carter zetts history   it has been, and it is, the curse of men every where, in their collective capacities, as well as individuals, to mistake change for reformation. -jonathan boucher1 by 1775, anglican minister jonathan boucher’s firm footing in the american colonies had become increasingly tenuous. as the american revolution started gathering momentum in britain’s north american colonies, it grew dangerous to propagate the crown’s preferred branch of christianity. not only were boucher’s social ties broken and reputation tarnished when he refused to use the pulpit to support the revolution, but he, and other anglican ministers like him, found themselves subjected to violent acts and intimidation. in one instance, boucher was surrounded by two hundred armed men who commanded him to abandon his ministry.2 by the end of his time in america, boucher never climbed the pulpit without two loaded pistols to protect himself from the threats of revolutionaries.3 in a stunningly brief moment on the eve of the revolution, anglican clergy members went from shepherding their flocks to becoming their prey, as their parishioners appeared to truly have been wolves in sheep’s clothing. boucher and his colleagues found themselves in this situation because british colonists were redefining the relationship between god and country. anglican ministers not only served their lord, but were supposed to dutifully serve their king, the titular head of their church, as well; this did not bode well for them in a revolutionary context that aimed to dissolve such a relationship. while these men of the cloth are fascinating subjects, boucher himself is even more intriguing. although his is not the only anglican experience, his proximity to the dawning of the american revolution and his refusal to abandon his assiduous loyalty to the british crown make   2 him a character worthy of attention. by examining boucher’s life and ministry in the american colonies, historians can complicate common assumptions about the american revolution by better understanding what motivated some colonists toward loyalism. long seen as a nagging detractor from an inevitable and virtuous revolution, jonathan boucher helps illuminate many of the legitimate reservations loyalists had about the revolution and the rhetoric that inspired it. he also reveals how integral personal relationships and emotional experiences were in navigating and interpreting the events that unfolded amidst the revolutionary fervor. this study is based on a new branch of scholarship about the american revolution that understands britain’s american colonies as having a distinctly anglican identity right up to the precipice of the revolution. in essence, “anglicanization explains the process through which the english colonies of the americas emerged from their diverse beginning to become increasingly more alike, expressing shared britishness in their political and judicial systems, material culture economies, religious systems, and engagements with the empire,” which meant, “the thirteen mainland colonies had never been more british than they were on the eve of their war of independence from britain.”4 this reframing of the colonial world is absolutely essential for reinvestigating an event that has long been conceived of as inevitable and progressive. as historian brendan mcconville observes, “despite decades of proclaimed hostility to ‘whiggish’ and teleological history, most historians sill treat the years between 1688 and 1776 as a long prologue to the revolutionary crisis or american society’s broader modernization.”5 a close study of anglican ministers like boucher provide avenues to address this historiographical issue. their voices and experiences raise questions like: what were the merits of revolution? did the american revolution actually enjoy a genuine, broad base of support from colonists? was the revolution a result of government dysfunction or humans’ insatiable longing for unrealistic   3 utopias? investigating these lines of inquiry enables historians to find new facets of the everevolving analysis of the american revolution. in addition to assessing british identity in the revolution, boucher also allows historians to more properly situate loyalists in the conflict. rather than merely viewing them as naysayers futilely trying to stem the oncoming tide of revolution, thereby minimizing the legitimacy of their arguments, historians must take their criticisms of the revolution seriously. doing so not only locates their voice in the revolution, but also calls into question the long-accepted causes and consequences of the conflict. robert m. calhoon, timothy m. barnes, and george a. rawlyk make this point clear when they write, “the loyalists bedevil the study of the american revolution. the more we learn about them, the harder it becomes to depict the revolution as a straightforward contest between american liberty and british oppression.”6 therefore, anglicans like jonathan boucher usefully disrupt traditional interpretations of the american revolution, as they highlight how british the colonies actually were, and how the revolutionaries may, indeed, have misstepped in their pursuit of independence from the crown. utilizing a methodological approach provided by alison games in the web of empire: english cosmopolitans in an age of expansion, 1560-1660 also helps contextualize boucher’s contributions to the colonial conflict, resuscitating his legacy as an individual historical actor. games’ main assertion is that the british empire was developed through the cosmopolitan travelers who discovered and explored the world in its name. “cosmopolitanism facilitated survival and success overseas, and thus emerged in part as a series of learned behaviors,” she saw, as “[t]hey fabricated connections over thousands of miles, linking ties of knowledge and custom and practice. cumulatively, they wove the web of empire.”7 her study also emphasizes the human experiences of such interactions: negotiating personal beliefs with local customs,   4 developing and maintaining relationships with those outside the british isles, and travelers’ emotions and attitudes as they pieced the empire together. these considerations are especially useful when applied to boucher, as they imbue him with a greater sense of agency and reveal historical significance in his more human qualities, like the emotions found within his writings and correspondence that documented the turbulent times in which he lived. although games’ chronology stops roughly a century before boucher arrived in north america, her methodology can easily be extended to shed light on his life. while her monograph takes readers to the origin of the british empire in america, the empire’s cohesiveness had to be constantly maintained by agents of the crown. what boucher offers is a look into one of the british empire’s final agents in america, who tried to keep its imperial web intact as control over its colonies in this region quickly waned. furthermore, reinvestigating boucher’s life with these perspectives in mind allows us to draw new meanings about the american revolution, etching fresh contours into a field long unwilling to reimagine the role loyalism played in its unfolding. in 1738, jonathan boucher was born in cumberland county, england, to parents of great talents, but meager resources.8 although boucher’s father received an ample inheritance, he constantly drew on it as he struggled to find success in the business world. boucher attributes his father’s wasted talents on his more vulgar habits, primarily his propensity for drunkenness.9 although his parents could not give him fortune, they gave him the drive to obtain an education. he explains that, “it always has been, and still is, much the fashion of the people where i was born to bring up their children to be what they call scholars. my parents had this ambition also.”10 however, the boucher family’s poverty periodically forced jonathan to stop attending school and go to work for wages. dissatisfied by the prospects of a life of toil, boucher eventually convinced his father to let him return to school so he could train to become a school   5 master.11 it was his skills as a scholar and tutor that enabled boucher to voyage across the atlantic to britain’s colonies, a journey that would forever change his life. through boucher’s relationship with the saint bees schoolmaster, reverend mr. james, he became a tutor for a gentleman’s son in virginia.12 on july 12, 1759, boucher’s ship arrived near the mouth of the rappahannock river in virginia, and once ashore, he embarked on a journey to serve the children of virginia and maryland’s elite families.13 this allowed him to brush shoulders with the british gentry in a way that the poverty of his childhood had precluded. as wealthy, genteel virginians sent their children to learn from and live under boucher’s tutelage, they formed bonds cemented by his service to them and their common british identity. however, when the revolution arrived, many of these once loyal, elite colonial families became the empire’s ardent dissidents. the relationships boucher formed with them were broken, and the revolutionary experience became deeply personal for him. a few years after boucher’s arrival to virginia, he found himself leading st. mary’s parish in caroline county and had thirty boys boarding with him.14 of those thirty boys, “most of them [were] sons of persons of the first condition in the colony.”15 perhaps no other boarder living with boucher is of greater interest than john parke custis, george washington’s stepson. george washington wrote to boucher on may 30th, 1768, after custis’ tutor left virginia to return to great britain, requesting he house and tutor his stepson. washington wrote, “if he comes, he will have a boy…and two horses, to furnish him with the means of getting to church, and elsewhere as you may permit; for he will be put entirely, and absolutely under your tuition, and direction to manage as you think proper in all respects.”16 boucher accepted washington’s request and custis relocated to live with boucher.   6 through john parke custis, washington and boucher were yoked together. as the two corresponded about the young man’s education and future, they repeatedly had an audience with each other in written and spoken word. but while boucher came to call washington friend, the day would come that would find these two men pitted against each other on opposing sides of the american revolution. thus, boucher’s relationship with washington presents one of the greatest quandaries of the minster’s life: how could someone be so close to one of the most iconic figures of the american revolution and not abandon his loyalty to the crown? how could boucher’s loyalty persist when someone he so cared for and respected transformed from ideal british gentleman to quintessential american revolutionary? these questions, however, emphasize washington’s eminence and detract from appreciating boucher’s perspective. the american colonies to which boucher moved were distinctly anglican in character, and washington himself was an incredible affirmation of the british world boucher inhabited. a british officer during the seven year’s war, a public supporter of the church of england, and a husband to the landed elite: everything about george washington exuded british gentility when boucher first met him. therefore, boucher had good reason to question how washington, and those like him, could so wantonly spurn the monarchical social order they all previously upheld. boucher’s relocation to a ministry in annapolis, maryland, also demonstrates how strongly anglicized the colonies were in the 1760s and 1770s. the move to annapolis was prompted by boucher’s general dissatisfaction with virginia and was facilitated by his relationship with reverend mr. henry addison, who enabled, “the greatest moment in all the subsequent years of my life”: the promise of becoming rector of saint anne’s parish in   7 annapolis, once the position was vacant.17 although contests over the rectory took boucher on a circuitous route to his future, he eventually succeeded to saint anne’s in 1770.18 on waiting for a vacancy at saint anne’s, boucher wrote, “my unsettled state in virginia for the two or three preceding years, in which i was almost daily looking for a call to maryland, had been of considerable detriment to my interests.”19 part of the reason for this restlessness is that virginia had always been too crude for boucher’s liking.20 when he moved to smith’s mount in virginia, he noted it, “was a pleasant place, but there was little water, and that bad, a circumstance always much attended to in that part of the world; and i had been of late dreadfully unhealthy at it. above all, the house though a good one, did not suit my purposes…saint mary’s was not a pleasant place, neither had it good water.”21 this lack of refinement represented the kind of paucity boucher had been trying to evade since his meager upbringing. in contrast, upon his arrival to annapolis, he remarked on its sophistication and gentility by stating, “on my removal to annapolis the scene was once more almost quite new to me. it was then the genteelest town in north america, and many of its inhabitants were highly respectable, as to station, fortune, and education. i hardly know a town in england so desirable to live in as annapolis then was.”22 boucher’s initial description of annapolis is quite telling; although annapolis was on the periphery of the empire, it embodied british ideals so well that it could contend with any of the towns at the empire’s core across the atlantic. it is quite possible that boucher exaggerated the britishness of annapolis either to accentuate his achievement of becoming rector of saint anne’s or because he was simply partial to the town. regardless, examining key features of annapolis’ layout from the late-seventeenth century reveals that the town plan itself emanated a central british value: the marriage of religious and political institutional power. therefore, when boucher dwelled in annapolis from   8 1770-1775, he was not just living in a world of british ideas and social structures, but he was living in an environment that affirmed them. founded in 1649 and originally called anne arundel town, governor francis nicholson renamed the town annapolis when he made it the colony’s capital in 1696. the relocation was emblematic of the times. st. mary’s city had been maryland’s original capital, but it was a catholic stronghold; therefore, nicholson moved the capital to a small protestant town.23 the movement symbolized colonial leadership’s endorsement of protestantism and the church of england, as it moved away from the colony’s catholic roots. by doing so, nicholson brought the church and crown closer together. but nicholson did much more than relocate the capital to represent this union: he redesigned the town to illustrate the alignment of the british church and state in the colony. nicholson’s design of the town is an invaluable source for understanding how physical space and architecture emitted symbolic meaning in the colonial capital. in holy things profane: anglican parish churches in colonial virginia, dell upton provides an exciting methodology for studying these sources in the colonial world.24 upton writes, “[f]or the churches were inseparable from the secular life of the parish community. holy things and profane, fused in an eloquent manner, animated the church and gathered parishioners, in a process in which the church building and its contents were catalysts. the construction and use of the church were symbolic acts.”25 by evaluating the colonists’ use of physical space and religious architecture, historians can find embedded meanings that illuminate the relationship between religious and secular power and order, and chart the way they change over time. at the center of annapolis there are two essential features: state house circle and church circle. nicholson used the circles’ placement and proximity to one another to convey the   9 relationship between church and state, one that was echoed throughout the empire. nicholson used the two highest points in the town to serve as focal points for his capital. in the highest circle he placed the state house where the maryland assembly met, and in the second-highest circle he placed st. anne’s episcopal church, jonathan boucher’s church.26 in addition to their elevation, nicholson utilized baroque techniques by creating streets that radiated out of both circles and situated the assembly house and st. anne’s church in natural landscapes. the effect drew attention to the two most essential colonial institutions, and naturalized their power and the social structure they created.27 to further emphasize the point, nicholson used a single street to connect state house circle and church circle, “to symbolize the recent union of british church and state”.28 nicholson’s layout of annapolis speaks volumes about the relationship between church and state in the british colony. the literal elevation of church and state houses raises them above all other institutions in annapolis and the roads that stretch out from them are a statement of their centrality to life, as well as the reach of their power. however, there is a hierarchy between them. st. anne’s rests below the state house, communicating where the ultimate authority would lie in the colony. in both practice and placement, the church would be in relationship with the state, but always accountable to it. boucher was keenly aware of the relationship between the church of england and political authority. however, his experience demonstrates that while the state had ultimate authority over the church of england, the church could also influence the state. when boucher took over st. anne’s parish, he became, “ex-officio chaplain of the maryland assembly, and thenceforth politics and religion would for the parson be inextricably interwoven.”29 he claims   10 that he did much more than minister to the assembly; it appears he did everything short of holding a title or office.30 with a decided lack of modesty, he explains: i was in fact the most efficient person in the administration of government, though i neither had a post nor any prospect of ever having one. the management of the assembly was left very much to me; and hardly a bill was brought in which i did not either draw or at least revise, and either got it passed or rejected…all the governor’s speeches, messages, etc., and also some pretty important and lengthy papers from the council were of my drawing up.31 while some may view boucher’s participation in politics as compromising his role as minister, he believed it was well within the boundaries of his ministry. as the single road connecting state house circle to church circle confirmed, the two institutions were linked in mutual support of each other, and any boundaries separating them proved to be remarkably porous. the colonial world that jonathan boucher knew was distinctly british. it was reflected in the families whose sons he tutored, the role of the church of england in his colony, and the geography he encountered every day in annapolis. this british context helps shed light on boucher’s disposition and reaction to the american revolution. when viewed through this lens, he becomes a defender of order and tradition, not a mere impediment to progress. additionally, boucher understood that, “politics, economics, and education were parts of an organic whole, and all were suffused by religious purpose. church and state, in particular, were irrevocably joined.”32 therefore, when religious sects emerged independent of the church, the church of england’s colonial parishes’ requests for a bishop in america were continually denied, and revolutionary political sentiment emerged, boucher interpreted the ensuing conflict and tumult as a betrayal of the social order that god and king ordained. while history often remembers the march towards the revolution as inspired by the best of the colonists’ republican virtues, for boucher it was a reflection of the worst in humankind that had to be harnessed and brought back into order.   11 one of the greatest resources scholars have to analyze boucher’s perspective is his 1797 publication, a view of the causes and consequences of the american revolution in thirteen discourses. boucher produced the work when he returned to britain after being forced out of the colonies in 1775. over five-hundred pages in length, it can be mined for endless historical pursuits: its dedication to george washington reveals a complex relationship with his previous employer; its preface offers a brief historiography of the american revolution, his “objective” conceptions of the event, and the future he sees for the disorderly and disobedient colonies; and a collection of thirteen sermons, preached in virginia and maryland from 1763-1775, invites the reader into boucher’s mind from the end of the seven years’ war to the eve of the american revolution. while there are a variety of issues, events, and controversies that boucher addresses in the text, a few common themes emerge that lend great insight into what motivated the minister to resist the revolution and should persuade scholars to reimagine the role of loyalism in the conflict. a dominant theme in a view of the causes and consequences is boucher’s resistance to change. he writes, “in arts and sciences it is commendable in men to be always aiming at something new, and even to be given to change; as far at least as real improvements imply change. it is in matters only which concern government, morality and religion, that this propensity to change becomes dangerous; because, in those points more especially, mankind are most apt to mistake innovation for improvement.”33 statements like this appear throughout the entirety of the text and shed light on how fiercely conservative and of the old order boucher was. to better contextualize boucher’s skepticism toward change, one must look to seventeenthcentury political theorist, sir robert filmer.   12 as revolutionaries were inspired by john locke’s assertion of universal, natural rights, boucher and his fellow loyalists turned to sir robert filmer. boucher became an especially ardent supporter of filmer’s ideas. as michael d. clark writes, “[boucher] felt obliged to ground his conservatism in a fully articulated theory which would answer his lockean opponents in america. to this end, boucher became a latter-day apostle of sir robert filmer.”34 echoes of filmer’s 1680 work, patriarcha: or the natural power of kings, reverberate throughout boucher’s many sermons.35 at the core of filmer’s political beliefs was that god ordered society through monarchy. using the lineage of the early biblical patriarchs to demonstrate how god ordered the world, filmer writes: “i see not then how the children of adam, or of any man else can be free from subjection to their parents: and this subjection of children being the fountain of all regal authority, by the ordination of god himself.”36 thus, he uses both a familial and biblical model to justify the supremacy of monarchy. as children are expected to respect the authority of their hereditary and heavenly father, so too, must they obey their civic father, the king. he ends the first portion of patriarcha by stating, “if we compare the natural rights of a father with those of a king, we find them all one, without any difference at all but only in the latitude or extent of them: as the father over one family, so the king as father over many families extends his care to preserve, feed, cloth, instruct and defend the whole commonwealth.”37 as filmer would have it, this was the proper socio-political structure through which all subjects had to interpret their natural rights. this civic and religious interpretation became a cornerstone of boucher’s theological and political worldview. for example, in his eighth sermon, boucher reiterates patriarcha when discussing the lessons to be learned from the ancient israelites. he explains that, “the head or supreme of the state was, emphatically, god; and to that circumstance it owes its title: but, under   13 him, at least in their earlier periods, each family and each individual were trained, in whatever related to the general weal, to look for no other law than the will of the father of the family; and his will was regarded as the will of god.”38 with this theological viewpoint, he perceived any criticism of the church or state as an attack on the other. he explains that, “thus formed and fitted for each other, church and state mutually support, and are supported by each other. each is a part of each; each a part of the constitution: and an injury cannot be done to the one without the other’s feeling.”39 for boucher, the link between god and king was as essential to being british as it was to being a christian. as this connection came to be tested and renegotiated in the colonies, boucher grew increasingly alarmed. to appreciate his opinions, his conviction of the rightness of this worldview has to be taken into account. he was, “unswayed by any eighteenth-century current or undercurrent of relevatism [and] he started with the assumption that an idea was either true or false…the truth was unalterable, revealed by god, and best interpreted by the church of england.”40 it was his conception of the cosmic order which manifested itself through monarchy that led him to participate so actively in government and feel so passionately about the challenges to clerical and monarchical authority. his willingness to fight for authority and order was exacerbated by the fact that the first major conflicts in the colonies, which laid the eventual foundation for the american revolution, were centered around renegotiating the link between church and state. as thomas buckley discusses in his book, church and state in revolutionary virginia, 1776-1787, the campaigns rationalists and dissenters waged in virginia prior to the revolution to dissolve the church and state’s relationship constructed an intellectual infrastructure that was eventually used to politically separate from great britain.41 those who advocated for the   14 strengthening of the church of england were often ill-received, as they first were seen as impediments to religious liberty, and later seen as apologists for the king. the rise of dissenters and the continued resistance to seating an anglican bishop in the colonies were two of the primary issues the church of england faced prior to the revolution. boucher’s response to both controversies exemplifies how he tried to keep the relationship between church and state intact, which eventually led to his expulsion from the colonies. when dissenters began establishing their own churches and congregations in colonial anglican parishes, they represented some of the first dissolutions of the imperial order.42 as rhys issac explains, “social disquiet was arising [in virginia]…by mid-century from a variety of causes, but the most dramatic signs of change appeared in the sphere of religion…the parish community at the base of the barely consolidated traditional order was beginning to fracture. the rise of dissent represented a serious threat to the system of authority.”43 for boucher, these dissenters were unacceptable and un-christian. he testifies that, “it is neither illogical nor uncharitable to say, that the mere circumstance of separating is no inconsiderable proof that the separatist is in an error; because it proves him to have lost, or never to have fully possessed, that christian disposition and temper which would have made him anxious to be like-minded; having the same love; of one accord, and of one mind with fellow christians.”44 boucher believed the dissenters betrayed the authority god granted the church of england and, worse, they encouraged the development of political parties. to address the evangelical sects emerging in his own day, boucher invokes the example of ancient israel: “to each tribe there was a civil magistrate called a ruler, who, as well as the judges, was subordinate to the high priest, the immediate representative of god. when the people would not obey this mild system of government, nor hearken to the voice of the lord their king, but corrupted   15 themselves, and degenerated into the idolatries of the nations around them, the lord delivered them into the hands of their enemies.”45 when israel rejected god’s hierarchy, he let their enemies harm them; why would he not do the same to the colonists? boucher also feared that sectarianism in churches would lead to schisms in politics, further fracturing the imperial order. he laments that, “it has been observed, that sects in religion, and parties in politics, generally prevail together. by a sort of mutual action and re-action they produce one another; both, in turns, becoming causes and effect.”46 as the dissenters indeed helped lay the framework of the revolution, boucher sensed the frustration in the colonies and feared the conflict he was certain would ensue. boucher believed that appointing an anglican bishop in the colonies could head off this conflict by providing administrative support for the church of england, and by extension, maintain its and the king’s legitimacy. however, the colonies continually refused to allow for such an appointment, which was incomprehensible to boucher. he claims that, “never before, in any period of our history, or in any part of the empire, was a measure so harmless, so necessary, and so salutary, resisted and defeated on the grounds so frivolous, so unwise, and unjust.”47 this was problematic for boucher because, “to oppose the episcopacy is in effect to fly in the face of, and to oppose, the established church.”48 he continues, “every country acts naturally and prudently in making it’s ecclesiastical polity comfortable to it’s civil government: and it certainly is not easy, if it be possible, to name a government that ever subsisted long without some connexion or alliance with religion.”49 on one hand, the refusal to establish a colonial episcopate was an assault on the church of england’s privileged status, and on the other it was a denial of the essential marriage of church and state.   16 while it is tempting to convey boucher as a minister lost in the past, or as a cleric worried about losing access to the political power he obtained through the crown’s sponsorship of the church of england, other themes in causes and consequences demonstrate the depth and legitimacy of his challenges to the american revolution. additionally, boucher’s relationships with other colonists suggest that his reservations stemmed from a concern for others, not simply a concern for maintaining his power. throughout boucher’s sermons, he repeatedly expressed his belief in the fallen nature of humankind. he states, “[humans] continue to act the same part which they have always done. they are still jealous of power, still fond of change, and still easily persuaded to believe that they are not so well governed as they ought to be. these are the standing characteristics of mankind, verified by almost every page of every history.”50 boucher thought humans would never be satisfied with their present reality and would cause chaos in their pursuit of an unrealistic, imagined future. it was up to the church and state to maintain order and protect humans from themselves as they tried to placate their discontentedness. according to boucher, human fickleness causes people to constantly change course in pursuit of their self-interest and they can be easily led astray by any malcontent instigating change; it was the mission of the church and state to be a constant in the lives of their subjects, as humans would devolve into anarchy if left without structures to corral their less virtuous nature. whether it was the revolution, the rise of dissenters, or the bishop controversy, boucher never believed social upheaval had much broad support from the colonists. instead, he thought that an opportunistic few aroused chaos and restlessness amongst the colonists, who, under normal circumstances, never would have challenged the status quo. boucher explains: when once a multitude is tumultuously collected, there is no saying to what a pitch of mischief they may be easily led. it matters not that, as individuals, they are mild,   17 beneficent, and humane: i would not trust the milkiest man on earth, when he is one in a disorderly and riotous crowd. it matters not that in our individual capacities we are wise, temperate, and just: collected together in a mob, we inevitably become irrational, violent, and tyrannical.51 in fact, boucher believed that once the dust finally settled from the revolution, many americans would see the error of their ways and seek to reconcile with britain, claiming “it never was the serious wish either of [the people of great britain or the american states] to separate.”52 therefore, according to boucher, the revolution was not a legitimate rejection of the crown, but a momentary lapse in judgement; a torrent of wind stirred by a small cohort that briefly mobilized the colonists to abandon their loyalties, only to remember them once reason returned. in responding to some colonists’ criticisms of establishing an american episcopate, boucher provides a response that would root his understanding of the revolution yet to come: “and when time shall have cooled men’s passions, and prejudice shall give way to reason, not a doubt can be entertained but that…this resolve will be rescinded from their journals.”53 from this perspective, it is clear why boucher “distrust[ed] republicanism and regard[ed] democracy as little more than anarchy.”54 while his anti-republican sentiments clearly violated the lockean ideas espoused by some colonists, exploring boucher’s thoughts on human nature and his understanding of liberty raises new questions about the merits of the colonists’ push for freedom. patriarcha provided boucher with a strong foundation to oppose the liberty the colonists claimed as their natural right. filmer asserts, “that the desire of liberty was the first cause of the fall of adam,” and, “the greatest liberty in the world…is for a people to live under a monarch. it is the magna carta of this kingdom, all other shews or pretexts of liberty, are but several degrees of slavery, and a liberty to destroy liberty.”55 these ideas are clearly echoed in boucher’s sermons, such as, “on fundamental principles”: “let us now at length, in good earnest, unite our hands, our hearts, and our prayers, against those enemies…who meditate   18 war, not only against the parent state, but against every thing that is established, venerable and good…and more especially let us set ourselves against those worse enemies, our own sins.”56 for both filmer and boucher, pleas for liberty were often thin veneers that masked selfish desires. while boucher openly admitted the empire was not always perfect in its administration, he firmly believed that the problems the colonists faced stemmed primarily from within, not from the crown. boucher also viewed the colonists’ pursuit of liberty as regressive. he understood human history as a progression from a sinful state of nature to a state of peace and order that came through christian, monarchical governance. boucher articulates this in a sermon entitled, “on the strife between abram and lot”: the only rational idea of civil liberty, or…of a legitimate and good government…is, when the great body of people are trained and led habitually to submit to and acquiesce in some fixed and steady principles of conduct. it is essential…to liberty, that such principles shall be of power sufficient to control the arbitrary and capricious wills of mankind which whenever they are not so controuled, are found to be dangerous and destructive to the best interests of society. the primary aim…of all well-framed constitutions is, to place man…out of the reach of his own power…by placing him under the power of law.57 as he watched the rise of colonial mobs, intimidation, violence, and other acts of lawlessness directly before the revolution, boucher’s claims appear to be quite legitimate. his convictions were clear: eradicating the power of the church of england and the british crown would not solve colonists’ problems, but leave them susceptible to the worst in their nature. why deliver colonists their supposed natural rights when it was the state of nature from which they needed to be saved? this was a task reserved for the crown, not the masses. as boucher ascended the pulpit each sunday to espouse his loyalist ideology, he found himself face to face with audiences that increasingly found his message abhorrent. the high position of rector at st. anne’s that once brought him prestige and power began making him a   19 target of public scorn and rejection. once a respected agent of maintaining the empire through its religious institutions, he struggled to keep the ties that bound the colonies, church, and state together from fraying. what is remarkable about the colonists’ evolution from loyal subjects to disobedient revolutionaries is how quick and emotionally charged it was. as brendan mcconville points out, “in the royal america that existed between the glorious revolution and 1776, that which we call political culture…was decidedly monarchical and imperial…almost to the moment of american independence.”58 mcconville further explains that from the glorious revolution to the american revolution there was a new interpretation of kings in british culture. structured around newton’s discovery of a hidden force that held the world together, political writers, “suggested that a more benign, more natural form of political organization held together by love, the human form of gravity...these newtonian sun kings…were at the center of the british universe, and colonials revolved in their orbit.”59 in essence, it was colonists’ emotional ties to the monarchy that compelled them to remain loyal; only when they felt betrayed by king george iii himself did they elect to revolt. while this emphasis on emotion has been used to describe the revolutionaries’ experiences, it can also be found in the loyalists’. as members of the political solar system mcconville describes, loyalists, too, were fixed to the monarchy through their emotional attachments. revolutionaries were not the only american colonists to feel betrayed; as the colonists revolted against the crown, shirking all of the duties and obligations required of good subjects, loyalists also felt the sharp pains of this divorce. although boucher often spoke about the importance of reason and rationality, his experience illustrates how central his relationships and emotions were to navigating and interpreting the budding american revolution. boucher’s writings are replete with emotionally charged messages, as he struggled to use his imperial   20 position to maintain order, grasping at the last strands that held the american colonies in the empire together. one of the most important aspects about boucher’s experiences in virginia and maryland is how relational his roles as tutor and minister were. both positions deeply intertwined and invested him in the lives of others; he was an essential part of the communities in which he lived as he provided nourishment for the mind and soul. for instance, when he left virginia for maryland, he explains that, “my parishioners…gave me such testimonies of their regard as i still feel with the most lively gratitude.”60 therefore, when he found himself on the wrong side of the revolution, his former supporters broke with more than the church and state; they broke with him. perhaps the greatest betrayal boucher experienced in the revolution is seen in the transformation of his relationship with george washington. as previously mentioned, boucher served as a tutor for washington’s step-son, john parke custis. additionally, boucher and washington carried out a correspondence with each other for nearly three decades, albeit with fluctuating frequency. once a harmonious relationship that worked well within the confines of the colonial, monarchical order, when revolution came, the two british subjects took divergent paths and became pillars of their respective positions: george washington became one of the few immovable icons of the american revolution and the early republic, while boucher became one of the staunchest loyalists in the british colonies. the fracture between the two men was something that boucher felt quite deeply. this is most palpable in a letter boucher sent to washington on august 6, 1775. he begins with a paragraph describing their relationship: “for having now been in your acquaintance several years, i could not help considering myself, nor indeed help hoping that i was considered by you,   21 as an old friend: and of course i counted on our living together in the pleasing intercourse of giving and receiving the mutual good offices of neighbourhood and friendship.”61 however, the outbreak of war rendered that impossible. “on the great points so long and so fruitlessly debated between us it is not my design now again to solicit your attention. we have now each of us taken and avowed our side, and with such ardour as becomes men who feel themselves to be in earnest in their convictions.”62 but he had tried mightily to convince his once admired friend to remain loyal to his king. this is quite impressive given that washington went on the lead the continental army and serve as the first president of the united states. the letter quickly emphasizes the different paths they took in the revolution, and boucher concludes by bitterly lambasting washington’s character: i have at least the merit of consistency: and neither in any private or public conversation, in anything i have delivered from the pulpit, have i ever asserted any other opinions or doctrines than you have repeatedly heard me assert in my own house and in yours. you cannot say that i deserved to be run down, vilified, and injured in the manner which you know has fallen my lot, merely because i cannot bring myself to think on some political points just as you and your party would have me think. and yet you have borne to look on, at least as an unconcerned spectator, if not an abettor, whilst, like the poor frog in the fable, i have in a manner been pelted to death…you are no longer worthy of my friendship: a man of honour can no longer without dishonor be connected with you. with your cause i renounce you.63 on september 10, 1775, a little over a month after boucher penned this letter to washington, he left annapolis and returned to great britain.64 clearly, george washington violated more than the sacred ties between church, state, and colonies; he violated the bonds of love and friendship with boucher. not only had washington, a perfect representative of british gentility, failed to uphold his duties to the crown, he allowed violence to fall on those who fought to maintain order on its behalf. boucher’s bitterness towards washington remained unabated for some time, which can be seen in a section in his autobiography, reminiscences of an american loyalist. under the   22 march 11, 1786, section, boucher writes: “i did know mr. washington well…i cannot conceive how he could, otherwise than through the interested representations of party, have ever been spoken of as a great man. he is shy, silent, stern, slow and cautious, but has no quickness of parts, extraordinary penetration, nor an elevated style of thinking. in his moral character he is regular, temperate, strictly just and honest…but he seems to have nothing generous or affectionate in his nature.”65 it appears that boucher spurned washington because of the aggrieved terms on which their relationship ended. so intent on the colonists utilizing their heads instead of their hearts, boucher seems to have fallen into the same trap. as much as he tried to fight it, the revolution was as much a distinctly relational and emotional experience for him as it was for the colonists. however distressed boucher had been with washington, it seems that he eventually reconciled his anger with his former friend. when boucher wrote a view of the causes and consequences of the american revolution, he dedicated it to george washington, of all people! sir, in prefixing your name to a work avowedly hostile to that revolution in which you bore a distinguished part, i am not conscious that i deserve to be charged with inconsistency. i do not address myself to the general of a conventional army; but to the late dignified president of the united states, the friend of rational and sober freedom…that, in the discharge of your duty as head of this government, you have resisted those anarchical doctrines, which are hardly less dangerous to america than to europe, is not more an eulogium on the wisdom of our forefathers, than honourable to your individual wisdom and integrity.66 this is a dramatic reversal of the description boucher provides in reminiscences of an american loyalist. he even signs the dedication, “i have the honour to be, sir, your very sincere friend, and most obedient humble servant, jonathan boucher.”67 part of the reason washington worked his way back into boucher’s good graces was because he became a federalist and supported the united states constitution, which boucher perceived as an echo of the monarchical order that had just fallen. however, there is something   23 to be said for the more human characteristics of history. while, “time heals all wounds,” is a tired maxim, it may be appropriate here. coupled with washington’s ability to bring order out of the licentious chaos boucher saw in the years of the revolution and articles of confederation, time and distance greatly impacted boucher’s emotional response to the revolution. boucher long argued that colonists would see the error of their ways once the dust settled from the revolution, but in the end, it was he who was transformed by the passage of time. despite his reconciliation with george washington, jonathan boucher never abandoned his commitment to the british monarchy or the sacred bond between church and state. his convictions were too strong and his spirit resilient enough to endure the consequences of speaking out against the american revolution. ironically, these consequences were a result of the same allegiance that helped him garner a good reputation in the colonies. while boucher’s resolve may, at first glance, make him appear intractable, an investigation into the ideological framework that inspired him to resist the revolution, and his personal experience as an agent of the british empire, reveal the depths of his protest. locating historical figures like boucher is essential to expanding the historiography of the american revolution. boucher exposes the britishness of the american colonies, while framing the revolution in relational terms. for boucher, and others like him, the revolution was not a long time coming; it was a sudden shift in the colonies that had drastic impacts on relationships, livelihood, and long-held beliefs. from this vantage point, the revolution proved to be a simultaneously liberating and damning experience. jonathan boucher helps establish this revelation and beckons historians to return to the revolution in order to study the loyalist perspective with new eyes. 1 jonathan boucher, a view of the causes and consequences of the american revolution, in thirteen discourses, rev. ed. (1797; repr., new york: russell & russell, 1967), 347. 2 jonathan boucher, reminiscences of an american loyalist, 1738-1789, ed. jonathan bouchier, rev. ed. (1925; repr., port washington: kennikat press, inc., 1967), 121.                                                           24                                                                                                                                                                                 3 boucher, reminiscences of an american loyalist, 113.   4 ignacio gallup-diaz, andrew shankman, and david j. silverman, eds., anglicizing america: empire, revolution, republic (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2015), 1. brendan mcconville puts this nicely in the king’s three faces on page 251: “as counterintuitive as it may seem, the love of the king and country reached its zenith at the split second before imperial collapse.” brendan mcconville, the king’s three faces: the rise & fall of royal america, 1688-1776 (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 2006). 5 mcconville, the king’s three faces, 3. 6 timothy b. barnes, robert m. calhoon, and george a. rawlyk, eds., introduction to loyalists and community in north america (westport: greenwood press, 1994), 1. 7 alison games, the web of empire: english cosmopolitans in an age of expansion, 1560-1660 (oxford: oxford university press, 2008), 10. 8 boucher, reminiscences of an american loyalist, 8. 9 ibid. 10 ibid., 9. 11 ibid., 14. 12 ibid., 23. 13 ibid., 25. 14 ibid., 40-41.  15 ibid, 41. 16 george washington, george washington to jonathan boucher, may 30, 1768, letter, from national archives, founders online, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/washington/02-08-02-0066, accessed december 1, 2017. 17 boucher, reminiscences of an american loyalist, 50-54. 18 ibid., 57. 19 ibid. 20 philip evanson, “jonathan boucher: the mind of an american loyalist,” maryland historical magazine 58, no. 2 (1963): 126, accessed october 17, 2017, villanova.illiad.oclc.org. 21 boucher, reminiscences of an american loyalist, 40-41.  22 ibid., 65. 23 “state circle,” archeology in annapolis, accessed november 15, 2017, http://www.aia.umd.edu/state.html. 24 dell upton, holy things and profane: anglican parish churches in colonial virginia (new haven: yale university press, 1997). 25 upton, holy things and profane, xxi.  26 “a brief history of annapolis,” visit annapolis, accessed december 8, 2017, http://www.visitannapolis.org/ discover/articles/a-brief-history-of-annapolis. 27 “state circle.” 28 ibid.  29 evanson, “jonathan boucher,” 126. 30 boucher, reminiscences of an american loyalist, 92. 31 ibid., 92-93.  32 michael d. clark, “jonathan boucher: the mirror of reaction,” huntington library quarterly 33, no. 1 (1969): 23, accessed october 18, 2017, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3817013. 33 boucher, a view of the causes and consequences, 202-203. 34 clark, “jonathan boucher: the mirror of reaction,” 27. 35 robert filmer, patriarcha, or, the natural power of kings (london: printed and are to be sold by walter davis, 1680), early english books text creation partnership, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/a41308.0001.001. 36 filmer, patriarcha, 9. 37 ibid. 11-12. 38 boucher, a view of the causes and consequences, 329. 39 ibid., 101. 40 clark, “jonathan boucher: the mirror of reaction,” 23.  41 thomas e. buckley, church and state in revolutionary virginia, 1776-1787 (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 1977). 42 rhys isaac, the transformation of virginia: 1740-1790 (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1982). 43 isaac, the transformation of virginia, 147. 44 boucher, reminiscences of an american loyalist, 66.  45 ibid., 52.   25                                                                                                                                                                                 46 ibid., 79. 47 boucher, a view of the causes and consequences, 92. 48 ibid., 101.  49 ibid.  50 ibid., xxvi-xxvii. 51 ibid., 388-389.  52 ibid., lxxiii. 53 ibid., 96. 54 evanson, “jonathan boucher: the mind of an american loyalist,” 128. 55 filmer, patriarcha, 6-7. 56 boucher, a view of the causes and consequences, 323-324.  57 ibid., 363. 58 mcconville, the king’s three faces, 7. 59 ibid., 204-205. 60 boucher, reminiscences of an american loyalist, 59. 61 jonathan boucher, letters of jonathan boucher to george washington, ed. by worthington chauncey ford (brooklyn: historical printing club, 1899), 47. 62 ibid., 48. 63 ibid., 49. 64 boucher, reminiscences of an american loyalist, 141. 65 ibid., 50.  66 boucher, a view of the causes and consequences, dedication (no page number provided). 67 ibid.   26                                                                                                                                                                                 bibliography primary sources boucher, jonathan. a view of the causes and consequences of the american revolution, in thirteen discourses. rev. ed. 1797. new york: russell & russell, 1967. boucher, jonathan. letters of jonathan boucher to george washington, edited by worthington chauncey ford. brooklyn: historical printing club, 1899. boucher, jonathan. reminiscences of an american loyalist, 1738-1789, edited by jonathan bouchier. rev. ed. 1925. reprint, port washington: kennikat press, inc., 1967. filmer, robert. patriarcha, or, the natural power of kings. london: printed and are to be sold by walter davis, 1680. early english books online. washington, george. george washington to jonathan boucher, may 30, 1768. letter. from national archives, founders online. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/ washington/02-08-02-0066. accessed december 1, 2017. secondary sources “a brief history of annapolis.” visit annapolis. accessed december 8, 2017. http://www. visitannapolis.org/discover/articles/a-brief-history-of-annapolis. barnes, timothy b., robert m. calhoon, and george a. rawlyk, eds. introduction to loyalists and community in north america. westport: greenwood press, 1994. buckley, thomas e. church and state in revolutionary virginia, 1776-1787. charlottesville: university of virginia press, 1977. clark, michael d. “jonathan boucher: the mirror of reaction.” huntington library quarterly 33, no. 1 (1969): 19-32. accessed october 18, 2017. http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 3817013. evanson, philip. “jonathan boucher: the mind of an american loyalist.” maryland historical magazine 58, no. 2 (1963): 123-136. accessed october 17, 2017. villanova.illiad. oclc.org. games, alison. the web of empire: english cosmopolitans in an age of expansion, 1560-1660. oxford: oxford university press, 2008. gallup-diaz, ignacio, andrew shankman, and david j. silverman, eds. anglicizing america: empire, revolution, republic. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2015.   27                                                                                                                                                                                 isaac, rhys. the transformation of virginia: 1740-1790. chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1982. mcconville, brendan. the king’s three faces: the rise & fall of royal america, 1688-1776. chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 2006. “state circle.” archeology in annapolis. accessed november 15, 2017. http://www.aia.umd. edu/state.html. upton, dell. holy things and profane: anglican parish churches in colonial virginia. new haven: yale university press, 1997.   1 a form of work we’d rather not do alone: chen chen, poetics of relationality, and the intersubjective lyric i olivia stowell english over the past several decades, both poets and poetry scholars have contested both the political efficacy and the underwriting assumptions of the confessional lyric subject. replete with humor, tenderness, pain, and autobiography, contemporary chinese-american poet chen chen’s debut collection when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities offers at least one potential elsewhere beyond the universalizing white lyric subject. chen’s poetry, which explores topics from queerness to immigrant status to relationality to asian-american identity and more, creates spaces of textual intimacy, both within the poetic lyric subject and with the others it comes in contact with, including the reader. by viewing chen’s work through the lens of kandice chuh’s illiberal humanities, brian glavey’s scholarship on poetic relatability, relationality, and intersubjectivity, and claudia rankine’s discussions of the political dimensions of the lyric i, the further possibilities for the lyric subject that chen makes space for come clearly into view. through its reformulation of lyric subjecthood around alternative identities, queer, relational intersubjectivity, and deployment of lyric address, chen’s when i grow up creates a limited yet intersubjective lyric i, moving beyond a universalizing white lyric subject who is “overheard” toward a specific, autobiographical, marginalized lyric subject that expands the poetic space into one that is conversational and collective. while the lyric subject, at least in the conventional, john stuart millian sense of an overheard subject, expressing “feeling confessing itself to itself in moments of solitude” (mill, “thoughts”), has operated with an assumed universality often based in whiteness, power, and 2 privilege, chen’s poetry offers an alternative understanding of what the lyric subject can be. although some poets have contested the lyric i due to its apparent political bankruptcy, such as the language school and bruce andrews, who suggest that “poetry must explode the lyric “i” in order to recover its political force” (lease 391), other poets, such as contemporary author claudia rankine, author of citizen and don’t let me be lonely, have explored what it might mean to “rescue the first person” (rankine). rankine, in a 2006 conversation with fellow poet major jackson, suggested that if “the i could open out…and still position itself in a place that was personal, that saw its own limitations…then perhaps the i would open out into a we, into a connected sense of inadequacy” (rankine), allowing for a politically engaged, socially aware poetics that does not require abandoning the lyric tradition or the lyric subject. rankine and other contemporary poets refuse to cede the ground and affordances of the lyric subject, instead reimagining it and reformulating it around alternative identities and assumptions. similarly, in her 2019 book the difference aesthetics makes: on the humanities “after man,” kandice chuh refuses to cede the ground of the humanities, instead claiming the construct, “tak[ing] as axiomatic the humanity and humanism of precisely those people sacrificed to the liberal ideal” (chuh 4). chuh elaborates on what she terms the illiberal humanities, which “are directed toward the protection and flourishing of people and of ways of being and knowing and of inhabiting the planet that liberal humanism, wrought through the defining structures of modernity, tries so hard to extinguish” (chuh 2). when i grow up’s approach to the confessional lyric subject seems analogous to chuh’s approach to the construct of the humanities, and seems to serve as at least one potential answer to rankine’s question of whether/how to reclaim the first person in poetry. chuh’s illiberal humanities work toward “the twofold project of critiquing normativities and the violence of the status quo, and working toward and for alternatives” (chuh 4), a simultaneously 3 diagnostic and imaginative vision of the humanities. if applied to chen’s deployment of the lyric subject, illiberal humanities (or perhaps illiberal poetics) might be understood as taking as axiomatic identities and humanisms other than the universalizing and “overheard voice of the “strong, singular, unmediated self”” (alvergue 227), a self often aligned with both whiteness’s limited and exclusive construction of personhood and the overlapping construction of the postenlightenment liberal subject. an illiberal poetics, as manifested in chen’s poetry, might seek to both reveal the horrors of the now while also creating sites of intimacy and relationality that do not elide, erase, or assimilate difference or make claims to universality. just as chuh does not abandon the construction of the humanities, instead reclaiming it as a site of/for alternative humanities and humanisms, chen does not abandon the lyric subject, instead reformulating it around a narrow i that both positions itself as personal and specific, acknowledging limitations while simultaneously inviting conversational relationality without assimilating itself. if chuh presents “humanities after man” (chuh 25), chen’s simultaneously porous/interrelational and specific/intimate/autobiographical lyric i presents a lyric subjecthood after the white, universalizing lyric subject. in contrast to the white, post-enlightenment, liberal lyric subject, the illiberal poetics of the lyric i in when i grow up are explicitly asian american, explicitly queer, explicitly immigrant, without being reducible to or separable from any of those identities. chen’s poetry arises out of ways of being in the world that liberal humanism has violently sought to erase or destroy, and often documents the experiences of surviving such attempts at destruction, as shown in “self-portrait with & without.” “self-portrait,” the second of two self-portrait poems in the collection, explicitly engages not only with asian american-ness, queerness, and immigrantness, but also with gun violence, 9/11, poetic tradition, and family, constructing a specific, 4 limited personal and autobiographical subjectivity. by listing various events, people, and objects that the poem’s speaker is either with or without, chen constructs a depiction of self-identity that, rather than being consistent and unmediated, is instead both mediated by and dependent on the human and nonhuman others in its environment. the variety of items listed causes the i to emerge as kaleidoscopic and complex, not reducible to racial or sexual identity, familial positionality, or temporal or geographical location. furthermore, the with-and-without formulation allows the poem’s i to be defined not only by what is present (such as “a tutor in mandarin,” “william carlos williams,” “the white boy / i liked” (chen, “self-portrait” 6, 19, 24-25)), but also by what is absent (“a dog or a cat,” “citizenship,” “my father, for a year” (4, 16, 17)). the fact that the objects, relationships, and events in “self-portrait” don’t merely exist alongside the speaker, but figure within his understanding of himself, as indicated by the title, allows for a mediated self-definition, breaking down the barriers of what constitutes self and other. in its fluctuating sense of self, depicting it as “a linguistically—and therefore, in rankine’s view, socially and politically—contingent and shifting site” (javadizadeh 476) similar to the language poets, “self-portrait with & without” moves away from the traditional singular lyric subject and toward a much more porous and dependent i. however, despite defining the lyric subject as permeable, contingent, and relational, chen does not sacrifice the intimate, autobiographical possibilities that the lyric tradition affords. while the list form of “self-portrait” allows for the disruption of an “ontologically prior, stable, and self-sufficient subject” (dowling 57), the content of the poem allows for a degree of emotive and specific intimacy in keeping with the lyric tradition. in particular, the i in “self-portrait” explicitly deviates from the assumed whiteness of the traditional lyric subject, discussing “my mother saying, you have to be three times better / than the white kids, at everything,” “my other 5 country,” and “my hands / begging for straighter teeth, lighter skin, blue eyes, green eyes / any eyes brighter, / other than mine” (chen, “self-portrait” 3-4, 21, 26-27). by explicitly defining the speaker’s racial and sexual identities within the self-portrait, the i emerges as “a disruptive voice that is capable of voicing “without claiming some reified notion of the universal”” (alvergue 225), expressing experiences without assuming their universality, while allowing for their reliability. similar to iyko day’s analysis of the work of contemporary asian canadian poet fred wah in her article “intervening innocence: race, ‘resistance,’ and the asian north american avant-garde,” chen’s poetry “does not escape ideology but rather repositions itself against the system that seeks to suture its subjects into a multiculturally homogenous and celebratory national universal” (day 50), instead charting the traumatic affects and effects of such systems. the final lines of “self-portrait” depict a younger version of the speaker, kneeling and praying to become white, to have “lighter skin” (chen, “self-portrait” 26), to achieve assimilation. as, in part, a particular account of a particular violence experienced by people of color within a racist system that demands the assimilation of its subjects and the erasure and elision of difference, “self-portrait” claims the poetic space as a space in which to explore, diagnose, and critique the personal affective experiences engendered by the realities of quotidian racial violence that constitute the status quo. however, the poem is not defined by this experience of racialized violence; it also details the speaker’s experiences of his “mother’s multiplying worries. with my brothers, / my brothers” and his “aunt’s calls from china, when the towers fell” (chen, “selfportrait” 14-15, 22), and of being “with dried cranberries. without a driver’s license. with my mother’s / mother’s worry. without, till recently, my father’s glasses” (1-2). by discussing connections to pets, grades, siblings, and poets alongside the effects of sexualized racial violence, “self-portrait” creates a personal, specific, narrow lyric i that, resists the “binarized 6 activity of locating either the resistance of “bad subjects” or the accommodation of “model minority” subjects” (day 35), instead “refusing to submit to the multicultural gaze—refusing to be commodified as an ethnic object of knowledge” (day 50). beyond refusing to submit to the multicultural gaze, “self-portrait” also resists the “singular, linear unfolding” (rifkin 39) of western post-enlightenment homogenous empty time, instead creating a heterogenous temporal alinearity constructed from “multifaceted and shifting sets of relationships” (rifkin 2). the i of the poem moves from being “in ninth grade” (chen, “self-portrait” 16) to being “grown up now” (9), from his mother’s direct words indicated in italics (3-4) to his “mother’s long-distance calls” (21). by oscillating between various (and often blurry) moments of time, “self-portrait” troubles temporal linearity in favor of a heterogenous, associative temporal logic, and therefore also troubles the sense of a coherent lyric subject moving linearly through time. instead, chen’s porous lyric i experiences both his adult self watching “the children, spared or missed by the child with a gun, / go[ing] back to school” (1011) on the news alongside his own childhood self, “with a fish i talked to before bed, telling him my ideas for new kinds / of candy” (5-6) and getting “an a in english, / a c in chemistry” (2-3). rather than operating as flashbacks or flashforwards, past and present mix alongside each other within “self-portrait,” bumping up against each other. through this temporal alinearity and heterogeneity, chen reveals his lyric subject’s self-definition as porous not only to objects, events, and relationships, but also at any/all times to past, present, and future, which in turn also become porous to each other. through its relational, mediated self-definition, specific and intimate positionality, and disruption of homogenous linear time, “self-portrait” demonstrates an illiberal poetics that names the violences of the status quo without being reducible to them while simultaneously opening out the lyric i and maintaining its specific sociopolitical location. 7 while chen’s work often explicitly names his various sociopolitical identities as a queer, asian american immigrant poet, his poetry also queers and recalibrates those categories, inviting the same kind of queer, relational, relatable intersubjectivity that brian glavey, in his recent essay “having a coke with you is even more fun than ideology critique,” argues that frank o’hara invites.i part of chen’s illiberal poetics is his upending of what is traditionally considered valuable in immigrant narratives under a white gaze, carving space for humor, happiness, and hope alongside experiences of pain or tension or struggle. in fact, chen has stated that “the act of making a poem seems inherently hopeful to me: that there are things worth giving this much attention to, that i want you to give as much attention as i have, then more” (chen, “poet”), suggesting that chen writes in the direction of hope, calling his own and the reader’s attentions to certain things that seem worth giving attention to, even as chen queers what might be considered worthy of attention. just as o’hara’s poetics’ “rejection of totalizing conceptions like the beautiful or the sublime in favor of campy flirtation revis[e] heteronormative assumptions about what is and is not valuable” (glavey 1005), chen’s poetics reject totalizing conceptions of what constitutes immigrant-ness, asian american-ness, or queerness in favor of a more complex, contradictory, and intersubjective “scene of my selves” (o’hara, qtd. in glavey 1005). by shifting the metric on what is valuable/valid, chen’s lyric i participates in both o’hara’s project of queering of hierarchies and in chuh’s project of an “illiberal humanist pedagogy, wherein mastery is displaced by the prompt to collective thought, and subjects (critics) and objects (texts) are understood in their mutuality” or what glavey might call their intersubjectivity or relationality, and those objects often deviate from the beautiful, the sublime, or the expected. chen’s poems are populated with “jelly beans” (chen, “poplar” 7) and “extra butter microwave popcorn” (chen, “poem” 1), with fart jokes and “reading harry potter” (chen, 8 “i’m not a religious” 6), even as they are also populated with reckonings with a friend’s “radical queer critique of homonormativity, of monogamy, / domesticity, front lawn glory” (chen, “poem” 20-21). in an interview with brooklyn poets, chen said “i’m thinking about all the strange ways in which poems happen, how distractions and detours and pizza deliveries are necessary” (chen, “poet”), indicating the space chen makes for the unexpected, the quotidian, and the fun in his work. within chen’s poetics, subjects and objects, whether those objects are transformers or citizenship, are understood in mutuality and relationality in a way that upends traditional value hierarchies, establishing “fun as an aesthetic criterion” (glavey 1005) just as glavey argues o’hara’s famous coke poem does. in when i grow up, a poem that is about sorrow is just as much about transformers, as in “sorrow song with optimus prime,” and a poem about envy and death may include lines like “my envy desires olympic gymnast / dannell levya’s abs” (chen, “ode” 13-14). chen’s poetry’s resistance to the separation of the serious and the fun, the intellectual and the ordinary, the painful and the joyous, allows for readers to take multiple stances before the poems’ specific scenes and details. glavey’s argument that o’hara’s poetry shows how “the aesthetics of a particular image do not foreclose the stances we might adopt before it, and acknowledging the seriousness of a work of art does not prevent us from having fun with it” (glavey 1005) tracks on to many of chen’s poems, and particularly illuminates the simultaneous seriousness and fun operating in the penultimate poem in when i grow up: “poem in noisy mouthfuls.” like some of o’hara’s work, “poem in noisy mouthfuls” engages in “mixing chatty observations about culture high and low with gossip about one’s friends, documenting the minutiae of one’s day-to-day life, and joyously dissolving the boundaries between the public and the private” (glavey 1000); however, despite its colloquial, conversational tone, it also reckons 9 with racial stereotyping, the monolithizing of immigrant narratives, queer critiques of normativity, and its own status as a poem. “poem in noisy mouthfuls” plays with the fun and humor of “the greasy handfuls, noisy mouthfuls” (chen, “poem” 18) of microwave popcorn and the ability to give up on “reading & believing in ayn rand” (28) and a “brief phase as a christian because i liked the cross as an accessory” (29), even as it struggles with the difficulty of giving up on “marriage, house, 1 kid, 2 cats / …in the name of being a real queer” (24, 25). in the poem, the impossibility of giving up on eating junk food comes to resonate with the impossibility of giving up on the dream of normativity and america. while in glavey’s reading of o’hara’s coke poem “the lover’s extraordinariness transfigures the ordinariness of everyday life” (glavey 1004), in “poem in noisy mouthfuls” the complexities of intersecting marginalized identities transfigure the everyday object of microwave popcorn. despite the tonal differences, both poems “invok[e] the transformational power of art to give a new glaze to an ordinary object” (glavey 1004) in a way that suggests relationality exists not only between the lyric subject and the depicted object within the poem, but also between the poem as an art medium, its author, and the things the poem depicts. in this way, chen’s poetry, like o’hara’s, “recalibrates art’s relation to everyday life, suggesting that we might value it in the same way that we value our other attachments, presenting it as a means of relating to the world in complicated and unpredictable ways” (glavey 1009), opening up space for complicated attachments to queerness and american dreams as well as a “rented movie about an immigrant family / from lebanon” (chen, “poem” 2-3). the self-referentiality of “poem in noisy mouthfuls” only serves to buttress this reading of chen’s work; by reckoning within the text with “a writer friend” who tells chen that “all you write about / is being gay or chinese” (chen, “poem” 8-9), the poem metatextually engages with 10 the way in which it may be perceived, both by its author and by its readers, opening up levels of relationality beyond just what occurs in the text itself, particularly addressing the assumption that an author of color must play into stereotypes of the “suffering minority” (chen, “i’m not here”) in their writing. while “poem in noisy mouthfuls” does explicitly engage with both queerness and immigrant status, it also addresses many other topics, and in the poem’s own words, counters the reductive idea that marginalized peoples only write about their marginalized identities by saying “no, i already write about everything— / & everything is salt, noise, struggle, hair, / carrying, kisses, leaving, myth, popcorn, // mothers, bad habits, questions” (chen, “poem” 5255). “poem in noisy mouthfuls” is a poem about being gay and chinese-american, but it is also about other complex and complicated relations and attachments. chen engages directly in the text with the worry that “even when i write with humor, with sarcasm and absurdity, a white reader will only see the racial woe” (chen, “i’m not here”), and deliberately offers a rejoinder to oversimplified ways of relating to his work. just as chuh’s illiberal humanities seek to dismantle the way “minoritized literary studies…have in the main been framed and studied in terms of authenticity, racism, and resistance rather than literariness” (chuh 16), chen’s poetics seek to explore particular marginalized identities beyond racism and what he terms racial woe, making space for multiple intersecting identities, for everyday delights, for unexpected connections. through queering what is expected or valued in immigrant poetics, by including the silly, the humorous, and the tender alongside the angry and the political, chen “stakes a poetic claim to the “politics of mere being”” (lichtenstein). as jesse lichtenstein wrote in a 2018 article for the atlantic entitled “how poetry came to matter again,” chen’s ““i” that rides the crosswinds of “queer asian american”…permits itself both to dwell in realms of everyday sadness and to champion the lesser virtues of amusement, curiosity, and delight” (lichtenstein). 11 within “poem in noisy mouthfuls,” chen both claims his lyric i’s particular narrow identity, and also insists it is more than the way society may perceive those identities. “poem in noisy mouthfuls” demonstrates how a lyric i that knows it is limited can open itself out, how it can, in rankine’s words, “still position itself in a place that is personal” (rankine) while also writing about everything, insisting that, as chen stated in his essay “i’m not here to play suffering minority for white readers,” a “poem starring a napping rhino is an asian american poem; in fact, despite it not being about how hard it was to immigrate, it is the most asian american poem i have ever written” (chen, “i’m not here”). chen’s statement in “i’m not here” reflects the inseparability of any given i’s narrowness from the way it perceives the world, while also asserting that such an i’s narrowness does not necessarily define or restrict it in the way that the white gaze would imagine. resisting reductive narratives and characterization, chen’s poetry redirects the text around other ways of relating to the world, where complex relationalities like o’hara’s “coexistence of futurism and coca-cola” (glavey 1009) can emerge, where the lyric i can be particularly situated and narrow while also deeply intersubjective, relational, and relatable. in contemporary poet jericho brown’s reading of chen’s poem “nature poem” in when i grow up’s foreword, brown sees the poem as “an astounding meeting of peace with empire, of nature with technology, and of the individual with the perception others have that he couldn’t possibly be an individual” (brown), meetings that seem aligned with the “coexistence of futurism and coca-cola” that glavey names. the complex relationalities of “nature poem,” where a starbucks becomes both a site of empire and a site of being “mistaken for cher” (brown), but also a place to confront the invisibility of asian american individuals in the contemporary american context, reveal the interrelation of personal experience and political critique within 12 chen’s work. however, chen’s poetry does not see this intersubjective permeability as only a site of imperial domination, but also as a site of, as the title indicates, alternative futures. the intersubjectivity of the lyric subject in chen’s illiberal poetics allows for imaginative further possibilities, so that an aesthetic encounter does not have to be solely “transitive or intransitive,” solely “a relation primarily with otherness or with the self” (glavey 998). within chen’s reformulated lyric subject that is simultaneously intimately autobiographical and also permeable, intersubjective, and relational, relations with the self are relations with others, just as relations with others are relations with the self. by simultaneously making alterity axiomatic and also constructing a “new lyric “i” [that] is open-ended, cumulative” (lichtenstein), chen’s illiberal poetics presents a vision of mutuality, relationality, and collectivity, wherein no subject or object can be conceived as fully separate from the conditions which created it. the cumulative, mediated, contingent i presented in when i grow up presents another vision of what the lyric first person can be. in glavey’s reading of o’hara’s work, “abstraction produces an orgy of relationality that, in its boundary-defying abandon, disrupts the forms of professionalism and disciplinarity” (glavey 1005); in chen’s work, the lyric subject itself opens up such transgression of boundaries. chen’s lyric subject maintains its intimacy and confessional, autobiographical tone while also remaining attached to a variety of expected and unexpected other objects and subjects, remaining a lyric subject that affords for both intimacy and interconnectivity, allowing for the personal without sacrificing the political. in his article “the atlantic ocean breaking on our heads: claudia rankine, robert lowell, and the whiteness of the lyric subject,” kamran javadizadeh echoes a question around the racial politics of the lyric subject posed by rankine, asking: “how can a poet retain the intimacy allowed by the lyric tradition without replicating its pernicious political effects? why 13 even try?” (javadizadeh 477). chen’s lyric poetry and lyric subject offer such opportunities for intimacy and mutual recognition by displacing the assumption that lyric interiority can ever be separate or singular, even if it appears to operate as a single, even autobiographical, poetic voice. while rankine’s poetry is much more formally experimental than chen’s, both poets “inhabit a mode of writing that feels intimate (which is to say, born of and habitable by particular experiences of subjectivity) yet also alert to the historical formations that impinge on and undergird such feelings” (javadizadeh 477). when, in “poem in noisy mouthfuls” chen discusses the cognitive dissonance between critiquing “these middle-class gays picking out // garden gnomes, ignoring all the anti-racist work of decolonization” (chen, “poem” 21-22) and his own desires for marriage and domesticity, he brings the reader into his inner subjectivity in a way that feels intimate, yet also reckons with the intellectual/political preoccupations of queer theory and the history of lgbtq+ movements. though their formal conventions differ, chen and rankine reorient and reclaim the assumptions undergirding the lyric i in similar ways, both seeking “a shift in awareness of the pronoun’s deployment” (javadizadeh 481), both poets disrupting the concept of a coherent, singular self in favor of selves that are contingent, relational, and networked. although rankine’s work notably differs from chen’s in its deployment of a flat affect and experimental forms as well as a diffuse and shifting second person lyric subject (particularly in citizen), chen, like rankine, implies that the personal and political may not be as binary or separate as they are often assumed to be. while, in javadizadeh’s reading, rankine reclaims the lyric subject by “rerouting the lowellian investment in the singular self…into a sustained and historicizing attention to dispersed and ad hoc networks of kinship” (javadizadeh 477), chen reclaims the lyric subject by suggesting that the concept of an unmediated singular self may be merely a fiction. as much as any i may seem self-contained, 14 for chen, that i is permeable to familial relations, experiences of racism, the politics of queer theory, favorite foods, great books, particular localities, romantic relationships, and historical events. his work attends to the pluralities constituting any given seemingly singular subject through the simultaneity of its specific, autobiographical, sociopolitical positionality and its intersubjective relationality and mutuality. like rankine, chen is “interested in the intersections between the larger calamities and the personal ones” (chen, “poet”), the ways that subjects, objects, and events are interconnected, the ways that no i is an island. furthermore, chen’s use of lyric address reiterates such interconnectedness, constructing the poetic space as one that is heard rather than overheard, and deliberately conversational. whereas in the classic millian formulation, poetry is “like the lament of a prisoner in a solitary cell, ourselves listening, unseen, in the next” (mill, “what”), in chen’s poetry, rather than overhearing or listening unseen, the reader is invited in. chen has stated that he writes with readers in mind, that he sees “poems as poems – language-worlds or meaning-bodies that are meant for a reader” (chen, “let”). chen’s view of poems seems to suggest not the independent, separate world of mill’s solitary cell, but rather worlds of community constructed through language, places where his lyric i can meet others. although chen’s poetry may at first appear to fall into the traditional autocommunicative mode “in the pronominal universe of lyric—cases in which lyric speakers appear to be conversing with themselves” (khitrova 126) even as they may do so via apostrophe, in actuality he seems deeply concerned with making the poetic space one where people can meet, even as they permeate each other. while he creates his mutual, intersubjective i in part through relational self-definition (as in “self-portrait”) and complicated attachments (as in “poem in noisy mouthfuls”), chen also achieves his specific understanding of lyric subjecthood through claiming a singular i while also clearing space for many “yous” and 15 “wes” to be addressed, without assimilating the i. chen’s specific subject positioning makes his claim on the specific lyric i particularly powerful; as iyko day points out, the “(white) authorial subject position represented by the lyric “i”” is a “normative identity that writers of colour do not have access to, let alone can dispense with” (day 38) in the way that predominantly white movements such as the language school have done. by claiming the normative identity that the lyric i has traditionally represented, chen’s work redeploys the pronoun around “the protection and flourishing” (chuh 2) of identities that the lyric i has previously predicated its existence on the exclusion of. however, chen does not merely claim the lyric i/addresser for queer asian american communities; beyond formulating such a subject as permeable and intersubjective, he also challenges the assumptions that such an i must be more autocommunicative than communicative, that the “you,” whether human or non-human other, would only exist in lyric as a way for the i to communicate with itself. as such, the specific, particular, autobiographical lyric subject persists in chen’s lyric i, but it operates with different assumptions. as angie sijun lou writes, “chen’s loss of self is not delineated by an explicit anti-identity, but instead a subtle reconfiguration of the subjective” (lou), and as travis chi wing lau elaborates, “interdependence is at the heart of chen’s writing” (lau). both lau and lou, in their reviews of when i grow up, identify the way that chen both claims and revises the lyric subject, reforming it around interdependence and intersubjectivity, going beyond the limited, white lyric i into new and further possibilities. chen’s i is not a “lacuna for me, a reader, to fill; a role to jump into” (khitrova 129), wherein the reader can become directly identified with the ways that the i experiences being in the world, but it is also not a single subject walled off in its own cell, separate from the reader that overhears it. rather, it deploys the i pronoun differently, claiming it for chen’s particular self, but also 16 positioning that self within internal and external networks of attachment and kinship, and even within networks with the reader. while j. mark smith argues that “no lyric address ever reaches its “you”” (smith 412) and that it is better to define lyric address as “an attunement rather than a meeting or encounter” (smith 414), when i grow up seems to disagree; the final poem of the collection, “poplar street,” makes explicit both chen’s view of poetry as a place where different perspectives and persons can meet, as well as his move toward a larger sense of a collective we. throughout much of when i grow up, the “you” that chen addresses is easy to identify and known, to a degree, by the speaker, whether the you is god, as in “talking to god about heaven from the bed of a heathen” or a significant other, as in “irreducible sociality.” however, in “poplar street,” the narrowness of the you in most of the earlier poems of the collection gives way to a conversation with a largely generic and unidentified stranger on a street. the lack of detail about the you allows “poplar street” to function as one of the few poems in when i grow up where the reader can position themselves directly in the poem, becoming the you to chen’s i, even as the rest of the collection “invites the reader into itself” (@sinethetamag). through its unanswered questions, ranging from “are you on your way to work?” (chen, “poplar” 1) to “do i have to / forgive in order to love?” (22-23), “poplar street” functions as a conversation, one which jumps from whether “your mother / loves you when you fart” (8-9) to street names to personal experiences of homophobia to larger questions about love and forgiveness. many of these questions seem in service of discovering whether or not the i and the you of “poplar street” “have some things / in common” (6-7). the quest for common ground that drives the various anecdotes and questions of the poem suggests that the i of chen’s poetry is “trying to get to the we” (lease 395). the poem’s main move seems to be seeking to find spaces of direct 17 interrelationality, to construct networks of kinship and mutuality even with those one has just encountered. if the opacity of the you of “poplar street” allows the reader to identify with this you, then the poem seems to suggest that chen seeks to establish such networks of intersubjectivity with the reader, whomever they may be. the poem’s refusal to supply answers to the questions that its speaker asks allows a reader to respond in multiple ways, avoiding assuming that any given reader might have the same response to the questions posed about queerness, love, family, and forgiveness. in this way, the lyric i is not only a singular subject, but also can function as “a mediation between individual and community—an agent of transformation in both self and history” (lease 396), and for chen, what motivates this transformation is interdependence, intersubjectivity, and kinship. by reformulating the lyric subject around an i that is simultaneously particular and permeable, chen defies the assumed universality and separateness of the traditional lyric subject, and suggests, alongside chuh, that “relationality…is as much a principle for organizing knowledge production as it is a reference to a condition of being” (chuh 5). relationality is the mode of knowing the world and of being in the world that underwrites when i grow up more generally and “poplar street” in particular. chen directly references this concept in the final stanzas of “poplar street,” with his speaker declaring that “i’m trying out this thing where questions about love & forgiveness / are a form of work i’d rather not do alone” (chen, “poplar” 26-27). these lines imply both that knowledge about being in the world, as well as being in the world itself, is both work (and by implication, a sustained process rather than a single event) and something to be done in community and kinship. the possibility of the formation of collective knowledge becomes desirable and sought-after, implying that knowledge constructed relationally has more to offer than knowledge constructed alone, lining up with chuh’s assertion that the 18 within the illiberal humanities, “mastery is displaced by the prompt to collective thought” (chuh 5) and glavey’s argument that “art and poetry are valuable because they create spaces of relationality” (glavey 1009). the relationality valued by chen’s illiberal poetics displaces the autocommunicative, overheard lyric subject with an i that actually does address the reader, inviting them into conversation and the coproduction of knowledge and kinship. “poplar street” concludes with the invitation to “continue meeting as if we’ve just been given our names” (chen, “poplar” 29). chen’s request to “continue meeting” directly contradicts smith’s argument that a lyric address cannot be a meeting or an encounter, instead seeing the poetic space as a collective one that may even make an interrelational encounter possible. the use of the word “continue” also suggests that the meeting or encounter will keep going, that “meeting” is not an instance, but a process with duration. furthermore, the modifier that the i and the you will continue meeting “as if we’ve just been given our names” (29) suggests that the space in which they meet is a beginning, a starting point. if names can symbolize or represent identities, “poplar street” suggests that kinship and collective thought can create a place where identities can exist without the presumptions that come along with them, or at least a place where it is “as if” those presumptions are not there. the imagination of a future in which both the i and you have names, but one in which they have just been given, suggests a future where identities are not irrelevant, but also not the sole defining factor in constituting a person. the final line of “poplar street” also plays with the sense of a meeting, in which two people give each other their names by way of introduction. however, the introduction of the word “been” into the final line, so that it reads “as if we’ve just been given our names” instead of “as if we’ve just given our names” allows the names to stand for more than an interpersonal introduction, and instead signify a sense of an identity given at birth. the passive voice of “just been given” also suggests the presence of 19 someone giving the names. if taken literally, one could read these lines as invoking parents and lineage, as well as the beginning of the i and the you’s meeting functioning as a sort of birth. reading further, this final line also seems to suggest the same conception of identity presented in “self-portrait with & without” and “poem in noisy mouthfuls”—that identity or subjecthood is intersubjectively constituted and constructed, and not formed alone. through this gesture in the final line of the entire collection, the end of when i grow up seems to invite an imaginative, potentially utopian future space of collective and mutual being and knowing, following through on the further possibilities indicated by the title. as lau stated in his review of when i grow up, chen’s writing investigates what “revising, reinventing, and reimagining the relational modes we currently have” (lau) might look like, and his vision seems to consistently prioritize the collective, both in the sense of a mediated self constructed through communities and cultures, and in the sense of kinships constructed between selves. as chen puts it, “every kind of someone needs / someone else to insist with” (chen, “nature” 26-27), explicitly stating the significance of interrelationality and communication to the formation of both self and knowledge. chen himself is deeply invested in lineages and kinships, and calls literary lineage “a pretty queer thing,” as it claims “to insist on connections with dead people you’ve never known, with strangers you might never meet, except on the page” (chen, “the school”). by identifying literary, “word-based kinship” (chen, “the school”) as a valid modality of community, lineage, and togetherness, chen suggests that the literary space creates possibilities for identification and family, for meaningful meeting, a suggestion that he follows through on in the direct lyric address of “poplar street.” in fact, in his statement to west branch, chen wrote that “perhaps what i am most drawn to is the act, the creative act, of finding new family” (chen, “the school”). by positioning the idea of finding new family as a creative act 20 alongside his discussion of word-based kinship and literary lineage, chen proposes that writing (or reading) a poem is a way in to finding new family, offering the page as the place of kinship and community, just as the speaker in “poplar street” extends the hand of kinship to the you, extending the invitation to continue meeting, to continue being in the world together. just as its title implies, when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities explores imaginative futures of new family and queered lineages and kinships, ones in which being and knowledge are mutually and intersubjectively defined, wherein address becomes a starting space for kinship and the production of collective thought. though chen suggests these further possibilities through more than his redeployment of the lyric i, the first person lyric subject stands as a notable site through which chen’s poetics alters the traditional assumptions undergirding the lyric. certainly, chen’s possibility for the redeployment of the lyric i is not the only way forward, not the only way to, in rankine’s words, “keep the intimacy of the language that is afforded the first person in the meditative, introspective lyric, and yet make it democratic and aware of its political investments” (rankine, qtd. in javadizadeh 477); other contemporary poets, such as rankine herself, are invested in answering that question and have done so through various and multiple methodologies. however, through its simultaneous particularity, permeability, intersubjectivity, and use of lyric address as a gateway to kinship, chen’s lyric subject puts forward one way by which poets might shift the ground of the lyric i, finding further possibilities for it. perhaps, chen’s poetry implies, if we could imagine ourselves as interrelated, as intersubjective, as interconnected without being universal, as particular, as porous and mutual, perhaps we might be able to imagine elsewhere, to imagine otherwise,ii to make our being in the world a form of work we’d rather not do alone. 21 i chen is often compared to o’hara and/or referred to as being an “asian american o’hara.” chen himself, with humor and atemporality, recently referenced this phenomenon by tweeting “o’hara is the white me” (@chenchenwrites). this paper does not aim to suggest that chen merely rehearses the trademarks o’hara’s work through an asian american lens; as analysis into the permeability and particularity of his lyric subject hopefully illustrates, while chen sometimes can appear stylistically similar to o’hara, he does not always use the same means and is not always after the same ends. ii the phrase “imagine otherwise” comes from the title of kandice chuh’s 2003 book imagine otherwise: on asian americanist critique. 22 works cited alvergue, josé felipe. "lyric redress: the racial politics of voice and american personhood." criticism, vol. 60 no. 2, 2018, p. 221-245. project muse, muse.jhu.edu/article/715881. brown, jericho. “foreword.” when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities, by chen chen, boa editions ltd., 2017, pp. 8-10. chen, chen. “i’m not a religious person but.” when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities. boa editions ltd., 2017, p. 17. ——. “i’m not here to play the suffering minority for white readers.” electric lit, 14 june 2018, electricliterature.com/im-not-here-to-play-the-suffering-minority-for-whitereaders/. ——. “irreducible sociality.” when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities. boa editions ltd., 2017, pp. 40-41. ——. “let not-knowing push you somewhere new: urvashi bahuguna interviews poet chen chen.” los angeles review of books: china channel, february 28, 2018, chinachannel.org/2018/02/28/somewhere-new-chen-chen/. ——. “nature poem.” when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities. boa editions ltd., 2017, p. 69. ——. “ode to my envy.” when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities. boa editions ltd., 2017, p. 39. ——. “poem in noisy mouthfuls.” when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities. boa editions ltd., 2017, pp. 83-84. ——. “poet of the week: chen chen.” brooklyn poets, 4-10 june 2018, brooklynpoets.org/poet/chen-chen/. 23 ——. “poplar street.” when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities. boa editions ltd., 2017, pp. 85-86. ——. “self portrait with & without.” when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities. boa editions ltd., 2017, p. 25. ——. “the school of logic, the school of joy / letter to michelle lin, + statement.” west branch, “welcome to the river”: queerness and lineage special feature, oct. 2018, westbranch.blogs.bucknell.edu/chen-chen/10/2018/. ——. “sorrow song with optimus prime.” when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities. boa editions ltd., 2017, p. 58. @chenchenwrites (chen chen). “o’hara is the white me.” twitter, 17 nov. 2019, 4:40pm, twitter.com/chenchenwrites/status/1196181267538202624. chuh, kandice. the difference aesthetics makes: on the humanities “after man.” duke up, 2019. day, iyko. “interventing innocence: race, ‘resistance,’ and the asian north american avantgarde.” literary gestures: the aesthetic in asian american writing, edited by rocío g. davis and sue-im lee, temple up, 2006, pp. 35–52. dowling, sarah. “the lyric person, the legal person, and the racial nonperson.” translingual poetics: writing personhood under settler colonialism, university of iowa press, 2018, pp. 57-90. glavey, brian. “having a coke with you is even more fun than ideology critique.” pmla, vol. 134, no. 5, november 2019, pp. 996-1010. mla journals, doi.org/10.1632/pmla.2019.134.5.996. 24 javadizadeh, kamran. “the atlantic ocean breaking on our heads: claudia rankine, robert lowell, and the whiteness of the lyric subject.” pmla, vol. 134, no. 3, may 2019, pp. 475–490. mla journals, doi.org/10.1632/pmla.2019.134.3.475. khitrova, daria. “the extended self: ‘i’ to ‘i’ and ‘i’ to ‘we.’” lyric complicity: poetry and readers in the golden age of russian literature, university of wisconsin press, 2019, pp. 125–160. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvjghx7r.9. lau, travis chi wing. review of when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities, by chen chen. up the staircase quarterly, 2017, www.upthestaircase.org/when-i-growup-i-want-to-be-a-list-of-further-possibilities.html. lease, joseph. “‘progressive lit.": amiri baraka, bruce andrews, and the politics of the lyric ‘i.’” african american review, vol. 37, no. 2/3, 2003, pp. 389–398. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/1512322. lichtenstein, jesse. “how poetry came to matter again.” the atlantic, sept. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/09/chen-chen-aziza-barnes-layli-longsoldier/565781/. lou, angie sijun. “chen chen’s dreams: a review of when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities.” review of when i grow up i want to be a list of further possibilities, by chen chen. the american poetry review, vol. 47, no. 2, march/april 2018, aprweb.org/poems/chen-chen-s-dreams-a-review-of-when-i-grow-up-i-want-to-bea-list-of-further-possibilities. mill, john stuart. “thoughts on poetry and its varieties.” texas liberal arts instructional technology services, the university of texas at austin, www.laits.utexas.edu/poltheory/jsmill/diss-disc/poetry/poetry.s01.html. 25 ——. “what is poetry?” lyriktheorie, university of duisburg-essen, www.unidue.de/lyriktheorie/texte/1833_mill1.html. rankine, claudia. “on the american lyric.” claudia rankine in conversation with major jackson, pennsound, university of pennsylvania, 7 april 2006, media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/rankine/4-7-06/rankine-claudia_02_onamerican-lyric_lunch-talk_upenn_4-07-06.mp3. rifkin, mark. beyond settler time: temporal sovereignty and indigenous self-determination. duke up, 2017. smith, j. mark. “apostrophe, or the lyric art of turning away.” texas studies in literature and language, vol. 49, no. 4, winter 2007, pp. 411-437. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/40755495. @sinethetamag (sine theta magazine). “in moving between autobiography and fiction, humour and grief, chen’s work invites the reader into itself. rather than claiming universality, it points to the canon and questions why has that been seen as the universal?” twitter, 29 nov. 2019, 9:38am, twitter.com/sinethetamag/status/1200423682063183873. “a firestorm of destruction:” a state of the field on operation barbarossa, hitler’s war on the eastern front emily alesia poteat history on june 22, 1941 operation barbarossa shattered the façade of a german-russian alliance when a 3.3 million-strong german invasion force flooded across the soviet union’s border.1 immediately, the german luftwaffe moved on key targets, raining explosives down on border defenses, bridges, command posts, power stations, and the like.2 with immediate successes, operation barbarossa appeared to be moving in the right direction for the third reich; however, the military operation was fraught with hitler’s indecisive and erratic military planning.3 hitler expected operation barbarossa to aid in his attempt to establish germany as a great world power, and this was to be achieved through his policy of lebensraum (living space).4 what resulted from this policy of “living space” was some of the bloodiest battles of the second world war, and some of the greatest crimes of the war occurring in hitler’s forces’ movement across the eastern front.5 furthermore, operation barbarossa decisively assured hitler and the third reich’s defeat early in the summer of 1941, and was a decisive turning point in world war ii. moreover, after operation barbarossa, scholars studying the military campaign, determined that the third reich’s defeat in the second world war was inherently inevitable.6 consistently since the end of world war ii, scholars focus on operation barbarossa in a variety of different sub-genres of history scholarship. from military histories to the burgeoning newer topic areas in cultural histories, scholars are confronting key questions and issues in their scholarship on the military campaign. what are the key questions and research trends defining 1 the field on operation barbarossa, and how is genocide studies effecting new scholarship on the military campaign? the historiography on operation barbarossa made a concerted shift over time. this paper argues that the shift in the historiography is from the first military histories of operation barbarossa, which were published in the first decades following the conclusion of world war ii; moreover, these histories inaugurated an apologist narrative seeking to excuse the wehrmacht from the german atrocities committed on the eastern front. furthermore this paper maintains that the histories shifted to a marked focus on the genocide studies, where the historiography has moved to reevaluate the role of the wehrmacht in the atrocities committed during operation barbarossa. moreover, this shift in the historiography is quite significant, as it demonstrates a reevaluation of the depth of german guilt in nazi war atrocities and demonstrates a move to reassess the perceived innocence and virtue of the german wehrmacht. before one can begin an analysis on the state of the field, one first needs to understand the historiographical landscape that informed the present shift in the historiography towards ascertaining and analyzing the wehrmacht’s role in the atrocities carried out during operation barbarossa. scholars who published on operation barbarossa in the immediate decades following world war ii largely fell into two categories, those of extreme communist interpretations of the military campaign, and german apologist interpretations that sought to alleviate the wehrmacht of guilt in the atrocities committed during operation barbarossa on the eastern front.7 moreover, these german apologist interpretations were largely written by former german wehrmacht generals, and according to stahel many bought into the preventative war theory, that espoused the idea that germany was spurred to war because of soviet expansionism in eastern europe and was determined to attack germany.8 contradicting the german apologist stance, the communist theories blamed hitler, according to stahel, and was supported by the 2 western capitalist powers that did not take seriously enough the need to contain germany after world war i.9 prominent in this early movement in the scholarship were a. j. p taylor’s the origins of the second world war and walter hofer’s war premeditated, 1939.10 according to scholars stahel and müller in their respective works, taylor inaugurated the german apologist narrative, while hofer inaugurated the communist apologist narrative.11 for instance, müller puts forth that hofer in war premeditated, 1939 maintained that the third reich’s invasion of the soviet union was premeditated and intentional, and built off the expansionary policies defining germany at the time.12 a direct response to hofer’s thesis was taylor’s the origins of the second world war. stahel puts forth that taylor in his historical account of the world war ii went directly against hofer’s thesis by arguing that hitler did not premeditate his attack on the soviet union. rather, taylor, according to stahel, argued that hitler was an opportunist that took opportunities as they arose, and as a result, operation barbarossa was simply a military opportunity.13 moreover, müller posits that taylor in the origins of the second world war sought to portray hitler as desiring a peaceful revision to the treaty of versailles, and blamed all of world war ii on all countries that participated in the war.14 these types of revisionist and apologist narratives extended well into the late 1960s, and the turn towards cultural histories that sought to reevaluate operation barbarossa in a critical way marked significant shift in the historiography. seminal in this turn was andreas hillgruber’s hitlers strategie, politik und krigführung, 1940-194, and it is important to discuss hillgruber first in isolation from other scholars because of the sheer impact of his work. critically, hillgruber denotes that “an accurate evaluation…of hitler’s political and strategic thoughts concerning… a military solution of the eastern problem is possible only by considering both his ideological and political ‘program’…as they emerged in several stages,” and by separating 3 hitler’s ideology and political program during the time span of planning for operation barbarossa would “lead to misinterpretation.”15 furthermore in hitlers strategie, politik und kriegführung, hillgruber’s methodology influenced the methodological approach that scholars continue to utilize throughout the studies on operation barbarossa.16 this method is embedded in a model of a combination of top-down and bottom-up history, which characterizes scholarship on operation barbarossa presently. within this methodological approach, scholars seek to utilize a combination of governmental documents from top politicians and military figures, alongside personal papers of soldiers that participated in operation barbarossa such as letters, diaries, and the like.17 through this, a wider view of the event and a better understanding of the political and ideological beliefs of all levels of military and political participants in the military campaign is achievable. from this, emerged a wide array of scholars, that presently define the historiography, and contribute to the shift towards reevaluating the role of the wehrmacht in the atrocities committed by the german during operation barbarossa and the concerted effort to discern the culture of the wehrmacht. scholars now assert confidently that operation barbarossa was embedded deeply into the third reich’s ideology, and as a key arm of the state, the wehrmacht was firmly entrenched in that ideology as well.18 through this, scholars hold that operation barbarossa was essentially a “war of ideologies” and a primary piece of evidence in this assertion is the martial jurisdiction decree.19 felix römer in his chapter “the wehrmacht in the war of ideologies: the army and hitler’s criminal orders on the eastern front,” postulates that the martial jurisdiction decree had advocates throughout the top ranks of the wehrmacht.20 furthermore, römer expounds on this statement with the example of generaloberst georg von küchler who “regarded the soviet political commissars and party functionaries as criminals and hoped that the 4 policy of annihilation against them would also bring a military benefit.”21 in viewing operation barbarossa as a war of ideology carried out by the wehrmacht, jürgen förster echoed römer’s assessment of the wehrmacht.22 also focusing on the top military elite to ascertain the attitudes of the wehrmacht towards nazi ideology, förster, like römer looked to the behavior of wehrmacht generals in determining the ideological leanings of the german army..23 in doing so förster stated “the attitude of the wehrmacht to the indigenous population…was a mixture of racial arrogance, insecurity and naïve trust in the methods of force.”24 further exemplifying the attitude of the wehrmacht, förster argued that “military leaders…believed that the dangers of russia and bolshevism should be eliminated forever.”25 in reassessing the complicity and guilt of the wehrmacht in the historiography, this movement in the historiographical landscape is significant. additionally, examples like römer and förster utilized, demonstrate a movement away from conceding to the virtuousness, and innocence, of the wehrmacht in the atrocities committed by the third reich in world war ii. moreover, scholars are beginning to reassess the guilt of the wehrmacht by characterizing operation barbarossa, and the radicalization of the wehrmacht’s actions on the eastern front, as “a test case of the nazi racial policy.”26 emphasizing this conceptualization of the wehrmacht’s actions are historians like konrad kwiet in his journal article “rehearsing for murder: the beginning of the final solution in lithuania,” who argue members of the wehrmacht were radicalized during operation barbarossa as a result of the unchecked warfare.27 for example, kwiet points to when the wehrmacht reached lithuania as an example of the degree to which the wehrmacht was willing to adhere to the extreme racial ideology prescribed by the third reich.28 according to kwiet, through the rhetoric instilled in reports of soviet counter-attacks on the eastern front, the wehrmacht became radicalized and more certain in 5 carrying out violence against their adversaries.29 connecting to this view in the historiography, the radicalization of the lower echelons of the wehrmacht, coincided with the radicalization of warfare on the eastern front.30 differently, some scholars mark the wehrmacht’s radicalization to nazi ideology in the comparison between operation barbarossa and the invasion of poland.31 in doing so, scholars posit that there was an assumption that wartime atrocities would be part of operation barbarossa, as soldiers and ss men were issued “pre-emptive amnesty for crimes” they were assumed to have to carry out on the eastern front; whereas in the case of the poland invasion, soldiers and ss men were pardoned after the fact.32 other scholars, like aristotle kallis in, “license,’ and genocide in the east: reflections on localized eliminationist violence during the first stages of ‘operation barbarossa’ (1941),”assert that the air of permissibility contributed to the radicalization of the wehrmacht and their role in the mass killings that occurred during operation barbarossa.33 moreover, scholars contend that as a test case for the nazi racial ideology the wehrmacht was not simply complicit in the mechanics of the final solution, but were facilitators of nazi racial ideology and the atrocities that resulted from it.34 through viewing operation barbarossa as a test case for nazi ideology, scholars are actively reframing the military campaign to connect it to hitler’s final solution. these assertions are important, as they tie operation barbarossa directly to genocide studies, and marks another concerted shift in the historiography of operation barbarossa. scholars who place operation barbarossa in the context of the final solution maintain that the operation was a steppingstone to the final solution, as the military campaign molded the mentality of germans through fighting a barbarous war.35 moreover, omer bartov in his chapter “operation barbarossa and the origins of the final solution” asserts that scholarship has taken so long to clearly state the connection between operation barbarossa and the final solution because of the sheer political implications 6 of the statement.36 as argued by bartov, “to admit that hitler and himmler would not have been able to carry out their genocidal plans without the active collaboration of the wehrmacht’s command and the…participation of the junior officer corps and the rank and file…meant that a much larger portion of the german population shared the responsibility for the regime’s crimes.”37 in agreeance with bartov’s assertion, christian streit in “wehrmacht, einsatzgruppen, soviet pows and anti-bolshevism in the emergence of the final solution,” maintains that while an order to execute all the jews did not occur during operation barbarossa, operation barbarossa created the barbarous conditions that allowed the idea of the final solution to form.38 however, differently from bartov, streit holds extreme anti-bolshevism played a critical role in destroying the inhibiting factors and creating the right conditions that the idea of destroying all jews in europe could become a practical aim for the third reich.39 further defining this point in the historiography, scholars postulate the wehrmacht, was a weapon for the third reich that they could utilize alongside the ss.40 further, this shift in the historiography in connecting operation barbarossa to the final solution has made room for studies on the culture of the wehrmacht to emerge. scholars who study the culture of the wehrmacht, argue that from the lowest ranks of the wehrmacht there was support and a consensus around the genocidal final solution.41 in the most recent scholarship on operation barbarossa, scholars confront, what type of moral values and value systems were entrenched in the wehrmacht’s culture.42 this turn is in line with the seminal work on the topic by omer bartov. omer bartov in the eastern front, 1941-45, german troops and the barbarisation of warfare maintained that the barbarization of the wehrmacht was from “the conditions at the front; the social and educational background of the junior soldiers; and the political indoctrination of the troops.” 43 most recently, david harrisville in the monograph, the 7 virtuous wehrmacht: crafting the myth of the german solider on the eastern front, 1941-1944, argued that the wehrmacht was embedded in four key sets of values.44 according to harrisville, the most potent of these values were those of the nazi party, which were built on a “hierarchy of races in existential competition with each other and the jewish ‘anti-race.”45 as a whole, this is significant and connects to what older scholars in the field have long argued, that the wehrmacht was not virtuous and disconnected from german atrocities on the eastern front. rather, this brings the new scholarship in line with scholars who study operation barbarossa in connection to the genocidal final solution and scholars like omer bartov. harrisville’s monograph is inherently connected to the work of bartov. bartov and harrisville both analyze the regular soldier, rather than the elite ranks of the wehrmacht.46 moreover, harrisville, like bartov analyzed the question of guilt of the soldier in the wehrmacht in the war atrocities committed during operation barbarossa.47 furthermore, this marks a further shift away from absolving the german wehrmacht of their guilt in wartime atrocities perpetrated on the eastern front. rather, this shift in the historiography marks a concerted effort of historians to bring historical scholarship in line with the reality of the wehrmacht’s role in german war crimes committed during operation barbarossa. while the new scholarship defining the historiography is making contributions to the connection between operation barbarossa, the wehrmacht, and genocide studies; there remains gaps in the historiography that warrant investigation by historians. first, while english language scholarship has thoroughly analyzed the available operation barbarossa’s german primary source documents, english language scholarship has still not seriously engaged with the available primary source documents from the former-soviet union to the same degree.48 in connection to this, stahel points out that secondary sources have often taken an uncritical 8 approach to analyzing the red army’s military skills.49 this hole in the historiography needs to be addressed, because, as the adversary to the third reich in operation barbarossa, the soviet union’s role needs to be seriously reconsidered. further, the struggle over the control of the panzer division between the oberkommando des heeres and hitler needs to be reevaluated in the scholarship, as this event is typically treated as just another part of a failing strategic plan in operation barbarossa.50 by readdressing this hole in the historiography, scholars would gain another dimension to the dispute between hitler and the okh, while perhaps developing a deeper narrative to the failure of operation barbarossa. further gaps in the historiography on operation barbarossa that warrant attention include, additional studies on the culture of the wehrmacht. harrisville’s most recent contribution to the historiography, the virtuous wehrmacht, further challenged the traditional view of the wehrmacht as absolved from guilt of wartime atrocities carried out on the eastern front.51 by further investigating the attempts to indoctrinate the wehrmacht by the third reich’s high command, the historiography could develop further to ascertain how exactly pre-campaign indoctrination intersected with war time radicalization to result in the acceptance of the final solution’s values on the eastern front. operation barbarossa initiated some of world war ii’s bloodiest battles, and saw some of the most atrocious crimes committed by the third reich.52 moreover, as operation barbarossa’s influence on the outcome of the second world war ii, but also the map of europe was expansive.53 not only did operation barbarossa cement hitler’s defeat, it also enabled the process of sovietization of eastern europe to occur in the post-war landscape.54 because of the sheer importance of operation barbarossa to the memory of the wehrmacht following world war ii, a german apologist narrative emerged in the historiography in the immediate aftermath of world war ii.55 this paper argued that in the late 1960s a concerted shift away from german 9 apologist interpretations of operation barbarossa emerged in the historiography, and in its place a reevaluation of the role of the wehrmacht’s role in the genocidal atrocities committed during operation barbarossa, and a general turn towards genocide studies emerged in the historiographical landscape. 1 jonathan dimbleby, operation barbarossa: the history of a cataclysm (new york, ny: oxford university press, 2021), 141; david stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east (new york, ny: cambridge university press, 2009), 1; andré mineau, operation barbarossa: ideology and ethics against human dignity (new york, ny: rodopi, 2004), 1; r. d. hooker jr., “the world will hold its breath: reinterpreting operation barbarossa,” parameters 29, no. 1 (1999): 150; rolf-dieter müller, “introduction,” in hitler’s war in the east: a critical assessment (new york, ny: berghahn books, 2002), 1. 2 dimbleby, operation barbarossa, 141. 3 dimbleby, operation barbarossa, 256-260. 4 gerd r. ueberschär, “introduction,” in hitler’s war in the east: a critical reassessment by rold dieter müller and gerd r. ueberschär (new york, ny: berghahn books, 2002), 73. 5 ueberschär, “introduction,” 73. 6 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 2; dimbleby, operation barbarossa, xxxviii; 7 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 9. 8 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 9. see also: erich von manstein, lost victories (novato, ca: henry regnery, 1958), 154, 169-171, 181. see also: jürgen förster, “the relation between operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution,” in the final solution: origins and implementation, ed. david cesarani (london, united kingdom: routledge, 1994), 85-86. 9 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 9-10. 10 müller, “introduction,” 8-9; stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 8-10. 11 müller, “introduction,” 8-9; stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 8-10. see also: a.j.p taylor, the origins of the second world war (new york, ny: simon & schuster, 1961); walter hofer, war premeditated, 1939 (london, united kingdom: thames & hudson, 1955). 12 müller, “introduction,” 9; see also: hofer, war premeditated, 1939. see also for another view on hofer’s role in the historiography of operation barbarossa: h. w. koch, “operation barbarossa – the current state of the debate,” the historical journal 31, no. 2 (1988): 378. 13 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 8. see also: taylor, the origins of the second world war. 14 müller, “introduction,” 10. see also: taylor, the origins of the second world war. 15 andreas hillgruber. hitlers strategie, politik und kriegführung, 1940-1941 (bonn, germany: bernard & graefe, 1965), 586. 16 for hillgruber’s method see: hillgruber, hitlers strategie, politik und kriegführung, 1940-1941, 19-20. 17 see also: stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 3-5; jeff rutherford, combat and genocide on the eastern front: the german infantry’s war, 1941-1944 (new york, ny: cambridge university press, 2014), 29-33; david a. harrisville, the virtuous wehrmacht: creating the myth of the german soldier on the eastern front, 1941-1944 (ithaca, ny: cornell university press, 2021), 13-15. 18 dimbleby, operation barbarossa, 207-208; förster, “the relation between operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution,” 87-88; felix römer, “the wehrmacht in the war of ideologies: the army and hitler’s criminal orders on the eastern front,” in nazi policy on the eastern front, 1941: total war, genocide, and radicalization,” ed. alex j. kay, jeff rutherford, and david stahel (rochester, ny: university of rochester press, 2012), 73; konrad kwiet, “rehearsing for murder: the beginning of the final solution in lithuania in june 1941.” holocaust and genocide studies 12, no. 1 (1998): 3-4. 19 römer, “the wehrmacht in the war of ideologies,” 79. 20 römer, “the wehrmacht in the war of ideologies,” 79. 21 römer, “the wehrmacht in the war of ideologies,” 79. 10 22 förster, “operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution,” 88; römer, “the wehrmacht in the war of ideologies,” 79. 23 förster, “operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution,” 90; römer, “the wehrmacht in the war of ideologies,” 79. 24 förster, “operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution,” 88. 25 förster, “operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution,” 90; römer, “the wehrmacht in the war of ideologies,” 79. 26 förster, “operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution,” 87. see also: christian hartmann, operation barbarossa: nazi germany’s war in the east, 1941-1945, translated by alexander starritt (oxford, united kingdom: oxford university press, 2018), 9-13. 27 kwiet, “rehearsing for murder,” 3-4. 28 kwiet, “rehearsing for murder,” 5. 29 kwiet, “rehearsing for murder,” 5. 30 david stahel, “radicalizing warfare: the german command and the failure of operation barbarossa,” in nazi policy on the eastern front, 1941: total war, genocide, and radicalization, ed. alex j. kay, jeff rutherford, and david stahel (rochester, ny: university of rochester press, 2012), 21. 31 förster, “operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution,” 89 32 förster, “operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution,” 89. 33 aristotle kallis, “license’ and genocide in the east: reflections on localized eliminationist violence during the first stages of ‘operation barbarossa’ (1941),” studies in ethnicity and nationalism 7, no. 3 (2007): 10. 34 dimbleby, operation barbarossa, xli. 35 omer bartov, “operation barbarossa and the origins of the final solution,” in the final solution: origins and implementation, ed. david cesarani (london, united kingdom: routledge, 1994), 119; christian streit,” wehrmacht, einsatzgruppen, soviet pows and anti-bolshevism in the emergence of the final solution,” in the final solution: origins and implementation, ed. david cesarani (london, united kingdom: routledge, 1994), 103. 36 bartov, “operation barbarossa and the origins of the final solution,” 121. 37 bartov, “operation barbarossa and the origins of the final solution,” 121. 38 streit,” wehrmacht, einsatzgruppen, soviet pows and anti-bolshevism in the emergence of the final solution,” 103. 39 streit,” wehrmacht, einsatzgruppen, soviet pows and anti-bolshevism in the emergence of the final solution,” 103. 40 jürgen förster, “barbarossa revisited: strategy and ideology in the east,” jewish social studies 50, no. ½ (1992): 23. 41 rutherford, combat and genocide on the eastern front, 34-55; harrisville, the virtuous wehrmacht, 13-15. 42 harrisville, the virtuous wehrmacht, 5. 43 omer bartov, the eastern front, 1941-45, german troops and the barbarisation of warfare (new york, ny: palgrave macmillan, 2001). 4. 44 harrisville, the virtuous wehrmacht, 23. 45 harrisville, the virtuous wehrmacht, 23. 46 bartov, the eastern front, 6; harrisville, the virtuous wehrmacht, 5, 13-15. 47 bartov, the eastern front, 6; harrisville, the virtuous wehrmacht, 5, 23. 48 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 21-22. 49 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 22. 50 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 22. 51 bartov, the eastern front, 6; harrisville, the virtuous wehrmacht, 5, 13-15, 23. 52 ueberschär, “introduction,” 73. 53 hartmann, operation barbarossa, 1-2. 54 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 2; dimbleby, operation barbarossa, xxxviii; hartmann, operation barbarossa, 2. 55 stahel, operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east, 9. 11 bibliography bartov, omer. the eastern front, 1941-45, german troops and the barbarisation of warfare. 2nd ed. london, united kingdom: palgrave macmillan, 2001. bartov, omer. “operation barbarossa and the origins of the final solution.” in the final solution: origins and implementation, edited by david cesarani, 119-136. london, united kingdom: routledge, 1994. dimbleby, jonathan. operation barbarossa: the history of a cataclysm. oxford, united kingdom: oxford university press, 2021 förster, jürgen. “the relation between operation barbarossa as an ideological war of extermination and the final solution.” in the final solution: origins and implementation, edited by david cesarani, 85-102. london, united kingdom: routledge, 1994. förster, jürgen. “barbarossa revisited: strategy and ideology in the east.” jewish social studies 50, no. ½ (1992):21-36. harrisville, david a. the virtuous wehrmacht: crafting the myth of the german soldier on the eastern front, 1941-1944. ithaca, ny: cornell university press, 2021. harrisville, david. “unholy crusaders: the wehrmacht and the reestablishment of soviet churches during operation barbarossa.” central european history 52, no. 1 (2019): 620-649 hartmann, christian. operation barbarossa: nazi germany’s war in the east, 1941-1945. translated by alexander starritt. oxford, united kingdom: oxford university press, 2018. hillgruber, andreas. hitlers strategie, politik und kriegführung, 1940-1941. bonn, germany: bernard & graefe, 1965. hooker, r.d. “the world will hold its breath: reinterpreting operation barbarossa.” the us army war college quarterly 29, no. 1 (1999): 150-164. kallis, aristotle. “license’ and genocide in the east: reflections on localized eliminationist violence during the frist stages of ‘operation barbarossa.” studies in ethnicity and nationalism 7, no. 3 (2007): 6-23. koch, h.w. “operation barbarossa-the current state of the debate.” the historical journal 31, no. 2 (1988): 377-390. krylova, anna. soviet women in combat: a history of violence on the eastern front. cambridge, united kingdom: cambridge university press, 2011. 12 kwiet, konrad. “rehearsing for murder: the beginning of the final solution in lithuania in june 1941.” holocaust and genocide studies 12, no. 1 (1998): 3-26. leach, barry a. german strategy against russia, 1939-1941. oxford, united kingdom: oxford university press, 1973. manstein, erich von. lost victories. novato, ca: henry regnery, 1958. müller rolf-dieter. “introduction.” in hitler’s war in the east: a critical assessment. by rolfdieter müller and gerd r. ueberschär, 1-43. new york, ny: berghahn books, 2008. römer, felix. “the wehrmacht in the war of ideologies: the army and hitler’s criminal orders on the eastern front.” in nazi policy on the eastern front, 1941: total war, genocide, and radicalization.” edited by alex j. kay, jeff rutherford, and david stahel, 73-100. rochester, ny: university of rochester press, 2012. rutherford, jeff. combat and genocide on the eastern front: the german infantry’s war, 1941-1944. cambridge, united kingdom: cambridge university press, 2014. stahel, david. operation barbarossa and germany’s defeat in the east. cambridge, united kingdom: cambridge university press, 2011. stahel, david. “radicalizing warfare: the german command the failure of operation barbarossa.” in nazi policy on the eastern front, 194: total war, genocide, and radicalization. edited by alex j. kay, jeff rutherford, and david stahel, 19-44. rochester, ny: university of rochester press, 2012. streit, christian. “wehrmacht, einsatzgruppen, soviet pows and anti-bolshevism in the emergence of the final solution.” in the final solution: origins and implementation, edited by david cesarani, 103-118. london, united kingdom: routledge, 1994. ueberschär, gerd r. “introduction.” in hitler’s war in the east: a critical assessment. by rolfdieter müller and gerd r. ueberschär, 73-143. new york, ny: berghahn books, 2008. microsoft word manai_back from dead back from the dead: rediscovering value in john okada’s no-no boy and john williams’s stoner nicholas manai english john williams begins his 1965 novel, stoner, with a description of the bathetic destiny of his protagonist: “stoner’s colleagues, who held him in no particular esteem when he was alive, speak of him rarely now; to the older ones, his name is a reminder of the end that awaits them all, and to the younger ones it is merely a sound which evokes no sense of the past and no identity with which they can associate themselves or their careers” (3-4). william stoner’s epitaph could just as easily been applied to the novel itself. considered a failure upon its release, stoner went out of print twice before being republished more than forty years later on the strength of an author’s recommendation to his publisher. according to julian barnes, it went on to reach the best-sellers list “almost entirely by word-of-mouth among its readers.” stoner’s unique publication history, as well as the narrative its champions tell about its reception, offers a unique opportunity to examine the values that determine those texts that are ascribed cultural relevancy, whether that be through repeated inclusion on college syllabi or extensive critical attention. the revaluation of a text for inclusion in this kind of literary canon is often explained in relation to a sea-change in public thinking around a particular discourse or discourses that illuminates the forgotten text to be ahead of its time. but this explanation, while partly true, is an inadequate explanation in stoner’s case because so much of the novel takes place within the walls of the university, sheltering william stoner from the outside world, and also because stoner’s value is said to be located in its masterful prose. manai 2   stoner’s history in some ways mirrors the trajectory of john okada’s 1956 debut novel no-no boy, another text that went out of print after being generally overlooked. okada’s novel was also rediscovered and republished, but this time by a collective of asian-american writers hoping to resurrect a forgotten text which they believed both spoke to their lives as asianamericans and held an innate brilliance. while no-no boy is consistently associated with this group of asian-american men, stoner is routinely said to have been rediscovered by passionate readers who are not determined within a particular racial group or associated with academic institutions or publishing houses. while their journeys show many similarities, the reasons critics argue for the value of these texts is starkly different. these differences are even more interesting considering that both novels depict a male protagonist who refused to serve in the military and remains largely exiled from society, and his family, until the novels end. the novels also share similar prosodic techniques, namely, an inclination to tell the reader rich emotional detail rather than show this information through images and actions. this style is most strongly felt, in both novels, in scenes where the protagonists grapple with their inability to understand and explicate the complicated nature of their existence. a closer examination of the arguments for canonization in these cases reveals a concentration on the “purely literary” in stoner, which associates the novel with an ability to speak to a universal human condition, and a focus on the slow change of racial history that allowed no-no boy to speak to a new set of politico-racial circumstances (wang). reading the journeys of stoner and no-no boy into the modern-day canon, exposes a cultural pressure that makes ethnic texts hyper-local examples of racial expression, a marking that’s never divorced from its formal qualities. in the opposite way, nonethnic, or white texts,i are praised for their prosodic achievement which is separated from its manai 3   historical context and thereby underwrites the presumption that great literature speaks to a universal human experience. this kind of comparison supports dorothy wang’s critique, set out in her book thinking its presence, that modern critics of avant-garde poetry have “set[] up an opposition…between the literary and the writings of [] racialized and postcolonial subjects who are members of ‘subcultures.’” the way this binary positions makes writing by ethnic authors indicative of a subculture in the united states implies that a normative, white culture can be accessed in the texts deemed literary. however, this does not mean ethnic texts, like no-no boy, should be read as simply expressions of a universal experience, a term that is purposefully vague so as to act as a “placeholder” for larger cultural assumptions, because universalizing its experience denies it the ability to speak to power. formal achievement in no-no boy, while not separate from its content, deserves closer scrutinyii because form is one of the ways okada creates an oppositional text that challenges the cultural hegemony of post-war america. considering the importance of technique is important in ethnic texts because, as anthony reed writes in his study of experimental black writing, freedom time, “attention to the surface itself—the techniques through which [the text] “says the impossible” and brings into existence thinking obscured by dominant ideologies and ideologies of race—stresses complexity, the ways this writing does not make itself available to epigrammatic resistance or expression” (22). if the formal achievement of no-no boy cannot be divorced from its content, neither can the oppositional message that its content presents be divorced from its form. therefore, by ignoring form, readers limit what the text can say.   the way no-no boy’s later champions describe its initial failure, in the sense of market success and critical acclaim, illuminates how this novel has been received as a hyper-local text manai 4   and thereby denied literary value. in the preface to no-no boy, ruth ozeki, writing to the deceased john okada, describes how this process functions, even at the level of prose, writing, “the few critics [in the united states] who bothered to review [the novel] pretty much panned it. they bitched about your ‘bad english’ and said it wasn’t literature” (vii). ozeki points to the way no-no boy’s reception was racially marked through its narrative voice in such a way that its inability to conform to a perceived standard of grammar denied it a good review. ozeki offers okada’s tokyo-based publisher, charles e. tuttle, as further evidence that no-no boy was not given an impartial hearing upon its first publication. the editors of aiiieeeee! similarly note that no-no boy was not recognized on college campuses in 1971 because it “lacked literary value. it was not american enough” (chin et al. 128). if no-no boy possessed “bad english,” or was somehow not “american,” it also possessed the wrong kind of “bad english” for the time of its publication. apollo amoko, referencing jinqi ling’s work on the novel, locates the book at a time when “the superficial interest in asian american culture was intended to deflect the civil rights campaign by producing the image of asian americans, in contrast to disenchanted african americans, as a model assimilated minority” (42). it is therefore the “general invisibility of asian-americans as self-representing subjects,” at this time that made okada’s portrayal of a fraught japanese-american identity unpalatable, both for a popular readership and critical consensus (42). his depiction of the specific trauma that made their experience so fraught did not appeal to normative understandings of being “american” or great “literature.” but if these reviews represent the attitude of an establishment committed to politically conscious understandings of “proper english,” no-no boy did not fare much better outside of this collective of readers. the japanese-americans who read the book “shunned it” because, ozeki believes, okada “wrote unflinchingly about the scarring experience of being a japanesemanai 5   american on the west coast during world war ii” and, unfortunately for okada’s reputation, “that war had only ended twelve years earlier, and twelve years is no time at all” (vii). it is important to note that ozeki appreciates the novel’s “unflinching[]” portrayal in terms of the historical-racial moment that contributed to the silence that japanese-americans greeted the novel upon publication. as thomas girst points out, critics have also argued that the dialogue should be presented as translated japanese in order to more authentically represent japaneseamerican experience, thereby inscribing ichiroiii more trenchantly within his ethnic community (143). in this way, the text’s value is hyper-local, speaking to the specific experience of this group, and became one of the ways that the institutions argued no-no boy was not literature. what appears to be a sign of its genius to ozeki and many modern readers, was oppressive, and understandably so, to people who “were busy keeping their heads down, assimilating and working on becoming the model minority of 1950s america” (viii). in other words, ozeki concludes, no-no boy was “ahead of its time.” naming a novel “ahead of its time,” in retrospect, implies the logical supposition that society must change in order for the novel to become effective and possess value. “by 1976,” ozeki writes, “people were ready for your book, and they read it and loved it and were inspired by it” (viii). the newly discovered value was made possible because “two decades had passed, and the world had changed. the civil rights movement had made huge gains. americans were talking about racism and discrimination. japanese americans were starting to speak out against the internment and criticize the united states government for its unconstitutional policies” (viii). if no-no boy’s earlier failure was read as the unharmonious relationship between text and the cultural moment, value was later conferred along those same lines. ozeki herself describes a similar relationship to the text, writing that as a young person she was not interested in the manai 6   “japanese-american cultural movement,” but once she had grown up the novel “stunned” her for its depiction of these events. my intention is not to criticize ozeki, but rather to point to the way that the story that is told about this novel’s value consists of a beginning in which it is out of sync with cultural ideologies, a middle period when it lies dormant during a time of cultural change and then an ending when the text reemerges as a piece of art with worth because it matches the newly defined values. the problem with this kind of narrative is not that it is untrue but rather the way it holds the ethnic text to a standard of relatability. the ethnic text is denied the chance, which the white text is given, to speak to something both putatively timeless and universal about human experience. although it is not surprising that a book which does not coincide with cultural values would not be popular, and maybe even understandable that it would not be critically attractive, the necessity to read the book’s reappearance to this standard points to a tendency where “in historical and theoretical terms, experimentation and race seem opposed” (reed 3). in other words, reading no-no boy’s reception as entirely cultural, denies an appreciation of the ways the text might have been formally challenging. the cost of this kind of practice is that it denies an ethnic text admittance to “genealogies of presumptively white avant-garde writing, on the grounds that its concerns seem insufficiently ‘universal’” (7). although it is also true that appeals to a text’s timelessness and universal capabilities should be strenuously questioned and doubted, due to their ambiguous meaning and hegemony’s ability to use these terms to inscribe difference, if these appeals are to continue, critics and readers must be attentive to the way that white writing is considered universal much more routinely than ethnic writing. in stoner’s similar story of struggle out of obscurity, there appears a surprising lack of attention to the cultural and historical manai 7   forces at work at the time of the novel’s writing and publication which contributes to the prevailing belief that it expresses something essential about human experience. in praise of stoner, and as an impassioned plea to readers to open its cover themselves, julian barnes, writing in the guardian, described stoner’s publication history in the following manner: “it was respectably reviewed; it had a reasonable sale; it did not become a bestseller; it went out of print.” barnes does not equivocate often in his praise of the novel, and therefore his indifferent disposition towards its publication history is all the more striking. not only does he seem uninterested in speculating as to why the novel was not an instant success, his string of ironic independent clauses leaves the impression that this subject is not only uninteresting, but also something that can never be known. it was a cruel roll of the dice and the critic’s time would be unproductively spent trying to explicate its meaning. writing in a similar vein, morris dickstein describes how stoner was “ignored on publication in 1965, a clamorous year,”iv but has been “kept alive by enthusiasts…[who] invariably wonder why no one has heard of the book. [and ask] ‘why isn’t this book famous?’” dickstein’s casual reference to the historical circumstances of publication is both precise and ambiguous. it creates the illusion of a historical context, while remaining uncommitted to whether or not this context played any demonstrable role in stoner’s reception, and then gently tosses it aside to suggest that context no longer plays a determining role in the novel’s value. the “invariable wonder” becomes a matter of pure speculation, similar to the way barnes considers stoner’s success story to be an unfathomable process. steve almond comes the closest to nailing down a concrete reason for the text’s history of obscurity, writing, “since its publication in 1965, stoner has gone out of print twice, doomed by its mundane plot and restrained style.” interestingly “1965” is no longer categorized as an influence, making the “mundane plot and restrained style” stylistic choices devoid of context. manai 8   almond situates it alongside other classics like moby dick and the great gatsby which did not enjoy canonical status upon release, but simply required the unfolding of time before they could be appreciated. although it is not almond’s duty to elucidate the set of historical circumstances whose transformations turned gatsby into a major work in a newspaper article about another novel, it is interesting the way the simple passage of time is described as the necessary ingredient for the success of all three white texts without any reference to the historical conditions that surrounded their publications or their eventual revaluation.v considered alongside ozeki’s attention to the ways “the world had changed,” the white text’s popularity is not affected by the context of history and becomes associated with a universal experience which, as was demonstrated in no-no boy’s initial reception and is continued in stoner’s recent reception, becomes associated with literary value (viii). if contemporary critics are somewhat ambivalent about why stoner was not widely read or enthusiastically embraced in its time, they are more interested, if not more scrupulous, about its reception today. john mcgahern, whose recommendation brought stoner its most recent, and most successful reissue, references the novel’s prosody as an estimation of its value nine times in his seven-page introduction. mcgahern praises the “plain prose which seems able to reflect effortlessly every shade of thought and feeling” without reference to the characters or the moment of these particular passages that might make these thoughts and feelings local to a particular race, class or gender (vii). in this way mcgahern can compare williams’s masterful prose to the “almost impossible material,” later he calls it “unpromising material,” suggesting the prose can overcome the limitations of its content (xii-xiii). this attitude creates a separation of form and content where, because the prose doesn’t represent anyone specifically, it seems to speak to everyone universally. whereas ozeki located okada’s ability in “the gritty postwar manai 9   world of rifts and schisms that [he] paints so brilliantly,” mcgahern defines williams’s skill as simply “the clarity of the prose,” vi which he writes, “is in itself an unadulterated joy” (xi, xiii). by eliding the hyper-local markings that do existvii in stoner, mcgahern creates the implication that literary value is not associated with context. by emphasizing “the clarity of the prose” in this way, mcgahern argues for seeing the novel, using williams’s own words, as “an escape into reality” (xiii). judging williams would require more context from the original interview, but the way that mcgahern equates the prose with an escape into an unspecified human reality illuminates the tendency to view white texts as capable of representing the essence of experience. equating a focus on pure aesthetic value with a universal white experience is made possible by “how much readers,” of stoner’s introduction for example, “both intuit and are expected to intuit” because terms like “clarity” or “reality,” “act as placeholders for larger assumptions and beliefs, many of which have largely become normative in shoring up the supposed opposition between the cultural against the literary” (wang). whereas in no-no boy reality is not a placeholder, but rather explicitly marked as the experience of post-war japanese-american life, stoner’s reception represents an undefined “reality” even though its context is white, and mostly male. because this move is achieved through attention to pure aesthetics, noting the formal accomplishment of an ethnic text like nono boy becomes a political calculation that can disrupt a hegemonic belief that whiteness is indicative of “reality.” appropriating the aesthetic privilege of white texts for ethnic texts should not be used to erase the hyper-specific textual signifiers that make the text ethnic. to read no-no boy as emblematic of a broadly defined human experience would strip the text of its power to speak against hegemony. as amoko points out, “[no-no boy] is a novel set squarely in the charged manai 10   racial margins of the american nation-space: it develops almost exclusively within the confines of japanese american culture” (42). taking the novel out of these “charged racial margins” would attempt to make internment a universal experience which would negate its very reality. however, as reed makes clear, ethnic writing must resist definition as examples of exclusively racial expression because “for minoritized writers, race exists as part of a larger articulation of social contradictions at work simultaneously inside and outside the text.” in order to successfully understand these “social contradictions” readers must acknowledge that “literature’s function in politics requires a look at poetics” (9). readers that study ethnic texts in terms of language and form, for example, contemplating the way signing john okada’s name to the prefaceviii of the 2014 edition changes no-no boy’s message concerning assimilation, have a better understanding of the way “language [is] central to articulations of national belongings” (reed 13). one limitation of a comparison of the revaluations these two novels’ have received is the lack of contemporary newspaper and magazine articles regarding no-no boy’s resurgence. most of the discussion surrounding okada’s novel has appeared in literary journals, where writers are more inclined to map the novel’s development using theory, than what might appear in the new york times magazine, which is more sympathetic to publishing the kind of impassioned pleas that almond and dickstein have written. writing of this kind on no-no boy has been contained within reissues of the novel, asian-american literary anthologies and small pacific-themedix newspapers. that essays on stoner appear in the new york times and the guardian, publications which purport to represent their respective countries and populations, and which appear more easily in a routine google search, where a wider swath of readers can access their content, contributes to the assumption that stoner has a universal applicability. no-no boy, on the other hand, must be published in hyper-local publications that explicitly mark it as a specific manai 11   kind of experience and deny it the chance to be an example of simply good writing or offer an addendum to the general understanding of human experience. it also speaks to the way, in ethnic texts, “value is ascribed before the text” (reed 12). this limitation also contributes to the sense that no-no boy, because it is specific, is a cultural or political text that needs to be explicated rather than be enjoyed in the way almond, and williams himself,x advocate for texts to be read. again, it would be dangerous to advocate for white readers to pick up no-no boy and simply enjoy themselves because that would smooth out all of the ways the novel is radical and challenges power. canonizing ethnic texts by advocating for aesthetic enjoyment uncomplicated by race, can also place them “under certain jurisdictions not only consigning them to prescribed areas but also gathering them under certain sets of meanings” (ferguson 19). further complicating this struggle between form and content, stoner also receives glowing praise of its subject matter, but praise which does not consider its racial or historical markings. dickstein, in language so effusive (“a perfect novel”) it weakens his overall conclusion, writes that the novel is “the story of an ordinary man, seemingly thwarted at every turn, but also of the knotty integrity he preserves, the deep inner life behind the impassive facade.” compared to the popular reading of no-no boy as an exploration into “the (im)possibility of american nationhood for racially marked japanese americans in the immediate wake of the second world war,” stoner is represented as an exploration of life rather than any particular experience of life (amoko 41).xi barnes also makes this kind of claim arguing that the sadness that spreads across stoner’s narrative “feels [like] a purer, less literary kind, closer to life's true sadness. as a reader, you can see it coming in the way you can often see life's sadness coming, knowing there is little you can do about it.” there is a privileging inherit in the attempt to claim that stoner’s particular kind of experience is closer to life, rather than manai 12   emblematic of the specific historical, racial, material and gender signifiers that contribute to its professed literary value. interestingly, no-no boy engages with this very topic challenging the claims stoner’s advocates would make for it. in one of the novel’s most famous scenes, ichiro, the protagonist, has just left a jobsite where his ethnic identity played a particularly important role and contemplates “the apostrophe, the topside comma, the period with a tall on it” (okada 202) the comma represents what separates ohara from o’hara, or in other words, the irish from the japanese. okada’s metaphor is powerful, almost overwrought in its symbolism, but the way he initially slips it into his text through gary’s story about the proud japanese-american veterans who will “take a trip to some resort, thinking this is god’s green land of democracy [only to] get kicked in the face with the unfortunate mistake about the reservation story” saves it from embracing a clichéd, allencompassing humanism (201). okada’s use of metaphor in this example makes the scene not only about the japanese and the irish, but points to the seemingly arbitrary lines that underpin the post-wwii racial state. in this way, which will be discussed more in the next paragraph, no-no boy speaks both to its time and also to a future readership. later, ichiro imagines his own version of this story in which the apostrophe is “the bald headed pivot on which man hung, unborn and unnamed until suddenly he found himself squirming on one side or another. it made a difference, of course, which side he chose to fall on” (202). ichiro imagines the kind of universal human experience that barnes describes, but also links it to the very moment of racial signification. he also makes it clear that to assume such an experience, and to assume one exists in our everyday interactions, leads to overlooking the importance of the specific determinations of race. okada’s choice to tell the reader the specific content of his metaphor, rather than only showing them the image of the two names and asking the reader to infer their own meaning, manai 13   contributes to the sense that he “wrote unflinchingly” about his themes. ichiro’s conclusion, “lock up the apostrophes for a while. we’ve got too many irishmen” points explicitly to the materialization of white hegemony, which does make a difference. even though it matters which side of the racial pivot a text comes down upon, to consider only the side that the book has fallen on, marking it as cultural or sociological, reveals an ineffectual critical practice because “race is one means through which a textual surface seems to make legible some more fundamental meaning or claim, even as it has no meaning apart from the claims one makes for it” (reed 21). just as ichiro’s experience is japanese-american, and no-no boy is an ethnic text, there are more fundamental meanings and claims that it can represent because “every text addresses both its own moment and an unknown future readership” (21). in mcgahern’s introduction, as well as the newspaper and magazine articles referenced above, stoner is assured its future readership, and admittance into the canon, because of the unspecified way its prose speaks to a universal notion of lived experience. of course, no-no boy also found a future readership, but only in so far as it had finally found a present moment that was in sync with its message. in other words, no-no boy spoke to the specific cultural realities that were relevant in 1971 and 1972, but there was not an acknowledgment that it spoke to something essential about human experience that implies meaning for a future readership. this approach becomes a way to exclude no-no boy from the canon by judging it “exclusively through thematics of race or the social [that are] narrowly conceived.” to read a novel exclusively as a racial text is always to conceive of the thematic of race as “narrowly conceived” because “racialized reading” reduces ethnic culture “to a set of properties” (reed 6-7). noticing okada’s “fondness for detail, the nuances of his metaphors and the sophisticated use of the emblematic” opens up the apostrophe scene, and others like it, to a future readership interested in manai 14   the ways the u.s. hegemony subjugates certain classifications of citizens. but since these nuances are “all deeply rooted in the particular japanese american post-wwii experience” an appreciation of them never flattens okada’s ability to speak to this particular instance (girst 139). a fitting example of this kind of reading practice can be found in perhaps the most canonical of western writers, shakespeare. his play the merchant of venice, of which more will be said later, is appreciated today both because it was able to engage with the hyper-local problem of anti-semitisms, but also because it is said to speak to the problems between parents and children more broadly and also specifically to those relationships within diasporic communities. that the merchant of venice, and shakespeare in general, is considered to have an aesthetic brilliance, or what wang calls a “pure literariness,” and also, what many critics perceive to be a universal applicability, speaks to the association of these two concepts and foresees the way that texts that are not considered universal can be excluded from the canon. the importance of form and an attention to literature as an unspecified field that represents human experience is one of stoner’s largest concerns. william stoner’s “required survey of english literature [which] troubled and disquieted him in a way nothing had ever done before,” serves as a crucial turning point in the novel (williams 10). in this class, stoner’s teacher, archer sloane, asks his students what one of shakespeare’s sonnets “mean.” sloane is clearly not looking for summary of its content, but asking for something more transcendental. confronted with the silence of the class, mr. sloane recitesxii “sonnet 73” and adds “dryly, ‘mr. shakespeare speaks to you across three hundred years, mr. stoner; do you hear him?’” stoner struggles to speak, but cannot explain what the sonnet means. the sonnet becomes a source of profound and deep meaning that transcends the context of the poem and eludes explication. this trend continues once he has become a teacher and, preparing for class, “felt the logic of manai 15   grammar, and he thought he perceived how it spread out from itself, permeating the language and supporting human thought [and]…his mind…grappled with the power of the literature he studied and tried to understand its nature…he moved outward from himself into the world which contained him, so that he knew that the poem of milton’s…changed the world which was its subject, and changed it because of its dependence upon it” (26). here “power,” which could also serve as one of wang’s placeholders, becomes synonymous with an anonymous world that is shared by human beings in common and is not a product of shakespeare’s or milton’s cultural or political position. for wang this kind of practice is not only problematic because it frames a binary between white (literary or universal) writing and ethnic (political) writing, but because poets as canonical in the western tradition as blake and shelley, saw their political activism as “neither marginal nor incidental, but [] essentially related to a large part of the experience from which the poetry itself was made” (wang). although no-no boy does not contain meta-literary commentary, its attention to thinking and trying to understand the world is “essentially related” to the political. the scenes of literary work in stoner are mirrored by a similar attention to the struggle for meaning, the battle to grasp the seemingly ineffable essence of experience, which consumes ichiro. in the novel’s final pages, ichiro walks away from the dark alley that has just been the scene of a bloody fight after “sharing the empty sorrow in the hulking body, feeling the terrible loneliness of the distressed walls, and saying nothing” (okada 221). the blunt explication of loneliness and inner turmoil is a routine fixture in stoner’s narrative and the way ichiro “wanted to think about” these events, and the ones that have surrounded him since his release from prison, emphasize the deep inner-life of the character. because ichiro’s thinking attaches itself to ichiro’s cultural-political world, his repeated quest for “understanding,” a major theme of the manai 16   novel, is coded along the “social and political lines” that wang argues distances minority text from literature. okada ends his novel describing ichiro “walking along, thinking, searching, thinking and probing, and, in the darkness of the alley of the community that was a tiny bit of america, he chased that faint and elusive insinuation of promise as it continued to take shape in mind and in heart” (221). the similarities between ichiro and stoner, who sat in sloane’s classroom struggling to elucidate the meaning of shakespeare’s sonnet, but failed to achieve a comprehensive understanding, is striking. in this passage, okada, as garret hongo points out, is able “to encourage diversity, intellectual passion and an appreciation of verbal beauty,” but because no-no boy is marked through “racialized reading,” its ending is not said to speak to what in stoner is considered the universal quest to elucidate profound truths. it becomes only, but not simply or merely, the struggle for japanese-american assimilation. this kind of conclusion is complicated because, as the editors of aiiieeeee! point out, “obviously, sincerity and the real language that okada heard in the streets of seattle, where he grew up, was not literature” for universities in the 1970s (128-29). the editors of aiiieeeee! clearly find something real and sincere in okada’s writing, but they also point out the way that the institutions, who here possess the power to confer the mark of the literary, did not recognize this capability. lisa lowe points out how universities conceived of “western culture as a separate sphere and the materially, racially and sexually differentiated society against which that notion of autonomous culture is constructed and whose contradictions it works to conceal” is accomplished at the level of narrative (38). the editors of aiiieeeee! quote a letter from mills college that refused credit for a class in asian-american literature, which included no-no boy, to count towards an english major because “many of the books are not of high literary quality, however interesting and valuable they are as records of the experience of an ethnic minority in manai 17   america” (128). here “literary value” is used as the specific bulwark by which universities protect western culture from ethnic texts. although it is unclear how mills college evaluated no-no boy specifically, the way they refuse to equate literature with “records of experience of an ethnic minority” is further proof that the “literary” is considered to in some way speak to a white subjectivity that is coded as the universal. when a text is marked as hyper-local through race it loses claims to the universal and therefore its literary value. the assumption of the universal is the same feeling that stoner has while studying milton. ichiro, on the other hand, is able to contemplate a moment before racial definition, perhaps a universal moment, but imagines it alongside the movement that racializes each subject. in an ironic turn that perhaps the faculty at mills college did not foresee, when a text is marked as universally literary it can lose its political relevancy. in the case of stoner, that loss has not hindered its ability to become popular,xiii but, as the writing of dickstein and barnes makes clear it has lost an ability to speak to the political moment of its publication or current reader, even if that secures it an emotional brilliance. as teachers, parents and critics try to make older texts, or perhaps, those putatively universal texts, speak in new and interesting ways to a new generation of readers, texts that have been seen as hyper-local because of their racial content are providing new ways to think about these old texts. dorothy kehler argues that reading shakespeare alongside “[okada and kingston] confirms that human responses are not exclusively cultural bound” and makes shakespeare relevant for a classroom of students who might believe this play cannot speak to their experience (110). kehler’s argument has the danger of promoting belief in the kind of universal humanist values that elides difference and strips an ethnic text of its ability to challenge the perceived normativity of the present and the implied future. when she writes that teaching “these texts [the merchant of venice and no-no boy] manai 18   together can validate shakespeare for students, especially in ethnically diverse high school and college classes,” her argument points to the way ferguson, in his book the reorder of things, envisions minority writers who challenge hegemony can be co-opted by the institution. but acknowledging the way these two texts may be similar would also remind readers that “every writer comes out of a particular time and place and that the timeless and universal in literature are suspect” (110). in this way stoner’s champions would be forced to acknowledge its context, which would problematize the estimations of its literary value as its ability to speak of an “ordinary man” or “reality” and force the canon to consider the literary value of distinct experiences (dickstein, xiii). theorizing the problems inherent in labeling texts as depictions of a universal reality that expresses lived experience is a problematic, and complicated, proposition because by denying the universality of certain experiences hegemony can more easily separate writing on the grounds of difference. but, an attention to the ways that ethnic writers are treated as representative of a specific experience, while white authors, through an attention to the formal quality of their work, are able to depict a sense of general lived experience, exposes the grounds upon which the canon can be reorganized. as ichiro exemplifies in his famous apostrophe scene, an attention to the determinative realities of minority experience need not occlude finding other truths that extend beyond the particular experience of the irish or japanese. in the same way, critical attention to stoner’s depiction of both the poor farmers and middle to upper class university professionals that populate this predominately white novel would not diminish its narrative power for the legions of readers across the globe who have enjoyed it. lawson fusao inada echoes this sentiment in his introduction to no-no boy, writing: “whoever reads [no-no boy] will be a bigger person for it” (my emphasis, xxii). different readers will find themselves manai 19   affected in different ways, just as they come down on different sides of ichiro’s “bald headed pivot.” but both of these novels affirm, together, the shared reliance on fiction as, what john okada’s calls, the only place where “the hopes and fears and joys and sorrows of people [can] be recorded” (chin et al. 127). endnotes i my use of the term “white text” is intended to highlight the ways that novelists and novels marked by a racial experience that is not included in whiteness are not afforded the position of a universal subject hood that is granted to a novel written by a white novelist about white characters. although there is not space in this essay to examine the ways that female, queer and other marginalized individuals, who may also identify as white, but are excluded from this kind of universal subject hood, change this term and our understanding of the appeal to the sense of universal experience, it is directly relevant to this kind of inquiry. ii reed foresees the pitfalls of overlooking form in ethnic writing by asking “how does one change the valences of the burdens of black writing in a society where people presume to know in advance what one will say?” (21). without an attention to okada’s formal value, critics run the risk of containing its message to the already dominant ideology concerning japanese-american experience. iii girst convincingly argues that the only two examples of spoken japanese in the novel, both of which ask ichiro if he speaks japanese well, are spoken by white employers and ichiro answers them in english to defy the very encoding they are attempting. iv although dickstein is referring, at least indirectly, to the voting rights act of 1965 it would be interesting to consider stoner’s reception in relationship to the passing of this landmark bill explicitly. ling argues that part of the reason no-no boy was unpalatable was a “superficial interest” in asian-americans deployed to “deflect the civil rights campaign” with the image of a “model assimilated minority” (amoko 42). stoner’s depiction of a white culture almost entirely isolated from both black america and asian america would seem to speak to a nostalgia that was being very publicly rewritten 1965. perhaps its reception speaks to the way readers thought it was out of touch with the current climate, but the novel’s resurgence at a time that was incorrectly labeled “raceless” or “post-race” might speak to a cultural ambivalence towards minority representation in 2013. v the objection that great novels should be considered on the strength of the text and on the text alone is not necessarily being refuted here. that kind of objection would not address the reason these two novels were unpopular when they were published and became popular, or at least critically acclaimed, years later which is the issue at stake here. vi he uses this phrase twice on the same page and uses the word clarity four times in reference to williams’s writing. vii in addition to race and gender, class would a particularly interesting way to look at stoner’s experience. he is “born at the end of the nineteenth century into a dirt-poor missouri farming family,” but marries the daughter of a rich st. louis banking executive. although his position at the university comfortably establishes stoner within the middle-class, he exhibits the influences of his childhood, spent working in the fields, throughout the novel (excerpt on book cover). viii it did not appear there in previous editions. ix pacific affairs and the pacific citizen, for example. x mcgahern provides excerpts from an interview with williams in which he laments the “changes in the teaching of literature.” upset that literature is now taught “as if it were a kind of puzzle,” his interviewer asks him, “and   manai 20     literature is written to be entertaining?” and williams answers “absolutely. my god, to read without joy is stupid” (xiii). although this exchange seems to place williams on the side of the great western books debate of the 1980s, the joy which the editors of aiiieeeee! read no-no boy with complicates what exactly it means to read with joy. xi whether this tendency represents a conscious anxiety toward praising the ordinary story of a white male’s life because he is the representation of power and hegemony, or an assumption that white experience is primary, the erasing of racial signifiers and the historical moment of stoner’s specific experience remains integral to their argument for canonization. xii williams reproduces all fourteen lines of the sonnet in the text. xiii stoner’s popularity offers a potentially fruitful examination of this issue because its success in europe, particularly france, has actually out-paced its success in the united states. as julian barnes notes, “it was the novel's sudden success in france in 2011 that alerted other publishers to its possibilities; since then it has sold 200,000 copies in holland and 80,000 in italy. it has been a bestseller in israel, and is just beginning to take off in germany.” although there are many articles, like barnes’, that point out this curious fact, none seem to posit why the story of a college professor in america is so intriguing overseas and in countries as different as germany and italy. while many of these countries represent western culture, “rights have been sold in 21 countries, and stoner is soon to be launched on china” (barnes). works cited almond, steve. “you should seriously read stoner right now.” new york times magazine. 9 may 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/magazine/you-should-seriously-read stoner-right-now.html?_r=0 amoko, apollo o. “resilient imaginations: no-no boy, obasan and the limits of minority discourse.” mosaic : a journal for the interdisciplinary study of literature; winnipeg, vol. 33, no. 3, sept. 2000, pp. 35–55. barnes, julian. “stoner: the must-read novel of 2013.” the guardian. 13 december 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/13/stoner-john-williams-julian-barnes chin, frank, et al. aiiieeeee!: an anthology of asian american writers. howard university press, 1983. dickstein, morris. “the inner lives of men.” the new york times. 17 june 20017. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/books/review/dickstein-t.html. ferguson, roderick a. the reorder of things: the university and its pedagogies of minority difference. university of minnesota press, 2012. manai 21     girst, thomas. art, literature, and the japanese american internment: on john okada’s no-no boy. peter lang gmbh, internationaler verlag der wissenschaften, 2015. inada, lawson fusao. introduction. no-no boy. university of washington press, 2014. kehler, dorothea. “shakespeare, okada, kingston: the first generation.” the comparatist, vol. 22, 1998, pp. 110–22. ling, jinqi. "race, power and cultural politics in john okada's no-no boy." american literature, vol. 67, no. 2, 1995, pp. 359-81. lowe, lisa. immigrant acts: on asian american cultural politics. duke university press, 1996. mcgahren, john. introduction. stoner. new york review books, 2003. okada, john. no-no boy. university of washington press, 2014. ozeki, ruth. foreword. no-no boy. university of washington press, 2014. reed, anthony. freedom time: the poetics and politics of black experimental writing. john hopkins university press, 2014. wang, dorothy. thinking its presence : form, race, and subjectivity in contemporary asian american poetry. stanford university press, 2015. williams, john. stoner. new york review books, 2003. microsoft word tabachnick final version -for online.doc [concept, vol. xxxviii (2015)] biofeedback and anxiety disorders: a critical review of emg, eeg, and hrv feedback lexie tabachnick psychology anxiety disorders are characterized by ongoing and situationally disproportionate fear and anxiety, and the associated significant distress and impairment of normal functioning (american psychiatric association, 2013). these disorders affect nearly one third of americans in their lifetimes, indicating that a massive group of people stand to benefit from the development of effective and feasible treatments for anxiety symptoms (valentiner, fergus, behar, & conybeare, 2014). possibly as a result of the rise in use of pharmaceutical treatments, research on exciting alternatives such as biofeedback to treat the symptoms of anxiety slowed in the early 1990s. however, sufferers generally seem open to the use of complementary and alternative therapies for anxiety and depression, especially those that have fewer side effects than pharmaceutical treatments (kessler et al., 2001). fortunately, there has been a resurgence in studying these treatments as researchers learn more about the patterns of neural activity and states of physiological functioning associated with anxiety disorders. researchers are investigating the general efficacy of biofeedback for anxiety, as well as which types of biofeedback may be most effective for which types of symptoms and disorders. for example, eeg biofeedback (also referred to as neurotherapy) may be most effective for disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder in which conscious experience is a crucial component, and hrv (heart rate variability) biofeedback may be most effective for disorders such as panic disorder in which the individual experiences frequent and intense autonomic arousal (schoenberg & david, 2014). in this paper, i will review the available research on biofeedback treatments for anxiety disorders, a project i restrict to those anxiety disorders within the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (dsm-5) categorization; i focus on those disorders that have received enough attention in the field to draw at least preliminary conclusions (panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and similar historical diagnoses). i will consider each popular type of biofeedback treatment with respect to specific anxiety disorders when possible, and discuss which symptoms the treatments impact and why certain treatments may be most effective for certain symptoms or anxiety disorders. i will consider what factors contribute to or mitigate the efficacy of biofeedback treatments, and i will delve into the limitations of the research that has been conducted thus far, such as limited samples and ethical concerns, (hammond, 2005; reiner, 2008). finally, i will discuss implications of the current findings and i will make recommendations for future research to advance the field. it is critical that biofeedback research continue to support the development of promising alternatives to pharmaceutical treatments, potentially providing opportunities for more accessible treatment with fewer side effects. theoretical background evolution of the dsm one challenge in reviewing this body of literature is that research depends on consistent functional definitions of the disorders studied, but the literature spans multiple editions of the dsm, which define and categorize anxiety disorders differentially over time. the relevant research really began in the late 1970s and early 1980s around the advent of the dsm-iii, which split anxiety neurosis into panic disorder (characterized by periods of intense anxiety or panic/anxiety attacks) and generalized anxiety disorder (barlow et al., 1984). this split was supported by evidence that the two types of disorders responded better to different types of medication (klein, 1964; rickels, 1993). the dsm-iii-r redefined generalized anxiety disorder from a residual category into a disorder with its own specific criteria, with extensive worry at its core (rice, blanchard, & purcell, 1993). the dsm-iv anxiety category included generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia without panic disorder, specific phobia, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and acute stress disorder. the dsm-5 split these disorders based on response to treatment and possible etiologies, and so the anxiety category includes only separation anxiety disorder, selective mutism, specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and residual categories (american psychiatric association, 2013). this review will largely focus on research regarding panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder as these disorders have the longest legacy of research and remain central to the field today. the early research on biofeedback and anxiety disorders tends to conflate panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorders, but i have attempted to tease these results apart when possible. there is minimal, if any, research on the effects of biofeedback on the majority of the other dsm-5 anxiety disorders. it is likely that this dearth of biofeedback research is due to satisfactory existing treatments, such as exposure therapy for specific phobias, which is very effective in a short time frame with minimal resources (valentiner et al., 2014). panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder: why biofeedback might work both panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder have physiological components, which may be targeted with a variety of biofeedback techniques. panic disorder is characterized by panic attacks, which are brief periods of massive autonomic arousal including elevated heart rate. generalized anxiety disorder is associated with persistent worry, but this cognitive state is associated with overall muscle tension and the physiological consequences of prolonged tension such as headaches and muscle soreness (valentiner et al., 2014). biofeedback targeting these physiological components may be administered alone or in conjunction with psychotherapy and/or medication. types of biofeedback strong trends in popular types of biofeedback to study run parallel to the evolution of the dsm and the development of new technologies over time. the major therapeutic techniques have been emg, eeg, and hrv feedback training. emg. the first major trend in biofeedback was centered on electromyography (emg) training, which provides feedback—usually auditory (click or tone) feedback—reflecting the electrical activity of the muscles, an indicator of muscle tension. much of the early emg research suggested frontalis emg feedback, in which sensors are placed on the forehead in the hope that this location is critical to the muscle tension of anxiety and that it correlates with general bodily tension, as a promising direction for developing anxiety treatments (hoffman, 1979). the technique was originally developed to treat tension headaches, but hoffman (1979) hypothesized that it may be a useful treatment for the somatic symptoms of anxiety neurosis. this sparked major interest in utilizing emg to treat anxiety for at least the following decade. there are many limitations to this technique, which may explain its disappearance from the current literature, including mixed experimental results, prohibitive costs, and the development of new technologies. eeg. electroencephalography (eeg) feedback, also known as neurofeedback or neurotherapy, was originally developed as a relaxation technique related to meditation (kamiya, 1969; michael, krishnaswamy, & mohamed, 2005). eeg involves measuring the general patterns of activity of the brain and can be used as a diagnostic assistant (usually via quantitative eeg or qeeg) or feedback tool (hammond, 2010, 2011). feedback can be auditory or visual, even in the form of a computer game. in this way, participants learn to regulate specific frequencies of cortical activity. as a feedback therapy, it has been used in many different psychological and medical disorders, including attention deficithyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and substance use disorder (myers & young, 2012). it has also been used to treat the more cognitive components of anxiety disorders and may be more effective in those disorders in which the cognitive experience is central, such as generalized anxiety disorder (schoenberg & david, 2014). most practitioners claim there is little to no shortor long-term risk involved in neurofeedback, but some caution that to minimize risk it is critical to individualize treatment using qeeg because of the heterogeneity of eeg presentations of various disorders and comorbidities (hammond, 2010; walker, 2010). hrv. heart rate variability (hrv) was initially applied to panic disorder and related diagnoses because tachycardia (fast heart rate) and related autonomic activities are central to the definition of a panic attack (american psychiatric association, 2013). hrv is related to earlier measures of autonomic activity, such as the simple heart rate or blood pressure reading, but it allows for more sensitive interpretations that take into account contributions of both the sympathetic nervous system (sns; activation, generally) and parasympathetic nervous system (pns; inhibition, generally, friedman & thayer, 1998a, 1998b). to a lesser extent, hrv has also been studied in the context of generalized anxiety disorder, especially during periods of worry (thayer, friedman, & borkovec, 1996). three major hrv components are typically analyzed in this body of research. the first is the quick, high frequency component (hf), which is related to respiration and is used as a vagal tone index. the mid-frequency component (mf) is associated with blood pressure regulation and is influenced by both the sns and the pns to varying degrees. finally, the slow, low frequency component (lf) is influenced by temperature, vasomotor, hormonal, and metabolic regulation, and may be primarily regulated by the sns (friedman, 2007). there is a large body of work arguing for various theories explaining the autonomic dysregulation in anxiety, but an in-depth analysis of this work is largely beyond the scope of this review. in brief, polyvagal theory and neurovisceral theory can be combined into an autonomic flexibility-neurovisceral integration model (porges, 1992; thayer & lane, 2000). in this model, anxiety is associated with impaired homeodynamics (reactive flexibility critical to normal functioning) of the autonomic nervous system, as mediated by the central autonomic network (can) and a lack of normal inhibition of excessive emotional response at multiple levels (friedman, 2007). two common forms of hrv biofeedback are resonant frequency hrv biofeedback, which teaches participants to optimize their breathing rate to the cardiovascular system, and heartmath hrv biofeedback, which incorporates an affective component to create a sort of physiological-cognitive-behavioral hybrid treatment (hassett et al., 2007; henriques, keffer, abrahamson, & horst, 2011; muench, 2008). biofeedback evidence emg emg feedback research has been conducted with a diverse set of clinical and nonclinical populations, including those with dsm-ii anxiety neurosis (canter, kondo, & knott, 1975; hoffman, 1979; lavellée, lamontagne, annable, & fontaine, 1982), psychiatric patients with chronic anxiety (leboeuf & lodge, 1980; rupert, dobbins, & mathew, 1981; scandrett, bean, breeden, & powell, 1986), and individuals with subclinical but high anxiety (lustman & sowa, 1983; reed & saslow, 1980). barlow et al. (1984) performed a critical comparison of the effects of emg feedback as a component of therapy for individuals with dsm-iii panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder, but results were inconclusive and forms of therapy were gaining traction around this time. by the end of the 1980s, the field had progressed past emg biofeedback. research on the effects of emg feedback is shown in table 1. early evidence of emg feedback was quite promising for anxious patients. in a pool of 28 anxious neurotics, half of which presented with panic attacks and half of which did not, emg feedback and jacobsenian progressive relaxation was associated with significant reduction in muscle tension for both groups, but the emg-treated patients showed a greater and more rapid reduction. further, a significantly greater proportion of the emg group reported improvements in anxiety symptoms, a change which was corroborated by their primary therapists. ultimately, the patients without panic attacks who received feedback training demonstrated reduced muscle tension to a lesser degree, possibly due to a lower baseline (canter et al., 1975). hoffman (1979) considered an extremely small sample of 4 adult patients with tension headache and 5 adult patients with anxiety neurosis. overall, he found that emg feedback was associated with reduced muscle tension in all patients, but only one of the patients with anxiety neurosis was denoted as “much improved” in terms of anxiety symptoms by clinical assessment – the others were either “unimproved” or “worse” following emg treatment. in these studies, emg feedback training was seemingly effective in lowering frontalis muscle tension, but this was associated to varying degrees with the central symptoms of anxiety. when considering who may respond to such treatment, lavellée et al. (1982) demonstrated that only 25% of participants reported decreased anxiety as a result of successful emg training and that these “responders” were more extraverted and less depressed. further, individuals who respond to such treatment may be more susceptible to hypnosis, implying a critical cognitive component to emg biofeedback (rupert et al., 1981). hoffman (1979) had posited that emg feedback may not be an appropriate treatment for anxiety, but others attempted to dig deeper. emg feedback seemed to improve some of the somatic symptoms associated with anxiety such as blood pressure in subclinical populations (lustman & sowa, 1983), as well as reducing heart rate, frequency of anxiety attacks, sleeping difficulties, and locomotor agitation in clinical populations (barlow et al., 1984; scandrett et al., 1986). it was unclear, however, to what degree this treatment exceeded the efficacy of more traditional treatments such as pharmaceuticals and relaxation instructions. in a sample of 40 adult outpatients suffering from chronic anxiety (likely conflating panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder), emg feedback resulted in reduction in frontalis muscle tension as well as anxiety symptoms and this effect was maintained at a 3 month (but not a 6 month) follow-up, whereas patients taking diazepam showed an initial reduction in tension, but this was not maintained at follow-up and was associated with negative side effects (lavallée, lamontagne, pinard, annable, & tétreault, 1977). some studies showed that both emg feedback and relaxation instructions resulted in reduced trait anxiety in chronic anxiety patients (rupert et al., 1981), even when panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder were considered separately (barlow et al., 1984). emg feedback and relaxation also reduced test anxiety and general anxiety in highly anxious undergraduate students (reed & saslow, 1980), but another study showed that neither emg feedback nor progressive relaxation had a significant effect on reducing anxiety in chronically anxious patients (leboeuf & lodge, 1980). the theoretical foundation of emg feedback seems especially sound for chronic anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder, as it could target the somatic manifestations of worry. however, the evidence is mixed at best regarding the relative efficacy of emg biofeedback. in addition, this body of research is rife with experimental design limitations, including small sample sizes, lack of control groups, and inconsistencies in the emg feedback itself (length of treatment, combination with other forms of therapy). on the whole, the research tended to exclude anxious participants who presented with potentially confounding comorbidities such as phobias, psychosis, depression, and obsessions, but many studies did not isolate anxious individuals who presented with persistent panic attacks, and when they did, they suffered from other design limitations such as small sample size. anxiety is understood to be a complex disorder, so it is likely that biofeedback in conjunction with traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy would have a different effect than biofeedback alone, but in this research, emg biofeedback was generally assessed as an isolated treatment, and if combined, it was usually combined with relaxation techniques. perhaps as a result of these limitations as well as the financial means and technological expertise required to utilize emg feedback (reed & saslow, 1980), this particular realm of biofeedback research has since fallen out of fashion. table 1 electromyography (emg) biofeedback (bf) references sample design results barlow et al. (1984) gad (n=9) and pd (n=11) treatment (femg, progressive relaxation, + cbt over 14 weeks) vs. no treatment improvement in muscle tension and anxiety symptoms, both groups canter et al. (1975) anxiety neurosis (n=28) emg vs. progressive relaxation with no feedback emg and pmr à reduced muscle tension; emg à reduced anxiety hoffman (1979) anxiety neurosis (n=9) emg, no control improvement in one anxiety patient lavallee et al. (1977) chronic anxiety (n=40) emg and diazepam, emg and placebo, emg w/o feedback (control), emg control and placebo all groups reduced anxiety, diazepam alone least effective; emg improvements maintained 3 months lavallee et al. (1982) chronic anxiety (n=40) femg, no control only 25% improved; responders initially less depressed and more extraverted leboeuf and lodge (1980) chronic anxiety (n=26) femg vs. progressive relaxation both improved anxiety and muscle relaxation lustman and sowa (1983) anxiety and stress (n=24) emg bf vs. stress inoculation vs. no treatment both treatments lowered blood pressure, reduced anxiety reed and saslow (1980) test anxiety and general anxiety (n=27) emg vs. relaxation training vs. no treatment both treatment groups improved in test and general anxiety rupert et al. (1981) chronic anxiety (n=20) emg vs. relaxation vs. combination vs. no treatment emg improved trait anxiety scandrett et al. (1986) anxiety disorder (n=88) femg vs. pmr vs. waitlist control no sig. changes eeg though eeg technology has been utilized in human psychology since 1924 (haas, 2003), eeg feedback training has a relatively short history. research has burgeoned in the last decade or so, with approximately 250 studies utilizing neurofeedback from 2008-2012 with promising but not definitive results (myers & young, 2012). this line of research corresponds to the nimh research domain criteria, encouraging investigation of the biological underpinnings of psychological processes and dysfunctions that result in pathology (insel et al., 2010). while eeg is a relatively cheap research technique (compared with massive equipment such as fmri), its cost has been rather prohibitive for use in therapy or counseling without evidence significant clinical results. the estimated cost is $10,000, including extensive training and equipment (myers & young, 2012). to examine and establish the effectiveness of eeg training in reducing anxiety, many researchers have focused on high trait-anxiety in non-clinical populations as this is a risk factor for developing anxiety disorders, but working with this population is more ethically acceptable as the research is not impeding patient access to treatment (hardt & kamiya, 1978; logemann, lansbergen, van os, böcker, & kenemans, 2010; plotkin & rice, 1981; vendemia & rodriguez, 2010; wang et al., 2013). a survey of research on the effects of eeg biofeedback is shown in table 2. when considering clinical populations, researchers have looked at either diverse diagnoses accompanied by varying degrees of anxiety (bhat, 2010; michael et al., 2005; saldanha, chaudhury, pawar, ryali, & srivastava, 2007) or generalized anxiety disorder (rice et al., 1993). it is likely that researchers rarely considered panic disorder because the theoretical foundation of eeg feedback training is that it targets the cognitive components of a disorder. this is well-suited to generalized anxiety disorder and subclinical high trait-anxiety because this type of anxiety is characterized by cognitive worry and attentional bias, whereas panic disorder is less associated with such cognitions and is more associated with misattribution of and overreaction to physical experience (chen et al., 2013). in general, this research has focused on eeg alpha wave enhancement – a low frequency band of brain activity associated with a relaxed awake state, and associated with meditation and pleasant feelings through research in the 1960s (kamiya, 1969). higher frequency beta waves are associated with cognitive processing, and the lowest frequency theta waves are associated with sleep (myers & young, 2012). hardt and kamiya (1978) were among the first to demonstrate that when applied to a group of high trait-anxiety individuals, eeg alpha enhancement effectively reduces state anxiety whereas alpha suppression increases state anxiety. no effect was seen for low trait-anxiety individuals, which may account for the inconclusive results in previous studies. this research set a precedent for considering individual differences to understand the impact of eeg feedback training. in another seminal study, plotkin and rice (1981) exposed how the placebo effect influences eeg feedback results in a nonclinical sample, albeit with an extremely small sample size (n=10). both eeg alpha enhancement and eeg alpha suppression feedback produced a significant reduction in trait anxiety when participant expectation was manipulated to induce perceived success. in a follow-up to this study, rice et al. (1993) demonstrated that perceived success plays a role in treatment, but does not account for the entire effect of eeg feedback. in adults meeting the dsm-iii-r criteria for gad or high subclinical levels of generalized anxiety, eeg alpha enhancement resulted in significant reduction in heart rate responsivity and eeg alpha suppression resulted in the opposite pattern. this study also demonstrated that femg and eeg alpha training all reduce trait anxiety and anxiety symptoms, implying that gad may be treatable with a variety of biofeedback techniques (rice et al., 1993). in current eeg feedback research with clinical populations, it seems that studies have mostly, if not entirely, been conducted outside of the united states, potentially due to stringent ethical guidelines. currently, there are generally effective treatments for anxiety, and eeg may be associated with risk, but some argue that it is unnecessary to conduct research on a potentially harmful new treatment. perhaps for similar reasons, the international literature tends to consider the anxiety levels of psychiatric and medical patients with diverse diagnoses. michael et al. (2005) considered cardiac patients at a malaysian hospital with three different levels of anxiety: normal, mild/moderate, and severe. many patients who completed initial screenings in the study dropped out, but that population agreed to participate in the follow-up testing and were considered a pseudo-control group. overall, the participants demonstrated reduced anxiety symptoms over controls after eeg beta and sensory motor rhythms (another type of eeg wave) feedback training, but little change in actual eeg activity, implying a placebo effect (michael et al., 2005). interestingly, two indian studies investigated the differential effects of neurofeedback, pharmaceutical treatment, and a combination of the two in military veterans. bhat (2010) compared the efficacy of eeg alpha enhancement relative to anxiolytics alone in a sample of 100 veterans with mild to severe anxiety and found that anxiety symptoms improved for both groups and that eeg feedback was particularly effective for generalized anxiety disorder and for females (possibly due to a greater motivational “buy-in” or compliance). in a similar population of individuals with neurotic and/or psychosomatic disorders, saldanha et al. (2007) utilized multiple combined methods of biofeedback, psychoactive medication, and a combination of biofeedback and medication. the combination of biofeedback and medication seemed to be most effective in reducing anxiety symptoms, and as the medication was gradually withdrawn and effects maintained over the course of treatment, this strategy was the most promising in certain cases (saldanha et al., 2007). in a general sample of 40 canadian aboriginal adults, a population in which psychopathology tends to be overrepresented, hardt (2013) found that eeg alpha enhancement resulted in significant decreases in anxiety symptoms and negative affect as measured in four separate and validated personality tests. while these results seem promising, the general lack of controlled research regarding eeg feedback in treating anxiety is a major limitation in this field. one of the newest directions of eeg feedback research is focused on training to reduce or normalize attentional biases that may be pathological in anxiety disorders in particular. the attentional bias theory states that high traitanxious individuals tend to experience an exaggerated interpretation of threatrelated stimuli (bar-haim, lamy, pergamin, bakermans-kranenburg, & van ijzendoorn, 2007; eysenck & derakshan, 1997). while logemann et al. (2010) failed to show an effect of eeg feedback on attention in non-clinical inattentive and impulsive undergrads, this may have been due to design limitations such as a small sample size and ceasing the study early, which was due to ethical considerations and the lack of progress mid-way through the planned timeline. vendemia and rodriguez (2010) discovered differential eeg patterns correlated to coping style (high-anxious vs. low-anxious vs. repressors), particularly that the high-anxious group showed more overall activity throughout alpha and beta bands in response to the emotional stroop task. taking this research one step further, wang et al. (2013) considered eeg feedback and attentional biases in two groups of chinese female undergraduates, a high trait-anxiety group (hta) and a nonanxious group (na). first, in an emotional stroop task, the hta group demonstrated a significant attentional bias toward negative words manifested in a slower reaction time, associated with a longer p300 latency (measured with eventrelated potential [erp] recording). in a second experiment, eeg alpha enhancement was compared with sham-biofeedback in the hta group. critically, eeg feedback significantly reduced trait anxiety relative to sham-biofeedback, alpha amplitudes were significantly enhanced, and p300 latencies for negative words were shortened (wang et al., 2013). this is strong evidence that eeg alpha enhancement can reduce the negative attentional biases commonly found in anxiety patients, and that the mechanism by which neurofeedback affects anxiety may work at the level of attentional bias. this promising result is consistent with the theory that neurofeedback is dependent on cognitive mechanisms and affects the cognitive aspect of psychopathology, and may have major implications for the development of a neurofeedback treatment for anxiety targeting attentional bias. table 2 electroencephalography (eeg) biofeedback (bf) references sample design results bhat (2010) indian veterans, mild to severe anxiety (n=100) eeg alpha enhancement vs. anxiolytics anxiety symptoms improved in both groups; eeg-bf better for gad and females chen et al. (2013) gad (n=42), pd (n=34), and controls (n=46) gad vs. pd vs. controls in emotional stroop task with gdrelated and pd-related words gad and pd slower to respond; differential pattern of attentional bias, no evidence to suggest unique pd bias hardt and kamiya (1978) non-clinical male undergrads, low vs. high anxiety (n=16) eeg alpha enhancement vs. eeg alpha suppression, no control high anxiety group – alpha enhancement reduced state anxiety, alpha suppression increased state anxiety hardt (2013) canadian aboriginal adults (n=40) eeg alpha enhancement, no control; personality measures statistically significant decreases in anxiety and negative affect with 4 personality tests logemann et al. (2010) non-clinical high impulsivity/inattention (n=27) eeg vs. sham feedback no effect, ended early due to ethical guidelines michael et al. (2005) malaysian cardiac patients, normal to severe anxiety (n=38); many dropped out eeg beta/sensory motor rhythms training vs. dropouts (pseudocontrol) reduced anxiety vs. dropouts; minimal eeg changes, implies placebo effect plotkin and rice (1981) non-clinical male undergrads, high trait anxiety (n=10); many dropped out eeg alpha enhancement vs. suppression; expectation of success consistent both groups – significant reduction in trait anxiety; perceived success most important rice et al. (1993) gad or high subclinical anxiety (n=45) femg vs. eeg alpha enhancement vs. eeg alpha suppression vs. pseudomeditation control all treatments à sig. reduction in trait anxiety and symptoms; only eeg alpha increase à reduction in hr reactivity saldanha et al. (2007) indian, neurotic and psychosomatic disorders (n=78) psychoactive drugs vs. biofeedback (multiple method, including eeg) vs. combination all groups – reduced anxiety symptoms; combination worked best, pharmaceuticals gradually withdrawn vendemia and rodriguez (2010) non-clinical female undergrads, repressive, lowanxious, and highanxious coping styles (n=49) correlation – eeg differences related to coping styles in emotional stroop task high-anxious participants – more alpha and beta power than low-anxious; more attentional bias to negative stimuli wang et al. (2013) chinese non-clinical female undergrads, high trait-anxiety (hta) and nonanxious (n=45) eeg alpha enhancement vs. sham biofeedback in emotional stroop task hta attentional bias confirmed, associated with longer p300 latency; feedback à reduced attentional bias, anxiety scores, and p300 latency hrv as mentioned above, the use of heart rate variability (hrv) feedback for anxiety disorders is rooted in complex theory regarding the typical functioning of the autonomic nervous system and how it becomes dysfunctional. generally, the models predict that anxiety is associated with a reduced range of hrv and a low vagal tone (friedman, 2007). low vagal tone is also associated with low responsivity to the environment as well as anxiety and antisocial behavior in adolescents (beauchaine, 2001; mezzacappa et al., 1997). research investigating the effect of hrv biofeedback is shown in table 3. hrv biomarkers. evidence suggests that panic disorder is associated with a low vagal tone and high sns cardiac control, which fits with the diagnostic picture that individuals with panic disorder have less ability to inhibit the fight-orflight interaction which leads to a panic attack (valentiner et al., 2014). hrv has also been used to differentiate the autonomic profiles of individuals with panic disorder from individuals with blood phobia and nonanxious controls – “panickers” presented with the highest heart rate and the lowest heart rate variability, whereas blood phobics’ hrv was relatively more vagally mediated. this particular study utilized a stress task and a fear task to produce autonomic reactions (friedman & thayer, 1998a). there is some evidence to suggest that hrv markers can also differentiate anxiety disorders without panic. in a seminal study by thayer et al. (1996), individuals with generalized anxiety disorder presented with lower vagal activity (shorter cardiac interbeat intervals [ibis] and lower hf spectral power) than controls at rest. when individuals with gad were compared with controls in a laboratory-induced worry task, both groups demonstrated lower vagal activity, implying that this effect may be representative of the physiological correlate of persistent worry associated with anxiety (thayer et al., 1996). in a study by alvares et al. (2013), social anxiety disorder was found to be associated with reduced hrv compared to controls with a relatively large sample size (n=106). these results imply that low resting hrv may be a useful biomarker for identifying individuals with low approach-related motivation and a potentially overactive behavioral inhibition system (alvares et al., 2013). hrv biofeedback. despite the significant body of evidence to support the role of hrv in pathological anxiety, very little research examining hrv biofeedback with anxious populations exists. there is some preliminary hrv biofeedback research with medical populations (e.g. cardiac diseases), and some with clinically anxious populations, but most anxiety-related hrv biofeedback training has been conducted with nonclinical populations (wheat & larkin, 2010). in terms of the resonant frequency hrv biofeedback, the stresseraser device is popularly used to teach participants to breathe at the optimal rate (5-6 breaths per minute) in the face of a stressor (muench, 2008; prinsloo, derman, lambert, & rauch, 2013; reiner, 2008; sherlin, gevirtz, wyckoff, & muench, 2009). these results are difficult to tease apart because of the small sample sizes and general financial support from the company producing the device, which is motivated to support research that promotes device sales. however, the device seems to show some promise, and a small independent pilot has shown that breathing at a rate of 4-6 breaths per minute may increase hrv (song & lehrer, 2003). as a researcher for the stresseraser company, reiner (2008) demonstrated that the stresseraser generally decreases perceived stress and anxiety in a group of participants with anxiety disorders. decrements in anxiety related to degree of compliance in the use of the device at home in conjunction with psychotherapy (reiner, 2008). in early independent research with the device, sherlin et al. (2009) demonstrated that in only one short session of biofeedback, non-clinical participants with perceived stress demonstrated a decrease in heart rate over controls who did not experience the biofeedback. however, while both groups experienced a reduction in perceived stress, the decrease in the biofeedback group was slightly stronger (sherlin et al., 2009). in a follow-up study, prinsloo et al. (2013) further demonstrated that a short intervention with the stresseraser in a small sample of male adults with work-related stress reduced state anxiety and increased mindfulness, energized positive feelings, and basic relaxation over a control device. overall, the stresseraser seems to be a promising device, but larger independent and controlled studies must be conducted to determine the validity of effects observed. it is likely that the optimal use of this device is in conjunction with psychotherapy to address the cognitive components of anxiety. hrv biofeedback has also been investigated in the context of non-clinical performance anxiety. a well-designed and controlled study by wells, outhred, heathers, quintana, and kemp (2012) induced performance anxiety in adult musicians and compared the effects of a slow breathing intervention, a slow breathing with biofeedback intervention, and a no-intervention control. groups who received either intervention appeared to control physiological arousal, but there was no significantly different effect on arousal or self-reported anxiety. however, individuals with baseline higher anxiety in the interventions did report lower levels of state anxiety when compared with control (wells et al., 2012). these results imply that general relaxation techniques may be sufficient to reduce autonomic arousal, but this should not be generalized to clinical anxiety or even high trait-anxiety individuals, who may benefit further from biofeedback as there is more room for improvement. gruzelier, thompson, redding, brandt, and steffert (2013) compared eeg alpha/theta biofeedback and hrv freeze-framer biofeedback along with two controls to investigate the impact of these interventions on state anxiety and creativity in dance students. freeze-framer biofeedback plots the heart rate curve on a screen, and provides visual feedback to encourage optimal breathing. only the hrv biofeedback reduced self-reported anxiety among the dancers, and hrv was increased through training (gruzelier et al., 2013). utilizing hrv freeze-framer biofeedback with the addition of a cognitive affect-shifting component, henriques, keffer, abrahamson, and horst (2011) were able to detect decreases in anxiety, but this was not associated with an increase in “psychophysiological coherence.” heartmath llc produces freezeframer, and while coherence is the goal in heartmath terminology, it may not truly capture the effect of this hrv biofeedback. perhaps if henriques et al. had access to actual hrv measures, a similar effect to that in gruzelier et al. (2013) would have been observed and a reduction in anxiety would have been correlated with an increase in hrv. related biofeedback. there has also been research utilizing biofeedback with components of hrv such as heart rate and breathing. these studies generally do not refer to hrv explicitly, but may have important implications for hrv feedback research. heart rate. heart rate is clearly an important part of hrv, but it is not often targeted for hrv biofeedback in favor of slow breathing training. however, heart rate may be an important avenue of investigation of biofeedback for anxiety disorders. rupert and schroeder (1983) posited that if anxious veterans could learn to control their heart rates, they might be able to reduce their anxiety levels. those in the heart rate biofeedback group as opposed to the controls were able to nonsignificantly reduce anxiety levels, a trend which was correlated with a reduction in heart rate (rupert & schroeder, 1983). while this was a clinical group, individual diagnoses were not analyzed, and it is likely that many of these individuals presented with post-traumatic stress disorder, as they were a veteran population. thirty years later, utilizing heart rate feedback as an intervention has regained interest in the field. houser et al. (2013) demonstrated in a rural united states population of clinically anxious adults that utilizing a heart rate monitor can improve state anxiety and self-efficacy. this is a critical pilot study which justifies further research on heart rate biofeedback because it is extremely cost effective, and may be ideal for populations that are less able to travel to psychotherapy and would benefit from a self-directed intervention (houser et al., 2013). again, however, the study did not differentially analyze individual diagnoses, so it is unclear which anxiety disorders for which this treatment may be optimal. in a nonclinical population, peira, fredrickson, and pourtois (2013) demonstrated that heart rate biofeedback could temper an individual’s physiological reactivity in response to negative valence images, regardless of individual differences in baseline anxiety level or cognitive self-regulation methods. this biofeedback technique may be a helpful addition to cognitive approaches to reduce the attentional bias to negative stimuli seen in anxious individuals (peira, fredrikson, & pourtois, 2013). in a critical follow-up study, peira, pourtois, and fredrickson (2013) investigated whether heart rate regulation learned in biofeedback training can transfer to other situations without the biofeedback support. non-clinical participants responded well to heart rate biofeedback – they were able to decrease heart rate in training – and maintained regulatory improvements in response to negative valence images – decreased heart rate reactivity after training compared with pre-training assessment (peira, pourtois, & fredrikson, 2013). this research should be extended to clinical populations to assess efficacy and additional research should consider the mechanism of this type of intervention effect. breathing. finally, select research on breathing training and respiratory biofeedback may be related to hrv biofeedback (which focuses on respiration), although these studies do not discuss hrv explicitly. these studies tend to focus on panic disorder (pd) because panic attacks may be produced and maintained by reduced carbon dioxide in the blood as a result of hyperventilation. in a small sample of 4 individuals with panic disorder, meuret, wilhelm, and roth (2001) utilized a respiratory biofeedback device to increase carbon dioxide and reduce respiratory rate with breathing exercises. though this study is not controlled, and respiratory biofeedback is confounded with respiratory training, patients tended to exhibit reduced panic symptoms and increased blood carbon dioxide after intervention (meuret et al., 2001). wolburg, roth, and kim (2011) provided new evidence to support the use of breathing training to lower blood carbon dioxide, as participants with anxiety disorders were able to effectively lower or elevate blood carbon dioxide in response to a tailored treatment. this study found that pd may have specific respiratory abnormalities as previously observed, but results failed to confirm that individuals with pd have greater reactivity and slower recovery from hypoor hyperventilation (wollburg et al., 2011). thus, research on respiratory biofeedback for anxiety, in particular panic disorder, has resulted in mixed evidence at best. table 3 heart rate variability (hrv) and related biofeedback (bf) references sample design results gruzelier et al. (2013) non-clinical dance students (n=64) eeg bf alpha/theta vs. hrv bf vs. choreology (dance) class vs. notraining control no impact on dance performance; hrv bf à reduced anxiety henriques et al. (2011) non-clinical undergrads, high anxiety, interested in biofeedback (n=9, n=35) a) study 1 – computerbased hrv, no control b) study 2 – computerbased hrv, delayed treatment control overall decreases in anxiety, no sig. change to mood, general well-being, or coherence scores houser et al. (2013) anxiety disorder, rural u.s. (n=53) heart rate monitor feedback (hrm) vs. control hrm group improved sig. more in state anxiety and selfefficacy than control meuret et al. (2001) panic disorder (n=4) respiratory biofeedback, initial results so no control blood carbon dioxide increased during therapy and was maintained; reduced panic symptoms peira et al. (2013a) non-clinical undergrads (n=23) true heart rate (hr) bf (screen color changes) vs. false hr bf; hr regulation task vs. hr monitoring task; viewing images of differential valence in regulation task, true and false hr bf à improved regulation in response to neutral images; only true hr bf à improved regulation in response to negative images peira et al. (2013b) non-clinical undergrads (n=20) viewing images of differential valence without feedback preand post-intervention; heart rate (hr) bf (screen color hr bf improves hr regulation and this improvement extends to image viewing situation (novel changes) w/o images emotional context) prinsloo et al. (2013) non-clinical adult males, work-related stress (n=18) stresseraser hrv bf vs. control device; modified stroop to induce stress bf à large decrease in state anxiety; control à moderate decrease in state anxiety reiner (2008) anxiety disorder, receiving concurrent psychotherapy (n=24) stresseraser hrv bf, no control, pilot; use as adjunct to therapy majority report reduced stress, increased relaxation and positive affect; significant increase in effect with increased compliance rupert and schroeder (1983) anxiety disorder, veterans hospital (n=24) heart rate (hr) training + bf vs. hr training control group vs. adaptation (resting) control group hr bf did not significantly reduce hr or anxiety levels, but changes in hr and anxiety were positively related in the bf group sherlin et al. (2009) non-clinical adults, perceived stress (n=43) stresseraser hrv bf vs. control device bf à significantly reduced heart rate; non-sig. reduction in anxiety wells et al. (2012) non-clinical, adult musicians (n=46) computer-based hrv bf as an intervention for induced musical performance anxiety vs. slow breathing control vs. no-intervention control both slow breathing and hrv bf improved hrv in induced-anxiety situation; significant reduction in anxiety only for high traitanxiety individuals for both interventions wollburg et al. (2011) panic disorder (n=45), episodic anxiety (n=39), and nonanxious controls (n=20) bf-assisted breathing training treatment to raise blood carbon dioxide vs. bf-assisted breathing training treatment to lower blood carbon dioxide vs. wait-list control; hyperventilation and hypoventilation test pd – higher baseline respiration; lowering therapy à all groups lowered carbon dioxide, but did not effect ventilation test performance; did not see differences in pd reactivity and recovery from respiratory challenges limitations of biofeedback research there are significant limitations throughout the biofeedback literature reviewed here, many of which have already been mentioned. far too many studies used moderate to very small sample sizes, greatly limiting their sensitivity to the phenomena of interest. this is especially true in the emg literature, although perhaps it is because the emg literature mostly features clinical populations that may be more difficult to access. other studies that were able to achieve larger sample sizes were in turn limited in the scope of their conclusions because they often used non-clinical or mixed-diagnosis populations, such as many of the eeg studies. research has shown that anxiety disorders are often comorbid with other mental disorders such as depression, and while a few studies took pains to exclude anxious patients with certain other conditions, it is likely that comorbidity limited the strength of the results observed. even when the literature attempted to use a clearly diagnosed clinical population, the criteria and even the categorization of anxiety disorders changed over time such that it is difficult to compare research on dsm-ii, dsm-iii, dsm-iv and dsm-5 disorders in the event that participants may be re-classified across dsm editions. researchers with long legacies in the field are essentially forced to use different terminology and diagnostic criteria across time, hindering their ability to draw strong conclusions. in addition, many studies did not include a control group. this can be explained by ethical concerns to some degree, but other studies utilized the wait list control to strengthen their validity. one of the most blatant limitations was the inconsistency in biofeedback application (frequency, total time, modality of feedback) and existence or latency of follow-up assessment. to truly contribute to the biofeedback literature, researchers should determine a standard application of each biofeedback technique. with the variable follow-up assessment, it is unclear if any improvements seen are sustained or what kind of maintenance might be necessary. on the whole, there are severe limitations to the biofeedback research reviewed here. summary and conclusions implications there are certainly many reasons why pharmaceutical treatments for anxiety disorders are so popular with patients and clinicians today, but there are significant drawbacks that should motivate researchers to develop better treatments. medication alone may seem like an easy solution to a complex disorder, but generally has limited efficacy and many side effects. medication is only a treatment as long as the patient is taking the medication; the patient is not learning new skills. medication should be used in conjunction with skill-building therapies so that the patient can be weaned off of the drug treatment. it is especially important to promote such combined treatment because patients who stand to benefit the most from combined or alternative treatment (those with mild symptoms) tend to be treated with medication alone (heinen, 2014). further, individual differences and heterogeneity in presentation of disorders may imply that treatments can be tailored to the individual’s particular symptom complex with cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms. therapies with multiple components would most likely work in this way, and biofeedback may serve as an important component for individuals with somatic or physiological symptoms. overall, further research on biofeedback will contribute to the transition away from the disease model of psychopathology with purely pharmaceutical treatment to the complex systems learning model in which the individual patient may receive unique skill-building therapies targeted to his or her particular needs. recommendations for future research emg. as emg research seems to be largely ineffective and inconvenient, i do not believe research should continue on emg as a treatment for anxiety disorders. eeg. researchers may continue to study the use of eeg feedback to increase alpha wave activity and reduce anxiety symptoms, but it is critical that this research be conducted with representative populations and with stringent control. a failure of the previous research to show consistent results may be due to weak experimental design, and so this research should not be continued unless researchers are able to implement a rigorous protocol. the future of eeg research seems to be grounded in attentional bias theory, and as such, research should be conducted to further investigate the capacity of eeg feedback to alter attentional biases of those with clinical anxiety. in particular, the wang et al. (2013) paradigm, previously used to treat chinese undergraduate students with subclinical anxiety, should be replicated with a clinical population to determine if such a treatment could benefit individuals with disorder-level anxiety and help treat the negative attentional bias of anxiety disorders. additional research is also needed to determine the relative efficacy of complementary eeg feedback over cognitive behavioral therapies alone in terms of cost-effectiveness, time required to implement, and maintenance of effects over time. it is possible that eeg feedback effects, even if strong in the short term, will decay over time and individuals may need to regularly visit a trained professional for “touch ups.” this possibility should also be considered in studying the feasibility of eeg feedback as a treatment for anxiety. hrv. hrv feedback seems to be an extremely promising direction for developing physiological complementary treatment to traditional therapy. hrv feedback is a noninvasive treatment with minimal risk, and hrv is supported by research and theory as a measure of autonomic regulation which is central to anxiety disorders (appelhans & luecken, 2006). personal hrv feedback monitors are affordable and may be a useful addition to traditional psychotherapy as therapists often teach anxious patients relaxation techniques and instruct them to practice at home, but compliance is mixed. with a personal hrv feedback monitor, patients may be more motivated to practice, and at the very least the monitors can provide information to the therapist about how much the patient is actually practicing so that they can discuss ways to increase compliance (reiner, 2008). as very few studies on hrv feedback have utilized a clinical population, a critical next step for this line of research is to investigate the efficacy of various forms of hrv feedback to improve disorder-level anxiety. a large, independent, and controlled study of a personal hrv monitor like the stresseraser with a clinical population would not only advance understanding of this particular device but also help researchers ask more specific questions like which individuals and disorders may benefit the most from hrv feedback. further, heart rate biofeedback like that demonstrated in peira et al. (2013) should also be applied to a clinical population to understand how it may help individuals learn anxiety management skills that can generalize to daily life outside the therapist’s office. general recommendations researchers should strive to use stringent methodology utilizing large clinical samples with controls to produce informative research that may demonstrate the utility of biofeedback in treating anxiety disorders to a satisfactory degree. it is important to consider feasibility when developing new biofeedback technology, so research should focus on techniques that could easily transfer to a clinical setting. additionally, to compete with the monumental funding of the pharmaceutical companies, foundations and other sources of research funding should grant financial support to research groups seeking to provide a lower-risk alternative. conclusions biofeedback treatments for anxiety disorders are generally promising, especially if future research can redress previous methodological limitations. while emg feedback seems to be less effective than other treatments for anxiety, both eeg feedback and hrv feedback are potential avenues for impactful and cost-effective treatment. biofeedback therapies may be useful in conjunction with traditional psychotherapy for anxiety disorders, as many patients seem open to utilizing alternative treatments if they are covered by health insurance (kessler et al., 2001). further, cost-effective biofeedback may be a beneficial addition to traditional school counseling for children as children often experience school-related anxiety and may respond particularly well to computer-based interventions which feel like games (matuszek & rycraft, 2003; wenck, leu, & d’amato, 1996). references alvares, g. a., quintana, d. s., kemp, a. h., van zwieten, a., balleine, b. w., hickie, i. b., & guastella, a. j. 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(2011). effects of breathing training on voluntary hypoand hyperventilation in patients with panic disorder and episodic anxiety. applied psychophysiology and biofeedback, 36(2), 81–91. doi:10.1007/s10484-011-9150-5 1 appropriating tenement dublin: seán o’casey’s juno and the paycock on the 1990s abbey theatre stage amelia mrozinski, graduate english program often lauded as a social realist who blended melodrama with the harsh reality of early twentieth-century dublin life, seán o’casey wrote numerous plays that were performed at the abbey, ireland’s national theatre. juno and the paycock, the second play in o’casey’s “dublin trilogy,” provides a brutally honest representation of the unfavorable housing conditions in 1920s tenement dublin, as well as the tragic consequences (and, to o’casey, the pointless bloodshed) of the political realities of the irish civil war. the play, which initially premiered in march of 1924, was performed frequently through the 1920s, 1930s, and into the early 1940s. performances then waned through 1980. after an almost 20-year hiatus, the abbey revived juno in both 1997 (in july) and 1998 (in march), during ireland’s time of unprecedented economic prosperity and cultural revival known as the celtic tiger. why revive juno, a play that depicts some of the darkest truths of ireland’s past, during a time characterized by booming tourism and public optimism? a close analysis of the abbey’s archival materials available for these two productions (1997 and 1998) yields fruitful insights into the ways the abbey subtly and not so subtly altered o’casey’s tragedy. in several crucial ways, o’casey’s juno was misrepresented and edited to appeal to an emerging celtic tiger middle class of theatregoers who wanted to believe juno characterized a world that no longer existed in ireland. the details of the set design, the prompt script edits, and the careful construction of the program booklets reveal that the abbey productions worked to romanticize and exploit the brutal reality o’casey wrote about for the sake of alluring an audience who wanted to forget, at least in some measure, dublin’s dark past. 2 before turning to an analysis of the archival material for the two juno productions, it is important to outline what was happening during the celtic tiger during the 1990s and early 2000s. so named after the four original “tiger” economies in east asia (hong kong, singapore, south korea, and taiwan), ireland’s celtic tiger era was deemed a “miracle economy” (kirby 24, 31). ireland’s economy grew on average seven and a half percent per year, and some years in the late 1990s saw ten percent growth (kirby 2). additionally, income rates rose 125% between 1987 and 2005 (kirby 32). along with an income boom came a housing boom: privately owned housing grew from about 60% in 1961 to about 77% in 2002, a figure political theorist peadar kirby calls “one of the highest rates in western europe” (61). economic and housing prosperity brought along with it strong public optimism and a growing tourism industry utilized a variety of telling advertising campaigns. the public believed the days of widespread poverty and destitution were “gone forever during the golden years of the celtic boom” (kirby 2). the rapidity with which ireland’s economy grew created public hype around ireland’s success, putting ireland on the map internationally as an example of prosperity and change of economic fortune. kirby aptly puts it that 1990s ireland was internationally considered a “showpiece of globalisation” (3). the country’s national image was transformed. economist peter clinch, writing before the 2008 economic crash, wrote that ireland went from “being a country to get out of to a country to get into” (24). this international and intercontinental appeal of ireland led to increased tourism and a concomitant advertising push to depict a certain “image” of ireland to prospective visitors. interestingly, the tourism slogans created by the irish tourist board, bord fáilte, centered on three themes: a romanticized idea of ireland’s past, heightened sentimentality of travelling, and a type of escapism that visitors could achieve by visiting. in 1993, bord fáilte created a national 3 tourism slogan for ireland: “‘ireland: the ancient birthplace of good times’” (clancy 296). in 1996, the slogan was “‘ireland: an emotional experience,’” and tv ads for ireland often used the catchphrase “‘ireland: live a different life’” (clancy 299). this visit-to-escape mentality was central to the celtic tiger tourism push. political scholar michael clancy helpfully points out that bord fáilte conducted a survey in the late 1990s finding that europeans viewed ireland as a “‘saved country and culture undisturbed by european history — a mythical island — a real and authentic destination that could offer escapism and freedom’” (298). as will be demonstrated in the following analysis of the archival material for the juno productions, the changes made between the original production of juno and the two 1990s versions work to do the same things these slogans did: romanticize the past, create an emotional (nostalgic) experience, and offer escapism. finally, the celtic tiger brought with it an emerging, professionalized middle class. between 1991 and 2002, there was a “dramatic increase” in the number of people holding managerial and office jobs (fahey 72). many people were transitioning from the laboring class to professional, white collar work. according to some economists, the data indicate a “steady” professionalization of ireland’s job makeup (kirby 57). crucially, those in the growing professional class were the ones most likely to go to the theater. the theater gave this emerging middle class the opportunity to escape and feel luxurious, much like the tourism slogans of the mid-1990s “invited tourists to play the role of aristocrat” (clancy 296-7). ironically, however, there are data that indicate the income divide only worsened through the celtic tiger era. in his 2002 book, clinch argues that “increasing relative income poverty rates and stubbornly high levels of income inequality in ireland are just two indications that such changes do not mean that poverty and marginalisation are curiosities from the past” (84-5). though those in the less 4 severe levels of poverty became slightly less poor during the celtic tiger, the numbers for the very poorest group of citizens only got worse. the poorest group of irish people, those who earn just forty percent of the average income, rose from about two and a half percent of the population in 1994 to more than three percent in 1997 (kirby 51). the oversight of ireland’s poor during this time period, unfortunately, was nothing new for the nation. during the early to mid-1900s, the poor of dublin experienced what was considered at the time the worst slum housing in europe. many, including city architects and planners, overlooked the depravity of the slums, even to the point of multiple deadly building collapses. dublin was notorious for its tenement housing, defined as a building that has two separate living spaces on the same floor (henrietta). many formerly extravagant, single-family georgian homes built in the 1700s were subdivided beginning in the 1880s to accommodate an influx of people to the city. tenements comprised 40% of dublin housing in 1880s, the same decade o’casey was born (murray 18). by 1914, two-thirds of these multifamily buildings—also known as “slumlands”—were considered unfit for habitation (murray 18, kearns 8). the houses, some of which contained more than 100 people, contained a single toilet for communal use, a single set of stairs (often in disrepair and without a handrail), and resulting deplorable sanitary conditions for residents (henrietta). one such tenement dwelling, 14 henrietta street, contained 100 people from 17 families at its peak in 1911 (henrietta). rooms were small and crowded, sometimes with twelve or more people occupying a single “unit,” which could be just one room divided into two smaller rooms by a simple partition that didn’t reach the ceiling (much like office cubicles). 5 the black tape on the wall represents the height of a tenement partition. note how the partition doesn’t even reach the top of the door. photo taken by author, amelia mrozinski, from 14 henrietta street pre-launch guided tour. 6 jul.–8 sep. 2018, 14 henrietta street, dublin. this is exactly the world that o’casey’s juno and the paycock depicts, and is the world in which o’casey was enmeshed. though it is a contested issue, o’casey himself claimed to be born in a tenement (murray 3). he also lived in a tenement while writing juno in the 1920s (murray 137). juno tells the tragedy of a poor, tenement-dwelling family plagued by the economic and political hardships of 1922 dublin. juno, the mother and primary breadwinner for her family, struggles against her husband, captain boyle, a drunk who refuses to work and constantly reminisces about his fictional glory days. the family thinks they come into money, spend on credit, and end up poorer than they started, with a home bereft of furniture. juno and boyle’s son, johnny, who was once a member of a nationalist group but became an informer to protect himself, suffers immensely from traumatic anxiety and ends up being captured and killed by fellow nationalists. in the end, juno and her unmarried and pregnant daughter, mary, leave the tenement to forge a life of their own without captain boyle. 6 the political backdrop of juno, which takes place in the same year as the start of the irish civil war, is something on which o’casey had strong opinions. o’casey was outraged at the violence and viciousness of the war. he believed that the violence of the war was senseless and crushing; he wrote that “‘such brutality demoralises a country’” (o’casey, in murray 148). he told lady gregory in 1924 (the same year as juno premiered) that the 1916 easter rising was a “terrible mistake” and meant “nothing but confusion” (murray 102). christopher murray writes in his seminal biography of o’casey that juno was o’casey’s “humanistic deploring of waste and suffering” (2). the character johnny is the ultimate representation of the waste o’casey saw in the war’s violence, especially for young men. the archival materials that address the initial reception of juno in 1924 indicate that o’casey’s political message and the disturbing social reality of the play was what stood out to audiences. spectators seemed to understand the poignant images in the play that reflected the country’s tragic situation, both political and economic. abbey architect and avid theater critic joseph holloway wrote that at the play’s premiere, audience members “were gripped by the awful actuality of the incidents enacted so realistically and unassumingly before them” (holloway, in ayling 83). in an archived handwritten collected of publicity documents that contains early reviews of the play, theater critic a.e. malone said in 1929 that “juno and the paycock is modern tragedy at its best, almost at its greatest” (publicity 6). on opening night, the audience called the cast back to the stage so many times that “in the end the exhausted stagehands left the curtain up for good’” (murray 151). the audience’s appreciation of the politics of the play seems also to have persisted into the play’s later history into the 1960s: in 1961, reviewer katharine worth wrote that “[in the final scene, the furniture-removal men] leave 7 behind them a dismantled stage which stands there as a physical symbol of a disintegrating family and a disintegrating country” (publicity 6). all of this changed when the play was put back on the abbey stage by director ben barnes in 1997 and 1998. starting as early as the late 1960s, o’casey’s political radicalism started to be “largely ignored,” and his plays were commodified and made “available as spectacular entertainment” (murray 441). in this way, juno was repurposed for the sake of nostalgic entertainment. indeed, “‘while there [was] growing acceptance of o’casey’s radical reinvention of the stage, there [was] less willingness to deal with o’casey’s ideological commitments’” (bernice schrank in pierse 51). key changes obscured the reality behind the play and turned it into something more grandiose, emotional, escapist, and romantic than it was originally intended to be. the abbey’s ample archival materials for both the 1997 and 1998 productions—including set design information, prompt scripts, and, most incriminating, the production programs—provide unambiguous evidence that o’casey’s messages were softened to appeal to a group wearing rose-colored (or, in this case, celtic tiger-colored) glasses who wanted to see dublin’s history as something positive, sentimental, and far ago. the 1997 and 1998 production sets, designed by monica frawley, gave the impression of a more impressive and open space than what an actual tenement would look like. the 1997 set included a massive, winding staircase at stage right that stretched a total of four stories from the top to the bottom in the pit (“set designs” 1997). 8 from abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 09 jul 1997 [set designs]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 20_sd_0001, p2. the staircase was utilized several times throughout the play: for a neighbor’s funeral procession, for the furniture removal men, and for johnny’s dramatic exit to his death. this staircase was made even more grandiose and imposing in the 1998 production (“set designs” 1998). from abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 12 mar 1998 [set designs]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 24_sd_0001, p2. 9 its inclusion on stage, however, indicates rewrite of the reality of tenement housing. in places that were so overcrowded, no space would be wasted with an additional staircase. as mentioned before, there was just one staircase in the back of the house (originally intended for servants), and the sweeping georgian staircases to the front of the house were removed to provide two extra rooms (henrietta). the 1997 and 1998 sets also featured two types of windows—one at the top of the stairs, and one upstage. one of these windows, a simple double-hung window, was typical for georgian architecture. the other, however, was a palladian window with a dramatic, arched glass top, which was not used in georgian homes (rosenzweig). aside from the staircase, the stage itself was kept quite open, with no partitioning that characterized tenement housing aside from a small sheet upstage. again, this is unrealistic. though the set design documents from early productions of juno have been lost and were likely destroyed in the abbey’s 1951 fire, it is quite unlikely that early versions included these types of elevated architectural features that frawley included. regrettably, these added features worked to give the impression that tenement dwellers had vastly more space than they did in reality, that they lived in a romantic, old building that retained its former features from its glory days, and that they had mobility to physically move about their roomy dwelling. these are dangerously misleading architectural statements to make, considering the play was written to depict the horrors of 1922 dublin life. the theater critics at the time who disapproved of the set pointed to the ways in which the set, and the production more generally, abstracted the reality behind tenement life to a certain extent, but not enough to move juno entirely outside of realism. writing for the critix, mary carr said “the characters appear less restricted than is normally allowed for within the close confines of tenement life” ([press cuttings] 1997, 9). second opinion’s fintan o’toole pointed 10 out an important problem with the set and realism of some of the characters, particularly boyle and his friend, joxer: “barnes [the director] too has sometimes moved away from a sense of the reality of the world in which the play happens,” so much so that “it never manages to make dramatic sense, to fuse into a single, compelling movement towards tragedy” ([press cuttings] 1997, 27). in a radio interview, playwright vincent woods remarked that the characters “seemed very well fed and affluent for tenement dublin of 1922,” indicating that there was an issue with costuming and choreography as well as set design ([press cuttings] 1997, 18). some critics, perhaps not very familiar with tenement life or juno’s message, praised the set’s inventiveness: patrick brennan from the examiner called the setting a “sacred place,” said that it had a “tenement-baroque feel to it that captures a paradoxical aura of poverty and sanctity,”1 and wrote that the staircase situates the characters in the “midst of an ironic heaven and hell” ([press cuttings] 1997, 15). emer o’kelly of the irish times wrote that the staircase was “wonderfully emotive” because it literally dwarfed family’s life and the problems that finally consume them ([press cuttings] 1998, 3). though these critics liked the set, the issue they overlook is that the audience is given an unclear impression of the reality of the characters’ inhabited space. they are not given enough clarity on whether the play is supposed to be realism or something more abstract. what the set does instead is appear “sacred” and ethereal, prioritizing an ambiguous emotional response over accuracy. this does no justice to o’casey’s original messaging. minor prompt script alterations also indicate that the production softened the unpalatable historical reality of 1922 dublin. there are not many changes between the 1997 prompt script and the 1998 one, but one stands out as crucially important. when boyle introduces mrs. madigan to joxer, the line where he calls madigan an “oul back-parlour neighbor” is changed to 11 him calling her an “oul top floor neighbour” ([prompt script] 1998). this, paired with the even more lavish staircase than the 1997 version, obviously works to enhance the idea that neighbors are not as close as they would have been in reality. it also implies that each family had an entire floor to themselves, which contradicts the very definition of a tenement as having two or more living spaces on a single floor. another significant prompt script change that occurs in both the 1997 and 1998 versions is the omission of a few of johnny’s lines where he strongly expresses anxiety over the political situation. this minimizes the violence of the political reality that forms the foundation of juno, and also minimizes johnny’s symptoms of trauma. for example, when a strange man in a trench coat (presumably a nationalist spying on johnny) knocks at their door, johnny’s line, “who’s that at the door; who’s that at the door? what gave that knock—d’ye yous hear me—are yous dear of dhrunk or what?” is shortened to “what’s that? are yous deaf or dhrunk or what?” ([prompt script] 1997/1998, 20). later, when johnny thinks the nationalists are at the door (but in reality, it’s just mrs. madigan and joxer), his line “sit here, sit here, mother…between me an’ the door” is changed to “stay mother, stay here” ([prompt script] 1997/1998, 38). these changes lessen the imminence of the physical threat on johnny’s life and simultaneously make him appear like he cares more about his mother than he did in the original script. the tone of the brutality of war and the way it tears apart families is gone with the change in the line. this is disloyal to o’casey, the man who firmly believed that the brutality of war “‘demoralises a country’” (murray 148). additionally, when the nationalist who takes johnny away says to him, “boyle, no man can do enough for ireland!,” both prompt scripts note that a drum beat will start, and restart at the end of the act (act ii) ([prompt script] 1997/1998, 50). this drum adds a superficial patriotic quality to the play: johnny’s true pain caused by the war is reduced, while 12 the “signs” of national loyalty in the play are heightened. in the 1998 production, when johnny thinks the man is at the door, his line “shut the door, shut the door, quick, for god’s sake!” is taken out entirely ([prompt script] 1998, 38). this indicates the 1998 production worked to soften the political tone of juno even more than the 1997 production did. the archival materials that most implicate the 1990s productions in appropriating o’casey, however, are the two program booklets. various components in the programs, including the graphics, ads, and program introduction notes, work to situate the play as simultaneously historic (though inaccurately historic) and romanticized. the programs’ overall designs emphasize the historic quality of the play: both productions feature a page on which the 1924 version of the program overlays half the page, while the other half lists all the past productions of juno ([programme] 1997/1998, 8). the next page includes several pictures from the 1979 production of juno, which was part of the abbey’s 75th anniversary celebration ([programme] 1997/1998, 9). the centerfold page of both programs displays bold, unmissable text telling audiences that “the play is set in dublin tenement. the year is 1922” ([programme] 1997/1998, 11). from abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 09 jul 1997 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0020_mpg_01, p1-24. 13 this centerfold also interrupts the cast and crew biographies, giving a sense that the play’s historicity and setting is of more importance than the people in it. finally, the first sentence of director ben barnes’s biography states that he studied history at university college dublin (ucd) ([programme] 1997/1998, 13). for an accomplished director who is well beyond his college years, this seems a suspect thing to emphasize about him. all of these history-focused details emphasize a theatrical tradition that underpins juno and focus on the fact that this play is a revival situated in a long-ago and far-away history. again, this creates a false distance between theatregoers and the brutality of dublin’s past. as income data demonstrate, appalling poverty was still very much a part of celtic tiger ireland. in both years’ programs, the included advertisements paint the picture of an aspirational, artistically united, irish-as-can-be middle class that fits with celtic tiger messaging but downplays the crumbling and fractured society o’casey represents in juno. included in the programs’ pages are ads for nationwide companies like the bank of ireland and raidió teilifís éireann (a national broadcasting company). also advertised is vhi health and travel insurance, which targets both tourists and irish theatregoers who have the means to travel ([programme] 1997/1998). travel and tourism were of paramount importance to the celtic tiger era, so an ad like this indicates the abbey was playing to the economic messaging of the time. an ad for an foras áiseanna saothair (fás), the training and employment authority in ireland, talks about ireland as “we” and the fás’s “role in the continuing development of irish art” ([programme] 1997/1998). this type of patriotic, united, singular messaging about ireland and its art aligns with celtic tiger messaging, like the slogans that bord fáilte created for tourism ads. lastly, it is interesting to note that murphy’s irish stout is advertised in both years’ programs. the 14 company, which is actually owned by heineken, brews what is considered a “craft” stout and was, at its market peak in the 1990s, guinness’s top competitor (bell). again, it’s obvious the program and ad creators were trying to generate a sense of “true” ireland and “true” irish art, even though the ads were perpetuating false and overly simplified ideas about the nation. the attempt to “rebrand” o’casey is very overt in both programs’ introductory notes. the 1997 introductory note was written by kevin kearns, leading authority on the history of dublin tenements and author of dublin tenement life. kearns’s message, while it does admit to some of the desolate reality of tenement life, romanticizes and softens aspects of 1920s dublin. for example, he aptly notes that the “‘human piggeries’” existed “conspicuously throughout dublin as physical blight, political scandal and moral outrage” ([programme] 1997, 4). he also references the squalid living environment of tenement dwellers: “prevalent poverty, large families, unemployment, illness and confinement created a stressful environment” ([programme] 1997, 4). yet there is also huge effort made, either by kearns or, one cynically hopes, an uncredited abbey employee who edited the introduction, to give a positive spin on the situation. the note painfully and repeatedly emphasizes the resilience of the human spirit: “yet in dramatic contrast to this dismal image of tenement life there existed a marvelously vibrant, close-knit community in which the poor found great security and even happiness;” those in tenements were “‘extraordinarily happy for people who were so savagely poor’” ([programme] 1997, 4). the introduction also states that “amidst the banter and badgering there was usually genuine affection and love” ([programme] 1997, 4). reading juno, it is hard to see genuine love from boyle or joxer, who are the ultimate sources of banter and badgering. the closest line we get from boyle that indicates any sort of affection for his family is when he calls his daughter “lovely,” a line that is in fact taken out of the 1998 prompt script (harrington 245; [prompt script] 1998, 84). 15 what is particularly troubling about kearns’s introduction is the way it ends: “those elderly dubliners who today recall being born and reared in the old tenements hold poignant memories of a bygone world” ([programme] 1997, 4). this production was staged in 1997; the world of the tenements was not really something “bygone.” in kearns’s own book on tenements, he notes that that it the housing act, which focused on slum clearance, wasn’t passed until 1932 (21). the process was tedious. most tenements were cleared by the end of the 1950s, but many stayed in tenements through the 1970s, “especially on the neglected northside of the city around north great george’s street and mountjoy square” (21). 14 henrietta street, located on the north side, still had 6 families totaling 29 people living in it in 1970, and didn’t close its doors until 1979 (henrietta). certainly, then, it would not be just a handful of “elderly dubliners” who would remember the tenements. calling their memories of the slums “poignant” also evokes a touchingly emotional aspect of the tenements, which effectively romanticizes the brutal struggle to survive. kearns concludes by calling juno an “inspiring chronicle of struggle, survival, and triumph of the human spirit” ([programme] 1997, 4). the abbey thus re-casts o’casey’s tragedy, initially focused on representing the reality of poverty and horror of war, into a sugarcoated story of resilience and community. o’casey was, as murray says, a “commentator on living conditions” (1). he was not, as kearns’s introduction tries to make him, a motivational speaker about overcoming adversity. disturbingly, kearns’s introductory note is completely taken out in the 1998 program and replaced by a note written by medb ruane of the irish times. ruane doesn’t comment at all on the tenement aspect of the play, instead giving a cursory, saccharine treatment of its underlying political context. this indicates the abbey wanted to distance the production even more from its intended reality. as previously stated, the set’s staircase was made more physically central and 16 impressive in the 1998 production, meaning the physical reality was also further abstracted from what would have been authentic in 1922. ruane ignores the tremendous external pressures of the play’s characters (the political pressure on johnny, the financial pressure on juno, the domestic pressure on mary, etc.): “here, the action is confined to a domestic space, which never changes. so abstract is the outside world that its public concerns become irrelevant…” she then goes so far as to state in o’casey’s time, “what counted were the truths of the heart” ([programme] 1998, 4). this is so far from the truth of the play,2 which is about the effects of the outside world—war, political turmoil, and proliferative alcoholism included—on domestic space. like kearns, ruane brands juno as a story of resilience: “so also must [o’casey] bear witness to that deep human impulse which somehow survives such assaults” ([programme] 1998, 4). ruane has a misinformed view of o’casey’s politics. she tells juno’s audience that “whatever the politics of salon or street, o’casey might say, we are all in the bloody world together” ([programme] 1998, 4). o’casey was skeptical of ideology, yes, but was certainly not a pacifist who was sympathetic to all persons involved in conflict. he was very stubborn about his views on the irish civil war as something wasteful and wrong. over time, his stubbornness meant that he separated himself from all major political groups: “having isolated himself from the main-stream of irish nationalism o’casey proceeded to alienate himself from the ica […] one sees here […] on o’casey’s part […] an unfortunate tendency to push matters to an extreme, refuse to compromise, and leave himself no alternative but to drop out” (murray 89). thus when ruane concludes that o’casey was trying to say that “it’s not ideology that saves you, but simple statements of objective human compassion,” she distressingly ignores the truth of o’casey’s tenacious personal convictions ([programme] 1998, 4). even more than the 1997 17 introductory note by kearns, the 1998 note works to abstract o’casey’s real views and the notso-distant historical reality of the play. before concluding, it is crucial to emphasize the disparity between o’casey’s personal politics and the softened politics of 1990s juno by way of revisiting and elaborating on o’casey’s staunch affiliations with the working class and strained relationship with the middle class. a man who lived in tenements and worked for years on the railways, o’casey was a constant champion of the poor, working class of dublin. he was a passionate, then temperate, nationalist, because his top priority was representing and working for the rights of the laboring class. he joined the gaelic league in 1906 and changed his name, which was john casey, to the gaelicized “seán ó cathasaigh” (murray 66). in 1914, he drafted the constitution for the nationalist irish citizen army and helped design its flag with the plough and the stars (murray 82, 90). he did not, however, take part in the easter rising because he viewed it as meaningless bloodshed. he ended up distancing himself from the ira-associated sinn féin movement because he felt they sidelined work for the rights of the laboring class (murray 104). he also separated himself from the nationalist group the irish volunteers, who he viewed as not committed to the working class and instead having a “bourgeois agenda” (murray 89). in his early working years, he was unambiguously working class and, as he became increasingly political as the years went on, a ceaseless advocate for the proletariat. without appropriating and minimizing o’casey himself, then, it is not possible to stage his play to appeal to a celtic tiger middle class as something escapist and romantic. murray puts it perfectly when summarizing o’casey’s affiliation with the laboring class: “no blank slate he, to be inscribed by bourgeois conformism” (5). that, unfortunately, is what the abbey did to him in 1997 and 1998—forced his work to conform to the bourgeois agenda of celtic tiger ireland. 18 *** in a 1997 radio interview about juno, ucd women’s studies professor alva smith said, “i feel very disappointed that we were given a summer version of a sense of juno” ([press cuttings] 1997, 21). this was echoed by dubliners theater critic frank shouldice, who entitled his 1997 review of juno as a question: “summer stage for tourism theatre?” ([press cuttings] 1997, 38). the 1997 revival did premiere at the height of summer tourism in july, during a high point in the celtic tiger era. it is clear that the abbey worked in a variety of ways to soften o’casey’s messaging to appeal to a touristic audience who wanted an emotional, romantic experience. the messaging, however, was only further muted in the 1998 version, which did not premiere in high tourism season. as it turns out, the abbey forcibly tailored o’casey’s work, no matter the season. tenement life wasn’t something emotionally touching, and certainly wasn’t something o’casey instrumentalized to glorify the resiliency of the human spirit. kevin kearns himself transcribed various oral accounts of tenement dwellers, one of whom bluntly stated, “‘they weren’t the good old days, they were brutal days” (kearns 3-4, emphasis original). analysis of archival material for these two productions reveals that juno was turned into a subdued drama to appeal to a burgeoning middle class as well as to visiting tourists looking for a bord fáilteslogan-approved escapist experience. reviving a “20th century classic,” as it was termed by the irish tatler in 1997, then, isn’t as uncomplicated as celtic tiger-era abbey tried to make it ([press cuttings] 34). having deliberately minimized juno’s original radicalism, the abbey reinforced an imagined distance dublin had from its harrowing past of poverty. this approach is diametrically opposite to what o’casey wanted; he himself wrote in 1955 that “[t]o give a lasting sunny disposition in poverty 19 is not possible; the whole damned, rotten system must go, before the good word always comes to the tongue, [and] the smile shines forth from the eye” (o’casey, in ayling 86). the abbey sacrificed o’casey and his characters in juno for the sake of the celtic tiger economic boom, and left audiences with a warped view of ireland that fit with the sunny tourism messaging of the time. it would be interesting, once the materials are added to the abbey’s archive,3 to renew this analysis by looking at the production of juno put on the abbey stage in september 2011, three years after the nation’s economic crash. 20 notes 1. ironically, though the baroque and georgian periods of architecture did overlap, the georgian period extended much further into the 1800s while baroque was out of fashion by the end of the 1700s. brennan’s comment doesn’t really carry historic accuracy. 2. ruane also states that o’casey “kicked against the grain” when making juno the breadwinner and bread-baker for her family ([programme] 1998, 4). in reality, women were often the head of household in tenements; one-third of women on 14 henrietta street were the main source of income for families (henrietta). ruane’s factual error here only further discredits her authority on writing about o’casey and juno. 3. as of august 2018, the abbey has not digitally archived any material for the 2011 production. 21 works cited 14 henrietta street pre-launch guided tour. 6 jul.–8 sep. 2018, 14 henrietta street, dublin. abbey theatre. correspondence: publicity / public affairs re:correspondence and publicity documents regarding the sean o'casey centenary. 1979-1979. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, adm_00001215, p1-152. abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 09 jul 1997 [press cuttings]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0020_pc_0001, p1-39. abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 09 jul 1997 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0020_mpg_01, p1-24. abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 09 jul 1997 [prompt script]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0020_ps_0001, p1-72. abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 09 jul 1997 [set designs]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 20_sd_0001, p1-8. abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 12 mar 1998 [press cuttings]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0024_pc_0001, p1-9. abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 12 mar 1998 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0024_mpg_01, p1-25. abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 12 mar 1998 [prompt script]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0024_ps_0001, p1-85. abbey theatre. juno and the paycock, 12 mar 1998 [set designs]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 24_sd_0001, p1-10. bell, emily. “the irish stout you don’t know but should.” vinepair, 16 mar. 2016, vinepair.com/wine-blog/murphys-the-other-stout-beer/. accessed 27 august 2018. 22 clancy, michael. “re-presenting ireland: tourism, branding and national identity in ireland.” journal of international relations and development, vol. 14, no. 3, 2011, pp. 281-308. clinch, peter et al. after the celtic tiger: challenges ahead. the o’brien press, 2002. holloway, joseph. “untitled letter.” o’casey: the dublin trilogy, edited by ronald ayling, macmillan press ltd, 1985, pp. 83. kearns, kevin c. dublin tenement life: an oral history. 1994. gill & macmillan, 2006. kirby, peadar. celtic tiger in collapse: explaining the weakness of the irish model. 2002. palgrave macmillan, 2010. murray, christopher. seán o’casey: writer at work. gill & macmillan, 2004 o’casey, sean. “a retrospect.” o’casey: the dublin trilogy, edited by ronald ayling, macmillan press ltd, 1985, pp. 86. o’casey, sean. “juno and the paycock.” modern and contemporary irish drama, 2nd ed., edited by john p. harrington, w.w. norton & company, 2009, pp. 197-246. o’casey, sean. “on juno.” o’casey: the dublin trilogy, edited by ronald ayling, macmillan press ltd, 1985, pp. 86. pierse, michael. writing ireland’s working class: dublin after o’casey. palgrave macmillan, 2011. rosenzweig, eric. “know your window styles: 10 popular designs.” bob vila: tried, true, trustworthy home advice, 16 july 2012, bobvila.com/slideshow/know-your-windowstyles-10-popular-designs-3718#single-sash-window-types. accessed 27 august 2018. microsoft word nicholas manai the truth lies       “the truth lies”: the affordances of secrets in caleb williams nicholas manai english speaking to the inter-relatedness of secrets and lies in her twin book-length investigations, sissela bok concludes that both are “rooted in the most basic experience of what it means to live as one human being among others, needing both to hide and to share, both to seek out and to beware of the unknown” (xvi). for bok, the question of how a person lives in society is fundamentally a choice between what information to conceal and reveal, when to lie or evade, and when to be completely honest. these were not questions that would have made sense to william godwin in 1793. in the first edition of political justice, he writes that due to the moral obligation of sincerity, “i am not empowered to conceal any thing i know of myself” (239). in godwin’s early system, a person loses the agency of deciding what secrets to keep because “real sincerity deposes me from all authority over the statement of facts,” making it inconsequential whether sincerity contributes to one’s “honour” or “disgrace” (239). part of the reason the fundamental tension bok foresees between honesty and social interaction is not a part of political justice (1793) is because, as a political treatise that makes almost no recourse to narrative, characterization, or historical precedent, it is not encumbered by the nuances of living “as one human being among others.” while critics gary handwerk and evan radcliffe have already demonstrated the ways godwin’s political system is corrupted through narrative when he sets out to write the novel caleb williams a year later, and ewha chung has demonstrated truth’s centrality to the novel’s conception of virtue, this essay will shift focus onto the ways that the prejudice of public opinion that attaches to caleb’s name after he flees mr. falkland’s estate complicates the absolute injunction against concealment in the 1793 edition of political justice. 2      caleb’s is forced to live as a fugitive from the lawi after he learns that his friend and employer, mr. falkland, committed murder years ago and let two innocent people hang for his crime. his flight from falkland, which forces caleb to represent his character to new people and escape public opinion’s consensus that he is an insolent and ungrateful servant to his honourable master, demonstrates that prejudice forecloses the opportunity for individual judgment. the novel’s depiction of the affordances of secrets marks a turning point for godwin’s opinion of sincerity, which he had previously believed was immediately identifiable in a person’s manner or tone of voice and would lead inexorably to the truth. despite the centrality of self-damaging secrets, and the accompanying curiosity directed towards their concealment, there are very few overt lies in caleb williams. although the godwin who wrote political justice (1793) would have rejected any statement that is intentionally misleading, because it conceals the whole truth, thomas carson’s definition of a lie, set forth in his philosophical investigation, lying and deception: theory and practice (2010), helps to illuminate the importance of secrets, and how they differ from lies, in godwin’s novel. carson writes that a lie is “a deliberate false statement that the speaker warrants to be true” (3). carson’s definition excludes disguise, partial truths, and even statements which willfully obscure the truth because “a lie must be a false statement” (3). according to carson, even when a person misleads another, but does not actually utter a falsehood, no lie takes place. therefore, when caleb initially withholds his name from the old man who has been instructed to guard him, or withholds the entirety of his fugitive narrative from laura, he does not, strictly speaking, lie. added to this list are the numerous occasions caleb obscures his appearance to hide his identity. while caleb says, in one of these moments, “my life was a lie,” carson’s work helps highlight that, actually, he does not utter a falsehood, even though he is being deceptive (cw, 353). 3      instead of living a lie, caleb is protecting a secret, one that becomes continuously more contentious: his name. this distinction will prove to be important because while bok takes “concealment, or hiding, to be the defining trait of secrecy,” she also proves that “all secrecy is not meant to deceive” (7).ii at those moments in the narrative when caleb keeps his name hidden, his name has already become inextricably attached to a prejudice that makes him, in the eyes of the public, a “monster” (cw, 345). believing in the virtue of independent judgment like a good godwinian, caleb has confidence that there is no reason to lie about his character in these episodes; that if he can represent his true nature to the world without prejudice, he will be exonerated and accepted by the men and women he meets. in a world where the prejudice attached to his name would rob caleb of independent judgment, however, he learns that keeping a secret, or concealing the whole truth, is the only way for him to present himself as he believes he really is, the only way for him to be sincere. keeping secrets, caleb williams seems to suggest, is an inextricable part of giving a true account of one’s character.   the decision to hide his name from the narrative he tells is a personal decision that highlights both caleb’s private sense of self, and his dependence on social relationality. caleb’s use of secrets to mediate his interactions speaks to d.a. miller’s belief that “secrecy…is a mode whose ultimate meaning lies in the subject’s formal insistence that he is radically inaccessible to the culture that would otherwise entirely determine him” (195, c.f. bugg 112). a large part of the reason solitude appears as such a powerful force in caleb’s and falkland’s narratives is because it would allow them the ability to elude surveillance without lying. solitude is emotionally damaging in caleb williams because it is devoid of human kindness and sympathy,iii flinging the individual back into society with the desire to be known, but not have their narrative “entirely determine[d]” by the surveillance and judgment of public opinion. while nicolle jordan’s essay 4      “the promise and frustration of plebeian public opinion in caleb williams” successfully argues that public opinion influences the novel’s plotting, and that godwin’s representation of the power of the lower classes was tied to historical developments concerning the public’s role in the formation of political policy, public opinion also exerts an influence over godwin’s concern for what bugg calls, “the lived experience of individuals” (112).iv as quentin bailey notes in an essay exploring the historical innovations of the police force at the time of the novel’s conception, “the 1792 middlesex justices act…allow[ed] constables, watchmen, or other interested parties to arrest [and have] summarily imprisoned” suspicious looking persons and vagabonds to curtail crime and even reform potential future criminals (537). the extended reach of a proxy police force that seeks out caleb’s environs and seeks to imprison him extends into even the most personal and domestic spaces, depicting a foucauldian vision where the people watch themselves. in this way, prejudice invades the territory caleb travels, establishing a narrative about his character that determines his relationship with others and forces him to find a way to represent himself without being identified by public opinion’s established narrative. it is caleb’s need, and perhaps somewhat his duty, to establish a narrative that shows “things as they are,” that overtakes the compulsion to be completely sincere.v in this way, caleb williams can be seen as a turning point in godwin’s career that led to the change of his opinion on sincerity in the 1798 version of political justice: he no longer believes that a person’s countenance immediately communicates the sincerity of their tale, but rather that language “always modifies and colours the truth it seeks to tell” (williams 484). i. “a plain and unvarnished tale” uncovering mr. falkland’s secret (which will be addressed in the final section of this paper after discussing the ways in which caleb’s attitude toward secrets changes over the course 5      of his time as a fugitive from justice) places caleb in explicit opposition to falkland’s ability to continue living as a respected landowner. caleb is forced to run away from the sheltered life he has known and exposes him to life in society and the ways individuals assemble into a mass. caleb has not yet learned how “harmonious community interaction is integral to the text's moral economy,” meaning that when he leaves for london he believes “[in london] i should be most safe from discovery, if the vengeance of mr. falkland should prompt him to pursue me” (jordan 257; cw, 238). by merely extricating himself from falkland’s presence, caleb seems to suggest, he will evade falkland’s influence because the new people he meets will be affected by his character. he has no conception of the ways falkland might spread his vengeance through the public sphere, because he believes that people will not judge him until they meet him. when caleb leaves falkland’s estate, the novel’s storyline focuses on the conflict between caleb and falkland, which “hinges, significantly, on each man’s capacity to win public favour,” but caleb begins this contest almost oblivious to the opinion of society (jordan 246). although caleb is careful not to leave a “clew” behind him on his journey to london, he “[takes] it for granted” that if he is going to be “pursued,” “it would be by some of mr. falkland’s people, and not by a stranger” (cw, 241). the invocation of the “stranger” at this moment in his narrative appears inconsequential at first, but as caleb’s tale progresses, the amount of strangers he meets and whose favor he must secure increases. his initial negation of their purpose signals not only inexperience in his manner of escape, but, more consequentially, his inability to realize that society at large might come together to form an opinion about his character.vi caleb’s inability to imagine a stranger observing or interceding in his narrative is already slightly altered by the time he reaches the first neighboring town. while he notices that his “observation had been attracted by a man” who passes him on the way to the next town, and 6      further spots him at an alehouse, he reasons with himself that his suspicions of detection are “groundless” (341). when the man asks him “if [his] name were williams,” caleb is presented, for the first time, with the choice of telling the truth about his identity or lying. he asserts that he is the man known by that name and, after reading forester’s letter, decides he must return to prevent falkland from “sully[ing] the whiteness of my name” (242). it is as though in this short episode of departure and suspected surveillance, caleb has already realized that if he is going to live in society, he will be met by strangers, and strangers will ask him his name and may be influenced by a narrative attached to that name. while caleb appears concerned with the public’s opinion of him he expresses no anxiety about their ability to judge the truth. caleb trusts the personal knowledge he has of his own innocence, and believes he is further protected because, in the case of innocence and guilt, “the former could not be confounded with the latter, unless the innocent man first allowed himself to be subdued in mind, before he was defrauded of the good opinion of mankind” (243). in matters of justice, caleb believes, the corruption of the individual mind must precede the loss of the “good opinion of mankind” (243). caleb echoes the affirmation of sincerity found in the 1793 version of political justice, where “in proportion that [the individual’s] motive is pure,” that person “will become unembarrassed” and possess a “frankness in…voice, fervor in…gesture, and kindness in…heart” that will be unmistakable to the rest of the human family (pj, 242-243). for godwin, it is as though “the body is the unfailing index of the mind” and our bodies “exemplify their own moral labels” (williams 484; elgin 90, c.f. radcliffe 530). caleb romanticizes his return and trial, where “virtue ris[es] superior to every calamity, defeating by a plain unvarnished tale all the stratagems of vice, and throw[s] back upon her adversary the confusion with which he had hoped to overwhelm her” (emphasis added, cw, 243). caleb’s belief that a plain tale’s ability to overcome ingenuity speaks to what 7      gary handwerk calls his “excessive confidence in the power of rational ethics to circumvent relationships of power,” but he also expresses a too ready confidence that the truth of any narrative can be easily assembled (950).vii therefore it is a “very awful moment” when caleb realizes, at his first trial, that “the power of ingenuity to subvert the distinctions of right and wrong” is inadequate and that indeed “in this very instant [they are] subverted” (257). if the truth can be subverted by ingenuity, however, the opposite can also be true: caleb can present the truth using ingenuity. after escaping from prison, caleb fully acknowledges that he cannot merely escape mr. falkland’s men, and that society at large has formed together to believe that he is a “most miserable creature,” leading him to lose the hope that he can easily convince a stranger the innocence of his character (260). instead, “safety” for caleb consists in “keeping [him]self from the view of any human being,” signaling a ready acceptance of concealment as a means to avoid detection and confrontation (297). concealment becomes caleb’s mode of living, which leads him to actively contemplate the “mind of a stranger” who might happen upon a particular scene when he is hiding. he is driven to contacting another person, in two cases, one in which he is robbed and beaten by gines and another when he asks an old man for help in the wake of the beating. while these examples do not portray the solitude as being emotionally painful, it makes contact with others materially necessary. caleb goes further than these examples when, living with the pack of outlaws and having found himself impressed by their leader, mr. raymond, he tells the man his entire story, “except so far as related to the detection of mr. falkland’s secret” (311). protecting this secret allows caleb to represent himself without betraying his intimate bond to mr. falkland, but also suggests that caleb, now disillusioned towards the truth’s persuasive function, feels he can determine how much information mr. raymond needs to know. 8      it can be inferred by the text that caleb tells raymond his real name, but it is remarkable that caleb does not narrate the favorable revelation of his name in his memoirs, considering the importance his name assumes in the encounters that follow, a peculiarity that is repeated in the welsh town where laura lives. while caleb discloses his secret in this instance, the disclosure takes place in a space defined by concealment and in open defiance of the law. caleb appears conscious of his circumstances, congratulating himself “upon [his] present residence; it answered completely the purposes of concealment” (310). mr. raymond appears to be one of the novel’s few characters who can judge caleb by his present situation and manner even while he knows the content of the handbill, yet his open defiance of the law and other political associations in society suggest caleb cannot count on this kind of hearing when he leaves the outlaws and reenters the public sphere. if godwin was deeply troubled by the political institutions of the day and the tendency of “public opinion to [stymie] individual integrity [leading] to the gross miscarriage of justice,” it makes sense that the virtue of independent judgment is located outside of government and in a small community hiding from the dominant public (jordan 245). ii. “what was my name?” the “social spaces” of the novel are continuously “transformed” by the meaning that attaches to caleb’s name and is spread through the handbill, making him known to others before he meets them (sullivan 334). after leaving the pack of outlaws and journeying to an obscure town, caleb overhears a group of men at an inn talking about the terrible machinations of “kit williams.” kit, caleb infers, is a mistake; the men are talking about him, caleb. but the mispronunciation, or possibly the misspelling, is instantaneously dismissed by caleb, who hides his face in his corner of the “public-house” (330). it is as though caleb automatically realizes that what matters is not what name is given, or the truth of any narrative, but rather to whom the 9      name refers and what meaning the group attaches to that name. surrounded by these men, caleb does not even consider revealing his name to the innkeeper of the establishment who is favorable to his history. whereas the godwin of political justice (1793) believed that print cultureviii would lead to the improvement of society through the dissemination of knowledge, here the narrative of caleb’s criminality, and the possible reward for turning him in, overcrowds the men’s ability to exercise independent judgment and forecloses caleb’s chance to present his character. as sullivan and bailey both argue in their readings of the novel’s historical influences, the 1790s was a time when police gazettes and other pamphlets played an increasingly important role in assembling public opinion. caleb williams rings a particularly pessimistic tone towards these forms of communication because “all of the readers in the world of the narrative have accepted false appearances, have taken pamphlets and handbills for representation of fact” (sullivan 334). surrounded by a society believing “false appearances,” caleb continues his journey using the “art of imitation” to provide himself some level of anonymity. but what is more striking than caleb’s decision to concealix himself, is how unavoidable recourse to disguise or ingenuity now appears. caleb defends his “art,” saying: “such are the miserable expedients, and so great the studied artifice, which man, who never deserves the name of manhood but in proportion as he is erect and independent, may find it necessary to employ, for the purpose of eluding the inexorable animosity and unfeeling tyranny of his fellow man.” (emphasis added, cw 333) the importance of independence, not only in judgment but also social mobility, appears situated in an “inexorable” relationality to the prejudice of public opinion. in this state the value of complete sincerity vanishes, giving way to the necessity of “artifice” in securing independence. the artifice that caleb finds it “necessary to employ” leads to arrest, complicating its ultimate efficacy because disguise does not replace the prejudice with an alternative narrative. 10      while caleb eludes mr. forester’s servant with his disguise and makes an escape toward ireland, upon the verge of disembarking he is mistaken for “one of the persons who robbed the edinburgh mail” (337). although the arrest seems at first to be an extremely unfortunate turn of events, the process of arrest reveals what caleb has given up by taking a disguise. he narrates that the men “enquired my name, who i was, whence i came, and what had brought me there?” (335). although caleb says the men seized him before he “had scarcely opened [his] mouth to reply,” complicating the extent to which caleb is actually able to speak to his captors, their questions also press upon him the need to have a narrative that establishes his innocence. the apprehension of a man who disagrees with the description of the robber “in several material articles” suggests that not only does print culture undermine the individual’s ability to freely judge, but also that godwin was wary of the role that common people could successfully play in government (337). while caleb’s arrest is unlawful, supporting jordan’s claim that at this time godwin did not think the government could include the “non-elite” in the formation of public opinion, caleb is also unable to satisfactorily answer the men’s questions and say who he is (245). he tries to get himself freed by dissembling his disguise, most vividly by “lay[ing] aside [his] irish accent,” but cannot complete the defense by revealing his true identity or by lying and giving a false name. caleb’s performance is not effective and his secrecy actually leads the magistrate to judge him unfavorably. caleb relates that, to the magistrate, “it was clear”: “i was a vagabound and a suspicious person. the more earnest i showed myself to get off, the more reason there was he should keep me fast. perhaps, after all, i should turn out to be the felon in question. but, if i was not that, he had no doubt i was worse; a poacher, or, for what he knew, a murderer. he had a kind of a notion that he had seen my facex before about some such affair; out of all doubt i was an old offender.” (cw, 340) it is clear by the magistrate’s assumption of guilt that pleading innocence is not enough and that caleb’s manner is not clearly evoking that truth. the captive must be able to demonstrate his 11      innocence through narrative, by providing information that accounts for his presence in order to be truly considered innocent. otherwise, by saying he is innocent, caleb merely incites suspicion. while it is possible that the magistrate is alluding to a description of caleb’s face, it is caleb’s inability to properly represent or narrate himself that allows the magistrate’s “kind of a notion” to assume priority over both the lack of evidence and caleb’s remonstrance of innocence. protecting his secret in this example, however, allows caleb to avoid being charged with the more serious crime without lying. the limits of secrecy, and the affordances it bestow, are even more forcibly delineated when caleb tells his story to “the old man” who guards him. caleb believes he can ascertain instantly, without asking to hear the old man’s story or learn his name, his “virtue” (342). although it would seem that caleb’s first thoughts would be towards liberation, caleb craves the old man’s companionship even more intensely, writing that while his thoughts are directed to the “advantage to be drawn from the presence of such a person,” he is even more “impressed with an ardent wish to be able to call this man his benefactor” (343). political justice (1793) had suggested that total sincerity would inexorably lead the individual into sympathy with others, but godwin’s novel actually makes the old man’s sympathy dependent on caleb’s secrecy. when he tells his story to the old man, it’s possible that caleb merely forgets to include his name, or doesn’t believe it is essential to an accurate description of his circumstances, and therefore doesn’t intentionally deceive him. carson’s analysis upholds caleb’s actions as non-deceptive because “preventing someone from learning the truth about x is not the same as causing her to have or retain false beliefs about x” (54). he calls this “keeping someone in the dark” and draws a distinction between it and deception. this example agrees with bok’s work that reminds us, “all secrecy is not meant to deceive,” and sometimes secrets are kept simply by judging what 12      information should be included in a narrative (7). however, because of the old man’s eventual interest in his name, this episode still calls attention to how difficult it is to tell a narrative without concealing some important information. because the question of caleb’s name was so clearly a part of the demand the arresting men placed on him, and he knows that his name is circulating through the handbill, it seems unlikely that he is not intentionally concealing his name, even if he is not deceiving the old man. since caleb knows his name will change the character of his narrative in the old man’s eyes, he keeps it a secret, in order to lead the old man to the truth. godwin believed that we should not punish someone based on the actual event or crime they may have committed, but rather on the “injuriousness of [their] character” (pj, 615, c.f. radcliffe 535). caleb’s first task, in winning the man’s sympathy, is to give an honest depiction of his character. knowing that his name will communicate false prejudice, caleb cannot reveal it if he wants the man to have an accurate understanding of his character. caleb tells the man the manner in which he was arrested, eventually found to be innocent, but further detained in an effort to extort the “sum of money in [his] possession” (344). finally, caleb places himself “into [the old man’s] hands” and “solemnly aver[s] the truth of the facts [he has] just stated” (344). caleb’s honesty in this episode is certainly part of the reason that the old man has “no doubt” from caleb’s “countenance and manner” about the “truth of what [he] had asserted to him” (344). here, sincerity inspires the sympathy that convinces the old man caleb is being honesty. but the old man’s reaction to caleb’s name proves that caleb’s honesty was only as important as his ability to keep his name secret. not unlike the magistrate, the old man is suspicious because of what caleb does not tell him, a lesson caleb should be familiar with considering his attachment to mr. falkland’s trunk. caleb gives the old man the choice to either leave his name hidden or indulge his curiosity and 13      learn the unrevealed information. caleb’s relationship to mr. falkland’s secret is reversed in this example, and the old man’s curiosity forces the exposure of caleb’s secret which ruins the possibility of mutual esteem. while the two men were able to exist in sympathy while a secret existed between them, the revelation of the secret destroys the old man’s ability to sympathize with caleb. caleb relates that, although the old man does not suspect him of lying, he asks for “one thing at least…to be faithfully informed in some degree respecting the person he was desired to oblige, what was my name?” (345). the importance of the inclusion and absence of the name in the way caleb tells his narrative, in this episode and throughout the novel, furthers ewha chung’s sense that “the power struggle over discourse to make others accept one’s own version of events as authoritative resides in the language of the novel” (16). it complicates godwin’s earlier “notion of the body as an ‘index’ to the mind,” which represents, for nicholas williams, “an attempt to evade the mediation of language and its persuasive functions, proposing a ‘natural sign’ which requires no interpretation and no rhetorical force” (483). i propose that the weight of caleb’s name in this scene is a “rhetorical force” that presses upon calebxi the need for ingenuity. when caleb tells the old man his name, the man rejects his “version of events” and denies him the chance to explain, proving that secrecy was just as important as his “countenance and manner” in gaining the old man’s sympathy. telling the truth turns the man against caleb, suggesting that perhaps political justice (1793) was correct. if concealing information may eventually require lying, which caleb seems set on avoiding,xii having to admit the truth that was concealed could make caleb appear even more guilty. however, in these circumstances the truth convinces the old man of a false impression, while the secret, if properly maintained, convinces another person what 14      caleb believes is true. armed with this lesson, caleb negotiates his place in the world by presenting his story more strategically, believing explicitly in the efficacy of secrets. iii. “i found it necessary, for the present, to keep myself private” caleb is forced to present himself to a public that would arrest him if they learn his name, because, in the novel solitude is emotionally crippling, and therfore seemingly untenable,xiii but also because it appears difficult, perhaps impossible, to provide oneself an existence in absolute isolation. in addition to the emotional cost of isolation, caleb recognizes that “the necessity of earning for [himself] the means of existence, evidently tended to thwart the plan of secrecy to which [he] was condemned” (354). the incompatibility of absolute secrecy with economic sustainability is an issue that is also raised by mr. falkland’s narrative and his secret. while his economic superiority to caleb would seem to provide the ability to seclude himself from human interaction, mr. falkland is frequently observed by his servants called upon to serve as judge, and forms an intimacyxiv with caleb through his social position, despite his better judgment. what allows falkland’s secret greater security and gives him the ability to present himself to others is not simply wealth, but rather that his secret is not attached to his name or physical appearance. the handbill forces caleb to search for a way to make money that also provides him a satisfactory amount of secrecy. he decides to pursue “literature” as the “field of his first experiment” because it calls for the “least preparation” and can be “exercised with [the] least observation” (355). caleb believes it is just for himself, the wrongly accused, to evade capture through secrecy and thus conceals his name from his writing to avoid both lying and discovery. but caleb’s mode of living, much like falkland’s, cannot exist in absolute secrecy. he looks to a “solitary woman” to be an instrument for “disposing of [his] productions,” which, echoing his 15      relationship with mr. raymond, suggests that exposing himself to someone who does not regularly participate in society strengthens his security (355).xv although it is no surprise that caleb’s tales are not attributed to his name in print, what is remarkable is that the narrative never mentions a pseudonym or clarifies that they were published anonymously, strengthening the notion that a false name constitutes a lie and would be immoral. it could be thought that caleb is simply after privacy in this episode, and bok warns against conflating privacy and secrecy to protect secrets from always being associated with “privacy, deceit and shame” (14). while privacy involves boundaries, “privacy need not hide,” while a secret “guards against unwanted access by others—against their coming too near, learning too much, observing too closely” (13). caleb might desire privacy, but his interaction with the solitary woman finds him guarding her access to information which he possesses. he knows that soliciting her help is precarious because of his earlier encounter with the old man, who appeared just as virtuous and forgiving as the solitary woman appears. he narrates that it is because he “anticipates occasions of suspicion” that he proceeds to justify his position to her, anticipating what he has already learned; that secrecy invites additional questions about what is hidden or untold. if he tells her a passionate tale that excludes his identity and swears to its veracity, she might be moved to compassion, and believe he is telling the truth, but, like the old man, she could be incited by curiosity to wonder why caleb has not told her his name. although the “suspicion” caleb is referring to here is mainly the suspicion of the publishing houses or their readership, which may be directed to this woman and find its way back to him, the root of caleb’s problem remains the same. he must assure the woman that his mode of living and the knowledge she has of him is justifiable. while the old man had been moved to curiosity by too much information, the perfunctory explanation 16      he gives leads her to say she has “no desire for any further information” (356). the relationship they establish between themselves is just as much about what they don’t say as what they do. caleb had earlier believed that to carry the favor of society in court, he should tell a “plain unvarnished tale,” but now, to be free from surveillance, he ingenuously obscures himself to this woman. caleb writes: “i frankly told her that, for reasons which i wished to be excused from relating, but which, if related, i was sure would not deprive me of her good opinion, i found it necessary, for the present, to keep myself private” (356). this short speech, almost an aside in caleb’s narrative, is, i believe, the most intricate intertwining of lying, mere deception, and honesty that is engaged in service of the secret. caleb’s initial appeal to sincerity situates himself as the author of his memoir looking back on this moment in time, suggesting to the reader that he knows he did not make a false statement that he warranted to be true. believing that caleb is not a thief, was wrongfully convicted of stealing, and has actually been ill-treated by mr. falkland, the reader is particularly suited to feel caleb is justified making this comment. however, caleb has already seen that all he must do is reveal his name for even the most humble and honestlooking of strangers to assume that he is a “monster” and irrevocably lose their “good opinion.” if caleb knows from experience that his name can erase someone’s good opinion of him, then to tell them that hearing more about his identity would not change that good opinion is deceptive, because deception “intentionally caus[es] someone to have a false belief that the deceiver believes to be false” (bok 46). when caleb withheld his name from the old man, he could claim that he was seeking to establish his innocence, something he believes is true, and was actually saving the old man from being deceived by public opinion. in this case, he is suggesting learning his name would not change her opinion, something he cannot be “sure” is true.xvi what he tells the woman does not 17      appear to be a lie though, because nothing that caleb has said to this woman can be proven to be false. however, caleb tells his readers that he “frankly” tells her this information, which cannot be true, because he must know that his name can damage her good opinion and he is therefore being deceptive by suggesting that it cannot. caleb, i argue, lies to his readers, but does not lie to the old woman.xvii this distinction seems important because if not enough information is given to this woman, his concealment might incite suspicion, and if caleb were lying to her, godwinian philosophy suggests that something in his manner would become apparent to the woman which could also endanger the secret’s security. the literary career cannot ultimately uphold that high standard of secrecy which caleb requires. while the ingenuity with which he presents himself to the solitary woman allows their relationship to thrive, he is eventually identified through the content of his writing. while his decision to publish stories about jailbreaks and other criminals seems hopelessly ill-advised, it also bespeaks his craving for sympathy and perhaps even a longing to be identified. realizing he has been discovered, however, caleb retreats to “some distant, rural scene, a scene of calmness and obscurity, where for a few years at least, perhaps during the life of mr. falkland, [he] might be hidden from the world,”xviii which, at first, seems to be sanctioned by mr. falkland’s power. xix the relaxation of oppression that seems to be afforded in the initial stages of this episode are not procured by caleb, as in the other two examples, through disguise. describing his choice of location caleb writes: “[i was] influenced in this deliberation by the strong loathing i conceived for the situations in which i had lately been engaged…i was seized by so unconquerable an aversion to disguise, and the idea of spending my life in personating a fictitious character, that i could not, for the present at least, reconcile my mind to anything of that nature” (cw, 391). caleb hates the idea of living in the “metropolis,” which encourages him to live by “artifice,” 18      and instead journeys to a “small market-town in wales” where he does not have to obscure his appearance or hide his name (392). however, as will soon become clear, he is still protecting his secret; the difference is that now he has advanced to a position similar to falkland’s, where his name does not immediately reveal his criminal identity and can therefore be shared openly. his narration of the period he spends in wales is peculiar because, similar to the first couple of days he spends with the outlaws, he never mentions telling his neighbors his name, or represents them calling him by his name in his narrative. yet, in the course of the unveilingxx of caleb’s secret, laura and the rest of the town are immediately described calling him “mr. williams” (402). it is as though his name has become so intricately linked to the secret of his criminality that either caleb, in writing his memoirs, or perhaps even godwin, in assembling caleb’s narrative, could not address him by his name during a period where he lives openly by his name and innocent in the eyes of society. whereas keeping his secret had secured him an initial impartial hearing with the old man, and the deception caleb practiced upon the solitary woman afforded him the ability to support himself and live in her house, laura’s reaction to the revelation of his secret produces an unsettling repetition of caleb’s earlier views on virtue and honesty succeeding with only a “plain unvarnished tale” (243). she tells caleb that “true virtue shines by its own light, and needs no art to set it off” because a tale which “in its plain and unadorned state” is virtuous or destructive cannot be colored by eloquence to change its internal structure. it is not possible for laura to believe that caleb is being “honest” in the moment of their conversation, because if he were an “honest” person he would have “acquainted [laura] with [his] story” and not “left [her] to be informed of it by a mere accident” (404). laura argues that caleb was wrong to keep this secret from her, and caleb’s attitude toward her argument signals the change that society has wrought on his thinking through his new belief in the 19      importance of secrets. he tells laura, almost as though he were speaking to his former self, “it would be impossible for you to hold this language, if you had not always lived in this obscure retreat,xxi if you had ever been conversant with the passion and institutions of men” (404). astonishingly, caleb never tells laura that he made a mistake and should have trusted her to keep his secret concealed from the rest of the town. his reasoning suggests instead that despite shared affection, mutual knowledge of caleb’s secret would have ruined their relationship and therefore, to protect their friendship, he had to conceal the secret from her. caleb’s position seems to be almost entirely reversed from his first appearance in court. at that moment he could not convince the public that he was telling the truth, but now he cannot convince laura that he should not have had to tell the truth, that he was right to keep this information concealed. caleb’s narrative journey, and psychological maturation, would seem to justify mr. falkland’s decision to conceal his secret from caleb, making his curiosity an ill-advised breech of falkland’s friendship. conclusion: “the secret was a most painful burthen to me” caleb’s journey, from the naïve young man who believed that complete sincerity would exonerate him in the eyes of the public, to the experienced traveler who cannot believe laura does not recognize how necessary secrets are to the ability to accurately represent identity, does not transform his relationship to mr. falkland in the final trial scene, because caleb maintains that their intimacy should have made the affordances that secrets provide unnecessary. at the beginning of his narrative, caleb took mr. falkland’s secret as an affront to the equality of their relationship, feeling minutely that those ways “to have no insight into what others conceal is to lack power” (bok 18). caleb’s infamous curiosity had been “a desire to know falkland’s secrets and to use them, caleb hardly admits to himself, as a way of intensifying their bond” (haggerty 20      140). caleb, in his love for mr. falkland, sees secrets as an impediment to their intimacy. he is somewhat emblematic of jean-paul sartre’s startling suggestion that the time when mutual transparency is realized can be imagined and will coincide with the time when material inequality has been eradicated, or the “subjective life, just as much as the objective life, will be totally offered, given” (sartre 72, c.f. bok 17). revealing the secret, for caleb, is therefore a way to derive a sense of equality between himself and falkland, whose superior social status leaves caleb longing to “intensify” their bond. caleb seems as though he would be unable to consider bok’s question, which she raises to trouble sartre’s position: “would we be able to cope with not only the quantity but also the impact upon us of the information thus within reach?” (18). caleb, with his thoughts still centered on himself, believes the secret, freely given, would not have impacted him. in the final courtroom scene he asks mr. falkland if he “ever prove[d] [him]self unworthy of [his] confidence?,” suggesting that his continued loyalty proves that the crime was not his curiosity, but instead mr. falkland’s secrecy (429). it is as though caleb cannot remember his own position in front of laura, when he claimed he was forced to keep himself a secret to her, despite his affection. although the entire written account of his trials and tribulations impresses his reader with just “how difficult it is [for him] to make his narratives into a fair reflection of what he is and has done,” he is unable to imagine that mr. falkland might have been in a similar position and is unwilling to grant him the same latitude he gave himself toward laura (radcliffe 547). the difference is both his inability to direct his thoughts beyond himself to consider falkland’s position and the preeminent importance his bond with mr. falkland receives. these circumstances heightens their intimacy to such a pitch that a secret becomes a betrayal. 21      this intimacy, which george haggerty believes is originally structured around a “dark privacy,” is finally loosened to allow for the possibility of secrets after the trial (141). this possibility contradicts the 1793 version of political justice and marks caleb williams as, what nicholas williams calls, “a turning point in godwin's thought on the nature of subjectivity,” because it gives the individual the ability to construct their narrative and make certain information private (484). whereas quentin bailey says that the revised ending of caleb williams “establishes [caleb’s] position as an obedient subject,” the ending also betrays early signs of the revised 1798 version of political justice where “godwin now realizes that the taint of language always modifies and colours the truth it seeks to tell” (williams 484). caleb calls uncovering falkland’s secret “the beginning of misfortune” in the final trial scene, and labels himself falkland’s murderer for exposing his story to the public. by uncovering mr. falkland’s secret, caleb assumed the power of telling falkland’s story—as falkland himself says, he “extorted all the treasures of [his] soul” (cw, 193). caleb had thought he was wronged by falkland’s secrecy while his “thoughts centred upon [himself],” but directing them elsewhere teaches him that “mutual knowledge is as dangerous as it is wonderful for two men to share” (cw, 433; haggerty 139). falkland had originally told caleb that, because he has learned his secret, he “can never share [his] affection,” and while caleb criticizes his hardheartedness, caleb’s narrative supports falkland’s judgment—his secret allows them to maintain friendship (cw, 145). but, as haggerty points out, in the novel, “intimacy breeds mutual suspicion, if not contempt.” (139). while secrets protect caleb from the law and allow him to represent his character to strangers, the insufficiency of secrets in this case ultimately resides in the intensity of caleb and falkland’s intimacy. whereas the solitary woman was content without further information, their relationship pits the will to know and the desire to conceal against one another. 22      secrecy helps to both secure and maintain sympathetic bonds in godwin’s novel. contrary to the 1793 version of political justice, caleb is empowered to conceal information because it presents the truth in the place of prejudice and protects friendship from the secret that would unbind it. while gary handwerk is certainly right to argue that “the response [to the ending] implied by the text…[is] that revelation is not the best solution” because “utility” does not “coincide in this case with speaking the truth publicly,” i hope to have demonstrated that his conclusion can be extended yet further (948). not only does caleb williams complicate the 1793 political justice’s stringent denial of concealment, the novel actually supports bok’s conviction that secrets, which imply hiding and concealing information, are, not simply useful, but “indispensable to human life” (18). caleb’s story is minutely entangled in those ways that “judgments of character may not emerge clearly from narrative [or] that individual incidents may seem to escape definitions of character as a stable disposition,” forcing him to give up his pretensions that a “plain unvarnished tale” can narrate his story and present the truth. not only is even the simplest construction of narrative conditioned upon what information is hidden, but it is often impossible to say that hiding that information was not an ingenuity that affected a certain disposition. public opinion is a detrimental force, not simply because it calls individuals to submit to a dominant narrative, but because the narrative it establishes forecloses the individual’s ability to tell their own story. caleb’s skillful secrecy allows him to represent his character to others without lyingand revealing a false countenance, and without telling his name and revealing a false prejudice. notes i falkland is seeking to imprison caleb for theft, a charge he has constructed to foreclose caleb’s ability to convict him of his secret crime.     23        ii here bok asks her readers to consider “the many forms of secrecy in which there is no aim to mislead: that which may accompany human intimacy, for instance, or protect voters in casting their ballot” (7). while her second example proves her point, caleb would disagree with her first example as intimacy appears to be the very reason he cannot allow falkland to keep his secret concealed from him. iii the negative effects of solitude in caleb williams suggest godwin was already acknowledging “the role of feeling and sympathy in moral judgments” clemit locates in the third edition of political justice published in 1798 (86). it’s also startling how the detrimental effects of isolation appear to be self-evident in the novel, as though godwin believed solitude obviously produced a “paroxysm” in the individual that led them back into the company of others (cw, 63). iv godwin believed that to study “our social existence” one could not exclusively look at “society in a mass,” but must also investigate the individual. attention to the influence of public opinion expresses both the larger construction of political or social life in the novel and the way it effects the individual’s sense of self (bugg 112). attention to the way public opinion affects the individual is important for godwinian philosophy because “the moral reform of individuals was a necessary prelude to social change” (clemit 86). v in this way, secrets foster the use of personal judgment and encourage independence, making them appear not so antithetical to godwin’s political system after all. vi if caleb believes in the values of political justice (1793) before he leaves the estate, then he would not think these strangers will be impressed by a handbill, or the ruling of a distant court, because “instead of making each man an individual, which the interest of the whole requires, [political association] resolves all understandings into one common mass, and subtracts from each the varieties, that could alone distinguish him from a brute machine” (1:289, c.f. jordan 253). vii radcliffe suggests godwin himself may have been guilty of this confidence himself as his use of “the unmediated transparency of rationalist language” in political justice (1793) appears similar to caleb’s “plain unvarnished tale” (radcliffe 533). both godwin and caleb are able to transform this confidence and grow to appreciate the ways the “truth claim of each version [of a narrative] cannot be considered independently of features of style or form, which in part constitute the way in which any narrative connects its various aspects” (533). viii it seems appropriate to assume these characters have been influenced by the handbill because they reference the reward and a physical description. ix curiously caleb does not find it “necessary to write [the irish brogue],” which he adopts in this case, “down in [his narrative]” (333). perhaps concealing the brogue makes him feel that his narrative voice appears more sincere. x it is unlikely that the magistrate has seen caleb’s face, or a drawing of that face, before because jones’ handbill is said to include a description of caleb’s appearance. while it is possible he knows this description, it seems more likely, due to the reference to the face, that suspicion is getting the best of him. xi the changes godwin made to the 1798 version of political justice suggest that he learned this lesson as well. whereas in the earlier version, the truth would become honest in the speaker’s manner, the later version states: “there is no instance in which truth can be communicated absolutely pure. we can only make approximations to such a proceeding, without ever being able fully to arrive at it" (“1798”, 327; c.f. williams 484). xii bok, while not as stringent as godwin and kant are towards lying, would seem to agree with caleb that it is worse to lie than to keep a secret. she writes that while secrets do not have to have a negative connotation, lying is “prima facie wrong,” even though there are occasions when lying can be necessary or the lesser of two evils (xv). xiii caleb, narrating the period of his tale in which his “life was a lie,” says that he “looked forward without hope through the series of my existence, tears of anguish rushed from my eyes, my courage became extinct, and i cursed the conscious life that was reproduced with every returning day” (354). xiv while this intimacy might seem to be a mistake, caleb’s notion that we are not individuals, but hold “necessarily, indispensably, to [our] species,” suggests that forming an intimacy with someone is almost an inevitability (408). xv hiding or concealing information from one person rather than many would not necessarily be less morally injurious for godwin, and for that reason, caleb appears to be plotting the most effective way to protect his secret.  xvi although it could be argued that caleb truly believes the woman would not have lost her good opinion of him if she learns his name, this seems unlikely because he has just written about the old man for the reader and that betrayal must be fresh in his mind. i would also add that if he believes himself here he would not find it necessary to keep himself “private” in the first place (356).   24        xvii perhaps it is because we share caleb’s secret and do not believe the prejudice that caleb feels this lie is justified. it’s my feeling that caleb’s lie is not a betrayal of my trust as his reader, because, were society less corrupt, he would be able to say this information “frankly” (356).   xviii caleb does not seem to be hiding from other people entirely, as is implied by his stated intention in his search “not to incur the hazards…of solitude” (392). xix i would argue this allowance exists because caleb has driven himself to a corner of the world where mr. falkland’s name is not known, and therefore his secret could not really damage his reputation. unfortunately for caleb, laura’s father knew falkland, forcing falkland to publish the handbill and reveal caleb’s secret before he can slander his own name. this conjecture seems supported by laura who tells caleb: “i am astonished you have the effrontery to pronounce his name. that name has been a denomination, as far back as my memory can reach, for the most exalted of mortals, the wisest and most generous of men” (emphasis added, 405). xx it should come as no surprise therefore that caleb’s secret is ultimately exposed through the paper titled:  “wonderful and surprising history of caleb williams” (406).  xxi again the suggestion is that secrecy is more necessary in a city or for those who regularly interact with others. works cited bailey, quentin. “‘extraordinary and dangerous powers’: prisons, police, and literature in godwin's caleb williams,” eighteenth-century fiction, vol. 22, no. 3, 2010, pp. 524 548. bok, sissela. secrets: on the ethics of concealment and revelation. pantheon books, 1982. bugg, john. “‘by force, or openly, what could be done?’ godwin, smith, wollstonecraft, and the gagging acts novel,” five long winters: the trials of british romanticism. stanford up, 2014. carson, thomas l. lying and deception: theory and practice. oxford up, 2010. chung, ewha. “william godwin's caleb williams: quest for ‘truth’ and ‘virtue’.” foreign literature studies/wai guo wen xue yan jiu, vol. 36, no. 1, 2014, pp. 11-23.   25        clemit, pamela. “godwin, political justice,” the cambridge companion to british literature of the french revolution in the 1790s, cambridge up, 2011. elgin, catherine. with reference to reference. hackett, 1983. godwin, william. caleb williams, ed. gary handwerk and a.a. markley, broadview, 2000. godwin, william. an enquiry concerning political justice, and its influence on general virtue and happiness, vol. 1, g.g.j. and j. robinson, 1793, https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/90. godwin, william. an enquiry concerning political justice, and its influence on general virtue and happiness, vol. 2, g.g.j. and j. robinson, 1793, https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/236. godwin, william. an enquiry concerning political justice, and its influence on general virtue and happiness, 1798 version, ed. isaac kramnick. penguin, 1976. haggerty, george. “the abyss of friendship in caleb williams.” reflections on sentiment: essays in honor of george starr, u of delaware p, 2016, pp. 135-152. handwerk, gary. “of caleb’s guilt and godwin’s truth: ideology and ethics in caleb williams,” elh, vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 939-960. jordan, nicolle. “the promise and frustration of plebian public opinion in caleb williams,” eighteenth century fiction, vol. 19, no. 3, 2007, pp. 243-266. miller, d.a. the novel and the police. u of california p, 1988. radcliffe, evan. “godwin from ‘metaphysician’ to novelist: political justice, caleb williams, and the tension between philosophical argument and narrative.” modern philology, vol. 97, no. 4, 2000, pp. 528–553. sartre, jean-paul. “ce que je suis,” interview conducted by michel contat, le national observer, june 23, 1975, p. 72. sullivan, garrett. “‘a story to be hastily gobbled up’: caleb williams and print culture,” studies in romanticism, vol. 32, no. 3, 1993, pp. 323-337. thompson, jane. “surveillance in william godwin’s caleb williams,” gothic fictions: prohibition/transgression, ed. kenneth w. graham. ams press, 1989. williams, nicholas m. “‘the subject of detection’: legal rhetoric and subjectivity in caleb williams,” eighteenth-century fiction, vol. 9, no. 4, july 1997, pp. 479-498. 1 what future?: imagining the child of color in response to lee edelman’s no future kristen sieranski english “searing polemic” are the words used to describe lee edelman’s no future: queer theory and the death drive on the back cover, and the text certainly lives up to this description. edelman presents queerness with eyes fixed on its potential to rupture and a conviction that queerness should rupture— rupture the figurative child, the symbolic, the social order, the future, anything it can, it seems. whether no future provokes praise or ire from its reader, it certainly provokes thought. for fear that the rest of this essay will imply the opposite, i would like to affirm here that i do admire edelman’s text. my criticism of the gaps in edelman’s ideas does not eliminate my appreciation for the parts of the work that were startlingly resonant in many avenues of politics, language, and the language of politics. since reading no future i am noticing reproductive futurity in everything from political rhetoric to the walking dead and seeing that figurative child1 he so masterfully illuminates everywhere as well. however, despite the careful attention with which edelman illustrates the child in no future, he does not account for the fact that this symbol can only be imagined as a white child. this essay will attempt to show the various ways in which the child as articulated by edelman in no future and the child of color— an alternate figure specifically representing children of color imagined in response to edelman’s child— function differently in politics. while edelman differentiates between “the image of the child… [and] the lived experiences of any historical children”, i will use the lived experiences of actual children of color in order to expose the differences between the symbolic child and the symbolic child of color, for a multitude of reasons (edelman 11). firstly, edelman, though he does not explicitly acknowledge 2 it, is cognizant of the way the material lives of historical people can become symbolic for societal issues or phenomena, as evidenced by his reference to ryan white as the child face who caused congress to act on the aids crisis (19) or his naming the threat of “[matthew] shephard’s life” to futurity as a stand in for the threat of queerness in general to futurity (116). additionally, just as edelman attempts to show how the politics of futurity embodied by the symbol of the child produce oppression of real queer people, i hold that the place of children of color outside of the symbolism of the child produces real oppressive political effects of their lives. the political rhetoric that discusses children of color, which will be analyzed here, cannot be divorced from its implications on the lived experience of children of color. it is especially important to analyze these political effects on the material lives of children of color since a new (or perhaps only a more boldly and clearly exposed) type of oppressive and racist american politics has shown its face under the trump administration. in no future, edelman describes all politics as conservative, because no matter how radically a set of politics would aim to revise the social order, it would still be upholding a social order to be transmitted into the future (3). since politics is always oriented toward the future (supported by the figurative child who represents that future) it is always opposed to queerness as that which does not participate in producing the future through reproduction. while the politics of futurism seeks to maintain and produce meaning through the symbolic2, queerness serves to unsettle meaning by unsettling the future, thus undoing the identity and connecting to the real. edelman advocates that rather than avoiding the negation of meaning that queerness represents, queer people should embrace that role and become willing to figure as the societal death drive which they are made by futurism to represent. this would require a disavowal by queers of politics as a whole, but in exchange for giving up politics they would have greater 3 access to the jouissance— which provides enjoyment even as it negates the selffurther, through its negation of the self— derived from their greater connection to the real produced by their distance from the symbolic. edelman devotes great attention to depicting the figure of the child who carries the burden of futurity, citing many examples, in literature, film, politics, and popular culture. the child, as a symbol, is “the perpetual horizon of every acknowledged politics, the fantasmic beneficiary of every political intervention”, and thus unifies all politics, no matter how differing they may seem, around achieving a future (edelman 3). the symbolic child compels everyone to compulsory protection of its innocence, even at the cost of oppressing and harming real people— especially the queer person who is figured as a danger to children, both symbolic and otherwise. the child serves as a “reproductive alibi” for the sexuality of the parents, masking the derealizing force of all sexuality by relating heterosexuality to the meaning-making act of creating the future through the child (64). according to edelman, parents then love their children because of the self they see in them. the self in the child then serves to ensure that the parent, in some way, lives on in the future after they have died. the social order is preserved by collective reproduction, and so the futurism it represents creates “generational succession, temporality, and narrative sequence, not toward the end of enabling change, but, instead, of perpetuating sameness, of turning back time to assure repetition” (60). the child provides hope via its potential to create a future in which meaning will finally be realized. the state has a vested interest in the production of the child, since the future of the state is ensured by the existence of the child over which it will someday exercise its power. for this reason, there must be “a statist ideology that operates by installing pro-procreative prejudice as the form through which desiring subjects assume a stake in a future that always pertains, in the 4 end, to the state not to them” (53). the child at once creates a generalized future toward which all politics bend, but also specific futures for the parents, the state, and the larger social order of which they are a component. it is for this reason that the child is so totalizing, and as edelman masterfully shows, so commonly used to oppress queer people who threaten the state and the social order by standing outside the process which creates the continued existence of those institutions. because of the ubiquity of the child, edelman is able to point to many examples of this symbol. to name a few, he lists cosette (repeatedly called “the waif from les mis”), tiny tim from charles dickens’ a christmas carol, eppie from george eliot’s silas marner, and the various children in alfred hitchcock’s the birds. though they are all identified by their similarity as children, they are also conspicuously similar in another way: they are all white. this has previously been pointed out by josé esteban muñoz in his essay “cruising the toilet: leroi jones/amiri baraka, radical black traditions, and queer futurity”, in which he writes that edelman “accepts and reproduces this monolithic figure of the child that is indeed always already white” (“cruising the toilet” 364). edelman does not analyze or even acknowledge this unrelenting whiteness of the child; this seems to be a symptom of an effort with which muñoz charges anti-relational or anti-social queer theory broadly: the attempt “to imagine an escape or denouncement of relationality as first and foremost a distancing of queerness from what some theorists seem to think of as the contamination of race, gender, or other particularities that taint the purities of sexuality of as a singular trope of difference” (cruising utopia 11). the child is not only white as muñoz states, but it must be white— the child cannot be envisioned as a child of color and still fulfill the role of the symbolic child in politics as outlined by edelman. 5 before interrogating the ways in which the child of color cannot accomplish the symbolic function of the child in the current western social order, it is important, in fairness to both this argument and edelman’s, to acknowledge the ways in which the child of color does partially execute this symbolic function. principally, the child of color does fulfill the role of insulating its parents from the de-identifying force of their sexuality, which “suffers the mark of the signifier as lack,” by integrating their sexuality into the fantasy of a future in which meaning will finally be achieved (edelman 39). in this way the child of color can enable the parent to participate in the fantasy of immortality by allowing the self which the parent identifies in the child a place in the future. because of these characteristics, the queer can still be figured as a threat to the child of color by figuring the disconnection of sexuality from the continuous meaning-making process of reproductive futurity. however, though the child of color can complete this immortalizing function for the parent, i will later argue that it cannot function as an immortalizer of the social order or the state. to begin the analysis of the difference between the child and the child of color, children of color, particularly black children, are not always afforded the same perceptions about childhood afforded to white children. a study published in the journal of personality and social psychology titled “the essence of innocence: consequences of dehumanizing black children” showed that “perceptions of the essential nature of children can be moderated by race” (goff et al. 540). their study found that defining characteristics of children— some of the characteristics of the child as theorized by edelman— or in other words the characteristics that identify children as children, were not perceived in black children to the same degree they were perceived in children of other races. namely, black children were seen as older: in one condition they were perceived as a staggering 4.5 years older than their age, meaning black children as young as 6 thirteen could be perceived as legal adults. they were also perceived as less innocent, more culpable for their actions, and less in need of protection. where edelman sees the child as universally innocent, universally inspiring of a compulsion to defense, the child of color cannot be identified as such, because literal children of color, in this case black children, are not seen as universally innocent or universally worthy of protection in the same way that white children are. the overestimation of the age of black children means that they can be literally perceived as notchildren, and the child that may be denied its childhood cannot as easily function symbolically as the child who symbolizes the hopeful future. put simply: the child who is not always a child (the child of color) cannot be the child. as an example of the problematic politics of the child, edelman analyzes the white supremacist slogan commonly referred to as the “fourteen words” as troubling for more than just its racism, but also for its reliance on futurism. the slogan coined by david lane, described by the anti-defamation league as “a member of the white supremacist terrorist group known as the order”, reads as follows: “we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children” (“14 words”). edelman acknowledges the appalling nature of the racism of the statement, but also presses us to see the way the symbolic child invoked here, in this instance explicitly acknowledged as white, is symptomatic of the larger impact of politics of futurity. the word “secure” implies that the existence of white people and a white future are under threat, inviting the question: what threat must the white child and its future be secured from? the only answer being: the child of color. the future is necessarily the “time to come, from which, in time, we’re all destined to vanish” according to edelman, so the threat is not the adult of color, but the child of color who would age out of childhood with the white child (edelman 33). the white child and the child of color, as symbols, never age and so the threat remains infinitely, as 7 the future of the child of color forever looms as a threat to the future of the symbolic child who is white. the future of the child of color is a threat because the future which the child of color invokes is not the future “perpetuating sameness” that the (white) child is figured to represent (edelman 60). while people of color are oppressed, the child of color will symbolize hope for a future that is markedly different from the present experience of people of color. as evidence of this, we need look no further than the most famous call to abandon racism: martin luther king jr.’s “i have a dream” speech. more than once in this speech, king invokes the image of the child of color, but perhaps the most famous is king’s declaration that, “i have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. i have dream today.” (king 232). the future “one day” that king envisions is not a future that replicates the “today” of 1963 in which the speech was delivered. instead, the future is hopeful for king and civil rights activists precisely because of this difference. his dream that “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood”, locates the past— the american slave past— which this future would not replicate, but rather repudiate (232). only the children of this past can achieve this difference, “enabling change” while edelman describes explicitly that the futurism of the child does not (edelman 60). the child of color, who would, if it were the child, symbolically replicate this past into an evermoving future according to edelman, would instead for king embody a future that overcomes the legacy of the past on which it stands. the child, described by edelman as a figure “whose innocence solicits our defense” universally and without question, can only be figured as symbolically white, because the child solicits defense only as it replicates the past in the future (2). the child of color, who 8 symbolizes a future without the oppression of its past does not solicit defense, but literally faces threat of harm. to recall one of those four little children that martin luther king jr. would paint as a symbol of his dream, yolanda king was sleeping in her home when a bomb was thrown onto the porch, “ripping a hole in the porch floor, shattering four windows, and damaging a porch column” (azbell). though this was before the “i have a dream” speech, the child of color in whose name the civil rights movement attempts to build a new future is seen as the motivator for change, and so the king family home, the place of domesticity, is the site of the attack rather than the first baptist church where king himself was speaking that night (“king’s home bombed”). yolanda king was threatened with physical harm— not only threatened, but actual harm was attempted against her— rather than universally defended because she was the motivating symbol for the actions of her parent; another child who became a symbol of the civil rights movement, ruby bridges, was threatened for her own actions even as a six-year-old child. as she walked into william frantz elementary school in november 1960 as the first black child to attend the previously segregated school, she had to be accompanied by four federal marshals to protect her from the crowds of white children and adults violently opposed to integration. while bridges claims that the chants of “two, four, six, eight, we don’t want to integrate” did not scare her, the white woman who waved a coffin holding a black baby doll did (“ruby (nell) bridges”). the baby-doll in the coffin is a non-verbal threat of violence meant of course to symbolize bridges, the child of color who at once symbolizes and enacts the change that severs the future from the past, especially because she enters the white school, the institutional growing ground of the child and the future of sameness that it represents. 9 in response to my assertion that the child of color represents a symbol of change to the social order, edelman would likely argue that it is still the child because ultimately the change it symbolizes would integrate it into the social order, rather than entirely negate the social order in the way that queerness does. he seems to anticipate this argument when he states that “politics, however radical the means by which specific constituencies attempt to produce a more desirable social order, remains, at its core, conservative insofar as it works to affirm a structure, to authenticate social order, which it then intends to transmit to the future in the form of its inner child” (edelman 2-3). to this i would argue that the child of color actually destabilizes the social order as it symbolizes change to it. as previously stated, the child of color, if it is to act as a hopeful symbol of future as the child does, must symbolize a future in which its oppression ends because of the eventual annihilation of racism; edelman would argue that this would lead to integration into and thus affirmation of the social order. but what is the effect on the western social order— which has for centuries, at least in some way, been organized by race— of the elimination of racism? to begin, the very ability of people of color to successfully integrate into the social order would undeniably prove that they were wrongly and meaninglessly excluded and oppressed by it. the elimination of racism would expose race as entirely symbolic, with no relationship to the real. if race is symbolic, then so are identities based on race— which then threatens to expose identity itself, and indeed the self itself as symbolic, meaningless, and not real. for edelman, the queer threatens the social order through its possibility to expose it as symbolic, and i would argue that the hope symbolized by the child of color of overcoming and eliminating racism functions similarly as that which threatens to reveal the social order as unreal. 10 just as the child of color cannot complete the function of upholding the social order, it also cannot complete the function of serving as ensurance of the future of the state, because the racist state does not see itself replicated in the child of color. let us take for example the group of asylum seekers at the united states border in tijuana in november 2018. they could easily be imagined as pinnacles of the long beloved american dream if their skin color did not subsume every other aspect of their identity in the eyes of the racist state: they took a hard journey on foot in an attempt to escape violence in central america, in hopes of giving their children— those they carry thousands of miles as well as the children they will one day produce— a better life. this action, american in spirit, is presented as a threat to america rather than an embodiment of american values because the children in whose name this action is taken are not the figurative child who replicates the state into futurity, but the child of color who alters the future and threatens the social order. on november 25, 2018, united states border patrol agents threw tear gas at the group of asylum seekers, which included children, as a portion of them attempted to cross the border. kevin mcaleenan, u.s. customs and border protection commissioner, described this as “less lethal” force (hennessy-fiske). his rhetoric is revealing: the state does not claim that throwing tear gas at people, including children, is not harmful, acknowledging the willingness of the state to harm these children who would cross the border. the term “less lethal” is a very important one, as it is masking the fact that the force has the potential of lethality and thus cannot be described as “non-lethal” force. when this “less lethal” force is used, there is of course risk that someone could die, showing the state’s willingness to harm and possibly kill the asylum seekers, children among them included. this is the greatest threat that the child of color poses to the state, greater even than the threat it poses to the state via its unsettling of the social order: it 11 threatens to expose the state as the universally reviled child-killer (alternatively, “the dreaded pedocide”, to employ edelman’s terminology) by revealing that the state is indeed willing to kill children (42). the only way the state can escape the act of harming literal children without being branded as opposed to the child is that the children who would cross the border are not the child. here, the state can enact violence against children because the identity of these children, who should theoretically elicit protection, is negated by their other identities, which elicit fear and thus violence, instead. these children are perceived first as immigrants, as illegal, as not-thesame, and as children second. it is important to note here that it is legal to seek asylum, but these migrants are not being allowed to because “under current u.s. law, migrants must be permitted to remain in the country while their asylum claims work their way through the immigration-court system” and the trump administration does not want them to reside in the country for any period of time (montes). tomi lahren, a fox news host, tweeted that “watching the usa finally defend our border was the highlight of my thanksgiving weekend” in response to a tweet by actress and activist alyssa milano directly stating that children were affected by the tear gas (@tomilahren). reluctantly passing over the morbid fittingness of a white woman enjoying violence against people of color on thanksgiving, in this instance lahren is celebrating the suffering of those children, because to her the fact that they have attempted to cross the border negates their status as children. here, the rhetoric suggests that the state must defend itself from the child of color, whereas the child is always that which must be defended and not that which must be defended from. edelman asks, “who would destroy the child”, implying the impossibility of taking that stance (edelman 16). yet, lahren publicly and boldly celebrates the danger imposed upon 12 asylum-seeking children. lahren is able to escape the mark of that which advocates the destruction of the child because the immigrant child of color does not imply the child whose destruction is unthinkable. though lahren is not a direct representative of the state, she is a voice of the channel sanctioned by the president as ‘not fake news’, and so she does serve as a voice speaking what the administration supports but does not directly say. by disidentifying these children as children and identifying them first as illegal, immigrant, and other, lahren and the state are able to present the abuse of children as protection of those that the state includes in its self-replicating vision of the population. just as children of color cannot be permitted childhood, the child of color cannot be envisioned as the child, because that would make the state an agent opposed to the child, rather than something verified and even immortalized by the child. to turn our attention back to edelman now that we have established the threat of the child of color to the state, let us analyze here his thoughts on dickens’ a christmas carol. scrooge, indifferent to the sufferings of the world, balks when he is made to see the death of tiny tim in the christmas yet to come, and as a result reintegrates into society in order to save tiny tim. here, edelman gives compelling analysis of how scrooge, figured as a representative of the concept of sinthomosexuality (sexuality that interacts with the sinthome, the knot of the symbolic, real, and imaginary of identity, and thus creates jouissance), is redeemed within the text through his new commitment to the survival of tiny tim, not simply a child, but the child (see no future chapter 2, “sinthomosexuality”, especially pages 41-47). here, let us imagine an alternate version of a christmas carol, in which tiny tim is not white, but instead a child of color (the child of color), and in which scrooge, committed capitalist moneylender, is read as a stand in for the capitalist state rather than a stand in for the sinthomosexual. in this scenario, does 13 our new scrooge still save tiny tim? does the suffering of this new tiny tim create in scrooge “an interest he had never felt before” (dickens 91)? is the “spirit of tiny tim” still a “childish essence… from god” (136)? can this state-scrooge work to become a “second father” to the child of color tiny tim? most importantly, does this tiny tim “not die” (152)? there can of course be no conclusive answers to these questions when we imagine an alternative text which does not exist to be analyzed, but i am using the questions here as a prodding point to introduce the general question: the child can call the sinthomosexual away from its negativity and reconnect him to the future, but can the child of color redeem the capitalist state by connecting it to the future while the state does not see its future in the child of color? i would be inclined to answer generally in the negative, and, ironically, a work in which the child of color does redeem and enliven a capitalist state proves my point. the children of men by p.d. james depicts a future in which humans seem to have “lost for ever the power to reproduce,” the last birth of a human having taken place over 25 years prior (james 3). this leads to widespread societal issues including ritual “suicides” called quietus to limit the elderly population, import of the younger population of poorer countries as laborers, followed by the deportation these laborers at the age of sixty, to name only a few. the state fractured in the absence of the child speaks to edelman’s claims that the child and the future it represents are the stitch that holds together the fabric of meaning and thus the social order (edelman 11-13). of course, a child is born at the end of the narrative, renewing the hope for a future, for meaning. the film adaptation children of men is interesting because julian, the white british woman who gives birth in the novel, is replaced as child-bearer with kee, a black refugee, in the film. kee gives birth to her child in the midst of a war-torn britain and in the film’s pivotal scene she walks through both rebel and state soldiers with her crying daughter in 14 her arms (cuarón). people smile, look on in disbelief, cry, and some even kneel before mother and infant. this baby is clearly the child: she provides these people with hope by renewing the possibility of a future in the face of the end of humanity, symbolically renewing the meaning which the population perceives to have lost in a present without a future. while this may seem at first glance antithetical to my argument— kee’s baby is obviously the child and obviously black— it actually affirms it. the child of color can only fulfill the role of the child in the absence of the child it threatens. the child of color can only be the future of the state when there is literally nothing else on which the state can build a future. the child of color can only build the social order when the social order has already imploded. with this conclusion in mind— that the child of color cannot complete the mission of the symbolic child that creates a future for parent, state, and social order, a future in which the hope for meaning persists— how do we proceed? the first step is to take edelman’s argument and have the willingness to view it through more than just the scope of sexuality, to extend it to be seen through the lenses of race, gender, economic oppression, etc. from doing this we can create many rich areas of thought and discussion, acknowledging at once the brilliance and the incompleteness of no future. to name a few of these questions: how does the image of the child affect queer people of color— who are doubly dangerous to the child because of their skin tone and sexuality— differently than it affects white queer people? what is the relationship between the child and people who are infertile, especially women, who are historically defined by motherhood? similarly, are queer women differently impacted by the symbolic child than queer men? the fact that these tantalizing questions are implied by no future, yet never allowed to breathe and present themselves as questions to be explored— as questions worthy of 15 exploration— illuminates the complication of antirelational queer theory which hopes to isolate the queer as a topic of analysis divorced from modes of otherness outside of queerness. theory examining queerness (especially theory commenting on the oppression of queer people) as unconnected to other modes of oppression is theory that may still resonate with the lives of queer people, yet only partially. queer theory should acknowledge that the experience of the cis white gay man, the trans black lesbian, and the genderfluid asian pansexual are not totally the same experience. this is not to say that queer theory must with every word examine the relationship of queer oppression to other oppressions, queerness to other markers of identity. rather, this is to say that queer theory must at least be willing to allow these issues their place at the figurative table— to consider them and engage with them, rather than take a purposeful stance of isolating queerness within theory. after all, “the primary systems of oppression are interlocking. the synthesis of these oppressions creates the conditions of our lives”— all of our lives, because our lives are still shaped by the systems of oppression that do not oppress us specifically (combahee river collective 292). in cruising utopia, muñoz argues for a queer turn toward futurity, a turn toward a queer utopia founded on collectivity, in contrast to edelman’s position that queerness is destructive to the future and that the queer should embrace this radical negativity. muñoz succinctly summarizes the position of this utopianism in relation specifically to edelman’s theory in “cruising the toilet”: it is important not to hand over futurity to normative white reproductive futurity. that dominant mode of futurity is indeed “winning,” but that is all the more reason to call on a utopian political imagination that will enable us to glimpse another time and place: a “not-yet” where queer youths of color actually get to grow up. utopian and willfully 16 idealistic practices of thought are in order if we are to resist the perils of heteronormative pragmatism and anglo-normative pessimism. (365) i echo muñoz in this, the idea that children of color, queer or not, must be allowed to grow up— that they must in material life be given the benefits bestowed upon the symbolic child. children of color must be allowed to be children and must be defended with all the vigor that politics bends in the name of the symbolic child who is not— who cannot be, as i have argued— the child of color. indeed, as there must be a queer utopian futurism characterized by “an insistence on potentiality or concrete possibility for another world”, there must also be a utopianism that imagines and attempts to create another world, a “not-yet”, in which children of color have a place and a life (cruising utopia 1). 17 1 i follow edelman in capitalizing the word “child” when referring to the figurative symbol of futurity, rather than any material child. similarly, i capitalize terms like child of color or white child when i am discussing them as symbols in response to edelman. 2 edelman build his arguments on lacan’s concepts of the real and the symbolic. edelman defines the symbolic as “the register of the speaking subject and the order of the law” comprised of “a network of signifying relations” entangled in language (edelman 7). the real is “the hole in the symbolic,” a prelingual register which by nature resists comprehension through the signification of the language of the symbolic (edelman 15). 1 works cited “14 words.” anti-defamation league, https://www.adl.org/education/references/hatesymbols/14-words. accessed 14 nov. 2018. azbell, joe. “blast rocks residence of bus boycott leader.” stanford university: the martin luther king, jr. research and education institute, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/kingpapers/documents/blast-rocks-residence-bus-boycott-leader-joe-azbell. accessed 20 nov. 2018. combahee river collective. “the combahee river collective statement.” available means: an anthology of women’s rhetoric(s), edited by joy ritchie and kate ronald, university of pittsburgh press, 2001, pp. 292–300. cuarón, alfonso, director. children of men. universal pictures, 2006. dickens, charles. christmas carol: a ghost story of christmas. the floating press, 2009. edelman, lee. no future: queer theory and the death drive. duke university press, 2004. goff, phillip atiba, et al. “the essence of innocence: consequences of dehumanizing black children.” journal of personality and social psychology, vol. 106, no. 4, 2014, pp. 526– 45. crossref, doi:10.1037/a0035663. accessed 20 nov. 2018. hennessy-fiske, molly. “border patrol chief defends use of tear gas on migrants at mexican border.” los angeles times (online); los angeles, 26 nov. 2018, http://search.proquest.com/docview/2138095922/citation/103a11df2d1b4352pq/1. accessed 28 nov. 2018. james, p. d. the children of men. a.a. knopf, 1993. king, martin luther, jr. “i have a dream.” king’s dream: the legacy of martin luther king’s i have a dream speech, yale university press, 2009. https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/14-words https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/14-words https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/14-words https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/14-words https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/blast-rocks-residence-bus-boycott-leader-joe-azbell https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/blast-rocks-residence-bus-boycott-leader-joe-azbell https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/blast-rocks-residence-bus-boycott-leader-joe-azbell https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/blast-rocks-residence-bus-boycott-leader-joe-azbell https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035663 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035663 http://search.proquest.com/docview/2138095922/citation/103a11df2d1b4352pq/1 http://search.proquest.com/docview/2138095922/citation/103a11df2d1b4352pq/1 19 “king’s home bombed.” stanford university: the martin luther king, jr., research and education institute, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/kings-home-bombed. accessed 20 nov. 2018. lahren, tomi (@tomilahren). “bum-rushing the border is a choice and has consequences. watching the usa finally defend our borders was the highlight of my thanksgiving weekend.” twitter, 26 nov. 2018, 12:54 a.m., https://twitter.com/tomilahren/status/1066933177745268741. accessed 28 nov. 2018. montes, juan, santiago perez, and robbie whelan. “migrants rushing u.s. border dispersed by tear gas.” dow jones institutional news; new york, 25 nov. 2018. proquest, http://search.proquest.com/docview/2137333798/citation/b08c61ce37074d28pq/1. accessed 28 nov. 2018. muñoz, josé esteban. “cruising the toilet: leroi jones/amiri baraka, radical black traditions, and queer futurity.” glq: a journal of lesbian and gay studies, vol. 13, no. 2, may 2007, pp. 353–67. ---. cruising utopia: the then and there of queer futurity. new york university press, 2009. "ruby (nell) bridges." contemporary authors online, gale, 2002. literature resource center, http://link.galegroup.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/apps/doc/h1000145191/litrc?u=vill_main &sid=litrc&xid=dbfcd6e5. accessed 19 nov. 2018. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/kings-home-bombed https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/kings-home-bombed https://twitter.com/tomilahren/status/1066933177745268741 https://twitter.com/tomilahren/status/1066933177745268741 http://search.proquest.com/docview/2137333798/citation/b08c61ce37074d28pq/1 http://search.proquest.com/docview/2137333798/citation/b08c61ce37074d28pq/1 http://link.galegroup.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/apps/doc/h1000145191/litrc?u=vill_main&sid=litrc&xid=dbfcd6e5 http://link.galegroup.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/apps/doc/h1000145191/litrc?u=vill_main&sid=litrc&xid=dbfcd6e5 http://link.galegroup.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/apps/doc/h1000145191/litrc?u=vill_main&sid=litrc&xid=dbfcd6e5 http://link.galegroup.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/apps/doc/h1000145191/litrc?u=vill_main&sid=litrc&xid=dbfcd6e5 microsoft word madson_lyric messene 1 lyric messene: collaborative ethnogenesis and historical narrative1 luke nathaniel madson classical studies introduction: in the ancient world, messenia is the case study par excellence of competing historicalpolitical narratives and notions of revival. the wholesale creation of the late classical polis of messene illustrates the variety of ways in which new political realities look to the past to establish precedent and stability in the face of seismic change.2 many messenian traditions map well onto what jan bremmer has called “myth as argument,”3 namely, a particular construction of the past to justify present political views, (sometimes) with an argument for a certain direction in the future. this idea is exemplified in the fragmentary lyric tradition of eumelus known as the delian prosodion, of which we have only two attributed lines. as my analysis of this poetic tradition will show, it is inadequate to dismiss such evidence as mere political propaganda orchestrated by the thebans and messenians as they founded a new polis. the delian prosodion, when contextualized and queried against other emerging messenian poetic traditions, historical narratives, and archaeological evidence, reveals the compelling traditions which are put forward in the process of ethnogenesis. such expressions serve to establish legitimacy, not just in a broader external panhellenic political community, but also internally in the micro-narrative of messene and the identity of its citizens. the poetry attributed to eumelus shows the development of lyric memory, which functions much like the physical manifestation of civic memory, as seen in the city of messene; both facilitate the emergence of a certain historical consciousness as well as the embodiment of a present contemporary community. 2 before examining the delian prosodion, a brief overview of prior scholarship is in order. i do not intend to solve the multitude of diachronic problems surrounding the establishment of messenia, but rather understand the limitations of the theoretical approaches which have been utilized in messenian historiography. traditionally, messenian scholarship has been split into two camps, following broader schools of thought with respect to ethnic identity: the primordialists and the discontinuists.4 the primoridalists argue for continuity, claiming the original kernel of tradition from archaic messenians was preserved despite the spartan occupation within the messenian helot population, as well as in diaspora communities, until the return of autonomy and founding of messene in 369 bce. this interpretation also has roots in historical positivism, specifically the belief that we can read myth as a sort of genuine historical text as it relates to our modern concept of a factual record or chronicle. in contrast, discontinuists claim that there is a clear break in tradition and a wholesale reinvention of messenian ethnicity under theban hegemony (this camp can also be labeled the instrumentalists, or constructivists).5 these scholars are epitomized by lionel pearson, who begged the question in the 1960s: “how can there be any history of a people that has had no existence as a nation or city-state?”6 while the tone of argument has shifted since then, the thesis remains similar: it is difficult for an oppressed group to maintain genuine traditions and so modern scholars should focus on the reactionary nature of helot and messenian identity in the face of spartan dominance.7 these interpretive positions create a false dichotomy when they can be quite compatible.8 we can accept a kernel of historical truth in messenian memory while also understanding there is a great deal of invention involved in the emergence of the new messenian community. thus, as thomas figueira has noted, there is a “surviving dossier of documentation,” which 3 demonstrates “a virtual blitzkrieg of self-assertion by the messenians spanning the generation from c.460.”9 the question seems to be one of extent or degree. generally, this seems more profitable than rehashing the authenticity or legitimacy claims made by the spartans and messenians themselves (similar, perhaps, to arguing about if the athenians were genuinely autochthonous, or whether any city-state possessed a set of unchanged ritual traditions between the early archaic and late classical period, a span of over 400 years).10 those are the issues when we limit ourselves to quellenkritik and ignore the further complications of modern theoretical reception.11 if a historian deconstructs messenian myth as a fabrication, s/he is seen as unsympathetic to messenians on the whole, and therefore implicated as a modern day philolakon and unsympathetic to the oppression of chattel slavery. helotage and the emergences of messenia carries the heavy baggage of modern ideology, namely how we grapple with questions of more recent systems of slavery and colonial history.12 given the hazards of modern ideology, it might seem natural to deconstruct the creation of an ethnic group in an etic/emic approach, but the result yields an answer that is already argued by instrumentalists. the etic objective perspective sees ethnic identity as a constructed tool of political assertion that fails to capture the emic significance of ethnicity.13 for the new messenians, what mattered was recognition and legitimacy as a new city state, both internally for the preservation of their own institutions and by broader greek ethnic and political bodies, even the king at sousa and, eventually, a roman emperor.14 lyric tradition as performative identity: in order to establish the internal embodiment of the messenian community and the external recognition of peer polities, the messenians claimed a vast array of lyric traditions in order to support their civic existence. lyric traditions, in this sense, are tightly bound to the 4 physical manifestations of a particular socio-political community and micro-context. as a part of the emergence of the localized messenian historical consciousness, these songs provided an inconsistent but fundamental portrayal of messenian identity in the face of contrary spartan lyric tradition. in the examination of these lyric traditions as they related to the founding of messene, previous scholarship has again fallen back into primordial and instrumental camps, focusing on whether lyric traditions are inventions or some remnant of genuine and authentic tradition. the irony here is that, for the ancients, this may not have been much of a concern in so far as how they conceived of authenticity or uninterrupted tradition in oral reperformative contexts.15 concerns over authenticity therefore reveal much more about our modern criticism regarding factual analysis than the ideological and ethnic arguments in which ancient cities participated. as naoíse mac sweeney has argued, the dichotomy we choose to implement between historical fact or mythic fiction was not necessarily a concern to an ancient audience.16 returning to the fragment of interest, the delian prosodion was considered by pausanias to be eumelus’ only authentic work (4.4.1, 4.33.2), and this brief attestation provides us with the only candidate for an authentic ritual poetic tradition, if there was such a thing, for the messenians. of the entire delian prosodion, only two attested lines remain (pmg 696): τῶι γὰρ ἰθωμάται καταθύμιος ἔπλετο μοῖσα ἁ καθαρὰ καὶ ἐλεύθερα σάμβαλ᾽ ἔχοισα. for the god of ithome took (or takes) pleasure in the muse who is pure and wears free sandals.17 these verses emphasize messenian cult tradition (zeus of ithome) and the heritage of a free messenian territory (ἐλεύθερα σάμβαλ᾽ ἔχοισα). indeed, the theme of the goddess of lyric and choral inspiration dancing freely to the delight of zeus of ithome serves as the pointed political expression: messenia, free from spartan oppression. it takes the choral song and anchors it to the 5 messenian landscape; mount ithome, as the location of helot rebellions and the key feature in the landscape around the city of messene, is where harmony can flourish. as giovan d’alessio notes, the verses of the ideal choral landscape stand in remarkable opposition to sparta’s own attested lyric tradition in terpander (gostoli fragment 5): ἔνθ᾿ αἰχμά τε νέων θάλλει καὶ μοῦσα λίγεια καὶ δίκα εὐρυάγυια, καλῶν ἐπιτάρροθος ἔργων. there the spear of the young men flourishes and the clear-voiced muse and justice who walks in the wide streets, that helper in fine deeds.18 here terpander essentially puts forth his own lyric vision of spartan harmony and unity. this particular terpander fragment certainly has its own problems in terms of textual transmission, but these lyric traditions are essentially another means of articulating political arguments about spartan and messenian legitimacy: a wandering lesbian poet comes to sparta to impart wisdom and political harmony, and a wandering corinthian poet does the same for the messenians. some critics, including m. l. west, have accepted that the delian prosodion was composed in the 8th century bce and preserved moving forward into the classical period. west argues that the song was an anthem of independence and the facts regarding the original performative context were written down by later historians.19 critics, such as luraghi and d’alessio, suggest that the delian prosodion may very well be a piece of later revisionist history, attributed to the messenian archaic context at a later point in time.20 in this view, the lyric tradition of eumelus is more likely a product of the messenian diaspora community of naupactus, who had more reason to send a chorus to perform at the sanctuary of delos as they began to articulate independence, than any messenian community of the 8th century bce. while it remains unclear whether or not the eumelus attestation is pseudohistorical, to argue about the authenticity or legitimacy of the tradition misses the wider point. we cannot be 6 certain as to the nature of the original choral performative context of the delian prosodion. even if it was a choral performance on delos which was formally recorded in a literary repository, we know little about what the messenian performative community could have looked like in the 8th century bce. both lines of argument can be simultaneously true. the verses may have been authentic and subversive, clandestinely performed until the return of some form of messenian autonomy. the messenians of naupactus could have been the first autonomous group that had the opportunity to send a choral delegation to delos, claiming an archaic precedent while in a much more contemporary context to the (re)founding of the messenian polity. such a performance at delos had serious panhellenic implications, lending legitimacy to local messenian identity within a broader tradition of ethnic expressions that were perceived as legitimate. thus, the lyric tradition of eumelus established or reinvigorated an archaic lyric past as the new messenian polity was building legitimacy with, or against, other established political and ethnic traditions.21 the verses of eumelus are not the only controversial poetic tradition implicated in messenian identity. rhianus of crete composed an epic poem after the founding of messene in the 3rd century bce regarding messenian history, entitled the messeniaca. purportedly 6 books long, it fit in with his wider poetic project of ethno-epics, as he also wrote an achaica, thessalica, eliaca, and heracleia. the works of rhianus of crete and myron of priene provided pausanias with his source material for writing his historical narrative of messenia (paus. 4.6.15). aside from the issue of content (since we have only two possible fragments, suppl. hell. 923 and 946), the messeniaca presents its own issues of source criticism, i.e. was rhianus himself drawing on older poetic source material (perhaps similar to the verses of eumelus, or the entirety of eumelus’ poetry) that we no longer possess? furthermore, to what extent can third century 7 bce ethno-poetic traditions be treated as legitimate sources for historical narratives of the archaic period?22 pausanias clearly thought rhianus to be a good authority for messenian history but modern standards of fact were of little concern to ancient historians, to say nothing of wandering travel writers like pausanias. nevertheless, the messeniaca of rhianus provides a parallel to the delian prosodion as way to solidify local messenian identity within a panhelleninic context. the messeniaca does not seem to be a work of crass historical revisionism given the other works attributed to rhianus, but rather a micro-narrative within the wider panhellenic ethno-poetic tradition. while the delian prosodion is a small piece of evidence, it is clear that it is not alone in articulating messenian ethnic identity in a broader panhellenic world. the lyric and physical foundations of messene: this broader interplay between the emerging messenian local narrative and other ethnically based poetics and traditions is vital for establishing the legitimacy of messenian identity within the panhellenic context. in numerous ways, other ethnic groups lend their traditions in a collaborative context to bolster messenian legitimacy. such a collaborative process is reflected in the establishment of the physical city of messene, in particular the fortification walls and the civic cult of the emerging city. messene was founded following the theban victory at leuctra (371 bce) and the invasion of the spartan homeland. the new messenian polity represented a progression in grand strategy that had its origins in the peloponnesian war. epaminondas and the thebans engaged in what josiah ober has called “epiteichismos on a grand scale.”23 that is to say, messenia represented a permanent culmination of a raiding strategy which consisted of constructing seasonal forts for territorial control and long term economic disruption. messene, a fortress city 8 in what was historically a part of spartan territory, amounted to a permanent check or socioeconomic war on the spartan state. plundering the countryside became a permanent reclamation rather than a seasonal phenomenon. the circuit walls of messene support this view and they are as much a civic monument of messenian liberation as they are an active defensive measure. they stand today as a prime example of the emerging architectural style of rustikamauern, leaving the courses of ashlar masonry unfinished in order to better absorb projectiles, a new development in siege defense in classical greece that can be dated to the late fourth century bce (compared with the circuit walls of tanagra, ca. 386 bce, and mantinea ca. 371 bce).24 the construction of the walls and the city within are discussed by both pausanias and diodorus. the latter claims the circuit fortifications were completed in eighty-five days (15.67.1).25 these walls physically imposed a new political reality but also commemorated the historical occupation and initial ad hoc fortification of mount ithome in the third messenian war.26 the whole city permanently enshrines the earlier rebellion, preserving the memory of a prior uprising and standing as a continual thorn in the side of sparta. in this sense, the city is in direct conversation with the natural landscape which surrounds and supports the existence of the polis. messene is grounded upon mount ithome as an inseparable sacred ideological vision. according to pausanias, we are told the allies built the walls while working to the sound of music: εἰργάζοντο δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ μουσικῆς ἄλλης μὲν οὐδεμιᾶς, αὐλῶν δὲ βοιωτίων καὶ ἀργείων: τά τε σακάδα καὶ προνόμου μέλη τότε δὴ προήχθη μάλιστα ἐς ἅμιλλαν “they were working to the sound of music, but only from the boeotian and argive flutes, and the tunes of scadas and pronomus were brought into keen competition.”27 9 in this account, pausanias reminds us of the convergence of ethnic identity within lyric traditions (here specifically regarding the musical instrument known as the aulos). scadas represents argive lyric tradition and pronomus a theban or broader boeotian one. this particular incident in pausanias’ narrative reflects the ethnic and political arguments being made at the time, namely, that messene was founded with the backing of thebes and argos.28 pronomus is a particularly apt choice for this moment, as pausanias elsewhere claims the poet invented the aulos with which one could play dorian, phrygian, and lydian modes of music (9.12.5). not only is pronomus representative of theban civic harmony, but he seems to have broader significance as a unifier of disparate ethnic modes of music which traditionally required separate kinds of flutes. as a sort of soundtrack to the construction of the circuit walls, pronomus (alongside scadas) embodies intra-ethnic harmony in this performative context. the playing of pronomus’ music at the founding of messene represents a broader induction of messenian identity and tradition into the umbrella of ethnic identities in the panhellenic world. the lyric songs of these established ethnic groups lend a cultural legitimacy to the foundation of messenian identity and messene itself. through this collaborative process, recognized traditions and ethnic speech acts that are perceived as legitimate, are in conversation with the emerging messenian state.29 messene is becoming a legitimate peer polity. this sort of lyric semantic argument synchronizes well with the poetry of eumelus being performed at delos, in a panhellenic peer context, endorsing messenian freedom and legitimacy. the (re)foundation of messenian civic cult: this lending of legitimacy, as seen in the performative context of the delian prosodion and the grounding of the messenian walls, is also seen in the establishment or revival of 10 messenian civic cult. as pausanias relates in his narrative, each of the allied ethnic groups sacrifices to their relevant deities at the foundation of messene. according to pausanias: ὡς δὲ ἐγεγόνει τὰ πάντα ἐν ἑτοίμῳ, τὸ ἐντεῦθεν—ἱερεῖα γὰρ παρεῖχον οἱ ἀρκάδες— αὐτὸς μὲν ἐπαμινώνδας καὶ οἱ θηβαῖοι διονύσῳ καὶ ἀπόλλωνι ἔθυον ἰσμηνίῳ τὸν νομιζόμενον τρόπον, ἀργεῖοι δὲ τῇ τε ἥρᾳ τῇ ἀργείᾳ καὶ νεμείῳ διί, μεσσήνιοι δὲ διί τε ἰθωμάτᾳ καὶ διοσκούροις, οἱ δέ σφισιν ἱερεῖς θεαῖς ταῖς μεγάλαις καὶ καύκωνι. ἐπεκαλοῦντο δὲ ἐν κοινῷ καὶ ἥρωάς σφισιν ἐπανήκειν συνοίκους, μεσσήνην μὲν τὴν τριόπα μάλιστα, ἐπὶ ταύτῃ δὲ εὔρυτον καὶ ἀφαρέα τε καὶ τοὺς παῖδας, παρὰ δὲ ἡρακλειδῶν κρεσφόντην τε καὶ αἴπυτον: πλείστη δὲ καὶ παρὰ πάντων ἀνάκλησις ἐγίνετο ἀριστομένους. when all was in readiness, victims being provided by the arcadians, epaminondas himself and the thebans then sacrificed to dionysus and apollo ismenius in the accustomed manner, the argives to argive hera and nemean zeus, the messenians to zeus of ithome and the dioscuri, and their priests to the great goddesses and caucon. and together they summoned heroes to return and dwell with them, first messene the daughter of triopas, after her eurytus, aphareus and his children, and of the sons of heracles cresphontes and aepytus. but the loudest summons from all alike was to aristomenes.30 the legitimacy of messenian cult deities and heroes is substantiated when paired with the equivalent figures from argive and theban traditions. much like the lyric traditions, messenian cult is incorporated into a broader panhellenic (or at least pro-theban) context. zeus of ithome is perhaps the local deity that binds a multiplicity of collective social memories under one civic identity (of helot oppression, peroikic dissatisfaction, diaspora, etc.).31 the collaborative process is particularly emphasized with the cult heroes who are summoned jointly by both the messenians and their allies to return to messenia (ἐπεκαλοῦντο δὲ ἐν κοινῷ καὶ ἥρωάς σφισιν ἐπανήκειν συνοίκους). this recalling provides a framework for a plurality of traditions which might be endorsed in messenian civic identity. the call for the return of aristomenes, as a civic benefactor endorsed by everyone (πλείστη δὲ καὶ παρὰ πάντων ἀνάκλησις ἐγίνετο ἀριστομένους), supports this view, as he represents a “polysemic multi-talented” heroic figure.32 even the hero’s name is pretty generic in 11 and of itself as aristomenes (ἀριστομένης) means something like “the one with a great/the best spirit.” it would be hard to be against such a cult figure, to say the least. as a civic cult hero, aristomenes’ mythic traditions reflect a plurality of messenian narratives, and as a legitimate panhellenic hero, he interacts with other interested parties—e.g. boeotian, theban, lebadaean, even spartan—within the greek socio-political framework.33 as with the binary relationship between eumelus and terpander, aristomenes provides a series of counter narratives against the other heroic/mythic traditions of the spartans and a sort of ritual inversion of spartan myth making.34 this polysemic understanding of aristomenes aligns well with the other ethnic indicia of the messenian community. as with eumelus, rhianus, and the fortification of the city, the foundation of civic cult deities signifies a multiplicity of meaning in a variety of contexts. these heroes help express locality while binding the messenians to the broader political landscape of panhellenism. consistency is not at issue for ancient ethnic traditions, but rather the traditions present a polyvalenced semantic field whence a variety of political arguments and communal articulations might be derived in a given moment.35 archaeological evidence: regarding the return of these cult heroes, we might expect a sharp change in votive offerings, ritual contexts, and cult traditions in the messenian landscape; however, with the end of spartan hegemony, the archaeological evidence suggests a continuity of traditional cult practice.36 the issue with archaeological studies of tomb cult is that they do not state things as clearly as we would like. there is certainly a pattern of development and growth in the late classical and hellenistic period—practices that were formerly limited developed into at least ten definite sites with unambiguous votives and ritual deposits, with another ten locations as 12 potential tomb cult sites in the late classical period37—sue alcock suggests that each of these cult centers was a “local source of authority for communities under duress,” citing comparative repressed communities as a model for exaggerated remembrance of the good old days. nevertheless, we can only posit that, “such changes point to possible shifts in sponsorship,” but it remains unclear if these cult sites continued, “in celebration of freedom rather than resistance to subjugation.”38 in this sense, the archaeological record will likely never yield the result for which historians have traditionally looked, i.e. proof of either the spartan or messenian version of events.39 luraghi and others have argued that many of the new messenians at messene were simply messenian peroikoi, and thus maintained their traditional cult activities. sparta, at the time of the theban invasion, seems to be more or less on the brink of civil war. not only did the spartan kings have to worry about the disaffection of helots, but also peroikoi, debarred spartiates, and full citizens who may have concluded that the current political state was untenable. this interpretation works well, given that xenophon famously suggests that even peroikoi had good reason to eat the spartiates raw: αὐτοὶ μέντοι πᾶσιν ἔφασαν συνειδέναι καὶ εἵλωσι καὶ νεοδαμώδεσι καὶ τοῖς ὑπομείοσι καὶ τοῖς περιοίκοις: ὅπου γὰρ ἐν τούτοις τις λόγος γένοιτο περὶ σπαρτιατῶν, οὐδένα δύνασθαι κρύπτειν τὸ μὴ οὐχ ἡδέως ἂν καὶ ὠμῶν ἐσθίειν αὐτῶν. “for whenever they conversed with such men about the spartiates [helots, newly freed citizens, lower grade citizens, and the peoples of the surrounding towns], they said that not even one of the men in those groups could hide how bitterly he felt towards the spartans, going so far as to say that they would even eat them raw”40 clearly, by the time of the theban hegemony, it was not just messenian helots who were discontent with spartan domestic policy. it seems likely that the new polity of messene emerged from a hybrid consensus of a number of groups from various political and socioeconomic statuses, not a singularly oppressed group. 13 the continuity of cult tradition might also be an archaizing political statement unto itself, much like we have observed in the recalling of old cult heroes and the emergence of archaic lyric traditions. the emerging messenian historical consciousness might consider these cult locations to have always belonged to them. thus, traditional doric practices and ritual dedications would be subversive in their own right, suggesting that these ritual traditions originated from archaic messenians and not spartans. in this way, messenians might claim they were the original doric inhabitants of the land all along. this sort of competition of historic authority and authenticity is similarly seen in pausanias’ comments on the pure doric messenian dialect, although we lack any real evidence of “messenian speech” as eumelus is supposedly corinthian interloper much like other wandering poets and wandering law givers. in this argument, messenians speak such a pristine doric dialect that they must be the original inhabitants of the peloponnese. all of this seems to make a rather broad and exaggerated claim concerning the identity of free messenians. it is worth remembering when examining the historical record as it stands, that we lack even a single name of a helot in the classical period. for all the talk of who the messenians were, we possess very little in their own words. it remains unclear whether or not pausanias refers to an archaizing tradition established retroactively whereby messenians play up their primordialism to a wider greek audience, or some genuine continuity within messenian speech.41 continued archaeological study of spartan and broader laconian and messeninan cult contexts is likely the only possibility for additional evidence that might shed light on diachronic changes in the evolving identity politics between sparta and messene. it is unlikely that additional literary evidence will come to light in the form of some long-lost poem of eumelus, or the lost epic verses of rhianus. as of 2018, nicolette pavlides has published the most recent work on cult sanctuaries in laconia, in particular the sanctuaries to apollo maleatas and apollo 14 tyrtias on the border between laconia and argos.42 pavlides shows how these martial sanctuaries helped connect the spartan center to a broader sacred laconian landscape and created unified common cult rituals between the spartans and their perioikic neighbors when asserting power against argos. these sanctuaries facilitated an interconnected and dynamic relationship between the spartan polis in the center and broader regional territories which made up the laconian countryside.43 it is likely that a similar interwoven urban and rural dynamic existed in the shared cult sanctuaries in messenia, where both spartans and messenians participated in cult activities. after all, messenia was not just inhabited by a helot population, but perioikic neighbors and rural settlements. for the spartans, shared cult spaces would have been away to maintain a unified laconian-messenian landscape in the face of emerging ethnic differences and geographical limitations. with the passage of time, it seems likely that these cult sanctuaries would have simply reverted into messenian sacred spaces, with little change to ritual action or votive deposits. the shift was to the central civic institution: no longer was it the city of sparta, but a new urban hub emerged in the landscape in the form of messene. ritual interdependency which was once used to project a unified body politic and spartan hegemony became a vehicle for selfdifferentiation and primordial identity claims for the new city of messene, and its emerging cult traditions and broader ethnic identity claims. conclusion: thus, archaizing tradition pervades many of these identity claims, from dialect, to lyric tradition, to ritual act. what we can say confidently is that messene and the greater territory of messenia were a byproduct of theban hegemony and a check on sparta. the new city state was rhetorically portrayed as a return to past tradition. in this sense, the new messenian polity was an 15 artificial construct, a supposed refoundation, through the lens of classical rebellions and a possible ethnic diaspora, resulting in a new city-state. while criticism of messenian tradition is certainly warranted, ethnogenesis was not simply cynical propaganda on the part of the thebans. as naoíse mac sweeney has suggested, these traditions have a strong emotional appeal and social significance, which extends beyond political expedience.44 there were kernels of archaic messenian identity preserved into the classical period, but the refugees and allies building messene likely knew that they were creating something innovative, within the context of the collapse of spartan hegemony. in turn, these new messenians used historical traditions, such as the delian prosodion, that supported their right to exist within greek political space, giving them a veneer of resurgence and historical precedent. these traditions had a broad and compelling appeal to ancient audiences and were accepted, not in terms of consistency, but rather as a means to articulate more broadly a plurality of cultural and historical difference, as they still do today. the persistence of messene into the hellenistic period should be largely attributed to its very real siege walls and the support of a broader hellenic community in peloponnesian politics. of course, how messene gained political support of the hellenic community was through its articulation of ancient history in all of the various strands, real or imagined.45 collaborative ethnogenesis offers a compelling explanation for messenian legitimacy in the face of political turmoil of the early 4th century bce, but it does leave some questions unanswered: namely, why messenian identity was a still a contentious issue for pausanias in the 2nd century ce, around 500 years after the city was founded and long after the end of autonomous political action in the peloponnese. 16 notes: 1 a version of this paper was given at a graduate student conference at the university at buffalo s.u.n.y., focusing on resurgences and revivals in the ancient world. the author would like to thank professor andrew scott and professor melanie subacus for reading earlier drafts and providing helpful comments and suggestions. additionally, the author is thankful for support from the classical studies program at villanova university and the guidance of professor valentina denardis, who helped facilitate financial support to attend the conference and conduct summer research. 2 as mcinerney (2001, 51) notes, ethnicity and sense of peoplehood arising from, “shared blood, history, territory, language, and customs, has come increasingly to serve as the ideological basis for violent political action.” mcinerey goes on to comment that, “the underlying causes of these conflicts are often to be found in the upheavals that follow the collapse of central authority.” 3 see bremmer 1997, 9. 4 for a concise survey of the literature written by both historical camps see: alcock 1999, 333335. 5 for the distinction of primodialism and instrumentalism see: hall 1997, 18-19. 6 pearson (1962, 402) is a sort of absolute instrumentalist, is essentially dismissing the entire experience of messenian/helot identity. conversely, varied individual experiences frequently become lost in unifying diaspora traditions/narratives. see alcock 2002, 152-164. see also figueira 1999, 222-224. figueira shows the complexity of internal and external political movements from helots within the spartan state. messenian identity seems to be explicitly linked with those who were no longer cooperating with their spartan masters. 7 see figueira 1999, 221. see also luraghi 2002, 236-238 regarding the messenian polis as a reconfiguration of helot and peroikic identity. luraghi touches on other unsolved problems regarding helot identity, including the implausibility of enslavement en masse and in situ in the initial spartan conquest of messenia. such an action would be doomed to fail on account of the inherent solidarity within an enslaved population, following the arguments by patterson 1970, 320; however, patterson himself considers helots an exception to the en masse rule, see patterson 1982, 112. the fundamental question here is how helotry fit in the spartan kosmos, as chattel slavery or otherwise, and the possibility of helots being a distinct selfreproducing/sustaining group. 8 the instrumentalist model of ethnogenesis still needs some kernel of “hard” historical fact. malkin (2001, 17-18) provides a modern example that is particularly illustrative: canadian hurons were decimated in the iroquois wars and their remnants were forced to emigrate; however, “a jesuit dictionary was used to revive the huron language, and counterfeit cultural traits were created.” there is a conjunction of old and patently new cultural heritage. a similar “problem” can be seen in american powwow culture. it remains to be seen to what extent messenian traditions were defined by spartan accounts of their historical identity. 9 see, figueira 1999, 215, 219, and 226. figueira provides analysis of the refoundation terminology used in book 4 of pausanias and its implications for historical narrative. new historical traditions offered a blank slate to helots that were messenian and non-messenian alike, “a blank canvas of social manifestation.” 10 luraghi notes that these arguments rely upon which biased ancient sources scholars choose to privilege, so we are seeing “two competing political agendas generating two opposite directions of reality.” see luraghi 2008, 223-224. 17 11 hall (2000, 15) discusses this point in particular when he writes, “in many cases, these traditions have combined cumulatively (rather than interacted dialectically) over the past two centuries, so that it is perfectly possible for ancient historians today to promulgate as doctrine certain historical 'facts,' the epistemological underpinnings of which may well belong to a current of thought quite alien to that presently in use.” 12 in the classic treatment of this issue, moses finley (1998, 77) writes, “contemporary ideological considerations are active in that seemingly remote field of historical study – active in the sense that they underlie, and even direct, what often appears to be a purely ‘factual’, ‘objective’, presentation.” cf. hall (2000, 15), following benedetto croce: “ogni vera storia è storia contemporanea,” (“every true history is a contemporary history”). 13 regarding the risks associated with positivism and a constructed objective etic viewpoint, see hall 2000, 18-19, 30-31. 14 see buckler 1980, 152-156. 15 see d’alessio 2009, 145. a new song may be seen in a different light if it is presented as a reperformance of an original or ur-song and projected onto a foundational past. see hornblower 2004, 312-313. according to thucydides, there was a spartan 5th century reperformance of the ur-performative song and sacrifices which were performed when the dual kingship was established at the founding of sparta. see thucydides 5.16.3. 16 mac sweeney (2013, 15) writes, “the athenians don’t need to be either autocthonous or hellenic. counter-intuitively, they can be both, equally, and at the same time. if we no longer read foundation myths as relating to historical truth, and if we no longer seek to uncover the reality behind the stories, the two options cease to be mutually exclusive. the alternative myths can be told in different contexts, for different audiences, for different reasons.” 17 see d’alessio 2009, 139. traslation is d’alessio. 18 campbell’s text and translation. cf. pindar fragment 199 (snell-maeler), and olympian 13.223 in praise of corinth. see d’alessio 2009, 138-142. 19 see, west 2002, 110. cf. bowra 1963, 145-153. bowra argues there may have been a copy preserved at the sanctuary at delos as a depository of songs. 20 luraghi distrusts all poetic traditions. see luraghi 2008, 5, 73-5. see also d’alessio 2009, 137-145. like other lyric poetry, eumelus may simply be a product of the 4th century with archaizing style. 21 see, d’alessio 2009, 141 and 145. 22 see, ogden 2004, 155-175. ogden’s appendix 1 is an exhaustive account of the source issues regarding rhianus of bene and his literary output. ogden surveys the possible fragments in the supplementum hellenisticum and debunks the so called, “rhianus hypothesis.” 23 ober (1985, 36, 41-42) describes epiteichismos as “the establishment of a permanent post in enemy territory to serve as a center for raiding and socio-economic disruption.” cf. luraghi 2008, 217-219. 24 ober (1985, 132) also notes the innovative catapult windows which were incorporated into the circuit wall towers. 25 xenophon is notably silent and anti-theban; he seems to tow the spartan line of not acknowledging the messene’s existence. this silence is perhaps more informative than other later narration. by refusing to acknowledge the city-state’s foundation, xenophon, more or less is censuring messene’s right to exist within the broader panhellenic community. 26 luraghi (2009, 116) writes that, “the imposing fortification wall was the most impressive component of the city for an ancient visitor. built in stone up to the top, nine kilometers long, it 18 was a true masterpiece of military architecture, exploiting the nature of the terrain to its best effect.” luraghi goes on to note that, “the permanence of a strong garrison in the city once epaminondas left (diod. 15.67.1) confirms this point. however, both on a symbolic and on a material level, the imposing walls on ithome defined a new way the status of this settlement visà-vis the rest of messenia and the greek world at large.” luraghi follows the recent work of silke müth-herda, whose dissertation examines messene as a whole. see müth-herda 2005, 42139. 27pausanias 4.27.7. translation and text is jones with slight modification. see also alcock 2001, 145 and d’alessio 2009, 144. 28 see d’alessio 2009, 144. 29 sue alcock (2001, 145-6) writes, “music, ritual, monuments and repopulation: all come with repatriation and freedom.” alcock also examines messenian induction into the panhellenic community through olympic victories, see pausanias 6.10.2-11. 30 pausanias 4.27.6. 31 for the notion of a number of messenian collective memories, see alcock 2002, 173-175. 32 see ogden 2004, 103. 33 see ogden 2004, 152. aristomenes can be, “all things to all men.” funke (2008, 2-3) writes that the, "integration of the hero of messenian freedom into theban traditions about the battle of leuctra certainly goes back to the attempt by the messenians to consolidate their identity in the years after 370/369; but it also reveals something about the way in which thebes, the new dominant power in the greek world, if for a short time, depicted itself in historiography. for the thebans, it was obviously very important to show their newly acquired hegemony in the best possible light and underpin it with ideology.” cf. pausanias 4.32.4-6 regarding the fetching of aristomenes shield and pausanias’ rationalizing this story with the inscription commemorating leuctra, ig vii 2462/ceg 632, which mentions three outstanding combatants: xenoates, theopompos, and mnasilaos. see ogden 2004, 75-88. 34 aristomenes as a doublet or foil to spartan myth seems natural, considering that helots were afraid or not allowed to sing the songs of terpander, alcman, or spendon (plutarch, life of lycurgus 28.10). on this point, see garlan 1982, 199. on the various doublings in the aristomenes tradition see ogden 2004, 21-28. 35 ogden (2004, 37-54) reviews the structural forms which aristomenes occupies in myth, of particular interest is the trope of epic or invincible losers (ogden, 46) following figueira. cf. figueira 1999, 226-227. ogden, in error, cites p. 27, which is a typo. figueira writes that, “the whole portrait of the war follows a pattern that might be called ‘invincible losers’ in that the messenians outfight the spartans in every detailed episode, but are defeated because of factors extraneous to their arete.” 36 see luraghi 2008, 239-248. 37 see alcock 2002, 150 and 166. the definite tomb cult locations: (1) kaminion kremmidia; (2) routsi; (3) peristeria; (4) tourliditsa; (5) vathirema; (6) voidokoilia; (7) volimidia, angelopoulos 2; (8) volimidia, angelopoulos 6; (9) tragana 2; (10) ellenika/thouria. cf. alcock 1991, 460-466. 38 see alcock 2002, 166. 39 socio-political tension could be expressed within a cult community in a way modern archaeology might not detect, i.e. varying factions could use cult spaces in a similar manner. see alcock 2002, 146-152. cf. luraghi 2008, 239-248. 40 xenophon, hellenica 3.3.6. translation is marincola. 19 41 the passage in pausanias is 4.27.11. the implication, may be, that messenians were interested in being perceived as even more doric than the spartans, and therefore more legitimate. see hall 2003, 142-168. 42 pavlides 2018 offers the most comprehensive and up to date bibliographic survey of archaeological studies conducted in laconia and messenia. cf. shipley 2005 and 2006. 43 pavlides 2018, 22. 44 see mac sweeney 2013, 12-13. mac sweeney analyzes the cimon/theseus’ heroic bones affair. 4545 see funke 2009, 11. it is worth quoting funke in full, “here the relations and conflicts between oikties were characterized in a peculiar way by the interplay between the autonomy of the polis and regional – that is, ethnic – cohesion. this tendency towards symbolity across the boundaries of the individual poleis may in many ways have been determined by foreign policy, especially insofar as it worked in opposition to sparta. however, it is also the political consequence of a of a conspicuous phenomenon: the “ethnicization” of the political world of the peloponnese at the end of the fifth and the beginning of the fourth century bce.” 20 references: alcock, s. e. “tomb cult and the post-classical polis.” aja 95 (1991): 447-467. _____. “the pseudo-history of messenia unplugged.” tapa 129 (1999): 333-341. _____. “the peculiar book iv and the problem of the messenian past.” in pausanias: travel and memory in roman greece, edited by s. e. alcock, j. f. cherry, and j. elsner, 142 154. oxford: oxford university press, 2001. _____. archaeologies of the greek past: landscape, monuments and memories. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2002. _____. “a simple case of exploitation? the helots of messenia.” in money labour and land: approaches to the economies of ancient greece, edited by p. cartledge, e. e. cohen, and l. foxhall, 185-199. routledge: new york, 2002. alcock, s. e., j. f. cherry, and j. elsner, eds. pausanias: travel and memory in roman greece. oxford: oxford university press, 2001. alcock, s. e., et al. “pylos regional archaeological project. part vii: historical messenia, geometric through late roman.” hesperia 74 (2005): 147-209. appadurai, a. “the past as a scarce resource.” man 16 (1981): 201-19. barth, f. ethnic groups and boundaries: the social organization of social difference. long grove: waveland, 1969. bowra, c. m. “two lines of eumelus,” cq 13 (1963): 145-153. boys-stones, g., b. graziosi, and p. vasunia, eds. the oxford handbook of hellenic 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science introduction on june 24, 1950, north korea invaded south korea and the u.s. responded under the auspices of the united nations. chairman of the joint chiefs of staff (jcs) general omar bradley said during president harry truman’s june 25th emergency meeting that the u.s. must “draw the line” for the soviets,1 who were widely believed to be behind the attack.2 but this is not an article on north korea other than as a key turning point in american foreign policy history, for it was the korean invasion that caused the u.s. to apply the truman doctrine to asia.3 the first non-war application of the truman doctrine in asia occurred in the same twoday period as the decision to respond to the korean invasion, june 25-26, 1950. over those 48 hours, the second topic for discussion was the fate of formosa (since renamed taiwan). the united states decided to send the u.s. navy’s seventh fleet to protect taiwan from a communist chinese invasion and also to prevent the nationalist government on taiwan from continuing its attacks on the mainland. this act, the introduction of the seventh fleet into the chinese theater, is considered the beginning of the u.s. policy to defend taiwan from china.4 since 1950, this                                                                                                                 1 philip jessup, “memorandum of conversation by the ambassador at large,” frus, 1950, volume vii, outbreak of hostilities, june 25, 1950, p. 158. 2 harry s. truman, years of trial and hope: volume two of memoirs by harry s. truman (garden city: doubleday & company, inc. 1956), p. 335. 3 dennis merrill, “the truman doctrine: containing communism and modernity,” presidential studies quarterly 36, no. 1 (march 2006): 27-37, pp. 35-36; denise m. bostdorff, proclaiming the truman doctrine: the cold war call to arms (college station: texas a&m university press, 2008), p. 146. 4 this new policy commitment was codified in the 1954 mutual defense treaty (mdt). under this treaty the u.s. fought china in 1954 and 1958. for more information see u.s. department of state, milestones: 1953-1960: the taiwan straits crises: 1954-55 and 1958, essay, office of the historian, washington d.c.: u.s. department of state. in 1979, the mdt was replaced by the taiwan relations act of 1979 that had, among other things, authorized the u.s. to provide commitment to defend taiwan has been seen as the largest potential cause of a u.s.-china war.5 because the u.s. is a superpower and china is rising in strength, the taiwan flashpoint is now considered to affect not only the u.s.’s national security, but the world’s international security as well.6 this policy, originating with the movement of the u.s. fleet in june 1950, has had significant security ramifications for over six decades. this article will answer the question: why did the united states order the seventh fleet into the taiwan straits on june 26, 1950? the analysis will be performed using graham allison’s multiple-cut system.7 the first cut will be the rational policy model and the second cut will be the bureaucratic politics model. the article will be broken down into four sections. first it will present a short overview of the policy that will be tailored to provide background information applicable to both models. next it will provide a short description of each model. the third section will perform separate cuts on the research question and will thus be split into two subgroups. finally, the article will conclude with a two-cut resultant answer to the question and an analysis of each model’s usefulness to the research question in this case. overview of policy this section will provide the policy background for both cuts, so it will be tailored to the overall strategic environment.8 the first major event was the truman doctrine’s creation. conceived after world war ii to keep european countries, specifically greece and turkey, from falling to the soviets, truman declared on march 12, 1947 that “[i]t must be the policy of the united states to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       defensive armaments and to protect taiwan from the use of force and other coercions. also see shirley a. kan and wayne m. morrison, u.s.-taiwan relationship: overview and policy issues, crs report, washington d.c.: congressional research service, 2014 for more information. 5 richard halloran, “taiwan,” parameters 33, no. 1 (spring 2003): 22-34, p. 22. 6 kan and morrison, u.s.-taiwan relationship, p. 6. 7 this approach is described in graham t. allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis,” the american political science review 63, no. 3 (september 1969): 689-718; and graham allison and philip zelikow, essence of decision: explaining the cuban missile crisis, second edition (new york city: addison-wesley educational publishers inc., 1999). 8 for more detailed information on this time period, refer to foreign relations of the united states: 1949, policy of the united states toward formosa (taiwan): concern of the united states regarding possible conquest by chinese communists, vol. ix (washington, d.c.: government printing office, 1949); and foreign relations of the united states: 1950, the china area, vol. vi (washington, d.c.: government printing office, 1950). pressures.”9 there was a discussion about whether to say, “…to support free peoples everywhere who…” but it was decided to remove “everywhere” so that the doctrine would not apply to china.10 in a cabinet meeting on march 7, 1947, truman said that he thought chiang kai-shek was not fit to be the leader of the nationalists and that giving him any money “would be pouring sand in a rat hole.”11 this was the basis of the u.s. effort to aid the nationalists (on an ad-hoc basis, not under the truman doctrine) while simultaneously seeking chiang’s removal as their leader. the second policy background element is the joint chiefs of staff’s strategic assessment of taiwan. immediately after dean acheson took over as secretary of state in january 1949, he revealed in a national security council (nsc) meeting that he and the state department felt that “from a strategic point of view, china was an area of lower priority.”12 acheson then asked the jcs for their assessment of taiwan’s strategic priority. the jcs responded on february 10, 1949 that if taiwan fell, “the extent of the threat to the security of the united states would be serious” and that the loss of mainland china “would enhance the strategic value” of taiwan.13 furthermore, the jcs said that it was apparent that the u.s. had security interests in asia and that protection of those interests would rest on controlling the sea-lanes and having locations from which to deploy air power.14 they concluded that taiwan must be prevented from falling into communist hands, but through “diplomatic and economic steps.” 15 the jcs excluded a military option because their primary obligation was to defend europe, an obligation soon to be codified in the north atlantic treaty. the jcs articulated this strategy-to-resource problem as follows: “in spite of formosa’s strategic importance, the current disparity between our military strength and our many global obligations makes it inadvisable to undertake the employment of armed force in formosa.”16 the jcs did recommend stationing a small number of u.s. navy ships at taiwan as a deterrent.                                                                                                                 9 truman quoted in merrill, “ the truman doctrine,” p. 27. 10 bostdorf, proclaiming the truman doctrine, p. 87. 11 ibid. 12 sidney w. souers, “memorandum for the president,” ddrs, february 4, 1949, (accessed june 15, 2014). 13 sidney w. souers, “note by the executive secretary of the national security council to the council,” frus, 1949, volume ix, u.s. policy towards formosa, february 11, 1949, p. 284. 14 ibid., p. 285. 15 ibid. 16 ibid. acheson immediately rejected any stationing of navy ships at taiwan.17 on march 4, 1949, acheson shared the jcs conclusion – military action should not be used for taiwan now or in the future – at a nsc meeting.18 the memo for this meeting was forwarded to truman. this was followed by an april 4, 1949 memo by nsc executive secretary, sidney souers, which said the jcs confirmed, “overt military action by the u.s. in formosa is not recommended either at this time or under any foreseeable future circumstances.”19 obviously upset by the twisting of their assessment, the jcs asked secretary of defense louis johnson to write to souers to correct his statement – to clarify that the jcs were not recommending a military option because of lack of resources rather than a lack of strategic interest.20 this is a crucial point for the entire situation. to take action, the u.s. needs strategy and structure. strategy defines the interest and structure provides the resources to then employ the means.21 the jcs clearly defined the strategic need, but they did not possess the structure, and thus recommended against military support. danger arises when officials equate a lack of resources with a lack of state interest, as acheson and souers deliberately did by twisting the jcs’s assessment. in august, after the north atlantic treaty was signed, acheson again asked the jcs for an assessment of taiwan. the jcs responded on august 17, 1949 with a reaffirmation of their earlier view that taiwan was important but that they did not have the resources to defend it from invasion, but that future circumstances could warrant protection. this is how the strategic situation remained until a contentious set of meetings in december 1949, which will be detailed in the second cut. the third important piece of background information is that in 1949 the u.s. pulled its troops out of mainland china and south korea.22 keeping in mind that there were no troops on taiwan, the u.s. effectively retreated from the mainland and the first island chain in 1949. acheson then began to say that the defense line consisted of japan, the ryukyus, and the philippines.23                                                                                                                 17 sidney w. souers, “draft report by the national security council on supplementary measures with respect to formosa,“ frus, 1949, volume ix, u.s. policy toward formosa, february 1949, p. 292. 18 sidney w. souers, “memorandum for the president,” ddrs, march 4, 1949, (accessed june 15, 2014). 19 sidney w. souers, “memorandum for the national security council,” ddrs, april 4, 1949, (accessed june 15, 2014). 20 louis johnson, “memorandum for the executive secretary of the national security council,” ddrs, april 2, 1949, (accessed june 15, 2014). 21 amos a. jordan, william j. taylor, jr., michael j. meese, and suzanne c. nielsen, american national security, sixth edition (baltimore: the johns hopkins university press, 2009), p. 43. 22 dean c. allard, “presence in the pacific,” naval history 40 (september/october 1994), p. 43. 23 ibid. taiwan was not just important because of strategic considerations; the u.s. had political and economic concerns regarding china as well. the u.s. wanted to retain an open-door policy with china for economic reasons while seeking to prevent a strategic alliance between the chinese communists and the soviets.24 the chances for either of these outcomes were essentially ruined on february 14, 1950 when china signed the sino-soviet friendship treaty. acheson was disturbed by this new alliance25 and george elsey, advisor to truman, said in an interview that the white house started viewing the chinese and soviets as being in a frightening world-wide communist conspiracy.26 to make matters worse, the cia reported on january 4, 1950, that it received a copy of the treaty, which included a secret clause that china must attack taiwan in the spring of 1950 and the soviets would enter the war if the u.s. overtly used its military to defend taiwan.27 also occurring in january was the disturbing report from ambassadorat-large philip jessup, who had just met with chiang in taiwan. jessup claimed that chiang wanted to start world war iii in asia because the u.s. would be forced to defend taiwan.28 the background leading up to the policy change is fraught with complexity and a divergence between interests and resources. the truman administration was not prepared to support chiang and lacked the necessary resources to apply the truman doctrine to asia. meanwhile, the state department had been holding out hope for a sino-soviet split to retain economic ties with china only to see that hope logically destroyed by the friendship treaty, which was really a defense treaty and operational invasion plan in disguise. all of this combined with chiang’s desire for world war iii will provide the background for the first half of 1950 and the lead up to the policy decision in june. description of two models the first cut will be viewed through the lens of model i – the rational policy model (rpm)29 – and the second cut will be model iii – the bureaucratic politics                                                                                                                 24 harry harding and yuan ming, sino-american relations, 1945-1955: a joint reassessment of a critical decade (wilmington: scholarly resources, inc., 1989), p. 143. 25 james chace, acheson (new york city: simon & schuster, 1998), p. 255. 26 george elsey, interview by cnn, the cold war: episode 15: china, turner broadcasting system and british broadcasting corporation, (1998). 27 r. h. hillenkoetter, “memorandum,” ddrs, january 4, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014). 28 ronald l. mcglothlen, controlling the waves: dean acheson and u.s. foreign policy in asia (new york city: w. w. norton & company, 1993), p. 112. 29 allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis,” pp. 691-696. this is called the rational actor model in allison and zelikow, essence of decision, pp. 13-75. model (bpm).30 the best way to initially differentiate between the two models is through the example that allison uses: that of a chess match. in the rational policy model, one chess player is moving all of the team’s pieces to win the game, while in the bureaucratic politics model, numerous players with their own goals share power through bargaining to move the team’s pieces.31 the major difference between models i and iii is the level of analysis – state as actor, or individual players as actors. the rpm, as the name would suggest, is underpinned by the assumption of state rationality. allison defines rationality as “consistent, value-maximizing choice[s] within specific constraints.”32 by assuming the state is rational in seeking to achieve its objectives, this simple model can infer the state’s objectives from its behavior.33 this assumption is what makes the rpm so prevalent in analysis and scholarly circles – behavior is generally observable and assumptions of rationality provide the ability to draw conclusions on state objectives. this is why allison asserts that the rpm has “significant explanatory power.”34 the unit of analysis for the rpm is a unified rational actor as a decisionmaker.35 this actor is generally considered to be the head of state (or top decisionmaking authority as applicable) and is the embodiment of state goals and actions. the analysis is conducted in four steps: determine state goals and objectives, determine alternative courses of action (coa), conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each coa, and then determine the most value-maximizing decision 36 in a historical study, such as this essay, this model can focus on the decision that was made as the rational resultant, or it can assess the decision to determine if it was in fact the value-maximizing choice. this study, being a two-cut study and with the added benefit of additional historical information, will assess the rationality of sending the seventh fleet into the taiwan straits. the second cut, performed using the bpm, has the strength of going deeper into the situation and making assessments at a more granular level.37 this level of analysis is not without cost, however; the amount of information and time required                                                                                                                 30 allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis,” pp. 707-712. this is called the governmental politics model in allison and zelikow, essence of decision, pp. 255-324. 31 allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis,” p. 691; allison and zelikow, essence of decision, pp. 6-7. 32 allison and zelikow, essence of decision, p. 18. 33 allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis,” p. 693. 34 allison and zelikow, essence of decision, p. 54. 35 allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis,” pp. 693-694; allison and zelikow, essence of decision, p. 24. 36 allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis,” p. 694; allison and zelikow, essence of decision, p. 18. 37 allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis,” p. 255. to conduct it is generally prohibitive.38 in this case, with a policy question that occurred over 60 years ago, there is enough information to conduct a bpm analysis. the bpm’s focus is not on the state as unitary actor, but on numerous players that interact in a competitive game of politics to achieve their own ends and with the final state behavior being the outcome of this process.39 the bpm is less formal or structured than the rpm, and it also analyzes the situation through a more fluid lens. for the individual players, it is their own power and the action channels that matter, not the formal organizational charts.40 in short, players are defined by their effectiveness in influencing policy based solely on how they play the game, not in their position or organization hierarchy, and their power fluctuates based on time and topic. the unit of analysis for the bpm is “governmental actions as political resultant.”41 from political resultant comes a focus on the politics. allison looks at politics as being conducted by players that are in a role, and their relative influence is based on their power to achieve their objectives.42 power, defined by allison, is the ability to influence the outcome.43 the bpm’s analytical structure is more in the form of a narrative than the rpm. it seeks to describe the entire political game – organized through action channels and participated in by players with their own goals – and then determine how the resultant policy was reached.44 one other major difference is that there is no assumption that the head of state is the decision maker.45 this model demands more information and more time, but it can yield a result that is more refined than the rpm, and sometimes contradictory to the rpm analysis. finally, it is important to recognize the benefits of doing two cuts on a single research question. most studies only use one theory with one set of assumptions, strengths, and weaknesses that can be recognized and, ideally, controlled for. allison argues that because all models simplify through assumptions, it is better to                                                                                                                 38 ibid., p. 257. 39 allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis” p. 708; allison and zelikow, essence of decision, p. 255. 40 allison, “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis” p. 710; allison and zelikow, essence of decision, p. 265. 41 allison and zelikow, essence of decision, p. 294. 42 ibid., 296. 43 allison, “conceptual models sand the cuban missile crisis” p. 710; allison and zelikow, essence of decision, p. 260. 44 allison and zelikow, essence of decision, p. 304. 45 ibid., p. 280. use multiple cuts to counteract each model’s weaknesses and ultimately end up with a more accurate set of findings.46 histories of the policy model i: rational policy model a. goals and objectives the u.s. had a contradictory and confused set of goals immediately prior to the north korean invasion and the seventh fleet being ordered to taiwan. after the sino-soviet friendship treaty was signed, there was still hope that divergent interests between china and the soviets would destroy their alliance.47 this objective of wait-and-see was challenged by the cia and state department reports published nearly every month from january to april 1950, which explained that the friendship treaty would be solid for the next few years, that it included a sovietdefense agreement, and that the soviets were sending military advisors, bombers, and submarines to assist with the invasion of taiwan.48 the next question was whether to apply the truman doctrine to asia. truman made a speech in january 1950 in which he announced that he would not defend taiwan with military force and that the u.s. would prepare for the strategic impact of its loss.49 the president made it clear that the truman doctrine did not apply to asia. but as the next few months went on, it appears that this objective was reconsidered. with the chinese signing and strengthening of the aforementioned friendship treaty and the subsequent evaluation of a worldwide communist conspiracy, truman seems to have changed u.s. objectives to containment of communism in asia and the establishment of a defense line at the first island chain. the question was how to accomplish this while knowing the soviets would go to war if the u.s. actively defended taiwan, which would start world war iii. preventing world war iii was another primary goal. on october 19, 1949, the cia concluded that directly supporting taiwan was the only way to defend it from almost-certain invasion, but doing so could “conceivabl[y] precipitate world                                                                                                                 46 ibid., p. 8. 47 harold f. gosnell, truman's crises: a political biography of harry s. truman (westport: greenwood press, 1980), p. 460. 48 central intelligence agency, “review of the world situation,” ddrs, january 18, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014), p. 5; central intelligence agency, “information report: chinese communist preparation for invasion,” ddrs, february 17, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014); strong, “telegram for the secretary of state,” ddrs, april 13, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014); gabbert, “telegram for the secretary of state,” ddrs, april 21, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014). 49 harding and ming, sino-american relations, 1945-1955, p. 148. war iii.”50 this is what truman struggled with when he made his emergency flight back to washington after the korean invasion. sitting on the plane, truman struggled with the need to prevent a global war in the present, but he was also concerned about the increased threat of world war iii occurring in the future if the u.s. did not respond. truman saw this situation with taiwan (and korea) as synonymous with the early nazi invasions of surrounding countries, and he wanted to avoid the sort of appeasement that had failed to contain adolf hitler’s regime.51 he also understood that the u.s. was considered to be a protector of taiwan, even if unofficially, and that if he let taiwan (or korea) fall then other states in europe and elsewhere would question u.s. credibility.52 this resulted in a u.s. goal of responding to the communist threat by containing it while trying to prevent a descent into war with the soviets and chinese, simultaneously looking to prevent world war iii in the future. finally, with the strategy established, there was the question of structure. as the jcs had been clearly arguing for over a year, there was a disconnection between military resources and u.s. global obligations. truman understood this and wisely stated in his memoirs that a nation can only do what it is resourced to do, and that begins with its citizens:53 in 1945-46 the american people had chosen to scuttle their military might. i was against hasty and excessive demobilization at the time and stated publicly that i was, and general eisenhower, then army chief of staff, spoke out against it also. the press and the congress, however, drowned us out.54 there were simply not enough resources to send a large number of forces to korea and to taiwan to contain the communists. additionally, there was a concern that the soviets’ direction of the korean invasion, and the friendship treaty’s stipulation of a taiwanese invasion, was precisely intended to make the u.s. move its small, demobilized military to asia and thus leave europe undefended. the fear, especially given the u.s.’s 1949 troop withdrawals from korea and china, was that asia was a soviet diversion.55                                                                                                                 50 central intelligence agency, “survival potential of residual non-communist regimes in china,” ddrs, october 19, 1949, (accessed june 15, 2014). 51 david mccullough, truman (new york city: simon & schuster, 1992), pp. 776-77. 52 martin l. lasater, the taiwan conundrum in u.s. china policy (boulder: westview press, 2000), p. 50. 53 truman, years of trial and hope, p. 345. 54 ibid., p. 345. 55 allard, “presence in the pacific,” p. 44. b. alternatives (course of action) 1. follow truman’s january 1950 statement, do nothing, and let china invade. 2. send naval forces to the taiwan straits, neutralize area. 3. send naval forces to the taiwan straits, do not neutralize the area. 4. send u.s. ground, air, and naval forces to taiwan to defend it. c. consequences course of action (coa) 1 would have been the easiest for the u.s. because truman could have focused on only the korean invasion. it is always more difficult to prosecute two conflicts or military operations simultaneously. also, truman could attempt to justify this coa from a credibility standpoint because the u.s. previously protected korea but had no such official relationship with taiwan. additionally, not sending forces to taiwan was more in line with current military force levels and also ensured that more of a reserve that could be left in europe to respond to soviet aggression. the costs of this coa would be an almost certain invasion of taiwan based on the friendship treaty and the subsequent loss of a key island in the u.s. defense chain. additionally, this island could be used to attack u.s. forces in korea and the philippines, and to disrupt u.s. interests in controlling the pacific sea-lanes. coa 2 takes the next step in the escalation spectrum, the introduction of u.s. naval forces between china and taiwan with a neutralization of nationalist attacks on the mainland. this approach allows the u.s. to attempt to stop an almost certain invasion from the chinese and soviets and thus attempts to keep taiwan from falling into communist hands. second, by making the approach “neutralization” instead of defense, the u.s. could try to avoid the soviet assistance clause in the friendship treaty. additionally, the neutralization would serve to also stop chiang from attacking the mainland, which would risk escalating the situation. this is especially important because of chiang’s statements of wanting to start world war iii. this approach would also allow the u.s. to continue to try to remove chiang from office rather than supporting him. the negatives of this approach are that the seventh fleet could not guarantee that the chinese would not invade, and then the u.s. would be forced to defend itself and thus enter a war with the chinese and likely the soviets. this would be a war that the u.s. would not have sufficient forces to execute without dangerously depriving europe of u.s. defense. coa 3 is like the second except it does not neutralize the area; it takes no action to stop nationalist attacks on the mainland. the benefits of this approach, in addition to the ones for coa 2, are that it would keep chinese forces engaged in defending against nationalist hit and run attacks and thus render them unable to move forces north into the korean theater. the costs of this approach would be more significant than coa 2. with u.s. forces in the taiwan straits, any attack by the nationalists would be considered sanctioned by the u.s. the reason is the navy would be stopping chinese attacks in one direction but clearly allowing nationalist attacks in the other. this would greatly increase the chances of bringing china into the war, and if seen as a u.s. provocation it could also bring in the soviets. additionally, nationalist attacks would probably not have a significant chance of destroying the communist chinese state, so they would serve no purpose in that regard. coa 4 is essentially a full defense of taiwan. the benefits of this approach would be its clear message of containment to the communists and a demonstrated willingness to defend taiwan. this would also send a message to other u.s. protectorates that the u.s. will honor its defense commitments. the final benefit is that a show-of-strength on taiwan could serve as a deterrent to a chinese invasion. there are numerous costs to this approach. first, if the chinese did invade, it would almost certainly lead to war with the soviets because of the friendship treaty. second, the u.s. would have to transfer troops from europe, which would open that theater up to soviet invasion. third, using troops in taiwan for a possible invasion would take forces away from responding to the active invasion in korea. fourth, by committing to taiwan, and thus depriving any strategic reserve, the u.s. would leave itself vulnerable to communist attacks on other island chain nations or in southeast asia. d. decision on june 25 and 26, 1950, truman chose coa 2 and sent the seventh fleet into the taiwan straits to protect it from invasion and neutralize the area. additionally, truman said that the next step was to remove chiang.56 then the president worked to rebuild the u.s. military, starting with extending the draft, which congress passed on june 27th.57 using the benefit of time and numerous primary and secondary sources, it is clear from the first cut that truman made the most rational decision. by introducing the seventh fleet he defended taiwan, could still work to remove chiang, and then built up the military to apply the truman doctrine to asia while still meeting his numerous other global defense commitments. model iii: bureaucratic politics model                                                                                                                 56 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 129. 57 mccullough, truman, p. 781. having established that truman made the most rational decision in sending the seventh fleet to the taiwan straits, this cut will seek to analyze the process that led to truman’s decision, and to see if he did in fact make it himself. it will be more fluid than the first cut, but it will generally follow a format of identifying the major action channel, the key players and their goals, and then the process to reach the policy. the major action channel in the policy process was the national security council. created in 1947, truman used it to develop options for him to decide on. he wrote in his memoirs, “i used the national security council (nsc) only as a place for recommendations to be worked out. like the cabinet, the council does not make decisions. the policy itself has to come down from the president, as all final decisions have to be made by him.”58 he added that nothing is policy until the president makes a decision in writing.59 to direct the nsc truman relied on his secretary of state—this was before the creation of the national security advisor— to lead the meetings and determine recommendations to be forwarded for decision. truman wrote in his memoirs, “the secretary of state makes the final recommendation of policy, and the president makes the final decision.” truman set up his action channel to make sure that he made the decision, but he gave a significant amount of power to secretary of state dean acheson as the person who essentially ran the nsc and framed the recommendations for truman’s decisions. in addition to truman’s standing expectation that the secretary of state would play a central role, truman made acheson the official coordinator of all taiwan policy on february 28, 1949.60 any change in the taiwan policy had to first go through acheson. it would be fair to say that in the seventh fleet policy decision, acheson had equal if not greater power than truman. this section will analyze each player’s individual policy stances and goals leading up to december 1949. december 1949 is when critical meetings occurred that set off the chain of events that led up to the june 25 and 26, 1950 policy meetings. the first player analyzed will be dean acheson. it was demonstrated in the policy overview section that he was not in favor of a military defense of taiwan when he misrepresented the jcs’s strategic assessments. additionally, being in charge of the nsc, he was the player that would be expected to go to truman and say that the jcs had determined that taiwan was as an important strategic interest that the u.s. should defend, but that the military could not defend it without more resources. by not fighting for additional defense spending,                                                                                                                 58 truman, years of trial and hope, p. 59. 59 ibid., pp. 59-60. 60 sidney w. souers, “note by the executive secretary on u.s. policy toward china,” ddrs, february 28, 1949, (accessed june 15, 2014). acheson demonstrated his view that china was a minor issue for the u.s. and the military should not be positioned there. acheson had further political goals as well. he believed that before the u.s. could effectively support taiwan, chiang had to be removed.61 he was also convinced that if the u.s. just waited, the chinese and soviets would develop a rift.62 if the u.s. was unable to remove chiang and the chinese invaded, he felt that it would be better to let taiwan go and to deal with the strategic consequences.63 as 1949 was coming to a close, acheson was seeking ways to remove chiang, and if the chinese invaded then he planned to simply live with it. as discussed in the jcs assessment, the department of defense (dod) opposed acheson’s view. secretary of defense louis johnson wanted more money for taiwanese defense,64 as did chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general omar bradley. bradley also supported stationing ships at taiwan in its defense, a proposal that had been previously rejected by acheson.65 finally, commander of japan (who had authority over “the china area,” which included taiwan) general douglas macarthur had been vocally lobbying for the direct defense of taiwan due to its critical strategic value.66 none of the top three military members appeared to be able to convince acheson to recommend to truman any of their goals leading up to december 1949. the final major sets of players are the china bloc, china lobby, and the mccarthyites. the china bloc was a group of mainly republican senators and congressmen who clashed with truman and acheson on the u.s.’s china policy. according to reports of their statements, one of their major goals was to criticize the administration in order to help their reelection campaigns in november 1950.67 the china lobby was made up of hired interests groups, christian missionaries, businessmen, and those unhappy with truman’s foreign policy.68 historians jack anderson and ronald may write, “[f]ew other lobbies ever exerted such relentless pressure on american foreign and domestic policy.”69 the mccarthyites for this                                                                                                                 61 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 133. 62 gosnell, truman's crises, p. 460. 63 sidney w. souers, “memorandum for the president,” ddrs, february 4, 1949 (accessed june 15, 2014). 64 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, pp. 106-107. 65 harding and ming, sino-american relations, 1945-1955, p. 148. 66 fayette j. flexer, “memorandum of conversation by the counselor of embassy in the philippines,” frus, 1949, volume ix, u.s. policy toward formosa, december 7, 1949, pp. 263-65. 67 harding and ming, sino-american relations, 1945-1955, p. 148. 68 lewis mccarroll purifoy, harry truman's china policy (new york city: new viewpoints, 1976, p. 161. 69 ibid. article will be dealt with in conjunction with the china bloc and analyzed in the next section. the china bloc’s goal was to win reelection, and the china lobby’s goal was to change the administration’s policy to actively defend taiwan and to retain economic access to china (to a degree, access was the china bloc’s goal as well). with the goals established, this section will describe the political process that went into making the decision to deploy the seventh fleet. in december of 1949, johnson asked acheson for additional money to defend taiwan. acheson objected because he had already given “the china area” money to korea, indochina, and the philippines. johnson, becoming angry at this news, replied that the jcs agreed with him and he wanted the money diverted to taiwan.70 a few days later on december 23rd, bradley sent a proposal to the nsc for a new military policy for taiwan. it included a modest military training and advisor program combined with increased political and economic programs.71 acheson’s assistant secretary of state for the far east rejected it within 24 hours.72 this led to a contentious debate, detailed in mcglothlen’s controlling the waves, between the state department and the dod on december 29, 1949. bradley argued that he was in favor of the military program even if it only postponed the nationalist government’s collapse because it would prevent a chinese invasion in the interim. acheson retorted that the military would fail and it would damage the u.s.’s prestige. it was at this point that johnson, fed up with acheson’s stonewalling, stormed out of the room. 73 the remainder of the meeting’s record comes from acheson’s notes. acheson wrote in a memorandum of conversation that he argued: we must also face the certainty that throughout southeast asia the communists will seek to extend their domination, probably though subversive methods and not invasion. we must do our utmost to strengthen the neighbors of china. what we have to do is build up their capacity.74                                                                                                                 70 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, pp. 106-07. 71 louis johnson, “memorandum by the joint chiefs of staff to the secretary of defense,” frus, 1949, volume ix, u.s. policy toward formosa, december 23, 1949, pp. 460-461. 72 butterworth, “memorandum by the assistant secretary of state for far eastern affairs to the secretary of state,” frus, 1949, volume ix, u.s. policy toward formosa, december 28, 1949. 73 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 107. 74  dean acheson, “memorandum of conversation, by the secretary of state,” frus, 1949, volume ix, u.s. policy toward formosa, december 29, 1949, p. 465.   additionally, he maintained that the u.s. should wait for the inevitable chinasoviet split and that if the u.s. were to defend taiwan militarily it would provide grounds for communist propaganda charges of u.s. imperialism. bradley responded that if he understood correctly, acheson was prepared to let taiwan fall for political reasons, to which acheson answered, “i was inclined to regard the political price as too high to pay for the purchase of some additional time.”75 a few days later, on january 4, 1950, the cia issued an intelligence report detailing the friendship treaty’s invasion mandate and the soviets’ promise of military support against overt american defense of taiwan.76 after reading the report, acheson convinced truman that the best way to get ahead of the taiwan issue was to give a speech to settle the policy for good.77 truman held a news conference on january 5th in which he said: the united states has … no desire to obtain special rights or privileges, or to establish military bases on formosa at this time. nor does it have any intention of utilizing its armed forces to interfere in the present situation. the united states government will not pursue a course which will lead to involvement in the civil conflict in china. similarly, the united states government will not provide military aid or advice to chinese forces on formosa.78 truman’s declaration that the u.s. would not defend taiwan started a massive controversy in washington.79 acheson met with the china bloc that same day to explain. he said that the u.s. should not defend taiwan because bradley did not consider it a “vital interest” and because it would open the u.s. to propaganda as an imperialist state.80 sarkesian et al. defines a vital interest as one which a state will deploy its military to defend.81 using this definition, it is clear that acheson was again misrepresenting the spirit of bradley’s assessment. bradley said that he could not make taiwan a vital interest due to a lack of troops, not a lack of                                                                                                                 75 dean acheson, “memorandum of conversation, by the secretary of state,” frus, 1949, volume ix, u.s. policy toward formosa, december 29, 1949, pp. 465-467. 76 r. h. hillenkoetter, “memorandum,” ddrs, january 4, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014). 77 harding and ming, sino-american relations, 1945-1955, p. 148. 78 harry s. truman, “the president's news conference,” truman library, january 5, 1950, http://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=574&st=&st1= (accessed july 10, 2014). 79 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 108. 80 ibid., p. 108 81 sam c. sarkesian, john allen williams, and stephen j. cimbala, us national security: policymakers, processes & politics, fourth edition (boulder: lynne rienner publishers, 2008), p. 9. strategic interest. the china bloc completely disagreed with acheson and said this could “affect [the] future attitude of support of a bipartisan foreign policy.”82 following that meeting, the china bloc summoned acheson to appear before the senate foreign relations committee on january 10th and the house foreign affairs committee on january 11th. at these hearings, acheson blamed the decision to not defend taiwan on chiang’s incompetence and said that the defense perimeter only included japan, the ryukyus, and the philippines. he excluded taiwan, which was not in line with what bradley, macarthur, and johnson had been saying for years. again the china bloc was not satisfied.83 on february 9th, joseph mccarthy made his famous speech alleging that there were communist agents in the state department, and specifically in the far east section, which was why the u.s. had surrendered taiwan.84 mccarthy’s charge put even more pressure on acheson. a week later on february 17th, the cia issued a new report that predicted there would not be a china-soviet split for at least a few years.85 then in march the nationalists began a blockade of the mainland and bombing its ports.86 amidst the nationalist actions, the china bloc, and mccarthy, acheson had to do something. acheson responded by convincing dean rusk to leave his position as the fourth highest-ranked man in the state department to take over as director of the state office of far eastern affairs. acheson hoped that rusk’s appointment would mollify the china bloc and mccarthy; and in the process, rusk became acheson’s most influential advisor on taiwan.87 there is no evidence, however, that rusk’s appointment had any influence on the china bloc or mccarthy. in april the cia released a report reaffirming its prediction of a communist invasion of taiwan by the end of 1950.88 this was followed quickly by an april 13th memo to acheson from state personnel in taiwan that there was conclusive proof of soviet fighter planes staged to assist in the taiwan invasion.89 just days later on april 16th-17th, china invaded the nationalist stronghold on the nearby island of hainan.90 within a week acheson received another memo from state                                                                                                                 82 dean acheson, “memorandum of conversation by the secretary of state,” frus, 1950, volume vi, the china area, january 5, 1950, p. 263,. 83 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 109. 84 lasater, the taiwan conundrum in u.s. china policy, p. 115. 85 central intelligence agency, “review of the world situation,” ddrs, january 18, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014), p. 5. 86 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 114. 87 ibid., pp. 115-16. 88 ibid., p. 118. 89 strong, “telegram for the secretary of state,” ddrs, april 13, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014). 90 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 118. personnel in taiwan that there were soviet subs in the taiwan straits.91 all expectations were that the chinese and soviets would invade taiwan within the next few months. dean rusk decided to conduct a study on the best way to approach the taiwan problem. after completing a report that has been compared to a dissertation, he settled on one recommendation among numerous analyzed policy options.92 rusk recommended a policy of using the american military to neutralize taiwan until the japanese peace treaty or the united nations could install a new government there. he analyzed two courses of action to achieve this policy. the first was offering military assistance under the conditions that chiang would resign, all nationalist attacks on the mainland would cease, and the u.s. would get to pick the interim leaders until the un could oversee the installation of a new permanent government. the second course of action was to send the seventh fleet to taiwan and then orchestrate a coup. rusk recommended the coup.93 at a meeting on the morning of may 30th, rusk met with the state office of intelligence and research to discuss his study. he made a statement that taiwan “presents a plausible place to ‘draw the line’ and is, in itself, important politically if not strategically, for what it represents in continued communist expansion.”94 later that day rusk met with acheson to present his report and recommendations. there is no evidence from this meeting, but rusk was reported to have said that the situation dictated that action needed to be taken quickly. acheson then told rusk that he would take the recommendations to truman to be considered.95 acheson met with truman every monday and thursday, and talked with him by phone almost every day.96 truman was likely aware of rusk’s recommendations within 24 hours. there is no evidence whether truman, acheson, or the nsc discussed or began implementing one of rusk’s recommendations prior to june 24th. almost all assessments say that the korean invasion was the moment when the taiwan policy changed.97 even the editor of the frus expresses this.98 but is it really true? after                                                                                                                 91 gabbert, “telegram for the secretary of state,” ddrs, april 21, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014). 92 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 121. 93 ibid., pp. 121-123. 94 howe, “memorandum by the deputy special assistant for intelligence to mr. w. park armstrong, special assistant to the secretary of state for intelligence and research,” frus, 1950, volume vi, the china area, may 31, 1950, p. 347. 95 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 124. 96 mccullough, truman, p. 752. 97 harding and ming, sino-american relations, 1945-1955, p. 163. 98 editor, “editorial note,” frus, 1950, volume vi, the china area, p. 367. the korean invasion, truman met with all of the major players from state and defense in the blair house for what was essentially a wartime nsc meeting. the state contingent included rusk and dod’s was made up of the secretary and all of the joint chiefs. acheson took charge of the meeting at truman’s request99 and began by reading macarthur’s june 14, 1950 memo that assessed taiwan as strategically important and recommended an immediate military survey team be sent there to assess the necessary requirements for establishing a military defense. 100 after discussing korea, truman turned to taiwan. acheson recommended that the seventh fleet be sent there to neutralize the area until a un settlement could be reached to remove chiang.101 this recommendation was a combination of rusk’s two courses of action. truman decided instead to order the fleet to sail towards japan from the philippines. it would take two days to get to either location, so truman had 24 hours to decide whether to send the fleet to japan (to support korea) or to taiwan.102 on the night of june 26th the same group met again in the blair house. acheson led the meeting, and this time he said that the u.s. could not afford a chinese invasion of taiwan. in his biography of acheson, james chace argues that once truman decided to defend korea, acheson could not justify letting taiwan be invaded.103 but “justify” to whom? the most likely conclusion is the china bloc and china lobby. while it cannot be determined if they had caused acheson to change his mind, in june and throughout the beginning of 1950 they clearly had some independent effect on the taiwan policy. so at that second meeting, acheson recommended to truman that the seventh fleet be sent into the taiwan straits to neutralize the area – to prevent a chinese invasion and to prevent further nationalist attacks on the mainland. agreeing with acheson, truman issued the order and explained that the next step after neutralization was replacing chiang.104 the evidence indicates that the policy acheson recommended to truman was dean rusk’s revised policy from his may 30th report and that this policy was a combination of rusk’s two alternatives. when this is considered along with truman’s quick declaration that removing chiang was the next step, it supports the conclusion that when the korean war started, truman and acheson were already                                                                                                                 99 mccullough, truman, p. 779. 100 douglas macarthur, “memorandum on formosa, by general of the army douglas macarthur, commander in chief, far east, and supreme commander, allied powers, japan,” frus, 1950, volume vii, outbreak of hostilities, june 24-30, june 14, 1950, pp. 161-165. 101 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 128. 102 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 128; and jessup, “korean situation,” ddrs, june 26, 1950, (accessed june 15, 2014). 103 chace, acheson, p. 284. 104 mcglothlen, controlling the waves, p. 129; and ddrs june, 26, 1950. considering rusk’s policy recommendation. the korean war did not cause the taiwan policy change; rusk’s report did. the war only sped up the timetable for implementation. the bureaucratic politics model’s more refined level of analysis provides many new illuminating details about the decision to send the seventh fleet to taiwan. first, truman clearly made the decision. second, any decision truman made on taiwan, whether in june 1950, or all the way back to when acheson took over the state department in january 1949, was framed and communicated by acheson. if acheson was not convinced by a proposal, as he was not with bradley, johnson, and macarthur’s recommendation for military assistance, it never went to truman for consideration. third, the final decision to send the fleet and neutralize the area can be traced back to dean rusk’s may recommendation to modify u.s. policy. this model answers the question by demonstrating that the u.s. sent the seventh fleet to taiwan based on truman’s decision, but through an action-channel powered by acheson and a policy developed by rusk. conclusion the decision to send the seventh fleet into the taiwan straits in june 1950 has had far-reaching effects on u.s. and international security. taiwan is still considered a flashpoint between the u.s. and china, and this article attempts to determine how this vital u.s. policy decision was made. it did so through the use of allison’s multiple-cut approach made up of the rational policy model followed by the bureaucratic politics model. as allison argues, combining the resultants of the two approaches produces a much more valuable answer than using only one. the resultant answer is that truman made the rational strategic decision to implement a u.s. policy of protecting taiwan with the seventh fleet, which was framed and recommended to him by acheson, and developed through an extensive study by rusk in april and may of 1950. this is a research question for which both approaches worked well in complement. model i established the rationality of truman’s decision based on the strategic environment while model iii described the political process to get to the policy. if one model had to be selected as the superior in this case, it would be model iii for three reasons. first, the process, and specifically rusk’s in-depth assessment, provides evidence that this critical and far-reaching policy was not decided within 48 hours of the korean invasion – as is often stated – but was studied and considered for months prior. second, model iii provides evidence that, if acheson would have allowed the defense department to make the case for protecting taiwan, it is possible that the u.s. military presence would have served as a deterrent that would have prevented the friendship treaty from including plans for a 1950 invasion and for soviet intervention. the soviets likely would have wanted to prevent world war iii just as the u.s. did. a large portion of the headaches associated with taiwan in 1949 and 1950 could likely have been prevented if acheson was more neutral in his influential position on the nsc. this leads to the third point acheson’s clear preference for politics over strategic interest on the nsc supports the creation of a neutral national security advisor to ensure the president is hearing both the political and military sides of every national security policy dilemma. 105 taiwan will remain a critical flashpoint between the u.s. and china for the foreseeable future, but this article finds that the origination of u.s. policy to protect taiwan was the most rational choice, made by truman, communicated by acheson, and created in a deliberative dissertationquality study by rusk. bibliography   allard, dean c. “presence in the pacific.” naval history 40 (september/october 1994).   allison, graham t. “conceptual models and the cuban missile crisis.” the american political science review 63, no. 3 (september 1969): 689-718.   allison, graham, and philip zelikow. essence of decision: explaining the cuban missile crisis. second edition. new york city: addison-wesley educational publishers inc., 1999.   bostdorff, denise m. proclaiming the truman doctrine: the cold war call to arms. college station: texas a&m university press, 2008.   central intelligence agency. “information report: chinese communist preparation for 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(accessed june 15, 2014).   truman, harry s. “the president's news conference.” truman library. january 5, 1950. http://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=574&st=&st1= (accessed july 10, 2014).   —. years of trial and hope: volume two of memoirs by harry s. truman. garden city: doubleday & company, inc., 1956.   u.s. department of state. milestones: 1953-1960: the taiwan straits crises: 1954-55 and 1958. essay, office of the historian, washington d.c.: u.s. department of state.   microsoft word carre miller_marriage tomb 1 graduate research prize essay “marriage is the tomb of trust and love”: marriage and divorce in olympe de gouges’ plays justine carré miller history from the beginning of the french revolution, in 1789, women were a driving force for social change and representatives of the voice of the people. from the women’s march of october 1789, to the assassination of jean-paul marat by charlotte corday in july 1793, to the creation of the société des républicaines révolutionnaires in the fall of 1793, women were, as a group and as individuals, fully-fledged participants in the french revolution across the political spectrum. however, despite their involvement in revolutionary events, women never escaped their prescribed role as second-class citizens. women did not enjoy the benefits of the french revolution’s ideas of freedom, democracy, and natural rights as expressed in the déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen (1789). as “passive citizens” they remained legally under the authority of a husband, father or male relative, unable to vote or claim rights to property or inheritance. among female authors and activists of the french revolution, olympe de gouges stands as one of the most prolific writers who advocated for the extension of full rights to women. de gouges is most famous for her déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne (1791), modeled on the original déclaration, in which she expounds on her project for women’s rights and equality of the sexes. even though her déclaration is the most relevant and most studied of her texts in the context of the french revolution, de gouges’ other texts, notably her plays, are often left out of the historical narrative due to the more subtle ways in which they express her 2 feminist ideas. as opposed to her later political pamphlets and posters, de gouges’ plays were a more accessible venue for her to express her controversial ideas. her plays have been disregarded from a literary standpoint, yet they are valuable historical sources. they allowed de gouges to portray non-traditional cases of marriages and relationships, to denounce the systemic abuses of women by giving her female characters agency, and to propose her own solutions. indeed, in her plays, de gouges expresses her vision for marriage as it relates to her ideas in the déclaration, while also referencing her own life experiences. de gouges’ ideas about marriage are best expressed in l’esclavage des noirs (written 1784, published 1788, performed 1789), le mariage inattendu de chérubin (written 1784, published 1786), la nécessité du divorce (written 1790), le philosophe corrigé (written 1787, published 1788), molière chez ninon (written 1787, published 1788), and les voeux forcés (written 1790). olympe de gouges is considered the first french feminist, yet during the french revolution her writings had little to no influence on the political changes and advances put forth by the national assembly. however, as darline gay levy and harriet b. applewhite have argued, “the political language and the acts of women in the revolutionary capital – their political performances – cannot be dismissed simply because the implications of these words and deeds were not realized in french revolutionary politics…rights claimed, once defined and defended, become imprinted in a political culture.” even though de gouges’ writings did not result in the passage of laws or women citizenship, she participated in the creation of a liberal tradition in france.1 her writings were disregarded during the revolution, in part, because she was a constitutional monarchist, which was not a popular position after the fall of the monarchy in 1792. despite her right-leaning position on the political spectrum, de gouges was critical of louis xvi and marie-antoinette, to whom she dedicated many of her pamphlets and other 3 political writings. in the historiography of the french revolution, she neither belonged with the “friends of robespierre” or the “friends of marie-antoinette.” 2 instead, she was marginalized and left out of the narrative. even though she was a prolific writer, none of her works were influential at their time of publication. her writings were criticized by her contemporaries, and later by nineteenth-century historians for “their illogical arguments, their digressive personal anecdotes, and their excessive tropes of passion and pathos.”3 her play l’esclavage des noirs, which was performed at the comédie française in december 1789, was shut down after only three performances. due to the misogynistic critics for l’esclavage des noirs published in the newspapers, the comédie française refused to publish or perform any of de gouges’ plays before the revolution and the end of censorship. even her most famous text, the déclaration, was considered “inappropriate, excessive, and scandalous” and shocked all levels of society, because the cause of women’s rights was so far removed from the current issues.4 she spent all of her money trying to publish her texts. while no great importance was given to her writings, what bothered robespierre and the jacobins was that de gouges was a woman who was extremely vocal about her ideas. she was sentenced to the guillotine in november 1793 for seditious behavior and attempting to reinstate the monarchy. sarah hanley argued that for women to speak up against the injustices was an unacceptable attitude: “for french women positing arguments against loss of liberty, life and property, abduction, arrest and captivity, tyrannical governance practiced in a harem or a household was unnatural, improper, and illegal.”5 after the revolution, de gouges was put aside by the nineteenth-century bourgeois, who made sure that she was considered an “exagérés,” an extremist whose example should not be followed. she was absent from dictionaries and history books, her texts considered irrelevant; the 4 bourgeois thought they did not belong in the body of great works of the french revolution. 6 when in 1864 charles monselet wrote about de gouges, in les oubliés et les dédaignés, his biography was plagued by misogynistic ideas. he argued that de gouges was only famous for her good looks and her life as a courtesan, and that she took up literature when her looks started to fade with her age. it was not until 1981 that olympe de gouges was truly rehabilitated as a writer and a feminist, by her biographer claude blanc. in his book marie-olympe de gouges – une humaniste à la fin du xviiie siècle, blanc became the first historian to see the value in de gouges’ writings and to correct the misogynistic narrative of her life.7 the issues of power in marriage and wife/husband relationships were dear to the heart of olympe de gouges, as illustrated in her plays. she based many stories and characters on her own experiences and/or herself. when she was sixteen years old, de gouges was forced into a marriage to louis-yves aubry, whose profession remains uncertain to this day, though he most likely came from a bourgeois family of caterers or restaurateurs. they were married on october 24th 1765, and he passed away a year later. de gouges had a bad memory of this marriage to a man many times her age whom she did not like, which was forced upon her, and which did not bring her any advantage whatsoever.8 de gouges’ case was not unique: in eighteen-century france, marriage was “viewed as an agreement toward the continuation of a family name and the settlement of property…the purpose of a marriage contract was to establish how the marriage would be regulated financially.”9 many women were forced to marry men to advance their family socially or economically, and had no say whatsoever in the matter. forced marriages are a recurring theme in de gouges’ plays; like the forced vows of nuns professing celibacy to the catholic church, woman’s agency was disregarded in favor of men’s needs. 5 in each of her plays, de gouges used one of her characters to voice her feminist ideas, and another to represent episodes of her own life. in molière chez ninon, le mariage inattendu de chérubin, and les voeux forcés, de gouges stages three different girls forced to marry by their families or forced to take vows and enter a convent. in molière chez ninon, the comparison to her own life is obvious—the character in question is named olympe. when she is introduced to ninon de l’enclos, olympe says “i am only sixteen years old; i am to be married to a man of sixty. i love, and am loved by a well-born young man that my parents cruelly refuse on my behalf.”10 the same situation arises in le mariage inattendu de chérubin, where fanchette is forced by her father to marry a man that she does not love, even though she is in love with chérubin: “fate has destined me to be the companion of a peasant, and not of a man of quality.”11 through those two girls, olympe and fanchette, de gouges illustrates the hardships of forced marriages, but also of her own: the two girls are miserable but accept their fate because they are given no other choice. in 1789, an unknown author wrote that forced marriages were “a form of rape, conducted on the altar of hymen.” however, they were the most common form of marriage during the ancien régime in france. girls from the upper classes had their marriages arranged without their consent while they were still in the cloister, and usually married between the ages of 16 to 18. they did not meet their fiancé until the actual wedding day. the logic behind forced marriages was based on women’s inability to pick a suitable husband, due to their supposed lack of judgment and intelligence, and on “the degree of independence and self-assertion entailed in the selection of one’s own marriage partner [,which] was seen by many as simply not compatible with the female condition.”12 6 this is the situation de gouges denounced because she had lived through it. in her mémoire de madame valmont, her autobiography, she writes about her own marriage: “i was barely fourteen years old, perhaps you will remember, when i was married to a man that i did not love and who was not rich or well-born. i was sacrificed for no reason that could balance the repugnance i felt for that man.”13 by using the word “sacrificed,” de gouges expresses her idea that marriage had no positive outcome for the wife, and that her agency was taken from her. in le mariage de chérubin, de gouges voices her opinion about forced marriage through the character figaro, who compares it to religious vows: “the intended will say yes, as if she were saying her vows.”14 fanchette and olympe are comparable to the character of julie in les voeux forcés, a sixteen-year-old orphan who is forced by her protector to take religious vows even though she is in love with the chevalier. julie is also forced by a male authority figure to make life decisions with which she disagrees. in les voeux forcés, de gouges expresses her ideas through the character of the curé, who tries to save julie from a fate that she has not chosen for herself: “but when you’re sixteen, in this time of life, when you seek to know your own heart… to command the abnegation, to order the most inconceivable sacrifice, [is] to put a child in chains, blindly docile in these ties that will never break.”15 here again de gouges uses sacrifice” and “chains” to show women’s inability to choose their future for themselves, and their submission to men in terms of marriage or celibacy. de gouges was strictly against marriage as a sort of business transaction imposed on women. her plays reflect her own alternate vision. through the characters of the marquis de clainville and madame pinçon in le philosophe corrigé, and the curé in les voeux forcés, the reader glimpses de gouges’ proposition for a better marriage contract and husband/wife 7 relationship. in le philosophe corrigé, the marquis de clainville comes back to his wife after being away for months, and discovers she has a two-month old baby, even though the couple had been living separately before his departure. he believes his wife cheated on him and has given birth to an illegitimate daughter. while his relatives try to convince him to punish his wife for her infidelity, the marquis stays stoic, refusing to take any action against his wife. he claims that in a marriage: the woman is the man’s companion, but the man must not be a tyrant… eh! what would be your intention in setting yourself up as a despotic master? you would be completely cheated on. your wife, not false caresses, would mislead you; not only would you be duped, but you would be dishonored in the eyes of the public. freedom is a more trustworthy guardian than embarrassment. trust me: if you become a husband, be a pacifist husband, and you will be your wife’s friend… at least, they are [his ideas about marriage] more natural than our ridiculous pretentions and our rights over the weak and timid sex.16 in this conversation with his uncle, it is clear that the marquis considers his wife his equal, and that the husband should not dominate his wife. he does not just believe in these precepts in his own marriage, but that men’s authority over women is against nature. when he finally confronts his wife about her infidelity, he remains calm, and insists on treating her fairly, to her surprise: “the countess: but monsieur is free, i think, to visit his wife when he pleases./ the marquis: i have a different opinion… be assured, madame. i am not a tyrant, a dishonest jealous man.”17 the marquis surprises and shocks his wife and relatives because he behaves in a completely different manner than expected of a man in pre-revolutionary france. however, 8 in les voeux forcés, julie is forced into a religious commitment that she has not agreed to but is saved by the chevalier who wants to marry her. the curé defends the young couple by putting forth ideas about marriage and agency: “think that the right to freely choose a place for oneself in society belongs, not to nature, but to each thinking being.”18 for de gouges, marriage must be performed according to the will of both husband and wife, and remains valid only as long as both parties still have feelings for each other. this idea of marriage based on sentiment and love was a fairly new notion, which was introduced in the 18th century. enlightenment writers such as diderot in le père de famillle or rousseau in la nouvelle héloïse, argued that happy marriages were marriages of love and affection, sources of emotional satisfaction, created by the freedom of the husband and the wife. in arguing for marriage as a social contract, de gouges was a thinker of her time. her ideas prevailed when in september 1791 the national assembly affirmed the principles of civil marriage.19 she despised the 18th century version of marriage that she had had to go through herself and that submitted women to their husbands’ boundless authority. in her déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne, she proposed her own alternative. she believed marriage was supposed to be a social contract between husband and wife, based on love, and wrote the following vows to be read at a wedding: “we, n and n, moved by our own will, are united for the term of our lives, and for the duration of our mutual fondness, under the following circumstances.”20 opposed to the reality of most marriages, de gouges depicts non-traditional relationships, where husbands’ and wives’ roles are contrary to customs. she reveals alternatives to the traditional relationship between husband and wife; often, she shows, the women’s behavior in a relationship can be superior. in l’esclavage des noirs, the six main characters are split into three different couples or unions based on love: zamor and mirza, two escaped slaves 9 who are lovers, valère and sophie, a young married couple who washed ashore on the island where the other characters live, and monsieur and madame frémont, the colony’s governor and his wife. in each couple, the women assume the leading role while the men happily stay behind and let their partners take action in their names. sophie is not afraid to defy the indians and the local authority to save zamor and mirza. madame de frémont convinces her husband to make the right choice and to spare zamor and mirza. mirza takes the lead when she and zamor have to run for their lives and hide in the forest. by breaking the traditional gender roles in a relationship, de gouges argues that man and woman complement each other. maryann dejulio and sylvie molta argue that de gouges “does not subscribe to a kind of complementarity that would dictate gender specific roles in the couple[;] she does not advocate the myth of two separate spheres. her conception of complementarity helps her sustain egalitarian doctrine.”21 de gouges’ call for marriage reform was extremely important. prior to the french revolution, marriages were anything but egalitarian. according to candice e. proctor, “in france in 1789 the authority of a husband over the person and property of his wife was, under law, virtually absolute.” marriage was interpreted as two spouses becoming one with the wife giving up her identity, name, property, nationality and rights.22 this idea that the husband had to rule over the wife had a direct connection with the way that france was ruled in the ancien régime. under the salic law written in the 500s ad but still in application in the 18th century, women could not inherit the throne nor rule. the king was the all-powerful ruler of france, the queen one of his subjects. this led to what sarah hanley calls the “male monarchic replication,” or the phenomenon by which the husband becomes king in his own household with absolute authority over his family.23 10 to advocate for men/women equality, de gouges’ female characters made their own choices. in le mariage inattendu de chérubin, even though fanchette is forced by her father to marry a man she does not love she makes other decisions. by the end of the play, she is in complete control of her destiny. even though she is “the lowest ranking of women, fanchette, with 17 per cent of the lines, is given agency: she finds her parents, she is recognized as an aristocrat, and she marries a marques.”24 if de gouges likes to depict strong and independent women in charge of their destinies, she also likes to depict them as morally superior in relationships. in early modern france women were considered to be “the weak sex,” more prone to their emotions. in molière chez ninon and la nécessité du divorce, ninon and madame d’azinval are in control of their feelings through the hardships of their relationships while the men let their emotions get the best of them. ninon has promised to be faithful to the marquis de la châtre, but she realizes she has feelings for the comte de fiesque, who excessively and desperately expresses his feelings for ninon, begging her to become his lover, making a fool of himself. even though she loves the comte, ninon stays true to the marquis de la châtre and lectures the comte about her refusal to give in to stereotypes: “i have a disposition to think, which makes me set eyes on the unequal sharing of qualities that is demanded of the two sexes. i feel the injustice, and cannot support it. i see that we [women] have been charged with everything frivolous, and that men have reserved the right for themselves to the essential qualities. at this moment, i make myself a man.”25 in this moment, ninon takes on a man’s typical attitude and qualities, revealing women capable of restraint. women’s moral superiority is also portrayed in la nécessité du divorce, when madame d’azinval realizes her husband is cheating on her. instead of making a scene, she decides to invite the other woman to her home, to understand the situation and to let her know that 11 monsieur d’azinval is married, contrary to what he had pretended. here madame d’azinval shows her moral superiority: she is very cordial with the other woman and does not blame her for her husband’s infidelity. for his part, monsieur d’azinval is childishly hiding in a closet to witness the entire exchange.26 de gouges’ depictions of non-traditional gender roles and morally superior women in relationships support her advocacy of egalitarian marriages, and argues against the common preconceived idea that women were the “weak sex,” which justified the wife’s submission to her husband. by clearly marking the differences between men and women in their attitudes (between monsieur and madame d’azinval) while also arguing that women can have masculine qualities (ninon), de gouges participates in the idea that revolutionary french women had, according to joan w. scott, “only paradoxes to offer.” in other words, to gain rights, women had to emphasize the sexual differences between men and women to show that rights were applicable to them while also denying such differences to claim equality.27 de gouges advocated for marriage as a social contract that depended on mutual inclinations, and that therefore could be ended, because she strongly believed feelings of love and affection were only temporary and did not last. in molière chez ninon, le philosophe corrigé, and le mariage de chérubin, she stages three different characters skeptical about longlasting promises of love. the most doubtful character, ninon, is based on the character on ninon de l’enclos, a famous courtesan and seventeenth century author. she had many well known and wealthy lovers, most famously the king’s cousin, the great condé, but prided herself on her financial independence. the character of ninon, like the real-life ninon, has had many of lovers, and is unable to commit to one relationship. even when she promises the marquis de la châtre she will remain faithful, she develops feelings for another man. the parallels between ninon de l’enclos’ and de gouges’ lives are evident: after her first husband passed away, de gouges 12 moved to paris and never remarried, but took several lovers over the years. ninon is the character that best illustrates de gouges’ doubts about the lasting quality of romantic love and her reluctance to commitment and marriage. ninon expresses her feeling about love and commitment as “a blind feeling, which does not have any merit for what creates it, and does not engage in any gratitude; in a word, a caprice whose duration does not depend on us, and is followed only by disgust and repentance.” “i do not like sermons of love,” she says later, “it seems that they are only delivered to be violated.” finally, she says, “love wants to be free, and when it is chained, it escapes.”28 in le philosophe corrigé, madame pinçon expresses similar feelings: “in truth, we are truly duped when we chain ourselves.”29 finally, in le mariage inattendu de chérubin, the comte tries to comfort fanchette about her upcoming arranged marriage but figaro speaks more frankly about love: “the comte: they say that love comes with time./ figaro: and i insist that it goes away.”30 it is obvious de gouges did not believe love lasted eternally. marriages can be broken so women needed legal and economic protection. it is not surprising de gouges was a strong advocate for the right to divorce. because she believed marriage was a social contract, it could be dissolved at any given time. even though the idea of divorce became popular during the enlightenment, it was not legalized until 1792. in prerevolutionary france, “divorce was non-existent and annulment of marriage was infrequent. legal separation was granted only on grounds of physical abuse or defamation. neither infirmity nor sickness of her husband gave a woman any right to ask for legal separation… a husband’s adultery could not be a ground for separation except under the most extreme circumstances.”31 such extreme limitations on one’s freedom were contested during the last years of the ancien régime. 13 de gouges was not the only one advocating for the right to divorce. on august 5th 1790, pierre-françois gossin presented a motion to the national assembly to allow divorce based on the following arguments: “1) the physical separation practiced by uncongenial spouses under the ancien régime lowered the birth rate; 2) the legalization of divorce would discourage married couples from wanting to divorce; 3) the possibility of divorce would encourage marriage.”32 de gouges was aware of this reasoning. in her play la nécessité du divorce, the household of monsieur and madame d’azinval is in distress because monsieur d’azinval has not come home the previous night, leaving no doubt concerning his infidelity. enter rosambert, a good friend of monsieur d’azinval, who gives advice to his wife, who does not know how to react. rosambert is clearly the character chosen by de gouges to advocate for the right to divorce. in a secondary storyline, rosambert wants to prevent his nephew germeuil from marrying constance, d’azinval’s sister, because he believes that if a marriage cannot be terminated no one should take part in it, himself included. rosambert believes that “divorce allows the knots of marriage to be tied with flowers, without it they become the irons that the trembling slave gnaws at for they are the torment of life.”33 this argument is the same expressed by ninon or madame pinçon. however, rosambert goes further. when the abbot basilic comes to visit the household and argues with rosambert about the sanctity and the religious aspect of marriage, rosambert responds, “father, you are wrong when you suppose that divorce did not exist alongside christianity; in the first ten centuries it was practiced in christian states and from constantine to the emperor leon, the divorce laws were in full vigor. it would therefore not be an innovation, father, but a simple reestablishing of a useful, necessary law indispensable to the happiness of all mankind.”34 this reference to the past is de gouges’ attempt to reconcile divorce with the catholic faith, which she never criticized or rejected like other revolutionary writers. instead, she 14 tries to use the catholic church to legitimize her claim for the right to divorce. later in his conversation with the abbot, rosambert makes some of the same claims as pierre-françois gossin at the national assembly: through divorce, father, you would place an innumerable mass of bachelors in the position of taking up marriage. they are reticent merely because they fear the eternity of marriage. more marriages would make it harder for libertines to illicitly search out girls, their numbers having decreased. divorce gives you the means to propagate marriage by increasing its spread, by reducing the number of troublesome bachelors and, because the status of married individuals will depend on their behavior, they will perforce become more circumspect. finally, through the exercise of divorce, you gain the upper hand over vice and you avenge an oppressed virtue without using violent means. couples who are at present living as though they were actually divorced are forced into sterility; when their position is altered by the changes that will take place they will become fecund again. you return a man to a wife who is made for him and a woman to a husband she finds suitable. 35 in arguing divorce would allow for more marriages, an increased birth rate, and reduced extramarital relationships, de gouges is appealing to the catholic church, possibly the biggest opponent to the law of divorce, by predicting a decline in sinful actions. de gouges proves rosambert’s argument in le philosophe corrigé, in which the marquis and the marquise de clainville have become estranged after several years of marriage, moved away from one another, and both engaged in extramarital affairs. 15 in la nécessité du divorce, through the character of rosambert, de gouges proves the veracity of her arguments in favor of divorce. at the end of the play, rosambert brings monsieur and madame d’azinval together and pretends that the national assembly has passed a law legalizing divorce. while madame d’azinval is devastated, her husband is taken aback by the news that not only he is legally allowed to leave his wife, but that she is also allowed to leave him. monsieur d’azinval then realizes his mistakes: my wife! would leave me? what’s that? ah! the veil of illusion is torn asunder. i am aware of all my faults: i swear i will rectify them if she would deign to forgive me and consent to... my dear eugénie! may i hope for this generous forgiveness...yes, i can see in your eyes my blessing and my happiness. yes, you will be my spouse forever, my adored spouse and nothing will be able to break the ties founded on love, respect, repentance and virtue.36 the couple is brought together by the law of divorce, which supports rosambert’s, de gouges’, and gossin’s arguments, that divorce actually dissuades couples from separating. even though de gouges was in favor of divorce and strongly opposed to the institution of marriage in the eighteenth century, she always wrote happy endings for her couples. in la nécessité du divorce, monsieur and madame d’azinval are reconciled and rosambert consents to let germeuil and constance get married. in les voeux forcés, julie escapes her religious obligations and marries the chevalier. in l’esclavage des noirs, zamor and mizra marry with the governor’s blessing. in molière chez ninon, olympe does not have to marry an older man anymore and marries her lover, the chevalier de belfort. in le mariage inattendu de chérubin, chérubin and fanchette are married. in le philosophe corrigé, the marquis and the marquise de clainville discover they had been cheating on each other with each other in disguise, and are 16 reunited. these happy endings were a way for de gouges to promote her ideas about marriage, love and divorce in a way that would not shock her audience. an eighteenth-century theater audience was not yet ready for a strong independent female character to end up alone, especially in the genre of comedy.37 olympe de gouges was an exceptional woman who matched the men of her time in espousing progressive enlightenment ideas about marriage and divorce. she was ahead of her time. she refused to remarry to conserve her independence and to publish in her own name. she was the most prolific female writer of the french revolution. she was not afraid to openly express herself and her opinions. de gouges not only advocated for the right to divorce and the reform of marriage. she also supported the abolition of slavery, the right to vote for women, gender equality, the recognition of illegitimate children, and social projects such as medical clinics for women. even though her ideas did not have any direct consequences on the political decisions made by the national assembly, she participated in the ideology that alternative ways to engage in a relationship or in a marriage offered more freedom and equality for both partners. by translating her ideas to the literary form of plays she subtly made her voice heard while entertaining her audience. while de gouge’s plays were seldom performed for the public, they remain an important historical trace, indicative of new and radical ideas about women’s rights that would soon spread and manifest themselves in revolutionary law. as noted, the national assembly made marriage a civil contract, which could be dissolved as part of the law of september, 20 1792, and gave women the right to share property with their husbands, the biggest improvement for women’s rights of the french revolution. in the end, de gouges’ vision to defend women’s rights was not in vain. 17 1 darline gay levy and harriet b. applewhite, “a political revolution for women? the case of paris,” in becoming visible: women in european history, ed. renate bridenthal, susan mosher stuard, merry e. wiesner (new york: houghton mifflin company, 1998), 268, 286. 2 olivier blanc, marie-olympe de gouges: une humaniste à la fin du xviiie siècle (cahors: editions rené viénet, 2003), 11-12. all translations from french to english are mine. 3 janie vanpée, “la déclaration des droits de la femme: olympes de gouges’s re-writing of la déclaration des droits de l’homme,” in literate women and the french revolution of 1789, ed. catherine r. montfort (birmingham, al: summa publications, 1994), 60. 4 olympe de gouges, œuvres (paris: mercure de france, 1986), 38. 5 sarah hanley, “social sites of political practice in france: lawsuits, civil rights, and the separation of powers in domestic and state government, 1500-1800,” the american historical review, 102, no. 1 (february 1997), 45. 6 sophie mousset, women’s rights and the french revolution: a biography of olympe de gouges, trans. joy poirel (new brunswick, nj: transaction publishers, 2007), 1. 7 de gouges, oeuvres, 1, 24. 8 blanc, marie-olympe de gouges, 30-32. 9 nupur chaudhuri, “olympe de gouges’ perception of marriage and motherhood,” consortium on revolutionary europe 1750-1850: proceedings 20 (january 1990): 817. 10 olympe de gouges, molière chez ninon, ou le siècle des grands hommes (1788), 26, accessed november 28, 2017, wikisource: la bibliothèque libre. 11 olympe de gouges, le mariage inattendu de chérubin (paris: cailleau, imprimeur-libraire, 1788), 26, accessed november 28, 2017, wikisource: la bibliothèque libre. 12 candice e. proctor, women, equality, and the french revolution (new york: greenwood press, 1990), 102-103. 13 blanc, marie-olympe de gouges, 30. 14 de gouges, le mariage inattendu de chérubin, 38. 15 de gouges, oeuvres, 183. 16 olympe de gouges, œuvres de madame olympe de gouges (paris: cailleau, imprimeur-libraire, 1788), 37-38, accessed november 28, 2017, google books. 17 de gouges, œuvres de madame olympe de gouges, 92, 97. 18 de gouges, oeuvres, 184. 19 chaudhuri, “olympe de gouges’ perception of marriage and motherhood,” 818. 20 de gouges, oeuvres, 109-110. 21 maryann dejulio and sylvie molta, “olympe de gouges, 1748-1793,” in translating slavery: gender and race in french women’s writing, 1783-1823, ed. doris y. kadish and françoise massardier-kenney (kent, oh: the kent state university press, 1994), 73. 22 proctor, women, equality, and the french revolution, 87. 23 hanley, “social sites of political practice in france,” 29-30. 24 althea arguelles-ling, “famille, révolution, patrie: national imaginings in the plays of olympe de gouges.” australian journal of french studies 44, no. 3 (september 2007): 248-249. 25 de gouges, molière chez ninon, 127. 26 megan cornway, “olympe de gouges and the question of divorce.” consortium on revolutionary europe 17501850: proceedings 1 (january 2005): 67. 27 joan scott, only paradozes to offer: french feminists and the rights of man (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1996), x-xi. 28 de gouges, molière chez ninon, 106, 29, 103. 29 de gouges, œuvres de madame olympe de gouges, 102. 30 de gouges, le mariage inattendu de chérubin, 12. 31 chaudhuri, “olympe de gouges’ perception of marriage and motherhood,” 819. 32 cornway, “olympe de gouges and the question of divorce,” 65. 33 olympe de gouges, la nécessité du divorce, comédie en trois actes en prose, trans. clarissa parlmer (1790), 4, accessed november 28, 2017, http://www.olympedegouges.eu/le_divorce.php. 34 de gouges, la nécessité du divorce, 5. 35 de gouges, la nécessité du divorce, 6. 36 de gouges, la nécessité du divorce, 17. 37 cornway, “olympe de gouges and the question of divorce,” 66. 18 bibliography arguelles-ling, althea. “famille, révolution, patrie: national imaginings in the plays of olympe de gouges.” australian journal of french studies 44, no. 3 (september 2007): 244-256. blanc, olivier. marie-olympe de gouges: une humaniste à la fin du xviiie siècle. cahors: editions rené viénet, 2003. chaudhari, nupur. “olympe de gouges’ perception of marriage and motherhood.” consortium on revolutionary europe 1750-1850: proceedings 20 (january 1990): 815-821. cornway, megan. “olympe de gouges and the question of divorce.” consortium on revolutionary europe 1750-1850: proceedings 1 (january 2005): 63-69. de gouges, olympe. œuvres. paris: mercure de france, 1986. de gouges, olympe. œuvres de madame olympe de gouges. paris: cailleau, imprimeur libraire, 1788. accessed november 28, 2017. google books. de gouges, olympe. le mariage inattendu de chérubin. paris: cailleau, imprimeur-libraire, 1788. accessed november 28, 2017. wikisource: la bibliothèque libre. de gouges, olympe. molière chez ninon, ou le siècle des grands hommes. 1788. accessed november 28, 2017. wikisource: la bibliothèque libre. de gouges, olympe. la nécessité du divorce, comédie en trois actes en prose. translated by clarissa palmer. 1790. accessed november 28, 2017. http://www.olympedegouges.eu/le_divorce.php. dejulio, maryann and sylvie molta. “olympe de gouges, 1748-1793.” in translating slavery: gender and race in french women’s writing, 1783-1823, edited by doris y. kadish and françoise massardier-kenney, 65-132. kent, oh: the kent state university press, 1994. 19 hanley, sarah. “social sites of political practice in france: lawsuits, civil rights, and the separation of powers in domestic and state government, 1500-1800.” the american historical review 102, no. 1 (february 1997): 27-52. levy, darline gay, and harriet b. applewhite. “a political revolution for women? the case of paris.” in becoming visible: women in european history, edited by renate bridenthal, susan mosher stuard, and merry e. wiesner, 265-292. new york: houghton mifflin company, 1998. mousset, sophie. women’s rights and the french revolution: a biography of olympe de gouges. translated by joy poirel. new brunswick, nj: transaction publishers, 2007. proctor, candice e. women, equality, and the french revolution. new york: greenwood press, 1990. scott, joan wallach. only paradoxes to offer: french feminists and the right of man. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1996. vanpée, janie. “la déclaration des droits de la femme: olympes de gouges’s re-writing of la déclaration des droits de l’homme.” in literate women and the french revolution of 1789, edited by catherine r. montfort, 55-81. birmingham, al: summa publications, 1994. microsoft word jamie wojtal_eng legibility and annotation: reading images and words by wendy red star, thomas harriot, and theodore de bry jamie kozol wojtal english i. introduction: legibility and its tools in a brief and true report of the newfound land of virginia, thomas harriot relates his observations and findings during his journey on sir walter raleigh’s expedition to the americas from 1585 to 1586. john white, another english colonizer on the expedition, painted watercolors of the carolina algonquin peoples and their daily lives. when harriot returned to england, he gave the paintings to theodore de bry, who created the engravings present in harriot’s report. the colonialist nature of this text, revealed by the rest of the title “of the commodities and of the nature and manners of the natural inhabitants,” may illustrate some of the creators’ goals in creating the report (harriot 1, emphasis mine). harriot establishes very early on that he hopes to inform future colonists on how they may survive in ‘virginia,’ what resources they may use for profit, and how they should interact with the algonquin people in order to maximize their profits. the aims and goals of the text, as well as how harriot discusses the algonquins, impel me to question de bry’s visual portrayal of the algonquin peoples. furthermore, as scholars michael leroy oberg and david moore argue, the interactions and conflicts captured in harriot’s report do not express “the inevitability of european triumph and advance,” the way settlers today often think about the early colonial period (oberg and moore 55). instead, oberg and moore assert that we should understand harriot’s report and the expedition as a european intrusion into a space where the algonquin peoples held power. as they note, european “settlements could endure only as long as native peoples allowed them to” (55). thus, these images do not represent total english authority over indigenous bodies, but rather, harriot’s attempt to assert his control over the algonquins with whom he interacted. harriot’s report and the images within illustrate how depictions of indigenous peoples may be presented as ‘texts’ to be ‘read’ by an audience. within the last two decades, scholars of early american studies, particularly the study of early american literature, have begun to place more emphasis on the experiences of indigenous peoples, their communities, and the roles they played during the colonization of north america. with this growing focus on indigenous communities, scholars of early america have also begun to take more cues from the field of native american and indigenous studies (nais) and the methodologies scholars of indigenous studies use.1 with an increasing desire for perspectives from indigenous peoples during colonization, scholars have looked outside english-language texts, researching indigenous-language texts and non-alphabetic forms of communication. in a forum for both william and mary quarterly and early american literature, alyssa mt. pleasant, caroline wigginton, and kelly wisecup critique early american literature and history scholars’ preference for examining alphabetic texts and archives, asserting, “colonists’ emphasis on alphabetic literacy and insistence that trustworthy history take written forms continue to orient both historiographical practices and conceptions of the literary, despite the ongoing importance of oral traditions and non-alphabetic materials for native authors and communities” (mt pleasant et al. 417). instead, they urge scholars to continue to turn toward the materials and methodologies used by nais scholars. scholars have too long limited themselves because of the colonialist inheritance of reliance on traditionally textual archives. by expanding the materials we examine, scholars (particularly settler scholars) can rethink colonialist narratives and include indigenous voices from the past and present. the expansion of the term text—the kinds of genres, forms, and materials that we identify as readable forms of communication —has opened the door for the analysis of a range of artifacts including images as texts. in the networked wilderness: communicating in early new england, scholar matt cohen analyzes communication systems during periods of contact between english settlers and the indigenous peoples of new england. cohen catalogs various communication systems such as “traps, paths, wampum, monuments, medical rituals, and other messaging systems,” alongside various european settler materials (cohen 4). cohen “trace[s] the role of nontextual media, from gestures to beadwork to sound, in both european media systems and indigenous systems of communication” (13). by using a multivalent approach to defining text and textual analysis, cohen explores intraand inter-community communication. i locate my project alongside the work of cohen, mt. pleasant, wigginton, and wisecup because i will examine images of indigenous people made in collaboration between the indigenous people they depict, the artist who created the image, and third parties who annotated and described the images. in this essay, i mobilize the concept of legibility to analyze and ‘read’ two groups of images of indigenous people. the first are the images of carolina algonquin peoples from a brief and true report of the newfound land of virginia, engraved by theodore de bry, with annotations by thomas harriot. i read harriot’s annotations as attempts to render the images of indigenous people as legible to a european or european colonizer. the interplay between de bry’s images and harriot’s annotations illustrates how legibility often serves a settler colonial goal. i will also analyze images from the project 1880 crow peace delegation by apsáalooke artist wendy red star. red star reclaims photos taken of apsáalooke leaders by european settlers and annotates them with various types of information. while annotation and legibility are often tools of the colonizer, 1880 crow peace delegation demonstrates how they can be reappropriated by indigenous artists and writers for their own end. red star also expresses refusal within legibility, revealing some pieces of information and disengaging from other ideas. i chose these sets of images because they sit at the intersection of visual and textual representation. they both depict images of indigenous people alongside informative annotation in the service of making an indigenous person legible to different audiences. my analysis of both sets of images will demonstrate how legibility can define indigeneity, while also being a tool of resisting being known. by examining images alongside their intended annotations, i hope to understand what the creators of these images wanted their intended readers to glean from both the image and the text. to do this, i will explain my concept of legibility, the tools it uses, and its relationship with the concept of refusal. to put it simply, legibility is the action of rendering a person or body as recognizable in some way. i imbue the word ‘recognizable’ with as much slipperiness as possible in order to assert that the artist or writer may make their subject recognizable in various ways. while it may indicate an acknowledgment of the humanity of the person depicted, an author or artist may render a person legible as an object. through the word ‘legibility,’ i hope to locate this term within the framework of expanded notions of literacy that includes the recognition of images.2 to make something or someone legible is to render them familiar, able to be understood and interpreted, able to be ‘read’ by a viewer. stephanie pratt (crow creek sioux) also discusses ‘readable’ objects in her study of portraits of dakota and ho chunk leaders. pratt’s chapter, “restating indigenous presence in eastern dakota and ho chunk (winnebago) portraits of the 1830s–1860s,” in the book indigenous bodies: reviewing, relocating, reclaiming, discusses how the leaders depicted in these portraits, or the sitters of the portraits, assert their agency through the use of material culture. pratt uses the term readability to discuss the items indigenous leaders included in their portraits, calling some items, ““untranslatable” goods that by definition escape the desired transparency, or “readability” of the constructed image,” specifically for a settler european audience (pratt 18, emphasis mine). while pratt focuses on how specific objects convey information, making them readable for certain audiences, i apply legibility to the entire image. however, i invoke pratt’s idea of readable objects because it illustrates how images, particularly images of indigenous people, may not convey the information certain readers need to recognize the humanity of the person depicted—making them illegible. any image may be illegible to some people and legible to others, necessitating mediation or more context, often in the form of annotation. in this project, i specifically analyze images which have been ‘read,’ or interpreted and annotated in alphabetic writing. annotation involves textual writing intended to complement, describe, or explain images. it can be a tool for increasing legibility, or it can obscure ideas present in the visual image. the annotation of an image assumes a level of foreignness or illegibility of the person depicted; if someone must explain an image of a person, the explanation renders them legible, not the image itself. however, without the annotation, the person may be illegible, or unable to be ‘read’ and understood by a viewer. in this way, defining the legibility of an image means also defining the position from which the viewer interprets the image. because the annotator chooses what to define, they may also refuse to define certain aspects. in many ways, legibility reflects the goals of colonizers; the ability to understand an image, to interpret meaning, can also convey control over the person or object depicted. as a rule, colonial writing about indigenous people was meant as a means of controlling perceptions of indigeneity.3 furthermore, european colonizers have long attempted to render indigenous bodies understandable to a colonizing audience to demonstrate supposed control over indigenous peoples. as audra simpson (mohawk) describes in her book mohawk interruptus, “knowing and representing people within those [colonized] places required more than military might; it required the methods and modalities of knowing—in particular, categorization, ethnological comparison, linguistic translation, and ethnography” (simpson 95). simpson asserts that academia, specifically anthropology, acts as a colonizing force by dictating what is known about indigenous peoples. in fact, simpson even illustrates the connection between scholarship and land dispossession.4 that being said, writers and artists can strategically deploy legibility, often using the settler-colonial tool of annotation as a tactic of resistance to illuminate some aspects of an image and obfuscate others. i relate legibility to simpson’s concept of refusal by asserting that artists control the legibility of an image, both through visual signifiers and textual accompaniment. simpson defines refusal as “a willful distancing from state-driven forms of recognition and sociability in favor of others” (16). simpson further explains how refusal can take many forms and how the mohawk peoples of kahnawà:ke deploy refusal in many aspects of their lives: this practice of refusal includes the ways in which the formation of kahnawà:ke’s initial membership code (now replaced by a lineage code and board of elders to implement the code and determine cases) was refused; the ways in which their interactions with border guards at the international boundary line were predicated upon a refusal; how refusal worked in everyday encounters to enunciate repeatedly to themselves and to outsiders: “this is who we are; this is who you are; these are my rights.” (106) for simpson, refusal can be an active turning away from political recognition, or it can be an act “of simply refusing the gaze, of disengagement” (106). perhaps most importantly, simpson details how refusal allows the mohawks of kahnawà:ke to maintain their political sovereignty over kahnawà:ke. while simpson depicts refusal as a political tool, she also uses it in her writing as a methodological tool. she acknowledges that the people she writes about may not choose to share their thoughts and allows them the opportunity to refuse to share. both the methodological and political forms of refusal are useful for thinking about refusal within legibility. if we examine an image of a person, we can see two ways of using refusal. the person depicted may refuse to explain parts or all of themselves to the artist depicting them. someone editing or annotating an image may also choose to withhold information and refuse to answer questions for a viewer.5 in both cases, an indigenous person, either the subject of the image or someone modifying the image, refuses the gaze of the settler, refuses the ability to be known and contained. thus, while legibility may arise out of colonial desires to gain knowledge, and thus, power over others, indigenous actors may coopt it. ii. legibility for the colonizer: harriot and de bry’s annotated images harriot begins his report by outlining his purpose in writing the report. according to his introduction, he hopes his reader “may generally know & learne what the countrey is, & thereupon consider how your dealing therein if it proceede, may returne you profit and gaine; be it either by inhabitting & planting or otherwise in furthering thereof” (harriot 5). while contemporary readers can never know harriot’s true intention, he does profess a desire for his reader to profit from the land, or even settle there. as i continue to analyze the report, i urge my reader to remember the goals which underpin the dehumanizing aspects of the text and images. thomas harriot’s language in a brief and true history about the carolina algonquin peoples whom he encountered illustrates the objectifying impacts of extractive and settler colonialism. at most points in the text, harriot belittles their intelligence and criticizes their technology. in describing the algonquins’ character, he states, “in respect of us they are a people poore, and for want of skill and judgement in the knowledge and use of our things, doe esteeme our trifles before thinges of greater value” (25). in statements such as these, harriot implies that their intelligence will make them easy to manipulate. however, at other points he concedes that they have some skills, for instance stating, “in those thinges they doe, they shewe excellencie of wit” (25). while this may seem like an acknowledgement of indigenous intelligence, consciousness, and humanity, it serves to depict the algonquin peoples as another resource to be exploited during colonization. in his introduction to the section “of the nature and manners of the people,” harriot chillingly asserts, “they in respect of troubling our inhabiting and planting, are not to be feared; but that they shall have cause both to feare and love us, that shall inhabite with them” (24). while he may compliment aspects of indigenous culture, harriot only discusses these positive algonquin attributes with the ultimate goal of colonization and exploitation in his mind. because his goal was to convince other english people to become colonizers, harriot’s intended audience was presumably other europeans. in this section, i study three images from harriot’s report, including their annotations, to consider how text and image complement and reinforce the messages of each.6 harriot and de bry depict the algonquin peoples in an objectifying and assessing manner, illustrating their desire to render the algonquins legible only as objects. in most of the images of people, de bry depicts the front and back views, with the subject standing apart from other algonquin people in the background. in the image “on[e] of the chieff ladyes of secota,” (figure 1) de bry shows a young woman in two poses: facing toward the front and facing away (43). the double pose, presumably intended to show the reader this woman’s back and her clothes, illustrates how this image was intended to reveal as much visual information as possible to a reader. de bry has also physically separated the young woman from the background; she stands on a ledge away from other algonquin peoples fishing in the background. through these small details, de bry separates this woman from her actual cultural context. instead, he renders her as an object of study, to be understood from several angles, but not as a subject completing any actions. in the description of this image, harriot begins by stating, “the women of secotam are of reasonable good proportion,” and then lists a description of their faces: “small eyes, plaine and flatt noses, narrow foreheads, and broade mowths” (43). his emphasis on their “reasonable good proportion” illustrates his interest in assessing the ‘quality’ of their bodies. the plural ‘women’ and features tell the reader that this woman exemplifies all the women of secotam. harriot also describes their clothes, their posture, and their ornamentation, almost cataloging the different physical attributes of algonquin women. his annotation barely mentions women’s behavior or roles, only mentioning activities, such as “walkinge in to the fields,” and their desire to “see the hunting of deers” (43). the description of women’s activities, which only includes walking and watching, minimizes the roles women played in algonquin communities. the focus on appearance further minimizes women’s agency and action, reframing indigenous women as objects to be viewed. harriot’s description very clearly illustrates that the woman in the image is not an individual to him, and he does not bother to give her a name. by using one woman to represent all algonquin women, harriot further objectifies them, and implicitly, says that all indigenous women are the same. figure 1. “on of the chieff ladyes of secota,” theodore de bry. in other images of women, harriot and de bry make similar assessments and judgements on algonquin women’s appearances. the image “a chieff ladye of pomeiooc,” (figure 2) shows a woman on the left and a child on the right (47). while they are apparently mother and daughter, de bry also shows them separated from each other as well as from the background. furthermore, the woman’s face is eerily similar to other women’s faces in the report. the woman holds a gourd or vessel of some kind, which harriot neglects to explain. despite the fact that his annotation describes this woman from head to toe, he fails to explain why the women “have their skinnes pounced” and “they lay their hands often uppon their shoulders, and cover their brests in token of maydenlike modesty” (47). as oberg and moore point out, “when [harriot] tells us that algonquians “either pownes, or paynt their forhead, cheeks, chynne, bodye, armes, and legs” with a variety of images in a number of colors, he did not explain why” (oberg and moore 49). in the descriptions of women, harriot thoroughly describes their appearances while dedicating only one or two sentences to their practices or behavior. although he focuses heavily on describing appearance in his annotations, harriot’s omission of beliefs, practices, or meaning behind appearance tells his reader that those aspects are not important. in order to make these women legible, or understandable, to an english reader, harriot and de bry reduce them to their physical appearance and put them on display at all angles. the colonialist gaze that harriot and de bry exercise elides the thoughts and beliefs of indigenous peoples, instead focusing on them as if they were objects or resources. figure 2. “a chieff ladye of pomeiooc,” theodore de bry. in the final image of the algonquin peoples, harriot and de bry show the reader some tattoos and their meanings. this image, titled “the marks of sundrye of the cheif mene of virginia,” (figure 3) shows an algonquin man’s back with the tattoo that identifies his tribal affiliation (harriot 68). de bry shows several other tattoos next to the man, each labeled with a letter from a to g. according to harriot, these tattoos show “what princes subjects they bee, or of what place they have their originall” (68). by using the language of ‘subjects’ and ‘belonging’ harriot intimates a sense of ownership to the leaders. he does not conceive that these tattoos could indicate affiliation or community, instead imposing his own system of social organization. harriot also states, “we have set downe those marks in this figure…that they might more easelye be discerned” (68). these are the only tattoos to which harriot attributes meaning, as oberg and moore note. by asserting that the tattoos will help to identify indigenous peoples, harriot shows his hand, so to say. he reveals that these images are for the purpose of educating future colonists. harriot and de bry did not intend to teach their readers about algonquin culture and the importance of tattoos. they only explain the piece that they believe will be useful to an english colonizer. tattoos illustrate one form of non-alphabetic media that can be read as a text. in fact, to a carolina algonquin person, these tattoos would make this image legible in many ways. however, harriot only ascribes surface level meaning to non-textual media because english colonizers demonized non-alphabetic texts. in so doing, they further render a person they cannot ‘read’ as an object. figure 3. “the marckes of sundrye of the cheif mene of virginia,” theodore de bry. although de bry’s images are critical to the specific way the white settlers rendered algonquin people legible, harriot’s annotations most greatly impact how an english reader, the intended audience of his report, would read these images. by focusing most of his description on the algonquin people’s appearances, harriot emphasizes their physical bodies, not humanity. furthermore, the excessive detailing without explanation of meaning may even render these images as more foreign and exotic. even in annotations in which harriot dedicates some time to describing algonquin culture, he rarely explains the importance of cultural practices and beliefs. alongside the rest of the text of the report, these annotations demonstrate a profound othering of the algonquin peoples. they are meant to be seen, to be looked at, but not to be understood. in this way, he uses annotation to make them legible as objects, as resources for future colonizers. iii. balancing legibility and refusal: wendy red star’s 1880 crow peace delegation examining images and annotations from the sixteenth century can illuminate the origins of legibility as a settler colonial concept. harriot’s annotations and de bry’s engravings give us valuable information about how early colonizers sought to portray indigenous peoples. however, indigenous artists and writers have also deployed legibility to portray themselves and others as fully human. apsáalooke (or crow) artist wendy red star (also known as baahinnaachísh) frequently looks to the archive for inspiration for her artwork. unfortunately, depictions of indigenous people in the archive were usually made by settlers, and they often objectify or exoticize their subjects. to combat this, red star explores the reclamation and humanization of indigenous individuals within the archive. here, i use her work to examine how an artist uses annotation to make someone legible as a person, in the process refusing the histories of objectification usually associated with this action. red star’s er project 1880 crow peace delegation uses several portraits of apsáalooke bacheeítuuk taken by c.m. bell during the 1880 crow peace delegation who traveled to washington d.c. to meet with ulysses s. grant (now in the national anthropological archive of the smithsonian institute). while the leaders discussed crow territory with grant, they also sat for photographic portraits by bell (red star and vittoria 10). the crow leaders they took copies of these images home, but the original photographs remained in possession of bell, until they were given to the national anthropological archives. the images of these men were also placed on widely distributed postcards and native-themed memorabilia, without their permission - itself a type of unacknowledged theft. red star even encountered the image as a part of the logo on bottled iced tea (14). as scott manning steven (akwesasne mohawk) discusses in an article about portraiture and tomahawks, portraits of indigenous leaders often “present the normative european viewer with a collection of specimens meant to be metonymically representative of a larger population of ethnic others” (stevens 485). even photographs of specific apsáalooke leaders become representative of ‘the indian’ to a european or euro-american settler viewer. objects such as the tomahawk, objects which are identifiably ‘native’ to a settler viewer, may not personalize a portrait, but rather place the sitter in a “sphere of alterity” (485), in so doing, perpetuating practices initiated in the 16th century by artists and authors like debry and harriot. while the crow peace delegation portraits were taken by a white photographer, bell was not the only creator. each portrait was also crafted by the person it depicts. through choice of dress and appearance, demeanor and countenance, each chief’s history and life may be legible to certain audiences. while material culture can signify indigeneity to a settler viewer, pratt argues, “if we use material culture to widen the aperture of perception, it may be that we can discern something that lies mute within these images; the residue of what the sitter brought to the occasion” (pratt 20). this requires two shifts in our understanding of indigenous portraiture. firstly, we must acknowledge that these portraits are not exclusively for a settler viewer. instead, as red star notes, the sitters of the portraits often valued the copies of the portraits they received (red star and vittoria 5). secondly, the portrait may incorporate “objects deliberately chosen by the sitter to frustrate the process of reading the image from “outside” and therefore acting as a form of cultural resistance” (pratt 18). keeping these points in mind, we must ask, for whom an image is legible and does the sitter want to be legible to everyone. as i explore the legibility of red star’s work, i will continue to trace in what ways she renders her subjects eligible for specific audiences. red star traces the photos in red ink and adds her own annotation. some of these notes include descriptions of the sitter’s accessories and even details from the sitter’s life. red star’s annotation of these archival portraits acts on several levels to reclaim the images from the colonial archive and emphasize the humanity of the individuals depicted. she also illustrates the agency of the sitter in the creation of the portrait. while peace discussions with grant ultimately led to the “coerced cession of crow tribal lands to the government,” the red ink allows red star to ‘redraw’ the boundaries created by colonizers and reassert control over the images of the apsáalooke leaders (rivera fellah and laughlin bloom). through an assemblage of personal, tribal, and historical information, red star’s annotations give any reader more information about the sitter. for example, in the piece peelatchiwaaxpáash / medicine crow (raven), (figure 4) red star writes, “ermine on shirt, captured gun. ermine leggings, successful war leader,” with arrows pointing to the ermine on peelatchiwaaxpáash’s coat and leggings. descriptive annotations provide different kinds of information to different audiences. to a viewer unaccustomed to the cultures of indigenous peoples of the great plains, red star points out crucial accessories and explains their significance. while this annotation gives an uninformed (read: settler) audience information about cultural practice, red star also gives her viewer more personal information. for instance, by pointing out “hair bows were out of fashion in 1880” and “this hair bow is broken,” red star indicates that peelatchiwaaxpáash preferred hair bows even though they were no longer stylish, personalizing him as the subject. furthermore, the broken hair bow could even show that peelatchiwaaxpáash held onto this specific hair bow after it was broken, implying that this specific bow held significant sentimental value. red star’s image of peelatchiwaaxpáash also includes one quote from lt. john bourke: “medicine crow, the crow chief, looked like a devil in his war bonnet of feathers, furs and buffalo horns.” because of the placement of this quote, running up the left border of the portrait, i interpret the inclusion of this quote as red star’s acknowledgment (but not endorsement) of non-apsáalooke views on peelatchiwaaxpáash. in this way, she calls attention to the harmful practice of annotation as objectification, which she refuses by physically marginalizing the quote on the side of the image. she juxtaposes this quote with humanizing and personalizing information about peelatchiwaaxpáash. we can see the bacheeítuuk’s calm face, one of the few places red star has not outlined, and compare it to the supposed ‘devil’ he looked like. the assemblage of information with which red star annotates this image serves to humanize and illuminate the sitter. . figure 4. peelatchiwaaxpáash / medicine crow (raven), wendy red star. in the two portraits of alaxchiiaahush, (figures 5 and 6) also known as many war achievements and plenty coups, red star includes quotes, first person narration, and even references to herself. the inclusion of various types of annotation works in a much different way than harriot’s annotations. rather than dictating one way of ‘reading’ the image, as harriot’s annotations seem to do, red star’s collage of information opens various possibilities for understanding alaxchiiaahush through his portrait. like in the image peelatchiwaaxpáash, red star includes both cultural annotation, specifically pointing out material culture, and biographical information. red star also speaks as alaxchiiaahush, such as the annotation, “this eagle feather means i kicked ass first. i was the first man to touch the enemy first! i have the right to wear this eagle feather.” not only does this give the viewer information about the sacred nature of eagle feathers, but red star’s imagined first person narration also gives alaxchiiaahush a voice in this portrait. furthermore, with more modern syntax of “kicked ass,” red star produces a sense of familiarity and closeness; the feather is meaningful to alaxchiiaahush beyond its cultural meaning. red star even includes several quotes from alaxchiiaahush, including, “i am ashamed of you. self-pity has stolen your courage, robbed you of your spirit and your self-respect; stop mourning the old days—they are gone with the buffalo…clean out your dirty lodges and go to work.” rather than mourning the effects of genocide and settler colonialism, which he would have every right to do so, alaxchiiaahush speaks to his people about continuing in the face of adversity. while red star’s annotation of the portraits of alaxchiiaahush include cultural, biographical, and personal information, she does not solely valorize him. in the second portrait, red star shares an anecdote about how alaxchiiaahush gave away a large part of the carbon county reserve “for two white hookers and a 5th of whiskey.” this annotation, which carries criticism and frustration toward the bacheeítuuk, comes alongside the note, “i shook hands with prince albert of monaco. he was lucky to shake hands with me.” these two pieces of information, one an indictment of alaxchiiaahush, the other praise of him, illustrates how this man was human, made mistakes, and was still important to his people. in presenting many types of information of the apsáalooke bacheeítuuk, red star rejects a monolithic reading of these images. instead, she asserts each man’s full humanity, cultural practices, personal preferences, and relationships to others, to reveal the depth of information within the portrait. rather than constraining interpretation through annotation, red star presents an abundance of personal and cultural information. while we can never know a person’s full life from one image, even with annotations, red star reinscribes humanity into images which have previously been appropriated by settlers. in this way, red star makes the bacheeítuuk legible as complex, three-dimensional people, rather than as symbols of indigeneity to a settler audience. figure 5. alaxchiiaahush / many war achievements / plenty coups, wendy red star. figure 6. alaxchiiaahush / many war achievements / plenty coups, wendy red star. while red star presents an almost over-abundance of information to make her images legible, especially to a settler audience unfamiliar with alaxchiiaahush and other apsáalooke bacheeítuuk, she also refuses to include some information. even in older portraits, stevens asserts, “we must ask what is not being represented,” because it can tell us vital information about an artist’s desires for their artistic representation (stevens 491). in many portraits, red star includes the phrase “happy hunting grounds” and a year, which indicates the year the sitter died. however, red star does not explain the meaning of this phrase. this tells me that red star does not intend to make these portraits fully legible to a settler audience. she refuses to explain or translate her commemoration of their deaths. as i have already noted, red star does not trace the facial features of the apsáalooke bacheeítuuk (except for a scar on alaxchiiaahush’s face). as red star and scholar vittoria note in their article about 1880 crow peace delegation, red star uses, “red pen to trace, mark, and inscribe what has been lost over years of colonization and systemic racism” (18). i interpret this as a refusal to reinscribe information over a person’s face, instead letting each sitter’s expression speak for itself. while she may include quotes or even speak for the sitter, red star refuses to cross the line of tracing their faces. both details, while small, illustrate refusal within legibility. as pratt reminds us, portraits may include “objects deliberately chosen by the sitter to frustrate the process of reading the image from ‘outside’” (18). red star’s refusal to explain certain objects extends the sitters’ own agency in their choices of personal and tribal artifacts in their portraits. in her project 1880 crow peace delegation, red star balances legibility and refusal. by using images that have been sold and appropriated by settlers, red star’s project reclaims images of her people. rather than using them on tea bottles or postcards, red star annotates the images with an abundance of different types of information. this annotation works to render the sitters legible as people, even to a settler audience. red star includes information about material culture, biographical facts, and even quotes to make her subjects’ humanity impossible to ignore; their humanity becomes legible to anyone who reads the annotation. still, red star refuses to cross certain lines. she refuses to trace their faces, just as she refuses to explain why she uses “happy hunting grounds,” in reference to their deaths. by establishing lines that she will not cross, red star also practices refusal: she refuses to give everything to a settler audience that might demand it of her. she illustrates how legibility and refusal can balance each other, while also displaying the tension the two create. further, her work raises an important question for me: does legibility seek to overcome or overpower refusal? iv. conclusion: the limits of legibility in this article, i have examined two collections of images. one set was created in the sixteenth century. the other was originally created in the nineteenth century, then reclaimed, reconfigured, and annotated in the twenty-first century. harriot’s report and the images in it contain a very clear message by white settlers about the carolina algonquin peoples. they are one aspect of the resources harriot describes and his annotations illustrate how he saw them as objects. the combination of de bry’s images and harriot’s annotations serves to render indigenous bodies as legible as objects. that is, they tell the intended reader, future english colonists, how to view the indigenous people they see in the report. wendy red star’s images from 1880 crow peace delegation create a more complicated dynamic. firstly, her project does not have the same homogeneous intended viewer population, as harriot did. secondly, her goal of rendering her subjects as legible as full humans is balanced with her refusal to explain all aspects of the images she annotates. while red star uses both refusal and legibility, her work raises questions on the usefulness of legibility. in mohawk interruptus, audra simpson discusses her issues with recognition, and why refusal allows the mohawk peoples of kahnawà:ke to reject political recognition from the settler state of canada because they do not recognize canada as their sovereign. they refuse to play the game of recognition with a state that does not recognize their sovereignty. because legibility deals heavily with a viewer’s recognition of an image, is it useless in discussions of indigenous people and indigenous sovereignty? i argue that legibility gives us the tools to see how artists and writers frame indigenous people. do they frame indigenous people as objects, as humans, or in another way? in what ways are artists and writers, such as harriot, de bry, and red star, attempting to influence their imagined viewer? as a theoretical tool, legibility gives us a framework for answering these questions. furthermore, by locating legibility alongside the intended viewer and indigenous people’s ability to refuse, to refuse to explain or refuse to engage with the settler gaze, we can see how artists like red star reclaim images. for whom did wendy red star create the project 1880 crow peace delegation? is it for the apsáalooke viewer or a non-apsáalooke viewer? red star does not answer, and the information in the images could point to both. i argue that, in rendering the apsáalooke bacheeítuuk as legibly human and refusing to explain everything, red star creates images for her own people and those outside of her group. we can all learn from and feel the power of her reclamation of these images, no matter our background. she shows us the redemptive power of annotation and illustrates how legibility does not solely function as a tool of colonization. endnotes 1. in this article, mt pleasant, wigginton, and wisecup also problematize the time period and boundaries of ‘early america.’ for a more in-depth discussion of this term, its possible definitions, and how scholars have explored it, please read “methods and materials in native american and indigenous studies: completing the turn.” 2. here, my use of ‘recognition’ differs from audra simpson’s use of the term. another gloss for my use of the term recognition could be acknowledgement. both terms are loaded and carry meanings in nais and outside of it. for more on audra simpson’s use of “recognition,” read mohawk interruptus. 3. for more information on how colonizers have defined indigeneity as a tool of settler colonialism, look to patrick wolfe’s text settler colonialism and the transformation of anthropology: the politics and poetics of an ethnographic event. 4. for more information on indigenous nations’ distrust of academics, especially anthropologists, perhaps begin with the chapter “anthropologists and their friends,” in standing rock sioux scholar vine deloria’s foundational text custer died for your sins: an indian manifesto. 5. i do not incorporate european settlers’ omission of information into the concept of refusal. although simpson traces the genealogy of refusal to hegel and fanon, in her use and mine, it is specific to citizens of indigenous nations and how they interact with settler colonial nation-states. 6. while i have not cited it in this section, karen ordahl kupperman’s indians & english: facing off in early american, particularly the chapter “reading indian bodies,” was incredibly helpful for my analysis of the images in harriot’s report. works cited cohen, matt. the networked wilderness : communicating in early new england. university of minnesota press, 2010. fellah, nadiah rivera, and tricia laughlin bloom. wendy red star: a scratch on the earth. newark museum, 2019. harriot, thomas. a brief and true report of the new found land of virginia : of the commodities and of the nature and manners of the naturall inhabitants. discouered by the english colon there seated by sir richard greinuile knight in the eere 1585. which remained vnder the gouernement of twelue monethes, at the speciall charge and direction of the honourable sir walter raleigh knight lord warden of the stanneries who therein hath beene fauoured and authorised b her maiestie :and her letters patents: this fore booke is made in english by thomas hariot seruant to the abouenamed sir walter, a member of the colon, and there imploed in discouering cum gratia et priuilegio caes. matis speciali. typis ioannis wecheli, sumtibus vero theodori de bry anno m d xc. venales reperiuntur in officina sigismundi feirabendii, 1590. oberg, michael leroy, and david moore. “europeans in the indians’ old world.” new voyages to carolina: reinterpreting north carolina history, edited by jeffrey j. crow, the university of north carolina press, 2017, pp. 41–59. pleasant, alyssa mt., et al. “materials and methods in native american and indigenous studies: completing the turn.” early american literature, vol. 53, no. 2, 2018, pp. 407–44. pratt, stephanie. “restating indigenous presence in eastern dakota and ho chunk (winnebago) portraits of the 1830s–1860s.” indigenous bodies: reviewing, relocating, reclaiming, edited by jacqueline fear-segal and rebecca tillett, suny press, 2013, pp. 17–30. red star, wendy. alaxchiiaahush / many war achievements / plenty coups, 1. artistmanipulated digitally reproduced photograph, 2014, https://www.wendyredstar.com/1880-crow-peace-delegation. ---. alaxchiiaahush / many war achievements / plenty coups, 2. artist-manipulated digitally reproduced photograph, 2014, https://www.wendyredstar.com/1880-crowpeace-delegation. ---. peelatchiwaaxpáash / medicine crow (raven). artist-manipulated digitally reproduced photograph, 2014, https://www.wendyredstar.com/1880-crow-peace-delegation. red star, wendy, and shannon vittoria. “apsáalooke bacheeítuuk in washington, dc: a case study in re-reading nineteenth-century delegation photography.” panorama, vol. 6, no. 2, 2020. simpson, audra. mohawk interruptus: political life across the borders of settler states. duke university press, 2014. stevens, scott manning. “tomahawk: materiality and depictions of the haudenosaunee.” early american literature, vol. 53, no. 2, 2018, pp. 475–511. microsoft word hayes eng.docx “i’m her and i’m me”: race, power, and sexual violence in walter mosley’s devil in a blue dress megan hayes english things are often not what they seem in walter mosley’s 1990 hardboiled mystery novel, devil in a blue dress. set in 1948 los angeles, the text focuses on the main character of easy rawlins, a black war veteran recently fired from his job at a defense plant and in need of money to pay his beloved house’s mortgage. easy’s life is turned upside down when he is approached by a white man offering a large sum of cash in exchange for information on the location of daphne monet, a blonde, white woman known to frequent black jazz clubs. as the novel progresses, secrets are revealed, identities are uncovered, murder mysteries are solved, and mosley successfully sets easy rawlins up for another 14 books. questions related to race and power often circulate amongst the scholarship of mosley’s novel as easy must navigate racism, violence, and corruption in his newfound line of work. these questions of race and power are certainly of importance and have generated productive discussions of the different power dynamics at play in devil; however, there is a significant lack of scholarly criticism on another major power dynamic throughout the novel—sexual abuse. examining sexual abuse as a racialized form of power within the context of devil allows for a more comprehensive understanding of mosley’s characters and their motivations, particularly those of daphne and easy. race and power in devil in a blue dress: a review the subject of sexual abuse lingers around the scholarship on power dynamics in devil, but it is never directly addressed. that is not to say, however, that the many different power dynamics at play in mosley’s novel are lost on scholars. klara szmańko details in her essay, “oppressive faces of whiteness in walter mosley’s devil in a blue dress,” the ways that easy must navigate the many faces of whiteness that seep into the infrastructures of property relations, economic exploitation, labor relations, and the legal system throughout the novel. despite her keen awareness of how easy is stifled by the racial power dynamics at play, szmańko excludes from her analysis any mention of the recurring sexual abuse that takes place. marilyn wesley briefly addresses the issue of sexual abuse in her essay “power and knowledge in walter mosley’s devil in a blue dress.” similar to szmańko’s argument on how easy must navigate different oppressive faces of whiteness, wesley asserts that mosley’s protagonist must also contend with different meanings of violence. wesley acknowledges the sexual violence that takes place in devil, but never fully considers it as anything more than a plot device. in “private knowledge, public space: investigation and navigation in devil in a blue dress,” mark berrettini discusses daphne’s racial and sexual background more extensively than other scholars in his analysis of the film adaptation of the novel. berrettini, however, is more interested in the popular tropes of the femme fatale and tragic mulatta that daphne is packaged in rather than the impact of her sexual trauma. chris ruíz-velasco interestingly discusses the threat of sexual violence in his essay “‘lost in these damn white halls’: power and masculinity in walter mosley’s fiction.” ruíz-velasco, however, only looks at the scene where dewitt albright “appears with the glorious savagery of an avenging angel” (141) when easy is surrounded by a group of teenage boys arguing that albright’s heroism quickly turns into a sexually sadistic demonstration of power. there is no mention of the more explicit scenes of sexual abuse that take place within the text. roger berger talks more directly about the role of sexuality in mosley’s novel, but in the context of how it deviates from the traditional detective story formula in his essay “‘the black dick’: race, sexuality, and discourse in the l.a. novels of walter mosley.” berger notes that while detective fiction is often a space “marked by a lack of overt sexual activity, especially on the part of the detective himself” (288), easy’s overactive libido presents a direct pushback to the traditional form of the genre. berger then analyzes the way sexuality is racialized in mosley’s work, noting that “mosley includes so much black male sexual activity that he seems to invoke the stereotype of the black male’s voracious sexual appetite, a stereotype that pervades contemporary scholarship on race” (288). while berger offers a compelling examination into the way that easy’s sexuality teeters on the line between resistance of traditional detective fiction form and reinscription of harmful racial stereotypes, there is no acknowledgement of the sexual abuse and violence that takes place in devil. in a piece written thirty years after the june 1990 publication date of devil, mosley reflects on his initial vision to “tell a story about los angeles that highlight black life and the black contribution to culture within a mirror-darkly that partially reflected the american experience within a shadowy landscape of national shame” (“thirty years later”). while mosley certainly captures the dark underbelly of los angeles, he also set out to inspire a sense of hope in depicting how his characters continuously flourish, fail, and rise. relevant to the purposes of this argument, however, is mosley’s note that “easy encountered dozens of major and minor characters representing so many aspects and characteristics of black and other nonwhite lives that the rest of america seems, pretty much, unaware of” (“thirty years later”). the major and minor characters that are subjected to sexual abuse in devil bring about an awareness that combats ignorance among the majority. the existing scholarship on race and power in devil provides a solid foundation to examine the recurring instances of sexual violence that appear in the novel. proximity to whiteness and matthew teran’s abuse easy’s first encounter with sexual abuse in the novel is an unfiltered look into the dark underworld of child sex trafficking. upon his release from the police station, easy took great care to walk, not run, to john’s bar as he “knew that a patrol car would arrest any sprinting negro they encountered” (mosley 122). this scene serves as a reminder of the racial power dynamics that are already at work in easy’s reality as a black man in 1948 america. as he walks, a cadillac pulls up beside him, offering him money, a ride, and an answer as to why he was taken into police custody earlier that day. hesitant to accept the suspicious generosity, the driver establishes not only the threat of violence, but the threat of unimaginable power, stating that if his boss “wanted to hurt you you’d already be dead” (mosley 124). easy, at the point of exhaustion, climbs into the back of the vehicle and waiting for him is matthew teran, a recent mayoral candidate dropout, who inquires about daphne monet’s whereabouts. easy’s senses are overcome by the odors that were “sweet like perfume and sour, an odor of the body that i recognized but could put no name to” (mosley 124). in alignment with szmańko’s argument of the inextricable link between whiteness and death, easy is arguably smelling the stench of death and decay that accompanies teran. described as possessing uncanny features that resemble swollen, open wounds on his face, teran’s physical appearance suggests that his depravity is overflowing from the inside out. this depravity solidifies when teran reveals the small child who is hidden in the storage area of the car: “a small boy climbed over the seat. he was wearing soiled briefs and dirty white socks. his skin was brown and his thick straight hair was black. the almond-shaped eyes spoke of china but this was a mexican boy” (mosley 124). the inclusion of the child’s race adds to the layers of power dynamics at play in this scene. teran, a white man of wealth and social power, shamelessly demonstrates his capacity for manipulation and evil over the child and easy, two non-white individuals. in relation to the boy, however, easy exercises a kind of violence that is reserved for those who are neither perpetrator or victim—the violence enacted by the bystander. chelsea mainwaring, fiona gabbert, and adrian scott review of the available literature concerned with the role of key variables that facilitate or inhibit bystander intervention in their essay, “a systematic review exploring variables related to bystander intervention in sexual violence contexts.” mainwaring et al. note that sexual violence prevention efforts are categorized as either primary, direct, secondary, and tertiary (1728). direct intervention is what easy avoids when the child is first revealed: “the sight of that poor child and the odors made me cringe. i tried not to think about what i was seeing because i couldn’t do anything about it—at least not right then” (mosley 125). despite his horror, easy resolves that, in terms of direct intervention, he is powerless and leaves the child behind in teran’s predatory clutches. while it can be argued that easy is in no position to be accusing a powerful white man of child sex trafficking, szmańko offers an interesting read on how proximity to whiteness can impact the actions of a person of color. in her discussion of easy’s second-generation italian american boss, benny giacomo, szmańko argues: in light of giacomo’s peripheral status within the domain of whiteness, his hostility towards african american workers may be underlain not only by a stereotypical perception of black people, but also by the fragility of his own social status and reverse power dynamics that to some extent psychologically compensate for his own marginalization as an italian american working class man. (szmańko 268) giacomo’s own whiteness being constantly in flux fuels his need to exercise perceived racial superiority over people of color. szmańko emphasizes how those who gain any proximity to whiteness, like giacomo, will nevertheless still feel the “the fragility of his own social status and reverse power dynamics” (268). in this scene, easy is essentially closer to whiteness than the boy is. when teran decides that their conversation is done, he tells his driver to take “mr. rawlins” where he wants to go. only a few chapters prior, easy was demanding giacomo address him with respect as “mr. rawlins” (mosley 112). easy’s proximity to whiteness is emphasized when teran hands the ivory horn to easy so that he can relay his destination’s address to the driver. holding the horn near his face, easy is once again physically encompassed by the smells of “sweet oils and sour bodies” (mosley 126)—the smell of death and whiteness. in this situation, easy is not on the receiving end of teran’s violence and consequently has the option to walk away from the scene. whiteness in devil represents both danger and protection depending on the circumstance. while easy is less threatened by teran’s whiteness, the boy is completely dominated by it. easy’s own self-preservation and lack of any real control in this situation, despite his proximity to whiteness, is a way to understand his abandonment of the boy. it is important to note, however, that in terms of bystander intervention, easy does engage with tertiary prevention later on in the novel: “interventions occurring after the event, such as supporting the victim or punishing the perpetrator. one of the main tertiary prevention measures is the involvement of the criminal justice system” (mainwaring et al. 1728). in this case, easy acts as a stand-in for the systemically racist and corrupt criminal justice system that is depicted throughout the novel and safely rehomes the boy. despite easy’s initial hesitation to directly intervene for overlapping reasons related to power dynamics, tertiary prevention is “particularly important in the context of sv [sexual violence], as the quality and amount of social support a victim receives plays and important role in their recovery” (mainwaring et al. 1728). once the threat of teran is eliminated later on in the novel, easy is able to provide the boy with a safe home and, hopefully, a path to recovery. daphne’s double life easy’s second encounter with sexual abuse is told in a whimsical, dreamlike manner. daphne’s story of her childhood begins with her asking easy if he has ever been to a zoo to which he echoes the similar sentiment of helplessness first displayed in the scene with teran and the boy: “no reason t’see animals in cages far as i can see. they cain’t help me and i cain’t do nuthin’ fo’ them neither” (mosley 237). she ominously asserts that people can learn from zoo animals and then recounts her first experience at the zoo where she remembered thinking that it “‘smelled like death’” (mosley 237) in the monkey house. similar to easy in teran’s car, the odor of death and, by relation, whiteness pervade the environment where living beings are caged and abused. as daphne continues with her story, easy once again feels unnerved in a similar way that he experienced in teran’s car right before the boy was revealed, “daphne had grabbed on to my hand, she was so excited. i found myself worried; but i couldn’t really tell what bothered me” (mosley 238). it is then that daphne recounts her experience of being sexually assaulted by her father for the first time after they had witnessed two zebras mate. the choice on mosley’s part to use the black and white striped zebra as the focal point of this story not only foreshadows daphne’s true racial identity, but incorporates a racialized element to the sexual power dynamic at play. daphne’s father’s race is never disclosed in the novel; however, they were able to be alone together in public without drawing attention, so it can be assumed that he is white. daphne’s proximity to whiteness is enhanced only when she is publicly with her father, and this allows for the abuse behind car doors to take place. when they are alone, daphne’s father establishes a power dynamic that weaponizes his age, strength, race, and gender against daphne. in the car, daphne is no longer white passing. her father distances her from whiteness and in turn, any privilege and protection that might have afforded her. daphne’s biracial identity in this situation is used against her, rendering her vulnerable to the racialized power dynamic of sexual abuse. the lasting effect of daphne’s sexual trauma is evident in how she navigates her adult life and relationships. as a child, daphne was conditioned to identify with only one half of her racial background rather than existing as a biracial individual. as she entered adulthood, this trait of switching from one race to another is evident in her romantic relationships: daphne was like the chameleon lizard. she changed for her man. if he was a mild white man who was afraid to complain to the waiter she’d pull his head to her bosom and pat him. if he was a poor black man who had soaked up pain and a rage for a lifetime, she washed his wounds with a rough rag and licked the blood till it staunched. (mosley 231) this passage locates the way in which daphne’s father severely skews daphne’s perception of race and intimate relationships. as easy notes in his narration above, daphne molds herself to fit perfectly with the man she is with. as a child, daphne’s sexual abuse at the hands of her father forced her race to be in a constant state of flux as she was white when she was with him publicly and black when she was with him privately. now, daphne is stuck in this cycle of behaving in ways that, according to easy, correlate with the race of her partner. in marilyn wesley’s discussion of the novel, she asserts that through the enigmatic character of daphne, “mosley reworks the recurrent motif of the ‘tragic mulatto’ through the hardboiled convention of the ambiguous woman” (111). the figure of the literary tragic mulatto is described by emily clark as almost always a woman who is always doomed by her racial liminality (260). navigating romantic relationships with white or black men poses their own unique set of challenges that come in the shape of the law or racial hierarchy as “sex, love and marriage are almost always at the heart of the narrative variations in the genre and are often connected to a dramatic revelation that leads to tragedy” (clark 260). while daphne exhibits traits specific to the literary tragic mulatto, the sympathy that she elicits is not entirely centered around her lack of racial identification; rather, her experience as a survivor of incestuous sexual abuse is where most, if not all, of the tragedy lies. in this sense, wesley’s discussion of daphne as a reworked version of the tragic mulatto trope is fitting. however, instead of addressing the different ways in which daphne’s past experiences manifest in her adult life, wesley pins the character as a suggestion of the “power released through violations of the various social and sexual taboos she represents” (111). wesley goes on to argue that through daphne’s “masculine characteristics” (111), she both transgresses the status quo and represents a way for easy to modify his own identities as a black man. what wesley—and most scholars—ignore in their discussion of daphne is that her qualities that seemingly transgress the status quo are more likely the result of the sexual abuse she endured as a child. in the essay, “‘finding my worth as a sexual being’: a qualitative gender analysis of sexual self-concept and coping in survivors of childhood sexual abuse,” the authors discuss how a coping mechanism adopted by many survivors of childhood sexual abuse is sexual over-investment (guyon et al. 9). daphne’s sexual over-investment is on full display when she and easy stay at primo’s rental property. after affectionately bathing easy who has just recounted the overwhelming stress he feels, daphne “shrugged off her yellow dress in one long stretch, then tossed it into the water over me and pulled down her pants. she sat on the toilet and urinated so loudly that it reminded me more of a man” (mosley 229). daphne’s masculine characteristics that wesley notes become increasingly obvious as the scene progresses. daphne goes so far as to compare her vagina to a penis that would be bigger than easy’s head (mosley 229). guyon et al. address this kind of behavior in victims of childhood sexual abuse as a way to feel loved, soothed, and take back control (9). even easy takes note of the undertone of her course, sexually explicit language: i never liked it when women talked like that. i felt it was masculine. but, beneath her bold language, daphne seemed to be asking for something. and all i wanted was to reach as far down in my soul as i could find it. (mosley 229) it is apparent, at least to easy, that daphne’s words and actions are an attempt to cover up an unfulfilled need or want. perhaps, as guyon et al. study suggests, daphne’s hypersexualization of herself is a way to experience affection and control rather than a disruption of femininity within the novel. sexual dominance is also another method that many abuse victims employ to reinstate a sense of control (guyon et al. 10). easy and daphne engage in an all night sexcapade that involves a 3 a.m. tryst against a rough tree. the following morning, their conversation suggests the power and control daphne feels through their sexual relations: she grabbed my penis. “does it hurt for you to love me, easy?” “yeah.” her grip tightened. “i love it when you hurt, easy. for us.” (mosley 230) daphne’s pleasure in inflicting sexual pain on easy is compatible with behaviors exhibited by other abuse victims in guyon et al.’s study. some participants expressed that gentleness was a trigger for them because they were so accustomed to violence (guyon et al. 10). the only way for one participant to combat this particular trigger was to “assert his masculinity and superiority, which allowed him to preserve a facade so that his partner could not access his vulnerable self” (guyon et al. 10). similar to the stories in this study, daphne employs a number of coping mechanisms in her romantic relationships. brenda daly provides a helpful analysis of the common effects of father-daughter childhood sexual abuse during the adolescent years in her discussion of hadley irwin’s abby, my love. daly notes that “in severe cases of sexual abuse, which often begin in early childhood as abby’s does, psychological splitting may occur to such an extent that neither personality is aware of the other” (6). in daphne’s case, her biracial identity exacerbates her psychological splitting. in her final interaction with easy, daphne perfectly captures the internal divide she experiences as a result of her sexual abuse trauma: ‘i’m not daphne. my given name is ruby hanks and i was born in lake charles, louisiana. i’m different than you because i’m two people. i’m her and i’m me. i never went to that zoo, she did. she was there and that’s where she lost her father. i had a different father. he came home and fell in my bed about as many times as he fell in my mother’s. he did that until one night frank killed him.’ (mosley 251) this passage highlights how daphne’s two identities function on a few different levels. ruby is a black little girl whose father continuously sexually assaults her and daphne is a white woman whose father loved her too much. only now, in daphne’s last moments in the novel, does she verbalize the reality of her double life and recognize the ways that she compartmentalizes the sexual abuse she endured. her two identities allow her to navigate a racist world and, in certain ways, escape her past. daphne’s final conversation with easy, however, highlights the hope that mosley intended for his characters. as they talk, daphne warns easy not to touch her. moments prior, it is revealed that daphne kills teran as he is actively sexually assaulting the boy. relocating the child to her apartment, daphne’s last words to easy are, “do something about the boy” (mosley 252). this final depiction of daphne as a woman who breaks the silence around the reality of her sexual trauma; establishes physical boundaries between herself and a man; rescues a victim of sexual abuse; and puts an end to the cycle of abuse perpetuated by teran inspires hope for her future. easy does as daphne says and takes care of the child, placing him in the care of primo who “was a father at heart” (mosley 255). the joint effort between easy and daphne to rescue this abused child symbolizes not only a deconstruction of the racialized sexual abuse narratives in the novel, but a personal reclamation story for daphne. dewitt albright’s demonstration of power the use of sexual acts as a means of control is arguably the most apparent through dewitt albright’s encounter with the teenage boys in santa monica. the beginning of the chapter establishes a racialized sexual power dynamic that places easy at the will of the white people around him. barbara moskowitz, a white girl of about seventeen years, approaches easy who is waiting for albright. in the literal sense, easy’s proximity to whiteness—barbara—is what compromises his safety in this situation. the group of young white boys that barbara is with begin harassing easy for simply being in the same vicinity as barbara, who they view as belonging to them, “we don’t need ya talking to our women” (mosley 99, emphasis mine). the boys lay claim to barbara as their property that easy, a black man, has no right to interact with. albright makes his appearance when easy’s back is against the rail of the boardwalk and he is surrounded by the group of boys. suddenly, easy’s proximity to whiteness—which places him in a dangerous situation earlier—becomes the thing that saves him from an imminent attack. armed with a pistol and thirst for blood, albright “appears with the glorious savagery of an avenging angel” (ruíz-velasco 141). yet, what seemingly begins as an act of protection quickly shifts to a threat of sexual violence. as ruíz-velasco notes, albright’s encounter with the boys carries a “sexually charged undercurrent,” (141) beginning with albright’s declaration to easy’s main antagonizer “i want you to die for me” (mosley 100). the long running connection between death and orgasm, ruíz-velasco argues, is suggested in albright’s language (141). albright continues to use sexually violent language in his interaction with the white boys and threatens to castrate them with his pistol. albright goes so far as to suggest that he would feel “proud and happy if [easy] was to lower himself to fuck [his] sister and [his] mother” (mosley 101), emphasizing easy’s sexual superiority over albright’s own family members. however, albright’s status as easy’s equalizer with the boys is short-lived. albright quickly assumes power over not only the group of teenagers, but easy as well. in his essay “screaming ‘black’ murder: crime fiction and the construction of ethnic identities,” axel stähler states that albright “embodies a subliminal cold and cruel violence…albright turns into an existential threat to easy. he can escape this threat only by becoming himself active and, in various ways, guilty” (51). initially, doing exactly as stähler describes, easy escapes the threat of albright by going along with albright’s torment of the group of boys. when albright asks whether or not he should shoot out one of the boys’ eyes, easy lets the question linger long enough for three of the boys to start crying. albright places the decision to shoot in easy’s hands, suggesting that the pair have an equal amount of power in this situation. yet, when easy states “‘if he’s not sorry for bullying me then i think you should kill him’” (mosley 101), it is albright who continues the interrogation of how sorry the boy is. this culminates into albright’s demand that, to prove how sorry he is, the boy must perform oral sex on easy. in this moment, the power imbalance is evident—albright is in complete control over the boys and easy. as the targets at the end of albright’s pistol, the boys have no choice but to comply with his demands and, in turn, become potential victims of sexual violence. similarly easy, who moments before appeared to hold the same amount of power as albright, is placed in an equally compromised position as the boys. in his narration, easy states: “the boy started crying outright when albright said that. i was pretty confident that he was just joking, in a sick kind of way, but my heart quailed along with the footballer” (mosley 102). this passage emphasizes the fear that easy shares with the boy as both are being forced into a sexual act that neither consent to. whereas the boy has no choice due to albright’s pistol—another phallic representation of sexual dominance—easy’s lack of choice is derived from albright’s whiteness. easy is aware of the way this threat of sexual violence is racialized when he thinks to himself afterwards: i wasn’t afraid; i was angry, angry at the way he humiliated that boy. i didn’t care about the boy’s feelings, i cared that if albright could do something like that to one of his own then i knew he could do the same, and much worse, to me. but if he wanted to shoot me he’d just have to do it because i wasn’t going down on my knees for him or for anybody else. (mosley 103) this passage reiterates the racialized element of sexual abuse in mosley’s novel and how it is the ultimate method of control and demonstration of power. albright’s domination of the white boy signals to easy that a white man with a gun can control everyone around him—even his “friend.” conclusion literary narratives have the ability to not only mirror reality, but shape societal perceptions in situations related to sexual violence in particular. in 2011, ashley hunt survived a sexual assault that profoundly impacted her life. a decade later, she decided to address her attacker through a letter, reflecting on the emotional challenges she faced and the happiness she felt was taken from her. in the letter, ashley reveals the trauma's lasting effects, discusses her journey through anger, despair, and forgiveness, and highlights the transformative power of love. when discussing her desire to move through her trauma, she locates the power struggle that is familiar to many victims of sexually violent crimes: “i used to think that by not forgiving you it gave me power over you. but i was wrong. my anger and rage had a purpose when it did but at the end of the day, it is and was, still just rage and anger” (psychology today). she shares how she was able to reclaim her sense of autonomy and power through her establishment of a company aiding survivors of sexual violence, emphasizing the importance of empathy in reducing sexual assaults. ashley expresses gratitude for her survival and the newfound beauty in her life, signaling a shift from rage to love in the next chapter of her journey. crime fiction and devil especially, depict a kind of restorative justice by the novel’s end—good has defeated evil, the bad guys are gone. what happens, though, to those who are left in the aftermath of senseless violence? for mosley’s characters who are victims of sexual assault, there is a hopeful future of recovery. despite the occlusion of the survivor stories in the scholarship on devil, individuals like ashley call attention to the necessity of sharing experiences of sexual violence as a means of healing and prevention. ignoring incidents of sexual violence in mosley’s novel not only prohibits a comprehensive character analysis of race and power in the text, but also hinders a full acknowledgement of the impact sexual violence has on real survivors. recognition of the role that sexual violence plays in the lives of survivors is imperative in both literary and real contexts. works cited berger, roger a. “‘the black dick’: race, sexuality, and discourse in the l.a. novels of walter mosley.” african american review, vol. 31, no. 2, 1997, pp. 281–94. jstor, https://doi.org/10.2307/3042465. accessed 29 nov. 2023. berrettini, mark. "private knowledge, public space: investigation and navigation in devil in a blue dress." cinema journal, vol. 39 no. 1, 1999, p. 74-89. project muse, https://doi.org/10.1353/cj.1999.0001. clark, emily. “the tragic mulatto and passing.” the palgrave handbook of the southern gothic, edited by susan castillo street and charles l. crow, palgrave macmillan (london), 2016, pp. 259–70. ebscohost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mlf&an=2017280254&site=ehostlive&scope=site. daly, brenda o. “father-daughter incest in hadley irwin’s abby, my love: repairing the effects of childhood sexual abuse during the adolescent years.” children’s literature association quarterly, vol. 17, no. 3, 1992, pp. 5–11. ebscohost, https://doiorg.ezp1.villanova.edu/10.1353/chq.0.0953. guyon, roxanne, et al. “‘finding my worth as a sexual being’: a qualitative gender analysis of sexual self-concept and coping in survivors of childhood sexual abuse.” archives of sexual behavior: the official publication of the international academy of sex research, sept. 2023, pp. 1–17. ebscohost, https://doiorg.ezp1.villanova.edu/10.1007/s10508-023-02693-5. hunt, ashley. “sexual assault survivor pens powerful letter to her attacker.” psychology today, 2 mar. 2021, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/modern-minds/202103/sexualassault-survivor-pens-powerful-letter-her-attacker. mainwaring, c., gabbert, f., & scott, a. j. (2023). a systematic review exploring variables related to bystander intervention in sexual violence contexts. trauma, violence, & abuse, 24(3), 1727-1742. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221079660. mosley, walter. devil in a blue dress. new york, washington square press, 1990 ---.“walter mosley on devil in a blue dress, thirty years later.” crimereads, 16 dec. 2020, crimereads.com/walter-mosley-on-devil-in-a-blue-dress-thirty-years-later/. ruíz-velasco, chris. “‘lost in these damn white halls’: power and masculinity in walter mosley’s fiction.” midwest quarterly: a journal of contemporary thought, vol. 51, no. 2, 2010, pp. 135–51. ebscohost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mlf&an=2018700763&site=ehostlive&scope=site. stähler, axel. “screaming ‘black’ murder: crime fiction and the construction of ethnic identities.” english studies: a journal of english language and literature, vol. 100, no. 1, feb. 2019, pp. 43–62. ebscohost, https://doiorg.ezp1.villanova.edu/10.1080/0013838x.2018.1543754. szmańko, klara. "oppressive faces of whiteness in walter mosley’s devil in a blue dress." text matters, 8, 2018, pp. 258-277, https://doi.org/10.1515/texmat-2018-0016. wesley, marilyn c. “power and knowledge in walter mosley’s devil in a blue dress.” african american review, vol. 35, no. 1, 2001, pp. 103–16. ebscohost, https://doiorg.ezp1.villanova.edu/10.2307/2903338. microsoft word *schmidt history on-line .docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 1 from the frontlines to silent spring: ddt and america’s war on insects, 1941-19621 james erwin schmitt history in the immediate aftermath of the second world war, americans flocked to their local shopping centers to purchase the latest and greatest consumer goods. thanks to higher wages, the gi bill, and a booming job market, consumers used their new spending power to purchase a wide array of products, including televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, toaster ovens, and vacuum cleaners. among the most desired of these postwar products was the latest in bug-killing technology, a chemical known as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ddt). the new “miracle pesticide,” as some called it, had proven to be an effective tool for the elimination of malaria and typhus in the european and pacific theaters and consumers were eager to get their hands on the insect-killing war hero for use in their homes and gardens. in the fall of 1945, lifted wartime restrictions on domestic ddt sales, consumers around the country rushed to their local hardware stores and supermarkets, where they shopped for a number of ddt-laden products, including bug bombs, aerosol sprays, paint, and wallpaper, which featured a myriad of designs ranging from mickey mouse for the children’s room to floral patterns for the living room and dining room. as a 1946 article in the nebraska farmer noted, “after winning a glorious victory during world war ii over the insidious insect foes of g. i. joe, ddt has shucked its military clothes, wrapped up its world-wide service bars, and come back home to take over the no. 1 spot in america's bug battle.”2 the bug-killing fervor that thrust ddt into consumer markets in the postwar era was a continuation of attitudes that emerged early in the second world war, prior to the existence of ddt. throughout 1942 and early 1943, allied forces stationed in the south pacific fell to insect-borne illnesses at an unprecedented rate. in november 1943, american troops in new guinea reported six hundred malaria cases for every thousand troops, and by january 1943, four divisions stationed in the author would like to thank dr. marc gallicchio, daniel gorman jr. and paige barker for their helpful comments and suggestions that made this essay possible and dr. paul rosier for his guidance in the field of environmental history. 1 rachel carson, silent spring (boston: riverside press, 1962). 2 keith carter, “how about d.d.t,” nebraska farmer, july 6, 1946, 13. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 2 the south pacific were hospitalized, rendering them unable to fight.3 general douglas macarthur, frustrated after suffering a defeat at the hands of malaria during the bataan campaign, became hell-bent on eliminating malaria from his ranks. in early 1943, macarthur initiated a massive malaria prevention program, in which he created special mosquito-control units designed to burn and oil mosquito vectors, and increased the shipping priority of antimalarial medicines to his frontlines. macarthur’s efforts eventually caught the attention of congress and major general james magee, who instructed the department of war information to begin printing propaganda that warned troops that insects were as much of a threat to the allied forces as the germans or japanese. due to fears that civilians would spread diseases to troops stationed on the home front, magee’s war against bugs also involved convincing american citizens to kill bugs. during the peak of the pacific malaria epidemic, the department of war information produced hundreds of posters, films, and advertisements that likened the annihilation of insects in homes and gardens to victory overseas. these propaganda materials featured colorful images that depicted japanese and nazi soldiers as insects and instructed citizens that the elimination of both pests was necessary to win the war.4 the messages from magee’s propaganda campaign eventually made their way into the popular press, resulting in newspapers and magazines around the country calling for the annihilation of bugs for the sake of national security. publications such as better homes and gardens and science newsletter ran countless stories informing citizens on the most effective strategies for eliminating “insect saboteurs” from victory gardens and warned americans to “shoot to kill” if they saw a bug in their home.5 both the propaganda from the department of war information and the popular press’s depictions of insects as enemy forces created a sense of urgency to eliminate mosquitoes on the home front and conveyed to the general public that killing bugs was as patriotic as working in a bomber factory or buying war bonds. when the war concluded in fall 1945, the war on bugs did not abate, but rather, intensified. however, this new phase of the war did not involve killing bugs in order to defeat nazis or japanese. instead, it was a campaign against a new enemy: insects that threatened the american family. during the war, the popular press informed citizens that killing bugs was tantamount to ridding the world of 3 mary ellen condon-rall, “malaria in the southwest pacific in world war ii, 1940-1944,” in science and the pacific war: science and survival in the pacific, 1939–1945, ed. roy m. macleod (dordrecht, netherlands: kluwer academic publishers, 2000), 58. 4 office for emergency management, office of war information, “enemies both! it’s your job to help eliminate them,”1943. the national archives at college park, college park. https://research.archives.gov/id/514207. 5 “insect saboteurs,” the science news-letter, october 9, 1943, 238. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 3 disease, and americans began to envision the postwar years as a future without insect-borne illness. there would be no more mosquitoes to cause malaria, or fleas to spread typhus; the united states would be a safe environment to raise a family without fear of contracting a deadly or debilitating illness. the military’s adoption of a new pesticide known as ddt made this world easier for citizens to imagine. americans began reading about ddt after the chemical halted a typhus epidemic in naples, italy during the winter of 1943-1944 and newspapers promised that this new pesticide would end disease once and for all. ddt, americans were told, was highly effective at killing insects, was cheap to produce, and had the added bonus of being non-toxic to humans and their pets. the chemical appeared to be the perfect weapon for protecting the sanctity of the new suburban household. pesticide companies played a large role in spreading this message. companies like dupont and hercules garnered enormous profits from ddt production through military contracts in 1943 and desired to continue lining their pockets through domestic sales in the postwar years. advertisers for these companies continued pushing the wartime message that killing bugs was essential to public safety and called on citizens to conduct a “total war” on insects in their front yards and suburban homes. pesticide marketers introduced colorful advertisements that portrayed soldiers fighting bugs on the frontlines, used the growing medium of television to depict suburban women applying ddt to cribs and screen doors, and came out with easy-to-use consumer products like ddt paint and stick-on wallpaper. the marketing campaign proved highly effective, ensuring that the sense of enmity toward bugs did not subside in the postwar years, and masking a growing number of reports from entomologists warning of ddt’s potential dangers—reports that eventually made their way into rachel carson’s silent spring. the stage was set for one of the largest ecological disasters of the twentieth century. the purpose of this essay is to trace the origins and consequences of america’s obsession with killing insects during and after the second world war. it begins by examining the connection between the malaria epidemic in the south pacific and the heightened sense of urgency on the home front to eliminate bugs. the essay then proceeds to detail the development of ddt, its uses during the war, and depictions of the chemical within the popular press, which sparked enormous demand for the pesticide among american citizens. this essay then turns to the postwar era, when consumers finally gained access to ddt and the battle against insects hit a deadly peak. this section covers the role of the pesticide industry in promoting the idea that insects were a danger to human safety and examines how the corporations’ marketing strategies carried the wartime determination to eliminate insects into the postwar era. by examining ddt’s transition from a weapon of the united states military to a consumer product in the mid-1940s, this concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 4 essay argues that the second world war and the postwar era constituted a war against insects, in which americans viewed killing bugs as essential to the preservation of national security and human health. these tensions between insects and humans persisted until 1962, when rachel carson’s silent spring demonstrated to americans citizens and pubic officials that insects were necessary to the balance of nature and subsequently human health. ddt and wwii early in the war, american field commanders stationed throughout the south pacific realized they had underestimated the destructive power of mosquito-borne illness. the surgeon general’s office had urged commanders to take efforts to drain stagnant water and burn mosquito vectors, but health officials lacked the authority to enforce these measures, resulting in most commanders ignoring the requests. one stubborn south pacific commander berated a health official and told him that malarial prevention was a distraction, and that they were there “to kill japs, and to hell with mosquitoes.”6 disregarding these recommendations proved to be a deadly mistake. at the time of their surrender at bataan on april 9, 1942, filipino-american forces reported over 24,000 current cases of malaria, with sixtyfive percent of total troops stationed in the philippines having undergone treatment for malaria within the past four months.7 general robert l. eichelberger stationed in buna at the time of the epidemic commented on the destructive power of malaria on allied forces. “disease was a surer and more deadly peril to us than enemy marksmanship,” he recalled, “we had to whip the japanese before the malarial mosquitos whipped us.”8 douglas macarthur echoed these sentiments in 1942 after his troops fell to malaria at a high rate during the bataan campaign. “doctor,” he complained to health official p.f. russell, “this will be a long war if every division i have facing the enemy i must count on a second division in the hospital with malaria and a third division convalescing from this debilitating disease!”9 by the end of 1942, five times as many troops had died from malaria than at the hands of japanese forces, leaving commanders and health officials frantically searching for an immediate solution to the mosquito problem.10 in early 1943, 6 p.f. russell, introduction to preventive medicine in world war ii vi, ed. colonel john boyd coates, jr. (washington d.c.: office of the surgeon general department of the army, 1963), 9. 7 james gillespie, “malaria and the defense of bataan,” in preventive medicine in world war ii, 503. 8 robert l. eichelberger, our jungle road to tokyo (new york: viking press, 1950), 43. 9 p.f. russell, introduction, 3. 10 judith a. bennett, natives and exotics: world war ii and environment in the southern pacific (honolulu, university of hawai'i press, 2009), 50. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 5 macarthur, frustrated after suffering heavy malaria casualties in bataan and papua, took measures to ensure that he would not suffer another defeat to mosquito soldiers. macarthur increased the shipping priority of anti-malaria supplies, ordered his commanders to drain mosquito-infested swamps, and instructed soldiers to take preventive medicines.11 army surgeon general james c. magee also gained traction for the war against bugs. in january 1943, the same month macarthur began his crusade against mosquitoes, congress gave magee permission to create special antimalarial units for deployment overseas. these units included teams of malariaologists, entomologists, and parasitologists to research the disease on military bases, and mosquito control units, which contained a sanitary engineer, and eleven enlisted men with specialized training in malaria prevention.12 magee’s bug-fighting initiative also included a massive educational program, designed to prevent the spread of malaria among the civilian population and soldiers returning from the pacific. within ration containers, manuals, and matchbooks, the department of war information printed hundreds of propaganda images that called mosquitoes “public enemy #1,” while various educational films and radio broadcasts charged soldiers to take precautions against malaria by draining stagnant ponds and wearing mosquito repellent.13 “don’t be a dummy,” a 1943 office of war information advertisement exclaimed, “avoid malaria!”14 one of the consequences of magee’s propaganda campaign and the malaria epidemic in the pacific was a heightened sense of urgency to kill insects on the home front. as newspapers and popular magazines instructed citizens to ration gasoline and purchase war bonds, they also emulated public health propaganda, calling on americans to destroy any insects that had the potential to harm the war effort. an article in the sunday morning star from april 25, 1943 warned americans that their “victory gardens are sure to be invaded by insect enemies” and that planters “must be prepared to fight” by any means necessary.15 a science newsletter article singled out the japanese beetle and the hessian fly, an 11 robert j.t. joy, “malaria in american troops in the south and southwest pacific in world war ii, medical history 43 (1999): 199-200. 12 oliver r. mccoy, “war department provisions for malaria control,” in preventive medicine in world war ii vi, 15-16. 13 public health service, “criminal at large” (united states office of malaria control, 1943), mpeg video, 12:59, https://ia800502.us.archive.org/35/items/criminalatlarge1943/criminalatlarge1943_512kb.mp4. 14 office for emergency management, office of war information, “don’t be a dummy, avoid malaria!,” 1943. the national archives at college park, college park, https://research.archives.gov/id/514128. 15 “insects threaten attack on victory garden plants,” the sunday morning star, april 25, 1943, 12. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 6 arthropoda originating from asia, as “insect saboteurs” that aided the enemy by destroying american victory gardens and agricultural fields. 16 the author concluded that citizens needed to take greater efforts to annihilate the “insect enemies” or american food supplies would dwindle. other publications used racist rhetoric to connect fighting insects and to killing enemy soldiers. a life magazine author referred to the japanese beetle as the “jap” beetle and attempted to draw similarities between the japanese people and the insect: japanese beetles, unlike the japanese, are without guile. there are, however, many parallels between the two. both are small but very numerous and prolific, as well as voracious, greedy, and devouring. both have single-track minds. both are inscrutable, the beetles particularly.17 the solution to the bug problem, all the authors agreed, was to purchase and stockpile large quantities of pesticides to fight against the insect invaders. as the author of a victory garden manual published in the new york times bluntly remarked, it would be a mistake “not to have a private drug store in your garage, stocked with bordeaux mixture, lead arsenate, rotenone, pyrethrum, tobacco dust, tobacco juice, fine sulphur, and mex.”18 while popular publications assisted the military in spreading the message to eliminate insects for the war effort and national security, pesticide companies also joined in on the bug-killing fervor. in 1943, several chemical companies launched publicity campaigns designed to profit off the urgency to eliminate pests on the home front and ensure that americans picked their products over those of their competitors. flit, a trademark of standard oil, created a number of different advertisements that attempted to push citizens to purchase their products by demonstrating how their pesticides were saving lives overseas. for example, a flit advertisement from 1943 reads, “our soldiers are sure glad to get flit… they’re real weapons of war on many insect infected battle-fronts.”19 the ad drives home this insect-killing message with an image depicting a soldier writing a letter behind a barricade made out of boxes labeled flit, which separates him from 16 “insect saboteurs,” the science news-letter, october 9, 1943, 238. 17anthony standen, “japanese beetle,” life, july 17, 1944, 39. 18 l.h. robbins, “joe and jane novice: are sophomores now,” new york times, march 21, 1943, 14. 19 flit, “honest, mom,” advertisement, may 7, 1943 in georges teyssot, ed., the american lawn (new york: princeton architectural press, 1999), 140. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 7 mosquitoes with japanese flags on their wings. “honest, mom,” the ad concludes, “if the flit hadn’t come we would have been eaten alive!”20 flit also employed the expertise of rising cartoonist theodor “dr. seuss” geisel to help sell their products to civilians. although geisel had begun working for flit during the 1920s, his “quick, henry, the flit!” and “swat the fly!” campaigns, which became popular slogans during the 1940s, evolved to include war-related imagery, with his cartoons depicting soldiers fighting insects in tanks or squashing bugs under their military boots. geisel’s 1943 cartoons contributed greatly to spreading the message that bugs were bad and that destroying them with pesticides was essential to victory on the frontlines and at home. as one historian has noted, through geisel’s cartoons “the public grew comfortable with the myth that pesticides were absolutely necessary” for an allied victory.21 citizens reacted to these calls to arms by purchasing large quantities of insecticides and taking greater measures to eliminate bugs from their homes and gardens. arsenic, the consumers’ preferred choice due to its lethal potency, left the shelves at an unprecedented rate. in 1943, the war production board recorded the domestic sale of 51,235 short tons of arsenic, marking an over twenty percent increase from the previous year’s sale of just over 40,000 short tons.22 arsenic based pesticides such as paris green reported the domestic sale of 2,265 short tons, while the shepherd chemical company recorded a sale of 45,352 short tons of their lead arsenate insecticides, a record-breaking number for the cincinnati based company.23 when domestic arsenic sales outstripped production in early 1944, americans had to adopt other strategies to destroy insects. nebraska farmer diena thieszen schmidt recalled the frustrations she felt after “army bugs” invaded her fields when her family was unable to acquire enough arsenic to eliminate the invaders. “we did everything we could think of,” she noted. “we made noises at the end of the field. we set up smoke pots. we tried everything to try to get rid of those army bugs.” 24 for thieszen and the estimated twenty million victory gardeners on the home front, killing insects, even without pesticides, became vital to their participation in the war effort.25 20 flit, “honest, mom,” 140. 21 will allen, the war on bugs (white river juncture, vt: chelsea green publishing, 2007), 114. 22 allan matthews and louise r. bryson, “arsenic,” in minerals yearbook, 1945, ed. e. w. pehrson and h.d. (washington, d.c.: government printing office, 1947), 753. 23 allan, “arsenic,” 753. 24 transcript, diena schmidt, “fighting pests,” interview by bill ganzel, living history farm: http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/pests_01.html. 25 joy aschenbach, “victory gardens that sprouted in wartime still feed the body and soul,” los angeles times, october 4, 1992. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 8 while the war on bugs was underway on american soil, back in the pacific military planners hit a significant roadblock regarding the supply of preventive medicine and pesticides for the troops. prior to the war, the united states had relied on japanese supplies of chrysanthemum cinerariifolium flowers to produce an early insecticide known as pyrethrum. after the attacks on pearl harbor, these supplies dwindled as the japanese cut off exports to the united states, which left the war department reliant on smaller pyrethrum reserves from kenya.26 quinine, one of the oldest antimalarial compounds, was also hard to secure. in spring 1942, japanese forces annexed the east indies, including the island of java, where the united states acquired the bulk of its quinine supplies. the war department, however, had anticipated the quinine shortage before the war and stockpiled supplies of a preventive medicine known as atabrine, which german troops first employed during the first world war.27 despite larger supplies, atabrine did not provide an immediate remedy to the mosquito problem. like the commanders in the pacific who ignored public health officials early in the war, many soldiers ignored orders to take the medication because of its adverse side effects. troops reported that after taking their 100mg tablet, they experienced diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, and yellowing of the eyes and skin, which made them “appear japanese.” 28 instead of dealing with these debilitating effects, troops often hid the tablets under their mattresses, leaving soldiers susceptible to malaria despite the control efforts. 29 with atabrine’s effectiveness still questionable and other preventive medicines and pesticides held hostage by the japanese, the u.s. military looked for a better solution to the bug problem. to the relief of scientists working in the military’s office of scientific research and development, who frantically tested every chemical they could find in order to discover a suitable alternative to quinine and pyrethrum, a group of swiss chemists soon found a solution to the military’s bug problem. in late 1939, scientists working for j.r. geigy s.a. of basel, switzerland began experimenting with a number of chemicals to combat nuisance moth populations that were destroying swiss wool supplies. during these tests, geigy staff chemist paul müller stumbled upon a chemical first discovered by a german student during the late nineteenth century known as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ddt). while the student never synthesized the chemical or mentioned its insect-killing 26 edmund p. russell iii, “the strange career of ddt: experts, federal capacity, and environmentalism world war ii,” technology and culture 40 (1999): 6. 27 james phinney baxter, scientists against time (cambridge, m.a.: the mit press, 1968), 307. 28 robert g. thobaben, ed., for comrade and country: oral histories of world war ii veterans (jefferson, n.c.: macfarland, 2003), 115. 29 thobaben, for comrade and country, 115. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 9 properties, müller felt optimistic about the chemical and began testing the compound in september of 1939. his tests provided clear evidence that ddt was a powerful insecticide. müller found the substance had “extraordinary contact-killing power, as well as long duration in the out-of-doors, where the compound was exposed to weathering.”30 geigy began synthesizing ddt in october of 1939 and the company provided the pesticide to local farmers to destroy moths and another nuisance bug, the colorado potato beetle, which had been wreaking havoc on swiss food supplies.31 for the next two years, ddt remained in switzerland fighting moths and the colorado potato beetle, but, on october 16, 1942, geigy scientists recognized the us’s dire need for a pyrethrum alternative and sent a six-pound ddt sample to a usda lab in orlando, florida. entomologists at the usda lab began testing ddt as soon as the samples arrived.32 the tests, historian edmund russel noted, “made ddt look ‘magical’.”33 one scientist reported that after applying ddt powder to a pond, ducks in the region carried enough ddt on their bodies to kill mosquito larvae in adjacent ponds. other tests provided clear evidence that ddt was superior to pyrethrum. after spraying a liquid variant on lab walls, scientists determined that the compound not only lasted four times longer than pyrethrum— killing mosquito larvae for up to four months—but it also killed a wide variety of insects including moths, lice, bedbugs, flies, and cockroaches.34 additionally, after the orlando scientists determined ddt’s chemical composition, they discovered that the materials needed to mass produce ddt were readily available within the united states, which would lessen the military’s dependence on uncertain foreign chemical supplies.35 there remained, however, the question of the chemical’s safety. through their rigorous testing, the orlando scientists uncovered a number of contradictory outcomes and had yet to determine if ddt was safe for human use. one early test found that large quantities of ddt produced “nervousness, convulsions, or death” among guinea pigs and rabbits, while a later test indicated that the chemical had no apparent effects on primates.36 orlando scientists remained optimistic. throughout 30 john h. perkins, “reshaping technology in wartime: the effect of military goals on entomological research and insect-control practices,” technology and culture 19 (1978): 170. 31 paul h. müller, “dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane and newer insecticides” (nobel lecture, the nobel foundation, stockholm, sweden, december 11, 1948). accessed october 16, 2015, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1948/muller-lecture.pdf. 32 müller, “dichloro-diphenyltrichloroethane.” 33 russell, “the strange career of ddt,” 6. 34 ibid., 6. 35 ibid., 7. 36 ibid., 7. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 10 the three-month test period, researchers working closely with the chemical displayed no adverse side effects and through their experiments with a powder variant, the scientists determined that little ddt absorbed into human skin. the tests provided no clear indication that the pesticide was entirely harmless, but with no alternative to pyrethrum, the orlando lab believed ddt was the best solution for the military. h.o. calvery of the fda summarized these feelings after he recommended that the military adopt ddt in may of 1943. “the hazards,” calvery argued, “must be weighed against the great advantages of the materials.”37 by december of 1943, the war production board felt convinced about ddt’s wartime use and ordered the domestic production of the chemical, providing four companies with permits to expand their facilities to include ddt.38 the timing of the military’s adoption of ddt proved fortuitous for allied forces. as the war production board finalized their plans for ddt production, a massive typhus outbreak in naples, italy, during the winter of 1943 threatened to wipe out the city’s entire population. when allied forces pushed the nazis out of the city, the germans destroyed buildings, water and sewer systems, and food supplies as they retreated from the region. the nazis’ destruction forced the neapolitans to live in overcrowded, louse-infested bomb shelters, which served as the perfect vector for typhus to spread among the occupants. as the winter progressed, conditions grew steadily worse, and the typhus mortality rate rose to over seven hundred recorded deaths in the first week of january 1944 alone.39 general dwight d. eisenhower, commander of the allied forces in north africa and italy, recognized that typhus posed a significant threat to his operations and cabled washington with a request for “seventeen tons of [ddt] concentrate.”40 by december 21, 1943, only two weeks after his cable, eisenhower had received his supplies and the allies began the largest delousing program in recorded history. between december 21, 1943 and january 31, 1944, the typhus control commission applied ddt powder to the clothing of over 1,300,000 citizens at two delousing stations in naples.41 the results were astonishing. within three weeks of 37 h.o. calvery quoted in ibid., 7. 38 baxter, scientists against time, 369. 39 f.l. soper et al. “typhus fever in italy, 1943-1945, and its control with louse powder,” the american journal of hygiene 45 (1947): 307-12. 40 stanhope bayne-jones memorandum of january 13, 1944, quoting secret radiogram no. w 9560/252555 of 8 january 1944, folder "ddt supply," box 41, usatc, quoted in darwin h. stapleton, “a lost chapter in early history of ddt: the development of anti-typhus technologies by the rockefeller foundation’s louse laboratory, 1942-1944,” technology and culture 46 (2005): 513. 41 o.t. zimmerman and irvin lavine, ddt, killer of killers (rochester, n.h.: the record press, 1946), 2. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 11 the delousing program’s creation, the allies had complete control over the typhus epidemic and reduced the number of recorded cases to only ten per day. the delousing program marked the first time that a typhus epidemic had been checked during the winter, all thanks to the new “miracle pesticide,” ddt. with the typhus epidemic averted in the european theater and ddt’s value for military strategy proven, scientists began devising ways in which the insecticide could assist macarthur in the pacific. unlike in naples, where the army was mostly stationary and could use ddt powder on the clothing of civilians and soldiers, macarthur’s forces in the pacific had much more ground to cover due to his island-hopping strategy. while powder could help, the pacific troops needed a more effective solution that could eliminate mosquito threats over larger areas quickly. as one orlando researcher put it, powder was ill suited for the “highly mobile type of warfare” in the pacific, so the present situation called for the development of new technology.42 orlando researchers had previously worked on a number of technologies that would allow for mosquito control through aerial bombardment with pyrethrum, but the lab abandoned these projects because the “gallonage [of pesticides] required was so great” that it made “aerial application impractical.”43 ddt solved this issue. it was readily available, effective, and cost efficient, allowing scientists to expand the aerial program following the naples epidemic. orlando engineer chet husman and pilot olin longcoy came up with a number of modifications for the disbursement of ddt from military planes including the “flying flit gun,” a mountable pesticide nozzle that could fit on most military aircraft.44 when the flying flit gun made its debut in the pacific theater, troops used the device liberally. from early spring 1945 until the end of the war, macarthur’s forces attached the sprayer to their avenger torpedo bombers and sprayed the entire islands of saipan, peleliu, iwo jima, and several others in parts of the philippines and okinawa, eliminating entire mosquito populations.45 with the ability to annihilate mosquitoes, flies, ticks, and other insects that posed a threat to armed forces, macarthur’s strategy of island hopping became a bug-free affair. by the summer of 1945, malaria rates in the south pacific had fallen 42 bureau of entomology and plant quarantine, “insecticides and insect repellents developed for the armed forces at orlando, florida laboratory,” rockefeller foundation, (1945): 22. 43 fred c. bishopp, “present position of ddt in control of insects of medical importance,” american journal of public health 36 (1946): 599. 44 gordon m. patterson, the mosquito crusades: a history of the american anti-mosquito movement from the reed commission to the first earth day (new brunswick: rutgers university press, 2009), 160-161. 45 anthony standen, “ddt: it will not rid the world of insect pests but it is still a wonder bug killer,” life, july 8, 1946, 50; “flying flit-gun strafes insects with ddt,” popular science, may 1945, 155. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 12 significantly since the 1943 epidemic, with only twenty-five cases per one thousand troops for the remainder of the war.46 back on the home front, despite attempts to keep ddt’s existence a military secret, news outlets eventually caught wind of the pesticide’s wartime accomplishments through various leaks, and reviews for the chemical flooded into articles around the country.47 reader’s digest informed its readership that the army’s new miracle pesticide achieved “total victory on the insect front” in naples and the south pacific.48 an article in life magazine extolled the benefits of ddt in the pacific theater, arguing that the military’s use of the chemical in the philippines proved the insecticide “could easily convert a verminous hellhole of an island into a health resort.”48 the same author contended that ddt was so effective in north africa that the africans had “their first itchless night’s sleep in centuries.”49 a number of authors drew parallels between ddt and the great medical achievements of the twentieth century. better homes and gardens argued that the “deadly new bug killer” was “as potent against insects as the sulfas and penicillin are against disease.”50 similarly, an editorial in the chicago tribune contended that ddt “gives every evidence of being as miraculous a substance as the sulfa drugs or penicillin. it is harmless to humans and warmblooded animals, yet fatal to a wide variety of insects.”51 with such rave reviews in the popular press, a number of articles speculated about the application of the chemical in postwar america. the author of an article in popular science from may 1945 said ddt might become the greatest consumer product to emerge from the war. “picture an american home a few years after the war,” the author told his readers, “flies, mosquitoes, moths, and other insects die as fast as they sneak in.” this “sweet dream,” as the author described the imagined world without bugs, would soon be a reality, once “mr. and mrs. postwar america and their family” got their hands on ddt. 52 another article predicted that ddt would “send malaria mosquitoes, typhus lice and other disease-carrying insects to join the dodo and the dinosaur in the limbo of extinct species, thereby ending these 46 oliver r. mccoy, “war department provisions for malaria control,” 16. 47 for information on ddt leaks to the press see edmund russell, war and nature: fighting humans and insects with chemicals from world war i to silent spring (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2001), 126. 48 “coming: freedom from insect pests,” reader’s digest, may 1944, 44. 49 standen, “ddt,” 52. 50 “ddt… a deadly new bug killer,” better homes and gardens, may 1944, 19. 51 editorial, chicago tribune, april 1944, 135. 52 arthur bartlett, “chemical marvels take: from ddt and other war developments, homes get promise of such,” popular science, may 1945, 150. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 13 particular plagues for all time.”53 popular mechanics felt optimistic that ddt would bring about a bug-free world, but believed the postwar years would be “our next world war,” in which a “long and bitter battle to crush creeping, wriggling, flying, burrowing billions” would emerge.54 however, the article reassured readers that chemical companies would make new bug-killing technologies like the aerosol “bomb” widely available to consumers after the war to aid in this struggle. even federal entomologists noted in 1944 that ddt had received such “wide publicity in popular press, over the radio, and on the screen” that the public had expectations that the chemical would completely annihilate pests in their “houses, gardens, and orchards.”55 the pesticide companies could not have been happier about the praise for their product. at a meeting for the national association of insecticide and disinfectant manufacturers, one pesticide company executive enthusiastically shouted “bugs! bugs! bugs! all through the war, bugs and how to kill them received a billion dollars’ worth of publicity— every dollar of it a mightily valuable sales asset to the insecticide industry.”56 a hercules representative offered a similar remark when he informed the crowd of the greater demands the war created for pesticides among civilians. “it is only within the past war years that the american people have become insecticide conscious,” he noted, “and this has been largely due to insistence by the army and navy that our troops should not fall prey to typhus, malaria, and other insect-borne diseases.” 57 for these pesticide executives, there was no need to engage in massive publicity campaigns during the war. the media had already created demand for their product, and all these companies had to do was sit back, wait out the war, and prepare for the inevitable postwar pesticide boom. the post-war era when the war with japan began to wind down in early august 1945, americans gave ddt a hero’s welcome as it returned from overseas.58 newspapers around the country hailed the new pesticide as the “killer of killers,” “the atomic bomb of the 53 “ddt can wipe out plagues,” science news-letter, july 8, 1945, 147. 54 “our next world war against insects,” popular mechanics, april 1944, 66-67. 55 r.c. roark and n.e. mcindoo, digest of the literature on ddt through april 30, 1944 (washington d.c.: united states bureau of entomology and plant quarantine, 1944), 4. 56 preliminary draft, second meeting of the osrd insect control committee, 27 jan. 1945, 3-5, quoted in russell, war and nature, 155. 57 ibid., 155. 58 james c. whorton, before silent spring: pesticides and public health in pre-ddt america (princeton: princeton university press, 1979), 249. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 14 insect world,” and “the greatest contribution to the future health of the world” to emerge from the war.59 time praised the miracle chemical as one of the most important scientific discoveries in human history and placed images of macarthur’s aerial pesticide sprayers alongside photographs of mushroom clouds from the first atomic bomb explosion in the new mexico desert, demonstrating how equally significant the two innovations were for the allied victory.60 the atomic bomb and ddt were the two technological icons of the second world war, but, unlike nuclear weaponry, ddt was slated for domestic sales. when ddt became available to americans in early august 1945, consumers throughout the country rallied around the new pesticide. citizens who had been “pawing the ground in eagerness” for ddt since its debut in naples purchased the pesticide in large quantities.61 by the end of 1945, ddt sales skyrocketed with chemical companies such as merck reported over $61.1 million in domestic sales and over thirty million pounds of ddt sold to consumers and farmers between august and december.62 demand for the product was so great that stores had difficulty keeping it in stock. americans, a collier’s weekly article noted, are “raiding the stores for every can that shows its top above the counter.”63 residents of swarthmore, pennsylvania became so desperate to get their hands on ddt that they purchased counterfeit products from a local chemist, who produced the chemical in his cellar and sold the pesticide for $1 per pint to his neighbors. while some americans bought the chemical from stores or illegal vendors, others sought to usher in the new age of insect warfare ceremonially. after local officials of mackinac island, michigan sprayed the entire town with ddt, residents burned their old flytraps in a massive public bonfire to celebrate the extinction of pesky summertime flies.64 within a few short months after its release, ddt had grabbed ahold of american consumers and the pesticide companies were going to make sure it stayed that way. the initial marketing strategy among pesticide companies was simply to continue using war imagery to sell the insecticide. the majority of ddt advertisements that followed the pesticide’s civilian release referenced its effectiveness during the war. this strategy ensured that consumers understood that 59 zimmerman, ddt, killer of killers; c.h. curran, “ddt— the atomic bomb of the insect world,” natural history, november 1945, 401; james simmons, “how magic is ddt?,” saturday evening post, january 6, 1945, 18. 60 “science: war on insects,” time, august 27, 1945, 65. 61 sidney margolius, “ddt is no cure all,” collier’s weekly, november 17, 1945, 27. 62 perkins, “reshaping technology in wartime,” n.45; center for integrated pest management, “pesticide usage in the united states,” cipm technical bulletin 105 (2003): 43. 63 margolius, “ddt is no cure all,” 27. 64 “science: war on insects,” 65. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 15 the product they were purchasing was the same chemical that helped win the fight against wartime disease and the axis powers. advertisements for products like industrial management corporation’s new ddt aerosol bug bomb, known as insect-o-blitz, a name used to emphasize the effectiveness of the product, told consumers that the product “kills moths, all mosquitoes, all gnats and other disease bearing flying insects the u.s. army way.”65 the advertisement guaranteed that consumers understood this was the product from the war by noting that insect-o-blitz contained the exact “formula used by [the] u.s. army to protect men overseas.”66 other companies also made sure that consumers knew they were buying a brand that helped win the war. the bridgeport brass company sold their aer-asol one-pound bomb by emphasizing that the company had “made millions of these for the armed forces,” and that their product bombed “malaria mosquitoes off guadalcanal,” which led to a seventy-percent drop in malaria casualties among allied troops in the region.67 television and films drove these war effort messages home. sherwin williams created a number of short films and commercials for their pestroy ddt brand that played in movie theaters throughout the united states. the opening scene for one such commercial showed footage of soldiers spraying pestroy ddt from airplanes and foggers in the pacific, and emphasized to viewers that the product “had saved millions of humans” and “killed billions of insects” during the war.68 although the war provided chemical companies with an easy marketing tool, leaders within the pesticide industry understood that they needed to maintain demand for their products. they did not want the wartime urgency to kill bugs to die down in the months after the pacific conflict ended. since there were no longer axis powers or “insect saboteurs” in victory gardens to serve as common enemies for americans, the chemical companies devised a new foe: diseases that threatened the american family. around the middle of 1946, war imagery began to disappear from ddt marketing in favor of advertisements that extolled the benefits of killing insects for the sake of preserving human health. penn salt chemicals of philadelphia, for example, published an advertisement in time magazine for their knox-out ddt powder that depicted a woman, produce, and farm animals happily 65 industrial management corporation, “insect-o-blitz” advertisement, spokesman-review, july 31, 1947, 25. 66 industrial management corporation, “insect-o-blitz,” 25. 67 the bridgeport brass company, “aer-a-sol ‘bomb’ ddt insecticide” advertisement, the bakersfield californian, november 21, 1945, 4. 68 jerry fairbanks, “doomsday for pests” (sherwin-williams paints, 1946), mpeg video, 14:43, https://archive.org/details/doomsdayforpests. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 16 dancing while singing, “ddt is good for me-e-e-e-!”69 penn salt chemicals claimed that purchasing their product led to “healthier and more comfortable homes” because it protected families from dangerous insects like flies, mosquitoes, ticks, and silverfish, which the company noted did not spread disease, but were such common pests that they included them in the list.70 other advertisements used fearmongering tactics to instill urgency in consumers and sell their products. “do roaches spread cancer?” asked an advertisement for tanglefoot spray, containing five-percent ddt powder, insinuating that cockroaches threatened humans and that eliminating them would wipe out cancer.71 trimz ddt used a similar tactic against fleas, claiming that a single flea carried “6,600,000 bacteria” and that these germs spread typhus and polio to humans.72 the intended audience for these advertisements was suburban women. almost all of the advertisements that called for the destruction of bugs within homes and yards depicted suburban women wielding ddt products, spraying or dusting ddt around baby cribs or within the kitchen. bison marketed its didit spray under the phrase “the ladies know what’s good!” and informed consumers that thousands of housewives across the country deemed their product to be the most effective way to kill disease-carrying insects.73 one advertisement for flytox ddt spray featured a child peacefully sleeping in a crib with a giant fly over the baby’s head. the advertisement informed consumers that their “child [was] defenseless unless” they sprayed or dusted their nursery with ddt.74 other advertisements offered more direct messages, using phrases such as “protect your children!” and “for the sake of your health kill them,” and contained lists of various disease-propagating bugs that could be easily eliminated with ddt products.75 while disease served as a useful foe for a number of pesticide companies, other companies claimed that their products lessened the burden of the suburban homemaker. like the advertisements for timesaving appliances such as blenders, washing machines, and microwaves, chemical companies spread the message that 69 penn salt chemical, “ddt is good for me-e-e-e!” advertisement, time, june 30, 1947. 70 penn salt chemical, “ddt.” 71 tanglefoot, “do roaches spread cancer?” advertisement, ca. 1950. http://i.imgur.com/0zjugzp.jpg. 72 trimz, “protect your children against disease-carrying insects!” advertisement, woman’s day, june, 1, 1947, 69. 73 bison laboratories, “the ladies know what’s good!” advertisement, ca. 1950, envisioning the american dream. https://envisioningtheamericandream.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/chemical-ddt-collage.jpg. 74 fly-tox, “your child is defenseless unless,” ladies home journal, july 1955. 75 trimz, “protect your children,” woman’s day. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 17 ddt made housekeeping easier and more convenient. in a commercial for sherwin william’s ddt synthetic wall coating, the narrator emphasized how much time homemakers could save by using their product. “unlike sprays and fogs that irritate the nasal passages…and require daily applications,” the commentator states, pestroy ddt “lasts week after week, month after month” and can be easily applied to screen doors and windows.76 dupont chemical printed a story in their monthly magazine highlighting the timesaving advantages of ddt over older pesticides such as pyrethrum. “the discomfort and the chore of constant spraying…belong to an older day,” the author contended. with dupont’s ddt home powder, the author claimed, it was no longer necessary to conduct daily sprayings, as ddt’s “longtime killing power” made the product more advantageous than older pesticides.77such advertisements told their readers that ddt was not only superior to older pesticides, but also that its persistence in the environment offered timesaving solutions to busy housewives. although pesticide executives were united in their adoption of marketing strategies toward women and against disease, they also vied against each other, seeking ways to make consumers purchase a given brand over its competitors. while only four companies held exclusive rights to ddt during the war, by 1945 the usda listed fourteen companies as primary ddt producers, with an additional 261 small businesses joining the insecticide industry by 1954. this increase in the number of ddt producers left the companies scrambling to differentiate themselves.78 additionally, a number of pesticide companies flooded the market with new synthetic organic pesticides, an attempt to create a more powerful successor to ddt. as early as 1946, popular science began advertising new pesticides such as hexi-kol, which claimed to be four times stronger than ddt, and dfdt, a pesticide sold under the claim that it was as safe as ddt, yet could “kill houseflies better than ddt.”79 in response to these new pesticides and the competition between ddt producers, pesticide companies devised a number of new technologies for their products, designed to set themselves apart from the competition. since ddt was a versatile chemical—effective in both its powder and liquid form—companies used this fact to their advantage. penn salt chemical developed a handful of variants for the chemical’s liquid form, including an invisible polyurethane coating, and listed a number of potential uses for the product, such as screen doors, windows, 76 fairbanks, “doomsday for pests.” 77 george albee, “ddt yesterday and today,” dupont magazine, august-september 1946, 4-5. 78 perkins, 182-183. 79 hexi-kol advertisement,” popular science, october, 1946, 49; “new poison kills pests,” popular science, december, 1947, 224. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 18 doorways, cupboards, gym lockers, and pianos.80 trimz created ddt stick-on wallpaper that featured disney characters like bambi and mickey mouse, designed for a child’s nursery.81 in 1948, a number of different companies developed ddt fog machines that supposedly could coat an entire yard or field ten times faster than application with traditional spray guns and at ten percent of the cost.82 aside from new technology, another strategy to differentiate their brand was to increase the dosage of ddt within their products. while government standards required pesticide companies to have at least five-percent ddt in their products, pestroy increased its formula to six-percent ddt, a marketing strategy that the company promised would kill bugs more effectively than their competitors. 83 while scientific testing during the war demonstrated that only five-percent ddt was required to acquire the chemical’s maximum effect, pesticides labeled with six percent would undoubtedly entice consumers, who would believe they were buying a stronger product for the same price. the marketing strategies that brought about new pesticide technology also overshadowed the growing reports from the scientific community warning about ddt’s potential dangers to humans and the environment. as early as august 1945, magazines ran stories describing the aftermath of regions sprayed with ddt. after the army tested ddt on a military installation in newark, new jersey in 1945, the new york times reported that hundreds of dead fish washed up on shore due to ddt poisoning.84 military scientists discovered the first case of ddt poisoning in a human test subject in april 1945 and argued for greater research efforts to determine the long-term effects of the pesticide on mammals.85 following the pesticide’s release to consumers, reports describing the chemical’s dangers became more frequent. popular science published an article in 1946 entitled, “don’t do this,” arguing that, when consumed, ddt posed a severe health risk to animals and small children.86 the author reported that overusing ddt directly harmed humans and animals, as the chemical lingered in fatty tissue for extended durations. overuse led to the presence of ddt in the butter and cream of farm animals, putting human consumers at further risk. aside from the dangers to human health, frequent reports noted ddt’s ability to disrupt ecosystems due to the chemical’s indiscriminate killing of 80 penn salt chemical. “so… you wouldn’t hurt a fly!” advertisement, life, may 31, 1946, 102. 81 trimz, “protect your children.” 82 john dos passos, “revolution on the farm,” life, august 23, 1948, 95-104. 83 sherwin williams, “blitzes bugs!” advertisement, woman’s day, june 1, 1947, 102. 84 “fish killed by ddt in mosquito tests,” new york times, august 9, 1945, 23. 85 v.b. wigglesworth, “a case of d.d.t poisoning in man,” british medical journal (april 14, 1945): 517. 86 “don’t do this,” popular science, february 1946, 71-74. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 19 beneficial insects. in his essay, “ddt: the insect-killer that can either boon or menace,” naturalist edwin way teale offered a grim depiction of america’s future if consumers failed to limit their ddt use. “if insects, the good, bad, and indifferent insects, were wiped out in a wide area,” teale warned, “the effects would be felt for generations to come.”87 he argued that killing insects, no matter how bothersome humans considered them to be, destroyed songbird populations that depended upon insects for food, as well as plants whose seeds required insects for pollination. teale concluded that ddt could potentially save lives through controlled use, but the pesticide could also destroy entire ecosystems if its use went unregulated. “no drought, no flood, no hurricane could cause the widespread disaster that would follow in the train of the annihilation of the insects,” he contended.88 for every article like teale’s warning that ddt would upset the balance of nature, there were dozens more dismissing these claims as hysteria. reader’s digest called teale’s contentions that ddt would upset the balance of nature “fantastic myths.”89 a dupont representative concurred with reader’s digest and gave an interview for fortune magazine in which he denied ddt’s dangers outright. “even though there was some anti-ddt talk,” he told the magazine, “most of it was unfounded. there has also been a scare about the ‘balance of nature,’ but this is based on a fallacy: there really is no such balance.”90 the dupont representative argued that if ddt was as toxic as teale claimed, then federal agencies would have required a “skull and crossbones on its label.”91 chemical engineer ot zimmerman did not deny the existence of a balance of nature, but he was adamant that ddt would actually improve america’s environment. in his widely read handbook on the pesticide, ddt, killer of killers, zimmerman noted that most of the insects that ddt killed were actually invasive species. he contended that, in using ddt to eliminate foreign insects, like the infamous japanese beetle, there was a greater “chance that it [would] be for the better.” 92 zimmerman thought it was preposterous that ddt would destroy beneficial insects. even if the united states paid the estimated three billion dollars to spray the entire continent with ddt, he argued, “we would soon find billions of 87 edwin way teale, , “ddt: the insect-killer that can either boon or menace,” nature, march 1945, 162. 88 teale, “ddt,” 162. 89 lois mattox miller, “what you should know about ddt,” reader’s digest, november 1945, 84. 90 fortune, january 1946, 45. 91 fortune, 46. 92 zimmerman, 137. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 20 insect immigrants entering this country from canada and mexico.” 93 to zimmerman, “the fear that ddt will destroy the balance of nature was unjustified” because insects will always migrate and reproduce quicker than the entire population could be eliminated.94 the debates over ddt’s potential threats to human health and the environment that emerged in the wake of the second world war eventually caught the attention of nature writer and fish and wildlife service biologist rachel carson. carson first spoke out against ddt in a reader’s digest article in 1945, but it was not until she received a letter from her friend olga owens huckins in 1958 that she decided to focus her efforts on denouncing the pesticide. within her letter, which was later published in the boston herald, huckins described to carson the mass poisoning of wildlife that she witnessed after the massachusetts state government conducted an aerial ddt spraying near her home. huckins informed carson that the morning after the supposedly “harmless shower bath” of ddt, she discovered dozens of dead songbirds scattered throughout her yard, as well as dead trout floating in a nearby stream. after reading huckins’s account, carson realized she needed to help put a stop to the indiscriminate spraying of pesticides and began collecting research on the destruction wrought by pesticides on the environment.95 carson compiled her findings into a book, silent spring, which became an instant sensation after its publication in september 1962, selling over half a million copies and remaining on the best-seller list for thirty-one weeks.96 the success of carson’s book derived from her ability to synthesize scientific evidence about the dangers of overusing pesticides in clear and understandable language, allowing the book to appeal to the general public. one of the messages that americans took away from silent spring was that the chemical companies’ claim that ddt would bring about a world without disease was a fallacy. in fact, carson demonstrated to her readers that ddt actually increased the likelihood of disease among humans and wildlife. she warned her readers how ddt’s persistence within the environment allowed the chemical to enter the food chain and accumulate in the fatty tissues of wildlife and humans, resulting in cancer and other forms of genetic damage. her opening chapter, “a fable of tomorrow,” depicted a nameless american town where ddt had “silenced” all life including fish, birds, and children. this introduction provided her readers with a powerful example of the 93 ibid.,138. 94 ibid., viii. 95 olga owens huckins to the editor of the boston herald, january 28, 1958. beinecke digital collections, yale university: http://brbl-zoom.library.yale.edu/viewer/1096584. 96 russell, war and nature, 222. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 21 pesticide’s indiscriminate destruction and allowed americans to realize that this fictional setting could represent any number of towns in which ddt was used overzealously. carson also criticized the link between consumerism and pesticide use that emerged in the postwar era: every hardware store, garden-supply shop, and supermarket has rows of insecticides for every conceivable horticultural situation. those who fail to make wide use of this array of lethal sprays and dusts are by implication remiss, for almost every newspaper’s garden page and the majority of the gardening magazines take their use for granted. although it was not carson’s intention to ban all chemical insecticides, she strongly believed that ddt’s enormous consumer market had placed “poisonous and biologically potent chemicals into the hands of persons largely or wholly ignorant of their potential for harm” and urged the government to place greater restrictions on ddt use.97 silent spring marked the beginning of the end for ddt and its role in the war on bugs. following the book’s publication, president john f. kennedy, who felt disturbed by the excerpts he read in the new yorker, requested that the life sciences panel of the president’s science advisory committee investigate carson’s research. on may 15, 1963, the committee released its report, validating carson’s claims and combating the chemical industry’s vehement opposition to silent spring. the following day, a senate subcommittee met to discuss the dangers of pollution within american society, which included hearings on domestic pesticide regulations. in early june, the subcommittee asked carson to speak before congress, where she urged the government to create a pesticide commission to regulate chemical insecticide use within the united states.98 in her testimony, carson called for the end of mass aerial ddt spray campaigns and asserted that pesticide use violated the most basic of human rights: the “right of the citizen to be secure in his own home against intrusion of poisons applied by other persons.”99 carson lost her battle against breast cancer less than a year after her testimony, but her words resonated within american society for years to come. in 1970, the united states government established the environmental protection 97 rachel carson, silent spring: 40th anniversary edition (boston: houghton mifflin company, 2002), 1-3, 176, 12. 98 testimony of rachel carson, hearings before the u.s. senate subcommittee on reorganization and international organizations of the committee on government operations, “interagency coordination in environmental hazards (pesticides),” june 4, 1963, 88th congress (1 sess.) (washington, d.c.: government printing office, 1964). 99 testimony of rachel carson, 9. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 22 agency to oversee and regulate toxic pollutants within the united states, and two years later, the epa banned most domestic uses for ddt, as well as several other pesticides carson mentioned in silent spring and in her testimony. 100 for americans in the wake of silent spring, the urgency to eliminate bugs with pesticides was displaced by an urgency to protect the environment. conclusion when american consumers rushed to their local supermarkets and hardware stores in the fall of 1945, their desire to purchase the latest and greatest bug-killing technology was a result of the messages they received from the popular press and the department of war information throughout the second world war. these messages informed americans on both the home front and the frontlines that insects were no longer just minor annoyances, but enemy soldiers that were detrimental to the war effort and threatened the allied victory over the axis powers. when americans heard of a new pesticide that was supposedly non-toxic to humans and was winning the war against disease in the european and pacific theaters, they imagined the ways in which this new pesticide could completely eliminate disease in postwar america. when the war ended in the fall 1945, this new vision of the postwar era allowed chemical companies to market their products as safe and easy solutions to america’s battle against insect-borne illness. chemical companies such as dupont maintained this sense of urgency by employing fear-mongering marketing strategies, which further promoted the idea that insects were a threat to the stability of suburban life. debates regarding ddt’s toxicity to humans and wildlife continued, and it was not until the publication of silent spring in 1962 that american consumers recognized the ecological disaster they had wrought. the effects of america’s war on bugs during and after the second world war are still visible today. a recent study from the united states fish and wildlife service has found ddt in high concentrated volumes in the environment. samples taken from sediment and groundwater in forty-one states indicate that ddt has persisted within the ecosystem since the chemical’s ban in 1972. although these concentrations have declined steadily since the 1970s, areas with higher ddt residue rates demonstrate depression of eggshell thickness among birds and traceable amounts of ddt within the tissue of fish populations.101 regardless, the 100 russell, war and nature, 229-239. 101 robert j. gilliom et al., the quality of our nation’s water: pesticides in the nation’s streams and ground water, 1992-2001 (washington d.c.: us geological survey, 2006), 128136, 172. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 23 pesticide industry that boomed during the second world war remains a multimillion-dollar industry. companies like monsanto and dupont that made their fortunes during the war and postwar era still profit from pesticide sales and have developed a number of new insecticides and herbicides in the wake of ddt’s ban in 1972. these modern pesticides have allowed the war on bugs to persist since the 1940s, and as pesticide sales continue to climb from year to year, there is no indication that a cease-fire will be called any time soon. as rachel carson warned in 1963, “man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself. 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macfarland, 2003. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 29 whorton, james c. before silent spring: pesticides and public health in pre-ddt america. princeton: princeton university press, 1979. microsoft word tscherry english final for on-line 2016 concept .doc concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 1 “the shadow in the windowpane”: containment, privacy, and censorship in pale fire laura tscherry english literature vladimir nabokov’s pale fire is a difficult text to introduce. the setup seems straightforward enough at first: there is a “foreword,” a “poem” titled “pale fire,” a “commentary,” and an “index.” the poem is ostensibly written by the poet and scholar john shade, while the paratext’s author is charles kinbote, a fellow literature professor and close friend of shade’s, who takes it upon himself to prepare the poem for publication after shade’s untimely death at the hands of a gunman named gradus. however, pale fire would not be a novel by nabokov without a large dose of linguistic and narrative playfulness. thus, the critical commentary, while anchored to the poem by references to line numbers, contains another, entirely unrelated narrative, which spans the entirety of the commentary, as well as reaching into the “foreword” and the “index.” even within the “commentary,” many footnotes have little to do with the poem and simply refer to one another and the second narrative. this narrative, which i refer to as the zemblan narrative, reveals that charles kinbote is really charles xavier, the exiled king of a northern european country named zembla; xavier was overthrown by a populist plot and had to flee to a remote college town in america, where he lives disguised as kinbote a professor of literature. john shade is his neighbor and close friend. the connection between the two lives of kinbote is the assassin gradus, a member of a secret organization sent to kill the fleeing king but who ends up shooting shade instead. then there is a further possible narrative, in which kinbote is a madman who only believes he is a king masking as scholar; or perhaps it is really gradus (whose real name might be jack grey), a mad murderer escaped from a nearby prison out to kill judge goldsworth: the man who put him behind bars and whose house kinbote is renting. in short, nothing is completely certain in pale fire, and any attempt to pin down the structure of the text leads to another trapdoor into other possible meanings. scholarship on pale fire has usually focused either on the question of the characters’ “real” identities and their relationship to each other; on attempts to untangle the many narratives that the text hints at; and on the question of authorship in the novel. in the face of such epistemological uncertainty, it comes as no surprise, then, that some have read pale fire simply as a parody or lampoon of literary scholarship, a sly jab on nabokov’s part at the methods of dissection and over-analysis practiced in the study of literary texts. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 2 in my paper i want to shift the focus away from debates about authenticity, fictionality, and authorship, and instead propose a reading that puts pale fire into a particular cultural context: cold war america. in her literary biography of nabokov, andrea pitzer makes a claim for nabokov as a politically aware writer––specifically, a cold war writer––and for pale fire as a commentary on american society during the cold war. in fact, it could be said that nabokov smuggles in cold war history and cultural commentary in the pockets of his narrative in the same way that his character, charles kinbote smuggles out the poet shade’s manuscript in the pockets of his coat. i read pale fire along similar lines but ground my analysis of the text in the wider historical and cultural context rather than in nabokov’s individual history. my interest in the cold war context of pale fire lies in an idea of privacy that is grounded in containment culture. reading pale fire in relation to containment culture and its obsession with privacy opens up questions of legibility, especially in relationship to the (in)accessibility of domestic space, and on the other hand, the interplay of privacy and questions of reading and literary interpretation in the context of scholarship and institutionalized reading. both domestic space and textual space in the text perform similar moves of containment and are concerned with the protection of privacy against intrusive outside forces. i will first focus on the question of privacy in relation to american domestic politics. the three protagonists, shade, kinbote, and gradus, are afforded varying degrees of privacy, depending on their domestic setup, and i will show how this is reflected in their narratives. depending on how high the stakes of privacy are, that is, the more stable their domestic situation, the more closely their privacy (i.e. the inviolable domestic space) is protected. inversely, the more stable the home space, the more impenetrable it is, or rather, the greater is the respective protagonist’s control over how much of their inner life can be accessed by others. this corresponds with cold war politics of containment, whose narrative fetishized the domestic sphere as the bastion of democratic freedom against communist totalitarianism. following my discussion of domestic spaces, i will turn to kinbote, and to a lesser extent john shade, sybil shade, and gradus as readers. i will consider how literary interpretation bears upon the privacy of a text, and finally how domestic and textual spaces intersect in pale fire. before i delve deeper into an analysis of shade, kinbote, and gradus, i want to briefly unpack the central strain of my argument. deborah nelson’s book pursuing privacy in cold war america provided me with a key idea in her claim that “[m]oving beyond the fantasy of a spatial privacy––the container that must be sealed tightly at all costs––suggests a new and paradoxical model of privacy in the era of generalized exposure” (xviii). what was “lost” in cold war containment culture, she says, was a model of patriarchal privacy; but this loss in turn led to new, alternative privacies being found (xiii). pale fire concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 3 presents the reader with a mixture of both old and new models of privacy. i therefore want to take up nelson’s idea in slightly modified form and argue that each of the three protagonists, shade, kinbote, and gradus, occupy different positions on a spectrum of privacy that is connected to their respective domestic situations. this model of privacy relies on the closed container of domestic space as well as alternative models that allow the continuation of privacyby shifting to an emphasis on normativity even as the domestic sphere is breached. in other words, i read the extent of privacy that each of the three protagonists is allowed as connected to how closely their living situation adheres to normative standards of domesticity. for example, john shade, the model american, has a wife as well as a house of his own, and his portion of the narrative, the poem “pale fire,” therefore proceeds with the utmost stability, guaranteed by his use of heroic rhyming couplets. since my analysis rests to a significant degree on the different characters and their capabilities for reading and narration, it will be helpful to begin by touching on the question of pale fire’s narrator or narrators. the question of which character has really authored the different texts within the novel (in other words, the “true” narrator of pale fire) has been a central and complicated mainstay of scholarship from the start; william dowling’s article “who is the narrator of nabokov’s pale fire?” provides a helpful summary and explanation of the different positions. briefly, they range from claiming kinbote as the author of everything, to suggesting that shade’s ghost dictates the poem and commentary to a mad kinbote. a dual-author model, in which the poem is the work of shade and the prose paratext is kinbote’s narration is most productive for my argument. as i will show, kinbote’s narrative represents his frustrated attempts at becoming part of american society via shade’s poem. kinbote repeatedly refers to shade as the most important american poet, and thus close surveillance of the poet and scrutiny of his work seem to kinbote the straightest road to achieving his goal of becoming americanized. mary mccarthy, in her 1962 review of pale fire, agrees with kinbote’s assessment of shade, calling him “homey … in the style of robert frost,” thus confirming that with this character, nabokov created a kind of ur-american artist. kinbote hopes that by appropriating this american text, which is steeped in autobiographical details of the poet’s life and presented in orderly, rhyming couples, his own self as well as his narrative will become legitimized and ordered in turn. however, to do so, he has to contend with the very american, specifically cold war, concept of privacy and thus with normativity, as nelson shows effectively in her study of cold war privacy: normativity determines the kinds of behavior worth protecting and being afforded privacy. while kinbote objectively speaking is mad, his reasoning is sound in the cultural context; he would most likely be able to become part of an american community by studying this paragon of normative americanness. the cold war american community was constantly on high alert against intruders into american concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 4 domesticity and privacy. kinbote, the exiled king peeking into normative americans’ lives is nabokov’s version of such an intruder or spy. the outsider “other” replaces the american enforcers of normative culture and thus provides a putatively scholarly point of view that is a mockery of critical distance. however, kinbote is an other in too many ways to achieve true assimilation; he is a foreigner from an ostensibly communist or at least socialist country and gay to boot. nelson points out that a crucial avenue of cold war surveillance of private life in the middle and later decades was directed at questions of gender and sexuality. while, as nelson writes, “anxieties about police surveillance are most often treated in legal history as parallel or even unrelated to the controversies over privacy in the domains of gender and sexuality” (13); these anxieties would have begun to contribute to the fragmentation of privacy right around the time pale fire was published. ultimately, a form of containment ideology extended the reach of cold war politics into domestic life and sexual expression, arguably two of the most private aspects of american society. in this context, then, kinbote unites two of the main threats to democracy and normativity. in addition, kinbote’s status as exiled king means that he is still too much of a body politic to be granted a private self that could be legitimized. his spying and peeping after shade, however futile, should be read as an attempt on the one hand, to become privy to the american household and the private self at its center, and on the other hand, to merge his narrative with shade’s poem in an attempt to gain a credible identity for himself. but as i have suggested, kinbote’s foreignness continually excludes him from the american space; he does not possess the cultural knowledge (or linguistic proficiency) to fully participate and can thus never progress further inside than the metaphorical and literal entrance hall. thus shade ultimately remains unknowable to him. as kinbote puts it in the novel’s “foreword,” “[shade’s] whole being constituted a mask” (23); the identity that shade projects is at once a highly controlled fiction and an impenetrable barrier to kinbote or other outsiders––hence mccarthy’s assessment of him in her 1962 review of pale fire as “deceptively homey” (emphasis added). in 1959, the partisan review included in its summer edition an essayspeech by lionel trilling, the influential cultural critic, scholar, and a contemporary of frost and nabokov. the central question of his piece is “what did i say that could so nearly have approached a scandal?” (445). the words that caused this near-scandal had been uttered in a speech on the occasion of frost’s eighty-fifth birthday: in the speech, reproduced in full after a short prefatory note, trilling had called frost “a terrifying poet” (445). what trilling is driving at is the nature of frost’s poetry; in fact, his interpretation is not so different from mccarthy’s. indeed, both of their remarks hint at the two defining aspects of frost’s public image: his status as americanness personified, as the poet of america, and his poetry’s emphasis on an “old america” marked by images of nature, loneliness, and self-sufficiency. citing concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 5 d. h. lawrence, trilling argues that frost’s apparent naiveté, pastoralism, and nostalgia are in fact important moves in a turning-away from european poetic values: “that enterprise was of an ultimate radicalism. it consisted, lawrence says, of two things: a disintegration and sloughing off of the old consciousness, by which lawrence means the old european consciousness, and the forming of a new consciousness underneath” (451). frost’s poetry, then, is not nearly as straightforward and simple it may seem at first glance, and trilling would likely have been in agreement with mccarthy’s later assessment that the homeliness of frost’s poetry is deceptive. what is important about this in relationship to pale fire is that a person with a truly american mind would be able to see through this deception and recognize the project behind it. nabokov suggests that a european or un-american mind such as kinbote’s, on the other hand, will perceive only the surface message that shade’s poem “pale fire” projects. kinbote falls for the deception of openness and accessibility in shade’s frostian poem precisely because he is not american and therefore does not have the critical apparatus to correctly read shade or his poem. in fact, kinbote’s attempts at getting to know shade reveal the different degrees of privacy and legibility at play in the novel. kinbote learns quickly that shade is not as accessible as he seems, but that he is, in fact, a rather private man. he can only be accessed either obliquely from behind windows and shrubbery, in the watchful presence of his wife, or through gross violations of privacy, such as when kinbote storms into the shade house while shade is in the bath (207). while it seems that shade himself is not very worried about outside threats, his wife is, and so she is the one who works hardest to keep the private space of the shade home impenetrable. however, shade is by no means naïve enough to let just anyone in. this becomes evident in a textual variant of the poem provided in kinbote’s commentary, which reads: the light is good; the reading lamps, long-necked; all doors have keys. your modern architect is in collusion with psychanalysts: when planning parents’ bedrooms, he insists on lockless doors… (77) here it is obvious how much shade values the nice, old-fashioned, impenetrability of his very american house, and also perceives some of the cold war anxiety about breaches of the domestic sphere. to unpack the tension between inside and outside further, i want to turn to the poem’s opening stanza: i was the shadow of the waxwing slain 1 by the false azure of the windowpane; i was the smudge of ashen fluff––and i lived on, flew on, in the reflected sky. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 6 and from the inside, too, i’d duplicate 5 myself, my lamp, an apple on a plate: uncurtaining the night, i’d let dark glass hang all the furniture above the grass, and how delightful when a fall of snow covered my glimpse of lawn and reached up so 10 as to make chair and bed exactly stand upon that snow, out in that crystal land! (29) i first want to draw attention to the imagery of mirroring and the note of duplicity it contains. the speaker-as-bird crashes against the window because the window shows it a false sky, a false sense of freedom. the “i” here has been betrayed by the window; however, there is a further layer of falseness. at first, it seems that the window gives us access into the private interior of the house, but a closer examination of the verbs yields duplicate, let, and exactly stand, words that hint at a highly controlled fiction that is projected onto the outside. the image that seems to allow access to the poem’s and, by extension, the speaker’s, interiority, in truth does not reveal much about the “i” at all, showing, as it does, merely generic objects in his possession. in reflecting both the sky outside and the bedroom inside, the window proves its dual function as both inlet into the house and a protective barrier against the outside. in the same way, kinbote’s spying on shade is controlled by windows and window-frames which frequently cut off features essential to observation, such as shade’s face, thus limiting and controlling kinbote’s true access to shade while he deludes himself into thinking he is actually seeing something. in fact, kinbote’s description of shade’s house rests solely on these opportunities of visual ingress: “let us turn to our poet’s windows… today it would be impossible for me to describe shade’s house in terms of architecture or indeed in any term other than those of peeps and glimpses, and window-framed opportunities” (71, emphasis added). in his textual analysis, kinbote continues to focus on deceptive windows even after he has found his efforts to become americanized through observation frustrated; the poem in his hands thus becomes a collection of fragmented opportunities to get an insight into the life of shade, this quintessentially american man, and like the diegetic windows and doors of shade’s house, it resists kinbote’s very attempts at readerly intrusion. even more guarded than closed entryways, however, the ultimate gatekeeper to shade’s privacy is his wife. sibyl shade most effectively and completely frustrates kinbote’s desire to know shade. her censorship is enforced in three ways: by the physical exclusion of kinbote from the shade household (by drawing the blinds, not inviting him into the house, and refusing him on the phone); by withholding information about the poet’s life after his death (she does not reply to kinbote’s letters); and in excising those parts of the concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 7 poem that concern kinbote’s narrative (or so he thinks), thus excluding him figuratively, she quite literally separates his narrative from shade’s. sybil shade’s censorship activities will be relevant to my discussion of the tense relationship between literary scholarship and privacy below. for now, i turn instead to kinbote and his status in terms of privacy. kinbote occupies a middle ground between shade’s absolute inaccessibility and gradus’s absolute knowability. he lives in rented houses and cabins, but he does not move as frequently as gradus, and his mind is moderately accessible, if not entirely sane. however, as steven belletto points out in his discussion of gradus, “the textual association with him as a ‘caller’ to the goldsworth house … echoes kinbote’s earlier remark about how the house was architecturally inviting to a ‘chance caller’” (769). this is an interesting remark with regard to kinbote, because it figures the goldsworth house, which kinbote is renting, as a penetrable space, unlike the sealed-off property of the shades’s. as belletto shows in his article on homosexual panic during the cold war, the american party line about homosexuality figured its danger in the homosexual’s susceptibility to subversion; thus, kinbote’s position in a rented house that is apparently open to anyone shows that his exclusion from the american community is justified on cold war logic due to his perceived vulnerability to outsiders. moreover, while he ostensibly controls the prose sections (that is, “his” part of the narrative), it soon becomes clear that kinbote’s control over the narrative and thus over privacy is illusory; as belletto rightly suggests: “it is a textual control that nabokov suggests has little relevance to what shade would call the ‘texture’ of real life” (763). thus, this illusory control cannot contribute anything to kinbote’s project of becoming americanized because it is validated neither by the community he hopes to join nor by the text of the poem, which he fails to interpret correctly. truly, kinbote’s section of the narrative, the “commentary,” is a sprawling, anti-linear mess, and despite repeated attempts to control it, it mushrooms wildly. in his note to lines 47-48 (incidentally one of his longest), he declares: “i have no desire to twist and batter an unambiguous apparatus criticus into the monstrous semblance of a novel” (71, nabokov’s emphasis). of course, that is exactly what happens. not only does he end up telling his own story in an attempt to counter sybil’s perceived censoring of it in the poem, but as his frustrated attempts to get at shade lead to a proliferation of verbiage, his behavior is revealed as quite queer and un-american, such as in the note to lines 47-8, where he details his “orgy of spying” on shade in almost excruciating detail (72). on the spectrum of legibility, the assassin gradus is diametrically opposed to shade, who is nearly impossible for kinbote to read. gradus is the most mobile and knowable of all three protagonists. gradus, from the latin for “step,” is always on the move. he traverses several continents and only stays in hotels. the most stable environment that he “inhabits” is the prison, which is of concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 8 course an institution that affords its inhabitants little to no privacy. accordingly, he functions as shade’s diametrical opposite and as such is fully accessible to kinbote: his actions are fully legible and he is completely knowable (even if, as kinbote claims, there is not much to know). unsurprisingly, then, the gradus commentary is the one place in which kinbote seems to have complete narratorial and organizational power. in the note to line 171 he demonstrates this control by laying out his organizational principle: “i have staggered the notes referring to him in such a fashion that the first (see note to line 17 where some of his other activities are adumbrated) is the vaguest while those that follow become gradually clearer as gradual gradus approaches in space and time” (123). and indeed, he is not wrong: the sections about gradus are the most orderly in all of the prose paratexts. it seems that kinbote, for all the lack of control that the rest of his narrative shows, actually has a relatively solid grasp on gradus; however, in the context of cold war containment, despite his insight into gradus, kinbote actually fails to fulfill a crucial tenet of containment: he fails to prevent the enemy coming in from outside. while kinbote was trying to get closer to shade, gradus has come to occupy the position of the feared “enemy within.” nelson clarifies the american anxiety about the “enemy within” as follows: “the power and mobility of this metaphor of containment were equal only to the power and elasticity of the metaphor of intrusion––the enemy within–– which conveyed the uncanny experience of finding one’s borders already violated. the impossible purity of the internal space meant the perpetual breakdown and failure of the containment product” (xviii). kinbote is not even aware of his oversight. instead, in the note to line 949, he is still keen to show off his insight into gradus and imagines himself as omniscient, godlike narrator: “from my rented cloudlet i contemplate him” (216). he then moves to expose gradus’s interiority: “we see, rather suddenly, his humid flesh. we can even make out (as, head-on but quite safely, phantom-like, we pass through him) … his magenta and mulberry insides…” (218) in making this move, kinbote missteps once again. his overdetermined control of gradus does give him access to gradus’s interiority, but it is in the form of his intestines rather than his mind. kinbote therefore fails again to defend against the enemy, this time as a reader, because he focuses on the wrong detail. kinbote fails to overcome the exclusion created in the name of privacy not only in his inability to enter the poet shade’s house, but also in his inability to break down textual barriers through scholarship. before writing pale fire, nabokov had spent two years assembling a behemoth commentary on eugene onegin, completely caught up in his dizzyingly obsessive commentary on pushkin’s verse novel. according to pitzer, it was this monumental work that led him to imagine a novel in which a whole life would be tucked into a commentary on a poem (267). however, even though nabokov himself wrote his novels on index cards––like john shade concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 9 does in pale fire––and despite the overt parallels between nabokov’s biography and some of the novel’s plot points, pale fire is more than a roman à clef. rather, these parallels are part of a cultural commentary on postwar america at large, which is in turn linked––via the concept of privacy––to an exploration of the contradictory nature of critical reading. on the face of it, kinbote’s critical project follows the rules of literary scholarship. in essence, all scholarship effectively constitutes an invasion of privacy; to provide an adequate commentary, the scholar necessarily has to dig into the poet’s or author’s biography, correspondence, or diaries. however, all of this is normally done with a mind to finding evidence that helps parse the text that is being edited or explicated. kinbote not only takes these editorial privileges by force (he breaks into shade’s house and steals the manuscript), he takes them to a selfish end: to become part of an american community. compounding his guilt, kinbote is a bad reader for not understanding the “texts” that are presented to him, as i have established discussing of his “reading” of gradus. in the context of literary analysis and critical reading, pale fire can be read as a response to contemporary criticisms of literature and its seemingly inextricable link with scholarship such as karl shapiro’s, who argues in his 1959 article in the new york times titled “what’s the matter with poetry?”: “[w]hat we have in our time is not a flourishing poetry but a curious brand of poetry compounded of verse and criticism. it is accurate to call this hybrid ‘criticism-poetry.’ … this is why almost every college and university in america must teach modern poetry” (21). shapiro was being somewhat facetious, of course, in his lament on the institutionalization of poetry and poets, but there is a grain of truth in his assertions that points to a wider cultural debate about the work of art. in this debate, nabokov took a somewhat ambivalent stance. as a professor of poetry at cornell his livelihood depended on the inextricability of poetry and criticism, but pale fire is also a mordant satire on literary scholarship and interpretation. kinbote is, after all, and despite his efforts, a terrible reader and only a slightly more worthy editor. when it comes to editorship, the general consensus is that a good scholar, like a victorian child, should neither be seen nor heard, except when absolutely unavoidable. kinbote, of course, is not a good editor. while his introduction to the poem starts out promising, giving the reader background information on john shade’s life and work, he promptly and abruptly lapses into his own narrative in the third paragraph of the “foreword.” thus, he writes: a methodical man, john shade usually copied out his daily quota of completed lines at midnight… he marked his card or cards not with the date of his final adjustments, but with that of his corrected draft or first fair copy. i mean, he preserved the date of actual creation rather than concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 10 that of second or third thought. there is a very loud amusement part right in front of my present lodgings. (13) kinbote’s editorship has been variously read as a persona he adopts in order to mask his true identity and as an identity in which he really believes; either way, the fiction’s central idea––kinbote as editor––does not hold. the majority of the paragraph is taken up with explaining shade’s highly methodical approach to writing his poem, but the editorial commentary is suddenly interrupted by a personal observation. the intrusion is jarring because editors tend at best to be conceived of as disembodied scholarly minds rather than attached to living, breathing persons, or, at the very least, as persons who write their commentaries and introductions in a study or library; thus, kinbote breaks the rule of scholarly impersonality. this instance also marks the first intrusion of kinbote’s own narrative into the space of shade’s poem, and so constitutes another breach of the scholarly “contract.” it has nothing to do with the text at hand, and is wholly irrelevant to anyone but kinbote himself. furthermore, this paragraph is an early demonstration of kinbote’s unfitness as a reader, which i have already established. on a first reading, the reader might take the interruption as an amusing aside, and think nothing of it. but actually, it is the first hint of what is to come. that is, the intrusion puts a crack into the façade of the poem-narrative that will widen further and finally give way under kinbote’s commentary, so that the “original” text is overrun by the paratext. kinbote’s relentless battering of the poem’s walls with his own narrative is born out of two sets of motivations. first, he wants to fully explicate this most american poem in service to its readers, and he does not shy away from even the most egregious invasions of privacy to get at the information he needs to do so. in relation to that, he also pursues the underlying desire to align his text with shade’s. second, kinbote’s persistence is motivated by his personal wish to become americanized; a wish that cannot be fulfilled due to the cold war american paranoia against foreigners and “others” of any kind, as alan nadel shows in his seminal work on containment culture where he talks of the contradictions that “reveal repeatedly the need for and the inability to stabilize the distinction between other and same” (20). the exclusion of the other is a necessary contributing factor to upholding the authority of cold war rhetoric and discourses surrounding concepts like privacy and democracy––core american values, so to speak. and so, in his unremitting pursuit of two instances of privacy that keep eluding him, kinbote embodies the two chief violators of privacy: the unscrupulous reader and the queer and foreign spy. this makes him the unifying force behind the two strands of invasion of privacy that might inform a text: one, a sort of “on-the-street” invasion of an american person’s domestic life and the other in the form of scholarship. read with cold war containment ideology in mind, kinbote’s repeated instances of misreading work to distort the poem to fit his intentions, completely overwhelming the concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 11 poem’s text with his zemblan narrative in the process of making his own text more shadean, and therefore american, by association––a project that due to the circumstances of its conception is guaranteed to fail. against all this cold war paranoia, michael trask provides a convincing argument in camp sites for the relative innocuousness of kinbote’s imposition; he suggests that all of it is merely kinbote’s attempt to make sense of shade’s death. i have already established that kinbote’s control is illusory and therefore this attempt at control is as futile as his attempt at legitimizing his zemblan narrative and becoming americanized, which compounds the impression of his harmlessness. while none of this exculpates him as a bad reader, admittedly this particular instance of misreading in the “foreword” is not intentional: in the commentary to lines 609-614 it transpires that “what i thought was some kind of amusement park, across the road…turned out to be camping tourists.” (186) at any rate, whether his misreadings are intentional or accidental, he betrays early on that he is a poor reader, and that is ultimately where the problem with kinbote as a scholar lies. in the context of cold war paranoia, the “commentary” section as a whole could be read as a document of subversion for its insistence on pushing the zemblan narrative––which is arguably what sybil shade does. by extension of this logic, the personal nature of shade’s poem makes of its contents sensitive information that gets into the wrong hands and leaves its author open to kinbote’s foreign readings, which latch onto his american lines and use them as points of access to the american community. as i have shown, though, kinbote’s intentions are not hostile, but merely selfish. kinbote latches onto the poem precisely because it is so quintessentially american, and because he hopes to validate his own narrative by association with shade, in order to become americanized. the attack, then, is in a somewhat paradoxical way, benign. however, this does not mean that it can be allowed from a cold war american standpoint––it remains, after all, an intrusion, an attempted breach of privacy. this is why sybil shade censors kinbote’s access to john shade. he perceives further signs of her censorship in john shade’s poetry, which lacks the zemblan elements he had been planting: “we know how firmly, how stupidly i believed that shade was composing a poem… about the king of zembla. we have been prepared for the horrible disappointment in store for me… mrs. shade will not remember having been shown by her husband who ‘showed her everything’ one or two of the precious variants” (232-233). as i say, sybil’s censorship takes on a variety of forms, but her betrayal seems the most acute to kinbote because he expected her to be his ally in the editorial process: “needless to say…i had been looking forward to sybil shade’s providing me with abundant biographical data…” (17) however, sybil is actually his adversary, as she is a most active keeper of her husband’s privacy, in terms of both his house and his writing. however, removed from kinbote’s paranoia and resentment, her behavior becomes legible as cold war concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 12 containment work. she is part of the american nuclear family, and thus part of what nadel calls the “cult of domesticity and the fetishizing of domestic security” (3). or, to put it in nelson’s words, “the sanctity of the private sphere was generally perceived to be the most significant point of contrast between the two regimes. …not [cold war rhetoric’s] cultivation of a vibrant and free public discourse but its vigilant protection of private autonomy” (xiii). sybil, then, does very important work, and kinbote simply misreads it as antagonistic because he is not part of the same context. let it not be forgotten either that kinbote is an inveterate self-deceiver; in truth, sybil’s involvement in shade’s work actually makes her an editor in her own right––and certainly a better one than kinbote. it seems, therefore, that at the heart of the poem is not just the single voice and mind of the poet, but that of the heterosexual couple, the unbreakable unit of man-author and wife-editor. this unit is what kinbote works to dissolve, because he sees it (perhaps rightly) as the main impediment of his access to the american domestic sphere. in fact, sibyl is not merely the one who is keeping kinbote out but she actually occupies the very position he covets, that of editorconfidante. furthermore, the visible display of heteronormativity that is presented in the poem works to exclude kinbote by dint of his queerness––the relationships he conducts are simply not fit for the community of which he hopes to become a part. in the end, while kinbote is the one who commits the most egregious mistakes as reader and scholar, reference is unstable for all three of the main characters. interestingly enough, sibyl shade never misreads anything or anyone. in fact, she is not only a better editor than kinbote, but also a better reader than all of the male characters. john shade, unlike his wife, repeatedly miscomprehends kinbote. while some of shade’s misconstructions are purposeful, designed for gentle ribbing, as in their discussion about religion (178-180), some others are completely justified, such as the misunderstanding over what, exactly, kinbote’s secret is. in the note to line 991 kinbote recalls the following exchange with shade: [kinbote:] ‘and if you agree to show me your “finished product,” there will be another treat: i promise to divulge to you why i gave you, or rather who gave you, your theme.’ ‘what theme?’ said shade absently . . . [kinbote:] ‘our blue inenubilable zembla, and the red-capped steinmann’ . . . ‘ah,’ said shade, ‘i think i guessed your secret quite some time ago.’ (226) despite his best attempts, kinbote cannot always fix his meanings to make himself understood to shade. i would argue that the repeated misunderstandings can partly be explained by kinbote’s madness, which destabilizes his referents, concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 13 and partly by his foreignness. the two combine to make him unintelligible to his american audience. finally, there is gradus’ miscommunication with his associates. their telephone exchange that uses two distinct sets of codes and different languages leads to a complete breakdown in communication, since each side erroneously assumes the other’s competence. thus their telephone conversations always necessarily devolve into a series of misunderstandings (belletto 770). the exchange somewhat recalls tony jackson’s argument about the importance of correct reading in the cold war strategy of deterrence. in his article “postmodernism, narrative, and the cold war sense of an ending” jackson argues that during the cold war, the central question for americans was not whether, but when the world would end. to this end, he analyzes the historical elements that combined to create a unique atmosphere of anxiety concerning the other side (325). jackson argues that reading correctly was of vital importance to keeping the fragile balance brought about by the paradoxical logic of limitcase thinking (329). for that reason alone, a bad reader like kinbote cannot possibly be admitted to the community, because his misreadings might actually be fatal; in the cold war context, a mistake like kinbote’s misconstruction of his enemy gradus would have fatal consequences, and might even bring about the end of the world. pale fire is a text concerned with the interrelating concepts of legibility and privacy, which kinbote encounters at every turn. instead of offering us americans spying on other americans, nabokov confronts the reader of pale fire with another american anxiety at the very core of the cold war; that is, an anxiety about foreigners infiltrating american society and passing as socially “normative” citizens. nabokov subverts the usual pattern of the cold war narrative even further and presents the story of intrusion from the point of view of the would-be-infiltrator, kinbote. shade represents one half of the domestic unit that formed the center of american protection efforts, allegedly the only thing keeping america on the path of democratic freedom and thus becomes simultaneously kinbote’s greatest desire and his main opponent, as well as an ultimately illegible text. kinbote’s attempts to insert himself in the shadean narrative and thus in the american domestic community must fail because he is a danger to it. belletto describes him aptly when he states: “kinbote appropriates the logic of containment … and figures shade and himself as the domestic front in need of protection. in this way he converts himself, nominally confined to the role of political threat by the homophobic narrative, into an antisubversive, into a cold warrior” (765). however, this is simply a misconstruction on kinbote’s part––one of his many misreadings, and this one culpably so. following the logic of cold war containment, kinbote is not on the same side as shade, not part of the domestic community, and thus he cannot claim a right to protection from the enemy gradus either. rather, he is himself an intruder, and thus an individual that shade needs to be protected against. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 14 only in one of the very last of kinbote’s remarks on the poem comes an admittance of defeat, a confession that his project has failed: “in other words, everything will be done to cut off my person completely from my dear friend’s fate” (234). after everything, both kinbote’s paranoia about being excluded as well as the exclusion itself are justified. nabokov presents the containment project from the standpoint of the other who cannot and must not gain access because he is not american enough to support its continuation. with pale fire, nabokov has written a cultural critique disguised as a caricature of scholarship in which the question of privacy becomes relevant both for the historical cold war american community and those who would join it, as well as the bad scholar attempting to wrest meaning from a text he cannot fully understand. out of the tension between text and scholarly work emerges nabokov’s playful side. it was he, after all, who said that chaos is the novelist’s prerogative, while order is the critic’s perverse pleasure. bibliography belletto, steven. “the zemblan who came in from the cold, or nabokov’s pale fire, chance, and the cold war.” elh 73.3 (fall, 2006): 755-780. dowling, william. “who’s the narrator of nabokov’s pale fire?” rutgers university. https://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~wcd/palenarr.htm. online. accessed 11-30-2015. jackson, tony. “postmodernism, narrative, and the cold war sense of an ending. narrative 8.3 (oct., 2000): 324-338. mccarthy, mary. “a bolt from the blue.” new republic 146:23 (june 4, 1962): 21-27. nabokov, vladimir. pale fire. london: penguin, 1991. nadel, alan. containment culture. american narratives, postmodernism, and the atomic age. durham, nc: duke university press, 1995. nelson, deborah. pursuing privacy in cold war america. new york: columbia university press, 2001. pitzer, andrea. the secret history of vladimir nabokov. new york: pegasus, 2013. concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 15 shapiro, karl. “what’s the matter with poetry?” new york times december 13, 1959: 21-22. trask, michael. camp sites. sex, politics, and academic style in postwar america. stanford, ca: stanford up, 2013. trilling, lionel. “a speech on robert frost: a cultural episode.” partisan review 26:3 (summer, 1959): 445-452. microsoft word tower poli sci essay for on-line edition.docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   1 third gender and the third world: tracing social and legal acceptance of the transgender community in developing countries kimberly tower political science introduction there is a stereotype in the global north that asserts its superiority over its less developed neighbors in the south.1 this idea goes beyond technology, economics, education, and health care. some believe that the global north is morally more advanced and treats its citizens in a more equal manner. by extension, global south countries are generalized as “backwards, traditional, [and] oppressive.”2,3 upon closer examination, this holds no water. there is an “immense variation” in human rights in the developing world that is just as wide-ranging as their “different religious, historical, political and cultural practices.”4 actually, many of these states are quantifiably more progressive than the west on certain issues. this is particularly true in terms of transgender rights. while the united states is still struggling with the question of which bathrooms transgender people should use, tehran is one of the global capitals of sex reassignment surgery.56 some countries have gone so far as to create laws requiring insurance companies to cover medical costs, something that is not even up for debate in many us states (see table ii).                                                                                                                           1 formerly known as the “first world” and “third world,” respectively, the global north/south distinction represents the social, economic, and political differences that exist between developed and developing states. 2 la barbera, maria caterina. identity and migration in europe: multidisciplinary perspectives. (dodrecht: springer, 2015), p. 61. 3 lambino, antonio. “exploiting the poor through the images we use?” web log post. people, spaces, deliberation. the world bank, 4 july 2010. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/exploiting-poor-through-images-we-use 4 koffman, ofra. “'the girl effect': stereotyping the developing world.” research and expertise. the london school of economics and political science, 18 mar. 2014. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.lse.ac.uk/researchandexpertise/researchhighlights/socialpolicy/girlpower.aspx 5 brynn tannehill, “debunking bathroom myths,” the huffington post, 28 november 2015. 6 sasha von oldershausen, “iran's sex-change operations provided nearly free-of-cost,” the huffington post, 4 june 2012. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   2 yet on the other end, there are less developed countries (ldcs)7 where mainstream society pretends, and sometimes explicitly claims, that transgender people do not exist there. harassment and violence threaten those who dare to speak out. what causes these radical differences in the developing world? is it possible to pinpoint the variables that influence the social and legal acceptance of transgenderism? this paper seeks to find precisely that answer. based on the limited studies and literature available, i hypothesize that the rate of hiv/aids, a country’s colonial history, and the legacies of colonial missionaries are all contributing foctors in contemporary attitudes towards the trans*8 community in the global south (or ldcs.) the invisible “t” transgender rights were selected for analysis due to the fact that they receive very little attention, both in activist and scholarly circles. first and foremost, even in societies that perceive gender identity and sexual orientation as a singular movement, the “t” in “lgbt” is often swept to the side. gay rights tend to be championed as advancements for the entire lgbt community while trans-specific issues are ignored. this was clearly reflected in the many reports that claimed to discuss lgbt rights in the developing world, giving detailed descriptions of the status of marriage equality, same-sex adoption, and anti-discrimination legislation based on sexual orientation, but containing no mention of issues that impact transgender individuals. it was surprisingly difficult to obtain information regarding the accessibility of sex reassignment surgery, hormone replacement therapy, the legal ability to change one’s gender, and legal protections based on gender identity. second, in many parts of the world, sexual orientation and gender identity are perceived as wholly different entities. it would be illogical to analyze them together. to once more take iran as an example, transgender individuals enjoy a high degree of social acceptance and are protected by state and religious law; yet homosexuality can be punishable by death. considering the vast differences that exist in transgender rights across the developing world, this subject is surprisingly understudied and warrants its own investigation.                                                                                                                           7 hereafter referred to as ldcs in the text. 8 trans* (specifically followed by an asterisk) is an umbrella term meant to signify the wide range of identities that exist on the transgender spectrum: transmen, transwomen, bigender, nonbinary, genderfluid, agender, genderqueer, third gender, two-spirit, and so on. there is some debate in the transgender community over the use of this asterisk, and whether “trans*” or the full word “transgender” is more inclusive. upon the advice of individuals in the transgender community at villanova, they are used interchangeably in this paper. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   3 literature review the literature on this subject is scattered. as previously mentioned, scholarly work on transgender acceptance is minimal, especially in relation to developing countries. some sources describe the current situation of the transgender community, and some describe the past, but virtually none draw a link between the two and ask why things are the way they are. furthermore, there appear to be relatively few works that discuss how colonial moral codes might have a continuing effect on gender today. (shockingly, even meredith weiss’s chapter on “sexuality governance in postcolonial settings” in global homophobia: states, movements, and the politics of oppression (2013), failed in this regard.) as a result, this project seeks to fill a rather sizeable gap. it will ultimately contribute to a wide range of fields, most notably comparative politics, human rights literature, gender studies, and postcolonial studies. by and large, sources were consulted on a country-by-country basis. queer bangkok: twenty-first-century markets, media and rights (jackson 2011) was essential in understanding the complex attitudes towards the transgender community in thailand; similarly, “verdicts of science, rulings of faith” (najmabadi 2011) and scott siraj al-haqq kugle’s living out in islam: voices of gay, lesbian, and transgender muslims (2014) and homosexuality in islam: critical reflection on gay, lesbian, and transgender muslims (2010) laid the contemporary and historical foundations for iran; with respect to sex: negotiating hijra identity in south india (reddy 2005) and neither man nor woman: the hijras of india by nanda (nanda 1990) described india; out in africa: same-sex desire in sub-saharan literatures & cultures (zabus 2013) and the five-volume encyclopedia of africa (gates, appiah 2005) were the primary sources for kenya, uganda, and senegal; the encyclopedia of queer myth, symbol, and spirit : gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender lore (sparks, anzaldúa 1998) provided important background on transgenderism in haitian voodoo traditions; and  “‘con discriminación y represión no hay democracia’: the lesbian and gay movement in argentina” (brown 2010) gave a brief summary of the history of the lgbt movement in argentina and nearby latin american countries. where dedicated scholarly works could not be found (nepal, ecuador), news articles had to fill in missing information. methodology: cases and variables this project will adopt a “large-n” analytical approach, looking at a large number of cases in an attempt to find a wider causal pattern. ten countries will be concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   4 included: iran, nepal, india, thailand, uganda, kenya, senegal, haiti, ecuador, and argentina. despite their economic similarities, each case has a diverse social and political history, which should help to isolate common variables. furthermore, at least one country from each region of the global south is being represented. based on these parameters, we know where we are studying, but we are still unclear on what we are studying. a concept as broad and multifaceted as “transgender acceptance” cannot be analyzed on its face. as such, this concept was broken down into social and legal dimensions, which still require further definition. social acceptance can be quantified as: • the existence of a national discourse on transgenderism (whether it is something people can openly talk about); • the presence of transgenderism in pop culture (movies, films, literature, tv shows, celebrities); • the visibility of activist groups (whether there has been at least one major news story about a transgender activist group in the past year); • the visibility of anti-trans* groups (with similar requirements as above). similarly, legal acceptance was operationalized as: • the availability of hormone replacement therapy and sex reassignment surgery;9 • the presence and extent of anti-discrimination legislation; • the ability to change one’s gender on legal documents. each of these factors will be assigned a numerical value and scored, giving us a quantitative understanding of the levels of transgender acceptance in each country. these are not perfect measures. survey data would have been the ideal method to understand attitudes in each country, though it is simply not a viable option for approaching trans* issues at this time. most countries either did not have widely available surveys, data that could be compared across cases, or any questions at all that asked about the transgender community.10 similarly, crime statistics (the rate of transphobic hate crimes, the extent to which it is investigated or ignored by the police, the success of prosecution, and so on) were difficult to find. most evidence was anecdotal and gave no indication of how widespread the                                                                                                                           9 in the literature, “sex reassignment surgery” and “hormone replacement therapy” are often abbreviated to srs and hrt, respectively. this will be done intermittently throughout the paper to avoid unnecessary repetition. 10 survey data is very sensitive. question wording, question order, sample size, sample selection, and how the survey was administered can all have a huge impact on results. as such, polls conducted in different ways in different countries cannot really be compared. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   5 issue was. the u. s. department of state human rights reports were used to get a qualitative understanding of these indicators, but unfortunately for both research and human rights purposes, anti-trans violence was a problem in every country case. with the what and the where sorted out, we now turn to the why. given the current social and political environment for the transgender community in our cases, are there any common variables that could explain why? as previously mentioned, few scholars have asked this question before, so there is very little guidance on which causal factors to examine. after reflecting on each country’s social, religious, political, and medical history, the following variables were identified as being potentially significant: • whether a country was colonized, and by which powers; • when it gained independence (if applicable); • whether it had pre-western/colonial societal notions of transgenderism; • the extent to which colonial religions supplanted indigenous religions; • the prevalence of hiv/aids. clearly, some of these factors are not like the others. variables pertaining to colonial history are significant due to their influence on contemporary understandings of gender roles. yet hundreds of years of history may appear to have little to do with the relatively recent epidemic of hiv/aids. this latter indicator was included in the project based on the knowledge that the transgender community in the united states is disproportionately affected. it turned out to be statistically significant and, tragically, a worldwide pattern. the world health organization includes “transgender people” in its list of top five key populations particularly vulnerable to the hiv/aids epidemic, along with “men who have sex with men, people in prisons and other closed settings, people who inject drugs, [and] sex workers.”11 to put the severity of the situation in perspective, “it is estimated that hiv prevalence among transgender women is 49 times higher than in the general adult population, with a pooled hiv prevalence of 19%.”12,13                                                                                                                           11 “hiv/aids topical information.” hiv/aids. the world health organization, n.d. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/en/ 12 “who highlights transgender and hiv issues with new policy brief.” hiv/aids news media and updates. the world health organization, n.d. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/news/transgender-hiv-policy-feature/en/ 13 “transgender women,” often shortened to “transwomen,” refers to individuals who were born biologically male and identify as female. similarly, “transgender men”/”transmen” refers to individuals who were born biologically female and identify as male. there is very little known about hiv prevalence in transmen. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   6 this can be traced to a multitude of factors. avert, formerly known as the aids education and research trust, cites the fact that transgender communities around the world face unusually high levels of “stigma, discriminatory laws, marginalisation, social exclusion … sex work, high risk sex,” and the use of contaminated needles to inject gender enhancement hormones.14 for the purposes of this project, the relationship between hiv/aids rates and acceptance/rejection of the transgender community is a bit like the chicken and the egg. is the transgender community marginalized due to societal fears over hiv/aids? are they more vulnerable to the disease because they are marginalized? it is very difficult to determine which came first, though it is likely that the high hiv rate among the trans* community is part of a self-perpetuating cycle. the two are certainly correlated, at the very least. even in places where cisgender15 heterosexual contact is the primary source of transmission, quite a lot of blame for the disease is placed on the gay and transgender communities. additionally, there had to be some flexibility in what was defined as a preexisting idea of transgenderism. contemporary understandings of gender cannot be equated to what they were centuries ago in ten different parts of the world. for the purposes of this paper, it was taken to mean if a society had any of the following notions: a male spirit in a female body, or vice versa; people who were neither wholly male nor female, in body or spirit (“third gender”); or people who cross-dressed in daily life and presented themselves as a gender that differed from their assigned sex, rather than just for special rituals. as a final disclaimer before presenting the data analysis, these measures are not meant to perfectly capture the status of the transgender community in each country. indeed, with the dearth of information currently available online, it is doubtful that a comprehensive portrait could be painted without extensive amounts of fieldwork. this project is meant only to take the first few tentative steps in exploring this subject. in none of the following cases is the transgender community completely accepted. none even come close. stigma, discrimination, family shame, and random violence plague every case, and this is likely true for every country in the world. there are few places on the planet where minorities, whether they are based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, caste, wealth, or religion, enjoy a perfectly equal status to the majority. still, as will be demonstrated shortly, some places are more accepting than others. even with these inherent flaws, any patterns that emerge could be immensely helpful in                                                                                                                           14 “transgender people and hiv/aids.” key affected populations. avert, 1 may 2015. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-social-issues/key-affectedpopulations/transgender 15 cisgender refers to those whose gender identities and biological sex match up from birth. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   7 overcoming the underlying cultural roadblocks to advancements for transgender rights around the world. data & findings16 table i: historical factors (social, political, colonial, medical) colonized? year of independence pre-western idea of trans? replaced by col. religion? hiv rate iran no17 n/a no n/a 0.1% uganda yes (britain) 1962 yes yes (85% christian) 7.3% ecuador yes (spain) 1822 unknown yes (80% catholic, 11% christian) 0.3% haiti yes (spain, france) 1803 yes (voodoo) yes (90% christian) 1.9% thailand no n/a yes n/a 1.1% kenya yes (britain) 1964 yes yes (82.5% christian) 5.3% senegal yes (france) 1960 unknown no (92% muslim) 0.5% nepal no n/a yes n/a 0.2% india yes (britain) 1947 yes no (79.8% hindu, 14.2% muslim) 0.3% argentina yes (spain) 1816 unknown yes (71% catholic, 15% protestant) 0.5%                                                                                                                           16  due to the particularly high number of footnotes for tables i and ii, fully cited versions can be found in the appendix. 17 while iran did experience strong western influences in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it cannot be compared to states that underwent forced, violent incorporation into another power. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   8 ta bl e ii . c ur re nt in di ca to rs o f a cc ep ta nc e ir an n ep al in di a th ai la nd u ga nd a k en ya se ne ga l h ai ti a rg en tin a ec ua do r r ec en tly v is ib le a ct iv is t g ro up n o* y es y es n o n o y es n o n o n o y es r ec en tly v is ib le a nt i-t ra ns g ro up s n o* n o n o n o n o y es n o n o n o n o v is ib ili ty in p op c ul tu re y es y es y es y es n o n o n o y es y es y es c an di da te s to p ub lic o ff ic e n o n o y es y es n o n o n o n o u ne le ct ed u ne le ct ed pr es en ce o f n at io na l d is co ur se y es y es y es y es n o y es n o n o y es y es sr s y es y es y es y es n o n o n o n o y es y es h r t y es y es y es y es n o n o n o n o y es y es a nt id is cr im ina tio n le gi sl at io n n o y es y es y es n o n o n o n o y es y es le ga l ge nd er ch an ge y es y es y es n o n o n o* n o n o y es y es +r at e of tr an s s ex w or ke rs y es y es y es y es u nk no w n y es u nk no w n u nk no w n y es y es g ov t. m ed ic al fu nd in g y es n o n o n o n o n o n o n o y es n o concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   9 table iii: transgender acceptance index social acceptance legal acceptance total index iran 1.0 2.0 4 nepal 2.0 4.0 5 india 3.0 4.0 6 thailand 2.0 2.0 3 uganda -2.0 -4.0 -7 kenya -2.0 -3.5 -6.5 senegal -2.0 -4.0 -7 haiti -2.0 -4.0 -7 argentina 1.5 4.0 6.5 ecuador 2.5 4.0 5.5 analysis out of ten countries examined, six have positive acceptance scores. this indicates that in the global south, countries are more likely than not to be accepting, at least to some degree, of the transgender community. this finding alone contests the negative, inherently oppressive stereotype of developing countries. hiv rate out of the cases with positive social, legal, and aggregate acceptance indexes, 83% (five out of six) have a total hiv rate at or below 0.5% of the general adult population. out of the countries with negative social, legal, and aggregate indexes, 75% (three out of four) have hiv rates at nearly 2% or more of the general adult population. overall, the lower a country’s hiv rates, the more accepting it is of the transgender community. the two exceptions here are thailand (+3 aggregate score, 1.1% hiv rate) and senegal (-7 aggregate score, 0.5% hiv rate). there are a few potential explanations for these latter cases: first, hiv rates might not be accurately reported. perhaps these countries do fall into the above pattern, but people are too afraid of social backlash to seek treatment. upon closer examination, though, this does not appear to be the case: unaids calls senegal one of its “success stories” due to its early and continued implementation of antihiv/aids health measures.18,19 with such close scrutiny from international                                                                                                                           18 “feature story senegal: a success story of aids investments and impact,” unaids, 11 october 2012. 19 “preventing hiv among sex workers in sub-saharan africa: a literature review,” the world health organization, 2011. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/44549/1/9789241 501279_eng.pdf. although senegal’s sex worker population sees significantly higher rates of concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   10 organizations, one must assume that their statistics are accurate. how else can this pattern—and its exceptions—be explained? another potential option is that, although senegal is still an outlier, the negative impact of an elevated hiv rate is visible in thailand. it may have a +3 aggregate acceptance index, but that remains one of the lowest scores amongst the positively ranked countries. while not a perfect example, thailand still fits comfortably within the pattern: slightly higher hiv rate, slightly lower levels of acceptance. a third explanation is that, on its own, hiv is not enough to foster a total rejection of the transgender community. it can simultaneously be a very important factor and not account for everything. with that in mind, we must look towards the other variables. length of independence while it may seem logical that countries that have long been independent from colonial forces will have had more time to form an organic domestic discourse on transgenderism, it does not necessarily lead to positive discourse. actually, the length of a country’s independence appears to have little to no impact on current attitudes. argentina, ecuador, and haiti all achieved independence during the same twenty-year span at the start of the nineteenth century, but are situated at completely opposite sides of the acceptance index. the same is true for india, kenya, uganda, and senegal, which all achieved independence between 1945 and 1965. this particular factor appears to be irrelevant, but colonial history is still significant in other ways. colonization & indigenous religions supplanted by colonial influences colonization appears to be detrimental towards modern acceptance of the transgender community: 100% of negative acceptance cases were colonized by western powers in recent centuries. furthermore, every country that was not colonized currently has a positive aggregate index (thailand, iran, and nepal). yet a colonial past is not a death sentence for contemporary transgender acceptance: argentina, ecuador, and india were all colonized and still have the highest scores. what do these cases have in common? they were colonized by different powers in different eras, argentina and ecuador have been independent for much longer than india, and they are located in completely different areas of the globe. but what                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         hiv/aids (between 18.9% and almost 30%, depending on the city), this doesn’t help the original theory, which stated that high rates of hiv/aids in the general population would create a higher degree of fear, suspicion, and rejection of specifically hiv-vulnerable populations. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   11 they do share is a legacy of religious missionaries where colonial religions supplanted indigenous religions, specifically for the indigenous population. if a country’s ideologies have been previously replaced by those of foreign occupying powers, there appears to be negative consequences for contemporary views of minority communities. this may seem like an unusual (and confusing) caveat, but it makes quite a bit of sense with further analysis. india was colonized by great britain, and for the most part, religious missions failed. hinduism and islam continued to reign supreme. the diverse range of indigenous ideologies remained more or less whole. argentina and ecuador, on the other hand, are a little more complex: on the surface, it appears that their indigenous religions have been replaced. both were colonized and both have retained the catholicism of their spanish conquistadores, which should have a negative impact on their aggregate acceptance scores—until one considers that, in these two cases, colonists did far more than replace indigenous religions. they effectively replaced the entire indigenous population. only 1.49% of the population of argentina20 and 7% of the population of ecuador21 is of direct amerindian descent. for the most part, they were not merely replaced by the west, they are the west—or at least the majority of the population is of western descent. with such significant levels of white european origin, argentina and ecuador likely did not face the same traumatic loss of identity experienced in postcolonial africa and the caribbean. it is a common theme throughout history that we define who we are by first determining who we are not. going all the way back to the foundation of abrahamic religions, it is theorized that kosher and halal food restrictions were conceived to give members an idea of “us” vs. “them.”22 we do this; they do not. these people are included in our society and those are the outsiders. one would be hard-pressed to imagine a more crucial scenario for redrawing group boundaries than the chaos of postcolonial independence. accordingly, countries that did not experience such upheaval would have had a much less severe need to define themselves against atypical “others.” as we see in the cases of argentina and ecuador, this may have led to an increased tolerance for those who defied societal gender norms.                                                                                                                           20 “native argentines.” project gutenburg. world heritage encyclopedia, 2015. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.gutenberg.us/articles/argentines 21 “población del país es joven y mestiza, dice censo del inec.” noticias. el universo, 2 sept. 2011. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.eluniverso.com/2011/09/02/1/1356/poblacion-paisjoven-mestiza-dice-censo-inec.html 22 freidenreich, david m. foreigners and their food: constructing otherness in jewish, christian, and islamic law. berkeley: u of california, 2011. print. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   12 pre-western/colonial notions of transgender although the exact term “transgender” is a recent sociological development, the experiences behind it are not. as long as humanity has conceived of separate notions of “male” and “female,” there have been people who do not fit neatly into either box. many societies, no matter how they define gender, have recognized the existence of trans* individuals for hundreds of years. perhaps having such longstanding, pre-western traditions could outweigh the negative effects of colonial moralism.23 yet surprisingly, this factor ended up not being particularly significant. out of the countries with a positive aggregate score, only three out of six (50%) had such pre-western conceptions. out of countries with a negative score, three out of four (75%)24 did have pre-colonial non-binary gender roles. iran is one of the most interesting cases here. iranian-american gender theorist afsaneh nadmabadi traces the first modern dialogues on transgenderism in the country to the mid-twentieth century, when the idea was introduced by american medical journals.25 it is important to make this distinction: it was never discussed as a matter of morality or deviancy, but as a physiological condition. this might contribute to overall positive levels of acceptance today. kenya, uganda, and haiti all had indigenous conceptions of transgenderism. however, these all appear to have been replaced by negative western attitudes, which harkens back to the previous section and the importance of colonial religions. when missionaries imposed a new ideology, they also imposed new gender norms. these norms were likely couched in the same ethical terms we see used today—that lgbt people are sinful and “bad.” the medical context in iran was socially neutral. the religious/colonial context in africa and the caribbean was not. ultimately, it is not statistically significant for modern levels of acceptance if societies had pre-western ideas of transgenderism. the imposition of foreign moral ideology is, once more, the key factor.                                                                                                                           23 this study does not seek to imply that the west was the first to understand the existence of transgenderism. rather, at the time when western powers were colonizing and exerting heavy influence in other parts of the world, they had overwhelmingly negative views of anyone who stepped outside strictly defined gender and sexual norms. the idea here is that if a society already had their own views of transgenderism, they might be more resistant to disapproving western attitudes. if they did not, they may have been more open to adopting colonial views, and would thus have more negative acceptance levels today. 24 there was insufficient evidence to confirm or deny the existence of a pre-colonial transgender community in senegal. 25 afsaneh nadmabadi, “verdicts of science, rulings of faith: transgender/sexuality in contemporary iran.” social science: an international quarterly,78:2 (2011), p. 540. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   13 summary of findings none of the examined variables appear to be sufficient on their own to be the deciding factor in contemporary attitudes towards the transgender community. however, when added together, there is a clear pattern that stretches across most cases. countries with positive levels of acceptance: • have low rates of hiv/aids, and • were not impacted by western moral and religious conceptions of gender. similarly, countries with negative levels of acceptance: • have high rates of hiv/aids; • were colonized; • retain the colonial religion for the indigenous population; and • had any pre-existing conceptions of transgenderism replaced by western moral values. there is an important point to make here: neither christianity nor islam is inherently transphobic. argentina and ecuador are deeply catholic countries, yet have some of the highest acceptance scores; uganda, kenya, and haiti are both christian and catholic, but are located at the complete opposite side of the spectrum. senegal and iran are both muslim majority countries, yet could not treat their transgender communities more differently. even though the relationship between colonial and indigenous religions appears to be a significant factor, religion itself is not anti-trans. shortcomings naturally, there are several shortcomings with this study. first and foremost, as previously mentioned, there is a conspicuous lack of data: opinion surveys and crime statistics would be invaluable at getting a more faithful sense of the status of the transgender community in each country. secondly, the measures used in this project do not study the extent of current situations. for example, every case has disproportionately high percentages of prostitution among the transgender community. what this study could not take into account, neither with the data nor the space available, was how disproportionate each case was. avert reports that “the proportion of transgender people who sell sex is estimated to be up to 90% in india, 84% in malaysia, 81% in indonesia, 47% in el salvador and 36% in concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   14 cambodia.”26 it appears to be a problem everywhere, but it is clearly worse in some places than others. future research could potentially weigh the numbers to get a more exact statistic. the same could be argued for the presence of antidiscrimination legislation. this study only measured the presence of such legislation, rather than how many laws were in place, how long they have been in place, and how effective they are. this would be enormously difficult to quantify and would require more extensive resources. there were also serious language barriers. for the most part, only englishlanguage sources could be used. there are almost certainly other sources, both in terms of scholarly works and newspaper articles, in persian, spanish, thai, tamil, and so on, that had to be neglected. senegal is the one exception; however, due to the apparent total blackout on transgender discourse in the country, there were no relevant french-language sources. this is particularly troublesome in terms of measuring media coverage of activist groups. many cases appeared to have no media coverage in the last year, but since only a small portion of news articles could be surveyed, this finding may not have been completely accurate. (the one consolation here is that if the activities of pro-trans* groups were important enough to be translated for worldwide media coverage, they must have been fairly domestically visible. tiny, inconsequential groups would not have received such attention.) there is also the matter of variable selection. as noted earlier, there was little scholarly literature to build upon, so there were almost certainly relevant variables that went unanalyzed. the outlier case of senegal underscores this potential weakness: it had low rates of hiv/aids, it did not retain colonial religions, it may or may not have had a pre-existing notion of transgenderism, and yet it had one of the lowest acceptance scores. on top of overlooked cross-country variables, there may be internal factors that apply in some cases and not in others. senegal might have a certain number of conditions that are completely irrelevant in argentina or iran. such is a frequent problem in comparative politics: few theories can account for every single country. nevertheless, this project has established a small-but-solid foundation. further research on this subject can build on these findings to determine an even more cohesive pattern. potential suggestions include expanding to a greater number of cases; studying other social, historical, and political variables; incorporating translations of more sources; studying the extent of contemporary factors rather than the current black-and-white “yes/no” method; and incorporating on-the-ground research and interviews with transgender individuals in each                                                                                                                           26 “transgender people and hiv/aids,” avert. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   15 country, who might have alternative points of view and a deeper understanding of historical factors. conclusion over the course of this project, two more developing countries, bolivia and vietnam, passed pro-trans* legislation. both fit into the pattern established here. clearly, the matter of transgender acceptance is evolving across the global south, and it is important to understand this trend as it progresses. the findings in this paper could have implications not just for the lgbt community, but for a wide variety of human rights issues, and how they may be predicted and encouraged. this study hopes to call attention to the fact that even in countries believed to be accepting of the transgender community, there is quite a lot of progress to be made. across all six positively-scored acceptance cases, there were consistently high levels of anti-trans violence and high levels of prostitution. furthermore, countries with no national discourse on the transgender community are left with no excuse. this study examined a diverse range of cases, societies with wildly differing economies, histories, religions, and traditions. there was evidence of a transgender population in every single one. those who claim that lgbt individuals do not exist in their country, or that they are simply incompatible with their societal principles, should take a closer look. this paper has tried to paint a more accurate picture of transgender acceptance in developing countries than negative global north stereotypes would suggest, while also highlighting the advancements that need to be made around the world. activists on the ground in each country may be able to use information from this study (and from potential future research) to their advantage: if the cultural stumbling blocks are identified, pro-trans* groups may be able to get a better sense of what strategies are needed to improve the situation. understanding the past is essential in working towards a more equal future. variable coding social acceptance 1) visibility of activist groups. news coverage of at least one prolgbt/transgender-specific activist group in the past year. +1 = news coverage of at least one pro-lgbt/transgender-specific activist group in the past year 0 = no such news coverage 2) visibility of anti-trans activist groups. news coverage of at least one antilgbt/transgender-specific activist group in the past year. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   16 -1 = news coverage of at least one anti-lgbt/transgender-specific group in the past year 0 = no such news coverage 3) visibility of transgender individuals in popular culture (film, literature, television) +1 = transgender individuals are visible in popular culture -1 = transgender individuals are not visible in popular culture 4) presence of national discourse on transgenderism +1 = national discourse is present -1 = no national discourse is present 5) transgender official has run for public office +1 = successfully won public office +0.5 = unsuccessfully ran for public office 0 = no record of transgender individuals running for public office 6) disproportionately high levels of prostitution in the transgender community +1 = transgender community is no more vulnerable to prostitution than the rest of society 0 = unknown/no data -1 = transgender community is reported to be particularly likely to participate in sex work legal acceptance 7) availability of hormone replacement therapy +1 = hrt is available in the country -1 = hrt is not available in the country 8) availability of sex reassignment surgery +1 = srs is available in the country -1 = srs is not available in the country 9) presence of anti-discrimination legislation with provisions for gender identity +1 = anti-discrimination legislation has been passed -1 = no anti-discrimination legislation 10) ability to change one’s gender on legal documents +1 = can legally change one’s gender -1 = cannot legally change one’s gender 11) medical costs of transitioning are covered by the government or by insurance companies +1 = costs covered -1 = costs not covered concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   17 appendix table i: historical factors (social, political, colonial, medical) colonized? year of independence pre-western idea of trans? replaced by col. religion? hiv rate iran no n/a no n/a 0.1% 27 uganda yes (britain) 1962 yes28,29 85% christian 7.3%30 ecuador yes (spain) 1822 unknown 80% catholic, 11% christian31* 0.3% haiti yes (spain, france) 1803 yes (voodoo) 90% christian (80% catholic)32 1.9%33 thailand no n/a yes none (95% buddhist) 1.1%34 kenya yes (britain) 1964 yes35 82.5% 5.3% senegal yes (france) 1960 unknown no (92% muslim) 0.5% nepal no n/a yes36 no (81% hindu) 0.2% india yes (britain) 1947 yes no (79.8% hindu, 14.2% muslim) 0.3%37 argentina yes (spain) 1816 unknown yes, 71% catholic, 15% protestant* 0.5% table ii. current indicators of acceptance iran nepal india thailand uganda kenya senegal haiti argentina ecuador activist no* yes38 yes39 no no yes40 no no no yes anti no* no no no no yes41 no no no no pop c yes yes yes yes no no no42 yes yes yes pub off no no yes43 yes44 no no no no unelected unelected nat dis yes yes yes yes45 no yes46 no no yes yes srs yes yes yes yes no no no no yes yes hrt yes yes yes yes no no47 no no yes yes discrim no yes48 yes49,50 yes51 no no no no yes52 yes53 legal gender change yes yes54 yes no no no* no no yes55 yes sex workers yes56,57 yes58 yes59 yes60 unknown yes61 unknown unknown yes62 yes63 medical funding yes64 no65 no66 no no no no no yes67 no                                                                                                                             27 “hiv and aids estimates (2014).” islamic republic of iran. unaids, n.d. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/islamicrepublicofiran concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   18                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         28 “homosexuality in africa,” in anthony appiah and henry louis gates, ed., africana: the encyclopedia of the african and african american experience. (oxford: oxford university press, 2005), p. 229. 29 ibid. 30 “hiv and aids estimates (2014).” uganda. unaids, n.d. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/uganda. 31“el 80% de los ecuatorianos afirma ser católico, según el inec.” vida y estilo. el universo, 15 aug. 2012. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/08/15/ 1/1382/80-ecuatorianos-afirma-ser-catolico-segun-inec.html 32 “haiti.” the world factbook. central intelligence agency, 7 dec. 2015. web. 10 dec. 2015. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html 33 joia mukherjee et al. “perspectives and practice in antiretroviral treatment—access to antiretroviral treatment and care: the experience of the hiv equity initiative, change, haiti, case study.” the world health organization. 2003, p. 2. http://www.who.int/ hiv/pub/prev_care/en/haiti_e.pdf 34 “hiv and aids estimates (2014).” thailand. unaids, n.d. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/thailand 35 anthony appiah and henry louis gates, “homosexuality in africa,” p. 230. 36 michael bochenek and kyle knight, “establishing a third gender category in nepal: process and prognosis,” emory international law review 26:1 (2015), web. http://law.emory.edu/eilr/content/volume-26/issue-1/recent-developments/establishing-a-thirdgender-in-nepal.html 37 “hiv and aids in india | avert.” hiv and aids in india | avert. avert, 1 may 2015. web. 10 dec. 2015. http://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/asia-pacific/india 38 camille arigo, “nepal lgbt parade: lgbt rights advocates parade in nepal,” hngn, 31 august 2015. 39 deven lad, “world aids day: humsafar trust starts its ‘know your status’ campaign in mumbai,” i am indna of mumbai north central, 30 november 2015. 40 vincent agoya, “kenya: transgender lobby sues state over change of names,” allafrica, 27 november 2015. 41 lydia matata, “kenya: mps, religious leaders to hold anti-gay protest on monday,” allafrica, 4 july 2015. 42 logan s. casey and andrew reynolds, “standing out: transgender and gender variant candidates and elected officials around the world,” the london school of economics and political science, 2015. p. 25. http://www.lse.ac.uk/internationalinequalities/pdf/standingout.pdf 43 ibid. 44 “thailand: trans woman becomes the first to win elections to public office,” pinknews.uk, 30 may 2012. 45 peter a. jackson, queer bangkok: 21st century markets, media, and rights (hong kong: hong kong university press, 2011), p. 19. 46 “kenya court victory for transgender activist audrey mbugua,” bbc world news, 7 october 2014. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   19                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         47 katy migiro, “kenya's transgender warrior: from suicide bid to celebrity,” reuters, 7 april 2015. hrt and srs are possible, but exceedingly rare, and operations/treatments are sometimes canceled with no explanation. 48 “india left far behind: nepal's new lgbt non-discrimination laws put even the liberal west to shame,” i am indna, 18 september 2015. 49 “bills on transgenders, disabled in monsoon session: gehlot,” new kerala, 11 june 2015. 50 “kerala becomes first state to unveil transgender policy,” the india express, 12 november 2015. 51 joe williams, “thailand introduces first law to protect lgbt people,” pink news, 10 september 2015. 52 “discrimination at work on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity: results of the ilo’s pride project,” international labour organization, 2015. http://www.ilo. org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---gender/documents/briefingnote/wcms_ 368962.pdf 53 christina m. fetterhoff, “shutting down clinics that ‘cure homosexuality’ in ecuador,” human rights brief, 28 november 2011. 54 kyle knight, “nepal's third gender passport blazes trails,” human rights watch, 26 october 2015. 55 sarah raphael, “prostitution is argentina’s last hurdle for the equality of trans people,” vice news, 13 may 2014. 56 “iranian transgendered people: harassed, coerced to undergo what turns out to be botched sex reassignment procedure,” ilga asia, 22 february 2010. 57 kelli busey, “meet refugee martha honey, fleeing iran’s transgender eugenics,” planet transgender, 8 august 2015. 58 bibbi abruzzini, “feature: nepal ngo is working to protect transgender sex workers,” xinhua, 4 september 2014. 59 “transgender people and hiv/aids.” avert. 60 jackson, p. 257. 61 deanna kerrigan et al., the global hiv epidemics among sex workers (washington: world bank publications, 2012), p. 92. 62 sarah raphael, “prostitution is argentina's last hurdle for the equality of trans people.” 63 rochelle jones, “transgender rights in ecuador: a legal, spatial, political and cultural acquittal,” awid women’s rights, 4 january 2013. 64 robert tait, “sex change funding undermines no gays claim,” the guardian, 25 september 2007. 65 shilu manandhar, “in nepal, transsexuals spend hefty sums, risk health problems to manifest their gender identities,” global press journal, 4 december 2014. 66 “transgender activists seek free sex-change surgery,” the new indian express, 13 november 2015. 67 sarah raphael, “prostitution is argentina’s last hurdle for the equality of trans people.” concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   20                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         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(champaign: university of illinois, 2013). 196-217. zabus, chantal. out in africa: same-sex desire in sub-saharan literatures & cultures (suffolk: james curry press, 2013).   1 mothers, children, and servants: gender, social power, and domestic service in trecento and quattrocento tuscany kimberly webb history domestic servants were essential fixtures in the elite tuscan home. they aided in their mistresses’ childbirths, were the godmothers of elite children, served as wet nurses, and helped raise these children. while awarding their wealthy employers a degree of leisure and fulfilling a key role in religious ritual, the use of domestic servants in trecento and quattrocento tuscan homes and families reinforced social hierarchies. these hierarchies were primarily performed through the relationships that mistresses and masters had with their domestic servants, both enslaved and salaried. the hierarchies that were constructed and reinforced within these relationships were not primarily predicated on race or ethnicity, as they had been elsewhere in europe. instead, they rested instead on ideas of gender and class, social categories often inextricably linked. these classand gender-based hierarchies ultimately determined one’s value within domestic relationships, both within and outside of the walls of the florentine casa. this question of value is best explored through two sets of relationships: that of a woman, either upper-class or a slave or servant, and her child and that of a female slave or domestic servant and her employers and their social networks. these relationships were part of a larger, interconnected nexus. a female slave or domestic servant in a middleor upper-class florentine casa enabled the family system of the elite by caring for the children of their employers. at the same time, servants were taken advantage of by their masters or other men in the household, birthing illegitimate children and increased complications in an already complex system. how a mother interacted with her child was intrinsically tied to her social status. wealthy mothers were 2 able to give their children comfortable lives through their domestic servants, while denying servant women the same proximity to their children. poor women were valued less as mothers and women, both socially and in the context of the casa. the idea of the casa and women’s value within the domestic system was not strictly limited to the relationship of mother and child or mistress and servant. indeed, domestic relationships involved other members of the community outside of the domicile’s walls. this is particularly true in the context of godparentage and wet-nursing. the selection of godparents for a child functioned as a domestication of business relationships, solidifying economic and social alliances while concurrently adding a familial element. the godparents chosen for elite versus non-elite children were vastly different and reflected the implicit value of the child. similarly, wet-nursing often took place outside of the home. the florentine elite had a tendency to use their slaves and domestic servants – whose roles in the casa were functionally the same – as wetnurses, often at the expense of the slave or servant’s own child. these children were almost always sent to one of the city’s foundling hospitals. conversely, elite children were often sent to wet nurses’ homes outside of the city, as it was believed that being out of the city improved a child’s health. even in relationships that took place outside of the home, these domestic – or domesticated – relationships reflected the classand gender-based hierarchies that determined a woman and her child’s value. i have based largely on two primary sources: a collection of letters written by margherita datini, written to her husband francesco, commonly known as the merchant of prato, and the ricordanze (engl., record books) of matteo di niccolò corsini, his son giovanni di matteo corsini, and his son, matteo di giovanni corsini.i,ii these each provide a different view into the elite florentine household. due to her husband’s absence, the young margherita was left largely 3 in charge of the home and the people inside of it. her letters provide a unique and valuable look into how elite women interacted with their domestic servants. the corsini ricordanze, written by elite men, provide a different view of the florentine household. “ricordanze” were commonplace books, typically written by merchants in fourteenthand fifteenth-century tuscany. the books contain accounts of the author’s business dealings and travels, but also function as diaries that detail important family events, from birth and baptism to death. these books, as raul mordenti defines them, were pluralistic and multi-generational, and were typically self-celebratory in nature, so they were censored and embellished accordingly.iii nevertheless, a cautious analysis of the corsini books reveals how elites imagined themselves and their families, their relationship to religion, and how elite families functioned. it is important to note that these sources make little, if any, reference to the ethnicity of their domestic employees. if a female servant or slave was ethnically othered—that is, treated differently based on her ethnic origin or race --from her masters in the datini or corsini households, it was seemingly not of any importance to the sources’ authors. this could be for multiple reasons. in considering the audience of the letters or commonplace books, the ethnicity of a domestic servant or slave could have been well-known or understood between author and audience, and therefore not a point of emphasis. ethnicity and race could have also could have just not been something that renaissance tuscans thought of as important. the key thing to remember here is that the ways in which renaissance tuscans thought of ethnicity was dissimilar to what modern audiences would define as ethnicity. in his libro segreto, for example, gregorio dati routinely points to the perceived difference between the florentines and the genoese, a distinction that would be unperceivable to a modern, but especially non-italian audience.iv conversely, dati makes note of ethnicity in a more traditional sense once in 4 describing a sexual encounter with a tatar woman that he had met in valencia, which resulted in an illegitimate child.v the definition of “race” and “ethnicity” in the late medieval italian context was complex, and should only exist within itself. the issue of race in how the renaissance casa operated daily is of similar importance, or lack thereof. ethnic otherness did exist in late medieval italy, especially regarding the races of slaves, despite its absence in the datini letters and the ricordanze. in “the domestic enemy: the eastern slaves in tuscany in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,” iris origo points out that many serving maids of florentine ladies “seemed to belong to a different race from the florentine.”vi many of these slaves were tatars, but included russians, circassians, greeks, moors, and ethiopians.vii race along these lines was noted in a florentine slave register.viii in these slave registers, the ethnic origins of the slave was listed as an institutional, demographic marker. the race of slaves was also mentioned in more personal written sources of the day. francesco petrarch, for example, argued that the beauty of venice had been “afflicted… with deformed scythian faces, like when a muddy current destroys the brilliance of a clear one.”ix nevertheless, sally mckee points out that the presence of ethnicallyor racially-othered servants in renaissance art “suggests that they were few enough to be exotic but common enough not to look out of place as servants.”x even though race-thinking existed in tuscany, as it did throughout medieval europe, ethnicity played a much lesser role in the selection of domestic servants than gender or class. in combing through slave purchase records, women were the predominant class bought in the italian slave markets.xi slave women, like poor women, had to find their places within the florentine household. domestic service was a common occupation for the female florentine poor, though was not exclusive to the lower strata of florentine society, and was an occupation undertaken by all 5 ages of women.xii female domestic servants tended to enter the casa young, typically as preteens or young teenagers, with the hopes of opening the door to marriage and saving up enough money to secure a dowry.xiii other women became domestic servants because of their inability-or lack of desire –to marry. such was the case of a servant named caterina, who became a domestic servant after she “refuse[d] a husband.”xiv widows often became servants upon the deaths of their husbands. in the extant written sources, the way in which a servant was addressed and the title that she is given denoted her age and position in the smaller social hierarchy of the household. the word monna, sometimes spelled mona, was a term of respect given to women who were married—or widowed –or were at least middle-aged.xv young, unmarried domestic servants were simply referred to by their names. these patterns can be seen in the letters of margherita datini as well as in the corsini ricordanze, though servants’ ages are rarely given. female slaves and domestic servants tended to command a higher price than their male counterparts. this was especially-and unsurprisingly --true of young women.xvi a female slave, typically bought from the venetian or genoese market, cost between 26 and 192 lire, with some variation between the 1370s and the 1490s.xvii a female servant was paid between eight and nine florins a year on average.xviii women had a high market value because of their femaleness. they were able to provide sexual pleasure to their masters and were able to nurse the children borne by their mistresses. beyond nursing their mistress’s children, female slaves and servants could be rented out, a lucrative business that, as cristoph cluse argues, contributed to the rape of women by their masters.xix in addition to duties performed with her body, female servant had a variety of responsibilities based contemporary prescribed gender roles. her duties made her an ever-present fixture in an elite child’s life, from birth through childhood. very few extant written sources describe what happened in the birth chamber in any great 6 detail, likely because birth was a universal and, for the most part, unremarkable.xx wealthy urban florentines often gave birth in their country estates, removed from the hustle and bustle that came with city life. within this country estate, the birthing chamber was a gendered, specifically female, space. fathers were kept outside of the birthing room, though kept close enough to record the time of birth with remarkable precision. the birthing chamber itself was commanded by a levatrice—a midwife whose job was to deliver the baby without putting the mother or baby in danger.xxi in addition to the midwife, a woman would be assisted at birth by a paid birth attendant, the guardadonna (lit.: woman watcher).xxii she was somewhere between the medical professional of the levatrice and the domestic servants who assisted in the birth process. beyond the guardadonna, who was a paid specialist, renaissance depictions of birth scenes in art illustrate the presence of servant women in the birthing chamber. these illustrations are especially prevalent in the deschi di parto, a symbolic tray given to a mother upon a successful birth. these trays, often commissioned, were painted and typically depicted birthing scenes. an examination of the ways in which women were depicted on these trays done by jacqueline marie musacchio reveals a distinction between the different roles that women had based on their clothing and actions in the painting..xxiii an elite woman who had just given birth and her friends and relatives were depicted in richer, more colorful garments typical of wealthier women. the new mother typically sits up in bed, greeting her well-wishers. in contrast, servant women are dressed more simply, and are taking care of the baby in some way, usually washing it. one of the best examples of this dynamic is a 1440 altarpiece by osservanza master, entitled the birth of the virgin. modeled after a contemporary birthing scene, osservanza master depicts st. anne lying in bed, a well-dressed woman sitting at her feet. simply dressed servant women attend st. anne and her baby, the virgin.xxiv similar dynamics are depicted on birth trays and in 7 other paintings.xxv these visual examples can help historians begin to reconstruct the birth room and its power relationships. almost absent are written and visual sources about how domestic servants gave birth. neither the corsini ricordanze or the letters of margherita datini describe the conditions of a poor woman’s childbirth. the process was undoubtedly painful and was oftentimes deadly, especially without the comforts enjoyed by their elite counterparts. this is slightly ameliorated by the fact that domestic servants were likely able to use some of their master’s resources that would be inaccessible to women not employed in a household. either way, poor women’s births were wrought with problems that their mistresses did not usually face. foundlings who ended up in l’ospedale degli innocenti, for example, were often given to the hospital unwashed, which would have been the job of the midwife or attendants.xxvi how a child arrived at the foundling hospital was reflective of the conditions in which they were born. the lack of comforts and luxuries almost guaranteed that poor children suffered. after birth, a newborn was brought swiftly to their local baptismal fount. infant baptism had both a religious and social function. baptizing a child at infancy was necessary for a child to obtain salvation— especially important considering the infant mortality rate notorious to the medieval period –because it allowed a baby to be cleansed of the original sin caused by adam and eve.xxvii baptism shortly after birth would allow a child to spend less time in purgatory and gain a place in heaven if they should die in infancy. along with the function of salvation, baptism after birth was, st. thomas aquinas argued, an introduction into christian life.xxviii a child baptized in infancy received an introduction into the faith that would allow it to have a strong faith life in the years beyond infancy.xxix an infant’s baptism was also its introduction into the florentine community at large. the child joined the proverbial church family and became a 8 parish member upon baptism. the social consequences of baptism were heavily based on the socioeconomic position of the mother. one example of these social consequences is the selection of godparents. godparents, especially godfathers, spoke on the infant’s behalf at its baptism, vouching for the validity of the baby’s faith, and became guardians for babies should anything happen to the birth parents. as louis haas points out, godparents were rarely blood relatives, and were often chosen for the purposes of maintaining social bonds.xxx godparentage could be a way to maintain friendships but was more often used to affirm business relationships. gregorio dati, for example, chose thirteen godfathers for his son, niccolò, all of whom were his work colleagues.xxxi godmothers appear much fewer in written sources, which christiane klapisch-zuber argues is the consequence of godmotherhood’s subordinate character to godfatherhood. in contrast, haas points out that godmothers were of much lesser importance to the male-dominated ricordanze than godfathers.xxxii when godmothers were designated, they tended to be from either less prestigious families or were servants, a symptom of social stratification. the aim was to ensure that wealthier children had a contingency mother, even if that came at the cost of a poor child. these trends are reflected in the corsini ricordanze. in the memorie familiari di matteo di niccolò corsini, the memorie familiari di giovanni di matteo corsini, and the memorie familiari di matteo di giovanni corsini, the names, birthdates, and details of baptism are all written in considerable detail. an account of the baptismal sponsors is mentioned for almost every child.xxxiii these godparents are written as “holding” the baby during the ritual.xxxiv mostly male sponsors are named, and there is some degree of name recognition that points to other elite florentines that denote relationships between aristocratic families. for instance, one of the cofathers of matteo corsini’s daughter, chaterina, is aristocrat and artist ugolino martelli.xxxv in 9 contrast, co-mothers were rarely listed despite their vital role in the birthing process. corsini mentions women as co-mothers in four descriptions, almost always when there were no godfathers at the baptism. they are noted as being from less prestigious families. in one case, corsini describes the woman who held his son, lodovico nicholaio as “salvagia povera,” salvagia the poor.xxxvi it can be assumed that salvagia was a servant of the corsini family that had helped her mistress during birth. in contrast, giovanni corsini makes no mention of women in his descriptions of births and baptism. who, then, served as godmothers or godfathers for poor children or children that elite men had with their female servants? if the corsini writers had children with their servants, which is likely, they did not mention these illegitimate children in their ricordanze. for orphaned or abandoned children, nicholas terpstra argues, godparentage was not traceable, and these godparents had very little impact in the lives of abandoned children.xxxvii illegitimate children had with “pauper” women, however, did have baptisms. artist benvenuto cellini, for examples, writes about how he impregnated a fifteen-year-old girl but had the child baptized and given appropriate godparents.xxxviii usually, however, godparents to lower-class children were less prestigious. in a march 1395 letter to francesco datini, margherita datini mentions that francesco asked an agricultural laborer called schiatta to be the godfather of “the little slave girl.”xxxix despite being the children of wealthy fathers, babies born to poor women were considered less valuable in the solidification of business relationships through godparent selection. baptism was as crucial for a newborn’s spiritual health as breastfeeding was for its physical health. in florence’s middleand upper-class families, a mother breastfeeding her own child was a rare sight. this was not unique to renaissance tuscany: elite women throughout 10 medieval europe had employed wet nurses to feed their children. the use of wet nurses was distinctly related to the primary function of elite women in their households: to bear children, especially sons, that would be heirs to the family’s economic and cultural capital. the contraceptive quality of feeding one’s own baby, coupled by notoriously high infant mortality rates, led middleand upper-class women to employ wet nurses. in theory, nurses allowed for more pregnancies and therefore a higher chance of successfully producing an heir. these balie (sing., balia) were staples in elite florentine families that helped the casa function. choosing a suitable wet nurse was an important task that was not taken lightly. in a 1397 letter to one of her husband’s employees, margherita datini put forth the guidelines for how to find a satisfactory milk-mother. according to datini, one should pay for one good wet nurse rather than a string of wet nurses. her reasoning is that, with a string of high-quality balie, “the child will not be exposed to so many conditions.”xl as christiane klapisch-zuber points out, moral qualities were not a consideration in the choice of a wet nurse in renaissance florence. according to klapisch-zuber, “girls that had been seduced, ‘bestial’ tartar slave women, or mothers who had abandoned their children all made good nurses if their milk was ‘young’ and abundant.”xli it was the perceived notions of femininity and gender that factored the most into the choice of a nurse, not racial stereotypes. ethnicity, therefore, had no bearing in the selection of a wet nurse, contrarily to historical italian belief and those throughout europe. in the third quarter of the thirteenth century, for example, physician aldobrandino of siena argued that the wet nurse should physically resemble the mother. he specifies that a wet nurse should have “a good color of mixed red and white.”xlii albertus magnus and michaelis scotus put forth similar colorized beliefs, arguing that non-white women were unsuitable to nurse european babies. in northern europe in the early modern 11 period, british women in the colonization of ireland tended not to employ irish women as wet nurses, citing a fear that the baby would inherit poor moral character that was inherent to the irish.xliii the lack of mention of a balia’s skin tone in letters written by margherita datini and the ricordanze of the corsini family reinforce the fact that it was youth and femininity, not race, that made a suitable nurse. the frequent mentions of wet nurses in margherita datini’s letters to her husband reaffirm that a balia was an essential figure in the tuscan family. in her letters to her husband written between march 1395 and 1398, margherita details her search for a suitable wet nurse for babies that were not her own.xliv the fact that margherita was searching for a wet nurse on behalf of someone else’s child illustrates the fact that the choosing of a balia was often the job of a woman. this seems to have been a difficult search, as many of datini’s letters say that she had not yet found a wet nurse. in between the search for and selection of a permanent wet nurse, datini employed a “woman who will care for the baby until i can provide someone really suitable.”xlv the relationship between datini and the wet nurses under her employ seem to be professional, mostly with a deal of respect from the employer. for example, margherita mentions that she sent for the wet nurse named as monna giovanna later than she had hoped, and would not impose on the nurse further at such a late hour.xlvi in a later letter, however, margherita condemns a wet nurse for her deception of pretending that she would give milk when she had none, and chastises the same nurse’s attitude of not taking her duty as seriously as she should have.xlvii these letters show the how wealthy women thought of their wet nurses and the importance that the balia had in the florentine kinship system. for the most part, wet nurses were women who had recently given birth and whose babies had died shortly thereafter, though this was not always the case. female slaves and domestic servants were often taken advantage of 12 and impregnated by their wealthy masters, which caused them to lactate. rape also caused an influx of abandoned children, most of whom were sent to live in one of florence’s two foundling hospitals: l’ospedale degli innocenti and santa maria della scala. in his diary, piero di francesco pura da vicchio, a milk-father, wrote of a child that he had received from santa maria della scala named valoriano. the child stayed with his family for about a month before returning the foundling hospital per the request of a servant woman of giovannozzo pitti, who was likely his mother.xlviii valoriano’s story exemplifies the fraught situation of slaves and servants. their own children were taken from their breasts and replaced by their mistress’s child. milk parents—a wet nurse and her husband –formed strong kinship ties to their charges, which was crucial in the psychological well-being of the child. the fact that employers forbade wet nurses, or “milk mothers,” to breastfeed multiple babies at the same time helped to build these relationships, making the bonds between milk mothers and children especially strong.xlix take the case of ginevra datini and her milk father, for example. ginevra was the illegitimate daughter of francesco datini and one of his slaves. because she was unable to have children herself, margherita treated ginevra as her own. like many elite children, ginevra was sent to her milk parents’ home for nursing.l in 1395, the couple decided that four-year-old ginevra should come back to the datini family in prato. in a letter response to the summons, ginevra’s milk father says that “the love that my wife and i have for her [ginevra] has become as if she was our own child.”li milk parents and their charges became their own kind of families, which were fundamental in a child’s early development. the practice of wet nursing complicated the view of breastfeeding as a bonding experience exclusive to a mother and her child. while wet nurses were staples in the florentine family, they were also convenient 13 scapegoats in the event of a child’s death. giovanni corsini’s ricordanze exhibits this complex relationship. corsini lists two wet nurses by named: nanna and piera. the fact that corsini mentions their names points to the importance of these women. unfortunately, the contexts in which they were named is much darker. nanna appears in the death record of loretta margherita, who died just before her second birthday. corsini says that loretta was in nanna’s care and when she died.lii the mention of piera is more graphic and accused the nurse of killing her charge.liii while it is possible that the wet nurses had something to do with the deaths of the children, it is also likely that the deaths were accidental. the position of wet nurses as in charge of the children and their socially subordinate positions as poor women made them convenient sources of blame. the job of the wet nurse did not end after weaning, usually happened a few months after the child’s second birthday.liv servant women became fixtures in renaissance childcare, the educazione dell’infanzia. an upperor middle-class child learned latin and scripture from their tutors regardless of gender.lv before and between their lessons, nursemaids-slave or servant women who had also acted as their wet nurses --looked after the students. just like juliet’s nurse in shakespeare’s romeo and juliet, these nurses stayed with these children for extensive periods of time. at the same time, the servant mothers could not raise their often-illegitimate children. that was the job of florence’s foundling hospitals. the relationships between female slaves and domestic servants, families for which they worked, and their social networks was remarkably complex. those doing domestic work became essential figures in the late medieval family nexus in florence. they tended to their mistresses during and after birth, served as co-mothers to elite women’s children, nursed babies that were not their own, and assisted in raising the children that they had nursed. at the same time, slaves 14 and domestic servants, the later of whom were mostly poor women, lost their value as mothers. masters took advantage of their slaves and forced them to relinquish their children to one of florence’s foundling hospitals, and then used their breast milk to nourish another woman’s child. through the examinations of the beginning stages of life, we can begin to unpack the role that female identity at the intersection of gender and class had in the experiences that women had in the late medieval life course. the contrasted experiences of elite florentine women, who are disproportionately overrepresented in primary source material, and their slaves and domestic servants provides an ideal lens into this theory. women who were wealthy, who married well, and who bore heirs were able to be comfortable in their experiences. they were privileged enough to rely on another woman’s labor and body to nurse their heirs and to serve as replacement mothers. simultaneously, the servant woman was unable to access the same resources and was, more egregiously, mostly unable to provide the same care for her own child.lvi the poor woman, therefore, was valued less than the elite woman societally and within the casa, despite being an essential figure in the elite kinship system in which she worked. the florentine casa, which i have defined as domestic relationships, was not only ever reliant on social hierarchies, but also served as a microcosm for this same stratification. the value of one’s womanhood in trecento and quattrocento tuscany was predicated on her place in domesticity. the ideal tuscan woman was a faithful wife and loving mother. motherhood, however, was a classed phenomenon. an elite woman was able to give her children the highest level of care, often at the expense of lower-class children. in a city where womanhood and motherhood were practically synonymous, the womanhood of domestic servants and slaves in the florentine domus was complex and complicated. while nursing and caring for a middleor upper-class woman’s child, the poor woman was unable to properly care 15 for her own children. the mother’s social power, or lack thereof, was tied directly to the inherent value placed on the florentine child. at the same time, a mother’s ability to care for her child was tied with her own value, as both a woman and a member of the greater social nexus in renaissance florence. in examining the dynamics of gender, class, and social power in late medieval tuscany, one need not look beyond both the proverbial and literal social walls of the casa. 16 notes i datini, margherita. letters to francesco datini. carolyn james and antonio pagliano, trans. toronto: university of toronto press, 2012. ii corsini, matteo di niccolò; corsini, giovanni di matteo; corsini, matteo di giovanni. libro di ricordanze dei corsini, 1362-1457. armando petrucci, ed. roma: l’istituto storico italiano per il medio evo, 1965. iii « un livre de famille est un texte mémoriel, tenu au jour le jour, pluriel, multigénérationnel, et qui concerne essentiellement la famille… cela paraît d’autant plus vrai que ces livres sont également appelés à construire un modèle exemplaire à partir des événements familiaux, qui seront par conséquent transfigurés et embellis, censurés et modifiés du seul fait de cette exigence d’autocélébration. » “a family book is a memorial text, day-to-day, plural, multigenerational, and essentially about the family… it seems all the more true that these books are also called to build an exemplary model from family events, which will therefore be transfigured and embellished, censored and modified, just because of this requirement of self-celebration.” mordenti, raul and bérard, claude cazalé. « les livres de famille en italie. » annales : histoire, sciences sociales, 59e année, no. 4 (jul.-aug. 2004), 785-804. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27587521. 793-794. iv dati, gregorio. il libro segreto. bologna: commissione per i testi di lingua, 1968. v dati, 32. vi origo, iris. “the domestic enemy: the eastern slaves in tuscany in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.” speculum: a journal of medieval studies, vol. 30, no. 3 (jul., 1955),. 321366. 321. vii ibid. viii archivo stato di firenze, classe xi, dist. 8, no. 81. registro degli schiavi in firenze. found in zanelli, agostino. le schiave orientali a firenze nel secoli xiv e xv. firenze: ermanno loescher, 1885. ix petrarca, francesco. opere di francesco petrarca, x2. roma: società editrice dante alighieri, 1904. x mckee, sally. “domestic slavery in renaissance italy.” slavery & abolition: a journal of slave and post-slave studies, vol. 29, no. 3 (sept., 2008),305-326. 312. xi mckee, 307. xii klapisch-zuber, christiane. “female celibacy and service.” women, family, and ritual in renaissance italy. lydia g. cochrane, trans. chicago: university of chicago press, 1985, pp. 177. xiii terpstra, nicholas. lost girls: sex and death in renaissance florence. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 2010, 15. xiv archivio di stato, florence, manuscritti 96, fol. 24 (march 27, 1492). ricordanze di bartolomeo salvetti. found in klapisch-zuber, 165. xv klapisch-zuber, 172. in her introduction to the translation of the letters to francesco datini, carolyn james erroneously argues that the term monna was used strictly for widowed women. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27587521 17 this is impossible, however, as margherita datini uses the term for herself, despite not being widowed. xvi mckee, 317. xvii male slaves cost between 25 and 117 lire within the same time span. see table 6, mckee, 318. xviii klapisch-zuber, 176. xix cluse, christoph. “frauen in sklaverei: beobachtungen aus genuesischen notariatsregistern des. 14 und 15. jahrhunderts.” in campana pulsante convocati: festschrift anläßlich der emeritierung von prof. dr. alfred haverkamp. frank g. hirschmann and gerd mentgen, ed. trier: kliomedia, 2005, 78-86. found in mckee, 320. xx the exception to this, as louis hass points out, were live births that occurred after miscarriages. he specifically cites the case of the birth of benvenuto cellini. haas, louis. “per la grazia di dio partori uno babino: the birth process.” new york: st. martin’s press, 1998, 3738. xxi levatrice literally means “the lifter.” the job of the midwife was to “lift” children—the literal term that renaissance italians had for delivery of a baby. see haas, 41. xxii haas, 43. xxiii musacchio, jacqueline marie. the art and ritual of childbirth in renaissance italy. new haven: yale university press, 1999, 126. xxiv the altarpiece was likely commissioned by either the church or a wealthy that sought to have their world represented in sacred art. osservanza master. the birth of the virgin, 1440s. tempera on panel. museo d’arte sacra, asciano. found in musacchio, 11. xxv see the florentine birth tray in musacchio, 28 and ghirlandaio, domenico. the birth of the virgin, c. 1490. fresco. santa maria novella, florence. musacchio, 125. xxvi “we did everything to warm her [the baby’s] head and dry out all her parts. we had her umbilical cord tied and we washed away the blood with warm white wine.” archivio innocenti firenze, xvi, 1 fol. 33v. cited in haas, 47. xxvii “unde necessarium fuit pueros baptizare, ut, sicut per adam damnationem incrrerunt nascendo, ita per christum salute consequantur renascendo.” st. thomas aquinas. summa theologiae tertia pars 60-90. steubenville: emmaus academic, 2012. quaestio 68, articulus 9, respondeo. xxviii “fuit etiam conveniens pueros baptizari ut a pueritia nutriti in his quae sunt christanae vitae, firmius in ea perseverant, inuxta illud prov. xxii, adolescens inuxta viam suam, etiam cum seneuerit, non recedet ab ea. et hanc rationem assignat dionysius, ult. cap. eccl. hier.” aquinas, quaestio 68, articulus 9, respondeo. xxix aquinas cites proverbs 22:5-6 here. “thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them. train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” berean study bible. xxx haas, louis. “il mio buono compare: choosing godparents and the uses of baptismal kinship in renaissance florence.” journal of social history, vol. 29, no. 2 (winter, 1995), 341356. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3788544. xxxi “…ginevra ha partorito al un figliolo molto attraente che abbiamo battezzato. iv. d’aghosto. gli sponsor erano i miei colleghi tra i protabandiera della compagnia della milizia.” “ginevra gave birth to a very attractive baby boy who we had baptized on august fourth. the sponsors were my colleagues among the standard-bearers of the militia company.” two memoirs of 18 renaissance florence: the diaries of buonaccorso pitti and gregorio dati. gene brucker, ed. new york: harper & row, 1967, pn. xxxii haas, 347. xxxiii the exception to this is matteo corsini’s son, bartolomeo, who passed while returning from baptism at san giovanni. “naque bartolomeo, aghostino dì. xxvj. d’aghosto 1389 e morì tornato che fu da batezare da san giovani.” “bartolomeo was born on the 25th day of august, 1389 and died returning from baptism at san giovani.” corsini, 93. xxxiv for example, giovanni corsini writes in his description of the baptism of giovanni bernardo “tennolo a bateismo giovanni di lucha (sic.) di ghirighoro di fetto ubertini, ser naddo di giovanni dei orafo, manetto di simone delo sapuluccio…” “he was held at baptism by giovanni di luca di ghirighoro, sir naddo di giovanni dei the goldsmith, manetto di simone dello sapuluccio.” corsini, 145. xxxv naque la chaterina… che lla (sic) tenoro a batesimo, lorenzo di meo belotti, del popolo di san filice in piaza, e ugholino martelli, del popolo san lorenzo…” “chaterina was born… and was held at baptism by lorenzo di meo belotti of the people of san felice in piazza, and ugolino martelli of the people of san lorenzo.” corsini, pp. 89. xxxvi corsini, 91. xxxvii terpstra, nicholas. abandoned children of the italian renaissance: orphan care in florence and bologna. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 2005, 11. xxxviii haas, 342. xxxix letter 88, march 22, 1395. datini, 165. xl “il bambino non sarà esposto a così tante condizioni.” datini, margherita. archivio di stato di prato, datini busta 1089 (i), lettere di monna margherita a lui e altri (1384-1418), filze margherita to francesco, letter from prato to florence. mona margherita to francesco di marco, 5 april 1397. xli klapisch-zuber, christiane. “blood parents and milk parents.” women, family, and ritual in renaissance italy, trans. lydia cochrane. chicago and london: the university of chicago press, 1985. xlii maclehose, william. “a tender age:” cultural anxieties over the child in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. new york: columbia university press, 2006, citing from le régime du corps: de maître aldobrandin of sienne: texte français du xiiie siècle, ed. l. landouzy and r. pépin. paris, 1911. found in winer, rebecca. “conscripting the breast: lactation, slavery and salvation in the realms of aragon and kingdom of majorca, c. 1250-1300.” journal of medieval history, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 164-184. doi: 10.1016/j.jmedhist.2008.03.006 xliii “for besydes the yonge children bee like apes, which affect and imitate what they have seene done before them, specially by their nourses whom they love soe well: moreover, they drawe into themselves, together with their sucke, even the nature and disposition of ther norses…” spenser, edmund. a veue of the present state of ireland, 1633. w.l. renwick (ed.). london: 1934. spenser refers to marrying the irish or allowing an irish woman to nurse a british child as an infection. xliv letter 88, march 22, 1395. datini, 165. xlv letter 174, august 22, 1398. datini, 281. xlvi letter 175, august 22, 1398. datini, 283-284. xlvii letter 240, august 3, 1406. datini, 379. xlviii extract from the journal of a florentine balio, piero di francesco puro da vicchio. found in klapisch-zuber, pp. 163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmedhist.2008.03.006 19 xlix klapisch-zuber, 159. l christiane klapisch-zuber argues that, out of 386 nursed children in florence between 13001530, 71 were nursed in the employer’s home. 43 were nursed in homes in the city of florence. the remaining 272 were nursed in the country. although less common, the salary for a nurse in the employer’s casa was about 100 soldi a month, while a nurse outside of the employer’s home made an average of 62 soldi. klapisch-zuber, 136. li archivo di stato di prato, datini 1109 ii, carteggio prato, filze piero di strenna, letter from montelupo to prato, piero di strenna to francesco di marco, 8 august, 1395. found in “marriage, family, and children in the datini family nine texts (1375-1401).” medieval italy: texts in translation. katherine l. jansen, joanna drell, and frances andrews, trans. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2009, 443. lii “morì a dì 31 di marzo 1447 a hore.xxj. in circha. sotterossi a san giovanni in sughana. era in casa di monna nanna balia della detta in detto popolo.” “she died on march 31, 1447 at about twenty hours. she was buried at san giovanni in sughana. she was in the house of monna nanna, wet nurse, said the people.” corsini, 145. liii “naque horlando e rafaello a dì 30 di marzo 1457 a hora 7 3/4 in mercholedì. ucciselo la balia che fu monna piera donna di chaio, in san chasciano vixe.” “horlando rafaello was born on march 30, 1457, at 7:45 on wednesday. he was killed by the wet nurse, which was monna piera, the wife of chaio, and was buried in san chasciano.” corsini, 147. liv the general prescription for how long a child should be breastfed was two years. according to the nitrogen levels found in the remains of the medici children, it has been determined that they had been breastfed for a range of two years and three months to two years and eight months. giuffra, valentina and fornaciari, gino. “breastfeeding and weaning in renaissance italy: the medici children. history of breastfeeding medicine, vol. 8, no. 5 (2013). 101089/bfm.2012.0060. lv margherita datini’s letters give us an idea of what a child learned. she remarks that her young niece, tina, was learning to read the psalter and was in need of “a small prayer book that has the seven psalms and the office of the virgin with good lettering.” letter 45, march 21, 1394. datini, 108. she also mentions that ser lapo’s son, had been reading and focusing on his abacus. letter 197, february 19, 1399. datini, 323. lvi as we see in the case of ginevra datini, this was not a universal experience. however, the case was typically that of servant women having to relinquish their children to foundling hospitals. servant women, therefore, were typically not able to be mothers to their own child. 20 bibliography primary sources aquinas, st. thomas. summa theologiae tertia pars 60-90. steubenville: emmaus academic, 2012. archivo stato di firenze, classe xi, dist. 8, no. 81. registro degli schiavi in firenze. found in zanelli, agostino. le schiave orientali a firenze nel secoli xiv e xv. firenze: ermanno loescher, 1885. archivo di stato, florence, manuscritti 96, fol. 24 (march 27, 1492). ricordanze di bartolomeo salvetti archivo di stato di prato, datini 1109 ii, carteggio prato, filze piero di strenna, letter from montelupo to prato, piero di strenna to francesco di marco, 8 august, 1395. found in “marriage, family, and children in the datini family nine texts (1375-1401).” medieval italy: texts in translation. katherine l. jansen, joanna drell, and frances andrews, trans. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2009. corsini, matteo di niccolò and corsini, giovanni di matteo. libro di ricordanze dei corsini, 1362-1457. armando petrucci, ed. roma: l’istituto storico italiano per il medio evo, 1965. dati, gregorio. il libro segreto. bologna: commissione per i testi di lingua, 1968. two memoirs of renaissance florence: the diaries of buonaccorso pitti and gregorio dati. gene brucker, ed. new york: harper & row, 1967. datini, margherita. archivio di stato di prato, datini busta 1089 (i), lettere di monna margherita a lui e altri (1384-1418), filze margherita to francesco, letter from prato to florence. mona margherita to francesco di marco, 5 april 1397. found in “marriage, family, and children in the datini family nine texts (1375-1401).” medieval italy: texts in translation. katherine l. jansen, joanna drell, and frances andrews, trans. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2009. --letters to francesco datini. carolyn james and antonio pagliano, trans. toronto: university of toronto press, 2012. ghirlandaio, domenico. the birth of the virgin, c. 1490. fresco. santa maria novella, florence. 21 osservanza master. the birth of the virgin, 1440s. tempera on panel. museo d’arte sacra, asciano. petrarca, francesco. opere di francesco petrarca, x2. roma: società editrice dante alighieri, 1904. spenser, edmund. a veue of the present state of ireland, 1633. w.l. renwick (ed.). london: 1934. 22 secondary sources cluse, christoph. “frauen in sklaverei: beobachtungen aus genuesischen notariatsregistern des. 14 und 15. jahrhunderts.” in campana pulsante convocati: festschrift anläßlich der emeritierung von prof. dr. alfred haverkamp. frank g. hirschmann and gerd mentgen, ed. trier: kliomedia, 2005, pp. 78-86. giallongo, angela. il bambino medieval: educazione ed infanzia nel medioevo. bari: delado, 1990. giuffra, valentina and fornaciari, gino. “breastfeeding and weaning in renaissance italy: the medici children. history of breastfeeding medicine, vol. 8, no. 5 (2013). 101089/bfm.2012.0060. haas, louis. “il mio buono compare: choosing godparents and the uses of baptismal kinship in renaissance florence.” journal of social history, vol. 29, no. 2 (winter, 1995), 341356. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3788544. --the renaissance man and his child: childbirth and early childhood in florence, 1300-1600. new york: st. martin’s press, 1998. klapisch-zuber, christiane. women, family, and ritual in renaissance italy, trans. lydia cochrane. chicago and london: the university of chicago press, 1985. maclehose, william. “a tender age:” cultural anxieties over the child in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. new york: columbia university press, 2006, citing from le régime du corps: de maître aldobrandin of sienne: texte français du xiiie siècle, ed. l. landouzy and r. pépin. paris, 1911. mckee, sally. “domestic slavery in renaissance italy.” slavery & abolition: a journal of slave and post-slave studies, vol. 29, no. 3 (sept., 2008), 305-326. musacchio, jacqueline marie. the art and ritual of childbirth in renaissance italy. new haven: yale university press, 1999. mordenti, raul and bérard, claude cazalé. « les livres de famille en italie. » annales : histoire, sciences sociales, 59e année, no. 4 (jul.-aug. 2004), 785-804. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27587521. origo, iris. “the domestic enemy: the eastern slaves in tuscany in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.” speculum: a journal of medieval studies, vol. 30, no. 3 (jul., https://www.jstor.org/stable/3788544 https://www.jstor.org/stable/27587521 23 1955), 321-366. terpstra, nicholas. abandoned children of the italian renaissance: orphan care in florence and bologna. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 2005. --lost girls: sex and death in renaissance florence. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 2010. winer, rebecca. “conscripting the breast: lactation, slavery and salvation in the realms of aragon and kingdom of majorca, c. 1250-1300.” journal of medieval history, vol. 34, no. 2, 164-184. doi: 10.1016/j.jmedhist.2008.03.006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmedhist.2008.03.006 “song’s of a new world:” the revision of gender and restructuring of narrative in m. butterfly (1988, 1993, and 2017) melissa sturges theatre making headlines on stage and off the news story of the relationship between french diplomat bernard boursicot and shi pei pu, a peking opera singer, made even bigger headlines in 1988, when new playwright david henry hwang turned a news clipping into a full-length play. the news cycle would return to the subject to discuss the film adaptation in 1993 and broadway revival in 2017, which featured a revised script. all are predisposed to discourse on gender and have been met with much critical discussion of the ways in which gender is performed and presented, especially the ways in which gender and race amalgamate. yet, “when david henry hwang penned the damning and beguiling ‘m. butterfly’ in 1988, meaningful explorations of the issues of gender assignment and identification were as invisible on broadway as they were on television.”i i will argue that the various changes made to hwang’s m. butterfly in 2017 reflect and stem from a more theoretical and nuanced understanding of gender as proliferated by the work of gender studies scholars beginning in the late 1990s and early 2000s. the changes to the script and visual narrative both in the 1993 film and 2017 broadway revival demonstrate an evolving world on gender. moreover, they exemplify an elasticity of text, which is unique to the theatrical form, and this elasticity is justified by a cultural shift towards non-binary inclusivity and acceptance of gender fluidity. i will primarily use annamarie jagose’s theories on queerness and j. halberstam’s trans theory, along with critical scholars who have examined m. butterfly from a literary, cultural and theatrical perspective, and primary narratives from david henry hwang himself, to analyze this play and its multiple versions in regards to queer, trans, critical race and feminist theories. comparing gendered worlds: 1988, 1993 and 2017 hwang’s original play (1988) and david cronenberg’s film adaptation (1993) came at the dawn of understanding queer studies as a definitive concept and an academic field. according to queer theorist annamarie jagose, “while the mobilization of queer in its most recent sense cannot be dated exactly, it is generally understood to be popularly adopted in the early 1990s,”ii thus, we can establish hwang’s work as one of the early attempts to deconstruct a new understanding of gender politics on stage in light of the dawning understanding of queerness. through a unique form of narrative storytelling and gradual character change and melodramatic reveal, “m. butterfly demonstrates that identities are interchangeable and accomplished in interaction. what counts is the proper performance of culturally prescribed and anticipated behavior, as well as its deliberate perception within cultural, sexual, and political normativity. hwang examines this interaction of performance and perception with the help of the dramatic devices of apostrophe, cross-dressing, and play-within-a-play.”iii gender was beginning to be understood as performative at the time m. butterfly was written and staged and it is possible to see early deconstructions of gender lines, most notably the distinctions between masculinity and femininity and how normative patriarchal power structures can be inverted. the notion of gender fluidity is not fully addressed until the 2017 revival, but before i touch on that, i will first examine the treatment of gender in the original text and its film adaptation. beginning with the early iterations, david henry hwang’s 1988 play, m. butterfly and david cronenberg’ 1993 movie of the same name share some key similarities as both primarily explore the themes of ethnicity and gender, specifically regarding the association of the east with femininity and submissiveness compared with the masculinized western world. however, there are some glaring differences in content, theme and tone between these two texts. this is the first example of revisionary text playing off the critical and audience response to the 1988 play. some of these changes may be attributed to the difficulties of translating a play into a screenplay or the fact that the twists and reveals of the original broadway production were lost to the mainstream by this point, but this has more to do with cronenberg's artistic decisions to make the film a graver, more melancholic adaptation of the otherwise witty and wry play. the result is an oversight of dramatic monologues, staging and breaking of the fourth wall for more realistic and literal settings as well as the elimination of certain scenes and characters and the addition of others. cronenberg’s adaptation focuses on the interplay between masculinity and femininity, centering in on how masculinity is figuratively upheaved as the relations between east and west are reversed and song turns out to be the dominant figure. on the idea of gender-based power structures, jagose notes that “before considering specific debates over the efficacy of queer, it is important to understand that those models of identity, gender, and sexuality which in a large part underwrite the queer agenda have changed, and to recognize the implications such changes have for the theorizing of power and resistance.”iv thus, without overanalyzing the play or the film as queer pieces of art, we can discuss them regarding how they treat the passing on or the inversion of masculine or feminine-based power. to understand the male-female dichotomy in this play/film, it is necessary to situate the masculine as west and the feminine as east. as simplistic as this sounds, it is the text’s first foray into the world of intersectionality. to ignore this correlation is to do a disservice to the text and while i am specifically focusing on the gendered aspects in this essay, i cannot dismiss that m. butterfly, with its intersections of sexuality and colonialism, and its rewriting of western mythos about the east perhaps most easily understood through edward said’s provocative term orientalism, has received not only a tony award, but numerous scholarly studies attempting to situate asian and asian american culture and masculinity, to critique the extended misogyny of the play, and to show (in one way or another) not only the play’s brilliant investigation of the slippage of gender identity, but also its potential role as a critique of various cultural forms.v to elaborate on this, i will discuss the adaptation of several scenes at first from the play to the film, then from the 1988 original text to the 2017 revival. the first manifestations of masculinity and femininity are realized during the introductory opera scene of gallimard to song. the film does away with the play’s narrative introduction to madame butterfly, which sets up the relationship between the american officer and the young japanese girl. the film eliminates characters such as pinkerton, sharpless and suzuki, which make the initial madame butterfly scene less contextual and intellectual and more sensorial. as song sings, the camera changes perspective between song as butterfly and gallimard’s reaction. the effect is to showcase gallimard’s immediate admiration for song, which puts him in a position of male authority over her. however, since we know a male actor is playing song, this authority is inverted. according to judith butler in “imitation and gender insubordination,” song’s sexuality might not even exist at all; it may only be an element of establishing power as butler writes, “can sexuality even remain sexuality once it submits to a criterion of transparency and disclosure, or does it perhaps cease to be sexuality precisely when the semblance of full explicitness is achieved.”vi sexuality here functions as a ploy or an illusion; it is used as a tool for achieving an end. in the following scene, gallimard confronts song. he explains his reaction to her performance, stating that it was the first time he’s “seen the beauty of the story”vii the film’s interpretation of this scene remains relatively faithful as both the movie and the play emphasize gallimard’s sensual reaction to the performance and song’s critical response, which is to say: “it’s one of your favorite fantasies isn’t it? the submissive oriental woman and the cruel white man.”viii she asserts that only because it is an asian woman killing herself for a white man and not the other way around, gallimard finds it beautiful. in both the play and the film gallimard is directly challenged by song’s assertion, yet his pursuit of her reaffirms his dominant masculine drive. masculinity/femininity is equated with the relationship between “the occident” and “the orient” and it is assumed that gallimard and song enter a dominant/submissive relationship. when gallimard attends the peking opera, song remarks on his being an “adventurous imperialist.”ix she tells him to “come another time and we will continue the process of education.”x from here, song has hooked gallimard and their affair essentially begins. gallimard’s pursuit of song is attributed to both her femininity and her orientalism. however, cut from the film is gallimard’s response to song’s cryptic comment about the imperialist interest being mutual between them as he breaks the fourth wall and asks, “what was that? what did she mean, ‘sometimes…it is mutual’?”xi the mutuality to which song speaks refers to both her manipulation of him as well as gallimard’s interest in her. what sets the film apart from the play is the film audience’s prior knowledge that song is assigned male at birth. whereas in the play song was famously portrayed by b.d. wong, using an alias to disguise his male identity and thus protecting the awe factor of the gender reveal, cronenberg expects a level of familiarity of the play with his audience and the character is openly played by john lone. without the reveal factor, the audience becomes more invested in the transition, and questions arise as to whether or not song is a character in transition. trans theorist j. jack halberstam writes, “the potentiality of the body to morph, shift, change, and become fluid is a powerful fantasy in transmodern cinema. the body in transition indelibly marks late twentieth and early twenty-first century visual fantasy,”xii meaning that gender fluidity on screen was beginning to take heed during the time that this film came out. the film lends itself better to this kind of unraveling of identity as filmgoers have prior knowledge that theatergoers cannot access. gallimard’s “perfect woman” the play takes place within the hypothetical walls of a prison, while the critical scenes of the film take place behind literal bars. after having appeared in court dressed as a man, song confronts her former lover, gallimard, in the back of a police car, demanding that he look at her in full. song strips for gallimard who has never before seen him fully nude and insists that gallimard loved and still loves him. in the play hwang elaborates for gallimard: “i’m a man who loved a woman created by a man.”xiii the sexual politics of their relationship are inverted in this scene. drag is a key component in both the 1988 text and the film as song is never fully considered female, but rather a man in women’s clothing. thus, the relationship between song and gallimard is considered gay. this, along with the amalgamations i have discussed concerning race and sex, concurs with the notion that “hwang's dramatic strategy in m. butterfly, where he uses clothing and nakedness (or a desire for it) to oppose east against west, homosexual against heterosexual, and communist against capitalist.”xiv according to butler, “the professionalization of gayness requires a certain performance and production of a ‘self’, which is the constituted effect of a discourse that nevertheless, claims to ‘represent’ that self as a prior truth.”xv song fabricated a sense of self that gallimard believed, yet this “self” was a lie. this demonstrates how traditional sexual politics are irrelevant here as song destroys all notion of what it means to be either masculine or feminine, gay or straight. thus, the reading of this relationship as gay or straight is shrouded in the gender politics of the time. moreover, “song’s courtroom argument about the feasibility and believability of gallimard’s self-delusion is as much an argument for the power of fantasy in constructing both sex and gender as it is for the type casting of western male desire”xvi the climactic court room scene and the emotional tumult that follows were the bread and butter of the 1988 play; they were the culmination of tensions and reveal of song’s national, physical and emotional betrayal. yet, they are thematically an inversion or perhaps a transgression on western male authority. the character of song in the 1988 play and film constructs and deconstructs herself as a female fantasy, exemplary of the ways in which gender is inherently performative. gallimard’s self-delusion to which rossini refers is his commitment to binarism. throughout the text, gallimard repeatedly refers to song as a feminine ideal or his “perfect woman.” this reading of song as an orientalist idealization is supported by the compounding of the east with femininity and the west with masculinity. whichever way we are to read song’s gender identification or her sexuality, it is important to note the binarism of this model. according to eng beng lim in his chapter on the “gap” or the “gay asian princess” trope, when we read this text or see it performed, “the politics of deformative legibility are in such a model contingent on conventional orientalist tropes and embodiments organized by the heterosexual dyad in the west, and centered on the white male. they are, in other words, restricted to binaristic positions of identification.”xvii lim argues for a stalemate in this script, which is supposedly about gender fluidity. that is not to say that song isn’t a progressive character in gender studies, and certainly she is in intersectionality. only to say that binarism appears to be the catchall in this reading. nevertheless, lim offers a counterpoint; if we are to read into song’s fluidity, her changing pronouns and costumes, her inability to remain one fixed thing in the eyes of the beholder, then, ”rather than taking an either/or position, we might see both shi/boursicot and song/gallimard (the characters in the play) as queer couplings with a signature asian encounter traversing the slippery boundaries of fact/fiction, real/ theatrical, male/female, east/west.”xviii the idea that the perfect asian woman is not what she seems is novel in the sense that it subverts binary gendered readings of this play, which is further explored in the revival. while audiences knew significantly less about gender fluidity in 1988 than in, say, 2017. i return to jagose with the idea that: “while there is no critical consensus on the definitional limits of queer—indeterminacy being one of its widely promoted charms—its general outlines are frequently sketched and debated. broadly speaking, queer describes those gestures or analytical models which dramatize incoherencies in the allegedly stable relations between chromosomal sex, gender, and sexual desire.”xix gender incoherency is a more defined factor in the original play, which suggests perhaps the inversion of masculine and feminine traits, or the film, which offers a reading insulated on patriarchal power reversals. masculine/feminine is a binary that is embedded within these earlier texts; it is indicative of a patriarchal power. the texts are governed by, “anatomical revelation and homosexual panic that unequivocally ‘breaks off’ expectations and illusion, ‘the dream and the excitation.’ implicitly informing this panic is the physical denial of the lack that, in laconian terms, figures sexual difference and that is constitutive of the stable binarism of patriarchal thought.”xx the revival suggests that indeterminate or non-binary gender can be something of the new normative. finally, the finale of the film is staged in a prison, with the inclusion of other prisoners to mimic the layout of an opera stage. as he does in the play, gallimard adorns full makeup, nail polish and traditional female oriental dress. this is the ultimate inversion of his masculinity. his suicide mirrors that of madame butterfly as he now associates with the female asian woman who was willing to kill herself over an american man. overall, this scene heightens the film’s thematic assumption of the play’s displacement of sexual and racial politics by emphasizing the ironic twist of fate that it is gallimard, and not song, who assumes the tragic role of madame butterfly. moreover, “we are still left with the uncertainty as to whether song has only played the role of a woman when perhaps he wished to maintain it, or whether gallimard is gay or not or only wishes to be the ideal oriental woman he fantasizes about. in the end, not only are their clothes not hiding gender and sexual identities, but even their skin and sexual organs fails to offer any impeachable proof as to what their sex is.”xxi clearly breaking the mold on gender, the original play, complete with gender, but not biological sex inversions, offers a step in the direction of contemporary theories on queer and gendered cultures. a more complicated understanding of gender fluidity one of the key questions when reading m. butterfly (1988) and even more evidently seeing it performed in 2017, is whether we the audience, with varied degrees of knowledge on gender theory, consider song liling to be a transgender character. the answer to the question is variable and is made even more complicated knowing what we do now about the definition of transgenderism. in a pre-show interview with david henry hwang, he states, “i mean, thirty years ago i didn’t know that the term transgender existed. we’re so much more aware of nonconforming gender identities and different forms of gender expression now. i wasn’t sure if song liling was even a transgender character.”xxii when even the playwright doesn’t know the details of a character’s gender expression it is indicative of, if not a cultural quieting on the matter, then at the very least a general lack of understanding that the very notion of gender identity can be nuanced or deviate from cis heteronormative standards. ignoring the film for the time being as it is more or less a reiteration of the theory presented in the 1988 text, i will examine some of the key differences between the two broadway productions, which came to the stage some three decades apart, in the hopes that the reader may better understand the cultural shift that necessitated script and visual change as well as situate each iteration of the text in terms of what the gendered world looked like in the 1980s as opposed to the 2010s. the two texts, which are largely the same, but for the sake of this argument should be treated as opposed iterations of the same narrative, deal with the gender reveal in profoundly different ways. as most reviews put it in 2017, “it sure is a lot harder to view song liling, who is played on broadway by jin ha, in mostly metaphoric terms, her gender fluidity flowing from political purpose with so little stage time devoted to personal explanation and story. the play also relied originally on suspense, schadenfreude and titillation: all have dissipated as our understandings of, and empathy for, the complexities of gender have deepened.”xxiii without being a member of the trans community, i cannot definitely say whether or not song liling is empathetic within that community, whether this is even a play about the transgender experience, or even what actor should play song if this were the case. nor do i believe that david henry hwang is able to stake any claims about the true transgender experience as a straight, cis man. i can, however, attest that the treatment of gender between these two texts is noticeably different and that deliberate attention has been paid to the increase in trans and queer scholarship when the revision of this play took place. moreover, the timeliness of this revision in terms of its treatment of toxic masculinity is also something worth noting as it takes on new dimensions in direct address to the trans and non-binary community. before highlighting some of the ways in which this takes place, i turn back to halberstam who lays out that “for some audiences, the transgender body performs a fantasy of fluidity so common to notions of transformation within the postmodern. to others, the transgender body confirms the enduring power of the binary gender system. but to still other viewers, the transgender body represents a utopian vision of a world of subcultural.”xxiv it may be argued that the 2017 revision adopts the more fluid model of understanding the transgender body on stage, while the 1988 version relegates the gender-swap or the “reveal” to a binary way of looking at gendered (even transgender) bodies. regarding the “utopian vision of a world of subcultural,” it is easy to be torn on where this play falls on the spectrum of mainstream versus subcultural. on the one hand, the 1988 production brought issues of gender to the broadway stage when no one was speaking forthright about it. even more so, the notion of gender inversion and deconstruction discourses on a “subcultural” topic in innovative ways that subverted dominant narratives on patriarchal binaries. after all, “hwang does not simply rewrite the butterfly story. above all, he takes it apart and examines it thoroughly with the help of significant role reversals.”xxv with regards to gender and racial conformity, m. butterfly rescinds the hegemonic framework surrounding masculinity as power. nevertheless, the play walks a fine and dangerous line with trans intersectionality and must be analyzed cautiously. in 1988, b.d. wong famously played liling song, disguising his identity and therefore placing dramatic pressure and emphasis on the “reveal” of song’s gender. perhaps it was for shock factor (this was mainstream broadway after all), perhaps it was a more thoughtful meditation on the ways gender is subverted in the play through power relations as i have discussed regarding the film and the way femininity and masculinity are compartmentalized. either way, the “reveal” gimmick is notably absent from the 2017 revival. hwang, along with director julie taymor, knew going into this revision that even a tony winning and pulitzer prize finalist play would not gain any traction if the ending was spoiled, so to speak. perhaps, that is a reduction of their intentions in the revising process, but it certainly was a factor. moreover, new information had been discovered about the real-life affair between bernard boursicot and shi pei pu, specifically regarding shi pei pu’s misgendering, that informed the decision to reveal song’s gender identity at the beginning of the play as opposed to the end. in the revival, based loosely on true events, song was born the fourth daughter of a father who demanded a son from his wife. in a warped turn of events, song assumes a male identity, despite being assigned female at birth, a sequence of events from history which hwang said informed the theory behind the revival as “great confluence of an actual fact from the story serving the purpose of being more gender fluid and less gender binary than the original play.”xxvi granted, song’s intentions and motivations are unclear. when we see her as a spy and not a lover or a performer, she is cast in a villainous light. moreover, if we are to believe her narrative that her family forced her to present male, when she herself identified as female and gets to live that identity later in life, then is she truly transgender? the details are ambiguous, as is song, and as is her gender identity. when song assumes the butterfly persona in her relationship with gallimard, her gender becomes all the more ambiguous. however, in this version, it becomes clearer that conditioning as opposed to biological sex is the more determinative factor in gendered identity. hwang’s additional scene (2017) plays out as follows: song: when my mother became pregnant with me, she had already given birth to my three sisters. father threatened to take another wife unless she produced a son. but sadly, i was born a girl. gallimard: what? song: my mother begged my father and he agreed: they would dress me as a boy, and that is how i would live. for the rest of my life. gallimard: wait. so you’re telling me that you are...? song: a woman. what you see onstage is who i really am.xxvii in summation, the revival presents a much more complicated layering of gender identities than the original. in 1988, song was assigned male at birth and presumably dresses as a woman for the sake of espionage and the gallimard affair. however, the above passage is deliberately misleading in the beginning of the play as it is revealed that song was, in fact, assigned male at birth, but assumes a female identity in life, her career, and her relationship with gallimard. where the 1988 performance omitted any details about the sexual nature of song and gallimard’s relationship, the revival offers a detailed description of each sexual act from song’s perspective. by literalizing sex, the revival might actually detract from its more loosely constructed gendering of the characters and this moment has been subject to the most criticism out of anything else from this version. song’s pronouns in the original version switch from “she/her/hers” to “he/him/his” after the reveal and when a costume change has taken place. the same is true for the revival; song’s pronouns change, which is not to say that pronouns are the sole indicator of gender identity. this might even be a temporal flaw to this text: the fact that song’s gender is repeatedly assigned based on the context of whether or not the “reveal” has happened. song’s expression of gender outweighs her biological sex in both the original text and the revival. moreover, song’s gender expression is inherently performative; she is dressed as a woman, she performs as a woman in the peking opera; her “onstage” persona is that of the butterfly, what gallimard calls his “perfect woman.” in 1988 already, we had verbiage to describe the performative nature of gender, thus we can understand from original text that gender is subjective, that it can be subverted, and yet that it is binary. so when we look at m. butterfly (1988), “the fantasy and its limitations are heavily invested with the possibility of gender slippage...in espionage, in theatre, in “modern china,” in contemporary culture, embedded in the very phrase “gender roles,” there is, as the play suggests, only passing. trespassing. border crossing and border raids. gender here, exists only in representation—in performance.”xxviii while rossini makes a worthwhile point, gender is inherently performative, such a performance is an overly simplified construction of the various iterations of gender that have only just come into the mainstream as of recent. a contemporary analysis points out the ways in which gender cannot be configured based on suits, pronouns, or genitals. what hwang does in 2017, albeit not perfectly, is attempt to reconcile the bold statement he made in 1988 with an even more adept cultural consciousness. returning to the idea of the “reveal” as narrative device in a story about a transgender individual, hwang attests that if song is a transgender character “a lot of the original play turned on the surprise reveal of song’s physical sex. in that way, it’s similar to a movie that would come out a few years later called the crying game.” thus, when revising, he quotes, “i felt that the surprise wouldn’t feel as surprising anymore. it would feel a little dated to rest that much importance on that particular reveal. moreover, that reveal felt like a reinforcement of the gender binary in that it wasn’t acknowledging the range of gender identity and expression that we understand today.”xxix transgenderism is not necessarily gender confirmative, which the 2017 text assumes to confirm. song’s gender cannot be simply surmised by the pronouns in the stage directions, but the character represents a spectrum of gendered possibility. halberstam too mentions the crying game in his chapter, “the transgender look” (2013) as he analyzes the hero/fatally flawed dichotomy of its transgender protagonist. what halberstam attests to, and what i feel can be applied to, song liling as well is that “those bodies, indeed, that fail to conform to the postmodern fantasy of flexibility that has been projected onto the transgender body may well be punished even as they seem to be lauded.”xxx in the 1988 edition of m. butterfly, song was more stoically male or female identifying, depending on what part of the play you were in. in the 2017 edition, song’s identity is consistently in flux. turning to an example in the play (2017), the following exchange occurs after song strips outside the courtroom: galimard: i think you must have some kind of identity problem. song: will you listen to me? gallimard: why?! i’ve been listening to you for years. don’t i deserve a vacation? song: why should it matter what i am? gallimard: well, you must be something. unless you’re nothing.xxxi the line that is different from the original text is when gallimard insists that song must be “something.” by something, we assume gallimard means either male or female, but song does not answer him. the provocation comes with the question of why a person should be defined by what gender they are assigned at birth, what traditional gender roles their clothing implies, or even what they believe their gender identity to be? the potency of this line does not go unnoticed, and, although brief, sums up the argument for song’s gender fluidity. what complicates this narrative, particularly in the revival where there is more primary source material to draw from, is that it is a true story. true stories are subjective and no one has all the facts on the case of the french diplomat and the peking opera singer. the revival, though ambitious, closed shortly after opening. it exists in book form in a much more digestible fashion, but without taymor’s visual fantasy. m. butterfly was easily ahead of its time in 1988, asking important questions about gender stereotypes and beginning a discourse on intersectionality. yet, there is always place for an update in such a rapidly changing culture of argument and revision. still, it’s harrowing to think that thirty years later, we could use a refresher on toxic masculinity, east/west relations and the pliability of gender. i chris jones, "in revised 'm. butterfly' on broadway, clive owen is no french bureaucrat." chicago tribune (online) 26 oct. 2017. ii annamarie jagose, queer theory: an introduction, (new york: new york university press, 1996), 76. iii ilka saal, "performance and perception: gender, sexuality, and culture in david henry hwang's m. butterfly," amerikastudien/american studies 43, no. 4 (1998): 633. iv jagose, 77. v jon d. rossini, "from "m. butterfly" to "bondage": david henry hwang's fantasies of sexuality, ethnicity, and gender," the journal of american drama and theatre 18, no. 3 (2006): 56. vi judith butler, "imitation and gender insubordination," mainstream and critical social theory: collection: classical, modern and contemporary 8 (2001). vii david henry hwang, m. butterfly, (new york: penguin, 1988), 18. viii ibid, 18. ix m. butterfly, directed by david cronenberg, 1993. ibid.x xi david henry hwang, m. butterfly, (new york: penguin books, 1986), 22. xii j. jack halberstam, “the transgender look,” the transgender studies reader 2, (new york: routledge, 2013), 120. xiii david henry hwang, m. butterfly, (new york: penguin books, 1986), 55. xiv john s. bak,""vestis virum reddit: " the gender politics of drag in williams's "a streetcar named desire" and hwang's "m. butterfly",” south atlantic review 70, no. 4 (2005): 95. xv judith butler, "imitation and gender insubordination," mainstream and critical social theory: collection: classical, modern and contemporary 8 (2001). xvijon d. rossini, "from "m. butterfly" to "bondage": david henry hwang's fantasies of sexuality, ethnicity, and gender, " the journal of american drama and theatre 18, no. 3 (2006): 60. xvii eng beng lim, “gap drama or the gay asian princess goes to the united states,” brown boys and rice queens, (new york: nyu press, 2014), 139. xviii ibid, 139. xix jagose, 70. xx l. grist, "'it's only a piece of meat': gender ambiguity, sexuality, and politics in the 'crying game' and 'm. butterfly'," cinema journal 42, no. 4 (2003): 4. xxi bak, 110-111. xxii jen gushue, “m. butterfly from 1988-2017,” howlround, 28 nov. 2017, https://howlround.com/m-butterfly1988-2017 xxiii chris jones, "in revised 'm. butterfly' on broadway, clive owen is no french bureaucrat." chicago tribune (online) 26 oct. 2017. xxiv j. jack halberstam, “the transgender look,” the transgender studies reader 2, (new york: routledge, 2013), 129. xxv ilka saal, "performance and perception: gender, sexuality, and culture in david henry hwang's m. butterfly," amerikastudien/american studies 43, no. 4 (1998): 629 xxvi jen gushue, “m. butterfly from 1988-2017,” howlround, 28 nov. 2017, https://howlround.com/m-butterfly1988-2017. xxvii david henry hwang, m. butterfly, (new york: plume books, 2017), 32. xxviii jon d. rossini, "from "m. butterfly" to "bondage": david henry hwang's fantasies of sexuality, ethnicity, and gender, " the journal of american drama and theatre 18, no. 3 (2006): 61. xxix jen gushue, “m. butterfly from 1988-2017,” howlround, 28 nov. 2017, https://howlround.com/m-butterfly1988-2017 xxx j. jack halberstam, “the transgender look,” the transgender studies reader 2, (new york: routledge, 2013), 120. xxxi david henry hwang, m. butterfly, (new york: plume books, 2017), 100. “networks of foam:” becoming through relation in marianne moore's shoreline poems caitlyn dittmeier english marianne moore in her poetry collection observations adopts a speaker who evades a clear subjectivity and positionality. poems set at the shore, including “an egyptian pulled glass bottle in the shape of a fish,” “like a bulrush,” “the fish,” and “a grave,” feature a speaker who embraces a decentered way of being as she moves fluidly – sometimes jarringly – with amphibious, entangled, and elusive creatures. although some critics might conceptualize the speaker as a merely detached omnipresence, the poems reveal instead a speaker who imagines herself as a human who exists relationally with the nimble aquatic creatures that emerge scattered and fleeting through her visions. as the poems create nuanced balances between connection and displacement, they demonstrate poetry’s role as an open space of relationality where one can move through imagining the self and other intertwined in the complex networks of ecosystems. reading moore’s shoreline poems, one encounters a model for engaging with the world as a more-than-man attuned to the vast relations that inextricably connect humans with our natural surroundings (lowe and manjapra 6). scholars have studied marianne moore’s use of wit, paradox, parallelisms, and “sophistication of surfaces” in her many poems from observations that bring together a myriad of material often sourced from scattered or unknown ephemera (sister therese 20-21). breaking from imagism’s treatment of a thing symbolically and subjectively, this 20th century american modernist poet adopts a strict impersonal objectivism that studies, as her speaker does in observations, objects and creatures in their own right (weatherhead 10). similar to william carlos williams’s concern with the contours of the concrete, moore’s visualizations make room for what her poem, “what is poetry,” famous argues for – an ethics of “the genuine,” which for moore embodies a way of authentically representing and appreciating the natural world (10). unlike williams, who asserts himself as a figure of authority over his objects, moore tends to withhold knowledge because she neither has nor wishes to impose it (wasmoen 54). considering her interest in unsettling viewpoints, it is perhaps no surprise that moore turns to the shore, characterized by its energetic changes and oppositions. beaches, marshes, and intertidal zones may incite imaginative mediations upon the rich dynamics of ever-becoming identities and even the slippery indeterminacy of language, because such places are composed of constant exchange and transformation (454). rene dietrich, writing about american shore poetry, explains that 20th century poets during and after moore’s career enacted poetics of liminality by exploring the shorelines as “border regions of ambivalences, constant changes, and confrontations” (451). american shoreline poets have commonly looked to the intertidal zone’s (the place where the ocean meets the land) inherent instability to recreate the ocean space into a metaphorical representation of their specific cultural positions or subjectivities (450). moore is deeply interested in the shore’s un-chartable limbo, but she refrains from imposing a human-centric view on the environment, that may otherwise render the ocean space a symbol of identity or an emotion, or even perhaps frame it as a colorful background to support a particular argument. instead of casting any domineering stance over the ocean communities, moore’s speaker looks through a glass bottle at a wave, past a man on an overhanging sea-cliff, and at unknown shadows darting beneath the watery surfaces, and allows what she sees to engage, alter, and problematize her perspectives constantly. the natural objects dance in and out of the observer’s view so quickly and incompletely that they enter the poem only as impressions, that they escape any attempts to study them in detail and often leave the speaker and readers with wonder and perplexity. through her techniques of juxtaposition that places contrasting language and imagery in close proximity, moore shares ideas that she readily invites the dynamic shore to respond to with alternatives. at nature’s foamy threshold where “land and sea meet, but also center and margin, inside and outside, ‘self and other’, and in which those very concepts shift, switch, dissolve and clash,” moore highlights the way in which the environment acts and influences human thought. doing so, she challenges the foundations of western humanism that privileges the knowledge and agency of the human subject, and she blurs even the lines that separate the human from the nonhuman (dietrich 450). as the poems’ elusive animals and environmental forces overturn assumptions and form new associations, moore decenters human knowledge and reintegrates the self into a shared, ever fluctuating, and ungraspable network of relations with the ecosystems that surround us. becoming through relation “like a bulrush” is one such poem that carries readers through observations of sea actors that bring about new discoveries and equally new ambiguities through ever shifting relationships between subjects and objects, humans and animals, selves and others. the question suggested precisely from the beginning of the poem is “who is he”; what follows is a long stream of leaps from “he” is “like” a bulrush (a plant that is scattered in many environments but often found in saltwater wetlands) to “or” (he is like) a spike, or the moon, and so on (moore 35, lines 1-3). conjunctions, verbs, and prepositions often sit at the edge of the poem’s line breaks, forcing the readers to change quickly from one line to another alongside the speaker in search of objects and creatures that might tell us who “he” is. for example, the poem reads, “he did not strike / them at the / time as being different from / any other inhabitant of the water; it was as if he / were a seal; in the combined livery / of a bird plus / a snake” (lines 4-7). breaking up the syntax through line breaks creates visual gaps between the pronoun subject and the objects, and become spaces where the reader lingers briefly in moments of uncertainty. in a sense, the “he” also wavers in these gaps with the suspenseful “maybe’s” and “as-if’s” that propose new associations. just as the speaker is about to fix him with one object – say a bulrush, a fish, a bird, or a seal – the “he” escapes the grasp of any identifier and leaps towards the associative pull of the next object. where creatures swim through channels in bulrush saltmarshes under the moon, the humannature, subject-object, and self-other dualisms are relinquished as a subject “he” eludes us for being neither fully separate from nor fully one with the nonhuman actors in the environment. in addition to the unidentifiable “he,” the nonhuman actors that the speaker relates him to also appear quite slippery. linked together by the poem’s repetitive stream of words such as “of,” “or,” “as if,” and “plus,” the nonhuman actors are equally interconnected and gain new meanings as they move in proximity with “he” and with each other. in other words, as “he” is like these creatures, they are like him, and they become like each other in an entangled web of ever changing morphological points. for example, in the speaker’s imagination, it is as if the “he” is a seal, which transforms into a bird and a snake, when the speaker considers the way a seal seems to wear the “combined livery” of these creatures as it slides into the ocean with its wing-like flippers and smooth, agile belly. the “he’s” transformation into a possible seal-birdsnake takes only three brief lines that get shorter from the first to the last, which indicates a movement from the four actors’ separation to their sudden convergence. the speaker then proposes, that it is as if the “he” knows that “penguins are not fish,” a phrase which suggests a moment where the “he” was forced to differentiate between the penguin and the fish’s analogous biological forms (line 8). what these phrases tell us is that as much as the “he” is liminal, so too are the creatures associated with him. visuals of interdependence in “like a bulrush” and moore’s other shoreline poems that this paper will soon explore invite applications of several theories of relation, such as actornetwork theory (ant) and the concepts explored in lisa lowe and kris manjapra’s “comparative global humanities after man.” building upon bruno latour’s foundational work, rita felski discusses ant as a method that offers a relational ontology. turning to the marine environment to illustrate this concept of ant, felski explains, “a rock makes a difference by causing the water running downstream to flow around it rather than over it, while its overhanging side makes a difference in providing shelter for tiny water creatures” (748). felski concludes that an actor refers to “acting-as-agency, not acting-as-theatrical-performance” (748). in other words, human and nonhuman actors are actors in the sense that they influence or make a difference upon one another not by independent, conscious will or dramatic intention, but by their coordinated actions as they operate and move in space naturally (748). extending upon these key ideas in ant, the parallax effect also serves as a useful lens for understanding the interchanges in moore’s poems. lowe and manjapra define the parallax as an epistemic effect “from maritime astronomy,” which “refers to the seeming change in locations of an object, such as a star or celestial body, depending on the position of one’s boat” (lowe and manjapra 11). through this illustrative concept, one can see that as an observer’s position changes, so seemingly does the object’s position. although the parallax grounds itself in the understanding that the star’s locational changes are illusions, the effect does demonstrate how appearances depend upon positions, and how, as a result, positions (physical, visual, and imaginative) depend upon how an object’s appearances affect observers. as the speaker in “like a bulrush” consciously constructs her associations, she does so by observing the nontheatrical functions and movements of objects and animals at the shore. like a rock that falls in the water to create both obstruction and shelter, the extreme variation and mixing at the shore or intertidal zones have caused inhabitants to evolve with hybrid characteristics so that they may thrive at these thresholds between land and sea. to add to the effect of agencies, the creatures’ strange appearances and behaviors in this poem place the speaker’s observations, meaning-makings, and positioning of self in a similar state of constant fluctuations. the poem creates a synergetic community of humans and nonhumans. indeed, although the verses constantly tease the reader with new possibilities of association, the poem begins and ends with ambivalence. in the last line, the speaker says, “they” [referring to the penguins in their “bat blindness” as moore writes in the line before] “did not realize that he was amphibious” (line 10). if readers imagine themselves as a part of the parallax effect, then as the “he” wades at the end of the poem “in-between” two objects in a network of community members, so, in a sense, do we. “like a bulrush” demonstrates ways of seeing truth as that which emerges and changes through the relational processes of actors acting upon and reacting to each other. encountering new verses and even re-visiting the poem entirely unravels associations made in the previous line or reading and reorients the readers towards considering new alternative identities for the “he.” similar to what lowe and manjapra witness in shahzia sikander’s art simulation of the parallax effect, readers of moore’s poem observe subjects and objects that converge, separate, and reform with emergent meanings, as the speaker shifts and revises her perspectives of the watery realm (lowe and manjapra 11). while the pronoun “he” has come to represent the enlightenment notion of the individual human – singular and exclusionary to the other – “like a bulrush” bursts the notion of a contained being (separate from surrounding objects) in order to show that “he” in an ever-becoming, osmotic relation to all the things beyond himself, from a bulrush plant and the moon to the blurred image of a seal-bird-snake. in addition to “like a bulrush,” the poem “black earth” demonstrates how moore explores object relationality in many of her other poems that are not set at the shore. “black earth” places readers into the inner thoughts of an elephant (though james dennis hoff in his analysis is quick to add that the speaker may be the poet herself) musing upon its sunbathing activities. moore shows that the elephant is an object, a creature, in its own right, but the poem shows that this existence is only possible through relation. for example, the elephant is happy to do what pleases no one but itself, paradoxically by moving with “the naturalness of the hippopotamus or the alligator” (hoff 320). for hoff, not only does the elephant (and/or the poet) understand itself by associating with its surroundings, it is transformed or “reborn” through them (hoff 321). sun heats its mud-covered skin, changing the color from black to grey. by the end of the poem, the elephant literally inhabits itself anew. joff concludes, “remove the world, remove the circumstances of our environment, and one necessarily removes oneself, for there are no individual existences—no ‘private feelings and sensations’ as dewey says—separate from the world of “objects and events” that surround us (art 25)” (321). these statements reject the notion of the self as a separate unit; rather, the self – whether the self is moore or an elephant – only exists through an inherent symbiosis with the other. from my reading of “like a bulrush” and “black earth,” i find myself strongly agreeing with dancy mason’s assertion that marianne moore’s animiles, a name that refers to her poems with animal-subjects, are “shifting, posthumanist ‘contact zones’” where the distinctions between human and nonhuman forms blur and unsettle as they come into contact with one another in the world (mason 320). moore’s poetry stands out among the writings of other modernists, including williams, eliot, and lawrence, who all took an interest in object and animal alterity, but did so to maintain humanism and anthropocentrism. mason writes, “they are perhaps more concerned with re-confirming, not interrogating, the human self through the non-human other” (321). the shared perspective of these modernists reinforces felski’s notion that the supposed separation between humans and animals, which has come to undergird humanism, is an artificial and ideological positioning of human agency as a qualitatively different kind, severed from the nonhuman network (felski 748). still, before celebrating moore as a post-humanist vanguard in her career, one should ask: were marianne moore’s own interactions with and treatment of creatures in the wild and in zoos anthropocentric and exploitative? one of the most famous examples used among scholars to study moore’s eccentric interest in animals was her visit to the circus, where she met and plucked a hair from an elephant to make a bracelet. johanne feit diehl writes that when the bracelet went missing, moore supposedly told elizabeth bishop of her plan to clip a few hairs from a baby elephant to make a new one (diehl 20-21). bishop recounted another time when the curious and concerned moore, likely to the point of being overly inquisitive, brought eggs and orange juice to a caged snake she had visited previously. looking at her slithering friend, moore exclaimed, “see he knows me! he remembers me from last year!” (diehl 20-21). according to diehl, bishop reflected upon moore as someone who hated seeing animals in cages, yet felt so passionately interested in them that she was willing to put aside her outrage (20). moore’s need to take something of the elephant may be an example of human appropriation of animals, and her attempted gift-giving presupposes the snakes needs; however, these gestures also suggest a desire to gain proximity and find mutuality with wondrously unknowable animals across the repressive cages of anthropocentric divides. some scholars have studied moore’s poetic animals like they do her elephant hair bracelet, but more so as decorative art pieces or as useful moral exemplars that essentially become bundled into collections owned and cherished by the poet (berry 18-19). while these interpretations are useful, more attention should be paid to moore’s resistance of positioning her speaker as a manager of her animal collections, particularly those found in her shoreline poems from observations. firstly, the spaces presented in shoreline poems are far more unsettled, energetic, and hyperbolic, a term which this paper will soon apply, to be stationary units of cages and enclosures. furthermore, the creatures found throughout observations are far more lively and elusive to be captured and studied as immobile treasures. when the animals do seem to appear brillantly held under focus, for example the lizard in “the strategist,” they still pivot and evade clear definitions equally as well as the sea creatures at the shores, and form imaginative connections with the associations around them. therefore, despite moore’s juxtapositions in her own life, her poems demonstrate a radical willingness to let go of the contained subject, and use alterity to obscure knowledge so that she may reveal the complex interconnections between human and animal. unlike her contemporaries, it is clear in observations that she is working to challenge the conventional notions of the human/animal dichotomy. as josh a. weisntein writes, moore “works to subvert the male romantic subject’s appropriation of nature,” and takes a “wide perspective of holistic unity [...] as humans and animals are always already part of an intersecting web of interdependencies” (weinstein 374). even if moore did not protest outright against caging animals or refrain from assuming consent from the elephant to take its hair, her speaker invites the animal subjects in her poems to overlap each other, to emerge up close, dart away, and roam freely in their own rights. her effort to write curiously through the physical spaces of interactions and the imaginary realms of ideologies reflect a project to showcase or create contact zones of nonhierarchical, shifting relations among humans, animals, and objects. peering into the genuine set in the intertidal realm of species entanglements and ongoing change, other the poems like “the fish,” “egyptian pulled glass bottle in the shape of a fish,” and “a grave” radically let go of the entitled human and consciously re-enter her into the networks of ecosystems (lowe and manjapra 6). in this section, i will extend a focus on ways that liminality, juxtaposition, and fragmentation, which can refer to the breaking up, displacing, or shattering of words, syntax, or images, illustrate a speaker immersed in un-mappable and incomprehensible ocean space. to analyze relationality in these poems, i turn to another lens to embrace is the conceptual offerings of “hyperbolic geometry,” which has been incorporating into the humanities field by lisa lowe and kris manjapra and feels fitting for studying a poet with a well-known interest in science and an almost algebraic exactness to imaginatively capture the relationships. euclidean geometry imagines lines that cross to form grid-like units, which are recognizable in architectural pieces that immobilize, enclose, or separate. in contrast, hyperbolic spaces do not move with predictable uniformity, possess parallel lines, or close up into circles or spheres; rather this kind of geometry is full of open curvatures (see fig. 1) (math explorer club). hyperbolic geometry’s many connected curves and wrinkles yield high surface areas, which explains why many creatures near or at the intertidal zone, such as corals (see fig. 2), kelps, and sea slugs, possess hyperbolic forms to maximize sunlight and nutrient absorption in an environment of extreme variability (“hyperbolic space”). as coral reefs use hyperbolic forms to filter feed, they do so purely in relation to exact same geometry of the ocean in all its “flows, waves, eddies, and warps” and its currents that move nutrients through the organism (lowe and manjapra 11). like elephant’s relation to the natural movements of the hippopotamus and alligators in “black earth,” or the “he’s” (in the poem “like a bulrush”) relation to the slippery analogies of the seals and snakes, the reef’s existence depends entirely upon its relationship with the oceanic currents, made possible through the reef and the ocean’s shared hyperbolic geometries. fig 1. (left): in this blackboard drawing, christine wertheim illustrates hyperbolic geometry with its basic webs, curves, and interconnections. “crochet coral reef: about” crochet coral reef. institute for figuring (iff), 2003-19. accessed 06 december 2019. https://crochetcoralreef.org/about/theproject/. (right): image by walter, jörg. “interactive visualization and navigation using the hyperbolic space.” accessed on 06 december 2019. http://www.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/~walter/. https://crochetcoralreef.org/about/theproject/ http://www.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/~walter/ fig. 2. photo showcasing christine wertheim’s coral reef crochet piece. crochet demonstrates hyperbolic geometry in the three-dimensional space as having many overlappings and curvatures, whereas marianne moore’s poetry shows hyperbolic space in the imaginative realm through language. “crochet coral reef: about” crochet coral reef. institute for figuring (iff), 2003-19. accessed 06 december 2019. https://crochetcoralreef.org/about/theproject/ hyperbolic geometries demonstrate how the ocean consists of vast networks of relationalities that cannot be mastered or deliminated (lowe and manjapra 11). illustrating this concept is shahzia sikander’s art simulation parallax, which begins with closed circles that begin to fracture in a million pieces until one of the circles explodes. its shards pierce the other circles so that all shatter and expose a hyperbolic, kaleidoscopic scene of waves and curvatures (see fig. 3). only through the destruction of the straight lines and closed shapes do the viewers discover the actual colors beneath that move freely like oil or even oceanic currents. comparatively, in moore’s poems “the fish,” “an egyptian shaped glass bottle in the shape of the fish,” and “a grave,” it is only by means of shattering light rays, ocean currents, objects, and frameworks, that the speaker can alter her vision to see an extremely dynamic intertidal zone. in parallax and all these poems, the synergies between beauty and violence, stasis and change, light and dark, life and death allow the speaker to wonder at the ocean – dynamic, relational, and complex. https://crochetcoralreef.org/about/theproject/ fig. 3. sikander’s parallax. more information and video of at honolulumuseum.org. images cited in lowe and manjapra analysis in their article “comparative global humanities after man: alternatives to the coloniality of knowledge.” “the fish” invites an opportunity for readers to wonder at the mysterious and restless movements and the colorful biological forms belonging to the inhabitants of the shore. in the title and first two lines of the piece, readers meet “the fish” that “wade / through black jade” (moore 41 lines 1-2). “wade” is a verb that depicts a slow, deliberate motion through dark green water that occludes most life below except for the fish that swim briefly to the surface. through the rest of the poem, readers wander with the speaker through the water world to encounter new sea creatures in each verse, including mussels, barnacles, jellyfish, and crabs who refuse to reveal themselves fully to the eye of the observer. for example, the line that follows “black jade” begins with the preposition, “of” which displaces the subject we might expect to find at the front of the sentence (line 3). when the poem does introduce the subject, it comes at the end of the line as “one,” a simple, yet complex and ambiguous word because it can function as several expressions: as a personal or impersonal pronoun, an adjective, and of course a number. because of its many uses, the reader may be unsure whether “one” refers to one of the fish who “keeps adjusting the ash heaps” “of the crow blue mussel shells,” or whether “one,” if we reverse the syntax of the sentence, refers to one of the mussels who keeps adjusting the ash heaps. the next few lines “opening and shutting itself like / an / injured fan” makes it more clear that the one is likely a mussel; regardless, the speaker here is trying to point out one creature in a hidden underwater profusion of many living communities (lines 6-8). these displacements in syntactical structure described above estranges one from fully knowing the fish and the mussel as a way to replicate the experience of trying to see nature’s species up close with all their wonders and intricacies. the longer the readers immerse in the images, the more uncanny the creatures appear. the one mussel shell that keeps adjusting its ash heaps for a moment may seem like a person who keeps adjusting his or her paper stacks, dish racks, or clothing piles. not only do the sea-creatures strange actions alter perceptions of the ocean space; both the sun and ocean are related to instruments of craftsmanship, experimentation, and destruction, whose actions completely transform lives of the creatures and the vision of the speaker. like the sun that heated the mud covered elephant into a being reborn, the sun rays are “split like spun glass” when they strike the water and then move “with spotlight swiftness” to over a now kaleidoscopic array of shapes and colors all the bodies once disguised beneath the waves (lines 12-21). the submerged sun shafts alter species interactions; for example, the lights penetrate the crevices of barnacles, which, now exposed to the dry air and the speaker’s eye “cannot hide,” a phrase that the new behavior they must exhibit in the light. inevitably, the restless waves surge again, mixing jellyfish and crabs, crashing them against the coastline rocks, and leaving behind bespattered ink across the stars, “dynamic grooves, burns, and hatchet strokes” (lines 22-42). in a coastline filled with fluctuations between light and dark, visibility and invisibility, form and formless, no single vision of nature can therefore be maintained. as the speaker reflects on a place that hides, reveals, and destroys its surfaces, her subjective focal points must fracture and reform to see the space in its new colors, angles, and meanings. thus both the state of and her understanding of the marine environment are as unstable identity of the “he” who wavers between relationships in “like a bulrush.” “the fish” ultimately suggests that only by shattering the surface mirrors can a person perhaps peer through a window and glimpse the ordinary world in all its realness, or in moore’s term, its genuineness. therefore, when moore’s speaker holds up an “egyptian pulled glass bottle in the shape of a fish” in the poem titled just that, to look at a wave, she seems to challenge whether the viewer can frame the natural world like a still work of art in a static, unified vision. if the wave belongs to a hyperbolic space in continuous motion, then charting the wave in a poem as a linear structure, or enclosing it within the perpendicular lines of a frame distances one from the genuine. by the time the reader arrives at the fish whose scales “turn aside the sun’s sword with their polish,” actively resist the views that try to freeze them in an image. in addition, juxtapositions in moore’s poem like “patience” and “thirst,” “not brittle” but “intense,” “spectacular” (which suggests sweeping grandeur) and “nimble” (which indicates nuanced dexterity) playfully challenge the notion that a single idea or feeling can dominate an image of the natural environment. in addition to describing the sea’s inconstancy, juxtapositions engage the nonhuman and human actors in a parallax relationship. as the fish pivots, it alters the angle of light, breaking it apart like a prism into a million rays and causing the speaker and reader to revise the way they perceive the wave entirely. similarly the slipperiness of the poetic language in these juxtapositions prompt one to ask whether poetry can hold a centered position as well. thinking more-than-man like all the poems explored in this paper, “a grave” explores how the lives of creatures, the actions of the ocean, and the perspective of the participatory observer all depend and move with one another as actors in a fluid, extensive, and entangled web of causes and effects. the oars of people rowing move like water-spiders in a phalanx leaving ripples on the surface above the underwater networks of foam where bones mix with nutrients (moore 16). despite the fact that the rowers’ strokes are rigorous, they still “fade breathlessly” while the sea “rustles” energetically through the proliferations of seaweed (moore 16). rigorous, breathless, and rustling all show the tensions at play in the intertidal zone. like the strange creates in “like a bulrush,” the birds in “a grave” swim through air like fish and emit cat-calls, prompting readers to wonder at a creature that blurs the lines between water, land, and air. while the birdcalls proclaim a sense of vitality, the image of turtle shells crashing at the feet of the cliffs intensifies the narrow gap between life and death. in these moments, the speaker witnesses the most apparent opposites converge and overlap. indeed, although death is a central focus, the poem illustrates how it exists only adjacent the ocean’s flourishing activity. an ocean continues to move because it is an open conduit of exchange. like a grave, it recycles; it decomposes in order to allow for new growths. worms and roots will inevitability desecrate a grave; similarly, the sea cannot remain untouched. as birds dive in and fly up with their fish-catch, the sea ejects as much life as it receives. so while the ocean is a collector of interchanges, it is not a container nor is it contained. only by dismissing the man who positions himself on the sea cliff as a figure of dominance over the natural world, can the speaker in “a grave” let her mind immerse in the activities below and see more clearly how the human condition of life and death is inseparable from the nonhuman actors at the coast. jeredith merrin weinstein speaks to this scene when he writes: “‘moore found a way to chasten [the romantic poet’s] imaginative egocentricity, replacing his i-ness with her appropriative, minutely observant eye’ (79–80), and in the process ‘subtly mock[s] his delusion of dominion, of imaginative sway’ over the natural world (77)’” (weinstein 374). in “a grave,” the speaker contemplates how the men in the boats lower their nets “unconscious of the fact that they are desecrating a grave,” and row along the water like water-spiders “as if their were no such things as death” (moore 58). of course what the poem positions against the people’s presupposed superiority is a world just below their notice, where dropped things that appear to “twist and turn,” actually move with “neither volition nor consciousness” (moore 59). overthrowing the man’s certainties, the poem demonstrates human fragility in the ocean’s ceaselessly transforming aggressions. the ocean grave also shows an intimate relation between the speaker and the nonhuman actors precisely because it exhibits the liminal, paradoxical realm that life occupies. just as an ocean forces the observer to wade between life and death, a poem like “a grave,” to quote matthew zapruder, “places us [readers] in the middle of the inherently contradictory nature of being” (zapruder 109). rejecting centralist ideologies of “man” above all, moore’s decentered, inconspicuous speaker yields her to produce observations, that are “full of ‘powerful incongruities and bidirectional signals,” which reinforces both a respect to the unknowable nonhuman actors, and an embrace of the connection between the human and nonhuman (mason 320). for these reasons, observations ultimately speaks to lowe and manjapra’s new comparative humanism concept of the “more-than-man which, “attends to the superabundance of dynamic relations that cannot be contained or deliminated by the human: that is the relations between different human histories […] amongst other humans, animals, ecologies and environments” (lowe and manjapra 6). as moore’s poems demonstrate, perhaps the way to restructure institutionalized ideologies is to free the mind in an imaginative space of possibilities to critique and reconsider the knowledge forms and discourses that centers the human. howard nemerov proposes this very point in his poem “because you asked about the line between prose and poetry.” when the speaker marvels at the convergence of birds and snow in a white flurry, he exclaims, “there came a moment when you couldn’t tell” (nemerov line 5). what nemerov and moore suggest is that change and wonder occur in the instance of perplexity – when the self is positioned between knowing and not knowing the differences whether they be between birds and snow, penguins and fish, humans and animals, or life and death. moore’s observations blur dividing lines and interrogates definitions to help readers see more clearly through perplexity the multidimensional, non-linear spaces of the natural world (lowe and manjapra 6). this paper has aimed to show how theoretical tools for exploring relationality can expand scholarship on marianne moore’s animilies as spaces where the poet explores ways of understanding herself as more-than-human. even if poetry takes place in the imaginative, dreamlike realm, moore’s intertidal poems show that poetry is unquestionably engaged with the sounds, colors, and actions of the real world. to reference zapruder again in why poetry: “in poems, as in dreams, the ordinary is rearranged, reconfigured. in a dream this happens unconsciously. the poet transforms the material of the real in a more-or-less conscious way, in order to create a space of contemplation, and imagination, and possibility to “not merely understand, but to feel what is happening in the world” (zapruder 84-87). in all of the poems explored in this paper, marianne moore does not attempt to rationally explain the ordinary world nor squeeze it into any dominant paradigms, but rather works to bring to the reader through the vastness of language the way the world is lived and embodied. indeed, to embrace the mindset of “more-than-man” and realize oneself constantly engaged in parallax effects and hyperbolic spaces is to think “beyond units of national territory and culture [that] includes appreciation of different relations of scale: from the hemisphere, to the oceanic, to the archipelagic, to the diaspora, to the bodily” (lowe and manjapra 5). while debates still question the extent to which we should consider marianne moore a post humanist or environmental activist, what is clear is that moore’s inquisitive speaker represents a desire for herself and her readers to feel through poetic engagement with the body at the intertidal zone, the inextricable links between the human subject and nonhuman life forms. returning then to moore’s prevalent question in observations – what is poetry? – “like a bulrush,” “the fish,” “egyptian pulled glass bottle in the shape of a fish” and “a grave” all demonstrate how poetry, like an ocean, is a dynamic, open space of interactions in the syntactical networks of language within verses, and those very same kinds of expansive, indeterminate networks in the world outside the page (zapruder 58, 109). like the intertidal zone’s violent yet flourishing space where land, air, water, life, and death mix, a poem is the threshold between one and many, subject and other, writer and reader, silence and speaker. in short, perhaps moore is saying that if poetry is anything, it is relation, or at the very least, an effort to re-establish relationships. because poetry shares itself with the many, its surface, just like the water’s surface, shatters, reforms, and changes as we dip our oars into its warps and marvel at the swirls we make. poetry helps one say, yes i am me like an object in its own right. but, simultaneously, like the one fir tree with the many fir trees on that cliff in “a grave,” i am me with the snake i visited last year, with elizabeth bishop, with an elephant, with the hippopotamus, with the mud, and the sun, and the turquoise bodies, and the sea waves, and the nimble fish, and the seal, the bird, the snake, and the networks of foam, and the entangled seaweed. i am me with life and death, and the pulsation of lighthouse buoys, and my eyes, and the moon, and the oar, and the pen, and the paper, and my voice with yours. works cited berry, sarah. "marianne moore's cabinets of curiosity." journal of modern literature 41.3 (2018): 18-38. diehl, joanne feit. “‘efforts of affection’: toward a theory of female poetic influence.” elizabeth bishop and marianne moore: the psychodynamics of creativity. princeton university press, 2001: 10-48. dietrich, rene. "towards a poetics of liminality in "this space between spaces": the shore lines of contemporary american poetry." anglia zeitschrift fur englische philologie 125.3 (2007): 448-464. felski, rita. “comparison and translation: a perspective from actor-network theory.” comparative literature studies 53.4 (2016): 747-765 hoff, james dennis. "marianne moore, john dewey, and the aesthetics of animal life." texas studies in literature and language 61.3 (2019): 311-333. “hyperbolic space.” crochet coral reef. institute for figuring (iff), 2003-19. accessed 06 december 2019. https://crochetcoralreef.org/about/hyperbolic_space.php. lowe, lisa and kris manjapra. "comparative global humanities after man: alternatives to the coloniality of knowledge." theory, culture & society 36.5 (2019): 23-48. math explorer club. “hyperbolic geometry.” cornell university and the national science foundation. accessed on 06 december 2019. http://pi.math.cornell.edu/~mec/winter2009/mihai/section5.html. http://pi.math.cornell.edu/~mec/winter2009/mihai/section5.html mason, dancy. ""another armored animal": modernist prosthesis and marianne moore's posthumanist animiles." feminist modernist studies 1.3 (2018): 318-335. moore, marianne. “egyptian pulled glass bottle in the shape of a fish,” “like a bulrush,” “the fish,” “black earth,” “a grave.” observations. edited by linda leavrll. ny: farrar, straus and giroux, 1925 and 2016: 14, 35, 41-45, 58-59, 72-74. sister therese, s.d.s. “chapter ii: a unity of vision” and “chapter iii: the dance of her thought.” marianne moore: a critical essay. edited by roderick jellema. william b. eerdmans publishing company, 1969: 12-24. wasmoen, nikolaus. "composure and composition: marianne moore's serial imagination." the journal of modern periodical studies 9.1 (2019): 53-75. weatherhead, a. kinglsey. “introduction.” the edge of the image: marianne moore, william carlos williams, and some other poets. seattle: university of washington press, 1967: 1-23. weinstein, josh a. "marianne moore's ecopoetic architectonics." interdisciplinary studies in literature and environment 17.2 (2010): 373-388. works referenced berry, sarah. "marianne moore's cabinets of curiosity." journal of modern literature 41.3 (2018): 18-38. crochet coral reef. institute for figuring (iff), 2003-19. accessed 06 december 2019. https://crochetcoralreef.org/about/theproject/. diehl, joanne feit. elizabeth bishop and marianne moore: the psychodynamics of creativity. princeton university press, 2001. dietrich, rene. "towards a poetics of liminality in "this space between spaces": the shore lines of contemporary american poetry." anglia zeitschrift fur englische philologie 125.3 (2007): 448-464. felski, rita. “comparison and translation: a perspective from actor-network theory.” comparative literature studies 53.4 (2016): 747-765 han, gül bilge. "the poetics of relational place-making and autonomy in stevens." wallace stevens journal 40.2 (2016): 143-171. hoff, james dennis. "marianne moore, john dewey, and the aesthetics of animal life." texas studies in literature and language 61.3 (2019): 311-333. “hyperbolic space.” crochet coral reef. institute for figuring (iff), 2003-19. accessed 06 december 2019. https://crochetcoralreef.org/about/hyperbolic_space.php. lowe, lisa and kris manjapra. "comparative global humanities after man: alternatives to the coloniality of knowledge." theory, culture & society 36.5 (2019): 23-48. math explorer club. “hyperbolic geometry.” cornell university and the national science foundation. accessed on 06 december 2019. http://pi.math.cornell.edu/~mec/winter2009/mihai/section5.html. http://pi.math.cornell.edu/~mec/winter2009/mihai/section5.html mason, dancy. ""another armored animal": modernist prosthesis and marianne moore's posthumanist animiles." feminist modernist studies1.3 (2018): 318-335. moore, marianne. observations. edited by linda leavell. ny: farrar, straus and giroux, 1925 and 2016. p.c.w. “an original sensibility: the development of marianne moore as a modernist poet.” marianne moore: vision into verse. philadelphia: the rosenbach, 1987. sister therese, s.d.s. “chapter ii: a unity of vision” and “chapter iii: the dance of her thought.” marianne moore: a critical essay. edited by roderick jellema. william b. eerdmans publishing company, 1969. “shahzia sikander: parallax.” honolulu museum.org. honolulu museum of art, 2019. https://honolulumuseum.org/art/exhibitions/16048-shahzia_sikander_parallax/. stapleton, laurence. marianne moore. us: princeton university press, 2015. wasmoen, nikolaus. "composure and composition: marianne moore's serial imagination." the journal of modern periodical studies 9.1 (2019): 53-75. weatherhead, a. kinglsey. the edge of the image: marianne moore, william carlos williams, and some other poets. seattle: university of washington press, 1967. weinstein, josh a. "marianne moore's ecopoetic architectonics." interdisciplinary studies in literature and environment 17.2 (2010): 373-388. bone-age concept predicting bone-age using x-ray images deep learning adhiraj roka applied statistics i. introduction detecting the bone age of a child’s skeletal system is important as it can help determine the growth rate of a child. tracking the difference between a child’s bone age and their chronological age can aid doctors in diagnosing a growth problem. however, these growth problems are not always an issue; healthy children can have a bone age that differs from their chronological age. this means that the child may be developing at a faster or slower rate than average. the changes in growth plates are essential for determining the age of a bone. growth plates are easy to spot on x-rays because they are softer and contain less mineral, giving them a darker appearance when compared to the rest of the bone [1]. hands contain many growth plates and have such become the standard for estimating bone age in children over the age of three. hands of children under the age of three do not develop many changes within their first few years, so x-rays of the knee or hemi-skeleton are more often used [2]. due to the unique characteristics of growth plates, a radiologist can assign a bone age based on the appearance. this process can be done by comparing the x-ray of the child to the x-ray images in a standard atlas of bone development and deciding which stage most closely matches the child [1]. new commercial means have recently become available for automating the determination of bone age [2]. we created a neural network, which is a series of algorithms that mimic the way the human brain operates to process data. by creating a neural network trained on various x-ray images, one could create a model to estimate the bone age of a child without having the subjectivity of human error. ii. data data was found on kaggle [4] and provided by the radiological society of north america (rsna) as part of their 2017 challenge. the goal of this challenge was to train a model and try to correctly identify the age of a child from their x-ray. to train the model you need to feed the machine several examples of properly identified images until it can make predictions. for simplicity, no matter the age of the child, an xray of their hand was used. there were four files included in the dataset a folder of training x-rays, a folder of test x-rays, a comma separated values (.csv) file for the training x-rays containing the id, bone age, and gender of each x-ray, and a .csv file for the test x-rays containing the id and gender of each xray. there were 12,611 x-rays in the training set and 200 x-rays in the test set. due to the large size of the training set and small ram space available for use, we subsampled the x-ray images to get a smaller sample size to create a model with. a stratified sample based on gender was used, as we expect the population to use the model to be about 50% female and 50% male because that is approximately the distribution of the child population. we sampled 2,250 male x-rays and 2,250 female x-rays from the training set, giving us a final sample size of 4,500 x-rays, which was split into 3,600 for training and 900 for validation, we want to use as much data for training as possible to have enough data for our model to learn. the final proportion of males to females in the training set matches the original proportion of males to females. before beginning the analysis, the x-ray images were reviewed to see if there were any major imperfections to be aware of. some images were very dark, and the x-ray was barely noticeable, some were very zoomed out and shifted to the corner of the image, some were flipped upside down, and some have different lighting throughout the single x-ray (figure 1). another area of concern is that all the x-rays have a label on them giving information about the patient. these labels do not correlate in any consistent way. in order to compensate for some of these inconsistencies, the data was augmented before building our models using rescaling, shear range, rotation range, zoom range, width and height shift range, and horizontal flip. this will help the models from overfitting the data. figure 1: sample images from dataset iii. literature review as stated previously, this project was originally a kaggle competition hosted by the rsna in 2017. there were over 100 entries from 48 unique users in the competition. the models were evaluated using a testing set consisting of 100 images that were unavailable to participants. this training set is now available through kaggle. the error was calculated using the mean absolute difference (mad), which is the mean of all of the absolute values of fitted minus actual values. the rsna reported details of the top 5 models, in terms of lowest mad, reported [3], but the top two are discussed. the first-place team achieved an mad of 4.2 months. the architecture of their model can be seen in figure 2. there were two inputs in this model, namely the image and gender. the image input was a 500x500 pixel input with one channel. it was passed through an inceptionv3 transfer learning model. on the gender input, it was passed through a dense layer with 32 neurons before being concatenated with the image model. after concatenation, the data was passed through two more dense layers each with 1000 neurons in an attempt to capture the relationship between gender and pixel. the two steps that greatly improved the performance of the model were noted to be data augmentation and an ensemble approach at test time [3]. the second-place team obtained a slightly higher error with a mad of 4.4 months. this group trained gender-specific models using contrast-enhanced patches of the image, each of size 224x224 pixels. these patches were overlapped for a total of 49 patches for each image. again, transfer learning was used with a fine-tuned resnet-50 architecture. the final prediction was calculated by taking the ~50th percentile of the patch predictions. finally, just as in the first-place model, data augmentation and ensembling on nine models were used to improve model performance [3]. figure 2: architecture of first-place model in kaggle competition iv. models numerous models were fit using three different input designs. models, such as a convolutional neural network (cnn) and a transfer learning model, were fit using inputs including gender only, x-ray image only, and both x-ray image and gender. the cnn model is primarily used for object identification and image classification, it uses a subsampling method to improve learning at each stage. transfer learning models are designed with pre-existing models that have been previously trained on a larger image classification dataset. three models will be discussed: a cnn model with only the x-ray images as an input, a transfer learning model with only the x-ray images as input, and a combined model consisting of transfer learning with the x-ray images as input and a perceptron model with gender as input. the mean absolute error (mae) will be used to evaluate the performance of these models. this is computationally the same as the mad used in the kaggle competition described in section iii. i. model 1: cnn model with image input the first model was a general cnn with the x-ray images as an input. each x-ray image was resized to 64x64 pixels and consists of three channels for red, green, and blue. a few different sizes were tried as well, but none of them appeared to give a difference large enough to justify changing. next, it was passed through two layers of convolution, each consisting of 32 filters and a kernel size of 3. the rectified linear unit (relu) activation function was used in these two layers, as well. preceding each convolution layer is a max-pooling layer with a pool size of 2 and stride of 2. this helped prevent our model from overfitting by preserving the features and reducing the number of parameters in the model. the model is then flattened to create a fully connected layer. this fully connected layer consists of a dense layer with 128 hidden neurons and the relu activation function. in this layer, the weights and features will be adjusted again. finally, it is passed through the last dense layer, which has 1 hidden neuron and a linear function to get the predicted output of bone age in months (figure 3). figure 3: model 1 cnn architecture when running the model, the adam optimizer was implemented with a loss function of mean squared error (mse) and the performance metric of mean absolute error (mae). the model was fit using the validation set to monitor how well the model was being trained. fitting the model with 30 epochs was sufficient since the metrics began to converge prior to the 30th epoch. a plot of the training and validation mae can be seen in figure 4. looking at this plot, we can see that the training mae decreases fast for the first few epochs and then begins to level off and that the validation mae is consistently lower than the training mae with the exception of one epoch. this gives us a clue that our model may be underfitting the data since there is still room for improvement on the training data. the final validation mae for this model was 29.29 months. figure 4: training and validation mae on model 1 ii. model 2: transfer learning model with image input the second group of models consisted of a transfer learning model with the x-ray images as input. the top models in the kaggle competition used inceptionv3 and resnet50 for their pretrained models. before building the transfer learning model, it was necessary to research other pretrained models to see if there was anything else appropriate to use. it was found that there were some newer and less trained models that had higher top-1 accuracies (the accuracy of the model on the popular imagenet validation set) in comparison to the previous models used. a table of the pretrained models are listed in table 1. table 1: list of transfer learning models performance on imagenet dataset nasnetlarge, efficientnetb7 and inceptionresnetv2 were all attempted for this project. nasnetlarge had the best overall performance but consisted of an input size of 331x331 pixels. due to ram and disk constrictions, model 2 will focus solely on inceptionresnetv2 since it is computationally less expensive than nasnetlarge. in order to input the images into the inceptionresnetv2 model, they were resized to 150x150 pixels and 3 channels. the images were then trained on an inceptionresnetv2 transfer learning model. this was followed by a layer of flattening, a dense layer consisting of 256 hidden neurons with a relu activation function, and then passed to the output layer of one node with a linear activation function. this full architecture can be seen in figure 5. figure 5: model 2 (transfer learning with image input) architecture when running the model, the adam optimizer was used with a learning rate of 0.0001 with mse as the loss function and mae as the performance metric. running the model for 30 epochs proved to be sufficient since the metrics began to converge before the 30th epoch. the model was fit using the validation set to monitor how well the model was being trained. a plot of the training and validation mae can be seen in figure 6. this plot shows the training mae decreasing and eventually converging. from this plot, we can assume the model is fitting better than the previous model since the validation mae is not consistently higher or lower than the training mae. the final validation mae for this model was 24.13 months. figure 6: training and validation mae on model 2 iii. model 3: transfer learning model with image input combined with gender the third model was a multiple inputs model consisting of an image input (x-rays) and a non-image input (gender). this architecture was inspired by a combination of the top two models from the kaggle competition as stated in the literature review. in order to combine these two inputs, the widely used method flow_from_dataframe() will not work. a new method called flow() was researched and used instead. this method allows the augmented images and gender to be combined into a list and passed through model fitting. the architecture for this model is designed as two separate models that are linked to create one single model. the first input, the x-ray images, were converted into a 3-dimensional numeric array and passed through a convolutional base containing the pretrained inceptionresnetv2 model. similarly, the second input, gender, was converted to a 1-dimensional numeric array and passed through a dense layer consisting of 32 hidden neurons and the relu activation function. each of these models are then flattened to create a 1-dimensional vector. taking these two flattened layers, the vectors were concatenated and passed through two dense layers having 256 hidden neurons and a relu activation function. two dense layers were used to give the model enough parameters to analyze the relationship between the two inputs, x-ray and gender. the final dense layer was connected to an output layer that had 1 neuron and a linear activation function. the architecture for this model can be seen in figure 7. figure 7: model 3 (image input with transfer learning concatenated with gender input) during the compilation of the model, mse was used as the loss function, mae was used as the performance metric and the adam optimizer was used with a one-tenth of a smaller learning rate than the default value in order to give more training time and to better converge to the local minima. running the model for 30 epochs proved to be sufficient since the metrics began to converge before the 30th epoch. a plot of the training and validation mae can be seen in figure 8. the training mae and validation mae appear to converge, and the validation mae is not consistently higher or lower than the training mae. thus, we can conclude this model is not underor overfitting the data. after running the model, the final validation mae was 20.96 months. as shown in appendix 10, we can see that the model performance is much better than the previous two models discussed, and the validation mae is also smaller. figure 8: training and validation mae on model 3 in an attempt to improve the performance of the model, neurons were added to the last two dense layers. the number of hidden neurons was increased from 256 to 500. there was a very small increase in performance, but not enough to justify making that change. moreover, there was somewhat of a bottleneck performance. therefore, we conclude our final model to be the one described above and in figure 7. v. results the overall results of the validation maes for the three models discussed are listed in table 2. the first cnn model using only the images as input had an mae of 29.29 months on the validation set. the second model using the inceptionresnetv2 transfer learning model had an mae of 24.13 months on the validation set. the third model with multiple inputs where the images were passed through a pre-trained model and the gender input was passed through a perceptron and then concatenated gave an mae of 20.96 months on the validation set. table 2: performance (mae) of all three models to test the model’s accuracy, we selected the best model from above and predicted the bone age of the 200 test set images provided by kaggle. since the last model, consisting of both x-ray images and gender inputs, gave the best performance compared to the individual models, we will use this model to do predictions on. a graph of the predicted bone ages vs. the actual bone ages in months can be seen in figure 9. the mae on the test set using our combined model was approximately 42 months. looking at the actual values, we can see that the model does a better job at predicting the bone age for children of older age groups. however, the model has difficulty predicting the bone age for children of smaller age groups, as the predicted values are much more deviated from the actual line. such an occurrence is possibly due to our training set having fewer images of children in that age group and can also be attributed to subsampling the original dataset. figure 9: actual vs. predicted values on test set for model 3 vi. conclusion, limitations and future work overall, our models have room to improve, especially when compared to the top models in the kaggle competition. our best model, model 3, had an mae of approximately 42 months. this would equate to about 3.5 years of error within our predictions. thus, there is undoubtedly a lot more work to be done with this model to have an acceptable prediction to use in the medical field. the main limitation incurred was limited processing power, causing the programs to crash or to have significant run times. due to this limitation, the training set had to be cut from 12,611 images to only 4,500 images before splitting for validation. it is expected that this took a significant toll on the mae for all of the models. additionally, it was very difficult to have larger input images in terms of pixels due to processing time and code crashes. an additional limitation was the nature of the images. as discussed in the data section, most images have excess text in as well as some lighting, shape, and background inconsistencies. these issues made it much more difficult to fit a model that can account for all of these situations. in the future, it would be beneficial to address these limitations as well as fine tune the models and hyperparameters. if the processing power were to be increased enough to where all of the training data could be included in the fitting of the model, it is likely that the performance will increase greatly. increasing processing power also will allow for larger inputs and more dense layers, which would also likely boost performance. it would specifically be interesting to test our model 3 with 500x500 input and two 1000neuron dense layers at the end, as in the first kaggle model. this would allow for a better comparison, and it is possible our model would outperform the kaggle model due to the higher accuracy, in terms of top-1 accuracy, that inceptionresnetv2 has over inceptionv3. almost all of the kaggle submissions suggest data augmentation as an imperative step to fitting the model. more work should be done to address the image inconsistencies and attempt to augment the data in a more useful way. one approach in the kaggle submissions was to remove the background off all the x-ray images leaving just the hand behind. they then overlay the image on top of a solid black background to guarantee all of the backgrounds are the same and to remove some of the error. another useful technique that almost all of the kaggle submissions implemented was ensemble methods, which would also likely be useful to decrease our overall error. to conclude, there are quite a few ways in which the models can be improved. addressing the issues and implementing some new methods as well as increasing our training size is expected to put our model performance in competition with some of the other models that were researched. acknowledgements i would like to acknowledge kim bianchi and katie schmidt for helping me with the findings of this paper. additionally, i would also like to recognize dr. yimin zhang for providing insights and guidance through her past experiences in this field of study. references kidshealth.org. (2020). x-ray exam: bone age study (for parents) nemours kidshealth. [online] available at: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/xray-bone-age.html. creo, a.l. and schwenk, w.f. (2017). bone age: a handy tool for pediatric providers. pediatrics, 140(6), p.e20171486. h.h., chen, l., shih, g., andriole, k., kohli, m.d., erickson, b.j. and flanders, a.e. (2019). the rsna pediatric bone age machine learning challenge. radiology, 290(2), pp.498–503. kaggle.com. (n.d.). rsna bone age. [online] available at: https://www.kaggle.com/kmader/rsna-bone-age. boys will be boys: constructions of toxic masculinity in dramatic, metaphorized, and real-life war spaces nicholas keough english war is violent; war is destructive; war is masculine. although notable historical—as well as more recent—exceptions exist, men have traditionally acted as the instigators, organizers, and executers of war. both real-life war as well as its dramatic and metaphorized representation in art and entertainment have worked to construct and idealize a heroic masculine paradigm. from the ancient greek and roman culture and their corresponding literary epics, through early modern conceptions of the masculine ethos and renaissance drama, and up to and including the modern us military complex and its paid association with the national football league, history has consistently provided a privileged space in which an enduring blueprint for the hypermasculine war hero is preserved. more specifically, in william shakespeare’s coriolanus and 1 henry iv, as in real-life war, and the metaphorized war of the nfl, the physical landscape of the battlefield functions as a performance arena in which toxic masculinity is constructed, privileged, and perpetuated. for many cultures, in order to become a man, a young boy must participate in a culturally-prescribed rite of passage. oftentimes, these rituals require displays of courage and stoicism—vanuatu land diving; or require violence and aggression—the spartan krypteia; or require silently enduring pain and humiliation—college fraternity hazing. acquiring one’s masculinity, then, is cross-culturally recognized as a socially constructed process through which one must successfully pass, and not a biological trait with which one is naturally born. regardless of culture or historical period, successful transference into traditional notions of manhood, if not through direct military training, at least require qualities similar to the fundamental characteristics of the “military man.” according to kimberly hutchings, “aggression, rationality, and physical courage are identified both as an essential component of war and also of masculinity” (389). the gender socialization of boys—and what is and has been considered gender-appropriate masculine behavior—parallels the qualities deemed critical for successful military performance, and as a result directly positions war as masculine. in his history dramas coriolanus and 1 henry iv, shakespeare explores the connections between martial prowess and the construction of masculinity. when cominius publically recollects coriolanus’ first military engagement, he shares the story of a young 16-year-old coriolanus, who, despite his “amazonian chin,” had displayed violent courage on the battlefield (2.2.90). during a moment in which “he might act the woman in the scene,” coriolanus, despite his youth, “proved best man i’ th’ field,” and defeated the more experienced tarquin (2.2.95-96). in what is described as a rite of passage, cominius claims that it is coriolanus’ courageous performance on the battlefield that transforms him from a boy into a man. cominius’ story suggests that coriolanus exchanges his violent military deeds for his manhood, and that his newfound masculinity is something he has earned. cominius’ description of a pre-battletested coriolanus, too, equates untested boyhood with femininity, and therefore not only offering a direct connection between masculinity and war violence, but also positioning the feminine outside this military arena. volumnia, too, connects acts of violence, aggression, and martial prowess to one’s acquisition of masculinity. when discussing coriolanus’ success in battle, volumnia declares: “to a cruel war i sent him, from whence he returned, his brows bound with oak. i tell thee, daughter, i sprang not more in joy at first hearing he was a man-child than now in first seeing he had proved himself a man” (1.3.13-17). like cominius, volumnia suggests that participating— and finding success—in battle is the ground upon which one’s masculinity is formed, proven, and obtained. conversely, then, to avoid or fail in this endeavor would position the boy as effeminate, or unmasculine. earlier in her conversation with virgilia, volumnia implies that a boy who fails to go to war is “no better than picturelike to hang by th’ wall,” a passive decorative piece, and a feminized object of one’s gaze (1.3.11). volumnia would “rather had eleven die nobly for their country than one voluptuously surfeit out of action” (1.3.23-25). to die a noble death in war, then, is preferable to avoiding war altogether. volumnia’s outlook constructs binary positions: the aggressive masculine as the active-dominant and the feminine as the passive-subjugate. according to don conway-long, “masculinity itself [is] a performance of dominance” (71), and therefore, if one does not actively and courageously participate in violent war, he “act[s] the woman.” king henry iv similarly expresses shame when discussing his son hal and his uncourtly—and what may be construed as unmasculine—behavior. henry laments hal’s conduct, wishing instead his son were like the militaristic hotspur—the idealized war hero and “the theme of honor’s tongue” (1.1.81). it is not until hal later assumes a military role, promising to “redeem all this on percy’s head,” that his father respects and trusts his son (1.1.132). hal suggests that through violent bloodshed he will “scour [his] shame” and be able to proudly claim himself the king’s son, a man prepared to assume the role of masculine war hero (1.1.137). like volumnia’s and henry’s hope for coriolanus and hal—as has been the case in many cultures throughout history—one way in which boys are expected to become men is through military training and violent combat. according to david morgan, “in all types of society, state or stateless, simple or complex, men are expected to fight or to be prepared to fight, to enlist in military service, and to undergo some form of military training” (166). he further states that “of all the sites where masculinities are constructed, reproduced, and deployed, those associated with war and the military are some of the most direct” (165). historically—as well as in shakespeare’s texts—the violent, aggressive masculine is constructed and privileged in a martial setting, and in particular, on the battlefield itself. attempts to maintain opportunities for the construction and reproduction of masculinity, the female and the feminine are necessarily ‘othered,’ subjugated, and expelled from these war arenas. according to michael kimmel, “historically and developmentally, masculinity has been defined as the flight from women, the repudiation of femininity” (126). such is the case with hal, who must dismiss both the female—falstaff—and the feminine—poins—in order to fulfill his father’s expectations and role as a heteronormative, masculine king. although falstaff is a male character, valerie traub makes a compelling case that his “somatic iconography metonymically positions him as the fantasized pre-oedipal maternal, against whom hal must differentiate” (459). although he and hal are seemingly friends for the majority of 1 henry iv, hal cruelly banishes falstaff at the conclusion of 2 henry iv: “i banish thee, on pain of death” (5.5.63). traub suggests that the female ‘other’ “must be repudiated or subjugated in order for prince hal to assume phallocentric control as king henry v” (474). in hal’s slow rejection and eventual expulsion of falstaff, he accomplishes just that. although hal acquires a series of significant life-lessons from falstaff—and at times seems to genuinely enjoy his company—he must ultimately reject the maternal falstaff in order to avoid becoming, or returning to, the effeminate (traub 458). likewise, hal must disconnect himself from poins, whom the play presents as a “queer hero whose erotically charged friendship with hal must be swept aside to facilitate hal’s rise” (kolkovich 635). though poins does not appear frequently, his connection to the effeminate is obvious. elizabeth kolkovich describes poins as “not conventionally masculine,” “effeminate by early modern standards,” and “intimately connected to the play’s representations of masculinity” (636; 640; 638). although hal does not actively expel poins like he does falstaff, poins—who is “just as great an obstacle to princely, masculine behavior [as falstaff]”—disappears when the play turns to the exclusively masculine space of the battlefield (641). in each instance, hal must detach himself from the female-feminine, a construction both volumnia and henry believe is weak, shameful, and detrimental to acquiring manhood. it is hotspur who initially foregrounds effeminacy as problematic in 1 henry iv (kolkovich 640). according to kimberly hutchings, “privileged versions of masculinity feed off contrasts both with alternative masculinities and with an oppositional, feminized ‘other’” (389). in the masculine hierarchal stratification, shakespeare places the masculine war hero as the assumed ideal and presents hotspur as the embodiment of the perfect knight (barker 295). throughout the play, hotspur privileges his own martial masculinity over the effeminate. hotspur expresses exasperation, anger, and a sense of superiority when he encounters “a certain lord, neat and trimly dressed, / fresh as a bridegroom, and his chin new reaped / showed like a stubble land at harvest home. / he was perfumed like a milliner” (33-36). like poins who himself is preoccupied with clothing and perfuming—and distinctly unsoldier-like—the “popinjay” lord that hotspur encounters, who uses “holiday and lady terms,” and “would himself have been a soldier” had it not been for the guns—or violence—is positioned as effeminate, or an inferior form of masculinity (1.3.50; 46; 64). similarly, focus on the lord’s cleanly-shaved face parallels cominius’ “amazonian chin” description of the pubescent, pre-masculine coriolanus. when king henry questions hotspur’s decision to withhold prisoners, hotspur and blunt imply both the lord—because of his lack of masculinity and war manners—and his report should be considered worthless. like hotspur, coriolanus, too, is presented as the idealized war hero who “vehemently shuns any behavior that could be marked as ‘effeminate’”; for coriolanus, this includes “acting or performing” (starks-estes 154). although coriolanus attempts to participate in the customary social rituals required of him to become elected consul—wearing a gown of humility and begging the plebeians for their vote—he does so reluctantly, and also ineffectively. coriolanus ultimately refuses to, or is incapable of, performing. according to kent lehnhof, what causes coriolanus “to reject play-acting in his own person is the sexualized fear that it will unman him” (354). to publically subject himself to the plebeians, to show his wounds to rome’s citizens, or to listen to cominius tell tales of his heroic exploits, all serve to put coriolanus on vulnerable display, as an object upon which to gaze, a distinctly feminine trait according to volumnia. coriolanus’ refusal to appear vulnerable presents itself in the technical component of coriolanus, too, in the lack of soliloquy: “as one who disavows femininity to this degree, coriolanus’s lack of soliloquy is significant; it reinforces his aversion to any sign of vulnerability” (154). coriolanus rejects rome’s rituals, as well as the traditional technologies of play performance, as they leave him exposed. the only scripts coriolanus follows are those of war. despite his abhorrence for weakness and exposure, coriolanus ultimately ceases his retributive sack of rome at the behest of his mother, who pleads for mercy. coriolanus’ concession, by his own account, is “of a woman’s tenderness” and his tears of compassion an “unnatural scene” at which the gods laugh (5.3.129; 184). for coriolanus, to show emotion and accept peace is womanly and unnatural. furthermore, coriolanus acknowledges the situation will be “most mortal to him” (206). aufidius confirms coriolanus’ assumptions when he and the conspirators confront coriolanus, designating him “traitor” (5.6.85). aufidius slights coriolanus’ masculinity by calling him “thou boy of tears” (100). the term ‘boy’ “in an early modern context, may suggest not only a youth but also a womanly man,” thus crushing coriolanus’ manhood (starks-estes 157). aufidius’ “re-boying” of coriolanus suggests that masculinity can be impermanent, hierarchical, and surrendered altogether. this reflects adi adams, eric anderson, and mark mccormack’s claim that “boys and men police gender and sexuality… threatening to unveil others… through the use of other emasculating and homosexualizing epithets” (280). like hotspur, who repeatedly criticizes the effeminate “popinjay” messenger, aufidius regulates and reorganizes coriolanus’ manhood. although aufidius viciously condemns coriolanus’ emotional display, he had previously accepted coriolanus’ subjugation and vulnerability—“i… present / my throat to thee”—when offered to him, a fellow soldier (4.5.99-100). according to david morgan, military life suggests an “operation of a double standard, the toleration of homosexual relationships so long as they did not threaten the wider patterns of good order and discipline” (168). the military battlefield, then, allows space for acceptable displays of emotion, specifically homosocial bonding among masculine heroes. previously, coriolanus refused to be vulnerable with anyone, yet offers his life and service to aufidius, his military equal. aufidius reacts to coriolanus’ offer of military revenge in homoerotic terms, focusing on masculine power, marriage, and sex: “i loved the maid i married, never man / sighed truer breath. but that i see thee here, / thou noble thing, more dances my rapt heart / than when i first my wedded mistress saw / bestride my threshold” (4.5.118-122). aufidius uses coriolanus as a direct substitute for his wife, asking coriolanus to “let me twine / mine arms about thy body” (110-111). furthermore, aufidius describes a dream in which he and coriolanus had been “down together… / unbuckling helms, fisting each other’s throat” (128-129). aufidius connects hypermasculinity, homoeroticism, and war, and because both he and coriolanus represent the privileged war version of masculinity, their interaction is deemed acceptable. a similar homoerotic interaction occurs earlier in the play between coriolanus and cominius. after the battle at corioles, coriolanus hugs cominius “in arms as sound as when i wooed, in heart / as merry as when our nuptial day was done, / and tapers burned to bedward!” (1.6.30-32). like aufidius, coriolanus makes a connection between his relationship with a fellow military soldier and his wife. kolkovich argues that “male homoerotic desire could be consistent with honorable masculinity if tied to military fellowship” (641). therefore, because coriolanus, cominius, and aufidius all share that soldierly social bond, displays of homoerotic affection are accepted between them. this contrasts with hal’s relationship with poins, who is not a soldier: “the problem with poins is that he loves hal in the tavern, not on the battlefield” and therefore their homoerotic relationship requires removal before hal becomes king (641). in each example, the militaristic, hypermasculine war hero is privileged and positioned to govern acceptable modes of masculine behavior. expulsion of the female and the effeminate male—and examples of hegemonic masculinity—as displayed in 1 henry iv and coriolanus, appear, too, throughout american military history. although the united states has recently opened all military positions to women, including front-line combat positions, there still remains quite a bit of resistance, with some special forces units still without a woman. historically, however, combat positions were reserved for men. according to bonnie mann, war has always been linked with nation and masculinity, and she suggests the united states’ “feminizing loss” in the vietnam war “had long taken its place on our social imaginary as a story of the unmanning of america” (5). mann further suggests that, following wars like vietnam and the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the united states attempts to reassert its masculinity through propaganda and displays of strength (6). because “masculinity is associated with qualities that make good warriors,” the american military ‘others’ anyone associated with the feminine (prugl 335). prugl claims that “men’s domination of women primarily plays a symbolic role in warfare: it serves as a metaphor for domination of the enemy” (336). to be inclusive of women in the military, then, complicates the idea of heroic masculine domination and the feminization of the enemy. recent american military policy reflects anxieties over feminization, defeat, and appearing weak. the clinton administration’s don’t ask, don’t tell policy, as well as the trump administration’s decision to ban all transgender people from military service, have worked to “other” people not conventionally masculine, perpetuating the idea that the battlefield—whether in dramatic renderings or in reallife practice—is a space only for a privileged heteronormative masculinity. the correlation between masculinity and war displayed in shakespeare’s plays corresponds not only with modern military practice but is also echoed in the nfl’s metaphorized war. in addition to the obvious connection of two opposing teams, like opposing armies, lining up to attack one another, the game is besieged with military terminology—sack, blitz, trenches, and neutral zone, among others. the playing field—situated like a battlefield—offers a space in which privileged toxic masculinity and physical violence are accepted and performed under the guise of play-war. the military connection to football extends beyond the game itself, as the nfl and united states armed forces have developed and cultivated a mutually beneficial relationship. former nfl commissioner pete rozelle once admitted, “it was a conscious effort on our part to bring the element of patriotism into the super bowl” (nyt). during the 1970 super bowl in new orleans, the nfl delivered a reenactment of the battle of new orleans in the war of 1812; for the 1981 super bowl, the nfl wrapped a yellow ribbon around the superdome in support of the release of american hostages in iran. today, the two’s relationship has evolved into a multi-million dollar paid partnership, and any attempt to disturb that bond has resulted in social, economic, and professional repercussions, as was the case with colin kaepernick. following his decision to protest the country’s treatment of people of color during the national anthem, he and the players who joined him in kneeling faced media and political backlash, with donald trump remarking, “you have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn't be playing, you shouldn't be there, maybe you shouldn't be in the country.” later, at a political rally, trump suggested nfl owners tell any player who protests to “get that son of a bitch off the field right now. out!” nfl owners obliged, creating a rule requiring players to stand for the national anthem. one might conclude, then, that failure to participate in the rituals of military and national patriotism results in an “othering,” with protest players no longer welcome on an nfl field; they are no longer eligible to participate in the war. to be sure, kaepernick has not played football since. beyond its military connections, american football—similar to other violent combatstyle sports like boxing and rugby—was first established in response to men’s perceived threat to their power. the sport eventually developed into “a homosocial institution which served to counter men’s fears of feminization” (messner 14-15). david rowe believes sports like football have acted as “an integral element of self-sustaining forms of exclusivist male culture” (246). unlike other violent sports, american football remains the only major sport in the world without a female counterpart. eric anderson suggests that sports, especially football, have “become a leading definer of masculinity in a mass culture that has lost male initiation rituals” (862). in other words, football, like traditional masculine rites of passage, turns boys “away from the qualities associated with femininity” and instills within them qualities traditionally associated with masculinity (862). unsurprisingly, too, team names often reflect the violence of the sport, some named after animals of prey—bears, lions, falcons—or historically warring peoples— vikings, raiders, buccaneers. with violent imagery so pervasive throughout the various components of the league, it is fitting, if not predictable, that similar ‘othering’ and privileging of certain masculinities has occurred throughout the history of the nfl, a sport initially created by men with war in mind. similar to military history, and the actions of the male characters in 1 henry iv and coriolanus, the female-feminine needs to be expelled, if not altogether excluded, from this militaristic arena. like the military’s stance on lgbtq+ members and hostpur’s and aufidius’ feelings towards the effeminate, the nfl has constructed a culture in which gay men do not feel comfortable expressing their sexuality. in fact, there has never been an openly gay player in the nfl. chris culliver, during his time as a player with the san francisco 49ers, was asked during an interview if a gay teammate would be welcomed on the team. culliver responded, “i don’t do the gay guys,” stating that if there are homosexual players on the team, “they gotta get up outta here… can’t be in the locker room” (rosenthal). although criticized for his remarks, culliver’s comments are not unique. messner suggests that “homophobia and misogyny [are] the key bonding agents among male athletes, serving to construct a masculine personality that disparage[s] anything considered ‘feminine’ in women, in other men, or in oneself” (151). both the female and the feminized ‘other’ are excluded from these militaristic hypermasculine spaces, like an nfl locker room. beyond the expulsion of the female-feminine, hegemonic masculinity exists in the ranks of heterosexual nfl players and coaches as well, with punters and place kickers frequently referred to as “not real” football players—“boys among men” often mocked by commentators, fans, and former players. according to anderson, “contact sports have been described as a place in which hegemonic masculinity is reproduced and defined” (860). super bowl winning head coach brian billick, while working in an official capacity for the nfl network, stated, “you guys know how it is. [kickers are] a part of your team [but] kickers aren’t football players. they’re different. yes, kickers are people too, but they’re not football players” (orr). billick’s comments clearly position football kickers as ‘other,’ as separate, distinct, and different. through their research on organized sports, adams, anderson, and mccormack found that “men accomplished the reproduction of their privilege through displays of strength and violence,” thus privileging “a particular subset of heterosexual men” (279-280). in the nfl, it is the “field generals,” and heavy-hitting, violent players who are part of the privileged toxic masculinity. on the football field and in locker rooms, a metaphorized war takes place—from tactical strategy, to terminology, to valorizing players who make the biggest, most violent hits, to ‘othering’ and dismissing the female and the effeminate. when recent medical research confirmed links between brain injuries and cte, a condition similar to alzheimer’s, the nfl’s initial response to engage “in explicit marketing and corporate social responsibility campaigns in attempts to keep children invested in playing” was described as a “reflection of the ‘sportsmasculinity complex’” (rugg 48). prior to this brain research, when a player had his ‘bell rung,’ there was the expectation that he would ‘man up’ and play through any discomfort, visual impairment, or pain that resulted from violent impact. despite research findings, when new rules were recently imposed to protect players’ safety—specifically with regard to concussions—one nfl player, andrew sendejo, wore a hat that said “make football violent again.” despite recent progress in diagnosing and understanding the lasting effects of concussions, players like sendejo still seek to distribute as much violence and physical damage as possible. angelo cataldi, legendary philadelphia sports talk radio host, responding to the league’s concern with player safety, once said nfl teams were “ignorant of the one thing that makes their sport special: toughness.” he cites former pennsylvania governor’s book entitled the wussification of america, claiming the nfl, “the most violent game in america,” had “gone soft,” a phrase suggestive of diminished masculinity. cataldi might agree with coriolanus’ second servingman: “peace is a great maker of cuckholds” (coriolanus 4.5.238). despite the obvious ‘othering’ of the feminine-effeminate and a strong aversion to players who identify as gay, the football field and locker room often become areas for acceptable displays of emotion and homosocial behavior. the nfl’s inherent connection to war, as well as the nfl’s willingness to align itself with the american military, creates a mimicry of battlefield space within the game of football. according to james sutton, a professor of the sociology of sport at hobart and william smith colleges, “you think of emotion—aside from anger, men aren’t allowed to express emotion. but in the sporting context, men are allowed to cry. all these social norms seem to be suspended once you get into the locker room, or take the field.” when aufidius criticizes coriolanus’ display of emotion toward his family, the two soldiers are not within the context of the battlefield; however, when discussing—or engaged in war—their displays of emotion and homosocial behavior are acceptable. similarly, poins’ effeminacy and love toward hal are inappropriate because they do not take place on the battlefield. similar homosocial behavioral standards are seen, and widely accepted, in most primarily masculine sports: playing football is about “clenched fists… violent butt-slaps, [and getting] high on your own pulsing adrenalin” (lyon 30). more recently, athletes have celebrated significant on-field plays with genital thrusting and crotch grabbing. because violent military combat operates outside political and social norms, soldiers often experience difficulty with reintegrating into everyday rituals and expectations. coriolanus, after returning from war, is unwilling—or unable—to participate in the social rituals expected of him. similarly, when hotspur, clamors of war, honor, and battlefield violence in the court, a setting that completely contrasts a battlefield, worcester responds that he will “talk to [hotspur] / when you are better tempered to attend” (1.3.233-234). worcester’s reaction to hotspur indicates that his aggression is inappropriate in this setting. there is a disconnect between these soldiers’ effectiveness on the battlefield and their ability to assimilate back into regular everyday life. their boldness, lauded on the battlefield, fails in a non-violent space. coriolanus’ and hotspur’s experiences parallel those of real-life military soldiers, too, who are trained to kill, as well as, to a lesser extent, that of nfl players, who are tasked with physically and emotionally assaulting the opponent. when these soldiers return from war, however, oftentimes the toxic masculinity and violence that is encouraged and valorized on the battlefield is instead condemned in normal society. roberta barker suggests that shakespeare invited “the audience members to cast a cold eye on warlike masculine heroism” (305). shakespeare may have critiqued toxic masculinity, but the model to construct and perpetuate it still persists. works cited adams, adi, eric anderson, and mark mccormack. “establishing and challenging masculinity: the influence of gendered discourses in organized sport.” journal of language and social psychology, 29(3): 278-300, 2010. web. anderson, eric. “openly gay athletes: contesting hegemonic masculinity in a homophobic environment.” gender and society 16(6): 860-877, 2002. web. barker, roberta. “tragical-comical-historical hotspur.” shakespeare quarterly, 54(3): 288307, 2003. web. berkow, ira. “sports of the times; once again, it’s the star-spangled super bowl.” the new york times. new york times, 27 january 1991. web. 1 may 2019. conway-long, don. “ethnographies and masculinities.” theorizing masculinities. eds. harry brod and michael kaufman. sage publications: california, 1994. print. hutchings, kimberly. “making sense of masculinity and war.” men and masculinities, 10(4): 389-404, 2008. web. kimmel, michael s. “masculinity as homophobia: fear, shame, and silence in the construction of gender identity.” theorizing masculinities. eds. harry brod and michael kaufman. sage publications: california, 1994. print. kolkovich, elizabeth zeman. “queering poins: masculinity and friendship in henry iv, the hollow crown, and the rsc’s ‘king and country.’” shakespeare bulletin, 36(4): 635656, 2018. web. lehnhof, kent. “acting, integrity, and gender in coriolanus.” shakespeare bulletin, 31(3): 353373, 2013. lyon, bill. “penn state defense: controlled fury.” the philadelphia inquirer. 18 october 1973. web. 1 may 2019. mann, bonnie. sovereign masculinity: lessons from the war on terror. new york: oxford university, 2014. print. messner, michael a. power at play: sports and the problem of masculinity. boston: beacon press, 1992. print. morgan, david h. j. “theatre of war: combat, the military, and masculinities.” theorizing masculinities. eds. harry brod and michael kaufman. sage publications: california, 1994. print. prugl, elisabeth. “gender and war: causes, constructions, and critique.” perspective on politics 1(2): 335-342, 2003. rowe, david. “play up: rethinking power and resistance.” journal of sport and social issues. vol. 22: 241-251, 1998. web. rugg, adam. “civilizing the child: violence, masculinity, an race in media narratives of james harrison.” communication and sport, 7(1): 46-63, 2017. shakespeare, william. coriolanus. ed. jonathan crewe. new york: penguin books, 1999. print. ---. the first part of henry the fourth. ed. claire mceachern. new york: penguin books, 2000. print. starks-estes, lisa s. violence, trauma, and virtus in shakespeare’s roman poems and plays. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2014. print. traub, valerie. “prince hal’s falstaff: positioning psychoanalysis and the female reproductive body.” shakespeare quarterly, 40(4): 456-474, 1989. web. microsoft word ceydy jaramillo_psc love, memory, and resistance: the respectability politics of the aids memorial quilt and the aids social movement ceydy jaramillo political science most individuals battling aids in the early years of the epidemic were gay men and intravenous drug users, members of already marginalized groups in society that were further scrutinized with the emergence of aids. the lack of response from the u.s. government to calls urging them to mitigate infection and death rates was in part due to homophobic and prejudicial attitudes, and their silence informed civil society’s response to this now stigmatized disease. angered with the inadequate response from the u.s. government, gay civil rights activists began to publicly protest for better resources, more funding, and a general acknowledgement of the devastating impact of aids on these communities. at the 1985 annual candlelight march to honor those who died from aids, cleve jones, a san francisco based gay activist, learned that over 1,000 san franciscans had already lost their life to this disease. he was moved to encourage participants to write the names of their lost loved ones on placards, which he then taped onto the walls of the san francisco federal building. when he looked back at the placards, jones realized they resembled a patchwork quilt. this was the birth of what would come to be known as the aids memorial quilt (national aids memorial). two years after this event, jones, along with several colleagues, organized the names project foundation which handles the addition of new panels, the fundraising for aids causes, and the display of the quilt across u.s. cities. in october 1987, the quilt composed of about 2,000 panels was displayed for the first time on the national mall in d.c. according to the names project, the quilt was visited by half a million people that weekend. four months later, after a national tour, the quilt grew to over 6,000 panels. today, the aids memorial quilt includes almost 50,000 panels, an incredibly large memorial that only represents a fraction of the 700,000 lives that have been lost to aids in the u.s. (national aids memorial). the goal of this memorial was to challenge the current understanding of aids in the u.s. while memorializing those who had already died. the quilt meant to shift the narrative of aids from being depicted as a gay disease to an american disease, one that deserved more than the current indifference it was receiving both from the government and civil society. in order to achieve this narrative shift, the rhetoric and practices used by the quilt’s founders and participants were ones that, i argue, embodied respectability politics. respectability politics is a strategy used by members of marginalized groups to counter the discrimination and prejudice of the majority by urging group members to behave in ways that adhere to dominant, mainstream norms. by embracing respectability politics, the memorial was seeking to alleviate the stigmatization that had been linked to aids and the gay community by ensuring that individuals with aids were depicted as adherents to conventional norms, and not as deviants who were deserving of death by aids, as was a common conception at the time. by creating a narrative of aids and of people with aids that did not threaten existing societal standards, the aids memorial quilt was able to catapult into the national (and global) sphere. in this paper, i will examine the aids memorial quilt’s use of respectability politics and the effects of this approach on the larger aids social movement. during the time of the quilt’s inception, other gay rights activists were mobilizing around the inadequate aids response and establishing organizations, such as act up, that similarly worked to shift the existing narrative of aids through different means. it is important to place the aids memorial quilt at the center of this social movement as it was a seminal factor in the portrayal of aids as a national tragedy that ultimately motivated an improved governmental response to the disease. therefore, it is necessary that the tactics used by the names project and its founders are examined separately than the efforts of other organizations during this movement. i seek to answer the following questions: how did the names project foundation and its founders employ respectability politics and in what ways did it influence the public’s perception and response to the quilt and its messaging? additionally, what response did their use of respectability politics garner from other aids organizations, specifically act up? existing literature on the aids memorial quilt has yet to fully explore this aspect of the quilt’s approaches and the impact it had on communities that were being disproportionally affected by aids, the larger mainstream society, and other gay rights activists and aids organizations who were also tackling similar goals. by evaluating how the quilt embodies respectability, this paper will also extend existing literature on respectability politics that is currently most prevalent in the study of black politics and black social movements. emphasizing the quilt as a part of a larger social movement will further allow us to observe the role of respectability in social movements that are centered on other marginalized groups. the next section will provide a deeper overview of existing literature surrounding the aids memorial quilt and respectability politics. i will then further explain my reasoning for why the quilt is an interesting and ideal case to examine respectability politics and its effects on a social movement before moving on to a description of the paper’s key concepts and methods. lastly, i will discuss the ways the names project and its quilt embraced respectability politics and how it elicited specific responses from different sectors of society and from other aids organizations. literature review the existing literature surrounding the aids memorial quilt has centered on its unique functions as a memorial, providing a place to mourn and memorialize while also being a tool for political mobilization and activism. scholars have also considered the quilt as a part of a social movement, evaluating its fit on the established social movement criteria. i will dive into this literature in this section, before reviewing the existing literature of respectability politics that largely exists in black politics and the study of black social movements. aids memorial quilt as a memorial, the quilt was a prime vehicle for the creation of a collective memory surrounding aids. as capozzola (2002) explains, the commemorative and the monumental processes of memory formation are distinct yet interrelated, with the former emphasizing the past and remembering the event or loss, and the latter targeting the future and using the past to shape current social or political discourse (94). a similar point of the saliency of the past on present issues is noted by blair and michel (2007), as they assert that “because of the pronounced tendency of contemporary public commemoration to take up subject matter that yields to ongoing fractiousness or at least to cultural anxiety, it is more likely that issues of the present will be deliberated by debating memory” (596). the aids memorial quilt embodies both commemorative and monumental functions, remembering a not-so-distant past that was still greatly affecting the present lives of many and stimulating a political discourse to encourage change of the current approach to aids. this was partly achieved by the unique design of the memorial, which allowed the quilt to continue growing as individuals added panels as more people died of aids, an especially striking feature that aroused both grief and anger to those who visited. however, many questioned the memorial’s ability to mobilize civil society and provoke political action, arguing that the quilt’s role in providing a space to mourn only weakened its activist abilities (gould 2002; kramer 1989). activists worried that emphasizing grief prevented a true discussion on the political and social shifts needed to amend the situation. as rand (2007) explains, “gay men—codified as a group that is dying of aids—become socially recognized subjects by being mourned,” and once they are “constituted as ‘mourned subjects,’ the agency of gay men is significantly constrained, and their potential for activism is severely limited” (665-6). conversely, others argue that mourning strengthens the quilt’s activist abilities, as put forth by brown (1997) when he expressed that the “cultural importance of grief and mourning…made the display no less political, but all the more meaningful for participants” (2800; see also lewis & fraser 1996; krouse 1994). the act of mourning in itself can be seen as political. in a society that has discounted the perspectives of the gay community and created a hostile environment for them to express grief, publicizing a space where this grief can be seen is in essence a challenge to homophobic culture itself (brown 1997, 31; butler 1997). in this case, mourning is necessary for activism. this is reflected in crimp’s (1989) work where he states, “we look upon any interference with [mourning] as inadvisable or harmful,” warns freud. but for anyone living daily with the aids crisis, ruthless interference with our bereavement is as ordinary an occurrence as reading the new york times. the violence we encounter is relentless, the violence of silence and omission almost as impossible to endure as the violence of unleashed hatred and outright murder. because this violence also desecrates the memories of our dead, we rise in anger to vindicate them. for many of us, mourning becomes militancy. quilt as a social movement as previously discussed, aids quickly became a stigmatized disease as a result of the homophobia that was rampant in america during the early 1980s and 1990s. though the disease was affecting other groups, including intravenous drug users, hemophiliacs, and even heterosexual men and women, a narrative was put forth that was promoted by the media and accepted by the public that this was a gay disease (hawkins 1993, 757; stockdill 1996, 9). for this reason, gay activists were particularly motivated to act. additionally, because of the preceding gay civil rights movements and the concentration of gay communities in largely white, middle-class areas, the gay community had more resources at their disposal to organize an effective social movement for aids (hawkins 1993; krouse 1994; capozzola 2002). cleve jones was among those with the resources required to create a memorial that would advance the aids social movement. existing literature has considered the quilt’s qualities that enable it to fit characteristics of “new’ social movements as opposed to “old” ones. old social movement theories overlooked the cultural aspect of social movements, centering instead around interest group politics and the fight for better resource distribution. new social movements signify a shift of focus towards identity politics, where groups are motivated towards collective action to influence the framing of a narrative (capozzola 2002, 101-3; krouse 1994; 28-43; stockdill 1996). in short, “these movements’ contests and struggles have concerned symbols and meanings more than issues of institutional access and economic resources” (capozzola 2002, 102). this shift occurred in response to the increased encroachment of government policies and regulation on the private lives of citizens, forcing people’s identities to become salient when it directly impacts the treatment or import the government places on specific identities (krouse 1994; 32). capozzola argues the aids social movement fits into both the old and new social movement theories. at its inception, activists were fighting for better resources, more funding, and influential research to aid in ending the epidemic. it soon became obvious to the gay men in the communities that had been hit the hardest that the existing marginalization of gay people was motivating silence from the government, media, and the public. the attack on the identities of these individuals drove them to collective action to not only fight for institutional assistance, but also to restore the group’s dignity and public image. respectability politics the work on respectability politics originated with evelyn brooks higginbotham’s seminal work righteous discontent: the women’s movement in the black baptist church, 18801920 (1993). seeking to describe the role of black women in the fight for racial equality during the black baptist women’s movement, higginbotham presented the politics of respectability, which promoted the “reform of individual behavior and attitudes both as a goal in itself and as strategy for reform of the entire structural system of american race relations” (1993, 187). she illustrated how the women of the church were motivated by respectability to encourage black individuals to adhere to societal norms and behave in ways that would counter the negative perceptions whites held against blacks. i argue the founders of the quilt held similar motives, to challenge the existing views of the majority by highlighting the adherence of mainstream norms by people with aids and eliminate the existing stratification of heteroand homosexuals. scholars of black politics have expanded higginbotham’s work, evaluating the role respectability plays in black identity and politics today. they have noted the effect of respectability politics on support for policies that might disproportionally affect blacks (orey et al. 2013), while also establishing a potential generational divide in support of respectability politics as a tactic for minimizing racial tensions (kerrison et al. 2018; dow 2016). additionally, while respectability is dependent on high identification with your group, it can also weaken effects of linked fate and group consciousness, potentially causing intergroup marginalization (lopez bunyasi & smith 2019; cohen 1999). cohen explored this in her theory of secondary marginalization, where certain issues are understood as being able to advance the interests of the black community, while other issues only hinder those opportunities. she centers her argument on the treatment of black individuals with aids, who were not only marginalized by the mainstream society, but were further marginalized by members of their own racial group as they posed a threat to the respectability and advancement of the group (cohen 1999). scholars have also considered the role of respectability politics in black social movements, specifically the civil rights movement and black lives matter. the leaders of the civil rights movement fully employed the strategy of respectability, seeking to fight for racial equality by proving that the black community was worthy of being seen as equals. the leaders, who were mostly male, created an image of the movement that emphasized “well-dressed, trained, and nonviolent protesters who demonstrated using sit-ins, marches, and boycotts” (board et al. 2020). originating in a black church and being led by martin luther king jr., a minister, the movement established a “unique blending of familiar christian themes and conventional democratic theory,” that allowed king to succeed “in grounding the movement in two of the ideational bedrocks of american culture” (mcadam 1996, 347). in appealing to american ideals and presenting a nonthreatening face, the civil rights movement was able to tap into the minds of the dominant, white society and convince them that civil rights for black americans was an american problem, which motivated support for their cause (clayton 2005). conversely, the recent blm movement sought to dismantle the notion of respectability and challenge the in-group policing that places the blame of racist encounters on the behavior or appearance of black individuals. founded by four black female activists who broke the civil rights decorum in their appearances, sexualities, and confrontational behaviors, the blm movement unapologetically shines light on all identities, taking on an intersectional approach to equality for women, lgbtq individuals, formerly incarcerated blacks, and other individuals previously thought to hinder the group’s advancements (richardson 2019; lopez bunyasi & smith 2019). the movement has garnered criticism from members of the black community for its aggressive and bold tactics and has been portrayed less favorably by the media than the civil rights movement (clayton 2005; reynolds 2015; board et al. 2020). overall, blm “has yet to appeal to mainstream america and convince them that its concerns are part of the national identity” (clayton 2005, 474). the quilt as a case study scholars have drawn comparisons between the civil rights movement and the gay liberation movements, illustrating how the gay community adopted many strategies from the civil rights movement when fighting against homophobia (stockdill 1996). the focus on the quilt in this paper further adds to this discussion, highlighting how the use of respectability also carried over to the aids social movement through the quilt. additionally, the contrarian approach of blm resembles that of act up, which questioned the use of respectability and adopted more confrontational tactics. similarly to the motives of black social movements, aids activists were imploring their government to cease their neglectful practices of allowing members of marginalized groups, in this case black people and people with aids respectively, to continue dying at unnecessary rates. both movements also sought to challenge the existing perception of their group in the mainstream consciousness. these similarities provide support for the motives of this paper and the selection of the quilt as a means to examine respectability politics in social movements. the quilt is an ideal case given its influence in transforming the narrative of aids by using respectability to tap into the mainstream society. jones and the names project chose to present gay people and other aids victims in a light that did not threaten norms with the hopes of uplifting the group and improving their treatment. using respectability as a strategy to uplift marginalized groups is a controversial notion, as i will discuss further in the next section. for this reason, evaluating the public’s response to the quilt is important as it provides insight into the receptibility of this strategy across different groups. key concepts, data, and methods the key concept in this paper is respectability politics. as previously stated, respectability politics is a strategy used by members of marginalized groups to counter the discrimination and prejudice they face at the hands of the majority by behaving in ways that adhere to dominant, mainstream norms. marginalized group members will consider the implications that unfavorable behaviors have on the social and political standing of the entire group and insist on presenting the group in ways that are palatable to the majority so as not to subject the group to further marginalization. respectability politics entered the mainstream discourse with the rise of blm, prompting scholars to express concern over the modern understanding of this concept and the ways it strays from higginbotham’s original conception. o’connor (2021) breaks down this evolution of the concept, explaining how the way it is understood today emphasizes its elitist and stigmatizing nature that disadvantages the most vulnerable members of the marginalized group, as opposed to its original understanding as a strategy to benefit and uplift the entire group. respectability politics today holds an unfavorable connotation, with individuals accused of embracing respectability seen as colluding with the oppressors and further victimizing their own group members. higginbotham did not seek out to judge the actions of members of marginalized groups who encouraged the best version of their group as good or bad, but simply explained their use of a respectability politics as a strategy to challenge existing perceptions (o’connor 2021). this is the understanding i will take in this paper. detailing the quilt’s embodiment of respectability is not to villainize the approaches of cleve jones and the names project, but only to shed light on one legitimate strategy used by disadvantaged groups to improve the group’s standing. in order to examine how the quilt promoted respectability politics, i will consult interviews and speeches given by the founders of the names project and activists associated with the quilt, as well as any materials from the names project that relay their message. the paper will also examine the effects of their approach on the public’s perceptions and on its reputation in the eyes of act up, an organization that adopted a different approach to further the aids movement. to do so, i will evaluate firsthand accounts of individuals who visited the quilt, interviews from other activists, news and media products, previous literature, and the quilt itself. discussion the quilt and respectability the use of respectability begins with the quilt’s design. quilting has deep american roots, from the freedom quilts used to guide enslaved blacks to freedom (bryant 2019), to the sewing bees (hawkins 1993, 757), and the legend of betsy ross and the american flag (randolph 2021). jones was aware of the innate americanness of quilts and the ubiquitous association of quilts as comforting, cozy, and warm, and as he envisioned a quilt filled with names of aids victims, he knew it was the best approach to reach the hearts and minds of mainstream america. it is a “middle-class, middle-american symbol” that makes people think of their grandmothers, and according to jones, “that’s what we need: we need all these american grandmothers to want us to live, to be willing to say that our lives are worth defending” (quoted in andriote 1999, 366). jones has reflected on the attachment he places on quilts and his family life, describing his great-grandmother’s quilt that was a source of comfort during his childhood. he thought “what a perfect…traditional-family-values symbol to attach to this disease that's killing homosexuals and iv drug users and haitian immigrants, and maybe, just maybe, we could apply those traditional family values to my family” (jones pbs interview 2004). the quilt created a sense of national identity that was forced to include groups that historically have not been embraced by the larger society. this neutralized the threat of individual identities by encompassing them under an umbrella of american identity that proved to mainstream america that these individuals were common americans like them, whose lives were worthy of saving and whose deaths were worthy of inciting outrage. framing the aids epidemic under this american image was a justified strategy for jones, given that they “needed a strategy that would affect the outside world, which clearly is going to decide whether we’re going to survive” (quoted in sturken 1992, 85). beyond the symbolism of the quilt itself, the process of making the quilt was also designed to further neutralize the threat people with aids were perceived to pose to middle america. in what is seemingly a paradoxical challenge, the names project both highlighted the diverse communities and families impacted by aids while also portraying a homogenous and collective mourning experience that bonded all americans. this first aspect was achieved through the creation of the panels, as the names project allowed individuals to dedicate panels to their loved ones with minimal direction which resulted in thousands of distinct and personalized panels that each represent an individual’s battle with aids and its lasting impact on family and friends. the second aspect occurs once the panels are sewn together, binding individual displays of private mourning and memorializing together with that of others to emphasize the shared experience, while urging those who have not yet been personally affected to also join in this memorialization as a nation. while the quilt displayed a diverse range of families and relationships across people of all identities, it did so in a way that also presented to mainstream society that these were individuals that were loved and belonged to traditional families. many perceived gay men as a threat to the traditional family unit, believing that their sexuality and “lifestyle” stray from the essential components of families. however, the quilt works to assuage the threat of their sexuality, and demonstrate how gay men, and other people with aids, left behind mothers, fathers, siblings, and partners that loved them. jones claims they intentionally “picked a feminine art to try and get people to look beyond this aggressive male sexuality component" (quoted in sturken 1992, 82). additionally, another founder of the names project shared, i have never, ever seen anyone walk through the quilt and not have their impression of gay and lesbian people changed. and that is a very important thing that, in walking through the quilt, you can’t help but acknowledge the importance of male-male relationships. you can’t help but notice that the love between those two men is as strong as any heterosexual marriage (quoted in krouse 1994, 73). these quotes demonstrate respectability at work. by emphasizing how gay men can in fact be a part of traditional families, and that strong homosexual relationships exist just as heterosexual ones, the quilt is establishing that gay men are not as deviant to norms as society believes them to be. they are challenging existing homophobic stances and stigma surrounding gay men and aids by arguing that despite their different sexual preferences, their relationships conform to traditional american standards on all other accounts. the founders of the quilt purposely adopted a messaging style that promoted a nonthreatening portrayal of people with aids. despite the inherent political aspects of the aids social movement, primarily targeting the government’s neglect, the names project declared themselves, and the quilt, to be “completely non-political; we have no political message at all” (jones quoted in capozzola 2002, 91). an organizer for the foundation has described the first brainstorming session about the quilt’s messaging, explaining the hours they spent ensuring their nonthreatening approach would be able to reach everyone (krouse 1994, 72). however, they still fervently embraced the american framing, as evidenced by the names project’s first brochure, where they “deliberately used the word ‘american’ in every paragraph… to apply a uniquely american concept of this disease that everyone wanted to see as foreign” (jones quoted in sturken 1992, 79). their nonpolitical stance allowed them to avoid alienating individuals who would otherwise not support movements led by gay activists. also, there is a negative connotation attached to overly political organizations and activist groups, especially if they express their political views through violent or disorderly ways, as touched on by jones: if you study the great nonviolent civil disobedience movement’s leaders, they say it will only work when they claim and stake out the moral high-ground and they are able to make that legitimate claim through their suffering really. they make that claim and hold onto it. by enduring the suffering and responding with dignity rather than violence, with love rather than hate. so the quilt was, i felt, right in that tradition though i was never prepared for the spiritual power of it (jones quoted in hinkley 2003, 74). jones acknowledges the importance of displaying the evidence of the suffering that people with aids and their communities have been experiencing in a way that did not provoke violence or was not attached to any overt political agenda other than saving lives. in this way, their suffering could be made palatable to and viewed as legitimate by the mainstream society. their nonpolitical stance, however, was at times contradicted. the names project founders frequently conceded that one of the quilt’s uses was as an organizing tool, which provided a space for political discourse to exist. furthermore, jones regularly targeted political figureheads and challenged their responses to the epidemic during his speeches at quilt displays. during a 1988 speech given at the steps of lincoln memorial, jones says: fifteen months from now our new president will deliver his first state of the union address. and on that day americans will have lost more sons and daughters to aids than we lost fighting in southeast asia-those whose names we can read today from a polished black stone wall.... history will record that in the last quarter of the twentieth century a new and deadly virus emerged, and that the one nation on earth with the resources, knowledge, and institutions to respond to the new epidemic failed to do so. history will further record that our nation's failure was the result of ignorance, prejudice, greed, and fear. not in the heartlands of america, but in the oval office and the halls of congress (quoted in hawkins 1993, 760). comparing the loss of lives to aids to those reflected on the vietnam veterans memorial furthers the idea that this epidemic is an american problem, and its victims should be honored just as those lost during the vietnam war. the direct criticism of the bush administration’s silence signifies an overt political stance, while still avoiding the alienation of the general public by affirming that this is not the fault of the “heartlands of america.” nevertheless, respectability politics was still present in his speeches, as evidenced by this section of his speech: mr. president, you could have visited us today upon the quilt. you would not have been harmed, mr. president, though many would doubtless clamor to gain your attention. you and your family could stand among us on the quilt and fear no harm at all. for in all truth, mr. president, it is we who are kind. it is we who are gentle. and it is our light that will lead the way to victory and to life (krouse 1994, 71). once again, jones counters the perceived threat of gay men and people with aids, instead assuring the country that they are not threatening, dangerous, or aggressive. ultimately, the names project quilt was by design and in practice an embodiment of respectability politics. portraying gay men and other people with aids as honorable, worthy americans that deserved to live and adopting a nonthreatening approach in messaging was a strategy that urged the general public to see beyond homophobic and prejudicial attitudes that labeled people with aids as deviants and threats to society. was it a successful strategy? did the names project achieve its goal of reaching mainstream america? responses to quilt mainstream society – like any other memorial or monument, the meaning or value that an individual takes with them after witnessing the quilt is left largely up to the individual. while the memorial is designed to appeal to middle america and inspire a shared identity, encourage participation, and push forth a call to action for more pressure on the government, whether the public takes heed of these intention is beyond the power of cleve jones and the names project. nevertheless, many people were greatly affected by the quilt. one aspect of the quilt that has garnered criticism is its lack of educational value, both to help stop the spread of aids but also to educate people as to why there continues to be so many aids deaths, specifically among gay men (krouse 1993, 160). however, the experience shared by an individual who was struck by the quilt might illustrate how the quilt’s emphasis on eliciting an emotional response, rather than providing facts on aids, could be successful in reaching those who might not be willing to learn about a disease that has yet to affect them personally: the quilt spoke to me in a language that i understood. it didn’t tell me about t-cells or homophobia, it told me about families, friends, lovers, and worst of all children. i could feel the pain of the loss in the fabric (quoted in poole 1998, 20). this individual was particularly moved by the familial impact of aids, and while it is unknown whether this individual would have been just as moved had the memorial focused on the victims of aids alone, this aspect of the quilt was greatly influential in allowing the public to feel connected to these victims and their families. these sentiments have been echoed by others who also recall being overcome with great emotions as they felt the loss of these unknown families, including this visitor who shared her feelings simply: “i don’t know any of the names on the quilt, but you have all touched me deeply” (lewis & fraser 1996, 442). others shared at greater lengths: i must admit that prior to seeing the quilt, my experience of the gay community was limited to childish gawking while passing through the gay areas of our major cities. my view of ‘them’ was negative simply because ‘they’ were so ‘different’ … the grief, the love, the loss and the hope of those present was palpable and powerful. we felt the emotion, as if those remembered were our own (brown 1992, 306-7). the quilt was able to educate people in a nonthreatening way that still left them with the agency to decide how they would help end the epidemic. some were motivated to become panel makers, others wrote to politicians to urge action, and others simply channeled within to confront their own prejudice beliefs (krouse 1993, 127). while the quilt was an outlet for many families after losing a loved one to aids, others still struggled with the stigma that comes with dying from this disease, and they viewed the quilt as a potential threat to the family’s status. an example of this fear of stigma is a panel that reads: i have decorated this banner to honor my brother. our parents did not want his name used publicly. the omission of his name represents the fear of oppression that aids victims and their families feel (blair & mitchel 2007, 599). another example is recounted by a volunteer who was threatened with a shotgun if a panel made for this man’s son was not removed. this situation, however, exemplifies the impact having a firsthand encounter with the quilt could have on individuals, at times leading them to change their perspectives on the stigma surrounding aids. after making the threat to ensure the removal of their son’s panel, the parents visited the quilt display and were quickly struck with remorse. the volunteer recalls the father saying “i’m really sorry. i didn’t know what this was all about. my wife and i spent an hour here going through the panels, and now we’re gonna go home and make a panel for our son” (quoted in hinkley 2003, 78). there were, of course, others who would never come to feel moved by the quilt or motivated to join the fight for an improved governmental response to assist the end of the epidemic. there are limits to respectability politics, and whether for partisan, ideological, or religious reasons, aids would remain stigmatized in the certain sectors of society despite the efforts of the names project. this is largely reflected in the silences of both the reagan and bush administrations regarding the epidemic. nevertheless, the quilt did manage to expand aids awareness beyond the communities it had been disproportionally affecting, tapping into emotional energy and creating a sense of shared identity among victims of aids and middle america that was crucial in motivating a shift in the societal and political response to aids. gay community – as a memorial that was created by gay people and, at least at the beginning of the epidemic, for gay people, it is important to examine the effect the quilt had on the gay community and whether they were receptive of its approach. as discussed earlier, the quilt provided relief from the isolation that comes with a stigmatized disease, creating a space for gay men to express their grief and anger and process their emotions in solidarity with others nationwide. it also allowed them to witness the support from others outside of their immediate family or friends and even outside of the gay community. during quilt displays, signature squares provided an outlet for viewers to record their reactions while walking through the panels. these three reactions highlight the sense of support felt by gay men when viewing the panels: to all of us who have hiv. how can we ever have believed we would or could be loved and honored by so many. i am daily reminded that i am loved and will be remembered. let’s pass our love onto others who may not be so fortunate (lewis & fraser 1996, 443). i am touched and encouraged by such a display of love. may we all act in this love everyday (lewis & fraser 1996, 444). i remember walking around the square of the panels that stretch along the mall and feeling numb… being in washington those few days made me feel that i could overcome anything. being in washington those few days made me feel less alone (carey-mahoney 2016). these reflections demonstrate that it was a worthwhile mission to garner nationwide support for people with aids and display that support to show that the gay community is not alone in fighting this epidemic. however, despite the impact of the quilt on the gay community, the names project has at times alienated them in their attempt to appeal to other members of society. jones has denied claims that the names project is a gay organization, arguing it would “be a disservice to the thousands of aids patients who are not gay” (quoted in capozzola 2002, 99). while there is validity to his statement, given that heterosexual people of color were, and continue to be, disproportionately affected by aids, the gay community did not agree with the names project’s decision to stray from its inception as an organization created by gay activists in response to the suffering of the gay community. jones believed it was important to adopt “vocabulary that would not be threatening to nongay people” in order to “mobilize heterosexuals” (sturken 1992, 85). but at what cost? a critic of the names project’s approach has expressed anger over how the organization has “siphoned hundreds of thousands of dollars out of gay pockets, but omits the word ‘gay’ in its literature and puts a photograph of a mother and children on the cover of its commemorative booklet” (robin hardy quoted in capozzola 2002, 100). this example demonstrates the organization’s commitment to portraying a universal image of aids that appeals to the mainstream public through vulnerability and familiarity, rather than putting forth an image of a gay man that many believe they cannot relate to and will thus dismiss. the names project’s use of respectability politics achieved its goal of extending the issue of aids beyond the gay community and ensuring that gay men did not feel alone in their fight against the disease. however, in the process, they risked sanitizing the organization of their gay activist roots, leading many to question their devotion to aiding the community. this illustrates the modern-day conflict with respectability politics. is it an effective strategy to remove stigma and improve the group’s status when it could simultaneously be creating divisions and issues of trust within the group? act up – other gay/aids activists and organizations were also vocal in their critiques of the names project’s use of respectability politics. their main critique was the names project’s nonconfrontational approach, which they viewed as ineffective in inciting real change, as opposed to act up’s more militant activism. this is exemplified in one critic’s suggestion that the quilt come with a warning sticker that says, “don’t feel that by crying over this, you've really done something for aids” (hawkins 1993, 772). unlike the quilt’s emphasis on mourning as an avenue to nonthreatening activism, act up believed in channeling that grief into anger which then motivated action through angry protests, civil disobedience, die-ins, and other confrontational and disruptive actions. their style relied more on “cultural defiance,” which included “throwing condoms, same-sex kissing in public places, speaking explicitly and positively about anal sex, as well as unfurling banners promoting safer sex at public events” (stockdill 1996, 12). just as the quilt aimed to shed light on the value of gay men’s lives, act up strived to do the same without sanitizing the discussions that are essential to saving their lives or succumbing to the status quo to ensure nongay people were not uncomfortable. act up was, nevertheless, aware of the attention the quilt was receiving and recognized its abilities to gather crowds, which provided an ideal space to spread their message. at a quilt display in washington d.c., act up distributed leaflets that read: show your anger to the people who helped make the quilt possible: our government. the quilt helps us remember our lovers, relatives, and friends who have died during the past eight years. these people have died from a virus. but they have been killed by our government’s neglect and inaction… more than 40,000 people have died from aids… before this quilt grows any larger, turn your grief into anger. turn anger into action. turn the power of the quilt into action (act up/ny 1988, quoted in gould 2002, 182). in a sense, the two organizations and their varied tactics could have blended together to create the most effective approach to mobilizing the public, both through appealing to their emotions and creating a collective consciousness and by explicitly demonstrating the implications of aids and demanding action. but act up did not seek out a partnership, instead they attempted to fill in the gaps of where they thought the quilt fell short. aside from fundamentally disagreeing with the names project’s tactics, many also resented its use of respectability and the implications it had on people with aids that might not fit the assimilationist image created by jones and the quilt. the attempt to neutralize the threat of gay men simultaneously elicited feelings of shame within some in the gay community. did they have to convince others their sexuality is not threatening, just as the quilt was attempting to do? should they feel ashamed that their “lifestyle” was being attached to the spread of this disease? was adhering to mainstream norms the only way to convince mainstream society that they deserved to live and not die from aids? one activist argues that one reason the quilt was such a successful memorial in the eyes of the public was because it can also be read as a memorial to a dying subculture, i.e. “we didn’t like you fags and junkies when you were wild, kinky and having fun. we didn’t like you when you were angry, marching and demanding rights. but now that you’re dying and have joined ‘nicely’ like ‘a family sewing circle,’ we'll accept you (steve abbott quoted in sturken 1992, 91). more notably, however, were the feelings of exclusion from people of color with aids. the names project struggled to reach low-income communities where people of color were being severely affected by aids. this was due to their high cost of maintaining and displaying the quilt, but also the lack of intersectionality in their messaging, which was largely geared towards middle-class white men. a member of a chicago chapter of act up sheds light on why the aids movement was just out of reach for many gay and straight people of color: for many gay white men living with hiv/aids, inaction, prejudice and discrimination related to hiv disease are the most palpable manifestations of oppression in their lives. for people of color, this may not be the case. aids is just one more injustice added to the list (quoted in stockdill 1996, 160) with this is mind, the traditional american values so prevalent in jones’ vision of the quilt might not resonate with people of color who have been excluded from traditional america long before the emergence of aids. however, the quilt was not alone, as act up also struggled with issues of racism, sexism, and classism (stockdill 1996, 30-48). the framing of these organizations of aids victims leads mainstream society to further associate aids with white gay men, which could be viewed as harmful for the gay community but also as the most effective way to appeal to middle america. the literature on respectability politics has thus far centered on racial groups, though in a group diverse in race, class, and gender, respectability must be accounted for in all the ways individuals can be marginalized. the names project has made strides in ensuring the quilt and their messaging is inclusive and representative of all aids victims, but at the end of the day, a white gay man could potentially be the least threatening image of the disease compared to individuals with more marginalized identities in addition to their sexualities. conclusion ultimately, the names project’s employment of respectability politics created a complex dynamic between the quilt and the aids social movement. the quilt was a driving factor in bringing the discussion of aids to the forefront both politically and socially and shaping the narrative of the disease as one that affected all americans, not just the marginalized few. in their mission to provoke an improved response towards ending the epidemic, the names project sought to appeal to the mainstream society and demonstrate how people with aids were not deviants who disregarded mainstream norms, but fellow americans that shared traditional values and morals and, for this reason, do not deserve to continue dying from aids due to a lack of action from the government or health care industries. while the quilt’s approach was effective in mobilizing the public, many took issue with their use of respectability to achieve this mobilization. other gay activists and organizations, like act up, opted for a more militant strategy that did not attempt to convince mainstream society that they were adherents to norms and not a threat, but instead emphasized their community’s qualities unapologetically. jones has reflected on the efficiency of both of these approaches on moving the cause forward, considering whether adopting a more militant style for the quilt would have been more beneficial. he asserted that “much has been made of the dichotomy between the two approaches. i have always felt that both approaches were valid, useful and necessary, and that the conflict between them was somewhat overblown” (jones pbs interview 2004). when asked whether act up’s confrontational demonstrations alienated middle-america, he remarks: “with 20/20 hindsight, i don't know that i would have done anything differently. i don't know that we had any other option. it was only gay activists who were responding. so our response -as necessary and as valid as it was -contributed quite a bit to reinforcing the notion that this was a disease of homosexual men… we were the only ones fighting. so yes, i think much of what we did alienated middle america, but i don't see what the alternative was” (jones pbs interview). despite the contentious relationship some may have with the quilt, it is an influential memorial that continues to shed light on the ongoing epidemic and honor those who have lost their lives to aids. as stated by journalist john-manuel andriote, the quilt has “by itself arguably done more to increase awareness of the human toll of the epidemic and of the humanity of those it memorializes than all the nation’s gay political organizations combined” (1999, 367). bibliography andriote, john-manuel. 1999. victory deferred: how aids changed gay life in america. university of chicago press. blair, carole, and neil michel. 2007. “the aids memorial quilt and the contemporary culture of public commemoration.” rhetoric & public affairs 10(4): 595–626. doi: 10.1353/rap.2008.0024. board, marcus, amber spry, shayla c. nunnally, and valeria sinclair-chapman. 2020. “black generational politics and the black lives matter movement.” national review of black politics 1(4): 452–73. doi: 10.1525/nrbp.2020.1.4.452. brown, joe. 1992. a promise to remember: the names project book of letters. new york, ny: avon books. brown, michael. 1997. “the cultural saliency of radical democracy: moments from the aids quilt.” ecumene 4(1): 27–45. doi: 10.1177/147447409700400103. bryant, marie claire. 2019. “underground railroad quilt codes: what we know, what we believe, and what inspires us.” smithsonian center for folklife and cultural heritage. https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/underground-railroad-quilt-codes. butler, judith. 1997. the psychic life of power: theories in subjection. stanford, ca: stanford university press. capozzola, christopher. 2002. “a very american epidemic: memory politics and identity politics in the aids memorial quilt, 1985-1993.” radical history review 2002(82): 91– 109. doi: 10.1215/01636545-2002-82-91. carey-mahoney, ryan. 2021. “almost 30 years later, people are still affected by the aids memorial quilt.” the washington post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your health/wp/2016/10/11/almost-30-years-later-people-are-still-impacted-by-the-aidsmemorial-quilt/. clayton, dewey m. 2018. “black lives matter and the civil rights movement: a comparative analysis of two social movements in the united states.” journal of black studies 49(5): 448–80. doi: 10.1177/0021934718764099. cohen, cathy j. 1999. the boundaries of blackness: aids and the breakdown of black politics. chicago, il: university of chicago press. crimp, douglas. 2002. “mourning and militancy.” in melancholia and moralism essays on aids and queer politics, cambridge, mass: mit press. essay. dow, dawn marie. 2016. “the deadly challenges of raising african american boys.” gender & society 30(2): 161–88. doi: 10.1177/0891243216629928. gould, deborah. 2002. “life during wartime: emotions and the development of act up.” mobilization: an international quarterly 7(2): 177–200. doi: 10.17813/maiq.7.2.8u264427k88vl764. hawkins, peter s. 1993. “naming names: the art of memory and the names project aids quilt.” critical inquiry 19(4): 752–79. doi: 10.1086/448696. higginbotham, evelyn brooks. 1993. righteous discontent: the women’s movement in the black baptist church. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. hinkley, daniel c. 2003. “names project aids memorial quilt: a rhetorical study of the transformation of an epidemic through social movement.” dissertation. unlv retrospective theses & dissertations. kerrison, erin m., jennifer cobbina, and kimberly bender. 2018. “‘your pants won’t save you’: why black youth challenge race-based police surveillance and the demands of black respectability politics.” race and justice8(1): 7–26. doi: 10.1177/2153368717734291. kramer, larry. 1989. reports from the holocaust: the making of an aids activist. new york, ny: st. martin's press. krouse, mary elizabeth. 1994. “the aids memorial quilt as cultural resistance for gay communities.” critical sociology 20(3): 65–80. doi: 10.1177/089692059402000304. krouse, mary elizabeth. 1993. “gift giving and social transformation: the aids memorial quilt as social movement culture.” dissertation. the ohio state university. lewis, jacqueline, and michael r. fraser. 1996. “patches of grief and rage: visitor responses to the names project aids memorial quilt.” qualitative sociology 19(4): 433–51. doi: 10.1007/bf02393368. lopez bunyasi, tehama, and candis watts smith. 2019. “do all black lives matter equally to black people? respectability politics and the limitations of linked fate.” the journal of race, ethnicity, and politics 4(1): 180–215. doi: 10.1017/rep.2018.33. mcadam, doug. 1996. “the framing function of movement tactics strategic dramaturgy in the american civil rights movement.” in comparative perspectives on social movements: political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and cultural framings, eds. doug mcadam, john d. mccarthy, and mayer n. zald. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press. essay, 338–55. national aids memorial. history: activist beginnings. https://www.aidsmemorial.org/quilthistory (april 26, 2022). o’connor, cara. 2021. “choosing what to mean by ‘respectability politics.’” social philosophy today 37: 153–74. doi: 10.5840/socphiltoday202192086. orey, byron d'andra, athena m. king, shonda k. lawrence, and brian e. anderson. 2013. “black opposition to welfare in the age of obama.” race, gender & class 20(3/4): 114– 29. doi: http://www.jstor.org/stable/43496936. pbs. 2006. “interview with cleve jones.” frontline: the age of aids. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/aids/interviews/jones.html. poole, stephanie j. 1998. “the making of an aids quilt panel: a burkean pentadic analysis.” dissertation. eastern illinois university. rand, erin j. 2008. “repeated remembrance: commemorating the aids quilt and resuscitating the mourned subject.” rhetoric & public affairs 10(4): 655–79. doi: 10.1353/rap.2008.0032. randolph, ryan p. 2001. betsy ross: the american flag, and life in a young america. new york, ny: the rosen publishing group, inc. reynolds, barbara. 2015. “i was a civil rights activist in the 1960s. but it’s hard for me to get behind black lives matter.” the washington post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/08/24/i-was-a-civil-rightsactivist-in-the-1960s-but-its-hard-for-me-to-get-behind-black-lives-matter/. richardson, allissa v. 2019. “dismantling respectability: the rise of new womanist communication models in the era of black lives matter.” journal of communication 69(2): 193–213. doi: 10.1093/joc/jqz005. stockdill, brett c. 1996. “multiple oppressions and their influence on collective action: the case of the aids movement.” dissertation. northwestern university. sturken, marita. 1992. “conversations with the dead: bearing witness in the aids memorial quilt.” socialist review 22(2): 65–95. 1 the desire for the undesirable: mimesis and martial’s eunuch in epigrams vi.67 nina ziegler classical studies the satirist martial lived in roman spain in the second half of the second century during the time of domitian, one of the first roman rulers to have legislated about eunuchs. many of martial’s epigrammata refer to illicit sexual activities, and some involve sexual encounters with eunuchs. his epigram at vi.67 “cur tantum eunuchos habeat tua caelia, quaris, pannyche? volt futui caelia nec parere,” can be read as, “do you ask, pannicus, why your wife caelia has only eunuchs about her? caelia loves the flowers of marriage, but fears the fruits.” this is a legitimate text for analyzing mimesis in roman satire about eunuchs. in roman society, eunuchs could be slaves, servants, clerks, or officials, although martial is writing too early for there to have been special court positions reserved for eunuchs.1 looking at alleged behaviours and sex lives of eunuchs during the reign of domitian through literature, the most evident is the contradiction of eunuchs being both sexless and also ideal sexual partners. there are three main cases for mart. vi.67 as art imitating life. language, roman notions of paternity, and real or perceived breach of acceptable power dynamics, all parse the paradox of eunuchs as both asexual and desirable. first, roman family values were rigidly centered around paternity and were intolerant of women’s extra-marital affairs. latin literature also illustrates certain roman understandings of feminine pleasure and seemingly disregard feminine pleasure as an aspect of sex.2 the very existence of mart. vi.67 shows that feminine pleasure was a topic of intrigue if not of critical examination, and further fragments from martial, juvenal, and others reveal attitudes and acceptable sexual practices for romans. these sources intersect to form a picture of sexual liberation, albeit one that is the subject of satire. 2 while martial’s fragment stemmed from satire and commentary on the lustful nature of both caelia and the stock-character anonymous eunuchs, this does not mean that eunuchs were not involved in affairs of pleasure. martial provides this himself in ep. vi.2 (addressed to domitian): “you now forbid both, caesar, and promote future generations, whome you desire to be born without illegitimacy. henceforth, under your rule, there will be no such thing as a eunuch or an adulterer; while before, oh sad state of morals! the two were combined in one.” this is playing directly into the roman stereotype of eunuchs as sexually-depraved and synonymous with “adulterer.” “oh sad state of morals” leaves martial’s reader knowing judgment is taking place, and that the proper position is against adultery. while martial was unlikely referring to a common phenomenon of women and eunuchs having consequence-free sexual relations, the poem elucidates roman understandings of eunuchs, sexual desirability and pleasure, and the anxieties of paternity and power in sex. language the core of this poem is that the wife of pannicus, caelia, wants sex but not pregnancy. immediately readers are faced with paradoxes and questions which tailored to a roman audience. does caelia intend to avoid intercourse? does she want intercourse but only with the guarantee that it will not result in pregnancy? is it the eunuch aesthetic which attracts caelia? eunuchs in roman literature were frequently the subject of harsh invective. a valid role of the eunuch is given elsewhere in martial’s epigrammata at iii.82.15–17 “digiti crepantis signa nouit / eunuchus et delicatae sciscitator urinae / domini bibentis ebrium regit penem (the eunuch knows well the signal of his snapping fingers and coaxes out the delicate urine as he manages the tipsy penis of his drunken master)”.3 this instance references an actual (if hypothetical) eunuch, with an appropriate servile relationship to a master. however, the argument could also be made 3 that the word “eunuch” is used as a derogatory epithet to emphasize the degrading and emasculating job. this instance introduces the essence of the problem with terminology around eunuchry. translations of mart. ep. vi.67 frequently translate eunuchos as “priests of cybele” and the word galli as “eunuch.” this is a mistake; these are not interchangable words. the words are slippery: naturally, slang and discourse are lost to us, but there are a myriad of terms used in literature to describe people neither female or male. spadones, castrati, eunuchos, thilbias, heterai, cinaedi, galli, hermaphrodite, the list of latin, hebrew, and greek terms used to describe intersex people goes on and on. martial aptly uses all the expected vocabulary that insinuates a eunuch or emasculated man. throughout his 12 epigrammata, he uses gallus nine times, spado eight times, and finally eunuchus five times.4 typically, and observably in the poetry of martial and juvenal, eunuchus referred to someone whose testicles were surgically removed. the paradox with a eunuch having sex is unclear without first clarifying what is meant by eunuch. further, when discussing eunuchs having penetrative intercourse the satirists/poets are implying that the eunuch had been castrated shortly after puberty and therefore could have an erection despite being sterile.5 similar to epithets targeting virility or masculinity, eunuch could also be used in reference to a non-eunuch as an insult.6 in “anxieties of the castrator,” george devereux states something at once obvious but worthy of repetition: “analysis of cursing shows that the malediction one hurls at ones enemy invariably reflects the cursers own major fears or anxieties.”7 rigid roman masculinity held that any single feminine attribute could effeminize the whole man and corrupt his character irreversibly. in this sensitive environment, the literature reflects living anxieties of men whose masculinity was threatened by the existence of a gender spectrum. 4 the possibilities given above in the non-exhaustive vocabulary list imply, in no particular order, a boy or man who was either fully-ablated (removed penis and testicles), fully-castrated, hormonally-imbalanced, celibate, infertile, asexual, or homosexual. in other words, fundamental to the characterization of a eunuch is their implicit sexless-ness and in the roman cultural conception of sexuality. principally, that they would never father children. eunuchs were thought to be entirely sexless, which gives rise to dissonance between their perceived asexuality and stereotypical sexual deviance. a concrete example of this contradiction is given by another roman satirist, juvenal: “there are girls who adore unmanly eunuchs–so smooth,/ so beardless to kiss, and no worry about abortions!”8 this is strikingly similar to mart. ep. vi.67 in indicating the sexual desirability of eunuchs, and to the joy of caelia, their infertility. martial and juvenal both write about eunuchs as lovers, which narrows down the type of eunuch about which they are referring. again, a eunuch who could have an erection (and ejaculate) must have been castrated after puberty.9 the possibility that this was a practice is guaranteed because domitian specifically legislated against the practice. a common origin story of eunuchs follows the theme of a handsome youth who is pushed or pulled away from their families in hinterlands and castrated before puberty. this would more closely result in a distinct hairless appearance as juvenal describes in terms of beardlessness. the galli, referenced elsewhere in martial, practiced adult castration but, this was a religious sect and is not representative of the eunuchs to which martial referred in vi.67. unclear language regarding roman gender construction leaves behind few clues with which to understand the role of eunuchs in roman sexual relationships.10 there was certainly an aesthetic to eunuchs, as examples throughout the epigrammata make fun of women’s attraction to effeminate eunuch softness and beardlessness. there is also the underlying tension of anxiety 5 from male writers, whose identity and power are threatened by the sexual appetite of women and the possibility for castrated men to satisfy it. this literature is masculine production for masculine consumption. the language around eunuchs show them as attractive, especially by married women, and introduces complications reconciling infertility with sexual desirability and fascinating complexities with ideas of paternity and fatherhood hindering roman sexual confidence. paternity in the words of walter stevenson, “the term patriarchy has been stretched beyond recognition in the last few decades.”11 with this in mind, it is clearer to refer to paternity, as this is closer to the notion that romans struggled with regarding fertility and fatherhood as markers of male power in the household. mart. ep. vi.67 and juv. sat. vi.366-78 clearly demonstrate the idea that eunuchs could perform sexually without fathering a child. their infertility was key to their function in the later roman and byzantine worlds to prevent hereditary positions and nepotism, but at the time of domitian their perceived sexual aptitude was a threat to the masculinity of veri viri, or real men. early latin literature reflects this anxiety before and during the time of martial and domitian: the father’s fertility was at the core of the roman household. this concept structures the genius of the head-of-household, the paterfamilias.12 the identification of fatherhood as essential to roman culture is further found by augustus claiming pater patriae in 27 bc.13 therefore, eunuchs could only fit into the roman family system either as a foil to fertile fathers or as a threat to their dominance of the household. not only is there the dissonance of a “less manly” man being a more desirable sexual partner, if sexual potency is parsed as the core of roman power, but eunuchs should have been eradicated from access to power and proximity to the wives of influential men. 14 this was not the case. 6 conflict between the sexuality and impotence of eunuchs continues elsewhere in martial, as in that direct address to domitian (“…under your rule, there will be no such thing as a eunuch or an adulterer…”)15 here, martial jests on the sexual depravity of rome by saying that eunuchs were sexually involved with mistresses, the wives of influential roman men. to forbid eunuchs and adultery would indeed promote future generations (more fertile men) and prevent children born out of wedlock but the interesting idea of course is that eunuchs would be adulterers. on one hand, martial addressed domitian’s legislation to prohibit castration within the empire.16 on the other hand, this legislation can be paired with mart. ep. vi.67 to show a growing anxiety towards the very existence of eunuchs and their perceived growing influence over roman culture. the episode of clodius at the bona dea illustrates a certain lack of control over roman sexuality. the famously charismatic publius clodius pulcher joined pompeia, wife of julius caesar, during the sacred rites of the bona dea by disguising himself as a woman.17 this incident fed cicero for years, as he poured a seemingly endless stream of accusations of lechery against clodius. caesar divorced pompeia, supposedly as a direct result of the scene, under the claim that his wife should be above all suspicion. without any involvement of eunuchs, this is the same story in different words which martial and juvenal put into poetry. a charming man woos the not-unwilling wife of a prominent roman, and though the underlying anxiety of the story reveals a man’s shortcoming to hold his wife’s attention. yet, it is the woman and her theoretical partner who are rebuked. at this point it is relevant to note that emperor domitian had two special relationships (of which martial was aware) which directly contradicted his legislation against castration and affairs. the first is that one of domitian’s lifelong confidants was the eunuch earinos. book 9 of 7 epigrammata is rife with poetry about earinos, and the roman poet statius also published poetry about earinos (specifically, about his hair.)18 what is known of earious is the standard eunuch backstory. he was sent from his home in pergamum to rome as a boy, where he was castrated before puberty to preserve his boyish good-looks.19 if this detail is true, it would explain earinos being castrated before domitian banned the practice (conveniently absolving the emperor of hypocrisy), and also it would mean that earinos was not sexually prolific. his role at domitian’s court was as cup-bearer, and domitian’s sincere affection for him was proved by granting early manumission, when earinus was between 16-18 years old.20 martial exhausted all possibilities for word-play on the name “earinos” and his associations with ganymede, pergamum, and aesculapius, but there is no direct abuse towards earinos’ sexual behavior. this was either to maintain a mild sense of decency and respect toward domitian, or because there was enough understanding that accusations would not stick, because of the type of eunuch that earinos was. as a eunuch castrated before puberty, earinos would unlikely have been able to engage in penetrative sex as an active partner. diverting slightly from domitian is an account from philostratus on emperor hadrian’s favourite eunuch. favorinus of arelate (arles) was a highly educated eunuch from gaul, who travelled extensively through rome, italy, and had journeys through greece. it is likely that lucian’s the eunuch was based on favorinus. the relationship between favorinus and hadrian and earinus and domitian differs slightly in that favorinus did not stay on good terms with hadrian, and his criticism of hadrian led to banishment. tellingly, the punishment was not worse. unlike earinos, favorinus was born a eunuch although this does mean that they shared nearly lifelong infertility.21 favorinus’ popularity did not save him from expostulation, and thematically, he was accused of adultery.22 a quote attributed to favorinus appropriately goes: 8 “there are three paradoxes in his life: though he was a gaul he led the life of a hellene; a eunuch, he had been tried for adultery; he had quarrelled with an emperor and was still alive.”23 naturally, this topic could be expanded to include other famous eunuchs and even the notorious relationship between nero and sporus. domitian’s second special relationship was with his niece, julia. their liaison resulted in pregnancy and her subsequent death from an abortion. this feeds into two further possible meanings behind mart. ep. vi.67; caelia fears the fruits of becoming illegitimately pregnant and also fears potentially fatal procedures to end pregnancy. the contradictions posed by latin sources force thinking outside the box. tacitus reported to his readership that germanic societies did not need laws regarding the family unit because there was a culturally-imposed prohibition on adultery or abortion.24 this may be wishful thinking or tacitus being liberal with the idea of “noble savages.” either way, it makes a clear point that tacitus saw a society which contrasted his own roman world in which the family unit was not supported enough by social habits and instead required legislation to enforce ideal practices. the julian laws encouraging familymaking reveal that there were (perceived) roman problems establishing and growing citizen families with clear paternity.25 with the significance of pater patriae conflict grew between the importance of fatherhood and the control that men actually had over their families. it seems eunuchs are better sexual partners since there is no risk of pregnancy and there is even a particular aesthetic appeal, which the satirists mentioned in their emphasis of hairlessness. 26 martial describes non-penetrative eroticism in his other epigrams, and it would not be satire if his audience was entirely unfamiliar or so uncomfortable with the possibility of sex without penetration. they were infertile; they were the ideal affair partner. power dynamics 9 the stories of domitian and earinos, hadrian and favorinus, nero and sporus, and even domitian and julia could also be case studies of power exchange dynamics in roman (platonic) relationships. martial has several interesting poems about sexual power play between a mistress and her slave, castrated or not. in fact, he pokes particular fun at cinna and his wife for having so many children, all of them resembling their household slaves.27 a possible threat to the roman man would be eunuchs as better sexual partners because there is the possibility of sex without life-threatening consequences of pregnancy or life-altering consequences of paternity. although martial writes about eunuchs as lovers there are no explicit references to penetrative sex. this makes sense, given the very effects of castration. luckily there is more to sex than intercourse and although roman sources often dismiss other forms of pleasure, we shall consider them under the assumption that our sources are limited to reflecting perspectives of stuffy moralizing roman men and are not inclusive of roman sexual practices as a whole.28 taking into account any sexual limitations of a eunuch, martial pokes fun at the gallus baeticus whose particular proclivity is performing cunnilinctus: “quid cum femineo tibi, baetice galle, barathreo? (what use have you, eunuch baeticus, for the female cleft?)”29 likewise, apuleius makes a joke where a group of eunuchs, at first mistaken for women, enjoy anal penetration.30 the perpetual butt of jokes, martial pits man against myth in another jest: “drauci natta sui vocat pipinnam, conlatus cui gallus est priapus. (natta calls it his stud’s pee-pee, but compared to that guy, priapus is a eunuch)”31 the interesting part of this comparison is the insinuated anatomy. is martial suggesting that the galli were fully ablated? or just that they were perpetually flaccid on account of hormonal function from removal of the testicles? the humour here fits neatly into the tradition set forth by catullus and horace who looked from callimachus to hipponax when creating sexual innuendo and sexual themes in poetry.32 10 performance, role, and position during sex all reflected the social and sexual power of an individual. there is more to the sex acts between women and eunuchs than the subversion of gender roles. it is also the intermixing of different social standings which affected roman perceptions of sexually active eunuchs. this depends on what the sex act is, and if it would be demeaning for the masculine partner as cunnilinctus was.33 roman sources maintain that oralgenital contact was held with special contempt.34 this is not exclusively a classist perspective from limited sources by and for an audience of landed and literate aristocracy. graffiti and fresco replicate the theme to maintain oral-genital sex was not fashionable in roman times.35 participants are expected to be ashamed for their supposed foulness. martial wants lesbia to drink water after fellating,36 elsewhere wrote that kissing a fellator is analogous to immersing oneself in dirty bathwater,37 and that he could not recommend kissing or sharing cups with some people.38 examples from artemidoros’ dream book create the effect that gender is secondary and the primary indicator of the dream’s significance is the hierarchical difference.39 to return briefly to caesar, the trouble with clodius’s involvement with pompeia was a class issue, not necessarily a “sex” issue. the idea that caesar’s wife be “above suspicion” was the threat to even himself and led to his divorce, in the public eye, far more than the idea that his wife had been unfaithful. further, as artemidoros shows, telling situations of citizens dreaming of sex with enslaved persons are given as perversions of dominance and subordination, not perversions of masculine and feminine. this difference often but not always aligns with masculinity and femininity, however, masculine attributes and dominance do not necessarily align with biologically masculine subjects. finally, it is unavoidable to mention the aesthetic of eunuchs in the context of their sexual 11 relationships with married women.40 the beauty of eunuchs is another way in which they were sexually objectified by both male and female roman society. artistic tastes shifted from strong, hairy and muscular bodies towards soft, hairless and romantic silhouettes. with this shift, so grew tastes for soft and romantic eunuch partners. roman nostalgia in the second century bc paved the way for a revival of hellenization, and soon romans were grooming citizen youths.41 those aesthetic features of young boys were unsurprisingly the same effeminate qualities shared by eunuchs: youthful and smooth skin, long limbs, thick hair. beauty was compounded by the social similarities– eunuchs and boys were both technically submissive either to a master or pater familias, respectively, and therefore until they began to show tell-tale signs of puberty (like beard growth) they were coveted as passive sexual partners.42 seneca the elder disapprovingly wrote about this practice from the first century bc: “distinguished men use their wealth to combat nature: they own troops of castrated youths, they cut their darlings, to fit them to submit to their lusts…”43 the taste for castrated boys/men runs contradictory to the roman core values of masculine fertility as household genius. in the words of devereux, “the more fully one understands a given phenomenon in terms of the nature/individual/inside frame of reference, the less fully one understands it simultaneously in terms of the nurture/society/outside frame of reference, and vice versa, of course.”44 roman male and female attraction to eunuchs as sexual partners is fundamentally at odds to roman definitions of masculinity, which is perhaps why the subject is so comfortably addressed in satire. despite its clear contradiction, the existence and popularity of eunuchs in the roman world reflect that there were many levels of sexual behaviour and trends in roman society. 12 1 into the very late roman and finally byzantine world special posts became exclusive to eunuchs to avoid dynastic complications or the possibility for positions to become hereditary in any respect. nonetheless there were still instances of eunuch uncles engaging in nepotism for their nephews. more on the fascinating timeline of eunuchs in the greek, roman, and byzantine worlds given in: walter stevenson, “the rise of eunuchs in greco-roman antiquity,” journal of the history of sexuality, vol. 5, no. 4, 1995. 495-511. 2 central to this paper will be distinctions between intercourse and other types of sexual activity. in this sentence i am using the word “sex” generally and liberally, without any specific implication of penetration or intercourse. this will continue to be the function of the word unless otherwise stated. 3 translation provided by noel lenski, “working models: functional art and roman conceptions of slavery,” in roman slavery and roman material culture ed. michele george, vol. 52. university of toronto press: 2013. 148. 4 thanks to jennifer blackwell for counting and finding all instances of related vocabulary as part of her 2003 masters thesis spadones et castrati: two types of eunuchs in roman literature and law: eunuchus: 3.58.32, 3.82.15, 6.67.1, 8.44.15, 10.91.1 and gallus: 1.35.15, 2.45.2, 3.24.13, 3.81.1, 3.81.5, 5.41.3, 11.72.2, 11.74.2, 13.63.2 5 the famous bible verse matthew 19:12, “for there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake,” is not given attention in this paper because it is not timely nor an accurate reflector of contemporary attitudes towards eunuchs or sexuality. important to note, however, is that this quote was later frequently used to justify monastic celibacy and even different christian cults who practiced autocastration, such as the skoptsy. 6 elinor leiber, “the hippocratic ‘airs, waters, places’ on cross-dressing eunuchs: ‘natural’ yet also ‘divine’ in sex and difference in ancient greece and rome, 2003. 351-369. this chapter is perhaps too liberal with using the word eunuch to retroactively label individuals, attributing the word to mythological people and using “eunuch” to describe people who possibly suffered a medical condition leading to infertility etc. when they were not described this way by contemporary sources. 7 george devereux, “anxieties of the castrator,” ethos, vol. 10, no. 3, 1982. 283. 8 juvenal, saturnae 6.366-78, trans. peter green, juvenal: the sixteen satires, london, 1974. 9 edward courtney, a commentary on the satires of juvenal, university of california, berkeley, 2013. 268. 10 for resources towards ancient asexuality, hermaphroditism, and third gender: elinor leiber, “the hippocratic ‘airs, waters, places’ on cross-dressing eunuchs: ‘natural’ yet also ‘divine’ in sex and difference in ancient greece and rome, 2003. 351-369; morales “transmythology” in antigone rising: the subversive power of ancient myths. 121-145; françois lissarague, “the sexual life of satyrs,” in halperin et al, before sexuality, 53-81. 11 walter stevenson, “the rise of eunuchs in greco-roman antiquity,” journal of the history of sexuality, vol. 5, no. 4, 1995. 496. 12 stevenson, “the rise of eunuchs,” 498. 13 stevenson, 498. 14 stevenson, 498. 15 mart., ep. vi.2 16 stevenson, 499. from theodor mommsen, römisches strafrecht graz. 1955. 637, which detailed domitian’s legislations. 17 the whole story can be found in plutarch, life of caesar, 9-10. 2nd c. ad. 18 christer henriksén, “earinus: an imperial eunuch in the light of the poems of martial and statius,” mnemosyne 50, 1997. 281. according the henriksén’s research, little is gleaned about earinus’ life from martial, statius, or even dio cassius (who also wrote about the earinus). what is known and understood, without aetiological detail, is provided. 19 “according to statius silvae 70, the castration was performed ‘without a wound’ (haud ullo concussum vulnere corpus), which vollmer suggests means that he was made a thilbias) i.e. was castrated without surgery as an infant.” christer henriksén, “earinus: an imperial eunuch in the light of the poems of martial and statius,” 283. “without surgery” here means by crushing the testicles. more in shaun tougher, eunuchs in antiquity and beyond. london: classical press of wales and duckworth, 2002. 20 henriksén, “earinus,” 288. “manumission earlier than the age of 30, the minimum age prescribed by the lex aelia sentia of 4 ad, was very rare in the imperial household…” from p.r.c. weaver, familia caesaris 13 (cambridge 1972), 100 ff, “reasons for early manumission could be intent to marry the patron… or any ties of affection…” 21 it is, of course, unclear the true meaning of this. there are many medical/biological reasons which roman sources classified as eunuchism, with possible conditions resulting in similar traits as eunuchs being marfan syndrome and reifenstein’s syndrome. more in: m. horstmanshoff, “who is the true eunuch? medical and religious ideas about eunuchs and castration in the works of clement of alexandria,” in s. kottek and m. horstmanshoff (eds), from athens to jerusalem: medicine in hellenized jewish lore and in early christian literature. rotterdam: papers of the symposium in jerusalem, 2000. 101-118. 22 stevenson, “the rise of eunuchs,” 503. 23 stevenson, 504 from philostratus vitae sophstarum, 8.489. 24 tacitus, germania. trans. alfred john church. william jackson brodribb. lisa cerrato. edited for perseus. new york: random house, inc. 1942. 19.2-3 25 “the earlier focus of a man’s political and military service changed to a broader ethical concept when the aristocracy no longer generally participated in battle. it came to include the denial of excessive pleasures (sexual– with males or females–and otherwise) through self control and applied to the man himself and those within his household.” tatiana ivleva, rob collins, eds., un-roman sex: gender, sexuality and lovemaking in the roman provinces and frontiers. new york: routledge, 2020. 185. this idea begets the celibacy, denial of pleasure and avoidance of desire in the early christian moment often found in hagiography. 26 blackwell, jennifer a. spadones et castrati: two types of eunuchs in roman literature and law. university of florida, 2003. see chapter 1. 27 mart., ep. vi.39. 28 for this i would like to reference eva stehle, "sappho's gaze: fantasies of a goddess and young man," differences 2, 1990. 88-125 as argument and evidence towards roman attitudes against non-penetrative sex acts. further it should be noted that similarly enough, intercrural sex acts with young boys is also in a grey-area to the ancient mindset. without drawing a straight line between the attic symposia and juvenal’s dinner parties, i want to offer this as a cross-cultural comparison to consider “what counts” as sex. it is my opinion that halperin and richlin have it right with the priapic paradigm and that other sex acts were either “debased” or not considered, as in sexual relations between women. 29 mart., ep. iii.81 30 apuleius, metamorphoses, stephen gaselee, ed. 8.26. analysis in stevenson, “the rise of eunuchs,” 501-502. 31 mart., xi.72. translation from craig a. williams, roman homosexuality, although i hesitate to translate “gallus” as “eunuch”. 32 more in alexander dale, “a feast fit for a eunuch: hipponax frs. 26, 26a, and martial 3.77.” phoenix, vol. 71, no. ¾, 2017. 226-227. 33 mart., xi.61. 34 craig a. williams, roman homosexuality, 218-221. 35 john r.clarke, looking at lovemaking: constructions of sexuality in roman art 100 b.c. – a.d. 250, university of california press, 2001. 36 mart., ep. ii.50. 37 mart., xi.95. 38 craig a. williams, roman homosexuality, 218. 39 suzanne macalister, gender as sign and symbolism in artemidoros’ oneirokritika: social aspirations and anxieties, 149. 40 shaun tougher, “the aesthetics of castration: the beauty of roman eunuchs.” in castration and culture in the middle ages, ed. larissa tracy, cambridge: boydell & brewer, 2013. 48-72. 41 blackwell, who cites cantarella 1992: 120. 42 petronius, satyricon, 119.19: “heu, pudet, effari perituraque prodere fata, persarum ritu male pubescentibus annis surripuere viros exsectaque viscera ferro in venerem fregere, atque ut fuga nobilis aevi circumscripta mora properantes differat annos, quaerit se natura nec invenit. omnibus ergo scorta placent fractique enervi corpore gressus et laxi crines et tot nova nomina vestis, quaeque virum quaerunt.” 43 seneca the elder, controversiae, trans. michael winterbottom, lcl 464, 440-441. 44 george devereux, “anxieties of the castrator,” ethos, vol. 10, no. 3, 1982. 290. 14 bibliography primary: apuleius. metamorphoses. gaselee, stephen ed. london: william heinemann, 1915. perseus.tufts.edu martial. epigrammata. trans. heraeus, wilhelm; borovskij, jacobus ed. leipzig, 1925/1976. perseus.tufts.edu c. julius caesar. de bello gallico. holmes, t. rive ed. 1915. perseus.tufts.edu hipponax. fragments. harvard university press, 2021. loebclassics.com juvenal. saturnae, trans. peter green, juvenal: the sixteen satires. london, 1974. perseus.tufts.edu petronius. satyricon. london: william heinemann, 1913. perseus.tufts.edu seneca the elder. controversiae. trans. michael winterbottom, lcl 464. perseus.tufts.edu statius. silvae. edited and translated by d. r. shackleton bailey. revised by christopher a. parrott. loeb classical library 206. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 2015. tacitus. germania. trans. church, alfred john; jackson brodribb, william; cerrato, lisa eds. new york: random house, inc. 1942. perseus.tufts.edu secondary: blackwell, jennifer a. spadones et castrati: two types of eunuchs in roman literature and law. ma thesis, university of florida, 2003. clarke, john r. looking at lovemaking: constructions of sexuality in roman art 100 b.c. – a.d. 250. university of california press, 2001. courtney, edward. a commentary on the satires of juvenal, university of california, berkeley, 2013. dale, alexander. “a feast fit for a eunuch: hipponax frs. 26, 26a, and martial 3.77.” phoenix, vol. 71, no. ¾, 2017. 215-229. devereux, george. “anxieties of the castrator.” ethos, vol. 10, no. 3, 1982. 279-297. gleason, maud w. “the semiotics of gender: physiognomy and self-fashioning in the second century c.e.” in before sexuality: the construction of erotic experience in the ancient greek world, edited by david m. halperin, john j. winkler, and froma i. zeitlin, princeton university press, 1990. 389-416. george, michele, ed. roman slavery and roman material culture. vol. 52. university of toronto press, 2013. germany, robert. mimetic contagion: art and artifice in terence’s eunuch. new york: oxford university press, 2016. 15 halperin, david m. one hundred years of homosexuality. new york: routledge 1989. henriksén, christer. “earinus: an imperial eunuch in the light of the poems of martial and statius” mnemosyne 50, 1997. 281-94. höfert, almut; mesley, matthew m.; tolino, serena eds. celibate and childless men in power: ruling eunuchs and bishops in the pre-modern world. abingdon: routledge, 2018. horstmanshoff, m., “who is the true eunuch? medical and religious ideas about eunuchs and castration in the works of clement of alexandria.” in kottek, s. and horstmanshoff, m. eds, from athens to jerusalem: medicine in hellenized jewish lore and in early christian literature. rotterdam: papers of the symposium in jerusalem, 2000. 101-118. ivleva, tatiana; collins, rob eds. un-roman sex: gender, sexuality and lovemaking in the roman provinces and frontiers. new york: routledge, 2020. leiber, elinor. “the hippocratic ‘airs, waters, places’ on cross-dressing eunuchs: ‘natural’ yet also ‘divine’.” in sex and difference in ancient greece and rome, 2003. 351-369. lenski, noel “working models: functional art and roman conceptions of slavery.” in roman slavery and roman material culture ed. michele george. 129-157. lings, k. renato. love lost in translation: homosexuality and the bible. trafford, 2013. macalister, suzanne. “gender as sign and symbolism in artemidoros’ oneirokritika: social aspirations and anxieties.” helios, vol. 19 nos. 1 and 2, 1992. 140-160. masterson, mark; sorkin rabinowitz, n. and robson, j. eds. sex in antiquity: exploring gender and sexuality in the ancient world. london: routledge, 2015. nappa, christopher. “the dangers of debasement: manhood and class.” in making men ridiculous: juvenal and the anxieties of the individual. ann arbor: 2018. 93-126. stehle, eva. “sappho's gaze: fantasies of a goddess and young man.” differences 2, 1990. 88125. stevenson, walter. “the rise of eunuchs in greco-roman antiquity.” journal of the history of sexuality, vol. 5, no. 4, 1995. 495-511. tougher, shaun. eunuchs in antiquity and beyond. london: classical press of wales and duckworth, 2002. tougher, shaun. the aesthetics of castration: the beauty of roman eunuchs. in tracy, larissa ed. castration and culture in the middle ages, cambridge: boydell & brewer, 2013. 48-72. williams, craig a. roman homosexuality: second edition. oxford: oxford university press, 2010. winkler, john j. constraints of desire: the anthropology of sex and gender in ancient greece. london: routledge, 1990. microsoft word covais eng 1 “god’s own image bought and sold!”: analyzing the intersection of christianity and slavery in brown’s clotel samantha covais english as the first novel published by an african-american, william wells brown’s clotel explores the devastating effects of slavery as the institution pervades a relatively young united states of america. the novel follows the perils and subsequent suicide of clotel, an enslaved, mixed-race woman fathered by thomas jefferson and raised by jefferson’s slave. an introduction in which brown novelizes his own experiences with slavery precedes the actual narrative of clotel herself, in which he asserts that “were it not for persons in high places owning slaves, and thereby giving the system a reputation, and especially professed christians, slavery would long since have been abolished” (3). his use of the word “professed” implies that these christians, who were at minimum complicit but often active participants in the too commonplace enslavement, rape, and murder of black people in the united states, fail to recognize and adhere to the true virtue of christianity. brown’s clotel examines the ways in which christianity operates both as a tool of white people to oppress and as a gift of blacks people to maintain hope. these diametrically opposing roles that christianity plays in the united states of america parallels the insidious nature of slavery and how no people, black as well as white, were left unscathed by its pernicious effects. clotel explores the nature of truth and its place among the various forms that christianity takes in the novel. the novel situates its characters in a nation of people who have branded themselves as christians but fail to recognize that their dealings in slavery directly contradict the core teachings of christianity. for consideration to historical integrity, this 2 article will reference the king james version of the bible, a widely utilized version of the bible at the time of clotel’s publication in 1853. to begin any conversation about christianity and slavery in clotel, one must first turn to from where the various characters draw their scriptural insight. later in the narrative, a preacher poses a question on the matter of the morality of a slave master beating a slave, to which the automatic response is “oh, no! he is only doing his duty as a christian!” (81). the inspiration for this response possibly comes from the oft referenced passage in exodus 2:20-21 that states if a man whips his slave, “he shall not be punished: for he is his money.” likewise, ephesians 6:5 commands slaves to “be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto christ.” these passages, selectively chosen, are just two places in the bible that depict slavery as an acceptable endeavor. some interpretations, such as those of the ephesians passage, even go as far as to equate slave owners with god himself, a narcissistic take on the tenets of christianity of an immense magnitude that crosses the border into heresy. historian paul gutacker asserts that christian slave owners “mined the past for examples of christian slaveholding” (1), using not only the bible but also christian tradition itself to support the institution of slavery. however, abolitionists and the enslaved craft their own narrative. lemuel haynes, the first black minister in the united states, develops in the late eighteenth century what john ernst calls a “liberation historiography” that separates the corrupted christianity associated with slavery from the uncontaminated christianity of the early church that god had intended (255). this explicit distinction between these two variant forms of christianity indicates a desire of the enslaved and abolitionists to reclaim christianity and once again make it into a religion of human equality. 3 the novel presents two different versions of christianity: one that affirms slavery as a divinely sanctioned institution and one that maintains the sanctity of universal human equality. alongside this dualism of nineteenth-century christianity, the ubiquitously ruinous nature of slavery corrupts both whites and blacks in the novel. as seen in clotel, slavery results in the moral decay of the whites who validate it and the ruination of black families, black prosperity and wellbeing, and black agency. the novel opens, as many slave narratives do, at a slave auction. slave traders wrench apart mothers and children, husbands and wives, and families with a “degree of indifference... unknown in any other relation of life, except that of slavery” (48). per the partus sequitur ventrem laws that virginia adopted in 1662, clotel follows the enslaved status of her mother, one of jefferson’s slaves, and after jefferson’s death, clotel, her mother, and her sister are sold to the highest bidder. clotel’s beauty fetches her the highest price of the day, fifteen hundred dollars, and she is sold to horatio green, a white man who takes her as a common-law wife. brown concludes this chapter, in which a human being has just been sold on the promise of her being a “devoted christian, and perfectly trustworthy” (50), with the anonymously published poem “the slave auction a fact”: o god! my every heart-string cries, doest thou these scenes behold in this our boasted christian land, and must the truth be told? blush, christian, blush! for e’en the dark, untutored heathen see thy inconsistency; and lo! they scorn thy god, and thee! much like brown’s statement in the novel’s preface, the poem comments on the unstable moral integrity that comes with calling oneself a christian while simultaneously upholding the institution of slavery. brown’s conclusion of the first chapter with this poem sets up the rest of the novel to be a constant pleading with a white audience to reevaluate the inconsistencies 4 within their own christian morals. he calls upon them to recognize that even in “a city thronged with churches,” these proclaimed christians will still continue to trust that “slavery is a god-ordained institution” (50). slavery persists as a politically accepted institution even as the nation’s supposed christianity, when practiced in its “true light,” challenges and condemns its horrors. in clotel’s fictional narrative and in the historical realities of the novel’s publication, religion and slavery exist alongside each other so seamlessly that it is difficult at times to divorce the two. from this point in the novel, the audience is introduced to several slave owners and christian preachers, many of whom use christianity as evidence in their argument for slavery. clotel marries the man who purchased her at the auction. theirs is a marriage “sanctioned by heaven, although not recognized on earth” (65), but it still remains an unbalanced marriage rooted in slavery and treating human beings as property, not christianity. for a man who purchased clotel on the grounds that she was a christian woman with pristine morals, green pays very little attention to these theological ideations. clotel considers herself content in her common-law marriage, especially after the birth of their first child together, but grows restless and frustrated with green’s constant separation of her and her child from his public life. she nearly manages to convince him to take their family to france, a place that promises a freer life for them, and he says he would have done so with “little questioning” (65) had it not been for his burgeoning political career. his spurning of his family further decays what little rectitude green possesses. no matter how benevolent and christian his intentions or how loving he acts towards his ‘wife,’ green still legally owns a human being and refuses to free her, foregrounding his ensuing immoral actions. 5 green’s ever weakening morality further signals that slavery not only results physical, mental, and emotional devastation for black people but also a moral abasement of the white people who vindicate the system. when his political career begins to gain traction and he becomes more entrenched in a white, christian society, he marries a white woman who in a fit of jealousy forces him to sell clotel. he acquiesces and never sees the mother of his child again. his wife subsequently forces clotel’s child to work as a slave in their household. green’s willingness to forsake his black wife and mixed race child, a situation not singular, for the sake of political gain and satisfying a woman who participates slavery out of spite indicates a larger, national moral decomposition. abandoning one’s family goes directly against the moral teachings of the bible itself; according to 1 timothy 5:8, by “not provid[ing] for his own,” green “has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.” this blatant hypocrisy in green’s claim to christianity also manifests itself in reverend john peck, who manages to purchase currer, clotel’s mother. before peck had acquired her, currer had served as a laundress, giving her wages to jefferson. peck uses her domestic skills largely in the same manner, assigning her to household and kitchen affairs and thus continuing her life of hard labor. considering himself an authority on religious matters, peck engages in a spirited conversation with an old school friend, miles carlton, on the correlation between slavery and christianity. carlton, a lukewarm abolitionist, claims that as a student studying rousseau and other like philosophers, he cannot identify “difference[s] between white men and black men as it regards liberty” (73). in attempting to appeal to peck’s sense of reason, carlton points peck to the declaration of independence with its ideals of self-evident human equality. peck rebuffs him: “the bible is older than the declaration of independence, and there i take my stand... those who say that religious instruction is inconsistent with our peculiar civil 6 polity are the worst enemies of that polity” (73). peck’s acknowledgement of the possibility of an inconsistency in his own line of thinking only makes him more stalwart in his beliefs. though brown presents peck’s myopic view of the two institutions in an unfavorable light, he also criticizes carlton’s views by saying that the abolitionist had spent too much time delving into the intrigues of abstract philosophy “to place that appreciation upon the bible and its teachings that it demands” (74). like peck’s, carlton’s stance is unsatisfactory. what brown argues for here is a dialectical approach to the two arguments. combining the practicality of philosophy and government with the transcendental hope and comfort that only religion can provide allows for a synthesis of the best of the two ideals. this synthesis comes in part from the character of georgiana peck, who positions herself as a different kind of preacher than her father. georgiana has an active abolitionist spirit that ignites a fire of change in many of the people she encounters, including her future husband, carlton, and peck himself. like the other preachers in the novel, she is unafraid to draw on the teachings of the bible. she relies on her own interpretations of the same text to argue on the topic of slavery, this time against the institution. she presents the first rhetoric in the entire novel in which racial liberty and christianity are not opposing forces but are synonymous with one another. she justly claims that “whatever… destroys, abridges, or renders insecure, human welfare is opposed to god’s will, and is evil...true christian love is of an enlarged, disinterested nature” (75). this declaration diverges from anything that the audience has heard thus far. brown uses the character of georgiana and her morality to speak directly to his audience. georgiana’s words, as author dawn coleman asserts, “affirm colorblind love as a core christian principle” (185). this troubles peck’s rigid understanding of 7 christianity and with his daughter’s words, he is able to view “christianity in its true light” (75). the slaves on peck’s plantation seem to have their own understanding of christianity, a christianity in this “true light.” when peck has hontz snyder, a missionary, speak to the slaves for their sunday meeting, snyder continues this cycle of bastardizing the bible in order to further the idea that slavery in a divinely ordained and integral part of american society. he purports that “it is the will of god” that black people exist in enslavement because he “knew that condition would be best for you” (77). not only does snyder excuse the horrors of slavery but he also postures as if its mental and physical anguish that debilitate the black population is beneficial to them. “any discontent…” he continues “is quarrelling with your heavenly master” (77). here, snyder refers to god to as “master,” a title only the proponents of slavery in the novel use to reference god. moreover, he manipulates the theological belief in god’s omnipotence and omniscience in order to maintain these systems of oppression. the enslavers’ take on christianity remains incredibly punitive and corrective, whereas the slaves draw on christianity as a source of hope and liberation. brown uses john greenleaf whittier’s prose to solidify this hypocrisy: what! preach and enslave men? give thanks-and rob thy own afflicted poor? talk of thy glorious liberty, and then bolt hard the captive’s door? (5-8) snyder also forces the slaves to answer the question of why whites cannot be enslaved in the manner same as blacks, to which the answer is “because the lord intended the negroes for slaves” (81). this claim to possess insight to god’s thoughts has no scriptural foundation. sylvester johnson maintains that the bible does not racialize slavery (231–32), assigning no specific race to the enslaved. instead, the interpreters of the bible corrupt the theological 8 integrity of the scripture, using christianity “merely as a screen on to which ... [to] project their racial attitudes, fears and fantasies” (kidd 3). by hiding behind the label of christianity, many enslavers sought to justify their actions. this interpretation leads directly into the next biblical fallacy. benjamin braude correctly claims that “the treatment of jews, blacks, and [indigenous peoples] in the early modern world arose despite, not because of, theological acceptance of a shared genealogy” (105). in the seventh chapter of the book of genesis, god sends a flood to cleanse the world of sin by killing all of humanity save for noah and his immediate family members, leaving them responsible for repopulating the earth without the corruption of the other human beings. biblical interpretation remained largely literal during the nineteenth century, so this narrative, when coupled with the unquestioned authority of the bible, leads to the logical conclusion that all humanity shares a single ancestor in noah. christianity had, at this point, accepted this collective ancestry, and any attempt to claim superiority over a group of people who shared in this genealogy is logically unsound. christianity thus remains an unstable entity throughout the novel. what ensues after snyder finishes his lecture is another performance of christianity, this time manifesting in a call and response similar to black spirituals that forces the slaves to recite answers to questions avowing that god intended for blacks to exist as slaves. the slaves answer without any resistance but with no trace of vigor. in a collection of interviews on the very subject of these sunday sermons, former slave william ward affirms what brown depicts in his fictional narrative, saying that: on sundays the slaves were permitted to have a religious meeting of their own...they sang spirituals which gave vent to their true feelings...there was one person who did the preaching. his sermon was always built according to the master’s instructions which were that slaves must always remember that they belonged to their masters and 9 were intended to lead a life of loyal servitude. none of the slaves believed this, although they pretended to believe because of the presence of the white overseer. (129) this blatant subversion affords the slaves agency over their own private religious beliefs without further invoking the wrath of their enslavers. christianity as a religion comprises of both interior belief and external fellowship with other believers, so the enslaved people’s need for an authentic christian community is only satiated after the overseer leaves and they are free to speak and practice their religion as desired. simon, an older slave, hushes the disgruntled murmurings of the others who question their participation in a religion that appears implicit in their systemic oppression. he tells them that “thars more in de bible den dat, only snyder never reads any other part to us...thar was more den what snyder lets us hear” (82). instead of eschewing christianity entirely, simon seems to propose a reassessment of the religion’s position in the nation. he knows that the bible goes beyond the stunted interpretation of the enslavers. one of the most basic tenets of christianity and a commonly cited biblical passage, matthew 22:39, dictates that christians “love thy neighbor as thyself,” an accomplishment rendered impossible when one enslaves, beats, and murders one’s neighbor. georgiana in part shares this knowledge as well. she and carlton impart their christianity on the enslaved they had received as part of an inheritance from her father. their slaves “appreciated the gospel when given to them in its purity” (138), a tribute to their desire to view christianity in this “true light.” they not only enjoy a mistress who forgoes whippings but also encouragement to practice christianity in the way they see fit. as georgiana dies, her altruistic christianity is exemplified in her deathbed words to her slaves: “if ever there was a people who needed the consolations of religion to sustain them in their grievous afflictions, you are that people. you had better trust in the lord than to put confidence in man” (157). 10 in georgiana’s words and actions, she does not use christianity to validate the system of slavery. she manages to convert her husband “from infidelity to christianity, from the mere theory of liberty to practical freedom” (159). she recognizes that christianity without just actions cannot rightly call itself christianity, which at its very core calls its believers to undertake the task of ensuring that all of god’s children are protected from suffering. however, her affirmation of the christian faith as one of hope and liberation is troubled by her status as a slave owner. as brown writes, “the evils consequent on slavery are not lessened by the incoming of one or two rays of light” (179). even as she grants liberty to the enslaved people and speaks to the “true light” of christianity, she herself participates in the very institution she attempts to dismantle. georgiana’s moral ambiguity mimics the complexity of the nation itself. at the time of the novel’s publication, the united states, with its selfproclaimed title of being a christian nation, upheld the institution of slavery that left no citizen of any race, black, white, or otherwise, unharmed. though christopher stampone argues that georgiana “represents brown’s idealized version of the white abolitionist heroine par excellence” (79) and that she indicates the possibility of a new generation characterized by abolitionist vigor, georgiana remains a morally complex character that destabilizes the settled idea of a moral dichotomy that critics and historians alike are fond of projecting on this period of american history. this anti-slavery sentiment being imparted to a male actor through female intervention manifests itself again in henry morton, a white physician. he marries clotel’s sister and subsequently has a personal stake in the abolition of the institution of slavery, taking it upon himself to be “obnoxious to private circles” (151) with his abolitionist leanings. he asks, on the subject of the widespread and federally sanctioned ownership of human beings, “are we 11 not then despots–despots such as history will brand and god abhor?” (153). with this question, he appeals to both the theological and political machinations at work in the heart of the nation. the united states’ status as “the land of the free” is innately threatened by the fact that an entire population of its people exists in horrific oppression. by addressing god in the same breath, morton claims indirectly that this continued distortion of the bible will lead to the nation’s losing its moral character and its eventual destruction. that, he claims, will be sanctioned by god. the political outrage over the immorality of slave owning does not end with morton. president jefferson also addresses this topic of despots and the theological implications of slavery: with what execration should the statesman be loaded who, permitting one half the citizens thus to trample on the rights of the other, transforms those into despots and these into enemies, destroys the morals of the one part, and the amor patriae of the other!... indeed, i tremble for my country when i reflect that god is just; that his justice cannot sleep for ever. (131) the fact that his own daughter, clotel, dies as a slave complicates his apparent agreement with morton’s abolitionist sentiment. this posturing as a proponent of freedom remains hollow and sanctimonious and reflects the ubiquitous attitudes of the slave-owning but claimed christian nation. described in a chapter entitled “death is freedom,” clotel’s suicide also highlights the differences in an enslaver and an enslaved person’s christianity. after a life of enduring physical and mental abuse, involuntary familial division, and fear, clotel attempts to escape her life of bondage, only to be cornered on a bridge by slave hunters. instead of cooperation, she chooses the ultimate form of dissent: “she at the same time raised her eyes towards heaven, and begged for that mercy and compassion there, which had been denied her on earth; and then, with a single 12 bound, she vaulted over the railings of the bridge, and sunk for ever beneath the waves of the river” (185). the potomac consumes her body and, within the view of the white house and the physical representation of all the nation’s democratic and christian ideals, she dies. the description of her death is interspersed with a christian lexicon: she places her life in the hands of her god, beseeching him for a transcendental peace that, by nature of her race and her status as a slave, had been out of reach for the duration of her life. here, clotel recognizes that death signals a certain kind of freedom; an eternal freedom she only obtains through her christianity. her christianity is not the same religion that enslavers manipulate to maintain their position in this network of power. through a democratically irrational and morally unjustifiable co-opting of christianity, those who either explicitly or passively sustain the system of slavery morally debase themselves and thus, their proclaimed christian nation. brown’s warning against this moral hypocrisy pervades his novel. in clotel’s conclusion, brown writes “let no christian association be maintained with those who traffic in the blood and bones of those whom god has made of one flesh as yourselves” (209). as jacob olupona states, christianity was “deeply culpable in the african slave trade, inasmuch as it consistently provided a moral cloak for the buying and selling of human beings” (95). this moral cloak attempted to shroud the centuries worth of the outward, tangible horrors that slavery produced, including the literal buying and selling of human beings as if they were livestock, the wrenching apart of families, and the rape and murder of men, women, and children. mary fitzpatrick maintains that “such marked inconsistency between slavery and the united states' founding ideals severely destabilizes the country's exalted place as the bastion of democracy” (6). even thomas jefferson, the venerated president who penned the famous “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” directly participated in the institution that contradicted his very words by owning slaves. in 13 political figures like horatio and jefferson, the nation’s hypocrisy is highlighted, as is the conflict between the slaves’ adherence to christianity and the masters’ adherence to the same faith. in tragic heroines such as clotel and unassuming rebels like simon, the “true light” of christianity shines. 14 bibliography the bible. king james version. bible gateway, version 42, trans. by zondervan. 2016. braude, benjamin. “the sons of noah and the construction of ethnic and geographical identities in the medieval and early modern periods.” william and mary quarterly, vol. 54. no 1. 1997. brown, william wells. clotel: or, the president’s daughter. 1853. penguin classics, 2003. coleman, dawn. preaching and the rise of the american novel. columbus: ohio state up, 2013. davis, ron. “america’s early bibles.” the bible review journal, fall 2014. ernest, john. liberation historiography: african american writers and the challenge of history, 1794–1861. chapel hill: unc up, 2004. gutacker, paul. “seventeen centuries of sin: the christian past in antebellum slavery debates.” church history, vol. 89. 2020. johnson, sylvester a. “the bible, slavery, and the problem of authority.” beyond slavery: overcoming its religious and sexual legacies. ed. bernadette j. brooten. new york: palgrave macmillan. 2010. kirkpatrick, mary a. “summary of clotel.” documenting the american south. chapel hill: unc up, 2001. kidd, colin. the forging of races: race and scripture in the protestant atlantic world. 1600–2000. cambridge up. 2006. olupona, jacob k. african religions: a very short introduction. oxford up. 2014. stampone, christopher. “[h]eroic bravery in more than one battle”: the creation of heroes in william wells brown’s multi-edition clotel.” african american review, vol. 49. no. 2. 2016. ward, william. qtd. in federal writers' project: slave narrative project, vol. 4, georgia, part 4, telfair-young with combined interviews of others. 1936. whittier, john greenleaf. “clerical oppressors.” the poetical works in four volumes. houghton mifflin and co. 2013. microsoft word dying_for_wisdom 1 dying for wisdom: seneca and socrates in dialogue elisa markhoff classical studies and let us adduce an argument of plato – for what harm is there in using other people’s ideas where they coincide with ours? lucius a. seneca, on anger, i.65 i. introduction in the spring of 399 bce, surrounded by students and friends, the athenian philosopher socrates was condemned to die by drinking a cup of hemlock. almost five hundred years later, in 65 ad, the roman philosopher seneca allegedly chose to recreate his forced suicide in the same manner as plato’s teacher. both men were older, both were shunned by the authorities, and both shared a passion for wisdom – but other than that, few similarities remain. socrates was poor, known for walking barefoot around the streets of athens, while seneca was the second wealthiest man in the roman empire. though socrates never wrote a single line of text, seneca was an extremely prolific writer; and while socrates preferred to stay out of politics, seneca was (for better or worse) part of nero’s inner circle. the contradictions abound, yet somehow seneca felt a connection to socrates that was strong enough to emulate his demise. by focusing on plato’s phaedo and seneca’s consolatio ad marciam and letter 65, this paper seeks to explore the common elements between them, both in their ideas about death and in the philosophers’ manners of dying. 2 before we begin, though, a brief word of caution on sources is needed. even though many centuries have passed between seneca and our own time, and a considerable number of ancient sources have been lost, we are fortunate to have many of the works cited by seneca in reference to socrates. however, since the ancient athenian did not write, seneca must have engaged primarily with the dramatic representations of socrates written by his most famous student, plato. in this sense, when we speak about socrates we are not dealing with the historical figure, but with a literary character that is part of the logos sokratikos and platonic philosophy.1 of particular interest for the last days of socrates’ life are the euthyphro, the apology, the crito, and phaedo. we do not know when plato composed these texts nor whether they were written in chronological order, but when read together, they can give us a fair impression of the last weeks of the philosopher’s life2 that must have impressed seneca as well. there are also surviving accounts of socrates by aristophanes and xenophon which we will not analyze, as seneca engaged primarily with the socratic dialogues of plato. therefore, our focus will remain on the phaedo and some passages of the apology. when it comes to written accounts of seneca’s death, our only extant sources are a trio of secondand thirdcentury works: the annals of tacitus, suetonius’ de vita caesarum, and cassius dio’s roman history.3 the most complete and chronologically close is tacitus’ narration, who does not write a continuous biography of seneca but rather mentions him in isolated episodes of his year-by-year history of the julioclaudian dynasty. tacitus’ account is not without controversy, but because seneca’s last words are lost to us4 and he provides the most complete description of seneca’s 3 death, our approach shall be to rely on tacitus as a main source and fill in the gaps with passages of seneca’s own works, especially the consolatio ad marciam and his letter 65, which survive in their entirety and engage with platonic concepts of life and death.5 ii. the hemlock cup to many ancient roman thinkers, death was “the final, most crucial moment of self-construction” for this last act of self-annihilation could become “the ultimate demonstration of self-creation and manifestation of [one’s] virtues.”6 let us then begin at the end, with the death scenes of our respective philosophers. in plato’s phaedo, we encounter a socrates who has peacefully come to term with his own departure:7 surrounded by those who loved him, the dying socrates appears “happily in both manner and words as he died nobly and without fear” (58c), passing away with his mental faculties intact and showing no major physical discomfort after drinking the poison. for socrates, “the body need not intrude on the final work of the soul as it prepares to depart.”8 because he is in full control of himself, socrates remains as wise as usual, able to hold a conversation and to focus on his philosophy until almost the very end, when he wishes to die in good-omened silence and asks his friends to keep quiet and compose themselves (117d-e). this narration evokes an almost-ideal death, in which a sage dies with calm and courage, reassured in his knowledge that death is “only the getaway to the soul’s immortal life. [socrates] becomes more and more himself as he approaches liberation from the body.”9 his final words “crito, we owe a cock to asclepius” (118a) remind us that his playful personality is still intact: traditionally, libations were poured from wine, not poison. but for someone who does not perceive 4 death as something negative, a libation to the gods may be the best way to celebrate his last hour, even if it must be done with hemlock.10 as plato’s retelling of socrates’ death comprises such positive and moving elements, it should come as no surprise that it turned into a model to emulate, particularly within the roman tradition, where citizens used the figure of the dying socrates as an exemplum. socrates’ final hours helped romans think through the place of the life of the mind in a world that was turning more and more violent, and where political and military loyalties were becoming more and more important.11 the phaedo became a prime example of the exitus illustrium virorum (exit genre), a type of literature that described death combining historical narrative with lively renderings of direct speech.12 such was its influence that cato the younger was said to have read plato on the night of his suicide in 46 bce, prompting cicero (who also admired socrates as a philosophical model) to remark that “ut tunc socrati, nunc catoni” (“as then for socrates, now also for cato”).13 by the time seneca is forced to commit suicide, the socratic death would have been the most dignified model to follow, especially for those who sympathized with stoic principles, the philosophical school favored by seneca. socrates resisted pain, did not bow to political pressure nor feared death; his character was consistent with that of the stoic sage, a man “who by reason conquers death, death in all its aspects, and, by reason, converts it to a principle of life.”14 as seneca prepares to die, socrates the sage and the secular martyr who conquers suffering would have best encapsulated the qualities he most admired, making the phaedo the perfect exemplum to follow in his last moments.15 5 iii. death in writing lucius seneca lived in troubled times. neronian rome was marked by death, a topic on which the philosopher reflects upon in many of his writings – consolatio ad marciam, de brevitate vitae, de inmatura morte, de remediis fortuitorum, de providentia, and epistulae morales, amongst others, express seneca’s concern with death as a privileged subject.16 these texts, however, do not constitute one monolithic corpus on dying; if anything, seneca’s strategies for speaking about death are flexible and varied, as is his intellectual engagement on the topic with different philosophical schools. besides his strong affiliation with stoicism, we find that platonism, aristotelianism, and epicureanism feature in his arguments,17 for seneca “shows himself to be well attuned to situational variability in moral reasoning”,18 discussing and recognizing the merits of other teachers if they advance his own arguments. in the face of such rich intellectual influences, we must ask ourselves what seneca’s philosophical position vis-à-vis death might be and how it agrees with the notions presented in the phaedo. is he incorporating platonic ideas in his writings which may stray from his stoic roots, or does he simply praise and emulate socrates’ death as a cultural exemplum? the truth may lie somewhere in the middle. according to most scholars, seneca’s relationship to platonism is a complicated one.19 in part, because earlier stoics such as panaetius and posidonius referred to plato quite often,20 making seneca familiar with many of his ideas through stoicism; and in part, because seneca manipulates epicurean, stoic, and platonic philosophical principles for his own purposes, in what can be best described as a functional adaptation of available doctrines.21 “seneca feels at liberty to use plato insofar as the 6 latter can be used in support of what seneca understands as his own stoic position, particularly when plato has made a particular point particularly well.”22 though for the most part seneca does not provide direct quotes or suppresses the names of the dialogues to which he is referring, it is clear that he has read the platonic corpus and engages in his work with the phaedo, theaetetus, the laws, and the republic. we shall focus now on two concrete examples, the consolatio ad marciam and letter 65, to better illustrate seneca’s relation to platonism, especially regarding his views on death. iv. the consolatio ad marciam consolatio ad marciam is one of the earliest surviving prose works of seneca, dated around 40 ad. it is addressed to marcia, daughter of the roman senator cremutius cordus, and mother of metilius, who has died three years before the consolation is written.23 marcia is still in deep mourning over the loss of her son, and in his letter,24 seneca appeals to her “strength of mind” (1.1) and reason to change her attitude and stop grieving. in order to do this, seneca brings together different arguments from a number of philosophic schools, a technique that was common in the genre of consolation, “in the hope that at least one [of these arguments] would prove effective”.25 seneca openly acknowledges this when he tells marcia that “different people should be treated in different ways: some are guided by reason, some require to be confronted with famous names” (2.1). taking advantage of this open strategy, the first part of the consolation (19.3-22) is an attempt to unstick marcia from her (commonly held) belief that death is evil; instead, seneca insists, metilius died at exactly the right time and death cannot harm him. this line of argument resonates with 7 epicurean views that death is the annihilation of the self, therefore “the person cannot be wretched who does not exist” (19.5). marcia would be familiar with these ideas, since concepts such as the opportunitas mortis (timeliness of death)26 and the epicurean notions used by seneca were conventional knowledge for most upper-class romans. we could say then that seneca is using common arguments known to marcia to help her accept the plausibility that death may not be evil after all – in fact it might even be good: “death is a release from all pains, and a boundary beyond which our sufferings cannot go; it returns us to that state of peacefulness in which we lay before we were born” (19.2). while one could argue that seneca is sacrificing philosophical consistency by bringing in epicurean concepts, it is also possible to see his strategy as a therapeutic one, in which he presents arguments that open up marcia’s reason so that she can make progress and “be ready for a fresh approach capable of expunging any remaining doubts about metilius’ felicitas.”27 this fresh approach that seneca uses in the second part of the letter is a stoic one, but it includes platonic elements that support seneca’s argument. as seneca carries on in the second part of the letter (23-6), the concept of the anima enters the picture: “great souls are never happy to linger in the body: they long to depart and to burst forth” (23.1). immediately after this statement, seneca quotes plato as ‘crying out’ that “the man of wisdom makes death the focus of his whole mind (…), because he yearns for it, passes through life striving for what lies beyond” (23.2). these words reflect a passage from the phaedo on philosophy as a way to prepare for death: “those who really apply themselves in the right way to philosophy (…) have actually been looking forward to death all their lives” (64a). thus, the wise man looks forward to 8 the separation of the soul from his body, and marcia should be grateful that the soul of her son has been released. in terms of stoic and platonic views, the existence of the soul is not a contradiction, but its lack of materiality and immortality could be called an inconsistency between the two doctrines.28 nevertheless, we should keep in mind that seneca is bringing up plato as a great master of the past who can help him get his point across to the grieving marcia. “though stoic as [seneca] was, his adhesion to the creed was never so sectarian that he refused to see that other philosophies had perceived part of the truth,”29 and that includes platonism. to sum up, in this consolatio “there is a strong platonic coloring in the dualistic view that makes the soul the true self and the body merely the fleshy prison that binds and corrupts it as it strives to return to its divine home,”30 but these platonizing elements are never in direct contradiction with seneca’s wider stoic framework and are purposely chosen to help marcia accept the more complex set of philosophical arguments that can result in the permanent release of her grief. let us now look briefly at another example of seneca’s writings in which platonic references feature strongly. letter 65 was composed sometime in the first half of the 60’s ad; in it, seneca presents himself as having been unwell the day before and visited by friends later, with whom he shares a philosophical conversation on cause and matter that progresses to include reflections on death. even though some twenty years have passed between the writing of the consolatio and his letter to lucilius, seneca’s views on death show recurrent evidence of his engagement with platonic ideas: the soul “yearns to win free of the heavy load it is saddled with here and return to the world where it once belonged. for to it this body of ours is a burden and a torment. and 9 harassed by the body’s overwhelming weight, the soul is in captivity unless philosophy comes to its rescue” (7). seneca does not quote directly from plato, but his words echo the mind-body dualism found in the phaedo, “the dialogue which makes most sense of seneca’s letter 65 as a whole, rather than just of certain high-profile parts.”31 the letter concludes with a direct reflection on death: “what is death? either a transition or an end. i am not afraid of coming to an end, this being the same as never having begun, nor of transition, for i shall never be in confinement quite so cramped anywhere else as i am here” (24). this last passage is reminiscent of plato’s apology, when socrates claims that one “must look forward to death with confidence” for it is better for him “to die and be released from my distractions” (41d-e), though seneca does not make explicit references to this platonic text. rather, he borrows extensively from platonic language and imagery to get his own point across, using the opposition between soul and body to underscore his scale of values, which are essentially stoic.32 for seneca, the conquest of death is an inward struggle, and the only deliverance from death is wisdom, whose sole agent is reason.33 as an independent minded stoic, seneca feels at ease to engage with plato and discuss his ideas conversing with his well-read friends, who are able to understand the value of his references and philosophical sympathies.34 v. conclusion in his surviving works, seneca mentions socrates in sixty-five instances and plato in fifty.35 these are unambiguous cases in which seneca calls the philosophers directly by their names, but the number of times when he refers to them without 10 informing his readers of his sources is much higher. in consolatio ad marciam and letter 65 both plato and socrates come up, as well as allusions to platonic texts that omit explicit authorship but that interact directly with philosophical ideas regarding life, death, and the nature of the soul. clearly, seneca has “a powerful interest in and sympathy for the platonic branch of the socratic intellectual family,”36 but this affinity never contradicts his stoic roots. even socrates’ references to the immortality of the soul in the phaedo can be harmonized with the stoic doctrine that accepts a temporary survival of the soul after death;37 thus seneca’s attraction to platonic ideas enriches, rather than takes away from, his own view of philosophy. by strategically using socrates as exemplum and engaging with platonic discourse as needed, seneca is able to advance his own arguments and underscore his stoic values. with these considerations in mind, it is easy to understand why seneca had socrates present when preparing for his own death. in tacitus’ account, the commonalities between both men are multiple: the events take place in the evening, and are witnessed by an internal audience (phaedo116b, annals15.60.4); the philosophers call for the hemlock themselves (116c, 15.64.3), but before doing so they attend to the domestic concerns of their spouses.38 a preparatory bath is mentioned,39 and a discussion on the nature of the soul follows as the philosophers undertake their final exit, remaining fearless in front of their tearful audience (59a, 15.62.2).40 yet, for all his efforts to emulate the ancient sage, seneca fails to die like socrates. even though he is granted illud breve mortis arbitrium (freedom to decide about his death)41 by the centurion who delivered the sentence, the arrangements made by seneca do not deliver the expected results: his body does not release blood quickly enough after 11 cutting his veins, the hemlock does not give him the restful sleep it gave socrates,42 and the calm, joyful transition that he hoped for eludes him. in his de providentia, seneca had written that god had “made nothing easier than dying” (6.7), but ironically, seneca’s death evades him and frustrates his desires.43 his last act, the act of dying, should have been for seneca the most fulfilling liberation, chosen and enacted in reason, like socrates’. unfortunately for him, neronian rome was no ancient athens, and gifted as he was in his intellectual pursuits, seneca was no socrates, but a highly intelligent, complex man trying to make sense of the reality surrounding him. let us hope that jupiter accepted his libation, and that his knowledge of plato helped to soothe his stoic spirit one last time. notes 1 this dilemma is better known to philosophers as ‘the socratic problem. most scholars, such as dorion, propose that “since we do not have at our disposal the criteria that would allow us to separate invention from authenticity, it would certainly be more prudent to renounce any hope of finding the ‘true’ socrates in these writings.” see morrison, 2011:8-9. 2 wilson, 2007:102. 3 these three roman historians did not necessarily draw upon each other’s narration; rather, their main sources were the flavian-era writers pliny the elder, marcus cluvius rufus, and fabius rusticus, whose accounts are lost to us, and their degree of veracity debated. see ker, 2009:17-18. 4 seneca’s last dictated words seem to have been well-known to romans for an extended period of time; so much that tacitus does not feel the need to repeat them: “[seneca] dictated a dissertation. it has been published in his own words, so i shall refrain from paraphrasing it” (xv.62). in the middle ages, seneca’s last words were part of the so-called epitaphium senecae (anth. lat. 667). though very influential, they are believed to be a literary creation and thus outside our scope of study. see ker, 2009:70. 5 there are plenty of references to socrates and platonism in seneca’s corpus, including a lengthy speech by socrates in de vita beata 24-28 which focuses on (and defends) the role of wealth, where ‘the character socrates’ asks to “make me conqueror of all the world…i nevertheless prefer to conquer than to be captured. see ker, 2010:180-181. 6 star, 2012:14-15. 7 reading the apology, one could even go further and argue that socrates brings about his own demise: he declines an offer of exile and tells athenians they should rather thank him than execute him. 8 wilson, 2007:14. 9 wilson, 2007:104. 10 wilson, 2007:112. 11 wilson, 2007:121. 12 ker, 2009:53. 12 13 cicero, tusculan disputations 1.74. see ker 2009:56. 14 caponigri, 1967:491. 15 during seneca’s time romans held a firm belief in the importance of the first and last day of someone’s life as capturing the essence of their human condition. this is best exemplified in valerius maximus’ de mortibus non vulgaribus (on extraordinary deaths). see ker 2009:52. the relationship between platonism and seneca’s stoic views on death are explored in pages 6-7 of this paper. 16 ker, 2009:74. 17 throughout his surviving works seneca mentions epicurus 83 times, socrates 65, and plato 50. see tieleman, 2007:137. 18 inwood, 2005:4. 19 see inwood, manning and tieleman in bibliography. 20 tieleman argues that posidonius even appropriated platonic heritage and presented plato as “having anticipated key elements of stoic psychology”. seneca, however, does not quote earlier stoics often. see tieleman, 2007:136-138. 21 zainaldin, 2021:425-428. 22 tieleman, 2007:138. 23 heil and damschen, 2013:135. 24 although the consolation is usually referred to as a ‘letter’, it should not be confused with personal correspondence. seneca’s private correspondence is all lost, and what we called ‘consolations’ were circulated as public writings. see inwood, 2007:151 on the veracity of seneca’s accounts and wilson, ker in bibliography. 25 manning, 1981:14. consolation was well developed in the hellenistic age and had become a well-established generic tradition in rome; in his consolatio ad marciam seneca follows cicero’s pattern of consolation most closely. 26 zainaldin, 2021:426. 27 zainaldin, 2021:432. 28 tieleman, 2007:141. for a discussion on platonism, stoicism and the immortality of the soul see reydams-schils in bibliography. 29 manning, 1981:19 30 zainaldin, 2021:446. 31 inwood, 2007:156. inwood argues for a closer connection between letter 65 and the phaedo, instead of the more commonly established link with the timaeus. 32 reydams-schils, 2010:201. 33 caponigri, 1967:496-503. 34 inwood, 2007:166. 35 tieleman, 2007:137. 36 inwood 2005:4. 37 reydams-schils, 2010:200. 38 socrates sends his wife xanthippe away to spare her distress, while seneca allows paulina to die beside him, but ends up sending her away as her presence is distressing him. see star 2012:13. 39 socrates bathes before taking the poison in order to spare women the task of having to wash his corpse (phaedo,115a). in seneca’s case the sequence is inverted, with seneca’s method of choice not working as desired and a hot bath being the last available resource to die. 40 for a complete list of parallels see ker, 2009:55-58. 41 tacitus, annals, 60.1. 42 athenians were known for mixing their poisons. it is suggested that the drink taken by socrates contained crushed opium from poppies as well, increasing the sedative effects. seneca’s mixture might have included a different strain of hemlock, as the family of hemlock plants is a large one. see wilson, 2007:15-16. 43 star, 2012:13. 13 bibliography caponigri, a.r. “seneca: death as wisdom”. in continuum (chicago, ill), 5 no 3. autumn 1967, p 489-503. heil, a. and damschen, g. (ed.) brill’s companion to seneca. brill, 2013. inwood, b. reading seneca: stoic philosophy at rome. oxford university press, 2005. inwood, b. “seneca, plato and platonism: the case of letter 65”. in helmig, c. and bonazzi, m. (ed.) platonic stoicism – stoic platonism: the dialogue between platonism and stoicism in antiquity. leuven university press, 2007. pp. 149-167. ker, j. “socrates speaks in seneca, de vita beata 24-28”. in nightingale, a. and sedley, d. (ed). ancient models of mind: studies in human and divine rationality. cambridge university press, 2010. pp. 180-195. ker, j. the deaths of seneca. oxford university press, 2009. manning, c.e. on seneca’s “ad marciam”. brill, 1981. motta, a. “suggestioni platoniche nella consolatio ad helviam matrem di seneca”. in rivista di filosofia neo-scolastica, vol. 110, no. 1-2. january-june 2018. pp. 225 244. morrison, d.r. (editor). the cambridge companion to socrates. cambridge university press, 2011. plato. the last days of socrates: euthyphro; apology; crito; phaedo. translated by harold tarrant. penguin books, 2003. reydams-schils, g. “seneca’s platonism: the soul and its divine origin”. in nightingale, a. and sedley, d. (ed). ancient models of mind: studies in human and divine rationality. cambridge university press, 2010. pp. 196-215. seneca, l. a. dialogues and essays. translated by john davie. oxford university press, 2008. seneca, l. a. letters from a stoic: epistulae morales ad lucilium. translated by robin campbell. penguin books, 2004. star, c. the empire of the self: self command and political speech in seneca and 14 petronius. johns hopkins university press, 2012. tacitus. the annals of imperial rome. translated by michael grant. penguin books, 1996. tieleman, t. “onomastic reference in seneca: the case of plato and the platonists”. in helmig, c. and bonazzi, m. (ed.) platonic stoicism – stoic platonism: the dialogue between platonism and stoicism in antiquity. leuven university press, 2007. pp. 133-148. wilson, e. the death of socrates. harvard university press, 2007. zainaldin, j.l. “‘we fortunate souls’: timely death and philosophical therapy in seneca’s consolation to marcia”. in american journal of philology, vol. 142, no. 3 (whole number 567). fall 2021. pp. 425-460. microsoft word gabriel morbeck_his 1 the root of empire: botany, british imperialism, and early american encounters with ginseng, 1738-1784 gabriel shaw morbeck history i carried home this treasure with as much joy as if every root had been a graft of the tree of life. — william byrd, the westover manuscripts. so get a stock [of ginseng] by thee as soon as thee can, & be sure to conceal thy intention from everyone. — peter collinson, the correspondence of john bartram. deep in a thicket along the banks of the susquehanna river, there lay a small, flowering plant with a bulbous root. only reaching a height of about six inches and with tiny flowers, it was not a particularly stunning plant. the untrained observer might easily mistake this for one of the many common plants that make up the undergrowth of the forests of pennsylvania, but john bartram knew better, and meticulously recorded the coordinates of his location and gathered what he could find. after days of searching, he had only four specimens of the plant, but it was enough to confirm to him what he suspected: that ginseng could be found growing in pennsylvania. bartram was fond of his trips into the american wilderness to find new plant specimens, but this was not a trip he embarked upon on his own volition. the year was 1738, and bartram was scouring the countryside on the orders of the royal society in london, britain’s premier scientific society.1 at the time, bartram certainly knew that ginseng was an important plant, one that was especially valued in china. but he could hardly have grasped the role that 2 ginseng would come to play in the interests of imperial britain, and eventually, the newly independent united states. to the maritime empires of europe in the eighteenth century, botanical research was a vitally important and highly lucrative endeavor. the dutch, spanish, french and british all sanctioned expeditions that scoured the globe in search of economically important plants. john bartram is perhaps the best-remembered eighteenth-century american naturalist, but in many ways, he was hardly unique. botanical research was enabled by a hierarchy of collectors and assistants, a complex network of colonial and metropolitan gardens and scientific contacts, and often direct state support. historians such as londa schiebinger and james mcclellan iii have understood eighteenth century botanists as “agents of empire,” whose research routes followed the trajectories of long-distance trade and military conquests, and in turn, facilitated those processes.2 botanical science and european expansion, mcclellan writes, “reciprocally benefited each and allowed them to march together to transform the world.”3 arguing that botany and european expansion transformed the world is not an exaggeration. colonies provided fertile ground for botanical research, and the people that europeans colonized harbored knowledge of new plant species that would prove to be highly valuable on international markets. although the story of european imperialism is usually understood as part of an uninterrupted march to global preeminence, at the time botanical science came into its own in the eighteenth century, european empires still occupied a secondary position in the early modern world system.4 their economies were advanced enough to maintain overseas holdings administering wide swaths of the americas and a smattering of tropical islands, but european capitalists could still not hope to compete with the high living standards and the high quality goods churned out by advanced manufacturing economies in india and 3 china. botany and colonial expansion would rewrite the global economic order, as european empires converted the range of ecological and climatic differences within their colonies into a geopolitical and economic advantage. for colonial officials and sometimes even for the botanists themselves, the economic potential that the discovery of new plants held was obvious. the very earliest european expeditions to the americas brought back food crops that revolutionized agriculture in their home countries; finding new ways to feed people cheaply and with less land continued to preoccupy botanical research into the eighteenth century.5 dyes and ornamental plants from the colonies became highly sought after in the gardens of elites. american tree species were viewed by some european states as the answer to the ongoing crises of deforestation and fuel shortages they faced in the eighteenth century.6 in addition to discovering new plants, botanists aided european imperial interests by finding domestic substitutes for costly imports and producing useful knowledge about acclimating foreign plant species to grow within the borders of european empires. knowledge about the lucrative cash crops that formed the basis for atlantic plantation economies—sugar, indigo, tobacco, and cotton—was informed in part by the research of botanists and plant scientists who experimented with how best to grow those plants.7 even carl linnaeus, remembered as the “father of taxonomic research,” understood taxonomy to be secondary to his economic schemes premised on figuring out how to cultivate valuable plants in his gardens in sweden.8 but finding new medicines—a project that historians have dubbed “bioprospecting”— was perhaps the most lucrative thing that botanists could offer their imperial contacts.9 cinchona bark, communicated to the empires of europe through jesuit priests in the andes, produced quinine that proved to be highly useful in fighting malaria. cinchona became spanish empire’s 4 most valuable commodity by weight exported from the americas, and in turn, facilitated european colonization through treating the region’s most deadly natural obstacle.10 like cinchona, ginseng was purported to have far-reaching medicinal benefits and became highly sought after in european pharmacopeias.11 ginseng’s medicinal benefits are less straightforward than those of cinchona bark, but its economic value in the eighteenth century was no less significant.12 this paper argues that early american bioprospecting for ginseng helped reshape the relationship between british-american traders and china, revealing how scientific knowledge worked to turn latent ecological resources into a basis for imperial power. in turn, examining the case of ginseng demonstrates the extent to which botanical science in colonial america was motivated by the interests of british imperialism and the economic context of britain’s disadvantage in trade with china. unlike other medicines that were widely used by europeans, ginseng was primarily valuable as an export good in the china trade. ginseng had long been used medicinally in that country, showing up in chinese medicinal texts dating back as far as 2600 bce.13 chinese traders were famously disinterested in british consumer goods, meaning that the british had to expend valuable silver bullion in their trade with china, a problem that only grew more acute as british imports of tea ramped up dramatically in the first half of the eighteenth century. botany was the solution to this dilemma. between 1770 and 1800, the british resolved this situation by capturing the indian opium trade and gaining a monopoly to sell the drug on chinese markets, culminating violently in the opium wars that followed from 1839 to 1860.14 decades before opium, there was the ginseng trade, when the british used the botanical wealth contained within their american colonies to begin to chip away at the centuries-old chinese advantage in trade. 5 additionally, the story of ginseng sheds light on the relationship between botany and empire in two novel ways. most histories of botanical research in the american colonies have focused on the tropics. this is not surprising, since the plantation economies in the west indies were the heart of the atlantic world and were usually the first place that european naturalists encountered american plants. colonies not only served as a “fertile ground for the procurement and production of plants that would not grow in harsh european climates,” but also for plants that were native to similar latitudes half a world away in east asia.15 the story of bartram’s encounter with ginseng, which was primarily found in the shady, temperate forests of the appalachians and canada, reveals how britain’s northern american colonies could contribute to producing valuable botanicals for the empire. second, unlike most other economically valuable plants from the colonies, ginseng proved almost impossible to cultivate on any significant scale throughout the eighteenth century. colonists could only trade as much ginseng as they could dig up, meaning that the economic fortunes ginseng offered became intimately tied to the peculiarities of the plant’s growing cycle and habitat preferences. combined with the plant’s relative rarity, ginseng became acutely vulnerable to overharvesting, making it into an early instance when colonists and traders had to reckon with the impacts that human activity could have on the environment. ginseng plants belong to the panax genus, which is dispersed between north america and east asia. he did not realize at the time, but the ginseng bartram encountered in pennsylvania, panax quinquefolius, was a distinct species from the ginseng native to asia, panax ginseng.16 the idea that plants native to asia might also exist in north america was a driving motivation behind a lot of eighteenth-century botanical research, and while that idea held 6 true for some genera, botanists often erroneously assumed that the plants they encountered in the field were the exact same as the eurasian species they were familiar with.17 owing to this fact, the story of euro-american encounters with ginseng begins in asia. samples of ginseng first reached europe through the east india company’s china trade in the 1660s, and from there a mythos began to develop around the plant’s purported medicinal uses, its ancient history, and the high esteem with which chinese doctors held it.18 before long, british physicians and botanists were struck by how valuable the plant was. dr. andrew clench, a member of the royal society, conducted experiments on ginseng in 1679, revealing its use as a “stomatic” and its “virtue in restoring consumptive persons.”19 clench also remarked that he believed it to be “worth twice its weight in silver,” a thought that was probably more responsible for driving the frenzy around ginseng than any purported medicinal properties and would be repeated incessantly by botanists in the coming years. some of the properties attributed to it were clearly known to be superstition: a letter from a dr. william simpson disregarded its reputation as a “renewer of youth,” but thought it effective at treating coughs and consumption, as if it was “a medicine sent from heaven to save the lives of thousands.”20 treatises like this about ginseng’s medicinal properties continue to appear through the eighteenth century. most of what european empires learned about ginseng, however, came from jesuit missionaries who encountered the plant while working in china. with the qing state’s restrictions on trade, foreigners from european countries were often unable to visit anywhere in china outside of the ports in canton, but the state granted missionaries an exception to this rule.21 perhaps the most remarkable account of ginseng comes from pierre jartoux, a french jesuit working in beijing whose translated account of the plant appears in the royal society’s philosophical transactions journal in 1713. the list of properties jartoux says chinese 7 physicians attributed to ginseng was endless: it was capable of remedying any of the “five fatigues of body or mind,” it “cures weaknesses of the lungs and the pleurisy,” it “stops vomiting,” it could “increase lymph in the blood,” and as europeans were fond of repeating, it “prolongs life in old age.”22 jartoux also included a detailed description of the plant’s native habitat which, he stressed, was not actually china but a thousand miles away in the mountains of tartary.23 the chinese had tried to grow the plant, but to jartoux’s knowledge had never produced a single plant. instead, they were forced to gather it. digging for ginseng was intensive process, and the chinese emperor himself enlisted ten thousand tartars, some of whom jartoux met with, to “gather all that they could” of ginseng.24 jartoux’s most important insight, which excited botanists across europe, was his suggestion that the plant might be growing outside of asia. in particular, he singled out canada, “where the forests and mountains… very much resemble those here.”25 his assessment would prove prescient, as just three years later in 1716, a fellow french jesuit named joseph-francois lafitau found the plant growing south of montreal in new france. lafitau had read jartoux’s account in the philosophical transactions and endeavored to search for it himself. lafitau’s discovery of ginseng set off a frenzy to dig up the root and ship it to china. like other botanists, lafitau thought that “plants are more or less the same everywhere,” and concluded that the plant would be valuable in trade because the ginseng growing in canada was virtually identical to the tartarian ginseng.26 before long, france’s east india company was exporting thousands of pounds of ginseng from their north american colonies, reportedly selling it for thirty times as much as it cost them to procure it.27 already in the early eighteenth century, gathering ginseng was an exorbitantly valuable business. 8 in addition to botanical research, exporting ginseng required mobilizing labor and knowledge in the americas. like most other botanic “discoveries” in the new world, panax quinquefolius was already known and used by indigenous groups in the americas. lafitau himself did not work alone but received help from an iroquois woman who shared her knowledge of the root’s medicinal properties.28 although it was not as renowned by the iroquois as it was by china or the european countries, they were familiar with the plant and understood it as an important medicinal botanical. according to pehr kalm, a swedish botanist who studied under linnaeus and traveled to north america in the 1740s and 50s, the iroquois called the root “garangtoging,” owing to the roots anthropomorphic appearance which “signifies a child.”29 the iroqouis, kalm describes, picked most of the roots that the french exported, “travelling about the country in order to collect as much as they could and to sell it to the merchants at montreal.”30 indigenous gatherers would continue to play an important role in gathering ginseng, although colonial dispossession meant that the profits of the trade flowed to french settlers and traders rather than the diggers of the root. unwilling to be outdone by the french, the british commissioned their own expeditions to search for the plant. john bartram’s discovery of it eventually led to a profitable britishamerican export trade in the root, but he was not the first to find it in the american colonies. five years before bartram, the virginia naturalist and politician william byrd described a curious encounter with the plant. while he was surveying the border between north carolina and virginia, he apparently came across ginseng, adding a description of it that almost exactly mirrored jartoux’s account in the philosophical transactions to boot: … as a help to bear fatigue i used to chew a root of ginseng as i walked along. this kept up my spirits, and made me trip away as nimbly in my half jack-boots as younger men 9 could do in their shoes. this plant is in high esteem in china, where it sells for its weight in silver…. indeed it is a vegetable of so many virtues, that providence has planted it very thin in every country that has the happiness to produce it. nor indeed is mankind worthy of so great a blessing, since health and long life are commonly abused to ill purposes.31 byrd’s casual mentions of the plant—he later described drinking some tea made from it—make it seem as if he was unaware of the magnitude of this discovery.32 at the very least, he surprised himself by finding it since he did not realize that ginseng could be found growing so far south. he continued to search the hillsides over the next few days but could not fine “one single plant of it,” until he came across a town that reportedly grew “twenty plants of ginseng, with the scarlet berries growing on the top of the middle stalk.” he washed and dried his roots carefully to prepare them for sale, undoubtedly thinking of the profits the plants could generate if sold to china. but further expeditions to search for ginseng in virginia left byrd returning rootless. the british would have to wait for a few more years—and for a better naturalist—before building their own export economy that could compete with the french. byrd had sent news of the discovery back to london, where peter collinson, the english cloth merchant and botanist, would take notice. collinson asked byrd to find another specimen, but byrd’s discovery of ginseng would prove to be a one-off discovery.33 undeterred, collinson would turn over the mantle of exploration to his friend and fellow quaker from pennsylvania, john bartram.34 by this point in his life, bartram had developed a reputation as one of britain’s preeminent colonial naturalists, leading collinson and the royal society to commission his search for the plant in 1738. evidently, bartram’s contacts in the royal society were looking to find a stable source of the root in their british colonies. and, after travelling more than a thousand miles in five weeks, bartram eventually came across a few specimens of the root 10 growing along the susquehanna.35 he was familiar with the description of the plants sent back from china and recognized that this plant “exactly resembles in form the chinese gensang.”36 like byrd, bartram could only turn up a handful of roots. unlike byrd, however, bartram recorded a detailed account of where the root could be found along the banks of the susquehanna, and his finding would prove repeatable by the waves of root-diggers—comprising both botanists and lowly fortune seekers—who would come after him. that was enough for bartram’s discovery to set in motion a two hundred year-long british and american fascination with ginseng. while physicians thought that a domestic source of ginseng could revolutionize the country’s pharmacopeia, most of britain’s scientific community were preoccupied with exporting it. having read earlier accounts of the plant’s value in china, collinson assumed that ginseng offered a ticket to riches, both for himself and for the british nation. beginning a trade in ginseng took logistical planning and economic contacts, and collinson, who was both a naturalist and a merchant, thought himself the perfect candidate for the job. immediately after receiving word from bartram, he was hatching a scheme to begin trading ginseng to china: but the principal reason of my [writing] now is to desire thee to procure what plants thee canst of genseng & plant i thy garden & raise what thee canst from seed. i am well assured it will prove a very profitable commodity in china, who value it above any thing. i have compared yours with the chinese and find them in all respects the same. your proprietor was so kind to send mee a considerable [parcel] & i have trusted a [particular] friend with it to carry to china, to see how they approve of it and to find what price it bears — but my friend is under promise not to discover that it is american for if they know that, they are so fancifull it may not be as good as their own — 11 it would be a few decades before botanists developed a distinction between the two species of panax, but collinson was already cognizant of the risks that flooding chinese markets with american ginseng posed. still, collinson was optimistic. “if they sell well,” he suggested to bartram, then perhaps “a good profitable trade may be carried on.”37 any concerns about the american source of their ginseng would have to wait. for now, it was time to turn a profit. like most other lucrative natural resources, valuable plants were a crucial matter of imperial concern that the british tried to keep close to the chest, lest word get out about their newfound source of wealth. eighteenth-century britain was hardly unique in this regard; if anything, their policies were less draconian than their neighbors. the spanish empire went to great lengths to keep their cinchona bark out of the hands of foreigners, even executing an andean native who tried to smuggle some seeds of it to the british.38 tensions did not run quite so high around ginseng. even so, collinson was already thinking like a machiavellian when he instructed bartram to send him some more ginseng in the summer of 1738, urging bartram to keep his discovery a secret before collinson’s friend could return from china. in the meantime, collinson instructed bartram to send him two roots for his garden.39 keeping the discovery a secret proved difficult. ginseng was only valuable insofar as it could be found and dug up. building an economy around any plant requiring so much labor was bound to attract attention before long. news spread quickly among bartram’s friends in pennsylvania’s scientific community, especially among quakers like john fothergill, who immediately informed a botanist in edinburgh named charles alston.40 and the american public were certainly interested in bartram’s findings, learning of it through a column in benjamin franklin’s newspaper, the pennsylvania gazette: 12 we have the pleasure of acquainting the world, that the famous chinese or tartarian plant, called gin seng, is now discovered in this province near sasquehannah: from whence several whole plants with a quantity of the root, have been lately sent to town, and it appears to agree most exactly with the description given of it in chambers’s dictionary, and pere du halde’s account of china. the virtues [ascribed] to this plant are wonderful.41 exactly when these accounts led to a scramble for ginseng is difficult to determine. but by the 1770s, american traders were carrying out a profitable trade in ginseng, one that would only grow increasingly important throughout the last decades of the eighteenth century.42 for now, in the years immediately following bartram’s discovery, samples of ginseng would percolate through the scientific classes in britain and the colonies. of bartram’s original four samples from along the susquehanna, he sent two samples back to london, one of which went to collinson. he kept one more plant for his garden and sent the last to a colleague in france.43 further expeditions yielded more discoveries of ginseng: bartram describes finding some growing in the hills of new jersey some 50 miles northeast of philadelphia in 1739, and he found some while travelling up the delaware river in 1743.44 for the british empire, the discovery of ginseng in america could not have come at a more opportune time. the median person in britain in 1750 bought far more consumer goods than they did one century earlier, but the most concerning development—from the perspective of nationalist and mercantilist-minded british elites—was the increasingly voracious appetite for chinese luxury goods on british markets, which many observers thought portended the moral and financial ruin of the nation.45 chief among these were tea, silk, and chinese porcelain, which contributed to a steady flow of bullion from british markets to china in the middle of the 13 eighteenth century.46 one historian writing in 1760 concluded that the entire east indies trade was “pernicious” and risked “draining all of europe of the silver which america brings to it.”47 despite significant advances in the quality of british manufactured goods during these years, british merchants were never successful in selling their metalworking, textiles, or ceramics on chinese markets. china, according to one british customs officer, had the best goods in the world and need not buy “a penny’s worth elsewhere,” making it impossible for the british to trade with them without running a deficit.48 the chinese had everything they needed except, of course, access to overseas colonies. that was the wedge that british traders used to begin to make up their trade deficit in the eighteenth century, and botanical research was critical to realizing the natural wealth stored within the sprawling lands under imperial control. members of london’s royal society and their scientific contacts in the americas formed a vanguard class who used research that they garnered on the diverse environments of the british empire to reshape the global economic order. bioprospecting for ginseng was a small part of this process, but it exemplified the contribution that botany made to imperial interests. no botanist was more aware of this dynamic than john ellis, who spent years perfecting the best methods to ship seeds and plants between the americas and china.49 ellis despised chinese merchants, finding them “crafty” and prone to cheating european traders, but he nonetheless thought that acquiring the “most valuable plants of that vast empire” held the secret to bridging the gap between china and britain.50 emerging research about climate also played an important role. the american colonies, ellis thought, were suitable to growing “in open air” the most valuable plants of china. in fact, they might thrive “much better at the same latitude in north america” owing to the “heat of the american summers.”51 benjamin franklin shared this view, and in 1772 mentioned to fothergill that his rhubarb seeds were “thriving well in our country” because “the 14 climate is the same with that of the chinese wall.”52 north america, with its chilly winters that resembled the mountains of tartary more than the mild winters of the british isles, might be best suited to cultivating plants valuable to the china trade. eighteenth-century botanists frequently assumed that every plant could be mass cultivated under the right conditions, and ginseng was no exception.53 gathering had already been fueling significant export of american ginseng to china, but beginning in the 1740s, the botanists of the royal society began to shift their attention towards attempts to cultivate ginseng in their english gardens. yet cultivating ginseng was no easy task. the proper conditions for its growth were rare even in the wild and modeling its natural habitat in cultivation proved to be a challenge for even experienced british gardeners. p. quinquefolius grows best in the shade of mature forests of hardwood trees like sugar maples (acer saccharum), basswoods (tilia americana) or oaks (quercus spp.), environments that are difficult to replicate in gardens.54 the plant is equally picky about soil, requiring “well-developed forest soils, typically mesic loamy soil” and having little tolerance for high moisture levels.55 it prefers acidic soils with a ph of around 5.5, which is unusually low for most environments.56 to further complicate matters, p. quinquefolius only germinates after surviving two winters and took up to 10 years to reach maturity, meaning that one mistake could result in months of lost efforts for gardeners relying on imported seeds from the americas.57 if gardeners failed to meet any of those conditions during the first few years of cultivation, the plant would likely not survive to maturity. john bartram was one of many observers who was skeptical of the feasibility of cultivating ginseng. he voiced his concerns to peter collinson, and—recognizing the hubris of his colleagues in london’s royal society—wondered why they would succeed when generations of experienced chinese horticulturalists had failed. he accused his british colleagues of valuing 15 ginseng “more than it deserves,” and admitted that he “esteem[ed] it no more than a common root.”58 the main problem, bartram realized, was that it would not submit to cultivation on any substantial scale, or else the “chinese who value it so much” would have figured out how to cultivate it.59 the experience of english gardeners in the subsequent years would prove bartram’s skepticism warranted, although eventually there would be some limited successes in growing the plant. in a letter to bartram in 1740, peter collinson described a ginseng plant that he had grown from seed, although it was not yet flowering. but two years later, his ginseng plant was flowering in his london garden, which he described as “perhaps the first place it made its appearance in europe.”60 a decade later, he described his ginseng thriving in his garden in a letter sent to another gardener.61 his garden became the best place that interested british naturalists could observe a living specimen of ginseng, serving as the basis for numerous illustrations and descriptions of the plant. collinson’s ginseng plant made its way into mark catesby’s natural history of carolina, florida and the bahama islands, which became the foundation for metropolitan understandings of the flora in colonial america. collinson continued to update bartram on his ginseng plant through 1763, just a few years before he died. by 1768, english gardeners had discovered part of why propagation was so difficult. philip miller characterized his problems with the plant in his gardener’s dictionary, which is the most comprehensive and detailed eighteenth-century treatise on the world of british horticulture. ginseng, miller found, grew well in american forests but was nearly impossible to cultivate and propagate properly: this plant has been introduced to the english gardens from america, and where it has been planted in a shady situation and a light soil, the plants have thriven and produced flowers, and ripened their seeds annually, but not one of these seeds have grown ; for i 16 have several years sown them soon after they were ripe, without any success ; i have also sown of the seeds which were sent me from america several times in various situations, and have not raised a single plant from either;62 miller attributed this problem to being sent exclusively male specimens of the plant, rendering his ginseng plants able to grow and flower but unable to reproduce. the chinese, according to miller, ran into similar problems and were unable to raise a single plant of it.63 despite their concerted efforts, even the best horticulturalists in the world could not figure out how to raise ginseng on an economically viable scale. botanical science was advanced enough to build entire economies around domesticated plants in the eighteenth century but was useless when it came to subjugating one of the american continent’s most lucrative plants to the predictable rhythms of cultivation. that meant that the supply of ginseng was vulnerable to crises, both natural and human made. and in the 1750s and 1760s, those crises would arrive. to the british, ginseng may well have been sent from heaven to save the lives of thousands, but they soon learned that no similar divine mandate existed to ensure the uninterrupted flow of silver into their coffers. the first crisis was of an ecological form. the trade in ginseng was entirely dependent on gathering, and since the plant took nearly ten years to reach maturity, harvesting too much of it could do quick and permanent damage to wild populations of it. overharvesting was an issue that even the earliest ginseng diggers had to reckon with. pehr kalm, in his treatise on the ginseng trade in new france in 1750, explained how ginseng’s rarity contributed to its overharvesting. it was sporadically distributed in the forests of canada, meaning that “one may search the woods for the space of several miles without finding a single plant of it,” but when found, it always 17 grew in “great abundance.”64 he recognized that gatherers were already modifying their habits to lessen their burden on natural populations of ginseng, although not entirely successfully: many people feared lest by continuing for several successive years to collect these plants without leaving one or two in each place to propagate their species, there would soon be very few of them left, which i think is very likely to happen, for by all accounts they formerly grew in abundance round montreal, but at present there is not a single plant of it to be found, so effectually have they been rooted out. this obliged the indians this summer to go far within the english boundaries to collect these roots.65 overharvesting of ginseng, as kalm alludes to, not only undermined the prospects of those involved in the ginseng trade, but also held the potential to heighten imperial competition between britain and france. the resulting scramble was so intense that collinson described it as a “rage,” where all the “mountainous and uncultivated country was ransacked for this valuable root,” leaving north american forests increasingly devoid of ginseng.66 the rarer ginseng became, the more expensive it became to gather. the economic fortunes of those involved in the ginseng trade became tied to sustainable stewardship of their reserve of natural wealth. over the course of the nineteenth century, overharvesting won out over stewardship and eventually drove ginseng to near-extinction in the wild.67 overharvesting and agronomic advances in cultivating the plant would make large-scale ginseng cultivation more feasible, until cultivated plants made up most of the market for ginseng in the twentieth century.68 the second crisis was more artificial in form. the trade in ginseng to china was prosperous from the time of its discovery in the americas until the 1750s, when chinese traders began to understand american ginseng as being of inferior quality to the asian variety. at that point, the market was oversaturated with imported p. quinquefolius, causing the price of it to 18 plummet and american traders to come back from asia empty-handed. the oversaturation crisis is mentioned retrospectively in a few different descriptions of the plant, making it possible to reconstruct the basic contours of the ginseng trade in the 1750s even if the exact moment that p. quinquefolius’s value crashed is difficult to determine. by all accounts, however, the ginseng trade got off to a promising start. miller described how there was initially a “good market” for american ginseng on chinese markets, and according to kalm the french trade was equally lucrative at its outset.69 but the price of american ginseng soon began plummeting. kalm relayed an account from an east indian trader named osbeck in 1750, who wondered if the ginseng trade was even valuable for europeans, since “the chinese do not value the canada roots so much of those of the chinese tartary” meaning that american ginseng would “bear scarce half the price of the latter” on chinese markets.70 the americans were at first able to export the root by “whole hogsheads full to china,” according to collinson, but soon the market in china was “glutted” with ginseng, which had been concealed as “the true chinese” variety of the plant. when the chinese realized what was going on, they stopped buying it and the price “sank to nothing,” leaving the americans as “great losers” who had squandered nearly everything they had invested in selling the root to china.71 with the bottom having fallen out of the ginseng market, collinson realized that his plan to secretly sell american ginseng in china had perhaps been too ambitious. “never certainly was a more [improper] thing done then to send such [quantities] of ginseng here,” collinson confided in 1753 to the new york naturalist cadwallader colden, adding that the american trade had “so sunk the market that there must be great losses on it.”72 maybe collinson would have been wise to heed bartram’s warnings from a decade earlier about investing in a trade centered on a plant that was no more than a common root. 19 demand for p. quinquefolius on chinese markets would eventually recover, although it would never be as valuable as the native p. ginseng in china. the exact reasons for the market glut remain unclear. perhaps there truly was too much american ginseng on the market, or perhaps it was genuinely less useful in the chinese pharmacopeia than asian ginseng. chinese traders might also have stopped valuing american ginseng so highly when they realized that it was undermining the economic base of their economy by outcompeting their own efforts at gathering the plant from tartary, just as they made moves to restrict the import of opium in the early years of the trade for that plant.73 either way, using ginseng to circumvent the long-running advantage chinese traders held in international trade would not be as easy as the british had initially hoped. but the export market for ginseng would eventually recover towards the end of the eighteenth century, and it proved to be especially lucrative for the newly independent united states. the story of ginseng reached a dramatic climax in 1784 with the voyage of the first independent american cargo vessel to trade with china, the empress of china, to the port at canton. the empress of china carried just two things, as that was all the americans could offer the chinese: silver bullion and more than 260,000 pounds of p. quinquefolius.74 by the middle of the nineteenth century, the chinese advantage in international trade had evaporated. british and american capitalists, armed with a seemingly limitless stock of cheap commodities produced in their factories, battered down the walls of the chinese economy and finally integrated their markets into a european-dominated world system.75 one hundred years before that, the british had begun to chip away at those walls using a root that they found in the shady forests of north america. the story of ginseng is but one part of this world-historical transformation, but it serves as an important contrast to narratives of european divergence that are usually dominated by technological change and events unfolding in europe, not the colonies. 20 after all, it was precisely through drawing on the food, fuel, and medicine contained in its overseas possessions that britain was able to avert the ecological crises that ravaged china during this period, a fact that kenneth pomeranz points out in his trailblazing study on british divergence.76 the colonies not only provided britain with these basic necessities of life, but something that it could get nowhere else: a commodity that was capable of stemming the outflow of silver currency to china. botanists, working in both the metropole and the colonies, used their knowledge and labor to commodify plants and convert them into a basis for national wealth. in doing so, as the cases of collinson and byrd attest, they usually hoped to improve their own fortune as well as that of their home countries. botanists were agents of empire not only because their work happened to advance imperial interests, but also because most of them self-consciously recognized that they could enrich themselves by assisting with their nation’s geopolitical and economic objectives. the time bartram spent rummaging through the undergrowth along the susquehanna river in 1738 hardly even yielded enough ginseng to bring back with him. but the discovery of ginseng symbolized something far larger, forming a crucial moment in history when an innocuous root could contribute to the remaking of the early modern world system. 21 endnotes 1 john bartram, letter from 1738, in the correspondence of john bartram, 1734-1777, ed. edmund berkeley and dorothy smith berkeley (university of florida press, 1992, 106-7. this letter is undated and unaddressed but was likely from late 1738 and may have been addressed to cadwallader colden, a naturalist from new york. 2 londa schiebinger, plants and empire: colonial bioprospecting in the atlantic world, (harvard university press massachusetts: 2004), 11. 3 james mcclellan iii, “foreword”. in andré michaux in north america: journals and letters, 1785-1797, ed. charlie williams, elaine m. norman, and walter kingsley taylor, (university of alabama press, 2020), xiv. 4 prasannan parthasarathi, why europe grew rich and asia did not: global economic divergence, 1600-1850. (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2011), 22. parthasarathi and other historians associated with worldssystems theory, like andre gunder frank, have understood the early modern world system as “polycentric,” based mostly around nodes in east and south asia rather than europe. 5 perhaps the best example of this is the british naturalist joseph banks’ attempt to bring breadfruit from tahiti to british colonies in the west indies to feed the enslaved people on those islands. george iii personally dispatched william bligh to tahiti to achieve this goal, where he spent six months procuring the plant before bringing them back to jamacia and st. vincent. see schiebinger, plants and empire, 236. 6 deforestation pressures were felt most acutely by the french government, who in the 1780s commissioned andre michaux to travel to north america, bringing back tree species to grow at the state-owned experimental farm in rambouillet. see mcclellan, andre michaux in north america. 7 mcclellan iii, “andré michaux in north america,” xv. 8 schiebinger, plants and empire, 7. in the only correspondence between john bartram and carl linnaeus i can find, linnaeus’ request is strictly instrumentalist, asking bartram to make a comprehensive list of all north american plants and brief information on how to grow them. carl linnaeus, letter to john bartram, 24 june 1769. uppsala university library, alvin digital collections. 9 schiebinger, plants and empire, 16. 10 schiebinger, plants and empire, 8. two other important medicinal plants were jalap, a laxative found in spanish holdings in mexico; and ipecacuanha, an emetic from south america. 11 ginseng’s linnean name, panax, comes from the greek for “panacea,” a reference to the belief that it could be used for practically any ailment. 12 a 2013 study found no evidence “supporting its use in the treatment of any particular disease.” see johannah l shergis. anthony l zhang, wenyu zhou, and charlie c xue, “panax ginseng in randomised controlled trials: a systematic review,” phytotherapy research. 27:7 (july 2013). 13 maria assunta potenza, monica montagnani, luigi santacroce, ioannis alexandros charitos, lucrezia bottalico, “ancient herbal therapy: a brief history of panax ginseng”, journal of ginseng research, 2022. the word “ginseng” comes from the chinese hokkien jîn-sim, roughly translating as “human-root.” 14 markman ellis, richard coulton, and matthew mauger, empire of tea: the asian leaf that conquered the world. (chicago: university of chicago press, 2015), 214. 15 schiebinger, plants and empire, 6. 16 chang discovered that the two species of panax diverged some 15 million years ago, with the asian species spread to america across the bering land bridge. see shirly hsuan chang, “asian and american ginseng: a plant’s migration around the world,” smithsonian folklife, (november 2019). https://festival.si.edu/blog/asianamerican-ginseng-plant-migration 17 william t. stearn, “carl linnaeus’s acquaintance with tropical plants,” taxon 37, no. 3, (1988), pp. 781. 18 john h. appleby, “ginseng and the royal society,” notes and records of the royal society of london 37, no. 1 (1983) 37: 122. 19 thomas birch, history of the royal society (london, 1737), 3, 490. cited in appleby, “ginseng and the royal society,” 122. 20 simpson was sure to remind the reader that ginseng—in addition to saving thousands of lives—was worth three times its weight in silver. 21 shi zhihong, “china’s overseas trade policy and its historical results: 1522–1840.” in intra-asian trade and the world market, ed. a.j.h. latham and heita kawakatsu, (routledge, london: 2006), 8. 22 pierre jartoux, “xxv. the description of a tartarian plant, call'd gin-seng; with an account of its virtues. in a letter from father jartoux, to the procurator general of the missions of india and china. taken from the tenth volume of 22 letters of the missionary jesuits, printed in paris in octavo,” philosophical transactions of the royal society of london, volume 28, issue 337 (1713), 238. 23 jartoux, “the description of a tartarian plant,” pp. 240. “tartary” is a loosely defined anachronistic name for central asia, siberia, and manchuria. panax ginseng’s native range is to southeastern siberia, the korean peninsula, and the northeastern chinese provinces of heilongjiang, jilin, and liaoning. 24 jartoux, “the description of a tartarian plant,” 245 25 jartoux, “the description of a tartarian plant,” 240. 26 gianamar giovannetti-singh, “galenizing the new world: joseph-françois lafitau's 'galenization' of canadian ginseng, 1716-1724,” notes and records: the royal society journal of the history of science 75 (2021), 60. 27 g.m. hocking, “a chronology of ginseng,” quarterly journal of crude drug research, 14:4, (1976), 168. 28 giovannetti-singh. “galenizing the new world”, 61. according to singh, there is no record of the iroquois woman’s name. 29 pehr kalm, peter kalm's travels in north america: the english version of 1770, ed. adolph b. benson, (dover: 1987), 437. “man-root” and other allusions to the root’s vaguely anthropomorphic appearance would characterize many of the common names. 30 pehr kalm, peter kalm’s travels, 438. 31 william byrd, the westover manuscripts: containing the history of the dividing line betwixt virginia and north carolina; a journey to the land of eden, a. d. 1733; and a progress to the mines. written from 1728 to 1736, and now first published, (petersburg: edmund and julian c. ruffin, 1841). electronic edition. i was initially skeptical that the plant described here by byrd was ginseng, especially since this account was written a few years after the fact. byrd also thought that ginseng was the same as the “kanna” plant used by european settlers on the cape of good hope, but that plant was sceletium tortuosum. the usda plants database, however, lists p. quinquefolius as native to the virginia-north carolina border, so he might have correctly identified ginseng. 32 myths abound in early descriptions of ginseng, and byrd’s writings were more concerned with producing a convincing memoir than a botanically accurate description. byrd’s description is also curiously like an account relayed to peter collinson from a dr. witt of pennsylvania, who reported that indians could travel “three, four, or five days without food by only keeping a bit of the root in their mouths.” see dillwyn, hortus collinsonianus. 33 william byrd. letter to peter collinson, 5 july 1737, the correspondence of the three william byrds of westover, virginia, 1684-1776, (virginia historical society: 1977), 523. 34 quakers formed an important social network in the world of eighteenth-century botany, and their shared religious ties helped facilitate the spread of knowledge and specimens across the atlantic. 35 john bartram, letter from 1738, in the correspondence, 106. 36 john bartram, letter from 1738, in the correspondence, 105. 37 peter collinson, letter to john bartram, february 24th, 1739, in the correspondence. 38 schiebinger, plants and empire, 3. 39 peter collinson, letter to john bartram, february 24th, 1739, in the correspondence. 40 john fothergill. letter to charles alston, 1738, in chain of friendship: selected letters of dr. john fothergill of london, 1735–1780, (cambridge: harvard university press, 2013). 41 benjamin franklin, article in the pennsylvania gazette, july 27, 1738, accessed through the papers of benjamin franklin, vol. 2, 214 42 hocking, “a chronology of ginseng.” in 1770, the earliest date for which we have evidence available, the american colonies exported 74,604 pounds of ginseng to china. exporting that much ginseng would have required hundreds, if not thousands, of laborers working to dig up the root. so much for collinson’s desire to keep it a secret! 43 john bartram, letter from 1738, in the correspondence. 44 john bartram, letters to peter collinson, november 1739 & september 1743, in the correspondence. 45 maxine berg, “in pursuit of luxury: global history and british consumer goods in the eighteenth century.” past & present, no. 182 (2004): 85–142. 46 ronald c. po, “tea, porcelain, and silk: chinese exports to the west in the early modern period,” in oxford research encyclopedia of asian history. (oxford university press: 2018). 47 adam anderson, an historical and chronological deduction of the origin of commerce, from the earliest accounts to the present time: containing an history of the great commercial interests of the british empire, 2 vols. (london, 1764). cited in berg, “in pursuit of luxury,” 96. 48 sir robert hart, "these from the land of sinim”: essays on the chinese question (london, 1901), 61. cited in paul e. fontenoy, “ginseng, otter skins, and sandalwood: the conundrum of the china trade,” the northern mariner vii, no. i (january 1997), 1-16. 23 49 john ellis, directions for bringing over seeds and plants, from the east-indies and other distant countries, (london, l. davis, 1770), online edition. ellis was a close correspondent with peter collinson and possibly with john bartram. this pamphlet contained a list of over fifty plant species native to china that ellis thought could be grown in the american colonies, including medicinal plants (cinchona offinalis and sarsaparilla spp.), economically important plants (the varnish trees, used for making lacquer) and consumables like tea. the list, which exclusively used binomial linnean nomenclature, is an excellent example of how taxonomic systematization was intended to serve imperial interests. see schiebinger chapter five, “linguistic imperialism,” in plants and empire. 50 ellis, “directions,” 1. 51 ellis, “directions,” 2. 52 benjamin franklin, letter to fothergill, 1772, in chain of friendship. 53 according to schiebinger, linnaeus thought that tropical plants could be grown anywhere and that he he could “fool,” “tempt,” and “train” them to grow in arctic lands and thereby create “lapland cinnamon groves, baltic tea plantations, and finnish rice paddies.” schiebinger, plants and empire, 7. 54 minnesota department of natural resources, “panax quinquefolius.” rare species guide. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsg/profile.html?action=elementdetail&selectedelement=pdara09010. harrison et. al have found that ginseng requires 70 to 90% shade coverage, an average annual temperature of 50 degrees fahrenheit, and a few weeks of below-freezing temperatures to reach dormancy. see h.c. harrison et. al, “ginseng,” university of wisconsin-madison cooperative extension service, http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/crops/ginseng.aspx. 55 minnesota dnr, “panax quinquefolius.” 56 harrison et. al, “ginseng.” 57 minnesota dnr, “panax quinquefolius.” 58 john bartram, letter to peter collinson, july 18th, 1739, in the correspondence. 59 john bartram, letter to peter collinson, july 18th, 1739, in the correspondence. 60 peter collinson, letter to john bartram, july 22nd, 1740 and june 6th, 1742, in the correspondence. 61 peter collinson, letter to jacob trew, 1753. forget not mee & my garden...: selected letters 1725-1768 of peter collinson, (american philosophical society, philadelphia: 2002). 62 phillip miller, “panax,” in the gardener’s dictionary, eighth edition, 1768. biodiversity heritage library. 63 phillip miller, “panax,” in the gardener’s dictionary. 64 pehr kalm, peter kalm’s travels, 436. 65 pehr kalm, peter kalm’s travels, 438. 66 peter collinson, hortus collinsonianus: an account of the plants cultivated by the late peter collinson, ed. lewis weston dillwyn. (swansea:w. c. murray and d. rees: 1843), 37. 67 luke magnet, root diggers and herb gatherers: the rise and decline of the botanical drug industry in southern appalachia. (university of georgia, athens, ga: 2017). magnet describes how the scarcity of ginseng resulted in a number of early conservation measures, like specified gathering seasons, before leading to modern-day regulations banning its harvesting in many states. today, most ginseng sold on markets is cultivated, largely in wisconsin. 68 magnet, root diggers, 236. 69 phillip miller, gardener’s dictionary; pehr kalm, peter kalm’s travels, 436. 70 pehr kalm, peter kalm’s travels, 438. 71 peter collinson, hortus collinsonianus, 37. 72 peter collinson, letter cadwallader colden, september 1st, 1753, in selected letters. 73 markman ellis, richard coulton, and matthew mauger, empire of tea, 214. 74 hocking, “a chronology of ginseng.” the empress of china was a rousing success for american merchants, intensifying the far east trade in subsequent years, which produced much of the initial capital needed for industrialization in the northeastern united states. at this point, the history of the ginseng trade becomes much better known. see luke magnet, root diggers and herb gatherers: the rise and decline of the botanical drug industry in southern appalachia. (university of georgia, athens, ga: 2017). 75 exactly when britain surpassed china economically is a contentious question in the historiography on industrialization, but both pomeranz (2003) and parthasarathi (2011) agree that there was unmistakable evidence of divergence by 1850. 76 kenneth pomeranz, the great divergence: china, europe, and the making of the modern world economy. (princeton university press, 2000), 57. 24 bibliography appleby, john h. “ginseng and the royal society.” notes and records of the royal society of london 37, no. 1 (1983). bartram, john. the correspondence of john bartram, 1734-1777. edited by edmund berkeley and dorothy smith berkeley. university of florida press, 1992. berg, maxine. “in pursuit of luxury: global history and british consumer goods in the eighteenth century.” past & present, no. 182 (2004): 85–142. byrd, william. the correspondence of the three william byrds of westover, virginia, 16841776, edited by marion tinling. historical society of virginia, 1977. ———. the westover manuscripts: containing the history of the dividing line betwixt virginia and north carolina; a journey to the land of eden, a. d. 1733; and a progress to the mines. written from 1728 to 1736, and now first published, petersburg: edmund and julian c. ruffin, 1841. electronic edition. chang, shirly hsuan. “asian and american ginseng: a plant’s migration around the world.” smithsonian folklife. (november 2019). https://festival.si.edu/blog/asian-americanginseng-plant-migration collinson, peter. in forget not mee & my garden...: selected letters 1725-1768 of peter collinson, edited by alan armstrong. american philosophical society, philadelphia, 2002. ———. hortus collinsonianus: an account of the plants cultivated by the late peter collinson, compiled by lewis weston dillwyn in 1843. not published, printed in swansea by w. c. murray and d. rees. ellis, john. directions for bringing over seeds and plants, from the east-indies and other distant countries. london, l. davis, 1770. accessed through biodiversity heritage library. ellis, markman, richard coulton, and matthew mauger. empire of tea: the asian leaf that conquered the world. chicago: university of chicago press, 2015. fontenoy, paul e. “ginseng, otter skins, and sandalwood: the conundrum of the china trade.” the northern mariner vii. no. i (january 1997). 1-16. fothergill, john. chain of friendship: selected letters of dr. john fothergill of london, 1735– 1780. cambridge: harvard university press, 2013. franklin, benjamin. column in the pennsylvania gazette, july 27, 1738, in papers of benjamin franklin, vol. 2. yale university press, 1959. giovannetti-singh, gianamar. “galenizing the new world: joseph-françois lafitau's 'galenization' of canadian ginseng, 1716-1724.” notes and records: the royal society journal of the history of science 75. 2021. hart, sir robert. “these from the land of sinim”: essays on the chinese question. london: chapman & hall, ltd, 1901. hocking, g.m. “a chronology of ginseng.” quarterly journal of crude drug research. 14:4, (1976). jartoux, pierre. “xxv. “the description of a tartarian plant, call'd gin-seng; with an account of its virtues. in a letter from father jartoux, to the procurator general of the missions of india and china.” philosophical transactions of the royal society of london 28, issue 337 (december 1713). kalm, pehr. peter kalm's travels in north america: the english version of 1770. edited by adolph b. benson. dover, 1987. 25 magnet, luke. root diggers and herb gatherers: the rise and decline of the botanical drug industry in southern appalachia. athens: university of georgia, 2017. mcclellan, james iii. “foreword”. in andré michaux in north america: journals and letters, 1785-1797. edited by charlie williams, elaine m. norman, and walter kingsley taylor. university of alabama press, 2020. miller, phillip. “panax.” in the gardener’s dictionary, eighth edition, (1768). accessed through the biodiversity heritage library. minnesota department of natural resources, “panax quinquefolius.” rare species guide. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsg/profile.html?action=elementdetail&selectedelement=p dara09010. parthasarathi, prasannan. why europe grew rich and asia did not: global economic divergence, 1600-1850. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2011. po, ronald c. “tea, porcelain, and silk: chinese exports to the west in the early modern period.” in oxford research encyclopedia of asian history. oxford university press, 2018. pomeranz, kenneth. the great divergence: china, europe, and the making of the modern world economy. princeton, nj: princeton university press, 2000. potenza, maria assunta, monica montagnani, luigi santacroce, ioannis alexandros charitos, lucrezia bottalico. “ancient herbal therapy: a brief history of panax ginseng.” journal of ginseng research. (2022). schiebinger, londa. plants and empire: colonial bioprospecting in the atlantic world. cambridge: harvard university press, 2004. shergis, johannah l. anthony l zhang, wenyu zhou, and charlie c xue. “panax ginseng in randomised controlled trials: a systematic review.” phytotherapy research. 27:7 (july 2013). stearn, william t. “carl linnaeus’s acquaintance with tropical plants.” taxon 37, no. 3. (1988). zhihong, shi. “china’s overseas trade policy and its historical results: 1522–1840.” in intraasian trade and the world market. edited by a.j.h. latham and heita kawakatsu. london: routledge, 2006. 1 mechanism and hobbes political physiology of the commonwealth brendan rome philosophy i: introduction: the frontispiece of leviathan depicts a giant, crowned man whose body is made up of a multitude of subjects towering over a pastoral landscape. this image not only serves as a powerful, iconic image that we associate with his opus centuries later, but is also the guiding analogy for hobbes’ concept of the commonwealth. hobbes describes the frontispiece of leviathan, “for by art is created that great leviathan, called a commonwealth, or state (in latin civitas), which is but an artificial man, though of greater stature and strength than the natural, for whose protection and defence it was intended; and in which sovereignty is an artificial soul, as giving life and motion to the whole body.”1 the guiding metaphor of the commonwealth in hobbes is that of the leviathan, or artificial man. in this paper i argue that hobbes’ political philosophy is a political physiology that draws directly on his iatromechanical view of organisms, or the mechanical model of animal life. i will first examine iatromechanical biology in the epicurean turn in early-modern english philosophy. then, i will explain hobbes’ natural philosophy and his view of human nature. finally, i will describe the construction of the artificial man, the role of personation in integrating the passions of subjects to the state’s will, and the mechanism of discipline that maintains it. ii: mechanism and the early modern theory of bodies: hobbes’ deeply intertwined natural philosophy and political theory arises amidst a milieu of mechanism in seventeenth century philosophy. the atomism and mechanism of epicurus and lucretius offered a heuristic that benefited the inquiries of natural and speculative philosophy. 2 catherine wilson writes, “the moderns valued the atomical philosophy less for its ability to calm fears and quell anxiety than what they saw as its practical implications, prizing it for its promise of works – medical, chemical, metallurgical.”2 rather than adopting the complex, formal multiplicity of aristotelian hylomorphism as the basis for scientific practice favored by the medieval scholastics, many early modern philosophers instead favored the simple mechanical model of epicurean atomism to ground scientific inquiry. aristotle’s hylomorphic four causes, “being and essence…matter and subject…the source of the principle of motion,” and, “…what something is for, i.e. the good,”3 complicate inquiries into natural philosophy in a few ways that atomism avoids. first, matter and form are separated, while atomism views forms as composites of atomic matter. second, the principle of motion is an inquiry in-and-of-itself rather than being an element of an atomist theory of motion. finally, aristotle presupposes a telos, a purpose, end, or good of an object, a speculative inquiry that imbues bodies with normative significance. on the other hand, atomism regards everything as bodies and void. epicurus writes, “moreover, the totality is [made up of] ‘bodies and void’…beyond these two things [bodies and void] nothing can be conceived, either by a comprehensive grasp or analogously to things so grasped, [at least not if we mean] grasped as complete natures rather than what are termed properties or accidents of these two things.”4 epicurus’ reduction of totality to atoms and void rejects the pluralism of aristotle’s hylomorphic fourfold of things. instead of separating matter from form, externalizing cause, and presupposing an “end” to an object, epicurus offers a reductive universe of basic matter (atoms), which can form composites, and void, a lack of matter. in the new organon, francis bacon outlines principles of an empirical science that derives knowledge of nature from observation and experimentation of bodies and bodies alone. 3 his third aphorism states, “human knowledge and human power come to the same thing, because ignorance of cause frustrates effect. for nature is conquered only by obedience; and that which in thought is a cause is like a rule in practice.”5 for bacon, science’s aim is to discover the cause of things, and this is achieved by active manipulation of nature to render it “obedient.” the mechanism underlying bacon’s epistemology is clarified by his fourth aphorism, which states, “all men can do to achieve results is to bring natural bodies together and take them apart; nature does the rest internally.”6 bacon’s epistemology is the manipulation of effects through the alterations of bodies, either through combination or division. this approach produces effects which reveal the laws of cause and effect in nature. bacon’s reductive epistemology reflects epicurus’ reductive metaphysics of bodies and void. wilson characterizes bacon’s epicurean leanings as “the sparse ontology of corpus inane.”7 the very sparseness of bacon’s ontology of bodies and void renders objects simpler and clarifies the effects of observation and manipulation. this ontology prioritizes matter and its transformations over form. the mechanism of physical atoms and bodies influences the natural philosophical view of anatomical bodies, both human and animal. bacon likewise emphasizes the modifications of an anatomical body. he writes, “no one can endow a given body with a new nature or successfully and appropriately transmute it into a new body without possessing a good knowledge of modification or transformation of a body.”8 bacon’s interventionist epistemology of observation and experimentation of a body’s modification extends to knowledge of anatomical bodies. bacon continues, “therefore separation and dissolution of bodies is…achieved…with auxiliary experiments; and by comparison with other bodies, and the reduction to simple natures and their forms which assemble and unite in the compound.”9 a body’s compound nature and complexity compared to simple matter require a renewed attention to form, but not as a separate mode from 4 matter. for bacon, anatomical study requires auxiliary experimentation, interventionist, but in a more subtle manner. in order to discover the nature of the compound body, one must discover the constituent parts that form it, their substance, and one body’s similarity and difference from another. bacon’s view of bodies thus retains the epicurean reduction of aristotelian hylomorphism to atoms and void, but anatomical bodies are sufficiently complex to require “auxiliary experimentation.” bacon’s epistemic orientation to anatomy is reflected in the medical practice and biological study in the seventeenth century. in “the epistemology of biology,” the philosopher and historian of science georges canguilhem describes early modern biology as the study of life as mechanisms, albeit an imperfect one. he writes: one way of explaining how organs like the eye or organ systems like the heart and vessels work is to build what we would now call “mechanical models.” this is precisely what the iatromechanics (or iatromathematicians) of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries tried to do in order to explain muscular contraction, digestion, and glandular secretion. yet the laws of galilean or cartesian mechanics cannot by themselves explain the origin of coordinated organ systems, and such coordinated systems are precisely what one means by “life.”10 according to canguilhem, the mechanical model of organs was a dominant paradigm of the seventeenth century, borrowing from galilean and cartesian mechanics. iatromechanics, or mechanics applied to medicine, considers organs to be machines, or, in other words composites with a given function. in other words, the body is thought to be a machine, that is made up of organs, which are smaller machines in turn. the life of an organism is maintained by mechanical organs working in concert. this paradigm, was incomplete however, as one cannot fully explain “life” through mechanical models. hobbes supplements his mechanism with passions (albeit explained as movement), which hobbes describes as the impetus of “voluntary motion.”11 hobbes’ descriptions of bodies are generally mechanistic, but he overcomes the shortcomings of 5 an iatromechanical paradigm of physiology with the passions to describe the affinity of living things for particular actions in order to secure food, safety, and other desirable things. iii: hobbes’ human bodies: for hobbes, the subject of science in general is a body. he writes, “the most general of the subjects of science is body, of which there are two accidents, magnitude and motion.”12 this is true of physical, biological, political, and celestial bodies, for example. all these bodies have a magnitude and a principle of motion. types of bodies are distinguished by their magnitude and what causes their motion. thomas hobbes’ human bodies are generally analyzed through an iatromechanical lens, as composites of organs, albeit motivated by passions. in lessons from a materialist thinker: hobbesian reflections on ethics and politics, samantha frost remarks that hobbes’ materialism renders thought and voluntaristic action epiphenomenal to the material and mechanical processes of the human body. she writes, “what distinguishes hobbes’ materialism, i think, is the manner in which the science of mechanism is used to explain or understand human behavior.”13 according to frost, hobbes’ materialism is unique from cartesian dualism and other early modern theories of human thought because it derives human thought, volition, and behavior from the body-as-machine. to understand hobbes’ concept of the human body, it is necessary to understand both his iatromechanical concept of the physical body and his account of the passions. hobbes begins leviathan with a description of nature as “the art whereby god hath made and governs the world,”14 and suggests that politics and the social construction of a commonwealth can model itself after god’s creation and governance of the world. he writes: 6 nature (the art whereby god hath made and governs the world) is by the art of man, as in many other things, so in this also imitated, that it can make an artificial animal. for seeing life is but a motion of limbs, the beginning whereof is in some principal part within, why may we not say that all automata (engines that move themselves by springs and wheels as doth a watch) have an artificial life?15 hobbes embarks on his political treatise with an observation of nature, and human’s creative capacities as an extension of nature. here, he defines life as a self-motivated “motion of limbs.” his formulation privileges the mechanical, self-propelled movement as the essence of life. this allows for both automata and the artificial man of the commonwealth to be considered an organism. furthermore, with this question, hobbes implies that the mechanical paradigm of life can offer us lessons in politics – a political physiology, so to speak. hobbes’ account of bodies, whether a body politic, a mechanical body, or a human or animal body is structurally the same. in “five bodies and a sixth: awareness in an evolutionary universe,” robert e. wood describes the hobbesian body as a “reductionism…linked to a frequently accompanying thesis: universal mechanism. bodies are explicable in terms of their component parts, and the combination of these parts is explicable through universal mechanical laws… our self-direction as conscious agents is only apparent.”16 wood’s commentary highlights hobbes’ absolute mechanism and his emphasis on bodies as a rhetorical and empirical object. hobbesian bodies are everywhere, in physics, biology, politics, and rhetoric, and they behave in roughly the same manner. wood critiques hobbes’ bodies as denigrating consciousness, and while that is true to some extent, consciousness for hobbes is motivating, but in a unique, mechanical manner. for hobbes, things commonly associated with an immaterial consciousness or spirit, such as thought, volition, and affect are mechanical phenomena. in leviathan, hobbes divides thoughts into two categories: the unguided and the regulated. unguided thought is similar to a dream and 7 “inconstant, wherein there is no passionate thought to govern and direct those that follow to itself.”17 unguided thought is a passing thing and does not produce definitive effects. on the other hand, regulated thought is guided by desire and possibility of our modifications in the world. hobbes writes, “the train of regulated thoughts is of two kinds: one, when of an effect imagined, we seek the causes, or the means that produce it; and this is common to man and beast. the other is when, imagining anything whatsoever, we seek all the possible effects that can by it be produced; that is to say, we imagine what we can do with it, when we have it.”18 for hobbes, guided thoughts are integrated into cause of effect, and the organism who thinks of a desired effect. for example, when i am hungry, i think to cook or order a meal. while an animal thinks of eating tout court, i am able to contemplate many possible ways of eating and preparing a meal, such as making a taco or a stir fry. thoughts guide us in satisfying our passions and dispositions. for hobbes, passions and dispositions play a central role in providing a cause for human action and desire, and thus establishes the drive for composition of multiple humans into a commonwealth. true to his mechanistic concept in life, hobbes characterizes passions as motions, the self-caused and self-motivated movement of animals. he writes: there be in animals to sorts of motions peculiar to them: one called vital, begun in generation and continued without interruption through their whole life, such as are the course of the blood, the pulse, the breathing, the concoction, nutrition, excretion, &c, to which motions there needs no help of imagination; the other is animal motion, otherwise called voluntary motion, as to go, to speak, to move any of our limbs, in such manner as is first fancied in our minds. that sense is motion in the organs and interior parts of a man’s body, caused by the action of the things we see, hear, &c.19 here hobbes identifies to motions unique to animals (humans included). the first is vital motions. these are continual, instinctual, and automatic. vital motions happen throughout an animal’s life and are necessary to maintain the animal as a living being. these are self-motivated 8 yet are not voluntary. voluntary motion on the other hand, does not happen continually and is in response to our passions. some voluntary motions, such as eating or building shelter are necessary to maintain my life, but these do not have to happen as frequently as breathing or circulating blood. whether essential, such as eating, or non-essential, such as speaking or dancing, my voluntary motions are motions in my body caused by things i see, hear, feel, or sense in any way. hobbes gives a detailed taxonomy of different passions, which run the gamut of love, hate, pleasure, pity, and cruelty, and many more. according to frost, hobbes’ emphasis on the passions and the mechanism of thinking-as-movement constitutes hobbes’ theory of the thinking body. she writes, “when hobbes depicts thinking as motions resonating between contiguous organs throughout the entire thinking-body, he provides us with the means to understand how one phantasm or idea may be related to another phantasm or idea.”20 frost identifies that hobbesian thinking is not situated entirely in the mind, or consciousness but is an effect of phantasms that act on the body. therefore, thinking is, “metynomic,”21 a stand-in for embodied cognition. for example, when i think “it’s chilly; i should put on a sweater,” i am affected by the temperature in the air, and the wind, which i feel on my skin. the act of putting on a sweater would involve my arm muscles. thus, thinking in a hobbesian sense is embodied cognition. in addition to rendering passions and thoughts material and machinic, hobbes sees organs, acts, and the constituent parts of a human as relatively exchangeable. this is important in his concept of personation. in de homine, hobbes writes of the natural and artificial forms of face. he writes, “the latins sometimes call man’s facies (face) or os (countenance), and sometimes his persona (mask): facies if they wished to indicate the true man, persona if an artificial one.”22 for hobbes the multiplicity of faces in latin shows that we are composites of 9 different mechanical organs that we exchange depending on our needs in the situation. the facies is the true face, useful for a human seeking to be honest, while persona allows us to exchange the authentic identity for an assumed one. he elaborates, “moreover, because the concept of a person is of use in civil affairs, it can be defined as follows: a person is he to whom the words and actions of men are attributed, either his own or another’s: if his own, the person is natural; if another’s it is artificial.”23 in addition to having multiple exchangeable faces, humans are exchangeable for one another. in civil affairs one attributes actions to a person, either naturally if one represents oneself or artificially if one personates for another. in leviathan, personation is the process by which one human can stand in for another. this is first established by a relative exchangeability of humans. hobbes believes in the relative equality of humans in the state of nature. he writes, “nature has made men so equal in the faculties of body and mind…when all is reckoned together the difference between man and man is not so considerable as that one man can thereupon claim to himself any benefit to which another may not pretend as well as he.”24 hobbes does not claim an absolute equality between humans, but rather observes that humans, in spite of differences in strength and intelligence are relatively equal in power. he justifies this by identifying that the differences are indeed small enough, that anyone has the power to kill another in the state of nature. because one human can “stand-in” for another, one human can personate another human or a collectivity of humans. hobbes describes personation as, “to act or represent, himself or another; and he that acteth another is said to bear his person or act in his name”25 personation is a person’s acting on behalf, or representing another, an institution, or a multitude. in this way, the sovereign personates the commonwealth. quentin skinner describes hobbes’ concept of a personating actor as, “the agent to whom the action is attributed must be represented by another 10 agent who can validly claim to be ‘personating’ the first by way of acting on their behalf.”26 when one personates, one represents or acts on behalf of something represented. hobbes constructs social composites in this way. a multitude can become a commonwealth if personated by a sovereign, but the sovereign must be singular. iv: hobbes’ body politic: personation and the artificial man: hobbes constructs the artificial man of the commonwealth through the sovereign’s personation of the multitude. hobbes describes how a multitude is made one by personation: a multitude of men are made one person, when they are by one man, or one person represented so that it can be done with the consent of everyone of that multitude in particular. for it is the unity of the representer, not the unity of the representative that maketh the person one. and it is the representer that beareth the person, and but one person, and unity cannot otherwise be considered in multitude.27 the composition of a multitude into a commonwealth is possible only when there is a sovereign who can personate a multitude she represents. the necessity of a commonwealth’s unity under a single sovereign illustrates hobbes view that a body politic must be a unified organism. this is personated by a sovereign, but the commonwealth is made composite by the construction of an artificial man. in leviathan, hobbes begins his opus of political theory with an account of the human. the complex composite of the commonwealth mirrors his view of the commonwealth as, “an artificial man…in which the sovereignty is an artificial soul, as giving life and motion to the whole body.”28 hobbes’ rhetorical flourish in his introduction to leviathan establishes two important things. first, the iatromechanical concept of life extends to political life, and as a consequence, the commonwealth is a constructed composite of its constituent citizens. second, even though it is a composite, it requires a singular head: the sovereign who personates the state. 11 the personation of the state requires the consent of the governed, whether given freely or coerced. hobbes writes, “because the right of bearing the person of them all is given to him they make sovereign by covenant only of one to another, and not of him to any of them, there can happen no breach of covenant on the part of the sovereign; and consequently none of his subjects, by any pretense of forfeiture, can be freed from his subjection.”29 when the multitude enters a covenant under a sovereign it has no right of secession, rebellion or any escape from the covenant. likewise, the sovereign is expected to uphold the covenant, but the sovereign forfeits little, if at all, in the compact that forestalls the state of civil war. the form and wording of the compact highlights the imbalance of the social contract where the citizen gives much more to the sovereign in exchange for safety. hobbes writes, “every man should say to every man i authorize and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or to this assembly of man, on this condition, that thou give up all right to him, and authorize all actions in like manner. this done the multitude so united in one person is called a commonwealth.”30 in the formation of the commonwealth all citizens gives up their right of selfgovernance to a sovereign (whether individual, such as a monarch, or a group, such as a legislature). the sovereign personates the commonwealth as a whole and enjoys the right of governance over the commonwealth’s citizens as long as the sovereign maintains the protection of the commonwealth. this inequality of rights in favor of the sovereign unifies the disparate passions of the multitude into a unified passion of the state, personated by the sovereign. frost remarks, “if we examine this sovereign right to make some people’s power derive from and dependent upon the sovereign’s will and command…we can see how hobbes’ materialist understanding of how paper is generated shapes the sovereign’s power.”31 there are two modes of power operative in frost’s commentary on the hobbesian sovereign. the first is potentia or a 12 body’s simple power or ability to perform a task. in order to streamline the state’s potentia into a cohesive body politic, the passions of each subject must be subjected to the sovereign’s passions on behalf of the state. the potestas, or authority of the sovereign maintains the discipline and regulation of the body politic’s potentia. the legitimacy of the sovereign justifies the sovereign’s power on behalf of the body politic, but the sovereign maintains this by right of coercion of their subjects. there is a coercion implicit in the covenant that establishes the leviathan. it is made in fear of a state of chaotic civil war. however, hobbes asserts the validity of covenants made in fear. he writes, “covenants entered into by fear, in the condition of mere nature, are obligatory.”32 once the multitude is organized into a covenant under the sovereign, even under fear, it has no recourse to freely leave the social contract. in his lecture society must be defended, foucault comments that power relations constitute the multitude’s composition into the leviathan. he states: remember the schema of leviathan. in this schema, the leviathan, being no more than the coagulation of a certain number of distinct individualities that find themselves united by a certain number of the state’s constituent elements. but at the heart, or rather the head, of the state there is something that constitutes it as such, and that something is sovereignty, which hobbes specifically describes as the soul of the leviathan. well, rather than raising the problem of the central soul, i think we should be trying – and this is what i have been trying to do – to study the multiple peripheral bodies, the bodies that are constituted as subjects by powereffects.33 as we have discussed earlier, hobbes employs the legal-theatrical concept of personation to justify the sovereign’s representation of the commonwealth. rather, hobbes focuses on the metynomic place of the sovereign at the “head” of the commonwealth in an emphasis on what foucault calls “the central soul.” the implicit violence and coercion in maintaining the artificial man of the commonwealth produces power-effects that regulate the subjects that compose the 13 commonwealth. in a sense the sovereign is the “reason” of the body of the artificial man, which regulates the passions of the elements of the commonwealth (i.e. the individual citizens, and the factions they compose such as class, political party, or religion). while hobbes obscures the power relations that act on subjects, foucault highlights them. in hobbes’ the transformation of vicious pre-commonwealth humans into docile subjects is explained by an anthropogenic mytheme (i.e. the mythic story of the birth of humanity and human society). the anthropogenic mytheme of the social contract both gives a provisional origin of the commonwealth and gives an account of a qualitative change in humans when they enter the compact of the commonwealth. before the establishment, humans are in a state of nature, or a war of all against all. hobbes writes, “hereby it is manifest that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in aw, they are in that conditioned called war, and such a war is of every man against every man.”34 the state of nature is a state of war because each person’s passions are individuated, and humans come into conflict through competition and disagreement. this is in spite of humans’ desire for peace. hobbes writes, “the passions that incline men to peace are fear of death, desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living, and a hope by their industry to obtain them. and such reason suggesteth convenient articles of peace, upon which men may be drawn to agreement.”35 humans join into a compact, forming the commonwealth because humans tend toward war in nature, but desire peace. this is a composition of many into one in the “body politic” of the state and a transformation of disparate passions into one passion of the state. this tension leads to a renunciation of our individuated passions when we enter into a commonwealth. humans have natural right, which hobbes defines as “the liberty each man has to use his own power, as we will himself, for the preservation of his own nature,”36 for the sake 14 of peace, humans renounce this natural right. hobbes writes, “right is laid aside either by simply renouncing it or transferring it to another. by simply renouncing, when he cares not to whom the benefit thereof redoundeth. by transferring when he intendeth the benefit therof to some certain person or persons.”37 when a one renounces or transfers one’s right, it is a disavowal of the state of nature based on a desire for peace. the one who maintains the peace and is transferred the right ultimately is the sovereign. while the mytheme hobbes portrays is an originary renunciation, the sovereign’s enjoyment of rights over the commonwealth and direction of the passions is maintained by discipline (which is at once a regulatory and repressive function). discipline regulates the passions of the subjects of the commonwealth into the sovereign and state’s interests. foucault says, “so we have two series: the body-organism-discipline-institutions series, and the population-biological processes-regulatory mechanisms-state. an organic institutional set, or the organo-discipline of the institution, if you like, and, on the other hand, a biological and statist set, or bioregulation by the state.”38 foucault’s schema sets up a provisional opposition between the regulatory-mechanistic state, and the discipline-institution. he maintains that these oppositions are merely provisional and recognizes both are at work in a body politic. in hobbes’ absolutist39 commonwealth, the ideological state apparatuses, such as religion must submit to the passions and will of the sovereign and the body-politic of the state. he warns against a confusion of religious sovereignty and temporal sovereignty, “temporal and spiritual government are but two words brought into the world to make men see double and mistake their lawful sovereign.”40 nevertheless, so long as religion submits to the authority of the sovereign, it is an excellent disciplinary mechanism. 15 hobbes iatromechanical model of biology and metaphor of the artificial person of the state anticipate the findings of the french physiocrat julien offray de la mettrie and his concept of the man-machine. this political physiology grounds the process where subjects are disciplined to align with the will of the sovereign and commonwealth. in discipline and punish, foucault identifies the intimate link between iatromechanical biology and the enforcement of political norms. he writes, “la mettrie’s l’homme-machine is both a materialist reduction of the soul and a general theory of dressage, at the center of which reigns the notion of ‘docility,’ which joins the analysable body to the manipulable body.”41 foucault’s commentary on julien offray de la mettrie reveals that a politics of discipline, and manipulability of the passions to a state’s designs can be derived from a materialist reduction of a human to a man-machine. la mettrie himself writes, “let us then conclude boldly that man is a machine…the only philosophy that is relevant here, that of the human body.”42 la mettrie’s proclamation is hauntingly close to hobbes’ proclamation that “life is but a motion of limbs.”43 for hobbes, both biology and politics is contingent on the mechanical nature of man, whether the natural biological human, or the artificial man of the commonwealth. we can conclude, then, that a sovereign and a state maintains its power, and peace, by manipulation of the movement and passions of its constituent parts, its citizens. in his polemical leviathan in the state theory of thomas hobbes, carl schmitt praises hobbes iatromechanical political physiology as a powerful political theory of sovereignty. he writes: in hobbes, the state is not in its entirety a person. the sovereign-representative person is only the soul of the “huge man” state. the process of mechanization is not, however, arrested but completed by this personification. this personalistic element too is drawn into the mechanization process and becomes absorbed by it. as a totality, the state is body and soul, a homo artificialis, and as such, a 16 machine…the leviathan becomes none other than a huge machine, a gigantic mechanism in the service of ensuring the physical protection of those governed.44 in this passage, schmitt identifies the very parallelism of machine-man and the state as artificial man. the mechanization and integration of subjects into an absolutist commonwealth is achieved by the sovereign’s personation of the state and direction and disciplining of its subjects’ passions. the state then become a totality, a giant, integrated mechanism that ostensibly protects those it governs and forms its constituent parts. the iatromechanical model of human physiology is the analogy and construction of the state and sovereign of guarantor of the commonwealth’s peace. v: conclusion: hobbes’ leviathan describes the commonwealth in terms of a political physiology, and describes the body politic as a literal composite of the bodies of the state’s subjects. it is absolutist in submitting the wills and passions of its constituent subjects to the will of the sovereign personating the state. in “body politic, bodies impolitic,” charles mills describes this transformation of the subjects as the reshaping of the subjects in building the commonwealth. he writes, “the human beings who inhabit this society, the homunculi of leviathan, will themselves be fundamentally reshaped by this shaping.”45 hobbes views this transformation as a renunciation and transferal of right to the sovereign in exchange for peace, but this description belies the power of discipline the sovereign must exert on subjects to shape their passions for the commonwealth’s designs. in the construction of an artificial man, there is a reconstruction of the human. 17 works cited: aristotle, “physics.” ed. cohen, s. marc, patricia curd, and c.d.c. reeve. readings in ancient greek philosophy from thales to aristotle. indianapolis, in: hackett publishing company, inc., 2011. bacon, francis, the new organon. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2000. canguilhem, georges, translated by arthur goldhammer, “the epistemology of biology,” a vital rationalist: selected writings from georges canguilhem. new york, ny: zone books, 2000. epicurus, translated by brad inwood and l.p. gerson “letter to herodotus,” the epicurus reader: selected writings and testimonia. indianapolis, in: hackett publishing company, inc., 1994. foucault, michel, translated by alan sheridan. discipline and punish: the birth of the prison. new york, ny: vintage books, 1994. foucault, michel, translated by david macey. “society must be defended:” lectures at the collège de france 1975-1976. new york, ny: picador, 2003. frost, samantha. lessons from a materialist thinker: hobbesian reflections on ethics and politics. stanford, ca: stanford university press: 2008. hobbes, thomas. leviathan. indianapolis, in: hackett publishing company, inc. 1994. hobbes, thomas, translated by charles t. wood, t.s.k. scott-craig, and bernard gert. man and citizen. indianapolis, in: hackett publishing company, inc., 1991. de la mettrie, julien offray, translated by ann thomson. “the machine man,” the machine man and other writings. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 1996. mills, charles w. "body politic, bodies impolitic." social research 78, no. 2 (2011): 583-606. schmitt, carl, translated by george schwab and erna hilfstein. the leviathan in the state theory of thomas hobbes: meaning and failure of a political symbol. chicago, il: university of chicago press, 2008. skinner, quentin. “the purely artificial person of the state,” visions of politics volume iii: hobbes and civil science. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2004. wilson, catherine. epicureanism at the origins of modernity. oxford, uk: oxford university press, 2008. wood, robert e. "five bodies and a sixth: awareness in an evolutionary universe,” the beautiful, the true and the good. washington, d.c.: catholic university of america press, 2015. 18 endnotes: 1 thomas hobbes, leviathan (indianapolis, in: hackett publishing company, inc. 1994), 3. 2 catherine wilson, epicureanism at the origins of modernity (oxford, uk: oxford university press, 2008), 7. 3 aristotle, “physics,” readings in ancient greek philosophy (indianapolis, in: hackett publishing company, inc., 2011), 983a. 4 epicurus, “letter to herodotus,” the epicurus reader (indianapolis, in: hackett publishing company, inc., 1994), 6-7. 5 francis bacon, the new organon (cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2000), 33. 6 ibid, 33. 7 catherine wilson, epicureanism at the origins of modernity, 22. 8 francis bacon, the new organon, 107. 9 ibid, 108. 10 georges canguilhem, “the epistemology of biology,” a vital rationalist: selected writings from georges canguilhem (new york, ny: zone books, 2000), 78 11 thomas hobbes, leviathan, 27. 12 ibid, 49. 13 samantha frost, lessons from a materialist thinker: hobbesian reflections on ethics and politics (stanford, ca: stanford university press: 2008), 21. 14 thomas hobbes, leviathan, 3. 15 ibid, 3. 16 robert e. wood, “five bodies and a sixth: awareness in an evolutionary universe,” the true, the beautiful, and the good (washington, d.c.: catholic university of america press, 2015), 313. 17 thomas hobbes, leviathan, 12. 18 ibid, 13. 19 ibid, 27. 20 samantha frost, lessons from a materialist thinker: hobbesian reflections on ethics and politics, 47. 21 ibid, 47. 22 thomas hobbes, “on man,” man and citizen (indianapolis, in: hackett publishing company, inc., 1991), 83. 23 ibid, 83. 24 thomas hobbes, leviathan, 74. 25 ibid, 101. 26 quentin skinner, “the purely artificial person of the state,” visions of politics iii: hobbes and civil science (cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2004.), 179. 27 thomas hobbes, leviathan, 104. 28 ibid, 3. 29 ibid, 111. 30 ibid, 103. 31 samantha frost, lessons from a materialist thinker: hobbesian reflections on ethics and politics, 162. 32 thomas hobbes, leviathan 86. 33 michel foucault, “society must be defended”: lectures from the collège de france 1975-1976, 29. 34 thomas hobbes, leviathan, 76. 35 ibid, 78. 36 ibid, 79. 37 ibid, 81. 38 michel foucault, “society must be defended:” lectures from the collège de france 1975-1976 (new york, ny: picador, 2003), 29. 39 absolutism refers to a form of monarchical governance that came about in the 17th century, wherein a single, absolute monarch has complete control of the state apparatus without deliberative interventions of a parliament, feudal hierarchy, or electoral process. 40 thomas hobbes, leviathan, 316. 41 michel foucault, discipline and punish: the birth of the prison (new york, ny: vintage books, 1994), 136. 19 42 julien offray de la mettrie, “machine man,” the machine man and other writings (cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 1996), 39. 43 thomas hobbes, leviathan, 3. 44 carl schmitt, the leviathan in the state theory of thomas hobbes (chicago, il: university of chicago press, 2008), 34-35. 45 charles mills, “body politic, bodies impolitic,” social research: volume 78. no. 2: the body and the state: how the state controls and protects the body part i, 589. microsoft word compositional collaboration.docx 1 compositional collaboration: the benefits of integrating african american vernacular english into rhetoric and composition education cassandra modica, english contemporary discourse surrounding the intersectional endeavors of education emphasizes the absolute necessity of inclusivity within the classroom. yet several hegemonic structures maintain the exclusivity of academic success—an enterprise realized only by the most privileged pupils in america. educators—particularly those within secondary and higher educational institutions—have introduced niche courses such as african american studies, gender and women studies, disability studies, etc. in which students can explore marginalized communities and learn to critique the power structures that continue to oppress them. these concentrated areas of study aim to reveal hegemonic, oppressive structures, but paradoxically utilize the tools of white supremacy that seek to silence subaltern voices. the dialect in which students must write and speak within the classroom, for example, ostracizes students who do not identify with this specific stylistic approach. standard american english exists as the arbitrarily assigned norm within classrooms nationwide, yet the study of linguistics fundamentally emphasizes the fluidity of language—both written and spoken. thus, educational inclusivity translates to observing and encouraging diverse dialects within the classroom. this essay argues that educators must balance between (1) preparing their students for professional and higher educational endeavors by teaching them the academic genre of standard american english; and (2) fostering an inclusive environment in which diverse voices can comfortably thrive by seeking those voices and the dialects in which they communicate. years of scholarship observe the productive nature of multicultural classrooms and support the integration of diverse vernaculars within those classrooms. several scholars, in fact, 2 suggest that students of all backgrounds gain a superior education when educators introduce diverse narratives and dialects into their curricula. generally, the consensus insists that both educators and pupils “benefit enormously from understanding how dialects operate and from incorporating vernacular literature into their curricula” (ahmad and nero 69). this is, of course, in direct conflict with standard language ideology, which vershawn ashanti young defines as the “belief that there is one set of dominant language rules that stem from a single dominant discourse (like standard english) that all writers and speakers of english must conform to in order to communicate effectively. dominant language ideology also say peeps can speak whateva the heck way the want to—but at home” (young 111)! yet approaching the topic of diverse dialects must be handled in a non-patronizing and constructive manner. in their 2012 essay “productive paradoxes: vernacular use in teaching of composition and literature,” dohra ahmad and shondel j. nero preface their research with the consideration of semantics and the difficulty of “choosing and defining a word or phrase common to both of our disciplines that characterizes the native, unrehearsed language of diverse groups of people” (ahmad and nero 70). in their essay, they considered the terms “dialect,” “nonstandard,” and “vernacular” (70). the term “dialect,” according to ahmad and nero, is problematic due to its connotation of stereotypes and “caricature,” thus not allowing them to handle the topic with political and cultural awareness (70). the term “nonstandard,” on the other hand, displaces these vernaculars as an obvious and inferior other to the preferable norm, thus not allowing the scholars to speak in language that demonstrates and challenges hegemonic awareness. the final term “vernacular” prevails as the most appropriate choice, as it “captures the richness and diversity of native language used within and beyond the classroom, so that we may show how its use in literature 3 can serve as an effective tool for engaging and learning about the dynamic, organic nature of all human language” (71). here, ahmad and nero implement a unique approach to considering the power of racialized language, thus constructing a foundation of their work that underscores the profound subconscious effect language has on its audience. ahmad and nero further observe the four myths about vernacular forms that dictate attitudes toward language and educational practices: “(1) they are deformed versions of the standard; (2) they have no grammar or are structurally haphazard; (3) they are responsible for the putative decline of the standard variety; and (4) they are spoken only by less educated or lower class people” (72). regardless of the chronic nature of these myths, they are just that— myths. ahmad and nero remind us that linguistics establishes vernacular forms as language varieties that are “complete with phonological, morphological, and syntactic rules, variations, and discourse norms” (72). further, linguistics assures us that no language variation intrinsically surpasses another, thus demonstrating the arbitrary nature of elitist attitudes regarding standard american english. these myths prove to be set in place by hegemonic structures and the racial tension ingrained in united states history. ahmad and nero ultimately challenge standard language ideology and suggest that the benefits of incorporating vernacular literature in the classroom include “an understanding of the dynamic nature of language; engagement with content and form; and appreciation of the vivid, imaginative language that verbal expression allows” (74). because standard language ideology is largely enacted through schooling, education reform is absolutely necessary in eradicating these myths. further, these scholars point to the blaringly obvious argument that is brilliant in its own simplicity: “what we think of as standard was once nonstandard; it gradually becomes institutionalized, precisely through its publication” (77). because nonstandard becomes standard through institutionalization and 4 publication, it is equally important to seek subaltern voices in their authentic vernaculars and give them a platform on which to speak. this task begins in the classroom, and is therefore the task of educators. in conversation with ahmad and nero’s work, jang ho lee also aims to dispel myths about monolingual hegemony. lee eloquently reminds us that monolingualism quite literally silences students who speak in diverse dialects. monolingual classrooms that privilege standard american english over other vernaculars encourage educators to incorporate the maximum amount of target language use, suggesting that “more exposure to a target language will lead to a better learning outcome” (lee 139). in these circumstances, the students’ home languages are mentioned only “when advice is given on how to minimise [sic] its use” (140). this perpetuates the myth that assumes these students will “naturally pick up” the language, just as they did “their mother tongues” (140). in both instances, the students’ needs are entirely disregarded and their cultural importance and validity subsequently diminishes. this, of course, contradicts almost every pedagogical method of effective teaching. in fact, douglas fisher and diane lapp speak directly to this when they say students “are failing not because of their lack of knowledge but because, for some, english is not their first language and they have not yet become proficient with it” (fisher and lapp, 634). in their 2013 essay “learning to talk like the test: guiding speakers of african american vernacular english,” fisher and lapp identify multicultural student failure in light of the students’ comprehension—or lack thereof—of standard american english. yet unlike lee, fisher and lapp affirm monolingual hegemony by insisting students adopt standard american english as the governing language choice. although they acknowledge “that not passing the state high school exit exam is just the first step in having doors of opportunity shut to” 5 marginalized students, fisher and lapp fall prey to the exact standard language ideology ahmad and nero and lee critique (637). it is worth noting, however, that fisher and lapp make astute observations regarding multicultural experiences within the classroom—particularly experiences of isolation and alienation. one student, they explain, […] often felt unable to talk to the principal because he wasn’t sure how to say what he was thinking. kenneth agreed, adding that the principal might think he is too stupid to answer. james quickly noted that when the police routinely stop him because of where he lives, and he isn’t sure how to answer their questions, they often think he is being disrespectful. robert added that sometimes when this happens to him, the police talk so fast and use language he hasn’t even heard, which makes understanding and responding almost impossible. (639) fisher and lapp underscore the language barrier these students face both within and outside of educational environments, thus emphasizing the importance of teaching them standard american english. in a moment of inclusivity, however, these scholars agree in their conclusion that “another step will likely involve teachers integrating language variations into their modeling” (646). but this step toward inclusivity cannot just be one of the future; instead, educators must avoid the fallacy and assumption that diversity is a long-term progression of forthcoming scholarship and integrate diverse language variations into their modeling. intersectionality functions as an obvious pillar in fostering inclusivity in educational institutions. in order for educators to acquire a linguistic appreciation of diverse vernaculars, they must first acknowledge and understand the possible intersectionalities of themselves and their students. in their 2011 essay “intersectionality and student outcomes: sharpening the struggle against racism, sexism, classism, ableism, heterosexism, nationalism, and linguistic, religious, and geographical discrimination in teaching and learning,” carl a grant and elisabeth zwier argue, “identity axes interact to produce oppression and privilege in schools, so intersectional analyses and practices should be part of our toolbox for increasing student 6 achievement” (grant and zwier 182). thus, their primary argument of their research advocates for teacher education that centers students, families, and communities in order to aid future and novice educators in developing critical consciousness. here, grant and zwier make a compelling argument regarding establishing inclusivity in the classroom. rather than focusing on the classrooms and curricula themselves, grant and zweir urge the educators of educators to consider how they can improve their syllabi. preservice teacher education, according to them, has the power to “challenge teachers’ ideologies that have negative effects on diverse students, such as individualism, meritocracy, colorblindness, and white privilege” (184). just as educators have profound power in influencing their pupils, educators of preservice educators also shape impressionable and (assumingly) open minds. although many scholars agree that classroom inclusivity is paramount in supporting marginalized pupils, how to achieve that inclusivity is allusive within the discourse. grant and zweir prove most unique in their consideration of sculpting more culturally sensitive educators. because their research focuses on how novice and preservice educators learn, they divorce themselves just slightly from the majority of scholarship regarding classroom inclusivity. grant and zweir largely encourage “enacting culturally responsive pedagogy,” which “begins with eliciting and responding to the pedagogies that students consider culturally responsive” (185-6). they institute seven components of pedagogy that cultivates this cultural responsiveness: (1) lenses; (2) knowledge; (3) experience; (4) challenging, relevant content; (5) modes of expression; (6) differentiation; and (7) critical consciousness and engagement. each component encourages educators to habitually consider the intersectionalities of marginalized individualities that may exist or come to exist within their classrooms. 7 grant and zweir’s components of pedagogy each contribute to helping educators construct a more inclusive, intersectionally sensitive curriculum. “lenses,” according to their blueprint, “requires teachers to develop an asset-based view of students and their families. such an educational approach views students as resources,” and “focuses on their lived experiences” (186). an equally important pillar, “knowledge” asks educators to remain aware of the history and culture of their students, so they may remain in touch with “relevant technological and sociopolitical knowledge” (186). educators are also challenged to acknowledge the experiences of their students’ communities so as to facilitate unlikely connections, thus representing the “experience” component. curriculum should also have “challenging, relevant content,” which increases student engagement, participation, and achievement while also furthering the educator’s understanding of intersectional identities. additionally, grant and zweir encourage diversity in “modes of expression,” as “several studies report students value pedagogies that incorporate multiple modes of expression including: music, e.g. writing raps about social justice issues; code-switching between standard english and vernacular; and educators’ stories about their life experiences” (186). the pillar of “differentiation” encourages educators to consider the multiplicities of learning styles, while “critical consciousness and engagement” asks educators to help students critique “the social injustices that constrain the students’ educational journeys” (186). in order to cease the perpetuating stereotypes and eliminate the patterns of privilege and oppression in educational institutions, grant and zweir insist that educators of preservice educators map the blueprint to a more inclusive, intersectionally aware classrooms. these seven components point only to the blaringly obvious: standard american english cannot exist as the sole mode of communication, instruction, and narration within these classrooms. 8 if not for any other reason, african american vernacular english must exist within classrooms in order to validate the experiences of the students who speak in these dialects. as valerie kinloch notes in her 2010 essay, “to not be a traitor of black english: youth perceptions of language rights in an urban context,” many students of color report feeling “alienate[d]” within their classrooms due to their linguistically positioned otherness (kinloch 111). through a fascinating dialogue between two students of color, kinloch demonstrates the double-consciousness students of color encounter within american classrooms. in fact, her particular students continuously return to the feeling of betraying—or “be[ing] a traitor” to— their communities of color when they adopt the hegemonic stance on standard american english (125). african american vernacular english exists as a significant survival tool that people of color utilize in a movement of solidarity. because of, as kinloch articulates, the “history, usage, and structures of black english and the social conditions under which slaves created ways to communicate for survival, this language is inextricably connected to cultural practices, identity constructions, and black people’s fights for freedom and against institutional racism throughout the diaspora” (113). this, in turn, results in the internal conflict students of color must cope with regarding their identities and their educational and professional endeavors. despite their internalized, obligatory commitment to their own communities, students of color recognize hegemonic ideologies that continue to exclude them from public, professional, and academic spheres. many scholars and educators alike underestimate students of color, assuming they do not possess the language to articulate or understand racialized concepts such as those observed in kinloch’s essay. yet kinloch demonstrates her students’ keen awareness of these oppressive norms: in his drive to succeed (e.g., get a job) and remain a loyal participant in his black community, khaleeq recognizes the benefits associated with code-switching: “it’s like 9 going from one language to another. making a shift. knowing how to use one. being able to use the other when you really have to.” he is not ashamed to speak black english and insists on its legitimization as a language, a way of life, and a tool for survival. (131-2) in this instance, code switching provides these students of color with opportunities to coexist within two realms that constantly exclude each other in their histories of racial tensions. yet the code switching that students of color must mandatorily practice in educational settings, when unacknowledged, simply reinforces the white supremacy that arbitrarily privileges standard american english over african american vernacular english. this paradox could be confronted within classrooms by having educators acknowledge both dialects as linguistically valid and useful. as kinloch demonstrates, each vernacular does in fact have a vast historical past and cultural significance. identifying these histories can foster inclusive classrooms in which students of all backgrounds may feel validated and heard by their teachers. as anticipated, there are several opponents to the integration of diverse vernaculars into classrooms and other public arenas. a purveyor of linguistic superiority, graham lord mocks those who do not abide by the strict linguistic rules of “proper english” in his 2007 piece “is it, like, such a tough ask to speak proper english?” lord insists that “we all know that correct english is no longer taught in most of our schools” and in order to address this problematic assumption, educators must “make it more difficult to achieve the highest ranking” a-level grades (lord 1). he refers to any vernacular that deviates from this “proper english” as a “strange new linguistic-monstrosit[y]” that acts as a “plague” within public, academic, and professional environments (2). once again, we see how champions of linguistic hegemony continue to exclude—and nearly physically silence—people who do not assimilate to standard american english. these concerns with “proper english” certainly seem trivial, as some concerns are as trifling as assuming speaking diverse vernaculars “lead[s] to different types of 10 spelling errors in adults” (treiman 338). despite lord’s assertions—which seem to come from a point of unchallenged privilege—research suggests that students of color do not need educators to make in even more difficult for them to succeed academically. it is the students of color who already suffer academically at the hands of white supremacy and the favoring of standard american english; decreasing the likelihood for each student to achieve a passing grade in class will most definitely harm students of color, who already are at risk of failing courses of all subject matters. instead, those who value linguistic studies need to consider ways in which all students can succeed—not just those who fluently and flawlessly practice standard american english. in his 2011 essay, “should writer’s use they own english?” vershawn ashanti young confronts the patronizing viewpoints of scholars who insist on the monolingual superiority of standard american english. written entirely in black american and african american vernacular english, young’s essay defines and critiques standard language ideology, which young acknowledges as a racially exclusive hegemony that alienates black americans from institutions of professional and educational success. specifically, young challenges those who perpetuate this ideology by positioning themselves as sympathetic. young cites stanley fish, who claims speakers of black american and african american vernacular english are subject to prejudice. disagreeing vehemently, young states, “dont nobody’s language, dialect, or style make them ‘vulnerable to prejudice.’ it’s attitudes. it be the way folks with some power perceive other people’s language. […] black english dont make it own-self oppressed” (young 110). further, reinforcers of linguistic hegemony often pose standard america english as a second language black and african americans should feel grateful to learn. paradoxically, however, educators who do (usually exclusively) speak standard american english have the 11 opportunity to participate in the same language-learning experience they want their students of color to embrace. if this logic assumes black and african american students benefit from learning standard american english as a second language, the same logic would suggest students who speak standard american english fluently can also benefit from being exposed to diverse vernaculars. as young observes, it further disingenuous of fish to ask: “who could object to learning a second language?” what he really mean by this rhetorical question is that the “multiculturals” should be thrilled to leave they own dialect and learn another one, the one he promote. if he meant everybody should be thrilled to learn another dialect, then wouldnt everybody be learnin everybody’s dialect? wouldnt we all become multidialectal and pluralingual? and that’s my exact argument, that we all should know everybody’s dialect, at least as many as we can, and be open to the mix of them in oral and written communication. (111) not only does young reveal the hypocrisy of standard language ideology, but he also demonstrates how students of color have valid and useful contributions in classrooms that are often overlooked. indeed, educators of linguistics should not fall prey to the fallacy of linguistic hegemony. following young’s example, educators should instead consider the ways in which vernacular diversity enriches everyone’s academic experiences. in order to foster a more inclusive classroom, educators must integrate previously unconventional narratives that affirm and expose the narratives of marginalized individuals. language undoubtedly plays a large part in the otherness some students feel within communities that continue to uphold linguistic hegemony and thus endorse white supremacy. speakers of black american and african american vernacular english “are often negatively affected in material, economic, and emotional ways by dominant, ‘commonsense’ views of [this vernacular] as illogical, ungrammatical, or unintelligent” (godley and minnici 321). as demonstrated through several scholastic studies, these myths—albeit falsely and arbitrarily constructed— perpetuate the exclusion of students of color from academic and professional advancements. 12 pedagogy has already attempted to take the appropriate steps in providing platforms on which marginalized students can express their individuality and achieve academic success. particularly, secondary and higher educational institutions grant students more agency in the subject matter they endeavor to study. concentrations like women and gender studies, african american studies, latinx studies, disability studies, etc. allow students to explore intersectionalities in ways that have in the past been oppressed. but an undivided embrace of intersectionality needs to be realized in a more integrated fashion. creating courses that show concern for social justice provides arenas in which marginalized students feel more welcomed and validated, but it also assumes that these individualities are not mainstream and therefore not relevant to or important in conventional, main-course subject matter. furthermore, when educators actively seek out subaltern narratives, but do not find the narratives written in vernacular as valid simply because it violates the terms of standard american english, white supremacy and standard language ideology are preserved. instead, educators should view narratives written in black american and african american vernacular english as especially authentic, and thus introduce these narratives into their curriculum. standard language ideology continues to oppress students of color, leaving them both silenced and unable to academically succeed. these ideologies, according to mukul saxena, “are the guiding principle for the top-down language education policies. […] consequently, many teachers associate the use of [non-standard american english vernaculars] in the classroom with underachievement and enforce ‘[standard american english]-only’ policies” (saxena 168). although code switching may exist as a solution to this problem among academics, students of color still must grapple with the internalized “linguistic self-hate” that positions them as inauthentic to their own communities and cultural backgrounds (young 112). 13 so beyond introducing niche academic subject matter and introducing subaltern narratives to the classroom, educators must also seek ways in which they can challenge the linguistic hegemony that so often and chronically excludes, ostracizes, and pigeonholes students of color. rhetoric and composition classes, in particular, give educators the ideal platform on which they can seize myriad opportunities to introduce the validity of all dialects. young, for example, suggests that educators should “teach how language functions within and from various cultural perspectives. and we should teach what it take to understand, listen, and write in multiple dialects simultaneously” (112). rather than promoting internalized oppression through the hegemonic reaffirming of standard american english, educators should instead “enlarge [their] perspective about what good writin is and how good writin can look at work, at home, and at school” (112). standard language ideology plagues educators, academics, and rhetors with a narrow and prescriptive lens that has historically silenced individuals coming from marginalized communities. educators must carve out time in their curricula for lesson plans involving (1) genre exploration, (2) historical context (3) oppressive hegemony, and (4) othered vernaculars. genre exploration must define academic as the genre in which most educational and professional texts are written, so as to de-standardize standard american english. educators must also expose the historical context of dialects, so as to validate and explore the marginalization of non-standard american english experiences. further, a historiography of linguistics can also reveal that “what we think of as standard was once nonstandard,” thus cultivating hopeful consideration of expanding the historically exclusive canon (ahmed and nero 77). making space within these classrooms to consider oppressive hegemony can foster an educational environment in which critical thinking is encouraged and students may gain political and worldly awareness. when considering hegemonic structures, educators aid students in 14 critical language pedagogy that “explicitly acknowledges that our society unfairly discriminates against some dialects and privileges others” (godley and minnici 323). it is vital that educators express that privilege, racial tensions, and white supremacy operate though many outlets, including linguistic norms and—more specifically—standard language ideology. lastly, educators must introduce othered vernaculars to the academic sphere that so often alienates them. classrooms cannot exist as inclusive environments in which marginalized students can thrive without the inclusion of subaltern narratives, voices, and language. years of scholarship point to the exponential benefits of multicultural, inclusive, and intersectional curricula. students of all backgrounds undoubtedly gain a better sense of the real world—not just the one they exist in temporarily within educational settings—when they are exposed to subaltern narratives and diverse dialects. additionally, educators can foster empathy within students when they introduce these narratives and expose the hegemonic structures that have historically oppressed them. just as it has been assumed for centuries that black and african americans and other persons of color can learn from predominantly white-founded ideologies, students and educators coming from class and racially privileged backgrounds will gain an invaluable knowledge when they embrace the possibility of linguistic diversity. as young concludes, “when we teach the rhetorical devices of blacks we can add to the writing proficiency of whites and everybody else. […] and another real, real, good result is we gone help reduce prejudice. yes, mam. now that’s a goal to reach for” (young 116-7). indeed, reducing prejudice is a goal that educators should strive to attain. african american vernacular english need not be excluded from educational institutions any longer. preservice teacher education must encourage educators to consider the many subaltern voices that continue to be othered and oppressed within academic and professional spheres. in particular, novice educators 15 should challenge themselves in their views of diversity and how their own future curricula can confront standard language ideology that perpetuates the academic encumbrance of marginalized students. when educators expose students to culturally diverse curricula and implement multicultural ideologies within their classrooms, prejudice and hegemonic structures are challenged. thus, multicultural classrooms can begin to heal the american wounds inflicted by centuries of racial tensions. 16 works cited ahmad, dohra and shondel j. nero. “productive paradoxes: vernacular use in the teaching of composition and literature.” pedagogy, vol. 12, no. 1, 2012, pp. 69-95. fisher, douglas and diane lapp. “learning to talk like the test: guiding speakers of african american vernacular english.” journal of adolescent & adult literacy, vol. 56, no. 8, 2013, pp. 634-648. godley, amanda j. and angela minnici. “critical language pedagogy in an urban high school english class.” urban education, vol. 43, no. 3, 2008, pp. 319-356. grant, carl a. and elisabeth zwier. “intersectionality and student outcomes: sharpening the struggle against racism, sexism, classism, ableism, heterosexism, nationalism, and linguistic, religious, and geographical discrimination in teaching and learning.” multicultural perspectives, vol. 13, no. 4, 2011, pp. 181-188. kinloch, valerie. “to not be a traitor of black english: youth perceptions of language rights in an urban context.” teachers college record, vol. 112, no. 1, 2010, pp. 103-141. lee, jang h. “implications for language diversity in instruction in the context of target language classrooms: development of a preliminary model of the effectiveness of teacher code switching.” english teaching: practice and critique, vol. 11, no. 4, 2012, pp. 137-160. lord, graham. “is it, like, such a tough ask to speak proper english?” spectator, vol. 304, no. 9337. saxena, mukul. “construction & deconstruction of linguistic otherness: conflict & cooperative code-switching in (english/) bilingual classrooms.” english teaching: practice and critique, vol. 8, no. 2, 2009, pp. 167-187. treiman, rebecca. “spelling and dialect: comparisons between speakers of african american 17 vernacular english and white speakers.” psychonomic bulletin and review, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 338-342. young, vershawn ashanti. “should writer’s use they own english?” ijcs writing at the university, pp. 110-118. 1 masques and metamorphosis: the theatricality of revenge and how it shapes identity nicholas keough english there are numerous features characteristic of the revenge tragedy genre, including the machiavellian villain, the supernatural, and madness. it is the distinct play-within-theplay feature, however, that figures most prominently—and most crucially—in the dénouement of revenge narratives. in each example of revenge tragedy, a corrupt political leadership victimizes the story’s protagonist. because the protagonist suffers at the hands of a sovereign entity, he cannot seek recourse through traditional modes of justice. rather than endure an impotent role within the perverted political landscape, the protagonist seizes dramaturgical authority, creating a performative space that allows him to recast the self into a position of power. thomas kyd’s the spanish tragedy, thomas middleton’s the revenger’s tragedy, and george r. r. martin’s novel series a song of ice and fire, as well as david benioff and d.b. weiss’ television adaptation of martin’s work, game of thrones, each demonstrate the necessity for theatricality and performance as it relates to the revenger’s ability to secure private vengeance. furthermore, despite the apparent successes of these revengers, each work reveals the degenerative moral effects of roleplaying, ultimately calling into question the validity and usefulness of revenge. oftentimes revenge tragedies begin when a political superior uses his position of authority to violently exploit a non-noble character. this action—traditionally murder, 2 rape, or mutilation1—highlights the hierarchal system of power to which the characters in these fictional societies are subject. not only does the noble’s authority provide him opportunity to commit these atrocities, but it also allows him to escape punishment. despite the lack of legal consequence, the noble’s actions are considered villainous and immoral: “a villain is a man who, for a selfish end, willfully and deliberately violates standards of morality sanctioned by the audience” (boyer 8). from the onset of the play, the audience, therefore, understands the noble’s action to be irrefutably monstrous and unjust, thus casting the royal figure into the role of immoral villain. beyond simply presenting the royal figure as immoral, revenge tragedy playwrights equate the villain-noble with savagery, dishonor, and godlessness. kyd’s spanish tragedy establishes this character type through lorenzo and balthazar, two villainous, conspiring nobles who use their political power throughout the play to manipulate and murder. one of lorenzo and balthazar’s victims is the honest horatio, son of the knight marshal hieronimo. when hieronimo finds his son’s body hanged and stabbed, he calls the unidentified murderer a “savage monster, not of human kind” (kyd 2.5.19). furthermore, when balthazar kills the valiant don andrea in battle, his actions are considered “murderous cowardice” and “without respect of honor” (1.4.73-75). middleton’s revenger’s, too, presents a villain-noble—the powerful duke, a man who uses his position to sexually exploit women. nine years prior to the play’s events, the duke poisons a woman named gloriana for refusing his overtures. in his opening soliloquy vindice, gloriana’s fiancé, laments gloriana’s murder, declaring the duke “impious steeped” (1.1.2). in each example, the offended decries the actions of the villain-noble, equating him with sub-human savagery. noble, non-noble, and audience 3 alike condemn the unscrupulous use of authority for criminal intentions. revenge tragedy authors establish the juxtaposition between the villain-noble’s corruption and the protagonist’s initial uprightness to further accentuate the eventual moral decline of the revenger. despite the public denouncement of his crime, the murderer avoids any semblance of legitimate punishment for his violent act. the nobility and political strength of the villain-noble makes them untouchable by law and “virtually unassailable” (mercer 55). in revenger’s, for example, when the duchess’ son junior brother rapes antonio’s wife, the duke and duchess delay judgment with the intention of exonerating him soon thereafter. it is this conflict of interest, then, between the villain-noble and the traditional modes of justice, that prevents the victim from obtaining legal justice. according to engle, “the law offers the revenger no respite” because “the offender is himself a ruler and thus has institutional authority on his side” (1298). not only does the villain-noble possess authority over the law, some revenge tragedy nobles, such as middleton’s duke, are so utterly corrupt, they themselves acknowledge their own judicial inadequacies: “it well becomes that judge to nod at crimes / that does not commit greater himself and lives” (2.3.125-126). middleton’s duke admits he is not in a position to judge or deliver justice due to his own disregard for morality. and although kyd’s duke appears just, his son lorenzo uses his position of authority to prevent hieronimo from vocalizing to the court the crime against his son: “back! see’st thou not the king is busy?” (3.12.28). lorenzo thwarts hieronimo’s attempt to seek justice, leaving hieronimo without legal recourse. 4 the failures of the judicial system cause the offended characters to look to divine justice. it is isabella who first attempts to allay hieronimo’s—and perhaps her own— grief when she asserts “the heavens are just; murder cannot be hid; / time is the author of both truth and right, / and time will bring this treachery to light” (kyd 2.5.57-59). but after what hieronimo deems too lengthy a delay, he questions the heavens’ lack of response to horatio’s murder, asking “how should we term your dealings to be just, / if you unjustly deal with those than in your justice trust?” (3.2.10-11). similarly, martin’s arya stark, a character from his novel series a song of ice and fire, a fantasy epic that explores a dynastic war reminiscent of the historic war of the roses, reflects on the unpunished murder of her family, stating “they are not my seven. they were my mother’s gods, and they let the frey’s murder her… the old gods are dead” (feast 127). following her family’s murderous betrayal, arya forsakes the gods, believing, like hieronimo, that divine justice cannot exist while crimes remain unpunished. in the absence of legal and divine justice, the victims themselves seek “the justice no longer provided by the rule of the law” (allman 57). however, the protagonist’s own virtue and decency—coupled with the social and spiritual boundaries of the play’s world—morally complicate the protagonist’s evolution from paralyzed non-noble to revenger. hieronimo, as the knight marshal of spain, is the embodiment of justice and law: “for blood with blood shall, while i sit as judge, / be satisfied, and the law discharged” (kyd 3.6.35-36). he is a man of fairness and equity, suggesting that he “to all men just must be” (3.6.9). not until he realizes “neither gods nor men be just” does hieronimo don the revenger role (3.6.10). according to hallet, hieronimo’s desire for 5 revenge “is in a very real sense a passion for justice” (145). despite his virtue, hieronimo must seek private vengeance on behalf of horatio. the revenger role similarly falls to eleven-year-old arya stark, a character who also seeks justice for her murdered family. arya’s desire for revenge emerges after the incestuous queen cersei, in order to preserve her secret affair with her brother jaime, has her husband, king robert, and hand of the king2, ned stark, murdered. in response to their father’s unjust execution, arya’s brother robb gathers his army and revolts against the crown. during the subsequent battles, robb—and the other stark boys—are betrayed, killed, or otherwise incapacitated. without male heirs and with no potential for justice through the now-corrupt westerosi judicial system, vengeance falls to the young, unskilled arya who has “taken upon herself to right all of these wrongs” (williams, “game of thrones star”). like hieronimo, arya is “forced to break the rules and take the law into [her] own hands” (engle 1299). violent vengeance, however, would, in other circumstances, prove inconceivable to a member of the stark family, a family perceived by both allies and foes as the most honorable, virtuous house in westeros. arya, though, unable to obtain recourse through the law or the gods, seeks revenge on those responsible for her family’s demise. vindice, too, although his revenge story begins in media res, was seemingly a moral man prior to gloriana’s murder. hallett contends that since vindice instantly presents “the vices of the duke and his sons to us as despicable and sub-human, we associate him immediately with the forces of good” (232). although vindice’s narrative objectivity could be questioned, like arya, he is associated with an honest family whose father was “a worthy gentleman” (middleton 1.1.122). he and his brother hippolito, 6 accomplice to vindice’s revenge, seem to share the worthiness of their father, embodying the “values lodged in the family to which they belong, which contrast at every point with the anti-values… of the court” (barish 143). after the licentious duke poisons his betrothed, vindice’s moral purity begins to deteriorate, but prior to the duke’s crime, vindice was a “good man destroyed by a corrupt court” (o’callaghan 171). in vindice— as with hieronimo and arya— ethical inclination and lack of political strength complicate the decision to become revenger. obsession over the lack of justice, grief over the loss, and duty to family eventually propel each to action, and although the revenge protagonist’s morality delays the initial undertaking for revenge, they are, ultimately, willing to sacrifice virtue—and life—to achieve vengeance. during a soliloquy in which hieronimo mourns horatio’s death, he vows revenge, even if it costs him his own life: “his death behooves me be revenged; / then hazard not thine own, hieronimo” (kyd 3.2.45-46). although unclear whether hieronimo plans to gamble his life, integrity, or virtue—or all three—he is clearly willing to renounce his previous life and “surrender up [his] marshalship” (3.12.76). by removing himself from the role of knight marshal, hieronimo, in an attempt to reconstruct his identity, detaches himself from the restrictive social and moral space in which he has existed and recasts himself into the revenger role. in game of thrones, arya travels to the distant land of braavos—a “free city” that exists outside the political and social constraints of her family’s homeland. while in braavos, arya trains with the faceless men, a “secretive society of assassins” (a world of… 276). here arya learns the skills necessary to become an effective revenger. to be accepted into the guild, arya must first train to become “no one.” she must discard her 7 previous identity as arya stark, so that she may more effectively disguise herself as another3. like hieronimo, who, before shedding himself of his marshalship, vacillates between seeking revenge—“for in revenge my heart would find relief” (2.5)—and justice—“justice, o, justice to hieronimo” (3.12)—arya, too, has difficulty abandoning her past. after a period of training, the kindly man, an authority within the faceless men, evaluates arya’s progress, suggesting she has “taken other names, but… wore them lightly as you might wear a gown. under them always was arya” (martin, feast 452). arya struggles to shed both her familial and personal identity. when the kindly man asks her to abandon all of her personal effects, she abandons them all but her sword, a gift from her brother, because “needle was robb and bran and rickon, her mother and her father” (455). she continues to identify as a stark, disregarding the kindly man’s explanation that to become ‘no one’ the “price is all you have and all you ever hope to have” (martin, dance 916). vindice also presumably has a difficult time initially donning the revenger role as he delays retaliation on the duke for over nine years. by the onset of revenger’s, however, he has assumed a new identity and prepares for action. each of vindice, hieronimo, and arya succumb eventually to the revenger role, and their disguises and subsequent theatrical creations are what ultimately permit moral abandonment. according to mercer, “revenge is not something someone does but a role that awaits performance” (58), and so after obsessing for nearly a decade, vindice concludes that in order to avenge gloriana he must “turn into another” (middleton 1.1.134). hieronimo feigns madness, awaiting an opportunity to avenge horatio, which arises from a chance to play another role. to avenge her family, arya seeks to learn from 8 the group of masked assassins. in each case, the revengers recognize the need to play a role different from their own, and these disguises permit them “to act in ways contrary to their nature” (hallett 238). even the vile supervacuo understands the correlation between violence and disguise: “a masque is treason’s license, that build upon; / “tis murder’s best face when a vizard’s on” (middleton 5.1.188-189). murder thrives under the cover of disguise, a cover that allows the revengers to perform a role outside the restrictions of their moral and social boundaries. prior to the protagonists successfully obtaining their revenge, only the tragedies’ authority figures commit unjust murder. in many ways throughout these stories, violence and power are inextricably linked: “violence has a relationship to power and powerlessness” (nevitt 6). only characters in a position of power are able to commit acts of violence; therefore, in order to obtain vengeance, the revengers need to gain power over the noble authority. hieronimo connects violence with the power of authorship, which, within the context of a play, is total authority: “to know the author were some ease of grief / for in revenge my heart would find relief” (kyd 2.5.40-41). hieronimo not only associates horatio’s murderer with an ‘author’ but also speaks of revenge in close dialogical proximity to authorship. furthermore, hieronimo refers to the doomed pedringano as an “actor in th’accursed tragedy” (3.7.41). hieronimo—whether consciously or not—connects authorship, murder, and theatrics, precipitating his development into “author and actor” in his own revenge performance (4.3.147). in order to gain power, the revenger must become an authority, and so the revenger constructs a theatrical space that allows him to author the roles and rules of the performance world. according to condon, “control of space… justifie[s] control of those 9 subjects who occup[y] that space” (65). it is within this performance space that the powerless become the powerful, as “final authority is theatrical, and it belongs to the figure granted control of the play’s text” (allman 105). in addition to seizing control, within the revenger’s constructed play world, there exists “no restrictions, legal or moral” (hallett 236). the revenger “can initiate activity more daring, volatile, and free than the constraints and dangers of the world normally allow” (wilshire 24). by creating a theatrical space separate from the play’s, the revenger attempts to free himself from moral and social restrictions, and like the corrupt rulers of the play’s real-world space, can act without fear of reprisal. through authorship, the revenger seizes power and opportunity, and the ability to take violent action against the play’s real-world authority. hieronimo receives this authorial opportunity when balthazar, with lorenzo, requests hieronimo’s assistance in manufacturing entertainment for his and belimperia’s impending wedding celebration. unwittingly, hieronimo’s enemies provide him with an occasion to reconstruct power dynamics: “hieronimo’s play is a device with which he will for a crucial moment gain total control over his enemies” (mercer 55). though balthazar and lorenzo maintain authority over hieronimo in the real-world of the play, hieronimo controls the play-world. when castile asks hieronimo why he alone is preparing for the play, hieronimo responds “it is for the author’s credit, / to look that all things may go well” (kyd 4.3.3-4). hieronimo alone possesses authorial control over the action of his story. as part of his play-world construction, hieronimo casts his enemies into fatal roles. after balthazar and lorenzo acquiesce to hieronimo’s suggestion of a tragic performance, hieronimo intends for each, including himself “to play a part” (kyd 10 4.1.83). hieronimo’s tragedy will mimic the details of horatio’s murder—and the spanish tragedy as a whole—wherein an emperor murders the husband of the woman he loves. in hieronimo’s version of this story, however, he—and not lorenzo—will “play the murderer” (4.1.133). hieronimo’s casting for the tragic perseda and erastus subverts the play’s real-world power hierarchy when he places himself, as emperor, in a position of political superiority, a role that allows him to take violent action against the suddenly non-noble lorenzo. it is only through hieronimo’s creation of a performance space outside the boundaries of the play’s real world that he can wrestle “control of the plot from the tyrant and [manipulate] his fellow characters into acting out his play” (allman 105). once he gains authorial power, hieronimo can finally fulfill his desire for revenge: “these accursed murderers, / which now performed, my heart is satisfied” (4.3.128-129). in doing so, however, hieronimo becomes a murderer, and though he attempts to “conclude his part” he cannot separate himself from his performance (4.3.149). he cast himself as the deceitful murderer, and so he becomes one. in the chaotic aftermath of his performance, hieronimo slays the duke, a man who seems to respect hieronimo and has done him no wrong. at this point, hieronimo’s excessive, unwarranted violence categorizes him as the monstrous savage he had hoped to eliminate. according to ayres, “hieronimo’s final actions would have lost him the [elizabethan] audience’s sympathy” (361). the duke is innocent within the context of both the real world of the play and hieronimo’s constructed world, so hieronimo’s murder of him is unjust. to rosendale, an “unkilled lorenzo is an affront to our sense of justice and decency, a troubling emblem of unchecked human mischief… an unkilled hieronimo then becomes in turn 11 equally intolerable, particularly when there is no certain divine mandate for his excessive actions” (12). like boyer suggests, when a character violates the moral approval of the audience, that character becomes a villain (8). like hieronimo, vindice finds power through performance, and “exerts a similar kind of control over the characters” in revenger’s (hallett 235). lussurioso, the duke’s heir, like lorenzo, unwittingly presents vindice with an opportunity to exact vengeance. while under the guise of the lorenzo-ordered piato and at the behest of the lustful duke, vindice devises a scenario in which he will arrange a sexual encounter for the duke. vindice deceives the duke with his disguise and intention: “the old duke / thinking my outward shape and inward heart / are cut out of one piece” (middleton 3.5.8-10). assuming a role other than his own allows vindice to gain authority within the context of this role-play. vindice leads the duke to an “unsunned lodge” (3.5.18), a theatrical space outside the physical and political boundaries of the court. it is here where vindice creates new roles and narrative. within his play-world, vindice casts gloriana’s skull, too, into a character. she will play “the duke’s concubine” (middleton 3.5.42), a role gloriana died attempting to avoid. vindice dresses the skull in “tires,” masking the skull: “i have not fashioned this only for show / and useless property; no, it shall bear a part / e’en in its own revenge” (3.5.99-101). in the same manner in which hieronimo inverted the murderer-victim role in his recreation, vindice intends to murder the duke utilizing the same scenario and methods the duke used to murder gloriana. vindice, author of this scene, empowers gloriana and immobilizes the duke. as the duke kisses the poisoned skull, vindice cries out, “royal villain” (3.5.143). vindice includes himself and his brother within the same 12 designation, condemning the group as “villains all three!” (3.5.153). it is not until vindice’s violence and scope become excessive, however, that he truly becomes a villain. after vindice completes his revenge against the duke, he targets lussurioso. although it is clear lussurioso struggles with ethical behavior, he has not unjustly murdered any of vindice’s family; therefore, there would seemingly be no reason for vindice to seek such disproportionate revenge against him. vindice, though, decides to “blast this villainous dukedom vexed with sin” (5.2.6). gathering some scorned noblemen, vindice plans to murder lussurioso and the remainder of the duke’s family. he casts each of the noblemen into performance roles, teaching them to impersonate the dance of the upcoming masque. by the conclusion of the performance, the entire royal family lies murdered. at the conclusion of the massacre, the now nefarious vindice accuses the fourth noble for the assassinations. mercer suggests there is no more “unheroic, indeed squalid, way to take revenge than to shift blame onto an anonymous extra” (114). not only has vindice deflected responsibility for his actions, his gruesome and misplaced violence has become excessive: “vindice becomes a villain, as do all revengers who allow their passion for justice to drive them beyond the limits of human prerogative” (hallett 232). like hieronimo who, in his desire for revenge, unjustly kills the duke, vindice extends beyond the justifiable boundaries of revenge, and he becomes the villain. antonio, the ostensible moral reset for the kingdom, condemns vindice and his brother, calling them “villains” (middleton 5.3.121). according to mcmillin, “morally the play is perfectly clear. the revenger becomes his own enemy, and one shouldn’t do that” (275). vindice, like hieronimo, ultimately come to parallel the villains they seek to eliminate. 13 similar to her elizabethan and jacobean predecessors, arya seeks power through performance. once arya begins to digest the techniques of the faceless men, she begins to edge her way towards becoming a revenger. arya experiences prolonged difficulty with detaching herself from her stark identity, so martin adds an additional theatrical layer to her story. while wearing the face of a young girl named mercy, she joins a theatre troupe as part of an assignment, deepening the depth of arya’s role-play within the context of the game of thrones narrative. during one night’s performance, raff the sweetling, a westerosi man-at-arms and one of the king’s men, who years prior unjustly murdered arya’s friend, is in attendance. arya, as mercy, flirts with raff, thinking to herself, “he’ll want me or he won’t… let the play begin” (martin, “excerpt from winds…”). arya entices raff out of the theatre crowd and into a private quarter, suggesting to him that he too “could be a mummer, if he wanted” and that she “could teach [him] to say a line” (martin, “excerpt from winds…”). arya begins to assume authority within this context. she removes herself and raff from the physical landscape and fixed-roles of the theatre to create a dramaturgical space in which she and raff adopt new roles according to her design. as arya draws raff into her performance, she casts him into the role of lommy, her murdered friend, and she projects herself into the role of raff, his murderer. this echoes the way in which hieronimo, in his own staging, adopts the lorenzo role while placing lorenzo in the role of horatio. like hieronimo, arya finds success in her authorial debut, and once within her controllable play-world, she entraps raff. raff assumes mercy has sexual intentions, but instead, unbeknownst to him, she purposefully slices his femoral artery: “mercy gave a gasp and stepped away, her face confused and 14 frightened” (martin, “excerpt from winds…”). arya’s emotional response is a performance. raff asks mercy to locate a healer, but she replies, “you have to go to him. can’t you walk?” incredulous, raff responds, “walk… you’ll need to carry me.” the short exchange between the two mirrors the conversation raff had with lommy prior to stabbing him through the throat. when arya hears raff ask her to carry him, she thinks, “see? you know your line, and so do i” (martin, “excerpt from winds…”) and proceeds to mimic the way in which raff killed lommy, stabbing him through the throat. as arya begins eliminating those on her kill list, her methods become increasingly macabre and less scripted. she ultimately leaves the faceless men, realizing she can neither wholly reject her stark heritage nor take the personal component out of her quest for revenge. on her way back to westeros, arya uses a stolen face to disguise herself, seeking revenge on walder frey4. her desire for justice in this scenario fits the tradition of the revenge tragedy genre—corrupt authority unjustly murders protagonist’s family member, protagonist seeks retribution—but like hieronimo’s murder of the duke and vindice’s murder of lussurioso—this scene fails to mimic an original murder and occurs outside the boundaries of theatrics. in a game of thrones scene that echoes titus andronicus, arya serves an unwitting walder frey his own children in baked pies. she proceeds to remove her mask prior to murdering walder, conflating her revenger identity with her own: “my name is arya stark… i want you to know that. the last thing you are ever going to see is a stark smiling down at you as you die” (“the winds of winter” 51:29-51:40). she is arya at the moment she murders walder. like hieronimo who is unable to “conclude his part” and vindice whose revenger identity and true identity remain muddled throughout, arya 15 allows her honorable stark identity to fuse with the identity of the excessively violent villain. to wilshire, “role on stage illuminates ‘role’ off” (205), and within the play’s world, the character-actors become so consumed with revenge, they cannot separate themselves from their roles. after the revengers succeed in obtaining vengeance, they publically identify themselves in an attempt to reclaim their identity. like arya, who names herself while killing walder, vindice—“’tis i, ‘tis vindice, ‘tis i” (middleton 3.5.170)—and hieronimo—“and, princes, now behold hieronimo / author and actor in this tragedy” (kyd 4.4.146-147)—each attempts to recover their previously concealed self. according to rosendale, however, the “‘pursuit of equity’ can lead to much darker places” (5). the revengers ultimately cannot escape the roles they have created. maisie williams, the actress who portrays arya, reflects on her character’s evolution, claiming “it’s sad when our heroes take it too far and they don’t just do their job, they actually enjoy it and you see a twisted spark behind the eyes. it’s worrying” (williams, “‘game of thrones’ star…”). in each example, the revenger loses restraint and commits atrocities outside the boundaries of their created play-world. the revenger’s theatrical performance “begins as merely superficial behavior and then is gradually and unwittingly internalized” (targoff 20-21). revengers internalize the immoral behaviors of their fictive roles. if it is “theatre’s responsibility… to help deny violence the status of ‘normal’ and ‘human’” (nevitt), then revengers who seek private vengeance, especially through murder, become morally reprehensible despite attempts to sidestep the moral and social implications of violence. vindice recognizes this miscalculation as he accepts his fate: “‘tis time to die when we ourselves our foes” 16 (middleton 5.3.130). previously, hippolito anticipates the revengers’ decline, claiming “brother, we lose ourselves” (4.2.205). similarly, hieronimo’s actions brand him “a faulty character” (bowers 99). none of the revengers are able to successfully disassociate their selves from their roles. although each of these characters ultimately succeeds in doling out justice, hieronimo’s, vindice’s, and arya’s paths to retribution are paved with a self-destructive obsession for revenge. seemingly morally upright characters at the beginning of their respective stories—hieronimo, the knight marshal of spain, vindice, an opponent of unchecked libidinous desire, and arya, a lady of the moral and justice-driven stark family, each, instead of performing the theatrical revenger role as an extension of the self, allows the fictitious role to collapse with their own identity, leading to moral decline. this conflation of role and identity blurs the line between art and reality, causing the protagonists to lose moral direction, and to, ultimately, parallel the villains they wish to bring to justice. as the kindly man informs arya at the beginning of her training, despite the offenses done to her, “it is not for [her] to say who shall live and who shall die” (martin, feast 445). kyd, middleton, and martin all warn against the individual, social, and moral repercussions of assuming the role of judge and executioner. 1 the offense, although not always directly a murder, results in death. mutilation and rape frequently result in suicide, such as in the case of antonio’s wife, or “mercy killing,” as is the case with shakespeare’s lavinia. 2 the hand of the king is the most powerful political position in westeros, with the power to “protect” and to deliver “the king’s justice.” in this case, justice is literally and symbolically executed and eliminated. 3 the faceless men wear the faces of the deceased as masks. there is a magical quality to this practice, and the idea of becoming “no one” allows the renderer to assume the true appearance and identity of the deceased individual. 4 walder frey, one of the westerosian lords, previously betrayed robb stark. after granting robb and his bannermen “guest right,” he slaughters the entire stark army, violating the sacred laws of hospitality. 17 works cited allman, eileen. jacobean revenge tragedy and the politics of virtue. university of delaware press, 1999. ayres, philip j. “marston’s antonio’s revenge: the morality of the revenging hero.” studies in english literature, 1500-1900. 12.2 (1972): pp. 359-374. jstor. web. barish, jonas a. “the true and false families of the revenger’s tragedy” pp. 142-154. english renaissance drama. eds. standish henning, robert kimbrough, richard knowles. carbondale: southern illinois university press, 1976. bowers, fredson thayer. elizabethan revenge tragedy 1587-1642. princeton university press, 1959. boyer, clarence valentine. the villain as hero in elizabethan tragedy. russell & russell, 1964. condon, james. “setting the stage for revenge: space, performance, and power in early modern revenge tragedy.” medieval and renaissance drama in england, 25 (2012): pp. 62-82. engle, lars. introduction. english renaissance drama: a norton anthology. w.w. norton & company, 2002, pp. 1297-1302. hallett, charles a. and elaine s. hallett. the revenger’s madness: a study of revenge tragedy motifs. lincoln: university of nebraska press, 1980. print. kyd, thomas. the spanish tragedy. english renaissance drama: a norton anthology, edited by david bevington, w.w. norton & company, 2002, pp. 3-72. martin, george r.r. a dance with dragons. bantam books, 2013. ---. “excerpt from the winds of winter.” george r. r. martin. january 2013. 18 ---. a feast for crows. bantam books, 2011. ---. the world of ice & fire, the. bantam books, 2014. mcmillin, scott. “acting and violence in the revenger’s tragedy and its departures from hamlet.” studies in english literature, 1500-1900, 24.2 (1984): pp. 275291. jstor. web. mercer, peter. hamlet and the acting of revenge. iowa city: university of iowa press, 1987. print. middleton, thomas. the revenger’s tragedy. english renaissance drama: a norton anthology, edited by david bevington, w.w. norton & company, 2002, pp. 1297-1367. nevitt, lucy. theatre & violence. palgrave macmillan, 2013. o’callaghan, michelle. “thomas middleton and the early modern theatre.” the cambridge companion to shakespeare and contemporary dramatists, edited by tom hoenselaars, cambridge university press, 2012, pp. 165-180. rosendale, timothy. “agency and ethics in the spanish tragedy.” early modern literary studies. 18.1/2 (2015): pp. 1-19. proquest. web. targoff, ramie. “the performance of prayer: sincerity and theatricality in early modern england.” shakespeare: the critical complex, shakespeare and history. pp. 17-37. garland publishing, 1999. ed. stephen orgel and sean keilen “the winds of winter.” a game of thrones, created by david benioff and d. b. weiss, performance by maisie williams, season 6, episode 10, hbo, 2016. williams, maisie. “game of thrones star maisie williams: ‘arya’s dark side is the reason she’s still alive.” interview with chris bennion. the telegraph, 25 apr. 19 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/04/24/game-of-thrones-star-maisiewilliams-aryas-dark-side-is-the-reas/. accessed 1 may 2017. ---. “‘game of thrones’ star maisie williams on shorter season 7: ‘good things must come to an end.’” interview by laura prudom, variety, 26 aug 2016, http://variety.com/2016/tv/awards/game-of-thrones-season-7-maisie-williamsarya-jon-snow-emmys-1201836344/. accessed 1 may 2017. wilshire, bruce. role playing and identity: the limits of theatre as metaphor. indiana university press, 1982. microsoft word lopez-egea thl.docx mary magdalene: sexism and feminism in scorsese’s the last temptation of christ àngela lópez-egea i vives theology and religious studies 1)introduction the following paper centers on the figure of mary magdalene in the movie the last temptation of christ (1988), interpreted by actress barbara hershey and directed by martin scorsese. the movie is based on the novel with the same title written in 1955 by greek author nikos kazantzakis. the story does not follow the bible, as explained in the disclaimer at the beginning of the movie: "this film is not based on the gospels, but upon the fictional exploration of the eternal spiritual conflict." it generated much controversy among christian conservative groups, who considered it blasphemous. the film depicts the life of jesus (interpreted by willem dafoe) and explores jesus’ struggles with his dual nature: flesh versus spirit, human versus divine. jesus’ humanity is central to the movie as is his temptation to live an ordinary life and his plight to accept his divine role. sexuality is, therefore, one of the main temptations jesus faces when confronting his human nature, and mary magdalene is central to this theme. she is one of the main characters, alongside jesus and judas, and is presented as a reformed prostitute who becomes a faithful follower of christ and, later on, jesus’ wife. to examine how scorsese portrays mary magdalene, the first part of this paper goes back to the gospels and analyzes this biblical character and the inaccurate historical myth that emerged at the beginning of christianity, referred to as the pre-vatican ii tradition. even though mary magdalene in the gospels is presented as a faithful disciple and there are no references that she was a prostitute, this image started to shift during the times of pope 1 gregory the great (540-604), when the church began to misrepresent her as a sinful woman. this depiction created a mary magdalene with a double nature, a dichotomy between sexuality, sin, and prostitution versus penitence, chastity, and devotion, which will persist in the church tradition and popular culture for centuries. it will not be until the twentieth century with the post-vatican ii tradition that the figure of mary magdalene is officially restored by the papacy, recognizing her as the “apostle of the apostles.” the second section of the paper centers on the magdalene tradition in film, illustrating the most common traits, such as promiscuity, sexuality, beauty, and sin. later, the paper examines the specific portrayal of mary magdalene in the last temptation of christ, explaining the principal scenes in which she appears. the core of the paper presents two different interpretations of scorsese’s mary magdalene: first, the feminist critique, which argues that scorsese created a sexist version of the biblical character, and second, the viewpoint that sees scorsese as incorporating feminist elements around her. these opposite perspectives demonstrate a duality of sexism and feminism in the movie. hence, this essay argues that this duality around mary magdalene in the film is in fact a necessary element to fulfill the plot of the movie, to explore jesus’ humanity, and to help jesus accept his redemptive role. 2)mary magdalene in the gospels and in the church tradition to analyze scorsese’s portrayal of mary magdalene as a prostitute, it is important to recognize where this tradition came from. in the gospels, mary magdalene is mentioned thirteen times, mostly accompanied by other women.1 the new testament does not provide much information about her; it only associates her with magdala, a town on the shore of the galilee sea. luke explains that she was one of the women who provided for jesus and his disciples (luke 8:1-3). luke and mark narrate that jesus cast out seven evil spirits from her, 2 although no more details of this event are explained (luke 8:2; mark 16:9). besides this, she is especially important during the death and resurrection of christ: she witnessed the crucifixion (matthew 27:56; mark 15:40-47; john 19:25), she was at jesus’ burial (matthew 27:61; mark 15:47), and she is one of the witnesses of the empty tomb on the sunday following jesus’ crucifixion (matthew 28:1-8; mark 16:1-8; luke 24:1-7; john 20:1). then, she saw the resurrection, spoke to christ, and reported the resurrection to the apostles (matthew 28:9-10; mark 16:9-11; john 20:11-18). she is not mentioned in any other book of the new testament.2 nor, in any of these passages, is she associated with sinfulness or prostitution; instead, the text depicts her as a faithful follower of jesus. mary magdalene’s devoted reputation in early christianity started to change and eventually became a symbol of sin, impurity, sexuality, and penitence. anthony le donne, professor of new testament at the united theological seminary in dayton, ohio, explains the connection of evils and demons with “unclean spirits” (mark 1:26 and 3:11).3 thus, following le donne’s idea, considering that seven evil spirits were cast out of mary magdalene by jesus (luke 8:2; mark 16:9), this act could be the source of the initial association of impurity and sin with mary magdalene.4 in addition, one of the earliest pieces of evidence of the distortion around this figure is in the writings of ephraim the syrian (306373)5, who identified her with the unnamed sinful woman who anointed jesus’ feet (luke 7:36–50).6 later, at the end of the sixth century, the official ecclesiastical position on the sinfulness and repentance of mary magdalene came with pope gregory the great (540-604). in his homily 33 (591-92)7, gregory the great associates mary magdalene with mary of bethany, the sister of lazarus and martha (john 11:1–12:8; luke 10:38–42), and again with the unnamed sinful woman who anointed jesus’ feet (luke 7:36–50). gregory interprets the seven evil spirits cast out by jesus (luke 8:2; mark 16:9) as vices, and the perfume of the sinful woman who anointed jesus’ feet (luke 7:36–50) as a sign of her sensuality.8 from this, 3 the popular image of the “new” mary magdalene emerges and will last until contemporary times, identifying her with mary, the sister of lazarus and martha, and with sinfulness and penitence, saved only by jesus.9 this image of mary magdalene as a prostitute who reforms and devotes herself to jesus will expand in the sixth century, with the popularization of legends about penitent harlots, such as the lives of thais, mary of egypt, or pelagia.10 until 1969 with the revision of the general roman calendar, after the second vatican council, the catholic church did not officially revise mary magdalene’s canonical definition.11 then, the vatican restored her figure, recognized that the gospels provide no evidence of her sinfulness, and distinguished her from the unnamed sinful woman who anointed jesus’ feet (luke 7:36–50) and from mary of bethany (john 11:1–12:8; luke 10:38–42).12 john paul ii, in his apostolic letter mulieris dignitatem, from 1988, recognizes the importance of mary magdalene as “the apostle of the apostles” for being the first witness of the resurrection and the first one to announce the resurrection to the apostles.13 as john paul ii mentions, the title “apostle of the apostles” attributed to mary magdalene is a name already given by rabanus maurus (780-856) in the ninth century and by thomas aquinas (1225-1274) in the thirteenth century, which contradicts the popular legend of mary magdalene as just the penitent sinner.14 finally, in 2016, pope francis fully rehabilitated mary magdalene’s reputation by elevating her liturgical memory to the status of festivity, celebrated on july 22nd, the same prestige as the other evangelists and apostles, praising her as “an example of a true and authentic evangeliser.”15 arthur roche, then archbishop secretary and later cardinal prefect of the vatican congregation for divine worship and the discipline of the sacraments, highlights the relevance of mary magdalene following anselm of canterbury’s words: “chosen because you are beloved and beloved because you are chosen of god.”16 thus, the vatican document of 2016 is essential because it officially repairs, again, the error that lasted 4 for centuries that damaged her image. this also reestablishes the faithful reputation of mary magdalene found in the gospels. 3)the magdalene tradition in film the misinterpretation of mary magdalene throughout christian history created a double nature around this woman, a dichotomy between sexuality, sin, and prostitution versus penitence, chastity, and devotion. this duality is present in scorsese’s the last temptation of christ. however, before entering into the specific representation of this character in the movie, it is important to explain the main traits of the magdalene tradition in film. when examining films about jesus’ life, mary magdalene can be considered the most preeminent female character, specifically exhibiting sexual promiscuity and eroticism. thus, filmmakers often take the pre-vatican ii tradition of the repentant sinner and reformed prostitute as the central feature to portray mary magdalene.17 mary magdalene’s physical appearance is a common element that repeats throughout films: she is beautiful and sensual, usually with long hair, jewelry, makeup, and clothes that invoke her nudity, following western beauty standards that reflect a sexualized image of the saint (as is the case in the last temptation of christ).18 for instance, religious scholar adele reinhartz explains that films before the 1980s emphasize mary magdalene’s promiscuous past and provide moral judgment over it. conversely, after 1980, jesus movies do not ignore her sinner past, but this is not her central feature nor the source of moral judgment when presenting mary magdalene.19 in addition, reinhartz explains four challenges filmmakers face when portraying mary magdalene: the first challenge concerns mary magdalene’s life before jesus, which is usually interpreted as her being an adulteress or a prostitute, as in the last temptation of christ. second, filmmakers struggle to portray mary magdalene among the apostles and how to interpret the 5 relationship between her and the other disciples. the third challenge concerns the representation of mary magdalene as apostle of the apostles, based on john 20:11-18, and how to reproduce this role following the vatican decree of 2016. fourth, filmmakers are challenged when representing the relationship between mary magdalene and jesus.20 reinhartz explains that most movies present an asymmetrical relationship between these two characters, stressing the hierarchy between jesus and mary magdalene because he is the one who saves and takes spiritual care of her.21 jesus’ sexuality is another important aspect to bear in mind when talking about religious movies and mary magdalene. reinhartz classifies three different categories of jesus and his sexuality: the first is the “asexual jesus,” whose humanity did not include a sexual dimension and did not engage in any sexual relationship. this jesus offers his love equally to all people. second, there is the “conflicted jesus,” where his humanity is stressed, presented as a character with sexual desires and feelings who does not act sexually due to his divine mission. this “conflicted jesus” is the jesus of the first part of the last temptation of christ. third, reinhartz lists the “sexual jesus,” where jesus’ humanity is accentuated by his participation in sexual activities, as portrayed in the last part of the last temptation of christ.22 4)mary magdalene in the last temptation of christ (1988) the last temptation of christ was released on august 12, 1988. it was directed by martin scorsese, with a screenplay by paul schrader. scorsese, raised catholic, had a dream of making a movie about the life of jesus since he was ten-years old,23 which he accomplished with the release of this film.24 both the book and the movie have been considered blasphemous by certain conservative christian groups due to the accentuated humanity of christ and his engagement in sexual activities and homosexual overtones.25 6 the emphasis of jesus’ divinity and humanity are key elements in the film. jesuit scholar lloyd baugh explains that films about jesus can follow a “high christology” dimension, which privileges the divinity of jesus, or a “low christology” dimension, which emphasizes jesus’ humanity; the last temptation of christ, baugh argues, presents an even “‘lower’ christology,” placing jesus’ humanity as the central element of the film.26 scorsese presents jesus (willem dafoe) as an imperfect human struggling to accept his divine mission, consistent with this “lower” christology. in the title, the “last temptation” refers to the everyday temptation to ordinariness, which scorcese fully reveals in the last scene. when jesus is on the cross, satan appears to him as a young girl and his guardian angel to help him come down from the cross and, moreover, invites him to live an ordinary life: to settle down, to marry, to have a family. here, jesus finally consummates a sexual relationship with mary magdalene after they marry and conceive a child. mary magdalene dies before giving birth, and jesus later marries mary and martha, lazarus’ sisters. not until jesus is old do judas and the apostles reveal the guardian angel was actually satan. with this, jesus recognizes that all was a dream, a fantasy, and a hallucination while on the cross. finally, it is only by confronting this last temptation of ordinariness and humanness that jesus accepts his mission and recognizes he has to die.27 he rediscovers god’s call and returns to the cross, gaining consciousness and abandoning the hallucination, triumphing over the last temptation. then, he dies on the cross and accomplishes god’s mission.28 the culminating point of the movie is the “last temptation” faced by christ before he can fulfill god’s mission. this temptation was not a sexual temptation; instead, it was a temptation to embrace ordinariness and the invitation to live a domestic life.29 it is a temptation to become human.30 mary magdalene is a crucial character in the whole movie and becomes even more central in the last temptation scene. she is portrayed by actress barbara hershey and is a sexually charged character. in the movie, mary magdalene and 7 jesus have been friends since childhood. mary magdalene becomes a prostitute after jesus rejects her. therefore, scorsese is taking up the pre-vatican ii magdalene tradition: she is again associated with vices, sin, sensuality, and prostitution, following gregory the great’s stance. then, she is identified with the biblical scene of the unnamed sinful woman who anointed jesus’ feet (luke 7:36–50), but instead, in the film, jesus is the one who anoints mary magdalene’s feet. in addition, scorsese portrays mary magdalene as the woman caught in adultery, being stoned by a crowd, and then saved by jesus (john 8:1–11). scorsese is following the long tradition of presenting this figure as a sinful woman. mary magdalene first appears in the film when she spits in jesus’ face while he is working for the romans making crosses for crucifixion. next, jesus visits her brothel, seeking her forgiveness before going into the desert. jesus waits inside the brothel until all her clients leave. the brothel scene accentuates mary magdalene’s nudity, sensuality, and sinfulness, revealing her profession and workplace, and the romantic past that she had with jesus. in the brothel, jesus seeks mary magdalene’s forgiveness for leading her away from god and for rejecting her, the act which led mary magdalene to become a prostitute. in the scene, jesus feels guilty for mary magdalene’s station as a prostitute.31 scorsese explains the importance of the brothel scene: “[t]he point of the scene was to show the proximity of sexuality to jesus, the occasion of sin. [...] this extended scene suggests jesus’s conflicted desires as he watches the carnal temptations on display. yet, he refuses to indulge his sexual desires just as he resists the first desert temptation.”32 mary magdalene’s role frequently identifies her with temptation. in the desert, jesus is tempted by snakes that speak seductively with her voice. rhonda burnette-bletsch, scholar of religion, argues that this image evokes genesis 3 and eve and the long tradition of women as temptation.33 mary magdalene’s next appearance is with scorsese’s adaptation of john 8:1–11, the woman caught in adultery and saved by jesus. from that point on, mary 8 magdalene abandons her profession and life of sin and follows jesus, becoming another of his disciples. before the final scene of the hallucination, two other crucial moments for mary magdalene are her participation in the last supper along with jesus’ mother and martha and mary, lazarus’ sisters, and her presence during the crucifixion. these two scenes contrast with the sinful image from the beginning of the movie and place her as another apostle (the “apostle of the apostles”). the culminating point for the characterization of mary magdalene is the dream or hallucination scene. after descending the cross, jesus marries mary magdalene, who is dressed in white, a virginal sign. they have a marital sexual encounter from which mary magdalene becomes pregnant, but she dies before childbirth. 5)sexism or feminism in scorsese’s the last temptation of christ? from seeing how scorsese portrays mary magdalene, two positions emerge: is scorsese only following and perpetuating sexism and the negative myth around mary magdalene as a penitent sinner and reformed prostitute? or is he instead introducing feminist elements that empower mary magdalene? sexist aspects of the movie first, several authors critique sexist aspects of the movie. scorsese’s mary magdalene is presented as a sexual being and as temptation throughout the movie, exemplifying the long pre-vatican ii tradition around sinfulness and prostitution. feminist authors agree that this film is a revised representation of the “harlotized” version of mary magdalene, which fails to be historically accurate while negating her apostolic leadership.34 as professor of film lucy bolton argues, the movie perpetuates this negative myth, marking mary magdalene’s sexuality as a threat and being a character punished and humiliated by patriarchy who is only redeemed and reformed by jesus.35 9 another sexist aspect in the movie is mary magdalene’s association with eve, which evokes temptation and sin. this is exemplified in different movie scenes: snakes decorate the brothel’s entrance, jesus is tempted by black snakes that speak with mary magdalene’s voice, and mary magdalene wears leafy tattoos.36 author melanie j. wright notes that her henna tattoos emphasize her body as a site of commodity and a symbol of her prostitution.37 thus, characterizing mary magdalene as a prostitute is one of the main targets of this feminist critique. prostitution, according to biblical scholar jane schaberg, is a sign of male sexual domination over the female body.38 similarly, scholar of english tammy kennedy observes that portraying mary magdalene as a prostitute makes her a “sexual servant of men” and shows “scorsese’s inability to represent women as other than sexual.”39 consequently, wright notes that scorsese’s sexualization of mary magdalene through her prostitution traps her in a passive and inferior role.40 this passivity is evidenced if contrasted with judas’ character. while the audience learns nothing about mary magdalene’s thoughts, questions, or feelings after becoming a disciple, judas reflects the opposite: he has a participative and intellectual role in a constant theological conversation with jesus, discussing messiahship and the divine mission. thus, wright remarks that scorsese provides a gendered vision of the story.41 furthermore, this author argues that through the different roles scorsese gives to mary magdalene (first the prostitute, then the reformed devout disciple, next the virginal bride, and finally the pregnant wife in the hallucination scene), mary magdalene’s body remains “her sole means of expression, her total person.”42 this evokes a patriarchal “women-as-biology determinism” that can be evidenced by jesus taking different wives in the hallucination scene (mary and martha, lazarus’ sisters, after mary magdalene’s death).43 similarly, new testament professor william r. telford argues that the movie’s female characters only represent patriarchal symbols: motherhood, temptation, and 10 sexuality.44 similarly, burnette-bletsch considers that with the exception of mary, jesus’ mother, the rest of the main female characters (mary magdalene and lazarus’ sisters) become a symbol of sexual temptation that he must deny (particularly during the hallucination scene).45 moreover, baugh explains that the phrase scorsese includes from kazantzakis’ novel reaffirms this idea: "only one woman exists in the world, one woman with countless faces," tells the guardian angel (satan) to jesus after mary magdalene’s death to encourage him to marry lazarus’ sisters. this sexist statement demonstrates how scorsese perpetuates the idea that women are primarily sexual beings and sexual temptations.46 further, wright adds that after the stoning episode in which jesus saves mary magdalene, she is transformed, abandoning her profession, and becoming a devout follower of christ. this shows the prostitute-chaste dichotomy of the magdalene tradition that has dominated the myth around her. with this change, mary magdalene’s appearance also transforms: her tattoos, makeup, and jewelry –signs of decadence and sensuality– are now replaced by modest, proper, and chaste garments. this is the new and reformed mary magdalene who presents a “god-fearing identity patterned par excellence in christian iconography by mary the mother of jesus.”47 in adding to this, kennedy maintains that scorsese’s portrayal shows patriarchal binaries: male/female, madonna/prostitute, suffering/pleasure, or spirituality/sexuality,48 stressing the inferior role of mary magdalene and the other female characters and diminishing their agency.49 feminist aspects of the movie on the other hand, the last temptation of christ can also be interpreted as presenting a feminist version of mary magdalene, incorporating elements that empower her, which contrasts with the above feminist critique. mary magdalene, co-created by scorsese and hershey, is one of the main characters in the movie. in contrast to the sexist elements, wright also recognizes that scorsese does not 11 assimilate mary magdalene or lazarus’ sisters to traditional christian patterns of obedience and chastity.50 for hershey, prostitution is not a source of shame and inferiority but another aspect of mary magdalene’s womanhood. she says: the thing that fascinated me about mary magdalene is that she represents all aspects of womanhood: she's a whore and a victim, a complete primal animal, and then she's reborn and becomes virginal and sisterlike. she evolves through all phases of womanhood, so it was a wonderful role in that way…i felt that i was put on earth to play this part.51 considering this, theologian matthew s. rindge proposes that the movie celebrates and reaffirms female sexuality. when mary magdalene abandons prostitution, she stops being promiscuous but continues being sexual because she engages again in a sexual relationship during the hallucination scene, this time with jesus. her sexuality is emphasized in her role as a bride, wife, and pregnant woman, which demonstrates that she remains sexual throughout the movie. rindge writes: “if mary’s sexuality is redeemed, it is not because she renounces sexuality and becomes non-sexual or asexual. mary’s transition is rather from one type of sexuality (promiscuous) to another (monogamous).”52 the shift from promiscuity to monogamy is symbolized with the white dress she wears at the wedding. thus, rindge states that mary magdalene’s sexuality is inherent in her characterization, and her sexual relationships during marriage demonstrate that these are not signs of sinfulness. furthermore, hershey herself highlights the crucial role of mary magdalene in the overall movie. the actress states: "marty had me walking with jesus and the disciples in many scenes. the only scenes i couldn't appear in were the ones at the temple where women weren't allowed. he even embraced the idea of christ having women at the last supper."53 hence, one of the most important elements that shows the main role of women in the movie is the last supper scene. mary magdalene, along with mary, jesus’ mother, and lazarus’ sisters, mary and martha, participates in the last supper alongside jesus. scorsese himself 12 expresses that he interpreted the last supper as an event embracing both followers, women and men. he states: jesus was so great, i just couldn't see him telling the women at the last supper, “wait in the kitchen.” i remember saying, “how could he say ‘wait in the kitchen’ to those ladies?” especially since he was a man who broke the rules.[...] he would have them take part in the first mass. i don't think he made a distinction between men and women. why should he?54 another important element that contrasts with the feminist critique is that mary magdalene is part of the overall divine mission. scorsese explains: “she, like judas, is part of his sacrifice and redemption. they are both holier than the other characters.”55 for this reason, scorsese gives mary magdalene more protagonism than in other jesus films: she appears in a total of fifteen scenes, her voice is in two additional scenes, and jesus talks about her in three other scenes.56 in parallel, rindge also supports that mary magdalene is crucial for jesus’ divine journey by interpreting the hallucination scene more realistically.57 while jesus also redeems mary magdalene, she is “a redeemer of jesus” and “a catalyst” for jesus’ personal transformation in order to accomplish the divine mission.58 rindge explains mary magdalene’s redemptive role by examining three key moments. first, mary magdalene helps jesus embrace and accept his sexuality during the hallucination scene, a fundamental part of his humanity. scorsese states: “ultimately the last temptation is about living life quietly as a human being, raising a family, having the joys and the sorrows in life of a human being, and part of that includes sexuality... but that wasn’t the last temptation. the last temptation was to be a human being.”59 rindge explains that “jesus’ lifelong rejection of his sexual desires for mary is one of the ways he seeks to avoid his own humanity. mary helps jesus recognize the integral role of sexuality in his humanity.”60 by accepting his sexuality during the dream scene, jesus accepts his humanity, and only after doing so can he come back to the cross, accept his divine role, and accomplish god’s 13 mission. this would not be possible without marrying mary magdalene in the hallucination scene. then, mary magdalene is key in this step of his redemptive journey. second, mary magdalene’s prostitution is also a necessary element in jesus’ redemptive journey. the movie depicts jesus as the cause for mary magdalene’s becoming a prostitute because when jesus rejects her, she enters prostitution, as explained in kazantzakis’ novel.61 in the novel, jesus confesses: “it’s my fault that magdalene descended to prostitution…”62 then, marrying mary magdalene in the hallucination scene means rectifying the pain he inflicted to her because without this jesus’ redemptive path cannot be fulfilled. rindge writes: “jesus’ own path to redemption thus entails making this right with mary.”63 this is another aspect that evidences the redeemer role of mary magdalene and explains why scorsese portrayed her as a prostitute. third, rindge talks about jesus’ cowardice and fear. this can be seen in different moments of the movie. in the brothel scene, mary magdalene accuses jesus of cowardice when he rejects her sexual advances. she tells him: “is that the way you show you’re a man?... you never had the courage to be a man... if you weren’t hanging on to your mother, you were hanging onto me. now you’re hanging on to god. you’re going to the desert to hide because you’re scared.” later, jesus recognizes his own fear and cowardice when he confesses to a desert monk: “you want to know who my god is? fear. you look inside me and that’s all you’ll find.” then, rindge affirms that jesus marrying mary magdalene in the dream scene is “an act of supreme courage,” necessary to accomplish his redemptive journey: “acting courageously is part of jesus’ redemptive journey, a development mary facilitates through her willingness to challenge him.”64 without mary magdalene’s sexuality and provocation, jesus would not have confronted his fear of sexuality and acted courageously. by examining these three moments, rindge confirms scorsese’s claim: [w]hat’s important is that she’s part of the overall scheme, by god, to create jesus as the redeemer. she, as much as judas, is part of the overall scheme. and if they are 14 plagued and condemned for being sinful characters, they have to do it because of jesus, because of the redemption, because of the sacrifice, and therefore they are holier.65 rindge’s argument of the redeemer role given to mary magdalene in the movie is further expanded by also interpreting mary magdalene as a disciple and apostle, which demonstrates another empowering element of this character. during mary magdalene’s transformation in the movie, she becomes jesus’ disciple. after the sermon on the mount, she wants to accompany him on his journey; however, jesus answers: “no. stay here. you’ll know when. tell people about me”; this shows jesus’ affirmation for her preaching his message and for becoming an apostle. in the later scenes, mary magdalene accompanies him (the wedding at cana, the resurrection of lazarus, and other teaching sequences) and walks to jesus’ right as one of his disciples. the culmination of her role as a faithful follower of christ in the movie comes with her presence in the last supper and at the crucifixion, which demonstrates she is a loyal disciple and apostle.66 6)scorsese’s mary magdalene: the duality of sexism and feminism to fulfill jesus’ divine journey the sexist and feminist elements around mary magdalene in the last temptation of christ illustrate the double nature around this character, a dichotomy between sexuality, sin, and prostitution versus penitence, chastity, and devotion that started around the sixth century but that persisted throughout christian history, making its way into film, as scorsese’s movie demonstrates. in her work, scholar of religion m. gail hamner notes scorsese’s challenges in portraying female characters, and this is present in the duality of sexism and feminism that surrounds mary magdalene in the film. in her research, hamner examines scorsese’s first seven films (which does not include the last temptation of christ) and states that a common trope of scorsese’s male 15 characters is their need for emotional and sexual intimacy with women.67 i contend that this common aspect is also present in the last temptation of christ, where jesus engages in a sexual and emotional relationship first with mary magdalene, this being one of the main themes of the movie, and later with lazarus’ sisters, mary and martha. while stating that scorsese is not a feminist, hamner describes the religious dimension of his movies that influence his portrayal of female characters in the following manner: a first dimension places women “as religious sites of purity and affective healing in ways that simply double down on the white masculine dominance that defines modernity,” while in the second dimension, “the films pull from and angle against catholicism in ways that heighten modernity’s contradictions and complicate the desires and actions of his troubled male protagonists.”68 i argue that these two religious dimensions are found in the last temptation of christ, concretely in the duality of sexism and feminism around mary magdalene. on one hand, this first dimension is demonstrated with scorsese’s perpetuation of sexism and male dominance in the movie, mirroring mary magdalene’s pre-vatican ii negative tradition. scorsese first portrays her as a prostitute and symbol of sexual temptation, then as a repentant and reformed sinner (after jesus saves her), and later on as faithful and pure disciple (remember the white bride dress). on the other hand, this film also includes the second religious dimension because the director also rejects traditional catholic pre-vatican ii portrayals of mary magdalene. scorsese empowers her by incorporating feminist elements, such as placing her in the last supper scene, giving her a main role in the movie, identifying her as a redeemer of jesus, and presenting her as a faithful disciple. from all these elements, scorsese’s mary magdalene displays characteristics of the second religious dimension, complicating, confusing, and troubling jesus’s divine mission (the male protagonist). empowering mary magdalene in this way echoes the post-vatican ii tradition that recognizes her main role in jesus’ mission as the “apostle of the apostles.” thus, hamner’s argument on 16 the religious dimensions of female characters proves the duality of sexism and feminism in scorsese’s portrayal of mary magdalene in the last temptation of christ. from this, i argue that this duality is one of the most important elements of the movie that is present in order to fulfill kazantzakis’ novel plot. portraying mary magdalene as a prostitute and as an active sexual being with all the connotations this entails is necessary to meet the movie's inner theological storyline: exploring jesus’ humanity. matthew s. rindge’s thesis around jesus’ redemptive journey is useful to demonstrate this: first, rindge argues that jesus needs to accept his humanity, which involves accepting his sexuality through bedding mary magdalene; second, that jesus needs to mend the pain inflicted on mary magdalene that led her to become a prostitute after his rejection by marrying her; and finally that jesus needs to engage in a sexual activity with mary magdalene to confront his cowardice and fear. these three elements are indispensable steps in his redemptive journey in order to accept his humanity, be able to go back to the cross, die there, and accomplish his divine mission. thus, i maintain that mary magdalene’s prostitution, sexuality, and even sin are necessary elements in this exploration of jesus’ humanity, making scorsese’s mary magdalene a crucial part of jesus’ redemptive and divine role. this forces scorsese to create a character that maintains a dichotomy between sexuality, sin, and prostitution versus penitence, chastity, and devotion, incorporating sexism and feminism. as a final consideration, i recognize that scorsese’s decision to portray mary magdalene as a prostitute falls into the sexist pre-vatican ii tradition around this figure that existed since the times of gregory the great in the sixth century, which contributes to perpetuating the negative myth around mary magdalene. however, the feminist elements scorsese and hershey incorporate in the movie present an unconventional mary magdalene that also follows the post-vatican ii tradition, which restores her image found in the gospels as the “apostle of the apostles.” 17 1 pamela thimmes, “memory and re-vision: mary magdalene research since 1975,” currents in research 5 (1998): 196–97. 2 jason sturdevant et al., “mary magdalene,” in encyclopedia of the bible and its reception (berlin/boston: walter de gruyter, 2019), 1207-8. 3anthony le donne, “did jesus befriend sex workers?,” journal for the study of the historical jesus 20, no. 3 (2022): 152. 4 le donne, “did jesus befriend sex workers?,” 152. 5 for a full explanation on ephraim the syrian and mary magdalene see philip schaff and henry wace, “ephraim the syrian, homily on our lord, #47,” in nicene and post-nicene fathers of the christian church, ed. philip schaff and henry wace, vol. 13 (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1983), 326–28.; and peter ketter, the magdalene question, trans. h. c. koehler (milwaukee: bruce publishing company, 1935). 6 thimmes, “memory and re-vision: mary magdalene research since 1975,” 221. 7 see “homily 33” in gregory the great, forty gospel homilies, trans. dom david hurst osb (piscataway, nj: gorgias press, 2009). 8 sturdevant et al., “mary magdalene,” 1209-10. 9 thimmes, “memory and re-vision: mary magdalene research since 1975,” 220–21. 10 mary rose d’angelo, “reconstructing ‘real’ women from gospel literature: the case of mary magdalene,” in women and christian origins, ed. ross shepard kraemer and mary rose d’angelo (new york/oxford: oxford university press, 1999), 105. 11 sturdevant et al., 1210. 12 arthur roche, “apostle of the apostles,” decree on the solemnity of the most sacred heart of jesus, june 3, 2016. congregation for divine worship and the discipline of the sacraments, the holy see. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/articolo-roche-maddalena_en.pdf 13 john paul ii, mulieris dignitatem, sec. 16, apostolic letter of the supreme pontiff john paul ii on the dignity and vocation of women on the occasion of the marian year, august 15, 1988. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1988/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_19880815_mulierisdignitatem.html 14 john paul ii, mulieris dignitatem, sec. 16. 15 roche, “apostle of the apostles.” 16 roche, “apostle of the apostles.” 17 william r. telford, “jesus and women in fiction and film,” in transformative encounters: jesus and women re-viewed, ed. ingrid rosa kitzberger, vol. 43, biblical interpretation series (leiden; boston; köln: brill, 2000), 377–78. 18 lucy bolton, “beautiful penitent whore: the desecrated celebrity of mary magdalene,” celebrity studies 11, no. 1 (2020): 31–32. 19 adele reinhartz, “mary magdalene,” in jesus of hollywood (oxford: oxford university press, 2007), 148. 20 caroline stichele vander, “lovers or (just) friends? jesus and mary magdalene in the gospel of john and in film,” in the ties that bind: negotiating relationships in early jewish and christian texts, contexts, and reception history, ed. esther kobel, jo-ann a. brant, and meredith j. c. warren, library of new testament studies 660 (london: bloomsbury t&t clark, 2023), 167–69. 21 reinhartz, “mary magdalene,” 148. 22 reinhartz, “mary magdalene,” 148-9. 23 vincent lobrutto, martin scorsese: a biography (westport, conn.: praeger, 2008), 26. 24 scorsese recently announced a new film about jesus that will begin filming later in 2024. see: glenn whipp, “for martin scorsese, it’s all about forgiveness,” los angeles times, january 8, 2024, sec. awards, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2024-01-08/martin-scorsese-killers-of-the-flowermoon-new-jesus-film. 25 peter malone, “the jesus films: the 1980s,” in screen jesus: portrayals of christ in television and film (lanham, md.: scarecrow press, 2012), 114–15. 26 lloyd baugh, “martin scorsese’s the last temptation of christ: a critical reassessment of its sources, its theological problems, and its impact on the public,” in scandalizing jesus? kazantzakis’s the last temptation of christ fifty years on, ed. darren j. n. middleton (new york: bloomsbury academic & professional, 2005), 174–75. 18 27 joan e. taylor, “mary magdalene in film: response jshj,” journal for the study of the historical jesus 20, no. 3 (2022): 205. 28 malone, “the jesus films: the 1980s,” 119. 29 baugh, “martin scorsese’s the last temptation of christ: a critical reassessment of its sources, its theological problems, and its impact on the public,” 183. 30 matthew s. rindge, “redeeming mary, redeeming jesus: mary magdalene in the last temptation of christ,” journal for the study of the historical jesus 20, no. 3 (2022): 174. 31 rhonda burnette-bletsch, “the last temptation of christ: scorsese’s jesus among ordinary saints,” in scorsese and religion, ed. christopher b. barnett and clark j. elliston (leiden; boston: brill, 2019), 163. 32 burnette-bletsch, “the last temptation of christ: scorsese’s jesus among ordinary saints,” 164. 33 burnette-bletsch, “the last temptation of christ: scorsese’s jesus among ordinary saints,” 163. 34 tammie kennedy, “(re)presenting mary magdalene: a feminist reading of the last temptation of christ,” the journal of religion and popular culture 9 (2005): sec. 2; sec. 4; sec. 25. 35 bolton, “beautiful penitent whore,” 31. 36 burnette-bletsch, “the last temptation of christ: scorsese’s jesus among ordinary saints,” 163. 37 melanie jane wright, “the celluloid brother: imag(in)ing woman in the last temptation of christ.” edited by christine e. joynes and christopher rowland. in from the margins: women of the new testament and their afterlives 2 (2009): 70. 38 jane schaberg, “fast forwarding to the magdalene,” semeia 74 (1996): 38. 39 kennedy, “(re)presenting mary magdalene,” sec. 14; sec. 17. 40 wright, “the celluloid brother: imag(in)ing woman in the last temptation of christ,” 69. 41 wright, 77. 42 wright, “the celluloid brother: imag(in)ing woman in the last temptation of christ,” 75. 43 wright, 75. 44 telford, “jesus and women in fiction and film,” 388. 45 burnette-bletsch, “the last temptation of christ: scorsese’s jesus among ordinary saints,” 163. 46 baugh, “martin scorsese’s the last temptation of christ: a critical reassessment of its sources, its theological problems, and its impact on the public,” 179. 47 wright, 73. 48 see also arguments in favor of this patriarchal binaries in burnette-bletsch, “the last temptation of christ: scorsese’s jesus among ordinary saints,” 163. 49 kennedy, “(re)presenting mary magdalene,” sec. 25. 50 wright, “the celluloid brother: imag(in)ing woman in the last temptation of christ,” 73. 51 telford, “jesus and women in fiction and film,” 387. 52 rindge, “redeeming mary, redeeming jesus,” 172. 53 mary pat kelly, martin scorsese: a journey (new york: thunder mounth’s press, 1996), 205. 54 kelly, martin scorsese: a journey, 224–25. 55 kennedy, “(re)presenting mary magdalene,” sec. 8. 56 rindge, “redeeming mary, redeeming jesus,” 171. 57 richard walsh, “magdalene response,” journal for the study of the historical jesus 20, no. 3 (2022): 212. 58 rindge, “redeeming mary, redeeming jesus,” 171–3. 59 rindge, 174. 60 rindge, 174–75. 61 rindge, 175–76. 62 nikos kazantzakis, the last temptation of christ, trans. p. a. bien (new york: simon and schuster paperbacks, 1960), 14. 63 rindge, 176. 64 rindge, “redeeming mary, redeeming jesus,” 177. 65 rindge, 176. 66 rindge, “redeeming mary, redeeming jesus,” 173. 67 m. gail hamner, “scorsese as a critic of modernity: the woman question,” in scorsese and religion, ed. christopher b. barnett and clark j. elliston (leiden; boston: brill, 2019), 110. 68 hamner, “scorsese as a critic of modernity: the woman question,” 145. 19 bibliography baugh, lloyd. “martin scorsese’s the last temptation of christ: a critical reassessment of its sources, its theological problems, and its impact on the public.” in scandalizing jesus? kazantzakis’s the last temptation of christ fifty years on, edited by darren j. n. middleton. new york: bloomsbury academic & professional, 2005. bolton, lucy. “beautiful penitent whore: the desecrated celebrity of mary magdalene.” celebrity studies 11, no. 1 (2020): 25–42. burnette-bletsch, rhonda. “the last temptation of christ: scorsese’s jesus among ordinary saints.” in scorsese and religion, edited by christopher b. barnett and clark j. elliston, 151–70. leiden; boston: brill, 2019. d’angelo, mary rose. “reconstructing ‘real’ women from gospel literature: the case of mary magdalene.” in women and christian origins, edited by ross shepard kraemer and mary rose d’angelo, 105–28. new york/oxford: oxford university press, 1999. gregory the great. forty gospel homilies. translated by dom david hurst. piscataway, nj: gorgias press, 2009. hamner, m. gail. “scorsese as a critic of modernity: the woman question.” in scorsese and religion, edited by christopher b. barnett and clark j. elliston, 107–48. leiden; boston: brill, 2019. john paul ii. mulieris dignitatem, apostolic letter of the supreme pontiff john paul ii on the dignity and vocation of women on the occasion of the marian year, august 15, 1988. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paulii/en/apost_letters/1988/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_19880815_mulieris-dignitatem.html kazantzakis, nikos. the last temptation of christ. translated by p. a. bien. new york: simon and schuster paperbacks, 1960. kelly, mary pat. martin scorsese: a journey. new york: thunder mounth’s press, 1996. kennedy, tammie. “(re)presenting mary magdalene: a feminist reading of the last temptation of christ.” the journal of religion and popular culture 9 (2005). ketter, peter. the magdalene question. translated by h. c. koehler. milwaukee: bruce publishing company, 1935. le donne, anthony. “did jesus befriend sex workers?” journal for the study of the historical jesus 20, no. 3 (2022): 147–55. lobrutto, vincent. martin scorsese: a biography. westport, conn.: praeger, 2008. 20 malone, peter. “the jesus films: the 1980s.” in screen jesus: portrayals of christ in television and film. lanham, md.: scarecrow press, 2012. reinhartz, adele. “mary magdalene.” in jesus of hollywood, 125–50. oxford: oxford university press, 2007. rindge, matthew s. “redeeming mary, redeeming jesus: mary magdalene in the last temptation of christ.” journal for the study of the historical jesus 20, no. 3 (2022): 170–78. roche, arthur. “apostle of the apostles,” decree on the solemnity of the most sacred heart of jesus, june 3, 2016. congregation for divine worship and the discipline of the sacraments, the holy see. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/articolo-rochemaddalena_en.pdf schaberg, jane. “fast forwarding to the magdalene.” semeia 74 (1996): 33–45. schaff, philip, and henry wace. “ephraim the syrian, homily on our lord, #47.” in nicene and post-nicene fathers of the christian church, edited by philip schaff and henry wace, 13:326–28. grand rapids: eerdmans, 1983. stichele vander, caroline. “lovers or (just) friends? jesus and mary magdalene in the gospel of john and in film.” in the ties that bind: negotiating relationships in early jewish and christian texts, contexts, and reception history, edited by esther kobel, jo-ann a. brant, and meredith j. c. warren. library of new testament studies 660. london: bloomsbury t&t clark, 2023. sturdevant, jason, mary ann beavis, robin waugh, jennifer v. pietz, amy whitehead, elizabeth marvel, burton visotzky, et al. “mary magdalene.” in encyclopedia of the bible and its reception. vol. 17. berlin/boston: walter de gruyter, 2019. taylor, joan e. “mary magdalene in film: response jshj.” journal for the study of the historical jesus 20, no. 3 (2022): 202–8. telford, william r. “jesus and women in fiction and film.” in transformative encounters: jesus and women re-viewed, edited by ingrid rosa kitzberger, vol. 43. biblical interpretation series. leiden; boston; köln: brill, 2000. thimmes, pamela. “memory and re-vision: mary magdalene research since 1975.” currents in research 5 (1998): 193–226. walsh, richard. “magdalene response.” journal for the study of the historical jesus 20, no. 3 (2022): 209–17. wright, melanie jane. “the celluloid brother: imag(in)ing woman in the last temptation of christ.” edited by christine e. joynes and christopher rowland. in from the margins: women of the new testament and their afterlives 2 (2009): 67–79. 21 whipp, glenn. “for martin scorsese, it’s all about forgiveness.” los angeles times, january 8, 2024, sec. awards. https://www.latimes.com/entertainmentarts/awards/story/2024-01-08/martin-scorsese-killers-of-the-flower-moon-new-jesusfilm. 1 “we are not content”: environmental exploitation against taiwan’s minority populations james alfano history on a stifling august morning outside taipei’s presidential office building, newly elected president tsai ing-wen (蔡英文) stood before a group of representatives from each of taiwan’s 18 recognized indigenous tribes. as she addressed the public, eager spectators rushed towards the heavily guarded gate, hoping for an opportunity to witness a rare moment in taiwanese history. to her side, capen nganen stood dressed in traditional regalia waiting for his turn to address the crowd. for capen and the rest of the yami tribe, their voices failed to resonate with previous political administrations. despite article 31 of the indigenous peoples basic law “forbidding the storage of toxic materials without tribal consent1, former president chiang ching-kuo (蔣經國) approved the development of a nuclear waste storage facility on orchid island in lanyu township without consulting the island’s indigenous residents. ten thousand barrels of nuclear waste were stored in a facility the yami believed to be a chicken canning warehouse. upon learning of the warehouses’ true contents, large-scale protests extending well beyond lanyu township’s borders swept through the main island in a rare public showing of support for the basic law among non-indigenous taiwanese citizens who often criticized the law as “clear violations of normative standards of equality”. 2 after her inauguration in 2016, president tsai quickly attempted to “correct our past errors” to the tune of just over $83 million usd for three decades worth of illegal dumping and associated public health risks on orchid island. 3 rather than accepting the payment, capen bided his time and hoped for something more meaningful: remorse for disturbing the sacred land of his tribe and deceiving the indigenous community. president tsai’s apology to all indigenous tribes and minority groups on that summer day is the first apology of its kind for the yami tribe 2 and taiwan’s minority populations following an extensive history of environmental exploitation at the hands of dutch colonists, japanese military forces, and kuomintang (kmt) nationalists. this paper aims to analyze the historiography of taiwanese environmental history, its shortcomings, and potential hurdles in analyzing sources subject to biases led by a disparity in works composed by underrepresented peoples. this brief segment is followed by additional research highlighting major environmental exploitation campaigns from dutch colonization to topical “conservation efforts” in the 21st century. with just over 500,000 (2%) of taiwan’s population identifying as a member of a government recognized indigenous tribe (excluding the hakka minority subgroup4), the need for further examination of past transgressions is critical to understanding the obstacles taiwanese minority populations face and how progressive environmental movements are tied to indigenous rights and government accountability for past injustices. constructing native & hakka history scholarship of taiwanese indigenous history (and the environmental issues encompassing it) frequently focuses on conflict-ridden relationships between tribes and nonindigenous “outsiders”. in her article “conceptualizing indigenous historical justice…”, awi mona describes taiwanese indigenous history as “oppression by different colonizers”.5 prior to president tsai’s apology, taiwan’s minority population was an ignored enigma with no place in any taiwanese historical narrative. han-chinese author lian heng’s book the general history of taiwan affirms this neglectful stance with a simple but telling message: “taiwan had no history. the dutch pioneered it, the tungning kingdom built it, and the qing empire managed it”.6 president tsai further articulated the problem of indigenous oppression at the hands of colonizing forces by conceding to the public: “...we only know to write history from the perspective of the dominant”.7 3 interdisciplinary approaches let’s sing our mountain songs. let's sing to soothe our upset hearts. let's sing to transform the high-rises to green mountains. let's sing until the wide avenues become rivers lin shengxiang, “let us sing the mountain song” with much of taiwan’s history of minority groups shrouded in mystery due to imperial hegemony, language barriers, and frequent regime changes, academics have turned to analyzing songs to contextualize the environmental devastation inflicted on minority groups by imperial forces. tse hsiung-lin is one scholar that aims to highlight the “collective consciousness of taiwan’s hakka minority in their struggle against socio-political suppression”8, particularly through the verse of two prominent hakka musicians: chen yongtao (陳永濤) and lin shengxiang (林勝祥). both artists aim to, as hsuing-lin states, “sing of the beauty as well as their concerns for the ecological and cultural crisis of their hakka homeland a homeland that has undergone drastic change....”.9 yongtao and shengxiang’s hakka ethnicity is a han-chinese subgroup with ancestral roots in southern mainland china. along with a considerable population in taipei, the hakka ethnic group has a strong presence along the coastal counties of pingting and taitung.10 in hualien city, hakka culture is proudly displayed amongst a flourishing arts scene; school singing competitions, culture parks dedicated to hakka culture, and vivid works of art fill recreational spaces in taiwan’s largest county. both artists are environmental activists that use their hakka background to illuminate the antagonistic relationships between “corrupt” local officials and hakka landowners, in addition to lyrics comparing urban vs. rural lifestyles.11 scholars also analyze paintings and other artworks by minority groups to examine their relationship with nature and how contemporary environmental policy often clashes with those 4 ideals. while a mainstream art movement did not take shape until the late-20th century, indigenous artists began using their platforms to create what wei hsui-tung describes as “nativist movements”. wei adds that the nativist movement helps create a “a sense of cultural identity expressed through the various art practices of taiwan…”.12 with scarce primary sources from indigenous tribes available (especially in english), interpreting messages behind artwork helps historians bridge communication gaps and promote cross-disciplinary studies between art, history, and environmental studies. through these analyses, scholars can develop a robust historiography that encompasses minority populations and their perspectives on the environment. indigenous artwork depicts a myriad of themes, some of which illustrate native views on the environment through childhood experiences. “don’t take too much” by etan pavavalung of the paiwan tribe depicts etan’s grandfather directing his grandchildren to pick betel nuts from a nearby tree. the title alone suggests a relationship with nature based on mutual respect and only taking what is needed. in a recent interview, etan reinforces this central theme by emphasizing the “ancient tribal wisdom about respecting nature and never exploiting natural resources”.13 since the paiwan language lacks a written form, responsible interpretation of etan’s art and others will aid scholars in crafting a narrative that pays dividends to taiwan’s indigenous population without “colonizer” historiography looming in the backdrop. while analyzing songs and artwork helps spearhead new historiographical approaches, significant controversies persist. prior to the advent of taiwanese indigenous research in the 1980’s, taiwanese “history” was largely written through the lens of japanese occupation or local han-chinese history with little room for taiwan’s diverse native population.14 several years later, a fierce debate among taiwanese scholars emerged pertaining to “indigenization” (historiography centered upon taiwan’s han-chinese taking traditions and molding them in a 5 uniquely taiwanese fashion) vs. “mainlandization” (historiography centered upon retaining han-chinese traditions from the mainland). taiwan’s indigenous population is omitted from both approaches. as taiwan and mainland china continue to trade barbs in the public sphere, how scholars approach taiwanese history is of paramount diplomatic importance. the word “indigenization” evokes controversy as the concept “risks” giving historical validity to indigenous origins (in other words, ceding land-rights back to natives) and overthrowing the han-centric history that has helped define taiwanese historiography for decades. before a comprehensive, non-colonial perspective can be attributed to taiwanese environmental history, scholars must find an answer to this historiographical dilemma by bringing indigenous groups into the narrative. as chang lung-chich notes, this issue is still “waiting to be solved”.15 with these historiographical voids yet to be filled, it is worth noting that taiwanese environmental history beyond the actions of colonial forces has yet to make significant traction in the academic community. dutch colonization the agonizingly long timeline of colonial intervention into indigenous inhabited land begins at the dawn of the 17th century in present-day tainan along taiwan’s western shores. here the dutch east india company established a lucrative deer-trading industry with the tokugawa government in japan and mainland china’s southern port towns.16 to facilitate an efficient trade network, dutch merchants and soldiers constructed fort zeelandia, a sprawling facility that leaked into aboriginal villages further inland. the imposing fort immediately impacted the lives of indigenous peoples within its vicinity. officers occupying the compound began imposing taxes, appointing dutch-sympathetic chieftains to prominent administrative positions, and establishing christian missionary schools throughout neighboring native 6 communities.17 while originally small in scale, the construction of fort zeelandia created the infrastructure needed for dutch citizens to intervene further into indigenous land with little resistance. as battles for resources along the western hemisphere waged on across multiple nations, the east india company’s foothold in western taiwan remained unchecked and allowed an abundance of natural resources to be exploited for ambitious dutch merchants. while the spanish empire frequently used taiwan’s northern coast as a trading port, the dutch took it a step further by establishing sugar and rice plantations further south. to compensate for their small numbers (and a likely aversion to the heavy labor synonymous with plantation life), dutch officials “imported” han-chinese citizens from guangdong and fujian provinces across the taiwan strait. as the population of new chinese laborers grew, traditional indigenous hunting grounds gradually dwindled. scholars katsuya hirano, lorenzo veracini, and toulouse antonin-roy allude to the vicious competition that unfolded between aboriginal leaders and chinese immigrants looking to sell deer hides directly to the dutch.18 frequent fighting between immigrants and tribes occurred once the dutch permitted chinese immigrants to hunt deer through exclusive licenses. with over 30,000 settlers and the east india company’s blessings, chinese settlers quickly chipped away at traditional hunting grounds for economic gain. dutch traders, their pockets filled with money from tokugawa shoguns desperate for new armor, had no problem turning a blind eye to increasing encroachment on native lands by hanchinese immigrants. the east india company paid dearly for condoning this behavior in the name of competition. with a booming new population and free reign over lucrative hunting grounds, laborers turned settlers invaded dutch fortresses, kicked out the merchants, and set the stage for the qing empire to “conquer” taiwan just two decades after dutch ships first arrived. for 7 taiwan’s minority population, quality of life under qing authority plummeted. in a dramatic policy shake-up, the empire implemented land redistribution systems rife with discriminatory undertones designed to exile indigenous tribes from fertile lands. hakka speakers from guangdong and native villages received small, infertile plots to provide for their families, while han-chinese immigrants from fujian acquired more arable settlements.19 indigenous life under the qing empire with the qing empire in control, indigenous tribes experienced further discrimination under this new agrarian system with an added linguistic ingredient. the term “fan” 飯 is commonplace in taiwan, as it can be used to denote rice, food, or even an entire meal. however, the character for fan meaning barbarian, or 番, took on an offensive connotation when combined with culinary jargon. to measure the level of conformity among indigenous tribes to hanchinese customs, colonizers began using the term shufan “熟 番” (“cooked barbarian”) to distinguish han settlers from those with indigenous roots, or shengfan “生 番” (“raw barbarian”). in this case, “raw” corresponds with a “more savage” personality unwilling (or worse, incapable) of assimilating to sinocentric customs.20 the more “cooked” an indigene was, the better they “warmed up” to han traditions. qing government officials frequently viewed plains indigenous groups to be more “cooked”, while tribes occupying mountainous regions were considered “raw”. beyond segregated land distribution, the qing government used an individual’s hometown landscapes to determine the severity of each tribe’s “savagery”. mandarin chinese frequently relies on double-entendre to express humor, irony, or elicit multiple interpretations of a given pronunciation. the widespread prevalence of “fan” in the mandarin chinese vernacular for more common characters, such as 飯, allows the term to persist in the present day.21 8 han-settlers utilized the shufan/shengfan system to encroach on indigenous lands high up in the mountains previously beyond the qing empire’s political reach. having abandoned all attempts at “civilizing” the native population, government officials now sought to preserve the island’s demographic status quo.22 the qing empire instituted a plethora of physical boundary lines and segregated spaces to distinguish between han-residents, plains natives, and the “raw” inhabitants in mountainous regions. initially designed to quell skirmishes between han and indigenous peoples, physical barriers also prevented mountain tribes from straying too far beyond the government’s watchful eye. foothills and “earthen materials” helped established a buffer zone occupied by plains indigenous tribes who paid taxes and watched over mountain tribes from afar in exchange for bigger, more fertile land allotments.23 these buffer zones ensured han-chinese loyalty to the qing in exchange for better farmlands while establishing a social hierarchy based entirely on ethnicity and physical landscapes. in 1875, high imperial commissioner shen baoshen spearheaded the kaishan fufan (開山撫番) campaign, which directly translates to “open the mountains, pacify the savages”. his ambitious plan to encourage mass-immigration of han-soldiers into tribal lands was short-lived, however; just two decades later, the qing empire collapsed and ceded all territory to a new group of colonizers: emperor meiji and the japanese military. from appeasement to environmental destruction indigenous life under japanese rule introduced erratic periods of peace, armed resistance, and systemic environmental destruction. emperor meiji’s military forces first sought to appease minority populations by portraying the former administration as cruel, unfair, and little better than common thieves. to separate themselves from the qing empire, the japanese engaged in “wet diplomacy”, an appeasement tactic grounded upon establishing relationships with local 9 indigene through gift-giving and social drinking in exchange for civilized behavior and obedience towards japanese law.24 this patronizing policy paved the way for additional trespassing upon native lands through newly erected “gift exchange posts” doubling as surveillance stations.25 after multiple armed conflicts between tribesmen and japanese officials over trespassing on indigenous-owned fallow fields, the imperial army’s patience ran out. paul d. barclay refers to the eventual breakdown of wet diplomacy as a failed policy “that would not make indigenes into loyal, governable, imperial subjects in a timely manner....”.26 with little patience for wining and dining, newly appointed governor-general to taiwan kodama gentaro shifted his attention to aggressive guerilla campaigns with devastating environmental consequences. much like their predecessors, the japanese empire saw ample economic opportunity in taiwan’s camphor trees. barclay makes note of camphor timber’s versatility to make an abundance of goods including “insect repellant and medicine...smokeless gunpowder...and the manufacturing of celluloid…”.27 camphor “districts” swallowed up traditional lands and provoked hostilities between indigenous tribes and loggers looking to make substantial profits. incessant fees bludgeoned native populations and prompted many to turn a blind eye or assist japanese officials in protecting camphor districts from rival tribes to avoid additional taxation. former gift exchange posts morphed into japanese military police headquarters, trade barricades, and collection facilities designed to discourage unruly tribes from moving beyond their alreadydiminished territories. when wet diplomacy lost favor among military elites, japanese commanders initiated a “scorched earth” policy designed to squash indigenous resistance with fire and forced relocation. villages without an ample supply of camphor trees became victims of tobatsus, or “punitive 10 expeditions” that incinerated entire settlements and displaced indigenous tribes from their homelands.28 in 1897, these brazen operations reached mabari village, home to the atayal tribe of north-central taiwan. japanese military forces responded to an isolated killing of one of their commanders by setting the entire village ablaze and forcing those still alive to submit to imperial authority. the incident at mabari highlights one of many disproportionate atrocities committed by the japanese empire in taiwan.29 by burning traditional lands and displacing indigenous tribes, opposition forces sought disproportionate revenge for isolated skirmishes. the dawn of the 20th century brought japan’s pining for camphor timber to its apex. with lumber exports reaching an all-time high and deforestation wiping out numerous coastal areas, japanese officials sliced deeper into indigenous territory well beyond their original starting point. in 1906, the meiji government invested nearly six million yen (over $56,000 usd) in jilong harbor and its surrounding mountains to transport camphor timber directly from the forests to the coasts. this ambitious project required a great deal of land in areas where japanese soldiers were no longer welcome. now permanently on the offensive, japanese armed forces planted mortars, enlisted snipers along the mountains, and set up boulder cascades to herd tribes into smaller tracts of land. domesticated animals essential to indigenous life were electrocuted on sight through wired currents strung along newly built “guard-lines”, causing significant disruptions in the region’s ecological balance.30 the once sacred, spacious lands of taiwan’s indigenous populations now hosted guard stations extending up to 226 square miles, each post filled with armed officials intent on keeping natives confined to an ever-shrinking space. from 1905 to 1914, japanese and han-chinese residents frequently clashed with natives in what came to be known as the camphor wars. wartime environmental destruction was commonplace, as mass deforestation served as “scorched earth barriers” to keep hostile tribes at bay.31 11 while the meiji empire’s insatiable desire for camphor timber at the expense of taiwan’s environment was not unique to japan, there is little doubt mass deforestation and deliberate slaughter of animals beneficial to native tribes harmed indigenous quality of life. however, the historical narrative surrounding japanese colonization against taiwan’s minority population is subject to widely varying perspectives and controversies. while there are few outright denials of japan’s impact on the environment, those details are often ignored, and japanese occupation is instead credited with “opening up” taiwan towards greater economic development.32 under japanese control, indigenous tribes lost approximately 200,000 hectares of previously allocated land (over 772 square miles) through the “survey of official forests and wild fields” plan implemented from 1915 to 1925.33 despite this blatant reduction of indigenous territory, several tribal elders still view japanese colonization “in a positive light”.34 these perspectives demand further research to avoid generalizing indigenous opinions of colonial times into a single, unified consciousness. nevertheless, there is a possibility that a more endearing view of the japanese empire is predicated upon the severe (and more contemporary) environmental offenses committed by the kuomintang (kmt) nationalist party under general chiang kai-shek (蔣介石). property disputes under the kuomintang portraits of the republic of china’s first leader adorn taiwanese classrooms and conference centers. as the founder of the kmt, chiang represents the rejection of mainland china’s communist values founded by mao zedong (毛澤東) and continuing under current president xi jinping (習近平). immediately following his arrival in 1949, chiang sought to transform taiwan into a han-dominated society devoid of the democratic ideals we envision when discussing taiwan in the present day. scholars point to the ruthless tactics of the kmt 12 government in the 20th century as the basis for taiwan’s “hegemonic view of sovereignty, power and property in which taiwan was simply and unequivocally ‘“chinese’”.35 for taiwan’s indigenous and minority populations, kmt rule signaled the emergence of pollutant-heavy industries at the expense of their countryside. in their quest for “an imagined chinese state”, kmt environmental initiatives among taiwan’s indigenous peoples predicated itself on compliance, “civilizing” tactics, and assimilation to han-chinese customs. rather than abolish laws that sought to discourage traditional indigenous agricultural practices under the former japanese imperial system, the nationalist government retained them with additional measures.36 some mountain tribes were forced to abandon their shifting agriculture practices and instead utilize the same piece of land for at least ten years before they could claim a land title by the state.37 draconian measures and legal loopholes ensured most indigenous communities never received a state-sponsored title to the land they worked for centuries. without legal documentation, precious land often went to corporations tasked with expediting taiwan’s journey towards industrialization. sedentary farming practices forced tribes into a bureaucratic system of obedience before becoming “owners” of the lands and served as a convenient mechanism for the kmt to strip tribes of land rights through what yi-shiuan chen and scholars call “coerced dispossession”.38 their article “decolonizing property in taiwan” highlights a case study on the tayal tribe, whose lands were “reclaimed” by the kmt through outright dismissals of tayal agricultural practices. traditional landscape practices under the tayal methodology are “dynamic and embedded in a cyclical process that requires long-cycle temporal patterns…”.39 however, kmt law under the title program stipulates tribal families must not be absent from that land through the duration of the ten year period. when the tayal tribes temporarily moved to consummate 13 their farming techniques, the government cited their brief absence as “not possessing” and thus ineligible for receiving a state-sponsored deed to that land. adhering to this policy demands complete abdication of centuries-old farming practices and in turn, the declaration of allegiance to han-chinese government authority. present-day efforts by the tayal to reclaim that land continue to be bogged down by bureaucratic inefficiency.40 coerced dispossession through malleable legal language not only aims to promote assimilation and obedience among indigenous tribes, but also to “open up” newly acquired land for state-sponsored eco-tourist development with little regard for the indigenous communities residing there. the race for resources the sprawling gorges of taroko national park are a sight to behold for anyone interested in hiking, sightseeing, and competitive running. the name “taroko” (太魯閣) is borrowed from the truku tribe, formally recognized by the taiwanese government as of 2014 with reservation lands in eastern taiwan. the annual taroko marathon draws over 12,000 runners to hualien county and is a premier event for citizens and foreigners alike.41 nevertheless, for all the publicity and popularity surrounding the race, little historical information about the park is readily available. a quick survey of their official website offers a glimpse into the taroko marathon’s objectives with a startling lack of detail: “the taroko gorge marathon began in dec. 2000 and entered its 20th year this year. since 2015, ldc group has sponsored the taroko gorge marathon. it is based on environmental protection, public welfare, and local development of hualien”.42 while thousands of runners packing into taxis to descend upon the gorge is far from environmental protection, the pre-marathon history surrounding taroko national park’s inception paints an even bleaker picture of environmental degradation in the name of ecotourism. 14 taiwan’s rural regions (and in consequence, the indigenous communities that inhabit them) began their slow descent into an ecotourist-dependent economy as a direct result of the open market system and what chen yi-fong describes as “the complete failure of small-scale peasant economy, a consequence of taiwan’s entry into the world trade organization as a developed country and its subsequent surrender in the negotiation of opening its market to... agricultural products from abroad, mainly the u.s”.43 similar to the fervent desire for camphor timber decades ago, an exploding export market for taiwanese rice and other agricultural products effectively ended subsistence farming among indigenous communities and encouraged unconditional surrender to commercial farming practices. eco-tourism is a paradoxical industry tasked with balancing handsome profits from tourists’ willingness to pay for pristine, “untouched” landscapes and the environmental duress caused by their excessive foot-traffic. taroko national park is no exception, and taiwan’s blossoming ecotourism industry saw great economic potential within truku reservations in the late 20th century. chun-chieh chi makes note of the effect “nature conservation policy” has on taiwan’s indigenous populations, suggesting that constructing national parks “offer little to no benefit” for indigenous communities.44 furthermore, national parks on tribal reservations restrict movement and punish traditional agricultural practices. of taiwan’s six national parks, three are situated in former indigenous hunting grounds belonging to the truku, tayal, and bunun tribes. while drawing boundary lines for each park, government officials included indigenous homelands within the park without tribal permission.45 now under the thumb of national park conservation policies, indigenous groups within park grounds faced stiff penalties for continuing traditional practices. one native farmer received a fine $1,200 ntd ($40 usd) for moving a large rock from his field without first obtaining a license. meanwhile, heavy mining operations 15 within taroko national park continued with the government’s license-administered support.46 in 2014, marathon organizers permitted asia cement corporation (acc) to serve as a sponsor for that year’s race. despite the race’s current objective of “ecological conservation”, the government has allocated a generous 441 hectares of land for acc to operate a granite mining facility on truku territory. numerous protests have prompted “more humane” treatment from government officials regarding indigenous tribes, but as chi concludes, “environmental injustice built into the park has yet to be amended”.47the lack of legislative action thus far exemplifies the tremendous hurdles indigenous communities often face in the current political climate. beyond eco-tourism, taiwan’s ambitious projects to expedite economic growth inadvertently caused disastrous environmental consequences on indigenous communities caught in the crossfires. yi-fong chen points to conflicts in li-shan (梨山) in taichung county as a battleground for environmental conflict resulting from kmt-led intervention within indigenousheld lands. as chen points out: “…the economic potential of the region entangled with the ensuing environmental degradation has made the li-shan area a political hot spot”. land rights conflicts in li-shan have set the stage for numerous protests against the taiwanese government and their respective contractors.48 similar to the land ownership laws that bound the tayal tribe into ten years of stagnant usage, land within li-shan reservations occupied by the atayal tribe could not be legally conferred to tribal families without proof of continuous land usage for five consecutive years. likewise, legally conferred land to indigenous families cannot be used as a qualifying variable for loans or mortgages, thus “pricing out” natives from purchasing goods necessary to introduce cheaper production measures. chen refers to these policies as a “semipublic” ownership system where the taiwan provincial government has free reign on drafting environmental policies without approval from the indigenous communities living there.49 16 environmental policies surrounding li-shan in the 1970s disrupted indigenous farming practices and intensified damage caused by seasonal typhoons. following a lift of a trade ban on imported apples, their market price plummeted under 50%, prompting local farmers to plant peach and pear trees to compensate for the loss of profit brought on by imported apples from the united states. by 1979, cultivated land in li-shan’s elevated regions eroded the soil to such an extent that seventeen dams along da-chia river (大甲河) completely silted up, leaving all residents in danger of typhoon-induced deluge. while chen does acknowledge other natural factors potentially linked to widespread soil erosion in li-shan, there is little doubt excessive slope land cultivation accelerated the process.50 adding to the erosion issue in li-shan are: two farms for army veterans, a highway network, and widespread fruit tree cultivation for commercial use, all encouraged by the state under the “agriculture up to the mountains” policy.51 presently, li-shan and its surrounding areas are home to indigenous conservation efforts met with ample amounts of resistance. the alliance of taiwan’s aborigines (ata) seeks to help indigenous settle land disputes, restore traditional farming practices, and reclaim homelands previously absorbed by the provincial government. presenting a significant obstacle to ata’s objectives is the plains people’s rights association (ppra), a group of elite, kmt-educated local leaders that insist “there are no indigenous people in current taiwan”.52 natural disasters and their impact on indigenous tribes forced displacement and landslides caused by mismanaged environmental policies in lishan and elsewhere led to greater susceptibility to natural disasters among tribal communities, particularly during typhoon season.53 in 2009, typhoon morakot swept through southern and eastern taiwan, destroying over 40 villages and 13 schools occupied by indigenous children. in total, 85 students were reported dead or missing in taiwan’s worst natural disaster in over 50 17 years.54 extensive environmental damage and mass casualties caused by severe weather produced lasting psychological damage that left vulnerable populations struggling to pick up the pieces. a recent study by hui-ching wu analyzes the psychological impacts on indigenous communities following typhoon morakot. as wu notes: “relocation and loss due to disasters require people to face great changes in how they navigate within their environments. if unsuccessful, they may face misunderstanding and discrimination and be considered as maladjusted by people in the new environment”. while the study emphasizes adaptability potential in displaced adolescents, wu points to additional studies that show “intimate partner violence, child abuse, and sexual violence are more prevalent after disasters”.55 it is inaccurate to suggest that only human intervention via environmental policy incited domestic violence and caused psychological trauma during typhoon morakot. nevertheless, overreaching environmental projects in mountainous terrains may have intensified flooding and prompted landslides into villages previously unscathed by large-scale natural disasters. greater susceptibility to these disasters can exacerbate environmental damage and lead to deteriorating mental health conditions among its inhabitants. the tseng-wen reservoir trans basin water diversion project of 2004 is often targeted by environmental groups for intensifying the damage to indigenous villages caused by typhoon morakot. communities bordering the water diversion project suffered extensive damage, leading to assertions that poor engineering practices and wanton neglect led to avoidable environmental destruction.56 despite outcry from residents (most belonging to the bunan tribe) upset over lackluster compensation proposals and safety concerns, the water resources agency (wra) went ahead with the plan on the basis of “water supply and demand”. one legal expert 18 interviewed by mei-fang fan during her case study on the diversion project condemned the government for never giving a “real purpose” for its construction.57 the diversion project had a profound impact on neighboring villages and their ecological surroundings. drill excavations and controlled explosions across multiple fault lines rocked taiwan’s mountainous regions, causing unwanted gas emissions and unpredictable geological consequences. despite assurances from the water resource agency that groundwater levels would return to normal after the initial excavation of shao-nian (少年) creek, the touristdependent scenic hot spring area dried up in less than two weeks. locals cited the negative impact as “considerable” following commencement of the project.58 fan notes “a lack of substantive participation and monopolized public communications…. although public hearings were held at the time, they appeared to be a mere formality”.59 when typhoon morakot rendered the previously excavated tunnels unable to hold water and thus useless to the project’s goals, the wra doubled down and sought to complete the project anyways. in one final effort to halt construction, indigenous villagers blocked the construction site following a rumor of “suspicious land clearing” by government contractors. the contractors responded by suing seven indigenous villagers for a total of $12 million ntd ($409,318 usd). intimidated by the prospect of suffering devastating financial losses, the protestors backed off and the bulldozers toiled on.60 excessive cultivation in li-shan and the botched water diversion project highlights the persistent attitudes of taiwanese government officials, local contractors, and corporations in enacting environmentally damaging plans while simultaneously disregarding the input of the residents they impact the most. areas subject to sweeping projects are often home to vulnerable indigenous mountain tribes that suffer negative consequences long after contractors retreat to their homes away from the mountains. formal complaints against these projects frequently face 19 condemnation by business groups who insist unfamiliarity and a general lack of knowledge evoke baseless fears. however, this assumed “lack of knowledge” is rooted in the lack of transparency promoted by state agencies and corporations themselves. when a landslide triggered the elimination of siaolin village in 2009, the kaohsiung county prosecutor's office concluded that natural events, not a recent government-sponsored mountain demolition project, caused the landslide. the prosecutor’s office took it one step further by blaming the landslide on indigenous deforestation practices years ago, conveniently forgetting the forest bureau’s reforestation policy handed out ten-year subsidies to any indigenous tribe that cut down old trees to plant new ones.61 once these accusations receive publicity, indigenous tribes lack access to scientific resources to fend them off. as noted previously, the threat of lawsuits can quickly stifle protest movements conducted by native tribes lacking the financial capital to defend themselves. without proper legal representation, indigenous tribes and their protest movements rarely gain enough momentum to warrant an apology let alone tangible shifts in environmental policy. to pave the way for eradicating indigenous environmental injustices, government transparency and additional funding for scientific studies highlighting the potentially dangerous consequences of environmental projects is imperative. signs of change “indeed, we are not content with the current state of taiwan, the sovereign state that has been built upon our motherland. it has just begun to recognize its own ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as different understandings of history within its diverse peoples. mr. xi jinping, you do not know us, so you do not know taiwan.” excerpt joint declaration by the indigenous historical justice and transnational justice committee, 2019 on january 2nd, 2019, president xi jinping spoke to government officials and distinguished guests in a fiery speech to mark the 40th anniversary of the communist party. in beijing’s great hall, xi labeled reunification between taiwan and the mainland as inevitable, 20 and that taiwanese people should be proud of their chinese heritage. noticeably absent from the speech was any mention of taiwan’s diverse minority populations. across the strait, it appeared that xi’s utopian vision of a singular chinese identity was also unequivocally han. back in taiwan, perceptions regarding cultural identity are changing. the joint declaration written in response to xi by indigenous representatives represents a healthy skepticism while acknowledging greater attention to indigenous rights following president tsai ing-wen’s formal apology four years earlier. environmental justice continues to play a major role in repairing trust between government agencies, corporations, and the native communities often damaged by their policies. after decades of tone-deaf responses, businesses are starting to listen. in hualien county, cp group received permission to build six poultry processing farms throughout rural neighborhoods. citing environmental concerns, county residents marched in solidarity with indigenous villagers to protest their plans. after obtaining “local consensus”, cp group suspended production as of june 2020.62 formosa plastics, a petrochemical company headquartered in taiwan, has attempted to atone for their environmental pollution with their wallets. formosa plastics is an active benefactor of the fulbright u.s student program to taiwan, funding one full scholarship63 and several english teaching assistant (eta) grants. while subject to local county agreements and demographics, formosa plastics grants this funding with the stipulation of assigning etas to schools with a majority indigenous student body; however, the extent to which this type of philanthropy benefits indigenous communities is unknown. but for every reparation and successful protest movement, setbacks continue. in 2016, the council of indigenous peoples announced that only state-owned, not private land, could be transferred back to indigenous communities. for corporations, this was a significant political 21 victory that allowed them to continue to mine for precious metals on reservation lands with no legal repercussions. activists staged a protest movement to express their disappointment with the decree but were charged with violating the martial law-era assembly and parades act. in january 2019, an indigenous encampment and makeshift art festival constructed along ntu hospital station exit 1 was torn down by taipei police forces for leaving objects around in a disorderly manner. despite government promises of greater understanding for indigenous concerns, these events demonstrate glaring discrepancies between public political statements and law enforcement actions. conclusion amidst lush forests, steep mountains, and pristine turquoise coastlines, taiwanese environmental history appears sullied by an extensive timeline of natural destruction at the expense of non-han populations. with taiwan’s historiography clouded by inherent ethnic bias and colonizer mentalities, what it means to be “taiwanese” is subject to persistent debate with glaring deficiencies. to fill the void left by these fallacies, scholars should look to nature for an immediate glimpse into how centuries of human intervention can impact life deep in the mountains. in the 21st century, this small island nation holds a unique position on the world stage. to the north, a much larger threat seeks to swallow up indigenous identity and the landscapes that nurture it. government officials are aware of the threat, and president tsai ingwen appears ready to supplant taiwan’s own colonial mentality with an approach that fosters understanding and acknowledges its shortcomings. through greater understanding of the environmental hardships suffered by minority populations throughout its beautiful landscapes, taiwan can begin to mend broken relationships to create a blossoming, multicultural identity. 22 endnotes 1“the indigenous peoples basic law”, law and regulations database of the republic of china. published june 20th, 2018, https://law.moj.gov.tw/eng/lawclass/lawall.aspx?pcode=d0130003. 2 awi mona (chi-wei tsai), “conceptualizing indigenous historical justice toward a mutual reconciliation with state in taiwan” washington international law journal, 28 (2019): 666. 3 ing-wen, tsai, “apology to indigenous peoples”, usc us-china institute published august 1st, 2016. https://china.usc.edu/tsai-ing-wen-apology-indigenous-peoples”august-1-2016. 4 awi, “conceptualizing indigenous historical justice,” 671. 5 ibid, 657. 6 ibid., 671. citing heng, lian, a general history of taiwan. 7 ing-wen, “apology to indigenous peoples”. 8 tse, hsuing-lin, “mountain songs, hakka songs, protest songs: a case study of two hakka singers from taiwan”, asian music, no. 1 (winter/spring 2011): 85. 9 ibid, 86. 10 ibid, 87. 11 ibid, 96. 12 wei hsiu tung and gerald cipirani, art for social change and cultural awakening: an anthropology of residence in taiwan. (lanham, md: lexington books, 2013), 43. 13 taiwan news, “paiwan artist carves out new paths for taiwan's indigenous traditions.”, taiwan news, august 4th, 2018, https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3499270. accessed august 3rd, 2020. 14 damien morier-genoud, “taiwanese historiography towards a scholarly native history.” china perspectives no. 3 (2010): 79. citing chang, lung-chih “colonialism and modernity: reflections on contemporary chinese historiography.” 15 ibid, 80. 16 hirano katsuya, lorenzo veracini, and toulouse-antonin roy. "vanishing natives and taiwan’s settler-colonial unconsciousness." critical asian studies 50, no. 2 (2018): 197. 17 ibid, 197. 18 ibid, 198. 19 ibid, 199. 20 yi-fong chen, “indigenous rights movements, land conflicts, and cultural politics in taiwan: a case study of li-shan.” ph.d. dissertation, louisiana state university (1998): 3. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7814&context=gradschool_disstheses. 21 mark swislocki, culinary nostalgia: regional food culture and the urban experience in shanghai (stanford, ca: stanford university press, 2009): 114. 22 hirano, veracini, and roy. "vanishing natives and taiwan’s settler-colonial unconsciousness." doi: 10.1080/14672715.2018.1443019. 23 ibid, 202. 24 barclay, outcasts of empire: japan's rule on taiwan's "savage border” 1847 -1945 (oakland, california: university of california press, 2018), 44-46, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt2204r2t.7. 25 chiu yen-liang (fred). "from the politics of identity to an alternative cultural politics: on taiwan primordial inhabitants' a-systemic movement." boundary 2 21, no. 1 (1994): 87. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/303401. 26 barclay, outcasts of empire, 98. 27 ibid, 98. 28 ibid, 99. 29 hirano, katsuya, lorenzo veracini, and toulouse-antonin roy. "vanishing natives and taiwan’s settlercolonial unconsciousness." critical asian studies 50, no. 2 (2018): 208. 30 barclay, outcasts of empire, 103. 31 ibid. 32 ibid. 33 chen, “indigenous rights movements, land conflicts, and cultural politics in taiwan: a case study of lishan.”,54. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7814&context=gradschool_disstheses. 34 ibid., 49. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3499270 https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2018.1443019 23 35 ibid., citing sun, da-chuan. “administrative space and ethnic identity: the case of taiwan aborigines.” paper presented at the reconstruct cultural politics and history conference, the institute of ethnology, academia sinica taipei, (1995): 20. 36 chen, yayut yi-shiuan; kuan, da-wei; suchet-pearson, sandie; howitt, richard: “decolonizing property in taiwan: challenging hegemonic constructions of property.” environment and planning d: society and space, 36, no. 6 (2018): 991. 37 ibid., 995. 38 ibid., 997. 39 ibid., 998. 40 ibid. 41 in 2018, i was fortunate enough to participate in the race with the help of one of the marathon’s organizers. during that year, several hotel chains served as race sponsors. these franchises typically occasionally operate on alleged indigenous lands, further questioning the authenticity of the race objectives mentioned in this paper. 42 hualien county marathon road running association, “briefing of taroko gorge marathon”, taroko gorge marathon 2020, 2020, https://www.tarokomarathon.com.tw/en/data.php?f=about-taroko-marathon. 43 yi-fong, chen. "the indigenous ecotourism and social development in taroko national park area and sanchan tribe, taiwan." geojournal 77, no. 6 (2012): 808. www.jstor.org/stable/23325389. 44 chun-chieh chi, “capitalist expansion and indigenous land rights”, the asia pacific journal of anthropology 2, no. 2 (2001):147. doi: 10.1080/14442210110001706145. 45 ibid., 147. 46 ibid., 148. 47 ibid. 48 ibid. 49 ibid., 164. 50 ibid., 194. 51 ibid., 99. 52 ibid., 201. 53 hui-ching wu, “protectors of indigenous adolescents’ post-disaster adaptation in taiwan.” clinical social work journal 42, 357–365 (2014): 357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-0130448-z. 54 ibid. 55 ibid., 358. 56 fan, mei-fang. "environmental justice and the politics of risk: water resource controversies in taiwan." human ecology 44, no. 4 (2016): 425. www.jstor.org/stable/24762689. 57 ibid., 428. 58 ibid., 429. 59 ibid., 431. 60 ibid. 61 ibid. 62 taiwan news, “thailand’s cp group suspends plans for 6 poultry farms in e. taiwan”, taiwan news, june 5th, 2020, https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3945080. accessed july 28th, 2020. 63 fulbright taiwan, “2021-2020 fulbright program competition is open”, fulbright taiwan foundation for scholarly exchange, june 1st, 2020, https://www.fulbright.org.tw/2021-2022-fulbright-program-awards-to-the-uscompetition-is-open/. accessed july 28th, 2020. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3945080 https://www.fulbright.org.tw/2021-2022-fulbright-program-awards-to-the-u-scompetition-is-open/ https://www.fulbright.org.tw/2021-2022-fulbright-program-awards-to-the-u-scompetition-is-open/ 24 bibliography barclay, paul d. outcasts of empire: japan's rule on taiwan's "savage border." 1874-1945. oakland, california: university of california press, 2018. http://www.jstor.com/stable/10.1525/j.ctt2204r2t.7. chang, lung-chih. “colonialism and modernity: reflections on contemporary chinese historiography” in broken narratives: post cold war history and identity in europe and east asia. edited by susanne weiglin-schweidrzik, 133-64. lieden: brill, 2014. chi, chun-chieh. 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https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fdigitalcommons.lsu.edu%2fcgi%2fviewcontent.cgi%3farticle%3d7814%26context%3dgradschool_disstheses&data=02%7c01%7cjalfano7%40villanova.edu%7ce4638a8f72c14d2eb92d08d807731a3c%7c765a8de5cf9444f09cafae5bf8cfa366%7c0%7c0%7c637267538255580996&sdata=uxzow5loei55dmy6%2f87rfp2ya%2b%2fhrj8opmi2yohgube%3d&reserved=0 https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fdigitalcommons.lsu.edu%2fcgi%2fviewcontent.cgi%3farticle%3d7814%26context%3dgradschool_disstheses&data=02%7c01%7cjalfano7%40villanova.edu%7ce4638a8f72c14d2eb92d08d807731a3c%7c765a8de5cf9444f09cafae5bf8cfa366%7c0%7c0%7c637267538255580996&sdata=uxzow5loei55dmy6%2f87rfp2ya%2b%2fhrj8opmi2yohgube%3d&reserved=0 https://journals-sagepub-com.ezp1.villanova.edu/doi/10.1177/0263775818799751 1 a joke without a clear punchline: joker as a supervillain to linearity amanda piazza english before winning multiple oscars at the 92nd academy awards and gaining a fanbase of dedicated cinephiles, showings of the 2019 film joker required a police presence, bag checks, and costume limitations, all due to the volatile panic created around the controversial depictions of violence and terrorist empathizing strewn within and around the film. director todd phillips’ film sets its fictionalized 1981 gotham city against a backdrop eerily similar to the crime-ridden new york streets of the 1980s (tietze 32). the mental state of clown-for-hire arthur fleck, played by joaquin phoenix, deteriorates along with the crumbling city around him, where piles of trash pave the streets and graffiti becomes part of the gritty architecture. the film is a character study situated on a man rejected by societyand the very mental health services meant to help himwhich leads to his transformation into the hyperviolent and charismatic joker. although todd phillips clarified that the movie is, “about childhood trauma, a movie about the lack of love in the world, a movie about the loss of empathy in society” (gross) and not a love letter to self-pitying white extremists, some still believe, whether intentional or not, the film alludes to specific, current issues and can incite violence among the marginalized. critics and viewers alike see the film as a conglomeration of present issues and ideas, subliminally integrating the white supremacist implications associated with the incel movement and glamorizing mass gun violence. critic david ehrlich even went as far as saying the film is, “a toxic rallying cry for self-pitying incels” (qtd. in kaushik). however, the film does not display any mass shootings or refer specifically to incels, leading thinkers to wonder if such ideas are anachronistic within the past setting of the film and if the film can be historicized despite 2 implications of presentism allegedly integrated within. the film’s ambiguity suggests the possibility of historicization but does not require it, for joker, much like its central character, stands in a league of its own, creating as well as destroying how one considers causal signification. genre, the contemporary, and time joker is a variant origin story for dc comics' joker character, setting itself apart from the traditional superhero film by focusing not on a superhero but a “supervillain” as an attempt to subvert the workings of the genre. as theodore martin states in contemporary drift: genre, historicism, and the problem of the present, “genres explain how aesthetic and cultural categories become recognizable as well as reproducible in a given moment, and they demonstrate how the conventions and expectations that make up those categories are sedimented over time” (6). the film strays from following a traditional morally immaculate, tights-wearing lead, and instead focuses on an unlikeable and corrupt outcast. yet, the film is still recognizable as part of the superhero genre since it contains tropes specific to the genre, including “vigilante archetypes, urban crime, action sequences, and heightened reality” (burke 98). before assassinating his former idol murray franklin, who mocked him on a previous episode of his talk show, joker announces, “you get what you fucking deserve!” as he pulls the trigger. much like a traditional comic book “hero,” he enacts his own form of justice through vigilantism. perhaps the most common and defining trope of the genre is having a protagonist that, “[hopes] to prevent or rectify perceived transgressions against themselves, their homes, or their loved ones” (burke 100). arthur fleck is motivated not by morally idealistic character strengths that define most comic book superhero protagonists but is consumed by a narcissistic form of “justice,” only wanting to purge himself of the constant degradation he experiences due to the unjust systems 3 around him. his actions may be self-serving and destitute, but they still fit into one of a superhero film protagonist, simultaneously morphing joker into a film that both subverts and develops its given genre into a contemporary entity. martin argues how the contemporary, “both is and isn’t specific to our current moment” (3). joker was released in 2019, but placing the events within the 1980s frames the film as existing not entirely in one time; it is a product of the present yet influenced by the past, gesturing to the transhistorical quality of the film. thinking of time as a chronological, linear occurrence where the present replaces the past (lim 1) implies a temporality where “the present is all that exists and the past has elapsed and is gone” (lim 15), which fails to consider history as evolving and continuing within the so-called present. the past may still exist because “in every seeming instant of the present there is already a ‘continuous thread of memory,’ a durative ‘depth of time.’ if the past is not dead, but instead paradoxically coexists alongside the present, then the very notion of contemporaneousnessas a single, self-consistent meanwhile-starts to fray” (lim 2). if true, determining events as isolated fixtures tied to specified periods historicizes time, disregarding the constant movement of occurrences and the continuum of “time.” even when creating something “new,” history prevails, for “the past lingers in the present even as it is erased” (niemeyer 218). joker reinvents the past through an emulation of the 1980s and by blatantly "borrowing most directly from the films of martin scorseseking of comedy (1982) and taxi driver (1976)” (kaushik), all of which is possible because of the industry’s dependence on “cultural amnesia” (niemeyer 212). creating new films in the place of past ones perpetuates the erasure of history and establishes the text as a reflection produced by the present. 4 the constant replacement of history with an analogous present also points to consumer culture’s reliance on the “evaporation of the past” (niemeyer 215) to establish marketability. the process sustains the “cinematic repetition and return” (lim 15) created by the recognizability and progress of genre, which utilizes form to create the seemingly new through a masked redundancy of mimicry. the film’s release in 2019 “compels us to think, above all, about the politics of how we think about the present” (martin 5). a contemporary film such as joker relies on the modern audience’s acceptance and/or ignorance towards the replacement of the past with the present, which, in turn, aids in categorizing certain qualities as time specific rather than as timeless entities. joker's violent sequences shocked audiences, such as when the enraged fleck shoots three wall street men on the subway. he chases one down who attempts to crawl away, shooting him multiple times in the back even after he ceases moving. fleck even goes as far as puncturing his former co-worker’s throat and stabbing him in the eye for getting him fired from his clown gig. robbie collin, of the telegraph, voices the main concern of most critics, stating, “this is a film that is going to stir up troublein the consciences of everyone who watches it, and almost certainly in the outside world as well” (tietze 33). however, “the film’s director (todd phillips) felt that the film had been unfairly criticized for promoting violence and defended it by saying that the display of violence in joker is ‘nothing new’” (kaushik). the superhero genre is no stranger to violence. in 2008, heath ledger’s version of the joker stabbed a gangster in the eye with a pencil and blew up a hospital in the dark knight. violence is a staple of the superhero film genre, but the scenes in joker could be said to be more intense than those of past films due to the hyperrealism attached to the otherwise fantastical genre, for “genres lead distinctly double lives, with one foot in the past and the other in the present; they contain the entire abridged 5 history of an aesthetic form while also staking a claim to the form’s contemporary relevance” (martin 6). joker deploys a series of violent action scenes, a recognizable and frequent feature of any past superhero film, but develops such depictions into a more realistic and fresh form. the psychotic breakdown of a mentally ill man whose medication and therapeutic services are cut off because of government funding cancellations is more than plausible in the real world, especially in a present where mental health services are still criticized for their failure to provide proper and accessible treatment methods. fleck’s is a victim “of neo-liberal policies implemented and initiated in america in the 1980s, that benefit the rich” (kaushik), which are still recognizable in the capitalist atmosphere of the 2010s. he is a character of the past and present, identifiable as a classic comic book villain but also as a newer figure who challenges what makes someone a supervillain. if the film exists across time instead of at a certain point in linear time, historicizing joker becomes a complicated endeavor. the final script clarifies, “this film takes place in its own universe […] although it is never mentioned in the film, this story takes place in the past. let's call it 1981” (phillips & silver ii). the film’s past setting positions it as a documentation of what once was, but releasing it in 2019 makes it part of what is occurring. accordingly, “when compelled by an ethical imperative to read the past on its own terms, the practice of historical criticism is impossible on its own terms” (rohy 68). how an audience views a periodized film is influenced by the moment it is being viewed, revealing the impossibility of interacting with history as an isolated fixture. incels and superfans: the dangerous application of historicism and presentism regardless of its 1980s context, many critics mark the film as a mimetic image of the trump era, where “it was claimed not only trump was leading a fascist-style movement (with 6 his raucous campaign rallies seen as harbingers of mob violence); he was also ‘emboldening’ a rapidly growing far-right and creating a toxic atmosphere that was inspiring politically motivated, right-wing mass shooters” (tietze 34). like trump, fleck’s actions inspired followers, within the film, with a relentless mob-mentality. fleck’s subway shootings spurred the onslaught of riots and rallies, where people in clown attire rebelled against the rich, believing it to be their right to enact violence against those with power. the year 1981 marked the era of ronald reagan’s presidency. in the same year, john hinckley attempted to assassinate president reagan to reenact the occurrences of his favorite film, taxi driver, where the nihilistic loner protagonist tries to assassinate a presidential candidate (“president reagan shot”). joker, which takes much inspiration from taxi driver, has fleck, who has transformed into joker, assassinate murray franklin because the show host fails to see the suffering of common people like him. joker asks franklin, “have you seen what it's like out there, murray? do you ever actually leave this studio? everybody just yells and screams at each other. nobody's civil anymore. nobody thinks what it's like to be the other guy. you think men like thomas wayne ever think what it's like to be a guy like me? to be anybody but themselves?" when joker hit theaters, the character's violent, self-pitying actions were considered a romanticization of “violent ‘incels’ (involuntary celibates, young men enraged by being denied their absolute right to have sex with women), and that it ‘champions’ arthur's crimes” (tietze 33). any thought of the film referencing similarly thematic instances from taxi driver and the assassination attempt on reagan were largely overlooked and instead tied to present issues, disregarding the film’s subtle attempts to historicize itself, verifying philosopher gilles deleuze’s sentiment, “we are too accustomed to thinking in terms of the ‘present’” (qtd. in lim 1). as soon as someone from the present views the historical, the moment of interaction becomes part of the present, solidifying 7 the argument “there is not truly historical historicism” (rohy 69). the present is a constant influence on how audiences observe the past, especially when the past holds blatant similarities to the present, the only difference is the names given to these commonalities. even so, employing strategic presentism and deeming joker as a product of such a study is yet another dangerous approach to categorizing the film within linear temporality. j.m tyree argues in his review is it ok to talk about joker now?, “joker is not a film about mass shootings. we know this because there are no mass shootings in the film.” he continues, “joker is not about ‘incels’ or ‘alt-right’ radicalization. we know this because there is not a threat of ‘alt-right’ radicalization or displays of the trappings of ‘incel culture’ in the film. joker is not a white supremacisthe does not feel much ‘white fragility.’” still, many critics call fleck an “incel,” a term nonexistent in 1981an anachronistic term that is “out of step with the times” (rohy 67). perhaps flecks’ most definably “incel-esque” trait is his obsessive harping on an unavailable woman. after an encounter in his apartment elevator with his neighbor sophie, a young mother who lives doors away from fleck, he becomes infatuated with the woman, even going as far as stalking her as she drops her daughter off at school and heads to work. after his pursuits, sophie approaches fleck at his apartment and asks, “were you following me today?” when he admits his actions, she brushes the situation off with a joke, saying, “i thought that was you. i was hoping you'd come in and rob the place” a response oddly reflecting fleck’s own intrusive thoughts. the two then organize a date and are depicted throughout the film together, including at fleck’s dying mother’s bedside. during the film’s climax, where fleck discovers his repressed past as a battered child and his adopted mother’s involvement, the audience learns that after the elevator encounter with sophie, fleck had created the other encounters in his head. he enters her apartment soaking wet 8 from the rain, disturbed by the information gained, but when sophie enters the living room to find him dripping on her coach, she is frazzled saying, “your name’s arthur, right? you live down the hall.” a series of flashbacks ensue, omitting sophie’s prior presence within the scenes and revealing their relationship as a fantasy, one he crafted out of obsession. fleck’s narcissism convinced him that his relationship with sophie was real, a sign his life was finally going in the right direction, since he claims to his therapist, “for my whole life i didn't know if i even really existed. but i do. and people are starting to notice.” before vocalizing this revelation, he kills the three men on the subway and is shown entering sophie’s apartment, kissing her, which she accepts. unearthing the truth of his relationship reveals fleck’s longing to be accepted within society and by those within it, believing attention is owed to him based on the mere fact that he exists and refuses to remain invisible, a trait ‘incels” share. terminology aside, ideas associated with “incels” were common in the 1980s. hinckley could very well be associated with predating incel culture, since “he identified with the film’s [taxi driver] central character, violent loner travis bickle, who sought to gain a woman’s affection by trying to assassinate a presidential candidate” (klein). hinckley wanted to gain the attention of the lead actress of the film, jodie foster, who had ignored his previous attempts of contact with her. in this sense, “presentism might help us better understand and address the ways the past is at work in the exigencies of the present” (coombs and coriale 88). those like hinckley and fleck may not hold the title of “incel” in their dated contexts due to the modernity of the term, but they set the stage for the definition and formation of the phrase, allowing theorists to track the existence of the newly defined. joker shows how, “films, along with other cultural productions, are not simply manufactured as static objects within a mobile historical context or situation, they are themselves part of the history that is going on, part of the 9 movement, processes within the larger, more complex process” (beck 12). the film documents time as a movementsomething which cannot be tracked through the tendency to assign differentiation; time is in a constant process of development, reconfiguring presences and how people define them. films may allude to time but they are not entirely specific to time, or, “film remains isolated amid the network of practices that frame and fashion it, independently perceived as the "effect" of so many configurations of causes” (beck 9). joker gestures to the tendency to differentiate and assign a presence, such as the incel, as time-specific, but reveals how presence is an ever-evolving constant not a unique feature of an isolated moment in time. the film is a suspended entity rejecting the historicization of time and subverts the concept of linear temporality to create a separated vision of time as well as of “meaning” itself. dancing around the stairs of meaning: deconstruction, limitation, and perspective despite the adoption of fleck’s clown persona for an anarchical political movement, fleck himself lacks political motivation. when murray franklin asks if the clown makeup he dons to the studio is an act of protest, fleck states, “no, i don't believe in any of that. i don't believe in anything.” fleck’s murder of franklin, his mother, his coworker, and the three wall street men consequently crafts him into an emblem of the political, for “even if, as he says, no political ideas are guiding him, he still rejects the system that has made his life impossible; therefore, his revolt is political” (senesi). assigning political motivation to fleck’s actions is possible due to the inherent lack he and the film embodies, allowing the viewers to project their politics onto the character and the film. as reviewer ritika kaushik says, “joker’s politics is deliberately designed to appear vague and benign” and “the character of joker never signifies any particular ideological position at any time.” fleck nor the film can be attributed to a specific 10 political or historical presence, leaving the audience with “an empty signifier in a painted face and a red suit” (kaushik). the concept of the “empty signifier” is explicitly derridean, who theorizes the role of the signified and signifier in creating meaning within linguistic systems. in derridean terms, joker seeks to be metaphorical. in of grammatology, derrida distinguished the metaphor as follows: metaphor is the relation between signifier and signified within the order of ideas and of things, according to what links the idea with that of which it is the idea, that is to say, of which it is already the representative sign. then, the literal or proper meaning will be the relationship of the idea to the affect that it expresses. and it is the inadequation of the designation (metaphor) which properly expresses the passion (300). in a lingual system, derrida believes signs are determined based on their relation to other existing signs within the system, or “each [discipline of writing] is a system of signs, and each sign gets its meaning not by latching onto some extra-linguistic entity which it then signifies, but from its relationship to other signs within this system” (novitz 104). texts attempt to assert a stable meaning by creating signifiers that will point to the signified, but this is problematized by the instability of signifiers in relation to the signified. there is an inherent lack of universal signs that connote certain meanings, so all is determined by the system it is placed in. a metaphor uses a relation of signs in the form of the literal to refer to a variable, seeking to make the literal a transcendent abstraction of truth. this forces a myriad of meanings to become attached to the metaphor: since each sign in a language gets whatever sense it has from the relationships in which it stands to each other sign, and since there are no facts of the matter which tell us how these signs are related to each other, it turns out that even the most straightforward speech act or text can be variously construed, and so carries with it a surplus of meaning (novitz 104). there is a multiplicity in meaning, and no singular truth is revealed by the sign in linguistics. therefore, “deconstruction contends that in any text, there are inevitably points of equivocation 11 and ‘undecidability’ that betray any stable meaning that an author might seek to impose upon his or her text” (reynolds). although todd phillips says, “the whole m.o. of the film was, let's make a comic book film where we run everything through as realistic a lens as possible” and asserts his intentions of depicting unchecked mental illness (gross), his attempt to simply create a realistic yet fictional villain origin story was still not seen as such from critics who believed it to be a glamorizing rally-cry for violence. much of the controversy around the film subsided once more people saw the film resulting in a mix of reactions: for some on the left, it came instead to be seen as a powerful indictment of how austerity robs people of essential mental-health care... for others, the “true villain” of the film was not arthur fleck but “neoliberalism” or “gangster capitalism.” a politically reductive panic had suddenly given way to equally politically reductive defenses of the film, which sometimes even edged toward sympathy for the appalling individual and mob behavior depicted” (tietze 35-36). the film allows for varied interpretations and “makes room for attaching one’s preferred interpretation to the film’s premise, ranging from a plethora of relations like its correlation to incel violence, a critique of neoliberalism, a standard-bearer for left politics, and so on” (kaushik). these meanings may not be inherently visible, but the prospect of unearthing these ideas from the metaphor is assumed, for “metaphors are not made by mistake. we assume that those who coin them intend to do so, and hence that they are perfectly familiar with the literal meanings of the words that they use non-literally. in a nutshell, we must assume the linguistic competence of the speaker whose utterance is construed as metaphor” (novitz 103). for example, the presence of music and dance linger as defining motifs, or signs, attached to fleck, hinting at the charisma of his alter ego joker breaking through. speaking about the notorious scene where arthur dances in a bathroom after murdering the three wall street men, phillips claims, “when i first met joaquin, i told him arthur is one of those people who has music in him. music and dance became a theme in the film. this is the second time we see him dancing 12 and it’s a little bit of joker coming out” (sharf). fleck only ever appears confident when dancing, exuding a carelessness that is most noticeable in another dance scene, this one depicting the clown dancing down a set of steep stairs after stabbing his coworker to death. the scene is scripted as follows: “arthur, now ‘joker’ dancing his way down the long staircase, doing his own bill ‘bojangles’ robinson stair dance... skipping and twirling down four steps, dancing and singing along to the music in his head (and on the soundtrack) … hopping back three...shuffling on a step for a beat or two or three... sun setting in the sky” (phillips & silver 81). as he dances, the upbeat instrumental of gary glitter's "rock n' roll" plays in the background, crafting an upbeat display of arthur’s transformation into joker; he finally embraces the hidden part of himself through dance. creating a picture with the “sun setting in the sky” and a clown “skipping and twirling down four steps, dancing and singing along to the music in his head” generates quite a rejoicing setting for someone who just murdered a man with a pair of scissors. attaching an upbeat scene to a horrific event signifies a celebration, glamorizing fleck’s violent actions. the scene can also stand for something just as empty as the actions of the clown-faced perpetrator. the joyous dance sequence can conversely signify the meaninglessness in action and having fleck dance despite his violence epitomizes the emptiness. as kaushik concludes, “the two dance sequences in the film turn joker’s persona into an empty signifier, untethering the character from the traces of violence he has committed.” the sign, dancing, does not connote to a stable signified. when referring to the differing treatment of the metaphor on the writing of truth in plato’s phaedrus, derrida remarks, “we must avoid neglecting the profound differences which mark all these treatments of the same metaphor” (17). the same can be said for the dancing metaphor in joker since the sign prompts various interpretations of his rhythmic motions. derrida’s sentiment is, “the key to a text is never even present to the author 13 themselves, for the written always defers its meaning” (reynolds). phillips wanted dancing to hint at fleck’s hidden yet present joker persona, but how the character’s movements are calculated in terms of his motives is left to the viewers. critics claiming phillips’ film incites violence or sympathy for criminal perpetrators are based on their interpretation of the metaphorical attributes of the film, an unreliable and systematically flawed means of garnering truth. joker stands for presence and absence, a conditional truth defined by those participating in the system the film is created within and against. signs are as unreliable in creating sole differentiation as time is. the film complicates time by relying on an unreliable narrator to recount the story, which influences the presented order of scenes. scenes track a specific progression of time through their alignment and order, showing the audience visuals based on the projection of how the story is told, holding “cinema itself as a clockwork mechanism” (lim 11). at the beginning of the film, fleck tells his therapist, “i think i felt better when i was locked up in the hospital” to which she responds, “and have you thought more about why you were “locked up?" upon asking the question, the scene suddenly shifts to one of fleck banging his head against the door of a white-tiled room marked “observation room” over the door frame. the scene shifts back to the therapy office with fleck taking a hit of his cigarette and responding, “who knows?” at the end of the film, fleck is placed in a similar white-tiled room, sitting across from a doctor who bears a striking resemblance to the therapist in the beginning, nodding to the possibility of most scenes situated before his crime at murray franklin’s show being a figment produced by fleck’s imagination, all created to rationalize why he has been locked up and his inability to properly recognize time. he is laughing, as he was in the first therapy scene, and once he stops laughing, the doctor asks, “what’s so funny?” fleck responds, “just thinking of this 14 joke,” and the scene cuts to a young bruce wayne standing over his parents, who were gunned down by a rioter in a clown mask. the scene cuts back to the doctor and arthur, with the doctor asking, “do you want to tell it to me?” joker simply claims, “you wouldn’t get it.” placing a visual of bruce wayne as the subject of the joke serves as a subtle wink to the audience, who are aware of bruce wayne’s mythologized destiny of becoming batman after the death of his parents. there is no way joker could know such a fact, but having the snapshot placed within the final scene of the movie alludes to the film’s knowledge of the future. or, the placement could be gesturing to the meaningless of the joke and the audience’s need to tie it to a punchline. the character is irrational and the shot of bruce wayne gestures to the human proclivity to attach meaning to the inexplicable, for maybe joker is right, the doctor, as well as the audience, simply would not get it. both language and the language of time are circumscribed by regimented systems that fail to consider the multiplicity of each concept. people tend to view time as a “homogeneous medium,” which “consists of ‘project[ing] time into space,’ inaccurately representing time as a simultaneous juxtaposition of distinct instants” (qtd. in lim). joker projects the past, present, and future into a space that complicates their order and problematizes chronology. the film creates a form of storytelling by establishing a clear line of consequential events for “narrative structure serves as the patterning of human actions through time” (qtd. in shamir 37). the circumscription of time into a linear system of cause and effect only complicates the deduction of its functionality and complexity, which joker signals by attempting to constrict the indefinable into a structure assigned as the definitive. joker creates its own timeline through the linearan alien and unclear nuance of structure yet one logical to a narrator the audience themselves must define, which reveals the multiplicity not only of time but how time and signification are tracked. 15 so, what and when exactly is joker? american philosopher stanley cavell believes, “any serious film resists interpretation and must be taken on its own terms” (shamir 41). despite taking home two academy awards for best actor and best original score as well as earning a total of eleven nominations at the oscars, the most of any comic book movie ever (couch), many believe the film did not deserve the accolades and praise attached. kaushik sums up one such criticism, claiming, “it seems that joker desires to be appreciated as a prestige film for its social gritty aesthetic, but at the same time does not want the burden of social responsibility that comes with it.” joker initiates the possibility that the film is not saying anything, as much as it may appear that way. tyree sums up the attitude, claiming, “its incoherence stems from its status as a genre filmit is really only an origin story from a long chain of comic book movieswith its generic elements pulling away from any clear statement on, well, much of anything at all.” the film may be “neither good nor bad but rather intriguing, disturbing, and resonant” (tyree), a creation resisting the definition assigned to the form it exists in and breaks from while also forcing those who watch the film to decide its meaning for themselves. by presenting itself as a modification of genre, a warped lens for time, and as a floating “empty signifier,” joker points to the existence of entities transcending lingual and chronological structure but can only be referred to through the terms in command due to the inability for objects to be viewed outside of these structures. the film is itself a lacka void with no real teleological “history” or consistent significance. it demands significance be thrust upon it, enveloping interpretation and projecting whatever is poured into it as intentional. calling the film ahistorical or timeless reiterates the presence of the structures in place, for such words attempt to define that which joker resists. the film can be historicized or emblemize the present, but 16 neither quality is an inherent fixture because the film uses time to reject the very mechanics in control. whether the film is successful is as subjective as time itself. joker is pure dance, moving between everything and nothing. works cited beck, philip. “historicism and historism in recent film historiography.” journal of film and video, vol. 37, no.1, 1985. burke, liam. the comic book film adaptation: exploring 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2020, pp. 7–11. shamir, tal s. “the intimate relationship between art and truth.” cinematic philosophy, 2016, pp. 135-149. sharf, zack. “’joker’: here's the original bathroom scene joaquin phoenix threw out with his improvisation.” indiewire, indiewire, 10 oct. 2019. tietze, tad. “populist panic at the movies.” modern age, vol. 62, no. 2, 2020. tyree, j. m. “is it ok to talk about joker now?” film international, vol. 18, no. 2, 2020, pp. 133–137. microsoft word hathcock_3092_psy 1 parasocial relationship strength and the need for social well-being as a function of gender identification emily hathcock psychology introduction and background humans are fundamentally social beings that seek out connections and feelings of belonging in most contexts we find ourselves in. because of this, people are drawn not just to others who reciprocate connections in offline and online spaces, but also to figures who do not. parasocial relationships (psrs) are attachments formed between consumers of a media and a non-reciprocating person or figure that serve a similar role to typical reciprocal relationships (horton & wohl, 1956). one such benefit includes the ability to temporarily satisfy social needs when positive connections are not readily available (giles, 2002). most studies examining psrs focus on the general population while very few focus on more niche groups such as the lgbtq+ community, more specifically, no work has looked at the role of psrs among transgender and nonbinary people. previous research suggests psrs may temporarily replace and satisfy social needs among individuals whose identities and needs are not well supported in their relationships (i.e. transgender and nonbinary identities) more often than cisgender individuals (rosaen & dibble, 2016; tukachinsky & stever, 2019). the present work focuses on non-cisgender identities as a group that may benefit from this compensatory function of psrs. to examine this, an online study was conducted to see if cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary individuals (n=98) differ on measures of social support, social well-being and parasocial relationship strength. with this goal in mind, the article will 2 proceed as follows. first, i will review relevant background literature about media, social belonging, and parasocial relationships. next, i will discuss the study’s hypotheses, methodology, and materials. finally, i will present the results and discuss potential future directions. media and well-being mass media is a powerful tool that impacts day-to-day life by influencing how the public sees and treats groups of people. for some populations, such as the lgbtq+ community, the media can encourage prejudice towards individuals who have a marginalized identity (fürsich, 2010). in 1938 the hays code was enacted which put heavy censorship restrictions on american films and prohibited the portrayal of certain topics such as profanity, interracial dating, and lgbtq+ individuals. although the code was lifted in 1968 the damage was already done, lgbtq+ representation in media was consistently negative until approximately twenty years ago when it began to improve (chen, 2018). still, many portrayals of lgbtq+ individuals are one-dimensional or stereotypical of the identity depicted (scharrer, ramasubramanian, & banjo, 2022), even if they are not outright hostile towards the group. how a population is portrayed in the media has broader effects on well-being and personal development. generally, how someone views themselves is developed over time during social interactions, leading to subconscious incorporation of others’ views into their own selfperception (baumeister, 2010; markus & wurf, 1987; mead, 1913). the feedback does not need to come explicitly from others, but how someone thinks others perceive them is sufficient to affect how someone feels about themself (markus & kunda, 1986). this consequently improves or worsens their self-image. feeling connected and accepted is crucial for a healthy sense of self, 3 as social belonging links many different processes within a person that affect their sense of wellbeing. social belonging needs social belonging is a fundamental human need that is intertwined with physical and mental well-being. in maslow’s hierarchy of needs (maslow, 1968) the only things more important than social belonging are physical needs (e.g. food, shelter) and safety. many subsequent studies support this and show that when these social needs are not fulfilled, there are a number of negative consequences that harm a person’s well-being (baumeister & leary, 1995). physically, unmet social needs are associated with an increased risk of eating disorders (levine, 2013), immune system dysfunction (jaremka & sunami, 2018), and many more health concerns. these effects are often found alongside psychological effects such as a profound sense of loneliness (anderson & arnoult, 1985) and increased suicidal ideation (bailey & mclaren, 2005). even though belonging and social well-being (i.e. dimensions associated with forming healthy relationships) are crucial for an individual’s health, opportunities may not always be available for interaction when a need is felt. unfortunately, some populations may face more difficulties surrounding social wellbeing than others. one such population people is the transgender and nonbinary community. they are more likely to face familial rejection and harassment than cisgender individuals (gamarel et al., 2014; garcia et al., 2020). because of transphobia and stigma, they face higher risks of depression (mcconnell, birkett, & mustanski, 2015), suicide (di giacomo et al., 2018), and substance abuse (day et al., 2017). additionally, there is a deficit of positive representations of marginalized individuals in media that could act as a positive role model, and any that exist may face negative responses from outgroup members (e.g. galdi, guizzo, & fasoli, 2023). 4 lower social support makes it more difficult to have a positive self-image, which is important for buffering stressors that occur with having a marginalized identity (almario et al., 2013; meyer, 2003). positive social support helps maintain this buffer; however, many transgender and nonbinary individuals may face difficulty fulfilling social needs due to a variety of factors such as location, cultural norms where they live, and transphobia. as a result, many do not receive enough social connection to facilitate social needs, resulting in a greater chance of the negative consequences discussed previously. however, there are a few ways to temporarily satisfy social needs when connection with others is not available, one method being parasocial relationships. parasocial relationships parasocial relationships (psrs) are one-sided attachments formed between an individual and a non-reciprocating other person, usually a figure from media (horton & wohl, 1956). these attachment figures are referred to as ‘personae’ and can be real people (i.e. actors, musicians, etc.) or fictional such as a character from a television show. psrs are defined by their nonreciprocating nature, the persona does not interact back with the individual but still provides a feeling of intimacy and connection. this connection is not defined by hard boundaries, as relationships exist on a spectrum that can change depending on the social context (tukachinsky, walter, & saucier, 2021). for example, a person can have a psr with an instagram influencer that does not personally talk back to the individual in question. however, the relationship can temporarily go from a parasocial relationship to a reciprocal one if the individual were to meet this influencer in-person before returning to a psr once the period of contact is over. this process cannot replicate with a fictional character, as they do not exist, and thus in that context it remains a psr indefinitely. 5 parasocial relationships are often studied through the lens of social belonging (baumeister & leary, 1995) since they are considered a form of social interaction (horton & wohl, 1956). even though personae do not reciprocate, the socio-emotional effects of psrs mirror those of reciprocal relationships. excluding the most extreme cases, individuals with psrs know the persona will not reciprocate, but they nonetheless feel a real sense of connection because they are understood to be an extension of one’s social circle. due to this, psrs develop by similar processes as forming reciprocal relationships such as increased exposure, perceived similarity, using social standards to form an impression, and empathy (bond, 2018; klimmt, hefner, & vorderer, 2009; perse & rubin, 1989; scherer et al., 2022; tukachinsky, walter, & saucier, 2021). the benefits of psrs also mirror those of reciprocal relationships including fulfilling belonging needs (giles, 2002; macneill & ditommaso, 2022) and buffering the negative effects of when social interaction is not readily available (gardner, pickett, & knowles, 2005). therefore, forming psrs may be a way to satisfy the need to belong when positive connection is not readily available which could be especially beneficial for individuals who have a marginalized identity and face challenges with social belonging. the current study in summary, parasocial relationships are one method of satisfying social needs when they are not fulfilled. while limited data exists, there is some that suggest transgender and nonbinary individuals are more likely to form psrs when not fulfilled by reciprocal social relationships (bond, 2018; rosaen & dibble, 2016; tukachinsky & stever, 2019). the present study sought to compare transgender and nonbinary (tnb) individuals to a cisgender sample on measures of social support, social well-being, and parasocial relationship strength. i hypothesized that (a) tnb individuals would have lower perceived offline social support than cisgender individuals, 6 (b) tnb individuals would score lower than cisgender people on average social well-being, and (c) tnb individuals would report stronger parasocial relationships than cisgender participants even when exposure frequency is controlled for. method participants 250 participants were recruited using connect.com, an online crowdsourcing website, and were paid $2 for a 15-minute questionnaire. participants identified themselves as either cisgender (male/female), transgender (male/female), or nonbinary. there were no demographic group differences between the transgender and nonbinary samples on any variable, thus the samples were combined into one, referred to as the tnb group. the cisgender participants also had no gender differences on any measure, and were kept into one group labeled the ‘cisgender’ sample. only participants who identify as white were recruited to control for the interaction of other marginalized identities on the variables and ensure only gender was salient. intersectionality is extremely important, and future studies should include other underrepresented marginalized identities in their data. however, the goal of the present study is to isolate gender as the identity of interest. exclusions were made from completing less than 90% of the questionnaire, failed attention checks, and identifying with a race other than white. the final sample consisted of 227 participants with 98 participants as part of the tnb sample and 129 in the cisgender group with ages ranging from 18 to 68 (m=34.930 sd=10.551). procedure after informed consent and demographic information was obtained, participants completed questions about their perceived social support and social well-being dimensions. they were then prompted to write the name of a fictional character they strongly relate to from a piece 7 of media to prime them for subsequent questions. fictional characters were selected to be examined over celebrities because they do not have the additional layer of potentially interacting back on social media or real-life and there are fewer studies examining fictitious psrs. the only noted restriction was that the character could not be from a video game as the medium offers a more dynamic way of interacting with personae and thus requires different methodology. the persona’s perceived race and gender identity were also collected as part of the priming task. these were not analyzed in the results because their purpose was to ensure the participant is thinking about the persona in the subsequent questions. finally, participants completed a measure of parasocial relationship strength with the persona and reported how frequently they are exposed to them via different mediums (e.g. television, online). upon completion they received further elaboration about the study and were provided with the national alliance on mental illness (nami) helpline number in case they experienced any psychological distress, though it was not anticipated. measures perceived social support offline social support. to measure offline social support participants completed the 12item multidimensional scale of perceived social support (mpss) (zimet et al., 1988; α=.88). they were assessed using all three subscales (family, friends, and romantic relationships) on a scale of 1 (very strongly disagree) to 7 (very strongly agree). online social support. online social support was measured using an adapted version of the ‘friends’ subscale from the mpss to reflect online relationships (zimet et al., 1988; α=.75). for example, “i can count on my friends when things go wrong” was changed to “i can count on my online friends when things go wrong”. 8 exposure questions tnb and cisgender participants were exposed to two different sets of questions created by the researcher depending on their gender identity and responded with yes or no for each. while there are no predictions based on the questions, they were created to supplement the variable of perceived social support and provide more insight for how many participants know transgender and nonbinary people both offline and online. the cisgender sample was asked “do you have connections with others in your offline life who are transgender or nonbinary?” and “do you have connections with others in your online life who are transgender or nonbinary?”. the tnb sample was asked “do you have connections in your offline life that share your gender identity?" and “do you have connections in your online life that share your gender identity?”. social well-being variables to measure social well-being the present study used the methodology of rosaen & dibble (2016) by assessing three of the most common variables associated with the construct: loneliness, the need to belong, and social anxiety. loneliness. participants completed the three-item loneliness scale (hughes et al., 2004; α=.72) to examine their general sense of loneliness. they indicated how frequently they experience the scenarios given (e.g. “how often do you feel left out?”) on a 5-point scale from 1 (hardly ever) to 5 (often). need to belong. the desire for social contact, or the need to belong, was assessed using the need to belong scale (leary et al., 2013; α=.81). participants answered how characteristic the given statements were of them (e.g. “i want other people to accept me”) on a scale of 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely). 9 social anxiety. a participant’s general, non-clinical, sense of social anxiety was examined using the social anxiety subscale of the self-consciousness scale (fenigstein, scheier, & buss, 1975; α=.84). they responded to the provided statements and indicated how characteristic they were of them on a scale of 1(extremely uncharacteristic) to 5 (extremely characteristic). parasocial relationship strength the strength of parasocial attachment between the participant and the persona were measured using an adapted version of the parasocial relationship scale (hartmann, stuke & daschmann, 2008; α =.82). questions were reworded to reflect a parasocial relationship with the media persona they previously specified (e.g. “my favorite racing driver makes me feel as comfortable as when i am with friends” is changed to “my favorite character makes me feel as comfortable as when i am with friends”). participants responded with their level of agreement on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). results all analyses were conducted using spss after the data was cleaned for quality and continuous variables were standardized into z-scores (m = 0, sd = 1). before examining the main hypotheses, independent samples t-tests were conducted to see if there were overall differences between the gender groups of both the cisgender samples (male v. female) and between the transgender (man v. woman) and nonbinary samples. no meaningful gender differences were found between the cisgender men and women and were grouped together during hypothesis testing as the ‘cisgender’ group. there were also no group differences between the transgender and nonbinary participants and thus they were combined into the ‘tnb’ group. no gender differences were found within groups based on gender presentation (male, female, 10 nonbinary). additionally, the three social well-being measures (loneliness, need to belong, and social anxiety) were all significantly correlated with each other (means and correlations presented in table 1) and thus averaged into one composite variable called ‘social well-being’ during hypothesis testing. all means, standard deviations, and t-test results of the group comparisons are presented in table 2 and effect sizes are represented using cohen’s d. table 1 zero-order correlations of social well-being variables variable n m sd 1 2 3 1. loneliness 227 2.890 1.239 2. need to belong 227 3.040 0.831 0.414** 3. social anxiety 227 3.710 0.834 0.386** 0.347** **p < .01 table 2 comparisons between tnb and cisgender samples the first research question sought to replicate previous work supporting that cisgender participants scored higher on offline social support than tnb participants. as expected, tnb participants reported lower offline social support (m=4.73, sd=1.25) compared to cisgender participants (m=5.10, sd=1.25), t(225)=1.64, p=.014, d=1.25. conversely, tnb participants reported more online social support (m=4.83, sd=1.32) compared to the cisgender sample (m=4.05, sd=1.59, t(225)=3.90, p<.001, d=1.48). the single item measures showed interesting results as well, though no predictions were made about them. 41.803% of cisgender participants (n=51) did not know any transgender people in their offline life compared to the 62.245% of tnb individuals who did know someone variables tnb cisgender t(225) p cohen’s d n m sd n m sd 1. irl social support 98 4.730 1.249 129 5.101 1.250 -2.224 0.014 1.250 2. online social support 98 4.830 1.316 129 4.050 1.588 3.903 <.001 1.477 3. social well-being 98 3.519 0.597 129 3.004 0.690 5.897 <.001 0.652 4. psr strength 98 3.770 0.494 129 3.650 0.534 1.639 0.051 0.517 11 who shared their identity (n=61). in the cisgender sample seven participants failed to answer this question but were still included in analysis because they answered more than 90% of the entire survey. even fewer cisgender participants knew a transgender or nonbinary person online, though every participant answered this question (35.659%, n=46). conversely, 81.633% of transgender participants knew someone who shared their identity online (n=80). the second research question asked if tnb individuals would score lower than the cisgender sample on social well-being measures. an independent samples t-test was again used to examine group differences in the need for social well-being. as predicted, tnb individuals reported significantly worse social well-being (m=3.52, sd=0.60) than the cisgender sample (m=3.00, sd=0.69, t(225)=-5.90, p<.001, d=.65). the final research question examined if tnb individuals report stronger parasocial relationship strength than cisgender participants even when exposure frequency is controlled for. independent samples t-tests showed no significant differences between cisgender and tnb participants on the measure of psr strength (t(225)=1.639, p=0.051 d=.52). it should be noted that the cutoff for significance level was p < .05, however the p-level of the data was very close to statistical significance at p= .051 (see table 2). this finding was still found even when controlling for exposure frequency. discussion transgender and nonbinary individuals are extremely underrepresented in the wider literature, even the subfield studying the lgbtq+ community most often focuses on sexual orientation rather than marginalized gender identities. the goal of the present study was to examine how transgender and nonbinary individuals differ from cisgender participants on measures of perceived social support, social well-being, and parasocial relationship strength. 12 based on previous research it was hypothesized that tnb individuals would report less offline social interaction and worse social well-being compared to their cisgender peers. we also expected to find that tnb individuals would report stronger psrs than the cisgender sample. the first hypothesis was supported and showed tnb individuals reported lower offline support compared to the cisgender sample but indicated the tnb group had greater online social support. this finding replicated past studies showing people identifying as transgender or nonbinary report less in-person social support than cisgender people (o’handley & courtice, 2022; rutter, 2007). the second hypothesis was also supported; transgender and nonbinary individuals reported significantly worse social well-being compared to the cisgender sample. hypothesis three, however, was not supported as there were no significant differences between the tnb and cisgender groups in psr strength. taken together, the study’s findings imply that individuals who are transgender or nonbinary experience less offline support and thus may seek more online support. while the measures of social well-being did not differentiate between offline and online interactions, the tnb group reported worse overall social well-being. it is possible that the lower offline support and social well-being may contribute to seeking more online connections, though this association cannot be made from the present data. some of those online connections may then be classified as psrs, which are considered a form of online support. the perceived social support measure did not ask the participants to specify if the online connections were psrs but given that all participants were able to think of a character they strongly related to, it is possible that form of relationship could be included because while the difference in psr strength was not statistically significant between groups, it was still close and may warrant future consideration. as psrs are associated with positive well-being outcomes, they may still be beneficial for individuals who 13 have a marginalized identity by providing a sense of connection when social needs cannot be satisfied in reciprocal relationships. conclusion and future directions as with any study, there are a few limitations to address. first, the study was conducted online rather than in the laboratory. while this is not a limitation alone, the online study may have unintentionally biased participants to report higher levels of online social support since online communication may be more salient on a crowdsourcing website. a second limitation is that the study design is correlational, and thus causal conclusions cannot be made about the findings. namely, this study can not establish if tnb participants report lower in-person support and social well-being because of their identity or due to unaccounted factors. future studies should examine additional moderating variables to control for outside confounds or employ an experimental design to test these associations. similarly, a potential future direction could examine characteristics that predict stronger psrs in this population. while there was no statistical difference in psr strength between the two groups despite the differing social well-being outcomes, there may be additional moderators affecting the relationship that were not examined in this study. for example, if the personae represent some aspect of the individual’s identity, such as their gender, psr strength may increase, leading to greater well-being outcomes. additionally, this study is the first to examine a transgender and nonbinary sample in the psr literature. transgender and nonbinary identities are woefully underrepresented in psychological literature, and many studies using this population focus on the majority cisgender population and their attitudes towards tnb individuals rather than the community members themselves. future studies should be designed looking at this 14 population both in a general sense, and 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(1988). the multidimensional scale of perceived social support. journal of personality assessment, 52(1), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2 microsoft word 2189 opella optimization in academia: minimizing cost of faculty budget on term‐by‐term basis  justin o’pella  mathematics    introduction  the focus of this report is to minimize the adjunct faculty budget for a graduate program  at a small, private university on a term‐by‐term basis while providing high quality instruction to  the  students.  the  adjunct  faculty  budget  in  this  paper  consists  of  two  components:  adjunct  faculty stipends and overload payments to full‐time faculty if he/she is teaching a course past the  load stated in the full‐time faculty’s contract with the university. for example, the university in  the  report  is  a  teaching  university where most  full‐time  faculty  teach  4  courses  per  term.  teaching these 4 courses per term does not affect the adjunct budget because it is part of the  faculty’s yearly salary. however, full‐time faculty may have the opportunity to teach an additional  course and receive overload compensation. this overload compensation would come out of the  adjunct faculty budget. this paper develops a mathematical model for the scheduling process  and uses integer programming to find the optimal solution.    the course scheduling process  for  the university  is an  iterative process  that begins by  using the course offerings in the term from the last academic year as a template for the course  offerings in the term for the next academic year. for example, the 2017 spring semester schedule  is not built  from scratch but uses the 2016 spring semester schedule as a template. although  convenient,  this method often  leads  to minimal changes and can  result  in program directors  following patterns over  time  that may not be optimal  in a complete  sense. rather  than only  making changes to the schedule if a new adjunct faculty member is hired when another faculty  member  leaves  the  university  or  if  a  new  course  is  offered,  this  report  provides  a  strategic  approach by developing a model  to assign  faculty on a  term‐by‐term basis  to deliver optimal  instruction while minimizing cost to the adjunct faculty budget. once the model is put in place,  there is opportunity to perform sensitivity analysis on adjustments of the parameters to analyze  changes in the optimal solution. lastly, the model can be used as a benchmark for how effective  the current scheduling process is or as a guide to a program director new to the course scheduling  process.      this  report  includes a  total of 20  instructors; 14 adjuncts and 6  full‐time  faculty. the  courses  in  the  report  are  for  the  2017  spring  semester.  the  program  director  has  already  determined the courses on the schedule. there are 13 different courses and a total of 16 sections  (3 of the courses have 2 sections). the courses cover a wide range of topics, ranging from areas  in business to technical design. the optimal value of the objective function will be the minimal  value in usd needed to teach courses subject to the following constraints:   an  adjunct  faculty  cannot  teach more  than 9.75 work  load units  (wlu). each  course  carries  a  number  of  work‐load  units.  the  combination  of  courses  an  adjunct  faculty  is assigned to must be  less than 9.75 wlu.   this  is a university  standard set to ensure all adjunct faculty remain part‐time employees.   full‐time  faculty are permitted  to  teach only one overload. a  full‐time  faculty  member must also be willing  to  teach  the course as an overload before being  assigned to teach the course as an overload.   any assignment of a full‐time faculty member to a course, that is not an overload  assignment, must fit within the load of a full‐time faculty member as determined  per the full‐time faculty member’s contract with the university.   there must be one and only one faculty assigned to each course. there are no  opportunities for team teaching.   any faculty member assigned to a course must be eligible to teach the course. for  example, a faculty member may be qualified to teach a marketing course but not  a supply chain course or vice versa.   any faculty member assigned to a course must be eligible to teach the course and  be able to do so effectively. faculty reviews completed by students will be used  to make sure the quality of teaching on average in the program meets a certain  standard.  method    the  report utilizes  integer  linear programming  to achieve an optimal  solution  for  the  problem.  integer  linear  programming  is  derived  from  linear  programming,  which  uses  a  formulated mathematical model  to  reach an optimal goal. the  requirement of binary  integer  values is the only way this problem deviates from a linear programming formulation (hillier and  lieberman 474). in this case, the optimal solution is to minimize the adjunct faculty budget while  providing high quality  instruction to students. lingo software will be used to find the solution.  although  it would be  time  consuming,  the binary  integer programming  “branch  and bound”  algorithm is a way to solve the problem by hand. branch‐and‐bound is an effective enumeration  procedure especially known for application to integer linear program problems.  a problem with  a very large, finite number of feasible solutions is divided into smaller and smaller subproblems  that can be more easily solved (hillier and lieberman 502).    assumptions    the  model  satisfies  the  mathematical  assumptions  of  certainty,  additivity  and  proportionality but not divisibility since the decision variables can only take on values of 0 or 1.    table 1. mathematical assumptions assumption  definition  assumption satisfied  certainty  values of parameters are known constants  satisfied  additivity  every function in model is the sum of individual  contributions of respective activities  satisfied  proportionality  contribution of each activity to the objective  function is proportional to the level of activity (no  exponents greater than the power of one in the  model)  satisfied  divisibility  decision variables can take on any value, not  restricted to integers  not satisfied; binary integers  utilized in model  (adapted from hillier and lieberman 38)   below are the assumptions in the context of the report:   the program director has already prepared the course offerings for the 2017 spring term.  it  is assumed  the program director prepared  the optimal  selection of  courses  for  the  schedule    faculty  are  determined  eligible  to  teach  a  course  based  on  his/her  professional  background. for example, a professor may be qualified to teach a prototyping pattern‐ making course but not a supply chain course.    stipend rates are fixed for each instructor.   the course selection for the semester set by the program director does not change and  the courses will have enough enrollment to run in the spring term.   the maximum number of course a full‐time faculty member can teach in the program at  no  cost  because  of  his/her  contract with  the  university  is  collected  by  reviewing  the  complete 2017 spring schedule already available at the university. the project assumes  the schedule is already prepared and all other faculty assignments are known.   the model assumes that adjunct faculty are not teaching in any other program on campus  so the only work load measures for the adjunct faculty are the assignments in the program  in this report.   all faculty are assumed able to teach at the day/time whenever the courses are offered  on the schedule   full‐time faculty assigned to a course are not included in the objective function since the  faculty teach these courses as part of their university contract and these funds are part of  the yearly salary  for  the  faculty, which  is not part of  the term‐by‐term adjunct  faculty  budget.  the  objective  function  seeks  to minimize  this  term‐by‐term  adjunct  faculty  budget.   the term‐by‐term adjunct faculty budget includes adjunct stipends and overload stipends  only.    the quality rating of an instructor is fixed and does not change with the amount of courses  an instructor is assigned   only  one  faculty  can  teach  a  course;  there  are  no  co‐teaching  or  team‐teaching  assignments.    model formulation    table 2 contains description of the variables used in the report.    table 2. description of variables variable  description   type  i  course   index variable  j  section of course i   index variable  k  instructor   index variable  c  cost in usd to teach courses for the program in the  2017 spring term  objective value  f_kij  full‐time professor, teaching course as part of full‐ time position of employment, f=1 if k is teaching  section j of i, 0 otherwise  decision variable  a_kij  adjunct instructor, a=1 if k is teaching section j of i, 0  otherwise  decision variable  o_kij  overload course assignment for full‐time professor,  o=1 if k is teaching section j of i as overload, 0  otherwise  decision variable  s_k  stipend for instructor in usd per credit. if instructor is  an adjunct, the instructor is paid a stipend. if full time  faculty, the instructor is due stipend only if  assignment is an overload to the full‐time faculty’s  load. full‐time faculty assignment within load are cost  of $0 since they are salaried employees.   parameter  w_k  full‐time faculty willingness to teach a course as  overload assignment. w=1 if faculty willing, 0  otherwise.  parameter  e_ki  eligibility for faculty k to teach course i, where e=1 if  faculty k is capable of teaching course i, 0 otherwise  parameter  q_k  quality rating of instructor, measured on scale 1‐5; 1  is least effective, 5 is most effective  parameter  m_k  max course(s) a full‐time professor can teach in the  program at $0 cost per the faculty’s university  contract  parameter  h_i  workload units (wlu) for course i. as a consistent  measure to track the work involved in a course, each  course has a total wlu. for example, a 3.0 credit  lecture course is a 3.0 wlu.  wlus vary based on  course teaching method (lecture, studio, lab, by‐ appointment, etc.)  parameter  c_i  credits per course  parameter  n_k  number of instructors  parameter  n_a  number of adjuncts  parameter  n_c  number of courses  parameter  n_i  number of sections of course i  parameter    it  is  important  to  note  that  instructor  (k)  indexes  the  faculty  from  1‐20.  when  representing the faculty  in the model, these values are written out as text to make sure each  variable is unique. for example, a_1111 could mean adjunct faculty 11, teaching course 1, section  1 or adjunct faculty 1, teaching course 11, section 1. this  issue  is avoided by representing the  faculty as a_eleven11 (faculty eleven, teaching course 1, section 1).    table 3 is the model formulation.   table 3. mathematical model consisting of objective function and nine functional constraints. objective function:    min c = ∑ ∑ ∑ ∗ ∗___ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∗ ∗__     subject to:    1. ∑ ∑ ∗ 9.75 ∀ ;__     2. ∑ ∑ 1 20;    3. ∑ ∑ 20;__     4. ∑ ∑ ∑ 1 ∀ ;_     5. ∑ ∑ 20;__ 6. ∑ ∑ 5 ∗ ∀ ;    7. ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 5 ∗ 20;    8. 1/16 ∑ ∑ ∗ ∗ ∗ 4.25 ∀ _   9. all akij, fkij, okij binary          the data    figures 1 – 5 provide the data for the report.     figure 1. faculty teach course eligibility matrix. x indicates faculty i eligible to teach course k    k=1  k=2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  i=1                                         x                 x  i=2                                   x                          3                 x     x           x                    x     4     x                             x                          5                       x           x        x  x  x     x     6           x  x     x              x        x  x  x  x        7           x  x     x              x        x  x  x  x        8           x  x     x              x        x  x  x  x        9                    x                                         10                                            x                 11                                            x                 12              x                                x  x  x        13  x     x                 x  x  x     x                          figure 2. data on faculty eligibilty to teach courses. data is binary where e_ki = 1 if faculty i is eligible to teach course k; 0 otherwise. only faculty 1 and 2 displayed due to size of data. e_ki              e_one1  0     e_two1  0  e_one2  0     e_two2  0  e_one3  0     e_two3  0  e_one4  0     e_two4  1  e_one5  0     e_two5  0  e_one6  0     e_two6  0  e_one7  0     e_two7  0  e_one8  0     e_two8  0  e_one9  0     e_two9  0  e_one10  0     e_two10  0  e_one11  0     e_two11  0  e_one12  0     e_two12  0  e_one13  1     e_two13  0    figure 3. data on sections of courses with credits and work-load units course  i  j  c_i  h_i  t‐7559‐1  1  1  3  3  t‐7559‐2  1  2  3  3  g‐6000‐1  2  1  3  3  g‐6111‐1  3  1  3  3  g‐6111‐2  3  2  3  3  g‐6112‐1  4  1  3  3  g‐6221‐1  5  1  3  3  g‐7221‐1  6  1  3  3  g‐7222‐1  7  1  3  3  g‐7223‐1  8  1  3  3  g‐7229‐1  9  1  3  3  g‐7332a‐1  10  1  0.5  0.5  g‐7332b‐1  11  1  0.5  0.5  g‐7993‐1  12  1  3  3  gf‐5001‐1  13  1  3  3  gf‐5001‐2  13  2  3  3    figure 4. data on faculty; stipend, quality rating, adjunct or full-time faculty (binary), number of courses in load for fulltime faculty, full-time faculty willingness to teach course as an overload (binary) k  s_k  q_k  adj  ft  m_k for  ft  w_k for  ft  1    $1,335.67   5  1  0        2    $1,190.00   3.7  1  0        3    $1,138.67   4.3  1  0        4    $1,553.00   5  1  0        5    $1,330.00   4.67  1  0        6    $1,581.00   4.8  1  0        7    $1,122.00   5  1  0        8    $1,550.00   3.55  1  0        9    $1,184.33   5  1  0        10    $1,150.33   4.8  1  0        11    $1,302.67   4  1  0        12    $1,360.00   4.93  1  0        13    $1,311.33   5  1  0        14    $1,277.00   4.16  1  0        15    $1,333.00   4.64  0  1  2  1  16    $1,333.33   4.2  0  1  0  1  17    $1,333.33   4.53  0  1  0  0  18    $1,250.00   4.13  0  1  0  0  19    $1,250.00   4.64  0  1  0  1  20    $1,333.33   4.5  0  1  0  1    figure 5. data on number of adjunct faculty, number of total faculty and number of sections per course n_c  13  n_a  14  n_k  20  n_1  2  n_2  1  n_3  2  n_4  1  n_5  1  n_6  1  n_7  1  n_8  1  n_9  1  n_10  1  n_11  1  n_12  1  n_13  2    analysis and verification    for ease of analysis and verification, the results are presented in table 4.     table 4. model results course  section  faculty  faculty  eligible  to  teach  course  i  q_k  m_k  w_k  o_k  total  h_i for  faculty  k  salary of  faculty k  for course  i  1  1  a_14  yes  4.16  n/a  n/a  n/a  6  $3831  1  2  a_14  yes  4.16  n/a  n/a  n/a  6  $3831  2  1  a_12  yes  4.93  n/a  n/a  n/a  9  $4080  3  1   a_12  yes  4.93  n/a  n/a  n/a  9  $4080  3  2  o_19  yes  4.64  0  1  1  n/a  $3750  4  1  a_12  yes  4.93  n/a  n/a  n/a  9  $4080  5  1  f_15  yes  4.64  yes, m_15  = 2  n/a  n/a  n/a  $0  6  1  a_5  yes  4.67  n/a  n/a  n/a  6  $3990  7  1  a_7  yes  5  n/a  n/a  n/a  9  $3366  8  1  a_7  yes  5  n/a  n/a  n/a  9  $3366  9  1  a_7  yes  5  n/a  n/a  n/a  9  $3366  10  1  f_15  yes  4.64  yes, m_15  = 2  n/a  n/a  n/a  $0  11  1  o_15  yes  4.64  m_15 = 2  but f_15  already  assigned  to course  5 section  1 and  course 10  section 1  so now is  assigned  overload  to course  11 section  1  1  1  n/a  $666.5  12  1  a_5  yes  4.67  n/a  n/a  n/a  6  $3990  13  1  a_3  yes  4.3  n/a  n/a  n/a  6  $3416.01  13  2  a_3  yes  4.3  n/a  n/a  n/a  6  $3416.01  total  $48718.52  (matches  lingo  optimal  solution)      there are a few things to note from the table.   1. each course has one and only one faculty assignment.  2. each faculty assigned to a course is eligible to teach that course.  3. full‐time  faculty  15  is  the only  faculty member with  room  in his/her  full‐time  university contract and the model takes advantage of this and assigns the faculty  member to two courses at cost of $0.  4. all adjunct faculty assigned to courses are within the 9.75 wlu limit.    the partial result from lingo software is in figure 6. full model formulation and solution in lingo  has been omitted from report due to length.  figure 6. partial lingo result output       validation  the results of the report provide interesting insight on several areas. due to many of the  assumptions, it is unlikely the solution to the original problem can be fully applied to the course  schedule. for example, this model does not take into consideration the meeting days/times of  courses, which can prevent a more cost‐effective  instructor  from being assigned  to a course.  however, the specific assignments in the model can be a helpful guide to the program director  who may not be able to identify inefficiencies in the course planning procedure. also, the optimal  value of the model is a benchmark and measuring stick for how efficient the current scheduling  of the program is. more research could be done to determine a fair level of tolerance for how far  off  the program director’s planned budget  is  compared  to  the optimal  solution given by  the  model.      there  is also  some  concern about how well  the assumptions hold  in practicality.  it  is  reasonable  to question  if  the quality of  instruction diminishes as  faculty  teach more courses,  specifically full‐time faculty overloads. along the same lines, the model does not factor in how  teaching assignments affect other service assignments for faculty members across the university.  the model delivers an optimal value in usd and does not take into account other costs, such as  retention of  faculty members, searches  for new  faculty members, training and/or upkeep per  faculty member as cost to the administration, etc. more research is needed to determine a strong  measure for quality of instructor. this model uses student reviews to determine effectiveness of  faculty member and ignores unbalanced data. student reviews are only one aspect of quality of  instruction. other contributing factors to quality of instructors missing from the model are peer  reviews and yearly evaluations. as a result, there is a slight margin of error for each q_k value  and the values should be interpreted only as a proxy for the true q_k value of each instructor.       a convenient way to verify the results  is to compare the  integer programming solution  with the actual teaching assignments made by the program director for the spring term. table 5  summarizes the comparison.    table 5. verification of results. comparison of integer programming solution to course schedule developed by program director. course   section  ip solution ‐  assigned  faculty  program  director  schedule ‐  assigned  faculty  match?  1  1  14  14  yes  1  2  14  14  yes  2  1  12  12  yes  3  1  12  6  no  3  2  19  12  no  4  1  12  12  yes  5  1  15  8  no  6  1  5  7  no  7  1  7  7  yes  8  1  7  15  no  9  1  7  7  yes  10  1  15  19  no  11  1  15  15  yes  12  1  5  16  no  13  1  3  13  no  13  2  3  1  no      seven of  the  sixteen assignments match. the current,  iterative process  for  scheduling  courses  and  assigning  faculty  has  the  potential  to  conceal  improvements  in  the  scheduling  process and can lead to discrepancies. other possible reasons for the difference of the integer  programming  solution  from  the program director’s assignments are  taking  into consideration  meeting days/times of courses and/or faculty data changing after the original data collection. for  example, a full‐time faculty member may be removed from a course in another program at the  university and gain an m_k value for the program in this report. changes at the university take  place on a continuous basis so  it  is difficult to perfectly capture the data at one point  in time.  however, the model enables a convenient way to review discrepancies.       sensitivity analysis    table 6 summarizes seven different scenarios for sensitivity analysis.    table 6. sensitivity analysis on seven scenarios represented contextually and mathematically with percentage change in results and comments. scenario  model  adjustment  mathematical representation  percent  change   in  objective  value  comments  1  change  adjunct faculty  load limit from  9.0 wlu units  to 12.75 wlu  units  ∗ 12.75 ∀ ; __     ‐1.3%  increasing the  number of wlu units  an adjunct faculty  member can teach  allows more cost‐ effective instructor(s)  to teach more  course(s)  2  do not allow  full‐time  faculty any  courses as  overload  remove okij variables from model  +10.3%  by not allowing full‐ time faculty to teach 1  course as an overload,  more expensive  adjunct faculty must  be used  3  allow full‐time  faculty 2  overloads,  assumes a full‐ time faculty  member is  willing to take  on 2 overloads  if he/she  already willing  to take on 1  2 20;  ‐7.4%  by allowing full‐time  faculty to teach 2  courses as overload,  more expensive  adjunct faculty are  not needed  4  adjust average  course quality  rating from  4.25 to 4.50  1/16 ∗ ∗ _ ∗ 4.50   +13.73%  more expensive to  administer higher  quality instruction  5  allow co‐ teaching/team‐ teaching  assignments  (decision  variables can  be any real,  non‐negative  number)       fkij   0    okij   0    akij   0  ‐1.1%  model assigns  combination of  faculty to courses to  minimize cost  6  introduce a  new full‐time  faculty  member  capable of  teaching the  design  oriented  courses in the  program with  an m_k value  of 4, assumes  q_k = 4.50 and  w_k = 0.            eligible to teach courses i= 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,  9      ‐31.6%  cost of full‐time  faculty is absorbed in  yearly salary, reduces  term‐by‐term faculty  budget  7  introducing a  new full‐time  faculty  member  capable of  teaching the  business  oriented  courses in the  program with  an m_k value  of 4, assumes  q_k = 4.50 and  w_k=0.        eligible to teach courses i= 5, 6, 7, 8, 10,  11, 12  ‐30.5%  cost of full‐time  faculty is absorbed in  yearly salary, reduces  term‐by‐term faculty  budget            the results in table 6 provide insight on various scenarios for sensitivity analysis. allowing  adjunct faculty to be assigned more work‐load units (wlu) and, therefore, the opportunity to  teach an additional  three  credit  lecture  course, decreases  cost  to  the budget. not only does  allowing full‐time faculty the opportunity to teach two overloads decrease cost but also removing  the  opportunity  to  teach  one  overload  for  full‐time  faculty  increases  cost.  removing  the  constraint that the decision variables must be binary and allowing the decision variables to take  on any nonnegative value enables the model to assign faculty to a fraction of a course for team‐ teaching possibilities. (note: while relaxing this constraint allows the decision variables to be any  real, nonnegative number, functional constraint #4 forces the decision variable(s) for a course to  be equal to 1.) team‐teaching assignments to courses result  in reduced costs.   many of these  results rely on the assumption of certainty, where quality of instructor is held constant. however,  there is concern about how the quality of instruction changes based on the number of teaching  assignments for an instructor or the number of instructors assigned to a course.       the sensitivity analysis creates a fictional scenario where two full‐time faculty of different  backgrounds are considered as new, full‐time faculty dedicated exclusively to the program. the  faculty are divided into two categories: a design oriented faculty member and a business oriented  faculty member. these two categories are very generic but illustrate the usefulness of the model  to compare the hiring of a new full‐time faculty member. the model compares any changes in  the optimal solution if one new full‐time faculty member is added over the other faculty member,  which can affect the combination of assignments for the remaining adjunct faculty to courses.  the  same  sensitivity  analysis  can  be  done  on more  specific  categories  tailored  to  different  candidates’  backgrounds  such  as  business  management,  business  marketing,  fashion  and  garment design, manufacturing and supply chain, etc.     alternative model    an alternative method to solve the existing model is to eliminate the e_k variables for all  adjunct  and overload decision  variables.  in essence,  all  faculty become eligible  to  teach  any  course as an adjunct or overload assignment. to balance this, in place of the eligibility constraints,  faculty that are not eligible to teach a course receive an exorbitant penalty (a big m stipend rate)  if assigned to a course he/she is ineligible to teach. the m symbolically represents a huge positive  number (hillier and lieberman 117). thus, even though the model eliminates the e_k constraints  for adjunct and overload faculty, the integer program is forced to avoid assigning ineligible faculty  to courses by the exorbitant penalties on stipend rates. the results of this model are the same  but this alternative method has 182 less constraints than the original model.      an alternative way to formulate the problem is to develop a “knapsack” model.     ∗ ∗ for __ ∗ ∗ for __        the  “knapsack”  problem  chooses  from  a  set  of  values  to  seek which  value  is most  desirable  for  the model without violating a constraint  (mcmillan 425). the objective  function  above consists of a ratio  for each  faculty’s quality rating over his/her stipend rate, where the  larger the ratio, the more desirable the instructor is. this is the value the “knapsack” value seeks  to maximize.  the  set  of  values  under  consideration  is  the  calculated  ratio  for  each  faculty  member. retaining the binary integer properties of the original model, the highest ratios for each  course receive a 1 for its corresponding decision variable and all else are 0. this model requires  manual checking of all constraints until an optimal and feasible solution is found.     conclusion    formulating  a mathematical model  to  assign  faculty  to  courses  for  a  program  at  a  university is a powerful tool that provides a strategic approach to scheduling on a term‐by‐term  basis.  while  there  are  assumptions  in  the  model  and  limitations,  the  model  serves  as  a  benchmark  for  comparison  to  the  current,  iterative  scheduling  process  and  as  a  guide  for  program directors new to the job of scheduling courses at the university. further analysis can be  done on  the parameters of  the model  to  reveal  the  impact of potential policy and personnel  changes. this proved very insightful showing that different scenarios can positively or negatively  affect the adjunct budget, with changes in magnitude ranging from 1.1% to 31.6%.      the  2017  spring  semester  schedule  created  and  implemented  by  the  program  director  consisted of 25% full‐time faculty and 75% adjunct faculty. this discrepancy is explained by the  fact the program is currently in transition and is expected to hire a new, full‐time professor for  the  program  in  the  fall  responsible  for  teaching  four  courses.  after  factoring  in  these  four  assignments to a  full‐time  faculty member  in  future terms, there  is still a  large percentage of  courses  taught by adjunct  faculty. at  the university  level,  the  spring 2017  semester  schedule  consists of about 52% full‐time faculty and 48% adjunct faculty. the model can be extended to  other programs and the university as a whole. analysis at the university level provides the ability  to evaluate financial impact of policies such as full‐time faculty teaching load, course releases for  full‐time faculty to research and sabbaticals. also, it is important to note fourteen of the courses  in this report have a work‐load unit value of 3.0 and the remaining two courses have a work‐load  unit value of 0.50. depending on the method of a course at the university, work‐load units range  from  0.50  to  8.0 with many  values  in  between  at  various  intervals.  the model  is  carefully  constructed  to  take  into consideration diverse work‐load unit values and will still provide  the  optimal solution based on these parameters.    this report is a strong first step into the analysis of course scheduling at a university. the  representation of the scheduling process  in a mathematical model has tremendous value and  many advantages. my suggestions for further study are below:   apply the model to a larger group of courses, across multiple programs that share courses  to analyze how professors teaching in different programs affects scheduling   more research in determining which courses should be offered on the schedule   a more complete approach to budget analysis that takes into consideration total cost of  the university, not just adjunct budget (i.e. full‐time faculty annual salary, cost of hiring,  etc.)   more research to determine how to measure quality of instructor          work cited    hillier,  frederick  s.  and  lieberman,  gerald  j.  introduction  to  operations  research.  10th  ed.,  mcgraw hill.      2015.   mcmillian, jr. claude. mathematical programming. 2nd ed., john wiley & sons, inc. 1975.  1 trans utopianism and the utopia of transness in leslie feinberg’s stone butch blues jesse schwartz english theory can sometimes only find its synthesis in fiction. the debate within queer theory between the anti-social and the utopian has been dominating discourse for nearly a decade. predating this debate but in many ways anticipating it, leslie feinberg understood the difficultly of envisioning and engendering a queer future. the entire concept of the future is problematic when considering the dominant notion of time is constructed in service of capitalism and heteronormativity. thus, to theorize a queer future is to re-theorize time. indeed, despite their many divergences, queer theorists seem to agree on the need to resist and reconceptualize what josé esteban muñoz named “straight time” (munoz 25). other difficulties face those brave enough to consider the future, such as how to survive the present, and what to do with the past. feinberg’s groundbreaking 1993 novel stone butch blues, widely regarded as the first novel by a transgender writer about a transgender protagonist, offers one set of answers to these questions. in this paper, i will attempt a reading of the first chapter of stone butch blues, which is a letter written by the protagonist, jess goldberg, to a lost love, theresa. this is not to say that the first chapter is the only -or even most -important part of the book; on the contrary, feinberg’s novel is endlessly generative and as such, warrants focused attention to each word. through this close-reading, i will show that there is a specifically trans utopianism to be found alongside the trauma in stone butch blues, one that bravely hopes for a just and liberated future while refusing to turn away from its traumatic history. trans utopianism is born from trans people, whose existence can be read as proof of the inadequacy and insolvency of gender and the broader systems of taxonomy that structure the present world, as well as the embodiment of a radically 2 different future. as an extension of muñoz’s queer utopianism, which itself is an extension of marxist utopianism, trans utopianism has the potential to offer an intervention into a somewhat stagnated discourse of queer theory and -in the spirit of utopia -signal towards a future. in order to argue that stone butch blues furthers queer utopianism, it is necessary to look at the theory itself. in his seminal 2009 book cruising utopia, muñoz argues that “queerness is not yet here...queerness exists for us an ideality that can be distilled from the past and used to imagine a future” (muñoz 1). despite the connotations of utopia, this imagined future is not of some mythic world, but is instead produced from the quotidian material past. using the terms of the marxist utopian thinker ernst bloch, muñoz advocates for a looking back on that which is “no-longer-conscious” to engender that which is “not-yet-here” (muñoz 12). working with an archive of queer artists such as frank o’hara and eileen myles, muñoz finds utopia in their descriptions of quotidian moments of their queer lives. these are moments, he argues, when utopia has already been realized, which disproves the notion that it is an impractical or naïve fiction. these moments not only serve as the models for the future, but they themselves are the future, as queerness also warrants a radical reconceptualization of time: “queerness’s time is a stepping out of the linearity of straight time. straight time is a self-naturalizing temporality. straight time’s ‘presentness’ needs to be phenomenologically questioned” (muñoz 25). the goal of this questioning is to generate a new logic of time to open up space for queerness and queer subjects to exist, and ultimately to resist the present material conditions of oppression and the logic on which it is founded. queer time collapses linear notions of past and future, instead using both to resist the tyranny of the current moment, what muñoz refers to as the “here and now:” “this temporal calculus performed and utilized the past and future as armaments to combat the devastating logic of the world of the here and now, a notion of nothing existing outside the 3 sphere of the current moment, a version of reality that naturalizes cultural logics such as heteronormativity and capitalism” (muñoz 12). queer utopianism, born from marxist utopianism, is ultimately a discourse dedicated to restructuring time in the interest of queer liberation from the present, as well as the realization of the full potentiality of queerness in the future. because the need for a restructuring of time seems close to a given in the field of queer theory, it is important to look at it closer as a potential site of theoretical synthesis. to do so, and particularly in relation to stone butch blues, it is necessary to invoke the work of another important queer theorist, jack halberstam, particularly his 2005 book in a queer time and place: transgender bodies, subcultural lives. halberstam helps us better understand what is at stake in the conversation of queer time: “part of what has made queerness compelling as a form of self-description in the past decade or so has to do with the way it has the potential to open up new life narratives and alternative relations to time and space” (halberstam, queer time and place 1-2). this function of queerness is particularly important to note when considering that the lived experience of so many queer people, including jess in stone butch blues, has been characterized as being “out of time” or “out of place.” building off of marxist thinkers such as david harvey while simultaneously critiquing their negligence of gender, halberstam thinks about how time is constructed not only in service of the ruling class, but also in service of heteropatriarchy, and perhaps most importantly, how these two are related. as that which opposes straight time, queer time is constructed both in opposition to “the logic of capital accumulation,” and “reproductive time” (halberstam, queer time and place 7; 10). importantly, this is not opposition for its own sake; halberstam argues that queer time is fundamentally “also about the potentiality of a life unscripted by the conventions of family, inheritance, and child rearing” 4 (halberstam, queer time and place 2). here halberstam, who is more often aligned with the anti-social camp of queer theory, is identifying the potential for queer utopia. the embrace of queer time and space is future-looking in nature; it will enable entirely different lives -ones not defined by exclusion -for queer people. at the center of any corrective or liberatory project is the idea of hope, which indeed muñoz identifies as his critical methodology. the hope muñoz describes, however, is far from the anesthetized hope invoked by mainstream liberal politics, or what muñoz deems “today’s hamstrung gay agenda” (muñoz 10). instead, the hope of cruising utopia is a brave and radical politics; far from naïve, it is a deeply grounded acknowledgement that while utopian visions will almost inevitably be disappointed, it is necessary to continue to envision a queer future (muñoz 9). despite being published sixteen years before cruising utopia, stone butch blues is a text entrenched in muńoz’s brave methodology of hope. the story opens with a love letter that will likely never get read; its existence is a profound gesture of hope, one that bravely holds with it the pain which inspires it. by writing this letter, jess is seeking refuge from a seemingly inescapable present moment by remembering a past. the letter begins: “i’m lying on my bed tonight missing you, my eyes all swollen, hot tears running down by face” (feinberg 1). jess writes this letter in a moment of pain, looking to the memory of theresa to comfort them.i here, feinberg places jess squarely in the territory of queer time. significantly, the past jess remembers in this letter is far from utopic, dwelling for some time in memories of being sexually and physically brutalized: “they’d handcuff a brother’s wrists to his ankles or chain his face against the bars. they made us watch. sometimes we’d catch the eyes of the terrorized victim, or the soon-to-be, caught in the vise of torture” (feinberg, stone butch blues 4). even in their temporal “escape” from the present jess cannot, or will not, escape their trauma. by writing the 5 letter, jess is signaling towards a utopic future in which theresa may receive it, while also bravely anticipating the disappointment of this future: “maybe someday, passing through this big city, you will stop and read it. maybe you won’t” (feinberg, stone butch blues 6). but by centering their experiences of trauma in the letter, jess is refusing to imagine an ahistorical utopia, or a future disconnected from the trauma of queer history. mostly remarked upon for its scenes of extreme trauma, stone butch blues may seem like a strange choice of texts in which to explore utopia. as jess shows us in their letter, however, in order to hope for a future, one must linger for a while in the pain of the past. in this sense, a turning away from the future is actually a necessary step towards its realization. to help theorize the value of looking backwards towards pain, shame and trauma, it is necessary to invoke the work of heather love, specifically her 2007 book, feeling backwards: loss and the politics of queer history. love’s thesis is centered around what jess teaches us in her letter: despite the impetus to do so, one cannot leave the feelings of the past in a past time. indeed, the past cannot be separate from the present and future. in addition to hindering one’s own ability to move towards a future, forgetting is actually impossible. the past is “something dissonant, beyond our control, and capable of touching us in the present” (love 9-10). further attesting to the myth of straight time, love asserts that the feelings of the past will refuse to stay safely in the temporal past. this is not an idea simply created through queer theory’s resistance to straight time, it is also widely supported by the work of trauma theorists. cathy caruth’s concept of the “belated address” of trauma claims that by definition, trauma is an event too painful to even fully experience in the moment of occurrence, and as such it will inevitably return to be relived in the psyches of the victims (caruth 4). thus, trauma is literally unhinged from linear time and instead exists in queer time alongside utopia – indeed, the two are inextricable. 6 if, as i have argued, utopianism is a brave and grounded politics, part of what makes it brave is it requires the hard work of engaging with the material ugliness of the past, and processing this trauma. in this sense – despite its reputation -queer utopianism is profoundly realistic about the difficulty inherent in its realization. when jess says, “hard to remember that it was illegal then for two women or two men to sway to music together,” the difficulty in remembering this fact is not so much about its contrast to the present, but instead it is the remembering itself that is difficult (feinberg stone butch blues 2). remembering is hard, jess teaches us, but necessary. as readers will come to understand, violence and injustice have structured jess’s life – these experiences continue to affect them in the present, and will be carried into their future. this scene is reminiscent of love’s argument that “modern homosexual identity is formed out of and in relation to the experience of social damage. paying attention to what was difficult in the past may tell us how far we have come, but that is not all it will tell us; it also makes visible the damage that we live with in the present” (love 29). dancing with a person of the same sex may not be illegal at the moment of jess’s letter, but it also symbolizes a reality that is very much not in the past; systemic homophobia and transphobia continue to structure queer life and experience. as long as this is the case, we, along with jess, cannot afford the easier option of forgetting. wanting to forget pain is understandable, but doing so will only service a normative status quo far from the promises of queer utopia. like muñoz, love’s project is also primarily interested in resisting what muñoz calls the “broken down present,” and with it, the encroachment of neoliberalism into queer discourse and politics that has produced today’s homonormative gay agenda (muñoz 30). love locates her resistance in backward feelings: “backward feelings serve as an index to the ruined state of the social world; they indicate 7 continuities between the bad gay past and the present; and they show us the inadequacy of queer narratives of progress” (love 27). these mainstream progress narratives and those invested in queer assimilation adamantly look forward as a way of fighting the stigma attached to queers as backwards. in doing so, however, they declare that bad feelings of the past are not productive to a better future. queer assimilationism is a politics invested in the erasure of queer history. in direct opposition to this erasure, love proclaims, “i insist on the importance of clinging to ruined identities and to histories of injury. resisting the call of gay normalization means refusing to write off the most vulnerable, the least presentable, and all of the dead” (love 30). queer progress narratives position remembering as a hindrance to a better future. one finds a direct channel into muñoz’s utopianism when love argues to the contrary: “it is crucial to find ways of creating and sustaining political hope. but hope that is achieved at the expense of the past cannot serve the future” (love 29). only a hope grounded in history can produce a liberated future. thus, looking forward necessitates first looking back. love begins feeling backwards with: “a central paradox of any transformative criticism is that its dreams for the future are founded on a history of suffering, stigma, and violence…for groups constituted by historical injury, the challenge is to engage with the past without being destroyed by it” (love 1). jess’s letter to theresa directly responds to this challenge. in the first paragraph jess says, “tonight i walked down streets looking for you in every woman’s face, as i have each night of this lonely exile” (feinberg, stone butch blues 1). the readers do not yet know how long jess’s lonely exile has been, but we understand that jess has been looking backwards for some time. while one motivation for writing the letter is to retreat from a current moment in memories of the past, another is possibly to put an end to this experience of looking for theresa every night. towards the end of the letter, they write “i can’t think about you anymore, the pain is swallowing me up. i 8 have to put your memory away, like a precious sepia photograph” (feinberg stone butch blues 6). here, jess is saying on a literal level that they have to stop writing this letter, but they also may mean that they have to stop thinking about theresa in general, before the pain swallows them up. in love’s words, jess has engaged with the past without letting it destroy them. writing this letter has been the act of putting theresa’s memory away. the letter provided jess the space to write their own narrative, and in doing so, jess has processed some of their trauma. they have done the hard work of engaging, and now they may be allowed to move into the future. love’s work reclaims the importance of queerness’ ugly history and unpopular feelings, and most importantly, those who embody them. as a working-class trans /genderqueer person, jess is securely positioned amongst the “most vulnerable and least presentable” (love 30). as such, they personally feel the profound alienating effects of homonormative politics. in the beginning of their letter, jess describes a date they went on with someone they were set up with because they were both “into politics:” “well, we sat in a coffee shop and she talked about democratic politics and seminars and photography and problems with her co-op and how she’s so opposed to rent control. small wonder – daddy is a real-estate developer” (feinberg 1). even before knowing much about jess’s own class status or the politics they are “into,” we can gather from their tone that jess does not share these bourgeois, “democratic” politics. the profound distance between jess and their date is only intensified: “then she finally said how she hates this society for what it’s done to ‘women like me’ who hate themselves so much they have to look and act like men” (feinberg 1). here, feinberg is making clear the ideological consistency between housing policies that marginalize working-class people, and gay politics that marginalize gender nonconforming people, particularly butch women or other trans-masculine people. this scene echoes what muńoz identifies as the stakes of queer utopianism when he says: “seeing queerness 9 as horizon rescues and emboldens concepts such as freedom that have been withered by the touch of neoliberal thought and gay assimilationist politics” (muñoz 32). by opening the novel with such a strong indictment of this political agenda, feinberg firmly aligns hirselfii with muñoz, and lays the foundation for the explicitly radical, utopian politics of stone butch blues. having established the potential for utopianism to be read within stone butch blues, the next part of this essay will attempt to establish what is specifically trans about this utopianism, and indeed what is utopian about transness itself. to address the latter specifically, i will use catarina nirta’s 2018 book marginal bodies, trans utopias. the newness of this text, as well as the fact that nirta is so far the only person to publish a book on trans utopianism, points to the potential burgeoning of trans-utopianism as a theoretical framework. nirta’s book explores in depth halberstam’s assertion that “the transgender body function in relation to time and space as a rich site for fantasies of futurity and anachronism” (halberstam, queer time and place 15). here, the trans body functions as a vehicle for locating utopia both in the past and future. as such, it is also a site of potent resistance to that which structures the realities of the present. nirta identifies the concept of “transgender to be the most powerful example of the failure of gender the way it is traditionally understood. not only is it at odds with clear-cut ideals of male and female, but it is in possession of a corporeality that dramatically challenges such essentialism” (nirta 173). transgender bodies and identities lay bare the myths of gender under which we operate. in doing so, they also function as a corrective to the current system of gender. by existing, trans people both challenge the logic of the present world and imagine a different one. their existence forces one “to imagine what might be of people’s lived experience and relations if gender imprinting divisions did not hold such social and political supremacy” (nirta 173). transness is an embodiment of utopian resistance to the present and hope toward a future. 10 alternative, nonnormative, and marginal masculinities, or masculinities that present on bodies which were not assigned male at birth, are a site of utopic potentiality. these masculinities are proof of the possibility of another world of masculine gender presentation, one in which it is divorced from the structural power (violence) of manhood within patriarchy. like other marginalized people, people who inhabit such masculinities are in fact subject to the extreme violence of patriarchal power, the experience of which stone butch blues documents in painful detail. throughout the novel, jess and the other butches are punished, shamed, and ridiculed for their “imitation” of men. significantly, this behavior comes from both inside and outside of queer communities, as is made apparent when jess’s date implies that jess looks and acts “like a man” as a result of internalized misogyny and homophobia. as we have seen, however, within trauma is utopic potentiality. the embodied trauma of being masculine but not male is often referred to as “gender dysphoria,” the effects of which halberstam argues can “produce new and fully functional masculinities” in his book female masculinity (halberstam, female masculinity 119). these are the “kinds of masculinity that seem most informative about gender relations and most generative of social change” (halberstam, female masculinity 3). jess inhabits one such masculinity. in addition to halberstam, judith butler can help us to theorize the powerful challenge masculinities like jess’s can pose to gender, power, and gendered power. in her essay “imitation and gender insubordination,” butler explores the ways in which homosexual “imitation” of heterosexual norms actually functions to expose their fundamental falseness. “the parodic replication and resignification of heterosexual constructs within non-heterosexual frames brings into relief the utterly constructed status of the so-called original…the more the ‘act’ is expropriated, the more the heterosexual claim to originality is exposed as illusory” (butler 23). 11 thus, imitation destabilizes and disempowers that which it imitates. though butler’s logic is centered around nonnormative sexualities, halberstam extends it into the realm of nonnormative genders. the “imitation” that jess is ridiculed for simultaneously deconstructs a violent, hegemonic gender and constructs new possibilities. non-maleiii masculinities can fundamentally challenge dominant masculinity, male-supremacy, and binary gender: the entire logic of patriarchy. this destabilization engenders a different future with more space for queer bodies, identities, and lives. non-male masculinities, then, are another powerful locus of utopia. in their letter, jess describes the experience of inhabiting a traumatic non-male masculinity that still courageously hopes towards a future. they remember the moment when they knew that theresa understood how they “felt in life,” which they characterize as: “choking on anger, feeling so powerless, unable to protect myself or those i loved most, yet fighting back again and again, unwilling to give up” (feinberg, stone butch blues 5). despite having a similar gender presentation to cis men, jess describes their experience of life in stark contrast to the tropes of hegemonic masculinity. two of the most defining features of patriarchal manhood are being powerful and able to protect yourself and those you love. assigned female at birth, jess is not the beneficiary of male privilege and power despite their masculinity. in simplistic terms, jess is not the perpetrator of the violence of male-supremacy, but indeed one of its victims. if the first half describes their trauma, however, the second half of this quote signals their hope: “fighting back again and again, unwilling to give up” (feinberg, stone butch blues 5). here they are not just fighting back against the individuals who hurt them (“drunken gangs of sailors, klan-type thugs, sociopaths and cops”), but against the system of gendered power (cis-heteropatriarchy) that subjugates their masculinity, and the identities of women and all queer people (feinberg, stone butch blues 3). fighting back – being unwilling to give up despite the poor odds and the pain 12 and disappointment of not winning – is performing the brave hope of utopianism. this scene makes true nirta’s argument that “the term marginal has become synonymous with potent. bodies that do not succumb…bodies infinitely minor in the normative and hegemonic logics of politics, yet immensely political for their ability to choose alternative and more creative ways of being” (nirta 176). in fighting back, in refusing to succumb, they are declaring their power. they are fighting back both to protect themselves and just in doing so, they are creating a more just future. it is worth considering why those with nonnormative genders are subject to the brutal violence depicted in stone butch blues. as already noted, nonnormative bodies implicitly, if not explicitly, challenge the dominant order. in the essay "queering class: leslie feinberg's stone butch blues,” in which cat moses offers one of the most generative and rigorous readings of stone butch blues currently available, the social psychology at the source of the violence jess endures is laid bare: “jess must endure almost daily violence and brutality because her expression of gender brings into full view the mechanisms that create gender, and with those mechanisms in plain view, the naturalness of gender is brought into question” (moses 78). jess’s existence points to the wrongness of the dominant conception of gender. gender is one of the most powerful organizing structures of society: it divides labor, dictates behavior, and assigns value. challenging the rightness or naturalness of gender, then, is seen as a dangerous threat, especially in the eyes of those to whom it gives the most power: cis straight men. people react violently to jess because on some level, if jess is “right,” then they are “wrong.” they decide then, that jess is wrong, and must be punished. another product of the homonormative gay agenda is the rhetoric of transness as a condition of occupying the “wrong body.” this is presumably meant to create sympathy for trans people, but is in fact deeply harmful. it 13 rhetorically marginalizes trans bodies, using them as the exception that proves the rule of the correctness of the existing system of gender, and the broader dominant order which it shapes. a much more radical, and indeed utopic, assertion would be that trans bodies are as right as any other bodies, and the current sex/gender system is wrong. as moses articulates, this is the position of stone butch blues: “feinberg’s novel is the first work of fiction about a transgendered person to interrogate the notion that if one is uncomfortable with one’s assigned gender identity, there is something wrong with the one experiencing the discomfort rather than with the cultural institutions doing the assigning” (moses 75). thus, this position demands a dismantling of such institutions, and the building of an entirely new conception of gender. halberstam points us in the direction of this future when he says: “we might do well to work on other formulations of gender and body, right body, and right gender to provide…queer crossidentifying children, with futures and bodies that seem habitable” (halberstam, female masculinity 171). working on such future formulations is the foundation of the trans utopianism i argue is embedded in stone butch blues. within the small canon of critical work on stone butch blues, there is a lot of attention paid to jess’s “real gender.” feinberg complicates the normal linear trans narrative of assigned gender to preferred gender, by making jess medically transition with surgery and hormones and then eventually stop hormone treatment. in an attempt to sidestep this discussion, which largely just reiterates the problematic impulse to locate if someone is “a boy or a girl,” i will argue that this is not only impossible to locate (because gender is socially constructed), it is also missing the larger point feinberg is making about the interrelatedness of class and gender through jess’s complicated transition story. in their letter, jess alludes to the source of this debate, the moment they medically transition to pass as a man when they say: “the plants closed. something we 14 never could have imagined. that’s when i began passing as a man” (feinberg, stone butch blues 6). some critics, such as jay prosser, who has an otherwise nuanced readings of the novel, makes the intensely reductive claim that jess is really a woman who transitions out of economic, rather than some “more real,” internally located, necessity (prosser 182). even as he argues that jess does not transition out of “psychic necessity,” prosser admits: “complicating jess’s own social rationale for her transition, then, feinberg reveals that through transition jess becomes reconciled to her body. jess takes great pleasure in the physical changes she undergoes, hormones and surgery creating a body more appropriately hers” (prosser 182; 183). while pointing to this complication, his use of female pronouns here still indicates his fundamental belief of jess as a woman. perhaps what prosser is missing is that in complicating jess’s transition narrative, feinberg’s is complicating the notion that “real gender” is psychic rather than social, and indeed the notion that the two are separable. in addition to being a transgender novel, stone butch blues is a working-class novel; it is a story of jess developing both a gender and class consciousness. within the novel, the two are inextricably linked, and more than that, they define each other. moses argues that “all the butches experience gender trouble most acutely (and chronically) as a problem rooted in class and economics” (moses 85). this is not to say that the butches who transition are not “really trans,” however, but instead that there are many different reasons to be and ways of being trans, all of which are real. even moses, however, who spends much of her essay outlining the ways in which gender is largely a product of material conditions makes the disingenuous claim that “[t]he only time jess feels trapped in the wrong body, then, is when she is passing as a man” (moses 91). on the contrary, there are many points in the novel where jess articulates how much happier they are with their altered body. at the beginning of chapter 15, jess describes in detail the joy 15 they find in the changes hormones have made to their body, and excitedly anticipates top surgery, saying: “it had been so long since i’d been at home in my body” (feinberg, stone butch blues 201). moses does provide us with an answer of why jess may feel trapped while passing, however, and it has very little to do with their body: “jess cannot obtain identification documents that match her appearance: with the ‘f.’ box checked on her driver’s license, even a routine traffic stop by police could result in discovery and punishment. she feels as constrained by her new body and identity as she did in her former one” (moses 87). it is especially important to note the end of this quote: jess has always been trapped. if their actual body was ever the source of this unfreedom, however, it was pre-transition, when they felt less comfortable in their appearance. i agree with moses that jess is equally trapped as a trans man as they are as a butch woman, but it is important to note that the source of their entrapment is different. as a butch woman, jess felt trapped by their gender dysphoria and unemployability. as a man, jess feels good in their body, but trapped in the larger social implications of passing as a man: the erasure of their visible queerness, and their estrangement from a queer community. cis-normativity underscores the reading of jess as woman who was forced to transition by the material conditions of being working-class. in fact, jess is a trans-masculine person who was “forced” to stop hormones by their alienation from community. this emphasis on community is consistent with the overall marxist politics of the novel. like muñoz’s queer utopianism, the trans utopianism of stone butch blues is firmly rooted in marxist utopianism. feinberg specifically outlines how the liberation of those oppressed by heteropatriarchy will only be realized through the socialization of private property in their political pamphlet entitled transgender liberation: a movement whose time has come: “modern-day oppression of women was rooted in the cleavage of society into classes based on 16 private ownership of property…overturning private ownership in favor of socialized property would lay the basis of revolutionizing human relations” (feinberg, transgender liberation 9). moses echoes this argument in her reading of stone butch blues when she says: “it is implied that jess will achieve fulfillment only when the performance of gender and the expression of self coincide. the constraints of class are the primary obstacle to this desired intersection of ‘self’ and gender” (moses 91). jess will only be able to locate their “true gender” and live a truly liberated life when they exist outside of the material demands of capitalism. as part of a marxist tradition, trans utopianism values the communal over the individual. by ending hormone therapy, jess chooses their ability to be in community over their own physical comfort. even before readers know of jess’s decision to stop taking testosterone or the reasoning behind it, their commitment to community is apparent in the novel’s opening letter. they explain why they continued going to the dyke bars despite the continued risk of extreme violence: “besides, this was our community, the only one we belonged to, so we went every weekend” (feinberg, stone butch blues 2). community is at the center of the utopia stone butch blues hopes for and gestures towards. jess stops taking testosterone because jess learns that there are things they value more than their own body. in many ways, the novel is the story of jess coming to this realization through a developing of class consciousness: “jess’s understanding of herself as an individual agent wanes as the narrative progresses and she becomes aware of historic resistance struggles. stone butch blues ultimately emphasizes the collective action and coalition-building as tactics of resistance” (moses 93). through their experience of labor organizing, jess learns that collectivity empowers workers, who are exploited and oppressed by capital. the power imbalance between the working class and the ownership class is stark and their only hope for liberation is through collective struggle. jess then has to learn to apply this 17 logic to gender, which leads them to their decision to stop hormone therapy: “feinberg’s purpose in writing stone butch blues was to explore the nature of power relations and limited possibilities for resistance outside of a supportive community, and to suggest the necessity of building an inclusive resistance” (moses 78). jess leaves the confines of passing as a man in order to rejoin queer community. just as the working class can only move towards liberation through collectivity, the underclasses of gender have to build collective power. most importantly, these two communities have to understand their oppression, and therefore their liberation, as connected. jess embodies the intersection of these oppressions and their hopeful liberations. stone butch blues shows the many problems and challenges of both the labor movement and the gay liberation movement, but is bravely hopeful about the future of both. like the ending of the novel, in which “jess inserts the transgendered body into resistance strategy,” the ending of the opening letter points us towards utopia. (moses 92). jess remembers theresa’s love as what helped them survive the trauma of their existence. they feel the pain of this love’s absence, and they question if theresa will return: “i never could have survived this long if i’d never known your love. yet still i ache with missing you and need you so. only you could melt this stone. are you ever coming back? the storm has passed now” (feinberg, stone butch blues 6). theresa returning symbolizes the actualization of stone butch blue’s vision of trans utopia. while hopeful, this utopia is also realistic. once again we look at when jess says, “maybe someday, passing through this big city, you will stop and read it. maybe you won’t” (feinberg, stone butch blues 6). the utopianism jess models for us lies in the willingness to remember their pain, and the unwillingness to stop hoping for a better future despite likely disappointment. muñoz 18 tells us that the liberated future that is queerness is not yet here, but by believing in it, jess moves us closer to its actualization. i i will be using they/them pronouns for jess goldberg throughout the essay. though this is somewhat anachronistic in that stone butch blues predates the popular usage of a singular “they” for nonbinary people, i believe it is an appropriate choice because jess uses both he/him and she/her at different points throughout the novel. ii like jess, feinberg also used many different gender pronouns throughout life. feinberg’s life also mostly predated the relative rise in popularity of they/them as a singular pronoun. while it felt appropriate to retroactively apply “they” pronouns to a fictional character, it felt less appropriate to apply to a real person who never used those pronouns. thus, i follow jay prosser (who i cite later in the paper) in using the gender-neutral pronouns that feinberg was familiar with, “s/he” and “hir.” iii in the interest of being inclusive of trans-masculine non-binary people and trans men, i am proposing an update in halberstam’s language from “female” to “non-male.” works cited butler, judith. “imitation and gender insubordination.” inside/out: lesbian theories, gay theories, by diana fuss, routledge, 1992. caruth, cathy. unclaimed experience: trauma, narrative, and history. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1996. feinberg, leslie. stone butch blues: a novel. ithaca, n.y.: firebrand books, 1993. feinberg, leslie. transgender liberation: a movement whose time has come. new york, ny: world view forum, 1993. halberstam, judith. female masculinity. durham [n.c.]: duke university press, 1998. halberstam, judith. in a queer time and place: transgender bodies, subcultural lives. new york: new york university press, 2005. jones, angela. “introduction: queer utopias, queer futurity, and potentiality in quotidian 19 practice.” a critical inquiry into queer utopias. palgrave macmillan, 2013. love, heather. feeling backward: loss and the politics of queer history. cambridge, mass.: harvard university press, 2007. moses, cat. "queering class: leslie feinberg's stone butch blues." studies in the novel 31.1 (1999): 74. muñoz, josé esteban. cruising utopia: the then and there of queer futurity. new york: new york university press, 2009. nirta, caterina. marginal bodies, trans utopias. routledge, taylor et francis group, 2018. prosser, jay. second skins: the body narratives of transsexuality. new york: columbia university press, 1998. 1 ecological conversion as stigmata of the heart sharon m. gutkowski theology introduction in may 2015, pope francis promulgated the papal encyclical, laudato si. focusing primarily on the ecological crisis of today, he expounds on the ways humans negatively impact the earth, creation, and ultimately god. he underscores the suffering of the poor and couples it with the suffering of creation. creation suffers from humans who are greedy and exploit natural resources and wildlife.1 pope francis stresses that the remedy to this crisis rests in the call for humans to have an ecological conversion. he prays for an end to the situations where “the poor and the earth are crying out” for help.2 ecological conversion begins when humans realize their deep connection with creation and the plights of the poor. this connection leads humans to repent for their abuses to the environment and those living in poverty. as a result, humans firmly desire to alleviate these ecological problems. however, pope francis is not the first to discuss ecological conversion. 2 at the world day of peace in 1990, pope john paul ii underscored that humans must realize, consider, and maintain “a new ecological awareness” for the sake of the future of the planet and all creation.3 he emphasized that the current exploitation of wildlife, natural resources, and human populations show a severe disrespect for the earth and god’s creation. to resolve this crisis, humans must undergo a complete transformation of self and community where they ultimately acknowledge and respect the environment and creation.4 as such, humans are called to preserve, protect, and revere where they live and how they use their resources. humans must cultivate a deeper understanding of the beauty and shared usefulness of this planet in conjunction with what god intends for all creation. then, in january 2001, pope john paul ii professed the phrase “ecological conversion” to his general audience as he reflected on human responsibility and the ways human sin and selfishness negatively affect the environment and creation.5 he notes how humanity must develop a sheer love of the earth, which is god’s creation, that begins with abandoning practices that contaminate and ruin the earth.6 the ecological conversion entails a profound human experience that fosters a spiritually transformed, lifestyle change. decades earlier, in 1979, pope john paul ii named saint francis of assisi the patron saint of ecology. st. francis wrote the canticle of the creatures (also known as the canticle of brother sun, among others) at the end of his life, when he was ill, and after he received the wounds of the stigmata on his hands, feet, and side in a mystical union with jesus christ. amidst his suffering, st. francis continued to be joyful, praising and thanking god, especially through and for creation. in laudato si, pope francis admirably uses the canticle as a motivating stepping stone for the ecological cause, but he never explicitly mentions the stigmata of st. francis. however, this essay argues that pope francis implicitly refers to the stigmata of st. francis in his call for ecological 3 conversion. this means that ecological conversion relates to the human relationship with god and creation as well as with the tenets of deep incarnation and christology. the ensuing discussion concludes that ecological conversion represents itself in what this essay ultimately describes as “stigmata of the heart.” pope francis and laudato si with a strong appreciation for the life and work of st. francis, including his namesake, pope francis references him 14 times in his 2015 encyclical, laudato si. the title means “praise be to you” in the umbrian italian dialect, and, in addition to these words beginning the encyclical, serves as a tribute and reference to the canticle of the creatures by st. francis of assisi.7 throughout laudato si, pope francis highlights st. francis and the canticle, and strives to bring humanity to a more dedicated and profound ecological awareness that aims to alleviate, and hopefully eliminate, the environmental issues that affect the earth today. considering the mentions of st. francis throughout the encyclical, pope francis situates him from the beginning as “a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with god, with others, with nature and with himself.”8 this introduction produces a warm ripple effect throughout the encyclical which brings sobering awareness and hope as creation endures the human-induced ecological crisis. in light of this, pope francis offers four ways that st. francis aids his appeal for ecological conversion. first, pope francis admires the ecumenical and interreligious compatibility that st. francis shares with all humans concerned about the ecological crisis.9 for perspective, those who are ecologically conscious and care about the earth do not have to necessarily be religious, whether christian or non-christian, or even spiritual. however, as head of the catholic church, pope francis desires to underscore the meaning and beauty of god’s creation, along with its biblical 4 creation story counterparts, as reasons for all humanity, especially catholics, to be ecologically concerned for the earth. pope francis believes st. francis models these behaviors. second, pope francis cites the devotion st. francis had to asceticism. st. francis embodied a personal lifestyle of asceticism as well as an ecological asceticism that led to the way he “communed with all creation.”10 st. francis worked with and through creation in respect and adoration. he prized land conservation in his “friary garden” when, as pope francis notes, he sectioned off a portion to preserve and observe the undisturbed beauty of god in that creation.11 third, pope francis recalls the genesis 3 creation story account of the fall to sin by adam and eve in the garden of eden that continues to affect the world today. pope francis labels it a “rupture of sin” between god, humans, and the earth that results in “disharmony” of all creation.12 he affirms that the life and canticle of st. francis comprise a saintly paradigm for humanity to follow to heal the rupture of sin and even return to a “state of original innocence.”13 fourth, and finally, pope francis admonishes the tendency for humans to be abusive, exploitative, and destructive to their environment, creation, and vulnerable human populations. to combat this tendency, he encourages humans to have an “overall personal conversion.”14 the conversion takes place in stages, emanating from a certain awe in being captivated by creation, that then sparks notions to acknowledge the wrong-doing and sin humans inflict onto creation. next, there is “heartfelt repentance and a desire to change” followed by “a change of heart” that inspires a “fraternity with all creation” similar to that of st. francis.15 in other words, this conversion is not simply to wish for solutions to ecological problems or to merely lament that creation unjustly suffers from the human impact in the world. instead, the ecological conversion involves human action coupled with a complete reconsideration of what is important in life and the meaning and value of god’s creation. 5 the human ecological conversion must have components of drastic change that are consistent with the abundant love of god in the three persons of the trinity. st. francis acknowledged a trinitarian theology as he admired a unity and relationship with god, humans, and creation. on mount la verna, st. francis’s prayer spiritually transformed him as he sought to imitate christ. he ultimately received the physical evidence of the stigmata in that transformation. while he spent the rest of his life enduring the suffering of his illness, his awe of god’s creation still inspired him to compose the canticle. later, the canticle motivated pope francis to write laudato si. while this encyclical does not explicitly mention the stigmata of st. francis, pope francis implicitly refers to the stigmata of st. francis in the tenets of ecological conversion. st. francis of assisi, his stigmata, and the canticle of the creatures in 1260, the general chapter of narbonne elected bonaventure to assemble and compose a comprehensive biography of st. francis.16 less than a year before, in 1259, bonaventure visited mount la verna, the location where, in 1224, st. francis had the vision of the seraph that gave him the stigmata. bonaventure’s contemplative experience about st. francis compelled him to write the soul’s journey into god in which he describes the seven steps, or stages, “to the goal of ecstatic rapture” in god.17 the seventh chapter of this text, along with the thirteenth chapter of bonaventure’s, the life of st. francis, prayerfully and spiritually recount the occasion when st. francis received the stigmata. additionally, a year after he received the stigmata, st. francis composed, in stages, the canticle of the creatures, the well-known hymn that praises the humancreation relationship with god. the stigmata and the canticle substantiate st. francis as the patron saint of ecology. his saintly example continues to promote ecological conversion today. st. francis (1181-1226) was born in assisi, italy to wealthy parents in the cloth business. his father, pietro di bernardone, taught st. francis the business, which included a luxurious, yet 6 work-intensive, lifestyle. years later, as he prayed in front of the crucifix of the san damiano church, he received the spiritual calling from the crucifix to rebuild the church.18 he accepted the invitation and sold off a large portion of his father’s business to pay for the costs. his disgusted father tried to recoup the losses through the bishop, but st. francis argued with and renounced his father, along with all worldly pleasures, for a life with god. in chapter 13 of the life of st. francis, bonaventure describes how st. francis received the stigmata as a result of the vision of the seraph. in one particularly unique moment, as st. francis prayed and fasted for 40 days on mount la verna, he experienced a peak of burning love and desire for god that humbled him. the encounter inspired him to perform three random gospel readings, all of which were from christ’s passion.19 this sparked a deep desire to imitate christ more fully and to show that love through martyrdom. on september 14, 1224, st. francis witnessed a vision of a seraph with six wings, two of which were wrapped around christ who was nailed to the cross. the seraph had two wings above christ’s head and two wings spread out at its sides. bonaventure notes that st. francis was “flooded with a mixture of joy and sorrow” at the sight because of the seemingly paradoxical nature of the immortal seraph in contrast to the “weakness of christ’s passion.”20 the immense, infinite love of the seraph coupled with the kenotic love he felt and shared with christ on the cross resulted in “the fire of his love consummating his soul.”21 this moment of miraculous, perfect union in love with god initiated the revealing marks of the stigmata on st. francis’s hands, feet and side. the bloody, sometimes painful, wounds were as real as those of the crucified christ. moreover, bonaventure’s account that st. francis was “transformed” into the image of christ through the stigmata, and therefore into christ’s likeness in glory by the spirit, echoes 2 corinthians 3:18.22 7 further, bonaventure richly discusses how the stigmata st. francis received on mount la verna signifies the crucified christ. bonaventure understands that the humanity of christ, as crucified on the cross, was in the midst of an unfailing love between christ and god.23 the relationship represents the pinnacle of all love, where god desires to have this loving relationship with humans as well. the relationship is a compassionate love that, if desired, restores and transforms humanity into the image and likeness of christ.24 as ilia delio states, compassionate love involves imitating christ in a spirit of poverty and humility tantamount to the crucified christ on the cross.25 the most sincere and profound testimony of the love of christ is when he gave his own life on the cross. the love of christ on the cross bears witness to his love for god and his love for creation, especially humanity. bonaventure, therefore, affirms the crucified christ as the center of christian life.26 the christian life entails loving god and neighbor to the extent of sacrificing one’s own life in that love.27 christ did this for all on the cross, and bonaventure acknowledges this as the perfect love of christ. st. francis imitated that perfect love as he passed over into god upon receiving the stigmata. after receiving the stigmata, st. francis lived and displayed a profound humility and poverty of spirit that paralleled the perfect love of the crucified christ.28 the seraph on mount la verna affected st. francis with such a burning love that he intensely suffered and loved at the same time. the stigmata, as the physical evidence of the five wounds of the crucified christ, appeared on his hands, feet, and side, and show the intensity of this conformity to divine love.29 his yearning to be like christ allowed him to feel the love the crucified christ felt with god. the experience was so impactful that it left him peaceful and speechless in this perfect love.30 in the soul’s journey into god, bonaventure understands that the peace achieved in god is the ultimate goal of the six considerations, or stages, of the soul’s journey into god.31 when humans connect 8 to the humanity of the crucified christ in love, they achieve peace in god by passing through the stages of suffering and love. all christians must strive to partake in this peace, which is perfect and synonymous with love, to fully live the gospel message and to be transformed into the image and likeness of christ.32 the stigmata model the burning love of the seraph to purify, illumine, and inflame humans to imitate st. francis who, in turn, desired to imitate christ.33 humans must desire and choose god for the crucified christ to impact them. as bret thoman observes, “the spiritual life is not something we can acquire, conquer, or achieve. […] it comes through fidelity and surrender.”34 in the spiritual life, humanity pours out love for god in christ and creation in the way that god pours out love to the crucified christ, humanity, and creation. while the external marks of the stigmata of st. francis physically indicate his union with the crucified christ, there is also a human spiritual connection with christ in the suffering and love of that union. thomas of celano, a biographer of st. francis, recognizes that the first effects of the stigmata of st. francis occurred internally, when st. francis accepted the call of the san damiano crucifix to rebuild the church. regarding st. francis, celano writes, “from this moment on, compassion for the crucified one was anchored in his spirit; from this moment, too, the stigmata of the passion were imprinted very deeply in his heart before appearing in his flesh.”35 the internal experience st. francis had with the crucifix, a cross with the crucified christ, initiated his future transformation in christ. in a similar perspective, as thoman notes, “the crucifix at san damiano was imprinted interiorly within his soul.”36 the desire to love and suffer for the crucified christ reflects how st. francis imitates christ and chooses god, even unto martyrdom, when he embraces his new lifestyle in christ with asceticism, fasting, and prayer. 9 with a worsening illness and the marks of the stigmata, st. francis composed the canticle of the creatures in 1225. he was known to admire creation, even in his near blindness, by praying and preaching to the wildlife, all the while praising god for these relationships. the canticle represents god’s care and concern for the world, in that god’s creation sufficiently and abundantly provides what is needed to thrive. it expresses god as almighty and good, deserving of praise in the goodness that reveals itself as beauty, nourishment, love, and forgiveness. st. francis echoes the old and new testaments, particularly the psalms and the gospels, in his references to the power and beauty of light and fire.37 st. francis wrote the canticle aware of christ as part of creation and with the trinity as “most high.”38 he uniquely adds to the christian tradition with the first mention of a sister mother earth who intercedes to maintain the livelihood of creation.39 in addition, he mentions the four earthly elements of wind, water, fire, and earth. the second half of the canticle implies the intimate relationship between god, humans, and creation. in this relationship, god equips creation with fruitfulness and sustainability with which humans depend on to survive. god also entrusts humans to rightfully, yet humbly, manage, protect, and respect creation. in other words, god intends creation for human dominion, not domination, where humans and creation prosper in harmony, patience, and peace.40 the desire to simultaneously suffer with and love jesus allowed st. francis to conform to the crucified jesus. the stigmata physically mark his union with christ, while his canticle offers a self-expression of that union. the canticle represents harmony with god, humans, and creation, and pope francis echoes this harmony in laudato si when he asks humans to “praise the lord” for creation.41 he urges christians to connect their love for the suffering jesus, who also suffers with creation, to a newfound, selfless love for creation. 10 further, creation continues to endure and survive even with significant human abuse. in laudato si, pope francis contrasts human abuse of creation, such as the rapid rate of consumer production and pollution increases, with the slower recovery and coping rates of the earth, its creation, and humans, especially the poor, from the effects of excess production and pollution.42 humans must consider their impact on earth. as denis edwards discusses, humans have always defined their surroundings, such as creation, according to human usefulness. instead, pope francis frames ecological conversion within the intrinsic and revelatory values in god’s plan of creation.43 creation exhibits unconditional love for itself and for all humans much like the unconditional love jesus pours out for humanity on the cross. deep incarnation in laudato si, pope francis urges humans to read the bible, such as the first creation story in genesis, apart from the previous and typical anthropocentric approaches. he acknowledges that “unhealthy dualisms […] left a mark on certain christian thinkers in the course of history and disfigured the gospel.”44 pope francis, in essence, resists centuries upon centuries worth of anthropocentric, christian mentalities that surmised creation as second to humans and necessarily conquerable. his call to ecological conversion encourages a love of creation separate from human control. he morally exhorts humans to recognize a “christian spirituality” to the effect of “an interior impulse” that encourages a “profound interior conversion” regarding the ecological crisis.45 anna rowlands states that “the ecological crisis lies in the failure to accept the idea of limits, and the truth of a creator-creature relation.”46 for pope francis, ecological conversion begins when humans become spiritually mindful and transformed in a newfound relationship between god, humans, and creation. 11 the best way to envision and embrace this three-fold relationship is through the intimate connection christ has with the entire universe. in 2001, the theologian niels gregersen called this connection “deep incarnation.”47 deep incarnation incorporates christ’s incarnation, cross, and resurrection within a trinitarian mindset, as well as evolutionary view, of the universe. the tenets of deep incarnation begin with john 1:1-3, 14, where the word was with god and was god, brought forth all creation, and became flesh on earth as jesus christ. this means that christ is eternally present and responsible for everything in creation, living and non-living, since the beginning of the known, material universe 13.7 billion years ago.48 further, various types of lifeforms have existed since 3.7 billion years ago, where the early stages of human life began to develop as early as 3 million years ago, but more recently as 200,000 years ago.49 in this way, all creation intimately links with and partakes in christ. deep incarnation, for gregersen, states that god desired, and still desires, such a dynamic and interconnected relationship with creation that the word of creation became incarnate as jesus christ, who is a union of the perfectly divine and perfectly human.50 christ became incarnate to atone for the moral sins of humans, and to radically integrate with the materiality of the physical world, such that the physical world receives its ultimate completion in god.51 gregersen’s three reasons for the incarnation, as the human person of god in christ, the sharing of humanity in christ, and the finite existence of creation in christ, show the depth of this physical and divine connection is more than merely anthropocentric.52 here, god loves and admires the physical world and never minimalizes or despises it. in other words, god never intended to become incarnate reluctantly in order to fix some glaring problems with creation and humanity and then leave. as gregersen writes, “god becomes involved with the world, appears within it, shares creaturely experiences from within, and […] takes sides with the victims of evolution and social injustice.”53 12 god’s mission in christ, then, means that christ directly experiences what material creation experiences, “including aspects of suffering and anxiety.”54 it also means that christ, through the trinity, brings about a complete, and divine, transformation for all of creation.55 the communal relationship present in the trinity enhances the theology of deep incarnation. the incarnate christ, sent by god through the power of the holy spirit, is a divinely social activity in itself, and combines with the social constructs of christ living with and experiencing the human community and creation.56 as edwards explains, the trinity is “endlessly dynamic mutual love,” where the word (christ) creates freely through the spirit, as the spirit gives life and grace to all creation.57 christ is both divinely and humanly aware; he admonishes and empathizes, suffers and loves, to these ends. gregersen recognizes the historical and eternal components of christ in these social interactions and compares them to the bonds of kinship that humans and creation share with their predecessors and will continue to share with their offspring.58 these trinitarian and communal notions advance the conversation of ecological conversion because they accentuate the nearness and presence of christ in and with all creation. even more, gregersen offers relevant insights when he connects deep incarnation to bonaventure’s theology concerning the unity between the divine and human natures of christ. gregersen notes the relationship between deep incarnation and the theology of bonaventure is with “the universality of the particularity of christ.”59 bonaventure understands christ as a unity of divine and human natures, as well as consistently and universally present and active in all creation.60 joseph lenow observes that gregersen’s theological usage of bonaventure also coincides with a stoic view of theology, as well as that of athanasius, where god is an inherent part of the physical world.61 this means that gregersen is a compatibilist, that is, one who believes that “god’s action in, with, and under natural processes is compatible with those natural processes, 13 even evolutionary processes.”62 compatibilist notions cohere with the mission of christ and the distinct and unique way christ enters creation through the incarnation. in the tenets of deep incarnation, christ is already involved in creation as the word; and, as god’s son, christ accepts to suffer and die on the cross to redeem and renew creation in light of the trinity. this divinehuman connection complements how bonaventure understands the stigmata of st. francis. as described above, in the context of bonaventure, st. francis conformed to the crucified christ in such humility and poverty that he underwent spiritual and physical transformation and received the stigmata. deep incarnation, then, additionally applies to the cross and even the resurrection of christ. in the risen christ, all of creation, not just humans, transform into new life. in his definition of deep resurrection, edwards notes the resurrection of christ is for humans and all creation where “all cosmic forces are taken up by christ and transformed in the power of the resurrection.”63 st. francis “deeply felt cosmic kinship” with god and creation, which is especially evident in his canticle and life story of conversion.64 in essence, the life of the incarnate christ is a call to conversion; the crucified christ is an act of repentance in love; and the risen christ is a new creation of forgiveness. ecological conversion as stigmata of the heart the stigmata of the heart happen as a result of the ecological conversion. it represents a spiritual mark that transforms the human to the very core, in conjunction with the theology of deep incarnation, upon the ecological conversion. the stigmata prepare the human physically, through the grace of the conversion, to think and act in a christocentric and ecologically mindful way. the ecological conversion happens when humans lovingly acknowledge the deep connection between god, humans, and creation that exceeds the anthropocentric tendencies of the 14 world. humans, therefore, understand their integrative placement within this construct. this is consistent with the message of the canticle of st. francis that pope francis references in his encyclical. humans are complementary to creation, not a domineering force over it. those who have ecological conversions understand the complexities of the world include a mutual relationship between the divine, the spiritual, and the physical. further, god’s creation, due to the creating power of christ in the spirit, also involves the divine, the spiritual, and the physical. in laudato si, pope francis cites the canticle and the life of st. francis to stimulate the human conscience concerning the current ecological crisis, and to underscore the cohesive relationship st. francis had with god and creation. st. francis wrote the canticle after he received the stigmata, when he conformed to the crucified christ in suffering and love. he continued to live an intensely ascetic, religious lifestyle even as his health and vision deteriorated. as he admired the wonders of god’s creation, he was spiritually and physically aware of the mission of the crucified christ. the canticle is the self-expression of the depth of his love for god and creation. in laudato si, pope francis praises st. francis as the epitome of ecological conversion. the internal human transformation of st. francis in christ compares to ecological conversion as stigmata of the heart. considering ecological conversion as stigmata of the heart is a powerful way to prepare all humans, especially the catholics and christians pope francis targets in laudato si, for a deeply transformative, ecological lifestyle change. it involves the human acknowledgement of a spectrum: from suffering and sacrifice to the ever-present unconditional love that creation and god, through jesus, provide to human-creature relationships. pope francis implies the profound impact of the stigmata of st. francis as he promotes ecological conversion in laudato si. moreover, while not all humans are able to imitate christ to receive the physical 15 stigmata like st. francis, pope francis nevertheless understands the wider impact this conversion has on the “attitude of the heart.”65 meanwhile, he sees how comfortable, luxurious living and instant gratification like consumerism cause anxiety, a type of suffering; in what seems to make life better actually makes life worse. humans may falsely believe that adding more comforts and things to their life will fix uneasy feelings, however, humans must realize that less material goods bring more peace and satisfaction in life. humans more dramatically benefit from an attitude of sacrificing worldly possessions for a greater life of love consistent with the crucified christ. pope francis believes the negativity and ruin associated with “profit and gain” contrasts with the message of jesus for “harmony, justice, fraternity, and peace.”66 humans who typically want many things must instead desire and strive to want less, out of love for the good and its benefits. as discussed above, st. francis deeply desired to imitate and conform to christ. he sincerely chose this, and he prayerfully poured himself out in love and surrender to god as he received the stigmata. he wrote his canticle in the light of this peace as he experienced it in creation. pope francis wants humans to choose a christ-centered perspective of creation that allows them to pour out love as they acknowledge and care for creation. whereas laudato si does not mention or affirm deep incarnation per se, the christology of deep incarnation suggests the human transformation associated with an ecological conversion. since pope francis recommends a proper “attitude of the heart” (§226) with all creation, as in the example of st. francis, humans experience stigmata of the heart from an ecological conversion as they suffer and love in and through creation. the stigmata of the heart more fully grasp the framework of deep incarnation, and because pope francis never mentions it or the stigmata of st. francis in laudato si, the stigmata of the heart bridge the gap from ecological conversion to deep incarnation. the stigmata of the heart cohere with the ecological conversion in the incarnate, 16 crucified, and risen christ where the impact is as meaningful as the moment st. francis received the stigmata. in this way, stigmata of the heart occur in the context of deep incarnation through the ecological conversion. conclusion this discussion moved through several facets of christology and worked with other disciplines such as ecology, ethics, and spirituality. this indicates that christology in the 21st century will be substantially more than merely a subject limited to itself. rather, christology will continue to interact with various disciplines, especially with respect to its contribution in the framework of evolution and deep incarnation. while gregersen began to develop the christology of deep incarnation, many other theologians subsequently offered new insights, giving it widespread attention in the field. for example, edwards combines the christology of deep incarnation with evolutionary science and the ethics of ecology; and, while he emphasizes ecological conversion, brings fuller meaning to christ, creation, suffering, and love. in this light, pope francis also underscores ecological conversion, but limits the conversation when he only wants to “postulate a process of evolution” in laudato si.67 he hints at entertaining evolution and deep incarnation in paragraph 83, when he states that “[t]he ultimate destiny of the universe is in the fullness of god, which has already been attained by the risen christ, the measure of the maturity of all things.”68 also in this paragraph, he mentions all creation “moving forward […] towards a common point of arrival, which is god,” which suggests an ever-changing, evolving world that has depth with and in god.69 further, edwards notices that laudato si contains insufficient connections between christ’s incarnation and creation.70 then, he rightly opines that laudato si needs the tenets of deep 17 incarnation to expand and support pope francis’s christological claims.71 these considerations would undoubtedly bring laudato si more into 21st century christology. when st. francis received the stigmata, “his heart was flooded with a mixture of joy and sorrow” at the vision of the seraph with the crucified christ.72 similarly, in the last paragraph of laudato si, pope francis states that its composition “has been both joyful and troubling.”73 here, pope francis implies the stigmata of st. francis in conjunction with his call to ecological conversion. humans across the globe must acknowledge that creation suffers due to various human activities. humans need to evaluate and change the way they manage and incorporate creation into their lives. pope francis utilizes the canticle of st. francis to model how humans should interact with and praise god for creation. the ecological conversion represents one important facet of church teaching that shapes the future of christology. the deep incarnation and deep resurrection of christ function to establish and maintain the christological connection with all creation and all humans. pope francis calls us to this caliber of conversion, so much so, that his ecological conversion suggests stigmata of the heart. in this way, the ecological conversion initiates a profound, internal transformation that humans spiritually and physically live in the world. 18 notes: 1 pope francis 2015, §48. 2 ibid., §246. 3 pope john paul ii 1990, §1. 4 ibid., §5. 5 pope john paul ii 2001, §§1, 4. 6 ibid., §§4-5. 7 zhang 2016. 8 francis 2015, §10. 9 ibid. 10 ibid., §11. 11 ibid., §12. 12 ibid., §66. 13 ibid. 14 ibid., §218. 15 ibid., §§218, 221. 16 bonaventure 1978, 37. 17 ibid., 20. 18 moloney 2013, 22-3. 19 bonaventure 1979, 304. 20 ibid., 305. 21 ibid., 306. 22 ibid., 307. 23 delio 2001, 26. 24 ibid., 73. 25 ibid., 125. 26 ibid., 26. 27 ibid., 126. 28 ibid., 118. 29 delio 2014, 389. 30 delio 2001, 136. 31 bonaventure 1978, 110. 32 delio 2001, 154. 33 hammond 2014, 503. 34 thoman 2016, 203. 35 vorreux 2012, 41. 36 thoman 2016, 68. 37 moloney 2013, 129-133, 139. 38 delio 1992, 9-10. 39 moloney 2013, 134. 40 ibid. 41 francis 2015, §87. 19 42 pope francis 2015, §18. 43 edwards 2016. 44 francis 2015, §98. 45 ibid., §§216-7. 46 rowlands 2015. 47 gregersen 2016, 254. 48 edwards 2010, 16, 19. 49 edwards 2019, xvii. 50 gregersen 2016, 254-5. 51 ibid., 254. 52 ibid., 254. 53 gregersen 2016, 2. 54 gregersen 2016, 259. 55 ibid., 255. 56 lenow 2018, 571. 57 edwards 2010, 19. 58 gregersen 2016, 11. 59 gregersen 2016, 254. 60 ibid., 255, 257. 61 lenow 2018, 564. 62 peters 2013, 245. 63 edwards 2006, 56. 64 viviers 2014. 65 francis 2015, §226. 66 ibid., §82. 67 ibid., §81. 68 ibid., §83. 69 ibid. 70 edwards 2019, 129. 71 ibid., 130. 72 bonaventure 1978, 305. 73 francis 2015, §246. 20 bibliography bonaventure, saint. bonaventure: the soul’s journey into god, the tree of life, the life of st. francis. the classics of western spirituality series. translated by ewert cousins. new york: paulist press, 1978. delio, ilia, o.s.f. simply bonaventure: an introduction to his life, thought, and writings. hyde park: new city press, 2001. ______________. “the canticle of brother sun: a song of christ mysticism.” franciscan studies 52, (1992): 1-22. ______________. “theology, spirituality and christ the center: bonaventure’s synthesis.” in a companion to bonaventure. 361-402. edited by jay m. hammond, et al. boston: brill, 2014. edwards, denis. deep incarnation: god’s redemptive suffering with creatures. maryknoll: orbis books, 2019. _____________. “ecological commitment and the following of jesus.” in ecology at the heart of faith. 48–64. maryknoll: orbis books, 2006. _____________. “planetary spirituality: exploring a christian ecological approach.” compass (2010): 16-23. _____________. “‘sublime communion’: the theology of the natural world in laudato si.” theological studies 77, no. 2 (2016): 377. doi:10.1177/0040563916635119 francis, pope. laudato si. encyclical letter on care for our common home. 24 may 2015. vatican. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papafrancesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html#_ftn5 gregersen, niels henrik. “deep incarnation: from deep history to post-axial religion.” hervormde teologiese studies 72, no. 4 (2016): 1-12. doi:10.4102/hts.v72i4.3428 ____________________. “the emotional christ: bonaventure and deep incarnation.” dialog: a journal of theology 55, no. 3 (2016): 247-261. doi:10.1111/dial.12261 hammond. jay m. “bonaventure’s legenda major.” in a companion to bonaventure. 453-507. edited by jay m. hammond, et al. boston: brill, 2014. john paul ii, pope. “god made man the steward of creation.” general audience: wednesday 17 http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html#_ftn5 http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html#_ftn5 21 january 2001.” 17 jan. 2001. vatican. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paulii/en/audiences/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_20010117.html ______________. “peace with god the creator, peace with all of creation.” message of his holiness pope john paul ii for the celebration of the world day of peace. 1 jan. 1990. vatican. https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paulii/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_19891208_xxiii-world-day-for-peace.html lenow, joseph. “christ, the praying animal: a critical engagement with niels henrik gregersen and the christology of deep incarnation.” international journal of systematic theology 20, no. 4 (2018): 554-578. moloney, brian. francis of assisi and his “canticle of brother sun” reassessed. the new middle ages series. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2013. peters, ted. “happy danes and deep incarnation.” dialog 52, no. 3 (2013): 244-250. doi:10.1111/dial.12049 rowlands, anna. “laudato si': rethinking politics.” political theology 16, no. 5 (2015): 418 420. doi:10.1179/1462317x15z.000000000166 thoman, bret, o.f.s. st. francis of assisi: passion, poverty and the man who transformed the catholic church. charlotte: tan books, 2016. viviers, hendrik. “the second christ, saint francis of assisi and ecological consciousness.” verbum et ecclesia 35, no. 1 (2014): 1. doi:10.4102/ve.v35i1.1310 vorreux, damien. first encounter with francis of assisi. translated by paul schwartz and paul lachance. st. bonaventure: franciscan institute publications, 2012. zhang, xue jiao. “how st. francis influenced pope francis’ laudato si.” crosscurrents 66, no. 1 (2016): 42-56. doi:10.1111/cros.12170 further reading deane-drummond, celia. christ and evolution: wonder and wisdom. theology and the sciences series. minneapolis: fortress press, 2009. edwards, denis. partaking of god: trinity, evolution, and ecology. collegeville: liturgical press, 2014. habig, marion a., ed. st. francis of assisi: writings and early biographies. vol. 2. translated http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/audiences/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_20010117.html http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/audiences/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_20010117.html https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_19891208_xxiii-world-day-for-peace.html https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_19891208_xxiii-world-day-for-peace.html 22 by raphael brown, et al. quincy: franciscan press quincy university, 1991. hayes, zachary. bonaventure: mystical writings. the crossroad spiritual legacy series. new york: the crossroad publishing company, 1999. matura, thaddée, ofm. francis of assisi: the message in his writings. translated by paul barrett, ofmcap. st. bonaventure: franciscan institute publications, 1997. 1 trauma and terror in emily dickinson’s poetry deidra cali english “my darling, you’ll be the only dickinson they talk about in 200 years,” death (portrayed by rapper wiz khalifa), prophesizes during a carriage ride with the show’s titular character, the enigmatic poet, portrayed by actress hailee steinfeld, emily dickinson (“because i could not stop”). considering this is a line written for an apple tv+ series dedicated to the poet, death’s bold assumption proves to be correct. emily dickinson’s poetry continues to enchant casual readers and serious scholars alike, inspiring the hit television series that has furthered the public’s interest in both dickinson’s fascinating life and captivating poetry. despite the show’s anachronisms, many scholars agree that the show, dickinson, is a positive representation of the poet. dickinson scholar johanna winant comments that the show’s “version of dickinson is pretty close to [her] emily dickinson: the one [she knows] not through her biography but through her poetry” (winant). likewise, scholar cristanne miller echoes high approval for the show: “dickinson was witty, brilliant, well-educated and irreverent. this, together with the fact that she wrote some of the greatest poetry in the english language, make her a natural protagonist for a tv series” (hausler). further, emily dickinson scholar martha nell smith posits that dickinson and other similar works have enhanced interest in the poet. in an interview, smith was asked “between [dickinson], wild nights and a quiet passion, why do you think there’s suddenly a renewed interest in emily?” to which smith answers: “i think that’s because of very careful scholarship … and many have been unearthing that dickinson was bold and committed to her art. i think other artists are waking up to that” (handler). evidently, these 2 projects have caused a resurge in interest in the poet’s life, particularly, her private life and relationships. however, as apparent in the writing of this essay, these projects also inspire inquiry into aspects of her life that have been previously overlooked, such as the relationship between emily dickinson’s trauma and how it translates to her poetry. through elements of trauma theory, biographical details, and theories of the poet’s life, we can better identify representations of trauma in dickinson’s poetry and how she used poetry itself as a coping mechanism. securing a concrete definition of trauma is difficult, as it differs depending on the theorist. freedman cites cathy caruth’s definition as “an experience so ‘overwhelming,’ ‘sudden,’ and ‘catastrophic’ as to penetrate the ‘membrane’ of the psyche” (4). further, the extension of caruth’s definition clarifies “that one’s response to trauma is often ‘belated’ (in freudian terms), manifesting in the ‘delayed, uncontrolled, repetitive appearance’ of hallucinations and other intrusive phenomena” (4). meanwhile, herman defines trauma as “‘an affliction of the powerless,’ and experience in which ‘the victim is rendered helpless by overwhelming force’” (4). additionally, she states that “traumatic symptoms are often disconnected from their source and take on a life of their own (a state she labels ‘intrusion’)” (4). richard crownshaw’s definition is as follows: “that which defies witnessing, cognition, conscious recall and representation – generating the belated or deferred and disruptive experience of the event not felt at the time of witnessing” (167). these varying definitions communicate the intricacies of trauma and how it manifests in individuals. these definitions also work closely with another preoccupation of trauma theory, namely, how trauma is witnessed. despite the fluidity of trauma definitions, critics stress the necessity of “traumatic witnessing,” defined as “the speaking, writing, or otherwise conscious 3 acknowledgment of a traumatic event—in order to overcome it” (freedman 5). this entails efforts to “endure and prevail” to cope with the traumatic event through “[facing] one’s ‘buried truths,’ ‘[piecing] together’ an individual history, and [voicing] a ‘fully recognized narrative’” (freedman 5). possibly the most important piece of advice comes from herman, who writes that “‘the only way’ a survivor can take ‘control of her recovery’ is to witness” (freedman 5). ultimately, the goal of witnessing is to “[empower] shattered subjects not only to survive but also to thrive” (freedman 7). these ideas of witnessing trauma apply to my assertion that dickinson’s poetry existed as a coping mechanism for both the potential and biographically legible traumas she endured. despite not explicitly writing about her trauma as some writers do through personal narratives, dickinson’s poetry sneakily divulges details of her life artistically. although toni morrison’s “the site of memory” primarily focuses on trauma in relation to slave narratives, pieces of her wisdom regarding the effects of trauma on writers can also be applied to a writer like dickinson. morrison discusses that for her specifically, in writing trauma the most important attribute is having “no mention of [the writer’s] interior life” (91). despite this tidbit being catered towards fiction and/or personal narratives, it heavily applies to dickinson’s poetry. her poetry does not explicitly divulge details of her interior life, however, the historicization of her life points to her poetry being deeply personal, which reinforces her poetry as symptomatic of the traumas she had experienced, often including topics such as death and dying, fear, and anxiety. one example of this lies in her poem “’tis not that dying hurts us so –,” where she expresses: “’tis not that dying hurts us so -/ ‘tis living – hurts us more – / but dying – is a different way – a kind behind the door” (l. 1-4). in these few lines the poet acknowledges life being more painful than death, which is a concealed sort of pain. from this example, dickinson’s fascination with death is made clear, as she states that life is more painful 4 than death, a conclusion of which had to have been drawn from the hurt she had experienced in her own life. poems such as this have led scholars to question what exactly made life so painful for emily dickinson, and consequently, they have looked to what little documents remain that could provide possible answers. one of the most compelling pieces of evidence in emily dickinson’s potential trauma comes from a letter she wrote to thomas wentworth higginson on april 25th, 1862. dickinson writes: “i had a terror — since september — i could tell to none — and so i sing, as the boy does by the burying ground — because i am afraid” (dickinson 172). the unknown details of dickinson’s “terror” has fascinated scholars, such as dr. isabel legarda who hypothesizes that dickinson’s trauma may have been sexual assault. legarda notes that as a physician herself, she believes that in conjunction with the grief that plagued dickinson, trauma is a plausible explanation for the “myriad questions her life and work have generated.” after consulting various poems, letters, and biographies, legarda “felt compelled to consider that [dickinson] might have endured sexual assault and been silenced not only in her own time but also by generations of scholars afterward who could not or would not recognize such a possibility.” legarda refers to several dickinson poems that implicate trauma; heightened evidence is contained in “rearrange a ‘wife’s’ affection,” which legarda considered to be “the most telling and disturbing” (legarda). in my own analysis, this poem replicates an un-sexing of sort, the first stanza exclaiming: “rearrange a ‘wife’s’ affection! / when they dislocate my brain! amputate my freckled bosom! / make me bearded like a man!” (704). these lines act as a relinquishing of her female body in favor of being more masculine, presumably, to be safe from the violence she has experienced as a woman. the last stanza chillingly refers to an unknown secret to be carried to the grave with the poet: “big my secret but it’s bandaged -/ it will never get away / till the 5 day its weary keeper / leads it through the grave to thee.” (705). a secret being bandaged implies that it is also a wound in need of repair, but also that it is hidden from view. additionally, the continuation of it being bandaged until being led through the grave implies it will never fully heal. these heavy lines bear the weight of dickinson’s trauma, implying it as so secretive, she could never fully recover from it while alive. this mysterious terror may have contributed to dickinson’s incredibly prolific writing streak. in 1858, dickinson wrote 52 poems, while in 1862, she wrote 366 poems; this dramatic increase in her creative output gives way to the assumption that of the many influences on her writing, the unbeknownst “terror” she experienced in september of 1861 was a driving force (legarda). in thinking about emily dickinson’s relationship to trauma, the scholarship on trauma in literature further explains the link between the event (i.e., dickinson’s mysterious “terror”) and the poet’s creative surge. while eden wales freedman points out the many variations in definitions of trauma, she cites anne whitehead’s definition of trauma as “both a seismic event (e.g., a railway accident) and the symptomatic responses to that event (a shattered psyche)” (4). whitehead’s definition of trauma exemplifies how dickinson’s “terror” acts as the event and her symptomatic response could be viewed as both her writing, and the contents of her writing, i.e., death, dying, and notably for this argument, the implications of assault. the usage of phallic and graphic sexual imagery stands as evidence of dickinson’s potential familiarity with sexual violence. one specific example of this is found in a poem from ca. 1862, “it would never be common – more – i said –” in which the poet employs a goblin to communicate what might be a sexual encounter. one of the stanzas of the lengthy poem informs readers: “when – suddenly – my riches shrank – / a goblin – drank my dew – / my palaces – dropped tenantless – / myself was beggared – too –” (206). the imagery accompanying a 6 mythical creature like a goblin, drinking a mysterious dew, points to the encounter as nonconsensual, as the goblin figure is performing an act that leaves her unfamiliar in her own body. considering her body as the palace she writes about, it being rendered tenantless highlights the separation of herself as a result of an assault. further, referring to herself as being “beggared” implies her as begging, homeless, wishing to have a comfortable home in the body that was once hers. considering the goblin was a motif featured in multiple dickinson poems, other scholars also contend dickinson’s goblin works as a reference to a sexual assault. as explained by wardrop: the goblin performs the roles of father/father/lover/master/lawyer/death/surgeon/editor/critic/rapist. most especially, the goblin’s roles link integrally the work of critic and rapist. the goblin terrifies the victim as reader, gauging her responses in gothic terms, even as he threatens to violate her. dickinson compounds the horror of a horrible act by casting a monster as the major performer. (84) the goblin’s repeated appearance in her poetry gives way to the assumption that the creature is one that continues to haunt the poet. while referencing “it would never be common – more – i said –” wardrop points out both the stanza depicting the goblin drinking the dew and the following stanza, which reads: i clutched at sounds – i groped at shapes – i touched the tops of films i felt the wilderness roll back 7 along my golden lines – (206) wardrop describes the goblin’s consumption and “the issue of ownership” as the established theme in the goblin’s appearance. she further explicates: “here the victim has owned and loses her voice as the invader appropriates her house her body her text.” further, drawing specifically from the line “i clutched at sounds” she describes it as “the victim’s numbing of the experience of rape. exemplary for its incisive notation of the victim’s response” (87). through this we see how dickinson’s use of the goblin in this poem exhibits a clear exchange, the goblin taking something from the poet, and the attempts to grasp at anything around them in response—sounds, shapes, and films. considering wardrop’s assertion that those lines are explicitly about the victim’s response, it works in tandem with trauma theory’s treatment of trauma responses, like herman’s explanation that following a trauma, victims “may remember everything in detail but without emotion” such as dickinson’s portrayal of numbness (freedman 4). wardrop’s assessment of the poem greatly supports my own, specifically, the goblin as a symbol of sexual violence. while the goblin is featured in many of her poems, dickinson creatively employs other creatures to depict scenes of sexual violence. much like dickinson’s goblin, her poem “in winter in my room” uses another surprising creature; this time, however, it is a worm. the poet writes: “in winter in my room / i came upon a worm -/ pink, lank and warm –” (682). a pink, warm, lanky worm in the intimacy of a bedroom evokes overtly phallic imagery. this type of phallic imagery is continued into the second stanza through the worm’s transformation into a serpent. the second stanza describes the worm’s metamorphosis: a trifle afterward 8 a thing occurred i’d not believe it if i heard but state with creeping blood – a snake with mottles rare surveyed my chamber floor in feature as the worm before but ringed with power – the unnamed “thing” occurring, in conjunction with the snake imagery, point to a sexual encounter. snakes are notoriously phallic imagery, and in this example, it is in her bedroom, an inherently intimate space. the snake being described as “ringed with power” also implies it as phallic, and noticeably erect in comparison to the flaccid worm. while it could be read as a consensual sexual encounter, the usage of “but state with creeping blood” mark it as chilling and unwelcome. these interpretations of this selection of dickinson’s poetry, in connection with the idea of dickinson’s writing as a trauma response and an interior view of her possible trauma, are an example of one of the many implications of sexual trauma in dickinson’s life and poetry. while dickinson’s implications of sexual abuse discussed above do not mention or highlight any specific suspect that could have abused the poet, other circulating theories do. namely, these discussions point to dickinson’s turbulent relationship with her family. some scholars contend that her relationships to those in her family are a source of trauma, as well. specifically, mary jo dondlinger’s piece, “‘one need not be a chamber—to be haunted’: emily dickinson’s haunted space” proposes dickinson was a victim of incest. dondlinger highlights evidence of incest in the dickinson home between emily and her father. in particular, 9 she examines dickinson’s “wife” poems and the evidence of her father’s controlling nature. ultimately, dondlinger contends that the series of “wife” poems, such as “rearrange a ‘wife’s’ affection,” mentioned earlier in this essay, may be in reference to dickinson being the “wife” to her father, if she were being sexually abused, or based on her taking on domestic duties while her mother was ill. dickinson herself notes her father’s role as the patriarch of the family, in a letter to her brother austin saying: “what father says, he means” (dondlinger 106). dickinson’s father is described by dondlinger as being “the person in control and was not to be defied or refuted” (106). she also highlights other factors that contribute to dickinson’s “high risk for sexual victimization” (102). considering the constituency of the family structures that encourage sexual abuse, dondlinger explains each factor and how they align with the dickinson family structure. the main factors are: “marital conflict or disruption, absence or inability of the mother, and the ordinal position of siblings.” all factors listed apply to the dickinson family (102). there is evidence of the marriage between dickinson’s father, edward, and dickinson’s mother, also named emily, being disrupted due to edward being frequently away on business trips. the marital separation works in tandem with the absence of the mother piece, as well, because the dickinson matriarch was frequently ill, often bedridden and withdrawn from her family. her mother’s weakness implies an inability to protect her daughter from dangers, a lack of child supervision, and an ineptitude to fulfill domestic duties. in turn, emily cared for her mother and took on domestic responsibilities, which, consequently led to a resentment towards her mother’s ill health. dickinson famously, and hyperbolically, wrote in one letter that she “never had a mother” (102-103). lastly, dickinson was the oldest daughter and the oldest daughter in families has the highest likelihood of sexual abuse, especially in the case of father-daughter incest (103). 10 collectively, her father’s tyrannical rule, coupled with the instability in the dickinson home, contribute to the possibility of an incestuous, sexual abuse for the unfortunate poet. comfortingly, dondlinger also attests that dickinson’s writing was therapeutic for her, and essentially, an act of witnessing. dondlinger cites one of her letters in which she wrote to higginson “i felt a palsy, here—the verses just relieve” (101). like other scholars, dondlinger believes the poet used writing as “a means of reconstructing a sense of safety” (101). dickinson accomplished this by the description of space in her poems, often using either the home or the grave, or non-physical human characteristics, such as the mind, heart, or soul “in an attempt to construct safe spaces internally.” (dondligner 111). this assertion is valid, considering dickinson’s negative representation of the home in her poems, such as the haunted house in “one need not be a chamber – to be haunted.” as a whole, dickinson’s construction of safe spaces function as a way to “cope with a sense of threat, quite probably from within her own home, by recreating a sense of home or safety elsewhere” (dondlinger 111). this explanation thoroughly examines how and why dickinson used poetry to cope with the trauma in her home life. of the many theories surrounding dickinson, some scholars subscribe to the belief that her mysterious trauma was related to her ill health, specifically, her eye and vision problems. scholars have difficulty locating the starting point of dickinson’s eye issues, but some of her letters contain clues that point to it beginning early in 1861. one letter of hers written to joseph lyman around 1865 contains the phrase: “some years ago i had a woe, the only one that ever made me tremble” (guthrie 10). guthrie connects this phrase to the similar phrasing of the infamous “terror since september” from april 1862, meaning, the terror occurred in 1861. dickinson sought treatment for her eye issues in boston in 1864, making the timeline of 11 dickinson’s vision problems as on and off for at least five years. while her exact eye problem will never be known, some have extracted evidence of it being exotropia, “a deviation of the cornea that prevents the sufferer from achieving perfectly binocular vision” (guthrie 11). richard b. sewall was the first to propose exotropia as dickinson’s ailment in 1974; in 1979 sewall teamed up with an ophthalmologist, martin wand, to confirm dickinson’s deviating cornea. they used an early photo from her mount holyoke female seminary portrait to show that her right cornea “deviated as much as fifteen degrees from true” (guthrie 11) (see fig. i). running alongside this evidence, however, are other suggestions of what caused the poet’s ocular issues. despite the legitimate, biographical and historical evidence that suggest dickinson’s eye problems were real, some scholars suggest that her symptoms were merely psychosomatic or metaphorical. dr. john cody proposed that dickinson’s eye pain stemmed from an “unconscious” fear of the sun because it “represented an unacknowledged, symbolically castrated male principle in herself that was the result of an incomplete, unrequited relationship with her mother.” countering this, feminist critics, such as wendy barker, argue that dickinson’s symptoms were borne from a resentment and resistance of male domination, “the sun becoming an image in her poems of an oppressive male energy capable of inflicting violence and destruction” (guthrie 10-11). similar to legarda’s proposition that dickinson’s “terror” was possibly from a sexual assault, baron st. armand contends that “dickinson was traumatized by the loss of a male companion whom she came to symbolize, both in her poems and in the master letters, with the image of the sun” (guthrie 11). this collection of hypotheses ultimately gives way to how emily dickinson processed the trauma of her debilitating eye condition through her poetry. 12 as this essay has proposed thus far, emily dickinson’s trauma contributed to her intense periods of creativity. dickinson “regarded writing as a form of therapy, yet not because it granted her a means of escaping, imaginatively, from the tedium of her sickroom” rather, “her poems provided dickinson with the intellectual tools she needed to come to grips with her situation” (guthrie 8-9). in other words, dickinson’s poetry served as a coping mechanism for her. specifically in her poems referencing her eye issues, she was able to healthily “mourn the visible world she had been forced to renounce” (guthrie 9). in poems such as “before i got my eye put out” written in 1862, the poet directly references her ocular issues and the vision she mourns. the opening stanza reads: “before i got my eye put out / i liked as well to see – / as other creatures, that have eyes / and know no other way –” (dickinson 155). this opening captures dickinson reflecting on how her vision has taken her natural ability to see and further, how vision is a natural ability that goes unnoticed until it is obscured or otherwise altered. dickinson reflects on the limitation of her vision and how much she would enjoy seeing clearly if she were given the opportunity. in stanzas two and three, she writes: but were it told to me – today – that i might have the sky for mine – i tell you that my heart would split, for size of me – the meadows – mine – the mountains – mine – all forests – stintless stars – as much of noon as i could take between my finite eyes – 13 these stanzas encapsulate dickinson’s writing of her situation as a vehicle for processing what has happened to her. while other scholars have suggested the references to eyesight in her poetry are purely for the sake of poetics or symbolic of other ideas, this poem directly addresses her loss of vision as traumatic. dickinson’s reflection of how she misses her clear vision and how eyesight is essentially “finite” acts as her own processing of her vision loss as a form of trauma. in conjunction with theories relating to dickinson’s poor health that caused her to stay inside, the poet’s public image is often tainted by her reputation as a recluse in her later years. the poet’s reclusion is interpreted as both bizarre but also coolly mysterious, as expressed by maryanne garbowsky, who writes: “the life of emily dickinson reads like a fairy tale, with the air of a dream clinging to it — a young woman dressed in white confined to her father’s home” (17). by the time dickinson had begun her correspondence with thomas wentworth higginson, she was almost entirely housebound. when he invited her to come to boston, as “all ladies do,” thus marketing it as being “a proper excursion for literary women” dickinson declined. her reasoning? she wrote to him: “father objects because he is in the habit of me.” instead, dickinson invited higginson to her home in amherst in june 1869, explaining: “i do not cross my father’s ground to any house or town” (garbowsky 28-29). dickinson’s isolation fascinated higginson, who planned his visit to learn more about the poet. much like higginson, dickinson’s puzzling sequestering continues to intrigue contemporary scholars who seek an answer to her isolation. the fairytale-like mystery surrounding the poet’s seclusion has led to theories of whether another ailment afflicted her—agoraphobia. garbowsky’s book ultimately argues that dickinson’s reclusion was “due to an agoraphobic syndrome that left her in fear of the outside world.” garbowsky traces how dickinson “changed from a normal, outgoing person to someone afraid to leave the ‘safe’ 14 confines of her father’s house” saying that “turning to representative poems within the fascicles, we find the record of that life: the grip of fear, the pattern of flight, and the habit of denial” (22). this fearfulness is apparent in thomas wentworth higginson’s own encounters with the poet, who he said was “suffering from ‘an excess of tension’ created by ‘an abnormal life’” (garbowsky 28). the “excess of tension” would likely be classified as generalized anxiety disorder, by today’s standards; however, her seclusion was not the root cause of it. dickinson’s “chronic apprehension was part of a larger emotional disorder that in fact created [her] abnormal life-style” (grabowsky 28). dickinson’s debilitating anxiety and fear of leaving her father’s house would, most likely, be diagnosed today as a severe agoraphobic syndrome. diagnosing and identifying agoraphobia (especially in the now-deceased poet) is incredibly tricky. broadly speaking, agoraphobia is defined as “a marked fear of being alone, or being in public places from which escape might be difficult or help not available in cases of sudden incapacitation. normal activities are increasingly constricted as fears or avoidance behavior dominate the individual’s life” (garbowsky 32). further clarification notes that “at its most basic level the term can denote a patient’s fear of leaving the house” but it also includes other types, specifically an agoraphobia with panic attacks and one without. the initial phase of agoraphobia begins with recurrent panic attacks, according to the dsm iii (garbowsky 34). while it is impossible to know the specifics of dickinson’s anxiety and panic, these symptoms alongside her reluctance to leave her home are reflected in her poetry. despite dickinson’s infamous reclusion, it is important to acknowledge that she did not lock herself away without contact to the outside world. garbowsky stresses: “although the poet was a recluse, she did not live in a vacuum. withdrawn from the outside world, she participated in its activities through her family, her reading, and her correspondence” (21). despite 15 dickinson’s reclusion, she was largely active in the world she created for herself in the dickinson homestead and through her letters. while many details of her life are “as tightly closed upon herself as ever it was closed in the upstairs bedroom” her poetry offers us key insights into the mystery of her reclusive years (griffith 274). the poetry that reflects her reclusive nature functions therapeutically, “releasing her from a life that would otherwise have been impossible to live” (garbowsky 22). much like scholars who attribute dickinson’s terror to a possible assault or her eye ailment, garbowsky contends that the terror could very well be “a reactivation and intensification of panic attacks” stemming from her agoraphobia (67). by 1869, dickinson’s last trip was to boston in 1865, marking the four years as extremely reclusive (garbowsky 29). poems from this stage of her life are reflective of the anxiety terrorizing dickinson, and consequential collapse of mental health. one poem from ca. 1865, “crumbling is not an instant’s act” emphasizes the degeneration of her mental health. the first two stanzas capture the decline of one’s sense of self: crumbling is not an instant’s act a fundamental pause dilapidation’s processes are organized decays. ‘tis first a cobweb on the soul a cuticle of dust a borer in the axis an elemental rust – (463) in these lines, dickinson captures the gradual process of mental health’s decline, first beginning as a cobweb sprouting, then dust gathering, a borer clinging, and rust forming. 16 considering dickinson’s seclusion beginning sometime after her trip to boston in 1865, these stanzas embody dickinson’s awareness of the slow process of her inner self’s deterioration. in another poem from her later years, ca. 1873, the short poem captures the powerlessness of one’s circumstances: “in this short life / that only lasts an hour / how much – how little – is / within our power” (562). while it is unknown if she was specifically referring to anxiety, these brief lines provide insight to the powerlessness dickinson has felt in her short life, potentially including her mental health’s collapse, onset of panic attacks, and fear of the outside world. in particular, this relates to herman’s trauma definition centered around the “affliction of the powerless” and feelings of helplessness. through the many implications of trauma in dickinson’s life and subsequently, her poetry, she also captures the effect of trauma on her mental health and how her body aims to cope with it. the first stanza of one poem from ca. 1863 expresses: “one need not be a chamber – to be haunted -/ one need not be a house – the brain has corridors – surpassing / material place – (333). in these four lines, the poet acknowledges the complexity of the brain, comparing it to a haunted house with many corridors. to cope with the labyrinthine, haunted brain, dickinson writes about secluding oneself: “the body – borrows a revolver – / he bolts the door – / o’erlooking a superior spectre – / or more” (333). this poem functions as dickinson’s acknowledgement of how the brain bears the brunt of trauma and asks the challenging question of how a body should cope with it, and as evident in her case, isolation is the answer. as a whole, poems, such as this one, provide insight to dickinson’s mysterious, long period of isolation, and thus, inspire further inquiry into her life. 17 as one of america’s most celebrated female poets, emily dickinson’s fascinating poetry and mysterious life inspire an infinite amount of scholarly work. as explicated in this essay, her life was marked with a variety of traumas, some biographically sound and others merely theoretical. together, the examination of dickinson’s trauma highlights how further interest in emily dickinson and trauma theory can work together. this essay proves that trauma theory can be used to identify representations of trauma in poetry just as well as it does in works of fiction. as scholarship on dickinson continues to advance, in part due to shows like dickinson, hopefully more scholars look to the topic of trauma. through investigating the evidence of trauma in her life and represented in her poetry, we have further understanding of the enigmatic poetess of amherst and can better honor her legacy with new questions, gratitude, and admiration. we may never know the truth of dickinson’s life; whether her “terror” was sexual assault, sexual abuse by her father, her eye condition, or a debilitating case of agoraphobia. at the very least, we do know that her poems soothed the poet’s wounds regardless of their cause. 18 figures fig. i. daguerreotype of emily dickinson that depicts her right cornea’s deviation. “emily dickinson daguerreotype.” ca. 1847, amherst college archies & special collections. accessed 11 december 2021, https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/holdings/edickinson/dickinsondag. 19 works cited “because i could not stop.” dickinson, season 1, episode 1, written by alena smith, directed by david gordon green, apple tv+, 1 nov. 2019. crownshaw, richard. “trauma studies.” the routledge companion to critical and cultural theory, edited by simon malpas and paul wake, 2nd ed., routledge, 2013, pp. 167-176. dickinson, emily. the complete poems of emily dickinson. edited by thomas h. johnson, bay back books, 1961. dickinson, emily. “to t.w. higginson.” 25 april 1862. emily dickinson selected letters, edited by thomas h. johnson, belknap press of harvard university press, 1971, pp. 172. dondlinger, mary jo. “‘one need not be a chamber—to be haunted’: emily dickinson’s haunted space.” creating safe space: violence and women’s writing, edited by tomoko kuribayashi and julie tharp. suny press, 1998, pp. 101-116. ebscohost, search-ebscohostcom.ezp1.villanova.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&an=7921&site=ehostlive&scope=site. “emily dickinson daguerreotype.” ca. 1847, amherst college archies & special collections. accessed 11 december 2021, https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/holdings/edickinson/dickinsondag. freedman, eden wales. “introduction: reading trauma in (african) american literature.” reading testimony, witnessing trauma: confronting race, gender, and violence in american literature, university press of mississippi, pp. 3-39, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvx5w9hg.4. 20 garbowsky, maryanne m. “the house without the door: a study of emily dickinson and the illness of agoraphobia. associated university presses, 1989. griffith, clark. “epilogue: the clock, the father, and the child.” long shadow: emily dickinson’s tragic poetry, princeton university press, 1964, pp. 273-302, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt183pfxr.12. guthrie, james r. “‘measuring the sun’: perception, punishment, and the rivalrous imagination.” emily dickinson’s vision: illness and identity in her poetry, university of florida press, 1998, pp. 8-31. handler, rachel. “emily dickinson didn’t really get high on opium at a house party, right?” vulture, 6 nov. 2019, https://www.vulture.com/2019/11/emily-dickinson-tv-showhistorical-accuracy.html. hausler, jackie. “ub dickinson expert weighs in on apple tv+ series on the poet.” the view, university of buffalo college of arts and sciences, 31 oct. 2019, https://artssciences.buffalo.edu/about-college/recent-news/2019/october/miller-dickinson-appletv.html. legarda, isabel. “emily dickinson’s legacy is incomplete without discussing trauma.” the establishment, 8 sept. 2017, https://theestablishment.co/emily-dickinsons-legacy-isincomplete-without-discussing-trauma-e0bfe040239e/index.html. morriston, toni. “the site of memory.” inventing the truth: the art and craft of memoir, 2nd ed., ed. william zinsser, houghton mifflin, 1995, pp. 83-102. wardrop, daneen. “the terms of rape.” emily dickinson’s gothic: goblin with a gauge, university of iowa press, 1996, pp. 70-95. ebscohost, search-ebscohostcom.ezp1.villanova.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e700xna&an=22173. 21 winant, johanna. “despite the twerking and f-bombs, dickinson gets emily dickinson right.” slate, 8 nov. 2019, https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/dickinson-apple-tv-accuracypoetry.html. microsoft word rudnesky 2622 actor-network theory in tpodg.docx 1 “all influence is immoral:” actor-network theory in the picture of dorian gray franki maria rudnesky english “all art is quite useless,” writes oscar wilde in his preface to the picture of dorian gray (4), a novel, originally published in 1890, in which a work of art, a portrait, is not “useless” but instead is a character in itself, a moral compass, influenced by and influencing the other major characters in the novel. protagonist dorian gray, a young, handsome, wealthy man, becomes the muse of esteemed artist basil hallward, who paints a realistic portrait of dorian. basil introduces dorian to scandalous, immoral, clever lord henry wotton, who becomes a bad influence on dorian, and when the painting is finished, dorian, after speaking on the ills of aging with lord henry, laments that the painting will stay beautiful while he ages, unleashing a curse in which dorian himself remains beautiful but the evils committed by his soul cause the painting, locked away in an upper room, to transform. this transformation of the portrait is the product of influence, but also influences the plot significantly. “there is no such thing as a good influence, mr. gray. all influence is immoral—immoral from the scientific point of view,” says lord henry to dorian in their very first meeting, something that rings true throughout the novel. actor-network theory (ant) can be used to explain and understand the influences of and on the portrait in this novel. french philosopher, anthropologist, and sociologist bruno latour describes ant as the “sociology of associations” in his book reassembling the social (9), and these associations include actors from the nonhuman world as well as the human. using this theory, i argue that in wilde’s the picture of dorian gray, the portrait is itself an actor, and although it is hidden away and unseen throughout much of the main action, it is nonetheless the fourth major character of the novel. the other three major characters, dorian, basil, and lord henry, each 2 influence the portrait in its creation and subsequent ruin and in turn the portrait influences them. the dorian figure who is out in the world, reveling in self-indulgent and destructive habits and remaining young and handsome, is actually the portrait in that he is outwardly unchanging. the tucked-away portrait of dorian, on the other hand, is the man’s real soul, becoming aged and more hideous with each immoral act. reading this novel through the lens of actor-network theory allows one to better understand this switch, because ant allows for the perception of the portrait as an actor in the same way the human characters are. actor-network theory is interested in explicating the connection between all things, human and nonhuman, and the influence this connection has on the outcome of events. according to latour, ‘social’ is not a homogeneous thing, not solely a relationship between humans; rather, it is the trail of associations between heterogeneous elements. he writes, “social does not designate a thing among other things … but a type of connection between things that are not themselves social” (5). thus, the fabric of the picture of dorian gray includes human and nonhuman actors, whose actions are woven together so tightly that it is difficult to untangle each character’s or object’s influence in the grand scheme of the plot. firstly, it’s important to wonder: why did wilde choose to use a supernatural portrait to tell his story of morality and aestheticism? in his article “on being one’s own heir,” andrew g. christensen wrote on the popularity of magic picture stories as a genre around the time oscar wilde was writing, and the ways in which portraiture was a symbol of heredity and inheritance. according to christensen, “the focus here is on the metaphysical inheritance suggested by the supernatural portrait, wherein the self is heir to its own past” (159). in other words, the moment dorian’s portrait is completed, it already represents a past dorian whose youth and beauty can never actually be reclaimed in life, as he is aging every second whilst inheriting his own past. dorian laments on 3 this fact, especially after hearing the words of lord henry: “time is jealous of you, and wars against your lilies and your roses. you will become sallow, and hollow-cheeked, and dull-eyed. you will suffer horribly,” (wilde, 23). this newly-instilled fear of the loss of aesthetic beauty, coupled with the sight of the gorgeous, youthful painting, causes dorian to curse the portrait: “how sad it is! i shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. but this picture will remain always young … if it were only the other way! if it were i who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! for that … there is nothing in the whole world i would not give! i would give my soul for that!” (wilde, 25). it is in this moment that dorian switches places with the portrait; gives up his pureness of soul to remain young and beautiful. according to latour, “social, for ant, is the name of a type of momentary association which is characterized by the way it gathers together into new shapes” (65). dorian’s existential crisis in viewing the painting causes his soul to change shape, revealing his innate tendencies toward the level of superficiality and narcissism causing him to openly value aesthetic beauty and the hedonistic pleasures presented by lord henry over aging gracefully and maintaining morality in his soul. this cursed switch of dorian and the portrait is reminiscent of dorian making a deal with the devil, so to speak, much like he is a protagonist in a faustian myth. patricia dita writes of the interference of late victorian genres in the picture of dorian gray, since in her opinion the novel relies on faustian myth, particularly with regard to the thematic treatment of the protagonist. the faust myth has roots in german legends of the late medieval era and also primitive christian tenet, and it is essentially a tale in which a “faust” character makes a deal with a demon to acquire knowledge and power. “there is no doubt that dorian gray is another faustian character, who through the influence of the flamboyant lord henry wotton, ‘sells his soul’ for youth, sensations, experience and pleasure … dorian is not fully aware of the fact that 4 his desires will eventually come true, where the picture will represent his true soul, and he, the individual, will represent the picture” (dita, 348). in other words, dorian makes a deal he is not even aware he is making; in wishing he could switch places with the portrait and remain young, his soul is transplanted onto the portrait so that his sins will show there, while his appearance remains youthful and lovely, outwardly clean of wrongdoing. through this deal, the portrait is no longer just a portrait; it is a demon, a soul transplanted onto a canvas, an actor hidden away in a remote upper room who is still wreaking havoc on the plot. in contrast, dorian walks free as an angel in appearance, but he is an angel who is empty of his soul. the portrait itself becomes a character and an actor in this novel even before dorian makes this deal. at the outset of the novel, it’s important to note the ways in which dorian, basil, lord henry, and the portrait interact with and influence each other. michal ginsburg discusses the relationship between the three men and the portrait in his book portrait stories. once the painting itself is finished, each man is given a traditional role to occupy: basil as painter, dorian as sitter, and lord henry as viewer (ginsburg, 99). but, as ginsburg notes, these roles are not set in stone; “since the novel starts at the point where the portrait is just about finished, the story it tells is primarily that of the portrait’s effects, that is, it puts all three characters in the position of viewers” (99). thus, the portrait is an actor affecting the actions of the human characters in the novel immediately. in rita felski’s article “latour and literary studies,” she discusses ant through the ways that art and literature can influence viewers and readers, so obviously it can be applied to the portrait’s effect on the three men in the story. she writes, “the task of the critic is to follow the actors along the networks of words, things, ideas, images, and practices through which they are constituted. in this sense, poems and paintings possess as much ontological reality as nitrogen or napoleon: they are actors knotted into forms 5 of association that enlist our interest and help make things happen” (739). the portrait becomes knotted into the relationship and interactions between dorian, lord henry, and basil, and it does “make things happen.” a simple example is that it indirectly introduces dorian to lord henry, an association which causes dorian to curse the picture and assume a life of immorality without worrying about physical consequences, since those consequences only rear their ugly head on the portrait, not the man. felski also discusses that anything whose existence makes a difference can be known as an actor, human or nonhuman, since actors do not exist on their own but rather as an everchanging network; this is a fundamental condition for action (738). with this in mind, the portrait is clearly an actor, a member of the network that exists in the novel. it’s interesting to note that none of the three main characters have any children of their own, so the portrait becomes some kind of offspring, or even an heir, to the three men, especially dorian. for dorian, viewing the portrait as an heir allows him to disinherit himself from his memories, emotions, beliefs, opinions, and especially consequences of action. as christensen writes, “how these inheritances shape us greatly accounts for personality change and self-development, for good or ill” (167). once dorian feels he can pass any unpleasant emotions on to his hidden portrait, he frees himself to enjoy the immoral pleasures of life with little-to-no outward physical or emotional consequences. basil’s portrait of dorian reveals a convergence of the relationship and the triangle of desire that exists between basil, dorian, and lord henry. at the outset of the novel, lord henry asks why basil won’t exhibit his masterpiece, the portrait of dorian, to which basil remarks that it reveals something of his artistic idolatry of dorian: “he shall never know anything about it. but the world might guess it; and i will not bare my soul to their shallow, prying eyes … there is too much of myself in the thing, harry—too much of myself!” (wilde, 14). therefore, not 6 only is the portrait a representation of dorian’s youth and beauty, but it is also a representation of the love that basil feels for dorian. it holds basil’s innermost feelings for dorian, and even his “soul,” which is ironic seeing as the painting later holds dorian’s decrepit soul as well. there is also the mark of lord henry’s influence on dorian in the portrait. as basil is painting, he sees a change coming over dorian: “… the painter, deep in his work, and conscious only that a look had come into the lad’s face that he had never seen there before” (wilde, 19). therefore, dorian’s youthful beauty, basil’s love, and lord henry’s influence all converge in the creation of the portrait. “thus the portrait of dorian gray, perceived or recognized as a mimetic representation, a likeness, of its subject, is in fact the product of ‘influence,’ that is not a copying, not a doubling. produced by all three men who leave their traces on it, the portrait is the site where their intersubjective relations (of influence and desire) are inscribed” (ginsburg, 100-01). these qualities are present in the finished portrait, which dorian wishes to switch with. this begs the question: when dorian switches places with the portrait, does he become, as the portrait was, the convergence of the influences and desires of himself, lord henry, and basil? according to ant, the answer is likely yes. latour writes, “the project of ant is simply to extend the list and modify the shapes and figures of those assembled as participants and to design a way to make them act as a durable whole” (72). in other words, the three men’s desires and influence were woven together in the portrait which then switched places with dorian. thus, dorian in his human form walks free for the rest of the novel, full of these desires and influences plus the knowledge of his true soul, hidden away, reaping the consequences of his actions. lord henry himself ponders the subject of influence: “there was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence … to project one’s soul into some gracious form, and let it tarry there for a moment” (wilde, 34). the irony, of course is that lord henry’s influence on dorian lasts nearly 7 the entire course of the novel, and dorian’s soul actually was projected onto a “gracious form,” the once-beautiful painting that grows uglier with each immoral act he commits. actor-network theory actually has much to say about the three men and their influence on the portrait, and its subsequent influence on them. jason maxwell writes on nonhuman actors as parts of networks: “actors derive their composition through their actions, actions that are necessarily connected to other actors in their network. indeed, the network simply amounts to the sum total of interactions among its participants, both human and nonhuman. without these interactions, the network effectively ceases to exist, becoming an altogether different network of associations” (162). if any character, including the portrait, was missing from wilde’s novel or did not act a certain way toward the other characters, then the whole story would be different. if basil didn’t choose dorian as his muse, there would be no portrait. if dorian didn’t realize his youthful beauty and wish to switch places with the portrait, then his age and sin would show on his face and he would not be able to hide it. if lord henry didn’t meet and begin to exert his influence on dorian, there would be no sinning. edwin sayes is another writer influenced by latour, who focused on nonhuman actors. according to sayes, “the term ‘nonhuman’ is intended to signal dissatisfaction with the philosophical tradition in which an object is automatically placed opposite a subject, and the two are treated as radically different” (136). this is important to the picture of dorian gray because the portrait should not be treated as an opposite to the human dorian. dorian switched places with the portrait, so that he, like a portrait would, remains youthfully handsome, while the portrait displays age and the ruination of dorian’s soul through immoral acts and hedonism. mike michael, in his book actor-network theory: trials, trails and translations, also discusses the role of the nonhuman in that it often can shape the inter-relations amongst human actors (17), 8 which is what happens within the dorian-lord henry-basil triangle. further, michael writes on the work of michel serres, an older contemporary of ant’s early pioneers, who compared the role of nonhuman actors to hermes, the not-always-reliable messenger of the gods. “hermes conveys messages, but sometimes they do not arrive in the same form or with the same content as when they were sent, and the relationships they were meant to mediate do not always turn out as intended … the immediate point is that though these messengers—message-bearers—take many disparate forms, they are themselves also the products of message-bearers” (michael, 1920). this relates to the portrait of dorian, because the portrait holds basil’s feelings for dorian, but dorian does not receive this message initially. the portrait as a mediator between the three men does not function as they initially intended, not least of all because dorian stows it away in an upper room once he catches wind of what the curse has done to the portrait. on this point, latour writes that although nonhuman actors tend to recede into the background, “it does not mean they stop acting, but that their mode of action is no longer visibly connected to the usual social ties” (80). this is especially relevant for the portrait: hidden away by dorian but still very much a part of the action in that it is present in dorian’s mind, and he checks the damage to it almost always after committing each new sin and even revels in the change. dorian keeps his scarred soul in a remote room, “the room that was to keep for him the curious secret of his life and hide his soul from the eyes of men” (wilde, 101). even though dorian’s “secret” is not always in sight, it is never far from his mind, no matter how hidden he believes it to be. ant has origins and connections to scientific fields of study, and josé huguenin and gisele wolkoff embarked on an interesting study to explicate the ties between the picture of dorian gray and physics, which is relevant to a discussion of this novel and ant. huguenin and wolkoff discuss the importance of exploring relations between different fields of knowledge, 9 reflecting on the dialogue between art and science (82), which is something that latour and his contemporaries embark on when applying actor-network theory to literature and art. huguenin and wolkoff note the ways in which the scientific many worlds interpretation (mwi) can be seen in and applied to wilde’s novel. “the quantum mechanic’s measurement postulate tells us that the state of a given system collapses into the measured corresponding result. parallel worlds, then, collapse into a single world. how can the mwi be seen in the novel? dorian gray lives in two parallel worlds: the one in which dorian gray remains young and the world where the picture ages. when dorian gray destroys the picture, the two parallel worlds collapse into one where dorian gray is old. the superposition between the two worlds (dorian gray young/ picture aging), therefore, gets destroyed” (89-90). the ending of the novel does make clear the dangers of living with a soul in two parts, or a body separate from a soul, reminiscent of jk rowling’s harry potter series, in which the villainous lord voldemort splits his soul into many parts, only to become weaker as each part is destroyed. this is relevant to the ending of the novel, in which destroying the painting is equivalent to dorian destroying his soul and himself. in his exploration of doubling in this novel, christopher craft writes of dorian as a “divided figure of self and same,” (113) in that he has tied his sense of self to the beauty he originally saw in the portrait, and through the switch, he has lost his soul and the sense of who he actually is. instead, he spirals into murder and madness under the influence of lord henry and through the aspect of not having to see physical implications of his aging and wrongdoings. the ending is extremely telling of the dangers of living life split in two, but first it is important to further explore this idea of doubling, or mimesis. nidesh lawtoo examines the mimesis at play in wilde’s novel, noting dorian’s awareness of his sins on full display in the transformation of the portrait: “on the one hand, despite its anti-realistic status, the decaying 10 picture continues to represent faithfully, or mirror-like, the moral decay of the protagonist's soul. on the other hand, dorian adds a mirroring device to the (anti-)mimetic picture, enhancing the dynamic interplay between the visual reflection and the bodily horror constitutive of his double life” (222). the entire novel explores real and not real, double lives, and inner versus outer lives. the most obvious example is the hidden-away portrait, but this idea of doubling can be applied to dorian’s spurned lover, sibyl vane. dorian loved her for her acting abilities, but scorned her when she lost those abilities. the cruel irony is that the reason sibyl loses her abilities is because once she experiences what she believes to be real love with dorian, she feels she can no longer pretend to love when on stage. after dorian cruelly breaks up with her, the selfish act that brings on the first change in the portrait, she kills herself. he laments this to lord henry, who tells dorian to be sad for the characters she played on stage, but not for sibyl herself: “don’t waste your tears over sibyl vane. she was less real than they are” (87). this marking of sibyl as separate from the characters she played brings to mind the relationship between dorian and the portrait: which one is real and which one is a character, an act? craft also writes about the doubling quality in the picture of dorian gray. craft compares the character of dorian gray to narcissus, because of the existence of: “an insanity that consists in the lover’s attachment not at all to ‘himself,’ but rather to the visual image that discloses the self to itself as the alienated object of its own desire. this is a commitment that … graduates fully unto death” (craft, 113). craft writes that unlike in ovid’s narcissus story, in which ovid employs natural speculum, wilde uses “an artificial and supernatural one … dorian’s portrait confers visibility upon an internal corruption that otherwise escapes sensory apprehension” (114). in other words, the representation of dorian’s wrongdoing is on a manmade canvas, painted by his once-friend 11 basil, and stowed away where no one can see or know of his sin-crippled soul. that is, until he runs into basil, who asks to see the portrait that he created. toward the end of the novel, dorian runs into basil, who has heard terrible things about dorian’s immoral acts, and wishes to know if these evils are true. dorian eventually agrees to show basil the portrait, hidden away in a back room, remarking: “so you think that it is only god who sees the soul, basil? draw that curtain back, and you will see mine” (wilde, 130). basil is horror-stricken by the hideousness of the painting, no longer beautiful but aged and ugly. dorian tells basil the story of the influences on him that led to the misfortunes faced throughout the novel: “you met me, flattered me, and taught me to be vain of my good looks. one day you introduced me to a friend of yours, who explained to me the wonder of youth, and you finished a portrait of me that revealed to me the wonder of beauty. in a mad moment, that, even now, i don’t know whether i regret or not, i made a wish, perhaps you would call it a prayer…” (wilde, 131). it is here that dorian reveals his awareness of the influences by both basil and lord henry, influences which caused him to become vain and treasure his youth, and therefore caused him to initiate the curse. as lawtoo writes, “the novel triangulates influences between the gay artist, the aesthetic model, and the decadent dandy that destabilize the main conceptual polarities which, at first sight, appear to simply oppose aesthetics to morality, art to life, truth to lies, materialism to idealism, good to evil, etc.” (217). it is in this moment, showing the ruined portrait to its original creator, that dorian realizes all the ways he has been influenced and how the portrait has been at the center of it all. but, instead of repenting, as basil begs him to do, dorian kills his former friend instead, and then blackmails someone to dispose of the body. although he has realized the evils of influence, he is not quite ready to give up the immoral, careless life he is living. before his death, basil is able to see what became of his once-coveted 12 masterpiece. “this is a decisive turning point in which the painter realizes that a mimetic inversion of perspectives has taken place” (lawtoo, 221). basil is the only character besides dorian to have his eyes opened to the doubling of dorian’s soul, or the transplantation of his soul onto basil’s own artwork. the portrait was once a site of basil’s secret love, but dorian grasped an opportunity to switch places with it. the sad irony is that both men thought the portrait held a similar secret for the other, even though their secrets didn’t quite align: dorian’s secret is his wish to switch places with the portrait and remain beautiful, while basil’s secret is that the portrait reflects the hidden love he feels for dorian (ginsburg, 99). in this scene the portrait is clearly an actor; the sight of its ruination causes basil great pain and it causes dorian to lash out at the artist rather than choose to repent and try to make things right. in reference to the portrait, dorian says, “i was wrong. it has destroyed me” (131). this fact certainly rings true for the end of the novel. dorian feels paranoid of being found out for the various murders and moral crimes he has committed throughout the novel. he ruminates over the picture as evidence of his crime, because it wears the marks of guilty conscience. once dorian recognizes the portrait in this way, he realizes that he needs to destroy it, and in doing so he may destroy the nagging feelings of guilt that plague him: “it had brought melancholy across his passions. its mere memory had marred many moments of joy. it had been like conscience to him. yes, it had been conscience. he would destroy it” (wilde, 183). this line of thinking shows that although the portrait itself had been hidden away for much of the plot, it was never far from dorian’s mind. even though the picture did not necessarily exert agency like one might think an actor in a network should do, the simple existence of it within dorian’s inner network caused him to ponder feelings of guilt he believed that he had pushed away. sayes discusses ant in its attempt to pluralize what it means to speak of agency: “thus understood, ant adopts a 13 complicated but nonetheless minimal conception of agency. it is minimal because it catches every entity that makes or promotes a difference in another entity or in a network” (141). in other words, within the study of ant, agency can be decoupled from intentionality, subjectivity, and free will. therefore, although a painting obviously cannot exercise free will, this supernatural painting is a transcription of dorian’s soul, and therefore it is an actor in influencing the plot as well as dorian’s thoughts and actions. dorian recognizes the painting as the embodiment of his guilty conscience, a whole other character in itself. when he realizes this, it’s clear that both dorian and the portrait cannot coexist, because dorian can not continue living life without care while the embodiment of guilt in all its ugliness still exists within his own home. this goes along with the ant notion presented by sayes: “we should not be concerned with whether nonhumans are understood to possess the ability to make moral or immoral decisions this is not suggested. rather, what is elided and made impossible is the question of responsibility of which individuals and groups should be held accountable” (140). in other words, morality can’t be linked to nonhumans as separate from other actors, but it should be linked to associations. thus, the painting itself was made hideous based on the immoral actions of dorian. the painting did not make the decisions, dorian did, but due to his cursed wish the painting was the thing outwardly changed. interestingly, sayes also writes that, “simply put, nonhumans do not have agency by themselves, if only because they are never by themselves” (144). this point is intriguing in the context of the novel because once dorian stashes the work in a secluded room, it is technically by itself save for when he visits it or when he shows the damage to basil. but, it is hard to untangle dorian the person from dorian the portrait since his soul his so intertwined with the artwork by the end of the novel. so, the portrait as a nonhuman actor is never actually by itself, since part of dorian 14 exists within it from the moment that he makes the wish to switch places with it. as ginsburg writes, “he sees in it the power of his beauty and youth. it is this power that he desires to preserve through his wish to exchange place with the portrait … dorian’s influence over others throughout his life demonstrates the power of the image he has become through this exchange” (103). in other words, dorian’s influence on others following the curse on the portrait shows the way in which he has truly become the embodiment of youth and beauty that he, basil, and lord henry marveled over at the beginning of the novel. latour writes of continuity of influence as not just consisting of human to human or object to object connections, but rather it “zig-zags” from one to the other (75). in this way, dorian the person embodies the influence of dorian the portrait, influencing others as though he were a painting, not a person. at the same time, his knowledge of the increasingly decrepit painting stowed away in a hidden room drives his descent into madness, murderous rage, and eventually suicide. maxwell writes of ant as the notion of a series of continually shifting hybrids or networks, weaving humans and nonhumans without clear distinction (161). the portrait sharing a piece of dorian, his very soul, allows for the intermingling of the human and nonhuman in the network present in this novel. craft writes that, “[the portrait] turns dorian inside out so his eyes may witness what, by definition, they cannot see at all—the legible condition of his inner being” (114-15). the portrait, to dorian, is like a mirror into his darkest inner-soul, a mirror that he chooses to ignore for most of the novel until he simply cannot shirk the guilt it’s causing him. once dorian recognizes the portrait, like basil, as disrupting the flow of his network, causing him to feel guilt, paranoia, and distress, the only logical option in his mind is to destroy it. it’s as though he believes destroying the thing that is disrupting his network will allow him smooth sailing in his hedonistic ways. this is what causes him to take the knife that was ironically used 15 by him to murder basil, and attempt to destroy the portrait itself. “as it had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter’s work, and all that that meant. it would kill the past, and when that was dead he would be free” (wilde, 183). because the portrait was heir to the consequences of his past actions, dorian mistakenly assumes that if he destroys the portrait, the consequences would be destroyed as well. what he fails to recognize is that his switch with the painting was not just in appearance alone; dorian is still heir to his own past. in the harry potter series, when voldemort’s last horcrux is destroyed, voldemort’s soul and personage is destroyed as well. in the same way, dorian’s destruction of the thing holding his soul kills the last shred of humanity he had left. throughout his hedonistic life, dorian had not actually been a human; rather he was a walking, talking portrait: beautiful to the eye but with no substance. his ailing humanity was locked away in a secret room, imprisoned within basil’s painting. thus, stabbing the painting is equivalent to dorian stabbing himself. it’s also interesting to note that dorian believed he was simply destroying “the painter’s work,” as if he was unaware it had become so much more than an inanimate object throughout the course of the novel. as ginsburg notes, “he kills himself with the same knife he used to kill basil, thus murdering the murderer, repeating/paying for that murder” (108). for an ant perspective on this, latour writes that objects can become mediators during major events like “actions, breakdowns, and strikes” (81). through dorian’s final act of stabbing the painting, the painting becomes a mediator, switching places with dorian so that it is himself that he kills. through this act of murdersuicide, the body and soul once again reunite. in kerry powell’s and peter raby’s oscar wilde in context, they note this unification of the body and soul at the end of the novel: “the novel paints the ugliness of soul as well as of body, suggesting the way in which a more reflective aesthetic judgement can be a means to attaining virtue. dorian’s final attack on his portrait is 16 spurred by an aesthetic judgement … the visible ugliness of vice in the sinful soul repels the hedonist” (266). in other words, as long as the ugliness of sin was out of sight, out of mind for the hedonistic dorian, he was content in continuing to live that way. once he is forced to reconcile the image of the hideous, aged portrait being the image of his own soul, his vainness causes him to feel the need to destroy it. this final act of destruction is what reunites dorian’s body with his soul, but it is not a happy reunion. the body of dorian is found, unrecognizably old and hideous, stabbed in the heart, while his portrait is back to its original youthful beauty. in this way, the portrait as nonhuman actor, with agency only as was projected upon it by the cursed switch, facilitates the rise and fall of dorian gray. as dorian himself says, “there is something fatal about a portrait. it has a life of its own” (wilde, 97). 17 works cited christensen, andrew g. "on being one’s own heir." word & image: a journal of verbal/visual enquiry vol. 35 no. 2, 2019, pp. 159-171. craft, christopher. "come see about me: enchantment of the double in the picture of dorian gray." representations, vol. 91 no. 1, 2005, pp. 109-136. dita, patricia denisa. "a late victorian interference of genres." humanitas: uluslararası sosyal bilimler dergisi/international journal of social sciences, vol. 7 no. 14, 2019, pp. 337-357. felski, rita. "latour and literary studies." pmla: publications of the modern language association of america, vol. 130 no. 3, 2015, pp. 737-742. ginsburg, michal peled. portrait stories. first edition. new york: fordham university press, 2015. huguenin, josé a. o., and gisele g. wolkoff. "a transdisciplinary approach." abei journal: the brazilian journal of irish studies, 19, 2017, pp. 81-91. latour, bruno. reassembling the social. oxford: oup oxford, 2005. lawtoo, nidesh. "the excess of mimesis." partial answers: journal of literature and the history of ideas, vol. 18 no. 2, 2020, pp 213-238, project muse, muse.jhu.edu/article/756882. accessed 18 november 2020. maxwell, jason. "new things, old things: reading the latourian turn symptomatically." the two cultures of english: literature, composition, and the moment of rhetoric, fordham up, 2019, pp. 156-92. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv7xbrgn. accessed 18 nov. 2020. 18 michael, mike. actor-network theory: trials, trails and translations. sage publications ltd, 2017. powell, kerry., and peter raby. oscar wilde in context. cambridge ; new york: cambridge university press, 2013. sayes, edwin. “actor-network theory and methodology: just what does it mean to say that nonhumans have agency?” social studies of science, vol. 44, no. 1, 2014, pp. 134– 149. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/43284223. accessed 19 nov. 2020. wilde, oscar, and michael patrick gillespie. the picture of dorian gray: authoritative texts, backgrounds, reviews and reactions, criticism. 2nd ed. new york, w. w. norton & co., 2007. microsoft word reaugh_uncomfortably close 1   the uncomfortably close narrator of uncle tom’s cabin stephen reaugh english the narrator of harriet beecher stowe’s uncle tom’s cabin is not a quiet one. stowe’s narrator intervenes—a verb scholars seem fond of using to describe how the narrator acts—in the narrative often, sometimes commenting on or speaking to characters and action within the story, and sometimes stepping outside of the narrative to speak directly at the audience. as dawn coleman writes, this voice is “remarkably supple,” able to play “the local colorist,” “the humorist,” “the ethnographer,” and also the preacher of “passionate intensity” all within the same text (271). this multi-voiced narrator has drawn a variety of criticism and scholarly attention, but most of that attention is focused on the narrator’s more obvious apostrophes to the reader or to characters and events of the narrative. a turn toward not only the variations of the narrator’s roles, but also the narrator’s tone, is therefore necessary to better understand the complexities of stowe’s narrator. defining stowe’s narrator—especially since the narrator is so multi-voiced—seems a logical endeavor for one seeking to detect the narrator’s function and tone, but scholars do not agree on even this elemental step. some call the narrator “stowe” with full gendered implications, as barbara hochman does: “moreover, while stowe may have believed that a dying child was indeed going to ‘a better country,’ she knew from her own experience that there was no death without suffering (148-149). christopher diller, on the other hand, strictly establishes boundaries between author and narrator, calling the narrator always “stowe’s narrator”: “stowe’s narrator does not obscure the plain fact that ophelia imprisons topsy” (35). 2   however the narrator is called, scholarship appends to this narrator an identity—or to be more precise, a character with whom stowe is inextricably linked. in a curious overlap, any teacher of this text must make similar decisions regarding something as seemingly simple as naming a narrator. does the instructor teach the narrator as a narrator, as a character within the novel, as an aspect of stowe herself, or all three? or none? the instructor, who herself navigates a variety of voices/roles in order to both clarify her pedagogical objectives to her students and get them engaged with the novel, must, like the scholar, interpret the text in order to share that interpretation with her students. she must be prepared, after all, for her students to react to this narrator—perhaps as vehemently as some scholars do, made uncomfortable by the “passionate intensity” with which the narrator sometimes intervenes. thus what this essay argues for is a reconceptualization of the narrator of the sentimental novel. using uncle tom’s cabin as a test case, this essay will demonstrate that the numerous roles of the narrator—and the narrator’s tone in each of those roles—creates a narrator that is so multi-voiced that they are themselves a character. furthermore, this essay will investigate how the scholar and instructor treat this narrator-character, and what the critical consequences are of these choices they (the scholar and instructor) make in their readings. in so doing, this essay argues that the interpretive decisions the scholar and instructor make, when taken together, posit a new form of looking at texts that is less stable than the written word suggests—that instead of the text being absolutely one way, it has the potential to be any number of ways, perhaps even all at once. the narrator: function(s) and role(s) what the variations of the roles of the narrator allow for is not only a multi-faceted view of the narration in uncle tom’s cabin, but also a collapse of the distance between narrator and 3   reader(s). what scholarship of uncle tom’s cabin alludes to is that the audience’s experience with the narrator is one that relies on identification, whether that identification be with the narrator themselves or the characters and events of the novel. in so doing, scholars imply that a type of collective knowledge or understanding links the audience and the narrator together. one of the most evocative views of this narrative distance is robyn r. warhol’s idea of the “engaging” narrator. for warhol, who is in turn reading gerald prince, the narrator is usually defined in terms of its narratee, addressee, and receiver (811). if this is done, then warhol argues that, when addressed by the narrator, these various forms of audience—narratee, addressee, and receiver—take on the following three personages (respectively): “the ‘you’ that may be inscribed or encoded in a text, the implied reader suggested by that ‘you,’ and the actual reader who receives that ‘you’” (811). what this creates, warhol argues, is a distance between the narrator and these “you”s—a distance that, when closed, could create a different kind of narrator, which warhol terms an “engaging” narrator (811). the engaging narrator—“intended to evoke recognition and identification in the person who holds the book and reads, even if the ‘you’ in the text resembles that person only slightly or not at all”—is, for warhol, the narrator who occasionally intervenes in stowe’s text (811). for warhol, this engaging narrator functions in stowe’s text in varying roles, but each of those roles still relies on the audience as part of the exchange, thereby creating a hoop of identification among the narrator, characters, and audience. the first role warhol attributes to the engaging narrator is that they “will, walt whitman-like, specify narratees in a group (e.g., ‘mothers of america’) or include large numbers of more specifically defined groups in passages of direct address…[or] more frequently, [address] the narratee simply as ‘reader’ or ‘you,’ designations that can signify any actual reader” (813). in so doing, the engaging narrator 4   ostensibly relieves some of the distance between itself and the audience by speaking at them and encouraging identification on part of the reader, especially when repeated. the engaging narrator, in further attempts to create identification, encourages rhetorical devices that “suggest that the characters are possibly as ‘real’ as the narrator and narratee, who are, in these cases, to be identified with the actual author and actual reader. stowe’s narrator simply claims that her characters—or their counterparts—exist in the real world” (814). when this relationship is successfully established, the narrator then also functions as an obvious narrator—which, for warhol, manifests in uncle tom’s cabin as the role of a preacher seeking “to arouse the egocentric feelings of any actual readers who can identify…then to ask the reader to project those feelings into compassion for actual slaves” (815). other scholars accentuate this identification being asked of the reader, and pin that identification to the narrator’s role in the text. dawn coleman, for example, finds common ground with warhol on the idea that the narrator of uncle tom’s cabin has the capacity for a narrator with a “sermonic voice…whose sermonic interventions move steadily from the culturally feminine to the culturally masculine—from sentimentality to theological vision” (266267). coleman’s view of the sermonic mode shares warhol’s concept that the distance between narrator and narratee closes in stowe’s novel because of a desire for identification on part of the reader for the narrator who is, at least at first, “direct, personal, and emotional—sentimental, in the best sense of the word” (272). even as the sermonic narrator, for coleman, turns to “an anxious concern with defending god against charges of indifference,” the point of this narrator is ultimately still the same: to have the audience receive the narration and hopefully put it into some kind of moral action (274). 5   the distance between narrator and reader collapses even further in some readings. coleman’s concept of the narrator wanting to stir the reader to action is one that jane tompkins and barbara hochman echo in their work. for tompkins, the novel “not only offers an interpretive framework for understanding the culture, and, through the reinforcement of a particular code of values, recommends a strategy for dealing with cultural conflict, but it is itself an agent of that strategy, putting into practice the measures it prescribes” (278). thus for tompkins the “melodramatic” or “pathetic” attempts of the narrator to connect with the audience and close that narrative distance are “the only terms in which the book’s success can be explained” (278, emphasis original). similarly, hochman concerns herself with the success of stowe’s novel, arguing that stowe “was determined to break through what she saw as the defenses of readers who could hear about slavery every day and never ‘listen’” (144). as hochman explains, stowe could have been aware that “neither her facts nor her arguments would be new to readers…in a sense they were all too familiar” (143). through a historical tour of similar texts of the period, hochman argues that stowe’s narrator uses this familiarity against itself—by introducing conventions like the slave mother and dying child, stowe varied the tradition behind such types by mixing them with expectations of white characters. eliza, instead of being completely deferent to men—and her owner, by extension—resists and runs away; despite this, she otherwise “altogether behaves like the perfect model of true womanhood…both fulfill[ing] and challeng[ing] the moral norms of [women’s] behavior” (155). stowe’s adaptation of the dying child—eva—by giving eva a “social matrix” and having her be “tough-minded when it comes to the most difficult subjects,” even on her deathbed, both invoked the conventional character type as stowe simultaneously riffed on it (149). the audience and uncomfortable distance 6   what can be problematic about this collective knowledge that the narrator and audience share is that when the distance between narrator and narratee is so collapsed—and the vein of collective knowledge laid bare—some readers (and scholars, instructors, and students) grow uncomfortable with the narrator and, as a result, stowe’s text. in other words, if the narrator gets too close to the reader, the reader may instinctively pull back, thus rejecting any engagement in the “sentiment” of the sentimental novel. for thomas p. joswick, this rejection originates from a collective negative experience, rather than the positive experience of identification that the narrator may assume of the audience; on eva’s death scene, he writes, “modern readers may agree that the scene’s luxury characterizes the most familiar and least desirable feature of nineteenth-century sentimental fiction, the excess of conventional props (funereal and linguistic) to stimulate an excess of feelings” (253). clearly, joswick—and his “modern readers”—are not buying into the sentiment in this scene. thus an understanding the narrator of stowe’s text to be multi-voiced must necessarily then invite the investigation of an audience capable of receiving this narration—and include, perhaps to what surely would have been stowe’s chagrin, readers and receivers of her work who are less comfortable with the narrator’s correspondence with the “you.” faye halpern addresses this concern directly in her 2011 essay, “unmasking criticism: the problem with being a good reader of sentimental rhetoric,” wherein she shares her resistant reader responses to stowe’s sentimental attributes. but as halpern notes, some of this resistance originates from her multi-layered identity—she is not only receiver and reader of the text, but also a scholar, a critic. thus, reading june howard, she finds that sentimentality “‘is condemned so vehemently in part because its critics feel implicated in it’” (qtd. in halpern 52). in other words, if the distance between narrator and narratee is so collapsed—or “engaging,” as 7   warhol puts it—then the proximity of that narrator may unnerve some readers. as jessica lang notes, “[t]he community that is linked through the network of collective memory…is comprised of slaves, slave owners, and abolitionists; it is a community of southerners and northerners, of the wealthy, the working class, and the destitute” (41). being implicated to be directly alongside a perceived “enemy” or the opposite may, naturally, create feelings of mistrust on part of the reader—and not just one type of reader, but many. that mistrusting feeling may lead to the condemnation howard and halpern notice in readings of stowe’s work; assuming one wants to be included when they do not want to be can often, after all, breed discontentment on part of the one dragged into the event. halpern’s breakdown of audience into three categories—actual, authorial, and narrative—not only delineate the various voices of the audience, but also differentiate readers who are “on board” with the narrator from those who are not. through peter j. rabinowitz, halpern argues for these three kinds of audience because they helpfully demonstrate a key facet of her own response to uncle tom’s cabin. the actual audience is unavoidable, for halpern— “we have no choice but to be a member” of it because we are actually reading the text (52). for authorial and narrative audiences, however, halpern argues that “every fictional text invites a given reader to become a member” of these audiences, and while one could presumably occupy a seat in both at the same time, halpern finds this to be difficult due to their opposite natures. an authorial audience is one who “must be able to read as the author imagined her audience would read, even if we eventually go on in our articles to read against the grain” (56). on the other hand, the narrative audience will “get swept up in the world of the novel,” especially if that audience is attempting to reanimate a text for another or group of others—say, a classroom of students (qtd. in halpern 56). in so doing, identification most often happens with the narrative 8   audience—the distance collapses and the reader engages with the narrative; conversely, a reader stuck in authorial mode, like halpern, will “look right away for signs of craft” and soon feel “manipulated by stowe to respond in certain carefully scripted ways. so i resist her rhetoric” (59). similarly, a reader mired in the actual mode will fail to identify—as halpern writes on eva’s death scene, “i do not cry but remain stone-cold. in this case i’m not able to enter the narrative audience effortlessly—or effortfully—because my habits of reading make me so attuned to stowe’s efforts to make me cry, and as soon as i become aware of them i resist her rhetoric” (58). these varied views of the audience, as halpern puts them, seem unable to coexist with one another. the actual audience looks at the text without suspending disbelief, too aware that the experience of being a receiver of the novel is a constructed one. the authorial audience, obsessed with the tools of writing and the craft of fiction, has no time to create bonds with narrators or characters. the narrative audience, sucked into the story, cannot easily see beyond the world created in the text. but as halpern (briefly) mentions, there is one place where these three audiences easily coalesce: in the classroom. implications for pedagogy and criticism in a brief aside on her teaching, halpern—not a narrative audience member for uncle tom’s cabin, by her own admission—offers for framing some hypothetical narrative readers’ experiences of eva’s death scene, the same scene which halpern “resists” identifying with because of her identity as critic/authorial-actual audience member. halpern’s investigation of the narrative audience results in two statements she could imagine that audience articulating: “1) stowe describes just what it feels like when a close relative dies. 2) religion can offer solace when someone is dying; it did for me” (59). as halpern expects, these remarks “remove the 9   distance” between the reader and narrator, but what they seem to surprise her with is that she has “read remarks similar to these in [her] students’ papers—papers to which [she] gave low grades” (59). aside from joanne dobson, halpern finds that in her experience, no critic makes claims like these—nobody engages in the narrative audience, save for the (presumably) poorer writers in halpern’s classes (59). what halpern questions briefly here deserves more attention: what happens when the discomfort of the narrative distance between narrator and reader becomes so apparent that it suffuses even one’s teaching philosophy? in other words, why not accept the narrative audience-student’s responses as equally legitimate and insightful as an authorial or actual audience-student’s response? halpern pins this primarily to the way she was taught (and in turn, teaches), when she says that the authorial viewpoint “allows contemporary critics to feel superior and puts [them] in the position of unmaskers. it also confirms [their] status as professional critics. this is what literary critics do after all: [they] break texts apart to see how they work” (60). in order to remain legitimate (in whose eyes, it is unclear), halpern implies a pressure to prioritize and reward readings that are authorial or actual in nature—ones that attune to craft, to analysis, to “breaking texts apart.” tompkins takes this pressure a step further, arguing that in the scene where eva insists that she loves topsy (and topsy experiences some kind of moral breakthrough), the rhetoric and imagery present in the passage could bring forth “[w]ords like ‘kitsch,’ ‘camp’, and ‘corny’” in the responses of some readers (274). although tompkins goes on to alleviate this scene from these preconceived notions about what that rhetoric/those images signal, the responses are still relevant ones for the modern classroom. in fact, they might sound a lot like responses students may have to texts as old as stowe’s, no matter its contemporaneous success. as tompkins herself admits, critics “have taught generations of students to equate popularity 10   with debasement, emotionality with ineffectiveness, religiosity with fakery, domesticity with triviality, and all of these, implicitly, with womanly inferiority” (268). explicit in tompkins’s allegations is that the academy—the way of studying literature— enforces and then reinforces readings that, on the surface, seem to be about these issues of “craft” that halpern says are merely those of the authorial audience’s focus. but underneath that guise—or to use halpern’s term slyly, to “unmask” this—there sits a devaluing of engagement and, yes, emotional response. and it is this that tompkins believes (and halpern, if begrudgingly) students inherit from their instructors. if this is true, then how can it be rectified? clearly, the academy cannot be overwritten in one essay. but perhaps pedagogy can. sarcastic “stowe” to return to where the discussion of scholarship on the narrator in this essay began, one of the roles left out of robyn r. warhol’s view of the engaging narrator (and, indeed, all of the scholarship uncovered in the writing of this essay) is that of the utterly un-ironic narrator. this results because, warhol suggests, that the engaging narrator—stowe’s narrator—“usually assume[s] that their narratees are in perfect sympathy with them…unlike the sarcasm of distancing narrators, [who] ironically embarrasses readers” (814-815). while warhol is clear in that stowe’s narrator often exists to encourage identification with the reader and wring from that reader some kind of sympathy, the narrator does not always do this. there are far subtler—and sometimes even incredibly ironic, sarcastic—tones to the narrator of uncle tom’s cabin that warhol and others overlook when thinking about the narrator’s role(s) and function(s). investigating these tones in the text would, then, seem an appropriate way to demonstrate to students not only how to “closely read” the text for literary devices like tone and narrative voice, but also demonstrate in this essay how to use a conventional approach—entering a scholarly 11   conversation with “something new to say” about the topic—to allow for more potential in scholarship than the unilateral relationship that halpern and tompkins suggest that criticism cultivates. what will perhaps explain what i mean by my latter statement is a brief discussion of my approach to this very essay. for example, i have been avoiding the pronoun “i” in this essay mostly because it is how i speak in front of my students—casually—but also because of the anxiety that students develop regarding the presence of the author of the paper within the text itself. (how many times have i been asked, “is it okay to use ‘i’ in this paper?”) though i am aware that there are rulebooks that say, “no using the ‘i’ in papers,” i am also equally aware of a multitude of scholarly essays that break said rule. (halpern’s is one.) similarly, i am not ever operating with one tactic, in one mode in my classroom; i find it impossible. rather, i—and, i assume, many instructors—take on many roles: the lecturer, the actor, the joker, the encourager…the list could spin on. in the classroom, the instructor is often so urgently multiple because keeping students’ attention and imparting information to them requires, sometimes, a variety of approaches. not everyone learns the same way—and not every student receives a text in the same way. as a result, and in order to reach as many students as possible, i teach as many ways as i know how. will i inevitably leave something out? of course. but i could use it next class—or next week—or at midterm—or maybe years from now. what is important that a variety of possibilities, rather than a limited “correct view,” is made actual to students, so that, as readers/receivers, they can process a number of approaches to texts. this will, perhaps, encourage the conversation that scholarship invites. take, for example, the approaches to the narrator and audience discussed in this essay, which are, by nature of their inclusion in previous scholarship, “correct” views of uncle tom’s 12   cabin, even if some will fervently disagree with one another. warhol’s view of the “engaging” narrator is perhaps the most “multiple” of the approaches, but even her view comes down to defining precisely what her term means and how it is demonstrable in the novels she chooses to analyze. what is more interesting about her view is when it comes under fire from lilian r. furst in a 1987 pmla forum. furst claims that warhol “unnecessarily limits the scope of her concept of the engaging narrator by envisaging the issue in the final paragraph as a technique that may prove vital in differentiating women from men writers” (furst and warhol 351). warhol’s response does not get back to this opening claim until (ironically) the end of her argument, where she says, “since i am working with terms and definitions i have coined myself, i suppose all this might look like some shell game, in which i manipulate the piece until only women novelists turn up under the shell marked ‘engaging.’ when i began this project, though, i had no thought of discriminating among novelists according to gender” (352). here in front of us is the very kind of conversation that is so difficult to get students into in the first place! students can find even in these two brief excerpts some suspicious language worth investigating—furst’s overly lengthy way of saying “men do this too”; warhol’s use of the word “manipulate” tied with a shell game, which suggest a kind of con game at work; furst’s need to use a word like “envisaging” when something simpler could suffice. while these would still be rather traditional tactics (close reading, namely), the frame is the difference, because it encourages identification. maybe students will see this conversation as a fight, or a riff-off, or a peacocking, or merely a chat between good friends—however the audience engages, the distance between the student and the scholar collapses, which is, i think, what most instructors would want for students to develop. 13   if we turn to uncle tom’s cabin’s narrator and a potential for irony and sarcasm rather than a purely sentimental approach, we can find within a similar potential for student engagement despite a rather “traditional” way in to the subject matter. in chapter 22, the narrator describes a scene between eva and marie wherein eva says she would sell the jewels she would receive for her coming out so that the slaves (former, for eva would free them) could learn to read and write (241-242). when marie scoffs, eva insists that tom and mammy want to learn to at least read the bible, and that they feel eva feels “it’s wrong” that they cannot (242). marie immediately tells her to stop because eva’s talking is giving her a headache. to a reader of the text, this is no surprise—marie does not much care for eva’s view of the slaves. but it is the narrator’s next line that is a surprise: “marie always had a head-ache on hand for any conversation that did not exactly suit her” (242). here, the narrator takes a swipe at marie’s character by implying that marie’s headaches are contrivances that she has “on hand,” that she invents to make uncomfortable topics of conversation go away. in short, the narrator says that marie is fake. where, oh where, is the sentimental preacher-narrator here? where is the invocation to the audience to cue them to listen? they are not visible, and yet, the remark is clearly pointed at them. it is perhaps an aside from the narrator—a sarcastic quip, an inside joke between the reader and narrator. it still maintains the identification that warhol argues is necessary in the engaging narrator, except the “perfect sympathy” is more a perfect antipathy, and the embarrassment that should be gone is instead converted to point at a character. an earlier scene from a chapter with a similarly cheeky chapter title—chapter sixteen, “tom’s mistress and her opinions,” which i cannot help but read with ‘opinions’ in air quotes— demonstrates this sly sarcasm in greater relief. the narrator, first describing how africa must be put through god’s refining fire to come out nobly, turns to marie and says: 14   was this what marie st. clare was thinking of, as she stood, gorgeously dressed, on the verandah, on sunday morning, clasping a diamond bracelet on her slender wrist? most likely it was. or, if it wasn’t that, it was something else; for marie patronized good things, and she was going now, in full force,—diamonds, silk, and lace, and jewels, and all,—to a fashionable church, to be very religious. marie always made a point to be very pious on sunday. there she stood, so slender, so elegant, so airy and undulating in all her motions, her lace scarf enveloping her like a mist. she looked a graceful creature, and she felt very good and very elegant indeed. (164) the narrator’s attention to marie reads as suspicious. taken at face value, marie certainly looks like quite the upstanding citizen here—one who thinks deeply about the plight of africa, who worships so piously on sundays, who is so very beautiful and elegant and good and perfect in every way, surely! perhaps my sarcasm gives this away—or perhaps we are all smart enough to notice that the narrator is being sarcastic themselves. to juxtapose the plight of africa with a repeated focus on marie’s “diamonds, silk, and lace, and jewels” shows us a character who, frankly, could not care less about africa—but could not care more about her own appearance. marie here makes it “a point” to be religious on sundays, the narrator says—but of course what is meant is that marie makes it a point to look pious. she may or may not be religious just as she may or may not be interested in the plight of africa—the narrator flippantly excuses marie’s thoughts as “most likely” she was thinking about africa or “something else,” with the unsaid “who cares?” following. this examination of marie’s outside reads plainly as precisely that: what marie looks like. there is no intensive postulation about her inner thoughts here, like there is in other places, with characters like eliza, tom, st. clare, or eva. what we get is precisely what the narrator sees: a woman looking very elegant on a sunday morning. the irony, for those 15   of us in on the joke, is that we know that this is what the narrator thinks marie is: shallow, overly concerned with the outsides of things. but the narrator does not have to say that. the identification the audience has with the narrator allows for this to happen in a kind of code, which the instructor can helpfully explicate through close reading here and in other moments in the text. conclusion what this essay seeks to achieve, at the end of all of this, is a vision of the new kind of scholarship halpern calls on us to strive toward at the end of her essay: first, we might stop seeing our students’ growing distance from sentimental rhetoric— something i used to think of as proof of a job well-done—as an unmixed blessing. we should not let them forget or forget to value the kinds of reading practices they give up when they emulate currently dominant critical habits. in fact, we can use these sentimental texts to begin a discussion about some things that have often gone unremarked, at least in my classroom: the distance there can be between how a text wants to be read and how undergraduates and especially graduate students are trained to read it, as well as the benefits and costs of being (or at least pretending to be) a single kind of reader. (65-66, emphasis mine) what halpern advises here is not a full tilt toward a narrative audience member’s perspective; as she notes, “i am highly attuned to the dangers of such a desire and understand that fulfilling it may turn our criticism not so much utopian as uncritical” (65). but what she does advocate is the allowance for possibility, for the liminal, for a foot in two audiences that seem like they would not go together. especially relevant are the four words i have emphasized: “wants to be read.” halpern there suggests that the text has a desire of its own: that it wants things, craves being read 16   a certain way. and she suggests we should let students do as such in our classrooms. i agree, but i add a caveat: let us let the conversation be alive not only in our classrooms, but in our students’ papers, and in the work we ourselves submit, so that we may no longer be these uncomfortable scholars sneering away what we do not initially understand. 17   works cited coleman, dawn. “the unsentimental woman preacher of uncle tom’s cabin.” american literature, vol. 80, no. 2, 2008, pp. 265-292. diller, christopher. “sentimental types and social reform in uncle tom’s cabin.” studies in american fiction, vol. 32, no. 1, 2004, pp. 21-48. furst, lilian r. and robyn r. warhol. “the engaging narrator.” pmla, vol. 102, no. 3, 1987, pp. 351-352. halpern, faye. “unmasking criticism: the problem with being a good reader of sentimental rhetoric.” narrative, vol. 19, no. 1, 2011, pp. 51-71. hochman, barbara. “uncle tom’s cabin in the “national era”: an essay in generic norms and the contexts of reading.” book history, vol. 7, 2004, pp. 143-169. joswick, thomas p. “‘the crown without the conflict’: religious values and moral reasoning in uncle tom’s cabin. nineteenth-century literature criticism, vol. 39, no. 3, 1984, pp. 253-274. lang, jessica. “retelling the retold: race and orality in stowe’s uncle tom’s cabin.” arizona quarterly: a journal of american literature, culture, and theory, vol. 66, no. 2, 2010, pp. 35-58. stowe, harriet beecher. uncle tom’s cabin, 2nd ed. edited by elizabeth ammons, w.w. norton & co., 2010. tompkins, jane. “sentimental power: uncle tom’s cabin and the politics of literary history.” glyph, vol. 2, 1978, pp. 267-291. warhol, robyn r. “toward a theory of the engaging narrator: earnest interventions in gaskell, 18   stowe, and eliot.” pmla, vol. 101, no. 5, 1986, pp. 811-818. 1 the rediscovery of carrie buck: a historiography of buck v. bell and the injustice wrought by oliver wendell holmes, jr. by hannah spring pfeifer history in 1923, carrie elizabeth buck was raped. the offender was a nephew of her adoptive family and to avoid public shame, the family institutionalized carrie buck for feeblemindedness and promiscuity at the virginia state colony for epileptics and the feebleminded.i nine months later, buck gave birth to a baby girl, vivian, and was promptly sterilized against her will under advisement of colony superintendent dr. alfred priddy. buck was to be the colony’s test case to determine whether the new state eugenical sterilization law of 1924 would hold up under legal scrutiny; by 1927 however, carrie buck was in front of the united states supreme court (ussc), suing the sterilization surgeon john bell. ultimately buck lost the case 8-1, with the venerable associate justice oliver wendell holmes writing in the opinion “three generations of imbeciles are enough.”ii despite later evidence that neither carrie buck, nor her mother emma, nor vivian were in any way “imbecilic,” holmes’ comment would long be the only part of buck v. bell to which eugenics and legal scholars paid any attention. this brief description of the landmark ussc case, buck v. bell, offers a quick assessment of the injustice done to carrie buck and her family by the commonwealth of virginia and the united states supreme court. unfortunately, it took decades for historians to reach this analytic discussion of buck v. bell which was instead understood for much of the twentieth century in terms of its legal and scientific merit. from the american eugenics movement of the latenineteenth century into the scholarship of the early-twenty-first century, i trace the related paths 2 of major interdisciplinary and value-driven understandings of eugenics and the role of buck v. bell in litigating eugenic programs. this study of a singular court case and the variable ways in which scholars use it allows for a deeper interrogation of how cultural beliefs affect representations of historical actors and justifications of the eugenic project in the united states. i argue that to reach current conversations about the injustice of american eugenic programs as exemplified by buck v. bell, historical scholarship followed trends in twentieth century historical theory and pulled from medical and legal studies simultaneously, creating complex synthetizations which reflect era-specific american cultural values. before delving into academic understandings of buck v. bell, it is worth discussing early definitions for eugenics, sterilization, and “defectives” since the temporal changes in how these terms are understood directly influence interpretations of buck v. bell. eugenics, as defined by francis galton in 1883, means “well-born.”iii an english polymath and the cousin of charles darwin, galton applied the darwinian theory of natural selection to humans, proposing that undesirable traits could be, and ought to be, bred out of society. the american eugenics movement of the late-nineteenth century emerged directly from the galtonian belief that eugenic practices were humanitarian tools of positive social action.iv in 1910, the american genetic association established the american breeders’ magazine which, along with reputable publications such as scientific american, actively reinforced galton’s definition of eugenics and advocated for its application to american peoples outside eugenicists’ ideal parameters–white, mentally-sound, well-behaved, upper-class, etc. anyone outside these progressive era norms risked being labeled “defective.” according to paul lombardo, a person could be categorized as socially or mentally defective.v a social defective was exactly that, one who seemingly rejects social mores in favor of being a flawed individual 3 instead. american eugenicists applied this term to criminals, non-white persons, non-christians, and the impoverished, anyone who could taint the image of homogenous american prosperity. mental defectives, a common term in early american psychology, referred to anyone considered “feebleminded”, or individuals now understood to possess mental health conditions. these definitions pulled directly from galtonian perceptions of human society to which, as johanna schoen points out, hegemonic americans applied their normalized values.vi social deviants, or “defectives,” were often imprisoned or institutionalized. the other option for addressing their perceived social imperfections was to sterilize these individuals. generally, sterilization has three forms: elective sterilization requested by individuals who did not want to procreate, such as with many male vasectomies; therapeutic sterilization done for an individual’s health as with hysterectomies and salpingo-oophorectomies performed to remove ovarian cancer; and eugenic sterilization.vii eugenic sterilization, as defined by legal scholar john b. gest, is “the deprivation of a person, through surgery, of the procreative power, for the purpose of improving the race by the prevention of offspring who, through hereditary mental defect, would be regarded as socially unfit.”viii here, the link between social darwinism and galtonian eugenics is apparent since eugenic sterilization is done purely to prevent specific traits from passing from parent to child. this was the argument used to justify the sterilization of carrie buck. early proponents of the american eugenics movement presented their ideas as beneficial to society, asserting that eugenically minded endeavors, be they privately or federally funded, were best for both recipients of sterilization and the general public from which such degenerates would be removed. legal historian paul lombardo is often cited as the foremost expert on carrie buck and buck v. bell. lombardo argues in his 2008 book three generations, no imbeciles: 4 eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, that progressive and depression era proeugenics scholarship (c. 1920-1942) was situated into two camps: the control of sexual deviancy and the economic progress resulting from fewer monies going toward care of “defectives.”ix subsequent scholarship by legal historians generally agrees with lombardo’s assessment, as do some feminist scholars before him, however the road to understanding buck v. bell as a landmark case for american sexual politics and capitalist gains is forked and winding. initial academic works on buck v. bell came out in the 1930s studies of state-sponsored sterilization. following the great depression, americans were keenly aware of personal and national economics and, with the new deal offering federally funded work opportunities and stimulus packages, there was an increased focus on public welfare.x in 1938, paul popenoe and e.s. gosney published a study of sterilization in california.xi popenoe and gosney were the head researcher and founder respectively of the human betterment foundation (hbf), a eugenics institute with the primary purpose of using popenoe’s findings to support state-sponsored eugenics and sterilization outside california.xii although the virginian case buck v. bell was the first case to challenge sterilization laws in the united states supreme court, it was indiana in 1907 and california in 1909 that pioneered public monies going toward sterilization projects. the popenoe and gosney study is a continuation of their prior arguments regarding the benefits of forced or coerced sterilization for the wellbeing of the american people. in their work, popenoe and gosney echo their east coast contemporaries, charles davenport and harry h. laughlin at the eugenics record office (ebo) in new york. davenport and laughlin claimed that sterilization of poor women was a necessity since these women and their children would stay reliant on public funds for their entire lives.xiii popenoe and gosney argue that the united states would be improved if these women could not have children because 5 there would be less of a burden on the american public. in 1929, laughlin was the first professional eugenicist to write on the social welfare implications of buck v. bell, extending the above rationalization to institutionalized individuals because they were understood to be incapable of caring for themselves let alone children.xiv popenoe, gosney, and laughlin’s work following buck v. bell made use of the court’s ruling as federal justification for their hypotheses on social order and economic development, a justification that was only reinforced by the great depression. using these studies, lombardo’s assessment that the american eugenics movement was motivated by privileging specific social and perceived genetic attributes as well as public wealth proves correct.xv these early eugenics studies viewed buck v. bell as setting the precedent for a large-scale culling of the herd, of those “defectives” who could not, or should not, be allowed to reproduce for fear it would diminish the success of all americans. early scholars of eugenics and buck v. bell were not trained historians. rather, they were either passionate eugenics philanthropists who, like e.s. gosney, used their money and status to fund sterilization projects and research, or they were mendelian geneticists and biologists like harry h. laughlin. the lack of historical training means that the foundational works which discuss buck v. bell were situated within scientific disciplines and used scientific terms. they can be understood as miniature intellectual histories, vignettes of the actual star of buck v. bell, oliver wendell holmes, jr.xvi holmes was an associate justice for the ussc during buck v. bell and wrote the notoriously laconic judicial opinion on the case. he was also a devout eugenicist. in their 1938 study, popenoe and gosney take a moment to praise holmes in relation to buck v. bell, emphasizing his judicial legacy and blunt manner.xvii holmes’ concise opinions and involvement in landmark cases became the focus of many intellectual and political histories of buck v. bell. this framework, as defined by social-cultural historian william sewell, focuses on 6 biographies of significant historical figures and the political, economic, and educational milieu in which they operated.xviii like holmes, these figures are often wealthy white men. academic works involving buck v. bell shift from touting the scientific glory of eugenics to being an amalgamation of intellectual histories on holmes and legal histories on procedure and precedent. in 1943, lawyer thomas reed powell outlined a legal history of coerced sterilization in the united states, encouraging his audience to pay attention to the personal and social influence which affect a supreme court decision.xix powell alters the traditional intellectual history of holmes by focusing on the latter’s role in the courtroom rather than his affinity for eugenics. this hints at the social history marxist scholars in europe were beginning to employ. social historians write about the everyday person and, to some extent, the roles which larger social constructs–race, socioeconomic status, gender, etc.–play in their lives. powell begins to move beyond the strictly political and biographical foci of intellectual histories by weaving into his work the contextual narratives and social situations surrounding buck and holmes, later applying said context to the court case which united them. yet powell’s piece remains an intellectual history at its heart, one which ignores carrie buck’s agency and her role in the trial while maintaining the falsehood that she is “feebleminded.” this piece can further be viewed as representative of continued legal and medical debates over suppression of patients’ autonomy. judges and medical professionals, positions overwhelmingly dominated by white men even today, possess the social capital and power to determine the levels of bodily control allowed to citizens outside their ranks. the validity of these tools of social control was reinforced in both buck v. bell and its predecessor jacobson v. massachusetts (1905).xx in 1905, a swedish immigrant and pastor, henning jacobson sued the commonwealth of massachusetts for infringing on his ability to decide for himself and his 7 family whether to receive the smallpox vaccine, citing the 14th amendment protection of liberty. massachusetts had a compulsory vaccination law, enacted following an outbreak of smallpox in 1902 and intended to protect their residents from another epidemic. jacobson lost the case. the legal-medical authorities succeeded in their effort to “sanitize bodies that were viewed as a threat to the security of privileged classes,” a statement easily applied to buck v. bell and sterilization as well.xxi in fact, jacobson v. massachusetts is the only precedent ruling cited in buck v. bell, cementing their connection and their greater position in american eugenics history. the buck v. bell ruling did not remain a tool solely for eugenics in the united states but globally, especially within the eugenic programs of nazi germany (1933-1945). both the 1938 popenoe-gosney propaganda piece and a 1950 legal review by john b. gest remark upon the capacity for buck v. bell to influence other nations. popenoe and gosney, as supporters of eugenic sterilization, maintain their positive view of the practice despite waning public support.xxii in 1934, adolf hitler in his role as chancellor of germany successfully enacted the law for the prevention of genetically diseased offspring, a piece of eugenic legislation which legalized state-sponsored sterilization in germany.xxiii the law was directly based upon harry h. laughlin’s model sterilization law which ordered the sterilization of anyone deemed mentally unfit. this broad definition provided the basis for what would become the holocaust, the mass murder of innocents under the third reich in pursuit of a pure race. during the subsequent nuremberg trials, defense attorneys for former nazi officials referenced american laws and buck v. bell specifically as international legal precedent for the german eugenic programs post1934.xxiv as the atrocities of nazism were revealed to the american public, eugenics quickly fell out of favor due to its associations with mass forced sterilizations and an enemy of war. few 8 scholars continued to focus on american sterilization programs other than sociologist j.e. coogan. coogan was the first academic to publicly challenge the intelligence tests which the virginia colony said indicated the buck women’s imbecility, determining “‘the three were morons at worst.’”xxv the legal review from gest also opposes the previous tones of popenoe and gosney, laughlin, and powell when discussing buck v. bell and holmes. gest presents the ruling in buck v. bell as a wholly negative and preposterous one, asserting that holmes’ opinion was the “product of a juristic philosophy in complete discord with that on which our principles of law and government are founded.”xxvi the perceived discord results from what gest understands to be a contradiction between the personal freedoms and individual bodily integrity provided to each american by the constitution and the clear refusal by holmes to allow for that in his opinion. the united states supreme court is viewed as an arm of a totalitarian government or an “absolute state.”xxvii for gest, buck v. bell is a tool to analyze the overextension of federal power over its citizens. in a remarkably progressive moment, gest offers one of the first academically published concerns that buck v. bell could be used to target “many kinds of people...whose hereditary traits might be considered a hindrance to racial perfection.”xxviii again, though gest is not a historian, he is presenting concerns similar to those of contemporary social historians who were beginning to look at marginalized populations. like his predecessors, gest still focuses on holmes’ role in the trial, only mentioning carrie buck twice by name and perpetuating the false belief that she was correctly institutionalized due to a mental health condition. while gest interrogates the legal veracity of the buck v. bell ruling, medical scholars and psychiatric professionals continued to justify sterilization of mental defectives, revamping their efforts under the guise of sterilization as a treatment for psychosis. physician clarence j. gamble 9 was a prolific midcentury author and philanthropist. in an article for the american journal of psychiatry, he reaffirms the argument that sterilization of social and mental defectives is beneficial for the united states because it will prevent future incidents of hereditary psychosis: for the patient it prevents the psychic overload that parenthood often involves and lessens the economic strain on families in which the psychosis usually exhausts financial resources. as no sexual change is involved, this is accomplished without sacrifice on the part of the patient or spouse. for the community the operation is fully justified because the cost of institutionalizing one inherited psychosis will greatly exceed that of many operations.xxix gamble presents sterilization as mutually beneficial to institutionalized patients and the american public, couching it in both sexual and economic terms. economically, sterilization of one person would ideally prevent the birth and inevitable institutionalizing of future mental health patients. though gamble only explicitly mentions carrie buck and buck v. bell in his brief history of legal precedent for continued involuntary sterilization as treatment, his greater argument relating to heredity and the reduction of public burden mirrors those made twenty years earlier during the trial. since buck’s mother was perceived as psychotic, buck’s own young pregnancy and perceived promiscuity had to result from a similar mental health condition that the prosecution then claimed she passed to her child.xxx it was in the public’s best interest that buck be sterilized to prevent any more children for which, the commonwealth of virginia argued, the people would be responsible. gamble’s article, while in line with midcentury psychiatric practice, directly contradicts the building animosity toward eugenics practices in american legal-political reviews and histories as well as concern from members of the targeted patient groups. this trend in addressing the varying patient groups reflects the broader theoretical shift in historical research and writing; turning away from the intellectual and political histories which focused on oliver wendell holmes and the scientific merit of eugenics and moving toward emerging social histories which allow for new lines of inquiry and the interrogation of past intellectual assumptions.xxxi 10 during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, along with the women’s, gay rights, and american indian movements which followed into the 1970s, criticism of buck v. bell grew as representatives of target groups for mass sterilization and institutionalization organized largescale efforts to combat white, patriarchal, heteronormative hegemony in the united states. a manuscript by julius paul aligns with the increased questioning of sterilization’s morality and legality using buck v. bell and its successor to the eugenics debate, skinner v. oklahoma, as case studies. from the outset, paul establishes his work as “a combination of american social and intellectual history,” and it is one of the first comprehensive academic works from a historian in consideration of buck v. bell.xxxii paul’s research was inspired by the american medical association and the american bar association’s efforts in the mid-1950s to reappraise sterilization as a valid treatment for mental health, with both finding it questionable at best. using the data collected by popenoe and gosney and laughlin, as well as these later medical and legal studies, paul presents a nuanced argument to view buck v. bell as the bellwether for american eugenics, the understanding and interpretation of which indicates greater social values and change.xxxiii though buck and skinner were both widely accepted in their time, paul argues that “three generations of imbeciles are not enough and that justice holmes’ oft-quoted aphorism is neither a monument to the wit nor the wisdom of a great jurist or a great judicial institution, but is rather another sad example of human ignorance and superstition.”xxxiv for paul, the holmes supreme court could not be a proper arbiter of science and scientific treatment because all justices, save for pierce butler, were active proponents of eugenics. paul also argued that the seemingly oxymoronic push for sterilization and social purification in the progressive era was possible because both eugenicists and progressivists supported a “collectivist view of the power 11 and purpose of the state.”xxxv this point supports the earlier work done by gest which warned of the totalitarian approach federal and state governments took to eugenics. paul underscores the importance of the buck v. bell ruling in achieving this legal-scientific goal saying, “buck v. bell not only gave eugenicists the legal vindication they had sought for so long, but scientific respectability as well.”xxxvi the new connotation julius paul applies to buck v. bell, that it is a hallmark of an era’s beliefs and actions relating to eugenics, can be extended to the aforementioned trends in historical theory. popenoe and gosney provided the scientific statistics for early sterilization efforts while also giving credence to the magnanimous figure of oliver wendell holmes during and after the trial. this intellectual and biographical means of writing history was subsumed by social histories, such as those given by gest and paul, which delve into new considerations for buck v. bell as exemplifying anti-laissez-faire government and having implications for individual liberties and bodily autonomy of mental health patients. from this focus on the patients as individuals capable of personal decision-making, social history makes room for feminist scholars who interrogate the relationship between buck v. bell, roe v. wade, and the sexual revolution.xxxvii in the 1970s, new discussions of bodily autonomy emerged surrounding the women’s rights movement and united states supreme court case roe v. wade. the 1973 landmark ruling allowed for women to seek abortions until the third trimester of pregnancy, effectively extending the rights of a woman to control her own body rather than being forced to give birth whenever pregnant. suzanne tessler, a professor in women’s studies, draws a comparison between roe v. wade and buck v. bell, emphasizing the lack of “bodily integrity” carrie buck felt she had when her trial decision was passed down.xxxviii tessler references coogan’s critique 12 of the imbecility of buck, her mother, and her daughter, again challenging the belief that the three were incapable of making reasonable decisions and questioning the intelligence tests they were given.xxxix buck v. bell is once more considered as legal precedent for sterilization, particularly, tessler suggests, the sterilization of women and more narrowly women perceived to be “mentally deficient.” tessler, like gest and paul, concludes that “the affirmation of the constitutionality of the virginia statute also set a precedent for abusing sterilization statutes in other states.”xl buck v. bell made it permissible to ignore a woman’s right to control her sexual habits and bodily autonomy without significant government interference, something which roe v. wade established a new precedent protecting against. an important point tessler makes is that despite continued pushback against eugenic and forced sterilization, “it is obvious that poor and minority women are the targets of compulsory sterilization and that the operations have generally been done in programs funded by the government.”xli tessler offers examples of women who go in for basic medical procedures such as birth control shots only to leave sterilized and incapable of having children. similar narratives of eugenic control directly compare carrie buck’s sterilization to those of contemporary black and indigenous women, still considered by predominately white male government officials to be lesser-than. roe v. wade allowed for national exposure of the issues with buck v. bell while concurrent social movements provided increased access to narratives being explored by social historians. as suzanne tessler and her feminist compatriots renewed efforts to view buck v. bell in terms of carrie buck and the personal rights of women rather than as a vessel for oliver wendell holmes’ pithy legalese, historians paul lombardo and stephen jay gould worked separately to rediscover carrie buck “the person” rather than carrie buck “the plaintiff”. in 1979, an aging 13 carrie buck was located in charlottesville, virginia and in a new series of interviews was introduced as a willing narrator of the long-term effects of forced sterilization and the legacy of the american eugenics movement beyond its influence on nazism.xlii lombardo, intrigued by buck’s story ever since learning of buck v. bell, reached out to her, engaging in what would be known as cultural history, the successor to social history. inspired by the methodologies of anthropology which privilege emic experiences and research outside of the institution, cultural history provides the framework for lombardo to establish a relationship with carrie and her sister doris. in this way, lombardo would go on to conduct decades of participant observation with buck and her extended family while continuing the archival research necessary to the historical project. both gould and lombardo developed comparative life histories of buck with elements of traditional biographic histories and twists unique to the social and emergent cultural history in which they operated. stephen jay gould was first to publish his cultural history biography of buck in natural history in 1984. he engaged with the popenoe and gosney, laughlin, and coogan texts as well as the holmes opinion; by then, each was understood to be integral for studying american eugenics and, by extension, buck v. bell. “their deviancy was social and sexual,” gould claims, “the charge of imbecility was a cover-up.”xliii gould, familiar with the questionable results of the buck family’s intelligence tests, blatantly argues that had it not been for carrie’s poverty and sex out of wedlock–that it was rape was of no concern to the court–her adoptive family would never have institutionalized her, disguising their shame by stigmatizing carrie with a “feeblemindedness” and a voracious sexual appetite which did not exist. the commonwealth of virginia and american eugenicists knew buck v. bell was their chance to establish legal precedent for forced sterilization and the resulting social control they hoped 14 would occur. as gould notes, unfortunately for carrie buck and thousands of other “defectives,” the eugenicists were successful.xliv through gould and lombardo’s work with carrie buck, a new narrative surrounding buck v. bell took shape; the case was no longer a landmark in scientific progress and positive social control. instead, buck v. bell became a way for studying tools of american oppression, with carrie buck and her resulting lifestyle used as a case study for the failure of a purportedly great nation to protect the freedoms of its people. paul lombardo’s publications, ranging from the early 1980s into modern day, are the gold standard for researching buck v. bell. they present the complicated history of the buck family alongside the development of american eugenics and their subsequent involvement with one another. lombardo continues the work started by coogan, referring to the sociologist as “among the first to question holmes’ reference to ‘imbeciles’.”xlv in his 2008 book, three generations, no imbeciles: eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, lombardo presents buck v. bell as a living history, one which cannot be solely considered in the past. as stated previously, lombardo also distilled eugenic rationale into two camps: sexual and socioeconomic.xlvi these two general reasons for the forced sterilization of carrie buck and thousands more is supported when looking at the works of laughlin, popenoe, gosney, holmes, and charles davenport, and is alluded to or discussed less concretely in gest, powell, paul, and tessler, though the beginnings of such conclusions are present. lombardo effectively coalesces all prior research of buck v. bell and the american eugenics movement into a collection of books and articles dedicated to the historical complexities and intersections of the trial and prescient topics such as eugenics, sterilization, social welfare, legal precedent for autonomy, and mental health.xlvii the historical and anthropological research paul lombardo conducted is now cited in all 15 twenty-first century scholarship related to eugenics and buck v. bell, particularly those seeking to enhance the cultural history framework via intersectional, decolonization, and postmodern studies. each of these newer theoretical structures requires varying degrees of reflexivity on the part of the author, be it personal reflection on their own preconceptions of the past or those of the field in which they function. for example, johanna schoen studies buck v. bell as a means for understanding twentieth century american society.xlviii schoen views the case and the ussc ruling as a distillation of hegemonic american values regarding race, socioeconomic status, gender, and sexual activity. the focus of her book, choice and coercion: birth control, sterilization, and abortion in public health and welfare, is the study of eugenics in north carolina, paying great attention to clarence j. gamble’s role in development and sale of contraception and promotion of eugenic sterilization. schoen emphasizes the role of “medical and social scientists” and “leading health and welfare professionals as well as financial sponsors [who] shaped public policy and influenced the nature of reproductive services.”xlix schoen and like-minded historians such as katherine castles and adam cohen, use lombardo’s work to foment their own eugenics histories, moving beyond the carrie buck biographies to hold responsible the historical figures who supported sterilization efforts. carrie buck is reemerging in current academic works which acknowledge her as a victim of circumstance, circumstances determined by oppressive state and federal eugenic programs. buck is a symbol for american twentieth century norms, and historical understandings of her and her case against the virginia state colony for epileptics and the feebleminded shifted along with the sociocultural context in which they were created. the intellectual and political histories of early eugenicists touted the value of justice oliver wendell holmes and the decision to uphold state sterilization laws as legislation that would benefit american morality. 16 as historians introduced marxist conceptions of labor and economics to their work and the horrors wrought in nazi eugenics programs were revealed to the american public, the history of buck v. bell became more complicated, and debates over government suppression of autonomy were commonplace. the era of social history, born of marxist scholarship and various sociopolitical movements in the united states, encouraged the continued study of government power, contrasting the buck v. bell decision with the laissez-faire capitalism of the progressive era. from social history came the subfield of feminist history and women’s studies, and for the first time buck v. bell was examined in terms of female bodily autonomy and sexual activity while still discussed as important legal precedent. cultural history blends anthropological methodology with historical subject matter and introduced buck v. bell to a new generation of historians interested in buck’s story and experience as well as the context in which the trial occurred. using cultural history techniques, paul lombardo went beyond the traditional job of a historian, becoming a friend to buck and setting himself up as the modern expert on buck v. bell. the frameworks through which historians study the past are changing as we speak, and with them, the application of buck v. bell to twentieth century american history and modernity is expanding. carrie buck’s bravery in suing the institution responsible for depriving her of her natural right to bear children lives on in studies of eugenics, of course, but it is also being reworked by historians determined to use her story to shed new light on the legacy and effects of american sterilization practices on all its victims. for carrie buck, there will always be a seat at the table of history. 17 i paul lombardo, “three generations, no imbeciles: new light on buck v. bell,” new york university law review 60, no. 1 (1985): 103-104. ii paul lombardo, three generations, no imbeciles: eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell (baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 2008), x. iii julius paul, “...three generations of imbeciles are enough...”: state eugenic sterilization in american thought and practice, washington, d.c.: walter reed army institute of research, 1965, 31. iv lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, 31. v lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, 15-16. vi johanna schoen, choice and coercion: birth control, sterilization, and abortion in public health and welfare (chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 2005), 7. vii schoen, choice and coercion, 121. viii john gest, “eugenic sterilization: justice holmes vs. natural law,” temple law quarterly 23, no. 4 (1950): 306. ix lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, xiv. x schoen, choice and coercion, 63. xi paul popenoe and e.s. gosney, twenty-eight years of sterilization in california, (pasadena, ca: human betterment foundation, 1938), 1. xii lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, 190. xiii popenoe and gosney, sterilization in california, xix. xiv harry h. laughlin, the legal status of eugenical sterilization (1929), 8. xv lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, xiv. xvi laughlin, legal status of eugenical sterilization, 10. xvii popenoe and gosney, sterilization in california, 104. xviii william h. sewell, logics of history (chicago: university of chicago, 2005), 32. xix thomas reed powell, “compulsory vaccination and sterilization: constitutional aspects,” north carolina law review 21, no. 3 (1943): 257. xx emily a. harrison and julia w. wu, “vaccine confidence in the time of covid-19,” european journal of epidemiology 35 (2020): 327-328. xxi harrison and wu, “vaccine confidence,” 327. xxii popenoe and gosney, sterilization in california, 4. xxiii lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, 202. xxiv lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, 239. xxv lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, 62. xxvi gest, “eugenic sterilization,” 312. xxvii gest, “eugenic sterilization,” 309. xxviii gest, “eugenic sterilization,” 309. xxix clarence j. gamble, “sterilization in preventative psychiatry,” the american journal of psychiatry 107, no. 12 (1951): 932. xxx lombardo, “new light on buck v. bell,” 32. xxxi sewell, logics of history, 39. xxxii paul, state eugenic sterilization, 14. xxxiii paul, state eugenic sterilization, 74. xxxiv paul, state eugenic sterilization, 18. xxxv paul, state eugenic sterilization, 47. xxxvi paul, state eugenic sterilization, 43. xxxvii sewell, logics of history, 17. xxxviii suzanne tessler, “compulsory sterilization practices,” frontiers: a journal of women’s studies 1, no. 2 (1976): 53. xxxix tessler, “compulsory sterilization practices,” 54. xl tessler, “compulsory sterilization practices,” 58. xli tessler, “compulsory sterilization practices,” 59. 18 xlii lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, 250. xliii stephen jay gould, “carrie buck’s daughter,” natural history 93 (1984): 338. xliv gould, “carrie buck’s daughter,” 339. xlv lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, 241. xlvi lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, xiv. xlvii lombardo, eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell, xiii. xlviii schoen, choice and coercion, 62 xlix schoen, choice and coercion, 4. 19 bibliography castles, katherine. “quiet eugenics: sterilization in north carolina’s institutions for the mentally retarded, 1945-1965.” the journal of southern history 68, no. 4 (nov. 2002): 849-878. cohen, adam. imbeciles: the supreme court, american eugenics, and the sterilization of carrie buck. new york: penguin books, 2016. gamble, clarence j. “sterilization in preventative psychiatry.” the american journal of psychiatry 107, no. 12 (1951): 932-934. gest, john b. “eugenic sterilization: justice holmes vs. natural law.” temple law quarterly 23, no. 4 (1950): 306-312. gould, stephen jay. “carrie buck’s daughter.” natural history 93 (1984): 331-339. harrison, emily a. and julia w. wu. “vaccine confidence in the time of covid-19.” european journal of epidemiology 35 (2020): 325-330. laughlin, harry h. the legal status of eugenical sterilization. 1929. lombardo, paul a. three generations, no imbeciles: eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 2008. lombardo, paul a. “three generations, no imbeciles: new light on buck v. bell.” new york university law review 60, no. 1 (1985): 30-62. paul, julius. “...three generations of imbeciles are enough...”: state eugenic sterilization in american thought and practice. washington, d.c.: walter reed army institute of research, 1965. popenoe, paul, and e.s. gosney. twenty-eight years of sterilization in california. pasadena, ca: human betterment foundation, 1938. 20 powell, thomas reed. “compulsory vaccination and sterilization: constitutional aspects.” north carolina law review 21, no. 3 (1943): 253-265. schoen, johanna. choice and coercion: birth control, sterilization, and abortion in public health and welfare. chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 2005. sewell, william h. logics of history. chicago: university of chicago, 2005. tessler, suzanne. “compulsory sterilization practices.” frontiers: a journal of women’s studies 1, no. 2 (1976): 52-66. lombardo, paul a. “three generations, no imbeciles: new light on buck v. bell.” new york university law review 60, no. 1 (1985): 30-62. microsoft word gregory eng.docx in a mirror clearly: narrative-based interventional and restorative possibilities in there there sarah gregory english for indigenous americans, a lack of representation is not the issue; in fact, american culture is saturated with images of indians. many worldwide associate the image of an indian’s head, complete in its feather headdress, with classic american history and iconography. a lack of representation is not the “real” issue because the representation is not real. maybe that is why, year after year, indigenous american writers still face accusations of inauthenticity. the problem, of course, is that authenticity has always been a product of colonization and violence wherein non-indigenous audiences demand that native americans continue to perform the familiar image without recognizing the centuries of damage several nations of people have had to endure. if novels about the city, alcatraz occupation, protesting pipelines, or high suicide rates, alcoholism, and addiction are not authentic, then it is only because they do not conform with the image of the “indian” fabricated in literature predominantly by white people for the last several centuries. “inauthentic novels,” like there there by tommy orange, are absolutely vital for the reconstruction, visibility, expression, and future of indigenous american identity. what makes orange’s debut novel so powerfully subversive is not simply that it is a real story of an urban indian, one seldom heard, but that it questions the nature of authenticity, indian identity, and tradition. the stories collected and recorded in the work of tommy orange and so many other indigenous authors have the power to change the world: globally, personally, and communally. with so many indigenous people feeling trapped in generational cycles of powerlessness, stories empower those who feel alone, unrecognized, and detached from a true sense of identity. in this sense, there there allows indigenous audiences, specifically youths and urban indians, to see themselves clearly while also creating a way to overcome the image superimposed on them by non-indigenous culture and media. orange goes beyond mere representation. his storytelling is an intervention for non-indigenous audiences to discern why native americans living their lives and telling their stories is such a threat. the power of there there lies in its dual impact: storytelling as restoration and intervention. there there contains first-person and third-person narration focused on a cast of varied indigenous characters, most of whom wrestle with the question of identity. marija krivokapić and sanja runtić comment that “most of the ‘narrative wisps’ assembled in the novel [...] seem to point to their narrators’ confusion about their identity. almost all of these characters’ stories are dysfunctional and considered meaningless, illustrative of their profound alienation from their native community and history” (5). the demand for authenticity complicates this struggle with identity, creating barriers to the characters’ view of self. one of the many ways “authenticity” complicates identity is through the image of the indian head that begins the novel. the first of these images orange describes is “a headdressed, long-haired indian depicted, drawn by an unknown artist in 1939, broadcast until the late 1970s to american tvs everywhere after all the shows ran out. it’s called the indian head test pattern” (orange 3). orange then details the history of colonization, including several moments in which the actual decapitated head of an indigenous person was purchased, displayed, kicked around like a soccer ball, and kept in a jar. the latter appears as an event in the first native american novel, written in 1854 by john rollin ridge, a cherokee man (orange 5). sabine n. meyer comments that the life and adventures of joaquın murieta has been “employed by native writers across generations to negotiate their coherent integrity and social, cultural, and legal identities as collectivities, as peoples” (270). orange’s inclusion of this keystone work connects him to a long literary tradition of fighting against erasure by caricature. as he continues to walk through a brief history of white settlers, violence, reservations, protests, and media portrayals, orange connects containment and relocation with the image of traditional indigeneity perpetuated by white america. david l. moore states that most scholars no longer “advocate for ‘authenticity’ to remain in the discourse of indigenous studies” by the reality that to ask whether a text is “authentic” is to ask whether it is “indian,” or more bluntly, how it conforms with the white image of the indian (226). orange uses several characters’ inner monologues to challenge this idea of authenticity. as characters grapple with how their reflections compare with that of the indian head, orange reveals the multiple facets of authenticity demanded of indigenous writers. his characters question whether they are villains, addicts, or victims of generational trauma, all while acting as storytellers through their existence. orange challenges a society that wants indigenous americans to perform the traditional image in the same way it wants to keep them contained: not just to physical boundaries but prevented from growth, change, and healing. identity, image, and dysmorphia from the prologue, the image of a native american head comes clearly to each reader’s mind, dressed like the test pattern indian. and that is orange’s point: this head in full regalia is what we have all been sold as the idea of the “authentic indian.” years of media portrayals, violence, and policy have kept it that way. he writes: we’ve been defined by everyone else [...] despite easy-to-look-up-on-the-internet facts about the realities of our histories and current state as a people. we have the sad, defeated indian silhouette, [...] we have it in our heads, kevin costner saving us, john wayne’s six-shooter slaying us, an italian guy named iron eyes cody playing our parts in movies. [...] indians were removed, then reduced to a feathered image. our heads are on flags, jerseys, and coins. our heads were on the penny [...] before we could even vote as a people… (orange 7) the problem, he explains, is not just the attempted physical erasure through violence and containment but the still violent, more metaphorical erasure of replacing the voices of real people with simple images commodified and sold. the damage inflicted on orange’s characters manifests itself in scenes where the characters look at themselves in reflections, photographs, and memories. james h. cox remarks, “as the numerous images of characters in mirrors and other reflective surfaces suggest, orange establishes indigenous people looking at indigenous people, and indigenous authors looking at indigenous authors, as foundational to the novel’s form” (565). while orange uses this meta mirror motif to develop the characters’ identity struggles as challenges to demands of authenticity, he also uses the form of the novel as a mirror to the world. through orange’s storytelling, characters and readers witness their lives through images. in this way, there there reveals the multifaceted struggle to perceive clearly under the regime of authenticity. when characters reflect on their identity, instead of themselves, they often see dissociating images. the dysmorphia extends beyond reflection to a disconnect from each characters’ culture. as they each prepare for the powwow, characters question their relationship with traditional “indianing,” as orvil calls it. characters have a variety of reactions to the regalia, dancing, and drums: a deep feeling of internal connection, non-identification and rejection, or general confusion and out-of-body sensations. tony loneman begins the reflections on reflections as he sees his face in the dark television screen. orange writes from his perspective: most people don’t have to think about what their faces mean the way i do. your face in the mirror, reflected back at you, most people don’t even know what it looks like anymore. that thing on the front of your head, you’ll never see it, like you’ll never see your own eyeball with your own eyeball, like you’ll never smell what you smell like, but me, i know what my face looks like. i know what it means. people look at me then look away when they see i see them see me. (16) many of the indigenous characters in the novel have the feeling of wearing a mask, but especially tony, who, due to fetal alcohol syndrome, wears the struggles of his mother always on his face and calls it “the drome.” though already his native american appearance may stand out amongst white crowds, his face is a frequent topic of conversation with the other characters because of its drooped, still look. tony’s dissociation is a recognition that his face does not reflect his inner life, nor does he look like anyone else. he also faces isolation because the struggle of his community is apparent on his face: alcohol abuse. tony becomes a living symbol for a mass problem: “the drome is my mom and why she drank, it’s the way history lands on a face, and all the ways i made it so far despite how it has fucked with me since the day i found it there on the tv, staring back at me like a fucking villain” (orange 16). this foreign appearance in the tv causes him to reflect on the past personal and communal injustices. he cannot escape his tragic identity in the same way indigenous americans cannot escape their unredressed history, but this history is shoved underneath regalia, hidden from the public eye. toward the end of his first section, tony tries on the regalia he will later wear to the powwow and looks again at the tv, thinking, “i looked at my face. the drome. i didn’t see it there. i saw an indian. i saw a dancer” (orange 26). beneath the facade of the indian head, tony cannot see himself, he can only see the image crafted by people for whom tradition is a costume or mask. on the other hand, orange uses dene oxendene to represent a complicated desire to associate with indigenous heritage through storytelling. because dene’s appearance is passing, his attempts to reconnect with his native heritage reveal yet again how the indian head obstructs the ability to discover true authenticity. though dene knows he does not outwardly look native american, he feels immense pride in what he sees upon winning a grant for his documentary project. he “sees his face in the dark reflection of the train window. he’s beaming. he wipes the grin from his face when he sees it” (orange 42). his sense of identity is complicated. he proposes to become a storyteller for indigenous americans in the oakland area. this thought overwhelms and confuses him, as it was not his project to begin with, nor does he feel he earned the grant outside of his native identity. shortly after wiping the grin from his face, dene “thinks of his uncle and his eyes well up. he clenches them shut and keeps them closed, leans his head back, thinks of nothing, lets the train take him home” (orange 42). this retreat inward shows that dene has a deeper connection to himself than his community; he often worries that he will be seen as a fraud because of his lighter skin color, pitied because he is enrolled with two different tribes in oklahoma, inadequate because the project was truly his uncle’s. though dene certainly feels conflicted about his native identity, we wonder whether this confusion would exist without the imposed notions of what it means to be an indian. dene is not dark-skinned, or dancing and drumming, or wearing regalia, but he is an indigenous american, nonetheless. a further challenge to authenticity is a character like edwin, who sees his face as a reflection of addiction. though addiction and alcoholism are tropes associated with the indian head, edwin’s struggle goes deeper into questions of internalized self-loathing related to the image of addiction. when he unplugs his computer, he sees his reflection as a “face [...] staring first in horror at the computer dying, then at [his] face reacting to seeing [his] face react to the computer dying” (orange 63). he feels like “a little part of [him] died then, seeing [his] face, thinking about this sick addiction, all this time [he’s] spent doing nothing” (orange 63). though he initially attributes his computer habits to addiction, they actually reveal a deep loneliness and isolation. his mother, on the other hand, thinks he is also addicted to food and attempts to curb his eating habits, preventing him from obesity by putting a mirror in front of the fridge. edwin wonders if she wants him to see what he’s become, calling himself a “monster” (orange 68). his addictions, though not as immediately life-threatening as drug and alcohol addiction, manifest in his reflection, a constant reminder to him that he could do something to change his life, but does not. there there questions edwin’s notions about agency: if ancestors had their independence and freedom stripped with no just cause, what did they have left to pass on? the problem, yet again, is that edwin has no other indigenous american to look at. like the young audience orange concerns himself with representing, edwin’s search for normality demonstrates that without points of reference, the adolescent self may face identity-based developmental difficulties. still, edwin’s difficulty in recognizing himself reveals how native american youths, while modernizing and urbanizing, need to find communities where they belong. the question of identity, while central in young adult development, becomes infinitely more difficult when role models and older members of the community face struggles like edwin’s mother and when access to representational images is already limited. what is unique about there there is that though several characters face extreme and unjust difficulty in accepting themselves, orange includes several stories of hope and restoration through some of the older characters. opal, for example, has been through years of struggle and hardship, yet she has her own vision for what the future might hold. unlike the young adult and teenaged characters examined thus far, opal does not feel surprised when she looks into the mirror; in fact, she does it daily to reassure and recenter herself. on her mail route, like a ritual, she looks at her face in the rearview mirror of her truck. it reminds her of the years she has worked there, of the toll on her physical body, of the age her face carries. she does not look for pleasure, and in fact, “it’s hard [for her] to see the years on her face, the lines and wrinkles that surround her eyes, branch out like cracks in the concrete” (orange 159). just like edwin wears the drome on his face, opal’s face shows a long, painful past. she has seen abuse, moving, broken families, suicide, self-harm, and drug and alcohol usage, and despite the outwardly normal life she leads as a mail carrier, her face reflects the hardship she has endured. maybe that is why, “even though she hates to see her face, she’s never been able to stop the habit of looking at it when she finds a mirror there in front of her, where she catches one of the only versions of her face she’ll ever see – on top of the glass” (orange 159). when opal looks in the mirror, rather than feeling foreign in her body, she sees herself. she sees an indigenous woman, unique and strong, yes, but worked too hard. her face tells a story against all odds but also juxtaposes age and experience against the youthful identity confusion of her grandchildren. orvil red feather, in his youthfulness, has not yet formed a sense of identity, and in fact, his relationship with “indianing” is complicated by his grandmother, opal, being “openly against any of them doing anything indian. she [treats] it all like it [is] something they could decide for themselves when they were old enough” (orange 118). though orvil does not understand opal’s request, he tries to respect it, yet finds the regalia in the closet and the dancing online, anyway. he tries to feel a deep connection to this performance of tradition, but opal cautions that these things do not define him: ‘…anything you hear from me about your heritage does not make you more or less indian. more or less a real indian. don’t ever let anyone tell you what being indian means. too many of us died to get just a little bit of us here, right now, right in this kitchen. you, me. every part of our people that made it is precious. you’re indian because you’re indian because you’re indian.’ (orange 119) her powerful affirmation to her grandson welcomes indigenous readers to find themselves within narratives like those in there there. while the novel embraces the identity of urban natives in and around the oakland area, opal gently reminds us that their life is only one version of what it means to be native american. orvil struggles to find his identity, but his desire to find his story somewhere continues despite opal’s supposed ban. though opal’s solid understanding of her identity has allowed her a small measure of peace despite ongoing wrongs, orvil opens a new path for her to reconsider how multiple versions of “indianing” may enrich and promote the survival of their heritage. his struggle to understand what it means to be an indian shows not only that the different ways of being can edify the community but also that generational knowledge may still be passed down with attitudes of openness to learning from youth. orvil’s mirror moment comes when he tries on the regalia for the first time. orange writes that “mirrors have always been a problem for [orvil]. the word stupid often sounds in his head when he looks at himself in the mirror. he doesn’t know why, but it seems important. and true” (121). though he thinks dressing in regalia might improve that feeling, he experiences disappointment: “the regalia is itchy and faded in color. it’s way too small. he doesn’t look the way he hoped he would” (orange 121). after deciding that “being indian didn’t fit” in the same way the regalia didn’t, orvil thinks back to the countless searches online for what it means “to be a real indian” (orange 121). this leads him to dance, the storytelling artform where he finds his connection. despite feeling foolish, orvil keeps looking at himself in the mirror and “[waits] for something true to appear before him – about him. it’s important that he dress like an indian, and dance like an indian, even if it is an act, even if he feels like a fraud the whole time, because the only way to be indian in this world is to look and act like an indian. to be or not to be indian depends on it” (orange 122). without opal’s own stories of indigeneity, the image perpetuated by white america persists. these narratives help to contextualize orvil’s struggles, though, to him, they provoke confusion. ultimately, he dances because of the connection to his ancestors through storytelling. though the novel never brings orvil to a full certainty of who he really is, his character reveals a poignant desire to understand cultural identity through connection to images and artforms. his uncertainty does not prevent bravery in the dance at the powwow, and perhaps his developing identity seems so radically different because he can grow along a more normal teenage path with fewer difficulties in untangling himself from the indian head. while his native american heritage is something that still figures prominently in his development, his character ultimately reveals far greater hope for future generations as he ends the novel potentially recovering in the hospital. perhaps in this way, he metonymically stands in for the wounded, yet still alive, dream orange devotes his life to developing in indigenous communities. before the ending, however, opal and orvil come together for one mirror moment in which opal processes this radical potential of youthful resilience. in this memory, a naive orvil wonders whether the people in the mirror are really the ones doing the actions and if they, the real them, are mimicking the mirror people. as orvil dances in front of the mirror, opal stares at him: “arms flailing, he jumped and spun. it looked to opal like he was powwow dancing. but he couldn’t have been. he was just trying to act crazy in front of the mirror to prove no one else was in control but him, the orvil on this side of the mirror” (orange 160). orange brings the mirror metaphor full circle to demonstrate that the image of the indian head functions as a method of control. when these characters see a detached image in the mirror they lose a sense of agency. none of these characters can change the past. orvil takes control by dancing and watching himself dance, and tommy orange by writing this novel. though the novel ends with orvil in the hospital with a gunshot wound, that he is still alive in the midst of his dance seems to spill out from the pages and into continuity. readers are left feeling that if there there were to continue in reality, people like orvil would continue to dance, tell stories, and heal their communities through their open-hearted existences. though orvil and opal’s relationship faces questions and difficulties, this close, consistent vision of representation ultimately allows orvil’s story to be hopeful. however, orange paints a complex community through older characters like blue, who have faced a lifetime of non-representation. when blue looks in the mirror, she “[sees herself] from the inside out” (orange 197-8). growing up, she feels white on the inside; consequently, she spends her life seeking out native americans with whom to identify. she enters an abusive relationship in a traditional peyote ceremony and changes her name to blue, which she feels she “needed” because of her upbringing as the adopted daughter of a white family. despite her belief, blue is not alone; she works alongside natives who also feel like “apples,” “red on the outside and white on the inside,” a name and image constructed by white people (orange 10). the comparison strips an entire people of their identities, assuming that the insides of an outwardly nativelooking person are anything other than authentic. orange posits that all people who share indigeneity can feel unified by their history: what we are is what our ancestors did. how they survived. we are the memories we don’t remember, which live in us, which we feel, which make us sing and dance and pray the way we do, feelings from memories that flare and bloom unexpectedly in our lives like blood through a blanket from a wound made by a bullet fired by a man shooting us in the back for our hair, for our heads, for a bounty, or just to get rid of us. (10) there there establishes a new authenticity and identity for indigenous people, one which recalls the past and tells stories for the future as a way of remembering trauma and strongly stating that they will remain. stories remember histories that were never heard, creating community and identity. later, blue looks in the mirror again and realizes that her selfhood does not lie in a preconceived notion of indianness: “she sees a version of herself she thought was long gone, someone she’d left behind, ditched for her real indian life on the rez. crystal. from oakland. she’s not gone. she’s somewhere behind blue’s eyes in the rearview” (orange 236). crystal realizes that she has always been who she is, and just like orvil cannot make himself more indian with the regalia, conforming with traditional imagery actually erases her true self. orange portrays a wide range of experiences with native american identity: those who have access to representation, those who do not, those facing centuries-old trauma, and those who feel disconnected from their heritage. however, he promotes tenuous hope that though the path is full of difficulties, indigenous individuals can come to terms with their identity, join a community, and divorce the false white image of authenticity. a vital part of there there is shedding the mask of the indian head and bridging the gap between “urban indian” life and life on the reservation. orange writes as part of a “resistance to the idea that the only way to be native is to be from a reservation” and also to give voice to the “many native people living in cities [with] very little written about that experience” (shotton 57). edwin, for example, finds himself listening to indigenous creators who combine modern techno music with native drums. he thinks “the problem with indigenous art in general is that it’s stuck in the past” (orange 77). in his reflection on the art form, edwin captures the subversive question of the novel: “if it isn’t pulling from tradition, how is it indigenous? and if it is stuck in tradition, in the past, how can it be relevant to other indigenous people living now, how can it be modern?” (orange 77). in a way, each of the characters in the novel wrestles with this question. as they each look in the mirror, they wonder where they fit in the image of the “indian,” if at all. they are living in oakland, in houses, in neighborhoods, and working modern jobs. no longer tied to the land, they question the role of tradition in their life, a question not only complicated by a lost tie to the land but by the demands of “authenticity” from white audiences. these characters ended up in oakland through a long history of removal, relocation, and reservations. as these missing stories continue to be written, just like the characters in there there, all different types of indigenous americans will see their own faces in the mirror. in the prologue, orange writes, “getting us to cities was supposed to be the final, necessary step in our assimilation, absorption, erasure, the completion of a five-hundred-year-old genocidal campaign. but the city made us new, and we made it ours” (8). with this new life comes new stories and a re-telling of those lost to the genocide. these stories are beautiful, painful, hopeful, and everything in between, but they are often criticized as not being “indian enough” despite critics’ recognition of this essentially flawed premise. deborah l. madsen comments that in the past, “native american indian literary study [has been] based on the assumption that such a thing as ‘native americanness’ or ‘indianness’ exists to define the category of literary expression that is the object of study” (1). tommy orange’s novel challenges that notion, establishing from the prologue that “indianness” is a white construct designed to erase the real identity of native peoples. the urban indian is as much an authentic indigenous american as one who grew up on a reservation and dresses in regalia. the story of the urban indian may seem limited to stolen agency, but it still only recognizes a presumed experience. though many were forced by law to move to the oakland area, orange insists that the indian relocation act (part of the indian termination policy) was not the only factor that established the urban indian. orange writes that policy “was and is exactly what it sounds like. make them look and act like us. become us. and so disappear” (orange 9). ultimately, these policies did not succeed in containing and suppressing; instead, native americans formed identities in new environments. though this harmful policy pushed several groups to relocate against their will, orange contends that assuming oakland as the site of ultimate violence fails to portray how the community has only continued to grow stronger and more complex. in fact, “urban indian” is more than just an indigenous person who lives in a city; due to various reasons for relocating, the urban indian yet again challenges the monolith of authenticity. orange argues, “it wasn’t just like that. plenty of us came by choice, to start over, to make money, or for a new experience. some of us came to cities to escape the reservation. we stayed after fighting in the second world war. after vietnam too” (9). many contemporary native american novelists center their works on this emerging identity, strengthening the claim that stories of these individuals’ lives may bolster and challenge notions of authenticity through representation in storytelling. even amid great tragedy, there there seems only to begin the story of the urban indian. the character in the novel who best embodies this potential for future storytelling is dene. he tells the grant interviewers: what i want to do is to pay the storytellers for their stories. stories are invaluable, but to pay is to appreciate. and this is not just qualitative data collection. i want to bring something new to the vision of the native experience as it’s seen on the screen. we haven’t seen the urban indian story. what we’ve seen is full of the kinds of stereotypes that are the reason no one is interested in the native story in general, it’s too sad, so sad it can’t even be entertaining, but more importantly because of the way it’s been portrayed, it looks pathetic, and we perpetuate that, [...] but it makes me mad, because the whole picture is not pathetic, and the individual people and stories that you come across are not pathetic or weak or in need of pity, and there is real passion there… (orange 40) dene represents the power of story to remember what has been lost to history’s erasure. marija krivokapić and sanja runtić comment, "even though it is based on individual interviews with twenty-first-century oakland natives, dene’s project is historical and collective in many ways. he inherited the work from his late uncle, who started documenting experiences of urban natives living in oakland whom he met through a mutual acquaintance” (4). in remembering and recording stories from long ago and the recent past, dene and orange build community and make people feel less alone. loneliness is central to the novel’s construction of identity. orange portrays the self as built through connection with others and, conversely, group identity through a plurality of lived stories. loneliness presents itself as an issue to be rectified between the characters within the novel and through the existence of there there in the world. tony loneman, for example, reveals how pain, loneliness, and distance from the community can be healed through story. tony’s sense of cultural identity is not so explicit, but he does have a deep feeling of connection to how indigenous people have been treated over the years because of their identity. when maxine reads louise eldrich with him, he feels that he “[gets] it way down at that place where it hurts but feels better because you feel it, something you couldn’t feel before reading it, that makes you feel less alone, and like it’s not gonna hurt as much anymore” (orange 20). even though the history of his people feels distant to him, and though the recollection is painful, the power of storytelling for tony is that he regains a sense of community within himself. though the reason for the hurt is unjustifiable, the hurt is something that binds together undeniably. tony finds in community and experiences a fractured sense of identity, but david l. moore sees these two issues as inextricably linked, asking, “identity or community? certainly they interweave” (92-3). moore suggests “that not only is healing of indian community a goal and a context of indian writing but that dialogical dynamics of indian community form the very method, content, and structure of many native narratives” (93). there there heals on multiple levels: its characters experience healing, modeling it for the world, and impacting real people. tony’s death allows his story to become one of redemption through recognizing his true identity without the drome. after life, he finally sheds his body and the plethora of “authentic” indian identities embedded within. as he “watches himself from above,” presumably in some sort of afterlife or limbo space, tony “looks at his body and remembers that it was never actually really him. he was never tony just like he was never the drome. both were masks” (orange 288). the connection between the mask and the indian head introduced in the prologue reminds audiences of the challenges of a developed sense of self outside the image seen by society and even outside of what we see in the mirror. tony, never understanding who he is outside of visible representations of abuse and addiction, finally realizes in a realm free from violent, white society that there is something that exists as “him” even beyond his name, his body, the drome, and the masks forced upon him. while orange does not embark on a full philosophical treatise on the substance that really makes up a person, we are still struck by the harsh reality that tony never glimpses this in life. he does not have the luxury of conceiving himself epistemologically; for him, existence is ontological and constrained to outward markers of otherness. the novel’s ending can thus be read with cautious hope that, although tragic, tony’s fate goes beyond redemption in preventing the violence, albeit his freedom comes at a great cost. on the one hand, this conclusion seems to indicate that there is no solution in life for indigenous peoples just to live. on the other hand, the imagery in the final paragraph remains largely hopeful, with tony hearing the birds singing “inside him, where he is” (orange 290). here is a beautiful exemplar of there there’s double potential: those like tony may recognize that they exist apart from the imposed mask or authenticity, and those who have never questioned their existence may develop an empathy for the consequences of colonial violence the tragic end of there there forms a frame narrative with the prologue, revealing that the stories told within the frame, while valuable for representation, also challenge white audiences. dene’s fate, for example, remains uncertain: will the storyteller survive to continue collecting and curating the kinds of stories orange does? though the violence in the novel comes from within members of his community, it serves as a reminder of the historical violence repeated over the last several centuries and referenced by the characters whose stories dene seeks to tell. though dene’s storytelling methods are comparable to orange’s in their modernity, dene ends the novel as one of the wounded, and it is unclear whether he recovers. in wearing the regalia and participating in the dance, orvil embodies yet another, perhaps more complicated, role of a storyteller. concluding the novel with no certainty on dene or orvil, orange crafts a commentary on the uncertainty of the future of native american storytelling. the healing potential of native american literature since its publication nearly four years ago, there there has been regaled by the general public. melanie benson taylor notes its immediate reception as a work “consumable by a composite audience [of] book clubs and even first-year college students [embracing] it as a template for resilience in the face of transformation” (592). but these readers, though certainly still able to benefit from reading the novel, were not necessarily orange’s target audience. before writing, he worked at a youth suicide prevention program similar to the ones discussed in there there. in an interview with heather shotton, orange states that part of the reason he included the life-affirming speech in the novel is due in part to the reaction of the youth he worked with: “a really amazing reaction, an emotional reaction, from kids that generally did not do that for anything” (57). if stories can help depressed and struggling youth find reasons to live, selfidentify, feel less alone, and get excited to read more about people who look like them, then more people should be pouring their whole selves into storytelling. the book's characters also heal from sharing their stories with each other. sometimes sharing stories functions as a release, like jacquie at the alcoholics anonymous meeting. other times, it allows for human connection and support, like with blue and edwin. and hopefully, it continues to help indigenous people on the verge of violence and self-harm in real life. what the conference speaker in the novel hopes to do is shift the focus from just avoiding suicide to becoming a life-affirming vessel for change. he warns the audience that these youth “[are] making the decision that it’s better to be dead and gone than to be alive in what we have here, this life, the one we made for them, the one they’ve inherited” (orange 105). what they have been sold over and over is the indian head and a bleak future of addiction, racism, poverty, violence, and utter loneliness, but novels like orange’s shift the focus to the speaker’s ultimate question: “how do we instill in our children the will to live?” stories, including novels, heal because there is a wound in the first place. in this case, orange identifies “the wound that was made when white people came and took all that they took [that] has never healed. an unattended wound gets infected. becomes a new kind of wound like the history of what actually happened became a new kind of history” (orange 137). because they challenge authenticity assumptions, provide representation, and make people feel less alone, the salve for this festering wound is stories. orange addresses both the suppression of such stories and the power of telling them when he writes, “all these stories that we haven’t been telling all this time, that we haven’t been listening to, are just part of what we need to heal” (orange 137). while one of the greatest violences orange addresses is the ongoing erasure of native americans through the cartoonish images of traditional indians, it certainly is not the only wound that needs to be healed. harvey states, “we all been through a lot we don’t understand in a world made to either break us or make us so hard we can’t break even when it’s what we need most to do” (orange 112). the penultimate chapters in there there reflect the violence against indigenous communities through suppression of story: many characters feel disempowered by the lack of reassurance mirrors give; they have lost family members who could offer love and support but instead leave an inheritance of pain, and the shooting at the powwow shows that they cannot partake in community storytelling in the one dedicated place that should be safe. the powwow holds the most significance in there there as a metaphor for storytelling. orange writes, “we made powwows because we needed a place to be together. [...] we keep powwowing because there aren’t very many places where we get to all be together, where we get to see and hear each other” (135). especially in 2023, when mass shootings frequently destroy these spaces of safe, shared cultural expression, the last section of there there feels all too familiar. even though the ending is largely a tragedy, juniper ellis believes it to be ultimately hopeful: “the whole nation is enfolded in the circle opened by the bullet holes, the open wound of history and the present. the ending is not separate from hope, nor from pain and rage. a decolonial metamorphosis urges readers to hear the spoken and the unspoken, with space, time, and irony spinning around a wound and toward potential healing” (13). we see freshly reunited family members sharing a hospital waiting room, tony loneman changing course to fight for a community, and stories finally being shared. right before she dies, opal’s mother tells her, “opal, you have to know that we should never not tell our stories, and that no one is too young to hear” (orange 57). the purpose of these stories, she continues, is to “understand where we came from, what happened to our people, and how to honor them by living right, by telling our stories. she [tells opal] the world was made of stories, nothing else, just stories, and stories about stories” (orange 58). the ending of there there magnifies the dual potential of its entirety: despite the damage inflicted through white society’s expectation of authenticity, indigenous americans challenge both indigenous and non-indigenous audiences to see them clearly, while building community and identity through storytelling. works cited cox, james h. “tommy orange has company.” pmla/publications of the modern language association of america, vol. 135, no. 3, 2020, pp. 565–571., doi:10.1632/pmla.2020.135.3.565. accessed 16 dec. 2022. ellis, juniper. “convergence: irony and urban indian epistemologies in tommy orange’s there there.” postcolonial text, vol. 15, no. 2, apr. 2020, pp. 1–16. ebscohost, https://search-ebscohostcom.ezp1.villanova.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hsi&an=144255917&site=ehostlive&scope=site. accessed 16 dec. 2022. krivokapić, marija, and sanja runtić. “native american urban narratives: theodore van alst’s sacred smokes and tommy orange’s there there.” [sic]: časopis za književnost, kulturu i književno prevođenje/a journal of literature, culture and literary translation, vol. 10, no. 3, june 2020. ebscohost, https://doiorg.ezp1.villanova.edu/10.15291/sic/3.10.lc.3. accessed 16 dec. 2022. meyer, sabine n. “from federal indian law to indigenous rights: legal discourse and the contemporary native american novel on the indian removal.” law and literature, vol. 29, no. 2, 2017, pp. 269-290, https://doi.org/10.1080/1535685x.2016.1246902. accessed 16 dec. 2022. moore, david l. that dream shall have a name: native americans rewriting america. university of nebraska press, 2013. jstor, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1ddr77n. accessed 16 dec. 2022. native authenticity : transnational perspectives on native american literary studies, edited by deborah l. madsen, state university of new york press, 2010. proquest ebook central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/villanovaebooks/detail.action?docid=3407118. accessed 16 dec. 2022. orange, tommy. there there. vintage books, 2018. shotton, heather j. “resisting the violence through writing: a conversation with tommy orange.” world literature today, vol. 93, no. 4, 2022, pp. 56-61, https://doi.org/10.1353/wlt.2019.0077. accessed 16 dec. 2022. taylor, melanie benson. “orange is the new red.” pmla/publications of the modern language association of america, vol. 135, no. 3, 2020, pp. 590–596., doi:10.1632/pmla.2020.135.3.590. accessed 16 dec. 2022. all the wonders: making julius caesar relevant again sarah stryker theatre “shakespeare is not for everyone” i said these words to a fellow theatre-maker when he reluctantly admitted his disinterest in attending a production of julius caesar. so often in the theatre world, apathy about shakespeare is accompanied by shame. our scholastic institutions canonize shakespeare as an apogee of western theatre, so when one does not enjoy his work, the fault is in the individual’s inability to adequately to grasp the story, and not in the story’s presentation. yet the very notion that shakespeare’s work is elite or academic is unfounded. he wrote julius caesar for the globe, a public theatre which was attended by thousands of tradesmen with only elementary educations, and this first production ‘ravish’d’ its audience according to leonard diggs, one of shakespeare’s contemporaries.1 recently, however, theatre critics have lamented the stiflingly academic reputation the play has gained as a “sodden launching-pad for earnest discussions about the perils of democracy.”2 this shift in audience perception is likely due in part to caesar’s ubiquity in high school curriculum, yet other shakespearean high school staples like romeo and juliet and macbeth have not succumbed to the same academic reputations. i maintain that julius caesar has lost its appeal today not because the play is too lofty to grasp, or because it is no longer relevant, but because we have lost the thread of what in performance made the play enjoyable. this essay examines the socio-political context in which the play premiered, the playing space of the globe theatre, and the theatrical conventions of elizabethan performance to demonstrate that what made the roman tragedy so successful for elizabethans is not beyond our grasp. rather, reinstating just a few early modern theatre practices can make julius caesar a successful production. using bert o. states’ theory of theatre phenomenology and his exploration of how the the elizabethan stage affected audience experience, i posit that julius caesar can be mounted successfully today.3 my argument analyzes elizabethan politics, unsuccessful contemporary productions of the play, and the scenic and performance practices of early modern theatre to present an argument for restoring early modern practices when mounting julius caesar. i write this paper to encourage contemporary audiences to approach shakespeare with confidence and to help contemporary theatre makers gain a better understanding of how original performance conventions can bring julius caesar to life. the eye sees not itself but by reflection: elizabethan self-identification with ancient rome and the political similarities to 21st century america julius caesar was first staged in 1599, more than sixteen hundred years after the death of its title character in 44 bce. england in 1599 was undergoing sometimes violent political restructuring as it moved from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary monarchy and elizabethans found the story of a republic-turned-dictatorship urgently relevant to the politics of their age.4 today, only four hundred and twenty-three years after julius caesar was written— less than a third of the time between caesar’s death and the play’s premiere—the story does not carry the same the same weight in the united states, even though we live in a republic which experienced violent populist uprisings within the last five years. politically speaking, 21st century america resembles the political environment of rome under caesar more accurately than england did under elizabeth i, so it should follow that we appreciate the play more than elizabethans did. yet, somehow the relevance is lost on us. in this section, i demonstrate why julius caesar was so relevant to elizabethans, and that the play can be just as relevant to contemporary american audiences today. in the elizabethan mind, ancient rome was a metaphor for early modern england: rome was a model of civilization, colonization, arts and education and elizabethans saw themselves as the roman empire’s natural successors.5 in 1595, a wildly popular translation of plutarch’s lives of the noble greeks and romans captured the minds of early modern londoners and framed england’s success under elizabeth i as resembling roman success under caesar. elizabethan england showed many of the hallmarks of roman culture, including both nations’ imperial success. britain’s prosperity and national borders grew in the 16th century due to colonization: the arts flourished, urban centers were refined and remodeled, and technology advanced in multiple ways. and the emperor julius caesar became a familiar, yet complex figure to shakespeare’s audience: he was seen as both a symbol of imperial success and a harbinger of despotism. despite the high esteem in which caesar was held, he was occasionally painted as that most dreaded of elizabethan bugbears, the tyrant, a figure who exceeds the natural bound of his authority and, in pursuit of what suits his own will best, rides roughshod over his people.6 elizabethans saw caesar as majestic, aspirational, imposing, and abusive. the internal incongruities of caesar reflected elizabethan’s feelings about their monarch. the reign of elizabeth i,was fraught with religious and political tension resulting in disagreements in the citizenry regarding the limitations of royal power and the importance of popular representation. elizabeth’s reign was marked by peace, prosperity, education, and independence, yet elizabeth herself was a divisive figure. throughout her lifetime numerous unsuccessful attempts, both domestic and foreign, through marriage, war, and subterfuge, were made to wrest power from elizabeth. elizabeth could be, “like caesar, capricious, dictatorial and ruthless.”7 when shakespeare wrote julius caesar, elizabeth i was nearing the end of her life and her refusal to name an heir caused anxiety within the english court and the common people alike. despite the economic and political stability english citizens enjoyed under elizabeth’s reign, her strict support of anglicanism and suppression of other religious practices made her unpopular with many. despite these challenges, elizabeth maintained her authority through political savvy, popular support, and religious self-iconography, all while overseeing a flourishing economy and maintaining england’s independence from the catholic church. those who found favor under elizabeth’s reign would have rejoiced in her savoir-faire. but for some, elizabeth’s fierce unconventionality was a sign that greater power should be given to parliament; too much power in the hands of one ruler leads to destruction, no matter how popular that ruler might be. those who opposed her would have seen her political shrewdness—especially in a woman—as an inappropriate abuse of power. in the eyes of her people elizabeth, like caesar, was both a mortal deity and a populist tyrant. it is reasonable to say that some of shakespeare’s audience even considered the moral soundness of violently removing a monarch from power when in the country’s best interest; julius caesar was written six short years before the gunpowder plot to assassinate elizabeth’s scottish successor king james i. thus, elizabethans would have seen the roman political struggle as directly relevant to the future of england; they would have understood the conflict of the story as “deeply rooted in the culture of the day, but also urgent.”8 like elizabethan political struggles, their philosophical debates regarding the nature of human judgement are also relevant today. at the beginning of the 16th century, the dominant ideology sweeping england was humanism, which envisioned a more ethical society in which humans privileged reason over emotion. by 1599 elizabethan drama became “itself an object of emotion,” as the popular opinion skewed toward emotion as the source of human decision making.9 the primacy of logic or emotion in human judgement is as hotly debated today in the field of decision science as it was in the 16th century theatre. although we regard ourselves as rational and sensible, the power of emotionally targeted advertising and speechifying has shown us to be more easily swayed by sentiment than we might like to think. bert o. states argues that theatre is “an act of removing things from a world in which they have become inconspicuous and seeing them anew” and julius caesar does just that by showing brutus, a man “with himself at war,” whose is persuaded to commit regicide by cassius and then confounded by the fervent and dramatic arguments of marc antony.10 11 to elizabethans, brutus was the model of the humanist man, endeavoring to act ethically through reason, and tragically confronting the overwhelming power of sentiment in human judgement. to contemporary americans, brutus is an ordinary man trying to do the right thing for his country and realizing too late that perception is sometimes more powerful than intention. anyone who has wished to obliterate outdates systems of corruption and tyranny can understand brutus’ dilemma. we can recall brutus during election cycles, when reading the news, when acting as ethical consumers. the socio-political climate in which shakespeare wrote julius caesar clearly influenced the success of the production, yet the play is as thematically relevant today as it was when it was written. contemporary american audiences can find just as much relatable content within the historical tragedy as their elizabethan predecessors. politically speaking, twenty-first century america is undergoing socio-political turmoil that is not dissimilar to that of the elizabethans. both the english monarchy of the 16th century and the american republic of the 21st century are characterized by political unrest and debates about reasonable use of power. our political dilemmas today have less to do with the executive limitations of absolute rulers, and more to do with maintaining justice in our democratic process and trustworthiness in our news sources. nevertheless, the issues of tyranny, mob mentality, and ethical decision-making are deeply relevant to our current national reality. the roman republic of shakespeare’s julius caesar’s resembles twenty-first century america as much as it resembled elizabethan england, if not more. contemporary american audiences have as much reason to see ourselves in the characters as elizabethans did. the difference is not in the relevancy, but in the way contemporary audiences understand the relevancy. the question, then, is how do contemporary stagings of julius caesar fail to make this relevance clear? but, for mine own part, it was roman to me: how contemporary productions of julius caesar fail to translate today after the election of george w. bush, numerous productions of julius caesar were staged across canada, england, and the united states. yet in 2001 the play was called “a constant theatrical disappointment” by michael billington in the guardian.12 some sixteen years later, the election of donald trump inspired a second flurry of productions, which received greater critical success. not every review of julius caesar was overly critical, but none were sparkling. lyn gardener of the guardian called julius caesar “a play for elderly actors.”13 meanwhile, ann greer of the washington post hinted at the collective disinterest in the play and recalling memories of dull high school curriculum by framing her plot synopsis as “the cliffsnotes version.”14 numerous directors seem convinced that aesthetic changes will make the play successful, which assumes there is something lacking in the text itself. examples of this include the overt eroticism of david lan’s production at the young vic, which infused the play with pervasive sexuality and clouded the conspiracy of the story.15 or the overt equation of caesar with fascism in edward hall’s production at the royal shakespeare company.16 some directors even make additions to the script, like chris abraham’s production at streetcar crowsnest which uses radio personalities as a prologue to frame the lupercal celebrations,17 or the 1953 marlon brando film which includes explanatory quotes from plutarch’s the lives of romans.18 every production seems to have had at least one element that did not work, and many articles mentioned aesthetic or narrative additions which ranged from ineffectual to detrimental. two reviews mention successful directorial choices: the 2001 royal shakespeare company’s production, which makes allusions to the resurgence of fascism in italy,19 and the 2020 streetcar crowsnest production which speaks directly to the global rise of populism but refrains from suggesting to any singular nation.20 the director of the folger theatre production references the 2014 american senate election as the obvious reason to produce julius caesar, but then makes no reference to the art of political persuasion and instead claims that the play speaks to the fundamental human need for war, which seems only obliquely related to senate elections.21 other reviews mention strong performances, weak performances, creative staging, and ineffective costumes, some included well-reasoned accounts of each production’s successes and failures, but no critic seemed, as leonard diggs would say, ravished. many of these contemporary productions applied current theatre conventions to the text, such as the proscenium stage, the darkened theatre, unique and realistic sets, and a stationary and silent audience. these are all theatre practices which contemporary audiences find ordinary and elizabethans would have found bizarre. i posit that these contemporary theatre conventions are not advancements from the low-tech early modern stage but are in fact detrimental to the nature of the elizabethan storytelling. i posit that there are two fundamental elements required for effective early modern theatre: the first is a neutral stage and the second is open dialogue between the audience and the performers. scaena rasa: how the blank elizabethan stage supports the audience imagination contemporary audiences are accustomed to intricate sets, lights, and microphones. nearly every part of today’s theatre focuses on maintaining the illusion of the story and generating greater visual spectacle. moreover, our sets today are highly specific; a broadway company could not stage a production of wicked on the set of legally blonde, no matter how interesting the results might be. this was not so for elizabethan audiences, whose stages were bare, neutral, and nearly interchangeable between playhouses. far from detracting from the theatrical experience, this simplicity added to the enjoyment for elizabethans. the blank stage removes all distractions and gives space for the important ideas in the play to resonate. additionally, it prompts the audience to engage imaginatively with actors; what the actors pretend to see, the audience pretends to see, which creates a richer relationship between performers and listeners. in other words, the blank stage creates an interactive environment in which actors and audience each share an active role in the storytelling. in early modern visual-verbal esoteric imagery and the theatre, svenn-arve myklebost argues that the elizabethan theatre experience was characterized by the stimulation of both the intellect and the imagination.22 storytelling arts in general activate the imagination in some respect, but contemporary theatre works far harder to maintain our suspension of disbelief for us than did elizabethan theatre. in illustrating the internal experience elizabethans had when watching julius caesar, i will draw heavily from the theoretical framework of phenomenology, particularly the second chapter in bert o. states’ book great reckonings in little rooms, which is titled the scenic illusion: shakespeare and naturalism. in this chapter, states explores how theatrical objects and occurrences were perceived on the elizabethan stage. he argues that the elizabethan convention of the bare stage allows the evocative language space to breathe and do its work. by contrast, theatre sets which approach realism distract the listener from the images in the words and result in a muddled sensory experience. the 1953 film production of julius caesar, starring marlon brando, offers an excellent example of this phenomenon.23 in act 5 scene 3, cassius and his men, exhausted by battle, retreat up a hill to observe troops in the distance. cassius asks titinius to ride toward the troops and observe whether they are friends or foes. he then asks pindarus to watch titinius’ progress from a nearby hilltop. within some six lines following titinius’ exit, pindarus observes he is taken by the enemy troops. the film stages this scene on a real cliff-face, too steep, high, and rocky for a horse to be nearby. the naturalism makes the lines utterly implausible; titinius could not have reached the horse in six lines, much less come so near the enemy as to be taken. what seems like an enhancement of the story—a realistic setting—is actually a detriment. the setting offers us a highly believable illusion, but when its realism proves too rigid to support the text, it plunges us into the painful realization that we are watching a play. by contrast, a platform stage allows listeners construct the landscape in their own minds, editing it instantly to accommodate the story. there are no elements of distraction, no concrete realities to disagree with the dialogue. on the globe stage, there was often included a ladder which would have been named and used in numerous metaphorical and literal ways. in this scene, it is likely that pindarus climbed this to suggest a hillside.24 this plants the story squarely in the imagination, where metaphor guides thought. thus, the blank stage merely suggests the physical space of the story, which gives audiences the freedom to imagine hillsides, palaces, forums, and cities more beautiful and vivid than any set designer could create. states’ argument demonstrates that when a play asks us to imagine the world drawn by the images in the words, it has not pointed to a deficit in the presentation of the story, but rather given us the images of the world “in the only form this theatre requires.”25 the blankness of the elizabethan stage is not a flaw to be overlooked, but a playground for an essential feature of elizabethan storytelling: the audience’s imagination. the blank stage creates an intimate relationship between actor and audience by encouraging simultaneous imagination. but there is another method by which shakespearean theatre pulls its audience into the story: the performance style. lend me your ears: how direct address brings shakespeare’s story to life contemporary acting is shaped by the theories of konstantin stanislavsky, whose acting method was largely shaped by the conventions of naturalism, an aesthetic preference which privileged any artwork that created and maintained a highly convincing illusion of reality. stanislavsky’s system treats all texts, classical or contemporary, through this lens.26 one fundamental element of naturalism is the theatrical fourth wall, the imaginary barrier which prevents the actors from knowing that they are being watched. this device keeps the world of the stage separate from the world of the spectators and casts the audience as passive onlookers rather than active participants in the drama. but shakespeare did not write his plays to work under naturalistic performance conditions of a darkened theatre, a quiet audience, or a realistic set. he wrote for very different conditions, and therefore the plays require a very different performance style. shakespeare wrote julius caesar for the globe theatre, a public playhouse which at the time accommodated roughly 3,000 people—due to health and safety codes, the globe today accommodates only half this number despite occupying the same square footage. to provide sufficient light to see the play, the theatre had no roof in the center. under the open sky, much of the audience stood during the performance, with only the wealthiest patrons sitting in the balconies. under these conditions, it is not nearly so easy to lose oneself in the reality of the story as it is while seated in a darkened, comfortable theatre. the actors could see the audience as well as the audience could see the actors, and this mutual visibility is the foundation of an essential shakespearean performance convention: audience involvement. bill kincaid, margie pignataro, and peter johnson have identified three types of dramatic speech which guide audience involvement, and which used liberally create a more engaging audience experience. they are direct address, soliloquy, and asides.27 soliloquy functions like a spoken diary entry; soliloquies occur when characters are alone onstage and reveal their innermost thoughts. however, the audience is not addressed directly during a soliloquy, so the fourth wall illusion is somewhat maintained. think of a moment in a mockumentary like the office in which a character believes they are in private, but the cameras are actually capturing their behavior. an aside, by contrast, occurs when characters are together onstage, but for just a moment only one character addressed the audience. in the world of the office, think of a character looking directly into the camera during a moment of extreme tension and rolling their eyes. it clues the audience in on the characters’ inner thoughts and motivations, but simultaneously acknowledges the proximity of the other performers. it peeks through the fourth wall while not fully breaking the action of the scene. by contrast, direct address completely breaks the fourth wall; it not only acknowledged the audience’s presence, it almost demands a response from them. it is like a talking head moment in the office, in which a character does a private interview speaking directly to the film makers. it turns the audience “from a passive listener into a verbal actor.”28 audiences today are less apt to give a spectrum of responses than were shakespeare’s audiences; laughter is our most common response, perhaps due to standup comedy being our shared reference for direct address. shakespeare’s crowds, however, would have also booed and hissed at the villains, or even shouted lewd phrases at some of the lovers, depending on the context.29 any performer can confirm that an active, talkative, rowdy audience can be a liability during a performance. shakespeare knew that he could not expect his standing and well-lit audiences to be docile and polite, unlike the seated and darkened contemporary audiences. therefore, he took this liability and wrote directly to them in order to keep them engaged. this element of engagement in the play is vital to making julius caesar a successful story. yet direct address is very frequently excluded from contemporary stagings of julius caesar, despite it having been well-documented as a feature of shakespearean plays and a theatrical device used since ancient greece. in my own experience as a shakespearean actor, i have attended and performed in many productions which resist employing direct address, aside, and even soliloquy. actors are sometimes directed to give asides to other actors, sometimes they are directed to write a letter instead of speaking in direct address, and in some movies soliloquy becomes voiceover. there are many reasons that contemporary theatre-makers might make these missteps. perhaps contemporary directors fear that today’s audience will not participate the way shakespeare’s would have. perhaps their predilections for naturalism are threatened by bringing the audience so close. perhaps it begs too much intimacy and heat and vulnerability between the performers and the viewers. perhaps they subconsciously know that “insult can become unavoidable when an audience is fearless about participating.”30 perhaps they simply do not know about early modern performance conventions. whatever the cause, stripping direct address, aside, and soliloquy from shakespeare fatally reinforces the barrier between the players and spectators; it leaves the audience out of the fun. thus, by failing to perform the plays as they require, contemporary theatre makers produce shakespearean works which disconnect audiences from the action rather than directly engaging them. taking advantage of direct address and asides whenever possible repeatedly breaks the fourth wall lets the audience feel like insiders in the drama. shakespeare astutely peppered these moments of engagement throughout his plays, perhaps because he realized our capacity for disengagement when we are not called on to participate. not only does direct address keep the audience engaged in the story, it also eliminates seemingly impossible problems with the script that naturalism could not begin to solve. one such problem in julius caesar is the impossibility of staging a mob of roman citizens. we have no record of precisely how shakespeare staged the first production of julius caesar, but we do know that many of his plays, especially the heavier and denser plays like the histories and the tragedies, feature prologues in on preceding the first scene. shakespeare likely utilized direct address in his more serious and complex stories because it immediately establishes a relationship with the audience. julius caesar, which is both a history and a tragedy, features in its first scene two tribunals, flavius and murellus, berating a mob of roman tradesman for celebrating in the lupercal festival instead of working. onstage, the mob is sometimes imagined in the wings, with the tribunals looking off stage right and stage left. in the 1953 film, the mob is composed of thousands of extras. neither of these choices is particularly impactful because both stagings direct the attention of flavius and murellus away from the audience. based on shakespeare’s penchant for direct address, i think it is likely that in the original staging, the mob scene was played by the audience. if the opening line of julius caesar, “hence! home you idle creatures, get you home!” was directed at an elizabethan audience, they would doubtless have understood that they were part of the game.31 in the globe theatre, especially, the audience would have been composed of tradesmen who were enjoying an afternoon of idleness instead of working. if the audience is treated like a scene partner, a delightful element of ironic metatheatre is awakened; the audience is performing their theatrical duty by shirking the day’s labors. humor is not the only effect which comes from this use of direct address. it also communicates to the audience that they are rome, and it is their good opinion that brutus and antony vie for after caesar’s death. direct address is essential to engaging the audience of julius caesar successfully: the metatheatrical humor excites them, but more importantly it positions them in their essential role as the populace of rome. careful examination of the themes of the play indicate that shakespeare’s intention was to position the audience as active participants in the story; shakespeare wrote julius caesar to be a tug-of-war between reason and emotion played out in the arena of politics. brutus conspires against caesar to protect the common people against populist tyranny, yet his actions go horribly awry when he fails to effectively argue his case before the roman masses. brutus’ fatal flaw comes from his preference for reason and stoicism, which eventually causes the people of rome to turn against him in favor of the far more emotional and politically shrewd marc antony. if we enter the play already believing caesar is a tyrant, cassius’ fine arguments will seem obvious and redundant. if, instead, the audience are primed to love caesar because the direct address tells them so, then they can witness the persuasive power of cassius’ argument to assassinate caesar. direct address in julius caesar makes the moral questions in the play come alive in the hearts and minds of the audience. if the audience are the people of rome, then it is their struggle to choose between brutus and antony, between reason and emotion, that gives the play power. brutus and antony speak directly to the audience because it is their minds and hearts that are at stake. to strip julius caesar of direct address is to deprive the audience of their role in the story, and to lose the intended effect of the play. there is a tide in the affairs of men: julius caesar’s relevance today today, julius caesar is widely regarded as archaic and troublesome to stage. we seem to feel that the play must be made to work; that the content must be explained in full before the play begins, or the story must be reskinned for a younger audience. yet, the story of brutus and caesar is as relevant to contemporary american audiences as it was to elizabethans. fault lies not in the play, but in how contemporary productions translate the play from page to stage. i do not argue that productions of julius caesar must perform the play exactly as the elizabethans did—on the contrary, i believe changes and additions are part of the joy of creating theatre. rather, i argue that contemporary productions of julius caesar can rediscover the elements of fun and imagination integral to the success of the play by utilizing two early modern performance conventions: a playing space which allows imagination and metaphor to flourish and an engaged relationship between audience and actors founded on direct address. the moments of joy and wonder generated by these two theatre conventions make the story more effective than any 21st century additions could. the roman citizens in julius caesar face many of the socio-political dilemmas american audiences face today, yet they have only the voices of caesar, brutus, and antony vying for their loyalty. they had only one tyrant to dethrone, only one cult-of-personality to uphold or upend. by comparison, the people of 2022 are inundated by argument, accusation, rhetoric, narcissism, and even megalomania in our leadership and in ourselves. it is urgent that we recognize how to effectively stage this play because its themes are just as topical and urgent as they were when shakespeare wrote them. i write this paper to encourage theatre makers to approach this play not as a dusty example of poetry and rhetoric, but as a living story which speaks to matters contemporary and timeless. we can better understand ourselves through stories, as brutus tells us, “the eye sees not itself but by reflection.”32 if we can see ourselves in this story of persuasion, betrayal, reason, pathos and regret, then we can better understand the struggle to make moral choices in the face of uncertain truth. 1 hartley, andrew james. julius caesar: a critical reader (london: the arden shakespeare, 2016), 19 2 rich, frank. “some romans and countrymen conspire anew to murder caesar.” the new york times. (march 23, 1988) 3 states, bert o. great reckonings in little rooms: on the phenomenology of theater (berkeley: university of california press, 1985), 50 4 boris, edna z. “the tudor constitution and shakespeare’s two tetralogies.” college literature 4, no. 3 (1977): 197. 5 hartley, andrew james. caesar: a critical reader 4 6 hartley, andrew james. caesar: a critical reader 3 7 hartley, andrew james. caesar: a critical reader 6 8 hartley, andrew james. caesar: a critical reader 6 9 kent cartwright. theatre and humanism : english drama in the sixteenth century. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1999. 1 10 states, bert o. great reckonings 22 11 william shakespeare. julius caesar. barbara mowat, paul werstine, michael poston, rebecca niles, eds (washington, dc: folger shakespeare library, n.d.), accessed april 14, 2022. 1.2.52 12 billington, michael. “julius caesar: royal shakespeare theatre, stratford-upon-avon” the guardian. london, (july 28, 2001). 13 greer, ann. the washington post 14 gardener, lyn. “pecs and violence” the guardian london. (september 20, 2000). 15 gardener, lyn. the guardian 16 billington, michael. the guardian 17 nestruck, j. kelly. the globe and mail 18 mankiewicz, joseph l. metro-goldwyn-mayer 19 billington, michael. the guardian 20 nestruck, j. kelly. “crow's theatre gives us julius caesar for another terrible era.” the globe and mail. (january 16, 2020). 21 greer, ann. “’julius cesar’ at folger theatre” the washington post. (november 7, 2014). 22 myklebost svenn-arve. “early modern visual-verbal esoteric imagery and the theatre: julius caesar 1.3.” nordic journal of english studies. 2018. 5 23 mankiewicz, joseph l., director. julius caesar. metro-goldwyn-mayer 1953. 1 hr., 41 min. 24 stern, tiffany. “this wide and universal theatre: the theatre as prop in shakespeare’s metadrama,” in shakespeare’s theatres and the effects of performance, ed. farah karim-cooper and tiffany stern (new york: bloomsbury, 2013), 28 25 states, bert o. great reckonings 55 26 gordon, mel, and lang, anthony f, jr. stanislavsky in america: an actor's workbook. (london: taylor & francis group, 2009), p 10 27 kincaid, bill, pignataro, margie and johnson, peter. direct address in shakespeare: unlocking audiencecentered moments in performance. western illinois university. 34 28 kincaid, pignataro, johnson. direct address 36 29 kincaid, pignataro, johnson. direct address 36 30 kincaid, pignataro, johnson. direct address 36 31 shakespeare, julius caesar, 1.1.1 32 shakespeare, julius caesar, 1.2.58 bibliography andrew james hartley. julius caesar: a critical reader. arden early modern drama guides. london: the arden shakespeare, 2016. billington, michael. “julius caesar: royal shakespeare theatre, stratford-upon-avon”,. the guardian. london, (july 28, 2001). boris, edna z. “the tudor constitution and shakespeare’s two tetralogies.” college literature 4, no. 3 (1977): 197–209. gordon, mel, and lang, anthony f, jr. stanislavsky in america: an actor's workbook. london: taylor & francis group, 2009. accessed december 14, 2021. greer, ann. “’julius cesar’ at folger theatre” the washington post. (november 7, 2014). kent cartwright. theatre and humanism : english drama in the sixteenth century. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1999. kincaid, bill, pignataro, margie and johnson, peter. direct address in shakespeare: unlocking audience-centered moments in performance. western illinois university. mankiewicz, joseph l., director. julius caesar. metro-goldwyn-mayer 1953. 1 hr., 41 min. myklebost s-a. early modern visual-verbal esoteric imagery and the theatre: julius caesar 1.3. nordic journal of english studies. 2018;17(1):3–25. nestruck, j. kelly. “crow's theatre gives us julius caesar for another terrible era.” the globe and mail. (january 16, 2020). pigman, g.w., iii. "elizabethan rhetoric: theory and practice." clio 33, no. 3 (2004): 327+. gale literature resource center (accessed december 13, 2021). rich, frank. “some romans and countrymen conspire anew to murder caesar.” the new york times. (march 23, 1988). shakespeare, william. julilus caesar. barbara mowat, paul werstine, michael poston, rebecca niles, eds (washington, dc: folger shakespeare library, n.d.), accessed april 14, 2022 sobchack, vivian. the address of the eye: a phenomenology of film experience. princeton university press, 1992. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvzsmfbq. states, bert o. great reckonings in little rooms: on the phenomenology of theater. berkeley: university of california press, 1985. stern, tiffany. “this wide and universal theatre: the theatre as prop in shakespeare’s metadrama,” in shakespeare’s theatres and the effects of performance, ed. farah karim-cooper and tiffany stern (new york: bloomsbury, 2013), wills, garry. rome and rhetoric: shakespeare’s julius caesar. the anthony hecht lectures in the humanities. new haven, ct: yale university press, 2011. 1 the unracing of whiteness in heart of darkness ethan shea english countless scholars have examined how joseph conrad portrays blackness in heart of darkness, and rightly so. the text’s depictions of black characters are inarguably vile. there are ongoing, heated debates among conrad scholars about whether conrad himself endorsed these descriptions or used them to critique imperialism, and much of these conversations surround the broader question of whether this text, with all its racism, should continue to be taught, and if so, how? my foremost intention is not to throw my hat into this already overcrowded ring, but entirely avoiding the pedagogical topic would be ignorant of its significance to the study of the novella at large. rather, the purpose of this essay is to analyze conrad’s depictions of whiteness in heart of darkness, an aspect of the text that has perhaps been overshadowed by the shocking nature of his portrayal of africans. predicated upon this analysis, i will argue that in heart of darkness, joseph conrad upholds notions of white supremacy not only by dehumanizing africans but by unracing his white characters. in doing so, conrad problematically allows whiteness to become the objective perspective of humanity within the text. the idea that someone can be unraced is based on the concept that race is something that is performed. it is more common to colloquially use race as a noun than a verb, but the latter must be employed to understand conrad’s use of race. the notion of racial construction is not groundbreaking theory, yet unracing may appear to complicate understandings of racialization. to understand more thoroughly the stakes of unracing, i will turn to the essay “darkness made visible: law, metaphor, and the racial self,” where d. marvin jones eloquently states that 2 “[r]acial categories are neither objective nor natural, but ideological and constructed. in these terms race is not so much a category but a practice: people are raced” (67). if people can be raced, it follows that they can also be unraced, and according to the inverse of jones’s statement on racialization, unracing would make a racial category appear both “objective” and “natural.” therefore, the unconsciousness of whiteness’s position as a racial category unraces whiteness and gives it the position of an intrinsic source of power. as an essay meant to call attention to the dangers of unracing texts and their whiteness, it would be hypocritical to leave this paper to speak objectively on the matter. in richard dyer’s book, white, he personalizes a portion of the opening chapter and calls attention to his own whiteness to ask the question: “why was i [as a white man] trying to write about whiteness?” (5) this decision to personalize his book prevents him from falling victim to his own argument, which claims there are problems with the fact that “being white is not an issue for most white people, not a conscious or reflected on part of their sense of who they are” (5). therefore, it is important to note that i am writing this essay as a white man, and my own life experiences will thusly inform my perspectives. taking this into account, i intend to engage with heart of darkness and the material cited as i would any other essay, but following dyer’s lead and personalizing this particular paper is necessary because it is impossible to emphasize the importance of white racialization without calling attention to my personal experience with whiteness. to return to the text in question, i chose heart of darkness to demonstrate the dangers of unracing whiteness not just to fill a knowledge gap within the area of race studies but because the novella’s racial politics are remarkably prominent. the text has also been incredibly impactful throughout the history of literary studies. as a book that is canonical in english 3 departments across the globe, i found the lack of research regarding conrad’s depictions of whiteness startling. perhaps the answer to the heated debate over whether this text should continue to be taught lies within the uncharted territory of conrad’s whiteness. but before embarking upon close readings of heart of darkness regarding conrad’s portrayal of whiteness, it is necessary to establish a foundation of contemporary critical white studies. the primary text i will use as a basis for my research on white studies is the aforementioned book white. this text has proven itself to be forward thinking, where his early descriptions of acknowledgements of privilege foreshadowed current racial thought that emphasizes the importance of “checking one’s privilege” rather than forcing marginalized communities to carry the burden of acknowledgment of their own marginalization. additionally, his explanations of why it is important to study whiteness gives this essay drive. dyer writes that because “white people are systematically privileged in western society…[their] privilege and dominance is at stake in analyzing white racial imagery” (9). to this point, as white racial imagery is often neglected analysis, dyer theorizes that white people are not conscious of their whiteness, giving credence to the racist idea that white is neutral and can therefore speak for all of humanity. the phenomenon of whiteness being treated as objective or raceless is also perpetuated by academia. as stated earlier, while conducting research for this essay, i quickly discovered that the amount of material regarding whiteness in heart of darkness is far outnumbered by the amount of work studying blackness. this is not necessarily a detrimental thing. of course, this canonical text includes and is based upon terribly racist depictions of africans, so it stands to reason that scholars would want to respond to that aspect of the text. although there truly is so little research on heart of darkness’s whiteness for such a popular text that it perpetuates dyer’s 4 idea that “to say that one is interested in race has come to mean that one is interested in any racial imagery other than that of white people” (1). by not including whiteness in its research regarding heart of darkness, academia upholds the notion that whiteness is not a race itself and is therefore raceless or of a different class than all other races. it is also important to note why treating whiteness as raceless places whiteness in a position of power. it may seem that the field of white studies is simply whiteness attempting to occupy even more space within the broader field of race studies, an area meant to support people of color, but dyer’s book refutes this idea by describing the dangers of unracing whiteness. toward the beginning of his text, dyer claims that “[t]here is no more powerful position than being ‘just’ human. the claim to power is the claim to speak for the commonality of humanity. raced people can’t do that – they can only speak for their race” (2). therefore, by locating where whiteness is unraced in canonical texts, scholars can work to level the field of race studies and remove whiteness from its raceless pedestal. where is there a better place to begin this endeavor than within conrad’s quintessential novella? concerning this text, heart of darkness has a long and tumultuous history of literary criticism. from its conception at the very end of the 19th century until the 1970s, the text was generally accepted as a flawed but important work that criticized the dangers of imperialism, but chinua achebe’s claims in an image of africa framed conrad and his novella as explicitly racist and dramatically altered the critical conversation, opening the floodgates for critics who would continue to treat this canonical story as increasingly problematic. much of the critiques that followed achebe focused on how conrad depicts women in the text, arguing that women are demeaned in a similar vein as africans are, as is also criticized by achebe. before long, this “text that had so often been praised for its political radicalism now looked politically 5 reactionary” (watts 54). taking the mercurial nature of scholarship concerning this text into account, it stands to reason that heart of darkness is especially receptive to a diverse array of academic critiques. the foundation of achebe’s revolutionary claims is based upon the idea that conrad’s novella makes real “the desire…in western psychology to set africa up as a foil to europe, a place of negations at once remote and vaguely familiar in comparison with which europe’s own state of spiritual grace will manifest” (2). achebe goes on to confront a critic, a student of his whose response to achebe’s argument is to claim, “africa is merely a setting for the disintegration of the mind of mr. kurtz” (9). according to the student, the fact that heart of darkness takes place in africa is merely a coincidence, but regardless of authorial intention, achebe responds to the student by saying that heart of darkness using africa as nothing more than a setting “is partly the point [of his critique]. africa as setting and backdrop… eliminates the african as human factor” (9). in brief, according to achebe, conrad’s use of africans and africa itself as props cause the novella to endorse a eurocentric worldview and uphold notions of white supremacy. achebe’s concept of the african foil works in unison with ambereen dadabhoy’s claim that another canonical writer, william shakespeare, treats whiteness as neutral. both scholars, achebe and dadabhoy, work to reveal the literary basis for the establishment of whiteness as superior and point to how blackness is weaponized by their respective texts to do so. according to dadabhoy, “the perceived raceless-ness of white people” (231) establishes a foundation for white supremacy, and she references the avoidance of race in productions of shakespeare plays to support her claim. by reading dadabhoy and achebe’s work together, it becomes clear that the shakespearean “raceless-ness” dadabhoy describes is applied to white characters not only by 6 early modern writers like shakespeare, but by modernist writers such as joseph conrad as well. this phenomenon shows how the unracing of white people is a lasting rhetorical strategy used to validate claims of white supremacy. in her study of whiteness in the early modern era, dadabhoy’s findings specifically compliment achebe’s claims that heart of darkness uses africa as a “foil to europe” (achebe 2). regarding shakespeare’s “race plays”, she states that “those colorful others set off, enrich, and enhance the normative ground of whiteness” (231). in the following quotation from heart of darkness, conrad explicitly others africans in a moment where marlow contrasts whiteness and blackness against each other. the text reads: “the whites…had besides a curious look of being painfully shocked by such an outrageous row. the others had an alert, naturally interested expression” (49; italics added). paradoxically in this instance, conrad unraces whiteness by acknowledging its existence, yet, according to the text, there are white people, and there is everyone else. just as achebe and dadabhoy assert, blackness is used to define white as objective. conrad’s mention of whiteness and not blackness in this section could be seen as him racing whiteness, but by treating white as the standard in contrast to the other, conrad upholds its position as objective. and regarding this other, “[a]s chinua achebe has noted, the european view of the other has never been innocent” (white 169). yet, merely mentioning color is not racialization, especially when black characters are explicitly marginalized and othered in the following sentence. curiously, this scene that differentiates white characters from black characters takes place within a blinding fog. in a moment where everyone’s sense of visual perception is impaired, conrad focuses on what is inherently visual, the color of skin. to return to jones’s essay, he provides an example of a racist act of violence that resonates with this moment of 7 visual impairment when describing the assault of rodney glenn king by several california highway patrol officers. jones makes a point to include the fact that rodney was beaten near midnight in the dark. he notes that “[b]rutality against blacks by police officers in urban areas is generally not exposed to the light of day. it generally occurs in darkness…within the shadow of race and class and attendant matters such as criminal records, a black person becomes invisible” (68). considering this observation, conrad’s inclusion of fog into this moment appears to be an intentional tool of racial representation. conrad’s emphasis on racial differences in a moment when skin color is imperceivable mirrors jones’s described violence in darkness that similarly unraces all parties involved. in this moment where even black characters are unraced, conrad feels threatened because it levels black africans with its white characters. as a result, conrad must explicitly describe physical, racial differences to assure black characters remain raced and white characters remain purely human despite the lack of diagetic visual perception. the idea that whiteness is treated as simply or ‘just’ human shows that it is just as important to look for where race is not mentioned as where it is in forming an idea of racial construction within a text. it is not only conrad’s explicit depictions of whiteness that inform readers of his understanding of race, but his obsession with blackness also shows how conrad unraces white people. for example, conrad describes the movements of the native africans as “a whirl of black limbs” (43), and there are countless similar mentions of black body parts to an excessive extent throughout the novella. chinua achebe responds to conrad’s obsession with blackness by stating, “conrad is a dream for psychoanalytic critics” (10). his obsession with blackness is a window into his psyche. achebe goes on to point out that surprisingly, psychoanalytic analysis of conrad has not focused on his obsession with color, so therefore critics must conclude that his text’s racism must be seen as normal to the european 8 psychoanalysts (achebe 11). because conrad goes out of his way to mention blackness so often, critics can deduce that he is working to differentiate it from whiteness, which is meant to be objective and superior. the repetitive specificity directed toward blackness in the text is therefore representative of conrad’s desire to dislodge whiteness from any sort of unrelation to humanity overall. it may be argued that joseph conrad’s depictions of whiteness could not be objective because of the differences he emphasizes between white characters. for example, there are “swedes” and “brits” in the text, and they are described differently. additionally, conrad himself is both polish and british, and he speaks several european languages, so he is certainly familiar with different white cultures. taking conrad’s white cultural depictions and biographical information into account, how could his whiteness be seen as an overarching symbol? even though whiteness is not monolithic to conrad, his differentiations between the cultures of white characters do not remove whiteness from its pedestal. rather, conrad’s descriptions of british and swedish citizens are merely “variations on white ethnicity…and the examination of them tends to lead away from a consideration of whiteness itself” (dyer 4). in other words, conrad’s acknowledgement of different forms of whiteness are not indicative of any sort of pressure against whiteness as a disembodied race. in fact, such differentiations show conrad’s familiarity with white europeans, highlighting his ignorance of african culture. it follows that specific white ethnicities in the text would be pitted against a monolithic, black other, but this contrast reveals a hypocritical duality. conrad’s contradictions can continue to be read through the essay “white images of black slaves (is what we see in others sometimes a reflection of what we find in ourselves?),” where george fredrickson discusses how stereotypes of enslaved black 9 americans were born of the desires of white slave owners. to rationalize slavery, slave owners would depict enslaved people as either unruly and in need of discipline or docile and content with their conditions depending on the narrative slave owners wanted to weaponize. such white racial depictions of enslaved people became more prevalent when “a slaveholding group found itself the object of sustained and uncompromising criticism and hence had a particularly strong need to defend or justify its labor system” (fredrickson 41). this projection of white desire onto depictions of blackness resonates with conrad’s descriptions of africans in heart of darkness. there is a distinct duality in his representations that conveniently fit his ideological needs. to uphold the guise of an anti-imperialist novel, marlow famously recoils at the idea that africans are human just like him when he states “no, they were not inhuman. well, you know, that was the worst of it – this suspicion of their not being inhuman” (conrad 44). yet, the text is rife with descriptions of black africans as inhuman. for example, the text reads: “they were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now, – nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom” (conrad 20). to show the supposed supremacy of the novel’s white characters while briefly describing the effects of imperialism imposed upon africans as evil, conrad must contradict himself. this is due to the conflicting and nonsensical desires of the white, eurocentric state conrad represents. it is precisely marlow’s fear of african humanity that leads him to rationalize their subjugation, because the moment he recognizes the humanity of the story’s black characters, they become a threat. fredrickson writes that “a relatively benign group stereotype is likely to be recast or reinterpreted when a dominant group perceives a genuine and immediate threat,” (43) and conrad’s descriptions of black characters hold true to this idea. for example, when marlow describes an african who, while laboring for him, is starving and therefore non 10 threatening, he describes the african to be looking “out into the fog in a dignified and profoundly pensive attitude” (conrad 50). describing a black character as “dignified” seems out of character for conrad considering his history of derogatory racial descriptions, and it is. yet, conrad gets away with this description because in the moment, marlow is in a position of insuperable power. contrarily, when the native africans are shooting arrows at marlow and his crew, he reduces africans hiding in a bush to fragmented beings: “[d]eep in the tangled gloom, naked breasts, arms, legs, glaring eye, – the bush was swarming with human limbs in movement” (conrad 55). here, when blackness becomes an immediate threat, marlow returns to his inhuman descriptions of africans as groups who travel in “swarms” and may be constituted of the same parts as humans but are not wholly human as him and his white counterparts are. the contradictory nature of marlow’s descriptions of black characters shows how his fears and desires as a white man are projected onto black characters, proving that an understanding of whiteness is essential to deciphering conrad’s depictions of blackness in heart of darkness. conrad’s descriptions of white characters also attempt to transcend the human. by doing so, conrad places whiteness into a position that can avoid the inherent racing humans are subject to. an example of such an instance occurs when marlow describes how he “met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the first moment [he] took him for a sort of vision” (conrad 21). this description takes place immediately after marlow describes the inhuman nature of the text’s africans. in contrast to what marlow claims to be decrepit and diseased africans, the appearance of a white man seems too good to be true. as a juxtaposition to blackness, whiteness is something so refreshing and elegant that marlow cannot believe his eyes. this indulgent description of a white man not only makes marlow’s impression of africans appear even more disgusting in comparison, but his framing of a white character as akin 11 to an apparition of sorts shows how whiteness is granted the ability to subvert racialization and transcend to an unearthly yet higher form of being. if the africans in heart of darkness are reluctantly to be understood by conrad as earthly beings, white people must not be of the same sort. similarly, the text’s main narrator, marlow himself, is framed as a deity, a being who transcends racial depiction in the same way as the aforementioned “vision” does. the most notable instance of marlow’s deification occurs at the very beginning of the text. here marlow is described to have sat with “a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and, with his arms dropped, the palms of hands outwards, [he] resembled an idol” (conrad 4). by framing him as a god-like figure, conrad simultaneously unraces marlow by transforming him to the most objective and all-knowing form of being possible, a god, lending credence to the text’s framing of africa as a land without history through marlow’s status as narrator. such descriptions of the story’s black characters’ native lands as empty are accentuated by marlow’s unraced and deified position as narrator. there are several moments throughout the text that unhistoricize africa. one such description of africa occurs when marlow and his crew are described as “wanderers on prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet” (conrad 43). by claiming africa to be “prehistoric,” the land seems to not only be lacking in technological evolution, but it also is literally framed as existing in a time before history began. such a description ignores african culture and resiliency by using marlow’s position as deified figure to support the claim. marlow’s god-like qualities also allow him to remove himself from temporal limits and pass value judgement on others, but he escapes history while africa is excluded from it. the subsequent deification and unracing of marlow therefore make his narrative power even 12 more potent, giving him authority to make broad and derogatory historical claims about africa and its people. the unhistoricization of africa is so prevalent in the text that it explicitly translates to francis ford coppola’s adaptation of heart of darkness, titled apocalypse now. although an adaptation cannot translate every aspect of a piece of source material to the new medium, coppola saw the minimization of africa’s history prominent enough to include in his film. gene d. phillips’s text, conrad and cinema outlines the parallels between heart of darkness and apocalypse now by describing how in the mekong river from the film, rather than the congo river in the text, as the film takes place in vietnam during the vietnam war, the protagonist “willard has equivalently stepped back into a lawless, prehistoric age where barbarism holds sway. the compound, then, becomes a graphic visual metaphor which reflects kurtz’s gradual descent into primitive barbarism” (139). although the film does not seem to critique this aspect of the text, an indication of coppola’s awareness of conrad’s intentions, its presence is further evidence of how the raceless yet white narrator is set up as a harmful contrast to both africa as a whole and the black characters within the story. moreover, in the text, playing in the dark, toni morrison provides an example of the attempted unracialization of literature, whose dangers are comparable to the risks of unhistoricizing africa and unracing whiteness in heart of darkness. morrison claims that “[a] criticism that needs to insist that literature is not only ‘universal’ but also ‘race-free’ risks lobotomizing that literature, and diminishes both the art and the artist” (12). morrison writes this as a response to the common critique that argues writing about race is too political and should be dismissed. the idea that literature is universal gives texts the same powers as an unraced notion of whiteness would. it is also worth noting that most literary canon, especially when morrison 13 wrote this piece, is markedly white, male, and heterosexual. therefore, universalizing any concept of race or art would only benefit white people, as they are the only group that benefits from economic, social, and political systems in the west. interestingly, dadabhoy cites the morrison quote from above in the epigraph to her own essay. as an essay concerned with pedagogy, taking dadabhoy’s work into consideration is helpful in debating whether this text should continue to be taught as canon. dadabhoy cites her own experience in putting on a performance of shakespeare’s play a midsummer night’s dream with a cast of racially diverse students as evidence of whiteness being seen as objective and raceless by the public. in her anecdote, the students’ choice to cut a line that mentions race, to the dismay of dadabhoy, shows how “[t]hey believed that the late stage ‘introduction’ of race to the proceedings would suggest to [their] audience that [they] were doing ‘something political’ with shakespeare, especially since [they] had a mixed race cast. by not calling attention to that, [they] could just do shakespeare right (white)” (dadabhoy 233). the students’ reaction to race in the play shows how they are simultaneously conscious of their own non-white races but unaware of race’s presence in the play due to the traditional whiteness of shakespeare. this event is applicable to heart of darkness because of the text’s position among literary discourse. unlike a midsummer night’s dream, readers have always been critical of race’s presence in heart of darkness. however, it is conrad’s apparent distaste for imperialism that overshadows his racist depictions of blackness. until chinua achebe’s definitive claim that conrad and his writing is racist, scholars generally viewed his racial imagery as evidence of the dangers of imperialism, and conrad himself remained safe from critique because of the narrative distance between himself and his story. by bringing whiteness into the critical conversation and highlighting the harmful effects of unracing whiteness in the text, it becomes possible to recenter 14 racial discourse and conclude that racism is central to heart of darkness, rather than economic and imperial critique. even if conrad is critiquing the treatment of black africans in heart of darkness by imperialist entities, his manner of doing so is dependent upon whiteness. the position of whiteness as of greater importance in the text is made clear through woeful depictions of black characters, as even when their harsh treatment is described as unnecessary, the negative effects of such treatment is measured by its impression upon white people, and such effects are only deemed detrimental if they are harmful to whites. emphasis upon marlow’s repulsion to the conditions of africans seem to beg for sympathy not for black characters but for marlow, and such descriptions are alluded to in the beginning of the text when a woman talks to him about “weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways” (conrad 14) with regard to her desire for imperialism in africa. marlow subsequently states: “…upon my word, she made me quite uncomfortable” (14). despite the atrocities occurring around him, marlow alludes to a need for sympathy for himself by describing how colonization hurts him rather than the people who are being colonized, showing how the dehumanization of blackness in the text is based upon its relationship to whiteness. taking the text’s deracialization into account, although it is productive to acknowledge the dangers of unracing whiteness, it remains unclear as to whether heart of darkness should continue to be taught as canonical. the harmful language used and the similarities between the narrative and conrad’s own life make a convincing case that the text was especially racist even for its time. furthermore, achebe’s argument that the text teaches readers to see africa only in contrast to europe presents clear risks in continuing to teach conrad. it is worth asking if what is gained from teaching heart of darkness could be gained through any other text. not to 15 mention the flaws in conrad’s prose. f.r. leavis makes note of conrad’s “adjectival and worse than supererogatory insistence on…making a virtue out of not knowing what he means,” (quoted in watts 60) so is there another story, with better stylistic applications, that could take the place of conrad’s text? such definitive decisions on the value of controversial yet culturally impactful texts like heart of darkness are difficult to agree upon, but asking these questions at least brings new light to the pedagogical conversation. altogether, heart of darkness’s relationship with race is unavoidable, so its depictions of whiteness must be interrogated alongside its harmful depictions of blackness. richard dyer’s research on the unracing of whiteness lays a foundation in critical white studies that functions as a basis for the idea that heart of darkness marginalizes black characters through its treatment of whiteness as default. chinua achebe’s analysis of the text’s racism informs this reading of whiteness as raceless in the text, and his essay also aligns with dadabhoy’s reading of shakespeare as unraced. based upon this premise of racialization as action, the unracing of whiteness gives white characters the power to speak for all of humanity rather than just their own race, as all other races are forced to do. d. marvin jones’s description of racialization and subsequent example of police brutality in darkness inform a reading of conrad’s text that is conscious of this objective placement of whiteness. furthermore, in spite of conrad’s own awareness of different white ethnicities, his lack of understanding of non-white ethnicities and broad mentions of the “other” are indicative of his treatment of white characters as raceless. unracing also occurs when a white narrator within the text, marlow, is described as god-like, giving him the position of a higher-being who is not subject to the racial categories that all other humans are. his position as deified, white, objective narrator gives him the ability to subsequently unhistoricize africa, proving the far-reaching, detrimental effects of conrad’s 16 unraced whiteness. by reading conrad’s whiteness as raceless, scholars are invited to analyze other white racial representations in canonical texts, as by examining whiteness and blackness together, one can begin to racialize the concept of whiteness and remove it from its literary and social pedestal. 17 works cited achebe, chinua. “an image of africa.” research in african literatures, vol. 9, no. 1, indiana university press, 1978, pp. 1–15, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3818468 conrad, joseph. heart of darkness & selections from the congo diary. modern library, 2001. dadabhoy, a. “the unbearable whiteness of being (in) shakespeare.” postmedieval 11, 2020, 228–235. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41280-020-00169-6 dyer, r. “the matter of whiteness.” white: twentieth anniversary edition (2nd ed.). routledge, 2017, pp. 1-40. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315544786 fredrickson, george. “white images of black slaves (is what we see in others sometimes a reflection of what we find in ourselves?).” critical white studies looking behind the mirror, by richard delgado and jean stefancic, temple university press, 1997, pp. 38– 45. jones, d. marvin. “darkness made visible: law, metaphor, and the racial self.” critical white studies looking behind the mirror, by richard delgado and jean stefancic, temple university press, 1997, pp. 66–78. leavis, f.r. the great tradition: george eliot, henry james, joseph conrad, forster, and woolf. ann arbor: university of michigan press, 1990. morrison, toni. playing in the dark: whiteness and the literary imagination. vintage books, a division of random house, inc, 1993. paramount pictures corporation, et al. apocalypse now. two-disc special ed., blu-ray ed. lionsgate, 2010. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3818468 https://doi.org/10.1057/s41280-020-00169-6 18 phillips, gene d. “darkness at noon: heart of the forest (1979) and apocalypse now (1979).” conrad and cinema the art of adaptation, by gene d. phillips, lang, 1995, pp. 125–149. watts, cedric. “‘heart of darkness’.” the cambridge companion to conrad, by j. h. stape, cambridge university press, 1996, pp. 45–62. white, andrea. “the african fictions (ii): 'heart of darkness'.” joseph conrad and the adventure tradition: constructing and deconstructing the imperial subject, by andrea white, cambridge university press, 2008, pp. 167–192. microsoft word *moyer poli sci online edition final.docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016) 1 forced labor in latin america: case studies of bolivia, chile and peru dana katherine moyer political science introduction juana worked on a cattle ranch in the chaco region of paraguay for ten years. her job was to cook, clean and launder clothes for the forty workers on the estate, as well as perform the domestic work for the ranch owner and milk the cows. every day she worked from two in the morning until five in the evening, receiving approximately $0.65 u.s. dollars a month. however, she was only paid quarterly, and since she was in debt at the ranch store, she accumulated very little money. juana was not given time off and was therefore unable to leave the estate. thus, she was left with no opportunity to find another job. on top of her long hours and low pay, she was sexually exploited and was unsure of the legal actions available to her to report the crime.1 juana’s story counters the popular narrative that human trafficking is primarily an issue of prostitution. there are other ways people can be coerced for the purpose of exploitation, like an ineffective legal system that does not adequately protect workers’ rights, or the nature of particular employment sectors that are “dirty, dangerous and demanding.”2 forced labor proves to be a challenging phenomenon for governments to prevent, even though governments protect “normal” labor rights. it is not always easy to distinguish between labor rights violations and human trafficking, because forced labor is unclear in its exploitative purpose since it can be utilized by legitimate and legal employers.3 how does a country’s labor laws affect human trafficking in that country? one might assume that the more laws enacted focusing on the protection of labor rights, the more a government is concerned about the rights of the laborer.4 if that is the 1 mike kaye, “contemporary forms of slavery in paraguay,” latin america reports (london: 2 international labour organization, “hazardous work,” occupational safety and health, accessed december 8, 2015, http://www.ilo.org/safework/areasofwork/hazardous-work/lang-en/index.htm. 3 asif efrat, “global efforts against human trafficking: the misguided conflation of sex, labor, and organ trafficking,” international studies perspectives, january 1, 2015, 30. 4 lauren a. mccarthy, “human trafficking and the new slavery,” annual review of law and social science 10 (2014): 233. her overview of the human trafficking literature delineates case, then in latin america, the results are puzzling. i find that latin american countries with higher numbers of labor laws also report higher numbers of human trafficking victims.5 part of the dilemma is understanding the nature of labor in each country. assuming that more labor laws are indicative of strong labor laws is an oversimplification. however, for a law to be enforced, it first needs to be in existence. this exercise shows the nuance and difficulty in capturing labor law strength through quantitative indicators.6 in order to capture a more accurate representation of the strength of a country’s labor laws, qualitative analyses are needed. i argue that there are three factors that best explain labor trafficking in a country: the ineffective enforcement of labor laws, the limited ability of the law to regulate certain industries, and the employment of discriminated against racial and ethnic groups. the remainder of the paper is divided into four sections. in the first section, i review the scholarly literature on human trafficking, paying specific attention to where my research addresses the weaknesses in the literature. my paper focuses on the experience of the laborer and how that experience can be evaluated on a continuum of exploitation: from the most successful possible conditions to the worst outcome (forced labor).7 i attempt to gain a deeper understanding of the authors that examined policy adoption, and its increase in number of adopted laws, yet the number of human trafficking victims have remained low. 5 i did a simple bivariate correlation between the number of victims reported in the 2015 tip report with the number of laws in natlex (ilo “database of national labour, social security and related human rights legislation”). the higher number of labor laws had a positive and significant relationship with the reported number of trafficked victims. the countries examined were in central and south america (excluding caribbean countries). 6 there is a debate on how best to quantitatively measure a country’s adherence to labor standards and labor flexibility. however, they are critiqued as being highly flawed for not accurately capturing labor law and effective implementation. for a detailed critique on these indicators (e.g. adherence to ilo ratifications, world bank’s doing business report, the national academy of sciences and united states department of labor indicators, european labor indicators and indicator systems constructed by academic researchers), see: mark barenberg, “international labour indicators: conceptual and normative snares,” in research handbook on transnational labour law, ed. adelle blackette and anne trebilcock (cheltenham, uk and northampton, ma: edward elgar, 2015), 76–92. 7 danièle bélanger, “labor migration and trafficking among vietnamese migrants in asia,” the annals of the american academy of political and social science 653, no. 1 (may 1, 2014): 87– 106; denise brennan, “trafficking, scandal, and abuse of migrant workers in argentina and the united states,” the annals of the american academy of political and social science 653, no. 1 (may 1, 2014): 107–23; kamala kempadoo, “the modern-day white (wo)man’s burden: trends in anti-trafficking and anti-slavery campaigns,” journal of human trafficking 1, no. 1 (january 2, 2015): 8–20; mccarthy, “human trafficking and the new slavery,” 221–42; ronald labor continuum by focusing on latin america, specifically the cases of bolivia, chile and peru. studying this region is important since most research on human trafficking is focused on the united states and europe.8 in the second section, i discuss my research design, including the definition of key concepts, the data and methods used and the rationale for case selection. the third section reports the findings of my research based on the independent variables of labor enforcement, type of industry, and race and ethnicity. in the concluding section, i analyze my findings across cases, discussing the broader implications and the potential for future research. literature review the literature on human trafficking is expansive and at the same time fraught with competing definitions and modes of analysis. organized crime and how best to punish and prosecute criminals took center stage in the beginning of scholarly analysis, as “trafficking in persons” falls under the united nations office of drugs and crime. many of these authors show that the act of trafficking and the surrounding organized crime is an external security threat to destination, transit and source countries.9 jennifer lobasz gives a feminist analysis of human trafficking through the lens of the security framework. she states that human trafficking flourishes because it is a low risk and high reward activity for the crime syndicates.10 alex kreidenweis and natalie hudson argue that “human” security offers a conceptualization that enhances scholarship and activism.11 by asking questions, like “security for whom?” and “security from what?” those being weitzer, “new directions in research on human trafficking,” the annals of the american academy of political and social science 653, no. 1 (may 1, 2014): 6–24. 8 mccarthy, “human trafficking and the new slavery,” 235. 9 kevin bales, “expendable people: slavery in the age of globalization,” journal of international affairs 53, no. 2 (2000): 461; jacqueline berman, “(un)popular strangers and crises (un)bounded: discourses of sex-trafficking, the european political community and the panicked state of the modern state,” european journal of international relations 9, no. 1 (march 1, 2003): 37–86; seo-young cho and krishna chaitanya vadlamannati, “compliance with the anti-trafficking protocol,” european journal of political economy 28, no. 2 (june 2012): 249–65; david a. feingold, “human trafficking,” foreign policy, no. 150 (september 1, 2005): 26–32; mojca pajnik and veronika bajt, “migrant women’s transnationalism: family patterns and policies,” international migration 50, no. 5 (october 1, 2012): 153–68; louise shelley, human trafficking: a global perspective (cambridge university press, 2010). 10 jennifer k. lobasz, “beyond border security: feminist approaches to human trafficking,” security studies 18, no. 2 (june 12, 2009): 319–44. 11 alex kreidenweis and natalie f. hudson, “more than a crime: human trafficking as human (in)security,” international studies perspectives 16, no. 1 (february 2015): 72. trafficked (as well as their families and communities) are made visible.12 overall, the security and crime analyses are criticized because the focus is on the prosecution of criminals rather than the victims and because they overlook structural factors.13 it is important to consider feminist debates because this discourse encouraged the initial focus of scholarship and advocacy on sex trafficking. essentially, there are two basic feminist camps surrounding human trafficking— those that view all commercial sex as a form of forced labor and call for the abolition of prostitution, and those that view sex work as a choice of labor and call for stricter regulation of labor laws.14 stephanie limoncelli understands human trafficking as sex trafficking and as “the general movement of women across territorial borders for prostitution.”15 this notion of human trafficking does not distinguish between different types of human trafficking more broadly, and more specifically, it does not distinguish between voluntary or involuntary prostitution. the other problem is that there is evidence, from surveys done in argentina and south east asia, to show that some women choose to perform sex work as their employment.16 siddharth kara expresses a moralistic view that prostitution is bad not only for the woman but for the culture. his view is that sex trafficking is an economic response to “bad” male desire, and his solutions for reforming this culture are to focus on prosecuting traffickers and to reduce the profitability of trafficking.17 charles and heather smith also acknowledge the importance of demand. through their case studies in the crisis areas of kosovo, haiti, and sierra leone, they find 12 ibid. 13 mccarthy, “human trafficking and the new slavery,” 221–42. 14 sule tomkinson, “the multiplicity of truths about human trafficking: beyond ‘the sex slave’ discourse,” ceu political science journal 7, no. 1 (2012): 50–67. a critical literature review of the feminist discourse, where she agrees with the pro-rights group, arguing that “trafficking must be understood within the larger framework of exploitation of undocumented workers that are vulnerable to exploitation.” stephanie a. limoncelli, the politics of trafficking: the first international movement to combat the sexual exploitation of women (stanford, ca: stanford university press, 2010): 15. the iaf (international abolitionist federation; liberal feminists) saw the regulation of commercial sex as forced labor and called for the abolition of prostitution; whereas, the ib (international bureau of trafficking in women and children) sought stricter regulation of prostitution and labor laws. 15 limoncelli, the politics of trafficking, 15. 16 donna j. guy, “true womanhood in latin america,” journal of women’s history 14, no. 1 (2002): 170–73; brennan, “trafficking, scandal, and abuse,” 107–23; bélanger, “labor migration and trafficking among vietnamese migrants in asia,” 87–106. 17 siddharth kara, sex trafficking: inside the business of modern slavery (new york: columbia university press, 2009): 33, 37. that an increase in demand, in this case by the un peacekeeping forces, increases the rates of human trafficking in the destination country.18 contrary to previous views, the following authors understand human trafficking to be embedded in the context of labor and migration processes as opposed to moments of criminal activity.19 in their distinct articles, lauren mccarthy, asif efrat, ronald weitzer, and sheldon zhang each conclude that focusing on sexual exploitation of women and children overlooks other types of trafficking of workers, namely the labor and migration experiences.20 as a result, empirical research on labor trafficking is rare. besides the lack of research, the exclusive emphasis on sex trafficking is also problematic, as international organizations like the international labour organization (ilo) find that labor trafficking is more prevalent than sex trafficking.21 mccarthy states that predictors of trafficking vulnerability mirror predictors of migration vulnerability. nazli avdan’s article also focuses on migrant laborers by analyzing the feedback mechanism between visa policies and trafficking.22 he finds that states tighten visa policies as a response to trafficking threats. the vicious versus virtuous cycle is based on the idea that loose controls at borders have let trafficking thrive; conversely, tighter controls at the borders have increased demand for traffickers, as migrants must use illegal channels to move to a new place. for avdan, what matters is that any type of migrant (moving for economic or political motivations) “may fall prey” to the influence of traffickers, as restrictions on movement and the options available to migrants to legally cross borders are restricted.23 danièle bélanger finds that temporary migration programs may create conditions that lead to extreme forms of exploitation among legal workers in asia.24 her case study of low-skilled migrant workers from vietnam, who worked in malaysia, japan, taiwan, or south korea, show elements of trafficking, such as 18 charles anthony smith and heather m. smith, “human trafficking: the unintended effects of united nations intervention,” international political science review 32, no. 2 (march 2011): 126, 137. 19 weitzer, “new directions in research,” 15-16. 20 ibid.; mccarthy, “human trafficking and the new slavery;” asif efrat, “global efforts against human trafficking: the misguided conflation of sex, labor, and organ trafficking,” international studies perspectives (january 1, 2015): 1–22; sheldon x. zhang, “measuring labor trafficking: a research note,” crime, law and social change 58, no. 4 (september 13, 2012). 21 zhang, “measuring labor trafficking,” 470; weitzer, “new directions in research,” 7. 22 nazli avdan, “human trafficking and migration control policy: vicious or virtuous cycle?,” journal of public policy 32, no. 3 (december 2012): 193. 23 ibid., 176. 24 bélanger, “labor migration and trafficking among vietnamese migrants in asia,” 92. fraud, deception or coercion, are not isolated from labor migration, but can be embedded in legal migration and potentially be encountered at various stages of the migration process. however, unlike avdan, she states that there is a choice to migrate, and therefore, the worker has agency. bélanger writes that “despite the risks involved in legal labor migration within asia, a large share of migrants report successful migration and assess their experience as neutral or positive… far from being only the victims of an abusive system, migrants display a strong will to better their lives through international labor migration.”25 denise brennan studied trafficked victims from the dominican republic and their distinct and range of experiences in argentina and in the united states. the dominican republican workers in argentina experienced a range of exploitation and were assisted by the government.26 comparatively in the united states, only the migrant workers who experienced extreme exploitation received assistance; even then, only a few t visas have been issued to date (indicative of a restrictive immigration laws).27 brennen’s concluding remarks underscore the findings by weitzer and bélanger: “anti-trafficking measures should address this entire spectrum of exploitation and offer protections to a range of migrant workers who are exploited—not just the most extreme cases.”28 asif efrat’s typology of human trafficking can help readers understand the importance of distinguishing between the various types of human trafficking. the conflation of sex, labor and organ trafficking overlooks three major differences: the type of perpetrators, the norms involved and the cost of enforcement.29 in his case study of israel, he explains why the state combats sex trafficking, but remains hesitant to also combat labor and organ trafficking.30 efrat emphasizes that labor trafficking is the most complex form of trafficking for governments to stop, as it requires the most from the state through constant monitoring of labor laws.31 additionally, it goes against norms to penalize legal jobs held in various industries,32 or someone who needs help around the home (domestic service). in organ removal and prostitution, “criminals,” such as pimps or brothel owners, fit 25 ibid., 103. 26 brennan, “trafficking, scandal, and abuse,” 114. 27 ibid., 118-9. 28 ibid., 120. 29 efrat, “global efforts against human trafficking,” 1–22. 30 ibid., 10-11. 31 ibid., 9. 32 for example, in san diego, employment in the construction and janitor sectors increases rates of trafficking violations. sheldon x. zhang et al., “estimating labor trafficking among unauthorized migrant workers in san diego,” the annals of the american academy of political and social science 653, no. 1 (may 1, 2014): 65–86. the norm, and more clearly and overtly coerce and harm individuals.33 because labor trafficking is a multifaceted legal and practical problem, recognizing the difference between labor rights violations and forced labor is difficult, thereby complicating efforts for governments to stop this form of labor.34 research design labor trafficking, forced labor, and compulsory labor are interchangeable terms used to describe “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”35 forced labor falls under the larger umbrella definition of human trafficking. i am focusing specifically on forced labor in order to understand the nature of labor trafficking in these countries, and how labor trafficking is not an isolated “bad” instance, but embedded in labor practices. the independent variables that best explain the dependent variable of forced labor are: enforcement of labor laws, type of industry, and race and ethnicity. effectively implemented labor laws are operationalized by an examination of the labor inspectorate (i.e. the number of labor inspectors and the number of inspections they perform), funding and additional resources (i.e. training, vehicles). the type of industry is situated in the broader context of the country’s economy: the breakdown of the employment sector, the commodities produced and the exports. this macro focus is then contrasted with the forced labor sectors and the commodities it produces. industry is then analyzed by where and how forced labor is employed. race and ethnicity is not operationalized by the sheer numbers of minorities, immigrants or indigenous peoples residing within a country, but is instead a closer examination of the discrimination these groups face and how discrimination translates into the employment sector as forced labor. i initially selected the cases of bolivia, chile and peru based on my earlier assumption that the number of labor laws would affect the outcome of labor trafficking. the number of laws in natlex, which is the ilo’s database of labor, 33 ibid.,10. 34 ibid. 35 forced labour convention, co29, no. 29, 1930. the framework presented by the ilo emphasizes the subjective experience of the victim. concepts of consent and “menace of penalty” should briefly be clarified. penalty does not necessarily mean a penal sanction, but could instead deal with a loss of rights through physical or psychological coercion, deception or any other means used to compel someone to work. once someone’s labor is exploited, the consent they initially gave to work for that employer becomes legally irrelevant. the employer becomes the trafficker and the employee becomes a trafficked person. social security and human rights legislation, was the basis for case selection.36 i chose these three cases because they offer the most diversity.37 i organize the universe of cases into three categories to separate the extremes of high and low, and i also include a medium group. the most diverse case selection allows for the most variability across cases, thus ensuring a representative sample. for that reason, i chose bolivia (low), chile (medium), peru (high). table 1 number of laws pertaining to labor – high (black), medium (gray), low (white)38 the data used are an amalgam of quantitative, qualitative, primary and secondary sources. many primary sources are reports from the united nations, the international labour organization, and reports done by ngos and private firms, 36 “natlex,” international labour organization, 2014, http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.home?p_lang=en. 37 john gerring, “techniques for choosing cases,” in case study research (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2006), 97-101; jason seawright and john gerring, “case selection techniques in case study research: a menu of qualitative and quantitative options,” political research quarterly 61, no. 2 (june 1, 2008): 297, 300-1. “this method has not received much attention on the part of qualitative methodologists, hence the absence of a generally recognized name… [it is] a mixture of most similar and most different analysis.” 38 categorized by the standard deviation of 402 and mean of 527. category country number of natlex laws low n = 13 belize paraguay guyana bolivia guatemala honduras venezuela panama el salvador nicaragua ecuador costa rica uruguay 154 191 195 222 243 259 301 305 316 351 376 482 514 medium n = 3 colombia mexico chile 630 713 746 high n = 3 brazil argentina peru 1242 1346 1435 like verité. many u.s. government sources, like the department of state and department of labor’s bureau of international labor affairs, are used. the u.s. government also funded primary sources, like the verité reports. labor law enforcement simply because a country adheres to international conventions and writes these laws into their national code does not mean that forced labor will be eradicated. how laws are implemented plays a vital role in how many forced laborers there will be in a country. if labor law enforcement is effective, there will be less people at the worst end of the labor continuum.39 chile is a country that employs enough labor inspectors and performs enough inspections to be considered effective at labor law enforcement.40 the ministry of labor and social prevision supplied its 72041 inspectors with resources to perform their jobs, including 112 vehicles to travel to job sites. the inspectors performed a total of 115,272 inspection visits.42 although chile is effective, enforcement of labor could be improved. for example, the ministry of labor commented that they have a need for more inspectors and that the financial penalties in place did not deter companies from violating their workers’ labor rights.43 the chilean government partnered with ngos to institute specialized training on human trafficking to around 400 government officials, which included labor inspectors.44 however, some ngos stated that more training was needed for labor inspectors.45 peru and bolivia have less effective enforcement of labor laws (see table 1). however, peru is trying to become more effective by centralizing their labor inspectorate. many countries choose to decentralize this function of the government, but for peru, centralizing is seen as an effective means to bypass 39 international labour organization, “international labour standards on labour inspection,” labour standards, accessed december 11, 2015, http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/subjectscovered-by-international-labour-standards/labour-inspection/lang--en/index.htm. 40 u.s. department of state, “2014 human rights reports: bolivia,” 2014 country reports on human rights practices, june 25, 2015, http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2014/wha/236668.htm. 41 this number is different in two sources: 720 is from the “human rights reports: chile,” and 530 is the number given by “chile: 2014 findings on the worst forms of child labor.” 42 ilab, “2014 worst forms of child labor,” 195. 43 department of state, “2014 human rights reports: chile.” 44 department of state, “trafficking in persons report,” 2015, 119. 45 department of state, “2014 human rights reports: chile.” corruption.46 in 2014 peru employed 295 labor inspectors, but 112 (thirty-eight percent) are located in lima.47 this is problematic, for as we will see in the following section, most forced labor occurs in remote areas of peru, not in the capital city. these inspectors conducted only 692 inspections and did not inspect the informal economy.48 the government of peru acknowledges that its inspectors lack human resources, financial resources and the means to travel into certain areas of peru.49 table 1 labor law enforcement in chile, bolivia and peru50 inspectors inspections resources chile 720 115,272 labor inspectors trained on human trafficking 112 vehicles bolivia 95 9 solely dedicated to forced labor the 9 inspectors performed 250 unrecorded number of general inspections unicef child labor training for labor inspectors small budget; cannot increase staff peru 295 112 in lima 692 centralized labor inspectorate lack of financial and training resources bolivia has the lowest number of labor inspectors compared to the other two countries. there were ninety-five labor inspectors in 2014, with nine solely dedicated to forced labor. the nine forced labor inspectors conducted 250 inspections and the number of inspections by the other eighty-four were not recorded. however, reports of unsafe conditions, leading to the deaths of some workers in the mining sector, were recorded. the employees in the cooperativeoperated mines are not granted legal protections and therefore a lack of law enforcement exists.51 the bolivian ministry of labor reported its budget to be around $10,000, which is an insufficient amount of money to increase permanent 46 verité, “risk analysis of indicators of forced labor and human trafficking in illegal gold mining in peru” (amherst, ma: verité, january 2013), 30. mine owners have political and economic influence over local politics. 47 ilab, “2014 worst forms of child labor,” 692-3. 48 ibid. 49 department of state, “2014 human rights reports: peru.” 50 u.s. department of labor’s bureau of international labor affairs, “2014 findings on the worst forms of child labor,” (washington, d.c, 2015), 102-3, 195, 692-3; u.s. department of state, 2014 country reports on human rights practices (washington, dc, 2015) bolivia, chile, peru 51 department of state, “2014 human rights reports: bolivia.” staff members. in terms of additional resources, unicef provided forced child labor training to labor inspectors.52 a lack of statistics by the bolivian government also shows its inability to implement its labor laws effectively.53 like the peruvian government, the bolivian government acknowledges that the number of inspectors is inadequate to inspect forced labor throughout the country. industry industries removed from the state’s presence in both the physical sense and the legal sense makes certain industries more conducive to the employment of forced labor. before i describe the types of industries that employ forced labor, it is important to briefly understand where these industries are situated in the broader economy of each country. in all three countries, the agricultural sector contributes the least to the gdp table 2 overview of chile, bolivia and peru’s industry and commodities (forced labor commodities in bold)54 gdp composition by sector labor force by occupation agriculture products industries export commodities chile agriculture: 3% industry: 35% services: 62% (2014 est.) agriculture: 13% industry: 23% services: 64% (2005 est.) fruit, onions, wheat, corn, beans; beef, poultry, fish; timber copper, minerals, fish processing, iron and steel, wood, textile copper, fruit, fish products, paper, chemicals, wine bolivia agriculture: 13% industry: 39% services: 49% (2014 est.) agriculture: 32% industry: 20% services: 48% (2009 est.) soybeans, quinoa, brazil nuts, sugarcane, coffee, corn, rice, coca, potatoes mining, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, jewelry natural gas, mineral ores, gold, soybeans and soy products, tin 52 ilab, “2014 worst forms of child labor,” 102-3. 53 ibid. 54 central intelligence agency, “chile,” “bolivia,” “peru,” the world factbook, accessed december 8, 2015, https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html. peru agriculture: 7% industry: 35.5% services: 57.5% (2014 est.) agriculture: 26% industry: 17% services: 57% (2011 est.) vegetables, fruit, grains, sugarcane, palm oil, poultry, beef, pork, dairy, fish mining, petroleum, fishing and processing, textiles, clothing, food processing, machinery, furniture copper, gold, lead, zinc, tin, iron ore, silver; petroleum; natural gas; coffee, vegetables, fruit, apparel, textiles, fish and the amount of labor force employed, showing an interesting pattern. the percent that the agricultural sector contributes to the gdp is less than the labor force employed (see table 2).55 in general, this fact might imply that these jobs are not as lucrative as the other sectors, but they have a lot of employees, which in turn, is favorable to cheap and exploited labor. there is also a pattern that the commodities produced by forced labor industries are main exports. for chile, industries that employ forced labor are mining (copper) and agriculture (fruit).56 exports account for one-third of the country’s gdp and commodities are 75% of the total exports. copper alone provides 19% of government income; fruit is the second largest export commodity.57 in peru, brazil nuts, mining (especially gold), and timber are sources of forced labor.58 peru is the world's second largest producer of silver and third largest producer of copper; gold has now become the country’s largest illegal export, surpassing cocaine, but instead of remaining illicit it becomes a legitimate consumer product.59 in bolivia, forced labor occurs in several industries: brazil nuts, peanuts, corn, sugarcane and cattle.60 estimates in 2007 show that bolivia produced seventy-one percent of the world market of the brazil-nut.61 complicating the pattern is that the other commodities using forced labor, like 55 central intelligence agency, “chile,” the world factbook, accessed december 8, 2015, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html. in chile, agriculture accounts for 3% of the gdp composition, by sector, yet the labor force employed by this sector is 13%. for bolivia, 13% gdp and 32% employed. for peru, 7% gdp and 26% employed. 56 department of state, “trafficking in persons,” 119; department of state, human rights practices: peru. 57 cia, “chile.” 58 department of state, “trafficking in persons,” 278; u.s. ilab, "list of goods produced by child labor or forced labor,” accessed december 8, 2015. 59 cia, “peru;” verité, “forced labor in illegal gold mining in peru.” 60 department of state, “trafficking in persons,” 93; verité, “research on indicators of forced labor in the supply chains of brazil-nuts, cattle, corn, and peanuts in bolivia” (amherst, ma: verité, 2011); ilab, "list of goods.” 61 verité, “supply chains in bolivia,” 16. cattle and corn, are produced for domestic, not international markets.62 there are two unifying factors between these commodities. firstly, the ones that employ forced labor are “dirty, dangerous and demanding,” therefore hazardous to the worker. secondly, the commodities are at lowest level of production: the artisanal and small scale mining of gold, the picking, shelling and boxing of nuts, the harvesting of fruit.63 these sectors also have a complex relationship with the enforcement of the law. they can be in remote locations, which makes it difficult for law enforcement to reach, or they can be entwined with the local law. in peru, the (illegal) logging of timber takes place in the remote areas of the amazon, where the government cannot reach due to the lack of vehicles to inspect this land and because it does not inspect the informal economy. the illegality of many gold mines in peru also makes law enforcement difficult, as heavily armed groups protect their illegal business.64 in chile, copper mining as well as agricultural jobs take place in remote areas of the country.65 bolivia cattle ranching shows how the role of nepotism can benefit the landowners, who tend to be small in number but wealthy and politically connected in the chaco region.66 bolivia’s harvesting sites for brazil nuts are far removed from the main cities, located in vast amazon region. there are two types of workers in this industry: the local indigenous population, or the approximately 33,000 amazonian urban migrants (most of whom are also indigenous).67 the majority of these workers live in temporary forced labor conditions during the harvest season. for most, this is a temporary position; however, between 5,000 and 6,000 workers are in forced labor conditions on a permanent basis.68 both self-employed and salaried workers receive their jobs through a brazil-nut broker. the broker provides the workers with pay in the form of tools and supplies as well as food throughout the three to four month harvest seasons. these goods are provided at higher than market value and the workers pay back their debt of these items with the brazil 62 ibid., 7. 63 ilab, “labor rights report chile,” labor rights report (washington, d.c., july 8, 2003): 20. 64 verité, “forced labor in illegal gold mining in peru,” 32. 65 the economist, “copper solution,” the economist, april 27, 2013, http://www.economist.com/news/business/21576714-mining-industry-has-enriched-chile-itsfuture-precarious-copper-solution. 66 bhavna sharma, “contemporary forms of slavery in bolivia,” latin america reports (london: anti-slavery international, 2006), 10. 67 verité, “supply chains in bolivia,” 12-3. 68 sharma, “contemporary forms of slavery in bolivia,” 5. nuts, which are set at lower than market value. if the debt is not paid back by the end of the harvest season, it will be added onto the next season.69 the brazil nut industry in bolivia exemplifies three trends of most industries that employ forced labor. the first tendency is that there tends to be a middleman, who is either the recruiter, employer, or both. secondly, it shows how internal migration, from urban to rural, or rural to other rural locations, is an inherent part of these industries. lastly, the forced laborers are most likely indigenous peoples. in the timber industry of peru, middlemen go to indigenous areas to recruit, offering money or the necessary tools and materials to perform logging activities.70 a study done by the ilo and peruvian government in 2004 estimated there were 33,000 labor trafficking victims in illegal logging and the majority of these victims were indigenous.71 in the alluvial gold mining industry of peru, indigenous workers are recruited from their communities. they are given advances by the recruiters and told that they must be repaid in ninety days.72 the national copper corporation of chile, codelco, is chilean state owned and largest copper producer. these workers are paid well and directly contracted with this company. the problem of exploitation arises in subcontracted work as many subcontracted workers are only paid minimum wage.73 the inequality is stark between the two types of workers; consequently, subcontracted workers often riot, protest and strike.74 in the agricultural sector in chile, according to a study by chile’s national women’s service, some 400,000 to 500,000 chileans harvest fruit during the seven month season. just as the previously mentioned employment sectors, these seasonal workers are hired by middlemen; in fact, seventy percent of women work without a contract.75 a study using data from the national socioeconomic 69 verité, “supply chains in bolivia,” 41-4. 70 bhavna. “contemporary forms of slavery in peru,” 3. 71 aurélie hauchère, “forced labour, discrimination and poverty reduction among indigenous peoples in bolivia, peru and paraguay,” project, international labour organization, (march 2006), http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/wcms_082040/lang--en/index.htm. 72 verité, “forced labor in illegal gold mining in peru,” 40. 73 fernando durán-palma and diego lópez, “contract labour mobilisation in chile’s copper mining and forestry sectors,” employee relations 31, no. 3 (2009): 252. 74 fabian cambero and gram slattery, “update 2-chile copper union vows to intensify strike after miner shot dead,” reuters, july 24, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/chilemine-protests-idusl1n10417q20150724; rafael azul, “strike hits world’s largest copper mine in chile,” world socialist web site, august 1, 2011, http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2011/08/chil-a01.html. 75 ilab, “labor rights report chile,” labor rights report (washington, d.c, july 8, 2003): 19; marianela jarroud, “seasonal agricultural workers left out of chilean boom,” inter press service news agency, may 23, 2014, http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/05/seasonal-agriculturalworkers-left-chilean-boom/. characterization survey from chile found that indigenous groups were most likely to receive labor violations and in the agricultural sector, sixty-three percent of workers are subject to some form of labor violation.76 race and ethnicity racial and ethnic minorities are employed most often in labor trafficking. it is hard to discuss the employment of forced labor in latin america without discussing the discrimination of racial and ethnic groups, particularly indigenous groups. there is widespread discrimination against indigenous peoples across the three cases, even though there are laws in place to protect them. labor market discrimination can also partly explain why poverty is disproportionally higher in indigenous groups compared to the general population.77 in general, the indigenous peoples in bolivia, chile and peru frequently engage in irregular, informal and low paying jobs. the cycle of poverty and discrimination thus perpetuates and continues. forced labor is the embodiment of the worst form of discrimination against these groups in the labor market. understanding the land inequality of indigenous peoples is important in understanding trafficked labor and why indigenous peoples are most commonly trafficked. the indigenous land issue is a form of contentious politics between the government and indigenous communities. the peruvian amazon, where the illegal logging occurs, is mainly in the departments of ucayali and madre de dios, which is indigenous land. because it is legally protected land, the timber and mining done in these areas are inherently illegal.78 the indigenous peoples in peru have the legal right to own land communally, but groups often lack the legal ability to demarcate their land.79 the bolivian amazon and chaco, where the forced labor occurs, are also indigenous lands. historically, bolivian indigenous lands are communally owned, but the transition to private property left some land not fully demarcated. this flux of land rights is a political issue and often causes clashes between the government and indigenous groups. 80 in chile, indigenous lands are demarcated, but it is also a politicized issue because some indigenous communities require restitution of their traditional lands.81 a small number of mapuches, for 76 ravi kanbur, lucas ronconi, and leigh wedenoja, “labour law violations in chile,” international labour review 152, no. 3–4 (december 1, 2013): 440. 77 hauchère, “forced labour among indigenous peoples in bolivia, peru and paraguay.” 78 ibid. 79 department of state, “2014 human rights reports: peru.” 80 department of state, “2014 human rights reports: bolivia.” 81 department of state, “2014 human rights reports: chile.” example, are militant nationalists and believe, and act on their belief, that the land is theirs for the taking.82 conclusion the purpose of this paper was to answer the question: how do labor laws affect human trafficking? rather than the number of labor laws, i find that the enforcement of labor laws plays a vital role in understanding the nature of human trafficking. it is interesting that although peru had the highest number of labor rights protections in its legal framework, it did not enforce its labor laws as effectively as chile. this fact shows how complicated it is for governments to effectively enforce labor and how it is possible for forced labor to exist within a country’s labor market. as a policy concern, understanding human trafficking as a forced labor issue, not only as sex trafficking, will help governments to prioritize labor protection and enforcement. better training and the enhancement of resources for labor inspectors could help mitigate the effects of forced labor, especially with the inclusion of civil society groups.83 the enforcement of labor laws is only one aspect that can explain forced labor—there are two other prominent and interconnected explanations. industries that are far removed from labor laws, either physically on rural and hard to reach lands, which use subcontractors and internal migration, partially explain forced labor, too. finally, employment sectors that use forced labor employ members of vulnerable racial and ethnic groups, in the case of bolivia, chile and peru, mainly indigenous groups. one problem in drawing conclusions is that clear estimates of the number of labor trafficked persons in each country do not exist. the ilo estimates that there are 1.8 million total forced laborers in latin america, but understanding how this number varies across countries is not provided. part of the difficulty lies in a country’s ability to keep reliable statistics and how recording these statistics differ across countries. for example, a country might record someone working under forced labor conditions as an instance of a labor violation rather than a human trafficking violation. studies, like those from verité, that survey workers in 82 nick miroff, “land-reclamation campaign by indigenous mapuches scorches southern chile,” the washington post, june 8, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/land-reclamation-campaign-byindigenous-mapuches-scorches-southern-chile/2014/06/08/264f17dc-ccdb-4ec0-a815a80360b6f02a_story.html. 83 vidyamali samarasinghe and barbara burton, “strategising prevention: a critical review of local initiatives to prevent female sex trafficking,” development in practice 17, no. 1 (february 2007): 58. specific industries proved to be invaluable resources in understanding forced labor in bolivia and peru. however, case studies and reports specifically on chile are hard to find. this fact might imply that there is bias towards researching and collecting data on countries that have clear problems with forced labor. despite these shortcomings, examining a country’s labor enforcement capabilities, its industries and the discrimination faced by racial and ethnic groups is the best manner in which to understand human trafficking. it is vital to understand regional factors that influence human trafficking, and i believe that these three variables can be used as a framework for analysis in other regions of the world. for example, in the industry of gold production, do racial groups and the enforcement of labor laws play as an important of a role in determining forced labor in north korea and nigeria as it does in peru? by not focusing only on sex trafficking, we can better understand the nature of forced labor in a country. demand for sex simply does not fit into the context of these industries, even where women are most often employed, like the chilean seasonal agricultural workers. an interesting area of further study would be to better understand when the discrimination of labor is mainly an ethnic issue or a gender issue, how these identities might overlap and when the salience of the discrimination moves past labor exploitation into forced labor conditions. a critique of this research may be that i failed to accurately depict labor trafficking since i did not explicitly focus on and describe international migration flows. i agree that the examination of migrant flows could be expanded, but in the industries of forced labor in chile, peru and bolivia, most migration was internal, not external. however, these three variables should be applicable to international labor trafficking: migrants are of different ethnic or racials groups; they have filled a gap in the enforcement of labor laws if they are in the country illegally; and they worked through a middleman to receive the job. how this process manifests itself will be different in each country, but as a broad framework, the variables of labor law enforcement, industry type and racial and ethnic groups remain the best explanatory variables to analyze labor 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flint, michigan is a small american city located in genesee county alongside the flint     river. according to the 2010 u.s. census it has a population of 102,400 people although     estimates as recently as 2014 put the number at approximately 99,000 (as cited in 2010 census     data for michigan, 2016). perhaps most famously the city of flint is the birthplace of general     motors, a company to which the fortunes of flint’s residents have been calamitously tied for     the past three decades. beginning in the 1980’s the city’s once strong manufacturing base     shrank steadily. this left the people of flint, who occupied those factories, out of work and     completely disillusioned at the deteriorating state of michigan’s automobile industry. in the last     ten years, flint’s fall has been truly precipitous. listed frequently on the fbi’s list of the most     dangerous cities in america (as cited in gliha, 2013), flint has been overrun by rampant crime,     broken by overwhelming unemployment, and is home to an increasingly desperate citizenry,     40% of which lives at or below the federal poverty line (as cited in smith, 2016). additionally,     the city itself has been in such fiscal peril recently that its entire budget was overseen by a     state‐appointed emergency manager from 2011 to 2015. in the midst of this dire landscape     something went terribly wrong with the city’s water supply, an event which shocked the nation     and shattered the trust of its inhabitants.    june 2012 to march 2014: the search for “cheap” water      as so often happens, the event which would come to be known as the flint water crisis     was born out of a relatively innocuous happenstance. what evolved into an environmental     disaster originated as a governmental response to a fiscal problem. strapped for revenue and in     the free fall of a decades long economic downturn, the city of flint’s emergency manager ed     kurtz asked local government officials to determine whether or not switching flint’s water     supplier would be a beneficial means of easing the city’s budgetary burden. at the time, flint     obtained its water from detroit’s water and sewer department. after much debate, a plan     seemed to emerge in early 2013: flint would construct a pipeline and become a member of the     karengnondi water authority (kwa). the kwa is a municipal service corporation which     provides water to a large portion of the mid‐michigan region where flint is located. a projected     cost savings of $200 million over the next twenty five years pleased kurtz, who then notified     the state on april 16, 2013 that flint would be joining the kwa (as cited in kennedy, 2016). as a     result detroit water and sewer informed kurtz that it would no longer distribute water to flint     as of april 2014, thus giving the city’s leaders one year to procure an intermediate water source     while the pipeline was being constructed.    april 2014 to october 2014: bad decisions and worse consequences      attempting to pinpoint the instigating incident of an on‐going crisis is usually a difficult     undertaking. for example, if one were trying to determine to exact start of the u.s. conflict with     vietnam, a number of dates and events would seem to be plausible ignition points. with regard     to the flint water crisis, there is no such mystery. on april 25, 2014, a small ceremony was held     in the city of flint water treatment facility to mark the occasion of switching the city’s water     source from detroit water and sewer to the flint river. this was the moment that created the     ensuing environmental catastrophe. abandoned as the city’s primary source of water in the     1960’s, the flint river was a known waste dump amongst the local population for many years. a   quote from a january 2016 new yorker article further illustrates the polluted state of flint’s     new water source: “…the flint river was best known as a graveyard for old refrigerators and     grocery carts (as cited in osnos, 2016).” despite a concerted effort on the part of flint officials     and local media outlets to sell its citizens on the temporary and trustworthy nature of using     flint river water for everyday purposes, the public remained skeptical and with good reason.     reports now indicate that flint water officials did not properly treat the river water in order to     guard against pipe corrosion. less than two weeks after the flint river water switch, residents     began to complain openly about their tap water’s new brownish yellow coloration and noxious     chemical odor. clearly little to no credence was given to the public’s outcry as it resonated     across flint because by august 2014 (4 months into the flint river water switch) an even more     ominous discovery was made: e. coli had been detected in flint’s water (kennedy, 2016). the e.     coli outbreak was addressed by the michigan department of environmental quality (mdeq), a     state regulatory agency whose role in the flint water crisis has been determined to be     undeniably disastrous. the mdeq went on to explain that although e. coli was initially detected     the city had already eliminated the threat by treating the water with an increased amount of     chlorine. while this news may have alleviated the fears of some residents, it was not received     happily by general motors. the vehicle manufacturer had always used locally sourced flint     water in its plants but now the city’s water was chlorinated excessively, a change which would     obviously lead to more rapid corrosion of gm’s metal machine parts. in response to flint’s     water troubles, general motors stated publicly in october 2014 that it could no longer use city‐    provided water (as cited in kennedy, 2016). strangely, as voices around the community     continued to express fear regarding the city’s new water and its questionable source, flint     officials were convinced that providing water from the flint river to its residents remained the     best temporary solution.    january 2015 to june 2015: what’s in the water?      one might have hoped that by the time the new year of 2015 had been rung in the local     government of flint would have made some meaningful progress towards rectifying the     dangerous situation lurking in the city’s substandard water and treatment approach. this was     not to be the case unfortunately. on january 2, 2015, the city of flint was found to be in     violation of the safe drinking water act because of the high levels of disinfection by‐products     found in its water (as cited in kennedy, 2016). disinfection by‐products, known scientifically as     total trihalomethanes or tthm, are produced when chlorine reacts with biomasses organically     present in the water and have been reported in some instances as being carcinogenic. adding     further insult to an already irate public, the state government began to transport bottled water     on a regular basis for its employees in flint but left the rest of the city’s residents to fend for     themselves (as cited in kennedy, 2016). this was just one in a series of instances wherein the     federal and state levels of government failed to act with empathy towards the people of flint     and did not intervene promptly on behalf of the general population in the face of a public     health crisis.     before the governor’s office, mdeq, or local government officials could react to this     most recent piece of bad news regarding the water, there was an additional bombshell     announced the following month. tests revealed that the running water in many flint homes     contained shockingly high levels of lead. environmental protection agency (epa) regulations     state that the acceptable percentage for lead in drinking water is at or below fifteen parts per     billion. yet in april 2015, one house in flint was discovered with a 104 parts per billion lead     count in its water (as cited in kennedy, 2016). furthermore, an independent water test     conducted by virginia tech scientists disclosed that the general lead content of household     drinking water had counts near 13,2000 parts per billion. the common lead threshold over     which water is considered to be a hazardous waste material is 5,000 parts per billion (as cited in     kennedy, 2016). not surprisingly, during the same month home water testing occurred     throughout flint, the mdeq reported to the epa that the flint water treatment facility failed to     administer corrosion controls designed to prevent lead particles from the city’s water pipelines     from leaching into the water itself (as cited in kennedy, 2016).    july 2015 to september 2015: “everyone can relax”    as the water troubles in flint continued into the summer of 2015, the state of     michigan’s primary environmental regulatory agency began to bristle publicly against the     growing local outrage. on july 13, mdeq spokesman brad wurfel snidely addressed the     lingering concerns about drinking water safety in flint: “…anyone who is concerned about lead     in the drinking water in flint can relax (as cited in kennedy, 2016).” unfortunately, this is a clear     example of a state government official, when faced with a serious topic, dismissing its relevance     instead of being forthright with the harsh realities of the water crisis at stake in flint.     the summer continued to cast the mdeq unfavorably when in august it was     revealed that mdeq employees withheld two particularly high lead level samples from the     agency’s most recent report to the epa. by failing to report the samples in question, flint’s     water was considered to be safe to drink under current federal mandates. in this example, the     mdeq was brazenly derelict in its duties and attempted to avoid further castigation instead of     immediately tending to the water problem. more negative press arrived in september when     the virginia tech testing team released its findings, which stated flint’s water supply contained     “serious” levels of lead contamination (as cited in kennedy, 2016). according to team leader dr.     marc edwards: “the levels that we have seen in flint are some of the worst i’ve seen in more     than 25 years working in the field (as cited in kennedy, 2016).” as had become typical mdeq     spokesman brad wurfel’s response to the virginia tech findings was full of denial as he went on     to say, “i don’t know how they’re getting the results they’re getting (as cited in kennedy,     2016).” later that same month a study conducted locally by the hurley medical center found     that the number of children living in flint with elevated levels of lead in their bloodstream had     almost doubled since the flint river had become the city’s water source. previously, 2.1% of     children under 5 had elevated lead levels; however, the new figure was found to be 4%. in     perhaps one of the more disturbing moments of the water crisis, now even the state’s health     agencies denied the role of drinking water in these biological changes in flint’s children. the     michigan department of health and human services cited “seasonal changes” as the most     plausible explanation rather than the water (as cited in kennedy, 2016).     one day later, on september 25, 2015, a city‐wide lead advisory went out in flint,     michigan that simultaneously assured residents that flint was in compliance with all federal     regulations while also stating that “no level of lead is safe” (as cited in kennedy, 2016). it is at     this juncture that governor of michigan rick snyder entered the crisis with some ill‐chosen     words in an email exchange about flint’s water problem: “…some in flint are taking a very     sensitive issue (children’s exposure to lead) and trying to turn it into a political football” (as     cited in kennedy, 2016). snyder, a relative newcomer to electoral politics who came from public     accounting and won office in 2010 on the creative slogan “one tough nerd”, roundly preached     a doctrine of pragmatism and austerity economics (as cited in osnos, 2016). in this moment     though, it was actually snyder who attempted to politicize a public health concern in a more     favorable light from his particularly unengaged position. considering how long the trouble with     flint’s water had been extent (over two years by september 2015), governor synder should     have simply worked more diligently to exert some administrative control over the state’s     dangerously haphazard environmental regulatory agency.     october 2015 to december 2015: confusion and finger‐pointing    october 16, 2015 marked yet another turning point in the flint water crisis.     this was the day that the city of flint switched the water grid back to its original source, the     detroit department of water and sewer. once again state government sources labored to     frame this occurrence as a net positive and a sign of progress. the governor’s office issued a     press release which stated that the water from detroit, located approximately 66 miles away,     would “be easier to manage” because it “comes from a more stable source than the river (as     cited in kennedy, 2016).” by fall 2015 the state environmental regulators that had bungled     flint’s water situation for close to three years sought to both clarify their previous actions and     perhaps more critically shift the ever increasing blame. conversing over email with a reporter     from the detroit news, mdeq director dan wyant explained casually that the absence of     corrosion control agents in the flint river water supply was just a matter of misunderstanding:     “what the staff did would have been the proper protocol for a community under 50,000  people. none of the deq staff in this division had ever worked on a water source switch for a  community over 50,000 – it’s uncommon for big communities to switch sources. it’s  increasingly clear there was confusion here, but also that deq staff believed they were using  the proper federal protocol here and they were not.” (as cited in kennedy, 2016)    it seemed a cavalier remark to make considering the dire consequences which     resulted from the “confusion.” also, if there was indeed confusion surrounding what water     treatment protocol to follow in flint, why wouldn’t the facility workers have met with a     superior in april 2014 when the switch took place and received clarification? the truth     regarding flint’s water continued to come forth in december 2015 when gov. synder’s office     revealed that the city’s water treatment plant had never run any tests to determine what effect     water from the flint river would have on the city piping infrastructure (as cited kennedy, 2016).     later that month, flint mayor karen weaver declared a state of emergency because of the     elevated levels of lead in the city’s water supply. newly elected, weaver (who happens to be     the first black female chief city executive in flint’s history) won the mayoral election one month     previous on a platform that promised to fix the city’s toxic water system (kennedy, 2016). one     small piece of justice was served on december 29, 2015 when mdeq director dan wyant and     spokesman brad wurfel both resigned in the wake of an initial flint task force report which     placed much of the blame for the water crisis on mdeq oversight and its tactic of “aggressive     belittlement” whenever the public tried to express concerns about the water in flint (as cited in     kennedy, 2016).    january 2016 to march 2016: acknowledgement and answers    finally, at the start of 2016, the people of flint received the governmental and     regulatory attention they so desperately deserved after two years of pleading. governor synder     declared flint’s lead contamination of the drinking water a state of emergency in early january     and the president of the united states followed suit just one week later (as cited in kennedy,     2016). the president’s declaration made available $5 million in fema aid, which was largely     used for home filtration systems and gallons of fresh water. while flint residents were certainly     grateful that their plight was slowly being addressed, a single question lingered: why did it take     so long? by mid‐january, the governor himself seemed to run out of excuses. in his annual     state of the state address he said solemnly, “i am sorry…we will fix this”( as cited in osnos,     2016). progress continued on january 21, 2016 when the epa issued its own emergency order     which acknowledged the validity of the crisis and implied boldly that the current aid measures     were still insufficient. the local media in detroit and flint however were unimpressed by the     epa’s call to action. detroit news reporter jim lynch wrote a story ten days before the epa     emergency pronouncement detailing the agency’s role in the flint disaster. according to the     epa’s top midwestern regional administrator, the federal agency had been aware of flint’s     water treatment blunder since april 2015 and fought for months with the mdeq over whether     or not to use corrosion controls and how to best inform the public (as cited in lynch, 2016). in     lynch’s article, it was clear that the epa had known the truth concerning flint’s lead     contamination problem and had stayed silent despite an obligation to notify the effected     population immediately so as to not publicly undermine the mdeq (as cited in     lynch, 2016).    in february 2016, local government officials from flint and several scientific experts     were called before the house committee on oversight and government reform and by the 17th     of the month governor rick snyder gave his testimony. the governor was uncharacteristically     forthcoming in his statement: “let me be blunt. this was a failure of government at all levels.     local, state, and federal officials – we all failed the families of flint”(as cited in kennedy, 2016).     perhaps in an effort to capitalize on the momentum surrounding flint’s water crisis the     governor took further steps to acknowledge the catastrophe on march 21, 2016 when he     released an action plan to address the disaster in the coming months (as cited in kennedy,     2016). two days later, the independent flint water advisory task force released its final report     (a preliminary version had come out in december 2015). the opening sentence of the panel’s     executive summary described aptly the gravity of the situation: “the flint water crisis is a story     of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction, and environmental     injustice”(as cited in final report, 2016). while complimenting the courageous residents of flint     for their truly engaged citizenry, the independent commission also highlighted the flawed     decision making of the state‐appointed emergency manager (ed kurtz, who left his post in     2015). furthermore, the initial findings report was expanded to place blame not only on the     mdeq, but also on michigan’s department of health and human services (which was not     forthcoming with its lead contamination findings), the flint water treatment plant (which failed     to properly treat the flint river water), the governor’s office (which sat idle in the midst of an     environmental disaster), and the epa (as cited in final report, 2016).    april 2016 to present: progress is always slow      a few days after the task force released its final report an editorial appeared in the new     york times which laid bare the disturbing subtext of the city’s prolonged environmental     disaster: “blatant disregard for the lives and health of poor and black residents of a distressed     city”(as cited in editorial, 2016). when reviewing the history of the water crisis, the     sociocultural and economic realities of flint are impossible to ignore. what the city put on     display for the rest of the country to witness was a largely impoverished african american     community at the mercy of frequently unresponsive white local and state government officials.     at the highest level of michigan state government, gov. rick snyder could justifiably be     criticized for an unbelievable lack of executive action and insight. the governor relied heavily     on the assurances of the mdeq despite a growing repository of evidence which indicated that     flint’s citizens were being poisoned by the local water supply (as cited in editorial, 2016).     however, the state should share its blame equally with the federal government. beyond the     inaction of the epa, congress itself has much to account for in the wake of the flint water     crisis. for numerous recent election cycles, the chief legislative body of the united states has     woefully underfunded infrastructural upgrades, as highlighted in the may 2014 article in the     atlantic entitled “why can’t congress even pass an infrastructure bill?” environmental issues     have been so undermined by congressional partisan politics that in november 2014 united     states senator from oklahoma james inhofe (a vocal climate change denier) was named     chairman of the senate environment and public works committee (as cited in leber, 2014).      though progress has been made to correct the institutional mismanagement which led     to the flint water crisis, it is a slow process. on april 12, 2016, the virginia tech research team,     which had struggled to have its test results verified as factual by both the mdeq and epa,     released its most recent findings. though improvements had definitely been made the group     concluded that the drinking water in flint was still not safe (as cited in kennedy, 2016). one     week later, justice was gradually being served when criminal charges were filed against one     local and two state government officials. mdeq regulatory officials stephen busch and michael     prysby, as well as flint water quality supervisor michael glasgow, were charged with felony     counts of misconduct, negligence, and conspiracy evidence tampering (as cited in kennedy,     2016). currently, the city of flint labors to pick up the pieces and address its ailing water     infrastructure. on july 13, flint mayor karen weaver announced that the city would only be     able to replace 250 lead‐lined water pipes in 2016 due to budgetary constraints. initially, city     leaders had hoped to replace 500 pipes but the contract bid estimates have greatly exceeded     flint’s fiscal capabilities (as cited in dolan, 2016). compared to the mayor’s dire prediction a     month earlier that the cost of replacing any lead pipes would be too great for the city to bear,     this recent news does seem to be positive overall.         part 2: administrative recommendations    several administrative reforms could potentially remedy the failures exposed by the     flint water crisis. on the local government level, leaders should adopt an open government     approach concerning environmental protection and public health, community building     initiatives must be fostered and funded, private funding sources must shoulder some of the     burden of providing public goods and elected officials need to be a reflection of the     communities they represent. on the state government level, increased interagency cooperation     and institutional role clarity would allow for more effective communication with the general     public during times of crisis. lastly, the federal level of government would be well served by     committing to a regulatory overhaul of the environmental protection agency, which fails to     function properly as currently constituted.    local recommendation #1: what representative government means      as discussed above, flint’s urban decay was underway long before the water became     contaminated with lead. local government, guided by civil servants who are invested in positive     community outcomes, is typically the most responsive level. however, many of the elected     officials, political appointees, and government administrators in flint during the protracted,     three‐year water crisis were variously detached from the local population. from former flint     mayor dayne walling, who gave false testimony on the safety of the city’s drinking water, to     flint water quality supervisor michael glasgow, who was criminally charged with tampering     with contamination report findings at the behest of mdeq; officials damaged the public’s faith     in government (as cited in ellis, 2016). furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, the group     responsible for the water crisis and the population impacted by said crisis differed from each     other quite substantially. local officials and the affected population broke down along two     significant demographic categories: economic status and race. generally, flint’s government     administrators were white and middle class (or higher) while those poisoned by the tainted     water were african american and of lower socioeconomic status. this division simply should     not stand and must change in order to enact administrative reform. an effective local     government is one that mirrors the demographics of the population it professes to serve. to     understand the problems of the people, a local government official must be one of those     people. the voters of flint certainly appeared ready to enact meaningful government change in     november 2015 when the city elected its first black female mayor, karen weaver (as cited in     kennedy, 2016). similar official turnover in flint and other communities must continue in order     to form governments which are truly representative.    local recommendation #2: a more open approach    as a concept open government has been a part of the modern american political     landscape for approximately fifty years, most notably since the passage of the freedom of     information act in 1966. open government is employed as a means of accountability and     informational transparency. in the case of the flint water crisis (or any environmental disaster),     it is the obligation of all government actors and regulatory agencies to both update the general     public on the status of the situation as it develops and act in the public’s best interest while     addressing the problem. the flint water crisis could have been averted had the local     government involved its citizens in certain decisions. for example, when emergency city     manager ed kurtz called upon local officials to explore viable cost saving measures for the city it     was his suggestion that changing flint’s water source might be a good place to start (as cited in     kennedy, 2016). using an open government approach, kurtz would have asked the city’s     leaders to vote on his proposition to look for a new water source; then, pending approval by     local officials, the idea might have been put to a public referendum. in preparation for such a     referendum kurtz, former mayor walling, and other city officials would have been obligated to     hold at least one public information session outlining for interested flint residents all available     water source options and the cost‐benefit analysis for each potential solution.     local recommendation #3: community building and beyond      in addition to recommendations pertaining to the water crisis itself, more wide‐ranging     solutions might also be prescribed which also address the city’s more universal failures. as     mentioned previously, the city of flint suffered from widespread criminality and high     unemployment rates before the water crisis. not only will the challenges of living in a decaying     post‐industrial american city will linger in flint long after the city’s water problems have been     solved but also such generally depressed conditions leave flint’s residents susceptible to future     injustices. therefore, it is critical that flint encourage the formation of neighborhood social     groups and fund, robustly, community‐building initiatives. a strong sense of civic pride is a     catalyst for positive change at the local level. until young people come to learn who their     neighbors are and begin to see their houses as homes and local businesses as personal     property, it is unlikely that daily life in flint will change for the better.      luckily for the residents of flint, examples exist in urban america today of cities that     have rehabilitated sections which were once condemned to squalor and have revitalized entire     communities through relatively simple means such as fiscal responsibility. when ed rendell was     elected mayor of philadelphia in 1991, the city’s landscape was bleak. after over two decades     of economic decline, rendell inherited a city scarred by racial tensions and broken by financial     mismanagement (as cited in wheeland, pp.332‐333). a charismatic native philadelphian with a     dynamic leadership style, rendell utilized a thoughtful three‐pronged executive approach as     the mechanism for change; implementing his plan over his eight years in the mayor’s     office. first, mayor rendell brought some much needed fiscal stability to philadelphia which     was on a financial precipice when he took office. what is now often to referred as austerity was     viewed by rendell as spending restraint: he guided the city to solvency through tightening     city administrative costs and minimizing the impact of the city’s labor contracts (as cited in     wheeland, p. 341). rendell’s spending cuts had such impact that the city began to reap the     benefits almost immediately and philadelphia posted a budget surplus for the final three years     of his first term in office (as cited in wheeland, p. 342). rendell became the first mayor in fifty     years to receive approval from the city council to cut the city wage tax for philadelphia     residents (as cited in wheeland, p. 342).      rendell also instituted a diverse economic development strategy which targeted the     philadelphia naval yard and the center city district as primary economic recovery zones,     branching out to other struggling neighborhoods through gradual gentrification and low cost     housing initiatives (as cited in wheeland, pp. 342‐343). the naval yard in particular presented a     unique challenge due to its industrial aesthetic and because it closed for defense‐related use in     1995 (at the end of rendell’s first term). within two years of its closure, the city (in cooperation     with the commonwealth of pennsylvania) signed a large contract with a private maritime     corporation, establishing another lucrative partnership with a norwegian shipbuilding firm     a few years later (as cited in wheeland, p. 343).     lastly, and possibly most importantly, rendell chose to reinvest in philadelphia’s     essential city services. mayor rendell realized that quality of life in any municipality was tied     to the relative ease of day‐to‐day life. as a way of enhancing the quality of life in     philadelphia, rendell worked to increase funding for the public library system, hire more     custodial staff for the city’s recreation centers, better maintain city parks and pools, and     expand the size of the city’s fire department and police force (as cited in wheeland, p. 344).     reinvestment in a city’s essential services can be a powerful step toward community‐building     and revitalizing economically depressed urban centers.    local recommendation #4: private financing of public goods      in analyzing the root causes of flint’s steady decay, it is apparent that one of the genesis     points is economic. once the general motor company began to deescalate its domestic     automobile production in the 1980’s, the entire city entered an austerity mode from which it     has yet to emerge. exacerbated by fluctuations in federal funding for urban development and,     more recently, state level budget crises across the rust belt, flint, michigan experienced an     exodus of capital investment sources few cities could withstand. an article in the march 2015     issue of the chronicle of philanthropy posed the question of whether or not it is the     responsibility of the private sector to improve upon public goods and its findings point toward a     current trend in giving that could benefit flint as it sets out on the road to fiscal recovery (as     cited in lindsay, 2015).       public goods, defined in pure economic terms, are a commodity or service provided by     the government or a private institution to all members of society from which no profit is     derived. traditional examples of public goods include (but are not limited to): libraries,     museums, parks, and infrastructural improvements. however, it is increasingly common for     private wealth in urban areas to aid in the funding of local public goods and spaces. in     washington dc, a nonprofit organization (the trust for the national mall) has been tasked with     creating and maintaining an alternative revenue stream for $350 million worth of capital     improvement projects around the national mall (as cited in lindsay, 2015). similar public     private partnerships are being formed nationwide and appear to provide some fiscal relief for     cities forced to reckon with the strain of limited budgetary resources at the state and federal     governmental levels (as cited in lindsay, 2015). furthermore, as regions across the country     remain mired in the trenches of the culture wars, the morality politics of the modern era often     make easy targets of art and culture dependent on any amount of government funding.       extrapolating out from the narrow definition of public goods, perhaps flint, michigan     might be well served by forging a public private partnership with a local or state private equity     source in order to tackle its on‐going water toxicity crisis. fresh water, more than just a public     good, is one of the central anthropological needs for human life on earth. water’s value     transcends mere budgetary restriction and appeals to base necessity. if the local government of     flint cannot treat its water properly based on fiscal limitations, the michigan state government     cannot allocate any further funding designated for water crisis relief, and the new     administration at the federal level has made it clear that environmental protection is on the     budgetary chopping block then private sector interests must intervene on behalf of the     forgotten citizenry of flint. additionally, as a starting point, the automotive industry could     assuage some of the societal damage created by factory outsourcing, which has laid waste to     much of the rust belt, through partially funding infrastructural repairs to the water systems in     flint and by providing clean, sustainable sources of drinking water for city residents during the     current prolonged period of environmental protection efforts.    local recommendation #5: reinvestment in urban life      the plight of flint, michigan is made especially perilous because of its designation as a     mid‐sized american city. urban centers occupy a tenuous legal status at the federal policy level     stemming from a lack of constitutional recognition largely. most cities in the united states are     quasi‐autonomous territories that struggle to determine which direction to extend an     outstretched hand for fiscal relief: the state capital or washington, dc. the fate of america’s     cities rests on the agenda of each presidential administration and modern outcomes have     varied widely. lbj’s great society initiatives and programs invested in largescale urban renewal     and pushed the nation as a whole towards a more progressive outlook, a country which places     considerable value on the social equity of all citizens. conversely, several recent administrations     have not advanced the cause of social equity through urban development and have failed to     incentivize life in the urban model.      as an extension of the idea of community‐building reinvestment in urban life must take     shape in forms other than renewed policy focus, particularly in the area of political     participation. the proliferation of reliable information is the driving engine behind a     knowledgeable citizenry. according to legal scholar and university administrator edgar s. cahn,     “citizens having enough information must participate in decisions about the allocation of     resources and the creation of institutions” (as cited in cahn, 1971). political participation in     local government is absolutely critical to the survival of democratic tenets at the microcosmic     level. participation impacts the quality of governance, informs the tenor of decision‐making,     aids policy implementation, and fosters the idea of social capital amongst fellow community     members. the paths outlined previously lead to one of the fundamental goals of effective     government at any level: citizen empowerment.     state recommendation: institutional role clarity      institutional role clarity, as an administrative construct, has not played enough of a role     in state government and would have been quite beneficial in the case of the flint water crisis.     the european union’s forest, law enforcement, governance, & trade action plan has created a     cogent working definition for the term: “institutional clarity means that legal requirements and     institutional roles and responsibilities are clear and consistent”(as cited in eu flegt, 2014).     when considering the mdeq, the state’s foremost environmental regulator, and its role in     exacerbating the water crisis in flint, it is clear that state level government agencies require     clarity of purpose in order to function properly. according to the opening statement of the flint     water advisory task force’s executive summary: “the mdeq failed in its fundamental     responsibility to effectively enforce drinking water regulations. the michigan department of     health and human services (mdhhs – another state agency) failed to adequately and promptly     act to protect public health”(as cited in final report, 2016). over the course of two brief     sentences, the flint water advisory task force defined exactly how it was that two state     regulatory agencies failed in their essential duties. later in the same document, the flint task     force revealed how the mdeq (which possessed primary federal enforcement authority     regarding flint’s water crisis) was negligent in its communication with the epa “thereby     prolonging the calamity”(as cited in final report, 2016). clearly then, the flint water advisory     task force inferred that the mdeq’s lack of administrative understanding both prevented the     agency from properly regulating the city’s water supply and extended the length of an     environmental crisis.    federal recommendation: the problem of the epa      richard nixon is, in many way, the most environmentally progressive president in     modern american history. nixon became president in 1969, when ecology was a new and     expanding field of study. rachel carson had recently warned the country of the dangers of the     pesticide ddt in her classic work, silent spring. the 1970’s was a decade of progress and     forward thinking, and despite the looming quagmire of vietnam, the nation expected its     political leaders and policymakers to address one of its primary concerns: the environment.     within the span of a few years, the u.s. environmental protection agency was created, the     national environmental protection act was signed into law (which included provisions for clean     air, clean water, and safe drinking water regulation) and the first earth day was celebrated.     unlike today, it was a moment during which a consensus existed around environmental issues.     as president nixon himself stated in his 1970 state of the union address: “the great question     of the seventies, shall we surrender to our surroundings, or shall we make our peace with     nature and begin to make reparations for the damage we have done to our air, to our land, and     to our water?”(as cited in vallianatos, p. 8).      approximately forty‐five years after the epa was formed, the nation’s chief     environmental regulatory agency no longer abides by its original charge – to safeguard public     health and effectively protect america’s environment (as cited in vallianatos, p. 3). in his 2014     expose` of the agency former epa analyst e.g. vallianatos deconstructed the failures of the epa     into three categories: the revolving door, bad science, and political agendas. the first problem,     and according to vallianatos the most corrupting, is the revolving door culture of washington,     dc. the epa’s top administrators are often either senior bureaucrats, achieving their position     through appointment and seek to promote the political agenda of their superiors, or executives     from the chemical production industry or agro‐business exploiting their knowledge of     governmental inner workings once they rotate back into the private sector (as cited in     vallianatos, pp. 6‐7). speaking of the industries which now heavily dictate epa policy,     vallianatos says: “they fund studies no one reads; they pay for travel for political appointees;     and – as administration’s change – they grease the revolving door that barely separates the     agency and industry”(vallianatos, p. 6).      equally unsetting are vallianatos’ discussions of the pseudo‐scientific practices of the     epa during his tenure from 1979 to 2004. he describes a workplace where staffers paste     together studies conducted by the exact industries the agency is charged with regulating and     officials approve industrial solutions to environmental problems with the rubber stamp of the     federal government (as cited in vallianatos, p. 6). the epa’s negative impact on the flint water     crisis can be understood through vallianatos’s explanation of the agency’s day‐to‐day     operations. according to the author, the epa could be described as a huge emergency room     wherein its staff is constantly establishing a triage and filling out paperwork but “it never gets     the chance to address the systemic problems that create the crises the agency deals with every     day” (as cited in vallianatos, p. 13). the agency’s convoluted role in flint reflects the confused     nature of its administrative approach. the epa was late to address the crisis publicly. when it     did finally step in, the agency condemned the state government for not doing enough and     fought with the mdeq behind closed doors over how to remedy the contamination. ultimately,     it is likely that the epa had more to do with the problem than the solution with regard to the     flint water crisis. american citizens deserve a better federal regulator, one that is populated by     ethical administrators and prepared to deal with today’s complex environmental issues such as     rising sea levels, greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater scarcity, and natural gas fracking.       conclusion      the flint water crisis is a true governmental failure, defined by environmental     safeguards left ignored and systemic breakdowns at all levels of regulatory intervention.     though the water itself is certainly the catalyst of this disaster the current state of flint,     michigan also highlights many of the serious challenges facing american cities today. the story     of flint illuminates the tenuous state of urban infrastructure in america, the financial stress of     city management, and the sociocultural and economic hardships of urban minorities     (predominantly african americans). the water crisis in flint serves as a bleak but worthwhile     case study of how urban decay, coupled with racial disenfranchisement, can often result in     toxic hopelessness.            references    2010 census data for michigan. (2016). population of michigan cities and villages. lansing, mi:  state of michigan. retrieved from http://www.michigan.gov/cgi/0,4548,7‐158‐54534‐252541‐‐ ,00.html     cahn, e. (1971) citizen participation: effecting community change. new york, ny: praeger.  dolan, m. (2016, july 13). flint to replace up to 250 lead lines in water crisis. detroit free press.  retrieved from http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint‐water‐ crisis/2016/07/13/flint‐replace‐up‐250‐lead‐lines‐water‐crisis/87027512/    ellis, r. (2016, may 4). flint city employee reaches plea agreement in water crisis investigation.  cnn. retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/us/flint‐water‐crisis‐plea/     eu flegt (last updated in 2014). why clarity matters. european forest institute. retrieved from  http://www.euflegt.efi.int/legislative‐and‐institutional‐clarity     flint water advisory task force. (2016). final report. lansing, mi: office of governor rick  snyder, state of michigan.    gliha, l. (2013, october 24). growing up in america’s most dangerous city, flint. al jazeera  america. retrieved from http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america‐tonight/america‐ tonight‐blog/2013/10/24/growing‐up‐in‐americasmostdangerouscityflint.html     kennedy, m. (2016, april 20). lead‐laced water in flint: a step‐by‐step look at the makings of a  crisis. npr: the two‐way. retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo‐ way/2016/04/20/465545378/lead‐laced‐water‐in‐flint‐a‐step‐by‐step‐look‐at‐the‐makings‐of‐a‐ crisis    leber, r. (2014, november 5). congratulations, voters. you just made this climate denier the  most powerful senator on the environment. the new republic. retrieved from  https://newrepublic.com/article/120134/climate‐change‐denier‐james‐inhofe‐lead‐ environment‐committee     lindsay, d. (2015, march) philanthropy’s green. the chronicle of philnthropy. 14‐19.    lynch, j. (2016, january 12). epa stayed silent on flint’s tainted water. the detroit news.  retrieved from http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/12/epa‐stayed‐ silent‐flints‐tainted‐water/78719620/     osnos, e. (2016, january 20). the crisis in flint goes deeper than the water. the new yorker.  retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/news/news‐desk/the‐crisis‐in‐flint‐goes‐deeper‐ than‐the‐water     smith, shane (executive producer/host). (2016, june 10). flint water crisis & libya on the brink.  vice. brooklyn, ny: hbo.    the editorial board. (2016, march 25). the racism at the heart of flint’s crisis. the new york  times. retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/opinion/the‐racism‐at‐the‐heart‐ of‐flints‐crisis.html?_r=0     vallianatos, e.g. (2014). poison spring: the secret history of pollution and the epa. new york,  ny: bloomsbury press.    wheeland, c. (2008). the power to persuade: philadelphia, pennsylvania. in j. svara (ed.), the  facilitative leader in city hall (pp.327‐346). boca raton, fl: crc press.                          microsoft word concept"another skie"eve's eden and feminine cosmologies.docx 1 “another skie”: eve’s eden and feminine cosmologies em friedman english ma gender and women’s studies graduate certificate i hope to engage materialism at its most radical and come to recognize as precious the boundedness of my flesh as part of the world… species are relationships between species—relationality is worldhood. -eva hayward, more lessons from a starfish: prefixial flesh and transspeciated selves in book 4 of john milton’s paradise lost, eve recounts her first moments of waking.1 she hears the murmur of a stream as it comes forth from a cave and, following the sound, is lead to a “liquid plain” (4.454) that when looked into, looks back. the “shape within the watry gleam” (4.461) gazes at her with “looks of sympathie and love” (4.464-5). eve wakes into an eden of interconnected bliss. she is one shape among many like-shapes in the world around her, as her gaze is doubled and matched in liquid form. the cave is an earthly reflection of her physical, sexual “difference,” and her “guide and head” (4.442) adam is made from the material she is molded from. or, at least, that’s what we can piece together from her first speech, as the events of the day become tangled and sublimated by the voices of god and her husband above and beside her, rotely repeating her supposed place. paradise lost is milton’s cosmology based on genesis, and his “stridently masculinist”2 biblical hermeneutics mean that eve’s experience in the poem gets somewhat lost in the “mazie foulds” (9.161) of milton’s theological and philosophical intentions. as mary nyquist argued in her 1987 article “the genesis of gendered subjectivity,” milton is committed to a scriptural interpretation that adamantly privileges adam over eve, and even if readings of his work foreground “egalitarian” heterosexual couplings, they “cannot finally obscure eve’s secondary status as a ‘gift’ from one patriarch to another.”3 nyquist expounds how eve’s creation 2 establishes a “dialogic relation” between adam and god in the poem: “in milton’s exegesis, the significance of the gift—woman—passed from maker to man is determined by two speeches, first the maker’s and then adam’s, precisely because these speeches are construed as a verbal exchange that is basically contractual.”4 her analysis grounds adam’s subjectivity in the transaction whereby god provided his “last best gift” eve, and adam and god co-author the institution of marriage. through this agreement, along with adam’s temporal priority as the first created human, adam’s becomes the subject position in the poem. sharing a reality with god, adam represents the “public” sphere in paradise lost: “paradigmatically masculine, autonomous, articulate, and preternaturally awake to the implications of entering into relations with others.”5 for nyquist, opposite the masculinist public where adam, god and the angels share conversation and language, eve occupies a feminine, “private,” solipsistic realm, unmoored from scripture and lyrical in nature. in this way, eve’s interiority is a way for milton to showcase how well god met adam’s need—eve is truly a fit partner, which readers understand from her clear subjectivation.6 what makes eve’s realm private and feminine is eve’s “false” reading of her situation in eden: she infers from her visits to the pool that she is in an “uninhabited autonomous” world, but in reality, her world is “constituted and interconnected with the ‘public’ world around it.”7 for nyquist, eve’s subjectivity is made feminine through the quality of its “illusory” autonomy, when “really,” eve is fully embedded in a masculinist symbolic.8 while nyquist’s understanding of the first couple’s subjectivity is a helpful foundation to consider, i disagree that eve’s recognition of eden is a way for milton to construct the feminine as defined by the masculine. rather, in what follows, i heed melissa sanchez’s recent proposal that “milton’s writing is valuable to queer and trans studies”9—and queer and trans feminisms— 3 and so take eve’s perspective in order to elaborate her eden as an alternative, (feminine) public outside of masculinist discourse’s reach—including milton’s. recent scholarship on the couple’s subjectivity in paradise lost trends towards highlighting love as an inter/subjective force. this lens does not explicitly draw out the gendered differences of subjective experiences; this may be connected to love’s long, historical entanglement within hetero/gender normativity.10 ayelet langer notes how adam’s self-conception as a “subject that persists over change” is grounded in his “capacity for love.”11 karen edwards, too, understands eve’s gardening practice and the way her plants “gladlier grew” (8.47) at her touch as a way “enlivening…comes from loving intimacy” and remarks that eve “(perhaps better than adam) has fully understood the dynamic vitality of learning grounded in love.”12 joshua held brings to the fore the “potency of love,”13 which unites adam and eve after the fall, and cites love as a “deep taproot”—a type of interiority—that gives way to “the interpersonal interactions of the primal human beings.”14 perhaps because of their underemphasis on gender, these views can have the tendency to reinforce masculinist arguments against eve. for instance, while not a central part of her analysis, edwards reproduces the perspective of both god and satan in the poem by stating that eve falls because “she has not had enough experience yet to know what experience is.”15 i argue, then, that instead of positioning eve’s reality as a “false” misreading or “fantasy”/feminized space (in nyquist’s terms), or a lack of deployable experience (in edwards’s), the at-times ambiguous and fractured quality of eve’s characterization are cracks through which we can view an alternate “feminine” cosmos of intersubjective materiality—a valid symbolic order, with a different organizing structure than adam’s, who is ruled by god’s word. given that milton’s cosmology based on scripture was not unique in seventeenth century imaginations,16 i close by exploring ways that margaret cavendish’s paradise in her prose fiction the blazing world offers 4 an environment more hospitable to eve—perhaps just the place for us to make sense of eve’s subjectivity through cavendish’s theological and philosophical underpinnings. masculinist discourse and feminine difference implicit in nyquist’s reading is the way milton renders adam and god’s world as discursive. linguistic contract, that is, rules both the creation of eve and the terms of life in eden. before eve’s first speech in paradise lost, adam speaks, relating that he comes to the world “as liberal and free as infinite” (4.415). indeed, god’s hierarchy in the poem makes adam’s freedom possible and “easie.” quickly after stating that he is free, he enforces gender hierarchy by relaying that was made from dust, citing the “obviously masculinist yawhist or ‘j’ creation account in [genesis] chapter 2, where the creator makes man from the dust of the ground.”17 following this, adam recounts god’s prohibitions breezily as the only sign of our obedience left among so many signes of power and rule conferrd upon us, and dominion giv’n over all other creatures that possess earth, air, and sea. (4.428-32) adam is well situated from the start: he clearly understands and is invested in the system he finds himself within. in comparison to eve’s, adam’s speech might be described as a state of flow versus her struggle: adam’s speech is entirely his own and he quotes no one, rather recounting events with narrative flair—the first couple were not just made from dust but “plac’t…in happiness” (4.416-7), god’s prohibition is not just arbitrary but protection from a “dreadful thing no doubt” (4.426). he linguistically expresses his subjectivity as his narrative glides along in a normative structure with cooperative asides. 5 eve’s speech contains other speakers within it and touches multiple temporalities—she starts in the current moment, and volleys between now and then, references other moments in her memory, and shifts between what she thought she knew versus what she “knows” now after being corrected. the statement “that day i oft remember” is immediately linked to her curiosity: “much wondring where / and what i was, whence thither brought, and how” (4.451-2), signaling that ascertaining her situation did and still does not come easily for her. through these lines, we understand that there is something worth coming back to for eve; given that she is less aligned with her surroundings, she must revisit “that day” to make sense of it. where adam’s speech shows no temporal dissonance—his thought follows a linear narrative—eve is doubling back and revisiting, both in the memory of the day, in the glimpses of herself, and the language she uses. she opens, o thou for whom and from whom i was formd flesh of thy flesh, and without whom am to no end, my guide and head. (4.440-3) doesn’t this sound eerily similar to adam’s reproach of eve on the day of her arrival? in her speech, eve recounts adam’s words, which follow god’s foremost reproach of her: return fair eve, whom fli’st thou? whom thou fli’st, of him thou art his flesh, his bone; to give thee being i lent out of my side to thee, nearest my heart substantial life to have thee by my side henceforth an individual solace dear; 6 part of my soul i seek thee, and thee claim my other half: with that thy gentle hand seis’d mine, i yielded, and from that time see how beauty is exelled by manly grace. (4.482-490) eve’s opening remarks to adam—that she is luckier than adam because she has him, her superior, while he only has her—linguistically mark the yielding she recounts in 4.489. although she originally found adam “less faire, less winning soft, less amiablie mild” (4.478-9) than herself, she now “knows” that “beauty is excelld by manly grace” (4.490) after “yielding.” by focusing on the way eve’s impulses and inclinations for self-actualization are repeatedly corrected by god and adam linguistically, and finally, through corrective touch (“with that thy gentle hand / seis’d mine, i yielded”) on the day of her awakening in eden, we can see that the way eve begins her speech to adam—“formed of thy flesh”—is the “corrected” outcome evidently related to her “difference.” rather than immediately resonating with god’s order, eve has to be disciplined into learning and then repeating god’s language and values, and here she repeats this phrase—“from whom i was formd flesh of thy flesh”— which originates from god, passed to her husband (he speaks first, before her) then is repeated by eve in right order. by eve’s next speech, she is able to speak the corrected language of god and adam, and her opening lines to adam are: my author and disposer, what thou bidst unargu'd i obey; so god ordains, god is thy law, thou mine: to know no more is womans happiest knowledge and her praise. (4.635-8) 7 eve is aware of the link between submitting to adam and god and her status as “woman.” indeed, she recites for god and adam the discourse she is expected to speak as one who is told she is woman. for in god’s paradigm, eve was always meant to be the “first of women” (4.409), and this is likely what god has in mind as he reproves her self-interest in the “watry gleam” at the time of her wake, redirecting her to her husband: him thou shalt enjoy inseparablie thine, to him shalt beare multitudes like thy self, and thence be call'd mother of human race. (4.473-5) as feminist theorist sara ahmed writes, “woman” in both terminology and subject position has, throughout history, often had an overdetermined relationship with embodied beings—in other words, people are sometimes made to be women through the instrumentalization of their bodies. prelapsarian eve is, surprisingly, not reproductive and therefore not yet completely collapsible into her role as the “mother of human race,” as much as god conditions her to think of herself as such. though she learns and often says the right things, through her speeches and actions, god, the angels, and adam’s linguistic constraints do not entirely inhibit eve before the fall, and there are moments where we can read eve’s subjectivity pushing back against this limited discursive paradigm she’s constituted by. in this way, eve is still an amalgamation of subjective states that are too idiosyncratic and ambivalent to be condensed into the masculinist, static subject position of “woman.” although her experience is constantly ruptured by adam, the angels and god’s discourse, i suggest that eve still has access to her own eden, with values and terms that differ from the discursive masculinist symbolic order of milton’s cosmology. reading milton through a queer and feminist lens is not new— 8 sanchez contextualizes milton’s writing in general, and eve’s waking scene in particular, by reiterating the “homoeroticism” present in eve’s self-love that is oft cited.18 i depart, however, from this lineage and instead understand eve through a relationality that displaces the hetero/homo: through intersubjective action like touch, artistry and gardening, eve’s eden is a feminine cosmos of “sympathie”—even if finding it requires us to read between the lines. in her second speech, eve is replying to adam, who has just outlined the (understandable, of course) reasons why things are how they are—humans and animal sleep patterns, the outcome of human labor, etc. in response, eve taps into the undifferentiated materiality that she wakes into several stanzas earlier. again, the difference in style between adam and eve’s talk is stark: adam’s subject is the supremacy of man over beast and plant and the ontological reasons why they must work and sleep, and eve’s subject, objectively how sweet it is to be with adam, poetically and subjectively invokes the world around her and its similarities with her body. like her own breath (and pronouns), she evokes the “breath of morn, her rising sweet” (4.641) and surveys everything she sees—this love poem for adam is the vehicle in which eve can express her own “glorious sight” (4.658) and vision. she ends the verse with a mild suggestion that ever so slightly rubs against adam’s complete assurance that all is right: “but wherfore all night long shine these, for whom / this glorious sight, when sleep hath shut all eyes?” (4.657-8). perhaps just a general curiosity, but i wonder if eve’s is gently pointing out the subjective experience of sight for the living things she shares the earth with— while humans sleep, do other beings, too, see these beautiful sights? eve’s preoccupation with the world around her—plants, animals—cracks the solidity of adam’s eden, for him a place that solely hosts the first couple’s experience and, in its right order, is the site and symbol of god’s miraculous creation. 9 there are other moments when eve’s subjecthood appears unexpected, not fully coalesced into her place in god’s hierarchy—particularly when she disagrees with or has an alternative perspective than adam. one exemplary moment is the scene before eve meets satan in the garden. here, eve clearly has her own view regarding what’s important: gardening. she shares her concern with adam that working together to “lop overgrown, or prune, or prop, or bind” isn’t efficient enough, for in just “one night or two…wanton growth derides” (9.210-11) their work. adam thinks it’s cute that eve is concerned with “how we might best fulfill the work which here / god hath assign’d us” (9.230-1), and believes “nothing lovelier can be found / in woman, then to studie household good / and good works in her husband to promote” (9.232-4), but we know from adam’s first speech that he doesn’t particularly like gardening per se—he’s mostly interested in being with eve. he says as much to her early on: “to prune these growing plants, and tend these flowrs/ which were it toilsom, yet with thee were sweet,” (4.438-9). this is a constitutive difference in perspective and values. this scene becomes an extended back and forth between the two, with eve employing various rhetorical strategies to get through to adam in order to do the work the way she sees fit. she asks him: don’t you trust me? (“that thou shouldst my firmness therefore doubt…i expected not to hear” 9.279-81); what is happiness if we can’t go where we want? (“in narrow circuit strait’n’d by a foe…how are we happie” 9.3236) and finally, shouldn’t god protect us? (“let us not then suspect our happie state / left so imperfet by the maker wise” 9.337-8). “frustrated by eve’s having used his own words against him,”19 her apt linguistic performance succeeds and adam yields; eve “from her husbands hand her hand / soft she withdrew” (9.385-6), marking what an opposite yielding means for adam— the withdrawal of eve’s touch. 10 in this example, i don’t mean to suggest that eve is subjectively antagonistic towards god or adam—eve’s impulses are not positioned against her creators. diane mccolley elaborates how god and eve are aligned inasmuch as they are both artists, with eve’s realm being poesy—“god as artifex and his human images as artists…eve takes at least equal part with adam, and often takes the lead.”20 i concur that eve’s subjectivity is aligned with god’s: like god, eve is good and her creativity stems from the goodness of god’s creation and grace. rather, i suggest that eve’s behavior originates from an alternative phenomenological experience in eden that is not shared by adam and thus differently impacts her belief system and activities. eve is represented as deeply entwined with her environment in a way that adam is not—her “birth” is elemental and sensory, while at adam’s wake, he feels a “quick instinct” (8.259) and looks “strait toward heav'n” where his “wondring eyes…turnd, /and gaz'd a while the ample skie” (8.257-8). eve too sees the sky upon waking, but it’s “another skie” (4.459)—a duplicate on earth, whereas adam is straightforwardly connected to god’s heaven. for eve, the vertical structure of hierarchy is harder, if not impossible, to instinctively grasp, and she often intuits what should be up and down hierarchical formations for across, rhizomatic doubles and copies. this phenomenological difference in experiencing life in eden drives eve’s subjective preferences for activities that differ from adam’s norms. for adam, participation in god’s world through discourse is the pinnacle: his request to god for eve is driven by his desire for a conversation partner, and one of the peaks of adam’s life in eden includes a very long discussion with angel raphael that spans several books, detailing the creation of all things. when raphael finishes, adam is ecstatic—he describes the experience as like “heav’n / and sweeter thy discourse is to my ear / then fruits of palm-tree” (8.210-12). here, adam’s experience of 11 eden mediated through raphael’s discourse is sweeter than the material experience of tasting eden’s bounty—discourse exceeds phenomenology. parallel to adam’s time with raphael, eve’s desire was to be among her fruits and flowrs to vist how they prosper’d, bud and bloom, her nurserie; they at her coming sprung and toucht by her fair tendance gladlier grew. (8.44-47) among the flowers during adam and raphael’s discourse, eve also wanted to access raphael’s story through adam, emphasizing that “not words alone pleas’d her” (8.57) but her pleasure included touch, “conjugal caresses” (8.56). the significance of the repetitive invocation of touch—the flowers touching her, adam touching her and her touching back and this aiding their growth and being—establishes eve’s preferences and subjective dimensions as uniquely embodied and interconnected with her surroundings, and also divergent from adam’s. the chasm between experience-as-discourse and experience-as-sublimation-into-nature, where hierarchy dissolves, is invoked in the first image of eve in the poem as well, which shows her as plant-like: her unadorned golden tresses wore dissheveld, but in wanton ringlets wav'd as the vine curls her tendrils, which impli'd subjection. (4.305-8) john t. shawcross’s gloss in the doubleday revised edition of the poem elaborates that “‘subjection’ in this context is a pun, meaning ‘both ‘being under control’ (ironically) and their ‘lying beneath.’”21 here we can see that already, the relationship between eve’s subjective 12 connection to plant-life is in tension with the necessary excess of language—puns and double meanings—which is required to control her natural, undifferentiated state. eve’s own ability to imagine difference, based on her difference, can be best read in her only scene without adam—the setting of the fall. she, again, is presented as part plant. tending a rosebush, she works to “support /each flowr of slender stalk” (9.427-8), the narrative naming her the “fairest unsupported flowr” (9.432) in the garden. this scene encourages satan, who wishes to see eve this way: alone. satan attributes this to eve’s lower intelligence, which, while the poem may view eve’s phenomenological capacity as inferior, in my reading means she is so enmeshed with the world around her that she doesn’t have the “good sense” of hierarchy. in this scene, the first particular way eve is beguiled is through her interest in a talking snake. this represents, for eve, the enticing prospect of a horizontal monism: one where fruit, in horizontal relationship with god, may bring unexpected surprises like human speech. while through a masculinist lens this may be construed as lack of foresight or reason, here it signifies how eve is unattuned to the way hierarchy operates and thus experiences the world differently: we can assume that adam would have understood the perversion of a speaking animal. eve’s understanding of the organization of cosmos she inhabits departs from milton’s hierarchical monism—as mccolley writes, god (and milton)’s representation of a monist world looks like “a scale of nature rising from plant to animal to man to angel, and of spirit as a superior state.”22 satan’s sentiments about the tree (and, though inference, the tree-like being, eve)—"o sacred, wise, and wisdom-giving plant” (9.679)—would clearly appear to adam as incorrect as god gives wisdom, not plants, and adam knows the proper order of things. eve, however, potentially part plant herself and acting from an embodied wisdom in relationship with eden that is less 13 often reflected in the discursive environment around her, recognizes the possibility in satan’s words in a way that adam couldn’t have access to. so she follows him to the tree. in these examples, i have been demonstrating how eve’s subjectivity is unstably connected to womanhood by extrapolating the ways eve’s difference shows up as not necessarily feminized-as-“woman” yet, but still different from adam. however, after the fall, eve emerges as a figure who is more stable in her gender, inasmuch as gender is a constructed paradigm always already within masculinism. as jonathan goldberg argues, “gender is not seamlessly joined…to a history…that mandates difference, in short, a hetero-history.”23 goldberg places milton’s monism in the context of non-hetero-history in order to trouble ontological categorization of sex-difference as something to be taken for granted, instead reading milton’s materialism via his erotics as “a principle of sameness and difference, of hierarchy and degree within a same.”24 it is important to begin here because although dynamics and bodies can be gendered in paradise lost—and goldberg sees that milton’s “hierarchy is undeniably one in which eve is placed lower and further away from god than is adam”25—gender is one difference among many in this “dynamic” hierarchy and is not necessarily always, or even often, conceptually or materially fixed. to take goldberg’s point a step further, i propose that we can find gender-asdifference—that is, femininity— signified mainly through hierarchical perversion. this means that femininity emerges in the text in unexpected ways. for instance, adam’s “effeminate slackness” (11.634) is not a result of ontological femininity, but rather the distortion of the hierarchy of god-angels-adam-eve-animals that he takes part in by obeying eve over god (“was shee thy god, that her thou didst obey” 10.145). in this way, eve’s relationship with animals is also a signifier of gender difference, because while adam is properly masculine in his 14 treatment of animals (to the point where he gets a wife for job well done!)—“among unequals what societie / can sort, what harmonie or true delight?” (8.383-4)—eve is quickly taken with the idea of talking animals “for in thir looks /much reason, and in thir actions oft appeers” (9.558-9). even her gardening can be interpreted as hierarchical slippage, for instance in the scene before the fall, as discussed above, she does not place adam in his proper rung, preferring the plants and garden’s needs over his. therefore, where some critics read milton’s eve before the fall as inherently fallen because she is a woman, or ontologically feminine, we can see that her disinvestment from hierarchy, or perhaps just her inherently different approach to it, renders eve feminine within the masculinist hierarchy of god. the enmeshment of femininity with hierarchical perversion may be one reason that some critics see eve in “psychological kinship with satan,”26 as satan’s betrayal is at its core the unforgivable hubris of an attempted hierarchical unsettling which renders him ontologically fallen (“which way i flie is hell; my self am hell” 4.75). critics have theorized gender and femininity in paradise lost in several ways. elspeth graham reads satan’s realm as feminized by likening “the dreamlike, hallucinatory nature of milton’s hell”27 to a “maternal space”28 and identifies satan in feminized terms: unfixed, hysterical. graham’s reading contrasts with kent lehnhof’s, who in goldberg’s terms could be described as deeply entrenched in a heterohistorical context that marks sexual difference through essentialized genital notions, reproducing the masculinist (psychoanalytic) paradigm of gender: feminine alterity and phallic lack. his analysis originates from the question of why “satan is never accused of being effeminate” and resolves it by offering that because “satan’s desire is narcissistic instead of uxorious, paradise lost places the adversary outside of the effeminating scenario played out in paradise.”29 john guillory, accounting for gender difference in paradise lost, might read satan’s narcissism as 15 effeminizing30 given the “association of narcissism with female subjectivity,”31 yet lehnhof strides in a different direction, positing that adam is susceptible to effeminacy because “adam’s anatomically authorized masculinity is exceeded by the masculinity of those who perform gender without fixed sexual essences,”32 like satan. for lehnhof, “fixed sexual essences” and “maleness”33 is metonymic for having a penis—to which i respond: i guess he never watched judith butler correcting people on youtube about what gender performativity means. in contrast, my account of gender in paradise lost posits femininity as situationally emerging, dependent more on the dynamics of hierarchy than embodied actor positions, at least before the fall. said differently, reading femininity in paradise lost is a unique opportunity because eve’s subjectivity in eden before the fall is not in static relationship with an embodied subject. the link between what we call femininity and the overdetermined position of “female” or “woman,” with a presumed body and behavior, is at times illegible in eve due to her incompatible expressions of autonomy concurrent with her supposed role. as ahmed writes, “the category of ‘woman,’ as an over-determined category, is partially fixed into intelligible forms…the general field of discursivity within which woman is articulated cannot be arrested, but remains partially fixed or stabilised by relations of force.”34 insofar as milton “was writing at precisely the moment in which modern consciousness was formed—indeed was actively participating in the establishment of new orderings of things,”35 the fissures i explore in this paper show the incongruency between concepts like “woman” and a stable referent. during the time paradise lost was written, the idea of “woman” had not yet completely ossified, which makes tracking femininity and womanhood in this context more negotiable and visible than it becomes later. reading eve’s difference as feminine, yet not fixed, in ahmed’s terms, as 16 “woman,” elucidates the dimensions of how the concept of woman becomes “partially fixed,” or even, as i suggest in my reading of eve-as-nature/eve-as-plant, broken, from an embodied signified. that said, it is through the force of the masculine symbolic that “woman” becomes fixed in milton’s cosmology. this dynamic is epitomized in the last two books as word-for-word scriptural citation takes over the poem; the bible being, of course, one of the foundational texts of western masculine symbolics. in contrast to eve before the fall, there is one who “seem’[s] woman” (2.650) in milton’s cosmos before eve eats the fruit—sin. sin is the shadow representation of what becomes archetypally “woman”—eve and woman, and like sin in paradise lost, are both terms which for hundreds of years in a western context are used allegorically.36 we meet sin in book 2 as the guardian of the gates between hell and chaos, her presence a delineating boundary. while milton doesn’t quite commit to sin being an actual woman, her appearance designates what “seems” woman: serpents, childbearing, sexual desire, excess. sin is the “snakie sorceress” (2.724) to the nickname that adam presents eve in book 10: thou serpent, that name best befits thee with him leagu'd, thy self as false and hateful; nothing wants, but that thy shape, like his, and colour serpentine may shew thy inward fraud. (10.867-71) along with their shared snakie-ness, linking sin to womanhood hinges on the poem’s clear interest in sin’s embodiment—particularly her static relationship with birth, the “hourly conceiv’d / and hourly born” (2.796-7) hellish hound spawn occupying her womb so that, she says, “rest of intermission none i find” (2.802). eve is similarly collapsed into a birthing body as 17 she becomes “woman” in the last two books, as the fortunate fall depends on her as foremother first of all, with no intermission in sight. as adam joyously remarks in book 12: why our great expectation should be call'd the seed of woman: virgin mother, hail, high in the love of heav'n, yet from my loyns thou shalt proceed, and from thy womb the son of god most high; so god with man unites. needs must the serpent now his capital bruise expect with mortal pain: say where and when thir fight, what stroke shall bruise the victors heel. (12.378-85) adam is vindicated, and eve, finally a woman, loses what subjective particularity she had (we don’t get her opinion on childrearing) in order to become a symbol—the instrument through which the history of man and “to god more glory” (12.477) can play out. leaving eden, “they hand in hand with wandring steps and slow” (12.648) recalls eve first speech: “with that thy gentle hand/ seis’d mine, i yielded.” here, eve finally takes her place within the “proper gender hierarchy.”37 joshua held highlights how eve’s inner peace after the fall in book 12 “point[s] ultimately to the “promis’d seed” who will restore “all” (12.623)38 but does not consider the enormous implications this newfound redemption has on eve’s gender. he pinpoints the opening lines of eve’s sonnet as adam returns from visioning with angel michael: “whence thou returnst, and whither wentst, i know” (12.610), noting primarily that this “speech is in a different register and form.”39 while i can agree that milton’s use of love poetry is meant to signal “eve’s joy in the couple’s newfound consolation,”40 this comfort is only possible as eve moves from 18 unfixed/in-flux being to defined woman: from being locked out of knowing “where / and what i was, whence thither brought” to inclusion into the patriarchal symbolic: knowing “whence” adam was and “wither” he went, having been told the information from god in her dream. in a different account, shannon miller argues optimistically that this shift—eve as legible, patriarchal woman—reflects the rhetorical climate milton was writing within—particularly the public pamphlet debates about the roles of women. in “serpentine eve,” miller shows how milton dramatized the querelles des femmes proand anti“feminist” pamphlet debates by “embed[ding]” proand anti-woman arguments in eve and adam’s speeches throughout paradise lost; this includes reproducing phrases, terms and concepts verbatim as they were playing out in these pamphlets during seventeenth century england. miller understands milton’s “polyvocal” gender representations as a way to “illustrate how hierarchy is accomplished through a cultural rehearsal of tropes,”41 thereby suggesting both that egalitarian reading of milton that nyquist foretells, and proposing a potentially critical deployment of masculinist arguments by milton. these critics mark two ways to give eve her due as an autonomous person, especially as miller links the “eve who justifies her fault” after the fall to her use of “both the terms of and the strategies of”42 feminists writing at the time, including rachel speght and esther sowerman. feminine cosmologies whereas milton’s eve finds herself ensnared by milton’s masculinist, discursive and hierarchical cosmos, monist philosopher margaret cavendish’s contemporaneous work draws on a materialist philosophy that foregrounds ontological interconnection and slippage between all created matter. her cosmology in the blazing world reveals what other modes of being might be possible for eve were she not relegated to milton’s reality, including a somewhat unexplained 19 theological intervention that supposes eve could return to paradise. with the blazing world, cavendish “finally makes precisely the world she understood and expressed in her philosophical work”43 and her world of fancy is “a place where every particle exercises a kind of free aesthetic self-determination.”44 published alongside her treatise observations on experimental philosophy, cavendish’s fictional prose narrative follows the empress, a lady from earth who becomes a sovereign of the blazing world, learning and governing the dimensions of this alternate universe. interestingly, as the empress investigates the dimensions of her new world, we learn that the blazing world and the imperial city called paradise are one and the same as adam and eve’s.45 john rogers writes, cavendish identifies her alternative planet as that same paradise from which "adam fled" and which her heroine, one of the figures for the author herself, is "now empress of." neglecting in this account any mention of adam's helpmeet, cavendish invites our identification of the empress with eve, an eve who in the powerfully utopian space of cavendish's fictional and scientific writings has been left to govern paradise alone.46 through this identification, cavendish shares access to an eden that is governed and negotiated on eve’s terms. additionally, this odd reveal opens up questions about the finality of the fall from a feminine, or even feminist, perspective, with cavendish ostensibly animating an eden that is not-fallen for eve, or perhaps semi-fallen given that eve returns and resides there. this premise unlocks questions like, would eve have fallen if her experience of eden was known to be a valid symbolic order? what does it mean that for cavendish, paradise looks so different than milton’s eden? can this be attributed to gender difference? while i ask these questions in 20 order to set up the brief interweaving of worlds that follows, i posit that the empress, with her instable gender, and the qualities of the blazing world—particularly the categorizations of the populi and social and scientific organizational systems—is a realm that would be recognizable to milton’s eve. spending some time in the blazing world lets us imagine what possibilities exist for eve outside of the masculinist symbolic that milton has constituted her within. like milton’s eve, the empress of the blazing world, too, is attuned to and invested in horizontal organizational structures versus hierarchy, and it’s actually the remnants of earthly ways in her governance that causes strife there. the blazing world “was very well and wisely governed”47 before the empress’s arrival. after her appointment as empress, her first task was to take stock of the natural order of things, bringing in experts to answer her questions. we are initially introduced to the world as having “but one language in all that world: nor no more but one emperor”48 due to the unity principle that hinges the natural balance of the world. yet, throughout the empress’s reign, she gives credence to conflicting points of view, a practice clearly unaligned with the blazing world’s natural order. for instance, in a scene where the empress views different life forms through a telescope, two parties have a contesting view of their findings. at first, the empress orders all telescopes to be smashed. when the parties plea for pardon, she “at last consented to their request, but upon condition, that their disputes and quarrels should remain within their schools, and cause no factions or disturbances in state or government.”49 unfortunately, these divisions do cause a disturbance with the populus, and the empress must “introduce the same form of government again, which had been before; that is to have but one soveraign, one religion, one law and one language, so that all the world might be but as one united family, without divisions.”50 in this way, knowledge is spread across the institutions of the world, and offers some insight into eve’s eden, which, perhaps, looks more 21 similar to the dimensions of the blazing world in that difference, including of opinion and knowledge, is not hierarchical, and is less important than the interconnectedness and one-ness of all beings. in contrast to milton’s descriptions of eden, cavendish’s paradise evinces more fluid separations between categories. here, everything in “nature is but one infinite self-moving, living and self-knowing body”51 with a less discernable hierarchy between forms. additionally, where milton and god ultimately make eve (and sin) women through conception, cavendish finds an alternative solution: in the blazing world, there may not be human conception as milton (and milton’s god) conceive of it. the worm-men elucidate how creatures like themselves are created: their production in general, answered they, is like the production of all other natural creatures, proceeding from the corporeal figurative motions of nature; but as for their particular productions, they are according to the nature of their species; some are produced out of flowers, some out of roots, some out of fruits, some out of ordinary earth.52 concerned with the problem posed by worm-spawn eating their parents, like flowers, the wormmen assure the empress, “their life, answered they, is their own and not their parents; for no part or creature of nature can either give or take away life; but parts do onely assist and join with parts, either in the dissolution or production of other parts and creatures.”53 this may (hard may) track with milton’s conception of heavenly life and angels (“if spirits embrace, / total they mix” 8.626-7), but it greatly differs from the hard and fast divisions between classes in eden: plant, then beast, then eve then adam. it does, however, give context to eve’s experience of eden and her investment in tending the natural world around her, as perhaps she sees that she is made from 22 it as much as she is made from adam, however much that conflicts with milton’s notions. additionally, if eve’s actions are viewed through this indivisible quality between begetter and begotten, where parents are not superior, nor even truly different from their children, eve’s being takes on a sovereignty that milton does not allow: her existence is enough to imbue her with will that cannot be separated from the will of god. therefore, her actions at the tree of knowledge take on a different facet in that they are necessarily interconnected with god, and all beings— always already part of whole-time and whole-being, and in that way, impossible to isolate as feminine sin. the blazing world’s amenability to these sorts of horizontal collapses shows up in the abundance of unranked species and creatures populating the world. while there are certainly categories, and like-types, it is characteristically through blending and overlapping that cavendish’s shapes take form. this includes many notable philosophic animal-people: “the bear-men were to be her experimental philosophers, the bird-men her astronomers the fly wormand fish-men her natural philosophers…” etc.54 eve as part plant (and part philosopher!) seamlessly fits in cavendish’s paradise. if this is how eve’s world looks, it could be why eve followed satan and was beguiled—the scene of milton’s fall then shows eve, part plant, alone in this world of differentiated, hierarchical beings, finding another like herself, part-snake. along with these hybrids exist other types of animals, more similar to those we know, plants, and men and women. with these slippages between differences, gender-as-difference becomes constituted most clearly in the social realm rather than ontologically or through fixed material attributes. for cavendish, within immaterial spirit there “was no difference of sexes,”55 which suggests sex-difference is temporarily fixed to corporeal bodies, which, as we know from the natural laws governing the blazing world and in cavendish’s own philosophy, are always in 23 flux between other material forms. additionally, the stability of embodied sex-difference is obscured and blurred in the blazing world through the different type of reproduction that is spread across the material plane rather than fixed to specific forms. as rogers writes, “the identifiable differences in the intellectual deportment of men and women are often ascribed, as in [cavendish’s epistles and prefaces], not to nature, but to society’s artificially inequitable system of liberties and constraints.”56 in this way, cavendish’s femininity is the other against which masculinism defines itself, shown in the ways that rogers details how cavendish’s intellect and writing was demeaned in her time. however, in the blazing world, cavendish is able to define herself outside of a masculinist paradigm—the emperor of this world only encourages, listens and shares his platform—and this stepping out of what is already defined is likely one reason this text reads as so eccentric in form, style and content. outside of a masculinist paradigm, what is constituted as gendered for cavendish, and by proxy the empress and duchess in the blazing world, is reason and sense: it is the empress’s specific faculties in this realm that are used to apprehend this world as it is, and this is a feminized way of knowing; the ability of the empress to comprehend and govern the blazing world is based in her femininized reason and sense. this shows up in the text when the empress decides to put her reason to use, emblemized in her “resolve to make a cabbala.”57 under the advisement of a new character—the duchess of newcastle—the empress decides she shall write a “poetical or romancical cabbala.”58 for jennifer park, the empress’s desire to write this cabbala illustrates a feminine relationship with temporality that “emphasiz[es] a blatant rewriting that prioritizes the new, and thus a replacement of the old rather than an integration of the old with the new.”59 park writes, “from her entrance into paradise, the empress has already been constructive a new paradise 24 narrative.”60 this is one way to understand the gendered aspect to the empress’s imagination and hermeneutics. however, i see the empress’s cabbala, and the process of creating it within the blazing world, as a site where cavendish hones in on her feminine cosmology and offers up a divergent, resolutely feminine paradigm, complete with alternative, feminine epistemologies and ontologies. cavendish emphasizes that the empress’s cabbala is unable to be dictated to any of the well-known philosopher men of the time, as they would “scorn to be scribes to a woman.”61 instead, the duchess of newcastle is invited to be the empress’s scribe, suggesting that both due to social circumstances, but also, due to sexual difference in the realm of “sense and reason,”62 this cabbala is only achievable through their collaboration. in the process of creating this cabbala, the duchess, too, becomes interested in creating a new world. the empress encourages the duchess to create a world in her mind, and after trying out many masculinist philosophies— plato, epicurus, aristotle, descartes, hobbes—the duchess understands that she can only do so using cavendish’s philosophical framework, and thus the duchess’s world was “composed onely of the rational”63 as it is imbued with cavendish’s philosophical mechanics. when the empress’s soul wants to join the duchess’s world, the duchess implores her to make her own, encouraging that “your majesty’s mind is full of rational corporeal motions; and the rational motions of my mind shall assist you.”64 in these examples, cavendish suggests that there is something that can be called a gendered difference—something that is unable to be grasped or translated by or through the masculine—but it is resolutely philosophical, not physical. the examples above draw out how cavendish positions the feminine—knowledge, being, creation—as both unable to be discursively contained within a masculinist symbolic, similar to milton’s eve, as well as being 25 deeply aligned with reason—just a reason that does not exists inside the current masculinist paradigm. further in her exploration of the blazing world, park writes that what “the empress choses to discuss…ha[s] no logical progression. rather, the lack of structure allows for an unbounded exploration of issues.”65 i might frame this differently. the empress shows the possibilities of a world elaborated both materially and philosophically on her terms, and this might not read as “logical” after centuries of masculinist modernity, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a type of logic. what cavendish attributes to difference, and through the use of archetypes via proxies and doubles (the empress as eve, the blazing world’s duchess of newcastle as margaret cavendish, duchess of newcastle, the cabbala as the blazing world), gender difference, is quite large in scope: it is a feminine cosmology. the framework and dynamics cavendish puts forth in the blazing world troubles the fixed status of womanhood and femininity by dislocating it from an easily read masculinist paradigm. her cosmos offers possibilities for eve that are unintelligible to john milton because of his commitment to a masculinist interpretation of god’s order, which binds eve within a subjective dimension that she would naturally displace. in this way, i show that cavendish, the empress and eve are kindred, and the blazing world might just be the realm that eve has the ability to peer into—to see “another skie,” aflame with “none other but blazing stars.”66 1. john milton, “paradise lost” in the complete poetry of john milton, rev. ed. john t. shawcross (new york, 1971), 249-517. all quotations from paradise lost are from this volume and will hereafter be cited parenthetically by book and line numbers. 26 2. mary nyquist, “the genesis of gendered subjectivity in the divorce tracts and in paradise lost” in re-membering milton: essays on the texts and traditions, ed. mary nyquist and margaret w. ferguson (new york, 1987), 107 3. nyquist, “the genesis of gendered subjectivity,” 106-7 4. ibid., 114 5. ibid., 115 6. i use the term subjectivation here to flag the co-constitutive nature of eve’s subjectivity within milton’s cosmology. judith butler explains the difference between subjection and subjectivation as “[subjection thinks of] power as what presses on the subject from the outside, as what subordinates, sets underneath, and relegates to a lower order….but…following foucault, [subjectivation] understands power as forming the subject as well, as providing the very condition of its existence and the trajectory of its desire.” judith butler, the psychic life of power (stanford, 1997), 2, emphasis in original. 7. nyquist, “gendered subjectivity,” 120 8. psychoanalytic feminists such as julia kristeva and luce irigaray name the gendered quality of the “universal” symbolic order assumed by theorists like freud and lacan. in their view, language, image, law and structure is drawn a priori from a masculinist paradigm: including the bible, this “phallocentric,” masculinist symbolic order is named in lacanian psychoanalysis as the name of the father. the ideas in this paper are entirely indebted to kristeva and irigaray’s critiques, as understanding the masculinist symbolic as such opens up possibilities for feminist systems of meaning (like semiotics for kristeva) that are un-linked from, or at least purposefully in tension with, a masculinist symbolic order. however, my deployment of this theoretical framework is refracted through a trans and queer feminist lens that necessarily uncouples 27 prescribed embodied characteristics from the possibility of a feminine symbolic. for further discussion on kristeva and irigaray, see: elizabeth gross, “philosophy, subjectivity and the body: kristeva and irigaray,” in feminist challenges: social and political theory, ed. carole pateman and elizabeth gross (boston 1987), 125-43 9. melissa e. sanchez, “milton’s genderqueer christianity,” milton studies, vol. 62, no. 2, (pittsburgh, 2020), 312 10. though it is not only a love framework that moves gender to the periphery. christopher koester argues that eve’s difference is related to reason and intellect in that eve is “perfectly different,” whereas “god is too different…god’s difference is extrarational; the creatures’ difference is irrational; adam and eve’s difference, meanwhile, is perfectly rational.” christopher koester, “solitude and difference in books 8 and 9 of paradise lost,” milton studies, vol. 57 (pittsburgh, 2016), 165 11. ayelet c. langer, “milton’s aristotelian transformations in the representation of regenerative change,” modern philology, vol. 118, no. 3 (2021), 400 12. karen l. edwards, “learning and loving in paradise lost,” vol. 62, no. 2 (pittsburgh, 2020), 243 13. joshua held, “eve’s ‘paradise within’ in paradise lost: a stoic mind, a love sonnet, and a good conscience,” studies in philology, vol. 114, no. 1 (2017), 173 14. held, “eve’s ‘paradise within,’” 178 15. edwards, “learning and loving,” 249 16. nor in our own: while in the midst of writing, lil nas x released a music video wherein the young black queer artist envisions himself as and enacts all beings in the garden of eden, heaven and hell. nas x’s imagination of a monist, highly femme and erotic cosmos gorgeously 28 reaffirms my arguments here and i highly recommend his video as an accompanying piece to this paper. lil nas x, “montero (call me by your name),” march 25th, 2020, video, youtube. https://youtu.be/6swmtbvi83k 17. nyquist, “genesis of gendered subjectivity,” 100 18. sanchez, “genderqueer christianity,” 315-16 19. koester, “solitude and difference,” 175 20. diane kelsey mccolley, "eve and the arts of eden," in milton and the idea of woman, ed. julia m. walker (urbana, 1988), 102 21. shawcross, the complete poetry of jm, 325.29 22. diane kelsey mccolley, “milton’s environmental epic: creature kinship and the language of paradise lost,” in beyond nature writing: expanding the boundaries of ecocriticism, ed. karla armbruster and kathleen r. wallace (charlottesville, 2001), 63 23. jonathan goldberg, the seeds of things: theorizing sexuality and materiality in renaissance representations (new york, 2009), 182 24. goldberg, the seeds of things, 192 25. ibid., 193 26. elspeth graham, “‘vain desire,’ ‘perverseness’ and ‘love’s proper hue’: gender, sexuality and feminist interest in paradise lost.” critical survey, vol. 4, no. 2 (1992), 134 27. graham, “‘vain desire,’” 136 28. ibid., 138 29. kent r. lehnhof, “performing masculinity in paradise lost.” milton studies vol. 50 (pittsburgh, 2009), 57-8 30. sadly for lehnhof, effeminating is not a word. 29 31. john guillory, “milton, narcissism, gender: on the genealogy of male self-esteem” in critical essays on john milton, ed. christopher kendrick and g. k. hall (new york, london 1995), 194 32. lehnhof, “performing masculinity,” 73 33. ibid., 70 34. sara ahmed, “woman,” in differences that matter: feminist theory and postmodernism (new york, 2010), 92 35. graham, “‘vain desire,’” 133 36. for a deeper look at the allegorical connections between milton’s eve and classical and historical figures, see: james nohrnberg, “naming milton’s eve,” milton studies, vol. 60, no. 1 (pittsburgh, 2018), 1-28 37. shannon miller, “serpentine eve: milton and the seventeenth-century debate over women,” milton quarterly vol. 42.1 (2008), 60 38. held, “eve’s ‘paradise within,’” 172, quotes in original. 39. ibid., 173 40. ibid.,185 41. miller, “serpentine eve,” 62 42. ibid., 56 43. stephen hequembourg, "the poetics of materialism in cavendish and milton," studies in english literature, 1500-1900, vol. 54, no. 1 (2014), 178 44. ibid., 180 30 45. cavendish, margaret. the description of a new world, called the blazing-world written by the thrice noble, illustrious, and excellent princesse, the duchess of newcastle (london, 1668) 72. http://www.proquest.com/docview/2240946225/citation/cc9a510b32ab4592pq/1. 46. john rogers, matter of revolution: science, poetry, politics in the age of milton (ithaca, 1996), 178 47. cavendish, the blazing world, 120 48. ibid., 10 49. ibid., 28 50. ibid.,121 51. ibid., 80 52. ibid., 46 53. ibid., 46 54. ibid., 15 55. ibid., 102 56. rogers, matter of revolution, 182 57. cavendish, the blazing world, 92, emphasis in original. 58. ibid. 59. jennifer mi-young park, "navigating past, potential, and paradise: the gendered epistemologies of discovery and creation in francis godwin's ‘man in the moone’ and margaret cavendish's ‘blazing world’ in renaissance and reformation/renaissance et réforme, vol. 35, no. 1 (2012), 130 60. ibid., 133 61. cavendish, the blazing world, 89 31 62. ibid. 63. ibid., 100 64. ibid., 101 65. park, “navigating past,” 13 66. cavendish, the blazing world, 22 embodying space: performance, tourism and difficult history christine bucher communication popular conceptions of slavery in the united states center on the plantation house—it is easy to picture tara, the white, colonnaded house in gone with the wind (1940), or any of the many preserved and restored plantation houses that are now museums and that often serve, incongruously, as wedding venues. built to reinforce and project race and class superiority,1 these “big houses,” whether ornate or simple, were often surrounded by fields and numerous outbuildings such as kitchens, barns, sheds, and slave dwellings. many of the latter have been demolished or are in ruins, considered, like the history and lives they attest to, not worth preserving. the fate of these slave dwellings serves as a metaphor for the legacy of slavery. popular historical and media narratives focus on large plantations like those in the southern united states. these stories memorialize agricultural work, such as the production of cotton and sugar for trade, and the destruction of black families as individuals were sold in slave auctions, with members “sold down the river”2—a phrase that draws attention down the map, ever more south. obscured by these south-focused narratives and by discussions of chattel slavery’s role in buttressing the economy thanks to large-scale free labor3 are the many variations the “peculiar institution” took in the north. these include the slavery-based economies of rhode island, which combined trans-atlantic slave trade (slaves and sugar) and ancillary services (cheap fabric, distilleries)4 with enslaved labor in small-scale agriculture, industry, and trade in new york and new jersey, among other northern states.5 the educational and public history messaging many contemporary people hear, in fact, is that a journey north—for runaways, for enslaved people 2 traveling with a master—was a journey toward freedom.6 just as being sold “down the river” was very much a bad fate, this messaging implies that riding the underground railroad north meant freedom for enslaved people just as they crossed the mason-dixon line, the surveyed border between north and south. but this “north to freedom” narrative elides many complex racial ideologies as well as the complexities of abolitionism, and until recently many northern historic sites have shied away from presenting such messages and any artifacts of northern slavery.7 such stories would disrupt the “north to freedom” narrative, disturb tourists who visit a historic house expecting to admire period furniture, and discomfit museum administrators. the “tough stuff of history”8 can be difficult to present to an unsuspecting general public. i look at embodied tourist performance in the space of the historic site as one way for history museums to present this history. while history museums might employ costumed firstperson interpreters to interact with visitors or construct second-person interpretations that offer activities and proscribed actions for visitors to try, sites that engage tourists by creating a sort of space-based embodied performance in the built environment can use movement and narrative to help these visitors be receptive to difficult history. few museums might be willing or able to take an immersive role-playing approach like that of connor prairie,9 but the creation of spaces and conditions that allow tourists to physically enact the daily living and working habits of the enslaved (and other inhabitants) through active engagement with their material culture can help move visitors to empathetic engagement and at least partial acceptance of new narratives about place. dominika lasker explains polish performance artist jerzy grotowski’s theory of acting as the use of bodily movement to uncover memory and find meaning. the body holds memories of the past, and the actor’s movement can help release these memories and recover meaning.10 for example, south carolina’s now-closed slave relic museum encouraged visitors to handle or 3 even wear the slave shackles in its display, feeling their weight and their effect on bodily movement, as one material-based way of creating historical understanding and empathy.11 in this paper, i consider how tourist performance—provisionally defined as embodied experiences—at northern historical sites can help visitors engage with the difficult legacy of slavery, which has traditionally been ignored, hidden, or inadequately interpreted. the built environment of the museum can provide insight into the conditions of past lives of such venues, and help visitors create empathy for the historical other. as secretary of the smithsonian lonnie bunch writes, “history must tell the unvarnished truth.”12 in addition to a survey of literature on museums, the changing nature of historical interpretation about slavery at museums, and a consideration of built space and somatic knowledge, i develop a case study involving a slave dwelling project sleepover at morven museum and garden in princeton, new jersey. i conclude with an attempt to explore the potential for such an approach, and a discussion of implications for museums and visitors. general statements can be made about slavery in the north and in the south, but each individual historical site has a unique history due to nuances of geography, ownership, religious beliefs, and more. focusing on both the general trends and the particular instances helps create a nuanced image of each site, and also provides context. although the particular conditions of enslavement varied by plantation and state, slavery in the south can very broadly be considered agricultural, with large numbers of enslaved people performing similar work in the fields.13 in the north, however, because of the greater number and types of abolitionist movements, the more varied economies, and the early establishment of a racial virtue discourse establishing “white” as “good,”14 slavery took different forms and was governed by a variety of narratives.15 as several scholars have noted, northern slavery also developed a nuanced economic form that both 4 perpetuated and supported slavery.16 it not only traded people and used them for labor, but also participated in a sub-industry of supply and administration. christy clark-pujara notes that rhode island served as a major base for ships (manufacturing and as a harbor) engaged in the trans-atlantic slave trade, and became deeply embedded in something like a service industry supporting slavery, manufacturing many goods used in its administration. enslaved people in new york built infrastructure, such as roads; worked on farms; and were bought, sold, and rented as investments.17 in new jersey, enslaved people worked on farms of various sizes, but also worked as builders, craftsmen, in animal husbandry, and in industry.18 slavery also thrived in urban areas, as clifford ellis and rebecca ginsburg write, noting dynamics in mid-atlantic states such as virginia.19 because this more varied engagement with slavery prevents the development of a single narrative, it is difficult to create a single image, such as the south’s iconic (and fictional) tara. it also makes the localized specifics of northern slavery important to interpret for a contemporary audience. e. arnold modlin jr. notes that in historical education, people trust museums more than teachers, and this authority is grounded in the material culture of the specific location, the place history happened. the material culture of the museum, however, from its built environment to its artifacts, makes the history that is portrayed look natural, unmediated. this “natural” look, the illusion that “this is how things really were,” obscures the work of the curator, the deliberately constructed, pre-interpreted nature of museum displays.20 this makes the deliberate, localized development of exhibits at small, locally oriented history museums that interpret time periods coincident with slavery even more important. exhibits at such places can change local understanding of history and place. james banner writes that we engage with history to “discover meaning in the past and create meaning in the present.”21 public historians formulate these present meanings with the public good in 5 mind, to educate and bolster an informed democracy.22 edward a. chappell pushes for a public history that attends to social history, to the lives of all people, not only elites: a history that tells us not only how buttons are attached to a chair, but where the materials came from and who attached those buttons—as well as who sat in the chair.23 visitors absorb the narratives of the place in the space that history happened; the space they move through creates the experience, and influences how and what they “learn” while they are there. dean maccannell writes that tourists are concerned with “heritage and tradition.” 24 in this formulation, space is implicit: we travel to sites of history to be “in” that history. but in maccannell’s theorization, although tourist sites can be superficial, tourists themselves are looking for authenticity, the “truth” of a place. in presenting a social history, an “excavated” space, history museums can help visitors find not “the truth” but many truths, the multifaceted strands of history that encountered each other in a single place.25 theresa singleton points out that focusing on one strand of the history of a site or object does not preclude the development of other narratives about the same site; the various people who lived in the place all made a mark and should be included in interpretation.26 in the last few decades, many american historical sites have begun to tell the stories not just of the “great men,” but also, as best they can considering the extant evidence, the stories of enslaved people who lived in the same spaces.27 these tourist sites are finding new stories and new ways to tell them,28 as a way of rectifying the “symbolic annihilation” of enslaved people’s material culture.29 despite the “absence of material structures,” museums should, says jorge l. giovanetti, “take into account the enslaved…it is a moral imperative to speak out, and represent, the relations of power and socio-racial inequality that ruled in plantation society in order to understand the unequal racial relations in the americas today.”30 scott magelssen also calls for museums to engage present-day social justice: “if [museum experience] does not offer strategies 6 for conducting one’s behavior and working for justice in the present, it falls short.”31 these writers want to bring power dynamics to the fore, retrieving social history while downplaying heroic individual stories,32 and use artifacts as tools to “excavate the realities” of all lives. derek alderman and rachel campbell hope to push past the “symbolic annihilation”33 of history, where uncomfortable stories are simply not told, even in the face of evidence that enslaved people worked and lived on a site.34 they argue for an “artifacts politics” recognizing that artifact preservation has a history of bias and that a single artifact can have multiple histories. they look for memory work, the “excavation” of stories, the “active construction and representation of the past.” 35 such interpretations seek to find a way to create a narrative with enslaved people as actors, people in the fullest sense, with lives, relationships, and hopes. the use of built space, the houses, outbuildings, and landscapes that survive, can help tourists build a concept of what lives were like, since, as dumas writes, spaces and housing shape culture. as she puts it, houses are “a literal framework for our daily, intimate lives” and therefore, documenting and studying slave dwellings can “help us understand the very formation of african-american culture.”36 in contrast, robert weyeneth writes that the “the architecture of racial segregation,” the built spaces that separate and control movement of certain designated groups, reveals ideology. to build space is to build culture—and in a sense, to enter the space, even at historical remove is to experience that culture and its assumptions.37 this preservation of culture makes the preservation of such spaces, from slave dwellings to civil rights–era buildings, a significant part of recovering and recognizing the variegated histories inherent in a single structure, of recognizing the different bodies that have lived and moved through specific places. 7 katherine johnson notes that traditional history’s adherence to archival sources and dismissal of somatic knowledge correlates to a neglect of marginal populations, “writing them out of history.” experience is a type of knowledge, an interpretive lens, she says.38 similarly, magelssen claims that one value of second-person interpretation, wherein the visitor “acts” as a historical person, is that “bodily experience can do a much better job than visual or textual communication in connecting twenty-first-century individuals with the material existences of their counterparts in the past.”39 museums that create ways for visitors to experience the lived, physical realities of enslaved people can, through this bodily movement, create new knowledge and understanding. tourists in the space perform as the built environment enjoins them to do, and this creates performative conformity to the ideologies embedded in architecture. the built environment of slavery created a system of control; therefore the built experience of slavery tourism can replicate this feeling, but in an effort to educate visitors and reveal new narratives of local history.40 alderman and campbell write that “the body itself can be viewed as…a medium for (re)writing the history of slavery.”41 museums can, for example, build on rebecca ginsberg’s insight that masters and slaves developed distinct cognitive orders based on their orientation to the world: while masters had full access to all roads and places, providing them with something like a view from above, enslaved people were embedded in the landscape, with limited geographic cues, a perspective that kept them from traveling freely and escaping.42 how people inhabit space influences how they know the world and how they can act in it. inhabiting the space of another can help in understanding, in creating empathy. entering the historical space of a person can create somatic knowledge and open the door to future historical learning and engagement, by, as banner wrote, “creating meaning in the present.”43 8 by creating both the built environment of the past and the conditions for visitors to physically enact the daily lives of the real historical people who lived and worked in those spaces, museums can open new pathways into history. i experienced one such moment at the slave dwelling project’s visit to princeton, new jersey’s morven museum and garden in october 2018. the house that would become known as morven was, according to the historic american buildings survey (habs), built in 1758 near what was then known as prince-town, new jersey.44 a two-story structure made of brick, it was built in the palladian style45 by richard stockton, the first of five generations of stocktons to live in the house and the father of richard “the signer” stockton, whose nickname marks him as the signer of the declaration of independence.46 george tatum, writing on morven’s architecture, says that the use of the palladian style in early america demonstrates the milieu of a landed, wealthy, family.47 in a letter, richard stockton referred to morven as a plantation dwelling, which reflects his selfconception as a “gentleman who directed the farming of extensive lands by slaves on a scale common enough in england but usually associated in this country with the southern states….this area seems to have shared in the plantation economy of the south to an extent which has not always been recognized.”48 richard the signer also owned people, but curators have not been able to determine how many or to find all their names. one source estimates that the household included as many as 10 enslaved people, plus indentured servants,49 but because of several fires and many rounds of renovation and remodeling that destroyed records, the particulars of the house’s history are uncertain.50 due to the location of a brick oven in what is now called the west wing, however, it 9 is believed that this was the first section built, and current museum administration believe enslaved people slept in this area.51 morven first opened as a museum in 1982 and was remodeled in 2004, with an interpretation that focused, as current executive director jill barry notes, on the “the patriarchs,” the generations of stockton men and, very secondarily, their families. barry came to morven in 2016, having discussed plans for a reinterpretation of the morven story with stakeholders during her interview process.52 the new interpretation, spearheaded by barry, includes all people who lived at morven, including servants and enslaved and indentured people.53 part of the grand reopening of the first-floor exhibit in 2018 featured a visit by joseph mcgill, founder of the slave dwelling project (sdp), plus an overnight stay for about eight people. mcgill, an african-american civil war reenactor and part-time tour guide at south carolina’s magnolia plantation, travels throughout the united states holding these “sleepovers” at historic sites, and this was his first in new jersey. these sleepovers began as an effort to raise awareness of the need for preservation of slave dwellings,54 but currently mcgill seems just as interested in creating dialogue among participants. part of the effort is having museum visitors experience the space of the enslaved, to be “in the place” and therefore create understanding. sleeping in a slave dwelling creates a performance, an embodied empathy across time. of course, no one can understand what it was like to be enslaved in early america, but the sdp offers one way to gain this perspective: to experience the material circumstances of a discrete place where enslaved people lived, to see what their conditions were like, to see where they kept their possessions, watched their children, and carried out all the small actions of life. alderman and campbell write that symbolic excavation, the “process of moving the enslaved from the realm of being forgotten to the realm of being remembered and recognized publicly…excavation 10 requires, of course, a greater emphasis on talking about the enslaved as important historical actors.”55 similarly, elizabeth chew notes that montpelier’s exhibit on slavery took as a priority a mandate to emphasize “the humanity of enslaved people.”56 i took part in a slave dwelling project sleepover at morven in october 2018. the sleepover was part of a weekend of events focused on the new interpretation including enslaved people. it began with a walking tour of segregated princeton and ended with a breakfast the morning after the sleepover. other events included self-guided tours of the exhibit, a dinner, a talk by joe mcgill, and a campfire conversation among community people, morven staff, and the “sleepers.” mcgill says “sleeping is easy; conversations are hard,” and the campfire conversation demonstrated this. the group was mostly white and middle class, local to the princeton-lawrenceville area, and included several people who described themselves as racially mixed. although we were gathered around a fire on the grounds of a history museum, drawn to the spot by a history of slavery, the conversations were focused on the present: legacies of slavery, segregation, and servitude; racial incidents; personal stories of discovering dark truths about slavery; questions about educating students and others about the realities of the nation’s past. rather than feeling haunted, the people engaging with issues around history focused on the future. the sleepover took place in the west wing, and there were eight sleepers. the original brick cooking fireplace is visible through a glass-covered opening in the plaster walls, but little else brought indicated that enslaved people had lived and worked there, and in fact, it is not certain where in the house or on the property enslaved people lived, according to barry.57 against alderman and campbell’s call for excavation, the venue seemed stripped of material culture. however, awakening in the predawn hours amid other sleeping or semi-sleeping bodies, 11 watching the light gradually increase outside the window, and thinking about rolling up my bedding and entering a busy day, i tried to imagine what it might be like several hundred years before, to be in the same space, to see the same light growing outside, to think about stoking a fire in the brick oven. i also thought about what it might have been like to be the mistress of the house: would she have been attuned to the waking of her human possessions, hearing them rekindle the fire, haul water, talk to each other? another participant reflected: “to sleep in a place where one knows that enslaved people slept, even after all of the work that was done to downplay and erase these peoples’ existences and their experiences, felt triumphant and transformational in some small way.”58 the space and the circumstances were at once highly evocative and revealing of my personal ignorance, as well as the difficulty, temptations, and necessities in making connections across time. although i emerged from the sleepover with questions, it had intensified my awareness of the complex history of the site. being in the space of the people of the past at a museum helps a visitor visualize and “feel” the historical experience. modlin makes a case for a “spatial curation” wherein attention to the segregated or differently used areas of a plantation house or estate can provide visitors with insight into the perspective of the enslaved. what might it be like to wake up in a slave cabin, to repeatedly carry water from the pump to the kitchen, to walk from cabin to field, to suffer physical punishments and indignities? attention to the “spatial ideology,” the assumptions embedded in the built environment, as weyeneth indicates, creates a new narrative. spending time in a place creates the somatic knowledge that helps tourists envision the history they thought they knew a little differently. magelssen believes second-person interpretation, the “hands-on activities and programming offered by living history museums through which visitors may try out various practices,” will provide visitors with “agency in determining the trajectory of 12 their encounter with history.”59 sleeping in a slave dwelling, feeling the weight of shackles, physically encountering the relics of slavery, and occupying the built space of history engages tourists in an experiential way and helps them “witness” uncomfortable history. visitors can enter the slave dwelling as tourists, but occupying the space from the slave perspective can let them change the narrative. aided by interpretation at the site, visitors can use the spatial experience and knowledge of the site—both intimate and personal yet public and cultural—to construct a new kind of narrative of the site and of slavery in the united states. less overarching than the image of tara and the plantation big house, it might prove to be more personal and present to those who have engaged with the spaces people of all kinds lived and acted. michel-rolph trouillot writes about the production of history, how it is told and re-told according to the needs of the present and according to who is doing the telling. “historical representations,” he writes, “must establish a relationship to knowledge.”60 during a period in which historical understandings are changing—from the patriarchs to the people, as it were—it’s to the task of interpretation to ask: why this change, now? dean maccannell’s image of the global tourist involves a sort of postmodern ungrounding of history. tourist sites can be obviously inauthentic, maccannell says, but he claims tourists find authenticity in the fact that performances are staged. authenticity engages us as actors and narrators; in the space of the museum, tourists are both. a kind of bodily engagement with history museums opens visitors to new stories, and lets museums tell stories that help people participate in “difficult conversations.” the space of history helps ground the experience (along with archives and context). enacting history in the built environment reaches into what might be considered “reality” to excavate all the actors in history, especially those symbolically annihilated by a traditional focus on the patriarchs and the masters.61 13 the space of the plantation museum, writes julia rose, replicates inequality just as the plantation itself did; the slave cabins remain at a remove, the people who lived in them anonymous, in contrast to the residents of the main house.62 but recognizing that people lived there shows a growing awareness of an “integrated identity.” writing of colonial williamsburg, valerie casey echoes maccannell, rose, and trouillot, noting that visitors enjoy the “uncrumbling” of the museum display, the revelation of the inauthentic, the constructedness of not just the museum but also of history. this “unmasking” of power helps build a new narrative.63 while morven’s new interpretation does not eliminate narratives of the patriarchs, it does add more lives and names to the site’s history and to the understanding of the locality. the slave dwelling project offers the dialogic space to re-envision the enslaved lives and recontextualize the patriarchs’ narrative. as elizabeth chew says in writing of president james madison’s virginia plantation, montpelier, and alderman and campbell write of excavating objects of slavery, museums interpreting slavery want to create an encounter with humanity, the people who lived in the space and used the objects. incorporating bodily performance into a visitor’s experience of a historical site might help achieve this. 1 camille wells’s analysis of real estate sale notices in the eighteenth-century virginia gazette finds that the well-tended estates were a sign that the planters “could successfully organize, manage, and dominate their households, their plantations, their world.” camille wells, “the planter’s prospect: houses, outbuilding, and rural landscapes in eighteenth-century virginia,” winterthur portfolio 28, no. 1 (1993), 31. 14 2 a phrase that implied harder work and possible death, as explained by lakshmi gandhi on npr: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/01/27/265421504/what-does-sold-downthe-river-really-mean-the-answer-isnt-pretty. 3 edward e. baptist, the half has never been told: slavery and the making of american capitalism (new york: basic books, 2014). 4 christy clark-pujara, dark work: the business of slavery in rhode island (new york: new york university press, 2016). 5 james j. gigantino ii, ragged road to abolition: slavery and freedom in new jersey, 1775– 1865 (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2016). 6 anecdotally, i believed that well-regarded public schools such as one several teenagers i know attend would by now teach a narrative that includes northern slavery. based on a conversation with said small focus group, this is not the case. 7 modlin discusses the difficulty in overcoming narrative “myths” that serve to obscure the presence of the enslaved. e. arnold modlin jr., “tales told on the tour: representations of slavery by docents at north carolina plantation museums.” southeastern geographer 48, 3 (november 2008, 278–280. 8 james oliver horton and lois e. horton, eds., slavery and public history: the tough stuff of american memory (new york: the new press, 2006). 9 connor prairie, an interactive history park in indiana, runs a program called follow the north star which places visitors in the role of fugitive slaves, with interpreters in various roles from slave catcher to abolitionist ally. see http://www.connerprairie.org/award-winning-follow-thenorth-star-experience-starts-thursday and carl r. weinberg, “the discomfort zone: reenacting slavery at connor prairie,” oah magazine of history 23, no. 2, (april 2009). http://www.connerprairie.org/award-winning-follow-the-north-star-experience-starts-thursday http://www.connerprairie.org/award-winning-follow-the-north-star-experience-starts-thursday 15 10 dominika lasker, “embodied memory: body-memory in the performance research of jerzy grotowski,” new theatre quarterly 28 no. 30 (august 2012), 219. 11 derek h. alderman and rachel r. campbell, “symbolic excavation and the artifact politics of remembering slavery: observations from walterboro, south carolina,” southeastern geographer 48, no. 3 (november 2008), 339. 12 lonnie bunch, “on the occasion of the ground breaking for the national museum of african american history and culture, february 22, 2012,” curator the museum journal 55, no. 3 (july 2012), 257. 13 ashley dumas notes that alabama’s 16-county black belt region produced cotton, with 435,080 enslaved people housed on plantations in the region. ashley dumas, natalie mooney, valencia moore, and cory sly, “cabins as far as the eye can see: an introduction to the black belt slave housing survey,” alabama review 70, no. 1 (january 2017): 25. 14 joanne pope melish, disowning slavery: gradual emancipation and “race” in new england, 1780-1860. (ithaca, ny: cornell university press, 1998), 3. 15 melish, 5. 16 baptist, clark-pujara, and melish. 17 leslie m. harris, in the shadow of slavery, african americans in new york city, 1626–1863. (chicago: university of chicago press, 2003), 14–16. 18 gigantino, 12–14. 19 clifton ellis and rebecca ginsberg, slavery in the city: architecture and landscapes of urban slavery in north america (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2017), 3–4. ellis and ginsberg note that urban slavery is an understudied phenomenon. 16 20 e. arnold modlin jr., “tales told on the tour: representations of slavery by docents at north carolina plantation museums,” southeastern geographer 48, 3 (november 2008), 268. 21 james m. banner jr. “history outside the academy,” in being a historian: an introduction to the professional world of history (new york: cambridge university press, 2012), 173: “all scholarship is engaged scholarship…driven by deeply personal impulses to understand, possibly defend, and often vindicate a truth.” the american historical association sees historical knowledge as foundational to democracy: “in a democracy, a knowledge of history forms the context in which citizens make informed decisions.” https://www.historians.org/jobs-andprofessional-development/statements-standards-and-guidelines-of-the-discipline/standards-formuseum-exhibits-dealing-with-historical-subjects. 22 g. wayne clough, best of both worlds: museums, libraries, and archives in a digital age (washington, dc: smithsonian institution, 2013), 3, 10. 23 edward a. chappell, “social responsibility and the american history museum,” winterthur portfolio 24 no. 4 (winter 1989), 254. 24 dean maccannell, the tourist: a new theory of the leisure class, 2013 edition. (berkeley: university of california press, 2013), xix. 25maccannell, 105. 26 theresa a. singleton, “facing the challenges of a public african-american archaeology,” historical archaeology 31, no. 3 (1997), 148–151. 27 julia rose, “collective memories and the changing representations of american slavery,” the journal of museum education 29, no. 2/3 (2004), 26. 17 28 linnea k. grim, k. allison wickens, jackie jecha, linda powell, callie hawkins, and candra flanagan, “taking the next step: confronting the legacies of slavery at historic sites,” journal of museum education 42 no. 1 (2017), 59. 29 modlin, 266. 30 jorge l. giovannetti, “subverting the master’s narrative: public histories of slavery in plantation america,” international labor and working-class history 76 (fall 2009), 119–120. 31 scott magelssen, “making history in the second person: post-touristic considerations for living historical interpretation,” theatre journal 58 no. 2 (may 2006), 306. 32 singleton, 151. 33 alderman and campbell, 339. 34 alderman and campbell, 339–340. 35 alderman and campbell, 344. 36 dumas, 24, 25. 37 robert r. weyeneth, “the architecture of racial segregation: the challenges of preserving the problematical past,” the public historian 27, no. 4 (fall 2005), 11. 38 katherine m. johnson, “rethinking (re)doing: historical re-enactment and/as historiography.” rethinking history 19, no. 2 (2015), 195, 197. 39 scott magelssen, “‘this is a drama. you are the characters’: the tourist as fugitive slave in connor prairie’s ‘follow the north star,’” theatre topics 16 no. 1 (march 2006), 20. 40 as the connor prairie program allows, there is a risk of traumatizing tourists. connor prairie provides a debriefing session for each group. 41 351. 18 42 rebecca ginsberg, “freedom and the slave landscape” landscape journal 26, no. 1 (january 2017), 38. 43 banner, “history outside the academy.” 44 alfred hoyt bill, a house called morven: its role in american history, 1701–1954 (princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1954). 45 george b. tatum, “the architecture of morven” in a house called morven: its role in american history, 1701–1954, with alfred hoyt bill (princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1954), 166. 46 forty-one signers of the declaration of independence owned enslaved people. mcgill, http://slavedwellingproject.org/slavery-in-new-jersey. 47 bill, 170–1. 48 tatum, 170. this statement echoes camille wells’s assessment of plantation architecture as a projection of control. 49 https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/08/stockton_university_taken_to_school_on_their_n ames.html; http://nj1015.com/whats-in-a-name-for-nj-university-a-founding-father-who-wasalso-a-slave-owner. 50 the actual site of the original house isn’t verified; it is now thought to have been the west wing because that’s where the oven was located. anne yentsch, “historic morven: the archeological reappearance of an 18th century princeton garden,” expedition magazine 32, no. 2 (1990), https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/historic-morven/. https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/08/stockton_university_taken_to_school_on_their_names.html https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/08/stockton_university_taken_to_school_on_their_names.html 19 51 some sources designate the building directly behind the house as the slave quarters, but curator elizabeth allan notes that the structure postdates the era of slavery at the site. e-mail december 11, 2018. 52 the re-interpreted first floor opened in september 2018; morven.org. 53 barry notes that one priority was to include names of all, as many as could be found in archives and records. the names of all are now included on the wall of the dining room area. 54 dumas et al, 23. 55 alderman and campbell, 342–43. 56 elizabeth chew, “one person at a time: interpreting slavery at montpelier” https://forum.savingplaces.org/blogs/special-contributor/2017/09/06/one-person-at-a-timeinterpreting-slavery-at-montpelier. 57 conversation, october 13, 2018. 58 ted siegel, “after” remarks, http://slavedwellingproject.org/slavery-in-new-jersey. 59 magelssen, “making history,” 291. 60 michel-rolph trouillot, silencing the past: power and the production of history (new york: beacon press, 1995), 149. 61 singleton; carter, butler, and alderman; alderman and campbell. 62 rose, 29 63 casey, 89–90. 20 bibliography primary sources elizabeth allan, e-mail, december 11, 2018. campfire conversation, morven museum and spd, october 12, 2018. historic american buildings survey, morven museum and garden. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=drawing%3a%20nj0100&fi=number&op=phr ase&st=gallery. “historic morven: a window into america’s past” exhibit. morven museum and garden, 55 stockton street, princeton, nj. on view september 7, 2018. executive director: jill m. barry curator: elizabeth allan designer: isometric studios of brooklyn, new york. informal conversation, october 13, 2018. joseph mcgill, jill m. barry, heather, and christine bucher. morven.org: the website of the morven museum and garden. slave dwelling project (slavedwellingproject.org). secondary sources alderman, derek h. and rachel r. campbell. “symbolic excavation and the artifact politics of remembering slavery: observations from walterboro, south carolina.” southeastern geographer 48, no. 3 (november 2008): 338–355. 21 american historical association. “standards for museum exhibits dealing with historical subjects, 2017,” https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professionaldevelopment/statements-standards-and-guidelines-of-the-discipline/standards-formuseum-exhibits-dealing-with-historical-subjects. banner, james m. jr. “history outside the academy,” in being a historian: an introduction to the professional world of history. new york: cambridge university press, 2012: 121– 175. baptist, edward e. the half has never been told: slavery and the making of american capitalism. new york: basic books, 2014. bill, alfred hoyt. a house called morven: its role in american history, 1701–1954. princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1954. bunch, lonnie. “on the occasion of the ground breaking for the national museum of african american history and culture, february 22, 2012,” curator: the museum journal 55 no. 3 (july 2012): 257–258. carter, perry, david l. butler, and derek h. alderman. “the house that story built: the place of slavery in plantation museum narratives.” the professional geographer 66 no. 4 (2014): 547–557. doi: 10.1080/00330124.2014.921016. valerie casey. “staging meaning: performance in the modern museum.” tdr: the drama review 49 no. 3 (fall 2005): 78–95. edward a. chappell. “social responsibility and the american history museum.” winterthur portfolio 24 no. 4 (winter 1989): 247–265. elizabeth chew. “one person at a time: interpreting slavery at montpelier.” national trust for historic preservation preservation leadership forum, september 6, 2017, 22 https://forum.savingplaces.org/blogs/special-contributor/2017/09/06/one-person-at-atime-interpreting-slavery-at-montpelier christy clark-pujara. dark work: the business of slavery in rhode island. new york: new york university press, 2016. g. wayne clough. best of both worlds: museums, libraries, and archives in a digital age. washington, dc: smithsonian institution, 2013. “connor prairie’s award-winning follow the north star experience for general public starts thursday,” november 2, 2016, http://www.connerprairie.org/award-winning-follow-thenorth-star-experience-starts-thursday. dumas, ashley, natalie mooney, valencia moore, and cory sly, “cabins as far as the eye can see: an introduction to the black belt slave housing survey” alabama review 70, no. 1 (january 2017): 22–49. ellis, clifton and rebecca ginsberg, slavery in the city: architecture and landscapes of urban slavery in north america. charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2017. gandhi, lakshmi. “what does ‘sold down the river’ really mean? the answer isn’t pretty,” npr, january 27, 2014, https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/01/27/265421504/what-does-sold-downthe-river-really-mean-the-answer-isnt-pretty. gigantino, james j. ii. ragged road to abolition: slavery and freedom in new jersey, 1775– 1865, philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2016. ginsberg, rebecca. “freedom and the slave landscape” landscape journal 26, no. 1 (january 2017): 36–44. doi: 10.3368/lj.26.1.36. https://forum.savingplaces.org/blogs/special-contributor/2017/09/06/one-person-at-a-time-interpreting-slavery-at-montpelier https://forum.savingplaces.org/blogs/special-contributor/2017/09/06/one-person-at-a-time-interpreting-slavery-at-montpelier http://www.connerprairie.org/award-winning-follow-the-north-star-experience-starts-thursday http://www.connerprairie.org/award-winning-follow-the-north-star-experience-starts-thursday https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/01/27/265421504/what-does-sold-down-the-river-really-mean-the-answer-isnt-pretty https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/01/27/265421504/what-does-sold-down-the-river-really-mean-the-answer-isnt-pretty 23 giovannetti, jorge l. “subverting the master’s narrative: public histories of slavery in plantation america,” international labor and working-class history 76 (fall 2009): 105–206. grim, linnea k., k. allison wickens, jackie jecha, linda powell, callie hawkins and candra flanagan. “taking the next step: confronting the legacies of slavery at historic sites” journal of museum education 42 no. 1 (2017): 54–68. doi: 10.1080/10598650.2016.1275468. harris, leslie m. harris. in the shadow of slavery, african americans in new york city, 1626– 1863. chicago: university of chicago press, 2003. hochron, adam. “what’s in a name? for nj university, a founding father who was also a slave owner” new jersey 105.5, september 28, 2017, http://nj1015.com/whats-in-aname-for-nj-university-a-founding-father-who-was-also-a-slave-owner/. horton, james oliver, and lois e. horton, eds., slavery and public history: the tough stuff of american memory. new york: the new press, 2006 johnson, katherine m. “rethinking (re)doing: historical re-enactment and/as historiography.” rethinking history 19, no. 2 (2015): 193–206. doi.org/10.1080/13642529.2014.973709. lasker, dominika. “embodied memory: body-memory in the performance research of jerzy grotowski.” new theatre quarterly 28 no. 30 (august 2012): 211–229. magelssen, scott. “‘this is a drama. you are the characters’: the tourist as fugitive slave in connor prairie’s ‘follow the north star’” theatre topics 16 no. 1 (march 2006): 19–34. magelssen, scott. “making history in the second person: post-touristic considerations for living historical interpretation,” theatre journal 58 no. 2 (may 2006), 291–312. http://nj1015.com/whats-in-a-name-for-nj-university-a-founding-father-who-was-also-a-slave-owner/ http://nj1015.com/whats-in-a-name-for-nj-university-a-founding-father-who-was-also-a-slave-owner/ https://doi.org/10.1080/13642529.2014.973709 24 maccannell, dean. the tourist: a new theory of the leisure class, 2013 edition. berkeley: university of california press, 2013. melish, joanne pope. disowning slavery: gradual emancipation and “race” in new england, 1780-1860. ithaca, ny: cornell university press, 1998. modlin, e. arnold jr. “tales told on the tour: representations of slavery by docents at north carolina plantation museums.” southeastern geographer 48, 3 (november 2008): 265– 287. mulshine, paul. “simple theories on stockton legacy go bust,” new jersey star-ledger, september 13, 2017, https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/08/stockton_university_taken_to_school_on_ their_names.html. rose, julia. “collective memories and the changing representations of american slavery.” the journal of museum education 29, no. 2/3 (2004): 26–31. siegel, ted. “‘after’ remarks” in “slavery in new jersey,” november 6, 2018, http://slavedwellingproject.org/slavery-in-new-jersey/. singleton, theresa a. “facing the challenges of a public african-american archaeology.” historical archaeology 31, no. 3 (1997): 145–152. tatum, george b. “the architecture of morven” in a house called morven: its role in american history, 1701–1954, with alfred hoyt bill. princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1954. 165–190. trouillot, michel-rolph. silencing the past: power and the production of history. new york: beacon press, 1995. https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/08/stockton_university_taken_to_school_on_their_names.html https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/08/stockton_university_taken_to_school_on_their_names.html http://slavedwellingproject.org/slavery-in-new-jersey/ 25 carl r. weinberg, “the discomfort zone: reenacting slavery at connor prairie,” oah magazine of history 23, no. 2, (april 2009): 62–64. wells, camille, “the planter’s prospect: houses, outbuilding, and rural landscapes in eighteenth-century virginia” winterthur portfolio 28, no. 1 (1993): 1–31. weyeneth, robert r. “the architecture of racial segregation: the challenges of preserving the problematical past.” the public historian 27, no. 4 (fall 2005): 11–44. yentsch, anne. “historic morven: the archeological reappearance of an 18th century princeton garden,” expedition magazine 32 no. 2 (1990). https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/historic-morven/. microsoft word smedberg_and down now 1 “and down now, down…”: the wildernesses of “burning chrome” and inception casey smedberg english from the genesis of the american gothic genre, the wilderness has been a point of personification for human fear and anxiety. though this wilderness “contains fabulous wonders and treasures,” it is also “a gothic realm of terror and metaphysical disorientation,” where “the pursuit of dreams often turns to a grotesque nightmare” (mogen 103). despite lacking any natural, organic wilderness, william gibson’s 1982 short story “burning chrome” reproduces these characteristics through its portrayal of cyberspace. unlike the traditional american frontier wilderness, cyberspace is created entirely by man, and is thus itself an extension of man. seen as “mankind’s extended electronic nervous system” (gibson 181), cyberspace, as a product of multiple individuals, functions as a connecting space that links those who contribute to this space. this man-made wilderness both allows for the pursuit of dreams and “offers unlimited opportunities to recreate or edit one’s own dreamscapes and to display them to anyone willing to watch” (packer 52)—an opportunity that becomes literal in christopher nolan’s gibson-indebted 2010 film inception. however, while “burning chrome” expresses anxiety concerning cyberspace’s tendency to make one vulnerable to infiltration by the wilderness, inception assumes that this infiltration is inevitable for anyone participating in a technologically-driven shared space. as a result, inception’s dream structure forgoes any buffer zone between minds and instead combines these 2 minds directly, thereby also combining the wildernesses within each dreamer, and reformatting these wildernesses into a shared space that underpins the communal dream. in both “burning chrome” and inception, the descriptions of directional orientation reflect conceptions of technology-induced sharing of minds: while the presence of a “buffer zone” causes both vertical and horizontal directional indicators within “burning chrome,” inception’s elimination of the space between minds results in a primarily vertical emphasis. an analysis of the texts’ differing directional orientations confirms that while “burning chrome” is concerned with the characters’ increasing reliance on technology, and fears cyberspace’s ability to alter those who rely on that technology, inception fears the disorientation that the wilderness can cause. by extending the sense of disorientation that affects the characters within the film to encompass the audience viewing the film, inception participates in the same process of disorientation that it fears. ultimately, then, both works warn readers that a technological wilderness of mankind’s own making poses a greater threat than that presented by the organic wilderness of earlier american gothic narratives. while “burning chrome” and inception are both concerned with technological rather than organic wildernesses, their technological wildernesses recall patterns seen in earlier works of wilderness gothic. traditionally within american gothic literature, the wilderness is a “hostile and even actively malevolent…” space (murphy 7) where the boundaries between human and nonhuman become unclear (murphy 2). this blurring of boundaries and interaction with an uncontrollable environment has resulted in a perception of this wilderness “as a place where a person was likely to get into a disordered, confused, or ‘wild’ condition” (murphy 20). though disorientation can result 3 in a wilderness experience that allows the subject to eventually undergo a positive “transformation of consciousness” and “spiritual metamorphosis” (mogen 100), the wilderness may also generate an experience that “shakes the soul to its foundations” and “ravishes the… frontier heroes with horror and shock” (mogen 95). yet, despite the dangers of the wilderness, those interacting with it have often found it “both threatening and alluring,” to the point where the attraction they feel toward the space unsettles them (mogen 100). while in inception and “burning chrome” this attraction occurs in a manmade environment, the characters’ reactions to the technological landscapes that they enter contain the same sense of mingled horror and attraction. while both works arguably owe a debt to previous works of wilderness gothic, they are also notably rooted in gibson’s hugely influential visualization of automated technological networks. from the coining of the term “cyberspace,” (concannon 441) to his contributions to the formation of the “cyberpunk” genre (adams 164), gibson’s depiction of cyberspace networks (which appeared in a number of his novels and short stories) have become “so widespread… a topic for movies, books, and games that [his] infamous description of it as a ‘consensual hallucination’ seems to have become reality” (adams and warf 141). scholars of the late eighties and early nineties quickly addressed this constructed “reality,” producing a large corpus of scholarship primarily concerned with gibson’s use of networks, his contributions to the rise of cyberpunk, issues of globalism, and the postmodern themes of his stories (dalton 37). as technology continued to progress, later works of scholarship began to center on his texts’ anxiety concerning the consequences of technological advancement (swanstrom 17). the majority of these scholarly works also acknowledge the continued influence gibson’s 4 works have had on subsequent films and fiction, including the matrix and blade runner—and, upon its 2010 theatrical release, inception (tan 411; blouin 324). though the corpus of scholarly research concerned with inception has thus far been relatively small, scholars (fisher 39; tan 409, 411), movie critics (“inception review”), and even by william gibson himself (thill, “william gibson talks zero history”) have recognized inception’s debt to gibson’s works. the scholarship that does exist on inception generally addresses the same themes discussed in earlier gibson scholarship, (blouin, “western wake”; fisher “the lost unconscous”; tan, “the only way you can dream”). while this previous scholarship has solidly established a connection between gibson’s works and inception, and has created precedent for interpreting inception as a natural evolution of the themes and concerns of gibson’s works, no substantial scholarship has yet considered how inception’s sharing of minds and “burning chrome’s” shared digital space both function as gothic wildernesses. the human condition: wilderness infiltration in “burning chrome” though “…the contrast between the wilderness and the ‘handiwork of man’” has historically been one of the major themes of american gothic (punter 19), cyberspace within “burning chrome” collapses this distinction entirely: it is a gothic wilderness that is “the handiwork of man,” and which possesses an infrastructure fundamentally influenced by humanity—including the darker aspects of the human psyche. not only does cyberspace recreate “in speculative contexts the nightmares and visions the wilderness subject evoked in nineteenth century authors,” but, as david mogen claims, cyberspace actually incorporates this inner turmoil, as the space absorbs and reproduces human anxieties (102-103). while mogen correctly claims that cyberspace is capable of 5 absorbing and reproducing the turmoil of the human person, cyberspace’s capabilities within “burning chrome” exceed this: because cyberspace is created by man, human turmoil is built into the very foundations of the space. if, then, cyberspace is a gothic wilderness, it is only because it is an extension of the “wilderness”—the anxieties, nightmares, and hauntings—that existed first inside the humans that created and contributed to the space. understanding cyberspace as an extension of the space’s creators implies that cyberspace is a melting pot of the contributions of multiple individuals. if multiple individuals created and continue to access the space, then unlike the frontier wilderness, where one is likely only to meet with his or her own demons, or with the dangers of the physical landscape, in cyberspace any contributor’s darkness may transfer into the shared space and into the immediate proximity of anyone else accessing the space. “burning chrome” hints at this possibility early in the text when it describes cyberspace as “mankind’s extended electronic nervous system” (181). the plurality and possession denoted by the term “mankind’s” confirms that cyberspace is a shared space both created by and belonging to the multiple individuals that comprise humanity. while, as “burning chrome” indicates, the leavings of these multiple individuals may be positive— information, electronic funds, incredible infrastructure—there is an equal chance of encountering the demons brought in by anyone who has previously entered or contributed to the space. in “burning chrome,” these “demons” can range anywhere from gothicthemed infrastructure (194) to mimetic viruses (179). cyberspace thus becomes an extension not only of man’s nervous system and of his potential positive contributions, but of his fears, anxieties, and darker traits—of the wilderness within him. 6 this connection between cyberspace and the individuals that contribute to it becomes increasingly apparent within “burning chrome” as bobby and jack reach and begin to infiltrate chrome’s network. the lack of distinction in the text between chromethe-person and chrome’s electronic network illustrates the blurring between cyberspace and the person contributing to the space—and indicates that, while the two are distinct entities, a complete separation between them is impossible. jack and bobby recognize this, and bluntly accept that burning chrome virtually is equivalent to killing her in reality. jack readily admits that he knows “we’d killed her, murdered her, as surely as if we’d slit her throat…” (202), and even imagines that he can hear her physically reacting when her network is infiltrated (200). by the time bobby finally declares, “burn the bitch down,” (200) neither he nor the readers need distinguish whether “the bitch” is chrome herself, or her network, as burning one inevitably results in the destruction of the other. while “burning chrome” often describes cyberspace using horizontal adjectives that emphasize its status as a connector between individuals, as jack and bobby attempt to enter chrome’s network, the directional indicators describing their surroundings begin to shift, generating disorientation and signaling that the root of chrome’s network lies not within the horizontal plane of cyberspace but somewhere on the vertical spectrum. this shift first becomes apparent when jack and bobby must leave the uncontested shared space of the matrix and enter the guarded space that jack describes as “chrome’s castle” (186). here horizontal and vertical begin to mix, as “the core data tower around us [looked] like vertical freight trains, color-coded for access. bright primaries… linked by countless horizontals in nursery blues and pinks” (189, emphasis added). the disorientation only increases when jack introduces a sense of depth by claiming that “ice 7 still shadows something at the center of it all: the heart of all chrome’s expensive darkness, the very heart” (189). “center” suggests that the object is surrounded entirely, and that one can approach it either by digging down, digging up, or approaching from the sides—but jack does not specify the direction from which he approaches, intensifying the sense of directional disorientation. as evident from the above example, cyberspace’s function as a connecting space results in a concept of “center” that is dependent upon personal orientation. the person’s location in reference to an explicitly represented position (as opposed to a frame of reference in which the spectator has no particular orientation to the scene being described, but hovers, god-like, outside the scene, able to view it from any direction) governs this frame of reference (bruhn 395-396). this perspective is defined by “‘up,’ ‘down,’ ‘left,’ ‘right,’ ‘in front,’ and ‘behind,’ with the origin identified as ‘here’’’ (bruhn 396, emphasis added). however, if everyone must move through cyberspace in order to reach the minds of others, then it follows that not everyone originates from the same location, thereby destabilizing the concept of “here.” “here” for jack will not be the same “here” experienced by another individual, whose point of origin differs from jack’s. jack’s perception of “center” is, then, equally unlikely to correlate with another individual’s “center.” additionally, because “center” depends on the individual’s destination, chrome’s depths become jack’s “center,” merely because they are the focus of his efforts. even this contains a sense of disorientation, as chrome is also jack’s “destination,” which suggests the end of a trajectory, rather than the middle. cyberspace therefore engenders overlapping circles of perception, with one person’s “center” functioning as another person’s periphery, beginning, or end. 8 these differing ideas of what constitutes center causes “burning chrome’s” mixed use of vertical and horizontal indicators. because the minds of the characters are not combined but are only interacting within a shared space, in order to invade the mind of another individual, one must do what bobby and jack did with chrome, and leave the shared section of cyberspace to enter the specific target’s consciousness. thus, while the text describes cyberspace itself using horizontal adjectives that characterize the space as a link between the individuals who access it, when jack and bobby begin to infiltrate chrome’s network the directional indicators become, as we have seen, mixed. it is not until the men fully enter chrome’s network that these indicators orient into a primarily vertical pattern. the shift toward a vertical orientation is precisely what we might expect in a text involving a man-made gothic wilderness, as the gothic often involves digging downward to explore anxieties, hauntings, and nightmares buried beneath the surface—the wilderness hidden within man (punter 17). if man’s wilderness is buried within himself, and cyberspace is an extension of man, then based on previous frontier wilderness encounters in which man projected the buried parts of himself onto the wilderness (mogen 99), cyberspace will follow the same pattern with one significant modification: turmoil emerges up out of man and into cyberspace. this explains why once jack and bobby proceed from cyberspace and completely into the network that represents chrome, the sense of directional disorientation resolves itself into a solidly downward trajectory as they proceed more deeply toward the most closely guarded parts of chrome. “and down now, down,” jack narrates, “the program a roller coaster through this fraying maze of shadow walls, gray cathedral spaces between the bright towers” (194). as we would 9 expect, this downward progression leads to imagery that becomes increasingly gothic the deeper jack and bobby go: the text makes reference to abandoned monasteries or churches, shadows, mazes, and a general sense of decay (194). bobby and jack have, then, entered chrome through the point where her wilderness extends up and into the connecting space, and are digging down toward where that wilderness originates inside of her. chrome’s infiltration exemplifies “burning chrome’s” central fear: like the various insects that periodically annihilate themselves in proximity to neon throughout the story (179), the text fears that, by relying too heavily on technology and automated networks, humans become akin to those insects, battering themselves against a potentially immolation-causing creation of their own making. we see this through chrome’s eventual destruction as a result of bobby and jack’s ability to enter her combined person and network via cyberspace: because cyberspace is, fundamentally, a link between its contributors, bobby and jack’s ultimate destruction of chrome is merely the natural consequence of this linking of oneself into a shared technological network. because chrome is accessible to them through the shared space, as soon as bobby and jack enter that space they are able to “rush straight for chrome’s database” (180), and, once they have disabled her security, proceed directly into a conflation of her technological network and her own person. what she has helped build destroys her— which the text emphasizes by identifying the technology used to burn her as “a mimetic weapon, designed to absorb local color” (179). jack and bobby burn her using her own wilderness, littered with shadows and mazes, and located within the depths of herself. chrome thus exemplifies the text’s concern that, the more automated a person becomes, 10 and the more one relies on shared networks, the greater the chance of unleashing wilderness traits into a shared space where others absorb them. worse, once these traits are unleashed into the shared space, a person’s own buried anxieties, fears, and repressions can lead to his or her destruction. though destruction may come quickly in the form of cyberspace contributors like bobby and jack infiltrating others via the network, this destruction can also occur slowly, through the continual absorption of cyberspace’s wilderness. those entering cyberspace may share the same goals as frontier pioneers, who mogen suggests came “to transform the wilderness, not to be transformed by it” (95), but, just as frontier settlers learned that the wilderness was capable of transforming a person in return, “burning chrome” worries that those who access cyberspace undergo a similar, though amplified, experience. not only does darkness unearthed from within an individual and projected up into cyberspace remain there, in the open, ready to terrorize anyone who encounters it in the shared space, but, as was the case with chrome, that darkness can also enter anyone linked into cyberspace, to the point that it physically alters the person. chrome, for example, builds in cyberspace, but eventually cyberspace begins to build in her as well. before bobby and jack even attempt to infiltrate her network, the human condition has already become one “she didn’t exactly aspire to” (192), and readers are given the sense that she has become machine-like, conflated with the matrix and technology to the degree that her physical self is so altered that she perpetually looks like a teenage girl and functions with a metabolism controlled artificially. she has not only inputted parts of herself into cyberspace, but cyberspace has also returned the favor, leaving her 11 permanently altered by and tied to the network—and thus vulnerable to whatever else is within the network. similarly, both bobby and jack, while they succeed in destroying chrome, have also already begun to be infected in this way. jack’s prosthetic arm suggests that he engages in the same kind of physical modification and automation in which chrome engaged, and bobby, because he is no longer able to conceive of human relationships that exceed an artificial connection, overlooks everything “totally real” about the object of his affections (188). as mogen suggests, “technological change has become inseparable from human change, and the boundaries between machinery and humanity are increasingly obscure” (103)—a reality that has already led to the demise of chrome, and that threatens to overtake not only the protagonists of the story but also all who enter the cyberspace medium. shades of reality: disorientation and the absence of connecting space in inception though inception’s conception of the “human mind as a physical space which is conceptualized through technological metaphors” does owe a debt to gibson’s works (tan 409), the film does not base its dream-sharing network on a connecting space, as is the case in “burning chrome’s” cyberspace. while in “burning chrome” minds interact within cyberspace, and any infiltration into the mind of another requires crossing through cyberspace first, in inception one person’s consciousness combines with that of another without any buffer space between them. feedback thus becomes immediate: what was previously a person’s personal wilderness is directly introduced into any other minds that have combined with the person’s own via dream-sharing. we see this nearly immediately 12 within the film, as cobb is unable to prevent his subconscious projection of his dead wife, mal, from infiltrating any dream in which he shares. though the dream may be rooted within the mind of one of cobb’s colleagues, his participation introduces mal—or his thoughts and memories associated with her—into the dream, allowing her to shoot his colleague and sabotage their mission. though she originates from the wilderness of cobb’s mind, the lack of a buffer space between the minds of him and his dream-sharing colleagues permits her to become part of the communal wilderness associated with the dream and harm everyone within the space without having to cross a connecting space to reach them. inception’s elimination of the connecting buffer space between minds, while potentially dangerous, does resolve the disorientation created by “burning chrome”’s differing perspectives on “center.” the overlapping circles of directional perspective that exist in cyberspace converge in inception, as everyone hooked up to a single pasiv device has the same point of origin and participates in the same dream within the same mind (one dreamer hosts the dream; another populates it with “projections” of people; and, usually, yet another dreamer designs the landscape of the dream). by drawing all participants into the same dream at the same point of origin, and by combining their actual consciousnesses, inception thus orients all participants within the dream toward the same central point. while a lack of connecting space resolves differing ideas of center, this lack of a buffer zone also results in a world that has absorbed the wilderness and lodged it within the shared dream, meaning that inception’s dream world has already partaken in the central fear of “burning chrome.” sharing a dream with others without a buffer space 13 between minds inevitably means inheriting whatever the other dreamers have buried within their subconscious. we see an illustration of this when ariadne enters cobb’s dream and finds that cobb keeps key memories from his and mal’s past stored within his mind, neatly constructed as levels, to which she can descend via elevator. upon entering cobb’s dream, ariadne is, without permission from cobb, immediately able to penetrate down into cobb’s wilderness: his wilderness has become her wilderness, insofar as it is the wilderness buried beneath their shared dream, and which is therefore accessible to anyone within the dream. just as chrome’s deepest buried parts are reminiscent of the gothic, we find that cobb’s buried memories of mal also recall the gothic. she is the uncanny, the return of the past, and a double all in one figure, as she is what dom eventually admits is “just a shade of my real wife”—a memory double of mal that lives within his subconscious, and whom he interacts with as if she were his real wife. however, even cobb recognizes the uncanniness of his projection. at one point he tells her “i can't imagine you with all your complexity, all your perfection, all your imperfection… you're the best i can do; but i'm sorry, you are just not good enough.” despite recognizing that mal is a pale imitation, altered by his own guilt, he refuses to banish her and allows her to become “a setting for nightmarish encounters with powers of darkness in… the self” (mogen 99). in order to avoid “spiritual annihilation” and instead undergo the positive transformation that a wilderness experience potentially promises (mogen 100), cobb must, as he states, “let go... i have to let you go.” he must find his way out of the gothic wilderness within his subconscious by facing mal, the embodiment of the gothic. through that encounter, he 14 can undergo a spiritual revelation and change that will allow him to disentangle reality from dream and move past his guilt in order to ascend, transformed, to reality. as the movie quickly shows, this “ascent to reality” is quite literal, and is symptomatic of inception’s concern with primarily vertical directional indicators. after the dreamers “go under” to enter the first layer of the dream itself, they then enter the mind of another individual within the dream, and descend down to a second level. they can even repeat the process a third time, descending to a third level. whereas in “burning chrome,” one can move between spaces, or can move both down and up out of them, movement between the dream levels in inception requires the characters to go down in order to move up—a fundamentally counterintuitive directional concept. this aspect of inception is what is called a “kick,” and refers to the sensation of falling, which wakes the characters from their dreams. methods include falling off a bridge, dropping in an elevator, and plunging off a building. though the person begins by plummeting downward, he or she never hits the ground, and instead wakes either in the next dream level up, or, if the person is in the top level of the dream, in reality. disorientation occurs, however, when the person forgets how far down into the dream he or she has gone. the disorientation that this can cause is potent enough to confuse the person into thinking that the dream is truly reality—or, in the reverse case, to make the person believe that reality is a dream. mal’s death illustrates this possibility: despite presumably having returned to reality, mal is disoriented, and continues to believe she is dreaming. convinced of this, she jumps off a building in the mistaken belief that dream-rules of verticality still apply and that she will be “kicked” upward, back into reality. 15 the very structure of the dreams themselves reflects this fear of disorientation. even when they are disobeying the laws of physics, the dreams are still oriented primarily vertically, emphasizing the film’s concern that losing track of reality will result in forgetting how to exit up and out of the dream. for instance, when arthur instructs ariadne in the use of paradoxes, including the penrose stairs, we see how “up” and “down” can become easily confused: if the stairs are not viewed in their entirety, the person controlling the paradox can manipulate the space to deceive others into thinking they are walking upward when they are in fact moving down, or vice versa. this illusion forms a continuous loop, so that one could climb infinitely without ever ascending or descending to the intended point. this reliance on vertical orientation is further emphasized when the van in the first level of the dream tips over, and the gravity in the second level of the dream shifts to reflect the rolling of the van, resulting in a fistfight that occurs on the ceilings, walls, and hallways of a hotel. in this instance, the concept of “down” changes according to whether the van is located upright at any particular moment, and arthur and his opponent are forced to shift with the changing gravitational pull. yet, even as gravity shifts, and the dreamers are alternately pulled toward the walls, ceiling, and floor, the concept of “down” always exists—a point which is emphasized by the general notion that the shift in gravity is controlled by the dream level “above.” even when the van goes into free fall, and the dreamers are stranded in zero gravity, arthur’s primary objective becomes inventing a way to simulate gravity, in order to drop the team and propel them up out of the dream. the ultimate disorientation occurs at close of the film, when the film introduces the possibility that mal may have been right. cobb, upon being reunited with his 16 children, fails to check his totem to ensure that he is truly in reality, allowing for the possibility that he remains in a dream. the final shot is a view of his totem—a spinning top—but the movie cuts to the credits before it becomes clear whether or not the top falls and confirms that he has indeed exited the dream. as a result, the film’s vertical disorientation is never actually resolved, as it becomes impossible to determine whether cobb has ascended up out of the wilderness. the lies we tell ourselves: inception, “burning chrome,” and the cinematic experience while “burning chrome” reflects a larger cultural anxiety about the rise of cyberspace and technological networks, inception reacts to society’s increasing use of technology as an escape from everyday life. just as the characters of inception participate in a dream, moviegoers immerse themselves in film, and this technologically-generated, artificial reality then seeks to disorient the viewer to such a degree that, like cobb, he or she potentially forgets what is real. movie critics have gone so far as to propose that inception is directly commenting on this process, with the film acting as a direct metaphor for cinema and its attempts to disorient audiences and thereby draw them into a fictional world: cobb acts as the director, arthur as the producer, ariadne as the screen writer, saito as the entity funding the film, eames as the actor, and fisher—the mark that cobb and his team unabashedly seek to disorient and fool—as the audience (faraci “never wake up”; fisher 40). thus, by expressing anxiety that disorientation may prevail, and that those who participate in this “consensual hallucination” will be unable, or unwilling, to perceive that they have become lost in a manmade wilderness, inception 17 suggests that society has become disoriented by film, and no longer separates fact from technologically-perpetuated fiction. even more problematically, the themes of inception imply that this disorientation is a condition that movie viewers may not truly desire to either recognize or correct. as mark fisher proposes, “nolan’s films are preoccupied with… the lies that we tell ourselves to stay happy.” yet, “it’s one thing to lie to oneself; it’s another to not even know whether one is lying to oneself or not” (38). inception’s end, in which cobb never turns to look at the spinning top, hints that cobb may not care whether he is in reality. similarly, moviegoers, by failing to perceive the disorientating effect of a technologyfueled movie-going experience, do not comprehend that this experience means potentially remaining lost in a wilderness that, as “burning chrome” believes, will infiltrate us, change us, and leave us vulnerable. the film raises questions concerning whether, like cobb, we want to believe the technologically-generated artificial reality and want to become disoriented and lost within it in order to escape the reality of our everyday lives. this, then, brings us full circle to the origins of wilderness gothic: as noted previously, there has always been a tendency, beginning with the puritans, to see the wilderness “as both a heaven and a hell” (murphy 5), and to experience a strange attraction to what is a potentially damaging space (mogen 100). to suggest that the audience desires to become lost in a wilderness merely addresses the same concerns held by america’s earliest settlers. the distinction between this desire and the wilderness attraction experienced by early american settlers comes through “burning chrome’s” suggestion that those involved in the “consensual hallucination” made possible through 18 technology are actually building the wilderness itself, rather than projecting fears and anxieties onto a wilderness. bolstered by inception’s notion that the film depicting this process may itself be an instrument of disorientation, we are able to see how a technological wilderness is self-generated and all-consuming to a degree that the organic wilderness may not be. in the organic wilderness, one will meet only with one’s own fears and with the actual dangers of the landscape, but in an automated wilderness, built by man, one can meet with the fears of multiple people. additionally, though an organic wilderness may act as a strange point of attraction, reflect one’s fears, and annihilate one’s body, a person is unlikely to forget that he or she is within the wilderness. a manmade wilderness, as a product of man himself, is far more difficult to distinguish from reality. ultimately, while the wilderness has beckoned, terrified, and acted as a point of personification for human fear and anxiety since the beginning of the american gothic genre, “burning chrome” and inception show the degree to which the prospect of mindsharing technology has created a new wilderness that poses a greater threat than that offered by the natural wilderness of earlier narratives. by depicting cyberspace as a wilderness created entirely by man, and itself an extension of man, “burning chrome” warns that anyone operating in this shared space is vulnerable to infiltration and alteration, and that mankind’s ready acceptance of this technology is therefore potentially dangerous. inception builds on this suggestion by assuming that infiltration is inevitable for anyone engaged in technology-driven mind-sharing, and explores the disorientation that this wilderness can cause, in order to finally express concern at the prospect that society itself has become disoriented and lost within a technological wilderness of 19 mankind’s own making. though the idea that the film itself partakes in this perpetuation of disorientation by embroiling a consenting audience within a state of confusion recalls early wilderness gothic’s acknowledgement of the wilderness’ draw, those viewing the film are meant to recognize the degree to which losing oneself in a wilderness of one’s own making is significantly more dangerous and all-consuming than a foray into the organic wilderness ever could be. 20 works cited adams, paul c. “cyberspace and virtual place.” geographical review, vol. 87, no. 2, 1997, pp. 155-171�. adams, paul c. and barney warf. “introduction: cyberspace and geographical space.” �geographical review, vol. 87, no. 2, 1997, pp. 139-145. blouin, michael j. “a western wake:�difference and doubt in christopher nolan’s inception.” japan and the cosmopolitan gothic: specters of modernity, by michael j. blouin, palgrave macmillan, 2013. bruhn, mark j. “place deixis and the schematics of imagined space: milton to keats.” poetics today, vol. 26, no. 3, 2005, pp. 387-432. concannon, kevin. “the contemporary space of the border: gloria anzaldua’s borderlands and william gibson’s neuromancer.” textual practice, vol.12, no. 3, 1998, pp. 429-442. dalton, wesley. “reflected spaces: ‘heterotopia’ and the creation of space in william gibson’s neuromancer.” iowa journal of cultural studies, vol. 15, 2014, pp. 36-55. gibson, william. “burning chrome.” arbor house publishing company, 1986. faraci, devin. “never wake up: the meaning and secret of inception.” chud.com, 19 july, 2010. http://www.chud.com/24477/never-wake-up-the-meaning-and-secret of-inception/. accessed 28 may, 2017. fisher, mark. “the lost unconscious: delusions and dreams in inception.” film quarterly, vol. 64, no. 2, 2011, pp. 37-46. “inception review” empire, 16 july, 2010. 21 http://www.empireonline.com/movies/inception/review/. accessed 28 april, 2017. mogen, david. “wilderness, metamorphosis, and millennium: gothic apocalypse from the puritans to the cyberpunks.” frontier gothic: terror and wonder at the frontier in american literature, edited by david mogen, scott p. sanders, and joanne b karpinksi, farleigh dickinson university press, 1993, pp. 94-107. murphy, bernice m. the rural gothic in american popular culture: backwoods horror and terror in the wilderness. palgrave macmillan, 2013. nolan, christopher. inception. dvd. warner home video, 2010.� packer, sharon. “cinema and cyberspace.” dreams in myths, medicine, and movies. praeger publishers, 2002. punter, david. “gothic, theory, dream.” a companion to american gothic, edited by charles l. crow, john wiley & sons ltd, 2014, pp. 16-27. swanstrom, lisa. “landscape and locodescription in william gibson’s neuromancer.” foundation, vol. 35, no. 98, 2006, pp. 16-27. tan, elizabeth, “the only way you can dream: interfaces and intolerable spaces in christopher nolan’s inception.” continuum: journal of media and cultural studies, vol. 30, no. 4, 2016, pp. 408–418. thill, scott. “william gibson talks zero history, paranoia and the awesome power of twitter.” wired.com, 7 september 2010. https://www.wired.com/2010/09/william-gibson-interview/. accessed 28 april 2017. microsoft word kennedy_3068_edu 1 lunch and learn: testing the theory of change nicholas kennedy education introduction in philadelphia’s predominantly white and wealthy main line suburb, a new lunch policy has taken high schools by storm. originally introduced in 2015 by harriton high school’s administration, lunch and learn has since spread to most public high schools in the area. lunch and learn was originally a corporate strategy in which employees attended training with free lunch as an incentive (indeed editorial team, 2024). as a high school lunch policy, lunch and learn takes a different approach. in general, lunch and learn offers an extended lunch period in which all students are free and encouraged to visit teachers for help or to make up assignments, meet with counselors, pursue club activities, eat their lunch, or decompress with friends. however, every school has a different implementation that often makes lunch and learn hard to define and evaluate. when harriton high school first introduced lunch and learn, it argued that the policy would “maximize learning and…boost the amount [of] people who were able to get help from teachers” (willkomm & marks, 2015). in 2022, nearby radnor high school implemented lunch and learn as part of its multi-tiered systems of support (mtss). this policy was specifically introduced to “provide extra help for those who may be at-risk or just need additional support” (radnor high school, 2022, p.2). most recently, conestoga high school, the site of this study, implemented lunch and learn for its 2024-2025 school year. conestoga high school claimed that lunch and learn would “[improve] staff and student mental health” (chen et al., 2024). 2 despite these strong assertions, there is no empirical evidence to suggest that lunch and learn is or is not an effective means of attaining these goals. this study aims to fill the gap in the research by investigating key elements of lunch and learn’s theory of change and examining them with respect to evidence gathered at conestoga high school. before discussing lunch and learn’s theory of change, it is necessary to give an overview of lunch and learn at conestoga high school. per conestoga high school principal dr. amy meisinger, lunch and learn gives students one hour twice per week to “catch up on schoolwork, meet with teachers, enjoy time with friends, … [or do] whatever [they] need to do on a specific day” (conestoga high school, 2024, 0:41). this one-hour period is offered on wednesday and thursday of each week. all students, numbering more than 2,300, are free during this period. students are also able to take advantage of activities like working out in the gym, meeting counselors, and pursuing club activities (chen et al., 2024). seniors with offcampus privileges can spend the entire hour off campus. teachers are required to be available for at least 30 minutes during each lunch and learn period. on monday, tuesday, and friday, the student body is split between three 30-minute lunches during which this plethora of activities is not offered. to accommodate this one-hour period, conestoga’s schedule was changed. the new schedule, called a “mixed model” (chen et al., 2024) schedule, has students move between eight 42-minute periods on monday, tuesday, and friday. on wednesday and thursday, students follow a block schedule in which odd-numbered courses meet on wednesday and even-numbered courses meet on thursday for 82 minutes each. this is the first schedule change for conestoga in over 30 years (chen et al., 2024). previously, students had eight 43-minute periods every day. 3 thus, with the exception of the freshmen, students at conestoga are used to having their classes meet every day. finally, conestoga implemented harriton’s somewhat controversial “passport” system before abolishing it six weeks later. this system is not documented in any of conestoga’s released articles about lunch and learn, and the author learned about it from asking students. the passport system mandated that freshmen report to an assigned classroom for half of their lunch and learn period for a study hall. to leave that classroom and receive academic support from their teachers, students were required to get a signature in their passports (a small booklet with their name on it) from the teacher or support staff they visited. freshmen were also required to get a signature if they wanted to study in the library instead. failure to get a signature would result in disciplinary action. harriton students critiqued this system, saying that the “new mandated [study hall] contradicts the ‘freedom’ aspect of the one hour a day we get to meet oneon-one with our teachers” (perlstein, 2021). despite this resistance, conestoga used the passport system to help freshmen adjust to their newfound freedom. the theory of change the theory of change is a common policy analysis framework that identifies a problem that the policy aims to solve, how the policy seeks a solution, the short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals of the policy, and the assumptions that underlie the policy. malen et al. (2002) note that identifying a policy’s theory of change is important because “these theories…provide the public justification for the human and fiscal costs of reform and the analytic mechanism for tracking actual policy effects and comparing them to stated policy aims” (p.114). therefore, the theory of change of lunch and learn needs to be uncovered so it can be subjected to empirical analysis. 4 problem there are two main problems identified in lunch and learn policy documents. the first is that students and teachers do not have enough time to access each other during the day under a regular schedule. many high school schedules, especially those with as many as eight periods, often do not give students and teachers the same free periods, thus requiring both students and teachers to meet during lunch (if they have the same lunch) or before or after school. in a skit produced by conestoga high school to introduce lunch and learn, one student asked another, “have you ever needed to speak to a teacher, but your free periods and lunch schedules don’t line up?” the student responded, “obviously! i go to ‘stoga!” (conestoga high school, 2024, 0:21). radnor high school (2022) explicitly says in their lunch and learn policy documents that “students and teachers needed more time to access one another” (p.4). all schools that implemented lunch and learn recognized that there were not enough opportunities for students and teachers to access each other. the second problem is that students are overwhelmed and experiencing mental health struggles. in the same video by conestoga high school (2024), a student is asked, “have you ever needed to take a break during the school day, but you don’t have a free [period]?” the student replied with an enthusiastic “yeah!” (0:16). central bucks south high school (2020), which implemented lunch and learn in 2021 and has similar student demographics to conestoga high school, offered a sobering statistic: “1 in 3 [central bucks school district] students reported feeling sad or depressed most days in the past 12 months” (p.2). while conestoga does not offer its mental health statistics, it did state that improving mental health for students was the main priority when discussing whether to implement lunch and learn (chen et 5 al., 2024). many schools nationwide are facing similar mental health crises and looking for solutions. solution the solution to both problems for main line high schools is to implement lunch and learn twice per week to give students the freedom to use the resources that they need, whether those resources are academic or related to mental health. this aspect of lunch and learn emphasizes capacity-building, as students are given more opportunities to access their teachers and each other, thus hopefully giving students the tools to solve the two problems noted above by themselves. the hour could be used to access teachers, thus addressing the first problem, or socialize with friends, participate in clubs, or do schoolwork, thus addressing the second problem. this solution was not hastily thought of. in 2022, conestoga created a scheduling committee to identify weaknesses of the current schedule, needs of the school, and potential schedule options to meet these needs (chen et al., 2024). this committee, comprised of students, staff, and parents, worked for over two years to agree on a new schedule in which lunch and learn was included. the committee visited four different high schools with lunch and learn, conducted focus groups, and administered a survey to conestoga students, parents, and staff before finalizing the new schedule. this is a strong example of the learning policy tool since the policymakers conducted extensive research to create a policy that met the needs of the people who would be affected by it. short-term goal 6 the short-term goal of lunch and learn is to increase students’ access to academic resources. this is done in two ways: firstly, by giving students a one-hour period of time when all students and teachers are free, administrators enable students to meet their teachers without having to schedule meetings before or after school. teachers are more accessible to students, and students are more accessible to teachers since teachers can also ask students to visit them during that time. for teachers, this is an opportunity to provide support outside of class. additionally, other academic resources at conestoga, like the achievement center – a room with full-time math, science, and english tutors as well as peer tutors from the national honors society – are available during this time as well. secondly, by implementing a block schedule, conestoga increases the amount of contact that students have with their teachers during a single period. teachers emphasized that extended periods make it easier for them to give detailed one-on-one feedback for longer learning endeavors, like writing an essay or solving a complex problem (chen et al., 2024). therefore, just by implementing lunch and learn and a schedule that can fit it, conestoga is increasing students’ access to academic resources. intermediate goal the intermediate goal of lunch and learn is to improve students’ time management skills. by giving students so many options to choose from during lunch and learn, students are forced to pick and choose which opportunities to take advantage of. seeing a teacher during lunch and learn may prohibit them from working out or going to a club meeting. students may find themselves choosing between spending the hour with their friends or visiting one of many academic resources available to them. students have to choose the best option for themselves, and that can help them develop their time management skills. as is common for a capacitybuilding policy, the resources are made available, but students must choose to use them 7 themselves. however, the name itself, lunch and learn, is a symbolic tool that reminds students that this hour is meant to be used both socially (lunch) and academically (learn). the passport system implemented for freshmen was a mandate with heavy sanctions imposed for students who do not follow it. the passport system forced freshmen to use half of their lunch and learn period as a study hall. one intended consequence is that freshmen develop time management skills because they learn to use half of the period for socializing or going to club meetings, and the other half is dedicated to doing work or visiting teachers. the passport system sought to cultivate time management skills that students in higher grades were expected to have. perhaps, the conestoga administration assumed that without this mandate, freshmen would not develop time management skills and take advantage of the academic resources offered during this time. long-term goal the long-term goal of lunch and learn is to improve students’ mental health. central bucks south high school (2020) articulates this goal clearly: “the lunch and learn schedule allows students to…strengthen [intellectual and interpersonal] skills which will, in turn, strengthen their relationships inside and outside of the classroom” (p.3). the hour-long period can be used to relax with friends, decompress from schoolwork, and visit counselors. students can also reduce their stress by using the period as a study hall to finish their homework or attending club meetings held during the school day instead of before or after it. on the other hand, radnor high school’s satirical newspaper, the radish, published an article about the negative consequences of lunch and learn: “one student reports, ‘i am running from place to place trying to get from one meeting with a teacher to another meeting with a club whilst being on a zoom meeting running from alaska’” (nasrullah, 2022). the article suggests that instead of 8 reducing stress over time, lunch and learn will increase stress as it becomes an hour full of activities that pull students away from their friends, homework, and lunches. conestoga’s own students have been critical of how lunch and learn supposedly supports students’ mental health. conestoga alumnus ben shapiro (2024) called lunch and learn a “mere [band-aid]” that does not meaningfully address the escalating stress and academic pressures faced by students. he suggests setting a limit on the number of ap courses that a student can take. however, this cap would potentially hurt the academic outcomes of conestoga students, so administrators avoided implementing such a rule. instead, they implemented lunch and learn, which, while potentially offering mental health support indirectly, does not directly aid students in reducing stress. assumptions the foremost assumption made in a lunch and learn policy is that students will choose the resources that they need. lunch and learn does not force students (other than freshmen) to seek academic or counseling resources, instead offering a timeslot for these resources to be accessed during the school day. lunch and learn equips students with the tools to achieve these ends, consistent with capacity-building policies. students may choose to ignore the academic resources in favor of relaxing with friends. further, an assumption is made that if students choose the resources they need, the resources will be available. for example, there are nine counselors and three mental health specialists for over 2,300 students at conestoga high school. it may be difficult to get an appointment due to the volume of students. additionally, students could choose to see their teachers, but if even a few students from each class came, the teacher would have to support more than a dozen students at once. that is not the personalized attention that lunch and learn seeks to give. 9 another assumption is that providing more time for students to access their teachers or each other is sufficient for improving mental health. notably, these schools are not changing their curriculums. conestoga math teacher seth shore said, “we still have to get through the same amount of material, even though we’re only going to have four face-to-face meetings a week instead of five” (chen et al., 2024). students may feel even greater stress since more material needs to be condensed into fewer class sessions. similarly, there is an assumption that teachers will adapt their lessons to fit the 82-minute periods. a teacher may plan for a 42-minute class and have a substantial part of that be a lecture. listening to a lecture for most of a 42minute period is very different from listening to a lecture for most of an 82-minute period, and most students may struggle with the latter. finally, there is an assumption that any high school, especially conestoga, has enough space to contain all students being free at once. the winter season, with its rain, snow, and cold, will take away most of the outdoor space that students can use during other seasons. managing thousands of students in an enclosed space, and the trash, crumbs, and potentially rodents that could result from that, will be a challenge. literature review while lunch and learn has no direct empirical evidence to support or deny its claims, there are some tangentially related empirical studies that lend lunch and learn some authority. the effects of friends on mental health advocates of lunch and learn claim that it will improve the mental health of students. it does so in multiple ways, but the predominant way is by providing more time for peer and friend interactions. however, do friends positively affect mental health? mackin et al. (2017) evaluated 10 the extent to which social support buffered stress for 550 adolescent girls. controlling for differences in age and parental education levels, the researchers analyzed data generated through surveys and found that peer support can protect adolescents from mental health issues. thus, the claim that lunch and learn will improve the mental health of students by increasing peer access has merit. students who use lunch and learn for socializing instead of academic support may show mental health improvements and could be said to be using the time productively. the effects of increasing lunchtime lunch and learn offers an extended period for lunch. normally, students at conestoga only have 30 minutes to eat and socialize, but lunch and learn doubles this time to one hour. the effects of increasing lunchtime have been researched and found to be overwhelmingly beneficial. cohen et al. (2021) studied elementary schools in anchorage school district that increased their times for lunch from 20 to 25 or 30 minutes. through this evaluative study, they found that students’ self-reported hunger levels were significantly lower, and self-reported happiness levels were significantly higher compared to other elementary schools in the district that did not implement longer lunches. teachers were also interviewed to determine the effects of this policy in the classroom, and they overwhelmingly reported that students had improved behavior. while this study was done with elementary school students, it can be extrapolated that an extended period for lunch would have similar effects for high school students. thus, perhaps even if academic resources were not offered, the extended period for lunch alone would be sufficient for improving students’ quality of life. the effects of block scheduling 11 while the effects of different schedules continue to be debated within the education community, studies have supported shifting from traditional schedules with all classes to block schedules with only half of the classes every day. flocco (2004) conducted an evaluative study that sought to find how schedule type (traditional versus block) affected students’ stress levels. the researcher compared two schools with similar rigor and student demographics, with one school operating under a traditional schedule, and the other under a block schedule. through a regression analysis, flocco found that students using a traditional schedule had significantly higher perceptions of academic stress compared to those using a block schedule. thus, by incorporating a block schedule for lunch and learn, students may benefit from the schedule itself and not just from the lunch and learn period. methods with a dearth of empirical evidence to support lunch and learn as a whole, this study sought to explore the implementation of the policy by questioning students and to ascertain how well this policy was achieving its short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals according to its professed theory of change. this qualitative study took place solely at conestoga high school, where the author works. participants participants in this study were adolescents attending conestoga high school. there were five participants. two participants were freshmen, one was a sophomore, one was a junior, and one was a senior. thus, three out of five had experienced the previous schedule. all students were recruited in conestoga’s achievement center. the two upperclassmen were tutors from the national honors society, and the three underclassmen were frequent tutees and past students of the author. participants were not monetarily incentivized to participate, but all were interested in 12 sharing their lunch and learn experiences. all participants will be referred to by their year, and the freshmen will be referred to as freshman a and freshman b. data collection data was collected by two methods. firstly, the author was a participant-observer who worked at conestoga high school. as an insider at conestoga, the author was familiar with the previous schedule and was able to discuss the policy with teachers and administration in informal conversations. the author also participated in lunch and learn by acting as one of the academic resources for students to use. secondly, all participants completed a survey. the survey was designed with a mix of seven open-ended implementation and evaluation questions. questions on the survey included the following:  what do your lunch and learn periods actually look like? what do you actually do during them?  are there any obstacles that you’ve encountered that prohibit you from taking full advantage? the survey sought to elicit how students, as street-level bureaucrats, were enacting conestoga’s lunch and learn policy and how their experiences differed from previous years. the survey was emailed to participants and completed independently. anonymity was promised to students, and it was made clear that responses to this survey would not be given to conestoga high school teachers or administrators. data analysis data analysis involved analyzing participants’ responses systematically by question for common themes and agreements as well as exceptions. emergent themes were tallied to see how 13 many participants mentioned each theme and whether it was representative of all participants. themes were also coded by grade to see if there were any commonalities or differences between underclassmen and upperclassmen. responses were also scrutinized for themes that supported and contradicted lunch and learn’s theory of change, particularly the three goals and underlying assumptions. the author analyzed all responses to all questions, and colleagues corroborated these emerging themes by analyzing the survey data as well. testing the theory of change the survey data suggests that although lunch and learn’s theory of change may be flawed, it still has some benefits for students. for every way that lunch and learn’s goals are met, there are also ways in which the implementation is antithetical to the goals. the implementation data brings up questions about how lunch and learn’s success should be measured. short-term goal: increased access to academic resources the short-term, immediately achievable goal of lunch and learn is to increase students’ access to academic resources. by giving students an hour for lunch, students can meet with their teachers and other academic resources during that time. additionally, the block schedule increases the amount of contact that students have with their teachers during a single period. one important assumption is that these resources will be available for them to take advantage of. for example, it assumes that teachers will not be overwhelmed by the number of visiting students and thus be able to meet each student’s needs. students inconsistently access academic resources 14 a major theme that emerged from participant data was that students inconsistently accessed academic resources. four of five students mentioned meeting with their teachers or going to the achievement center during lunch and learn. the fifth student did not access their teachers, but they did use the time to study in the library. despite these promising results, the junior captured the dominant view: “occasionally i go to teachers or meetings when i have questions or need help.” both the junior and the senior emphasized the word “occasionally,” suggesting that the use of academic resources was sparse. the sophomore corroborated these sentiments, saying, “most of the time very little amounts [sic] of people use lunch and learn [sic] to go to teachers ask questions or go to a class [sic].” no students suggested a difficulty in accessing their teachers, but few students seem to take advantage of their teachers being available. this is consistent with observations made as a participant-observer. some lunch and learn periods are bustling in the achievement center, while others are still and quiet. teachers inconsistently leverage their increased time with students the promise of extended time with students once a week in their class made many teachers excited about new possibilities for feedback or projects. however, not all teachers take advantage of this increased time. the senior pointed out, “we go over the normal material that we would during normal days [sic] but when we finish we rarely continue doing more, mostly just doing filler that’s related to the lesson for the rest of the class.” the differentiation between “normal material” and “filler” suggests that some teachers have not yet designed lessons that fit well in 82-minute periods. from informal discussions with teachers, it is clear that the inconsistency in the schedule, with some classes being 42 minutes and others being 82 minutes, makes lesson planning challenging. however, not all teachers are struggling to adapt. the junior said that some of her teachers “break [class] up into different activities [sic] and some give us 515 minute breaks at the halfway point.” freshman b agreed. these findings suggest that teachers, like students, are inconsistent in leveraging the resources provided by lunch and learn. students are often unable to find places to do work another major theme that emerged was the difficulty of finding suitable places to work. the junior and senior in particular, who rarely went to see their teachers, instead both complained about the difficulty of finding study spots. the senior summed up their experience: “i find that the library is extremely loud and packed and its [sic] really hard to get meaningful work done, [sic] there is no real designated quiet place (that actually stays quiet) that isn’t as crowded to do work for non freshman [sic].” the noise of 2,300 students makes working challenging, so the professed option of students doing work during this time may not be true. it also suggests that the assumption that conestoga has enough space to contain all of its students at once may not be faulty, but the assumption that conestoga has enough space to let its students work in peace might be. intermediate goal: developing time management the intermediate goal of lunch and learn is to improve students’ time management as they must pick and choose which opportunities to take advantage of according to their needs. additionally, freshmen were forced into a passport system to accelerate the development of their time management skills. students generally use lunch and learn as they need as dr. meisinger said, lunch and learn is designed for students to do what they need to do, and it rests on the assumption that students will make the right choices about what they need. all participants noted using lunch and learn for various activities, including going to the gym, 16 driving off campus to get food, seeing teachers, using the achievement center, hanging out with friends, doing work, meeting with clubs, and visiting counselors. while the findings from the short-term goal call into question how often students are using academic resources, all participants used diverse resources at some point. only the sophomore pointed out the tension that they sometimes have: “balancing social life and work/studies [is an obstacle] because sometimes i choose to just relax in the atrium with friends instead of doing an assignment or studying for a test.” this is certainly the difficulty of having so many choices during this period, and this tension is likely experienced by many students. this is consistent with observations as a participant-observer. freshman a in particular has discussed outside of their survey response how their friends often try to pull them away from the achievement center to hang out instead. freshmen dislike the passport system the passport system, which students at harriton high school spoke out against and was eventually abolished by conestoga high school, was condemned by both freshmen in their responses. freshman a said it was “hard to keep track of,” and freshman b said that the passports “weren’t the best.” however, freshman a also admitted that “last year in middle school we dint [sic] have anything like this so it was hard and confusing to get used to.” it is unclear whether lunch and learn was a challenge because of the passports or despite the passports. either way, the sophomore’s response highlighted in the previous section suggests that multiple grades might benefit from more structure during this time, not just the freshmen. this may also be because this is the first year of implementation and so even upperclassmen are new to this experience. long-term goal: improve students’ mental health 17 the long-term goal of lunch and learn is to improve students' mental health. this could happen in many ways, but the main way is by giving students more opportunities to meet with their friends during the extended period. this is an empirically backed way to improve or at least buffer students’ mental health. students frequently meet with friends on the survey, all participants except for freshman a reported using lunch and learn to spend time with friends, and freshman a discussed meeting with friends after they took the survey. three of five participants mentioned talking with friends as the first thing they do during lunch and learn. the junior had the quintessential experience: “i usually sit with my friends for both halves of the lunch and learn periods. i eat for the first half, and for the second half i usually do homework and talk with my friends.” for many, it seems that meeting with friends is the standard lunch and learn occurrence, and accessing other resources occasionally punctuates that time. it does make sense for students to spend this time with their friends, as they may not share the same lunch schedule for the other three days of the week. however, these findings do call into question what students without friends do during this time, and how this time makes them feel. students do not use mental health resources of all participants, only freshman b reported going to a counselor, but they said it was “for help with school work [sic],” not for mental health support. no participant mentioned using any mental health resources, nor did any participant mention their own mental health or stress levels. while meeting with friends is one way of supporting mental health, it is unclear how else students’ mental health is being supported by lunch and learn and how it is changing, if at all. 18 this is consistent with observations as a participant-observer. the mental health component of lunch and learn was mentioned in policy documents, but specific resources that students can take advantage of were not emphasized to students. access to mental health resources was not made as abundantly clear as access to academic resources was. discussion this study aimed to compare participants’ responses to a survey against lunch and learn’s theory of change to determine if the policy was doing what it proposed. these results represent the first empirical study of lunch and learn, and thus they should be used both by schools that have lunch and learn to evaluate its effectiveness and by schools that are considering adopting the policy in the future. participant responses reveal that while students benefit from lunch and learn, the benefits are not as pronounced as the policy suggests that they should be. yes, students have increased access to academic and other resources, but it is also clear that few students seem to use these resources consistently. instead, one of the biggest needs, quiet space to work, is not fulfilled. whether students are truly developing time management is also unclear. students know that resources are available, but the assumption that students will choose the resources they need when they need them seems to be weak. the main usage of lunch and learn is spending time with friends, which has been shown to buffer mental health (mackin et al., 2017). it is not clear that mental health has improved for any of the participants, though the goal is a long-term one that may not appear within only four months of implementation. whether lunch and learn is truly a success depends on what one wants to get out of it. if lunch and learn is about consistently using academic resources and developing transferable 19 skills like time management, the policy does not seem to be effective. however, if lunch and learn is about giving students socializing time with their friends and peers, then it can be considered effective. all participants brought up their friends at some point, and students in general do seem happy to have that time to socialize. as shapiro (2024) mentioned, many conestoga students suffer from high anxiety and stress because of extreme academic pressure, so spending an hour-long period in the middle of the day free from classes and surrounded by friends may be the most important aspect of lunch and learn for students. limitations this study had a limited number of participants and only generated data from them via a survey that had fixed questions. future work should increase the number of participants, expand the number of sites where the study is conducted, and use focus groups or semi-structured interviews that allow participants to expand on their thoughts. the semi-structured interviews would also allow flexibility in the questions asked so that the interviewer could follow up on specific comments or ask participants to explain their statements. future work should also include administration and teachers in the interview process to potentially corroborate or offer a different perspective from students. in particular, investigating how teachers were prepared to change their teaching to fit the block schedule would be important, especially for other schools with traditional schedules looking to implement lunch and learn. now that specific phenomena have been investigated through qualitative data (such as the tendency to spend most of the period with friends, sparse use of academic resources, and a lack of mental health resource use), quantitative data should be used to see to what extent participants’ experiences are generalizable and representative of the student body. future quantitative work should be evaluative and look specifically at how students’ mental health is 20 changing as a result of the policy. it is unclear if conestoga has or would be willing to part with current mental health data, but a comparison against a similar high school would also be valid. implications despite lunch and learn’s flawed theory of change, students do use the extended period for what they deem important – usually socializing. other schools should consider adopting lunch and learn, but they should also consider the following suggestions to improve the implementation of the policy. firstly, more time and professional development needs to be given to teachers so that they can adapt their lessons to a block schedule (both before and during implementation). teachers’ inconsistency with how they leveraged their extended periods left some participants frazzled. the need for breaks during an 82-minute period is apparent, but few teachers incorporated breaks into their lessons. others simply treated it as a usual 42-minute period and added on activities that the students did not see as important. this is likely not the teachers’ fault. for 30 years, conestoga has used 43-minute periods, and that all changed in just one year. teachers must adapt their lesson plans, and they need time to do that. another challenge is the mixed schedule, which means that teachers must plan for both 42-minute and 82-minute periods. this is difficult to plan before the school year, and if pacing changes even a little bit, previous lesson plans may be unusable in the coming year. thus, adopting a full block schedule with lunch and learn every day seems preferable to the mixed-model schedule. this also gives students their lunch and learn freedom every day instead of twice per week, so they may be more inclined to use that period for academic support instead of socialization. 21 secondly, students need more spaces where they can sit and work in peace. part of providing academic resources should include providing classrooms where students can drop by and work. this lack of space was sorely missed by the upperclassmen who were surveyed. they did not need academic resources like teachers, counselors, or the achievement center as much as they simply needed a classroom to do work. another option is to make the library a quiet space. the senior said that the library was too noisy during lunch and learn, so enforcing a quiet mandate could solve that problem. thirdly, schools should consider eliminating the passport system. heavy critiques of the passport system question its effectiveness and necessity. it seems to assume that freshmen alone lack the responsibility needed to conduct themselves when presented with choices. while one freshman did admit that the change to lunch and learn from middle school was challenging, limiting the freedom of freshmen and potentially taking away their chance to socialize, which is clearly most students’ main use, goes against the freedom and spirit of lunch and learn. fourthly, and finally, schools should make a more explicit effort to improve students’ mental health. assuming that their mental health will improve because of increased access to their friends or academic resources is not a strong effort to improve their mental health. additionally, conestoga does not emphasize that mental health specialists are available during lunch and learn. shapiro (2024) makes a strong case that this is a performative or superficial policy, not a radical shift in the way that conestoga approaches or cares for students’ mental health (despite their framing of implementing lunch and learn as a multi-year effort with mental health at the forefront of considerations). lunch and learn should complement other intensive mental health policies and not exist in place of them. 22 with these improvements, lunch and learn should be in a better position to meet its short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals. that said, as it is, the policy should not be discarded because students do enjoy and deserve time to socialize during their school day. schools with lunch and learn should instead continually reflect on the effectiveness of the policy and look at other schools to see how their implementation could serve as a model for improvement. harriton high school, in particular, stands as a strong example for its innovative rotating block schedule that allows classes to meet four times per week and makes space for lunch and learn every day. with continued evaluation, the policy will continue to improve the lives of students who experience it. 23 references central bucks south high school. (2020). central bucks school district: lunch and learn. https://cbsdmy.sharepoint.com/personal/jopdyke_cbsd_org/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2fperso nal%2fjopdyke%5fcbsd%5forg%2fdocuments%2flunch%20and%20learn%2fsouth ll%2esept21%2epdf&parent=%2fpersonal%2fjopdyke%5fcbsd%5forg%2fdocume nts%2flunch%20and%20learn&ga=1 chen, l., chetty, r., kim, h., & saha, r. (2024, february 6). shifting schedules: new mixedmodel schedule approved for 2024-25 school year. the spoke. https://spoke.news/31958/news/shifting-schedules-new-mixed-model-schedule-approvedfor-2024-25-school-year/ cohen, j. f. w., scott, m., sutton, m., cueva, k., shonkoff, e. t., goldman, r. e., margolis, d. n., potempa, a. e., fink, k., gustus, s., & stock, m. (2021). a mixed-methods evaluation of a school wellness initiative: an examination of longer lunch periods and more physical activity opportunities. journal of the academy of nutrition and dietetics, 121(10), 1961–1974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2021.03.010 conestoga high school. (2024, september 3). lunch and learn orientation [video]. sharepoint. https://tesdnet-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/ferriolaa_tesd_net/eqiq-jf8yplnygpzdyk6mibrltw3i2wn458bhqracr36a?e=oo4o73 flocco, d. (2004). school schedules and how they impact student perceptions of stress [doctoral dissertation, seton hall university]. seton hall university dissertations and theses (etds). https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/1415/ 24 indeed editorial team. (2024, august 15). what is a lunch-and-learn? definition, types and benefits. indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/brown-baglunch mackin, d. m., perlman, g., davila, j., kotov, r., & klein, d. n. (2017). social support buffers the effect of interpersonal life stress on suicidal ideation and self-injury during adolescence. psychological medicine, 47(6), 1149–1161. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291716003275 nasrullah, p. (2022, december 5). lunch to learn ratio is extremely unbalanced: rhs students on the brink of starvation. radnorite. https://radnorite.com/8848/the-radish/lunch-tolearn-ratio-is-extremely-unbalanced-rhs-students-on-the-brink-of-starvation/ perlstein, e. (2021, october 15). lunch and learn jail. the harriton banner. https://hhsbanner.com/opinion/2021/10/15/lunch-and-learn-jail/ radnor high school. (2022). lunch and learn. https://go.boarddocs.com/pa/radn/board.nsf/files/cj9h7y47077d/$file/bcc%20lunch %20and%20learn%20presentation%20%5bautosaved%5d.pdf shapiro, b. (2024, march 5). why conestoga needs to place a cap on ap courses. the spoke. https://spoke.news/32108/opinion/why-conestoga-needs-to-place-a-cap-on-ap-courses/ willkomm, e., & marks, l. (2015, october 13). lunch and learn. the harriton banner. https://hhsbanner.com/features/2015/10/13/lunch-and-learn/ microsoft word 2200 repetto repetto 1 in thousand liveries dight: contemplating landscape in milton’s l’allegro and il penseroso william anthony repetto english l’allegro and il penseroso present two ostensibly juxtaposed visions of the poetic imagination. the poetic imagination of l’allegro seems frivolous, agrarian, and unrefined. il penseroso, by contrast, presents a poetic imagination marked by contemplation, solitude, and learned reference. recent scholars agree, however, that despite these apparent differences between and within the poems, l’allegro and il penseroso come closer to a reconciliation than readily apparent after a cursory reading.1 peter c. herman, in his milton and the muse-haters, argues that both speakers conflate a poetic and an antipoetic position into one ambiguous position.2 w. scott howard concurs, but focuses his investigation on the interdependent ontology between mirth and melancholy.3 this reconciliation indicates that milton viewed mirth and melancholy, the poetic and antipoetic, and the material and speculative (all major thematic elements of the pieces) as somehow necessarily dependent on one another. this interdependency manifests itself in the landscapes presented in the poem as well. the speakers of each poem travel at various times to rural areas, villages/towns, and cities. the presence of each of these landscapes in both l’allegro and il penseroso illustrate milton’s cognizance of the interdependent economic relationships developing during the early seventeenth century. milton does not equally distribute these landscapes in the two poems, though. the speaker of l’allegro lacks the ability to travel freely between landscapes, while the speaker of il penseroso moves from place to place with relative ease. this freedom of movement and access seems to indicate a repetto 2 class distinction between the speakers of the poems. other elements of the landscapes, when juxtaposed across poems, however, indicate the type of interdependence posited by herman and howard. in the argument that follows, i show how the landscapes, and elements of the landscapes, in l’allegro and il penseroso seemingly support an interdependent reading of mirth and melancholy, but then, turning my attention to the historical developments of the period, i hope to ask the question of whether a true reconciliation of the speakers would be possible or even desirable given the social hierarchy embedded in the landscapes themselves. understanding the complexity of the interplay between the companion poems requires understanding how the poems function formally. barbara k. lewalski and john creaser have provided studies of the personae and personalities of l’allegro and il penseroso. lewalski writes, “l’allegro and il penseroso are the named personae-speakers of their respective poems, through whom milton tries on the lifestyles associated with two kinds of poets…”4 she goes on to explain that l’allegro’s lifestyle mirrors that of the pastoral poet, while il penseroso’s lifestyle represents the refined british poet.5 through a scan of both poem’s formal features, creaser comes to a similar conclusion; concerning the companion poems, he writes, “milton is playing here with ideas of imaginative and spiritual aspiration which biographically were of real importance to him at the time.”6 i resist the belief that milton uses the companion poems simply to “try on” or “play with” different modes of poetic production. given the detail of the landscapes presented in each piece, it is more likely that milton embodied these personae in order to describe the world through the eyes of each poet. through the eyes of l’allegro, milton sees a bright landscape, marked by labor but also festivities. il penseroso sees a dimly lit landscape, and “he portrays himself as a scholar-errant roaming in a gothic landscape replete with a nightingale ‘most musicall, most melancholy,’ an antique bellman, twilight groves, and a repetto 3 ‘high lonely towr’…” seeing the poems as a tour of the world as seen by another allows milton to direct his reader’s attention to those features of the landscape that he sees as most important. viewing the poems as a glimpse into another’s world confirms creaser’s opinion that the companion poems “present a sensibility, not a statement.”7 the sensibility presented by l’allegro and il penseroso is metapoetic; through the landscapes presented in the companion poems, the reader sees the divergent elements of poetry important to each persona, which add up to a cohesive imagining of poetry by milton. both poems begin by banishing the other’s central emotion to the confines of the other poem.8 “hence loathed melancholy,” begins l’allegro. to which il penseroso responds, “hence vain deluding joyes.” this word “hence,” according to howard, contains implications of both time and space.9 because milton would have known both meanings of the word “hence,” howard claims that both the personified mirth and melancholy encounter one another within the space of each other’s poems. particularly when il penseroso sits in “som high lonely towr” (86) and when l’allegro describes “towers, and battlements… / boosom’d high in tufted trees” (7778), howard highlights how the two poems have entered into a dialogue reminiscent of renaissance poetic traditions.10 he too believes that the dialectic of mirth versus melancholy manifests itself in the landscape and concludes, “the contiguity between these first tower images and contexts in each poem suggests that both texts’ personae are simultaneously present in each landscape, each speaker voiced within and against the other’s tenor.”11 howard posits that this dialogic relationship into which the poems enter necessarily signifies a uniquely miltonic understanding of history. he states, “the contiguous and contrary interinvolvement of the poems on formal and thematic levels reveals milton’s idea of history as a process neither strictly linear nor cyclical, but an open-ended dialectic resembling the structure of a helix that might repetto 4 accommodate both cycles of repetition and contingent transgressions against the patterns of time.”12 that milton understood history as such is confirmed by luke taylor, who opines that for milton, after the fall of man, “human history ever since has repeated the false starts, turnings backs, and pointless circles of that first transgression.”13 while i do not dispute howard’s understanding that the companion poems announce a miltonic understanding of the historic, i find that the simultaneous contiguity and contrariety of l’allegro and il penseroso actually indicate a miltonic poetics more so than a miltonic historiography. the companion poems announce a miltonic poetics by showing the contrariety and contiguity present between two different types of poetry. the speakers of each poem manifest these differences within the landscapes of their respective pieces. l’allegro illustrates, with its sweeping descriptions and intricate detail, the concern the poet must have for the physical world. l’allegro (the persona) provides a 30-line description of the landscape; he describes a world in which: the clouds in thousand liveries dight, while the plowman neer at hand whistles o’re the furrow’d land, and the milkmaid singeth blithe and the mower whets his sithe, and every shepherd tells his tale under the hawthorn in the dale (62-68) beginning this movement in the poem with the difficult image of clouds robed in “thousand liveries,” l’allegro challenges the reader’s aesthetic imagination by asking him or her to produce an atypical mental image and, in doing so, announces his own poetics. milton’s usage of the word “dight” situates the reader in the poetic mindset. he could have used any number of words implying the same meaning: clothed, robed, adorned, etc. milton’s “dight” signifies in this case both the literal meaning (dressed in) but also implies the latin roots of the word: dictare, to repetto 5 dictate or compose. l’allegro’s poetry produces effects on the reader by invoking difficult images of the material world. l’allegro announces this fact within the poem with the image of the cock “som time walking not unseen (57).” shawcross footnotes his edition by equating “not unseen” with “out in the open.”14 l’allegro’s emphasis on the physical, out in the open, features of the landscape contrasts to those abstract concerns of il penseroso that “walk unseen/on the dry smooth-shaven green” (emphasis mine) (65-66). the il penseroso persona argues for the advantages of an abstract poetics using, in shawcross’ terms, a “strong platonic element.”15 from the beginning of the poem, il penseroso announces his concern for the abstract in his personification melancholy: but hail thou goddess, sage and holy hail divinest melancholy whose saintly visage is too bright to hit the sense of human sight; and therefore to our weaker view o’re laid with black staid wisdoms hue. (11-16) wisdom for il penseroso lies in the aspects of human life that one cannot discern through the sense of sight. his poetics depend not on the ability of the reader to produce difficult aesthetic images, but rather his poem challenges the reader’s analytic imagination to contemplate the underlying meanings behind physical appearance. his poem announces this intention when it calls upon melancholy to bring with her “him that yon soars on golden wing,/ guiding the fierywheeled throne,/the cherub contemplation” (52-54). one might say that contemplation personified here as a cherub provides a difficult physical image, but il penseroso, in his concern for the unseen, undoubtedly calls the reader to consider the underlying characteristics of the cherub. as shawcross footnotes for these lines, and as easily discernable elsewhere in the milton corpus, “the cherubim had the faculty of knowledge and contemplation of divine things.” repetto 6 16 il penseroso understands the divine as plato’s world of forms, and invites the reader to think about the divine as such when he sits alone in his “high lonely towr” (86) and hopes to encounter: the spirit of plato to unfold what worlds, or what vast regions hold th’immortal mind that hath forsook her mansion in this fleshly nook: (88-91) just as il penseroso hopes to read books that force contemplation beyond the “fleshly nook,” these lines confirm his poem’s own intentions: to produce effects beyond the material world. from the two ostensibly juxtaposed poetic visions of l’allegro and il penseroso, one may discern milton’s own complementary poetics. howard reminds us, “neither text can do without the other even as either strives for autonomy.”17 a miltonic poetics, then, according to the companion poems requires an understanding of both the physical world and the philosophical meaning underwriting lived experience. one might expect any poet to concur with milton on this point, but milton embeds in the poems an image that makes a bolder poetic claim: the moon. as il penseroso wanders across a rural landscape he hopes: to behold the wandering moon riding neer her highest noon, like one that had bin led astray through the heav’ns wide pathless way; in il penseroso’s understanding of the divine (supra), one that has been led astray implies one that has stopped or become confused in contemplating the nature of the divine. because reflection is the moon’s primary function, signifying the existence of the sun, one may interpret the moon’s wandering as l’allegro’s presence in the other poem. this existence of l’allegro in il penseroso complicates the miltonic poetics announced by the poems separately by repetto 7 interrogating the ontology of the aesthetic imagination versus the analytic imagination. rather than simply announcing that poems require two different types of imagination, the companion poems, through the image of the moon, posit that the two different types of imagination rely on the ontology of the other. where howard believe that this ontology implies a miltonic understanding of history qua “a helix that might accommodate both cycles of repetition and contingent transgressions against the patterns of time,” i feel these examples show that this complementary ontology illustrates a miltonic understanding of poetics as a matrix of images (signifiers) and abstractions (signifieds) that simultaneously depend upon one another for existence and strive to exist without the other as divine revelations of truth. while i believe that the companion poems illustrate a miltonic understanding of poetics more so than a miltonic historiography, milton embedded the companion poems with several historically relevant images that complicate a reconciliation between the two speakers. concerning milton’s project in paradise lost, luke taylor writes, “he aspires to the entirety of the christian world plot, as he tried to in the nativity ode, but without escaping – as in il penseroso or l’allegro – into an ahistorical space of pure art.”18 the companion poems may address questions of “pure art,” as taylor states and as illustrated above, but l’allegro and il penseroso do not enter into the ahistoric; in their illustrations of festivals, economic status, and literacy, the companion poems retain a distinctly seventeenth-century british tone. in the broadest sense, l’allegro and il penseroso visit the three broad landscapes into which scholars j.a. sharpe and keith wrightson artificially, yet crucially, divide britain to study seventeenthcentury history: the rural, the village/town, and the city. l’allegro follows the “cock with lively din” (49-80) across a rural landscape, until moving “hard by” to a cottage and the “up-land hamlets” (81-116), before visiting “towered cities” in a dream sequence (117-152). il penseroso, repetto 8 between lines 65 and 146, visits all the same landscapes – from “the dry smooth-shaven green” (66) to “som high lonely towr” (86). in visiting these landscapes through the personae of l’allegro and il penseroso, milton demonstrates a cognizance of the emerging socioeconomic landscape. his understanding of the social developments of seventeenth-century britain accentuates the mutual ontology argument surrounding his poetics, yet the classist hierarchy implied by these developments complicates the reconciliation between the two speakers. i would like to turn presently to the works of sharpe and wrightson and then return with a renewed historical understanding to the landscapes of the companion poems. like the companion poems, social developments in seventeenth-century britain exhibited signs of both contiguity and change. the fact remained that “for most of the population, earning a living meant hard work and at times unremitting physical labor.”19 a modern reader might expect as much in reading l’allegro, but he or she might not know that “english peasant society had always been stratified, but during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries steady population growth and the gradual impact of agrarian capitalism meant that village society became increasingly polarized.”20 towns and villages were no longer the isolated, egalitarian societies that one could imagine characteristic of the 1600s. both the rural and provincial landscapes of britain became incorporated into the capitalist system as the early modern era progressed. wrightson claims that a spike in the population and an accompanying specialization of labor led to the integration of local economies into regional economies, which focused around urban centers.21 this integration of economies led to a reconsideration of ethics and familial ties. wrightson writes, “in these instances we see revealed the fundamental contradiction between the realities of an individualistic agrarian capitalism and the ethics of traditional social obligations… the maintenance of the ideological underpinning of the relations repetto 9 between superior and inferior assumed particular importance.”22 the relation of superior to inferior was one of client and patron, which varied depending on the transaction, and so much like the poetics of the companion poems, the ontology of the superior depended upon the ontology of the inferior as transactions required a quid pro quo existence. the picture one ought to have of the rural/provincial seventeenth-century village or town, then is, a picture of local communities which were subject to a considerable degree of population mobility and which were held together less by dense ties of kinship than by relationships of neighbourliness between effective equals, and ties of patronage and clientage between persons of differing status, wealth and power,23 rather than the image of an isolated or underdeveloped patriarchal community. despite economic relationships between the classes, education and access to literacy remained stratified. while it is true that “by the 1630s, a more substantial proportion of the population than ever before was in receipt of higher education, while schooling of all kinds was available to an extent which had never before been experienced,”24 the types of education available remained decidedly unequal. during this explosion of literacy, the upper class retained its control over the dominant professions; clergymen and lawyers came from exclusively the upper social classes. reading and writing became available to apprentices at various trades, but masters viewed their literacy as beneficial only insomuch as it helped with financial accounting. as education of all levels expanded, even the rural farmer could learn to read and write, and he would certainly desire to do so, but for him writing was considered a luxury rather than a necessity.25 mechanisms existed, however, that masked the degree to which seventeenth-century british society remained stratified. lower class people viewed public festivals as ceremonial redistributions of wealth. “moreover,” according to wrightson, “they helped defuse social repetto 10 tensions not only between individuals but between social groups, not simply through common participation, but also by virtue of the fact that some festivities included elements of ritual reversal of the structure of rank and authority.”26 while these public festivals, in addition to other informal recreations, built a strong sense of community between and among members of the lower classes, a stratification of knowledge underwrote seventeenth-century british life. as an educated elite, milton would have been, consciously or unconsciously, aware of the social changes happening around him,27 and by including images of literacy and public festival in the companion poems, milton invites the reader to consider how social rank manifests itself in each poem. rank distinctions in both poems begin with what howard calls each poem’s renunciation of “the other in order to secure its own proper place and state of being.”28 l’allegro begins, “hence loathed melancholy/of cerberus, and blackest midnight born” (1-2). in the simplest terms, the l’allegro persona must banish melancholy to invite mirth. il penseroso starts, “hence vain deluding joys/ … dwell in some idle brain” (1-5). these opening lines present a power dynamic that tilts heavily in il penseroso’s favor. the allegro persona must banish melancholy to experience “jest and youthful jollity.” il penseroso, on the other hand, has the luxury to choose melancholy over mirth. herman thinks that “otium is convention of the pastoral tradition, and its presence signals l’allegro’s class superiority,”29 but he confuses the otium experienced during l’allegro’s “sunshine holyday” (97) for characteristic of the persona’s lifestyle. the opening lines of the poem indicate, however, that l’allegro must remove the obstacle of melancholy – most likely indicating the physical labor that most lower rank british people experienced as elaborated by sharpe – to experience the otium written about in the poem, written about as a temporary holiday. milton depicts il penseroso, by contrast, as a “scholar-errant roaming in a gothic landscape…”30 il penseroso truly has more free time – as he repetto 11 can spend midnights in his lonely tower (86-87) or his days napping by a river (139-149) – but his reputation as a “scholar-errant” marks his true class superiority. the stratification of knowledge characteristic of seventeenth-century british life appears in the companion poems in the form of the literacy encountered by both personae. l’allegro’s affinity for public theatre marks his lower rank, while an ability to read “gorgeous tragedy” (97) indicates il penseroso’s elevated status. herman concludes that viewing shakespeare’s or jonson’s plays means that “l’allegro’s desire to attend the public theatre, like his affection for chivalric romance, associates him with what some at least considered an abuse of the imagination.”31 this statement is misguided because of a crucial difference between how l’allegro and il penseroso experience their respective texts. l’allegro’s only access to shakespeare and jonson comes within a dream (i.e., twice removed from the text). his experience of the plays comes not from his own imagination but from the imagination of the directors and actors who put on the staged play. il penseroso, on the other hand, may experience “gorgeous tragedy” (line 97) or the “tale of troy divine” (line 100) while still alone in the “high lonely towr” (line 86). herman concludes that “as for l’allegro, [il penseroso] goes against expectation by privileging tragedy over comedy, and his taste in dramatists (jonson and shakespeare) is clearly refined, again, like il penseroso’s.”32 herman structures his argument around what the personae read rather than how they experience a text. the literate il penseroso may directly experience a text, while the illiterate l’allegro may experience only a telling of the text. in this reading, il penseroso is clearly the one of superior class. if this reading is combined with wrightson’s understanding that festivals provided a chance for the reconciliation of class divides, a reader can see how another might confuse the overlaps in content between the companion poems as a reconciliation or a type of symbiosis. repetto 12 in the final lines of both poems wherein one might discover a way of overcoming the apparent status distinctions, milton further complicates how a reader could come to understand l’allegro and il penseroso as in dialogue. l’allegro ends on an ambiguous note: “these delights, if thou canst give,/mirth with thee i mean to live.” the unspecified “thou” might refer to melancholy, but not necessarily as il penseroso understands melancholy. given the historical circumstances of early seventeenth-century british life and the class inferiority of l’allegro, the poem could refer to lower-status melancholy – physical labor, etc. if one reads these lines in terms of a miltonic poetics, then one notices a direct refutation of l’allegro’s conclusion at the end of il penseroso. il penseroso states, “these pleasures melancholy give,/and i with thee will choose to live.” these lines highlight il penseroso’s rank superiority yet again; he has the choice to live with melancholy, and he makes a resolute decision. l’allegro, by contrast, only “means” to live with mirth, and lacking status might not be able to actualize his intent. because of this difference in status, il penseroso’s conceptualization of melancholy must necessarily be different from l’allegro’s. for l’allegro melancholy signifies lower class struggles, including physical labor and the incorporation into an economic system that favors the economic elite. for il penseroso, on the other hand, melancholy signifies the freedom to contemplate toward “something like prophetic strain” (174). these differences in class epistemology complicate the extent to which one may truly reconcile the speakers of the companion poems. even if we accept that the two poems combined announce a miltonic poetics, then we ignore the fact that the person transcribing the voices of the two poetic personae (i.e., milton) was most likely a penseroso himself. i unequivocally agree with the scholars cited herein that the companion poems show milton’s adeptness at creating poetic personae, demonstrate a miltonic historiography, and provide a glimpse into the repetto 13 concurrent debate surrounding the usefulness of poetry. the predilections of the personae, however, seem too divergent, on the level of status or class, to say that they can ever announce a unanimous stance. if they cannot, i wonder, are we performing the same ceremonious functions of the seventeenth-century festival and masking status distinctions by repeatedly attempting to resolve the differences between the poems? should we come to understand the personae as milton wrote them: separately? 1 see howard, w. scott. milton’s ‘hence’: dialogue & the shape of history in ‘l’allegro’ and ‘il penseroso’ in heitsch and vallee “printed voices: the renaissance culture of dialogue.” university of toroto press: toronto, 2004. print. and lewalski, barbara k. milton on authorship: personae and poet-characters. milton quarterly: vol. 49.3, 2015. web. 2 herman, peter c. milton and the muse-haters: ad patrem, l’allegro/il penseroso, and the ambivalences of poetry. criticism: vol. 37.1, 1995. web. 3 howard, 157-174. 4 lewalski, 167. 5 ibid., 167-168. 6 creaser, john. ‘through mazes running’: rhythmic verve in milton’s l’allegro and il penseroso. the review of english studies: vol. 52.207, 2001., 409. 7 creaser, 410. 8 howard, 165-166. 9 ibid., p. 166. 10 ibid., p. 160-162. 11 ibid., p. 168. 12 ibid., pg 160. 13 taylor, luke. milton and the romance of history. milton studies: vol. 56, 2015., 303. 14 shawcross, john t. “the complete poetry of john milton.” doubleday publishing: new york, 1971., 108. (all transcriptions of poem also from this source.) 15 ibid., p. 106. 16 ibid., 112. 17 howard, 160. 18 taylor, 310. 19 sharpe, j.a. “early modern england: a social history 1550-1760.” arnold publishing: london, 1997. print., 213. 20 ibid., 92. 21 wrightson, keith. “english society: 1580-1680.” routledge publishing: new brunswick, 2003. print., 133-138. 22 ibid., 68. 23 ibid., 69. 24 ibid., 194.                                                         repetto 14                                                                                                                                                                                 25 ibid., 196. 26 ibid., 71. 27 gordon campbell, “milton, john (1608–1674).” oxford dictionary of national biography: oxford university press, 2004; online edition, jan 2009. 28 howard, 166. 29 herman, web. 30 lewalski, 168. 31 herman, web. 32 ibid.  microsoft word victory was survival concept subission 1 victory was survival: an environmental history of benedict arnold's 1775 expedition through the maine wilderness to quebec elizabeth miner history the alarms of lexington and concord had sounded, the british won bunker and breeds hills, and the continental army was searching for their next move, a victory; as private george morrison illustrated, "the period had now arrived … to exchange the luxuriant and healthful plains of cambridge for the inhospitable and dismal regions of the northto leave delightful fields for baron wildernesses; verdant meadows and enlivening streams for miry marshes and stagnant ponds; and the habitations of man, for the haunts of wild beasts."1 like many youths in the early summer of 1775, morison enlisted in the newly formed continental army and localized militias to fight against the british. those who enlisted with the continentals marched to the continental army camp in cambridge, massachusetts, in may through july 1775, ready to dig in and do their part in the siege of boston. morison and some 1,100 other troops and their officers would not remain long, volunteering for the wilderness expedition to quebec, something many of them saw as a welcomed adventure in which they might earn glory. during the summer of 1775, colonel benedict arnold approached the newly appointed commander in chief, general george washington, eager to assist richard montgomery and phillip schuyler in taking the assumed anti-british quebec, providing the fledgling fighting force with a needed ally. arnold was to lead men through the maine wilderness to quebec city, "where the two american armies would link up" and "subdue the british defenders either by attack or siege."2 washington, eager to pursue differing military strategies, did not hesitate to pursue the wilderness expedition one 2 historian characterized as dismaying to well-trained and supplied armies outfitted with everything the american army lacked.3 armed with john montressor's military journal and map from a decade and a half previous, scouting reports from american spy jabez mathews and reports from shipbuilder reuben colburn and his scouts, arnold's expedition set off for maine on september 11th, 1775.4 they all believed the way to be relatively easy; an exciting trek leading to an assured victory. the expedition soon found that nature had other plans for them, and the woods of maine would put up a battle just as hard and unrelenting as their foes in the british army. one of the earliest works on benedict arnold's march to quebec is one of the most environmentally driven in its analysis. published in 1903, justin harvey smith's arnold's march from cambridge to quebec argued, "the march itself was a campaign … against the forest and the flood, against fatigue, sickness, and famine … in so keen a struggle the smallest of circumstances was enough to throw the victory."5 smith's work shed light on the critical role of the environment in the march, presenting the idea that it was a greater challenge, if not as great, as facing a traditional enemy. other works that present an overview of the revolutionary war have touched briefly on the quebec expedition with varying levels of an environmental focus. works like lynn montross's rag, tag, and bobtail the story of the continental army 1775-1783, published in 1952, and john ferling's 2007 almost a miracle: the american victory in the war of independence provide origins of the 1775 expedition and summations of the contributions made by all involved. ferling's work presents a more environmentally driven history of arnold's trek through maine, going into the storm that flooded the dead river and various terrains of new 3 england. however, it is not the focus of the section or the work as a whole. both bring the event to its conclusion and continue with the history of the war for independence. the "maine wilderness" chapter of don higginbotham's daniel morgan: revolutionary rifleman, published in 1961, and james a. huston's "the logistics of arnold's march to quebec," from military affairs published in 1968, present environmentally driven narratives but come to different conclusions. while not focusing solely on the quebec expedition, higginbotham uses the environment to drive the section, arguing how the force beat the odds by simply making it to canada.6 faced with "exhausting portages, swollen streams, and deep swamps," the chapter credits daniel morgen for the expedition's survival. on the other hand, huston blamed arnold's use of the heavy batteaux instead of light canoes to transport troops and supplies, something justin smith questioned as inaccurate and future works disprove.7 rather than looking at the environment as a contributing cause, huston blames the march's failure and hardships on the men, unskilled with the batteaux and frontier living, dismissing nature as a cause for the failed attack.8 where higginbotham leans into the possible impact of the natural world on the expedition's success, huston leans away, a back and forth within the historiography that continued into the twenty-first century. thomas a. desjardin's through a howling wilderness benedict arnold's march to quebec 1775, published in 2012, provides a history of the expedition driven by the role played by the maine environment. similar to other works on the subject and revolutionary war as a whole, desjardin's work does not claim to do environmental history; however, the methodology of the work suggests the critical role of nature. his narrative driven work recreates the maine wilderness of 1775 and its effect on the soldiers' minds and bodies. desjardin's work avoids the jargon smith relies on while building a detailed narrative of the march, paving the way for 4 environmental history to enter the dialogue of how the quebec expedition and american revolution are understood. though it presents little new information on arnold's expedition, sam brakeley's in the wake of america's hannibal: tracing benedict arnold and the 1775 expedition to quebec by canoe, published in 2015, presents a unique view of the history. brakeley, an avid canoer, traced arnold's march, comparing the terrain the army trekked through in september to november of 1775 with the world of august 2013. relying on maps of various ages and accounts of the soldiers as presented in kenneth lewis roberts' collection march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, brakeley creates a narrative driven by the environment, how it affected the soldiers, and how it has changed over the centuries. recently blake mcgready has looked at the neutral role the environment played during the 1777 philadelphia campaign, arguing in his 2018 essay that it neither fully served to hamper nor assist the americans or the british. in "contested grounds: an environmental history of the 1777 philadelphia campaign", he notes, "whether it took the forms of heat, thunderstorms, or fog, the weather constantly afforded both sides' strategies. the campaign was just as much a contest between american and british military strength as it was to see which side could more efficiently harness the power of the natural world."9 to harness the power of nature is one thing; to be tasked with surviving it is another and needs to be considered in tandem with armies using the natural world to their benefit. the same year, arthur s. lefkowitz addressed the need through benedict arnold's army: the 1775 american invasion of canada during the revolutionary war. echoing justin smith's work, lefkowitz keeps the environment an everpresent threat while following arnold's expedition.10 recent works touch on the themes smith 5 emphasized over a century ago, making the environment an actor in warfare, looking at it as not only a neutral force to use but as an entity to survive. though nature is essentially a neutral player through most circumstances, it ultimately threatened the success of benedict arnold's expedition through the maine wilderness to quebec and the lives of the soldiers who took part in it. armed with supplies that quickly proved scanty and a foggy knowledge of what lay ahead, the environment became an obstacle the force struggled to overcome and be battle ready once they had. the maine wilderness wore down the soldiers, leaving them unable to conduct military operations successfully. relying on the numerous journals kept by those who participated in arnold's expedition, this paper maintains each account's various spellings, capitalization, and grammar. edits are made for clarification as needed and indicated by brackets. as the force marched out of cambridge in september, one soldier noted how his comrades proved "zealous in the cause, and not knowing the hardships and distresses" that lay ahead, boarded the ships awaiting at newbury port, and sailed to the mouth of the kennebec river.11 they shoved off from the massachusetts coast on september 19th with their heads held high and a belief that nature would bend to their wills; no one doubted the expeditions' success; after all, they had not yet learned of anything to the contrary. the comfort that followed confidence did not last long. a day into the voyage, one soldier wrote, "this night had like to prove fatal to us, for we were close aboard of the rocks before we knew anything about it … expecting every moment to be dashed to pieces against the rocks, but the wind, fortunately, freshing we got clear."12 the expedition's doctor isaac senter, reports that the schooner broad bay caught on the shoals at the mouth of the kennebec river and stuck there until the tide was in their favor.13 the expedition force could have done little to plan for the early delays and weather 6 patterns, likely unable to predict the tide cycles of the maine and massachusetts bays unless they were locals, which many of them were not. while an issue, their lack of familiarity with the region was not their sole or primary problem early on, nor would it be throughout the expedition. even if they knew what was to come and how to handle it, they could not have known what each day would be like down to the exact tidal or weather conditions. the force sailed onward, unhampered by the seas, eager to prove victorious and achieve glory. as they sailed on, however, they found the tides and rough waters of the atlantic ocean did more than interrupt travel. several of the men became seasick, with one recalling years later in his pension report how he suffered greatly from it.14 weather and the illness it caused did not discriminate based on one's rank. each man, from private to general, was exposed to the same elements, encountering the same risks. while at sea major return johnathan meigs must have shaken his head as he reconciled the favorable weather and rapid progress with his poor health as recorded, "the wind being fair and very fresh i was very sea-sick," in his journal.15 nature and its natural rhythms proved difficult for them. as they went along, however, the woes of seasickness and rough seas would be far overshadowed by other health risks and topographical features. once they landed in maine three days later (september 22nd), several soldiers reported early conditions to be favorable; they slept well, found food to supplement their rations, and only complained of rain and hard rows a handful of times.16 even if conditions had been better earlier, the army was not free from the wilderness. exposure was not a worry relegated to the later parts of the expedition. instead, it was something men faced from the earliest days of the trek. at fort western, an early stopping point in the expedition caleb haskell, a private and fifer on the expedition, noted, "several of the company have no tents here. we are very uncomfortable, it being rainy and cold and nothing to cover us."17 exposure and the ill effects of remaining in wet 7 clothes followed the men as they marched northward, an ever-present reminder that they might have been able to cut through the wilderness, but they were never free from its effects. looming threat aside, major meigs shared happy prospects for a reasonably easy expedition, with only a small rapid section faced, and done so with no incident.18 within the first week of october, problems arose that further delayed the expedition's progress. repairs needed to be made to the bateaux, made from freshly cut unseasoned timber; combined with the soldiers who lacked the knowledge of handling the craft, they were not holding up against the torrents.19 one diarist reported how progress halted for three days while reuben colburn and the carpenters who accompanied the expedition made repairs.20 even if the men had experience and the wood seasoned, the batteaux "would have been torn up dragging over the gravel of the kennebec in low water conditions."21 another example of nature working against them was the kennebec's waters being lower than usual in 1775, a change in the natural flow that proved to be another unexpected hardship nature threw at them, something no amount of experience or preparation could have eased.22 with repairs complete, the expedition continued, prepared to face the mighty kennebec river. while traveling along the kennebec river, the men rarely had a chance to row the bateaux; instead, they were obliged to drag them through the water. private jeremiah greenman's group pulled their craft through the cold water up to their armpits.23 as greenman recorded, one day of these conditions proved hard enough, but three days in a row proved exhausting.24 one soldier elaborated, "the men were obliged to get into the river and haul the boats over, and some times they fell up to their chins in holes."25 soaked through and worn down, they kept dragging their boats along, unwilling to submit to the river's force, leaving them worn down and soaked through by day's end. sergeant william mccoy echoes greenman, recording long stretches of an 8 uneven river bed and men up to their chins or overhead in the water as they dragged their batteaux along.26 the slow, bone chilling process led to a loss of precious time. they slogged upstream, unwilling to relent; a foe awaited them in quebec and a victory to make it all worth it. traveling upriver proved to be more than exhausting work; for some soldiers along the expedition, it proved detrimental to their health. prolonged exposure to the cold water and night air weakened some men, forcing them to fall behind while leaving others unable to continue. doctor senter recounted the poor plight of a man named irvin who, ill from early on, was rendered utterly helpless from "wading in the water every day, then lodging on the ground at night. his joints in his extremities [becoming] inflexible and swelled to an enormous size."27 prolonged exposure to the cold, staying in wet clothing, and insufficient supplies worked together to wear down even the strongest among them. rough waters and exposure were not the only worries the expedition faced as they battled the kennebec river; its makeup., the way it cut through the land and rock formations, stood as another test. a soldier whose identity remains unknown wrote, "we found the river shallow and rapid in many parts, and our men wading to track the boats and by setting them up were much fatigued and dejected. they had everything to carry across the portage in the falls of shapigan [skowhegan], about 200 yards, and after all, we advanced three miles only."28 of the skowhegan, another diarist noted, "we set and hauled our boats over rocks and shoals sometimes plunging overhead from the ruggedness of the bottom."29 the force passed the way "with great difficulty and labor … [to] get the bateaus up," and over the uneven ground; a task not completed until nightfall.30 beyond a fatiguing duty crossing the falls was dangerous work to undertake, one soldier characterized his situation noting, "though the distance is short, it is … very rocky and high so that a misstep might be productive of bad consequences."31 any accident or injury was 9 dangerous as the expedition traveled further from civilization, but the threats of falling and exposure followed the army, never giving them a moment's rest. still, they pressed on, not allowing a 'what if' to slow them. the soldiers shared their misery and conviction to continue their march through the wilderness, hopeful their troubles would ease and a more manageable march lay ahead. as the army reached the end of the kennebec, eleazer oswald noted the expedition had only lost one man from drowning while on the river, surprised it was one as the currents were swift.32 while fortunate, the note from oswald makes it sound like the army had faced few mishaps before the october twelfth entry. though they did not drown, private morison reported high near-drowning rates where "men plunged over the head into the deep bassons formed by the concussion of the water against the large rocks, and with difficulty escaped drowning."33 while few men drowned, the maine wilderness caused death and disability in other ways. in an unrelenting wilderness, the expedition discovered "that courage and bodily prowess were the only requisites for conducting" their trek successfully.34 faced with flooded batteaux, spoiled food, and exposure, the men could do little more but muster their strength and courage and face what was to come. any hopes of an easy trek through a merciful wilderness faded as september passed into october, and the men became acquainted with the hardships and rigors of a wilderness expedition. caleb haskell likely spoke for many of the men when he wrote, "now we are learning to be soldiers," as the inexperienced men had their trial by fire.35 when able to pause, soldiers took the opportunity to comment on the beauty of their surroundings as they reached the end of the kennebec and the start of the great carrying place. arnold noted how the mountains were snowcapped, an early warning, albeit picturesque scene, of the weather that was to come.36 arnold's experience, while devoid of the reasonable 10 apprehension common amongst enlisted men's accounts, echoes private john joseph henry's record from his scouting party, "the weather, in consequence of the approaching winter, had become piercingly cold."37 his recollections share a stark warning of what the army was to face as they pressed on, and with winter looming, the army "began to feel they were now in the wilderness."38 george morrison gives credit to this analysis, writing, "the hand of nature seemed to have denied this solitary [place] every good thingand to have left it a void foreverthe refuge of wild beasts" when facing the untamed land that stretched beyond the kennebec.39 arnold's force stood as a small united band against the wilds, ready to face whatever lay before them, but what was to come challenged them more than any could have ever expected. their next big obstacle: portage across the great carrying place, a sloshy passage through swamps and heavy underbrush.40 the great carrying place was one long portage that caused as many challenges as the rivers did. of this region, private simon fobes wrote, crossed the pond. and then carried our boats and baggage two or three miles to another pond … we went on until we came to dead river, the west branch of the kennebec, it takes rise in the high lands which separate maine from canada, the distance from the long falls on the kennebec to the point where we struck dead river is upwards of twelve miles, and this route including the two ponds is called the great carrying place.41 what seemed doable on paper proved challenging for the soldiers, both in the terrain they crossed and the weather they faced. to portage, a four-man team would work together, carrying the two-hundred pound batteau, often with the craft cutting into their shoulders, while other men carried the supplies.42 portages were as complex and dangerous as traversing the rivers. a misstep into the mud and several back-and-forth trips fatigued the soldiers. even if it was free from incidents, the daily trek through the wilderness was an obstacle to survival, having longterm effects on the men and their morale. one soldier noted how portaging through a swamp "fatigued them more than setting or tracking the batteaux [up] the river," and "some of the men 11 were unable to carry half a mile."43 the journal is not hyperbolic in its assessment of the men, and the toll carrying took on them. other accounts echo the fatigue; mccoy noted how men sank to their knees in mud while carrying.44 the portage across the great carrying place was one of the most notable ones, occupying several entries across various journals. the work was as physically demanding as moving the bateaux and just as dangerous. one soldier recalled, "sometimes we had to go back over those carrying places three or four times to bring all of our effects."45 this assessment is not unreasonable, and major meigs noted how his men spent an entire day getting all their supplies and themselves safely across a carrying place, the matter made worse by it raining all day.46 while unloading one of the boats, pennsylvania private john joseph henry recalled seeing his sergeant "set his foot on a large bed of moss seemingly firm, and sunk … into [the] cold water" that filled his boot.47 james melvin noted that as the army traveled four and a half miles over land, part of the way through turned into a bog "overgrown with white moss and brushes, which seemed half withered," into which the men sunk knee-deep.48 sharing the sentiment of a miserable carry but doing it with what must have been a wry smile, morison noted how "the rains had rendered the earth a complete bog; insomuch that we were often half leg deep in the mud, stumbling over fallen logs one leg sinking deeper in the mire than the other, then down goes the boat and the carriers with it."49 the wilderness was proving a formidable foe. however, in early october, the men could still laugh at one another and take strength to push forward to reach their shared goal. morison continues, "a hearty laugh prevails. the irritated at length get to their feet with their boat, plastered with mud from neck to heel, their comrades tauntingly asking how they liked their washing and lodgings; perhaps a few paces further, down they go, the laugh reverts upon them."50 keeping sentiments light moses 12 kimball wrote after they encamped following the carry they were "all greatly rejoiced at [the] thought of being over [the] worst of our fatigues," however this jubilee would be short lived as the expedition marched on towards the dead river and the weather continued to turn colder.51 arnold had a chance to comment on the beauty of the surroundings with little pause. as the army struggled along the great carrying place, he wrote, "there the prospect is very beautiful and noble, a high chain of mountains encircling the pond, which is deep, clear, fine water over which forked mountains."52 while arnold waxed poetic on the surroundings more often than most men, he was not the only man to write of maine's natural beauty. abner stocking wrote, "encamped in a most delightful wood, where i thought i could have spent some time agreeably in solitude, in contemplating the works of nature … though we were in a thick wilderness, uninhabited by human beings."53 while they may have thought of the majesty of a mountain or the beauty of fall foliage, it rarely entered their journals as they slogged forward. simeon thayer was not as poetic as the mountains came into view while passing through the great carrying place. putting his and the men's fears to paper, he noted: "the mountains appearing ahead which looked dismal to us, and especially more so, knowing we had them to cross without a conductor."54 in other words, they were alone, and thayer was painfully aware of it. the environment showed its might, silently daring the men to march onwards, testing their strength and resolve to see the mission through. in "one solar month," as private william pierce concluded, the army had set out and were on their way to the dead river.55 in summarizing their journey, pierce wrote, "we had hard times, for we found it to be a hard piece of work to get up this [the kennebec] river, which we found very rocky, uneven, swift water, and falls also … we have twelve miles to carry to get to ded river."56 following the rapid rocky waters of the kennebec, another challenge the expedition 13 faced was the dead river and those that branched off it. in his diary, private greenman described it, noting, "the river runs se, you can't but jest procive wich way it runs, its black and very deep now."57 diaries contain brief but telling descriptions of the dead river, a slow flowing body that, compared to the kennebec, must have been a welcomed sight, a signal that perhaps the rest of the way proved favorable. for tired men to comment on the lack of challenge the next leg of their journey posed is just as notable as them taking time, hunched over their campfire at night, to record in their well protected journals the hard river crossing or endless portage they faced. both show what the men, strangers to the maine woods, were thinking as they settled down for the night, what impacted them that day, and whether it was a challenge or hope for an easier time. before the weather changed the nature of the dead river from a peaceful row to a raging torrent, its location, the plants that surrounded it, and stillness, the very thing that made it so appealing at first glance, also caused it to be problematic for the expedition's health. weakness did not only result from exposure; the water the army relied on became unsanitary. having ill effects on their health, soldiers described the water in their journals in various ways; moses kimball wrote, "the water unwholesome on account of many sorts of leaves falling into the river," while the expedition's doctor wrote, "the water was as yellow as a mixture of saffron and water."58 the water made the men ill because of its quality and the quantity they drank because of their salted rations. "vomiting and diarrhea harassed many of them," leaving them weaker than before, their bodies unable to absorb nutrients and water critical to maintain their strength.59 one soldier wrote he had a "very bad purging" and rode in the boat all day, likely too sick or weak to march, and was not well until the following day.60 though he does not indicate what caused his illness, the symptom he shared aligns with what others went through while living off of poorly 14 preserved, salted food and drinking high quantities of contaminated water. they lived in a vicious cycle of needing to eat and drink to maintain their strength, further reduced by what was available. the dead river appeared like a respite, a break from the torrents of the kennebec, but it would not remain so, turning to "produce a scene truly shocking."61 brought on by what historian john ferling characterized as "a late season hurricane" whose winds and rains whipped and lashed at the men and caused the dead river to flood, rising "eight vertical feet in as many hours," reaching the soldiers' "campsite before any of them had time to gather their belongings."62 for men already soaked and worn down from the day's march and having failed to dry themselves and their clothes before trying to sleep as comfortably as possible, the wrath of mother nature must have added insult to an already dire situation. one soldier recounted that they were obliged to break camp and moved along as best as they could; however, the river was so swift and hard to navigate that many "preferred marching in an excessively. nay, almost an incredibly bad way. from its [the path's] swampiness and being full of thickets."63 it is hardly surprising that many soldiers turned their backs on the waterways and faced whatever a land route would throw at them. private henry, who until late october thought himself a capable swimmer, was thrown from his bateau with others while attempting to navigate the rapid water.64 he recalled, "it was a topsy-turvy business, the force of the water threw me often heels-overhead."65 the young pennsylvania soldier and the rest of the crew were fortunate enough to come out of the water with their lives. either way, the men met with obstacles that tested their dedication to the march. as they slogged through the flooded, unrecognizable landscape, nature would not yield to them but nor would they to nature. 15 following a day's attempt to make progress along the dead river, a soldier wrote, "continued to rain very fast," and by the end of the day, he noted, "we had not one dry thread about us and with all very faint and cold … every man's teeth chattered in their heads."66 while the soldier notes that it could have been far colder, his sunny disposition did little to warm the soaked men or make the restless night ahead more comfortable as they tried in vain to dry off.67 ephraim squire wrote, "hard work for poor soldiers that have to work hard in the rains and cold and wade a mile and a half knee-deep in water and mud, cold enough, and after night to camp in the rain without any shelter."68 shelter from the rain was not their only concern, especially when battling the nor'easter. finding a safe place to rest in the woods while strong winds blew around them and trees creaked and swayed was a common fear among the men, especially when no one knew what tree was sturdy enough to rest under and which was the next to fall. the conditions were "so windy that it was dangerous being in the woods," remembered one journalist as he and the others struggled to warm and dry themselves.69 as they listened to the wind blow through the trees, perhaps recalling the incident of a windy day that "blowed hard … [where] one of the men was killed by the falling of a tree" or the october night when "a tree blown down by the wind, fell down upon one … [man] and bruised him in such a manner, that his life was despaired of," they likely feared for their safety.70 the soldiers never knew which section was safe, and nowhere were they free from harm, leading to restless nights and days where the cycle repeated. following the flooding of the dead river, thayer and a small party of men lost their way because of swollen streams overrunning their banks and confusing the scanty reports the expedition relied on.71 the party spent the day and some of the night wading through cold water and lying without cover.72 the group found the rest of their division the following day. situations like this could quickly turn dire, risking a long, slow, painful slog through the 16 wilderness or falling victim to it. "fear was added to sorrow," wrote one distraught soldier in late october, "we found to our astonishment that our journey was much longer than we expected."73 even with this, scant provisions, and the knowledge that the weather only grew colder from here out, the soldier continued that they "stood firm and resolute. they were ready to encounter yet greater hardships for the good of their country."74 the men looked at their foe and dared to continue; they would not back down or allow it to be what stopped them from reaching their greater goal, quebec, and the fight to make it their ally. as october's end loomed and the army moved along the dead's flooded banks, private morison realized the army's desperate plight and how relief was far from being reached. he lamented, "our provisions began to grow scarce, many of our men too sick, and the whole or much of us reduced by our fatigues', and this too in the midst of a horrid wilderness, far distant from any inhabitation."75 one of the last carrying places, aptly named the terrible carrying place, was a "dismal portage … of two miles and fifty perches; intersected with … fallen trees, stones, and brush.76 the ground adjacent to the ridge is swampy, plentifully strewed with old dead logs, and with everything that could render it impassable."77 the description goes on, highlighting the impact the carry had on the men, "the boats and carriers often fall down into the snow, some of them were much hurt by reason of their feet sticking fast among the stones."78 getting one's foot stuck, or tripping was not a fear taken lightly while on the expedition. abner stocking shared his fears of injury while making a tough carry, "as we were constantly slipping, we walked in great fear of breaking our bones or dislocating our joints. but to be disabled from walking in this situation was sure death."79 the threat of injury followed the men as they trekked through the maine wilderness but became multiplied as they picked their way through the steep, and often snowy and icy rocks of the mountains of the terrible carry, 17 for men already weakened by enduring the previous month in the wilderness, the terrible carrying place must have led them to question whether or not they would succeed in their endeavor. on the other hand, benedict arnold downplayed the terrible carrying place and the hardships it caused his men, writing, "we met many obstructions of loggs &c which we were obliged to cut away," making no other notable comment on it in his journal.80 men wounded and well limped towards the chaudière, thinking relief had to be nearby. as the army marched towards the chaudière, private joseph ware noted in his journal, "suffered greatly … had to go wade waist high through swamps and rivers and breaking ice before us." 81 miserable situations clustered for the army, ware continued, "here we wandered around all day, and at night came to the same place which we left in the morning … we were obliged to stand up all night in order to dry ourselves and keep from freezing."82 ware was one of the unlucky ones who got lost in the swamps surrounding lakes chaudière and megantic, an area that smith characterized as one of the worst parts of the expedition.83 his woes, however, were not unique to him; due to slow communication and lacking knowledge of the terrain, men became lost while marching towards the chaudière, going out of their way through the swamps. one soldier wrote, "went astray over mountains and swamps which could scarcely be passed by wild beasts … waded a small river up to our [waists], then marched on until night in our wet clothes."84 morison dryly noted, "this day we went astray, wandering over mountains and through bogs as usual … and marched with our clothes wet, until night," ending up five miles from where they started in the morning on account of the confusion caused by lacking knowledge of the land and accurate direction.85 simon fobes makes clear the dangers of going in the wrong direction in cold weather and wet clothes; looking for the way to the chaudière, he wrote, "traveling two days on the route … to our surprise and mortification, we found that we 18 were wrong. destitute as we were, with our clothes wet and frozen, we suffered extremely from fatigue, cold, and hunger."86 though fobes and his fellow soldiers made it out of the swamps thanks to the skills of a native american guide sympathetic to the patriot's cause, the damage was done.87 men emerged haggard, further weakened by continued exposure to the elements. many still held out hope for their success at getting out of the wilderness, making it to canada, and being able to fight, but men who stumbled out of the woods would be in no shape for fighting mountains, too, provided challenges for arnold's expedition. while traveling through the mountains along the chain of ponds, one soldier simply put, "very fatiguing in going down one mountain and climbing another."88 to be able to scale the heights with their dwindling supplies tied to their backs, the force was "obliged to crawl up on all fours with nothing but rock, moss, and trees and shrubs to support" them as they passed through the craggy mountains of the mainecanada border region.89 though he tended to border on hyperbole, and there is some debate over the area private george morison referred to, morison wrote, it was no uncommon sight … to see those coming down the mountains in our rear, falling down upon one another … on coming to the brow of one of those awful hills, making a halt, as if whether their strength was sufficient for the descent, at last, he casts his eyes to the adjacent hill, and sees his comrades clambering up among the snow and rockshe is encouragedhe descends, he stumbles … and falls headlong down the precipice … his comrade staggers down to his assistance, and in his eagerness falls down himself; at length the wretches raise themselves … they wade through the mire to the foot of the next and gaze up at its summit … they attempt it, catching at every twig and shrub they can lay hold oftheir feet fly from themthey fall downto rise no more.90 whether or not morison exaggerated the situation matters little in the end; soldiers who had long fought the good but all too often unwinnable fight against nature fell prey to the maine wilderness. these unknown men become two more victims to the wills of the wild, casualties before having a chance to fire a shot. 19 men who wore out their clothes or lost or could no longer carry their extras due to weakness faced exposure. many of them left to the woods to perish because of it.91 men trekking their way over rough terrain wore down their shoes, and aside from wet clothes chilling their bodies, their shoes were the first to go, leading to cracked and bleeding feet that slowed them down and increased their chance of being left in the rear to fall victim to the woods. private james melvin noted how he had gone without shoes for three days and wore his feet bloody.92 while private melvin and others like him managed to keep up with the army, even as they wore their clothes to rags and their shoes broke apart on their feet, other men could not keep up, falling back until they faded into the wilderness. by november, the men were encouraged to look out for themselves, their "case being desperate, and every man, willing to save his life … marched on over mountains, and through swamps, enough to weary and discourage the stoutest traveler."93 even if they wanted to keep going, not all of the men could; most were too weakened through fatigue, hunger, and exposure. morison writes of worn down men attempting to keep up, unwilling to back down, "many of the men began to fall behind, and those in any condition to march were scarcely able to support themselves so that it was impossible for us to bring them along."94 after being told to "shift for themselves," the weakened soldiers strove "with all their might to keep up with us, and travel in our footsteps, calling out to us … 'will you leave us to perish in this wilderness."95 while some soldiers pushed back against these orders, wanting to help their brothers along as best they could, others were left to themselves, falling victim to the wills of nature, losses of the battle before the fighting began, resulting in a reduction of precious manpower the ever-dwindling expeditionary force could ill afford.96 captain henry dearborn noted that many of the men died; their weakened state worsened through the increasingly cold and snowy weather the nearly starved 20 and barefoot soldiers trekked through.97 a pennsylvania soldier shared the sentiment, fearing it was too late for the men in the rear "disabled from marching by the rheumatism or some other disease" caused by constant exposure to the cold and living in wet clothing.98 as they approached the canadian border, the band of americans must have been a sorrowful sight, men who looked less than human, bearing all the effects of the power of the wilderness. the environment physically impacted the soldiers in various ways, compounding their sufferings and making for grueling experiences that tested their dedication. when the force finally reached quebec on november 9th, 1775, benedict arnold had a fraction of the men he started with their lives lost to the wilderness as they trekked through over 300 miles in roughly a month and a half; those who remained alive were in poor shape. the men who had survived the march were weak and remained poorly clad, not ready to face the canadian winter, let alone seize the fortified city of quebec. one soldier noted they "resembled an assembly of specters rather than men."99 though welcoming, one historian notes, "the chaudière valley residents could have easily crushed the 'weak and naked rebels,'" a warning sign that the surviving men were in no shape for a fight.100 even after receiving aid from the sympathetic residents of the sartigan region and reaching their target of quebec, the men still reeled from the effects of the wilderness expedition; they "came almost naked into [that] cold country."101 upon reaching quebec, a soldier wrote of a muster called to determine the state of the army's survivors, a more pitiful and humorous spectacle was exhibited than i had ever before seen. in our long and tedious march through the wilderness, it was not with us as with the children of israel that our clothes waxed not old; ours were torn in pieces by the bushes and hung in stringsfew of us had any shoes, but moggasons made of raw skinsmany of us without hatsand beards long and visages thin and meager.102 21 while the army was healthier once they reached canada and the city of quebec, the cold and continued weakness plagued the men making their situation far from ideal for an attack.103 worn down from the march, samuel cooke recalled in his pension application how his feet were so damaged from being in the snow without proper cover that he could not walk independently, adding to the growing sick list and weakening the already crumbling american force.104 with the remaining men struggling against the cold, the army realized that they lacked supplies to feed and arm the soldiers, a vast majority of it lost along the way on the expedition. it, too, fell victim to overturned bateaux and the rivers of maine.105 the december 31st attack failed, and the americans were taken prisoner and held until the summer of 1776. though other factors were at play, it is impossible to deny the role played by the natural world. had their maps been more accurate, or had they left earlier, the results would have been different, the men may have been stronger, and the british under carlton may not have been reinforced. had the wilderness been softer, fewer boats overturning in swift currents, fewer storms, and warmer weather, the force may have enjoyed better health, increasing arnold's number of able men. benedict arnold's force boldly faced the maine wilderness, gallantly soldiered through swamps, storms, and cold, and bravely faced the fortified walls of quebec. however, it cannot be denied that they were beaten down by what nature threw at them and left in a physically and numerically weaker position. still, the expedition proved america was willing to face the british on their terms, able to make an offensive, and their fight would not be quashed easily. it also showed that the patriots were not easily worn down. they courageously faced the varied topography and weather of their country, pulling on their strength and that of their brothers in 22 arms, abilities that enabled them to survive the maine wilderness and the future engagements they would have against the environment as their fight for independence went on. notes 1 george morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, in march to quebec journals of the members of arnold’s expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 509. 2 john ferling, almost a miracle: the american victory in the war of independence, (new york, ny: oxford university press, 2007), 82. 3 lynn montross, rag, tag, and bobtail the story of the continental army 1775-1783, (new york, ny: harper and brothers, 1952), 52; arthur s. lefkowitz, benedict arnold’s army: the 1775 american invasion of canada during the revolutionary war, (el dorado hills, ca: savas beatie, 2018), 89-90. 4 mark a. york, patriot on the kennebec: major reuben colburn, benedict arnold, and the march to quebec, 1775, (charleston, sc: history press, 2012), 31-33; mark r. anderson, the battle for the fourteenth colony: america’s war of liberation in canada1774-1776, (lebanon, nh: university press of new england, 2013), 144. 5 justin harvey smith, arnold’s march from cambridge to quebec: a critical study together with a reprint of arnold’s journal, (new york, ny: g. p. putnam’s sons, 1903), 2. 6 don higginbotham, “maine wilderness”, in daniel morgan: revolutionary rifleman, (chapel hill, nc: university of north carolina press, 1961), http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9780807839997_higginbotham.6, 27. 7 james a. huston, “the logistics of arnold’s march to quebec”, military affairs, vol 32, no. 3, (1968), https://doi.org/10.2307/1984737, 123; sam brakeley, in the wake of america’s hannibal: tracing benedict arnold and the 1775 expedition to quebec by canoe, (raleigh, nc: lulu press inc, 2015), 3134. 8 huston, “the logistics of arnold’s march to quebec,” 123. 9 blake mcgready, “contested grounds: an environmental history of the 1777 philadelphia campaign”, pennsylvania history: a journal of mid-atlantic studies, vol. 85 no. 1, (2018), https://doi.org/10.5325/pennhistory.85.1.0032, 35. 10 arthur s lefkowitz, benedict arnold's army: the 1775 american invasion of canada during the revolutionary war. (el dorado hills, ca: savas beatie, 2019). 34, 87. 11 abner stocking, journal of abner stocking: as kept by himself, during his long and tedious march through the wilderness to quebec until his return to his native place, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 545. 12 joseph ware, private joseph ware journal, in voices waiting to be heard: nineteen eyewitness accounts of arnold’s 1775 march to quebec, ed. stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse, 2021), 191. 13 isaac senter, journal of dr. isaac senter, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 198. 23 14 fenner foot, pension application report, in voices waiting to be heard: nineteen eyewitness accounts of arnold’s 1775 expedition to quebec, ed. stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse. 2021), 227. 15 return johnathan meigs, a journal of occurrences within the observation of return johnathan meigs, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 174. 16 samuel barney, diary of samuel barney of new haven, 1775-1776, in voices from a wilderness expedition: the journals and men of benedict arnold’s expedition to quebec in 1775, ed. stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse, 2011), 176-177. 17 caleb haskell, diary at the siege of boston and on the march to quebec, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 474. 18 meigs, a journal of occurrences within the observation of return johnathan meigs, 176 19 thomas a. desjardin, through a howling wilderness: benedict arnold’s march to quebec, 1775, (new york: st. martin's griffin, 2007), 25; brakeley, in the wake of america’s hannibal, 31. 20 eleazer oswald, captain eleazer oswald journal, in voices waiting to be heard: nineteen eyewitness accounts of arnold’s 1775 march to quebec, ed. stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse, 2021), 132. 21 york, patriot on the kennebec, 57. 22 ibid, 57 23 jeremiah greenman, diary of a common soldier in the american revolution, 1775-1783: an annotated edition of the military journal of jeremiah greenman, ed, robert bray and paul bushnell, (dekalb, il: northern illinois university press, 1978), 14. 24 greenman, diary of a common soldier in the american revolution, 14. 25anonymous, quebec journal #3. in voices from a wilderness expedition: the journals and men of benedict arnold’s expedition to quebec in 1775, ed. stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse, 2011), 134. 26 william mccoy, sergeant william mccoy journal, in voices waiting to be heard: nineteen eyewitness accounts of arnold’s 1775 march to quebec, ed. stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse, 2021), 100. 27 senter, journal of dr. isaac senter, 205-206. 28 anonymous, journal, in voices waiting to be heard: nineteen eyewitness accounts of arnold’s 1775 march to quebec, ed. stephan darley, bloomington, in: authorhouse. 2021), 23. 29 anonymous, quebec journal #3. 134. 30 anonymous, pennsylvania packet journal, in voices waiting to be heard: nineteen eyewitness accounts of arnold’s 1775 march to quebec, ed. stephan darley, bloomington, in: authorhouse. 2021), 141. 31 anonymous, pennsylvania packet journal, 142. 32 oswald, captain eleazer oswald journal, 135. 33 morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, 520, 34 isaac senter, doctor isaac senter's second journal, in voices waiting to be heard: nineteen eyewitness accounts of arnold's 1775 march to quebec, ed stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse, 2021, first published rhode island historical society. senter, doctor isaac senter’s second journal), 180. 35 haskell, diary at the siege of boston and on the march to quebec, 474. 36 benedict arnold, col arnold’s journal of his expedition to canada, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 49. 37 john joseph henry, campaign against quebec, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 315. 38 smith, arnold’s march from cambridge to quebec, 111. 39 morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, 513, 24 40 higginbotham, “maine wilderness,” 30. 41 simon fobes, narrative of arnold’s expedition to quebec, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 582. 42 ferling, almost a miracle, 90. 43 anonymous, journal, 24 44 mccoy, sergeant william mccoy journal, 101. 45 foot, pension application report, 224. 46 meigs, a journal of occurrences within the observation of return johnathan meigs, 177. 47 henry, campaign against quebec, 309. 48 james melvin, the journal of james melvin, private soldier in arnold's expedition against quebec in the year 1775, (los angeles, ca: hard press publishing, 2012), 46. 49 morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, 514. 50 ibid, 514. 51 moses kimball, moses kimball’s journal, in voices from a wilderness expedition: the journals and men of benedict arnold’s expedition to quebec in 1775, ed. stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse, 2011), journal, 164. 52 arnold, col arnold’s journal of his expedition to canada, 51. 53 stocking, journal of abner stocking, 548. 54 simeon thayer, journal of his march through the wilderness to quebec, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 252. 55 william pierce, private william pierce journal, in voices waiting to be heard: nineteen eyewitness accounts of arnold’s 1775 march to quebec, ed. stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse. 2021), 157. 56 pierce, private william pierce journal, 157-158. 57 greenman, diary of a common soldier in the american revolution, 16. 58 kimball, moses kimball’s journal, 165; senter, doctor isaac senter’s second journal, 182. 59 ibid, 182. 60 john pierce, journal by the advanced surveyor with col, arnold on the march to quebec, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 660-661. 61 anonymous, pennsylvania packet journal, 146. 62 ferling, almost a miracle, 92; desjardin, though a howling wilderness, 76. 63 anonymous, journal, 25. 64 henry, campaign against quebec, 532. 65 ibid, 532. 66 pierce, journal by the advanced surveyor with col, arnold on the march to quebec, 662, 67 ibid, 662. 68 ephraim squire, diary of arnold’s expedition to quebec, in march to quebec: journals of the members of arnold's expedition, ed. kenneth lewis roberts, (1938; reis, portland, me: down east. 1980), 623. 69 squire. diary of arnold’s expedition to quebec, 623. 70 meigs, a journal of occurrences within the observation of return johnathan meigs, 178; melvin, the journal of james melvin, 46. 71 thayer, journal of his march through the wilderness to quebec, 255. 72 ibid, 255. 73 socking, journal of abner stocking, 551. 74 ibid, 551. 75 morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, 515-516. 76 morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, 522. 25 77 ibid, 522-523. 78 ibid, 523. 79 stocking, journal of abner stocking, 554. 80 arnold, col arnold’s journal of his expedition to canada, 58. 81 ware, private joseph ware journal, 193-194. 82 ibid, 194. 83 smith, arnold’s march from cambridge to quebec, 203. 212. 84 mccoy, sergeant william mccoy journal, 102. 85 morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, 524, 86 fobes, narrative of arnold’s expedition to quebec, 584. 87 ibid, 584. 88 anonymous, pennsylvania packet journal, 148. 89 senter, doctor isaac senter’s second journal, 185. 90 morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, 525-526. 91 pierce, private william pierce journal, 159. 92 melvin, the journal of james melvin, 54. 93 mccoy, sergeant william mccoy journal, 103. 94 morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, 526. 95 ibid, 526. 96 ibid, 526-527. 97 henry dearborn, journal of captain henry dearborn in the quebec expedition, 1775, (1886; reis, scholar select), 12. 98 anonymous, pennsylvania packet journal, 150. 99 morison, journal of the expedition to quebec, 530. 100 mark r anderson, the battle for the fourteenth colony: america's war of liberation in canada 1774-1776, (lebanon, nh: university press of new england, 2013), 147. 101 pierce, private william pierce journal, 159. 102 stocking, journal of abner stocking, 558. 103 senter, journal of dr. isaac s enter, 226-227. 104 samuel cooke, pension application report, in voices waiting to be heard: nineteen eyewitness accounts of arnold's 1775 march to quebec, ed, stephan darley, (bloomington, in: authorhouse, 2021), 224. 105 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quietly walk by the great mosque, possibly glimpsing the “visigothic” arches built by christians that punctuate the mosque, giving it its unique appearance. after passing through the dusty market stands, they find themselves at the threshold of the cordovan court with one thing one their minds: gaining their eternal crowns. they would soon arrive at the feet of the muslim judge (or qadi) of the cordovan court and begin their professions of faith. a typical christian profession at this court during the mid-ninth century went as follows: confessing christ to be truly god, we declare your prophet to be a precursor of antichrist and the author of a profane dogma. we grieve, knowing the eternal torments that you, infected with the lethal venom of his prophecy and pledged to the virulent preaching of the devil, will presently suffer, and we bemoan your blindness and ignorance.1 insulting the muslim prophet, muhammad, was a direct insult to the ruling muslim religion and community in ninth-century córdoba. this act was deemed to be blasphemy and was not only considered illegal but also a crime that demanded the penalty of death. although the circumstances varied, deliberate acts of blasphemy, as well as the “stroke of a raging sword [of decapitation] as a result of their testimony to the truth,” was the fate that thirty-three of the fortyeight christian martyrs faced between 850-859 in córdoba. 2 2 these martyred saints present the medieval historian with curious cases that call forth even more curious questions. how do we define martyrdom? why go out of one’s way to become a martyred christian saint? if martyrdom is deliberate and provoked, can a victim be counted as a martyr? these are the types of questions that drove the initial focus of this paper to the topic of the martyrs of córdoba. however, as i explored the topic further, different questions arose from the story of these martyrs: what did their deaths mean? how did this event change the definition of martyrdom? what can this martyrdom movement tell us about being a christian in ninth century al-andalus? the story of the martyrs of córdoba beckons for explanations of self-understanding and identity. according to brain catlos, “religious identity was, in many circumstances, the most important way in which people conceived of themselves.”3 therefore, i strive to answer these types of questions by focusing on the concept of religious identity. the martyrs of córdoba present a complex story with many of the individuals involved having their own motivations for being martyred, while also finding solace in each other when committing their actions. as religiously “inferior” people living under dominant muslim rule, the death of the martyrs was just as much an expression of religious identity to them as going to church, meeting with local christians to discuss their faith, or taking up residency at a monastery. by surrendering themselves to the sword and dying for their christian faith, the martyrs of córdoba were expressing their own religious identities, both to themselves and to the mixed muslim and christian community surrounding them. although each expression had its own level of severity, the expressions of identity by the martyrs of córdoba did not showcase an event of blind radicals hoping to disrupt the system they lived in. rather, their public displays revealed promising information about how people thought, lived, and interacted with one another in a religiously mixed community in ninth-century córdoba. 3 this project is centered on the primary sources of a priest named eulogius and an educated layman named paul alvarus. as the voices of the martyr movement, eulogius and paul alvarus witnessed and interacted with many of martyrs of córdoba and were very close friends that often communicated with one another about the martyrs. together, their writings make up the only surviving primary sources on the martyrs of córdoba. eulogius’ work on the martyrs include memoriale sanctorum, the main document that outlines the deaths of almost every martyr; documentum martyriale, the book that eulogius wrote to flora and maria to convince them to follow through with their martyrdom; liber apologeticus martyrum, the book that includes both one of the earliest known biographies of the prophet muhammad in latin and outlines the martyrdom of rudericus and salomon; and epistolae, three letters that eulogious wrote to paul alvarus, baldegotho (the biological sister of flora), and the bishop wiliesindus of pamplona, respectively. eulogius eventually joined the group of martyrs and, under the request of eulogius, paul alvarus took on the task of writing vita eulogii after his death. the vita eulogii describes eulogius’ life and martyrdom, as well as the martyrdom of leocritia, the very last martyr. when kenneth baxter wolf translated and pieced together the above-mentioned works of paul alvarus and eulogius, he created the eulogius corpus. the book was published on 30 september 2019 and, due to the unbelievable timing of the publication of the book and its crossing with the start of this paper, this may very well be one of the first academic papers to engage with wolf’s english translation of the eulogius corpus. how does one define a martyr? this question, as well as its answer, can have different meanings depending on the time, the context of the situation, and which religion the definition is pertaining to. in the christian sense, martyrdom is an “inheritance from the early church, which regarded martyrdom as the perfect completion of a christian life…” and is “suffering death for 4 one’s religious beliefs.”4 in early christianity, the first martyrs were those who died as “witnesses for the faith.” these “witnesses” were killed for their belief in the new religion of christianity and thus laid the foundations for christian sainthood as an institution of the church.5 public executions of christians carried out by the roman state in the first three centuries after christ is often the context used by those defining christian martyrs. however, as paul middleton argues, “it was the narratives describing particular christian deaths, rather than the romans [’ actions], that made christian martyrs.”6 in the case of ninth-century córdoba, the careers and intentions of eulogius and paul alvarus are very important to consider when studying the martyrs of córdoba. just as those before and after them, eulogius and paul alvarus used early christian martyrs as a backdrop for the martyrs of córdoba and are often found drawing lines back to the first, second, and third centuries in their writings. the “true” definition of a martyr is not so simple, especially when applied to the martyrs of córdoba. as edward colbert points out, whether these christians fit into the definition of a “true martyr,” or if they are exempt from the term, is an important problem facing any historian who studies the martyrs of córdoba.7 the definition of a martyr becomes even more difficult to grapple with when the idea of sanctity comes into play. according to robert bartlett, “martyrdom always remained an ideal, the highest form of sanctity in most people’s eyes.”8 however, eulogius faced much criticism after he deemed these martyrs to be saints of the christian faith; he felt the need to adamantly defend their sanctity against those who disagreed constantly. understanding the way in which the sanctity of the martyrs of córdoba was argued within the christian community is essential to this story of identity. finally, what exactly is an expression of identity? why use such a phrase? here, an expression is an inner feeling about who one is, or one should be, that is displayed publicly. 5 whether that display is blatantly stated or subliminally shown is up to the person crafting that display and the outside pressures they perceive themselves to be under. after reading the story of these martyrs, one gets the sense that their deaths meant more than a single protest against the ruling islamic elite. although many historians of the martyrs have pointed out that resistance and protest are important factors to consider, there is another layer to explore. in the case of the martyrs of córdoba, their actions, since they resulted in their deaths, were extraordinary acts of displaying one’s religious identity. in order to have a better appreciation for the identities that were expressed by these martyrs, one must first understand life as a christian and as a muslim in ninth-century al-andalus. to begin, al-andalus was operating under islamic control since the conquest of the visigothic kingdoms in 711-720. córdoba became the established capital of al-andalus in 756 and remained so until 1031. the communities that inhabited ninth-century córdoba are best understood as subsets in a religiously mixed community; a community of muslims, christians, and jews that interacted with one another on a day-to-day basis at every level of life. thomas glick describes this community as something that needed to adapt to the “muslim presence” and can be seen though the “emergence of new patterns of social organization and cultural expression in christian spain.”9 these new patterns had their complexities and hardships but, as will be revealed in the example of the martyrs of córdoba, ninth-century córdoba largely reflected an area of co-inhabitance that was more porous than strictly divided. to be a christian in islamic córdoba was to be a dhimmi, a christian or a jew who was both protected by and subordinate to the islamic government. an important point to remember about dhimmis is that they could never be superior to a muslim. to be a muslim in islamic córdoba was to be a part of a ruling religious minority interacting with a dhimmi majority. 6 although there was more to their existence than this relationship, there is no denying its importance. according to janina safran, this system of relations under islamic rule in al-andalus was, from its onset, “integrally defined by coexistence with christians and jews and the concept of dhimma (protection).”10 surrounding this idea of dhimma were christian-muslim relations that often resulted in interfaith marriage, conversions, and anxiety about the “other.” although a dhimmi could almost never obtain a higher role than a muslim in this society, many historians recognize that dhimmis were integrated into many parts of the cordovan government, lived within close proximity of their muslim neighbors, and received certain protections if they paid the annual jizya (tax).11 however, as jessica coope would argue, the muslim ruler had great power over dhimmis and could ultimately decide “when and how harshly laws discriminating against jews and christians would be enforced.”12 this concept of dhimma was of vital importance to both christian and muslim existence in ninth-century al-andalus. as subjects under the authority of the muslim ruler, the martyrs of córdoba saw the reign of two different amīrs (lords) between 850 and 859. the first amīr of concern here is abd al-raḥmān ii (822-852). in a letter to paul alvarus, eulogius describes abd al-raḥmān ii as a “raging tyrant” who prompted the martyrdom of so many christians in such a short amount of time.13 although abd al-raḥmān ii did implement policies that punished those who looked to commit blasphemy in the same fashion as the first couple of martyrs, these policies are widely regarded by historians as a reaction to the martyrdoms rather than a cause for them.14 this interpretation is vital because it eliminates the possibility of this movement being defined as a single organism reacting exclusively to the oppression of the ruling muslim elite. although more than half of the martyrs were killed under abd al-raḥmān ii, he receives lesser criticism from eulogius than his son, muhammad i (852-886). 7 in memoriale sanctorum, eulogius describes muhammad i as “an enemy of the church of god” and a “malevolent persecutor of christians.”15although eulogius may have had a severe hatred of the islamic amīrs, one can see why eulogius was most worried about muhammad i. historians of the martyrs, especially kenneth baxter wolf, make sure to point out that muhammad i “immediately began to apply pressure to the christian community” when he purged the cordovan government of dhimmis, ordered “all newly constructed churches be destroyed,” and contemplated the idea of “killing all christian men and dispersing their women.”16 however, in the end, not all of these policies were actually carried out by muhammad i, due either to pragmatic reasons or advice from his advisors, and were rather meant to pressure the christian community to control the “radicals” who were voluntarily being martyred.17 since the voluntary martyrdoms occurred over one thousand years ago, the historiographical scope of the martyrs of córdoba is massive; nonetheless, there must be an attempt to give a general understanding of the recent scholarship of these martyrs. as the historian who gave life to this work and continues to be a main contributor with his english translation of the eulogius corpus, kenneth baxter wolf and his writing on the martyrs of córdoba are essential to address. first writing about the martyrs of córdoba in 1988, wolf’s book, christian martyrs in muslim spain, gives the reader an analysis of eulogius himself. writing with a “‘history of mentalities’” approach, wolf believes that, before “any accurate understanding of the martyrs” can be achieved by historians, they must first understand eulogius.18 he argues that, in dealing with the backlash by the surrounding christian community and the criticisms that faced the martyrs, “eulogius not only probed, in an unusually selfconscious manner, the definition of sanctity, but inadvertently provided a window through which we can observe how some cordoban christians justified their conciliatory attitudes toward 8 muslim authorities.”19 wolf’s approach of seeking to understand eulogius was a useful start, but contains limits that other historians have directly responded to in their own research. jessica a. coope contributed a different perspective to the martyrs of córdoba in her 1995 book, the martyrs of córdoba: community and family conflict in an age of mass conversion. coope states that an effective approach to studying the martyrs of córdoba requires the “creative use of all available sources,” including those in arabic.20 coope believes that in order to fully understand the motivations behind the voluntary martyrs, they must be understood in the islamic context. she argues that these martyrs were “responding to real changes” and “represented an attempt to resist assimilation and conversion to islam and to strengthen christian identity by invoking the heroic image of the roman martyrs.”21 coope’s book is useful not only because of her wider approach to the martyrs of córdoba, but also because of the way she addresses the questions of identity that people faced in ninth-century córdoba. one of the ways she gets at this question of identity is by observing conversions. coope argues that conversion to another religious community involved “practical changes in people’s social ties and cultural practices,” and that a “convert exchanged one community for another.”22 although these conversions involved certain complications, coope believes that they are very revealing about ninth-century christian and muslim identities. a book that has gained recent attention from scholars of christian-muslim relations is christian c. sahner’s christian martyrs under islam: religious violence and the making of the muslim world. in his book, sahner hopes to explain the early stages that lead to the transition of a dominant christian middle east to a dominant islamic region through “the role of religious violence in the process of de-christianization, as well as how christians adopted the mentality of a minority through memories of violence.”23 sahner’s book takes on many questions and 9 problems that face most historians of medieval islam. however, the topic that holds the most significance here is sahner’s discussion of christian-muslim relations in al-andalus and the idea of “tolerance.” although he recognizes that tensions between christians and muslims could come to a boiling point that resulted in violence, sahner argues that “social and religious conflict usually took place against a backdrop of peaceful relations between communities.”24 additionally, sahner’s book specifically addresses blasphemy. he argues that blasphemy was a set type of protest against islam and that those most likely to commit blasphemy were those “who were closest to muslims… [such as] the children of religiously mixed families, christian officials of the muslim state, and residents of religiously mixed cities.”25 sahner’s approach to understanding blasphemy and these mixed relations is essential for explaining some of the expressions of identity by the martyrs of córdoba. attempts to describe and explain the martyrs of córdoba in a fashion that is both comprehensive and not weighted towards certain members of the movement is a challenge that faces many historians of the martyrs. some feel the need to address each individual martyr; others believe that broader categories and themes are sufficient for explaining the movement. my approach will combine the two so that there is a comprehensive, if not exhaustive, explanation of the martyrs. all of the martyrs were accused of either blasphemy, the act of speaking sacrilegiously about sacred things, or apostasy, the renunciation of one’s religious identity (apart from eulogius who was accused of proselytization, the act of recruiting/converting someone to one’s own faith); after reading about these martyrs, it was clear to me that their stories were more complex than blasphemers and apostates. however, both blasphemy and apostasy can serve here as broader vessels to position these individual martyrs into a clearer view in the hope that their expressions of religious identity can be recovered by the historian. 10 as the crime that most of the martyrs were executed for, blasphemy in ninth-century córdoba meant that someone publicly spoke sacrilegiously about either the prophet muhammad or the religion of islam. seen as the most effective way of achieving martyrdom, blasphemy was the charge that thirty-seven of the forty-eight martyrs faced. of those thirty-seven, thirty-three were charged with deliberate blasphemy. the rest of the martyrs were either tricked into inadvertent blasphemy or were also charged as apostates. to get a clearer picture of how these blasphemers expressed themselves, it is particularly revealing to analyze a few specific individuals. isaac was the first deliberate blasphemer and is often referred to by eulogius as the first “real” martyr of the movement. before he found his “spiritual zeal,” isaac worked in the cordovan government as exceptor reipublicae (a secretary or notary, possibly with control over his fellow christians and reporting to muslim officials) and knew the arabic language fluently. as mentioned above, isaac’s status as a dhimmi allowed him to work in such a position in the government despite the fact that he was a practicing christian. however, isaac eventually left his position in the umayyad government, turned to the monastic life, and went to live at the monastery in tabanos.26 just over a year before isaac sought out his own martyrdom, a priest named perfectus was tricked into committing blasphemy by a group of muslims who asked him how he felt about the prophet muhammad. after swearing they would not report him, perfectus told the truth about how he felt and was later beaten and arrested. after a few months in jail, perfectus decided that, instead of taking back his words, he would commit to them; “i cursed your prophet before and i still curse him, that man of demons, that magician, that adulterer, that liar.”27 eulogius describes perfectus as a “precursor to these martyrs” and seems convinced that 11 the image of perfectus being “forcefully dragged to his passion” was enough to convince isaac and the martyrs that followed to achieve their own martyrdom.28 however, to see the martyrs that followed perfectus as one domino lined up after another, waiting to be knocked down at the hand of the muslim court, is to strip the martyrs of their agency and individual identities. in fact, it is likely that isaac was not just simply reacting to the death of perfectus. sahner suggests that it is possible that isaac had a sense of disgust with the system he had previously worked for, and that there may have been “personal disputes between the martyr and the umayyad authorities” that existed prior to perfectus’ execution.29 when isaac went to the court in june of 851 and told the judge, in arabic, that “i have found both your prophet and you to be lacking [the zeal of justice],” isaac was doing so with his own individual motivation and expression of religious identity as a former worker of the cordovan government and a current monk of tabanos.30 the largest group of martyrs, with whom i began this paper, and that which eulogius calls the “six-fold mystery,” was made up of peter the priest, walabonsus the deacon, and the four monks sabinianus, wistremundus, habentius, and hieremia.31 their martyrdom took place only a few days after the execution of isaac, and it is likely that the group was motivated by their relations to the monk of tabanos. wolf even points out in a footnote in the eulogius corpus that hieremia was the blood kinsman of isaac. “we abide by the same profession of faith,” they exclaimed to the judge, “under which our most holy brother isaac… died before.”32 when they went to the court to express their own identities in front of the judge, they did so because they related to the religious identity that was expressed by isaac before them. however, as mentioned above, the movement of the martyrs is not as simple as following a linear line of those motivated by the deaths of the martyrs before them. a look at the monks 12 rogelius and servus dei (“slave of god”) is revealing of the complexities of the blasphemers. eulogius describes the two monks as bound together by a pact under which they would “fight to the death on behalf of god’s justice.”33 this pact brought rogelius and servus dei to a local mosque where they not only “forced themselves into the assembly,” but “preached the gospel, mocked the sect of impiety, and sentenced the crowd [to damnation].”34 if there ever was a way to rank the intentionality of the martyrs, the actions of rogelius and servus dei may have been the most blatant and extreme expressions of religious identity among those in the movement. the severity of their expressions was correlated to the severity of their punishment. both had their arms and legs amputated, were decapitated, and then “affixed to gibbets and taken to the other side of the river,” where they were placed on display next to some of the martyrs who were recently executed before them.35 the motivations of these two martyrs and why they chose a mosque to express their identities are unclear. many of the christians living in the community argued that their actions were blatant, antagonistic, and committed with radical blindness. however, there is some speculation by historians that this may have been an act in response to the dying amīr abd alraḥmān ii. eulogius claims that, when brought to the judge, rogelius and servus dei “continued preaching and prophesying” and predicted “the pending death of this tyrant [abd al-raḥmān ii].”36 abd al-raḥmān ii was very ill at the time and died only ten days later. regardless of the ambiguities that lay behind their motivations, their example serves a purpose here. the actions of rogelius and servus dei should not be written off as those of radical christians looking to disrupt the islamic order, or as eulogius’ exemplary christians in a divided community. rather, they should be cast in a different light. historians should attempt to understand the actions of rogelius and servus dei as responses to their uncertain surroundings in a religiously mixed 13 community. for these martyrs, their expressions of religious identity reflected their understanding of the surrounding community, had a specific meaning to themselves, and needed to be heard in the religious space of a mosque. apostasy in ninth-century córdoba presents the historian with interesting displays of identity and self-fashioning. apostasy was the public rejection of islam and the acceptance of christianity. although the crime was considered severe by the court, apostates in the movement were treated differently from blasphemers as they were often given a second chance to revoke their misgivings in front of the judge. it was as if the apostates were given another chance to set up their own display in front of the court and express their identification with islam over christianity. whether they chose the “correct” identity was up to the individual in that moment. what makes this category even more complex is the fact that many of these apostates came from religiously mixed families where one’s identity was undoubtedly a difficult concept to grapple with. there are a few specific individuals from the eulogius corpus that demonstrate how apostates expressed themselves in ninth-century córdoba. the story of the “holy virgins,” flora and maria, is a very telling example of how apostasy was treated in the movement, especially since eulogius gave them so much attention in his work. flora was raised with a muslim father and a christian mother; she was legally born a muslim but was secretly raised a christian. although flora identified as a christian, her brother was a muslim and actively tried to convince flora to remain a muslim. however, he became frustrated that he could not reach his sister and eventually brought flora to the court, announcing that “the christians… made her deny our prophet… enticing her with a certain kind of seduction to believe that christ is god.”37 flora denied what her brother had said and expressed her own religious identity. she denied ever following islam and stated that “i have known christ since my 14 childhood. i was instructed by his examples, and i decided to have him as god.”38 after expressing herself, flora was met with “a cruel lashing… until her scalp was torn and naked bone was visible on her neck.”39 however, unlike the blasphemers, flora was not immediately sentenced to death. rather, the judge ordered her to be taken away to reconsider resuming her legal islamic identity. before she could be taken to the court for a second time, flora escaped her brother’s custody and went into hiding for six years. as for maria, she was born to a christian father and a muslim mother, an occurrence that was prohibited under islamic law but seemingly occurred nonetheless. unlike flora, maria was raised in the monastery of cuteclara after her father had placed her there as a child. maria also had a brother; however, he was not only just a christian, he was walabonsus, one of the six martyrs who died in june of 851. eulogius describes this as the determining factor for maria to become “ignited with a love for martyrdom… [and she] longed for martyrdom with impatient intensity.”40 maria eventually left the monastery, with intentions of acquiring “the crown of martyrdom” and headed on her way to the church of the martyr acisclus, where she found flora.41 at this point, eulogius is convinced that the two created and shared an unbreakable bond; a bond formed from a common religious identity and purpose. after meeting each other and sharing their stories, flora and maria realized that their intentions were similar. euglouis claims that they were “instantly connected by an indissoluble pact of love, never to be separated from one another.”42 following their meeting, the two virgins decided to travel to the court and express their religious identities together. flora made it clear that this was not her first time partaking in such an expression, “i confess with the same determination as before that christ is truly god, and i bear witness that your sinful dogmatist is a false prophet, an adulterer, a magician, and a sorcerer.”43 maria followed with a similar 15 expression, and let the court know that her brother was one of the “magnificent confessors” who was martyred earlier in the year.44 although outraged, the judge once again did not immediately execute flora and maria; he sent them to prison instead. it was in prison that flora and maria met eulogius, and where eugloius convinced the two virgins to complete their martyrdom through his writing of documentum martyriale. in this short book, eulogius writes to the virgins that they should not fear what will come to them at the hands of the muslim judge and urges them that they must “treat all temporal punishment as nothing.”45 in each paragraph, eulogius stresses that their deaths should be welcomed and rejoiced. after taking the advice of eulogius, flora and maria were given a final chance to “correctly” express themselves or be executed in the forum. the two virgins persisted with their original expressions of religious identity and were executed, left to be “eaten by dogs and torn apart by birds,” and then thrown into the river.46 while flora and maria were in jail, aurelius, sabigotho, felix, and liliosa were preparing for their own martyrdom. similar to flora and maria, these four were from religiously mixed families. aurelius was raised by his christian aunt, but his father was a muslim and his mother a christian. sabigotho, who eventually married aurelius, had both a muslim father and mother. however, after her biological father had died, her mother married a man who secretly practiced christianity and had sabigotho baptized as a child. felix, on the other hand, was born a christian and converted to islam. however, he soon regretted his choice and chose to return to his original faith and married liliosa, who was legally a muslim by birth. in memoriale sanctorum, eulogius states that the drive for martyrdom for these couples began when aurelius witnessed john, a merchant who was accused of insulting the prophet muhammad, was “whipped practically to death” and carried away “backwards on an ass.”47 16 eulogius describes aurelius as being “suddenly struck with a love of martyrdom” and went home to tell his wife, sabigotho, about what he had witnessed.48 from that moment on, the two decided to renounce all of their worldly possessions, committed themselves to lives of fasting and prayer, and lived as brother and sister rather than as husband and wife. throughout this story, not much is said about the motivations of felix and liliosa. however, george, the monk from bethlehem who joined these four on their quest for martyrdom, noticed that felix and liliosa had “already sold all of their things and distributed the money among the holy places and to the poor,” and describes them as “prepared to receive every kind of torment.”49 it is clear that the practices of aurelius and sabigotho influenced the lives of felix and liliosa. aurelius and sabigotho ended up visiting the prison where eulogius, flora, and maria were being held, and it was at this prison that eulogius gave aurelius the advice that he should give up his children; “the love of daughters is not to be placed before the company of saints.”50 while aurelius was receiving advice from eulogius, sabigotho was visiting flora and maria in the hope that they too had words of encouragement. however, their encouragement came to sabigotho in her sleep when she was visited by flora and maria following their executions. according to eulogius, the two martyred virgin saints assured sabigotho that “martyrdom has been divinely preestablished and predestined for you from the creation of the world.”51 following the advice of eulogius and the newly executed martyrs, aurelius and sabigotho gave away all of their possessions, surrendered their two daughters to the nuns of tabanos, and sought out their goal with new enthusiasm. the group decided that, in order to accomplish their martyrdoms, they needed to get the attention of the court. they did so by sending sabigotho and liliosa to church with their faces unveiled. this surely caught the attention of local officials and, when the women were arrested, 17 aurelius and felix publicly professed their faith. the act was immediately reported to the judge and the four soon found themselves being arrested. george, realizing he had done nothing wrong, quickly insulted the prophet muhammad so he would not be left behind. eulogius describes the group of would-be martyrs as “overjoyed” as they were taken to prison, “you would have thought that they, who would have nothing but torments, were about to come upon some treasure in the presence of the judge.”52 when the group was finally brought before the court, like flora and maria before them, they were given a last chance to express their “correct” religious identity; “riches were held out to them and honours shown to them, all of which they could enjoy if they would only believe.”53 the group, taking comfort in one another, publicly expressed their religious identities one last time, refused to embrace their official religious identities, and obtained their eternal crowns. there is one final martyr to consider here: eulogius. he was not only the sole hagiographer of the martyrs of córdoba, but he was one of the last martyrs to be killed in 859.54 as a hagiographer and a martyr, eulogius both displayed his own religious identity and reworked the definition of martyrdom to cast the martyrs as saints. addressing eulogius is important here because his work contributes to the collective christian memory of identity in ninth-century córdoba. as elizabeth a. castelli points out in her book, martyrdom and memory: early christian culture making, the collective memory of martyrs is important to recognize. she argues that martyrdom is the “product of commemorative interpretation, and it provides a comprehensive fame for interpreting a wide array of historical encounters between christians and the dominant imperial culture.”55 eulogius’ influence on how some of the martyrs expressed themselves, as well as how they were viewed following their deaths, is an important factor to consider. 18 paul alvarus describes the life and work of eulogius in vita eulogii and claims that, through his hard work and dedication, eulogius “obtained perfection.”56 throughout memoriale sanctorum, documentum martryriale, and liber apologeticus martyrum, eulogius explains his closeness with some of the martyrs of córdoba. eulogius personally met many of these martyrs and played a major role in the decisions of flora and maria and aurelius and sabigotho to seek martyrdom. he also spends a good amount of time describing columba, one of the only martyrs of córdoba who came close to achieving the classic picture of an early christian saint. however saintly she was in her virginal dedication and devotion to an ascetic life, eulogius believed that columba still wanted reassurance for a “direct path” to the “heavenly kingdom,” and that “holy columba actually inflicted more torture on herself [through her daily routines]… than a savage executioner would have.”57 yet, as more and more people voluntarily became martyrs, eulogius encountered many difficulties with his own interpretations of the martyrs and their displays of identities. the surrounding community was faced with a very important divide: many christians did not believe that the people who were deliberately seeking out martyrdom were legitimate martyrs. as mentioned above, the typical view of a martyr for ninth-century christians was the christian who was a witness of the faith and unwillingly executed by the roman state during the first three centuries. many christians in ninth-century córdoba argued that, since most of these people were not dragged to their deaths and did not produce miracles, they could not be considered martyrs of the christian church. in liber apologeticus martyrum, eulogius takes the time to consciously address the definition of martyrdom. he states that he believes it “worthwhile to resist those ignorant ones who, disparaging with their blasphemous mouths the martyrs of these present times, do not want them to be regarded as similar to the martyrs of 19 old.”58 he continues on in liber apologeticus martyrum to state that the tortures and miracles of the saints of old are not required for someone to become a martyred saint: how could it matter whether one dies as a result of extended tortures or by means of a sudden death, when the same thing crowns both of them, that is, the desire for god and the love of the eternal kingdom? … the crown is not promised to the one who suffers for a long time, but to the one who conquers, awaiting the culmination of that holy struggle with a cheerful pertinacity, motivated specifically by the hope of eternal salvation… it is of no significance at all whether… the witness of god shine with miracles or… they prepare for their blessed contests without such prodigies… the only thing the heavenly creator expects from them is that they consummate their struggle in a manly fashion, maintaining the determination of their hope up to the very end, as a result of which, once they are added to the catalogue of saints for all eternity, they rejoice in the perpetuity of their salvation…59 fitting the martyrs of córdoba within the frame of sanctity was one of the most important goals of eulogius’ work on the martyrs. by intervening with the movement of martyrs through meeting them, writing about them, and eventually becoming a martyr himself, eulogius actively participated in expressing his own religious identity and attempted to reshape the definition of martyrdom itself.60 whether an individual burned “with the fire of martyrdom” or passively expressed themselves through every day routines, expressions of religious identity were a crucial component of everyday life in the religiously mixed community of ninth-century córdoba. these expressions took on symbolic meaning and could be as simple as a woman purposely unveiling her face in public or as complex as someone barging into a mosque to preach one’s christian beliefs. however complex these expressions were, one thing is clear: there was no single identity expressed by the martyrs of córdoba. one cannot place the deaths of these forty-eight people on a single motivating factor. in this context, the cordovan court should be seen as a formal stage where the martyrs were given a chance to publicly perform who they were: they were religious 20 minorities or dhimmis; they were relatives of someone who was martyred before them; they were fellow members of a local monastery; they were former members of the cordovan government; they were christians looking for reassurance and redemption; they were children of religiously mixed families. their deaths stood as symbols of the religious identity they expressed before the cordovan court and, to borrow from robert darnton, the symbols were multivocal; they conveyed “multiple meanings and that meaning… [was] constructed in different ways by different people.”61 the actions of each martyr varied, meant something different to each individual, and represented an expression of who they were religiously. the martyrs of córdoba were not just radicals who participated in a series of outbursts working to complicate the working relationship of christians and muslims in ninth-century córdoba; rather, they were individuals of a complex religiously mixed community expressing their own religious identity. 21 endnotes 1 eulogius, memoriale sanctorum, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 212-213. 2 ibid., 211. 3 brian catlos, kingdoms of faith: a new history of islamic spain, (new york: basic books, 2018), 4. 4 dictionary of the middle ages, volume 8, (new york: charles scribner’s sons, 1987), 159. 5 robert bartlett, why can the dead do such great things?: saints and worshippers from the martyrs to the reformation, (princeton: princeton university press, 2013), 174. 6 paul middleton, radical martyrdom and cosmic conflict in early christianity, (new york: t&t clark, 2006), 13. 7 edward colbert, the martyrs of córdoba (850-859): a study of the sources, (washington, d.c.: the catholic university of america, 1962), 413. 8 robert bartlett, why can the dead do such great things?: saints and worshippers from the martyrs to the reformation, (princeton: princeton university press, 2013), 175. 9 thomas f. glick, islamic and christian spain in the early middle ages, (boston: brill, 2005), xiii. 10 janina m. safran, defining boundaries in al-andalus: muslims, christians, and jews in islamic iberia, (ithaca: cornell university press, 2013), 9. 11 ibid., 89-90. 12 jessica a. coope, the martyrs of córdoba: community and family conflict in an age of mass conversion, (lincoln: university of nebraska press, 1995), 33. 13 eulogius, memoriale sanctorum, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 148. 14 kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 14-15. 15 eulogius, memoriale sanctorum, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 264. 16 kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 15-17. 17 ibid., 17 18 kenneth baxter wolf, christian martyrs in muslim spain, (new york: cambridge university press,1988), 2. 19 ibid., 2. 20 jessica a. coope, the martyrs of córdoba: community and family in an age of mass conversion, (lincoln: university of nebraska press, 1995), xii. 21 ibid., xiii. 22 ibid., 81. 23 christian c. sahner, christian martyrs under islam: religious violence and the making of the muslim world, (princeton: princeton university press, 2018), 1. 24 ibid., 25. 25 ibid., 119. 26 eulogius, memoriale sanctorum, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 209-210. 27 ibid., 206. 28 ibid., 157. 29 christian c. sahner, christian martyrs under islam: religious violence and the making of the muslim world, (princeton, new jersey: princeton university press, 2018), 152. 30 eulogius, memoriale sanctorum, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 156. 31 ibid., 211. 32 ibid., 212. 33 ibid., 256. 34 ibid., 257-258. 35 ibid., 259. 36 ibid., 258. 37 ibid., 223-224. 22 38 ibid., 224. 39 ibid., 224. 40 ibid., 227. 41 ibid., 227-228. 42 ibid., 228. 43 ibid., 228. 44 ibid., 228-229. 45 eulogius, documentum martyriale, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 307. 46 eulogius, memoriale sanctorum, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 230. 47 ibid., 234. 48 ibid., 234. 49 ibid., 249. 50 ibid., 238. 51 ibid., 240. 52 ibid., 251. 53 ibid., 253. 54 paul alvarus can be considered another hagiographer of the martyrs as he documented the executions of both eulogius and leocritia. 55 elizabeth a. castelli, martyrdom and memory: early christian culture making, (new york: columbia university press, 2004), 6. 56 paul alvarus, vita eulogii, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019),125. 57 eulogius, memoriale sanctorum, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 284. 58 eulogius, liber apologeticus martyrum, trans. by kenneth baxter wolf, the eulogius corpus, (liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019), 326. 59 ibid., 327-331. 60 eulogius’ martyrdom came about because of his involvement with leocritia, an apostate and the very last martyr in this movement. leocritia was found hiding in the home of eulogius after her location was anonymously revealed to the judge. the two were both arrested and eulogius was charged with proselytization (recruiting leocritia). the judge threatened to beat eulogius to death with rods, but eulogius suggested that they should not waste their time and to just execute him instead. after continuously preaching about his faith, eulogius was brought before the court to be executed. paul alvarus specifically states that, “rejecting this world, eulogius extended his neck toward the sword and found life with one quick stroke.” following his execution, the body of eulogius was thrown into the river where a white dove landed on his body, thus signaling his status as a saint. 61 robert darnton, the kiss of lamourette: reflections in cultural history, (new york: w.w. norton & company, 1990), 330 23 bibliography primary sources the eulogius corpus. translated with introduction and commentary by kenneth baxter wolf. liverpool: liverpool university press, 2019. alvarus, paul. vita eulogii. eulogius. documentum martyiale. eulogius. epistolae. eulogius. liber apologeticus martyrum. eulogius. memoriale sanctorum. secondary sources bartlett, robert. why can the dead do such great things?: saints and worshippers from the martyrs to the reformation. princeton: princeton university press, 2013. buol, justin. martyred for the church: memorializations of the effective deaths of bishop martyrs in the second century ce. germany: mohr siebeck, 2018. castelli, elizabeth a. martyrdom and memory: early christian culture making. new york: columbia university press, 2004. catlos, brian a. kingdoms of faith: a new history of islamic spain. new york: basic books, 2018. 24 colbert, edward p. the martyrs of córdoba (850-859): a study of the sources. washington, d.c.: the catholic university of america press, 1962. coope, jessica a. the martyrs of córdoba: community and family conflict in an age of mass conversion. lincoln: university of nebraska press, 1995. the most noble of people: religious, ethnic, and gender identity in muslim spain. ann arbor: university of michigan press, 2017. www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.9297351. darnton, robert. the kiss of lamourette: reflections in cultural history. new york: w.w. norton & company, 1990. dictionary of the middle ages. volume 8. editor in chief: joseph strayer. new york: charles scribner’s sons, 1987. glick. thomas f. islamic and christian spain in the early middle ages. boston: brill, 2005. middleton, paul. radical martyrdom and cosmic conflict in early christianity. london: t&t clark, 2006 safran, janina m. defining boundaries in al-andalus: muslims, christians, and jews in islamic iberia. ithaca; london: cornell university press, 2013. “identity and differentiation in ninth-century al-andalus.” speculum 76. number 3. (2001): 573-598. accessed october 2019. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.2307%2f2903880 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.9297351 https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.2307%2f2903880 25 sage, carleton m. paul albar of cordoba: studies on his life and writings. washington, d.c.: the catholic university of america press, 1943. sahner, christian c. christian martyrs under islam: religious violence and the making of the muslim world. princeton: princeton university press, 2018. wolf, kenneth baxter. christian martyrs in muslim spain. new york: cambridge university press, 1988. microsoft word riekstins eng.docx the aesthetics of phrenology in edgar allan poe’s “the murders in the rue morgue”: re-examining the lost paragraph adam riekstins english when edgar allan poe’s “the murders in the rue morgue” was initially published in 1841, poe was an avid believer and pseudo-practitioner of phrenology. consequently, the nowremoved first paragraph of the original publication’s manuscript detailed how phrenological studies relate to one’s intellectual and analytical abilities, prefacing the function of analysis in the story. in this essay, i will re-situate the original paragraph to properly contextualize how poe initially wanted readers to remark on dupin’s detective skills and his ideas on processes of analysis. throughout the narrative, poe often provides readers with explicit references to phrenology, establishing guiding principles that dialectically relate phrenological science to analytical, moral, and imaginative expression. investigating these aesthetics of phrenology opens up discussion points to the role of primitive thinking: in order for dupin to have made the conclusions he did, he had to fashion his thoughts to include characteristically inhumane possible causes. the aesthetics of phrenology thus open discourse on the philosophical meaning behind the murderer being an animal and how we identify what animals and humans are similarly capable and responsible of when it comes to murder. further, if one were to prompt a racialized reading of the perpetrator as a stand-in for the american slave, as many scholars before myself have done, the aesthetics of phrenology assist in examining the commentary on the analytic and moral ability of oppressed black bodies. phrenology, an early attempt to establish a science capable of expanding comprehension of human behavior, was the process of examining the shapes and contours of human skulls to posit their connection to personality traits. phrenology practitioners hypothesized that by palpating an individual's head, they could discern aspects such as parental aptitude, artistic ability, intelligence, proclivity towards criminal behavior, and various other mental and moral faculties. while phrenology eventually gained global recognition, its early stronghold was notably in the fledgling united states. reports of franz joseph gall’s scientific endeavors surfaced in american newspapers as early as 1805, but it wasn't until the 1820s that phrenology started to gain substantial traction. the influence of phrenology in the united states escalated when practitioners like charles caldwell, among the earliest american advocates of the discipline, imported it from their european studies. a pivotal moment for the proliferation of phrenology in america occurred in 1832 with the visit of johann gaspar spurzheim, gall’s disciple. landing in new york city, he embarked on a journey up the east coast, being hailed as a medical celebrity by physicians and local politicians at every stop. spurzheim fell ill and passed away before completing his tour, but his death catalyzed the formation of the boston phrenological society, a pivotal player in popularizing phrenology in america. in 1840, george combe undertook a two-year tour across the united states, mirroring spurzheim's impact by delivering widely attended lectures and engaging with influential figures, thus further contributing to the rise of phrenology's popularity.i the first historical evidence of poe’s interaction with phrenology occurred in 1836 when he reviewed mrs. l. miles’ phrenology and the moral influence of phrenology: arranged for general study, and the purpose of education, from the first published works of gall and spurzheim, to the latest discoveries of the present period in the march edition of southern literary messenger. he begins the review passionately: phrenology is no longer to be laughed at. it is no longer laughed at by men of common understanding. it has assumed the majesty of a science; and, as a science, ranks among the most important which can engage the attention of thinking beings — this too, whether we consider it merely as an object of speculative inquiry, or as involving consequences of the highest practical magnitude… in regard to the uses of phrenology — its most direct, and, perhaps, most salutary, is that of self-examination and self-knowledge. it is contended that, with proper caution, and well-directed inquiry, individuals may obtain, through the science, a perfectly accurate estimate of their own moral capabilities. (“review of phrenology” 252-53) by 1838, poe more than likely familiarized himself with combe’s lectures on phrenology. during poe's residence in philadelphia in 1839, combe presented a series of lectures at the philadelphia museum, and it is possible that poe was in attendance (hungerford 214). poe, accredited as the inventor of the detective story, included phrenology in a number of his other works, including “the gold bug,” “the mystery of marie roget,” and “the fall of the house of usher” (panek 7, 50). consequently, poe both participated and helped create the tie between phrenology and crime fiction. narratives falling within this genre of literature portrayed phrenology as a prognostic science concerning criminal conduct. phrenologists were depicted as capable of identifying wrongdoers even before the commission of the crime. as courtney thompson points out, “phrenological detective stories were part of an emerging genre responding to social conditions, transformations in the literary market and journalism, and anxieties about law, crime, and human nature” (thompson 119). the ramifications of phrenological credibility in poe’s “the murders in the rue morgue” align seamlessly with this observation, as they keenly mirror the prevailing scientific principles embraced by both courts and military authorities during the time.ii the original first paragraph of “the murders in the rue morgue” appears in the april 1841 issue of graham's magazine. the edition begins: it is not improbable that a few farther steps in phrenological science will lead to a belief in the existence, if not to the actual discovery and location of an organ of analysis. if this power (which may be described, although not defined, as the capacity for resolving thought into its elements) be not, in fact, an essential portion of what late philosophers term ideality, then there are indeed many good reasons for supposing it a primitive faculty. that it may be a constituent of ideality is here suggested in opposition to the vulgar dictum (founded, however, upon the assumptions of grave authority,) that the calculating and discriminating powers (causality and comparison) are at variance with the imaginative — that the three, in short, can hardly coexist. but, although thus opposed to received opinion, the idea will not appear ill-founded when we observe that the processes of invention or creation are strictly akin with the processes of resolution — the former being nearly, if not absolutely, the latter conversed. (166; 1841 ed.) poe also included the paragraph when he reprinted the tale in his 1843 book prose romances. however, he removed it before the release of his 1845 collection tales of edgar a. poe, most likely due to a growing disbelief in the pseudo-science. the initial contribution the re-establishment of this paragraph provides is the resolution to the previously undisclosed issue hindering the narrator's ability to think like dupin. without the context of the original paragraph, readers may chalk up dupin’s incredible detective abilities to a good education, a knack for observation, and a natural capacity to think creatively. it remains constant in both versions that the narrator is not as intelligent as dupin and is persistently “on the verge of comprehension without power to comprehend” (400; 1993 ed.). in the subsequent first paragraph, where the only explicit mention of phrenology still remains, the narrator disregards phrenology as a legitimate practice: the constructive or combining power, by which ingenuity is usually manifested, and to which the phrenologists (i believe erroneously) have assigned a separate organ, supposing it a primitive faculty, has been so frequently seen in those whose intellect bordered otherwise upon idiocy, as to have attracted general observation among writers on morals. (381; 1993 ed.) yet, when the original first paragraph is re-established, it is clear that this line is not meant to be a humorous jab at phrenology but rather a joke at the expense of the narrator’s own intelligence. edward hungerford argues that if poe “had regarded phrenology as pseudo, he would not have referred to it, for it would have spoiled his effect in this story. he must give the impression that he [dupin] is more scientific than science itself” (hungerford 224). in other words, poe originally intended the narrator to appear as less intelligent than dupin through his disregard of phrenology, not through his natural inability to analytically rival dupin. when re-considering the inclusion of the missing paragraph, the subsequent first paragraph of the redacted original is transformed into a highly suggestive chronicling of the relation between mental ability and physical prowess. the paragraph begins with the narrator arguing that we tend to appreciate mental features of analysis “only in their effects,” and that when they are “inordinately possessed,” they provide the individual a “source of the liveliest enjoyment” (379; 1993 ed.). per the original paragraph, the “enjoyment” derives from the existence of a brain that contains calculating, discriminating, and imaginative abilities. the described individual is not only using his mental ability to exist purely informed by facts but acquires pleasure from his mental ability, a process of invention via derision from an emotionally void stasis that is “strictly akin with the processes of resolution” (166; 1841 ed.). in the following sentence, the narrator posits that “as the strong man exults in his physical ability, delighting in such exercises as call his muscles into action, so glories the analyst in that moral activity which disentangles” (379; 1993 ed., first emphasis mine). without the context of the original paragraph, readers may interpret this as a likening of a high-functioning thinker to someone flexing their physical traits. yet, when we include the original paragraph in the context, the tie between the two becomes established as a solidified phrenological phenomenon. the glory that calls the analyst to “disentangle” in the subsequent first paragraph is the same glory that calls the individual containing a stronger organ of analysis to inherit “the capacity for resolving thought into its elements” (166; 1841 ed.). the narrator reveals that a thinker with an organ of analysis derives pleasure from “the most trivial occupations bringing his talent to play” and “is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in his solutions of each a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural” (379; 1993 ed.). when it comes to dupin’s expression of his intellect, the narrator comments: i could not help remarking and admiring (although from his rich ideality i had been prepared to expect it) a peculiar analytic ability in dupin. he seemed, too, to take an eager delight in its exercise --if not exactly in its display --and did not hesitate to confess the pleasure thus derived. (382; 1993 ed.) the reader is able to assign characteristic traits to dupin’s character by the way he handles information. here, he is an individual who ties his analytic ability to his identity by externally expressing the joy he takes in being able to process particulars in a higher capacity. that is, an ego, or a narcissism, is attached to his natural ability to analyze. this ego is evinced through how lightly dupin regards the murder in comparison to his participation. by the time dupin had cracked the mystery, the narrator complains that “it was his [dupin’s] humor, now, to decline all conversation on the subject of the murder, until about noon the next day” (393; 1993 ed.). dupin further displays the connection between his social identity and intellectual prowess by gatekeeping information in light of a murderous ourang-outang still on the loose in order to provoke a joke meant either for the narrator (who is unable to comprehend the full powers of phrenological ability, as stated prior), himself, a rhetorical audience, or all of the former. with the re-established context of the original first paragraph, it is evident that poe, or poe’s narrator, believes that being able to think at a higher capacity is denoted by an intentional expression from the individual, thus evincing a trait of aesthetic underlying principles that guide the manifestation of the phrenological belief. that is, the aesthetic expression of phrenology is composed of intellectual, moral, and analytical ability in conjunction with conduits of physical signifiers; this is the aesthetics of phrenology. in “the murders in the rue morgue,” whenever dupin provides an intellectual expression, remark, or deduction via the calculating, discriminative, and imaginative powers mentioned in the original first paragraph, they are aided by the employment of physical organs working both on and off-screen. when the narrator first describes dupin’s process of analyzing, he is keen to mention that dupin’s “manner at these moments was frigid and abstract; his eyes were vacant in expression; while his voice, usually a rich tenor, rose into a treble which would have sounded petulant but for the deliberateness and entire distinctness of this enunciation” (383; 1993 ed.). then, later in the story as dupin is asserting his conclusions, “his voice, although by no means loud, had that intonation which is commonly employed in speaking to some one at a great distance. his eyes, vacant in expression, regarded only the wall” (395; 1993 ed.). it is clear that when dupin works to arrive at the conclusions he does, his body works irregularly in a socially peculiar manner. whether it is necessary for his body to behave in such a way is not something the narrator nor the audience can answer since it is predicated on the phrenological belief that dupin’s body and mind work entirely dialectically. what is physical becomes mental and vice versa. one instance of evidence is when the narrator comments that “there was not a particle of charlatanerie about dupin” (384; 1993 ed., emphases mine). dupin’s intellectual agency is made physical through its assignment as a particle, and in this case, a particle that alludes to the composition of dupin’s actual body. by poe’s original standard, this synthesis of body and mind, a type of cartesian dualism, allowed dupin to think ingeniously, extending the relation poe would have imagined phrenology had to the capacity to analyze. ultimately, understanding that dupin considers pseudo-science a viable way to conjure conclusions changes how readers should appraise dupin’s employment of “the imaginative,” as mentioned in the original first paragraph. since his methods of analysis take phrenology seriously, his means of legitimate investigation become discredited. dupin becomes no longer a detective of reason but one of intuition. he is dated not by the technology available to him in his day but by his subscription to and utilization of phony science. in “the murders in the rue morgue,” the murders were committed by an ourang-outang that has caused much debate between scholars as to whether the primate was a stand-in for black slaves or merely an escaped animal. most notably, christopher peterson and ed white’s contrasting scholarship on the matter has considered both interpretations within the circumstances of poe’s cultural, historical, and geographical background. adding to the conversation, the context of phrenology adds yet another dimension to the ongoing scholarly debate since phrenology was often used as an oppressive science to further justify slavery in light of the supposed physical superiority of european races. as cynthia hamilton has observed, phrenology was “a contested space that could be colonised by proand anti-slavery supporters as well as by those who opposed slavery while affirming the inferiority of african americans on racial grounds” (181). in the aftermath of the american civil war, fresh cultural perspectives and assumptions emerged regarding race and crime. although apprehensions about european immigrants did not vanish, the newfound freedom of the emancipated population and lingering resentment in the south, fixated on the lost cause, instigated a transformation in the connection between race and crime. despite certain european immigrant groups still being viewed with suspicion, individuals of african descent were also recast as threats. thompson writes, “pre– civil war, the subjugation of slavery rendered black bodies abject. post–civil war, these bodies were reimagined as potentially violent” (122). thanks to phrenology, unbiased beliefs could be reinforced in the public’s eye and by the law. because the historical tie between phrenology and the oppression of black bodies is so explicit, it is paramount to consider how this affected poe’s intended message. more specifically, how does dupin’s process of investigation and knack for thinking primitively elicit racialized readings and moral interpretations of africans? ed white’s article “the ourang-outang situation” argues that poe’s “the murders in the rue morgue” is a direct response to the american slave rebellions. he writes: for here we have a humanoid captured in a distant land by sailors; brought to a metropolitan center for sale… holed up in a ‘closet’ from which it spies upon the master shaving… frightened by the master’s whip into fleeing the streets, where it finds two white women who are murdered with brutal ferocity. (95) white’s argument draws on the language that poe employs to describe the ourang-outang’s captivity and escape to assert the presence of racial undertones. not only do the words “escaped,” “fugitive,” “dreaded whip,” and “master” relate to the slave narrative, but they conjure the ourang-outang into an almost human-like economy. that is, these words do not explicitly label a free-ranging ourang-outang; instead, they assimilate the ourang-outang into comparable relationships with humans through relational titles that require pre-conceived participation both on the part of the animal and detective. white supports this stance by noting that poe was proximate to nat turner’s rebellion of 1831, residing close by in baltimore that same year, suggesting that the ourang-outang was a symbolic stand-in for the fugitive slaves. if one were to continue white’s train of thought through phrenological lenses, one would quickly acknowledge dupin’s consideration of an african suspect, which he quickly concludes as invalid since there are “neither asiatics nor africans abound in paris” (396; 1993 ed.). nonetheless, this disavowal of suspicion towards an african suspect is faced with the fact that dupin had to consider their innocence prior to an inhuman possibility. in both the original and subsequent first paragraph, poe addresses that the phrenological organ that assists in thinking is a “primitive” faculty. in order to understand dupin’s utilization of phrenology and, consequently, understand dupin as a detective, readers must understand what exactly is meant by “faculty,” as well as other phrenological jargon such as “constituent of ideality” and “causality” (166; 1841 ed.). in a system of phrenology, combe explicitly utilizes the term “primitive faculty” numerous times to describe the part of the brain that dictates various intersections between feeling and thinking, such as benevolence, hope, wonder, secretiveness, and so forth. combe attacks deniers of phrenology, writing: a person does not know the primitive faculties of the mind, nor their modes of manifestation; and he does not know whether different parts of the brain have or have not different functions. he cannot point to one portion of the convolutions, and say, this manifests such a power, and, when it is diseased, this power, and no other, will suffer. he cannot say that it is an organ at all. (101, vol. 1) in these sentences, combe is precisely describing someone like the story’s narrator. dupin’s phrenology is predicated on the idea that the faculties are divided into “calculating and discriminating powers (causality and comparison),” reflecting the ourang-outang’s humanizing guilt. in his confession, the sailor recounts that “the fury of the beast, who no doubt bore still in mind the dreaded whip, was instantly converted into fear. conscious of having deserved punishment, it seemed desirous of concealing its bloody deeds” (409; 1993 ed.). as the ourangoutang demonstrates an awareness of the moral wrongdoing of its actions, particularly when judged by human standards, it becomes less animalistic. this shift occurs because its actions are not as entirely beyond the scope of human motivation, as concluded by dupin and phrenology. because the ourang-outang is presented in a manner humans can empathize with per its feelings of guilt and regret, particularly in the face of being whipped by a master figure, white’s interpretation does not seem to be without merit. as brett zimmerman argues, phrenology “vindicated poe’s suspicions of blacks as a horde of nat turner types, murderous sociopaths deficient in morality... phrenology ‘proved,’ in other words, that the south should be wary of its slaves” (zimmerman 309-10). if the ourang-outang was intended to serve as a warning symbol to supporters of slavery, then dupin’s method of analysis ultimately serves as a prophetic guideline to racist ideology. dupin thinks in a way that criminalizes black bodies by blurring lines between uncontrolled animal behavior and slave narratives, self-righteously legitimized by the flawed science of phrenology. conversely, christopher peterson argues that performing a racialized reading of “the murders at the rue morgue” philosophically disregards the autonomy of the animal. peterson writes that if the story is to be read as an allegory to slave narratives, we must consider how it “invokes not only the racist ideology of black animality but also those emergent scientific discourses that threatened to locate all humans squarely within the domain of the animal” (157). by denying the ourang-outang its right to act according to its own free will through analysis, it ignores questions that help define the relationship between humans, animals, murder, blame, and guilt. during poe’s time, this was a popular area of philosophical inquiry, exemplified in works like cesare lombroso’s criminal man and nietzsche’s the geneology of morals (peterson 152). following peterson’s argument, dupin’s use of phrenology would not be a conduit for racial discrimination. rather, it would be used to frame evidence for an explicitly non-human suspect. in this case, phrenology thus provides dupin a way to separate african bodies from their racist stand-ins. the original paragraph in edgar allan poe’s first publication of “the murders in the rue morgue” in 1841 heavily expounded on the relationship between phrenological studies and intellectual prowess. the re-examination of edgar allan poe's “the murders in the rue morgue” with a focus on phrenology offers a nuanced understanding of how poe originally intended readers to perceive dupin's detective skills and the underlying processes of analysis. the reinstated first paragraph sheds light on the connection between mental ability and physical expression, revealing a complex interplay between body and mind in dupin's analytical prowess. this aesthetic dimension of phrenology, encompassing intellectual, moral, and analytical faculties, serves as a guiding principle for dupin's character. moreover, the racial interpretations surrounding the murders committed by an ourangoutang add another layer to the discussion. the historical tie between phrenology and the oppression of black bodies underscores the potential impact of poe's narrative choices. the phrenological lens prompts a reconsideration of dupin's thought process, leading to questions about racialized readings and moral interpretations. whether seen as a warning symbol to supporters of slavery or a philosophical exploration of the autonomy of the animal, the use of phrenology in the story aligns with prevailing scientific principles embraced by the era's authorities. in this re-examination, the aesthetics of phrenology emerge as a crucial element in understanding poe's narrative choices, providing insights into dupin's character, the racial dynamics within the story, and the broader societal implications of phrenological beliefs. by delving into the historical context and the interplay between science and narrative, we gain a richer understanding of the multifaceted layers embedded in poe’s “the murders in the rue morgue.” works cited combe, george. a system of phrenology. 5th ed., 2 vols. 1853. http://www.historyofphrenology .org.uk/system/system_intro.htm hamilton, cynthia. “‘am i not a man and a brother?’ phrenology and anti-slavery,” slavery and abolition, 29, no. 2, 2008. hungerford, edward. "poe and phrenology." american literature, vol. 2, no. 3, 1930, pp. 209-231, https://doi.org/10.2307/2920231. panek, leroy lad. before sherlock holmes: how magazines and newspapers invented the detective story. mcfarland & co. 2011. peterson, christopher. “the aping apes of poe and wright: race, animality, and mimicry in ‘the murders in the rue morgue’ and native son.” new literary history: a journal of theory and interpretation, vol. 41, no. 1, 2010, pp. 151-171. poe, edgar allan. “review of phrenology and the moral influence of phrenology,” the complete works of edgar allan poe vol. viii: literary criticism part 1, ed. j. a. harrison, 1902, pp. 252-255. —. “the murders in the rue morgue.” generic nl freebook publisher, 1993, pp. 378-410. —. “the murders in the rue morgue.” graham's lady's and gentleman's magazine, vol. 18, no. 6, 1841, p. 166. thompson, courtney e. an organ of murder: crime, violence, and phrenology in nineteenth-century america. rutgers university press, 2021. zimmerman, brett. “phrenology.” edgar allan poe in context. edited by kevin j. hayes. cambridge university press, 2013, pp. 301-312. i chapter 1 of thompson, courtney e. an organ of murder: crime, violence, and phrenology in nineteenthcentury america. rutgers university press, 2021. ii hungerford, edward. "poe and phrenology." american literature, vol. 2, no. 3, 1930, pp. 209-231, https://doi.org/10.2307/2920231. microsoft word tare hrd 1 thinking outside the box: the potential of management training for reducing turnover in warehouse/distribution environments alec michael tare human resource development voluntary turnover, or the number of employees that willingly leave a company over a specific period is a costly issue for businesses. consistently high turnover is a visible problem in the warehousing and distribution industry where annual turnover rates can often exceed 100% for firms (a. d. ellinger et al., 2003). the warehousing education and research council (1999), or werc, reported that for entry level warehousing positions the average turnover rate was greater than 20% (min, 2004). when comparing the industry’s turnover rates to other sectors, the only industry with a higher reported turnover rate was hospitality (casper, et al., 2010). about 75% of warehouse workers will leave their jobs within one year of hire creating a revolving door for operations managers (autry & daugherty, 2003). in addition to consistently high turnover rates, the industry also contends with an unfavorable perception of its job environment, making it difficult for firms to fill open positions (keller & ozment, 2009). such perceptions, which help to explain why turnover rates are so high, coupled with job burnout create a growing disruptive force within the warehousing industry (devi, et al., 2019). it is important for business leaders to consider why the problem of warehouse turnover is worth exploring. stakeholders must understand that retaining experienced workers is mission critical if they hope to meet the demanding customer service requirements of a modern warehouse. complex distribution tasks such as order processing and fulfillment are labor 2 intensive and require trained workers to efficiently complete them. the high turnover rates along with increased order volumes from a growing e-commerce economy exacerbate the challenges of managing warehouse operations (chan & chan, 2011; min, 2004; murphy & poist, 1993; werc, 1999). labor shortages also force hiring managers to either leave positions open or hire candidates that they know are below standards, ultimately adding to the labor burden (autry & daugherty, 2003). distribution firms cannot afford the lowered productivity and increased order processing errors that accompany high turnover (gooley, 2001). to provide solutions for business leaders this analysis will first examine some of the foundational theories of turnover and its financial impact on firms. it will then discuss human resource (hr) devolution theory and provide evidence as to why managers should be the focus of training efforts to reduce turnover. it will next review relevant research and explore several case studies on management training in warehouses as well as the barriers that improved hr devolution currently faces. additionally, the paper reviews an applied case study from the mayo clinic, a medical clinic in scottsdale, arizona. the mayo case study illustrates the implementation of a successful management training program in response to the high turnover rates of its staff. management training focused on developing the skills of the first-line managers is a cost-effective solution for turnover in the warehousing industry. the theory of hr devolution links strategic hr policy to the first-line manager. the role of the first-line manager is to directly supervise and guide warehouse employees. these operating managers serve as the intermediary agents between strategic decisions and practice (kehoe & han, 2019). through the targeted training of line managers, firms will be able to reach more of their warehouse 3 employees in a significant way. some parts of the traditional hr function (recruitment, selection, career development, evaluation, and rewards practices) pass on, or devolve to the line manager who has direct engagement with employees on a regular basis. since line managers will be the most frequent point of contact with warehouse employees, it is important that they clearly understand the firm’s strategic hr objectives (kehoe & han, 2019). management training is a long-term solution to the issues presented because of its sustainability. attempts to reduce turnover in the distribution industry by increasing wages have not proven effective nor financially sustainable. despite hourly warehouse employees, such as forklift operators and order pickers, receiving periodic pay raises, there is not much relief for the shortage of labor (min, 2007). for example, min (2007) explains that warehouse hourly workers on average earned a wage increase of 3 to 4% in 2000. regular pay increases at that rate would not be able to keep up with the growing demand for warehousing space requirements (reaching 6.5 billion cubic ft. in 2000) and the additional personnel required to operate such spaces (min, 2007). furthermore, even if increasing hourly wages did solve the problem of warehouse turnover temporarily, it would not be a sustainable solution in such a competitive labor market (a. e. ellinger et al., 2005). implementing management training and development as a cost-effective solution to the industry’s problem of employee retention is possible; however, successful programs will require a foundational shift in the way companies value and develop their employees (gooley, 2001). understanding turnover turnover, within a company or within an organizational subgroup, is a measured rate taken by dividing the number of employees that leave an organization throughout a period by workforce size (hausknecht & trevor, 2011). the concept of turnover must be explored to better understand its relationship with management training and development. while a great deal of 4 research on turnover has been conducted, hr practitioners need to recognize the concept of voluntary turnover. voluntary turnover is distinct from unavoidable turnover. unavoidable turnover is a type of turnover where an employee leaves for reasons outside of their control. for example, an employee’s spouse may receive a lucrative job opportunity in another region of the country and thus the employee resigns to relocate with their spouse. in this case, the reason the employee left is not related to job satisfaction or work environment. this employee is referred to as an unavoidable leaver (abelson, 1987). voluntary turnover occurs when the basis is more under the employee’s control. these individuals are known as avoidable leavers. notable characteristics commonly attributed to avoidable leavers are decreased job satisfaction and organizational commitment accompanied by increased job tension, and the presence of withdrawal cognitions (abelson, 1987). by understanding these characteristics, firms can develop strategies to counteract avoidable turnover before it occurs. not surprisingly, quality employees are less likely to be dismissed involuntarily (hancock et al., 2013). therefore, when avoidable turnover does in fact occur amongst a firm’s quality employees, it has a greater negative impact than involuntary turnover (allen et al., 2010). within the warehousing industry, for example, it is important for firms to understand why employees leave warehouse jobs shortly after being hired. to answer that question, not only must firms understand the differences between employees that remain employed at a firm and those that leave of their own volition (abelson, 1987), they must have greater insight into the general psychological mechanisms that drive turnover. mobley (1977) suggests that there are several cognitive intermediary stages that precede an employee’s voluntary decision to resign. no direct decision is made, but rather the decision to 5 turnover gradually occurs through a complex thought process. the model for the withdrawal process includes the following steps: “…evaluation of existing job, experience job satisfaction or dissatisfaction, thinking of quitting, evaluation of expected utility of search and the cost of quitting, intention to search for alternatives, comparison of alternatives vs. present job, intention to quit or stay, actually quits or stays” (mobley, 1977, p. 238). this process is not binary, all inclusive, or necessarily sequential, but elements of it are present in cases of avoidable turnover in different permutations. by breaking down the stages of avoidable turnover, further empirical research will allow hr practitioners and firms to design specific solutions to address the issue. concerning management development efforts, the objective is to teach managers how to proactively intercept turnover cognitions expressed by their employees before the intent to quit stage (wheeler, et al., 2010). the costs of turnover in the warehousing industry once turnover has been computed, firms often attempt to establish its financial impact. considering investments in recruitment, selection, training, and benefits, the total cost of turnover may be much greater than many firms realize. in some cases, the cost is as high as 150 to 200% of the departing employee’s compensation (daugherty et al., 2000; werc, 1999). hancock et al. (2013)’s meta-analysis on the relationship between turnover and firm performance supports the linkage between turnover and its negative impact on a firm. this negative relationship was found to be much stronger in the manufacturing and transportation industries, industries closely related to warehousing and logistics in terms of their purpose, structure, and employee demographics. in addition to examining turnover’s overall impact on firm performance, hancock et al. (2013) examines a theoretical model of turnover. the 2013 model focuses on turnover’s individual organizational performance consequences within firms. such indicators included “productivity, financial performance, customer outcomes, and 6 safety/quality outcomes” (hausknecht & trevor, 2011, p. 354). hancock et al., (2013) found that although turnover negatively affected all these aspects of firm performance, the negative relationship was stronger for customer service and quality/safety measures. within the theoretical model, “customer outcomes” and “safety and quality outcomes” represent varying degrees of “…wait time, customer satisfaction, service quality, time lost, and waste,” respectively (hancock et al., 2013, p. 575). these factors are all relevant to the warehousing industry’s evolving customer requirements, especially wait time and service quality. industry stakeholders must consider rising operating costs. in facilities lacking automation and advanced robotics warehousing is one of the highest costing logistical functions due to labor intensity (murphy & poist, 1993). for example, order picking, the primary warehouse function defined as selecting and packaging products from storage to fulfill customer orders is one of the most time-consuming of all warehouse activities (chan & chan, 2011; de koster et al., 2006). the challenges created by warehousing’s labor intensiveness stem from modern customer service requirements and increased order volumes. these expectations are likely to expand in the future, further increasing operating costs. for example, in the u.s., the average size of a new or replaced warehouse has increased by 58% between 1998 and 2002 (min, 2004). these new facilities will of course require additional staff to operate, further adding to the turnover challenges that firms face. with the construction of more and more warehouses older facilities will need to be able to retain their best employees in an increasingly competitive environment. high turnover in warehouses impairs customer service levels through the loss of quality staff, preventing firms from remaining 7 competitive (murphy & poist, 1992). losses in well trained workers result specifically in the loss of knowledge and expertise of those workers. additionally, turnover can put a strain on remaining staff members until replacements are hired and trained, decreasing team morale. depending on the time it takes to fill a position as well as the time required for training new staff, the service gaps caused by turnover lead to its negative long-term impact (daugherty et al., 2000). firms that can minimize turnover therefore gain an advantage over their competitors. overall financial outcomes regarding turnover are also a point of issue. for example, hancock et al., (2013) conclude in their meta-analysis that an increase of $189,111 in profits at the unit level and $24.8 million at the organizational level would be achievable by decreasing collective turnover rates by one standard deviation. the effect of turnover on profits compounds as the organization becomes larger. in 2009 the profits among the top 1,000 fortune companies increased by $151 million due to just one standard deviation change in turnover (hancock et al., 2013). such impactful financial results justify investments in management development solutions to increase retention. human resource management and first line management understanding the issue of turnover is only part of finding a solution to the problem. again, although there is no single solution for reducing turnover in warehouses, acknowledging how strategic hr plays a role in organizations can help distribution firms develop a feasible strategy for addressing the issue. leadership must understand the relationship between hr and the warehouse worker through the first line manager if they hope to create successful organizations that reduce turnover. line managers, or operating managers, are the first point of contact between warehouse employees and the rest of the firm. included under the umbrella of first-line managers are several positions including managers in customer service, sales, quality, and manufacturing managers 8 (sikora & ferris, 2014). line managers are the source of employees’ most direct experiences with an organization’s hr practices, yet their critical role in the process of hr practice delivery is often overlooked (kehoe & han, 2019). executive leadership may be underutilizing management’s ability to reach employees by classifying managers strictly as messengers for the hr function. in such a one-dimensional approach the manager’s potential to be recognized as an organizational implementer is ignored (kehoe & han, 2019). the role of managers as implementers is a part of what is referred to by kehoe and han (2019) as hr devolution. hr devolution is the delegation of implementing hr practices to the line managers. it allows managers to directly respond to hr issues at the local level (on the shop floor), while allowing the hr staff to focus on strategic issues (kehoe & han, 2019). when leaders and other stakeholders give attention to the hr-line manager relationship they can allow organizational efforts to be implemented by individuals at multiple levels of the firm. the line manager-hr implementation level refers to the degree of functionality between line managers and hr staff (sikora & ferris, 2014). a successful relationship between line managers and hr can result in positive employee outcomes that are critical for successful organizations such as “job satisfaction, job performance, and procedural justice perceptions” (sikora & ferris, 2014, p. 273). these factors can directly reduce turnover intentions. in this way, line managers can be conceptualized as meaningmakers for helping employees understand what values are prioritized in their organization’s hr strategy (gioia & chittipeddi, 1991). research from several scholars indicates that high performance hr devolution behaviors on the part of line managers, “increase job embedment, organizational commitment, affective commitment (ang et 9 al., 2013; dewettinck & vroonen, 2017; gilbert et al., 2011; shipton et al., 2016), and job satisfaction (dewettinck & vroonen, 2017), while negatively relating to turnover intentions (ang et al., 2013; sikora & ferris, 2014)” (kehoe & han, 2019, p. 114). furthermore, evidence has shown that employee satisfaction with traditional hr implementation tasks was positively influenced when managers received guidance and training from hr representatives (bos-nehles et al., 2013). despite the importance of the line-hr link for implementing effective strategic policy, organizations often lack clarity regarding hr devolution internally. even though hr practitioners may push certain strategies, if line managers are unaware of these strategies or unwilling to implement them, it becomes unlikely that such policies will ever reach the organization’s front-line employees. such discrepancies suggest that hr strategists may believe that there is a greater hr role for line managers than the line managers are aware of, which answers the question of why hr-line management partnership may not be working in some firms (beeck et al., 2016). in these cases, there are challenges to the idea of devolution to line. such issues show, “…that line management practice itself may distort, and possibly even undermine, the contribution which hr policies are supposed to make towards organizational success” (mcgovern et al., 1997, p.12). line managers may also be inadvertently contributing to weaknesses in the hr-line link through several commonly held misconceptions concerning their own ability to impact turnover. one of the most common misconceptions held by managers is that employees leave due to dissatisfaction with pay. compensation is a relatively weak predictor of individual turnover cognitions, especially when compared to organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and leadership in firms (allen et al., 2010). another related misconception, 10 common among first-line managers, is the belief that supervisors are limited in their own ability to affect turnover outcomes directly (allen et al., 2010). taken together, these two misconceptions reveal the necessity of and value formanagement training. if managers acting as the central link between hr and front-line employees do not understand their role in retention, then firms will not be able to impact the turnover rate. the obvious remedy is to train first-line managers on leadership coaching techniques that impact both job commitment and job satisfaction. training for managers in coaching and development although it is regrettable that there is less research on management level training and development available, when considering the paradigm shift by firms towards hr devolution, it is hopeful that further studies will be pursued (a. e. ellinger et al., 2005). referring to the attraction, selection, and attrition framework (asa framework), people will stay in organizations in which they find a high degree of match. they will first be attracted to these organizations in recruitment and then be selected by them. the final step, attrition, deals with the likelihood of a turnover event. because organizations are ultimately reflections of the people in them rather than specific processes or procedures, it is the people who must be changed if turnover is to be reduced (schneider, 1987). first-line managers are strong candidates for change due to their centrality within organizations and their commonly held misconceptions regarding their own organizational roles. elmadag et. al., (2008) and huselid (1995) suggested that by focusing on educating supervisors and pursuing management development, organizations may have a more effective method of reaching front line service employees to increase retention. to encourage additional 11 research on management coaching, and to transition the focus towards empirically oriented research, hamlin et al. (2006) compares three independent coaching research projects. the comparative study demonstrates that strong coaching skills are highly valued by firms looking for competent managers. similarly, a study conducted on management training in 316 spanish firms found compelling evidence for increased effectiveness in firms that trained managers when compared to those that did not. management’s skill level, innovativeness, and overall involvement with their employees was higher in these firms (aragon & valle, 2013). additionally, werc (1999) found the average warehouse worker surveyed believed they could be 26% more productive if supported by better management programs. the same survey also revealed that one quarter of workers interviewed thought it was possible to be 50% more productive at work under developed leadership (werc, 1999). the survey results are particularly noteworthy because they suggest that front line employees themselves would prefer to be assigned to more developed managers within organizations. one model reviewing the analytical findings of a managerial coaching survey proposes that managerial coaching behavior leads employees to be satisfied with their work and thus exhibit increased organizational commitment. respondents to the survey generally felt more satisfied and exemplified further job commitment when they believed that management provided contextualized learning through coaching (kim, 2014). initiating hr policies that facilitate management training encourages managers to engage in coaching behavior. these training policies, which yield increased satisfaction and organizational commitment have the potential to reduce turnover. such organizational results are generated through what can be described by ellinger and bostrom (1999) as a coaching learning episode. during this event, the manager facilitates learning by working directly with their employee which induces triggers 12 and reaction behaviors. with this shared experience, both the manager and the learner have positive individual outcomes which in turn yields greater organizational outcomes. notable examples of desirable outcomes that can be found after a successful coaching learning episode are stronger relationships between managers and their subordinates as well as improved employee performance (ellinger & bostrom, 1999). it is apparent that coaching itself is a complex multi-step process that starts with hr policy and ends with organizational dividends, strengthening the firm’s competitive advantage through its human capital. how does coaching lead to both increased employee satisfaction and organizational commitment? to understand this relationship, we need to understand coaching and the elements that comprise it. mclean et al. (2005) established a coaching scale designed for a business setting. this study, through both content analysis and a factor analysis of empirical data, developed the four-dimensional coaching model. the study establishes the key aspects of effective coaching skills: the ability to “communicate openly” with others; the tendency to take a “team approach” to problem solving; propensity for valuing people over tasks; and the acceptance of “the ambiguous nature of the work environment” (mclean et al., 2005, p.163). through the aspects found in the four-dimensional coaching model, managerial coaches can form positive leader member exchanges (lmx) with their subordinates. lmx is defined by graen and uhl-bien (1995) as the quality of the relationships that supervisors form with their subordinates through interactions in the workplace. lmx has demonstrated a positive correlation with job satisfaction and engagement (anderson, 2013). additional analysis determines that lmx is likely to 13 act as a bellwether for the effectiveness of organizational hr management on job embedment. furthermore, job embedment is a proposed mediating variable between hr management’s effectiveness and turnover intent (wheeler et al., 2010). lmx also has a strong negative relationship as a predictor of turnover. as a meta-analytic turnover indicator, lmx has one of the strongest relationships (r = -.25), with the only stronger negative predictor being organizational commitment at r = -.27 (allen et al., 2010; baur et al., 2007; griffeth et al., 2000; phillips, 1998). ideally, firms that engage in management coaching programs that address the four-dimensional coaching model will have positive lmx and thus a lower avoidable turnover rate. leadership is also an important indicator to consider regarding lmx relationships between managers and employees. although closely related to management, the concept of leadership itself is distinct. rubenstein et al. (2017) conducted a meta-analysis of voluntary employee turnover and found that leadership is negatively correlated with key aspects related to avoidable turnover such as absenteeism, stress, low job embeddedness, poor performance, work life conflict, and a lack of engagement. therefore, diminished leadership is likely a strong indicator of high turnover due to low lmx. hackman & wageman (2007) suggest programs that develop leadership skills could be invaluable for reducing turnover (rubenstein et al., 2017). the connection between leadership and turnover in their view is defined by the relationships shared between leaders, subordinates, and high-level stakeholders within the organization (hackman & wageman, 2007; rubenstein et al., 2017). thus, the quality of a leader’s relationship with their subordinate reflects the leader’s ability to influence a potential turnover decision (allen et al., 2007). furthermore, the concept of leadership functioning as a retention tool reinforces schneider’s asa framework by 14 focusing on changing an organization’s people rather than its processes (schneider, 1987). case study: management training program at the mayo clinic a case study (mcelreth et al., 2005) on how management training and development programs can impact turnover was observed at the mayo clinic, a medical treatment and research facility in scottsdale, arizona. mayo’s operation faced some of the same structural problems as the warehousing industry, such as labor shortages and leadership gaps. throughout the 1990’s the mayo clinic experienced increased turnover rates at its rapidly growing medical facility (treating more than 100,000 patients annually). just as in the warehousing industry, increasing demand and customer service requirements, as well as falling retention rates, put a strain on performance which warranted an intervention. mayo’s hr department learned through exit interviews and surveys that employee-supervisory relationship issues were leading to turnover. such issues were a determining factor in employee resignations. the mayo clinic had been promoting less experienced staff due to its high growth level and had failed to provide formal training or guidance to these new managers. the newly promoted supervisors had technical abilities, but they lacked seasoned management skills. to remedy the issue, mayo developed a management training program that had a mix of coaching and formal classroom training. as a result of the program, the number of responses on exit surveys that indicated dissatisfaction with management dropped from 44% in 2001 to 36% in 2003 (mcelreth et al., 2005, p. 53). the program also produced a return on investment as mayo was able to retain at least 90 positions in the first three years of the program. based on their calculations for every $1.00 invested, the management training program produced $9.78 in benefits 15 (mcelreth et al., 2005, p. 54). the mayo case study reveals how the potential return on investment found in management development can drive organizational performance. case study: coaching in warehouses one of the first prominent empirical studies on managerial coaching in warehousing reviewed 18 u.s. warehousing operations and provided a pre-cursor for further scholarship on the subject (a. e. ellinger et al., 2005). in their 2005 study ellinger et. al. distributed surveys to both managers and employees to determine the quality of coaching employees were receiving. eight coaching behaviors were examined including: question framing (encouraging employees to think through issues), being a resource, holding back (not providing all the answers), soliciting feedback, setting and communicating expectations, broadening employee’s perspectives (getting them to see differently/the big picture), and using analogies, scenarios, and examples. (a. e. ellinger et al., 2005, p.624) the mean scores of these eight behaviors revealed low levels of coaching from supervisors, suggesting that little emphasis was placed on coaching and development programs in warehouses (a. e. ellinger et al., 2005). as one of the few studies available on manager training in warehousing, one of its goals was to conduct an initial sampling of the warehousing industry and to encourage more research on the subject. the study found that supervisory coaching behavior and hours of training were important predictors of job satisfaction, a factor which would have an impact on retention rates due to its negative correlation with turnover cognitions and behaviors. (abelson, 1987; a. e. ellinger et al., 2005, p. 632; casper et al., 2010). barriers to management training with high turnover costs, and relatively strong return on investment for managerial 16 coaching efforts, why are such high potential solutions not more prevalent in organizations? until recently, there has been a lack of detailed study on managerial coaching in warehousing, although more case studies are being developed with the expansion of the industry (a. e. ellinger et al., 2005; min, 2007). additionally, the expansion of concepts such as hr devolution and lmx have paved the way for study in managerial coaching to gain the attention of researchers. by highlighting the developing role of hr, transitioning from a transactional to a strategic one, management roles have become integrated with hr functionality. such concepts have positioned managerial coaching to be at the forefront of hr solutions for organizational issues such as turnover. despite such progress, real barriers in organizational structure may explain the lack of managerial coaching in organizations. these barriers to coaching adaptation also help to explain why until recently there has been little to no scholarship on managerial coaching. formal management, especially in a warehousing environment, has been relegated traditionally to the command-and-control style, which is significantly more authoritarian than a team-based coaching style. in this paradigm of management, managers hold supreme authority (ellinger & bostrom, 1999). managers adhering to command and control are also significantly task oriented. they are focused on goals that are attainable in the short term such as packaging orders and loading trucks. there is often resistance to coaching and development in firms that do not recognize hr devolution. there is a tendency for managers without training to focus on short term activities as their only objectives, rather than developing and retaining their employees over time (mcgovern et al., 1997). a typical justification in arguments 17 made by resistant managers is that time constraints prevent them from considering coaching as a viable management plan (mclean et al., 2005). by focusing on time sensitive tasks and using those tasks as leverage for not embracing coaching, unsupportive managers can produce a firewall against change. another challenge that serves as a barrier for changing the traditional short term management mentality is a general lack of resources even amongst managers who would be willing to embrace change and development efforts. there may be no training or incentive program available for managers to facilitate the transition. one example can be found in a case study that surveys line managers. one responding manager commented: to me, the single biggest thing you could do to improve management is teach managers how to teach people, which no one teaches in management school or in any business anywhere. no one teaches you how to teach people (a. d. ellinger & bostrom, 1999, p. 767). without an emphasis on training and readily available programs within the firm, it is easier for managers to focus only on the day-to-day tasks rather than long term people management skills, especially where there is no clear definition of management roles (mcgovern et al., 1997). relationships with subordinates do not matter because they are not measured and do not fit into short term goals for the average line manager. such tendencies are counterproductive for a successful managerial coach who will accept short term disappointment in exchange for significant development over time (a. e. ellinger et al., 2005). a company at the strategic level may engage in hr devolution, but if there is no attempt to educate line managers through training to motivate them, then devolution to the line will not be realized. getting managers to buy into managerial training is the first critical 18 step for firms to successfully implement strategic training programs (mcelrath et al., 2005; mclean et al., 2005; yarnall, 1998). devolution strategies only work if managers are willing and open participants. an important part of getting hr policies disseminated to the workforce is through the training or re-education of managers so that they can intercept turnover cognitions pro-actively on the warehouse floor. the reduction of turnover intentions is where firms can gain ground as the point of actual turnover comes too late for managers to make a successful retention attempt (wheeler et al., 2010). conclusion although this review acknowledges the relatively new nature of the topic and the need for further research, a successful management training program will help firms reduce the high turnover rates in the fast-paced warehousing industry. the changes in strategic hr practices have indeed facilitated a changing role for the line manager based on feedback and coaching. by developing their employees managers can ultimately hope to reduce turnover and build stronger teams. a method for achieving organizational successes can be found in carefully designed management training programs that are actively supported by the firm’s leadership. the labor driven challenges within the warehousing industry require firms to think creatively about leadership if they hope to be successful. while managerial training in the warehouse setting is not the only solution to maintaining a firm’s human capital, it is indeed a promising one. 19 references abelson, m. a. 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(1998). line managers as career developers: rhetoric or reality? personnel review, 27(5), 378–395. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483489810230325 microsoft word andrew noland_psc aesthetics as state security: international law, art repatriation, and ontological security andrew noland political science i. introduction why do historical imperial powers resist repatriating the cultural property of their formerly colonized subjects? in the height of european imperial expansion, metropoles consistently engaged in and coordinated efforts with other state and non-state actors to plunder the aesthetic material objects of their colonies.i museums in european colonial powers such as france, britain, belgium, the netherlands, and germany are filled (both in exhibits and storerooms) with the cultural memories of the global south: the khmer of southeast asia, the mughal empire of india, the kingdom of benin of central africa, among many others. one puzzle in the 21st century concerning private international law of art is determining, in the presence of powerful international norms concerning the legacies of imperialism and colonialism, why former imperial states still refuse to engage in large-scale art repatriation efforts. before turning to the roadmap and arguments of the article, a review of the key terms that are used throughout the literature review and analysis of the paper is necessary. cultural property was defined by the 1954 hague convention on the protection of cultural property as aesthetic material of “great importance to the cultural heritage of every people” including “architecture, archaeological sites, works of art, manuscripts, books” and “other objects of artistic historical or archaeological interest.”ii repatriation is “the process of returning cultural property to its country or people of origin.”iii this article combines the literature and concerns of international law, and its potential to compel states to action, with the theory of ontological security. it extends the arguments of ontological security scholars to the existing problem of colonial art repatriation. using brent steele’s concepts of “aesthetics” in state identity and “counterpower” demonstrates that imperial powers do not want to hand back the cultural property they plundered due to their desire to feel confident and maintain an aesthetic regime that hides the horrors of their colonial pasts.iv returning art that the colonizer state looted from its colonies forces a reflexive confrontation that might generate a sense of shame and draw condemnation from internal actors (such as students, historical societies, or lobbying groups) and external forces (such as international organizations, multinational corporations, transnational advocacy groups, and other states). avoiding these confrontations is obviously in their immediate material interest: admitting that their past actions were wrong might legally bind a state to hand over money, artifacts that draw tourism, or even land and resources.v however, this article puts forward that former colonizer states also do not want to acknowledge wrongdoing in their past because of their desire to preserve their “beautiful” self. international law provides a platform for both formerly colonized states and non-state actors to deliver counterpower, or challenge to an imperial power’s sense of identity and aesthetics. cultural property has a kind of “political power” which can upset the delicate aesthetic identity a state constructs for itself.vi while international law might be ineffective in compelling states to hand over their stolen art from their colonial pasts, it provides a vehicle for anti-colonial arguments and international norms to consolidate and present themselves. this pressure might compel a change in state behavior, which is useful absent a world state capable of forcing nations to obey international law.vii this article proceeds as follows: it first outlines three germane bodies of literature necessary for building its argument. it tracks the development of scholarship on international law and empire before delving into the works of ontological security. the literature review ends by discussing the recent surge in publications on the intersections of international politics, international law, and art repatriation. the subsequent section outlines the methods and defines the scope of inquiry of the article. the analysis begins by describing ontological security in states and states’ desires for an aesthetically pleasing sense of self and outward appearance. the theory of ontological security holds true in describing state behavior as seen in the history of restitution, the limits of international law, and two case-studies. the first case-study centers on the highprofile, contentious debates concerning the benin bronzes. the second account examines japan’s retention of the historically significant mongyudowŏndo landscape painting of the korean chŏson dynasty. this article concludes by restating its thesis and thinks about how international relations (ir) can approach art restitution. this article is situated at the nexus of scholarship in the history of international relations (historical ir), international law, the relationship between domestic politics and international affairs, international security (namely ontological security), and the lingering influences of imperialism in international politics. ii. literature review a. international law and empire post-world war ii international law jurists attempted to ignore the historicization of its field by imagining their work as universal and impartial. the first noteworthy and thorough rejection of this thesis came from alexandrowicz (1967) who argues that positivist conceptions of international law omitted asian and pacific peoples from the international community; this exclusion prevented states from engaging in and enjoying the protections of international law.viii anand (1972) was the next major figure to tackle the influences of imperialism in international law. in his collection of lectures, anand claims that decolonized asian and african states attempting to participate in international law are not doing so on “emotional” or “cultural” grounds like they are often accused; instead, their involvement in international institutions and diplomacy are pragmatic. however, anand warns that the colonial character and limited means of reform in international law will inevitably benefit western industrialized states.ix koskenniemi (2001) provides a substantial treatment of international law by imagining the subject not as a progression of schools of thought, but instead as a narrative tracking the flow of historical currents and ideational changes. another collection of lectures, the text’s overarching argument is that international law in the nineteenth century served an instrumental purpose: to “civilize” non-western states. western states were “civilized” and international law as negotiation among equals was only possible among other european states. non-civilized or barbaric states (primarily asian and african) need only obey the precepts of international law because interaction between the civilized and barbaric would ultimately enlighten the latter’s backward societies.x engaging in the same exercise, anghie (2005) reveals through legal confrontations between the colonizer and colonized that international law primarily manifests as a mechanism for domination. additionally, these encounters demonstrate that international law and sovereignty are deeply entangled with western imperial powers’ “civilizing mission.”xi part of the justification for the “civilizing mission” was a notion of “protection.” specifically, empires claimed they should safeguard their own subjects and other foreign nationals and migrants; this meant that international treaties were required to apply this “benevolent” practice. benton and clulow (2017) show that this process of unequal treaty-making created an often blended yet ultimately discrete dualism between those inside and outside of protection. international law was used to determine who could be protected, who was excluded, and what zones were worthy of participation in the international legal community.xii international law and empire (2017) details in thematic arguments how colonialism informs the character of international law and how international law in the realms of trade and capitalist development seems divorced from democratic impulses. instead, authors in their respective chapters fear that international law might be unable to escape its eurocentric origins if it maintains its extractive economic ends.xiii another work that recounts international law’s imperial origins is pitts’ (2018) boundaries of the international. the book highlights how european powers defended international law as universalistic and that international lawyers of the nineteenth century put racial and ethnic qualifications on who could be part of the international legal community. pitts also argues that the framework of international law should be investigated further to determine what contemporary legal processes still replicate patterns of dominance.xiv b. ontological security the original concept of ontological security is derived from social theory. anthony giddens (1991) in modernity and self-identity characterizes ontological security as an identarian story designed to instill a distinct sense of self, determine the boundaries between comfort and anxiety, and grant human beings a teleological end in an otherwise confusing social world.xv mitzen’s (2006) article is understood as the foundational text for ontological security in ir scholarship. in addition to importing giddens’ definition, she argues that states routinize their “relationships to other groups,” and that narratives and interactions grant a sense of continuity and direction for states.xvi steele (2008) also advanced ontological security as a missing link in ir research. both works wanted to account for why states do not always behave in manners which advance their material power. however, steele’s book argues that states require ontological security for their own sake, not primarily for interaction with other states.xvii zarakol (2011) looks at how members of the international community can shape social environments through shared values and norms. zarakol’s article explores how the west’s “civilization” narrative excluded rising powers like japan, russia, and turkey from feeling “secure” as members of the international community. non-western states needed to adhere to alien cultural interactions and behaviors, and this developed an internal stigma which still influences their present-day behavior.xviii subotić (2016) argues that in times of crisis, states “activate” and “deactivate” different aspects of a state narrative. different components of narratives are selectively activated in times of war, or other political disasters, and might be designed to marginalize those who can be classified as enemies.xix while internal elements of a narrative are contested, eberle (2019) claims that state narratives are often written in the genre of fantasy. states possess a desire for “obscene” and “transgressive” elements to their ontological security which explains why they exclude or discriminate in issues like immigration and access to public goods.xx c. art repatriation and international law art repatriation as a subject of academic inquiry remained largely contained to the disciplines of history and art history. however, interest in art as “cultural heritage property” emerged following the unesco (1970) and unidroit (1995) conventions.xxi in terms of cross-border art repatriation, much of western scholarship on the topic has been focused on returning art stolen by nazi germany. thompson (2011) provides a detailed summary of the legal cases and efforts to locate the aesthetic survivors of the nazi “cultural genocide.”xxii the issue of to whom art belongs stands as a still contested issue in scholarly conversations concerning international private law. one of the first extended articulations of the cultural internationalist camp (that art belongs to the entire human community) came from cuno (2010). in who owns antiquity, cuno claims that nationalist art and archaeological protection laws foster dangerous precedents on who can see and claim art. the fear is that states will limit who can access their peoples’ aesthetic treasures, as well as potentially harm global culture and international relations if artifacts remain confined to national boundaries and are subject to politicization.xxiii the turn to cultural nationalism (that art ought to be primarily thought in the historical and cultural contexts of its home states and returned to its historical homelands) has taken shape over the last two decades. savoy (2022) follows the story of how african nations sought to regain their cultural memories still located in european and american museums; the work argues that restitution must remain the operative word despite attempts by museum curators and art scholars in the west to dismiss and disparage the idea.xxiv trying to regain their cultural property through international law has proven mostly fruitless; some argue this stems from the origins of international law as an instrument of colonization. brown (2021) posits that the development of international cultural property law is maintained by a “self-serving legal system” whose role is to protect the holders of plundered art rather than provide a vehicle for wronged parties to seek restitution.xxv because international law requires state compliance in both enforcement and passage of legislation, there are substantial domestic interests which might prevent the return of cultural property to their homelands. godwin (2020) investigates the legal and historical dynamics behind the british museum, and finds that due to parliamentary law, the museum trustees alone cannot legally hand back appropriated art (such as the elgin marbles or the benin bronzes).xxvi labadie (2021) outlines the failures of existing international statutes and organizations in returning stolen art from the colonial era. the only effective processes according to labadie seem to be “alternative dispute resolution mechanisms” such as bilateral state negotiations and fora such as conferences between museums and government operatives.xxvii these three bodies of scholarship establish a groundwork from which this article can proceed. first, it outlines the colonial origins of international law and how imperialism still influences existing legal processes and institutions. ontological security imagines that states possess a desire for continuity and identity in the same mold as individuals; this theory explains why states behave in ways that do not always support a desire for power or material gain. current scholarship on art repatriation and restitution draws a bleak picture for how international law can be used by formerly colonized state and non-state actors to win back their cultural artifacts. iii. research design this article remains primarily conceptual in nature in its combination of otherwise discrete literatures within international relations scholarship. this is where most of the concentration and effort in conducting and presenting this research lie. this article utilizes two methodologies to make its argument: interpretive methods and comparative historical analysis. the former adopts the approach of centering historicism, narratives, and, most crucially, the meanings states and people assign to things.xxviii meaning is central to this article’s thesis. whether the interested parties are the imperial power holding on to the plundered art or the victim of colonialism demanding their cultural memories be returned, both colonizer and colonized hold salient values for these cultural artifacts that need to be explicated. to discover and unpack these meanings, comparative historical analysis is used to investigate the benin bronzes and mongyudowŏndo. both are cases of cultural property seized by imperial powers, maintained currently in britain and japan respectively, and are emblematic of a larger issue of international law’s inadequacies concerning the return of art plundered at empire’s zenith. these two cases of imperial pillaging in the east and west demonstrate the universality of this issue in international law. in the realm of cultural property, international law still seems to benefit and protect the colonizer’s interests. iv. analysis a. ontological security: aesthetic power and counterpower ontological security argues that state agents narrate about themselves, and a self is then realized through policies, state actions, and rhetorical claims.xxix these political tools are often referred to as a “politics of memory” which ultimately construct and deconstruct a state’s sense of self.xxx therefore, a state’s identity is constantly in motion, being made and remade by action and reaction, and then solidified in routines. when this self is maintained by a stable politics of memory with little to no domestic or international pressure to change its state narrative, it feels secure.xxxi when this self is challenged by domestic sources or other states’ behaviors, rhetoric, and policies, states may feel anxiety. for people, anxiety induces fear about our individual meaning and our “’existence as a person.’”xxxii whether a totalizing transformation of a state’s identity or a minor self-reflection, anxiety ultimately forces a state to choose whether to change what makes it comfortable, close itself further and enter a critical situation, or simply ignore the source of pressure (to either be confronted later or to fester).xxxiii for both scholars (mitzen 2006; steele 2008) who first articulated the concept of ontological security in ir analysis, the issue of intersubjective versus reflexive security was paramount. mitzen understands ontological security as important for states because they need to be seen and understood in relation to and by others.xxxiv steele argues that, like individuals, states want continuity and a sense of purpose for their own stability in an otherwise disorienting anarchic world.xxxv states need and want a sense of identity to understand their role in the international community. how they appear to the international community is critical to their ontological security. these two concepts of feeling (reflexive) and appearance (intersubjective) highlight steele and mitzen’s emphases in ontological security and turn the conversation toward how states achieve satisfaction in both realms. states use aesthetics to accentuate and differentiate their respective selves. the formation of a self-image and the purpose of a state’s aesthetic craft is to ultimately promote a sense of “confidence.”xxxvi confidence is the key to understanding why states do anything. if state a possesses a strong material capability over state b, yet the former’s leadership and population lack the confidence to seize upon its advantage, it is as if state a does not possess the advantage at all. therefore, power cannot only be understood in ir theory as material. power, drawing on foucault and steele, is disaggregated and measured across a myriad of relationships and interactions.xxxvii as an example, colonialism still emerges in the relationship of domination between those who can use international law to achieve their ends (a basic understanding of power: state a getting b from state c) and those who cannot. power in its meeting with aesthetics thus denotes a self-image and a perception that a state can control its own self-image and influence others with its form and abilities.xxxviii confidence, and the aesthetic tools used to augment it in a state’s self-image, can tell security scholars why states behave in seemingly irrational ways. this aesthetic power manifests, according to steele, in three forms. the first is aesthetic power as psychological. states exert power because it can be “emotionally satisfying” and a psychological link is necessary at times to connect the goals of the nation with the state.xxxix second, power is imaginative; the state believes that its purpose and function is “ethical and even beautiful.”xl the constituents of the state believe that all events, even the ones that occur outside the state, say something about the self (the collapse of state b’s regime speaks to the strength of state a's regime). third, power can appear rhythmically. the state’s bureaucratic functions, narrative maintenance, and calendar commemorations function as a rhythm which makes the state, and its people, feel as if things are running smoothly and (importantly) correctly.xli the self-image and aesthetic patterns of a state can be disrupted. if this idealized and imagined form is compromised, it can “produce emotional and traumatic ruptures—ruptures that powerful actors seek to rectify by reacting in sometimes violent ways.”xlii if state a’s self-image is disrupted by the presence of new immigrants from state b, state a might try to forcefully stop migrants from entering its borders. because aesthetics is a fragile and carefully nurtured power, the smallest “counterpowers,” or micropressures that destabilize “the psychological, imaginative, and rhythmic subjective of power,” can undermine the constructed self-image.xliii counterpower can be lawsuits which challenge a longstanding tradition, a speech from a foreign leader which condemns another state’s action, or, as is relevant to this project, a demand from a state, museum, group, or individual to hold a former imperial power accountable for past transgressions. the return of art to a former colonized country forces a former imperial state to face its own self-image in a non-flattering, non-idealized way. like individuals, states tend to avoid recognizing when it has committed a wrong and want to escape from the feeling of shame.xliv self-reflection forces a reckoning, coming from international and domestic sources, on a state’s history that might not match the state narrative it has crafted for itself and its constituents. whether it can withstand the forced introspection is up to each state, the resilience of its politics of memory, and/or its willingness to change its identity without complete collapse. key passages of state narratives are deliberately written to instill confidence. states want to feel self-assured and practice power in styles which secure that feeling. states needing to appear confident logically implies the forces or counterpower which can undermine that goal. b. international law as alleviation: ontological security, aesthetics, and imperialism the long nineteenth century marks the highwater point for most western powers’ forays into imperialism. the british, french, german, dutch, portuguese, and belgian empires expanded across africa, asia, and the pacific to varying degrees. in contacting new peoples, treaties with polities from the global south established new precedents, customs, and patterns of rule which came to define the earliest stages of a truly global international law.xlv international jurists of the period fashioned a new legal philosophy which adhered to the “notion of the primacy of the state” and believed that “states are the principal actors of international law and they are bound only by that to which they have consented.”xlvi known as the legal school of positivism, positivist language ultimately possessed violent intentions for non-europeans. because the necessary requirement for participating in international law was possessing state power, positivists actively excluded and subordinated indigenous colonized peoples. positivists designated other political regimes from the global south as not sophisticated or developed enough to be classified to as states. in courtrooms, the pages of their briefs and manuscripts, and their lecture halls, positivists grounded their marginalization of the colonized world in sociological evolution theories of human development. they claimed european and other whitedominant nations were advanced while asian and african states were still in primitive forms; argued that “non-european, barbaric regions” simply had no laws; and that there was an international “civilized society.”xlvii positivists like travers twiss and gustave rolinjacquesmyn believed that they held a kind of special moral character and that their participation in a “transnational fraternity of aristocratic heroes” gave them the insight capable of distinguishing between barbaric and civilized states.xlviii this distinction between civilized and barbaric had ramifications for western states’ imagination of non-european bodies, land, and polities. in addition, this “othering” affected nonwestern states’ conceptions of themselves. especially in powerful centralized states like russia, japan, siam, and the ottoman empire, all not part of this “international society,” states inadvertently adopted internal stigmas about their own behavior in the international political arena.xlix regardless, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, positivists would have never allowed asian or african states to be seen or treated on the same level as their european counterparts.l positivists, and the treaties they wrote, were designed to denigrate, humiliate, and shame non-western states for not being part of “international civilized society”. the principles of the positivism did not match the language of the coercive and unequal treaties the positivists wrote and the terms european states enforced in asia and africa.li why did positivists go through the effort of making brand new categories? international law provided a colonial easing mechanism designed to instill confidence in western states while they interacted with non-european powers. states like china, ethiopia, benin, japan, siam, and the ottoman empirelii possessed powerful state bureaucracies, read european international law texts to counter positivist arguments, sent their younger generations to western universities, and formulated their own visions of international law, order, and relations.liii using the concept of ontological security and aesthetic power, positivists found themselves uncomfortable learning that non-european people and states began challenging the supposed superiority of european international law and customs. international law, as a measure to determine civilization, therefore needed to create a new discursive language that could justify the conquest and subjugation of colonial peoples and maintain the identity of europe as “civilized.” a key component of ontological security is how states determine what gives them comfort and what provokes anxiety; positivists, and the states they inhabited, rendered their purpose as a “civilizing mission” in the era of colonialism.liv to recognize that asian and african polities and peoples were civilized would undermine the moral and legal bases of their conquests and looting in the global south. western powers did not want to reflect on the full range of their moral transgressions in the colonies. international law in its positivist form provided a mediating tool to rationalize their behavior. international law soothed the anxiety in european states’ ontological security and safeguarded their self-confidence in their superiority. c. art as counterpower: how international law and ontological security withstand anticolonial norms and demands for art repatriation the power that museums and former imperial states can hold over another state is a feature of edward said’s argument that imperialism produced “intertwined and overlapping histories” for the colonized and colonizer.lv cultural property held by a former colonizer holds a kind of “political capital” and “physically ties heritage between a nation, its institutions, and its visitors, building patriotism and a sense of belonging in a nation.”lvi this understanding connects back to ontological security and aesthetics. imperial powers use plundered art to build a triumphant, beautiful history which downplays the violence and dispossession committed during its colonial past. the act of holding another’s valued cultural memory gives the colonizer a kind of authority to influence how the former colonized nation feels about its own identity and its own trajectory. this transgressive action of keeping away what belongs to another builds the state’s confidence (and rhymes with the phenomenon of psychological satisfaction of wielding power) and repatriating the art implies an admission of an unjust past. however, this description only provides an explanation as to why states resist restitution, and not how they do so. european states first addressed the practice of cultural art restitution in the 16th and 17th centuries, but the first large-scale plunder of european art occurred during the napoleonic wars. napoleon i, in his campaigns in italy, egypt, and against the grand coalition, brought back many of the aesthetic treasures of his defeated and occupied foes.lvii the victorious powers at the congress of vienna included clauses concerning the restitution of art in their peace agreements with the defeated france. following the first world war, similar art restitution clauses emerged, and the allied powers met several times during the second world war to discuss the return of stolen art which had been taken to nazi germany.lviii in the post-war boom of international law and institution-making, two international conventions tackled the issue of cultural property repatriation. the 1970 unesco convention met to establish “a cooperate legal framework that would serve to prohibit and apply international pressure preventing the illicit exportation of cultural property.”lix the convention also requires signing countries to “take necessary measures … to prevent museums and similar institutions within their territories from acquiring cultural property originating in another state.”lx while the treaty provided a potential structure for legal action, it could not compel or punish states who violated its terms. the 1995 unidroit convention sought to rectify some of the shortcomings of its predecessor by requiring the return of stolen items, accounting for ignorance in cases of stolen items, and compensation for people who must give up stolen cultural property.lxi however, the limits of the treaties became clear. without an enforcing power and legally binding compliance mechanisms, the treaties clear no direct path to return cultural property taken during the colonial era. the treaties applied to cases and cultural property identified after signing the treaty. both treaties remain limited in scope (most of the terms apply to armed conflict) and possess short timeframes in which to challenge ownership of stolen cultural property. finally, the varying legal claims and strategies by groups and states affected by colonialism, the nebulous definition of cultural property, and the practicality of tracing stolen artifacts from centuries prior make application of the conventions’ terms extraordinarily difficult.lxii signatories ensure that the language of the treaties do not bind them to returning colonial-era possessions. beyond the material gain from holding these possessions for purposes of tourism, retaining the cultural property of their formerly colonized subjects provides a state the feeling of confidence. keeping the artifacts also avoids the ontological anxiety of confronting a potentially violent past. as seen in history and modern treaties, the colonial character infused in the framework of international law allows for imperial powers and their institutions to hold on to their plundered cultural possessions. d. the benin bronzes and mongyudowŏndo two examples demonstrate the challenges of returning cultural property and how they remain in the hands of former colonial powers through the avenue of international law: the benin bronzes and mongyudowŏndo. the bronzes originate from the kingdom of benin, a powerful west african kingdom which struggled to modernize and resist the scramble for africa. the british colonial armies finally attacked the capital of benin city in 1897, stole and categorized the artifacts found in the palace, and sold benin’s cultural treasures, including the benin bronzes, around the world to individuals, organizations, and museums. the bronzes earned worldwide fame for their beautiful depictions and their significance as historical memories of the looted kingdom.lxiii nigeria spent much of the last half of the 20th century bargaining with state and non-state actors around the world and participating at auction houses to bring back their cultural property. although they have negotiated limited rotating loan programs to display many of the benin bronze pieces in benin city, representatives in austria, sweden, the netherlands, germany, and the united kingdom still claim that their museums and private citizens maintain primary ownership of the pieces.lxiv this insistence on ownership ignores the well-documented history behind how the benin bronzes were looted. the british museum is the most notorious holder of the benin bronzes due to its complicity in the plunder of benin city and the british government’s refusal (and sometimes curt public dismissal at the notion) to return many states’ historical cultural property.lxv debates still swirl around how and if south korea might regain the mongyudowŏndo and the other 89,000 cultural objects of korean origin currently located in japan. a seminal landscape painting of one of the golden ages of korean history, mongyudowŏndo depicts the prince anpyŏng’s dream of travelling to a “utopian land envisaged in a fable by fourth century chinese poet tao qian.”lxvi the piece was likely stolen during japan’s late 16th century invasion of korea. while it disappeared from history for several centuries, it was eventually found and catalogued in the late 19th century. donated to tenri university in 1953 by a private collector,lxvii japan gave the painting a designation of “important cultural property” which grants it a heightened legal protection status. as a result of japanese legal classifications and national memory practices, south korea has found it impossible to repatriate the art using japanese domestic courts and international law. lxviii japan formally refuses to acknowledge south korea’s claims to the art, and this battle folds into the vicious partisan struggle in the japanese diet on how the history of the japanese empire ought to be portrayed in nation’s collective memory.lxix why do japan and britain refuse to consider returning the art through international law or repatriate them generally? ontological security, and desire for aesthetic power as confidence, explains why states resist returning art taken during the colonial period. both japan and the united kingdom have taken active steps throughout their “post-imperial” history to avoid highlighting or confronting their colonial pasts using textbooks, political rhetoric, and monuments.lxx japan and britain simply do not want to, especially in the wake of the end of their empires, acknowledge or apologize for its colonial pasts in the form of art restitution. art restitution, and cultural property repatriation broadly, is a counterpower to both nations’ selfimages. by using norms and legal avenues to reclaim their cultural property, both state and nonstate actors sympathetic to south korea and nigeria challenge britain and japan’s ontological securities. britain and japan want to retain an image of confidence and their power over their former colonized subjects by holding the cultural property. v. conclusion this article argues that international law has been complicit as a tool designed to help former imperial states “feel” confident despite holding on to cultural property seized during their colonial pasts. by combining the scholarly bodies of literature on international law’s roots in the age of imperialism and ontological security, this article shows that art restitution is an example of a practice states avoid due to the limited capacity of international law. art repatriation is a counterpower to the confidence states such as japan and britain want to maintain for themselves following the downfall of their empires. evading legal responsibility for their actions during imperialism also avoids confronting the memory of their brutal pasts. states use international law as an alleviating mechanism to protect their self narratives from international norms and legal suits concerning the brutality and material consequences of imperialism. scholars specializing in international law need to acknowledge and assess the effects of current or past imperialism in the dynamics of state and international organization interaction. additionally, because international law already lacks significant compulsory force, more research must be undertaken to determine how former colonized states and marginalized people might win back their cultural memory through legal avenues. endnotes i dan hicks, the brutish museums: the benin bronzes, colonial violence, and cultural restitution (london: pluto press, 2020). ii hannah r. godwin, “legal complications of repatriation at the british museum,” washington international law journal 30, no. 1 (2020): 143–70. 149. united nations education, scientific, and cultural organization, “convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict with regulations for the execution of the convention” (u.n.t.s., may 14, 1954). iii godwin, “legal complications” 148. iv brent steele, defacing power: the aesthetics of insecurity in global politics (ann arbor: university of michigan press, 2010). v robert aldrich, “apologies, restitutions, and compensation: making reparations for colonialism,” in the oxford handbook of the ends of empire, ed. martin thomas and andrew s. thompson (oxford university press, 2018), 121. vi godwin, “legal complications,” 151. vii leslie johns, politics and international law: making, breaking, and upholding global rules (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2022), 27-30. viii c.h. alexandrowicz, an introduction to the history of the law of nations in the east indies (16th, 17th, and 18th centuries) (oxford: clarendon press, 1967). ix r.p. anand, new states and international law (delhi: vikas publishing house, 1972). x martti koskenniemi, the gentle civilizer of nations: the rise and fall of international law 1870-1960 (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2001). xi antony anghie, imperialism, sovereignty, and the making of international law (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2005). xii lauren benton and adam clulow, “empires and protection: making interpolity law in the early modern world,” journal of global history 12, no. 1 (2017): 74–92. xiii martti koskenniemi, walter rech, and manuel jiménez fonseca, eds., international law and empire: historical explorations (oxford: oxford university press, 2017). xiv jennifer pitts, boundaries of the international: law and empire (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 2018). xv anthony giddens, modernity and self-identity, (cambridge, uk: polity press 1991), 45-46. xvi jennifer mitzen, “ontological security in world politics: state identity and the security dilemma,” european journal of international relations 12, no. 3 (2006): 341–70. 352. xvii brent steele. ontological security in international relations: self-identity and the ir state (new york: routledge, 2008). xviii ayşe zarakol, after defeat: how the east learned to live with the west (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2011), 4, 18, 20, 24. xix jelena subotic. “narrative, ontological security, and foreign policy change.” foreign policy analysis, 12(4) (2016): 620-627. xx jakub eberle, “narrative, desire, ontological security, transgression: fantasy as a factor in international politics,” journal of international relations and development 22 (2019): 243–68. xxi i address the two conventions in more detail in my analysis. xxiierin l. thompson, “cultural losses and cultural gains: ethical dilemmas in wwii-looted art repatriation claims against public institutions,” hastings communication and entertainment law journal 33, no. 3 (2011): 406–42. xxiii james cuno, who owns antiquity: museums and the battle over our ancient heritage (princeton: princeton university press, 2010). xxiv bénédicte savoy, africa’s struggle for its art: history of a postcolonial defeat (princeton: princeton university press, 2022). xxv camden w. brown, “admire the plunder, but abhor the thief: how the development of international law perpetuates colonial inequities as modern nations battle for the repatriation of looted art and artifacts,” washington university jurisprudence review 14, no. 1 (2021): 219–50. xxvi hannah r. godwin, “legal complications of repatriation at the british museum,” washington international law journal 30, no. 1 (2020): 143–70. xxvii camille labadie, “decolonizing collections: a legal perspective on the restitution of cultural artifacts,” icofom study series 49, no. 2 (2021): 132–46. xxviii mark bevir and r.a.w rhodes, eds., routledge handbook of interpretive political science (london: taylor and francis group, 2015), 19-21. xxix brent steele, defacing power: the aesthetics of insecurity in global politics (ann arbor: university of michigan press, 2010), 3. xxx jennifer lind, sorry states: apologies in international politics (ithaca: cornell university press, 2008). xxxi jennifer m. dixon, dark pasts: changing the state’s story in turkey and japan (ithaca: cornell university press, 2018). dixon’s book outlines why there is variation in why states must change their state narratives from domestic and international pressures. xxxiikarl gustafsson and nina c. krickel-choi. “returning to the roots of ontological security: insights from the existentialist anxiety literature,” european journal of international relations 26(3) (2020): 875-895. 886. xxxiii gustafsson and krickel-choi, “returning to the roots,” 889. xxxiv mitzen, “ontological security.” xxxv steele, ontological security, 3, 72. xxxvi steele, defacing power, 5. xxxvii steele, defacing power, 15. xxxviii steele, defacing power, 15. xxxix steele, defacing power, 28-29. xl steele, defacing power, 30-31. xli steele, defacing power, 36-37. xlii steele, defacing power, 9. xliii steele, defacing power, 47. italicized in source. xliv steele, ontological security, 72. xlv anghie imperialism, 32. xlvi anghie, imperialism 33. xlvii anghie, imperialism, 58-59. xlviii koskenniemi, gentle civilizer, 78. it is important to note that not all jurists believed this to be true. see pages 139-142. xlix zarakol, after defeat. l koskenniemi, gentle civilizer 135. li anghie, imperialism, 72-73. lii the ottoman empire obviously had sustained contact with europe since the former’s inception. however, it was easy for europe to cast istanbul as a site of backwardness because of its different religion and customs from the rest of western europe. see zarakol (2011) for more detailed descriptions. liii charles holcombe, a history of east asia: from the origins of civilization to the twenty-first century, 2nd ed. (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2017). felix rösch and atsuko watanabe, eds., modern japanese political thought and international relations (london: rowman and littlefield, 2018). federico ferrera, the political development of modern thailand (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2015). anghie imperialism, 72. liv koskenniemi, gentle civilizer, 143. lv edward said, culture and imperialism (new york: vintage books, 1993), 18. lvi godwin, “legal complications,” 151. lvii david gilks, “attitudes to the displacement of cultural property in the wars of the french revolution and napoleon,” the historical journal 56, no. 1 (2013): 113–43. lviii labadie, “decolonizing collections,” 133. lix godwin, “legal complications,” 154. lx united nations education, scientific, and cultural organization, “convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property” (u.n.t.s., november 14, 1970). art. 7. lxi godwin, “legal complications,” 156. lxii labadie,” decolonizing collections,” 135. lxiii dan hicks, the brutish museums, 109-114. 145-151. lxivg. harris, “looted benin bronzes to be lent back to nigeria,” the art museum, 2017, 294, https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/looted-benin-bronzes-to-be-lent-back-to-nigeria. lxv see mark brown, british museum chief: taking the parthenon marbles was 'creative', the guardian (jan. 28, 2019, 2:45 pm), https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jan/28/britishmuseum-chief-taking-theparthenon-marbles-was-creative. aimee dawson, in damning online critique of british museum's ethics, trustee ahdaf soueif announces resignation, the art newspaper (jul. 16, 2019), https://www.theartnewspaper. com/news/it-hardly-speaks-writer-ahdaf-soueif-pens-damning-critique. ahdaf soueif, on resigning from the british museum’s board of trustees, london review of books (jul. 15, 2019) https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2019/july/on-resigning-from-the-british-museums-board-of-trustees. lxvi lydia (soo min) lim, “reclaiming mongyudowŏndo: legal challenges to restituting korean cultural property from japan and alternative solutions,” 2021 42, no. 3 (2021): 889–920. lxvii lim, “legal challenges,” 892. lxviii lim, “legal challenges,” 903. lxix jennifer lind, sorry states: apologies in international politics (ithaca: cornell university press, 2008). yoshiko nozaki, “japanese politics and the history textbook controversy, 1982–2001,” international journal of education research 37, no. 6 and 7 (2002): 603–22. lxx susanne grindel, “the end of empire: colonial heritage and the politics of memory in britain,” journal of educational media, memory & society 5, no. 1 (2013): 33–49. lind, sorry states. dixon, dark pasts. references aldrich, robert. “apologies, restitutions, and compensation: making reparations for colonialism.” in the oxford handbook of the ends of empire, edited by martin thomas and andrew s. thompson, 1-21. oxford university press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198713197.013.39. alexandrowicz, c.h. an introduction to the history of the law of nations in the east indies (16th, 17th, and 18th centuries). oxford: clarendon press, 1967. anand, r.p. new states and international law. delhi: vikas publishing house, 1972. anghie, antony. imperialism, sovereignty, and the making of international law. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2005. benton, lauren, and adam clulow. “empires and protection: making interpolity law in the early modern world.” journal of global history 12, no. 1 (2017): 74–92. bevir, mark, and r.a.w rhodes, eds. routledge handbook of interpretive political science. london: taylor and francis group, 2015. brown, camden w. “admire the plunder, but abhor the thief: how the development of international law perpetuates colonial inequities as modern nations battle for the repatriation of looted art and artifacts.” washington university jurisprudence review 14, no. 1 (n.d.): 219– 50. cuno, james. who owns antiquity: museums and the battle over our ancient heritage. princeton: princeton university press, 2010. dixon, jennifer m. dark pasts: changing the state’s story in turkey and japan. ithaca: cornell university press, 2018. eberle, jakub. “narrative, desire, ontological security, transgression: fantasy as a factor in international politics.” journal of international relations and development 22 (2019): 243–68. ferrera, federico. the political development of modern thailand. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2015. gilks, david. “attitudes to the displacement of cultural property in the wars of the french revolution and napoleon.” the historical journal 56, no. 1 (2013): 113–43. godwin, hannah r. “legal complications of repatriation at the british museum.” washington international law journal 30, no. 1 (2020): 143–70. grindel, susanne. “the end of empire: colonial heritage and the politics of memory in britain.” journal of educational media, memory & society 5, no. 1 (2013): 33–49. harris, g. “looted benin bronzes to be lent back to nigeria.” the art museum, 2017, 294 edition. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/looted-benin-bronzes-to-be-lent-back-to-nigeria. hicks, dan. the brutish museums: the benin bronzes, colonial violence, and cultural restitution. london: pluto press, 2020. holcombe, charles. a history of east asia: from the origins of civilization to the twenty-first century. 2nd ed. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2017. johns, leslie. politics and international law: making, breaking, and upholding global rules. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2022. koskenniemi, martti. the gentle civilizer of nations: the rise and fall of international law 18701960. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2001. koskenniemi, martti, walter rech, and manuel jiménez fonseca, eds. international law and empire: historical explorations. oxford: oxford university press, 2017. labadie, camille. “decolonizing collections: a legal perspective on the restitution of cultural artifacts.” icofom study series 49, no. 2 (2021): 132–46. lim, lydia (soo min). “reclaiming mongyudowŏndo: legal challenges to restituting korean cultural property from japan and alternative solutions.” 2021 42, no. 3 (2021): 889–920. lind, jennifer. sorry states: apologies in international politics. ithaca: cornell university press, 2008. mauro, benedetta. “the reoverry of cultural property in international law: collaborative settlements of disputes.” dissertation, n.d. mitzen, jennifer. “ontological security in world politics: state identity and the security dilemma.” european journal of international relations 12, no. 3 (2006): 341–70. nozaki, yoshiko. “japanese politics and the history textbook controversy, 1982–2001.” international journal of education research 37, no. 6 and 7 (2002): 603–22. pitts, jennifer. boundaries of the international: law and empire. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 2018. rösch, felix, and atsuko watanabe, eds. modern japanese political thought and international relations. london: rowman and littlefield, 2018. said, edward. culture and imperialism. new york: vintage books, 1993. savoy, bénédicte. africa’s struggle for its art: history of a postcolonial defeat. princeton: princeton university press, 2022. steele, brent. defacing power: the aesthetics of insecurity in global politics. ann arbor: university of michigan press, 2010. thompson, erin l. “cultural losses and cultural gains: ethical dilemmas in wwii-looted art repatriation claims against public institutions.” hastings communication and entertainment law journal 33, no. 3 (2011): 406–42. united nations education, scientific, and cultural organization. “convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict with regulations for the execution of the convention.” u.n.t.s., may 14, 1954. ———. “convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property.” u.n.t.s., november 14, 1970. zarakol, ayşe. after defeat: how the east learned to live with the west. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2011. perceiving panic: panic disorder and comorbid medical conditions brittany j. baugher psychology panic disorder (pd) is an anxiety disorder characterized by periods of intense and uncontrollable fear, often referred to as panic attacks. pd is developed through exposure to panic attacks that lead to anxiety and worry about future panic attacks. a vital component of pd is the physical nature of the panic symptoms. for this reason, comorbid medical conditions are important to analyze. there may be overlap between the symptoms of an individual’s pd and medical conditions, or they may exacerbate each other. individuals with pd are often more receptive to interoceptive cues. consequently, individuals with pd are more likely to interpret these interoceptive cues as signals of a medical condition. this review will focus on the relationship between pd and medical conditions and analyze the prevalence of comorbidity. there has been research on pd comorbidity with respiratory disorders (meuret, kroll, & ritz, 2017; muller, koen, & stein, 2005), seizure disorder (muller et al., 2005), kluver-bucy syndrome (muller et al., 2005), mitral valve prolapse (filho et al., 2011; gulpek et al., 2004; muller et al., 2005), cardiovascular disease (meuret et al., 2017; roy-byrne et al., 2008), irritable bowel syndrome (meuret et al., 2017; roy-byrne et al., 2008) and other gastrointestinal disorders (stasi et al., 2017), diabetes (meuret et al., 2017), fibromyalgia (carta et al., 2018), joint hypermobility (garcia-campayo, asso, & alda, 2011; gulpek et al., 2004), and asthma (roy-byrne et al., 2008). understanding the relationship between pd and these medical conditions is vital for diagnosis and treatment. characteristics of panic disorder a panic attack is an experience of intense fear that can be accompanied by a number of physical and mental symptoms, including chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, and thoughts of losing control, going crazy, or dying (bouton, mineka, & barlow, 2001). a person must experience unexpected panic attacks that do not occur because of any cues or triggers in order to meet criteria for pd. the individual must also develop substantial anxiety or worry about having future panic attacks and the implications of these panic attacks. this is an important distinction because many people experience panic attacks in response to stress but do not develop anxiety about having panic attacks and therefore do not meet the criteria for a pd diagnosis (bouton et al., 2001). based on data from the national comorbidity survey replication, it is estimated that 4.7% of the u.s. population will experience pd at some time in their lives (national institute of mental health, 2017). the physical symptoms associated with panic attacks play a major role in perpetuating pd. if an individual with pd experiences breathlessness for any number of reasons they may interpret this as the onset of a panic attack. this thought may exacerbate these physical symptoms and eventually lead to a panic attack. in an attempt to break this cycle, many individuals with pd try to avoid the physical symptoms that occur during their panic attacks. for example, an individual may avoid physical exercise because it may cause breathlessness or other symptoms that they associate with their panic attacks. this avoidance only helps to maintain the pd because the individual does not learn to cope with these physical symptoms. many of the physical symptoms that occur during panic attacks are also present in the medical conditions that will be discussed in this paper. when an individual experiences these symptoms it may be difficult for them to determine if it is a representation of their medical condition or the onset of a panic attack. the hypersensitivity to physical symptoms that individuals with pd exhibit, adds to the complexity of the interaction between these comorbid conditions. there is a large body of evidence that anxiety is associated with high rates of medical symptoms and increased use of healthcare resources (katon, lin, & kroenke, 2007; marciniak et al., 2005; simon & vonkorff, 1991). anxiety disorders are strongly associated with chronic medical conditions (härter, conway, & merikangas, 2003; sareen et al., 2006), indicating the importance of research on the connection between anxiety and medical conditions. interoception in panic disorder interoception is defined as the sense of the internal state of the body. individuals with pd have an increased interoceptive sensitivity, or a hypervigilance to physical symptoms. the ultimate goal of interoceptive cues is to maintain homeostasis throughout the body, but they are also theorized to play a role in feeling emotions (meuret et al., 2017). for example, the ability of an individual to sense their own heartbeat is thought to amplify emotions, specifically sensations of anxiety and fear. individuals that suffer from pd show an increased interoceptive sensitivity for somatic symptoms, which makes them more likely to make catastrophic misappraisal about their own body sensations (garfinkel & critchley, 2013). as previously noted, cardiac symptoms are commonly experienced during panic attacks, but are also commonly catastrophized as symptoms of a heart attack (chambless, beck, gracely, & grisham, 2000). for example, an individual with pd may experience heart palpitations and jump to the conclusion that they are having a heart attack, which in turn increases their panic response. for individuals with a comorbid heart condition it may be difficult to differentiate between harmless panic symptoms, and symptoms of their heart condition. several studies have illustrated this hypervigilance to panic symptoms. two studies found that individuals with high anxiety sensitivity and frequent panic response were able to perceive their heartrate with greater accuracy than healthy controls (richards & bertram, 2000; zoellner & craske, 1999). another study revealed that individuals with panic attacks were more likely to feel anxious in response to an increase in heartrate, but did not differ from controls in the number of heartrate increases (pauli, marquardt, hartl, & nutzinger, 1991). this finding suggests that the subject’s interpretation of their visceral arousal is a major component of the panic response cycle. cardiovascular illness and panic disorder heart palpitations or a “racing heart” is the most widely reported physical symptom of panic disorder, which raises suspicions of a link between panic disorder and cardiovascular illness. past research has demonstrated the importance of psychological factors in cardiovascular illness, with stressful or traumatic experiences increasing cardiac events. an association has been revealed between anxiety disorders and coronary heart disease and hypertension, as well as cerebrovascular events, including strokes (emdin et al., 2016; meuret et al., 2017; roy-byrne et al., 2008). large, nationally representative studies within the united states have found that individuals with pd are up to 2 times more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease than individuals without pd (goodwin, davidson, & keyes, 2009). there is, however, limited research on the role of pd specifically in association with cardiovascular disease. this warrants a need for further research that is focused on pd rather than anxiety disorders as a whole. one study found an increased rate of pd (13%) in hypertensive primary care patients, in which the pd developed after the hypertension diagnosis (davies et al., 1999). more research is needed to determine the timeline of diagnoses among other cardiovascular illnesses and pd. a treatment for life-threatening ventricular fibrillations, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, delivers shock to the individual. this treatment, although effective, has negative psychological outcomes including pd. one study found that within individuals undergoing this treatment and experiencing more than two electrical shocks per year, the prevalence of pd with agoraphobia was 62% (meuret et al., 2017). within individuals that only experienced one electrical discharge per year, the prevalence rate of pd with agoraphobia was 10%. several studies have demonstrated that pd patients have an increased risk of developing various cardiovascular illnesses including a 1.3-fold risk of developing hypertension (stein et al., 2014), a 1.5-fold risk of atrial fibrillation (cheng et al., 2013), and a fourfold risk of developing coronary heart disease (smoller et al., 2007). there are several mechanisms that may play a role in the link between pd and cardiovascular illnesses. problematic health behaviors that are often present in individuals with pd have been discussed as a contributor to this link, including lack of physical activity, obesity, and smoking (meuret et al., 2017). prescriptions of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors that are often given to patients with pd can contribute to obesity and subsequent development of cardiovascular illnesses. there are also pathways in which cardiovascular illness may lead to subsequent development of pd. the emotional consequences of cardiovascular illness, including catastrophic thoughts and fear of dying, may lead to a development of anxiety or pd in individuals that are susceptible (meuret et al., 2017). as discussed earlier, cardioverter defibrillator treatment can also increase the likelihood for an individual to develop pd. although this treatment may be effective, the side effect of developing pd may cause patients to discontinue treatment. understanding the link between pd and cardiovascular illness, and the mechanisms that are involved, is vital to the development of effective treatments. respiratory conditions and panic disorder individuals with asthma have an increased prevalence rate of pd. a range of samples have suggested that the comorbidity rate is between 7% and 45% (meuret et al., 2017). this clearly identifies a need for further research to more accurately define the prevalence of comorbidity between pd and asthma. among pediatric patients (aged 5 to 11) with asthma the prevalence rate of comorbid pd was 14.9%, with other anxiety disorders following behind with a prevalence rate of 8.1% for separation anxiety, 5.4% for agoraphobia, and 4.1% for generalized anxiety disorder (goodwin et al., 2009). although asthma is the most commonly researched, pd is associated with an elevated prevalence of respiratory disease in general, including chronic bronchitis, copd, and emphysema. however, this elevation in the rate of comorbidity is also seen in other mental illnesses including major depression, social anxiety disorder, and substance abuse (patten & williams, 2007). research has revealed that the association between pd and respiratory illness is bidirectional. respiratory illness during childhood leads to an increased risk of pd diagnosis later in life. for example, one study found that asthma during early adulthood was associated with the development of pd 20 years later (hasler, gergen, kleinbaum, ajdacic, & al, 2005). this same study also found that pd during early adulthood was associated with developing asthma later in life. these findings support the bidirectional association between pd and respiratory illness, but it is important to understand the mechanisms that underlie this association. similar mechanisms that play a role in cardiovascular illness comorbidity, may also play a role in the comorbidity between pd and respiratory conditions. as described above, problematic health behaviors including lack of physical activity, obesity, and smoking are also relevant to respiratory illnesses. for example, individuals with pd often avoid exercise due to the uncomfortable physical symptoms, but this exercise avoidance not only exacerbates the pd it also increases the risk of respiratory complications due to a sedentary lifestyle (lucas & plattsmills, 2005). smoking and obesity contribute to this increase in risk by causing airway damage and inflammation (lugogo, kraft, & dixon, 2009). sustained states of stress and anxiety can also generate inflamed airways, which can be exacerbated by anticipatory anxiety about future attacks (battaglia & ogliari, 2005). anxiety and stress can facilitate respiratory infections as well, which can lead to the development of a respiratory illness. there are several mechanisms in which respiratory illness can lead to subsequent pd. the emotional burden of chronic illness can lead to stress, anxiety, and even catastrophizing that may contribute to the development of pd. the symptoms that are associated with respiratory illness may be misinterpreted. for example, breathlessness is a common symptom among respiratory illnesses and is also one of the most common symptoms associated with pd. individuals with respiratory illnesses may also be more attuned to a suffocation alarm that can lead to hyperventilation, which is also common in pd (klein, 1993). several medications for respiratory illness, including bronchodilators and oral corticosteroids, can induce symptoms similar to those observed during the onset of a panic attack (brown et al., 2004; lehrer et al., 2008). functional gastrointestinal disorders and panic disorder there are 28 functional gastrointestinal disorders (fgids), of which irritable bowel syndrome (ibs) is the most common and well-studied (roy-byrne et al., 2008). individuals with ibs typically have visceral hyperalgesia, an exaggerated pain response to intestinal activity (drossman, 2006; jarcho & mayer, 2007). similar to the increase in interoception that is seen in pd, individuals with ibs have an increased awareness of digestive discomfort. stress reactivity is also an important feature of ibs (drossman, 2006; jarcho & mayer, 2007) and is characteristic of many anxiety and mood disorders. ibs is associated with higher levels of neuroticism, anxiety sensitivity, visceral anxiety, and worry compared to those without ibs (hazlett-stevens, craske, mayer, chang, & naliboff, 2003). ibs has high rates of comorbidity with other illnesses, suggesting that individuals with ibs are hypervigilant to symptoms (whitehead et al., 2007). ibs has been linked to pd, with individuals with ibs having a prevalence rate for pd between 3.8% and 31% (walker, roy-byrne, & katon, 1990), although a more recent study has estimated that 4.4% of individuals with ibs also have a comorbid pd diagnosis (janssens, zijlema, joustra, & rosmalen, 2015). more research is needed to get a more accurate prevalence rate, but it is clear that among individuals with pd the rate of ibs is over twice that of those without pd (lydiard, 2005). visceral pain signals, stress response, mood, anxiety, and gastrointestinal function are processed within the same neural pathways (grundy et al., 2006), suggesting that these pathways may play a role in the comorbidity between pd and ibs. the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (hpa) axis and subsequent corticotropin-releasing factor (crf) play a major role in these pathways (roy-byrne et al., 2008). severe or prolonged stress can lead to crf hyperactivity and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and catecholamines, which can result in excessive inflammatory activity (chang, 2006; dinan et al., 2006). there is evidence for hpa abnormalities and pro-inflammatory activity in ibs and pd, suggesting that crf dysregulation may act as a link between the two disorders (chang, 2006). ibs and pd have similar mechanisms of onset and symptoms including anticipatory anxiety, nausea, and abdominal distress (meuret et al., 2017). patients with ibs and patients with pd have similar illness prognoses, while individuals that have both have exacerbated versions of each disorder. one study found that anticipatory anxiety was higher in comorbid patients than in patients with pd alone (sugaya et al., 2013). catastrophic interpretations of ibs symptoms may contribute to pd development or maintenance (meuret et al., 2017). because ibs and pd have overlapping symptoms and mechanisms, they can both be treated with antidepressants, anxiolytics, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (roy-byrne et al., 2008). chronic pain and panic disorder pain is a perceptual experience that can be altered by a number of factors including cognition, emotion, behavior, and social influences. pain is designed as an adaptive process to avoid physical harm, but chronic pain no longer provides this adaptive quality (roy-byrne et al., 2008). the most common chronic pain disorders include chronic spinal pain, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and migraines. chronic pain can lead to a slew of emotional distress including anger, guilt, depression, fear, social withdrawal, and anxiety (mcwilliams, cox, & enns, 2003). these emotions can contribute to the experience of chronic pain, and chronic pain patients have higher rates of anxiety symptoms, specifically panic symptoms (means‐ christensen, roy‐byrne, sherbourne, craske, & stein, 2008). in two national comorbidity surveys the percentage of chronic pain patients with comorbid pd was 4.8% and 6.5% (mcwilliams et al., 2003; von korff et al., 2005). comorbidity rates are particularly high in chronic pain patients that experience chest pain or negative cardiac symptoms (beitman et al., 1989; katon et al., 2007). it is unclear whether pd typically precedes chronic pain or vice versa. within a population of 146 injured workers with chronic pain, all but one of the patients had an anxiety disorder before the onset of their chronic pain (asmundson, jacobson, allerdings, & norton, 1996). another study with a sample of 90 chronic lower back pain patients found that 23% of the patients previously had an anxiety disorder (kinney, gatchel, polatin, fogarty, & mayer, 1993). more research is needed to determine the temporal pattern between chronic pain and pd specifically. pain and fear are both associated with physiological arousal. they are adaptive mechanisms, but can have detrimental effects when prolonged (roy-byrne et al., 2008). there is some literature to support the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy for individuals with chronic pain (devine ec, 2003; hoffman, papas, chatkoff, & kerns, 2007; morley, eccleston, & williams, 1999). graded exposure has been used to reduce fear and pain intensity, and to increase physical activity in individuals with chronic pain (de jong, vlaeyen, onghena, cuypers, et al., 2005; de jong, vlaeyen, onghena, goossens, et al., 2005; woods & asmundson, 2008). antidepressants are also beneficial to chronic pain patients (saarto & wiffen, 2007). these treatments are promising for individuals with comorbid pd and chronic pain, due to the overlap in effective treatment methods. diabetes and panic disorder within diabetic patient samples 1.3% to 8.9% have comorbid pd (fisher et al., 2008; grigsby, anderson, freedland, clouse, & lustman, 2002). however, one study found that the prevalence of pd is higher among patients with type i diabetes than patients with type ii diabetes (de ornelas maia, braga, brouwers, nardi, & de oliveira e silva, 2012). individuals with diabetes and a comorbid pd or anxiety disorder exhibit poorer blood glucose levels and an increase in pain, symptom burden, diabetic complications, and overall disability (smith et al., 2013). pd and diabetes have a considerable amount of symptom overlap. one potential mechanism of the bidirectional association of pd and diabetes is the hypoglycemic episodes that mimic panic symptoms and can lead to a conditioned fear response. during a hypoglycemic episode an individual may feel faint, a symptom that is also characteristic of pd. this can lead to a panic response and subsequently a conditioned fear response. one survey of 244 diabetic patients who have experiences hypoglycemic episodes found that 74% were also diagnosed with agoraphobia, a conditioned fear response (costea, ionescu-tîrgovişte, cheţa, & mincu, 1993). the conditioned fear response contributes to both the development and maintenance of panic. hpa axis dysregulation may be a mechanism for the comorbidity of pd and diabetes (meuret et al., 2015). hpa axis activation without the presence of a threatening stimuli is characteristic of pd, and can lead to elevated levels of glucocorticoids, which initiates insulin resistance that is seen in diabetes (rafacho, ortsäter, nadal, & quesada, 2014). negative health behaviors that are associated with pd may have an influence on the development and maintenance of diabetes. these include sedentary behavior, obesity, smoking, and poor sleep (defronzo et al., 2015). mitral valve prolapse and panic disorder the association between mitral valve prolapse and panic disorder is debated within the research community because there are mixed results of the prevalence rate of the comorbid disorders. mitral valve prolapse is an abnormality, affecting 3% to 5% of the adult population (devereux, 1995; freed et al., 1999), in which the two flaps of the mitral valve do not close evenly. mitral valve prolapse and pd share many symptoms including chest pain, palpitations, dyspnea, dizziness, fatigue, and anxiety, and are both more common in women (gulpek et al., 2004). some studies suggest that the rate of mitral valve prolapse in pd is as great as 20% to 50% (muller et al., 2005). a more recent study, with a sample size of 50, found no significant difference in prevalence rate with 2.4% of pd patients also diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and only 1% of the control group diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse (filho et al., 2011). there is a need for more research on the prevalence of pd and mitral valve prolapse with larger sample sizes and a more standardized criterion for mitral valve prolapse diagnosis. pd and mitral valve prolapse may both be affected by dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, including an increase in heart rate variability (sullivan et al., 2004; yeragani, tancer, & uhde, 2003). pd treatments have been found to be effective for mitral valve prolapse by reducing symptoms like hyperventilation that can contribute to heart rate variability (sullivan et al., 2004). joint hypermobility syndrome and panic disorder joint hypermobility syndrome is a common, hereditary, connective tissue disorder that has been associated with pd and mitral valve prolapse (garcia-campayo et al., 2011; muller et al., 2005). one of the first studies to look at the association between joint hypermobility and pd found that 67.7% of pd patients also had joint hypermobility syndrome (martin-santos, bulbena, porta, gago, & al, 1998). unlike other comorbid conditions, the temporal sequence is obvious because joint hypermobility syndrome is present from early childhood, while pd does not typically develop until early adulthood (garcia-campayo et al., 2011). one study aimed at understanding the role of mitral valve prolapse in the association of pd and joint hypermobility syndrome found that joint hypermobility syndrome was found in 59.5% of pd patients with mitral valve prolapse, and in 42.9% of pd patients who did not have mitral valve prolapse (gulpek et al., 2004). this study suggests that mitral valve prolapse affects the prevalence of joint hypermobility syndrome in pd patients. many of the symptoms and disorders discussed in this paper are also associated with joint hypermobility including asthma, cardiac dysfunctions, digestive problems, and pain disorders (garcia-campayo et al., 2011). the only suggested mechanism for the association between joint hypermobility syndrome and pd is a genetic mutation, dup25, on chromosome 15 that has been significantly associated with pd, social anxiety disorder, and joint hypermobility disorder (gratacòs et al., 2001). however, another study did not find dup25 in any of their patients with joint hypermobility syndrome and pd (tabiner et al., 2003). more research is needed to determine the mechanisms that contribute to the association between joint hypermobility syndrome and pd. diagnosis and treatment implications the overlap of symptoms between pd and comorbid medical conditions may cause errors in diagnosis and treatment, which may lead to additional healthcare costs (greenberg et al., 1999; potokar & nutt, 2000). at the onset of symptoms many individuals turn to primary care settings where there is limited time and resources for comprehensive testing. healthcare professionals may also overlook comorbid disorders after one diagnosis is made based on the presented symptoms (meuret et al., 2017). not only is there a bidirectional association between pd and medical conditions, but they can also exacerbate one another. for example, asthma is exacerbated by the presence of comorbid pd, this exacerbated asthma subsequently leads to symptoms that are feared by pd patients and therefore exacerbate the panic attacks that pd patients experience (meuret, ehrenreich, pincus, & ritz, 2006). comorbid treatment poses a challenge as treatment of one disorder may exacerbate the other disorder. cognitive-behavioral therapy, that is often used to treat pd, includes voluntarily experiencing the symptoms of a panic attack which may cause issues for individuals with a comorbid medical illness. for a patient with comorbid pd and respiratory illness, it would be problematic to use cognitive behavioral therapy that requires voluntary hyperventilation because this would induce bronchoconstriction (meuret et al., 2006). cognitive-behavioral therapy may be an effective treatment many comorbid pd and medical conditions. the breathing exercises that are often taught during cognitive-behavioral therapy are beneficial for individuals with comorbid respiratory illnesses because they can teach individuals how to reduce hyperventilation (meuret, wilhelm, ritz, & roth, 2008). future research there is still much to be discovered about the association between pd and medical conditions. further research with larger sample sizes is needed to pin down more accurate prevalence rates for the comorbid disorders. longitudinal studies are necessary to determine the temporal sequence of disorder onsets. understanding which disorder preceded the other may help elucidate the mechanisms of onset. there is a need for neurological studies to determine the pathways that are involved in pd and the comorbid medical condition. examining biological mechanisms will also help to illuminate the factors that contribute to this onset of conditions. there is little research on treatment for these comorbid disorders. treatments are typically aimed at one of the comorbid disorders but ignores the other. cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective for treating pd and some medical conditions but must be adapted to treat other medical conditions. therapies and medications that are useful in treating pd must be evaluated as treatments for the comorbid medical illnesses. there is also a need for a more effective method of diagnosing these comorbid conditions. many of these illnesses go undiagnosed because one diagnosis is already determined. more research is needed to understand the complex interaction of pd with comorbid medical conditions, but progress is currently underway. conclusion panic disorder has a complex array of comorbid medical conditions with an overlap in symptoms and mechanisms of onset. the physical nature of pd contributes to the hypervigilance towards physical symptoms that may overlap with comorbid medical illnesses. pd patients often interpret their physical symptoms as dangerous, especially if they are symptoms that overlap with their medical condition. it is important for pd patients, as well as their healthcare professionals, to parse out symptoms 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(1999). interoceptive accuracy and panic. behaviour research and therapy, 37, 1141–1158. microsoft word is this thing on, concept, teya juarez, spring 2023 1 “is this thing on?”: staging gender, sexuality, and race via metatheatricality teya juarez theatre introduction: queer and bipoc representations in theatre at the very top of john cameron mitchell and stephen trask’s 2014 musical hedwig and the angry inch, hedwig announces, “i’m moved by the simple fact that this [...] cruelly abridged corpus”—referencing her own genderqueer body—“is at this very moment being supported by the same groaning planks that cradled brando’s debut and barrymore’s farewell.”1 even the title character of this glam-rock-style musical is shocked to see her queer body on the same stage that is typically reserved for straight, cis, white bodies. every instance of the staging of gender, sexuality, and race is significant in the face of a white, heteronormative world of theatre. the existence of these performances is essential in the call for the centering of queer and bipoc voices. but what if the current level and quality of representation of queer and bipoc bodies in the theatre is ultimately unsatisfactory? how can these performances connect with their audiences in a way that demands their attention and causes them to think critically about the current systems in place? through the examples of mitchell and trask’s hedwig and the angry inch, robert o’hara’s bootycandy, and young jean lee’s straight white men, i propose that these stagings of gender, sexuality, and race embody the theories of sara ahmed’s queer phenomenology and josé esteban muñoz’s disidentification through metatheatrical devices to achieve active witness to the rebellion inherent in the representation of minoritized identities. with the use of metatheatrical devices such as direct acknowledgement of and interaction with the audience, and the recognition of the performance as a performance, these plays call attention 2 to themselves as non-normative experiences in the face of the heteronormative as discussed by ahmed, and act as an embodied example of disidentification as explained by muñoz. these three plays explicitly center marginalized bodies and make use of metatheatre to call attention to their representation. hedwig and the angry inch features the title character of hedwig, a genderqueer rock performer from east germany. hedwig reenacts moments from her past as she examines the complicated reality of her gender identity, directly provoking the audience along the way. bootycandy is a collection of scenes and characters that explore the intersections of race and queer identities. the black characters, particularly the black playwright characters, are repeatedly met with reductive expectations from white characters who seek to invalidate the work of queer bipoc artists. the characters include the audience in these uncomfortable confrontations, and the script repeatedly utilizes the performance-within-aperformance device, actively experimenting with normative expectations of queer and bipoc art. straight white men seemingly features a family of straight, cis, white men that have come together to celebrate christmas. but the two queer bipoc characters, person in charge 1 and person in charge 2, orchestrate the entire performance, explicitly and metatheatrically framing this white story for the audience. queer phenomenology and disidentification lend particular significance to specific metatheatrical moments in these plays that make visible the potential disruptions that queer and bipoc perspectives bring to normative storylines. forms of resistance: theoretical lenses queer phenomenology, specifically in regards to ahmed’s chapter on sexual orientation, serves as a foundation for thinking about embodied orientation in the space of the world. as she states, “bodies are sexualized through how they inhabit space.”2 ahmed considers the term queer to be “a spatial term” that implies “a twisted sexuality that does not follow a ‘straight line.’”3 3 straight, or heterosexual, then acts as the straight line that queer sexual orientation fails to fall in line with. ahmed suggests that “heterosexual would be presumed to be neutral.”4 heterosexuality is not simply a different orientation from queer orientation, heterosexual orientation in our current world acts as the assumed normal. the straight, or vertical, orientation of heterosexuality is “normative,” “shaped by the repetition of bodily and social actions over time.”5 because heterosexuality has been continually treated as normal, it has become the fixed vertical x-axis at the center of all possible orientations. queer bodies take on orientations in all different, non-normative directions. as “sexual orientation” is “integral to the subject, as a matter of its identity,” the way these orientations are related to one another becomes essential to how each body experiences the world.6 as ahmed puts it, sexual orientation would be seen as “involving differences in one’s very relation to the world—that is, in how one ‘faces’ the world or is directed toward it.”7 this suggests that experiencing the world through the embodiment of a non-normative orientation is fundamentally different than through a heterosexual, linear orientation. if the normative, heterosexual world is a vertical x-axis, queer orientations exist in all other directions, never quite aligning with the straight, vertical line. ahmed goes on to propose that because straight orientation is widely interpreted as normal, and queer orientations are interpreted as abnormal in this way, there is a pull to “‘[correct]’ the slantwise direction of queer desire.”8 as an example of this, ahmed points to sexologist havelock ellis and “his model of sexual inversion.”9 she explains that ellis’s “reading of inversion in women” suggests that the “inversion” is “produced by congenital masculinity” as a way of “bringing queer desire back in line” with straight orientation.10 ellis’s claim that a queer woman’s attraction to the same sex is actually evidence that she is a man is an attempt to return the queer orientation back to the vertical norm. her attraction to another woman can only be 4 explained if she is a man, as men and women are intended to be the object of each others’ desires in the normative, straight world. overall, ahmed’s theory suggests that queer bodies exist in a world that expects and assumes heterosexuality. the vertical, x-axis acts as the normative, rendering all other orientations non-normative, or inherently queer. those who embody these queer orientations experience the world through that queer orientation. they also experience the pull of the vertical x-axis, as the heteronormativity of the space that bodies occupy attempts to remedy their twisted orientation, trying to return it to a neutral state. for example, the character hedwig embodies a queer orientation, as she does not adhere to normative expectations of gender. hedwig expresses feelings of surprise when she is allowed to occupy a broadway theater, a space that has typically been reserved to feature normative orientations. her queer body, which refuses to dilute its queerness, complicates the established norm of the space. this is where josé esteban muñoz’s disidentifications: queers of color and the performance of politics comes into play. disidentification is a strategy of both survival and resistance utilized by queer folx of color and other minoritized groups that works both within and against the systems of the majority. the process of disidentification serves those of “identitiesin-difference,” a term muñoz borrows from “third world feminists and radical women of color, especially chicana theorists.”11 muñoz explains that it is “always laboring to enact permanent structural change while at the same time valuing the importance of local or everyday struggles of resistance.”12 disidentification is an attempt to fight back against oppressive systems of the majority ideology from within the system itself as opposed to acting entirely independently and outside of it. it acknowledges acts of resistance in whatever manner they are able to manifest. 5 muñoz makes a point to note that “disidentification is not always an adequate strategy of resistance or survival.”13 on some occasions, he says, “queers of color and minority subjects need to follow a conformist path if they hope to survive a hostile public sphere.”14 this recognition of the prioritization of safety is extremely important for these minoritized groups. i propose that the version of resistance that muñoz demonstrates with disidentification is a step towards this prioritization all on its own. with its emphasis on supporting resistance big and small from within the majority system, disidentification is prepared to validate whatever resistance is possible and sustainable, prioritizing survival of individuals. while it might seem counterintuitive for resistance to continue to act from within the offending systems, it is not realistic to expect minoritized folx, already at a disadvantaged position, to somehow operate entirely independently as a force against the well-established, majority ideology. this theory gives them permission to take what they need from the majority systems and use it in their fight against those systems. disidentification seems to recognize and validate the experiences of queer folx of color and other minoritized groups that continue to exist within the systems of a world that explicitly does not support them. the additional force of metatheatricality both of these theories involve the queer and bipoc voices that are at the center of hedwig and the angry inch (hedwig), bootycandy (the black playwrights), and straight white men (the people in charge). another thing these three plays have in common is the use of metatheatricality. according to theatre histories, metatheatricality is defined as “theatrical selfreference,” including “production techniques and characters’ comments pointing out that the current activity is a play performance.”15 in other words, metatheatre refers to acknowledgement by the performance that it is in fact a performance. this includes, but is not limited to, breaking 6 of the fourth wall and plays within the action of the play. many plays include varying levels of metatheatricality for different purposes and effects. i argue that metatheatricality is employed by these three works as a means of acknowledging the heteronormative x-axis of the world that ahmed discusses, and as a way of embodying the strategy of disidentification that muñoz explores. each of these plays uses elements of metatheatre to create an active sense of awareness and analysis in the audience as they watch each performance. and this analysis takes different shapes depending on who is in the audience. metatheatre and the active spectator one of the elements of metatheatricality used the most across these three pieces is direct acknowledgement of and interaction with the audience. in hedwig and the angry inch, hedwig offers a strong example of the use of metatheatricality to inspire active spectatorship in the audience, and to call attention to the presence of a non-normative body on the stage. the performer playing hedwig acts as the narrator of the story and plays the majority of the roles on stage. after the song “wig in a box” there is a stage direction that indicates that hedwig “spits liquid into the audience.” then she says to the audience, “that was a heavy metal gesture. want to see a punk rock gesture?” and fills her mouth again. this is followed by “a threatening pause” in which the audience likely assumes hedwig will spit again, when she actually then “opens her mouth and wets herself” instead.16 in this moment hedwig is playing with the audience, letting them know that she knows they are there. she also plays off of their reactions to her, teasing them with the second threat of spitting more liquid. in this moment hedwig breaks the fourth wall both figuratively and literally, making a prop in the show interact with the audience in an unexpected way. 7 hedwig has many other moments of interaction with the audience of the musical as well. in several different moments in the script, hedwig interacts with the same chosen audience member. in the first interaction, hedwig points to the audience member and says, “sir, will you keep a look out? if you’re touched by a priest, for god sake, speak up.”17 returning to the same audience member later in the show, hedwig calls out to them, “anything? any sign of the bishop, sir? no?”18 another moment of interaction with the audience occurs when the lyrics of the last chorus of “wig in a box” are projected, intending to create a sing-a-long moment with the audience. hedwig is constantly aware of the presence of the audience watching her performance, choosing to include them and provoke them in different ways. in bootycandy, there is first an acknowledgement of the actual audience in the conference scene. a white moderator has gathered a “group of black playwrights” for a panel to discuss their work, but the playwrights are confused as to how they ended up at the conference. in sorting out the confusion, the moderator says, “well obviously there’s an audience” and all of the characters “look at the live audience as if they are seeing them for the first time.”19 the characters onstage directly reference the audience again in this scene when the moderator asks sutter about the play he wrote, which is about how his mother used to call his penis “booty candy”— a portion of this play was the first scene that the audience saw at the beginning of bootycandy. when the moderator asks sutter, “...did [your mom] know you were gay when she called it that?” sutter “looks to the audience.”20 afterwards the moderator also shares a look with the audience. the audience is repeatedly addressed and therefore becomes included in the uncomfortable situation that is happening on the stage. the characters on the stage deliberately break the fourth wall, reminding the audience that their reactions are not occurring in isolation from the performance and encouraging active spectatorship. 8 the most direct interaction with the audience of these three plays is found in straight white men. young jean lee specifies that the two characters person in charge 1 and person in charge 2, intended to be played by “transgender or nonbinary performers (preferably of color),” directly engage with the audience from the moment they enter the house.21 while “loud hip hop with sexually explicit lyrics by female rappers” plays quite loudly over the speakers as the preshow music, “the people in charge interact with audience members, greeting and welcoming them to the theatre.”22 assuming a negative, or at least puzzled, reaction from the theatre patrons, lee also specifies that the people in charge “should never apologize for the music or say that it’s not in their power to turn it down.”23 in this case, the audience is recognized by the performers even before the real performance starts. once the play does begin, the people in charge discuss the pre-show experience with the audience. “we’d like to acknowledge that our pre-show music may have made some of you uncomfortable,” says person in charge 2. person in charge 1 adds, “and normally when you pay money—especially broadway money—you can expect to feel comfortable.”24 the audience is an essential part of this performance—their reactions are specifically addressed and incorporated into the performance. the play makes it deliberately challenging to be a passive spectator, going so far as to provoke the audience into interacting with the material. in all of these cases, the audience is not permitted to sit comfortably behind the fourth wall and quietly watch the show. the audience is acknowledged, whether they are directly spoken to, spit on, or helped to their seat by a performer. metatheatricality of this level is not the expectation of a typical western audience seeing a piece of theatre. there is an expectation of realism, complete with a fourth wall. interaction from the performers onstage might even be associated with negative feelings, such as if a performer were to react to a cell phone going off in 9 the audience during the show. this interaction from the performers onstage would be shocking and perhaps unwanted altogether. in each of these three plays, the audience is asked to be a more active participant. these performances require the audience to fulfill a different role than what the presumably largely straight, cis, white audience is expecting. if a night of realism—with the fourth wall entirely intact, and the audience rendered an invisible fly on the wall—is the expected experience for a theatre audience, these plays that stage gender, sexuality, and race with the use of metatheatre do not fall in line with that expectation. with the western tendency towards realism, and the repetition of this practice, it has been rendered the standard norm of a night of theatre. if realism can be considered the normative, xaxis for western theatre, like ahmed’s normative straight orientation of queer phenomenology, i suggest that the incorporation of metatheatricality renders a production queer in its relationship to normative realism. more importantly, another expectation, rendered normative by its intense repetition, is the staging of cis, white, heterosexual characters and stories. in this way, plays like hedwig, bootycandy, and straight white men that opt to feature bipoc and queer folx—queer in both sexuality and gender—are definitely queer in their orientation in the space of the theatre in comparison to cis, straight, white normative theatre. metatheatricality becomes an essential step in the acknowledgement of the queer orientation of these plays in response to the white, heteronormative theatre world. because of the expectations of the standard normative audience that attends a play, the audience might not understand how to interact with this work. they might recognize that something about the performance is different from the norm, but they might not be entirely sure as to what it is. and in regards to ahmed’s discussion of the normative desire to straighten out a queer orientation, bringing it back in line with the vertical, an audience might find themselves attempting to 10 straighten out the work to their normative understanding of the theatre. in this case, they are not stretching themselves to be a more analytical audience member, seeing the statement that is being made in the staging of gender, sexuality, and race, but reducing it down to a smaller variation on the vertical norm. following ahmed, those in a queer orientation experience the world differently than those in normative orientations. a normative audience that expects a normative experience is not primed to recognize the non-normative orientation of a play that centers queer and bipoc voices. when the audience is allowed to remain a silent observer they are not prepared to do the critical thinking that, i argue, is required of a cis, straight, white audience when bearing witness to these performances. with their own normative life experiences they do not see the world in the same way that these queer and bipoc stories see and experience the world. this is an opportunity for normative individuals to witness representation of queer orientations by bodies that live these queer orientations every day. metatheatre is there to help the performance capture the audience’s attention and guide them through the work. hedwig asks the audience what their response is to a confident genderqueer character on the stage, spitting in their faces to keep them from reducing this queer act of resistance back towards the normative world of theatre. the characters in bootycandy look to the audience in an uncomfortable conversation about sexuality and race, requiring the audience to consider what they think about the situation, and perhaps contemplate what reactions they assume are expected of them, both by the production and by fellow audience members. straight white men creates a provocative pre-show experience for the audience, challenging their expectations of what an audience experience is and can be. metatheatre becomes an essential part of ensuring that an audience truly thinks about the theatre they consume. 11 the call for the audience to become an active spectator in each of these plays also keys the audience into the utilization of muñoz’s disidentification in each piece. each of these stagings of sexuality, gender, and race is an act both within and against the dominant ideology of the normative cis, straight, white theatre that has been identified. performing in theaters— designated theatrical spaces that serve to uphold the norms of the theatre world—is an act both within and against the system. the mere existence of queer and bipoc bodies on the stage is an act of resistance. to act in complete outside opposition would require queer and bipoc folx to find their stages elsewhere and to be entirely unwilling to participate in the existing tradition of theatre. this would not only be unfair to ask but, i argue, would render their acts of resistance not nearly as effective in creating significant change, unable to reach the large audiences that already attend the theatre. it becomes most effective to utilize the resources and social positioning of the theatre to stage these stories. the existing majority ideology of the theatre is a system in which these identities-in-difference can perform both within and against, identifying what elements of the system can still support them and using them in their act against the system. elements of metatheatre then help to confirm with the audience that they are witnessing an act of theatrical disidentification. while the characters of hedwig, bootycandy, and straight white men challenge their normative audiences, they also make a point to metatheatrically draw attention to that challenge—it is all by design. metatheatre provides an avenue for the performance to include the audience in the resistance via participation and critical thinking about the normative expectations of the theatre. it asks the audience to actively witness the resistance, thereby providing it a form of validation. without metatheatre, if the resistance goes unnoticed, it loses some of its power. the process of disidentification, as i am suggesting its usage in this instance, requires that the audience be changed by it, allowing their normative expectations and 12 practices to be challenged. as a result, these acts of disidentification might begin to be incorporated and accepted into the theatre world, supporting the queer and bipoc voices behind them. the majority ideology can be shifted to consider and include those it currently leaves behind. if the audience neglects to recognize the work being done within and against the theatre to dismantle the oppressive systems at hand, they have done the work a disservice. the use of metatheatre is an attempt to avoid this oversight. the function of the recognition of performance another feature of metatheatre present in these three works is recognition of the performance as a performance, and plays within the plays. hedwig offers many examples, one of which is present in the script even before the beginning of the first act. the author’s note at the beginning of the script suggests that the use of metatheatre was at the forefront of the creators’ minds. in the note, john cameron mitchell and stephen trask describe the following script as “at best, a record of a single evening of a single production of hedwig.”25 they also add that this version of the script “reflects that [the show] was performing on broadway at the belasco theatre” and that subsequent productions of hedwig “should be site specific so that the character of hedwig is actually performing in and commenting on the space the production is occupying.”26 this suggests that the spoken dialogue of the musical, and perhaps the interactions with the audience, change depending on the individual performance and where it takes place. hedwig also makes reference to the technical aspects of the performance that would otherwise be ignored by a non-metatheatrical performance. after “origin of love,” which utilizes a scrim for projections, the scrim “rises” in order to be struck from the stage. as it flies out, hedwig says, “thank you. i do love a good scrim job.”27 this is both a sexual joke that i need not spell out and 13 a direct recognition of the workings of the theatre that create hedwig’s performance within the musical. bootycandy first recognizes itself as a performance in the same conference scene referenced earlier. the moderator continues to ask sutter about his works, including a piece he had done “just recently… right here on this very stage as a matter of fact,” as the moderator says.28 this is in reference to sutter’s piece titled “mug,” which was performed in the scene before the conference scene. this begins to reveal that the other scenes of bootycandy are different pieces written by the group of black playwrights attending the fabricated conference of this very scene. the white moderator continues to ask the black playwrights ignorant questions, such as “what does that have to do with race?”—this is in response to descriptions of theatrical works that do not fall in line with a white audience’s expectations of work created by black artists.29 other scenes include moments that the actors are “out of character”30 and actors’ direct references to the “stage manager’s actual name.”31 o’hara waits until the conference scene to introduce the recognition of the plays within the play, and the piece continues to derail into blatant, sometimes comical, moments of self-awareness. as part of the centering of queer and and bipoc bodies, the people in charge in straight white men orchestrate the show. at the beginning of the main plot of the show, the people in charge “guide and position” the white male characters as if they are “action figure[s].”32 in each transition between scenes, the people in charge return to repose the actors and manipulate the props on the set. at the very end of the show, they reenter the stage to cue the blackout that ends the show. in this piece, the queer bipoc characters control the show in a way that acknowledges that the plot, involving the family of straight, white men, is a performance. the people in charge 14 set the stage, including the actors themselves, and then allow the performance to proceed. the people in charge oversee the implementation of this metatheatrical device. in regards to the lens of queer phenomenology, this aspect of metatheatre serves to strengthen the audience’s recognition of the normative functions of theatre and how they are being dismantled by these performances. hedwig’s recognition of her own position as performer in the eyes of an audience strengthens her representation. she tells the story of her life entirely through her own perspective, including embodying other people, sharing her experience of these relationships. her embodied orientation becomes the center of this performance. in this way she has established complete control of how her embodied experience of a queer orientation will be represented. a similar phenomenon takes place in straight white men when the people in charge, the characters that are embodied by those with queer orientations, frame the representation of the normative bodies onstage. they maintain control of the space, establishing that this performance does not serve to represent the theatrical norm without a purpose or without critical examination. the metatheatrical recognition of the performance as a performance is another way in which these pieces act both within and against the normative theatre world, embodying muñoz’s disidentification. in hedwig, the script asks the performers to directly reference the theatre they are performing in. this is a direct acknowledgement of the system. the overt queerness and the glam-rock-show nature of hedwig go against this very system. when hedwig shows she is aware of the technology of the stage as a facet of her performance, she takes even more ownership of her performance. she is using the facilities of this very theatre to fuel her performance of resistance. when the performers acknowledge the act of the performance during 15 the performance itself, they are inviting the audience to actively witness and consider the disidentification happening on the stage in front of them. straight white men’s use of the metatheatrical performance-within-the-performance device serves as a unique example of including voices of normative theatre to support the process of disidentification. the main plot of straight white men puts a group of exactly that— straight, cis, white men—on the stage for the majority of the show. those of the identities-indifference interact with the show at the very beginning, the very end, and the transitions in between the scenes. but their interaction is specific, ensuring that they are still at the center of the piece. they quite literally control the white bodies in the space, setting them up before each scene. they have a hand in the staged representation of these bodies. as a contrast to the metheatrical moments that involve the people in charge, the only metatheatrical element utilized in the story of the family of straight, white men is the intermitent intervention of the people in charge. the rest of the plot about the white bodies on the stage exists in a mode of realism, complete with a fourth wall. the inclusion of metatheatre paired with the queer and bipoc bodies that interject into the white story help the audience to receive the story within a frame of resistance, considering the significance of the orchestration of white bodies by queer and bipoc bodies. straight white men utilizes the most normative theatrical bodies to highlight the presence of disidentification within the work. when bootycandy begins to reference itself, crediting scenes in the play as work of the black playwright characters also within the world of the play, it is able to open a conversation about how queer and bipoc artists are expected to embody and stage resistance. the white moderator represents this expectation on the stage, asking the group of black playwrights why their work does not fall under the stereotypes that are expected of black artists. creating work 16 that deals with race, gender, and sexuality in the way that a normative audience expects is the only way the moderator knows to receive any type of resistance. because this specific brand of representation—the black playwright creating work that first and foremost deals with their blackness for a woke white audience—has been repeated and accepted by the majority, this version of representation then also becomes an oppressive system that requires disidentification to break through it. by first presenting the work that does not meet the expectation of a cis, straight, white audience as they walk into a show by a queer, black playwright, and then creating the space for a conversation about these expectations about that work within the play itself, bootycandy becomes an excellent example of disidentification in practice. with this nuance, bootycandy is also acting within and against the majority ideology of the representation of queer and bipoc voices that has come to exist. it calls for critical analysis of the system that already sees itself as having made room for this representation. putting queer and bipoc bodies onstage will continue to be an act of resistance via disidentification all on its own, but the use of metatheatre in this instance allows room for an even more nuanced conversation on what systems are being dismantled from within. variations in the process: disruptions and reinforcements the third component i wish to consider is when there are variations within this process. these variations may either serve as a reinforcement or a disruption to the effectiveness of the use of metatheatre in pieces of theatre such as these. turning first to an example of reinforcement, straight white men presents a unique variation of recognition of and interaction with its audience. thus far, i have suggested this device purely as a way for these pieces to interact with the cis, straight, white audience. but straight white men also specifically recognizes the identities-in-difference in the audience. when the people in charge begin to 17 address the audience after the loud pre-show, they distinguish between the experiences of these different groups of audience members. they recognize that the normative audience may feel “uncomfortable.”33 they go on to add that “for those of [the audience] that liked the music,” the pre-show experience was “set up” to “cater to [their] experience” and they congratulate those audience members on their “moment of privilege.”34 in this case, the interaction with the audience is more nuanced. it serves to prime two different groups for the performance. it acknowledges the normative audience, revealing to them that the pre-show experience was intended to provoke them, and sets them up to actively consider the following events of the night. but it also acknowledges the identities-in-difference, validating to them that this is a safe space, and that this experience is intended to be entirely different from what they usually experience as a non-normative body in the normative theatre world. as ahmed puts it, heterosexuality, and therefore the normative vertical x-axis of the world, “is something that we are oriented around, even if it disappears from view.”35 this preshow experience, and metatheatrical debrief afterwards, reverses the roles of these orientations in this theatrical space. the normative audience now gets a taste, albeit a small taste, of how the queer and bipoc audience feels when they enter other spaces in the world. this metatheatrical acknowledgement of the audience serves to bring the vertical back into view for the normative audience, as it has likely disappeared from their view, and reorients the space around queer orientation instead. this example of the use of metatheatre strengthens the relationship between the performance and the audience. an example of a disruption to the effectiveness of the use of metatheatre can be found in hedwig. in the original production of hedwig, co-creator john cameron mitchell played the role of hedwig. in the original broadway cast, the role was performed by neil patrick harris. while 18 both performers are queer figures, they each bring something different to the role. neil patrick harris has become synonymous with homonormativity—ellen degeneres is the other name that often comes up when this term is mentioned. homonormativity refers to queer individuals who openly express their queerness but live a fairly heteronormative experience in all other facets of life. neil patrick harris is a white man with a husband and two children. he is successful and wealthy, and his queerness is generally embraced by the public. i propose that because of the metatheatrical nature of hedwig, especially in regards to the recognition of the performance as a performance, neil patrick harris is ghosted by his own reputation while in the role of hedwig. though ghosting is not necessarily explicitly an element of metatheatre, i argue it plays into the active spectatorship of a piece of theatre. neil patrick harris’s reputation disrupts the embodiment of resistance against the conventions of normative theatre and the strategy of disidentification. because of neil patrick harris’s homonormativity, it becomes far too easy for a normative audience to straighten out the queerness of hedwig, attempting to bring it back to the vertical in the way that ahemd calls attention to. harris’s orientation in the space of the theatre—and the world—does not represent an extreme variation from the norm. because of this, the process of disidentification becomes muddied. the performance is not the act of resistance that it could be. neil patrick harris, at least partially, represents the majority ideology of the system that the piece is trying to work, yes, within, but also against. neil patrick harris is such a well-known figure that his performances cannot easily be separated from him as a person. his performance becomes more about neil patrick harris’s embodiment of the ridiculousness of hedwig as opposed to his embodiment of hedwig as an act of representation of queer orientations and identities-in-difference. his presence in the role of hedwig makes the work too easy for the normative audience to swallow. 19 conclusion: it should be hard to swallow hedwig and the angry inch, bootycandy, and straight white men are all examples of the staging of gender, sexuality, and race in the face of a cis, straight, white theatre world. they represent and embody the queer orientations of queer phenomenology for straight, normative audiences. they act as a vessel for queer and bipoc folx to practice disidentification, working both within and against the conventions of the theatre. the use of metatheatre in all three pieces strengthens the embodiment of these theories and their effectiveness with an audience. when that process is disrupted with homonormativity, it dilutes the resistance of the piece and it begins to collapse back into normativity. the goal is not for these pieces of theatre to be easy for an audience to watch. they must be present spectators, actively consuming and considering this work. when active spectatorship is achieved, the established norms can be genuinely questioned. the call for more—and better—representation of queer and bipoc bodies can be heard and responded to. the black playwrights in bootycandy say it best. the moderator asks, “what are you hoping the audience comes away with after seeing your work?” sutter replies, “i think the audience should choke.” “it wasn’t easy to write it and it shouldn’t be easy to experience it,” says writer 2. writer 1 adds, “after you choke on something [...] [y]ou can feel its presence in the space it went through.”36 queer and bipoc voices are demanding better than the current quality of representation in the theatre—they are here to speak up, metatheatrically highlighting their embodiment of these theories of resistance, to inspire change in the audiences and the system at large. if these performances are successful, they will not be swallowed easily, leaving their presence known in the throat of the straight, white, cis theatre. 20 notes 1. john cameron mitchell and stephen trask, hedwig and the angry inch, broadway edition (new york: overlook duckworth, 2014), 19. 2. sara ahmed, queer phenomenology: orientations, objects, others (durham: duke university press, 2006), 67. 3. ahmed, queer phenomenology, 67. 4. ahmed, queer phenomenology, 69. 5. ahmed, queer phenomenology, 66. 6. ahmed, queer phenomenology, 69. 7. ahmed, queer phenomenology, 68. 8. ahmed, queer phenomenology, 72. 9. ahmed, queer phenomenology, 70. 10. ahmed, queer phenomenology, 71. 11. josé esteban muñoz, disidentifications: queers of color and the performance of politics (vol. 2. university of minnesota press, 1999), 32. 12. muñoz, disidentifications, 41. 13. muñoz, disidentifications, 29. 14. muñoz, disidentifications, 29. 15. bruce mcconachie, tobin nellhaus, carol fisher sorgenfrei, and tamara underiner, theatre histories: an introduction, ed. tobin nellhaus (3rd ed. new york: routledge, 2016), 602. 16. mitchell and trask, hedwig, 55. 17. mitchell and trask, hedwig, 19. 18. mitchell and trask, hedwig, 43. 19. robert o’hara, bootycandy, (new york: samuel french, 2014), 59. 20. o’hara, bootycandy, 66. 21. young jean lee, untitled feminist show and straight white men: the plays (new york: theatre communications group, 2020), 77. 22. lee, straight white men, 76. 23. lee, straight white men, 76. 24. lee, straight white men, 77. 25. mitchell and trask, hedwig, ii. 26. mitchell and trask, hedwig, ii. 27. mitchell and trask, hedwig, 33. 28. o’hara, bootycandy, 64. 29. o’hara, bootycandy, 61. 30. o’hara, bootycandy, 114. 31. o’hara, bootycandy, 115. 32. lee, straight white men, 79. 33. lee, straight white men, 77. 34. lee, straight white men, 77. 35. ahmed, queer phenomenology, 91. 36. o’hara, bootycandy, 68. 21 bibliography ahmed, sara. queer phenomenology: orientations, objects, others. durham: duke university press, 2006. lee, young jean. untitled feminist show and straight white men: the plays. new york: theatre communications group, 2020. mcconachie, bruce, tobin nellhaus, carol fisher sorgenfrei, and tamara underiner. theatre histories: an introduction, edited by tobin nellhaus. 3rd ed. new york: routledge, 2016. mitchell, john cameron, and stephen trask. hedwig and the angry inch. broadway edition. new york: overlook duckworth, 2014. muñoz, josé esteban. disidentifications: queers of color and the performance of politics. vol. 2. minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 1999. o'hara, robert. bootycandy. new york: samuel french, 2014. 1 imago torem: creation theory and ethics in paradise lost and frankenstein sarah morgan english you sign your place and calling, in full seeming, with meekness and humility, but your heart is crammed with arrogancy, spleen, and pride. — william shakespeare, henry viii (ii.iv. 121-123) introduction for nearly all human history, we have been fascinated and bewildered by our creation. disciplines like religion and science provide us with rich lexica that help us understand and reflect on our mysterious origin and the marvel of life. if we attempt to understand creation from a biblical approach, we must attempt to understand god. this essay attempts to do just that but through a safe, less controversial medium: literature. by analyzing fictional depictions of him and his archetype, we are taking a backdoor approach to daunting and seemingly unanswerable philosophical questions, including: why did he create humankind? should he be held accountable for his creations’ failures? moreover, if humans are supposedly created in the image of god and therefore possess similar capabilities, must we then ask ourselves these questions as we create our own sentient beings? should we judge god and ourselves equally? john milton’s epic poem paradise lost (1667) and mary shelley’s milton-inspired novel frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus (1818)1 address these questions brilliantly. through close readings of these two works, it is evident that the curiosity we possess over creation is inherent, as is our general desire to create. interestingly, we humans often associate creation with control and ownership; think of the way we view property, the extent of our copyright laws, and how we parent. in each of those examples of creation, questions of intention and accountability constantly arise. if we create something, it is assumed that we feel some level of responsibility for it and that we have 2 the right to do with it as we please. above all else, we feel proud. but is pride a justifiable enough reason to create? furthermore, are god’s inventions symptoms of pride? i argue while pride is necessary to creation, it should not be the primary motivator, for when it is, it is often flawed and ultimately backfires, as seen through milton and shelley’s work. understanding natural philosophy—and especially the branches of it milton and shelley embed into their writing—is crucial to answering the major theoretical questions regarding matters of motivation, responsibility, and accountability that are applicable to both creator and creation. first, i delve into vitalist theory, which is the natural philosophy that manifests itself in both paradise lost and frankenstein. however, dualist theory challenges these manifestations and ultimately wins out. this battle between vitalism and dualism segues into exploration of the soul and what it means to be a creation. within the fictional christian dogma of paradise lost and therefore frankenstein, as it was directly inspired by milton’s epic, the soul-possessing creation is afforded free will. consequently, the nature of free will affords nearly infinite possibilities for the subject to pursue and develop, including varying degrees of the prideful god complex. i argue this complex compels individuals to create, and with creation—especially that of creation-capable, sentient beings—comes adaptation of this compulsion. through this cycle of creation and adaptation, the same questions regarding creation theory and ethics circulate. whether we will ever be able to answer them with absolute certainty is unknown, but i speculate we will always continue to ask ourselves all the same. vitalism vs. dualism in the seventeenth century, the natural philosophy of vitalism was at the forefront of many writers’ minds. because of the religious landscape of the time, this movement was often discussed in tandem with creation theory and ethics, as seen through john milton’s paradise 3 lost (1667) and de doctrina christiana (1825).2 john rogers’ the matter of revolution: science, poetry, and politics in the age of milton (1998) examines the vitalist movement through a political lens and traces its manifestations in seventeenth century writing, primarily through paradise lost. using the writings and philosophies of william harvey and francis glisson, rogers defines vitalism, “known also as animist materialism, as the inseparability of body and soul and . . . the infusion of all material substance with the power of reason and self-motion” (1). rogers argues that “milton decentralizes divinity, representing an action logically prior to the decentralizations of the state, of the economy, and of the human body” (113). it is particularly this decentralization of divinity and the human body, he continues, “that lies at the heart of the political science of milton’s poem: the figure of self-creation” (rogers 114). however, this figure of self-creation is ultimately physical, for “the spiritual and rational faculty contains the corporeal, that is, the sentient and vegetative faculty” (de doctrina christiana 303). from chaos, milton’s god created the earth, and chaos is a place or state in which nothing exists. chaos is an intangible, dark void, but god’s creation of the corporeal world emerges from this darkness. in “book vii” of paradise lost, raphael tells adam how god created this world. to kick-start his vision, “let ther be light, said god, and forthwith light / ethereal, first of things, quintessence pure / sprung from the deep” (paradise lost, vii. 243-245). raphael explains to adam that the presence of light allowed for perception of the rest of the world: the earth was form’d, but in the womb as yet of waters, embryon immature involv’d, appear’d not: over all the face of earth main ocean flow’d, not idle, but with warm prolific humor soft’ning all her globe, fermented the great mother to conceive, 4 satiate with genial moisture, when god said, be gather’d now ye waters under heav’n into one place, and let dry land appear. (paradise lost, vii. 276-284) in essence, “milton has raphael describe for adam the moment at which the earth gave birth to itself” (rogers 115). raphael’s explanation of the world’s origin provides adam—and therefore the sentient subjects created post-fall—with a sense of rootedness that does not otherwise exist in chaos. therefore, identity stems from the structuralist technique of signification; a signifier orients itself by the ability to distinguish between itself and another, a signified object, as two separate entities. to exercise this technique, a physical body—which also includes the mind—is required, as seen through adam’s vitalist awakening. adam is a figure of self-creation. he is able to distinguish himself as separate from god and understand himself within the divine political structure where god reigns supreme and he is his subject. while adam can identify these differences, timothy harrison argues that he—at least upon his initial awakening—cannot differentiate between his mind and his body, thus making him a vitalist subject. when adam awakens, he is fully developed and perceptive of the physical world. he tells raphael: new wak’t from soundest sleep soft on the flowrie herb i found me laid in balmie sweat, which with his beames the sun soon dri’d, and on the erakin moisture fed. strait toward heav’n my wondring eyes i turnd, and gaz’d a while the ample skie, till rais’d by quick instinctive motion up i sprung, as thitherward endevoring, and upright stood on my feet. (paradise lost, viii. 253-261) 5 harrison views adam’s awakening different than that of the post-lapsarian subject, stating, “unlike human infancy, the ‘beginning’ adam describes is possessed of an immediately clear awareness. he apprehends his nature without cultural or historical mediation, without the slow growth of biological development” (32). moreover, because he is a pre-lapsarian subject, the ability “to experience awakening along with adam is to feel life in its purity, to apprehend a vitality that is no longer in dialectical tension with death” (harrison 32). therefore, adam’s awakening is the purest of any human, for he is unbiased by any sort of societal influence and his existence is not contingent on an imminent expiration date. because his awakening is predicated and experienced by and through his physical form, adam, then, is a vitalist subject; he instinctively sees, sweats, and stands and then instinctively understands (harrison 34). while harrison offers a vitalist reading of adams creation, he also considers dualistic approaches. dualism contrasts vitalism, for it believes in the separation of mind and body. this term is often attributed to rené descartes, as expressed in his meditations on first philosophy (1647). descartes philosophically tackles the metaphysical world. he begins by explaining the approach he needs to do this tackling, stating, “i [have] to raze everything to the ground and begin again from the original foundations” (descartes 17). however, this approach is difficult because he, as a human being, has a hard time divorcing the mind from the material or trying to conceptualize one without the other. with difficulty, he succeeds in his reasoning. descartes concludes dualism to be true, meaning that the mind and body are separate. he comes to this conclusion by defining the body as “all that is capable of being bounded by some shape, of being enclosed in a place, and of filling up a space in such a way as to exclude any other body from it” (descartes 19). despite the presence of these at-odds philosophies of vitalism and dualism in adam’s creation scene in paradise lost, harrison describes adam’s recollection of his 6 becoming as a peculiar hybrid act of cartesian and vitalist self-creation (31-32). this can be seen through adam’s interactions with eden: milton’s adam awakens in sweat, caught up in life processes that precondition the very possibility of awareness. this ecstatic embodied structure, where life exceeds the boundaries of awareness, runs throughout adam’s story. if ecstasy traditionally implies a dualistic separation of soul from body, here milton forces his readers to rethink ekstasis[3] as the fundamental characteristic of embodied life. (harrison 38) although, harrison quickly refutes dualism through a close reading of a passage in paradise lost where adam walks around and observes nature in eden. as adam watches the animals live and move, it can be assumed that “human life seeks out life and marks entities as living by noting spontaneous movement. adam sees his own ‘quick instinctive motion’ reflected in other creatures . . . [this] chiastic arrangement of life and movement . . . stresses the vital kinship that links adam to the other creatures” (harrison 41). here, to live—and therefore perceive—and to move are equated. furthermore, harrison asserts that adam is not able to fully comprehend any of this until he speaks about it with raphael, where he is allowing himself a proper space to ruminate on the subject and has developed the grammar to discuss it articulately. he must speak his origin into existence, which also requires the body, not just the mind. the vitalist argument can be identified and abundantly observed in paradise lost, as seen through rogers and harrison, but skepticism accompanies this argument because the reasoning is not consistent through the genesis story. logically, vitalism does not hold up in the postlapsarian world. through christian doctrine, when the body dies it is left behind, and the soul either ascends to heaven or descends to hell, thus supporting dualism. therefore, the disconnect between mind and body is initiated by death. we can also observe the failing of vitalist thinking through shelley’s frankenstein. 7 similar to milton’s adam, shelley’s creature recalls his awakening: “it is with considerable difficulty that i remember the original [era] of my being: all the events of that period appear confused and indistinct. a strange multiplicity of sensations seized me, and i saw, felt, heard, and smelt, at the same time; and it was, indeed, a long time before i learned to distinguish between the operations of my various senses” (97). like adam, the creature associates awakening with corporeality and has the ability to historicize his awakening experience once he obtains the grammar to do so. although, adam does not need to learn how to speak, nor does his brain need time to develop like the creature’s does. again, this is because adam’s pre-lapsarian nature brings him to consciousness fully formed. at first glance, the creature appears to be a vitalist, self-created figure; however, this is an impossibility because of his morbid origin. once victor decides he wants to take on the task of creating a sentient being, he justifies graverobbing to collect the parts he needs: “i collected bones from charnel houses; and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame” (shelley 50). this means all the pieces victor collected to create his monster once belonged to other people. through vitalist theory, would there not be multiple personalities that exist within the creature because there are multiple people stitched together to form one being? would the personality of the creature not be dictated by the head/brain he is given? but we know the creature does not have dissociative identity disorder, nor is he schizophrenic; he possesses his own mind that begins as a blank slate, for he explains in detail how he learns motor functions and speech. therefore, reanimation does include an infusion of a soul, but it is one that is separate from the body parts involved (oakes 67). but what does it mean to have soul, and what does having a soul have to do with creation subjectivity? the soul, creation subjectivity, and free will 8 through cartesian philosophy, the mind and the soul are the same but separate from the body. this can be seen through his most famous meditation where he declares, “i am; i exist— this is certain. but for how long? for as long as i am thinking; for perhaps it could also come to pass that if i were to cease all thinking i would then utterly cease to exist” (descartes 19). while he can doubt the validity of the physical world, he cannot doubt his soul, his thinking mind; to him, cognition is the beginning of experience. but where did it come from? descartes also asks: from what source, then, do i derive my existence? why, from myself, or from my parents, or from whatever other things there are that are less perfect than god. for nothing more perfect than god, or even as perfect as god, can be thought of imagined. but if i got my being from myself, i would not doubt, nor would i desire, nor would i lack anything at all. for i would have given myself all the perfections of which i have some idea; in so doing, i myself would be god! (32) this idea of a human god is an impossibility to descartes because god is an infinite being whereas humans are not. therefore, cartesian construction of the metaphysical world originates from god and radiates outward. the human soul—which is an animating life force created and bestowed by god—possesses more authority than the body because the body is merely transport, but god has authority over the soul. descartes’ considerations of the soul can be traced back to aristotle’s arguably proto-vitalist de anima (350 bce).4 disregarding his vitalist sentiments, aristotle considered thought and soul to be the same. the soul affords thought: abstract, nonphysical movement from mental process to mental process, which said mental process can then encourage action or physical movement.5 however, descartes does not place humanity at the pinnacle of thought and soul as aristotle does.6 instead, god reigns supreme because of the power he possesses to create; he created the human subject and therefore its capacity for a soul and its subsequent thought. milton defines the complex relationships between divine entities and their human subjects and how they all influence one another in de doctrina christiana. the claims milton 9 makes in this work are echoed in paradise lost. he affirms and justifies the existence and need for god, and therefore justifies the denominational hierarchy that situates god as the ultimate deity in the monotheistic christian tradition. we see this hierarchy at work in paradise lost through the way god commands his angels and the son. furthermore, as the superior, omnipresent entity, he is responsible for the dissemination of virtuous rules humankind must obey. again, this can be observed through the primary rule of eden: do not eat from the tree of knowledge. in the post-lapsarian world, more rules are put into place because only then does sin exist. milton believes god’s governing of his subjects to be important and critical to follow, stating, “if there were no god, there would be no distinction between right and wrong . . . none would follow virtue, none would be restrained from vice” (de doctrina christiana 477). despite these crucial rules, god cannot force his subjects to abide by them because humans possess their own agency, for “god has imprinted upon the human mind so many unquestionable tokens of himself, and so many traces of him are apparent throughout the whole of nature” (de doctrina christiana 477). inarguably the most important of these traces is free will. god speaks of the capacity man has for greatness, for morality and reason. this capacity stems from being created imago dei.7 if we are created in his likeness, then we, like him, have free will. moreover, free will allows for free thought and therefore the soul. consequently, it is precisely this free will that affords the possibility of evil to taint humanity. the brilliance of the design is also its biggest flaw. despite the double-edged sword of free will, god asks, “not free, what proof could [man] have givn sincere / of true allegiance, constant faith of love, / where onely what [man] needs must do, appeard, / not what [man] would? what praise could [man] receive?” (paradise lost, iii. 103-106). essentially, he insists that free will is necessary for humankind to have if it should be capable of faith and love. what i find striking about this 10 passage is that god says faith first. faith in what? in him? and love for what or whom? as milton suggests, this implies that god must first be believed in, obeyed, and then loved, thus reaffirming the divine hierarchy between creator and creation. however, free will also affords creations the ability to deny their creator and therefore his/her rules, though milton does not advise this form of atheism. but regardless of whether or not someone believes in god, they still possess free will and exist within the divine hierarchy. the divergence between believes and non-believers occurs in death. still, this makes the hierarchy inescapable in life because, as jean-paul sartre says in his work existentialism is a humanism (1996), “when god creates he knows exactly what he is creating . . . thus each individual man is the realization of a certain concept within the divine intelligence” (21). within the miltonic christian tradition, not only is free will needed to have faith and love, but it is also wielded by god as the justification behind his decision to not interfere with satan’s ploy of temptation in eden despite being all-knowing. god states, “[humankind] therefore as to right belong’d [(i.e. free will)], / so were created, nor can justly accuse / thir maker, or thir making, or thir fate . . . [man] themselves decreed / thir own revolt, not i” (paradise lost, iii. 111-117). while i understand the logic behind his argument, i do not fully believe it to be right. humans did not ask to be created; they did not know what ethical code into which they were entering because they had no way of knowing before being. we see this existential frustration manifest itself in adam’s cry: did i request thee, maker, from my clay to mould me man, did i sollicite thee from darkness to promote me, or here place in this delicious garden? as my will concurd not to my being, it were but right 11 and equal to reduce me to my dust, desirous to resigne, and render back . . . (paradise lost, x. 743-749) this frustration is also present in frankenstein when victor first encounters the creature. the creature bemoans, “how dare you sport thus with life? . . . [but] [l]ife, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and i will defend it” (shelley 94-95). both the postlapsarian adam and the creature understand that to exist is anguish, but they refuse to accept their own responsibility and instead direct their frustration elsewhere to their creators. however, while i argue adam and the creature are similar in their awakening scenes and subjugation, a major departure occurs in their capabilities: procreation. humans can exercise their agency through procreation. we can assume shelley’s creature is unable to procreate, or at least he is never given the chance upon victor’s cruel denial of creating a female companion. had the creature’s wish been fulfilled, perhaps the vengeful climax and denouement of the work could have been avoided. although, one could argue the creature was doomed to a perpetual state of fallenness, as he is created by a post-lapsarian subject. still, procreation can be interpreted as the ultimate act of free will, for it most closely mimics the power of god and the hierarchy he employs. in attempt to vindicate and defend procreation as this terminal display, milton asks, “if god habitually assign[s] to himself the members and form of [humankind], why should we be afraid of attributing to him what he attributes to himself, when viewed in reference to ourselves be considered as most complete and excellent when imputed by god?” (de doctrina christiana 478). this logic considers humans to be gods in their own rights, which sartre’s humanism would support. although, milton quickly refutes this by clarifying “[humankind] is not called simply ‘the beginning of the creation,’ but ‘of the creation of god’; which can mean nothing else than the first of those things which god created; how therefore can he be himself a god?” (de doctrina christiana 502). 12 therefore, while humans have free will, which allows them to create, they create on a smaller scale that does not match god’s creative capabilities. understanding the soul, its origin, and limitations is crucial to the understanding of creation subjectivity, but one question arises time and time again: why exist at all? although, sartre urges against trying to answer this question because he believes human subjectivity—its truth, constant nature, and inescapability—to be the most important revelation of existence (2324). but if god is perfect and can supposedly do no wrong, as milton suggests, then why create lesser beings who can?8 he created humankind exactly the way he wanted; all aspects of it and its nature were painstakingly and intentionally designed to fulfill the vision of imago dei, but why was perfection, the intrinsic goodness of which milton speaks, left out? what was god’s point in creating humans with the ability to be tempted and therefore possess the capacity for evil if he is going to be upset with them when they indulge and fall? i argue pride to be the answer to these questions. the god complex in “book iii” of paradise lost, god foresees the perversion and subsequent downfall of humanity. as presumably the only being in the text that has this level of foresight paired with his cosmic and almighty powers, he is then capable of preventing humanity’s corruption by eliminating the threat of satan. yet he chooses not to interfere. would he not then be to blame for the fall of man if he knows but does not act? milton allows god to work through this argument and defend himself. god stands by his answer of free will, as seen in the previous section. does god’s logic of free will imply that he believes he has not committed any wrongs or is not responsible in some way? but if humans were originally created as a corporeal, nonmystical incarnation of god (imago dei) and possess free will as he does, why does he not have 13 the same potential to be tempted or evil? i identify the aptly named god complex as proof of this potential and as the motivation behind creation. as stated above, god—when creating humans—appears to have intentionally left out his total, intrinsic, total goodness. we appear different than god because we possess the ability to be evil while he does not, but i argue that he can because—as the superior being within the divine hierarchy—there is no one to judge him, to hold him accountable. the creation of lesser, sentient beings is an act of shameless pride and flaunting of skill in both paradise lost and frankenstein despite the difference in where the creators stand within the divine hierarchy of christianity. however, it is easier to place blame on victor and identify him as an antagonist while it is harder to name a culprit in paradise lost precisely because of said hierarchy. victor is a post-lapsarian human, and it is assumed god cannot possibly fall. despite this, the similarities between these two characters as creators cannot be ignored. both god and victor’s creations are satanic, within the context of milton, for they are born out of pride. pride, though in a different context, is fundamentally what brings about the damnation of satan and his disciples in paradise lost: “[satan’s] pride / had cast him out from heav’n, with all his host / of rebel angels, by whose aid aspiring / to set himself in glory above his peers” (paradise lost, i. 36-39). although, when comparing this claim to god, it can then be argued that god’s creations are not evidence of his pride because he does not have peers or superiors. to this, i point back to free will’s affordance of faith and love; god wishes to be freely admired and respected, and the only way to do that is to create lesser, sentient beings. the angels fulfill this desire to an extent, but after lucifer’s fall, god goes on a creation spree, somewhat akin to the way humans command their militaries to march in parades to show off their war resources. god’s reaction to his angels’ heinous rebellion by creating the earth in six 14 days and humankind on the seventh is essentially an attempt to boost the morale of heaven and allow god the opportunity to peacock his power. according to raphael, god states after the fall of the rebel angels: i can repair that detriment, if such it be to lose self-lost, and in a moment will create another world, out of one man a race of men innumerable, there to dwell, not here, till by degrees of merit rais’d they open to themselves at length the way up hither, under long obedience tri’d and earth be chang’d to heav’n, and heav’n to earth, one kingdom, joy and union without end. (paradise lost, vii. 152-161) god’s creation of earth and his wish for the planet and heaven and to be unified under his rule is not only meant to intimidate his enemies but also speaks to his wish of more dominion over (hopefully) grateful subjects, unlike the angels that followed lucifer’s example. after creating earth and all its natural glory, god still felt that something was missing, that none of the things he created for this world satisfied his vision: there wanted yet the master work, the end of all yet don; a creature who not prone and brute as other creatures, but endu’d with sanctitie of reason, might erect his stature, and upright with front serene govern the rest, self-knowing, and from thence magnanimous to correspond with heav’n, but grateful to acknowledge whence his good descends, thither with hear and voice and eyes 15 directed in devocion, to adore and worship god supream, who made him chief of all his works . . . let us make now man in our image, man in our similtude. (paradise lost, vii. 505-520) victor’s pride and experimental desire drove him to a similar end. both god and victor make inferior beings imago torem9 with the intention of exuding creative prowess. in other words, their acts are not motivated by creation for creation’s sake; creation, rather, can be interpreted as a selfish endeavor. although, god, as previously stated, also undergoes this feat to boost the morale of heaven after losing one third of its angels in the fall, so it is not completely fair to his character to totally equate him with victor. moreover, god and victor treat their creations differently. adam awakens in the safe, perfect space of eden. while god is not with him upon his coming to consciousness, god still provides. eden contains all that adam could ever need. even when adam asks god for a companion, a wife, god grants his request (paradise lost, viii. 444-490). adam’s fantastical pre-lapsarian experience is in complete contrast with the anthropomorphic creature, who recalls that when he woke, “it was dark . . . i felt cold also, and half-frightened as it were instinctively, finding myself so desolate” (shelley 98). while i argue adam felt a bit forlorn upon looking up at the sky after his awakening, there is no textual evidence to support that he felt as godforsaken as the creature, at least before the fall. perhaps the creature’s abandonment and lack of accommodation is simply a consequence of the postlapsarian world or the fact that victor is fallen himself, but even with these differences between awakening scenes, the evidence still stands behind prideful motivations of creation. 16 victor’s motivation to create echoes raphael’s depiction of god’s creation earth and humankind. while it is not war as it is between god and the fallen angels, the peacocking of ability and the desire to be admired are the same. victor speaks of his motivation, stating: no one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success. life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which i should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. a new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. no father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as i should deserve their’s. (shelley 49) if one was to read this passage within the context of paradise lost, it fits perfectly. even the lexicon shelley engages with is similar to that of milton’s work: victor aiming to shed light into the world, as god does upon creating matter and order out of the darkness that is chaos; victor creating a new, grateful species that should love him, implying bestowment of free will; and equating his vision with an elevated sort of parenthood. even more similar to the miltonic god, victor does not accept full responsibility for the creature’s unforgiveable behavior. he constantly attributes his desire to create to an “impulse of some power of which [he] was unconscious” (shelley 202). victor attempts to blame god, just as god blames his creations’ free will—which he afforded them—for the fall. interestingly, the nature of the god complex assumes a need to claim and exert dominion over things. however, when said things fail, those who have this complex often deny any sort of responsibility, but they hypocritically relish in their creations’ triumphs. conclusion there appears to be an inherent desire to create that is present in all sentient, soulpossessing, free beings. the nature of creation can at least be attributed to pride and a need for order or chain-of-command. because of this attribution to pride, creation does not happen solely 17 for the creations’ sake, as seen through god and victor’s actions in paradise lost and frankenstein. instead, creation occurs mostly to fulfill some sort of personal accomplishment or sense of satisfaction for creators. creation—especially that of another sentient being—also elevates the creator of said being to a higher level within a religious or societal hierarchy. we see evidence of this truth most often within our own homes; parenthood can be interpreted as a microcosmic exercise of prideful creation. similarly, our recent fascination with artificial intelligence also brings forward questions regarding creation ethics. it is important to avoid habitually turning a blind eye to creators, even god. a creator of sentient beings should always be considered at least partly responsible for the potential and limitations of his/her/its creations, but that does not mean he/she/it should be held accountable for absolutely everything said creations do. to claim a stance of total blamelessness—as milton’s god and victor do—is evidence of an irresponsible, negligent creator. perhaps if pride was not the primary motivation behind creating, creators would be humbler and hold themselves more accountable for the actions of their creations. after all, creation is unavoidable. in fact, creation begets creation, and creation will always evolve and adapt. as creation progresses and moves farther and farther away from the origin (i.e. god in the christian tradition), we must remember to always keep the major ethical questions regarding creation in the backs of our minds. 18 endnotes 1. shelley first published frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus anonymously in 1818. she revised and republished the novel in 1823 under her own name. later, a new version was published in 1831. this version offered more insight on the science behind the creature’s creation by explicitly referencing galvanism. the 1831 version also altered the background stories of victor’s father and elizabeth. shelley made these alterations to appease some of her critics who believed the original 1818 publication to be too radical in many regards. (rieger) in this paper, i engage with the 1818 text. the abstractions and ambiguity surrounding the original monstrous creation allows for more philosophical explorations about creation and creation ethics. 2. de doctrina christiana was first discovered and published in 1825. the exact date milton actually wrote it is unknown. (loewenstein) 3. ancient greek for “to be or stand outside oneself, a removal to elsewhere.” 4. also known as on the soul. 5. aristotle believed “that the soul is not affected and does not act without a body, for instance, in the case of being angry, being bold, experiencing appetite, and perceiving in general. thinking, however, seems most of all to belong exclusively to the soul; but if this, too, is a sort of imagination or does not exist without imagination, it cannot exist without a body either. if, then, any one of the acts or affections of the soul belongs exclusively to it, it could be separated; but if nothing is proper to it, it would not be separable” (on the soul 3). therefore, while aristotle’s vitalist understanding of the mind and body contrasts descartes’s theory of dualism, the way both these philosophers approach the soul and its equation with thought is similar. 6. aristotle’s hierarchy of thought covers plants, animals, and humans. plants have souls because they are able to reproduce and grow; animals have a sensitive soul because they can move, feel, and perceive; and humans have a rational soul because they are capable of thought and introspection. furthermore, humans possess the same capabilities as plants and animals along with rationality (on the soul, ii and iii). 7. theological latin term meaning “in the image of god.” 8. in de doctrina christiana, milton insists we must look at all of god’s intentions and creations as “intrinsically good, and the chief productive stock of every subsequent good” (502). 9. latin for “in the image of the maker.” 19 works cited aristotle. on the soul and other psychological works. translated by fred d. miller, oxford university press, 2018. descartes, rené. meditations on first philosophy. translated by donald a. cress, hackett publishing company, 1993. harrison, timothy m. “adamic awakening and the feeling of being alive in paradise lost.” milton studies, vol. 54, no. 1, 2013, pp. 29–57., doi:10.1353/mlt.2013.0011. milton, john. de doctrina christiana. john milton prose: major writings on liberty, politics, religion, and education, edited by david loewenstein, blackwell publishing ltd., 1825, 2013, 472-557. milton, john. paradise lost. the complete poetry of john milton, edited by john t. shawcross, anchor books, 1667, 1971, 249-517. oakes, edward t. “lab life: vitalism, promethean science, and mary shelley’s frankenstein.” logos: a journal of catholic thought and culture, vol. 16, no. 4, 2013, pp. 56–77., doi:10.1353/log.2013.0036. rogers, john. the matter of revolution: science, poetry, and politics in the age of milton. cornell university press, 1998. sartre, jean-paul. existentialism is a humanism. translated by carol macomber, yale university press, 2007. shelley, mary wollstonecraft. frankenstein, or, the modern prometheus, the 1818 text. edited by james rieger, university of chicago press, 1982. microsoft word coffin theater final for on-line edition.docx concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   1 from peasant to queen: the necessity of realism in lady gregory and w. b. yeats’s kathleen ni houlihan amanda coffin theatre the collaboration of william butler yeats and lady augusta gregory in the writing of their 1902 play kathleen ni houlihan has been painstakingly outlined and examined by numerous scholars of early irish drama.1 thanks to this scholarly work, sole authorship of the play is no longer credited solely to yeats, and kathleen ni houlihan must henceforth be considered a yeats-gregory collaboration. but as recently as 2010, the abbey theatre, ireland’s national theatre, continued to market kathleen ni houlihan as a play written solely by yeats.2 the two prior productions at the abbey, one in 1990 and the other in 1984, also made no mention of lady augusta gregory’s contributions to the script in their programs or marketing materials.3 both productions presented kathleen ni houlihan as part of an evening of yeats plays and both imposed a style on the early drama that was more appropriate for the later experimental plays of yeats. critics of these interpretations of kathleen, as seen in press cuttings in the abbey theatre archives, received these versions poorly.4 this paper will closely examine the 1984 production of kathleen ni houlihan presented by the abbey theatre using video, programs, and press cuttings from the abbey theatre archives and will compare the production’s success and effectiveness with that of early realistic productions of the play including the 1902 premiere. i will argue that the failure of the 1984 production lies in the director’s decision to thematically and stylistically                                                                                                                 1 see james pethica’s collaborative one-act plays, 1901-1903 (ithaca: cornell university press, 2009), his “our kathleen” in yeats annual no. 6 ed. warwick gould (london: macmillan, 1988), and colm toibin’s lady gregory’s toothbrush (madison: u of wisconsin, 2002). 2 kathleen ni houlihan was part of the “reading yeats” series at the peacock theatre in 2010. abbey theatre website: www.abbeytheatre.ie/archives/production_detail/5083. 3 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 08 aug 1990 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0813_mpg_01 and abbey theatre and kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 2862_mpg_01. 4 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [press cuttings]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 2862_pc_0001.   concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   2 link kathleen ni houlihan with yeats’s later noh dramas, thereby viewing the play as a purely symbolist yeats drama and ignoring the realistic elements of the play that belong to gregory and are necessary to the play’s success. throughout history kathleen ni houlihan has been credited as w.b. yeats’s sole creation, and it is likely that the play was credited to him alone in its 1902 premiere. joseph holloway, a frequent attendee of dublin theatre who kept a diary during the early years of the abbey theatre and attended the 1902 premiere, calls the play “mr. w.b. yeats’s one-act play.”5 the piece was certainly marketed as yeats’s play alone in the 1904 program of the abbey theatre opening.6 later programs and reviews of the play in both ireland and america mention only yeats’s name as author of the piece. today, claims could be made that yeats’s name is included and gregory’s excluded due to name recognition or popularity, but at the turn of the twentieth century both figures were successful authors and prominent figures in dublin society. lady august gregory co-founded the abbey theatre, ireland’s national theatre, with yeats and edward martin in 1904, an enterprise that first began as the irish literary theatre (1901) and then became the irish national theatre society (1904).7 it was at her house, coole park in county galway, that much of the planning for a national theatre was done and their statement created: “we propose to have performed in dublin in the spring of every year certain celtic and irish plays, which whatever be their degree of excellence will be written with a high ambition, and so to build up a celtic and irish school of dramatic literature.”8 with plays such as spreading the news and the rising of the moon, gregory became a popular playwright at the abbey with works filled with nationalistic fervor and dialogue that sought to accurately present speech of the irish people. in line with the realism of the twentieth century that was so predominant at the time, gregory presented real and sometimes everyday situations in order to show “the deeper thoughts and emotions of ireland.”9 realism in theatre is generally understood as the representation of real life onstage whereas symbolism is the search for deeper meaning through the use of symbols. in kathleen ni houlihan we see both of these motifs—a peasant family reminiscent of the other true to life peasants gregory portrays in works such as spreading the news and a strong symbol in the figure of the old woman or kathleen who represents ireland. in the character of kathleen we see the early                                                                                                                 5 holloway, joseph. joseph holloway's abbey theatre; a selection from his unpublished journal, impressions of a dublin playgoer. ed. robert goode hogan and michael j. o'neill. (carbondale: southern illinois up, 1967),17. 6 see figure a.   7  gregory, isabella augusta lady. our irish theatre. (new york & london: putnam, 1914.)   8  ibid. 9 ibid.   concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   3 hints of yeats’s more experimental and symbolist dramas such as at the hawk’s well where characters include “an old man,” “a young man,” and “the guardian of the well.” 10 the strength of kathleen ni houlihan lies in the symbolism of yeats confronting the realism of gregory, and it is only by establishing the natural peasant scene as something to be disturbed or disrupted by the symbolic kathleen that the play’s true effect can be realized. omission of lady gregory’s name from twenty-first-century programs does more harm today than in 1902, both because her co-authorship has been proven and because omitting her name allows directors to omit her style in favor of yeats’s, thus presenting a version of the play that goes against the intentions of both authors. figure a. opening night program of the abbey theatre, 1904. the premiere w. b. yeats provides extensive notes and comments on kathleen ni houlihan in the first edition of his plays in prose and verse.11 numerous remarks speak to his desire for a realistic representation of life in kathleen ni houlihan, chief among them his dedication to lady gregory: “i could not get down out of that high                                                                                                                 10 yeats, w. b. “at the hawk’s well.” modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. ed. john p. harrington. (new york: w.w. norton, 2009),20. 11 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan. 27 december 1904 [script]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 10299_s_0001, 225. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   4 window of dramatic verse, and in spite of all you had done for me i had not the country speech”.12 here we see that yeats was seeking a dialogue that mimicked the real “country speech” of mayo. in the opening moments of the play bridget says, “i suppose the boys must be having some sport of their own. come over here, peter, and look at michael’s wedding clothes”. 13 the family’s preoccupations with money, clothes, the wedding, and even greyhound puppies are certainly a far cry from the poetic speech of the old woman/kathleen who sings about men who have died and refuses the worldly possessions of food and money. in addition to his desire for realistic peasant dialogue, yeats advocated for realism in the acting of kathleen. in describing maud gonne’s original performance in relation to a few early performances of kathleen in america, yeats emphasized the importance of the character being presented traditionally as an old woman. he explains: “since then the part has been twice played in america by women who insisted on keeping their young faces [...] the most beautiful woman of her time, when she played my cathleen, ‘made up’ centuries old, and never should the part be played but with a like sincerity.”14 this insistence on a true-tolife representation is consistent with early accounts of the play from individuals who saw the performances, actors who participated, and newspaper reviews. early accounts of kathleen ni houlihan, which premiered on april 2, 1902, continuously comment on the realistic depiction of peasant life that the play represents and the true to life acting of the performers. it is clear from letters between maud gonne, the original kathleen, and w.b. yeats that the stylistic intention of the play was realism from the first rehearsals. gonne explains that george moore, who assisted in creating the irish literary theatre with yeats and gregory, came to visit the rehearsal room and “wanted kathleen to get up when she talked about her beautiful green fields & to walk to the door & come back again, in fact he wanted her to be wandering round the cottage all the time & make most of her remarks from the front of the stage instead of from the corner of the fire.” 15 gonne goes on to explain her aversion to moore’s directions, insisting that moore’s ideas were not true to life and that they should instead keep the original blocking in order to “keep up the idea of the poor old weary woman who would certainly sit down & rock herself over the fire & not get up & walk about until the                                                                                                                 12 ibid., 218. 13 gregory, augusta and w. b. yeats. “kathleen ni houlihan.” modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. ed. john p. harrington. (new york: w.w. norton, 2009), 439-40. 14 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan. 27 december 1904 [script]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 10299_s_0001, 218-219.   15 macbride, maud g., william b. yeats, and anna m. white. the gonne-yeats letters: 18931938; always your friend. (london: hutchinson, 1992), 151. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   5 idea of meeting her friends comes to her.”16 next, gonne describes the costume she will wear for the performance, and once again reinforces her desire for the most accurate representation of the “old women in the west”: “i have a beautiful untidy grey wig, a torn grey flannel dress exactly like the old women wear in the west, bare feet & a big blue hooded cloak. you would give me a penny in the street if you saw me & i look 60 at least.”17 an early photograph of this 1902 production corroborates gonne’s descriptions of a realistic representation of the gillane family and the poor old woman who visits them.18 the production photo shows four actors on willie fay’s set that includes a window, a door, and a table and chairs. the table even has a cup and a pitcher on it, items presumably used by bridget gillane when offering the old woman a drink of milk (figure b). figure b. maud gonne (far right) on the realistic set of the 1902 premiere of kathleen. a final indicator for the premiere’s realistic representation lies in the stylistic choices made for george russell’s deirdre, the play that preceded kathleen ni houlihan on the night of its premiere. padraic colum, an actor in these productions                                                                                                                 16 ibid. 17 ibid. 18 see figure b.   concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   6 said, “willie fay had decided to produce deirdre behind gauze veils.”19 joseph holloway described the effect in his diary: “the gauze curtain between the audience and the performers added much to the weird and dreamy effect of the play upon the listeners.”20 with such a stylistic choice for deirdre, the decision to perform kathleen ni houlihan without this gauze curtain, something that easily could have been employed for both productions, is quite telling. while russell’s deirdre was meant to leave a “dreamy effect” on the audience, kathleen was, according to holloway, “realized with creepy realism by the tall and willowy miss maud gonne.”21 further productions by september of 1908 kathleen ni houlihan had been performed 105 times by the abbey theatre’s company of actors.22 the abbey theatre archives, though not possessing a complete production history, provide insight into how popular the show was, for the yeats-gregory play was performed at least once a year (and often more frequently) at the abbey theatre or on tour from the time the abbey opened in 1904 through 1920.23 the play was often placed as a popular and familiar opener to precede new plays, and by 1912 kathleen ni houlihan was often presented with j. m. synge’s controversial playboy of the western world. this likely had to do with the setting of both plays, as outlined by lady gregory in “an explanation” to the arrow on june 1, 1907: i am sorry mr. synge laid the scene of his play in mayo if mayo people are offended. he might have mentioned some undiscoverable irish district. yet if mayo has cause to complain it may remember that mr. yeats has made his young bridegroom, who gives up love, home and all to follow cathleen ni houlihan, a mayo man.24 the choice to pair kathleen ni houlihan with the riot-inducing playboy speaks to the play’s universal appeal while its continual inclusion in the repertory of the abbey theatre speaks to its popularity.                                                                                                                 19 colum, padraic. “early days of the irish theatre”. the abbey theatre: interviews and recollections. ed. e. h. mikhail. (london: macmillan, 1988), 66. 20 holloway, joseph. joseph holloway's abbey theatre, 16. 21 holloway, joseph. joseph holloway's abbey theatre, 17.   22 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 08 sep 1908 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0321_mpg_01, 5. 23 abbey theatre digital archives. 24 gregory, augusta. our irish theatre, 195. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   7 these subsequent productions of kathleen ni houlihan continued to be performed in the realistic style established by the original 1902 production. the published script of kathleen ni houlihan was eventually included in a compilation of yeats’s work, plays in prose and verse, and a copy of this book, published in 1922, served as an early prompt book for the abbey theatre in which actors or perhaps the stage manager wrote blocking. 25 this book-turned-prompt-book includes a sketch of the set that includes walls and a window, a fire, a dresser, a table, and a door. thus in 1922, and likely into future years, the abbey theatre was still performing kathleen ni houlihan on a very realistic set. stage directions and blocking written into the text show the actors interacting with the furniture and holding props that contribute to the realistic presentation of the play: bridget “x to dresser with clothes” or “michael shuts door x to window.”26 all indications seem to show that the original 1902 staging of kathleen ni houlihan was preserved for many years and continued to work successfully for the company. first hand accounts and newspaper articles that detail various performances of kathleen ni houlihan over the years speak to the success of the productions and the realism employed by the actors. in speaking about the october 9th, 1903 performance of the play joseph holloway says, “anything more natural than some of the peasant scenes enacted by these plays i have never seen.”27 holloway spends a large part of his entry commending the “natural” acting of sara allgood, who played bridget gillane in the production (though she would go on to play the title kathleen hundreds of times throughout her career). holloway claims that her acting “ceased to be acting and became nature.”28 thus the focus on realistic acting continued into subsequent productions of the play and is in keeping with the early acting styles of the abbey theatre actors. the success of the play from 1902 to the abbey theatre’s official opening on december 27th, 1904 can also be surmised from kathleen ni houlihan’s inclusion in the historic opening of the abbey theatre. holloway, who attended the opening, states, “cathleen ni houlihan which followed was exquisitely enacted, and all present were thrilled by the weird beauty and intense pathos of miss maire nic shiubhlaigh’s embodiment of ‘cathleen’.”29 by 1923, holloway was still not tired of the one-act drama by yeats and gregory, for his september 10th diary entry states, “i went on to the abbey and was just in time to see the curtains rise on cathleen ni houlihan...sara allgood was impressive in the title role.”30 through holloway’s diary entries it is clear that                                                                                                                 25 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 27 dec 1904 [script]. 26 ibid., 10.   27 holloway, joseph holloway's abbey theatre, 27-28. 28 ibid. 29 ibid., 50-51. 30 ibid., 220. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   8 kathleen ni houlihan was quickly established as an important play of the new irish theatre movement and one that could always attract an audience when revived. newspaper reviews from ireland, london, and new york speak positively of the play throughout the years. the irish times in 1906 stated, “the second part of the programme, ‘kathleen ni houlihan,’ by mr. w. b. yeats, was very well received,” and by 1908 the play is called a “tried favourite.” 31 in 1909 the same paper calls kathleen “the ideal national play of ireland,” and a 1938 review says that the play’s “appeal has in no way lessened.”32 by december of 1909 the play was also “well known in london,” and a 1911 review in the new york times states, “the plot is probably familiar” and references an earlier performance of the play. 33 the popularity of this play in three countries must be considered alongside the staging methods and character interpretation of the abbey actors. the presentation of the drama as a realistic representation of peasant life cannot be taken for granted, and it is not a coincidence that the true-to-life acting and staging as outlined by holloway in his diary entries and as seen in the early prompt books coincided with the success of this show. the writings of yeats and gregory, newspaper reviews of productions, and first hand accounts of the play show a link between a realistic interpretation of the script and the success of the performance. scholars of the play agree that the play’s success lies in the artistic marriage of gregory and yeats. as james pethica says, “the transition enacted between its initially realist register and the symbolic and supernatural mode with which it closes is achieved almost seamlessly, such that—in this play, at least—the two writers’ differing styles augment each other powerfully rather than jarring or contrasting awkwardly.”34 nicholas grene in his article, “strangers in the house” aptly states, “the effectiveness of the play in part derives from the very concrete ordinariness of the peasant setting as established by gregory in the first scene.”35                                                                                                                 31 “public amusements: abbey theatre”. the irish times (1874-1920); nov 19, 1906; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times pg. 6 and “abbey theatre.” the irish times (1874-1920); aug 25, 1908; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times, 8 32 “abbey theatre”. the irish times (1874-1920); mar 17, 1909; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times pg. 6. and “abbey theatre: two early plays” the irish times (1921-current file); aug 9, 1938; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times, 8 33 "the stage society." times [london, england] 7 dec. 1909: 10. the times digital archive. web. 8 july 2015 and “irish players give three little dramas”. new york times (1857-1922); dec 2, 1911; proquest historical newspapers: the new york times, 13. 34 pethica, collaborative one-act plays, xxxix. 35 grene, nicholas, “strangers in the house,” in modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism, ed. john p. harrington. (new york: w.w. norton, 2009), 427. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   9 despite a scholarly understanding of the play’s success as a collaboration and a production history that advocates for a respect for both the realistic elements and the symbolist ones, the two most recent fully staged productions of kathleen ni houlihan at the abbey theatre chose to forego any sense of the ordinary in the opening moments of the play, even as they failed to credit lady gregory as coauthor. both raymond yeates’s 1984 production and james flannery’s 1990 production emphasized stylized, non-realistic movement and introduced the character of the other-worldly kathleen in the opening moments of the play rather than halfway through as yeats and gregory intended.36 these productions suffered from directorial choices that stylistically linked kathleen ni houlihan to yeats’s later noh dramas, thereby ignoring the elements of realism and disregarding authorial intention. 1984 production the abbey theatre’s 1984 production of kathleen ni houlihan was produced as part of 4 yeats plays, including at the hawk’s well (written in 1916), the cat and the moon (1926), and the dreaming of the bones (1919) with kathleen ni houlihan (1902) finishing the performance.37 the dates alone show that kathleen ni houlihan is out of place with the other three plays. raymond yeates directed this show, which opened on tuesday, june 12th, and newspaper reviews described the production as “highly-stylized,” “untheatrical,” “visually and aurally fascinating,” and “eclectivally [sic] chosen.” 38 the archival video of 4 yeats plays shows a performance that relies on movement, heavy make-up, puppets, and masks.39 one newspaper even called them “plays of masks and faces”, and a newspaper feature on maire o’neill who played the “1st musician” and “kathleen ni houlihan” stated, “the actors also received instruction in puppetry, karate and percussion.” 40 these theatrical devices are not unusual for yeats’s noh dramas, where character descriptions call for musicians with “their faces made up to                                                                                                                 36 due to the close spelling of the surnames of raymond yeates and w. b. yeats, all references to the director will use his full name, raymond yeates, while the use of only the surname yeats will refer to the playwright.   37 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [programme], 2. 38 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [press cuttings]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 2862_pc_0001, 7-8. 39 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [video]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 2862_v_001. 40 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [press cuttings], 4-5. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   10 resemble masks” and some characters “wearing a mask,” but the presentation of kathleen ni houlihan with these same elements was never yeats’s intention. 41 after writing the cat and the moon, yeats said, “i intended [the cat and the moon] to be what the japanese call a kiogen (brief farces in colloquial language, introduced early in the development of noh drama as interludes between the more serious ritualistic plays), and to come between, let us say, the hawk’s well and the dreaming of the bones.”42 the program for the 1984 production further acknowledges the similarities between the three plays by describing them all as “plays for dancers,” though the cat and the moon was not part of yeats’s original four plays for dancers published in 1921. 43 additionally, all three of the noh plays call for “three musicians” who serve as narrators and participate throughout the plays. in contrast, the stage directions for kathleen ni houlihan call for no masks or make-up of any kind and instead call for the “interior of a cottage” to be represented onstage.44 other stage directions call for realistic actions from the characters such as bridget “undoing a parcel” or patrick “goes out, leaving the door open.” kathleen does not use musicians and in fact calls for kathleen to sing her own songs in the production, which should be sung, according to yeats, “as the country people understand song.”45 here we see that raymond yeates does in fact follow the intentions of yeats for the first three plays in his production but fails to do so in his presentation of kathleen, thereby favoring directorial interpretation over the main ideas of the authors. not only did raymond yeates use the same tone and theatrical masks throughout 4 yeats plays, he also used kathleen as a through-line for the performances, introducing the character long before the final play began. his production opened with singing: kathleen’s song about “yellow-haired donough that was hanged in galway.”46 additionally, in-between each play raymond yeates inserted hints of kathleen ni houlihan, including songs and pieces of dialogue that served as a precursor for what was to come. eventually, the actor playing the “1st musician,” maire o’neill, became “kathleen” in the final piece. kathleen ni houlihan was performed on a dark stage with disembodied masks                                                                                                                 41 yeats, w. b. “at the hawk’s well”. the collected plays of w.b. yeats. (london: macmillan, 1960.) 42 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [programme], 3. 43 ibid. 44 gregory, augusta and w. b. yeats. “kathleen ni houlihan.” modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. ed. john p. harrington. (new york: w.w. norton, 2009), 439-40. 45 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 27 dec 1904 [script]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 10299_s_0001, 225. 46 ibid., 7.   concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   11 serving as puppets to speak the dialogue. the irish times described the piece as follows: “in ‘cathleen ni houlihan’ the mortals became mere disembodied masks, the immortal old woman was masked and the young man who offered himself to her became wholly unmasked,” and the evening herald stated, “in quarter light, masks are held at arm’s length by hodded [sic] figures.” 47 the entire play was performed in this way, from beginning to end, with no sense of change or transition when kathleen entered the space. raymond yeates’s choice to introduce the character of kathleen in the first moments of his 1984 production is counter to decisions that yeats and gregory made about the show in their early work on the play. yeats’s initial impression of the success of kathleen ni houlihan in 1902 was not entirely positive, and he found himself questioning whether certain changes should be made to the script. yeats found that audiences were laughing during the opening scene in the gillane’s house and therefore they could not immediately grasp the “tragic meaning of kathleen’s part,” which led yeats to question whether he should “have struck a tragic note at the start.”48 yeats went on to say, “i have an idea of revising it before i put it in a book & of making kathleen pass the door at the start. they can call her over & ask her some question & she can say she is going to old ‘so & sos’, & pass on.”49 yeats’s instinct to alter the tone of the opening scene of the gillane family was tempered by gregory who wrote, “the simple enjoyment of a comfortable life, without any shadow of what is to happen, is the best opening.”50 and thus it is in the published script, for though the character of kathleen is hinted at and commented on by the young patrick, there is no initial conversation with her to disturb the humorous and lifelike tone of the opening scene.51 raymond yeates’s staging of this realistic drama in a highly stylized way was jarring to most reviewers, and the overwhelming consensus among them was that his choice was ultimately unsuccessful. desmond rushe in the irish independent said of kathleen: “it clearly demands different handling, but it is played with disembodied masks the predominant feature, and however excellently they are lit by leslie scott, they serve no purpose whatever other than to make a                                                                                                                 47 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [press cuttings], 7-8. 48 yeats, w. b. the collected letters of w. b. yeats. ed. john kelly et al. (oxford: clarendon press; new york: oxford university press, 1986), 167. www.nlx.com/collections/130 49 ibid. 50 pethica, collaborative one-act plays, xxxix. 51 it is true that raymond yeates’s production is, in some ways, following this initial instinct of w.b. yeats, (which was rejected by gregory) to introduce kathleen at the top of the play. the success of versions that do not introduce kathleen too soon and the fact yeats never adapted the text in later years seems to advocate for gregory’s interpretation over yeats’s. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   12 work of considerable significance in its time olok [sic] coltishly affected.”52 other reviewers agreed. john fiengan of the evening herald enjoyed the “stylization” of the first three pieces, but he disagreed with the presentation of the final one: however the fantasy approach fails todofull [sic] justice to the most famous play of the quartet, ‘cathleen ni houihan’ (a personification of ireland lametning [sic] the loss of her four green fields). invariably staged in a realistic setting, it is here presented as a surrealistic drama in whcih, [sic] in quarter light, masks are held at arm’s length by hodded [sic] figures. maire o’neill speaks the haunting lines so beautifully that one would wish to have herrd [sic] them in the usual environment.53 writing for in dublin, martin armstrong said, “the director imposes a thematic unity on the plays,” and perhaps the most straightforward and clear explanation of the problem was given by david nowlan in the irish times who said the performance “lacks consistency and is ultimately unfaithful to both the spirit and the letter of the author’s intent.” 54 it is clear from these reviews that raymond yeates’s inclusion of kathleen ni houlihan in a night of yeat’s noh plays did not work successfully. by attempting to link kathleen ni houlihan to yeats’s later plays, raymond yeates failed to present the dramatic tension that comes from a realistic and true to life domestic scene being interrupted by the symbolic and other-worldly force of kathleen ni houlihan. this error comes from looking at the play through a lens that belongs strictly to yeats rather than through the lens of gregory. 1990 production following raymond yeates’s 1984 presentation of kathleen ni houlihan, the play was not seen again at the abbey until 1990.55 this time kathleen ni houlihan was presented as part of the “annual wb yeats international theatre festival” and was performed with the dreaming of the bones and purgatory.56 once again kathleen was grouped with two of yeats’s later more symbolist plays and suffered because of it. once again the director, james w. flannery, introduced the energy and tone                                                                                                                 52 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [press cuttings], 7. 53 ibid., 8. 54 ibid., 14, 7. 55 both the 1984 and 1990 productions of kathleen ni houlihan were performed on the peacock stage, the abbey theatre’s smaller second stage. 56 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 08 aug 1990 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0813_mpg_01. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   13 of the otherworldly kathleen far too early. flannery started the play with three women slowly rolling on the floor and moving through the space while eerie music played. the slow pace continued throughout the opening scene with not a single word spoken until eleven minutes into the performance.57 this style and tone erased the energy and humor established by lady gregory’s dialogue and resulted once again in a lack of contrast between the real and the symbolic. the irish times described the night as such: slow motion was the order of the night in the peacock theatre’s first night of the second annual yeats festival. ‘cathleen ni houlihan’ started with human forms blowing shapeless on to the stage like tardy clumps of tumbleweed and stayed like that, dead slow, until the gillane family began to wonder who was the old woman coming up the path towards the house.58 thus james flannery fell into the same trap as his predecessor, raymond yeates. the omission of lady gregory’s name from both the 1984 program and the 1990 program shows an effort to claim what is probably yeats’s most popular and familiar work, kathleen ni houlihan, as his own success and perhaps justify or explain his later, less produced work. but by forcing a style on kathleen that is against not only gregory’s original intent but also yeats’s original intent, raymond yeates and james flannery decisively show that kathleen doesn’t work as a purely symbolist, purely yeatsian play. the continued presentation of classic plays like kathleen ni houlihan requires a constant evaluation of what makes the play important or exciting to a modern audience. just as the abbey theatre has a responsibility to present the historically significant plays that made the national theatre a success during the time of lady gregory and w. b. yeats, they also have a responsibility to present those works in different ways that speak to their audience members. raymond yeates and james w. flannery cannot be faulted for trying something new or for trying to connect to their audiences. but by ignoring the intentions of both authors of kathleen they fail to present the main idea of the play: that something bigger, something more symbolic and perhaps a bit otherworldly could arrive at any moment to interrupt every day waking reality. the way individuals respond to this collision of the extraordinary with the normal is what kathleen ni houlihan                                                                                                                 57 abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 08 aug 1990 [video]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 813_v_001. 58 nowlan, david. “drama diffused by distracting images: yeats festival opens at the peacock”. the irish times (1921-current file); aug 9, 1990; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times pg. 10.   concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   14 explores. in order to grasp the larger meaning of a play that has spoken to generations of audience members, future directors must acknowledge that kathleen ni houlihan’s success lies in the confrontation between the realism of lady gregory and the symbolism of w.b. yeats. just as kathleen’s transformation into a queen means nothing unless she has been established as a peasant, the brilliance of yeats cannot be recognized without the foundation set by the equally brilliant lady augusta gregory. bibliography colum, padraic. “early days of the irish theatre.” the abbey theatre: interviews and recollections. ed. e. h. mikhail. (london: macmillan, 1988). foster, r.f. “at the hawk's well.” modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. ed. john p. harrington. (new york: w.w. norton, 2009. 439-40). gregory, augusta. our irish theatre. (new york & london: putnam, 1914). gregory, augusta, and w. b. yeats. “cathleen ni houlihan,” modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. ed. john p. harrington. (new york: w.w. norton, 2009). grene, nicholas, “strangers in the house,” modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. ed. john p. harrington. (new york: w.w. norton, 2009). holloway, joseph. joseph holloway’s abbey theatre; a selection from his unpublished journal, impressions of a dublin playgoer. ed. robert goode hogan and michael j. o'neill. (carbondale: southern illinois up, 1967). pethica, james. collaborative one-act plays, 1901-1903 (ithaca: cornell university press, 2009). pethica, james, “‘our kathleen’: yeats’s collaboration with lady gregory in the writing of cathleen ni houlihan,” in warwick gould, ed., yeats annual, 6 (london: macmillan 1988). concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   15 macbride, maud g., william b. yeats, and anna m. white. the gonne-yeats letters: 1893-1938; always your friend. (london: hutchinson, 1992). toibin, colm. lady gregory’s toothbrush (madison: u of wisconsin, 2002). yeats, w. b. “at the hawk's well.” the collected plays of w.b. yeats. (london: macmillan, 1960). --------------. “the cat and the moon.” the collected plays of w.b. yeats. (london: macmillan, 1960). --------------. “the dreaming of the bones.” the collected plays of w.b. yeats. (london: macmillan, 1960). --------------. the collected plays of w.b. yeats. (london: macmillan, 1960). abbey theatre archives abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 27 dec 1904 [script]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 10299_s_0001, 218. abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 08 sep 1908 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0321_mpg_01, p5. abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 2862_mpg_01. abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [press cuttings]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 2862_pc_0001, p8. abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 12 jun 1984 [video]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 2862. abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 08 aug 1990 [programme]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0813_mpg_01. abbey theatre. kathleen ni houlihan, 08 aug 1990 [video]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 813_v_001. concept, vol. xxxix (2016)   16 newspaper articles “abbey theatre.” the irish times (1874-1920); aug 25, 1908; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times pg. 8. “abbey theatre”. the irish times (1874-1920); mar 17, 1909; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times pg. 6. “abbey theatre: two early plays” the irish times (1921-current file); aug 9, 1938; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times pg. 8. “irish players give three little dramas”. new york times (1857 1922); dec 2, 1911; proquest historical newspapers: the new york times pg. 13. “public amusements: abbey theatre”. the irish times (1874-1920); nov 19, 1906; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times pg. 6. nowlan, david. “drama diffused by distracting images: yeats festival opens at the peacock”. the irish times (1921-current file); aug 9, 1990; proquest historical newspapers: the irish times and the weekly irish times pg. 10. “the stage society.” times [london, england] 7 dec. 1909: 10. the times digital archive. web. 8 july 2015. microsoft word matzerath hrd.docx retaining generation z in the workforce paige matzerath human resource development when a new generation transitions to the workforce, organizations might shift to think creatively about supporting this new group of employees based upon upbringing and experienced world events which shape values and beliefs. each generation has characteristics and qualities which make those populations unique. for generation z, who just started transitioning to entrylevel jobs, managers can start analyzing what that means for daily operations and workflow to ensure this generation feels welcomed and supported. in this post-covid-19 world, generation z was affected by the pandemic since a sample of this population was either in college or just starting to find jobs and internships in the workforce. whether transitioning to higher education or into the workforce, generation z experienced a large-scale world event that might have shaped world views and reprioritized personal values. since this world event, employers have adapted operational strategies to support these individuals to retain employees. this literature review will examine what generation z values in the workforce to understand how to retain employees. who is generation z? the term generation has been defined numerous times; however, there is not yet a consistent definition (standifer & lester, 2020). seemiller and grace (2016) categorize generation z as individuals born between 1995 and 2010; however, some studies tend to add or remove a few years, depending on the sample population. throughout this literature review, it is assumed that the sample populations discussed throughout the research are current college students or entry-level employees who have transitioned into the workforce in the last three years unless otherwise noted. rudolph et al. (2021) argues that studying generations can be challenging because, although there is a specific population, the age range is between 10 and 20 years, which is a significant amount of time when looking at larger sample. seemiller and grace (2016) identified common characteristics within this generation through a survey distributed to 15 participating higher education institutions. the survey results do not compare generation z to previous generations but are a way to better understand this unique population. the researchers found a strong work ethic, loyalty, compassion, thoughtfulness, open-mindedness, and determination to be top traits for this population. rodriguez et al. (2019) noted that generation z and millennials, the generation before generation z, have similar values; however, the researchers found that generation z is more loyal than millennials, which could be due to generation z watching parents and loved ones persevere through the early 2000 and 2008 recessions. comparing generation z to previous generations each generation shares similar perspectives because of shared experiences (standifer & lester, 2020). compared to previous generations, generation z is “the most racially diverse generation to date” (seemiller & grace, 2016, p. 6). the authors found that this generation is passionate about inclusion because of personal experience with racial and religious discrimination. traditionally, research has shown that employees prefer to interact with employees of the same identities, including age, to have a sense of similarity with another, allowing employees to develop trust and loyalty (becker et al., 2022). however, generation z values learning from one another and incorporating diverse perspectives when creatively problem-solving. for the first time, five generations will collaborate in the workforce simultaneously, including traditionalists (1922-1945), baby boomers (1945-1965), generation x (1965-1980), millennials (1980-1995), and generation z (1995-2010) (becker et al., 2022). with different generations in the workplace, it is valuable for employees to have an open mind to new ideas, actively listen to colleagues, and demonstrate flexibility in working together. (seedsman, 2021). when considering each generation's characteristics, rudolph et al. (2021) believes critically evaluating that population’s world identifying significant events possibly influencing personal values and world views is beneficial in understanding generational expectations. for example, one might assume that because of the evolution of technology, younger generations prefer to do individualized work rather than collaborate with their colleagues (becker et al., 2022). seemiller and grace (2016) noted that this generation experienced the tragic attack on september 11th, 2001, witnessing the economic crash at an early age. as a result, generation z watched loved ones struggling with job insecurity. seemiller and grace (2016) found that from a young age, generation z learned that even loyal employees with a strong work ethic might not get a job or lose a job which increased anxiety around job security for these individuals. for some members of generation z who started transitioning to the workforce during a global pandemic, researchers might assume this world event influenced how this generation prioritizes values. for instance, mahmoud et al. (2021) anticipated increased job insecurity due to the covid-19 pandemic, which studies proved true. however, generation z is one of the most entrepreneurial generations meaning that self-employment opportunities will continue to increase (seemiller & grace, 2016). whether employed at a company or self-employed, seemiller and grace (2016) learned that two-thirds of survey participants hoped to seek careers that positively impacted the world. knowing these characteristics and concerns of generation z is valuable to help employers think strategically about creating opportunities to retain. flexible work schedule as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, the workforce incorporated more flexible work options; however, that does not mean everyone who experienced this world event felt that working remotely is the best strategy for themselves or the organization. instead, it can be beneficial to use this data to help influence the decision-making process while keeping in mind that everyone who identifies with a specific generation will have unique beliefs regarding flexible work arrangements (rudolph et al., 2021). tidhar (2022a) interviewed participants with managerial seniority supervising employees, including generation z, to collect qualitative data. the data identified six components of employees' value in a manager, including flexibility (tidhar, 2022a). when promoting managers in an organization, emphasizing the supervisory style during professional development will offer management support (tidhar, 2022a). for generation z, wiedmer (2015) noted that this generation enjoys learning, working, and studying whenever and wherever desired. aggarwal et al. (2020) found that generation z employees respond well to flexible work environments because the typical nine-to-five workday does not appeal to these individuals. taibah and ho (2023) wanted to evaluate if flexible work options would provide more time to hone employee skillsets and increase overall knowledge, which would increase access to support and information for generation z employees. as a result of this study, the researchers found that flexible work options do not support generation z employees who prefer structure. (taibah & ho, 2023). these contradicting studies are a reminder that everyone has unique preferences that might be different from the conclusion. researchers have found different conclusions for flexible work options; however, tidhar (2022b) found that most generation z employees were not as productive working from home but valued a hybrid model work style. leadership at organizations might consider striving for a positive work environment to encourage employees to perform better, which might include exploring various flexible work options. in addition to flexibility, interpersonal communication is another value for generation z (tidhar, 2022a). communication preferences flexibility in a work schedule is a unique value to generation z; however, rodriguez et al. (2019) found that communication is even more valuable to this generation. it is helpful for managers to communicate the organization’s working expectations to be transparent with employees (sponaugle, 2019). wiedmer (2015) found that frequently communicating clear goals helps this generation better understand what to work towards. for a generation that grew up surrounded by technology, taibah and ho (2023) found that generation z prefers face-to-face communication and being heard in the workplace. additionally, sponaugle (2019) indicated that employees value it when management pauses to listen to the concerns of employees. seemiller and grace (2016) learned that regardless of technology and social media being prevalent for these individuals, members of generation z still see the value of face-to-face communication and do not wish to transition to a virtual world but rather have the flexibility to pick and choose what works best for each individual. intrinsic motivation and rewards understanding what drives an employee's work ethic can be beneficial when thinking about how to motivate supervisees. mahmoud et al. (2021) researched how motivation influenced employees' feelings about job insecurity and satisfaction. through the study, mahmoud et al. (2021) found that intrinsic motivation correlates with job insecurity and job satisfaction, which might be because of the covid-19 pandemic. some of generation z transitioned out of higher education and into the workforce during the 2020 pandemic, which was challenging with many companies implementing a hiring freeze. knowing that job insecurity is a sensitive area for generation z when transitioning into the workforce during a challenging time, employers might benefit from reassuring generation z employees during the hiring and onboarding process to build trust with these individuals. farrell and phungsoonthron (2020) conducted research with 557 thai students working towards a bachelor's degree at an international university. in these findings, the researchers learned that generation z employees value intrinsic rewards more than leisure rewards, which might be surprising since both the millennial generation and generation z have a negative stereotype of being lazy and self-centered (farrell & phungsoonthron, 2020). ortega et al. (2019) found that the centrality of work for generation z was significantly lower than previous generations in a study conducted at four organizations in southern ecuador, meaning that this generation places values differently than others. in addition to intrinsic rewards, generation z responded positively to social and altruistic rewards (farrell & phungsoonthron, 2020). while farrell and phungsoonthron (2020) found that leisure rewards were least valuable to generation z, ortega et al. (2019) found that work was not as important as family, friends, and leisure, which is different from previous generations who historically prioritized work. the contradicting research indicates that individual members of generation z place values differently from one another and past generations, making it challenging to come to one conclusion. team-based groups historically, researchers found that employees preferred working in teams with individuals of the same identities; however, becker et al. (2022) conducted a study that proved this untrue. while survey participants mentioned that communicating between multiple generations can provide challenges, there is a benefit to having individuals from all intergenerational gaps represented to broaden perspectives on issues and ideas. seedsman (2021) indicated that community-based activities are beneficial for older generations because it is an opportunity to support friends and family while giving a platform for more seasoned employees to share past experiences and expertise. aggarwal et al. (2020) describe generation z as the internet generation since these individuals know nothing but life with the internet and social media. regardless, this generation is unlike any other because of how open-minded and accepting of others these individuals tend to be. aggarwal et al. (2020) believes this is because of previous experiences with racial and religious discrimination. in the workplace, generation z views colleagues as someone to collaborate with rather than working for colleagues, prioritizing equality and teamwork (aggarwal et al., 2020). conlin and santana (2022) found that generation z students preferred team-based gamified events over individual-based gamified events. moments of collaboration from employees in various departments allow teammates to work together to creatively solve a problem for the company, which is something generation z values. gamification and technology generation z has grown up with technology easily accessible from cell phones, the internet, and video games. gamification is a “concept that learners are familiar with and [is] a way to address multiple learning preferences in many different formats while allowing the learner to interact with the content” (larson, 2019, p. 321). gamification has become increasingly popular to support individualized, self-paced learning. conlin and santana (2022) researched if gamified events would enhance the engagement of generation z in nonprofit events. the methodology included distributing a survey to students born after 1995 at a private institution on the west coast. the survey results showed that generation z was more motivated to participate in a team-based, gamified event rather than sponsoring a friend in an event or participating in a fun or entertaining activity (conlin & santana, 2022). team-based gamified events are a well-developed motivator for generation z employees. larson (2019) learned that gamification helps with training and educational development at organizations. specific to generation z, seemiller, and grace (2016) found that this generation prefers multi-tasking when it comes to responsibilities and communicating with others. with goal-oriented activities, larson (2019) found high engagement among these elearning platforms that support gamified events and activities. farrell and phungsoonthron (2020) found that generation z employees are used to using smartphones and social media daily. however, that is not the case for all generations represented in the workplace. global companies are culturally significant since technology can be incorporated and impactful in power distances (farrell & phungsoonthron, 2020). becker et al. (2022) noted that the largest area of generational difference was technology since each generation has had a different level of exposure to the ever-changing hardware. with technology at the fingertips of this generation, tidhar (2022b) found that this generation can self-learn by using platforms such as google and youtube to get an answer almost immediately. incorporating technology into the workplace can help generation z continue to learn in an instant. recommendations for future research with generation z transitioning to the workforce, researchers are currently publishing findings on specific characteristics, traits, and values to better prepare for this generation. however, it seems as though researchers are finding contradictory conclusions. it is hard to identify best practices and recommendations for implementation. instead, as research continues to be published, there are recommendations on areas that lack evidence. while larson (2019) researched gamification in a corporate setting, it became clear that there is research on how different identities react to gamification, except based on generations. knowing that not only generation z but future generations will already be accustomed to technology, researchers might consider exploring how generations react differently to these platforms. generational differences have been researched and continue to explore; however, with generation z being new to the workforce, there is little evidence to help researchers understand how this new generation interacts and supports previous generations. becker et al. (2022) recommended further research on generational diversity trends and how geographical location, or influence might affect outcomes will be beneficial. from the research collected for this literature review, there is not as much research exploring generation z in the united states but in other geographical locations. with these conclusions, researchers in america might consider implementing these recommendations; however, specific research in the united states of america would be more credible to consider how to implement these recommendations. conclusion when working to support individual employees with multiple backgrounds and perspectives, it is impossible to have a one size that fits all model for the benefit of every employee on staff. instead, knowing that generation z feels valued in the workforce when being listened to by leadership, management might consider creating opportunities for employees to express concerns and feedback for the organization to consider. while there are credible sources published to help make suggestions on best practices, it is clear that there are some contradictory conclusions meaning that researchers are finding that while this generation has shared experiences, generation z is as diverse as ever, making it challenging to identify the best option for all employees. instead, there is value in identifying options for employees to have the autonomy to decide what would be best for their working style and preferences. references aggarwal, a., sadhna, p., gupta, s., mittal, a., & rastogi, a. (2020). gen z entering the workforce: restructuring hr policies and practices for fostering the task performance and organizational commitment. journal of public affairs, 22(3), 1-18. https://doiorg.ezp1.villanova.edu/10.1001/pa.2535 becker, k. l., richards, m. b., stollings, j. (2022). better together? examining benefits and tensions of generational diversity and team performance. journal of intergenerational relationships, 20(4), 442-463. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2020.1837708 conlin, r. p., & santana, s. (2022). using gamification techniques to enable generation z’s propensity to do good. journal of nonprofit & public sector marketing, 34(5), 553-571. https://doi.org/10/1080/10495142.2021.1941498 farrell, w. c., & phungsoonthron, t. (2020). generation z in thailand. international journal of cross cultural management, 20(1), 25-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470595820904116 larson, k. (2019). serious games and gamification in the corporate training environment: a literature review. techtrends, 64(2), 319-328. https://doi-org.ezp1.villanova.edu/10.1007/s11528-019-00446-7 mahmoud, a. b., reisel, w. d., fuxman, l., & mohr, i. (2021). a motivational standpoint of job insecurity and effects on organizational citizenship behaviors: a generational study. scandinavian journal of psychology, 62, 267-275. https://doi.org/10.111/sjop.12689 ortega, d. c. z., garcia, d. a., rodriguez, j. b., & calvo, j. m. m. (2019). work ethic in ecuador: an analysis of the differences in four generational cohorts. anales de psicologia, 35. 496-505. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.35.3.342671 rodriguez, m., boyer, s., fleming, d., & cohen, s. (2019). management the next generation of sales, gen z/millennial cusp: an exploration of grit, entrepreneurship, and loyalty. journal of business-to-business marketing, 26(1). 43-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051712x.2019.1565136 rudolph, c. w., rauvola, r. s., costanza, d. p., & zacher, h. (2021), generations and generational differences: debunking myths in organizational science and practice and paving new paths forward. journal of business and psychology, 36, 945-967. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-020-09715-2 seedsman, t. (2021). the art of living well and the gaining of practical wisdom in later life: perspectives for undertaking future work in the intergenerational field. journal of intergenerational relationships, 19(3), 392-406. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2020.1767256 seemiller, c., & grace, m. (2016). generation z goes to college. jossey-bass. sponaugle, s. (2019). communication across generations. economic development journal, 18(1). 16-23. standifer, r. l., & lester, s. w. (2020). actual versus perceived generational differences in the preferred working context: an empirical study. journal of intergenerational relationships, 18(1), 48-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2019.1618778 taibah, d., & ho, c. f. (2023). the moderating effect of flexible work option on structural empowerment and generation z contextual performance. behavioral sciences, 13(3), 266. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13030266 tidhar, l. (2022a). leadership in an intergenerational gap – a study of managers’ views of management and leadership of generation z employees. journal of public administration, finance & law. issues 26. 328-337. https://doi.org/10.47743/jopafl-2022-26-28 tidhar, l. (2022b). who is afraid of generation z? the intergenerational gap affecting the world of work post-covid-19 era. logos universality mentality education novelty: social sciences, 11(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.18662/lumenss/11.1/59 wiedmer, t. (2015). generations do differ: best practices in leading traditionalists, boomers, and generations x, y, and z. the delta kappa gamma bulletin: international journal for professional educators, 82(1), 51-58. 1 saint albert the great’s revolution: legitimizing aristotelian ethical thought and its integration into a theory of the cardinal virtues john f. cacchione theology introduction despite a slow but growing interest in the writings of aristotle in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, saint albert the great’s embrace of aristotelian thinking significantly increased the depth and the breadth of scholarly interest. saint albert so enthusiastically championed integration of aristotelian thought into the intellectual milieu of his day that he spent nearly a quarter of a century attempting to assemble the first encyclopedia of aristotle’s thinking in latin, “a user-friendly compilation and objective interpretation of the entire aristotelian corpus for students, confrères, and scholars in the latin west.”1 this paper elucidates saint albert’s role in fostering acceptance of aristotle’s nicomachean ethics within the emergent field of moral science. it chronicles the seminal importance of his commentaries on nicomachean ethics, then available in its entirety to the latin west for the first time. it locates these developments within the broader arc of medieval scholarship regarding the traditional cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. in the process, it traces the flowering of saint albert’s contemplation of aristotle from the period before the availability of the complete nicomachean ethics to the period after it. saint albert had already demonstrated a rather unique openness to incorporating aristotelian ideas into a theory of the cardinal virtues even before publication of the entire nicomachean ethics, and, after its 2 publication, his interest only grew in intensity.2 finally, the paper demonstrates that saint albert’s intellectual work product in this area definitively shaped the trajectory of scholarship for generations, deeply influencing the output of saint thomas aquinas and other important thirteenthand fourteenth-century figures. due to the potential immensity of such an undertaking, though, this paper limits its scope to a relatively narrow though still sufficiently illustrative focus: saint albert’s approach to the distinctness of the cardinal virtues as a set. consequently, discussion of specific virtues appears in very limited fashion, serving only to exemplify key aspects of saint albert’s approach. to accomplish these goals, the paper, after providing a brief biographical sketch of saint albert, sets forth a robust overview of relevant scholarship from the first half of the thirteenth century. this contextualizes the immediately subsequent discussion of saint albert’s contributions in his early ethical treatise de bono. then, the paper considers saint albert’s later treatment of the cardinal virtues in super ethica, the first commentary on aristotle’s complete nichomachean ethics produced in the latin west, before assessing saint albert’s influence on succeeding generations. saint albert the great: the man and his ethical writings3 both the date and the location of saint albert’s birth are uncertain. saint albert is generally believed to have been born in the last years of the twelfth century because he was said to be at least eighty years old when he died in 1280, and most scholars presume that he was from the german town of lauingen, if only because he was known during his life as albert of lauingen. uncertainty also abounds regarding the biographical details of saint albert’s life, especially his early life, but he is known to have been a student in padua in the 1220s, where the preaching of the dominican master general, blessed jordan of saxony (saint dominic’s immediate successor), attracted him to join the order. later ordained, he was assigned to teach young 3 dominicans in the order’s houses of study where he was stationed. his superiors recognized his intellect and sent him to the university of paris to pursue studies as a master. he arrived sometime in the early 1240s and composed his earliest treatises at that time. he first encountered the ideas of aristotle while studying at paris. having become a master in 1245, saint albert joined the paris faculty and taught there for three years, meeting his most famous student, saint thomas aquinas, in 1246. after his time at paris, he returned to cologne to teach in the new dominican house of studies there, and he brought saint thomas with him. saint albert’s writings and teaching made him famous, “an increasingly public figure,”4 frequently charged with secular and ecclesiastical missions of arbitration and diplomacy. in 1254, he was elected prior of the dominicans’ vast german province. he spent time as an advisor to pope alexander iv in rome, agnani, and viterbo and was ordained bishop of regensberg in 1260. he resigned his diocese in 1262 after restoring its finances and morale but continued to assist popes with special missions while resuming his teaching career, which lasted until 1277. saint albert attended the council of lyons in 1274. he died on november 15, 1280, as “something of a legend” and, “contrary to all normal academic etiquette, . . . an ‘authority’ in the schools, on a par with the ancients.”5 his friend, confrère, and student, ulrich of strasbourg, hailed him as “so godlike (divinus) in every branch of knowledge that he can aptly be called the wonder and the miracle of our time.”6 in 1622 he was beatified, and in 1931 he was canonized and proclaimed a doctor of the church. ten years later, he was declared patron of natural scientists. saint albert’s accolades and posthumous ecclesiastical recognitions reflect his enormously wide series of academic interests and accomplishments: “[h]is encyclopedic interests led him to concern himself not only with philosophy and theology, like other contemporaries of his, but also 4 with every other discipline then known, from physics to chemistry, from astronomy to minerology, from botany to zoology.”7 like aristotle, he was clearly a man of wide-ranging interests. with respect to ethical and moral issues, saint albert’s huge corpus includes five treatises—de natura boni (c. 1236–1240), de bono (1241–1243), sententiae (c. 1246–1249), super ethica (1250–1252), and ethica (c. 1262)—as well as sundry theological quaestiones (c. 1241–1250), biblical commentaries (after 1257), and his summa theologiae sive de mirabili scientia dei (after 1268).8 as previously noted, this paper primarily draws on de bono and super ethica, although it briefly regards in passing de natura boni and ethica. virtue theory in the early thirteenth century: traditional understanding and aristotle’s limited influence the parisian masters twelfth-century scholars had only possessed ethica nova and ethica vetus, versions of aristotle’s nicomachean ethics which contained only the first three books. later, fragments of books vii and viii were known from the ethica borghesiana. as a consequence, scholarly commentators developed an incomplete and distorted sense of aristotle’s thinking, which impeded penetration into a thought-world already dominated primarily by saint augustine and secondarily by patristic-age stoicism and arabic neoplatonism. even in the prestigious arts department at the university of paris, a largely indifferent faculty consigned ethics to the status of an optional discipline about which masters could lecture only during holidays.9 when robert grosseteste’s unprecedented and freshly completed translation of all ten books of aristotle’s nicomachean ethics entered circulation in 1246 or 1247, the slow, “piecemeal” process by which nicomachean ethics emerged in the latin west concluded.10 because aristotelian 5 thought often arrived in the west via the islamic arab world, many scholars and ecclesiastical authorities viewed it with deep suspicion.11 five commentaries on the incomplete versions of nicomachean ethics produced by arts masters at paris have survived from the first half of the thirteenth century. by equating aristotle’s notion of happiness with the notion of union with god, they typically render the perfection required for attainment of happiness much more difficult than what aristotle originally envisioned. the resulting “metaphysical conception of happiness” to be pursued via an “ ‘ascetic’ morality” prioritizes intellectual virtues over moral virtues and misconstrues aristotle’s concept of practical knowledge or practical wisdom (i.e., phronesis),12 fundamentally recasting what some deem the “central theme” of nicomachean ethics.13 according to the parisian masters, the respective orientations of intellectual virtues, on the one hand, and moral virtues, on the other, distinguish them as two different classes of virtue: “[i]ntellectual virtue is oriented towards the superior world of the intelligible, [and] moral virtue towards the inferior world of corporeality.” the masters emphasize intellectual virtue as fundamentally important in leading and orienting human beings to happiness, i.e., the “first principle” or god. one, robert kilwardby, in assessing aristotle’s tripartite division of intellectual virtues among those encompassing intelligence, wisdom, and phronesis, attributes the task of “knowing and loving” the first principle exclusively to wisdom and identifies phronesis with prudence.14 meanwhile, the parisian masters recognize that the moral virtues regulate one’s behavior toward one’s own body, as well as relations with one’s neighbor. as a result of the unavailability of book v of nicomachean ethics, though, they tend to stress the self-regulatory function while neglecting moral virtue’s social or political aspect in aristotle’s construct. even 6 so, aristotle’s claim that human beings by nature lack moral virtue grounds the parisian masters’ contention that development of moral virtue necessitates regular practice via constant and frequent performance of good actions because “the actions that form moral virtue derive from sensory faculties.” two key ideas follow from the parisian masters’ analysis. first, emphasis on the individual aspect of moral virtue results in glorification of the contemplative life over the civil and political life in ways which do not accord with aristotle’s ideas. secondly, when coupled with the notion that pursuit of intellectual virtue motivates and fosters the contemplative life, whose end is mystical union with god, the parisian masters accord aristotle’s intellectual virtues a position not unlike that of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity in traditional christian theology.15 consequently, “the arts masters of the first half of the thirteenth century developed a solid theory of the virtues based on a complex structure of the soul and in many ways similar to the theory of the masters of the faculty of theology who were active in the same period.”16 yet they still recognized a need for the aristotelian and theological intellectual frameworks to remain to some degree distinct, and they proceeded to compare and to present these points of view as respectively being “according to philosophers” or “according to theologians.”17 they would additionally “report the thought of theologians when aristotle’s thought more markedly departs from it.”18 william of auxerre and philip the chancellor only in the second quarter of the thirteenth century, with william of auxerre’s summa aurea (1215–1229) and philip the chancellor’s summa de bono (1225–1228), did systematic moral treatises begin to emerge. before then, moral speculation typically advanced within the framework of commentaries on peter lombard’s classic and highly influential sententiae, a compendium of scriptural and patristic excerpts accompanied by comments and explanations, 7 which had entered circulation by 1158. with an “architectonic structure” based on the apostles’ creed, peter’s treatment of morality is split between “book ii, within the context of sin,” and “book iii, following the treatise on christ.” within the latter, consideration of morality appears between the topics of charity (the third of the three theological virtues) and the gifts of the holy spirit; “no room is made [either in book ii or book iii] for a treatment of the naturally acquired virtues as such.” this topical sequence dominated scholarship for generations, as subsequent scholars developed their own thought in the form of commentaries on sententiae.19 william continued the tradition of adhering to peter’s structure, and, even though moral doctrine comprises approximately half of summa aurea, it remains divided into two pieces. within the second piece in his own book iii, however, between discussions of the theological virtues and the gifts of the holy spirit (and, thus within the context of grace), william “inserted two full-fledged treatises hitherto absent in theological syntheses: a lengthy but disjointed analysis of the cardinal virtues, preceded by another treatise on natural law.” his schema, opening with a discussion of the concept of the good, followed by natural law, before proceeding to cardinal virtues, was designed “to supplement the data of revelation with the natural principles of rational ethics, and a willingness to use the classical latin sources to this end.” in employing non-christian classical sources, william leveraged a countercultural intellectual undercurrent from the first half of the twelfth century, epitomized by the work of peter abelard, which promoted the development of a philosophical definition of virtue independent of (even if complementary with) the prevailing theological discourse and prepared to reference christian and classical pagan authorities. yet, although william is familiar with those portions of aristotle’s nicomachean ethics then available, he “still seems to favor the augustinian notion of 8 virtue,” even asserting that “the acquired virtues, of which aristotle speaks, are not virtues absolutely.”20 in his summa de bono, philip, like william, patterns his work on peter lombard’s in sententiae, although, rather originally, he opens with “a disquisition on the transcendental notions of being, the one, the true, and the good.” philip’s outlook is clearly theological, though. he presents a tripartite division of the good (as physical good, generic good, and supernatural grace), but nearly two-thirds of his treatise concentrates on supernatural grace. additionally, he retains a conventional topical sequence: grace generally, theological virtues, cardinal virtues, and gifts of the holy spirit.21 ambiguity, though, characterizes philip’s discussion of human acts and his treatment of the traditional cardinal virtues. first, with respect to human acts, he identifies three grades of goodness—the generic, the moral, and that of grace—but the generic always remains subject to additional considerations regarding both circumstances (apparently including intention) and virtue in determining moral goodness. confusion arises about whether the generic good is really just a factor within determination of the moral good and about the status of intention within circumstances. secondly, philip’s location of his treatment of the cardinal virtues betrays a general vagueness (by no means new with philip) about whether moral goodness derives from human action or supernatural grace. interestingly, several of philip’s conclusions resemble those of the parisian masters. preoccupied with the theological virtues, philip concludes in good augustinian fashion that “[t]heological virtues inform the exalted part of man’s spirit (ratio superior), whereas cardinal virtues perfect the lower part of the soul (ratio inferior). or, theological virtues are those to be loved and cherished (frui), whereas cardinal virtues belong to the order of the useful (uti).” philip’s attitude towards aristotle’s ideas of political virtue gives 9 further evidence of philip’s interests: “note too that political virtue, although it could be called ‘virtue’ according to the ethicist, is not full-fledged virtue nor virtue in the true sense of the word, but only an ethical virtue; god-given virtue, however, is virtue absolutely.”22 saint albert’s contributions cardinal virtues and de bono as previously noted, saint albert’s first two forays into morality and ethics were his treatises de natura boni and de bono.23 de natura boni is dated to c. 1236–1240, while de bono can be assigned to 1241–1243.24 the completion of philip’s summa de bono in 1228 and william’s summa aurea in 1229 provides the immediate context for saint albert’s work, and philip’s summa de bono in particular constitutes “an indispensable link in our appreciation of the proximate influences upon albert’s thought,” notwithstanding that “the differences in vision and intent between philip and albert are profound.”25 as was the case with the efforts of the parisian masters, william, and philip, both of saint albert’s treatises precede the availability of aristotle’s entire nicomachean ethics.26 before addressing the considerably more significant de bono, a word on de natura boni is in order. saint albert intended de natura boni to address in systematic fashion foundational issues in moral theory. the treatise first distinguishes uncreated from created goods, noting that only one good (namely, god) comprises the former category, and then it proceeds to “three interrelated subjects: how uncreated goodness is manifested in human creatures, how it becomes diminished in them, and how, once diminished, it can be recovered.” saint albert’s plan was to trace in sequence seven “interconnected forms of a moral perfection”: nature, virtue, grace, the gifts of the holy spirit, the fruits of the holy spirit, earthly happiness, and heavenly happiness. de natura boni, however, abruptly breaks off in the middle of the section on virtue, leaving 10 incomplete the treatment of the cardinal virtues. saint albert’s discussion of temperance morphs into a lengthy exposition on chastity and virginity, as exemplified by the blessed mother (an exposition destined to comprise two-thirds of what was written). saint albert likely considered it easier to start anew than to re-work this material. what survives exhibits rather heavy augustinian and rather light aristotelian influences.27 de bono, essentially a treatise about the cardinal virtues, incorporates much of the theory of de natura boni but in the more rigorous, academic fashion of quaestiones disputates (a form which posits one or more propositions and, sequentially for each, identifies objections, cites supporting and opposing authorities, and offers a synthesis or resolution in arguments analyzing the objections and the authorities). in the process, saint albert dispenses with “the biblical examples that comprise the bulk of albert’s discussion in de natura boni.” saint albert’s aim was synthesis: he closely relies on cicero’s de inventione, in particular, its model of circumstances which determine whether actions merit praise or blame, and on aristotle’s nicomachean ethics for analysis of the cause of virtue. he thus “presents virtue as a stable disposition of the soul with both a proximate efficient cause (virtuous human actions) and remote efficient cause (the will),” claiming that human beings “become disposed to act and react in excellent ways through the repeated performance of like actions and reactions.”28 saint albert better carries forward his systematic plan for the cardinal virtues in de bono. “he defines each virtue and specifies its matter or objects as well as the action in which it is paradigmatically expressed,” and he also generally treats each virtue’s “parts,” i.e., their related secondary virtues.29 in doing so, he contrasts philip’s position, which follows stoic tradition, from his own, which follows aristotle. specifically, the stoic view considers the cardinal virtues general conditions of all virtuous acts and ultimately rests on unity of the virtues as collectively 11 comprising the single true virtue of wisdom, which expresses itself variously in different acts. saint albert disputes this, arguing that one who possesses temperance, for example, does not perforce need to be simultaneously prudent, just, and courageous merely by virtue of the possession of temperance.30 similarly, saint albert disputes philip’s stoic-based view of the relation of a virtue’s parts to the virtue itself and holds instead that the parts are “potestative rather than integral.”31 thus, the parts themselves essentially constitute specific subordinate—or “adjunct”—virtues, and not “merely conditions” of the cardinal virtue to which they relate. indeed, saint albert considers the adjunct virtues participative, separate from the related cardinal virtue (and its other adjunct virtues), such that each adjunct virtue remains distinct. otherwise, the status of each cardinal virtue “would be jeopardized; it would have no being outside its parts and could simply be reduced to them.” saint albert’s argument, however, still accommodates consideration of the four cardinal virtues as “principal” in the sense that “the other moral virtues can somehow be traced back to them.”32 saint albert has already begun to manifest what at the time was a unique openness to aristotelian ideas: “albert seems to presume the general adequacy of aristotle’s framework; he does not work towards it so much as start from it.”33 consequently, his perspective in approaching problems differs from that of his predecessors. treatment of fortitude provides an excellent example. aristotle’s notion of fortitude, developed in the context of a “heroic” society with a “homeric” tradition, posed a problem for medieval audiences because its paradigmatic exemplar was “the citizen who fights bravely in war for his city” and could face the fear connected with death in battle. such exclusive emphasis, however, on valiant participation in “civic warfare as 12 the most appropriate context for courage does not sit too well with their [i.e., medieval christian readers’] religious and theological background.”34 aristotle sought to exclude death from accidental or natural causes in order to preserve the concept of death for a good cause, but christians professed other good causes, some superior to civic warfare. even saint albert, who cultivated an appreciation for aristotelian thinking, required a broader scope and held that, because “true courage always involves willingness to die[,] it is manifested in a death deliberately chosen,” as for example, by “christian martyrs who choose to die when confronted with a choice between staying true to their faith and dying and renouncing their faith and staying alive.” quite arguably, this view still preserved the essential characteristics of aristotle’s thinking.35 in considering this problem, philip had begun with cicero’s premise that “courageous action consists in the confrontation and endurance of ‘difficulties’ (difficilia) and hence that difficulties are the virtue’s proper object.” by arguing that “courage rules passions that arise from difficulties,” philip then attempts to reconcile aristotle’s statement that the proper object of courage is the passions with theological authorities which hold that courage confronts and endures any number of adversities. ultimately, philip seeks to base his theory of the unity of virtues on cicero’s affirmation that all virtues involve difficulties.36 while only rarely naming philip, saint albert conspicuously but critically challenges philip’s ideas: “philip’s solutions sometimes figure as objections to albert’s own position—objections that albert refutes.” for example, saint albert refutes philip’s idea that fortitude can concern external passions because it implies that fortitude would then depend on external circumstances outside a person’s control and thereby preclude “the free, deliberate, and repeated practice of fear management that is required for the acquisition of the habit of fearing rightly.”37 13 in any event, the influential effect of philip’s work on de bono is clear. like philip, saint albert maintains that perfect goodness and perfect being unite in god. additionally, saint albert largely follows the structure of philip’s summa de bono, prefacing his discussion of virtue with an exposition of goodness “as a transcendental property of existing things.”38 thus, saint albert authored “a systematic work, a composition that hangs together, a work in which there is evidence of organization and consecutive development in albert’s thought and synthesis.”39 notwithstanding the general resemblance to philip’s structure, though, saint albert’s plan for de bono differs in one genuinely marked respect: its discussion of virtue begins with the cardinal virtues, not the theological virtues; the never begun sections on the theological virtues (in themselves and in relation to the cardinal virtues) would have followed.40 in this subtle structural shift, saint albert attributed a degree of importance to the cardinal virtues not previously encountered and manifested his interest in furthering the development of a “natural morality.”41 aristotelian commentary saint albert used the complete grosseteste translation of aristotle’s nicomachean ethics as the basis for a series of lectures at the dominican house of studies in cologne between 1250 and 1252.42 saint thomas aquinas, still studying under saint albert, accompanied saint albert from paris to cologne to attend these lectures, and saint thomas’s meticulous transcriptions constituted the nucleus of super ethica, saint albert’s comprehensive, line-by-line commentary on the text. this was the first latin commentary published in the west, and it attained a remarkable degree of popularity during saint albert’s own lifetime. indeed, the west’s second latin commentary was not completed until c. 1262—and it was saint albert’s ethica, a more condensed summary version with a few new ideas, sometimes called paraphrasis (the name 14 hereafter applied in this paper for the sake of clarity). these commentaries represent “the most influential instrument in directing the medieval understanding of ancient ethics. albert’s work influenced nearly all the later medieval expositors of aristotle,” including saint thomas, even when they disagreed with some of saint albert’s conclusions. saint albert’s commentaries “played a crucial role” in securing the “enormous influence on christian moral theology in the 13th century” of aristotle’s nicomachean ethics.43 super ethica, like de bono, utilized the rigorous quaestiones disputates format, whereas paraphrasis treats the material much more discursively.44 unfortunately, super ethica was lost to history for several centuries. it was only rediscovered in 1922 and initially republished incrementally between 1968 and 1972.45 yet even within the last half-century, it has come to be considered “far more substantial and original” than paraphrasis,46 as well as more indicative of saint albert’s own thought. comparatively, paraphasis retains merit less as a source of saint albert’s own theories than as his assessment of aristotle’s thinking and as a complement to super ethica.47 saint albert sought to accomplish three goals with super ethica. first, he wanted to challenge earlier misreadings of aristotle, “in particular among the masters of the faculty of arts at the university of paris.” saint albert “effectively severs aristotle’s discussion of highest earthly ends and activities from the discussion of god’s supreme goodness” because “affirmation that human beings strive for a human end entails no denial that god is their ultimate end.” secondly, he desired to legitimate aristotle’s particular reasoning as a proper focus of study in the realm of philosophy. finally, saint albert thereby aimed to foster “the moral-philosophical enterprise itself” on the grounds that, apart from theology, “philosophers, following their powers 15 of reason and without the aim of revelation, could and did reach sound conclusions about such matters” related to the ends of human existence.48 to that end, super ethica is a landmark not only in connection with the presentation and the promotion of aristotelian ethical thinking as a proper field of academic inquiry but also in connection with the development of scholarly method. in the work’s prologue, saint albert analyzes the “the whole ‘science’ of ethics and its very possibility as a practical science. it is certainly one of the most authoritative, if not the earliest, of such dedicated treatments in the latin west, and provides valuable insights into albert’s concept of the role and nature of natural moral theorizing.” saint albert affirms that ethics can be approached from a purely rational and speculative perspective and, therefore, developed as “moral science” which possesses its own distinct subject matter, goal, and usefulness.49 thus, the potential motivation behind saint albert’s structural innovation in de bono receives its explanation here. substantively, however, aristotle’s nicomachean ethics presented a challenge to conventional thirteenth-century christian virtue ethics, particularly with respect to the concept of the cardinal virtues. patristic thinkers had long before absorbed into christian thought “[t]he scheme of the four cardinal virtues, first introduced in plato’s republic, [which had] found wide acceptance among neoplatonic and stoic philosophers of greek and latin antiquity.” yet, “the four cardinal virtues are alien to the ethical system of aristotle.”50 aristotle’s system classifies virtues as either intellectual or moral and identifies wisdom as the “most perfect intellectual virtue.”51 for aristotle, “[p]rudence is one of five intellectual virtues while justice, fortitude, and temperance figure among the eleven moral virtues. to be sure, prudence lies at the root of all moral virtues while justice, understood as general or legal justice, coincides with perfect virtue; still the four virtues known as cardinal do not constitute a special quartet in aristotle’s 16 ethics, let alone a scheme of principal virtues that cover the entire range of morality.”52 medieval thinkers faced a question: could aristotle’s system be reconciled with the received concept of the cardinal virtues, or should the concept of cardinal virtues be set aside? saint albert sought reconciliation. he proceeded by addressing two main issues. first is the status of prudence. before the thirteenth century, only peter abelard seriously considered the idea that prudence was not a moral virtue, whereas others continued to argue well into the fourteenth century that prudence was both an intellectual and a moral virtue. in super ethica, saint albert maintains that “prudence occupies a middle ground between the intellectual and moral virtues,” essentially agreeing with grosseteste’s own gloss that “prudence is an intellectual virtue in its cognitive function, but a moral virtue in that it directs the operations of justice, temperance, and fortitude.”53 yet saint albert also recognizes both that prudence, if exercised in order to contribute to other virtues, must be subordinated to those other virtues and that “happiness could not consist in prudential virtue, since it is not an end in itself.” indeed, aristotle’s priority for wisdom implies that happiness consists in it, not prudence. saint albert reasons, though, that, if prudence marks “the perfection of reason,” reason itself must be distinguished between “that which acts according to its own object, and that which governs other actions”; thus, prudence, which must be able to perfect itself in acting according to its own object in order to direct other actions, must be “more perfect than other virtues” in that it “completes wisdom by choosing what is beneficial.”54 consequently, prudence does not merely perfect theoretical thought but, rather, “identifies the mean in every virtue” so that, “in its function as a ruling element, prudence is the most perfect achievement of reason and is essential to happiness.” additionally, saint albert argues that prudence and wisdom attend to different ends and, therefore, belong to different 17 orders, because prudence perfects reason, whereas wisdom perfects the intellect. as a result, wisdom “pertains to contemplative happiness, which is simply superior to the type of civic happiness that results from prudential judgments” derived from action and from maintenance of rectitude in action.55 the second important question is how justice, fortitude, and temperance could be considered preeminent among aristotle’s moral virtues. saint albert indicates that “the cardinal virtues can be understood in both a general and a specific sense. in the general sense, the cardinal virtues are broad concepts on which the other virtues depend; in the specific sense, as defined by aristotle, these four virtues stand on their own.” although saint albert depends on philip’s summa de bono for this particular idea, he again rejects philip’s view that the cardinal virtues collectively “underlie any of the other moral virtues or indeed any mental disposition or human act with a claim to virtue” because such a view essentially blurs the distinctions among the virtues.56 justice, fortitude, and temperance survive for saint albert (and saint thomas) as preeminent cardinal virtues, however, precisely in their specific sense “because they relate to the three foremost aspects of moral action: the even distribution of goods, which is the principal instance of rightness; the capacity to endure mortal danger for a just cause, which is the ultimate instance of courage; and the capacity to restrain the sense of touch, which is the supreme instance of moderation of the passions.” aristotle’s other moral virtues, perforce of lesser importance, remain “adjunct” virtues (as described in de bono).57 subsequent reaction to saint albert’s treatment of the cardinal virtues first, one can quite reasonably conclude that saint albert’s treatment of the cardinal virtues exerted considerable influence on saint thomas for several reasons. as the first two commentaries on aristotle’s nicomachean ethics, saint albert’s super ethica and paraphrasis 18 (composed with at least ten years elapsing between them) thus precede saint thomas’s own commentary. also, saint thomas as a student attended saint albert’s inaugural lectures on aristotle’s complete work and as saint albert’s scrivener transcribed the lecture notes from which saint albert fashioned super ethica. (in fact, saint thomas remained saint albert’s student in cologne until 1252, before returning to paris—in all likelihood after saint albert’s completion of super ethica.58) additionally, modern scholarship tends to treat these two thinkers as generally inhabiting the same thought-world to such an extent that their ideas are often either presented together or in such a way as to demonstrate that saint thomas significantly relied and built on saint albert’s work. for example, saint thomas adopted saint albert’s posture toward attempting to reconcile aristotle with existing intellectual tradition, as well as saint albert’s distinction between the general and specific senses of the cardinal virtues as a means of preserving the cardinal virtues as cardinal.59 one scholar, indicating the extent of saint thomas’s reliance on saint albert by their relatively infrequent (even if significant) differences, has recently explained: in thomas’s own time his commentary on the ne [nicomachean ethics], while a careful exposition of aristotle’s text, exerted less influence on his contemporaries than the exposition of his teacher, albert the great. while thomas agrees with many interpretations of albert, especially concerning the nature and process of prudential decisions, he does not accept albert’s notion of ‘two happinesses’ as a correct reading of aristotelian doctrine. while albert views the potentialities of reason as so distinct that their actualities result in two distinct types of perfection, contemplative and practical, thomas judges aristotle to have intended both moral and intellectual virtue to be complementary elements within human happiness. thomas’s reading of aristotle may be accurate, but albert’s understanding of this idea influenced every known commentary on the ne in the late thirteenth century, since they all include the idea of two distinct kinds of human happiness.60 this observation confirms that saint thomas’s positions often accord with saint albert’s. citing as a rare example of disagreement their difference on the question of whether aristotle posited one or two distinct kinds of happiness,61 the foregoing observation also emphasizes that saint 19 albert’s view, not saint thomas’s, animated academic consideration of the issue for the next four decades. quite obviously, then, saint albert influenced many thirteenth-century scholars in addition to saint thomas. in fact, “scholars have shown albert’s moral thinking to be a source of ideas, information, and inspiration for thinkers as diverse as thomas aquinas, ulrich of strasbourg, and siger of brabant, and hence for movements as diverse as christian aristotelianism, christian neoplatonism, and latin averroism.”62 scholars did not universally accept saint albert’s conclusions, though. specifically in connection with integration of the cardinal virtues into aristotle’s system, saint albert’s ideas proved quite popular into the fourteenth-century among theologians, while facing resistance among later commentators on nicomachean ethics. many of these commentators rejected characterizations of prudence as a moral virtue and of justice, fortitude, and temperance as “the principal moral virtues in their specific aristotelian conception.” consequently, some ultimately rejected in its entirety the notion of the cardinal virtues. john of tytynsale and henry of friemar rejected them in the general sense while recognizing them in the specific sense, whereas early fourteenth-century averroist commentators, who “apparanetly had some success in making the cardinal virtues irrelevant to the interpretation of the nicomachean ethics,” held that, “in their general sense, the cardinal virtues are no virtues, while in their specific sense, they are not cardinal.”63 yet, despite the fact that the cardinal virtues “gradually disappeared” from the commentary tradition, gerald of odo and john buridan ultimately revived them toward the middle of the fourteenth century, but their arguments proceed differently from those of saint albert (and saint thomas).64 for gerald, the cardinality of the four virtues does not lie in the fact that all other moral virtues can either be subsumed under them, as tradition had it, or annexed to them, as albert and 20 aquinas believe, but in their intrinsic indispensability. the four virtues comprise the essentials of moral goodness in the sense that human beings need them as a minimum to be good, whereas the other moral virtues are accidental in this respect. moral goodness is inconceivable without prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, but not without the other moral virtues.65 gerald, however, failed to incorporate all of aristotle’s moral virtues into a comprehensive schema based on this proposition.66 buridan, though, while “rejecting albert the great’s view that the cardinal virtues concern all aspects of human life,” develops and deepens gerald’s theory so as to overcome gerald’s shortcoming in this regard: “[p]rudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance denote both cardinal and aristotelian virtues, for these coincide in buridan’s conception; in fact, buridan extends aristotle’s definitions of the specific cardinal virtues in such a way as to include aspects of morality that are fundamental from a medieval christian perspective.”67 while buridan’s thought might ultimately provide the best integration of the notion of the cardinal virtues into the aristotelian scheme, such that his commentary became “by far the most authoritative and most widely circulating commentary in this period and directly influenced a number of later commentators, notably at central european universities,”68 he and these commentators remain indebted to saint albert for his early enthusiasm for aristotelian thinking and his conviction that such integration could, in fact, be accomplished. conclusion saint albert inestimably influenced the development of the ethics of the cardinal virtues. not only did his teaching bear on saint thomas and many others, but, even after certain of his ideas fell out of fashion, the problems which he raised and explored continued as the focus of later thinkers for generations. most fundamentally, however, he “mainstreamed” aristotle as an authority in the christian west, opening new paths of intellectual development. in the words of pope benedict xvi, saint albert’s “extraordinary openmindedness is also revealed in a cultural feat which he carried out successfully, that is, the acceptance and appreciation of aristotle’s 21 thought. . . . saint albert the great opened the door to the complete acceptance in medieval philosophy and theology of aristotle’s philosophy, . . . an authentic cultural revolution in that epoch.” in the process, “saint albert the great thus contributed to the formation of an autonomous philosophy, distinct from theology and united with it only by the unity of the truth.”69 1. this project remained incomplete at saint albert’s death. stanley b. cunningham, reclaiming moral agency: the moral philosophy of albert the great (washington, dc: catholic university of america press, 2008), 41–42. 2. saint albert vigorously promoted study and acceptance of aristotle’s nicomachean ethics as appropriate for christian education and scholarship. within just a few years of saint albert’s publication in 1252 of the first latin commentary on nicomachean ethics, the faculty of arts at the university of paris issued a prescription on march 19, 1255 incorporating “nearly all the works of aristotle” into the curriculum. cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 42. moreover, the council of valenciennes, in 1258, affirmatively followed saint albert’s advice and officially authorized study of nicomachean ethics as part of the curriculum in all dominican houses of study. see martin j. tracy, “the moral thought of albert the great,” in a companion to albert the great: theology, philosophy, and the sciences, ed. irven m. resnick (leiden, netherlands: brill, 2013), 372. 3. information in this biographical sketch derives from simon tugwell, “albert the great: introduction,” in albert & thomas: selected writings, ed. and trans. simon tugwell (new york: paulist press, 1988), 3–28, and benedict xvi (pope), “saint albert the great,” in holy men and women of the middle ages and beyond (san francisco: ignatius press, 2012), 58–60. 4. tugwell, “albert the great: introduction,” 11. 5. tugwell, “albert the great: introduction,” 11. 6. tugwell, “albert the great: introduction,” 3. 7. benedict, “saint albert the great,” 60. this is no exaggeration. perusal of the table of contents for brill’s 805-page volume, a companion to albert the great, reveals hefty chapters analyzing saint albert’s contributions to the following disciplines, with some meriting more than one chapter: systematic theology, mariology, mystical epistemology, philosophy, physics, botany, medicine and natural philosophy, anthropology, ethics and morality, mathematics, astronomy, astrology and magic, logic and science, and metaphysics. the last topic commanded no fewer than thirteen separately authored subchapters. additionally, the work concludes with an epilogue treating saint albert’s influence on vernacular literatures. irven m. resnick, ed., a companian to albert the great: theology, philosophy, and the sciences (leiden, netherlands: brill, 2013). 8. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 348. 9. see irene zavattero, “moral and intellectual virtues in the earliest latin commentaries on the nicomachean ethics,” in virtue ethics in the middle ages: commentaries on aristotle’s “nicomachean ethics,” 1200–1500, ed. istván p. bejczy (leiden, netherlands: brill, 2008), 31– 32; cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 25. 22 10. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 24–25, 39 (quotation at 24). 11. see tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 367, 371; benedict, “saint albert the great,” 62. 12. zavattero, “moral and intellectual virtues,” 32–33 (quotations at 33). 13. see anthony j. celano, aristotle’s “ethics” and medieval philosophy: moral goodness and practical wisdom (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2016), vii. 14. zavattero, “moral and intellectual virtues,” 38, 45, 46. 15. see zavattero, “moral and intellectual virtues,” 42, 51–52 (quotation at 42). 16. zavattero, “moral and intellectual virtues,” 53–54. 17. zavattero, “moral and intellectual virtues,” 34. 18. zavattero, “moral and intellectual virtues,” 36. 19. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 47–49 (quotations at 49). 20. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 52–61 (quotations at 52, 53–54, 52, and 53, respectively). 21. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 64–65 (quotation at 64 [citation omitted]). 22. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 67–69 (quotations at 68–69 and 69, respectively). the latter quotation itself quotes philip the chancellor, philippi cancellarii parisiensis: summa de bono, ed. nicolai wicki (berne: francke, 1985), 597, lines 33–35. bear in mind that only select portions of aristotle’s nicomachean ethics were available to philip when he wrote his summa de bono. 23. as a matter of textual historiography, it is interesting to note that de natura boni, which albert had not published, remained entirely undiscovered until 1919, as did the manuscript of de bono which became the basis for the work’s first critical edition, published in 1951 by the cologne institute (whose projected 40-volume critical edition of saint albert’s entire corpus presently remains unfinished but ongoing). see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 27, 30. 24. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 348. 25. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 53, 70 (quotations at 70). 26. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 35. 27. see tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 353 (quotations); cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 28–29. 28. see tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 359 (quotations); cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 32–33. 29. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 360. 30. see jörn müller, “in war and peace: the virtue of courage in the writings of albert the great and thomas aquinas, in virtue ethics in the middle ages: commentaries on aristotle’s “nicomachean ethics,” 1200–1500, ed. istván p. bejczy (leiden, netherlands: brill, 2008), 81, 81n11, 86. 31. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 360. 32. müller, “in war and peace,” 84–88 (quotations at 87, 87, 86, 84, and 84, respectively). 33. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 362. 34. müller, “in war and peace,” 77. 35. müller, “in war and peace,” 90–91 (quotations at 90). 36. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 361. 37. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 360, 362. 38. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 363. 23 39. cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 32. 40. see tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 359; cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 35. 41. cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 37 (emphasis in original). 42. see celano, aristotle’s “ethics,” 131; cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 38. 43. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 38, 43; tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 348, 368 (quotations at 368). 44. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 38, 41, 79. 45. dominic farrell, the ends of the moral virtues and the first principles of practical reason in thomas aquinas (rome: gregorian & biblical press, 2012), 52. see also cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 41. 46. farrell, the ends of the moral virtues, 52. 47. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 42–43. 48. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 368–371 (quotations at 368, 369, 369, 370, and 370, respectively). 49. see cunningham, reclaiming moral agency, 75 (quotation), 79–80; celano, aristotle’s “ethics,” 131–132. 50. istván p. bejczy, “the cardinal virtues in medieval commentaries on the nicomachean ethics, 1250-1350,” in virtue ethics in the middle ages: commentaries on aristotle’s “nicomachean ethics,” 1200–1500, ed. istván p. bejczy (leiden, netherlands: brill, 2008), 199. 51. celano, aristotle’s “ethics,” 135. see also bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 199. 52. bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 199. 53. bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 202–203 (quotations at 203). 54. celano, aristotle’s “ethics,” 135. 55. celano, aristotle’s “ethics,” 136. 56. becjzy, 204. 57. becjzy, 205. 58. see farrell, the ends of the moral virtues, 54. 59. see generally bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 199–205. 60. celano, aristotle’s “ethics,” 174 (footnote omitted). 61. the heart of the difference can simplistically be summarized thus: saint albert understood aristotle as presenting a “strict dichotomy” between (a) civic happiness, “the substantial operation of prudence,” with all other moral virtues “directed to the dispositions to the perfect prudential act,” and (b) contemplative happiness, “substantially the act of wisdom [an intellectual virtue], because, as averroes claims, human flourishing consists in speculative wisdom that all other virtues serve.” celano, aristotle’s “ethics,” 150–151 (citing albertus magnus, super ethica commentum et quaestiones libri quinque priores, ed. w. kübel, in alberti magni opera omnia 14:1 [münster: aschendorff, 1968], 499, lines 31–46). saint thomas, on the other hand, read aristotle as envisioning “both moral and intellectual virtue to be complementary elements within human happiness”—a single human happiness. celano, aristotle’s “ethics,” 174. 62. tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 352 (footnote omitted). martin tracey particularly offers the following “careful study” for further reading on the influence specifically of super ethica on saint thomas: rené-antoine gauthier, “praefatio,” in thomas aquinas: 24 sententia libri ethicorum, ed. rené-antoine gauthier, editio leonina (rome: ad sanctae sabinae, 1969). tracey, “the moral thought of albert the great,” 352n16. 63. bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 205–211 (quotations at 207, 211, and 210, respectively). 64. see generally bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 213–219 (quotation at 213). 65. bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 213. 66. bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 215. 67. bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 217. 68. bejczy, “the cardinal virtues,” 217–219 (quotation at 218–219). 69. benedict, “saint albert the great,” 61–62, 62. bibliography bejczy, istván p. “the cardinal virtues in medieval commentaries on the nicomachean ethics, 1250–1350.” in virtue ethics in the middle ages: commentaries on aristotle’s “nicomachean ethics,” 1200–1500, edited by istván p. bejczy, 199–223. leiden, netherlands: brill, 2008. benedict xvi (pope). “saint albert the great.” in holy men and women of the middle ages and beyond, 57–64. san francisco: ignatius press, 2012. celano, anthony j. aristotle’s “ethics” and medieval philosophy: moral goodness and practical wisdom. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2016. cunningham, stanley b. reclaiming moral agency: the moral philosophy of albert the great. washington, dc: catholic university of america press, 2008. farrell, dominic. the ends of the moral virtues and the first principles of practical reason in thomas aquinas. rome: gregorian biblical press, 2012. müller, jörn. “in war and peace: the virtue of courage in the writings of albert the great and thomas aquinas.” in virtue ethics in the middle ages: commentaries on aristotle’s “nicomachean ethics,” 1200–1500, edited by istván p. bejczy, 77–100. leiden, netherlands: brill, 2008. tracy, martin j. “the moral thought of albert the great.” in a companion to albert the great: theology, philosophy, and the sciences, edited by irven m. resnick, 347–380. leiden, netherlands: brill, 2013. tugwell, simon. “albert the great: introduction.” in albert & thomas: selected writigns, edited and translated by simon tugwell, 1–39. new york: paulist press, 1988. zavattero, irene. “moral and intellectual virtues in the earliest latin commentaries on the nicomachean ethics.” in virtue ethics in the middle ages: commentaries on aristotle’s “nicomachean ethics,” 1200–1500, edited by istván p. bejczy, 31–54. leiden, netherlands: brill, 2008. microsoft word piovezan psc.docx “the greatest breakthrough of anything”: lyndon baines johnson’s push for the voting rights act of 1965 in light of neustadt and skowronek iuri macedo piovezan political science 1. introduction lyndon b. johnson's drive for the enactment of the voting rights act of 1965 stands as a pinnacle accomplishment of his presidential tenure. chronicled in the memoir of the former president, the period spanning from november 3rd, 1964, to august 6th, 1965, portrays lbj's relentless dedication toward ensuring the passage of legislation that guaranteed african americans' voting rights in the united states. this study commences from this pivotal juncture, scrutinizing lbj's advocacy for the voting rights act of 1965 through the lenses of two prominent theories in political science: stephen skowronek's political times theory and neustadt's doctrine on presidential persuasion. ultimately, both frameworks offer valuable insights into comprehending lbj's unwavering commitment to the passage of the voting rights act of 1965, as he adeptly employed direct persuasion tactics during a crucial juncture of his presidency, pivotal for the bill's success. prior to delving into the discourse of this essay, an overview of pertinent literature in the field is warranted. the exploration will commence with an introduction to skowronek's political times theory (ptt), followed by an examination of neustadt's theory concerning a persuasive president (pp). additionally, the discussion will encompass the components of persuasion and elements that may hinder a persuasion attempt. 1 in the subsequent analysis section, lbj's endeavor to secure the voting rights act will be scrutinized through the prism of the aforementioned theories, with due consideration given to pivotal historical events such as the selma to montgomery march, which illuminate the milieu within which president johnson operated. within the framework of ptt, an examination of contemporaneous polls, media coverage, and prevailing sentiments regarding racial equality reveals that the political climate during lbj's presidency distinctly facilitated his efforts toward the enactment of the voting rights act of 1965. similarly, within the ambit of pp, it becomes apparent that lbj extensively employed persuasive tactics to achieve his desired legislative outcome. furthermore, it is imperative to acknowledge that through the lens of ptt, this paper aims to offer a nuanced analysis of president johnson's actions and motivations within a broader political and historical context. similarly, with regard to pp, lbj will be scrutinized, highlighting his wield of presidential authority while emphasizing his adeptness in persuasion and negotiation. 2. literature review skowronek’s political times theory is a foundational framework in political science. it revolves around the notion that a president’s success is dependent on and tied to the period of time in which they were elected and assumed office. in his study, peri arnold explains that “skowronek’s argument contradicts the conventional, ‘modern presidency’ perspective in the study of presidential politics.”1 this perspective treats presidents as facing essentially identical challenges within the same range of powers and limitation, with each president showing varying degrees of expertise in addressing these difficulties.2 skowronek, on the other hand, suggests that each incumbent faces new challenges and have different tools compared to their predecessors or successors.3 additionally, arnold explains that, in political times, the “most immediate force 2 defining the political role that presidents will play is the sequential order they occupy within a presidential leadership regime,” which is key to understand a president’s role.4 in his book, skowronek presents two theories: political times and secular times. in political times, the author divides a president into four archetypal categories in which they belong: reconstructive, disjunction, articulative, and pre-emptive. first, the “politics of reconstruction” happens when a president is affiliated with a weak regime.5 on this reconstructive period, the president – and congress – are opposed to the old regime, which is seen as an obstacle for their agenda.6 as examples, skowronek cites thomas jefferson, andrew jackson, abraham lincoln, and franklin roosevelt.7 second, the “politics of disjunction” represents a president who is in an “impossible” situation of leadership by being affiliated with a weak regime.8 the author explains that a president affiliated with a weak regime “stigmatize oneself as a symptom of the nation’s problems and the premier symbol of systemic political failure,” seeing in the likes of john adams, john quincy adams, and james buchanan.9 third, the “politics of articulation” occurs when a president is affiliated with a powerful regime.10 for skowronek, this is one of the most common types of leadership, being ideal for presidents who want to “continue the good work of the past and demonstrate the vitality of the established order in changing times,” seen in james monroe, james polk, theodore roosevelt, and lyndon baines johnson.11 lastly, the “politics of preemption” is seen when a president is unaffiliated with a strong regime.12 these kinds of presidents go against the grain of the political tendencies of their time. on this, the author explains that “like all opposition leaders,” they “have the freedom of their independence from established commitments,” but lack authority to gather support for their “political, institutional, and ideological” ideas that the regime maintains.13 as examples, 3 skowronek cites john tyler, andrew jackson, woodrow wilson, and richard nixon as preemptive leaders.14 on the “politics of articulation,” skowronek dedicates considerable attention to lbj. describing him as a "master politician" whose narrative encapsulates a saga of extraordinary accomplishments marred by self-destruction atop the political hierarchy, skowronek illuminates johnson's role in shattering an overarching political consensus amidst a flurry of achievements, portraying a superpower dissipating its resources in a distant conflict with those on the fringes of modernity.15 he was, however, a special case. skowronek elucidates that “johnson was… one of the several presidents who… felt compelled to synthesize past and future… to affirm orthodoxy in the very act of transforming the nation,” which really speaks to lbj’s ambition to continue jfk’s legacy.16 for skowronek, johnson was a fusion of three other presidents: a “monroe-like appeal to a truly overarching national consensus, a polk-like determination to deliver on each and every commitment,” and “the urge of teddy roosevelt to act himself like the founder of the regime.”17 persuasion is critical for a president. richard neustadt’s theory on the persuasive president focuses on informal aspects of the presidential power, pushing the narrative that a president must be a master of persuasion if they desire to achieve their goals in office in a consistently and practically. on persuasion, neustadt explains that “the power to persuade is the power to bargain.”18 it is important to note, however, that efficient persuasion techniques do not ensure successful outcomes.19 furthermore, neustadt shows that only being the chief of the executive is not enough to guarantee any political success, since to command – invoking the inherent authorities of the office – is not enough. the author shows that there are five key factors that make sure a presidential order gets followed.20 if one of them is missing, however, it greatly 4 undermines compliance.21 the first is the “assurance that a president has spoken.”22 neustadt shows that orders given by “the man himself, and not only in form but very much in fact” leave no room for doubt on what the president desires.23 if this first factor is absent, like on the dismissal of macarthur where the “white house statement… was set aside,” compliance crumbles.24 the second is when a president is clear on what he is asking.25 as a historical example, neustadt alludes to eisenhower’s office, when “a week before the troops were sent to little rock, there is no doubt that faubus knew it was the president who wanted something done.”26 the third is direct publicity.27 here, neustadt emphasizes the important role of a president informing the public of their actions. in either little rock or macarthur, “the whole country was taken into camp, informed of the president’s commitment, invited to watch the response.”28 the fourth is when a president’s request is actually possible to be followed and completed.29 this, as neustadt explains, leaves little room for excuses.30 the fifth, is the sense that what the president wants “is his by right.”31 in the seizure of the steel mills during truman’s administration, for example, “the steelworkers assumed… that [truman] had ample constitutional authority to seize and operate the mills.”32 within the realm of persuasion, scholars are always consistently researching new methods, unveiling the intricate nature of the concept itself. in their study on neustadt and its applicability to state chiefs, hill, and jochim explain that merely issuing orders is an ineffective method of persuasion.33 instead, they advocate for the efficacy of bargaining and coalitionbuilding in yielding optimal outcomes.34 jeffry burnam further adds that “arms-twisting, trading favors,” and so forth are also productive methods to ensure successful persuasion.35 more importantly, however, scholars emphasize that whatever methods a president decides to use to become more persuasive, one must still rely on them since what matters the most is not the role 5 of the president per se, but “the performance of those roles.”36 george edwards, for example, makes it clear that presidential influence has many complex layers. in his paper, the author explains that a president needs to focus on both “governmental institutions and actors, such as the congress, bureaucracy, and the white house staff,” but also “those outside of government, such as the public, the press, and interest groups.”37 for edwards, the influence the president has inside the white house is as important as the one he has on the outside.38 however, certain factors can impede a president’s capacity to wield persuasion effectively. mary graham, for example, elucidates how technological advancements can be harmful to a president’s bargaining capabilities.39 bailey et al. further add that presidential persuasion is actually a two-way street between him and congress and not something that the president does alone.40 not only, but david gerden, an advisor who worked for nixon, ford, reagan, and clinton, believes that a president first needs to establish trust with its voters so that they can then persuade them.41 in an interview for the harvard business review, gerden explains that “people these days are less willing to defer to authority than they were… a halfcentury ago, partly because they’re better educated and partly because in so many realms… they have been lied to and manipulated.”42 therefore, leaders cannot presume that people trust them from the start; their trust must be earned beforehand.43 3. analysis the examination of lyndon b. johnson's presidency through the frameworks of the political times theory and neustadt's persuasion theory offers a nuanced and often intimate perspective on lbj's achievements, particularly during the passage of the voting rights act of 1965. in this analysis section, this paper will begin a discussion of president johnson through skowronek’s ppt, pointing out the significance of the time lbj became a president to his push – 6 and success – in passing the voting rights act. here, this paper will rely on two metrics. first, it will go over popular newspapers of the time and see how the voting rights act – and overall voting inequality – was discussed while also addressing the significance of the selma march in 1965. second, it will rely on polls done at the time to measure the overall voter’s perception of the fairness of the elections and the need for such a bill. subsequently, the analysis will transition to an examination of lbj through the lens of neustadt's theory, delineating numerous instances wherein johnson's persuasive acumen played a discernible role in shaping his presidency. 3.1 political times theory and lbj the timing of lyndon b. johnson's assumption of the presidency holds profound significance when contextualizing the passage of the voting rights act of 1965. following the tragic assassination of president kennedy and the rushed inauguration ceremony where lbj was sworn in as president, nation found itself amidst a wave of demonstrations advocating for racial equality.44 throughout 1964, numerous peaceful marches orchestrated by civil rights leaders underscored the urgency of addressing voting rights issues, with the escalation of violence drawing renewed attention to this pressing matter.”45 one of the most important were the selma marches, a “pivotal turning point in the civil rights movement.”46 not only but “because of the powerful impact of the marches in selma, the voting rights act of 1965 was presented to congress” on march, and then signed on august.47 in lbj’s words, the act became his “immediate goal.”48 the selma marches of march 1965 in selma, alabama, stand as profoundly poignant events in american history. they took place throughout the month of march 1965 in selma, alabama, and were organized to protest african american’s lack of access to a fair electoral system and the “racist structure of the jim crow south.”49 the inaugural march on march 7, 7 spearheaded by the student nonviolent coordinating committee (sncc), encountered staunch resistance from alabama law enforcement at the edmund pettus bridge.50 as reported by roy reed, “alabama state troopers and volunteer officers… tore through a column of negro demonstrators with tear gas, nightsticks and whips… to enforce gov. george wallace’s orders against a protest march.”51 leon daniel reported that “600 negro marchers” were seen bleeding and screaming through the streets of selma,” with 17 being taken to the good samaritan hospital with injuries “ranging from a possible skull fracture and broken arms to hysteria.52 the second march unfolded on march 9, with rev. dr. martin luther king, jr. leading the group, which now counted with twice as many participants.53 as the demonstrators reached the edmund pettus bridge, they once again encountered alabama troopers. however, in a stark departure from the preceding encounter, king opted for a peaceful resolution, guiding the assembly in prayer before retracing their steps to selma.54 it is important to note, however, that further violence was carried out that evening by members of the kkk, where reverend james reeb died from his injured.55 the third, on march 21, departed from brown chapel ame church, and kept growing in numbers until march 25.56 the violence, however, once again afflicted the group. viola liuzzo, for example, who had arrived from detroit to alabama, was killed by the kkk as the group was marching back to selma.57 between the second and third marches, lbj delivered one of his most iconic speeches. on march 15, 1965, after seeing the devastation of the first march, lbj released a speech where he borrowed the language of the civil rights act and tied it to american history.58 he began by explaining that he was there “for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy,” where his mission was to “right wrong, to do justice, serve man.”59 lbj explained that the u.s. “was the first nation on the history of the world to be founded with a purpose… ‘all men are created 8 equal’… ‘give me liberty of give me death.’”60 “those words,” he said, “are not just clever words” or “empty theories,” but a “promise.”61 he further added that “to apply any other test – to deny a man his hopes because of his color or race,… is not only to do injustice, it is to deny america and to dishonor the dead who gave their lives for american freedom.”62 then, he laid ground for the civil rights act of 1964 – and the voting rights act of 1965 – by saying that “to those who seek to avoid action by their national government… who want to and who see to maintain local control over elections, the answer is simple: open your polling places to all your people…”63 according to prominent newspapers and contemporary polls, the passage of the voting rights act of 1965 enjoyed widespread popularity among the american populace. data from the roper center reveals that at the time of the act's enactment, an overwhelming 86% of individuals surveyed expressed approval for a federal law mandating equal voting rights for african americans.64 in addition, 95% approved “that bill from what you know or have heard of it – voting rights for negroes.”65 while opinions on civil rights issues were somewhat mixed, a substantial portion of the population demonstrated solidarity with the civil rights groups involved in the events at selma, as opposed to the stance taken by the state of alabama.66 as andrew kohut shows, a total of 48% of the interviewees sided with the demonstrators, with 95% of the black population interviewed supporting the movement.67 newspaper coverage also reflected the prevailing positive attitudes toward the voting rights act. on may 26, 1964, the pittsburgh post-gazette explained that “the refusal of a community to extend voting rights to all its citizens… arouses the conscience of concerned americans everywhere.”68 moreover, helen b. shaffer reported that “the american negro will have won virtually all of the battles he needed to win to gain legal backing for his claim to the rights and opportunities that are his due as a citizen 9 of the united states.”69 shaffer, however, is conscious of the difficulties that such a thing represents, concluding by saying that “this phase presents more difficulties than the one it follows.”70 on the same positive note, the los angeles sentinel reported that “the enactment of the voting rights bill this year was one of our greatest milestones of progress in the determined march towards the goal of equal treatment and opportunity for all americans.”71 echoing this sentiment, the chicago daily defender explained that “it is imperative that every citizen be given the opportunity to vote on all questions… to deny this right will substantially weaken the fundamental strength of our nation.”72 3.2 persuasion and lbj persuasion emerged as a pivotal force in facilitating the passage of the voting rights act of 1965. by recognizing the moral imperative and shifting public sentiment towards equality, president johnson skillfully employed his persuasive techniques to – in essence – get his desired outcome. by examining lbj’s diary, calls, and other documents that outline close interactions between him and his staff, it is possible to understand lbj’s persuasive techniques. while there were many instances where he relied on his team while still being an active president in their discussion, in other moments johnson used his words – which sometimes could have very strong connotations – to pass his point across. this paper, then, will take all of these as its “meaning” for persuasion while also considering the essence of a persuasive technique, which is – in its core – to change how one thinks. this study will also discuss moments where johnson’s persuasion failed. in his memoir, lyndon b. johnson's persuasive prowess had already become a hallmark of his leadership. on a public instance, senator russell acknowledged that “i have no doubt but that [the president] intends to throw the full weight of his powerful office and the full force of his 10 personality… to secure the passage of this program.”73 however, a closer examination of lbj reveals a nuanced approach, where his words sometimes belied his actions in pursuit of his objectives. for example, on december 18, 1964, lbj said during a meeting at the white house that “this voting thing is just going to have to wait” and “this administration is going to set this aside for a while.”74 his tapes, however, show the opposite. four days before the meeting mentioned above, johnson ordered attorney general nicholas katzenbach to ‘undertake the greatest midnight legislative drafting” since the new deal, and that he needed it “pretty quick.”75 on another conversation with martin luther king jr. almost 2 months before the events in selma, president johnson was very careful when mentioning what he thought mlk should do. he explained that: “i think it’s very important that we not say that we’re doing this… just because it’s negros or whites, but we take the position that every person born in this country, when they reach a certain age, that he have a right to vote… and number two, we don’t want special privilege for anybody.”76 on another, lbj persuaded roy o. williams, when it came to the appointment of more african americans to federal positions, that “you get me the top ones that are like bob weaver or like carl rowan.”77 moreover, during a conversation with katzenbach revolving around the fact that “liberals are complaining that lbj’s voting rights bill is not strong enough,” especially when it comes to “critics who say that he should have included a measure banning local poll taxes,” which would be unconstitutional.78 this prompted lbj to respond by saying “why don’t we get somebody up there to offer a constitutional amendment resolution?... i would sure put them on the spot.”79 lbj was also incredibly assertive with the attorney general during this conversation, saying: 11 “let's get some of this political image off of us… we're not running for any office. you don't even have to be elected to nothing. you already made it… now, on this [voting rights] bill up there… i want fifty-fifty… but i damn sure don't want to be in the second car in the caravan”80 johnson's private conversations offer a glimpse into a leader who valued input and relied heavily on his team while maintaining a firm resolve in pursuing his objectives. while johnson often took decisive actions independently, documented interactions with the president underscore his profound appreciation for his team's counsel and expertise. in a conversation with katzenbach, for example, after a short discussion, lbj asks katzenbach, “now, what do we do about our pickets at justice and across the white house?”81 on another, shortly after selma, lbj asked katzenbach, “did we take every precaution we could have?”82 lbj’s memoir also provides us with many other examples. related to the drafting of the voting rights bill, lbj wrote that by march 14, “the justice department had completed most of its work on” the bill… what was the best way to transmit the message to congress – in person or in writing?”83 johnson proposed said question to the bipartisan leadership of the congress, where johnson first stated that he thought he should go to the people first, then congress.84 here, we see lbj getting different feedback. senator mansfield, for example, suggested that lbj should avoid making a public presentation, with senator dirksen agreeing.85 speaker mccormack, however, disagreed, saying that the president should head to congress and “present the bill to a joint session” while also making it public.86 upon hearing this, lbj wrote that “his words, and the decades of experience behind them, had an immediate impact on the rest of the leadership… by the end of the meeting the leadership was unanimous in recommending that i address congress before a joint session.”87 12 it is pertinent to acknowledge that lbj's persuasive techniques were not infallible. one notable instance, as recounted in the first lady's memoir, illustrates johnson's inability to achieve his objective despite employing a range of persuasive tactics. on november 15, 1964, lady bird mentioned that lbj was meeting with a quartet of people, and he needed to select one to participate in his cabinet.88 among the four, it seemed that president johnson preferred don cook, one that lady bird described as a “capable lawyer, first-class brain.”89 after cook, their second choice was tom watson, the “head of ibm,” one whom lbj asked to be the new secretary of commerce.90 don cook, however, seemed to be a difficult nail to bend. after lunch, lady bird had a conversation with him, explaining how much she wanted him to join the cabinet since they needed “some good troops.”91 cook, nonetheless, explained that “we’ll find them. we’ll have to find a way,” clearly denying such invitation.92 after this conversation, lady bird remarked that lbj was incredibly frustrated since he could not get anyone to accept, which, for her, was “one of the hardest problems a president faces.”93 another significant instance, warranting deeper scrutiny, is the tumultuous relationship between johnson and governor george wallace. by reading johnson’s memoir, as well as listening to phone conversations, it becomes clear that the relationship between president johnson and governor george wallace was a rocky one, and it would all crumble by the time bloody sunday happened. on march 13, 1965, wallace met with the president at the white house where, as brian sweany explains, lbj planned to put wallace under the “johnson treatment.”94 over three hours, both parties discussed on the issue of race, where lbj “not to let the governor play the martyr for states’ rights… cajoled and flattered him.”95 johnson’s patience, however, would quickly run short when wallace replied that he had no power to integrate the schools and let african americans vote on the state of alabama, prompting johnson to scream 13 “george, don’t you shit me as to who runs alabama.”96 more specifically on selma, and the need for the president to send in troops, lbj explained that he “believed the only way to handle the demonstrators was to respond to their grievances.”97 furthermore, johnson did believe that troops should be used, “but not like they were in little rock,” with wallace agreeing.98 however, on march 18, after it was confirmed that there would be a march on march 21, wallace called lbj and asked for his help.99 only five hours afterward, wallace double-crosses lbj during a televised speech saying that “this state cannot afford to activate the guard. placing the onus on johnson, he has demanded that the president send federal civil authorities to alabama instead,” infuriating lbj, who called him a “son of a bitch,” and “treacherous.”100 4. conclusion the political times theory and neustadt's theory on the persuasive president offer crucial frameworks for understanding president johnson's success in advancing the voting rights act of 1965. as seen, the political times theory played a major role in lbj’s voting rights act. after jfk’s assassination, the united states was subjected to many protests for racial equality. with civil rights leaders merging into the political scene, people began to see equality of all races as something not only necessary for the country, but an unnegotiable right of all americans. one of the most crucial events in the voting rights history was the selma marches, credited as a key moment in the fight for civil rights. taking the violence that unfortunately resulted from said marches and the revolutionary speech lbj delivered on march 15, 1965, lbj’s push for the voting rights act became known to many. moreover, when looking at public sentiment through newspapers and polls, we see that the public also backed up lbj’s fight for voting equality. as already presented, a huge majority of people supported a bill that would give african americans access to the voting polls. moreover, an even greater majority approved the 14 voting rights act specifically. newspapers also had positive views on the voting rights act, with many defending the need for voting equality. as per neustadt’s theory on a persuasive president, lbj’s persuasive prowess becomes evident when analyzing his writings and those close to the president. in his memoir and private phone conversations, we see a president who was already well-known for being persuasive and being able to insist adequately on what he wanted. moreover, president johnson was also a man who knew how to take advice and highly valued his team and their feedback. this paper must point out, however, that lbj’s persuasive techniques were not bulletproof. as seen in his tumultuous relationship with governor wallace, where wallace – in essence – betrayed the president, his selection to a new member of cabinet, and his private conversations with lady bird, it becomes clear that even though prolific at persuasion, lbj also met with defeat on some occasions in his life. nonetheless, it must be stressed that – taking into consideration the range of this paper – lbj proved himself to be an excellent persuasive president, facing walls on many instances that – though clever words – crumbled down at his fee 1 peri r. arnold, “determinism and contingency in skowronek’s political time,” polity 27, no. 3 (1995): 497. 2 arnold, “determinism,” 497. 3 ibid. 4 ibid. 5 stephen skowronek, the politics presidents make: leadership from john adams to bill clinton (cambridge and london: harvard university press, 1997), 57. 6 skowronek, politics, 57. 7 ibid. 8 ibid. 9 ibid., 60. 10 ibid., 57. 11 ibid., 62. 12 ibid., 64. 13 ibid. 14 ibid. 15 15 ibid., 356. 16 ibid. 17 ibid., 361. 18 richard e. neustadt, presidential power and the modern presidents: the politics of leadership from roosevelt to reagan (new york: the free press, 1990): 11. 19 neustadt, presidential, 32. 20 ibid., 17. 2121 ibid., 18. 22 ibid. 23 ibid. 24 ibid., 19. 25 ibid., 20. 26 ibid. 27 ibid. for more works on the impact of publicity to the presidency, see matthew r. miles, “the bully pulpit and media coverage: power without persuasion,” the international journal of press/politics 19, no. 1 (2013); jeff e. cohen, going local: presidential leadership in the post-broadcast age (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2010); george c. edwards, on deaf ears: the limits of the bully pulpit (new haven: yale university press, 2003); samuel kernell, going public: new strategies of presidential leadership (washington, d.c.: cq press, 1997). 28 ibid., 21. 29 ibid., 22. 30 ibid. 31 ibid., 23. 32 ibid. 33 paul hill, and ashley jochim, “the power of persuasion: a model for effective political leadership by state chiefs,” crpe (2017): 2. 34 hill, and jochim, “power,” 2. 35 jeffry burnam, “the president and the environment: a reinterpretation of neustadt’s theory of presidential leadership,” congress & the presidency 37 (2010): 302. 36 george edwards iii, “neustadt’s power: approach to the presidency,” in presidential power: forging the presidency for the twenty-first century, edited by robert y. shapiro, martha j. kumar, and lawrence r. jacobs (new york: columbia university press, 2000): 10. 37 edwards iii, “neustadt,” 10. 38 ibid. 39 mary graham, president’s secret: the use and abuse of hidden power (new haven and london: yale university press, 2017): 10. 40 michael bailey, lee sigelman, and clyde wilcox, “presidential persuasion on social issues: a two-way street?,” political research quarterly 56, no. 1 (2003): 56. 41 gardiner morse, “how presidents persuade,” harvard business review, january, 2003, https://hbr.org/2003/01/how-presidents-persuade. 42 morse, “presidents.” 43 ibid. 44 christian hauser, “journalist tours presidential plane he was aboard when lbj was sworn in after jfk killed,” dayton247, january 30, 2017, 16 https://dayton247now.com/news/local/journalist-tours-presidential-plane-he-was-aboard-whenlbj-was-sworn-in-after-jfk-killed. 45 “voting rights act (1965), national archive, accessed november 22, 2023, https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act. 46 “selma marches,” national archives, accessed november 22, 2023, https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/vote/selmamarches#:~:text=the%20three%20marches%20at%20selma,law%20on%20august%206%2c% 201965. 47 ibid. 48 lyndon baines johnson, the vantage point: perspectives of the presidency 1963-1969 (new york: holt, rinehart and winston, 1971), 166. 49 ibid. 50 ibid. 51 roy reed, "alabama police use gas and clubs to rout negros," the new york times, march 8, 1965, https://www.proquest.com/docview/116803419/c0cab8b817d3488epq/20?accountid=14853 52 leon daniel, "police rout marchers in selma with gas, clubs," the philadelphia inquirer, march 8, 1965, https://www.proquest.com/docview/1841412117/c0cab8b817d3488epq/22?accountid=14853 53 “selma marches;” roy reed, "u.s. judge petitioned to strike down ban of gov. wallace," the new york times, march 9, 1965, https://www.proquest.com/docview/116731391/c0cab8b817d3488epq/27?accountid=14853. 54 ibid. 55 ibid. 56 ibid. 57 ibid; john schwartz, “roy reed, times reported who covered the civil rights era, dies at 87,” the new york times, december 12, 2017, https://www.proquest.com/docview/2463492262/3722db2b7cb74ba9pq/1?accountid=14853. 58 "lyndon johnson on voting rights and the american promise (1965)," the american yawp reader, accessed november 22, 2023, https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/27-thesixties/lyndon-johnson-on-voting-rights-and-the-american-promise-1965/. 59 ibid. 60 ibid. 61 ibid. 62 ibid. 63 ibid. 64 “public opinion on the voting rights act,” roper center, accessed november 23, 2023, https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/blog/public-opinion-voting-rights-act. 65 ibid. 66 andrew kohut, “from the archives: 50 years ago: mixed views about civil rights but support for selma demonstrators,” pew research center, january 16, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/01/16/50-years-ago-mixed-views-about-civilrights-but-support-for-selma-demonstrators/. 67 kohut, “archives.” 17 68 “minister here issues statement on miss. act," pittsburgh post-gazette, may 26, 1964, https://www.proquest.com/docview/1857837267/e2a2edcd4b264149pq/49?accountid=14853 69 helen b. shaffer, "negro revolution: next steps," cq press, july 21, 1965, https://doi.org/10.4135/cqresrre1965072100. 70 shaffer, “negro.” 71 "voting progress," los angeles sentinel, dec 30, 1965, http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historicalnewspapers/voting-progress/docview/564721078/se-2. 72 “citizens urged to support katzenbach in s.c. vote case.” chicago daily defender, dec 27, 1965, http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historicalnewspapers/citizens-urged-support-katzenbach-s-c-vote-case/docview/494191206/se-2. 73 johnson, vantage, 158. 74 kent germany, "when history is not good enough for hollywood: selma, lyndon b. johnson, and martin luther king jr.," perspectives on history, may 1, 2015, https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/may-2015/whenhistory-is-not-good-enough-for-hollywood. 75 germany, “history.” 76 lyndon baines johnson and martin luther king jr., “a right to vote,” lbj tapes, january 15, 1965, https://lbjtapes.org/conversation/right-vote. 77 lyndon baines johnson and roy o. wilkins, “find some of the top people,” lbj tapes, january 16, 1964, https://lbjtapes.org/conversation/find-some-top-people. 78 michael r. beschloss. reaching for glory: lyndon johnson’s secret white house tapes, 1964-1965 (new york: simon & schuster, 2001), 265. 79 beschloss, reaching, 269. 80 ibid., 271. 81 ibid., 224. 82 ibid., 217. 83 johnson, vantage, 163. 84 ibid., 164. 85 ibid. 86 ibid. 87 ibid. 88 lady bird johnson, a white house diary (austin: university of texas, 2007): 201. 89 johnson, white, 201. 90 ibid., 202. 91 ibid. 92 ibid. 93 ibid. 94 brian d. sweany, “voting rites,” texas monthly, march 2000, https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/voting-rites/. 95 sweaney, “voting.” 96 ibid. 97 johnson, vantage, 163. 98 ibid. 99 beschloss, reaching, 231. 18 100 ibid., 235. bibliography arnold, peri r. "determinism and contingency in skowronek's political time." polity 27, no. 3 (1995): 497-508. bailey, michael, lee sigelman, and clyde wilcox. “presidential persuasion on social issues: a two-way street?” political research quarterly 56, no. 1 (2003): 49-58. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3219883. beschloss, michael r. reaching for glory: lyndon johnson's secret white house tapes, 19641965. new york: simon & schuster, 2001. burnam, jeffry. "the president and the environment: a reinterpretation of neustadt's theory of presidential leadership." congress & the presidency 37 (2010): 302-322. chicago daily defender. “citizens urged to support katzenbach in s.c. vote case.” december 27, 1965. http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historicalnewspapers/citizens-urged-support-katzenbach-s-c-vote-case/docview/494191206/se-2. cohen, jeff e. going local: presidential leadership in the post-broadcast age. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2010. daniel, leon. "police rout marchers in selma with gas, clubs." the philadelphia inquirer, march 8, 1965. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1841412117/c0cab8b817d3488epq/22?accountid =14853. edwards, george c. on deaf ears: the limits of the bully pulpit. new haven: yale university press, 2003. 1 germany, kent. "when history is not good enough for hollywood: selma, lyndon b. johnson, and martin luther king jr." perspectives on history, may 1, 2015. https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/may2015/when-history-is-not-good-enough-for-hollywood. graham, mary. presidents' secrets: the use and abuse of hidden power. new haven and london: yale university press, 2017. hauser, christian. “journalist tours presidential plane he was aboard when lbj was sworn in after jfk killed.” dayton247, january 30, 2017. https://dayton247now.com/news/local/journalist-tours-presidential-plane-he-was-aboardwhen-lbj-was-sworn-in-after-jfk-killed. hill, paul, and ashley jochim. "the power of persuasion: a model for effective political leadership by state chiefs." crpe (2017): 1-22. johnson, lady bird. a white house diary. austin: university of texas, 2007. johnson, lyndon baines and martin luther king jr. “a right to vote.” lbj tapes, january 15, 1965. https://lbjtapes.org/conversation/right-vote. johnson, lyndon baines. the vantage point: perspectives of the presidency 1963-1969. new york: holt, rinehart, and winston, 1971. johnson, lyndon baines and roy o. wilkins. “find some of the top people.” lbj tapes, january 16, 1964. https://lbjtapes.org/conversation/find-some-top-people. kernell, samuel. going public: new strategies of presidential leadership. washington, d.c.: cq press, 1997. 2 kohut, andrew. “from the archives: 50 years ago: mixed views about civil rights but support for selma demonstrators.” pew research center, january 16, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/01/16/50-years-ago-mixed-views-aboutcivil-rights-but-support-for-selma-demonstrators/. los angeles sentinel. “voting progress.” december 30, 1965. http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historicalnewspapers/voting-progress/docview/564721078/se-2. miles, matthew r. “the bully pulpit and media coverage: power without persuasion.” the international journal of press/politics 19, no. 1 (2013): 66-84. morse, gardiner. “how presidents persuade.” harvard business review, january, 2003. https://hbr.org/2003/01/how-presidents-persuade. national archive. “selma marches.” accessed november 22, 2023. https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/vote/selmamarches#:~:text=the%20three%20marches%20at%20selma,law%20on%20august%20 6%2c%201965. national archive. “voting rights act (1965).” accessed november 22, 2023. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act. neustadt, richard e. presidential power and the modern presidents: the politics of leadership from roosevelt to reagan. new york: the free press, 1990. 3 pittsburgh post-gazette. “minister here issues statement on miss. act.” may 26, 1964. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1857837267/e2a2edcd4b264149pq/49?accountid =14853. reed, roy. "alabama police use gas and clubs to rout negros." the new york times, march 8, 1965. https://www.proquest.com/docview/116803419/c0cab8b817d3488epq/20?accountid= 14853. reed, roy. "u.s. judge petitioned to strike down ban of gov. wallace." the new york times, march 9, 1965. https://www.proquest.com/docview/116731391/c0cab8b817d3488epq/27?accountid= 14853. roper center. “public opinion on the voting rights act.” accessed november 23, 2023. https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/blog/public-opinion-voting-rights-act. schwartz, john. “roy reed, times reported who covered the civil rights era, dies at 87.” the new york times, december 12, 2017. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2463492262/3722db2b7cb74ba9pq/1?accountid= 14853. shaffer, helen b. "negro revolution: next steps," cq press, july 21, 1965. https://doi.org/10.4135/cqresrre1965072100. skowronek, stephen. the politics presidents make: leadership from john adams to bill clinton. cambridge and london: harvard university press, 1997. 4 sweany, brian d. “voting rites.” texas monthly, march 2000. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/voting-rites/. the american yawp reader. “lyndon johnson on voting rights and the american promise (1965).” accessed november 22, 2023. https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/27-thesixties/lyndon-johnson-on-voting-rights-and-the-american-promise-1965/. the authoritarian roots of contemporary populist movements explaining the rise of the alternative für deutschland (final submission) 1 the authoritarian roots of contemporary populist movements: explaining the rise of the alternative für deutschland michael a. podgorski liberal studies “after world war ii, sifting through the ashes of the failed experiment in fascism, a number of social scientists connected the appeal of the fascist ideology to personality traits of marginalized people who sought an “escape from freedom” by relying on hypnotic leaders. these followers were said to have authoritarian personalities. yet, as the rise of trump suggests, such people exist in every society if circumstances push them hard enough, and it is more important to pay attention to the circumstances.” – robert kuttner, can democracy survive global capitalism? “we have entered an age of fear. insecurity is once again an active ingredient of political life in western democracies. insecurity born of terrorism, of course; but also, and more insidiously, fear of the uncontrollable speed of change, fear of the loss of employment, fear of losing ground to others in an increasingly unequal distribution of resources...” – tony judt, ill fares the land introduction there is no single variable that satisfactorily explains the rise in support for the alternative für deutschland (afd) as an emergent far-right political party in germany. however there are individual explanatory variables that if taken together, represent a whole that is greater than the sum of their parts. like the parable of the blind men and the elephant, the perspective of each variable provides a different explanation that holds its own truth, and yet yields an unsatisfactory explanation of the whole. a more holistic approach that illustrates their interconnected nature yields a more contextualized view of afd’s success, but such an approach necessitates a theory than can unify the parts by situating the afd’s rise within wider historical and political dynamics. drawing primarily from erich fromm’s work, i employ the theory of existential insecurity to bind these parts into a cohesive whole. in its simplest sense, existential insecurity is as psychological state of mind of modern man deriving from threats to both cultural identity and 2 economic security. according to fromm, the authoritarian personality is a psychological response to the condition of existential insecurity, predisposing its adherents to relinquish their freedom to authoritarian styled systems of political organization. although there are worthy contours of exploration in the relationship between authoritarianism and populism, some of which will be explored in this paper, for the sake of my premise and as most authors would agree, within the euro-american context, most manifestations of populism are characterized by far-right, authoritarian tendencies. this paper will argue that the adherents of these populist movements are characterized by the authoritarian personality as a response to existential insecurity. this paper endeavors then to build a bridge between these wider historical events and the more contemporary explanations for the afd’s rise, diagnosing these particularized explanations as symptoms of dynamics taking place on a longer scale of time, within a wider context. an explanation of fromm’s theory will be followed by a discussion of theories of populism and its relationship to authoritarianism. the proposed explanatory theory will be illustrated within an historical context of political dynamics in europe, which will be considerably robust. this section will be followed by a discussion of specific theories proposed to explain the rise of the afd with an application of the paper’s primary theory, and finally a brief conclusion. existential insecurity and the authoritarian personality existential security is an idea that pippa norris and ronald inglehart propose as an axiom to their main hypothesis, the religious values hypothesis, found in sacred and secular. existential security is defined as “the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken 3 for granted” (norris & inglehart 4). in contrast to this idea, but not unrelated to norris & inglehart’s hypothesis, this paper will employ the countervailing concept, existential insecurity, which is defined by marcuse as “the human psychological sense of pervasive danger, a deep and fundamental threatening anxiety, without a sharp focus on a specific danger” (924). for the purposes of this paper, existential insecurity will be used as an umbrella term, meant to capture the meaning of the oft mentioned, but rarely defined terms: insecurity, uncertainty, and anxiety. these terms are often referred to through many iterations of related literature, such that they deserve to be brought into dialogue with a larger theory that can capture a more fundamental meaning about their authors’ intent that goes beyond these terms’ everyday usage. this would seem to be merited, given that so many authors have referred to these terms, with some consistency, but without conceptualizing their intended meaning. this paper endeavors to create that dialogue by citing the passages in which these terms are found. fromm did not explicitly cite the term, existential insecurity, in his seminal work, escape from freedom, but i contend the conditions he describes are most aptly characterized as the condition of existential insecurity. according to fromm, the authoritarian personality is a psychosocial response to the condition of existential insecurity, which has its roots in the paradox of newfound freedom, born from the rise of market economies, which eventually we would recognize as capitalism. writing in 1941, fromm states that, “what characterizes medieval in contrast to modern society is its lack of individual freedom. everybody in the earlier period was chained to his role in the social order” (40). however, “…although a person was not free in the modern sense, neither was he alone and isolated. in having a distinct, unchangeable, and unquestionable place in the social world from the moment of birth, man was rooted in a structuralized whole and thus life had a meaning which left no place and no need for doubt. a 4 person was identical with his role in society…” (fromm 41). in this sense, a person’s cultural identity was pre-determined, and although unchangeable, at least it was stable and secure. “the social order was conceived of as a natural order, and being a definite part of it gave a feeling of security and of belonging. there was comparatively little competition. one was born into a certain economic position which guaranteed a livelihood determined by tradition…” (fromm 41; emphasis added) the result of this ordering of society as such is the security of cultural identity and economic position, which effectively creates the basis for existential security. the consequence of the rise of the market economies leaves, “the medieval social system destroyed and with it the stability and relative security it had offered the individual,” with the result that, “the individual was left alone; everything depended on his own effort, not on the security of his traditional status” and transformed his “personal situation into one of insecurity, isolation, and anxiety” (fromm 59, 60; emphasis added). to summarize, “freedom from the traditional bonds of medieval society, though giving the individual a new feeling of independence, at the same time made him feel alone and isolated, filled with doubt and anxiety, and drove him into new submission” and hence, to seek an escape from this newfound freedom (fromm 103; emphasis added). hannah arendt wrote of a related and similar psychological process, in which she believed that: …the masses are obsessed by a desire to escape from reality because in their essential homelessness they can no longer bear its accidental, incomprehensible aspects … the masses’ escape from reality is a verdict against the world in which they are forced to live and in which they cannot exist, since coincidence has become its supreme master and human beings need the constant transformation of chaotic and accidental conditions into a man-made pattern of relative consistency. (352) taken in historical perspective, escape from freedom, written in 1941 and the origins of totalitarianism, written in 1951, both arrived on the heels of the chaos of two world wars, the russian revolution, nazi germany, stalinism and the resulting multiple periods of severe 5 economic depression and societal breakdown. the authors were certainly witnesses to some of the most catastrophic events of the 20th century, which undoubtedly produced some of the most extraordinary threats to almost any person’s sense of existential security. exacerbated by such existential threats, the masses were primed for a particular psychological response, the authoritarian personality, which is characterized by the masses’ ready submission to an authoritarian regime. as described by fromm, individuals overcome unbearable feelings of powerlessness by surrendering to “a person, an institution, god, the nation, conscience, or a psychic compulsion” (154). as a result, these individuals relinquish their integrity and surrender their freedom; however through submergence and participation in this larger power, they gain a new “security against the torture of doubt” (fromm 154; emphasis added). the individual is relieved of “the final responsibility for the fate of his self”, and the “meaning of his life and the identity of his self are determined by the greater whole into which the self has submerged” (fromm 155). the fundamental process described by fromm functions as such; the individual makes an exchange with a power perceived to be greater than the self; exchanging his freedom for existential security; and paradoxically using his free will to choose a new condition in which he has forsaken his free will to choose a condition at all, but one in which he gains relief from existential insecurity. this is the basic psychological mechanism by which authoritarian regimes gain and maintain their power. authoritarian regimes exploit this psychological predilection of modern man by providing a narrative which manifests a sharp focus on an object of fear, be it through nationalism, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, economic collapse, or the existential threat posed by a determined enemy, despite that these threats may be real or imagined. the authoritarian regime then goes on to solve or promise to solve these existential threats, for which 6 an authoritarian regime may have been guilty of having created in the first place, and thus providing existential relief for the regime’s affected adherents. through repetition, this process in turn creates a self-reinforcing loop, as an authoritarian maintenance cycle as it were. just as hannah arendt had noted in the origins of totalitarianism, this process must be repeated for the sake of maintaining power. either an authoritarian regime must exploit the existential threat posed, for example, by a terrorist attack, or it must exploit modern man’s fears of foreigners, intrusions upon sovereign jurisdictions, and those who represent the other in contrast to what is considered traditional, and so forth. by reminding modern man of his precarious state, and providing paths to secure it, authoritarian regimes gain and maintain their power. this is the framework of analysis in which the rise of the afd will be explained. before proceeding further however, several qualifications are in order. no abstracted definitions of cultural and economic threats will be provided; rather these threats will be demonstrated by continuously citing writers’ analysis of real world phenomena that come to represent existential threats. they will be referred to as cultural and economic threats to existential security and at times, these threats will overlap. helen milner admits that “disentangling the two forces” of economic and cultural change that contribute to the rise of “authoritarian populism” is “difficult if not impossible” (26). with this in mind, a holistic examination that accounts for both variables and their overlap will yield more explanatory value than attempting to isolate the variables from each other. further, a brief discussion of what is meant by the term, authoritarian personality, is warranted. jan müller expresses why he has an aversion to ascribing populism’s causes to psychosocial theories, and he takes specific aim at lipset for modernization theory. müller writes that “lipset, for instance, claimed that populism was attractive for ‘the disgruntled and the 7 psychologically homeless, …the personal failures, the socially isolated, the economically insecure, the uneducated, unsophisticated, and authoritarian personalities’”, but warns against conflating “the content of a set of political beliefs with the socioeconomic positions and the psychological states of its supporters” because it is “not really an explanation” to attribute populism to “an inarticulate political expression on the part of the supposed ‘losers in the process of modernization.’” (16-17; emphasis added). müller then would also certainly disagree with david neiwert’s psychosocial diagnoses of what neiwert calls “alt-americans” who he characterizes as “right wing authoritarians.” drawing on the work of robert altemeyer, neiwert enumerates a set of potential criteria for those who have an “authoritarian personality” in order to explain their support for authoritarianism (42-43). yet contrary to lipset’s findings of those with authoritarian personalities, neiwert finds that “various studies and polls of subscribers to conspiracy theories and patriot movement beliefs have shown that the majority of alt-americans are better educated than the average american and have incomes well above the median” (39). in contrast to these views, the research for this paper found that there is no singular demographic trait that helps explain support for populist authoritarianism, and if an explanation cannot be divined from such specific individual traits, it stands to reason that another approach would be in order. neither müller nor neiwert make reference to fromm’s, nor arendt’s conception of the authoritarian personality. therefore, the territory which they contest is of no concern to this paper beyond the previous statements to ground this contrast in adjacent theories. this paper will build primarily from fromm’s conception of the authoritarian personality in a way that focuses on external political and historical forces, rather than internal psychological forces. for our purposes, the most basic conceptualization of the authoritarian personality is that it is a reaction 8 to existential insecurity that causes those who experience existential insecurity, based on the perception of existential threat, to lend their support to authoritarian conceptions of political organization, irrespective of whether that organization is a state or a party. populism’s relationship to authoritarianism the early 21st century is characterized by a number of regimes that have eluded easy categorization of their political system, and there has been a resurgence of populist movements in several states that have strong traditions of democracy, like germany. kuttner and müller reject zakaria’s definition of “illiberal democracy” for such governments as poland and hungary that have evolved toward authoritarianism, while they have still maintained the semblance and formality of democratic processes. müller argues that it would be a mistake to label hungary and poland authoritarian because authoritarianism is too broad a term and that labeling such states as authoritarian risks comparison to states like north korea, while conversely labeling these states “illiberal democracies” risks going too far in the opposite direction, and by extension, bestowing a legitimacy of democratic order that they do not honor. on the basis that these states allow some press freedoms and opposition candidates in elections, müller argues these states should not be labeled authoritarian for authoritarian states would never allow these activities. and yet kuttner argues that just because putin allows opposition candidates and allows elections does not mean that russia fails to meet the criteria of an authoritarian state. it would seem then that whether an authoritarian styled state allows the veneer of elections, opposition parties, or a free press, or it does not allow these hallmarks of democracy, if the result of the political organization is the same, it is a distinction without difference. 9 why then do authoritarian states continue to maintain the appearance of democracy? certainly it must be more than a case of hypocrisy as the compliment that vice pays to virtue. müller argues that cost for outright authoritarianism is too high because “officially abolishing or at least suspending democracy comes with enormous loss of international reputation…” (50; original emphasis). ivan krastev and stephen holmes posit the imitation imperative theory, which is an incisive analysis that sheds light on the benefits of maintaining democratic vestiges for authoritarian states like hungary and poland, but the authors are otherwise satisfied in labeling populist leaders like hungary’s viktor orban, as authoritarians. cas mudde and cristóbal rovira kaltwasser resolve some of the definitional difficulties of populism’s political function by labeling populism as a “thin-centered ideology” that essentially acts as a form of conveyance for concepts from other ideologies (6). populism is often absorbed or attached to other ideologies, facilitating their mobilization within a spectrum between liberal democracy and full blown authoritarianism. however they note that, “whatever its manifestation, the monist core of populism, and especially its notion of a ‘general will,’ may well lead to the support of authoritarian tendencies” and “can legitimize authoritarianism…” (mudde & kaltwasser, 18). within our european context, mudde and kaltwasser find that “it was only in the late 1990s that populism became a relevant political force in europe” and manifested in a number of “populist radical right parties” which “combine populism with two other ideologies: authoritarianism and nativism” (34). for the sake of our argument then, within the euro-american context, populism is a conveyance for authoritarianism. when viewed from this perspective, the success of 21st century populist movements can be seen as having a similar dynamic to its 20th century predecessor, fascism, in that their successes are predicated upon threats to the cultural identity and economic 10 security of their adherents. for nazi germany, fascists manifested antisemitism as a cultural threat while the economic threat was actual economic collapse. both of these exigencies, imagined and real, created a sense of existential insecurity that manifested the authoritarian personality in its supporters. in present day germany, the afd gained its support from the economic threat the eurozone crisis posed to economic security and the afd gained support by exploiting the threat of the refugee crisis to cultural identity, effectively replacing jews with muslims as the focus of fear. (klikauer 614) as crises, these events represented opportunities for european populist movements to leverage the narratives of existential threat, real or perceived, to mobilize their adherents. müller writes that, “a ‘crisis’ is not an objective state of affairs but a matter of interpretation. populists will often eagerly frame a situation as a crisis, calling it an existential threat, because such a crisis then serves to legitimate populist governance. put differently, a ‘crisis’ can be a performance, and politics can be presented as a continuous state of siege.” müller is pointing to the idea that a crisis may be real or perceived, so long as the narrative is believed, it will have the same effect – essentially creating a sense of existential insecurity – and this of course echoes what arendt wrote about how authoritarian systems maintain their power, and so in this sense, both far-right party and state attempt to use a similar lever of power. yet however notable these two recent european crises are, they are only acute inflection points on a longer scale of time on which cultural and economic threats have evolved to create a sense of existential insecurity. now let us turn to a discussion of the postwar period in europe. europe: postwar to present day 11 the postwar euro-american order is characterized by a robust incarnation of progressive social democracy, rooted in keynesian economic policies, and designed to temper many of the disruptive forces of unfettered capitalism. but by the 1980’s, the neoliberal agenda of deregulation was demolishing many of the systemic protections that had previously guaranteed some basic economic security for most citizens. as capital streams were unleashed from antiquated regulations to chase down cheaper labor and to juice markets, a process of deindustrialization kicked off. in postwar, tony judt writes that during this time frame from the late 1990’s to the early 2000’s, “slower growth combined with vulnerability to global economic forces was exposing many working people to a level of economic insecurity unprecedented in living memory” and wrought in large part by neoliberal policies” (742; emphasis added). he describes the consequences of deindustrialization, privatization, and opening of financial markets in western europe that benefitted the few, not the many, and whose social costs were made obvious to a wider public by advances in technology. “it was this sense of glaring contrasts between wealth and poverty, prosperity and insecurity, private affluence and public squalor, that drove a growing skepticism in europe about the loudly touted virtues of unregulated markets and untrammeled globalization…” (judt 737; emphasis added). as a result, it was not necessary to become one of the actual losers of the globalized economy in order to become aware of its potential economic threat, though there were many. burgeoning advances in communications technology meant that people required little imagination to conjure thoughts of their own economic insecurity; populist-styled leaders surely recognized this potential exploit. in his discussion of the origins of populism, müller briefly touches on, though not necessarily subscribing to, the idea that “…social democratic parties have abandoned the task of offering a real alternative to neoliberalism; their convergence on a ‘third way’ reinforced the 12 sense among voters that they were being offered ‘elections without choice’…” such that electors had little choice in whether neoliberal principles were being applied by most political parties across the board in most modernized democracies (53). in contrast, rené cuperus attributes the political causes for the acceleration of globalization to leaders inspired by social democracy who essentially acquiesced to neoliberalist demands. cuperus correctly recognizes the consequence of this political acquiescence when he writes: first, right-wing governments and later the more or less social-democratically inspired “third way” administrations like those of britain’s tony blair, holland’s wim kok and germany’s gerhard schröder fell in line with the neoliberal “washington consensus” of the imf and the world bank, with its ideology of a world in flux, a world of permanent change, all of it in the same direction. much more than people realize, this has created a climate of huge uncertainty… (97; emphasis added) uncertainty and a sense of economic insecurity have only grown more acute as the consequences of globalization have grown in magnitude and severity, including economic downturns like the global financial crisis, the resulting great recession and eurozone crisis, and the continued hardship of austerity policies applied in the eu, all of which have helped to deepen a sense of existential insecurity that european populist authoritarians thrive upon. in can democracy survive global capitalism?, robert kuttner contends that liberal democracy plays a pivotal role in the prevention of populist parties coming to power as authoritarian regimes via liberal democracy’s particular implementation of economic policy. as he sees it, liberal democracy is supposed to reign in unfettered capitalism through a series of keynesian economic policies designed to provide the most social good for the largest number of people. when governments fail to do so, when such governments in fact promote classic laissezfaire capitalism characterized by deregulation, fiscal austerity measures, and stripping unions of their power, the result is that economic downturns are more frequent, more severe and tend to 13 last longer, and this in turn has the attendant result of providing fodder on which populist parties thrive. according to kuttner, in poorly regulated market economies, wealth tends to become concentrated in the hands of the few rather than the many, and as a result of these processes, the masses suffer the brunt of the economic hardship, and these periods are characterized by huge disparities in economic equality, similar to what judt explained earlier. since wealth tends to buy more political access and influence, and since political leaders appear more concerned with the needs of the elite, the masses become disenfranchised from democratic processes of recourse and they are left with a sense that government does not serve them, but rather only serves those with money. kuttner sees the relationship between democracy’s legitimacy and its ability to mitigate market forces inextricably tied together in mutual beneficial symbiosis. “when the system is in balance, strong democracy tempers market forces for the general good, in turn reinforcing democratic legitimacy” (xvi). when democracy is reigning in capitalism, it can perform its role as, “both a bulwark against totalitarianism and a shield against economic concentration” (14). from a historical perspective, kuttner argues that, “fascism thrived on the failure of parliamentary democracy to solve urgent problems. in the aftermath of world war i, these included national humiliation and economic catastrophe, never a good combination. the failures, in turn, discredited democracy itself, to the point where people were willing to turn to dictators” (263). it is no surprise then, that when the weimar republic employed extreme fiscal austerity policies, it only deepened its depression and left itself more vulnerable to usurpation by a dictator. as depression and austerity become the hallmark results of contemporary political 14 processes, and as the people most affected perceive they have no recourse through the prevailing political parties, so populist movements gain political supporters. concomitantly in the midst of these economic threats, immigrants and refugees represented a complimentary cultural and economic existential threat. immigrants embodied different ethnic and national loyalties, and different traditions, religions, languages, and value systems. as an economic threat, they represented either direct competition in labor markets or as beneficiaries of social welfare policies to which they were not ostensibly entitled. judt describes a post-communist europe characterized by the rise of populist parties led by jörg haider, pim fortuyn, and jean-marie le pen, the forerunners of the contemporary manifestations of populism that we see today in europe, who leveraged fears over immigration from central and eastern europe to gain political traction. judt writes that “the fear that western europe might be ‘overrun’ by ‘economic refugees’, illegal immigrants, asylum-seekers and the like contributed to a widespread lack of enthusiasm for eu enlargement” and that: the presence in increasing numbers of a visible and culturally alien minority in their midst—and the prospect of even more foreigners feeding at the welfare trough or taking 'our' jobs once the floodgates from the east were opened—was icing on the cake for the new right. charging that the 'boat is full'—or that their governments had abandoned control of its frontiers to 'cosmopolitan interests' or the 'bureaucrats of brussels'— populist demagogues promised to stop immigration, repatriate 'foreigners' and return the state to its embattled white citizenry, outsiders in their own country. (742) cuperus echoes much of this sentiment, writing that after social democrats offered nothing more than neoliberalism-lite, the impression was that “according to many people, the welfare state no longer offered – or was perceived as no longer offering – a safety net. and what security remained went – or was perceived as going – to those with no right to it: undeserving recipients of long-term disability benefits, recent immigrants, tax exiles, and so on” (100; emphasis added). 15 in the extreme, and in part due to an actual slowing of birth rates by traditional western europeans, immigrants have come to represent the great replacement, a white nationalist conspiracy theory popularized by renaud camus, in which white europeans will be replaced by the mostly brown, mostly muslim people. we can see now that the threat of the other to cultural identity has evolved from jews, to central and eastern europeans, and in the present day, to refugees and immigrants from the middle east and africa. notably in the late 2000’s, western europe was not overrun by unassimilable immigrants upon the accession of states to the eu from central and eastern europe; rather instead western europe stemmed its loss in population by drawing in the young and talented populations from these regions with the promise of western prosperity. however this dynamic had the converse effect of demographic decline in central and eastern europe. coupled with the refugee crisis of 2015, this demographic decline posed a threat to cultural identity for many of the states in eastern europe where populist authoritarianism thrives. krastev and holmes write that, “anxiety about immigration is fomented by a fear that unassimilable foreigners will enter the country, dilute national identity and weaken national cohesion. this fear, in turn, is fueled by a largely unspoken preoccupation with demographic collapse” (37; emphasis added). during the period of 1989 to 2017, the authors cite large losses in population across eastern europe, including the former east german provinces; they argue that, “the combination of an ageing population, low birth rates and an unending stream of emigration is arguably the principal source of demographic panic in central and eastern europe” (37). yet they mention an important caveat about the cultural threat that immigration poses; it need not be real, only perceived: 16 hysteria about non-existent immigrants about to overrun the country represents the substitution of an illusory danger (immigration) for the real danger (depopulation and demographic collapse) which cannot speak its name. fears of high birth rates among allegedly invading non-european immigrants may reflect unspoken anxieties about a native birth rate below the replacement level compounded by continuous emigration. (krastev & holmes, 38) this bears mentioning once again; a threat may be real or perceived, but so long as it has the effect of creating a sense of existential insecurity, the outcome is the same. as should be clear by now, a sense of existential insecurity is the consequence of the aforementioned evolving threats to cultural and economic security. populist authoritarians are able to leverage these threats of existential insecurity to galvanize and mobilize political support. cuperus attributes the rise of contemporary populism to the economic and cultural threats, that were brought on by “globalization, post-industrialization, individualization, immigration and meritocratization” and which accelerated the process of “economic, social and cultural modernization” (93). according to cuperus: as for the most fundamental cause underlying the rise of right-wing populism in europe today, betz and kitschelt state that “the emergence of populist parties is a consequence of a profound transformation of the socio-economic and socio-cultural structure of advanced western european democracies”. (92-93) the result of these processes of modernization wrought winners and losers; according to cuperus, these “modernisierungsverlierer” or “modernization losers” as they are called in the german debate, are characterized as unskilled and semi-skilled workers in largely modernized societies who have little in the way of cultural capital, and as a result, form the potential electorate of the right-wing populist parties (85). cuperus asserts that a “change in their political preferences can be empirically established: a shift towards right-wing authoritarian ideas” (85). 17 as threats to existential insecurity emerge, real or perceived, so people may turn to towards authoritarianism. and similar to judt, and krastev and holmes, cuperus finds that the perception of potential threat is enough to bring about a feeling of existential insecurity. “those affected are not just unskilled workers and the unemployed, but also private-sector professionals, members of the middle class and small businesspeople who fear social decline and loss of status” (cuperus 94). more evidence for this proposition will be provided as we turn to our next section. the afd examined several authors examined for this analysis found the rise of the afd to be an atypical example of a populist party’s rise to political power and there are several confounding reasons for this. germany has a fairly strong tradition of democratic ideals and norms for the past 75 years while exhibiting a strong aversion to far-right extremism and nationalism that characterized germany’s disastrous history when these ideologies were the basis of its political organization. so how did a far-right extremist political party manage electoral victories that sent its members to the bundestag, an institution analogous to the u.s. house of representatives? to begin with, the afd did not begin as the extremist party that it has evolved into in the present day. the party was launched in 2013 as a response to the eurozone crisis with its founding members opposing any bailouts for other states. these founding members believed that chancellor merkel’s policies were “alternativlos – ‘without alternative’”, hence the party’s namesake (bochum 10). given the high bar for establishing a new political party in germany, andrea althoff provides a very practical explanation for the afd’s establishment; business associations, parts of the middle class and elements of the established political class were critical of euro-rescue policies. according to althoff, “this helped the subsequent founders of the afd 18 to establish a broad network and to get access to the financial resources that were necessary to establish a party” (343). the afd’s founder, bernd lucke, was “an economics professor, active protestant, and married family man [that] was crucial for providing the party with legitimacy, eligibility, and an impression of competent authority. according to journalist melanie amann, lucke was ideal for founding the party because of his absolute integrity and his enormous commitment” (343). in this way, the afd is established with a cache of legitimacy that is not normally bestowed upon extremist parties, and althoff goes on to argue that extremist elements have since usurped the party leadership in order to hijack a platform of legitimacy that they would not otherwise have. while most authors would agree that economic concerns were the driving factors for the establishment of the afd, these factors do not sufficiently explain its continued success, so the eurozone crisis is necessary for the afd’s formation, but not sufficient in providing an explanation for its continued existence. due to germany’s quick recovery from the fallout of the eurozone crisis, a crisis that was initially an economic threat should have failed to continue to resonate as a political issue. davide cantoni writes that: social scientists have long wondered how the afd's good election results come about. why are right-wing populist parties in other european countries successful, the sweden democrats, le pen in france or geert wilders in the netherlands? this is often justified with unemployment, the loss of well-paid jobs in the industrial sector or the feeling that muslim parallel societies have emerged in large cities. however, these factors do not fit so well in germany. for the past ten years, germany has been the country in europe where unemployment has fallen, where industry is still strong. (zeit online) because the economic argument does not hold water, most authors examined find the refugee crisis as the next inflection point in the afd’s evolution. most authors concur that the battles for the party leadership have dragged it further to the right politically and shifted the party’s focus 19 from economic threats to cultural threats in the form of the refugee crisis, upon which the party’s present-day success hinges. frank decker writes that, “the [refugee] crisis proved to be an unexpected gift for the afd” (10). the refugee crisis provided the afd with the ability to fold cultural and economic threats together, just as was reviewed earlier. charles lees, adina-elena cincu, thomas klikauer, and penny bochum recognize that migrants were framed as taking advantage of social assistance programs to which they were not entitled, echoing judt’s observation from an earlier period in europe. klikauer argues that “the afd features classical scapegoatism directing many frustrations away from neoliberalism and towards foreigners” (619). using voter data, cantoni, hagemeister and westcott find that voting for the afd has shifted away from districts more concerned with the afd’s initial focus on fiscal policy, and has since the advent of the refugee crisis, moved towards voting districts that expressed strong support for the nazi party in the 1933. this aligns somewhat with klikauer’s contention, which is that germany never actually de-nazified and that the afd “carries strong connotations to nazism seeking a volksgemeinschaft with a strong leader or führer” (617-618). although cantoni, hagemeister and westcott find overlap in voting municipalities, cincu and lees note that there does not seem to be an easily discernable voter profile for the afd; there are trends to be sure, but not necessarily a set of demographic traits that are typical of an afd voter. while most afd voters are located in the former east german provinces, recent elections showed growing signs of support in parts of western germany. althoff explains this support by western german voters in terms of an alignment of values with the afd’s platform. these religiously conservative voters feel that the center-right cdu party has moved too far left on cultural issues and that the afd provides them with a value-aligned party. 20 bochum explains east german voters in terms of several notable dynamics including the migration of over 1 million germans from eastern to western provinces. in this way, the effect is quite similar to what krastev and holmes described; former east german provinces, like other eastern european countries, face a demographic crisis where: many of those who migrated were young people: more than a quarter of the eastern german population between the ages of 18 and 30 migrated to the west. this migration, together with a fall in the birth rate in the east, triggered a demographic crisis which has resulted in an ageing population, loss of tax revenues and loss of social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and leisure facilities. furthermore, many of the migrants from the east move from rural areas, areas in which the afd is strongest today. (bochum 46) and this may help shed light on cantoni’s question of why people continue to vote for the afd, despite german economic success, because while that may be true for germany on the whole, the former east german provinces function more like a microcosm of dynamics found in other eastern european countries that have turned to authoritarianism. quoting an interview with gysi, bochum writes that east germans “‘start with the assumption that they are the losers of history, because they were occupied by the soviet union and not the western powers’” and that this historical position never endowed them with the tolerance for multicultural society that is characteristic of western german provinces, which is a function of the form of political organization, liberal democracy (44). as a result, east germans have never had the opportunity to gain any measure of tolerance for muslims, who characterize most of the refugee population from the 2015 refugee crisis. she also argues that many germans from the former east german provinces still feel that the economic promises and commitments in the wake of germany’s 1989 reunification have yet to be fulfilled by the governing parties and as such, afd voters feel like 2nd class citizens and have turned to the afd for political recourse. with regard to the afd’s strength in former east german provinces, social scientist sheena iyengar offers an insightful finding. in her observations of east berliners, which she 21 made more than 20 years after germany’s reunification, iyengar asked a question; why did east germans long to return to their former system of government? citing a survey she found: a remarkable 97 percent of east germans reported being dissatisfied with german democracy and more than 90 percent believed socialism was a good idea in principle, one that had just been poorly implemented in the past. this longing for the communist era is so widespread that there’s a german word for it: ostalgie, a portmanteau of ost (east) and nostalgie (nostalgia). (61-62; emphasis original) she concludes, based on fromm’s aforementioned theory, that east germans longed for the security of their former government that their new form of government could not provide because of its foundation on a market economy. krastev and holmes made a similar observation about those who had lived under communist rule and their perspective on a system of government that employed a market economy. many eastern europeans held high hopes that they would enjoy the same economic prosperity as their western counterparts, but that: …these exorbitant hopes were mingled with anxiety and foreboding. as hungarian sociologist elemér hankiss observed, ‘people realized suddenly that in the coming years it would be decided who would be rich, and who would be poor; who would have power and who would not; who would be marginalized, and who would be at the centre. (19-20; emphasis added) it bears recalling that east germany’s political system was modeled on the soviet union’s system of communism, a totalitarian system of government, and previous to this form of political organization, the eastern provinces of germany were part of nazi germany, another totalitarian form of political organization. essentially, east germans lived under the most extreme form of authoritarian government, totalitarianism for over half a century, albeit systems of government reflecting two ideological sides of the same authoritarian coin. in origins of totalitarianism, arendt contends that fascism and communism are essentially the same form of government, totalitarian, even if their only difference is political ideology. without parsing the differences between totalitarianism as an extreme version of authoritarianism, and based on our 22 discussion of how authoritarian systems of government maintain their power, suffice it to say that east germans lived with a form of political organization that survived by creating and maintaining a sense of existential insecurity, and as a result east germans have become accustomed to responding with behavior best characterized as the authoritarian personality described earlier. on this basis, east germans would likely still have a deeper inclination and sympathy to forms of government or parties that offered political perspectives aligned with this style of government. east germans are essentially looking for a party offering a form of government that could assuage their need for existential security. this perspective helps to account for the difference in afd voter support between western and former east german provinces. there is a notable dynamic regarding this particular relationship between east german afd voters and migrants; bochum, cantoni, and decker find that generally, areas with the highest afd vote shares have almost no contact with refugees. this is so because the refugees are concentrated largely in cities in the western provinces with the exception of berlin. in fact, studies have shown that attitudes towards migrants change as more time is spent with migrants and such experience actually increases empathy for migrants’ challenges. in this way, afd supporters in the east need not actually experience migrants directly for the idea of migrants to develop into economic and cultural threat in the mind of afd voters. as is evident by this point, there are various alignments of ideas among the authors mentioned thus far, but no author presented a theory that would help unify all these ideas in a cohesive whole. as was written earlier, there were a set of keywords that appeared in the literature reviewed: insecurity, uncertainty, and anxiety, however these terms were not conceptualized, with one notable exception. decker writes: 23 the motivations driving afd voters can possibly best be characterized through the dual term of insecurity/anxiety. insecurity refers more to the social situation, meaning apprehensions about a deprivation in wealth, while anxiety aims to describe emotions of cultural alienation, the loss of a familiar social order and its moorings. both motives are combined to form the desire of limiting government services and benefits to their own, native population – migrants that supposedly lack any sort of affiliation with the national community are to be excluded (welfare chauvinism). (11; emphasis added) by pointing to the twin threats to economic and cultural security, decker actually comes quite close to conceptualizing factors indicative of existential insecurity, and affirming the dynamic driving the afd’s rise. cincu operationalizes our keywords in a similar manner: the 2008 financial crisis, followed by difficult economic consequences, the ascending level of homegrown islamic-salafi terrorism coupled with the social, economic and even psychological impact of the refugee crisis, have fueled growing frustration, perceptions of insecurity, uncertainty and fear in numerous european societies. building on the growing frustration and disenchantment, far-right populism has won a fast path to the hearts and minds of some european citizens […]. (3; emphasis added) these authors have echoed the keywords our aforementioned authors: judt, krastev and holmes, and cuperus. again, similarly, bochum points to evidence of perceptions of insecurity among afd voters from a hans-böckler foundation report: the report described a fear of decline felt by afd voters across all social classes, linked to a pervasive feeling of uncertainty caused by changes such as digitalization and globalization. fear of decline was more prevalent among afd voters than voters of other parties, and the actual experience of decline, such as unemployment, had less influence than the fear of it.” (42; emphasis added) this same hans-böckler foundation report found that “fears of social decline therefore reflect perceived social uncertainty resulting from the difficult material situation of people in the lower social strata. yet this uncertainty is also prevalent among individuals who are not directly threatened by social decline” (kohlrausch 5; emphasis added). further, “it would therefore appear that it is not just a case of personal experience with social marginalization or social decline but rather the fear it will occur in the first place. […] the afd capitalizes on this rather vague feeling of social uncertainty” (kohlrausch 6; emphasis added). 24 within our framework of analysis, these perceptions of insecurity, uncertainty, and anxiety are indicative of existential insecurity, and it bears repeating at this point, that affected individuals need not actually endure an experience of economic or cultural decline in order for a sense of existential insecurity to manifest. this perspective may account for the fact that voters in the more prosperous and culturally liberal, western german provinces have started to support to the afd, beyond just their alignment with afd’s conservative values. because several battles for control of the afd and its direction have played out over the duration of its existence, including the creation of splinter groups from the afd’s ranks, most authors agree that the afd is extremely volatile internally. because of its tumultuous leadership history, changing priorities, and that history has demonstrated “that populist movements are usually extremely unstable internally”, most authors do not expect that the afd is a viable party in the long term (cuperus 90). bochum would agree that the afd’s future is questionable, however she posits that if there were another crisis, the afd might exploit that as they have the eurozone crisis and the refugee crisis. these crises are opportunities to manifest perceptions of existential insecurity and gain supporters, and east germans have shown themselves to be particularly vulnerable to this form of exploitation. populist parties are inherently unstable because of their dependency on these opportune, yet non-linear events, and especially so when populist parties are unable to latch onto a stable state apparatus that would otherwise provide them with the necessary state-party symbiosis normally required by authoritarian regimes to survive. however, the underlying dynamics that predispose citizens to support parties that facilitate authoritarian styled governments remain in effect, especially given the implementation of neoliberal policies that characterize most liberal democracies’ economies. additionally, the voters’ perception of a lack of difference in 25 governing parties that implement these policies, looming demographic crises, patterns of migration, and other potential existential crises like climate change or a pandemic, will likely continue to provide more crises that will become the basis for populist parties’ survival. until liberal democracies can find a set of policies to adequately address the underlying dynamics that give rise to the crises that foster a sense of existential insecurity, liberal democracies’ efficacy will remain in doubt. and until liberal democracies and can locate an effective way to address potential crises, they may struggle to keep the support necessary to their own survival. conclusion in this paper, we have reviewed the theory of existential insecurity and its historical roots, as described by erich fromm, in the rise of market economies. when people feel powerless against real or perceived economic or cultural identity threats, they may respond with the authoritarian personality, relinquishing their freedom in exchange for authoritarianism, which promises safe harbor from such threats. we have established that euro-american styled populism employs a similar approach to that of authoritarianism in order gain adherents and establish political viability. as a result, the afd’s rise to electoral success can be grasped as being part of wider historical processes and political dynamics. the authors examined for this paper offered various explanations for the rise of the afd, but these explanations offered a more satisfying explanation once brought into dialogue with this wider historical context and once brought into dialogue with existential insecurity theory. euroamerican populist parties will continue to find ample opportunities to exploit perceived or real threats to people’s sense of existential security so long as liberal democracies fail to address the underlying issues that heighten these threats. consequently, they will find some of their 26 constituencies moving to parties veering to the far-right and in closer alignment with authoritarianism that challenges the liberal democratic order. 27 bibliography althoff, andrea. “right-wing populism and religion in germany: conservative christians and the alternative for germany (afd).” zeitschrift für religion, gesellschaft und politik, vol. 2, no. 2, 24 oct. 2018, pp. 335–363, 10.1007/s41682-018-0027-9. accessed 28 nov. 2020. arendt, hannah. totalitarianism: part three of “the origins of totalitarianism”. new york, harcourt hbj, 1968. bochum, penny. ‘we are the people’: the rise of the afd in germany. london, haus publishing, 2020. cantoni, davide, and hagemeister, felix, and westcott, mark. persistence and activation of right-wing political ideology. collaborative research center 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accessed 28 nov. 2020. 1 “first it is warm then it gets cold:” temperature as metaphor in a portrait of the artist as a young man and mrs. dalloway franki maria rudnesky english arguably the first coherent paragraph of james joyce’s a portrait of the artist as a young man begins, “when you wet the bed first it is warm then it gets cold” (3). the preceding paragraphs denote an early-childhoodlike consciousness in which stephen dedalus comes to know the world through snippets of songs and a glimpse of his father. but, this notion of “warm” and “cold” after his bed-wetting seems like an awakening, even an epiphany, when the young stephen begins to sense, and make sense of, the world around him. the notion of temperature, of hot and cold in particular, accompanies pivotal and mundane moments throughout the text, as though stephen himself is keeping tabs of the world around him and how it makes him feel on his journey to artistic epiphany. another character who makes note of the sensory phenomena around her is clarissa dalloway, in virginia woolf’s mrs. dalloway, who reaches her own epiphany through a day of preparing for a party and reckoning with people and memories from her past. in this essay, i will argue through close readings of a portrait of the artist as a young man and mrs. dalloway that the attention to the sensation of temperature, particularly hot and cold, reflects the emotional connectedness to others and to the world around them experienced by stephen dedalus and clarissa dalloway on their artistic journeys to epiphany. although in joyce’s novel, stephen is embarrassed by the warmth of connectedness and seeks a life of artistic isolation, in woolf’s novel clarissa has grown up cold and disconnected, but finds warmth of connection through memories and epiphany. since we see stephen at the start of his life, and 2 follow his journey growing up (whereas we meet clarissa in the middle of her life and follow her for one day), i will use a portrait of the artist as a young man to illuminate an in-depth analysis of these themes in mrs. dalloway. as for the metaphors, based on my understanding, warmer terms reflect characters feeling connected, and cooler terms reflect an isolation or lack of connection. this assumption is rooted in research; in their study “cold and lonely: does social exclusion literally feel cold?,” chen-bo zhong and geoffrey j. leonardelli write, “loneliness and coldness seem to go side by side in everyday language” (838). to pad this, through conducting experiments, zhong and leonardelli found that social exclusion literally felt cold to subjects in their study. joyce and woolf were not alone in using temperature as metaphor in their writing; as alex moffett demonstrates in “hot sparks and cold devils: katherine mansfield and modernist thermodynamics,” metaphors of temperature connect to modernist techniques. while moffett’s research focuses on fellow modernist writer katherine mansfield, he nonetheless establishes the importance of sensory metaphors in the modernist era. moffett writes, “i do wish to argue that in many of [mansfield’s] stories she invests in her metaphors of temperature a significance beyond the registration of an emotional state, and that in doing so, she parallels a larger cultural recalibration of such thermal tropes that is taking place at the time she is writing” (60). moffett argues that temperature metaphors in the modernist period were reflective of more than simply the emotional state of the characters, and in a portrait of the artist as a young man and mrs. dalloway these metaphors don’t just reflect the current emotional state of a character, but rather disclose where they are in their emotional journeys, and can denote important moments such as epiphanies and awakenings. in discussing a significance beyond emotional state, moffett was likely referring to the ways the temperature metaphor could speak to the emotionally-disjointed, 3 post-war industrial reality in which joyce and woolf were writing. while this paper aims to stay within the text, it is important to note, in contextualizing these novels, the societal changes that could have influenced the use of sensory metaphor. for example, jon day, in “what virginia didn’t know: knowledge, impressionism and the eye,” writes that thanks to technological advancements in the 20th century, “an understanding of personhood, and of what constituted literary character, began to be sought in new places” (32). this being said, i am attempting to understand stephen and clarissa through feeling them, taking their metaphorical temperatures as they embark on their respective emotional journeys, drawing out sensory details that capture their essence, rather than just reading the words on the page. joyce’s a portrait of the artist as a young man follows protagonist stephen on his artistic coming-of-age from irish schoolboy to isolated artist, casting off family, friends, and religion to pursue a life dedicated to appreciating beauty through writing. as noted, the first mention of temperature felt by stephen is the warmth then coldness of his childhood bedwetting. “[f]irst it is warm then it gets cold” to me foreshadows stephen’s artistic isolation (joyce, 3). at first, stephen did embrace the warmth of familial and social connectedness, but later became cold when he decided that to be an artist he had to disconnect from the life he came to know. examples of the connectedness stephen feels before his artistic epiphanies can be seen through the warmer-leaning descriptions of times when he’s felt safe with family or friends. for example, while at clongowes wood college boarding school, stephen feels homesickness at first, associating warmth with memories of home and coldness with the roughhousing of his classmates. one day as he studies, he feels cold and uncomfortable remembering an incident with a classmate: “he shivered as if he had cold slimy water next his skin. that was mean of wells to shoulder him into the square ditch … how cold and slimy the water had been” (joyce, 4 7)! with this in mind, he wishes he were studying “on the hearthrug before the fire,” and thinks what his mother may be doing at that moment: “mother was sitting at the fire with dante waiting for brigid to bring in the tea. she has her feet on the fender and her jewelly slippers were so hot and they had such a lovely warm smell” (joyce, 7)! stephen associated the violence and unwelcoming spirit of his classmates with being cold and uncomfortable. on the other hand, his family members are associated with fire, tea, warm-smelling slippers, all things that would bring him comfort in his new circumstances. the sensations of temperature that seem to accompany stephen in times of epiphany reflect his battles with emotions and connections. one such moment takes place early on in stephen’s development, while he is still at clongowes. stephen’s classmates ask whether he kisses his mother goodnight, and he attempts to respond both in the affirmative and the negative, drawing jeers at both responses. “they all laughed again. stephen tried to laugh with them. he felt his whole body hot and confused in a moment. what was the right answer to the question?” (joyce, 11). in this moment, stephen begins to question his relationship with others, in this case his mother, and also whether those who seemingly have more authority are actually fraudulent. it may seem strange that given my logic of heat symbolizing connectedness, stephen feels hot in this moment when he is at odds with his peers. but, here stephen is reaching a sort of childhood epiphany in which he ponders his connection to his peers, his mother, physical touch in the form of kissing, and the line of thought eventually leads him to wonder at his place in the universe. so, the heat he feels is due to his beginning to reach understanding, and the connectedness that comes through that. for stephen, connectedness seems to be somewhat associated with embarrassment, as seen in the thought of his classmates knowing he kisses his mother, or later when he is punished, struck by a pandybat by a prefect in front of his class. “a hot burning 5 stinging tingling blow like the loud crack of a broken stick made his trembling hand crumple together like a leaf in the fire: and at the sound and the pain scalding tears were driven into his eyes” (joyce, 51). here, stephen briefly connects, physically, with the prefect when he is struck, and it could be argued stephen understands the prefect’s desire for violence through this act. this connection, along with the violence being perceived by his classmates and father arnall, causes stephen to heat up with embarrassment. while stephen does have some positive childhood associations with warmth and connection, he comes to associate these things with embarrassment through his harsh schooling. perhaps this is one of the reasons he believes he must shirk off connection to become an artist. associations with childhood sensory experiences continue to accompany stephen as he struggles through schooling and self-discovery. sangam macduff’s and sebastian d. g. knowles note this in “’a day of dappled seaborne clouds:’ a portrait of the artist’s epiphany.” stephen notices the outward sensory details of hot and cold, such as the sensations of wetting the bed, and this article claims that stephen, especially in moments of epiphany, relies on repetition and variation of remembered physical markers. an example of this reliance occurs when stephen lays in the infirmary after being shoved into the square ditch. he wakes up feeling “very hot” although the sunlight was “queer and cold” (joyce, 18), and the word “queer” acts as a callback to an early memory in which stephen thought the word “suck” to be queer because of an experience he had in the wicklow hotel bathroom when using the sinks: “there were two cocks that you turned and water came out: cold and hot. he felt cold and then a little hot: and he could see the names printed on the cocks. that was a very queer thing” (joyce, 8). on this, macduff and knowles write, “hot and cold become repeated motifs in which the cold of the playing fields and the cold slime of the latrine, the cold dark sea, and cold smell of the chapel are 6 contrasted with the fire at home, or in the peasants’ cottages, and the warmth of his bed” (107). the warmth of the fire or his bed are reminders of comfortable, connected times, whereas the chill of the latrine and the chapel remind stephen of times he felt alone. sheldon brivic also discusses this scene in connection with the initial bed-wetting scene in “gender dissonance, hysteria, and history in james joyce’s a portrait of the artist as a young man,” writing, “the change in temperature, which recurs in the scene with his father in the bathroom with the cold and hot cocks, may be associated with sexual excitement. for the child, who has no idea what sexuality is, the alternation of cold and hot is a hysterical way of expressing a thrill” (465). this also relates to the scene in which stephen grows hot and embarrassed in discussion of kissing his mother; while this is not a sexual thought either, it leads a young stephen to ponder the meaning of kissing, which can be sexual. as a teenager, stephen again recalls sensory details from clongowes as he sits in the chapel at his new school, and feels changed by the sensory memories. “his soul, as these memories came back to him, became again a child’s soul” (joyce, 116). stephen’s sensory memories are part of him, building on each other along his journey to make up his psyche. katy marre writes of this phenomenon in “paired repetition as a formulaic element in a portrait of the artist as a young man: “the pattern of paired repetition in portrait shows how stephen’s recollections serve to establish a coherent sense of himself” (208). thus, stephen uses sensory details such as temperature to reorient himself, reflecting on memories that have shaped him, while allowing the emotions associated with these details to construct his everchanging selfhood. as stephen comes of age, the cooling sensory details more heavily reflect his evolution into isolated artist. as a teenager, he has his first sexual encounter, which is an awakening or epiphany in itself, and the temperature details are notable. “her room was warm and lightsome ... 7 her round arms held him firmly to her and he, seeing her face lifted to him in serious calm and feeling the warm calm rise and fall of her breast, all but burst into hysterical weeping” (joyce, 107). the warmth he feels from the woman cause him to feel so connected and comfortable that he returns to a childlike state. even before this encounter, his desire for sex is coded using sensory terms. “he burned to appease the fierce longings of his heart before which everything else was idle and alien” (joyce, 105). this feeling of burning with desire is surely different than the burning when he tried to hold back tears out of humiliation at being punished by the prefect, and yet if stephen does use sensory details to reorient himself, then this burning desire and warmth from sex could even take him all the way back to the warmth and embarrassment of bedwetting. it’s around this time that he begins to detach from religion and the morality he once ascribed to, envisioning himself as having gone cold: “a cold lucid indifference reigned in his soul” (joyce, 110). in this already-detached state stephen learns more about hell during a sermon by father arnall, who describes it as “a neverending storm of darkness, dark flames and dark smoke of burning brimstone, amid which the bodies are heaped one upon another without even a glimpse of air” (joyce, 129). the heat of hell can be read as yet another possible negative association stephen forms with human closeness and warmth. arguably stephen’s most influential awakening occurs after he has pondered the priesthood and is considering university admissions. he passes a statue of the virgin mary, a figure which once held power over stephen, but now he “turned his eyes coldly for an instant toward the faded blue shrine of the blessed virgin” (joyce, 175-6). the fact that his connection to the virgin mary has run cold, along with the statue appearing faded to him, serves as his dismissal of connection to religion. on the other hand, shortly after, he sees a girl wading in the water and her beauty causes his artistic epiphany. sensory temperature descriptors are present 8 here, of course: “a faint flame trembled on her cheek … his cheeks were aflame” (joyce, 186). unlike the coldness he felt in the presence of the virgin mary statue, the beautiful woman who changes stephen’s soul with a glance makes him feel as hot as fire. is this similar to the mythological icarus flying too close to the sun, though? shortly before this epiphany which changes the course of stephen’s life, he ponders his namesake daedalus, icarus’ father, the mythological craftsman who created wings for he and his son to escape. “he would create proudly out of the freedom and power of his soul, as the great artificer whose name he bore, a living thing, new and soaring and beautiful, impalpable, imperishable” (joyce, 184). unfortunately, as the myths go, daedalus’ son did not listen to his warnings and he perished when he flew too close to the sun, melting his wings. daedalus avoided death by staying away from the warmth of the sun; similarly, stephen believes as an artist he must avoid the warmth of connection in order to survive creatively and thrive. the cost of this, is that he must enter a cold isolation. the final association of temperature with stephen in this novel is, “stephen watched [cranly’s] face for some moments in silence. a cold sadness was there. he had spoken of himself, of his own loneliness which he feared” (joyce, 269). stephen feels the cold sadness emanating off his friend cranly, who he will be leaving behind to pursue his art. even though it’s not stephen’s own sadness, he can already feel the negative results his going away may have on himself and others. unlike in stephen’s case, clarissa dalloway’s coming-of-age from girlhood to middle age and the way her associations with temperature change are not shown to the reader; her younger self is revealed only in flashbacks. but, what links her to stephen is the fact that she is an artist as well. in jacob littleton’s “mrs. dalloway: portrait of the artist as a middle-aged woman,” not only does he nominally link the two novels, but he reads clarissa as an artist in her 9 own right and explains that a central aspect to her character is sensory experience. he writes, “perhaps the most fundamental fact of clarissa’s psyche is the pleasure she takes in physical, sensual existence … she neither condemns what seems like an altogether noisy and irritating urban scene (her london is not a waste land), nor approves it with the air of a connoisseur; her appreciation depends only on experience … she does not appreciate the scene for what it is, but simply because it is” (37). thus, in this view woolf’s inclusion of sensory details throughout mrs. dalloway serves to show a reflection of clarissa’s inner thoughts and feelings, since the sensory scenes permeate clarissa’s very being. an example of this sensory permeation that occurs early in mrs. dalloway is, “arlington street and piccadilly seemed to chafe the very air in the park and lift its leaves hotly, brilliantly, on waves of that divine vitality which clarissa loved” (woolf, 7). this passage could seem like a simple description of trees on a summer day, but as this description is tucked within clarissa’s musings on her ex-lover, peter, the term “hotly” stands out because it is reflective of the passion with which clarissa still burns for him sometimes. throughout most of the text, colder descriptive terms are associated with clarissa by others, mostly peter, especially during the scene in which they reunite. after this reunion, peter feels that clarissa gives off “this coldness, this woodenness, something very profound in her … an impenetrability” (woolf, 59). peter feels that after all these years, clarissa is inaccessible to him and is not even necessarily who he wants her to be. in fact, the entire first meeting between peter and clarissa is filled with sensory-related descriptions as the pair sizes each other up after some time apart. even before they meet, clarissa is aware that peter thinks her “cold, heartless, a prude” (woolf, 8), and when they used to argue, “the perfect hostess he called her (she had cried over it in her bedroom)” (woolf, 7). clarissa did become what peter prophesied, and 10 perhaps the coldness he feels from her is her shutting him out due to embarrassment at having proved him right. when clarissa and peter first see each other, they have vastly different reactions at first to the other’s appearance. peter thinks, “she’s grown older,” while clarissa thinks, “he looks awfully well, and just the same” (woolf, 39). this awareness of age is a prevailing theme for clarissa herself, during their conversation thinking, “he was in love! not with her. with some younger woman, of course” (woolf, 44). from there, it becomes a contest, chatting politely on the surface but having a deeper discussion beneath the surface, each of them believing they can still communicate without words as they once could. at one point peter finds it almost too painful to relive their past relationship: “for why go back like this to the past? he thought. why make him think of it again? why make him suffer, when she had tortured him so infernally” (woolf, 41)? the term “infernally” stood out to me here as a temperature-coded term because it’s reminiscent of an inferno, of the flames and fire of hell. clearly the connection between clarissa and peter burned them both, leaving them cold and detached all these years later. even just when peter is about to try reconnecting with clarissa during their conversation, “shall i tell her, he thought, or not?,” he quickly decides, “but she is too cold” (42). maybe this coldness peter feels in clarissa is because she does not want peter to know the extent she is dissatisfied in her relationships, her age, and her place in the world, so she completely closes herself off to him. maybe, even, her coldness toward peter is a coping mechanism because she laments the end of their relationship although it wouldn’t have worked: “if i had married him, this gaiety would have been mine all day!” (46). similar to the way stephen closed himself off from the religion and peers that had caused him embarrassment, clarissa closed herself off from peter to preserve whatever artistic sensibility and sensory pleasure she had left. 11 while there are indicators of reasons for coldness in clarissa’s current life, peter notes at various points that clarissa has always had a coldness to her (“she was one of the most thoroughgoing sceptics he had ever met” (75)), even when they’d been in love, so this coldness and disconnect may stem from a familial matter: the death of her sister. it’s only briefly alluded to once, but it seems to have been an epiphany for clarissa all the same: “to see your own sister killed by a falling tree (all justin parry’s fault—all his carelessness) before your very eyes, a girl too on the verge of life, the most gifted of them, clarissa always said, was enough to turn one bitter” (woolf, 76). this moment in the novel has not been extensively studied, and yet seems to reveal so much about clarissa’s character. lorie watkins fulton, in “’a direction of one’s own:’ alienation in ‘mrs. dalloway’ and ‘sula,’” writes that novelist toni morrison discussed the death of clarissa’s sister as being a pivotal moment for her: “in her master’s thesis, morrison speculates that the death of clarissa’s sister, sylvia, spurs her emotional withdrawal and that the effects of her detachment first appear in her relationships with sally and peter” (fulton, 73). karen demeester, in “trauma and recovery in virginia woolf’s mrs. dalloway also notes this as an important moment because it changed clarissa’s entire outlook: “clarissa resigns herself to the belief that the world is chaos with no inherent ordering principle or guiding force, so she devotes herself to creating a façade of order. though she admirably brings beauty and harmony to the disorder and isolation of modern society … her assembling activities merely repress what she knows to be true about the evil inherent in human nature” (664). this façade entails clarissa closing up, freezing over, shutting out the world. thus, despite clarissa’s interest in being an artist and bringing sensory beauty into the world, her turn to bitterness and atheism coincide with a turn to coldness and disinterest in connecting, much like when stephen turned away from religion. 12 along with the past trauma of losing a sister, there are also certainly reasons for clarissa’s coldness which have some roots in her current home life. during their ill-fated meeting, peter noticed a disjointedness between clarissa and her daughter, elizabeth, feeling a chill between them. as peter leaves clarissa’s, he thinks about the way she introduced her daughter to him: “the way she said ‘here is my elizabeth!’ – that annoyed him. why not ‘here’s elizabeth’ simply? it was insincere. and elizabeth didn’t like it either … there was always something cold in clarissa, he thought” (woolf, 48). although we know peter to be judgmental, and an outsider to their mother-daughter relationship, we do know that clarissa feels a bit isolated from her daughter, who spends a lot of time with miss kilman, who clarissa despises. “anyhow they were inseparable, and elizabeth, her own daughter, went to communion; and how she dressed, how she treated people who came to lunch she did not care a bit, it being her experience that the religious ecstasy made people callous (so did causes)” (woolf, 11). so, clarissa attributes some of the coldness between herself and her daughter to miss kilman, who she sees as planting ideas of religious callousness into elizabeth’s mind. clarissa later describes elizabeth’s appearance as different than hers or richard’s, and notes that elizabeth “had become very serious … a hyacinth which has had no sun” (woolf, 120). a flower growing up without sun insinuates a coldness, meaning that elizabeth probably was raised in a cold environment, with little opportunity for connection. the chilly environment in which elizabeth has tried to bloom likely comes from the emotional distance between her parents, clarissa and richard. on his way home from lunch at lady bruton’s, which clarissa was not invited to, richard buys her flowers and resolves to tell her he loves her, something which clearly doesn’t happen often: “the time comes when it can’t be said; one’s too shy to say it” (woolf, 112). this shyness insinuates a coldness or lack of 13 connection creeping between clarissa and richard, especially since he does not end up telling her he loves her when he arrives home: “he was holding out flowers—roses, red and white roses. (but he could not bring himself to say he loved her; not in so many words)” (woolf, 115). one reason their disconnect could have come about is the fact that richard advised clarissa to sleep in the attic room (“there was an emptiness about the heart of life; an attic room” (woolf, 30)) after recovering from an illness. an attic room suggests a drafty chill, so although clarissa acts like she is fine with the arrangement, it’s like she’s been banished into a room that reflects the coldness and disconnect that people like peter already see in her. within her marriage, similar to how richard fails to verbally express his love for clarissa, she feels she’s failed him in some way as well. “lovely in girlhood, suddenly there came a moment—for example on the river beneath the woods at clieveden—when, through some contraction of this cold spirit, she had failed him. and then at constantinople, and again and again” (woolf, 31). this failure implies either a sexual failure or a fertility failure, something feminine she could not give richard due to her closed-off coldness. regardless of whether clarissa enjoys her chilly solitude, is richard subconsciously punishing her for whatever failures he perceives by keeping her in the cold attic? this realization of lack leads clarissa to ponder an epiphany she had in her younger days while summering at bourton. first, clarissa notes what she believes she lacked in her failures to richard: “she could see what she lacked. it was not beauty; it was not mind. it was something central which permeated; something warm which broke up surfaces and rippled the cold contact of man and woman, or of women together” (woolf, 31). whether through being told she had a coldness, or perceiving it within herself, clarissa is aware she is detached in her interpersonal relationships. but, her mention of “women together” begs the question of whether that “something warm” could emerge within her contact with another woman. she does say, “yet she 14 could not resist sometimes yielding to the charm of a woman, not a girl, of a woman confessing, as to her they often did, some scrape, some folly … she did undoubtedly then feel what men felt. only for a moment; but it was enough” (woolf, 31). she goes on to ponder the revelations she sometimes feels when close to a woman, almost like epiphanies, and in these cases, “for that moment, she had seen an illumination; a match burning in a crocus; an inner meaning almost expressed” (woolf, 31). it seems like, in these moments, clarissa almost reaches epiphany, almost gets in touch with her warm inner self, but as she is married to a man these moments always pass and she hardens herself again. could intimacy with or the erotic connection to women be the key to unlocking the inner warmth in clarissa? like stephen, clarissa experiences multiple epiphanies throughout the text, and one occurs in her musings on the love she shared with girlhood friend sally seton during their time at bourton. “then came the most exquisite moment of her whole life passing a stone urn with flowers in it. sally stopped; picked a flower; kissed her on the lips” (woolf, 35). now, in her fifties, clarissa still views that singular moment as the best of her life; clearly it was an epiphany or awakening for her. she goes on to say, “and she felt that she had been given a present, wrapped up, and told just to keep it, not to look at it—a diamond, something infinitely precious, wrapped up, which, as they walked … she uncovered, or the radiance burnt through, the revelation, the religious feeling” (woolf, 35)! the sensory language comes in when she labels the moment of the kiss as burning through her, she can feel it as her new religion, considering she shirked off religion after her sister’s death. she feels, though, like the kiss was something she had to wrap up to keep safe, and maybe in doing so she further closed herself off to the world. in her current world of detachment, it seems she buried the precious epiphany so deep that it’s lost its warmth. kate haffey, in her article “exquisite moments and the temporality of the kiss in 15 mrs. dalloway and the hours,” discusses clarissa’s and sally’s relationship and the way it's affected clarissa’s life: “the interpenetration of past and present … occurs when clarissa calls forth her memories of sally. thus to focus on clarissa’s feelings for sally as located only in the past … is to ignore the ways in which this moment returns again and again to affect clarissa’s present” (141). when she sees sally in the present day at her party, the magic of their connection seems long gone at first: “one might put down the hot water can quite composedly. the lustre had gone out of her. yet it was extraordinary to see her again, older, happier, less lovely” (woolf, 167). the fact that clarissa is holding a hot water can and puts it down after seeing sally to me symbolizes the fading of any warmth or connection the two felt. it’s almost like the moment when stephen looks coldly at the virgin mary statue, thinking it faded. but, as haffey notes, the past is still affecting the present in sensory ways: ‘i can’t believe it!’ she cried, kindling all over with pleasure at the thought of the past” (woolf, 167). the memory of passion between the two women is enough for clarissa to feel a little burning simply being in sally’s presence again. clarissa is also reminded about a reason she was first drawn to sally: “it was her warmth; her vitality—she would paint, she would write” (woolf, 177). clarissa, who had experienced a cold skepticism since at least the death of her sister, perhaps felt an attraction to the warmth and artistic sensibility radiating from her friend, and she can still appreciate it although it has faded a bit in her eyes. in the same way sensory memories reorient stephen and bring him back to his youth, feeling sally’s warmth again seems to have the same effect on clarissa. at this party, clarissa comes into her own as an artist. when peter sees her during the party he is struck by the way that “her severity, her prudery, her woodenness were all warmed through now” (woolf, 170). it is during the party that clarissa experiences her final, and perhaps 16 most important, epiphany of the novel, after learning of the suicide of war-veteran septimus warren smith. at first, she is annoyed that someone would bring talk of death into her party, but the more she thinks about it, she feels a kinship with septimus. “always her body went through it first, when she was told, suddenly, of an accident; her dress flamed, her body burnt” (woolf, 179). hearing of the horrific accident makes her feel the warmth of some kind of connection with the deceased and the connection she feels death can bring in general: “death was an attempt to communicate; people feeling the impossibility of reaching the centre which, mystically, evaded them; closeness drew apart; rapture faded, one was alone. there was an embrace in death” (woolf, 180). clarissa, who feels a lack of authentic communication and connection in her life, feels an affinity with septimus and how he threw his life away. a reason that clarissa and septimus could be connected is that, for all their differences, they both were deeply perceptive to the sensory details in the bustling city of london. much like littleton writes of clarissa’s central aspect being sensory experience, leanna lostoski, in “’imaginations of the strangest kind’: the vital materialism of virginia woolf,” writes about septimus and his “feeling of connection with the nonhuman world that he senses is the reality of the relationship between the human and nonhuman worlds that woolf elucidates in her works” (62). clarissa feels glad that he has killed himself, but it also opens her eyes to the happiness that could exist in her own life. “she felt somehow very like him—the young man who had killed himself. she felt glad that he had done it; thrown it away … he made her feel the beauty; made her feel the fun” (woolf, 182). at this moment clarissa also recalls a line from shakespeare’s cymbeline: “and the words came to her, fear no more the heat of the sun. she must go back to them” (woolf, 182). this shakespearean-inspired line rings true to clarissa because her love of the art of entertaining plus the realizations that accompanied septimus’ suicide causes her to feel ready to 17 stop fearing warmth and connection, and return to her family and friends wholeheartedly. the unfortunate part is that, “clarissa alone reaps the benefits of this revelation; woolf never allows septimus to meet her, much less derive similar benefit from their connection” (fulton, 69). regardless, clarissa is changed, warmed through, and it’s as though peter can feel this shift as well, because at the very end of the novel he thinks, “what is it that fills me with extraordinary excitement? it is clarissa, he said. for there she was” (woolf, 190). it’s like peter had an epiphany of his own in which his cold perception of clarissa melts through and he feels the warmth within her. to conclude, as noted in the introduction, clarissa moves from feeling or being associated with cold to warm and stephen the opposite. to summarize what i mean by this can be demonstrated by the following examples. stephen’s story began with the warmth from bedwetting as a child, and toward the end of the novel, he is confronted with “a cold sadness” (joyce, 269) in the face of his friend cranly. while it is not stephen’s sadness, it seems that stephen can feel the coldness that his isolation will bring to his friends, in the same way he felt the warmth of his bed as a child turn cold as the urine cooled. conversely, toward the beginning of mrs. dalloway, after clarissa has seen peter again after a long time, he leaves their meeting thinking of “this coldness, this woodenness, something very profound in her … an impenetrability” (woolf, 59), but by the end of the novel, peter sees clarissa from across her party and thinks, “there was a breath of tenderness; her severity, her prudery, her woodenness were all warmed through now” (woolf, 170). in other words, clarissa gave off a coldness that was warmed through by the end. this change in clarissa was felt by peter, who in this case acts as a stand-in for the reader. since as readers, we cannot physically touch the characters or feel their presence, we must rely on descriptions such as in this case, in which our view of clarissa is 18 filtered through her former lover. are we to rely on peter, who switches haphazardly between loving and disliking clarissa throughout the novel? could he be projecting his feelings of passion and desire onto clarissa here? while these are interesting questions to ponder, through my study of the sensory details in both novels, i believe that while stephen chose to live as a metaphorical daedalus, isolated so as to keep his distance from danger, clarissa’s epiphany brought on by the death of septimus caused her to choose the life of icarus, stepping into a warm and connected emotional world, regardless of the cost. unlike stephen, clarissa decides to “fear no more the heat of the sun…” (woolf, 182). 19 works cited brivic, sheldon. “gender dissonance, hysteria, and history in james joyce’s ‘a portrait of the artist as a young man.’” james joyce quarterly, vol. 39, no. 3, university of tulsa, 2002, pp. 457– 76, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25477894. day, jon. “what virginia didn’t know: knowledge, impressionism and the eye.” novel sensations: modernist fiction and the problem of qualia, edinburgh university press, 2020, pp. 31–58, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctv177th1n.7. demeester, karen. “trauma and recovery in virginia woolf’s ‘mrs. dalloway.’” modern fiction studies, vol. 44, no. 3, the johns hopkins university press, 1998, pp. 649–73, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26286042. fulton, lorie watkins. “‘a direction of one’s own’: alienation in ‘mrs. dalloway’ and ‘sula.’” african american review, vol. 40, no. 1, [indiana state university, saint louis university, african american review, african american review (st. louis university)], 2006, pp. 67–77, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40027032. haffey, kate. “exquisite moments and the temporality of the kiss in ‘mrs. dalloway’ and ‘the hours.’” narrative, vol. 18, no. 2, 2010, pp. 137–162. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/40856405 joyce, james. a portrait of the artist as a young man, edited by seamus deane, penguin books, 2003. littleton, jacob. “mrs. dalloway: portrait of the artist as a middle-aged woman.” twentieth century literature, vol. 41, no. 1, [duke university press, hofstra university], 1995, pp. 36–53, https://doi.org/10.2307/441714. lostoski, leanna. “‘imaginations of the strangest kind’: the vital materialism of virginia http://www.jstor.org/stable/25477894 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctv177th1n.7 http://www.jstor.org/stable/26286042 http://www.jstor.org/stable/40027032 http://www.jstor.org/stable/40856405 https://doi.org/10.2307/441714 20 woolf.” the journal of the midwest modern language association, vol. 49, no. 1, midwest modern language association, 2016, pp. 53–74, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44134676. macduff, sangam, and sebastian d. g. knowles. “‘a day of dappled seaborne clouds’: a portrait of the artist’s epiphany.” panepiphanal world: james joyce’s epiphanies, 1st ed., university press of florida, 2020, pp. 102–44, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvwvr342.12. marre, katy. “paired repetition as a formulaic element in a portrait of the artist as a young man.” the comparatist, vol. 39, university of north carolina press, 2015, pp. 208–26, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26254727. moffett, alex. “hot sparks and cold devils: katherine mansfield and modernist thermodynamics.” journal of modern literature, vol. 37, no. 2, indiana university press, 2014, pp. 59–75, https://doi.org/10.2979/jmodelite.37.2.59. woolf, virginia. mrs. dalloway, annotated by bonnie kime scott, harcourt, inc., 2005. zhong, chen-bo, and geoffrey j. leonardelli. “cold and lonely: does social exclusion literally feel cold?” psychological science, vol. 19, no. 9, [association for psychological science, sage publications, inc.], 2008, pp. 838–42, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40065002. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44134676 https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvwvr342.12 http://www.jstor.org/stable/26254727 https://doi.org/10.2979/jmodelite.37.2.59 http://www.jstor.org/stable/40065002 microsoft word j. matthew villanueva_eng “this is how i fight”: the evolution of masculinity within contemporary depictions of asian american men j. matthew villanueva english i. introduction “when i choose to see the good side of things, it is strategic and necessary. it’s how i’ve learned to survive through everything. i know you see yourself as a fighter, well i see myself as a fighter. this is how i fight,” waymond wong, played by ke huy quan, challenges masculine stereotypes in everything everywhere all at once (2022). what does it mean to be a man in a contemporary america? what about the added implications of an asian american pacific islander (aapi) man in modern america? a “model minority?” according to popular films — such as sixteen candles and breakfast at tiffany’s — to be an aapi man means to be weak, creepy, and socially inept. while jackie chan and the spike of kung fu films in america tried to counter this emasculation, it resulted in an unprogressive and hypermasculine persona. within recent depictions of aapi characters and actors, the awkward and “beta” stereotype has transformed into sensitive yet strong men with complex characteristics beyond race. in identities in motion: asian american film and video, peter feng explains the importance of depictions of identity in film, “movies are often perceived as historical representations. because there is no identity between movies and reality — that is, movies only refer to reality, they do not correspond to it — it follows that there is no reality between movies and history” (3). if there is a discontinuous representation of reality, history will be misrepresented as well. in this paper, i will examine the progressive evolution of aapi masculinity within contemporary mass american media focusing specifically on: jin lee, portrayed by john cho, in kogonada’s 2017 film columbus; little dog in ocean vuong’s 2019 novel on earth we’re briefly gorgeous; and waymond wang, portrayed by ke huy quan, in the daniels’ 2022 film, everything everywhere all at once. ii. contextualizing masculinity within asian americans within contemporary mass media, film and literature are often how we define cultures and identities beyond personal accounts. they are how we contextualize the past and are able to frame the world around the time it is written, which is why it is important to have accurate representations of cultures and identities when they are depicted. unfortunately, for asian american men and women this has not been the case. in andrew kung’s “desexualization of asian american men,” he explains: asian american men, however, have never fit this mold [of being physically well built, outgoing, charismatic, and liked by everyone]. unlike asian american women, who have long been fetishized in the west, we have been desexualized ever since the first chinese communities immigrated to the us. as a way of minimizing the threat posed by chinese men — who were often portrayed as stealing white americans' jobs and women — asians were characterized as passive, effeminate and weak. (cnn) asian american’s have been depicted as paradoxical in terms of their representations. bolstered by films such as full metal jacket (1987), aapi women are often hypersexualized and fetishized. in contrast, aapi men have also been depicted as “passive, effeminate, and weak” particularly seen in the problematic depictions in mickey rooney’s yellowface depiction of i.y. yunoioshi in breakfast at tiffany’s (1961) as an irascible and offensive caricature landlord and in gedde watanabe’s depiction of a stereotypical chinese exchange student who is always preluded with the sound of a gong in sixteen candles (1984). peter feng explains the importance of accurate depictions of identity in identities in motion because it often defines what it means to be american: asian american cinematic identity emerges from the citation of cinematic texts in asian american movies. identities are not found in “motion pictures”: rather, identities move away from cited movies: identities are put “in motion” by movies. identity emerges from the friction between cited cinematic texts and the aapi movies that incorporate them, which is to say that identity is produced by the friction between movies that arrest identity (essentialism) and the aapi movies that construct identity. (4) projected stereotypes of aapis are often a reminder, not only of the expected assimilation of many immigrants, but also the potential for social consequence when they are not fully incorporated into the so-called “melting pot.” movies and books, while providing a vantage point for history and the world surrounding the time, are often inadequate renderings of identity and reality. by looking at three contemporary and essential aapi texts, we can track different masculinities that may not fit the muscular fabric of toxic american masculinity, but rather masculinities that fit the sensitive, reserved, yet strong aapi men that are often under looked. iii. columbus (2017) and masculinity beyond race the first example of a progressive male asian american character i will be analyzing is in kogonada’s 2017 film, columbus starring john cho as jin. after jin’s famous architect father falls into a coma in the architecturally acclaimed city of columbus, indiana, jin is called back from his job as a translator in south korea, to take care of the family’s affairs. while in columbus, jin meets casey — played by haley lu richardson —who works at the library and is enamored with the local architecture. despite offers to study architecture further in connecticut, she is hesitant to leave her hometown due to her mother who is a recovering drug addict. jin and casey form a platonic relationship built on their mutual unsteady relationships with their parents. the film follows the two as casey gives jin an architectural tour of columbus while they discuss their childhoods and how they coped with their respective parental traumas. despite not speaking to his father in years, jin is tasked to care and make decisions for his dying father. in one of the few scenes in which jin’s korean heritage is discussed is when the two are smoking and admiring the surrounding nature, he is asked if his father will be able to recover enough, just to get on a plane back to his patria. jin morbidly says that he hopes not. he discusses the formalities and traditions that he must follow if the situation were in korea: “i’d be expected to be there when he died. to express sorrow in the most dramatic fashion. there’s this belief that if you’re not there when a family member dies, you’re not adequately grieving, your spirit will roam aimlessly and become a kaekkwi, a ghost.” in an interview with the daily beast, john cho explained the role of race within the film: as a man grappling with tumultuous feelings about his dad, his korean-american heritage, and the tension between individual desire and familial/cultural obligation… i treat race as a natural — yet far from defining — aspect of a complex identity. it’s really about seeing [aapis] as full-fledged human beings, rather than some function in a narrative, or the sidekick, or the extraneous character in another person’s story. we have agency, and souls, and desires. cho was not only excited to be a part of a beautifully shot film, but to be a part of a film that represents his heritage not as his only defining aspect, but as just a part of him. it is a film that frames issues that plague everyday men. cho explains in his interview with time that he was never truly able to witness people on screen that looked like him that were not either sidekicks or a means of comedy, “i didn’t want to contribute to that library of iconography… despite yourself, you believe what the screen tells you about yourself.” he often refused auditions in which he would be the butt of jokes just because of the way he looks. on being a korean american in such a white-centered field, cho recognizes the added obstacles he has to hurdle to act in movies that he is proud to work on. despite a spike in roles for actors of color in many action and blockbuster films, cho expressed his hesitation, “what’s most important is expressing ourselves, not necessarily getting chosen… is it important for me to express my own culture, or to be a cultureless character in a fictional america that exists only in movies?” within columbus, cho is able to walk that tight line of expressing his culture without it taking the forefront of his character. while still being an important part of his development and eventual decision to continue caring for this dying father, jin’s masculinity is not defined by his korean heritage. rather, he is defined by his compassion which he displays for casey and his father, his angst on growing up with a distant father, and his willingness to put the needs of others before himself. instead of his korean heritage being in the forefront of his development, it is floating above it. iv. on earth we’re briefly gorgeous and queer masculinities the next text i will look at is ocean voung’s 2019 epistolary novel on earth we’re briefly gorgeous. the coming-of-age novel is written a semi-autobiographical letter from a vietnamese american to his illiterate mother who immigrated to the us. the letter’s speaker, the protagonist known as “little dog,” nonconsecutively recalls his mother and grandmother’s journey from vietnam to hartford, connecticut along with his own journey of queerness. he bounces between the stories of: his grandmother, lan’s, life in vietnam and meeting a white solider who would marry and have rose, little dog’s mother; rose’s abusive relationship with her estranged husband and her struggles to provide for her family at a nail salon; and little dog’s first relationship with a boy named trevor. throughout, little dog’s attachment to both lan and rose is anchored in language, or the lack thereof; in exchange for plucking the greys out of lan’s hair, she would tell little dog stories of her past, but with both lan and rose being mostly illiterate, little dog is tasked in being their interpreter and promises to never leave them without words. throughout this epistle, little dog is attempting to use language as a bridge between him and his illiterate mother, but evidently fails to communicate his love to both lan and rose. little dog’s masculinity takes different forms throughout the entire novel all stemmed from violence. after being bullied by other boys at school, he is scolded by his mother, “you have to be a real boy and be strong. you have to step up or they’ll keep going. you have a bellyful of english” (26). with his relationship with trevor, he is exposed to a shameful display of toxic hypermasculinity. at first, their intimacy is not quite “real,” as he explains that “the first time we fucked, we didn’t fuck at all” (113). christina slopek explains the paradox in “queer masculinities and bottomhood”: although little dog and trevor have not yet transgressed anal boundaries, they and their abject-centered intimacy have already, and perhaps more importantly straddled conceptual ones: having sex which deviates from what heteronormativity considers “normal” intercourse both in terms of gender relations and of what counts as sex as they break up normative boundaries surrounding sex and prove them to be malleable, porous. (749) she explains that because their intimacy is not quite what would be considered “sex” in a heteronormative standpoint, but still acts as a veil before they decide to fully penetrate the boundary defining queerness. after they have “real” sex for the first time, little dog expresses the shame that trevor must have felt, and that it was his fault: he breathed hard above me. trevor being who he was, raised in the fabric and muscle of american masculinity, i feared for what would come. it was my fault. i had tainted him with my faggotry, the filthiness of our act exposed by my body’s failure to contain itself. (203) little dog, who expects the abuse due to rose, is ready for any sort of wrath that may come from trevor. instead, trevor’s response is “oddly tender” (204) and tells him not to worry. within this slopek explains that little dog embraces bottomhood by “countering the heteronormative vision of sex as power exerted by a dominant person — a man — over a submissive one — a woman — little dog is submissive but just as well shapes the dynamics between the two boys” (751). when he first meets trevor, he explains that he wanted to “know him through and through, by [his] very hate. because that’s what you give anyone who sees you. i thought. you take hatred head-on, and you cross it, like a bridge, to face them, to enter them” (97). little dog expecting hatred does not quite get love in response, but rather an intimate tenderness veiled in toxicity and trevor’s opioid addiction which he would eventually overdose and lead to his demise. throughout this violence within his abuse from rose, lan’s tumultuous tales to the states, and little dog’s relationship with trevor, little dog recognizes the beauty that it has led to: yes, there was a war. yes, we came from its epicenter. in that war, a woman gifted herself a new name — lan — in that naming claimed herself beautiful, then made that beauty into something worth keeping. from that, a daughter was born, and from that daughter, a son. all this time i told myself we were born from a war — but i was wrong, ma. we were born from beauty. let no one mistake us for the fruit of violence — but that violence, having passed through the fruit, failed to spoil it (231). as little dog concludes his letter — grown up with his husband paul — he writes, “because the sunset, like survival, exists only on the verge of its own disappearing. to be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen also allows you to be hunted” (238). little dog’s queer masculinities are not weak or submissive, but his sensitivities and compassion helped him to survive. v. everything everywhere all at once and compassionate masculinity the final example of a shifting depiction of asian american masculinities is within ke huy quan’s depiction of waymond wang in the daniels’ 2022 film, everything everywhere all at once. quan’s journey to the role was not as straightforward as his white counterparts. as a child, he acted as indiana jones’s sidekick, short round, in indiana jones and the temple of doom (1984) and as data in the 1985 childhood adventure film goonies. for a few years after, he bounced around different shows before realizing that there were very few roles for asian american men in hollywood. while still working in films as stunt coordinators and assistant directors, he never found his way back in front of a camera until everything everywhere all at once. in an interview with gq, quan explained his struggles as an asian child actor: but when i started pursuing it, there were just not a lot of opportunities for me. it was extremely difficult for an asian actor at that time... it's very difficult for many, but i think it's a hundred times—a thousand times—more difficult when you are an asian actor. i found myself at a crossroads at a very early age. do i want to continue down a path where i just didn't see many opportunities for myself? or do i want to go down a path, an unknown path, where i really don't know what i want to do? and i struggled for a long, long time. and at the same time, i was just hoping that phone would ring with an amazing offer to be in a movie like indiana jones or the goonies, or a great role for an asian actor, and it never came. i was so dispirited and disheartened. hollywood often only provided asian actors as the butt of jokes, or tokenized characters in which their heritage represents their entire character. while everything everywhere all at once is a deeply asian american film (washington post), the characters are, again, not defined by their chinese heritage, rather their heritages are added obstacles for the issues that are already at the forefront of this family affair. the genre-bending science fiction film centers around waymond’s wife, evelyn — played by michelle yeoh — and his daughter joy/jobu tupaki — portrayed by stephanie hsu, as they try to save their family’s laundromat business from being seized by the irs. in a separate universe, known as the alpha-verse, where evelyn was able to create technology to jump between different universes and access skills and memories that they did not quite have, joy — renamed to jobu tupaki — was pushed too far in training and becomes a threat to not only the alpha-verse, but the multiverse as a whole. as evelyn and waymond get ready for their audit appointment — in the 616 dimension — they are interrupted by alpha waymond and an epic fight ensues throughout the irs office as jobu tupaki tries to defeat evelyn. 616 evelyn begins to “verse jump” and learn more about the different dimensions, different lives, and different skills she has had in different dimensions. the complex story then introduces countless different versions of evelyn: one where she never went to america with waymond and becomes a famous singer; another where she is a famous actress and kung fu master; one where people have hot dogs for fingers; and even a slightly different universe where a fight never ensues in the office, and they are just driving home from the office. within these separate universes, waymond is only present in two. in the movie star universe, waymond is a successful businessman in america and came to support evelyn’s new movie premier. the other in which he is constantly present in, is the slightly variated timeline in which he asked evelyn for a divorce. as the fights ensue, joy’s nihilistic intentions become clearer to evelyn. evelyn’s mind splits after too much jumping between different dimensions and is able to experience every version of herself, all at once, without the need to verse jump. joy then reveals that since she has experienced everything, she is looking for a way out, a way to finally die — by putting everything into a bagel: “hopes and dreams, old report cards, every breed of dog, every ad on craigslist, sesame, poppy, onion, salt. and it collapsed in on itself.” by getting sucked into the blackhole of the literal “everything” bagel, she can finally die without experiencing every version of herself and is hoping evelyn will come with her. evelyn then spends time exploring the other verses with joy before agreeing to allow everything, including themselves, to be sucked into the bagel of death. unknowing to any of these timelines, waymond lacks a traditional arc of other sensitive men in films. he does not have an outburst of anger like stephen root in the climax of dodgeball or have a typical “man-up” moment like peter parker in spiderman. instead, he continuously holds his compassionate persona throughout the entire film, even in the most difficult of times, and in every timeline. after evelyn goes on a nihilistic outburst in the laundromat in the second timeline, waymond is able to talk to the irs worker and extend their tax deadline, so their laundromat is not immediately seized. in the emotional climax following an intense fight scene in the 616 timeline where jobu is about to enter the bagel with evelyn, and a panic attack during the movie premier of evelyn’s movie star timeline, 616 waymond and business waymond’s monologues are cut back and forth: business waymond. you think i’m weak don’t you? all of those years ago when we first fell in love, your father would say i was too sweet for my own good. maybe he was right…. 616 waymond. please, can we please stop fighting? business waymond. you tell me that it’s a cruel world, and we’re all running around in circles. i know that. i’ve been on this earth just as many days as you. 616 waymond. i know you’re all fighting because you’re scared and confused. i’m confused too. all day, i don’t know what the heck is going on. but somehow this feels like it’s all my fault. business waymond: when i choose to see the good side of things, i’m not being naïve. it is strategic and necessary. it’s how i’ve learned to survive through everything. 616 waymond. i don’t know. the only thing i do know is that we have to be kind. please. be kind, especially when we don’t know what is going on. business waymond. i know you see yourself as a fighter. well, i see myself as one too. this is how i fight. waymond does not need an arc because he is already strong in who he is, he does not require any more strength, even if alpha-waymond was disappointed by its weak physical vessel. waymond’s kindness — while being seen as a weakness to many of the people around him — is his strength. his ability to see the good in others inspires evelyn to fight with kindness by versejumping and resolving issues for jobu’s henchmen without the need for violence. evelyn realizes that the universe gave her someone that was kind, patient, and forgiving to make up for the compassion which she often lacks. when joy tries to just leave via the bagel by herself, she is held back by evelyn and anchored by waymond. waymond, in all shown universes — aside the alpha-waymond — is a goofy, awshucks, somber, and romantic man who does not display any set of jackie chan-like hypermasculinity. in every universe that waymond is present, his strength and compassion is built off of the love he displays for the strong women that surround him. his masculinity is rooted within his kindness and compassion for the world and its people, but more especially toward his wife and daughter. everything everywhere all at once has gone on to become the most awarded film of all time by winning seven awards in the 2023 academy awards including best picture, best director, best actress (yeoh), and best supporting actor (quan). vi. conclusion in dr. michael kimmel’s sociology course on masculinity studies at stony brook university, he prefaced his class asking two questions. the first, “what does it mean to be a good man?” perplexed by the question, dr. kimmel explained that if his students were at a funeral and the eulogy described the deceased as a “good man,” what would he look like? the responses were based on compassion: caring, putting others needs before themselves, and honest. the second question he asked was “what makes a real man?” unsurprisingly, the answers differed: taking authority, taking risks, and suppressing any kind of weakness” (new york times). within these two questions of masculinity are often where many men find themselves in between. while the rise of kung fu and jackie chan often depicted these fanciful “real men” contrasted with the desexualization of many aapi men, neither were accurate depictions of identity or culture. despite the popular depictions of the asian “beta,” these contemporary texts challenge that notion with sensitive, yet strong men with complex characteristics beyond their race; these three masculinities are not defined by their race or submissiveness. rather, within these three texts, each of these three men’s strengths are rooted within their own kindness and compassion along with the strong women that surround them. while none of these characters would be considered “fighters” or “real men” by most, they all strive and achieve the accolade of being a “good man” and provide an accurate representational framework for masculinity within aapi men. works cited bennett, jessica. “a master’s degree in… masculinity?” new york times, 8 august 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/fashion/masculinities-studies-stonybrook-michaelkimmel.html berman, eliza. “quick talk: john cho.” time, 2017. columbus. directed by kogonada, performances by john cho and haily lu richardson, superlative films, 2017 chung, nicole. “john cho in columbus is john cho as you’ve never seen him before.” gq, 4 august, 2017, https://www.gq.com/story/john-cho-columbus-interview everything everywhere all at once. directed by daniel kwan and daniel scheinert, performances by stephanie hsu, michelle yeoh, and ke huy quan, a24, 2022 feng, peter. identities in motion: asian american film and video. duke university press, 2002 kung, andrew. “the desexualization of the asian american male.” time, 3 march 2020, https://www.cnn.com/style/article/andrew-kung-asian-american-men/index.html slopek, christina. "queer masculinities: gender roles, the abject and bottomhood in ocean vuong’s on earth we’re briefly gorgeous." anglia: zeitschrift für englische philologie/journal of english philology, vol. 139, no. 4, 2021, pp. 739-757. vuong, ocean. on earth we’re briefly gorgeous. penguin, 2019. microsoft word dugan 2621 des excuses.docx des excuses partie i: mefiance moi, tituba sorciere and i tituba, black witch of salem. american history translated for our modern times. traditional french, sprinkled with creolizations, translated into english. a husband translating the imagination of his wife. a diaspora of languages, bodies, events, and personal histories spread across texts, spaces, time. this is the adventure that was my reading of i, tituba and moi, tituba sorcière side by side. how could a woman from barbados speak through the mouth, the pen of a british man? this was something that troubled me even before i started my comparative reading. my project became clear, then. i could use my french to uncover the secret ills of this white man’s intentions. he would not be allowed to continue his misrepresentation without being slashed to pieces in my seminar paper. so, i embarked on the project to expose him, and what i found was….. troubling. i actually appreciated his translation. i thought he stayed true to the original text and represented it well. this was a tough pill to swallow. i had planned to catch him in the act of brutalizing the author’s prose; but instead, found a translation which was both inclusive and faithful to its predecessor. i could detect almost no ethical complications and this worried me. what i had done was common among readers; i had imposed my own theory of mind on my reading of the english text before i even opened it. according to keith oatley, a professor emeritus of cognitive psychology at the university of toronto, theory of mind is a method by which one applies prior experiences and/or assumptions of other people’s thoughts and feelings to a new situation. it can be applied in a variety of social situations, but it is also a common practice when reading fiction: “overall, theory of mind has a projective quality: we cast a model onto a person in ordinary life, or onto a character of fiction” (oatley 16). this process can often be gratifying, especially when one does a lot of reading, which, we know, has the ability to teach important social skills like empathy. i think back to my crowded high school classroom of self proclaimed “book haters”. that was until i handed them some of my favorite y.a. titles: dear martin, the boy in the black suit, ghost boys, orbiting jupiter…… these books opened them up like clams, their pearl-shaped hearts shone resplendent. they couldn’t and wouldn’t stop until they had read all of the books on my shelf. they learned to meld their hearts to these fictional characters, and they became better for it. theory of mind can create beautiful things inside of us. it can teach us how to better understand others and ourselves. it is in many ways effective in bringing us closer to a more unified version of humanity. however, because theory of mind drives us to create categories based on past experiences, there are times when i assign people to inappropriate schema. because of this imperfect system, i was very easily able to place this white man into the category of “oppressor”, “colonizer”, “abuser”, without really knowing anything about him. it comes from the same amniotic fluid that gives birth to racist epithets, sexist remarks, homophobic slurs. as a woman, i will always have a certain measure of distrust for cisgendered men. my heart has ached watching some men devour the world, leaving death and destruction in their wake. when i combine the identities of “white” and “male” together, it births a monster in my mind. not all white men are monsters, but they do receive a larger portion than the rest. the accumulated scars my confidence has received at their hands, puts me on high alert in their presence. however, there is a problem with this approach to judging character. there is just too much nuance between individuals to make such strong claims about them, and our implicit biases; which are a conglomerate of intentions, emotions, and outcomes, have a tendency to get in the way of proper judgement. i subjected richard philcox to a misjudgment, a misreading. the “impossibility of proper representation” that i presupposed had a lot to do with my discomfort associated with “space”. there has always been an issue regarding the misrepresentation of people of color by white people. it has become so commonplace in the fabric of our nation’s history, that i have come to expect it in most cases. with this in mind, however, i am also not a woman of color and need to recognize my own boundaries in this process of criticism. in damien tissot’s in between borders, he describes a famous question raised by paul ricoeur: from where do you speak? tissot is a white man who is interested in feminist theory, so his essay reveals a lot about how one should approach “space”, when speaking from a perspective that is not their own. he proposes that the answer to this question of “from where one can speak” is in writer léonora miano’s description of what she calls “inhabiting the border” (tissot 266). “inhabiting the border” is a reimagining of a space from which “all can speak”, one that allows “fracture” and prevents totalizing structures (tissot 277). could it be possible that philcox could inhabit the border? can i? the author of moi tituba, sorciere, maryse conde, is a guadeloupean novelist who is married to richard philcox. in an interview for bomb magazine, she describes her relationship with philcox’s translation work, “for me translation is another work entirely. my husband is a translator and i never interfere with his work. i never read his translations. they belong to him.” some might argue that this should be enough of a justification. if the author themselves is okay with it, what’s the big deal? one would expect someone to want to do right by their partner anyway, right? however, i was so reluctant to afford philcox these sentiments. i just couldn’t imagine how someone who hasn’t felt the pain of black womanhood could translate the writing of a black woman writing about another black woman. something about it appeared impossible to justify. it seemed to be another appropriation scheme, never allowing women of color to have their say, feeding into a world that seeks to silence them. despite any love he has for his spouse, i couldn’t imagine his being able to do her justice and uphold her creative success. this was where i went wrong. because translation can often be a site that takes shape in and shapes the power of colonialism. according to tejaswini niranjana, author of the book siting translation: history, post-structuralism, and the colonial context, the colonized often face misrepresentation in the production of a translated text, in the pursuit of domination by the colonizer. she discusses this purposeful representation present in the works of translators such as james mill and william jones to demonstrate how they sought to portray an uncivilized version of india that could not function properly as an independent nation separate from british rule, one that “needed” christianity to assuage their overly hedonistic tendencies. “as the missionary texts help us understand, translation comes into being overdetermined by religious, racial, sexual, and economic discourses. it is overdetermined not only because multiple forces act on it, but because it gives rise to multiple practices. the strategies of containment initiated by translation are therefore deployed across a range of discourses, allowing us to name translation as a significant technology of colonial domination” (niranjana 21). the deployment of these translations further establishes the colonial subject as an other in need of education and assimilation into the dominant culture. this power differential is based in a hegemonic form of normativity, in which the translator may see their cultural “reality” as monolithic. my anxieties and mistrust stems from patterns that have been continuously damaging to marginalized people groups. since guadeloupe, where condé is from, and barbados, where the protagonist tituba is from, are both former european colonies (although guadeloupe is still considered an overseas department) of france and great britain, respectively, there is a connection in their histories that cannot be fully understood by someone who calls the culture of the colonizer their own. upon learning more about condé and watching countless interviews featuring the writer, i have come to learn that she is truly the kind of person who does not want to strongly assimilate herself to anything in particular. in a documentary about her career, called a voice of her own, she even says herself that she does not write in either “french” or “creole”, but she writes in “maryse conde”. to her there is no such thing as one true identity inherent in a language, nation, culture, or person, but rather a constantly changing essence through the exchange of ideas. this highly impacts her writing, which is boundless and unrestrictive just like her character. her writing philosophy reminds me very much of miano’s concept of “inhabiting the border”. despite her convictions regarding her changing identity, i am not suggesting that being a black woman from a colonized nation has not informed many of her life experiences. she originated from a wealthy family in guadeloupe that favored french rule and the french language. she was even discouraged from speaking creole in her home country and was prohibited from interacting with lower class blacks and people of mixed race. it was not until she moved to paris as a teenager that she began to feel the ostracization and prejudice associated with her race and nationality. upon learning about aimé césaire and frantz fanon, she became invigorated with the desire to learn about the history of her difference in a world run by white supremacy (a voice of her own). i can see how this desire would translate to her curiosity about the life of tituba indian: a woman brought to a strange land in which her “strangeness” was her constant shadow. although condé created a mostly fictional account of tituba’s life, she believed that by resurrecting tituba’s memory, she could both expose the systemic issues that have operated since the time of the salem witch trials and maybe make meaning of the trials she has suffered in her own life. trying to convey these sentiments, which are so richly and intimately developed from such a brilliant mind, seems like a nearly impossible feat for anybody, let alone someone who can never experience that same intimate connection with tituba and her suffering. as maryse conde says in the preface of her book, "tituba and i lived for a year on the closest of terms. during our endless conversations she told me things she had confided to nobody else” (condé vii). therefore, the translator cannot possibly be privy to these whispers and secrets shared among these transhistorical confidantes. at least this was my prior mode of thinking. but like maryse conde intimates in that aforementioned interview, i am an essence ever changing. i feel that my reading of these two texts has been the catalyst to part of my transformation as a thinker, writer, and person. i would like to share with you parts of this process in which i discovered, or rather learned to engage with, something new within myself. partie 2: va-et-vient reading in two languages back and forth is a slow process to say the least. it is not actually an activity i much enjoy, and i find that it hurts my brain, but i was willing to combat fatigue for the realization of my goals: exposure. but, it would not come to be. the scenes i was most interested in were ones related to tituba’s enslavement and any mentioning of her race, gender, or related social position. in my mind, these were the areas of contestation where i would find him slipping up. in the very beginning scene, philcox surprised me with his accurate translation of conde’s description of the slave trade. he even made sure to include the names of the tribes of the enslaved men sold with tituba’s mother, and he kept the word akwaba without any explanation as to its meaning. in this way he seems to maintain the cultural value of such a word being used. even conde herself gives the french translation of the word akwaba in a footnote. she translates it to: “bienvenue”, the french word for “welcome”. he appears to be putting aside his own aims for cultural preservation. everything i thought he, being a white man, was incapable of! spivak writes that in order to avoid the colonizing effects of translation, one must develop an intimacy with the language of the original (spivak 314). was it possible that philcox could possess such an intimacy? however, others, such as shaden tageldin, an associate professor of cultural studies and comparative literature at the university of minnesota, calls spivak’s ideas of intimacy an insidious form of “seduction” that can be used by dominant cultures to exert their power (tageldin 162). this makes my assessment of philcox even more complex because there is no possible way i could know or understand that man’s intentions. i only have the translation and its parent text as my treasure map to his thinking, conscious or otherwise. so i continued to infer what i could from what i had. as i continued my investigation, i did come across one point of interest that may be worth mentioning. on pg. 22 of the original, when tituba describes how she fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon, maryse conde writes, “c'était la saison de carême", which means “it was the season of carême”. whereas philcox just calls it the “dry season”. although this may seem like a minor change, it is curious that he chose to avoid the reference to religion, despite talking about the religious practices of the inhabitants of salem and that of tituba’s lover later in the text. “le temps du carême” is the season of lent. my catholic senses were on high alert, and i almost found myself getting defensive. however, i had to remind myself that this was not about me and my religion. it’s amazing how self-centered we can sometimes become as readers! still, what if her inclusion of the lenten season was of cultural importance? although i cannot claim to know much about hoodoo spirituality, i know it is influenced by a mixture of other religions, including catholicism. perhaps, then, lent would mark an important period for tituba. maybe this is one of the secrets imparted to conde that philcox was not privy to? i wanted more of this for my project, more of this lack of trust, this uncertainty. in a passage on pg. 37 in the original text, tituba talks about desiring a new world in which they would be free to have control over the whites. “libres d’assujettir à leur tour les blancs.” i immediately assumed that there was no way that philcox would describe a hierarchy reversal in which his race was subjugated. however, he did quite the opposite! he writes, “free to enslave the white men in their turn.” by using the more violent language, “to enslave”, he is channeling the reaction of someone who is in so much pain that they want the oppressors to know their suffering. got me again, philcox! it is so important that people learn to recognize and have sympathy for the emotional reactions of people who have been treated poorly. it seems that philcox was trying to convey this to his audience, many of whom could not relate to such an experience. this is an instance where i believe he is using a charged word to convey an essential message to his readers. let us take a moment to consider the work of translator, rokeya sakhawat hossein. in her translation of marie corelli’s british novel, the murder of delicia, which is one of the works included in hossein’s collection called motichur, she changes the setting of the novel to bangladesh and features an indian protagonist, mazluma. in her novel, she compares the situation of english women and those of women in bangladesh. she desired to expose the trivializing effects of patriarchy in both countries and make the text more culturally accessible to bengali women. in “what is special about postcolonial translation”, ben conisbee baer quotes her when he writes: “what is the form of an englishwoman’s life? we think they are independent, learned, equal with men, respected in society; but “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”! (hossein 2001, 155). her intention here is to illuminate the subjugation of english women for women in bangladesh who believe that their foreign counterparts are living the ideal life. despite the lack of “fidelity” to the original text, hossein’s work here is one she considers important. philcox appears to make a similar, albeit less extensive, move in his translation when he uses a stronger word to describe a black character’s distress. i would be remiss not to acknowledge this effort on the side of decolonization. it was at this juncture that my heart truly began to soften towards him, but i was not finished yet. i had to see this exploration through. i continued to see only subtle differences, such as on pg. 121 of the original text when abigail tries to trick everyone at church into thinking tituba had placed a spell on her. conde writes, “je le sentais. elles n’auraient de cesse qu’elles n’entrent, elles aussi, dans la danse!” whereas the translation says, “i felt that at that moment they would fall into a trance as well.” instead of using the turn of phrase, “enter the dance”, philcox changes it to “fall into a trance”. although it is a subtle change, it does not imply the girls’ intended trickery quite as much. the translation positions it more as a passive circumstance than an intended action. there were quite a few places where i saw these minor alterations, such as the number of judges abusing tituba, which in the french version is “trois” or three and in the english version is “four”, but it was difficult to find anything of real note by which to criticize philcox. was there something wrong with my level of scrutiny as a reader? was i being too harsh? perhaps this is something that i need to keep in check? if there was ever a scene by which i could expose philcox’s cruel biases, it was the scene in the jail when tituba meets hester prynne. in my mind, i always expected men to challenge empowered women because they feel threatened by them, so i expected this feminist discourse between the women to be a place where philcox would attempt to defy condé’s intentions. one of the first things i noticed, though possibly minor, was when hester was asking tituba about her name on pg. 151 of the original and pg. 95 of the translated version. the french says "d'où te vient-il?”, which means “where does it come from?”. however, the english asks a slightly different question: “who gave it to you?” one of them asks for an origin and the other asks for a person. since it later leads into the conversation about a man giving tituba her name, it seems to be a more direct lead into the rest of the conversation, but it also makes the insinuation that hester is looking for a fight. though i am aware of my predilection for judging too quickly, i do wonder if philcox was creating a caricature of the argumentative feminist by translating hester in this way. this question may be founded in nothing concrete, but the thought lingers still. despite this moment of pause, the rest of this section follows the original very closely. even the parts in which hester is complaining about men are left practically unchanged. those changes that are made, do not alter the meaning of the text at all. in her book, masculinities, raewyn connell describes how we, as a society, come to organize people into gendered categories: defining masculinity and projecting it onto people. she delineates that we need to make room for a more individualized understanding of how masculinity functions. according to connell, we focus too often on domination and hegemony and not enough on the other structures at play such as socioeconomic status, race, among other identity categories (connell 8-10). we often mistakenly perceive masculinity as a totalizing structure that affects all men in the same way. this is simply not the case. yes, men benefit from the structural configuration of hegemonic masculinity, but this does not mean that they are all afforded the same benefits. as for the power they do possess, not all of them use this power for evil. this is something i needed to internalize. as long as there are men mistreating women, i will always have difficulty fully trusting their intentions. however, it is important that i give people a chance to prove themselves. in another moment of the text when tituba is describing the unfair treatment she received when attempting to board a ship on pg. 209, the original text reads: “.....une négresse n'était pas à l’abri des tracasseries.” this translates to, “a negress is not safe from harassment”. however the english does not use the word “harassment”, but instead reads: “a negress was not secure from delays and obstructions” (p. 135). harassment is clearly a stronger and more accurate word to describe how tituba is being treated due to the color of her skin. although there are other instances where philcox does not minimize her pain, in this instance, he seems to have done so. perhaps it was unintentional, but i do believe that as a white male translator, it is his position to most accurately convey the emotional toil of the subaltern. perhaps my project was not completely in vain, but i think i developed a more thorough understanding of the process of translation and the task of the translator. partie 3: un secret i would like to turn now to philcox himself, the man who inspired my project. in his essay, “translating maryse condé: a personal itinerary”, philcox describes a form of transformation in which, in the act of translating, he actually becomes maryse condé. additionally, he discusses how his translation practice has allowed him to inhabit multiple different identities just as condé, herself, has done in the past with other writers, such as in her translation of wuthering heights. to him, translation is a sensory experience, one that involves a unique relationship to the text and its author. he writes, “i can remember living in los angeles with maryse and watching her pine like tituba for her lost island while she endured her “long solitude in the deserts of america’” (philcox 3). his observations and experiences in which he has become deeply connected to his wife, maybe allows him some sort of pathway to her secret world, and perhaps even a small part of tituba’s. i couldn’t presuppose to know what his relationship with them is like, which makes my original intentions almost feel invasive. philcox appears to be cognizant of his position in the translation process. “as a white, englishspeaking male, brought up in the narrow confines of a parochial english family, belonging to a culture used to dominating the world, and, at the time, grappling with a fading sense of superiority, i have had to undergo serious translation to confront the worlds of a black, female writer from the french-speaking caribbean” (phicox 5). by reading his words, which appear genuine and vulnerable, i want to believe him. i want to know that there are people out there who recognize their own privileges in a world full of violence. i want to believe that there are translators seeking justice, reform, and unity. i want to believe that there are translators “inhabiting the border”. the relationship i have with philcox is certainly changed, but i have learned a lot from the entirety of this process. for starters, i never want to read two novels side by side in french and english ever again. but, despite the taxing nature of the endeavor, i have come to recognize many things about my reading process. i am too eager to see faults in other people, fictional or otherwise; i disguise my own pain with the cloak of aggression; and i am not the perfect reader. there are things about moi, tituba sorciere and i tituba that i may never understand. i need to sit comfortably with the idea that some secrets i am not privy to, and that tituba and condé may be imparting some of those secrets to philcox. fin works cited baer, ben conisbee. “what is special about postcolonial translation.” a companion to translation studies, edited by sandra bermann and catherine porter, john wiley & sons, ltd, 2014, pp.233-245. condé, maryse. moi, tituba sorcière….noire de salem. paris, mercure de france, 1986. condé, maryse. interview with rebecca wolff. bomb magazine, vol. 68, 1999. connell, raewyn. “the social organization of masculinity,” masculinities, university of california press, 2005, pp. 288-299 leverage, paula, et al. theory of mind and literature. e-book, ebook university press collection, 2011. “maryse condé, une voix singulière.”empreintes, written by françoise vergès, directed by jérôme sesquin, france télévisions, 2011. niranjana, tejaswini. siting translation: history, post-structuralism, and the colonial context. berkeley, university of california press, 1992. philcox, richard, translator. i, tituba: black witch of salem. by maryse condé, university of virginia press, 1992. philcox, richard. "translating maryse condé." sites: journal of the twentiethcentury/contemporary french studies 5.2 (2001): 277. spivak, gayatri chakravorty. “the politics of translation,” the translation studies reader, routledge, 2012. tageldin, shaden m. disarming words: empire and seductions of translation in egypt, berkeley, university of california press, 2011. tissot, damien. "in between borders." philosophy & rhetoric 52.3 (2019): 265. 1 the mute aisling: staging disability in the abbey theatre’s productions of translations alexandria einspahr english department the field day theatre company, established by brian friel and stephen rae, premiered translations in derry, northern ireland in 1980 in guildhall: a recently restored historic building that was damaged by two ira explosives in 1972 (morash 546-552). in light of the play’s success, the abbey theatre premiered its own reprisal in 1983. despite divided opinions on whether the new cast could compete with friel’s original production, there was one common consent among critics: ingrid craigie was a star. although david nowlan of the irish times claims that the new production’s rhythm was unwieldy, he notes that craigie portrayed the difficult character of sarah john sally without “caricature” (4). gus smith applauds her performance as “moving” (12) while desmond rushe of the irish independent even claims that craigie outshone maedara o’fatharta’s performance as maire, the play’s defiant, heartbreaking protagonist. john finegan’s critique is consequently all the more surprising: “the immense pathos enshrined in the character of the retarded child somehow eludes ingrid craigie” (10). 1 set in the isolated, irish-speaking village of baile beag in 1833, translations uses language – both literally and symbolically – to highlight the trauma of ireland’s british occupation. although the script is in english, the irish and english characters cannot understand one another within the context of the plot. designed as a box set, the play takes place entirely in an irish hedge school operated by hugh, an alcoholic schoolmaster, and his son manus who has a significant limp. the play opens with manus embracing sarah john sally – a young woman who is in love with manus but has a severe speech impediment – after she successfully pronounces the phrase “my name is sarah.” the school’s other pupils include maire, who is courting manus but longs to emigrate to america, doalty, bridget, and jimmy jack cassie. the play’s tension 2 begins when manus’ brother owen returns to baile beag with a militant cartographer named captain lancey and an idealistic orthographer named leuitenant yolland to complete the first ordinance survey, which will translate the names of ireland’s towns into english. despite rising political tension, act two concludes with sarah screaming for manus after accidentally witnessing maire and yolland kissing. their love affair, however, is short lived. yolland disappears, and although friel never specifies his fate, armed resistance has been attacking the survey project. heartbroken, manus flees knowing that he is a prime suspect, and british troops ransack the village in search of yolland. the play concludes with hugh drunkenly reminiscing about joining the failed 1798 rebellion and reciting lines from the aeneid which state that foreign conquest is both inevitable and impermanent. in a play of divided lands and language, sarah john sally presents a unique bifurcation; somewhere between character and caricature, aisling and invalid, the performer must tread the delicate line between silent and silenced. while finegan’s slur is an extreme example of sarah’s diminution, lionel pilkington, who analyzed the play following its premiers in derry and dublin, similarly describes sarah as “the shawled girl or [sic]cathleen ni houlihan figure (sarah a partially dumb woman whom manus is teaching to speak)” (285). sarah is both kathleen ni houlihan – the personification of a sacrificing, yet enduring mother ireland epitomized in irish folklore – and the “retarded child” (finegan 10) whose name pilkington places in a parenthetical aside. contemporary theorist laura wright conversely argues that sarah is an empowered figure who chooses to remain silent in the face of the violent british colonial project at work in baile beag (51). accepting sarah as a personification of ireland, therefore, is an opportunity both to examine how her struggles resonate with current events during an adaptation’s production and the shifting representation of disability in popular culture. despite their opposing analyses, for 3 example, neither pilkington nor wright address how later performers have adapted the character of sarah to target new audiences. although wright’s critique offers a compelling argument about the power of silence, her claim is nonetheless difficult to communicate on stage when writers like john finegan may be sitting in the audience with their own preconceived notions of disability. combining mixed media resources, such as press clippings and film footage, this paper creates a short history of the abbey’s 1996, 2000, and 2011 adaptations and analyzes how the actors’ performances respond both to sociopolitical events and the success of the theatre itself. unlike the battle between irish and english that dominates translations, sarah’s language is present in her gestures, costume design, and staging; as such, tracing her presence across different adaptations reveals the cultural moment of each production through the dynamics of the stage. a note on pathology sarah john sally exemplifies david t. michell and sharon snyder’s claim that representations of disability occupy a tenuous position between “constructed and material identities” (3); while sarah’s speech impediment is both biological and socially enforced, she also occupies a symbolic position within the structure of the play itself. due to this layered conception of disability, sarah’s pathology often varies depending on the theorist or critic who is writing about her. john finegan, for example, defines sarah as a child experiencing an intellectual disability even though friel’s description states the opposite: “sarah’s speech is so bad that all her life she has been considered locally to be dumb and she has accepted this…[she] could be any age from seventeen to thirty-five” (256). while f.c. mcgrath contends that sarah is autistic (541), andrea ainsworth, the voice director of the abbey theatre who worked with dawn bradfield (1996), pauline hutton (2000), and janice byrne (2011), explains in an 4 interview that she never thought of sarah as experiencing specific disability: “we did not set out to represent any specific speech pathology but looked at someone discovering her voice the difficulty forming consonant sounds and shaping vowels. where should she pitch the sound? what is the level of effort?” 2 although ainsworth undoubtedly influenced all three performers’ vocalizations, she similarly notes that she never refers to previous productions during rehearsals. rather than focusing on what sarah’s pathology is, then, the more relevant question is how both the performers and the public interpret her speech. examining each performance reveals three distinct representations of disability in the abbey’s adaptations: dawn bradfield’s characterization embodies sarah’s struggle with colonial debilitation, pauline hutton’s performance explores cognitive impairments, while janice byrne features the impact of silence. 1996: disability vs. debilitation in “the aura of, well, englishness” just as the field hall’s production of translations highlighted the legacy of the troubles in northern ireland through its choice of location, political tension and violence shadowed the abbey production that premiered on july 31st, 1996. after the british government declared it would not allow sinn féin politicians to take part in peace negotiations until the ira disarmed, the ira broke a seventeen-month ceasefire agreement on february 9th, 1996 by detonating a bomb in the docklands area of london, which killed two people and injured more than a hundred others (moriarty). roughly a month prior to the revival of translations on the abbey stage, the ira launched another car bomb in manchester on june 15th, which caused more than £700 million in damages and injured more than two hundred people (williams). amidst rising conflict, the thematic questions of translations held a new level of significance: londonderry or derry? ulster or northern ireland? after centuries of colonial occupation and decades of secular violence, what does irishness mean? the itinerary of the republic of ireland’s then president, 5 mary robinson, demonstrates the significance of the abbey’s choice of production during this tumultuous period. only nine days prior to the manchester bombing, president robinson made her first official visit to the united kingdom on june 6th where she met queen elizabeth ii at buckingham palace (cnn). a month later, the irish times reported that president robinson would attend another official visit: the opening night of the abbey theatre’s translations (38). despite the political potential of the abbey’s choice in production, the 1996 adaptation was a critical failure; as fintan o’toole’s review aptly surmises – with robin lefevre directing, julian mcgowan as the head of costume and set design, and most controversially, kenneth haigh in the key role of hugh – the abbey made the critical error of portraying the violence of british imperialism through a predominately english cast (18). critics lambasted haigh’s performance following the play’s premier. gerry colgan of the irish times criticized the production as one bathed in an “aura of, well englishness” (7) while lorcan roche of the irish independent placed the blame on the abbey’s casting director for hiring a “fine” performer that nonetheless sounded like he “came straight from the rada [the royal academy of dramatic art] rather than a donegal wake” (6). the abbey subsequently found itself in an unusual position for a theatre that, to this day, announces itself as “your national theatre” (abbey): it had to defend the colonial presence haunting its own stage. two weeks following colgan’s article, doreothea melvin, the abbey’s then director of pr and marketing, released a public response in the irish times (19).3 in a less direct approach, the abbey also initiated coupon and ticket giveaway campaigns in the sunday tribune, the sunday times, event guide, and even the irish times offering 25 free tickets to different weekday shows (2-10): a marketing technique they did not utilize in any of their subsequent adaptations. after directing eight plays between 1993 and 1994, lefevre would not return to the abbey until 2004 while mcgowan and haigh would never work on the abbey 6 stage again (abbey public archive). in a strange twist, the national theatre conflated its fictional production with its reality; the stage became baile beag and asked its audience to question how dialect disrupts national identity. dawn bradfield’s rendition of sarah consequently plays a pivotal role in the 1996 production not only because bradfield had to establish her footing amidst a wave of controversial casting choices but because she had to communicate sarah’s struggles with identity while the country at large was enmeshed in its own political turmoil. like her predecessor, ingrid craigie, dawn bradfield’s rendition of sarah received positive reviews despite the overall controversial production. even though he is critical of the abbey’s casting choices, colgan nevertheless credits gary lydon and dawn bradfield for their portrayals of the “lame teacher” and “his inarticulate pupil sarah” (7). sean mccarthaigh conducts a full-page interview with bradfield entitled “a star is dawn” in the examiner wherein he applauds her acting maturity compared to her “fresh faced, doe eyed, and elfin appearance” (14). in the interview, bradfield notes that she intended to convey sarah as constantly aware of her surroundings: “she has to listen and react more than actually say lines” (14). this attention to detail is particularly evident in bradfield’s decision to add lines when friel’s staging direction notes that sarah is silence, which marks a striking difference between bradfield and both her predecessors and contemporaries. bradfield’s performance, on one hand, resonates with disability’s function as, to use mitchell and snyder’s words “the master trope of disqualification” (3); bradfield captures the social inferiority that plagues sarah in friel’s opening staging by exaggerating her voice and closing off her body. bradfield’s deep, guttural voice reflects the “grunts” and “unintelligible nasal sounds” that friel’s initial stage direction lists (256), and she frequently blends consonants, such as pronouncing “flowers” as the monosyllable “fawrs” (5:22-53). she also shrinks her body 7 throughout the play either by crossing her arms, stooping her shoulders, or sitting with her back slightly bent to diminish her already small stature. her costume design, in turn, reinforces the stereotype that disabled people are innately desexualized.4 sarah’s hair is lank and tied away from her face while bridget (siobhan miley) and maire (ali white) wear their hair down and curled (32). the two women also wear tight, buttoned bodices. white wears a sash tied low to her waist to distinguish her hips compared to bradfield who wears a loose, high-neck dress that disguises her already small frame (32). more critical than the diverging silhouettes, however, is the loose wrapped shawl around sarah’s shoulders compared to the tight aprons that grace bridget and maire’s dresses. while a seemingly innocuous difference, the aprons symbolize the two women’s sexual and economic roles in the community. these are women who are virile, strong, in short, born to be mothers. sarah’s shawl, consequently, not only physically hides her body but symbolically removes her from the domestic economy of the play. sarah’s desexualization is even more apparent when surveying bradfield’s physical interactions with the hypermasculine doalty (frank laverty) and sarah’s love interest, manus (gary lydon). friel juxtaposes doalty and sarah in the first act by having doalty jokingly profess his love for sarah twice. he asks sarah to run away with him to “plant some corn together” (264) to segue from jimmy’s rambling agricultural advice, and he exclaims “i’m dying about you” (267) when sarah hands him a spare notebook. in contrast to the charged nature of these lines, laverty’s delivery is noticeably tame. at the stage direction to “grab sarah” (264) sarah (dawn bradfield left) and maire (ali white right) meet owen (lloyd hutchinson) and lieutenant yolland (philip glenister). 8 when delivering the corn line, laverty quickly picks bradfield up and swings her in a circle (12:04-21). while a seemingly dramatic action, it is quick and playful; bradfield responds with a swift kick causing laverty to place her down almost immediately. even more explicitly, laverty exclaims “god, i’m dying about you” with no sexual undertones at all. rather, after frantically searching for a table-book on hugh’s desk, he kneels in front of sarah and quickly grasps her shoulders in gratitude before running to his own chair (17:00-18). in both scenarios, doalty’s buffoonery is the butt of the joke opposed to sarah who seems simultaneously well aware of doalty’s tricks and an unviable target for any explicit sexual tension. any romantic attraction between manus and sarah similarly seems like an impossibility from the opening of the play. while friel notes that sarah and manus embrace twice when sarah announces her name (257), gary lydon does not reach out to bradfield for an embrace. lydon instead sits back on his heels and exclaims his excitement (:32-1:45). although he does kiss her forehead after receiving sarah’s flowers, the motion feels noticeably rushed to the point that a woman, possibly assistant stage manager catriona behan, can be heard speaking into the actor’s earpiece asking “mr. lydon, stand by,” possibly to give white enough time to enter the stage (5:22-53). while the conservative costume design and awkward interactions reinforce sarah as someone whose speech impairment has left her sexually and socially ostracized, it also creates a powerful contrast for the moments when bradfield deviates from friel’s original staging. unlike the two later performances, bradfield speaks in two critical moments when the original script states otherwise. in a reversal of act one, sarah attempts to mime to owen (lloyd hutchinson) that hugh is attending the wake for nellie ruadh’s baby, but he cannot understand her gestures (78:25-40). unlike friel’s staging, which notes that sarah is silent (298), bradfield first mimes rocking a child and then clearly exclaims “wake” (78:30-40). owen’s failure to understand her is 9 not because of sarah’s disability but the town’s preconceived notion that she is someone inherently not worth listening to even when she does speak. bradfield deviates again when captain lancey (gareth forwood) screams “what’s your name?” into sarah’s face (77:05-58) when asking the hedge school pupils to reveal yolland’s whereabouts. while bradfield jerks her head back in fear, she nonetheless looks him in the eye and says “my” twice, first with confidence then with uncertainty, before hanging her head and crying (77:59-78:24). although the prompt script interestingly does not account for either of bradfield’s additional lines (35-38), both additions demonstrate that sarah is actively fighting to be heard compared to friel’s original stage directions, which claims that she has accepted the community’s rejection (256). by extending sarah’s vocalization beyond her interactions with manus, bradfield creates higher stakes for his eventual departure. the true weight of sarah’s loss is not losing a potential lover but losing the only person who listens even when she is speaking the same language. in the 1996 production, then, bradfield uses sarah’s speech impediment to embody the disenfranchisement of colonization, which coincides with jasbir k. puar’s summation that colonization creates a dichotomy between disability and debilitation (xiii). as the definition of disability shifts depending on geographical, cultural, political, and economic conditions, for puar, disability is best defined as a “capacity framework” (xvii): a system that privileges some by granting state or institutional recognition while forcing others outside of the “respectability” narrative (xvii). in this system, colonization functions as an “ableist mechanism” (xviii): one that debilitates and maims bodies in order to create malleable subjects without then granting institutional support. if adhering to wright and pilkington’s summation that sarah is a personification of ireland, dawn bradfield embodies the maimed irish nation-state that would have permeated news outlets in 1996. with over 3,600 deaths during the troubles (mckittrick 10 mcvea x), david mckittrick and david mcvea’s biographical review of the causalities of the “long war” portray a conflict just as much about maiming bystanders as republican versus loyalist violence. car bombings incapacitated not only financial districts and military institutions but also civilians; the two casualties of the docklands bombings were inam bashir and john jeffries who were both blown through their newsagent walls after failing to evacuate bashir’s shop in time (208). bradfield’s final desperate attempt at “my” showcases the consequences of debilitation. the introduction of colonial forces mars the little voice sarah has and disrupts her static position within the capacity framework of baile beag. manus’ departure and captain lancey’s verbal assault dimishes sarah from someone with a disability to someone who is incapacitated. as a result, rather than solemnly nodding her head “no” at owen’s reassurance that her voice will return, bradfield’s final nod is a “yes” (89:29-90:28). occupation has not only taken her voice but her ability to express truth; rather than mourn her loss, sarah becomes the emotionless void that the community expects her to be. while the ira responds to the british government’s silencing tactics with brute force, bradfield collapses by the end of the play. 2000: the celtic tiger meets kathleen ni houlihan™ arguably in an attempt to redeem its casting faux-pas several years prior, the abbey then launched a new adaption of translations in 2000, which later became a touring production with a new cast in 2001. unlike the earlier production, the abbey’s artistic director, ben barnes, selected an arsenal of seasoned abbey veterans with monica frawley at the head of costume and stage design, barnes himself directing, and garrett keogh, who had acted in fifty-five abbey and peacock productions by 2000, as hugh (abbey public archive). in his personal diary, barnes explains that the abbey needed to “restore our financial position (and morale)” (100) after the critical failure of barbaric comedies – frank mcguiness’ twist on ramon maria del valle11 inclan’s spanish trilogy, which micheal billington of the guardian dubbed an “excess run riot” only a few months prior. not to mention, barnes’ diary entry details that he needed to “justify” translations selection as the abbey’s 2001 tour of europe and australia (100). critics, in turn, applauded barnes’ strategic casting. the 2000 production received positive reviews from luke clancey of the evening herald (1), emer o’kelley from the sunday independent (13), mary kate o’flanagan of the sunday business post (5), and even david nowlan of the irish times (6), the same writer who critiqued the first 1983 production. while barnes’ careful direction is evident in the 2000 adaptation’s casting choices and design, the one factor that he seems to neglect is whether the tensions inherent in translations could resonate with audiences during the peak of the celtic tiger economic boom. the european commission’s 2000 economy review lists ireland’s gdp as the highest in the european union in 1999 and 2000, recording 14% and 15.3% respectively (228). ireland also saw dramatic improvements in their unemployment rate; while they had the second highest unemployment rate in 1983 at 13.6%, by 2000 they were one of the lowest at only 4.2% (220). barnes’ decision to take translations on an international tour may have reflected ireland’s increasingly high disposable income, but some critics were quick to criticize his decision as a romanticization of irish subjugation. in her critique in the sunday tribune, jocelyn clarke notes that the abbey’s adaptation did not express the urgency of a tragedy but rather was a “foundational fairytale to sooth a nation” (15): a production that used the “idealization and lycrism” (15) of friel’s work to whimsically harken back to ireland’s oppressed, yet noble past. sophie gorman of the irish independent likewise dubs the new revival “a safe bet” that relies too heavily on pastoral tropes: “a strong cast and solid direction may be packing them in the abbey aisles, but, is it just me or does there seem to be an unimaginative air lingering around the programming in our major 12 theatrical establishments?” (19). in his desire to pluck ireland’s emotional strings for much needed financial gain, barnes manages to manifest a translations more suitable for the sydney opera house than the ravaged guildhall stage. unsurprisingly, barnes’ interpretation of sarah as an oppressed personification of ireland, portrayed by pauline hutton, subsequently did not resonate with critics as much as dawn bradfield’s 1996 performance. bruce arnold of the irish independent is the only writer in the abbey archive’s collection of press clippings that explicitly comments on hutton’s performance, stating that “pauline hutton’s sarah is movingly portrayed” (11). aside from arnold, only two other articles mention sarah at all. denise power offers a compelling summary of the importance of sarah’s character in caractacus magazine, claiming, “sarah is not mute but is perceived as so. her struggle with language personifies the linguistic struggles which encompass this dramatic work” (7). power, however, composed her article in may 2000, six months prior to translations opening night on november 8th. a week after the play’s premier, patrick bennan offers a similar interpretation of sarah in the irish examiner: “pauline hutton plays sarah, a mute who symbolizes at the very least the importance of the irish tongue and the impossibility of self-representation for the irish in their own country” (16). while both reviews offer a preview of what the audience should expect from sarah’s characterization, neither offer any insight into whether hutton achieved this goal. sarah may still be a marketable figure – the symbolic figure one expects in irish drama – but she no longer leaves a lasting impression. the critical indication of sarah’s incongruity in the economic boom of the early 2000s, however, is hutton’s portrayal of sarah’s disability; while hutton’s version of sarah similarly struggles with social isolation, her performance veers into “mindlessness” (9), to use patrick mcdonagh’s phrasing. just as mitchell and snyder observe that institutionally enforced 13 hierarchies posit physical disabilities as ‘superior’ to cognitive impairments (3), mcdonagh contends that intellectual disabilities are an “ideologically neutral designation” in academia wherein characters with neurological disabilities are either nonexistent or inherently less worthy of critical analysis (9). the absence of dialogue surrounding hutton’s performance signifies sarah’s entrapment within this cycle of invisibility. sealed in a vacuum somewhere between ages “seventeen and thirty-five” (friel 256), the 2000 production of sarah appears more like a child than a figurehead of the irish spirit. in a december interview with patrick bennan, hutton notes that she envisioned sarah as someone coping with a “terrible trauma in her childhood” (24), which may explain why her performance seems frozen in time. unlike bradfield, who seemed to intentionally deepen her voice, hutton’s voice is high-pitched and songlike; she pronounces flowers softly, albeit clearly, with a wide grin upon her face (12:34). her costuming, moreover, is even more oversized than bradfield’s dress. sarah now wears layers of long skirts that sweep the floor and a flowing, high cut blouse with billowing sleeves. a large bow also decorates hutton’s dark hair (12:34). the new costume does include a burlap apron, but it is similarly oversized. unlike bradfield shrinking her body to signify sarah’s diminution, hutton seems to cast sarah’s body as eternally prepubescent. although bradfield and hutton’s performances both explore desexualization, hutton comparatively portrays sarah as someone in need of protection rather than a muted outsider fighting for recognition. rather than outlandishly swinging sarah around the room, for instance, doalty (don whycherley) wraps sarah in a bear hug using the survey pole, which prompts her to burst into laughter (13:45-54). sarah’s relationship to manus (andrew bennett) also feels like a caretaker relationship rather than potential lovers. in the opening scene, hutton’s gestures are frantic and exaggerated; she points to jimmy (brendan conroy) with her entire body rather than 14 just her hands. bennett, in turn, seems to shield her with his body by closing around her knees to block out any possible distraction (1:50-2:11). even further, when manus goes to flee in act three, he only seems to pause to speak to sarah after hutton forcefully slams her hand on the bench to get his attention. unlike bradfield, hutton sobs throughout this final interaction, which prompts bennett to embrace her gently (75:22-76:04). the result is a sarah who seems to be motivated to speak solely to satisfy manus rather than declare her autonomy, which resonates with hutton’s vision behind the character’s motivation: “i wanted to get across how her desire to speak came out of her love for manus” (24). without manus’ affection, hutton’s sarah is not only bereft of an audience but is an already vulnerable individual now ripe for exploitation. as a result, sarah’s final confrontation with lancey (chris mchallem is the most drastic example of sarah’s vulnerability; rather than leaving her exposed, bridget (catherine walsh ii) physically shields sarah by holding her in a comforting embrace (85:09-86:50). while slightly different staging could have transformed the embrace into a powerful image of female camaraderie in the face of an oppressor, the audience actually disrupts the moment. at doalty’s exclamation “your camp is on fire,” the audience bursts into laughter (86:50), which neutralizes lancey’s legitimacy as a threat. sarah then unnervingly grins from ear to ear while she rejects owen’s comforting remarks. is hutton smiling because she does not understand the question? is she smiling because lancey’s inadequacies as a villain make it obvious that her voice will return? or, like bradfield, is she smiling because she is past the point of caring and willing to be the mindless woman that the community perceives her to be? while the final option is arguably barnes’ end goal, hutton’s childlike persona throughout the play dilutes the scale of sarah’s loss. the 2000 production of translations thus typifies martha stoddard holmes claim that intellectual disabilities are not “inherently marginal but instead purposefully marginalized” (12). 15 by casting sarah as a helpless victim, barnes’ direction seems to manipulate the character as an emotional pawn for an audience watching with rose-colored glasses. perhaps the best summation of sarah in the celtic tiger era, then, is jocelyn clark’s article, which pairs a photograph of andrew bennett kissing a broadly grinning hutton with the caption that barnes’ translations is a “thesis drama in post colonialism 101” (15) during a period of economic prosperity. hutton’s sarah is not a determined aisling figure but kathleen ni houlihan™: a symbolic character that may still render emotional, and more importantly, financial gain but is simplistic and naïve compared to ireland’s fast-paced present. 2011: finding a “voice” amidst the bubble burst and social change by the time translations would greet the abbey stage for its most recent production on june 29th, 2011, however, the celtic tiger bubble was well and truly burst. john mcmanus reported in the irish times that fianna fáil, the irish republican party, lost majority foothold in dáil éireann for the first time since its inception in 1927. in april 2011, rté news reported that moody’s investors service, which assesses the value of government bonds, lowered irish bonds to “junk status” even though ireland received a €3.6 billion rescue package from the european union's european financial stability facility (efsf) in january. with student protests crowding the streets of dublin over tuition costs (rté news) and occupy dame street, an offshoot of the global occupy movement, looming around the corner (rté news), translations again found itself addressing a disillusioned, hyper-political audience. within this period of economic uncertainty, moreover, another social movement may have impacted sarah’s adaptation on the abbey stage: the national disability authority (nda) distributed public polls to assess whether or not irish citizens with disabilities had the right to sarah (hutton) and manus (bennett) 16 participate in consensual sexual relationships.5 noel baker notes that while the nda conducted similar polls in 2001 and 2006, public opinion dropped significantly in 2011, and mary van lieshout, the head of research and standards development for the nda, credits the recession for the drop in public favor (10). in the 2011 survey, eight of ten (78%) respondents agreed that people with hearing or speech disabilities had the right to participate in sexual relationships compared to only 51% support for individuals with learning disabilities such as autism (10). yet, baker observes that when the nda conducted the same poll in 2006, 90% of respondents agreed that individuals with visual or hearing disabilities should be allowed to have sexual relationships while 87% agreed that people with physical disabilities had the right to as well. in the face of divided opinions about the nation-state’s responsibility in both international economic policy and disabled citizens’ romantic relationships, janice byrne faced a unique set of obstacles when she stepped into her role as sarah. sarah’s unrequited love for manus contradicted ableist fueled rhetoric that questioned whether disabled individuals had the right to participate in sexual relationships. likewise, byrne could not rely on the political motivations that fueled dawn bradfield’s characterization in 1996. on may 16th, shortly before the premier of translations, caroline gammell of the telegraph reported that ireland would participate in another official government visit just as when bradfield was rehearsing. queen elizabeth ii became the first monarch of the united kingdom to visit since the nation’s independence, which signaled a new era of relations between the two countries. byrne had to capture a new irish era: one that achieved independence and yet still witnessed the dramatic economic fall of its nationstate. using silence, byrne had to somehow communicate the frustration and disillusionment of coming close to an idealized future only to have it burst. 17 compared to the previous productions, byrne’s costuming and interactions with doalty (rory nolan) consequently center sarah directly within the sexual dynamics of the play. even though maire’s (aofie mcmahon) and bridget’s (janet moran) dresses are still slightly different silhouettes, all three women now wear buttoned up blouses with rolled sleeves and full-length skirts (1). the primary difference in their dress, then, is that sarah wears her apron around her chest while maire and bridget wear theirs across their hips. the similarity in costume design allows for the audience to notice sarah’s self-imposed isolation through her gestures and staging rather than distinguishing her as a childish waif through her costuming. sarah also notably physically rejects doalty when his behavior towards her is distinctly hypersexual. instead of simply thanking sarah for handing him a table-book, nolan grabs byrne by the waist and presses her into his hips first before saying, “god, i’m dying about you” in a deep, guttural tone (18:1020). when proclaiming that they should leave to plant corn together, nolan similarly picks byrne up by her hips and throws her over his shoulder (12:54-13:12). unlike hutton, byrne seems eager to avoid any possible interaction with doalty; she reaches out to hand him the table-book with her head down and at an arm’s distance (13:02-12) and runs back into her position at the front left corner of the stage after both interactions. while the 1996 and 2000 productions’ staging distinguishes how the community either ignores, or conversely, shelters sarah, byrne’s staging and voice development comparatively highlight her desire for physical autonomy. rather than taking friel’s initial stage direction literally by imbuing a sense of “mindlessness,” byrne uses her body’s positioning to communicate how sarah has internalized the town’s dismissal. byrne noticeably sits in a leftcenter stage position opposed to the center-staging used in the previous productions. although byrne’s off-center placement seems to remove her from the conflict happening center stage, she 18 uses small gestures to signal that sarah is always engaged with the activity around her, such as dropping her book in her lap or slightly shifting her head. andrea ainsworth similarly observes that the key to byrne’s performance was using silence to communicate how sarah “sees, hears, and understands what is going on around her.” byrne’s body language consequently complicates sarah’s role in the community: at once signaling how the community ostracizes sarah and, in response, sarah’s own desire to create a physical barrier from the townspeople who scorn her. since byrne’s staging is relatively stagnant the audience can further trace sarah’s increased independence through the development of her voice, which evolves more than the previous productions. during the opening scene with manus, speaking seems to cause sarah physical pain due to her level of concentration, and byrne’s consonants are distinctly blurred (:25-1:59). ainsworth notes that she envisioned sarah blossoming as the play progressed, with byrne “at first used no end consonants and then only gradually [bringing] them in.” harvey o’brien’s review in irish theatre magazine similarly contends that sarah’s opening line is “an act of will, a shaping of self and an enabling of selfhood, as encouraged by hugh (denis conway).” while conway credits hugh’s encouragement for sarah’s development, ainsworth conversely sarah’s relationship with manus as the source of her growth: “we see her begin to blossom under manus’ attention and care – is she in love with him? how does she watch him and listen to him? does she try to speak for him?” if accepting both o’brien and ainsworth interpretations that sarah’s voice is an indication of her emerging selfhood and viability within the sexual dynamics of the play, then it is significant that her development culminates with silence during her climatic confrontation with lancey. if sarah’s speech and autonomy have both distinctly grown by the time lancey arrives, then why can she not speak? 19 byrne’s performance ultimately embodies laura wright’s claim that sarah reinforces her agency through intentional remaining silent rather than being forced to remain silent because of her disability (51). while dawn bradfield physically breaks under lancey’s pressure and bridget (catherine walsh ii) shields pauline hutton, janice byrne neither speaks nor cowers. rather, after failing to speak, byrne lets out a desperate, five-second silent scream (87:15). this, as ainsworth aptly surmises, is sarah’s way of speaking for manus. compared to the two previous productions, sarah is relatively calm when manus (aaron monaghan) leaves. in fact, she makes no indication of trying to stop him as he walks out but maintains her position in the left-hand corner of the stage. unlike gary lydon or andrew bennett’s renditions of manus, monaghan does not have to acknowledge sarah simply because she is in his line of vision; he physically walks back in and places his belongings at her feet (76:07-54). by silently screaming, sarah is emoting all of the sorrow and frustration she feels at losing her friend and teacher, and more importantly, demonstrating her unyielding desire to keep him safe. in her silence, sarah expresses her anger at the colonizer’s occupation while at the same time refusing to accommodate lancey’s (michael james ford) demands. byrne’s final nod at owen’s (barry ward) false reassurances is consequently the most serene of the three performances. while bradfield answers with a false “yes,” and hutton lets out a wide, confusing grin, byrne nods with a small smile before exiting the stage (88:52-89:16). rather than the expression of a broken woman, byrne’s smile is almost secretive. in accepting her role as the “dumb” woman as friel’s janice byrne’s “scream,” courtesy of barry houlihan, nui galway 20 stage direction suggests (255), sarah can remain out of the colonizer’s threatening gaze. to keep manus’ whereabouts from lancey, sarah willingly returns to her off-center position on the stage. janice byrne’s performance thus responds both the disillusionment of the economic downturn and the social debate surrounding individuals with disabilities in 2011 as sarah develops her autonomy despite sacrificing her voice to protect the one she loves. by portraying sarah as someone with agency during the sexual interludes of act one, the audience has a better sense of the potential future she loses when manus departs. more importantly, in watching her voice grow throughout the production, the audience feels sarah’s final decision to remain silent more acutely. after fighting to develop a voice within the european union’s economic stage in the early 2000s, ireland had to somehow find a way to regroup. how does a country protect its citizens, like those experiencing intellectual disabilities, if it cannot financially protect itself? byrne answers this question by refusing to be a person who needs protection and instead becomes the protector. by embracing silence as her own unique form of language, sarah symbolizes ireland’s need to establish a new voice all its own. translating the performance of disability in his analysis of translations, seamus heaney contends that sarah is an anachronistic symbol: “it is as if some symbolic figure of ireland from an eighteenth-century vision poem, the one who confidently called herself cathleen ni houlihan, has been struck dumb by the shock of modernity” (554). yet, opposed to a symbol of the past being dumbstruck by the present, sarah is arguably a mirror that allows ireland to be shocked by itself. dawn bradfield’s emotional breakdown conveys its violence, pauline hutton its naivety, and janice byrne its perseverance. tracing sarah’s shift over a fifteen-year period also reveals that disability is not a static notion. the very adjectives used to describe the actors’ performances of sarah in each production 21 noticeably shift. harvey o’brien’s use of person-first designations in his 2011 description of sarah as someone who is “attempting to overcome her speech impediment” is a far cry from john finegan’s 1983 misnomer, “the retarded child” (10). the 1996, 2000, and 2011 performances, then, are the manifestation of the changing perceptions of ability marrying with the cultural events of the period. despite delivering the same lines, through their costuming, staging, and delivery, each performer addresses a unique contemporary audience and offers a new interpretation of what it means to be disabled. the varying interpretations of sarah ultimately demonstrate the inexplicable connection between disability and performance studies; while all three performers undoubtedly showcase sarah’s speech impediment, they do not offer a singular definition of disability. bradfield’s inability to speak compromises her free will; hutton’s speech reflects her vulnerability; while for byrne, silence is ultimately the source of her strength. the three diverging messages validate bruce henderson and noam ostrander’s summation that disability studies is performative at its core (2). individuals with disabilities must be cognizant of the performances that dictate our everyday lives: the architecture, social interactions, and technology that ultimately shape both our stage and our accessibility to it. sarah embodies ireland not because she is oppressed but because her disability forces her to be more engaged with the social constructs that dictate baile beag. the performers’ portrayals of sarah’s silence shift because, as friel’s play demonstrates about nationhood, “disability is something we do, rather than what we are” (henderson and ostrander 2). surveying the three productions side by side demonstrates why sarah can dance across the scale of invalid and aisling – there is no singular symbol for ireland. just as sarah cannot be defined by a specific pathology, ireland is, at its heart, both divided and resolute, seasoned and naïve, capable of keening silent screams and yet smiling a scene later. 22 notes 1. apart from secondary sources, the information relayed in this paper is from the abbey digital archive housed in nui galway. as the archive organizes the information relevant to each production by date and document type (ie: press clippings, production bills, etc.) this paper utilizes their page numbering system for in-text citations. 2. all of the andrea ainsworth quotations cited in this paper are from our email interview on august 10th, 2018. 3. sir, considerable concern has been expressed by members of the public, and indeed within the abbey theatre, about the irish times recent review of brian friel's translations. this concern emanates from the term "englishness" as used in relation to kenneth haigh's performance. perhaps your reviewer would care to comment? on a point of information it is our policy to involve the playwright (when living), the director, and the artistic director in all decisions on casting. translations was no exception. (19) 4. for more information about the correlation between romantic relationships and ablebodiedness, please see irving k. zola’s “denial of emotional needs to people with handicaps” archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, vol. 63, no. 2, 1982, pp. 63-67. 5. it was illegal to have sexual relationships with someone who has an intellectual disability in ireland until 2017. this law was later repealed and replaced with the “protected person” designation for those unable to consent. for more information, see gráinne ní aodha’s may 2017 thejournal.ie article, “decriminalisation of people with intellectual disabilities having sex welcomed.” 23 works cited abbey theatre. translations, 17 mar 1983 [press cuttings]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0745_pc_0001, pp. 4-12. ---. 31 jul 1996 [photographs]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0442_ph_0005, pp. 32. ---. 31 jul 1996 [press cuttings]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0442_pc_0001, pp. 2-38 ---. 31 jul 1996 [prompt script]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0442_ps_0001, pp. 35-38. ---. 31 jul 1996 [video]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 442_v_001. ---. 08 nov 2000 [press cuttings]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 0648_pc_0001, pp. 1-24. ---. 08 nov 2000 [video]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 648_v_001. ---. 29 jun 2011 [video]. abbey theatre digital archive at national university of ireland, galway, 5100_v_001. baker, noel. “fewer support marriage rights for those with disabilities.” irish examiner, 8 nov. 2011. barnes, ben. plays and controversies: abbey theatre diaries 2000-2005. carysfort press, 2008. billington, michael. “edinburgh festival 2000: one for the barbarians.” the guardian, 16 aug. 2000. 24 einspahr, alexandria and andrea ainsworth. 10 aug. 2018. european union directorate-general for economic and financial affairs. european economy, vol. 71, european commission, 2000. friel, brian. translations. modern and contemporary irish drama, edited by john p. harrington, norton, 2009, pp. 255-308. gammell, caroline. “queen's visit to ireland 'extraordinary moment in history'.” the telegraph, 16 may 2011. “haigh, kenneth.” the abbey archive (public), abbey theatre, 2017. heaney, seamus. “review of translations.” modern and contemporary irish drama, edited by john p. harrington, norton, 2009, pp. 552–554. henderson, bruce, and noam ostrander. “introduction.” understanding disability studies and performance studies, routledge, 2010, pp. 1-6. “keogh, garrett.” the abbey archive (public), abbey theatre, 2017. “lefevre, robin.” the abbey archive (public), abbey theatre, 2017. mcdonagh, patrick. idiocy: a cultural history. university of chicago press, 2009. “mcgowan, julian.” the abbey archive (public), abbey theatre, 2017. mcgrath, f. c. "language, myth, and history in the later plays of brian friel." contemporary literature, vol. 30, 1989, pp. 534-45. mcmanus, john. “how to avoid a second bailout? make the first one work.” the irish times, 11 july 2011. mckittrick, david, and david mcvea. making sense of the troubles: a history of the northern ireland conflict. new amsterdam books, 2002. mitchell, david t., and sharon l. snyder. narrative prosthesis: disability and the 25 dependencies of discourse. the university of michigan press, 2008. “moody's cuts all irish banks to junk status.” rté news, 18 apr. 2011. morash, christopher. “translations: a night at the theatre.” modern and contemporary irish drama, edited by john p. harrington, norton, 2009, pp. 546–552. moriarty, gerry. “us congressman: adams warned of ira threat before bombing.” the irish times, 8 feb. 2016. “national survey of public attitudes to disability in ireland.” national disability authority, oct. 2011. o'brien, harvey. “translations.” irish theatre magazine. 29 june 2011. “'occupy dame street' protest in dublin.” rté news, 10 oct. 2011. pilkington, lionel. “language and politics in brian friel's ‘translations.’” irish university review, vol. 20, no. 2, 1990, pp. 282-298. puar, jasbir k. the right to maim: debility, capacity, disability. duke university press, 2017. “ruairi quinn non-committal on fees issue.” rté news, 17 nov. 2011. robinson, mary. “finally, britain and ireland are reconciled.” cnn, 9 apr. 2014. stoddard holmes, martha. “intellectual disability.” victorian studies, vol. 40, no. 1, 2014, pp. 8–12. “translations 2000 (abbey)” the abbey archive (public), abbey theatre, 2017. williams, jennifer. “manchester bomb: june 15, 1996. a day that changed our city forever.” manchester evening news, 15 june 2016. wright, laura. “‘shout it out. nobody's listening’: (re)membering postcolonial ireland in brian friel's translations.” commonwealth: essays and studies, vol. 30, no. 2, 2008, pp. 49–62. 1 from brotherhood to federation: native alaskan organizing, citizenship, and land claims thomas m. harvell-degolier history richard nixon, in his taped address on december 18, 1971, told the alaskan federation of natives (afn) that he had “just signed the alaska native claims settlement act,” (ancsa).1 nixon hailed ancsa as a victory for alaska natives.2 however, ancsa’s passage resulted from decades of activism by alaska natives to assert their rights within settler frameworks while pushing for their land rights, not a benign paternalistic government. this builds upon three ideas: paul c. rosier’s assertation that native activists stressed a dual identity as both native and u.s. citizens, edward valandra’s (sicangu lakota) insistence on examining the role of state governments in native history, and daniel immerwahr’s reorientation of u.s. history and imperialism to include u.s. colonies and territories. immerwahr’s position calls for incorporating native alaskans and hawaiians into broader u.s. and native historiography.3 this article engages with broad arguments about whether citizenship provides a path for native people to maintain their sovereignty and argues that, in alaska, citizenship was used successfully to protect sovereignty. concurrently it connects alaska native activism from the early twentieth century to activism in the 1960s, showing the continuities and changes in alaska native activist priorities and how it changed over time to more strongly emphasize land claims. overall, this paper will show how native activism helped maintain and grow alaska native political power in the territory and state of alaska. it will also explore how this activism allowed alaska natives to avoid the worst effects of termination, where native land claims in the united states unilaterally terminated by the federal government.4 2 during the twentieth century, alaska native groups such as the alaskan native brotherhood (anb) and the alaska federation of natives (afn) advocated for native land rights. these groups built cross-regional alliances through a meticulous campaign to influence alaskan politics and development, and reached a settlement that left them 40 million acres of land, royalties from federal mineral leases, and a billion dollars distributed among twelve nativeowned corporations established by ancsa.5 this paper explores how native alaskan activists worked towards this settlement through coalition building, a large-scale influence campaign, and by working within alaska’s unique relationship to the federal government. in alaska, citizenship was used as a tool to advance native land rights and land claims alaska native activism originated in russia’s cessation of alaska to the united states in 1867. the treaty stated that the “uncivilized tribes will be subject to such laws and regulations as the united states may, from time to time, adopt in regard to aboriginal tribes of that country.”6 while this language appeared to presage the destruction of alaska native sovereignty, it contradicted u.s. legal precedent. the united states’ theft of indigenous lands normally accompanied treaties with native people, yet a treaty did not exist between alaska natives and the u.s.7 in the 1960s, native leaders such as william hensley (iñupiat) used the lack of a treaty to argue that the u.s.-russia agreement was invalid concerning alaska native lands.8 since russia treated alaska as a commercial enterprise and had not displaced alaska natives, natives maintained unsettled land claims after 1867.9 the fight to secure these land claims followed alaska native propensities to work within the structures imposed by alaska’s settler population. in 1898 tlingit chief kah-du-shan petitioned washington and the alaskan territorial government to “give [tlingits] a ground where [they could] raise vegetables and places where [they could] hunt and prepare fish,” rather than the “whole of alaska.”10 his approach 3 showed the pragmatism of nineteenth-century native alaskan leaders, who made concessions to the u.s. due to their limited bargaining power. alaska natives thus advocated in a manner that balanced between assimilation and independence. the founding of the anb and its pursuit of citizenship the anb—a group that pressed for indigenous citizenship and later for indigenous civil and land rights— illustrates this dichotomy. the anb championed an assimilationist vision of indigenous activism, but it gradually abandoned assimilationist inclinations.11 it was founded in 1912, fourteen years after kah-du-shan petitioned the u.s. government and white settlers to be merciful towards alaskan peoples. influenced by christian missionaries, the anb’s founding members, including peter simpson (tsimshian) and william paul (tlingit), embraced a doctrine of assimilation that stressed the “abolition of aboriginal customs” and argued for alaska natives to be “model middle-class americans.”12 while the anb’s assimilationist arguments faded, they pushed alaska native rights forward. however, it is questioned whether the group was assimilationist or just cognizant of the need to coexist within two separate cultural spheres.13 the group’s first victory was a 1915 act that gave citizenship to native alaskans who “severed all tribal relationship and adopted the habits of civilized life.”14 this law fit within assimilationist goals of the early anb and the broader goals of the assimilationist period of federal indian policy.15 the anb’s priorities reflected that its leadership emerged out of missionary schools and coexisted among white settlers in alaska’s southeast; as such, they conceived of citizenship as adapting to settler structures.16 the anb’s ideological underpinnings mirrored thomas sloan (omaha) and the society of american indians (sai).17 the sai, like the anb, believed citizenship would lead to native 4 equality in u.s. society, while allowing natives to assert themselves as both native and american.18 the anb was considered a regional group that met with the sai at its annual conferences.19 thus the assimilationist strategy was common; however, it found unique success in alaska, where the size of the alaska native population gave them a greater influence once granted citizenship. the benefits of citizenship in alaska differed from other indigenous groups whom frederick hoxie notes did not gain power from citizenship.20 initially the anb stressed assimilation but, the 1924 snyder act “granted citizenship to any indian born within the territorial limits of the united states,” which allowed the anb to move away from assimilation and allowed alaska natives to maintain indigenous languages and customs while gaining citizenship’s benefits.21 with citizenship achieved—and the political power that accompanied it— the anb stopped focusing on assimilation and advocated for indigenous political participation.22 the anb began to focus on native rights both as sovereign people and as u.s. citizens. under the leadership of william and louis paul (tlingit) in the 1920s the anb focused on land claims, civil rights, and political representation.23 alaska natives’ preexisting political participation, due to the 1914 alaska citizenship act, and the election of william paul to the territorial legislature, allowed natives to successfully fight off attempts to implement literacy tests for voting.24 thus, alaska natives ensured they held an enduring influence in state politics. the anb’s newly secured political power shifted the group towards pursuing indigenous economic and civil rights. peter simpson became known as “the father of land claims,” because he pushed younger anb members to pursue alaskan land rights.25 simpson inspired william paul sr. to establish indigenous land claims throughout alaska, or, at least, for the tlingit-haida in alaska’s southeast.26 as a lawyer, william paul pursued indigenous land rights through the 5 courts, and guided the anb towards legal activism.27 paul’s belief that the legal system offered redress to alaska natives came out of his education, which ranged from the carlisle indian school, whitworth college, and philadelphia’s lasalle university.28 he was the first alaska native to pass alaska’s bar exam and was elected to alaska’s territorial legislature.29 in the southern workman, paul said that the anb’s mission was advancing native alaskans, morally, intellectually, commercially, and politically.30 stating that “unfair legislation has compelled our natives to an active participation in politics,” paul characterized his stewardship of the anb toward politics as necessary to combat settler prejudice.31 paul emphasized that alaska natives comprised “more than one-half of the population of alaska” and that they “love[d] our country even though badly treated by it up to the present time.”32 this characterized alaska natives as u.s. citizens who deserved equal rights and, by discussing demographic size, implied that natives should use politics to advocate for native issues. paul pursued a land claim settlement for the tlingit-haida by advocating for congress to pass a law granting the tlingit-haida the right to sue the state for compensation for the tongrass national forest’s development.33 partnering with anthony dimond, alaska’s territorial delegate to congress and a supporter “of alaska native interests,” paul helped get a jurisdictional act passed that permitted the tlingit-haida to sue.34 passed in june 1935, the act “conferred upon” the courts the ability to hear tlingit-haida claims.35 through legal advocacy, paul thus advanced the capacity of alaska natives to have their voices heard in u.s. courts. the passage of the jurisdictional act allowed the anb and william paul to start two separate lawsuits: tee-hit-ton indians v. united states, filed by paul in 1951, and tlingit and haida indians v. united states.36 paul’s case was rooted in the idea that since each individual tribe was composed of citizens, each clan needed to sue separately.37 paul wanted his clan, the 6 tee-hit-tons, to be compensated for tongrass national forest’s development.38 however, his case was dismissed in 1954 because the court ruled an aboriginal claim was nonexistent because no treaty had recognized a specific title for the tee-hit-tons.39 despite its dismissal, the ruling was worded to recognize that aboriginal title had existed in alaska.40 the ruling came down after paul had been disbarred and was ousted due to his leadership style and after being found guilty of accepting bribes from cannery companies that he had railed against for exploiting native labor.41 paul’s estrangement from the anb is part of the reason that the group launched a second concurrent lawsuit. tlingit and haida dragged on until 1957, when the anb, now led by andrew p. hope (tlingit), argued in front of the u.s. court of claims. that court ruled that southeastern alaskans had an uncompensated claim.42 the legal recognition of the tlingit-haida land claim advanced alaska native legal rights during a time when native peoples in the u.s. faced termination, a set of policies aimed at ending native land claims and breaking apart reservations.43 the legal maneuvers of alaska natives allowed them to push against termination’s countervailing currents.44 thus the anb delayed attempts to “abolish [their land] claims, ” at a time when the government was determined to do the opposite.45 this delay meant that alaska natives’ aboriginal title remained unsettled as alaska entered statehood, a situation that magnified the native bargaining position in the new state and with the u.s. congress. during the 1940s, the fight against discrimination also strengthened native alaskan political power. fight for anti-discrimination bills native alaskans, following the passage of anti-discrimination bills in the 1940s— an effort led by anb and alaska native sisterhood (ans) grand presidents roy (tlingit) and elizabeth peratrovich (tlingit)—would establish themselves as a political force to be reckoned 7 with in alaska.46 like the anb, the ans had also advocated for voting rights and citizenship but turned towards land rights and civil rights following the passage of the 1924 snyder act.47according to terrance cole, 1930s and 40s alaska had its own version of jim crow, with multiple institutions having signs with “no natives allowed” and theaters with sections “for natives only.”48 this discrimination existed alongside with the lesser known aleutian internment camps during the second world war and a bifurcated education system that separated native and white children.49 in this situation, according to both cole and holly guise (iñupiaq), world war ii provided native alaskans with leverage to advance native rights in the territory.50 in the fight to advance their rights, according to guise, native alaskans used rhetorics of patriotism to advocate for their rights, while both native men and women emphasized patriotism and service towards the united states.51 for example, complaining about the sign saying “no natives allowed,” the peratroviches wrote a letter to governor complaining that “native boys are just as willing as the white boys to lay down their lives to protect the freedom that he enjoys,” and that [alaska natives would] still be here to guard our beloved country while hordes of uninterested whites will be fleeing south.” 52 alaska native women also used patriotic language and rhetorics of domesticity following the alberta schenk (iñupiaq) incident, where schenk and holger “jorgy” jorgenson (iñupiaq) staged a sit in of a nome theater.53 the outrage towards the schenk incident led to the proposal of the 1945 alaska equal rights act on the heels of the failure of the 1943 alaska equal rights act.54 while this initial act failed, alaska native women and other organizers capitalized on the outrage of the schenk incident, and elizabeth peratrovich embraced language evoking native motherhood to push for the passage of the 1945 equal rights act.55 the 1945 act ended up 8 passing, strengthening native power and showing the influence of native organizing. during this confrontation, roy peratrovich tied the push for alaska native civil rights to alaska native land rights, a connection that presaged the next push by alaska native activists.56 statehood and the 1960s the alaska statehood act of 1958 stated that authority over land, “which may be held by any indians, eskimos or aleuts[…] or is held by the united states in trust for said natives,” remained under the u.s. federal government’s “absolute jurisdiction.”57 the lack of a land claims settlement and the anb’s legal maneuvering opened the possibility that alaska natives owned the totality of alaska. hensley among others pursued this in 1968.58 in 1961, a point barrow conference on native rights emphasized that land claims were an urgent issue, as the state wanted to choose land claims from what was considered federal lands, while alaska natives wanted to preserve their land rights.59 alaska natives influenced the shape of the alaskan political landscape, establishing the tundra times, a native newspaper that drew readership from across the state. tundra times was published in english, which helped bridge linguistic gaps among alaska natives and brought disparate groups together under a common identity as alaska natives. now unified, these groups coalesced into a powerful political bloc that comprised almost a fifth of the vote in the 1964 presidential election.60 as the 1960s began, the stage was set for new alliances that collectively argued for a final land settlement with the u.s. government that would allow alaska natives maintain their independence while participating in alaskan settler structures. land settlement proponents believed it would help alaska natives improve their economic conditions—a key point in the point barrow conference.61 achieving this goal required greater cooperation and representation 9 of all alaska natives. while the anb was influential, it was comprised of tlingits and excluded athabaskans and inupiat in north alaska. the need for a statewide native organization was stressed by leaders in 1964 and they encouraged increased involvement in state politics.62 leaders understood that working together would give natives greater influence in alaska.63 tundra times following the point barrow conference and responding to project chariot, howard rock (inupiat) founded tundra times to protect indigenous land. project chariot had proposed developing a nuclear testing site on alaska native land to create an artificial harbor in point hope.64the tundra times, written in english. transcended five language families, and spread across 200 villages and 400 million acres, to unite alaska natives.65despite barriers to statewide organizing, the paper brought different native voices together, forcing non-natives to notice native concerns.66 as emil notti (athabascan), the leader of cook inlet native association explained, the tundra times “supplied[…] a platform where [native alaskans could] voice their concerns and protests and reach a receptive audience,” while “at the same time [native alaskans could] learn what other native organizations…[were] doing to help in the general cause.”67 rock, responding to a “letter to the editor” opposing the call for unity, compared a united alaska native front to the strength of multiple sticks as opposed to an individual stick.68 thus tundra times helped unite native alaskans as a political bloc and young democratic politicians, such as mike gravel, realized that they needed native votes.69 afn tundra times was essential to afn’s formation, a group which united alaska native organizations under a statewide organization. the afn was the driving force for ancsa, and the organization remains one of the most powerful indigenous organizations in the united states. 10 the organization was the brainchild of emil notti.70 in october 1966 notti sent out invitations and had around 255 native leaders attend the largest alaska native conference to discuss land rights.71 this conference concluded with the founding of the afn, led by notti.72 notti’s conference was a response to reports that the alaska director of the bureau of indian affairs (bia), james bennett, wanted to settle alaskan land claims.73 notti realized that alaska natives had a unique opportunity to protect their land rights, particularly given two recent cases in which alaska natives settled with petroleum companies and asserted a land claim. notti viewed a united front for a settlement as essential.74 in the constitution for the afn, which was printed in the tundra times, the goals of the organization were laid out as follows: to secure to ourselves and our descendants the rights and benefits to which [alaskan natives] are entitled under the laws of the united states and the state of alaska; to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the native people; to preserve native cultural values; to seek an equitable adjustment of native claims; to seek, to secure, and to preserve our rights under existing laws of the united states; to promote the common welfare of the natives of alaska to the flag of the united states and the state of alaska.75 the afn’s constitution asserted the organization defended alaska natives both as natives and as u.s. citizens, skirting the line between native sovereignty and integration.76 moreover, the afn believed alaskan native groups held an inherent political power.77 thus, similarly to the anb, the afn used legal and political methods to accumulate power to force concessions from settler governments.78 at the same time, tundra time’s influence was recognized by the tlingit-haida’s leader, who stated that “the newspaper carved the way” for the afn’s formation.79 connected by the tundra times and represented by the afn, alaska 11 natives organizers moved toward achieving a land settlement. natives coalesced into a powerful bloc that comprised a fifth of alaska’s vote in the 1964 presidential election.80 afn’s legal actions the afn’s legal strategies focused on the fact that the statehood bill—in combination with legal precedent—indicated that most of alaska was conceivably under aboriginal title.81 native alaskans used this potential title to contest the state of alaska’s claim on one hundred million acres of alaska.82 this forced alaska and secretary of the interior stewart udall to act on indigenous land claims.83 the appointment of udall as secretary of the interior, an individual who had been a dues paying member of the association on american indian affairs in 1954, meant that alaska natives could work with a sympathetic interior secretary.84 udall’s influence meant that native villages were told when alaska filed land claims, giving villages time to contest claims which put them in legal limbo.85 during the 1960s, alaska’s government needed funds after an earthquake hit the state and thus wanted to develop prudhoe bay oil resources.86 this pressured the alaskan government and alaska natives to reach a quick, equitable, settlement.87 at this point, udall issued a land freeze around point hope, which was expanded in 1968 to force udall’s successor, walter hinckel, to maintain the freeze.88 the land freeze thrilled alaskan native leaders such as william hensley, because it meant the state could not “go its merry way selecting native-claimed lands.”89 after udall’s land freeze—with native input—congressional momentum for a claims bill grew.90 in 1968 congressional hearings began on a claims bill and alaska elected a native ally in mike gravel to the senate, while in 1969 the afn established a d.c. office and hired former supreme court justice arthur goldberg as representation.91 the afn used a purely legislative strategy, working u.s political structures, rather than outside of them. 12 in january 1968 the afn reached its minimum demand for 40-million acres.92 william paul decried this number as insufficient because native alaskans “[owned] the land.”93 despite paul’s criticism, and congressional attempts to whittle it down, the ultimate settlement included the 40-million-acres. in notti’s words 40 million was “the minimum amount of land,” and that while it “[would] not provide a total subsistent living,” it would “allow the option for those who continue the old way of life.”94 notti also argued 40 million gave alaska natives an economic capacity to succeed outside native communities, if they wanted to do so.95 this showed that the afn’s advocacy balanced developing native economic independence and traditional customs, with allowing alaska natives to engage with u.s. social and economic structures. hearings on land claims bills continued through 1969 to 1971. ancsa was signed in december 1971. ancsa left native alaskans with a 40-million-acre settlement divided between various native corporations.96 in exchange, alaska natives ceded their claims to alaska and a corporate structure was imposed on native societies.97 while not a full victory, the bill reflected the afn’s focus on maintaining independence while interacting with settler institutions while showcasing the limitations and benefits of the insider strategy utilized by the afn. criticism of ancsa ancsa’s passage created controversy and paul’s criticism that ancsa was insufficient remained cogent.98 robert rude considered ancsa to be “an act of deception,” that harmed native cultures, while benefitting a tiny elite.99 while ancsa had many problems, several were later rectified. specifically laws were passed to ensure that alaska natives had traditional hunting rights and that native corporation stocks would remain in indigenous hands.100 despite this, ancsa remains an imperfect settlement whose detractors decry its abrogation of indigenous title and the poor economic conditions of alaska natives.101 recently, evon peter— 13 a former neetsaii gwich’in chief—contends ancsa was “fundamentally illegitimate legislation that resulted in the unjust appropriation of our traditional lands and resources by the united states.”102 peter and others believed that ancsa gave up too much in the assumption that a halfway-decent settlement was better than no settlement. modern alaskan political power despite ancsa’s flaws, native alaskans secured the tools to be a force in alaska politics. the afn remains powerful and native groups provided 46% of lisa murkowski’s fundraising during her successful 2010 write-in campaign for reelection to the u.s. senate.103 in 2014, bryon mallot (tlingit)—a former afn president—was elected lieutenant governor of alaska and was the first native to serve statewide.104 when the afn opposed brett kavanaugh’s supreme court confirmation, senator murkowski was the only republican to vote against him. while it cannot be said her vote was due to afn opposition. murkowski’s dependence on afn support enabled her to deviate from her party by supporting alaska native priorities. more recently, both murkowski and her fellow alaskan republican senator, dan sullivan, voted for deb haaland (laguna pueblo) to be the first native american secretary of the interior.105 murkowski’s voting record and reelection in 2010 illustrated how the anb, ans, and afn’s activism had provided alaska natives with economic and political power. the political importance of alaska natives, almost 50 years after ancsa’s signing, shows that land rights activism allowed alaska natives to maintain their political power despite their diminished share of the population. the unique structural conditions that originated from the u.s. acquisition of alaska allowed alaska natives to selectively use assimilation and citizenship, alongside a unique legal situation to gain and maintain power. alaska native activism illustrates the importance of looking at structural differences to explore indigenous 14 activism during the assimilation and termination eras of federal indian policy, while using local approaches that flesh out distinct situations within broader indigenous experiences. 15 notes 1 madelyn shulman, “nixon signs bill into law,” tundra times, december 22, 1971. 2 shulman. 3 paul c. rosier, serving their country: american indian politics and patriotism in the twentieth century (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 2009); edward charles valandra, not without our consent: lakota resistance to termination, 1950-59 (urbana-champaign, il: university of illinois press, 2006), http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt1xcpx2; daniel immerwahr, how to hide an empire: a history of the greater united states (new york city, ny: farrar, straus and giroux, 2019). 4 for more on termination see: donald lee fixico, termination and relocation: federal indian policy, 1945-1960 (albuquerque, nm: university of new mexico press, 1986); kenneth r. philp, termination revisited: american indians on the trail to self-determination, 1933-1953 (lincoln, ne: university of nebraska press, 1999); mark scherer, imperfect victories: the legal tenacity of the omaha tribe, 1945-1995 (lincoln, ne: university of nebraska press, 1999); charles f. wilkinson and eric r. biggs, “the evolution of the termination policy,” american indian law review 5, no. 1 (1977): 139–84; laurie arnold, bartering with the bones of their dead: the colville confederated tribes and termination (seattle, wa: university of washington press, 2012), http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcwnvtj. 5 stephen haycox, frigid embrace: politics, economics, and the environment in alaska (corvallis, or: oregon state university press, 2002), 96. 6ronald lautet, ed., “treaty of cession (1867),” in alaskan historical documents since 1867 (jefferson, nc; london, uk: mcfarland & company, inc., 1989), 1–5. 7david s. case, “the special relationship of alaska natives to the federal government: an historical and legal analysis” (anchorage alaska: the alaska native foundation, 1978), 1–3. 8william hensley, “why the natives of alaska have a land claim,” http://www.alaskool.org/projects/ancsa/w_hensley.htm. 9jesse will kiehl, “indian country in alaska: its existence and implications” (undergraduate honors thesis, whitman college, 1998), 8; peter metcalfe and kathy kolkhurst ruddy, a dangerous idea: the alaska native brotherhood and the struggle for indigenous rights (fairbanks, ak: university of alaska press, 2014), 1–11. 10 ronald lautet, ed., “testimony of kah-du-shan, tlinget chief (1898),” in alaskan historical documents since 1867 (jefferson, nc; london, uk: mcfarland & company, inc., 1989), 46–47. 11 stephen haycox, “alaska native brotherhood conventions: sites and grand officers, 1912-19959,” alaska history 4, no. 2 (1989): 39–40. 12 philip drucker, the native brotherhoods: modern intertribal organizations on the northwest coast (washington d.c.: government printing office, 1958), 15; metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 13-14:42. 13 metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 18–20. 14 ronald lautet, ed., “alaska natives enfranchised (1915),” in alaskan historical documents since 1867 (jefferson, nc; london, uk: mcfarland & company, inc., 1989), 88–89. 15 metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 13–34. 16metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea; donald craig mitchell, sold american: the story of alaska natives and their land: 1867-1959 (hanover, nh; london, uk: university press of new england, 1997); drucker, the native brotherhoods. 17 frederick hoxie, this indian country: american indian activists and the place they made (new york city, ny: penguin books, 2013), 225–26. 18 hoxie, 227. 19 hoxie, 254. 20 hoxie, 275–76. 21 lautet, “alaska natives enfranchised (1915).” 22 metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 19. 23 gertrude mather johnson, “peter simpson, 1871-1947,” in haa kusteeyí, our culture: tlingit life stories, ed. nora marks dauenhauer and richard dauenhauer, classics of tlingit oral literature 3 (seattle, wa: university of washington press, 1994); metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 19–20; haycox, “alaska native brotherhood conventions: sites and grand officers, 1912-19959,” 40. 16 24 metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 102; stephen haycox, “william paul, sr., and the alaska voters’ literacy act of 1925,” alaska history 2, no. 1 (1987 1986): 16–37. 25 johnson, “peter simpson, 1871-1947.” 26metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea; stephen haycox, “william lewis paul, 1885-1977,” in haa kusteeyí, our culture: tlingit life stories, ed. nora marks dauenhauer and richard dauenhauer, classics of tlingit oral literature 3 (seattle, wa: university of washington press, 1994), 519. 27drucker, the native brotherhoods, 44. 28metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 20. 29 metcalfe and ruddy, 20. 30william l. paul, “the alaska native brotherhood,” the southern workman, january 1923, 31. 31 paul, 32. 32 paul, 33. 33drucker, the native brotherhoods, 15; metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 23–25. 34 metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 29–30. 35 ronald lautet, ed., “tlingit-haida jurisdictional act (1935),” in alaskan historical documents since 1867 (jefferson, nc; london, uk: mcfarland & company, inc., 1989), 101; mitchell, sold american, 242. 36 metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 31–37. 37 haycox, “william lewis paul, 1885-1977,” 519; metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 38:110. 38 haycox, “william lewis paul, 1885-1977,” 519–20. 39stephen haycox, battleground alaska: fighting federal power in america’s last wilderness (lawrence, ks: university press of kansas, 2016), 72–73; haycox, “william lewis paul, 1885-1977,” 519; metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 38. 40 metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 38. 41metcalfe and ruddy, 30–31. 42metcalfe and ruddy, 39. 43metcalfe and ruddy, 60–63. 44 metcalfe and ruddy, 60–63. 45 metcalfe and ruddy, 63. 46 terrance m cole, “jim crow in alaska: the passage of the alaska equal rights act of 1945,” western historical quarterly 23, no. 4 (november 1992): 429–49; roy peratrovich, “roy peratrovich to uso board of directors in juneau, alaska concerning racial discrimination, february 16, 1943,” february 16, 1943, http://www.alaskool.org/projects/native_gov/recollections/peratrovich/letters_misc.htm#031243; elizabeth peratrovich and roy peratrovich, “‘eliminate this discrimination’ (1941),” in say we are nations: documents of politics and protest in indigenous america since 1887 (chapel hill, nc: the university of north carolina press, 2015), 78–79. 47 holly guise, “elizabeth peratrovich, the alaska native sisterhood, and indigenous women’s activism 19431947,” in suffrage at 100: women in american politics since 1920, ed. stacie taranto and leandra ruth zarnow (baltimore, md: johns hopkins university press, 2020), 149–50. 48 cole, 428-435 see also holly guise, “alaskan segregation and the paradox of exclusion separation and integration,” in alaska native studies in the 21st century (univerity of alaska press, 2014), 274–304, https://www.academia.edu/12005093/alaskan_segregation_and_the_paradox_of_exclusion_separation_and_integr ation. 49 cole, 432;438 for more on aleutian internment see charles m. mobley, world war ii aleut relocation camps in southeast alaska (anchorage: national park service, alaska region, 2015). 50 cole, 435.;guise, “elizabeth peratrovich, the alaska native sisterhood, and indigenous women’s activism 19431947,” 150; holly guise, “haycock to anchorage: connecting the wartime landscape with stories from world war ii veteran holger ‘jorgy’ jorgensen,” in imagining anchorage: the making of america’s northernmost metropolis (anchorage, ak: university of alaska press, 2018), 350–52, https://www.academia.edu/37914124/haycock_to_anchorage_connecting_the_wartime_landscape_with_stories_ from_world_war_ii_veteran_holger_jorgy_jorgensen. 51 guise, “elizabeth peratrovich, the alaska native sisterhood, and indigenous women’s activism 1943-1947,” 148:150. 17 52 elizabeth peratrovich and roy peratrovich, “‘eliminate this discrimination’ (1941),” in say we are nations: documents of politics and protest in indigenous america since 1887 (chapel hill, nc: the university of north carolina press, 2015), 78–79. 53 cole, 440-446 guise, “elizabeth peratrovich, the alaska native sisterhood, and indigenous women’s activism 1943-1947,” 151; guise, “haycock to anchorage,” 344. 54 cole, 446.; guise, “elizabeth peratrovich, the alaska native sisterhood, and indigenous women’s activism 1943-1947,” 151–52. 55 cole. 447-449; guise, 152–53. 56 cole, 446. 57 ronald lautet, ed., “statehood act (1958),” in alaskan historical documents since 1867 (jefferson, nc; london, uk: mcfarland & company, inc., 1989), 131–33. 58hensley, “why the natives of alaska have a land claim.” 59lautet, “statehood act (1958)”; mitchell, sold american, 378–79. 60 elizabeth james, “toward alaska native political organization: the origins of tundra times,” western historical quarterly 41, no. 3 (autumn 2010): 285–303; donald craig mitchell, take my land, take my life: the story of congress’s historic settlement of alaska native land claims, 1960-1971 (fairbanks, ak: university of alaska press, 2001), 12–13. 61 ronald lautet, ed., “point barrow conference on native rights (1961),” in alaskan historical documents since 1867 (jefferson, nc; london, uk: mcfarland & company, inc., 1989), 135–44. 62 “native groups to meet: leaders to gather together to talk,” tundra times, june 8, 1964. 63 donald craig mitchell, take my land, take my life: the story of congress’s historic settlement of alaska native land claims, 1960-1971 (fairbanks, ak: university of alaska press, 2001), 12–13. 64 alexander ervin, “the emergence of native alaskan political capacity, 1959-­1971,” musk ox journal 19 (1976), http://www.alaskool.org/projects/ancsa/articles/ervin1976/ervin_muskox.htm; mitchell, take my land, take my life, 13–15; elizabeth james, “toward alaska native political organization: the origins of tundra times,” western historical quarterly 41, no. 3 (2010): 285–98. 65 james, “toward alaska political organization,” 287. 66 james, 288. 67 emil notti, “cina president lauds times: announces new organization,” tundra times, february 25, 1966. 68howard rock, “editor answers state senator in regard to affiliation,” tundra times, july 22, 1963, http://www.alaskool.org/projects/ancsa/articles/tundra_times/tt5_ehopson_letter.htm. 69 mitchell, take my land, take my life, 56–66. 70 alexander m. ervin, “styles and strategies of leadership during the alaskan native land claims movement: 1959-71,” anthropologica 29, no. 1 (1987): 21–38, https://doi.org/10.2307/25605207. 71 “october meeting possible: cina sends out queries for meet in anchorage,” tundra times, september 9, 1966; “political power, one purpose of organization,” tundra times, october 28, 1966.“ 72 “political power, one purpose of organization.” 73 mitchell, take my land, take my life, 65–66. 74 mitchell, 74–80. 75 “constitution and by laws of alaska federation of natives preamble,” tundra times, april 28, 1967. 76 “constitution and by laws of alaska federation of natives preamble,” tundra times, april 28, 1967. 77 ervin, “styles and strategies of leadership during the alaskan native land claims movement,” 31–32. 78“political power, one purpose of organization.” 79 “political power, one purpose of organization.” 80james, “toward alaska political organization”; mitchell, take my land, take my life, 12–13. 81lautet, “statehood act (1958)”; mitchell, take my land, take my life, 83–85; ervin, “styles and strategies of leadership during the alaskan native land claims movement,” 25; hensley, “why the natives of alaska have a land claim”; metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 83–85. 82 mitchell, take my land, take my life, 84. 83 ““udall says he will develop land solution program,” tundra times, august 26, 1966. 84 mitchell, take my land, take my life, 101. 85 mitchell, 92–93. 86 haycox, frigid embrace: politics, economics, and the environment in alaska, 92–95. 18 87kristine michelle liebner, “the political process model: a case study of the alaskan native land rights movement, 1959-1971.” (ma thesis, duquesne university, 2006), 43–47; haycox, frigid embrace: politics, economics, and the environment in alaska, 92–95. 88 mitchell, take my land, take my life, 133; liebner, “a case study of the alaskan native land rights movement, 1959-1971,” 49–50; “"land use shall not be disturbed,” tundra times, august 11, 1967. 89 hensley, “why the natives of alaska have a land claim.” 90 “native claims bill to be ready this weekend,” tundra times, may 5, 1967. 91 john borbridge, “borbridge reviews afn activities,” tundra times, december 12, 1969; mitchell, take my land, take my life, 153–77; “mike gravel hits bia, calls for claims backing,” tundra times, june 14, 1968, http://ttip.tuzzy.org/cgi-bin/ttimes.exe; “afn gets its counsel back: justice goldberg now reinstated as chief counsel for federation,” tundra times, june 13, 1969. 92 mitchell, take my land, take my life, 154-155:393-395. 93 william l. paul, “‘we own the land’ statement by william l. paul sr, to the afn board of directors” (statement, alaska federation of natives’ convention, fairbanks, ak, october 1971), http://www.alaskool.org/projects/ancsa/testimony/afn_paul/we_own_the_land.htm. 94 emil notti, “alaska native land claims part ii, "hearings before the subcommittee on indian affairs of the committee on interior and insular affairs, house of representatives, ninety-first congress first session on h.r. 13142, h.r. 10193, and h.r. 14212, bills to provide for the settlement of certain land claims of alaska natives, and for other purposes.” (1970), http://www.alaskool.org/projects/ancsa/testimony/ancsa_hearings/e_notti_s.html. 95 notti. 96haycox, frigid embrace: politics, economics, and the environment in alaska, 93–95. 97 evon peter, “undermining our tribal governments: the stripping of land, resources, and rights from alaska native nations,” in the alaska native reader: history, culture, politics, ed. maria williams (durham, nc: duke university press, 2009), 180–81. 98 paul, “"we own the land.” 99 robert w. rude, an act of deception (anchorage, ak: salmon run press, 1996), 160–61. 100 metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 91–92. 101 rude, an act of deception, 160–61. 102 peter, “undermining our tribal governments,” 181. 103 metcalfe and ruddy, a dangerous idea, 93.0/0/0000 0:00:00 am 104 “byron mallott,” accessed march 1, 2020, http://www.alaskool.org/projects/biography/bmallott.htm; steve gorman, “alaska lieutenant governor resigns over ‘inappropriate comments’: governor,” business insider, october 16, 2018, https://www.businessinsider.com/r-alaska-lieutenant-governor-resigns-over-inappropriatecomments-governor-2018-10. 105 19 bibliography “afn gets its counsel back: justice goldberg now reinstated as chief counsel for federation.” tundra times, june 13, 1969. “afn supports legislature’s original budget.” the delta 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2006. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt1xcpx2. 23 volcovici, valerie. “deb haaland becomes first-ever native american u.s. cabinet secretary.” reuters, march 16, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-interiorhaaland-iduskbn2b72so. microsoft word portas psc.docx 1 “so, i declare it!”: pelican island, theodore roosevelt, and executive decision theory andrew portas political science on march 14th, 1903, the fate of a three-acre island along the lush tidewaters of eastern florida would be sealed with one man’s signature. theodore roosevelt, incumbent president of the united states, would approve an executive order demarcating the island as pelican island reservation, later reclassified as pelican island national wildlife refuge. the order intended to preserve myriads of threatened migratory birds that flocked to this subtropical oasis that had been ravaged by poachers for decades. roosevelt described the island as a “biological hymnal,” where “exuberant streams of birds congregated…like figures in a timeless dream” (zellmer 2020, 8). the act, which promulgates land with the explicit purpose of wildlife protection, was unprecedented in the united states. while roosevelt’s record on conservation is well documented, little is known about the underlying motivations of this landmark policy initiative. thus, i ask both how and by what, motivations president roosevelt’s decision to declare pelican island a federal wildlife reserve was reached. to effectively answer such a question, this article will lean on established theoretical frameworks of executive decision-making. in particular, it draws from james david barber’s theory of presidential character and jeffrey k. tulis’ theory of constitutional interpretation per their respective seminal works the presidential character: predicting performance in the white house and the rhetorical presidency. before introducing each theory’s elements, this article will briefly review existing literature on roosevelt’s decision-making style, advisors, relevant 2 bureaucracies, and approaches to conservation policy. with this foundation, an extensive narrative of events between february 20th, 1903, and march 14th, 1903, contextualized outside this scope when necessary and informed by each theoretical framework, will follow. finally, i conclude by evaluating each theory’s merit in explaining president roosevelt’s decision while providing an informed response to the aforesaid question. the roosevelt presidency: conservationist in chief “roosevelt never said to go and serve the public while i watch you, he said that we should all do the job together,” wrote gifford pinchot, chief of the u.s. division of forestry during the roosevelt administration (staten 1993, 141). the 26th president’s leadership style, defined by cooperation and public accommodation, was largely novel to the presidency. his “crusading zeal, and reformist optimism,” particularly in the domestic domain, ushered unprecedented eras of labor, industrial and conservation reform (ninkovich 1986, 221). a willingness to employ federal executive power and propagate the “bully pulpit” that is, using a position of authority to speak on an issue rejected the “dual federalist” approach to governance most scholars associate with american officeholders of the 20th century (staten 1993, 141). he favored technically competent advisors, both within and outside his cabinet, to reach informed policy decisions, appropriately writing, “i earnestly desire that the movement for the preservation of the forests shall come from the lumbermen themselves” (brinkley 2009, 2; morrison 1951, 411). a true lumberman, gifford pinchot was, being an educated forester and prominent figure within the department of agriculture. in fact, he was perhaps the most influential bureaucrat of the entire administration, entrusted with revising or even writing roosevelt’s many celebrated conservationist speeches (ponder 1990). outside his administration, longtime acquaintances such 3 as ornithologist frank chapman and naturalist john muir are regarded as having a consequential impact on conservation decisions – the motives of which are contested among literature. the “utilitarian” camp centers the influence of figures like pinchot, a practical “pioneer capitalist traditional[ist]”, with whom roosevelt coined the term “‘conservation’ to denote reclamation and the conservation of water resources” (hendricks 1982, 78). pertinent scholars argue that roosevelt’s scientific and methodological preference for resource and land management echoes pinchot’s praxis of serving “the greatest good to the greatest number of people over the long term” (wildes 1995, 144). this utilitarian progressivism is extenuated by roosevelt’s consistent evocation of american heritage, nationalism, and the advancement of evolutionary biology in conservation rhetoric (i.e., roosevelt 1908). while laden in the language of moral responsibility, zellmer’s argument posits roosevelt’s affixation for protecting natural lands and wildlife as a practical means to the preservation of the citizenry’s “great fighting masterful virtues” (2020, 12). concurrent scholarship foregrounds roosevelt’s reliance on tropes of “american wilderness” as an integral facet of 20th century american national identity (redekop 2014, 160). furthermore, his “jingoistic” attitude towards land management appears, “hand-in-hand with a utilitarian attitude toward the natural world that resulted in the damming of rivers and the mass settlement of the american west” accelerated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (160). the “moralist” camp bases its arguments in roosevelt’s embrace of the philosophical implications of conservation, and frequent, romantic characterization of nature influenced by transcendentalist peers like muir (solak 2010). for example, dorsey argues that notoriously martial and economic evocations of the “frontier myth” (e.g., kennedy and reagan) were wielded by roosevelt to convey a “moral imperative” to conserve a “finite frontier” (dorsey 4 2009, 1). similar arguments are made with reference to the content of his personal writing, exemplified by a description of “pelicans winging their way homeward across the crimson afterglow of the sunset,” and how, “the loss [of the species] is like the loss of a gallery of the masterpieces of the artists of old time” (roosevelt 1916, 285). others posit that both roosevelt’s personal commitment to conservation, and public “steward” mandate, were inexplicably driven and energized by a longstanding “deep respect and love for the environment” (izat 2004, 86; fishman 2005). alas, roosevelt emerged as an unprecedented and unique forefather of american conservation. his approach, he would likely claim is dual purpose, remarking once that “birds should be saved for utilitarian reasons; and, moreover, they should be saved because of reasons unconnected with dollars and cents” (roosevelt 1916, 301). theories of the presidency the office of the american presidency has persistently been scrutinized and reviewed; thus, a range of theories have emerged to aide our understanding of executive behavior, decisionmaking, and its immediate implications. frameworks put forth by established presidential scholars james david barber and jeffrey tulis are of particular interest to the case of theodore roosevelt and pelican island. understanding their respective arguments and claims are critical for contextualizing roosevelt’s decisions among established literature. barber and presidential character barber fundamentally asks what it is we should look for to evaluate a president. his proceeding answer argues that by focusing on three “cognitive handles” – character, style, and 5 worldview – one can anticipate the performance and decisions of a president (barber 2020, 9). barber’s unit of analysis thus centers the president as an individual. the preeminent “handle” is a president’s character which comprises (1) activity, or the level of energy a president devotes to their job and (2) affect, the level of satisfaction the president obtains from it. this dyad provides a foundation for the active-passive and positive-negative dimensional typology barber claims is necessary to accurately predict presidential performance. for example, he argues a president classified as “active-positive” is best suited for the office as this “person has the energy needed to do the job and the personal security to deal with the inevitable interpersonal conflicts that result from competing perspectives, interests, policy goals, and ambitions” (10). presidential style and worldview are secondary, yet important qualities for interpreting performance. presidential style is how he (or, one day, she) “goes about doing what the office requires him to do,” in public speaking, political negotiations, and the assimilation of content arriving on his desk (30). the foundations of style develop early in adulthood, generally at a president’s first juncture of political success. worldviews are molded by his perspective on sociality, human nature, and morality, primarily developing in childhood (30). barber claims that a president’s character, style, and worldview, once crystalized early in life, remain consistent over time rendering them a useful tool in gauging future decisions. tulis and constitutional doctrine tulis’ primary object of inquiry are the constitutional doctrines and entwined rhetorical practices of 19th and 20th century presidents. originally, the founding fathers feared the rhetorical abuse of demagogues weaponizing an “excess of passionate appeals,” henceforth devising an independent executive resistant to the “temporary delusions” of popular opinion (tulis 1988, 43). 6 nineteenth century presidents generally followed suit, rarely interjecting on controversial matters publicly while operating within the bounds of the office’s enumerated powers (81). policy rhetoric of the era is thus constrained to written congressional correspondence and infrequent public speeches (e.g., inaugural addresses) which typically made few if any reference to explicit personal positions. doctrinal shifts notably appear under theodore roosevelt who utilized “popular rhetoric against popular rhetoric,” engaging directly with the public to rally against what he perceived as corporate demagogues in the private sphere, loosening the restraints of the executive in the process (107). a more profound change, one adopted by 20th century presidents to follow, ensued under woodrow wilson whose “reinterpretation of the constitutional order” produced rhetoric both visionary in nature and substantive in policy positions (181). vocal of the impediments of congress, wilson bolstered executive reach, compelling future presidents to, in part, exercise a legislative role. thus, a president’s constitutional doctrinal approach – largely a function of the times – fundamentally informs their decision-making process. the tale of pelican island as of february 21, 1903, florida’s pelican island was an unorganized and unsurveyed parcel of land on the indian river controlled yet all but forgotten by the federal government (brinkley 2009, 491). while few knew of the island, two critical parties frequented its shores: “plumers”, which were poachers seeking exotic feathers to satiate a demand for ornate women’s hats, and ardent conservationists, pursuing protection of its avian inhabitants. the latter belonged to an elite echelon of naturalists retained and relied upon by president roosevelt. among them was frank chapman, curator of the new york american museum of natural history’s bird 7 exhibits (a museum of which roosevelt’s father was a founding benefactor), early member of both the american ornithological union (aou) and audubon society, and former new york banker (fischmann 1982, 10). roosevelt, son of a prominent new york family and longtime member of both the aou and audubon society, mingled among common circles, often soliciting chapman’s consultation on wildlife protection matters (brinkley 2009, 2). around 1903, president roosevelt was particularly inspired by chapman’s accounts of pelican island detailing that “during no hour of the twenty-four did silence reign,” and that we ought “perhaps take some steps to defend [the bird’s] rights […] by passing and enforcing proper laws […]” (chapman 1901). the influence of the aou and audubon society would soon bring pelican island from the peripheries of federal land management to the desk of the president. grassroots engagement, particularly by audubon women, would introduce the “wanton killing of birds” for hats to the american psyche (andrews 2006, 140). of this initiative, roosevelt would write the audubon society “has done far more than any other single agency in creating and fostering an enlightened public sentiment for the preservation of our useful and attractive birds” (brinkley 2009, 4). by february of 1903, aou’s top brass would advance this initiative further, led by william dutcher, chairman of the aou bird protection committee, and theodore palmer, assistant chief of its division of biological survey (490). dutcher, who often tapped chapman’s political network and empirical fieldwork, had a résumé of success in pursuing state legislation protecting birds. for this and his eventual work on pelican island, roosevelt and first lady, edith kermit roosevelt, would applaud dutcher in a letter for his “efforts to stop the sale and use of this socalled ‘migration’ – the plumes of the white herons” (roosevelt 1906). theodore palmer, the aou’s savviest lobbyist, was familiar with navigating washington’s political circus (reffalt 8 2003). he spent the months prior to roosevelt’s executive order conjuring a plan for pelican island’s protection in cahoots with the federal bureaucracy. fortunately, the audubon society and aou found an ally in the chief executive who pronounced his wishes “to see all harmless wild things, but especially all birds protected in every way” (roosevelt 1899). prior to any consideration of explicit federal protection, palmer had spent the entire february of 1903 in washington d.c., devising a plan that would allow the aou to purchase pelican island from the federal government. from his new york office, dutcher inquired with palmer “to go to [the] interior [department], in order to hurry up the pelican island matter” (reffalt 2003). palmer pursued inquisition, reaching a deal with the department to appropriate aou funds for a general land office (glo) survey of the island, a prerequisite to sell unsurveyed federal land (brinkley 2009, 13). the aou promptly provided affidavits, a cadastral survey and other information they’d collected on the island to glo. “i have complied with the requirements,” dutcher wrote palmer, “and am now waiting, and hoping” (reffalt, 2003). waiting and hoping would be followed by a disastrous revelation: if the glo survey were to be approved, homesteaders could immediately inhabit the island, ceasing any opportunity to purchase it. the aou could not risk farmers and plumers descending en masse on the very rookery they sought to protect (brinkley 2009, 13). as quickly as the aou had been halted, dutcher would discover an alternative means of preservation. on february 20th, palmer and colleague frank bond met with the department of interiors’ (doi) glo commissioner, william richards, and its public surveys division chief, charles dubois to withdraw support for a survey (reffalt 2003). here, dubois first suggested the possibility of protection via executive order. he was familiar with an obscure 1890 opinion from the harrison administration’s attorney general’s office, which had since been adopted as 9 glo policy. at the time, harrison’s secretary of interior john noble had inquired with the administration’s assistant attorney general regarding statutes the president may potentially cite to reserve public lands. upon reviewing dozens of supreme court opinions and cases of former presidents seizing lands in “public interest,” shields concluded that, there is no specific statutory authority empowering the president to reserve public lands; but the right of the executive to place such lands in reservation, as the exigencies of the public service may require […] is recognized and maintained in the courts. the reservation of public lands from disposition may be affected either by proclamation or executive order (reffalt). this broad, untested theory was enough for palmer – and eventually roosevelt – to proceed. worried of perceived collusion between the doi and aou, dubois suggested orienting any executive order to the department of agriculture (usda) under its young biological survey division, further from public and congressional purview (brinkley 2009, 492). palmer wrote back to dutcher that day seeking approval and asserting “if the request is made before any [homesteader] claims are filed it will effectually shut out all comers” (reffalt 2003). dutcher now sought usda approval and direct access to president roosevelt. his draft letter intended for usda secretary james wilson reached palmer for review by tuesday, february 24th and requested preservation of “three small islands […] in indian river, florida,” and noted the aou would “gladly continue to employ a paid warden” (reffalt). palmer responded and informed dutcher that the request would have to be confined to pelican island. by friday february 27th, secretary wilson received dutcher’s final, amended letter. wilson agreed, and with palmer’s consultation, wrote doi 10 secretary ethan hitchcock “urgently recommend[ing] that this matter receive prompt attention […] and this department be enabled to accord the birds protection during the present spring” (reffalt). concurrently, dutcher queried his friend frank chapman to schedule a time to meet president roosevelt. as a true testament to roosevelt’s promptness and proximity to his naturalist network, a meeting was secured for march 14th. in a 1903 report of aou activity, dutcher would recall, “after many months of effort and an expenditure of considerable money in surveys and other necessary red-tape, an appeal was made to the president […] through [usda], to have pelican island set aside as a public reservation” (dutcher 1904, 121). between february 27th and march 14th, usda had approved the request, doi secretary hitchcock would be briefed and approve the decision, and pertinent documents would arrive at roosevelt’s desk prior to his meeting with dutcher and palmer, constituting a swift policy process for 1903, if not today (reffalt 2003). theodore roosevelt’s march 14th agenda was, per usual, busy. earlier that day he was occupied on capitol hill pushing a signature “anti-anarchy” bill and later, had received freshman u.s. senators from idaho, kentucky, washington, and utah at the white house. nonetheless, roosevelt was available and eager to advance his conservation record. the president professed to dutcher and palmer that he’d recently read frank chapman’s pioneering book bird studies with a camera and had been inspired by the vivid accounts of pelican island’s pristine rookery, and was distraught by the 14 percent observed decline of brown pelicans from just 1898-1900 (brinkley 2009, 22). the island was exemplary of “industrialization run amok,” claimed roosevelt (zellmer 2020, 7). present at the meeting was a representative of the justice department, 11 whom roosevelt had earlier summoned to affirm the constitutionality of executive action. the representative concluded that “i cannot find a law that will allow you to do this, mr. president.” roosevelt asked if “there [is] a law that will prevent it,” to which the lawyer nodded, “no”. the president simply, yet famously responded, “very well, i so declare it!” dutcher and palmer needed little, if any, persuasion to woo the president in favor of federal protection (wilkinson 1996). the brief yet groundbreaking executive order, written and signed that same day, reads: it is hereby ordered that pelican island in indian river in section nine, township thirty-one south, range thirty-nine east, state of florida, be, and it is hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the department of agriculture as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds (exec. orderi). pelican island reserve had officially been created. as dubois had originally advised, roosevelt bestowed the order to the usda, keen to mitigate further congressional scrutiny over his expansive and controversial conservation agenda. here, in the biological survey agency (later to be merged with the bureau of fisheries to create the u.s. fish and wildlife service), trusted scientific advisor, friend and agency director dr. c. hart merriam would oversee an unprecedented project of land-management (fishman 2005). in fact, roosevelt had long sought to “strengthen the hand” of the u.s. biological survey as a vehicle for conservation distant from congress (brinkley 2009, 477). as intended, the order garnered minimal immediate media reaction, going unmentioned in both national papers like the new york times and local publications like jacksonville’s florida times-union (brinkley). similarly, its placement under a young, 12 small agency of the usda and absence of specific budgetary appropriations meant that no immediate congressional fuss was targeted at pelican island reservation. in later years, members of congress would challenge his expanding, so-called “wildlife preservations” including wyoming representative franklin w. mondell who argued, “if this practice is to continue, there is no telling how many bird preserves we may have or how much of the territory of the union these federal bird preserves may ultimately cover” (smithsonian 2003). roosevelt affirmed his belief that the president “could at any time in his discretion withdraw from entry any of the public lands of the united states and reserve the same for forestry, for water-power sites, for irrigation, and other public purposes” (roosevelt 1913, 453). his administration would retroactively cite a critical section of the forest reserve act of 1891 as explicit justification for the executive order previously absent at its inception: section 24—the president of the united states may, from time to time, set apart and reserve, in any state or territory having public land bearing forests, in any part of the public lands, wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations; and the president shall, by public proclamation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the limits thereof. furthermore, the 1900 lacey act – landmark bird protection legislation staunchly petitioned by chapman and the aou – had specifically promulgated the usda’s jurisdiction to “include the preservation, distribution, and restoration of game birds and other wild birds” (zellmer 2020, 8). combined, they provided a legal foundation sturdy enough to ensure the maintenance of wildlife and bird preserves to come. 13 on the ground, a gun-toting, mustached local farmer, self-taught in the methods of ornithology would serve as pelican island reservation’s first warden. paul kroegel had long defended migratory birds from poachers, receiving the support and financial backing of frank chapman and the aou. in fact, he was the first to convey the plight of these birds to the likes of chapman and dutcher (stanbridge 2020). roosevelt’s steadfast approval of his appointment will soon be critical for interpreting his decision-making. ultimately, usda would appoint kroegel “warden in charge” by april 24th at the “salary of one ($1) dollar per month to be paid from the fund appropriated for general expenses of the biological investigations […]” (wilson 1903). in an attempt to supplant this dearth of appropriations, the aou’s 1903 expenditure report indicates they provided $2 for signs and an additional $1 for kroegel’s salary (dutcher 1904, 121). roosevelt would boast that, “the creation of these reservations at once placed the united states in the front rank in the world work of bird protection. among these reservations are the celebrated pelican island rookery in indian river” (roosevelt 1913, 453). the president, facilitated by a network of trusted advisors and tactful bureaucrats, had now invented the national wildlife refuge system with the stroke of a pen. interpreting presidential character foundational to barber’s argument of presidential character is his childhood and adolescent development. glimpses of theodore roosevelt’s youth are well-apparent in the story of pelican island. a sickly yet motivated boy, roosevelt combatted frequent bouts of illness and asthma attacks with a commitment to improving both mind and body through an adoration for nature. the young “teedie,” as his mother called him, became 14 an avid hunter, forager, and birdwatcher, famously hosting dozens of self-taxidermized specimens within the “theodore roosevelt museum of natural history” which resided his childhood bedroom (morris 1979). young roosevelt was also an insatiable reader and devotee of darwinian thought, launching an informal career as a naturalist upon reading darwin’s 1859 on the origin of species as a teenager (gould 2010, 266). as a young man stationed in tampa, florida during the spanish american war, roosevelt was impressed by pelicans as “superb natural fishermen” and a “marvelous example of darwin’s evolutionary theory at work” (brinkley 2009, 474). his adjacent adolescent obsession with accumulating physical strength and pursuing a “strenuous life” through military conquest are likewise fundamental to roosevelt’s personal development. his political style, first articulated as a state legislator and governor of new york, was defined by advocating for state land protections, promoting the federal lacey act of 1900, and waging a rhetorical war on bird poachers known at the time as the “feather wars” (brinkley). roosevelt’s admiration for nature and fascination with power would persist to the presidency. in the context of his early character, political style, and worldview, it appears logical, if not intuitive, to frame roosevelt within barber’s typology matrix. in fact, “among scholars of leadership, the most common approach to understanding his leadership in general has been via studies of presidential charisma” (redekop 2014, 160). roosevelt was indeed charismatic and indeed enjoyed presidential power. as he once bluntly stated, “i enjoy being president” (morris 1979, xx). from what we know of his march 14th meeting with dutcher and palmer, roosevelt appeared thrilled to exercise unilateral power and preserve an entire ecosystem by exclaiming “so, i declare it!” as 15 morris concurs, “he indeed delights in every aspect of his job […] in setting aside millions of acres of unspoiled land in the stroke of a pen [….] he takes an almost mechanistic delight in the smooth workings of political power” (xxi). fittingly, many have classified acts like pelican island under the “theodore roosevelt-gifford pinchot” theme of positive government conservation action (wildes 1995, 144). in addition to thoroughly enjoying the presidency, roosevelt was a starkly active executive. his formidable ability to process and act on a diverse set of issues and interests daily is consistent with the events of march 14th, 1903. close friend and socialite william sturgis bigelow describes roosevelt as “a dazzling even appalling, spectacle of a human engine driven at full speed – the signals all properly set beforehand,” while ex-president and rival democrat grover cleveland claims he was “the most perfectly equipped and most effective politician thus far in the presidency” (morris 1979, xxi). roosevelt had processed the request for, researched, and proclaimed pelican island reservation in under a month to which dutcher applauded his “well-known promptness in all matters,” especially, “relating to the preservation of wildlife” (dutcher 1904, 121). the deployment of obscure constitutional and legal knowledge to retroactively defend the executive order may be a function of his character as a rigorous reader and learner. by no means quiet about his accomplishments and exercise of power from the new york’s legislature to the presidency, he used his “bully pulpit” to take active stances on policy matters like conservation (fischman 1982, 9). the role and reputation of paul kroegel reveals yet more about theodore roosevelt, the individual. frank chapman informed the president about kroegel when he first petitioned a meeting with the aou, describing him as a “steely, live-off-the-land, 16 never-say-die lover of wildlife,” who would not hesitate to shoot infringing plumers (brinkley 2009, 490). the president exhibited fascination with kroegel, contributing to his hasty appointment. roosevelt’s brief stint as a young rancher and deputy sheriff in dakota territory would crystallize a power-cognizant, sheriff-like political temperament, as he brandished a metaphorical big stick against poachers, industrialists, and foreign aggressors alike throughout his presidential tenure. fellow naturalist john burroughs noted “his sense of right and duty was inflexible as adamant […] politicians found him a hard customer” (barrus 1928, 320). roosevelt sympathized with kroegel’s war on the plume trade, viewing the local warden as an extension of his moral crusade on the politically immoral. the sickly boy turned war hero, turned preeminent conservationist, “saw […] policies in terms of power. he was intrigued with power, with the problems of power, and with rivalries of power” (ninkovich 1986, 221). the tale of pelican island reserve is one explicitly laden with roosevelt’s perception of power. understanding constitutional doctrine tulis implores us to examine reigning constitutional doctrine as a means to interpreting presidential rhetoric and decisions. theodore roosevelt is infamous for elongated speech tours, berating congress, and his self-proclaimed status as popular representative of the american people. the “bully pulpit” hoisted the president from an administrative leader to a public leader, and as tulis argues, the roosevelt era was one of transition from 19th to 20th century tradition. largely elucidated in his 1913 autobiography, roosevelt’s landmark stewardship theory is the “theory that executive power was limited only by specific restrictions and prohibitions appearing in the 17 constitution or imposed by the congress under its constitutional powers,” and “that every executive officer, and above all every executive officer in high position, was a steward of the people bound actively and affirmatively” (roosevelt, 303). in short, if the constitution didn’t explicitly preclude a president from acting in public interest, that act was within their jurisdiction. clues to roosevelt’s novel yet informed constitutional approach are evident in the story of pelican island. the creation of the reservation inherently rested on the use of implied presidential powers. upon learning that no law explicitly forbade the unilateral provision of wilderness preserves, roosevelt promptly signed an executive order, “stewarding” the rights of birds and taking aim at what he perceived to be corporate demagogues. this new, deviant approach to the federal executive did not go unnoticed. house speaker joseph g. cannon crudely commented that “theodore the sudden,” had, “no more use for the constitution than a tomcat has for a marriage license” (morris 1979, xiv). however, his decision to executively act is remarkably consistent with stewardship theory, and roosevelt’s acknowledgement of constitutional doctrine. following the induction of pelican island reservation, dutcher lobbied for the expansion of the fledgling wildlife protection system as well as an extensive list of radical policy wishes in early 1904. while supportive of new reservations, roosevelt cautioned “it is utterly useless for me to attempt to get thru by myself [other] legislation of the kind you wish. i can do nothing with it of any kind whatsoever unless there is an active agitation by the people in the localities concerned, who will get their congressman to take this initiative” (roosevelt 1907). whether dutcher’s requests were constitutionally forbidden or publicly unserviceable, roosevelt would refuse to exceed his role as a public steward. it thus 18 becomes clear that pelican island is a rule, rather than an exception (as cannon might rebuke), to a lucid constitutional doctrine. roosevelt’s rhetoric both during and after the passage of the executive order reveals more about his commitment to stewardship theory discernable in a series of public-oriented conferences, speeches, and interviews organized by gifford pinchot to advocate conservation proposals and achievements (ponder 1990, 547). for example, a mere week after signing off on pelican island reservation he remarked at a meeting for the society of american foresters his pride in “refuges for the wild creatures,” and “forests […] as the means for preserving and increasing the prosperity of the nation” (roosevelt 1903). rhetoric thus became a means to redefine the presidency and steward unprecedented strands of policy. conservation, according to roosevelt, was “essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method,” publicly oriented and thus an integral pursuit of a true executive steward (roosevelt 1916, 94). instead of catering to industrial interests, the office was a prime “counterweight to the concentrated economic power of big business” (andrews 2006, 137). he further acknowledged in writing and practice that “the executive has nothing to do with legislation,” but its “peculiarly representative” position implies “a good executive […] must take a very active interest in getting the right kind of legislation […]with an eye single to the public welfare” (roosevelt 1913, 304-5). the creation of pelican island was, for the time, an unparalleled exercise of executive power regarding matters of conservation. american expectations of reform, in general, would accordingly shift following policies such as this, with matters of conservation implicitly entering the domain of the federal government. it is thus logical 19 to examine unparalleled policy within the context of unparalleled constitutional interpretation, in line with tulis’ demarcation of doctrinal shifts. the creation of pelican island reserve is a decision cognizant that “the nation’s natural resources belonged to all the people,” unequivocally predicated on a doctrine unrestrained by administrative boundaries and rhetorical conservatism (harbaugh 1967, 139). evaluations and conclusions more than a century from his passing, a mythical ethos surrounds both theodore roosevelt’s individual and political legacy. both the man and the president pursued the improbable and waged wars seemingly unwinnable. in this light, i find it most appropriate to evaluate the 26th president’s decisions via an individual and political unit of analysis. barber invites us to study a man obsessed with both nature and power, active and positive in character well into the presidency. tulis’ method reveals a forwardthinking executive and learned scholar versed in constitutional tradition and framing. both are important yet insufficient to understand the decision arguably responsible for contemporary federal wildlife protection. instead, they collectively augment our understanding of an act largely absent in political science literature. clear throughout this narrative, roosevelt’s longstanding familiarity with nature requisites his swift, confident pen stroke. among the president’s most trusted and accessible advisors were fellow naturalists including frank chapman, gifford pinchot, and c. hart merriam. moreso, roosevelt’s rhetoric surrounding pelican island is laden in the language of power. in his own words, the executive order was a means to subdue “industrialization run amok” and a definitive exercise of power reminiscent of long-ago 20 efforts to quell childhood sickness and bullies (zellmer 2020, 7). critical actors like william dutcher reflect on roosevelt’s energy while the president himself clarifies his enjoyment for the position. it’s logical to assume an active, positive president, with a respect for nature and power would embrace an act the likes of pelican island. his march 14th, 1903, executive order is but one testament to a consensus presidential character. roosevelt’s constitutional doctrinal approach, one of public stewardship, is well documented. his autobiography frames much of his political accomplishments, including pelican island, as products of stewardship theory. rhetorically, conservation is framed as a national imperative with profound public implications. no facet of roosevelt’s ambitious reforms arguably exude a sensitivity to public interest in lieu of congressional antipathy as much as those focused on conservation. pelican island reservation was categorically bred and born within the federal executive, existing not because of an explicit administrative mandate, but because there was no law or regulation saying it couldn’t. such an act is incompatible and inconceivable under 19th century constitutional doctrine. thus, our nation’s first wildlife reserve was enacted when it was, how it was, and by whom it was because of shifts in such doctrine. i again query: by what motivations was president theodore roosevelt’s decision to declare florida’s pelican island a federal wildlife reserve reached? in sum, understanding roosevelt’s character and constitutional approach provides us with a compelling answer. issues of conservation have been, and are increasingly becoming, matters of great significance. analyzing the motivations and decisions which prompt reform at the highest echelon of american government are critical in determining how new reform will manifest in future policy spheres. additionally, as consequential as 21 pelican island reserve may appear, no such explicit attempt has been made to evaluate roosevelt’s decision-making process in the matter. ideally, this nuanced narrative should contribute to discourse of an important, yet overlooked, historical juncture. endnote 1 according to the federal register of executive orders, roosevelt’s original 1903 order was rendered legally null by executive order no. 1014 (1909) which reasserted and clarified the jurisdiction of pelican island reserve. as reflected in the citation, the 1903 executive order is henceforth no longer numbered and catalogued by the federal register. works referenced andrews, richard n. 2006. “progressivism: conservation in the public interest.” in managing the environment, managing ourselves: a history of american environmental 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(march 24,1903). “james wilson letter to paul kroegel.” accessed at http://61996282.weebly.com/creating-the-refuge.html. zellmer, sandra b. 2020. “theodore roosevelt: of mice and men, birds and bison.” in pioneers of environmental law. new york, ny: twelve table press. “women don’t buy suitcases”: unpacking liminality and gender in mad men jess derr english over its eight-year tenure (2007-2015), amc’s commercially and critically acclaimed 1960s period drama, mad men, follows madison avenue advertising aces as they navigate personal and professional conflicts at the dawn of a new decade. “the suitcase,” which originally aired on september 5th, 2010, during the show’s fourth season, is often heralded as mad men at its best, with reviewer alison herman stating, “‘the suitcase’ is the ultimate mad men episode because it’s the story of the show in miniature: flawed, difficult, and damaged people finding salvation in their work, though perhaps not enough to save them from themselves.” many audience members shared herman’s sentiment regarding the episode’s tight, contained nature, considering that “the suitcase” is the closest thing the television series has to a “bottle episode.” first attributed to television creator and producer leslie stevens in the 60s, a bottle episode describes an installment of television that is inexpensively produced, contained to usually one setting, and utilizes as few cast members as possible (“bottle episode”). while the genesis of the bottle episode came from a place of frugality, its stripped down, slower pace renders it a creative device to better explore character development and character relationships. in particular, “the suitcase” centers solely on don draper and peggy olson operating within the isolated ambivalence of a bottle episode. mad men’s writers take advantage of this format to analyze where peggy stands at the series midpoint (the 46th of 92 episodes) and where she is heading. because mad men’s pilot begins with peggy’s first day at work, in contrast to the other characters established in their respective roles, audiences are able to follow the full development of her journey from lowly secretary to eventual creative director. in this way, peggy becomes highly emblematic of the passage of time and the ability for reinvention, “the suitcase” serving as a major turning point in her transformation. this series midpoint centers itself around the 1965 heavyweight boxing match between sonny liston and muhammad ali (then cassius clay) with the offices of sterling cooper draper pryce (scdp) making bets and preparing for a night out to watch the bout. scdp employees buzz with enthusiasm, their minds already outside the office and beyond the current moment, eagerly looking forward to the evening’s excitement. in opposition, don stays intently in the present and within the office space, throwing himself into a new ad campaign for samsonite suitcases. for his colleagues, the future brings fine dining followed by blood sport. for don, it ushers forth a phone call he would much rather ignore, knowing that it will bring bad news regarding his dear friend anna. before leaving for the day, peggy and the rest of the creative team put on their samsonite pitch for don. to highlight the strength of the suitcase, peggy’s proposed commercial revolves around a football game with an intended celebrity cameo by quarterback joe namath. once the pitch concludes, don is displeased, and the following exchange occurs: don: “endorsements are lazy, and i don’t like joe namath. he hasn’t even played in a professional game yet.” peggy: “he’s very handsome.” don: “and women don’t buy suitcases.” but why don’t women buy suitcases? this paper seeks to address that very question. in “the suitcase,” the titular object becomes an emblem of escape, signifying the reprieve of humdrum routine and ritual. what follows is a subsequent vacation from obligation– of work, family, even the omnipresent loomings of cultural expectations. accordingly untethered, one may step outside of themselves and their current life to play at being something else. however, this freedom is disproportionately granted to men due to the strict teleologies imposed upon women, both seen in mad men proper and the historical era it is based on. however, “the suitcase” shows us that by embracing and inhabiting a liminal space, peggy experiences a momentary freedom and fluidity of identity that operates against womanhood’s predetermined timeline. the experience in this space ultimately rejuvenates not only her relationship with don, but kickstarts the rise of her role at scdp. while audiences may have an implicit understanding of the relationship between suitcases and travel, peggy and don make it explicit in their brainstorming session, declaring that the most exciting thing about a suitcase is “going somewhere” (“the suitcase”). in their article, “travel as transition: identity and place,” white and white help to articulate where that excitement which don and peggy bring up comes from— “[travel provides the] opportunity to escape from everyday life, a space for reflection (muller and o’cass 2001). it appears to act as a transitional time, providing an interval away from social pressures and new or different responsibilities and roles” (201). here, space and identity become irrefutably intertwined. settled in a given area, we define ourselves in relation to the people around us, as well as the roles we play that are ascribed by and for them. through travel, one can remove themself physically and emotionally from these concrete ties, not staying long enough to create new ones. travel, then, becomes a space of great agency, of endless possibility. as a result, “new aspects of the self [can be] revealed or performed” or “aspects of oneself can be mirrored or reflected back in a new light” (white & white 207). with this understood, the illuminating aspect of travel with regards to self does not necessarily stem from going to a particular place. the actual destination of peggy and don’s vague “somewhere” is of little concern; what truly matters is to go somewhere, anywhere, different from where you are right now. but this luxury of freedom is not made available to everyone equally. don’s initial comment– “women don’t buy suitcases,”– implies that by not needing to pack their things to travel, women fail to experience the autonomy it allows and the fluidity of identity it fosters. today, we can certainly look back on the 1960s as a time of liberation and social change, especially when taking into consideration the intense rise of second-wave feminism. nonetheless, as illuminated by stephanie coontz in a strange stirring: the feminine mystique and american women at the dawn of the 1960s, “when it came to women [...] the laws, practices, and attitudes of 1963 had more in common with those of the first fifty years of the century than what was to come in the next twenty years” (5). the stifling social roles not only kept women in place spatially in the home, but also limited their social mobility. one of the most prominent illustrations of the strict, grounding identities predisposed for women of the 1960s was betty friedan’s scathing feminine mystique. the title term comes from a notion which proclaims “the highest value and only commitment for women is the fulfillment of their own femininity,” a phantasmic, ethereal quality that gleans its value from being interconnected to life-giving and creation (43). when women forsake what is considered their true nature to be like men, they will encounter insurmountable discord and discontent. they will only be satisfied once they accept and embrace their feminine essence “which can find fulfillment only in sexual passivity, male domination, and nurturing maternal love” (43). what results from these “certain concrete, finite, domestic aspects of feminine existences'' is the pressure to comply with a strict, linear timeline. milestones women are expected to strive for punctuate this timeline, often manifesting as unyielding archetypal roles: sexually alluring girlfriend, blushing bride, supportive wife, doting mother. these roles emerge from, “culture [that] does not permit women to accept or gratify their basic need to grow and fulfill their potentialities as human beings” (friedan 77). with women's basic needs overshadowed by those from whom they glean their identities, their husbands and children, they are prevented from the type of independent travel and separation necessary to explore and experiment with different aspects of the self. thus, a physical grounding in the domestic sphere reflects an immobility of selfhood, the ultimate disablement of the identity play that leads to self-discovery. it would be remiss to argue that in contrast to their female counterparts, men are left unscathed by culture’s demands and pressures. still, they are certainly afforded far more leniency in how they conduct their lives and how they fit into societal archetypes, wandering off the course of expectation when needed. with particular regard to the world of mad men, mimi white writes, the ‘mad men’ distinction directly affiliates the advantages of gender, profession and class status with the right to be angry, zany, creative, manipulative and excessive. ‘mad men’ get to behave however they want. by contrast, the ‘mad woman’ label points out how women are denied claims to this same territory, even as they are fully implicatedif not trappedwithin it. (151) throughout the course of the series, men shirk their duties, both professionally and personally, with no lasting consequence or major societal backlash. in “the suitcase” episode, we see the rest of peggy’s creative team stepping out of corporate professional roles to embody the states of rambunctious teenage boys— constantly playing jokes, throwing around a football, needing to be nagged about their messy office space by joan, sniggering childishly when don asks to speak to peggy alone. academic william siska contends that this behavior of “mad men behaving as boys” indicates a “desire to escape to a future free of the tensions and need for conformity required by corporate america” (207). nevertheless, whatever conformity the men feel pressured to adhere to, they are in the privileged position where it need not be permanent. peggy’s coworkers can simultaneously regress to the state of young boys while also, referring back to siska, escaping to a future, thus leading to the joining of two separate temporalities. meanwhile, women lack this same sort of control over perceptions of themselves and are not afforded the same indulgence of escape as their male counterparts. like with the corporate world, men feel a need to break free from the demands of the domestic sphere, with nearly all of mad men’s male characters occasionally stepping out of their roles as husbands and fathers. for many of the mad men, don especially, extramarital affairs act as a small hit of temporary happiness to offset the numbness created by the dual drudgery of madison avenue and the suburbs that serve as home. rachel menken, one of don’s earlier mistresses, confirms this to us in the season one episode “nixon vs. kennedy” when she tells don, “you don’t want to run away with me; you just want to run away.” rachel correctly asserts that don does not truly care about a romantic relationship with her, for such a thing would bring forth its own set of attachments and expectations. similarly, don does not view rachel as an independent person. she is most attractive through what she is not: life at the office and life playing husband and father in suburbia. such thinking leaves rachel a tool to be used in his escape. betty, don’s wife, likewise tries to use an affair to evade societal trappings, but her attempt demonstrates that only men can truly relieve cultural pressure. betty’s one-night stand is markedly retributive, as she just discovered years of her husband’s infidelity. yet, this act pales in comparison to don’s prior missteps, with white arguing “it hardly seems equal to the task of squaring extramarital accounts” (152). while don never has to worry about the physicality of his affairs, betty only feels able to partake in her one-night stand because there is no risk of pregnancy, considering she just learned she is expecting. in addition, there is no sort of fulfillment or passion to be found in her tawdry tryst in a bar office. she visually appears distracted throughout the encounter and twice ignores her lover’s attempt to know her name. betty’s scenes in the bar are intercut with a scene of her husband and children waiting for her return in a hotel room, a constant reminder of her identity as wife and mother. they need not wait long. betty quickly returns to the drudgery of being a suburban housewife and mother, never referencing or reflecting on the liaison for the rest of the series. little is gained from her affair, unlike don, who experiences the great catharsis which escape can bring from his dalliances. white goes on to state, “women’s agency, such as it is, always comes at a price with built-in limits” (151). thus, we are forced to confront whether betty’s reprisal is truly a show of freedom or just further emphasis of the restriction women feel when forced to walk a linear path. don's backstory is perhaps the greatest indicator of man's ability to construct themselves and their identity non-linearly. born as dick whitman to a prostitute mother who dies before he can know her, dick is sent off to a farm in the middle of nowhere illinois to live with an alcoholic, abusive father and a stepmother who loathes him. dick finds temporary reprieve in shipping out to the korean war, but there he makes a fatal mistake which sees his commanding officer killed and disfigured beyond recognition. by switching his dog tags with said commanding officer, dick steps into the persona of don draper and gains the agency to become whatever he desires. he does not have to trudge along any semblance of a linear path or earn his milestones. even when a coworker threatens to reveal don’s identity, his boss, bert cooper, ultimately declares, “the japanese have a saying. ‘a man is whatever room he is in,’ and right now, donald draper is in this room. [...] there is more profit in forgetting this” (“nixon vs. kennedy”). once again, identity becomes affixed to space and the ability to move through it. a man is able to walk into a room, declare himself whatever he wishes, and be believed. while don’s adopted persona is met with little resistance, a woman has to fight to have her authentic identity recognized, outside of her attachments to men that leave her branded secretary, wife, and mother. thus, the mad men of scdp have the space and flexibility to play with predisposed roles and identity as easily as packing a suitcase and heading off for a quick getaway. meanwhile, women don’t buy suitcases because they do not get to leave their strict, predestined path. the ladies of scdp find themselves in a difficult bind, because, to borrow once more from mimi white, “whether women are stereotypically complacent or willfully transgressive doesn’t make much difference. they are still apt to have the rug pulled out from under them” (152). peggy olson keenly feels this bind in “the suitcase.” set on her 26th birthday, the passage of time is a weighty presence she cannot ignore. in the very beginning of the episode, we see her receive a birthday gift from former flame duck phillips: a bouquet of flowers and a set of business cards. the latter bears the name of an advertising agency duck hopes to start, peggy branded as creative director. “the train’s leaving the station, honey. get on board,” duck tells her over the phone. not only does duck’s comment elicit a sense of urgency, of temporality, but it reminds peggy of the linear path imposed upon women. after all, trains can only move forward. this warning too hints at the fear society imposes upon those who are perceived as slow to progress on the timeline or who are left behind completely. the flowers serve a similar purpose, time’s influence so stark and visible on their quick-to-wither petals. duck’s proposal further complicates peggy’s position, standing at the precipice of major life changes. her rising career chafes against a steady boyfriend, mark, who from the beginning of their relationship has had his foot on the gas pedal (i.e.: calling peggy his fiancé when she wasn’t and pressuring her to have sex before she was ready). later episodes of mad men will prove that it is nearly, if not outright impossible, to escape the type of gendered expectations criticized in the feminine mystique. regardless of what they do or how they behave, women are unable to separate themselves from their gender and the forward progression it calls for, thereby permanently denying them the same identity play and sovereignty men enjoy. but by inhabiting a liminal space, peggy exhibits a mobility of self-expression, ignoring the linear gendered timeline to explore various facets of both traditionally feminine and masculine expression. before unpacking how liminality functions in “the suitcase,” it is imperative to understand its foundational concepts. liminality comes from the latin limen meaning threshold. the term was first used by anthropologist arnold van gennep in his 1909 book les rites de passage or the rites of passage. in the text, van gennep examines that every human’s life is marked by transition-whether it be a change of place, state, social position, or age. regardless of the distinct culture, these transitions are signified by rituals that more or less follow the same three-part structure. van gennep proceeds to break them down in the following way: “i propose to call the rites of separation from a previous world, preliminal rites, those executed during the transitional stage liminal (or threshold rites), and the ceremonies of incorporation into the new world postliminal rites” (van gennep 21). in other words, during a rite of passage, an individual withdraws from their former position, a separation from the way things were, essentially a soft death. what follows is a period of ambivalent limbo, neither here nor there, until the ritual finishes and the community brings the individual back into the fold, reborn into their “new” identity. it is important to note here that the subject “is in a stable state once more and, by “is in a stable state once more and, by virtue of this, has rights and obligations of a clearly defined and structural type, and is expected to behave in accordance with certain customary norms and ethical standards,'' a distinctly oppositional condition than those of the men of sdcp who are able to revert away from their assigned roles whenever they feel in need of a vacation (turner 5). it was this middle liminal stage that was most interesting to british cultural anthropologist victor turner. he defines the liminal space as “a realm of pure possibility whence novel configurations of ideas and relations may rise” due to its distinguishing “ambiguity and paradox” (“betwixt and between” 7). the subject undergoing this transitive state, the neophyte, as dubbed by turner, is granted immense agency to “be themselves” as they become liberated from institutionalized roles and the responsibilities that stem forth from such. while engaged in the exploration this freedom allows, turner mentions the neophyte may attempt to discern their place in the greater workings through “rite, myth song, instruction in a secret language, and various non-verbal symbolic genres such as dancing, painting, clay molding, wood-carving, masking, etc,” something which serves to situate the liminal space as an intensely creative realm (“process, performance, and pilgrimage” 20). by the nature of their chosen field of anthropology, van gennep, turner, and their contemporaries were primarily concerned with how liminality relates to human subjects and their respective cultural practices. however, the work of marc auge seeks to apply similar frameworks to the nonhuman, primarily that of physical spaces. in his book, non-places: introduction to an anthropology of supermodernity, auge defines the non-place as one which “cannot be defined as relational or historical or concerned with identity” (77-78). there, “what reigns is actuality, the urgency of the present moment” as “non-places are there to be passed through” (auge 103). examples of the non-place include spaces such as airport terminals, hotel hallways, empty motorways, or a supermarket at night. each of these spaces become alike in the uncanny, unsettled sensations they invoke, making anyone who crosses through them to feel like an interloper. perhaps more importantly, similar to victor turner’s work, a person existing within one of these liminal non-places “is relieved of his usual determinants [...] he tastes for a while– like anyone who is possessed– the passive joys of identity-loss, and the more active pleasure of role-playing” (auge 103). in other words, the non-committal, impermanence of nonplaces serves as the prime environment for the creation and experimentation of different personas. “the suitcase” episode’s first non-place appears in the form of the office bathroom. as otherwise stated, the members of scdp’s female workforce are not allowed the same office ownership as their male counterparts. heavily scrutinized as they are, it seems women have to work twice as hard to get a fragment of the respect their male colleagues receive. in consequence, they are forced to maintain a steely professional front to avoid being perceived as vulnerable and subsequently getting taken advantage of. liminality surrounds the office bathroom because while still existing spatially within a place of business, this pocket space allows the women to shed their professional facade and the expectations, assumptions, and its accompanying responsibilities. usually, this shedding is perpetuated through outward expressions of emotions such as crying. in an environment where appearances are everything, the purging of internal ugliness to the external world would be considered a major misstep, but in the bathroom, it can happen without ramifications, as we see peggy do in the episode after she endures some particularly rough criticism from don after her boyfriend breaks up with her. moreover, if we believe turner when he proposes that liminality is ultimately a “reflective” experience, the bathroom achieves a similar effect by being covered in mirrors, something that forces an individual to inspect and interrogate their own visage (“betwixt and between” 14). when using these mirrors, the women of scdp are suspended in a transitional state, rendered in the act of creation imperative to liminality as they make and remake themselves with cosmetics and other toiletries. because mad men recognizes the woman’s bathroom as a space for self-fashioning, the show uses the setting for two vital interactions peggy experiences. when peggy enters the bathroom, she runs into two women, megan and trudy, who serve to further emphasize peggy’s liminal position through their representation of different temporal markers. megan, a young, vivacious secretary, asks about peggy’s plans for her birthday to which peggy details the romantic evening in store for her with mark. after asking how old peggy is, megan regards the other woman with an impressed look— “you’re doing alright, aren’t you?” as megan leaves, a heavily pregnant trudy enters. following a brief back and forth of small talk about trudy’s health during her pregnancy, trudy fixes peggy with a smile that oozes of condescension. “happy birthday,” she beams. “you know, 26 is still very young.” in short, megan praises peggy’s place in womanhood, she has a steady romantic partner and he provides for her. on the other hand, trudy hints that peggy should not lose hope of achieving a husband, household, and child-to-be as trudy herself has. as a result of these conflicting perceptions, peggy neither succeeds nor fails, the type of paradoxical position that defines the liminal space. both women’s place as symbolic ontological markers for peggy continues to emphasize this liminality. as don’s secretary, what was once peggy’s starting position at the agency, megan becomes emblematic of peggy’s past. in contrast, as the pregnant wife of the man peggy had a baby with (and subsequently gave away), trudy acts as a representation of what could have been peggy’s future. this leaves peggy suspended in the middle, illustrative of a still unfurling present. not yet crystallized into something concrete and certain, she attempts to balance being a career woman with a serious romantic relationship. one could certainly argue that peggy’s in-betweenness primes her for anxiety and uncertainty, but as we know from turner and his peers, liminality’s allowances can be plentiful. in the same bathroom scene, we see both trudy and megan putting on gloves after washing their hands, while peggy remains barehanded. this is significant foremost since gloves are very much so a reminder of the external. beyond being worn outside to keep one’s hands clean, their nature as adornment and accessory renders them ultimately performative. fashion allows us to mask our interior and design the exterior we want to project out into the world. this considered then, both megan and trudy can be read as conscious of an external world where they will be scrutinized and saddled with responsibilities whereas gloveless peggy chooses to forgo such considerations. furthermore, hands are man’s tools for creation. they allow us not only to build, sculpt, and manufacture, but they are integral in forging relationships. upon first meeting, people shake hands in order to cross that barrier of initial trust, proving that they are not armed with a weapon. as the relationship progresses, hands represent stability and generosity, such as with the common maxim “to lend a hand.” in this way, what free, bare hands come to represent fits in neatly with turner’s conceptions of an inherently creative liminal space, only continuing to enforce peggy’s place in a threshold state. we see peggy fully immersed in the creativity which liminality allows throughout the course of “the suitcase,” as her and don’s surface goal is to remain in the office until they come up with an approach for samsonite. while in their formative act of brainstorming, the liminality of inhabiting an office space during off-hours becomes apparent. on screen, this is conveyed by dim lighting, lingering shots of long, empty hallways, and air stilted and lacking without the routine reverberation of ringing telephones, secretaries clattering away on keyboards, and general workplace ambience. overall, existing in a place that should not be open and operating at a certain time brings forth a strong sense of dissonance. from outside the office’s liminal space, mark calls by telephone from an opposite setting, a bustling restaurant. he feels a temporal pressure that holds little relevance for don and peggy (at one point, don forsakes measures of time stating, “i don’t care if you work 10 seconds if you bring me something i like.”). mark constantly asks when/if peggy will arrive, articulating himself in binary ways of time (“a while soon or a while like i should cancel”). peggy, however, cannot seem to stick to these standard conventions. she promises to leave in fifteen minutes, but an hour quickly passes with her barely able to register it. time seems to lack any real significance, and thus, the rules no longer apply. mark’s routine interruptions also serve to steer peggy back onto the linear path ascribed to women, especially considering that he invited her family along to the birthday dinner, a sign that could be read as increasing the significance of their relationship. but just as peggy deserts these gendered expectations, so does she desert other scripts with regard to gender embodiment, externally expressed through peggy’s constant movement between her own office and don’s. beyond simply being gendered on account of who inhabits the space, visually the offices are indicative of separate feminine/masculine spheres. in peggy’s office, warm, welcoming orange walls house floral paintings and vibrant ad artwork. her birthday bouquet still sits prominently on her desk, the flowers themselves a combination of pink carnations and baby’s breath. in contrast, don’s space is one mostly devoid of any adornments, all dark woods and beige plush furniture. the most prominent amenities the office boasts are don’s liquor cart and his large, looming desk. many camera shots center on the desk in an adversarial way that emphasizes the divide between don and whoever finds themselves on the other end. confrontational and hypermasculine, the desk reminds us that here in his domain, don is king. however, throughout the episode we see peggy standing/sitting to the side of don as opposed to across from him. accordingly, peggy’s ability to go back and forth from these spaces and create work exhibits a freedom from the gender binary and each side’s respective trappings. such a sensation is explored in victor turner’s work when he states, “neophytes are sometimes treated or symbolically represented as being neither male nor female. alternatively, they may be symbolically assigned characteristics of both sexes, irrespective of their biological sex” (“betwixt and between” 8). this “symbolic androgyny” the liminal space provides is first demonstrated through peggy’s creative products, arguably in itself a masculine task considering she is the sole female copy-writer. a visual representation of this is created through a pointed shot of peggy standing between the men and women’s restrooms when shouldering a drunk don. after a brief moment of indecision, she chooses the men’s room, just as she chose to go into the male dominated world of advertising. with regard to her work proper, peggy’s proposals for samsonite include the likes of dropping the suitcase off the eiffel tower and having it crushed by an elephant. all her ideas are alike in that they revolve around ideals of strength and physicality. these traits become gendered sharply as hypermasculine due to their association with the scdp’s men’s fevered interest earlier in the episode with the liston/clay fight. inversely to her masculine leanings, we see peggy inhabit various female archetypes of the linear timeline established earlier in this paper. she literally plays the role of the girlfriend in the initial samsonite pitch, a character that doubles as the quarterback’s defender. the girlfriend archetype is invoked a second time on the phone with duck— “i need to see you, babe [...] you’re the last thing that made me feel good about myself.” but then we witness peggy get branded a whore, both indirectly by don and directly by duck (“i guess when screwing me couldn’t get you anything you, you had to go back to draper [...] we were in love. turns out she’s just another whore.”) and indirectly by don. this former point occurs when peggy confronts don about appropriating her idea which won him a clio. as previously explored, creative idea generation is closely intertwined with conceptions of identity. ideas, then, become an extension of one’s self. in effect, when don implies that anything peggy produces belongs to him, it feels like a violation of her own person much like how in a brothel the client ultimately dictates and profits from the exchange. the allusions to whoring are continually emphasized by don’s intent to keep emotions out of the equation, keeping conduct purely transactional— “i give you money, you give me ideas.” the whore is not part of the linear path, rather friedan defines it as the “good woman’s” polar opposite (46). if we recall that women are only permitted to move forward along the path of progress then peggy's association with the whore would make her irredeemable, fixing her outside the norm. however, because peggy exists in this undefined state, she retains mobility to experiment with other archetypes, as similarly demonstrated by her coworkers’ seamless ability to take on boyish personas but return to being working men. for peggy, she is able to take up the mantle of the mother. peggy and don are in a bar listening to the fight, they discuss the child peggy gave up and if she ever thinks about it. slightly later, peggy tends to a heavily intoxicated don as a mother would a sick child, at one point resting his head in her lap and soothing him when he begins to apologize for embarrassing her. when don gets off a particularly difficult phone call, peggy then rubs his back and comforts him while he cries. whereas it could be easy to claim that these archetypes become evidence of peggy willingly subjecting herself to the degradation of the patriarchy, we must take into account the ease by which she passes through roles and can drop them at a moment’s notice in favor of another. in “the best of everything: the limits of being a working girl in mad men,” authors akass and mccade explore how women of the series attempt to navigate and escape the male gaze and the dehumanization it fosters. ultimately, they reach the verdict that “no one exists beyond laws governing sexuality and gender politics, and always remain subject to rules, prohibitions, and controls” (akass & mccade 187). if this is to be believed, then potentially peggy’s ability to navigate outside of the rigid timeline for women could be read as a type of survivalist tool to keep her moving through this male-dominated world of corporate advertising. the archetypes become camouflage and not actual indicators of her identity. peggy isn’t the only female character in mad men that we see operating within these archetypes non-linearly. anna draper, too, exists within marginal states. anna is the wife of the original lieutenant don draper and remains married to don draper on paper after dick whitman steals his identity and lives as don. nevertheless, in line with the unusual circumstance they find themselves in, anna does not act as wife to dick as society would dictate. most notably, no sexual or romantic feelings emerge in their partnership. simultaneously, she embodies a mother role through a natural tender, softhearted demeanor. being the only one who knows don’s true identity of dick whitman, she serves as the sole caretaker of dick and his childhood trauma, giving don a home both physically (through temporarily escaping to her house in california) and emotionally (through allowing don to work through dick whitman’s baggage). such a dynamic becomes one laden with love and profound understanding, but fundamentally defies the expectations of what we are told the relationship between a man and woman should look like. more pertinently to the episode at hand, it is anna’s death that hounds don throughout “the suitcase.” don knows that when he finally makes the call he has been avoiding, he will learn anna has passed. yet, by refusing to pick up the phone, anna remains in a state stuck somewhere between no longer living but not quite dead. according to turner, death is a hallmark of the liminal space. specifically, he writes, “the symbols that represent [the neophyte] are, in many societies, drawn from biology of death, decomposition, catabolism, and other physical processes that have a negative tinge” (“betwixt and between” 6). death and its allowances become present earlier in the episode when peggy and don leave the office to go to a diner. a diner’s liminality stems from the following factors: it is usually a stopping point on a journey, it exists outside of conventional operating times, and diners are fairly uniform wherever you go in america. this type of environment lends to don and peggy forgoing their professional facades to open up candidly about and connect over death— don watched his father die and saw men die overseas during the korean war, while peggy watched her father have a fatal heart attack. only through confronting death head on are peggy and don able to move forward, as this acts as a sort of death of their past, paving the way for a new present. the noted nods to familial figures lost leaves a space for where new relationships can flourish, creating the opportunity for peggy and don to deepen their connection. just as an acknowledgment of death spurs a marked change for peggy and don’s relationship, so does it spur forth the final aspects of rites of passage, and with that, peggy’s crystallized identity. more specifically, when don finally confronts the reality of anna’s death and hangs up the phone, he realizes that peggy overheard the entire thing and explains that “someone very important to [him] died.” peggy asks who it was, to which don responds, “the only person in the world who really knew me.” in reply, peggy tells him that this isn’t true. here it is important to note that imperative to the liminal state are the roles of authority figures (“betwixt and between 9). as such, peggy can look at don and say she knows him because throughout their time together, while left in an impressionable transitive state, don has started to view her as a protege and to shape her in his image. but perhaps more importantly, we see peggy assume anna’s role for herself. such a role is a nontraditional one, both embracing and forsaking archetypes in equal measure. above all, though, it looks beyond the facetious exteriors society would have people erect to favor authentic connection and understanding– i see you. you see me. with this new identity solidified, peggy exits the liminal space. come the next morning, in a reversal of the opening scene, don seeks peggy’s approval on a samsonite idea, using imagery from the liston/clay fight the night prior. the uncanny timelessness from the night before is banished when peggy tells don “i think you have to know the photo,” as this grounds don and peggy back into the course of history and the course of time. but standing shoulder to shoulder with him, don playfully offended at her reticence towards his ideas, demonstrates peggy’s ascension to a new role which van gennep would call aggregation, the postliminal rite, his third and final step of the rites of passage. peggy has resituated herself back into the structure of scdp, only now she has ascended to someone worth getting feedback from. we also see her relationship with don solidify into one of transparency and understanding, beyond that of a boss and his underling. don holds peggy’s hand, and they exchange a look, devoid of any sexual tension, if anything, to say thank you. the episode fittingly ends on a threshold, peggy asking if don wants his door open or closed. don’s reply not only helps us to believe that he and peggy no longer have to keep barriers up around each other, that they breached a level of respect, perhaps even a type of love, that transcends typical definition. but perhaps more so it harkens to the fact that peggy will not be closed in by limitations prescribed to women through an arbitrary timeline. rather, solidified in her new identity as worthy, creative, able to stand shoulder to shoulder with one of advertising’s heavy hitters, open doors portend an open avenue of future possibilities. works cited akass, kim and janet mccabe. “the best of everything: the limits of being a working girl in mad men.” mad men : dream come true tv, edited by gary r. edgerton, ib taurus, 2010, pp. 177–192. auge, marc. non-places: introduction to an anthropology of super modernity. verso, 1995. “bottle episode.” merriam-webster.com dictionary, merriam-webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bottle%20episode. accessed 22 nov. 2020 coontz, stephanie. a strange stirring: the feminine mystique and american women at the dawn of the 1960s. basic books, 2011. friedan, betty. feminine mystique . dell publishing, 1963. herman, alison. review of mad men. “the suitcase” was all the greatness of ‘mad men,’ bottled up”, the ringer, 2 sept. 2020, www.theringer.com/tv/2020/9/2/21417597/mad-men-the-suitcase-bottle-episode-don-dra per-peggy-olson. gennep, arnold van. the rites of passage. the university of chicago press, 2019. "nixon vs. kennedy." mad men, written by lisa albert, directed by alan taylor, amc, 2007. siska, william. “men behaving as boys: the culture of mad men.” mad men : dream come true tv, edited by gary r. edgerton, ib taurus, 2010, pp. 195–208. "the suitcase." mad men, written by matthew weiner, directed by jennifer getzinger, amc, 2010. turner, victor. “betwixt and between: the liminal period in rites of passage.” betwixt & between: patterns of masculine and feminine initiation, edited by louise mahdi, open court, 1987, pp. 3–23. http://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/9/2/21417597/mad-men-the-suitcase-bottle-episode-don-dra turner, victor. process, performance, and pilgrimage: a study in comparative symbology. concept publishing company, 1979. white, mimi. “mad women.” mad men : dream come true tv, edited by gary r. edgerton, ib taurus, 2010, pp. 147–158. white, naomi rosh, and peter b. white. “travel as transition: identity and place.” annals of tourism research, vol. 31, no. 1, jan. 2004, pp. 200–218. ebscohost. microsoft word wynn concept final submission 1 the ties that bind: personal feelings in giovanni’s room eva wynn english in affect and american literature in the age of neoliberalism, rachel greenwald smith argues that the depiction of individual feelings in literature precludes readers from observing and understanding the systems, institutions, and networks present in society. she believes that literature about these so-called personal feelings advances a neoliberal agenda, and calls instead for a literature about impersonal feelings, which make clear the ways in which an individual is acted upon by external forces. in “violence, mourning, politics,” the second chapter of their book precarious life: the powers of mourning and violence, judith butler claims that it is through personal feelings such as grief that we come to know how connected to each other we truly are. according to butler, feelings such as grief are private but not privatized. they originate from the ties to others and society that constitute the individual. although butler does not focus on literature in the way that smith does, this theory can certainly also be applied to works of literature. smith believes that novels about personal feelings do not tell the reader about how the world works, but perhaps they would if they were read through the lens of butler’s vulnerability theory. in this essay, i will provide an overview of both smith and butler’s theoretical positions and the places in which these theories converge. i will then analyze the novel giovanni’s room by james baldwin through the lens of each theory, focusing especially on how each theory calls on readers to interpret the personal feelings and relationships present in the novel. although baldwin’s novel was written and published prior to the full-fledged emergence of neoliberalism, the elements of capitalism and individualism that are present in neoliberalism are also present in 2 giovanni’s room; it is therefore possible to use both smith and butler’s theoretical lenses to analyze the text. while both smith and butler offer a valid and productive method of engaging with the text, butler’s theory offers insight into giovanni’s room that smith’s theory occludes. smith on the affective hypothesis and impersonal feelings smith is writing against “the affective hypothesis, or the belief that literature is at its most meaningful when it represents and transmits the emotional specificity of personal experience” (1). the affective hypothesis receives its name from affect theory. affect theory posits that feeling originates within the body, and then constructs the world (devitt). one’s experience and perception of the world is shaped by their internal, individual feelings. the affective hypothesis prioritizes literature that reinforces affect theory by focusing on the individual origins of feeling. in contrast, smith believes that feeling originates in the systems acting upon the individual. for her, the world constructs feeling, rather than feeling constructing the world. smith does not believe that literature should be read for the purpose of understanding and empathizing with individual characters. she writes that, “there is an odd and unsettling consensus: we read works of literature because they allow us direct contact with individuals who are like us but not us; they allow us to feel what others feel; they provoke empathy; and they teach us how to understand what it means to be a unique human being” (smith, 1). smith acknowledges that this may not at first glance seem like a bad thing, but explains that such an understanding of literature perpetuates neoliberal ideas of individualism, and obscures the ways in which humans are connected to each other and nonhuman entities. as an ideology, neoliberalism emphasizes competition and austerity over community and equity (la berge and slobodian). in a neoliberal society, “individuals are encouraged to see themselves as the outcome of a range of investments and returns” (smith, 37). everything, even 3 human emotion, is commodified. for smith, the “tendency to understand activities once seen to some degree as extra-economic as obeying the logic of the market is…one of the hallmark qualities of neoliberalism in general” (34). reading literature, the focus of smith’s work, is one such activity. according to smith, “while neoliberalism casts the individual as responsible for herself, the affective hypothesis casts feeling as necessarily owned and managed by individual authors, characters, and readers” (2). like neoliberalism, the affective hypothesis prioritizes the individual. it also commodifies feeling; emotions become property, something to be “owned and managed” by individual creators and consumers of literature. smith refers to this kind of privatized emotion as “personal feelings”. she explains that personal feelings function like personal property. they are private, not in the sense of being secret or interior, but in the sense of being ‘privatized’: they are personally controlled, even though they circulate outside the self; they are managed by the individual but they are augmented by connections with others; and ideally they enrich the individual through their carefully calculated development, distribution, and expansion (smith, 2) personal feelings may be visible to others, but they are owned solely by the individual experiencing them. they can be affected by other people or institutions, but they originate in the owner. this singular point of origin and ownership obfuscates the ways in which society and others within it act upon a person. smith explains that while personal feelings may seem to trouble neoliberal economics and politics by prioritizing human emotion instead of data, they in fact perpetuate these systems by focusing on the individual. individualism, according to smith, is the crux of neoliberal capitalism. she concedes that neoliberal rhetoric endorses engagement and 4 interaction with others, offering the examples of social media and networking. however, she qualifies this concession by explaining that these types of interaction and association are generally thought of as ways to enrich the self rather than the family or community. relating this back to personal feelings, smith explains that, “in this social context, emotions are increasingly understood as resources to develop and manage, rather than as instances of authentic experience that fall outside rational control” (6). personal feelings are a way to further the advancement of the self. smith also states that while literature may offer readers moral instruction and amusement, in a neoliberal society, the desirability of this is “measured by how much morality or amusement is understood to enrich the life of the individual” (32). literature is a way of advancing the self. smith argues instead for a focus on literature that portrays impersonal feelings, which “do not straightforwardly conform to a market model, because they are not easily codifiable or recognizable; they do not allow for strategic emotional associations to be made between readers and characters; and they emphasize the unpredictability of affective connections” (2). she goes on to explain that there is a “largely unrecognized history of literary scholarship that sees the relationship between aesthetics and feelings as one that destabilizes the connection between the emotional and the personal” (smith, 11), what she has dubbed impersonal feelings. according to smith, impersonal feelings “productively call into question the assumption that emotion is an owned resource that circulates from individual to individual” (32). literature about impersonal feelings can therefore complicate the relationship between neoliberal ideas about individuality and scholarly ideas about the function of emotions in literature. literature that focuses on impersonal feelings often contains characters that seem to lack depth but are nonetheless vibrant. according to smith, “this sense of liveliness can be 5 understood to index a different form of literary affect–not the representation of an individual character’s feelings but a tonal intensity that emerges from the tensions generated out of the association of narrative elements in the prose” (12). it is the interconnectedness of each part of the text, and not the individual characters, that create the life of this kind of literature. the literature of impersonal feelings showcases the ways in which characters are acted upon by each other and the systems and institutions of the society they inhabit. smith endorses literature about impersonal feelings because it is more conducive to critical engagement with the ways in which society operates. she argues that impersonal feelings offer “greater potential for catalyzing experiences that are challenging to the status quo” (smith, 19) than personal ones. this type of literature asks the reader to consciously consume it and facilitates a questioning of the way things are. impersonal feelings are “potentially destabilizing insofar as their presence defies the prevailing notion that feelings only exist insofar as they are the property of the individual” (smith, 20). literature about impersonal feelings disrupts the status quo of the affective hypothesis, and by extension, the status quo of neoliberalism. butler on vulnerability in contrast to smith’s claims that personal feelings obscure connection and reinforce neoliberal ideas, judith butler believes that one’s individual emotions can illuminate connection. butler argues that we are all vulnerable, and that it is through that vulnerability that we come to know not only ourselves but each other. they use grief as a fundamental marker of this universal vulnerability. butler describes grief and loss as an individual condition, but also as an experience that illuminates the ways in which we are connected to each other. when we experience loss, when we grieve, “something about who we are is revealed, something that delineates the ties we have to others, that shows us that these ties constitute what we are” (butler, 22). butler goes on 6 to explain that although grief can be personal, it is not privatizing. they claim that “many people think that grief is privatizing, that it returns us to a solitary situation and is, in that sense, depoliticizing” (butler, 22). smith is one such person; she argues that personal feelings are “‘privatized’: they are personally controlled, even though they circulate outside the self; they are managed by the individual but they are augmented by connections with others; and ideally they enrich the individual” (2). for smith, personal feelings are private property, and their purpose is to advance the self. butler disagrees with this, arguing that in actuality, grief “furnishes a sense of political community of a complex order, and it does this first of all by bringing to the fore the relational ties that have implications for theorizing fundamental dependency and ethical responsibility” (butler, 22). the way we feel in response to a loss shows us our responsibility to and dependence on each other. loss can unmoor us, and it is in this unmooring that we realize just how tied to each other we are. whereas smith argues that “emotions…accentuate the specificity of individual experience” (3), butler explains that grief shows us “the thrall in which our relations with others hold us, in ways that we cannot always recount or explain, in ways that often interrupt the selfconscious account of ourselves we might try to provide, in ways that challenge the very notion of ourselves as autonomous and in control” (23). in experiencing loss, we realize that we are not as independent as we might like to believe. writing on butler’s vulnerability theory, robert watkins explains that, “we are never autonomous, but always already related to and dependent upon others as well as conditioned by power” (191). a truly independent existence is impossible. butler writes that, “passion and grief and rage, all of which tear us from ourselves, bind us to others, transport us, undo us, implicate us in lives that are not our own, irreversibly, if not fatally” (25). grief disorients us; it causes us to question the world and our place within it. it 7 causes us to venture outside of ourselves and take a new perspective; it forces us to recognize the ways in which we affect and are affected by the lives of others. vulnerability is an essential part of being human. we cannot will it away, nor should we. butler writes that, “to foreclose that vulnerability, to banish it, to make ourselves secure at the expense of every other human consideration is to eradicate one of the most important resources from which we must take our bearings and find our way” (30). to ignore our vulnerability is to ignore our own humanity and the humanity of others, to disregard the myriad ways in which we are connected to each other. in butler’s view, to do this would be to do away with the compass offered to us by human relationships both direct and indirect, close and distant. butler believes that we are created by our relationships; to survive, we must attach ourselves to others. in order to do this, we must open ourselves up to the possibility of loss and grief. we must make ourselves vulnerable. nor can we ignore the vulnerability of others. to be in community, one must recognize that others are vulnerable, as well. according to butler, “community itself requires the recognition that we are all, in different ways, striving for recognition” (44). when considering the vulnerability of others, we must especially consider that not everyone is vulnerable in the same way or amount; not every life is considered grievable. butler argues that it is important to interrogate who is considered grievable, whose death would be a loss and whose would be collateral damage. they explain that “certain lives will be highly protected, and the abrogation of their claims to sanctity will be sufficient to mobilize the forces of war. other lives will not find such fast and furious support and will not even qualify as ‘grievable’” (butler, 32). grief and loss illuminate our connections, but also the ways in which we dishonor these connections by positioning certain kinds of people as more important than others. marginalized people are often 8 not considered grievable, and this lack of grievability illuminates the ways in which our society situates them as less than. butler views the public obituary as an indicator of the grievability a life has been given or denied: “the instrument by which grievability is publicly distributed” (34). the obituary is a tool used to indicate which deaths are grievable and therefore which lives are and were deserving of protection from violence. butler argues that not publicly acknowledging deaths can dehumanize those whose deaths are unmarked and therefore justify the violence perpetrated against them. they write that, “in the silence of the newspaper, there was no event, no loss, and this failure of recognition is mandated through an identification with those who identify with the perpetrators of that violence” (36). by publicly marking some deaths and not others, the public obituary perpetuates norms regarding who is grievable and who is not. butler’s work is useful not only in illuminating the subjugation of marginalized people, but also in remedying it. ingrid cyfer explains, “there is no way to discuss emancipation (in any sense critical theorists have ever ascribed to it) without addressing the entanglement between ethics, politics, vulnerability and violence as butler inspires us to do” (2). in order to be free, we must first acknowledge the ways in which we are connected to each other and acted upon by society. butler implores readers to critically examine social norms and the institutions, such as the public obituary, that perpetuate them. they argue that, we have to consider how the norm governing who will be a grievable human is circumscribed and produced in these acts of permissible and celebrated public grieving, how they sometimes operate in tandem with a prohibition on the public grieving of 9 others’ lives, and how this differential allocation of grief serves the derealizing aims of military violence (37). butler is speaking specifically about the institution of the public obituary, but these claims can be applied to literature in general. using butler’s ideas about vulnerability and grievability, one can read texts about loss and grief as illuminating not only the personal feelings of the characters, but also the ways in which said characters have been acted upon by societal norms and institutions. convergence between butler and smith although butler and smith’s respective theories seem at odds with each other, there are some points on which they agree. first and foremost, both butler and smith agree that a person is comprised of more than just the self. for both, individuals are irrevocably connected to those around them, both close and far. butler believes that we are constituted by our ties to others, as does smith. smith discusses the importance of “calling into question the core neoliberal assumption that the individual is affectively responsible for herself” (24). she does this herself by defining impersonal feelings and performing readings of literature that emphasize interconnection. butler does this by stating plainly, “let’s face it. we’re undone by each other. and if we’re not, we’re missing something” (23). who we are and how we feel is a product of the existence and actions of others. butler and smith also agree about the power of writing to perpetuate or disrupt the status quo. smith claims that, “works of literature themselves can be understood to work affectively, catalyzing and modulating human attitudes and orientations toward other humans and their environment” (25). butler discusses the public obituary in a similar way, arguing that, “the obituary functions as the instrument by which grievability is publicly distributed” (34) and referring to it as “an act of nation-building” (34). texts tell their readers how to feel about certain 10 others; this power can be deployed in service of neoliberal individualism, or in service of a more conscientious connection to people beyond the self. both butler and smith believe in the importance of the latter. a smithian reading of giovanni’s room although published prior to neoliberalism’s full realization, baldwin’s giovanni’s room is still an excellent candidate for literary analysis through smith’s theoretical lens. despite the fact that they likely would not have been referred to as part of a neoliberal ideology at the time of publication, the personal feelings that are owned and controlled by the individual, and emphasis on connection only for personal gain that smith describes as hallmarks of neoliberalism are present in the novel. the characters in the novel are largely focused on self-advancement, and do not hesitate to leverage their personal relationships to achieve this end. early on in the novel, david describes jacques as possessing “that strong self-pity which was, perhaps, the only thing he had which really belonged to him” (baldwin, 23). jacques’ selfpity is an example of a privatized personal feeling as described by smith: it belongs to him; he has ownership and control over it. david then describes his relationship with jacques, explaining that, jacques’ vaunted affection for me was involved with desire, the desire, in fact, to be rid of me, to be able, soon, to despise me as he now despised that army of boys who had come, without love, to his bed. i held my own against this desire by pretending that jacques and i were friends, by forcing jacques, on pain of humiliation, to pretend this. i pretended not to see, although i exploited it, the lust not quite sleeping in his bright, bitter eyes and, by means of the rough, male candor with which i conveyed to him his case was hopeless, i compelled him, endlessly, to hope (baldwin, 28). 11 this is a clear example of smith’s idea that in the neoliberal novel, connections are leveraged for the benefit of the self. in the birth of biopolitics, foucault asserts that the neoliberal individual is no longer a “partner of exchange” but an “entrepreneur of himself” (226). such an individual uses the resources available to produce something that will satisfy them (foucault). this is certainly the case in jacques and david’s relationship. jacques needs david in order to perpetuate his self-pity, the aforementioned only thing that belongs to him. david needs jacques to continue lending him money, so he pretends to be jacques’ friend and attempts to stay in his good graces. each is using the other as a resource to produce their own satisfaction. their relationship emphasizes the individualism of personal feelings: each is using the other for their own personal gain. giovanni is another character who uses others for the advancement of the self. when accused good-naturedly of attempting to poison his boss, guillame, by bringing him to a seedy cafe, giovanni replies, “why would i poison you? then i would have no job and i have only just found out that i want to live” (baldwin, 49)” giovanni’s reason for not poisoning guillame is not that to do such a thing would cause harm to another person, or even that it would be immoral, but rather that if he did so, he would be out of a job and therefore unable to make a life for himself. guillame’s ability to advance giovanni’s self-interest is further emphasized in the story of how they met. giovanni tells david, “‘i saw that he could be useful if i could only find some way to make him keep his hands off me’” (baldwin, 61). the relationship that giovanni cultivates with guillame is an example of the kind of engagement with others that smith describes as networking for the advancement of the self. david too understands that relationships are often cultivated for personal gain. of the older gentlemen where he stays in the south of france, he says, “they treated me…with great 12 distance, for i did not really belong to any of them; and they also sensed (or i felt they did) something else about me, something which it was no longer worth their while to pursue” (baldwin, 65). although he interacts with these men frequently, they are reluctant to form a bond with him, which david suspects is because they have no obligation to or curiosity about him. the phrase “worth their while” invokes economics, and reinforces the idea that one should not enter into a relationship that one is unlikely to benefit from. david himself is no stranger to using others for his own gain. he convinces sue, against her better judgment, to sleep with him, so that he might forget giovanni and remember how to be attracted to a woman before hella returns. he does not care for sue, nor is he even really attracted to her, and he does not consider how his actions will affect her until it is too late. david says that, “somewhere, at the very bottom of myself, i realized that i was doing something awful to her and it became a matter of my honor not to let this fact become too obvious” (baldwin, 100). he acknowledges that his actions are unsavory and that he is using sue, but instead of stopping, he simply redoubles his efforts to obscure this fact. david’s relationship with hella is also an example of one using others to advance the self. although he is less conscious of the ways in which he is using hella than of sue, he does eventually recognize that he has in fact tried to get something from her. at the very end of the novel, as hella is about to leave him, he admits that, “i must have hoped that there would be something hella could do for me” (baldwin, 157). he may not have been conscious of it while the relationship existed, but now that it has ended, david realizes that he entered into and continued it for his own personal gain. although david does not use giovanni for his own advancement, their relationship opens the doors for david to do so with others in the future. luminita dragulescu argues that david’s 13 experience with giovanni inspires him to commodify his sexuality. he compares david to jacques and guillame, two characters who leverage their sexuality for their own economic and social benefit (dragulescu). throughout the novel, david seeks human connection–with sue, with hella, with giovanni–but he always does so with an ulterior motive. the neoliberal agenda that smith writes about is also present in giovanni’s room in the ways in which characters attempt to absolve themselves of guilt and blame over what happens to others. david feels guilty about giovanni’s doomed fate, and while he is neither judge, nor jury, nor executioner, it is certainly possible that his actions may have inadvertently contributed to giovanni’s demise. hella tries to convince him otherwise, telling him, “‘we’ll leave this city soon, david. you won’t have to think about it anymore. people get into trouble, david. but don’t act as though it were, somehow, your fault. it’s not your fault’” (baldwin, 152). she implores david to stop thinking about other people and the ways in which his actions might have affected them, and instead adopt the belief that he is not to blame for anything that has occurred. throughout the novel, smith’s theories of personal feelings and neoliberalism are exemplified, as seen in the relationships between the characters and the ways in which they view themselves as responsible only for themselves. a butlerian reading of giovanni’s room before embarking on a reading of giovanni’s room through the lens of butler’s theories, it is important to understand the ways in which vulnerability, grievability, and connection function in the novel as a whole. the novel is about queer love and desire in a time period when such a thing was often considered unnatural and shameful. josep armengol argues that the novel also deals with race by mapping blackness onto homosexuality so that the “discourses of race and (homo)sexuality are inseparable from each other” (674). novelist garth greenwell concurs, 14 noting that homosexuality is described using racialized language throughout the novel. armengol is advocating for the intersectional approach to the novel that butler’s theory of vulnerability necessitates. to understand the novel fully, one must recognize that multiple marginalizations and vulnerabilities are acting on the characters, even though not all of them are visible. connections between individuals are acknowledged by the novel when baldwin describes a “dreadful human tangle occurring everywhere, without end, forever” (62). although butler and baldwin seem to have differing thoughts on whether irrevocable human connection is positive or negative, both believe that it exists, and baldwin illuminates the ties that constitute his characters both explicitly and implicitly. butler argues that grief is private but not privatizing: it is personal, but it is not owned or controlled by the individual experiencing it. there are multiple moments throughout the novel that show that this is also true of other personal feelings besides grief. when david first meets giovanni, he narrates that,“i knew i could do nothing whatever to stop the ferocious excitement which had burst in me like a storm” (baldwin, 42). david is experiencing a feeling that he cannot control; he does not have ownership of it. towards the end of the novel, when david is leaving giovanni, he does not deny that this is a decision influenced by fear and shame, but tells giovanni, “i can’t help the way i feel” (baldwin, 141). like the ferocious excitement he felt earlier, david is not in control of his fear and shame; he cannot leverage it for his own benefit. this is another example of butler’s idea of a feeling that is private but not privatized. david’s fear and shame are his and his alone, but they are not under his control, nor are they completely separate from his relationships and connections. the novel also highlights the idea that connection is not limited by proximity or physicality. david tells readers that he and giovanni, 15 connected the instant that we met. and remain connected still, in spite of our later separation de corps, despite the fact that giovanni will be rotting soon in unhallowed ground near paris. until i die there will be those moments…when his face will come before me, that face in all its changes, when the exact timbre of his voice and tricks of his speech will nearly burst my ears, when his smell will overpower my nostrils. sometimes…i will see giovanni again, as he was that night, so vivid, so winning, all of the light of that gloomy tunnel trapped around his head (baldwin, 42-3). even after david and giovanni stop seeing each other, even after giovanni dies, the two remain linked. their connection transcends the body; it is irrevocable. giovanni will forever be a part of daivd. losing giovanni illuminates david’s ties to him and david’s own vulnerability. phrases like, “nearly burst my ears” and “overpower my nostrils” show that david is not in control of his connection to giovanni or giovanni’s return to him. his grief and memories of giovanni are his, but he does not own them; he does not control them. they are not his property. the novel asks readers to interrogate the social norms and systems that affect the characters. “‘you think,’” jacques tells david, “‘that my life is shameful because my encounters are. and they are. but you should ask yourself why they are’” (baldwin, 56). shame is a personal feeling, but like the grief that butler talks about, it does not exist without other people, without society. shame, like grief, illuminates the ways in which society has acted upon the individual, illuminates the ways in which their interactions with others have shaped them. greenwell refers to giovanni’s room as an “anatomy of shame, of its roots and the myths that perpetuate it, of the damage it can do.” the novel makes clear that shame is not an inherent part of queerness, but a consequence of living within a homophobic society (greenwell). in this way, a personal feeling illuminates the ways in which society acts upon the individual. 16 david, too, is aware that his shame is externally constructed. he knows that his feelings for giovanni were “not really so strange, so unprecedented, though voices deep within me boomed, for shame! for shame! that i should be so abruptly, so hideously entangled with a boy” (baldwin, 62). the voices in his head that shame david are notably not recognized as his own. without a social and legal norm of heterosexuality, david likely would not find himself ashamed and afraid of his romantic connection with another man. of david’s relationship with giovanni, jacques tells him, “‘you are afraid that it may change you’” (baldwin, 57). jacques, for all his connivance and manipulation, understands that to feel something for or about another person is to be changed, echoing butler’s sentiment that the individual is both created and undone by their relationships to others. jacques goes on to say that, “not many people have ever died of love. but multitudes have perished…for the lack of it” (baldwin, 58). jacques illuminates the ways in which we are connected to each other, the ways in which we need each other. giovanni’s love does change david, as david’s love does giovanni. of giovanni, david says, “each day he invited me to witness how he had changed, how love had changed him” (baldwin, 88). david himself often thinks “of giovanni’s hands…hands which would have the power to crush me and make me whole again” (baldwin, 88). both giovanni and david recognize that they are created and potentially undone by their relationships with others. try as david might to be an individual unaffected by others, he is unable to do so. when he leaves giovanni, he wants to feel nothing; he wants to avoid acknowledging how affected he was by their connection, but he is unable to do so. he feels “a tightening in a far corner of my heart, as though a finger had touched me there” (baldwin, 131). david has been touched, physically and emotionally, and he cannot ignore it, cannot continue on as he was before it happened. 17 the last page of the novel makes one final statement about the human inability to escape connection. as david leaves the house in the south of france for the last time, he tears up the envelope containing jacques’ letter to him and throws the pieces to the wind. the last sentence of the novel is, “yet, as i turn and begin walking toward the waiting people, the wind blows some of them back on me” (baldwin, 169). david ripping up the letter from jacques, which contains information on giovanni’s impending execution, represents his desire to escape his connections once and for all. he is, however, unable to do such a thing, as the pieces of this letter come back to him. no matter how hard one might run from it, baldwin tells his readers, connection is eternal and inescapable. conclusion both smith and butler’s theories offer insight into a literary text. however, butler’s theory of vulnerability illuminates aspects of a text that smith’s theory of personal feelings and neoliberalism in literature overlooks. when reading giovanni’s room through the lens of smith’s theory, the leveraging of personal feelings and relationships to improve the characters’ individual positions in society is highlighted, and the genuine, irrevocable connection between characters, specifically david and giovanni, is overlooked. when reading the novel from a butlerian perspective, this connection becomes the center of the novel, and readers are still able to see the ways in which these characters are being acted upon by systems outside of their control. the novel is about personal feelings, and it certainly contains personal feelings of the nature smith describes, but the overall focus of the story is the personal feelings of butler’s imagination: those that originate outside of the self and elucidate the ways in which we are all created by and irrevocably tied to one another. it is through butler’s perspective that the reader can see all that giovanni’s room has to offer. 18 works cited armengol, josep m. “in the dark room: homosexuality and/as blackness in james baldwin's giovanni's room.” signs: journal of women in culture and society, vol. 37, no. 3, 2017, pp. 671-693. baldwin, james. giovanni’s room. vintage international, 1956. butler, judith. “violence, mourning, politics.” precarious life: the power of mourning and violence. 2006. cyfer, ingrid. “what’s the trouble with humanity? a feminist critique of judith butler’s ethics of vulnerability.” digithum: a relational perspective on culture and society, no. 23, 2019, pp. 1-15. devitt, ryan. “toward a foucauldian literary criticism.” poetics today, vol. 42, no. 4, 2021, pp. 471-498. dragulescu, luminita m. “into the room and out of the closet: (homo)sexuality and commodification in james baldwin's giovanni's room.” gender forum, no. 16, 2006. foucault, michel. the birth of biopolitics, edited by michel snellart, translated by graham burchell. palgrave macmillan, 2008. la berge, claire leigh and quinn slobodian. “reading for neoliberalism, reading like neoliberals.” american literary history, vol. 29, no. 3, 2017, pp. 602-614. greenwell, garth. “james badwin’s giovanni’s room: an antidote to shame.” the guardian, 19 november 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/19/james-baldwingiovannis-room-garth-greenwell-60th-anniversary-gay-novel. accessed 10 december 2022. 19 greenwald smith, rachel. “introduction: the affective hypothesis.” affect and american literature in the age of neoliberalism. cambridge university press, 2015. —. “personal and impersonal: two forms of the neoliberal novel.” affect and american literature in the age of neoliberalism. cambridge university press, 2015. watkins, robert e. “vulnerability, vengeance, and community: butler’s political thought and eastwood’s mystic river.” judith butler’s precarious politics: critical encounters. 2008. “entering the world of the hat:” artistic phenomenology in sondheim and lapine’s sunday in the park with george alexandra mitchell theatre “how george looks… he can look forever… what does he see?” --dot, from sondheim and lapine’s sunday in the park with george1 phenomenology can be difficult to pin down. it is not a methodology like other concrete philosophies, but rather a way of thinking. philosopher edmund husserl founds this school of thought by defining it as an “intentionality” of an individual’s cognitive experience; phenomenology engages with the world of individual, subjective reality.2 while phenomenology lies under the umbrella of philosophical discipline— its consideration, reflection, and analysis of individual experience also relates to the realm of theatre. theatre is a chance for the individual to be subsumed into a separate, live reality onstage. often in theatre when applying a phenomenological lens to a piece, we seek to study experiences that ruin the “bracketing” of presupposition—moments that take audiences out of the suspension of disbelief and remind them that they are indeed watching a play. animals onstage, incredible special effects, and water onstage can each make the audience wonder, “how did they do that?”— ruining the immersive environment of the play and bringing them back to their own separate realities. but what of the theatrical elements that draw the audience further into the world of the play, causing them to leave their own realities further behind? karl wagner’s concept of gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art, allows for a more enticing phenomenological experience.3 wagner coined his term when seeking to unify elements in his operas in response to the showier pieces of the mid 1800s, creating a more engrossing experience for his audiences. when every element and different 1 artform involved in a play, from the music to the set design to the acting, seeks to encompass the audience in the story, the result gives the audience a lived experience different from their own. an audience experiencing a total work of art will leave the theatre having existed in another cognitive world. such an event impacts how the individual sees their own reality and can, perhaps, provoke a change in their worldview. the original gesamtkunstwerk referred to opera, but due to the nature of artforms colliding, musical theatre also stands as a popular equivalent—combining music, design, and story in one package. the composer stephen sondheim is known for creating musical theatre that leans on story-building; he is often accused of not writing “hummable” tunes like his predecessors in favor of tunes that suit the emotional quality of the characters.4 his musical sunday in the park with george uses not only music, but traditional impressionistic art to contribute to the world of the piece—inciting a phenomenological experience linking the audience to the mind of the artist. the phenomenology of the elements in sunday in the park with george’s gesamtkunstwerk—its music and design, alongside the inner worlds of its two main characters—provoke the internal examination of audience members’ own creativity, forming future artists and appreciators of beauty.5 sunday in the park with george, premiering on broadway in 1984, chronicles the life and relationships of the impressionist painter georges seurat and his future lineage.6 sondheim and the book writer james lapine were inspired by the actual georges seurat painting a sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte. the painting was created in a pointillistic style; each figure formed with thousands of dots of color so that the colors would blend not on the canvas, but in the eye of the viewer. pointillism as a visual art falls under the larger category of postimpressionism—which is notable to the discussion of phenomenology. impressionism was a late 2 19th century artistic movement prominent in france which aimed to put human perspective and experience as the lens for painting. some famous painters of the genre included pierre-auguste renoir, edgar degas, and claude monet. their work focused on the effect of light, perspective, and giving the viewer the experience of the world of the painter. post-impressionist painters took impressionism and heightened the structural elements—the harsh curves of vincent van gogh or the pictorial structure in paul cezanne each bring impressionism to a heightened state of being. if, as the philosopher interested in perception and embodiment maurice merleau-ponty articulates, “to look at an object is to inhabit it and from this habitation to grasp all things in terms of the aspect which they present to it,”7 then looking at a painting—particularly an impressionist or post-impressionist painting with the goal of giving the viewer an artistic perspective— provides a distinctly phenomenological experience of entering another world. and it is from this experience that sondheim and lapine craft their show. sondheim and lapine spent hours staring at a sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte. as stephen banfield says, “sondheim was seized, as we can imagine, with the same excitement that the great painting and period evoke in us.”8 he had an experience in the world of the painter and worked with lapine to generate how to bring the world to life onstage— how to bring the phenomenological experience of georges seurat to the audience. even mandy patinkin, the original actor who played the character of george, went to the exhibit to get inside the mind of the painter. and it was his phenomenological experience of the original painting that helped him unlock the character.9 the painting clearly influenced those who viewed it, and its effect would only be enhanced amid the musical as a total work of art in the theatre. the most obvious way to recreate the world of the painting was to literally recreate the painting—letting the design of the piece capture the look of the original work. design is one 3 phenomenological element of sunday in the park with george which supports a larger, impactful phenomenological experience in the musical as gesamtkunstwerk. the play begins with an empty stage and white backdrop. george appears and says, “white. a blank page or canvas. the challenge: bring order to the whole. through design. composition. balance. light. and harmony.”10 as he speaks, the creation comes into being—a moment akin to the old testament genesis. trees fly in, the park is revealed, and light streams from above. the artist has created his world by speaking about the act of creating. the opening does not yet fully resemble the famous painting, but the audience can see glimpses of elements that will remain in the final design. this visual moment speaks to the phenomenology of the artist—how they see the world as a painting ready to come into being—and to how the audience can see from what the artist draws inspiration, locating bits of the final masterpiece. as the first act continues, the set slowly begins to resemble the painting—like an artistic work in progress. when the act reaches its finale, george finishes the painting. during the climactic number “sunday,” he places all the characters onstage and a frame lowers down to complete the picture. the result is an extremely moving piece in which the audience finally sees the artist’s disjointed world come together in harmony—each character that has existed with a life and personality is now subsumed in a larger whole of creation. joanne lesley gordon describes this moment almost like a cognitive fulfilment for the audience. she says: this is the moment of release both george and the audience have been working toward… art and reality merge. the audience recognizes the reality of the actors, but at the same time can perceive the perfection of seurat’s masterpiece… the audience is moved not because a plot has been resolved but because a harmonic work of art has been born.11 the audience sees how george sees. this moment of phenomenological shared artistry is reinforced by the lyrics of the number. george repeats the words when he first began creating his world, “order. design. tension. balance. harmony.”12 this time the words represent not merely 4 artistic concepts, but also the relationships of the people he is painting. “order” grabs their attention from their various lives. “design” places the unhappily married servants a couple. “tension” puts the arguing shop-girls and unfaithful art critic and his wife together. “balance” indicates other characters to counter-cross to opposite areas of the stage. and finally, “harmony is when george places his lover, dot, into the frame and he himself steps out of the picture. he has created his own world with the audience observing his cognition—a visually stunning moment. the second act opens 150 years later with george’s great-great grandson trying to succeed as an artist. though the times have changed, and the characters have progressed, the visuals still remain tied to a phenomenological experience—drawing the audience in to the world of the musical. young george makes light machines called “chromolumes,” meant to be a modern take of the impressionist fascination with light. the audience is plunged into a technical landscape of flashing colors and images that break the fourth wall and travel into their seats. but this time, what the audience sees is not the emotional creation of a world—but rather a failure of concept. the flashes overwhelm the audience and the machine breaks—underlying george’s struggle to fashion his own self-being. after all, this is his seventh chromolume, and his success is running thin. we experience george’s failure with him because of the phenomenology of watching the art fall apart before us. he goes to seurat’s park to find inspiration, bringing along his grandmother’s keepsake: dot’s grammar book. the park has turned dank, crowded with buildings, and empty. george asks “where are the people out strolling on sunday?”13 we feel what he feels because the vibrancy from earlier in the show is replaced by a visual of dark colors and oppressive buildings. george begins to read the book, and dot of old appears before him. she tells him to move forward, and to truly look at the world—as seurat looked. he reaches the 5 back of the book and sees familiar words, “order. design. tension. composition. balance. light. harmony.”14 gradually, the park begins to fill with the light from act i. he begins to find a new way to see the world because of seurat’s vision. he sings: things i hadn’t looked at till now: flower on your hat. and your smile. and the color of your hair. and the way you catch the light. and the care. and the feeling. and the life moving on.15 george’s ability to see the world in a new perspective echoes the experience of the audience at the end of the previous act. we recognize his cognitive discovery because it is one we shared only an hour prior. “sunday” reprises, with the old characters returning to the park. the show ends as it started, with a blank canvas—holding limitless possibilities for george and for the audience, who now understand how to see the world through an artistic phenomenology. just as sondheim and lapine use visuals as an element in their phenomenological gesamtkunstwerk, so too do they intentionally craft music to draw the audience further into the world of the artist. music, like art, has a phenomenological effect on those who encounter it but differs in the specifics of that effect. art, and post-impressionism art specifically, draws the viewer into a representation of a world. music, however, does not directly represent an existing reality. there are no oboes, violas, or symphonies in the natural world. music therefore springs from the inner being of the composer. in his essay, "what do we hear when we hear music? a radical phenomenology of music," rudd welten grapples with the phenomenology of music. he states, “but the sounds of music are not the sounds of the world. listening to music is something other than listening to objects… from a schopenhauerian viewpoint, music is not an 6 imitation, but an immediate manifestation of a primary force, called the will.”16 art taps into the cognitive perspective of the painter, but music taps into the “will” behind cognition, connecting the listeners with a primal and instinctual force. adding this primal phenomenological experience for an audience, in addition to the phenomenology of perspective in visual art, makes the bracketing of personal cognition easier (to subvert one’s own experience to take in the action from a different perspective) and the world onstage a more present reality. a comparison of the impressionist painting and the world created by the show is pictured below (fig. 1 and 2): fig. 1. sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte, george seurat, [ca. 1884], art institute of chicago.17 7 fig. 2. a scene from sunday in the park with george, directed by james lapine, [ca. 1984], playbill.com.18 because of the result of combining art and music in service of the greater story, the phenomenology of sunday in the park with george as a total work of art bring the audience deeply into a new world and provokes them to consider the possibility of that world’s artistic perspective in their own lives. the music in sunday and the park with george draws the audience into george’s perspective on a subconscious level. the numbers “color and light,” “the day off,” and “sunday” each help connect the audience to the emotional tone of the character.19 “color and light” occurs midway through the first act; it portrays george painting in his studio and dot getting ready for a night out. the music entails staccato notes punctuated by each dab of george’s brush. as george sings, he echoes these notes with the colors he paints and the effect he wants to achieve. in the most complex section, he sings the accompaniment that pulsed beneath him to the words: 8 red red red red red red orange red red orange orange pick up blue pick up red pick up orange20 and so on. the music articulates the inner will of george, and how his pointillism feels to inhabit. it is intense. it is frantic. it is creative. the piece has, what stephen banfield calls, “indivisibility of word and note.”21 it is as if we understand the words because of the tone of the music. the words do not always come out clear for the audience since the song is so pointed and rapid, but it is the feeling of the music that matters. sondheim explains how music gets this feeling, and therefore inner will of a moment, across. in an interview with mark eden horowitz, sondheim says, “[the audience] doesn’t have to understand the details of what’s going on, all they have to understand is what’s going on. so, if we decided to have a riot in this room, it is not necessary that hey hear every individual line; all they have to hear is all the different kinds of anger and all the different kinds of hysteria.”22 so “what’s going on” with george is the creation of his masterpiece in and the audience connects with george’s inner world through the tone and style of the music. sondheim even wanted to originally connect seurat’s pointillism to the 12note scale by having each note represent a corresponding color on the color wheel. a great idea in theory, but the blend of colors and music became too chromatic, so sondheim abandoned the idea. he did retain the feeling of pointillism—bringing the audience into george’s world— but without such a literal translation from visual art to music.23 “the day off” is another prominent number that uses music to draw the audience further into the essence of george’s inner world. the number consists of several small themes underneath the interactions of different characters. the sailor’s theme is dissonant and heavy, the shop-girls’ theme is quick and flattery, and the soldiers’ is gallant and heavy with trumpet. the 9 music represents not only the personalities of these people, but how george sees them. this perspective is evidenced by george singing with each character as they begin to speak and by george reprising their various themes later in the show. he even impersonates two different dogs, dreaming what they would say on their sunday off. the theme and variations within “the day off” are a clever way to demonstrate, yes how george views his subjects, but also how george works as a painter. seurat would make several small sketches of various figures before combining them in a larger complete painting. sondheim, inspired by this artistic theme and variations within the sketches, attempts to capture that process musically. he says of this number, “’the day off’ is a sequence whose primary purpose is to show george sketching—by which i mean inhabiting, as seurat did, the interior lives of the major figures in his painting.”24 george inhabits his subjects for his sketching process, just as the audience inhabits george’s artistic world through the musical motifs. “sunday” posits a loftier phenomenological connection between the audience and george then the previously discussed pieces. it occurs during the height of his artistic creation, when he stops the world and rearranges it to create his masterpiece. rightfully so, the music takes on a heightened tone. it is one of the few traditional chorus pieces sondheim has ever written, and it features a solo trumpet soaring above the ensemble of voices along with a build from hushed tones to glorious projected harmony. listening to the piece, it is difficult not to compare its tone to that of a hymn sung by a church choir— which fits the world sondheim wants his audience to inhabit. just as the judeo-christian god creates a world from nothing, so too does george the artist create a masterpiece from the nothing of everyday living.25 the music creates a worshipful, sweeping feeling—like that of entering a cathedral or hearing the “ave maria.” “sunday’s” music brings the audience into george’s holy ground and allows them to participate in a divine 10 act of creation. paired with the visual completion as discussed earlier, the moment makes for an all-encompassing phenomenological experience of truly living in the world of the artist, and perhaps provoking internal examination of our own holy places of creativity. thus far, this paper has analyzed how the visuals and music in sunday the park with george separately create phenomenological experiences for the audience, and also how those two elements build off of one another as parts of a total work of art to create a largescale entrance into the world of the artist. but no total work of art is complete without the story at its heart—the music and visuals can bring the audience into a world, but it is ultimately the story that these elements support. in sunday the story follows george, his lover dot, and his greatgreat grandson also named george. the show centers around more than mere plot device; it displays the clashing of the inner lives of the characters. phenomenology plays into not just audience experience but the conflict between the characters themselves. just as impressionist painting departed from the traditional method of representational portraits, so too does sunday depart from traditional plot structure. joanne lesley gordon writes, “it has no linear, casually connected plot. its narrative structure is focused on evolving states of mind rather than a conventionally developed story.”26 these “evolving states of mind” draw the audience into the play and allow for reflection of their own inner worlds. gordon continues, “the emotional subtext of this musical. . . forces sondheim’s audiences to rediscover aesthetic truth through his art. consequently, this musical not only dramatizes its subject matter, it is the thing itself.”27 the world onstage, combined with the evolving inner worlds of the characters, makes the audience discover “aesthetic truth” in their own lives. the first and most obvious world we encounter is that of the artist himself, george seurat. as already discussed, much of the music and visuals of the show bring the audience into 11 george’s artistic perspective, but what is an artistic viewpoint? is it truly always a presence in a higher reality of beauty? based on george’s interactions with others and his own internal thoughts, the piece reveals that george’s viewpoint is one caught between the action before him and the higher reality he wishes to create through his art. we first get commentary on george from dot in the opening scene. while he is sketching her, she tries to get his attention—but he does not respond. she says, “george? hello george? there is someone in this dress!”28 george is so preoccupied in his own reality that he cannot connect to what happens in the material world before him. the musical begins with not a number from george—who seems to be distantly present in another world—but one from dot. as the musical continues the audience gets another taste of george’s artistic pull between two realities in “color and light.” the music in the number, as analyzed previously, portrays the feeling of pointillism and his painting methods—but the number also demonstrates george’s conflicting worlds. his lyrics blur between painting and reality. he sings: blue, still sitting red that perfume … blue-green, the window shut dut dut dut dot dot sitting dot dot waiting.29 he associates colors with the action occurring in the concrete world in an almost synesthetic response. his “dut dut” of his brush becomes thoughts of “dot,” his lover. the two worlds become hard to separate. dot echoes this conflict soon after, saying over george’s muttering, “but how george looks. he could look forever. it’s like he sees you and he doesn’t all at once. what is he thinking when he looks like that? what does he see?”30 she notices that george is both present and distant from her world—that he sees something she cannot. george even chastises himself when he looks at dot. he says, “the pink lips, the red cheeks. seeing all the 12 parts but none of the whole.”31 he cannot see her fully because he is remains partially present in his artistic reality. dot and now george both demonstrate george’s artistic catch-22. the audience gets to hear a complete explanation of george’s internal struggle in the beautiful number “finishing the hat,” where george agonizes over his being caught in two realities. he first sings of experiencing a separate reality from the people around him: how you have to finish the hat. how you watch the rest of the world from a window while you finish the hat.32 he stands in the world of the hat while others live lives seemingly in a shared distant reality. he then bemoans his phenomenological perspective as he misses out on life; he sings, you’re always turning back to late from the grass or the stick or the dog or the light … there’s a part of you always standing by mapping out the sky.33 he regrets that part of him exists to create a higher artistic world—that he will miss the happenings and connections that come from living in the present moment. joanne lesley gordon beautifully sums up the emotional journey of this song, and even points out the effect of music as contributing to the reality of the character. she says: the world that calls through the window of the studio is the world of human warmth and companionship. the world that calls through the other window (the perception of the hat as the opening through which the artist can reach into the enchanted world of imagination) is the world of subjective truth. this latter world is evoked for the audience in the accompaniment, with its suggestion of debussy and ravel, which may be seen as the objective correlative of george’s art.34 george’s world is not one, but two realities. these cognitive experiences ebb and flow amidst each other, and the audience—through george’s character and the other elements of gesamtkunstwerk—can inhabit both. this experience is distinctly phenomenological. sondheim himself explains the relatable artistic perspective of this number. he writes: 13 “finishing the hat” reflects an emotional experience shared by everybody to some degree or another, but more keenly and more often by creative artists: trancing out—that phenomenon of losing the world while you’re writing (or painting or composing or doing a crossword puzzle or coming to a difficult decision or anything that requires intense and complete concentration).35 the habitation of george’s inner worlds provokes a response from the audience. the drawing in of the show is so intense that it causes the audience to think of their own realities with new light—a new artistic lens. though george stands as the focal character of the musical, he is not the only inner reality that the audience experiences. dot and the second george also portray their own worlds to the audience—implying that everyone has a subjective lens through which they view the world, and that everyone has the ability to create as the artist does. we see dot’s world in the first solo number of the show, “sunday in the park with george.” she sings complaining about the weather and the park, but then has a moment of inner revelation. she steps out of her dress and the audience enters her inner subjective reality. the subject switches from describing the heat— and objective truth— to dreaming of being immortalized through george’s work—a subjective thought process. sondheim believes this solo song reflects the monologue of straight plays; in that it reveals the inner workings of dot’s mind. he says, “solos are in some ways monologues, but most of them are in song form: refrain lines and the like. monologues, which reflect the loose, disorganized ways of the mind, which reveal and develop character.”36 sondheim even wrote this first number from a monologue of lapine’s creation. he wanted to get at dot’s inner world, which a monologue would help to reveal. in this moment, sondheim prompts the audience to enter dot’s “loose, disorganized” mind, which contrasts with the orderly creative world that george inhabits. 14 for the most prominent moment of dot’s cognition, we must turn once again to the number “color and light.” so much occurs during that song, musically and thematically, it is no wonder that it yet again becomes prescient. when focusing on dot’s phenomenology, the number reveals the capability for everyone to have separate subjective worlds that possess creativity. as george is making up his painting, dot is making up her face. she accents her makeup brush with the same strokes that george accents with his painter’s brush. she does not “enter the world of the hat”37 like george, but enters her own world, dreaming of the glamorous follies. though she does not paint on a canvas, dot still creates her own reality—and reminds the audience of their ability to fashion their own worlds. george acknowledges her distant world the way she acknowledged his. he says, “look at her looking. forever with that mirror. what does she see?”38 he recognizes that she sees something he cannot, but the audience gets a look into both realms of being. with such omnipresence, the audience can see how both characters fashion themselves and can perhaps be prompted to look at how they fashion their own perspectives. at the second-to-last number of act one, dot recognized the difference of their two worlds, and asserts the validity of her own. “we do not belong together” is more than a breakup song; it is a moment where dot can express her own agency. she sings: no one is you, george, there we agree, but others will, do george. no one is you and no one can be, but no one is me, george, no one is me.39 she acknowledges that george has a unique perspective on the world—no one is like him because he, as an artist, sees something others do not—but she also believes that she also has a unique way of viewing reality: “no one is me.” she continues to sing, furthering her defiance: 15 you have a mission. a mission to see. now i have one too, george.40 her “mission” to see the world, to fashion her own reality, is just as valid as that of the artist. dot’s defense of her perspective provokes the audience to examine their own. how are they like dot? how are they like george? how do they create their own world? the second george, like dot, demonstrates a new reality for the audience. at the end of his personal exploration, the audience sees george see the park transform into one of inspiration and then one of possibility. he begins to see as his predecessor saw. since this perspective was explored in the discussion of visual phenomenology, this section will focus on an earlier moment of george’s self-fashioning. george’s first solo, when the audience can see his “loose and disorganized”41 mind, comes with the number “putting it together.” in this number, george networks with various art donors to try and earn a commission. as he wheels and deals, he puts up various cardboard cutout versions of himself in front of the donors. he forms these versions of himself as how he wants to appear to others. he sings lines such as: drink by drink, fixing and perfecting the design. adding just a dab of politician (always knowing when to draw the line), lining up the funds but in addition lining up a prominent commission.42 this moment of cognitive awareness regarding his behavior implies that he creates his persona the way dot made up her face or george paints his masterpiece. he “perfect[s]” his “design,” but rather than his design being that of artistic reality, it is one of financially successful windfalls. as the song continues, george’s false personas crumble. the guests begin to wander away and george must run frantically to reposition his selves—to keep up his phenomenological reality. he, just like dot and seurat, shows how each individual attempts to create his or her own 16 world—whether through persona, or dreams, or art. and as the characters bring the audience into their world in a phenomenological experience alongside the visuals and music, the overall effect calls the audience to examine their own creative worlds. how do they create their personas? how do they take notice of the everyday in a creative way, like the characters do? sunday in the park with george is a gesamtkunstwerk; each element— from the visual design to the music to the characters— works together to create total and unified experience for the audience. combined with a phenomenological lens, one can see how the parts of this piece cognitively play on the perception of reality for the audience—drawing them into the world of the show and the minds of the characters. w. kandinsky describes the phenomenology of living in someone else’s perspective. he writes: the street may be observed through the window pane, causing its noises to become diminished, its movements ghostly, and the street itself, seen through the transparent but hard and firm pane, to appear as a separate organism, pulsating “out there”. or one can open the door: one can emerge from one’s isolation, immerse oneself in this organism, actively involve oneself in it and experience its pulsating life with all one’s senses.43 rather than stare through the window at another reality, sunday in the park with george makes the audience step into the street of another method of cognition. and to great effect. the musical won numerous awards, was revived on broadway and in the west end, and continues to be performed by theatres across the county. sondheim contributes the musical’s success to the phenomenological effect of the piece. he says: you can’t tell why a show is successful or not. but i think one of the reasons this one did fairly well was that it created a world… you just wanted to live in that park forever, which is part of the point of the play. it became mesmeric… so the audience success had to do with a willingness to know that it was all going to be a little strange, and then realizing they’d fallen into an enchanted world. sunday was a world onstage.44 if sunday is a “world onstage,” then what does living in that world for two and a half hours do to the individual worlds of the audience members? living within a total work of art, one centered 17 around creativity, must impact one’s own creative reality. so perhaps now more people can have “a mission to see” new things in their separate worlds. perhaps existing within an artistic reality, even for a moment, can bring that reality into one’s own separate cognition. and perhaps spending a phenomenological sunday in the park with george can create a new generation of artists and appreciators of beauty. notes 1. stephen sondheim and james lapine, sunday in the park with george: a musical, (new york: dodd, mead, 1986), 172. 2. see david woodruff, "phenomenology", the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (summer 2018). 3. see boris groys, "gesamtkunstwerk," in encyclopedia of aesthetics, (oxford: oxford university press, 2014). 4. when la cage aux folles won the tony for best musical over sunday in the park with george, the star jerry herman declared that the “simple, hummable tune” is still alive on broadway, much to the detriment of sondheim’s work. 5. along with art, music, and character, sondheim and lapine tried to bring the audience into the cognitive world of george through another method: cutting amplification. though during sunday’s premiere in 1984, almost all theatres used microphones to amplify the voices of the actors, sondheim and lapine wanted to achieve an effect of making the audience lean in to the story—to make them give effort to cognitively participate in the action. so they experimented with cutting amplification. on this subject, sondheim says that in earlier times they had “none of the luxury of sitting back and letting the show come to us—we had to lean into it. the concentration required was so great that we had to shut out the real world, and in so doing we became participants in the experience, all of which made it easy to suspend disbelief and enter another world. with the advent of amplification, ears became lazy and audience now tend to visit rather than enter. the issue is not one of volume but of concentration.” he and lapine tried to cut all microphones to achieve this effect of concentration but had to add them back into the production due to discomfort of the actors. see stephen sondheim, look, i made a hat: collected lyrics (1981-2011) with attendant comments, amplifications, dogmas, harangues, digressions, anecdotes and miscellany, (new york: alfred a. knopf, 2011), xviii. 6 though the thrust of this paper could certainly center around the phenomenology of only the original production, i will be focusing on what the source text implies—and therefore the impact of what all productions will share. the stage directions of the source text require the same interpretations of key moments, therefore the work in its essence indicates that any 18 remounting of the show would have similar phenomenology for the audience— so my analysis would still apply to any production that remains faithful to the text. 7. maurice merleau-ponty, phenomenology of perception (london; new york: routledge, 1962), 68. 8. stephen banfield, “sunday in the park with george,” sondheim’s broadway musicals, (ann arbor: university of michigan press, 1993), 343. 9. craig zadan, sondheim & co, 2nd ed. (new york: harper & row, 1986), 320. 10. stephen sondheim and james lapine, 3-4. 11. joanne lesley gordon, art isn't easy: the achievement of stephen sondheim, (carbondale: southern illinois university press, 1990), 285. 12. sondheim and lapine, 101. 13. sondheim and lapine, 163. 14. sondheim and lapine, 171. 15. sondheim and lapine, 168-9. 16. ruud welten, "what do we hear when we hear music? a radical phenomenology of music," studia phaenomenologica 9, no. 1 (2009): 272-3. 17 . seurat, georges, a sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte, 1884, oil on canvas, art institute of chicago, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992/a-sunday-on-lagrande-jatte-1884. 18. swope, martha, “a scene from sunday in the park with george,” 1984, playbill.com, https://www.playbill.com/article/did-they-finish-the-hat-where-are-the-stars-of-sundayin-the-park-with-george-now-com-348196. 19. sondheim, himself, has commented on the phenomenological experience of listening to music and how it connects the listener to the essence of the composer. he discusses his love for rachmaninoff in an interview and says offhandedly, “i’m not a russian, but a i feel like a russian when i listen to him.” this small comment articulates a greater view of music, one that leans on the idea that the listener is somehow cognitively connected to the composer by the mere act of listening to their music. see mark eden horowitz and stephen sondheim, sondheim on music: minor details and major decisions, 2nd ed, (lanham, md.: scarecrow press in association with the library of congress, 2010), 97. 20. sondheim and lapine, 31. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992/a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884 https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992/a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884 https://www.playbill.com/article/did-they-finish-the-hat-where-are-the-stars-of-sunday-in-the-park-with-george-now-com-348196 https://www.playbill.com/article/did-they-finish-the-hat-where-are-the-stars-of-sunday-in-the-park-with-george-now-com-348196 19 21. stephen banfield, 346. 22. mark eden horowitz and stephen sondheim, sondheim on music: minor details and major decisions, 2nd ed, (lanham, md.: scarecrow press in association with the library of congress, 2010), 93. 23. see stephen sondheim, 15. 24. stephen sondheim, 21. 25. this idea of creating as the creator creates is referred to in the christian tradition as humanity being imago dei— or image-bearers of god. in short, this concept means that god created humanity with certain inherent attributes similar to that of himself: kindness, goodness, and of course creativity. though these attributes do not remain intact and become marred by the entrance of sin in the world, imago dei allows all humankind the opportunity to tap into the god-like power of creating—just as george does in sunday. 26. joanne lesley gordon, 265. 27. joanne lesley gordon, 266. 28. sondheim and lapine, 10. 29. sondheim and lapine, 31. 30. sondheim and lapine, 32. 31. sondheim and lapine, 34. 32. sondheim and lapine, 70. 33. sondheim and lapine, 70-1. 34. joanne lesley gordon, 280. 35. sondheim, 27. 36. sondheim, 11. 37. sondheim and lapine, 71. 38. sondheim and lapine, 33. 39. sondheim and lapine, 85. 40. sondheim and lapine, 85. 20 41. sondheim, 27. 42. sondheim and lapine, 139. 43. w. kandinsky, complete writings on art, (boston: first da capo press, 1994), 532. 44. sondheim in craig zadan, sondheim & co., 2nd ed, (new york: harper & row, 1986), 316-7. bibliography banfield, stephen. “sunday in the park with george.” sondheim’s broadway musicals. ann arbor: university of michigan press, 1993. 343-81. gordon, joanne lesley. art isn't easy: the achievement of stephen sondheim. carbondale: southern illinois university press, 1990. groys, boris. "gesamtkunstwerk." in encyclopedia of aesthetics. oxford: oxford university press, 2014. heidegger, martin, and joan stambaugh. being and time : a translation of sein und zeit. suny series in contemporary continental philosophy. albany: state university of new york press, 1996. horowitz, mark eden., and stephen sondheim. sondheim on music: minor details and major decisions. 2nd ed. lanham, md.: scarecrow press in association with the library of congress, 2010. kandinsky, w. complete writings on art. boston: first da capo press, 1994. lawlor, leonard. "phenomenology." in the edinburgh companion to twentieth-century philosophies, edited by boundas constantin v., 389-401. edinburgh: edinburgh, 2014. marshall, george. guide to merleau-ponty’s phenomenology of perception. milwaukee: marquette university press, 2008. merleau-ponty, maurice. phenomenology of perception. london ; new york: routledge, 1962. ricœur, paul. husserl: an analysis of his phenomenology. evanston: northwestern university press, 1967. georges seurat, a sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte, 1884, oil on canvas, art institute of chicago, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992/a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte 1884. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992/a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-%091884 https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992/a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-%091884 21 sondheim, stephen. look, i made a hat: collected lyrics (1981-2011) with attendant comments, amplifications, dogmas, harangues, digressions, anecdotes and miscellany. new york: alfred a. knopf, 2011. sondheim, stephen and james lapine. sunday in the park with george: a musical. new york: dodd, mead, 1986. šuvaković, miško. "the phenomenology of the screen (and/ or/ as) event: musical de ontologisation." in neo-aesthetic theory: complexity and complicity must be defended, 129-38. wien: hollitzer verlag, 2017. swope, martha. “a scene from sunday in the park with george.” 1984. playbill.com. https://www.playbill.com/article/did-they-finish-the-hat-where-are-the-stars-of-sunday in-the-park-with-george-now-com-348196. welten, ruud. "what do we hear when we hear music? a radical phenomenology of music." studia phaenomenologica 9, no. 1 (2009): 269-286. woodruff, david. "phenomenology.” the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (summer 2018 edition). zadan, craig. sondheim & co. 2nd ed. new york: harper & row, 1986. https://www.playbill.com/article/did-they-finish-the-hat-where-are-the-stars-of-sundayhttps://www.playbill.com/article/did-they-finish-the-hat-where-are-the-stars-of-sundaymicrosoft word fatoki edu.docx proposing a path forward: a report on pennsylvania's homeschool policy in times of learning disruption and practice oladimeji fatoki education introduction to the pa homeschool policy i was interested in investigating the pennsylvania (pa) homeschool policy because studies have shown that homeschooling is the fastest-growing form of education, and it is becoming increasingly popular among parents dissatisfied with public schools, such as concerns about bullying, lack of resources for special needs children, and limited acceptance of diverse identities (jamison et al., 2023). this paper aims to thoroughly examine the homeschool policy in pennsylvania (pa), including its historical background and contemporary iteration. it also incorporates findings from research on how this policy affects students and parents as teachers. by utilizing two policy frameworks (mandates and system-changing), this paper assesses the design and underlying assumptions of the pa homeschool policy. it also discusses lingering questions and unresolved issues that could be explored in future studies. the commonwealth of pennsylvania has a homeschool policy that targets homeschooled parents, socially constructed as advantaged and positive, having the required qualifications and willpower to homeschool their children. the advantaged groups have the resources and capacity to shape their own constructions and to combat attempts that would portray them negatively (schneider & ingram, 1993, 337, par.2). however, the policy aims to change the behavior of homeschooling parents to ensure that they possess the skills and capacity to facilitate instruction and teach the right content at the right time and to ensure that learning is taking place. section 1327.1 of the pennsylvania's school code provides for a home education program that allows a parent, guardian, or legal custodian ("supervisor") with a high school diploma or its equivalent to conduct a home education program for his or her child or children. (pennsylvania department of education, 2023). in addition, i unraveled how the pa homeschool policy could support parents in enhancing their expertise, knowledge, and resources to support students acutely, exploring various teaching and learning options implicit in the policy. during the 2021-2022 academic year, at least one homeschooled student existed for every 10 public school students in 390 districts across the united states. this is four times the number of districts with such rates in 2017-2018, indicating a significant shift in how communities educate their children and a challenge for a public education system that had decreasing enrollment even before the covid-19 pandemic (jamison et al., 2023). one significant outcome of the coronavirus pandemic was the disruption in regular attendance for children at both public and private schools (price et al., 2021). additionally, acute health issues as highlighted by thorpe et al. (2011) can affect the operations of school systems. according to ray (2023), about 6% of school-aged children were homeschooled during the 2021-2022 school year, equating to about 3.1 million students in grades k through 12 in the united states. the homeschool population had been growing at an estimated 2% to 8% per annum over the past several years, but it grew drastically from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021. thus, i put forward that parents opting for homeschooling should always consider carefully their shortterm and long-term goals. by homeschooling, parents can ensure their children meet minimum standards in the short term while also developing essential skills like creativity, communication, and collaboration that will prepare them well for college or the workforce in the long term. the policy theory can work in practice, but policymakers may want parents to teach at the pace of private or public schools and use the schools' approaches to address the impact of any disruptive learning. this event related to the pandemic is what stone (2011, p.171) called the story of metaphor “embedded in every policy metaphor is an assumption that if a is like b, then the way to solve a is to do what you would do to solve b.” however, multiple sources suggest that there are reasons, issues, and trends in homeschooling in the united states that policymakers need to consider. according to stone (2011, p.183, par.1), most policy discussions begin with a recitation of figures purporting to show that a problem is big or growing, or both. critiquing the pa homeschool policy and its potential effects can help policymakers design implementation and evaluation studies for the pa home education program to ensure that it supports students from diverse backgrounds. historical overview of how pa homeschool policy came about i examined and discussed the history of pennsylvania's homeschooling policy through the lens of stone's symbols and numbers framework. according to stone (2011) in symbols, symbols are often used to tell stories. they enable people to share their experiences and convey meaning. stone further defined symbols as anything that stands for something else, and its meaning depends on how people interpret it, use it, or respond to it (stone, 2011, p.157, par. 3). stone identified three symbolic devices in policy politics: stories, synecdoche, and metaphor. stories entail narratives with heroes and villains, problems and solutions, tensions, and resolutions, and the most common recurring themes are change (stories of decline, including stories of stymied progress, illusory progress, and stories of rising and progress) and power (stories of control, including the story of helplessness, conspiracy story, and the blame-thevictim story). these are a vital part of human nature. synecdoche refers to when a small part of a policy problem represents the whole, while metaphor is when one policy problem is likened to another. common metaphors in policy politics include organisms, disease, natural laws, machines, wedges, containers, and wars (p.159). stone (2011, p.183, par.1) in numbers examines the implications of defining policy problems only by measurement. stone emphasized that policy discussions often begin with a recitation of figures purporting to show that a problem is big, growing, or both. stone's symbols and numbers framework guided me in choosing appropriate materials or studies and understand how different authors account for the events and trends of homeschooling in pennsylvania. homeschooling may be more accurately described as "home-based education." this approach involves parents taking on the responsibility of raising and instructing their children. it is typically family-based and led by parents or students themselves. through this method, individualized learning is encouraged, and classes are usually not held in traditional classroom or institutional environments (lines, 1998, as cited in ray, 2000, p.1). homeschooling families often participate in community activities and use resources open to the public to enhance the education of the children. according to ray (2016), homeschooling has been in existence in the united states, particularly during the colonial period. during this time, parents were the main academic instructors of their children, and they taught them not only reading, writing, and arithmetic but also values, morals, and religious instruction (cremin 1970, as cited in ray, 2016). most of the children's education during this period was conducted at home. hence, homeschooling has gained popularity in the late 20th and early 21st centuries due to concerns about the neutrality of public schools in teaching values and worldview. as per rucker (2020), homeschooling in pennsylvania used to be illegal, but courageous parents fought for their right to educate their children at home. in the 1970s, parents began questioning public education and the differences in belief systems, leading them to pull their children out of school. early homeschoolers faced opposition and persecution from school districts, with some families even being threatened with jail time. early homeschoolers in pennsylvania were subject to the regulations enforced by their respective school districts, each having its own unique set of rules. however, in 1988, a homeschool law was passed in pennsylvania, making homeschooling legal (eagleson, 2020; ray, 2016; rucker, 2020). over the years, changes have been made to the law to make it less burdensome for families. the christian homeschool association of pennsylvania (chap) has been instrumental in advocating for homeschoolers' rights and continues to fight for homeschool freedom in the state. currently, there is a battle concerning the compulsory age for schooling in pennsylvania (pennsylvania department of education, 2020), and chap is actively involved in supporting legislation to reduce the burden on homeschooled families. chap was founded in the early 1980s and played a significant role in the legalization and protection of homeschooling in pennsylvania. before the establishment of public schools, parents were primarily responsible for their children's education. however, by the mid-1800s, the "common school" system became the norm as the center of a child’s education rather than the home, and this movement developed into the public school system (eagleson, 2020). studies revealed that in 1982, homeschooling gained attention through broadcasts by focus on the family. eagleson (2020) mentioned that: a young mother (mary ann) reached for her small radio and headset as she organized herself to feed the baby in the middle of the night. it was her firstborn, a precious girl, and they both settled in as the music for focus on the family began to play. this was early 1982. as the mom drifted between sleep and consciousness, she listened to that opening music and the host’s introductory comments. it soon became clear that the host and the guest were talking about teaching our children at home. the topic woke the mom up out of her stupor. “what in the world is that?” she mused. as she listened, along with thousands of other parents interested in this possibility, the lord expanded the birthing of a new movement across america and beyond. the guest and others like him, before and in the days ahead, shared information about this new movement. the young mom’s family and the lives of thousands of others, who were listening that night and to subsequent broadcasts, were impacted by focus on the family’s efforts to make these voices heard. soon many other avenues began sharing this concept of educating our children (pp.1-2). this conscious attention to homeschooling has sparked a surge in support groups, including the lancaster county home education association (l'chea) formed in 1986. the first l’chea annual convention in 1986 was aptly called “come and see” and drew 200 participants. as responsibilities grew, l'chea became a formal non-profit organization in 1991 and later changed its name to the christian homeschool association of pennsylvania (chap) in 1994. fast forward to 2017, the chap convention (eagleson, 2020) is now held annually at the stunning lancaster county convention center, located in downtown pennsylvania. the christian homeschool association of pennsylvania (chap) played a significant role in protecting the rights of homeschooling parents in the state. in 1994, they worked with thousands of concerned individuals to oppose a bill (hr 6) that would have required teaching certificates for all homeschooling parents. in 2000, chap founded chap help (home educators lobbying program) to educate legislators about homeschooling and advocate for more freedom in homeschooling law. they monitored bills and played a role in introducing hb 2560 in 2022, which aimed for less oversight of homeschoolers by school districts, but it died in committee due to a lack of unity between nearly one thousand homeschoolers red team (also known as red seas) who supports and about one hundred homeschoolers blue team who opposed the bill. in 2014, chap and other homeschooling advocates worked to lessen the workload on parents created by homeschooling laws. currently, a representative from chap reads about 360 bills a year and chap continues to monitor bills and other legislative issues related to homeschooling freedom (eagleson, 2020; rucker, 2020) and provide support and resources for homeschooling families. the home school legal defense association (hslda) is another prominent organization, founded in 1983 by michael farris and j. michael smith in purcellville, virginia. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy group, it has been steadfast in its efforts to support homeschoolers (hslda, 2019). in addition, homeschoolers often collaborate with support groups to safeguard their rights and tackle any issues that may arise. chap worked with sympathetic legislators and the home school legal defense association (hslda) to advocate for homeschooling rights and law. the formation of some pennsylvania homeschoolers and their leadership worked together with chap and hslda and successfully lobbied for the legalization of homeschooling in pennsylvania from september 1984 to the end of 1988 and fought against restrictive legislation in congress (eagleson, 2020; rucker 2020). in 1988, homeschooling became legal in pennsylvania. over the years, these organizations have acted as the primary point of contact for homeschoolers regarding policy issues and concerns. summary of extant research on homeschool policy clearly delineating between implementation and evaluation studies over the years, several studies have been conducted to implement or evaluate homeschooling practices and their impacts on student outcomes. below is a summary of some of the most notable studies. cheng and hamlin’s (2023) implementation study on contemporary homeschooling arrangements: an analysis of three waves of nationally representative data delved into homeschooling trends and how homeschooled parents (street-level bureaucrats) from diverse backgrounds use private tutors and cooperative instructors to supplement their instruction. by analyzing the quantitative data from the u.s. department of education’s national household education survey administered to 1,468 homeschooled families, the authors found that traditional homeschooling is on the decline (p. 1462) while home education supplemented by online resources, part-time attendance at brick-and-mortar schools, and cooperative instructors are on the rise in the southern region. the authors suggested that this contemporary homeschooling practice, along with regulatory policy, raises questions for public school systems on how they can make school available for families with a child with special needs, possibly through part-time attendance or participation in school-based activities. hamlin and cheng's (2022) study on homeschooling, perceived social isolation, and life trajectories: an analysis of formerly homeschooled adults served as both an implementation and evaluation analysis of homeschooling (p. 338). the evaluation part focuses on student outcomes, like college attendance, household income, marital status, and subjective well-being. the implementation part focused on conventional and unconventional social experiences reported by participants, providing insights that could be used to enhance homeschooling practices (pp. 354-355). for instance, the study found that children can play an integral role in the decision to either continue or discontinue homeschooling. formerly homeschooled adults mentioned having some control over their education decisions. while theoretical debates argue homeschooling may limit children's rights, interviews in the study indicate that homeschooled children have authority over their education. the analyses of data collected from the parents of the adults/ homeschool teachers (street-level bureaucrats) revealed that they were able to navigate mainstream school-based social activities even though they had less exposure to mainstream social opportunities offered in brick-and-mortar schools. the study used interviews and survey data from the adults to reach these conclusions. hamline’s (2019) implementation study on do homeschooled students lack opportunities to acquire cultural capital? evidence from a nationally representative survey of american households examined the extent to which homeschooled parents teach humanities subjects like art, music, and foreign languages and provide their children with cultural experiences. data was collected from the national household education survey that was administered to 552 homeschooled households the study found that nearly 60% of homeschooled households reported teaching at least three of the four humanities subjects, and 40% were unable to provide instruction due to a lack of resources (pp.324-325). the results also revealed that learning humanities fosters cultural awareness and promotes family activities. furthermore, parents with a university degree were more likely to participate in cultural and family activities, such as visiting museums and art galleries, going to bookstores and libraries, and attending live artistic performances, which are often used as a measure of cultural capital. furthermore, higher rates of participation in cultural and family activities reported for homeschooled families may suggest that homeschooled students have opportunities to acquire cultural capital outside of formal instructional time. participation in these types of activities may thus play a compensatory role, possibly offsetting what may be forfeited by not attending a traditional brick-and-mortar school (p.324). this implies that additional effort and intentional actions are required to determine if participation in cultural and family activities is equivalent to cultural capital developed through experiences at school. hanna’s (2012) implementation study on homeschooling education: longitudinal study of methods, materials, and curricula was a 10-year longitudinal research study that examined the demographics, methods, materials, curriculum, and motivations of pennsylvania homeschooling families. the study began in 1998, covering 25 districts, and used interviews and questionnaires to collect data from 250 families. by 2008, the data was compiled, offering an accurate depiction of each family's homeschooling efforts (p.617). the author found that homeschoolers today are more selective in their methods and materials and operate on a much larger scale than in the mid1990s (p. 627). hence, the study looked at how homeschooling plays out in practice and how it has changed over time. finally, price et. al. (2021) research on it’s not homeschool, it’s school at home: parents’ experiences as teachers during the covid-19 pandemic was an implementation study that used email interviews with homeschooled parents (street-level bureaucrats) to explore their response to covid-19 school closures. the findings provided valuable information on how schools and communities can handle similar situations in the future (p.117). the researchers conducted a thematic analysis of oral history, a qualitative interview method focusing on participants' experiences, opinions and perspectives, memories and events, attitudes, values, and beliefs. this method typically includes multiple open-ended interview sessions with each participant (leavy, 2011). the objective was to understand parents' viewpoints and experiences and to convey essential themes to education policymakers and administrators. the study highlighted key themes concerning curriculum and learning settings, communication and school assistance, and financial constraints. parents encountered difficulties with technology, equipment, and educational platforms. the study offers suggestions for districts and parents to enhance readiness for virtual classrooms in the future. furthermore, districts should actively involve parents in the decision-making process and keep them informed. application of at least two frameworks discussed in class to analyze the design of the pa homeschool policy and its assumptions learning frameworks the pennsylvania (pa) homeschool policy is primarily composed of mandates and system-changing that offer direction to homeschooled parents. the policy's mandates specify what parents need to teach, the rules they must follow, the required hours of instruction per year, and the option to document days instead. it also provides recommendations for maintaining a portfolio and mentions the requirement to submit a portfolio until the age of 18 (pennsylvania department of education, 2023, pp. 24-25). to ensure that learning is taking place, parents must teach 180 days or 900 hours at the elementary school and 180 days or 990 hours at the secondary level, standardized tests must be administered at specific grade levels, and an annual written assessment of the child's progress must be conducted. additionally, parents must file a notarized affidavit or unsworn declaration, have a child evaluated by a qualified evaluator, and submit the evaluator's certification to the superintendent by june 30. furthermore, parents must have at least a high school diploma or its equivalent to teach in a homeschool (hslda, 2020). system-changing is another key tool in the pa homeschool policy. homeschooled parents who lack political influence and wish to maintain their access are more likely to report work hours and test results that may not be an accurate reflection of their child's abilities. this is due to a perverse incentive to cheat or inflate numbers, which unintentionally produces an undesirable outcome despite being created with good intentions. as stone (2011, p.188, par.1) argues, every number is an assertion about similarities and differences, and it is impossible to count without making judgments about categorization. this raises questions about what counts as a work hour, such as whether driving a child to the grocery store and shopping should be considered a school lesson, e.g., english, social studies, or mathematics lesson. in addition, homeschooling parents who meet program requirements would transfer authority over their children's learning back to the government, as the superintendent may request additional documentation or discontinue the program if they believe the child is not properly educated. furthermore, parents can challenge the school district's decision at a hearing, but if they decide to reenroll their child in public school, the appropriate grade placement will be determined based on the coursework completed during homeschooling (education law center, 2014). as a result, parents must adhere to reporting guidelines, report student progress within a certain timeframe, and have their activities monitored to maintain their homeschool status. the pa homeschool policy aims to ensure that parents have the necessary skills to facilitate instruction and are teaching the right content at the right time. the target population is homeschooled parents, who are socially constructed as advantaged and have the required qualifications and willpower to homeschool their children. the policy is also attempting to change the parents' behavior to guarantee that learning is taking place. in addition, advantaged parents who are strong politically, financially, and socially could overturn or influence government policy (schneider and ingram, 1993). ultimately, the students are the beneficiaries of the policy because they gain awareness, specific knowledge, skills, and abilities or attitudes that students are expected to attain by the end of a learning experience or program of study. the policy is not directly influenced by wealth but implicitly affected by the fact that parents without high school qualifications might feel unimportant for their children to benefit from their experiences. in conclusion, the pa homeschooling requirements aim to ensure that parents are equipped enough to teach and provide the right instruction and attention to students. theory of change problem the homeschooling trend emerged in the 1980s when many christian parents began to question whether public schools were the best option or a good choice for their children, given the differences in belief systems. this led to an increase in the number of homeschooled students across the united states. the desire to avoid a one-size-fits-all education and the desire for a faith-based approach to learning led parents across the nation to pull their children out of school (rucker, 2020, p.2). however, some believe that public schools do not teach children about sectarian values, beliefs, and worldviews, leading to the growth of homeschooling as an alternative to mainstream education. parents who homeschool their children must play the role of sole teachers, which can lead to social isolation and other challenges, such as time management, finances, selecting the right curriculum, and keeping the child engaged. despite these challenges, many students desired to be homeschooled during the covid-19 pandemic and wanted to be taught by their parents (price et al., 2021). homeschooling has gained popularity worldwide, but it is not without its drawbacks. it challenges the state's authority to educate citizens and raises concerns about child protection issues, social awareness, and educational outcomes. solution some parents prefer to educate their children themselves instead of sending them to public schools. while this may work for some, others may not be equipped to provide effective education. the pa homeschool policy aims to address this issue by setting minimum standards to allow the former but address the latter. the policy encourages self-reported academic records, student engagement in the community, and customized learning environments. to comply with the minimum standards, parents must provide 180 days or 900 hours of instruction in grades k-6, and 990 hours in grades 7-12. a portfolio of reading materials and work samples must be maintained, along with standardized test results in grades 3, 5, and 8. short-term and long-term goals the homeschool policy aims to achieve significant goals in both the short and long term. in the short term, the policy aims to increase student involvement in the community, foster interpersonal relationships, and enable students to learn about values and beliefs directly from their parents. in the long term, homeschooling aims to help students develop social skills such as self-awareness and inter – intrapersonal relationships. additionally, homeschooled children will be prepared for national standardized testing, college, or the workforce. this policy also seeks to promote student and parent interactions, academic achievement, and community building. key assumptions the pennsylvania homeschool policy is based on several key assumptions that have significant implications for both parents and students. firstly, the policy assumes that homeschooled students can only acquire knowledge or skills when a parent possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent (ged certificate). this can result in an overemphasis on testing as the primary means of assessing student progress. it may also lead to a reduced focus on other important skills, such as creativity, communication, and collaboration. secondly, parents who lack high school qualifications may feel undervalued or uninvolved in their children's education. additionally, homeschooled parents may exaggerate their reporting of student progress and achievements. although the state controls standardized test scores, requiring parents to turn them in ensures that they pay attention to their children's education. in 2019, a bill was passed that made changes to the pa act 16, which in turn amended the public school code in pennsylvania, updating the definition of compulsory school age. as of the 2020-21 academic year, children must now be enrolled in school no later than age six and are required to attend school until age 18 or graduation, whichever comes first. in addition, as of july 1, 2020, children may no longer withdraw from school at age 17 (education law center, 2019; sharp & ferenz, 2020). this bill creates an additional burden on parents who choose to homeschool in that homeschooled parents will need to create additional time for their children to receive appropriate instruction until they turn 18 years old or before graduation. moreover, there could be oversubscription in teaching mathematics and reading, or language arts due to mandatory test reports. students may also be tested beyond what they learned from their parents. furthermore, homeschooled children may have difficulty with feelings of social isolation. while homeschooled students are not socially isolated, social introversion is viewed negatively. lastly, whether homeschooled parents were ever certified teachers is not notably or significantly related to their children's academic achievement in homeschooling (ray, 2023). in addition, school is not only about instructing students in knowledge and skills, as many parents and the public believe. a discussion of lingering questions about this policy that future research could address based on the foregoing, i have come up with some lingering questions about the pennsylvania homeschool policy that require further research. i believe the following areas are worth investigating or exploring to gain insight, enhance understanding, and refine homeschooling in the state: • how do homeschool parents select and implement appropriate curricula? to what extent do they collaborate with other homeschooling families? • how does the compulsory age for schooling in pennsylvania (pa act 16) impact homeschooled children's natural learning ability? • what is the effect of media and activities on homeschoolers? how can homeschoolers be better informed about the current homeschool policy? • is there a relationship between access to information and the location of homeschoolers? • how can policymakers be more attentive to marginalized voices in homeschool debates? answering these questions can lead to a better understanding of how the pennsylvania homeschool system can be improved for the benefit of school districts, teachers, parents, and students from various backgrounds and locations. while striving to maintain this balance, it is essential to address ethical dilemmas. this includes situations where parents might provide inaccurate information about their child's abilities and how to determine the state's responsibility in ensuring students' academic success in such cases. additionally, addressing concerns about student withdrawals from public schools and maintaining a learning environment that can better serve the needs of students raises further questions about state responsibility and parent accountability. given the increase in homeschooling, the diminishing backing for public education (natanson, 2022), and the growing emphasis on parental rights in education (pa family, 2024), these issues are becoming more critical, and requiring immediate attention. references cheng, a., & hamlin, d. (2023). contemporary homeschooling arrangements: an analysis of three waves of nationally representative data. educational policy, 37(5), 14441466. https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048221103795. eagleson, m. a. (2020). a brief history of the christian homeschool association of pennsylvania (chap). chap. https://chaponline.com/2020/10/08/a-brief-history-of-thechristian-homeschool-association-of-pennsylvania-chap/. education law center. (2019). when must a child attend school? compulsory school age and pennsylvania’s truancy laws: a fact sheet. https://www.elc-pa.org/wp content/uploads/2019/08/truancy-fact-sheet-compulsory-school-age-updated-august 2019-final.pdf. education law center. (2014). homeschooling in pennsylvania: a fact sheet. https://www.elc pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/elc_factsheet_homeschoolingpa_5_2_08.pdf. hamlin, d., & cheng, a. (2022). homeschooling, perceived social isolation, and life trajectories: an analysis of formerly homeschooled adults. journal of school choice , 16(2), 332-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/15582159.2022.2028338. hamlin, d. (2019). do homeschooled students lack opportunities to acquire cultural capital? evidence from a nationally representative survey of american households. peabody journal of education, 94(3), 312–327. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0161956x.2019.1617582#:~:text=while%2 0patterns%20observed%20in%20this,in%20cultural%20and%20family%20activities. hanna, l. (2012). homeschooling education: longitudinal study of methods, materials, and curricula. education and urban society, 44(5), 609-631. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124511404886 hslda (2020). how to comply with pennsylvania’s homeschool law. hslda. https://hslda.org/post/how-to-comply-with-pennsylvanias-homeschool-law. hslda (2019). a brief history. hslda. https://hslda.org/post/who-we-are. jamison, p., meckler, l., gordy, p., morse, c., & alcantara, c. (2023). home schooling’s rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education. homeschool nation. retrieved december 16, 2023, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2023/homeschooling-growth-databy-district/. leavy, p. (2011). oral history: understanding qualitative research. oxford university press. natanson, h. (2022, september 8). trust in teachers is plunging amid a culture war in education. washington post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/06/teachers-trust-historylgbtq-culture-war/. pa family. (2024). parental rights curriculum transparency pa family. https://pafamily.org/parental-rights-curriculumtransparency/#:~:text=pennsylvania%20and%20federal%20law%20requires,materials% 2c%20evaluations%20and%20assessment%20techniques/. price, d., peersman, j., & matherne, s. (2021). it’s not homeschool, it’s school at home: parents’ experiences as teachers during the covid-19 pandemic. educational media international, 58(2), 102–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2021.1930486. ray, b. (2023, december 12). research facts on homeschooling. national home education research institute. https://www.nheri.org/research-facts-onhomeschooling/#:~:text=general%20facts%2c%20statistics%2c%20and%20trends,of% 20school%2dage%20children). ray, b. (2016). a brief history of homeschooling in the united states. christian apologetics & research ministry. https://carm.org/homeschooling/a-brief-history-of-homeschooling-in the-united-states/. ray, b. (2000). homeschooling teaching strategies. eric (educational resources information center) clearinghouse on teaching and teacher education, american association of colleges for teacher education (aacte), washington dc 20005. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed501189.pdf. rucker, c. (2020). homeschooling was illegal: the history of homeschooling in pa. chap. https://chaponline.com/2020/08/27/homeschooling-was-illegal-the-history-ofhomeschooling-in-pa/ schneider, a., & ingram, h. (1993). social construction of target populations: implications for politics and policy. the american political science review, 87(2), 334–347. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2307/2939044. sharp, j., & ferenz, c. (2020). changes to pa act 16 compulsory school age. rcpa. https://www.paproviders.org/changes-to-pa-act-16-compulsory-school-age/. stone, d. (2011). numbers. in policy paradox: the art of political decision making (3rd ed., pp. 183–204). essay, w.w. norton & company stone, d. (2011). symbols. in policy paradox: the art of political decision making (3rd ed., pp. 157–182). essay, w.w. norton & company. 1 memorandum mori: how the budapest memorandum failed to protect ukraine brian haughton political science i. introduction the united states, the russian federation, and the united kingdom pledged on december 5, 1994, that they would respect the territorial integrity of ukraine, the republic of kazakhstan, and the republic of belarusi. in exchange for this, these three states were to hand over their nuclear arsenals inherited from the soviet union to russia. these were, in essence, the terms of the budapest memorandum. when the budapest memorandum is discussed in modern context, it is often referred to in context of russia violating it and launching the russo-ukrainian war in 2014, and each of its subsequent actions (including the full-scale invasion of ukraine launched in 2022) constituted the end of the budapest memorandum. the united states and united kingdom, through their lackluster response to the 2014 invasion, did not seem to hold the memorandum in high regard either. so why did the budapest memorandum fail? an assurance of upheld territorial integrity from the united states, united kingdom, and russian federation, where nuclear proliferation is the concern, should be a very serious promise. however, russia never took the memorandum seriously and has continually violated ukraine’s sovereignty since it was signed. when russian forces seized crimea in 2014, the united states and united kingdom did nothing of substance to stop russia from annexing territory that, as part of the budapest memorandum, the russian government swore to leave unaltered. as should be obvious given that the russian invasion 2 persists in 2025, there was insufficient punishment for breaking the budapest memorandum, so russia never adhered to its content. ii. motivation in modern parlance, the budapest memorandum is invoked often in ukraine’s defense, condemning russia for violating its stipulations. the intent of this paper is to expand on how and why the budapest memorandum failed. the united states and united kingdom caved to russia in 2014, and simply allowed the seizure of crimea to occur, though they had committed to respecting ukrainian territorial integrity. the hope that convinced ukraine, after much intense deliberation, to hand its nuclear weapons over to its former imperial overlord, was misplaced. iii. roadmap first, i will go over the scope of this paper and the preparatory research, and then go over existing literature on the budapest memorandum. next, i will give background on the tumultuous events that led to the signing of the budapest memorandum, as well as lay out the memorandum’s content. then i will analyze the events between 1994 and 2014 where russia’s disregard for the budapest memorandum manifested in a non-military context. after this, i will analyze the events of late february to early march 2014 when russia first directly invaded ukraine. finally, i will attempt to ascertain the reasonings behind the memorandum’s failure. iv. existing examinations of failure explanatory reasonings for the failure of the budapest memorandum specifically are difficult to find, probably because once it was violated and abandoned by all parties involved, it became a less-than-impactful thing to write about. since the full-scale invasion of ukraine however, the budapest memorandum has resurfaced as a talking point, and scholarship reaching back to 2014 3 to explain exactly what led to this moment has emerged mostly in the wider context of the war. the budapest memorandum is usually given a singular paragraph or so, then goes unmentioned. only recently has it made an occasional reappearance, mostly in western opinion journalism urging westerners to remember the character of russia’s disregard for the memorandum. regarding the ukrainian attitude toward the budapest memorandum and the nuclear nonproliferation treaty (npt) before either’s adoption, there is also very little literature. the budapest memorandum is often mentioned in passing, as an example of either russian duplicity, western trepidation, or both. along with the 1997 black sea fleet partition treaty, and the 1997 russo-ukrainian friendship treaty, the budapest memorandum is often listed as just one of the multiple treaties with ukraine that russia has broken. the budapest memorandum is often lumped together with these other treaties, and discussion of these treaties is (understandably) focused on russia. the western role in the budapest memorandum, and its disintegration, is often mentioned offhand, or ignored, and the ukrainian battle over the npt and budapest memorandum that coincided the 1994 ukrainian presidential election is also underdiscussed. the last hindrance on the research of this paper was language. many sources are in russian or ukrainian. shorter russian sources could be translated by me using my own russian language skills and the help of an online translator, but were not particularly useful because they were so short. most russian and ukrainian sources were also available in english as well, but many longer sources like books or some articles were not used due to the language barrier. the most common explanation for the failure of the budapest memorandum is the simple fact that it was unenforceable by design, as the text lacks any coherent punishment structure.ii this is emphasized by steven pifer in his article the trilateral process: the united states, ukraine, russia, and nuclear weapons, where pifer lays out the history of the trilateral 4 statement and the budapest memorandum, emphasizing certain issues met along the way, particularly the clinton administration’s unwillingness to provide ukraine with any guarantees.iii pifer is likely the foremost english-language scholar on the budapest memorandum, has also written articles for the brookings institution espousing this same view. this is also highlighted in russian dissident journalist mikhail zygar’s book “war and punishment”iv and harvard director of ukrainian studies serhii plokhy’s book “the gates of europe: a history of ukraine”v in the brief section on the budapest memorandum contained in each book. in pifer’s explanation, only ukraine was bound by the budapest memorandum’s stipulations because the memorandum never had to go through any ratification process in the united states, united kingdom, or russia but did have to be ratified in ukraine.vi this view explains why the american and british response was so lackluster when russia violated the terms of the memorandum in 2014, as their own legislatures had no reason or means to hold the decisionmakers to account. (president in the us and russia, cabinet/prime minister in the uk) the blame for the budapest memorandum’s failure is placed on the framing of the document itself in this view. this view is not incompatible with the view prioritizing the role of russia in the violation, as the structure of the memorandum (and its existence as a memorandum rather than a treaty) was created to be noncommittal but achieve the removal of ukrainian nuclear weapons, creating conditions that did not adequately punish preexisting russian ambition over ukraine. v. leadup to the budapest memorandum a. aftermath of the collapse of the soviet union the immediate position of the united states towards ukraine upon its independence from the soviet union was one of tension and restraint. on august 1, 1991, u.s. president george h.w. bush had advised the leadership of ukraine (at this point still a constituent republic of the soviet 5 union) in his “chicken kiev”vii speech to the supreme soviet (legislature) of the ukrainian ssrviii in kyiv, to temper dreams of self-determination and focus on reforming the soviet union.ix why would an u.s. president fly across the world to urge another people not to pursue independence from a domineering foreign power? the united states and the soviet union had been locked in reciprocal fear of dragging the entire world into nuclear war since the soviets acquired the atom bomb in 1949. in president bush’s view the collapse of the soviet union would create an unpredictable nuclear landscape dispersing nuclear weapons across four countries instead of one. ukrainians were outraged by bush’s speech, but the american view on ukrainian independence had been clearly articulated as a matter of nuclear security.x a little over two weeks after the “chicken kiev” speech, communist party hardliners seized control of the soviet government to halt both soviet president mikhail gorbachev’s reforms, as well as the looming collapse of the soviet empire. they only lasted three days before being arrested at the order of russian sfsrxi president boris yeltsin. in the fallout of this august coup, the communist party of ukraine was banned for its support of the coup attempt. communists turned into nationalists overnight, and the supreme soviet of the ukrainian ssr voted unanimously for ukraine to become an independent state on august 24, 1991, – despite president bush’s fears and warnings. chairman of the ukrainian supreme soviet of now-independent ukraine (though not yet recognized as such internationally) leonid kravchuk, flew to the united states to meet with bush in september of 1991 to convince the u.s. president to provide ukraine with aid to set up a functional competitive free-market economy. kravchuk did not request recognition, but did mention that as a gesture of goodwill in the spirit of a new post-cold war cooperativeness, 6 ukraine was willing to give up its nuclear weapons, probably to russia. bush was delighted by this idea, though he would still much rather have dealt with gorbachev.xii the newborn ukraine, along with all the former soviet republics, had automatically inherited the soviet union’s obligations toward the strategic arms reduction treaty i, signed in july 1991. in name, ukraine, belarus, and kazakhstan (the only soviet republics with nuclear weapons in their territorial boundaries aside from russia) were party to the treaty on nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, (npt) and by possessing nuclear weapons, were in violation of it through no fault of their own. resolving this issue was among the top priorities for the west, russia, as well as ukraine, kazakhstan, and belarus in the immediate post-soviet period. b. preliminary negotiations on ukrainian nuclear disarmament the victory of bill clinton in the 1992 united states presidential election marked a shift from twelve years of republican control of the presidency. (the longest clinching of the oval office by one party since democrat franklin delano roosevelt’s four terms beginning in 1933, and harry truman’s subsequent term that ended in 1953) president clinton was the arbiter of a new post-cold war era, and most crucially, had zero foreign policy experience and cared not about the fifteen new states of the former soviet union.xiii clinton’s initial disinterest emerged as a much more solid policy toward ukraine than bush had espoused, intended to end the nuclear proliferation threat so that the president could focus on domestic politics: plainly, washington would not talk to kyiv until ukraine has given up its nuclear weapons. kravchuk had no misgivings about ukraine letting its soviet-inherited nuclear arsenal go.xiv the equipment needed to launch these nukes was located in russia. all that a dormant nuclear arsenal did for ukraine was collect dust and cause problems. kravchuk dutifully signed the 7 lisbon protocol of start i, joining belarus and kazakhstan as agreeing to be non-nuclear parties to the npt. kravchuk was following the wishes of bush and clinton. things appeared to be developing toward denuclearization of ukraine, belarus, and kazakhstan.xv however, start i languished on the ukrainian rada’s (parliament) docket. discussions and preparations regarding ukrainian denuclearization occurred throughout 1993, but moscow, kyiv, and washington only talked bilaterally, and never trilaterally. c. the trilateral statement in november 1993, the ukrainian rada finally ratified start i and the lisbon protocol, with alterations that reduced requirements for ukraine that the united states and russia had not been informed of. these changes made it clear that ukraine was worried about the real threat of russian aggression. rather than denuclearizing, the changes to the ratified version merely reduced ukraine’s nuclear weapons capability rather than eliminated it entirely. this move showed both the white house and the kremlin that the ukraine was unwilling to surrender its most powerful deterrent without compensation. the altered version of start i captured the full attention of russia and the united states, who quickly agreed to finally hold a trilateral summit. in early 1994, president clinton visited kyiv and moscow to sign the first trilateral agreement between russia, ukraine, and the united states, regarding american support for dismantling of ukraine’s nuclear systems. kravchuk expressed fear and second thoughts to clinton privately during the visit,xvi and the two hashed out revisions to the preliminaries to the yet-to-be-named budapest memorandum. clinton and kravchuk presented these preliminaries to russian president boris yeltsin, and the three signed a trilateral agreement. 8 the agreement stated that the united states would provide security “assurances” to ukraine and assist with the dismantling and relocation of ukraine’s nuclear weapons. what “assurances” meant was left unclear. in the russian and ukrainian translations of the english-language document, the word for “guarantee” and “assurance” are the same, so the three agreed that the intent of the wording in russian and ukrainian was to mean the english word “assurance” rather than “guarantee.” russia and ukraine also agreed that russia would forgive ukrainian energy debt in exchange for ukrainian agreement. in exchange for these assurances, ukraine would hand its nuclear arsenal over to russia. d. preparation for budapest in february 1994, the ukrainian rada ratified start i and the lisbon protocol without any alterations. ukraine did not join the npt, but having ratified the lisbon protocol, committed to joining soon. things quieted down and began to move toward smooth ukrainian accession to the npt. kravchuk lost the 1994 ukrainian presidential election to leonid kuchma, who took over in june 1994. kuchma, though skeptical of the west, pushed the rada to ratify accession to the npt. in november 1994 it did, but again with an unexpected caveat: ukraine would accede to the npt as an owner of nuclear arms, but not as a nuclear weapons state. american and british lawyers found this a workable predicament,xvii if ukraine kept its word about handing over its nuclear weapons. russia did not accept this situation and condemned the rada’s decision. the u.s. department of state requested ukraine “clarify” the resolution, and directly issue a statement on whether ukraine would accede as a non-nuclear weapons state, and deliver this clarification by written note at the next organization for security and co-operation in europe (osce) summit in budapest, hungary. at this summit, clinton, yeltsin, kuchma, and british prime minister john major would be present. the wording of this note was deliberated 9 beforehand and passed to each leader in a fancy ceremony in budapest, on december 5, 1994. the note stated clearly that ukraine would accede to the npt as a non-nuclear weapons state.xviii vi. what is the budapest memorandum? on december 5, 1994, the leaders of the united states, united kingdom, russian federation, ukraine, republic of kazakhstan, and republic of belarus signed the budapest memorandum clearing up three years of muddled negotiations over npt accession and nuclear disarmament. the memorandum stated that the united states, united kingdom, and russia would respect the territorial integrity of ukrainexix and agreed upon those borders. crimea, according to the budapest memorandum, is part of ukraine. the united states, united kingdom, and russia all provided security assurances to ukraine, and proclaimed never to threaten or use force “against the territorial integrity or political independence of ukraine” and committed to seek united nations security council assistance for ukraine should ukraine come under attack. it is notable that there is no punishment for breaking the budapest memorandum. in the event ukraine’s territory be infringed upon, none of the signatories were obliged to do anything except vaguely “seek immediate united nations security council action.” the united states and united kingdom had committed to respect and uphold ukrainian territorial integrity and independence, but what form that support would take is left up to interpretation in the budapest memorandum’s very short text.xx vii. the end of the budapest memorandum a. continual violations (1994-2014) russia continually violated the budapest memorandum after its signing. articles 2 and 3 state that the united states, united kingdom, and russia would respect ukraine’s territorial 10 integrity and avoid political interference and economic coercion in ukraine.xxi during the presidency of leonid kuchma alone, (1994-2005) russia interfered heavily in ukrainian politics clandestinely, aggressively, and successfully. upon the rise of vladimir putin, leonid kuchma attempted to model himself after putin’s authoritarian success, even founding a “united ukraine” copycat bloc of putin’s united russia party. close ties emerged between many in kuchma’s cadre and russia. though kuchma was not directly putin’s puppet, he was an ally of russia at this time while also pursuing a relationship with the european union. however, kuchma sent potential successor candidates for the 2004 election to moscow for vetting by putin. in 2003, a border clash over the kerch strait erupted between russia and ukraine, where ukrainian soldiers almost fired upon encroaching russian construction. russia committed more egregious violations of ukrainian sovereignty and the budapest memorandum in the leadup to the 2004 ukrainian presidential election. there were the two assassination attempts against opposition presidential candidate viktor yushchenko in the summer of 2004: in august, a truck attempted to ram yushchenko’s car off a cliff thrice, and in september he vanished – taken to vienna for emergency treatment for dioxin poisoning, with levels six thousand times higher than normal.xxii yushchenko barely survived, and his campaign was on hiatus for eighteen days. his face was permanently disfigured by this assassination of attempt, and he was reliant upon medication while on the campaign trail.xxiii these attempts to kill yushchenko and silence the ukrainian opposition were done in support of russia’s obvious favorite and kuchma’s protégé, viktor yanukovych. yanukovych appeared alongside putin and kuchma at the 60th anniversary event for the liberation of kyiv from nazi occupation – in an obvious show of russian support for a particular ukrainian presidential candidate. yanukovych even attended putin’s birthday party while running for president. 11 when the 2004 election results arrived in yushchenko’s favor, people took to the streets to display their support for the winner, and opposition to the inevitable stealing of the election by russia’s chosen yanukovych. vladimir putin pressured leonid kuchma to crack down on the protests forcefully, but kuchma did not risk himself at the very end of his presidency for yanukovych. yanukovych was certified as president after a second round of voting, but not recognized internationally as both protests and legal battles with election officials ensued. yushchenko won by more than eight points over a month after the election, after a hard fight for another round of voting. this victorious popular rejection of russian installation of yanukovych came to be called the orange revolution, linking it with similar color-named revolutions against authoritarianism and russian interference across the former soviet union. russia continued to use the budapest memorandum as a mere suggestion to be ignored unless it could be used to condemn the united states and united kingdom. russian actions from 2005 to 2010 focused on interfering in the ukrainian economy – also prohibited by the budapest memorandum – until yanukovych could be placed back in the presidency. yushchenko’s popularity declined as his presidency went on, and russia’s candidate yanukovych reemerged in time for the 2010 election. yanukovych was self-made this time around and remained pro-russian, but not a direct kremlin puppet. he secured a wide victory in the 2010 election against then-prime minister yulia tymoshenko, one of the leaders of the orange revolution. it was more difficult for russia to influence yanukovych during this period, as he was more focused on his own enrichment and exploitation of ukraine. yanukovych even resumed the process of ukrainian association and eventual membership in the european union, an issue which russia publicly claimed a neutral attitude towards but would soon act against.xxiv 12 just as ukraine’s eu association agreement was to be signed in late 2013, yanukovych backed out amid the signing ceremony, cowed by putin. enormous protests erupted across ukraine in response, centered in the same place as the orange revolution – maidan nezalezhnosti,xxv the central square in kyiv. an unknown shooter opened fire on the protestors, and the protests descended into riots, and the country was wracked by violence. some ukrainian police claimed that russian snipers began the shooting.xxvi yanukovych took putin’s lead in this crisis. he fled his dacha (lake house) under putin’s recommendation to kharkiv, a major city closer to the russian border. yanukovych was more afraid of putin than the protests, so he continually refused to negotiate with the protestors. riots escalated into full battles between police and protestors that had raided armories in cities like ivano-frankivsk as yanukovych lost his grip on the country. yanukovych then resigned and fled to russia, despite putin’s demands he remain in kharkiv. b. the seizure of crimea vladimir putin still claims that the west had instigated these protests, and that the united states had organized the “illegal coup” now called euromaidan, or the revolution of dignity.xxvii however, it was russia that interfered in ukraine. russian protestors were shuttled in late february 2014 from russia to the eastern ukrainian donbas region, and into crimea, and then rallied the minor pro-russian sentiment in those places into riots. the russian black sea fleet blockaded the city of sevastopol, and these russian protestors blocked the entrance to the crimean regional parliamentxxviii in simferopol and demanded a referendum to add crimea to russia. during the early hours of february 27, in a direct violation of article 2 of the budapest memorandum, russian troops without insignia (a violation of the geneva convention) appeared in crimea amidst the chaos in mainland ukraine, and took military control of the regional capital 13 building in simferopol.xxix that day russian protestors were brought to sevastopol (a city that is a separate administration from the rest of crimea) to prepare for a sham referendum. two weeks later the referendum was held, following mass expulsion or emigration of crimeans to the elsewhere in ukraine.xxx turnout in this referendum was 136% of registered voters in sevastopol and was overwhelmingly in russia’s favor.xxxi the new ukrainian interim government was unable to do anything to stop this blatant landgrab amidst the turmoil following the revolution of dignity, and removed troops from crimea. c. the war in donbas and invasion of ukraine (2014-present) the seizure of crimea was the largest landgrab in european history since the second world war. russia could (and did) pretend that it had not influenced ukrainian politics and economics up until this point. the signatories of the budapest memorandum agreed to specific borders for ukraine, belarus, and kazakhstan, and russia had blatantly violated that part of the agreement. twenty years after the budapest memorandum was signed, ukrainians discovered that they had handed over their nuclear arsenal for nothing. the united states and united kingdom protested, and levied sanctions upon russia, but this did not alter putin’s policy at all. in april 2014 russia demanded that all ukrainian regions be allowed to veto international agreements. this would allow regions that contained pro-russian populations to act on russia’s behalf within ukraine. russia would be able to use the veto power of these regions to keep ukraine out of the european union and nato.xxxii this was an interference not only in ukrainian politics, but in ukraine’s constitutional order. ukraine under the new post-revolution of dignity government rejected this proposal, and russia began moving troops and materiel to support separatist movements in the most pro-russian regions of ukraine – donetsk and luhansk, the two regions which make up the donbas. 14 the budapest memorandum had lost any meaning by 2014 as russia prosecuted the war in donbas. the minsk agreements were mediated in late 2014 to stop the war but failed, and it continued for eight years until the full-scale invasion began in february 2022. it is almost redundant at this point to mention the full-scale invasion of ukraine as the budapest memorandum had been so thoroughly gutted by 2022. at that point the signatories of the budapest memorandum were already aware that it had gone the way of the treaty of versailles. viii. why did the budapest memorandum fail? the primary reason as to why the budapest memorandum failed is that it was not followed by the russian federation in the first place. vladimir putin’s presidency has been wrought with violations of ukraine’s sovereignty, even if one does not count the physical invasions of ukrainian territory. the memorandum itself contains no actual protective clause to ensure adherence, and its status as a memorandum rather than a treaty exemplifies its flawed, noncommittal nature. effectively, once russia had no desire to follow the budapest memorandum, the only punishment that the united states and united kingdom were required to inflict was to bring up the issue to the united nations security council. the great flaw of the budapest memorandum that led to its dismissal by russia was that it was unenforceable on signatories aside from ukraine. the actual stipulations toward ukraine were obvious: ukraine hands over its nuclear arsenal. a nuclear arsenal is a physical, enumerated group of objects that, upon signing (out of cooperativeness, ukraine actually began dismantling and moving much of its nuclear arsenal soon after the trilateral statement, some 11 months before the budapest memorandum) could be removed under the watch of the signatories. adherence to the memorandum by the states offering “assurances” is unenforceable, and by the memorandum’s being simply a memorandum rather than a treaty, the commitments were 15 unserious anyway. this lack of punitive structure relieved the united states and united kingdom of responsibilities toward ukraine other than assurances that ukrainian territory was in fact, ukrainian territory, while also getting ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons. the ineffective sanctions brought upon russia in 2014 and the doomed minsk agreements were not stipulated of the budapest memorandum, but separate actions of the west against russia in that very moment. the failed sanctions and talks were still a greater step than the budapest memorandum stipulated, but not enough to deter russia from invading ukraine further beginning in 2022. after the seizure of crimea, the budapest memorandum was cast into the dustbin of history. in the current moment of 2025, returning the budapest memorandum to the international discussion is probably fruitless, since it has effectively been hacked to pieces by progressive russian encroachment, and outright russian invasion. it serves as a lesson on western commitment and russia’s duplicity. a. some successes in failure? ukraine handed its nuclear weapons over to russia in 1994, which greatly pleased the united states and created an avenue for ukrainian-american cooperation unburdened by fear of nuclear proliferation. the budapest memorandum could be considered the beginning of the positive relationship between the united states and ukraine which, if ukraine had not given up its nuclear arsenal, may never have occurred. the budapest memorandum also got the united states and united kingdom (though they had no issues with ukraine’s claimed territory) to recognize the boundaries of ukrainian territory explicitly and at least got russia to claim to do so. perhaps, the budapest memorandum prevented nuclear war between ukraine and russia. without a friendly united states or europe, an isolated ukraine, desperate to escape russia’s 16 grasp, could have been invaded by russia earlier, and decide that the situation was dire enough to use its nuclear arsenal. this is a hypothetical, but it illustrates the importance of the relationship between the united states and ukraine, as well as the positives of having removed a nuclear flashpoint from the map.xxxiii there is the caveat that if ukraine had kept its nuclear weapons, it would have had a form of leverage over russia in the current war or other russian offensive action that it now does not have. ukrainian denuclearization in hindsight was a double-edged sword, reliant upon the trustworthiness of russia to gain the friendship of the united states. this trust in russia was shown to be a sham as russia meddled intensely in ukrainian politics until the outright invasion. the current war avoiding nuclear exchange is good, but if ukraine possessed nuclear weapons, maybe there would not be a current war. however, without the duplicity and aggression of the russian federation, there would certainly not be a current war. ix. conclusion the budapest memorandum was enforced by trust and nothing more, then collapsed once that trust was continually broken. the hammering out of the memorandum and the trilateral statement that preceded it, and the multiple hiccups in the ukrainian rada display that the resolution of non-proliferation in ukraine, russian trustworthiness, and a working relationship with the united states and united kingdom were crucial issues to the ukrainian government and electorate in 1994. anxiety over these issues was justified, especially over russian trustworthiness to uphold the assurances made in the budapest memorandum. as displayed by history after 1994, the rada was right not to trust russian assurances. 17 there are deeply worrying lessons to be taken from the failure of the budapest memorandum. first, the lukewarm response to twenty years of russian violation of ukrainian sovereignty before the invasion of crimea, despite assurances from the united states and united kingdom of ukrainian territorial integrity, exemplified the unwillingness of united states (and the west broadly) to adhere to its commitments. this sends a message to other states: acquire a nuclear arsenal as fast as possible in order to survive, because with a nuclear weapon, the united states and its allies will allow any kind of behavior, including invasion of sovereign countries. the other takeaway for states is that without nuclear weapons a state is vulnerable to invasion like ukraine, as western assurances cannot be trusted to materialize anything concretely preventative. this encourages proliferation of nuclear weapons, the opposite of the budapest memorandum’s original intention. this is a dour conclusion, but it is necessary to display the importance of honoring international commitments. ukraine has paid the price for the budapest memorandum’s failure, despite having done everything asked of it in the memorandum. the noncommittal attitude of the memorandum damages western credibility and emboldens the actions of tyrannies like russia. at the heart of this is that russia also agreed to the memorandum, and ukraine held up its end of the deal. russia is an independent actor that did not have to continually violate of both the budapest memorandum and the sovereignty of ukraine. had russia not interfered with, then brutalized ukraine, there would be no reason for western-backed accountability. the budapest memorandum failed ukraine, and russia is to blame for the failure of the budapest memorandum. 18 i the budapest memoranda are actually three separate documents, one for each individual state giving up their nuclear status. their content is the same, just swapping out placenames. ii pifer, steven. 2011 “the trilateral process: the united states, ukraine, russia, and nuclear weapons” the brookings institution, foreign policy at brookings – arms control series. no. 6. pp 24. iii pifer, steven. 2011. “the trilateral process: the united states, ukraine, russia, and nuclear weapons” the brookings institution, foreign policy at brookings – arms control series. no. 6. pp 17. iv zygar, mikhail. 2023. “war and punishment: putin, zelensky, and the path to russia’s invasion of ukraine” scribner, new york. pp 188. v plokhy, serhii. 2021. “the gates of europe: a history of ukraine – revised edition” basic books, new york. pp 326, 350. vi pifer, steven. 2019. “why care about ukraine and the budapest memorandum” the brookings institution. vii i use the russified spelling of kyiv: “kiev”, here because that is the spelling in the commonly used name for the speech, as coined by columnist william safire. viii ssr = soviet socialist republic, the most common administrative division type in the soviet union. ix 1991. “remarks to the supreme soviet of the republic of the ukraine in kiev, soviet union” george h.w. bush presidential library and museum. https://bush41library.tamu.edu/archives/public-papers/3267 x plokhy, serhii. 2021. “the gates of europe: a history of ukraine – revised edition” basic books, new york, 2021. pp 317. xi sfsr = soviet federative socialist republic, a special federated administrative division of the soviet union. xii zygar, mikhail. “war and punishment: putin, zelensky, and the path to russia’s invasion of ukraine” scribner, new york, 2023. pp 163-164. xiii zygar, mikhail. 2023. “war and punishment: putin, zelensky, and the path to russia’s invasion of ukraine” scribner, new york. pp 164. xiv pifer, steven. 2011. “the trilateral process: the united states, ukraine, russia, and nuclear weapons” the brookings institution, foreign policy at brookings – arms control series. no. 6, may 2011. pp 10. xv ukraine was the only one of these three to possess nuclear warheads, the other two possessed launch systems that could be used for nuclear weapons. xvi pifer, steven. 2011. “the trilateral process: the united states, ukraine, russia, and nuclear weapons” the brookings institution, foreign policy at brookings – arms control series. no. 6, may 2011. pp 24. xvii pifer, steven. 2011. “the trilateral process: the united states, ukraine, russia, and nuclear weapons” the brookings institution, foreign policy at brookings – arms control series. no. 6, may 2011. pp 24. xviii harvard university policy memo resource: “ukraine: the budapest memorandum of 1994” harvard university. https://policymemos.hks.harvard.edu/links/ukraine-budapest-memorandum-1994. accessed 4/19/2024. xix ukraine is being used as the example here because its position is the most prevalent, but the agreement was the same for belarus and kazakhstan. xx harvard university policy memo resource: “ukraine: the budapest memorandum of 1994” harvard university. https://policymemos.hks.harvard.edu/links/ukraine-budapest-memorandum-1994. accessed 4/19/2024. xxi harvard university policy memo resource: “ukraine: the budapest memorandum of 1994” harvard university. https://policymemos.hks.harvard.edu/links/ukraine-budapest-memorandum-1994. accessed 4/19/2024. xxii zygar, mikhail. 2023. “war and punishment: putin, zelensky, and the path to russia’s invasion of ukraine” scribner, new york. pp 224. xxiii plokhy, serhii. 2021. “the gates of europe: a history of ukraine – revised edition” basic books, new york, 2021. pp 333. xxiv hill, fiona, and clifford gaddy. 2015. “mr. putin: operative in the kremlin – new and expanded edition” the brookings institution, washington d.c. pp 363. xxv this translates to “independence square” from ukrainian. xxvi zygar, mikhail. 2023. “war and punishment: putin, zelensky, and the path to russia’s invasion of ukraine” scribner, new york. pp 289. xxvii hill, fiona, and clifford gaddy. 2015. “mr. putin: operative in the kremlin – new and expanded edition” the brookings institution, washington d.c. pp 363-64. 19 xxviii for the sake of unfamiliar readers, i use terms like “state parliament” and “state capital” instead of the more complicated ukrainian terms that denote crimea and sevastopol’s unique statuses within ukraine. xxix these russian troops are commonly referred to as the “little green men” as a reference to their then-unknown origin. xxix zygar, mikhail. 2023. “war and punishment: putin, zelensky, and the path to russia’s invasion of ukraine” scribner, new york. pp 299. pifer, steven. 2019. “why care about ukraine and the budapest memorandum” the brookings institutio xxx zygar, mikhail. 2023. “war and punishment: putin, zelensky, and the path to russia’s invasion of ukraine” scribner, new york. pp 299. xxxi zygar, mikhail. 2023. “war and punishment: putin, zelensky, and the path to russia’s invasion of ukraine” scribner, new york. pp 298. xxxii plokhy, serhii. 2021. “the gates of europe: a history of ukraine – revised edition” basic books, new york, 2021. pp 341. xxxiii pifer, steven. 2019. “why care about ukraine and the budapest memorandum” the brookings institution. 20 works cited 1991. “remarks to the supreme soviet of the republic of the ukraine in kiev, soviet union” george h.w. bush presidential library and museum. https://bush41library.tamu.edu/archives/public-papers/3267 harvard university policy memo resource: “ukraine: the budapest memorandum of 1994” harvard university. https://policymemos.hks.harvard.edu/links/ukraine-budapest-memorandum1994. accessed 4/19/2024. hill, fiona, and clifford gaddy. 2015. “mr. putin: operative in the kremlin – new and expanded edition” the brookings institution, washington d.c. pp 363. pifer, steven. 2019. “why care about ukraine and the budapest memorandum” the brookings institution. pifer, steven. 2011.“the trilateral process: the united states, ukraine, russia, and nuclear weapons” the brookings institution, foreign policy at brookings – arms control series. number 6. plokhy, serhii. 2023. “the gates of europe: a history of ukraine – revised edition” basic books, new york. pp 326, 350. sedliar, yulii., artem sapsai, iuliia tsyrfa, natalia serbina, and andriy moroz. 2023. “political and legal assessment of the budapest memorandum: from ukraine’s renunciation of nuclear weapons to the annexation of the crimean peninsula.” social and legal studios, volume 6, number 3, 153-160. serneda, ostap, and alex tsummer. 2022. “prerequisites for the budapest memorandum in the context of ukrainian-american relations” foreign affairs, volume 32, number 5, pp 24-31. zygar, mikhail. 2023. “war and punishment: putin, zelensky, and the path to russia’s invasion of ukraine” scribner, new york. 1 the vexed position of the black secret-bearer: concealments and revelations in hannah crafts’ the bondwoman’s narrative anne jones english the publication history of hannah crafts’ 1850s novel the bondwoman’s narrative is a lesson in the ambivalent nature of concealments and revelations. inadvertently pointing to the presence of these structures, henry louis gates, jr.’s introduction to the novel presents the work as a discovery that “has found [its] way, a century or two later, to a place where [it] can be preserved and made available” to modern readers (ix). gates—the implicit discoverer of the hitherto concealed text—had bought the original handwritten manuscript at an auction by swann galleries in 2001 and until then, the novel was relatively unknown. crafts’ book follows the enslaved narrator hannah as she helps mrs. vincent, the biracial wife of her enslaver, flee her home to avoid slavery, and chronicles the travails that ensue—fugitivity, mrs. vincent’s death, and hannah’s re-enslavement under the henrys and the wheelers—until hannah herself finally escapes to freedom. for gates, the unearthing of this novel is momentous because it is hinged on another interrelated revelation: by virtue of its author’s racial identity, the holograph is the first known novel by an enslaved woman. in outlining the meticulous process through which he authenticated hannah crafts’ elusive identity, gates persistently uses the metaphors of a search,i further characterizing the saga through a language of uncovering the hidden. the revelation that crafts was formerly enslaved is crucial to gates because her unedited manuscript, then, reveals “the mind of a slave in an unmediated fashion heretofore not possible” (xxxiii). not everyone, however, shares gates’ enthusiasm to pry into what is concealed. his desire to uncover the racial identity of hannah crafts has been challenged by critics like rebecca soares, who sees his “all2 consuming attention to the woman behind the manuscript” as invasive in its “attempt to construct a racially totalizing narrative” (3). for her, gates’ desire to pin down the author’s race risks putting into play power structures in which the critic manipulates the interpretation of the text and appropriates it by stifling what the text itself has to say (5). soares’ problem with gates pivots on questions regarding the ethics and affordances of concealment and exposure. what the latter sees as a revelation of “great historical importance” (gates xxxiii), soares sees as marred by gates’ obsession as a “discoverer” (soares 5). the ethically ambivalent nature of concealments and revelation—oscillating between beneficial and racially subjugating—finds a textual resonance within the bondwoman’s narrative. like the equivocal nature of the critical tug-of-war between soares and gates, hannah crafts’ novel eschews attaching a simple binary of good/evil and desirable/undesirable onto either concealments or exposure. focusing on the portrayal of secrecy and revelation within the bondwoman’s narrative, this essay shows that the moral and functional value of both is contingent on the workings of slavery. hannah, the novel’s narrator, proudly dubs herself “the repository of secrets” (11) early on in the text, willingly taking on the secrets of her enslaved community while at lindendale. her gratification in this role, however, is short-lived. later, at the henrys’ house, hannah refuses to keep the secret of the escape of her enslaved friends and even informs mrs. henry, the enslaver, of their plot. why this astonishing betrayal? why this about-turn in hannah’s attitude regarding the power of secrecy? the answers to these questions reveal that the affordances of concealment for the enslaved is inflected by its use as a tool for racial oppression under slavery. i argue that hannah’s transformation occurs because she gradually becomes aware of the vexed position of the communal secret-bearer. while she initially uses secrecy to facilitate intimacy within her community and resistance against slavery’s 3 dictates, hannah becomes increasingly hesitant towards bearing the secrets of others. her crucial encounter with the other secret-bearer in the story, the villainous mr. trappe, exposes to her how secrecy is a technology for racial control and that communal secrets can endanger the enslaved. at the same time, this does not mean that hannah rejects secrecy altogether. as this paper shows, while wary of shared secrets, hannah still uses personal secrets for her own survival. escape, hannah knows, is impossible without concealment. in the end, her freedom is tied not only to her legal status but also to the shackles of secrecy and its concomitant consequences. crafts shows us that while secrecy can be used for resistance, this is not always such a simple solution for those trapped in slavery.ii in examining secrecy as a potent facilitator of violence under slavery, this essay veers away from the traditional concerns when considering slave narratives in general and crafts in particular—that of the racial identity of the author and consequently, the veracity of the experiences portrayediii. spirited debates concerning crafts’ identity (some for and some against gates’ formulation) and the intertextual echoes of charles dickens and harriet beecher stowe in her work has led to extensive scholarship on whether crafts truly was a formerly enslaved women and if, as a self-proclaimed slave narrative, the bondwoman’s narrative really was based on real-life incidents. while these discussions are undoubtedly important in the field of african-american literary studies, my aim is different. even though hannah crafts’ identity is somewhat shrouded in mysteryiv, her text still speaks incisively about how the stakes are high when even mundane social practices such as secrecy operates within slavery. as the central framework undergirding the protagonist’s life, secrecy is at once freeing, enslaving, and necessary. this many-layered portrayal confirms sissela bok’s observations on the expansive power of concealment. in secrets: on the ethics of concealment and revelation, bok posits that 4 “secrecy may accompany the most innocent as well as the most lethal acts; it is needed for human survival, yet it enhances every form of abuse. the same is true of efforts to uncover or invade secrets” (xv). the bondwoman’s narrative cogently displays the nuances of bok’s argument for those living under slavery: hannah longs both for the freedom attainable only through secrecy and for freedom from the chokehold of secrecy. through the functioning of this dialectic relationship, secrecy assumes a status that is beneficial enough for the enslaved to embrace and powerful enough for the enslaver to wield. in addition to examining the nature of secrecy, this essay will also consider crafts’ use of literary form, specifically sentimental and gothic tropes, to convey her ideological content. several critics have theorized the political work that these genres accomplish. for example, jane tompkins argues that women’s sentimental fiction, which has often been criticized for its overly emotional tenor, saccharine plots, and stereotypical characters, is valuable because its purported “defects” (xii) offer “a blueprint for survival under a specific set of political, economic, social, or religious conditions” (xvii). furthermore, she notes that these texts are obsessed with the nature and location of power since women looked for ways to define themselves through covert resistance as they lived in a world that took power away from them (160-1). following tompkins, one sees how hannah’s gushing description of her relationship with the enslaved community at lindendale, a relationship she establishes through secrecy, is more than just a flowery stylistic device; it points emphatically to the community’s strategy for survival and their implicit resistance through interpersonal relationships. tompkins’ advocacy of sentimental literature is paralleled by bridget m. marshall’s espousal of gothic fiction, another genre often dismissed as an object of serious study. marshall argues that tropes such as ghostly hauntings, dark prisons, and dangerous chases generate the “unease” characteristic of the gothic novel (1) to 5 comment on the very real terror felt by marginalized characters. secrecy in this novel activates all the gothic tropes marshall identifies and in fact, it too is a trope that ensures page-turning suspense. however, crafts shows that secrecy is also a social form through which the enslaver asserts cruel control over the enslaved, thus using the gothic form to comment on discursive structures. both sentimental and gothic conventions mingle in the novel’s happily-ever-after ending. modern readers may see as unrealistic and sappy hannah’s blissful marriage and her reunion with her mother and friends after escaping to new jersey. however, this narrative conclusion, we see, comes at a steep price—one that is a result of the psychological effect of secrecy on the enslaved. even a happy ending, crafts seems to say, contains the shadow of slavery’s abuse. the novel taps into the political efficacy that lies at the intersection of sentimental and gothic conventions to critique slavery and provide a vision of survival in it. crafts establishes the profound social implications of a gothic device like secrecy right in the opening pages when hannah hints at her role as a secret-bearer, a role she prizes until her extraordinary transformation midway through the narrative. after hannah confesses to a lack of any “natural” ability—she is not clever, learned, or talented—and believing that as an enslaved orphan she would be “forever [excluded] from the higher walks of life” (6), she pinpoints a certain astonishing and instinctive skill she possesses: an ability to “read” people beyond what they present outwardly. as she explains, “i had … rather a silent unobtrusive way of observing things and events, and wishing to understand them better than i could” (5). later, she writes, i have said that i always had a quiet way of observing things, and this habit grew upon me, sharpened perhaps by the absence of all elemental knowledge. instead of books, i studied faces and characters, and arrived at conclusions by a sort of sagacity that closely approximated to the unerring certainty of animal instinct. (27) 6 hannah’s description establishes an atmosphere of gothic suspense but more importantly, it presents her skill in reading people as a scholarly enquiry through which she studies and evaluates others with accuracy. hannah has what i am inexpertly calling a sort of “inner eye” that allows her to perceive what is hidden. this inner eye provides an alternative mode of knowledge, consistently reliable in its judgement of people and a counterbalance to the deficiencies hannah acutely feels as an enslaved person. it is the primary mode through which hannah’s role as a secret-bearer takes shape and in its incipient form, this role does not involve the intentional harboring of key information—intentionality develops later—but a keen “natural” insight into what lies beneath another’s surface. in what is the first of many scenarios, we see hannah’s inner eye assisting her in making important social judgements when she meets aunt hetty, the old white woman who teaches her to read. in the scene, hannah is a child surreptitiously leafing through a book a little distance away from the lindendale mansion. when a stranger, aunt hetty, asks her why she is reading in concealment, hannah informs her that she was teaching herself to read since her master had forbidden her education. hannah then writes, “she stood for a few moments apparently buried in deep thought, but i interpreted her looks and actions favorably, and an idea struck me that perhaps she could read, and would become my teacher” (7). there is nothing in aunt hetty’s behavior to indicate that she warrants the kind of trust hannah puts in her. aunt hetty might as well have been like hannah’s master mr. vincent. but hannah’s judgment is right even before the old woman has verbally responded. she has perceived aunty hetty’s willingness not only to not report hannah to mr. vincent but also to take the punishable step of teaching an enslaved child to read. in effect, hannah not only acquires formal literacy but also the kind of maternal affection that had been missing thus far from her upbringing. her inner eye also kicks into action 7 in a similar way upon her first meeting with mrs. vincent, the new wife of her enslaver. as hannah explains, “i was studying her … i did not see, but i felt that there was a mystery, something indefinable about her” (27). this “mystery,” as we find out later, is mrs. vincent’s true identity as the biracial daughter of an enslaved woman but hannah has already identified the presence of a crucial secret.v that hannah is an astute reader of people rather than books (and, indeed, as books) is a textual strategy that elevates her role as a secret-bearer but more importantly, it is also a radical reworking of traditional notions of what constitutes knowledge. crafts is implicitly making a comparison with and broadening the slave narrative model set by her famous contemporary, frederick douglass. in his 1845 autobiography narrative of the life of frederick douglass, douglass locates the “acquisition” of literacy as a key moment in his search for freedom and autonomy (drake 54), and with good reason, since the ability to read and write helped enslaved people to access abolitionist texts and pen their own narratives of resistance. but crafts supplements the definition of literacy by showing that knowledge is not only garnered from the written word but also from the unwritten, sometimes hidden narratives of desire, fear, and conflict that compose a human being. people themselves are social texts and the novel asserts what current black critics argue, that “social literacy and the power of interpretation are as necessary as, and perhaps even more important than, formal literacy itself” (foreman 3). hannah’s inner eye provides her with the social literacy that helps her navigate life within the structures of slavery, equipping her with a sort of powerful radar that guides her judgements about others and that cannot be acquired from conventional education. in addition to reframing what constitutes knowledge, crafts also offers an alternative conceptualization of how that knowledge is constituted. hannah’s “reading” is never an inward8 looking study that seeks to understand what lies beneath her own surface. it is always outwardfocused and in this respect, hannah’s insight into what is concealed is different from the kind of insight writers like douglass describe. douglass too points to certain momentous revelations that changed the course of his life, but these are often epiphanies that reveal something of the nature and potential of his own being that had been hidden until then. thus when he hears mr. auld, the baltimore enslaver, chide his wife for teaching douglass to read, douglass realizes that “the pathway from slavery to freedom” lay within his ability to acquire education for himself (douglass 33). heather andrea williams notes that while douglass’ model for self-knowledge through literacy is important, enslaved peoples often made use of other clandestine ways of knowing that relied on gathering information from others—oral and aural systems of information that honed the skill of eavesdropping and reading tossed-out newspapers (9-10). hannah’s inner eye, with its acute perception of hidden knowledge through a focus on others, is yet another example of a creative mode of acquiring information. moreover, as we have seen, hannah uses this outward focus to empower the enslaved community and forge affinities rather than to advance purely personal motives. in other words, crafts use of secret-bearing envisions a relational model in which an enslaved individual’s knowledge actively affects her community and transforms the status quo. while this potential for relationality is visible when hannah’s inner eye instinctively uncovers truth about others, as with aunt hetty, it is most emphatic when she becomes an intentional secret-bearer. hannah uses secrecy as a way of maintaining communal intimacy within the oppression of slavery and uses sentimental language to impress upon her readers the intensity of hannah’s happiness at being part of a community who respects her. thus, while still at lindendale, she attains local fame as a confidant who gladly takes on the hidden struggles and 9 desires of her enslaved community, noting, “i was quite astonished to see how much i was trusted and confided in, how i was made the repository of secrets, and how the weak, the sick, and the suffering came to me for advice and assistance” (11). hannah’s ability to keep secrets makes her a central figure in her marginalized community not only because it offers comfort but also because it produces staggering character transformation among her group.vi crafts broadens bok’s claim that “handl[ing] secrecy with discretion blends with and reflects moral development” (44) by showing hannah’s ethical discernment as a loyal secret-keeper effecting similar moral development in those to whom she ministers. secrecy is a form through which hannah persistently facilitates communal bonds and a covert resistance to the dehumanization of enslaved peoples by placing others front and center in her ethical paradigm. at this stage of the novel, hannah sticks to this relational emphasis even when there are potential repercussions. in one of the text’s most significant moments, when mrs. vincent hesitantly reveals to hannah about how the former has been passing for white and that mr. trappe has been blackmailing her using this unearthed information, hannah tells her, “i implore you to confide in me, to entrust me with this dreadful secret, that knowing i may more deeply sympathize with your woes and wrongs” (44). hannah is deeply moved by mrs. vincent’s suffering and offers comfort and companionship through the act of secret-bearing. hannah goes to the extent of ignoring her own safety, helping mrs. vincent escape lindendale to avoid enslavement, hiding with her in the woods for months, and tending to her mental and physical health. like hannah’s other-focused framework for defining and acquiring knowledge, her notion of identity and freedom too at this stage of her life is not an individualized category but is connected to others in her community. while, as we have been seeing, hannah extensively uses secrecy’s affordance to create intimacy among insiders, a startling transformation takes place after she escapes lindendale and 10 lands in mrs. henry’s house after mrs. vincent’s death. when charlotte, an enslaved woman at mrs. henry’s house, confides in hannah her plan to escape to freedom along with her husband william, hannah wants no part whatsoever in their secret and is downright cold towards their entreaties.vii at the end of their conversation, she tells charlotte, “don’t tell me anything more. let me remain in utter ignorance of all the circumstances you have connected with your flight” (143). in stark contrast to her readiness to share the burden of mrs. vincent’s secret and offer her every assistance possible, hannah avoids any association with charlotte’s secret, viewing, for the first time in the novel, her knowledge of another’s secret as undesirable. this change in hannah’s attitude of pride in being the “repository of secrets” is even more strange because even before charlotte and william make her their confidant, hannah has taken active steps to probe into their secret. in a scene before the above takes place, we see how mrs. henry’s house is rumored to be haunted by a ghost. hannah is determined to find out whether the “ghost” is in reality william meeting charlotte in disguise, a conjecture she formulates knowing that william had been reported missing from his master’s estate. motivated by sheer curiosity, she steals away in the night to spy into charlotte’s room and finds that she has guessed correctly. however, hannah is racked with the complexity of the ethical dilemma of probing into something she has no business knowing: i began to question the use, or necessity, or even the expediency of my instituting an espionage on the actions of one every way my equal, perhaps my superior. wherefore should i attempt to unravel a mystery that did not concern me, or to interfere in affairs, of which i should only be an observer. then would not ignorance be more consistent with my own peace? how could i acquit my conscience of cruelty and wrong if through discoveries made and information given by me the happiness of charlotte and her husband should be destroyed, by his subjection for the second time into servitude? (136) 11 hannah’s concern that she is interfering in affairs unrelated to her through her attempts to know charlotte’s secret was hardly a matter of discomfort with mrs. vincent. the problem arises here because she seems to think that knowing a secret necessitates revealing it. she would rather be ignorant of the details of the secret because she cannot but imagine what would happen if she informed the henrys of this discovery. astonishingly enough, despite all these torturous musings, hannah still goes ahead and informs mrs. henry that the “spirit” haunting the estate is william in disguise. how do we read this change in hannah’s attitude about being a communal secret-bearer? her initial willingness to use secrecy as a way of fostering intimacy in the face of slavery’s dehumanization corroborates dong l. isbister’s claim that the bondwoman’s narrative exhibits “a clear sense of resistance” (173) against the oppression of slavery. however, hannah’s reluctance to take on charlotte and william’s secret and even her betrayal of it to mrs. henry problematizes an overly optimistic view of the extent of hannah’s resistance. on the other hand, stephanie li goes so far as to see hannah’s loyalty to mrs. henry over charlotte as indicative of crafts’ embrace of the dominant values of the cult of true womanhood in which white middleclass women espoused domesticity and submission (44). li argues that crafts reflects the values of sentimental fiction when she shows hannah as preferring bondage within the henrys’ home to a chance at rebellious freedom. this argument, however, fails to take into account the crucial event that underlies hannah’s change of attitude towards secrecy and her resultant choice to be unattached to charlotte’s secret: her encounter with the other secret-bearer in the story, the nefarious mr. trappe. by the time hannah and mrs. vincent are captured after their escape from lindendale and held in mr. trappe’s cottage, hannah has seen firsthand the terrible psychological and physical effects structures of secrecy can wield on the enslaved. moreover, 12 hannah comes to realize that the consequences for sharing secrets with a fellow enslaved person can be life-threatening. thus, hannah’s hesitation towards bearing charlotte’s secret plan arises less from a sentimental attachment to mrs. henry, as li contends, and more from a very real fear of the ramifications of reprising her role as a secret-bearer. but before we explore the details of hannah’s transformation, let us look a little more closely at mr. trappe himself. like hannah, mr. trappe too is described in terms of one who probes for what is hidden beneath the external person but to vastly different ends. if hannah’s inner eye is instinctive in its capacity to see through people’s motivations and assist her in navigating life under slavery, mr. trappe’s is meticulously cultivated to see through racial secrets for economic profit and racial control. when mrs. vincent first reveals to hannah that mr. trappe, as the family solicitor, had discovered the papers that indicated “the secret of her birth” (45), she describes him as one who “has spent his life in hunting, delving, and digging into family secrets, and when he has found them out he becomes ravenous for gold” (45). his ultimate goal being profit places him squarely within what historians sven beckert and seth rockman have delineated as slavery’s essential role in contributing to the growth of an american economy predicated on capitalist greed. however crafts does not, as beckert and rockman do, reveal this through avenues like plantation labor (beckert and rockman 5) but rather through the much more insidious psychological arena that is secrecy. moreover, as mrs. vincent indicates, her story—a woman passing for white and extorted for money with the guillotine of revelation hanging over her head—is representative of mr. trappe’s method of operationviii and is common knowledge in the society. the repeated display of his weapon of choice serves as constant reminders (to anyone who dares forget) of the unequal social relations he can instantly facilitate through secrecy and thereby assert racial dominance. as a tool for oppression, secrecy is a form with terrifying 13 possibilities for the enslaved even if no blood is shed and no physical scar remains. crafts preempts saidiya hartman’s observation that scenes of subjection occurs not only through the kind of spectacular corporeal violence with which douglass opens his narrative when he writes of the beating of aunt hester but also through “the terror of the mundane and quotidian” (4). through mr. trappe, crafts reveals the affordance of secrecy within slavery to subjugate in ways that might otherwise be deemed unremarkable and inconspicuous and thus escape notice. for hannah, the terrifying effects of the connection between secrecy and racial subjugation is made visible through her relationship with mrs. vincent as they hide in the woods after their escape from lindendale and then when they are caught and sent to mr. trappe’s cottage. these effects stem from the fact that secrecy has the potential to fully divest an enslaved individual of agency and proves bok’s point: “with no control over secrecy and openness, human beings could not remain either sane or free” (24). the bondwoman’s narrative shows both results bok identifies—insanity and/or bondage. in the woods, not only is her futile attempt at escape beset with severe physical deprivation, mrs. vincent’s helplessness over controlling mr. trappe’s knowledge of her identity leads her into madness as she imagines herself “pursued by an invisible being, who sought to devour her flesh and crush her bones” (67). clearly, however, her delusions are not entirely delusional since mr. trappe can be easily seen as the material embodiment of the “invisible being” pursuing her. as bridget m. marshalls points out, crafts details a cycle of horror that reinscribes a narrative of imagined story on top of a history of very real horrible events (131)—that is to say, mrs. vincent’s insanity is more than just a gothic trope that creates discomfort; it is a representation of the very real destructive effects of secrets concerning racial identity. moreover, along with insanity, crafts also portrays the bondage arising from secrecy’s power over the enslaved. when hannah first suggests that they escape, 14 mrs. vincent cries, “oh: to be free, to be free” (48), and later, when mrs. vincent dies while held at mr. trappe’s cottage from a ruptured blood vessel upon hearing that she is to be sold, hannah observes poignantly, “there was a gasp, a struggle, a slight shiver of the limbs and she was free” (100). that crafts does not indicate the specific object from which to be free in both statements is noteworthy because the ambiguity points to multiple possibilities. for mrs. vincent, escape and death is freedom from bondage, both in terms of physical slavery and the abusive hold of secrecy. hannah echoes this broadened definition of bondage when she ruminates at mr. trappe’s cottage, “those who think that the greatest evils of slavery are connected with physical suffering possess no just or rational ideas of human nature. the soul, the immortal soul must ever long and yearn for a thousand things inseparable to liberty” (94). connecting liberty to the desire of an intangible soul, not only to the fleshly body, points to the underlying assumption that the structures of slavery distribute power in ways that exceed what is immediately seen. through the character of mr. trappe, crafts shows how secrecy can intensify servitude by adding an insidious psychological dimension to violence. i suggest that it is hannah’s firsthand experience with mr. trappe’s abusive wielding of secrecy that causes her attitude towards being a voluntary secret-bearer to shift by the time she reaches the henrys.ix through this encounter, hannah has a novel understanding of how “conflicts over secrecy … are conflicts over power: the power that comes through controlling the flow of information” (bok 19). secrecy, in other words, is a discursive structure that sustains unequal power relations. initially, of course, hannah is a foil to mr. trappe: while the latter uses secrecy to magnify the oppression set into motion by slavery, hannah uses it to foster intimacy and restore a sense of purpose to mrs. vincent’s life. as opposed to mr. trappe’s selfish pecuniary ends, hannah bears secrets for no self-serving motives. this lack of ill intent or selfish 15 gain is true even when she probes into charlotte’s secret by spying on her. nevertheless, the protracted ethical dilemma that seizes hannah’s mind possibly reveals her intense anxiety at how her proclivity towards discovering what is hidden parallels mr. trappe’s mode of operation. yet, while hannah is struck by guilt, this does not stop her from betraying charlotte and william’s secret to mrs. henry. this disquieting moment evinces the painful lesson she has learnt through her relationship with mrs. vincent: that secrecy is no trouble-free undertaking because it is a technology for racial abuse. hannah finds that recovered information in the hands of the enslaver, a constant threat for the one who is a loyal communal secret-bearer, crushes all the hopeful possibilities that secrecy affords. because of this danger, hannah is unwilling to engage in whatever sense of communal relations and intimacy her role as a repository of secrets fostered earlier, cutting loose her ties with charlotte and william and even rejecting their offer to help her escape along with them. moreover, through her experience with mrs. vincent and mr. trappe, she has realized the practical implication of what she had heard behind the curtains at lindendale: when mrs. vincent asks mr. trappe, “why have you kept my secret so long only to reveal it now…?” and mr. trappe responds, “it is not your secret, but mine” (38), the boundary between “my” secret and “your” secret is blurred between those who are insiders to a shared secret. this blurring is a source of power for mr. trappe but, as hannah eventually learns, for an enslaved person, shared secrets equal shared consequences. this is why with respect to charlotte’s secret, hannah seems to equate knowing a secret with revealing it. hannah has already once witnessed and borne the tremendous consequences of knowing and guarding a racially-inflected secret and is unwilling to hide any more of the kind. crafts’ critique of how secrecy reinforces power and smothers its positive affordances nuances the extent of hannah’s heroics as a secret-bearer. after her encounter with mr. trappe, 16 hannah exhibits a pronounced aversion to and fear of shared secrecy. thus, readings such as the one offered by ann fabian is unsatisfactory in its unbridled optimism. fabian sees hannah’s role as a repository of secrets as effective to the end: mr. trappe, the rival keeper of secrets, is undone. by the end of the story, it’s really the bondwoman who could be the blackmailer. she knows the gossip, the secrets, the sins and sexual histories, the humiliation of everyone … but she is, of course, too good a christian to deploy those weapons of the weak she possesses. (gates quoting fabian, xxvii). according to fabian, mr. trappe is “undone” because the sons of another woman he had revealed as passing for white eventually murder him, and hannah is ultimately triumphant over him because she possesses knowledge about various people in the novel. my own understanding, however, is that while hannah does know others’ secrets, she has no desire for them anymore and views them as something to be avoided for the sake of survival. we have already seen this in her relationship with charlotte, but we also see this in the particular case fabian refers to—that of her final enslaver, mrs. wheeler. hannah is the unwilling bearer of mrs. wheeler’s embarrassing secret when the latter’s face turns black after using a spurious beauty product. fearing gossip and shame if the debacle is revealed, mrs. wheeler threatens hannah into silence. later, in a fit of jealousy, maria, an enslaved person at mrs. wheeler’s house, uses the burden of secrecy thrust onto hannah to ensure that mrs. wheeler punishes her—she lies about hannah having exposed mrs. wheeler’s secret. the result of hannah’s knowledge of mrs. wheeler’s secret looks far from a moment of victory: hannah is sent away from the relative security of the domestic space to work in the harsh space of the cotton fields. secret-keeping, in this case, gives hannah no agency, as fabian contends, but cements mrs. wheeler’s power over her. it is not simply that hannah is “too good a christian” to use the secrets against her but that to use secrets against mrs. wheeler would result in further suffering. hannah’s relationship with mrs. wheeler, 17 which occurs after her stay with the henrys, further reveals that shared secrets lead to oppression, whether the secret “belongs” to the enslaved (as in the secret of mrs. vincent’s identity) or to the enslaver (as in mrs. wheeler’s secret about her facial transformation). while hannah is reluctant to bear the burden of shared secrets, she does not reject the power of secrecy altogether for herself. she concludes that survival necessitates a hesitation to take on the secrets of others but also that for the enslaved, survival is impossible without at least some personal secrets. we see this in the very beginning when she learns to read by going to aunt hetty’s home. even in this early scene of her childhood, hannah realizes that the enslaved person needs to use secrecy for self-upliftment and progress. this “discreet resistance” (isbister 163) embodied in the pursuit of literacy becomes an overt resistance when she attempts escape. hannah knows that escape is predicated on staying hidden in multiple ways and by using secrecy through and through. when she attempts, for the second and last time, to flee, this time from the wheelers’ plantation in hopes of getting to new jersey, she disguises herself as a white man, relies on the secrecy offered by nighttime, and journeys through the concealed spaces of the woods. hannah’s fear of the consequences of sharing another’s secret also extends to sharing her own secret with anybody else and she confides in no one about her plans to escape (crafts 207). even when she meets a fugitive named jacob, who becomes a sort of companion to her in the woods, she never reveals her true identity to him. kimberly drake’s observation rings true here as we see hannah’s simultaneous need for individuality and companionship. drake points out that black women mediated a tension between the desire to maintain connection with the enslaved community and the need to portray a “masculine” self who throws off societal restraints to gain freedom—a benjamin franklin-inspired ideology of self-made individualism that douglass modeled in his narratives (46-47). crafts shows this tension most through hannah’s 18 transformation from a communal secret-bearer to a bearer of solely her own secrets. while hannah initially delights in using secrecy’s affordance to generate a relational paradigm, by the novel’s end, crafts seems to suggest that the necessity for survival requires a singular focus. hannah’s journey from lindendale to new jersey is a journey from slavery to freedom in a very physical and legal sense, to be sure. but it is also a growing realization of the dangerous affordances of secrecy within slavery and an attempt to be free from them. while i agree with bok that a life without secrecy is impossible (18), i see in hannah’s statements in the final chapter aptly called “in freedom” the peace of a life in which racially-inflected secrets cannot control her: “there is a hush on my spirit these days, a deep repose a blest and holy quietude. i found a life of freedom all my fancy had pictured it to be” (237). william a. gleason points out that the book’s closing picture of a happy home indicates that for hannah, freedom and selfownership implies a free and safe homeownership (44). while this might be true, it does not account for the more nonmaterial undertones that crafts has set into the narrative when depicting freedom. hannah has finally found the liberty she yearned for in mr. trappe’s cottage but this is a liberty which includes psychological emancipation from the bondage of secrecy. there is no longer any need to hide in order to acquire or impart literacy, and her relationship with her mother, her husband, charlotte and william, and her neighbors—in short, her community—are tied neither to the concealment of any dangerous knowledge nor to the threat of their revelation. modern readers may scoff at this sentimental textual closure but the surprising reappearance of charlotte and william is a reminder of the extent to which, forced by the functioning of secrecy within slavery, hannah had to reject her community to attain this final happiness. the gothic leaves its persistent shadow on the happily-ever-after ending in a way that points to the lasting effects of the abuse of slavery. 19 if slavery is a political category that refers to the distribution of power in society, as james oakes argues (xvi), crafts’ novel theorizes how secrecy assists in distributing that power. unlike other more overt modes of domination like violence, secrecy occupies an ambivalent position that affords a variety of possibilities. sissela bok notes that “secrecy is as indispensable to human beings as fire, and as greatly feared. both enhance and protect life, yet both can stifle, lay waste, spread out of all control. both may be used to guard intimacy or to invade it, to nurture or to consume” (18). crafts displays these multiple workings and consequences of secrecy in the bondwoman’s narrative by showing hannah’s changing attitude to secrecy— from unbridled pride in being a secret-bearer to a fear of taking on others’ secrets. at once, secrecy is the form through which covert resistance and emotional bonding takes place, terror and villainy find their embodiment, and overt resistance to slavery through escape is facilitated. sentimental and gothic literature have often been accused of superficiality in their treatment of social reality due to their reliance on saccharine representations of relationships, unrealistic happily-ever-after endings, ghostly hauntings, and page-turning suspense through textual secrecy. crafts uses precisely these criticized tropes to narrativize hannah’s simultaneous desire for community and her wariness at being a secret-bearer. concealment becomes a political form and the novel becomes a project in revealing its layered complexity for the enslaved. 20 notes i to name a few instances: “i decided to embark tentatively upon a slow and careful quest to examine dorothy parker’s suspicions and claims” (xxvii); “i have to confess that this aspect of my pursuit of hannah crafts …” (xxviii); “… how could i ever find hannah crafts?” (xxxiv); “how was i to proceed with the search for hannah crafts?” (xxxv) ii a quick word about linguistic choices: i use the word “concealment” as an umbrella term that refers to all manners of hiddenness, whether intentional or unintentional; and following sissela bok, i use the word “secrecy” to indicate specifically that which is intentionally hidden. thus, revelation may refer to the exposure of that which is purposefully hidden or a knowledge of things that had been veiled in some way. this wide definition of hiddenness allows for a thorough analysis of the affordances of different forms of concealment and exposure. iii see for examples parramore, bernier and newman, baym, soares, yellin, robbins. iv what we do know beyond doubt, thanks to the authentication of the material text by dr. joe nickell, the report of which is included in gates’ introduction, is that the book was written in the 1850s and that it was highly unlikely that it was written by a man. v similarly, when hannah observes the interaction between mr. trappe, the white gentleman revealed later to be the villain, and mrs. vincent at the party at lindendale, she perceives immediately (and accurately) that a structure of secrecy frames their relationship: “they never conversed except to exchange a few customary courtesies, never seemed to note or regard each other, but somehow and quite intuitively i arrived at the conclusion that each one watched and suspected the other, that each one was conscious of some great and important secret on the part of the other, and that my mistress in particular would give worlds to know just what that old man knew” (28). other examples of hannah’s inner eye at work: when she observes mrs. vincent in her room: “as the waiting maid of my mistress i was always near to attend her, and soon ascertained that she was not happy … she seemed to be always looking for somebody and expecting something that never came. though she never said so i knew that she feared the approach of a stranger” (33); of the cottage in the woods: “there was a charm about this house and its appointments … slavery dwelt not there. a thing so utterly dark and gloomy could not have remained in such a place for a day” (60); of the old man before hannah knew him as mr. trappe’s steward: “there could be nothing of sunshine to his spirit, nothing of love in his soul” (92); of her first impressions of mrs. wheeler: “i felt a certain presentiment that by acquaintance with her she must be less good” (152). vi shortly after hannah recounts how she became the “repository of secrets” at lindendale, she says, “how much love and confidence i won it is impossible to describe. how the rude and boisterous became gentle and obliging, and how ready they all were to serve and obey me, not because i exacted the service or obedience, but because their won loving natures prompted them to reciprocate my love” (12). vii in fact, before william begins to tell hannah his story of suffering in the hands of his enslaver and their secret plan, charlotte assumes that hannah will be moved by empathy but hannah is dismissive: “oh, hannah: you must hear him tell his story, and all that he has suffered; you will pity him then i know, you cannot help it. {“} and will be ready “very likely, and yet my pity would not be available to any useful purpose.” … “you must not talk so” said charlotte. “we require your assistance, and more, your company…” (140-1, strikethrough in the original). viii mr. trappe himself admits to his role as a secret-bearer: upon capturing hannah and mrs. vincent after their escape from lindendale, he boasts, “many and many are the family secrets that i have unraveled as women unravel 21 a web. you may think of it as you please, you may call it dishonorable if you like, but it brings gold—bright gold” (98). ix interestingly, as the story progresses from her stay with the wheelers, hannah makes almost no mention of the use of her inner eye to read what is hidden. in stark contrast to the first half of the novel, hannah relies increasingly on reading concrete external evidence to draw conclusions about what she sees. for example, when she writes, “i soon ascertained that gradually yet surely [maria] was supplanting me in mrs. wheeler’s favor” (203), she follows this up with her observations of mrs. wheeler’s actions that corroborate this statement. similarly, when she escapes disguised as a man towards the end of the novel, her meetings with people are devoid of statements in which she “reads” them through abstract intuition. instead, for example, she writes, “i was not long in discovering that the females were far less inquisitive and curious about my affairs” (213), where she relies on observing actions to formulate her conclusions. works cited baym, nina. “the case for hannah vincent.” in search of hannah crafts: critical essay on the bondwoman’s narrative, edited by henry louis gates, jr. and hollis robbins, basiccivitas books, 2004, pp. 315–31. beckert, sven, and seth rockman. slavery’s capitalism: a new history of american economic development. university of pennsylvania press, 2016. bernier, celeste-marie, and judie newman. “‘the bondwoman’s narrative’: text, paratext, intertext and hypertext.” journal of american studies, vol. 39, no. 2, cambridge university press, british association for american studies, 2005, pp. 147–65. bok, sissela. secrets: on the ethics of concealment and revelation. pantheon books, 1982. crafts, hannah. the bondwoman’s narrative. edited by henry louis gates, jr., warner books, 2002. douglass, frederick. narrative of the life of frederick douglass. dover publications, 1995. drake, kimberly. “rewriting the american self: race, gender, and identity in the autobiographies of frederick douglass and harriet jacobs.” critical insights: the slave narrative, edited by kimberly drake, grey house publishing, 2014, pp. 43–64. 22 foreman, gabrielle p. activist sentiments: reading black women in the nineteenth century. university of illinois press, 2009. gates, henry louis, jr. “introduction.” the bondwoman’s narrative by hannah crafts, edited by henry louis gates, jr., warner books, 2002, pp. ix–lxxv. gleason, william a. “cottage desire: the bondwoman’s narrative and the politics of antebellum space.” sites unseen: architecture, race, and american literature, nyu press, 2011, pp. 33–66. nyu.universitypressscholarship.com, https://nyu.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.18574/nyu/9780814732465.001.0001/u pso-9780814732465-chapter-1. hartman, saidiya v.. scenes of subjection: terror, slavery, and self-making in nineteenthcentury america. oxford university press, 1997. isbister, dong l. “decentralized power and resistance in the bondwoman’s narrative.” critical insights: the slave narrative, edited by kimberly drake, grey house publishing, 2014, pp. 162–74. li, stephanie. something akin to freedom: the choice of bondage in narratives by african american women. state university of new york press, 2010. marshall, bridget m. the transatlantic gothic novel and the law, 1790-1860. ashgate publishing company, 2011. oakes, james. slavery and freedom: an interpretation of the old south. w. w. norton & company, 1998. parramore, thomas c. “the bondwoman and the bureaucrat.” in search of hannah crafts: critical essays on the bondwoman’s narrative, edited by henry louis gates, jr. and hollis robbins, basiccivitas books, 2004, pp. 354–70. 23 robbins, hollis. “blackening bleak house: hannah crafts’s the bondwoman’s narrative.” in search of hannah crafts: critical essays on the bondwoman’s narrative. eds. henry louis gates jr. and hollis robbins. new york: basiccivitas books, 2004, pp.71-86. soares rebecca. “literary graftings: hannah crafts’s the bondwoman’s narrative and the nineteenth-century transatlantic reader.” victorian periodicals review, vol. 44, no. 1, johns hopkins university press, apr. 2011, pp. 1–23. tompkins, jane. sensational designs: the cultural work of american fiction, 1790-1860. oxford university press, 1985. williams, heather andrea. self-taught: african american education in slavery and freedom. univ of north carolina press, 2005. yellin, jean fagan. “the bondwoman’s narrative and uncle tom’s cabin.” in search of hannah crafts: critical essays on the bondwoman’s narrative. eds. henry louis gates jr. and hollis robbins. new york: basiccivitas books, 2004, pp. 106-116. microsoft word parker eng.docx tom’s european fantasies: commodifying authenticity in the talented mr. ripley jaxon parker english in an early scene of patricia highsmith’s the talented mr. ripley (1955), the story of murder and stolen identity on the mediterranean coast of western europe, tom ripley is given a tour of dickie greenleaf’s villa in mongibello, italy, which, for tom, “is a pleasant mixture of italian antique and american bohemian” (49). the son of a wealthy ship-building industrialist from new york city, dickie has escaped the congested streets of manhattan to become a painter in italy, where he copies the styles of postimpressionism and surrealism, and lives off his trust fund, never worrying about earning a wage. tom, on the other hand, has lived in new york barely scraping by, and was only recently hired by dickie’s father to convince his son to return home to america, a prospect that dickie has no intention of fulfilling. tom is seduced by dickie’s cosmopolitan and leisurely life off the coast of italy with marge, another american who is in love with dickie, and is thrilled when dickie finally shows him his paintings. the paintings, however, are dreadful: “they were all wild and hasty and monotonously similar. the combination of terra cotta and electric blue was in nearly every one, terra cotta roofs and mountains and bright electric-blue seas. it was the blue he had put in marge’s eyes, too” (60). dickie’s “surrealist effort” is especially painful to witness: “it was marge again, undoubtedly, though with long snakelike hair, and worst of all two horizons in her eyes, with a miniature landscape of mongibello’s houses and mountains in one eye, and the beach in the other full of little red people” (60). the rest of dickie’s home is similarly bare of the refined taste that tom was expecting, causing him to reevaluate his appraisal of dickie’s cultivated aura: “[i]t gave dickie something to do, kept him out trouble, tom supposed, just as it gave thousands of lousy amateur painters all over america something to do. he was only sorry that dickie fell into this category as a painter, because he wanted dickie to be much more” (60). this desire for him “to be much more” germinates into tom’s eventual scheme to murder and replace dickie by impersonating him. while dickie failed in his eyes to become a genuine painter of european subjects and fashions, tom endeavors to refine his own kind of artistry by conducting a highstakes performance on the international stage of the cold war, where any miscalculation could end his vivid charade of dickie’s personality. “he felt alone, and yet not at all lonely…. it was… a feeling that everyone was watching him, as if he had an audience of the entire world, a feeling that kept him on his mettle, because to make a mistake would be catastrophic” (131-2). tom, in a sense, aspires to become a more refined american connoisseur of europe than dickie. as the talented mr. ripley unfolds, tom ripley not only assimilates the personality and possessions of dickie greenleaf, but even more startling, as he acclimates to his newfound dwellings and acquires a taste for select household furnishings, clothes, and books through dickie’s wealth, his european surroundings also reflect his chameleonic image. through adopting dickie and his lifestyle, tom performs the double gesture of transforming himself and his environment, already laid open to him by western europe’s tourist industry, by erasing both of their histories. as kelley wagers observes in “tom ripley, inc.,” tom’s reverse immigration from new york harbor to europe and his desire for a “clean slate” enacts a particularly american fantasy of effacing one’s roots to invent a new future: “tom founds his american identity not only on a conventionally imagined erasure of his past, but also on the fiction that his is not (yet) an american and must make himself into one” (250). this fantasy of becoming an american is paradoxically fulfilled when tom triumphantly arrives in greece at the novel’s end, having successfully evaded suspicion for his murders and acquired dickie’s trust fund: “it was his! dickie’s money and his freedom. and the freedom, like everything else, seemed combined, his and dickie’s combined. he could have a house in europe and a house in america too, if he chose” (273). tom’s transformation from “a cringing little nobody from boston” to “a living, breathing, courageous individual” is realized in the socioeconomic context of american hegemony over western europe during the cold war (261). along with tom’s self-effacement and reinvention enacting a national fantasy of erasing one’s roots to begin again, the talented mr. ripley allegorizes the american project of rebuilding postwar europe in its own image, such as through the marshall plan in 1948. this economic revitalization and restructuring of european countries such as france and italy brought the western side of the continent into closer ties with american capitalism and warded off the insurgence of communism. it is through this setting of american globalization that tom experiences the freedom to navigate europe and cultivate himself into a confident and chic expatriate who fashionably redecorates his venetian palazzo and “sees” europe through paperback guidebooks. much of the critical discussion surrounding highsmith’s novel have engaged with how the representations of authenticity and performativity are connected with the socioeconomic conditions of the mid-twentieth century, but they have not investigated the novel’s framing of postwar europe as a site of cultural authenticity effaced through tom’s cultivation. for wagers, tom enacts a national fantasy of corporate personhood during the historic rise of american corporations and corporate culture in the mid-twentieth century. his composite selfhood after absorbing the assets and personality of dickie, along with his art forgery scheme in highsmith’s sequel ripley under ground (1970), exemplifies how “tom devalues original, consistent identities in favor of false identities that are open to change and relocation. his performances demand and showcase a nimble adaptability, a willingness to abandon any notion of ‘true’ expression for aesthetic satisfaction and economic advance” (wagers 259). by having tom’s self-improvement and expansion through incorporation reveal the collective desires that propel corporate power, wagers asserts that highsmith’s novels demystifies the fictionality of the corporate subject and the violence that underpins it, ultimately suggesting the need for alternative imaginings of the national collective. “this recognition further recommends new ways of thinking about a more complex and nuanced practice of collective agency toward which the concept of corporate personhood reaches and falls short” (265). it is not clear, however, what alternative forms of collective agency are suggested in highsmith’s narrative of cultural conquest and effacement. conversely, other critics such as benjamin mangrum in “the age of anxiety” argue that tom exemplifies the mid-twentieth century vogue in the american middle class for psychoanalysis and existentialism, which saw subjectivity not as a product of socioeconomic conditions but as an atomized psyche struggling against society. mangrum highlights how highsmith’s novels are engrained with the philosophy of søren kierkegaard and friedrich nietzsche, influencing her “concerns about authentic existence” (777). according to mangrum’s reading, tom experiences a crisis of self-identity that takes shape in his desire to escape from himself and become another, which is, for kierkegaard, the “lowest” and most comical form of self-despair: “tom is displaced within endless performativity—an eternal loop of becoming some other self—and thus he suffers a deprivation of personality rather than its authentic expression” (793). although mangrum’s assertion that tom represents the subjective suffering of an existential crisis is opposed to wagers’ reading of tom as a corporate subject, mangrum nonetheless situates the talented mr. ripley during the popular fascination for psychiatry and european philosophy among the american middle-class and the decline of socially progressive ideologies such as naturalism and new dealism, suggesting that deeper socioeconomic forces are still at work in highsmith’s fiction of self-reinvention. like wagers, i argue that tom exhibits a sociohistorical dynamic of postwar american hegemony rather than an alienated monad of subjectivity. this dynamic entails the blurring the boundaries between the thing-in-itself, which is associated with the authentic history of civilization in europe, and appearance, which is associated with the replicated, fetishized, massproduced commodities of american late capitalism. in postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism (1991), fredric jameson argues that an authentic sense of historical time is transformed and effaced by the commodified spatial structure of postmodernism. this commodified space for jameson is informed by the logic of the “simulacrum, the identical copy for which no original has ever existed” (18). in the consumerist culture of late capitalism, stereotyped styles, such as in the forms of pastiche and nostalgia, replace the past as referent, eroding the sense of historical continuity. whereas cultural spaces in earlier periods had a sense of historical depth, postmodern space is experienced as an eternal present structured by visual spectacles. as jameson writes, “[t]he culture of the simulacrum comes to life in a society where exchange value has been generalized to the point at which the very memory of use value is effaced” (18). instead of history being the “retrospective dimension indispensable to any vital reorientation of our collective future,” it becomes “a vast collection of images, a multitudinous photographic simulacrum” (18). in commodifying the visuals and styles of the past, the logic of the postmodern simulacrum also forecloses the imaginings of future collective projects, bringing about the sense that the late capitalist present coincides with the “end of history.” although tom does not occupy the full-blown world of proliferated images and spectacles of postmodernism proper, the emergence of which jameson traces back to the late 1950s or early 1960s, highsmith’s novel nonetheless anticipates the postmodern loss of historicity through tom’s selferasure and reinvention within europe’s cultural landscape. in the talented mr. ripley, tom personifies the commodification and erasure of european history in the cold war era. for tom, authenticity and materiality are tightly bound together, creating a dichotomy between american capitalism and european cultural history that is destabilized through his performance and transformation. when tom arrives at greece in the novel’s closing chapter, he fully expects a letter from herbert greenleaf challenging dickie’s forged will that leaves his trust fund to tom. instead, tom is surprised by herbert’s acceptance of the fraudulent will, even second-guessing that herbert’s response is a “joke” (272). tom only realizes that he has succeeded in usurping dickie’s wealth when he closely examines the paper of herbert’s letter: “but the burke-greenleaf letterpaper in his hand felt authentic—thick and slightly pebbled and the letterhead engraved” (272-3). this emphasis of authenticity on the material make-up of the burke-greenleaf letterpaper reveals how tom is attuned to the connection between authenticity and the materiality of appearances in his postwar social context, and it is this understanding that enables him to successfully seize dickie’s identity and possessions. the connection between authenticity and materiality that tom internalizes is mapped on to america and europe, with him repudiating the insubstantiality of new york city and embracing what he sees is the cultural authenticity and rich history of europe. after accepting the job from herbert greenleaf to travel to italy and convince dickie to return home to america, tom has, what is perhaps, a hallucination of new york city, with the “atmosphere” of manhattan becoming “strange” and appearing to him as an insubstantial and poorly choreographed performance: it was as if something had gone out of new york—the realness or the importance of it— and the city was putting on a show just for him, a colossal show with its buses, taxis, and hurrying people on the sidewalks, its television shows in all the third avenue bars, its movie marquees lighted up in broad daylight, and its sound effects of thousands of honking horns and human voices, talking for no purpose whatsoever. as if when his boat left the pier on saturday, the whole city of new york would collapse with a poof like a lot of cardboard on a stage. (29) not only do the buildings, bars, and taxis of manhattan confront tom as special effects, such as the spectacles that appear on the television screens and in the movie marquees across third avenue, but even the “human voices” are deprived of their humanity and are construed as mere “sound effects” that “talk… for no purpose whatsoever” (29). authenticity and human substance are drained in this spectacular rendering of new york city, which, as a synecdoche for the entire nation, is construed as a massive performance with no referent, a simulacrum. tom’s solipsistic description of new york city adds another layer of immateriality, with the city painted as a giant theater that could “collapse” on itself “like a lot of cardboard” once his consciousness sails away on the atlantic (29). it is interesting to note that tom initially moved to new york precisely to become an actor, “but his first three rebuffs had killed his courage and his hopes” (41). while the heft and engravings of herbert’s letterpaper signal its genuineness, tom’s hallucination of manhattan as a cardboard stage, where real life and television blend together into a cacophony of special effects, marks america as an insubstantial space by which tom is repulsed, but yet, has a close affinity with when he simulates dickie’s personality and identity. tom’s reverse immigration from new york to europe signals his desire for a “clean slate,” the american fantasy of charting a new future through erasing one’s past, which, for tom, is the effacement of his poverty and debased american acculturation. while sailing across the atlantic, tom imagines his climb in social stature and conquest over the world, exclaiming “upward and onward!” and reassuring himself that “[h]e was versatile, and the world was wide!” (38). as a clean slate, tom fantasizes that his new industrious self will be imprinted upon by his european surroundings. when he is met unenthusiastically by dickie upon his arrival in mongibello, tom desperately attempts to fit in by assimilating himself with the cultural life of the beach-side village, such as quickly studying “an italian conversation book” and crawling on the floor of his hotel room, “following the patches of sunlight that came through his windows, so he wouldn’t look so white the next time he came down to the beach” (55). this dream of the clean slate that can be filled in anew, however, characterizes tom himself, like new york city, as insubstantial. the american culture that tom imagines he can erase from himself by becoming a “clean slate” paradoxically returns in his very desire to assimilate into dickie and marge’s expatriate lifestyle, such as their daily routine of “a siesta after the late lunch… then the sail in dickie’s boat at sundown… [t]hen aperitifs at one of the cafés on the beach. they were enjoying a perfectly ordinary day, as if he did not exist at all” (54). their daily routine reminds tom of the “unreality” of new york city and his own sense of nonexistence when he is not recognized by others. but as dickie warms up to him and they visit rome together without marge, tom is struck by their physical resemblance, as though he were looking into a mirror: “[i]t seemed to tom that he was looking in a mirror when he looked at dickie’s leg and his propped foot beside him. they were the same height, and very much the same weight… and they wore the same size bathrobe, socks, and probably shirts” (67). the image of the mirror is a pertinent symbol of the novel, highlighting tom’s narcissistic desire to see himself through others and, as mangrum notes, endlessly displace his selfhood, the shallowness of which merely reflects his surroundings. in a critical scene, tom dresses in dickie’s clothes and imitates him in front of his mirror, precipitating tom’s murder and adoption of dickie’s identity. here, the mirror becomes the site of tom’s chameleonic transformation into others and enacts his fantasies of different selfhoods. as michael trask argues in “patricia highsmith’s method,” tom’s assimilation into dickie aligns with the theories of method acting, a school of acting prominent in new york city, which sees “the physical body as a dynamic and pliable interface, a kind of switching-station, between the world at large and the domain of emotion” (596). in front of dickie’s mirror, tom not only parts his hair like his but imitates his voice and “mood,” rendering both as sound effects devoid of human substance: “‘marge, you must understand that i don’t love you,’ tom said into the mirror in dickie’s voice, with dickie’s higher pitch on the emphasized words, with the little growl in his throat at the end of the phrase that be pleasant or unpleasant, intimate or cool, according to dickie’s mood” (77). this resemblance between the characters is broken, however, in a traumatic scene where tom loses touch with his self-recognition through dickie. here, the image of the mirror appears again, but this time, it reduces tom’s identification with the mirror’s pure surface: he stared at dickie’s blue eyes that were still frowning, the sun-bleached eyebrows white and the eyes themselves shining and empty, nothing but little pieces of blue jelly with a black dot in them, meaningless, without relation to him. you were supposed to see the soul through the eyes, to see love through the eyes, the one place you could look at another human being and see what really went on inside, and in dickie’s eyes tom saw nothing more now than he would have seen if he had looked at the hard, bloodless surface of the mirror. (87) in this breakdown of identity, tom no longer recognizes his humanity in dickie. instead, the human body reaches an extreme of what trask notes is its “dynamic and pliable interface,” which for tom, is “the hard, bloodless surface of the mirror.” like tom’s hallucinatory description of new york city, dickie’s body is broken into heterogenous surfaces without an underlying substance, such as the “little pieces of blue jelly” of dickie’s soulless eyes. by seeing dickie in this way, tom loses touch with his own humanity and selfhood. tom’s desire to be a “clean slate,” a subject without a past that can swiftly assimilate into a new environment, is horribly realized in this scene. similar to his fear of water, which he describes as a “deadly emptiness” when he falls in to the mediterranean sea after murdering dickie, tom suddenly feels “surrounded by strangeness” and “hostility” in the breakdown between himself and dickie (88). this sense of otherness reflects tom’s own shallow selfhood—a personified simulacrum that copies and replaces other selves. tom’s transformation into dickie after his murder unveils the legal fictions that underpin the postwar subject, along with the short-circuit connection between the “essence” of personhood with their outward “appearance,” such as dickie’s signature which tom mimics almost to perfection. however, tom does not merely sculpt himself into dickie by wearing the right clothes or copying the correct hairstyles, although he does go to great lengths to imitate his physical features, such as lightening his hair and adding waves to it, and even putting on “for the inspector’s benefit… [a] rather tense, rather frowning expression of dickie’s passport photograph” (121). even more important for tom is to imitate dickie’s personal qualities that are far more immaterial than clothes and hair styling: “the main thing about impersonation… was to maintain the mood and temperament of the person one was impersonating, and to assume the facial features that went with them. the rest fell into place” (127). trask parallels tom’s art of impersonation through the copying of “mood” and “temperament” with the theories of method acting which “understood performance as a habit of being in which the relays between somatic responses and mental states are wholly communicative” (596). the causality of method’s system is crucial to note: rather than psychical or emotional states acting on the performer’s expressions, it is the outward expressions that cause what the performer internally feels and experiences. as trask continues, “at its best the method is understood to induce a reorganization of the performer’s very psyche” (597). although he is initially heartbroken when compelled to ditch dickie’s persona after the police suspect him for freddie’s murder, tom reflects on a silver-lining: “if you wanted to be cheerful, or melancholic, or wistful, or thoughtful, or courteous, you simply had to act those things with every gesture” (182). when tom is understood as a “clean slate,” dickie is not merely killed, but the immaterial qualities of his inner self which his “moods” and “temperament” express are commodified and ultimately erased through tom’s eloquent impersonation. if tom is read as a personified corporation as wagers does, then the reorganization of his psyche by mimicking dickie’s moods is analogous to an advertising or branding of the self through wholly commodified affects: “[tom] was dickie, good-natured, naïve dickie, with a smile for everyone and a thousand francs for anyone who asked him” (124). to the international public eye, herbert and emily greenleaf, and the legal-financial fictions of his passport and bank signatures, dickie greenleaf is very much alive—effacing both the “tom from boston” and the “real” dickie whose body lies somewhere in the mediterranean, never to be recovered. tom, however, goes much further than absorbing the most intimate and immaterial qualities of dickie’s personality; he also incorporates what he sees as the authentic cultural “atmospheres” of europe. like dickie’s “mood” and “temperament,” qualities tom mimics in order to enjoy his new lifestyle, transforming himself to be “full of goodwill, a gentleman, with nothing in his past to blemish his character,” he also desires to be molded by the ambiance of european capitals such as paris and rome (124). analogous to trask’s depiction of the method actor whose external expressions reconfigure his inner psyche, tom allows paris’ “atmosphere [to] seep in slowly” and reorganize his inner character: “he walked with his head up and a smile on his face. it was the atmosphere of the city that he loved, the atmosphere that he had always heard about, crooked streets, gray-fronted houses with skylights, noisy car horns, and everywhere public urinals and columns with brightly colored theater notices on them” (121). minus the hallucinatory rendering, this description of paris is not too dissimilar from the one given of new york city, with parallels between “noisy car horns” and “honking horns,” “theater notices” and “movie marquees.” what is different is not only the more solidified presence of paris that is contrasted with the precarious “lot of cardboard” of new york city that could collapse on itself, but also tom’s act of letting the former’s atmosphere “seep in” to his inner self as he performs dickie’s easy-going and cosmopolitan disposition. tom’s performance as dickie and allowing the city’s atmosphere to infiltrate his character is the “special effect” of this scene. but as tom ingests the cultural atmospheres of europe, it becomes clear that the solidity of its cities’ descriptions are themselves supported by tom’s anticipatory imagination, which is informed by mass-produced commodities such as guidebooks, maps, and artbooks that are especially catered towards tom’s class of expatriated and tourist americans. when tom first passes france on his way to mongibello, its “lighted café front, complete with rain-streaked awning, sidewalk tables, and boxes of hedges” appears to him “like a tourist poster illustration” that sparks his interest to return for a proper experience. however, as tom discovers, it is “anticipation” itself, rather than the authenticity of “experience,” that is truly pleasurable. strolling through the city of palermo, he regards a “great norman-influenced cathedral he had read about, built by the english archbishop walter-of-the-mill, he remembered from a guidebook” (171). for tom, it is “[w]onderful to look at the dusty arches of its façade and to think of going inside tomorrow, to imagine its musty, sweetish smell, composed of the uncounted candles and incense-burnings of hundreds and hundreds of years. anticipation! it occurred to him that his anticipation is more pleasant to him than his experiencing” (171). tom’s reverie of the palermo church, mediated by his guidebooks, suspends authentic experience in favor of the imaginative representations of the real thing. true experience for tom, to actually go inside the church, threatens the fictive sensations aroused by the church’s “façade.” the “sweetish” and “musty” smells and the visual of countless candles conjured in tom’s imagination undermine the underlying reality and material history of the church. tom’s fantasies, trained by his guidebook, turn europe’s cultural and historical sites into playgrounds for his anticipatory imagination. in another scene, tom purchases a “beautiful book of van gogh reproductions” and travels to lyon and arles “to see the places van gogh painted there” (124). because “he could not take the book out in the rain… he had to make a dozen trips back to his hotel to verify the scenes” (124). in his search for european authenticity, tom disciplines his vision of reality through the reproductions of classic postimpressionist paintings, with the “referent” of what van gogh originally painted superseded by its representation. when cold weather and gray clouds empty menton’s streets of its “gay crowds” during new year’s eve, tom resorts to his more impeccable and evocative imagination, condensing the sites (and sights) of monte carlo and nice into a single, fauvist scene: “tom put the people there… men and women in evening clothes descending the broad steps of the gambling palace in monte carlo, people in bright bathing costumes, light and brilliant as a dufy watercolor, walking under the palms of the boulevard des anglais at nice” (125). in tom’s cultivation of the rootless self in europe, representation replaces reality. as tom steals the life of dickie greenleaf, adopting his cosmopolitan pose and most intimate moods, he also incorporates the cultural “atmospheres” of europe into his synthetic personality, which extends to the italian dwelling spaces that he purchases. the vision that tom cultivates of europe is both depthless and commodified, where the style of postimpressionist reproductions color his entire perception of the european “referent.” mirroring his murder and adoption of dickie’s identity, the “authenticity” of european history is erased as he tries to replicate its cultural “atmospheres” in his roman apartment and venetian palazzo. central to tom’s allegorical journey from new york city to greece is the development of his taste in housing décor, which becomes more selective and elite towards the novel’s end. in refining his taste in spatial design throughout rome and venice, tom seeks to rearrange and redefine european space as a whole. in france, tom is invited to a party in the avenue kléber, where the house and its occupants are succumbing to dilapidation—and are short of a heating unit: “the party consisted of thirty or forty people, most of them middle-aged, standing around rather frigidly in a huge, chilly, formal apartment. in europe, tom gathered, inadequate heating was a hallmark of chic in winter, like the iceless martini in summer” (122). the presence of servants, such as a butler and a maid, along with a “vast table of pâté en croûte, sliced turkey, and petits fours, and quantities of champagne,” are juxtaposed to the apartment’s general decay: “[t]he upholstery of the sofa and the long drapes at the windows were threadbare and rotting with age” (122). the deterioration of the apartment’s space is paralleled with the aging and unenthused guests of the party, who are both “middle-aged” and members of the nobility: “at least half a dozen of the guests [tom] had been presented to were counts and countesses” (122). their dour mood, it is presumed, is because the french girl who invited tom is marrying an american. depicted in this allegorical space of the decaying apartment is the usurpation of french identity by americanization, a force of economic vitality that is juxtaposed to the crumbling stature of the old nobility. tom is such a force of american economic vitality in european space, allegorizing american aid and cultural hegemony in postwar europe. when redesigning his roman apartment’s living room because its original drapes “offended him,” tom “forces” singora buffi, the wife of the house superintendent, to take five thousand lire instead of two thousand for the dark velvet drapes she makes for him (131). more than just embodying dickie’s charitable disposition, tom’s behavior signals an entire class of american tourists and expatriates embracing the cultural life of europe. americans like tom are fascinated by the aura of europe’s cultural authenticity, but as revealed in the apartment spaces of the french nobility and the roman bourgeois couple, europe is in the postwar state of economic and cultural decline. american economic investment commodifies european cultural spaces that are no longer indicative of an organically evolving history, but instead, are a vast collection of select fine items that one arranges in a living room. later on, tom’s redecorates a venetian palazzo that becomes his “ideal of what a civilized bachelor’s house should look like,” complete with panoramic pictures of naples from a local antique shop; “furniture that did not resemble furniture at all but an embodiment of cinquecento music”; and where the only thing being “faintly” modern is the bathroom (203). his servants are “a young italian couple who had worked for an american in venice… so that they knew the difference between a bloody mary and a crème de menthe frappe” (203). tom has his servants “polish the carved fronts of the armoires and chests and chairs until they seemed alive with dim lustrous lights that moved as one moved around them” (203). through his italian servants, tom cultivates the illusion that his furniture is alive at the expense of his own humanity. it is precisely through his commodity fetishism, select taste, and erasure of history that tom finally manages to find comfort in his existence: “he loved possessions, not masses of them, but a select few that he did not part with…. possessions reminded him that he existed, and made him enjoy his existence” (236). patricia highsmith’s novel of murder and stolen identity captures the american project of restructuring europe during the cold war. having torn itself apart in war world ii, europe’s cultural shards are commodified and rearranged for american pleasure. tom, initially submerged in the late capitalist culture of new york city, transforms his venetian palazzo into a spatial simulacrum—a space of commodified images without a sense of historical continuity. in his seamless assimilation and performance of dickie’s intimate “moods” and europe’s authentic “atmospheres,” tom is figured as a competitive, personified commodity that erases the original referent of humanity and history. with tom’s arrival in greece, the canonical origins of “western civilization,” the commodification of “western history” by late capitalism is complete. paralleled with this allegory is tom’s incorporation and erasure of dickie greenleaf, signaling the total commodification of what makes a “human being.” tom is a posthuman subject, a “clean slate” of the late capitalist self in its most alienating and destructive dimension. works cited highsmith, patricia. the talented mr. ripley. w.w. norton & company, 1955. jameson, fredric. postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism. duke university press, 1991. mangrum, benjamin. “the age of anxiety: patricia highsmith, existential psychology, and the ‘decline’ of american naturalism.” american literature, vol. 87, no. 4, 2015, pp. 769 798. trask, michael. “patricia highsmith’s method.” american literary history, vol. 22, no. 3, 2010, pp. 584-614. wagers, kelley. “tom ripley, inc.: patricia highsmith’s corporate fiction.” contemporary literature, vol. 54, no. 2, 2013, pp. 239-270. \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\us_recognition.prn.pdf 1 the u.s. recognition of israel: a bureaucratic politics model analysis nilay saiya political science villanova university the outsider believes a presidential order is consistently followed out. nonsense. i have to spend considerable time seeing that it is carried out and in the spirit the president intended. inevitably, in the nature of bureaucracy, departments become pressure groups for a point of view. if the president decides against them, they are convinced some evil influence worked on the president: if only he knew all the facts, he would have decided their way. –richard nixon1 the bureaucratic politics model holds that each bureaucracy in the federal government has institutional beliefs it is seeking to maximize. the competition is based upon relative power and influence. i seek to examine how these competing bureaucracies helped influence u.s. foreign policy toward israel during the truman administration. specifically i hope to address the following question: how does the bureaucratic politics model explain the united states decision to recognize israel? according to bureaucratic politics theory, decisions are determined not by rational choice or chief actors but through a give-and-take bargaining process conducted by various parties of the government. rather than unitary actors, this model maintains that governmental decisions are the result of individuals or organizations vying for position and power. therefore, the outcomes are a direct result of bureaucratic competition. prominent scholars of the bureaucratic politics model david kozak and james keagle identify twelve defining characteristics of the model drawing on the work of others: (1) since the end of world war ii, nonelected officials have become increasingly important in making public policy; (2) bureaucratic decisions can be affected by circumstances exogenous to the agencies’ internal environment, namely interest groups; (3) bureaucrats are driven by agency self-interest in order to maintain political power; (4) national security policy is often the result of these struggles for power between competing 1 sault pett, “henry a. kissinger: loyal retainer or nixon’s svengali,” p. b-3. 2 bureaucracies; (5) individuals positioned in a bureaucracy will naturally adopt that agency’s goals; (6) because of their expertise, implementation responsibilities, and longevity, elected officials are often dependent on bureaucrats in the realm of policy making; (7) notwithstanding times of national crisis, bureaucratic politics is characterized by bargaining, competition, and compromise; (8) by maintaining support for the existing bureaucratic structure, clientele groups gain influence in bureaucratic politics; (9) as clientele groups provide bureaucracies with information, bureaucracies, in turn, provide information to political institutions, allowing agencies both to influence policy and defend their own interests; (10) the executive plays a fundamental role in bureaucratic politics by coordinating and weighing bureaucratic interests; (11) bureaucratic agencies’ primary goal is selfpreservation; therefore, these agencies will seek structural alterations to maximize their own political benefit; and (12) bureaucratic politics theory raises questions as to its appropriateness in a system that is supposed to be run by elected officials.2 my goal is to examine if, and to what extent, these defining characteristics shaped policy during the truman administration. specifically, i will examine how competing pressures influenced the president’s decision to recognize israel. in the case of the u.s. formal recognition of israel, the primary competing actors were the state and defense departments and the president. during truman’s tenure as president, the highest-level officials in the white house and state department often engaged in acrimonious and intense squabbling over this sensitive issue. historically, the state department has considered itself the chief foreign policy-making body, transcending the scope and longevity of various presidents; it has also resented the presence of domestic considerations in the formulation of foreign policy. this is important insofar as the jewish vote and american sympathies toward the jewish people were concerned. the problem, of course, is that in our democratic society, foreign policy is to be executed through an elected representative—namely the president of the united states. the majority of this paper will examine the interplay between these two competing factions up to truman’s official recognition of the state of israel. some scholarly works like john snetsinger’s truman, the jewish vote, and the creation of israel argue that truman’s decision to recognize israel was based solely on political calculations.3 others like michael benson’s harry s. truman and the founding of israel maintain that despite domestic and international strategy considerations, truman’s decision was based on “moral, emotional, and 2 these points are summarized and adapted from david kozak, and james keagle eds., bureaucratic politics and national security: theory and practice (boulder: lynne rienner publishers, 1988), pp 5-10. 3 john snetsinger, truman, the jewish vote, and the creation of israel (stanford: hoover institution press, 1974), p. 140. 3 sentimental sympathy.”4 benson deals with the role of personal belief and religious background—support for western democracy and biblical solidarity with the jews—on truman’s foreign policy toward israel. i contend that truman was driven by both political strategy and humanitarian concerns, but neither argument by itself was a sufficient impetus for the president’s eventual decision. i will examine the administration’s choice by considering the various stakes different bureaucracies had in a jewish state in the middle east. while president truman had to deal with jewish friends and advisors, the jewish electoral vote, and the moral justification behind zionism, the state department argued their case mainly on the basis of u.s. national interests. u.s.-jewish relations 1917-1947 in a 1917 statement issued by the british government, the british empire initiated a plan to consider the creation of a jewish homeland in palestine, provided it would not interfere with the rights of pre-existing inhabitants. known as the balfour declaration, the statement was, in part, compensation for jews who helped the british defeat the turks during world war i. the league of nations ratified the statement in 1922 and gave britain a mandate in palestine. the balfour declaration spawned the migration of jews from all over europe to palestine, and, in the process, aroused the fears of neighboring arabs to the possibility of a future jewish state. unable to quash sporadic outbreaks of violence between the jews and arabs, great britain issued a ‘white paper’ in 1939 which severely restricted further jewish migration to palestine. with no regional allies to turn, the jews sought the help of the united states. president franklin roosevelt was rather ambivalent to the jewish cause being preoccupied with world war ii and the great depression. wanting to retain good relations with saudi arabia, he promised the saudi king that the u.s. would not make a decision on a jewish state without first consulting the arab states, though he did try to enlist saudi support for jewish immigration to palestine.5 the ambivalence ended with the election of harry s. truman. due to the oppression the jews incurred throughout the holocaust, truman’s sympathies were with the jews and he supported the creation of a jewish state in palestine. in 1946, great britain and the united states established the "angloamerican committee of inquiry." the committee concluded that a jewish state would continue to generate regional violence; but it also advised to allow 4 michael benson, harry s. truman and the founding of israel (westport, ct: praeger, 1997), p. xi. 5 ami isseroff. “president harry s. truman and us support for israeli statehood,” available at www.mideastweb.org/usrecognition. 4 unrestricted jewish migration into palestine, including the immediate admission of 100,000 refugees. violence in palestine continued, however; and the british, anxious to rid themselves of the problem, renounced the mandate by returning it to the united nations. the u.n. special committee on palestine (unscop) advised that palestine be portioned into two states. reluctantly, the u.s. state department acceded to truman’s request that it support the partition plan. the partition plan was accepted by the u.n. general assembly on november 29, 1947. although truman supported the right of jews to establish their own homeland under woodrow wilson’s “selfdetermination” principle, the most difficult decision he faced in his presidency, according to margaret truman, was whether to recognize the creation of a jewish homeland in palestine.6 throughout the roosevelt and truman administrations, the war and state departments argued against recognizing a jewish state for geo-strategic reasons. despite objections raised by secretary of state george marshall— the appearance of pandering to the jewish vote, unintentionally jeopardizing access to arab oil, and driving the arab states toward the soviet union—truman elected to recognize the jewish state immediately upon its inception. truman’s recognition of israel, however, did not necessarily translate into support for the infant nation. it would take decades of wars between israel and its arab neighbors and decades of cold war between the u.s. and the soviet union before the two countries became de facto allies. during the period between israel’s establishment and the 1960’s, the middle east viewed the united states not as an imperial superpower but as a buffer against the exploitative, colonialist european authorities. truman’s stances toward israel the end of world war ii allowed president truman to address the palestine question. it was a vital issue insofar as it extended beyond near eastern boundaries and exemplified the peculiar dynamics of a bi-polar world. such a small piece of land gained the attention of major superpowers and international organizations. truman had made plain his support for the jewish cause prior to the war, but the revelations of nazi atrocities towards jews during the war provided him with a basis to enlist support for a jewish state. throughout his ten years in the senate, he generally supported zionist objectives by supporting a jewish army in palestine and endorsing the balfour declaration.7 at a chicago rally in 1944, then senator truman said, 6 margaret truman. harry s. truman. (new york: william morrow), 1973. 7 bruce evensen, “the limits of presidential power: truman at war with the zionists, the press, public opinion and his own state department over palestine, presidential studies quarterly (1993) 23: 269. 5 "today, not tomorrow, we must do all that is humanly possible to provide a haven for all those who can be grasped from the hands of nazi butchers. free lands must be opened to them."8 though plainspoken and inexperienced in foreign affairs, truman was an ardent supporter of presidential power in this realm. he believed that ultimately the responsibility of the nation’s well being rested with the chief executive.9 he was a man who believed the president should run state affairs, not his subordinates. the president felt compelled to keep his pledge to support a palestinian partition. truman, however, faced opposition on two fronts. he urged the british to amend their palestine policy by allowing displaced jews to emigrate there, but the warbeaten british were not ready to change their policy. he also attempted to enlist domestic support for jewish emigration to palestine, though he faced considerable opposition to the zionist solution for the problem of displaced jews. at this point, president truman was somewhat indisposed to the concept of a jewish state insofar as he believed it would rely almost exclusively on u.s. support for defense. the president ardently hoped that the palestine problem would be settled through the medium of the united nations, not u.s. military force. at no point did truman favor sending u.s. troops to enforce the partition. the fear was any partition would have to be enforced either by american troops, or worse, the red army. in a letter to senator joseph ball of minnesota, truman stated: …it is a very explosive situation we are facing and naturally i regret it very much but i don’t think that you, or any of the other senators, would be inclined to send a half dozen divisons to palestine to maintain a jewish state. what i am trying to do is to make the whole world safe for jews. therefore, i don’t feel like going to war for palestine.10 both practical and political considerations molded his policy toward palestine. according to bruce everson, these considerations limited truman’s ability to exercise his policy in the region; they, in fact, limited his presidential leadership abilities.11 some of his diary entries even seem to imply that truman was becoming rather exasperated with jewish demands: the jews, i find are very, very selfish. they care not how many estonians, latvians, finns, poles, yugoslavs or greeks get murdered or mistreated as d[isplaced] p[ersons] as long as the jews get special 8 isserof, ibid. 9 robert donovan, conflict and crisis: the presidency of harry s. truman, 1945-1948 (new york: norton, 1977). 10 monte poen., ed. strictly personal and confidential (boston: little, brown, 1982), 49. 11 bruce evensen, “the limits of presidential power: truman at war with the zionists, the press, public opinion and his own state department over palestine, presidential studies quarterly (1993) 23: 269. 6 treatment. yet when they have power, physical, financial or political neither hitler nor stalin has anything on them for cruelty or mistreatment to the under dog. put an underdog on top and it makes no difference whether his name is russian, jewish, negro, management, labor, mormon, baptist he goes haywire. i've found very, very few who remember their past condition when prosperity comes.12 nevertheless, despite the fact that the president no longer wished to visit with supporters of the extreme zionist cause, he felt obliged to meet with certain individuals to whom truman believed he owed a debt of gratitude. in his memoirs, the president recounts secret meetings with dr. chaim weizmann—a chief proponent of a jewish state in palestine.13 this illustrates the point that when a public official is hesitant to side one way or another on an issue of national importance but is nevertheless believed to be predisposed to a certain ideology, individuals from the private sector representing that ideology will seek to involve that official in the issue.14 state department opposition the state and defense departments were generally against the notion of a jewish state, and sought to deter truman from the notion of a partition plan. it remained convinced that the creation of a jewish state would spur saudi armies to attack israel and jeopardize the flow of oil from the gulf. moreover, the potential for a third world war required the u.s. to maintain good relations with the oil-rich gulf states. advocating a jewish state might permanently damage otherwise cordial relations with middle eastern countries and reduce america’s position in the region. moreover, the u.s. desperately needed oil to continue the marshall plan in europe and its own domestic industrialization. within the larger context of the cold war, if the united states were to continue its rise as a global superpower, it could not imperil vitally important arab oil; doing so equated to giving the soviets a stranglehold on the middle east. to continue the marshall plan—that is, protect europe from the communist threat—meant that losing access to oil could imperil two regions of the world. to many in the state and defense departments, maintaining the flow of arab oil keeping the soviets at bay 12 harry truman, diary entry for monday, july 21. available at www.trumanlibrary.org. 13 harry truman, memoirs. vol. ii: years of trial and hope, (garden city, new york: doubleday), 160-61. 14 morton halperin, bureaucratic politics and foreign policy, (washington d.c.: the brookings institution, 1974), 131. 7 necessarily meant establishing military bases in the region.15 it was, therefore, the state department’s policy to appease the arabs and maintain the regional status quo by considering palestine a vital entity of the arab world. a mass emigration of jews to palestine would greatly aid in destabilizing a critically important region of the world and would spawn a dire political crisis in the region. oil was the major consideration of the state department’s palestine policy, its greatest fear being alienating ibn saud. indeed, the state and defense departments and national security council considered ibn saud’s well-being to be paramount in regards to international stability and vital to u.s. national interests.16 additionally, the state department tended to equate zionists with communists; therefore, the establishment of a jewish state would drive the jews into the soviet sphere of influence thereby creating a foothold for the soviets in the middle east. according to loy henderson, “we know very well that all jews are communists. if we let them come to palestine, we will have a soviet fifth column there.”17 the argument seemed to be based on the fact that communism was an inherently european ideology that appealed to the urban proletariat (i.e., palestinian jews). furthermore, many jewish emigrants to palestine had lived behind the iron curtain and had been exposed to communist ideology. the fear was that this exposure might form the basis for their new government. even if the zionistcommunist link was exaggerated, there remained potential for the soviets expand their influence in the middle east on two fronts: (1) a simple approval of a palestine partition plan coupled with continued american ambiguity might naturally lead to a soviet-israeli alliance, or (2) if the u.s. supported a partition, the u.s.s.r. might seek to use arab animosity against the u.s. as mentioned above, i believe the state department overstated its case. the fact remained that a jewish state backed by the u.s.s.r. and neglected by the west would be more inclined to view the soviets favorably. if this occurred, the u.s.s.r. could make strategic inroads into the middle east, the very thing the state department sought to avoid. on the other hand, zionist supporters argued that a u.s. and british-supported jewish state would be a democratic stronghold in a region categorized by backward dictatorships. after all, a stated tenet of american foreign policy had been the promotion of democracy throughout the world as evidenced by the marshall plan and truman doctrine. therefore, the state department’s palestine policy was driven by geostrategic considerations, not humanitarian concerns. this is not to say that they 15 michael benson, harry s. truman and the founding of israel, 83. 16 irvine anderson, aramco: the united states and saudi arabia, a study of the dynamics of foreign oil policy, 1933-1950 (princeton: princeton university press, 1981), p. 202. 17 benson, harry s. truman and the founding of israel, p. 61 8 were in any way anti-semites; rather, they viewed the world through the lens of cold war realities. to these individuals, the creation of a jewish state posed a direct threat to u.s. national security interests; to support a partition meant governing its implementation. the problem was that the president had surrounded himself with individuals diametrically opposed to his palestine policy. his closest advisors—secretary of state george marshall (who had been general of the armies, the highest ranking officer during world war ii, and perhaps the most popular man in the united states at the time18) his successor dean acheson, undersecretary of state robert lovett, secretary of the navy james forrestal, director of the near east agency (nea) loy henderson, and other high-ranking individuals—all sided against the zionist solution (and consequently against truman). furthermore, these men were all highly educated, while truman was the only president never to have graduated high school. while some prominent advisors (like dean acheson) backed truman’s policies despite personal objections to his solution to the palestine question, many others (like marshall and henderson) were not so supportive of the president.19 truman, however, did not view the palestine quandary in solely strategic terms. when reminded that the potential outbreak of war required u.s. dependence on saudi arabian oil, the president famously responded that he would handle the situation in light of justice, not oil.20 the president was especially frustrated with the state department’s resolve in handling the palestine issue without executive interference.21 he felt the state department did not trust his ability to handle foreign affairs in any area of international relations, especially palestine: “the striped pants boys warned me, in effect, to watch my step [on palestine]. they thought i really didn’t understand what was going on over there.”22 indeed, truman’s plain-spokenness and nascent experience in international affairs did not help him win over his critics at the state department. furthermore, some in the state department believed this inexperience rendered truman vulnerable to domestic interest groups, namely the jewish lobby. therefore, truman’s near east policy was confounded by the state department on three fronts: (1) its belief that the state department was the sole custodian of american foreign policy, (2) its insistence that the zionist solution was antithetical to u.s. strategic interests, and (3) its distrust of the president to adequately handle foreign affairs. evidence shows that 18 alfred lilienthal, “remembering general george marshall’s clash with clark clifford over premature recognition of israel,” washington report on middle eastern affairs, june 1999, 49-50. 19 dean acheson, present at the creation: my years in the state department, (new york: norton, 1969.), p. 104 20 harry truman, memoirs. vol. ii: years of trial and hope, (garden city, new york: doubleday, 1955.), p. 172. 21 merle miller, plain speaking: an oral biography of harry s. truman, (new york: berkley, 1974.), p. 202. 22 miller, ibid. 9 this sentiment was strongest among those at the near east division, headed by loy henderson.23 in a memo to marshall on sept. 22, 1947, henderson forewarned the secretary of state that a partition of palestine would lead to severe troubles for the u.s. in the future. less than one month after the unscop recommendation to partition palestine, henderson maintained that nearly all in the state department who were knowledgeable in near eastern affairs opposed the plan.24 according to henderson, the policy being pursued by the government was detrimental to the long-term interests of the united states and would entangle the country in acrimonious conflict around the world. among his chief concerns were lack of law enforcement in palestine, wide-scale violence, and the violation of democratic principles: the unscop majority plan is not only unworkable; if adopted, it would guarantee that the palestine problem would be permanent and still more complicated in the future…the proposals contained in the unscop plan are not only not based on any principles of an international character, the maintenance of which would be in the interests of the united states, but they are in definite contravention to various principles laid down in the charter as well as to principle on which american concepts of government are based…these proposals, for instance, ignore such principles as self-determination and majority rule. they recognize the principle of a theocratic racial state and even go so far in several instance as to discriminate on the grounds of religion and race against persons outside of palestine...we are under no obligations to the jews to set up a jewish state. the balfour declaration and the mandate provided not for a jewish state, but for a jewish national home. neither the united states nor the british government has ever interpreted the term ‘jewish national home’ to be a jewish national state.25 clark clifford, truman’s white house council worked closely with truman on the palestine question and was chief architect of the administration’s pro-partition policy. (clifford went on to be personal lawyer to president kennedy and secretary of defense for lyndon johnson). whereas loy henderson was chief representative of the state department’s pro-arab/pro-oil milieu, clark 23 foreign relations of the united states, “the director of the office of near eastern and african affairs to the secretary of state,” sept. 22, 1947. 24 ibid. 25 ibid. 10 clifford represented the pro-israeli stances adopted by the white house. clifford and other prominent jews in the white house contended that israel could be an important strategic asset for the u.s. in the middle east due to its unexpected military strength and its predisposition toward the west. 26 according to clifford, the arab nations—which clifford argued relied on american money more than america relied on their oil—should not be allowed to dictate the foreign policy of the united states. he also felt strongly that european jews deserved a safe haven after the atrocities of the holocaust. finally, he argued that a jewish state would come into existence whether the u.s. supported it or not.27 besides clifford, truman also had two other key figures working on the palestine question on the zionist behalf: david niles and max owenthal, both of whom enjoyed a special relationship with, and had special access to, the president. loy henderson believed niles to be the preeminent proponent of the zionist cause in washington, without whom the jewish state would not have come into existence.28 similarly, max lowenthal also significantly influenced palestine policy. (clifford clark employed lowenthal to provide legal advice on the palestine issue; lowenthal designed the memoranda for clifford to present to the state department and truman).29 according to truman, lowenthal was the driving impetus behind the eventual u.s. recognition of israel: “i don’t know who has done more for israel than you have.”30 in 1946, president truman and british foreign minister clement atlee developed a bilateral commission known as the morrision-grady team, which formulated a plan acceptable to both the state department and london. the compromise allowed for the entry of 100,000 refugees and also federalized palestine into a small jewish homeland and a larger arab one. though truman, undersecretary of state dean acheson, and secretary of the navy james forrestal endorsed the plan believing it to be a fair compromise, zionists were discontented with the small piece of land allotted to the jews. the interesting dichotomy for truman became whether to risk the jewish vote over the morrision-grady proposal. due to potential political repercussions, he chose not to support the plan. indeed, domestic support for israel was not only a function of american jewish zionists but also of broad-based support among the american public. truman sided with the zionists, at least temporarily. on november 29, 1947, the u.s. voted for the partition of palestine in the un general assembly. 26 benson, harry s. truman and the founding of israel, p. 6. 27 clark clifford, counsel to the president: a memoir, (new york: random house, 1991). 28 michael cohen, truman and israel, (berkley: university of california press, 1990), p. 77. 29 ibid., p. 78. 30 ibid. 11 at the time of the u.n. general assembly accepting a partition plan, the palestine question was one of many foreign policy issues being dealt with by the truman administration. the cold war was raging on in the third world, and the u.s. faced a crisis regarding if and how to limit soviet influence in eastern europe and the mediterranean. the state department essentially argued that if the u.s. chose to counter the soviet threat militarily, this could potentially result in another war, which would increase american dependence on middle eastern oil. despite official support for the partition plan, the state department remained largely opposed. truman believed an arms embargo in the middle east would be a fair compromise: the u.s. would not sell israel arms, but the embargo would not affect arab-european arms contracts. the state department argued that without the ability to purchase arms, the nascent state would be incapable of defending itself. indeed, the arab league and the arab higher committee made it clear that it would prevent a partition by force if necessary. any u.s. involvement on behalf of israel risked engendering arab animosity. to the state department, the whole idea of a partition was impractical. rather than gamble having to send troops to palestine by diverting forces from eastern europe, it desired a trusteeship plan similar to the one promulgated by loy henderson or returning the issue to the u.n for further debate. a trusteeship plan had, in fact, been approved by truman in 1948. (this was after the white house had endorsed the un partition plan of november 19, 1947). there was a considerable sense that the united states might abandon a partition plan in favor of a trusteeship proposal. truman, however, never favored a trusteeship proposal in lieu of a partition, but rather as a precursor to it. for truman, a trusteeship might create the preconditions necessary for a partition. warren austin, the american delegate to the un security council, recommended that partition be suspended and temporarily replaced with a trusteeship insofar as a partition could not be implemented peacefully. austin wanted to convene a special session of the general assembly to discuss the possibility of a trusteeship. secretary of state marshall instructed austin that, in the case of a special session, the u.s. would support a trusteeship. the president approved a draft statement indicating recession from partition31; this approval led to one of the greatest debacles during truman’s presidency. 31 ibid., p. 189. 12 what led to the policy reversal? it appears as if the state department influenced truman’s decision to retract his policy on partition. president truman had always opposed sending troops to palestine, and the joint chiefs of staff warned him that anywhere from 80,000 to 160,000 troops would be needed to implement a partition.32 indeed, the fears of the state department were coming true. by spring 1948, the situation in palestine had degenerated into chaos and violence, and truman felt forced to temporarily renounce the very resolution he had ardently supported a few months prior. both truman and the state department believed that the mounting opposition in palestine to a partition rendered the people there incapable of self-government. rather than prematurely endorse a state that might lead to yet another war, he desired a slower, safer pace for israel to achieve statehood. he shifted his focus to a trusteeship whereby jews and arabs could come to an agreement. in march of 1948, the president issued a statement saying he believed war in the middle east was imminent. at the same time, he insisted that diplomats should be careful not to make it appear as if the u.s. was abandoning the partition.33 truman hoped that the security council itself would implement a trusteeship and suspend partition in palestine so as to protect the u.s. from adverse domestic backlash that would inevitably occur if it renounced its very own partition plan.34 in other words, truman did not want anyone (either at home or abroad) to hold the u.s. responsible for the divergence in policy. clark clifford, of course, argued against the reversal of policy. he maintained that continued support for the partition was in u.s. national interests. turning the argument of the state department on its head, clifford maintained that the soviets would take advantage of the inconsistency in u.s. policy and take it upon themselves to implement the initial un resolution favoring partition. additionally, reversing policy would serve to undermine the united nations and severely injure its duty as an international policy-making body.35 now the state department feared that u.s. troops would have to be introduced into palestine in order to restore order. george kennan, director of policy planning at the state department urged truman against sending troops to palestine, believing the situation to be an unmanageable quagmire: 32 foreign relations of the united states, “gruenther to departments of state and defense,” february 18, 1948. 33 foreign relations of the united states, “truman to marshall,” february 22, 1948. 34 michael cohen, truman and israel, p. 181. 35 foreign relations of the united states, “memorandum by the president’s special counsel,” march 8, 1948. 13 the pressures to which this government is now subjected are ones which impel us toward a position where we would shoulder major responsibility for the maintenance, and even the expansion, of a jewish state in palestine…if we do not effect a fairly radical reversal of the trend of our policy to date, we will end up either in the position of being ourselves militarily responsible for the protection of the jewish population in palestine against the declared hostility of the arab world, or of sharing that responsibility with the russians and thus assisting at their installation as one of the military powers of the area.36 the mixed signals continued as truman continued to assure zionist groups at home that the u.s. would support the partition. in response to the palestine committee recommendation that partition be suspended in favor of a temporary trusteeship, on march 19, u.s. ambassador to the un warren austin, under the direction of secretary of state george marshall, announced both on national radio and to the un security council that the united states opposed the partition plan. marshall believed this was consistent with truman’s policy (that the u.s. would support a trusteeship if the un did so first) to which he had already given his approval previously. this occurred despite the fact that the president had never given his express consent to austin’s statement. neither austin nor marshall conferred with the white house prior to the statement. marshall made similar remarks the following day. needless to say, the comments by warren and marshall infuriated the president as he articulated in his diary: "the state dept. pulled the rug from under me today. i didn't expect that would happen. in key-west or en route there from st. croix i approved the speech and statement of policy by sen. austin to u.n. meeting. this morning i find that the state department has reversed my palestine policy. the first i know about it is what i see in the papers! isn't that hell! now, i am placed in a position of a liar and double-crosser. i never felt so in my life...there are people on the third and fourth levels of the state dept. who have always wanted to cut my throat. they've succeeded in doing so. marshall's in california and lovett's in florida...what is not generally understood is that the zionists are not the only ones to be considered in the palestine question. there are other interests that come into play, each with its own agenda. the military is concerned with the problems of 36 foreign relations of the united states, “report by the policy planning staff,” february 24, 1948, 14 defending a newly created small country from attacks by much larger and better trained arab nations. others have selfish interests concerning the flow of arab oil to the u.s. since they all cannot have their way, it is a perfect example of why i had to remember that 'the buck stops here.'"37 the domestic backlash against the truman white house was immense. the state department had made him look like a liar and betrayer of the jews. in the words of clark clifford, “marshall didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground…every jew thought that truman was a no good son-of-a-bitch.”38 perhaps, it was the lowest point of truman’s political career. he knew he had no chance of reelection without jewish support. ironically, he had assured chaim weizman the day before the announcement that the u.s. favored partition; he was completely unaware of marshall and austin’s intentions. at a press conference the following day, truman attempted to reconcile the actions of austin and marshall to the official views of the white house: trusteeship is not proposed as a substitute for the partition plan but as an effort to fill the vacuum soon to be created by the termination of the mandate on may 15. the trusteeship does not prejudice the character of the final political settlement. it would establish the conditions of order which are essential to a peaceful solution.39 matters came to a head on may 12 in the oval office. two days before the termination of the british mandate, clark clifford, robert lovett, and george marshall debated the possibility of the u.s. government recognizing a newlyestablished jewish state. the meeting pitted president truman and clark clifford against the u.s. department of state. at this meeting, the united states officially withdrew its support for a trusteeship plan. truman instructed clifford to argue to the pro-partition case on his behalf. during his presentation, clifford urged truman to publicly announce that the u.s. would recognize israel even before the british mandate ended, thereby creating a sense of pro-partition continuity on behalf of the u.s. in accordance with the un resolution.40 by this time the jews had already made significant military advances in palestine; and for all practical purposes, a jewish state already existed in palestine. 37 diary entry for saturday, march 20, 1948. available at www.trumanlibrary.org 38 clifford interview with daniels, daniels papers as cited in cohen, truman and israel, 193. 39 press conference, march 25, 1948, as found in the public papers of the presidents of the united states: harry s. truman, 1948 (washington, d.c.: government printing office, 1964), pp.190-95. 40 clark clifford, “the unique and inspiring leadership of president truman,” in harry s. truman: the man from independence, ed. william f. levantrosser (new york: greenwood press, 1986) p. 386. 15 the very fact that clifford was present at the meeting irritated top-level officials in the state department. clifford was a domestic advisor to truman, rarely engaging in foreign affairs. marshall believed clifford’s presence indicated the white house desired to handle the issue on the basis of the domestic political landscape.41 in his memoirs counsel to the president, clifford describes marshall as being “red with suppressed anger as i set forth the case for the immediate recognition of the israeli state…when i finished he exploded: ‘mr. president, i thought this meeting was called to consider an important, complicated problem in foreign policy. i don’t even know why clifford is here.’”42 lovett and marshall, both opposing the partition, argued that the zionist movement was replete with pro-communist sympathizers and that a jewish state would rely exclusively on american military support. according to the state and defense departments, recognizing israel might have positive ramifications domestically (as the zionist cause had considerable support in the american public) but was bad foreign policy and could possibly jeopardize international security. it is widely documented that after the oval office meeting, the secretary of defense said that if he were an american voter and truman elected to recognize the jewish state, he would vote against the president: i remarked to the president that, speaking objectively, i could not help but think that the suggestions made by mr. clifford were wrong. i thought that to adopt these suggestions would have precisely the opposite effect from that intended by mr. clifford. the transparent dodge to win a few votes would not in fact achieve this purpose. the great dignity of the office of the president would be seriously diminished. the counsel offered by mr. clifford was based on domestic political considerations, while the problem which confronted us was international. i said bluntly that if the president were to follow mr. clifford’s advice and if in the elections i were to vote, i would vote against the president.43 without doubt the upcoming election weighed heavily on truman and clifford. truman became president upon the death of one of the most popular u.s. presidents, franklin delano roosevelt. polls showed that he was losing to the republican nominee john dewey, and republicans attempted to portray truman as opposed to the plight of the jews. some speculated that the president was so unpopular that he might not even win the democratic party nomination, 41 morton halperin, bureaucratic politics and foreign policy, p. 71. 42 clark clifford, counsel to the president: a memoir, p. 214 43 foreign relations of the united states, “memorandum of conversation, by secretary of state,” may 12, 1948. 16 let alone a second term in office.44 truman could not risk losing the zionist vote; in the 1940’s, there were hundreds of thousands of jews living in america but very few arabs. the president understood that specific decisions can gain leaders broad support from segments of the population particularly interested in foreign affairs.45 as a popularly-elected president of a democratic nation, truman felt obligated to represent the views of those for whom he stood. unlike the state department, the president thought that any palestine policy required the support of the american public.46 this also explains his abrupt change of mind in abandoning a trusteeship in palestine: “truman’s handling of the palestine problem suggests he was highly attentive to the public and press outcry which greeted his march 19, 1948 decision to abandon partition and support a un trusteeship over palestine.”47 nevertheless, the white house resented any implication that its palestine policy was politically motivated. (interestingly, dean acheson, one of the president’s opponents on palestine seems to concur on this point.)48 clark clifford believed the state department “tended to see impure motives in anyone, including the president, who did not agree with them.”49 rather than the white house stance being motivated by domestic politics, clifford believed that israel’s liberal economic and political policies would be good for the united states. furthermore, a new nation devoted to democratic principles might be a stabilizing force in the middle east.50 the state department, however, did not have to concern itself with political matters. government officials are supposed to be above electoral pressures. truman, on the other hand, had to compete with an already pro-israeli congress, electorate, and media, not to mention a republican party that many considered favorable to the zionist solution.51 on may 14, the un passed a resolution declaring a jewish state. at 6:15 est, on may 14, 1948, president truman elected to recognize the infant jewish state minutes after it had been declared. the united states was the first country to recognize israel as an independent nation. despite objections from lovett that the president wait to recognize the state, truman signed a letter or recognition, granting israel de facto recognition. not until the official permanent elections 44 donald neff, “truman overrode strong state department warning against partitioning of palestine in 1947, washington report on middle eastern affairs, september/october 1994. 45 morton halperin, bureaucratic politics and foreign policy, p. 70 46 public papers of the presidents, 1947, 207-210. 47 evensen, “the limits of presidential leadership.” also see acheson, present at the creation. 48 morton halperin, bureaucratic politics and foreign policy, p. 70. 49 evenson, ibid. 50 liventhal, “remembering general george marshall’s clash with clifford clark,” washington report, june 1999. 51 michael cohen, truman and israel, p. 90. 17 held the following january, however, did the u.s. give israel de jure recognition. when news of the recognition reached the head of the u.s. delegation at the un warren austin, he left without reporting the president’s decision to the rest of the delegates. there was fear that the rest of the u.s. delegates would follow in austin’s steps and tender their resignations as well. conclusion as i have shown, american foreign policy is not necessarily the product of reactions to foreign affairs. it is, in fact, a result of process. decisions regarding foreign affairs arise from an interchange between different organizations, competing interest groups, and perceived roles in government. given the number of competing bureaucratic pressures truman faced, his decision to recognize israel was truly one of the most difficult yet important decisions he made during his presidency. one the one hand, he felt pressured by the state department (personified by george marshall and loy henderson) not to compromise the position of the u.s. in the middle east. furthermore, marshall, henderson and other top advisors believed (based mainly on personal biases) that the zionist movement was highly communistic in nature and predicated upon socialist ideology. however, this assertion meant nothing if the soviets recognized israel and intervened on their behalf while the united states remained idle. they argued their case on the basis of “national interest” in terms of both international prestige and private domestic interests. on the other hand, the president understood that not recognizing the state would be a political liability at home. he faced jewish pressure emanating from both inside and outside the white house. from outside, truman faced a constant barrage of jewish lobbyists desiring to see a jewish state. inside, aides like clark clifford, david niles, and max lowenthal worked tirelessly in support of a jewish state. more importantly, however, truman personally believed in the zionist cause. bureaucratic politics resulted from differing considerations directing the white house and the state department on palestine. the subsequent clashes led to a rather ambiguous and at times incoherent middle east policy. truman had to consider the state department, defense department, national security council, and central intelligence agency. he had to hear requests from the jewish lobby and the washington oil lobby. he had to weigh reports from niles, clark, and 18 lowenthall against advice from marshall, forestal, acheson, and henderson. the trusteeship debacle exemplified the conflict in the truman administration. some (including truman) have gone so far as to say that there was a state department “conspiracy” against the president’s policy. he believed the state department knew that austin’s statement would be an electoral liability.52 according to michael cohen, the real problem was that the state department never informed the president when the announcement was to be made, maybe out of fear that the white house would retract its initial support for a trusteeship.53 truman, however, even admitted in his memoirs that the state department’s trusteeship proposal was not contrary to his own policy.54 even though truman was aware a partition was not conducive to ongoing hostilities in palestine, he did not want to be blamed for abandoning the resolution for which he fought so hard. (this appeared to be the case because at the time of austin’s statement to the general assembly, the security council had not officially rejected the partition plan.) perhaps the president’s immediate recognition of israel was a form of reprisal against the tactics of the state department. the bureaucratic problems arising in the u.s. recognition of israel stemmed from the state department’s belief that a presidential decision did not necessarily settle a matter of national importance. all participants in an issue like this have different stakes and different viewpoints. interests also come in to play in bureaucratic politics theory, whether they be personal, organizational or national. as career officials and political appointees continue to resist presidential decrees, modern presidents have responded by seeking to accumulate and centralize power in the white house.55 the problem is summarized in truman’s memoirs: the difficulty with many career officials in the government is that they regard themselves as the men who really make policy and run the government. they look upon the elected officials as just temporary occupants. every president in our history has been faced with this problem: how to prevent career men from circumventing presidential policy. too often career men seek to impose their own views instead of carrying out the established policy of the administration. sometimes they achieve this by 52 harry truman, years of trial and hope, pp. 164-65. also see michael cohen, truman and israel, pp. 196 & 198. 53 cohen, ibid., pp. 197-98. 54 harry truman, years of trial and hope, p. 163. 55 morton halperin, bureaucratic politics and foreign policy, p. 245. 19 influencing the key men appointed by the president to put his policies into operation. it has happened in the war and navy departments that the generals and admirals, instead of working for and under the secretaries, succeeded in having the secretaries act for and under them. and it has happened in the department of state.56 bibliography acheson, dean. present at the creation: my years in the state department. new york: norton, 1969. anderson, irvine. aramco: the united states and saudi arabia, a study of the dynamics of foreign oil policy, 1933-1950. princeton: princeton university press, 1981. benson, michael. harry s. truman and the founding of israel. westport, ct: praeger publishers, 1997. clifford, clark. counsel to the president: a memoir. new york: random house, 1991. clifford, clark. “the unique and inspiring leadership of president truman,” in harry s. truman: the man from independence, ed. william f. levantrosser. new york: greenwood press, 1986 cohen, michael. truman and israel. berkley: university of california press, 1990. donovan, robert. conflict and crisis: the presidency of harry s. truman, 19451948. new york: norton, 1977. evensen, bruce. “the limits of presidential leadership: truman at war with the zionists, the press, public opinion and his own state department over palestine.” presidential studies quarterly 23 (spring 1993): 269-87. foreign relations of the united states. 1947, vol.v.; 1948, vol.v. washingotn d.c.: government printing office, 1969. halperin, morton h. bureaucratic politics and foreign policy. washington d.c.: the brookings institution, 1974. kozak, d and j. keagle eds. bureaucratic politics and national security: theory and practice. boulder: lynne rienner publishers, 1988. lilienthal, alfred. “remembering general george marshall’s clash with clark clifford over premature recognition of israel.” washington report on middle eastern affairs, june 1999, 49-50. miller, merle. plain speaking: an oral biography of harry s. truman. new york: berkley, 1974. 56 harry truman, years of trial and hope, p.165. 20 neff, donald. “truman overrode strong state department warning against partitioning of palestine in 1947.” washington report on middle eastern affairs, september/october 1994. public papers of the presidents of the united states. harry s. truman, 1947. washington, d.c.: government printing office, 1961. snetsinger, john. truman, the jewish vote, and the creation of israel. stanford: hoover institution press, 1974. truman, harry s. memoirs. vol. i: years of decisions. garden city, new york: doubleday, 1955. truman, harry s. memoirs. vol. ii: years of trial and hope. garden city, new york: doubleday, 1955. truman, harry s. strictly personal and confidential: the letters harry truman never mailed. monte m. poen, ed. boston: little, brown, 1982. truman, margaret. harry s. truman. new york: william morrow, 1973. microsoft word wynn eng.docx 1 individual success is not liberation: a critique of #girlboss and neoliberal feminisms eva wynn english introduction first coined by nasty gal founder sophia amoruso in her 2014 book #girlboss, the term #girlboss has achieved widespread recognition and popularity. in the present day, it is associated with a particular brand of feminism. this #girlboss feminism posits that empowerment for women lies in the achievement of professional success. rather than critically examining and attempting to dismantle oppressive and exploitative systems such as capitalism, #girlboss feminism focuses on helping women find ways to be successful within those systems. it is similar to neoliberal feminism, which is based on neoliberal ideas of individualism and the self as capital, and posits that gender equality will be achieved by women assimilating into masculinity in order to reach the top of the proverbial professional ladder. both ideologies claim that success is an individual pursuit, and the only thing standing in a person’s way is themselves. they also each espouse an ideal woman who is relentless in pursuit of the life she desires, and is willing to work very hard to achieve it. the main difference between the two ideologies is that while #girlboss feminism ignores the reproductive and domestic sphere, neoliberal feminism treats reproduction, child rearing, and housekeeping as work a woman can do to appreciate her individual value and achieve success. both ideologies support individual women in their individual efforts to achieve success, but neither is truly liberatory. #girlboss and neoliberal feminism assume that all women have 2 the same amount of resources and privilege, ignoring intersectionality and the multiple marginalizations that may make it harder for some women to achieve professional success than others. rather than questioning the status quo and critically examining oppressive and exploitative societal systems, #girlboss and neoliberal feminism accept capitalism, and focus efforts on helping women become the exploiter rather than the exploited. they glorify and romanticize working, turning everything–even leisure and family–into work that can be used to advance the self. in order to achieve true liberation, we must turn away from #girlboss and neoliberal feminism, and toward a feminism that critically examines and attempts to dismantle oppressive and exploitative systems of power. in this essay, i will offer a detailed critique of both #girlboss and neoliberal feminism, arguing that they are not truly liberatory based on their glorification of work, refusal to critically examine capitalism, ignorance of intersectionality, individualism and devaluation of humanity, and devaluation of femininity. i will then discuss several alternatives to #girlboss and neoliberal feminism that are more truly liberatory. although achieving individual success in a fulfilling career may feel like liberation under #girlboss and neoliberal feminism, one is not truly free until the systems creating and perpetuating oppression have been dismantled. #girlboss and neoliberal feminism can never be truly liberatory, because they accept without question the systems that oppress women and other marginalized groups and argue that an assimilation into masculinity is the best way to achieve equality. a truly liberatory feminism must acknowledge intersectionality and multiple marginalizations, value compassion and care, and work toward the dismantling of oppressive societal systems, especially capitalism. 3 glorification of work one of the prominent recurring themes in #girlboss is the glorification and romanticization of work, even at the detriment of other aspects of one’s life. amoruso claims that her book will inspire readers to love working, telling them that by the time they’re finished reading, they’ll “be practically screaming, ‘where is some work!?! i want some work and i want to do it now!’” (11). she tells readers, “if you’re a #girlboss, you should want to work harder than everybody else” (amoruso, 165). additionally, a key component of amoruso’s illustration of the #girlboss is that “she gets what she wants because she works for it” (11). the idea that one should love working, and must be willing to work very hard to get what one wants underlies both #girlboss and neoliberal feminist ideologies, and implies that equality and respect must be earned through work, rather than being inherently deserved. amoruso often romanticizes working and making work the central focus of one’s life. she writes that in the early days of nasty gal she was “addicted to [her] business, and to watching it grow everyday” (amoruso, 28). she claims that her lifestyle during this time was “devoid of any necessity to shower, get dressed, or look good” (amoruso, 28). amoruso describes spending all of her time working, to the point that she neglected basic self care tasks. working so much dehumanizes her; she becomes “a machine” (amoruso, 33). amoruso also refers to herself as a “workaholic” (28). the use of this phrase implies that amoruso is somewhat aware that her devotion to her business reached an unhealthy level, but at no point does she tell her readers that these behaviors are not ones that they should emulate. instead, she links them to her success and advises her readers that in order to succeed, work must become the most important thing in their lives. amoruso goes on to say that during the early days of nasty gal, “i completely dropped out of everything for two years. from the time i woke up until the 4 time i went to sleep, ebay was my entire world” (36). work took over every aspect of her life, leaving room for nothing else. instead of being regretful of this and acknowledging the other parts of life that she missed out on, amoruso is proud of this fact and presents it as an integral part of her success. in addition to making work the center of her own life, amoruso believes that work should also be the center of the lives of her employees, even if they are not being fairly compensated or if doing so would negatively impact their health. she describes her exploitation of her employees’ labor multiple times, framing it as dedication and passion on the part of her employees. the models she used when nasty gal was starting out as an ebay storefront were paid “with a post-shoot trip to burger road” (amoruso, 29). one model “was a mere sixteen when she began modeling for [amoruso]...eventually graduating from high school while continuing to be paid in hamburgers and $20 bills” (amoruso, 42). at no point does amoruso admit that these wages were too low. amoruso also relays an anecdote in which one of her employees became ill to the point of vomiting in her car during her commute, yet still came to work that day and completed all of her assigned tasks. amoruso is clearly impressed by this behavior, but does not seem to find it unnecessary or unhealthy. she tells her readers that this employee is “the kind of #girlboss i want next to me in the trenches” (amoruso, 41). this statement implies that she believes that one aspect of being a satisfactory employee is a willingness to prioritize work over one’s physical health. amoruso also glorifies working through holidays. she tells the story of her warehouse manager quitting shortly before black friday, and herself and her other employees picking up the slack, beginning on the evening of thanksgiving and finishing at 4:00 a.m. on black friday. she writes, “at 2:00 a.m., as i was counting and recounting bustiers…i was just thankful to have 5 employees who were willing, even enthusiastic, to step up and work hard” (amoruso, 161). amoruso echoes common talking points about what it means to be a good employee. one must not only do their own job well during the workday, but also the jobs of others after hours. the word enthusiastic is especially important here. in order to be a #girlboss, it is necessary not only to allow your labor to be exploited, but also to be excited about this exploitation. like #girlboss feminism, neoliberal feminism, according to catherine rottenberg, “encourages women to labour ceaselessly on themselves in order to produce, maintain and appreciate themselves as human capital” (1079). in both versions of feminism, women should be working in order to maximize their individual value. although amoruso does not use the technical terms that rottenberg does, the advice she gives her readers is clearly aimed at helping them appreciate their value as capital. in neoliberal and #girlboss feminism, every facet of life is an opportunity to work toward success and increase individual value. under neoliberal feminism, even family life and childrearing can be viewed as work and approached with the goal of advancing the self. rottenberg explains that neoliberalism lacks a way to recognize and value reproduction and care work, and as a result, neoliberal feminism deals with this by subsuming these things into general work. neoliberal feminism views domestic labor in the same way it views labor outside the home: as something that can be leveraged for advancement if done correctly. although #girlboss feminism largely ignores reproduction, child rearing, and family life, amoruso does mention it once. in the introduction to the second edition of #girlboss, amoruso describes her business as a child she has birthed and raised. she writes, “they say that when you have a kid, it feels like your heart is outside of your body…that’s how i feel about nasty gal” (amoruso, x). this quote echoes rottenberg’s claim that neoliberal feminism conflates work and domestic life. amoruso merges the spheres of 6 domesticity and work, making work primary in multiple aspects of her life. referring to her business as her child also implies an intense level of devotion, effort, and commitment. throughout the text, amoruso encourages her readers to cultivate a similar relationship to their work, arguing that this is the best path toward being successful and fulfilled. refusal to critically examine capitalism a fundamental flaw in both #girlboss and neoliberal feminism is that they accept without question the unjust systems and institutions of society, especially capitalism. #girlboss and neoliberal feminism are based on the idea that capitalism is a true meritocracy, in which anyone can succeed if they work hard enough (roivainen). ida roivainen describes neoliberal feminism’s version of empowerment as “the mastery of confidence that leads to capitalist success” (4). in this context, empowerment is not liberation, but rather the ability to succeed within an exploitative system. under neoliberal and #girlboss feminism, women become empowered when they are able to become the exploiter rather than the exploited. amoruso’s vision of the #girlboss perpetuates the capitalist need for constant growth and improvement. amoruso writes that “as a #girlboss is ambitious by nature, i’m going to assume that once you get a job, you want to do it well and eventually move up” (amoruso, 160). the #girlboss must always be focused on the future. there is no space for enjoying the present moment; one must always be thinking about how to top it. amoruso does acknowledge that the current american economic system is not perfect, but she largely seems to believe that capitalism in its current form is a net positive. she explains that capitalism “is a kind of alchemy. you combine hard work, creativity, and self-determination, and things start to happen. and once you start to understand that alchemy, or even just recognize it, you can begin to see the world in 7 a different way” (16). she conceives of capitalism as a tool that one can use to obtain a desired outcome, rather than an oppressive system in which it is difficult for those who do not come from privileged backgrounds to succeed. this perspective fails to acknowledge the ways in which capitalism and the oppression of women are related. even if one attains a high level of professional success, the ability to work outside the home and participate in capitalism is not liberation. angela davis argues that even when women are granted access to social production and work outside the home, their oppression is reinforced rather than lessened, even as this access can offer advantages. she writes, “while work outside the home has furnished women with important advantages, most have had to accept its reaffirming and amplifying effect on their oppression” (daivs, 170). no matter how successful professional women become, they will not be able to escape oppression while treating capitalism as a legitimate system and attempting to succeed within it. for davis, “full emancipation of women must ultimately also transcend the goal of her full and equal participation in a new and reorganized system of production” (149). women’s liberation goes beyond attaining an equal opportunity to labor under capitalism, which is the final goal of #girlboss and neoliberal feminism. davis writes, “the concrete promise of female liberation is bound up inextricably with the overturning of the social forces fundamentally nourished by her oppression” (160). women will be oppressed as long as capitalism exists. therefore, #girlboss and neoliberal feminism are inherently ineffective. they cannot liberate women, because they accept and even endorse one of the major social systems responsible for the oppression of women. women cannot be liberated from oppression unless society is also liberated from capitalism. 8 ignorance of intersectionality in addition to uncritically accepting capitalism, #girlboss and neoliberal feminism tend to ignore intersectionality. these ideologies are based on white, cisgender, heterosexual, middle or upper-middle class women, and overlook other marginalizations that may stand in the way of women achieving professional success. rottenberg discusses the ways in which neoliberal feminism is divorced from “key liberal political goals such as equality, justice, and emancipation” (1075). she adds that neoliberal feminism “effectively defangs feminism of its oppositional force by individualizing and responsibilizing women” (rottenberg, 1080). in these ideologies, inequality is viewed as an individual issue, rather than a systemic one. this type of feminism necessarily disregards the socioeconomic and cultural systems and institutions that act on the individual and affect their life chances. throughout #girlboss, amoruso makes comments that show a lack of understanding of her own positionality and privilege. she tells her readers, “if i can pull any of this off, so can you,” (amoruso, xiii), but does not acknowledge any of the unearned advantages that might have made it possible for her to do so. early on in the book, amoruso implores her readers, “don’t ever let the man get to you” (6). presumably meant to be a pithy feminist imperative, this statement obscures the fact that amoruso herself is the proverbial man, and she is teaching her readers how to become the man, as well. girlboss, the digital platform amoruso created, is described as being “designed for women and girls pursuing the lives they want to lead” (amoruso). there is a glaring omission of the systems and institutions that act on each individual, and even the interpersonal relationships that affect the trajectory of one’s life. instead, readers are told that they have the individual power to achieve the success they desire. 9 both neoliberal and #girlboss feminism champion the idea of individual success. they operate under the assumption that each individual woman is in complete control of her own success, and if she works hard enough and wants it badly enough, she will achieve her goals. the importance of being self-made comes up often in #girlboss rhetoric (roivainen). to be a #girlboss, one must work harder than everyone else, want it more than everyone else, and never ask for help. this emphasis on being self-made ignores the systems and institutions that act upon the individual, and assumes that everyone is on an even playing field. the ideologies of #girlboss and neoliberal feminism promote the idea that if someone is unable to achieve success it is a personal failing, rather than the result of an exclusionary system. this perspective is necessarily un-intersectional, as it willfully ignores the multiple marginalizations and disadvantages nonwhite, noncisgender, nonheterosexual, non-wealthy women face. according to rottenberg, multiple “well-known neoliberal feminist manifestos” (1079), such as ivanka trump’s women who work and sheryl sandberg’s lean in, “are unabashedly exclusionary” (1079), as they only address women who are like them: white, cisgender, heterosexual, and wealthy. rottenberg explains that since it is women of color, poor women, and immigrant women who often perform the domestic labor that allows professional women to succeed, “neoliberal feminism helps to (re)produce and legitimize the exploitation of these ‘other’ female subjects” (1079). the message of #girlboss feminism and neoliberal feminism is that women can defeat the patriarchy and gain equality simply by working hard and maximizing their value. there is no acknowledgement or analysis of the patriarchy as systemic, and no effort to dismantle the systems that uphold it. by encouraging women to use the domestic labor of less privileged women in the pursuit of individual success, neoliberal and #girlboss feminism perpetuate the oppression of women with multiple marginalized identities. 10 like #girlboss, many books geared toward helping women succeed in the workplace claim that gender inequality in the professional sphere exists because women are inherently deficient of the qualities that make men successful. the blame and the solution for gender inequality is laid solely on the shoulders of women, with little analysis or even acknowledgement of the systems and institutions that create and perpetuate this inequality. as patti giuffre and gretchen r. webber explain, “individual women are expected to transcend structured gender inequality by making better choices instead of pressing for institutional changes” (137). they go on to state that this subgenre of self-help books “discourages collective action and solidarity among women” (giuffre and webber, 137). neoliberal and #girlboss feminism have a vested interest in upholding capitalism, and therefore they guide women away from the real feminist work of collective, bottom-up liberation in favor of a focus on individual success. individualism and devaluation of humanity #girlboss and neoliberal feminism focus on the individual on an interpersonal level as well as a societal one. according to rottenberg, “the ideal female subject is not only conceived of (and incited to conceive herself) as human capital but the self is produced as well as produces itself as ‘an individual firm’ or business enterprise, where all activities and practices are understood as investments that aim to appreciate the value of the self-as-firm” (1074). rottenberg references ivanka trump’s women who work, which she claims urges women to develop interpersonal relationships “not as ends in and of themselves but instead as part of the self-as-business’s capital-enhancing process” (1078). self-care and hobbies, activities that are generally intended to facilitate leisure and relaxation, are also transformed into work and an opportunity to increase individual value (rottenberg). individual women become businesses, and 11 everything they do, including interacting with other people, becomes an effort to increase profit and raise the bottom line. amoruso advocates for ignoring the humanity of employees and associates in favor of the bottom line. her advice for getting a raise is to “skip the personal sob stories. the only factor that affects your chance of getting a raise is whether or not you’ve earned it. it doesn’t matter if your car broke down or that your landlord’s raising your rent. those facts are not your boss’s problem. all she needs to know is that you’re kicking ass, like a #girlboss should” (amoruso, 111). the statement that the only factor that determines whether an employee receives a raise is the quality of their work ignores the possibility of bias on the part of the boss and implies that one should not bring their humanity and life experiences to work with them. this is not necessarily an inaccurate picture of how the world works, but i argue that instead of accepting it, as amoruso does, one should question why employers do not value the humanity of their employees, and why one’s value as a person is often reduced down to the profit they can generate. amoruso does emphasize several times that part of being a #girlboss is being kind and polite to those one interacts with, but the rationale behind this advice is always that it will aid personal advancement. she states that one should treat their peers and subordinates well, because their superiors will take note of this and are more inclined to hold employees who are pleasant to be around in a positive regard (amoruso). similar to rottenberg’s explanation that neoliberal feminism sees interpersonal relationships not as holding inherent value but rather as opportunities for advancement, amoruso tells her readers that they should be kind, not because others inherently deserve to be treated with kindness and respect, but because it may help them achieve their personal goals. 12 kate grosser and lauren mccarthy argue that in addition to reducing the self to a business venture and framing interpersonal interactions as actions taken to advance this venture, neoliberal and #girlboss feminism prioritize corporate growth and individual advancement over collective liberation. they explain that efforts to achieve women’s equality are often supported by the claim that the empowerment of women workers will benefit corporations (grosser and mccarthy). the priority is the bottom line, rather than moving toward an equitable and just society. one notable example they provide is feminists urging governments to take action against domestic violence by emphasizing its negative impact on productivity and social welfare costs (grosser and mccarthy). although this example falls outside of the professional sphere, it clearly shows the ways in which neoliberal feminism prioritizes capitalist growth and profit over the safety and security of women. one could argue that this is simply a strategy used by feminists who are prioritizing the safety and security of women to get others to take action on this issue. but even if this is the case, the problem remains that people, organizations, and corporations in power only begin to care about issues negatively impacting marginalized groups when it begins to affect their bottom line. the humanity of others is less important than profit. devaluation of femininity as previously mentioned, much of #girlboss and neoliberal feminist rhetoric claims that women face gender discrimination and inequality in the workplace because they do not possess the masculine qualities necessary to achieve professional success. both #girlboss and neoliberal feminism encourage women to be ideal workers. the ideal worker is supposedly gender neutral, but its traits are distinctly masculine, and it is often imagined as a man (giuffre and webber). many of the books that giuffre and webber include in their study claim that 13 women are at a disadvantage at work because they engage in “self-sabotage” (140) by not meeting the standards of the ideal worker and adopting the appropriate masculine traits. this language places women at fault for their experiences of discrimination and inequality in the workplace and also implies that femininity is the reason women have a more difficult time achieving success. many #girlboss and neoliberal feminist arguments hinge on the idea that women should be treated equally in the workplace because they are capable of adopting the traits and mannerisms of male workers. giuffre and webber claim that the books included in their study “advise women to be less like a ‘natural’ woman in order to be successful” (142). they explain that neoliberal feminism tells women “to be more like a man. be tough, do not get your feelings hurt, dominate meetings, do not tell people about your weaknesses, and stop asking questions, instead, start giving answers” (giuffre and webber, 145). they conclude that although some authors also state that women have unique strengths that can be leveraged in the workplace, this advice “suggests that women are inferior” (giuffre and webber, 142). in this context, empowerment becomes “a disguised form of sexism” (giuffre and webber, 142). davis explains that many arguments for women’s liberation and equality are based on the fact that they can be like men, rather than the fact that women are valuable in and of themselves. she writes, in efforts to debunk the myth of the woman as an exclusively emotional being, an equally abstract position has been too often assumed. the abstract negation of ‘femininity’ is embraced; attempts are made to demonstrate that women can be as non-emotional, reality-affirming and dominating as men are alleged to be. the model, however, is usually a concealed ‘masculine’ one (davis, 166). 14 women assimilating into masculinity and gaining access to production in a capitalist economy is not equality. the idea that women deserve equality because they are capable of assuming the traits of the ideal (male) worker is another example of #girlboss and neoliberal feminism placing the onus on individual women to achieve success and equal treatment for themselves. the books in giuffre and webber’s study claim that “women should change their behaviors to better align with how men behave at work because men control the ‘rules’ of the game” (147). this perspective assumes that the game and its rules are legitimate, and that women are the problem because they are not playing it correctly. in doing so, it reinforces the idea that women are inferior to men, and that masculine traits and behaviors are an aspirational standard that women must emulate in order to achieve equality. according to giuffre and webber, “the discourse in this advice bolsters men’s power, blames women, and leaves structural inequality unchallenged” (152). #girlboss and neoliberal feminism blame femininity for the oppression of women and accept without question the societal systems and institutions that actually cause it. while traditionally feminine personality traits are devalued and discouraged by #girlboss and neoliberal feminism, physical feminity is encouraged and even required. writing about choosing an outfit everyday, amoruso tells readers, “putting in effort is exactly what you should be doing. you should get dressed for your life. i don’t care if the only place you have to go is the post office: get dressed, #girlboss, and let your freak flag fly” (amoruso, 225). although she later talks about not appeasing the male gaze, amoruso’s statement here perpetuates the idea that women must always put effort into their appearance in order to be taken seriously. even if one’s actual appearance is not hyper-feminine, the meticulous attention that must be paid to it is largely associated with femininity. 15 in order to be taken seriously, women must display masculine personality traits while maintaining an attention to their appearance that is generally not required of men. women need to behave “more like men (but not too masculine) to demonstrate they are valuable and worthy employees” (giuffre and webber, 144). the #girlboss is “encouraged to show herself as an independent and ambitious ‘working girl’--even a feminist–who, at the same time, conforms to traditionally feminine conduct such as beauty routines, fitness goals, and cleaning” (roivainen, 17). according to #girlboss and neoliberal feminism, women must act more like men in order to be accepted and advance in the workplace, but they must also conform to societal standards of feminine beauty. roivainen’s explicit mention of cleaning as “traditionally feminine conduct” is also worth noting. women must learn to act like men, but they also cannot completely forsake traditional gender roles and norms. in addition to being successful professionally, they must perform domestic labor, as well, something their male counterparts are generally not expected to do. #girlboss and neoliberal feminism seem to accept that women are required to do more labor in order to succeed, rather than questioning a system that puts certain groups at a disadvantage based on an arbitrary categorization. even when feminine personality traits are accepted in the workplace, it is generally not with the intention of making a space more equitable. giuffre and webber explain that the few authors they studied who believed that feminine traits should be embraced in professional settings “did not say that workplaces should include women in order to be egalitarian or engage in social justice; rather, they argued that more ‘natural’ feminine attributes in workers will help the bottom line” (150). traditionally feminine personality traits are only acceptable when they provide an opportunity to increase value and profit. 16 alternatives to #girlboss and neoliberal feminism once we have elucidated the fundamental flaws in #girlboss and neoliberal feminisms, and established that they are not an effective path toward liberation, we must turn our attentions toward other possibilities. in this section i will discuss three different but complementary visions of feminism that are focused on embracing compassion and care and critically examining capitalism and other oppressive systems. a truly liberatory feminism must acknowledge and prioritize the inherent humanity and value of all people. donna king offers a vision of feminism that prioritizes compassion and care, and questions “the core american imperative that says we must strive to be the best” (53). she argues that instead of focusing on winning the race to the top, feminism should create space for women to slow down and rest, which she refers to as “letting go” (king, 53). she is concerned by the societal standards that encourage constant productivity and growth, even at the cost of personal and communal well being (king). for king, capitalism is a major force behind these standards, and her brand of feminism requires critically engaging with capitalism and questioning its necessity, rather than uncritically accepting the current system as the way things are. king also argues that feminism should center compassion and care. she writes, “activism can take many forms, and humanizing the global political economy and revitalizing a feminist commitment to a society based not on striving and ‘success’ but on compassion and care may be just what is called for at this historical moment” (king, 57). although they may not be useful in rising to the top of exploitative systems, embracing the compassion and care king describes and centering them in activist efforts can result in a feminism that recognizes and prioritizes the inherent value of all people and works toward true collective liberation. 17 truly liberatory feminism should encourage women to achieve success and obtain leadership positions not by embodying the characteristics of the ideal (male) worker, but by prioritizing and enacting the compassion and care that king describes. tina brown explains that women have unique ways of knowing that have historically been dismissed by those in power, and argues that women in leadership positions should make use of these ways of knowing and the knowledge borne of them, and in doing so lead with compassion and care, rather than force. she goes on to explain that “salvation doesn’t lie in pursuing traditional male paths of ejaculatory self-elevation. in drawing on women’s wisdom without apology and pushing that wisdom forward into positions of power, we can soothe our world and, maybe, even save it” (brown). although brown does not explicitly question or critique neoliberalism, and her examples are of women leaders in the corporate and political world, the reasoning behind her argument that women should embrace and prioritize compassion and care is not that doing so will help corporations profit or the country to be more powerful, but rather that it will make the world a better and safer place to live. the primary goal of a truly liberatory feminism must be liberation for all women, and it must acknowledge and prioritize intersectionality. davis emphasizes the importance of intersectionality in efforts to liberate women from oppression. she states that the efforts of women to gain access to the workforce should be accompanied by efforts to raise awareness of the exploitative nature of a capitalist economic system. she writes, “an effective women’s liberation movement must be cognizant of the primacy of the larger social revolution: the capitalist mode of production must be overturned, like the political and legal structures that sustain it” (davis, 173-4). dismantling capitalism will not automatically eradicate sexism, misogyny, and other social inequalities and systems of oppression, but as long as capitalism 18 exists and the primary goal of mainstream feminism is finding a way to succeed as an individual within it, complete collective liberation will never be possible. we must imagine more, not only for ourselves, but for others. what king, brown, and davis’ visions of feminism have in common is the imperative to critically examine the way things are and imagine new ways of being. they question societal conceptions of success and deprioritize corporate and economic advancement. unlike #girlboss and neoliberal feminism, which focus on climbing the ladder and achieving individual success, these authors question the ladder and the society that built it. the goal of their feminism is not to overcome barriers, but to remove them. by taking a critical view of the status quo and prioritizing compassion and care, both for the self and others, king, brown, and davis’ feminisms benefit not just individual women, but all people. conclusion as long as #girlboss and neoliberal feminism is dominant, women and other marginalized groups will be unable to achieve true equity and justice. in order to make meaningful progress toward liberation, we must adopt a feminism such as the ones that king, brown, and davis describe, where capitalism and other oppressive systems are critically examined, and where women are not pressured to assimilate into masculinity and embody the ideal (male) worker, but rather are celebrated and supported as they are. a truly liberatory feminism must place empathy and care at the center of analysis and action, and must be motivated by a collective desire to free all people from the social and economic systems that hold them back, rather than an individual desire to obtain a position of greater power within these systems. instead of individual advancement, feminism must prioritize collective liberation. 19 works cited amoruso, sophia. #girlboss. penguin business, 2014. brown, tina. “what happens when women stop leading like men.” the new york times. 30 march, 2019. davis, angela. “women and capitalism: dialectics of oppression and liberation,” in the black feminist reader, edited by joy james and t. denean sharpley-whiting, blackwell, 2000, pp. 146-182. giuffre, patti and gretchen r. webber. “‘be a gutsy girl!’: essentialism in success-atwork books for women.” gender issues, vol. 38, 2021, pp. 134-155. grosser, kate and lauren mccarthy. “imagining new feminist futures: how feminist social movements contest the neoliberalization of feminism in an increasingly corporatedominated world.” gender work organ, vol. 26, 2019, pp. 1100-1116. king, donna. “toward a feminist theory of letting go.” frontiers: a journal of women studies, vol. 33, no. 3, 2012, pp. 53-70. roivainen, ida. “‘life sucks, coffee helps’: articulating the authentic entrepreneur of youtube’s girlboss channels.” nordicom review, vol. 44, no.1, 2023, pp. 1–22. rottenberg, catherine. “women who work: the limits of the neoliberal feminist paradigm.” gender work organ, vol. 26, 2019, pp. 1073-1082. microsoft word karabin.doc 1 a wittgensteinian vision of knowledge: moving away from cartesian certainty geoffrey karabin department of philosophy villanova university but how does he know where and how he is to look up the word “red” and what he is to do with the word “five?” – well, i assume that he acts as i have described. explanations come to an end somewhere. (ludwig wittgenstein philosophical investigations §1) 1. introduction: a paradigm of knowing what does it mean to know? rené descartes’s meditations offers an enduring and profoundly influential answer to this question. in this work, he provides a vision of knowledge which entails that clarity, distinctness, and certainty are the necessary attributes which constitute knowing. generally science has adopted these criteria in its pursuit of fact and truth; one could equally say it is how the distinctions between opinion, faith, and knowledge are commonly understood. the profundity and influence of descartes’s vision should not, however, mask the avalanche of negative responses developed in relation to it.1 1 these responses are extraordinarily varied and i will only mention a few here. camus maintains that in its description of the world science ultimately comes to a limit in which the “quest for certainty…‘founders in metaphor’” (issac 238). he uses the example of an atom, and argues that at some point science breaks down in its attempt to describe what it is really like; instead, it is forced to describe it as like a sphere. jerry gill, in an article entitled “post-critical philosophy of religion,” maintains that at a “fundamental level it can be argued that the primary linguistic mode for talk about god is the metaphoric” (84). ergo, the “fundamental” way in which one knows something regarding god is via the imprecise language of metaphor. gill also argues that knowing within the fields of etymology, anthropology, and child development is never able to rely on absolute certainty and clarity (80). francoise baylis maintains that there is a significant difference between “knowing that something is the case and knowing how to do things” (25). baylis writes from the perspective of a health care ethicist and her point is that knowing how to care for a patient is never reducible to the standards of absolute precision and clarity. equally, we will see that wittgenstein extends this priority of nuance over precision to ethics as a whole. feminism has severely criticized this cartesian model as a male fantasy. this fantasy, because absolute clarity cannot be achieved in our lived bodily experience, thus “understand[s] ‘the body’ as so much inert matter, signifying nothing or, more specifically, signifying a profane void, the fallen state: deception, sin, the premonitional metaphorics of hell and the eternal feminine” (butler 164). critical theory is also wary of the value of a knowing which necessitates its expulsion from embodied existence. seyla benhabib contends, through the critical tradition begun with hegel and marx, “that the cartesian ego is not a self-transparent entity and that the epistemic self cannot reach full autonomy as long as the historical origin and social constitution of the ‘clear and distinct’ ideas it 2 this reflection seeks out one of these responses through the enigmatic but brilliant work of the early 20th century philosopher ludwig wittgenstein. what will be argued is that wittgenstein’s philosophical investigations points philosophy toward a different model and highlights the inadequacy of restricting knowing to the austerity of what he calls the “crystalline purity” of logic. by reconsidering the cartesian need for exactness we will find wittgenstein offering a vision of knowledge which, i will argue, could be related to a notion of wisdom. it will consequently be seen that the need for knowledge is not always a need for exactness and that, in contrast, wisdom is the type of knowledge able to navigate the vagaries, or “tonality” (soulez 128) of life without recourse to certainty and precision. we can begin by asking: what is wittgenstein attempting to show us in the opening quote? here, as almost everywhere, his writing is suggestive, enigmatic, and visionary, and our attempt to work through it will center on a potential elucidation of what it means to say: “explanations come to an end somewhere.” the question we are immediately faced with then arises: where do “explanations come to an end?” – in apodictic rationality, intelligibility subject to doubt, probability, incomprehensibility, or something else?2 as we indicated, descartes’s answer frames the model of knowing upon the standard of indubitable certainty, while wittgenstein’s project attempts to think beyond such restrictions. first, therefore, let us say something more with regard to the paradigm of knowledge wittgenstein attempts to free philosophy from. descartes likens his methodology to “that normally employed by geometers” (meditations 9) and this entails his discovery: “i now seem to be able to lay it down as a general rule that whatever i perceive very clearly and distinctly is true” (meditations 24). clarity and distinction thus become the criteria which knowledge has to meet if it is to count as knowledge. here, descartes’s methodological affinity with geometry is not incidental. this is because the clarity and distinction descartes envisions is akin to mathematical precision, which requires “set[ting] out all the premises on which a desired proposition depends, before drawing any conclusions about it” (meditations 9). gill describes this methodology as requiring any knowledge claim to be “‘reversible,’ i.e. every step analyzed and precisely stated” (post 77). thus, when we say knowledge must meet the criteria of clarity and distinctness, we are thinking in terms of an analytic contemplates remain a mystery” (207). through these examples, there arises the notion that a multiplicity of scientific fields and intellectual orientations are united in finding something suspect in the attempt to define knowledge fundamentally and/or exclusively within the bounds of clarity and precision. 2 in “tacit knowing and religious belief,” jerry gill highlights this wittgenstein quote, “at the end of reasons comes persuasions” (79). this thought plays upon the intuition that our intellectual and cognitive acceptance of some proposition or argument may, in the end, rest on persuasion perhaps even violence – and not, as descartes would have it, on sound, precise, and clear reasoning. 3 meticulousness that, having analyzed each moment of its reasoning, is secure in the knowledge it arrives at.3 yet the present portrait of knowledge is not strong enough. for not only must knowledge be “very clear and distinct,” but it must also entail the complete elimination of doubt. descartes writes, “reason now leads me to think that i should hold back my assent from opinions which are not completely certain and indubitable just as carefully as i do from those which are patently false” (meditations 12). knowledge, if it is worthy to bear the name, will attain a state of certainty so secure that it is, as regards its truth, theoretically impossible to doubt. descartes’s image of the evil genius is both profound and haunting in this regard. 4 that is, when descartes supposes “that not god, who is supremely good and the source of truth, but rather some malicious demon of the utmost power and cunning has employed all his energies in order to deceive me” (meditations 15), he sets an extremely powerful antagonist against the possibility of knowing. henceforth, knowing must overcome this antagonist; it must meet a standard that is capable of overcoming a near absolute power of deception. i say the image of the evil genius is haunting. this is so because since descartes, it is philosophically tempting to assume that knowledge which does not eliminate the potential for doubt, based on an encounter with a near infinite power of deception, is not truly knowledge. rudolf haller supports this perpetually present suspicion of deception: “at least since descartes the epistemological turn derived its impetus from the skeptical challenge to provide a justification for all knowledge claims” (335). gill equally lends credence to the intuition: “doubt remains the touchstone of critical philosophy” (post 77). the premise in both quotes is that doubt and skepticism become, in modern philosophy, inextricable companions to knowledge. or, to say the same, one can not really speak of 3 we are given a vision of mathematical precision and while certain forms of knowing are suitable to such a context, others are not. we witnessed this in the first footnote and wittgenstein’s critique stems, at least in part, from the impossibility of reducing these other forms of knowing to the exactitude descartes demands. in the investigations, wittgenstein’s own examples of such intractably imprecise knowledge include the essentially blurred edges surrounding ethical concepts (§ 77); these different forms of knowing – “how many feet high [is] mont blanc – how the word ‘game’ is used – how a clarinet sounds” (§78); the difficulty of definitively setting down requirements for what counts as knowledge (§145). gill also uncovers this wittgenstein thought, “i may recognize a genuine loving look, distinguish it from a pretended one … but i may be quite incapable of describing this difference” (tacit 76). the point is that if knowing must be formatted along the lines of exact and universal precision, then other forms need be excluded, e.g., the impossibility of giving a clear and distinct account of “how a clarinet sounds.” the key, for wittgenstein, seems to be that our knowledge of certain realities escapes definitive articulation; that while we know what a clarinet sounds likes, our knowledge is not reducible to something like a mathematically precise awareness of its tone ranges. rather, we may know it as the sound of tranquility, i.e., a soft and soothing resonance. 4 this paper will utilize a number of images in its argumentation. this is due to the fact that wittgenstein himself is fond of imagistic writing, as well as the nature of the present investigation. this essay seeks to draw out the inadequacies of knowing defined exclusively in terms of “crystalline purity.” therefore, images, which generally are incapable of being set in terms of absolute precision and delineation, are helpful in pointing both toward the inadequacy of pristine clarity, and toward a form of knowing other than pure perspicuity. 4 knowledge without having shown how that knowledge has been safeguarded from doubt. the implications are profoundly captured in this cartesian admonition: “it is prudent never to trust completely those who have deceived us even once” (meditations 12). philosophically, a primordial relation to reality is portrayed as resting on suspicion, rather than something like trust, or faith, or acceptance. the cartesian definition of knowledge eliminates the possibility of such trust, faith, or acceptance and instead demands the assumption of deception – “never trust completely.” correspondingly, the task and success of philosophic endeavor rest upon an articulation of a form of knowledge which is absolutely immune to doubt.5 2. the temptation of the ideal the cartesian ideal of absolute clarity is tempting, and in the investigations wittgenstein considers his philosophic methodology to be a therapeutic response to it.6 before discussing his therapy, it will, therefore, be helpful to understand wittgenstein’s notion of the ideal’s seduction. he writes, “a philosophical problem has the form: ‘i don’t know my way about’” (investigations §123). i start with this because the seduction of absolute certainty can draw its power from the image of its opposite. that is, if we lack certainty we might be philosophically tempted to think ourselves lost, not knowing our way about.7 if, consequently, we are able to rediscover a path to certainty, then we have saved knowledge; humanity can again rest in the security that it can know. wittgenstein beautifully envisions the matter thus: it may easily look as if every doubt merely revealed an existing gap in the foundations; so that secure understanding is only possible if we 5 in light of this, it should not be surprising that descartes’s philosophy begins “from a solipsistic self, whose existence is assured to him because he cannot doubt it … philosophy then seeks to establish what such a self can know, establish it in the face of difficulties which threaten it with skepticism” (sorell 55). this solipsistic point of isolation thus provides an ideal basis on which to found a new and secure knowledge; for no longer does knowledge have to begin outside a realm of certainty. yet this equally entails a fundamental loss of trust in that which is outside the self. ergo, a lingering suspicion now essentially inhabits our dealings with other people, with the world, and with the divine. 6 it is important to remember that wittgenstein is not simply attempting to make a logical argument against the precedence of clarity and precision in knowing. rather, his effort is closely linked with a philosophic standpoint that “is concerned with healing the human mind” (sen 609). that is, he is attempting a reorientation of perspective that is no longer driven by the need and obsession for clarity. in this sense, his work is therapeutic because it is meant to heal the mind, rather than prove or argue a point to the mind. 7 descartes encapsulates this when, after embarking upon his project of radical doubt, he realizes that nothing seems applicable to the demand for utter certainty. he writes, “it feels as if i have fallen unexpectedly into a deep whirlpool which tumbles me around so that i can neither stand on the bottom nor swim up to the top” (meditations 16). this cartesian image orients us to a kind of chaos which would ensue should knowledge fail to gain an absolute point of certainty. haller echoes this thought: “some foundationalists also defend the thesis that without the ultimate and solid base of the immediately evident, we would not find another foundation upon which to build a system of reliable knowledge” (337). the despair of these “foundationalists” arises from the intuition that if knowledge fails to find something absolutely certain, then the whole epistemological project is doomed: one can never know if one can never be sure that one knows. 5 first doubt everything that can be doubted, and then remove all these doubts (investigations §87). the image of knowledge as impenetrable is set as the ideal, which is correspondingly compromised and may begin to disintegrate if doubt is allowed to crack its solidity. eo ipso, we are seduced by philosophy’s potential to, in the words of descartes, “start again right from the foundations” (meditations 12). we rebuild and are seduced by the potential that what we rebuild will forever secure a knowing transparent to itself and certain of its conclusions. with good reason we might critique the preceding on the grounds that it presents an artificial either/or, i.e., either absolute clarity or the despair of groundlessness and confusion. yet this drive toward certainty also arises from the fact that knowledge, when it abides within the parameters of clarity and distinction, is often quite successful in attaining definite and utilizable results. one need only glance toward the achievements of science and technology to confirm this truth. as a general statement regarding knowledge, wittgenstein helps us to see the power of the present seduction: we eliminate misunderstandings by making our expressions more exact; but now it may look as if we were moving towards a particular state, a state of complete exactness; and as if this were the real goal of our investigation (investigations §91). the point is that greater clarification can successfully dispel many misunderstandings and confusions; it seems to offer an increasing base of viable knowledge. the implication is that confusion, uncertainty, misunderstanding, etc. appear as preliminary states which will eventually be overcome via the progression of clarification.8 hence, philosophy and knowledge are tempted by the utopian culmination of this progression; for in its realization the philosophical problem would have its solution and we would know our way about exactly. 3. giving into the temptation we can rightly ask: what are the consequences should we give into this temptation? i would like to introduce a wittgensteinian image which will be 8 the powerful presupposition which grants life and plausibility to the cartesian project is that reality is amenable to such interpretation. if we remember our leading quote, the matter could be stated thus: reality is ultimately constituted in terms of clear and determinate intelligibility; ergo, reality would “come to an end” in exhaustive and rational description. sorell describes this as descartes’s denial “that any propositions lie out of the reach of reasons of some kind or other” (74). wittgenstein agrees and comments that “the modern system tries to make it look as if everything were explained” (tractatus §6.372). for our purposes, the point is that the ultimately real is conceived as determinately intelligible, and this implies that true knowing need correspond to this intelligibility. 6 helpful both in highlighting the inadequacies of perfect clarity, as well as pointing us toward a different kind of knowledge. wittgenstein draws this picture: our language may be seen as an ancient city: a maze of little streets and squares, of old and new houses, and of houses with additions from various periods; and this surrounded by a multitude of new boroughs with straight regular streets and uniform houses (investigations §18).9 the vision which is offered grants philosophy access to a wisdom of life,10 rather than a knowing restricted to purified intellectual clarity. in contrast, this dichotomy of life and knowledge will ultimately prove to be the consequence of giving into the temptation of perfect clarity. wittgenstein describes this ancient city in terms of a maze and it is conceivable to think descartes would interpret it much the same. however, where for wittgenstein this maze points to the intimate intertwining of life and knowledge, for descartes it would represent a confused façade overlaying clarity and determinacy. he famously opens the meditations with this observation, “some years ago i was struck by the large number of falsehoods that i had accepted as true in my childhood, and by the highly doubtful nature of the whole edifice that i had subsequently based on them”(meditations 12). it is important to recognize that it is not merely sensory perceptions which prove dubious, but the entire event of incarnation. knowledge based in life – cultural tradition, familial upbringing, childhood education, and sensory perception – is the foundation for this edifice of deception, or, as sorell calls it, “the unthinking beliefs of a lifetime” (57). therefore, the philosophic task of true knowing, via perception “by the mind alone,” entails that it be different than a knowledge grounded in such suspect origins. the task of philosophic thinking consequently resides in penetrating this façade in order to arrive at the clarity of its underlying structure. with regard to 9 an anonymous reviewer helpfully pointed to freud’s use of a similar metaphor. in civilization and its discontents, freud compares the composition of the mind to “the history of the eternal city” (17). freud is speaking of the history of rome and finds the point of similarity between it and the mind as follows, “in the realm of the mind … what is primitive is so commonly preserved alongside of the transformed version which has arisen from it that it is unnecessary to give instances as evidence” (16). the ancient rome thus exists alongside, within and obscured by the ever developing modern rome. both wittgenstein and freud give us an image in which human existence is never able to be extricated from its past. thus, if human existence is this whole, then it seems resistant to any fundamental partitioning. that is to say, our ambiguous past co-exists with this “clarified” cartesian present and neither will be able to claim the whole or true reality of human life for themselves alone. 10 terms such as “life” and “incarnation” will appear throughout the remainder of the paper. in this investigation, they are always to be thought in relation to their interconnection with knowledge and in contradistinction to descartes’s separation of life and knowledge. yet by this interconnection we do not mean a knowledge which is simply able to fulfill the daily practicalities of life and the needs of physical survival. rather, we are thinking of an interconnection whereby knowledge aids our living the good, fulfilling, and meaningful life. ergo, the terms “life” and “incarnation” carry this broader sense of meaningful and valuable existence. 7 the image of the city, it will not, for descartes, be enough simply to penetrate the maze of sensual confusion and the error of preconceived opinion. rather, the philosophic project necessitates the demolition of its ancient subdivisions. it does so because we must always keep in mind that philosophic success has its terminus in absolutely certain knowledge. giving into the temptation for clarity thus entails that the “maze of little streets and squares” must be leveled and replaced “with straight regular streets and uniform houses.” 4. can we live in this rebuilt city? descartes’s path to certainty is an austere vision, and it must be asked whether he believes one could live in this pure city comprised only of “straight regular streets and uniform houses.” theoretically the answer seems to be yes11 and he encapsulates it in this vow: i shall unquestionably reach the truth, if only i give sufficient attention to all the things which i perfectly understand, and separate these from all the other cases where my apprehension is more confused and obscure. and this is just what i shall take good care to do from now on (meditations 43). descartes’s methodology, which consists of a rigid intellectual discipline that only attends and assents to that which it can “perfectly understand,” is what he promises to adopt “from now on.” for both philosophy and knowledge in general, it would seem to be the case that if they want to achieve truth, then they must equally take this path to certainty and “from now on” live in the borough of clarity. for wittgenstein, it seems to be the case that it is neither possible nor philosophically desirable to restrict knowledge to such a realm. in reference to desirability, we can first turn our attention to the idea that this model of clarity does not always help us much. that it must help us is tied to our discussion of seduction. wittgenstein writes, to say, however, that a sentence in (b) is an “analysed” form of one in (a) readily seduces us into thinking that the former is the more 11 i say theoretically because it appears at the close of the meditative process that the mundane demands of life persistently intrude upon the ideal of pure and uninterrupted intellectual contemplation. descartes concludes the meditations with this thought: “since the pressure of things to be done does not always allow us to stop and make such a meticulous check, it must be admitted that in this human life we are often liable to make mistakes about particular things, and we must acknowledge the weakness of our nature” (62). what is important to note is that the inability to live in the unremitting clarity of disciplined reflection is due to a weakness of nature. this is also to say; we may occasionally leave the borough of “straight streets” due to the practical demands of incarnation, but it is not desirable to do so, nor is it the fault of the constitution of knowledge, rather, it is due to “the weakness of our nature.” for this investigation the pertinent point is that knowledge should strive to reside ever present in that which is most properly its home pure clarity. 8 fundamental form; that it alone shows what is meant by the other (investigations §63). this quote plays upon the intuition that an exhaustive knowledge of something is superior to a vague or general apprehension of that same thing. for example, if we know every single component of an atom, then this knowledge is taken to be superior to that which only grasps the atom as the basic component of matter. in wittgenstein’s quote, sentence (a) refers to a language in which names refer to composite objects – we refer only to the atom and not the object which consists of a nucleus, electrons, protons, quarks, etc. sentence (b) is set in a language in which “only the parts are given names and the wholes are described by means of them” (investigations §60) – we refer to the atom via the enumeration of its parts. to draw this comparison out, wittgenstein uses the image of a broom and brings to the fore the notion that we do not necessarily gain something by referring to a broom in terms of (b): “‘bring me the broomstick and the brush which is fitted on to it.’! – isn’t the answer: ‘do you want the broom? why do you put it so oddly?’ – is he going to understand the further analysed sentence better” (investigations §60)? to give into the seduction for pure clarity would mean that we would have to think that the analysed sentence is superior. for it would seem that we attain greater clarity in reference to simple and identical parts, as opposed to the potential ambiguity of a composite whole. yet wittgenstein’s story of the broom allows us to pick up the intuitive inadequacy of the mantra which would hold the further analysed as always fundamentally better.12 the inadequacy is that there is nothing wrong with the first form (a). we know perfectly well what we mean by the broom and our knowledge in (a) is not, therefore, an imperfect or inadequate state which awaits or overlays the perfect clarity of (b). in the pursuit of the analysed knowledge of (b), the natural flow of life is lost without life gaining any advantage by the analysis. wittgenstein gives us a sense of the import of this thought; “if i am supposed to describe how an object looks from far off, i don’t make the description more accurate by saying what can be noticed about the object on closer inspection” (investigations §171). the central tenet is that there are forms of knowledge which function perfectly and are constituted adequately in the context in which they are 12 it should not be thought that wittgenstein is imploring knowledge to give up analysis completely or incessantly refuse a “meticulous check” of details. these forms of analysis are, in certain contexts, both possible and beneficial. as to a goal of the investigations, wittgenstein writes, “we want to establish an order in our knowledge of the use of language: an order with a particular end in view; one out of many possible orders; not the order” (investigations §132). science, logic, and other forms of more or less definitive knowing are some “of many possible orders.” in the image of the city, the borough of clarity is able to co-exist in relation to its ancient antecedents. the central point is that the wittgensteinian project does not appear to be a drive to strip knowledge of clarity and distinctness. rather, it seems to be a project which denies that these standards, especially in their pristine form, should or could dominate all discourse as to the nature of what it means to know. 9 set, i.e., the flow of life. it is not as if we must regret, like descartes at the end of the meditations, the fact that life sometimes forces us to forgo a “meticulous check” of details. wittgenstein’s thesis is that there are many situations in which such a “meticulous check” not only does not better the knowledge we had previous to it, but fragments the knowing it was to aid.13 a second perspective, which also argues against the desirability of the demand for perfect clarity, regards the impoverished existence we get as a result. as we saw, the cartesian project requires the ability to withdraw from any potential source of ambiguity. this resulted in the drive for disincarnation. here the impoverishment seems striking and immediate we have to give up life in order to access certainty. in his initial work, the tractatus, wittgenstein, much like descartes, places philosophic knowing within the logical bounds of “crystalline purity.” yet unlike descartes, his realization of perfect clarity “shows how little is achieved when these problems are solved” (tractatus 4). wittgenstein’s early intuition of the impoverishment of purified knowledge then develops into the therapy he offers in his later philosophy. that is, it seems that the real need of knowing and philosophic endeavor center on the ability to gain a “crystalline purity.” in turn, this purity is thought in qualitatively superior terms, whereas the incarnate realm is portrayed as “vacuous, false, and worthless” (meditations 24). the therapy wittgenstein offers is, at least in part, in turning away from the perceived necessity for purity and the concomitant degradation of the incarnate.14 he suggests that the investigations differ from the tractatus in that “the axis of reference of our examination must be rotated, but about the fixed point of our real need” (investigations §108). if our interpretation is true to wittgenstein’s intentions, then the real need might here be thought in terms of the need to live. that is, in the tractatus we gain knowledge only by passing over the entrenched 13 further examples of the pernicious effects of such meticulousness include a passage from churchill’s “wittgenstein on faith and wisdom.” he writes, “rather than the work of a first rate historian we have in the gospels a ‘mediocre’ account. ‘what you are supposed to see,’ [wittgenstein] writes, ‘cannot be communicated by even the best and most accurate historian; and therefore a mediocre account suffices, is even to be preferred.’ the mediocrity of the ‘letter’ keeps us from being distracted, for ‘the spirit puts what is essential, essential for you life, into these words’” (416). wittgenstein and churchill here contend that the key to knowing the gospels has nothing to do with a precise or clear historical account. such details, while giving us a “better” knowledge of the specifics of the text, actually pervert us from focusing on its message. the drive for precision thus results, in the present case, in the loss of meaningful knowledge. in sorell’s article, the wittgensteinian argument is made that descartes’s immense intellectual effort to find an absolutely sure proof for the existence of the outside world, ultimately results in a knowledge no better than that which we had pervious to such proof. that is, we perform a “meticulous check” of the world and the arguments for its reality, and, in the end, we remain as sure of its existence as we did prior to this “check.” 14 gill writes that “this means that not only should we admit that complete objectivity is impossible, but that we should cease to worship it as an ideal, viewing the knower’s relationship to the known as a form of ‘contamination’ or as a necessary evil” (post 82). 10 ambiguity of lived experience. hence we gain perfect clarity, but “little is achieved.”15 if in contrast the tractatus, the investigations orients knowledge toward its real need, then we are equally placed before a knowing which has the potential to be at home within the ambiguities of life. wittgenstein gives us an image which might help bring out the point: “a rule stands there like a sign-post … does it [show] which direction i am to take when i have passed it; whether along the road or the footpath or cross-country” (investigations §85)? at another point, wittgenstein speaks of knowledge pointing to a general area without drawing strictly delineated boundaries. additionally, churchill brings out wittgenstein’s understanding of the nature of religious belief: “rather than doctrines or explanatory theories … we have simple descriptions in which we can (or perhaps cannot) immediately recognize our own inner lives” (415-416). the key to all these ideas seems to be that restriction to perfect clarity requires a step-by-step definitiveness that closes off the fullness which existence offers. in contrast, wittgenstein asserts that knowledge need not travel in universal lockstep, but is granted the possibility of “the road, or the footpath or cross-country.” if we drive home the point with the image of the city, we can say this: wittgenstein attempts to free knowledge from its confinement to the realm of unremitting precision and allow it to partake in the richness of the “maze of little streets and squares.” an example of what we have just been discussing is found in what wittgenstein calls “family resemblances.” he illustrates this idea in reference to the various difficulties encountered when one would attempt to define the concept of a game, is there always winning and losing, or competition between players? think of patience. in ball-games there is winning and losing; but when a child throws his ball at the wall and catches it again, this feature has disappeared … think now of games like ring-a-ring-aroses; here is the element of amusement, but how many other characteristic features have disappeared (investigations §66)! this passage illuminates the fuzzy borders which surround the concepts of our understanding, as well as highlights the impossibility of reducing them to single, univocal definitions. “family resemblances” are thus akin to wittgenstein’s notion whereby knowledge points to an area without strictly delineating its boundaries. 15 wittgenstein contends that matters and thoughts pertaining to the meaning of life and death do not enter into the purely logical investigation he takes up in the tractatus. such matters would seem to be orientations to the world ultimately resting in ambiguity. it is matters such as these which we then “must pass over in silence” if perfect intelligibility is to be achieved. yet, since these matters are critical to the actual meaning of our lived existence, wittgenstein realizes that the pursuit of perfect clarity passes over the important and leaves us with a nearly superfluous or empty knowledge. 11 our understanding of a game is thus situated in a kind of region, in which are found many events of a similar sort. many seem to be amusing, many seem to have winners and losers, many are athletic, and yet many are also intellectual. the point is that the area in which we understand the word game is a field of similarity or resemblance, which does not contain the possibility of reduction to any single similarity. with this, we can understand how this passage fits well with our discussion regarding the impoverishment of existence. if the demand for absolute clarity and distinction enters the discussion, then we may arrive at a single definition, e.g., games are contests which can be won or lost. yet wittgenstein helps us see what would be given up in such a definition ring-a-ring-a-roses and patience and playing catch with yourself. again, the point is that we may gain clarity, but in doing so we need expel some of the richness and fullness of life. a kind of wisdom of life, on the other hand, knows that these are all games and does not need to approach them in terms of the problem of how to reduce them from this confusing flux to a state of clarity, to a single definition. we may now be in a position to answer the question which has largely framed this section: should philosophy and knowledge even attempt to live within the borough of clarity? if we take the last argument as valid and posit the impossibility of ever attaining such absolute purification, then holding onto the desire for perfect clarity becomes a source of philosophic disillusionment and despair.16 wittgenstein reiterates this, “when we believe that we must find that order, must find the ideal, in our actual language, we become dissatisfied with what are ordinarily called ‘propositions’, ‘words’, ‘signs’” (investigations 105). holding this paradigm of knowing, demanding that absolute clarity be achieved, creates, for wittgenstein, the unhappy life. it is a life which cannot accept reality as it is; it demands that it should be other. to again take the image of the city; it is as if cartesian knowledge looked beyond the borders of its borough of clarity and became embittered by the persistence of those old crooked streets.17 in contrast, knowledge thought in terms of wisdom is able to navigate these crooked streets and partake in the fullness, richness, and meaningfulness which they offer. 16 it is important to remember that for descartes it is not enough for knowledge simply to occupy a space of clarity. rather, clarity must be complete and ambiguity obliterated. wittgenstein, on the other hand, is not arguing that clarity cannot be achieved within certain contexts, but that we cannot reduce all knowledge to it. in this way, despair and disillusionment plague the cartesian, as opposed to the wittgensteinian philosophic perspective. this is because descartes’s demand for total clarity equally necessitates that we are not simply given a region of it. if we are given only a region, then the totalizing project seems to have failed and philosophic despair may set in. 17 the source of such bitterness could be justifiably linked with this gillian thought; “the value system inherent in the critical posture makes it ‘immoral’ to believe beyond what can be explicated, whether in concepts or reasonings” (post 82). the cartesian philosopher, being in the “right” or “moral” position, would then view those as immoral who do not adhere to their strict standards. that some would not be bothered to seek out certainty and precision, and would not be driven by the moral imperative of clarity, could thus prove a source of bitterness. 12 5. concluding remarks: explanations end somewhere as has been said, wittgenstein’s philosophy is therapeutic and the illness it attempts to treat is this demand for absolute clarity. if “explanations end somewhere” other than transparent rationality, then wittgenstein seems to reassure philosophy, knowledge, and himself that all is not lost – despair need not dominate.18 he does this both by offering a vision of knowledge which differs from perfect clarity, as well as assuages its seductive force. the image of the city again appears as an ideal metaphor in which to express his vision. in the city, knowledge need not tie itself to the either/or of chaos or clarity; whereas for descartes it seems that if clarity is not achieved, then chaos reigns and knowledge would tumble about in the whirlpool of confusion. in contrast, wittgenstein offers us a vision in which intelligibility remains despite being outside the borders of the borough of clarity. that is, the maze of “little streets,” and the “houses with additions from various periods,” is not an image of utter disorder, but of a different order.19 in being a different order from the “straight regular streets and uniform houses,” this ancient city may not meet the standard of precise clarity, yet that is not to say it is unintelligible or that it represents an edifice of deception. the point is that knowledge need not encounter reality with the stakes which would present it as either utterly clear or hopelessly chaotic. by refusing this dichotomy, wittgenstein offers knowledge and philosophy the opportunity to stroll those ancient and crooked streets. restoring the connection between knowledge and the fullness of life; reconnecting it with the worth of all the various parts of the city and its offerings, consequently appears to be the remedy wittgenstein is pointing us toward.20 18 for those interested in further pursuing wittgenstein’s thought on this matter, one could investigate on certainty. the “main contention” of which, gill claims, “is that there necessarily must be an epistemological ‘bedrock’ – truths which are beyond rational question – if there is to be any truth at all” (tacit 76). 19 a full discussion as to the nature of knowledge, which is distinct from the paradigm of pure clarity, was too complex to be taken up in this paper. yet we received glimpses of it in what we have been calling wisdom. that is, it is a knowing attuned to, rather than distinct from the subtleties of life, e.g., “how a clarinet sounds.” equally, it partakes in the event of incarnation, and, as intertwined with incarnation, it is a knowledge which need not found its validity or worth in opposition to materiality or community. finally, as lacking a foundation in perspicuous rationality, knowledge takes form in orientations toward the world, what wittgenstein calls “forms of life.” there are, no doubt, other ways in which this knowing that is other to absolute clarity could be thought and further work to be done in an articulation of what is meant by wisdom. yet these enumerations hopefully point toward a general area in which we might get a sense of what this type of knowing would mean. 20 i would like to thank professor james wetzel for inspiring many of the ideas found in this essay, as well as his insightful comments regarding its original form. i would also like to thank dr. paul wright who gathered reviewer comments and helped guide this paper through the process of review and submission. finally, i would like to thank all those who reviewed this reflection and helped to greatly improve it. 13 works cited: baylis, francoise. “health care ethics consultation: ‘training in virtue.’” human studies: a journal for philosophy and the social sciences. vol. 22 no. 1. pp. 25-41. january, 1999. benhabib, seyla. situating the self. gender, community and postmodernism in contemporary ethics. new york, ny. routledge, 1992. butler, judith. gender trouble. feminism and the subversion of identity. new york, ny. routledge, 1990. churchill, john. “wittgenstein on faith and wisdom.” southern journal of philosophy. vol. 23. pp. 413-430. winter, 1985. descartes, rené. meditations on first philosophy: with selections from the objections and replies. trans. & ed. john cottingham. new york, ny. cambridge university press, 1996. freud, sigmund. civilization and its discontents. trans. and ed. james strachey. new york, ny. w.w. norton & company, 1961. gill, jerry. “post-critical philosophy of religion.” international philosophical quarterly. vol. 22. pp. 75-86. march 1982. ---. “tacit knowing and religious belief.” international journal for philosophy of religion. vol. 6. pp. 73-88. summer, 1975. haller, rudolf. “justification and praxeological foundationalism.” inquiry: an interdisciplinary journal of philosophy. vol. 31. pp. 335-345. september, 1988. isaac, jeffrey. arendt, camus and modern rebellion. new haven, ct. yale university press, 1992. livingston, paul. “‘meaning is use’ in the tractatus.” philosophical investigations. vol. 27 no. 1. pp. 34-67. january, 2004. sen, joseph. “on slowness in philosophy.” monist: an international quarterly journal of general philosophical inquiry. vol. 83. no 4. pp. 607-615. october, 2000. sorell, tom. “cartesian method and the self.” philosophical investigations. vol. 24 no. 1. pp. 55-74. january, 2001. soulez, antonia. “conversion in philosophy: wittgenstein’s saving word.” hypatia: a journal of feminist philosophy. vol. 15 no 4. pp. 127-150. fall, 2000. wittgenstein, ludwig. on certainty. ed. g.e.m. anscombe & g.h. von wright. trans. g.e.m. anscombe and denis paul. oxford, england. basil blackwell, 1969. 14 ---. philosophical investigations. trans. g.e.m. anscombe. oxford, england. blackwell publishers, 2001. ---. tractatus logico-philosophicus. trans. routledge & kegan paul. london, england. routledge classics, 2001. 1 more than a peanut inventor: george washington carver and the natural environment isaac smith history young george in nature george washington carver was born in a modest “little one-roomed log shanty” on a missouri plantation near the close of the civil war.1 carver’s exact birth date is unknown, but according to carver, he was around “two weeks old when the war closed,” likely placing his birth in the spring of 1865.2 carver’s mother, mary, was the property of moses carver, an eccentric bearded german who purchased her as a teenager to labor on his homestead enterprise. moses was willing to transgress the law and compromise his morals to make his farm successful. he was a unionist with a principled opposition to slavery but also an opportunist who had acquired his land through squatting and would do anything to see his investment become profitable. much less is known about carver’s father, whose historical record remains elusive. that his given name was giles and that the surname etched into his headstone reads “carver” are two of the only ironclad details about his life. carver identifies “mr. grant,” a man who owned an adjoining field to the carver homestead, as his father’s owner.3 at some point, giles met mary and had four children with her: three girls and one boy. records list carver’s only brother jim as mulatto, which means the boys almost certainly had different fathers. giles and mary died before carver was old enough to remember them. carver was only an infant when giles was “killed” while hauling wood to town in an ox wagon.4 residents found 2 giles crushed “under the wagon, both wheels passing over him.”5 whether his death was a tragic mishap or the result of racial violence is lost to history. however, the violent nature of mary’s death is indisputable. carver was only an infant when white terrorists “ku klucked” him, his mother, and his only surviving sister.6 moses was able to grab carver’s half-brother jim and carry him to the woods to safety, but the others were not as fortunate. the abductors took mary and her children south to arkansas, where the morality of slavery was far less in question than in compromise missouri. moses sent his neighbor bentley to recover the kidnapped carvers. he gave his neighbor a “very fine race horse and some money” to retrieve them, but bentley returned only with the frail and sickly infant carver.7 carver had contracted whooping cough in captivity and was hardly alive when he arrived at the homestead. carver’s condition did not grow better after his respiratory infection dissipated. moses and his wife susan had the wounded baby evaluated by the family doctor. upon examining carver, the expert delivered the bleak prognosis that the child would “never live to see the age of 21.”8 the doctor’s terminal stamp lends credibility to the idea that the raiders physically altered carver during captivity. when carver came of age, his prepubescent voice never left him. he bragged that he could sing up to “high d” well into adulthood.9 despite his unbending devotion to the creator, who commanded his earthly creations to be fruitful and multiply in the book of genesis, carver never married or had children. he shied away from identifying romantic interests throughout his hundreds of letters and several essays discussing deeply personal subjects like his family life, religious views, and friendships. impotence and retention of a prepubescent voice into adulthood are both physiological effects of childhood male castration. 3 abnormal skeletal development is another consequence. writing of his boyhood days, carver described youth as a “constant warfare between life and death.”9 his “very feeble” physical condition rendered him incapable of assisting moses and jim in the field. instead, carver aided susan in the performance of her domestic tasks.10 he helped her cook, sew, clean, and tend the garden. carver spent his leisure time alone with nature, spending “day after day” examining southern missouri’s rich biodiversity.11 on his routine adventures through nature, he closely observed regional zinnias, cosmos, celosias, yarrows, and dahlias. carver developed a secret “little garden” in a brush near the homestead and quickly became emotionally attached to it.12 carver valued his “floral beauties” so much that he cried when a flower wilted.13 his respect for plant life made him meticulous in his treatment of them. carver honed his “touch” to become careful and attentive so that his plants would live long and fruitful lives.14 he devised herbal cures from them that he shared with neighbors who acknowledged his skill and regarded him as their little “plant doctor.”15 carver had an “equal fascination” for inanimate nature.16 he snaffled rocks from moses’s chimney and stashed them away in a collection he kept in the old cabin. he might have never taken up such “inordinate” passions had he been physically capable of performing his conventional masculine duties.17 susan and moses taught george how to read and write, but his intellectual curiosity greatly surpassed what they were able to teach him. carver remembers that as only a “mere tot,” his “very soul” yearned for education.18 moses and susan permitted carver to travel to neosho for formal training at lincoln, the town’s colored school. at just ten years old, he took the 8-mile journey to begin his formal education. he squatted in a barn to rest from his trip and was granted residence by the couple who owned it, andrew and mariah watkins. the watkins epitomized 4 the up from slavery success story. both were born into slavery, andrew in virginia and mariah in north carolina. the two met and married in st. louis, moved to southwestern missouri, and became one of the first black families to own property in neosho. carver assisted mariah with her household responsibilities on the neosho farm just as he did with susan at the diamond homestead. mariah was a skilled midwife who conferred a great deal of herbal medical wisdom on carver. carver appreciated what he learned from mrs. watkins but was dissatisfied with the quality of education at lincoln. after only nine months at the black primary school, he left neosho and hitched a ride with a white family on an 80-mile trek to fort scott, kansas. in fort scott, carver “found employment just as a girl,” cooking, crafting, and doing laundry to stay financially afloat.19 he remained in fort scott until racial intimidation drove him away. carver witnessed a man getting lynched. carver recounted the incident in a letter to his biographer rackham holt. “they lynched a colored man, drug him by our house and dashed his brains out onto the sidewalk.”20 the lynching left a lasting mark on his psyche. as an adult, he confessed that “as young as i was, the horror haunted me and does even now.”21 carver left fort scott for olathe and was again taken in by a well-to-do black couple. he assisted ben and lucy seymour with their laundry business, led sunday school classes, and attended the town’s white public school until the seymours moved 175 miles west to minneapolis. george followed the seymours to minneapolis, continued his education, and earned his high school diploma seven years later. carver received a robust education at minneapolis high school, studying art, arithmetic, science, greek, and latin. after graduating high school, he enrolled in a stenography school in kansas city. he was offered a position as a typewriter for the union telegraph office but turned it down to pursue 5 higher education and become an artist. carver’s “thirst for knowledge” compelled him to apply to kansas’s first college, highland university, which presbyterians founded in 1858.22 highland initially admitted carver but later revoked his acceptance due to his race. carver did not allow the highland rejection to steer him from his quest for higher learning. after a brief sojourn to western kansas to examine yucca and cactus flowers, he headed north to winterset, iowa to further his education. carver found employment as a hotel cook in winterset. his meager income furnished a humble diet of prayer beef suet and corn meal. carver’s belief in god gave him the strength to endure hard times, and he sang gospel music as therapy. when carver was only a “mere lad,” he encountered the world-renowned fisk jubilee singers.23 being raised among mostly whites, the fisk singers were the first group of black people he had seen. the singers’ spirited style left an indelible mark on carver, and he emulated their manner in his chorus. carver mastered the celestial chant of the black protestant tradition and used it to stir white congregations. fellow choir member helen milholland and her husband, dr. john milholland, were two of his enchanted white listeners. helen implored her husband to invite the talented youngster to their home for sunday supper. carver thrilled the milhollands with tales from his journey at the dinner table. he informed them of his racially charged highland rejection and his desire to pursue higher learning in the arts. the milhollands encouraged him to apply to simpson college in nearby indianola. white methodists founded simpson college in 1860 as the indianola male and female seminary. they established the school with the progressive vision that all capable young men and women deserved education. unlike highland, simpson did not refuse carver on account of his race. he enrolled at simpson in 1890 and studied piano, choir, and fine arts. carver continued 6 his streak of performing domestic labor to fund his education. he did laundry for his schoolmates to pay his way through. pride would not allow him to accept money from anyone. still, carver knew he could not survive off corn and beef suet forever. professor etta budd warned him of the financial difficulties of life as a black artist and strongly encouraged him to take up formal training in a major that would give him consistent employment. budd recommended that carver transfer to iowa state college, where her father, joseph lancaster budd, taught horticulture. after three years at simpson, carver left indianola for ames to study agricultural science. he took botany, chemistry, biology, and horticulture courses in ames and learned from distinguished professors. dr. louis h. pammel was one of carver’s mentors at iowa state. pammel conducted research for the u.s. department of agriculture and was selected by governor william l. harding to chair the iowa board of conservation in 1918. carver took pammel’s botany course and served as his research assistant. pammel loved and respected carver, calling him “the best collector i ever had in the department or have ever known.”24 the two continued to work together after carver left iowa. pammel visited carver in tuskegee in 1921 and gave his former student a microscope and several other gifts to show his affection. james wilson was another one of carver’s professors. wilson was one of the most popular professors at iowa state. he led the iowa state agricultural department in between terms as a republican delegate in the u.s. house of representatives and a cabinet member for multiple presidents. wilson served 16 consecutive years as the u.s. secretary of agriculture under presidents mckinley, roosevelt, and taft. wilson’s 16-year cabinet appointment makes him the longest-serving cabinet member in american history. carver held a “sacred” affinity for wilson, whom he regarded as “one of the finest teachers” he had ever studied under.25 wilson 7 encouraged carver to continue painting. carver listened, and in 1893, he represented the state of iowa at the chicago world’s fair, where his yucca and cactus painting took home honorable mention. wilson was not the only iowa state scientist appointed u.s. secretary of agriculture. the same year carver gained national fame for giving expert testimony to congress on a proposed peanut tariff, president warren g. harding appointed henry c. wallace to his cabinet. wallace was one of carver’s most cherished professors at iowa state. when carver became a professor at tuskegee, he wrote a sentimental letter to wallace, thanking him for “being so kind and indulgent to a poor little wayward black boy.”26 carver took frequent nature walks through ames to clear his mind and rest from his studies at iowa state. wallace’s son henry agard often accompanied carver on his walks. carver pointed out various plants as they journeyed, tutoring little henry agard on the flora they encountered and assuring him that god existed in every cell and fiber of every plant around them. henry agard deeply admired carver and remembered him as “the kindliest, most patient teacher i ever knew.”27 carver must have known that his pupil was special, but he could not have known that he would go on to serve as the country’s 33rd vice president. carver completed his undergraduate study and became an iowa state faculty member in 1894. two years later, he became the first african american to attain an m.s. in agricultural science at iowa state. academic suitors had already knocked at carver’s door before he achieved the degree. alcorn a&m opened negotiations with him to fill an open professorship during the second year of his graduate study, and he intended to accept the post. it was good fortune that a lecture tour prevented carver from making the 800-mile trip south to claiborne county, mississippi, to confirm the offer. when he returned home to ames from his lecture tour 8 in early april, a letter bearing the signature of the most prominent living american negro awaited his reply. carver at tuskegee: the feud within the feud while carver was wrapping up his final year of graduate study in ames, william edward burghardt du bois was desperate to divorce himself from an ill-fitting position at wilberforce university. financial hardship and an eagerness to begin his academic career charged his hasty decision. du bois accepted the position fresh from a slater fund-sponsored european tour. he desperately penned applications to several black colleges and universities to notify them of his availability upon his return to the u.s. in 1894. tuskegee was one of several schools he alerted. “president washington, sir! may i ask if you have a vacancy in your institution next year?”28 when the wizard’s reply furnished his barrington mailbox on august 25, du bois had already accepted an offer to chair the classics department at wilberforce. still, when du bois read washington’s letter, he must have given its contents considerable thought. “can give mathematics here if terms suit. will you accept? wire answer,” wrote washington in the diminutive script befitting a remarkably busy man.29 if du bois had delayed his response to wilberforce as carver did to alcorn, tuskegee might have claimed the nation’s preeminent black hard and soft scientists. du bois found his brief wilberforce stint incessantly irksome. his passions were sociology, history, and political economy, not greek and latin. a year before his wilberforce debut, he studied at the university of berlin under the innovative german political economist gustav von schmoller. schmoller trained du bois to research contemporary social problems from the dimensions scholars of their day typically neglected. schmoller’s investigations made him an indispensable theoretical analyst for the budding german welfare bureaucracy. 9 in 1896, samuel mccune lindsay’s invitation to document the condition of philadelphia’s seventh ward colored residents rescued du bois from his wilberforce straight jacket. the exciting university of pennsylvania project allowed him to set homer aside and conduct original social research. du bois traveled over 500 miles to the city of brotherly love with his newlywed nina gomer to live amongst the subjects of his study. like columbia anthropologist franz boas, he was, at once, a participant and observer. du bois’s investigation culminated in his inestimable sociological report, the philadelphia negro. his groundbreaking research landed him assignments with the u.s. bureau of labor statistics to conduct similar sociological investigations of southern negroes as well as a position at atlanta university, one of the nation’s top-flight black colleges. president horace bumstead had only enlisted du bois to build a sociology program for the school, but the fiskite gave him so much more. in 1903, about a half-decade into his atlanta tenure, du bois published the souls of black folk and the talented tenth. the former is a riveting and heart-tugging collection of groundbreaking essays, and the latter is a stunning empirical defense of liberal arts education against vocationist detractors. washington, too, had risen to fame in america’s southern capital. not long before du bois assumed his post at atlanta university, washington delivered an address before a racially heterogeneous audience at the cotton states and international exposition in atlanta. though the speech would later become mired in infamy for its docile approach to segregationist politics, washington’s “atlanta compromise” was met with near unanimous support in its moment. du bois himself was one of these initial supporters. on september 24, 1895, du bois wrote to washington from his wilberforce residence to “heartily congratulate” him on a “word fitly spoken.”30 paradoxically, the most brilliant negro social scientist applauded the hampton 10 graduate when he proudly proclaimed that “in all things that are purely social, we can be as separate as the fingers.”31 less than a month after the atlanta exposition, washington received mail from buzzards bay, massachusetts marked with president grover cleveland’s signature. cleveland wrote to america’s new leading negro to congratulate him on a speech well given. cleveland told washington that he had swelled “new hope” in the breasts of african americans who would “form new determinations to gain every valuable advantage offered them by their citizenship.”32 by “new hope,” cleveland likely referred to the black community’s collective grief over frederick douglass’s death in late winter. washington’s address established him as a negro joshua in the eyes of his people. they marked him as the ideal candidate to take on douglass’s mantle and lead the black masses into the promised land of socioeconomic equality. however, unlike douglass, washington urged the negro to bloom his equality from the southern soil instead of the municipal ballot box. washington believed that southern whites would only extend the franchise to blacks if they proved themselves as an industrious and business-minded race. negroes would not win political equality overnight. the practical move was to accommodate. washington had been spreading this message to southern blacks before bringing it to atlanta’s white mainstream. in his 1894 essay “taking advantage of our disadvantages,” washington implored blacks to quiet their “whining” over voting rights and “conquer” the pricedepreciated land around them.33 “land is cheap all over the south; cheaper now than it will ever be again,” the anthropocentric wizard urged.34 washington cluttered the text with outlandish personal anecdotes to defend his argument. “while i write, within a few yards of me, is a large 11 printing office in charge of a colored man with two southern white printers under him who work by the side of dozens of colored printers without a word of objection.”35 in october 1903, washington defended his vocational focus against du bois’s attacks in the “industrial education for the negro” address. he continued his streak of using erroneous anecdotes to defend his convictions in the speech. washington claimed that “in too many cases, the negro race began development on the wrong end.”36 he alleged that, during the reconstruction era, more blacks were trained in “foreign tongues” than in carpentry, blacksmithing, and mechanics.37 washington argued that reconstruction sent blacks to colleges in droves and dwindled the number of black farmers. du bois anticipated washington’s defense about a month before he gave it in the talented tenth. though du bois was an “earnest advocate” of technical training for black men, he stood boldly on the conviction “that the object of all true education is not to make men carpenters, it is to make carpenters men.”38 without moral regeneration, cultural discipline, and artistic ingenuity to guide his pursuits, a carpenter would be nothing but a cog in an industrial engine to du bois. instead of training hands, the negro race would need to train independent minds capable of reaching “the best type of modern european culture” to pull the race from its backwardness.39 black elitism and white paternalism stain the talented tenth. still, underneath its haughty liberalism lies pinpoint socioeconomic analysis. unlike washington, who blamed the race’s “ignorance and lack of skill” for its lowly economic status, du bois charged systemic inequality.40 rather than denouncing black educators for poor academic training, du bois identified the underlying social causes that produce low educational outcomes. du bois credited the inferior quality of black schools to the programmatic “lack of funds” from discriminatory 12 state governments that fed black educators “starvation wages” that hampered black vocational and higher education institutions alike.41 as public criticism of washington and his accommodationist ideology mounted, carver remained an ardent adherent to his principal’s politics. to carver, du bois was just a “disappointed misanthrope” who would prod for flaws in even the most sound political program.42 carver held du bois’s fellow american negro academy scholar, paul laurence dunbar, in an even lower regard. dunbar espoused a militant civil rights stance to the left of du bois and had been a vocal critic of washington’s politics much earlier than du bois. on august 27, 1898, carver wrote to washington to encourage him not to allow “articles similar to that of paul l. dunbar give you moments of uneasiness.”43 carver assured his principal his accommodationism was “the only true solution to this great race problem.”44 carver was hardly more than two years into his tuskegee tenure when he wrote this letter of support to washington. he had chosen tuskegee over other options because he felt tuskegee’s curriculum was “the key to unlock the golden door of freedom for our people.”45 like bumstead with du bois, washington targeted the choicest black scholar to run his newly minted agricultural school. carver rose to moderate fame after becoming the first black man to enroll, graduate, and become a faculty member at iowa state. from his first day at the institute, carver enjoyed preferential treatment from washington. where faculty members customarily lived two to a room, tuskegee provided carver with two rooms, one for himself and another for his plants. carver strutted into the rural alabama campus, convinced that his work would play a significant role in saving the race. he was an eccentric young genius brimming with the offputting confidence that god had chosen him for this moment. he also expected that the institute 13 would afford him every luxury to realize his lofty pursuits. carver had extremely unrealistic expectations of the institute’s resources. years of research at a well-funded, predominantly white college left him naive to the material woes of black academia. he was also unfamiliar with southern black culture. he had no experience navigating work relationships in black spaces, having spent his entire life among whites. the black intelligentsia was an exclusive club of black elites who were educated by paternal white figures at southern universities. the late 19th and early 20th-century black intelligentsias ran counter to earlier radical currents that sprang from brush arbors and maroon encampments. the most prestigious black academies materialized in the reconstruction south under white abolitionist leadership. whether they favored an industrial approach, like hampton and tuskegee, or a liberal arts approach, like atlanta, fisk, and howard, the archetypal black academic was a shared constant. the consummate black professional was lighter skinned, preferably maroon or quadroon, southern-born, and male. carver was a darker-hued midwesterner with a carefree demeanor. he was spouseless and never intended to take one. he often dressed casually and without regard for respectability. his disregard for the customs of southern black elitism alienated him from much of tuskegee’s faculty. carver wrote an extremely bold letter to the institute’s finance committee during his first semester in tuskegee. the letter is perhaps the most stellar example of his tactless and carefree attitude. writing to the people who signed his paychecks, carver candidly announced, “i do not expect to teach many years, but will quit as soon as i can trust my work to others.”46 after bestowing his knowledge to capable colleagues, he planned to return to his “brushwork.”47 carver’s candidness with the committee reeked of arrogance and naivety, but it also 14 demonstrated his eccentricity and conviction to continue with his artistic pursuits despite signing on with a technical college. carver even dared to couple his early retirement notice with an appeal for additional resources. “while i am with you, please fix me so i may be of as much service to you as possible,” carver braved.48 it did not take long for carver’s spacey demeanor and unapologetic affinity for the arts to dispel him from washington’s good graces. washington was a no-nonsense authoritarian. he was the product of an ill-conceived union between a white man and an enslaved woman. as a child, he labored in a west virginia coal mine to support himself before enrolling in general samuel chapman armstrong’s militaristic hampton institute to receive a rigorous labor-centric education. the austere principal had no time for carver’s aloof idealism and eccentric antics. the eccentricity that repelled several colleagues had the opposite effect on carver’s students. carver endearingly referred to his students as his “children” because he loved them with every ounce of his spirit.49 they loved him back. he received countless letters from former pupils who embodied “the tuskegee spirit” that carver so heavily pressed on them in the classroom. carver taught his children to create, not replicate. unlike general armstrong and his black disciples, carver prioritized training the mind over the hands. he rejected armstrong’s notion that blacks were best suited to be laborers. carver wanted blacks to retire the “old notion of swallowing down other people's ideas” and put the collective black imagination to work to develop original solutions to solve the black race’s “specific needs.”50 carver’s pedagogical approach conflicted with the educational method washington outlined for tuskegee. in a letter in may 1898, carver laid out a transformative vision for the agricultural department to washington. “i have been looking forward to a department second to none in the u.s. in the matters of equipment, methods of teaching and results obtained.”51 carver 15 provided a detailed list of improvements for the department’s farm and barn, but his appeal fell on deaf ears. he penned another letter to washington in january 1902, complaining that “many times no attention is paid to my wishes and things passed over my head which work contrary to my efforts to carry out the school’s wishes.”52 washington added george r. bridgeforth to the department that same year. bridgeforth was the first black man to enroll at the university of massachusetts amherst. like washington, bridgeforth was a pragmatist who lusted for administrative power, and he would later replace carver as head of the agricultural department. washington was well-versed in removing threats to his educational and political visions for black people. in 1905, du bois launched the niagara movement, but it crumbled in 1909, mainly due to washington. washington honed his control over the southern black press and his relationships with wealthy white philanthropists into a valuable political tool. du bois famously referred to washington’s sphere of influence as the “tuskegee machine.” washington sided with bridgeforth when tensions between him and carver escalated. bridgeforth won washington’s ear by sending him letters condemning carver’s handling of the department’s livestock. bridgeforth’s conspiracy worked. he usurped control of the department’s agricultural industries from carver in 1904, siphoning a third of carver’s hold over the department. carver was demoted again in 1907, and bridgeforth took his place as director of agricultural operations. four years later, carver wrote an emotionally charged letter to washington. “for 16 years i have worked without a single dollar’s increase in salary, yet i have sat quietly and seen others go away above me in my own department.”53 he ended the letter by threatening 16 washington with his resignation. “i interpret the above to mean that the school is really tired of my services and wishes me to resign. i see no other alternative. am i correct?”54 carver remained with tuskegee despite his tumultuous relationship with his colleagues, but he held a grudge against washington. the hot frustration in carver’s breast immediately quieted when washington died in 1915. the wizard was only 59 when he passed. despite their differences, washington still held a special place in carver’s heart. carver had shared many laughs with washington and his beloved wife margaret murray around the dinner table at the washingtons’ 905 w montgomery road residence. a letter written by carver in february 1916 attests to the love carver had for his principal. carver regretted that washington had died “never knowing how much i loved him, and the cause for which he gave his life.”55 waste not, want not: untangling carver’s unique environmental theory carver’s theories, observations, and experiments populate the academic bulletins he composed for the agricultural school. across 30 article-length bulletins, the word “waste” and its variants appear at least 35 times. in an 1898 bulletin titled “feeding acorns,” carver scoffs at the “millions of bushels” of acorns americans waste yearly.56 carver borrows figures from henry p. armsby’s “splendid book on feeding” to show that acorns are a significantly more fibrous animal feed than corn.57 carver notes that the institute feeds its 400 hogs “solely on acorns and kitchen slops.”58 carver’s use of armsby, who completed his respiration calorimeter at pennsylvania state university the year following carver’s bulletin, reveals how well carver kept up with scientific developments in his field. in his 12th bulletin, “saving the plum crop,” carver mourns the “many hundreds of bushels of plums that go to waste every year” in macon county, alabama.59 carver provides his reader with over 40 easy and delicious ways to use excess plums to remedy the waste. carver 17 recommends boiling equal parts of “fruit and sugar” for a delightful homemade plum jam.60 he provides instructions for a similarly tasty oven-baked plum betty. carver suggests alternating layers of buttered cinnamon breadcrumbs and “very ripe” sliced plums.61 he includes a plum syrup that becomes a “very refreshing” summertime snack when paired with ice cream or chilled water.62 carver’s plum shortcake was perhaps his most stunning recipe. the shortcake calls for a “rich” pie crust, peeled and deseeded plums, and an iced topping decorated “artistically” with soft nuts.63 he stresses the importance of food preservation in the 1915 bulletin “when, what, and how to can and preserve fruits and vegetables in the home.” carver says there is no farming activity “of greater importance than the canning and preserving of fruits and vegetables” in the report and provides season-specific canning instructions for several fruits.64 carver published “three delicious meals every day for the farmer” the following year to recommend cheap and nutritional meals made with farm-to-table ingredients for farmers with modest means, citing the adage that “the health and morals of the people depend mainly on the food they eat.”65 carver provides a substantial number of meals, providing a different menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day of the week. carver saw the scientific method as humanity’s lens into understanding god’s earthly manifestations. in his essay “how to search for truth,” carver writes that nature’s specimens comprise “little windows through which god permits me to commune with him.”66 carver’s conception of the environment aligns with renaissance empiricism. empiricist philosophy characterizes human knowledge acquisition as an interplay between rational human subjects who employ inherent sensual faculties to perceive, observe, and interpret the material world. 18 carver married empiricism with religious sentiment. he found it unfathomable for an “ardent student of nature” to “behold the lilies of the field” and still doubt the existence of god.67 when carver looked out on nature, he saw god’s essence in every blade of grass and grain of earth. he understood that no matter how much he attempted to uncover nature’s secrets, holistic knowledge of a vast and infinite universe would always elude his discerning eye. to carver, infinite knowledge was reserved only for the immortal. “we are finite…we can only understand the infinite as we loose the finite and take on the infinite.”68 society’s collective failure to respect and appreciate nature was carver’s “great source of regret.”69 he loved all of god’s creations. he had the same affection for alabama’s mighty oak trees that he had for the flowers in his little garden on uncle mose’s homestead. “we hope the days are not far too distant when the destruction of our valuable oak forests will cease.”70 the word “destroy” appears across carver’s bulletins almost as much as “waste.” carver was as meticulous with the specimens in his lab as he was with flowers as a boy. the visceral feeling he felt when one of god’s creations died remained with him as an adult. there is perhaps no greater example of carver’s resourcefulness than his work with peanuts and sweet potatoes. in 1921, carver delivered an expert testimony before the house ways and means committee on a proposed peanut tariff. his appearance made him one of the first black experts to testify before congress, bringing him national fame. carver blended expert knowledge with witty humor and dazzled the congressmen with several peanut-based inventions. carver devised that the southern states had overworked their soil through cotton farming. cotton cultivation had depleted the soil of its nitrogen content, which was needed, in combination with phosphoric acid and potash, to sprout healthy yields. carver was more adept 19 than any other scientist at striking the ideal balance of nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid to restore eroded soil. through experimentation, he demonstrated that southern-growing legumes, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, spread nitrogen to the soil through their roots. carver’s innovative method of organic crop rotation combined legumes with nitrogen-depleting crops to prevent soil erosion. four years before the testimony, carver produced a comprehensive bulletin on the peanut titled “how to grow the peanut: and 105 ways to prepare it for human consumption.” he concocted hundreds of peanut-based products in his research laboratory and brought dozens of his inventions to d.c. to present to congress. carver began his testimony by explaining the untapped potential of legumes to the delegates. he told the representatives that the peanut and the sweet potato were “two of the greatest products that god had ever given us.”71 carver maintained that “if all of the other foodstuffs were destroyed,” sweet potatoes and peanuts alone could nourish the human body.72 connecticut representative john q. tilson interrupted carver’s legume briefing to insult the scientist. “do you want a watermelon with that?”73 carver was undaunted by tilson’s racially charged mocking. having dealt with classroom segregation, racial discrimination when applying to college, and overt racial violence, tilson’s crude watermelon joke fell far short of deterring carver. the scientist took the bigoted remark in stride and hitchlessly carried out the rest of his presentation. carver’s genius, eloquence, and wit shone through spectacularly. carver wowed the delegates with peanut hay, peanut meal, peanut hearts, peanut cream, evaporated peanut milk, peanut dyes, peanut fruit punches, peanut oils, and many more peanut-based products he produced in his research lab. the congressmen were so fascinated by the scientist and his 20 inventions that they extended the 10-minute testimony far past its deadline. “go ahead, brother. your time is unlimited,” chairman john w. fordney remarked.74 carver’s peanut milk was particularly intriguing to the delegates. “this one is made especially for ice cream making. it makes the most delicious ice cream that i have ever eaten,” carver bragged, hoisting up a cloudy sample of fatty peanut milk in his palm for the representatives to see.75 “how does it go in a punch?” new york democrat john f. carew asked.76 “well, i will show you some punches,” carver responded in a fit of laughter.77 the delegates wondered where the black gentleman had acquired such intricate knowledge of food science. “mr. carver, what school did you attend?” chairman fordney inquired.78 carver responded by telling fordney that he studied at iowa state for several years under secretary wilson. “you doubtless remember mr. wilson, who served in the cabinet here so long. secretary james wilson. he was my instructor for six years.”79 representative carew was so thoroughly impressed with carver’s demonstration that when the scientist finished his presentation, carew requested that the delegation honor the scientist with their collective acknowledgment. the delegation happily acquiesced to carew’s request and sent carver away with a thundering ovation. chairman fordney ended the testimony with congratulatory remarks for carver. “we want to compliment you sir on the way you handled your subject.”80 carver had done his race proud. carver remained in tuskegee for the rest of his life. in 1941, tuskegee erected the george washington carver museum in his honor, and two years later, he died at 78 from a fall in his residence. carver donated his 60,000-dollar estate (valued at over a million dollars in today’s 21 currency) to the george washington carver foundation. henry ford was a leading contributor to the museum. carver had worked with ford to devise plant-based fuel and rubber alternatives. ford and carver’s relationship started as a business arrangement but developed into a close personal friendship. carver wrote a letter to ford in september to thank him for installing an elevator in his office. he addressed the letter to ford, “the greatest of all my inspiring friends.”81 ford had taken many trips to tuskegee to visit his ailing friend. the last time ford traveled to alabama, carver was hardly able to stand. respiratory complications and swollen limbs immobilized him. “the swelling of the feet and ankles has gone almost entirely and i can walk fifty percent better than when you were here.”82 carver had at least improved to some degree since ford’s most recent visit. the letter he wrote to ford was the first he had written in almost two years because the swelling in his hands made it nearly impossible for him to write. ford knew carver’s health was declining and that the scientist did not have much longer to live. ford wanted to honor his friend while he was still alive. the business mogul planned carver’s final trip to dearborn as a tribute to his beloved companion. ford had a replica of carver’s childhood home constructed in greenfield village and had carver sit to have his portrait painted by irving bacon. carver spent a night in the one-room cabin when he arrived in july. life had come full circle for a man who had overcome many obstacles. like washington, carver had made it up from slavery. like du bois, he had become a once-in-a-generation intellectual. carver successfully imparted his agricultural wisdom to everyday farmers in the south, who now used his organic methods to restore the southern terrain that he valued so dearly. as he slept in the exact copy of his childhood home, he must have slept soundly, 22 dreaming of his boyhood days in diamond, his strolls through ames, and his work in the tuskegee gardens, of the time he spent in nature as the southern sun tanned his handsome face. carver’s moment to “loose” his finite shell, returning it to the earth from which it came, and take on the form of infinity was on the horizon. 23 endnotes 1george r. kremer. george washington carver: in his own words (university of missouri press, 1987), 23. 2kremer, in his own words, 20. 3kremer, in his own words, 23. 4kremer, in his own words, 20. 5kremer, in his own words, 23. 6kremer, in his own words, 23. 7kremer, in his own words, 22. 8kremer, in his own words, 21. 9kremer, in his own words, 45. 10kremer, in his own words, 20. 11kremer, in his own words, 20. 12kremer, in his own words, 20. 13kremer, in his own words, 20. 14kremer, in his own words, 20. 15 kremer, in his own words, 20. 16kremer, in his own words, 23. 17kremer, in his own words, 20. 18kremer, in his own words, 23. 19kremer, in his own words, 149 20kremer, in his own words, 21. 21kremer, in his own words, 21. 22kremer, in his own words, 21. 23 kremer, in his own words, 149. 24kremer, in his own words, 48. 25kremer, in his own words, 51. 26kremer, in his own words, 59. 27kremer, in his own words, 59. 28thomas aiello. the battle for the souls of black folk: w.e.b du bois, booker t. washington, and the debate that shaped the course of civil rights, (praeger, 2016), 81. 29aiello, the battle for the souls of black folk, 82. 30aiello, souls of black folk, 100. 31aiello, souls of black folk, 80. 32aiello, souls of black folk, 92. 33aiello, souls of black folk, 78. 34aiello, souls of black folk, 78. 35aiello, souls of black folk, 78. 36booker t. washington, “industrial education for the negro,” october 1, 1903, from teaching history, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/industrial-education-for-the-negro/. 37booker t. washington, “industrial education for the negro.” 38aiello, souls of black folk, 337. 39aiello, souls of black folk, 332. 40washington, “industrial education for the negro.” 41w.e.b du bois, “the talented tenth,” 1903, from teaching american history, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-talented-tenth/. 42 kremer, in his own words, 166. 43 kremer, in his own words, 152. 44 kremer, in his own words, 152. 45 kremer, in his own words, 62. 46kremer, in his own words, 64. 47kremer, in his own words, 64. 48 kremer, in his own words, 65. 49kremer, in his own words, 85. 50kremer, in his own words, 84. 24 51kremer, in his own words, 66. 52kremer, in his own words, 68. 53kremer, in his own words, 76. 54kremer, in his own words, 77. 55kremer, in his own words, 78. 56george wahington carver, george washington carver works: all bulletins and thesis, (kindle, 2020), 10-12. 57carver, george washington carver works, 12. 58carver, george washington carver works, 12. 59carver, george washington carver works, 122. 60carver, george washington carver works, 123. 61carver, george washington carver works, 518. 62carver, george washington carver works, 513. 63carver, george washington carver works, 519. 64carver, george washington carver works, 400. 65carver, george washington carver works, 486. 66carver, george washington carver works, 143. 67carver, george washington carver works, 143. 68carver, george washington carver works, 135. 69carver, george washington carver works, 175. 70carver, george washington carver works, 15. 71kremer, in his own words, 104. 72kremer, in his own words, 104. 73kremer, in his own words, 104. 74kremer, in his own words, 107. 75kremer, in his own words, 108. 76kremer, in his own words, 108. 77kremer, in his own words, 108. 78kremer, in his own words, 112. 79kremer, in his own words, 112. 80kremer, in his own words, 112. 81kremer, in his own words, 161. 82kremer, in his own words, 161. 25 references aiello, thomas. the battle for the souls of black folk: w.e.b du bois, booker t. washington, and the debate that shaped the course of civil rights. (praeger, 2016). carver, george w. george washington carver works: all bulletins and thesis. (kindle, 2020). du bois, w.e.b. “the talented tenth.” 1903. from teaching american history. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-talented-tenth/ kremer, george r. george washington carver: in his own words. (university of missouri press, 1987). washington, booker t. “industrial education for the negro.” october 1, 1903. from teaching american history. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/industrial-education-for-the-negro/. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-talented-tenth/ microsoft word snyder his.docx 1 sacralizing the cold war: the lived religion of president eisenhower’s pastor ryan snyder history edward l. r. elson pastored powerful people. when his washington, dc, church building sat empty during the week, elson prayed for his 1950s congregants while sitting in their assigned pews: president dwight eisenhower, committed laymen; secretary of state john foster dulles, officiating elder; fbi director j. edgar hoover, sunday school teacher and elected trustee; postmaster general arthur summerfield; dorothy thompson, renowned journalist and chief organizer of the american friends of the middle east (afme).1 from 1946 to 1973, every united states president except president kennedy heard him preach at national presbyterian church, and from 1969 to 1981, he served as chaplain of the united states senate.2 elson not only led a powerful church, but he led it in a time of perceived crisis. historians have begun to reveal the way the early cold war was understood as a holy war. in religion and american foreign policy, william inboden focuses on the “theology” of president truman, dulles, and president eisenhower, examining their “beliefs about god, humanity, and how the world should work.”3 he shows that for these cold warriors, religion functioned as both a cause and as an instrument. “as a cause it helped to determine why the united states opposed the soviet union” and as an instrument it was a factor in “how the united states fought the soviet union.”4 as a cause, inboden contends that the classic explanations of the origin of the cold war—balance of power realities, security concerns, political and economic ideology— together or separate, are not sufficient without understanding the role religion played. as 2 americans identified their nation with god’s kingdom, they looked in horror at the expansion of “godless communism.” as eisenhower put it while on the campaign trail, “what is our battle against communism if not a fight between anti-god and a belief in the almighty? communists know this. they have to eliminate god from their system. when god comes in, communism has to go.”5 religion and atheism clearly delineated good and evil nations for the first cold warriors. religion was thud alsoseen as a potent instrument in “strengthening anticommunist resolve at home and undermining communism abroad.”6 jonathan herzog picks up on religion as instrument in his book the spiritual industrial complex, situating the “spiritual battle against communism in the wider context of religion’s ever-changing relationship with american society.”7 religious and political leaders were concerned about what they perceived as america’s secularization in the first half of the twentieth century. herzog defines secularization not as an unstoppable force of modernization but as a process within social environments brought about through specific actions that make religion seem less important for solving social problems. on this view, just as secularization was the result of deliberate actions, so also could religion be re-endowed with perceived political, social, economic, and intellectual value through deliberate action. herzog argues cold warriors attempted to wield political, social, and security institutions to take the us from a secularized to a sacralized nation in the early cold war through the concerted efforts of the spiritual-industrial complex, that is, the top down, “deliberate and managed use of societal resources to stimulate a religious revival in the late 1940s and 1950s.”8 this paper takes yet another perspective on religion in the cold war: the way one pastor’s practice of his faith sanctified the cold war. where earlier texts have focused on the "official” theological ideas of cold warriors and the religious history of secular cold war era 3 institutions, this paper asks how edward elson’s vernacular religion aided and abetted the sacralization of the cold war at home and abroad. vernacular religion—as theorized by folklorist norman primiano—is a methodology of studying how individuals live their religion. as opposed to top-down treatments of “official” religion as an institution or denomination, vernacular religion examines the everyday life of an individual’s belief process and the verbal, behavioral, and material expression of their religious belief. one’s belief process is in dialectical relationship with—being formed by and forming—the many structures the individual encounters: “physical and psychological predispositions…family, community affiliations, religious institutions…political and economic conditions.”9 vernacular religion highlights the everyday practices of religious life of those on the margins and at the center of “official” religion.10 edward elson practiced his vernacular religion in ways that shaped the spiritual dimensions of the early cold war. this article will explore the structures that shaped and were shaped by this pastor’s unique, lived faith. first, it will examine those influences on his religion stemming from his life before 1953 as he remembered it in oral history interviews and his autobiography . this provides the background for understanding how his vernacular religion formed and was shaped by representing “official” institutional presbyterianism to president eisenhower: baptizing him, preaching to him week after week, conducting a home blessing for their gettysburg farm on thanksgiving, and corresponding with him via letters. finally, elson’s religion incited him to advocate for the arab middle east, traveling and lecturing throughout the area with the american friends of the middle east (afme), the organization for which he was the longtime chairman of the national council. elson expressed his vernacular beliefs in sermons, books, articles, and his co-organizing the foundation for religious action in social and civil order (frasco). ultimately, the way edward elson lived his religion authorized 4 eisenhower’s sacralization of the cold war even as it advocated for a stronger arab-american connection within the religious parameters of the cold war. living modern american faith looking back over his life, elson’s saw his early life as punctuated by a feeling of “progress” and christian faith. born in 1906, he remembered the way the kerosene lanterns in his family home in monongahela, pennsylvania, gave way to gas lamps, and finally to electricity, and the way his father stopped carrying buckets of hand-pumped water when the newly installed electric pump carried the water to the house automatically. in 1916, ten-year-old edward rejoiced when congress passed the eight-hour workday for railroad workers, allowing his father, who was an engineer on the pennsylvania railroad, to spend more time at home. he remembered the great war far less than the spanish flu, from which he and his father suffered and many in their railroad community died.11 through all of this, elson’s early home life was saturated with religion; his “father prayed daily, read the bible, attended church with unvarying regularity,” and his mother taught sunday school and raised her children with the ideal of serving god, country, and others as the supreme way of life.12 in high school, his football coach, john lewis, inspired elson by exemplifying “virtues of christian manhood.” elson recalled, “more than any minister or layman i met in my growing years, this man’s qualities of manhood and character influenced my life for good.”13 he was accepted to and planned to attend the us military academy west point, hoping to hone the discipline he learned from his parents, his coach, and his church. then, in a christian camp meeting—a holdover from the days of tent revivals—elson spent an entire day wrestling internally with god, as he reflected and prayed. “churning thoughts, turbulent feelings, conflicting desires, and competing forces all rose within me.” at day’s end and for the rest of his 5 life he knew: “i did not choose the christian ministry; christ chose me.”14 thus, instead of west point, he attended asbury college, a conservative methodist university. while elson attended asbury, differences between liberal and conservative christianity widened, as the scopes-monkey trial polarized the church in 1925. in elson’s view, many students and a few faculty members voiced “exceedingly reactionary and excessively conservative mentalities.” while no liberal himself, elson published articles in the student newspaper arguing that asbury should stay within the denominational groups that were seen to be straying from theological orthodoxy to influence them from within. the school erupted in counter-speeches and prayers for the welfare of his soul.15 considered a liberal in this conservative context, elson preferred to remain amid difference rather than split over dogma. after graduation, he attended graduate school at the university of southern california to study with dr. ralph tyler flewelling, the primary american proponent of philosophical personalism. from flewelling’s philosophy, elson adopted a clear spiritual justification for his masculine individualism. flewelling responded to what he saw as socialism’s critique of liberalism—societies based on the individual “cannot yield the highest culture” because “the individual is forever misusing his freedom”—by submitting the individual to the higher culture of personalism. “the dominant principle of personalism is the dependence of individual culture upon the moral and spiritual values.”16 throughout his pastoral ministry, elson preached on this theme, calling american individuals to correct the selfishness of individualism with spiritual values. in 1951, he declared over his congregation, “there is only one way to have a better washington and a better america and that is to have better washingtonians and better americans…it is axiomatic that no one is sinless… let every citizen begin with personal heartsearching and conscience testing, and humble repentance…”17 6 elson crossed denominational lines when he brought his methodist training to his first pulpit of la jolla presbyterian church in california, before this ministry was interrupted by world war ii. elson was eager to serve his country, having already enlisted as a chaplain in the reserves before the us entered the war. he was stationed in europe for 197 days of combat, serving as part of the seventh u.s. army in the battle of the bulge.18 when the war ended, elson met eisenhower for the first time, when the general asked him to deliver a formal communique to the nazi “german christians,” which declared they would be allowed to worship as they saw fit under the same freedom of religion enjoyed in america. he also worked at the dachau concertation camp on the day it was liberated, documenting war crimes. expressing a mild antisemitism, what horrified him more than the “bodies of men, women, and children stacked to the ceiling inside the crematory and as high as the roof on the outside” was the way—in his words—the christian “clergy at dachau were treated worse in many ways than other prisoners.”19 his experiences of jewish suffering at dachau never influenced his pro-arab sympathies of events in the middle east in the years to come. not long after returning to the states in 1946, and now remarried, elson was offered the pastorate at national presbyterian church just four blocks from the white house. here he pastored a local congregation that was also the symbolic national representative of the presbyterian church (pcusa). in the early 1950s, this church was a member of the national council of churches (ncc) and the world council of churches (wcc), the two flagship ecumenical organizations of liberal-leaning, mainline protestantism. although at asbury he was considered a religious liberal among conservatives, he was now a conservative among liberals. while he found mass evangelist and foremost neo-evangelical billy graham’s methods questionable, he had more in common with graham doctrinally than with many in the liberal 7 ncc that questioned the supernatural elements of christianity. doctrinally, elson was a conservative evangelical pastoring the national church of one of the foremost liberalizing denominations. yet, his vernacular religion was far more than his set of propositional beliefs, and in many ways, he departed from the neat binary of evangelical vs. mainline so endemic to american church historiography.20 perhaps the best example of elson’s self-presentation of his unique belief came in the sermon, “a time for intolerance,” preached in march 1953, just weeks after eisenhower joined the church. while lauding the american value of tolerance he saw in 1950s culture, he cautioned his parishioners about the limits of tolerance. he listed five moments when he thought there ought to be a limit to christian tolerance. first, he declared, the christian is to be tolerant of other faiths, but not of other religions seeking to impose “their own will upon a total national or social life.”21 while not stated, given his anti-zionist stance, it seems he conflated judaism and the pro-zionist lobby.22 second, the christian ought to be tolerant of different moral standards, but not of scandalous behavior that is a disgrace to “christian morality and destructive of american idealism.” elson began the third tenant, “the christian will be tolerant toward other races” but followed it with a question, asking, “must one tolerate the accusation that concern for better race relations always has political motivations?” here, elson condemned individual race prejudice, but seems to reject the existence of structural racism in american life. finally, fourth, the christian can be tolerant of those who hold to different “political philosophy, economic theory, and public morality” but cannot in any way tolerate “the forces that would destroy both our church and our cherished nation,” namely, the new “world religion” that is communism.23 here, elson wove together conservative american republicanism with a “generous” spirit of 8 christian tolerance, even as the application of his “limits of tolerance” could easily be applied toward antisemitic, anti-civil rights, and anti-communist ends. america’s cold war spiritual recovery elson’s unique vernacular religion shaped the religious landscape of 1950s washington, dc. his sermons were well known for their combination of the christian gospel with american patriotism. in the 1950s cold war, the political theater in dc took on a religious cast. eisenhower supplanted the traditional role of the clergy at his first inauguration by leading the nation in prayer, his first act as president. under elson’s pastoral care, eisenhower became the only president to be baptized in office. prayer found a new public life: eisenhower created the national prayer breakfast, and he internationalized the day of prayer for peace that president truman had established. other ploys in the cold war crusade for spiritual recovery were the addition of “one nation under god” to the pledge of allegiance in 1954 and the adoption of the national motto “in god we trust” printed on postage stamps and currency beginning in 1955.24 eisenhower’s faith was sincere and thoroughly american. he was raised in a devout river brethren home but had never been baptized. he broke with the pacifist church of his youth with his choice of career and rarely attended chapel in the military. prior to his presidency, his central creed was more american than christian: “i believe fanatically in the american form of democracy, a system…that ascribes to the individual a dignity accruing to him because of his creation in the image of a supreme being.” in december 1952, eisenhower famously elaborated this belief after a meeting with soviet general zhukov with whom he worked in the war. he declared, “our form of government has no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith, and i don’t care what it is. with us of course it is the judeo-christian concept…what was the use of me talking to zhukov about that? religion, he had been taught, was the opiate of the 9 people.”25 eisenhower believed in what he saw as the essential social function of religion for american life and cared little about specific dogma. but more than just a statement on civil religion—as many scholars have seen it—this declaration of faith showed eisenhower’s understanding of the spiritual roots of the cold war.26 as long as zhukov and the communist order he represented continued to believe religion was an opiate of the masses and not, as eisenhower believed, an essential ingredient for free government, global conflict must continue.27 elson courted the president-elect’s church membership as soon as the pastor returned from the middle east in november 1952.28 elson contacted dwight’s brother, milton eisenhower, to put in a good word to his brother about the npc. in a letter to the president-elect, elson presented the significance of npc as the national representative of the major mainline denomination, the pcusa. finally, he concluded by proposing a meeting in which the president could meet elson and two current elders, j. edgar hoover and lt. general william s. paul, to further discuss the church.29 at this meeting, on january 2, 1953, eisenhower disclosed his previous difficulties with attending church. when the president-elect had served as president of columbia university, he had been pressured to join the episcopal church even though he was uncomfortable with the “excessive liturgy,” and kneeling to receive the eucharist at the front of the church.30 elson happily explained the simplicity of worship in his presbyterian church and the way elders served communion pew by pew while congregants stayed in their seats. elson took pride in how “the dignity of worship and the order of service at the [npc] at that time were perfectly suited to president eisenhower’s personal preferences.”31 elson’s vernacular religion, and the way it radiated out into the performance of the order of service, found political legitimation in the dignified disciplined commander-in-chief. 10 the first opportunity for elson to practice his religion by sacralizing eisenhower’s cold war presidency came on january 20, 1953. elson conducted a solemn, twenty-minute preinaugural service of worship and dedication for the president and cabinet. while pre-inaugural worship was a longstanding tradition, this was the first time the president invited the whole of his administration to join him at his own church. elson carefully planned the service so each of the spiritual images would find their clear fulfillment in eisenhower’s ascension to the presidency: from the opening hymn “our god, our help in ages past” to the new testament reading wherein paul urged putting on the whole armor of god to wrestle “against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” elson chose these passages because they seemed to him “the most apt and helpful at this particular time in history.”32 elson engaged in figural interpretation to see eisenhower as the fulfillment of these biblical passages. in doing so, elson arrayed the beginning of inauguration day with a sacralization of the united states’ place as god’s chosen people, who providentially-democratically chose a leader to put on god’s armor to wage war against the communist rulers of darkness of this world. the service ended with a series of prayers, some written by elson for the occasion. he prayed for president eisenhower: almighty god…grant unto thy servant, dwight david eisenhower, now and henceforth, health of body, serenity of soul, clarity of insight, soundness of judgement, a lofty moral courage, a sanctified stewardship of office, and a constant and confident faith in thee…make him a channel of thy grace and an instrument of thy power upon this earth, that righteousness and truth, justice and honor may be promoted and upheld among the men and nations of this world.33 elson invoked god’s benediction on the new president, revealing his own perspective on the proper role of an american cold war leader and giving religious institutional legitimacy for eisenhower to understand himself as a conduit of god’s grace and power in waging a holy war among the nations of the earth. between the end of this service and the inauguration, eisenhower 11 decided to open his presidency with prayer. the words of elson’s prayer over him still in his ears, his own prayer bears marked similarities. however, the main difference lies in the fact that he, who was not a clergyman, stepped into the clergy’s role, praying over the whole nation gathered in the national mall and around radios and televisions across the nation: almighty god, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the executive branch of government join me in beseeching that thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of citizens everywhere. give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. may cooperation be permitted…so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and thy glory.34 eisenhower felt the sacralization of his calling from elson, and he began his presidency conflating the good of the united states and the glory of god . prayer proved a powerful way of strengthening anticommunism at home and undermining the spread of communism abroad. elson knew the social power of prayer, and he made sure his parishioners recognized it as well. before the first cabinet meeting, elson wrote to eisenhower, saying, “since you symbolize today a moral resurgence and spiritual counteroffensive in our world, the establishment at this time of the practice of prayer as the initial act at cabinet meetings would have a tremendous effect upon the cabinet and the country.”35 elson then offered to prepare these prayers personally or to arrange for representatives of other denominations and faiths to do so as well. eisenhower adopted this public practice of prayer, although there is no evidence that he accepted his pastor’s latter offer, preferring to either offer his own prayers or simply pause for silent prayer.36 eisenhower realized the cold war foreign affairs potential for prayer when he spoke at the wcc to protestants from across the globe in 1954. speaking “as a private citizen” and member of a wcc constituent church, he urged “every single person, in every single country in the world, who believes in the power of a supreme being, to join in a mighty, simultaneous, 12 intense act of faith…a personal prayer…for a just and lasting peace.”37 the cold war strategy of such a call was that only the atheist communist would be excluded from a prayer for peace. in effect, every religious person, especially in the third world, would stand in spiritual solidarity with the american free world in support of peace, against what would seem like a belligerent, atheist communism. the united states information agency under abbott washburn enthusiastically assumed the call for international prayer and publicized the speech and presidential admonition to pray throughout the world.38 of course, eisenhower could only claim to speak as a member of a wcc constituent church because elson baptized him into the npc on february 1, 1953, just twelve days after his inauguration. thus, elson’s solemn practice of his religion in providing the official ordinances of the church to the president provided a precondition for eisenhower’s cold war use of religion. eisenhower did not want his faith to be on the political stage, but elson knew his mere example would powerfully contribute to the “nation’s spiritual recovery.”39 much to eisenhower’s anger, the press was sitting in the back of the church during his baptism. eisenhower was happy to use religion to support the cold war effort, but he was less willing to parade his own faith in that pursuit. elson, on the other hand, regarded the president as “a symbol of the incipient spiritual renaissance of our times,” saying as much on a nationally broadcasted televised interview.40 hoping to use the exemplary power of the president’s spiritual life to both sacralize american culture and keep communism at bay, elson dedicated his popular book america’s spiritual recovery to his parishioner-president. in the forward, j. edgar hoover commented, “the fact that dr. elson could dedicate his important account of america’s spiritual recovery to dwight d. eisenhower…is in itself a significant sign of the times.”41 hoover elevated the book’s importance: “when spiritual guidance is at a low ebb, moral principles are in 13 a state of deterioration. secularism advances in periods when men forget god. and it is in these periods that the godless tyranny of atheistic communism has made its greatest inroads.”42 in hoover’s estimation, elson’s book helped fill the urgent need for spiritual guidance. aside from contributing to the political-theological theater, elson contributed concretely to waging the cold war with religion as well. sharing eisenhower’s frustration at the way the country’s major religious organizations (especially the national association of evangelicals and the ncc) were divided and thus unable to launch a unified campaign against communism, elson co-founded the foundation for religious action in the social and civil order (frasco) with charles lowery. the core purpose of this organization was to “pin-point the religious issue in the crisis of our time…to unite all believers in god in the struggle between the free world and atheistic communism which aims to destroy both religion and liberty.” frasco was inherently interfaith, inviting members of protestant, roman catholic, and jewish congregations. it expected members to maintain doctrinal differences and join together to combat “communism and secularism…in the social and civil order.”43 elson and lowery brought together a remarkable group to serve as the board of directors: billy graham contributed religious celebrity and his neo-evangelical network; henry ford ii the backing of big-business; herbert hoover the legitimacy of a former president; george meany the support of big-labor; and missionary kid and publisher of time, life, and fortune magazines henry luce brought his media empire.44 each november, 1954-1957, frasco hosted an annual conference. the theme remained consistent: allegiance to spiritual values in opposition to communist materialism. while frasco never had the same status as the ncc or nae, that was never its goal. instead, it succeeded in forging among americans a spiritual unity in opposition to the atheist soviet union.45 14 as eisenhower’s time in office progressed, it seemed america had indeed made a spiritual recovery. “church membership rose from 49 percent in 1940 to 69 percent in 1960…”46 elson thought the addition to the pledge of allegiance, “one nation, under god” had become a symbol calling the us toward greater public piety. at the second pre-inaugural service of worship at the npc on january 20, 1957, elson preached on the new motto. it had been legislated into our pledge of allegiance…printed on our postage stamps and impressed on our coins. now let us each impress it deep within our own hearts and manifest it in our lives and national conduct. such testimony…will sharpen the irreconcilable differences between the two great poles of power in our world today. but it will also give us the strength to live in these times and play our god-appointed role in history.47 for eisenhower, his god appointed role was manifest in waging the cold war, with religion, the cia, and massive nuclear buildup.48 for elson, his self-understood role was to preach the gospel, not “solely as a weapon of ideological conflict.” and yet, he realized, like j. edgar hoover, that when people are spiritually weak, “they are ideologically vulnerable. therefore, when god is found for god's sake, when god is served and righteousness is pursued, we are thereby stronger in meeting the conflicts of the age.”49 elson was not solely a political-theological ideologue. his vernacular religion was a classical christianity with both conservative and liberal theological tendencies that also recognized the geo-political utility of religion. “praise be to allah and long live eisenhower” the way elson lived his vernacular religion not only sacralized eisenhower’s presidency but also advocated for a stronger arab-american diplomatic connection within the religious cold war. “all of my life i have been interested in palestine as the holy land, the land of the book and the people of the bible. originally, this grew out of family bible reading, sunday school instruction, and more specifically out of my theological education.”50 developing out of this youthful interest, elson devoted his considerable energy and connections to improving people-to 15 people relations between the arab middle east and the united states, travelling throughout the area as the chairman of the national council of the american friends of the middle east and spiritually authorizing eisenhower’s pro-arab foreign policy decisions. when looking back on his life in 1968, elson presented his own work with the middle east within a 150-year history of presbyterian-american relations with the area. “[t]he united states had through its missionaries, educators and travelers…developed an attitude of friendliness…with the people of the middle east.” he related how presbyterian missionaries had sought not to make converts but had merely attempted to live the christian life for the arab world to witness, slowly penetrating the culture, establishing educational institutions, freeing women from “their confinement under moslem culture,” and bringing the “beginning of industrial activity.” then, at the end of world war ii, jewish refugees from europe poured into palestine, and in 1948, truman recognized the nation state of israel. “the loss of goodwill in the middle east was immediate, pervasive, and disastrous…we lost in 48 hours through this action the good will which had been created over a period of 150 years.”51 seeking to restore the lost good will, elson’s parishioner, dorothy thompson, convened a group of likeminded individuals on may 15, 1951, to form the american friends of the middle east (afme). the group, whose board of directors elson would join in 1952 and whose national council he would chair over the next two and half decades, shared an almost mystical belief in the mingled fate of the middle east and the west: “we believe that our great civilizations…derive their strength essentially from the same wellsprings and that a better mutual understanding…will result in greater harmony of action.” driven by this belief, the group set out to “interpret the culture, the problems and the aspirations of the middle east” to north 16 americans, and to interpret the “real america with its ideals of freedom, justice and peace for all the people of the world” to the middle east.52 the afme was, on the face of it, a private non-profit seeking to improve relations between two parts of the world, but it was later revealed to have been funded by the cia.53 hugh wilford has demonstrated that, while the cia benefited in numerous ways from the work of the afme, it would be a mistake to think it was merely a puppet or front organization.54 “the relationship between the cia and the [afme] was less like that of a patron and client than an alliance of partners united by a shared purpose and outlook.” that said, the relationship was anything but straight forward. the afme professed to be a private organization that supported the middle east, and yet it relied on the us government for its financial funding. equally, because the cia held the largest portion of the afme’s annual budget, it maintained the final say in afme affairs.55 thus, when elson travelled to the middle east, he went vicariously on the cia’s dime. elson contributed to the stated goal of the afme through his unique performance of his religion. when he travelled to seven capitals in the middle east as afme’s first annual cultural exchange visitor and lecturer in 1952, he expressed his vernacular beliefs by speaking on “the spiritual significance of the world crisis.”56 he hoped to convey the way americans and arabs were “common inheritors of a faith that man, the individual, is possessed of dignity and freedom as the gift of god at his creation” and that this dignified free individual is in danger of being “overwhelmed by [communism’s] mass-man.” while the address avoided specifically christian ideas, it conformed clearly to a sermon, warning his iraqi audience of the dangers of the new communist religion just to their north and casting a vision for an eschatological world of cooperation between the middle east and the west where “each area of the world will contribute 17 by its own culture to a world never before envisioned…” defined by justice and righteousness.57 having interpreted what he saw as best in american culture to the middle east, elson returned from his trip, invigorated to interpret the middle east to the recently elected president. while elson’s performance of “official” religion to eisenhower cannot be said to have been the cause of the president’s pro-arab policy or his enactment of the eisenhower doctrine in the middle east, elson made sure that the president felt the full support of his pastoral ministry when making decisions regarding that part of the world, beginning with the suez crisis of 1956. when egyptian leader gamal nasser seized control of the suez canal from the british on july 26, 1956, the british and french devised a scheme whereby israel would invade egypt, the british would intervene to stop the fighting, and britain would reacquire the canal as an apparent side effect. eisenhower was blindsided by this overt imperial action. not wanting to be seen siding with colonial powers or as an enemy of arab nationalism, eisenhower demanded an immediate cease-fire, supporting nasser. the situation concluded in early november, and england and france, both symbolically weakened, were now aware that they could no longer operate in the world without america’s consent or apart from us cold war objectives.58 elson wrote to the president three months later to encourage him, saying that in his opinion, suez had been the highest moment in his career as president and that he was certain that the president had acted “from the highest possible moral elevation.” he went on to say that he had spoken to his fellow congregant, john foster dulles, about the american public’s perception of the president’s action. he was happy to let the president know that, since talking with dulles, he had “been seeking to marshal church leaders in support of your position.” reaching out to his contacts at the ncc, elson was confident that they would release a statement in support of the president the following week. closing the letter, elson displayed his own perspective: “the 18 world is greatly blessed by your leadership…and your unwillingness to be manipulated by a minority segment.”59 elson attached a lengthy postscript to his spiritually authorizing note that pleased eisenhower. relating a story from one of elson’s missionary contacts in lebanon, the letter told how a devout muslim man had come from a “communist-infested section of north syria” to a missionary hospital so his wife could undergo an operation. when the nurse came to report the success of the procedure to the worried husband, he proclaimed, “praise be to allah and long live eisenhower.” the letter concluded, “the political climate here is quite changed. gone, for the present, is our fear of waking to find the communists ‘in’.” eisenhower’s actions at suez had, according to elson’s presbyterian connection, “captured the hearts of the people of this region.”60 when the american public was less understanding of the president’s action, elson’s encouragement spiritually sanctioned his actions and demonstrated the effectiveness of one of the president’s goals, to develop pro-american feelings throughout the arab world. whether or not the story was true, elson used it to pastorally care for eisenhower as he made pro-arab decisions in the middle east. as elson prepared to travel in the middle east once again in the fall of 1957, he contacted secretary of state dulles, letting him know that if “i can be of any possible service to you through my many contacts in the middle eastern nations, i am at your command.”61 while neither the president nor dulles wanted to appear to be sending their private pastor traveling with the afme on government business, the heads of state that he visited throughout the region knew they were meeting with the president’s pastor.62 apparently for all involved, his travel was a great success. the afme reported how elson “was declared state guest in syria, iraq, egypt, pakistan and saudi arabia[,]” and how he had “received the lebanese medal of merit and the 19 second order of the jordan star.”63 upon returning home, elson met with eisenhower to report on his trip, whereupon the president asked him to also meet with assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs william rountree to provide diplomatic intelligence.64 the afme’s delighted over the media attention elson and his pro-arab sermon, “promise to the promised land,” received upon his return. here, from the spiritually authoritative pulpit looking down over all his powerful parishioners, elson retold the history of the middle east, beginning with abraham and ending with eisenhower. conspicuously absent from the narrative was god’s covenant with abraham in genesis 17 in which god promises the land of canaan as an inheritance to his descendants, a passage frequently employed by the zionist movement elson so despised. also of note was the way the narrative transitioned smoothly from biblical to post-biblical history. suddenly, the land was empty and the “blood brothers of the ancient hebrews,” the arabs, inhabited palestine. elson elaborated on the eighteen hundred years the arabs owned the land and on the tragic consequences of the creation of the nation state of israel in 1948. he gestured behind him to the altar at the front of the church, upon which the ordinance of communion was served. “our holy table, made of wood from the cedars of lebanon, is a sign of our association with the area.”65 bringing the sermon to its conclusion, he proclaimed the great importance of the eisenhower doctrine, the january 1957 declaration that any nation, especially in the middle east, could request aid from the us military to secure and protect territorial and political independence from international communism.66 elson then offered a specific foreign policy application: “what israel has done by her capitol and skills can be done in varying degrees elsewhere—given technical aid, capital, hard work, and cooperation.” for elson, the middle east mattered spiritually “because we are a people of a book—a book which came out of the middle 20 east; and because we are people who love and revere the holy land—a land holy to three great faiths…wherein may be determined the future issues of peace and war and human destiny.”67 beyond those listening in the pews, elson knew members of prominent newspapers sat in the back of his church, ready to publish his words. that the afme annual report presented this sermon and the media attention it received as a central way the organization fulfilled its cia funded goals for that year indicates that elson recognized the social and political power of his sermons, even though he said he did not preach with politics in mind.68 eisenhower saw elson as an expert on the oriental arab mind.69 the president solicited elson views seeking to understand how to maintain what good will remained toward the us after siding with the british against arab nationalists by invading lebanon and jordan in 1958.70 elson began his response to the president, “if we combine spiritual motivation and moral rectitude with military firmness…we can exploit the present crisis in the middle east for constructive ends.”71 once again, the pastor framed the cold war conflict in the middle east in religious terms. he encouraged the president that the arab people would understand if he spoke in spiritual terms and proceeded to give him a list of things the arab community wanted to hear from him. he told the president to assure the people of the middle east of both america’s abiding friendship and how the us shares “with them their aspirations for self-fulfillment, for freedom under god, and the achievement of national destiny. nationalism is good when spiritually disciplined.” elson believed the president should declare to them that arab unity is natural and laudable and pledge that the us would work through the un to resolve lingering issues regarding the partition of palestine. the pastor synthesized the situation: “israel fears extinction; the arabs fear israel expansion. if we are to assure israeli survival, we can have friends in the middle east only if, at the same time, we guarantee israel’s containment.” finally, 21 elson summarized, “it is the combination of unbridled nationalism, the drive toward arab unity, and [their] excessive pre-occupation with israel which gives communism its opportunity to disrupt, destroy, and colonize the middle east.” thus, we must “interpret our spiritual motivations to them in their terms, and patiently and firmly attempt to guide them.”72 eisenhower could not have missed the startling analogy elson drew between the soviet union and israel as elson recommended the containment of israel, mirroring the primary foreign policy of the cold war since truman of containing the soviet union and communism. eisenhower “very much liked” elson’s presentation of the situation in the middle east. the president agreed that israel needed to be kept out of the broader conflicts in the area and was frustrated by the way arab leaders focused almost entirely on israel and not on the perceived soviet threat. eisenhower continued, “the religious approach offers, i agree, a direct path to arab interest.” while the president reported how he wanted to generate a more positive relationship with the pan-arab world, he felt that this could only be carried out within a broader domestic support for the middle east by the american people, a goal he had contributed to through a few speeches but felt the clergy “ought to be active in.”73 elson could not have helped but feel his sermon, “promise to the promised land” the preceding fall had found its mark. eisenhower applied elson’s prescriptions in two ways. first, elson reported how a few days after the exchange of letters, the president gave a speech at the un. “i listened with avid interest and was pleased to find some of my ideas and phrases coming through from the lips of the president of the united states as he addressed the whole world through the united nations.”74 second, eisenhower convened a meeting in september 1957 with frank wisner, deputy director of plans at with the cia, john foster dulles, and assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs william rountree. paraphrasing elson, eisenhower told those in the 22 room that “we should do everything possible to stress the ‘holy war’ aspect,” encouraging islamic jihad against godless communism. dulles recommended establishing a task force which would deliver guns, money, and intelligence to the leaders of saudi arabia, jordan, and lebanon. the two actions taken because of this meeting were first the establishment of a jordanian intelligence service by which the cia supplies intelligence to jordan to this day and second, the placement of jordan’s king hussein on the cia’s payroll for the next twenty years of his reign.75 elson would have been pleased to know the foreign policy effects of the way he lived his religion. the way elson lived his religion sacralized the cold war and worked toward a closer usarab relationship, shaping how the us waged the cold war in the middle east in the 1950s. when elson expressed his unique faith in sermons, important people thought differently. when he prayed, he shaped the contours of america’s political-religious landscape and eisenhower’s own faith. when he baptized the president, he sanctified his cold war agenda as well. as elson travelled to the middle east, he represented both the afme and the president’s spiritual sympathy for the islamic world. in the end, for better or worse, it is as j. edgar hoover said: “dr. elson makes a real contribution because he speaks from a life of broad experience and a deep awareness of christian values in our national life. a man of god, with deep spiritual discernment, he lives his religion. to come under the influence of his personality is in itself inspiring.”76 1 for these famous congregants see elson to eisenhower, november 23, 1952, folder 3, box 1, record group 253, reverend edward l. r. elson papers, 1924-1988, presbyterian historical society archives, philadelphia pa (hereafter eep); elson to dulles december 1, 1955, elson, edward, 1955, john foster dulles papers, box 91, reel 35; public policy papers, department of rare books and special collections, princeton university library (hereafter jfdp) edward elson, wide was his parish (wheaton, ill: tyndale house publishers, 1986), 98; william inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 1945-1960: the soul of containment (cambridge university press, 2008), 264; edward elson, interview by larry lesueur, longines chronoscope, cbs, december, 1954, https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.95930. see also, “how i pray for my people,” new christian advocate, july 1959. 23 2 edward elson, wide was his parish, 87; wolfgang saxon, “edward l. r. elson dies at 86; influential cleric in washington,” the new york times, august 28, 1993, sec. obituaries. 3 william inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 21. 4 ibid, 5. 5 quoted in ibid, 259. 6 ibid, 5. 7 jonathan p. herzog, the spiritual-industrial complex: america’s religious battle against communism in the early cold war, (new york: oxford university press, 2011), 9. 8 ibid, 6-10. 9 leonard norman primiano, “vernacular religion and the search for method in religious folklife,” western folklore 54, no. 1 (1995), 44. 10 ibid, 44-47. vernacular religion de-naturalizes hierarchy in the study of religion. analyzing someone at the center of “official” religion through the lens of vernacular religion de-naturalizes the categories often used to study religion and allows for greater nuance in the study of how christianity interacted with american civil religion. 11 elson, wide was his parish, 20, 22. 12 edward elson oral history, interviewed by paul hopper, january 11, 1968, folder 2, box 14, record group 253, eep, 25; edward elson, wide was his parish, 19. 13 edward elson, wide was his parish, 26. elson to lewis, november 1, 1951, folder 16, box 1, record group 253, eep. for more on “christian manhood” in the early twentieth century see kristin kobes du mez, jesus and john wayne: how white evangelicals corrupted a faith and fractured a nation, (new york, ny: liveright, 2020). 14 edward elson, wide was his parish, 25-27. 15 edward elson oral history, interviewed by paul hopper, january 11, 1968, folder 2, box, 14, record group 253, eep, 33-34. 16 ralph tyler flewelling, “can civilization become christian,” the personalist 1, no. 1 (1920), 13. 17 edward elson, “washington confidential: another view,” sermon delivered to national presbyterian church, may 20, 1951, folder 2, box, 2, record group 253, eep. 18 ibid, 63-64. 19 ibid, 74, 70. 20 david a. hollinger, christianity’s american fate: how religion became more conservative and society more secular (princeton: princeton university press, 2022); heath w. carter, “beware drawing bright lines between evangelical and ecumenical protestants,” christianitytoday.com, february 17, 2023, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/february-web-only/david-hollinger-christianity-american-fateecumenical.html. 21 edward elson, “a time for intolerance” sermon delivered to national presbyterian church, march 23, 1953, folder 2, box 2, record group 253, eep. 22 for an extreme example of the christian, arabist, tendency to conflate antisemitism and anti-zionism see elson’s contemporary, state department worker, edwin m. wright’s oral history. edwin m. wright oral history interview, interview by richard d. mckinzie, july 26, 1974, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/oral-histories/wright, truman presidential library. 23 edward elson, “a time for intolerance.” 24 inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 257; herzog, the spiritual-industrial complex, 105-108. 25 quoted in inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 259. 26 for how this quotation is used in scholarly treatments of american civil religion see patrick henry, “‘and i don’t care what it is’: the tradition-history of a civil religion proof-text,” journal of the american academy of religion 49, no. 1 (1981): 35–49. 27 inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 260. 28 it is not precisely clear what kind of relationship elson and eisenhower shared. in 1991, eisenhower’s secretary, ann whitman, said, commenting on eisenhower’s faith, “i think he thought that dr. elson was a complete phony.” and that “he used to gripe about going to church.” ann whitman, dwight d. eisenhower library oral history, interviewed by martin mack teasley, february 15, 1991, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/oral-histories. however, it is evident from the context that whitman found all religion hypocritical. hugh wilford is less certain, but takes this quotation to indicate that elson may have had little influence over eisenhower in america’s great game: the cia’s secret arabists and the shaping of the modern middle east, (basic books, 2017), 186, 315-316 fn20. inboden, on the other hand argues for a “close relationship” and that elson did indeed influence eisenhower’s 24 policy planning on occasion in religion and american foreign policy. this paper argues that regardless of their personal relationship, elson clearly supported eisenhower’s effort to sacralize the cold war conflict. 29 elson to eisenhower, november 23, 1952, folder 3, box 1, record group 253, eep. 30 edward elson, diary 1, january 2, 1953, folder 12, box 10, record group 253, eep. 31 ibid; elson, wide was his parish, 114. thus both john foster dulles and j. edgar hoover served the president communion as elders of the church. 32 “eisenhower aides join him at church,” the new york times, january 21, 1953. 33 elson, wide was his parish, 112; “eisenhower aides join him at church,” the new york times, january 21, 1953. 34 prayer from inaugural address of president eisenhower, january 20, 1953, published in “this nation under god: a recognition of the basic sources of our nation’s religious heritage” may 3, 1953, folder 2, box 2, record group 253, eep. the preface of this pamphlet presents “the teachings of dr. edward l. r. elson…closely paralleled by the…declarations of president eisenhower.” 35 elson to eisenhower, january 14, 1953, folder 3, box 1, record group 253, eep. 36 it is worth noting that on at least one occasion, “when reminded that he had begun a cabinet meeting without first pausing for [prayer]…he snapped, “oh goddamit, we forgot the silent prayer.” quoted in andrew preston, sword of the spirit, shield of faith: religion in american war and diplomacy (new york: anchor, 2012), 442. elson overlooked these moments, choosing to see eisenhower as a “genuinely good person…having an exemplary practice of his christian faith.” elson, wide was his parish, 132. 37 quoted in inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 71. 38 ibid. preston, sword of the spirit, shield of faith, 448-50. 39 edward elson, interview by larry lesueur, longines chronoscope, cbs, december, 1954, https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.95930. 40 ibid. this difference of understanding between elson and eisenhower was intense yet proved a short-lived conflict. eisenhower recorded, “we were scarcely home before the pact was being publicized, by the pastor, to the hilt. i had been promised, by him, that there would be no publicity. i feel like changing at once to another church of the same denomination. i shall if he breaks out again.” quoted in inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 266. eisenhower did not leave the church but began anonymously tithing each year up front and inviting elson to play golf and attend private dinners with him at the white house within weeks. eisenhower to elson, april 8, 1953; eisenhower to elson, june 4, 1953; eisenhower to elson june 5, 1953; eisenhower to elson july 8, 1953; folder 3, box 1, record group 253, eep. 41 j. edgar hoover forward in edward l. r. elson, america’s spiritual recovery (f.h. revell co, 1954). 42 ibid. for more on elson and hoover’s relationship see lerone a. martin, the gospel of j. edgar hoover: how the fbi aided and abetted the rise of white christian nationalism (princeton: princeton university press, 2023), 91-104. martin chronicles the way j. edgar hoover “built up the fbi as a white christian force that partnered with white evangelicals to aid and abet the rise of white christian nationalism.” elson is presented as one of the foundational figures “of mainstream white evangelicalism” that “willingly partnered with j. edgar hoover and the extralegal practices of his fbi to bring america back to their god.” while the portrait of elson’s vernacular religion presented here nuances martin’s use of elson, it should be clear that elson spiritual patriotism and his ambivalence toward “better race relations” resonates with martin’s demonstration that hoover too found his works sacralized by his pastor. 43 inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 279-82. 44 herzog, the spiritual-industrial complex, 162-163. 45 inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 289. 46 preston, sword of the spirit, shield of faith, 448-50, 440. 47 edward elson, “a nation under god” sermon delivered to national presbyterian church, january 20, 1957, folder 4, box 2, record group 253, eep. 48 h. w. brands, the devil we knew: americans and the cold war, (new york: oxford university press, 1994), 46-74. 49 elson, “evaluating our religious revival,” the journal of religious thought, 59. 50 edward elson oral history, interviewed by paul hopper, interview 7 of 8, september 22, 1968, folder 4, box 14, record group 253, eep, 230. 51 edward elson oral history, interviewed by paul hopper, interview 7 of 8, september 22, 1968, folder 4, box 14, record group 253, eep, 235-238. 25 52 american friends of the middle east second annual report of the executive vice president: 19521953. american friends of the middle east annual report. jun 1, 1953, #https://www.bjpa.org/searchresults/publication/19073. 53 neil sheehan special to the new york times, “5 new groups tied to c.i.a. conduits; got funds of 3 foundations the agency aided student unit favors ending links 5 new groups tied to c.i.a.” the new york times, february 17, 1967, sec. archives, https://www.nytimes.com/1967/02/17/archives/5-new-groups-tied-to-ciaconduits-got-funds-of-3-foundations-the.html; hugh wilford, america’s great game, ch. 9; hugh wilford, “american friends of the middle east: the cia, us citizens, and the secret battle for american public opinion in the arab—israeli conflict, 1947—1967,” journal of american studies 51, no. 1 (2017): 93–116. 54 wilford identifies several ways the cia benefited from afme work: afme established non-embassy buildings the cia could operate out of in the middle east; middle easterners were more likely to accept an invitation to visit the united states from afme than from an official government organization. america’s great game, 127-130. 55 ibid, america’s great game, 130-131. 56 elson travel report, oct 17-31, 1952, folder 14, box 10, record group 253, eep; elson, “the spiritual significance of the world crisis,” address to the iraq academy, baghdad, iraq, october 31, 1952, record group 253, box 7, eep; american friends of the middle east second annual report of the executive vice president: 1952-1953. american friends of the middle east annual report. jun 1, 1953, #https://www.bjpa.org/searchresults/publication/19073; edward elson oral history, interviewed by paul hopper, interview 7 of 8, september 22, 1968, folder 4, box 14, record group 253, eep, 240. 57 elson, “the spiritual significance of the world crisis,” october 31, 1952, box 7, record group 253, eep 58 odd arne westad, the cold war: a world history, (basic books, 2019), 272-273. 59 elson to eisenhower, february 24, 1958, folder 3, box 1, record group 253, eep. 60 eisenhower to elson, february 25, 1958, folder 3, box 1, record group 253, eep. 61 john foster dulles to elson, january 8, 1957, box 116, reel 45, jfdp. 62 edward elson oral history, interviewed by paul hopper, interview 7 of 8, september 22, 1968, folder 4, box 14, record group 253, eep, 242-244. 63 american friends of the middle east annual report: 1957-1958. american friends of the middle east annual report. jan 1, 1958, #https://www.bjpa.org/search-results/publication/19078 64 eisenhower to elson, august 5, 1957, folder 3, box 1, record group 253, eep. 65 eisenhower to elson, august 5, 1957, folder 3, box 1, record group 253, eep. 66 editorial note, january 5, 1957, u.s. department of state, foreign relations of the united states, 1955-1957, near east region; iran; iraq: volume xii, doc. 183; https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus195557v12/d183. 67 edward elson, “promise to the promised land” sermon delivered to national presbyterian church, august 11, 1957, folder 4, box 2, record group 253, eep. 68 this would confirm the fears of american zionists who accused elson of trying to wield his spiritual authority to influence the president in a pro-arab direction. see eliezer whartman, “eisenhower's pastor the reverend elson's views on israel,” the american zionist, february 1956, folder 7, box 14, record group 253, eep. 69 in as much as he drew on his “expert” knowledge of the middle east to buttress the us empire, elson can be usefully understood according to edward said’s definition of the american orientalist. edward w. said, orientalism (new york: vintage, 1978), 291. 70 ivan pearson, “the syrian crisis of 1957, the anglo-american ‘special relationship’, and the 1958 landings in jordan and lebanon,” middle eastern studies 43, no. 1 (2007): 45–64. 71 elson to eisenhower, undated, folder 3, box 1, record group 253, eep. while the document is undated, the words of this letter match precisely elson’s recording of it in his oral history, dating it to sunday, july 24. 72 ibid. 73 eisenhower to elson, july 31, 1958, national security archive, https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsaebb/nsaebb78/propaganda%20133.pdf. 74 edward elson oral history, interviewed by paul hopper, interview 7 of 8, september 22, 1968, folder 4, box 14, record group 253, eep, 242-244. inboden, religion and american foreign policy confirms elson’s memory, demonstrating the many quotations and ideas eisenhower used in this speech, 296-297. 75 tim weiner, legacy of ashes: the history of the cia, reprint edition (new york: anchor, 2008), 136-137. inboden, religion and american foreign policy, 294. inboden makes the connection to weiner’s reporting on this meeting. 76 j. edgar hoover, forward, in edward l. r. elson, america’s spiritual recovery. 1 state violence as white backlash to the land back movement suzanne m. staherski political science introduction “flexing where you from when that shit stolen land pull up to the capitol with murder plans signed the constitution with some bloody hands fuck your business plan, this our people’s land.”1 thus raps indigenous artist, political activist, and musician, xiuhtezcatl, in his single, “take it all back.” these lyrics capture not only the framework and history fueling the growing land back movement, but also the irony of white backlash movements, generally. central to american white supremacist ideology is the belief in the “chosenness” of the anglo-saxon people and their manifest destiny. these nativist and ethnocentric ideas are so fundamental to american white supremacy that they constitute a civil religion of sorts. to be american is to buy into the rhetoric that the land the united states is built upon is a predestined gift from god.2 yet, as xiuhtezcatl points out, the sense of pride and moral superiority deeply held by white supremacists is founded upon lies. the land america was founded upon was not a gift from god; it was stolen from indigenous people through treachery and violence, and the main culprit of these crimes is the u.s. government itself. this article focuses on the use of state power against indigenous peoples’ fight for sovereignty. i specifically look at the recently popularized land back movement’s demands for land reparations and cultural sovereignty, and how the united states government has responded with backlash rooted in white supremacy. my overarching goal is to demonstrate how state power used against indigenous movements is a form of white supremacy by examining the 2 patterns, both historical and contemporary, used by the u.s. government to strip indigenous nations of their autonomy. i first focus on the nature of the land back movement, including its origins and objectives. i then examine three case studies on the use of state power against indigenous nations: the black hills protests, the dakota access pipeline protests, and the conflict between oklahoma’s indigenous peoples and governor stitt. in my examination, i explain what took place during these protests and backlash movements. i argue that the use of state power in these cases upholds white supremacy through backlash, focusing on the specific implications of each of the three cases. throughout this article, i use the term “white supremacy” to refer to systemic forces that create, perpetuate, and reinforce a racial hierarchy that places white people at the top. spears writes about the way this racial hierarchy intersects with other systems of oppression to become the “central organizing logic of western modernity.”3 white supremacy as a system “seeks to universalize—as it differentiates; it seeks to be totalitarian; it infuses and co-constitutes political economy, power-holding and deployment, along with wealth distribution.”4 perhaps the most daunting aspect of white supremacy is its pervasiveness; whiteness is regarded as the norm and standard. previous literature has argued that because american society is steeped in whiteness, it becomes invisible.5 increasingly, however, scholars are coming to understand that “many whites also possess a sense of racial identity and are motivated to protect their group’s collective interests and to maintain its status.”6 examinations of the history of white supremacy and its persistence today, like the ones presented in this article, shed light on white people’s investment in white supremacy. what is the land back movement? 3 the use of the phrase “land back” is a literal demand. as the official movement’s website puts it: “landback is a movement that has existed for generations with a long legacy of organizing and sacrifice to get indigenous lands back into indigenous hands.”7 the movement seeks to right wrongs committed against indigenous people, beginning with restoring sovereignty of indigenous lands back to the indigenous groups they belong to. indigenous activists recognize that indigenous identity is inextricable from land— to be indigenous is to have been in this place and on this land before colonizers forcibly seized it. the movement aims to decolonize land, dismantle white supremacy, and overcome systems of oppression. though it focuses on indigenous land reparations, the movement is a political framework for collective liberation. organizers seek justice not only for their own group, but for all groups that experience active oppression under white supremacy. the land back movement is unique in its breadth; it is a unifying movement for all indigenous groups throughout the world to fight for the particular reparations they are owed.8 the ndn collective, an indigenous activist organization, published a manifesto that gives insight into the aims, objectives, and philosophical framework of the land back movement. among these is an orientation toward a symbiotic relationship with the earth. because of this orientation toward mutual healing and belonging with the earth, indigenous activists fight for land reclamation not out of a sense of entitlement to land ownership, but as a means of protective stewardship. the movement recognizes that the decolonization and liberation of people must also include decolonizing and liberating the earth. we as humans cannot be free while the earth dies. for this reason, indigenous activism goes hand-in-hand with climate activism. indigenous activists fight not only for sovereignty over indigenous lands, but also fight to protect its resources, including clean water and air. thus, land back is about 4 collective liberation holistically— of all people, land, animals, and resources that have been exploited and harmed through colonization. further, it is about indigenous cultural sovereignty. as the manifesto professes, the land back movement “is the reclamation of everything stolen from the original peoples: land, language, ceremony, food, education, housing, healthcare, governance, medicines, kinship.”9 through social media and maintaining a strong online presence, indigenous groups have been able to spread more awareness and gain allies in their efforts. in fall 2021, the hashtag, #landback, trended as social media users demonstrated their solidarity with indigenous activists.10 though recent awareness of the land back movement may lead some to believe that it is a new liberation movement, it is important to remember that the fight for decolonization has been taking place over generations. the land back movement builds on indigenous philosophy, rhetoric, and activism that indigenous people have been utilizing for centuries in their struggle for collective liberation. white backlash case study: black hills protests the black hills of south dakota have been a central battleground of the land back movement for generations. this land originally belonged to the dakota, nakota, and lakota nations and is considered sacred as it is the center of the lakota cosmos.11 many indigenous tribes have lived on the land for centuries and shared it peacefully; in the lakota language, the black hills are a sanctuary named “the heart of everything that is.”12 the importance and sacredness of the black hills cannot be overstated. starting in 1846, tensions between white settlers and the indigenous peoples of the great plains began to rise due to competition for resources, land, and freedom of movement. conflicts between indigenous nations were also heightened during this time due to the arrival and 5 movement of white americans through the land. in an effort to find peace, all but three of the indigenous nations of the great plains met with representatives of the united states government in september 1851 to sign a peace treaty: the fort laramie treaty of 1851, otherwise known as the horse creek treaty. in this treaty, the indigenous nations agreed to peace with one another, set up specific territorial boundaries, and recognized the right of the united states government to build roads and military posts within their respective parts of the black hills territory. in return, the united states government agreed to protect tribes from american citizens and pay the nations $50,000 annually for ten years as reparations for any damages or harm incurred prior to the signing of the treaty. the indigenous nations of the great plains mostly met their terms of agreement, living in peace for about a decade. however, the u.s. government failed to protect indigenous people, resources, and hunting grounds from white settlers moving through the oregon trail. additionally, the federal government made only one payment of $50,000 to the nations, failing to uphold its promise.13 because of this broken agreement following the 1851 treaty, indigenous nations of the great plains were at war with white settlers and with each other for years. the 1868 treaty of fort laramie sought peace once again. in this treaty, the black hills were recognized as lakota land and part of the great sioux reservation.14 this meant that the black hills were set aside to be used exclusively by the lakota, dakota, and nakota people. in 1874, general custer violated this treaty, leading an expedition of gold miners into the black hills to search for the precious resource. upon discovering gold in the black hills, a gold rush occurred as more and more white miners trespassed on lakota land in their pursuit of financial gain. the indigenous hunting grounds and sacred land were desecrated. the u.s. army moved into the territory to protect miners and proceeded to attack groups of indigenous people who were rightfully hunting using 6 their designated hunting grounds. conflicts continued until 1877, when the united states once again seized the black hills from the lakota, dakota, and nakota peoples. native activists have been fighting for their land back ever since.15 in 1980, the supreme court ruled in favor of the dakota, lakota, and nakota people, stating that the united states government had illegally seized the black hills, and awarded over $100 million to these peoples. the indigenous nations have repeatedly refused the awarded money, stating that the black hills were never for sale and instead demanding that the land be restored to them.16 no amount of money can repair the damage done. as lee brightman, the lakota founder of united native americans, puts it, “we want payment for the black hills, for all the minerals mined, for the timber taken out. and we want our sacred mountains back.”17 in 1924, sculptor john gutzon de la mothe borglum, was commissioned to carve a monument into the black hills, and thus the carving commonly called mount rushmore was born. borglum was the original sculptor behind the stone mountain confederate monument, where he developed the skills and experience necessary for his work on mount rushmore. borglum himself was known to have been involved in kkk politics, attended klan rallies, served on klan committees,18 and was a “good friend” of d. c. stephenson.19 the carving into mount rushmore depicts george washington, who advocated for “the total destruction and devastation” of the iroquois,20 thomas jefferson, who was a key player in western expansion and the acquisition of indigenous land,21 abraham lincoln, who ordered the execution of 38 dakota people in the largest mass execution in u.s. history,22 and theodore roosevelt, who once said, “i don’t go so far as to think that the only good indians are the dead indians, but i believe nine out of every ten are.”23 thus, the united states not only violated indigenous nations’ rights 7 by seizing their land, but violated the sanctity of the black hills by commissioning a white supremacist to enshrine a memorial to white supremacy and colonization into the mountainside. today, land back activists continue to fight for the restoration of the black hills to their original stewards— the lakota, dakota, and nakota nations— and have gained more recognition and support after the black lives matter protests in 2020. on july 3, 2020, donald trump made a trip to mount rushmore for a reelection rally. land back activists with the ndn collective took the opportunity to protest by setting up vans to block the road leading to mount rushmore and the rally. the activists cooperated with the local sheriff’s department to ensure a peaceful protest. they wore traditional eagle feathers, beat drums, and claimed that those attending the rally were trespassing on indigenous land.24 the national guard, dressed in riot gear, confronted them along with trump supporters yelling, “go back to where you came from.”25 the national guard dispelled pepper balls to push the protestors back. in the end, twenty activists were arrested for their involvement in the protest, with one facing charges of up to seventeen years in prison.26 while all of this was taking place, trump delivered a speech inside the national park in which he stated, “our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children.”27 the trump campaign also coordinated a fireworks display at the rally, raising concerns from indigenous activists about the health of the black hills and the potential for forest fires.28 implications of the black hills backlash the black hills protest and the long history leading up to it is steeped in cultural clashes over the united states’ continued attempts to celebrate white supremacy on indigenous land. from the white settlers to the rallygoers, the events surrounding the black hills demonstrate an important point: who matters to the united states government? who does the state protect? 8 when a conflict occurs, which side does the government take? time and time again, the answer is clear: the united states prioritizes and furthers white interests above indigenous sovereignty. three patterns emerge when examining exactly how the u.s. has upheld white supremacy throughout the history of black hills conflicts. the most persistent vehicle for furthering white interests is under the guise of law and order. in a settler-colonial state like the united states, this automatically creates a power imbalance as the colonizer is able to set the parameters for the legal system and decide what actions performed by which people fall within its bounds, and what actions performed by which people are outside of its bounds. for example, conflict between the indigenous peoples of the great plains was seen as a breach of the fort laramie treaties whereas white settlers entering territory belonging to the dakota, lakota, and nakota people to extract resources was not deemed a punishable offense. another clear example of the use of law and order to further white supremacy is the arrest of indigenous protestors but not trumpsupporting counter protestors. further, we see that law and order are maintained through armed force and violence, whether that be the local law enforcement agency, the national guard, or the army itself. this is another colonizing tactic as the law is depicted as a peaceful, nonviolent, civilized, and distinctly western approach to maintaining order, yet we observe how peaceful protest is met with and escalated by state-sanctioned violence in an effort to uphold the law.29 the second pattern is the u.s. government’s repeated violations of its agreements with indigenous nations. the fort laramie treaty of 1851, the 1868 treaty of fort laramie, and the july 3 protest are all examples of agreements that the lakota, dakota, and nakota peoples respected and the united states government violated. the indigenous peoples of the great plains entered into contracts with the united states, adhering to the government’s processes and terms. they followed the western concepts of law and contract, and in good faith went through 9 american systems. they attempted to follow the rules set out by a system imposed on them just to have it proven time and time again that following the law is only required of nonwhite people. in the push to maintain white supremacy, the law can easily be shirked off and contracts broken if they put white interests at risk. a third pattern that can be observed from an analysis of the black hills protest and history is a tension between whose rights are protected and whose are not. here we see a violation of indigenous people’s right to land, right to protest, and right to religion. the lakota’s right to the black hills cannot be denied as even the united states supreme court has ruled in the lakota’s favor. yet, the federal government has made no progress toward rectifying its mistakes and restoring sovereignty over the black hills to the lakota. this stands in stark contrast to how the united states worked to maintain white settlers’ land claims. though there was no basis for white settlers to stake a claim to the black hills, the united states protected them and supported their use of the land. again, this shows how the law can be manipulated as a tool for white supremacy. furthermore, because the black hills are considered sacred to the lakota, denying their right to the land has implications for their freedom of religion. these are central tenets of the land back movement; the movement fights for a literal restoration of the land, and also fights for indigenous sovereignty in their cultural and religious traditions. because of the intricate ties between land, culture, and religion, denying indigenous people their land also denies them their traditions. yet, when indigenous people organize to fight for what they are owed, they are met with violence and arrests, violating their rights to peaceful protest. rights to land ownership, religion, and protest matter most when they uphold white supremacy, and appear to not matter when they would protect indigenous sovereignty. ultimately in its dealings with the lakota 10 people and the black hills, the united states has cultivated an environment ripe for white supremacy while hiding indigenous people, history, and protest. white backlash case study: dakota access pipeline the dakota access pipeline protests started in april 2016 and lasted for approximately one year until the pipeline’s completion and operation. the construction of the pipeline was continuously protested by environmental activists and indigenous activists alike, claiming that the environmental impact of the pipeline had not been adequately studied. the pipeline runs through land that is only half of a mile from the standing rock reservation. further, indigenous activists claimed that the construction area is sacred burial grounds for indigenous peoples. activists argued that the construction of the pipeline would impact the drinking water of the reservation and disturb the burial sites of the lakota, dakota, and nakota nations. camps and tents were set up in north dakota near the construction sites as protestors prepared for a long battle.30 over the many months of protest, hundreds of protestors were arrested, but a few incidents in particular stand out. on september 3, 2016, protestors clashed with private security guards from energy transfer partners, the company responsible for the construction of the pipeline. the security officers used pepper spray on protestors and some protestors were bitten by the company’s guard dogs. the morton county sherriff’s department sided with energy transfer partners, stating that the protestors trespassed on private land.31 this encounter served as a catalyst for heightened tensions and future clashes as north dakota’s governor called in the national guard for assistance on september 8.32 twenty-seven people were arrested by local authorities on october 12, 2016, marking the beginning of mass arrests that continued to take place until the pipeline’s completion.33 on one 11 day alone, over 140 protestors were arrested. police and soldiers dressed in riot gear used pepper spray and tear gas, fired bean bags, and set up long-distance acoustic devices with high-pitch tones to disperse protestors. helicopters, airplanes, and military trucks were also employed at different points to maintain control of the land and construction project.34 protestors reported that in the winter months, water was sprayed at them in below-freezing temperatures, putting them at risk of hypothermia. amid the protests, legal battles ensued, and the project was halted multiple times, including when the army corps of engineers paused construction to do a more thorough environmental impact analysis. on january 24, 2017, shortly after taking office, former president trump signed an executive memorandum instructing the army to expedite the approval process for the remainder of the pipeline’s construction, resulting in its completion in april 2017.35 implications of the dakota access pipeline backlash an analysis of the dakota access pipeline backlash brings to light many of the same patterns discussed in my analysis of the black hills backlash, though the use of state violence is more persistent and evident in this case. this specific circumstance highlights how even when rights to indigenous land are respected, these rights only go so far. by approving the construction of the pipeline only half of a mile away from the lakota, dakota, and nakota reservation, the united states, while technically upholding the indigenous nations’ rights to their land, interfered with the degree to which the lakota, dakota, and nakota nations are able to live on it. the quality of life that the indigenous people are able to enjoy is diminished. as environmental activists pointed out, the construction of the pipeline put the land’s resources at risk. the potential for leaks in the pipeline or accidental spills would have lasting ecological damage on the surrounding area, including indigenous land. specifically, environmental activists worried that the pipeline would result in unsafe drinking water in the 12 area. the land back movement’s manifesto states that the demand for land back is not only about the land itself, but also its resources.36 indigenous nations have a right to the resources their land provides, and the construction of the pipeline put their resource sovereignty at risk. further, land back prioritizes the collective stewardship of the land. as previously discussed, land back is oriented toward mutual healing and belonging with land. indigenous activists fight for land reclamation as a means of protective stewardship not only for their people, but for the land itself. the movement recognizes that the decolonization and liberation of people must also include decolonizing and liberating the earth. because of the potential environmental impact of the construction of the dakota access pipeline, land back activists viewed it as their duty to care for the land by fighting the construction of the pipeline. as it turns out, activists were correct about the pipeline’s environmental devastation; it leaked oil into the surrounding area at least five times within its first six months of operation.37 another issue shown in this case study is how the state interferes with indigenous rights to practice cultural and religious traditions. leaders from the dakota, lakota, and nakota nations protested the construction of the dakota access pipeline because it was built on sacred indigenous burial grounds. while not an area technically owned by the lakota, dakota, and nakota nations, it holds significance to them and, arguably, ought to belong to them. denying the lakota, dakota, and nakota access to their burial grounds, disrupting the grounds with the construction of the pipeline, and ultimately wreaking environmental devastation on these sacred grounds are all attacks on indigenous cultural and religious sovereignty. understanding the philosophical and political frameworks these indigenous groups operate from illuminates the importance of their fight for land reclamation and the multitude of ways in which being forcibly disconnected from their land interferes with their cultural and religious sovereignty. throughout 13 clashes between land back activists and the state, the state has repeatedly expected indigenous nations to operate on the state’s terms, from its framework, and using its systems. little effort has been made to understand the distinctions in how the dakota, lakota, and nakota govern themselves and orient their lifestyles in order to find an arrangement that takes these differences into account. this points to great issues endemic to the settler-colonial state. not only does the state colonize land, but it also puts systems and frameworks into place that ultimately violate the rights and traditions of the colonized. one last pattern of white backlash movements can be observed in a case study analysis of the dakota access pipeline protests: the state’s role in perpetuating capitalism as a colonizing tactic. here, we see the violation of indigenous land, culture, and religious sovereignty as a means to extracting resources for the settler-colonial state. the united states government provided legal and military support to energy transfer partners because of its dependency on the oil industry. this close relationship is rooted in both the financial gain of the oil companies and the economic success of the united states, as it benefits from oil extraction at home instead of importing oil from abroad. this relationship between the state and american economic interests in the construction of the dakota access pipeline mirrors the relationship between the state and white settlers in the black hills backlash. white settlers invaded lakota, dakota, and nakota land in search of gold and received military protection after the onset of a gold rush. subsequently, the state provided legal protection through the seizing of the black hills from the lakota, dakota, and nakota because of the large amounts of gold found. again, this demonstrates how the state is implicated in furthering american capitalism by protecting the economic success of white americans over the rights of indigenous nations. the state upholds capitalism that is ultimately rooted in white supremacy. 14 white backlash case study: gov. stitt & tribal gaming compacts kevin stitt, a businessman and political outsider, won oklahoma’s 2018 gubernatorial race for the republican party. stitt’s election relied on aggressive campaigning, securing the republican nomination by aligning himself with trump’s policies, coming down hard on immigration, focusing on state budget issues, and calling into question other republicans’ allegiance to trump.38 after taking office, one way that stitt started tackling the oklahoma state budget was by targeting the largest source of income for indigenous nations in oklahoma: gaming casinos. over sixteen years ago, the state of oklahoma reached an agreement with indigenous nations to establish gaming compacts in an effort to incentivize the development and growth of the gaming industry. these compacts give tribes exclusive rights to operate casinos. in exchange, anywhere from four percent to ten percent of the revenue is paid to the state. in 2019, this agreement generated over $2 billion, $150 million of which went directly to the state of oklahoma.39 most of this state revenue is used to fund public schools and infrastructure. the boom of this industry has led to the construction of over 130 casinos across the state and the indigenous nations are now the third-largest employers in the state.40 on july 8, 2019, stitt published an opinion article in a tulsa newspaper calling for the gaming compacts to be renegotiated. stitt stated that the compacts would terminate in the new year unless the state and tribes could reach a new agreement that “reflects market conditions for the gaming industry seen around the nation today.”41 he cited oklahoma’s exclusivity fees as the lowest in the nation and discussed bringing them up to be on par with other states at twenty to twenty-five percent of revenue— a huge increase from the previous agreement.42 15 the indigenous nations were caught completely off-guard by stitt’s op-ed. as far as they were aware, the agreed-upon gaming compacts were set to renew on january 1, 2020. this put the nations in a bind as stitt’s article implied that any casinos that did not negotiate a new compact would suddenly be operating illegally on january 1, 2020, even though the original compact clearly stated that “the compact shall automatically renew for successive additional 15year terms.”43 further, brad henry, a former governor of oklahoma who was involved in the original gaming compact negotiations, sided with the indigenous nations, stating that the intention behind the original agreement was that it would automatically renew in order to protect the state from having tribal leaders attempt to negotiate lower exclusivity rates after the growth of the industry.44 many tribal leaders found it offensive that the governor would threaten indigenous businesses and attempt to begin negotiations with sovereign nations through an opinion article in a local newspaper instead of communicating directly with representatives of the indigenous nations.45 instead of acquiescing to stitt’s terms, the choctaw, cherokee, and chickasaw nations filed federal lawsuits against the governor and state. a legal battle ensued with lawsuits and counter-lawsuits. u.s. district judge degiusti continuously ruled in favor of the indigenous nations, stating that the gaming compacts renew automatically. stitt’s counter-motions were thrown out of court after being found to not have any real basis, and his petition for a rehearing was denied. ultimately, stitt cost oklahoma taxpayers $1.5 million in legal fees through his attack on indigenous businesses.46 implications of gov. stitt & tribal gaming compacts the events that took place between governor stitt and the indigenous nations of oklahoma constitute a white backlash movement to the economic progress of indigenous 16 communities. indigenous people are the poorest racial minority group in the united states.47 this is in large part due to the history of colonization and the seizing of indigenous land by the united states government.48 williams et al. connect the history of lynching in the united states to public financial distribution within states, having a lasting impact on the financial and human capital of black americans. further, they find that regions with a history of racialized violence correlate with economic inequality and lack of a social safety net.49 the impacts of the history of racial violence found for black communities could have similar implications for indigenous communities. governor stitt’s attempts to use policy to impede the economic progress and liberation of oklahoma’s indigenous populations is a form of white backlash and serves to exacerbate the economic inequalities already observed in indigenous communities. the governor’s proposed renegotiations of the compacts came about because of the great success the indigenous nations have experienced through the booming casino industry. renegotiating the compacts so that the state gets a much larger percentage of the profits is a colonizing attempt rooted in the fear of indigenous communities accumulating wealth and power. governor stitt’s threats to shut down casinos owned by indigenous nations is also an attempted violation of indigenous communities’ freedom of livelihood. similar to the other case studies examined, here we see the indigenous nations abiding by the law and following the systems and processes in place to ensure the legality of their businesses. yet, governor stitt’s threats put their businesses at risk, which would have devastating effects for the indigenous communities. after following all the necessary procedures, the indigenous peoples should not have to fear having their sources of income taken away. the implications of this case study mirror events discussed in the history of the battle for the black hills. with the rush of white settlers into the black hills in search of gold, the army 17 began to penalize lakota hunting groups that were rightfully using indigenous hunting grounds designated to them by the united states government. however, because of the presence of white settlers, the army deemed these hunting groups to pose a threat to the americans. this resulted in the curtailing of hunting altogether, forcing the lakota to rely almost entirely on the use of agricultural farming for their subsistence. the lakota are traditionally nomadic hunters; therefore, the limitations placed on them by the army kept them from their traditional livelihood.50 both in the conflict over the casino compacts and the black hills hunting grounds, we see limitations on indigenous livelihood and their attempts to provide for their communities. this demonstrates the cyclical nature of colonization in addition to its persistence. the battles that indigenous communities fought centuries ago are in many ways the same battles they continue to fight today. though there are similarities between the events that took place in oklahoma and the other two cases examined, there are some ways in which this case is distinct. in both the black hills backlash and the dakota access pipeline backlash, the use of state force and threat of violence were significant weapons utilized against indigenous communities. in the case of governor stitt and his interactions with indigenous casinos, the threats were not physical, nor was the state using literal violence to interfere with indigenous affairs. when we think about what white supremacy looks like, we tend to conceive of looming physical threats. this case sheds light on the less conspicuous forms white supremacy can take through coercion. instead of riot gear and tear gas, governor stitt employed the use of an op-ed in a local newspaper and legislation. yet, the results of this less explicit form of white supremacy could have been just as devastating. in the case of the black hills hunting grounds, the use of violent white supremacy deterred the dakota, lakota, and nakota from their livelihood. in the case of oklahoma, the use 18 of nonviolent white supremacy could have had the same result. in both instances, indigenous communities’ ability to provide for themselves in the way they choose was put in jeopardy. both cases demonstrate the colonization of livelihood and economic production. the oklahoma case leads us to consider that perhaps state violence is broader and runs deeper than merely the physical and tangible. in the case of the dakota access pipeline backlash and the black hills backlash, violence is explicit and obvious. yet, if policies, legislation, and even opinion articles can threaten indigenous communities in the same way, are these forms of white supremacy not also imposing a form of violence on indigenous nations? the end result, whether that be anything from hunger to environmental degradation, threatens the lives of indigenous people. white supremacy can take on many forms, but the state’s ability to enact it through legislation and policy is perhaps more menacing in both its inconspicuousness and its seeming insurmountability.51 conclusion the state’s backlash to indigenous autonomy is white backlash. in the cases of the black hills protests, the dakota access pipeline protests, and governor stitt’s actions in oklahoma, the state wielded its power to suppress indigenous sovereignty. this is white supremacy, and the events that have taken place in contemporary american society are a direct result of the government’s long history of taking action to further the interests of white people at the expense of indigenous groups. sometimes, as in the cases of the black hills protests and the dakota access pipeline protests, the state’s white backlash has been straightforward and violent. other times, as is the case with governor stitt, the state’s white backlash has been less obvious yet just as harmful. xiuhtezcatl writes: “this a motherfuckin’ war camp i know they gon’ say they don’t want that 19 but they comin’ straight for the land, for the place that we stand so we taking it all back take it all back take it all back.”52 he points out the state’s claim to moral superiority through supposed nonviolence. the army pushed indigenous people out of the black hills after hunting groups were considered a threat. the national guard was only called in after protestors were regarded as “rioters.” oklahoma’s gaming compacts were deemed unjust after the state realized it could benefit more. in each of these instances, the state can justify its backlash by demonizing indigenous people and criminalizing their actions. while the u.s. government may claim to be seeking peaceful relations with indigenous communities, its actions reflect animosity and hostility. an analysis of the history of the state’s interactions with indigenous groups reveals a pattern of broken treaties, physical violence, and attacks on indigenous sovereignty and ways of life. how can such a persistent and dangerous cycle be broken? “take it all back.”53 20 notes 1 xiuhtezcatl martinez, “take it all back” (xochicuicatl records, 2021). 2 ryan t. o’leary, “from anglo-saxon nativism to executive order: civil religion and anti-immigration rhetoric.” politics and religion 9 (4). (cambridge university press, 2016), 771–93. 3 anne bonds and joshua inwood. "beyond white privilege: geographies of white supremacy and settler colonialism." progress in human geography 40, no. 6 (2016): 720. 4 arthur k. spears, “white supremacy and antiblackness: theory and lived experience,” journal of linguistic anthropology 31, no. 2 (2021): 158. 5 catherine carstairs, "defining whiteness: race, class, and gender perspectives in north american history." international labor and working-class history 60 (2001): 203. 6 ashley jardina, white identity politics. cambridge, united kingdom: new york, ny, usa : cambridge university press, 2019: 7. 7 ndn collective. landback. ndn collective, 2021. https://landback.org/. 8 ndn collective, “landback manifesto,” landback (ndn collective, 2021), https://landback.org/manifesto/. 9 ndn collective, “landback manifesto.” 10john brenton leverston, “from isolation to visibility: social media as a tool for native american activists to generate support for their social movements,” (master's thesis, harvard university division of continuing education, 2021). 11 nick estes, “the battle for the black hills,” high country news, january 1, 2021, https://www.hcn.org/issues/53.1/indigenous-affairs-social-justice-the-battle-for-the-black-hills. 12 jodi rave, “why native americans have protested mt. rushmore,” history.com (a&e television networks, november 18, 2020), https://www.history.com/news/mount-rushmorenative-american-protests. 13 u.s. national park service, “fort laramie treaty of 1851 (horse creek treaty),” national parks service (u.s. department of the interior), accessed december 9, 2021, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/horse-creek-treaty.htm. 14 throughout this article, i avoid the use of the name “sioux” because it can be regarded as derogatory. in this instance, i use the term to reference the reservation because it is the official title listed in the 1868 treaty of fort laramie. https://landback.org/manifesto/ https://www.hcn.org/issues/53.1/indigenous-affairs-social-justice-the-battle-for-the-black-hills https://www.history.com/news/mount-rushmore-native-american-protests https://www.history.com/news/mount-rushmore-native-american-protests https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/horse-creek-treaty.htm 21 15 stacey bredhoff, american originals. (seattle: the university of washington press, 2001), 56-57. 16 kimbra cutlip, “in 1868, two nations made a treaty, the u.s. broke it and plains indian tribes are still seeking justice,” smithsonian.com (smithsonian institution, november 7, 2018), https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/1868-two-nations-made-treatyus-broke-it-and-plains-indian-tribes-are-still-seeking-justice-180970741/. 17 estes, “the battle for the black hills.” 18 john tagliaferro, great white fathers. (new york: public affairs, 2004), 186. 19 harriet senie, “critical issues in public art: content, context, and controversy,” smithsonian institution, 2014. 20 colin g calloway, the indian world of george washington: first americans, the first president, and the birth of the nation. (new york, ny: oxford university press, 2018), 492. 21missouri historical society and james p. ronda. thomas jefferson and the changing west: from conquest to conservation. (albuquerque : st. louis: university of new mexico press; missouri historical society press, 1997). 22 “dakota uprising begins in minnesota,” history.com (a&e television networks, march 2, 2010), https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dakota-uprising-begins-in-minnesota. 23 rave, “why native americans have protested mt. rushmore.” 24 annette mcgivney, “the battle for mount rushmore: 'it should be turned into something like the holocaust museum'.” the guardian. guardian news and media, july 3, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/03/mount-rushmore-south-dakotaindigenous-americans. 25 estes, “the battle for the black hills.” 26 estes, “the battle for the black hills.” 27 mcgivney, “the battle for mount rushmore: 'it should be turned into something like the holocaust museum'.” 28 estes, “the battle for the black hills.” 29michael w flamm, law and order: street crime, civil unrest, and the crisis of liberalism in the 1960s, (new york: columbia university press, 2005). 30 sasha von oldershausen, “standing rock pipeline fight draws hundreds to north dakota plains,” nbcnews.com (nbcuniversal news group, november 1, 2016), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/standing-rock-pipeline-fight-draws-hundreds-northdakota-plains-n665956. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/1868-two-nations-made-treaty-us-broke-it-and-plains-indian-tribes-are-still-seeking-justice-180970741/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/1868-two-nations-made-treaty-us-broke-it-and-plains-indian-tribes-are-still-seeking-justice-180970741/ https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dakota-uprising-begins-in-minnesota https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/03/mount-rushmore-south-dakota-indigenous-americans https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/03/mount-rushmore-south-dakota-indigenous-americans https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/standing-rock-pipeline-fight-draws-hundreds-north-dakota-plains-n665956 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/standing-rock-pipeline-fight-draws-hundreds-north-dakota-plains-n665956 22 31 eyder peralta, “dakota access pipeline protests in north dakota turn violent,” npr (npr, september 4, 2016), https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/04/492625850/dakotaaccess-pipeline-protests-in-north-dakota-turn-violent. 32 rebecca hersher, “key moments in the dakota access pipeline fight,” npr (npr, february 22, 2017), https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/22/514988040/key-moments-inthe-dakota-access-pipeline-fight. 33 rebecca hersher, “protests disrupt pipelines across the northern u.s.,” npr (npr, october 12, 2016), https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/12/497673866/protests-disruptpipelines-across-the-west. 34 daniella silva, “dakota access pipeline: more than 100 arrested as protesters ousted from camp.” nbc news (nbc new, october 27, 2016), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/usnews/dakota-access-pipeline-authorities-start-arresting-protesters-new-camp-n674066. 35 hersher, “key moments in the dakota access pipeline fight.” 36 ndn collective, “landback manifesto.” 37 alleen brown, “five spills, six months in operation: dakota access track record highlights unavoidable reality pipelines leak,” the intercept, january 9, 2018, https://theintercept.com/2018/01/09/dakota-access-pipeline-leak-energy-transfer-partners/. 38 matt barnard, “kevin stitt wins republican nomination for oklahoma governor,” tulsa world, august 31, 2020, https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/kevin-stitt-winsrepublican-nomination-for-oklahoma-governor/article_46e8fe71-9a4c-5d55-9deb7a46ee57ab69.html. 39 sean murphy, “oklahoma governor, tribes clash over casino gaming revenue,” ap news (associated press, july 10, 2019), https://apnews.com/4cdc21f7e721487e84d86b11898f3e56. 40 sean murphy, “oklahoma governor's tribal fight raises ancestry questions,” abc news (abc news network, february 29, 2020), https://abcnews.go.com/politics/wirestory/oklahomagovernors-tribal-fight-raises-ancestry-questions-69306593. 41 gov. kevin stitt, “gov. kevin stitt: new gaming compacts must protect the interests of the tribes and the state,” tulsa world, july 8, 2019, https://tulsaworld.com/opinion/columnists/govkevin-stitt-new-gaming-compacts-must-protect-the-interests-of-the-tribes-andthe/article_ae5596f7-e9e5-5613-9bbb-c6341af9259f.html. 42 stitt, “gov. kevin stitt: new gaming compacts must protect the interests of the tribes and the state.” https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/04/492625850/dakota-access-pipeline-protests-in-north-dakota-turn-violent https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/04/492625850/dakota-access-pipeline-protests-in-north-dakota-turn-violent https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/22/514988040/key-moments-in-the-dakota-access-pipeline-fight 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https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/kevin-stitt-wins-republican-nomination-for-oklahoma-governor/article_46e8fe71-9a4c-5d55-9deb-7a46ee57ab69.html https://apnews.com/4cdc21f7e721487e84d86b11898f3e56 https://abcnews.go.com/politics/wirestory/oklahoma-governors-tribal-fight-raises-ancestry-questions-69306593 https://abcnews.go.com/politics/wirestory/oklahoma-governors-tribal-fight-raises-ancestry-questions-69306593 https://tulsaworld.com/opinion/columnists/gov-kevin-stitt-new-gaming-compacts-must-protect-the-interests-of-the-tribes-and-the/article_ae5596f7-e9e5-5613-9bbb-c6341af9259f.html https://tulsaworld.com/opinion/columnists/gov-kevin-stitt-new-gaming-compacts-must-protect-the-interests-of-the-tribes-and-the/article_ae5596f7-e9e5-5613-9bbb-c6341af9259f.html https://tulsaworld.com/opinion/columnists/gov-kevin-stitt-new-gaming-compacts-must-protect-the-interests-of-the-tribes-and-the/article_ae5596f7-e9e5-5613-9bbb-c6341af9259f.html 23 43 chris dimaria, “gaming compact fight coming down to the wire,” kjrh (kjrh, december 13, 2019), https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/gaming-compact-fight-comingdown-to-the-wire. 44 barbara hoberock, “former governor brad henry says current tribal gaming compact dispute ultimately 'won't be good' for oklahoma,” tulsa world, october 28, 2019, https://tulsaworld.com/news/former-governor-brad-henry-says-current-tribal-gaming-compactdispute-ultimately-wont-be-good-for/article_a211f36a-e917-5472-81bc-408941aa8015.html. 45 murphy, “oklahoma governor's tribal fight raises ancestry questions.” 46randy ellis, “gov. kevin stitt loses another tribal gaming lawsuit,” oklahoman.com (oklahoman, july 29, 2020), https://www.oklahoman.com/article/5667799/gov-kevin-stitt-losesanother-tribal-gaming-lawsuit. 47 “the population of poverty usa,” poverty facts (poverty usa), accessed december 9, 2021, https://www.povertyusa.org/facts. 48 dedrick asante muhammad, “racial wealth snapshot: american indians/ native americans,” ncrc, december 4, 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https://tulsaworld.com/news/former-governor-brad-henry-says-current-tribal-gaming-compact-dispute-ultimately-wont-be-good-for/article_a211f36a-e917-5472-81bc-408941aa8015.html https://www.oklahoman.com/article/5667799/gov-kevin-stitt-loses-another-tribal-gaming-lawsuit https://www.oklahoman.com/article/5667799/gov-kevin-stitt-loses-another-tribal-gaming-lawsuit https://www.povertyusa.org/facts https://ncrc.org/racial-wealth-snapshot-american-indians-native-americans/ https://ncrc.org/racial-wealth-snapshot-american-indians-native-americans/ 24 bibliography anderson, carol. white rage: the unspoken truth of our racial divide. new york, ny: bloomsbury usa, an imprint of bloomsbury publishing plc, 2016. barnard, matt. “kevin stitt wins republican nomination for oklahoma governor.” tulsa world, august 31, 2020. https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/kevin-stittwins-republican-nomination-for-oklahoma-governor/article_46e8fe71-9a4c-5d55-9deb7a46ee57ab69.html. bonds, anne and 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missouri historical society press, 1997. muhammad, dedrick asante. “racial wealth snapshot: american indians/ native americans.” ncrc, december 4, 2019. https://ncrc.org/racial-wealth-snapshot-american-indiansnative-americans/. murphy, sean. “oklahoma governor, tribes clash over casino gaming revenue.” ap news. associated press, july 10, 2019. https://apnews.com/4cdc21f7e721487e84d86b11898f3e56. murphy, sean. “oklahoma governor's tribal fight raises ancestry questions.” abc news. abc news network, february 29, 2020. 26 https://abcnews.go.com/politics/wirestory/oklahoma-governors-tribal-fight-raisesancestry-questions-69306593. ndn collective. “landback manifesto.” landback. ndn collective, 2021. https://landback.org/manifesto/. ndn collective. landback. ndn collective, 2021. https://landback.org/. o'leary, ryan t. 2016. “from anglo-saxon nativism to executive order: civil religion and anti-immigration rhetoric.” politics and religion 9 (4). cambridge university press: 771–93. doi:10.1017/s1755048316000389. peralta, eyder. “dakota access pipeline protests in north dakota turn violent.” npr. npr, september 4, 2016. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwoway/2016/09/04/492625850/dakota-access-pipeline-protests-in-north-dakota-turn-violent. “the population of poverty usa.” poverty facts. poverty usa. accessed december 9, 2021. https://www.povertyusa.org/facts. rave, jodi. “why native americans have protested mt. rushmore.” history.com. a&e television networks, november 18, 2020. https://www.history.com/news/mountrushmore-native-american-protests. senie, harriet. “critical issues in public art: content, context, and controversy.” smithsonian institution, 2014. silva, daniella. “dakota access pipeline: more than 100 arrested as protesters ousted from camp.” nbc news, october 27, 2016. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dakotaaccess-pipeline-authorities-start-arresting-protesters-new-camp-n674066. spears, arthur k. “white supremacy and antiblackness: theory and lived experience.” journal of linguistic anthropology 31, no. 2 (2021): 157-179. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jola.12318. stitt, gov. kevin. “gov. kevin stitt: new gaming compacts must protect the interests of the tribes and the state.” tulsa world, july 8, 2019. https://tulsaworld.com/opinion/columnists/gov-kevin-stitt-new-gaming-compacts-mustprotect-the-interests-of-the-tribes-and-the/article_ae5596f7-e9e5-5613-9bbbc6341af9259f.html. tagliaferro, john. great white fathers. new york: public affairs, 2004. u.s. national park service. “fort laramie treaty of 1851 (horse creek treaty).” national parks service. u.s. department of the interior. accessed december 9, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/horse-creek-treaty.htm. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dakota-access-pipeline-authorities-start-arresting-protesters-new-camp-n674066 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dakota-access-pipeline-authorities-start-arresting-protesters-new-camp-n674066 27 von oldershausen, sasha. “standing rock pipeline fight draws hundreds to north dakota plains.” nbcnews.com. nbcuniversal news group, november 1, 2016. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/standing-rock-pipeline-fight-draws-hundredsnorth-dakota-plains-n665956. williams, jhacova a., trevon d. logan, and bradley l. hardy. "the persistence of historical racial violence and political suppression: implications for contemporary regional inequality." annals of the american academy of political and social science 694 (2021): 92-107. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/standing-rock-pipeline-fight-draws-hundreds-north-dakota-plains-n665956 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/standing-rock-pipeline-fight-draws-hundreds-north-dakota-plains-n665956 unveiling patriarchy: brazilian gender dynamics through the lens of the bolsonaromaria do rosario incident iuri macedo piovezan political science 1. introduction sexism, machismo, and the patriarchy are here to stay in brazilian politics. over the years, these systems have twisted themselves in brazilian society, dictating attitudes, power dynamics, and norms to be executed and mindlessly followed. despite attempts at lessening their relevancy and effect, politics remains a stronghold for traditional gender roles and expectations. this paper seeks to address the topic by utilizing an event that is still talked about to this day: jair bolsonaro and maria do rosario’s discussion that began in 2003, only ending in 2014. with it, this essay hopes to outline how jair bolsonaro’s statements about maria do rosario exemplify a patriarchal power dynamic in brazil alongside its acceptance of machismo. before this paper’s main discussion begins, it will present relevant literature on the field. it will start by introducing key works on brazilian and latin-american machismo, outlining its function and reflexes for those particular societies. then, it will dive into the language used by the patriarchy, specifically in the political sphere. in its analysis section, it will outline bolsonaro’s and rosario’s first discussion in 2003, with its repeat in 2014 on two occasions. it will also show its repercussions and consequences. this paper will also discuss relevant works on feminist research as a basis for its analysis. in the analysis section, this essay provides a comprehensive examination of bolsonarismo in relation to gender. it dissects bolsonaro’s attempts to bolster his image and assert his 1 perceived manliness. the essay then presents the complete transcript of bolsonaro’s and rosario’s initial confrontation, delving into the words exchanged, their significance, and the farreaching consequences they had. 2. literature review brazilian society is cursed by its prevalent machismo. according to the cambridge dictionary, machismo is the “male behavior that is strong and forceful, and shows very traditional ideas about how men and women should behave.”1 more specifically in brazil, such ideas are influenced and passed down by “the political, social, economic, and cultural structures.”2 as it is with many other latin-american nations, brazil is known for its acceptance and perpetuation of patriarchal ideas, impacting many spheres of life.3 this essay will examine one of them by utilizing the then federal deputy jair bolsonaro’s altercation with maria do rosario, another federal deputy, where bolsonaro expressed his unwillingness to “rape” rosario since she “was not worthy of it.”4 latin america’s acceptance of machismo is well-known among academia. in her work, nubia nieto examines mexican and brazilian machismo, and in which ways both nations tolerate and propagate the notions of the patriarchy. in brazil’s case, nieto explains that historically, such a system was institutionalized by the portuguese and was “fostered and endorsed by the catholic church as a way to preserve male power and female submission, and promote women purity.”5 in it, physical strength, courage, independence, are all valued amongst men, but disincentivized in women.6 moreover, women tend not to have a voice in societal matters, where “the process of gender socialization… empowers men to feel and be superior towards women in family, work, and public places.”7 nubia elaborates that many men feel like 2 women are there for their personal use and for services like cleaning, not to be vulgar, a “selfsacrificed mom,” and to “keep quiet and accept any physical, emotional or psychological mistreatment,” which are habits formed since childhood.8 these ideas, as shown by the author, are propagated on famous tv programs, songs, and popular sayings.9 in a society where machismo becomes normalized, it is not a surprise that the rates of violence against women are notable. for nieto, “violence against women in… brazil is due to prevalent machismo.”10 and while looking at recent data, such numbers become much clearer. according to the agência patricia galvão, 76% of the women interviewed were assaulted at work, and 36% at home.11 moreover, brazil has the seventh highest rate of violence against women in the world, with “a woman assaulted every 15 seconds, and one murdered every two hours.”12 bahlieda, in an article about the legacy of the patriarchy, also alludes to the fact that patriarchy fuels violence against women in what he calls the “ecology of violence.”13 the author elucidates that in nature, animals kill one another only as a survival mechanism, whereas “humans have evolved to the point where they do not need to kill… yet they continue to do so.”14 as per the methods in which patriarchy has the potential of causing violence, the author explains that it enforces a dominance of males vertically in any sphere of life, where deviating from it would be a great offense.15 one way that this is done is through the notion that men have a sexual role in society, where that can be abused to great extents.16 in her paper, stella advani also documents how patriarchy and machismo perpetuate in the workplace, further impacting women. in her words, “workplaces are gendered both by the numerical predominance of the sex within them and by the cultural interpretations of given types of work which… dictate who is… best suited for different sorts of employment.”17 to navigate such a scenario, women employ a 3 variety of tactics to “self-regulate” and to “appear and sound… like their colleagues” which proves to be “stressful, time-consuming, undermining for the self, and… harder to hear.”18 it is no surprise, then, that many women simply comply, and choose to assimilate. one notable example would be bia doria, the wife of joão doria, the then-governor of sao paulo. while in an interview with the folha de são paulo, bia was asked what she does on a busy day, which she “described it as ‘being stuck in traffic texting on whatsapp and seeing how beautiful life was on instagram’.”19 bonneval points out that instead of her commenting on “existing social structure disparities that plague the biggest city in the country,” she decided to talk about mundane and uninteresting endeavors.20 the language in the patriarchy influences politics, shaping not only the political discourse but also what gets passed. in many instances, language can be seen as a tool of patriarchy, helping to pass down the notions already described above, which revolves around the superiority – in every sense of the word – of men. in brazil’s case, the language used by the patriarchy “helps shape politics of enmity which characterize the current state of democracy” in the nation.21 in his paper, rodrigo borba uses two case studies to exemplify how this occurs in brazil. the first takes dilma rousseff – brazil’s first woman president – into consideration. more specifically, it uses the fact that dilma, instead of using the word “presidente” to refer to her role as president, she used the feminine version, “presidenta,” which is technically incorrect.22 many voters, however, saw this as an “apparent lack of care for the language,” equating her apparent absent proficiency in portuguese with her “lack of political savoir faire,” passing the notion that dilma aims to destroy the nation like she did with its language.23 another example was a school that used the “x” as an attempt to gender neutralize portuguese in one of their posts, which generated a national commotion and prompted comments calling the ideology 4 “gaystapo” and “feminazi.”24 it must be said, nonetheless, that dilma is still credited as an important figure for feminism and the rights of women in brazil, spearheading the creation of the “ministry of women, racial equality, and human rights, sanctioning of the law which criminalizes domestic violence,” and “the legalization of same-sex marriage.”25 academia also present many other studies on the roles of language and its intersection with womanhood in brazil.26 feminist scholars have provided many different lenses on how one should conduct feminist research. on this note, this paper will take into consideration two different lenses. the first, outlined by gillian wilson in her article, is that “feminist research is grounded in a commitment to equality and social justice, and is cognizant of the gendered, historical and political processes involved in the production of knowledge.”27 the other, by brown et al., who claim feminist research “also strives to explore and illuminate the diversity of the experiences of women and other marginalized groups, thereby creating opportunities that increase awareness of how social hierarchies impact on and influence oppression.”28 3. analysis jair bolsonaro’s interactions with maria do rosario represent one of the most absurd cases of abuse of power and misogyny in brazilian politics. it outlines bolsonaro’s personal issues regarding rosario and the deeply entrenched attitudes that perpetuate such attitudes in brazil. in this analysis section, this essay will present the complete transcript of their fight and then point out relevant information that can be taken from what was said. mainly, one should pay attention to bolsonaro’s misogynistic comments, gender roles, and his comments of a sexual nature. 5 it all began in 2003, with a conversation not related to gender equality. in 2003, liana friedenbach and felipe caffee, both teenagers, were murdered by an underaged person.29 in brazil, one cannot be tried as an adult if one is below the age of eighteen, and the debate surrounding jair bolsonaro and maria do rosario was whether this should change to sixteen.30 bolsonaro believed that it should, and maria heavily disagreed.31 while outside congress giving separate interviews, both started a discussion seemingly “out of nowhere.”32 rosario accused bolsonaro for inciting violence, where he then misunderstands it, claiming that she called him a rapist.33 in response, bolsonaro shouts – as he points a finger at her – that he would “never rape” her because she “did not deserve it.34” appalled, rosario says that she would hit him if he ever tried, prompting him to say that he would hit her back, calling her a “dog” as he pushed her.35 as she began to cry, bolsonaro added, “are you going to cry, now? crazy.”36 here, it is relevant to note bolsonaro’s choice of words. when one implies that one is not “deserving /worthy of” an action, one is implying one’s superiority over the other. in this case, bolsonaro is clearly implying that rosario is not worthy of his perceived sexual prowess, as if it is her “loss” that she does not “deserve” to be raped. not only, but bolsonaro clearly illustrates his inability to have a civil disagreement with a woman, answering to his frustrations by employing gendered and derogatory language towards rosario, even inciting violence. the second instance happened in the brazilian version of the house of representatives in 2014, the house of deputies.37 on that day, rosario made a speech defending the “commission of truth,” which investigated crimes that occurred during the brazilian dictatorship, explaining that the dictatorship was an “utter shame.”38 as she left the stand, and bolsonaro came forth, the former president once again repeated that rosario was not worth raping.39 here, it is important to say that bolsonaro rose as a big supporter of the dictatorship, denying any wrongdoing that 6 happened during that period. for instance, during a speech on the 58th anniversary of the coup d'état of 64 – that gave birth to the dictatorship – bolsonaro praised all the dictators for their work.40 he explained that the date was in fact not important since “nothing” happened 58 years ago, and that all the presidents were elected according to the constitution.41 rosario, however, was known for being critical over the dictatorship.42 in response to bolsonaro, maria explained that rape was a “recurring form of torture used against prisoners during the military dictatorship,” one that bolsonaro defends.43 she furthers adds that “what makes me especially indignant and, at the same time, saddened, is that the expressions he uses promote violence. it is an expression of power used in torture structures; many women were tortured with sexual violence. when he's saying i don't deserve to be raped, does he mean anyone else does?”44 the third instance was shortly after the second, when bolsonaro was giving an interview on the “zero hora” show.45 there, bolsonaro asserted that rosario “doesn’t deserve it because she’s very bad, because she’s very ugly, she’s not my type, i would never rape her. i’m not a rapist, but if i were, i wouldn’t rape her.46 the host of the show followed up with a question of whether bolsonaro believed there were people who indeed “deserved” to be raped, to which the former president replied that he was being ironic.47 in the same interview, bolsonaro also talked about brazil’s workforce, one he believed had “too many work rights.”48 bolsonaro also argued that if he was a business owner, he would rather employ men over women since “she’ll soon get pregnant.”49 related to the wage gap, bolsonaro – in between laughs – said that if a woman makes less than a man and is not satisfied, she should look for another job.50 it must be stated that bolsonaro attacking women is not a new occurrence. in her article, inara chagas summarizes not one, two, nor three, but nine times in which bolsonaro has threatened women’s rights or women directly.51 in 1998, for instance, bolsonaro hit conceição 7 aparecida aguiar, the then manager of planajur, in the back.52 in 2011, when asked by preta gil – a black singer – what would be his reaction if one of his sons ever dated a black woman, bolsonaro said that he did not “fear” it since they were “well-raised” and did not frequent the same “environment like” gil.53 moreover, in 2017, bolsonaro publicly said that he had already four sons, and on the fifth pregnancy – since he was feeling rather weak – they had a daughter.54 in 2019, as president, bolsonaro claimed that brazil could not be a nation of “gay tourism,” but if people wanted to go there to have “sex with women, please feel welcomed.”55 lastly, in 2020, bolsonaro accused patricia campos mello, a journalist, of using sex as a way to gather information against him.56 the consequences for offending rosario on those three separate occasions could not have been weaker. after repeated offenses and derogatory comments aimed at rosario, many politicians were requesting that bolsonaro either willingly resigned or be removed from his post.57 due to raging public sentiment, brazil’s judiciary intervened, and requested bolsonaro to pay r$10,000.00 to rosario (around $2000) and post this in all of his social media accounts.58 if this does not sound like a lot, it is because it is not. as a comparison, in 2018, one of bolsonaro’s sons bought a mansion for r$6 million (around $1,2 million).59 moreover, a president’s salary in brazil is around r$30,000.00 (around $6,000.00), meaning that what he paid to rosario constituted around a third of his monthly income.60 taking the information presented above, bolsonaro’s actions clearly exemplify brazil’s patriarchy and its acceptance of machismo. as seen, pervasive sexism and traditional gender roles shaped, and continue to dominate brazilian society. bolsonaro’s unpolished and derogatory remarks aimed at rosario highlight the accentuated misogyny, sexism, and machismo within the country. within what scholarship understands of machismo and gender roles, it is relevant to see 8 that bolsonaro clearly exemplified several of its characteristics. from threatening to slap and actually hitting women, to a hyper masculinization of his perceived sexual prowess, bolsonaro embodied brazilian machismo. a well-known and relevant example, apart from the rosario incident, is what happened on september 7, 2022, brazil’s independence day. while next to first lady michelle bolsonaro, bolsonaro raised a chorus among his supporters, calling him the word “imbroxavel.”61 in portuguese, the word “broxar” refers to a man who cannot perform sexually. when paired with the prefix “in,” it is the negation of the word. hence, “inbroxavel” is a man who would always perform. as the chant happened, bolsonaro awkwardly kissed the first lady, prompting applauses from the crowd.62 in the words of simone tebet, bolsonaro’s actions that day showed his complete disregard and disrespect for women, and outlined his “toxic” and “childish” masculinity.63 not only, but bolsonaro’s consequences after the rosario incident is also relevant when examining brazil’s patriarchy. one would logically expect that when a man refers to a woman using the same words bolsonaro used, that that man would either be arrested, pay a significant fine, or both. this was, as seen above, not what happened. not only was bolsonaro never incarcerated, but the fine he paid was minimal, almost insignificant in fact. it is also relevant to point out that bolsonaro’s actions had such low consequences for him as a politician that he achieved what most deemed impossible, the presidency. 4. conclusion in dissecting bolsonaro and rosario’s interactions, it becomes apparent the importance of these events in understanding brazilian patriarchy and its acceptance of misogynistic ideas, which are deeply rooted within brazilian society. bolsonaro’s derogatory comments not only reveal his personal weaknesses but also shed light on an engrained culture of machismo and 9 sexism that has invaded brazil. from his poor choice of language to the threat of physical violence and sexual prowess, brazilian gender dynamics become evident in that interaction. moreover, the consequences of said event, both legally and socially, are also relevant. as seen, bolsonaro was ordered to pay an incredibly low amount to rosario and post about the judicial decision on his social media, which does not match the severity of what was said to rosario on multiple occasions. additionally, if taken into consideration bolsonaro’s family and their economic status, as well as the president’s monthly salary, the consequences of this case become even more absurd. this incident, while important, has roots that span over a decade and is representative of bolsonaro’s pattern of poor behavior characterized by a disregard for women, women’s rights, and many others. as this paper demonstrated, bolsonaro has a history of making derogatory comments towards women, threatening to use violence against them, and even disregarding their rights. here, what bolsonaro said to rosario exemplifies all three. moreover, bolsonaro’s choice of words, specifically the “worthiness” aspect of his threats are relevant in understanding his perceived sexual prowess, and how that related to brazilian machismo. lastly, bolsonaro’s political success, mainly becoming one of brazil’s presidents, is also of extreme importance outlining brazil’s acceptance of machismo. in other words, bolsonaro’s words were so accepted that he achieved the presidential office. 10 endnotes 1 cambridge dictionary, s.v. “machismo,” accessed march 15, 2024, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/machismo. 2 nubia nieto, “mexican and brazilian machismo: cultural tolerance,” journal of comparative studies 42, no. 13 (2020): 104. 3 aida hurtado, and mrinal sinha, beyond machismo: intersectional latino masculinities (austin: university of texas press, 2016); marta mensa, and jean m. grow, “’now i can see’: creative women fight against machismo in chilean advertising,” gender in management: an international journal 37, no. 3 (2021). 4 "agressão documentada." correio brasiliense, november 15, 2023. 5 nieto, “mexican,” 108. 6 ibid., 107. 7 ibid., 107. 8 ibid., 111. 9 ibid., 112. 10 ibid., 107. 11 “violência contra as mulheres em dados,” agência patricia galvão, accessed march 18, 2024, https://dossies.agenciapatriciagalvao.org.br/violencia-em-dados/. 12 melanie hargreaves, "brazil's 'machismo': a license for abuse," new internationalist, may 13, 2015, https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2015/05/13/brazil-domestic-violence. 13 robert bahlieda, “the legacy of patriarchy,” counterpoints 488 (2015): 46. 14 bahlieda, “legacy,” 46. 15 ibid., 34. 16 ibid., 38. 17 stella m. advani, "two case studies from emergency medicine in quebec.” in living with patriarchy: discursive constructions of gendered subjects across cultures, edited by danijela majstorovic and inger lassen, 224. 18 advani, “emergency,” 240. 19 philippe armand de bonneval, "brazil's stubborn machismo," council on hemispheric affairs. october 25, 2016, https://coha.org/brazils-stubborn-machismo/. 20 bonneval, “stubborn.” 21 rodrigo borba, “gendered politics of enmity: language ideologies and social polarization in brazil,” gender and language 13, no. 4 (2019): 423. 22 borba, “gendered,” 427. 23 ibid. 24 ibid., 431. 25 ibid., 426; sabrina fernandes, “dilma rousseff and the challenge of fighting patriarchy through political representation in brazil,” journal of women’s studies 13, no. 3 (2021): 114. 26 thais de bakker castro, “gender, sexuality, and international politics in troubled times: a conversation with laura sjoberg in brazil,” contexto internacional 41, no. 1 (2019). 27 gillian wilson, "research made simple: an introduction to feminist research," evidence based nursing 26, no. 3 (2023): 87. 28 grace brown, deborah western, and janice pascal, "using the f-word: feminist epistemologies and postgraduate research," affilia 28, no. 4 (2013): 445. 29 "bolsonaro xinga deputada na camara," correio braziliense, november 12, 2003. 30 benigno nunez novo, “maioridade penal,” brasil escola, accessed march 19, 2024, https://meuartigo.brasilescola.uol.com.br/brasil/maioridade-penal.htm. 31 “bolsonaro.” 32 fernanda cirenza, and vinicius mendes, “'sinto uma atitude ameaçadora', diz maria do rosário," brasileiros, january 17, 2015, http://web.archive.org/web/20170209133010/http://brasileiros.com.br/2015/01/sinto-uma-atitudeameacadora-diz-maria-rosario/. 33 "agressão documentada." correio brasiliense, november 15, 2023. 34 the word “deserve” can also be translated to “worth it” or “worthy,” in the sense that bolsonaro said rosario was not worthy of raping. 35 "agressão documentada." correio brasiliense, november 15, 2023. 11 36 ibid. 37 marcio falcao, and gabriela guerreiro, “para rebater deputada, bolsonaro diz que não a “estupraria,” folha de são paulo, december 9, 2014, https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2014/12/1559815-para-rebater-deputadabolsonaro-diz-que-nao-a-estupraria.shtml. 38 “para rebater deputada, bolsonaro diz que não a 'estupraria',” folha de s. paulo, december 9, 2024, http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2014/12/1559815-para-rebater-deputada-bolsonaro-diz-que-nao-aestupraria.shtml. 39 falcao, and guerreiro, “rebater.” 40 guilherme mazui, and paloma rodrigues, “em discurso, bolsonaro defende ditadores militares e deputados dos atos antidemocraticos,” g1, march 31, 2022, https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2022/03/31/em-discurso-noplanalto-bolsonaro-defende-ditadores-militares-e-deputado-reu-por-atos-antidemocraticos.ghtml. 41 “bolsonaro defende ditadura militar e manda ‘cala a boca’ a stf,” nexojornal, march 31, 2022, https://www.nexojornal.com.br/extra/2022/03/31/bolsonaro-defende-ditadura-militar-e-manda-cala-a-boca-a-stf. 42 “maria do rosário apresenta projetos que tratam sobre período da ditadura,” brasildefato, march 31, 2021, https://www.brasildefators.com.br/2021/03/31/maria-do-rosario-apresenta-projetos-que-tratam-sobre-periodo-daditadura; “maria do rosário propõe que documentos da ditadura sejam de guarda permanente do estado,” cartacapital, march 31, 2022, https://www.cartacapital.com.br/cartaexpressa/maria-do-rosario-propoe-quedocumentos-da-ditadura-sejam-de-guarda-permanente-do-estado/. 43 cesar sanson, "'é uma expressão de poder utilizada na tortura', diz maria do rosário sobre agressão de bolsonaro," instituto humanitas unisinos, december 11, 2014, https://www.ihu.unisinos.br/categorias/170-noticias2014/538357-e-uma-expressao-de-poder-utilizada-na-tortura-diz-maria-do-rosario-sobre-agressao-de-bolsonaro. 44 sanson, “expressão.” 45 “pela terceira vez, bolsonaro é condenado a idenizar maria do rosário,” cartacapital, august 15, 2017, https://www.cartacapital.com.br/politica/pela-terceira-vez-bolsonaro-e-condenado-a-indenizar-maria-do-rosario/. 46 "o que bolsonaro disse a zero hora em 2014 sobre direitos das mulheres," zero hora, august 29, 2018, https://gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br/politica/eleicoes/noticia/2018/08/o-que-bolsonaro-disse-a-zero-hora-em-2014-sobredireitos-das-mulheres-cjlfiylei05bk01qk0zsj66ce.html. 47 “bolsonaro disse.” 48 ibid. 49 ibid. 50 ibid. 51 inara chagas, "veja nove vezes em que bolsonaro atacou os direitos das mulheres," brasil de fato, march 8, 2022, https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2022/03/08/veja-nove-vezes-em-que-bolsonaro-atacou-os-direitos-dasmulheres. 52 chagas, “veja.” 53 ibid. 54 "em vídeo de palestra, bolsonaro diz que ter filha foi 'fraquejada'," o globo, april 6, 2017, https://blogs.oglobo.globo.com/blog-do-moreno/post/em-video-de-palestra-bolsonaro-diz-que-ter-filha-foifraquejada.html. 55 gabriel saboia, "relembre declarações com ofensas às mulheres feitas pelo presidente e a família bolsonaro," o globo, march 8, 2022, https://oglobo.globo.com/politica/relembre-declaracoes-com-ofensas-as-mulheres-feitaspelo-presidente-a-familia-bolsonaro-25423642. 56 "justiça mantém condenação de bolsonaro por ofender jornalista patrícia campos mello," brasil de fato, june 29, 2022, https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2022/06/29/justica-mantem-condenacao-de-bolsonaro-por-ofenderjornalista-patricia-campos-mello. 57 “sem punição a bolsonaro, câmara sairá desmoralizada, afirma deputada,” carta capital, december 11, 2014, https://www.cartacapital.com.br/politica/sem-punicao-a-bolsonaro-camara-saira-desmoralizada-afirma-deputada3345/. 58 “jair bolsonaro terá de indenizar deputada maria do rosário por danos morais,” stj, august 15, 2017, https://www.stj.jus.br/sites/portalp/paginas/comunicacao/noticias-antigas/2017/2017-08-15_18-37_jair-bolsonarotera-de-indenizar-deputada-maria-do-rosario-por-danos-morais.aspx. 59 “flávio bolsonaro justifica compra de mansão com outras fontes de renda,” correio braziliense, june 1, 2022, https://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/politica/2022/06/5012206-flavio-bolsonaro-justifica-compra-de-mansaocom-outras-fontes-de-renda.html. 12 60 nathalia larghi, “quanto ganha o presidente do brasil? veja quanto esse salário cresceu,” valor investe, october 29, 2022, https://valorinveste.globo.com/mercados/brasil-e-politica/noticia/2022/10/29/quanto-ganha-o-presidentedo-brasil-veja-quanto-esse-salario-cresceu.ghtml. 61 danilo moliterno, and gabrielle varela, “bolsonaro puxa coro de ‘imbrochável’ em discurso no dia da independência,” cnn brasil, september 7, 2022, https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/politica/bolsonaro-puxa-coro-deimbrochavel-em-discurso-no-dia-da-independencia/. 62 ibid. 63 ibid. 13 references advani, stella m. 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"em vídeo de palestra, bolsonaro diz que ter filha foi 'fraquejada'." april 6, 2017. https://blogs.oglobo.globo.com/blog-do-moreno/post/em-video-de-palestra-bolsonarodiz-que-ter-filha-foi-fraquejada.html. saboia, gabriel. "relembre declarações com ofensas às mulheres feitas pelo presidente e a família bolsonaro." o globo, march 8, 2022. https://oglobo.globo.com/politica/relembredeclaracoes-com-ofensas-as-mulheres-feitas-pelo-presidente-a-familia-bolsonaro25423642. sanson, cesar. "'é uma expressão de poder utilizada na tortura', diz maria do rosário sobre agressão de bolsonaro." instituto humanitas unisinos, december 11, 2014. https://www.ihu.unisinos.br/categorias/170-noticias-2014/538357-e-uma-expressao-depoder-utilizada-na-tortura-diz-maria-do-rosario-sobre-agressao-de-bolsonaro. stj. “jair bolsonaro terá de indenizar deputada maria do rosário por danos morais.” august 15, 2017. https://www.stj.jus.br/sites/portalp/paginas/comunicacao/noticiasantigas/2017/2017-08-15_18-37_jair-bolsonaro-tera-de-indenizar-deputada-maria-dorosario-por-danos-morais.aspx. wilson, gillian. "research made simple: an introduction to feminist research." evidence based nursing 26, no. 3 (2023): 87-88. zero hora. "o que bolsonaro disse a zero hora em 2014 sobre direitos das mulheres." august 29, 2018. https://gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br/politica/eleicoes/noticia/2018/08/o-quebolsonaro-disse-a-zero-hora-em-2014-sobre-direitos-das-mulherescjlfiylei05bk01qk0zsj66ce.html. https://gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br/politica/eleicoes/noticia/2018/08/o-que-bolsonaro-disse-a-zero-hora-em-2014-sobre-direitos-das-mulheres-cjlfiylei05bk01qk0zsj66ce.html https://gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br/politica/eleicoes/noticia/2018/08/o-que-bolsonaro-disse-a-zero-hora-em-2014-sobre-direitos-das-mulheres-cjlfiylei05bk01qk0zsj66ce.html https://gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br/politica/eleicoes/noticia/2018/08/o-que-bolsonaro-disse-a-zero-hora-em-2014-sobre-direitos-das-mulheres-cjlfiylei05bk01qk0zsj66ce.html microsoft word strategic hr_gen z on the horizon_concept submission (1) gen z on the horizon: the importance of strategic change within the organization doria diacogiannis human resource development the american workforce is a fusion of individuals from various backgrounds, who carry divergent perspectives regarding what is most valued in the workplace. while a number of factors may contribute to the heterogeneity of workplace values, generational differences are at the root of understanding workplace behavior. with generation z (gen z) newly entering the workforce, organizations must strategically adapt to ensure they authentically embody the values of the generation who will hold most entry-level positions in the upcoming years (pichler et al., 2021). by spearheading strategic change according to gen z’s expectations and values, the organization’s human resources (hr) will be privier to modernizing hr functions—such as recruitment, the onboarding process, and performance management—while improving psychological safety and organizational culture. an overview of each generation in the workforce understanding gen z is key to strengthening an organization’s competitive advantage, and in order to pursue effective strategic change, the organization must first contextualize each generation’s behavioral trends. while it is important to avoid accepting these trends as absolutely canon—as generations should serve as lenses rather than labels (dimock, 2019)— generational behaviors offer a helpful, generalizable representation (smith, 2021). in considering the negative response to millennials entering the workforce, “approaching generational differences with a blame mentality…only fosters complaints and derision toward the group instead of focusing on growth-oriented solutions” (schroth, 2019, p. 5). generational understanding and acceptance are critical for organizations to properly modernize processes of gen z on the horizon 2 recruiting, onboarding, and retaining the new generation, amidst a workforce of diverse mindsets. while many are currently retired, traditionalists (aged 76 to 99 years) are still involved in the workplace. they are known to be loyal to the organization and to value long-term career commitment (smith, 2021). they generally have respect for a hierarchical system and prefer to be directly told what their tasks are and how to complete them (smith, 2021). in following a clear structure, traditionalists prefer linear work styles and believe that change is only needed to fix something broken (smith, 2019). like traditionalists, baby boomers (aged 57 to 75 years) demonstrate team loyalty, though they may work beyond their ordinary tasks to add team value, and see their career defining their self-worth (smith, 2021). baby boomers prefer a democratic, flat organizational structure, and want to show what they can offer to the team, rather than be told how to do their work (smith, 2021). this generation is willing to challenge authority, but is still cautious around change (smith, 2021). generation x (aged 41 to 56 years) is characterized as loyal to management and to exceed expectations but does not identify their self-worth with their career (smith, 2021). the generation expects respect and support from authority; and they are more comfortable with change, which they view as an opportunity (smith, 2021). millennials (aged 26 to 40 years) also view change as an opportunity and expect to fuel change in their careers to improve the workplace (smith, 2021). they have respect for authority and perceive their careers as an opportunity to offer their skills and value via flexible work styles (smith, 2021). the newest in the workforce, gen z (aged 25 years and younger) views a career as an opportunity for growth, as they respect managerial direction but seek mutual engagement and feedback (smith, 2021). members of gen z understand that change is unavoidable but demonstrate agile work behaviors to adapt to an environment of constant change (smith, 2021). gen z on the horizon 3 all of these generational work behaviors are attributable to the psycho-social characteristics which developed from impactful events and contexts. gen z is the first generation to be born into a digital age, making its members agile and mobile due to accessible communication methods (maioli, 2016). with their greater reliance on the internet, the increased access to digital communications has contributed to an emphasized interest in global issues—such as inequality and climate change—and the expansion of collaboration to resolve such issues (maioli, 2016). as such, these collaboration opportunities and efforts have led to the generation’s openness to diversity, adaptability, and change (maioli, 2016). according to chillakuri (2020), gen z employees generally seek fair treatment, learning and development opportunities, and immediate feedback; and per schroth (2019), gen z is characterized by a lack of work experience in their teenage years, which may lead to an idealistic perception of work experiences. reasons for a lack of work experience may include living in a household of above-median incomes; spending more time pursuing educational growth due to increased competition for higher education; and seeing less of an opportunity to be hired into entry-level jobs, which tend to be reserved for recent graduates (schroth, 2019). gen z is additionally characterized by an augmented risk to suffer from anxiety and depression. according to schroth (2019), “[67%] of gen z in the united states and 85% worldwide say that stress prevents them from taking on leadership responsibilities” (p. 10). gen z’s future leaders must be welcomed into organizations that value their workplace expectations and foster the psychological safety that will support their professional development. gen z’s workplace expectations gen z employees hold an idealistic perspective that their work will be meaningful and compelling and that their ideas will be heard and pursued by their managers (schroth, 2019). in gen z on the horizon 4 a study by chillakuri (2020), participants claimed that when the purpose of their work is established and shared, their work ethic increases. therefore, an organization’s values, mission/vision, and strategic goals serve as critical considerations for gen z during the recruitment and onboarding processes—with a particular preference for ethical and social values that mirror their own (chillakuri, 2020). in order to address gen z’s expectation and desire for meaningful work, managers must ensure that their employees understand the value of the work they do, and how their contributions support the organization’s strategic goals and values. additionally, according to a survey conducted by the network of executive women and deloitte, 77% of gen z respondents said they would choose an organization for its values, rather than its products (chillakuri, 2020). thus, gen z employees are more motivated by a clear alignment between personal and organizational values than the work itself. for example, one key value generally held by gen z is the opportunity for growth. to gen z, performance management has the potential to provide constructive feedback to enhance their personal learning and professional development. according to inc., high-quality feedback magnifies quality of performance; as a study has shown that participants responded more positively to feedback containing high standards and assurance (jenkins, 2019). effective workplace feedback may be structured by high standards and assurance, combined with direction and support for future performance (jenkins, 2019). additionally, as “digital natives,” gen z employees prefer instant feedback on their performance, rather than annual feedback via bellcurve performance reviews (chillakuri, 2020). they believe that such real-time feedback is critical to their learning, which would enable them to work on current improvement areas (chillakuri, 2020). to accommodate immediate feedback, large companies such as microsoft have disposed of the bell-curve method of performance management and adopted a futuregen z on the horizon 5 oriented approach (chillakuri, 2020). gen z prefers future-oriented performance management and instant feedback to better understand how they can develop goals quickly to climb to higher levels within the organization. thus, by embracing this approach, organizations are fostering an environment for fast-paced growth for an ambitious generation entering the workforce. gen z also values a work environment that supports a work-life balance. in their study, chillakuri (2020) discusses the complexity of gen z’s perception of work-life balance, as despite valuing work-life balance, gen z employees have noted feeling stressed that any time off work would open an opportunity for their work to be judged. the study further identifies that gen z seeks flexible work arrangements in order to meet personal needs in addition to work requirements, and to increase productivity (chillakuri, 2020). gen z wants to have a trusting relationship through frequent communication with their manager, who supports flexible arrangements and trusts that their employees are high-performing and highly productive with such flexibility. in line with their expectation of having a trusting relationship with management, gen z values personal connections with managers and coworkers, especially early in their career. although their affinity for digitalization and desire for flexibility would seem to contradict this expectation, gen z understands that “technology often overshadows the personal experience that the new hire can have through in-person discussions with the colleagues and the leaders” (chillakuri, 2020, p. 11). being that they are ambitious in career development, personal connections with managers and peers will prove valuable for professional development and career advancement. therefore, organizations should emphasize the importance of interpersonal connections to support collaboration and improve retention (chillakuri, 2020). gen z on the horizon 6 lastly, perhaps one of gen z’s most important expectations is the availability of learning and development opportunities. gen z has developed in a culture of safety due to overprotective parenting, according to schroth (2019), which has made it challenging to become autonomous. learning and development experiences will help strengthen employee autonomy as participants of these opportunities will enhance their professional skillsets. specifically, gen z prefers hands-on participation in learning opportunities that will help them achieve autonomy and absolute knowledge about their work (chillakuri, 2020). organizations must offer continuous learning options for employees to pursue skill development and career advancement, as this provides a safe, stable arena to learn and grow their professional independence. supporting employee development improves employee morale and engagement, and as a result, enhances the quality of performance (rodriguez & walters, 2017). why organizations must adapt to gen z given the numerous expectations and values of gen z, organizations must understand the purpose and the advantage that would ensue if they adapt accordingly. according to maioli (2016), “understanding generational differences can be a tool for managers of organizations to create environments with greater productivity, innovation and attitude of corporate loyalty” (p. 2). with competitive advantage becoming more challenging to reach due to constant change in technology and globalization, organizations will be able to appeal to valuable employees, their best assets, if they can provide a workplace that matches their personal values and expectations (graczyk-kucharska & erickson, 2020). the person-organization fit theory refers to the alignment between organizational values and employee values; and graczyk-kucharska & erickson (2020) claim that a strong person-organization fit may impact job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, turnover, and performance. thus, as gen z will soon be the gen z on the horizon 7 most-highly represented generation in the workplace, the organization’s focus on a gen zorganizational fit through strategic change will serve to ensure that its newest and perhaps most vulnerable employees will experience increased job satisfaction, demonstrate increased performance, and be less motivated to resign. marked by permanent crisis—or “permacrisis,” which is defined as “an extended period of instability and insecurity” amidst war, inflation, and political instability, in the collins dictionary—gen z is plagued with high stress and anxiety levels that have led to “quiet quitting,” a popularized term that signifies dissociating energy from their jobs and relocating this energy elsewhere (suliman, 2022; telford, 2022). in the workplace, quiet quitting may display as withdrawal from the team function and limited communication to only that which is necessary; apathy, which would result in lack of idea contribution and voluntary collaboration; and frustrated colleagues, who feel they must pick up the quiet quitter’s responsibilities (telford, 2022). quiet quitting has the potential to plague the entire organization. according to the society of human resource management, 83% of hr professionals who are concerned for the negative implications caused by quiet quitting, believe it will decrease morale; 70% believe it will decrease productivity; and 50% believe it will reduce the quality of work products (shrm, 2022). additionally, of professionals who claim their organization is actively being affected by quiet quitting, 72% report that their millennial employees are quiet quitting; and overall, 43% of hr professionals hold that employee productivity is currently a troubling issue in their respective organizations (shrm, 2022). to proactively prevent employees from becoming quiet quitters—and to save the organization from poor employee morale, motivation, performance, and productivity—organizations must focus on strategic change that will attract potential and current employees. namely, such strategic change must focus on the current and future gen z gen z on the horizon 8 employees who seek belonging and value alignment with the organizations for which they choose to work. an organization may choose to adapt to gen z’s various characteristics by understanding and aligning to their workplace motivators. for example, graczyk-kucharska & erickson (2020) recommend an emphasis on transparent communication in recruitment and selection processes. such transparent communication, including digital communication through social media and communication of the organization’s values and mission, will be beneficial to the organization in attracting and recruiting top gen z candidates. additionally, immediate and assuring feedback during the selection process, for successful and unsuccessful candidates, will encourage a positive relationship between the prospective candidate and the organization (graczyk-kucharska & erickson, 2020). according to a talent board survey, 52% of participants said they would be more likely to bolster their relationship with an organization that provided feedback, by reapplying for future roles with the company and referring individuals from their network to apply ("refusing to give interview feedback is a luxury employers cannot afford," 2020). as such, organizations should pursue a brand that is accepting, strengthening, and supportive through adjustments to their strategic processes, to attract and retain gen z employees. “employee competencies can be a competitive advantage for companies” (graczykkucharska & erickson, 2020); therefore, by approaching strategic change through the personorganization fit model, organizations will enhance their competitive advantage. how organizations can strategically adapt to gen z entering the workforce recruitment due to gen z’s characterized lack of work experience in their teenage years, it is especially important for an organization to provide a realistic job preview during the recruiting gen z on the horizon 9 process. schroth (2019) notes that, without prior work experience, gen z may enter the workforce with unrealistic expectations, which may decrease commitment levels and increase turnover. thus, through a realistic job preview, incoming employees will be well-prepared to encounter and overcome any obstacles their work may create, as well as validate whether this job and organization is the right fit for them (schroth, 2019). an effective job preview will include job responsibilities; expectations of working conditions (including flexibilities offered); a list of positive and negative characteristics of the job and organization; a realistic picture of working for the manager; a description of organizational culture; and opportunities for career growth (schroth, 2019). incorporating a realistic job preview will provide candidates with a clear image of what to expect from the role and the organization, which will strengthen the opportunity for an effective person-organization fit assessment. potential candidates have the opportunity to best determine if the job will support their expectations of meaningful work, openness to new ideas, flexibility, and positive relationships (schroth, 2019); and likewise, the organization can narrow down their pool of applicants to those who best align with their culture and expectations. simultaneously, atay et al. (2022) suggest organizations should establish their workplace as a brand, as developed via social media outlets. as gen z is more easily persuaded by visual information, organizations may gain traction on certain social media platforms by sharing the organization’s story visually, including their culture and values (atay et al., 2022). since online presence is becoming increasingly prevalent for the recruitment process, the organization should focus on modernizing its virtual outreach strategy. on social media platforms, its own website, and popular job-search channels such as linkedin and indeed, the organization should showcase a clear visual of its values and culture through images and video(s). activity on social media through videos, highlights, and limited-view stories, for example, will facilitate gen z’s gen z on the horizon 10 determination of person-organization fit; globally share information about the organization; and ideally, popularly establish the organization as an industry leader (atay et al., 2022). onboarding in addition to recruitment improvements, the organization must adopt a new list of practices for its onboarding process. given gen z’s heightened anxiety risk, effective onboarding helps alleviate the unavoidable stress that new employees experience when entering a new organization and culture (schroth, 2019). the organization should provide a checklist of information—including materials, resources, timeline, and goals—for the first day, first week, first month, and at three months (schroth, 2019). to support gen z’s expectation for a positive, trusting relationship with management, managers must meet with each new employee to welcome them to the team and walk through the checklist. these initial discussions will provide clarity on expectations and increase transparency beginning on the employee’s first day, and eventually determine goals beyond what is established by the checklist (schroth, 2019). these discussions should not be limited to one meeting, but rather weekly meetings that allow for uninterrupted discussion, mutual feedback, and an opportunity for addressing questions and concerns. the onboarding process must also facilitate communication in an orientation program to increase connections between new employees. this program will offer a question and answer session to engage senior leaders and new hires, and a session engaging key staff and hr with the new hires, to connect new employees with the current colleagues and leaders who have a crucial role in supporting their success (schroth, 2019). this program will reinforce organizational culture by sharing opportunities for growth and why the new employees made the right decision gen z on the horizon 11 by joining the company. managers will also reinforce each new employee’s sense of purpose at the individual level by affirming the personal value each employee brings to the team. performance management the organization’s performance management may be adjusted to gen z through the implementation of a psychological contract, which, according to schroth (2019), is “an unwritten set of expectations about the employment relationship that greatly impacts their attitudes, feelings, and behaviors” (p. 7). while unwritten in nature, adding a concrete element of the psychological contract to the performance management process will enforce expectations of both employees and managers. the organization should conduct performance reviews on a more immediate and fluid basis, removing the traditional bell-curve method, so that there are no surprises regarding future promotions, demotions, etc. concrete goals may be established on an annual or bi-annual basis, and one of these elements should include mutual psychological contract expectations. schroth (2019) notes that key expectations from gen z of their managers include positive attitude and clear goals; and those from millennials include transparent communication and feedback. implementing a personalized psychological contract as part of the performance management process will increase psychological safety, improve employees’ performance and job satisfaction, and decrease turnover risk (schroth, 2019). psychological safety managers should foster a culture of trust and support, in which employees are encouraged to make their own decisions for processes like time management and task completion. this support of employee autonomy also enhances an opportunity for professional growth, as this facilitates a shift in ownership and accountability from the manager to the employee (schroth, 2019). as the shift occurs, the manager is responsible for modeling the process and providing gen z on the horizon 12 resources for the employee (schroth, 2019). autonomy is best learned through such role modeling behaviors, so when the manager demonstrates effective processes, the new employee will be better equipped to take ownership of projects in the near future. since gen z has identified a fear of failure and lack of confidence when given leadership opportunities (schroth, 2019), managers should also foster an environment that accepts failure and cultivates a growth mindset. individuals who carry a growth mindset believe in the learning process and understand that abilities can be developed (schroth, 2019); so, through coaching, the organization can transform incoming fixed mindsets to growth mindsets. this coaching opportunity will essentially train new employees to understand that all parties within the organization, even its leaders, are constantly learning and improving on the job; that the organization values learning and perseverance to overcome mistakes; and that feedback is valuable and constructive (schroth, 2019). to continuously reinforce the value of a growth mindset, managers within the organization should be coached to emphasize effort over results and provide a safe environment for their employees to exercise their growth mindset and take risks. the ditto framework the ditto framework is a model developed by pichler et al. (2021) that provides best practices for managing gen z employees. ditto—which is a mnemonic for diversity, individualism and teamwork, technology, and organizational supports—holistically addresses strategic changes that will benefit the organization in the long-term, as it seeks to adapt to gen z entering the workforce (pichler et al., 2021). each principle’s short-term and long-term goals will successfully prepare the organization for gen z. gen z on the horizon 13 beginning with diversity, it is important to understand that diversity cannot exist without an inclusive environment; therefore, support from senior leadership is needed to ensure the entire organization is equally involved in promoting an inclusive environment (pichler et al., 2021). as pichler et al. (2021) propose in their roadmap, the organization can implement diversity taskforces for generational diversity in the short-term, which—when combined with diverse recruitment and nondiscrimination policies—will lead to an inclusive organizational culture in the long-term. in addition to the generational taskforce, developing and implementing other inclusive taskforces will support a multitude of groups within the organization and enhance organizational attraction and belonging (pichler et al., 2021). pichler et al. (2021) highlight that gen z trends demonstrate a preference for individualistic learning, which signifies that working in teams may be an inherent challenge. since teamwork is increasingly essential for collaboration and the overall function of an organization—and gen z is newly entering a work environment that is a mix of remote, hybrid, and in-office—the generation’s teamwork ability must be as flexible as the work environment itself. in accordance with the ditto model’s suggestion, the organization should implement socialization programs that support group work. these programs will create a sense of common purpose, retain top talent, and emphasize the importance of teamwork in the organization amidst a consistent focus on person-organization fit (pichler et al., 2021). while the digital age has reduced the amount of face-to-face conversations gen z and millennials experience (schroth, 2019), there is an increasing reliance on technology as a platform for communication and learning opportunities. as such, in support of learning and development opportunities that allow for flexible participation, the organization should leverage asynchronous learning opportunities, which would adapt to the individualistic learning styles of gen z on the horizon 14 gen z (pichler, et al., 2021). according to pichler et al. (2021), despite potential disagreement from older generations, “it is important to realize how these things are ingrained in the behavior of gen zers and how ignoring these can cause dissonance” (p. 606). virtual trainings can be used to instruct all individuals across generations to use various methods of communication to facilitate virtual collaboration, as necessary. improved technology use over time will enhance flexible collaboration, and ultimately, the organization’s competitive advantage (pichler et al., 2021). finally, to initiate a strategic change for the importance of mental health, the organization should offer a wellness program that helps employees stay healthy. google, for example, is known to have gyms on-site and healthy cooking classes; so, in adapting a similar support program, employees will be further engaged knowing that they are a part of an organization that values their health and wellness (pichler et al., 2021). perceived organizational support contributes to lower stress levels and increased well-being, and mutually benefits the company by improving performance levels (pichler et al., 2021). escaping the status quo in considering these recommendations, organizational leaders may be concerned with the risks of focusing on a particular generational demographic. it is important to note that each organization may vary in generational diversity and, as such, not all aforementioned strategic change opportunities may be appropriate. however, given that gen z employees are the future of the workforce, such organizational change will inherently serve to benefit the organization, as gen z would ultimately become more attracted to serve an organization that values them as individuals. while prioritizing its adoption of new technologies to maintain competitive advantage, for example, the organization must not neglect the strategic changes to attract, gen z on the horizon 15 support, and maintain its most important assets. finding belonging within an organization that holds shared values and emphasizes psychological safety will motivate gen z, increase performance, and decrease attrition. furthermore, it is important to note that each organization may demonstrate unique strengths and weaknesses across its hr functions. with this knowledge, which arises from gathering and analyzing organizational data, the organization can best identify the necessary strategic changes that will bolster its success in appealing to gen z, at the employee-level and, ultimately, at the organizationaland industry-level. by integrating strategic changes in the organization’s hr functions according to the values and behaviors of gen z candidates, organizations will attain competitive advantage in their respective industries, by directly improving upon employee performance levels and job satisfaction. specifically, by modernizing recruitment methods, onboarding programs, and performance management considerations to accommodate gen z expectations—whilst cultivating psychological safety and socialization opportunities—organizations will become more attractive to the competitive pool of gen z applicants. organizations are only as effective as their best assets—their people. as such, being attentive to the generation newly entering the workforce by implementing organizational, strategic change will expand strength and stability for the human capital, and fundamentally, the success and performance of the organization. gen z on the horizon 16 references atay, a., ashlock, m. z., smith, s., & strawser, m. (2022). social media, technology, and new generations: digital millennial generation and generation z. lexington books. chillakuri, b. (2020). understanding generation z expectations for effective onboarding. journal of organizational change management, 33(7), 12771296. https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm-02-2020-0058 dimock, m. (2019, january 17). defining generations: where millennials end and generation z begins. pew research center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/wheremillennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/ graczyk-kucharska, m., & erickson, g. (2020). a person-organization fit model of generation z: preliminary studies. journal of entrepreneurship, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.7341/20201645 jenkins, r. (2019). how to deliver employee feedback most effectively. inc.com. https://www.inc.com/ryan-jenkins/how-to-deliver-employee-feedback-mosteffectively.html maioli, e. (2016). new generations and employment – an exploratory study about tensions between the psycho-social characteristics of the generation z and expectations and actions of organizational structures related with employment (caba, 2016). journal of business, 2(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.18533/job.v2i1.53 pichler, s., kohli, c., & granitz, n. (2021). ditto for gen z: a framework for leveraging the uniqueness of the new generation. business horizons, 64(5), 599610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2021.02.021 gen z on the horizon 17 refusing to give interview feedback is a luxury employers cannot afford. (2020, august 17). linkedin. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/refusing-give-interview-feedback-luxuryemployers-elaine-mead/ rodriguez, j., & walters, k. (2017). the importance of training and development in employee performance and evaluation. world wide journal of multidisciplinary research and development, 3(10), 206-212. schroth, h. (2019). are you ready for gen z in the workplace? california management review, 61(3), 5-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125619841006 shrm. (2022, september 15). new shrm research: is 'quiet quitting' affecting your workplace. https://www.shrm.org/about-shrm/press-room/press-releases/pages/newshrm-research-is-quiet-quitting-affecting-your-workplace.aspx smith, a. (2021, september 12). generational mindsets affect the workforce. shrm. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/global-hr/pages/generationalmindsets-affect-workforce.aspx suliman, a. (2022, november 1). ‘permacrisis’ is a dictionary’s word of the year in ‘truly awful’ 2022. the washington post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/11/01/permacrisis-2022-wordyear-collins-dictionary/ gen z on the horizon 18 telford, t. (2022, august 21). ‘quiet quitting’ isn’t really about quitting. here are the signs. the washington post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/21/quietquitting-what-to-know/ the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene padmasree gade software engineering introduction passwords continue to be one of the most common forms of user authentication. however, despite the significant advancements in password management tools and increased awareness of best practices, weak passwords and credential reuse remain prevalent vulnerabilities in cybersecurity. research shows that these insecure behaviors—such as using easily guessable passwords or reusing credentials across multiple platforms—are key contributors to successful cyberattacks, including credential stuffing and brute-force attacks [1][5][7]. this paradox, where users are aware of the risks but still choose weak passwords, raises important questions about the psychological and practical barriers that prevent strong password adoption. cognitive biases, such as the tendency to prioritize convenience over security and the perceived difficulty of managing numerous strong passwords, lead many users to resort to insecure practices [2][13]. even when equipped with tools like password managers, users exhibit inconsistent adoption patterns, complicating the situation further [3][15]. prior research has highlighted various reasons for weak password choices, including cognitive load (the mental effort required to remember multiple strong passwords) and convenience biases (the preference for simplicity over security) [14]. users often opt for less secure passwords because they perceive it as easier or faster to use familiar, simple passwords across different accounts [13]. these patterns are not only influenced by individual decisions but are also shaped by the broader design of password management systems, which often fail to align with users’ cognitive abilities and security needs [14][3]. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 2 in this paper, we examine the complex interplay between psychological, technological, and behavioral factors that influence password-related decisions. drawing on prior research, we introduce a causal loop diagram that illustrates the cyclical nature of weak password usage. this diagram reveals how user behavior, cognitive load, and the tools available to users (e.g., password managers) interact to perpetuate weak password practices. we argue that the solution lies in designing user-centric systems that take these psychological factors into account, ultimately helping users make more secure password choices. related work the challenge of balancing password security and user convenience has been a longstanding issue in cybersecurity research. numerous studies have investigated the factors contributing to poor password hygiene and explored solutions to mitigate associated risks. let us now review the key insights from existing literature, focusing on password generation, password managers, and user behavior. 1. weak password usage and reuse weak passwords often arise due to user tendencies such as choosing memorable phrases, personal identifiers, or simple patterns. umejiaku et al. highlighted the "human factor problem," where users prioritize convenience over security, leading to the reuse of passwords and insecure storage practices. these behaviors, while reducing cognitive load, increase vulnerability to attacks such as credential stuffing and dictionary-based guessing[1][7][8]. 2. password managers: potential and limitations the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 3 password managers have been proposed as a solution to the growing demand for strong and unique passwords[3][15]. studies show that password managers can improve security hygiene, with features like autofill and synchronization across devices enhancing usability[11][16]. however, they are not without flaws. a weak master password or a breach on the service provider's side could compromise the entire vault of stored credentials[9]. additionally, as noted by alkaldi and renaud, mistrust and usability concerns deter widespread adoption, with 31% of users unlikely to use such tools even in the future[3]. 3. password generation techniques advancements in password generation strategies aim to strike a balance between security and usability. umejiaku et al. proposed leveraging ai models, such as chatgpt, to create strong and memorable passwords[1]. however, these models also introduce risks, as they can predict passwords based on minimal data, potentially aiding attackers[14]. enhancements like mnemonicbased modifications and semantic transformations have been explored to strengthen passwords while improving memorability[16][2]. 4. human-centric password policies human-computer interaction (hci) research has emphasized the importance of designing password systems that align with user behavior[2][4]. studies by yıldırım and mackie recommend focusing on usability by encouraging passphrase adoption and reducing complexity requirements[6][7]. the national institute of standards and technology (nist) has similarly revised guidelines, dropping frequent password changes in favor of length-based policies[10]. 5. psychological factors in password decision-making the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 4 behavioral psychology provides valuable insights into why users knowingly choose weak passwords[13]. factors such as perceived effort, fear of forgetting, and skepticism toward new tools like password managers contribute to suboptimal practices[3][8]. research highlights the need for educational interventions that address these psychological barriers, encouraging stronger password habits[11]. system dynamics and causal loop diagrams system dynamics is a methodology used to understand and model complex systems by analyzing their feedback loops. it helps identify how different elements within a system influence one another over time. a causal loop diagram (cld) represents these interactions using nodes (variables), directional arrows (causal relationships), and polarities (+/-) indicating whether a change in one variable reinforces (+) or counteracts (-) another. unlike stock and flow diagrams, which focus on quantifiable accumulations and rates of change, clds are better suited for conceptualizing behavioral and psychological dynamics. for this study, a cld was chosen because it effectively captures the reinforcing behaviors and feedback mechanisms influencing password choices. the cld in this paper represents psychological, cognitive, and technological factors contributing to poor password hygiene, demonstrating how different influences interact over time. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 5 methodology i employed a system dynamics model to analyze the cyclic nature of weak password behaviors. the causal loop diagram (cld)[] served as the primary tool for visualizing these dynamics. each loop in the diagram represents a psychological or behavioral factor influencing password choices. system dynamics model causal loop diagram: the causal loop diagram illustrates five major feedback loops influencing password security: • cognitive load loop (+): the mental effort required to remember complex passwords often leads users to favor simpler, insecure ones. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 6 • trust and skepticism loop (-): mistrust of password management tools discourages adoption, reinforcing manual password practices. • convenience loop (+): users prioritize easy-to-remember passwords over security due to perceived effort. • manual password management loop (+): inefficient strategies, such as writing down passwords, increase security risks. • risk awareness and behavior change loop (-): although awareness of risks can encourage behavior change, convenience often overrides security considerations. each loop highlights key factors influencing password-related decisions. the direction and polarity of each arrow show how changes in one factor affect others, reinforcing (or counteracting) security behaviors. understanding these interactions allows for targeted interventions to disrupt negative feedback cycles and promote better password hygiene. findings and implications 1. persistent weaknesses in password practices users continue to engage in weak password behaviors despite awareness of risks. this contradiction stems from cognitive biases and usability concerns surrounding password security measures. 2. addressing trust and usability with customization a personalized password management approach can increase adoption: • user-driven password generation: a questionnaire-based tool can generate strong, memorable passphrases based on user preferences and cognitive strengths. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 7 • psychological alignment: aligning with memory techniques (mnemonics, semantic transformations) can improve usability and security. • reducing perceived effort: automating password creation and aligning suggestions with user behaviors can minimize friction in adoption. 3. disrupting reinforcing loops • building trust in tools: personalization can increase confidence in password managers. • countering predictive attacks: ai-driven password generation can resist brute force and dictionary attacks. • encouraging length-based security: adopting nist-compliant policies that emphasize passphrase length over complexity can enhance security without burdening users. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 8 1. cognitive load loop: the mental effort required to remember complex passwords often leads users to choose simpler ones. users struggle to balance security and memorability, often resorting to insecure practices. the reinforcing loop (r1) suggests that cognitive effort discourages strong password selection, making it a self-reinforcing cycle. solutions involve improving usability and reducing perceived difficulty. • weak password selection: leads to security breaches, increasing awareness of risks. • awareness of risks: enhances motivation to improve, leading to the adoption of strong passwords. • cognitive load of coming up with strong passwords: increases the perceived effort of difficulty remembering and frustration, reinforcing weak password selection. • adoption of strong passwords: can be influenced by customized, easy-to-use password management tools to reduce cognitive load. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 9 2. trust and skepticism loop: mistrust of password management tools, whether due to perceived vulnerabilities or usability concerns, discourages their adoption. many users view password managers as a single point of failure, undermining trust and adoption. this balancing loop suggests that increasing trust through better usability and security awareness can gradually reduce skepticism, leading to a more secure password ecosystem. • as trust in password management tools increases, users are more likely to adopt strong passwords. • however, skepticism to use password management tools counteracts this, preventing full adoption. • the system seeks equilibrium between skepticism and trust, preventing extreme outcomes. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 10 3. convenience loop: users frequently prioritize convenience over security, opting for easy-toremember passwords that can be reused. the perceived effort of creating and managing strong passwords drives reliance on simpler, less secure options. this balancing loop demonstrates how improving convenience can positively influence password security. • weak password selection leads to security breaches. • security breaches increase awareness of risks, motivating users to adopt stronger passwords. • adoption of strong passwords is supported by improved convenience via tools that simplify password management. • enhanced convenience reinforces stronger password habits, improving security over time. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 11 4. manual password management loop: reliance on manual strategies increases cognitive strain and perpetuates weak habits. inefficient strategies like using paper notes or reusing passwords exacerbate cognitive strain. this balancing loop highlights the challenge users face when manually managing complex passwords, often reverting to unsafe practices. • awareness of risks drives motivation to improve password security. • users attempt manual password management, which often leads to the fear of forgetting due to password complexity or multiple accounts. • this fear encourages password reuse, weakening security. • resulting security breaches increase awareness of risks, reinforcing the cycle. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 12 5. risk awareness and behavior change loop: while awareness of risks can encourage behavior change, its impact is often insufficient to override convenience-driven habits. while users recognize the risks of weak passwords, convenience often takes precedence. this balancing loop emphasizes the role of awareness and motivation in fostering positive behavioral changes. • weak password selection leads to security breaches. • security breaches raise awareness of risks, encouraging users to improve password habits. • increased awareness drives motivation to improve, prompting the adoption of strong passwords. • this improved behavior reduces the frequency of weak password selection and security breaches, gradually stabilizing password security. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 13 findings to address the impact of the above factors influencing bad password practices we can use a password management tool that leverages user inputs via a questionnaire to generate strong, memorable passwords or passphrases. the findings integrate insights from existing literature to contextualize the proposed tool’s potential in disrupting the reinforcing cycles of poor password hygiene. 1. persistent weaknesses in password practices weak password behaviors—such as reusing credentials, choosing simple patterns, or storing passwords insecurely—persist despite widespread awareness of their risks. research highlights how cognitive biases and the burden of remembering multiple passwords drive users to prioritize convenience over security. even with tools like password managers, mistrust and perceived usability barriers contribute to inconsistent adoption. 2. psychological barriers and behavioral loops a key barrier to stronger password practices is the effort required to balance memorability with complexity. as noted by umejiaku et al., users often resort to insecure coping strategies due to the cognitive strain of managing multiple accounts. these behaviors create reinforcing loops where poor practices undermine trust in security outcomes, perpetuating weak habits. 3. addressing trust and usability with customization the proposed password management tool directly addresses user skepticism and usability concerns by leveraging a customized approach: the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 14 • personalized questionnaire: users answer questions about their preferences, behaviors, and memory strengths. • tailored suggestions: based on responses, the tool generates strong and easy-toremember passwords or passphrases. techniques may include mnemonic-based modifications, semantic transformations, or length-based adjustments, as suggested in previous research. • psychological alignment: by considering user-specific factors, the tool reduces cognitive load and increases trust, enhancing adoption and security outcomes. 4. disrupting reinforcing loops the innovation disrupts key reinforcing cycles of poor password hygiene: • reducing perceived effort: by automating password generation and aligning outputs with user preferences, the tool minimizes the effort required to adopt stronger practices. • building trust in tools: customization fosters user confidence in the tool’s relevance and security, addressing mistrust highlighted by studies like alkaldi and renaud. • improving memorability: tailored passphrases align with psychological principles of repetition and association, making secure practices easier to sustain. 5. addressing broader security challenges in addition to disrupting insecure behavioral cycles, the tool mitigates specific security risks: • countering predictive attacks: by generating unique passwords not derived from predictable patterns, the tool resists brute force and dictionary attacks. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 15 • encouraging length-based security: building on nist guidelines, the tool emphasizes passphrase length over complexity, aligning with findings by yıldırım and mackie. 6. implications for design and policy the proposed solution has significant implications for cybersecurity practices: • user-centric design: by integrating behavioral and psychological insights, the tool prioritizes usability without compromising security. • scalability: the tool can be extended to organizations, tailoring password policies to diverse user bases while maintaining compliance with best practices. • future research: studies should evaluate the tool’s effectiveness in real-world scenarios, focusing on adoption rates, usability feedback, and measurable improvements in password security. conclusion the persistence of weak and reused passwords underscores the need for innovative solutions that address the psychological and practical barriers to strong password adoption. our proposed password management tool, by aligning with user preferences and cognitive strengths, offers a promising approach to enhance security without compromising usability. by fostering a more userfriendly and psychologically aligned approach to password management, this tool can play a pivotal role in enhancing cybersecurity while improving the user experience. future work will focus on real-world implementation and evaluation of the tool, exploring its effectiveness in reducing cybersecurity risks while enhancing user experience. the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security 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[13] moustafa, ahmed a., et al. “the role of user behaviour in improving cyber security management.” frontiers in psychology, vol. 12, 18 june 2021, 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.561011. [14] f. z. glory, a. ul aftab, o. tremblay-savard and n. mohammed, "strong password generation based on user inputs," 2019 ieee 10th annual information technology, electronics https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intcom.2011.03.007 https://doi.org/10.1145/1978942.1979321 https://doi.org/10.1109/icspis53734.2021.9652188 https://doi.org/10.1109/issc.2017.7983609 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intcom.2011.03.007 https://doi.org/10.1145/3485554.3487438 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.561011 the psychology behind password choices: a system dynamics approach to enhancing security hygiene 18 and mobile communication conference (iemcon), vancouver, bc, canada, 2019, pp. 04160423, doi: 10.1109/iemcon.2019.8936178. 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[16] m. shahid and m. a. qadeer, "novel scheme for securing passwords," 2009 3rd ieee international conference on digital ecosystems and technologies, istanbul, turkey, 2009, pp. 223-227, doi: 10.1109/dest.2009.5276738. https://doi.org/10.1109/iemcon.2019.8936178 https://doi.org/10.1109/ciisca59740.2023.00024 https://doi.org/10.1109/dest.2009.5276738 gender…gone wild gender…gone wild: the sexual economy of reality exploitation andrew j. owens english as an idiom popularized through the fervent feminism and sexual revolution of the 1960s, ―male chauvinist pig‖ was used predominantly in describing men holding positions of authorial power who abused their gendered privilege, in both public and private spheres, to the detriment of american women. if second-wave feminism was defined by pointing the accusatory finger of blame at these ―male chauvinist pigs,‖ new york magazine editor ariel levy traces the escalation of an entirely different cultural phenomenon in the late-1990s and the early years of the twenty-first century. female chauvinist pigs: women and the rise of raunch culture explores how and presumably why the behavior of young american women has changed in the past three decades: ―only thirty years (my lifetime) ago, our mothers were ‗burning their bras‘ and picketing playboy, and suddenly we were getting implants and wearing the bunny logo as supposed symbols of our liberation. how had the culture shifted so drastically in such a short period of time?‖ 1 among those institutions levy considers in the rise of a distinctly feminized raunch culture, one cited consistently in her argument is the media channel known as girls gone wild. this franchise and its critics, who claim that the outlet operates primarily through a matrix of exploitation at the expense of young college-aged women, have existed contemporaneously ever since the first girls gone wild production was released in 1999. while levy‘s critique of twenty-first century feminism, or lack there of, is persuasively supported, further evidence for her reflections have risen out of american visual culture since the publication of female chauvinist pigs in 2005. by examining a supposedly reciprocal cultural phenomenon, first appearing on the softcore market in 2004 while levy was concluding research for her text, this paper will argue that guys gone wild has since given the exploitative culture of girls gone wild a new and revealing referent. in its highlighting of male exhibitionism, the rise of guys gone wild has complicated the ways in which collective identities of gender, both male and female, are currently represented through american mass media. ultimately, 1 ariel levy, female chauvinist pigs: women and the rise of raunch culture (new york: free press, 2005) 3. even though an ostensibly comparative male equivalent now exists on the market, softcore reality exploitation remains lacking in any substantial notions of equitable gender representation and has, perhaps, become even more destructive to the public image of young american women. any useful deconstruction of the representational spectrum between girls gone wild and guys gone wild should consider the principal comparison between what, in terms of physical specificity, is actually being represented. in a visual genre whose modus operandi is informed almost exclusively by the presence of a male gaze, questions and degrees of visibility, both for the subject and the spectator, reign supreme. in his text male myths and icons: masculinity in popular culture, roger horrocks notes the long-standing tradition of representative discrepancies between men and women in pornography. citing the work of feminist critic linda williams, horrocks writes, ―the open vagina shot might be interpreted as an invitation to the penis – penetrate me. but there is something else here…that is, the mystery of female sexuality is exposed to the camera and the viewer‖. 2 if critics of pornography have implicated its corporeal displays as another manifestation of institutionalized male authority, this assertion is similarly sustained as the definitional term within pornographic hierarchies, meaning that the presence of the penis has proven dominant as principal determinant: ―one of the crucial distinctions between soft and hard core porn is the presence of the (hard) penis. this can be seen as a kind of lacanian ‗lack‘: soft porn lacks the penis, which in hard core is one of the key images‖. 3 indeed, lacan‘s theory of manqué, translated from the french as ―lack,‖ posits that the condition of lacking is always related to manifestations of desire. this desire, within lacan‘s structuralist rubric, is generated by men as they constantly endeavor to obtain the phallus and its indication of definitive masculinity. although compellingly argued, horrocks‘ lacanian examination of soft and hardcore pornography lacks certain essential caveats. although the penis is physically present in both genres, distinctions arise around the male member‘s utility and efficacy. indeed, a lacanian reading of the softcore guys gone wild franchise holds true only insofar as the penis rarely enacts its function in the capacity of either erection or ejaculation. its ontology in physical space nevertheless remains. as comparisons and discrepancies between the visual politics of girls and guys gone wild will reveal, the definitional terms of softcore pornography still remain heavily reliant on greater female exposure than male. 2 roger horrocks, male myths and icons: masculinity in popular culture (new york: st. martin‘s press, 1995) 115. 3 ibid, 121. this inconsistency consequently impacts the collective gender identities both of these softcore franchises promote. in her seminal text gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity, cultural theorist judith butler famously undermines the patriarchal, masculinist discourses that have historically assumed authority over the construction of heteronormative gender binaries. as one of the most influential contributors to poststructuralist gender theory, butler strikingly notes that gender, investigated at its lowest common denominator, can always be reduced to socially constructed signs of performative action: ―words, acts, gestures, and desire produce the effect of an internal core or substance, but produce this on the surface of the body, through the play of signifying absences that suggest, but never reveal, the organizing principle of identity as a cause‖. 4 butler‘s emphasis on surfaces and exteriority, working to discredit gender as somehow biologically inherent, provides the foundation for how she conceives of socially constructed articulations of gender as consistently performative: such acts, gestures, enactments, generally construed, are performative in the sense that the essence or identity that they otherwise purport to express are fabrications manufactured and sustained through corporeal signs and other discursive means. that the gendered body is performative suggests that it has no ontological status apart from the various acts which constitute its reality. this also suggests that if that reality is fabricated as an interior essence, that very interiority is an effect and function of a decidedly public and social discourse. 5 the genre of softcore reality exploitation provides both challenging and stimulating complications to butler‘s claims for gender understood as constantly performative. undoubtedly, the culturally specific artifacts that have influenced the genesis of guys and girls gone wild were not generated within the confines of a social vacuum. girls gone wild and its male equivalent are, of course, the products of previously established public discourses pivoting on public sexual performance and heteronormative gender expectations. however, butler‘s assertion of cultural causality may become complicated in the twenty-first century when an institution such as girls gone wild becomes, as ariel levy suggests, a gendered lexicon for societal and public discourse in and of itself. 6 4 judith butler, gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity (new york: routledge, 1990) 136. 5 ibid. 6 levy, 17. engineered by media mogul joseph r. francis for his production company mantra entertainment, advertisements for girls gone wild first appeared on latenight television in 1999. originally showcasing female college co-eds with a penchant for drunken breast exposure, the cultural proliferation of girls gone wild has continued to grow exponentially. girls gone wild currently offers paid subscriptions to a members-only website as well as its trademark videos, currently numbering a catalog of over two-hundred and fifty volumes on dvd with many additional entries offered in the high-definition blu-ray format. 7 according to variety magazine reporter terence keegan, ―such fringe programming—which often enjoys a lucrative audience niche but also has baggage of one form or another—is now so accessible that it‘s constituting an ever-larger slice of an overall homevid pie that generated about $24 billion in consumer spending‖ in 2006. 8 indeed, girls gone wild ―is so popular they are expanding from soft-core videos to launch an apparel line, a compilation cd with jive records (of ggwapproved club hits), and a hooters-like restaurant chain‖. 9 according to levy, the gendered, exhibitionistic performances representative of a distinctive youth culture in the late-1990s were a niche market simply waiting to be exploited: it sounds like a fantasy world dreamed up by teenage boys. a world of sun and sand where frozen daiquiris flow from faucets and any hot girl you see will peel off her bikini top, lift up her skirt…all you have to do is ask. it‘s no surprise that there‘s a male audience for this, but what‘s strange is that the women who populate this alternate reality are not strippers or paid performers, they are middle-class college kids on vacation—they are mainstream…the heat is turned up a little in miami, but a baseline expectation that women will be constantly exploding in little blasts of exhibitionism runs throughout our culture. girls gone wild is not extraordinary, it‘s emblematic. 10 as both girls gone wild: dormroom confessions and girls gone wild: hottest moments ever reveal, the deck of softcore media exploitation is intentionally stacked against positive representations of young american women. kate, an 18 year-old college freshman, is the first woman interviewed within the traveling confessional of the girls gone wild tour bus in dormroom confessions. kate has always wanted to show off her wild side and takes the 7 joseph r. francis, ―girls gone wild.‖ 27 april 2009. <http://www.girlsgonewild.com>. 8 terence keegan, ―raunch goes from trickle to mainstream gusher.‖ 24 april 2007. 27 april 2009. <http://www.variety.com/homeentertainment>. 9 levy, 8. 10 ibid, 17. opportunity before her to confess her proclivity for ―rough sex‖ in which she is constantly ―on top.‖ 11 encouraged by the cameraman‘s appraisals that she is ―so cute‖ and ―adorable,‖ kate is eventually convinced to remove the entirety of her wardrobe. 12 as a common trend within the exploitative rubric of girls gone wild, women are persuaded to continuously interact with their own bodies through the senses of taste, smell, and touch. when asked what her favorite feature of her body is, kate responds, ―i love my nipples…like honestly.‖ 13 concluding in traditional girls gone wild fashion, kate is shown masturbating on camera for a period of over ten minutes until her eventual climax. in its habitual insistence on manual female stimulation, girls gone wild reverses freudian anxieties surrounding manifestations of female sexuality. in tracing the maturation of female sexual practices, freud theorized that women, in order to avoid homosexual tendencies or other sexual aberrations, must undergo a turn ―away from the active, masculine, and aggressive clitoral stimulation toward the passive, subordinate, masochistic---toward receiving vaginal stimulation‖. 14 according to psychologists claire and frank wesley, freudian notions of female sexuality consistently denigrate the practice of auto-stimulation: ―freud considered the clitoral-vaginal shift a necessary condition for normal, female sexuality. he states that a girl, unlike a boy, should not manually stimulate her genitals too often during her phallic period (4-7 years) because she should not accustom herself to receiving pleasure from her ‗stunted‘ penis, her clitoris‖. 15 not surprisingly, the era of girls gone wild has turned freudian notions of female sexuality on their heads. however, instead of working to approximate some manifestation of equilibrium between modesty and healthy sexual expression, girls gone wild has polarized its own version of female sexuality in the opposite direction of freud, honoring those young women whose hyperactive libidos have taken sexual exhibitionism to new heights. indeed, kate exhibits little fear or apprehension while masturbating and gladly does so in front of the girls gone wild camera. in her 2006 article ―the staging of agency in girls gone wild,‖ karen pitcher submits that exploitative media outlets such girls gone wild can be understood as a twenty-first century manifestation of mikhail bakhtin‘s notion of the ―carnivalesque‖. originally cited in his text rabelais and his world, a study of the french renaissance theorist françois rabelais, bakhtin‘s theory of the carnivalesque indicated ―a temporary liberation from the established order, a 11 girls gone wild: dormroom confessions. mantra entertainment, 2008. dvd. 12 ibid. 13 ibid. 14 claire and frank wesley, sex-role psychology (new york: human sciences press, 1977), 135. 15 ibid. suspension of (bourgeois) cultural norms and prohibitions. while carnivalesque practices retain the critical and cultural tools of the dominant classes, these very tools are utilized to degrade and mock forms of high culture; they revel in this contradiction‖. 16 this dichotomous contradiction between bourgeois cultural norms and carnivalesque transgression is largely played out in girls gone wild through the experience of the collective collegiate vacation, known popularly as spring break. in a 1998 study entitled ―casual sex on spring break,‖ three cultural anthropologists became enmeshed within ―an atmosphere in which the usual rules and moral codes did not apply. students provided detailed descriptions of how some had behaved ‗totally out of character‘ or in ways that ‗they never would at home‘‖. 17 significantly, pitcher notes that discrete expressions of carnivalesque behavior on the part of these individuals are almost always endorsed by a collective group consciousness: this type of behavior is often encouraged by a peer group, whether informally or more overtly in the form of a group pact. therefore, with a heightened level of peer pressure, coupled with an atmosphere of perpetual bawdy activity situated outside everyday norms, spring break becomes an opportunity for college students to temporarily step outside typical middleclass boundaries with few social repercussions. 18 while manifestations of a collective consciousness are essential to deconstructing the motives for women simultaneously hiking their tops in girls gone wild or a group of men ―mooning‖ the camera in guys gone wild, pitcher‘s analysis fails to recognize a further consequence of their exploitative dialectic. not only are the carnivalesque performances in guys and girls gone wild endorsed by the larger peer group of the participants, but that approval generates the compounding effect of constructing a gendered group identity defined in terms of these visual carnivalesque practices. consequently, if there is an existent lack of equity in the representative visual economies between guys and girls gone wild, the collective gender identities they construct are correspondingly disparate. perhaps the most explicit scene in dormroom confessions is provided through an interview with brynn, a sophomore at the university of georgia majoring in psychology. as brynn is enjoying a festive evening out at a jampacked dance club, she is gradually approached by the girls gone wild camera 16 karen c. pitcher, ―the staging of agency in girls gone wild,‖ critical studies in media communication 23.3 (august 2006): 203. 17 cited in pitcher, 204. 18 ibid. crew and encouraged by her friends to give them a show. within the confines of brynn‘s modestly sized apartment, her bed becomes the primary attraction of the camera‘s focus. asked to simply stand still for a moment, the representational politics of girls gone wild becomes obvious by means of extreme close-ups of brynn‘s rear-end and cleavage. according to pioneering film theorist béla balázs, the use of the close-up ―can show us the very instance in which the general is transformed into the particular…it not only revealed new things, but showed us the meaning of the old‖. 19 if this sliding scale between generality and precision can be visually codified by the use of camera zoom, girls gone wild stakes a far greater claim in scrupulous meditations on specific elements of female anatomy through the use of tight camera angles than does its male counterpart in privileging certain aspects of the masculine body. bribed with promises of official girls gone wild apparels including a tanktop and ―booty shorts,‖ brynn fully exposes herself for the camera and confesses her especial fondness for her ―real boobs‖. 20 indeed, within its sexualized matrix, girls gone wild claims particular access to realms of realism not available through traditional outlets of narrative cinema. in her essay ―soft-core in tv time: the political economy of a ‗cultural trend‘,‖ vicky mayer notes that the collective gender identities generated by a media conduit such as girls gone wild are facilitated largely through its claim to a particular articulation of visual realism: the videos were produced with the highest-grade amateur (‗prosumer‘) video cameras available; therefore, they index the ‗real‘ with a seemingly transparent presentation of a grainy and often-shaky representation of real life…the lack of professional lighting, editing, or scripting also enhances the sense of realism in the frame. the mise en scènes are real tourist locations and events that target college students. the women who display themselves in these settings and activities frequently receive t-shirts or hats on-camera in exchange for their performances, furthering their representation as unpaid amateurs. 21 indeed, the amateurish qualities surrounding brynn‘s fifteen minutes of fame in girls gone wild: dormroom confessions are promoted not only through the representational politics of the camera, but also by the collective feminine identity brynn invokes to contextualize her performance. giving the camera a coy smile as 19 béla balázs, ―the close-up‖. rpt. in film theory & criticism: 6 th edition. ed. leo braudy and marshall cohen (new york: oxford university press, 2004) 314. 20 girls gone wild: dormroom confessions. 21 vicki mayer, ―soft-core in tv time: the political economy of a ‗cultural trend‘,‖ critical studies in media communication 22.4 (october 2005): 304. she removes her last item of clothing, the cameraman expresses his own delight at the exhibitionism displayed before him: ―man, i love southern girls‖. 22 to this encouragement, brynn immediately adds her own affirmation: ―i know…we‘re pretty great‖. 23 brynn‘s use of the communal pronoun in this moment should not be underestimated and is, i would argue, especially revealing. by aligning herself with a particular gendered and geographic demography, femininity as it becomes manifest in the american south, brynn concurrently manipulates the ways in which that population‘s own visibility vis-à-vis collective notions of gender are represented within a broader public discourse. consequently, the scopophilic fantasy of male heteronormative sexuality endorsed by brynn‘s performance informs a visual reading in which any young woman aligning herself within the shared disposition of the ―southern girl‖ can be convinced to enact similar girls gone wild-esque performances. indeed, these articulations of gender performance are taken to new exploitative heights in the 2008 release girls gone wild: hottest moments ever. stacey, a young woman vacationing on spring break, is celebrating her eighteenth birthday with many of her closest girlfriends. couching this occasion in terms of a celebratory event worthy of particularly wild behavior, the girls gone wild production staff provides stacey with her first eighteenth birthday present: a fluorescent pink, battery-operated vibrator with multi-speed capabilities. 24 executing a gradual striptease with emphatic encouragement from the cameraman that the time has come for stacey to display ―the kitty,‖ the young woman removes the remainder of her clothing and engages in an uninhibited masturbatory session lasting nearly twenty minutes. 25 just in case her whimpers of ecstasy failed in revealing the cause of their inspiration, stacey proudly boasts at the interview‘s conclusion that the performance she has just put on has showcased her multiple orgasmic capacity. 26 this particularly feminine aptitude is not a pioneering cause for fascination within outlets of popular culture. however, according to wesley and wesley, there does exist between men and women, innate physiological sex differences with respect to orgasm capacity. females can have multiple orgasm, one right after another, something males in general cannot do. after orgasm most males find further stimulation of their penis unpleasant and need a rest period before they can have a second or third ejaculation. those men who can have sequential orgasm report that 22 girls gone wild: dormroom confessions. 23 ibid. 24 girls gone wild: hottest moments ever. mantra entertainment, 2008. dvd. 25 ibid. 26 ibid. the first one is the most satisfying, while women who experience multiple orgasm report that the second or third is most satisfying. 27 if one way in which women may be defined physiologically is through their capability to experience multiple orgasms, girls gone wild transforms that capacity into another collective gender trait fit for objectification, exploitation, and commodification. of particular note in the case of stacey is the way in which her overtly sexualized performance is consistently equated with a coming-of-age narrative à la her eighteenth birthday. although she confesses to having already lost her virginity, stacey‘s actions are filtered through a verbal and visual rhetoric of newness and excitement. according to pitcher, stacey‘s interview is emblematic of a particular girls gone wild sensibility: ―the impression presented both within the videos and in journalistic accounts of ggw is that such sexual display is an innocent rite of passage for white, middle-class youth; swept away in the atmosphere of partying and revelry in a place where normal social consequences and perceptions are ignored‖. 28 in turning to a consideration of guys gone wild, notable differences will become apparent almost immediately in the ways its subjects are represented and what notions of a collective masculine identity their performances create. in their superficial attempt to level the gendered playing field of softcore reality exploitation, joe francis and mantra entertainment first began running advertisements for guys gone wild exclusively on late-night television on july 13, 2004. retailing for the same price as equivalent girls gone wild merchandise, guys gone wild productions feature college-aged men in various states of undress, more often than not in their underwear, participating in both ―group‖ and ―solo‖ activities: skinny-dipping, nude football, showers, etc. currently offering more than twenty releases in its online and mail-order catalog, guys gone wild has found success with such subtitled releases as hunk hotel, pool party, and allamerican jock. 29 the guys gone wild franchise has even capitalized on satiric homage to mainstream american cinema, transforming the 2000 teen comedy dude, where’s my car? into its 2005 release guys gone wild: dude, where’s my pants? 30 although guys gone wild does feature lengthy displays of full-frontal male nudity, the series gradually alleviates its exploitative potential in two significant ways: first, by encouraging its male subjects to constantly perform 27 wesley, 147. 28 pitcher, 204-5. 29 joseph r. francis, ―guys gone wild‖. 27 april 2009. <http://www.guysgonewild.com>. 30 ibid. infantilized sexual behaviors, and second, by refusing to dwell upon any of the explicit masturbatory fantasies that have had such a direct influence on the maturation of girls gone wild. if, according to ariel levy, the rise of a feminized raunch culture has appreciably contributed to the removal of the physical act from notions of ―sexy,‖ guys gone wild offers little in the way of rebuttal. nor does it prove an exception to karen pitcher‘s claim that outlets of softcore reality exploitation have transposed bakhtin‘s notion of the carnivalesque onto contemporary events such as spring break, or even more simply, the collegiate party. however, in exploring the gendered phenomenology of the twenty-first century collegiate party, critical readings of visual texts such as guys gone wild: beach bums and guys gone wild: spring break provide significant indications that the sexual politics of softcore reality exploitation do not operate equally along the axes of gender. filmed during the spring break season of 2008 in cancun, mexico, guys gone wild: beach bums devotes the majority of its camera time, with few exceptions, to the confessional space of the traveling tour bus first popularized by its female predecessor. with the exclusion of ryan, a 19 year-old college student who is told by his camera-laden female companion on the beach, ―baby, i will follow you wherever you go,‖ the interviews and exhibitionism of beach bums take place primarily behind closed doors. 31 the fact that the guys gone wild production staff is comprised singularly of women is one of the most important and revealing disparities from its female counterpart. firmly aligning itself with heteronormative expectations of masculinity, i would argue that the very existence of guys gone wild is predicated upon the presence of an exclusively female staff for which young heterosexual men are comfortable displaying themselves sexually. the first lengthy episode in beach bums concentrates on a group of three fraternity brothers from purdue university. initially attracting the attention of the guys gone wild production crew by their frontal and rear flashing from the balcony of their hotel room, two camerawomen venture upstairs in hopes of capturing additional and more personalized footage. 32 the three men are told that cancun‘s spring break 2008 will be one characterized by a battle of the sexes with the victor claiming exhibitionistic superiority. 33 in this way, the female production staff of guys gone wild enacts direct influence over the gendering of its exploitative practices by employing the stereotypically confrontational dichotomy of men versus women. although the young men are not convinced into exhibiting any further full-frontal nudity, the scene ends with the addition of three more 31 guys gone wild: beach bums. mantra entertainment, 2008. dvd. 32 ibid. 33 ibid. fraternity brothers as all six flash the camera from the rear with the emphatic trademark call of ―guys gone wild!‖ 34 the longest confessional interview in beach bums is from alan, a 19 yearold architectural design student from houston, texas. when asked how ―wild‖ he is willing to get for the staff camerawoman, alan‘s reply is clearly coded in heteronormative expectations of the performance of masculinity in front of a woman: ―as wild as you need me to get‖. 35 as the flirtatious proceedings gain intimate traction, alan confesses his preference for blonde-haired, green-eyed women who ideally share his passion for intercourse in the missionary position. 36 when alan is convinced to remove the remainder of his clothing, the work of the camerawoman reveals the broader politics of visual representation in guys gone wild as the camera never zooms closer than a shot in three-quarter profile. in contrast to its female counterpart in which this tool is used habitually, the close-up is a visual device guys gone wild is disinclined to endorse. the second in its franchised series, guys gone wild: spring break was shot and released during the spring break season of 2004. in this entry‘s first scene, a college-aged male from new york is approached by two guys gone wild camerawomen in his hotel and is convinced into being filmed. as the camera begins rolling inside a hotel room, one of the camerawomen makes a coy, yet explicit confession: ―i‘ve heard you have a very…big…cock‖. 37 although this immediate genital insistence might seem contradictory to horrocks‘ lacanian reading of softcore pornography, erection or ejaculation for the new york youth is never achieved. the visual boundary of the three-quarter profile shot is also maintained. as the flirtatious events between the camerawomen and the young man continue, the subject in question provides positive proof concerning his ample endowment and the astonishment of size continues to define the remainder of the encounter. vacillating between exhibitionistic thrill and coyness, the young man is constantly told to ―turn around baby…the girls can‘t see you‖. 38 indeed, the obsessive fascination with size is not a groundbreaking cultural phenomenon initially generated either by guys or girls gone wild. however, according to feminist critic susan bordo, these absorptions do not function equally between the sexes: the humongous penis…is a cultural fantasy…and even if he knows, on some level (from his experience in locker rooms and the like) that the harry 34 ibid. 35 ibid. 36 ibid. 37 guys gone wild: spring break. mantra entertainment, 2004. dvd. 38 ibid. reemses and jeff strykers of the world are not the norm, that knowledge may pale beside the power of the iconography: the meanings attached to having an impressively large member. 39 bordo‘s article is provoking largely because she argues that those larger-thanaverage penises that do exist in reality are culturally celebrated in terms of achievement that does not find any anatomical correlative on the female body: ―we wouldn‘t usually describe large breasts as ‗impressive,‘ would we?...in contrast, the penis so large as to take a lover‘s breath away is a majestic penis, a commanding penis‖. 40 as spring break‘s opening encounter with the wellendowed man from new york reaches its conclusion, the two camerawomen ask him if he is capable of performing any ―tricks,‖ such as the ability to ―swing it around like a helicopter‖. 41 if the sexual exhibitionism of guys gone wild relies upon a vocabulary of infantile and child-like behaviors, this incitement toward penis puppetry proves no exception. even still, i would argue that the encouragement given by these camerawomen is so effective in this instance because it unambiguously alludes to a male-centric referent in popular culture. released in 2001, diary of a sinner: 1 st entry is the first studio album produced by north carolina-born rapper petey pablo and contains the hit single ―raise up‖. in this song, young men at parties or dance clubs are encouraged to ―take your shirt off / twist it 'round yo head / spin it like a helicopter‖. 42 to this day, the song remains a dance-floor anthem for college-aged men and would almost certainly have been familiar to the young man from new york persuaded to imitate its same behaviors, especially within the context of the innumerable parties that dominate spring break culture. concluding ―the staging of agency in girls gone wild‖ with a brief comparative discussion of that phenomenon juxtaposed with its male counterpart, pitcher notes that the guys gone wild emphasis is indeed ―on silliness and bodily humor, rather than sexuality…men run down hotel hallways, attempt cartwheels and somersaults, march in a conga line, and jump on motel beds‖. 43 indeed, notions of the infantile and the childish are consistently reified throughout spring break, in which the lengthiest interview is from an eighteen year-old freshman at oklahoma state university. the lowered inhibitions of this young man, likely aided by the most popular spring break past time of alcohol consumption, become 39 susan bordo, ―does size matter?‖ revealing male bodies. ed. cowling, johnson, et. al. (bloomington: indiana university press, 2002) 21. 40 ibid. 41 guys gone wild: spring break. 42 petey pablo, ―raise up‖. diary of a sinner: 1 st entry. jive records, 2001. 43 pitcher, 214. apparent as he strips to full-nudity almost immediately. performing ―the helicopter‖ with equal zeal as his new york counterpart, this young man confesses to the possession of a trick of his own: ―the gonzo‖. 44 personifying the friendly blue creature of the muppet show fame beloved by children worldwide, his pronounced eyes and protruding nose are reimagined in this scene by the inversion of testicles above the penis, still no visually tighter than three-quarter profile. when later asked if he has ever given a name to his genitalia, the young man forcefully answers: ―‗the captain‘…because ‗the captain‘ makes it happen‖. 45 in considering historical metaphors for male genital labeling, peter f. murphy notes that ―metaphors of manhood‖ are useful in exposing ―the assumptions about masculinity that american men take to be normal‖. 46 indeed, the young man from oklahoma reacts to this inquiry of penile taxonomy with a tone of decidedly casual nonchalance. however, murphy also notes that latent anxieties of gender performance and sexuality almost always exist beneath these breezy male bravados: ―ironically, this discourse reflects an objectification of self and sexuality, a phallocentric sexuality, a disembodied sexuality, and a great deal of ambivalence about sexuality‖. 47 indeed, as visual analysis reveals, the entire genre of softcore reality exploitation revolves around the objectification of the self and its sexuality. however, since the advent of guys gone wild in 2004, the question of audience has become increasingly significant to deconstructing the masculinist discourse that continues to dominate the softcore industry. bill horn, a spokesman for mantra entertainment, initially anticipated the release of guys gone wild as one of the great media yarns of the early twenty-first century: ―‗i think it's going to be a big gag gift, bachelorette kind of gift‘‖. 48 while editions of guys gone wild may be present at female pre-marital celebrations, this audience actually constitutes a significantly small minority of guys gone wild viewers. as an anonymous columnist for the taipei times reports, the indulgent fantasies of girls gone wild do not find an equivalent in its male counterpart: the big difference between the male and female versions, though, is the absence of kissing. much of the allure of the girls gone wild series, with titles such as girls who like girls and mardi gras co-eds, is the fantasy it 44 guys gone wild: spring break. 45 ibid. 46 peter f. murphy, stud tools & the family jewels: metaphors men live by (madison: the university of wisconsin press, 2001) 4. 47 ibid. 48 ―the world's gone mad for wild guys and girls‖. the taipei times. 3 july 2004. 27 april 2009. < http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/feat/archives/2004/07/03/2003177572>. dangles before its viewers -the possibility that the wholesome girl next door could, on a drunken spring break whim, tear off her t-shirt and make out with one of her sorority sisters. 49 according to horn, the girls gone wild franchise gladly endorses homosexual fantasies if, and only if, they involve two women performing for the pleasure of a straight male viewing audience: ―let's face it -there's a double standard when it comes to guy-on-guy as opposed to girl-on-girl…it's sexy to see two girls making out. it's not considered sexy to see two guys making out. that's just the reality and we were there to capture the reality‖. 50 indeed, the collective gender identities promoted by guys and girls gone wild heavily implicate women as more easily swayed into same-sex sexual practices than men. although guy-on-guy kissing may not be sexy to horn, it may prove a profitable maneuver in whatever future the franchise envisions, as young to middle-aged gay men continue to constitute guys gone wild‘s largest viewing audience. while noting that female-centric pornography has been on the rise since the 1990s, horrocks importantly asserts that male-targeted porn remains ―commoner because it reflects the dominant position of men and their ‗consumption‘ of women as sex objects. another point is that men are perhaps more ‗perverse‘ than women, because they are more traumatized by sexual difference‖. 51 regardless of motive, the fantasies of a straight male audience still continue their dominant pervasion of pornography. in succinctly defining the experience of exploitation, psychotherapist alan wertheimer notes that ―a transaction between a and b is exploitative only when (1) a expects to gain something of value from a transaction or interaction with b, and (2) b is harmed by the transaction (harmful exploitation) or gains less than he or she should (mutually advantageous exploitation)‖. 52 some audiences have reductively noted that the question of exploitation when turned to guys and girls gone wild needs to be considered in terms of moral relativism: if these amateur performers don‘t feel harmed or manipulated, are they truly being exploited? whatever thrill may be gained from bearing it all in front of a camera, the reward of a t-shirt pales in comparison to the multi-million dollar profits mantra entertainment currently enjoys each year and, if money continues to talk, its disparate exploitative formulas will continue their reign over the softcore reality industry. for as long as outlets of american mass media ascribe to the sexual 49 ibid. 50 ibid. 51 horrocks, 117. 52 alan wertheimer, exploitation (princeton: princeton university press, 1996) 167. double standard cited by horn as a cultural truism, the genre of softcore reality exploitation will remain unequal in its gender and representational politics. works cited balász, béla. ―the close-up‖. reprinted in film theory & criticism: 6 th edition. ed. leo braudy and marshall cohen. new york: oxford university press, 2004. bordo, susan. ―does size matter?‖ revealing male bodies. ed. cowling, johnson, et. al. bloomington: indiana university press, 2002. butler, judith. gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity. new york: routledge, 1990. francis, joseph r. ―girls gone wild.‖ 27 april 2009. <http://www.girlsgonewild.com>. ---. ―guys gone wild.‖ 27 april 2009. <http://www.guysgonewild.com>. girls gone wild: dormroom confessions. mantra entertainment, 2008. dvd. girls gone wild: hottest moments ever. mantra entertainment, 2008. dvd. guys gone wild: beach bums. mantra entertainment, 2008. dvd. guys gone wild: spring break. mantra entertainment, 2004. dvd. horrocks, roger. male myths and icons: masculinity in popular culture. new york: st. martin‘s press, 1995. keegan, terence. ―raunch goes from trickle to mainstream gusher.‖ variety. 24 april 2007. 27 april 2009. <http://www.variety.com/homeentertainment>. levy, ariel. female chauvinist pigs: women and the rise of raunch culture. new york: free press, 2005. mayer, vicki. ―soft-core in tv time: the political economy of a ‗cultural trend‘.‖ critical studies in media communication 22.4 (october 2005): 302-320. murphy, peter f. stud tools & the family jewels: metaphors men live by. madison: the university of wisconsin press, 2001. pablo, petey. ―raise up.‖ diary of a sinner: 1 st entry. jive records, 2001. pitcher, karen c. ―the staging of agency in girls gone wild‖. critical studies in media communication 23.3 (august 2006): 200-218. ―the world's gone mad for wild guys and girls.‖ the taipei times. 3 july 2004. 27 april 2009. < http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/feat/archives/2004/07/03/2003177572>. wertheimer, alan. exploitation. princeton: princeton university press, 1996. wesley, claire and frank. sex-role psychology. new york: human sciences press, 1977. http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/feat/archives/2004/07/03/2003177572 introduction   the door to the entrance into this house where the united souls live, let no one more from there escape, for god himself among them now is reigning. their joy blooms in the united love-filled flame, because from god and his own love they came.   author unknown, wallchart (ephrata cloister)       history, theology, and interpretation:  the ephrata cloister, a case study in public history   darin d. lenz department of history     introduction historic sites in the united states have traditionally been established to preserve and instruct the patriotic sensibilities of succeeding generations of americans.[1]  however, not all historic sites highlight the patriotic mandate prevalent in the minds of many early preservationists.[2]  occasionally sites considered to hold historical importance do not fit easily into the pantheon of american nationalism without manipulation.  at times, the distinction between patriotic viability, site availability, and genuine historic value has created tension between site selection and the need for preservation.[3]  american religious sites, which usually hold some aesthetic or spiritual value that is limited to a particular community, are intuitively dismissed from being perceived as legitimate historical sites worthy of commemoration.[4]  the conflict between religious and historical value becomes even more troublesome with the proposition that a religious site could receive public funding for preservation simply because of its past religious function.  americans prize highly the ideal of church and state separation to reinforce their concepts about a national secular-civic identity, as well as the historical artifacts that give agency to that identity.[5]  yet, publicly funded and preserved religious sites that challenge the contemporary separationist thesis regarding religion and civic space do exist.[6]  the ephrata cloister,[7] located in the borough of ephrata among the amish and mennonite tourist havens of lancaster county, pennsylvania, presents an unusual case that challenges many of the presuppositions of historical interpretation regarding a site that is primarily religious in nature.  though the ephrata cloister has been part of the pennsylvania historical and museum commission since 1941, in recent years the site has yielded a plethora of new information that expands upon the everyday life of the original inhabitants, as well as their theological constructions and motivations.  this case study will examine the innovative revision of interpretation the ephrata cloister implemented in 2000 with the influx of new research that examines historical, theological, and material evidence.  hopefully, this case study will challenge interpretative limitations imposed upon sites whose value is not simply defined in terms of patriotic nostalgia or political ideology but encompasses the public practice of religion.     i. the significance of the cloister ephrata’s religious community was a direct byproduct of the theological diversity that erupted as a result of the protestant reformation.[8]   with the aid of the ruling elite, european state churches of the seventeen and eighteenth century, including, lutheran, reformed, and roman catholic, began to reassert authority, with the aid of the ruling elite, within their principalities and territories to demarcate orthodox christian beliefs and practices.  fringe religious groups, such as the pietists and anabaptists, began to leave the continent in search of religious freedom.[9]  georg conrad beissel, the founder of the ephrata cloister, immigrated to pennsylvania as a result of this turmoil on the continent.  originally from the small village of eberbach, beissel fell under the influence of diverse streams of christian spirituality and cabbalistic philosophy as a young man.[10]  having achieved some financial and social success as a baker in heidelburg by 1718, beissel suffered persecution for his adherence to a mystically minded religious sect.  after being expelled from his home province in germany, beissel headed for germantown, pennsylvania, in hopes of finding religious tolerance.  he served as a brethren minister and, for a number of years, led a small congregation on the pennsylvania frontier.  eventually beissel felt that he must abandon the pulpit in order to live the spiritual calling of a ascetic hermit.  despite his desire to pursue his lifestyle alone, beissel’s charismatic personality, combined with his devotion to god, drew others to him and soon a small community of disciples developed.  this community evolved into a complex religious sect that had celibate male and female members (known as brothers and sisters), a group of married adherents (known as householders), and a thriving religious environment that excelled at promoting an extremely disciplined lifestyle in hope of obtaining a mystical oneness with god.[11] beissel’s faith journey provides the basis of public interest in the ephrata cloister.[12]  the cloister’s historical significance as a religious site, at least initially for the commonwealth of pennsylvania, relied on william penn’s vision of religious diversity and tolerance.[13]  penn desired to see his colony exemplify a social and religious utopia that guaranteed “freedom of conscience for all believers.”[14]  for those enamored with the history of early pennsylvania, the cloister serves as a historic monument of penn’s noble dream.[15]  even though the site is maintained and operated by the commonwealth, the cloister also serves as a commemorative space that advocates for the quintessential american concept of religious freedom found in the first amendment.[16]  in 1814 after the death of the last celibate member of the church, the householders formed themselves into the german seventh-day baptist church.  these descendants of the original church lived at, worshiped, and maintained the site until 1934.  after some confusion about who held legal ownership over the land, the property was sold to the pennsylvania historical and museum commission in 1941.  in addition to the cloister’s religious significance, the site also holds importance as a source of “original art and music, distinctive medieval germanic architecture, and [as a] significant publishing center.”[17]  for most of the cloister’s interpretative history under the museum commission, quantifiable attributes, such as folk art and architecture, have been the dominant vehicle for establishing historical legitimacy and site significance.[18]  the historic park that operates today, however, has experienced an explosion in scholarship about the original religious community who lived on the site in the eighteenth century.  this knowledge about the cloister has resulted in broadening the interpretation and strategy for presenting the site to the public.   ii.  research and the cloister           the ephrata cloister in recent years has drawn upon community and academic resources made available through various sources.[19]  in 1991 a conference was held at the ephrata cloister in honor of the 300th anniversary of beissel’s birth.  this conference inspired renewed interest in  the cloister’s unique religious, social, cultural, and material significance.  partially in response to the conference,[20] the ephrata cloister archaeology project, initiated in 1993, has been “collect[ing] new information, which can be used to mark original building locations on the land surface and provide a more meaningful interpretive experience for thousands of tourists who annually walk the property.”[21]  the new archaeological dig on the site began to provide fresh data about everyday life at the cloister.[22]  according to stephen g. warfel, lead archaeologist at the site, “an artifact assemblage in excess of one million objects has been unearthed, cleaned, labeled, and inventoried.”[23]  this influx of new material evidence along with traditional academic research began the process that altered ephrata’s interpretative themes.[24]  building locations have been given more accurate interpretations according to their function and the discovery of additional material evidence obtained from archaeological exploration.[25]  likewise, this material evidence has provided a deeper understanding of the conflicts within the community and the impact of these struggles on the community as it attempted to survive in a colonial environment antithetical to the asceticism embraced by the cloister.[26]           in 1995 jeffrey bach, at that time a doctoral student in the religion department of duke university,  was awarded a grant from the pennsylvania historical and museum commission “to serve seven weeks as scholar in residence at the ephrata cloister.”[27]  bach has been called the “rosetta stone” of the ephrata cloister for the insights his research provided in comprehending the religious community that beissel led.[28]  bach’s dissertation furnishes a complete overview of the religious practices found at ephrata.  beginning with the social and religious contexts surrounding the development of the cloister, bach extends his research into beissel’s religious thought, other cloister writers’ thought, religious practices, gender issues, architecture, time, language, music, folk art (frakturschriften), and magic.  based on research in the original sources, almost all of which are in german, bach reconstructs the identity of the cloister’s inhabitants with an exegesis of the unique religious language employed by the community to conceive their rituals.  bach’s ability to define the theological purpose behind the rituals of beissel’s community enabled the museum staff to add a new dimension to the cloister’s interpretation—the reasons behind the sect’s ascetic lifestyle.            one example of how bach’s research provided insight into the motivations for the behavior of beissel and his followers can be found in his exploration of their fasting practices.  bach points out that beissel and many of the other members of the community held to a strict diet of only one meal per day.  some of beissel’s instructions regarding food were as follows:  “keep a clean table provided with well disciplined meals; yet eat at all times of god’s holy essence.”[29]  bach highlights that gottfried arnold’s thought had a major influence on the community’s practice of fasting.[30]  he also explains that beissel and, most likely, other members of the community who suffered as “religious refugees” may not have found the fasting ritual outside of their experience on the continent.[31]  but what makes bach’s research unique is that he examines how ephrata writing “links diets and the spiritual life.”[32]  boehme, beissel’s philosophical mentor, taught that “[biblical] adam’s paradisic body needed no bowels nor elimination.”[33]  beissel, bach argues, “may have believed that spiritual rebirth and asceticism could restore the body to the paradisic state of adam.”[34]   in other words, according to bach, beissel subscribed to the notion that by denying the body food, and therefore limiting “elimination,” he could achieve a “paradisic body.”[35]  bach goes on to argue that fasting “provided an important avenue by which ephrata’s celibates sought the fullness of god’s presence.”[36]  by disciplining their earthly need for food the community was encouraged, explicitly by beissel, to fill that bodily void with “god’s presence.”  prior to bach’s revelations, the information about the celibates one meal per day routine was presented as one of many odd facts about the cloister devoid of any meaning or logical causation.  after bach’s research was incorporated into the interpretation, fasting was placed into a theological context.  this context clarified that the celibates were attempting to “be like god” by denying their earthly need for food.[37]   needless to say, bach’s research demonstrates a connection between the celibates’ daily routines and theological motives that revolved around the desire to enter into a mystical union with god.           michael showalter, who now serves as the museum educator at the site, also began in 1995 “rereading [source material] for tiny details of everyday life” at the cloister.[38]  showalter’s research was instrumental in constructing an interpretative exhibit that would permit the public to place the full narrative of ephrata’s history into a broader cultural, historical, theological, and material context.  showalter’s thesis shares the majority of its title, “prelude to the new world:  an introduction to the ephrata cloister orientation exhibition,” with the visitor center exhibition titled, “prelude to the new world:  an introduction to the ephrata cloister,” which resulted from the research.[39]  in fact, showalter’s thesis serves as a basis for the exhibit and also is a key element in the interpretative training of park volunteers and staff.[40]  the exhibit utilizes a variety of visual, material, and literary sources, many of which are genuine artifacts (although some reproductions are used) traceable to either the cloister or the appropriate historical time period.   furthermore, the orientation exhibit traces the life of beissel from germany to pennsylvania utilizing beissel’s own writings, hymns, and sources for his unusual theological praxis.[41]  the exhibit familiarizes the visitor with the unique architectural value of the remaining buildings[42] and describes building methods and materials.  finally, the orientation exhibit traces the history of ephrata through its historical transition from a religious commune in the eighteenth century, to an established denomination church in the early nineteenth century, to a tourist attraction and public history site in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.[43]  the orientation that the exhibit provides points to the opportunity that archaeology, academic, and local research offers the continuing and complex story of the cloister.   iii.  reinterpreting ephrata           as a result of the insights furnished by contemporary scholars and researchers, investigating the how and why of the cloister’s unique religious culture, a shift was made in the official interpretation of the site.  though the foundational elements of the 1941-2000 interpretation remain, there has been the addition of theological praxis in everyday life combined with the acquisition of material culture recovered through either purchase or archaeology, and a revival of “personalism” added to the interpretation.[44]  bach and showalter’s academic research was vital to the interpretation of day-to-day life at the site and warfel’s archaeological exploration continues to offer material data.  the desire to present a holistic interpretation of the site was made possible by incorporating ongoing research into a thematic presentation of how the cloister community thought and lived in the eighteenth century.           the guided tour of the cloister begins in the visitors’ center with an introductory video of fifteen minutes.[45]  an actor playing peter miller, beissel’s successor at the cloister, speaks with a thick pennsylvania dutch accent as he narrates the history of the early cloister.[46]  the video provides an interpretation of the cloister similar to that found in the visitors center orientation exhibit with the exception that it does not bring the visitor up to the present day.  at the conclusion of the video a guide enters the room clad in a white robe reproduced to match the eighteenth century peter miller character in the video.  from this point the tour proceeds outdoors where visitors flow from building to building examining the germanic architecture of beissel’s house, saal (the meetinghouse), and saron (the sisters’ house), while learning more about the religious beliefs and practices of the cloister.[47]  the information provided by the guides varies to some degree with their historical knowledge and their time on staff.  within each of the buildings there has been an attempt to locate material artifacts that best give a sense of what happened in that space during the eighteenth century.  this integration of “personalism” is readily apparent in the women’s dormitory rooms and common eating area.  throughout saron the rooms are outfitted with the appropriate furnishings.  the common eating area has tables, dishes, cups, and utensils consistent with the number of women who would have eaten there, along with suitable kitchenware.  the items on display are presented with as much historical accuracy as possible (though many, if not most, of these material artifacts are reproductions).  throughout the tour the guide explains the daily life of the celibates in terms of theological motivation.  the artist expression of the cloister, the harsh work ethic, the lack of food, the lack of sleep, and the practice of having devotions six times per day are all explained within the context of practicing theology.  at the end of the guided tour the visitor can walk the grounds of the cloister and examine other historic buildings on the site.  most of the buildings have an exhibit that explains the building’s function in the community and usually includes some form of an artifact, whether historic or modern reproduction, to covey this meaning.  all of the buildings and their exhibits contribute to developing the narrative of the cloister from the eighteenth century until the present. clearly, the cloister has attempted to present a narrative of this historic site in terms that resonant with the public at large, the region, and vested local interests.  however, the challenge of offering new stories about any site, especially when it affects a traditional interpretation of the space, is whether those stories can fit into the mission and vision for the site.  the change of interpretation motivated by ongoing research meshes easily with the mission statement of the cloister:  “the mission of the ephrata cloister is to preserve and interpret the site and it [sic] history as a meaningful example of religious toleration and intellectual freedom in the new world and its relevance to everyday life today.”[48]  though the mission statement pays homage to museum studies by employing such wording as “preserve” and “interpret,”[49] and is also defined by drawing on penn’s colonial experiment in “religious toleration and intellectual freedom,” the mission statement does attempt to connect the forgotten past of the cloister with “everyday life today.”  the desire to make the past relevant to the present provides “a sense of history [that] locates us in society, with knowledge that helps us gain a sense of with whom we belong, connecting our personal experiences and memories with those of a larger community, region, and nation.”[50]  this element of the mission statement serves both the public and the museum staff in defining a major obstacle for historic sites and their visitors—“what does this historical location mean for me and my life in a postmodern world?”  this question is valid and necessary in a contemporary world that assigns value to objects, places, and institutions according to pragmatic concerns and benefits.  the museum staff’s desire to connect the religious thought and praxis of ephrata with the “everyday life” of visitors can be found in the visitor’s brochure: “today, only a fraction of the cloister’s 18th century heritage remains.  yet, the story of a people anticipating paradise [sic] by starting a spiritual quest to unite with god persists.  we may look upon the actions of these pioneers as different from ones we would choose for ourselves, but the desire for a better life rests within everyone.  ephrata is one expression of that desire.”[51]   the redefined mission and expanded interpretation of the cloister is readily identifiable in this simple paragraph.  there is a clear recognition of the theological imperatives that motivated the commune’s mystical desire for oneness with god.  even more interesting is the designation of beissel and his followers as “pioneers.”  this selection of wording implies that the individuals who called the cloister home were actively engaged in a distinctly american struggle against prevailing social mores regarding religion, consumerism, and living arrangements.  the paragraph closes with the hopeful reminder that “the desire for a better life rests within everyone.”  this phrase too conjures up the american patriotic idealism about foreign people coming to the united states seeking a more fulfilling life rooted in american individualism.  likewise, the statement connects visitors with the past by acknowledging that all of humanity strives for the same “desire,” though often cloaked in different garb.  however, the most interesting aspect of the closing sentences is in the postmodern articulation of ephrata as an example of the “better life.”  by refusing to make any value assessments about daily life, theological perspective, and the community’s unique living arrangements, the statement encourages visitors to see the ephrata cloister as a vibrant example of what fuels all human activity at its most fundamental level—a desire for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”   conclusion           the ephrata cloister provides an unique case study of how theology can facilitate the historical interpretation of a religious site.  though archaeology, reinterpretation of historic texts, and the recovery of material artifacts are common in developing site interpretation, the implementation of a historical theologian’s findings appears to be unique, especially at a state-funded site.  interestingly, the committee involved in approving the cloister’s revised interpretation chose not to move towards a more objective, secular story.  instead, the decision was made to provide explanation and theological grounding for the behavior of beissel’s community.[52]  william j. lewis, in his book interpreting for park visitors, argues that history becomes more compelling “when its human aspects are emphasized.”[53]  lewis encourages park interpreters with the advice that the, “more specific you can be about the people who were once involved in your site’s history, the more effective you will be.”[54]  by telling a more holistic story of ephrata, the museum offers visitors more than an interesting visual, material, and social experience.  the museum provides the visitor with an opportunity to understand the reasons for the cloister’s existence, lifestyle, and decision to live as a community.  furthermore, by placing the story of the cloister within the larger context of anabaptist and pietist church history, the site provides visitors a glimpse into religious thought of early modern europe and early america.  in a similar manner, the robust nature of this interpretative project connects with the holistic nature of human life.  by accepting the reality that most of humanity worships some form of a creator, the cloister appeals to “the whole man that the visitor represents” and connects at a variety of levels that ignite the imagination.[55]  this aspect of the cloister’s revised interpretative plan presents a notable example for other historical sites.  by accepting the good, bad, the confused, and the controversial the site offers visitors a wide range of stories to learn and to take with them.[56]  ephrata’s bold interpretive experiment provides the public with an opportunity, outside of a historic church tour, to learn about the significant role that religion and theological nuances have played in american history.[57]  regardless of opinions that visitors or others may hold about the church-state issues involved, the story of america’s religious history needs to be told and the ephrata cloister has provided a model for examining that legacy in a professional and responsible manner. bibliography   alderfer,  e. g.  the ephrata commune:  an early american counterculture.  pittsburgh, pa: university of pittsburgh press, 1985.    alderson, william t. and shirley payne low.  interpretation of historic sites.  2nd ed.  walnut creek, ca:  alta mira press, 1996.   ames,  kenneth l.  “finding common threads:  an afterword.”  in ideas and images: developing interpretive history exhibits,  ed. kenneth l. ames, barbara franco, and l. thomas frye, 313-324.  nashville, tn:  american association for state and local history, 1992.   anticipating paradise:  introduction to the ephrata cloister.  produced by commonwealth media services. 15 min.  commonwealth of pennsylvania, 2001.  videocassette.   bach, jeffrey a.  “voices of the turtledoves:  the mystical language of the ephrata cloister.” ph.d. diss., duke university, 1997.   bach, jeffrey a. to author, 14 july 2002.  email.  personal collection.   _____.  8 august 2002.  email.  personal collection.   _____.  28 august 2002.  email.  personal collection.   barthel, diane.  historic preservation:  collective memory and historical identity.  new brunswick, nj:  rutgers university press, 1996.   bradley, john.  ephrata cloister:  pennsylvania trail of history guide.  mechanicsburg, pa: stackpole books, pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 2000.           beissel, georg conrad.  some theological maxims or rules of the solitary life.  translated by michelle s. long, ed. nadine a. steinmetz.  ephrata, 1752.  reprint, ephrata, pa:  ephrata cloister associates, pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 1991.   clouser, roy a.  the myth of religious neutrality:  an essay on the hidden role of religious beliefs in theories.  notre dame, in:  university of notre dame, 1991.   “declaration of independence.” in the book of great american documents, ed. vincent wilson, jr., 11-19.  brookeville, md:  american history research associates, 1998.   endress, christian. “history of the society.”  in an account of the settlement of the dunkers at ephrata, in lancaster county, pennsylvania by redmond conyngham, esq.  to which is added a short history of that religious society by the late rev. christian endress.  publisher unknown, 1826.   glassberg, david.  sense of history:  the place of the past in american life.  amherst, ma: university of massachusetts press, 2001.   hardesty, donald l. and barbara j. little.  assessing site significance:  a guide archaeologists and historians.  new york:  alta mira press, 2000.   howlett, catherine.  “integrity as a value in cultural landscape preservation.”  in preserving cultural landscapes in america, with a foreword by dolores hayden,  ed. arnold r. alanen and robert z. melnick, 186-207.  baltimore, md:  the johns hopkins university press, 2000.   klein, walter c.  joann conrad beissel:  mystic and martinet, 16901768.  philadelphia, pa: university of pennsylvania press, 1942.   lewis, william j.  interpreting for park visitors.  philadelphia, pa:  eastern acorn press, 1980.     lindgren, james m.  “‘a new departure in historical patriotic work’:  personalism, professionalism, and conflicting concepts of material culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”  the public historian  18,  no. 2  (spring 1996):  41-60.   marty, martin e. and jonathan moore.  politics, religion, and the common good:  advancing a distinctly american conversation about religion’s role in our shared life.  san francisco, ca:  jossey-bass, 2000.   national park service. department of the interior.  code of federal regulations: title 36 parks, forests, and public property, part 60 national register of historic places.  washington, d.c., 1981.   noble, jr., bruce j.  “at historical parks:  balancing a multitude of interests.”  in public history:  essays from the field, ed. james b. gardner and peter s. lapaglia, 279-294.  malabar, fl:  krieger publishing company, 1999.    noll, mark a.  a history of christianity in the united states and canada.  grand rapids, mi: eerdmans, 1992.   pennsylvania historical and museum commission. cloister [brochure].  harrisburg, pa, 1997.   _____.  ephrata cloister:  anticipating paradise, a community’s earthy life and heavenly quest [brochure].  ephrata, pa, 2001.   _____.  guide manual: ephrata cloister [unpublished manuscript].  ephrata, pa, 2000.   riley, jobie e.  ephrata cloister, a bibliography:  1945-2000.  elizabethtown, pa:  young center for the study of anabaptist and pietist groups, elizabethtown college, 2000.   shea, daniel b.  spiritual autobiography in early america.  madison, wi:  the university of wisconsin press, 1988.     shopes, linda.  “building bridges between academic and public history.”  the public historian  19,  no. 2  (spring 1997):  53-56.   showalter, michael s., museum educator.  interviewed by author, 20 june 2002, ephrata, pennsylvania.   _____.   anticipating paradise:  music of hope and praise from early communities.  ephrata, pa:  ephrata cloister associates, 2000.   ­_____.  “prelude to the new world:  an introduction to the ephrata cloister orientation exhibition.”  m.a. thesis, pennsylvania state university, harrisburg, 1998.   skillen, james w.  “the theoretical roots of equal treatment.”  in equal treatment of religion in a pluralistic society,  ed. stephen v. monsma and j. christopher soper, 55-74.  grand rapids, mi: eerdmans, 1998.   tilden, freeman.  interpreting our heritage.  3rd ed.  chapel hill, nc: the university of north carolina press, 1977.   trussell, jr., john b. b.  william penn:  architect of a nation.  harrisburg, pa:  pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 1998.   warfel, stephen g.  historical archaeology at ephrata cloister:  a report on 2001 investigations.  harrisburg, pa:  pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 2002.   west, patricia.  domesticating history:  the political origins of america’s house museums.  washington, d.c.:  smithsonian institution press, 1999.   wilson, jr., vincent, ed.  the book of great american documents.  brookeville, md:  american history research associates, 1998.     [1] diane barthel argues that in america “preservation initially served as one means of social integration:  not just of classes but, equally important, of the increasingly diverse racial and ethnic populations.  the homes of local heroes, revolutionary leaders, and of presidents were meant to teach civic obedience both to new generations and to new immigrants arriving through the nineteenth and early twentieth century.  they helped construct civic identities.”  diane barthel, historic preservation:  collective memory and historical identity  (new brunswick, nj:  rutgers university press, 1996), 33.    [2] two prime examples of patriotic historic preservation are evident in the selection of george washington’s mount vernon and thomas jefferson’s monticello.  see patricia west,  domesticating history:  the political origins of america’s house museums  (washington, d.c.:  smithsonian institution press, 1999).  also see, diane barthel, historic preservation, 20.   [3] william t. alderson and shirley payne-low explain that “[s]eldom are historic buildings saved because a group of knowledgeable people, armed with detailed research reports, has reached a dispassionate and logical conclusion that a building ought to be acquired.”  rather, more often than not, historic sites are saved by preservationists in response to the proposed sale or destruction of a property that has an “old and revered” status within the community.  william t. alderson and shirley payne low,  interpretation of historic sites, 2nd ed.  (walnut creek, ca:  alta mira press, 1996), 8.   [4] it should be noted that the national register for historical places limits the selection of a religious site to its quantifiable qualities such as “architectural or artistic distinction or historical importance,” and limits the historical significance of “properties owned by religious institutions or used for religious purposes” on religious merit alone.  national park service, department of the interior, code of federal regulations: title 36 parks, forests, and public property, part 60 national register of historic places,  (washington, d.c., 1981).   [5] martin e. marty and jonathan moore describe the common arguments against public religion or recognition of religion in the political-civic sphere as founded on the idea that religion “has no place in a democratic republic” because of its divisiveness, its disruptive qualities, and its tendency towards violence.  see, martin e. marty and jonathan moore,  politics, religion, and the common good:  advancing a distinctly american conversation about religion’s role in our shared life  (san francisco, ca:  jossey-bass, 2000), 41.   [6] james w. skillen, when commenting on the role of religion in the public square, argues “[a] strict spearationist position on religion . . . insists that religion can be predefined as a private affair and that the public order is neutrally secular.  while this position aims to shut out other views of religion from public life, it remains unselfconscious about the deep religious character of its own comprehensive point of view, which it wants to impose.  the fact is that what underlies the religious/secular division of life is a comprehensive view of reality, with roots in the enlightenment, that designates traditional religion as private and modern politics as secular.”  james w., skillen,  “the theoretical roots of equal treatment,” in equal treatment of religion in a pluralistic society,  ed. stephen v. monsma and j. christopher soper  (grand rapids, mi:  eerdmans, 1998), 73.  also see, roy a. clouser, the myth of religious neutrality:  an essay on the hidden role of religious beliefs in theories  (notre dame, in:  university of notre dame, 1991).   [7] despite the fact that the original religious community located at ephrata never referred to the site as a cloister or commune, throughout this paper i will refer the community established at ephrata in 1735, as well as the current historical site managed by the pennsylvania historical and museum commission as the ephrata cloister for geographic and literary clarity. [8] the main material culture exhibit in the cloister’s visitor center titled, “prelude to the new world:  an introduction to the ephrata cloister,” builds upon the european turbulence that brought beissel to the new world when it states, “the illustrations in the martyrs mirror [the famous religious publication of the cloister] speak of the persecution and turmoil in the old world.  america provided an escape;  pennsylvania offered freedom.”    [9] mark a. noll, a history of christianity in the united states and canada  (grand rapids, mi:  eerdmans, 1992), 70-71.   [10] beissel was introduced by friends to several different theologically experimental groups.  he was first exposed to pietist thought that focused on “inner devotion” and ethical living, combined with a “fresh study of the bible and the early church.”  later, beissel came under the influence of inspirationists who believed that they were “possessed by the holy spirit” and provided evidence of their peculiar pneumatology by having “visions, speaking in tongues (glossolalia), miracles, and prophecy.”  the next and greatest influence on beissel’s religious thought was the writings of fellow german, jakob boehme, a renowned mystical philosopher.  e. g. alderfer,  the ephrata commune:  an early american counterculture  (pittsburgh, pa:  university of pittsburgh press, 1985), 18-19.  also see, walter c. klein,  joann conrad beissel:  mystic and martinet, 1690-1768  (philadelphia, pa:  university of pennsylvania press, 1942), 41-42.   [11] christian endress, “history of the society,” in an account of the settlement of the dunkers at ephrata, in lancaster county, pennsylvania by redmond conyngham, esq.  to which is added a short history of that religious society by the late rev. christian endress  (publisher unknown, 1826), 151.   [12] michael s. showalter, anticipating paradise:  music of hope and praise from early communities  (ephrata, pa:  ephrata cloister associates, 2000), 2-5.   [13] the guide for the cloister published jointly with the pennsylvania historical and museum commission and stackpole books (2000) still contextualizes the ephrata cloister within penn’s vision of religious freedom for the colony.  john bradley,  ephrata cloister:  pennsylvania trail of history guide  (mechanicsburg, pa:  stackpole books, pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 2000), 7-11.   [14] john bradley,  ephrata cloister:  pennsylvania trail of history guide, 10.  interestingly, in contrast to the positive narrative associated with most official literature of penn’s vision, daniel b. shea argues that the “history of early pennsylvania, whoever tells it, records the failure of penn’s holy experiment.”  shea points out that penn’s quaker vision of “applying the sermon on the mount to the governing of men” was difficult to manage when the dislike of political power, ideals regarding public morality, and pacifistic convictions came face to face with the everyday realities of corrupt power struggles, immoral human actions, and “indian attacks.”  daniel b. shea,  spiritual autobiography in early america  (madison, wi:  the university of wisconsin press, 1988), 6-7.   [15] interestingly, john b. b. trussell, jr. argues that for penn “religious toleration did not mean that he agreed that there could be different ideas of truth, but only that in spiritual matters all people had the right to be wrong.”  therefore, though penn may not have agreed with beissel’s spiritual experiment he would have embraced it as a valid expression of faith similar to his own quaker belief.  see, john b. b. trussell jr.  william penn:  architect of a nation  (harrisburg, pa:  pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 1998), 70.   [16] “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .”  vincent wilson, jr. ed., the book of great american documents  (brookeville, md:  american history research associates, 1998), 48. [17] pennsylvania historical and museum commission, cloister [brochure] (harrisburg, pa, 1997).   [18] michael s. showalter, museum educator, interviewed by author, 20 june 2002, ephrata, pennsylvania.   [19] bruce j. noble, jr. argues that “parks throughout the nation offer fertile terrain for countless books and dissertations, and park managers should try to supplement scarce research funds through collaborative projects  with neighboring academic institutions.”  bruce j. noble, jr., “at historical parks:  balancing a multitude of interests,"” in public history:  essays from the field, ed. james b. gardner and peter s. lapaglia  (malabar, fl:  krieger publishing company, 1999), 283.  also see, freeman tilden,  interpreting our heritage, 3rd ed.  (chapel hill, nc: the university of north carolina press, 1977), 23.  to the cloister’s credit, and in accord with noble’s suggestion, several institutions have close links with the museum.  the church of the brethren denomination has two higher educational institutions under its influence, elizabethtown college and bethany theological seminary, contributing in one form or another to historical, theological, and cultural study of the cloister.  religious historian donald f. durnbaugh has contributed greatly to the understanding of the ephrata cloister through his research and writing on early american anabaptists, much of which has been published by the denomination’s press.  elizabethtown college is affiliated with the cloister by supporting the annual summer archaeological dig at the site (in conjunction with the pennsylvania historical and museum commission), as well as through their young center for the study of anabaptist and pietist groups.  for a comprehensive bibliography of the research available on the cloister available through elizabethtown college see, jobie e. riley,  ephrata cloister, a bibliography:  1945-2000  (elizabethtown, pa:  young center for the study of anabaptist and pietist groups, elizabethtown college, 2000).  finally, the ephrata cloister associates founded in 1958, which is a non-profit organization that offers membership to any interested individual for a small fee, provides financial support for educational programming, special functions (i.e., ephrata cloister choral, summer evening tours, etc.), and purchases original artifacts and antiques associated with the cloister so that they can be returned to the museum’s archival collection.   [20] in 1989-1990 there was test archaeology done on the site for a future fire suppression system that led to the discovery of building foundations.  this information coupled with the renewed interest in the cloister’s material evidence led to establishment of an annual summer archaeological dig at the site.  there were, however, previous archaeological explorations at the cloister in 1963, 1964, 1965, and 1966.  michael s. showalter, museum educator, interviewed by author, 20 june 2002, ephrata, pennsylvania.   [21] stephen g. warfel, historical archaeology at ephrata cloister:  a report on 2001 investigations  (harrisburg, pa:  pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 2002), 1.   [22] hardesty and little point out that the oral and literary record of a site may not provide information beyond “the insiders’ view of just a few literate people from a socially and politically dominate group that may or may not correspond to with the grassroots data about actual behavior coming from archaeology.”  therefore, archaeological evidence can provide a unique perspective on the actual everyday lives of individuals who lived on the site that may conflict with the written record, but could provide important insights into actual living conditions and behaviors.  donald l. hardesty and barbara j. little,  assessing site significance:  a guide archaeologists and historians  (new york:  alta mira press, 2000), 67.   [23] stephen g. warfel, historical archaeology at ephrata cloister:  a report on 2001 investigations, 2.   [24] jeffrey a. bach to author, august 28, 2002, email, personal collection. [25] the best example of this new interpretation is found in the exploration of the mount zion site on the cloister property.  the site was home to a splinter sect at the cloister led by a former follower of beissel.  according to the archaeological evidence this religious group functioned in “‘main stream’ culture of early america” by satisfying their “growing desires for material goods through purchase,” which apparently is not as evident in the beissel’s community down the hill.  ibid., 16.   [26] warfel believes that the evidence from the mount zion site provides an opportunity “to tell the story of the community’s persistent struggle with influences of the outside world.” ibid., 28.   [27] jeffrey a. bach, “voices of the turtledoves:  the mystical language of the ephrata cloister”  (ph.d. diss., duke university, 1997), 485.  jeffrey a. bach to author, 8 august 2002, email, personal collection.   [28] michael s. showalter, museum educator, interviewed by author, 20 june 2002, ephrata, pennsylvania. however, dr. bach humbly believes that the ephrata staff “are a bit overly generous and enthusiastic about my work.”  jeffrey a. bach to author, 14 july 2002, email, personal collection.   [29] georg conrad beissel,  some theological maxims or rules of the solitary life, trans. michelle s. long, ed. nadine a. steinmetz  (ephrata, 1752;  reprint, ephrata, pa:  ephrata cloister associates, pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 1991), 40.   [30] jeffrey a. bach, “voices of the turtledoves:  the mystical language of the ephrata cloister,” 200.   [31] ibid., 201.   [32] ibid., 203.   [33] ibid., 202.   [34] ibid., 201.   [35] ibid., 202.   [36] ibid., 206.   [37] michael s. showalter, museum educator, interviewed by author, 20 june 2002, ephrata, pennsylvania.   [38] ibid. [39] michael s. showalter,  “prelude to the new world:  an introduction to the ephrata cloister orientation exhibition”  (m.a. thesis, pennsylvania state university, harrisburg, 1998).   [40] pennsylvania historical and museum commission, guide manual: ephrata cloister [unpublished manuscript] (ephrata, pa, 2000).   [41] william j. lewis indicates in his approach to presenting history that providing “excerpts from diaries, letters and poetry they wrote; singing songs they used to sing or listen to;  describing a meal they might have eaten;  revealing the concern they had for political and social issues;  portraying their energy situations;  discussing familial relationships;  showing blowups of old photos, prints and artwork” offer the visitor a humanized portrait of the site that can be “carried back home.” william j. lewis,  interpreting for park visitors  (philadelphia, pa:  eastern acorn press, 1980), 98.   [42] according to the exhibit only eight of the original thirty buildings survive today.   [43] this history of the historical site is useful because it allows visitors the opportunity to see that even tourists of one hundred years ago came to the cloister grounds to gawk at the remnants of this religious community.  one exhibit station has a newspaper article from the era that reads, “the society would be pleased to have no cranks with kodak cameras and [people with] misrepresentations publish glowing newspaper reports of any matters of the ancient cloister at ephrata”  (“fair play,” the daily intellegencer, august 4, 1893).   [44] according to james m. lindgren “personalism” was the 19th century approach to historical interpretation that was utilized by women before the professionalization of historic preservation by men.  “personalism” focused on “those old-time interiors, crafts, and manners that seemed most associated with the revered founders of the nation, leaders of their town, or patriarchs (and matriarchs) of their family.  with its focus on the interconnectedness of spirit, body, and nature, personalism placed importance on an artifact’s ties to such values as individual character, love of family, respect for community, personal intimacy, and humility before god.  put simply, personalism stressed the material and immaterial bonds that made people human.”  james m. lindgren,  “‘a new departure in historical patriotic work’:  personalism, professionalism, and conflicting concepts of material culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,”  the public historian  18,  no. 2  (spring 1996):  44.   [45] anticipating paradise:  introduction to the ephrata cloister, prod. commonwealth media services, 15 min., commonwealth of pennsylvania, 2001, videocassette.   [46] key to the interpretative strategy of the cloister is freeman tilden’s interpreting our heritage.  tilden’s six interpretative principles are the foundation of all that the museum has endeavored to accomplish in presenting the story of the cloister.  michael s. showalter, museum educator, interviewed by author, 20 june 2002, ephrata, pennsylvania.   [47] during my interview with michael showalter he mentioned that tour guides are often mistaken for members of the original church, which has long been defunct.  on my last visit to the cloister, prior to writing this case study, i witnessed an interaction between a tour guide and a visitor that reveals how confusing the robes and video are to visitors who have no context in which to place a historical religious site.  upon entering the visitors’ center a tour guide and visitor entered directly after me, the visitor asked the guide, “so, how long have you lived here?”  at which time the guide smiled and explained that he was a retired teacher who volunteers at the site.  needless to say, having guides dressed as authentically as possible does present some problems for interpretation if there are not clear markers to help the guests understand that the cloister is not a functioning religious commune. [48] pennsylvania historical and museum commission, guide manual: ephrata cloister [unpublished manuscript] (ephrata, pa, 2000).   [49] kenneth l. ames argues that most museum mission statements “pay homage in some form to the museum profession’s own trinity: collecting, preserving, and interpreting” without evidence that these activities are even “sufficiently empowering.”  see, kenneth l. ames,  “finding common threads:  an afterword,”  in ideas and images:  developing interpretive history exhibits,  ed. kenneth l. ames, barbara franco, and l. thomas frye  (nashville, tn:  american association for state and local history, 1992), 314. [50] david glassberg,  sense of history:  the place of the past in american life  (amherst, ma:  university of massachusetts press, 2001), 7.   [51] pennsylvania historical and museum commission,  ephrata cloister:  anticipating paradise, a community’s earthy life and heavenly quest [brochure]  (ephrata, pa, 2001). [52] in my interview with museum educator, michael showalter, he indicated that four themes drive the interpretation of the cloister for the public:  theology, economy, community, and legacy.  though not reflected in the mission statement of the site, these thematic impulses are easily seen in all the exhibits, the cultural landscape, and guided tours of the site.  michael s. showalter, museum educator, interviewed by author, 20 june 2002, ephrata, pennsylvania.   [53] william j. lewis,  interpreting for park visitors  (philadelphia, pa:  eastern acorn press, 1980), 98.   [54] ibid.   [55] freeman tilden, interpreting our heritage, 3rd ed.  (chapel hill, nc:  the university of north carolina press, 1977), 44-45.   [56] linda shopes indicates that most public history sites suffer from a “public stance of ‘optimism’” that prevents an open and honest criticism of the site’s history.  the ephrata cloister may be unique in their approach to providing a balanced historical narrative.  the tour guides do not paint an overly positive picture, the introductory video raises questions about a volatile situation within the eighteenth century commune, and the revision of the official interpretation of the site indicates that the history of the cloister is open to scholarly and critical re-evaluation.  see, linda shopes,  “building bridges between academic and public history,”  the public historian  19,  no. 2  (spring 1997):  54.   [57] catherine howlett states that “extraordinary educational and interpretive models are emerging at sites around the country, particularly where curators and administrators are willing to take risks.”  the ephrata cloister museum definitely fits within howlett’s praise because of the site’s willingness to address issues, such as theology and tradition, by utilizing recent research.  see, catherine howlett,  “integrity as a value in cultural landscape preservation,” in preserving cultural landscapes in america, with a foreword by dolores hayden,  ed. arnold r. alanen and robert z. melnick  (baltimore, md:  the johns hopkins university press, 2000), 206. converging evidence for reality monitoring deficits as a critical component in understanding schizophrenia symptomatology and etiology converging evidence for reality monitoring deficits as a critical component in understanding schizophrenia symptomatology and etiology brian a. anderson psychology abstract cognitive deficits have long been recognized in the phenomenology of schizophrenia, but only recently have these deficits been explored as a potential factor contributing to psychotic symptoms. one such deficit that has risen to the forefront of this research concerns reality monitoring, which refers to the ability to maintain a distinction between internally and externally generated information. the present review summarizes the findings from this exciting new direction in the field of psychopathology, and argues that research concerning deficits in reality monitoring holds promise in unlocking some of the mysteries of how schizophrenia develops. current gaps in the literature on reality monitoring in schizophrenia are also discussed, and future research directions targeted at filling in these gaps are explored. generalized cognitive deficits have long been identified as a critical component of schizophrenia (weinberger, aloia, goldberg, & berman, 1994). impaired reasoning skills often become manifest when schizophrenics are asked to perform a task, such as the wisconsin card sorting test (wcst), that requires the application of higher order processes associated with the prefrontal cortex (pfc) (weinberger & berman, 1996). indeed, this disparity between the cognitive reasoning ability of schizophrenics and that of healthy individuals is so great and consistent that some clinical researchers believe it should be reflected in the diagnostic criteria for the disorder (stip, 2006). a number of theories of schizophrenia have arisen from research into this generalized impairment, the most prominent of which has been the theory of brian anderson hypofrontality. according to this theory, generalized cognitive impairment in schizophrenia occurs because the pfc does not become sufficiently activated during the performance of cognitive tasks (weinberger et al., 1994). theories of hypofrontality, however, have suffered from several major shortcomings. these theories are often too vague to make precise and meaningful predictions concerning the specific types of cognitive impairment suffered by schizophrenics. furthermore, hypofrontality theories are unable to specify any relationship between the observed cognitive impairment and the symptoms of schizophrenia. consequently, they have added little to our understanding of the disorder. recently, theories concerning cognitive impairment in schizophrenia have become increasingly focused and qualified, with specific types of cognitive impairment relevant to pfc functioning being identified. one such theory that has risen to the forefront of this research implicates reality monitoring in the symptomatology and etiology of schizophrenia. reality monitoring refers to the process of maintaining a mental distinction between information that has been generated internally by one’s self and information that has been generated by an external source. errors in reality monitoring occur when self-generated information is wrongly attributed to an external source. the following review summarizes the converging evidence for a deficit in reality monitoring as a major component in the cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia, and argues that this deficit can be used to explain both the genesis of the disorder and how it improves with treatment. while recent research suggests that this may provide a promising account of schizophrenia, much more has yet to be learned about the role of reality monitoring in the disorder and these gaps in the literature are later discussed. evidence from behavioral studies in the traditional source monitoring task, participants are asked to generate words and commit them to memory. they are also shown certain words by the experimenter and asked to commit those words to memory as well. later, words that were both generated by the participant and provided to the participant by the experimenter are presented in the context of a recognition test along with new words that the participant neither saw nor generated. the participant is tasked with both identifying whether or not a test word is new as well as specifying the source of all test words identified as old. two types of memory error can be measured using this task. the first is error in recollection, which reflects general memory functioning. the second is error in source attribution. when the source of a selfgenerated word is incorrectly attributed to the experimenter, an error in reality monitoring is said to have occurred. when performance on the source monitoring task was measured for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, these individuals were found to make a significantly understanding schizophrenia symptomatology and etiology larger number of reality monitoring errors than healthy controls (moritz, woodward, & ruff, 2003). furthermore, schizophrenics were significantly more confident in their erroneous source attributions when confidence was measured, suggesting that they were, in fact, more likely than controls to believe their erroneous source attributions to be correct (moritz et al., 2003). however, schizophrenics were no more likely than healthy controls to make errors in oldnew judgments, nor were they any more likely to make other source monitoring errors such as falsely remembering words that were presented by the experimenter as having been self-generated (moritz et al., 2003). this suggests that schizophrenics show a memory deficit that is specific to reality monitoring and results in faulty judgments concerning source attribution rather than uncertainty and incorrect guessing. in further support of memory impairment in schizophrenia specific to the source of information, moritz, woodward, and rodriguez-raecke (2006) showed that schizophrenics were no more likely than healthy controls to produce false memories in the false memory paradigm. in this paradigm, words are presented to the participant and recognition is later tested. in the recognition test, critical lures are added that are highly related semantically to several of the previously presented words. these critical lures produce a significant amount of false recognitions in psychiatrically healthy individuals (roediger & mcdermott, 1995), but are no more likely to do so in schizophrenics (moritz et al., 2006). this is meaningful because it shows that, even in a task sensitive to false recollection, schizophrenics do not produce more false memories that are unrelated to reality monitoring than healthy controls. furthermore, it was also found that schizophrenics again showed more confidence in their false memories than healthy controls in the false memory paradigm, as well as less confidence in their correct memories (moritz et al., 2006). as the subjective richness of a memory is thought to give rise to the degree of confidence in the validity of that memory (e.g., moritz et al., 2003), this suggests a general deficit in how information is both personally experienced and stored in schizophrenia and has fascinating implications regarding why a deficit in reality monitoring occurs. a generally accepted concept in memory research is that people make internal source monitoring distinctions based on the richness of their memories; more detailed memories suggest that a remembered event was perceived (externally generated) and not imagined (internally generated) (e.g., moritz et al., 2003). if subjective confidence in the validity of a memory is closely related to the richness of that memory, it stands to reason that individuals with schizophrenia might blur the distinction between perceived and imagined experiences (aleman, hijman, de haan, & kahn, 1999). with little difference between internally and externally generated material on the dimension critical for brian anderson making source attributions, it would be expected that reality monitoring errors would be more likely to occur. evidence from fmri behavioral evidence for a deficit in reality monitoring in schizophrenia is corroborated by evidence using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fmri). in psychiatrically healthy individuals, the right prefrontal cortex, left inferior frontal cortex, and the parahippocampal and cerebellar cortex are normally highly active during the production of inner speech (i.e., talking to one’s self silently), while the temporal cortex is bilaterally hypoactive (frith et al., 1995; shergill et al., 2003). these brain areas are believed to be critical in the processes of monitoring this kind of speech and differentiating it from externally generated speech (frith et al., 1995; shergill et al., 2003). consistent with a reality monitoring deficit, these same brain areas do not show comparable levels of activation in schizophrenic patients when they generate inner speech (p. mcguire et al., 1995; shergill et al., 2003). furthermore, in psychiatrically healthy individuals, activity in the right angular gyrus and insula cortex is correlated with the degree of control over an object (farrer et al., 2004). this same modulation was not found in schizophrenic patients, however, suggesting that they are less able to distinguish between the relative contributions of internally and externally generated commands in producing action (farrer et al., 2004). when psychiatrically healthy individuals engage in internally generated processes such as daydreaming and making evaluative judgments, the medial prefrontal cortex (mpfc) is highly engaged (gusnard, e., shulman, & raichle, 2001; p. k. mcguire, paulesu, frackowiak, & frackowiak, 1996; zysset, huber, ferstl, & von cramon, 2002). this area of the brain is believed to be critical in maintaining an attentional balance between externally and internally generated information. it also contributes to both the monitoring of source in real time and whether or not the source of information will later be remembered correctly (burgess, dumontheil, & gilbert, 2007). consistent with a reality monitoring deficit, when schizophrenic individuals later recall the source of internally generated information in the traditional source monitoring task, this same brain area is much less active than it is in healthy controls (vinogradov, luks, schulman, & simpson, 2008). this difference exists even though performance is accounted for, so it does not reflect the process of erroneous recall per se and rather seems to reflect a more general process upon which source judgments are based. the aforementioned findings corroborate the theories of hypofrontality mentioned in the introduction, and take a step forward by defining this deficit in terms of a more specific brain region and affected cognitive functioning. understanding schizophrenia symptomatology and etiology evidence from psychopharmacological studies successful treatment with antipsychotic medication has been shown not only to reduce psychotic symptoms, but also to improve reality monitoring ability in schizophrenics (keefe, poe, mcevoy, & vaughan, 2003). this suggests that the two phenomena are related and may be governed by either the same or related brain systems. furthermore, successful treatment with antipsychotic medication increases pfc activity to normal levels (honey et al., 1999), and hypoactivity in this area of the brain is implicated in reality monitoring deficits in schizophrenia (vinogradov et al., 2008). in addition, higher dosages of antipsychotic medication are associated with less severe deficits in reality monitoring even when symptoms remain above diagnostic threshold (moritz et al., 2003). this suggests that changes in the ability to effectively monitor reality that accompany successful treatment do not merely reflect an epiphenomenon of symptom improvement. evidence from genetics studies it has long been understood that schizophrenia genesis can be explained, in part, by hereditary factors. the american psychiatric association (2000) estimates that individuals with a first degree relative who has schizophrenia are roughly ten times more likely to develop the disorder themselves. furthermore, research that summarized the findings of several studies showed that the concordance rate for schizophrenia among monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins was 48% and 17%, respectively (gottesman, 1991). the offspring of either of two monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia are equally likely to develop schizophrenia themselves (17%) (gottesman & bertelsen, 1989). this does not hold true for the offspring of dizygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia, however, as the offspring of the affected twin are much more likely to develop the disorder (17% and 2%, respectively) (gottesman & bertelsen, 1989). should deficits in reality monitoring be related to the etiology of schizophrenia, it would be expected that this deficit would also contain a heritable component. indeed, a larger proportion of psychiatrically healthy first degree relatives of schizophrenics than is found in the general population show deficits in reality monitoring (brunelin et al., 2007). furthermore, these unaffected family members with reality monitoring deficits show a level of impairment intermediate between those diagnosed with the disorder and healthy individuals without a family history of schizophrenia (brunelin et al., 2007). research into the genetic components of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia is only beginning, and, as a consequence, it has provided little conclusive evidence. one study identified a total of 63 types of messenger rna that were differentially expressed in the pfc of schizophrenics, the area of the brain implicated in cognitive deficits generally and reality monitoring deficits specifically (dean, brian anderson keriakous, scarr, & thomas, 2007). most of these differentiations indicated below normal levels of expression, although their specific impact on the brain and behavior are not yet understood. in another study, one gene in particular was found to be differentially expressed in the pfc to a lesser degree in schizophrenics than in either healthy controls or patients with clinical depression, a gene that is specific to white matter genesis (bertram et al., 2007). genes for synaptic vesicle genesis are not differentially expressed in the pfc of schizophrenics, suggesting that deficits in reality monitoring observed in schizophrenia are not the result of vesicle-dependent reductions (glantz, austin, & lewis, 2000). messenger rna for parvalbumin, a calcium-binding protein, was expressed to a significantly lesser degree in gaba-containing neurons of the pfc of schizophrenics, however, possibly increasing inhibitory activity (hashimoto et al., 2003). genetic expression of the gaba synthetic enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 has also been shown to be abnormally low in the pfc of schizophrenics (straub et al., 2007). additionally, a specific single nucleotide polymorphism (snp) within the gene that encodes for catechol-omethyltransferase (comt), a key enzyme involved in regulating dopamine transmission within the pfc, is often found in schizophrenics (woodward, jayathilake, & meltzer, 2007); it is associated with reduced levels of extracellular dopamine and cognitive impairment (stein, newman, savitz, & ramesar, 2006). relation to schizophrenia symptomatology and etiology since schizophrenic individuals are more likely than healthy controls to falsely remember internally generated material as arising from an external source, it is possible that this tendency is related to the development of delusional beliefs from imagined experiences (moritz, woodward, whitman, & cuttler, 2005). certain imagined experiences could come to be understood as having actually occurred in the event that the source of those experiences is misplaced. the psychotic experience of thought insertion and delusions of control are particularly relevant to this hypothesis, as they exemplify a source misattribution. furthermore, it has been suggested that hallucinations might arise from a tendency to attribute thoughts and words to other individuals or entities (bentall, baker, & havers, 1991). in some ways, hallucinations might be understood as an extreme example of what might happen when the source of common internally generated experiences such as daydreaming is misplaced onto the external world. as would be predicted by the causal role of reality monitoring deficits in the development of schizophrenic symptoms, treatment with antipsychotic medication tends to not only alleviate psychosis but also improve performance on measures of reality monitoring ability (keefe et al., 2003). understanding schizophrenia symptomatology and etiology given these relationships between reality monitoring and schizophrenia symptomatology, in combination with the findings from genetics studies, there exists a possible role for a deficit in reality monitoring as providing the foundation for a schizophrenia diathesis. there is substantial evidence that both reality monitoring deficits and schizophrenic symptoms possess a hereditary component (brunelin et al., 2007; gottesman, 1991; gottesman & bertelsen, 1989). it is also clear that both reality monitoring deficits and psychotic symptoms exist on a continuum, and that these two variables are positively correlated (brunelin et al., 2007). more severe schizophrenic symptoms are associated with greater reality monitoring deficits (brunelin et al., 2006; garrett & silva, 2003), and healthy individuals who possess sub-threshold psychotic-like features show a deficit in reality monitoring intermediate between those who meet diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia and healthy individuals without psychotic-like features (allen, freeman, johns, & mcguire, 2006). such findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the degree of deficit in reality monitoring is impacted by genetic factors and related to the likelihood of developing psychotic symptoms under stress, with a greater deficit making schizophrenia genesis both more probable and more severe. conclusions and future directions as has been shown, a deficit in reality monitoring represents a core feature of schizophrenia. furthermore, this deficit can be used to provide a promising explanation of the symptomatology and etiology of the disorder. however, as far as research into reality monitoring in schizophrenia has progressed in recent years, far more has yet to be understood. although reality monitoring seems to be linked logically to the onset of psychotic symptoms, a temporal relationship between the two has never been demonstrated. while healthy individuals with a family history of schizophrenia are more likely than other healthy individuals without such a history to show a moderate deficit in reality monitoring, such a deficit represents a point on a continuum that may not be relevant to psychotic symptoms. therefore, it cannot be logically precluded that there is something about being schizophrenic that further impairs reality monitoring; a further deficit in reality monitoring might essentially be a phenotype of the disorder. while this may not seem likely, some form of evidence demonstrating that a severe deficit in reality monitoring, in fact, tends to precede frank psychotic symptoms is needed. providing such evidence presents significant challenges, however, as an ambitious longitudinal design would be warranted. furthermore, the leading theory that explains how a deficit in reality monitoring arises emphasizes a blurring of the distinction between perceived and imagined experiences as a function of the richness of memories. this theory lacks adequate brian anderson specificity, as there are three different ways that it can account for a deficit in reality monitoring. the first is that the richness of memories specific to internally generated information is diminished, making these memories more like those specific to externally generated information. the second is that the richness of memories specific to externally generated information is enhanced, making these memories more like those specific to internally generated information. the third involves some combination of the previous two. future research needs to investigate which is correct in order to more fully elucidate how a reality monitoring deficit manifests itself, as well as why it is far less common for schizophrenics to attribute externally generated information to the self. another issue relevant to accounting for how a deficit in reality monitoring manifests itself in schizophrenia involves distinguishing between an error in encoding and an error in memory processes. specifically, it is unclear whether a deficit in reality monitoring occurs as a consequence of how information is entered into and made sense of in the brain upon presentation, or whether this deficit occurs as a consequence of how properly encoded information is entered into and later retrieved from memory. this is a critical question for schizophrenia research to address, as one suggests a disorder of memory that, in turn, affects perception while the other suggests a disorder of perception that, in turn, affects memory. the author is unaware of any research that addresses this issue directly. should a deficit in reality monitoring indeed represent a schizophrenia diathesis, it would be of benefit to investigate the circumstances under which this diathesis comes to manifest as frank psychosis. does a deficit in reality monitoring pose a valid risk factor for developing schizophrenia? if so, how strong of a predictor is it? what kinds of stressors and degrees of stressors tend to interact with a reality monitoring deficit to produce schizophrenia? the answers to these and similar questions are not only relevant to understanding the disorder, but also to developing potential means by which to help prevent it. research using fmri has also yet to clarify how the brain activity of schizophrenics differs from the brain activity of psychiatrically healthy individuals who also show a deficit in reality monitoring. while it is not a theoretical necessity that these two types of individuals differ, such differences might reveal how and why some go on to develop the disorder while others do not. similarly, it would be interesting to analyze differences in brain activity across various sub-types of schizophrenia to see if certain types of symptoms are related to certain activation patterns. finally, the genetic bases for both reality monitoring deficits and schizophrenia more generally are only beginning to be understood. however, certain differences in genetic structure and gene expression between schizophrenics and healthy individuals have been identified, and these differences need to be explored. the understanding schizophrenia symptomatology and etiology findings from this research will shed much light on who is at risk for developing schizophrenia, and may pave the way for more targeted treatments that will better address the underlying causes of the disorder. references american psychiatric association (2000). diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (rev. 4th ed.). washington, dc: american psychiatric association. aleman, a., hijman, r., de haan, e. h. f., & kahn, r. s. 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[concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] 2012 graduate research prize essay “a stout heart crushes ill-luck?”: materialism, british masculinity, the western front, and the changing meaning of luck in the latenineteenth and early-twentieth century william l. gay history in 1854, samuel smiles wrote of luck in his famous book self-help that “it is the result of everyday experience, that steady attention to matters of detail lies at the root of human progress; and that diligence, above all, is the mother of good luck.”1 smiles was a member of a new generation of middle-class thinkers who redefined luck for a growing number of middle-class men and women in the latter half of the nineteenth century. smiles’ definition of luck, as a function of “sheer industry and hard work,” was symptomatic of a nexus of forces changing the conception of luck from an innate, meta-religious, and meta-physical force into a phenomenon with identifiable cause.2 these forces primarily consisted of scientific materialism and the rise of the social sciences, ideas of masculinity, and education contributed to a new understanding of luck that would be strained during the first world war. before beginning an examination of these shifts, luck must have a concrete context and definition. luck may be described as a subset of superstition. through the nineteenth century, good and bad luck remained a meta-physical but non-religious force that could be affected by ritual. ritualized actions, such as throwing salt over one’s shoulder or hanging horseshoes, attempted to eliminate inconvenient developments or curry positive outcomes. luck and superstition, were not conflated with religion, as religion largely remained an empirical mode of demarcating causation. in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, superstition, and thus luck, could be defined in the words of scottish chemist and dabbling social scientist, james napier. napier defined superstition as “beliefs and ideas founded upon an erroneous idea of god and nature.”3 luck was one such erroneous idea. but how did it become erroneous? in addition, how did the cultural watershed of the first world war affect this new definition? the study of superstition is limited both thematically and chronologically. studies of superstition focus on magic and witchcraft predominantly. those that do consider the first world war neglect the cultural construction of luck, although the cultural repercussions of the first world war remain a well-traversed field of inquiry. a number of different academic fields have contributed to the study of luck, mainly through superstition. in 1975, paul fussell 1 samuel smiles, self-help, ed. ralph lytton bower (new york: american book company, 1904), 159. book reissued immediately after smiles’ death. 2 smiles, self-help, 115. 3 james napier, folk lore, or superstitious beliefs in the west of scotland within this century (paisley: alex gardener, 1879), 4. produced the seminal work on the cultural memory of the war, the great war and modern memory.4 despite featuring a title that would seem to betray a transnational approach, fussell concentrated solely upon the british war experience. while fussell addressed the memory of the war, he omits a deep critical analysis of superstition in the trenches. while fussell asserted that the intellectual world of the trenches was “a plethora of very un-modern superstitions, talismans, wonders, miracles, relics, legends, and rumors,” he failed to pursue a deeper analysis.5 while fussell primarily looks back to the war as a cultural watershed, destroying the tradition of the nineteenth century and beginning a new cultural paradigm, other historians saw the war as possessing explicit cultural continuities. in sites of memory, sites of mourning, jay winters asserts that the cultural change seen throughout the war had finite continuities, and methods of mourning and remembrance especially that were possessed of deep-seated cultural practice. while winters did not analyze superstition, it is within the framework of nuanced cultural change –both preceding, during, and following the war—that luck must be considered.6 only anthropologists addressed superstition in war. in landscapes of the western front, british anthropologist ross j. wilson provided a brief discussion of british soldiers and luck. according to wilson, soldiers subscribed to notions of a meta-physical, non-religious belief system on the battlefield. fighting-men recognized an interrelationship between “risk and luck, qualities which the soldiers would recognize as paramount in their lives at the front.” 7 however, soldiers’ interpretation of luck seemed to be drawn from the war itself. to wilson, belief in luck had no cultural forerunners but was treated as an isolated development in the war. wilson, like those before him, failed to provide a cultural context to demonstrate the evolution of these paramount qualities.8 this examination will go beyond the limited discussions provided by historians, literary critics, and material anthropologists by exploring the cultural and intellectual currents under which luck changed from the mid-nineteenth through the first world war into the twentieth century. in this process, this study delineates a nuanced understanding of luck much different from the fatalism or dismissal found in other academic works. luck, as with superstition, was not a product of the first world war. rather, luck in wartime fit a larger narrative of change in superstition, science, and masculinity. sources for the three major discussions contained herein draw upon a wide range of sources. the first section, evaluating luck in the nineteenth and early-twentieth century, relies on popular literature, encyclopedias, and circulating magazines to illustrate a cognizant reorganization of luck from an occult force to a personally controlled attribute. the second section, considering luck during the war, relies primarily upon collections of letters written during the war, personal 4 paul fussell, the great war and modern memory (oxford: oxford university press, 1975), 115-131. 5 paul fussell, great war and modern memory, 115. 6 jay winters, sites of memory, sites of mourning: the great war in european cultural history (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1995), 1-8, 64-78. 7 ross j. wilson, landscapes of the western front: materiality during the great war (new york: routledge, 2012). 8 wilson, landscapes of the western front, 160-62. journals, and personal memoirs written between 1919 and 1921—before the acute pessimism of the war pervaded most soldiers’ publications—although many were published decades after their authors’ deaths. the third section considers post-war memoirs, documentary fiction, and popular literature after the war in an attempt to chart the discontinuities and continuities of wartime understandings of luck through mid-century. as the frontline experience was particularly masculine, this study follows the conception of luck formulated through masculinity.9 masculinity, particularly middle class masculinity as will be shown, directly influenced the formulation of luck. this argument will therefore follow middle class men, as these individuals experienced a particularly traumatic and well-recorded change in the meanings of luck. i it is now possible to return to napier’s definition of superstition. as a scientist, napier subscribed to scientific reductionism and scientific materialism, ideologies rising to prominence in the wake of the revolutions of 1848-52. an alternative to the emotional, new humanism of the 1830s and 1840s, science offered the promise of an objective view of the world. science could provide the explanation not just for the natural order of things, but for the basis of society built upon and existing in the natural world. this ethos directed intellectuals to focus their inquiry on the stuff of things, the matter of the universe, and to reduce phenomena into their material components. the success of biological and physical sciences in explaining the world prompted the study of society in scientific terms. anthropology, sociology, and psychology, all of which rose to prominence by the end of the nineteenth century viewed luck, as a subsidiary component of superstition, as antiquated. by producing a large number of studies of superstition or folk lore, social scientists undermined old conceptions of luck and endorsed new interpretations. superstition predominantly remained only in festivals, literature, and philosophy.10 james napier embodied the union of science and society. his study of scottish superstition in 1879, folk lore, or superstitious beliefs in the west of scotland within this century, channeled popular intellectual fashions by cataloging superstitions either contemporaneously practiced by the rural or newly-urban poor, or those rituals practiced within living memory. while napier denies a modern significance to superstition, he is quick to point out that the current age is the last opportunity in which the old, agrarian beliefs of the previous generations could be captured. napier wrote, “among the better educated classes it may be said much of the superstitions of former times have passed away, and as education is extended they will more and more become eradicated.”11 through education, science eliminated unfounded superstition by providing new 9 this is not to say that women had no part in the reformulation of luck. indeed, most major changes in masculinity result from shifts in femininity. 10 j.w. burrows, the crisis of reason: european thought, 1848-1914 (new haven, ct: yale university press, 2000), 4-7, 35-41, 51-56, 68-69, 221-24. 11 james napier, folk lore, or superstitious beliefs in the west of scotland within this century (paisley: alex gardener, 1879), vi. causation. no longer did luck dictate the outcome of events. similar examinations of superstition and folklore followed napier’s work. in 1895, english author and economist william hurrell maddock published studies of contemporary superstition.12 maddock criticized superstition observing that the rejection of rational scientific or social scientific evidence was simply ignorant. science provided the ultimate answers, and superstition simply led weak minds astray.13 between 1888 and 1903, cora linn daniels, a fellow of the royal artistic society, and c.m. stevans, and a professor of psychology respectively, catalogued the extant superstitions of the united states and united kingdom in the encyclopedia of superstition, folklore, and the occult sciences.14 over a similar period, british lawyer william carew hazlitt published his own individual study, faiths and folklore: a dictionary. hazlitt treated superstition as rural relics, and archaic inventions now superseded by modern explanation.15 across all collections, the message was simple. superstition—and luck with it—were deemed outmoded methods of explaining the world. isolating luck apart from superstition was a difficult endeavor. american education specialist fletcher bascom dresslar captured the conclusions of previous studies concisely in “superstition and education.” using the example of bad luck, dresslar stated that: even in cases where natural loss would follow an act, or any combination of events, the term “bad luck” is not used synonymously with loss but some occult additional punishment or providence is included. for example, “it is bad luck to lose a glove.” now no one would deny that it is bad luck to lose a glove, when bad luck and loss are synonymous terms. but bad luck here means more. it portends some external force acting against the loser.16 dresslar demonstrated the sharp division between the luck of folklore and superstition and luck of a new, scientific age. in contemporary usage, luck was often associated with chance, convenience, or inconvenience, but folklore and superstition indicated good or bad luck as abnormal reward or punishment resulting from one particular action. thus while inconveniences or tragedies might be labeled as bad luck in passing, true luck was unsolicited reward or punishment for seemingly innocuous events. by cataloguing, analysis, and reduction of the unknown into starkly scientific terms, social scientists dismantled the old concept of luck. through increasing economic opportunity, changing masculine identities, and free education, luck became an action-driven concept. while 12 william hurrell maddock, studies of contemporary superstition (london: ward & downey limited, 1895). 13 maddock, contemporary superstition, iii-x. 14 cora linn daniels and c.m. stevans, the encyclopedia of superstition, folklore, and the occult sciences: a comprehensive library of human belief and practices in the mysteries of life (chicago: j.h. yewdale & sons, 1903). 15 william carew hazlitt, faith and folklores: a dictionary (london: reeves & turner, 1905). hazlitt would later collect popular proverbs in use in the british isles. 16 fletcher bascom dresslar, “superstition and education,” education 5, no. 1 (july 15, 1907): 161. individuals previously coaxed mysterious external powers for aid, reformulation eventually placed agency solely with the individual, and dismissed the existence of innate, meta-physical, and meta-religious power. masculinity was integral in the creation of a new luck. victorian and edwardian society demanded specific beliefs and behavior from men. however, these demands mutated considerably as the century progressed. at midcentury, men expected to be caretakers of the family and controllers of the household. cultural practice demanded they protect and provide for the family. men could guarantee protection physically, by literally defending the family from harm, but more likely, it would be the maintenance of innocence in female and young male members of the family. men exerted control by limiting the corrupting influences in the home and by doing so, claimed illicit subjects such as sex, politics, and business to be theirs alone. this was an exercise in control, as well as a reinforcement of prerogative.17 wealth made the male role easier. by moving their families into wealthier neighborhoods, particularly away from the slums, middle-class men marginalized the distasteful influence of the lower and working class. wealth, consequently, became the primary determinate of man.18 as john tosh wrote, “the distinction of status and wealth to be found in the middle class were greater than either in the lower class or upper class.”19 by controlling a well-funded and well-run household, men fulfilled their self-declared role as protector-provider. wealth allowed men to represent the family in a positive manner outside the home and protect the family from perceived harm, and, at the same time, control the actions of those within the household.20 in demanding men provide and accumulate wealth, british masculinity formed a cult of action. being manly meant proactive and aggressive pursuit of goals, including advancement in profession and society. to victorian and edwardian society, men had to control their environment even outside the home. bending circumstance to one’s advantage was an essential mark of manliness. 21 writing in 1913 for the rotarian, the official magazine of rotary international, m.e. garrison, a salesman, connected the stress of providing with the new concept of luck. he wrote: never trust to luck, there is no such thing, generally speaking, as luck. bad luck is bad management and good luck is good management. i have seen many fail who trusted to luck instead of pluck . . . . never let a prospective customer or a competitive salesman discourage you, remembering that all things yield to the will of the determined salesman who had confidence and courage.22 17 john tosh, a man’s place: masculinity in the middle-class home in victorian britain (new haven, ct: yale university press, 2007), 8-16, 67-68, 199. 18 tosh, a man’s place, 21-27. 19 ibid., 13. 20 ibid., 67-72. 21 ibid. 22 garrison, “the salesman,” the rotarian 3, no. 12 (aug., 1913): 49. garrison’s comments provide a window into the new conception of luck in the context of masculinity. the cult of action and concept of domestic masculinity is constant throughout. foremost, garrison declares that male action should overcome any challenge and succeed. overall, garrison calls for an aggressive form of masculinity informed by far more than an emphasis on proactive and domestic dominance.23 an increasingly aggressive form of masculinity, exposited in garrison’s writing, was prompted by the growth of nationalism and imperialism. debates no longer centered on the compassionate and charitable muscular christianity, but on the ambiguously defined concept of social darwinism. the harsh tenants of social darwinism superimposed the concepts of evolution articulated by spencer and darwin onto society and politics. just as nature would only allow “the survival of the fittest,” social darwinism argued that human society should only allow those best suited for success to achieve. by the century’s end, any shortcomings in life were interpreted as the fault of the individual.24 faulting the individual, rather than the social environment or culture, affected the interpretation of luck. for those subscribing to social darwinism, those believing in luck were simply lethargic and apathetic individuals. their position in life was dictated by bad luck had only themselves to blame. in lord jim, joseph conrad’s eponymous protagonist observed fellow english patients in a hospital. he stated: they talked everlastingly of turns of luck: how so-and-so got charge of a boat on the coast of china—a soft thing; how this one had an easy billet in japan somewhere, and that one was doing well in the siamese navy; and in all they said—in their actions, in their looks, in their purpose—could be detected the soft spot, the place of decay, to laze softly through existence.25 conrad affirmed the notion that those believing in luck lacked the motivation necessary to succeed. waiting for the occult was far easier than actively pursuing goals, meaning those believing luck could catapult a man to success belied not only ignorance but also lethargy. those who found themselves in adverse situations could only blame themselves for acting incorrectly. in his 1905 work, the soul of london, ford maddox hueffer, later ford maddox ford to avoid association with germany in the first world war, described the failure of a cobbler, tockson, to launch a successful literary career. while tockson had the talent to create poetry, his personal shortcomings led his career to stagnate and, as a result, led to bitter pessimism and self-defeatism. to ford, tockson clearly lacked luck, which he defined as “the knack of self-advertisement.”26 in addition to reading a middle-class interpretation onto the life 23 j.a. mangan, “social darwinism and upper-class education in late victorian and edwardian england,” in manliness and morality: masculinity in britain and america, 1800-1940, ed. j.a. mangan and james walvin (manchester: manchester university press, 1987), 139. 24 j.w. burrows, the crisis of reason, 92-96; j.a. mangan, “social darwinism,” 137-40. 25 joseph conrad, lord jim: a romance (london: mcclure, phillips, & co., 1900), 10-11. 26 ford maddox hueffer, the soul of london: a survey of the modern city (london: alston rivers, 1905), 147. of a working class individual, a specialty of victorian and edwardian middle class, ford demonstrated that an individual’s actions should dictate success. as tockson did not engage himself in self-promotion, he could not possibly confront the milieu of modern publishing and advance in his passion. men who could not make their way in the world lacked a key component of masculinity. they became marked as inferior, and were rendered puerile and effeminate.27 control was a key component of imperialism and nationalism. imperialism demanded that men maintain their domestic paternalism, their ability to control, abroad. the maintenance of empire became a ritualistic celebration of the nation. nationalism, and the celebration of the state, endorsed aggressive masculinities informed by and informing imperialism. nationalism demanded that citizens defend and sacrifice for their country. men alone could pay the ultimate sacrifice and defend the country to the death in military conflict. nowhere was this more evident in the construction of the heroic soldier-male in the 1880s and 1890s. words like duty, honor, and “sacrifice” took on a near holy aura. these ideas, based on an idealized and ultimately erroneous idea of war, were the exclusive province of men.28 schools inculcated young men in the tenants of masculinity through their curricula, focusing increasingly on the classics and competition. through readings of ancient latin texts and sports, the state reinforced an aggressive notion of masculinity that recalled military duty. cicero, caesar, horace, and virgil were standard reading in public schools.29 in 1913, the commander for the royal military academy had the words of horace inscribed in the chapel: “dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori.”30 the same texts also lent another personally deterministic factor to luck. in the widely read aeneid, virgil’s antagonist turnus, declared, “fortune favors the bold.”31 seneca wrote that luck is the confluence of opportunity and personal planning. despite the roman conception of luck as a deity, these texts provided ideas that supported luck as driven by action. educators across britain read this as an endorsement of luck served from personal diligence and proactivity.32 sport also reinforced masculinity by equating sport with war. both attempted to achieve victory on “the field” in a physically demanding contest. war, like sport, had rules defined by the international community through a series of, famously at the hague in 1899. by demarcating rules for armed conflict, the international community also reinforced the concept of war as sport, and thus reemphasized war, like sport, as strictly masculine endeavors. it is not 27 mangan, “social darwinism,” 149-53. 28 joanna bourke, an intimate history of killing: face-to-face killing in twentieth-century warfare (new york: basic books, 1999), 4-9; eric hobsbawm, nations and nationalism since 1780: programme, myth, reality, 2nd ed. (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1992), 271-76. 29john m. mackenzie, “the imperial pioneer and the british masculine stereotype in late victorian and edwardian times,” in manliness and morality, ed. j.a. mangan and james walvin (manchester: manchester university press, 1987), 176-77, 181; j.a. mangan, “social darwinism,” 141-42. 30 horace, odes 3.2.13; royal military academy, the memorial chapel, sandhurst (sandhurst: ministry of defense/royal military academy, 1961), 13; francis law, a man at arms: memoirs of two world wars (london: collins, 1983), 43-44. 31 virgil, aeneid, 10.284. 32 mackenzie, “imperial pioneer,” 181-86. surprising that british men entering the first world war saw conflict as simply “playing the game.”33 on the eve of the first world war, masculinity consisted of a strong but questioned set of principles. men were expected to be domestic protectors, providers, and willing to sacrifice for the needs of empire and country. they could make these physical sacrifices by extending economic control or on the field of play, be that on a rugby or football pitch, or the battlefield. collectively, the new man had worked alongside scientific rationalism to dismiss the emotive, natural luck of the romantic period in favor of scientific explanation of the world. at the same time, these new explanations demanded that men control their own surrounding, including their economic circumstances. luck, reshaped into a quality explained by personal agency, would be tested by the first world war. ii the reality of modern, industrial warfare shattered the preconceptions with which young men entered the conflict. young british soldiers volunteering for the war imagined the war based upon previous colonial wars—excusing the fiasco of the boer war—the idea of the imperial soldier-hero, and popular war novels. reality proved much different.34 monk gibbon, an upper middle-class irish lieutenant in the 31st divisional train and later pacifist and poet, wrote in his post-war memoir, inglorious soldier, that the men going to war “had not visualized it as a continent slowly bleeding to death in the mud.”35 the war’s method was entirely unanticipated. new weaponry and measures to counteract new technology denied the essential male values in victorian and edwardian society. the very way armies waged war on the western front undermined the manner and the constructs of masculinity. in the aftermath of their defeat at the battle of the marne, the german army began digging elaborate trenches intended to hold the advantageous chalky ridgelines against the advancing french and british. entrenchment proved successful. the allied advance stalled, and dug in opposite the germans. the new warfare followed new rules, proving incorrect the long-held belief that tactical and strategic advantage lay with the attacking force. artillery proved to be the only avenue available to “soften up” enemy defenses enough to gain ground, and the only counter measure to artillery, ironically, was artillery. the war became a conflict of long-range bombardment, wherein armies attempted to silence the opposing artillery, disrupt the enemy trench network, and take the bombarded trenches with infantry. this was far from the heroic war envisioned by most men. instead, this war silenced agency, causality, and 33 fussell, great war and modern memory, 24-29; j.a. mangan, “games field and battlefield: a romantic alliance in verse and the creation of militaristic masculinity,” in making men: rugby and masculine identity, ed. timothy j.l. chandler and jon nauright (portland, or: frank cass, 1996), 14347. 34 joanna bourke, intimate history, 4-9. 35 monk gibbon, inglorious soldier (london: hutchinson & co., 1968), 1. individualism.36 the trademark tactic of trench warfare, the artillery barrage, terrified soldiers and robbed them of these closely held tenants of pre-war masculinity. gone was the soldier’s ability to control his surroundings. instead, infantry now confronted an enemy that was a “poor sport.” as the masculine imperative demanded that men meet their opposition on equal terms, high explosives fired from afar troubled soldiers deeply. captain rowland fielding, an english middle-class career officer in the cold stream guards, wrote to his wife about german bombardments, saying, “i confess the sensation is far from comfortable. you hear the shell from the moment it leaves the howitzer, and you can have no idea of the long time it takes to come, or of the weird scream it makes in doing so.”37 at ypres in 1917, francis r. bion, commander of a tank in the 5th tank battalion, experienced a fierce barrage before going forward. he recorded his anxieties later in his diary: by this time, a general bombardment had developed, and in the silence of the tank we could hear the shells screaming overhead from our own guns, and bursting near from theirs. the shelling was simply one continual roar. your own guns sounded a sharp crack behind. you could, of course, distinguish nothing. you simply had the deep roar of the guns, which was continuous and imposed on that was the shrill whistle of the shells passing overhead—just as if it was the wind whistling in a gigantic keyhole. one very big german shell that burst near us could be distinguished above the rest. it sounded like an express train coming through a tunnel—a gradually increasing roar as it came nearer. then a deafening crash. as the nearer shells burst, the tank used to sway a little and shudder. this was very beastly as one had previously felt that a tank was the sort of pinnacle of solidity. it seemed as if you were all alone in a huge passage with great doors slamming all around. i can think of no way of describing it.38 the explosions bion described, much stronger than anything most soldiers previously witnessed, further devalued the physical strength prized in men. the terrifying power and intensity of bombardments were unmistakable. unable to move, unable to act to save their lives or the lives of comrades, soldiers simply waited, listening for the shell that might fall close enough to maim or kill them. death rained daily from the sky, and seemingly nothing a soldier could do prevented its effects. the prospect was maddening to soldiers preconditioned by society to view war as a sport, and valuing control over their own surroundings. soldiers desired nothing more than to know a human enemy rather than de-personalized explosions. after a shell fragment struck one of his men in the stomach, rowland fielding aided in his evacuation, writing that he “helped them to lift [the wounded man] on to a stretcher. but, as he lay, he muttered plaintively, ‘oh if i could 36 john keegan, the first world war (new york: vintage), 178-80, 186-92. 37 fielding to edith fielding, cuinchy, may 8, 1915, in war letters to a wife: france and flanders, 1915-1919, ed. jonathan walker (staplehurst: spellmount, 2001), 4. 38 francis r. bion, war memoirs, 1917-1919, ed. francesca bion (london: karnac books, 1997), 30. only come across the man that did that.”39 edward campion vaughn of the 1/8 warwickshire regiment, proffered similar complaints. writing in his diary on the somme during august 1916, vaughn divulged, “it was a very different attack than what i had imagined: terror and death coming from far away seemed much more ghastly than a hail of fire from people whom we could see and with whom we could come to grips.”40 the threat of wounding prompted more panic than the threat of death. if severely mutilated, men could quickly fail in their domestic and social duties. those severely wounded lacked the prized possessions of masculinity: physical strength and the ability to control and provide. without the full use of their bodies—by missing an arm or leg or losing vision—many men could not provide for themselves or their families, maintain successful households, or protect the innocence of family members. high explosives quite literally exploded masculinity. the war, as soldiers witnessed, was unjust. what had been delineated by treaty and conference, replete with rules for conduct and equipment, dissolved into a random and violent, but confusingly stagnant war. the threat to masculinity left soldiers without the tools to understand their environment through either preconceived notions of war, or through the ways society conditioned them to act and think.41 some men took solace in religion, but others found the unforgiving nature of the battlefield incommensurable with the notion of a compassionate christian god. the clash saw many soldiers suffer intense religious doubt, yet few completely rejected the trappings of faith. most simply could not attribute causality on the battlefield to a supposedly benevolent and paternalistic deity. unable to attribute agency to either the individual or god, soldiers attempted to find new causality on the battlefield. luck came to explain the seemingly random, faceless violence around them.42 by attaching agency to luck, soldiers attempted to explain the battlefield around them. while anthropologists contend that war luck was intensely fatalistic, luck had many more facets. luck was a personal and group attribute, possibly featuring material and ritual components. at times luck took on the trappings of spiritualism, and became the universal dictator of events on the battlefield. other interpretations of luck disavowed personal causality. to some soldiers, personal agency remained strong, but luck remained a useful tool for describing events outside the control of the individual. in most instances, soldiers carried a non-categorical interpretation of luck. luck could hold all or some of these properties for individual soldiers and remained extremely dependent on the individual throughout the war.43 to some soldiers, luck was innately personal. while individuals could not control their own 39 fielding to edith fielding, france, 31 march 1918, war letters to a wife, 167. 40 edward campion vaughn, some desperate glory: the diary of a young officer, 1917 (london: frederick warner, 1982), 199. 41 joanna bourke, dismembering the male (chicago: university of chicago press, 1996), 31-31-42, 7075; jessica meyer, men of war:. 42 richard schweitzer, the cross and the trenches: religious faith and doubt among british and american great war soldiers (westport, ct: praeger, 2003), 195-99. 43 wilson, landscapes of the western front, 162-63. exposure to violence, their luck could stave off mutilation or death. personal luck could be good or bad and often remained mysterious until the individual was exposed to danger. in 1914, before departing for the frontline, m. aldrich, a british attaché at serving in france with the british expeditionary force in 1914, overheard the soldier georges, expressing the mystery of luck, saying “if i have the luck to come back—so much better.” 44 others had very exact understandings of luck. a second lieutenant wrote of his young cousin convalescing in england after a miraculous recovery from a wound, that “if he should have to go on active service again i feel that his invariable good luck will bring him through.”45 ironically, townsend did not have good luck. he died only days after recording his opinion. yet his thoughts indicate the permanency of luck perceived in some soldiers. for those who escaped repeated narrow escapes, there could be no other explanation for their uncanny survivals in a world devoid of personal agency. luck explained why particular units or soldiers suffered horrific fates and others did not. for rowland fielding, luck explained how he could survive four years but the young newcomer, sergeant major mcgrath perished. when an artillery shell killed the new sergeant major assigned to his command as soon as he reached the firing-line, captain rowland fielding, then a four year veteran of the war, described the death in a letter to his wife. he wrote, “mcgrath arrived the day after i returned from leave, and within half an hour of his reaching the firsttrench, was lying dead, a heavy trench mortar-bomb having fallen upon him and two others, and wounding two more. now is that not a case of hard luck chasing a man, when you consider how long others of us last?”46 only luck gave fielding an explanation for his own survival. through ritual and talisman, some men attempted to control or harness luck. by taking specific actions or collecting items with special sentimental attachment, soldiers attempted to reinforce their good luck and stave off injury or death. common dictates advised soldiers always to wear their helmets. soldiers might also ritually kiss their equipment, predominantly their helmet, rifle, and rank or unit insignia, before going into battle. kissing letters remained a popular pre-battle routine. successfully navigating combat after engaging in ritual reinforced this behavior. survival provided proof of actions’ luck-giving properties.47 talismans or good luck charms remained popular throughout the war. lieutenant charles murray child of the gloucester regiment carried a four-leaf clover for several days before sending it home to his family, hoping it would continue to give good luck. other soldiers collected ammunition, weapons, and shell fragments or nose caps. the behavior, as historians like joanna bourke demonstrated, became commonplace during the war. picking up good luck charms from the battlefield had an added meaning: by acknowledging the death of others, 44 m. aldrich, a hill top on the marne, being letters written between 3 june and 8 september, 1914 (boston: houghton-mifflin, 1915), 66. 45 houseman, letters of fallen englishman, 277. 46 fielding to edith fielding, curragh camp, 14 december, 1916, war letters to a wife, 83. 47 stanley spencer’s great war diary, 1915-1918: a personal account of active service on the western front, ed. terry spencer (barnsley, south yorkshire: pen & sword military, 2008), 106-07; bourke, history of killing, 29; wilson, landscapes of the western front, 152-54. soldiers in some small measure acknowledged their ability to survive, their own good luck. these talismans were physical reminders of their own survival as well as talismans intended to bring good luck.48 some soldiers took less conventional methods to acquiring good luck charms and entered the war with items intended to grant the bearer good luck. frederick palmer, an army war correspondent recalled the good luck of private charles steward, a newly arrived clerk’s son: being shot through the stomach the way he was, all the doctors agreed charlie [pvt. steward] would die. it was like charlie to disagree with them. he always has his point of view. so he is getting well. charlie came out to the war with the packing case which had been used by his grandfather, who was an officer in the crimean war. he said that would bring him luck.49 the conveyance of good luck charms to the battlefield illustrates continuities between occult luck and causal luck. therefore, while science could provide new answers for the cause of existing phenomena, war appeared to be a situation, which remained outside the ability of the individual to control. luck could also be confused with religion, acquiring the vague trappings of spiritualism. yet spiritualism it was not. while spiritualism in the war denied death, luck, in contrast, explained why some men died and others survived. soldiers experiencing religious crises coopted luck to provide similar emotional support on the battlefield. indeed, many soldiers referred to luck as an ambient force dictating events on the battlefield rather than as a personal attribute. this aspect of luck not only presented luck in semi-religious terms but also completely detached personal agency from the battlefield. the war’s denial of personal agency and causation permitted luck as an acceptable excuse.50 john jackson, a rail clerk and particularly pious infantryman in the 1/79 highlanders frequented church services—even of other denominations—and came to refer to luck as a pervasive, presiding over the battlefield. in many ways, this closely aligned with faith, complete with a sense of trust in luck and complete with personification of luck.51 coming under fire, jackson and a companion took cover. when the bombardment failed to abate, the pair “decided to rush from hole to hole one at a time and trust to luck.”52 later, johnson would put his faith in luck again. fixing wire in no man’s land, the unarmed jackson spotted several shadowy figures moving toward his position. he believed, “to try and run for it would have revealed my presence, and it seemed like asking to be shot, so i decided to stand my ground, and trust to 48 laurence houseman, ed., war letters of fallen englishmen (new york: e.p. dutton & co., 1930), 76; a month at the front (oxford: bodleian library, 2006), 46-47; joanna bourke, history of killing, 25-31, 146-47. 49 frederick palmer, my year of the great war (new york: dodd, mead,& co., 1915), 356. 50 richard schweitzer, the cross and the trenches, 212-14; winter, sites of memory, sites of mourning, 57-59. 51 john jackson, private 12768: memoir of a tommy (stroud, gl: tempus, 2004), 1-3. 52 jackson, private 12768, 131. luck.”53 in both instances, jackson remained unscathed. to the pious jackson, luck took on almost an aura of the divine. luck could spare or condemn men just as faith could, but was everpresent and demanded trust in order to work. luck could now explain shortcomings, such as forgetting equipment. while watching a group of west indians divide rations, the ruined square jackson stood in came under attack. one shell buried the west indians under a cascade of bricks, and johnson attempted to help. writing in his journal later, johnson recalled, “unluckily for me, i was not even carrying my gas-helmet, though even if i had been, it is doubtful if i should have had time to adjust it, and before i was halfway across to the niggers [west indians] a gas shell from ‘jerry’ dropped in the square, and i got enough gas to knock me down senseless.”54 by employing luck, jackson marginalized his own responsibility. his injury was certainly not his own fault. it was simply poor luck that he forgot his life-saving equipment. when houston woodward, a mechanic and ex-infantrymen, attempted to repair the inner workings of an aircraft, he used luck to divest blame from himself for the mangling of some of the machine, saying, “i never broke a machine, not even a wire. i was very anxious to keep up the record, but here was the whole appareil a wreck. nobody said anything, for it was impossible to avoid, just rotten, hard luck.”55 some things on the battlefield just occurred without causation and without blame. nevertheless, some soldiers did attribute blame. to these men, luck did not explain personal action, but rather only explained what an individual could not control. according to an officer interviewed by author henry newbolt, the soldier “noticed that many of our few casualties during these days have been due to sheer folly on the part of individuals; but to be sniped is rotten luck.”56 the anonymous officer’s interpretation of luck represented a stronger grounding in the luck popularized in middle-class culture through the latter portion of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. the solider acknowledged the existence of a meta-physical force, but limited the effects of this force to events beyond immediate personal control. for this soldier, the individual could minimize the chances of injury but in the event a man was killed or wounded, the method lay beyond personal control. through the war, luck clearly accumulated new and nuanced meanings. almost all uses of luck attempted to explain causality on the battlefield. during the war, the modern and reductionist approach to luck, clad in masculinity, remained with some soldiers. others, however, departed from the middle-class interpretation of luck as a personal product, instead using luck in a variety of ways to understand the brutality of industrialized warfare. the postwar years continued to show this wide divide. iii 53 ibid., 133. 54 ibid., 182-83. 55 houston woodward, a year for france: the war letters of houston woodward (new haven, ct: yale publishing, 1919), 177. appraeil, meaning a mechanical device in french, became a universal british term for any self-propelled war machine—tank, plane, or automobile . 56 henry newbolt, tales of the great war (london: longmans, green, & co., 1917), 23. the post-war world showed a sharp divide in the concept of luck. to many soldiers returning home, reassuming control of their civilian lives changed their interpretation of luck back to a force dictated by personal ability. while many soldiers reflected on the miraculous nature of their survival, many isolated the battlefield as a geographic and ideological unit. preparing to return home from france sometime in january, 1919, rowland fielding wrote to his wife that, with the war over, he could leave the past four years behind him, and return home to be a father to his two young girls. the impetus to leave the war behind suggested that soldiers left luck, like many other beliefs and behaviors specific to the war zone, behind in flanders.57 writers who did not experience the war appeared not to have picked up the soldier’s more nuanced conception of luck. in 1922, joseph conrad, a figure who never traversed the battlefield, discussed luck through the main character of the rescue, thomas lingard. in an epiphany considering the sea, lingard established luck as a fallacy, saying the sea “had lulled him into belief in himself, his strength, his luck – and suddenly, by its complicity in fatal accident, it had brought him face to face with a difficulty that looked like the beginning of the disaster.”58 to lingard, the sea, something truly uncontrollable, established what he believed was personal luck as a fallacy. in comparison with the realities of the world, luck had no place. for conrad, an individual’s rationality and attention to detail continued to determine luck. luck, however, provided a key continuity through the war years. while some tolerated the memory of the war stoically, others came to terms with the experience by recording their experiences. in the post-war decades, war time luck was manifested in the documentary-fiction, memoirs, and fictional works written by war survivors. these authors’ writings would immortalize wartime luck. beginning with edmund blunden’s memoir, undertones of war (1928), post-war memoirists and authors of war documentary-fiction carried an intense memory of luck. for blunden, luck lay in materiality and trophy-taking. throughout the war, blunden collected pickelhaubes, the famous pointed helmet worn by the german army during the first two years of the war. not only did these helmets signify his participation in the war—and provide convenient presents for his sweetheart—but in his own mind bestowed short periods of luck on him. trophies from the battlefield indicated survival and superiority. by surviving battle and collecting trophies, blunden established himself as the better man.59 other authors attempted to reclaim agency against the luck of the battlefield. in good-bye to all that, a literary memoir much like blunden’s undertones of war, robert graves described one soldier attempting to take advantage of luck by acquiring a “blighty,” a wound sending him back to britain to convalesce. graves described a soldier in his squad who surreptitiously raised his hand above the parapet. when no enemy shot him, the soldier then raised his arm, then 57 fielding to edith fielding, france, january 1919, war letters to a wife, 193-94. 58 josepeh conrad, the rescue: a romance of the shallows (new york: doubleday, page, & co., 1922), 127. 59 edmund blunden, the undertones of war (new york: harcourt, brace, & world, 1965), 143-44; bourke, intimate history, 4-7. shoulder. frustrated, he stood up whereupon he was promptly shot through the head. through graves’ lengthy description, he acknowledges personal qualities of luck, but also the futility of combat. graves himself resolved to tempt his luck and risk exposure to danger in order to return home. he gave up his plan when his luck appeared too poor to survive a wound.60 similarly, author and literary critic monk gibbon, a member of the irish rifles during the war, recalled a similar impetus to eliminate the bad luck of serving in the trenches. he removed his helmet and continued his duties, in defiance of popular superstition, until his commanding officer “noticed its absence and ordered me to make use of it. he probably knew what was in my thoughts. a “blighty” from one of those bullets would be as good a way out of my luck as any.”61 in the “reign of unreason,” as gibbon named the war, nothing but luck, abstract and inexact, provided a suitable explanation for the terrible and random events occurring ceaselessly about soldiers.62 the war went further, and found a home beyond the post-war memoir and documentary fiction. in j.r.r. tolkien’s fantasy trilogy, the lord of the rings, magic mimicked wartime conceptions of luck. tolkien, a lieutenant in the lancashire fusiliers during the war, experienced luck firsthand. following the war, he attributed luck with saving his life. inexplicably falling severely ill on the last day of june in 1916, tolkien was invalided to the rear the day before the somme offensive began. the next, day nearly three-quarters of his unit became casualties. the inability to explain wartime events was manifested in tolkien’s fantasy novels. unlike previous portrayals of magic popularized in the pre-war years, tolkien imagined magic as an innate force providing causality and special powers. inside tolkien’s middle-earth, events occur not but individual items imbued with unique and ambient powers—like the good luck charms from the war—but reinforced from tolkien’s own preoccupation with german and celtic folklore. magic not only explains the power of some items, including the titular ring, but also explains chance meetings and miraculous escapes from harm. through magic, tolkien integrated the conceptions of luck familiar to him from the battlefields of his youth.63 wartime luck, as tolkien’s popular fantasy trilogy shows, remained through the midtwentieth century. this luck, however, was far-removed from the luck envisioned at the turn-ofthe-century. following the failed revolutions of 1848, the rise of scientific materialism provided new causation for events previously attributed to luck. furthermore, social sciences’ incessant cataloging dissected and devalued superstition as a trait of a bygone age. the result, incorporated into schools across britain, blended with masculinity and social darwinism, and remolded luck into a function of a man’s control, diligence, proactivity, and, above all, his manliness. the first world war, particularly the emasculating experience of western front, reshaped soldier’s definitions of luck. the new understanding varied among soldiers. to some, luck was a personal attribute. others viewed luck as group attribute or an ambient force silently directing 60 robert graves, good-bye to all that, 2nd ed. (london: cassell, 1958), 93-98. 61 monk gibbon, inglorious soldier (london: hutchinson & co., 1968), 252. 62 gibbon, inglorious soldier, 2. 63 stratford caldecott, the power of the ring: the spiritual vision behind the lord of the rings (new york: cross roads, 2005), 10-12, 27-30, 110-12. events on the battlefield. while not all soldiers divorced agency from the individual, luck remained a widespread albeit variable way of explaining and ordering the random and faceless violence on the battlefield. following the war, many soldiers left the new notions of luck in the trenches, and preferred instead to reconstruct their post-war lives in the fashion resembling their pre-war lives. while authors who never set foot on the battlefield carried the turn-of-the-century definition of luck through the war, soldier-authors returning home wrote wartime luck into their memoirs and novels. these works, integrated into the british cultural mythology of the war, remain a lasting talisman of the war—for good luck or for ill. bibliography aldrich, m. a hill top on the marne, being letters written between 3 june and 8 september, 1914. boston: houghton-mifflin, 1915. bion, francis r. war memoirs, 1917-1919. edited by francesca bion. london: karnac books, 1997. blunden, edmund. undertones of war. new york: harcourt, brace, & world, 1965. bourke, joanna. dismembering the male: men’s bodies, britain, and the great war. chicago: chicago university press, 1996. ______. an intimate history of killing: face-to-face killing in twentieth-century warfare. new york: basic books, 1999. burrows, j.w. the crisis of reason: european thought, 1848-1914. new haven, ct: yale university press, 2000. caldecott, stratford. the power of the ring: the spiritual vision behind the lord of the rings. new york: cross roads, 2005. chandler, timothy j.l., and jon nauright. making men: rugby and masculine identity. portland, or: frank cass, 1996. conrad, joseph. lord jim: a romance. london: mcclure, phillips, 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programme, myth, reality. 2nd ed. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1992. hueffer, ford maddox. the soul of london: a survey of the modern city. london: alston rivers, 1905. jackson, john. private 12768: memoir of a tommy. stroud, gl: tempus, 2004. keegan, john. the first world war. new york: vintage, 1998. law, francis. a man at arms: memoirs of two world wars. london: collins, 1983. mackenzie, john m. “the imperial pioneer and the british masculine stereotype in late victorian and edwardian times.” in manliness and morality: masculinity in britain and america, 1800-1940, edited by j.a. mangan and james walvin, 176-198. manchester: manchester university press, 1987. maddock, william hurrell. studies of contemporary superstition. london: ward & downey limited, 1895. mangan, j.a. “social darwinism and upper-class education in late victorian and edwardian england.” in manliness and morality: masculinity in britain and america, 1800-1940, edited by j.a. mangan and james walvin, 135-159. manchester: manchester university press, 1987. _____. “games field and battlefield: a romantic alliance in verse and the creation of militaristic masculinity.” in making men: rugby and masculine identity, edited by timothy j.l. chandler and jon nauright, 140-57. portland, or: frank cass, 1996. _____., and james walvin, eds. manliness and morality: masculinity in britain and america, 1800-1940. manchester: manchester university press, 1987. napier, james. folk lore, or superstitious beliefs in the west of scotland within this century. paisley: alex gardener, 1879. newbolt, henry. tales of the great war. london: longmans, green, & co., 1917. palmer, frederick. my year of the great war. new york: dodd, mead, & co., 1915. royal military academy. the memorial chapel, sandhurst. sandhurst: ministry of defense/royal military academy, 1961. schweitzer, richard. the cross and the trenches: religious faith and doubt among british and american great war soldiers. westport, ct: praeger, 2003. smiles, samuel. self-help. edited by ralph lytton bower. new york: american book company, 1904. stanley spencer’s great war diary, 1915-1918: a personal account of active service on the western front. edited by terry spencer. barnsley, south yorkshire: pen & sword military, 2008. vaughn, edward campion. some desperate glory: the diary of a young officer, 1917. london: frederick warner, 1982. wilson, ross j. landscapes of the western front: materiality during the great war. new york: routledge, 2012. winters, jay m. sites of memory, sites of mourning: the great war in european cultural history. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1995. woodward, houston. a year for france: the war letters of houston woodward. new haven, ct: yale publishing, 1919. in the late 1960s, vast quantities of oil were found in extreme northern alaska along the shore of prudhoe bay, an inlet of th the political compass of the executive director of the alaska permanent fund corporation   nicholas t. palso department of human resources     according to haass (1999), to succeed in one’s professional life, one must identify the layout of the organizational landscape he or she works in so as to fully understand it.  the best way to achieve this, especially in large and complex organizations, is to create a compass that represents the relationships between different parts of the organization.  at the center of haass’ compass is the individual in question.  to the north are those whom that individual works for, that supervise and have control over him or her.  to the south are those whom work for the individual.  to the east of the center are the people with whom the center works.  they do not have direct control over the center, but they can influence and be influenced by it.  finally, to the west are the people and organizations outside of the center’s organization with whom he or she should work to improve operations.  by creating this compass, one can understand the workings of his or her organization and then use that understanding to succeed and avoid mistakes (pp. 1-7).  understanding such a compass could be useful to the executive director of the alaska permanent fund, ceo of the largest public trust fund in the democratic world. the alaska permanent fund in the late 1960s, vast quantities of oil were found in extreme northern alaska along the shore of prudhoe bay, and part of the arctic ocean.  under the newly written constitution of the state these oil deposits, like all mineral wealth, were the property of the state of alaska and its people.  in 1969, the state auctioned the leases to the land around prudhoe bay to oil companies eager to begin exploring for and extracting the oil.  this sale netted alaska over $900 million dollars in a single day—over eight times the previous year’s budget.  this gave the people of alaska and their government a picture of just how much money they could make by selling their oil.  that first $900 million was used to develop badly needed infrastructure for the state, and it was depleted in a little over a year.  although there was a consensus at the time to spend the money right away, citizens and lawmakers became upset when they realized just how quickly it had gone (apfc 2001, pp. 1-3).  they saw this instance as another chapter in the long history of boom-and-bust times in alaska.  starting with the russians in the 1740’s, “outsiders” had been coming to alaska, exploiting the resources until they ran out, and taking the money they made with them back home.  this left alaska with little money or development even after centuries of fur, fish, timber, gold, and oil extraction.  to ensure that future revenues would not be wasted in the same way, alaska’s legislature, spurred by governor jay hammond, worked to develop the alaska permanent fund (stauffer, 1999, pp. 25-28). the alaska permanent fund became functional on february 28, 1977 with an infusion of $734 million in state oil revenues.  the fund was legally formed by an amendment to the alaska state constitution voted on by the people of alaska in a november 1976 ballot proposition.  the purpose of the fund was to take at least 25% of the revenues alaska earned from oil sales and dedicate those funds to a permanent state savings plan intended to earn interest income and ensure that the money from current resource booms will last indefinitely.  the legislature also has the ability to deposit budget surpluses into the fund, which it has done on several occasions.  currently, the alaska permanent fund has assets of just over $23.1 billion, and had a peak in the late 1990’s of close to $27 billion (apfc, 2002).  no other state in the u.s. has anything like alaska’s permanent fund, and few other places in the world do.  over the years, other governments with rich oil reserves, such as venezuela and alberta, have attempted to develop funds similar to alaska’s, but these have failed largely due to the fact that they were not created to generate the maximum amount of profit from interest and because the principles of the funds were easily tapped by the governments.  alaska’s fund is protected by an amendment to the state constitution that requires the passing of another ballot proposition in order to change it.  this effectively puts the control of the fund in the hands of alaskans.  the only other government in the world that has a fund more successful than alaska is kuwait, and that is largely because that nation has far more oil than alaska and because their fund is managed by an authoritarian monarchy with absolutely no control from the people (rose, 1997, pps. 1-5).   in 1980, the alaska legislature took steps to refine the fund into its current operational shape.  at that time, alaskans debated whether the fund should be managed as a savings account or as an economic development bank to fuel business in alaska.  the legislature decided that the fund should serve as a public trust account.  at this time, the legislature also created the alaska permanent fund corporation (apfc) to manage the fund.  finally, and what most alaskans view as most important, the legislature created the permanent fund dividend program (pfd).  under the pfd, dividends from the earnings of the fund are paid out to every alaskan man, woman, and child who meets rigid residency requirements (apfc, 2002).  this, of course, instantly became an incredibly popular aspect of the permanent fund, but as will be seen later, has led to some severe problems.    the alaska permanent fund corporation the apfc is a self-described “quasi-independent state entity”.  it is insulated from short-term political decisions and is at the mercy of the legislature only in that it must have its budget approved by lawmakers annually and that constitutional amendments required to change it must be enacted by the legislature.  ultimately, the apfc is accountable to all alaskans (apfc, 2001, p. 33).  it is expressly forbidden to take any part in politics, including lobbying for ballot propositions that may affect its functioning (apfc, 1994, p. 4).  the finances, holdings, and actions of the apfc are always transparent, as the money it manages belongs to all alaskans.  the mission statement of the apfc is “to maximize the value of alaska's permanent fund through prudent long-term investment and protection of principal to produce income to benefit all generations of alaskans,” (apfc, 2001, p. 45) today, the apfc has vast holdings in domestic and international stocks, bonds, mortgages, and real estate.  the ability of the apfc to act independent of politics is further exemplified by the fact that the fund has only three of its 58 real estate holdings in alaska.  while alaskan politicians would doubtlessly love to see the fund construct malls and office buildings in their districts, bringing the double benefits of development and revenue to their constituents, the apfc has seen that large-scale investing in alaska, with its shaky resource-based economy, is not sound for long-term financial gain.  incidentally, the fund does own a development of luxury condominiums near west chester, pa (apfc, 2002).    the political compass of the executive director of the apfc the executive director (ed) is at the center of the compass.  currently, this position is held by robert storer.  the ed is the ceo of the apfc.  he is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the fund.  the duties of the ed include: provide for the execution of all operational, administrative, and financial actions of the fund act as the secretary and treasurer of the apfc by signing all contracts, deeds, and other documents as well as recording minutes at the meetings of the apfc board of trustees manage all receipts and funds of the fund safe keep all apfc instruments provide for disbursements of the funds for investments and expenses present reports to the board of trustees hire staff as needed (apfc, 1994).   ultimately, the ed is in charge of running the alaska permanent fund.     north to the direct north of the ed is the apfc board of trustees.  this is a six-member board that hires the ed and basically tells him what they want him to do in order to get the results that they want.  four of the board members are appointed by the governor to staggered four-year terms.  these members are often prominent business people or political-hopefuls who are looking to get into politics, and over the years have included the presidents of banks, owners of car dealerships, and the children of u.s. senators.  the other two board members are the alaska commissioner of revenue and one other state cabinet member of the governor’s choosing (apfc, 2001, pp 33-34).  the board of trustees, formal goals are to protect the money in the fund, maximize the fund’s long-term returns, maintain the real value of the fund and support it against inflation, and work with the legislature and the public to support the fund (apfc, 2001, p. 34).  in reality, most of this work is handed down to the ed.  few, if any, of the board members actually take an active role in working for or promoting the fund (rose 1997, p. 8).    north of the board of trustees is the alaskan governor frank murkowski.  he is in charge of appointing all the members to the board (apfc 2002).  although that is the extent of his legal power over the fund, he doubtlessly has the power as the state’s most powerful figure to persuade the members to get results he wants.  in reality, however, it seems that most alaskan governors have left the apfc alone to do its job, probably knowing that the ed and his staff have a better idea of how to run things than he does.   south to the south of the ed are the 32 employees of the apfc, all of whom are hired by him.  these are the people to whom the ed delegates the tasks of running and investing the fund.  immediately south of the ed are the chief operating officer (coo) and the chief investment officer (cio).  the coo, robert bartholomew, works closely with the ed to handle the actual mechanics and business operations of the corporation.  he supervises the director of communications, the director of information technology, the director of finance, and the administration department.  the cio, allan moore, is responsible for all investment functions of the fund.  he is the man who actually works with the fund to earn more money.  under the cio are the managers of the various types of investments, such as real estate and bonds (apfc, 2001, pp 35-36).    east to the east of the ed of the apfc are the 20 senators and 40 representatives of the alaska state legislature.  the legislature would actually probably be best situated northeast of the ed, as it does have some formal power over the apfc but also works with it on other matters.  the legislature can control the workings of the permanent fund, but only through the propositions of amendments to the state constitution.  this can be a lengthy process, as all proposed amendments must be voted on by the people of alaska (rose 1997, pp. 4-5).  it also serves to free the elected officials from any blame if things go wrong with the fund, as it is the voters who ultimately decide what action will be taken.  the fund can wield power over the legislatures, too, as bad returns and lower dividends would make constituents discontented with their politicians.  the legislature can also indirectly affect the fund by manipulating dealings with the oil companies working in the state to affect how much revenue the state earns, and ultimately, how much goes to the fund (alaska state legislature house finance committee department of natural resources, 2002).  also to the east of the apfc are the various departments of the state of alaska.  some of these have more workings with the fund than others.  for instance, the alaska department of public safety has little to do with the fund, but the department of natural resources division of oil and gas, which is in charge of oil drilling, can affect it by determining how much oil corporations can take out of the ground (state of alaska division of oil and gas, 2002).  basically, any state department that has dealings with the oil industry can affect the fund, and while the apfc is not legally allowed to lobby on behalf of itself, it does take some under-the-radar actions.  for instance, while working for the alaska department of fish and game (adf&g) in fairbanks, i noticed that the apfc was always sending up pamphlets to our offices that promoted the fund as the future of alaska and explained how important oil revenue was to its creation.  this was of no small coincidence, of course, as the adf&g was responsible for monitoring the porcupine caribou herd in the arctic national wildlife refuge and most of its employees were highly biased towards protecting the herd and stopping oil exploration in that area.  clearly, the apfc was trying to help us keep our options open.  west to the west of the ed and the apfc is one group that the fund desperately needs to work with in order to protect itself and the state—the people of the state of alaska.  after spending five long years as a student in alaska, i observed that the people of the last frontier are a unique group who love their permanent fund.  although it has only been around for 25 years, the pfd has firmly rooted itself into the collective psyche of the state and its people.  all television and radio stations interrupt their programming to announce the amount of each year’s dividend once it is revealed by the first week of october.  then, a week later when the money is direct-deposited into thousands of alaskan bank accounts, the few stores found in the state line their aisles with appliances while scores of “dividend specials” fill the newspapers, offering vacation packages that cost the exact amount of the payouts.  many alaskans view their dividend not as their portion of the sale of their collective mineral wealth but as their right as alaskans.  political candidates refer to the dividend as alaskans’ “hard earned money” and accuse their opponents of wanting to tap the fund to pay for budget gaps (ap, 2002).  except perhaps for their support of the second amendment to the u.s. constitution, alaskans generally do not feel stronger about any other political matter than keeping the pfd large.  it would be political suicide for any politician to work to lower dividends.  in a state where most of the residents show extreme distrust and loathing towards any sort of governmental power, the apfc is sacrosanct.  while the pfd program has made the alaskan people extremely happy, it could in the end lead to great problems.  currently, the alaska state budget is in horrible shape.  it relies almost solely on oil revenue for its funding, as there are no state sales or income taxes.  oil prices have dropped precipitously in the last 15 years and alaskan politicians seem reluctant to attract any sort of business other than oil (hunter and spiess, 2002).  while other governments in extremely similar geographical and economic situations to alaska, such as finland, have moved past resource-based economies to become powerhouses of high-tech communications and computers (laakso, 2002), alaska still concentrates principally on trying to expand resource exploitation.  this has resulted in a $1 billion budget shortfall (hunter & spiess, 2002).  in a state with so little for the government to take care of in the first place, this is having drastic effects.  for its immense size (one fifth of the land area of the united states is in alaska), alaska actually has less than 3000 miles of non-residential roadways (alaska dept. of transportation and public facilities, 2002).  the state government has been toying with the idea of closing some of the roads in winter to snow removal, effectively destroying the communities that depend on them.  the state government is also shutting down some of its state parks and is considering stopping restaurant inspections (cockerham, 2002).  from much personal driving experience, all but about 100 miles of those roads would be considered country highways in the lower 48, and a good quarter of them are not even paved.  the roads are not the only things that are archaic in the state, however.  from personal observation, many people have no running water in their homes and bathe infrequently, if at all.  outhouses are abundant, and street signs are often unreadable due to shot-gun attacks.  illness, alcoholism, air pollution, wide-spread forest fires, drug abuse, and domestic violence are widespread problems that can be seen on the streets, and if the weather is bad in tacoma, washington, alaskans do not get their groceries delivered on time.  many of what are considered “civilized” parts alaska are still like the wild west, yet the state is sitting on $23 billion, with over $1 billion paid out to its people each year (apfc, 2002).  the general consensus amongst alaskans is that as long as they get their money each october, they do not care what else happens.  since the alaskan people also have to vote on any constitutional amendments that affect the fund and the pfd, it is almost laughable to think that they would garnish their dividends to cover the fiscal gap and pay for things like roads or health care when they instead could use that money to buy snowmobiles, tv’s, and trips to hawaii.  as the alaska attorney general during the creation of the pfd, avrum gross, insightfully summed it up 20 years ago: “i picture alaska in the year 2020 with the streets swept with wind, holes in the road and mobs of uneducated people.  in the center of town there would be a marble temple with an alabaster statue.  the temple was the permanent fund headquarters and the statue depicted, presumably, gov. hammond.  each year the executive director of the fund would announce the dividend and the throng of people would run to the airport...,” (wohlforth, 1999).    gross probably hoped that his prediction would not be as accurate as it has proven out to be.  the ed of the apfc needs to improve the public relations aspect of the corporation to better inform the public of its mission and purpose.  the fund already does a wonderful job of detailing its holdings and operations on its website (www.apfc.org) and in pamphlets and books, yet it needs to somehow wrestle alaskans away from the idea that it exists solely to give them checks each year.  the mission of the apfc, after all, never mentions direct-deposits.  alaskans already have more than enough money to cover any budget gaps they have, they just do not want to touch it.  clearly, if the relatively young state of alaska is to remain financially viable in the future, it needs to work more closely with the vast wealth it has in its permanent fund.  the fund itself does not even have to be touched—the profits it earns each year are enough to solve all budget problems in the state.  the ed at the moment is lucky.  the fund is probably one of the few state organizations that functions very smoothly, and it is certainly the most loved.  even though the fund has lost close to $4 billion in recent months due to the recent downturn in the stock market (apfc, 2002), few people hold the apfc and its managers responsible.  if the number of harvestable moose were to drop by 15% due to extremely cold weather, it is doubtful that the adf&g would receive the same kind of support.  to ensure that alaska does not revert back to a wild, untamed frontier while sitting on a public trust that is larger than the gross domestic products of cuba or north korea, or of honduras and latvia combined (cia, 2002), the ed and the apfc will have to start working to educate alaskans on how to better use their money.  unless, of course, the ed is merely content to collect his $1,850.29 each october like everyone else.          references   alaska department of transportation and public facilities.  (2002).  alaska department of transportation and public facilities.  retieved on december 1, 2002 from http://www.dot.state.ak.us. alaska permanent fund corporation.  (1994).  alaska permanent fund corporation bylaws. juneau, alaska:alaska permanent fund corporation.  alaska permanent fund corporation.  (1999).  alaskans speak out on public policy choices:  the role of the permanent fund in alaska’s future:  the principles and interest project.  juneau, alaska:alaska permanent fund corporation.  alaska permanent fund corporation.  (2001).  an alaskan’s guide to the permanent fund. juneau, alaska:alaska permanent fund corporation.  alaska permanent fund corporation.  (2002).  alaskan permanent fund corporation.  retrieved december 1, 2002 from http://www.apfc.org.  alaska state legislature house finance committee department of natural resources.  (2002).  department of natural resources fy 03 operating budget.  retrieved december 1, 2002 from http://www.legfin.state.ak.us/budgetreports/operating/fy03/hclose/dnrsub.pdf. arctic power.  (2002).  anwr.org.  retrieved december 2, 2002 from http://anwr.org. associated press.  (2002, november 3).  old ad resurfaces in fairbanks senate race debate.  anchorage daily news.  retrieved december 7, 2002 from http://www.adn.com/election/senate/story/2071538p-2169213c.html. central intelligence agency.  (2002).  the world factbook 2002.  retrieved on december 2, 2002 from http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook. cockerham, s.  (2002, march 13).  budget cuts sting interior.  fairbanks daily news-miner p. a1.  haass, r. n. (1999).  the bureaucratic entrepreneur:  how to be effective in any unruly organization.  washington, d.c.:brookings institution press.  stauffer, t.  (1999).  alaska’s nest egg.  in in alaska permanent fund corporation.  alaskans speak out on public policy choices:  the role of the permanent fund in alaska’s future:  the principles and interest project (pps. 25-28).  juneau, alaska:alaska permanent fund corporation. hunter, d. & spiess, b.  (2002, november 6).  it’s gov. murkowski.  anchorage daily news p. a1.  laaskso, a.  (2000).  finnish industry:  a modern day cinderalla story.  retrieved december 7, 2002 from http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/teollisuus.html. rose, d. a.  (1997).  are we killing the thing we love?:  the demise of alaska’s permanent fund.  unpublished document.  alaska state library: juneau.  state of alaska division of oil and gas.  (2002).  division of oil and gas homepage.  retrieved on december 3, 2002 from http://www.dog.dnr.state.ak.us/oil. wohlforth, e.  (1999).  an analysis of the alaska humanites forum’s principles & interests permanent fund project.  in alaska permanent fund corporation.  alaskans speak out on public policy choices:  the role of the permanent fund in alaska’s future:  the principles and interest project (pps. 1-15).  juneau, alaska:alaska permanent fund corporation.                                       life in the kingdom: meal as realization of jesus’ mission life in the kingdom: meal as symbol of jesus’ mission sarah sahu theology and religious studies “why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”1 ask the pharisees. jesus replies, “those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; i have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”2 in this statement, jesus proclaims his table fellowship as vital to his own mission. by acceptance of his invitation, his guests partake in his mission, as well as the meal.3 a response to this call, then and now, requires would-be disciples to examine why jesus shared meals and with whom, what was the impact of his table fellowship, why did it become (and remain) a significant remembrance of who he was? what do the answers to these questions mean for modern discipleship? this paper shows how jesus used table fellowship, in word and deed, to symbolize the central concept of his mission, the kingdom of god, an everlasting reconciliation of god’s creation among creatures and god’s self, made possible through god’s gift of mercy and grace. in doing so, this paper takes into account particular features of jesus’ table fellowship. it examines how his contemporaries (jewish and otherwise) could have influenced jesus’ meal practice and why certain differences and commonalities may exist. it especially examines the symbolism of jesus’ table fellowship and postulates how distinctions express and fulfill jesus’ mission as expressed by him (in word and deed) in the gospels. the meal in first century palestine though many distinctions exist in jesus’ table practice, it is not unique in every aspect. for starters, the group meal was often more than an opportunity for sustenance. as james d.g. dunn puts it, “in jewish thought abraham and job were extolled as the models of hospitality, where again it was precisely the sharing 1 mk 2.16 nrsv (new revised standard version). 2 mk 2.17 nrsv. 3 james d.g. dunn, jesus remembered (grand rapids, mi: w.b. eerdmans publishers, 2003), 602. sarah sahu of food which was the expression of that hospitality.”4 joachim jeremias described it this way, “in judaism in particular, table-fellowship means fellowship before god, for the eating of a piece of broken bread by everyone who shares in the meal brings out the fact that they all share in the blessing which the master of the house has spoken over the unbroken bread.”5 table fellowship was one usual way of forming or celebrating a bond and a mutual welcoming or acceptance of guest and host.6 while table fellowship created a sense of union between guest and host, it had the potential to create (or exacerbate) boundaries between those welcomed to the meal, and those excluded. according to dunn, “table-fellowship functioned as a social boundary, indicating both who was inside the boundary and who was outside.”7 often these boundaries represented the divisions between various jewish sects. each sect emphasized, or in some cases expanded upon, particular aspects of traditional jewish practice. a brief examination of these sects and their activities during the time of jesus is vital to understanding his reactions to them and thus provides insight into the motivation behind his own mission. a brief overview of sects believed to be particularly influential and prevalent follows. sects of judaism common judaism all sects of judaism shared certain beliefs. the belief that the jewish people were members of a covenant with the one god, to whom they pledged allegiance and from whom they received blessing and protection (and punishment when due) is one example.8 as such, they were required to follow the laws given to them by god, through moses, including purity laws as well as prescriptions for dealing with “pagans.”9 thus, the first boundary is established between jews and gentiles. additional distinctions existed between practicing jews and their non-jewish 4 ibid., 601. 5 joachim jeremias, new testament theology, vol. 1: the proclamation of jesus (london: scm, 1971), 115; quoted in dunn, jesus remembered, 601; quoted in james d.g. dunn, “jesus, table-fellowship, and qumran” in jesus and the dead sea scrolls, (new york: doubleday, 1992), 254-5. 6 gillian feeley-harnik, the lord’s table: eucharist and passover in early christianity, symbol and culture (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 1981), 10 quoted in john dominic crossan, the historical jesus: the life of a mediterranean jewish peasant (san francisco: harpersanfrancisco, 1991), 341; lee edward klosinski, the meals in mark (ann arbor, mi: university microfilms international, 1988), 56-8 quoted in crossan 341. 7 dunn, jesus remembered, 602. 8 e.p. sanders, the historical figure of jesus (london: the penguin press, 1993), 34. 9 ibid., 34. 2 life in the kingdom counterparts.10 for one, the jerusalem temple was the center of worship, and jewish males (who must be circumcised) were required to worship at the temple three times per year (although those living in the diaspora usually could make only one visit per year to the temple).11 purity laws were adhered to when entering the temple (and many extended these rules to daily life) with the intent of separating “bodily processes connected most intimately with life and death” (e.g., semen, menstrual blood, etc.) and the “presence of god.”12 furthermore, jews paid the temple tax to contribute to the sacrifices made on behalf of the whole community, regardless of proximity to the temple.13 in addition, there was morning and evening prayer at home and weekly synagogue for group prayer and study.14 the sabbath was demarcated a day of rest for all those residing or visiting a jewish community.15 amongst the purity laws adhered to during daily life included dietary laws that restricted certain foods as ‘impure’ such as pork and shellfish, to name a couple.16 sanders points out that it was not laws that made jews distinctive, as all religions and cultures had laws and customs (some that even overlapped with those outlined above), but the jews religious devotion to their laws, insisting on their divine authority, resulting in their elevation above their relations with others.17 non-jewish groups living among the jews of the diaspora scoffed at the jews’ inability to assimilate by, for instance, eating pork, a food abundant throughout the mediterranean region.18 what was merely a social convention to other groups was a divine decree to the jews’.19 the sadducees while most priests adhered to and carried out the rituals required by the practices just described (perhaps with additions prescribed just for them by mosaic law), many aristocratic priests also identified themselves as sadducees.20 what little is known about the sadducees includes that they did not follow the 10 sanders 35-6. 11 ibid. 12 james h. charlesworth, “the dead sea scrolls and the historical jesus” in jesus and the dead sea scrolls (new york: doubleday, 1992), 36. 13 sanders 35-6. 14 ibid. 15 ibid. 16 ibid. 17 sanders 36-7. 18 sanders 37. 19 ibid. 20 josephus life 65f quoted in sanders 41. 3 sarah sahu prescriptions of the pharisees nor did they share their belief in resurrection.21 the sadducees are best remembered as a group who traced their heritage to the zadok (from which their name stems), a high priest from the time of solomon.22 this group composed the majority of temple leadership in the time of jesus.23 the pharisees some priests also identified themselves as pharisees24, though pharisees were primarily comprised of non-priests.25 for the most part, they did not try to force their beliefs on others.26 though the pharisees have a reputation of having been strict (thanks to the new testament), in reality, some of the changes they made to traditions eased restrictions.27 sanders gives the example of the pharisees’ suggestion that a cluster of houses (such as in a row or surrounding a court) could be defined as one house, allowing for jeremias’s restriction on carrying pots, dishes, etc. outside the house on sabbath to be bypassed, allowing families to celebrate the sabbath together more easily.28 a well-known restriction is the extension of the hand-washing purity law to before all meals, which eventually became a part of common jewish practice.29 sanders summarizes the pharisees as a group who gave serious thought to the laws, and their expertise gave them considerable popularity in the jewish community (though herod held down any political influence during jesus’ lifetime).30 it was the pharisees who are depicted in the new testament as having much to say about jesus’ table practice, which will be examined in more detail in this paper. 21 sanders 44, 47. 22 lawrence schiffman, "sadducees," encyclopedia of religion, ed. lindsay jones, vol. 12, 2nd ed. (detroit: macmillan reference usa, 2005), 8018. 23 charlesworth, “the dead sea scrolls and the historical jesus”, 36. 24 josephus, life 65f quoted in sanders 41. 25 josephus, war 2.162-6 quoted sanders 44; josephus, antiquities 18.12-15 quoted in sanders 44. 26 sanders 44. 27 ibid., 45. 28 jeremiah 17.19-27 cited in sanders 45; sanders 209-10. 29 sanders 45. 30 ibid., 45-6. 4 life in the kingdom qumranite essenes discovery of the dead sea scrolls has led to a greater understanding of the qumranites, who many scholars believe to be of the essene sect.31 the scrolls contain the documents of a group of people living in an exclusive desert community outside jericho, in qumran, from approximately the middle of the second century b.c.e. until about 68 c.e. when destroyed by the romans.32 mostly written in hebrew and aramaic, these texts were probably authored by jews alone, without any editorial involvement from non-jews.33 in fact, former priests of the jerusalem temple, likely sadducees, who either left by choice or were expelled, may have started this community.34 this group denigrated the jerusalem temple cult and the hasmoneans, referring to the high priest (probably a macabee) as “the wicked priest” and their own leader as “the righteous teacher.”35 the connection between jesus and this group is unclear. they were certainly in existence prior to and during jesus’ life and mission.36 although a main sect lived in the desert, groups sprang forth and lived throughout palestine, capable of holding much influence.37 though jesus has nothing to say in the gospels about the essenes directly, they share much in common—aside from a shared judaism, they also favor the same scriptural texts (deuteronomy, isaiah, and psalms).38 various terms were also used in common to jesus, his followers, and the essenes—one in particular (“a voice cries out: ‘in the wilderness prepare the way of the lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our god”)39 could link the essenes to john the baptist (who some say may have been an essene at some point), and in turn to jesus, john the baptist’s former disciple.40 whatever link, direct or indirect, there does seem to be some influence on jesus by the essenes, particularly in terms of a shared eschatological bent and messianic expectation.41 however, as will be seen later, there are some major differences between jesus and 31 charlesworth, foreword, xxxii, xxxiv; charlesworth, the dead sea scrolls and the historical jesus, 2-3; sanders 46. 32 charlesworth, foreword, xxxii-xxxiii. 33 ibid., xxxii. 34 ibid., xxxiii-xxxiv; charlesworth, the dead sea scrolls and the historical jesus, 2. 35 charlesworth, foreword, xxxiii-xxxiv; charlesworth, the dead sea scrolls and the historical jesus, 2. 36 charlesworth, foreword, xxxv. 37 charlesworth, the dead sea scrolls and the historical jesus, 6. 38 ibid., 7-8. 39 is 40.3 nrsv. 40 charlesworth, the dead sea scrolls and the historical jesus, 11-12. 41 ibid., 14. 5 sarah sahu the essenes, which may reflect his reaction to them and other similar sects.42 judaism of jesus the starting point just as the parties above (sadducees, pharisees, essenes) were still participants in the common form of judaism, but believed they were groups with special knowledge of god’s will, jesus, too, believed himself to be in special relationship with god.43 for jesus, however, his distinction served not to close himself off from other groups, but to open himself to others. it is important to acknowledge one of jesus’ earlier influences, john the baptist. evidence strongly suggests that jesus began as a follower of john the baptist. this evidence includes biblical references to his baptism by john: …it is most unlikely that the gospels or earlier christians invented the fact that jesus started out under john. since they wanted jesus to stand out as superior to the baptist, they would not have made up the story that jesus had been his follower. therefore, we conclude, john really did baptize jesus. this, in turn, implies that jesus agreed with john’s message: it was time to repent in view of the coming wrath and redemption.44 there seems to be, throughout the gospels, a labored attempt at obscuring the connection between john and jesus, or at forcibly subverting john’s role (e.g., explaining jesus’ baptism ‘of repentance,’45 purporting that jesus never baptized and furthermore that jesus’ disciples baptized more than john’s did46). despite these attempts by the authors to cloud the influence john’s mission had on jesus’, some reverence on jesus’ part emerges in passages like mt 11.11: “truly i tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than john the baptist.”47 dunn makes the point that the gospels frequently “’locate jesus by reference to john,”48 further giving the impression that john the baptist played an influential role in jesus’ mission.49 42 ibid., 37-40; see sanders 46 for counter argument-he does not believe that the essenes had a major impact on jesus. 43 sanders 48. 44 sanders 94. 45 mk 1.4, mt 3.14-5 quoted in dunn, jesus remembered, 351. 46 jn 1.35-42, 3.26; 4.1 quoted in dunn, jesus remembered, 351. 47 sobrino 73. 48 dunn, jesus remembered, 353. 49 sobrino 73. 6 life in the kingdom jesus and john shared a passion for the impending arrival of the kingdom of god. divergence occurs between them largely in emphasis. a sort of inclusion despite repentance marked jesus’ mission: “did he hope that they [the ‘wicked’] would change their ways? probably, he did. however ‘change now or be destroyed’ was not his message, it was john’s. jesus’ was, ‘god loves you.’”50 one example of this divergence manifests in their signature rituals. john’s baptism (perhaps developed after the qumranite ritual baths) displayed his emphasis on repentance and reform.51 sobrino captures the divergence between john the baptist and jesus best: “like john the baptist, jesus recognized the sinfulness of human beings and required all to be converted, but unlike the baptist, he stressed that the coming of the kingdom is grace rather than judgment.”52 before the meal: jesus’ early asceticism before discussing jesus’ meal practices, it is important to note that the first act of jesus after his baptism is his retreat to the desert to pray and fast, marking his commissioning, or call by god to his mission.53 this action seems in stark contrast to the portrait of jesus found in the latter part of the gospels, considered by some to be a “glutton.”54 the probability of jesus praying and fasting from time to time is likely as sanders points out, 55 however it is striking that it is not recounted in other gospel memories of him and in some cases, he is accused of not fasting. one can speculate that jesus may have initially foreseen for himself a mission modeled exactly as that of john the baptist where he would wear “clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist,” emulating john’s ascetic lifestyle.56 could a reaction to john’s mission motivate jesus to reform his own to one more reconciled with his experience of god as abba? perhaps jesus hoped to build upon john’s mission, as john may have built upon a previous mission. if john the baptist was in fact a former essene, it seems probable that his own mission was an evolution of something prior—something that valued a rightly ordered life, yet was still too closed. jesus could very well have sought to integrate openness by way of the meal practice that he found in his own experience which he found to be lacking within the mission he inherited from john the baptist. the origin of jesus’ motivation can only be speculative, but his resulting mission 50 sanders 233. 51 dunn, jesus remembered, 357. 52 sobrino 96. 53 see mk 1.12f, mt 4.1-11, and lk 4.1-13 quoted in sanders 112. 54 mt 11.19 nrsv and lk 7.34 nrsv quoted in dunn, jesus remembered, 599. 55 sanders 112. 56 mt 3.4. 7 sarah sahu makes significant changes to the meal practice of his contemporaries. tax collectors and sinners the first example of jesus’ table fellowship in the synoptic gospels is jesus’ meal with levi, the tax collector.57 the pharisees inquired why jesus ate with “tax-collectors and sinners.”58 who, precisely, are the tax collectors and sinners? as sanders explains it, ‘sinners’ is how greek-speaking jews translated ‘wicked’ meaning people who transgressed the law, as well as people who were outside the law: “the word ‘sinners’ in jewish greek could refer to gentiles (who by definition did not observe the jewish law) or to truly wicked jews.”59 to sanders, the ‘sinners’ jesus associated with were ‘wicked’ and this is in reference to tax collectors60, and that the problem was that jesus did not require their repentance to continue association with him.61 dunn, however, offers a compelling argument against sanders, acknowledging the factional use of the term ‘sinner’ at work in jesus’ time.62 because of the sectarianism and diversity of interpretation of jewish law (examples of some sects were given previously), the identification of the ‘wicked’ as sanders uses the term, is not an exact science.63 for example, to an essene, anyone not associated with them was considered to be ‘wicked,’ even other so-called law-abiding jews.64 in effect, ‘sinner’ could only be defined from the standpoint of the ‘righteous,’65 or in other words, ‘outsider’ was defined from the standpoint of the ‘insider.’ the interpretation of ‘sinner’ as a factional term clarifies the meaning of jesus’ table fellowship in terms of his association with other undesirable groups, such as the disabled, women or even more socially acceptable people (such as the pharisees).66 this sheds light on jesus’ purposeful association with the marginalized,67 the margin depending on the ‘insider’ perspective from which a person stands. as sobrino puts it, “jesus attaches great importance to the presence at the table of those whom the anti-kingdom habitually keeps from it. so he sits at 57 mk 2.13-17; mt 9.9-13; lk 5.27-32. 58 mt 9.11; mk 2.16; lk 5.30; charlesworth, dead sea scrolls and historical jesus, 23; dunn, jesus remembered, 600; sobrino 103-4. 59 sanders 227. 60 ibid., 227-229. 61 ibid., 230-1. 62 dunn, jesus remembered, 529; dunn, “jesus, table-fellowship, and qumran,” 259-60. 63 dunn, jesus remembered, 529. 64 sanders 227-9. 65 dunn, jesus remembered, 531. 66 sanders 126. 67 sobrino 103. 8 life in the kingdom the table with publicans, with sinners and prostitutes. his parables stress that in the kingdom those who are never invited will partake of the banquet: ‘the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame’ (luke 14:21), people from the streets, ‘both good and bad’ (matt. 22:1-10).”68 sobrino’s interpretation provides the insight that not only did jesus’ table fellowship breakdown the boundaries between insiders and outsiders of his time, but all times: “jesus’ meals are not only celebrative signs, but also liberative ones: those who for centuries have been prevented from eating together can now eat together. this is why jesus eats with the poor and despised.”69 the consequences eating with sinners was something that “seems to have been a genuine offence: something he actually did that really offended people.”70 the reason for the offense probably relates to jesus’ hallmark emphasis on “mercy and not sacrifice.”71 the point was not necessarily that jesus came into contact with sinners, but that he did not demand their repentance or atonement in order to continue their association with him, and this could be perceived as a sanctioning of their behaviors.72 crossan refers to this as “open commensuality” and its radicality lies in his contemporaries’ conception of him as “having no honor” by making “no appropriate distinctions and discriminations.”73 sanders believes that jesus placed a higher regard for allegiance to his mission over that of allegiance to orthodox jewish practice in a sense, that jesus believed he and his followers were above the law as “god’s elect.”74 jesus’ conception of purity was one that held mercy as the criterion that should guide interpretation of tradition.75 why the meal? the existing importance of the meal in first century palestinian culture as communal, bond-strengthening events for guests and hosts provided the perfect vehicle for jesus to express his central message of the kingdom of god in a way 68 ibid. 69 ibid. 70 sanders 226. 71 hos. 6.6 nrsv; mt 12.7 nrsv. 72 sanders 204. 73 crossan 262. 74 sanders 235, 237. 75 ibid., 204 (sanders discusses jesus’ concept of ‘perfection’ as mercifulness, in emulation of god). 9 sarah sahu understandable to all levels of socio-cultural society.76 his preaching complements his use of the meal in praxis, and a prime example of this is luke 14:7-24, the “parable of the great dinner.” here jesus says, “when you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. but when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”77 these words are actualized in jesus’ daily meal practice, realizing what he preached about the kingdom, in regards to who was included.78 any divergence from customary table fellowship on jesus’ part had the potential to transform minds and hearts or to offend them.79 jesus’ table fellowship was marked by an openness that was distinctive among the table practice of his contemporaries, and it is highly probable that these divergences were intended by jesus as catalyst for transformation. “unlike both pharisees and qumranites, table-fellowship was not fenced around to mark off the insiders from the outsiders. there was no purity barrier to be surmounted before one could enjoy jesus’ company and listen to him”80 qumran essenes were very exclusive, to the point of excluding not only the ritually impure, but anyone with particular disabilities or imperfections in their eyes.81 dunn notes that for the most part, the pharisees’ complaints against jesus were concerned with his meal practice, such as “eating with the religiously unacceptable (n. 255), feasting rather than fasting (mark 2.18 pars.), plucking grain (mark 2.23-24 pars.), and eating with defiled (= unwashed) hands (mark 7.5/matt. 15.2).”82 the boundaries that these groups constructed were meant to protect what they conceived as “israel’s special status before yahweh,” probably as an act of loyalty to the covenant. 83 jesus’ own practice was in stark contrast to this, obliterating such boundaries: “holiness for jesus, we might say, was not a negative, excluding force, but a positive, including force.”84 jesus’ use of the meal to redefine the boundaries in favor of widening them was a reversal of expectations, a reaction against the expected. 76 sanders 185-6 (sanders points out how jesus compares the kingdom of god to a banquet). 77 lk 14:12-14 nrsv. 78 ibid. 79 dunn, jesus remembered, 602. 80 dunn, jesus remembered, 605-6. 81 charlesworth, “the dead sea scrolls and the historical jesus,” 23; dunn, jesus remembered, 602-3. 82 dunn, jesus remembered, 600. 83 ibid., 602, 605. 84 ibid., 602. 10 life in the kingdom “where is my guest room where i may eat the passover with my disciples?”85 for many christians, jesus continues to dine with them, his modern-day disciples, through the eucharistic meal. table fellowship was so key to his mission and personality that “jesus’ action as host, in blessing the bread and breaking it, had become a familiar act by which he could be recognized.”86 the early christians continued this tradition, “that shared meals were a feature of the earliest jerusalem community from the first (according to luke) presumably implies that this practice was a carry-over from their time with jesus.”87 how can christians continue to experience the impact of jesus’ message as it affected the disciples of his lifetime? one way is to share in jesus’ concern for those outside conventional boundaries: “the ideal of the kingdom which he promoted was one more motivated by concern for others in their various disabilities, a community marked more by such mutual concern than by the law strictly interpreted and rigorously enforced.”88 this challenge is no easier for modern day believers than it was for jesus’ contemporaries, as the genocides and wars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries bear witness to how human beings struggle to overcome the ever-emerging systems of individuals divided into insiders or outsiders. the implications of jesus’ open attitude eventually caused offense to the point of his crucifixion by his fellow human beings. jesus expresses the implications of a closed attitude best in terms of ‘insiders’ who cannot be joyful at the inclusion of the ‘outsiders’: “if god’s joy and the joy of little ones cannot move their hearts of stone, they will never have hearts of flesh and will have understood nothing of the kingdom of god.”89 an encounter with jesus was an encounter with compassion, and not merely a passive sympathy, but one that motivated him to draw the other into himself.90 mercy led to action, which in the context of table fellowship meant an invitation. sobrino describes jesus’ approach as a “forgiveness-welcome.”91 conspicuously absent from jesus’ encounters with sinners is an emphasis on an explicit act of forgiving: “in many account, jesus appears with sinners...in virtually all these passages there is no mention of jesus forgiving sins; they are a 85 mk 14.14 nrsv. 86 dunn, jesus remembered, 600, 605. 87 ibid., 600. 88 dunn, jesus remembered, 604-5. 89 sobrino 104. 90 ibid., 90-1. 91 ibid., 97. 11 sarah sahu direct demonstration of his tender and affectionate ‘welcome’ to sinners.”92 this is in part due to jesus’ recognition that the identification of ‘sinners’ was subject to the self-defined ‘righteous’—in reality all human beings fall into different categories of sin: “on the one hand, there is the type of sinner whom, in presentday language, we would call ‘oppressor.’ their basic sin consists in oppressing, placing intolerable burdens on others, acting unjustly and so on. on the other hand, there are those who sin ‘from weakness’ or those ‘legally considered sinners’ according to the dominant religious view.”93 in any case, all types of sinners (and thus all human beings) are in need of conversion, and jesus, through his words and actions shows that this is not possible through coercion (through guilt, shame, or rejection), but through grace: “when a sinner is converted, it is god’s goodness and mercy that moves the sinner to change.”94 to sobrino, the meal is jesus’ symbol of “the coming of the kingdom and of the realization of his ideals: liberation, peace, universal communion.” 95 god’s joy lies in the “communion of the whole human race” 96 this unification is a sort of transformation of creation, an overcoming of evil by mercy, compassion, or love. sobrino characterizes this conquering of evil as liberation: “jesus’ gesture of friendship, the fundamentally human sign of ‘coming close,’ is what liberates, because in himself, jesus overcomes separation and opposition.”97 this transformation of creation, or realization of god’s kingdom, can only take place through praxis of openness and mercy, not abandonment and rejection.98 conclusion jesus’ table fellowship was a symbol of the kingdom of god that he preached. his open fellowship was symbolic of the joyous union that god intends for his creation, and demonstrated the praxis by which the realization of the kingdom can be fulfilled—through the mercy and grace of god shared with creation. through the meal, jesus broke through the boundaries constructed by his socio-cultural society, and even in the hearts of the ‘sinners,’ proclaiming a kingdom whose arrival should not be dreaded through fear of chastisement, but through welcome 92 ibid., 96 (sobrino points out that the passages where jesus ‘grants’ forgiveness such as in mk 2.10 and lk 7.48 are redactional, and that “from a historical point of view” it is more accurate to say that jesus himself welcomes than forgives). 93 sobrino 96. 94 ibid., 76-7, 97. 95 ibid., 103. 96 ibid. 97 ibid., 98. 98 ibid., 71. 12 life in the kingdom and in hope of transformation. modern day disciples are called to continue this open fellowship—to do otherwise would be an act against hope, and thus contrary to jesus’ own actions and teachings.99 his dinner guests may continue to respond throughout the ages to jesus’ invitation, “blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of god!” 100 99 sobrino 71. 100 lk 14.15 nrsv quoted in sobrino 103. 13 sarah sahu works cited charlesworth, james h. “foreword” in jesus and the dead sea scrolls. new york: doubleday, 1992. xxxi-xxxvii. __________________. “the dead sea scrolls and the historical jesus” in jesus and the dead sea scrolls. new york: doubleday, 1992. 1-74. crossan, john dominic. the historical jesus: the life of a mediterranean jewish peasant. san francisco: harpersanfrancisco, 1991. dunn, james d. g. jesus remembered. grand rapids, mi: w.b. eerdmans publishers, 2003. __________________. “jesus, table-fellowship, and qumran” in jesus and the dead sea scrolls. new york: doubleday, 1992. 254-272. feeley-harnik, gillian. the lord’s table: eucharist and passover in early christianity, symbol and culture. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 1981; quoted in crossan, john dominic. the historical jesus: the life of a mediterranean jewish peasant. san francisco: harpersanfrancisco, 1991. jeremias, joachim. new testament theology. vol. 1: the proclamation of jesus. london: scm, 1971; quoted in dunn, james d. g. jesus remembered. grand rapids, mi: w.b. eerdmans publishers, 2003. klosinski, lee edward. the meals in mark. ann arbor, mi: university microfilms international, 1988; quoted in crossan, john dominic. the historical jesus: the life of a mediterranean jewish peasant. san francisco: harpersanfrancisco, 1991. sanders, e.p. the historical figure of jesus. london: the penguin press, 1993. 14 life in the kingdom schiffman, lawrence. "sadducees.” encyclopedia of religion. ed. lindsay jones. vol. 12. 2nd ed. detroit: macmillan reference usa, 2005. 8017-8019. 15 vols. gale virtual reference library. thomson gale. villanova university library (palci). 26 jan. 2007 <http://find.galegroup.com.ps2.villanova.edu/gvrl/infomark.do?&contentset=e bks&type=retrieve&tabid=t002&prodid=gvrl&docid=cx3424502698&ei sbn=0-02-865997-x&source=gale&usergroupname=vill_main&version=1.0>. sobrino, jon. jesus the liberator: a historical-theological reading of jesus of nazareth. maryknoll, n.y: orbis books, 1993. 15 life in the kingdom: meal as symbol of jesus’ mission microsoft word morgan_final concept 2023 manuscript (1) 1 let’s get real: the value of realistic job previews in recruitment strategy kelly o. morgan human resource development introduction the current state of the great resignation (u.s. bureau of labor statistics, 2022) and “quiet quitting” (formica & sfodera, 2022) is forcing organizations re-evaluate how they seek and retain top talent. realistic job previews (rjps) are relevant to organizational strategy as it relates to recruitment, specifically in job retention, job turnover, and job satisfaction. rjps are typically used in the recruitment process to allow the candidate to gauge their personorganization (p-o) fit within the group the candidate is interviewing with. there are several modalities of realistic job previews that an organization may present during the recruitment process. five groups of rjps will be explored: oral and written, video, animated simulation, in-person, and self-assessment. a comprehensive background of realistic job previews is provided starting with breaugh (1983); a study in which overall effectiveness of the rjp is evaluated. in these sections, there will be connections drawn to three industrial-organizational psychology theories: organizational honesty, self-selection, and signaling theory. conclusion includes discussion of challenges and benefits across the five rjp deliveries, and suggestions are provided for organizational leaders to consider when assessing recruitment strategies. realistic job previews (rjps) the following sub-sections are to define what realistic job previews are, as well as provide landmark studies to illustrate their background. different types of rjps and their respective benefits are presented. 2 definitions & history there are three measurements of focus heavily observed surrounding rjps: job retention, job turnover, and job satisfaction. job retention is defined by singh (2019) as the ability to keep employees for a longer period of time. job turnover is defined by mobley (1982) as when an employee willingly separates themselves from employment and their responsibilities. it may appear as though there is some redundancy between job retention and job turnover. though one may believe the percentage of employees who leave an organization naturally coincide with the percentage of employees who stay at an organization, this is not always the case. the calculation of job retention does not include new hires and are typically calculated spanning over a longer period than job turnover is. similarly, many organizations do not include involuntary turnover, such as reductions in force (rifs), when calculating overall turnover. therefore, job retention and job turnover are not used interchangeably. lastly, job satisfaction is the sense of fulfillment an employee gains from their job (ali & anwar, 2021). the united states office of personnel management (u.s. opm) defines realistic job previews as “a recruiting tool used to communicate both the good and bad aspects of a job. essentially, it is used to provide a prospective employee a realistic view of what the job entails” (2021). examples of rjps include a text brochure that details aspects of a job, or an employee testimonial video on a company’s jobs website. realistic job previews could also include interactive digital work simulations, such as an immersive game candidates could play prior to the interview stage. realistic job previews have been recognized as one of the most efficient predictors an organization may use in their recruitment process by the society for industrial and organizational psychology (siop), as the group notes their specific worth when considering process design of selection systems (siop, 2022). 3 since initial studies researching their value in the 1980s, rjps have correlated with increase in job retention, decrease in job turnover, increase in the rate at which a candidate selfselects out of job consideration, and increase in job satisfaction while in the role (suszko & breaugh, 1986; phillips, 1998; earnest et al. 2011; latheef, 2021). prior studies on rjps have used mid-career level job applicants as subjects, and only test one of the several aforementioned performance measurements. however, the versatility of rjps’ has been examined within recent years in novel ideas, such as if rjp success hinges on the industry in which it is deployed (ellis et al., 2017), or if timing and/ or framing of the rjp in the recruitment process is significant (ward & luong, 2016). foundations of realistic job previews james a. breaugh contributed to two of the first landmark publications that examined realistic job previews. it can be argued that these two studies gave rjps it’s lift-off into business implementation as organizations were now able to put a name the practice. breaugh’s original work deduced that the effectiveness of rjps were inconsistent. additionally, it has been hypothesized that self-selection is only apparent in subjects when the candidates’ expectations of a job were too high (baur et al., 2014; breaugh, 1983). after acknowledging that experimentation may have been conducted in environments where rjps never had a chance to be effective in the first place, he partnered with suszko (1986) to conduct further research. twenty-eight candidates were considered for an inventory job in which both written and oral rjps were distributed during the recruitment process. this small study showed that rjps positively impact self-selection during pre-employment. in addition, it also showed a positive relationship with job retention, job satisfaction, and job demand coping while employed. written and oral rjps were then considered the traditional form of rjp. 4 modalities of delivery an essential decision hr professionals make when they consider implementing a rjp into their recruiting processes is the method of distribution in which the candidates will receive it. realistic job previews are generally presented in a written, oral, animated simulation, or inperson format. the content of the rjp includes the good, bad, and ugly aspects of job responsibilities and day-to-day tasks. this benefits the candidate as it allows them to engage in self-selection; the theory that candidates choose to withdraw themselves from consideration of a job after determining that they would not fit in the organization. this is an example of personorganization (p-o) fit (premack & wanous, 1985). rjps, in theory, influence job retention, job turnover, and job satisfaction. the war on talent continues to be a pain point for many organizations, business leaders, and hr professionals. as the unemployment rate in the united states continues to trend down (u.s. bureau of labor statistics, 2021), difficulties in attracting and retaining talent are trending up. attracting talent poses as an especially difficult hurdle as what job seekers value in a job and in an organization continually develop as new generations are introduced to the workforce (kalleberg & marsden, 2019). thus, it is advantageous for organizations to implement realistic job previews that yield the most efficacy while actively engaging candidates through their evolving desires. modern rjps the following sub-sections will delve into various forms that rjps can take shape in. the traditional assumption of rjps is disclosed, and more recent adaptations of the concept are assessed. each model’s effectiveness is also highlighted. oral and written suszko & breaugh (1986) established oral and written rjps have been conventionally 5 known as the original form of realistic job previews. examples of such modality include brochures or pamphlets (written), or something as simple as spoken expectations during an interview (oral). seeing as they have been the more heavily researched modality of rjp, earnest et al. (2011) conducted a meta-analysis of 52 studies to streamline a breadth of written and oral data collected since suszko & breaugh’s (1986) study. organizational honesty was identified in both studies as being of high value to the candidate when considering their p-o fit with the organization in the process of self-selection (premack & wanous, 1985). the oral and written rjp were also found to be most effective when administered post-hire as it showcases organizational honesty via signaling theory (earnest et al., 2011). information signaling happens through seemingly subliminal communication as organizations try to attract talent during the recruitment process (rynes, 1991). using earnest et al. (2011) as an example, candidates view organizational honesty as a by-product of the utilization of the rjps. videos rjps taking the form of videos have gained popularity in the 21st century. corporate career websites and landing pages (such as a company’s linkedin page) often utilize testimonial rjps of current employees to draw in a candidate even more if they were considering applying. it is also important to note that the cost of video rjps, especially when employed in this manner, are marginal compared to the price the organization would pay for the cost of turnover (torres et al., 2021). video rjps became even more popular after the covid-19 pandemic. when travel restrictions and a global outbreak prevented organizations from bringing candidates physically on-site for interviews, many organizations relied heavily on video rjps to replace the in-person splendor, such as a facility tour. however, while video 6 rjps successfully show a candidate what a day in the life looks like, it is vital to the recruitment process that the organization-oriented components are not lost (smith et al., 2016). just as an efficient rjp demonstrates the good, bad, and ugly aspects of the job, the rjp also gains value when the role is examined from an individual level as well as an organizational level. in contrast, latheef et al. (2021) observed how video rjps gauged “readiness” for students to transition to their new roles as online learners as class instruction moved to a virtual environment during the covid-19 pandemic. the study also compared selfassessment rjps to videos rjps, but the effectiveness of self-assessments will be reviewed during the later subsection titled “self-assessment”. after 146 participants received both modalities of rjp, video rjps were found to be significantly more engaging than the selfassessment. videos provided better information of expectations, clearer expectations of basic skills needed to work in the role, and ease of use (latheef et al., 2021). additionally, a majority (70%) of participants indicated that they would prefer “both” rjp modalities presented in the study if given the option. this was primarily due to both demonstrating organizational honesty. thus, there was no significant finding in this study that video rjps were ultimately more successful than self-assessments, but rather videos scoring higher in different components of overall satisfaction that self-assessments could not meet. animated simulation the use of realistic job previews is beneficial regardless of the recruitment stage it is deployed in. animated simulations are typically used less due to the higher production costs (richardson et al., 2021). however, they can be distributed to candidates at any stage in the recruitment process. for example, rolls-royce gives candidates their animated simulation rjp 7 immediately following the submission of your application. their philosophy is that the candidate’s brain will be primed with a real-life example of a typical day during the interview stage. similarly, the candidate has a sense of understanding for the hiring team's required competencies. this utilization of the rjp is not exclusively beneficial to the candidate, though. the organization may then analyze the applicant’s score on the simulation rjp and determine whether they would like to proceed with the candidate further. klassen et al. (2021) directs focus to the stage of attracting talent as they provided an animated simulation rjp to 111 students studying stem fields with no prior identified interest in a teaching career. the simulation provided real-life conditions in which the students had to respond in open-ended text. then, they were provided with real-time feedback from current teachers on how they would respond to the circumstance. although there is admittedly a lack in studies observing animated simulation rjps, a significant, positive correlation was established as those who received the rjp expressed increased interest in one day pursing a stem teaching career (klassen et al., 2021). in-person in-person rjps have been traditionally considered to be a simple “briefing” of sorts, typically taking place in an interview. perhaps they may even take a group format if a hiring manager designates an allotted amount of time where candidates can ask them general questions about the role. the traditional in-person modality is challenged by srivastava et al. (2019) as the concept of internships are explored. internships are considered a form of inperson rjp because of the prolonged exposure an intern and an organization have with one another. several organizations regardless of size or organizational function offer internship 8 programs at a minimum of once a year to college and university students. the program itself benefits the organization, but the value grows significantly when leaders begin to adapt the idea that internships could be viewed as rjps (srivastava et al., 2019). the findings indicated that while internship programs benefit both the intern and the organization, the significance of the impact hinges on the quality of information being shared. srivastava et al. (2019) suggests that higher information quality come from the managerial level as it would not only benefit the intern directly, but allow the organization to invest in their employability as well. the value in-person rjps hold of being mutually beneficial is shared with the potential of animated simulation rjps, with both contingent on how they are deployed. self-assessment as referenced earlier, this sub-section is to function as an extended analysis of self assessment rjps employed in latheef et al., (2021). the specific benefits of self-assessment were noted as helping soon-to-be online learners identify their areas of improvement, determining if online learning was right for the student, and improving students’ performance. however, these were identified as they compared to the study’s use of the video rjps. while most of the participants signaled that they would prefer “both” rjp modalities presented in the study, the self-assessment rjp could not stand alone in distribution to candidates as a video rjp could. the video was engaging and provided the expectations of what skills are needed to succeed in a virtual learning environment. without the video rjp’s preface, the selfassessment would simply be completed in the student’s own self-speculation. the student’s “realistic job preview” is based solely on how they think they are ready for online classes with no scenario to compare it to. therefore, the self-assessment rjp holds little to no value if not supplemented with another rjp modality. 9 discussion the following section is intended to examine the specific challenges and benefits presented by realistic job previews as they were offered. positive and negative commonalities are drawn between the five different rjps discussed. finally, the three industrial-organizational psychology theories mentioned throughout the different rjp delivery methods are categorized as a challenge or benefit. challenges to effective rjps as realistic job previews began to be studied more heavily, it was originally believed that there was no significant difference in applicant experience with or without the use of rjps (breaugh, 1983). however, it is vital that study setting be held in mind when evaluating results, as the setting could skew a participants’ experience of the rjp (earnest et al. 2011). whether the study is performed in a lab or in the field (especially a field that has previously lacked rjp research) contributes to how the participants are influenced by the rjp’s efficiency (latheef et al., 2021). applicant expectations also contribute to the effectiveness of rjps. when expectations are unrealistically high, rjps ground the candidate by indicating the actual day-to-day tasks. rjps lead to reduced job turnover and increased job satisfaction (earnest et al., 2011). however, rjps used exclusively in the attraction stage of recruiting may support the opposite outcome: higher job turnover and lower job satisfaction (klassen et al., 2021). signaling theory lends itself to serve as yet another hurdle that organizations face in the pursuit of attracting talent. what does an organization say about themselves when their job site only includes pictures of white men and women? though the casting for the site media may not have been intentionally excluding those of other races, ethnicities, genders, 10 disabilities, etc., the site presents to potential applicants as not being inclusive of all identities. if signaling theory principles are not intentionally aligned with an organization’s values, then the lack of attention has the potential to drive candidates away from an organization instead of towards it. lastly, quality of information provided during the rjp hinges on the overall success of the rjp use. this was specifically referenced as posing to be a challenge during in-person rjp models, but one may argue that the same significance is shared with the use of animated simulation rjps. in this case, perhaps the quality of information presented in a rjp, and the rjp’s ability to be mutually beneficial to both an organization and a candidate may positively correlate. while quality of information poses as a greater challenge during in-person and simulation rjps, it is not only limited to these two methods. benefits of rjp models the five rjp methods explored were all able to produce at least one benefit that is unique to their modality. oral and written rjps flourish most, even when presented in the post-hire stages of recruiting. video rjps are cost-effective and easy to distribute. similarly, animated simulations are also easy to distribute (both in reach and in agility across all stages of recruiting) while simultaneously being beneficial to both employer and candidate. animated simulations share the mutual benefit factor with in-person rjps as well. selfassessment, while not very effective on its own, is able to supplement another rjp delivery method to strengthen the recruitment process overall. the general use of realistic job previews offers a safe platform for any applicant or candidate to self-select out of the process at any time. the use of rjps promotes an honest environment for not only the organization, but for the applicants as well. if the potential role 11 does not match their perceptions, then they may withdraw from consideration. this saves both the organization and the candidate time and money. even if the candidate chooses to keep being considered, the organization may then benefit from the longevity that employee will have in the role they are hired for, and in the organization entirely. self-selection theory is a long-term benefit of realistic job previews. suszko & breaugh (1986) was the first rjp study to identify organizational honesty as being significant to job applicants. organizational honesty continues to be a trait of employers that job seekers hold in high value. earnest et al. (2011) noted that “perceptions of honesty play a far more important role in understanding the effects of rjps than previously realized” (p. 887). data from meta-analyses since have supported the organizational honesty theory via an observed trend in which organizational honesty presence is significant in mechanisms that support a negative correlation between use of rjps and turnover (earnest et al., 2011). even if a study’s participants lacked a sense of organizational honesty from the environment, it was certainly provided in feedback that honesty of organizational struggles would make for a more effective rjp (smith et al., 2016). latheef et al. (2021) also observed that the participants sensed higher organizational honesty in the students’ academic institution after they received the video rjps. conclusion realistic job previews that are narrow in job scope deter candidates from proceeding further in the recruitment process. rjps’ great details are a large attribute to what makes them successful in recruitment. thus, implementing an individual-oriented perspective as well as an organizational-perspective gives candidates a better sense of their own p-o fit within the organization (smith et al., 2016). candidates also have a higher likelihood of self12 selecting out of a role’s consideration if they no longer think the job is right for them. realistic job previews are relevant to organizational strategy as it pertains to job retention, job turnover, and job satisfaction. organizations who have employed rjps into their recruitment process have been perceived to be more honest to their applicants and have a higher likelihood to benefit from the aforementioned aspects of recruitment that rjps can influence. supplementing organizational honesty even further using factors outside of rjps can be of additional advantage to the organization as well. realistic job previews project organizational honesty to candidates and constitute a strong recruitment strategy for corporations. 13 references ali, b. j., & anwar, g. (2021). an empirical study of employees’ motivation and its influence job satisfaction. international journal of engineering, business and management, 5(2), 21-30. baur, j. e., buckley, m. r., bagdasarov, z., & dharmasiri, a. s. (2014). a historical approach to realistic job previews: an exploration into their origins, evolution, and recommendations for the future. journal of management history, 20(2), 200-223. breaugh, j. a. (1983). realistic job previews: a critical appraisal and future research directions. academy of management review, 8, 612-619. earnest, d. r., allen, d. g., & landis, r. s. (2011). mechanisms linking realistic job previews with turnover: a meta-analytic path analysis. personnel psychology, 64(4), 865-897. ellis, c., skidmore, s. t., & combs, j. p. (2017). the hiring process matters: the role of personjob and person-organization fit in teacher satisfaction. education administration quarterly, 53(3), 448–474. formica, s., & sfodera, f. 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(2016). effects of framing and timing of realistic job previews. university of minnesota. u.s. bureau of labor statistics (2021). news release: the employment situation. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf. u.s. bureau of labor statistics (2022). economic news release: table 4. quits levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t04.htm u.s. office of personnel management. (2021). policy, data, oversight assessment & selection. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/otherassessment methods/realistic-job-previews/. “come unto me, ye who are weary and overburdened, and i will give you rest building the black zion: the role of black churches in creating philadelphia’s free black community, 1787-1820 brian j. terpak history “come unto me, ye who are weary and overburdened, and i will give you rest.” matthew 11:28 richard allen was in the wrong place. on this particular fall day in 1792 1 as he and other black parishioners filed into st. george‟s methodist church in philadelphia, the white elders informed the black worshippers that instead of taking up their normal pews, they would have to remove themselves to the newly built gallery. before the black congregation had time to comply, the service began. allen recounted the details of the event: we expected to take the seats over the ones we formerly occupied below, not knowing any better. we took those seats; [the] meeting had begun, and they were nearly done singing, and just as we got to the seats, the elder said, “let us pray.” we had not been long upon our knees before i heard considerable scuffling and loud talking. i raised my head up and saw one of the trustees, h_____m____, having hold of the rev. absalom jones, pulling him off his knees, and saying, “you must get up, you must not kneel here.” mr. jones replied, “wait until prayer is over, and i will get up, and trouble you no more.” with that he beckoned to one of the trustees, mr. l____s_____, to come to his assistance. he came and went to william 1 significant scholarly debate has ensued over the date of the st. george‟s incident. initially, historians, such as carol v.r. george in segregated sabbaths: richard allen and the rise of independent black churches, 1760-1840 and ann c. lammers in “the rev. absalom jones and the episcopal church: christian theology and black consciousness in a new alliance,” had placed the date of st. george‟s walkout prior to the founding of the free african society in 1787. more recent scholarship, as found in gary b. nash‟s forging freedom: the formation of philadelphia’s black community, 1720-1840 and richard s. newman‟s freedom’s prophet: bishop richard allen, the ame church, and the black founding fathers, contests the date to be later in 1792. both nash and newman make more convincing cases, with nash citing the completion of st. george‟s gallery in 1792 using the church‟s own architectural records proving that the incident could not have occurred before 1792. brian terpak white to pull him up. by this time prayer was over, and we all went out of the church as a body, and they were no longer plagued by us in the church. 2 ironically, the kneeling down of these few intrepid souls marked the beginning of philadelphia‟s free black community‟s stand against white prejudice and discrimination. in the face of growing bigotry, leaders like allen, jones, and james forten had not forgotten the earlier works of white reformers, however. various actors within philadelphia‟s white society proved instrumental in opening the doors of opportunity for the city‟s free black and slave population. the early efforts of white reformers cannot be discredited. the abolitionist anthony benezet worked tirelessly to provide educational opportunities for both free blacks and slaves. benezet‟s efforts resulted in the formation of a school for blacks by the associates of thomas bray in 1758, and the quaker operated friends african school in 1770. the quaker politicians in the pennsylvania assembly also helped pass the first gradual abolition bill in the new world in 1780. 3 but as the number of free blacks in philadelphia continued to rise in the late 18 th century, white hostility rose. in the eyes of the city‟s black leaders, the st. george‟s incident sparked the movement for greater black autonomy within the city of brotherly love. but could that progress be sustained? free black leaders believed that the only way to protect their nascent society from further white encroachment rested on the creation of independent, black institutions and the black church was the well-spring, from which these autonomous black institutions flowed. c. eric lincoln writes that, for blacks, the “church was his school, his forum, his political arena, his social club, his art gallery, his conservatory of music. it was lyceum and gymnasium as well as sanctum sanctorum.” 4 st. thomas‟s african episcopal church and the african methodist episcopal church, headed by absalom jones and richard allen, respectively, were two of the major black churches within philadelphia. as centers of the community, these institutions helped harness and direct the energies of the hundreds of scattered free blacks across a city experiencing tremendous change in size, wealth, and most importantly, diversity in the late 18 th century. 2 richard allen as quoted in his reprinted work the life experience and gospel labors of the rt. rev. richard allen. (new york: abingdon press, 1960), 25. 3 james oliver horton and lois e. horton. in hope of liberty: culture, community, and protest among northern free blacks, 1700-1860. (new york: oxford university press, 1997), 22. 4 c. eric lincoln in the forward of leonard e barrett‟s soul-force: african heritage in afroamerican religion. (garden city, ny, anchor books, 1974), viii. building the black zion a dark presence clement biddle‟s 1791 article in the philadelphia directory provides an interesting snapshot of philadelphia in the early years of the newly formed american republic. despite the document‟s dry and direct tone, it conjures images of a contemporary metropolis. there was a variety of religious expression within the city. in the philadelphia of 1791, according to biddle, one could find the presence of quakers, roman catholics, episcopalians, presbyterians, baptists, lutherans, calvinists, moravians, universalists and even jews, but more importantly a supportive government. 5 “there is not perhaps in the world a more liberal plan of city government, every class of citizens have an opportunity of representing and being represented,” he said. 6 this government offered philadelphians access to a public hospital, library, poorhouse, and, for those more fortunate residents, the opportunity to attend the local university. the city government engaged in many public works projects including the paving and labeling of streets and installing a sanitary gutter system. biddle attributed the state of the city‟s health to draining putrid streams, cleaning the city streets, and extending medical care to more denizens, among other things. 7 these public services became extremely important in light of the city‟s growing population. biddle paints philadelphia as a city awash with a “constant and regular influx of foreigners.” 8 it was this steady stream of immigrants that eventually caused the city‟s population to rise to 42,520 in 1790. 9 skimming over biddle‟s matter-of-fact account of the city, the reader might fail to notice a rather revealing comment about 1791 philadelphia: …it ought not to be omitted, that there is a school for the africans of every shade or colour, kept under the care and at the expense of the quakers, into which are admitted gratis, slaves as well as free persons of whatever age of both sexes, and taught reading, writing, arithmetic, knitting, sewing and 5 clement biddle as quoted in billy g. smith‟s edited work life in early philadelphia: documents from the revolutionary and early national periods. (university park, pa: pennsylvania state university press, 1995), 19. 6 ibid, 18. 7 ibid, 18-22. 8 clement biddle as quoted in billy g. smith‟s edited work life in early philadelphia , 15. 9 biddle postulated the number to have been 42,400 but that number was incorrect. see u.s. bureau of the census, heads of families at the first census of the united states taken in the year 1790: pennsylvania. (washington, dc: government printing office, 1908) as displayed in john k. alexander‟s “the philadelphia numbers game: an analysis of philadelphia‟s eighteenth century population.” pennsylvania magazine of history and biography. vol. 98 (1974): 314-24. brian terpak other useful female accomplishments…with a view to prepare that degraded race for a better situation in civil life… 10 from this quote, one can infer two things about philadelphia during the early days of the american republic. firstly, slaves contributed directly to the population of philadelphia during the late 18 th century. most of the settlers were quakers from england and ireland, but the city‟s wealthier quaker residents came from the west indies and other american colonies, carrying with them their material and human possessions. 11 unlike the economic structure of the west indies and the american south, where large amounts of slave labor existed, the urban, commercial-oriented environment of philadelphia facilitated a decreased reliance upon slave labor. slaves were, nonetheless, critical to the city‟s economy in the mid-18 th century. by examining various advertisements of the pennsylvania gazette from 1767 to 1769, one can see that philadelphia‟s slaves engaged in a variety of tasks, revealing a skilled slave labor force. owners employed their slaves in shoemaking, cooperage, sail making, shipbuilding, blacksmithing, and carpentry. 12 towards the end of the 18 th century, a variety of factors discouraged a reliance upon slave labor within the city. the flow of german and scotch-irish immigrants to philadelphia, which had been stymied by the seven years war, returned and provided greater amounts of free labor. after the war, a depression discouraged many craftsmen from buying slave labor. lastly, from 1761 to 1773, the import duty on slaves into philadelphia had been raised from £10 to £20. 13 these economic factors decreased the presence of slaves in philadelphia; in 1767, the city‟s slave population was 1,481 and by 1775, the number had decreased to 728. finally, by 1790, after the tumult of the american revolution, the slave population had dwindled to 301. 14 clearly, economic considerations impacted the decline in the slave population, but other factors existed. a friend among quakers returning to clement biddle‟s account of the city in 1791, a community of free blacks clearly existed in philadelphia. in 1767, the free black population was a 10 clement biddle as quoted in billy g. smith‟s edited work life in early philadelphia, 21. 11 jean r. soderlund. quakers and slavery: a divided spirit. (princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1985), 56. 12 pennsylvania gazette advertisements: december 24, 1767; april 28, 1768; may 19, 1768; september 1, 1768; february 23, 1769; and, october 12, 1769. 13 soderlund, 61. 14 gary b. nash and jean r. soderlund. freedom by degrees: emancipation in pennsylvania and its aftermath. (new york: oxford university press, 1991), 18. building the black zion paltry 57, but had exploded to 1,849 by 1790. 15 prior to this, abolitionist and quaker educator anthony benezet laid the essential groundwork against the institution of slavery. a french huguenot who had immigrated to philadelphia in 1731, benezet championed the cause of black social uplift in the city. though best remembered for his campaign of abolitionist pamphleteering from 1759 until his death in 1784, most of benezet‟s energies focused on black education. 16 through education, benezet believed that blacks would become reputable and useful members of society. but what could these supposed mentally inferior “creatures” gain from education? were not slaves incapable of any intellectual advancement? benezet disagreed: “i have found amongst negroes as great a variety of talents as among a like number of whites…and again i am bold to assert that the notion entertained by some blacks are inferior in the capacities is a vulgar prejudice.” 17 according to benezet, environmental determinism was the culprit for blacks‟ degradation. the system of slavery, which exposed slaves to all sorts of depraved brutality, had twisted and debased their minds and spirits. with a proper moral and intellectual education, free blacks and slaves could reverse the damaging effects of slavery. 18 in 1750, benezet began tutoring free blacks and slaves at his home, emphasizing critical thinking over rote memorization. building on benezet‟s efforts, the anglican-affiliated associates of thomas bray opened a school for free black and slave children in 1758. unlike the more holistic educational experience provided by benezet, the bray associates focused instruction around religious themes and, ultimately, conversion to the anglican faith. while benezet‟s educational approach seemed radical to most slave owners, the associates assured slave owners that educating and converting slaves hardly threatened the institution of slavery. according to the bray associates, education and religious conversion would emancipate the mind and spirit but not the body of the slave. 19 with the help of the quaker community, benezet broadened the educational opportunity for blacks within philadelphia. after three years of campaigning, benezet opened the africans‟ school as a part of the society of friends‟ public schools in 1773. according to gary nash, while the quaker community generally accepted benezet‟s proposals for the venture, benezet himself “supplied most of 15 ibid. 16 gary b. nash, forging freedom: the formation of philadelphia’s black community, 17201840. (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1988), 29. 17 nancy slocum-hornick. “anthony benezet and africans‟ school: toward a theory of full equality.” pennsylvania magazine of history and biography. vol. 99 #4 (october 1975): 400; anthony benezet as quoted in william c. kashatus‟s “a friend among quakers.” pennsylvania heritage. vol. 3 #2 (2004): 8. 18 kashatus, 8. 19 horton and horton, 21; slocum-hornick, 403. brian terpak the energy required for raising money, building a structure, and hiring a teacher.” 20 students of the africans‟ school learned reading, writing, and arithmetic, and received further specialized education according to their sex. male students undertook an advanced academic course of study, while female students learned how to knit and sew. 21 by 1775, the africans‟ school had seen nearly 250 black students pass through its halls, which included future black community leaders abaslom jones, richard allen, and james forten. 22 despite his life-long efforts to educate free blacks and slaves, benezet limited the ultimate aim of his pedagogical endeavors. his goal was to help fulfill the intellectual, moral, and spiritual potential of his black charges. he did not, however, believe that moral and intellectual equality would signal social and economic equality. benezet concerned himself with providing blacks an adequate education that would make them useful to society, not socially and economically equal citizens. according to benezet, the most pressing matter facing the black community was abolishing slavery. 23 to achieve that goal, benezet and other abolitionists had to face philadelphia‟s ruling political elite of the 1750s and 1760s: the quaker community. reformation and abolition quakers preached unity among all mankind, rebuked violence in human endeavors, and found public flamboyance and pride to be sinful. it was ironic, then, that they condoned the trafficking and use of slave labor. like their neighbors of other faiths, well-off quakers often purchased slaves. but just as their finances offered them great social influence, they possessed even greater political capital. quakers in the pennsylvania assembly helped pass the colony‟s major slave codes in 1700, 1705, and 1726 and enacted restrictive regulations on the blacks who had gained freedom from their masters. 24 by the 1750s, however, the philadelphian quaker community witnessed the emergence of new leaders, like benezet and john woolman. influenced by the reforming impetus of the great awakening, these men built on the experiences of previous quaker abolitionists like benjamin lay, who relied upon theatrical and disruptive behavior. benezet and woolman utilized a more disciplined approach: they reached out to the quaker community through written appeals and debates at 20 nash, forging freedom, 31. 21 slocum-hornick, 404, 406. 22 kashatus, 9; slocum-hornick, 415. 23 slocum-hornick, 419. 24 nash, 24-25. building the black zion quaker meetings. prior to his death in 1784, benezet published nine prominent anti-slavery treatises. 25 many of these abolitionist tracts challenged the traditional enlightenment notions that most philadelphia slave masters utilized to buttress the institution of slavery. quaker slave holders argued their behavior along the same lines of famed natural rights philosophers such as john locke, thomas hobbes, and voltaire. slavery was justified along the enlightenment principles of rational order, “natural” practices of subordination, and the protection of private property. benezet utilized montesquieu‟s interpretation of natural law and the natural rights of man, that “all men are born equal” to counter the claims of pro-slavery advocates. 26 arguing along enlightenment lines, benezet stressed that slavery denied slaves the natural rights to their own physical bodies, prevented their pursuit of a moral and rational life, and severely curtailed their capabilities to nurture one‟s mental and physical talents. benezet‟s attempts at linking natural law to anti-slavery, however, were largely unsuccessful as contemporary american slave masters remained committed to their enlightenment interpretations of slavery. 27 despite benezet‟s failed challenge to enlightenment notions regarding slavery, he and woolman‟s anti-slavery campaign came at a time of reassessment within the broader quaker community. according to reformers like samuel fothergill and john churchman, the system of capitalism had eroded quaker virtue. a double edged sword, capitalism had produced prosperity with the caveat of extravagance. writing as far back as 1703, robert barclay warned of the dangers of decadence: “when from a lust of vanity, and desire to adorn themselves, men and women, not content with what their condition can bear, do stretch to have things, that from their rarity, and the price that‟s put upon them, seem to be precious, and so feed their lust the more: and this all sober men of all sorts will readily grant to be evil.” 28 quakers redefined the nature of materials seen as “functional (lawful)” and “superfluous (unlawful).” before, if a quaker utilized a cloth or material not readily made in his or her community, it would have been seen as ostentatious. now, as materials from across the world flooded philadelphia‟s market making such goods local, that label could be avoided. human slaves were no exception. 25 richard s. newman. the transformation of american abolitionism: fighting slavery in the early republic. (chapel hill, nc: university of north carolina press, 2002), 17. 26 baron de montesquieu as quoted in roger a bruns. “anthony benezet and the natural rights of the negro.” pennsylvania magazine of history and biography. vol. 96 #1 (january 1972): 106. 27 ibid., 105-106, 110-113. 28 robert barclay. an apology for the true christian divinity. (london: t. sowle, 1703), 533. brian terpak to fothergill and churchman, the quaker community‟s reliance upon the institution of slavery was but one of many examples of the society‟s failure to distance itself from the outside world, and subsequent moral decay. 29 capitalizing on this inner struggle, benezet placed his abolitionist sentiments within the contemporary debate of quaker reformation. it was paradoxical, he argued, to “live in… ease and plenty” and still be considered a guardian of religious principles. “that a man should labour to be rich and amass wealth, a state which… proves the ruin of so many thousands – is this keeping clear from defilement[?] now, that such a person shall esteem himself, and be esteemed, a religious man, and perhaps be the more regarded, even by religious people, is a mere paradox; yet it is too often the case.” 30 at the yearly meeting of 1758, the process of reform within the philadelphia quaker community began. leading members urged each other to avoid the slave trade and to remove authority figures from power should they attempt to do otherwise. though it would take until 1774 for the society of friends to officially disown members who sold or bought slaves, the yearly meeting of 1758 marked the quaker community as a whole confronting the issue of slavery. 31 while the institution of slavery within philadelphia‟s quaker community seemed to be waning, abolitionists confronted slavery within the rest of philadelphia society with the help of the pennsylvania government. march 1, 1780 on november 9, 1778 the pennsylvania executive council‟s president george bryan implored the pennsylvania assembly to consider the cause of abolition. “in divesting the state of slaves…you will equally serve the cause of humanity and policy…you will also set up your character for justice and benevolence in a true point of view to all europe who are astonished to see a people eager for liberty holding negroes in bondage.” 32 the movement for abolition in pennsylvania began years earlier in 1776 as residents of philadelphia sent two ill-received abolitionist petitions to the assembly. before that, in january 1775, the pennsylvania provincial convention “resolved to urge the general assembly to prohibit the importation of slaves” and that march, the chester county committee of correspondence created a committee to draft a petition for the gradual abolition 29 ross e. martinie eiler. “luxury, capitalism, and the quaker reformation, 1737-1798.” quaker history. vol. 97 #1 (2008): 13-14. 30 anthony benezet as quoted in memoirs of samuel fothergill. november 27, 1758. found in george s. brookes‟s friend anthony benezet. (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 1937), 231. historical society of pennsylvania (hereafter, hsp). 31 nash, 26. 32 council to assembly. november 9, 1778. pennsylvania archives. vol. 7, 79. hsp building the black zion of slavery. 33 these motions and petitions struggled to gain adequate attention in 1776, competing in the public‟s eye with the american revolution. while the revolution proved a great opportunity for pennsylvania‟s slaves, it hindered the abolitionist movement. nonetheless, embers of abolitionism continued to smolder. in august of 1778, bryan asked the pennsylvania house of representatives to raise the duty on recently imported blacks or to consider banning importation altogether. though these initial forays failed, the executive council resurrected the issue in november of 1778. according to gradual abolition‟s proponents, the time was ripe for abolition in pennsylvania. as the pennsylvania executive council noted, “no period seems more happy for the attempt than the present, as the number of [slaves]…ever few in pennsylvania, has been much reduced by the practices and plunder of our late invaders.” 34 though the assembly suspended the original abolition measure, it issued a new abolition bill in february 1779. 35 with vigorous debate and the passage of time, this version of the bill passed and became the gradual abolition act of 1780. according to the act‟s major provisions, all slaves in pennsylvania born after march 1, 1780 were freed after twenty eight years of servitude. the act also required the slave master to “register his name, occupation, place of residence, and the name, age, and sex of his slave.” if the master had not achieved these requirements by november 1, 1780, he forfeited the rights to his slaves. the act also declared that slaves who had resided in pennsylvania for six months were free. the law, however, did not protect fugitive slaves residing in pennsylvania from being returned to their masters. 36 while the gradual abolition act of 1780 and its amendment in 1788, initiated the process of abolition in 33 ibid.; arthur zilversmit. the first emancipation: the abolition of slavery in the north. (chicago, il: university of chicago press, 1967), 125-126. 34 council to assembly. november 9, 1778. pennsylvania archives. vol. 7, 79. hsp. dunmore‟s proclamation in virginia and the phillipsburg declaration offered freedom to any slave who fought for the british during the revolution. thousands of slaves fled to british lines during the war, providing one of the largest migrations of blacks in american history. for works dealing with the emancipationist effects of the american revolution see sylvia frey‟s water from the rock: black resistance in a revolutionary age (princeton: princeton university press, 1991), and simon schama‟s rough crossings: britain, the slaves, and the american revolution (new york: ecco, 2006). 35 minutes of the supreme executive council. february 6, 1779. colonial records. vol. 9, 688. hsp. 36 stanley i. kutler. “pennsylvania courts, the abolition act, and negro rights.” pennsylvania history. vol. 30 #1 (1963):14. an act for the gradual abolition of slavery, (1780). http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/history/gradual.htm. brian terpak pennsylvania, it was not the sole factor responsible for the nearly 700% population explosion of free blacks in philadelphia from 1780 to 1790. 37 the swelling tide while lawyers from the pennsylvania abolition society discovered loopholes within the gradual abolition act and helped slaves earn their freedom, arguing that the society‟s legal activities were responsible for the increase in the free black population of philadelphia is farfetched. 38 a variety of complimentary economic and demographic factors explains the growing number of free blacks in the city. like their counterparts in maryland and delaware, many of the great virginia tidewater planters turned from tobacco to wheat production. wheat was less labor intensive and seemingly more profitable in the later half of the 18 th century. tobacco, on the other hand, quickly exhausted the soil‟s nutrients, required year round attention, and sharply increased the amount of debt a planter accumulated 39 as a result of this shift to wheat production, planters needed fewer slaves. the resulting excess of slaves, which incurred greater levels of debt for planters, coupled with the loosening of restrictions governing private manumissions led to more planters freeing more of their slaves. 40 many of these newly emancipated slaves headed for pennsylvania and, more specifically, philadelphia. recent free black arrivals did not originate solely from the upper south, however. many of the freed slaves came from the farmlands of york, lancaster, bucks, and chester counties in pennsylvania. freed slaves also came from as far away as the southern portions of new england, in order to escape the disagreeable climate. 41 why did they flock to philadelphia? as the center of abolitionism in america and situated near three slave states, the city of brotherly love “afforded an asylum for…free blacks and runaway slaves.” 42 most rural freed slaves lacked the capital to become independent farmers themselves, and found rural labor‟s seasonal cycles of unemployment unsuitable to producing a grounded and settled life. philadelphia‟s maritime economy offered the much needed stability that 37 figures drawn from nash and soderlund‟s freedom by degrees, 18. 1780 population was 241. 1790 population was 1,849. 38 ibid, 119-121. 39 t.h. breen. tobacco culture: the mentality of the great tidewater planters on the eve of the revolution. (princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1985), 55, 180; harold b. gill, jr. “wheat culture in colonial virginia.” agricultural history. vol. 52 #3 (july 1978): 383. 40 julie winch. a gentleman of color: the life of james forten. (new york: oxford university press, 2002), 127. 41 nash, 72. 42 visiting committee to acting committee, january 8, 1821 as quoted by nash in “forging freedom,” 8. building the black zion former slaves sought. for freed blacks, who, in 1796, made up at least one-fifth of the 2,000 merchant seamen, the maritime economy provided an important job opportunity for free blacks. 43 while the road to prosperity presented many difficulties for former slaves, success was attainable. some successful black craftsmen and small-scale entrepreneurs were able to buy real estate and make investments. 44 though economic reasons were a large part of the migration for many blacks, social factors also explain why many blacks flocked to philadelphia. northern whites in rural areas excluded many free blacks from community life. as the number of free blacks grew, philadelphia offered them security from white hostility, and extended an opportunity to the previously isolated to become active members in a broader community, subsequently allowing them to form families and participate in social and religious activities. 45 true, philadelphia provided many new and exciting opportunities for the recently arrived black denizens, but it was a select few from the free black community who harnessed the new arrivals‟ energies into a coherent and focused force. black founders to understand the autonomous institutions that breathed solidarity and security into philadelphia‟s free black community would be difficult without briefly examining the early careers of three of philadelphia‟s most influential free black residents: james forten, absalom jones, and richard allen. an anomaly at the time of his birth on september 2, 1766, james forten was born in philadelphia of free black parents. at the age of fifteen, forten served on an american privateer in 1781 during the american revolution. though captured by the british, he was able to secure his freedom during a prisoner transfer. after spending one year abroad in london, working in one of the many sail-lofts along the thames, forten returned to philadelphia and apprenticed himself in the sail-loft of thomas bridges in 1785. forten‟s skill and character elevated him to bridges‟s foreman by 1786. when bridges retired in 1798, forten assumed ownership of the sail-loft. 46 forten employed both black and white apprentices and journeymen, nineteen of whom were white. when he took over bridges‟s sail-loft, only one white employee resigned. the remaining workers “all, with one consent agreed to 43 nash, 8, 72. 44 winch, 130. 45 ibid.; nash, 73. 46 winch, 74. see also: julie winch, “a person of good character and considerable property”: james forten and the issue of race in philadelphia's antebellum business community.” the business history review. vol. 75 #2 (summer 2001): 262-265. brian terpak take [him] as their new master.” 47 according to julie winch, the thirty-two year old forten “found himself overseeing one of the city's most successful sail-lofts, regulating a workforce of several dozen men, and running a business worth thousands of dollars a year.” 48 as forten continued to gain global renown, he more importantly became an advocate and champion of philadelphia‟s free black community. his wealth and status, like other black leaders within the city, allowed him access to the “public discourse,” where his written appeals such as his letters from a man of colour and an address to the humane and benevolent inhabitants of the city and county of philadelphia reflected the black community‟s developing rhetorical strategies within white society. forten‟s sail-making loft offered economic opportunity to skilled black workers and provided a successful example of a business venture where black and white tradesmen could coexist. forten was also elected to the first vestry of st. thomas‟s african episcopal church, a key black institution in the city. 49 one of the founders, and eventually the pastor of that church, was absalom jones. born into slavery in sussex, delaware on november 6, 1746, jones did not let his physical status imprison his mind. by saving his meager labor wages, jones purchased books to educate himself. he wrote: “soon after this, i was able to purchase a spelling book; for as my money increased, i supplied myself with books, among others a testament. for, fondness for books, gave me little or no time for the amusements that took up the leisure hours of my companions.” 50 jones moved to philadelphia when he was sixteen after being sold by his first master. while jones worked in his master‟s store by day, his master allowed him to attend night school in 1766, where he learned basic mathematics, among other things. in 1770, jones married, and shortly thereafter, purchased his wife‟s freedom, while he remained a slave. his master later manumitted him in 1784. possessing a personality of moderation, patience, persistence, and tolerance, jones became one of the leading social and religious leaders of philadelphia‟s free black community. 47 rev. stephen gloucester as quoted by winch in gentlemen of color, 74. see also: esther m. douty. forten the sailmaker: pioneer champion of negro rights. (new york: rand mcnally and co, 1968), 81. 48 ibid.; winch, “a person of good character and considerable property,” 262-265. 49 douty, 77; glen mclish. “a man of feeling, a man of colour: james forten and the rise of african american deliberative rhetoric.” rhetorica. vol. 25 #3 (summer 2007): 2; winch, a gentleman of color, 87. 50 absalom jones as quoted in ann c. lammers‟s “the rev. absalom jones and the episcopal church: christian theology and black consciousness in a new alliance.” historical magazine of the protestant episcopal church. vol. 51 #2 (1982): 163. building the black zion the last of the leading figures of that society was richard allen. like jones, allen was born a slave on february 14, 1760 in kent county, delaware. 51 after his family was broken up and sold by his second master, master stokeley, allen became involved with the itinerant methodist movement that was sweeping the countryside. given a religion which evoked a strong emotional and spiritual connection, valued hard work, and strongly disapproved of slavery, allen became a life-long convert to the faith. methodist preachers later convinced stokeley to free allen, but with a catch: allen would be free to seek outside work and wages, but he would continue to belong to stokeley until he earned enough funds to purchase his freedom. 52 allen later wrote of his experience, “he [stokeley] proposed to me and my brother buying our times, to pay him 60£. gold and silver, or $2,000 continental money, which we complied with in the year 17__.” 53 for five years, allen found work as a woodcutter and in a brickyard and was able to earn the sum requested of him by stokeley by 1781, thus gaining his official freedom. he also used this time to share his new found zeal for the methodist faith and became an itinerant preacher, a skill which would characterize his future role in bettering the lot of philadelphia‟s black society. 54 though the examples of forten, jones, and allen demonstrate the existence of black elites, there was little each man alone could do to improve the status of the black community. lost in the wilderness of the white world, there, off in the proverbial distance rang a tocsin of hope, drawing together the scattered energies of the black community. the free african society 1787 marked an important year for philadelphia and the country, but not simply because of the constitutional convention. while men like james madison and benjamin franklin debated over a new constitution for the country, absalom jones and richard allen laid the institutional framework of philadelphia‟s black community a few city blocks away. having obtained 51 much scholarly debate has ensued over the place of allen‟s birth. though allen claimed to be born “a slave to benjamin chew, of philadelphia” and then “sold into delaware state,” richard s. newman makes a strong case for allen‟s birth to have been in delaware. see newman‟s freedom’s prophet: bishop richard allen, the ame church, and the black founding fathers. (new york: new york university press ny, 2008), 29. 52 carol v.r. george. segregated sabbaths: richard allen and the rise of independent black churches, 1760-1840. (new york: oxford university press, 1973), 25-28. 53 richard allen as quoted in his life experience and gospel labors of the rt. rev. richard allen. (new york: abingdon press, 1960), 17. 54 ibid, 18. carol george postulates that the year was 1777 when allen and stokeley agreed to the terms of manumission. brian terpak [a] good report among men, these persons from a love to the people of their complexion whom they beheld with sorrow,…often communed together upon this painful and important subject in order to form some kind of religious society, but their being too few to be found under the like concern and those who were, differed in their religious sentiments…it was proposed…that a society should be formed, without regard to religious tenets…in order to support one another in sickness, and for the benefit of their widows and fatherless children. 55 the brainchild of jones and allen, the free african society (fas) demonstrated the early efforts of free black leaders to simultaneously protect themselves from white hostility, and garner a degree of autonomy over their own affairs. according to john bracey, as a mutual benefit society, the fas offered its members opportunities for “companionship, recreation, recognition, and prestige that to some degree compensated for the racial proscriptions facing them.” 56 participants in the society would “advance one shilling in silver pennsylvania currency a month” in order to provide for those associates in their time of need. not only were members cared for, but the widows and children of deceased members were privy to fas aid as well. 57 behavioral membership guidelines and the required monthly financial contribution, however, excluded the majority of philadelphia‟s free, but poor, blacks. the society‟s rules stipulated that “no drunkard nor disorderly person be admitted as a member” and its leaders could remove those members who were delinquent in paying dues for three months. the fas also penalized its members “three pence” for missing monthly meetings. 58 by restricting its membership to the more respectable members of black society, the fas hoped to demonstrate to whites that it was the de facto representative body of philadelphia‟s black community, and a suitable liaison to white authorities. though the fas was exclusionary in membership, the organization did not limit its concerns to that of its constituency. as time progressed, the fas began to 55 excerpt from the preamble of the free african society april 12, 1787 as quoted in william douglass‟s annals of the first african church, etc. (philadelphia: king and baird, printers, 1862) 15. 56 julie winch. philadelphia’s black elite: activism, accommodation, and the struggle for autonomy, 1787-1848. (philadelphia: temple university press, 1988), 5; john h. bracey, jr., august meier, and elliot rudwick, eds. black nationalism in america. (new york: bobbsmerrill co inc., 1970), 18. 57 articles of the free african society as quoted in douglass‟s annals of the first african church, 16-17. 58 ibid, 16. building the black zion take a more active role in shaping the lives of philadelphia‟s black residents. it issued standards of behavior judged acceptable for the entire community: while we are feasting and dancing, many of our complexion are starving under cruel bondage; and it is this practice of ours that enabled our enemies to declare that we are not fit for freedom, -and at the same time, this imprudent conduct stops the mouths of our real friends, who would ardently plead our cause. let us therefore, dear brethren, learn to be wise…and shew that we have a good understanding by forsaking our foolish practices. 59 not only did the fas provide moral guidance to free blacks, but it also addressed many of their tangible concerns. unable to bury their dead in white cemeteries, the black community, acting through the fas, successfully petitioned the philadelphia common council in 1790 to rent a section of the strangers‟ burial ground, or potter‟s field. the africans‟ burial ground, as it later came to be known, became a site of black communal gatherings and mourning rituals. the success at the africans‟ burial ground also demonstrated that the fas was more than a benevolent community organization. it was the initial lobbying arm of the black community, an organization with distinct social and political aims. the fas demonstrated the efficacy of black political organization and politicking to future black leaders. 60 to make the argument that the fas was simply a social and political institution fails to capture another important feature of the organization: the fas provided a venue for free blacks‟ religious expression. while he never intended the organization to be a church, richard allen hoped that the fas would address the religious needs of its members. by offering religious services, the fas revealed that secular and religious interests of the free black community were seldom separate from each other. according to gayraud wilmore, the fas also created “the classic pattern for the black church in the united states – a pattern of religious commitment that has a double focus: free and autonomous worship in the african american tradition, and the solidarity and social welfare of the black community.” 61 59 winch, philadelphia’s black elite, 6; petition of free african society as quoted in doulgass‟s annals of the first african church, 32. 60 minutes of free african society as quoted in douglass‟s annals of the first african church, 33-35; winch, philadelphia’s black elite, 6-7; newman, 61-62. 61 gayraud s. wilmore. black religion and black radicalism: an interpretation of the religious history of african americans. (new york: orbis books. 1998), 108. brian terpak the emergence of the black churches founding an independent black church was the logical progression of the fas. as previously mentioned above, the disgrace at st. george‟s methodist church in the fall of 1792 catalyzed the need for a separate black church, but black leaders had been planning such a move since the summer of 1791. in order to remedy their “being deprived of the means of regular education, and religious instruction,” black leaders “formed articles and a plan of church government so general as to embrace all, and yet so orthodox in cardinal points to offend none.” 62 with aid from benjamin rush, absalom jones and the fas purchased a lot to build a school house and later a church. but why was an independent black church necessary? confrontations within white churches like st. george‟s was one reason, but that reason alone is too simplistic. benjamin rush noted the importance of black churches: that men are more influenced in their morals by their equals than by the superiors…and that they are more easily governed by persons chosen themselves for that purpose, than by persons who are placed over them by accidental circumstances; that the attraction and relationship which are established among the africans and their descendants by the sameness of colour, by a nearly equal and general deficiency of education, by total ignorance, or only humble attainments in religion, and by the line drawn by custom, as well as nature between them and white people; all evince the necessity and propriety of their enjoying separate and exclusive means…of worshipping god, instructing their youth, and of taking care of their poor. 63 simply put, a black church would address a majority of the black community‟s concerns. as an organization separate from the white world, black churches offered an opportunity of security and identity to those black denizens of philadelphia who had not yet affiliated with a church out of a sense of suspicion directed at whites. the black church also demonstrated the vital importance of black religion. according to gary nash, the black community viewed the church as “the one impregnable corner of the world where consolation, solidarity and mutual aid could be found and from which the master and the bossman – at least in the north – could be effectively barred.” 64 62 extract of a letter from dr. benjamin rush, of philadelphia, to granville sharp. august 27, 1791, 4. 63 ibid, 7. 64 nash, 114. building the black zion construction began on the african church of philadelphia, a distinctly black administered church, in 1793. 65 originally, its founders had organized the church along non-denominational lines hoping not to discourage any segment of the black population from attending. as time progressed, the idea that the african church would attach no formal affiliation to itself slowly changed. by the spring of 1794, philadelphia‟s blacks debated to which faith the church would attach itself. this shift towards denominationalism resulted from the perception of many blacks that without an official association with a faith, their church would be violating the tenets of christian culture. more importantly, by choosing a denomination the black community believed they would garner state recognition of their “corporate status.” with official state acknowledgement, blacks hoped that the church property would be secure. 66 the process of choosing an official faith for the african church demonstrated that the black community, like any social group, had differences within it. after settling on the episcopal faith, church elders approached richard allen to lead the new congregation. allen refused. he recounted, “i told them i could not accept of their offer, as i was a methodist…i informed them that i could not be anything else but a methodist, as i was born and awakened under them, and i could go no further with them [the episcopalians]…” 67 though absalom jones had originally declared himself for methodism, he eventually relented, and accepting the episcopalian faith, became the pastor of the african church, renamed st. thomas‟s african episcopal church on july 17, 1794. 68 black methodism did not die after the african church officially became episcopalian. twelve days after the founding of st. thomas, allen and his methodist followers christened the bethel african methodist episcopal church (ame). according to allen, methodism was the religion for philadelphia‟s black residents. it was the faith for the “plain and simple.” its ministers, who often led ascetic lives themselves, appealed to the lowly people of the city and countryside with a message of salvation and an ideal of a improved community in which austerity, self-discipline, and mutual aid would bring salvation and escape from indigence. it also offered greater avenues of emotional expression and participation than other religions, valued the work of lay preachers and lay societies, and presented a simplified liturgy that practitioners could follow. 69 by 1795, both st. thomas‟s and the ame‟s congregations had grown. jones‟s st. thomas had reached four hundred members, while allen‟s ame had over one 65 ibid, 113. 66 ibid, 126. 67 richard allen in his life experiences and gospel labors, 30. 68 lammers, 175-177. 69 nash,110; newman, 71. brian terpak hundred devotees. generally, each church drew from different socioeconomic sectors of the black community. st. thomas‟s drew many of black philadelphia‟s wealthiest families, like the sailmaker james forten, whereas the likes of laborers and middling black merchants found the ame more appealing. 70 while diverging interests may have been slowly separating the concerns of philadelphia‟s black residents, growing white hostility refocused their energies. the black community‟s first “public” challenge came earlier in 1793 and it would set the precedent in discourse which black churches and community leaders would continue to utilize and sharpen as philadelphia entered the 19 th century. yellow fever, black response philadelphia‟s infamous yellow fever epidemic of 1793 provided a challenge to the city‟s black community. lasting from late august until early november, nearly 5,000 of the city‟s 50,000 residents perished, and 17,000 of the city‟s residents fled the scourge. in their flight, they left dying family members to fend for themselves and their abandoned property to the greed of thieves. 71 these “frightful scenes…seemed to indicate a total dissolution of the bonds of society in the nearest and dearest connexions.” 72 when the fever had passed, the black community confronted yet another trial: the libel of matthew carey. during the fever, black leaders mobilized their community to provide medical assistance to the sick and helped bury the dead, even after they discovered that blacks possessed no immunity against the disease. as the fever fizzled out in november, carey, a prominent philadelphia publicist, published rumors that the black nurses and gravediggers extorted exorbitant fees for their services. “the great demand for nurses afforded an opportunity for imposition…they extorted two, three, four, and even five dollars a night for such attendance, as would have been well paid by a single dollar. some of them were even detected in plundering the houses of the sick.” 73 richard allen and absalom jones did not let carey escape such accusations. together they published a narrative of the proceedings of the black people in 1794. the pamphlet counters carey‟s claims of extortion. for example, the fas spent £411 on coffins and labor receiving, yet only received £233 in repayment for 70 newman, 72-73. 71 thomas e. will. “liberalism, republicanism, and philadelphia‟s black elite in the early republic: the social thought of absalom jones and richard allen.” pennsylvania history. vol. 69 #4 (2002): 558; letter from thomas clifford. september 10, 1793. clifford-pemberton papers, 223-224. hsp. 72 matthew carey. a short account of the malignant yellow fever,… 4 th ed. (philadelphia, 1794: reprint, new york: arno press, 1970), 116. 73 ibid, 63. building the black zion these materials and services. 74 as to carey‟s claim that black nurses extorted higher wages, allen and jones claimed that the nurses did not attend prearranged patients because “they had been allured away by others who offered greater wages” which was only “natural for people in low circumstances to accept a voluntary, bounteous reward.” 75 jones and allen highlighted the truly charitable works of a variety of black nurses. some worked for free while others simply desired “a dinner…on a cold winter‟s day.” the authors do not deny that some members of the black community did plunder the property, but whites participated in acts of equal criminality as well. 76 jones and allen‟s narrative is a momentous piece of literature not for what it said, but for what it represented. the narrative marks the emergence of a black “counterpublic” in philadelphia. as whites controlled property they also dominated access to the public sphere and public spaces, such as sources of print as well as streets, parks, or squares. philadelphia‟s black counterpublic arose primarily out of the environment fostered by gradual emancipation beginning in 1780. with the growth of their own neighborhoods and organizations such as the fas, free blacks redefined what joanna brooks calls their “public availability,” or their vulnerability to “criminal accusation, economic exploitation, social exclusion, perpetual servitude, indebtedness, and even kidnapping and reenslavement.” free blacks withdrew the idea of blackness from public ownership by establishing new collective spaces for the black community, which boldly proclaimed that only they controlled the shaping of their identity. 77 as a counterpublic, the narrative presents the black community as a collective subject with a unique history and functions as a social sieve, absorbing and discrediting infectious racist rumor. jones and allen further strengthened the document by securing its copyright. not only did it allow them to “reclaim subjective authority over matters concerning blackness,” as joanna brooks argues, but the copyright precedent demonstrated the importance of formal incorporation to the black church into a larger established religious polity, as this process created limits and protections against white encroachments. 78 while a black presence in philadelphia‟s broader public sphere challenged whites‟ racist notions and prejudices, the community‟s black churches, more importantly, provided tangible aid and protection from an increasingly hostile white world. 74 absalom jones and richard allen. a narrative of the proceedings of the black people in 1794. (philadelphia, pa, 1794), 6. 75 ibid, 7. 76 ibid, 9, 11. 77 ibid, 10. see also: joanna brooks. “the early american public sphere and the emergence of a black print counterpublic.” william and mary quarterly. vol. 62 no 1 (january 2005): 71-72. 78 brooks, 86. brian terpak a guiding light as the population of philadelphia continued to rise, a noticeable shift in residential patterns occurred. while whites dominated the city‟s commercial center, the southern portion of the city proved to have a magnetic effect upon the city‟s free black population. in 1790, blacks occupied both the northern and southern peripheries of the city, accounting for 36.7% and 33% of those populations, respectively. however, by 1810 65% of the city‟s free black population called the southern portion of the city home, while only 28.9% of the black population resided in the northern neighborhoods. 79 land developers decided to build cheap tenement apartments in the city‟s northern and southern sections, but it seems that their building patterns placed a heavier focus on the southern section. still, something else drew most free blacks to this area. it was the city‟s original black churches that acted as social magnets. for the black community, the church was the vital center of community life around which the neighborhoods coalesced. absalom jones and richard allen found the property values affordable and both purchased plots of land in this part of the city in the 1790s. after opening in 1794, both churches became centers of black religious, social, and political activity attracting recent arrivals to philadelphia as well as the city‟s black domestic servants who moved out of their white employers‟ households. 80 the increased black presence in philadelphia, though potentially good for jones and allen‟s congregations, strained the tenuous relationship between blacks and whites in the city. rising racial tensions came to a peak on july 4, 1803. philadelphia‟s independence day had always been an event which all men and women of every social class and race could celebrate together. but the 1803 festivities turned sour for the black participants: white citizens forced their fellow black celebrants out from the square in front of the old state house with threats of violence and abuse. 81 the incident of 1803 demonstrated the broader situation blacks faced in philadelphia during days of supposed public celebration. writing in 1813, james forten remarked, “that black people upon, certain days of public jubilee, dare not been seen after twelve o‟clock in the day, upon the field to enjoy the times; for no sooner…the poor black is assailed like the destroying hyena or the avaricious wolf!” 82 79 federal census data of 1790 and 1810 as quoted in nash‟s forging freedom, 167. 80 nash, 169. 81 john wood sweet, bodies politic: negotiating race in the american north, 1730-1830. (baltimore, md: the johns hopkins university press, 2003), 346. 82 james forten as quoted in his letters from a man of color as found in the march 14, 1828 edition of freedom’s journal. building the black zion in response to this public castigation, the black churches and their accompanying mutual benefit societies began to plan their own day of thanksgiving. rallying around america‟s termination of the international slave trade on january 1, 1808, on may 10, 1807 “a numerous and respectable meeting of africans” occurred to determine what actions philadelphia‟s black community would take to commemorate the occasion. the committee decided that “on the return of the day [january 1] on which the prohibition by act of congress commences, we will endeavor to evince the gratitude we feel by acts of benevolence and brotherly regard…and by public prayer and thanksgiving.” 83 the celebration in philadelphia revolved predominantly around sermons at churches such as st. thomas and the ame that communicated a feeling of community and racial pride, and, like absalom jones‟s thanksgiving sermon, urged the community to be cautious and unostentatious. “let our conduct be regulated by the precepts of the gospel; let us be sober minded, humble, peaceable, temperate in our meats and drinks, frugal in our apparel and in the furniture of our houses, industrious in our occupations, just in all our dealings, and ever ready to honour all men.” 84 the committee also resolved to coordinate efforts with other “religious societies in the union” to celebrate the event, creating one of the first black days of celebration on a national scale. 85 like jones and allen‟s narrative before it, the january 1 celebrations demonstrated how blacks continued to garner access to public space and challenge their “public availability,” not only in philadelphia, but also as part of the national community of free blacks. the churches also organized a variety of benevolent and mutual aid societies to aid and provide guidance to the immoral and destitute of the community. modeled after the fas between 1794 and 1797, the friendly society of st. thomas‟s provided its members aid when they were sick and destitute, procured resources to bury the dead in a “plain and decent” manner, and “any other charitable purpose that the president and a majority of the committee may deem necessary.” 86 st. thomas‟s also founded the african society for the suppression of vice and immorality in 1809. members of the society would travel to the “more dissipated 83 relf’s philadelphia gazette and daily advertiser. december 30, 1807. hsp. 84 absalom jones. a thanksgiving sermon. (philadelphia: fry and kammerker printers, 1808), 17. hsp; nash, 189. 85 relf’s gazette. december 30, 1807. hsp 86 constitution and rules to be observed and kept by the friendly society of st. thomas’s as quoted in dorothy porter‟s early negro writing, 1760-1837. (boston, ma: beacon press, 1995), 29-30. brian terpak parts of the city and suburbs” and use “such persuasive measures as may be best calculated to produce reformation of manners among them.” 87 why would black church leaders place so much importance on creating an organization to regulate the behavior of poor blacks? to convince whites that they deserved a place in civilized society, black leaders hoped to present their community as a morally composed and mature society. the society hoped to rein in blacks‟ gambling, drinking, and even haughty body language, like a carefree gait, uninhibited singing, dancing, and laughing. from 1802-1812, philadelphia‟s blacks formed twelve mutual aid and benevolent societies. by 1828, over forty such organizations existed. 88 as black churches assumed the symbol of community stewards, it is no doubt that many of them established schools for black children and adults. according to allen‟s doctrines and disciplines of the ame church, the educational role of the church was essential not only for its continued growth but also the strengthening of the society as a whole. 89 in 1795, allen organized the first black sunday school and perhaps the first black night school in america at the ame church. he later organized the society of free people of color for promoting the instruction and school education of children of african descent which helped raise money for a larger school at bethel. jones also reorganized his school at st. thomas‟s and opened another school in the city‟s northern liberties neighborhood in 1804. earlier in 1803, jones and other free black leaders had taken over three of the pennsylvania abolition society‟s schools for blacks after the organization withdrew its support. despite black churches‟ efforts at educating their community, the pas and the quakers, for the most part, were largely responsible for educating blacks. 90 despite the pedagogical intentions of both whites and blacks, black school enrollment was dismal. an 1805 survey revealed that only 566 students attended one of the seven schools servicing black students. by 1813, that number had dropped to 414. with such passionate appeals for the importance of education, what accounted for decreasing enrollment in early schools? many blacks could not afford the tuition required to pay for these private schools. when it seemed that a new public school system would finance the education of black children, the systems‟ white administrators denied them access to it. an added difficulty was allowing indentured children the opportunity for schooling. as many black 87 excerpts from the petition to the honorable william tilghman, esq. chief justice of the state of pennsylvania as quoted in douglass, 113. 88 nash, 210, 219; george, segregated sabbaths, 125. 89 richard allen and jacob tapsico. doctrines and disciplines of the ame church (philadelphia, 1817) as cited on http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/ame/ame.html; newman, 180. 90 nash, 203-204. http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/ame/ame.html building the black zion families struggled from day to day, indenturing one‟s children was a common practice. the problem with this arrangement is that many young blacks could not garner time away from their duties to attend school. 91 attempts to convince adults of seeking education were also largely unsuccessful. it can be argued that the black church itself indirectly retarded the efforts to educate the recently freed blacks. by providing a platform where vital news could be received orally and learned in a communal fashion, the black church convinced many black adults that moral and intellectual uplift would be found in religion, not literacy. 92 while the opportunities for communalism in the black church may have stunted adult education, blacks‟ turning more to their preachers and congregations revealed the crucial importance many of philadelphia‟s black residents placed on their churches. while the success of formal education via black churches is questionable, the black church‟s practices of what richard newman calls “shadow politics” proved much more promising. when allen‟s congregants at the ame church staged yearly elections for church offices or voted on church policy they mimicked the formal political activity from which they were disenfranchised and familiarized themselves with the knowledge of, and respect for, the standards of democratic citizenship. 93 members of the ame church saw tangible results of their shadow politics in january 1816. white methodist ministers challenged the independence of allen‟s church and brought their case to the pennsylvania supreme court. confronting the white methodists was the african supplement. as a packet of amendments to the methodist articles of association, the supplement demonstrated the resolve of the black congregation for self-government. according to the document, ame church trustees controlled church property, could appoint only black ministers to preach in the church, and declared that if any articles in the original articles of association were inconsistent with the supplement, those articles became null and void. though the supplement required the consent of two-thirds of the church‟s male members for ratification, the congregation unanimously passed the supplement. this produced two results: the pennsylvania supreme court recognized the ame church‟s right of self-government over its internal affairs, and the congregants of the ame realized how their collective activities in shadow politics helped strengthen the black church which, in turn, strengthened the black community against further white encroachment. 94 91 nash, 208-210. 92 ibid, 210. 93 newman, 167-169. 94 ibid, 210; excerpts of the african supplement as found in allen‟s life experiences and gospel labors, 37-41. brian terpak conclusion the free black church in philadelphia was the primary source of the black community‟s nascent sovereignty. though white reformers and politicians gradually manumitted slaves in pennsylvania and provided a rudimentary education to blacks both free and slave, they never intended to grant citizenship and equality to free blacks. with this realization, james forten, absalom jones, richard allen, and other free black leaders initially mobilized their growing community‟s own social potential around black mutual aid and benevolent societies, like the free african society. the black administered churches were, by far, more influential. more than just temporal manifestations of a black response to white hostility, black churches reflected their communities‟ growing desire for autonomy. through their actions, these institutions repelled pathogenic rumor, reclaimed the idea of “blackness” in the public realm, provided a framework for political participation in a democratic society, and allowed blacks to pursue their religious practices on their own terms. bibliography alexander, john k. “the philadelphia numbers game: an analysis of philadelphia‟s eighteenth century population.” pennsylvania magazine of history and biography. vol. 98 (1974): 314-24. allen, richard. the life experience and gospel labors of the rt. rev. richard allen. new york: abingdon press, 1960. allen, richard and jacob tapsico. doctrines and disciplines of the ame church philadelphia, 1817. http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/ame/ame.html. an act for the gradual abolition of slavery. 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church, and the black founding fathers. new york: new york university press, 2008. --the transformation of american abolitionism: fighting slavery in the early republic. chapel hill, nc: university of north carolina press, 2002. pennsylvania archives. vol. 7. historical society of pennsylvania. pennsylvania gazette advertisements. december 24, 1767. april 28, 1768. may 19, 1768. september 1, 1768. february 23, 1769. october 12, 1769. porter, dorothy. early negro writing, 1760-1837. boston, ma: beacon press, 1995. relf’s philadelphia gazette and daily advertiser. december 30, 1807. historical society of pennsylvania. slocum-hornick, nancy. “anthony benezet and africans‟ school: toward a theory of full equality.” pennsylvania magazine of history and biography. vol. 99 #4 (october 1975): 399-421. smith, billy g., ed. life in early philadelphia: documents from the revolutionary and early national periods. university park, pa: pennsylvania state university press, 1995. soderlund, jean r.. quakers and slavery: a divided spirit. princeton, nj: princeton university press, 1985. stoughton locke, mary. anti-slavery in america: from the introduction of african slaves to the prohibition of the slave trade. gloucester, ma: radcliffe college, 1965. sweet, john wood, bodies politic: negotiating race in the american north, 17301830. baltimore, md: the johns hopkins university press, 2003. will, thomas e. “liberalism, republicanism, and philadelphia‟s black elite in the early republic: the social thought of absalom jones and richard allen.” pennsylvania history. vol. 69 #4 (2002): 558-576. building the black zion winch, julie. a gentleman of color: the life of james forten. new york: oxford university press, 2002, -“„a person of good character and considerable property‟: james forten and the issue of race in philadelphia's antebellum business community.” the business history review. vol. 75 #2 (summer 2001): 261-296. --philadelphia’s black elite: activism, accommodation, and the struggle for autonomy, 1787-1848. philadelphia: temple university press, 1988. zilversmit, arthur. the first emancipation: the abolition of slavery in the north. chicago, il: university of chicago press, 1967. 1 scenes of cooperation and conflict: competing interests between palestinian arabs during the british mandate matthew reese history the british mandate in palestine has captured the attention of countless scholars who have built a substantial body of work focused on this chapter in history. many of their accounts have addressed the economy of the region, the sectarian communities of jews and muslims, and the british imperial structures that governed the territory.1 however, less frequent are the attempts to elaborate the intersection of class interests, political practice, and cultural identity within the palestinian arab community in a way that effectively illustrates how intra-communal hierarchies were necessary to the formation and conservation of the british mandate.2 this paper synthesizes methods used to study political economy and state power to unpack key aspects of the intra-communal hierarchy of palestinian arabs and to situate this stratification within the dynamic milieu of palestine during the 1920s and 1930s. particularly, the paper highlights how capitalist development exacerbated the intra-communal hierarchy within the palestinian arab community and, as a result, produced divergent and even conflicting forms of political activity and cultural identity. a major consequence of the uneven incorporation of palestinian arabs into the mandate’s hegemony is that it precluded an indigenous palestinian nationalism from gaining the necessary traction to effectively challenge both the british and the zionists. a political economy framework is imperative for this project.3 it allows for a reconceptualization of palestine during the first half of the twentieth century that does not presume the primacy of sectarian strife as a defining aspect of this history. in contemporary 2 politics, nationalist narratives promoted by both jews and palestinians emphasize these sectarian divides in their historical interpretations. however, these narratives have been shaped and reshaped through the contentious sequence of events that occurred after the termination of the british mandate, most notably the creation of israel and the nakba, the 1967 arab-israeli war, and the sequence of intifadas. thus, to presume that sectarian groups of palestinians, jews, and british were inherently antagonist to one another in the 1920s and 1930s would be to skew history in a presentist manner. these interpretations appear in scholarship on the arab-israeli conflict, usually adopting the colonialist narrative of british vs. arabs or an ethnic/religious narrative of jews vs. palestinians/muslim.4 political economy complicates the sectarian approach that considers these social barriers as historical absolutes. it illuminates intracommunal hierarchies and the various forms of political and economic interests spread across differentiated strata of palestinian arabs. additionally, political economy recenters power by elaborating how privileged palestinian arabs promoted and acted on their own material interests in society. the colonialist and ethnic narratives treat the palestinian arab community as a group that is powerless and non-instrumental vis-à-vis the west in the historical process.5 however, when the political economy of the mandate is looked at closely, the distinctions made in conventional narratives between the british and palestinian arabs, as well as between palestinian arabs and jews, become suspect. specific insights from historians who use a political economy framework to study the middle east more broadly are instructive in applying this paradigm to mandate palestine. joel beinin attentively defines the political economy of the middle east as an interdisciplinary approach that examines the consistent reproduction of institutions and systems of power through social struggle. moreover, the hierarchies of power in which these struggles occur are buttressed 3 by the ruling class’s efforts to obscure the mechanisms that propel the system.6 as in other works by historians taking a marxist approach, the assumption in this paper is that, like all modern societies, the british mandate in palestine was a classed society embroiled in universal dynamics of social struggle.7 exploring class dynamics within the palestinian arab community under the mandate, sherene seikaly illustrates the relationship between palestinian arab businessmen known as “men of capital” and the overall economic development of the mandate, a relationship that had stark implications on the discursive tools this business class employed to articulate notions of progress, identity, and economic behavior.8 other scholars have similarly unpacked the complex dynamic between capitalist development, consumerism, class formation, and class stratification within the british mandate.9 the insights drawn from these political economybased interventions contradict the image of a passive and separate palestinian subject and firmly reveal an undeniable role of active palestinian arabs in the formation and maintenance of the british mandate. although political economy has a glaring impact on the way power is constructed and wielded in each society, cultural factors must not be ignored.10 to merge the insights of political economy with the interpretations of social dynamics within the intra-communal hierarchy of palestinian arabs, the theories of italian philosopher antonio gramsci prove valuable. treating the british mandate as a state structure that is an integral and active piece of the story of capitalist development in the territory allows one to break with the economism that plagues orthodox marxist interpretations of history.11 some historians have emphasized the role of the state in mandate palestine.12 gramsci’s theory on the state exposes its connection to the world of production and details the tools at the state’s disposal (ex. the law, police, schools). these tools are brandished by the ruling class of a society and the intellectuals who promote the agenda of 4 the ruling class in order to not only regulate the economy but to organize social relations through the elaboration and dissemination of a form of culture that serves to maintain the power of the ruling class itself.13 the consent of the masses to the ruling class’s narratives and institutions secures a hegemony. as a result, the state becomes a comprehensive entity that uses cultural hegemony to shroud and evade class conflict. the colonial state that the british established in palestine is distinct in many ways from the european state that gramsci theorized. the most obvious way is the explicitly external forces of political and economic interventions into the region.14 however, in line with gramsci’s notion of hegemony, culture is just as instructive in domination, a topic that has been greatly explored by postcolonial scholars.15 in the case of palestine, the british used culture as a lens through which to view and structure society. they perceived jewish zionists and palestinian arabs as necessarily separate groups, both subsumed under the authority of the british and subjected to different policy prescriptions.16 although it is important to note that zionists and palestinian arabs constructed their own cultural identities prior to the mandate, the british colonial regime was based on a similar cultural hierarchy. thus, the state as a political, economic, and cultural actor intersected with imperialism, the latter aspect having a direct bearing on how the british administered palestine and other colonial projects. the type of hegemony elaborated within the mandate sought to develop capitalism as well as maintain the discursive construction of culturally defined barriers between jews, arabs, and british. palestinian arabs who were incorporated into civil society maintained these social barriers which not only advanced their own economic security and political campaigns against the british, but simultaneously substantiated the imperial paradigm on which the mandate’s hegemony was established. through this form of cultural organization, class conflict could be averted. 5 synthesizing the approaches of political economy and cultural hegemony, this paper analyzes the various positions and roles of palestinian arabs in the larger political economy during the 1920s and 1930s, considering their participation within and/or resistance to the british mandate. during this period, particularly during the 1920s, elite palestinian arabs were able to materially benefit in certain ways within the political economy of the mandate. these benefits often came at the expense of the palestinian peasantry, who comprised the majority of the palestinian population. further, the political and cultural narratives used by palestinian arabs to challenge the british during the more embattled period of the 1930s reflected their own class positions within the political economy of the mandate. however, the dominant movement in palestine against colonization at this time was primarily led by the privileged classes of palestinian arabs. as such, their arab nationalist movement was tinged with class biases stemming from the inherent attributes of capitalist development, particularly consumerism, urbanization, and scientific reasoning.17 this dynamic prompted the professional and political classes to overlook the material sources of the peasantry’s marginalization. these oversights can be observed in not only the palestinian arab professionals’ and elites’ understandings of the economy but the political and cultural identifications of themselves within an aggressively polarized setting that became increasingly contentious during the 1930s. as a result, the economic relationship between privileged palestinians and the british mandate induced the palestinian arab professional and elite classes to produce certain types of political action and cultural narratives that complemented their efforts to secure their positions in palestinian society. the palestinian peasantry forged their own politics and cultural understandings to challenge the elites within their own community as well as the british and zionists. however, the intra-communal hierarchy produced incompatible interests amongst the 6 atomized socioeconomic classes of palestinian arabs. by the end of the great revolt in 1939, the uneven incorporation of different classes of palestinian arabs into the projects of the british mandate and arab nationalism solidified the hierarchy in palestinian society. ultimately, this power dynamic precluded the formation of a unified, indigenous palestinian movement concerned with the material needs of the peasant majority. revisiting the origins of the british mandate will help elucidate this dynamic. the british launched their military campaigns into the ottoman middle east during world war i and reached a virtual stalemate by 1917. in november of that year, british foreign secretary arthur balfour wrote to leading british zionist, lionel walter rothschild, explaining that “his majesty’s government” supported the creation of a jewish “national home” in palestine while granting “civil and religious rights” to the indigenous population of palestinian arabs.18 although it was not until june of 1922 that the mandate was approved by the league of nations, the process of establishing the colonial state became formalized upon balfour’s declaration. the political apparatuses of this state proceeded to function like most other states by granting rights, regulating citizenship, and securing territorial boundaries. in this way, viewing the mandate through the lenses of state hegemony is instructive. under the new system, the colonial aspects of state building resulted in explicitly unequal treatment of palestinian arabs. the british arrogated the role of deciding who was able to enter the territory and who was able to become a citizen. palestinian arabs who were living abroad for various reasons, such as those seeking international business opportunities or fleeing the conflict of world war i, found themselves forced to apply for citizenship to their homeland. this was intensified after the passage of the palestine citizenship order-in-council of 1925.19 the strict pathway to citizenship was reiterated by high commissioner herbert plumer and entailed that a 7 person must have resided in palestine for at least two years before applying, must be of “good character,” must have knowledge of english, hebrew and arabic, and must be committed to permanently residing in palestine.20 additionally, british policies set minimum wages for arab workers at significantly lower rates than that for jewish workers.21 as the balfour declaration makes clear, the british did not act alone but with the support of jewish zionists, who were relocated to palestine with greater ease than palestinians living abroad. zionists swayed british imperial policy to achieve this end. a memorandum that circulated in the colonial office in 1922 regarding the topic of immigration stated that “one of the most essential parts of the programme for establishing a jewish national home in palestine [is] necessarily a system of organized jewish immigration into that country.”22 subsequent legislation granted citizenship to jewish immigrants in a manner that was “proportioned to the [economic] necessities of the country and its ability to absorb and support immigrants.”23 in the year 1925, 33,801 out of 34,641 immigrants to palestine were jews.24 jewish zionists had a direct role in facilitating and shaping this process in mandate palestine by negotiating the entrance of thousands of jews to support the growing economy. additionally, through organizations such as the jewish national fund, zionists purchased and “redeemed” land in palestine that was then designated as an “inalienable right of the jewish people” according to the 1929 constitution of the jewish agency.25 in industrial sectors, zionists thrived as they sought to develop an economy that aligned with british plans for development.26 the role of palestinian arabs in the mandate’s project is apparent when one considers the economic and political interests of the rural notables, who were intertwined with the broader economic system of private, commodified property. in gramscian terms, this stratum had irrefutable ties to the world of production. many of the landowning class of palestinian arabs at 8 this time were absentee landlords who resided in the bourgeoning cities. there they enjoyed a distinguished socioeconomic status. the mechanized methods of farming that the zionists brought with them allowed the jewish national fund to purchase fertile lands from palestinian landowners and develop the land for settlement and cultivation.27 the palestinian arab landowners, who were not pressured to update their technology, sold their land to the jewish national fund, facilitating the transfer of land from arab to jewish hands.28 becoming increasingly detached from their land as urban areas and civil society expanded, this class of palestinian arabs facilitated the creation of the british mandate and its economic development. one example includes abdul latif tabawi, a palestinian who graduated from the britishinstalled arab college in jerusalem and who served in the education department. tabawi owned a swath of land on which palestinian tenants lived in the nablus district. these tenants, tabawi claimed, hindered his ability to maintain his lifestyle. tabawi argued that he should not be personally and financially burdened simply because a tenant needed to make a living. the district officer permitted tabawi to evict his tenants.29 many landowners went through a similar process to evict tenants in order to market their land to the prospective jewish buyers, fueling tensions within the intra-communal hierarchy of palestinian arabs. citrus cultivation is another striking example of how palestinian arabs performed a cooperative role within the political economy of the mandate. the cultivation of oranges in palestine had been occurring for centuries before the british arrived. the industry grew dramatically in the mid-nineteenth century as the european market for orange exports, particularly those from jaffa, expanded. this encouraged arab landowners to pursue profit in the global market.30 after world war i, merchants from bethlehem invested their money into the expanding citrus plantations along the coastal plains.31 in 1921, a british report on the economic 9 situation in palestine notes the progress in the orange and fruit trades by stating that the jaffa orange growers’ and shippers’ syndicate had been created for export purposes and “had yielded good results, and bodes well for the future.”32 at this time, a productive citrus sector was developing beautifully, with palestinian merchants and large landowners playing a vital role. palestinian religious functionaries also played a cooperative role in the development of the citrus sector. a 1928 annual report on palestine conducted by the british notes that large areas of waqf (religious endowment) lands were made available for development after purportedly being restored for health reasons. the supreme muslim council drained an extensive, malaria-ridden swamp on waqf lands in wadi rubin, “thus rendering a large tract in a fertile orange-growing district available for irrigation and intensive cultivation.”33 the report proceeds to explain how the palestine jewish colonisation association also carried out drainages in the kabbara marshes.34 british development plans worked favorably for these citrus cultivators and the palestinian landowners who had a stake in the commodification of land.35 in urban areas, the hegemony of the mandate incorporated many palestinian arabs based on their overt economic interests. palestinian business leaders established a variety of industries and lobbied for economic protections to remain viable in the market. in the footwear industry, for instance, palestinian business owners, along with jewish business owners, sought economic protection as cheap european and syrian footwear entered palestine.36 other palestinian industries such as flower milling, soap making, and weaving expanded under the mandate. “between 1918 and 1927, arabs and jews established 2,269 commercial and manufacturing enterprises. sixty percent of these enterprises were arab.”37 industrial palestinian arabs who accumulated capital under the mandate were able to establish a degree of economic security. 10 from this position, the palestinian business elites further invested in arab industries, stored their wealth in arab banks, and steered economic policy from numerous chambers of commerce.38 the growth of industrial output was complemented by the growth of a professional class of palestinian arabs who acted as consumers. this professional class could also take advantage of new opportunities in the emerging urban civil society. rapid economic growth, access to schools and higher education, and opportunities for administrative service created by the mandatory government contributed to the development of the middle class.39 this class of palestinian arabs increasingly participated in civil society organizations devoted to culture, literature, sports, and politics.40 they also took part in the growing consumer culture facilitated by newspapers such as filastin.41 thus, the positions, opportunities, and lifestyles of the urban professional class became increasingly connected to the political economy of the mandate. many leaders in the palestinian, jewish, and british communities collaborated, whether admittedly or not, to develop a functioning economy on which the british mandate could be securely established. this was a result of the relationship between the world of production and the privileged classes in palestine. these links formed the basis for the colonial state and its hegemony. however, it is important to note that the privatization of land in the ottoman middle east had been occurring for decades prior to the mandate. this process greatly profited the arab landowning elites, many of whom moved to the expanding cities. by the early 1900s, a privileged class of urban arabs were engaged in commercial sectors of banking, trading, and shipping, as well as professional sectors like teaching, journalism, law, and civil service.42 regional economic development spurred the creation of an urban civil society that increasingly espoused liberal ideas and arab nationalism by the late ottoman period. these developments continued under the mandate, which formalized the indigenous manifestations of 11 liberalism and commercialism within a political structure after the ottoman collapse. as such, the political and economic systems of power that developed in palestine were not simply imposed by the british onto palestinian arabs, but rather emerged through the cooperation of various parties within the broader political economy, including an elite stratum of palestinian arabs. thus, the hegemony of the colonial state was made possible by the ensemble of actors within it and their connections to the world of production. during the period of the british mandate, the process of intra-communal stratification amongst palestinian arabs deepened and produced a situation in which different classes of palestinian arabs enacted different forms of politics. rural notables, religious functionaries, urban industrialists, and urban professionals produced a politics that reflected their relationship to the mandate’s endeavor to build a functioning hegemony. as the situation in palestine worsened during the 1930s, tensions intensified between the palestinian arab leadership and the british. nationalist movements gained further traction. however, the content and activities of these nationalist movements varied greatly between palestinian arabs of different socioeconomic classes. although all variants of nationalism in palestine targeted the british for removal, some nationalist movements were more tepid than others. a look at the relationship between class, politics, and knowledge production will help elaborate this nationalist dynamic within palestine. in the political sphere during the 1920s and 1930s, the british established or allowed the creation of arab-led parties and institutions, giving privileged classes of palestinian arabs the opportunity to participate in the state’s project. moreover, as the mandate’s cultural hegemony was based on the discursive separation between arabs, jews, and british, the parties and institutions that both the british and palestinian arabs founded reflected this categorization. arab nationalists such as hamdi al-husayni and awni abd al-hadi created and led the popular 12 istiqlal party.43 although the party denounced land sales to zionists, al-hadi had previously sold land to jewish buyers.44 in 1921, the british created the supreme muslim council which tended to religious matters such as monitoring shari’a courts, funding islamic schools, and managing waqf land. hajj amin al-husayni, of the traditional arab nobility, was elected to the presidency of the supreme muslim council. he was also appointed to the position of grand mufti of jerusalem by the british in the same year. hajj amin al-husayni derived much of his prestige from his material alliance with the mandate.45 additionally, the political institution of the arab higher committee, also led by hajj amin al-husayni, was established on april 25, 1936. members of the committee were mostly from the upper class who were less inclined to challenge the overall system of the mandate. out of the thirty-two members of the arab higher committee, twenty-eight, or 87.5 percent, were from the upper class (landowners, big business owners, or traditional arab notables). the other four members were from the professional class (urban professionals, shopkeepers, teachers, government clerks, religious functionaries). no members were from the urban working class or peasantry.46 thus, the political leadership represented the interests of only a fraction of palestinian arabs. their nationalism was linked to regional networks of educated and affluent arabs as well as to the cultural hegemony of the mandate that defined them based on their arab ethnicity and muslim religion.47 in the private sphere, business leaders generated a discourse around their position and involvement within the political economy. by the early 1930s, economic growth stemming from cheap labor and surplus capital enlarged and entrenched the industrial class.48 termed the “men of capital,” palestinian arab industrialists, merchants, bankers, and professionals in urban areas launched a journal called al-iqtisadiyyat al-‘arabiyya (the arab economic journal) in the mid1930s.49 according to sherene seikaly, these men “sought to shape economics as a neutral and 13 scientific realm of nation building, to define class and status in new ways, and to safeguard their own power.”50 in the process of creating a neutral discourse to facilitate nation-building along arab nationalist lines, these palestinian arab businessmen not only secured their own economic power but reified this power as natural. this process functioned alongside the spread of nationalism amongst middle-class consumers, who used their buying power to support the arab nationalist cause.51 the newspaper filastin intensified both middle-class consumption and arab nationalism. the pages of their publications were splashed with arab nationalist advertisements, which used the arabic term watani (national) to describe arab-made goods and products. national matches, national beds, national wheat, and national cement found their way onto the pages of filastin.52 in the realm of education, the british sought to incorporate into the hegemonic state the urban and affluent palestinian arabs, many of whom cooperated with the mandate’s program. in 1918, the british established the arab college in jerusalem to train teachers to work in palestine. the education system employed professional teachers to teach in arab villages and urban areas, as well as at the arab college.53 there were two educational tracks for palestinian arabs: urban and rural. providing an agriculturally based education for the rural palestinians was a point on which many palestinian arabs could agree with the british. humphrey bowman, the director of education in mandate palestine, promoted this type of education for peasants and encouraged palestinian peasants to stay on the land instead of moving to cities.54 khalil tota, the palestinian director of the arab college, concurred and explained how rural education should be agrarian based while education in the towns should be vocational rather than academic.55 many in the professional class of palestinian arabs may have had misgivings about the overall project of the mandate, but because education was viewed as a liberating process, it was 14 often accessed and controlled by palestinian arabs who worked in conjunction with the british to establish a standardized education system. although these developments brought standardized education to some palestinian arabs, the political infrastructure to incorporate peasants into civil society remained undeveloped. palestinian arabs who received english language skills in the cities could more easily advance in society, possibly securing a job within the mandatory government or traveling abroad for university education and/or employment. the peasantry did not receive the same education as urban palestinian arabs and, thus, could not access the language competency skills needed to become a member of civil society. they were left to perform their agrarian function under the hegemonic colonial state. this was where the peasantry was needed.56 the politicking of and tacit cooperation between the british and the palestinian arab elites came at the expense of the struggling peasantry. much of the peasantry had already been struggling since the late nineteenth century because of ottoman tax policy and the intrigues of large landowners and moneylenders.57 as tensions between peasants and landowners continued under the mandate, the peasants became increasingly indebted to the urban notables and were forced to repay their loans with inflated interest rates, some between thirty and sixty percent.58 additionally, mechanized tools and specialist knowledge available to the incoming jewish farmers were not readily available to the arab peasants, nor did the arab landowners establish any means to acquire the new tools and information. the landowners did not share the deep, personal attachment to land that the peasants felt.59 as a result, many peasants saw their land holdings dwindle as their status moved from land proprietor to agricultural laborer. the material deterioration of the peasantry was solidified within the mandate’s state hegemony through the process of capitalist development as well as the process of keeping the 15 peasantry on the land as peasants. land scarcity produced higher land prices while population growth drove down the cost of labor. as peasants lost proprietorship of land and became an agricultural workforce, their renewed tenancy required that they use their own tools and knowledge while providing landowners with a rising percentage of crop yields. this landowning class was increasingly comprised of merchants, who could sell goods in local and regional markets.60 in addition to policies of state rationing of crops for villages, the practices of the education system outlined above helped to maintain the peasant physically and discursively. as for the peasantry’s response to this marginalization, the political economy proved to be a contributing factor. it produced certain forms of political activity that ranged greatly during the 1920s and 1930s. at times, palestinian peasants waged small-scale fights by aiming their frustrations against local moneylenders or land managers. this was most likely the result of the musha’a land system, which had an atomizing effect on the villages and prevented any sort of wider, unified front against the large landowners, let alone the entire british mandate and zionist organizations. some peasants also organized politically to obtain concessions from british officials.61 their economic demands were evident at numerous times during this period. in addition to the economic factors that informed their responses, the peasantry’s social and political connections to networks of people who were not peasants themselves proved to be an important contributing factor in structuring their struggle. this can primarily be observed during the great revolt of 1936. in april 1936, the arab higher committee called a general strike of palestinian arab workers. soon after, local organizations sprang up in major towns and villages across palestine, forming a network of locally managed institutions. these institutions collected taxes, secured weaponry for rebel fighters, provided medical and legal services, and supervised striking workers. urban workers, merchants, business owners, students, and most 16 importantly poor and landless peasants combined efforts to make the rebel infrastructure function.62 one interesting example of this alliance involves abd al-rahim al-hajj muhammad, a descendant of a large landowning family who conducted business in the agricultural sector and was heavily involved in the peasant struggles against the british and zionist through the rest of the revolt.63 although the power of this movement came from rural palestinian arabs most negatively affected by the economy, the cross-class alliances that they and others forged were the bonds that made the rebel networks and, as an extension, the pressures exerted by the rebellion as a movement so powerful. these counterhegemonic efforts vigorously challenged the mandate. backlashes to the insurrection came from both the british as well as the palestinian arabs who were a part of the urban business class and nationalist leadership. regarding the british, the revolt prompted swift and brutal intervention by the mandate’s administration. these measures included devastating raids on homes and villages that resulted in the destruction of property, foodstuffs, and livestock, as well as the humiliation, beating, and killing of palestinian arabs.64 the relatively quiescent period of colonial rule during the early 1930s gave way to the harsher exhibition of imperial domination once the hegemonic state was threatened from below. to facilitate the colonial counterinsurgency, the british utilized the relationships formed under the mandate with the palestinian arab leadership. although hajj amin al-husayni espoused arab nationalism and initially assumed leadership over the revolt, he was keenly aware that his social and political power partially derived from his alliance with the british. furthermore, al-husayni’s power also derived from his appropriation of the hegemonic discourse in both colonial and anti-colonial narratives that viewed social relations through a sectarian lens. in al-husayni’s case, one can observe the entanglement of material gains acquired within the political economy of the mandate and the social prestige wielded for a type of nationalism that 17 had its political limitations. for the mufti, the insurrectionist challenge from below could only go so far. thus, al-husayni administered passive sermons, gave speeches calling for support from the arab world, and instructed the public to refuse paying taxes as an alternative to violence, all while only mildly criticizing the british. while meeting with high commissioner wauchope in may 1936 to discuss options for handling the revolt, al-husayni stated that the leadership needed to “find a formula that did not make them look weak in the eyes of the people.”65 by october 1936, the economic conditions for palestinian arabs worsened and the death toll surpassed one thousand. the arab higher committee and british officials sought to end the conflict. finally, hajj amin al-husayni and the arab representatives in the arab higher committee accepted the plea from the arab world and ended the revolt.66 in 1937, the rebellion moved to the rural areas and was picked up by a smaller fraction of inhabitants that became increasingly targeted by their own palestinian neighbors who joined and organized peace bands to track down rebel fighters.67 it was during this second phase, which lasted until 1939, that abd al-rahim al-hajj muhammad was killed by the joint efforts of the british and palestinian arab peace bands. these complex alliances amongst palestinian arabs as well as between palestinian arabs and the british demonstrate the significance of political praxis in shaping society. as joel beinin emphasizes, social struggles have an impact on the reproduction of institutions and systems of power within the political economy. the struggle of the hegemonic bloc of actors to control the state, as antonio gramsci describes, can be met with the struggle of counterhegemonic forces from below. however, this challenge from below requires putting into practice the consciousness of one’s own marginalization. in this way, economic factors are not pure determinants in history. active politics play a crucial role. these political formations make possible counterhegemonic 18 challenges. although political activity is informed by the complex layering of class interests, political ideology, and cultural identity, the undeniable conflict between distinct socioeconomic classes of palestinian arabs during the great revolt contradicts the sectarian assumptions in contemporary nationalist narratives. using gramsci’s cultural hegemony as a framework to analyze mandate palestine reveals that stark sectarian divisions were neither innately absolute nor patently evident. intra-communal conflicts based on competing interests within the political economy prove to be a more formative dynamic in this history. this paper has many implications on both the historiography on this subject and contemporary political movements.68 however, this research primarily strives to illuminate the historical subtleties that precluded the formation of an indigenous palestinian nationalist movement centered around the concerns of the peasant majority. the deteriorating economic situation during the mandate held the potential to spark such a movement, unifying all classes of palestinian arabs or even palestinian muslims and jews. although alliances such as these existed, they were not prominent enough to change the overall material conditions under the mandate or to counter the cultural dichotomization in british, arab, and zionist discourses. palestinian arab elites could not be divorced from their material relationship to the mandate and the political-social authority that such a relationship imparted. their power developed through the intersection of political economy and culture, which was embedded within the structures of the colonial state. the web of power dynamics that pervaded the british mandate factionalized the palestinian arab community and produced various political movements based on competing interests within the intra-communal hierarchy of palestinian arabs. as a result, by the end of the great revolt in 1939, the muddled and strained relations between palestinian arabs effectively obstructed the development of a truly palestinian nationalist movement. 19 notes 1 for an example of scholarship on the economy of palestine under the british mandate, see jacob metzer, the divided economy of mandatory palestine (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1998). for a study on jewish, muslim, and christian identities in the pre-mandate and mandate periods, see michelle campos, ottoman brothers: muslims, christians, and jews in early-twentieth century palestine (stanford: stanford university press, 2011). for an example of research viewing the mandate through the lenses of empire and politics, see roza el-eini, mandated landscape: british imperial rule in palestine,1929-1948 (new york: routledge, 2006). 2 in this paper, the descriptor of “palestinian arab” is used to designate the group of arabs living within mandate palestine. “arab” is used to refer to arabs in the middle east prior to the mandate, primarily during the ottoman period. the paper avoids describing the arabs living and operating in the mandate as simply “palestinians” due to the current political connotations of such terminology. the descriptor of palestinian carries with it the presumption of a unified palestinian nation that was present during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. however, this paper complicates the notion of a unified palestinian nation during the mandate years, as do other works in the field. 3 political economy refers to many methods of inquiry and conceptualizations of political and economic life. i use the term to essentially refer to the inseparable relationship between politics and economics, each critically informing the practices and discourses of the other. in the case of mandate palestine, the political structures and organizations of the mandate were embedded within the process of capitalist expansion. the politics produced to govern and justify the system complemented the economic demands of the british rulers. likewise, the political strategies and narratives produced by palestinian arabs were also underpinned by their relationship to the economy. this is what the paper seeks to elaborate. 4 this perspective is seen clearly in the works of bernard lewis, particularly in the arabs in history (london: hutchinson & co. ltd, 1950) and islam and the west (new york: oxford university, 1993). 5 as a result of these narratives, the discursive categories of west and non-west, along with the characteristics attributed to each under the prevailing world historical paradigm, remain unproblematized. the west, in the dominant paradigm, is conceived as the modern power center which actively makes history while non-westerners are portrayed as powerless, exotic, passive, and non-instrumental in the historical process see peter gran, beyond eurocentrism: a new view of modern world history (syracuse: syracuse university press, 1996), 1-5. 6 joel beinin, “political economy defined,” jadmag pedagogy publications 4, no. 2 (fall 2016): 4-6. 7 in beyond eurocentrism, peter gran details that all modern states are class based and are maintained by obscuring this basic reality through the elaboration and dissemination of culturally hegemonic ideas on either race, region, gender, or caste. he is working within a gramscian framework. adam hanieh has provided insights on the utility of marxism in his writings on the political economy and the middle east. see adam hanieh, capitalism and class in the gulf arab states (new york: palgrave macmillan, 211). mandy turner describes her use of marx and gramsci to articulate the role of social movements from above and social movements from below in the middle east and palestine. see mandy turner, “a critical political economy: social forms, power relations, and alternatives,” jadmag pedagogy publications 4, no. 2 (fall 2016): 26-28. 8 sherene seikaly, men of capital: scarcity and economy in mandate palestine (stanford: stanford university press, 2015). however, due to the focus on political economy as capitalist development in the business sector, seikaly’s analysis favors a form of economism as expressed in the urban, business class while only mentioning the peasantry in relation to the men of capital’s economic and discursive projects. 9 for an incisive analysis of how middle-class formation and arab nationalism were co-constituted within capitalist development under the british mandate, see deborah bernstein and badi hasisi, “‘buy and promote the national cause’: consumption, class formation, and nationalism in mandate palestine society,” nations and nationalism 14, no.1 (2008): 469-489. 10 joel beinin provides instructive advice for how to effectively consider culture without reducing everything to it. in this way, the economic determinism of orthodox marxism can be remedied. see beinin, 6. 11 see antonio gramsci, selections from the prison notebooks, trans. and ed. quintin hoare and geoffrey nowell smith (new york: international publishers, 1971), 270-272. 12 for example, see david de vries, diamonds and war: state, capital, and labor in british-ruled palestine (new york: berghahn books, 2010). “in this picture the state is brought into the discussion as a primary force that enables the existence and operation of such occupational communities, well embedded in their quotidian routines, business strategies, and future calculations, to the point that the boundaries between state and capital become often blurred” (7). 20 13 gramsci, 12 and 246. 14 for a discussion of british colonial policy in palestine, see d. k. fieldhouse, “palestine: the british mandate, 1918-1948,” in western imperialism in the middle east, 1914-1958 (oxford: oxford university press, 2006). 15 the most well-known forays into this topic were conducted by edward said. see orientalism (new york: vintage books, 1978). see also works by scholars of the subaltern studies group, such as ranajit guha: dominance without hegemony: history and power in colonial india (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1997). these works tend to emphasize culture as a primary force of imperialism and power. political economy is less explored. 16 for details on how british policies reflected different treatment toward arabs and jews, see fieldhouse, “palestine: the british mandate, 1918-1948.” for imperial perceptions toward arabs and muslims, as well as jews, leading up to the mandatory project, see lorenzo kamel, imperial perceptions of palestine: british influence and power in late ottoman times (new york: i.b. tauris, 2015). 17 for a discussion of this relationship between arab nationalism and the middle class in palestine, see deborah bernstein and badi hasisi, “‘buy and promote the national cause’: consumption, class formation, and nationalism in mandate palestine society,” nations and nationalism 14, no.1 (2008): 469-489. for a wider chronological scope of the relationship between the middle class in the middle east, nationalism, and conceptions of modernity, see keith david watenpaugh, being modern in the middle east: revolution, nationalism, colonialism, and the arab middle class (princeton: princeton university press, 2014). 18 “balfour declaration 1917,” yale law school, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/balfour.asp. 19 in response to these measures, the committee for the defense of the rights of palestinians in foreign countries was created by palestinians in jerusalem to put pressure on the british to amend the law. the committee fought for the uncomplicated entry of palestinians who were living abroad, such as in the americas. it was ultimately decided that the law would not be amended. see nadim bawalsa, “legislating exclusion: palestinian migrants and interwar citizenship,” journal of palestine studies 46, no. 2 (2017): 45-50. 20 nadim bawalsa, “legislating exclusion: palestinian migrants and interwar citizenship,” journal of palestine studies 46, no. 2 (2017): 45-50. 21 see mahmoud yazbak, “from poverty to revolt: economic factors in the outbreak of the 1936 rebellion in palestine,” middle eastern studies 36, no. 3 (2000): 107. 22 tna co 733/35, quoted in bawalsa, 46. 23 quoted in bawalsa, 46. 24 bawalsa, 45. 25 dan leon, “the jewish national fund: how the land was ‘redeemed,’” palestine-israel journal of politics 12/13, no. 4/1 (2005): 115-117 and 120-121. 26 see fredrik meiton, “the radiance of the jewish national home: technocapitalism, electrification, and the making of modern palestine,” comparative studies in society and history 57, no. 4 (2015): 975-1006. 27 mahmoud yazbak, “from poverty to revolt: economic factors in the outbreak of the 1936 rebellion in palestine,” middle eastern studies 36, no. 3 (2000): 101. 28 kenneth stein, “rural change and peasant destitution: contributing causes to the arab revolt in palestine, 1936-1939,” in peasants and politics in the middle east, ed. farhad kazemi and john waterbury (miami: florida international university press, 1991), 151-154. 29 ibid, 152-153. 30 mark levine, overthrowing geography: jaffa, tel aviv, and the struggle for palestine, 1880-1948 (berkeley: university of california press, 2005), 34. 31 jacob norris, “return migration and the rise of palestinian nouveaux riches, 1870-1925,” journal of palestine studies 46, no. 2 (2017): 71. 32 r. harari, palestine sessional papers: administration reports. department of commerce and industry. report on the economic and commercial situation of palestine. white paper, june 1922 & british constitution for palestine, august 1922. 1922. selected files from series cab, co, fco, fo, prem, t, wo, the national archives, kew, uk. the national archives, kew, united kingdom. archives unbound. web. 27 oct. 2020. <http://go.galegroup.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/gdsc/i.do?&id=gale%7csc5107024467&v=2.1&u=psucic&i t=r&p=gdsc&sw=w&viewtype=manuscript>. 33 annual report for palestine and transjordan, 1928. corrected proof. wailing wall riots, 1929. 1928. selected files from series cab, co, fco, fo, prem, t, wo, the national archives, kew, uk. the national archives, kew, united kingdom. archives unbound. web. 27 oct. 2020. <http://go.galegroup.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/gdsc/i.do?&id=gale%7csc5107036466&v=2.1&u=psucic&i t=r&p=gdsc&sw=w&viewtype=manuscript>. 21 34 ibid. 35 these instances of cooperation are not to suggest that all palestinians belonging to a certain socioeconomic class facilitated these transactions with the same motives. there were many factors that influenced palestinian arabs’ decisions to sell land or participate in certain sectors of production. these influences ranged from the strain of burdensome debts to the prospects of achieving substantial profits. for an analysis of the various economic roles and motives within the palestinian community during this period, see hillel cohen, army of shadows: palestinian collaboration with zionism, 1917-1948, trans. haim watzman (berkeley: university of california press, 2008), particularly chapter 3. 36 hizky shoham, “‘buy local’ or ‘buy jewish’? separatist consumption in interwar palestine,” international journal of middle east studies 45, no. 3 (2013): 478. 37 seikaly, 28. 38 palestinian arabs of the business class translated their economic capital into political capital as leaders of political parties and chambers of commerce as well as cultural capital as leaders of the liberal arab nationalist project and producers of cultural discourses in the pages of iqtisadiyyat. for a discussion on palestinian arab investments in industry, banks, and cultural production, see seikaly, men of capital, 28-32 and 106-109. 39 bernstein and hasisi, 131. 40 bernstein and hasisi, 131. 41 bernstein and hasisi, particularly 142-146. 42 seikaly, 28. 43 weldon c. matthews, “pan-islam or arab nationalism? the meaning of the 1931 jerusalem islamic congress reconsidered,” international journal of middle east studies 35, no. 1 (2003): 5. 44 yazbak, 104. 45 see weldon c. matthews, particularly 10-12. 46 taysir nashif, “social background characteristics as determinants of political behavior of the arab political leadership of palestine under the british mandate,” journal of third world studies 26, no. 2 (2009): 164-165. 47 it becomes clear here that the cultural identity was not only conditioned by the political economy and arab nationalist identity in the pre-mandate and mandatory periods, but then proceeded to condition the political economy and overall project of the mandate itself. there is a dialectic present. 48 seikaly, 28. 49 seikaly, 25. 50 seikaly, 26. 51 bernstein and hasisi, 140-142. 52 bernstein and hasisi, 141-142. 53 see marco demichelis, “from nahda to nakba: the government arab college of jerusalem and its palestine historical heritage in the first half of the twentieth century,” arab studies quarterly 37, no. 3 (2015): 264-281. it is important to note that access to higher education also gave palestinian arabs further opportunities abroad, resulting in an out migration of educated palestinian arabs to european countries. 54 see elizabeth brownson, “colonialism, nationalism, and the politics of teaching history in mandate palestine,” journal of palestine studies 43, no. 3 (2014): 9-25. bowman’s reasoning included the prevention of a “halfeducation, unemployed class, so prevalent in india and egypt” (11). 55 brownson, 12. rural education, along with agricultural coursework, also focused on arabic literacy and religion. the towns focused on english language education along with their vocational training. 56 the peasantry was needed on the land not only to perform the function of agricultural output but to keep the urban areas more manageable. industries could only hire so many workers. as peasants migrated to the cities, shantytowns were constructed on the outskirts, posing health concerns for the mandate. mahmoud yazbak notes the problem of migrants from villagers unable to secure a job during the mid-1930s. see yazbak, 108. also, for a discussion on the shantytowns on the outskirts of major cities, see tamir goren, “efforts to establish an arab worker’s neighbourhood in british mandatory palestine,” middle eastern studies 42, no. 6 (2006): 917-933. the hegemony’s spatial and discursive dichotomization of the countryside and the cities needs further examination. 57 stein, 145-146. 58 stein, 149. 59 stein, 146-151. it is important to note that the peasantry’s struggles were not always due to zionist or british demands but to natural afflictions such as poor soil quality and droughts. 60 amos nadan, the palestinian peasant economy under the mandate: a story of colonial bungling (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 2006), 185-1909. 22 61 stein, 148-152. for instance, some palestinian farmers convoked an economic conference in 1929 at which they called for an agricultural bank, updated infrastructural and communication systems to facilitate product distribution, and improved sanitation and educational systems. 62 charles w. anderson, “state formation from below and the great revolt in palestine,” journal of palestine studies 47, no.1 (2017): 41-44. 63 see sonia namir, “‘a nation in a hero:’ abdul rahim hajj mohammad and the arab revolt,” in struggle and survival in palestine/israel, ed. mark levine and and gershon shafir (berkeley: university of california press, 2012), 141-156. namir elaborates on the complex relationship between socio-economic class and political struggle through the life of abdul rahim hajj mohammad. 64 charles w. anderson, “the suppression of the great revolt and the destruction of everyday life in palestine,” jerusalem quarterly 79 (august 2019): 11-13. 65 hajj amin al-husayni, quoted in philip mattar, the mufti of jerusalem: al-hajj amin al-husayni and the palestinian national movement (new york: columbia university press, 1988), 76. 66 see philip mattar, 80. the other arab nations called on the palestinian leaders to end the strike and make a deal with the british because “we rely on the good intentions of our friend great britain, who has declared that she will do justice.” 67 see matthew hughes, “palestinian collaboration with the british: the peace bands and the arab revolt in palestine, 1936-9,” journal of contemporary history 52, no. 2 (2016): 297-306. for instance, the nashashibi family helped establish peace bands to go after their political rivals such as the husaynis. for their part, the british funded directly many palestinian arabs who were working for the peace bands. 68 it is the hope that this paper provides a constructive approach to studying the british mandate of palestine through the lens of political economy, which brings together aspects of the economy, colonialism, state formation, and cultural hegemony. however, this study is undoubtedly incomplete. further research to develop the theory of state hegemony under the mandate should assess how the various palestinian arab actors in civil society functioned as intellectuals for the colonial state, disseminating logics of capitalism, liberalism, and cultural separatism to the broader population. likewise, inquiries should be conducted into the effects of this dissemination and the degrees to which it was at all successful. additionally, research must be performed into how power was exercised by the peasantry and channeled upward in society, impacting the range and direction of british and arab attitudes and practices. such research has implications on contemporary nationalist narratives that undergird the israeli state as well as the palestinian nationalist movements fighting for increased autonomy or statehood in the occupied territories. --------- acknowledgements: while developing this paper, i discussed the subject matter with professors who pushed me to consider additional lines of inquiry and to elaborate the theory that underpins my analysis. dr. samer abboud offered valuable assistance in this process by sharing political economy approaches to studying the british mandate and the role of palestinian arabs during this period. dr. hibba abugideiri provided insightful feedback that encouraged me to refine the ways in which i presented theory in the paper. dr. cathlyn mariscotti helped shape my understanding of antonio gramsci’s theory and its application to the context studied in this paper. additionally, the editors for concept provided astute feedback that helped me finalize the paper. lastly, through conversations with fellow graduate student micaela miralles bianconi, i was able to further clarify my own understanding of this topic and how i would like to present these ideas in the paper. thank you all for the guidance, support, and encouragement. 23 bibliography anderson, charles w. “state formation from below and the great revolt in palestine.” journal of palestine studies 47, no.1 (2017): 39-55. anderson, charles w. “the suppression of the great revolt and the destruction of everyday life in palestine.” jerusalem quarterly 79 (august 2019): 9-27. annual report for palestine and transjordan, 1928. corrected proof. wailing wall riots, 1929. 1928. selected files from series cab, co, fco, fo, prem, t, wo, the national archives, kew, uk. the national archives, kew, united kingdom. archives unbound. web. 27 oct. 2020. <http://go.galegroup.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/gdsc/i.do?&id=gale%7csc51070 36466&v=2.1&u=psucic&it=r&p=gdsc&sw=w&viewtype=manuscript>. “balfour declaration 1917.” yale law school. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/balfour.asp. bawalsa, nadim. “legislating exclusion: palestinian migrants and interwar citizenship.” journal of palestine studies 46, no. 2 (2017): 44-59. beinin, joel. “political economy defined.” jadmag pedagogy publications 4, no. 2 (fall 2016): 4-6. bernstein, deborah and badi hasisi. “‘buy and promote the national cause’: consumption, class formation, and nationalism in mandate palestine society.” nations and nationalism 14, no.1 (2008): 469-489. brownson, elizabeth. “colonialism, nationalism, and the politics of teaching history in mandate palestine.” journal of palestine studies 43, no. 3 (2014): 9-25. campos, michelle. ottoman brothers: muslims, christians, and jews in early-twentieth century palestine. stanford: stanford university press, 2011. cohen, hillel. army of shadows: palestinian collaboration with zionism, 1917-1948 translated by haim watzman. berkeley: university of california press, 2008. de vries, david. diamonds and war: state, capital, and labor in british-ruled palestine. new york: berghahn books, 2010. demichelis, marco. “from nahda to nakba: the government arab college of jerusalem and its palestine historical heritage in the first half of the twentieth century.” arab studies quarterly 37, no. 3 (2015): 264-281. el-eini, roza. mandated landscape: british imperial rule in palestine,1929-1948. new york: routledge, 2006. 24 fieldhouse, d. k. “palestine: the british mandate, 1918-1948.” in western imperialism in the middle east, 1914-1958, 152-220. oxford: oxford university press, 2006. goren, tamir. “efforts to establish an arab worker’s neighbourhood in british mandatory palestine.” middle eastern studies 42, no. 6 (2006): 917-933. gramsci, antonio. selections from the prison notebooks. translated and edited by quintin hoare and geoffrey nowell smith. new york: international publishers, 1971. gran, peter. beyond eurocentrism: a new view of modern world history. syracuse: syracuse university press, 1996. guha, ranajit. dominance without hegemony: history and power in colonial india. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1997. hanieh, adam. capitalism and class in the gulf arab states. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2011. harari, r. palestine sessional papers: administration reports. department of commerce and industry. report on the economic and commercial situation of palestine. white paper, june 1922 & british constitution for palestine, august 1922. 1922. selected files from series cab, co, fco, fo, prem, t, wo, the national archives, kew, uk. the national archives, kew, united kingdom. archives unbound. web. 27 oct. 2020. <http://go.galegroup.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/gdsc/i.do?&id=gale%7csc51070 24467&v=2.1&u=psucic&it=r&p=gdsc&sw=w&viewtype=manuscript>. hughes, matthew. “palestinian collaboration with the british: the peace bands and the arab revolt in palestine, 1936-9.” journal of contemporary history 52, no. 2 (2016): 291-315. kamel, lorenzo kamel. imperial perceptions of palestine: british influence and power in late ottoman times. new york: i.b. tauris, 2015. leon, dan. “the jewish national fund: how the land was ‘redeemed.’” palestine-israel journal of politics 12/13, no. 4/1 (2005): 115-123. levine, mark. overthrowing geography: jaffa, tel aviv, and the struggle for palestine, 1880-1948. berkeley: university of california press, 2005. lewis, bernard. the arabs in history. london: hutchinson & co. ltd, 1950. mattar, philip. the mufti of jerusalem: al-hajj amin al-husayni and the palestinian national movement. new york: columbia university press, 1988. 25 matthews, weldon c. “pan-islam or arab nationalism? the meaning of the 1931 jerusalem islamic congress reconsidered.” international journal of middle east studies 35, no. 1 (2003): 1-22. meiton, fredrik. “the radiance of the jewish national home: technocapitalism, electrification, and the making of modern palestine.” comparative studies in society and history 57, no. 4 (2015): 975-1006. metzer, jacob. the divided economy of mandatory palestine. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1998. nadan, amos. the palestinian peasant economy under the mandate: a story of colonial bungling. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 2006. namir, sonia. “‘a nation in a hero:’ abdul rahim hajj mohammad and the arab revolt.” in struggle and survival in palestine/israel, edited by mark levine and and gershon shafir, 141-156. berkeley: university of california press, 2012. nashif, taysir. “social background characteristics as determinants of political behavior of the arab political leadership of palestine under the british mandate.” journal of third world studies 26, no. 2 (2009): 161-173. norris, jacob. “return migration and the rise of palestinian nouveaux riches, 1870-1925.” journal of palestine studies 46, no. 2 (2017): 60-75. said, edward. orientalism. new york: vintage books, 1978. seikaly, sherene. men of capital: scarcity and economy in mandate palestine. stanford: stanford university press, 2015. shoham, hizky. “‘buy local’ or ‘buy jewish’? separatist consumption in interwar palestine.” international journal of middle east studies 45, no. 3 (2013): 469-489. stein, kenneth. “rural change and peasant destitution: contributing causes to the arab revolt in palestine, 1936-1939.” in peasants and politics in the middle east, edited by farhad kazemi and john waterbury, 143-170. miami: florida international university press, 1991. turner, mandy. “a critical political economy: social forms, power relations, and alternatives.” jadmag pedagogy publications 4, no. 2 (fall 2016): 26-28. watenpaugh, keith david. being modern in the middle east: revolution, nationalism, colonialism, and the arab middle class. princeton: princeton university press, 2014. yazbak, mahmoud. “from poverty to revolt: economic factors in the outbreak of the 1936 rebellion in palestine.” middle eastern studies 36, no. 3 (2000): 93-113. microsoft word tompkins psy.docx beyond entertainment: exploring the intricacies of true crime fascination anastasiia k. tompkins psychology as i settle into the driver's seat, the hum of the engine accompanies the anticipation that arises from pressing play on yet another true crime podcast. hours upon hours have been devoted to unraveling tales of murders, sects, abductions, and serial killers from around the globe. each narrative becomes more than just a story; it's an exploration of human psychology and madness, a captivating journey into the depths of the darker side of humanity. with each chilling narrative, i ponder the peculiar allure that keeps me coming back for more. is there a connection between this intrigue and any hidden criminal tendencies within me? the prevalence of true crime captivates millions, particularly drawing in a significant female audience, prompting me to dive deeper into this intriguing phenomenon. this paper seeks to unravel the mysteries surrounding our collective fascination with true crime. from exploring the evolutionary adaptations that may underlie our obsession to understanding the personal and societal benefits, especially for women who seem disproportionately captivated by this form of entertainment. what common motives and characteristics do individuals within the true crime community share? how does this community serve as a support system, aiding in the processing of trauma and fostering connections among those with underrepresented voices? this journey will not only investigate existing research but also pose new questions, laying the groundwork for future studies. i seek to shed light on the complex web of motivations behind our fascination with the darker aspects of human nature, ranging from the importance of social media in building community to the role of true crime stories within feminist discourse. unconscious motivations people cannot always confidently articulate why they are interested in certain things; often, it is concealed within their unconscious motivations and biases. uncovering the motivation behind true crime interest begins with the human negativity bias, which posits that individuals are more drawn to negative stimuli in the environment (bebbington et al., 2017). research indicates that people pay more attention to negative events, finding it challenging to disengage from threatening stimuli, and unpleasant stimuli activate neural brain functioning more strongly than positive (crretié et al., 2009; van damme et al., 2008). morbid curiosity, defined as a strong desire to learn about events connected with death and terror, presents another facet of the negativity bias (zuckerman, 1984). behavioral experiments have demonstrated that individuals deliberately expose themselves to images of death and violence when given a choice (oosterwijk, 2017). but why are humans drawn to such gruesome content? research suggests that this attraction may stem from an evolutionary adaptation geared towards vigilance against potential threats. however, while this theory aligns with our impulse for self-preservation, questions regarding its legitimacy arise when considering gender differences. men tend to exhibit greater morbid curiosity than women, a trait often linked to the evolutionary responsibility of males to protect (harrison & frederick, 2022). yet, intriguingly, this discrepancy fails to fully explain why women often display a heightened interest in topics like serial killers. it raises the possibility of a distinct female need for protective vigilance—an instinct aimed at survival, offspring protection, and avoidance of sexual violence, independently from a man (harrison & frederick, 2022). another bias possibly affecting people’s obsession with true crime is presentation of stories as real-life events. research showed that people are more drawn to non-fictional stories than fictional ones (green et al., 2004). however, this is not universally true; gender differences show that women prefer non-fiction morbid stories, while men prefer fictional, which can potentially explain why women are more drawn to true crime (harrison & frederick, 2022). additionally, evidence suggests that people are not well adapted to differentiate between fiction and non-fiction and prefer to read fiction stories presented as non-fiction stories (kanazawa, 2002). furthermore, humans trust non-fiction to such an extent that we rely on it to shape our worldview (leavitt et al., 2014). even how the story is told can impact our interests; an experimental study on mass murder coverage demonstrated that participants were more interested in school shooting stories when they focused on a hero – a bystander who stopped or slowed down the shooter – rather than on a victim or a shooter (levin & wiest, 2018). the same study indicated that the age of the participant played an integrative role, with individuals in their early 40s showing more interest in school shooting stories, possibly due to having children in schools. however, our unconscious can be an interesting place to start understanding the motivation of true crime fans, and it has the potential to uncover more about human psychology, in contrast to personal motivations, it is a great challenge to research. insights from fans when delving into the motivations of true crime enthusiasts, it's imperative to consult the fans themselves. this approach yields a diverse array of explanations, as there is no one-size-fitsall answer. nonetheless, certain factors emerge as particularly prominent. in a comprehensive survey of true crime podcast enthusiasts—who represent the primary consumers of such content—both men and women identified entertainment, media convenience, and boredom as the primary drivers behind their engagement with true crime podcasts (boling & hull, 2018). media convenience is often attributed to the allure of podcasts as a form of entertainment; listeners can engage while performing chores or driving, without being tethered to a screen for long series or seasons (chan-olmsted & wang, 2022). moreover, the sense of agency that podcasts provide— allowing listeners to choose what, and when, to listen—further contributes to their appeal (mcclung & johnson, 2010). this agency is evident in listeners' inclination to speculate on individuals involved, interpret evidence, and understand perpetrator motives in an attempt to solve the case (vitis & ryan, 2023). in another survey of true crime podcast consumers, a majority expressed their interest in true crime as rooted in a desire to understand how people become victims of crimes and "to know what situations to be wary of" (vitis & ryan, 2023). some true crime fans mention consuming such content to "learn about what could happen to them" and how to avoid becoming victims (boling & hull, 2018). this supports the notion that true crime serves as an adaptive mechanism for vigilance and self-protection. while a smaller group views true crime as an educational tool, seeking to comprehend how the criminal justice system operates (vitis & ryan, 2023), a larger proportion of respondents indicated a preference for learning about crime-solving procedures over understanding the justice system itself (boling, 2019). for certain individuals, true crime goes beyond mere entertainment; it serves as a pathway to self-understanding, a mechanism for coping with trauma, and a means of connecting with others who share similar experiences (boling, 2023; rodgers, 2023). however, clinical psychologist dr. thema bryant views the obsession with true crime as potentially unhealthy. she suggests that if true crime stories bring relaxation, it may indicate that individuals find comfort and familiarity in trauma, possibly stemming from growing up in a traumatic and unhealthy environment (robbins, 2023). although empirical data on this topic is currently lacking, the concept is undeniably intriguing and warrants further exploration. cultural disparities among true crime consumers significantly influence their motivations for engaging with the genre. a study comparing singaporean (low crime rate) and colombian (high crime rate) true crime fans shed light on this cultural effect (soto-sanfiel & montoyabermúdez, 2023). singaporeans tended to view true crime as a form of entertainment or a means to learn about past events, whereas colombians utilized it as a source for survival skills and information about murderers. additionally, colombians approached this media with more caution, acknowledging inherent issues such as revictimization, victim-blaming, and selfvictimization, including a fear of becoming a victim. remarkably, motivations for consuming true crime intertwine with both personal and cultural contexts, often without our full awareness. it's conceivable that individuals, like myself residing in relatively safe environments, might perceive true crime differently from those in less stable areas with higher crime rates. this multifaceted nature of true crime fascination underscores the diverse motivations individuals bring to their engagement with the genre. gender disparities as mentioned earlier, significant gender differences exist in true crime consumption, with women demonstrating higher involvement with true crime content. despite men having an overall higher podcast consumption rate (57%), a striking 80% of true crime podcast audiences are women (kilgariff & hardstark, 2016; boling & hull, 2018). intriguingly, women exhibit fascination with true crime content, despite having higher sensitivity and a lower disgust threshold than men, who often display more morbid curiosity and a preference for more gruesome media (skolnick et al., 2013; vicary & fraley, 2010). while podcasts are equally popular among individuals aged 18-55, the true crime podcast audience skews younger, with the majority falling into the 18-33 age group (boling & hull, 2018). this demographic alignment coincides with women in this age range facing the highest risk of sexual assault (centers for disease control and prevention, 2017). true crime narratives frequently revolve around maleperpetrated crimes against females, often with sexual motives. despite women being less likely victims of crime than men, they experience higher levels of fear regarding victimization, especially fear of sexual assault, which often accompanies other crimes, referred to as the "shadow of sexual assault" (ferrary, 1996). this fear is powerful due to the significant financial, emotional, and physical costs associated with sexual violence (hagen & symons, 2007; mckibbin et al., 2009). the prevalence of a female audience in the often-gruesome true crime genre can be understood through the concept of protective vigilance. women's fear of rape operates as a precautionary threat management system, motivating vigilance and defensive behavior (mcdonald et al., 2019). despite sexual violence often being perpetrated by acquaintances, women express a greater fear of rape by strangers, a theme commonly explored in true crime (stermac et al., 1995; wilcox et al., 2006). beyond fear and avoidance, women engage with true crime for educational reasons. studies indicate that women are more likely to prefer books containing useful tricks to avoid or escape victimization, as well as defense strategies against attackers (vicary & fraley, 2010). moreover, women may turn to true crime as a way to understand the behavior of sexual perpetrators and explore the psychology and motives of killers, helping them identify warning signs in people and stay vigilant to avoid victimization. additionally, women express a preference for books with female victims, which they find more relevant when learning to avoid victimization, while men exhibit no such gender preference (vicary & fraley, 2010). mcdonald et al. (2021) found that women who experienced greater fear of rape consumed more true crime, citing their motivation as learning strategies to avoid or escape such situations. furthermore, women who have experienced sexual assault in the past tend to consume more true crime media and harbor a heightened fear of rape. however, it remains a possibility that true crime consumption could contribute to an increase in the fear of rape. other motivations more pronounced among women than men include the desire to escape and voyeurism (boling & hull, 2018). for women, escaping involves a temporary break from work or ordinary life, while voyeurism reflects an interest in delving into the lives of others and uncovering their secrets. furthermore, women are more likely to view social interactions as a goal for consuming true crime, often desiring to discuss these narratives with friends and not to be left out. overall, women are drawn to true crime for various reasons, like escaping reality, curiosity, and learning to protect themselves. it's not just about entertainment; it's about understanding fear, feeling empowered, and connecting with others. "stay sexy and don't get murdered" the true crime genre transcends mere entertainment, evolving into a vast and dynamic community where individuals continually discuss, speculate, and explore both past and present cases. this community's discourse spans from aiding investigations, amplifying the voices of the accused, and even contributing to the resolution of cold cases, to the potential harm of falsely accusing individuals and complicating legal processes (brown, 2018; buozis, 2017). true crime podcasts, in particular, aim to seek justice for cold cases, advocate for the wrongfully convicted, and honor the memory of victims (shratton, 2019). some podcast creators express a desire to reform the justice system by educating the public and shedding light on existing problems (boling, 2019). while true crime offers both benefits and drawbacks for individual listeners and the community, its impact is profound. it serves as a powerful motivator, particularly for those who may feel isolated, providing opportunities to build relationships, connect with like-minded individuals. it also fosters parasocial relationships; true crime podcast hosts enjoy greater freedom of expression compared to hosts on formal tv shows or youtube, resulting in a unique "hyper-intimacy" (berry, 2016). this intimacy allows the audience to connect with the host on a personal level, fostering meaningful connections with individual listeners, making true crime podcasts more appealing than other forms of entertainment (mcclung & johnson, 2010; piper, 2015). social media plays an integral role in the true crime community. fans utilize platforms to amplify marginalized voices, produce counter-discourses, nurture solidarity, provide emotional support, and develop resistance strategies (fraser, 1990). the "hyper-intimacy" associated with podcasts fosters an atmosphere that allows to express opinions, discuss niche topics, and amplify marginalized voices (rodgers, 2023). these discussions enable people to share experiences and connect with diverse populations, promoting active communication rather than passive listening (hoydis, 2020). moreover, the true crime community has emerged as a powerful force within the feminist movement, creating popular mantras such as "f*ck politeness" and "stay sexy and don't get murdered" (rodgers, 2023). the former is a quick reminder to women that they do not need to stay polite if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe and want to leave the situation without worrying about other people’s feelings or being polite. the latter emphasizes that women should embrace their sexuality but know how to protect themselves and stay safe; the phrase also rejects blaming women for their victimization. recognizing everyday fear and violence in women's lives, restructuring gender norms, and denouncing victim-blaming are among the main goals of the true crime community (rodgers, 2023). historically, women have lacked a safe space to express their fears, emotions, and worries regarding violence and harassment. intimate podcasts encourage female listeners to share their personal experiences and perceptions within an understanding community, providing a safe space to express fears, emotions, and worries regarding violence and harassment (hoydis, 2020). listening to others' stories makes them feel justified in their fears, reinforcing the notion that it is not their fault (rodgers, 2023). online platforms also facilitate the sharing of information about dangerous individuals, distributing safety tips, and issuing warnings. additionally, the true crime community serves as a refuge for survivors of domestic violence, challenging media portrayals of victims and exposing weaknesses in the criminal justice system (boling, 2023). they share their experiences to educate the public and provide a safe space for processing trauma and escaping abusive relationships. this therapeutic experience represents a novel way for people to connect and support each other. despite its inclusive and intimate nature, the true crime community maintains its own rigid rules and norms. fathallah's (2022) study on reddit's true crime community revealed how fans regularly police boundaries to protect themselves from "bad fans" or individuals who obsessively idolize criminals. the community attempts to separate itself from such fans, preserving the space for those who are more "rationally" invested in true crime. however, fathallah (2022) suggests that moderators' gatekeeping practices may be connected to preserving gendered norms and morality, necessitating further investigation into the characteristics and motivations of those involved in these communities. what’s next? despite the widespread popularity of true crime media, it remains largely unexplored territory in the scientific field. investigating the motivational aspects of true crime stories requires experimental work to determine whether the non-fiction element is the most attractive component of the media. additionally, research is needed to ascertain if consumers would find fictional stories with similar crime components as useful and educational if presented as nonfiction. furthermore, it is essential to examine whether listeners are interested in stories where the victim is less relatable or similar to the typical audience, such as older individuals. moreover, there has been little exploration into why women exhibit more interest in serial killer topics. hypotheses suggest a potential female need for protective vigilance to survive independently from men (harrison & frederick, 2022). however, contrasting hypotheses propose that true crime consumption serves as a reminder of the possibility of danger in our relatively safe lives compared to our evolutionary ancestry (murley, 2008). future research could investigate whether true crime enhances fear of crime, particularly in women regarding sexual assault. additionally, understanding why women express a preference for stories with less common perpetrators, such as strangers like serial killers, could shed light on adaptation strategies to prevent considering everyone as a potential danger. examining this gap through the lens of uncertainty tolerance, defined as adaptiveness to change and tolerance of not knowing what is next, may provide insights into the female prevalence in true crime consumption beyond previous examinations (hillen et al., 2017). anecdotal evidence suggests benefits of true crime for victims of crime and marginalized communities. however, it remains unknown if true crime consumption is actually beneficial in detecting perpetrators or avoiding victimization. despite its popularity among victims of crime, little research has closely examined psychological trauma and true crime media use. while some argue that true crime can be a powerful therapeutic method by desensitizing individuals from trauma, others view it as revictimization when used to relive traumatic experiences. furthermore, there has been no examination of this topic using psychophysiological methods, which could provide meaningful insight into the neural processes of such media and its relevance for trauma care. future studies should explore these areas to provide scientific evidence for the clinical relevance of true crime. the dynamics of the true crime community have been understudied, providing fertile ground for social psychology and sociology research. despite its perceived benefits and inclusivity, the community has strong gatekeeping practices that may prevent certain voices from being heard. additionally, it is unclear whether the true crime community provides educational resources to avoid or cope with crime, or if its popularity is solely due to the surrounding community and the sense of belonging it offers. moreover, it is unknown whether the true crime community is unique or if other media or topics that include hyper-intimacy share the same audience or functions. exploring the importance of parasocial relationships in this phenomenon remains an intriguing area awaiting exploration. conclusion in essence, our fascination with true crime delves beyond entertainment, driven by unconscious motives and evolutionary instincts. gender disparities underscore women as primary consumers, motivated by fear, vigilance, education, and empowerment. the true crime community not only fosters connection but also challenges societal norms. however, this search did not give definitive answers on so many questions aroused by true crime. significant gaps persist in our understanding, highlighting the need for further scientific exploration into this compelling phenomenon. references bebbington, k., macleod, c., ellison, t. m., & fay, n. 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(1984). sensation seeking: a comparative approach to a human trait. behavioral brain science, 7(3), 413–471. https://doi. org/10.1017/s0140525x00018938. 1 “three augustinian clerics die”: navigating villanova’s experience during a global pandemic jenna cholowinski history three headstones stand in the second row of the augustinian community cemetery on villanova university’s campus overlooking lancaster avenue. they belong to three students, who were actively enrolled in the villanova seminary in 1918 to become members of the augustinian order. hidden in plain sight, as over the years a total of one hundred ninety graves filled this augustinian-only cemetery, their stories blended in with their fellow augustinians. today, students walk past the cemetery to get from class to class, potentially stopping to look at each headstone, all identical: white marble grave markers with black text and a cross top center. these present-day villanovans are unaware that these three headstones belong to once villanova students, gilbert klunk, john dorgan, and albert starr, who met their untimely death up the hill at corr hall, a student dormitory built originally to house the augustinian seminary. these three men were the only people to die on campus during the 1918 influenza epidemic. buried at the augustinian plot to the right of st. thomas of villanova’s church, their stories reveal how a network of small, tightly woven communities existing within villanova college’s campus navigated the 1918 influenza epidemic. some notable augustinians buried on campus include past educators, professors, and presidents, such as rev. thomas c. middleton, rev. john fedigan, and rev. francis driscoll, whose names may be recognizable since they continue to designate academic buildings and residential dormitories on villanova’s campus. most of those buried around the three students 2 share characteristics of their life’s journey, including traveling to other provinces in the united states to teach and spread the augustinian belief. to the right of the three students lies rev. nicholas murphy, o.s.a., who enrolled in villanova’s seminary in 1868, professed his simple and solemn vows in 1874 and 1877 respectively.1 to the left of the three is rev. daniel murphy, o.s.a., who entered villanova in 1907 and professed his simple vows in 1908.2 both of these men lived into their sixties, a common occurrence in the augustinian cemetery that underscores just how anomalous the student graves are. augustinian roots in the united states started in spring of 1796, when reverend matthew carr, o.s.a. came to philadelphia from dublin, ireland.3 five decades later, the sole three philadelphian augustinians traveled twelve miles west of the city to belle-air mansion, owned by john rudolph.4 following rudolph’s death, the augustinians purchased the 197 acres for $18,000 to create what would be villanova college.5 the augustinians received the property title in january of 1842 and began operating as an established religious institution for young men and boys in 1843, after pope gregory xvi gave permission to create a “novice-house.”6 in 1848, villanova officially opened a seminary program to train men for the augustinian order.7 the campus originally used only the former belle-air mansion (now known as st. rita’s hall), but went on to build a chapel in 1844, alumni hall in 1848, st. thomas’s church in 1883, tolentine hall in 1899, and corr hall, a seminary facility, in 1912.8 it was during this period of developments that the original augustinian cemetery was moved from its original location of where tolentine hall stands today to in between st. rita’s hall and austin hall.9 in addition, this period at villanova college experienced a consistent growth in the number of students, as historian david contosta wrote that these numbers “went from 38 in the fall of 1898, to 76 in 3 1905, to 132 in 1914… by 1914 the college enrollment was more than twice that of the [boys preparatory] academy (132 to 56).”10 by 1918, villanova’s campus included a seminary, a preparatory academy for boys, and a college for lay people. villanova college’s 75th catalogue for the 1918-1919 academic year offers the best record of the campus’s administration prior to the epidemic striking the campus. the catalogue lists three hundred and eight students enrolled at villanova college in 1918. 11 this number, more than double what contosta reports for the total enrollment in 1914, is almost certainly the total number of students enrolled in the college, seminary, and academy. this is likely because this list features the names and home states of the three seminary students that would end up not making it past october of that year: john f. dorgan, massachusetts; gilbert f. klunk, pennsylvania; and albert w. starr, colorado.12 the 1918 school year was expected to be a relatively normal year for the college, with some expected modifications due to the united states’ involvement in world war i. one of these changes regarding world war i was the establishment of the student army training corps (satc) at villanova in september of 1918. due to concern about young men enlisting and being drafted, the villanova administration allowed for a unit of the satc to join the college to save the enrollment numbers. created by the u.s. war department to prepare for the war in europe, the satc was established in many colleges and universities for men to “simultaneously take college courses and train for the military.”13 on september 15, 1918, there was a recorded 185 enrolled students into the villanova unit of the satc.14 with new developments like the satc, villanova college was prepared to operate as a patriotic institution eager to have another great academic year. 4 not only did the epidemic come as a surprise to villanova, but it shocked the entire world, creating an additional severe obstacle for nations fighting in world war i. epidemiologists believe that the 1918 influenza virus, nicknamed the “spanish flu” due to early press coverage in spain, originated globally in haskell county, kansas. 15 one of the first places to be infected was the nearby army base, camp funston, which held an average of 56,000 troops.16 from the early cases at camp funston in march of 1918, evidence suggests that the virus traveled via war ships headed to europe, infecting a large percentage of troops. symptoms of this influenza virus included not only standard flu indicators like headaches, body aches, fevers, and coughing, but also more aggressive reactions such as cyanosis, delirium, and bleeding from the nose, mouth, and ears.17 describing the death toll of the 1918 outbreak, historian john barry wrote that “when influenza kills, it usually kills through pneumonia.” 18 the pneumonia could be caused either by the influenza virus or indirectly by weakening the body’s defense to allow secondary infection.19 the dangers of the epidemic unbeknownst to him, rev. thomas c. middleton—former villanova president from 1876 to 1878 and board of trustees secretary—must have also seen the early months of the 1918 school year as unextraordinary. recognized as the first librarian and archivist of villanova due to his detailed accounts of daily activities and efforts of preservation, middleton spent the last fifty eight years of his life at villanova, from 1865 to his death in 1923.20 in a journal entry right before the epidemic hit villanova, middleton documented that on friday, september 27th, the meals for the monastery refectory were as follows: breakfast at 6:30 am, dinner 12:15pm, and supper 5:45pm.21 just two days later, his journal entries changed drastically, including new vocabulary and depicting previously unseen circumstances. by that sunday, the 29th of september, middleton 5 recorded words in quotes and underlines such as “epidemic,” “flu” and “cases” numbering up to forty-three in the college.22 in the same entry middleton notes other key details, like one physician and seven nurses arriving from bryn mawr hospital to care for infected students. he continues, writing that “student (later) sent [to bryn mawr hospital] (died later).”23 along with this news, middleton adds a familiar fourth line to this day’s entry: “meals in college, breakfast 6:30, dinner 11:45, supper 5:30.”24 whether middleton anticipated the severity of the epidemic, his entry attests to the normalcy of the community, meaning that regardless of an extraordinary circumstance, the small-knit community still had to perform its day-to-day functions. middleton’s journal entries of the epidemic, october 1-4, 1918. source: rev. thomas c. middleton, “journal.” october 1918. 901.2129 middleton augustinian archive personnel files, augustinian monastery archives, villanova university. as news trickled in, it was not until the next day that anyone, including middleton, found out which student was sent to the hospital and died. edward j. mcelwee died at age nineteen in bryn mawr hospital at 3:30 pm on september 30, 1918.25 in middleton’s journal, mcelwee was 6 labeled as a “militarist,” likely due to the student’s engagement with the student army training corps; four days prior, middleton’s entry involved him documenting the “militarists” medical exams.26 mcelwee’s death certificate designates pneumonia, contracted at the college, as the cause of death. edward mcelwee was not well known to many villanovans; originally from wilmington, delaware, he had been in the state of pennsylvania for seven days, three of them spent entirely at bryn mawr hospital.27 the villanovan, the college’s newspaper, remembered mcelwee in the october 1918 issue writing, “we knew him, not so much from long acquaintance as from the nobility of his purpose. he came to us with the spirit of a soldier. already disease had taken hold on his body, but his will was strong and courageous.”28 on september 30th, middleton recorded that mcelwee had received all the sacraments and was buried at his home church.29 middleton’s quarantine pass, oct. 7, 1918. source: “middleton quarantine pass,” october 1918. 901.2129 middleton augustinian archive personnel files, augustinian monastery archives, villanova university. the date october 1st in middleton’s journal is preceded by the term “quarantine,” underlined and in quotations. the day’s entry is filled with unexpected changes for villanova, as 7 middleton writes that the united states government had placed the area under quarantine, effectively stopping the routine traffic on lancaster ave, spring mill road, and the “prr,” likely the paoli railroad line that runs north of main campus.30 traveling outside of campus now seemed impossible, as the reverend wrote that these paths and railroads were “closed to everyone, exc. on ‘pass.’”31 this “pass” referred to a slip of paper authorized by the u.s. army, given to few in order to leave campus. bookmarked in between the two pages he used to document the epidemic, rev. middleton’s tissue-like thin paper pass dated october 7th, 1918 sits as an artifact reflecting the military-enforced management of the epidemic in midst of a global war.32 violations of quarantine could incur a severe penalty. just over a mile down the road from villanova college, bryn mawr college student nathalie gookin wrote to her mother in chicago on september 30th that the students “can’t go on the other side of montgomery avenue, and any infraction of the rule will be punished by immediate suspension that of course means no philadelphia and no bike.”33 unbeknownst to her, not being able to enter philadelphia in the early part of october may have benefitted her and other students, as the city was also experiencing a high number of pneumonia cases. in addition to the regional limitations on travel, middleton’s october 1st entry also states that church services were suspended by order of a rector named hasson who lived in rosemont.34 although church services were suspended on the 1st, members of the seminary and augustinian communities were able to still use st. thomas’s church. in one day, the small, religious community of villanova became isolated by restrictions of quarantine and suspension of church services, two disruptions to the activities imbedded in the everyday life of campus and the spiritual identity of the augustinian clergy, faculty, and student body. 8 middleton also mentioned the installation of “guards” who have been placed at all entrances to the college. these guards were initially on duty for two-hour increments from six in the morning to six in the evening but were later scheduled to work all hours of the day, an edit to the entry likely noted days after.35 as of october 4th, there were seven military posts spanning across campus grounds.36 each post had one guard stationed, likely students from the satc that were noted to have used wooden guns.37 despite all of these early interventions in efforts to mitigate the influenza’s spread, villanova college and the city of philadelphia twelve miles east had yet to encounter the worst of the epidemic. on the 28th of september, a day before middleton documented the start of the flu epidemic at villanova, philadelphia carried out its fourth liberty loan parade, with an estimated 200,000 people gathered to watch the twenty-three-block long parade.38 the epidemic exploded in philadelphia in the days following the parade, with over 635 new cases on october 1st alone, the same day villanova entered quarantine and suspended church services.39 according to historian alfred crosby, by the end of the first week in october, around seven hundred philadelphians had died as a result of the influenza epidemic.40 philadelphia would become one of the worst affected u.s. cities, with an estimated total of about 12,000 deaths.41 crosby writes that “the story of the pandemic in the cities is apt to be more dramatic than elsewhere.”42 but smaller communities were also devastated by the flu. an article in the ardmore chronicle from october 12th, 1918, stated that on october 1st, a small branch of the red cross, called “mrs. norton’s corps,” went to villanova college for their first field experience. the article explained that upon their arrival, “no less than 80 cases awaited them and with only two trained nurses to direct them [the ladies] soon brought relief to this stricken district.”43 this article illustrates the shock of these ladies from the local area, as they were unaware of the 9 number of villanovans in need of aid. if the case number reported here is accurate, this would represent over twenty-five percent of the villanova student body of 1918. after reporting fifty-seven cases on october 3rd, middleton created a second october 3rd entry following his october 5th entry. it stated that a college clerk named miss winifred foley reported the number of cases in the college to actually be seventy.44 a closer estimate to the eighty reported in the ardmore chronicle, this edit illustrates the chaotic environment caused by the flu, where administrators like middleton tried to accurately assess the campus’s condition. the next day’s entry is more telling. middleton wrote that kehoe, director of novices and professed, reported twenty-six cases in the corr building, likely all seminarians, and prefect mcgrath reported eleven cases in the boys academy.45 additionally, the reverend stated that vice president driscoll, commandant scott, and father hasson, the rector at rosemont, had 102-degree fevers. regardless of religious or military affiliation with the college, or being an administrative figure or student, all areas of villanova were susceptible to influenza. the nearby community of wayne was also suffering. an issue of the suburban on october 4th, 1918, tells a similar story to that of middleton’s journal. an article, titled “spanish influenza: disease prevalent in this section,” reported the radnor schools closing due to sickness among students and teachers, overworked local physicians working all hours of the day, bryn mawr hospital being at full capacity, and a quick mention of villanova college being “hit hard” as well.46 the article also discusses the dangerous nature of this influenza virus. victims, they report, “after being apparently on the road to recovery” from influenza “develop pneumonia, which in a large percentage of cases proves fatal.”47 local newspapers such as this one captured emotions of fear and confusion, as members of this community tried to understand a disease that had disrupted their everyday life. 10 middleton’s daily entries reveal that the campus managed the influenza outbreak with a combination of spiritual and medical efforts. rev. thomas middleton continued his detailed entries on saturday october 5th where he wrote that eight nurses were on duty, all wearing “masks,” another term he placed in quotation marks. in addition to noting that all classes were now suspended, he wrote that by order of the prior provincial nicholas vasey the following prayers were to be said after meals in the chapel: “3 our [father], 3 hail marys with prayer (as in the ritual) vs. plague.”48 commandant scott, the man noted to have a 102 degree fever the day before, cancelled all active quarantine passes and issued new ones, potentially as a way to control the number of people entering and leaving campus. lastly, middleton ends the day’s notes by observing the community outside of campus, writing that “along the main line ‘souphouses’ estab. even for the well-to-do; cooks, servants stricken.”49 in eight bulleted lines this entry addresses a number of problems and situations caused by the epidemic. medical aid and mask-wearing practices, the spiritual fight against “the plague” from the augustinian community, and the survival efforts of the regional community were all unprecedented and new realities faced by this greater philadelphia area. bryn mawr student nathalie gookin’s feelings also shed light on a developing sense of vulnerability. she wrote to her mother on that same saturday that “i don’t see how anyone can avoid getting the influenza, because one moment you’re with a person who’s quite well and the next moment she has it.”50 writing to her mother that twenty definite cases of influenza had been reported in bryn mawr college’s infirmary, nathalie explains that even after limiting her daily schedule to her regular classes, she doesn’t “believe it’s possible for anyone to escape getting it, just consider that in less than a week there are over twenty cases.”51 nathalie’s letters are crucial 11 to understanding the community’s response to the epidemic, as her language and observations reflect how vulnerable these people felt. in the following few days, villanova continued to implement more mandates in efforts to stifle the epidemic’s spread on campus. the 6th of october’s only journal entry noted that the church was closed, no longer available to anyone, and its doors locked.52 on the 7th, middleton updated a few developments, reporting that the guard posts around campus had increased from six to twenty-four. four more postulants, a term meaning people in the first stages of becoming members of a religious order, were sent to corr building the same day.53 the 7th of october also included the first notation of one of the three seminary students that died at villanova, gilbert klunk. already, klunk’s first mentioning is dire, as middleton writes that “novice klunk anointed by the prior (j. b. leonard).”54 the anointing of the sick is a catholic sacrament in which one nearing death is blessed in hopes that they might be physically healed, but more importantly spiritually healed, as this is at most times given when death is almost certain.55 despite being remembered through middleton’s journal as a victim of the flu, klunk spent his life first as a son, brother, and student. gilbert francis klunk was born in mcsherrystown, pennsylvania on january 12, 1894 to francis klunk, a carpenter, and his wife emma detrich.56 prior to enrolling in villanova’s preparatory academy, klunk worked as a grocery clerk.57 one of seven children, klunk and three of his sisters chose a life of piety, as sisters estella, leona and ada all entered the congregation of the sisters of st. joseph of chestnut hill in philadelphia.58 he spent three years at the academy, studying a wide variety of subjects including latin, greek, english, history, religion, geometry, and zoology.59 a tall, slender man with brown eyes and brown hair, gilbert klunk enrolled in villanova’s seminary at 12 age 24 as a novice on june 15, 1918 in hopes of becoming a member of the augustinian community.60 although caregivers and middleton himself believed death was imminent for him, gilbert was able to profess his vows and officially enter the augustinian order. on the 8th of october, middleton wrote that klunk was professed by prior j. b. leonard.61 in the augustinian order, enrolling in the seminary initiated the start of the novitiate year, and at the end of this first year, a novice would declare his “simple vows,” deeming him “professed” and thus an official “brother” of the augustinian order.62 despite it being four months since klunk enrolled, the circumstance of the influenza epidemic and klunk’s grim outlook compelled the villanova augustinian community to allow him to be professed so that he would die as a member of the order. within the augustinian order, in a circumstance in which a novice is in danger of death, the novice is invited to profess their vows.63 this exception demonstrates the community’s continuation of this rare procedure as the order allows dedicated and devoted novices like gilbert to become members in their final days. the seminary’s tight-knit nature is likely the reasoning as to why the epidemic struck it the hardest. on october 8th, six sisters of st. joseph were at corr building to help care for the sick, with three always on duty.64 middleton reported that in addition to six more postulants being sent there, there were thirty-four infected clerics in corr that evening.65 the case numbers did not improve. middleton recorded forty-one cases in total, thirty-five of them clerics and six of them postulants. in contrast, middleton noted only five cases in the college, signifying that the seminary, was experiencing the worst of the epidemic on campus.66 novices, the professed, and priests all lived together at corr hall and took their meals at the refectory in the monastery, 13 resulting in a large portion of the day being spent with one another in small spaces—an optimal breeding ground for the influenza virus.67 after recording the addition of nine more cases to corr, middleton wrote on october 10th that “klunk just died this 1:30 pm.”68 his parents, brother john and two sisters of the sisters of st. joseph, francis and aida, were present at his death bed in corr hall.69 on his death certificate, the cause of death is labeled “influenzal pneumonia.”70 the youngest son in the family and third youngest overall, gilbert was survived by six of his siblings, who all lived into adulthood.71 a local newspaper, the evening sun in hanover issued a long obituary, titled “takes priest vows on his death bed: gilbert f. klunk, mcsherrystown, admitted to catholic order under sad circumstances—is influenza victim.”72 the article detailed his life at villanova academy and seminary, as well as the uncommon decision to be professed on his deathbed. receiving his simple vows also seemed to allow gilbert to be buried in the augustinian community cemetery on villanova’s campus, as only members of the augustinian order who spent time at villanova were buried there. on october 10th, middleton foreshadowed the death of a second seminary student. following the sentence regarding klunk’s death, the next line reads “cleric dorgan near death.”73 john francis dorgan was born on october 17th, 1893 in lawrence, massachusetts to a machinist named john a. dorgan and his wife mary kerins.74 prior to entering the villanova novitiate on june 23rd, 1916,75 john attended the villanova academy for two years where he studied english, latin, greek, mathematics, history, physics, and religion.76 after a full year and one day, dorgan took his simple vows and was professed on june 24th, 1917, officially becoming a brother of the augustinian order.77 with a tall, medium build and gray eyes and light hair, dorgan was 25 years old when he started the academic year in the fall of 1918.78 14 middleton also reported on the 10th of october, below the updates on both klunk and dorgan, that there were fifty-nine cases in corr, with thirty-four ill on the first floor and twentynine labeled “convalescent” and recovering on the second floor. built with fifty rooms for clerics and four rooms for priests, corr hall was intended to hold a maximum of fifty students and four priests, a number that would be surpassed by another twenty students at the height of the epidemic.79 still, the seminary bore the brunt of the epidemic, as the reverend mentioned only two cases in the college and four in the academy, bringing villanova’s total cases to sixtyfive.80 as a result of its proximity to the city, villanova had little chances of finding a casket for gilbert as many of the nearby casket manufacturers were sold out due to philadelphia’s dire need for them. middleton ends the longest entry of his flu account with a disturbing bullet point, reading “prior leonard reports that no ’funeral casket’ can be got for klunk; none to be got any where.”81 back east in philadelphia, the week ending in october 12th almost quadrupled the 700 deaths the week prior, with 2,635 recorded deaths.82 historian alfred crosby writes that as many as 500 bodies were waiting to be interred.83 with coffin manufacturers and grave diggers falling behind, crosby continued that, “at times the city morgue had as many as ten times as many bodies as coffins.”84 the last entry in middleton’s journal regarding the epidemic was made on friday october 11th, 1918. it reads: 3 more ‘postulants’ sent to corr blg. dorgan given all the sacr. undertaker mcconaghy can get us ‘casket.’85 like klunk a few days before he died, dorgan also received the anointing of the sick sacrament so that he could be physically and spiritually healed. although middleton does not 15 continue this journal entry for reasons unknown, the augustinian obituary and dorgan’s headstone reveals that he died on the same day, october 11th, 1918. at the time of his death, he was just six days shy of his 26th birthday.86 his death certificate reported his cause of death as “influenza pneumonia,” like gilbert.87 the catholic standard and times article titled “three augustinian clerics die” discusses the scene of the joint funeral held for klunk and dorgan: the funeral services were held in the private chapel of the monastery of st. thomas of villanova, and were attended by many priests and friends, especially of the sisterhood of st. joseph, including sister agnella, who was unable to be present at the death of her brother. on the day following the death of mr. klunk, mr. john f. dorgan, o.s.a., of lawrence, mass, a professed cleric of the same order, succumbed to the fatal disease after a sickness lasting only a few days. although [john’s] agony was protracted and the pain intense, still he bore all with that patience and resignation worthy of a true follower of christ. the time and place of his funeral presented a sad scene, for by his side lay the corpse of his friend and companion, mr. klunk.88 the recognition of dorgan’s character during his battle with influenza is fascinating, as the obituary alludes that dorgan may have experienced a more aggressive case yet remained solemn in his struggles. it is unknown if klunk and dorgan were friends and companions as the obituary suggests, however, it is likely due to the nature of the seminary that they knew each other. both seminary students were buried in the augustinian community cemetery on october 13th, 1918.89 middleton’s entries regarding the 1918 influenza epidemic end on october 11th, 1918.90 apart from his journal, there remains a few notable pieces from the st. joseph sisters that connect the days after klunk and dorgan’s death to albert starr’s death on october 15th. published in 1919 by rev. francis tourscher, work of the sisters during the epidemic of influenza, october, 1918 lists eight sisters who aided the college’s epidemic response: two from mount st. joseph’s in chestnut hill, two from our mother of consolation in chestnut hill, two 16 from st. charles’s church in philadelphia, and two from our mother of sorrows in philadelphia.91 with seven sisters in corr with the afflicted students and another in the academy, they aided the nurses and volunteer red cross ladies by doing activities such as making beds, cleaning rooms, washing bed sheets and cooking.92 a personal anecdote from one of the sisters provides context to their aid at villanova: we arrived there on sat, october 12th, and found that about thirty-six novices were suffering from the disease. we found many ways of relieving them, preparing and acrrying (sic) their meals, making their beds comfortable, etc.; all were suffering intensely. eight of our sisters and about eight trained nurses were on duty night and day, and the young men who were not victims of the disease were victims, yes, willing victims, too, of the many odd jobs to be done. it was a pleasure to work in such an atmosphere where loyalty, devotion and charity reigned supreme. when the sisters were leaving, only four were confined to bed, and they were on the fair road to recovery.93 reverend and student albert j. w. starr was likely one of many in corr hall who received care from the sisters. born on august 16, 1888 in grand junction, colorado to reuben starr, a clerk, and his wife alice dickinson, albert had spent almost ten years at villanova. he enrolled in the preparatory academy for three years, studying what he wrote as “regular preparatory studies” which were likely similar subjects to the ones klunk and dorgan noted in their applications.94 being from two non-catholic parents, starr converted from methodism to catholicism and was baptized in his hometown when he was nineteen years old on may 2nd, 1908.95 entering the novitiate at villanova on june 20th, 1912, starr received his simple vows exactly one year later.96 after studying theology for four years and completing a “pastoral year,” one in which the candidate works in a ministry,97 albert professed his solemn vows on june 23, 1916 and on may 16th, 1918, was ordained a deacon in a ceremony at the church of the passionists in newark, new jersey.98 a tall, slender, “regular ordained clergyman” with blue 17 eyes and black hair, 99 albert would have continued to the final step of the augustinian formation process, “complet[ing] his studies for the priesthood.”100 albert starr was the last to die on villanova’s campus as a result of the epidemic, succumbing to the disease on the morning of october 15th, 1918 at age thirty.101 like klunk and dorgan, starr’s cause of death was labeled “influenzan pneumonia.”102 his hometown newspaper the daily sentinel published an article titled, “albert starr dead in east,” which detailed starr as a “well known young man.”103 at the end of the obituary, after reflecting on his religious achievements at villanova, the last two sentences read, “deceased is survived by his father, three sisters and a brother. the body will be returned to this city for burial.”104 seemingly insignificant, this article, published on the same day starr had died at villanova, reported that albert’s body would be sent from pennsylvania to colorado for burial. this did not come to fruition; albert starr’s funeral took place three days later on october 18th at villanova, where reverend john leonard led a mass to celebrate starr.105 following the mass and a chanting of the benedictus by students and priests, it is reported that starr “was buried near his two companions in the private cemetery adjoining the monastery.”106 it is likely that the distance from villanova to grand junction was too much for either the starr family or albert’s body to be transported during a global pandemic. historian david contosta briefly mentions that the influenza epidemic at villanova ended in november of 1918, with a final total of one hundred seventy-three cases on campus.107 villanova’s experience shares a few patterns with the epidemic experience of philadelphia. the weeks ending in october 12th, october 19th, and october 26th were the three worst weeks in death tolls for the city, with 2,635 deaths, 4,597 deaths, and 3,021 deaths respectively.108 it is the first 18 two of these three weeks where the three seminary students died on campus, as well as the highest case numbers reported in middleton’s journal. considering philadelphia’s final numbers after six months of the epidemic, there were a recorded 16,000 deaths and around 500,000 cases of influenza from the city with a population of 1.7 million.109 villanova college, on the other hand, recorded four deaths, including mcelwee, and a total of 173 cases from a campus with a population of 368 people.110 comparing percentages, the epidemic on villanova’s campus was slightly deadlier than philadelphia, with a 1.1% death rate compared to philadelphia’s 0.9%.111 in overall cases, villanova’s case rate is significantly higher than philadelphia’s, with 47% of people on campus contracting the virus compared to philadelphia’s 29.4%.112 one explanation for villanova’s high case rate could be that a large majority of the college’s population were members of the augustinian community, who spent a lot of time together in the seminary and monastery. additionally, a pattern noted all across the globe revealed that the 1918 influenza virus affected not only the typical age ranges of below the age of five and above sixty-five associated with traditional “influenza,” but also created a third peak in young adults aged twenty-five to thirty-four.113 gilbert klunk, aged twenty-four, john dorgan, just days before his twenty-sixth birthday, and albert starr, aged thirty, fit into this peak, as well as the majority of villanova’s all male student body. as the influenza epidemic subsided in the region, the campus’s collective memory around these deaths became inconsistent. the short-term memory proved to be the most accurate, as the 1918 october issue of the villanovan published an article reliving the epidemic. titled “the epidemic,” the article begins: our progress at villanova was impeded because of the outbreak of the influenza epidemic. because of the care and tact with which the situation was 19 conducted, we suffered less than most of the colleges and camps. in all there were 173 cases; three of the men who fell victims to the disease in our midst died. there was one death due to previous illness. one tolentine boy died after leaving the academy.114 the article ends by listing each of the four students, along with their class year and brief summaries of their time spent at villanova. this issue in the campus newspaper is one of few publications to name these students and remember villanova’s experience with the epidemic. the campus newspaper’s claims of villanova having a better experience with the flu than other institutions nearby could be a reflection of how isolated the seminarian community on campus was in comparison to the college. the closest campus, bryn mawr college, reported 110 cases of influenza with zero deaths.115 in philadelphia, st. joseph’s university had a similar outbreak to the one at villanova, yet had zero student deaths.116 the university of pennsylvania was affected less by the epidemic than the surrounding city, reporting one death from its law school and two nursing students who died while treating patients.117 contrary to the october 1918 edition of the villanovan, it seems that villanova college was actually one of the worst hit colleges in the area. in what would have been klunk’s graduation year, the first villanova yearbook, called “belle-air” after the original mansion, was published in 1922. in the opening pages, the class of 1922 seniors dedicated one paragraph to their experience with the epidemic of their overall sixpage reflection: ‘22 will never forget the days of the ‘flu.’ classes were suspended, and likewise all military formations, because all that were not actually sick were required for a thousand kinds of necessary detail work. guard duty (at the gates with wooden guns), k. p., and hospital duty alternated so rapidly that we sometimes wished the ‘flu’ might get us--just a little bit. father dean, father driscoll, and lieutenant scott were tireless in their attentions to the sick, and to all the mass of routine work connected with the establishment of a military post. the days they spent at the desk, and the nights they spent among the sick… mainly on account of their unceasing vigilance, the efficient work of the doctors 20 and nurses, and the care that was taken to treat each case on the appearance of the first symptom, there was only one death from more than a hundred cases.118 this entry tells a different story when compared to the st. joseph’s sisters or the campus newspaper article. it is clear that this “senior class” is likely made up of only members of the college, not the seminary, as their experience includes working as a guard or in the hospital. as noted in middleton’s journal, the college seemed to be the least affected by the epidemic, with case numbers remaining in the single digits. another key difference in this retelling is the last sentence, which claims that only one death occurred. this singular death could be mcelwee, as he was the only non-seminarian and college student, or it could mean klunk, as he died before being known on campus as a professed member of the augustinians. either way, only indicating one death illustrates the various communities existing within the college’s campus. it is possible that the senior class had not noticed the three new graves in the augustinian plot next to st. thomas’s church. despite working on campus as guards and aiding the hospital staff, these men were unaware or choosing not to reflect on the effect influenza had on the seminary located just yards away. a more recent publication of villanova’s history presents a third brief retelling of the epidemic. in a few sentences, contosta provides an overview of the measures taken on campus, such as the quarantine, establishment of guard posts, and the nurses sent from bryn mawr hospital. contosta ends this epidemic recap with, “before the epidemic was over in november, three villanova students (all seminarians) died.”119 contosta groups these three seminary students as “others” through the usage of parentheticals, distinguishing this group from the regular student body while also failing to mention mcelwee. the final account was published from the province of saint thomas of villanova’s magazine, augustinian, in fall of 2021. in an effort to remember the newly deceased 21 augustinians from the covid epidemic, the magazine included a two-page article about the three seminarian students who died of influenza in 1918. providing brief details about their time spent on villanova’s campus, this article concludes remembering the seminarians, stating that “these three young religious lie in adjoining graves in the community cemetery just steps from the church on villanova’s campus.”120 the article also spotlights two other friars who died as a result of the 1918 epidemic. friar daniele scalabrella, o.s.a., was aged 41 when he died of influenza on october, 15th, in troy, new york after visiting villanova for a retreat.121 friar daniel fogarty, o.s.a., died in andover, massachusetts three days after on october 18th at age 31.122 although this article is an effort to remember the lives lost in a prior epidemic, it is important to underscore that the reason lies in their own covid experience. without the reason of a recent epidemic to connect shared experiences, one could wonder how long these three graves would have remained unremembered. these reflections of memory illustrate how this epidemic has been remembered. the influenza epidemic, despite its nation-wide 675,000 death toll, is largely forgotten in collective and national memories due to other factors, a main one being world war i.123 alfred crosby writes that “nothing else-no infection, no war, no famine-has ever killed so many in as short a period. and yet it has never inspired awe, not in 1918 and not since, not among the citizens of any particular land and not among the citizens of the united states.”124 it appears that villanova extends this statement, with little attempts to adequately remember this period and these students who still remain on campus. 22 the graves of gilbert klunk, john dorgan, and albert starr at the augustinian community cemetery, villanova university. source: taken by author. these three graves, now in the second to last row of the cemetery, exist as an example of the lapses of collective memory and an illustration of how smaller communities are affected by global events. although pennsylvania faced over 60,000 deaths, with philadelphia alone accounting for 12,000 of them, the deaths of gilbert klunk, john dorgan, and albert starr demonstrate how a space labeled “ordinary,” like a college campus or the seminary within it, can be transformed by extraordinary experiences.125 using new medical terminology, enforcing a quarantine on an entire campus, accessing other communities for help and aid were all entirely new concepts to villanova on the outbreak of the 1918 epidemic. now, three headstones stand as a physical marker and reminder of a time of unfamiliarity, change, and fear as an entire network of communities—the seminary, the monastery, the administration, the student body—came together to figure out how to navigate a deadly epidemic. 23 endnotes 1 when a novice professes his “simple vows,” he is professing his vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and after the profession, he is deemed “professed” and becomes an official member of the order. after four years of religious instruction at a theologate, a friar of at least 24 years of age professes his “solemn vows,” which professes his commitment to god, the order, and the church. for additional information about the steps of the augustinian formation process, see: augustinian vocations of north america, “discover the 9 steps of the augustinian formation process,” https://www.beafriar.org/post/discover-the-9-steps-of-the-augustinian-formation-process. information regarding nicholas murphy’s biography: “nicholas j. murphy, o.s.a.,” augustinian necrology, the augustinians province of st. thomas of villanova, https://augustinian.org/nicholas-j-murphy-osa/. 2 “daniel j. murphy, o.s.a.,” augustinian necrology, the augustinians province of st. thomas of villanova, https://augustinian.org/daniel-j-murphy-osa/. 3 david r. contosta, and dennis j. gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992: american--catholic--augustinian (university park, pa.: pennsylvania state university press, 1995), 7. 4 contosta and gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992, 8. 5 contosta and gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992, 10. 6 contosta and gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992, 10-13. 7 david r. contosta, and dennis j. gallagher, villanova college to university: 150 years of augustinian tradition and promise 1842-1992 (villanova, pa: falvey memorial library, 1993). online exhibition. https://historyrocks.library.villanova.edu/sesquicentennial-celebration-historical-exhibit. 8 contosta and gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992. 9 contosta and gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992, 67. 10 contosta and gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992, 74. 11 villanova college, seventy-fifth catalogue of villanova college: villanova, delaware county, pa.: conducted by the augustinian fathers for the academic year 1918-1919, (s.l. : s.n, 1918), 4-5. https://library.villanova.edu/find/record/vudl:190315?sid=145962570. 12 villanova college, seventy-fifth catalogue of villanova, 107, 109, 113. 13 “student army training corps,” from hopkins and the great war, johns hopkins university library online exhibit, https://exhibits.library.jhu.edu/exhibits/show/hopkins-and-the-great-war/homewoodcampus/experiences/student-army-training-corps. 14 rev. thomas c. middleton, “journal.” october 1918. 901.2129 middleton augustinian archive personnel files, augustinian monastery archives, villanova university. 15 for details regarding the development of “spanish flu” nickname, see john barry, the great influenza: the epic story of the deadliest plague in history (new york: viking, 2005), 171. for more information about the origin of the 1918 influenza virus in haskell county, see barry, the great influenza, 92. 16 barry, the great influenza, 92-95. 17 barry, the great influenza, 224, 232-236. 18 barry, the great influenza, 151-153. 19 barry, the great influenza, 151-153. 20 “thomas c. middleton, o.s.a.,” augustinian necrology, the augustinian province of st. thomas of villanova, https://augustinian.org/thomas-c-middleton-osa/. 21 middleton, “journal.” 22 middleton, “journal.” 23 middleton, “journal.” 24 middleton, “journal.” 25 “pennsylvania, u.s., death certificates, 1906-1970.” digital image s.v. “edward joseph mcelwee.” ancestry.com. 26 middleton, “journal.” 27 “pennsylvania, u.s., death certificates, 1906-1970.” digital image s.v. “edward joseph mcelwee.” ancestry.com. 28 “edward mcelwee,” the villanovan (villanova, pa), october 1918, 32. 29 middleton, “journal.” 30 middleton, “journal.” https://www.beafriar.org/post/discover-the-9-steps-of-the-augustinian-formation-process https://historyrocks.library.villanova.edu/sesquicentennial-celebration-historical-exhibit https://library.villanova.edu/find/record/vudl:190315?sid=145962570 https://augustinian.org/thomas-c-middleton-osa/ 24 31 middleton, “journal.” 32 “middleton quarantine pass,” october 1918. 901.2129 middleton augustinian archive personnel files, augustinian monastery archives, villanova university. 33 “letter,” september 30, 1918, natalie gookin papers, bryn mawr college special collections, https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu//repositories/6/resources/1554. 34 middleton, “journal.” 35 middleton, “journal.” 36 middleton, “journal.” 37 villanova college, belle air 1922 yearbook, vol. 1, 1922, page 26. https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:191151#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-193%2c250%2c3751%2c4972. 38 alfred crosby, america's forgotten pandemic: the influenza of 1918, 2nd ed (cambridge; new york: cambridge university press, 2003). 72. 39 crosby, america's forgotten pandemic, 73. 40 crosby, america's forgotten pandemic, 74. 41 mira shetty and j. j. ahern, “penn and the 1918 influenza epidemic,” pennlibraries university archives & records center, https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-history/flu/. 42 crosby, america's forgotten pandemic, 66. 43 this report differs from middleton’s october 3rd entry in case numbers, where he reports 57 cases. report: “main line branch no. 1, red cross gives valiant aid in influenza fight,” ardmore chronicle (ardmore, pa), october 12, 1918, digital library at villanova. accessed january 12. 2024. https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:397559#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=1217%2c584%2c3241%2c4297. 44 middleton, “journal.” 45 middleton, “journal.” 46 “spanish influenza,” the suburban (wayne times edition), october 4, 1918, digital library at villanova. accessed january 12. 2024. https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:624567#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=328%2c11%2c1309%2c1736. 47 “spanish influenza,” october 4, 1918. 48 middleton, “journal.” 49 middleton, “journal.” 50 “letter,” october 5, 1918, natalie gookin papers, bryn mawr college special collections, https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu//repositories/6/resources/1554. 51 “letter,” october 5, 1918, natalie gookin papers. 52 middleton, “journal.” 53 middleton, “journal.” 54 middleton, “journal.” 55 united states catholic catechism for adults, “anointing of the sick,” https://www.usccb.org/prayer-andworship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/anointing-of-the-sick. 56 “application to order of st augustine,” n.d. 305.2112 gilbert f. klunk augustinian archive personnel files, augustinian monastery archives, villanova university. 57 “gilbert f. klunk, o.s.a.,” augustinian necrology, the augustinians province of st. thomas of villanova, https://augustinian.org/gilbert-f-klunk-osa/. 58 “gilbert f. klunk, o.s.a.” 59 application to order of st augustine,” gilbert f. klunk augustinian archive personnel files. 60 “u.s., world war i draft registration cards, 1917-1918,” digital image s.v. “gilbert f. klunk.” ancestry.com. 61 middleton, “journal.” 62 augustinian vocations of north america, “discover the 9 steps of the augustinian formation process.” 63 father michael di gregorio, o.s.a., “october 1918: a memorable month,” augustinian, vol. 17, issue 3, fall 2021, 5, https://augustinian.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/fall21-final.pdf. 64 middleton, “journal.” 65 middleton, “journal.” 66 middleton, “journal.” 67 thomas f. gilligan, o.s.a., “the history of st. mary’s hall,” tagastan, vol. 10 no. 3 (june 1947), augustinian monastery archives, villanova university, 116. https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/repositories/6/resources/1554 https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:191151#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-193%2c-250%2c3751%2c4972 https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:191151#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-193%2c-250%2c3751%2c4972 https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:397559#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=1217%2c-584%2c3241%2c4297 https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:397559#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=1217%2c-584%2c3241%2c4297 https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:624567#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=328%2c11%2c1309%2c1736 https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/repositories/6/resources/1554 https://augustinian.org/gilbert-f-klunk-osa/ 25 68 klunk’s death is documented on his death certificate and obituaries as october 11th, 1918, however the journal and the headstone indicate it was on october 10th, 1918. see middleton, “journal.” 69 “takes priest vows on his death bed,” the evening sun (hanover, pa), october 11, 1918. newspapers.com. accessed february 1, 2024. 70 “pennsylvania, u.s., death certificates, 1906-1970.” digital image s.v. “gilbert francis klunk.” ancestry.com. 71 “1900 united states census, mcsherrystown, adams, pennsylvania,” digital image, s.v. “gilbert f. klunk.” ancestry.com. 72 “takes priest vows on his death bed,” the evening sun (hanover, pa). 73 middleton, “journal.” 74 “application to order of st augustine,” n.d. 305.2113 john f. dorgan augustinian archive personnel files, augustinian monastery archives, villanova university. 75 “john f. dorgan,” note, n.d. 305.2113 john f. dorgan augustinian archive personnel files, augustinian monastery archives, villanova university. 76 “application to order of st augustine,” john f. dorgan augustinian archive personnel files. 77 “john f. dorgan,” note, john f. dorgan augustinian archive personnel files. 78 “u.s., world war i draft registration cards, 1917-1918,” digital image s.v. “john f. dorgan.” ancestry.com. 79 gilligan, o.s.a., “the history of st. mary’s hall,” 115-116. 80 middleton, “journal.” 81 middleton, “journal.” 82 crosby, america's forgotten pandemic, 60. 83 crosby, america's forgotten pandemic, 82. 84 crosby, america's forgotten pandemic, 82. 85 middleton, “journal.” 86 “john f. dorgan, o.s.a.,” augustinian necrology, the augustinians province of st. thomas of villanova, villanova university augustinian archives. 87 “pennsylvania, u.s., death certificates, 1906-1970.” digital image s.v. “john francis dorgan.” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30945930/john-francis-dorgan#view-photo=160998033. 88 “three augustinian clerics die,” the catholic standard and times (philadelphia, pa), october 26, 1918. catholic news archive. accessed february 1, 2024. https://thecatholicnewsarchive.org/?a=d&d=cst1918102601.2.5&srpos=63&e=------191-en-20--61-byda-txt-txin-villanova-article---1918---. 89 “pennsylvania, u.s., death certificates, 1906-1970.” both klunk and dorgan. 90 the unexplained end of middleton’s detailed entries is followed by an entry dated in 1915 of the heights of buildings around the college. two blank pages follows, then on the third, middleton wrote details regarding the 1919 commencement ceremony that occurred on june 19th, signifying that middleton eventually returned to his status quo of marking down events of the college. see middleton, “journal.” 91 francis edward tourscher, work of the sisters during the epidemic of influenza, october, 1918 (philadelphia: american catholic historical society, 1919), 49. https://library.villanova.edu/find/record/vudl:229268?sid=146128515 92 francis edward tourscher, experiences of the sisters of st. joseph's work at villanova college during the influenza epidemic, october 1918. 1919, digital library at villanova. accessed january 30, 2024. https://library.villanova.edu/find/record/vudl:634046?sid=146055102. 93 tourscher, experiences of the sisters of st. joseph's work at villanova college. 94 “application to order of st augustine,” n.d. 305.2115 albert j. starr augustinian archive personnel files, augustinian monastery archives, villanova university. 95 “albert j. starr, o.s.a.,” augustinian necrology, the augustinians province of st. thomas of villanova, https://augustinian.org/albert-j-starr-osa/. 96 “albert j. starr, o.s.a.” 97 augustinian vocations of north america, “discover the 9 steps of the augustinian formation process.” 98 “albert j. starr, o.s.a.” 99 “u.s., world war i draft registration cards, 1917-1918,” digital image s.v. “albert w. starr.” ancestry.com. 100 “albert starr dead in east.” the daily sentinel (grand junction, co), october 15, 1918. newspapers.com. 101 “pennsylvania, u.s., death certificates, 1906-1970.” digital image s.v. “albert webb starr,” ancestry.com. 102 “pennsylvania, u.s., death certificates, 1906-1970.” “albert webb starr.” 103 “albert starr dead in east.” the daily sentinel. 104 “albert starr dead in east.” the daily sentinel. 105 “three augustinian clerics die,” the catholic standard and times.. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30945930/john-francis-dorgan#view-photo=160998033 https://thecatholicnewsarchive.org/?a=d&d=cst19181026-01.2.5&srpos=63&e=------191-en-20--61-byda-txt-txin-villanova-article---1918--https://thecatholicnewsarchive.org/?a=d&d=cst19181026-01.2.5&srpos=63&e=------191-en-20--61-byda-txt-txin-villanova-article---1918--https://library.villanova.edu/find/record/vudl:229268?sid=146128515 https://library.villanova.edu/find/record/vudl:634046?sid=146055102 https://augustinian.org/albert-j-starr-osa/ 26 106 “three augustinian clerics die,” the catholic standard and times. 107 contosta and gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992, 82. 108 crosby, america's forgotten pandemic, 60. 109 shetty and ahern, “penn and the 1918 influenza epidemic.” 110 this is the author’s estimation from the catalogue records that lists students and faculty. see: villanova college, seventy-fifth catalogue of villanova college: villanova, delaware county, pa.: conducted by the augustinian fathers for the academic year 1918-1919, (s.l. : s.n, 1918). 111 calculation made by author as follows: philadelphia: 16,000 deaths divided by 1.7 million population. villanova: 4 deaths divided by 268 population for villanova. 112 calculation made by author as follows: philadelphia 500,000 cases divided by 1.7 million population. villanova 173 cases divided by 368 population. 113 crosby, america's forgotten pandemic, 86. 114 “the epidemic,” the villanovan (villanova, pa). october 1918. https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:183963#?c=&m=&s=&cv= 115 “bryn mawr college,” 1918 influenza escape communities, university of michigan center for the history of medicine, https://chm.med.umich.edu/research/1918-influenza-escape-communities/bryn-mawr-college/. 116 contosta and gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992, 82. 117 shetty and ahern, “penn and the 1918 influenza epidemic.” 118 villanova college, belle air 1922 yearbook, 26. 119 contosta and gallagher, villanova university, 1842-1992, 82. 120 di gregorio, o.s.a., “october 1918: a memorable month,” 5. 121 di gregorio, o.s.a., “october 1918: a memorable month,” 6. 122 di gregorio, o.s.a., “october 1918: a memorable month,” 6. 123 shetty and ahern, “penn and the 1918 influenza epidemic.” 124 crosby, america's forgotten pandemic, 311. 125 shetty and ahern, “penn and the 1918 influenza epidemic.” https://digital.library.villanova.edu/item/vudl:183963#?c=&m=&s=&cv= https://chm.med.umich.edu/research/1918-influenza-escape-communities/bryn-mawr-college/ 1 leading against the odds: women’s leadership challenges and strategies in the nonprofit sector nika kirillova public administration introduction women are still underrepresented in leadership positions across public, corporate, and private organizations (emmerik, 2010). in corporate leadership, for example, women occupy only about 3% of chief executive officer (ceo) roles within fortune 500 companies (ely, 2011). in the nonprofit sector, women hold approximately 19% of executive leadership positions among the top 400 nonprofit organizations in the united states. this shows a noticeable difference between the number of women in executive roles in for-profit companies compared to nonprofit organizations (lansford, 2010). additionally, women face challenges in pursuing and building successful leadership careers due to the ongoing prevalence of male leadership (clarke, 2011). research shows that women leaders contribute significant economic and social value to an organization’s sustainability and success, but leadership opportunities for women are still not as widespread as those for men (jonsen, 2010; lansford, 2010; nadler, 2012). research shows that women often demonstrate transformational leadership qualities, such as empathy, collaboration, and the ability to inspire teams (mandell, 2003). these traits align well with the mission-driven and participative nature of nonprofits (seyhan, 2013). however, the dominance of traditional, maleoriented leadership models can create an environment where women’s approaches are undervalued (christman, 2012). understanding these dynamics and how women navigate them is crucial for developing strategies that can support future female leaders in overcoming these obstacles and achieving upward mobility. nonprofit organizations differ significantly from for-profit companies in their structure and goals. unlike for-profit businesses, nonprofits do not distribute profits to stakeholders, rely heavily on voluntary participation, and often lack clear lines of ownership and accountability (frumkin, 2002). these structural differences mean that nonprofit leadership must focus more on mission-driven strategies, collaboration, and resourcefulness to navigate limited budgets and high public scrutiny (seyhan, 2020). the nature of these organizations requires leaders who can inspire and motivate teams while fostering a culture of collective commitment and adaptability. it can be argued that women, who often display transformational leadership qualities such as empathy, inclusivity, and the ability to build strong, supportive relationships, are particularly well-suited to meet these unique leadership needs in the nonprofit sector (mandell, 2003; seyhan, 2020). therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the unique set of barriers to nonprofit leadership women face in their careers, while also providing insight into how future leaders can navigate through such barriers to achieve upward mobility within nonprofit sector. this study employs semi-structured interviews to identify the distinctive barriers encountered by women with mpa degrees from villanova university in pursuing leadership roles and analyze strategies these women employ to overcome those barriers. the generated insights provide valuable information for the villanova department of public administration creating an opportunity to enhance its curriculum. literature review need for distinct leadership approaches nonprofit organizations operate in fundamentally different ways from for-profit businesses, creating unique needs and challenges that require very distinct leadership qualities from their leaders. according to frumkin (2002), three main features set nonprofits apart from their for-profit and government counterparts: (1) nonprofits do not coerce participation; (2) they do not distribute profits to stakeholders; and (3) they lack clear lines of ownership and accountability. these structural distinctions give nonprofits a unique position to serve and address societal needs that neither government agencies nor private businesses can fully resolve, often filling gaps by providing social services, mobilizing community resources, and addressing long-term social issues. unlike for-profit organizations, which are primarily driven by financial gain and accountability to shareholders, nonprofits prioritize mission fulfillment and community impact (frumkin, 2002). this mission-driven focus requires a leadership style that can foster collaboration, inspire volunteers and employees, and operate effectively under limited resources. leadership in nonprofits is also shaped by common stereotypes that influence both public perception and organizational expectations. as carson (2002) highlights, nonprofits are often seen as low-revenue organizations run by volunteer staff and expected to maintain minimal administrative overheads. this perception, however, can lead to inadequate infrastructure and reduced organizational effectiveness, as highlighted by the urban institute’s nonprofit overhead cost project (haggar et al., 2004). when donors and stakeholders push nonprofits to restrict overhead costs, they can limit the resources available for building effective teams, developing strong systems, and supporting leadership. moreover, nonprofits face frequent scrutiny from the public and the media, often with a focus on scandals, unfulfilled donor promises, or leadership shortcomings (carson, 2002). these challenges underscore the need for a leadership approach that is resilient, transparent, and capable of building trust among stakeholders. in addition to these operational and perceptual differences, the nature of nonprofit work often involves addressing complex social issues that require strategic, adaptable, and community-oriented leadership. herman (2013) argues that nonprofit organizations play a crucial role in mobilizing local resources and addressing root causes of social problems, giving them a significant influence on social and economic policy. unlike for-profit businesses, which focus on market-driven objectives, nonprofits are committed to long-term social impact, making their leadership needs unique. leaders in these organizations must be able to inspire and motivate others, work with limited budgets, and rely on volunteers, all while advancing their mission. transformational leadership this unique context makes transformational leadership especially relevant to the nonprofit sector. transformational leadership, as highlighted in bass and avolio’s transformational leadership theory (mandell & pherwani, 2003), focuses on inspiring and motivating team members by aligning their personal goals with the organization’s mission. this leadership style has four main components: idealized influence, which establishes trust and ethical standards; inspirational motivation, which creates a compelling vision; intellectual stimulation, encouraging innovation and critical thinking; and individualized consideration, which addresses team members’ unique needs and fosters their development. given these elements and their importance, transformational leaders are better suited to address the systemic barriers within nonprofits, where challenges like resource constraints, high scrutiny, and complex social missions require leaders who can unify and inspire their teams. research indicates that women are well-positioned to excel in transformational leadership roles. studies by mandell and pherwani (2003), as well as eagly and johnson (1990), show that women frequently display higher levels of emotional intelligence and collaborative leadership traits, both of which align well with transformational leadership. it has been determined that emotional intelligence is a key factor in transformational leadership because enables leaders to manage emotions effectively, navigate biases, and foster inclusivity. in the study conducted by mandell and pherwani (2003), women scored higher in emotional intelligence field, suggesting they may be better equipped to handle the interpersonal and relational challenges common in nonprofit environments, where empathy, collaboration, and adaptability are essential. barriers to leadership for women in the nonprofit sector women pursuing leadership roles in the nonprofit sector face a range of systemic and organizational barriers rooted in societal perceptions, organizational culture, and structural inequities. these challenges collectively hinder their career progression and highlight the need for a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to gender disparities in leadership. one of the most pervasive barriers is the glass ceiling, a term used to describe the invisible yet persistent obstacles that prevent women from ascending to top leadership positions (eagly & johnson, 1990; dula, nicholson-crotty, & gazley, 2020). despite their qualifications and experience, women in nonprofit organizations often encounter resistance as they approach higher levels of responsibility. compounding this challenge is the phenomenon of tokenism, where women who achieve leadership roles in male-dominated environments are often perceived as representatives of their gender rather than as individuals. this added scrutiny creates stress and imposes additional pressure on women to prove their competence, limiting their effectiveness and deterring others from pursuing similar roles (christman & mcclellan, 2012; de la rey, 2005). cultural and societal stereotypes further exacerbate these barriers. the nonprofit sector is often viewed as low-revenue and heavily reliant on volunteer work, perpetuating the misconception that leadership in this field requires less professionalism or skill (seyhan, 2020). such perceptions diminish the recognition of women leaders’ contributions and reinforce biases against their ability to lead effectively. gender biases, rooted in role incongruity theory, also play a significant role (eagly & karau, 2002). leadership is traditionally associated with masculine traits such as assertiveness and competitiveness, which leads to undervaluing the more collaborative and empathetic leadership styles commonly exhibited by women (eagly & karau, 2002; jones & jones, 2017). this misalignment between societal expectations and women’s leadership approaches often results in women’s contributions being overlooked or undervalued. the dual burden of managing career and family responsibilities remains a significant barrier for women in leadership. this challenge is particularly pronounced in the resourceconstrained environment of nonprofits, where extensive responsibilities and limited organizational support leave little room for work-life integration (de la rey, 2005; haggar et al., 2004). the absence of structured mentorship and networking opportunities further compounds this issue. mentorship plays a critical role in developing leadership skills and building professional networks, yet studies indicate that women often lack access to mentors or sponsors who can guide their career trajectories (burnier, 2005; jones & jones, 2017). this lack of mentorship not only limits women’s professional growth but also reduces their visibility within organizational hierarchies. strategies to overcome leadership barriers women in nonprofit leadership roles employ a range of strategies to navigate the systemic and organizational challenges they face. these strategies draw on transformational and relational leadership approaches, the power of mentorship and networking, and the leveraging of education and professional development to overcome persistent barriers. transformational and relational leadership styles are particularly effective tools for addressing the challenges women encounter in the nonprofit sector. transformational leadership, as highlighted by mandell and pherwani (2003), focuses on traits such as inspirational motivation, idealized influence, and individualized consideration, which empower women to inspire organizational change and foster a sense of shared mission. these traits align with the collaborative and mission-driven nature of nonprofit work, making women leaders particularly effective in navigating resource constraints and high stakeholder expectations. networking and mentorship are equally critical in supporting women’s career growth and helping them overcome barriers to leadership. according to burnier (2005) and dula, nicholsoncrotty, and gazley (2020), professional networks and mentorship provide women with access to guidance, resources, and opportunities that may otherwise be unavailable. these relationships serve as a vital source of support and advocacy, enabling women to navigate organizational hierarchies and develop the confidence to pursue leadership roles. methodology and analysis while the existing literature provides valuable insights into these dynamics, scholarship exploring women leaders' actual, lived experiences through qualitative research in the nonprofit sector is scarce. this gap underscores the need for empirical research that captures the personal and professional realities faced by women in nonprofit leadership roles. by examining these lived experiences, this study aims to identify the most significant barriers women encounter and explore the strategies they find most effective in overcoming them. method this research employed a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with female graduates of the master of public administration (mpa) program. this approach provided a narrative account of the perceived barriers participants encountered in their careers and how they navigated them. it offered a comprehensive understanding of the experiences and perspectives of female mpa program graduates. the research specifically addressed (a) the primary barriers and challenges that female mpa graduates from villanova university perceived in their pursuit of leadership positions within the nonprofit sector, (b) how these graduates navigated and overcame the identified barriers, and (c) the strategies they employed to achieve upward mobility in their nonprofit careers. scope participants for the interviews were selected from a pool of female mpa graduates who had broken the glass ceiling and had personal experience overcoming promotion barriers. an interviewee was considered to have broken the glass ceiling if they occupied one of the highest positions in their organization. the goal was not to limit interviews to women who had become executives or ceos but to gather perceptions from women who had broken the ceiling in their organization. the scope was confined to graduates who had completed their studies within the last decade to provide a more precise representation of the current landscape in the field. a total of 9 participants were included in the study. the list of mpa graduates was accessed through the department of public administration, and participants were contacted through the social network linkedin or their personal or professional emails. discussion of the results the analysis of the interviews was conducted through a systematic coding process, which identified recurring themes that connect existing literature with the lived realities of participants. the themes were divided into two primary categories: leadership barriers and strategies for overcoming leadership barriers. additionally, participants reflected on their leadership styles, personal qualities, and professional approaches, which offered a great understanding of the characteristics they bring to their roles. the discussion that follows goes into these findings in detail. the first section, leadership barriers, highlights the structural, cultural, and interpersonal obstacles participants have faced in their careers. the second section, strategies for overcoming leadership barriers, discusses the innovative and adaptive strategies participants have employed to navigate these challenges, discussing both well-documented approaches and new insights unique to this study. to further enhance the accessibility and applicability of this research, two tables have been created—one outlining the specific barriers women face in nonprofit leadership and another summarizing the strategies they have successfully used to overcome these challenges. these tables serve as a valuable resource for both scholars and practitioners, offering a structured framework for understanding gendered leadership barriers while also presenting actionable solutions. leadership barriers work-life balance and social norms one of the most prominent themes emerging from the interviews was the pervasive challenge of work-life balance, particularly the disproportionate caregiving responsibilities that women bear. this finding aligns closely with the literature, including burnier (2005) and christman and mcclellan (2012), which underscores how societal norms and expectations place a dual burden on women to excel both professionally and domestically. several interviewees described the impact of these expectations on their career trajectories, with some choosing to step back from leadership roles temporarily to manage family responsibilities. one participant noted, "it can be really hard for women to advance if they have to take a step back to take care of their kids or other family members. and i've just seen how the responsibilities of home and work disproportionately fall on those women." social expectations around traditional gender roles often created barriers for women leaders. some participants noted that women are frequently expected to relocate to accommodate their male partners' careers or give up their jobs to fulfill family caregiving responsibilities. one interviewee explained, “personally, i had a baby, and the emotional stress of managing a team of 30 people … was a lot. and i just didn’t feel like i was able to give my family what it needed.” these societal norms place disproportionate pressures on women, often hindering their ability to prioritize their own careers. another participant shared that they needed to take a step back in their career to take care of their family: “i would say gender played a role in why i made the switch out of a leadership position.” gender bias and stereotyping another recurring theme was the presence of gender biases and stereotypes that undermine women’s credibility and authority in leadership roles. these biases, well-documented by eagly and johnson (1990) and de la rey (2005), were illustrated vividly in accounts where participants faced derogatory narratives questioning their qualifications. one participant shared, "another colleague started going around saying, ‘well, the only reason that he decided to do that (promote her) was because she walks around in skirts and because she’s young and because she’s a woman.’" another reflected on how gender bias influenced opportunities: "people at a higher level decided on someone else (to take on the leadership role), who did happen to be a man, even though the person who was going to be directly working with me wanted me to take that position." such examples echo christman and mcclellan’s (2012) notion of “middle space,” where women leaders must navigate the tension between embodying traditional feminine traits and adopting behaviors traditionally associated with male leadership. the interviews reveal that even in nonprofit environments, often perceived as more inclusive and equitable, gendered assumptions persist, creating a cultural climate where women’s contributions are undervalued or dismissed. this dynamic perpetuates the “glass ceiling” described by eagly and karau (2002), reinforcing structural barriers to upward mobility. one participant highlighted the unique challenges of being a young woman in leadership. her experience emphasized how youth, compounded by gender, could intensify perceptions of inadequacy or inexperience in professional environments, leading to additional hurdles in gaining credibility and authority. she explained, "getting people to take you seriously and getting people to see you for the professional that you are... being a young woman who some people may view as coming in from the outside." another participant added, "you have to try a lot harder to prove yourself as a younger woman." structural barriers and pay disparities structural barriers within nonprofits, particularly flat hierarchies and limited opportunities for advancement, were highlighted by several participants. these findings resonate with dula et al.’s (2020) discussion of nonprofit organizational structures, where limited upward mobility creates a bottleneck for aspiring leaders. one interviewee described the challenge succinctly: "nonprofits in general... most state-based or small nonprofits are pretty flat in terms of hierarchy. and so there’s not a lot of room to go up unless you make a really giant move." the literature has extensively examined the unique dynamics of nonprofit organizations, such as their reliance on collaborative and participative leadership styles, which align well with transformational qualities often exhibited by women leaders (eagly et al., 2003). however, the structural limitations inherent in many nonprofits can stifle the very leadership styles they ostensibly value. this paradox calls for a rethinking of nonprofit governance and leadership models to better support the advancement of women. pay disparities, while not exclusive to the nonprofit sector, were another significant theme that emerged from the interviews. participants noted the systemic underpayment of women in leadership roles, even in female-dominated environments. one participant remarked, "nonprofits are dominated by women, yet we’re still underpaid." this aligns with findings by burnier (2005), who highlighted the persistence of pay inequities in public and nonprofit leadership, where women are often expected to work “out of the kindness of their hearts” rather than for equitable compensation. the interviews further revealed how these disparities intersect with other barriers, such as the cost of advanced education and the financial burden of unpaid internships. one participant recounted, "coming from a rural community in western massachusetts... when i wanted to get my foot in the door, when i started working in state government, the best way to do that was to take an unpaid internship." internal challenges one particularly striking insight from the interviews was the internalization of societal expectations and its impact on self-confidence. one participant reflected, "the biggest barrier that i would identify to my rising through the ranks of leadership is internal, and that's selfconfidence." another added, "i think imposter syndrome is a real thing. i think it’s more acute in women in leadership roles." similarly, another interviewee remarked, "i really found myself stumbling through interactions with certain people because i just had never had access to that sort of power or even talking with people who are very highly educated." the literature, including burnier (2005) and christman and mcclellan (2012), frequently examines external barriers but often overlooks the internal struggles that arise from these systemic inequities. additionally, participants acknowledged the critical importance of networking and selfpromotion in advancing their careers. however, for those without naturally extroverted personalities, these activities felt uncomfortable or inauthentic. one participant mentioned the need to engage in “chit-chatting” to build professional relationships, while another pointed out the necessity of “bragging and showing off.” both women admitted that these practices felt unnatural but recognized them as necessary for career advancement. another reflected, "i’m not the kind of person who puts out all of my successes all the time. i just don’t do that. it feels against my personality." women displayed a more cautious approach when considering leadership positions, often hesitating to apply unless they met all the qualifications. as one participant observed, “women, if they don’t check all the boxes, they don’t try for the opportunity. whereas men just say, ‘oh, i can do that,’ even if they don’t have any experience.” another explained, "i kind of took what was given in the beginning, like i would just be happy. but no, i would have pushed a little bit more, and i would have taken risks a lot sooner." this reflects a broader societal tendency where women undervalue their qualifications, while men are more likely to embrace risk and uncertainty in professional advancement. table 1 summarizes the identified barriers, their implications, and the relevant literature that supports these findings. table 1: leadership barriers summary barrier's type specific barrier quotes from participants implication of the barrier literature discussing the barrier work-life balance and social norms disproportionate caregiving responsibilities “which is work-life balance challenges because many times women are just expected to do it all.” “i just decided like i wanted a role where i would have less responsibility, which in hindsight is very hard for me and has been a challenge, but is better for my family.” women are forced to step back from career opportunities, slowing advancement. burnier (2005), christman and mcclellan (2012) relocation and other gender expectations “i had a baby, and the emotional stress of managing a team of 30 people and … was a lot. and i just didn't feel like i was able to give my family what it needed.” “i started looking for jobs in dc, and i should say i looked to move to dc because my fiancé lives in dc.” women often make career sacrifices, leading to unequal professional growth compared to male peers. burnier (2005) gender bias and stereotyping questioning women’s qualifications “another colleague started going around saying, “well, the only reason that he decided to do that was because she walks around in skirts and because she’s young and because she’s a woman.”” undermines credibility and creates additional emotional and professional strain. eagly and johnson (1990), de la rey (2005) gendered perceptions in hiring decisions “people at a higher level decided on someone else, who did happen to be a man, even though the person who was going to be directly working with me wanted me to take that position.” “when i interviewed for the a manager position, i had to interview with nine men. and i had one man in particular trying to tell me that i was a spoiled prima donna because i wanted the job.” women are overlooked for positions despite being qualified, perpetuating gender inequality in leadership. eagly and johnson (1990), de la rey (2005) structural barriers and pay disparities flat hierarchies in nonprofits “nonprofits in general... most state-based or small nonprofits are pretty flat in terms of hierarchy. and so there’s not a lot of room to go up unless you make a really giant move.” “so even in my own position now, the foundation's not big in terms of hierarchy. so there's not so many places to go up. and so if i were to want to run a foundation or lead more people, i would have to leave and go to a different type of institution. so that's a barrier, i think, is just structure and hierarchy.” limited upward mobility in the nonprofit sector, creating a bottleneck for career advancement. dula et al. (2020) systemic pay disparities “nonprofits are dominated by women, yet we’re still underpaid.” “and the pay inequity as well, you know, between male and female and between people of color and others as well.” women receive less compensation than men for similar roles, reflecting systemic inequity. burnier (2005) internal challenges imposter syndrome “the biggest barrier that i would identify to my, like, rising through the ranks of leadership is internal, and that's self-confidence. “i’m sure you've heard all of the studies and the research on imposter syndrome. … my experience with myself and seeing other women who are smart and skilled and hardworking, selfconfidence is a huge factor. … i think that is unique to being a female.” decreases confidence, making it harder to assert authority and build professional relationships. burnier (2005), christman and mcclellan (2012) hesitation to self-promote “i kind of took what was given in the beginning, like i would just be happy. but no, i would have pushed a little bit more, and i would have taken risks a lot sooner.” prevents women from advocating for themselves, hindering career progression. burnier (2005), christman and mcclellan (2012) strategies for overcoming leadership barriers leveraging networks and mentorship one of the most frequently cited strategies in the interviews was the importance of building and maintaining strong professional networks and seeking mentorship. participants described how these relationships provided critical support and advocacy, helping them navigate complex organizational dynamics and break through leadership barriers. as one participant noted, “having close women in your network who support you in your success and celebrate your success… has made the biggest difference for me.” another participant echoed this sentiment, saying, “i have a group of women who are all in the same position that i have but at different colleges. it has been really helpful for me because i could go to people who knew what my work was but weren’t in my organization.” the literature corroborates the critical role of mentorship and networking in advancing women’s leadership. mandell and pherwani (2003) emphasize the role of emotional intelligence in transformational leadership, particularly in forming meaningful connections and fostering collaboration. burnier (2005) further highlights how mentorship programs provide women with resources and guidance that are often inaccessible in male-dominated environments. the interviews add depth to these findings by illustrating how mentorship can operate not only within but also across organizations, providing leaders with a broader perspective and support network. reframing barriers as opportunities another recurring theme in the interviews was the reframing of barriers as opportunities for growth and development. participants described adopting a mindset that allowed them to view challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities to push beyond limitations and achieve greater success. as one leader shared, “i try not to see them as barriers. i see them as opportunities to really push past that and be strong… to create a better path for myself.” another participant reflected, “you win, or you learn. it’s not a failure. it’s not a loss to me in any situation.” this perspective aligns closely with the transformational leadership style described by eagly et al. (2003), which emphasizes resilience, optimism, and the ability to inspire others through a shared vision. by reframing setbacks as learning experiences, these leaders embody the transformational approach, demonstrating how a positive mindset can drive personal and organizational growth. developing leadership and professional skills continuous learning emerged as a cornerstone strategy among participants, who consistently sought opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge. participants described how they pursued formal education, such as mpa degrees, attended leadership development programs, and engaged in workshops and training sessions. one participant remarked, “i try to sharpen best practices. i try to go to trainings and workshops—anything to build skills.” another added, “the mpa program specifically helped with my critical thinking and analysis skills. then there were hard and fast skills like statistics and research.” the literature underscores the importance of education and professional development in equipping women with the tools needed for effective leadership. burnier (2005) advocates for gender-inclusive curricula in leadership programs, emphasizing the need for coursework that addresses the unique challenges faced by women leaders. similarly, jones and jones (2017) highlight how professional development and continuous self-assessment contribute to career success. the interviews reinforce these findings while also illustrating how participants applied their education directly to their work, bridging theoretical knowledge with practical expertise. advocacy and self-promotion self-advocacy and the ability to promote one’s achievements were highlighted as essential strategies for overcoming leadership barriers. participants described how they learned to navigate environments where their contributions were often undervalued or overlooked. one participant shared, “i advocate for myself. i am always trying to strive to be the best version of myself, and i didn’t let other people's ideas or perceptions stop me.” another explained, “i’ve made efforts to brag more about my students, to brag more about my staff, to brag more about our events.” this emphasis on self-promotion aligns with findings by burnier (2005), who discusses how women leaders must actively challenge gendered expectations and assert their professional worth. however, the interviews also reveal the discomfort many participants felt with this practice, highlighting the tension between self-promotion and traditional gender norms that discourage women from “boasting.” despite this discomfort, participants recognized selfadvocacy as a necessary tool for advancing their careers. balancing authenticity with adaptability participants frequently discussed the importance of remaining authentic while adapting their leadership styles to suit different contexts. one leader remarked on the value of a collaborative leadership approach, saying, “be confident in a democratic, collaborative leadership style. there’s so much value in collaborative leadership, especially in nonprofits.” another participant described adjusting her assertiveness to make it more palatable: “i think i’ve shifted a little bit how that comes off in a way that’s more approachable.” this ability to balance authenticity with adaptability reflects the relational leadership style described by regan and brooks (1995), which emphasizes inclusivity, collaboration, and the intrinsic value of all individuals. by fostering supportive environments and adapting to organizational cultures, participants were able to navigate hierarchical structures effectively while staying true to their leadership values. insights beyond the literature in addition to aligning with existing research, the interviews revealed unique insights that extend the understanding of strategies for overcoming leadership barriers. one such insight was the emphasis on cultivating well-rounded interests beyond professional life. as one participant noted, “it’s important to develop your own interests and hobbies… being well-rounded people on top of well-rounded professionals.” this perspective, not widely reflected in the literature, highlights the role of personal fulfillment in sustaining long-term professional success. another unique theme was the use of vulnerability as a leadership tool. one participant explained, “i usually lead with a story about myself or something that i’ve been challenged with… there’s a way to be strong leaders and still demand equity and justice in a way that brings people to the table.” this approach underscores the power of authenticity in building trust and fostering inclusivity, offering a nuanced perspective on leadership that challenges traditional notions of authority. table 2 summarizes strategies for overcoming leadership barriers, implication of the use of these strategies, and support from the literature if applicable. table 2: strategies for overcoming leadership barriers strategy quotes from participants implication of the strategy literature discussing the strategy developing a strong network "having close women in your network who support you in your success and celebrate your success." building a strong network provides emotional support and opens doors to new opportunities. burnier (2005); dula et al. (2020) "i made some really close friends working in the state house who are also rising in leadership roles." networks enhance career progression in maledominated spaces. proactively seeking mentorship "i’ve been intentional about asking and seeking out support." seeking mentors offers guidance and feedback necessary for navigating leadership challenges. mandell and pherwani (2003); burnier (2005) "mentoring opportunities designed specifically for women have been vital for me." mentorship programs tailored for women enhance leadership growth. claiming space and addressing imposter syndrome "even if i don't feel like i deserve a space here, i need to claim it." overcoming self-doubt is crucial for women to confidently step into leadership roles. mandell and pherwani (2003) "you have to push past the feeling of not being good enough to really make an impact." imposter syndrome can hinder leadership aspirations unless actively countered. focusing on professional development "i try to sharpen best practices. i try to go to trainings and workshops." professional development enhances skill sets and prepares women for leadership challenges. jones and jones (2017); burnier (2005) "pursuing the mpa helped me develop critical thinking and analysis skills that are essential for leadership." higher education equips women with both technical and analytical skills for leadership roles. advocating for oneself "i advocate for myself. i am always trying to strive to be the best version of myself." self-advocacy helps women gain recognition and combat biases in workplace environments. mandell and pherwani (2003) "if you don’t advocate for yourself, no one else will." encouraging self-advocacy combats systemic inequalities and promotes career growth. leveraging collaborative leadership "be confident in a democratic, collaborative leadership style. there’s so much value in collaborative leadership." collaborative leadership aligns with transformational traits and is effective in nonprofit environments. mandell and pherwani (2003) "i’ve learned that collaboration can drive change more effectively than going it alone." collaborative leadership builds stronger teams and fosters inclusivity. balancing work and life "i transitioned to roles that offered me work-life balance so i could spend more time with my family." prioritizing balance helps women sustain leadership roles without burnout. burnier (2005); dula et al. (2020) "choosing organizations that align with my values, including equity and balance, has been essential." work-life balance policies enhance employee satisfaction and retention, especially for women. building relationships and networking "when i see someone that i admire in my profession, i get time with them, and i’m very intentional with the time i set." intentional networking creates meaningful relationships that foster growth. mandell and pherwani (2003); burnier (2005) "networking isn’t just about mixers; it’s about meaningful conversations that lead to real connections." women benefit from personalized approaches to networking rather than generic strategies. conclusion women in nonprofit leadership continue to face significant barriers, ranging from structural limitations and societal expectations to gender biases and self-imposed challenges. through a thematic analysis of interviews with female mpa villanova university graduates, this study identified key obstacles to leadership advancement and highlighted the strategies women employ to navigate these challenges. the findings reinforce existing literature while also offering new insights into the lived experiences of women leaders in the nonprofit sector. a key contribution of this research is the development of two comprehensive tables that summarize both the barriers to leadership and the strategies for overcoming them. these summaries provide a practical resource for future leaders, nonprofit organizations, and scholars seeking to understand and address gender disparities in leadership. therefore, this study bridges the gap between theory and practice, offering both academic contributions and real-world applications. references bass, b. m. 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christian, and muslim voices to the synodal table is critical to discernment in this region. next, a literature review on synodality and the ‘see, judge, act’ method will identify the theological premises of these catholic dialogical traditions and determine what adaptations are necessary to promote multifaith participation. lastly, the argument for including representatives from other faiths in synodal dialogue will be framed through the lens of strengthening the church’s ability to serve the entire abrahamic community. through this analysis, i shall argue that hosting an interfaith synod would position the church to have a significant impact on the peacebuilding process in israel and palestine by modeling the efficacy of encounter in resolving even the most emotional and existential of conflicts. historical context: the necessity of a synod on israel and palestine 2 the wound of the israeli-palestinian conflict is deep, historical, and alive with modern suffering. prior to exploring how the church could respond through synodality–the process of the church coming together in dialogue, collaboration, and spiritual discernment–it is critical to understand the conflict at the heart of this discussion. this section provides a brief historical analysis that establishes the geopolitical history of the conflict in reference to how and why the israel-hamas war commenced. next, catholic zionism and catholic support of the palestinian liberation movement are evaluated to determine their theological divergences. finally, this section explores how these theological differences have been addressed by regional interfaith dialogue historically and in the modern day. the most recent wave of this centuries-long violent exchange between jewish and palestinian arab communities officially began on october 7th, 2023. on this date, the gazabased terrorist group hamas attacked israeli civilians, killing 1,200, injuring over 6,900, and abducting 240 hostages (field 161). shortly afterwards, the israeli defense force launched a complete military siege on civillians in the gaza strip with strategies including indiscriminate ballistic bombardment, limiting the ingress of food, and cutting off the water and electricity utility grids (field 162). the conflict has claimed over 45,000 palestinian lives, and on the 11th of december, 2024, the united nations general assembly adopted a resolution demanding immediate ceasefire in gaza (unga 2). while the region is in the early stages of a ceasefire, civilian infrastructure continues to be destroyed and aid continues to be blocked sporadically (ocha 1). this wave of warfare is the most recent installment in the longstanding contentious relationship between israel and palestine. while ancient and biblical claims to indigeneity shall be analyzed shortly, the modern conflict took root in the 1880s as diasporic jewish settlers began 3 to immigrate from europe into ottoman-occupied palestine (gilbert 15). as jewish colonies disrupted arab labor and agricultural markets, tensions grew between these communities resulting in small violent clashes on the local level (gilbert 41). aside from these clashes, palestinians under ottoman rule experienced a high degree of self-governance as they were permitted to practice islam, work the majority of arable land, and maintain their cultural customs (gilbert 47). however, when the ottoman empire lost world war i, its territories were distributed amongst the victors of the war at the paris peace conference of 1919. great britain awarded itself the pseudo-colonial mandate of palestine, making public its intentions behind this land acquisition in the 1922 balfour declaration (gilbert 63). this white paper affirmed that great britain has taken on the mandate of palestine for the purpose of creating a jewish national home, a decision which would alienate the arab muslim majority in palestine and disrupt their relatively independent status quo. the rutenberg concession of 1924 even permitted jewishowned companies to expropriate arab land if it was needed for development purposes (gilbert 151). thus, palestinian self-determination began to shrink far beyond their relative cultural, spiritual, governmental, and agricultural independence under ottoman control (ateek 22). great britain contributed to the tense competition between arabs and jews by fluctuating between policies that favored either group depending on what was most advantageous to the british empire. by 1937, arab palestinians had effectively leveraged their participation in the oil trade to influence great britain towards capping jewish immigration into the mandate of palestine (gilbert 147). this volatie status quo encouraged fierce rivalry between jewish and arab communities in the mandate of palestine, and when world war ii broke out, each ethnic group chose a different alliance to support in exchange for their future sovereignty. while the 4 jewish settler colonies in palestine sent 30,000 troops to fight for the british army’s allied powers, the palestinian arabs served the ottoman empire in its collaboration with germany and austria-hungary’s axis powers. this ill fated decision was made in the hopes of gaining palestinian sovereignty once the dust had settled (gilbert 158). when the war was won, the victorious allied powers chose to reward the jewish people for their loyalty by dramatically increasing their immigration quotas into the mandate of palestine (gilbert 163). the united nations’ passed a partition plan in 1947 to allocate specific land to growing jewish settlements, and arabs already on that land experienced ethnic cleansing as jewish forces attemted to sieze it (ateek 22). beyond the united nations’ promise of land, jewish immigration was also hugely influenced by the shared trauma of the holocaust, and unprecedented numbers of jewish refugees from europe poured into the region. arab palestinians resisted jewish immigration for several years, and when british forces could no longer contain the violent attacks and counter-attacks between palestinian arabs and jews, they withdrew their military presence in the region (gilbert 171). this triggered the 1948 war of independence that resulted in the statecraft of israel, with 23% of the disputed territory being allocated to egypt and jordan for their military stewardship of a palestinian territory (gilbert 232). however, the israeli military captured this remaining land during the six days war in 1967, ousting egyptian and jordanian forces to occupy this territory (vital 804). palestinians have “lived under israeli occupation for fifty-five years” since, and their living conditions under israeli rule have caused great friction between these ethnic groups (unhcr 3). prior to the attack on october 7th, 2023, resentment towards these occupied living conditions had grown palpably in palestine. the military occupation of gaza and the west bank restricted the free movement of palestinians through israel by subjecting them to expensive and 5 dangerous security checkpoints that over-police palestinian communities (france24). palestinians are depicted by israeli media sources as terrorists and dehumanized in popular culture as well, contributing to a social tension that extends far beyond the logistical issues with occupation (brockhill and cordell 990). this tension underpins the ongoing israel-hamas war, and there are two main catholic perspectives on peacebuilding: catholic zionism and catholic supporters of the palestinian liberation movement. what is zionism? jewish political theologian theodor herzl first used this term in his 1895 publication judenstaat, a reflection on solutions to the antisemitism his community experienced in austria (gottheil 84). herzl called for the statecraft of a jewish national home in order to escape the violent persecution jews faced across europe (gottheil 86). however, a jewish state had not been politically or geographically independent since the fall of judah in 587 bc (2 kgs. 25:1). while some might argue that the maccabean revolt resulted in a relative degree of jewish self-governace several centuries later, infighting amongst jerusalem’s leaders in 63 bc snuffed out these lingering embers of jewish territorial governace (boadt 452). thus, the pursuit of zionism in herzl’s time would require seizing control of land from another group. as explored above, jewish settlers began to immigrate into ottoman palestine around this time and establish settler-colonies, though their intention was not to overthrow ottoman rule as they were purchasing land with permission from the ottoman government. zionism did not officially take root as an attempt to create a new independent and sovereign nation until the british claimed that the mandate of palestine would one day become one. however, arab palestinians saw this era of jewish immigration as a disruption to their self-determination, recognizing immediately that an increased jewish presence meant a decrease in land for local arab populations (ateek 21). 6 catholics relate to the zionist mission in two ways: through a spiritual belief in the hebrew bible and a theological commitment to harmonious coresponsibility amongst the abrahamic faithful. scripturally, the book of genesis is a critical part of both the jewish and catholic canons because it narrates the foundational covenant of the abrahamic world. abram, the first patriarch of judaism, was called by god to create a great nation in the promised land of canaan (gen. 12:1-3). generations later, moses and the israelites were called out of egypt to seek a new home in the promised land as well (ex. 3:17). while their tenure as an independent jewish nation was limited by conquest, hebrew bible prophets like nehemiah interpreted the conquest of israel by powerful empires like assyria as a sign from god that israel’s actions warranted divine punishment (neh. 9:26-7). to him and his contemporaries, rightful ownership of land was dependent on the will of god. thus, zionism is explicitly rooted in the scripture of the hebrew bible to which jews and catholics alike are spiritually connected. theologically, catholic zionists support the creation of a jewish national home in the land of israel because “the church recognizes that god's promises to his people are irrevocable (romans 11:29)” (d’costa 438). however, the pontifical biblical commission concluded in 2002 that “the land was unconditionally promised, but living there requires the ‘chosen’ to live justly and righteously, serving the nations” (d’costa 441). this argument highlights the necessity of coresponsibility between the abrahamic faithful to steward both the holy land and each other. thus, the vatican has insisted that while a jewish state is theologically significant to the abrahamic world, it cannot come at the cost of a palestinian homeland. by recognizing both the states of palestine and israel in 2015, the vatican communicated the necessity of a harmony between these communities. while this perspective may seem limited in the freedom it grants 7 jewish statecraft, it is still a zionist perspective because it supports the existence of a jewish state upon land that had not featured one for centuries. in contrast, catholic supporters of the palestinian liberation movement draw on liberation theology to assert that the israeli government is committing a grave sin by oppressing the palestinian people. in his piece theology of liberation, gustavo gutierrez asserts that the faithful are called to directly fight oppression with pastoral activity and service (gutierrez 36). he frames oppression through the lens of sin, inspiring christians to associate their faith with social justice because “sin is a personal and social intrahistorical reality [and] an obstacle to life's reaching the fullness we call salvation” (gutierrez 87). he also grounds his work in the gospel by applying the beatitudes–blessings from jesus’ sermon on the mount–to modern political oppression, reminding suffering catholics that “blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (mat. 5:10). gutierrez’s work was extremely effective for increasing faith-based political mobilization against the twentieth century socialist regimes in latin america, demonstrating the merits of a lived experience approach to theological reflection (levine 241). using gutierrez’s theology of liberation as a model, palestinian theologians like naim stifan ateek have conceptualized their oppression as a privileged relationship to god (masalha and isherwood 33). ateek finds a preferential option for palestinians in theological reflection on their current conditions. applying liberation theology to these conditions reveals the sinful nature of the military aggressor while reinforcing the blessed status of those currently facing oppression. the outcome of this approach in palestine has been politically mobilizing for the christian community, as it has inspired grassroots resistance to israeli occupation (ateek 50). ateek has also garnered international support for the palestinian cause by calling on catholics 8 everywhere to apply a spiritual lens to the israeli-palestinian conflict, inspiring catholics abroad to protest in solidarity (ateek 6). one of the main points of contention between these views is a difference in method. zionism begins with a ‘theology from above’ that prioritizes the divine revelation of the promised land as articulated by the israelites’ covenant with god. while the political belief in zionism as a statecraft project was developed in response to facing antisemitic oppression, the ideology itself is rooted in supernatural appeals to god’s overarching plan for humankind since the ancient days. contrastingly, the palestinian liberation movement operates from a theology of liberation focused on the here-and-now experiences of the oppressed. this ‘theology from below’ applies scriptural and theological reflections to the experiences of their modern day life, placing more emphasis on god’s presence in the lives of palestinians under occupation today. however, it is critical in this analysis to avoid taking on a supersessionist tone in one’s understanding of zionism. just because the scriptures detailing the promised land were interpreted and passed down to us by ancient israelite thinkers centuries ago, it does not mean that zionism is an outdated theology meant to be replaced by a modern theology of liberation. to say this would dismiss the validity in a belief in the older scriptures, a very un-catholic thing to do. rather, the point of the following analysis is to highlight that different perceptions of land ownership–one from the ancient israelite culture and another from the modern anticolonial culture–will arrive at different conclusions when deciding to whom the land belongs. both zionism and palestinian liberation theology meet the spiritual-liberative needs of the people they represent, but these approaches do not engage one another well because they conceptualize the spirituality of land ownership differently. for instance, a modern anticolonial thinker concerned with a theology of liberation for the palestinian people will root their 9 argumentation in a modern conceptualization of land ownership. looking at the oppression of palestinians today, it is difficult to deny that the israel-hamas war in some way oppresses the indigenous palestinians. seeing this, they might argue against zionism by asserting that land unequivocally ought to belong to its indigenous peoples, or “a place-based human ethnic culture that has not migrated from its homeland, and is not a settler or colonial population” (stewart 740). thus, they may feel the impulse to trace back as far as possible to determine which ethnic group is ‘most indigenous’ to israel today, deciding that the result of that inquiry is the most liberative praxis through which to fight oppression as the scripture calls them to. however, when put in conversation with a perspective rooted in ancient israelite thought, this approach is limited because it places a modern negative heuristic upon the movement of ancient peoples. several ancient near eastern cultures, including that of the isrealites, had a spiritual conceptualization of what their ‘homeland’ was. scripturally speaking, abram was called out of his indigenous land–ur of the chaldeans (gen. 15:7) in modern day iraq–to develop a new ancestral relationship with the land of canaan (gen. 11:31). his covenant with god thus established a new ‘homeland’ for his people, and it is not our place in the modern world to condemn ancient spiritual theories of migration. moreover, the political geography of the ancient world was constantly in flux as empires rose and fell (boadt 383). thus, the thinkers of the ancient world that experienced the spiritual events of the scripture did not perceive the right to land in the same way that a modern anticolonial thinker would. this discrepancy between how humans from different time periods, cultures, and spiritual understandings of migration conceptualized the ‘right’ to land ownership is at the heart of the modern israeli-palestinian conflict. communal discernment between these seemingly opposed views becomes possible when we understand the source of this tension, identify shared themes, 10 and compare how those themes manifest in the lived experiences of all peoples impacted. the resounding theme shared between both the catholic zionist and catholic pro-palestinian liberation perspective is a strong, passionate longing for access to the land they call ‘home.’ no matter what methodology they use to arrive there, the prominent theme in these two spiritual outlooks is the theme of belonging somewhere that your people are allowed to claim as their own. this mutual cry would be most comprehensively addressed by expanding the dialogue on it beyond the catholic world. in fact, it is impossible for catholics alone to discern a solution to this deep and painful conflict without inviting jewish, christian, and muslim voices into discernment with them. this is because catholics represent a small fraction of the palestinian population, and while there is ample literature that explores the faith’s diverse theological positions on the israeli-palestinian conflict, that catholic literature barely scratches the surface of other faith traditions’ lived experiences. any dialogical analysis of the israeli-palestinian conflict that does not consider this data with full, dignified inclusion of its primary sources– representatives of the diverse abrahamic communities present in israel and palestine–has failed to accurately capture the conflict itself. furthermore, an oversight of this nature would ignore the long held regional tradition of interfaith dialogue. despite clashing theologies, there is a strong regional history of interfaith dialogical initiatives to address “the creedal and communal challenges in colloquies both religious and philosophical” as neighboring “communities strove to articulate their confessional identities visa-vis one another” (griffith 23). jewish, muslim, and christian communities have been relating to one another for thousands of years in the land that is known today as palestine. this dialogue began with the early church’s quest to form a new christian identity from within the larger 11 jewish community (kessel 30). this process involved much debate and internal argumentation about what it meant to be jewish and how that identity related to the birth of christianity (kessel 31). a similar pattern of debate began in the seventh century when muslim communities began to theologically distinguish themselves from nearby abrahamic traditions as well (griffith 27). these endeavors laid the groundwork for modern discourse that promotes mutual understanding through exploring theological contrast. in the twentieth century, palestinian philosophers like ismail al-faruqi developed interfaith solidarity by appealing to broad spiritual values like doing good works to fulfill god’s will as encapsulated in divine law (fletcher 87). while remaining deeply loyal to his islamic moral paradigm, al-faruqi established common ground with other spiritual groups in palestine through the interfaith philosophy literature he produced. pope john paul ii also contributed significantly to interfaith thought in the context of palestine by visiting jerusalem to meet with religious leaders from local jewish, christian, and muslim communities (landau 58). in this meeting he identified shared peacebuilding themes within the different faiths’ holy texts, even quoting the qur’an to create a space for interfaith dialogue rooted in shared values (landau 59). pope francis continued this important spiritual and political work in his book let us dream by poignantly commenting on the power of encounter in soothing political conflict by artfully articulating that: “a people is not the same as a country, a nation, or a state, important though these entities are. a country is a geographical entity; the nation-state is the juridical and constitutional scaffolding that gives it force. but these boundaries and structures can change. a country that has been amputated or lost a war can remake itself. a nation that undergoes a constitutional crisis can rebuild itself. but to lose the feeling of being part of 12 a people is very hard to recover from. it is a loss that takes place over decades, eroding our capacity for encounter” (francis 100). thus, spiritual thinkers and theologians of all abrahamic faith traditions have identified encounter as a critical tool for peacebuilding in response to deep theological and lived wounds. today, the catholic church has a valuable opportunity to apply its masterfully developed dialogical methods to the historically painful israeli-palestinian conflict. the following section explores catholic dialogical methods in peacebuilding, constructing an argument for their interfaith application in this devastating political context. catholic dialogical methods in his address on the fiftieth anniversary of the synod of bishops, pope francis defined synodality to his audience as “a reciprocal listening in which everyone—faithful people, the episcopal college, the bishop of rome—has something to learn, each one listening to the others; and all listening to the holy spirit, the ‘spirit of truth’ (john 14:17), in order to know what he ‘is saying to the churches’ (rev 2:7)” (francis). inherent to this kind of listening is the participants’ willingness to accept information from a variety of sources. they must grant equal dignity to other participants with ranging opinions while listening to the movement of the holy spirit. this endeavor is best supported by a noncompetitive theology of the church wherein all believers are seen as equally capable of receiving the word and contributing to the creation of new church best practices (luciani 91). this noncompetitive theology has been a historical work in progress, only recently incorporating the perspectives of the laity–all non-clergy members of the church–into its discernment. the first example of synodality in the early church takes place in the book of acts 13 when the apostles debated if adherence to mosaic law is required for gentile christians to achieve salvation (acts 15:6-8). they modeled a style of discussion wherein all participants were granted access to the holy spirit to determine how the church should progress in response to that disagreement (acts 15:9). after the generation of the apostles had passed, the early church continued this tradition by convening councils of bishops to respond to the cries of their time (gaillardetz 10). however, the voices of the laity were often not included in conciliar discernment until vatican ii took decisive steps towards reviving catholic pneumatology, or the study of the holy spirit as it is revealed to every baptized person. this effort recovered the stance that all catholics are–by virtue of their baptism in the life, death, and resurrection of christ–capable of interpreting the movement of the holy spirit (gaillardetz 91). this assertion expanded the agency of the laity to participate in the synodal task of voicing different opinions, granting legitimacy to their contributions and opening the door for them to weigh in on ecclesial matters (gaillardetz 122). today, the catholic church allows nominated lay people to contribute to communal discernment on critical issues by participating as full delegates in a synod, or a classical institutional form of ‘walking together’ through which a council meets to discern an ecclesial way of proceeding through a presenting conflict (luciani 25). however, synodality as a concept is not limited to its direct application in the celebration of synods convened by the pope (luciani 27). one of the pneumatological implications of the noncompetitive theology explored above is that every local church has the power to implement a “circular relationship linking pastoral ministry, lay participation and coresponsibility, and the impulses coming from charismatic gifts,” (international theological commission 106). thus, all members of the church are empowered to 14 express synodality by intentionally listening to and walking with those around them, meaningfully shaping their community in christ by modeling that approach. one way in which everyday catholics are invited to practice synodality is through exploring the ‘see, judge, act’ dialogical method. cardinal cardjin named and popularized this long-practiced method of discernment, using catholic social teaching to develop three concrete steps for decision-making that are adaptable to a wide variety of situations (sheppard 103). to ‘see’ requires understanding how our ideological leanings cause us to ignore certain facts, challenging us to acknowledge our human bias by genuinely considering data presented from all other perspectives (sheppard 104). ‘seeing’ is critical to synodal discernment because it gives equal status to the perspectives of all participants in the discernment process, whether they be synod delegates or students in a classroom. the synodal project thus responds to a history of voices unheard and experiences unseen by beginning on the premise that ignoring the lived reality of someone at the table is not fruitful. beyond that, ignoring the reality of someone intentionally situated not at the table also blocks discerners from peering towards the margins. thus, to ‘see’ is to consider all contributions equally, to be mindful of how one’s own perspective could hinder their understanding of another’s experience, and to dismantle barriers that may prevent people from contributing at all. ‘judging’ the observations ‘seen’ in the previous step involves communal discernment that moves towards a consensus in the group (sheppard 104). in the model of the ‘see, judge, act’ method, consensus is achieved through a shared desire to confront the participants’ lived realities with the ideals of the gospel, gradually formulating a common response to the world around them through listening to the movement of the holy spirit (sheppard 104). this approach promotes a style of discernment that roots all participants in the same goal; even if participants 15 experience conflict or hear a contradictory viewpoint to their own, their task is to ‘judge’ the situation in a way that transcends their individual opinions. thus, inherent to the ‘judging’ aspect of synodality is a strong group commitment to humility; self-denial only works as a strategy for achieving consensus if everyone else is committed to self-denial too. to ‘act’ on the consensus achieved through the ‘judgement’ of the group is to implement next steps that all participants approve of (sheppard 105). it must be noted that a participant’s approval of an ‘action’ ought to transcend their personal opinion, as communal discernment is an opportunity to evaluate the perspectives of others in light of the gospel, not in comparison to one’s own personal bias. while the chosen ‘action’ will likely not match every participant’s personal preference for what ought to be done, it is the hope of the ‘see, judge, act’ method that the group will choose to ‘act’ in light of how they feel the conversation going as a whole. thus, participants are invited to engage in a style of decision making that de-centers the self for the sake of a carefully discerned consensus, informed by a sincere effort to equally see all perspectives offered on the matter at hand. while the ‘see, judge, act’ method is easier explained than practiced–especially on contentious topics like the israeli-palestinian conflict–these theological and lived wounds are the very kind that synodality is designed to heal. pope francis has held several synods on urgent topics facing the faithful since his assumption of the papacy. the synod on the amazon came closest to this topic by uplifting the voices of indigenous peoples experiencing violence and displacement (barros 135). this decision demonstrated the holy see’s willingness to go to margins experiencing violent and existential political conflict. pope francis even argued in his piece let us dream that “the task of the reconciler is to ‘endure’ the conflict, facing it head-on, and by discerning see beyond the surface reasons for disagreement, opening those involved to 16 the possibility of a new synthesis, one that does not destroy either pole, but preserves what is good and valid in both in a new perspective” (francis 80). not only is synodality up to the task of discerning the deescalation of complex conflicts, but pope francis has identified here the necessity of this task in the church’s mission to heal the world’s greatest wounds. at the local level, the truth and reconciliation dialogical method has been applied in post-genocide landscapes to discern how a community can heal together from mass violence that pitted neighbor against neighbor. post-genocide discussions conducted in rwanda by individual catholic parishes successfully heard “the testimonies of victims, allowed perpetrators to ask forgiveness and repent, and allowed survivors the opportunity to forgive them” (kambanda 57). while it would be anachronistic to characterize this initiative as synodal, the truth and reconciliation method was based on a similar spiritual commitment to “see and identify the image of god in others so that ethnic differences can be overcome” (kambanda 59). these truth and reconciliation circles worked through the steps of the ‘see, judge, act’ method, but added on their own discernment goal of identifying actionable steps for reintegrating rwandan society (kambanda 60). thus, existing methods of catholic dialogue were adapted to fit unique situational needs of a hurting community. bearing this example in mind, the following section invites you to imagine what could be achieved if the catholic church took up the cause of convening a large-scale interfaith synod on the israeli-palestinian conflict. adapting catholic dialogical method to an interfaith synod the catholic faith calls the living church to intervene in the persecution of others because of a strong doctrinal commitment to peacemaking (matthew 5:9). the pauline epistles in the new testament appeal to the “god of peace” directly, encouraging the faithful to seek refuge 17 in him from conflict (rom. 15:33). thus, the church is inherently inspired and incentivized to promote peace however possible as part of its mission. but could the catholic dialogical approaches explored above be applied in an interfaith manner? synodality, the ‘see, judge, act’ method, and the truth and reconciliation method all rely on a coherence of spiritual commitment amongst their participants. their shared cornerstone is accepting that every baptized person has access to feeling the movement of the holy spirit, and can thus contribute spiritually informed insights to the communal discernment process. this theological premise must be adapted to accommodate interfaith participation in synodal discernment. what would synodality look like if not every participant had experienced a baptism in the life, death, and resurrection of christ? how would the goal of discernment have to change to meet the unique interfaith needs of this hurting community? for a catholic, the goal of an interfaith synod would be allowing their encounters with people of other faiths to inform their spiritual reflections on the israeli-palestinian conflict. opening oneself up to being moved by the contributions of others is a critical part of the synodal process (sheppard 104), and a catholic is absolutely capable of being moved by the holy spirit while listening to an interfaith testimony. instead of listening to the movement of the holy spirit within every participant, the synod would need to adapt towards reflections on how the experience of interfaith encounter moves the holy spirit within oneself. while this inward orientation might initially feel unsynodal, it is the only way to protect the spiritual independence and dignity of non-catholic participants’ contributions. but how can catholics take the shared experience of the holy spirit out of the equation? the point of interfaith dialogue is not to make it secular, but rather to create space for different faith traditions to be respected. catholics would of course continue to orient their discernment to 18 the holy spirit’s movement within themselves, but they ultimately must not expect that all other participants experience spirituality in the same way they do. instead, dialogue facilitators could adapt the ‘see, judge, act’ methods towards an interfaith application that centers individualized yet communal spiritual reflection. by encouraging each participant to ‘judge’ the testimonies they have ‘seen’ in light of their own faith tradition, the ‘see, judge, act’ method can empower synod participants of other faiths to share how their interfaith dialogue experience is uniquely resonating with their spirituality. this difference in spiritual experience does not detract from the communal element of the discernment, but instead provides useful and enlightening insights on different faith traditions’ responses to the same conflict. this is indeed a more communal approach than an insular, catholic-only dialogue because it invites non-catholics to the table. characteristic of the ‘judge’ phase is the participants’ shared commitment to formulating a common response to the world around them through listening to one anothers’ spiritual insights. while amongst catholics this conviction is rooted in shared access to the holy spirit, these same values can be achieved by a multifaith pre-participation agreement. in lieu of every participant agreeing to listen to the holy spirit during the dialogue, participants of all faiths would agree in advance to the holistic listening values of the ‘see, judge, act’ method. as their task remains to ‘judge’ the situation in a way that transcends their individual opinions, participants should prioritize humility while reflecting on what others have contributed. for a non-catholic, participation in an interfaith synod hosted by the catholic church would be an opportunity to testify to their experience of the israeli-palestinian conflict in a space geared towards both theological and practical reflection. in the case of the truth and reconciliation method in rwanda explored above, testimony was a powerful healing tool that 19 fostered dialogue by rooting it in lived experience. synods often break up into sub-committees, and this unique setting would provide an opportunity for interfaith dialogue that spans a wide variety of this conflict’s nuanced elements. it is also an opportunity to be meaningfully impacted by the testimonies of others, allowing for increased empathy between the participants. aside from the opportunity to heal through testimony, dialogue, and empathetic growth, what is the peacebuilding utility of the synodal process? typically, the end result of a synod is to produce a final document with summarized discussions and recommendations brought forth from the communal discernment process. while only catholics would be expected to author this final document on behalf of the catholic church–as they are representatives of their own church–summarizing this interfaith dialogue would meaningfully increase the world’s knowledge of what is happening in israel and palestine. jewish, muslim, and christian delegations could also author their own final documents with summaries and recommendations developed through their own spiritual and dialogical experiences at the interfaith synod. if these documents were published together, it would create a wealth of knowledge on the israeli-palestinian conflict that could be compared and contrasted in peacebuilding efforts. how might this initiative impact non-participants? primarily, an orgnization as large as the holy see initiating interfaith dialogue would send an international message supporting tolerance, mutual respect, and hope even in situations of stark political disagreement. it also goes without saying that the documents produced would have a massive impact on the fields of theology, politics, history, and all other disciplines concerned with the israeli-palestinian conflict. the opportunity to analyze different fruits of the same interfaith dialogue tree would reveal a plethora of useful and fascinating information that would inspire future policy and 20 scholarship. beyond the academic world, the forthcoming recommendations could mobilize faithful populations worldwide to lend a helping hand however possible. from donation drives to volunteer work, recommendations coming from an interfaith dialogue initiative would foster solidarity between these groups and significantly bolster relief efforts. from the angle of the catholic church, the opportunity to host an interfaith synod would skyrocket the church’s influence on the geopolitical outcome of the israeli-palestinian conflict in a positive way. the church is called to address the world’s deepest wounds and has developed the dialogical infrastructure to do so. convening a synod on behalf of the abrahamic world, inviting brothers and sisters from different faith traditions into the vatican, and listening to them would model a radical form of peacebuilding rooted in catholic social thought. not only is an interfaith synod theologically possible and spiritually inspired, but it is absolutely necessary if the church wishes to facilitate any form of healing in the violent political impasse of the israelipalestinian conflict. most importantly, the populations of israel and palestine would benefit from this initiative by having access to increased aid, decisive spiritual leadership, and a tested framework to facilitate local interfaith encounter. the opportunity to feel loved and listened to by other faith communities would also be transformative in and of itself. the mutual cry from every mouth involved in this conflict is a desire to regain the feeling of being home: belonging to a people peacefully rooted in their land. the tension has eroded both sides’ capacity for encounter, with the most recent result of that erosion being the tragedy of the israel-hamas war. rather than facing the issue of to whom the promised land belongs in an oppositional way, engaging in a synodal encounter would help ease the tension by emphasizing the sharedness of their cries to go 21 home. thus, it is incumbent upon the catholic church to host an interfaith synod on the israelipalestinian conflict. works cited ateek, naim stifan. a palestinian theology of liberation: the bible, justice, and the 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(2025, january 31). “today’s news: democratic republic of the congo, occupied palestinian territory, syria, ukraine.” retrieved from https://www.unocha.org/news/todays-top-newsdemocratic-republic-congo-occupied-palestinian-territory-syria-ukraine vital, david. “the road to war 1967: the origins of the arab-israeli conflict and the israel-syria armistice: problems of implementation, 1949–1966.” international affairs (london) 44, no. 4 (1968): 802–804. “strange ceremonies and magic arts”: a euroamerican understanding of the mysteries of native american medicine karen e. sause history in the 1830s, artist george catlin encountered a group of native americans who were visiting philadelphia. catlin had never seen natives prior to this experience, and he became so intrigued by them that he decided to become a native american groupie for a time. he set off with his paints on an artistic venture; mingling and living with various tribes, learning about their cultures, all the while depicting through paintings and writing what he saw and experienced. in his travels among the natives living along the yellow stone river of the upper missouri, catlin discovered the difficulties of trying to determine the true meaning of native american medicine. on one stop, he bought bone bows made by the blackfeet and crow, but when he inquired what animals the bones came from, he was told “that‟s medicine,” and was given no other information. 1 he wrote in frustration that either “it was a mystery to them [the indians] or that they did not want to be questioned about them [the bones].” 2 catlin‟s frustrations with his endeavor to understand the native concept of medicine were just beginning. in his quest to understand native medicine, catlin became intrigued by the medicine bags that were carried by all the men of the tribe. not contented to simply paint images of the bags, he attempted to purchase one, but soon discovered that he was unable to buy one, even at an “extravagant price.” 3 even the natives who claimed to have abandoned their traditional practices, still retained a strong regard for the sanctity of the medicine bags. “to sell it, or to give it away,” reported catlin “would subject him to such signal disgrace in his tribe that he could never rise above it.” 4 in the end, catlin found that he had to content his curiosity with painting the exteriors of the sacred bags, and only having vague answers as to what composed their interior contents. 5 1 catlin, george. letters and notes on the north american indians. edited and introduction by michael macdonald mooney. new york, new york: clarkson n. potter, inc., 1975; 109. 2 ibid. 3 ibid., 113. 4 ibid. 5 ibid., 118. karen sause 2 after a few other less than illustrative experiences with the concept, he determined that: „medicine‟ is a great word in this country, and it is very necessary that one should know the meaning of it whilst he is scanning and estimating the indian character, which is made up, in great degree, of mysteries and superstitions. the word medicine, in its common acceptation here, means mystery, and nothing else. 6 adding further confusion to the matter, catlin noted that the natives themselves did not use the term medicine, but that each tribe had its own word which meant mystery. 7 catlin‟s frustrations perfectly illustrate the problem that euro-americans had with understanding native american medicine. they soon came to realize that native american medicine meant far more than the english definition which solely denoted practices for treating illness and disease. for native americans, medicine was a term that embodied both medical and spiritual concepts, and especially referred to those things that were powerful or mysterious in nature. 8 for euroamericans, it was the spiritual side of native medicine that they struggled to comprehend, when they bothered to attempt to understand it at all. the difficulty of understanding another culture‟s practices was discussed by edward sâid in his evaluation of europeans trying to understand the concept of the oriental harem. as outsiders, europeans only saw brief snatches of the interior culture, and either because they never bothered to inquire further or because the natives prevented them from seeing everything, they developed opinions from these glimpses which did not represent the true significance of the practice to the culture. thus, europeans came to view the spirituality of native american medicine as they did the oriental harem – although they were never able to see everything that went on in the inside, they had a vivid imagination about what occurred. even though europeans believed that they understood the culture, they as outsiders, never have, never can, and never will fully understand the mysteries indigenous to that particular culture – whether it was the indians in the orient or the indians of north america. europeans failed to understand the culture of native american medicine because they were unable or unwilling to check their cultural baggage at the door of the medicine lodge. 6 ibid., 111. 7 ibid., 112. 8 vogel, virgil j. american indian medicine. norman, oklahoma: university of oklahoma press, 1970; 24-25. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 3 *** this paper is an exploration into the culture of native american medicine as it was experienced by the euro-americans in the eighteenth century with all of their cultural baggage in tow. it focuses on the northeastern tribes who had some of the first contacts with europeans, though it covers some poignant experiences in other locations. it is an attempt to discern some of the mysteries, and to understand what an eighteenth century euro-american would have found to be fascinating, similar to their own understanding, and just plain bizarre. there is an inherent danger when studying the indigenous persons of north america in conflating their numerous and varied cultures under the umbrella monolith of “native american.” this paper seeks to recognize these rich and varied cultures by citing individual tribes wherever possible; however, it needs to be acknowledged up front that contemporary and modern sources have not and do not always recognize these cultural differences; and thus, in places ambiguity inevitably interferes with precision. european and native american medicines compared in eighteenth century america, there were no medical institutions in america, and therefore all degree-seeking doctors and surgeons had to receive their training at european universities. 9 thus, true medical professionals were often hard to come by and the kind of care available varied greatly in early america. in addition to the university trained professionals, the system was supplemented through other kinds of health practitioners such as apothecaries and druggists, who had usually completed a formal apprenticeship and were monitored by local authorities. midwives were also widely available and these tended to be women who had studied under another experienced woman to learn the art of delivery. there was frequently little to no government oversight, and midwives‟ reputations were spread through word of mouth. in rural communities, sometimes the only medical care available might have been the old woman down the road who happened to know many herbal remedies. as can be imagined, there was a great deal of differentiation in the amount of medical training these people had received, which also limited what services they were able to render to their patients, and the quality of care that individuals received. it should be noted, however, that in this world of still pre-modern medical understanding, the lack of university training by a 9 it should be noted that as there was no official or universal organization overseeing medical licensure during the eighteenth century, it was not difficult to claim training or to forge certifications. many persons operated under the title of “doctor” in the colonies who had never received formal training. karen sause 4 practitioner did not necessarily mean a poor outcome for the patient. in fact, in some cases, the local herbal remedies were less dangerous to the patient than the exotic, more expensive, and potentially pernicious remedies an apothecary might have prescribed. when a person in the eighteenth century came down with an illness that was beyond the expertise of their family members, neighbors, and friends, their next step was usually to consult their local apothecary or druggist who would generally prescribe an herbal remedy to treat the patient‟s symptoms. if the disease became significantly worse, they might then call in a physician or possibly a surgeon if the illness was deemed to have an internal cause that might require an operation, and only, of course, if there was a practitioner nearby. the age of enlightenment had introduced more of a scientific element into european medicine. university trained physicians and surgeons spent an increasing amount of time studying and dissecting the interior of the human body, which had once been taboo territory. this change in training brought changes in medical theories. the aristotelian, hippocratic, and humoral theories that had dominated the medical field for centuries were beginning to decline in prominence as the understanding of the human body increased. 10 however, colonial medical practitioners still actively recommended such treatments as bleeding, cupping, sweats, and special diets to treat the symptoms of an illness. *** when a native american became ill, there was also a system in place that involved various levels of expertise for receiving care. the initial contact was not usually with the medicine man that was considered to be the highest authority. illnesses, especially minor ones, were often first treated by family members. most natives, especially women (like their euro-american counterparts), had a basic knowledge of herbs and home remedies, and they attempted to mitigate the effects of the illness as the initial step. when these first line products failed to work, natives would then seek the advice of an herbalist, frequently a female, who had a much wider knowledge of herbs and illness. if the remedies the herbalist prescribed failed to improve the person‟s condition, the next step was to consult the medicine man or shaman. always a male, the shaman was a healer of physical, and, more importantly, spiritual ills. he was only able to attain his position after going before tribal elders and other medicine men and answering their questions regarding his vision-quest, in order to demonstrate that he was a capable spiritual 10 lawrence i. conrad, et al, the western medical tradition: 800 bc to ad 1800, (new york, ny: cambridge university press, 1995), 384-386. roderick e. mcgrew and margret p. mcgrew, encyclopedia of medical history, (new york, ny: mcgraw-hill book company, 1985), 142-144. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 5 interpreter. 11 he drew on the power of his own medicine to identify the cause of the illness. he was the person who was considered to be among the most powerful members of the tribe, and in addition to being a spiritual leader, he was also frequently politically powerful as well. his role encompassed that of the european physician, priest, and politician. well-known politically powerful shaman included such figures as corn planter, sitting bull, and geronimo. 12 tools of the medicine men: medicine bags, dreams, and rituals when a native american became ill and the medicine man was called in to assist the sick person, the most important part of his treatment was to determine the underlying spiritual source of the illness, and then what measures needed to be taken to cure it. one interesting belief in native cultures was that they maintained a dichotomy between curing the cause and the person. a shaman was believed to be able to successfully cure a person of a spiritual problem, but it was accepted that the person might remain ill even after the underlying cause had been resolved. 13 medicine bags were a vital component of native american medicine, and especially important to a medicine man. in investigating the purpose of medicine bags, catlin discovered that to call it a medicine bag was a misnomer from the euro-american perspective of the word, as the bag contained “no drugs or medicines within them.” 14 instead, he was told that the bags were stuffed with grasses, moss, and other charms of great importance to the individual who carried it. catlin observed that there was no set pattern for creating the medicine bags, and they were all shapes and sizes and were constructed from the skins of any animal, bird, or reptile. they were usually very decorative and fashioned to the taste of the owner. 15 in the delaware tradition, it seems that the warrior‟s medicine bundle was similar to the more general concept of the medicine bag, but in this instance the charms and bundle were specifically constructed to assist and protect the warrior in battle. one of the most important elements in the bundle was a medicine stone, sometimes referred to as a bezoar in other cultures. the stones were found in animal intestines and were believed to have amazing healing properties that could save a warrior who had sustained life-threatening injuries. the stone‟s power was tapped by either scraping off a bit of it into a tea which was then consumed, or if 11 åke hultkrantz, shamanic healing and ritual drama: health and medicine in native north american religious tradition (new york, ny: crossroad publishing company, 1992), 36. 12 vogel, 26. 13 ibid., 16. 14 catlin, 112. 15 ibid. karen sause 6 time was of the essence, the stone could be merely passed over the wounds. 16 the power of the warrior‟s medicine was granted by supernatural beings through dreams, and was sometimes also accompanied by a power-song. the dreams instructed the warriors on how to make their own medicine, and these secrets were passed down through generations, but only to worthy recipients who led clean lives. 17 one of the most important roles of the medicine man was to interpret dreams. dreams in themselves play a particularly important part of native american culture. they are seen to be messages from spirits which instill divine inspiration, reveal one‟s calling in life, and provide insight into difficult decisions or predicaments. it is no surprise then that dreams were also used as tools by the shaman to diagnose and treat disease. for an individual suffering from an illness, dreams were believed to reveal the cause of one‟s suffering. native americans believed that the body could be invaded by animals, objects, and spirits which were all causes of disease. 18 it was believed that these foreign invaders would reveal themselves to the shaman through dreams if he interpreted them correctly. dreams could also reveal if an individual was sick because he had broken a taboo or had not performed the sacred ceremonies adequately. dreams not only revealed the cause of an illness, but usually once they were interpreted, they revealed what steps to take to heal a person. once the shaman believed he had a correct interpretation, he was then able to begin treating the patient. shamans employed a variety of techniques to heal their patients. one virtually universal practice of native american shamans in their ritual healing ceremonies was to use gourd rattles and other noisemakers during their healing ceremonies. the idea behind this practice was in the event that a spirit had taken possession of the body, the noise around the ill person was supposed to make that person‟s body uninhabitable for the spirit thereby causing it to leave. john smith reported that “to cure the sick, a man with a rattle, and extreme howling, shouting, singing and such violent gestures and antic actions over the patient, will suck out blood and phlegm out of the unable stomach, or any diseased place.” 19 shamans might also try to force the spirit to leave by having the patient drink a tea of bitter herbs, which they believed would make the interior of the body uncomfortable for the spirit as well. 20 on the whole euro-americans, especially missionaries, found this practice to be a 16 gladys tantaquidgeon, folk medicine of the delaware and related algonkian indians, (harrisburg, pa: the pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 1972), 26-27. 17 ibid., 41. 18 vogel, 16-18. 19 quoted in vogel, 32. 20 vogel, 33. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 7 heathenish nuisance, and grounds for mocking native religion and healing practices. the important roles of animals the concept of one‟s health being directly dependent upon the good graces of the spiritual world is not incongruous with the judeo-christian european faith systems. instead of believing in a monotheistic version of spirituality, where one god is in control of health and life, native americans believed in animism. animism contends that certain animals held spiritual powers which control the health and well-being of the natives. the purpose of many of the ceremonies that the natives held was to honor and appease a certain animal held sacred by their tribe, in order to stay in that animal‟s good graces to ensure good health and hunting. 21 the ceremony was very much a mutually agreed upon pact between the natives and the animal(s), with responsibilities required of both parties. how did these honorary ceremonies to the game-keepers function? in his work, anthropologist calvin martin described a typical method of hunting game, in this case bear, while showing respect: the beast is typically hunted in early spring, while still in hibernation, and preferably killed with aboriginal weapons; it is addressed, when dead or alive, with honorific titles which served as euphemisms for its common name; a conciliatory speech is made to the animal, either before or after killing it and sometimes both, by which the hunter seriously apologizes for the necessity of his act; and the carcass is respectfully treated, those parts not used (especially the skull) being ceremonially disposed of and the flesh consumed while adhering to certain taboos. the stated purpose of all this veneration is to propitiate the spiritual controller, or keeper of the bears in order that he will continue to furnish game to the hunter. 22 the delaware had another interesting ceremony involving animals. when a child was born, the parents gave it a pet dog that served as the protectorate of the child‟s health. the parents formalized the relationship by tying a small bag of charcoal around the dog‟s neck and the dog became part of the family. the delaware believed that if an illness came to call on the household, it would attack the dog and the child would be spared. 23 if the dog died, the parents gave the child 21 some of the more well-known sacred animals included the beaver, bear, turtle and buffalo. 22 calvin martin, keepers of the game: indian-animal relationships and the fur trade, (berkley, ca: university of california press, 1978), 36. 23 tantaquidgeon, 42. karen sause 8 a new pet; however if the child died, a string of wampum was tied around the dog‟s neck and he was released. 24 other origins of disease in native beliefs. in ojibwa mythology, for example, it is believed that diseases were the result of a break down in relations between humans and animals when the world began. the humans wanted to hunt the animals, but they were wasteful and killed more than they needed, so the animals decided to send illnesses to the people through mosquitoes. the hero of their culture, nanabozho, learned from the chipmunk how to treat their illnesses using herbs, which he taught to the ojibwa people. 25 in ojibwa culture, diseases have two origins. the first is what anthropologist åke hultkrantz has called diseases of “ultimate causes.” 26 in this circumstance, illnesses occur as a punishment for an offense committed knowingly or unconsciously against the spirit world. examples of conscious offenses are killing an animal that was not needed, or living an unethical life that harms other people. unconscious offenses that can also result in disease come from violating a taboo, or from becoming contaminated by contact with something that is ritually unclean, or from walking across sacred ground with powerful spirits. 27 in addition to animal spirits, many native americans believed that the ghosts of the dead could also cause illness as retribution for a disagreement they had with someone while they were living or out of envy of still being alive. 28 native americans also believed that witches and wizards caused illnesses. 29 the second cause is what hultkrantz refers to as “instrumental or immediate causes, or manifest causes,” which “include intrusion, soul loss, and witchcraft.” 30 with this type of illness, the shaman‟s purpose was to determine how to remove the disease, and not just to correct a spiritual failing. the importance of rituals despite being able to recognize some similarities between european and native american treatments, there are very decisive epistemological differences between these two branches of medicine. by the eighteenth century, european medicine 24 ibid., 43. 25 ibid., 29. 26 ibid. 27 ibid., 30. 28 ibid., 31. 29 hultkrantz, 30-31. see also tantaquidgeon, 45-49 for discussion on delaware beliefs of the danger of witchcraft, and vogel, 15 for a discussion of southwestern tribal beliefs in witchcraft as a cause of disease. 30 hultkrantz, 31. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 9 had become scientific in approach and thus a schism between the religious and medical realms had developed. in native american culture, there was no separation between medicine and religion; and to these practices were also inextricably tied ritual, ceremony, and folklore. because native americans believed that an offense to the spiritual world was one source of illness; it was just as important to follow the ritual observances of everyday activities such as hunting, planting and harvesting crops, and completing chores, as it was to participate in the special ceremonies which marked such events as the change in seasons, the birth of a child, the transition to adulthood, and death. concerning native ceremonies, lifelong seneca captive mary jemison reported that the natives “pertinaciously observed the religious rites of their progenitors, by attending with the most scrupulous exactness and a great degree of enthusiasm to the sacrifices, at particular times, to appease the anger of the evil deity, or to excite the commiseration and friendship of the great good spirit.” 31 to the natives, conducting the ceremony accurately, as jemison emphasized, was part of the way that they ensured that their ceremonies were pleasing to the spirits, and they believed that if they did not perform the ceremony in the same manner every time, the spirits would retaliate by sending disease, a bad growing season, or bad hunting. natives believed that to not follow the prescribed method for completing certain activities was to invite illness into their homes. in essence, carefully following rituals and ceremonies was a form of preventive medicine. one of the intriguing aspects of native american society is the cultural manifestation of their abiding belief in ritually linked illnesses. included in narratives on healing and treatment of disease are what seem to the modern eye to be humorous old wives tales which have no bearing on scientific medicine as we think of it today. however, these old adages seem less ridiculous when they are read not as a guide for medical advice, but are instead utilized as a window for insight into the thought processes of a society who sought to understand what caused their disease and discomfort when they were without the benefit of modern disease theory. take for example, the mohegan advice to parents that “when you pull a child‟s tooth keep it. if thrown out, an animal might get it, and the child will then have large, crooked teeth.” 32 ignoring the actual advice given, this passage tells us that native parents were concerned about their children‟s appearance and looked for ways to control how certain features would develop. rituals also guided who, when, and how the flesh of sacred animals was consumed, and how the unused bones and parts were disposed. frequent mention 31 james e. seaver, a narrative of the life of mrs. mary jemison, june namias, ed., (norman: university of oklahoma press, 1992), 96-97. 32 tantaquidgeon, 86. karen sause 10 is made in native american literature about how bones should not be disposed of in a fire or cast off carelessly. martin quoted a micmac source which discussed the taboo of disposing beaver bones in a river “lest the spirit of the bones…would promptly carry the news to the other beavers, which would desert the country in order to escape the same misfortune.” 33 other common taboos regarding the disposal of sacred animal bones included not feeding the bones to dogs, not leaving them where other animals could access them, and not destroying the bones by fire. as father brébeuf reported to father lejune, “their superstitions are infinite, their feast, their medicines, their fishing, their hunting, their wars, – in short almost their whole life turns upon this pivot….” 34 spiritual devastation? eighteenth century native american medicine was also undergoing changes, some subtle and some radical, as they faced the reality of the changes brought on by the effects of the european invasion. it has been noted in many sources that prior to the arrival of the europeans, the native americans were on the whole essentially healthy individuals, who did not suffer from epidemic diseases until the arrival of europeans. historians argue that this demographic holocaust from smallpox, yellow fever, and measles, also resulted in the cultural and spiritual devastation of many native american people. as native people died unabated and from european diseases, their understanding of their relationship with the animal kingdom, their supposed protectors, was shattered. in his book, keepers of the game, anthropologist calvin martin asserted that the arrival of epidemic diseases signaled to the natives that something had clearly gone awry with their agreement system, and the natives felt they had kept their side of the bargain, so they took revenge against their former protector, the beaver. one of the questions that has long been debated in native american historiography is why the natives abandoned their traditional, pre-contact practices of conservation and restraint from taking an excess quantity of resources from the environment after the europeans arrived. 35 conventional narrative has stated that the native 33 martin, 35-36. 34 reuban gold thwaites, ed., the jesuit relations and allied documents: travels and explorations of the jesuit missionaries in north america, 1610-1791, (new york, ny: albert and charles boni, 1925), 113. 35 martin, 9. here, martin notes that the “indians, though not conservationists, …were not wasteful in precontact times.” not all historians would agree with this statement, including shepard krech who seeks to challenge the traditional perspective of just how eco-conscious the native americans were in the ecological indian: myth and history, (new york, ny: w.w. norton and company, inc., 1999). for a representative source of the accepted argument which also includes a summary and criticism of martin‟s argument, see clara sue kidwell, “native “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 11 americans deviated from their traditional practices because they became reliant on european trade goods and were willing to sacrifice what had once been sacred in order to obtain them. 36 martin rejected what he considered to be an overly simplistic explanation that the natives were “economically destitute,” and decided to re-examine the subject from the native american perspective. 37 in an attempt to resolve the chicken-egg style dispute over what influence killed the beavers first, martin examined the micmac and ojibwa tribes and determined that “the single most important deterrent to excessive hunting, in the eastern-algonkian‟s mind…, was the fear of spiritual reprisal for indiscreet slaughter.” 38 therefore, martin concluded that the spiritual relationship between these natives and the beaver was one already in decline by the time the natives entered into a trading partnership with the europeans. when looking for a source for this decline, martin pointed to the influx of european diseases which the natives were unable to control using traditional healing methods. thus, when the natives searched for a cause of their illnesses, they felt that they had kept the ceremonies and honored the beaver. as a result, they reasoned that the beaver had not maintained his part of the bargain, and essentially, all bets were off. according to martin, the natives sought retaliation against the beaver and, therefore, had no moral dilemma in meeting the european demand for fur because the hunt had become a holy war. 39 whether or not one accepts martin‟s thesis, which has been criticized for being based on “flimsy evidence,” 40 his work certainly provides an interesting foray into the complicated nature of native american spirituality as it interacts with health and medicine. one of the components of martin‟s thesis that many historians find objectionable is his premise that the natives suffered complete spiritual devastation. paul kelton is one of the historians who has rejected martin‟s insinuations, and he has argued that while there is no denying that epidemic diseases profoundly impacted natives, that “too often indians are given no credit for being able to combat emergent diseases, and too often epidemics are depicted as completely undermining native religious beliefs.” 41 in his research on how smallpox affected the southeastern tribes, kelton determined that the diseases provided opportunities for the natives to strengthen their spirituality through american systems of knowledge,” in phillip j. deloria, and neal salisbury, eds., a companion to american indian history,(malden, ma: blackwell publishers, 2002), 94-96. 36 martin, 8-9. 37 ibid., 15. 38 ibid., 18. 39 ibid., 52-53. 40 kidwell, 96. 41 paul kelton, “avoiding the smallpox spirits: colonial epidemics and southeastern indian survival,” ethnohistory, 51:1 (winter, 2004): 45-71, 45. karen sause 12 adapting old traditions and creating new ones. kelton discovered that by the 1830s, a protestant missionary to the cherokee noted that they were performing a special ceremony called itohvnv, which roughly translated to “the smallpox dance.” 42 the dance had been developed in recognition that the old medicine was no longer working and that the tribe needed to find a new way to appease the new diseasecausing spirits. during an epidemic, the cherokee performed a modified version of their “great new moon festival” in order to purify themselves through a special cleansing ceremony that used herbs and ritualized bathing, and special dances. 43 the creeks, too, developed a new ceremony, the tsotí, that was akin to the cherokee‟s smallpox dance. in essence, some tribes recognized that they were dealing with new diseases which they needed a new medicine to combat. as kelton has demonstrated, native american medicine was neither stagnant nor impervious to outside influences, but was open to incorporating new elements. in addition to coping with new illness, native americans also learned to find uses for the invasive exotic plant species that were introduced by the europeans, both by accident and intention. one way that this is known is through noting how native americans began to incorporate non-native species into their recipes of herbal remedies. common plantain, also known as “path weed” and “englishman‟s foot,” because “it would grow only where the english „have trodden, & was never known before the english came into this country,‟” 44 was an invasive species brought over to america from europe. natives noted that the plantain‟s leaves could be crushed for use as a poultice; and, in combination with other plant parts, was also used as a remedy for treating female diseases. 45 clearly, natives were open to experimentation and adaptation. *** martin made another point regarding the connection between spirituality and medicine that is important to this discussion. he argued that the failure of traditional native medicine to successfully treat epidemic diseases opened the door to natives converting to christianity. 46 to these natives, it seemed that their medicine and shamans had lost the ability to successfully negotiate with the spiritual world, and so they began to search for an alternative method. many of the missionaries emphasized the rituals of christianity which appeared to be similar to 42 ibid. 43 ibid., 59. 44 alfred w. crosby, ecological imperialism: the biological expansion of europe, 900-1900, (new york, ny: cambridge university press, 2004), 156. 45 for uses see tantaquidgeon, 37. also, vogel, 175. 46 martin, 57. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 13 native concepts. to natives, the christian ritual of baptism had similar qualities to their own ritual of using sweat baths and both drinking and soaking in the water from certain hot and cold springs as a remedy for a variety of ailments including ulcers and sores. 47 natives believed that certain bodies of water emanating from certain caves or sulphur springs had special healing properties. 48 therefore, when missionaries approached natives and explained that they had a special ceremony which involved immersing or sprinkling the body with special water that would save them, many natives, especially after exhausting their traditional avenues of healing, agreed to be baptized not fully comprehending that by doing so they would be expected to abandon their beliefs and lifestyle. even when priests made sure their candidates for baptism were, in their estimation, adequately prepared for the rite, confusions still arose. father brébeuf, a jesuit missionary in new france, sent a report to father paul lejune in 1634 concerning some recent native baptisms he had performed. an interesting portion of this letter reads: having learned of the illness of this young man, i went to visit him, and, having sounded him, we found him to be filled with a great desire to receive holy baptism; we deferred this for a few days, in order to instruct him more fully. at last he sent word to me…that i should come and baptize him, saying that the night before he had seen me in his sleep, coming to his cabin to administer to him this sacrament; and that, as soon as i sat down near him, all his sickness went away; he confirmed this to me when i saw him. nevertheless, i refused his request, in order to stimulate his desire, so that another savage who was present, not being able to bear this delay, asked me why i did not baptize him, since it was only necessary to throw a little water on him. …i answered that i myself would be lost if i baptized an infidel and a poorly taught unbeliever …the next day, as he had fallen into a deep stupor, we baptized him, believing that he was going to die. 49 from this passage, several inherent problems with the missionary system emerge. first, priests tended to hone in on the sick and vulnerable members of the tribe for baptism. despite father brébeuf‟s delay tactics in performing the rite, that the native would eventually be baptized seems to have been a foregone conclusion. furthermore, despite the priest‟s statement that he could not baptize the man until he was a true believer, his death-bed baptism, held when the native can no longer 47 vogel, 258. 48 ibid. 49 thwaites, 47-48. karen sause 14 communicate his acceptance of the new faith or confirm to the priest that he truly understood what this rite meant, seems to be a rather suspect action. lastly, the passage provides clear evidence that both the dying savage and his friend (who also asked father brébeuf to be baptized), did not understand the rite and had not abandoned their traditional native practices. the dying native proclaimed that he had foreseen father brébeuf baptizing him in a dream and that the baptism cured him of his illness. in this latter belief, he was joined by his concerned friend who also quite clearly believed that the baptismal waters had instant healing powers. native american tested, european approved one of the earliest historiographic debates related to native americans, considers the effectiveness of their medicine and treatments. some early explorers extolled the native american lifestyle as being necessarily healthier than that of europeans because they did not see people with obvious mental or physical deficiencies. although it remains unclear to what degree the natives‟ lifestyle, in terms of diet and treatment, prevented illnesses that were commonly suffered by europeans; what is known, is that natives actively practiced infanticide and would allow their elders who were no longer able to care for themselves to die. 50 on this topic, benjamin rush wrote that “it is remarkable that there are no deformed indians. some have suspected, from this circumstance, that they put their deformed children to death, but nature here acts the part of the unnatural mother. the severity of the indian manners destroys them.” 51 it appears most likely that it was a combination of natural selection, environmental factors, and human intervention which gave the natives the appearance of being healthy in the preand early contact periods. 52 in some cases, native americans had medical practices that were advanced in comparison to the european practices of the same era. one such example was the native practice of isolating individuals “who are infected with some unclean or dangerous disease.” 53 both huron and the southeastern cherokee were known to have utilized this practice. although this practice worked well for cases where illnesses had a short incubation period, when it came to illnesses such as smallpox where the incubation period is approximately fourteen days, natives who did not realize that they were already infected often fled their villages to escape the disease 50 ibid., 238-239. 51 benjamin rush, an inquiry into the natural history of medicine among the indians of north america, and a comparative view of their diseases and remedies with those of civilized nations. read before the american philosophical society, philadelphia, february 4, 1774. accessed via ecco, http://galenet.galegroup.com, 19. 52 vogel, 154-157. 53 ibid., 259. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 15 and then unwittingly transmitted it to other villages. in his study of the southeastern cherokee‟s response to epidemic diseases, paul kelton noted that quarantining sick individuals to areas outside the village was an old practice that had originally been applied to those who were ritually unclean, such as women who were menstruating or who had just given birth, and wounded warriors. 54 for example, in her narrative, seneca captive mary jemison wrote that “after the birth of my child, i was very sick, but was not allowed to go into the house for two weeks.” 55 kelton notes that in the pre-modern medical era, it was a natural response for people to avoid areas which were known to harbor disease. 56 during the eighteenth century when severe epidemics were striking native villages every ten to fifteen years, the tribal religious leaders became increasingly adamant that their people stay away from areas and people who were known to be infected. they also began to refuse admittance into their villages of anyone they suspected to be fleeing a disease outbreak. 57 it should be emphasized that the huron and the southeastern cherokee did not isolate ill people because they had a modern understanding of disease theory; they did not. however, they seemed to have instinctively realized that disease arrived from the outside, and more importantly, they also quickly recognized that diseases could be transmitted from person to person, though they remained uncertain as to the method of transmission. kelton reported on one southeastern cherokee tribe, who during what was believed to be their first experience with smallpox, sent the afflicted individuals out to sleep in the fields away from the village because the leaders were afraid that they would “pollute the house, and by that means, procure all their deaths.” 58 despite the tribe taking these precautionary measures, the diseased were still attended to by their family members and healers, and this contact was enough to spread the smallpox to others in the community. however, the cherokee population is believed to have actually increased during the latter half of the eighteenth century, while the native tribes in the north were almost wiped out by epidemics. thus, in the end it would seem that the native rituals did indeed curtail the tide of disease. 59 testimonials of treatment when it came to treating illnesses, euro-americans were able to draw parallels between their own medical practices and some of the treatments utilized by the native americans. for example, although sympathetic influence was a fading 54 kelton, 61. 55 seaver, 82. 56 kelton, 55. 57 ibid., 55-56. 58 ibid., 61. 59 ibid., 63. karen sause 16 concept in european medicine, native americans and europeans would have found common ground in believing that “like cures like.” 60 vogel noted that natives would have used yellow plants to treat jaundice, red plants to heal blood disorders, and would have treated organs with plants that had the same shape. 61 euro-americans also relied heavily on the use of herbs for treatments, but when they encountered the shamanistic practices that frequently accompanied the healing treatments, they usually became skeptical of the effectiveness of native medicine altogether. to euro-americans, the use of herbs, sweats, and purgatives were normal aspects of medicine; however, they grew uncomfortable with the native religious elements, which many people such as renowned philadelphia medical doctor benjamin rush, interpreted as unenlightened heathenism. rush condemned the natives, writing that “there cannot be a stronger proof of their ignorance of proper remedies for new or difficult diseases, then their having recourse to enchantment.” 62 another unique avenue for pursuing how native american medicine was used by natives and perceived by euro-americans is through the examination of captivity narratives. in these documents, former captives of native americans discussed the experiences they had while living with the natives, and occasionally they discussed what they had witnessed in regard to medical and religious practices. one of the most famous accounts, though slightly out of the time frame of this paper, is that of mary rowlandson who was taken captive in massachusetts in 1676. 63 in her narrative, she described how the natives used oak leaves to successfully treat a leg wound that another male captive, robbert pepper, had received in one of the battles of king phillip‟s war. 64 upon seeing the success of the remedy, rowlandson applied oak leaves to her own wound, and “with the blessing of god it cured me also.” 65 in the footnotes to her story, the editor, richard vanderbeets, noted that the native american practice of using oak leaves to treat wounds is still used by modern herbalists. 66 a more dramatic example of the successful use of native american medicine comes from the narrative of john gyles, who was taken captive in maine in 1689 60 vogel, 33. 61 ibid. 62 rush, 35. 63 richard vanderbeets, ed., held captive by indians: selected narratives, 1642-1836, (knoxville, tn.: the university of tennessee press, 1973), 41. 64 mary rowlandson, “the soverainty and goodness of god, together with the faithfulness of his promises displayed; being a narrative of the captivity and restauration of mrs. mary rowlandson,” in richard vanderbeets, ed., held captive by indians, 48. 65 ibid., 48. 66 vanderbeets, 48n. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 17 and was eventually released after spending six years living with the natives. 67 in his lengthy narrative, gyles related a particularly harrowing experience where his feet became so badly frostbitten that they turned black and his skin peeled off. 68 here, gyles described his treatment as advised by the natives: the indians gave me rags to bind up my feet, and advised me to apply fir balsam, but withal added that they believed it was not worthwhile to use means, for i should certainly die. …i got some balsam. this i burned in a clam-shell till it was of a consistence like salve, which i applied to my feet and ankles, and, by the divine blessing, within a week i could go about upon my heels with my staff. …yet within a year my feet were entirely well; and the nails came on my great toes, so that a very critical eye could scarcely perceive any part missing, or that they had been frozen at all. 69 it seems that in this case, the successful outcome and the presumed effectiveness of the remedy surprised even the natives themselves. in some cases, natives sought the assistance of euro-americans for treating medical issues. in his book on teedyuscung, an important leader of the delaware tribe, anthropologist anthony wallace related a story in which teedyuscung and his son got into a drunken fight and injured each other. realizing that they needed medical assistance, they sought the assistance of a near-by moravian doctor who patched them up. wallace wrote that what is significant about this story is that “both of them [teedyuscung and his son] looked to white man‟s medicines for aid in addition to or rather than the aboriginal remedies. the system of medical treatment in vogue among the delawares was not markedly inferior to that of the europeans of the day.” 70 evaluating the euro-american view of native medicine as has been noted, dr. benjamin rush had little praise for native american medicine. in an oration he delivered to the american philosophical society of pennsylvania on the topic, he disputed many of the treatments for which natives had previously been admired. these included native remedies for rheumatism, 67 ibid., 91. 68 john gyles, “memoirs of odd adventures, strange deliverances, etc., in the captivity of john gyles, esq., commander of the garrison on st. george river, in the district of maine,” in richard vanderbeets, ed., held captive by indians, 108-109. 69 ibid., 109. 70 anthony f.c. wallace, teedyuscung: king of the delawares, 1700-1763, (syracuse, ny: syracuse university press, 1990), 120-121. karen sause 18 antidotes for poisons, and venereal diseases. 71 one intriguing practice of which rush was highly critical was the native technique used to attempt to rescue a drowned person by “suspending the patient by their heels, in order that the water might flow from his mouth.” 72 rush disagreed with the practice because it was “founded on a belief that the patient dies from swallowing an excessive quantity of water…[and] modern observation teaches us, that, drowned people die of an apoplexy,” 73 or in modern parlance, of a stroke. 74 it seems that in this case, the natives were a step ahead of the europeans by getting the water out of the victim‟s lungs. in another particularly scathing passage, rush condemned native medicine stating that “if we may judge of all the indian antidotes to poisons, by those which have fallen into our hands, we have little reason to ascribe much to them in any cases whatever.” 75 he followed this remark with another equally harsh rebuke stating that the only reason people believed in native cures was because the actual ingredients of the medication were kept secret by the natives, and if the ingredients were revealed, the remedies would lose their appeal. 76 in fairness, rush conceded that european medicine was not as perfect as he and his medical colleagues aspired it to be, and he lamented “what mischief we have not done under the belief of false facts, and false theories! we have afflicted in multiplying diseases. we have done more – we have increased their mortality.” 77 carl binger, a biographer of rush noted that he was a man incredibly tolerant of people who came from a different background than his own, and that he was always respectful of native americans. 78 while rush may have respected them as a people, he was often highly critical of native american medicine, and he remained very skeptical of native practitioners. according to binger, rush told his 71 ibid., 33-35. 72 ibid., 32 73 ibid. 74 “stroke n.” concise medical dictionary. oxford university press, 2007. oxford reference online. oxford university press. villanova university. 7 december 2008, http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/entry.html?subview=main&entry=t60.e9656. 75 rush, 34. 76 ibid., 36. 77 ibid., 53-54. this rush quote brings to mind the fourth verse of my favorite 18 th century drinking song, “nottingham ale” set to the tune of “lillibullero.” the verse reads “and you doctors, who more executions have done/with powder and potion and bolus and pill/than hangman with noose, or soldier with gun,/miser with famine or lawyer with quill./to dispatch us the quicker, you forbid us malt liquor,/till our bodies consume, and our faces grow pale./let him mind you, who pleases, what cures all diseases,/a plentiful glass of good nottingham ale.” for complete lyrics, see http://www.lyricsdatabase.gen.tr/392311/nottingham_ale.html. 78 carl binger, revolutionary doctor: benjamin rush, 1746-1813, (new york, ny: w.w. norton and company, inc., 1966), 170. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 19 students to study native medicine if for no other reason than “useful remedies have been discovered by quacks.” 79 rush instructed his students in his treatise medical inquiries and observations upon the diseases of the mind, that “even negroes and indians have sometimes stumbled upon discoveries in medicine. be not ashamed to inquire into them.” 80 it is interesting to note that the aztecs, incas, and other south american tribes, and possibly a few northern tribes as well, used phlebotomy to alleviate pain, fever, and swelling. 81 the practice of bloodletting was still very much in vogue in eighteenth century european medicine, and it gave a positive impression of native medicine to the europeans who witnessed the natives utilizing the technique. 82 vogel, however, feels that it was probably the europeans who introduced the practice of bleeding to the northern native americans and that it was not a practice indigenous to their culture. unlike europeans who used lancets to procure a quantity of blood, the natives used sharp stones and thorns. 83 in a rare and somewhat ironic moment of praise for a native american medical procedure, dr. benjamin rush noted that the natives only bled the affected part of the body, that their practice of bleeding “supposes some knowledge of the animal oeconomy, and therefore marks an advanced period in the history of medicine.” 84 although dr. rush acknowledged that europeans were responsible for the introduction of such diseases as small pox and venereal disease, he did not seem to draw a connection to these diseases and their high mortality rate with a decreased birthrate. in one intriguing passage, he attributed “the mortality peculiar to those indian tribes who have mingled with white people must be ascribed to the extensive mischief of spirituous liquors,” and “when these have not acted, they have suffered too suddenly to the european diet, dress, and manners.” 85 it does not seem to strike dr. rush, that those natives who mingled with the europeans were instead suffering from exposure to diseases to which they had no immunity. furthermore, he does not address the issue of where the natives obtained the said mischievous liquors. rush seems equally blind about the origins for the high rate 79 ibid., 181. 80 benjamin rush, medical inquiries and observations upon the diseases of the mind, (5 th ed.), philadelphia, pa, 1835, 332. quoted in binger, 181. 81 vogel, 179. 82 vogel, 179. see the passage regarding lionel wafer who was known as the “pirate surgeon.” 83 benjamin rush, m.d., “an oration delivered february 4, 1774, before the american philosophical society held at philadelphia containing, an enquiry into the natural history of medicine among the indians in north america, and a comparative view of their diseases and remedies, with those of civilized nations.” accessed via ecco, http://galenet.galegroup.com, 30. 84 ibid. 85 ibid., 56. http://galenet.galegroup.com/ karen sause 20 of native american mortality in his discussion regarding the population statistics of the native americans in comparison to other european countries. rush noted that “the proportion of old people is much greater among civilized, then among savage nations,” and immediately concluded that these numbers were indicative of ineffective medicine and also of a society that did not value its older members. 86 *** in his comments on native american medicine, anthony wallace noted that although the natives and the euro-americans prescribed similar treatments for their patients, the medicine men who “magically exorcised disease by a variety of antics” offended the christian missionaries and seemed to annoy the rest of the euro-americans who encountered them practicing their arts. 87 wallace continued his remarks with a rather liberal insight for a book first published in 1949, when he noted that although “the bedside manner of these shamans differed from that of the european doctors… no doubt it had equally felicitous psychological effects.” 88 with this insight, wallace struck at the core difference between eighteenth century native american and euro-american approaches to medicine. at the time, the greatest difference between them lay not in the treatments they used, but rather in the philosophical motivations behind the treatments. most importantly, while the native americans and the euro-americans were willing to acknowledge that the other culture‟s medicine had benefits, they each ultimately believed in the curative powers of their own medicine, and it is quite probable that this psychological factor wallace discussed was just as beneficial in healing the patient as was the other treatments prescribed to them. eighteenth century medicine on both sides was laden with the baggage of cultural belief systems. although european medicine had begun to shift toward a more secular, scientific approach, they still relied on christianity to explain what science could not and to provide comfort to those who were ill. but most importantly to them, their medical practices were about conveying a sense of progress and modernity, two qualities that they believed natives did not possess. native american medicine, on the other hand, did not arise from rational scientific methodology. it sprang out of a belief in a spirit world that was guarded by animals who were the gatekeepers of health and well-being for the tribe and individuals. with the exception of the natives who converted to christianity or who may have become disillusioned with their medicine when it failed to cure epidemic diseases, most natives refused to abandon their religious practices and continued to believe 86 rush, 66. 87 wallace, 121. 88 ibid., 121. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 21 that spiritual imbalance was the fundamental root of illness. thus, it would seem that the heart of the conflict between these two medical disciplines came down to a clash of two unyielding cultures. for native americans, medicine had a far broader context than their european counterpart‟s more secular approach, and this expansive concept of medicine was a struggle for euro-americans to understand. some chose not to understand it because they found the ritual practices of the shaman to be sinister, others like dr. rush learned just enough to discount it all as quackery against the scientific european methods. yet there were others like george catlin, who wanted desperately to learn every last detail, but were prevented from doing so by the natives who chose to keep the most sacred elements hidden from the prying eyes of outsiders whose character and motivations were unknown. in the end, neither the euro-americans nor the native americans were willing to change their fundamental outlook on the universe to accommodate the others beliefs, and each faction continued to practice its own medicine. bibliography primary sources catlin, george. letters and notes on the north american indians. edited and introduction by michael macdonald mooney. new york, new york: clarkson n. potter, inc., 1975. gyles, john. “memoirs of odd adventures, strange deliverances, etc., in the captivity of john gyles, esq., commander of the garrison on st. george river, in the district of maine.” in richard vanderbeets, ed. held captive by indians: selected narratives, 1642-1836. knoxville, tennessee: the university of tennessee press, 1973. rowlandson, mary. “the soverainty and goodness of god, together with the faithfulness of his promises displayed; being a narrative of the captivity and restauration of mrs. mary rowlandson.” in richard vanderbeets, ed. held captive by indians: selected narratives, 1642-1836. knoxville, tennessee: the university of tennessee press, 1973. rush, benjamin, m.d., “an oration delivered february 4, 1774, before the american philosophical society held at philadelphia containing, an enquiry into the natural history of medicine among the indians in north america, and a comparative view of their diseases and remedies, with those of civilized nations.” accessed through ecco. seaver, james e. a narrative of the life of mrs. mary jemison. june namias, ed. norman, oklahoma: university of oklahoma press, 1992. karen sause 22 tantaquidgeon, gladys. folk medicine of the delaware and related algonkian indians. harrisburg, pennsylvania: the pennsylvania historical and museum commission, 1972. thwaites, reuban gold, ed. the jesuit relations and allied documents: travels and explorations of the jesuit missionaries in north america, 1610-1791. new york, new york: albert and charles boni, 1925. vanderbeets, richard, ed. held captive by indians: selected narratives, 1642-1836. knoxville, tennessee: the university of tennessee press, 1973. secondary sources articles kelton, paul. “avoiding the smallpox spirits: colonial epidemics and southeastern indian survival.” ethnohistory. 51:1 (winter, 2004): 45-71. kidwell, clara sue. “native american systems of knowledge.” in deloria, phillip j. and neal salisbury, eds. a companion to american indian history. malden, massachusetts: blackwell publishers, 2002: 87-102. "stroke n." concise medical dictionary. oxford university press, 2007. oxford reference online. oxford university press. villanova university. 7 december 2008. http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/entry.html?subview=main&entry=t60.e9656. books binger, carl. revolutionary doctor: benjamin rush, 1746-1813. new york, new york: w.w. norton and company, inc., 1966. conrad, lawrence i., michael neve, vivian nutton, roy porter, and andrew wear. the western medical tradition: 800 bc to ad 1800. new york, new york: cambridge university press, 1995. crosby, alfred w., jr. ecological imperialism: the biological expansion of europe, 900-1900. new york, new york: cambridge university press, 2004. deloria, phillip j. and neal salisbury, eds. a companion to american indian history. malden, massachusetts: blackwell publishers, 2002 hultkrantz, åke. shamanic healing and ritual drama: health and medicine in native north american religious tradition. new york, new york: crossroad publishing company, 1992. martin, calvin. keepers of the game: indian-animal relationships and the fur trade. berkley, california: university of california press, 1978. “strange ceremonies and magic arts” 23 mcgrew, roderick e. and margret p. mcgrew, encyclopedia of medical history, new york, new york: mcgraw-hill book company, 1985. vogel, virgil j. american indian medicine. norman, oklahoma: university of oklahoma press, 1970. wallace, anthony f.c. teedyuscung: king of the delawares, 1700-1763. syracuse, new york: syracuse university press, 1990. also consulted (not cited) article(s) irwin, lee. “native american spirituality: history, theory, and reformation.” in deloria, phillip j. and neal salisbury, eds. a companion to american indian history. malden, massachusetts: blackwell publishers, 2002: 103-120. books calloway, colin g. the western abenakis of vermont, 1600-1800: war, migration, and the survival of an indian people. array norman, oklahoma: university of oklahoma press, 1990. crosby, alfred w., jr. the columbian exchange: biological and cultural consequences of 1492. westport, connecticut: praeger publishers, 2003. fenn, elizabeth. pox americana: the great smallpox epidemic of 1775-82. new york, new york: hill and wang, 2001. osterreich, shelley anne. native north american shamanism: an annotated bibliography. westport, connecticut: greenwood press, 1998. sâid, edward. orientalism. new york, new york: vintage books, 1994. wellenreuther, herman and carola wessel, eds. the moravian mission diaries of david zeisberger: 1772-1781. translated by julie tomberlin weber. university park, pennsylvania: the pennsylvania state university press, 2005. adolescent psychopathology is an area that is often in need of research       analysis of research regarding adolescent generalized anxiety disorder   kristy suriano department of education     adolescent psychopathology is an area that is often in need of research.  although various studies have concluded that 15-22 percent of children have mental health problems and need treatment (costello, 1990; tuma, 1989), much of the previous outcome research has focused exclusively on the adults and the available treatments that have been proven effective for this population.  however, researchers have acknowledged the paucity of adolescent treatments and have begun to focus on adolescents and their psychopathology.  the following is a presentation of several of the available studies regarding adolescent generalized anxiety disorder.            many school-aged children are treated today for externalizing issues, such as attention deficit disorder, while the students who deal with internalization issues are often overlooked.  according to werry (1986), 10-20 percent of school aged children are in need of treatment for internalization problems which includes anxiety, isolation, depression, and self-consciousness.  while the internalization problems are often grouped together, the need to examine each individually is crucial.  an example of internalization disorders are anxiety disorders.  anxiety disorders have a myriad of subtypes of disorders that are often categorized and researched separately. “however, there is considerable overlap in symptoms among the various dsm anxiety disorders (e.g., avoidant disorder and social phobia, overanxious disorder and generalized disorder); and as a result, two or more of the disorders can be diagnosed in a particular child or adolescent at the same time” (ollendick & king, 1994, p. 918). nevertheless, the need to focus and divide the anxiety disorders into separate categories will help to diagnose an adolescent and move on to further treatment.  the dsm iv denotes one category of an anxiety disorder as generalized anxiety.  this disorder is typically viewed as an adult disorder, yet children and adolescents can and do suffer with it (ollendick & king, 1994).  although many of the anxiety disorders do exist in adolescents, the present review focuses on generalized anxiety disorders (gad) and the outcome research that has been effective in helping adolescents deal with this disorder.  generalized anxiety disorder is an excessive and uncontrollable worry about daily activities.  this continuous worry impedes everyday functioning and can manifest into physical symptoms.  “worry has been defined as a chain of thoughts that are negative in content, predominantly verbal, and aimed at problem solving” (wells, 2002, p. 179, as cited in borkovec, robinson, pruzinsky, & depree, 1983).  the excessive amount of worry associated with gad is also mostly uncontrollable and often non-discriminatory of the topic of worry.  as opposed to an adolescent with social anxiety who fears social situations, an adolescent with gad worries about many different situations (not discriminatory of one particular situation) as well as about worry itself.  worry about worry is known as meta-worry or type 2 worry in which the person is overly concerned about their worry (wells, 1994).  a negative belief about worry itself is also a central feature of gad, which includes negative self statements, automatic thoughts, and negative misinterpretations.  additional behaviors associated with an adolescent diagnosed with gad includes worry about family, health, finances as well as more mundane issues such as car repairs, being late for school, or even chores or other responsibilities.  the focus of worry can shift often, while the intensity, duration, and frequency of the worry are disproportionate to the issue itself.  worry also interferes with the adolescents’ ability to concentrate and to perform daily tasks (anxiety disorder association of america, 2002).  although in “normal” development adolescents may have worries, yet “concern arises when childhood fears and worries become so severe as to interfere with appropriate activities or have a negative impact of the child’s relationships” (kane & kendall, 1989, p. 500).  the dsm iv system of classification may help to determine adolescents who have abnormally intense worries beyond the “normal” developmental stressors.  constant worry also may lead to physical symptoms such as nausea, jumpiness, gastrointestinal discomfort, perspiration, and fatigue (kendall, chu, pimentel, & choudhury, 2000).  the prevalence of gad might also have to do with parents or grandparents who have similar anxiety-related disorders. one example is demonstrated by last, phillips, and statfeld (1987) who examined the prevalence of adolescents with separation anxiety disorders (sad) and overanxious disorders (oad) with mothers who have also been diagnosed with sad or oad.  the presence of depression and a panic disorder or agoraphobia in a parent adds an additional risk of an adolescent to acquire an anxiety disorder and depression (weissmann, leckman, merikangas, gammon, and prusoff, 1984, as cited in kendall, 1994).  this example of mothers with sad and oad also applies to a more generalized anxiety and patterns of interaction with their children. adults with gad might displace their anxiety onto their children.  adolescents who have physical complaints may be subtly encouraged to continue these behaviors if their parents continue to be insistent upon repeated medical evaluation of anxiety-related somatic complaints such as abdominal pains or headaches (carr, 1999).  additionally, parents who are overly worried about their own health may displace their anxiety onto their children.  these studies demonstrate that parental psychopathology and mental illness may be associated with an adolescent’s anxiety disorder. generalized anxiety is often not a confined disorder and adolescents may experience a variety of additional stressors or psychological difficulties that complicate their already existing anxiety. the issue of comorbidity, “the co-occurance of one or more disorders in the same child or adolescent at the same time,” may possess significant implications for treatments, in that adolescents with comorbid disorders may have different treatment needs than those adolescents with a single disorder” (ollendick & king, 1994, p. 919). research has demonstrated that 12 percent of adolescents with anxiety disorders are comorbid with depression, 15 percent with oppositional defiant disorder, 14.8 percent with conduct disorder, and 17 percent with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (brady & kendall, 1992, carr, 1999, kendall, kortlander, chansky, & brady, 1992).  additionally, 33 percent of the cases of overly anxious, depressed and separation anxious adolescents had a concurrent psychiatric disorder of dysthymia (kovacs, paulauskas, gastonis, & richards, 1988, as cited in ollendick & king, 1994).   although most commonly associated with generalized anxiety disorder are other, more specific, anxiety disorders (in 50-75 percent of cases), gad can be coupled with several other psychopathological disorders. most often, patterns of comorbidity with anxiety disorders, depression and disruptive disorders seem to be the rule rather than the exception (ollendick & king, 1994).  additionally, adolescents who are comorbid often report more general psychopathology than those with pure anxiety disorders alone (bernstein, 1991, as cited in ollendick & king, 1994).  the existence of comorbid diagnosis reveals the need for treatment “to be applied somewhat flexibly based on a number of factors and symptoms (kendall, chu, pimentel, choudhury, 2000).   generalized anxiety disorder and cognitive-behavioral therapy the literature and current research on the treatment of anxiety disorders with adolescents is growing.  however, as mentioned previously, many of the studies are conducted with adults and then applied to adolescents.  although many of these general treatments are proven to be effective with adolescents, all treatments must take into consideration the adolescent’s age, sex, age of onset of disorder, duration of disorder, comorbidity, family dysfunction, socioeconomic status, as well as several other aspects.  upon examining several previously performed research studies and illustrated treatments, many of the authors (ollendick & king, 1994; kazdin & weisz, 1998; kendall, 1994; kane & kendall, 1989) seem to have reported that some forms of cognitive-behavioral interventions are necessary in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. although each author describes his/her own version of restructuring thoughts or changing behaviors, there are common features involving education and behavioral exposure.  kazdin and weisz (1998) believe that as part of the educational element of treatment, adolescents must learn about the biological arousal that is associated with their anxious feelings.  they may essentially begin to identify their own distinctive pattern of behaviors, such as abdominal pain, sweating, dry mouth, and eventually learn specific skills (such as relaxation) to manage their biological responses to anxiety.  upon identifying behaviors related to anxiety, adolescents may begin to test and modify negative cognitions that are also associated with anxiety.  finally, it is an essential component of cognitive-behavior therapy for the adolescent to gain exposure to the anxiety-related object(s). “therapists work with children, and sometimes with their family members, to set up encounters with anxiety-arousing events and situations, typically low grade at first but often progressing to highly anxiety arousing (e.g. speaking in front of a group)” (kazdin & weisz, p. 23).  adolescents are encouraged to challenge their anxiety-related causes by in vivo or imagination.  in vivo or using one’s imagination entails placing the adolescent in a fear evoking situation.  when the adolescent is in this situation either through imagination or real exposure, the counselor can help the client acclimate to the distressing situation as well as provide opportunities for the adolescent to practice his/her coping skills.  exposure to anxiety-related stimuli can be done gradually, where the adolescent can develop mastery over time, or by flooding, in which the adolescent participates in repeated and prolonged exposure to the stimuli until his/her anxiety diminishes.   it is important to note that flooding is typically used in concurrence with response prevention, in which the adolescent is not permitted to avoid the anxiety-related stimuli (kendall, chu, pimentel, and choudhury, 2000). session exercises and homework related to these activities may also encourage the reduction of anxiety.  kane and kendall (1994) follow a similar pattern for reducing adolescent generalized anxiety.  the authors break the previous sections of cbt into four major components: a)      recognizing anxious feelings and somatic reactions to anxiety, b)      clarifying cognitions in anxiety-provoking situations (i.e. unrealistic or negative attributions or expectations) c)      developing a plan to cope with the situations (i.e. modifying anxious self-talk into coping self-talk as well as determining what coping actions might be effective?) d)      evaluating the success of the coping strategies and self-reinforcement as appropriate (p. 501502)   aside from the cognitive training strategies listed above, kane and kendall suggest using behavioral strategies such as modeling, role playing, and relaxation training.  it is crucial to first help the adolescent gain and master the skills needed to reduce anxiety and then practice these skills through imaginal or in vivo experiences.  during the sessions, social reinforcement by the therapist and family members included in the training of such skills should be used to reward and encourage the adolescent.             another important aspect of using cognitive-behavioral therapy with anxiety disorders in adolescents is the concept of self-talk.  self-talk is simply the things that adolescents say to themselves when they are feeling anxious and often includes the adolescent’s acknowledgment and expectations of him/herself.  the expectations and attributions are often negative and at times are perfectionist standards of performance.  kendall, chu, pimentel, and choudhury (2000) have stated that “the way one thinks about things affects what he or she might feel or do in that situation” (p. 263-264).  one technique used to introduce the concept of self-talk and allow the student to begin to alter his/her cognitions is the idea of cartoons.  the cartoons can appear on a paper with empty thought bubbles for the adolescent to fill in their own thoughts.  at first, the bubble can be filled with non-threatening scenes and eventually move towards more anxiety-provoking situations.  the adolescent can also begin to generate anxiety-reducing (coping) thoughts for the characters. the therapist may also ask questions to help the adolescent generate self-coping statements.  “the therapist guides the child through an empirical, hypothesis-testing process in which both work to challenge the assumptions and beliefs that lead to anxiety and distress” (kendall, chu, pimentel, and choudhury, p. 264).  positive self-talk is also a way in which adolescents can gain confidence and practice being in an environment that is less anxiety filled.  consequently, using the cognitive-behavioral therapy plan, an adolescent is now able to recognize his/her physical symptoms of anxiety, recognize negative self-talk, use relaxation techniques and use positive self-talk to help him/her gain more control over his/her anxiety.              the cognitive-behavioral model also connects to another model, which includes parental involvement, and can be used in conjunction with cbt to further aid the adolescent in overcoming his/her generalized anxiety.  although cbt focuses primarily on the individual and his/her pattern of thinking and behavior, parents and other family members or close friends are encouraged to participate by taking a supportive role.  in dealing with adolescents, parents are usually involved from the onset and must be active in making decisions for treatment plans.   information is provided to the parents so that their understanding of their adolescent’s disorder is complete and they will be able to discuss any concerns about their adolescent.  the parent’s role may take several forms such as: being informed and thus, can explain certain aspects of gad and the process to their child; being actively involved in one or several of the therapy sessions and encourage their child to continue facing their anxiety-related stimuli; or be observant to their child’s behavior at home and complete checklists such as the child behavior checklist (achenback & edelbreck, 1983, as cited in eisen & silverman, 1993) the parent weekly records, or the parent ratings of severity (eisen & silverman, 1993).  in general, the parent’s role is two-fold.  first, they can become knowledgeable about the disorder and the techniques utilized by the therapist. second, parents can focus on helping the adolescent practice these techniques at home or in any anxiety-related situation. it is crucial to note, however, that “given the important role that parents can play in their child’s treatment, therapist should be aware of the particular problems that families of anxious children may be experiencing” (kendall, chu, pimentel, and choudhury, 2000, p. 272).  these problems may include parents with anxiety disorders, over-protectiveness, or excessive guilt about the adolescent’s disorder.  therapist would have to carefully deal with these issues in another manner.  the evidence that has demonstrated the effects of cbt for adolescent generalized anxiety has been and currently is encouraging.  controlled and randomized clinical trials have shown valuable effects at posttreatment. support for cbt includes evidence that has shown that many pertinent studies conducted have:   1.                            focused on cases serious enough to warrant formal diagnosis, based on standardized assessment procedures, and cases involving comorbid conditions 2.                            included assessment of clinical significance, and striking reductions have been shown in the percentage of treated youth who qualify for anxiety diagnoses 3.                            tracked treated youth over longer posttreatment follow-up periods that most studies have shown that gains made by treated youth hold up well 4.                            suggested that reductions in children’s anxious self-talk do indeed mediate change in anxiety associated with the treatment. 5.                            been supported by studies conducted in the united states, australia and multicultural areas (kazdin & weisz, 1998, p. 23).     generalized anxiety disorder and psychoanalytic therapy the psychoanalytic perception of generalized anxiety disorder is that the defense mechanisms one develops as a young child are used to keep unacceptable emotional and/or psychological responsessuch as sadness, sexual impulses, or feelings of anxietyfrom entering a conscious state.  thus, the unacceptable feelings and related anxiety become “transformed into neurotic anxiety and expressed as an anxiety disorder” (carr, 1999, p. 427). the psychoanalytic view of anxiety is that an adolescent displaces his/her anxiety upon a substitute object, which is a symbol of the real anxiety that is felt.  “in generalized anxiety disorders, the defenses break down and the person becomes overwhelmed with anxiety as the unacceptable impulses continually intrude into consciousness and seek expression” (carr, 1999, p. 427).  the overwhelming anxiety of the environment is placed upon almost every object.  one of the more popular case studies conducted in psychology emphasized anxiety in children.  the case of little hans performed by sigmund freud was described as a fear hans had in leaving the safety of his home and parents upon witnessing a violent scene in the street.  freud interpreted hans’s fear using the oedipal model in which freud believed that hans would not return to the street because of his own unconscious feelings of violence and competitiveness towards his father. this early study was believed to be true, yet there was or is no empirical evidence for the reason why hans would not leave his house.  therefore, although significant in the history of anxiety disorders, the psychoanalytic view does not employ as much empirical background as cognitive behavioral therapy in pursuit of treatments for anxiety disorders. two early american behaviorists conducted an experiment to counter freud’s explanation of the development of fear.  watson and raynor (1924) described their work with another child, little albert, whom they taught to fear a rabbit after repeated pairings of the rabbit and a loud noise.  thus, the behaviorists demonstrated that fear can be classically conditioned within a human.  however, dadds (1995) notes that “attempts to replicate watson and raynor’s demonstration of phobias learned in a laboratory have largely been unsuccessful” (p. 62).  despite the failure to replicate the experiments conducted by freud, watson and raynor, these case studies have been highly influential as landmarks in the developments in clinical psychiatry and psychology (dadds).             with understanding of the psychoanalytic view of anxiety disorders, a counselor must then initiate treatment with an adolescent using individual psychodynamic psychotherapy.  the overall goal of this type of therapy is to discover the defense mechanism being used, interpret the concealed feelings that are being repressed (held back) and understand the associated neurotic anxiety.  the therapist brings to the adolescent’s attention the parallel between his/her relationship to the therapist, past relationships with parents and present relationships with other significant people in his/her life.  this type of therapy is reported as being “clinically useful when working with anxious children” because often times children say that they are worried about one thing when in fact, they are anxious about something else (carr, 1999, p. 427).  however, the psychoanalytic theory for treatment of generalized anxiety disorder is not empirically supported by many studies.  carr reports that “there is no evidence to support the idea that all anxiety disorders represent displacement of anxiety associated with psychosexual developmental conflicts” (p. 427).   summary and future research the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy with adolescents who have generalized anxiety disorder has been the main focus of much of the literature and outcome research and appears to be the most effective in the clinical studies.  cbt is not only effective for short term improvement, but for long-term cognitive and behavioral change in adolescents as well. several therapeutic techniques such as educating the adolescent about his/her disorder, modeling, in vivo and imaginal exposure, relaxation techniques self-reinforcement, and self-talk, have demonstrated through clinical trials positive results in the area of adolescent anxiety disorders.  early intervention through knowledge about the symptoms and the genetic factors that pertain to generalized anxiety disorder can also aid in discovering the patterns of onset.  “such vulnerabilities, combined with environmental adversities (e.g. parental psychopathology, marital discord, parent-child interactions, peer rejection, and school failure) could occasion the emergence of such [a] disorder” (ollendick & king, 1994, p. 924).             among the variety of counseling/therapeutic theories and strategies that are available to use to treat generalized anxiety disorder, the psychoanalytic theory has proposed that anxiety is a result of unacceptable feelings and impulses.  displacement is the key defense mechanism that is used by adolescents to substitute the unacceptable impulse for another object which he/she is frightened. the main treatment using the psychoanalytic theory, as stated previously, is psychodynamic psychotherapy.  interpreting the defense, the hidden feelings which are being repressed, and the associated neurotic anxiety are therapeutic ways to discover the true reason for anxiety. although the psychoanalytic therapy may help to uncover hidden anxiety, there is no evidence to convey the fact that anxiety disorders are representations of displacement of anxiety associated with psychosexual conflicts.  therefore, the therapist who employs the psychoanalytic theory and outcome strategies to treat generalized anxiety disorder should be directed to the existing literature and empirical studies that directly demonstrate the positive outcomes found in treating adolescents with the cognitive-behavioral method and theory. in sum, while the psychoanalytic theory can be clinically useful in some cases and has been influential in the history of psychology, the outcome research has confirmed more efficient ways to treat generalized anxiety disorders.             future research in the area of treating generalized anxiety disorder can be directed towards using a developmental perspective within the cognitive-behavioral structured therapy.  one of the most distinguishing characteristics of adolescence is change and therefore the concept of development implies “systematic and successive changes over time in an organism” (lerner, 1986, as cited in ollendick & king, 1994, p. 924).  changes that occur during adolescence have a direct or indirect impact on development. developmental psychopathology is an emerging discipline that must play an essential role in the evolution of such disorders.  in addition to focusing on development, future studies can be directed towards increasing the number of studies conducted with adolescents who have generalized anxiety comorbid with other pathologies. these studies should provide more focused ways to treat adolescents as well as a more defined theory of preventative measures that can be taken with the adolescent population.                                                                       references anxiety disorders association of america. (2002). generalized anxiety disorder.   retrieved september9,2002, fromwww.adaa.org/anxietydisorderinfor/gad. cfm   bernstein, g.a. (1991).  comorbidity and severity of anxiety and depressive disorders in a clinical sample.  journal of the american academy of child and adolescent psychiatry, 30, 43-50.   brady, e., & kendall, p. c. (1992).  comorbidy of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents.  psychological bulletin, 111, 244-255.   borkovec, t. d., robinson, e., pruzinsky, t., & depree, j. a. (1983).  preliminary exploration of worry: some characteristics and processes.  behaviour research and therapy, 21, 9-16.   carr, a. (1999).  the handbook of child and adolescent clinical psychology: a contextual approach. routledge: new york.   costello, e. j. (1990).  child psychiatric epidemiology: implications for clinical research and practice.   in b. b. lahey, & a.e. kazdin (eds.), advances in clinical child psychology (vol. 13, pp. 53-90).  new york: plenum press.   dadds, m. r. (1995).  families, children, and the development of dysfunction. thousand oaks, ca: sage.    eisen, a. r., & silverman, w. k. (1993).  should i relax or change my thoughts? a preliminary examination of cognitive therapy, relation training, and their combination with overanxious children.  journal of cognitive psychotherapy: an international quarterly, 7(4), 265 279.   fonagy, p., & moran, g. (1990).  studies of the efficacy of child psychoanalysis.   journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 58, 684-695.   kane, m. t., & kendall, p. c. (1989).  anxiety disorders in children: a  multiplebaseline evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral treatment.  behavior therapy, 20, 499-508.   kazdin, a. e., & weisz, j. r. (1998).  identifying and developing empirically supported child and adolescent treatments.  journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 66, 19-36.   kendall, p. c. (1994).  treating anxiety disorders in children: results of a randomized clinical trial.  journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 62(1), 100-110. kendall, p. c., chu, b. c., pimentel, s. s., & choudhury, m. (2000).  treating anxiety disorders in youth.  in p.c. kendall (ed.). child and adolescent therapy: cognitive-behavioral procedures (pp.235-287).  new york: guilford press.   kendall, p. c., kortlander, e., chansky, t. e., & brady, e. u. (1992).  comorbidity of anxiety and depression in youth: treatment implications.  journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 60, 869-880.   last, c. g., phillips, j. e., & statfeld, a.  (1987). childhood anxiety disorders in mothers and their children.  child psychiatry and human development, 18(2), 103 110.   ollendick, t. h., & king, n. j. (1994) diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of internalizing problems in children:  the role of longitudinal data.  journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 6 (5), 918-927.   tuma, j. (1989).  mental health services for children: the state of the art.  american psychologist, 44, 188-199.   wells, a. (1994).  a multi-dimensional measure of worry; development and preliminary validation of the anxious thoughts inventory.  anxiety, stress, and coping, 6, 289-299.   werry, j. s. (1986).  diagnosis and assessment.  in r. gittelman (ed.), anxiety disorders of childhood.  new york:  guilford press.    antonia marzulli       philosophical dimensions of feminist social change   antonia marzulli department of liberal studies                 feminist philosophers frequently construct new theories that seek to eradicate long-standing oppression, which limits women’s freedom, autonomy, and existence.  two problems with most feminist philosophical theories are their inability to reach the masses and their often contradictory and canceling relationship with other philosophies within feminist thought.  true women’s liberation is dependent upon the resolution of these problems.            this paper seeks to integrate a multiplicity of feminist philosophy to better comprehend women’s oppression and to delineate a path toward liberation.  this synthesis rejects a single, narrow, and masculine-directed philosophy and instead generates a novel, diverse, and feminine-directed one.  synthesizing the works of simone de beauvoir, luce irigaray, kenneth burke, and herbert marcuse,[1] this paper will 1) clarify the situation of women’s oppression using a survey of feminist philosophy, 2) explore language as a tool for women’s liberation, and 3) reveal the steps necessary to establish a working model for social change.   section one: women’s oppression as defined by simone de beauvoir and luce irigaray             simone de beauvoir and luce irigaray, two feminist philosophers, seek to understand women within patriarchy, yet are often at odds with one another.  at times, beauvoir’s theories have been labeled “feminist, but antifeminine”[2] and irigaray’s as “essentialist”[3] towards the feminine.  despite these negative descriptions and the differences between beauvoir and irigaray, their useful and convergent concepts can be used to better understand women’s oppression and to formulate a possible solution. simone de beauvoir and existentialism             in positing the question “what is a woman?” simone de beauvoir seeks to understand the state of women’s oppression and subordination.  her answer blames the system of patriarchy, which defines the male as the standard for all normality, locates women’s defectiveness as naturally occurring within her biology, and traps the female in the immanence of her facticity/biology.[4]  following beauvoir’s existentialist perspective, woman is not regarded as an autonomous individual but rather as the other, in opposition to man, the subject.            in heidegger’s existentialist theory, dasein/the self, wrought with anxiety, must continually choose between non-being and being.[5]  fearing nothingness, the self seeks to escape from existence.  “it does this by losing itself in the bourgeois familiarity of the everyday world of prefabricated identity…drift[ing] along towards alienation.”[6]  this rejection of freedom is a moral fault or is done in bad faith.  therefore, the female sex has a double burden: as humans, they are logically compelled to inertia, but as women, they are relegated by men to being an object.              through myths, created by men and understood as absolute truths, man/subject seeks to “attain himself only through that reality which he is not, which is something other than himself.”[7]  it follows that the myth of the feminine has served man’s interests by justifying his dominance and privileges.  a woman who does not accept herself as a subject creates no myths of her own, but rather accepts the myths presented by men.  kenneth burke would label woman’s inactivity and complacency as “trained incapacity [where the] very authority [i.e. patriarchal authority] of their earlier ways interferes with the adoption of new ones.”[8]             nonetheless, beauvoir holds women accountable for their failure to transform from the inessential to the essential because of their lack of solidarity with other women.  in reality, both sexes are to blame because men reject women’s quest for existential freedom and women forgo transcendence in exchange for an inauthentic life of material protection and a male-created state of being.[9]           beauvoir also conceives women’s oppression as functioning within the framework of binary opposition.  however, she believes this duality has existed since primitive society and was not originally correlated with the female and male sexes: pairs such as “sun-moon, day-night, and good-evil” involved no “feminine element.”[10]  women’s current submissive status within this duality appears as natural or innate since no cataclysmic historical event brought it about.  therefore, beauvoir locates the source of woman’s oppression in her socially constructed biology, which is regarded as inherently and immutably defective.  beauvoir rejects the idea that women are destined by their biology and rejects a hierarchal distinction between binary opposites.  women must accept the facticity of their bodies, and continue to establish a path of transcendence alongside men.[11]  beauvoir as antifeminine?           the egalitarianism that beauvoir seeks through existentialist ethics is sometimes labeled “antifeminine” because it promotes an “abstract universal and repression of difference.”[12]  luce irigaray respects beauvoir’s “work for social justice” and supports the “maintenance of the liberating horizons which [beauvoir] opened up for many women and men;” however, she faults beauvoir for failing to embrace difference and failing to “give back cultural values to female sexuality.[13]  beauvoir’s endorsement of existentialism as a means for women’s liberation has been criticized for its masculine and patriarchal origins.  women are forced to emulate the masculine standard of transcendence, which is considered as “antifeminine.”                  such an analysis overlooks beauvoir’s key statements on women, men, and existentialism.  beauvoir anticipated such criticisms in the second sex.  she explains that all of women’s goals, including their attempts at transcendence, have been dismissed as “masculine protest,” or as efforts to imitate the male rather than as being solely done for women’s own sake.[14]  this is circular reasoning: beauvoir is faulted with espousing masculine existentialism, but this accusation also operates under a male-as-normative belief system, which fails to view women as autonomous individuals.            irigaray believes that “the philosophical order has to be questioned, and disturbed, in as much as it covers over sexual difference.”[15]  beauvoir does exactly what irigaray posits by re-working masculine philosophy and making it belong to women.  drawing upon sartre’s existentialist methods, beauvoir formulated her own existential philosophical model, which, when applied to women, could blaze a path to liberation.            concerning sexual difference, beauvoir explicitly acknowledges the difference between women and men in both reproduction and sexuality: there will always be certain differences between man and woman; her eroticism, and therefore her sexual world, have a special form of their own and therefore cannot fail to engender a sensuality, a sensitivity, of a special nature.[16]     therefore, it is apparent that just as irigaray seeks to locate women’s self outside the patriarchal system through the creation of a new sexual identity, beauvoir does the same: she reshapes women’s sexuality and reproduction outside of patriarchal myths.      luce irigaray and sexual difference           using postmodernism instead of existentialism, luce irigaray believes there is no way to answer, “what is woman?” because the concept of woman does not exist separate from that of man.[17]  the feminine is enveloped within the masculine, and is reduced to a “position of inferiority, of exploitation, of exclusion, [especially] with respect to language.”[18]  in contrast to beauvoir’s understanding of a hierarchically defined dualism between woman and man, irigaray maintains that women and men are both represented by only one sex: the male.  “the feminine has never been defined, except as the inverse [or] the underside of the masculine.”[19]            it appears that beauvoir and irigaray’s understandings of women are more similar than different: both seem correct in their interpretations.  “the reign of the one [the reign of the male standard] is built on a binarism.”[20]  therefore, the phallogocentric system tricks women into believing that they occupy a place (albeit a subordinate one) in the binary opposition.  this is an illusion, because in reality, women’s place or identity is merely that which has been created for them by men.  to believe in a “concept of femininity…is to allow [women] to be caught up in a system of ‘masculine’ representations which serves the auto-affection of the [male] subject.”[21]  although beauvoir declares, “we must discard the vague notions of superiority, inferiority, [and] equality,”[22] she seeks women’s equality with men along a horizontal axis within a binary system.  irigaray would find this goal impossible because for her, the binary system only serves the interests of a patriarchal system.  ultimately, the elimination of patriarchy (a goal for both beauvoir and irigaray) would align their perspectives.                 irigaray correlates the female identity with matter in its capacity for receptivity to molding by the male world.  matter has no reality; it aspires towards “real-being” but essentially is a “phantasm” of existence.  matter is without a soul, intellect, or life: it is non-existence.[23]  this recognition, applied to woman, is similar to beauvoir’s views of woman as inessential.  for both beauvoir and irigaray, the phallogocentric world relegates women to passivity, receptivity, and submissiveness.  elaine miller takes the concept of the feminine as matter even further.[24]  the feminine is not excluded or repressed from hegel’s dialectic, but rather is insidiously “domesticated and incorporated as the one who provides for the impulsive progress of the spirit.”[25]  therefore, like matter, woman “is eternally present without ever truly entering into the realm of the community.”[26]            woman/matter is “like a mirror, showing things as in itself when they are really elsewhere, filled in appearance but actually empty, containing nothing, pretending everything.”[27]  this is another parallel between beauvoir and irigaray: they describe woman as a mirror reflecting man’s identity, especially the philosopher’s identity.  beauvoir explains this as existentialist oppression where man seeks recognition and identification in making woman an object.  for irigaray, the female is compelled to mimicry because she can mirror “all impressions without appropriating them to [herself] and without adding any.”[28]  women, like matter, take on no particular form or identity: this necessitates women to locate their nature and experiences outside of the masculine-defined realm, the realm of “real-being”.  otherwise, women will remain mere “reservoirs of matter and of speculation.”[29]  again, this applies to beauvoir’s view that women must find their identity through transcendence, which exists outside of their patriarchal-prescribed immanence. difference or equality           for irigaray, the liberation of women can only occur through recognition of the sexual difference, which “is probably the issue in our time [that] could be our salvation if we thought it through.”[30]  because the self has always been defined as masculine, women must rethink their identity and create a female subject.  an ethics of alterity is desired over an ethics that combines the sexes into one universal self, which is based on masculine imaginary.[31]  an ethics based on difference relates to beauvoir’s goals in existentialism.  as subjects, women and men must both affirm their existence as non-being.  this can only be accomplished through freedom, which is dependent upon reciprocity, “by engaging itself in the world.”[32]  reciprocity and alterity do not necessitate conflict, but rather they accept difference.[33]             the quest for equality presupposes that the male is the standard for normalcy, a standard that women must attain.  women then strive to be like men, or to become men.  through laws and social equality, women are more often treated as men; however, they are never treated explicitly as women.  can women find their own standard of normalcy, which would locate the concept within their own identity?            “to demand equality as a woman is a mistaken expression of a real objective.  the demand to be equal presupposes a point of comparison.”[34]  actually, christine littleton argues that equality is a mathematical impossibility because “only things that are the same can ever be equal.”[35]  why do women allow themselves to be measured to any standard, which excludes a variety of individuals?  patriarchal notions of power and control set up the guidelines of binary opposition, which force women to strive for equality or superiority to men.  regardless of the fact that such a goal is futile within patriarchy, women’s innate differences remain devalued instead of being recognized, celebrated, and respected.  “the human species is divided into two genders which ensure its production and reproduction.  to wish to get rid of sexual difference is to call for genocide.”[36]           although beauvoir strives for a politics of equality, she also proposes an ethics of ambiguity and alterity.  debra bergoffen and emily zakin understand beauvoir to project a “muted voice” in her works that “lends itself to an association with, and reclamation of feminine sexual difference than the more ascendant voice at times explicitly refuses.”[37]  does beauvoir’s concept of equality mean equal rights in uniformity?  or does her notion of “differences in equality”[38] correlate with irigaray’s concept of multiplicity and sexual difference?  since beauvoir writes that the emancipation of woman must entail a release from her relations to man and an independent existence,[39] it seems appropriate to align her more closely with irigaray.  furthermore, “one can interpret beauvoir, like irigaray, as understanding sexual difference to be indispensable to a theory of inter-subjectivity.  the final sentence of the second sex affirms “fraternité” between women and men “by and through their natural differentiation.”[40]               sexual difference also plays a major role in the transformation of language to properly recognize the feminine.  currently, language holds no self-representation for women because man has appropriated the feminine into his language.  all language, philosophy, and thought are monopolized by men; therefore, “the creation of language – in all forms – by the maternal has been barred since the origins of our culture.”[41]  the patriarchal culture has relegated women to biological reproduction and has excluded the “maternal” from the construction of language.  if women are denied time, place, and space to exert their existence as subjects, and denied language to speak the feminine, how can they begin to transform social discourse?  irigaray explains that “miming the mimes” is the most effective transformation of language and communication that women can accomplish within a phallogocentric system.      irigaray and the “miming of the mimes”           in deliberately assuming the feminine function of mimicry, women can thwart the working of patriarchal culture by converting their subordination into affirmation.[42]  irigaray explains this concept as a way for women to re-create themselves as subjects through the alteration of their culturally (male) defined behaviors.  women can “mime the mimes” by presenting themselves to society in ways that 1) reveal that which should remain concealed, and 2) can exaggerate the ridiculous notions of the feminine ideal as defined by the masculine.            a perfect example of irigaray’s radical prescription of “miming the mimes” is the unconventional work/creations of contemporary artist kristina sheryl wong.  through a fictional mail-order bride website, wong turns the tables on the oppressor by miming the myth of asian female sexuality.[43]  the idea behind wong’s site is “to catch the oppressor in the act of oppression and use [her] personal sense of humor as a political force.  [she] subverts the expectations of a nasty guy in search of petite naked asian bodies by showing him the full ugliness of ‘sweet asian girls.’”[44]  the women featured on this website are gross and hilarious: anything but the stereotypical diminutive asian woman.  one photograph features an asian woman in a kimono wearing a miss chinatown pageant ribbon and crown.  she is also pimple-faced, biting a cigar between her scowling lips, wearing glasses, giving the finger, and holding a bottle of jack daniel’s whiskey while sitting on a toilet.  as kenneth burke states, “humor tends to be conservative, the grotesque tends to be revolutionary.”[45]              “miming the mimes” is a rebellious reaction to a patriarchal culture that oppresses women and limits their capacity for freedom.  like hysterics who were subconsciously revolting against the restrictions of victorian society, women today must consciously reject the culturally prescribed ideals of femininity.  “only through using its own techniques can patriarchy be challenged and displaced.”[46]         section two: language never neutral, always weighted           kenneth burke writes, “language is an implement of action, a device which takes its shape by the cooperative patterns of the group that uses it.”[47]  the insight behind this statement reveals the importance of the “cooperation” between the individuals who use, create, experience, and manipulate language.  language can be a helpful, communicative tool when people understand and respect each another.  language is a social creation and it reflects social ideology.  since “vocabularies” are greater than mere words, they are powerful tools manipulated in many ways; under oppressive conditions, they are employed by “institutional structures” to maintain control and hegemony.[48]  given that a patriarchal system currently dominates society, men monopolize all existing language, communication, philosophy, and thought.[49]  “a rupture with the continuum of domination must also occur with a rupture with the vocabulary of domination.”[50]  therefore, language and societal norms must be transformed for women’s liberation to materialize.  a transformed language of liberation would locate women outside of the patriarchal system through the provision of their own space and the recognition of their different identities.   women and language           girls are at a disadvantage because they are socialized by language in a patriarchal culture that idealizes the male sex.  verbal and non-verbal communication expose a male bias: male-associated behaviors are valued over female-associated ones.  gender stereotyping is reinforced by the use of “he” as a generic pronoun which subsumes women under masculine speech. [51]  man gives the universe his own gender, as he gives his own name to his wife and children.[52]  only property or objects which men dominate, control, possess, or conquer (i.e. boats, cars, cities, nations, governments) are referred to by the feminine pronoun “she.”  “man feminizes the ideal he sets up before him as the essential other, because woman is the material representation of alterity; almost all allegories, in language and in pictorial representation, are women.”[53]  women fail to have an autonomous or independent existence; they are denied sexual difference and are objectified by men through language.           sigmund freud’s use of language, in his psychological theories, has perpetuated male supremacy and female dependency.  psychiatrist peter breggin believes “psychoanalysis, like much psychiatry was founded on the betrayal of women and children.”[54]  freud’s sexist beliefs were accepted as scientific facts and served to label women as deficient by noting their lack of a penis.  a new oppressive language arose out of psychoanalysis that trapped women with adjectives like “passive” and “helpless.”  these “typically female” behaviors were now seen as biologically inherent: rebellious actions were seen to result from “penis envy.”  breggin explains that women who resist patriarchal/male controls chance being labeled insane and risk institutionalization.[55]            although psychoanalysis has been detrimental to women, feminist philosophers luce irigaray and julie kristeva use freud and lacan’s theories to overthrow the symbolic order and to create a novel approach towards understanding sexual difference.  irigaray challenges the existing language of psychoanalysis and represents women in terms outside of the phallogocentric model.  in turning the philosopher’s/psychoanalyst’s theories upside-down, she “reor de-form[s] language, discursive structures, and representational systems [and] formulate[s] alternatives, discourses, and models that can re-occupy [women’s] space and accommodate women’s specificity.”[56]  an example of this is irigaray’s feminist deconstruction of freud’s psychoanalysis: she dismantles his oppressive theories and reconstructs women outside of his phallogocentric model.[57]                    language and speech provide an example of why equality can be a dangerous goal in obtaining women’s liberation.  a study performed by luce irigaray resulted in the observation that women and men’s speech is sexed: similar attributes were found in women’s responses that differed from men’s.[58]  an important difference is the usage of the word i (je).  men frequently use “i” to describe themselves as subjects in various situations; however, women “erase” themselves by using the word “one” to explain themselves.[59]  ultimately, women have difficulty in identifying themselves as subjects because of the “weight” of the normative usage of the masculine pronoun “he.”  women “do not yet think in the feminine.”[60]           women’s speech is also understood to be polite and unassuming, rather than straightforward and logical.  social psychologist carol tavris explains that women’s language is the language of the subordinate:   if you play a subordinate role in society, you would learn to persuade and influence, rather than assert and demand.  you would anticipate others needs…and give attention to others feelings.  in short you would develop a ‘woman’s language.’  but these characteristics develop from a power imbalance, not from an inherent deficiency.[61]    linguist robin lakoff indicates that women use “empty adjectives” (i.e. lovely), qualifiers (i.e. kind of ), a questioning inflection when speaking a statement, the word “so” with a descriptive adjective (i.e. so much love), and hypercorrect grammar when speaking.[62]  these characteristics of women’s speech are seen as subordinate to the commanding nature of men’s speech.  this comparison between women and men implies that men’s speech is the desired standard to which women’s speech must be measured.  therefore, women who seek equality by imitating men’s speech support the phallogocentric notion that men’s speech is normative, superior, and the standard to uphold.  this diminishes the potential for women to embrace their own diversity and individuality.             irigaray would argue that women’s speech is not their own: it ultimately arises from a phallogocentric economy.  therefore, women cannot articulate their own words or find their true identity until they can situate themselves outside of the masculine imaginary.  however, one must question the possibility of women’s independent articulation of anything outside of the phallogocentric system when everything is a product of it.  even “the ethical bent from which one approaches the universe is itself a part of the universe.”[63]  however, irigaray does recognize that one must be aware of existing language and traditions in order to transform them.  this is necessary to prevent individuals from making the same mistakes: “to progress and not regress on the path of human civilization.”[64]  the identification of our values, culture, and society as “monosexist, monogendered, falsely universal, and partially imperialistic”[65] is the launching pad for women to create a unique subjectivity, respecting that we are all different from each other.                if both women and language function as social mirrors, then what is the connection between women and language?  do oppressors, in their quest for transcendence and power, use both women and language as objects and tools?  if so, do women have the power within themselves to use language to attain their own liberation and transcendence?  if women’s oppression is due to socially created customs and practices, then the answer lies in eradicating these customs and practices.  language mirrors and reinforces social values; however, a transformation of language designed to promote desired social values might be a catalyst for social change.           the ambiguity described by beauvoir is based upon the ubiquitous dependence and reciprocity between human beings: every subject depends on the other for a sense of self.  judith butler underscores this human concatenation through her explanation of the act of naming, by which individuals address others and are themselves addressed.[66]  she explains, “one is dependent upon another for one’s name;” therefore, as interpellated beings, we are subjected to a “linguistic vulnerability” essential to the creation of one’s identity. [67]            oftentimes, individuals are labeled with names that do not accurately reflect their own self-vision.  unfortunately, names define the space in which one exists and they “construct a social positionality.”[68]  in addition, the “authority of the ‘voice’ of interpellation,”[69] makes it a difficult task for individuals to ignore names that are forced upon them.  by understanding oneself outside of a socially prescribed identity, one no longer is bound to it.  the rejection of oppressive names or labels is a response to the very act of being named in the first place.  this rejection would result in a new or different consciousness as well as innovative discourse, resulting in an original self-created space and pattern of communication between individuals.[70]            irigaray might reconfigure butler’s understanding of linguistic vulnerability by proposing its elimination through women and men’s recognition of each other as subjects.[71]  vulnerability results when one names the other, and is named by the other as object; however, irigaray dispels by refusing to reduce the other to an object.  an example is the title of her book i love to you, which means   i don’t take you as an object of my love or desire.  i love you as irreducibly other.  i keep a “to” as an inalienable space between us, as a guarantor of your freedom and mine.[72]   this would imply two autonomous subjects who co-exist together without the need to make each other objects or abandon their own identities.  in concurring with irigaray, beauvoir posits a similar mutual recognition of one another as subject; ensuring that “the human couple [would] find its true form.”[73]            this is an example of a new form of communication between women and men that would provide an acceptance of sexual difference and freedom.  another condition in the recognition of one another as subjects is shared silence.  silence recognizes the sexual difference by providing space in which women and men can exist “each on one’s own and together.”[74]  this correlates with the passion of wonder that is capable of establishing an ethics of sexual difference that would respect an individual’s autonomy while mutually recognizing one another as subject.  wonder “never takes hold of the other as its object.  it does not try to seize, possess, or reduce this object, but leaves it subjective, still free.”[75]           all forms of communication have the potential to influence society either by strengthening the status quo or by initiating liberation and social change.  oppressive language confines an individual to a subordinate or pejorative identity through the denial of an autonomous existence.  however, it is precisely language’s subjugation that spawns the defiance and revolt of the oppressed individual.  the transformation of discourse must begin with the individual person and can only arise from an awareness of the existing language.  “when one attempts to criticize the structure, one must leave some parts of it intact in order to have a point of reference for criticism.”[76]  irigaray restructures the linguistic economy of exchange between women and men by altering language patterns to give women a subjective identity.  she does not propose a total elimination of our current language, but rather a shift in its representation of women that provides for a mutual exchange between the sexes and welcomes difference.  the crucial factor in the transformation of language is “not waiting passively for language to progress,”[77] but rather to actively make changes in all forms of communication.   section three: actions for social change           oppression of any individual or group cannot be recognized as a social problem until society collectively defines it as such.  sociologist herbert blumer postulates that regardless of its objective makeup, a malignant condition in society remains ignored until it is defined by and conceived in society as problematic.[78]  although it seems rational that a tangible injustice would warrant immediate action, this “rationality” does not apply.  for example, domestic violence occurred for centuries; yet, it was not seen as a social problem worth addressing until the early 1970’s.  the question then becomes, how do we make society aware of oppression and other crises?            piety, more pervasive than typically assumed, is an obstacle that thwarts most social change.[79]  “piety is a schema of orientation”[80] that exists throughout one’s lifetime.  it promotes stability by reflecting our concrete experiences.  individuals are “victims of a trained incapacity” [81] when piety prevents them from breaking free from detrimental behaviors.  deep-rooted past experiences prevent the acceptance of new values, understandings, and/or paths of action.  the notion of change, including the adoption of different beliefs, elicits fear in most people.  oftentimes, an “obedience to reigning symbols of authority [is] natural…[and] the rejection of them [is] painful.”[82]  marcuse writes, “impoverishment [or oppression] does not necessarily provide the soil for revolution, [rather] a highly developed consciousness, and imagination generate[s] the need for radical change.”[83]  therefore, the trappings of piety prevail even under exploitive conditions.  because people are an integral part of a social system, the rejection of the system is, to some extent, a rejection of themselves.                      liberation and social change stand in direct opposition to the prevailing interests of both oppressors and the obliviously oppressed.[84]  “oppression is explained by the tendency of the existent [subject/man] to flee from himself by means of identification with the other [object/woman], who he oppresses to that end.”[85]  to liberate women would be terrifying because men would lose dominance and absolute authority.  in making women objects, men seek recognition, identity, and avoidance of his freedom.  women’s state of inferiority is neither innate nor mutually dependent upon man’s superiority: sovereignty can be shared by both sexes.  the question remains, ‘can we replace our piety with impiety and establish a path of transcendence for women alongside men’s?’[86]             burke assigns the poet the task of consciousness raising in challenging piety with impiety.  this would necessitate a “rejection of repressive instinctual needs and values.”[87]  this would lead society to understand and define oppression as a problem worth addressing.  to choose the “path of greater resistance”[88] embraces impiety by acting out one’s role in the transformation of language, cultural norms, and society.  feminist philosopher catherine mackinnon promotes consciousness raising as the feminist method necessary to create a collective understanding that women’s experience is universal.[89]  in addition to burke’s poets, however, there must be other avenues to liberation and social change.            one possible step towards the elimination of women’ oppression is the dissemination of feminist philosophy to the general public.  philosophy is rewarding and insightful; however, it is practiced infrequently because it fails to reach most individuals.  without an audience, any written work remains stagnant and immaterial.  although intellectuals provide an audience for philosophy, they do not comprise a large enough number of people to bring forth social awareness en masse.           philosophy today is like a rain cloud: somewhat ethereal and difficult to reach, yet essential for growth, development, and change.  the earth depends on rain for growth and regeneration of life; however, it must wait for particular pressure systems to collide and create a rain cloud.  fortunately, individuals have more control over the distribution of philosophy than they do over the weather.  society needs feminist philosophy to rain down and permeate our lives.  otherwise, philosophy lacks practical application and fails to live up to its potential.  simone de beauvoir created a powerful feminist manifesto in the second sex, but not many individuals have read it outside the classroom.  how many leaders incorporate catherine mackinnon’s perspective in the creation of public policy?  how many people actively re-oriented their lives because of feminist philosophy?           the age of enlightenment was a promising example of philosophy’s permeation into people’s lives, which stimulated great social change.  in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the philosophy of john locke, jean jacques rousseau, and thomas hobbes promoted education, freedom, and self-realization.  it directly influenced the general public and shaped many aspects of the american revolution.  this influence was mostly due to an increase in overall literacy, especially among women.  the rise in literacy led to self-growth and the declaration of rising expectations.  many “commoners” read philosophy because the printed word was fashionable and easily accessible.  philosophical works reached a vast group of readers and helped to create a previously unidentified consciousness.  both reading and writing facilitated women’s independent pursuit of knowledge.  their new autonomy led to the early development of feminist literature.  tantamount to the growth of women’s writing was the growth of women’s consciousness.  solidarity replaced isolation among women who previously lacked the ‘means’ to communicate with one another.[90]            inspired by enlightenment philosophy, thinkers like mary wollstonecraft and judith sargent murray sought to create a place for women in post-american revolution society.[91]  ultimately, proto-feminist philosophy, coupled with the newly found acts of writing and reading, fostered empowerment and awareness in women heretofore unseen.  although the age of enlightenment provided neither a cure-all nor a completely inclusive philosophy, it did challenge and revolutionize assumptions about women.  our current society needs a new age of enlightenment that would engage everyone in intellectual theories so as to bring about women’s liberation through social awareness and change.           even the exclusive and misogynistic philosophy of the enlightenment resulted in subversive, rebellious, and radical action, which spawned the emergence of women’s written word and proto-feminist thought.  karl marx and friedrich engels ultimately believed that capitalist society would be the catalyst to its own eradication; capitalism would forge the weapons that would bring death to itself.[92]  they propose that although communism is the absolute goal, it would be impossible to attain without the experience of capitalism.  it appears that the enlightenment and its effects on women share a similar pattern.  although the enlightenment produced both negative and positive outcomes, it was vital to the creation of women’s liberation philosophy.            similarly, patriarchal society might also be the catalyst for its own destruction.  social systems are fluid: they undergo a “dynamic process of creation and re-creation from one moment to the next.”[93]  therefore, patriarchy will inevitably change.  furthermore, patriarchy becomes increasingly vulnerable because of the vast oppression it fosters.  a system that produces instability and denies human rights will eventually lead to its own demise.  patriarchy will soon crumble.  however, every individual has the potential to play a role in shortening the amount of time that patriarchy exists.[94]  concrete steps for social change           awareness and solidarity is crucial in this quest.  currently, liberation is stymied by the integration of women into the system of patriarchy.[95]  this tactic cleverly convinces women that patriarchy serves their needs.  permitting a small number of women to occupy positions of authority (i.e. politicians, ceo’s, or supreme court justices) seems to demonstrate intolerance for discrimination; however, this is an illusion.  women are kept pacified and ignorant of the real need for social change because they are focused on small issues of equality; they close their eyes to the cultural misogyny that lurks within patriarchy. [96]  the struggle for equal rights has merit in resolving short-term issues, but fails to address the over-riding oppressive system.[97]             irigaray’s impious appeal to surpass the goal of equality through embracing the sexual difference “attacks the kinds of linkages already established”[98] by most branches of feminism.  when looking through a patriarchal perspective, women fearfully refrain from measuring themselves to men and their accomplishments.  when focusing on the sexual difference, it is imperative to avoid labeling these differences as deficiencies.[99]  women might feel marginalized in their rejection of the phallogocentric system because it encompasses most of their realities.  therefore, a new space and consciousness needs to be created for women, which acknowledges their capacity as unique, autonomous beings.  “it is not adequate to simply affirm women’s value and worth in a culture that leaves no space for value and worth other than the masculine.”[100]            a strategy for equality will never be sufficient because it ignores the differences between individuals. [101]  the qualities and values offered by both sexes need to be respected.  consequently, laws need to take into account the sexual difference in order to assure equivalent social status for women and men.[102]            laws created in light of sexual difference would give back what patriarchy has appropriated as men’s possessions; including “women’s bodies, natural space, the economy of signs and images, and social and religious representation.”[103]  women’s bodies would no longer be used as objects for commercial purposes, especially in advertising, which infantilizes and sexualizes women so as to sell products.  rather, there would be realistic representations of women throughout society.  such representations would promote sexual difference preventing a woman from losing herself in the phallogocentric society and forgetting her own sex.[104]  a practical application of this is the right to identity, which would eradicate women and girls as “objects of exchange between men in our culture.”[105]  neither virginity, nor motherhood would be reducible to financial exchange.  motherhood must be recognized as a choice rather than a necessity of female identity; “enforced maternity brings into the world wretched infants.”[106]  women must also be provided legal access to contraception and abortion.  the mystification of maternity would be exposed as a male-created attempt to imprison women by relegating their entire identity to reproductive functions within the category of nature.[107]            women would be granted space to have their voices heard and to create an autonomous self.  this requires the female to renounce her identity with matter, which occupies no space.  she will become a subject: one who would be responsible for promoting change in the perception of the relation between matter and form.  the facilitation of “women-among-themselves, [in order] to learn to formulate their desires, in the absence of immediate pressures and oppressions,” [108] might be accomplished through the promotion of single-sexed education.  another possibility would be mackinnon’s prescription for consciousness raising; both possibilities seek separation from male-oriented identification.  consciousness-raising groups, without the presence of men, allow women to occupy social space often dominated by men.  in addition, women would be free to abandon their usual competition for men’s attention and approval, and would become free to reject “men’s version of reality.”[109]  by recapturing this space and by consciousness raising, women would begin to “become a sex for themselves.”[110]       conclusion   indeed the time has come to emphasize the multiplicity of female expressions and preoccupations so that from the intersection of these differences there might arise a more precisely, less commercially and more truthfully, the real fundamental difference between the two sexes.[111]               the material used in articulating the views expressed in this paper comes from a variety of feminist theorists, philosophers, sociologists, and psychologists.  it illustrates the possibility of uniting a variety of feminist scholarship so as to better address the problem of women’s oppression.  each unique perspective seeks to improve the relations between all humans and to provide people with liberation and social justice.  rejecting or ignoring the needs and opinions of any one individual or group serves to further distance individuals from one another.  therefore, pitting feminists against one another serves to maintain the patriarchal stronghold by diverting attention from women’s real oppression and focusing it instead on how feminists argue with one another.  although an effective ploy used to degrade the women’s movement, it must be recognized and stopped.  we must welcome our differences, embrace a multiplicity of perspectives, and work towards guaranteeing individual rights for all individuals.  irigaray accurately states, “there are multiple groups and tendencies in women’s struggles today, and to reduce them to a single movement involves a risk of introducing phenomena of hierarchization [and] claims of orthodoxy.”[112]             linguistic exchange needs to be modified to provide parity between women and men.[113]  although not an all-encompassing tool, language must be revised to accurately reflect both sexes.  this would trump patriarchy’s silencing of women and would promote women as speaking subjects.  in addition to providing mutual recognition, a facet of language must be kept “between women” or “parler-femme,” which would rupture “masculine sameness in order to express the plurality and mutuality of feminine difference.” [114]  speaking must be understood as having the potential to reconstruct the conditions that we live in with one another.[115]  in this sense, all forms of communication can direct social change.  repetition is the key to gradually increasing one’s comfort level and awareness.           ultimately, we must affirm women's lack of being and choose existence: existence as non-beings.  we are all subjects, not objects, and subjectivity grants freedom.  freedom entails reciprocity; one’s freedom is dependent upon another’s.  we must accept this ambiguity and understand ourselves as individuals and parts of a collective.  oppression results from the denial of ambiguity, which also becomes a denial of freedom.[116] freedom is chosen and must be achieved and maintained with every decision.           a wonderful directive to choose freedom comes from irigaray:    women, stop trying.  you have been taught that you were property, private or public, belonging to one man or all.  that therein lay your pleasure.  and that, unless you gave in to man’s, or men’s desires, you would not know sexual pleasure.  if you disobeyed, you were the cause of your own unhappiness.  so ask yourselves just what ‘nature’ is speaking along their theoretical or practical lines.  and if you find yourselves attracted by something other than what their laws, rules, and rituals prescribe, realize that – perhapsyou have come across your ‘nature.’  don’t even go looking for that alibi.  do what comes to mind, do what you like: without ‘reasons,’ without ‘valid motives,’ without ‘justification.’  you have so many continents to explore that if you set up borders for yourselves you won’t be able to ‘enjoy’ all of your own ‘nature.’[117]    by following this advice, women will create their own true identities.  they will no longer be the mere fabrications of men.                      endnotes   [1] other sources from various disciplines will also be used in this paper; however, the works of these four individuals will comprise the bulk of my argument.   [2] emily zakin, “differences in equality: beauvoir’s unsettling of the universal,” the journal of speculative philosophy 14.2 (2000): 104.    [3] judith butler, bodies that matter: on the discourse of the limits of sex (new york, new york: routledge, 1993), 47.   [4] simone de beauvoir, the second sex (new york, new york: vintage books, 1989), xxi.  simone de beauvoir, the ethics of ambiguity (new york, new york: citadel press, 1948), 102.   [5] martin heidegger, being and time (new york, new york: harper, 1962), 164-235, in josephine donovan, feminist theory (new york, new york: continuum, 1996), 118-119.   [6] donovan, feminist theory, 119.   [7] beauvoir, the second sex, 139.   [8] kenneth burke, permanence and change (berkeley, california: university of california press, 1954), 23.   [9] beauvoir, the second sex, xxiii-xxvii.   [10] ibid., xxiii.  although beauvoir states that there was no initial hierarchy between these polar opposites, i believe that there has been an established hierarchy, at least since pythagoras and aristotle.  women have been associated with the lesser/inferior/negative side of the pair.  for example, women have been associated with night/moon/evil and man with day/sun/good.  although in asian religions, the yin-yang functions as two equal partners in a complementary pair, this ideology has not been adopted by western cultures.  instead, “women were placed on a vertical hierarchy below men, rather than along a horizontal axis with masculinity and femininity as its two polarities.”  quoted from anthony fletcher, gender, sex and subordination in england 1500-1800 (new haven, connecticut: yale university press, 1995), 33-34.      [11] beauvoir, the second sex, 717.   [12] zakin, 104.   [13] luce irigaray, je, tu, nous  toward a culture of difference (new york, new york: routledge, 1993), 13.   [14] beauvoir, the second sex, 51.   [15] luce irigaray, this sex which is not one (ithaca, new york: cornell university press, 1985), 159.   [16] beauvoir, the second sex, 731.   [17] irigaray, this sex which is not one, 122.    [18] ibid., 161.   [19] ibid., 159.   [20] luce irigaray, to speak is never neutral (new york, new york: routledge, 2002), 230.   [21] ibid., 122-123.   [22] beauvoir, the second sex, xxxiii.   [23] luce irigaray, speculum of the other woman (ithaca, new york: cornell university press, 1985), 168.   [24] elaine miller is an assistant professor of philosophy at miami university   [25] elaine p. miller, “the ‘paradoxical displacement:’ beauvoir and irigaray on hegel’s antigone,” the journal of speculative philosophy 14.2 (2000): 125.  miller then states that “the masculine utilization of the feminine is not merely oppressive or repressive; it is productive.”  (my emphasis)   [26] irigaray, speculum of the other woman, 125.   [27] ibid., 169.   [28] irigaray, this sex which is not one, 151.   [29] ibid., 155.   [30] luce irigaray, an ethics of sexual difference (ithaca, new york: cornell university press, 1993), 5.   [31] ibid., 121.   [32] beauvoir, the ethics of ambiguity, 78.   [33] neither beauvoir nor irigaray support sartre’s belief that alterity results in conflict.  in contrast to the “sartrean concept of the sexual encounter as a sadomasochistic overcoming of one subject by the other, in levinas’ view [as well as irigaray and beauvoir] the sexual encounter implies a recognition and acceptance of the other’s alterity.”  in elizabeth grosz, sexual subversions: three french feminists (st. leonards, australia: allen and unwin, 1989), 144.   [34] irigaray, je, tu, nous, 12.   [35] christine littleton, “reconstructing sexual equality,” california law review 75 (1987): 1282.  christine littleton is a professor of law at ucla.   [36] irigaray, je, tu, nous, 12.   [37] zakin., 105.  emily zakin is an assistant professor of philosophy at miami university.  debra bergoffen is a professor of philosophy and director of women’s research and resource center at george mason university.   [38] beauvoir, the second sex, 731.   [39] ibid., 731.   [40] miller, 135.  miller reads beauvoir in that the “feminine can not simply be understood as assimilation into a preexisting, atomistic, purportedly neutral and yet implicitly masculine conception of subjectivity (122).”  i agree with her position.     [41] irigaray, to speak is never neutral, 257 and this sex which is not one, 165.   [42] irigaray, this sex which is not one, 76.   [43] the following information is from karen eng, “the princess and the prankster: two women who take on art, ethnicity, and sexuality,” bitch magazine 18 (fall 2002): 29-35.   [44] kristina sheryl wong’s website www.bigbadchinesemama.com.   [45] burke, permanence and change, 112.  through the reclamation of her own female sexuality, wong reveals her anger towards men who fetishize about the culturally prescribed asian ideal.  she recognizes that men commodify asian women, pornography, or objects, but on her website, “men cannot buy these women.  they are not for sale!”    [46] grosz, 133.   [47] burke, permanence and change, 173.   [48] ibid., 182.   [49] both luce irigaray and herbert marcuse express this view.  the references are: irigaray, this sex which is not one, 165 and herbert marcuse, an essay on liberation (boston, massachusetts: beacon press, 1969), 33.   [50] marcuse, an essay on liberation, 33.   [51] although dated, psychologist donald g. mackay identifies the use of the masculine pronoun “he” as a “highly effective propaganda technique:  frequent repetition, early age of acquisition (before age 6), covertness (“he” is not thought of as propaganda), use of high-prestige sources (including university texts and professors), and indirectness (presented as though it were a matter of common knowledge).”  donald g. mackay, “prescriptive grammar and the pronoun problem,” language, gender, and society, eds. b. thorne, c. kramarae, and n. henley (rowley, massachusetts: newbury house, 1983), 38-53.  found in laurel richardson, “gender stereotyping in the english language,” feminist frontiers ii, eds. laurel richardson and verta taylor (new york, new york: mcgraw-hill, 1989), 6.   [52] irigaray, je, tu, nous, 31.   [53] beauvoir, the second sex, 179.   [54] peter breggin explains that freud originally believed his female patients’ stories about the physical and sexual abuse in their childhood, and concluded that many adult women were suffering with mental problems due to the aftermath of sexual abuse as children.  however, when he presented these findings to the medical community, he was met with overwhelming disapproval.  his fellow colleagues did not want to accept or address these “erroneous” findings.  under social pressure, freud quickly changed his theories and betrayed his patients with newfound disbelief.  he labeled their claims of abuse as delusions.  “little girls weren’t being lusted after and abused by their fathers and older men.  little girls generated their own sexual fantasies toward these men and then made up stories about their sexual contacts.”  jeffrey masson, the former director of the sigmund freud archives, found freud’s secret letters, which explained this.  peter breggin, toxic psychiatry (new york, new york: st. martin’s press, 1991), 336-338.    [55] ibid., 341.   [56] grosz, sexual subversions, 110.   [57] ibid., 109.   [58] luce irigaray, je, tu, nous, 29.  she explains that in the french language 1) “the masculine is always dominant in syntax.  ils sont marriés (they are married) or ils sont beaux (they are beautiful).”  both of these sentences would be used to describe women even though  masculine pronouns and adjectives are used in both cases.  to include women, these sentences should be written elles sont marriées or elles sont belles but they are not.  the traditional usage “erases the feminine [and] impacts the way subjectivity is experienced and expressed in and by discourse.”  2) the neutral or impersonal is also expressed by the masculine.  the phrases “it’s snowing” (il neige) or “it is necessary” (il faut) is written using the masculine form of it: il.  it is never written elle neige or elle faut.  these statements appear to represent something neutral; however, they are expressed by the masculine (30-31).          [59] luce irigaray, why different (new york, new york: semiotext(e), 2000), 48.  irigaray further explains this by indicating them when asked to use “dress, oneself, and see” in a sentence men made themselves the subject of the sentence more often than women did.  for example, men constructed sentences like “i don’t see myself in a dress” where women constructed sentences like “she is seen from afar in her dress.”    [60] ibid., 50.   [61] carol tavris, the mismeasure of women (new york, new york: simon and schuster, 1992), 298.   [62] mary brown parlee, “conversational politics, “feminist frontiers, eds. laurel richardson and verta taylor (reading, massachusetts: addison wesley publishing company, 1983), 9.   [63] burke, permanence and change, 256.   [64] irigaray, why different, 74.   [65] ibid., 75.   [66] judith butler, “introduction: on linguistic vulnerability,” in excitable speech: a politics of the performative (new york, new york: routledge, 1997), 28-38.   [67] ibid., 26, 29-30   [68] ibid., 33.   [69] ibid., 31.   [70] this correlates with marcuse who writes, “the new sensibility and the new consciousness…demand a new language to define and communicate new “values” (language…which includes words, images, gestures, tones).”  an essay on liberation, 32-33.   [71] butler challenges irigaray’s position on the possibility of two subjects.  she writes, “it would make no sense to refer to women as subjects, for it is precisely the construct of the subject that necessitates relations of hierarchy, exclusion, and domination.  there can be no subject without an other.”  judith butler, “chapter 13: gender trouble, feminist theory, and psychoanalytic discourse” in gender trouble (new york, new york: routledge, 1990), 326.    [72] irigaray, why different, 81.   [73] beauvoir, the second sex, 731.   [74] ibid., 107.   [75] irigaray, an ethics of sexual difference, 13.  [76] burke, permanence and change, 169.   [77] irigaray, je, tu, nous, 32.   [78] herbert blumer, “social problems as collective behavior,” social problems, 18 (1971), 300.   [79] burke, permanence and change, 69.   [80] ibid., 76.   [81] ibid., 23.  “if people persist longer than chickens in faulty orientation despite punishment, it is because the greater complexity of their problems, the vast network of mutually sustained values and judgments makes it more difficult for them to perceive the nature of the re-orientation required, and to select their means accordingly.”   [82] kenneth burke, attitudes towards history (los angeles, california: university of california press, 1984), 226.   [83] ibid., 15.   [84] ibid., 17.   [85] beauvoir, the second sex, 719.   [86] ibid., 717.   [87] marcuse, 17.   [88] allan g. johnson, the gender knot: unraveling our patriarchal legacy (philadelphia, pennsylvania: temple university press, 1997), 233.   [89] catherine a. mackinnon, towards a feminist theory of the state (cambridge, massachusetts: harvard university press, 1989), 83-84.   [90] the word ‘means’ in this case represents finances, time, ability, and desire.   [91] mary wollstonecraft, a vindication of the rights of women, ed. carol h. poston (new york, new york: w.w. norton & company, 1988) and judith sargent murray, a brief biography with documents, ed. shelia skemp (boston, massachusetts: bedford books, 1998).   [92] karl marx and friedrich engels, “manifesto of the communist party” in the marx-engels reader, ed. robert c. tucker (new york: w.w. norton & company, 1978), 478.   [93] johnson, 233.   [94] ibid., 235.   [95] marcuse, 14.  this statement from marcuse has been reworded by replacing the words “capitalism and workers” with “patriarchy and women” respectively.   [96] johnson, 13.    [97] irigaray recognizes the need for equality-based pursuits but acknowledges that ultimately it is not enough.  “women’s liberation [must] go beyond a quest for equality between the sexes…[but] that doesn’t stop me from joining and promoting public demonstrations for women to gain this or that right: the right to contraception, abortion, legal aid in cases of public or domestic violence, the right to freedom of expression – etc., demonstrations generally supported by feminists, even if they signify a right to difference.” je, tu, nous, 11.     [98] burke, permanence and change, 87.   [99] tavris, 287.   [100] grosz, 179.   [101] a good metaphor for the promotion of difference over equality relates to raising children.  “most parents realize that loving their children equally doesn’t necessarily require treating them identically.  one child may need more help with homework.  one may have a gift for athletics or music that warrants special favors.  one may have a disability that requires attention.  most parents intuitively operate on a notion of equality that encompasses the real differences between their children (tavris, 123)."   [102] the following rights and laws are based on irigaray’s proposal for laws created in light of sexual difference found in je, tu, nous, 81-92.   [103] ibid., 86.   [104] irigaray, this sex which is not one, 152   [105] irigaray, je, tu, nous, 87.   [106] beauvoir, the second sex, 485.   [107] ibid., “chapter xvii the mother,” 484-527.   [108] ibid., 127.   [109] mackinnon, 86.   [110] ibid., 105.   [111] julia kristeva, “women’s time,” women, knowledge, and reality, eds. ann garry and marilyn pearsall (new york, new york: routledge, 1996), 65.   [112] irigaray, this sex which is not one, 164. [113] irigaray, je, tu, nous, 89.   [114] irigaray, this sex which is not one, 222.  to parler-femme or speak as women, is an experimental process that reveals the connections between female sexuality and writing.     [115] andrea nye, “the voice of the serpent: french feminism and philosophy of language,” women, knowledge, and reality, eds. ann garry and marilyn pearsall (new york, new york: routledge, 1996), 334.     [116] beauvoir, the ethics of ambiguity, 96-102.   [117] irigaray, this sex which is not one, 203-204. edward h constructions and reconstructions: feminism, postmodernism, and the handmaid’s tale edward h. howell english in 1985, alice jardine defined the conceptual dilemma of postmodern feminism in the opening chapter of gynesis, her influential study of feminist theory: not believing in “truth,” we continue to be fascinated by (elaborate) fictions. this is the profound paradox of the feminist speaking in our contemporary culture: she proceeds from a belief in a world which— even the philosophers admit—truth has disappeared. this paradox, it seems to me, can lead to (at least) three possible scenarios: a renewed silence, a form of religion (from mysticism to political orthodoxy), or a continued attention—historical, ideological, and affective—to the place from which we speak. (31-32) margaret atwood‟s the handmaid’s tale—published the same year as jardine‟s book—is situated within this paradox. an elaborate postmodern fiction that questions the possibility of truth, the handmaid’s tale concentrates on, and affectively forces its readers to recognize, the importance of “continued attention” to the cultural and linguistic situatedness of its narrator, a woman who ultimately refuses to remain silent. the place from which the novel‟s narrator, offred, speaks is one where her sense of self is defined by her culture as residing solely in her female body and its capacity for reproduction, and where her body is located within a system of technological surveillance. yet while her body is defined by those in power via technology, its meaning and worth are also paradoxically constructed through a correlation to “nature.” thus offred‟s identity is defined by the gileadean regime as existing in her body, which is simultaneously constructed by technology and by nature—placing her between the two poles of the contested “constructivist vs. essentialist” (“culture vs. nature”) dichotomy frequently analyzed in feminist theory. additionally, offred‟s awareness of how her identity is constructed by others and by herself in the acts of language and naming is one of the most powerful aspects of the text. for these reasons, it is not surprising that atwood‟s novel is often read by contemporary critics wishing to analyze the limitations and possibilities of constructing a female identity in a postmodern conversation framed by assumptions about the instability of the autonomous subject. my aim is to enter this dialogue by analyzing how the identities of the handmaids in atwood‟s novel are constructed by both technological and natural discourses, and also exploring how offred responds to these discourses, comparing them to her own thoughts, feelings, and memories—that is, how she is “constructed” and how she then creates “reconstructions” of her experiences. after investigating the novel‟s treatment of these technological and natural constructions, i will argue that ultimately the handmaid’s tale demonstrates through offred‟s reconstructions a commitment to the possibility that there is something salvageable about the autonomy and dignity of the self, even when it is largely constructed by definitions and discourses external to it. i. technological surveillance and the female body one of the benefits of writing “science fiction”—or “speculative fiction” as atwood calls the handmaid’s tale—is that it allows the author to write about subjects outside the range of the traditional novel. atwood has said that one of the possibilities offered by this genre is the chance to “[e]xplore the consequences of new and proposed technologies in graphic ways, by showing them fully up and running” (“in context” 515). she does this with gusto in the handmaid’s tale, where technology is ever-present, primarily in the collection of “compu” items that litter the text. there is a “compucheck” that tracks the handmaids‟ progress via the number on their passes (21), a “compubite” at the grocery where they buy their food (26), a “compudoc” at the doctor‟s office (59), a “computalk” (137) that sits on her commander‟s desk, and even a “pocket computer” he uses to add up a scrabble score (184). while these examples are sparse in comparison to technology-saturated dystopian novels like 1984 and brave new world, they demonstrate an awareness of the role computers were beginning to play in the everyday lives of average people—a trend becoming increasingly evident as atwood was writing the novel in the early 1980s. one event in particular illustrates the novel‟s paranoia about computers: the centralized power present in a single “compubank” (173), which allows the newly formed government of gilead to completely shut off all women from the economy in one single computerized blow. the power of this technology is explained by offred‟s close friend moira in one of offred‟s memories of the time before gilead: “„[t]hey‟ve frozen them … any account with an f on it instead of an m. all they needed to do is push a few buttons. we‟re cut off‟” (178). after this event, women must transfer their money into the “compucount” of a “husband or male next of kin” (179). this event is similar in import to the coup d‟état mentioned elsewhere in the novel‟s cursory account of the political upheaval leading to the establishment of the gileadean regime, for it enabled the male members of the society to swiftly and completely subjugate all its women by barring them from an economy consolidated into a single computer system. in addition to this fear of technology coming from the top-down, the inhabitants of gilead must live in fear of what stephanie barbé hammer recognizes as “a very different kind of technology … the technology of power which michel foucault has called discipline” (45). everyone in gilead, and the handmaids in particular, are “caught up in a network of surveillance and countersurveillance” (45). we see the menacing force of this network in the novel‟s opening chapters, where offred describes her fear of being watched. offred is watched not only by the powerful men in her life—namely the commander to whom she is assigned for the purpose of bearing his children—but by everyone else too. spies called “eyes” watch her, other handmaids watch her, and even, in an example of how the gileadean regime has blended modern elements of surveillance with older ones, the eyes of god watch her: the closing words of a quasi-religious ceremony read by the commander before their monthly attempt to conceive state that “the eyes of the lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to know himself strong on behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him” (92). 1 offred‟s body—its health, its movements—are always subject to an oppressive gaze, 2 to the point that she learns to ruthlessly police herself. these technologies inform and construct offred‟s sense of her body, demonstrating the extent to which the idea and the lived experience of having a gendered body arises from dominant cultural discourses. the technologies used by the regime forcefully differentiate the male body from the female body, associating the female body solely with its reproductive capacity to the point that the handmaids are thought of as “two-legged wombs, that‟s all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices” (136). this essentializing definition is executed by the regime through a range of tactics, including declaring the majority of unfertile women “unwomen,” color-coding the female population according to their reproductive capabilities, ruthlessly re-educating the handmaids, and prohibiting most women from reading or writing. in essence, the handmaids are reduced to the role of pure body, and discouraged from using their minds. whatever mind they do have is in the process of being reprogrammed, so that it runs only on the circuits 1 the biblical language of the ceremony is from 2 chronicles 16:9. 2 karen stein has suggested that atwood‟s emphasis on this oppressive gaze “borrows from feminist film theory that elucidates a male gaze objectifying women” (81) — a possibility i find intriguing. yet it is important to note, as both stein and hammer do, that the gaze in gilead is not entirely male, and that one of the reasons it is so effective is that it also comes from other women. favorable to the regime. offred is part of a “transitional generation” of handmaids, still able to remember “the time before” gilead, but a future handmaid would be considerably easier to survey and control, for, as offred recognizes, “they will have no memories, of any other way” (117). the future handmaid would have a sense of self wholly constructed by the discourse imposed upon her body by the regime—one entirely based on the message she receives about her body and its sole purpose: reproduction. the novel‟s treatment of reproduction reflects the fact that the 1980s were a time of increasing feminist anxiety about the role of reproductive technology. atwood has claimed that she purposefully restricted her imaginative treatment of technology in the text, so that there is nothing in the novel “„that we as a species have not done, aren‟t doing now, or don‟t have the technological capability to do,‟”; and the clippings she kept while conceiving of the book—“items of information on new reproductive technologies, surrogate motherhood, and forms of institutionalized birth control”—show how important these issues where to its conception (howells 129). the novel‟s treatment of technology is so time-specific that anne balsamo, in her book technologies of the gendered body, has justifiably claimed that the handmaid’s tale “helps narrate and make manifest the often obscured situation of reproductive-age women in contemporary u.s. culture” (86). as balsamo‟s cultural history illustrates, in an increasingly postmodern age, feminists found it difficult to respond to encroaching technology without resorting to a seemingly antiquated conception of women as being “natural,” for by doing so they fell victim to medical discourses that viewed the female body as just another part of nature that needed to be conquered and managed by male-centric technology 3 . the handmaids in gilead are subject to medical domination and surveillance to the point that they are hardly seen as human. this becomes distressingly evident in the episode where offred makes her monthly visit to the doctor. after her name is entered into “compudoc” by an assistant, she is led into an examination room where she lies down and draws a sheet between her body and her head, “so that the doctor will never see my face. he deals with the torso only” (60). because her sole worth lies in her reproductive capability, the doctor is the only male other than her commander allowed to view her. he breaks the rules by calling her “honey,” even by speaking to her at all. proposing that he could help offred get pregnant, the doctor removes his examination glove, begins to stroke her leg, and even lifts the 3 i find balsamo‟s reading of the text to be in the end unsatisfactory, primarily because she reads it purely as a cultural artifact. balsamo is a cultural critic, and her analysis of the handmaid’s tale purposefully considers it “as a speculative ethnographic account of our collective life in a technological era” (114) rather than as richly metafictional literary art. sheet separating her torso from her face—thereby crossing a series of physical boundaries. a further break from official communication occurs when he offers to “help” offred, which leads her to respond to his offer by thinking “does he know something, has he seen luke, has he found, can he bring back?” (60). this simple moment of misunderstanding manifests offred‟s humanity, and shows how her remembrance of the life before, including her lover luke, is the reason she is not wholly dominated by the constructions of the regime. but to the doctor, her body remains only a womb he wishes to impregnate while she is “soft” and ready to be fertilized. his attempts to convince her (asking “you want a baby, don‟t you?”) cause offred to snap back into the present, and feel the pressure of her constructed role: “„yes,‟ i say. it‟s true, and i don‟t ask why, because i know. give me children, or else i die. there‟s more than one meaning to it” (61). the words in italics are a reference to rachel in the book of genesis (30:1), one of the handmaid’s tale‟s three epigraphs. it has a particularly sinister meaning for offred, far more powerful even than when rachel speaks them to jacob. if she does not produce a child, she will indeed be sent to die, for her capacity to do so is her only value. as this episode illustrates, attending merely to the external factors and discourses that construct offred‟s existence misses the essential fact about her narrative: she is self-aware, recognizing how the regime‟s discourses of power influence her conception of her body. immediately after visiting the doctor, offred prepares for a bath and reflects on how radically her relationship to her body has changed since becoming a handmaid: my nakedness is strange to me already. my body seems outdated. did i really wear bathing suits, at the beach? i did, without thought, among men, without caring that my legs, my arms, my thighs and back were on display, could be seen. shameful, immodest. i avoid looking down at my body, not so much because it‟s shameful or immodest but because i don‟t want to see it. i don‟t want to look at something that determines me so completely. (63) offred segments her body into parts, even when remembering how she used to (not) think of her body. her time as a handmaid has colored even memories of her past life. gilead-speak—shameful, immodest—intrudes, even as she rejects these terms. and even the rare moments where offred is able to relate to her body without fear of external surveillance, when it is not covered by thick red robes, she does not want to look at it. she has, in fact, come to fear it. offred‟s fear is justified, for her body does not belong to her; it belongs to gilead. reminders of both forms of technological authority—a computer system and constant surveillance—are imprinted directly on offred‟s skin. in the bath, she “cannot avoid seeing, now, the small tattoo on my ankle. four digits and an eye, a passport in reverse. it‟s supposed to guarantee that i will never be able to fade, finally, into another landscape. i am too important, too scarce, for that. i am a national resource” (65). offred is property of the state, and must take care of herself for the good of the regime. expanding on this theme in an exemplary interdisciplinary article, linda mysiades reads the handmaid’s tale “through the prism of property law,” noting that “the handmaid has some responsibility for maintaining her reproductive body prior to actual use or exercise, for the economic and social life of gilead depends upon her ability to control (or perform) her reproductive function” (231). in this sense, offred is not only responsible for taking care of her own body, but since her body belongs to gilead, she is also forced to act as “landlord” over property belonging to the regime. this leaves her unable to think of her body even as an instrument, for “she is now completely identified with and through it” (234). her entire life and self-identity revolve around the few nights of the month where she is fertile ground for the commander‟s seed. ii. disembodied sex and the body as “natural resource” sexual reproduction itself is, under the laws of gilead, as disembodied as possible. during the sexual act, which occurs only between offred and the commander and only on ceremony nights, her body is split in two: my red skirt is hitched up to my waist, though no higher. below it the commander is fucking. what he is fucking is the lower part of my body. i do not say making love, because this is not what he is doing. copulating too would be inaccurate, because it would imply two people and only one is involved. nor does rape cover it: nothing is going on here i haven‟t signed up for. there wasn‟t a lot of choice but there was some, and this is what i chose. (94) offred describes a sexual act in which neither party is truly involved, and where her body is merely empty earth to be filled. the commander too is absent, as offred notices: “[i]t‟s as if he‟s somewhere else, waiting for himself to come, drumming his fingers on the table while he waits” (94). even for the dominant party, the sexual act is a performance committed out of duty to the state. void of any of its conventional signifiers—“nothing to do with passion or love or romance or any of those other notions we used to titillate ourselves with” (94)—sex in gilead is inhuman in its remoteness from emotion and significance. remembering the time when “women once spent so much time and energy reading about such things, thinking about them, worrying about them, writing about them,” offred realizes, in one of the most demoralizing passages of the text, that these things “are so obviously recreational” (94). it is possible, offred warns, to live in a body from which you are almost completely separated, where the body has little connection to the sense of the self. even though defining women as “two-legged wombs” is clearly in the best interests of the men who run gilead, males are also subject to the regime‟s limiting definitions. the commander too is haunted by the echoes of the past, and longs for the sexual act to have more significance. this is just one example of how atwood‟s text resists overly simple women-versus-men readings. offred observes how the commander is also made to play a role that is oppressive and constructed by the regime, one that is explicitly tied to a single part of his body: “his extra, sensitive thumb, his tentacle, his delicate, stalked slug‟s eye, which extrudes, expands, winces, and shrivels back into himself when touched wrongly, grows big again, bulging a little at the tip, traveling forward as if along a leaf … avid for vision” (88). 4 while i do not wish to claim any equality of oppression in the handmaid’s tale, this passage is remarkable in its acknowledgement that the male reproductive organ is often experienced as separate from the rest of the body, and that by associating the commander largely with this part of himself the regime‟s reproductive code disembodies him as well. the commander‟s sexual organ is depicted in this sequence as having to “journey into the darkness that is composed of women, a woman, who can see in darkness while he himself strains blindly forward” (88). this travelling-through-darkness image returns later, when offred speculates that if she were to open her eyes, she would see the commander‟s face “intent on his inner journey, the place he is hurrying towards, which recedes as in a dream at the same speed with which he approaches it” (95). offred‟s body is constructed as land and the commander‟s sexual organ as a traveler journeying in it, so neither person performing the sexual act is truly present in it. while the commander may be dissatisfied with this state of affairs, as his explanations for wanting to see offred on non-ceremony nights reveal, he is at least in a position to remedy it. he has other outlets, and even though his sexual performance defines him during the ceremony, he can identify himself in other ways on other nights of the month. but what is offred to do? how can she resist being constructed? she can, perhaps, construct a different meaning for her own body, one that associates her self with the positive aspects of the landscape and the 4 ginette katz-roy makes a similar point, noting that the commander “is in the same awkward position as offred, the bottom part of his body naked, pathetically comic, while everybody watches him do his duty. he too is reduced to a reproductive function” (123). earth. drawing attention to atwood‟s wilderness metaphors, coral ann howells reads the body-as-landscape imagery used to describe the ceremony more favorably, arguing that “[i]n her mind her body remains unconquered territory which will be forever beyond the commander‟s reach” (139). it is true that when offred does have a moment to connect with her body, she often goes exploring: i sink down into my body as into a treacherous swamp, fenland, where only i know the footing. treacherous ground, my own territory. i become the earth i set my ear against, for rumors of the future. each twinge, each murmur of slight pain, ripples of sloughed-off matter, swellings and diminishing of tissue, the drooling of the flesh, these are signs, these are things i need to know about. (73) yet what she finds is disappointing, for when she menstruates “it means failure. i have failed once again to fulfill the expectations of others, which have become my own” (73). she is still defined by her reproductive capability. unlike in the past, when she was able “to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will,” she is now only a womb. her “flesh arranges itself differently … around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than i am” (73-74). after this, realizing she is empty—still only a vessel that is not filled with another body worth far more than hers — offred begins to remember her daughter, since taken from her, and dreams of her, thinking “[o]f all the dreams this is the worst” (75). tracing this line of associations, we can easily see why offred prefers not to even look at her own body, much less sink into it. the fear of her body is only one of the reasons offred is unwilling and unable to truly define herself through it. while it is possible, as howells shows, to ultimately read offred‟s relationship to “nature” (opposed to “culture”) as a positive one, i find this reading to be risky. when offred walks through a garden in spring, she notes that there “is something subversive about this garden … a sense of buried things bursting upwards, wordlessly, into the light, as if to point, to say: whatever is silenced will clamor to be heard, though silently” (153). the garden “speaks” to offred, and she even feels that “goddesses are possible now and the air suffuses with desire” (153). howells reads this sequence optimistically, as “a pagan fantasy landscape metamorphosed into offred‟s rhapsody of the flesh” (141), emphasizing offred‟s linguistic connection with nature. but as we have seen, to be associated with nature is not necessarily a positive thing for offred, for she can just as easily be conceived as a fertile landscape maintained at her own risk and plowed by the commander. even linguistically, “nature” can be turned on her; when she and the commander discuss the past, he explains that in his view the rise of modern sexuality and its notions of falling in love was “just an anomaly, historically speaking … just a fluke. all we‟ve done is return things to nature‟s norm” (220). the commander also justifies the necessity of jezebel‟s, the house of prostitution that is an open secret in the world of gilead, by telling offred that “everyone‟s human, after all” (by which, of course, he means all of the men; gilead has done its utmost to strip its women of the trappings of humanity). this telling misunderstanding is enforced further down the page, when the commander responds to offred‟s question “who are these people?” by telling her about how good jezebel‟s is for business meetings with other powerful men. she then clarifies: “i mean the women” (237). what jezebel‟s “means” for the commander is “you can‟t cheat nature … nature demands variety, for men. it stands to reason, it‟s part of the procreational strategy. it‟s nature‟s plan” (237). this statement runs the gauntlet of ways men have constructed “nature” to justify their behavior: it is inevitable, we evolved this way, it is reasonable, it is necessary for the existence of the human race, it has teleological importance. just as “nature” can be a source of delight for offred in the garden, it can also be used as just another method of oppression. iii. narrative gaps and the construction of a reader offred is wedged between nature and culture, unable to turn to either for sustenance and meaning. the only things she owns are her memories and her language. her memories of the time before the regime, while not unaltered by present circumstance, give her sufficient context to realize that her identity is being constructed, and her ability to narrate her experiences allows her to construct stories and meanings of her own. just as she is constructed, offred can also construct. offred‟s awareness of the subjectivity, the constructedness, of the “truths” handed to her by the gileadean regime is what makes the handmaid’s tale a postmodern novel — and a frustrating one for readers looking to extract an actionable feminist message. early in the novel atwood establishes the metafictional aspect of the text, and it becomes more evident as the book progresses. in chapter 7, offred explains: i would like to believe this is a story i am telling. i need to believe it. i must believe it. those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance. if it‟s a story i‟m telling, then i have control over the ending. then there will be an ending, to the story, and real life will come after it. i can pick up where i left off. it isn‟t a story i‟m telling. it‟s also a story i‟m telling in my head, as i go along. (39) the first time reader encountering this passage cannot help but become confused, especially when offred, just after this, addresses her story as a “letter” to a reader: “dear you,” even though she is aware that there is no one reading, and, as we discover later and have already begun to suspect, she is not even writing. throughout the handmaid’s tale, the text draws attention to itself through passages like the one cited above, passages that disorient the reader and destabilize the fictional construct of simple first-person narration. by the time we read the epilogue‟s “historical notes” and discover that the narrative we just read had originally existed as a recording recently unearthed by scholars in the year 2195, passages like this one are complicated further. for even if we re-read the novel and think of it as an oral narrative it does not necessarily become more stable, and questions remain: why is offred speaking into a cassette recorder in this way? how is it possible that she is telling a story about the past, about something that happened to her, but is also within that story telling other stories about things that happened even before the recent past she is narrating? try as we may, it is not truly possible to consistently think of the narrative as being spoken by offred, and the fact that the text we are reading is nothing more than a “construction” remains the dominating experience of reading the book. because of its indeterminacy, the handmaid’s tale presents a series of gaps that must be bridged. some of these gaps are recognized by offred, and others only by the reader. the first gap, and the most obvious, is structural: offred‟s narrative unfolds in a series of fragments, with a number of interruptions, so that it is up to the reader to make sense of offred‟s story. another is located in offred‟s memories of her past life, from “the time before,” in which she compares her experiences from before the rise of gilead to her current existence. an additional source of fragmentation, which becomes increasingly apparent due to plot revelations towards the end of the story, and is fully revealed by the epilogue, is the distance between the offred who is telling the story and the offred who experiences the events being narrated. the last gap is the space between “the handmaid‟s tale” itself and the “historical notes” that conclude the novel. it falls upon the reader to fill in these empty spaces. these gaps make the novel a postmodern text, and enforce the fact that, as offred admits outright, “[t]his is a reconstruction. all of it is a reconstruction” (134). offred learns that since everything is a reconstruction, she can attempt to construct herself in a certain way, and even construct her reader. atwood “extends the theory of constructionism beyond the writer-speaker, applying it directly to readers as well” as david hogsette has observed: “readers must also learn how to construct themselves in a particular way so as to understand the writer-speaker‟s self-construction. because all identities as constructions, readers, when attempting to join offred‟s audience, must engage in the very same act of self-construction as she does” (11). with multiple acts of construction piling on top of one another, readers looking for an ethical message, namely one that can be determined as “feminist,” may be hardpressed to find a stable place from which to launch a critique of the subjugating acts of construction that make offred‟s tale so affecting. feminist critics reading the handmaid’s tale have typically concentrated on two of its particular gaps: first, by scrutinizing offred‟s memories of her past for external historical clues; and second, by reading the “historical notes” at the end as satirically misogynistic. atwood herself has famously refused to label herself as a “feminist,” or even to call the handmaid’s tale a “‟feminist dystopia‟” — although she qualifies this statement by explaining that it can be considered feminist “insofar as giving a woman a voice and an inner life will always be considered „feminist‟ by those who think women ought not to have such things” (“in context” 516). yet it is obvious to inclined readers that she is dealing with topics of specific interests to feminists, and many critics have placed offred at specific points in the history of feminism, revealed by her memories of her mother and of conversations she had in college with moira. shirley neuman has recently attempted to position offred on a specific historical timeline, claiming that offred “is a fictional product of 1970s feminism, and she finds herself in a situation that is a fictional realization of the backlash against women‟s rights that gathered force during the early 1980s” (858). neuman‟s overtly feminist reading of the book emphasizes how offred‟s memories of the “time before” often contain criticism of her actions, particularly her tendency to ignore the news and how much she took for granted. for neuman, whatever “implicit women‟s utopia” there is to be found in the handmaid’s tale must exist “outside the novel” (866) — namely, in the consciousness-raising and attention-paying message we as readers take from it. neuman does an admirable job of situating the novel within the feminist conversation of its time period, but in her efforts to extract a specific feminist message from it she largely ignores the extent to which it also engages in ideas of postmodernism. in order for a feminist reading of the text to be viable, it must address its postmodern qualities as well. the gap between offred‟s narrative and the “historical notes” that conclude the text is the place from which critics have most often launched a feminist reading of the handmaid’s tale. the “historical notes,” indicated by their introductory material to be “a partial transcript of the proceedings of the twelfth symposium on gileadean studies,” are delivered by keynote speaker professor james darcy piexoto, whose talk in the year 2195 deals primarily with “problems of authenticity in reference” to the narrative (299, 300). in his talk, piexoto makes a number of dim sexist remarks, and generally disregards the grave injustices of offred‟s story. interested only in the historical facts offred‟s narrative can provide about the regime of gilead, piexoto‟s talk shocks and disorients the reader who encounters it after having spent nearly 300 affecting pages with offred and her narrative. notably, piexoto repeats the regime‟s fascination with the power of technology, and, as dominick grace notes, “[h]is desire for twenty pages of printout from waterford‟s computer is unsettlingly reminiscent of the commander‟s blithe assertion of the power of statistics over human experience” (489). grace‟s close reading of the “notes” demonstrates their unreliability, and shows that readers of the novel need to take them as yet another call for closer analysis; we cannot take piexoto‟s contextualizations and explanations at face value, for he too is in possession of biases and he too misreads the narrative. specifically, readers should be suspicious of piexoto‟s “editorial aside,” where he says: allow me to say that in my opinion we must be cautious about passing moral judgment upon the gileadeans. surely we have learned by now that such judgments are of necessity culture-specific. also, gileadean society was under a good deal of pressure, demographic and otherwise, and was subject to factors from which we ourselves are happily more free. our job is not to censure but to understand. (302) in addition to acting as atwood‟s none-too-subtle roast of certain corners of northamerican academia, piexoto‟s desire to avoid judgment forces us to face again the dilemma of how and in what way we can in fact “censure” and “pass moral judgment” on the gileadean regime. do not the horrors perpetrated by gilead call for a moral response? iv. postmodernism, feminism, and senses of the self as i have shown, feminist critics overlooking the postmodern aspects of the text and its refusal to revert to a moral often fail to sufficiently account for its metafictional literary richness. however, two critics who navigate the novel‟s relationship to postmodern and feminism admirably are magali cornier michael, in her chapter on atwood from feminism and the postmodern impulse, and fiona tolan in margaret atwood: feminism and fiction. both of these readings of the handmaid’s tale dive directly into the theoretical thicket of postmodern feminism, and i want to take time to consider their readings before attempting my own. michael‟s chapter zeroes in on the “gap between official history and women‟s histories” in the novel, arguing that it “manages to offer traces of offred‟s storyhistory and her material existence, even though all the texts that make up the physical novel are ultimately male-centered” (137). the gaps in the novel thus become “possibilities for change that always exist” even in the most rigid systems (146). offred herself exists on the margins of the regime, and her oral narrative of her everyday life challenges the “official story” disseminated through the discourses of power. in michael‟s reading, the book‟s postmodern aspects are also the source of its feminist critique, in the ways it destabilizes the line between reality and fiction. therefore, it is important that offred‟s story is an oral narrative, for it does not therefore participate in the official discourse of the gileadean regime, and even though it is recognized by its own narrator as a “reconstruction” and therefore at least possibly fictional, it “follows a given set of lived events” (158) — hence offred‟s ability to wish that the story she is telling be different. michael‟s analysis of the relationship between the novel‟s “postmodern impulse” and its “feminist implications” is impressive in its clarity and succinctness: the novel‟s recognition that versions of events are necessarily mediated, and that fiction will contaminate any version of reality, demonstrates a postmodern impulse. but disrupting the conventional binary opposition between reality and fiction also has feminist implications, in that it allows women‟s orals stories to function as histories. although these stories necessarily involve fictionalization, they also maintain close ties to the material situation, as in the case of offred‟s tale. (159) this leads michael to her primary claim, “that atwood‟s novel accentuates its feminist agenda by emphasizing the gap that exists between women‟s lived material existence or histories and the official history” (167). michael‟s reading allows us to maintain that there is still something worth preserving about first-hand storytelling, even though it too may be reconstructed. ultimately, i believe, michael‟s reading rest upon a shaky foundation, in that it requires that the reader take a particular interest in reading offred‟s story as an “oral story under erasure” that is “both present and absent and as a result disrupts” any distinction between these terms (167). thus the “feminist implications” in the book are not actually located anywhere, so there is truly no place besides the reader‟s own construction of this absence from which to situate a critique of the specific discourses of power used by the gileadean regime. fiona tolan attempts to find such a place by specifically reading the handmaid’s tale within the conversations about feminism and postmodernity that were taking place as atwood was writing, arguing that “atwood moves against the growing postmodern trend within 1980s feminism” (144). specifically, tolan analyzes how the novel engages “the changing concerns and evolving vocabulary of an increasingly theorized feminism” (145). for tolan, offred‟s mother represents second-wave feminism and its concern with activism, while moira is aligned with third-wave feminism through her interest in writing papers on date rape and holding underwear parties. atwood‟s novel, according to tolan, “exposes something of the limiting and prescriptive nature of the utopianism that that had underpinned much of the feminism of the early second wave” (145). comparing it to the postmodern distrust of utopia evident in postmodernism (specifically citing lyotard), tolan posits that the handmaid’s tale “can be more accurately categorized as a critical dystopia” (156). but for it to be critical, it must have a place from which to critique; if it is true that “context is all,” as offred states (144), then everything is a construction, even her very self. as tolan recognizes, the handmaid’s tale is a book in which the “liberal idea of the autonomous self is seriously undermined” (164), but also one that “[e]xposes the dangerously illiberal aspect of this postmodern construct” (166). following seyla benhabib‟s critique of postmodernism from situating the self, tolan argues that the handmaid’s tale shows us the troubling fact that “if there is no way to know your society, except though your society, the individual is left defenceless against any concerted effort to manipulate their reality” (166). indeed, for offred, “her survival depends on her belief in a reality external to her culture; not an alternative culture … a permanent embodiment of immutable values that cannot be eradicated by a cultural consensus—blind justice” (168). this is certainly a belief worth hanging onto for offred, which is why she continuously engages in acts of reconstruction as she attempts to test her belief in an external reality against the dominating constructs that cause her to suffer under the gileadean regime. fiona tolan‟s use of seyla benhabib‟s examination of postmodernism is helpful for understanding atwood‟s critique of the shortcomings of utopia, but i believe other aspects of benhabib‟s approach are even more useful for analyzing the handmaid’s tale. atwood‟s application of postmodern ideas about the instability of the subject are similar to what benhahib, in situating the self, calls the “weak version” of the postmodern notion of the “death of man” (213). the handmaid’s tale reveals the strong version of this thesis to be unviable not only for a feminist reading of the book, but for any attempt to propose a reading of offred‟s tale any different from the infuriatingly indeterminate refusal to judge represented by piexoto in the “historical notes.” benhabib rightly notes that the “strong version of the death of the subject thesis,” which discards any “concepts of intentionality, accountability, self-reflexivity and autonomy” is ultimately “not compatible with the goals of feminism” (214). recognizing that a feminist ethics needs to generate a modified version of the postmodern self, benhabib instead argues for a understanding of the self that takes “account of the radical situatedness of the subject,” but still allows us to “argue that we are not merely extensions of our histories, that vis-à-vis our own stories we are in the position of author and character at once” (214). this idea, in which the subject is constructed, like a character, by forces external to her, but is also able to reconstruct her own story, as an author, is remarkably similar to offred‟s position in the handmaid’s tale¸ where the dilemma of postmodern feminism is exaggerated on account of the novel‟s setting in a dystopian society. benhabib refined this specific aspect of her argument in a 1999 article in signs, emphasizing the role narrative plays in selfconstruction. even if a self is not necessarily always stable across time, she argues, the self still attempts to make sense of its surroundings by telling stories about them. at stake in benhabib‟s new problem for the self is “whether it is possible to be a self at all without some ability to continue to generate meaningful and viable narratives over time” (347). this is the very same problem faced by offred in the handmaid’s tale, as she continually returns to her memories of the “time before” in an attempt not only to make sense of what is happening around her, but as a way to resist the discourses of power that continually attempt to define her according to what she offers gilead: a fertile womb. even within the contexts and constructs that envelope her life in gilead, offred is able to make sense of her self. her realization that this is possible comes at an unlikely moment: when she is looking at a dishtowel. after returning from shopping, offred watches the household‟s cook dry her hands and makes a startling observation: the dishtowel is white with blue stripes. dishtowels are the same as they always were. sometimes these flashes of normality come at me from the side, like ambushes. the ordinary, the usual, a reminder, like a kick. i see a dishtowel, out of context, and i catch my breath. for some, in some ways, things haven‟t changed that much. (48). in this passage, offred is able to make sense of how her self is situated by realizing that, even though she now lives in a completely different world, she still, in gilead, relates to aspects of it identically to the way she did in the past. something here is stable, in this case not only a dishtowel, but also offred‟s ability to recognize what hasn‟t changed and reflect on this fact. her identity may not be always the same across time, and her sense of self is certainly constructed by the discourses that dominate her everyday life, yet she maintains a sense of self based primarily upon her desire to make sense of what she sees in the midst of that everyday life. as benhabib argues, “hard as we try, we cannot „stop making sense,‟ … we will try to make sense” (signs 347), primarily by forming narratives about our experiences and constructing meanings even where none are readily apparent—even when we are surrounded by messages that encourages us not to make sense and to instead accept the definitions imposed upon us. atwood‟s novel exaggerates the ability of external forces to construct one particular female‟s sense of self, but also celebrates her acts of meaning-making: to consider how her self is situated, and then reconstruct her sense of self based on the situation. what self offred has is based upon her ability to make sense, and even her “reconstructions,” though distant from the events themselves and radically situated, still arise from her desire and ability to make meaning. she desires to make sense so much so that she continues to tell herself stories, and constructs a reader to which to tell those stories even when they are not stories that she necessarily wants to tell. the result is a narrative that illustrates the importance of the possibility that—even in a society that attempts to define women entirely in line with its ideas of their usefulness and reduce them to nothing more than a natural resources—there is something sufficiently stable about the human self, for it will continue to make meanings even when it seems impossible. works cited atwood, margaret. the handmaid’s tale. boston: houghton mifflin, 1986. print. — . “the handmaid’s tale and oryx and crake in context.” pmla 119.3 (2004): 513-517. web. balsamo, anne. technologies of the gendered body: reading cyborg women. durham, nc: duke up, 1996. print. benhabib, seyla. situating the self: gender, community and postmodernism in contemporary ethics. new york: routledge, 1992. print. —. “sexual difference and collective identities: the new global constellation.” signs 24.2 (1999): 335-361. web. grace, domenick m. “the handmaid’s tale: “historical notes” and documentary subversion.” science fiction studies 25.3 (1998): 481-494. print. hammer, stephanie barbé. “the world as it will be? female satire and the technology of power in the handmaid’s tale.” modern language studies 20.2 (1990): 39-49. web. hogsette, david s. “margaret atwood‟s rhetorical epilogue in the handmaid’s tale: the reader‟s role in empowering offred‟s speech act.” critique 38.4 (summer 1997): 262-278. print. howells, coral ann. margaret atwood. new york: st. martins, 1995. print. jardine, alice a. gynesis: configurations of woman and modernity. ithaca, ny: cornell university press, 1985. print. katz-roy, ginette. “sexual politics and textual strategies in margaret atwood‟s the handmaid’s tale.” history, politics, identity: reading literature in a changing world. eds. marija knežević and aleksandra nikčevićbatrićević. newcastle, uk: cambridge scholars publishing, 2008. print. michael, magali cornier. feminism and the postmodern impulse. albany, ny: suny press, 1996. print. myrsiades, linda. “law, medicine, and the sex slave in margaret atwood‟s the handmaid’s tale.” un-disciplining literature: literature, law, and culture. eds. kostas myrsiades and linda myrsiades. new york, peter lang, 1999. 219-245. print. neuman, shirley. “‟just a backlash‟: margaret atwood, feminism, and the handmaid’s tale.” university of toronto quarterly 75.3 (2006): 857-868. web. stein, karen f. margaret atwood revisited. new york: twayne publishers, 1999. print. tolan, fiona. margaret atwood: feminism and fiction. new york: rodopi, 2007. print. microsoft word essay 5 shay .docx   [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] a statesman divided?: abraham lincoln’s views on race ryan shay political science introduction few presidents rival the reverential awe and profound mystique of abraham lincoln. the tenure of america’s sixteenth president involved the preservation of its fractured union during the civil war, the enactment of the historic emancipation proclamation, and the codified cure for slavery through the passage of the thirteenth amendment. lincoln laid the foundation for these accomplishments in his statesmanship objectives and efforts to shape public sentiment through his conception of race in antebellum illinois. lincoln’s racial views necessitate comprehensive examination yet often befuddle 21st century analysis, prompting the quandary: how does one make sense of lincoln’s views on race? some mythologize lincoln as a political and racial savior, a symbol of redemptively pure racial equality views in an otherwise stained chapter of american history. others examine lincoln’s remarks through a 21st century lens, contrasting his views with contemporary sentiments and consequently brand the great emancipator as racist. these two limited approaches yield little beneficial analysis as the “imprecise umbrella” of racism’s verbiage denotes nuance-less conclusions that unhelpfully divide this american statesman’s views into unproductive dichotomies.1 consequently, an alternative approach is necessary. instead of pursuing premises of lincoln’s racial conceptions as either redemptive or bigoted, historical research is better suited to analyze lincoln’s views on race in conjunction with his goals as a statesman. consequently, it is the contention of this paper that abraham lincoln’s views on race are expressed in three major conceptions: whereupon slavery violates the foundation of free institutions, all men are created equal, and natural rights are distinguished from civil rights. these conceptions are fundamentally tethered and externally consistent with his objectives as statesman. lincoln masterfully crafted his remarks to                                                                                                                 1 george m. fredrickson, big enough to be inconsistent: abraham lincoln confronts slavery and race (cambridge: harvard university press, 2008), 41.   influence public sentiment towards his statesmanship objectives: defending the negro’s natural rights, the negro’s inclusion within the declaration’s standard maxim and arresting slavery’s spread in the territories. consequently, abraham lincoln’s conceptions of race are analyzed within the fruitful context of his aforementioned statesmanship objectives. what is the nature of a statesman? a thorough evaluation of the nature of the statesman is central to an accurate understanding of lincoln’s perspectives on race. this understanding is cultivated through a utilization of harry jaffa’s conceptions of the statesman’s nature and role in shaping public sentiment. lincoln acknowledged the power of public sentiment in his first debate with stephen douglas asserting “with public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed” but most importantly “he who moulds public sentiment, goes deeper than he who enacts statues or pronounces decisions.”2 the task of a statesman is to “know what is good or right . . . how much of that good is attainable” and to influence public sentiment to facilitate the act of securing “that much good but not abandon the attainable good” by “grasping for more.”3 simply put, the statesman understands the nature of the right, appreciates the extent of its potential implementation and influences public sentiment to execute the possible good without making it an enemy of perfection. as a result, statesmanship often precipitates a tension between the comprehensive expression of one’s personal feelings or views and furthering one’s objectives. lincoln’s letter to his closest friend, joshua speed, astutely illustrated this tension. lincoln confessed to speed that despite his hatred of seeing negroes “hunted down and caught, and carried back to their stripes and unrewarded toils . . . i bite my lip and keep quiet.”4 lincoln implicitly identified himself while imploring his slaveowning friend to “appreciate how much the great body of northern people do crucify their feelings, in order to maintain their loyalty to the constitution and the union.”5 a statesman is not a self-interested politician bent on the immediate and comprehensive proliferation of their personal feelings or views. rather,                                                                                                                 2 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates of 1858, ed. robert w. johannsen (new york: oxford university press, 2008), 64-65. 3 harry v. jaffa, crisis of the house divided: an interpretation of the issues in the lincolndouglas debates (chicago: university of chicago press, 1973), 371. 4 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, ed. henry louis gates, jr. (princeton: princeton university press, 2009), 79. 5 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, ed. henry louis gates, jr. (princeton: princeton university press, 2009), 79.   statesmanship requires wisdom and sacrifice in molding and furthering long-term and noble objectives. for the sake of specificity, four explicit statesmanship criteria serve as the foundation of this paper’s analysis.6 first, the statesman is judged as to the merit and worthiness of his objectives. lincoln’s objectives in defending the negro’s natural rights and abstract equality within the declaration’s standard maxim, and arresting slavery’s spread in the territories demonstrate the worthiness of his goals. second, a statesman is assessed by how wisely he judges what is and what is not within his power. lincoln appreciated his legal inability to eliminate slavery altogether and instead addressed slavery within the context of its spread into the territories. by doing so, lincoln gained a platform that enabled him to sway public sentiment towards a moral repudiation of slavery and a re-adoption of america’s standard maxim: the equality of man. third, a statesman is judged on the means adopted to produce results.7 lincoln employed his debates with stephen a. douglas and his own speeches to influence public sentiment towards securing his objectives and achieving results. fourth, a statesman is evaluated on whether or not his actions or statements hinder the perfect attainment of his goals by himself or others if conditions in the future improve.8 through linguistic precision, equivocation, and clever parsing, lincoln masterfully constructed his public statements with a keen eye set towards the future possibility of perfect attainment of his objectives, unhindered by past remarks and actions.9 these characteristics serve as an appendix for the nature of a statesman and their reference through the subsequent sections facilitates this paper’s objectives. 1. slavery violates the foundation of free institutions by the middle of the 19th century, the issue of slavery’s expansion completely engulfed the national discourse as america’s most heated, controversial and divisive political issue. the repeal of the missouri compromise and the enactment of the kansas-nebraska act in 1854 repudiated delicate attempts to balance slave and free power and caused a subsequent invasion of slavery’s opponents and defenders into the territories. these territories became proxy battlegrounds of electoral skirmishes against the background of increasing sectional strife. lincoln’s conceptions of race cannot be unfettered from his moral and practical commitments on the issue of slavery. consequently, lincoln’s opposition to the                                                                                                                 6 jaffa, crisis, 370.   7 ibid., 370. 8 ibid. 9 ibid.     spread of slavery is examined on three levels: addressing slavery philosophically, examining slavery practically and most importantly, evaluating lincoln’s conception of the negro in relationship to slavery. first, lincoln utilized speeches and his debates with douglas to denounce slavery philosophically within the expansion question, calling the “declared indifference” relating to its spread a “convert zeal of the spread of slavery” he “cannot but hate.”10 lincoln’s distress over slavery’s expansion stemmed philosophically from his abhorrence of the “monstrous injustice of slavery itself.”11 in his fifth joint debate with stephen douglas, lincoln described himself as someone who “contemplate[s] slavery as a moral, social and political evil.”12 during his famous “house divided” speech in chicago, illinois, lincoln boldly professed that he had “always hated slavery… as much as any abolitionist.”13 in a private letter to joshua speed, lincoln described seeing “ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons” as a “continual torment to me.”14 however, lincoln’s consistent denunciation of slavery’s inherent and philosophical wrongness maintained a complicated relationship with his practical objectives. second, lincoln examined slavery’s practical existence through a decidedly less robust set of prescriptions than his philosophical rhetoric implies. instead of translating his philosophical abhorrence of slavery into composite practical objectives, lincoln called slavery a “moral, social and political evil” while simultaneously stating that he had “no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution in the states where it exists.”15 in this way, lincoln the statesman favored a reverence and deference to existing law over illegal and irrespective abolitionism. lincoln first espoused his reverence for law as central to his statesmanship character twenty years prior while speaking at the young men’s lyceum in springfield, illinois. lincoln warned that if laws are “continually despised and disregarded” and the rights of “persons and property, are held by no better tenure than the caprice of a mob” then the “alienation of their affection from the government is the natural consequence.”16 since america is founded on the consent of the governed, held together by the peoples’ affection for their government and guided by their public sentiments, disregarding law ultimately undermines the entire project. to “fortify against” this eventuality, lincoln                                                                                                                 10 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 50. 11 ibid. 12 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 226. 13 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 112. 14 ibid. 79. 15 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 249 16 abraham lincoln, abraham lincoln: a documentary portrait through his speeches and writings, ed. don e. fehrenbacher (stanford: stanford university press, 177), 39.   beseeched his fellow citizens to adopt a “political religion” that entailed a “reverence for the constitution and laws,” where one “swear[s] by the blood of the revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.”17 lincoln appropriated this political religion into the foundation of his statesmanship disposition, necessitating his commitment that he had “no lawful right” to interfere with slavery despite his philosophical/moral opposition.18 in this way, lincoln’s reverence for law, as foundational to the american experiment in self-government, tempered his philosophical objections to slavery. instead, lincoln espoused a series of noninterference commitments, where he “pledged to do nothing” about the interstate slave trade and remained opposed to an “unconditional repeal of the fugitive slave law” as the “southern states are entitled to a congressional fugitive slave law.”19 simply put, lincoln’s reverential fidelity to law necessitated moral restraint in the application of his philosophical views vis-à-vis slavery’s legal presence through his subsequent affirmation of its necessary legal protections. despite his deference to the rule of law where slavery already existed, lincoln opposed slavery’s spread with unqualified vigor. appropriating a moral reprimand of slavery’s extension, lincoln unabashedly declared that he “shall oppose it as an evil so far as it seeks to spread itself” and will “insist on the policy that shall restrict it to its present limits.”20 lincoln saw the repeal of the missouri compromise as wrong practically, “in its direct effect [of] letting slavery into kansas and nebraska,” and philosophically, “allowing it to spread to every other part of the wide world, where men can be found inclined to take it.”21 to lincoln, the repeal of the missouri compromise, the passage of the kansas-nebraska act and the dred scott verdict set america on a course towards the “perpetuity and nationalization of slavery” that violated the foundation of free institutions by insisting there is “no right principle of action but self-interest.”22 further, lincoln framed slavery’s spread as a rebuke of legal trajectories set in place by america’s founders who put “the seal of legislation against [slavery’s] spread.”23 lincoln described the “seal of legislation” instituted by the founders as their restriction of slavery from “new territories where it had not gone” and the “abrogation of the slave trade.”24 recapturing the founder’s “seal of legislation,” lincoln asserted                                                                                                                 17 abraham lincoln, documentary portrait, 39. 18 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 52. 19 ibid., 78. 20 ibid., 255. 21 ibid., 50. 22 ibid., 51. 23 ibid., 55. 24 ibid., 54.       that by arresting its spread, slavery would then be placed “where washington, and jefferson, and madison placed it, it would be in the course of ultimate extinction.”25 in this way, lincoln the statesman carefully balanced a deference to law that protected slavery where it existed while opposing its proliferation into the territories as a violation of america’s free institutions that “enable[d] the enemies of free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us as hypocrites.”26 by prudently molding public sentiment to adopt a moral objection to slavery’s spread, lincoln sought to reinstitute the founders’ legal trajectories as facilitating slavery’s eventual extinction. third, the subjugation of the negro, dehumanized and objectified through the “monstrous injustice of slavery” emboldened lincoln’s abhorrence of the institution both philosophically and practically.27 lincoln’s conception of the negro’s dehumanization vis-à-vis the institution of slavery demonstrated his careful yet intentional attempts to influence public sentiment towards sentiments consistent with the founders’ principles. while speaking in peoria, illinois, lincoln argued that in the current legal context, “equal justice to the south” required him to not object “to you taking your slave” to nebraska in the same way the southerner is not to “object to my taking my hog to nebraska.”28 lincoln conceived this “equal justice” as “perfectly logical” if there “is no difference between hogs and negroes.”29 however, lincoln implicitly admonished this argument’s invalidity by underscoring the presence of negro emancipation and the ever-present reality of the negro’s humanity. lincoln framed the intermittent reality of negro emancipation by certain slave owners as a fundamental rebuke of the logical consistency of their equivalency with the hog. challenging this logic, lincoln noted, “we do not see free horses or free cattle running at large,” yet there are negroes who are free but were “descendants of slaves, or have been slave themselves.”30 lincoln argued there is “something” that detained cattle and yet freed some negroes who “would be slaves now.”31 that “something” indicated recognition of the negro’s humanity, inducing white owners “at vast pecuniary sacrifices, to liberate them.”32 to lincoln, the slave owner’s subtle recognition of the negro’s humanity is fueled by a “sense of justice and human sympathy” or a conviction that the “poor negro has                                                                                                                 25 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 54. 26 ibid. 27 ibid., 50. 28 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 60. 29 ibid. 30 ibid., 61. 31 ibid. 32 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 60.   some right to himself” and the subsequent emancipation invalidated their equivalency with the hog.33 further, lincoln injected the negro into his discourse on self-government and centered his prospective humanity as tethered to the foundational query “whether a negro is not or is a man.”34 if the negro is not a man, lincoln posited that under self-government, it is acceptable for others to do “just as [they] please with him [the negro].”35 however, if the negro is a man, lincoln argued it is a “total destruction of self-government, to say that he too shall not govern himself.”36 for if indeed the negro is a man, then “my ancient faith teaches me that ‘all men are created equal’” and “there can be no moral right in connection with one man’s making a slave of another.”37 lincoln argued that if a man “governs himself” it is self-government, but if “he governs another man” without his consent, that is “more than self-government—that is despotism.”38 consequently, the negro’s humanity, expressed by the sympathy-propelled emancipation of some and the wrongful despotism of many demonstrated slavery’s violation of self-government as a free institution. given the negro’s humanity, lincoln forcefully argued that slavery “undermin[ed] the principles of progress, and fatally violat[ed] the noblest political system the world ever saw.”39 further, lincoln recognized that the legitimized spread of slavery depended on denying the negro’s humanity and silencing discourse on slavery’s morality/immorality.40 accordingly, the statesman sought to mold public sentiment towards the conclusion that the negro’s humanity rendered self-government morally substandard as long as slavery governed the negro without his consent. consequently, lincoln’s sentiments struck at the heart of the slavery expansionist argument by advocating the recognition of the negro’s humanity and opposition to the immorality of slavery. in this way, lincoln’s conceptions of race played an active role in furthering his statesmanship objectives. by influencing public sentiment to restrict slavery’s spread on moral grounds, maintain fidelity to the rule of law/constitution and regard the negro as equally a man, the statesman aimed at constructing a political and legal environment that placed slavery on “the course of ultimate extinction.”41 once extinct, slavery no longer governs negroes                                                                                                                 33 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 60. 34 ibid., 62. 35 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 62. 36 ibid. 37 ibid. 38 ibid. 39 abraham lincoln, documentary portrait, 77. 40 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 305. 41 ibid., 311.   without their consent and subsequently ceases to violate the foundation of america’s free institutions. 2. all men are created equal the “ancient faith” lincoln credited for teaching him “all men are created equal” is most notably expressed in a revolutionary document written nearly eighty-one years prior, the declaration of independence. to lincoln, the “central idea” of america’s political public opinion centered on the maxim “all men are created equal” and “are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”42 he consistently argued that until the dred scott decision three years prior, the accepted public sentiment centered upon the belief that the founders “intended to include all men” within this central idea but the aforementioned ruling categorically refuted both the negro’s humanity and any prospect of civic inclusion.43 while refuting the dred scott decision and defending america’s standard maxim, lincoln utilized three denotations of equality in his careful navigation of the turbulent waters of the intersection of race and equality. these three denotations illustrate equality as an identity of abstract relations (abstract equality), identity of innate ability and identity of status.44 lincoln’s conceptions of race are intermixed within these differentiations and tethered to his objectives as a statesman. first, lincoln described the maxim “all men are created equal” in the declaration of independence as signifying man’s equality with one another in “abstract relations” or abstract equality.45 lincoln underscored the founders’ intention to not “declare all men equal in all respects” or to state that all men are “equal in color, size, intellect, moral developments, or social capacity.”46 instead, the founders instituted a “tolerable distinctness” regarding the extent of the standard maxim.47 however, lincoln made no distinction of equality within abstract relations, as all men are equal in their right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” stephen douglas vehemently rejected lincoln’s conclusion and aggravated racial prejudices by asserting that anyone who included negroes with the declaration’s maxim did so because they “want[ed] to vote, and eat, and sleep, and marry negroes.”48 to lincoln, douglas’s charge vexed “a natural disgust in                                                                                                                 42 abraham lincoln, documentary portrait, 87. 43 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 96. 44 richard striner, lincoln and race (carbondale: southern illinois university press, 2012), 19. 45 ibid. 46 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 96. 47 ibid. 48 ibid., 96.   the minds of nearly all white people” to the “idea of an indiscriminate amalgamation of the white and black races.”49 conversely, lincoln boldly rejected douglas’s charge as “counterfeit logic,” which stated “because i do not want a black woman for a slave i must necessarily want her for a wife.”50 instead, lincoln conceptualized the negro woman as “in some respects she certainly is not my equal; but in her natural right to eat the bread she earns with her own hands without asking leave of anyone else, she is my equal, and the equal of all others.”51 framing the imagery of earning and eating bread within the context of abstract relations/equality, lincoln actualized the declaration’s equality of rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” by appropriating them to the negro subject. as one of the most basic of human activities, lincoln used this image to apply a rudimentary equivalence between the white and black races, and even the sexes. the negro’s tangible right to earn and eat bread disarmed the controversial verbiage of equality by illustrating an anecdote that instead cultivated white man’s sympathies vis-à-vis the negro’s humanity and right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” lincoln the statesman consistently used this carefully crafted anecdote to urge public sentiment to apply the sympathies of their heart to a philosophical commitment in their minds by espousing “there is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the rights enumerated in the declaration of independence.”52 equality in abstract relations or “abstract equality” also formed the foundation for lincoln’s conceptions of “natural rights” and is a site of further discussion later in this paper. while ceding the negro as not his equal “in some respects,” lincoln used this denotation to argue that abstract equality, the most foundational identity of equality, must be equally appropriated to white and black races alike.53 in defending america’s standard maxim as inclusive of negroes, lincoln employed the denotation of equality in abstract relations to urge public sentiment to fully appropriate the rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” to the negro. second, lincoln charged that the maxim “all men are created equal” does not necessarily extend to equality of innate abilities, as the founders utilized a “tolerable distinctness” by not intending “to declare all men equal in all respects.”54 compared to his conceptions of equality in abstract relations, lincoln’s views regarding the intersection of race and equality of innate abilities are decidedly more nuanced and complicated. echoing the language of the declaration                                                                                                                 49 ibid., 95. 50 ibid., 96.     51 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 96. 52 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 249. 53 ibid. 54 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 96.   of not including “all men equal in all respects,” lincoln argued in his speech in springfield that the black woman “in some respects […] is not my equal.”55 through precisely noncommittal language, lincoln’s conception of the negro’s inequality entails no elaboration, clarification, or specificity as to the nature of the inequality. he refused to accredit her inequality to innate abilities, color or intellectual deficiencies and instead chose to express his conceptions of inequality through evasive language. lincoln’s audience, antebellum illinois voters, typically attributed the negro’s inequality to the innate abilities of an inferior race. by not elaborating on the nature of the “some respects,” lincoln intentionally constructed his contributions to avoid aggravating the sentiments of his audience while simultaneously refusing to abdicate the negro’s inequality as an identity of innate abilities. lincoln’s refusal to overtly abdicate inequality to innate abilities is further argued and concurrently clarified in his sixth joint debate with douglas. in springfield, illinois on june 26th, 1857, lincoln stated that “in some respects [the negro woman] is not my equal” whereas on october 13th, 1858 in quincy, lincoln remarked that the negro is “not my equal in many respects, certainly not in color— perhaps not in intellectual and moral endowments.”56 the additional clarification of “color” as a characteristic of the negro’s inequality indicated the effectives of douglas’s charges of racial amalgamation. this addition highlighted the implicit dynamic where lincoln recognized that because of prejudiced sentiments and douglas’s charges, he had to carefully attribute “color” as indicative of the negro’s inequality in order to not disqualify himself as a racial amalgamator in the eyes of illinois voters.57 however, the use of “color” significantly differs from the frequent conception of the negro’s inequality as attributable to “race”; a common sentiment that held the negro race as inferior and “incompatible with self-government.”58 in this way, lincoln’s precise sentiments regarding the negro as “certainly not” his equal in color demonstrated a clever linguistic sidestep. while seeming to tacitly sanction racial inequities, lincoln actually attributed inequality to color, pigmentation and skin tone instead of intrinsic racial inferiority.59 consequently, lincoln the statesman appropriated intentionally precise language to avoid irritating prejudiced public sentiment, reject racial inequality and inferiority as an innate ability and instead illustrate the obvious inequity of pigmentation and skin tone.                                                                                                                 55 ibid. 56 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 249. 57 george fredrickson, big enough to be inconsistent: abraham lincoln confronts slavery and race, 62. 58 stephen douglas, lincoln-douglas debates, 196. 59 jaffa, crisis, 384.       in addition to ceding inequality to conceptions of color, lincoln appropriated noncommittal language regarding equality vis-à-vis other innate differences: intellectual and moral endowments. lincoln described the negro as “certainly” not his equal in color and “perhaps not in intellectual and moral endowments.”60 the intentional use of “perhaps” highlighted lincoln’s linguist choices to use evasive and noncommittal language to avoid characterizing the negro as inherently unequal in “intellectual and moral endowments.”61 by doing so, lincoln consistently refused to conceptualize the negro as irrecoverably and fundamentally his inferior in race, intellectual ability and moral abilities. however, this refusal to abdicate inequality to innate abilities stands in stark contrast to the views of other influential politicians. republican congressman owen lovejoy, a frequent figure in the abolition movement boldly proclaimed, “i know very well that the african race, as a race, is not equal to ours.”62 republican senator henry wilson also did not “believe in the equality of the african race, mentally or physically.”63 in addition, stephen douglas, a democrat, boldly proclaimed that because he is so inferior in intellect and morality “the negro is incompatible with self-government.”64 through substantive comparison to the unequivocal statements of lovejoy, wilson, and douglas, the intentionality of lincoln’s noncommittal language is clearly evident. while douglas et. al unambiguously described the negro as intellectually and morally inferior and unequal to whites, lincoln’s precise contributions illustrated his refusal to overtly regard the negro as inferior. this intentional linguist choice highlighted the difference in his statesmanship objectives in contrast to the demagoguery of his political counterparts. while the statements of lovejoy, wilson and douglas aim at satisfying prejudiced public sentiments, lincoln’s noncommittal language implicitly indicated the possibility of the irrationality of prejudice while furthering his statesmanship objectives. lincoln the linguist strategist realized that if inequality is tethered to inferiority, his objectives to defend the negro’s natural rights are at risk, their inclusion within the standard maxim difficult and the spread of slavery legitimized. by refusing to overtly intertwine inequality of innate abilities with racial inferiority, lincoln prudentially emphasized the negro’s humanity and equality as central in his objective to arrest the spread of slavery and aid its ultimate extinction. third, complimentary to his conceptualizations of equality as a denotation of innate abilities, lincoln also utilized the description of equality as status to avoid irritating or aggravating prejudiced public sentiments while simultaneously urging                                                                                                                 60 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 249. 61 ibid. 62 richard striner, lincoln and race, 19. 63 ibid. 64 stephen douglas, lincoln-douglas debates, 196.     it towards conceptions that furthered his statesmanship objectives. not unlike a ruler, identity of status refers to the measured present extent of equality’s reach.65 lincoln utilized the identity of status to simply describe the present extent of abstract equality and relations while emphasizing that the founders did not assert the “obvious untruth, that all [men] were then actually enjoying that equality” nor were they “about to confer it immediately upon them.”66 douglas argued and the dred scott decision ruled against abstract relations and equality as inclusive of the negro because of the lack of demonstrable equality of status, stating that the founders “did not at once, actually place them on an equality with the whites.”67 however, lincoln argued that the standard maxim of “all men are created equal” reflects equality in abstract relations and the founders meant to “declare the right, so that the enforcement of it might follow as fast as circumstances should permit.”68 to lincoln, equality as an identity of status is emblematic of the enforcement and implementation of the founders’ standard maxim of “all men are created equal” in abstract relations. in fact, thomas jefferson acknowledged, after penning that standard maxim, that the “ground of liberty is to be gained by inches” and the conception of the identity of status served as a device to measure the extent of liberty and equality’s enforcement and expression.69 the conceptualization of equality as an identity of status is a useful philosophical tool and also served as a powerful linguistic and statesmanship instrument. during his speech in springfield, lincoln regarded the negro as “in some respects she is certainly not my equal.”70 in this way, lincoln employed equality as an identity of status to describe the negro’s inequality as not indicative of intrinsic inferiority but rather representational of the incomplete enforcement of the standard maxim. utilizing the conception of equality as an identity of status is a frequent and consistent strategy of lincoln’s while he carefully waded through the controversial issue of racial equality. by simply highlighting the inequality of the negro, lincoln “pa[id] lip service” to the common conceptions of white supremacy while actually making a simple observation about the incomplete enforcement of america’s standard maxim.71 the denotation of equality allowed lincoln to avoid aggravating the white supremacist sentiments of his audience while implicitly advocating the negro’s inclusion within abstract relations/equality. in this way, the                                                                                                                 65 richard striner, lincoln and race, 19. 66 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 97. 67 ibid. 68 ibid., 97. 69 richard striner, lincoln and race, 17. 70 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 96.     71 george fredrickson, big enough to be inconsistent: abraham lincoln confronts slavery and race, 41.   precision of lincoln’s language allowed him to implicitly rebuke present inequality of abstract relations/equality and favor the negro’s equality within the standard maxim. by advocating a full enforcement of the negro’s equality in abstract relations and equality, lincoln is able to defend the negro’s natural rights and argue against the immorality of slavery’s expansion. consequently, lincoln the statesman’s use of precise, intentional and noncommittal diction allowed him to simultaneously defend “all men are created equal” as inclusive of the negro and use the denotations of equality as particularly appropriated in the furtherance of his objectives. 3. distinction between natural and civil rights lincoln’s perspectives on race within the context of slavery and the standard maxim of equality serve as a foundation for his most important philosophical and political differentiation within the context of race: the distinction between natural and civil rights. while under fire from douglas for allegedly favoring an indiscriminate amalgamation of the white and black races, lincoln’s distinction between natural and civil rights serves as one of the richest areas to analyze his perspectives on race as tethered to his statesmanship objectives. in their first joint debate, the senator from illinois argued that lincoln’s opposition to both the dred scott decision and the kansas-nebraska act demonstrated that “mr. lincoln and the black republican party… are in favor of the citizenship of the negro.”72 throughout their second debate, douglas framed their senate race as a choice to either adopt or reject comprehensive racial equality, telling illinois voters, “those of you who believe that the negro is your equal and ought to be on an equality with you socially, politically and legally, have a right to entertain those opinions, and of course will vote for mr. lincoln.”73 simply put, the context where lincoln made his precise distinction is defined by intense racial demagoguery and invocations of white supremacy. carefully responding to charges of negro citizenship, political, and social equality, lincoln emphatically stated “i have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and black races” and “anything that argues me into his idea of perfect social and political equality with the negro, is but a specious and fantastic arrangement of words.”74 making a critical distinction, lincoln argued “there is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the declaration of independence, the right to life,                                                                                                                 72 stephen douglas, lincoln-douglas debates, 45. 73 ibid., 93. 74 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 52.   liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”75 in this way, lincoln distinguished between civil rights (citizenship, political and social equality) and natural rights (life, liberty and pursuit of happiness). first, lincoln distinguished natural rights as specifically enumerated within the declaration of independence. to lincoln, natural rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are entitled to negroes as well as whites.76 douglas vehemently disagreed, calling it a “monstrous heresy” to say that “[the] negro and the white man are made equal by the declaration of independence.”77 despite douglas’s fervent opposition and the racially prejudiced views in antebellum illinois, lincoln boldly defended the negro’s natural rights, arguing that he is “as much entitled to these as the white man.”78 lincoln’s sentiment on the racial equality of natural rights ran against “deep-seated white racism” in illinois that “clearly trumped the egalitarian principles of the declaration.”79 lincoln the statesman followed his defense of the negro’s natural rights with the qualification that the negro “is not my equal in many respects” but furthered his argument by analogizing the negro as “my equal and the equal of judge douglas, and the equal of every living man” in his “right to eat the bread, without the leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns.”80 in this way, lincoln’s conception of abstract equality is further expressed in the natural rights that the founders expressly enumerated in the declaration. to lincoln, the defense of america’s standard maxim (equality of man) also required a defense of natural rights. while denied under slavery, lincoln argued that on its most rudimentary level, the natural rights of “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” entitled the negro to the product of their labor without interference or molestation. however, lincoln’s contemporaries in philosophy, sociology and science rejected any notion that espoused the racial equality of natural rights. dr. samuel morton concluded in the 1840’s that the negro is the “inferior” of the white race after comparing “cranial capacities” of skulls.81 dr. josiah nott published his book, types of mankind, founded on polygenism (races are separate species) in 1854, the same year as the kansas-nebraska act.82 the predominant philosophy of the south found its influence in george fitzhugh’s book, sociology for the south, in its                                                                                                                 75 ibid., 52. 76 ibid., 53. 77 stephen douglas, lincoln-douglas debates, 215. 78 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 53. 79 george m. fredrickson, big enough to be inconsistent: abraham lincoln confronts slavery and race, 64. 80 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 53. 81 richard striner, lincoln and race, 10. 82 ibid.   argument that “some were born with saddles on their backs, and others booted and spurred to ride them, and the riding does them good.”83 lincoln the statesman emphatically rejected scientific racism as oppositional to the “abstract truth” within the declaration.84 in this way, lincoln conceptualized the negro’s humanity as undermining the scientific arguments that helped legitimize slavery and its expansion. consequently, he championed a defense of america’s standard maxim and enumerated natural rights as inclusive of the negro. in this way, lincoln understood the foundation of his statesmanship objectives as dependent on public sentiment’s acceptance of the negro’s natural rights. if public sentiment did not accept the negro’s natural rights, slavery was permissible, its extension into the territories logical, and its extinction impossible. consequently, lincoln the statesman carefully clothed the negro’s natural rights within america’s revered standard maxim that “all men are created equal” in order to shape public sentiment towards accepting and supporting the extension of the enumerated natural rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to the negro. simply put, the defense of the negro’s natural rights became the foundation of his statesmanship objectives as enabling him to favor the equality of man and actively oppose slavery’s spread. second, while authoritatively advocating the negro’s natural rights, lincoln carefully distinguished civil rights and political and social equality from natural rights. lincoln’s distinction is based on substance (natural rights vs. civil rights) but also on the applied rhetoric (unashamed fervor vs. cautious qualification). douglas charged, “mr. lincoln and the black republican party… [as] in favor of citizenship of the negro” while maintaining his own opposition to “negro citizenship in any and every form.”85 in ottawa, lincoln responded by saying “anything that argues me into his idea of perfect social and political equality with the negro, is but a specious and fantastic arrangement of words.”86 contrasted to his fervent support of the negro’s natural rights (“there is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the rights enumerated in the declaration of independence”) lincoln’s first rejoinder is decidedly less vigorous87. rejecting citizenship language, lincoln instead exaggerated douglas’s conception of his purportedly favored equality as by nature “perfect”. in addition, lincoln regarded the “physical difference” between the white and black races as “probably forever forbid[ding] their living together upon the footing of perfect equality.”88 lincoln                                                                                                                 83 ibid., 5. 84 abraham lincoln, documentary portrait, 121.     85 stephen douglas, lincoln-douglas debates, 45. 86 ibid., 52. 87 ibid., 249. 88 ibid., 52.   implicitly attributed the forbiddance of “perfect equality” to prejudice, not racial inferiority by refusing to ascribe to the imperative superiority of whites.89 in this way, lincoln regarded perfect equality as impossible and contrary to the founder’s disinclination to declare “all men equal in all respects.”90 in effect, lincoln reframed citizenship as “perfect” social and political equality as a qualifying rhetorical technique aimed at disarming racial backlash to his statesmanship objective through a hyperbolic conceptualization of equality. however, pressure mounted on lincoln to make more authoritative statements on civil rights and political and social equality as douglas’s charges of racial amalgamation resonated within an electorate that revolted at negro citizenship and despised racial egalitarianism.91 in charleston, illinois, lincoln gave his most outwardly forceful opposition to negro civil rights and social equality: i am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the equality of the white and black races—that i am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negros, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and i will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which i believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.92 compared to his statements in ottawa, the intentional removal of the term of “perfect” equality underscored lincoln’s implicit recognition of the effectiveness of douglas’s racial amalgamation charges. lincoln again tentatively equivocated on citizenship and instead addressed “social and political equality.” additionally, lincoln left negro citizenship overtly unaddressed and instead focused on specific aspects of citizenship and social relations. despite the cleverness of his intentional citizenship vs. citizen attributes demarcation, lincoln’s precise linguistic formulation of his lack of temporal opposition to social and political equality underscored the character of a statesman. the meticulously worded “i am not, nor ever have been” necessitated a lack of “favor” that extended only to the past and present. in doing so, lincoln the statesman left himself the option to favor these attributes of social and political equality in the future. in order to understand lincoln’s linguist precision and strategy accurately, it is important to remember                                                                                                                 89 ibid. 90 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 96. 91 george m. fredrickson, big enough to be inconsistent: abraham lincoln confronts slavery and race, 82. 92 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 162.   that his statesmanship objectives are not implicitly tethered to an overt defense of negro citizenship. instead, it is more profitable to conceptualize the concept of negro citizenship as a consequential question if lincoln’s first objectives (restricting slavery’s spread, favoring equality of man, negro’s natural rights) are settled issues within public sentiment. however, if and when those objectives are settled, negro citizenship must be addressed. lincoln recognized this reality by refusing to overtly restrict his lack of favoring social and political equality beyond the past and present. proper evaluation of the statesman is whether or not his actions of statements “hinder the perfect attainment” of his goals by himself and others if conditions improve in the future.93 in this way, lincoln implicitly left the door open in the future for him to favor social and political equality (i.e. negro voters, negro jurors, elected officials, and interracial marriage) without hindering similar perspectives in others. as a result, despite operating in a highly prejudiced context, lincoln’s linguist precision constructed noncommittal statements that simultaneously maintained the integrity of his statesmanship objectives while not restricting his favoring of greater equality in the future. while employing precise, noncommittal language regarding future political and social equality, lincoln the statesman also addressed its complexities by implicitly questioning the rationality of racial prejudices. during his debate in ottawa, lincoln cited the “physical difference” between the white and black races as what will “probably forever forbid their living together upon the footing of perfect equality.”94 while “physical difference” is intentionally ambiguous, its foundation can be attributed to the prejudices within the white population elsewhere in the debates.95 after rejecting the immediate execution of a colonization plan as an unrealistic remedy to the problem of “physical difference”, lincoln asked: what next? free them, and make them political and socially our equals? my own feelings will not admit of this; and if mine would, we well know that those of the great mass of white people will not. whether this feeling accords with justice and sound judgment, is not the sole question, if, indeed, it is any part of it. a universal feeling, whether well or ill-founded, cannot be safely disregarded. we cannot, then, make them equals. it does seem to me that systems of gradual emancipation might be adopted.96                                                                                                                 93 jaffa, crisis, 370. 94 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 52. 95 jaffa, crisis, 385. 96 abraham lincoln, lincoln-douglas debates, 51.   through his richly complicated remarks, lincoln illustrated the inherent tension between personal convictions and public sentiment by recognizing the power of a “universal feeling.”97 while a fierce defender of the negro’s natural rights, lincoln demurred on the topic of making negroes “political and socially our equals” not on the basis of its morality or immorality, but through an ambiguous “feelings” equivocation, where lincoln’s “own feelings will not admit of this.”98 the precisely indistinct meaning of “admit to this” demonstrated lincoln’s intentional reluctance to commit himself to views that regarded political and social equality as immoral. further, lincoln hypothesized that even if his “feelings” admit to instituting political and social equality for negroes, he recognized that the feelings of “the great mass of white people will not.”99 in this way, lincoln’s hypothetical accepted the power of public sentiment vis-à-vis the convictions or feelings of the statesman. this recognition provides invaluable insight as to how intentionally and thoughtfully lincoln constructed his remarks as intermixing with the realities of public sentiment. however, lincoln does not limit his feelings hypothetical to an unquestioning deference to public sentiment, but rather questioned the underlying justice of that feeling (i.e. racial prejudice). by asking whether the feeling of racial prejudice, “accords with justice and sound judgment is not the question,” lincoln rhetorically questioned their validity.100 by doing so, lincoln the statesman both respected public sentiment as something that “cannot be safely disregarded” but that its sentiments necessitated examination under the criteria of “justice and sound judgment.”101 in this way, lincoln implicitly alluded to the statesman’s role in influencing public sentiment towards just sentiments by adopting his temperance address model where he argued that “when the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion should ever be adopted.”102 through his gentle persuasion and qualified language in ottawa, lincoln sought to convince the “great mass of white people” that he was their “sincere friend.”103 in doing so, lincoln the statesman aimed to use the “drop of honey” of friendship to lead the public towards “the great high road of [their] reason” and thorough examination of the justice and sound judgment of their revulsions to negro political and social equality.104                                                                                                                 97 ibid. 98 ibid. 99 ibid. 100 ibid. 101 ibid. 102 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 14. 103 ibid. 104 ibid.   through intentionally kind and “unassuming persuasion,” lincoln simultaneously honored the right of public sentiment while he implicitly urged it towards an examination of its justice. given the obstacle of current public sentiment regarding political and social equality, lincoln matter-of-factly concluded that “we cannot, then, make them equals” without specifying that equality as either wrong or immoral.105 consequently, acknowledging the limits of current public sentiment, lincoln prudentially prescribed “systems of gradual emancipation” as something that “might be adopted.”106 while the particulars of that “gradual emancipation” are not specified, lincoln cautious favor of “gradual emancipation” indicated the very real possibility of his favor for political and social equality of the negro if conducive within public sentiment. but in this way, lincoln illustrated that beyond his immediate statesmanship objectives (restricting slavery’s spread, favoring equality of man, negro’s natural rights), he “might” favor a gradual emancipation in concert with his prudential and wise nature. lincoln’s cautious defense of gradual emancipation indicated his measured prescriptions and respect for public sentiment.107 consequently, lincoln’s distinction between natural and civil rights is of irreplaceable importance in furthering his broad statesmanship objectives. lincoln’s defense of the negro’s natural rights laid the foundation for all of his statesmanship objectives but required a differentiation from civil rights. had lincoln done more to “secure [civil] rights of negroes,” openly advocated full negro citizenship and political/social equality, his objective to arrest the spread of slavery would be dismissed, its ultimate extinction at risk and his desire to favor the equality of man undermined.108 consequently, lincoln crafted precise language regarding negro civil rights and political/social equality that did not restrict his future support, gently questioned the justice of certain public sentiments and kindly argued for gradual emancipation. in this way, lincoln the careful statesman intentionally constructed his contributions to simultaneously respect public sentiment while empathizing the role of justice, sound judgment and prudence in navigating the intersection of race and civil rights. simply put, lincoln’s statesmanship protected the integrity of his current objectives, honored public sentiment and gently urged emancipation as a more just representation of the negro vis-à-vis political and social equality. conclusion                                                                                                                 105 ibid. 106 ibid. 107 jaffa, crisis, 377.   108 ibid., 372.   abraham lincoln acknowledged the power of public sentiment, insisting that “with public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed” and implicitly indicted his role as a statesman by remarking “he who moulds public sentiment, goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions.”109 lincoln implicitly recognized and externally influenced public sentiment towards his statesmanship objectives through the racial conceptions he espoused. the first task of a statesman is to “know what is good or right” and lincoln’s adherence to the equality of man and his moral stance against the monstrous injustice of slavery demonstrates his commitment to the “right”.110 however, lincoln’s distinctive statesmanship characteristic centered on his prudential ability to know “how much of that good is attainable.”111 consequently, based on an adherence to the rule of law and deference/understanding of public sentiment, lincoln’s objectives found their manifestation in his moral appeals against slavery’s spread, advocacy of america’s standard maxim, and a forceful defense of the negro’s natural rights. in this way, lincoln clearly understood “what is and what is not within his power” by planting and cultivating the seed of the negro’s natural rights and inclusion within the standard maxim.112 in this way, properly reading and analyzing lincoln’s conceptions of race cannot simply revolve around comparing and contrasting his sentiments with mainstream 21st century racial views. instead, rather than shallowly probing a “stock formula of words,” it is better to analyze the statesman’s sentiments as whether or not they demonstrate “fidelity to a cause.”113 in the case of lincoln, his cause centered on defending the negro’s natural rights and their inclusion within america’s standard maxim as moral ammunition against the spread of slavery. this cause required molding public sentiment through carefully chosen words to persuade the public to adopt his conceptions and embrace his objectives. consequently, lincoln’s conceptions of race are neither theoretically abstract nor idealistic, but rather prudentially proactive and realistic. while some might regard his precision as the “trimming” of a carnal politician, lincoln’s preeminent statesmanship emphasized devotion to abstract morality over political survival in conjunction with an adherence to existing law and fundamental respect for public sentiment.114 simply put, lincoln didn’t alter his rhetoric out of personal political                                                                                                                 109 ibid., 65. 110 jaffa, crisis, 371. 111 ibid. 112 ibid. 113 ibid., 368. 114 ibid., 366.   expediency, but instead prudentially crafted his language to respect current sentiment while urging it towards his just moral objectives. while repudiating the kansas-nebraska act as further sanctioning the despotism of the negro, lincoln boldly proclaimed in peoria that instead we should “allow all the governed an equal voice in the government, and that, and that only is self government.”115 instead of obtusely broadcasting his principles irrespective of the political and (or) legal consequences, lincoln prudentially constructed his subsequent contributions to facilitate the achievement of the “highest degree of equality for which general consent could be obtained.”116 lincoln intentionally refused to make the perfect the enemy of the good or possible. in this way, lincoln the statesman “crucified” an immediate and comprehensive expression of his slavery convictions in order to “maintain loyalty to the constitution.”117 he remained loyal and adhered to the laws of the constitution in order to preserve the effective implementation of his statesmanship objectives.118 defending the negro’s natural rights, their inclusion within the standard maxim and arresting the spread of slavery required the disciplined and prudential character of a statesman. consequently, lincoln’s conceptions of race are productive instruments that led the way towards greater equality, justice, and sound judgment without threatening the great experiment of american self-government. thus, abraham lincoln is not a statesman divided but rather one united in resolve to further the great cause of equality. bibliography   escott, paul d. “what shall we do with the negro?” lincoln, white racism, and civil war america. charlottesville: university of virginia, 2009. fredrickson, george m. big enough to be inconsistent: abraham lincoln confronts slavery and race. cambridge, ma: harvard up, 2008. jaffa, harry v. crisis of the house divided: an interpretation of the issues in the lincoln-douglas debates. garden city, ny: doubleday, 1959.                                                                                                                 115 abram lincoln, documentary portrait, 76. 116 jaffa, crisis, 477. 117 abraham lincoln, lincoln on race & slavery, 79. 118 jaffa, crisis, 377.     lincoln, abraham. abraham lincoln: a documentary portrait through his speeches and writings. edited by don e. fehrenbacher (stanford: stanford university press, 1977). lincoln, abraham. lincoln on race & slavery. edited by henry louis gates (princeton: princeton university press, 2009). lincoln, abraham & douglas, stephen a. the lincoln-douglas debates of 1858. edited by robert walter johannsen (new york: oxford university press, 2008).   striner, richard. lincoln and race. carbondale: southern illinois university press, 2012. 1 “undone with terror”: aeschylus’ suppliants as agents of binary terror sydney marie hughes theatre like other performance arts, theatre is unique because the human body is the artistic vessel used for expression. the actor's body onstage is ever-entwined in the work, whether consciously or unconsciously. when certain bodies perform specific works, the performances can transform into a site of cultural confrontation. the concept of “binary terror,”1 coined by vivian patraka, describes the feeling that arises in an audience when established binary distinctions are challenged or disrupted, especially ones that explicitly or implicitly shape social understandings, functions, and economies. by highlighting the body and its inherent historical and political markings, performance artists provoke binary terror, challenging the audience to examine its social norms. aeschylus’ play the suppliants provides abundant opportunities for this binary confrontation through its inherent themes of feminine choice, bodily autonomy, the cost of war, and the challenges of refugees. i argue that the suppliants (and its titular chorus of women) has served as an effective vehicle for binary terror in service of social critique, from its original 5th-century bce staging through contemporary adaptations. i will examine three productions of the suppliants and demonstrate how its original text is ideal for spurring political commentary and action; first, through the immigration crisis in greece during its political crisis (463 bce); second, in the theatre of war production during the russian invasion of ukraine (2022); and finally, in a hypothetical production designed to be produced in the united states to address contemporary political upheaval. through identity-conscious casting and embodied performance, its themes of resistance, binary disruption, and bodily autonomy can be amplified in a strikingly relevant way to a contemporary audience without changing the original text. 2 identity-conscious casting takes into consideration how the actors’ identity and physical markers can deepen the narrative and thematic resonance of a production, rather than treating them as incidental. the suppliants can highlight the systemic inequalities and social hierarchies embedded within its narrative by treating the specific embodied performance of the suppliant women as integral and inseparable from the plot. by demonstrating the potential of the suppliants to challenge cultural binaries through its original text and the explicit bodies of its performers, i argue for a broader reevaluation of previously dismissed classical theatre texts. when centering marginalized voices and embracing identity-conscious casting, future performances of classical plays can interrogate enduring social and political inequalities without requiring extensive adaptation to remain meaningful. i posit that historic plays can become uniquely meaningful in a way contemporary plays can not when they include historically excluded bodies by providing necessary discomfort and inspiring critical engagement. this approach not only ensures the continued relevance of ancient works but reaffirms theatre's ability and responsibility to disrupt and catalyze change. aeschylus’ the suppliants begins with a chorus of fifty women, the danaids, arriving in argos carrying white wool tied to olive branches. the branches symbolize their supplication and appeal to zeus for protection and assistance. they meet the ruler of argos, king pelasgus, who immediately recognizes them as foreigners not only physically but in their clothing as well, as he states, “greeks you are not: what woman of argos, what greek, wears clothes like these?”2 the danaids explain that they are fleeing egypt due to forced marriage to their cousins, the sons of aegyptus. when questioned as to why the king should not send them back, as they are women and, therefore, property of egypt, they are insistent that they are in danger and fleeing violence and oppression. they strengthen their claims to protection by proving that they are descendants 3 of zeus through io, a figure from greek mythology who fled to egypt before giving birth to zeus’ child. however, king pelasgus is still hesitant to provide the danaids sanctuary, as he fears it will begin a war with the sons of aegyptus. the king is at the center of a moral and ethical dilemma: should he honor the argive laws of hospitality while simultaneously risking war with a foreign nation? the danaids invoke the gods and threaten to take their own lives at the argive altar if their request is denied, telling the king that “to die is to be free of this misery, these tears,” and that they prefer death to a life of forced marriage.3 the king leaves the decision to the argives, and the citizens unanimously vote to protect the women. when an egyptian captain comes to retrieve the danaids, the king hides them behind the city's walls and announces that they are now citizens of argos and under his protection. the women of argos come from their homes and take in each of the suppliant women. the play ends with an exchange between the women of argos and the danaid chorus in which the argive women acknowledge that there may be consequences for their choice and the future may hold danger. the danaids respond that the price is worth the cost and pray for continued protection. binary terror in the explicit bodies of the suppliant women the original text of the suppliants is permeated by tension caused by the presence of the danaids, who are both familiar and foreign to the people of argos. they share ancestry with the argives through io, reinforcing their claim to protection as children of zeus. however, they are still simultaneously egyptian, seen as outsiders not only for their appearance but for their apparent physical differences and resistance to the norms of greek society. their presence also brings threats of war with the barbarian egyptians, who will inevitably arrive to claim their right of ownership of the women. similarly, the women continuously reject the patriarchal norms of female subjugation, insisting on their bodily autonomy and arguing the law of god over man, 4 outright proclaiming, “no man our master! god grant it, law or no law.”4 they clearly and purposefully disrupt the accepted binaries of male (owner) and female (property). the destabilization of social binaries is the core of patraka’s concept of “binary terror,” which describes the fear or anxiety that arises when deeply ingrained social binaries are threatened.5 this fear is felt most acutely by those who benefit from maintaining these distinctions, stemming from uncertainty of what chaos might emerge from their loss of privilege and power in the absence of those binary systems. therefore, binary terror is both a psychological response and a social phenomenon that can create a space for reevaluating norms and a new understanding of identity and power. the danaids' presence causes binary terror as they embody both dangerous foreigners (egyptians) and protected kin (descendants of io) simultaneously. building upon patraka’s concepts, performance studies scholar rebecca schneider extends this framework into the domain of performance studies through her concepts of the explicit body. unlike a blank canvas (or an empty stage), a performer’s body can not ever truly be presented to the audience as neutral due to social symbolism, which “organizes bodies by markings, relegating them male body, female body, colored body, white body, and so on.” 6 all bodies onstage also must bear the weight of the historical, cultural, and political forces imposed upon them. a black woman playing hamlet can not simply be playing hamlet; an audience from our western society will always interpret her hamlet with all the historical and social trappings that come with being both black and a woman. explicit body performers, schneider explains, can use their bodies to call attention to those markings in ways that examine the fragility of the social and political systems in place.7 in theatrical performance, explicit bodies can be used as agents of binary terror to bring new emphasis to existing themes in a play’s text, making these 5 deconstructions both visible and tangible. jaques derrida’s theory of deconstruction emphasizes the instability of binary oppositions, arguing that such distinctions are neither natural nor fixed, but rather rely on structures that privilege one term over the other.8 for instance, in binaries such as male/female or civilized/barbarian the first term is granted authority by the social hierarchy, while the second is marginalized. in performance, the explicit body actively destabilizes these oppositions and exposes the arbitrary nature of their construction by focusing on what happens when the supplemental term becomes the primary focus. as its title suggests, the suppliants serves as a compelling case study for these ideas. the danaids embody binary terror by disrupting the distinctions between civilized and barbarian, male and female, and self and other. their explicit bodily presence forces the audience to recognize the historical and cultural symbols present in the bodies of the women. binary terror is present not only in the story and embodiment of the danaids but also in their structural function in the play. aeschylus’ choice for the danaids to serve as both the chorus and the protagonist in the suppliants marks a significant departure from typical choral functions in classic greek theatre. typically, the chorus served to provide commentary on the play's action, as well as cues on how the audience might interpret the action of the play, often speaking up with asides and making moral judgments. the chorus was often a collective stand-in for the civic body, helping to signal societal norms and values.9 in the suppliants, however, the chorus is far from a neutral observer, commenting on the action while viscerally being affected by it. as central characters seeking asylum, the danaids have a direct and vested stake in the moral and political choices onstage, creating an unexpected and likely uncomfortable dynamic for the audience. 6 this dual role of the danaids as both active participants and chorus members disrupted audience expectations and introduced a sense of binary terror in its deconstruction of the audience and performer binary. by casting the danaids in the role of the chorus, aeschylus forces the audience to realize that the chorus, in whom they would typically expect to see their own beliefs and ideals mirrored, is instead a representation of “other” with their own opinions, agendas, and principles. this confrontation would have been surprising and perhaps unsettling to an original greek audience, heightening the play's tension as it encouraged the audience to confront their status as outsiders while simultaneously placing them in a position encouraging empathy. the danaids as 5th century athenian immigrants the play's binary confrontation is particularly significant given the original historical context of its original production. at the time that aeschylus first wrote the suppliants, which would have been sometime just before 458 bce, the theatre served not only as entertainment but as a civic responsibility. at the time, most plays (including the suppliants) were performed in the festivals of dionysus, which were attended as a civic duty by the people of athens. the tragedies especially were typically written to inspire discussion around greek civic identity and values by addressing contemporary social and political concerns through an entertaining narrative, as well as to communicate greek superiority. athenian democracy was hierarchical and firmly placed wealthy greek men in the privileged position. as lynette g. mitchell notes, greek culture was considered civilized, placed above all other cultures as physically, morally, and intellectually superior, and outsiders were perceived as savage and uncivilized10. exploring the original text through this contextual lens highlights the binaries that are at the core of its themes and ideals. 7 geoffrey w. bakewell notes that the suppliants likely resonated with its original audience due to athens’ large percentage of immigrants and asylum seekers as a result of the persian wars, with immigrants making up as much as fifty percent of the free athenian population during the time the play was produced.11 by contrast, the original performers would have been made up entirely of white, wealthy, male athenian citizens, as it was the tradition of athenian theatre for male actors to play all roles regardless of gender. this practice, although enforcing the patriarchal norms of athenian society, was simultaneously subverting the gender binary. male actors playing danaids would have been speaking the words of women pleading for bodily autonomy and rejecting male-centric laws. as sue-ellen case, a theatre and queer theory scholar, notes, the use of male actors to portray women both reaffirmed and exposed the societal marginalization of women and illustrated its performative aspects.12 even in its original context, the titular suppliant women were the embodied site of both glorification and rejection of male athenian ideals. greek identity during this time was also heavily defined in opposition to those deemed uncivilized. this binary was not only culturally motivated but also politically used to justify the imperialist ambitions of athens’ upper class. because the danaids were both foreign and familiar, they forced the audience to feel discomfort as they considered their pleas for asylum. the danaids’ defiance of traditional gender roles adds yet another layer to this disruption. mitchell argues that their insistence on choice challenges patriarchal expectations of female submission.13 this dynamic underscores the tension between argos’ duty to protect its citizens and its moral obligation to provide refuge, especially to those with whom they share a common lineage. 8 as originally performed, the suppliants reinforced athenian political ideals by using their physical markers, both in clothing and natural appearance, to identify the suppliant chorus as outsiders. the king of argos is framed as their potential savior, and he immediately points out these differences when they claim argive blood. he immediately observes that their clothing sets them apart and that they wear clothes no argive woman would wear. he even claims they look more “like libyans, not greeks:”14 both aeschylus and the king clearly and quickly categorize them as foreigners based on their appearance. the performers, originally all white men, not only wore clothing to specifically mark the actors as foreign but also painted themselves with black or brown paint.15 conversely, they also carried a symbol of their greek ancestry in the olive branches that gave the women their title of suppliants, a signifier of greek customs and an appeal to greek gods. it is the binary terror between these multiple facets of their tangible appearance that places the danaids in a liminal space: they are both visibly foreign through their egyptian heritage and visibly kin to the greeks through their claim to the olive branches they carry. this duality simultaneously reinforces athenian superiority, placing them as desired protectors to foreigners while complicating the established binary as the danaids invoke shared heritage to assert their claims to asylum in argos. the play also uses the civilized/barbarian binary (or perhaps, more specifically, the greek/barbarian binary) to navigate questions of justice especially as related to refugee rights and civic incorporation. around the time of its production, athens was facing an immigration crisis unlike any it had ever seen following the persian wars. immigrants and refugees were so numerous that they were given a formal legal status as free non-citizens not only to give them limited rights but to delineate them as people who lived in athens but were not truly athenian. bakewell argues that the suppliants critiqued athenian xenophobia through king pelasgus’ 9 decision to give them asylum, thus placing a higher moral emphasis on the divine imperative to protect the suppliants regardless of their origins.16 the king’s decision was likely a reflection of and response to true athenian concern, implying that moral responsibilities (the law of gods) should transcend political boundaries (the law of man). the argive citizens unanimously voted to protect the suppliants, despite their clear misgivings that there would be retaliation by the egyptians. this tension is further complicated by the role of the argive women in aiding the danaids. interestingly, women in athens could not vote, either in reality or in the play, so the assumption is that it is the men of argos who have voted to save the danaids. however, the argive women take on an active role by incorporating the danaids into the city and their households by taking them as handmaidens when the egyptian captain comes to claim them, granting the argive women an indirect but powerful influence in civic decisions. this highlights how women, despite being marked for social exclusion by their gender, can still challenge existing social boundaries. the narrative emphasis placed on the argive women at the end of the play draws attention not only to the binaries that separate the two groups (foreigner versus citizen) but also the markers that they share as women. although the argive women are included through their identity as greeks, they are still excluded through womanhood. “marriage? women’s destiny: it’s so, so has it always been.”17 this shared fate, marriage despite any personal wishes, is what communicates their shared identity of womanhood. the danaids as advocates: 2022 theatre of war production in 2022, theatre of war productions staged the suppliants project, a zoom reading of the suppliants with ukrainian citizens in the roles as the chorus of danaids. this production, inspired by the russian invasion of ukraine, brought the play’s themes of asylum and resistance 10 into a strikingly contemporary context. the ukrainian women in the performance came from a variety of backgrounds, including those who identified as students, soldiers, artists, politicians, activists, and refugees. the women in the chorus were not only performing the roles as actors but physically embodying the danaids, drawing from their lived experiences. this particular type of adaptation, which directly casts actors who have experienced similar events in the play, amplified the theme of refugee concerns.18 for an audience observer aware of the ukrainian conflict, it became impossible for the lived experiences of the actors to not be reflected in the text. this strengthening of the themes was clearly the purpose of the production, as a panel was held at the end of the performance, in which the women were able to discuss the play, answer questions, and facilitate large-scale discussions with audience members. using this question-andanswer segment, they were able to directly engage with the themes of the play while fostering empathy and advocacy for the ukrainian conflict. as bakewell observes, the performers’ connection to the narrative allowed the audience to experience the suppliants not as a distant historical artifact but as a visceral, contemporary crisis.19 the casting of ukrainian citizens also shifted the focus present in the play’s binaries. as in the original production, the male/female binary was present, but this production clearly placed emphasis on the citizen/foreigner binary. casting performers with explicit bodies, marked by ukrainian citizenship and, for some, actual experience as a refugee, was clearly meant to highlight actual-lived experience. however, by casting ukrainian citizens performing for a primarily white american audience, their markers as “foreign” were less present, which also disrupted audience assumptions about nationality and belonging. although “social symbolism organizes bodies by markings,” the markings on the physical bodies of these danaids were subtle to the point of near invisibility to american audiences.20 the original production used physical 11 markers in clothing and facepaint to clearly delineate the actors (who shared gender, nationality, and ethnicity with the rest of the cast). by contrast, the danaids in the theatre of war production were made to look no different from their argive cast-mates. in fact, it was impossible to tell who in the danaids were refugees and who were soldiers, politicians, or other citizens. the danaids did not wear “foreign” clothes or bear strong physical marks, which would have set them apart from the actors playing the people of argos. this challenged the assumption about what an “other” looks like, instead forcing the audience to examine the arbitrary political lines drawn between nations. this was even further driven home by the fact that the production was produced via zoom; in a post-covid world, the boundaries between nations are easily crossed by way of the internet. when everyone in the recorded production looked at least passably similar, it made it abundantly clear how the binaries and divides being upheld are built on arbitrary national and physical lines. this zoom-only production was so successful that, only a few months later, the production was re-staged at the university of notre dame using ukrainian students in a hybrid production, with actors on the stage being broadcast across the world. the suppliants project production brought new relevance to the text and helped it resonate across cultural divides through the physicality of the performers. a contemporary production: conscious casting of the danaids productions of the suppliants are few and far between, despite it being one of the earliest examples of western drama and one with clear contemporary relevance in its themes. i argue that a contemporary production of the suppliants in the united states can amplify its themes of binary disruption and bodily autonomy by consciously casting performers who embody multiple marginalized identities as the danaids. one of the most unique aspects of the suppliants is that its protagonist is also its chorus, a unified group of 50 women who are never individualized 12 except on occasion through a “lead danaid.” the chorus of danaids, rather than being portrayed as a fully unified, analogous group, could instead be made up of explicitly varied women. this casting strategy would draw directly from schneider’s concept of the explicit body and use the performers’ physical presence to highlight the markers tied to their identities.21 by bringing performers whose bodies have been marked by systemic oppression onto the stage, this production would foreground the fragility of societal binaries and challenge audiences to confront their own biases. this approach could also challenge the binaries of individual versus collective and self versus other. the clear, tangible presence of marginalized performers disrupts entrenched social norms, and this could be explored in countless ways through the danaids. multiple different binaries can be explored, especially those designed and upheld by a western audience. casting women of color as danaids would foreground the play’s themes of immigration and cultural otherness. the danaids, portrayed as refugees from egypt in the original text, inherently challenged the greek/barbarian binary, a construct that athenian audiences would have associated with cultural and racial superiority, and justified their exclusion from the athenian democratic framework.22 casting women of color reinforces the historical dynamic in the text while confronting contemporary audiences with a legacy of colonialism and racial discrimination. the visible presence of women of color onstage as both outsiders and advocates for their own moral and physical agency dismantles those binaries and directly challenges the audience's assumptions about identity. casting hijabi women as danaids would add an additional layer of religious and cultural specificity to the production’s critique of exclusion. in many western societies, the hijab is often misinterpreted as a symbol of oppression. in this context, a woman fleeing true oppression 13 through forced marriage but continuing to exercise her rights to her body and religious choice would uphold the hijab as a symbol of agency. the danaids' act of rebellion is not only a rejection of patriarchal society but an uplifting of the laws of the gods over the laws of man, and thus an act of religious faith. as zira highlights, the danaids function as clear moral agents in the play, navigating between divine and human law.23 the inclusion of a symbol of the muslim faith worn by a character who speaks for the higher religious law would challenge stereotypes about religious identity and heighten binary terror in a culture that privileges (white) christianity. in a different vein, including trans and nonbinary performers in the chorus could lead a production to deconstruct the male/female binary inherent in the original text. the danaids’ rejection of forced marriage would have been considered an act of rebellion in its defiance of patriarchal norms, but casting trans and nonbinary individuals would add another dimension to this resistance. this casting would emphasize the performative nature of gender itself. gender performance in ancient greek theatre already blurred the lines of gender representation through its practice of male actors portraying female characters.24 in a contemporary production, an emphasis on the original text’s references to gendered violence could have the same effect on contemporary audiences. the suppliant women explicitly reference gender in the violence they are fleeing, with mention of “male lust” and “godless men.”25 they flee not from men in general, but specifically male violence, and they set themselves apart from it as women. in an updated production, the inclusion of trans, masc, and nonbinary performers would emphasize that it is a specific performance of gender and toxic masculinity that is the enemy, not gender itself, and build upon that existing legacy using schneider’s explicit body framework to provoke an equivalent binary terror for contemporary audiences. 14 in addition, casting women of various ages to portray the danaids could emphasize the universality of the danaids’ plight while also creating visual layers within the chorus. the presence of older women could speak to those who have been struggling for their entire lives and reflect the social expectations placed on women throughout their lives. younger actors such as danaids could bring to mind broken innocence and vulnerability and remind audiences of the youth who are often negatively affected by war and displacement. finally, the inclusion of disabled actors would draw attention to the often-overlooked connections between bodily autonomy and disability. casting visibly disabled performers would encourage audiences to confront their biases about strength and agency. by incorporating actors with disabilities in the danaids chorus, the production would highlight disabled bodies as ones capable of resilience and rebellion against societal norms. perhaps the most compelling argument for a diverse cast of danaids is that, in the original text, the precise reason for the women’s refusal to marry their cousins is never explicitly stated. although scholars have offered a variety of possible reasons drawn from the text, including violence displayed by their potential suitors, obedience to their father, a rejection of incestual marriage, or a simple aversion to marriage in general, there is no definitive answer to be found.26 perhaps the original reasoning was less important to athenian audiences, or this gap in the text was easily filled in through its contemporary context. regardless, it leaves ample room for twenty-first-century productions to establish their own meaning for the danaids’ flight. when considering the danaids as individuals rather than a collective, it naturally follows that all fifty women surely have their own individual experiences, feelings, and motivations behind their decision to leave their homeland. 15 through intentionally casting performers from diverse identities, this hypothetical production would assert the danaids as agents of binary terror and challenge audience assumptions about identity, agency, and belonging. emphasizing the diversity of the danaids rather than viewing them only as a group will clarify to an audience that the plight of refugees is not tied to one nation, identity, or physical marker but to all. “it shines everywhere, even in gloom”: the continued social relevance of the suppliants aeschylus’ the suppliants is a striking example of how classical texts, even those written thousands of years ago, can remain intensely relevant to a 21st-century audience. the play’s exploration of bodily autonomy, refugee and asylum crises, and the tension between moral and political responsibility provides ample opportunities for examining the enduring social binaries within our own western culture, such as male versus female, citizen versus foreigner, and individual versus collective. from the original staging to contemporary adaptations, the suppliants has been an effective tool for confronting political and social hierarchies and forcing audiences to confront their own assumptions of privilege and inclusion. this capacity for deconstruction and disruption can be even further heightened when the play is performed with attention to the explicit bodies of its performers, using their own historical and political markings to come to the foreground. in this way, the embodied performance of the suppliants allows the text to become a living critique of exclusion, systemic violence, and social hierarchies. the use of binary terror in the suppliants is most powerful when the explicit bodies onstage belong to individuals who have historically been excluded from positions of agency, highlighting the danaids’ act of rebellion as a step towards reclaiming their agency. the casting of ukrainian refugees in the 2022 theatre of war production demonstrated how the lived 16 experiences of displacement could help the play's themes resonate with a new urgency for a contemporary audience. this lived experience, juxtaposed with few physical differences, demonstrated a more subtle marking of bodies that highlights how arbitrary our own prejudicial lines have been drawn across nations and people. by centering marginalized voices, the bodies of the titular suppliants can become a site of cultural confrontation that interrogates the impact that historical, cultural, and political issues have had on the bodies of the women playing these roles. casting traditionally marginalized performers in the suppliants does more than disrupt binaries for the sake of effective theatre-making; it transforms the play from an ancient relic to a bridge between the past and the present. this casting also accentuates the universality of the play's central themes of bodily autonomy and community responsibility by reframing them within the embodied experience of those who are still fighting for those rights. by allowing these actors to speak the original text rather than a completely rewritten adaptation, audiences are forced to recognize that these issues are not new and progressive but are as old as humanity itself. this approach not only enriches the narrative of an ancient play but also encourages the audience to reflect on their own roles in perpetuating long-standing social hierarchies, with the hope that they will also examine how they can dismantle them. in particular, theatre practitioners, scholars, and creators can use these texts as tools to confront the inequities of our time. by consciously choosing marginalized voices for these roles, we remind audiences that the stories of our past are not so different from the struggles of the present. classical texts like the suppliants have the potential to transcend their historical origins and speak directly to a modern audience. through this lens, classic plays can become sites of ongoing social critique, demonstrating theatre’s ability to disrupt binaries, foster empathy, and inspire collective action. while the suppliants provides a strong case study for this fact, its 17 application is not unique. rather, this concept offers a framework for reconsidering how bodies function in performance across a range of classical and contemporary works. the physical presence of actors can be used to challenge the historical exclusions embedded in the text. casting choices and conscious embodied storytelling can illuminate whose bodies have been historically marginalized and how that exclusion continues to exist today. this framework urges theatre practitioners and scholars to consider not only how to adapt historical texts for a modern audience, but how those texts can be used to analyze and disrupt existing power structures, and how the bodies onstage demand to be recognized. 18 endnotes 1. vivian m. patraka, “binary terror and feminist performance: reading both ways.” discourse 14, no. 2 (1992): 163–85. 2. aeschylus, mcleish, and raphael, the suppliants, (methuen drama, 1991), 237-238. 3. aeschylus, mcleish, and raphael, the suppliants, 803. 4. aeschylus, mcleish, and raphael, the suppliants, 803. 5. vivian m. patraka, binary terror and feminist performance, 176. 6. rebecca schneider, the explicit body in performance, (routledge, 1997), 20. 7. schneider, the explicit body in performance, 23. 8. derrida, jacques, of grammatology trans. by gayatri chakravorty spivak (johns hopkins university press, 1976). 9. schlegel, course of lectures on dramatic art and literature, trans. john black (london, 1846). 10. lynette g. mitchell, “greeks, barbarians and aeschylus’ ‘suppliants.’” greece & rome 53, no. 2 (2006), 211. 11. geoffrey w. bakewell, aeschylus’s suppliant women: the tragedy of immigration (madison, wi: the university of wisconsin press, 2013) 27. 12. sue-ellen case, “classic drag: the greek creation of female parts”, greece & rome no. 53, 318. 13. mitchell, “greeks, barbarians and aeschylus’ ‘suppliants’”, 212. 14. aeschylus, mcleish, and raphael, the suppliants, 237. 15. bakewell, aeschylus’s suppliant women, 22. 16. bakewell, aeschylus’s suppliant women, 23. 19 17. aeschylus, mcleish, and raphael, the suppliants, 1050. 18. magdalena zira, “directing greek tragedy as a ritual: mystagogy, religion and ecstasy," contemporary adaptations of greek tragedy: auteurship and directorial visions, (2017), 114. 19. bakewell , aeschylus’s suppliant women, 5. 20. schneider, the explicit body in performance, 20. 21. schneider, the explicit body in performance, 20. 22. mitchell, “greeks, barbarians and aeschylus’ ‘suppliants’”, 211. 23. magdalena zira, “directing greek tragedy as a ritual: mystagogy, religion and ecstasy," contemporary adaptations of greek tragedy: auteurship and directorial visions, (2017), 114. 24. case, “classic drag”, 311. 25. mitchell, “greeks, barbarians and aeschylus’ ‘suppliants’”, 145.. 26. geoffrey bakewell, aeschylus’s suppliant women: the tragedy of immigration, 23. 20 bibliography patraka, vivian m. “binary terror and feminist performance: reading both ways.” discourse 14, no. 2 (1992): 163–85. aeschylus, kenneth mcleish, and frederic raphael. the suppliants. in plays: one. london: methuen drama, 1991. 74–108. bakewell, geoffrey w. aeschylus’s suppliant women: the tragedy of immigration. madison, wi: the university of wisconsin press, 2013. mitchell, lynette g. “greeks, barbarians and aeschylus’ ‘the suppliants.’” greece & rome 53, no. 2 (2006): 205–23. derrida, jacques. of grammatology translated by gayatri chakravorty spivak. johns hopkins university press, 1976. schneider, rebecca. the explicit body in performance. london: routledge, 1997. case, sue-ellen. 1985. “classic drag: the greek creation of female parts.” theatre journal 37, no. 3: 317–27. van weyenberg, astrid. “the politics of adaptation: contemporary african drama and greek tragedy.” boston: brill, 2013. zira, magdalena. "directing greek tragedy as a ritual: mystagogy, religion and ecstasy." in contemporary adaptations of greek tragedy: auteurship and directorial visions, edited by george rodosthenous, 111–126. london: bloomsbury methuen drama, 2017. schlegel, august wilhelm. course of lectures on dramatic art and literature, translated by john black. london, 1846. policy analysis of the “performance-based funding model for state-related institutions” within governor shapiro’s “blueprint for higher education” in pennsylvania nicole roldan education on january 26, 2024, the forty-eighth governor of pennsylvania, josh shapiro, delivered his plan for the future of higher education within pennsylvania, calling it a “blueprint for higher education”. within this plan, governor shapiro outlined the steps needed to ultimately improve pennsylvania’s current issues regarding access and affordability for those pursuing a postsecondary education. one of the major constituents of the blueprint involves installing a “performance-based funding” formula for the state-related institutions of higher education within pennsylvania. performance-based funding, heralded as a solution for transparency and accountability, seeks to tie state funding to the institution’s performance and achievement of set goals. while offered as an answer to the public’s waning trust in higher education and value of a college degree, a foray into the historical background of performance-based funding unearths concerns from previous researchers regarding the application of a model upon education—an area that is already notoriously underfunded and facing equity gaps. while this paper seeks to analyze and discuss the potential application of the policy upon the state-related higher education institutions of pennsylvania, it must be noted that this is not a complete overview and can only offer a sweeping perspective regarding one layer of a complex and evolving topic. blueprint for pennsylvania’s higher education systems the “blueprint for higher education”, first unveiled in january 2024 by governor shapiro, discussed the plan’s proposal of three parts to chart a new direction for pennsylvania’s 2 future by positioning affordable and accessible post-secondary education as a driver for the state’s economic growth and development of a healthy workforce. in the first part, governor shapiro sought to unite and support the pennsylvania state system of higher education (passhe)’s ten state-owned universities and the fifteen community colleges under one governance system. second, governor shapiro proposes significant financial investments into pennsylvania’s state-owned institution. these significant financial investments will allow stateowned institutions to set the maximum cap of tuition and fees at one-thousand dollars per semester for students of pennsylvania households that are making up to the median family income (commonwealth of pennsylvania, 2024a). third, and the focus of the report, is the proposal to install a performance-based funding formula model to increase transparency and improve post-secondary education outcomes for the state-related universities of lincoln university, pennsylvania state university, temple university and the university of pittsburgh. in the performance-based funding model, governor shapiro proposed tying direct state funding and appropriations to a “predictable, transparent, outcomes-focused formula that will incentivize” the institutions (commonwealth of pennsylvania, 2024a). performance-based funding and state-related institutions of pennsylvania in july 2024, the pennsylvania general assembly and governor shapiro passed state bill 1154, which established the performance-based founding council. the council, tasked with consultations with commonwealth agencies and experts and holding public hearings at the staterelated institutions to gather opinions from interested parties, will develop and deliver recommendations for the formulation of the performance-based funding equation by a deadline of april 30, 2025 (pennsylvania state university, 2024). within the amended and latest version 3 of the state bill 1154 (2024), the three state-related institutions of pennsylvania state university, temple university and the university of pittsburgh will be impacted by the formula’s criteria. the criteria include fifteen set metrics and two metrics to be determined by need. the metrics, are as follows: “(1) the fixed amount per state-related university to ensure on-going operations, (2) incentive funding, (3) performance thresholds, (4) two-year and four-year graduation rate for first-time college students, (5) number and percentage of pennsylvania undergraduate students enrolled who received a pell grant during the previous school year, (6) the six-year graduation rate for students who are awarded a pell grant in their first year, (7) the fourt-year graduation rate for baccalaureate students, (8) student retention rates, (9) bachelor’s degree production per 100 full-time enrolled students, (10) net tuition and fees per 120 credit hours, (11) post-graduation employment rates and salaries, (12) the number of students who attain credentials in high-priority occupations in this commonwealth, (13) the number of non-traditional students enrolled in a programs aligned to high-priority occupations in this commonwealth, (14) the number of high school students who are dual-enrolled and the number of credits earned, (15) the number of students who transfer to a staterelated university with at least 24 college-level credit hours and the time to degree at the receiving institution, (16) other metrics provided by each state-related university, (17) other metrics related to higher education that the council deems appropriate” (s.b. 1154, 2024). of note, the proposed introduction of the performance-based funding formula model for state-related institutions of pennsylvania has been in continuous flux. the aforementioned s.b. 4 1154 (2024) underwent three amendments before its passing in july 2024. an earlier document on introducing the performance-based funding formula by the pennsylvania general assembly can be traced to the year 2022, a year before governor shapiro took office. within this document, the bill lists all four state-related institutions of lincoln university, pennsylvania state university, temple university and the university of pittsburgh to be impacted by the performance-based funding model. the policy itself opens with a mandate that the public higher education funding commission “shall develop a performance-based funding model…to distribute state funding to the state-related universities...” by june 2023 (public school code of 1949, 2022). the proposed funding model listed metrics that would be used to determine the allocation of funds based on performance (meeting expectations vs. underperforming), including adjustment of a "performance-based funding incentive payment" should a university fail to meet the required metrics for excellence. of note, the latest s.b. 1154 passed in 2024 does not contain language regarding “adjustments of a performance-based funding incentive payment” for underperforming institutions. as of december 2024, the latest discoverable update regarding the performance-based funding model was the appointment of republican senator wayne langerholc to the performance-based funding council in september 2024 (pa senate republicans, 2024). mirroring the change in the latest s.b. 1154, the announcement regarding the appointment only lists the three state-related institutions of pennsylvania state university, temple university and the university of pittsburgh and excludes lincoln university, a historically black college and university (hbcu). historical context of performance-based funding 5 performance-based funding is a funding model that has been in existence for more than four decades since it was first adopted by tennessee in 1979. the earlier models of performancebased funding sought to tie state funding to the performance of the institutions based on metrics that may include, but are not limited to, retention, graduation, student outcomes, and so on. (larocca & carr, 2020). other states followed suit and implemented performance-based funding to their own systems of higher education institutions in the 1990s (shin et al., 2024). gaither (1997, as cited in layzell, 1999) noted that the other types of resource allocation used for distributing funds were incremental budgeting and formula budgeting, both of which were models based on the needs of the higher education institution. in comparison, performance-based funding was a model that was based on merits. layzell (1999) continues that the states that adopted the funding model faced difficulties, resulting in some states ending the performancebased funding model in the early 2000s. shin et al. (2024) noted that these earlier versions of performance-based funding were considered to be failures due to “budgetary pressures and concerns about the program’s effectiveness” as there was a lack of clarity regarding policy outcomes, collected data, standardization of the metrics of “success” and “effectiveness”. furthermore, as the performance-based funding model occurred year-to-year, institutions were more or less unable to plan ahead as a significant portion of their state appropriations was contingent on the year-to-year redistribution (layzell, 1999). despite the lack of success with the earlier models of performance-based funding, there was a revitalized interest in the funding model in 2007 and states sought to re-adopt and modify the model. in the fiscal year of 2020, performance-based funding was in effect in over thirty-two states (ortagus et al., 2022). pennsylvania, while it currently seeks to adopt the performance-based funding model for the state-related institutions, had also previously adopted the funding model in early 2000s for 6 the state-owned institutions within passhe. pennsylvania’s performance-based funding model, at the time, was considered to have the most stable and longest operating program. the funding model used seventeen indicators for performance levels and embedded funding in annual redistribution of state appropriations. institutions were sorted into categories, and more or less “competed” with each other for funds. the amount of funding that would be received by the institution(s) that had performed to expectations was contingent on how many other institutions within the same category also performed well. more institutions meant that each institution received less funding versus a singular institution that received all of the funding allocated for that category (hillman et al., 2014). previous research previous research has shown an alarming trend when it comes to performance-based funding. firstly, due to each state implementing the model based on their own needs and goal outcomes, the variations within policy design and formulae have created challenges when studying the policy itself. in an evaluation study, hagood (2019) found that performance-based funding favored the more selective, well-resourced institutions with high research activities in comparison to their less-selective, under-resourced and non-research counterparts. ortagus et al. (2023) furthers our understanding by simultaneously analyzing the implementation and evaluation of the various policy designs and their impacts on the higher education institutions, especially as they pertain to low dosage (less state appropriations tied to performance) versus high dosage (more state appropriations tied to performance). the latter dosage was found to negatively impact the state funding. as such, there is a big concern regarding the implications of performance-based funding exacerbating equity gaps for minority-serving institutions (msi), hbcus and institutions that serve a higher number of minoritized students and those with pell 7 grants. all institutions that have, historically, been underfunded in comparison to their counterparts. in a quasi-experimental study conducted by serna (2020), serna utilized a difference-in-differences design to analyze and evaluate the impacts of states adopting later models of performance-based funding on the “state-funding” behavior for public higher education. results of the study found that states that adopted performance-based funding “exerted a downward-pressure" of 5.55% to 10.68% on state-funding for public higher education in comparison to states that did not adopt the funding model. in conjunction with past performance-based funding models negatively impacting an institution’s planning due to a large portion of funds being tied to performance, researchers have expressed that this behavior may exacerbate the equity gaps at already under-resourced and underserved institutions. evaluation studies show little to no effect of a substantial positive impact upon the completion rates of baccalaureate degrees at the four-year institutions (larocca & carr, 2020; tandberg & hillman, 2014). furthermore, while larocca & carr (2020) found that performancebased funding does improve completion rates at two-year institutions, it is only under certain conditions. the authors also point out that a high percentage of tenured faculty may suggest less compliance with ensuring that institutional goals are met versus part-time and/or non-tenured faculty who may feel pressured to conform with institutional goals in order to stay employed with the institution. for example, a tenured faculty member may feel less inclined to pass students simply because of administrative pressures to meet performance goals versus a nontenured member whose employment may be in jeopardy for refusal. hillman et al. (2014) evaluates the impacts of the performance-based funding model on college completion within the adopted performance-based funding model for passhe in pennsylvania and found that, overall, 8 it had failed to showcase an increase in college completion in comparison to institutions that have not implemented the system. lastly, layzell (1999) offers several recommendations for constructing future performance-based funding models based on the earlier versions of the funding models and their oversights in policy design and implementation. firstly, it is recommended to limit the number of performance metrics and indicators of success used within the policy, and to assess whether or not certain metrics were in conflict. for instance, an increase in institutional access and admission (ie. open door policy) may prove to be unintentionally at odds with higher graduation rates. previous models also failed to include a policy framework and to ensure buy-in from all stakeholders. there is an expressed need for an allocation of funds for affected institutions within the initiative, and that the model needs a “positive political environment" to thrive (p. 237-245). ties to the overarching political environment and ultimately, the individual conditions that a state may find itself in, may call to attention which party is currently in place. for instance, a democratic party in charge may mean that there is higher spending behavior for higher education while a republican party may mean a lower spending behavior. state and population needs will also have an impact on how governmental entities prioritize and spend, as a higher population of young adults may mean more funding into post-secondary education while a higher population of adults over the age of 65 may mean that more funding will be invested into healthcare (serna, 2020). application of policy frameworks to ultimately understand performance-based funding model, using different frameworks for policy analysis is necessary to provide an overview of the funding model within pennsylvania. performance-based funding, as it stands, hides layers underneath its deceptive 9 simplicity. understanding one part lends comprehension to another, and hopefully, the bigger picture. to this end, policy frameworks discussed will center on theory of change and frameworks introduced by deborah stone in her book policy paradox. theory of change within his january delivery, governor shapiro alludes to “thirty years of disinvestment” that have left pennsylvania institutions with inadequate funding and forced the burden onto students instead. under this new plan, governor shapiro cites a direction with a focus on “competitiveness and workforce development grounded in access and affordability” (commonwealth of pennsylvania, 2024a). one of the groups affected by this plan is the stateowned universities of: university of pittsburgh, pennsylvania state university, temple university and lincoln university. establishing the problem requires review of the 2022 policy and governor shapiro’s words at the time of the first delivery of the blueprint. both of which categorize the state-owned universities as “deviants” (groups with low political power and negative social construction) due to higher education systems contributing to the financial crisis, lack of affordability, lower degree attainment, lack of transparency, and decrease in public trust (general assembly of pennsylvania, 2024b; public school code of 1949, 2022; schneider & ingram, 1993). therefore, the 2022 policy’s solution utilizes mandates for the establishment of a council and process that distributes funding based on performance-based metrics that are aligned to the commonwealth’s desired outcomes. in addition to the mandate, the performance-based funding model is an inducement that promises resources and incentives to institutions that perform adequately but may double as a sanction should an institution underperform. 10 under the threat of a sanction, the performance-based funding model includes “...adjusting a performance-based funding incentive payment if a state-related university fails to meet the minimum eligibility thresholds” (public school code of 1949, 2022). this adjustment may mean a decrease in state support and funding. for already financially struggling institutions, this decrease or withholding of support may have salient repercussions on their health, incentivizing them to improve their performances. the pennsylvania state university president neeli bendapudi is quoted, “the funding we receive from the commonwealth is critical to our public mission to serve pennsylvania students at our campuses across pennsylvania” (unglesbee, 2024). through the blueprint, shapiro promises to build “a higher education system that opens up doors of opportunity, prepares our workforce, and serves as the linchpin to pennsylvania’s economic success” (commonwealth of pennsylvaniaa, 2024). reflective of this, the short-term goals of shapiro’s proposal seek to establish a predictable and transparent performance-based funding formula that incentivizes and reinforces behaviors of institutions that result in outcomes that benefit the commonwealth. these outcomes include, but are not limited to, increased student achievement, increased student enrollment, increased number of first-generation college student enrollment, improved graduation rates, completion of degrees and credentials that address pennsylvania work shortages, etc. (commonwealth of pennsylvaniaa, 2024). ultimately, the long-term goals of the policy seek to establish a higher education system that serve as the “linchpin” to the economic growth and prosperity of pennsylvania in the coming years. however, several assumptions are made regarding the status of the current higher education system within pennsylvania and the assured success of the performance-based funding model. firstly, the policy and its constituents assume that the state-related institutions will 11 benefit equally from a blanket policy despite the differences in resources and student populations. furthermore, employing “incentives” and “sanctions” on already struggling areas is thought to solve the problem despite the lack of funding in the areas that need improvement. without additional state support, it is assumed that each institution is ready and outfitted on all levels to tackle these issues by the start date of 2025-2026. the current 2024-2025 education budget for penn state, for example, only receives 10% of its budget from state appropriations and support. in comparison, the 1970 education budget for penn state received over 62% of its budget from state support (unglesbee, 2024). in already imminent budget crises, decreased student enrollment and rising costs of running an institution, university leaders are looking for additional support from the state in order to reduce or remove the financial burden from its students. another assumption is that these institutions will not selectively choose stronger candidates that are more likely to graduate or lower the standards on their program requirements to ensure student success through perverse incentives. critics of performance-based funding formula models have pointed out that there is usually an unintended perverse incentive by institutions to reduce the quality of the degree in order to boost the number of awarded degrees according to set performance goals (hillman et al., 2014). both of these contribute to foreboding obstacles and conflicting priorities when it comes to the stated desired outcomes of increasing student success and preparing a workforce. lastly, there is an assumption that this funding will not “disadvantage minority-serving institutions” and create new problems (hillman & corral, 2017). overall, the performance-based funding model seeks to correct the negative reputation of higher education institutions— specifically those of the state-related universities—and employ a mandated performance-based funding model that hinges on a formula of metrics to determine state support. however, multiple 12 assumptions are made about the current health of these institutions and future behaviors regarding the threat of withholding state funding. while lincoln university was ultimately omitted from later iterations of the funding model proposal, it is important to take note of this specific assumption. stone: numbers and symbols the nature of the proposal itself is an on-going process that is in flux in real time. on this note, the pattern of communications and release of information has created an interesting and difficult process in trying to comprehend from a layman’s standpoint. however, these same patterns and omissions lend another layer to the issue, which can be analyzed through the lens of symbols. deborah stone (2012) argues that in the realm of politics, “symbols are means of influence and control” that political actors use to define problems, ultimately persuading an audience to support or take a course of action on an issue (p. 160). for proficient political actors, usage of symbolic devices can be effective in influencing the perception of and, ultimately, swaying an audience even in unfavorable circumstances. therefore, to truly understand the true nature and definition of a problem, it is crucial to understand symbols and analyze their applications. in her argument, stone (2012) presents three symbolic devices used in politics: stories, synecdoche, and metaphors. stories as a symbolic device present the definition of policy problems as a narrative that follows the structure of a storyline: “a beginning, a middle, and an end” and offer an explanation to its audience. political storytelling commonly uses two types of narrative story-lines: change and power. in the former, stories of change can focus on the narrative of declines. often, political actors use stories of decline to point out that the problem has worsened—and will continue to worsen should there be no action taken. within this story of 13 change, heroes and villains are featured devices. however, who is featured as the hero or as the villain, are choices wholly dependent on the political actor. synecdoche, though not a device of focus within this paper, is a symbolic device that uses a small part to represent the whole problem. thirdly, metaphors are symbolic devices that use comparisons in likening a problem to another. as a political tool, metaphors purport an assumptive statement that if a problem is likened to another, then it requires viewing and solving it in a similar fashion. often, metaphors are used in suggesting a particular solution. common political metaphors include machines, wedges & inclines, disease, and so on. (pp. 158-182). governor shapiro uses a political storytelling that paints a narrative on the declining state of pennsylvania’s higher education system— a system that is “broken and called for a new blueprint (commonwealth of pennsylvania, 2024b).” he points out that “after 30 years of disinvestment, too many of our colleges and universities are running on empty and not enough students have affordable pathways through college and into good jobs”, leaving no reprieve for the hard-working faculty, staff and administrators that had been “dealt a lousy hand” to fill in the gaps. higher education has been, he pointed out, subjected to a “cycle of political gamesmanship that has held funding hostage”. governor shapiro’s selection of the terms “blueprint” and “linchpin” invoke an imagery of a vehicle and machine that pennsylvanians themselves would build up as the “economic drivers” to pennsylvania’s economic growth and future. usage of the metaphors of vehicles and machines reinforces the overall message and theme: higher education is one part of the system that will bring about economic growth. the villain, perhaps, could be seen as the pennsylvania government that has neglected the parts of its own system—and in turn, damaged its people and economy. 14 furthermore, he pointed out that pennsylvania “ranks 49th for state investment in higher education, and 48th in higher education affordability” and that in “the past decade, enrollment in our state system of higher education has dropped 30 percent and enrollment in our community colleges has dropped 37 percent” (commonwealth of pennsylvania, 2024b). governor shapiro likens the situation of the higher education system to that of deficits—ultimately comparing it to a metaphoric math formula. for so long, it has been about the subtraction of resources, services and access. now, governor shapiro claims, we must “play a game of addition”. continuing the metaphors, the blueprint itself presents as a structural plan for the vehicle that would allow pennsylvanians “freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed”. through an analysis of symbols, governor shapiro uses a story of change and decline that has ultimately moved into one of power and control. the use of precise and decreasing numbers, moves that stone (2012) would argue, both boost the authority of governor shapiro and help to paint the story of decline within his addresses. while the story of change and decline and its use of numbers was a call for action, governor shapiro spurs on the continuing change in policies and direction through power and control. the proposal for a policy to install a performance-based funding as part of governor shapiro’s “blueprint” for pennsylvania’s higher education systems to be built as part of the “educational foundations” for “an economy that is a leader in economic development, innovation, and job creation” (commonwealth of pennsylvania, 2024b). through the budget and its small steps promises that pennsylvania “would jump from 49th in the nation today to 22nd in just 5 years (commonwealth of pennsylvania, 2024b).” stone (2012) asks— “to what extent can we control our life conditions and destinies?”. by asserting that the “blueprint” is a step-by-step plan that uses monetary tools, regulation of state funding for state-related institutions through a 15 performance-based formula, governor shapiro emphasizes the simplicity and ease of use in a short amount of time. however, by emphasizing the simplicity of the presented solution and small steps within the blueprint, governor shapiro strategically employs the use of ambiguity within the budget address. ambiguity, as stone puts, is a tool that politicians may use to hide the depth and complexity of the entirety of the issues (2012). firstly, the metrics for how state-related institutions will be measured are not explicitly addressed and ultimately will be left to an established commission, leaving room for ambiguity. this, as stone (2012) points out, allows for politicians and policymakers the ability to work out the specifics “behind closed doors” (p. 181). moreover, this ambiguity also allows group leaders to reach a consensus and work together. this very ambiguity is evident in the s.b. 1154, passed six months later in july 2024, with the omission of lincoln university within the proposal and the lack of communications regarding the specifics of the metrics to be used as performance indicators. lastly, while governor shapiro is proposing a solution to the current state of higher education systems in pennsylvania, additional problems may arise. stone (2012) points out that measurers have the power of control, leaving the state-related institutions at the mercy of the commonwealth of pennsylvania. being measured may spur these institutions to manipulate their outcomes in an effort to reach the performance goal metrics. as stone (2012) pointed out, “manipulation is the achille’s heel of pay-for-performance systems” (p. 200). closing discussion as it currently stands, the application of a performance-based funding model is an inadvisable course of action and incompatible with the aims of the blueprint for higher 16 education. the evidence for the effectiveness of performance-based funding models is largely inconclusive when applied to four-year institutions and increasing the number of degree completion among undergraduate college students. previous studies on the implementation and evaluation of outcomes for performance-based funding models generally raised concerns about the adoption of the model and its unintended consequences of widening equity gaps for msis, hbcus and institutions that serve minoritized and underserved student populations. additionally, institutions may feel pressured to manipulate its own outcome metrics in order to meet the criteria that the funding model imposes—a move that, unfortunately, circles back to the problem of the undermined value of a college degree. as there is a large variance in the design of the policies and the states’ needs, there is a lack of national standardization and accessible information available. this lack of availability of information and clear dissemination leaves stakeholders in the dark, while political actors push forth action and agendas. with the exclusion of lincoln university from the group of state-related institutions targeted by performance-based funding, the question remains: what happens to lincoln university? will lincoln university see any changes, or grouped in their own category? all of these combined with the policy analyses of s.b. 1154 and previous addresses put forward by governor shapiro reveal a disconnect between previous research results and desired outcomes as it relates to the future of pennsylvania’s economic growth through post-secondary pathways. at the present, applying the performance-based funding model will inadvertently harm the institutions and populations it seeks to aid. however, while the changing nature of the policy, ambiguity and lack of transparent communication altogether prompts confusion, these combined actions may be intentionally calculated on the part of governor shapiro. navigation of a highly politicized topic encourages discretion and selection of what and how information will be shared. 17 perhaps the ambiguity, as stone (2012) points out, serves as a political move within an environment that has been hostile to higher education and may evolve to greater heights of scrutiny in the coming months when the presidential systems change. further analysis, investigation and research are needed to understand the true complexity of installing a performance-based funding model within pennsylvania’s state-related institutions. as it stands, this paper only reviews performance-based funding models on an institutional level and leaves out the activities at the microlevel. furthermore, a majority of studies completed are focused on quantitative methods and leave a gap for qualitative studies. questions regarding the middle-men and street-level bureaucrats, and their knowledge of higher education financing, how they interpret and respond to these policies may be fruitful endeavors of research in the future. especially as politicians wield narratives, measurements and ambiguity as tools, there is a reliance on the layman’s gap of understanding in financial matters in higher education to push forth decisions. lastly, further analysis, research and questioning on the actions taken and behaviors of policymakers and leaders may also be beneficial in understanding not only the topic of performance-based funding, but the overall politics embedded within higher education. 18 references: commonwealth of pennsylvania. (2024a, january 26). governor shapiro delivers new blueprint for higher education, focused on competitiveness and workforce development & grounded in access and affordability. https://www.pa.gov/en/governor/newsroom/2024press-releases/governor-shapiro-delivers-new-blueprint-for-higher-education--fo.html commonwealth of pennsylvania. (2024b, february 06). governor shapiro’s 2024-25 budget address as prepared. https://www.pa.gov/en/governor/newsroom/2024-pressreleases/governor-shapiro-s-2024-25-budget-address-as-prepared0.html hagood, l. p. (2019). the financial benefits and burdens of performance funding in higher education. educational evaluation and policy analysis, 41(2), 189–213. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45221672 hillman, n. & corral, d. (2017). the equity implications of paying for performance in higher education. american behavioral scientist, 61(14), pp. 1757-1772. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764217744834 hillman, n. w., tandberg, d. a., & gross, j. p. k. (2014). performance funding in higher education: do financial incentives impact college completions? the journal of higher education, 85(6), 826–857. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2014.11777349 larocca, r., & carr, d. (2020). the effect of higher education performance funding on graduation rates. journal of education finance, 45(4), 493-526. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jef.2020.a760719. https://www.pa.gov/en/governor/newsroom/2024-press-releases/governor-shapiro-delivers-new-blueprint-for-higher-education--fo.html https://www.pa.gov/en/governor/newsroom/2024-press-releases/governor-shapiro-delivers-new-blueprint-for-higher-education--fo.html https://www.pa.gov/en/governor/newsroom/2024-press-releases/governor-shapiro-s-2024-25-budget-address-as-prepared0.html https://www.pa.gov/en/governor/newsroom/2024-press-releases/governor-shapiro-s-2024-25-budget-address-as-prepared0.html http://www.jstor.org/stable/45221672 https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764217744834 https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2014.11777349 https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jef.2020.a760719 19 layzell, d. t. (1999). air research and practice: linking performance to funding outcomes at the state level for public institutions of higher education: past, present, and future. research in higher education, 40(2), 233–246. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40196341 ortagus, j. c., rosinger, k. o., kelchen, r., chu, g., & lingo, m. (2023). the unequal impacts of performance-based funding on institutional resources in higher education. research in higher education, 64(5), 705-739. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09719-2 public school code of 1949, 30 p.l. §§ 2002-i (2022). https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconscheck.cfm?txttype=htm&yr=1949& sessind=0&smthlwind=0&act=14&chpt=20i&sctn=2&subsctn=0# s.b. 1154, 2024 general assembly of pennsylvania, 2024 session. (pennsylvania 2024). https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2023&sind=0&body=s &type=b&bn=1154 schneider, a. & ingram, h. (1993). social construction of target population implications for politics and policy. american political science review, 87(2), pp. 334-347. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2939044 serna, g. (2020). evaluating the effects of performance-based funding policies 2.0 on state expenditures to public higher education: evidence from the states. journal of education finance, 46(1), 67–99. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48682020 shin, j.c., shim, h.k., kim, s.j., & lee, p.g. (2024). a systematic review of the impact of performance-based funding in the us. higher education policy, 37 (392– 417)https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-023-00309-0 http://www.jstor.org/stable/40196341 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09719-2 https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconscheck.cfm?txttype=htm&yr=1949&sessind=0&smthlwind=0&act=14&chpt=20i&sctn=2&subsctn=0 https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconscheck.cfm?txttype=htm&yr=1949&sessind=0&smthlwind=0&act=14&chpt=20i&sctn=2&subsctn=0 https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2023&sind=0&body=s&type=b&bn=1154 https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2023&sind=0&body=s&type=b&bn=1154 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2939044 https://www.jstor.org/stable/48682020 20 tandberg, d. a., & hillman, n. w. (2014). state higher education performance funding: data, outcomes, and policy implications. journal of education finance, 39(3), 222–243. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23597610 unglesbee, ben. (2024, july 12). pennsylvania’s budget leaves funds flat for penn state and others. higher ed dive. https://www.highereddive.com/news/pennsylvania-budget-flatfunding-penn-state-universities-colleges/721283/ http://www.jstor.org/stable/23597610 https://www.highereddive.com/news/pennsylvania-budget-flat-funding-penn-state-universities-colleges/721283/ https://www.highereddive.com/news/pennsylvania-budget-flat-funding-penn-state-universities-colleges/721283/ [concept, vol. xxxiv (2011)] clerical misconduct, charity, and the common good: saint augustine’s sermons 355 & 356 rachel claire kondro theology introduction anyone who believes that clerical scandals are unique to recent decades need look no further than saint augustine‟s late-fourth and early-fifth century sermons and letters to refute that opinion. although the precise details of clerical misconduct incidents vary depending upon historical and cultural contexts, the basic, underlying issues and impact upon the community do not. this article assesses and analyzes augustine‟s public commentary on the topic of clerical scandal as recorded in sermons 355 and 356. i argue that the principles guiding this discourse at the end of augustine‟s life are the very same principles that defined his pastoral vocation as a young priest very recently and quite reluctantly ordained, 1 and as the founder of multiple monastic communities. specifically, i contend that concern for promoting charity and the common good are the two primary principles at work in augustine‟s public handling of an incident of clerical misconduct involving one of his priests. first, the notion of the common good, or the salvation of the many, is epitomized in a brief, urgent letter augustine addressed to the bishop who ordained him in 391. there, augustine asks valerius, “but how am i to exercise this ministry for the salvation of others, not seeking what is beneficial for me, but for the many, that they may be saved (1 cor. 10:33)?” 2 second, the primacy of charity is a theme woven throughout augustine‟s sermons and writings, and is the basis of both his monastic rule and his approach to church discipline. without grasping how augustine understood voluntary poverty as an expression of fraternal charity and christ-like humility, and hypocrisy as a serious deficiency of those virtues, it 1 as frederic van der meer explains, shortly before his ordination, augustine was contentedly living the life of a country ascetic within a community of likeminded friends. during a sunday liturgy in hippo one day, bishop valerius announced his intention to choose a new priest, and augustine was “firmly seized and led to the exedra, where valerius sat.” that is, “augustine, like many another at this time, was literally dragged to the priest‟s bench.” augustine the bishop, trans. brian battershaw and g.r. lamb, (london; new york: sheed and ward, 1961): 4. 2 saint augustine, “letter 21: augustine to valerius,” in letters 1-99, vol. ii/1, trans. roland teske (hyde park, ny: new city press, 2001): 57 (§4). “sed hoc ipsum quo modo ministrem ad salutem aliorum „non quaerens, quod mihi utile est, sed quod multis, ut salui fiant‟?” may be difficult for a contemporary reader to understand why the issue of januarius and his last will and testament would have been so damaging to the christian community. therefore, i use the principles of charity and the common good as interpretive keys by which to understand augustine‟s public handling of clerical scandal that disturbed not only his monastic community, but also his ecclesial community. beginning with a discussion of historical context, i then proceed to the texts themselves, paying attention to the rhetor and audience, and the structure and arguments of the sermons. i conclude with an interpretation of the various aspects that comprise augustine‟s discourse, and the ways in which he attempts to heal the harm januarius‟s actions inflicted upon his family, community, and church. “nothing…is more difficult…than the office of a bishop, priest, or deacon.” –letter 21 3 a brief, urgent letter augustine addressed to bishop valerius of hippo in 391 provides insight into his views of the clergy both before and after his own ordination, and captures succinctly the concern for the salvation of the many characterizing his entire pastoral career. in the letter, augustine confesses that before becoming a priest, he criticized the mistakes of clerics, and imagined that he might correct them. however, augustine wanted no part of ordained ministry for himself. “i judged this ministry to be filled with perils,” he tells valerius. 4 furthermore, his unwilling induction to the ranks of the clergy painfully highlights his own unpreparedness for the task of ministry. augustine laments that, “the second post at the helm was handed to me who did not yet know how to hold an oar.” 5 his newfound understanding of his own lack of knowledge and preparation “torments and crushes” him. 6 augustine now realizes “what a man needs who ministers to the people the sacrament and word of god,” 7 and he does not believe that he yet possesses those necessary attributes. he begs valerius for a brief sabbatical, and explains that his plan is to prepare himself further by a study of the scriptures. he writes, “by the knowledge and grasp of [the scriptures] a man of god can minister to the more ordinary affairs of the church or at least live with a sounder conscience among the bands of the wicked or die so that he does not lose that one life for which humble and gentle christian hearts sigh. but how is this possible except as the lord himself said: by seeking, by asking, and by knocking? 3 ibid., 56 (§1). 4 augustine, “letter 21,” 56 (§2). 5 ibid. §1. 6 ibid., 57 (§3). 7 ibid. that is, by praying, by reading, and by weeping.” 8 augustine desires to return from his retreat with “fruit for the church of christ and for the benefit of my brothers and fellow servants,” and “instructed in the most salutary counsels of [christ‟s] scriptures.” 9 what are we to make of augustine‟s emphatic, emotionally charged pleas to valerius? recent scholarship contends that, “heavily psychologized portraits misread letter 21.” 10 michael cameron suggests that, “we take augustine‟s tone to refer not to his personal spiritual malady but to an unspecified emotional wound (vulnus) that he sustained during his first foray into ministry….overconfidence in knowledge caused him to suffer a grievous wound in battle.” 11 along similar but even more specific lines, allan fitzgerald argues that it was encounters with donatist leaders that motivated augustine‟s appeal to valerius, explaining, “the issue is, once again, clear: he is not worried about his salvation, but about serving others. so, he seeks some time apart, that is, he wants a „retreat,‟ not a dispensation.” 12 to summarize, the reasons why augustine wrote letter 21 do not arise from self-interested or “self-referential” 13 factors, such as a man in the throes of a “vocation crisis,” 14 or even a mid-life crisis precipitated by the recent deaths of his son and a close friend. 15 although augustine undoubtedly experienced some personal sense of loss at the end of his tranquil, simple existence in a community “deep in the heart of the country,” 16 the pressing concern so evident in letter 21 seems to be more than mere resentment over his forcible ordination and subsequent thrust into active ministry. and, whether augustine‟s reasons for writing the epistle were the result of interior or external turmoil (or some combination of the two factors), he is clearly struck by, and one might very accurately say “wounded” by, 17 the immense responsibility he feels for the benefit and salvation of christ‟s church. that notion of accountability, together with his sense of inadequacy for the task of guiding souls to salvation, “was the reason for those tears.” 18 8 ibid., 57 (§4). 9 ibid., 58 (§6). 10 michael cameron, “valerius of hippo: a profile,” in augustinian studies 40 (2009): 16. 11 ibid. 12 allan fitzgerald, o.s.a., “when augustine was priest,” in augustinian studies 40 (2009): 45. 13 ibid., 41. 14 ibid. 15 cameron, “valerius of hippo,” 15. 16 van der meer, augustine the bishop, 3. 17 saint augustine, “letter 21,” 56. (§2) 18 ibid. “before all else, dearest brothers, god should be loved, and then your neighbor.” –the rule of saint augustine 19 throughout his life, augustine valued highly the experience of close friendships, and even flirted with the notion of community life and voluntary poverty before his conversion experience in the summer of 386. in his confessions, he recounts how he and his companions dreamed of a pleasant life devoted to the study of philosophy. he writes: we would set up this place of leisurely retirement in such a way that any possessions we might have would be made available to the community and we would pool our resources in a single fund. the sincerity of our friendship should ensure that this thing should not belong to one person and that to another: there would be one single property formed out of many; the whole would belong to each of us, and all things would belong to all. 20 after his return to the catholic faith of his boyhood, maria boulding says, “initially at cassiciacum, and again at thagaste and hippo after their return to africa, augustine and his friends found within their faith a communion of hearts and minds and life which was like a microcosm of the church.” 21 likewise, luc verheijen explains, “saint augustine was to realize more and more that brotherhood in a monastery is a concrete expression of the brotherly spirit of the whole church: the „one soul‟ is at rock-bottom „the soul of christ which is one,‟ the anima unica christi.” 22 however, it must be noted that this vision was the product of decades of development in augustine‟s understanding of the monastic life. adolar zumkeller‟s account of augustine‟s ideal of the religious life traces its maturation over the course of his life and ministry. augustine‟s first experience of an intentional christian community was after his conversion when, as a catechumen awaiting baptism, he shared “the weeks of recovery and reflection” at cassiciacum with his dear friend, alypius, his mother, monica, his son, adeodatus, 19 augustine, “the rule of st. augustine,” in augustine’s ideal of the religious life, by adolar zumkeller, o.s.a. (new york: fordham university press, 1986): 287. 20 augustine, the confessions, trans. maria boulding, o.s.b. (hyde park: new city press, 1997): vi, 14, 24. 21 maria boulding, o.s.b., “introduction,” in the confessions, 27. 22 luc verheijen, saint augustine’s monasticism in light of acts 4:32-35, (villanova, pa: villanova university press, 1979): 80. and several other relatives and close friends. 23 “certainly,” zumkeller remarks, “the circle of friends at cassiciacum was not yet a monastic community, but the groundwork had been laid for the new way of life which was to be established at tagaste and hippo.” 24 augustine gained further exposure to monasticism during trips to milan and rome, and established his own monastery on the grounds of his father‟s estate in thagaste in 388. inspired by the conversion story of saint antony of egypt, augustine “completely renounced all his personal possessions when he began their common life in tagaste.” 25 after his ordination in hippo in 391, valerius gave him a garden on the church grounds for a monastery. zumkeller explains, “augustine felt the tension between the priesthood and the monastic life to be great, and yet his determination to unite the one with the other was strong from the very beginning.” 26 complete renunciation of material goods was a prerequisite for entrance, with augustine grounding his insistence upon voluntary poverty in acts 4:32. 27 he composed a religious rule around 400, which reiterates the expression of unity and charity through common life. “from now on, this is what augustine holds up before his brothers as the essential element of their monastic common life,” zumkeller states, “they should hold earthly goods in common and possess one heart and one soul directed to god.” 28 or, as verheijen comments, “unity of souls and hearts is greatly furthered when one puts in common all material belongings.” 29 clerics joined this community, but were outnumbered by the lay brothers who “gave their stamp to the entire community.” 30 after augustine was selected coadjutor bishop of hippo in 395, and succeeded valerius as bishop in 396, he was faced with fresh challenges to his community vision. the day-to-day cares of pastoral ministry and administrative tasks, however, did not sap his determination “to continue his own monastic life.” 31 realizing that, as bishop, he could not be inhospitable toward the members of his church, but neither could he disturb the peace of the garden monastery by receiving a steady stream of visitors, augustine “gathered around him in the „house 23 adolar zumkeller, o.s.a., augustine’s ideal of the religious life (new york: fordham university press, 1986): 9. 24 ibid., 13. 25 ibid., 29. 26 ibid., 34. 27 “the community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.” (new american bible) 28 ibid., 36. 29 verheijen, 4. 30 ibid., 37. 31 ibid., 40. of the bishop‟ (domus episcopi) clerics who were prepared to join him in a common life of voluntary poverty according to the example of the apostolic church.” 32 this new monastic establishment would also function as a sort of diocesan seminary. therefore, the contemporary distinction between priests belonging to a religious order and those “secular” clergy serving a diocese does not appear in this scenario. van der meer writes, “in augustine‟s view [ascetic community life] was even more suited to the clergy than to anybody else.” 33 just as in the garden monastery, “admission was preceded by a final renunciation of money and goods….in the community of clerics, social differences were unimportant. what mattered was not how much money or land someone had brought into the monastery with him, but only the measure of his love for god and the brethren.” 34 as zumkeller relates, augustine understood monastic profession as an experience of conversion, of laying aside “that image (imago) of the earthly adam…in order to carry the image of the second adam who had come down from heaven.” 35 conversion is characterized by a renunciation of the love of the world (amor mundi). “when man…turns to god, to himself, or to his neighbor, it is love (caritas) that is driving him, a well-ordered love (ordinata dilectio), a love of god (amor dei). but when he is striving for delight in his own self, in his fellow-men, or in material possessions…then cupidity (cupidas), the sinful love of the world (amor mundi), is ruling him.” 36 this christ-like caritas is impossible without christ-like humilitas—a kenotic humility that voluntarily becomes poor for the redemption of humanity. 37 augustine “never wearied in presenting christ as the teacher of humility. christ had made this virtue known by word and example; he had called man to imitate his humility, so that it might also become the way to glory.” 38 put simply: what human being can remain willfully proud after comprehending the profound humility of god? 39 this historical context has, i hope, provided a clearer understanding of why voluntary poverty was so central to augustine‟s rule for religious life, and why, as i will explain next, refusal to completely renounce one‟s personal wealth and thus fulfill the monastic vow was such a source of grief for the bishop and scandal for 32 ibid. 33 van der meer, 200. 34 van der meer, 41. 35 zumkeller, 210. 36 ibid., 213. 37 ibid., 233. 38 ibid., 234-35. 39 cf. sermon 142, especially augustine‟s incredulous exclamation, “god is now humble, and we human beings are still proud!” (§6) the christian community. the practice of poverty must be understood as an expression of love of god as expressed through love of neighbor, in imitation of christ. fraternal charity is intimately related to the virtue of humility, which renders insignificant the economic and social differences that would have distinguished the monks from one another before they entered the monastery. failure to embrace the religious vow of poverty is a means of retaining secular power and position, contrary to the example of christ, who freely laid aside all that was rightly his for the salvation of many. if we do not understand caritas as the principle motivating augustine‟s firm insistence upon total renunciation of all private property, and christ as the exemplar of voluntary poverty for the salvation of the many, augustine‟s monastic rule and practices will look like empty asceticism. it is love that animates the actions. “we live here with you, and we live here for you; and my intention and wish is that we may live with you in christ's presence forever.” –sermon 355 40 nearly 34 years have passed since augustine addressed his tearful correspondence to valerius. the date is just before or after christmas of 425, the location is the basilica of peace at hippo, the rhetor is a 71-year-old augustine, and the audience is an unusually large gathering of listeners who have shown up at their bishop‟s request. 41 the day before, he had promised to explain an important matter to them in greater detail. the issue to be addressed is that of scandal within augustine‟s own monastic community. he speaks to the congregation while sitting; they stand for his remarks. mindful of these circumstances, he promises not to talk at great length and weary them. augustine begins the discourse by recounting the circumstances under which he assumed leadership of the church in hippo. he came to the city as a young man, seeking to establish a monastic community. “i had in fact left behind all worldly hopes, and i did not wish to be what i could have been; nor, however, was i seeking to be what i am now,” he tells the audience. 42 “i did everything i could to assure my salvation in a lowly position, and not to incur the grave risks of a high one.” augustine explains, “i was caught, i was made a priest, and by this grade i eventually came to the episcopate.” 43 40 augustine, “sermon 355: first sermon on the way of life of his clergy,” in sermons, (341400) on various subjects, vol. iii/10, trans. by edmund hill, o.p. (hyde park, ny: new city press, 1995): 166 (§1). 41 george lawless, “failure to fulfill a vow and an inventory of clerical conduct.” unpublished manuscript chapter (microsoft word document): 1. 42 augustine, “sermon 355,” 167 (§2). 43 ibid. even after surrendering to the priestly vocation he tried so ardently to avoid, augustine moved forward with his plans to establish of a monastery. he received a plot of land from valerius, and gathered together men who unanimously agreed to distribute their property to the poor and share everything in common. no one would possess any private property. augustine tells the audience that he treated his religious brothers respectfully. he was inclined to believe the best about them, and not to investigate whether or not they had truly renounced all of their personal material goods. however, when the scandalous actions of one of his priests, januarius, came to light, augustine was compelled to publicly address the accusations. in short, januarius, who was a priest well known to the church of hippo, claimed to have dispensed his private wealth to the poor, but was instead “administering money for a daughter who was a minor and who was living in a convent close by.” 44 when he was confronted with the imminence of his own death, he disinherited his daughter and son (who was also a monk) and left his money to the church in a will. 45 his bishop was left with a difficult problem, and a dilemma concerning how it ought to be addressed. augustine acknowledges that his eventual decisions in the matter cannot please everyone. at the time of his remarks, he has already decided to refuse januarius‟ legacy willed to the church, and he knows that some members of the audience will be displeased with his choice. he defends himself, stating, “let those who wish praise me, those who don't want to praise me, at least spare me….anyone who wants to make the church his heir after disinheriting his son, should look for someone else to accept the legacy, not augustine.” 46 augustine then makes a rather startling announcement. he has decided to change his policy of not ordaining or retaining as ministers those who do not live according to the monastic rule of voluntary poverty. he explains: those who wish to keep some private property, for whom god and the church are not enough, may stay where they like and where they can; i will not deprive them of their clerical status. i don't want to have any hypocrites. it‟s bad—who would deny it?—it‟s bad to fall away from one‟s commitment; but it‟s worse to pretend to have such a commitment….i know how men love the clerical state; i won‟t deprive anyone of it who doesn't want to live in community with me. those who wish to live with me have god. if they are prepared to be provided for by god through his church, not 44 van der meer, augustine the bishop, 201. 45 ibid. 46 augustine, “sermon 355,” 170 (§5). to have any private property, but either to distribute it to the poor or put it in the common fund, let them stay with me. those who don‟t want this may consider themselves free; but they should also consider whether they can have eternal felicity. 47 augustine concludes his address with a promise to his audience that he will update them on the issue by epiphany, and will not conceal how he resolves the matter between januarius‟ two children. he implores his people, “pray for me, that as long as there is a soul in this body, and any kind of strength supplied to it, i may serve you in preaching the word of god.” 48 “we are always before your eyes. we desire nothing of anyone, other than your good works.” –sermon 356 49 it is just after epiphany of 426 when the assembly gathers again to hear augustine‟s report of the matter involving januarius, and an update on the bishop‟s own clergy and their way of life. he begins by saying, “your graces are owed a sermon today about us clergy ourselves,” 50 then asks them to listen carefully as the deacon lazarus reads acts 4:31-35. 51 after finishing the proclamation, he hands augustine the book, and augustine re-reads aloud the passage himself, explaining, “i too want to read. it gives me more pleasure, you see, to be reading these words than to be arguing my case with my own words.” 52 then, augustine briefly recapitulates the topics of the earlier sermon, and defends his reasons for speaking about it publicly. he tells his flock that he has good news for them, and proceeds to give a thorough account of the results of his investigation into his clergy‟s affairs. all of 47 ibid., 170-71 (§6). 48 ibid., 171 (§7). 49 augustine, “sermon 356: saint augustine‟s second sermon on the way of life of the clergy who were living with him,” in sermons, (341-400) on various subjects, vol. iii/10, trans. by edmund hill, o.p. (hyde park, ny: new city press, 1995): 178 (§12). 50 ibid., 175 (§1). 51 “when they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the holy spirit, and began to speak the word of god with confidence to everyone who wished to believe. now the multitude of believers had one soul and heart, and they none of them said that what they possessed was their own, but they had all things in common. and the apostles were testifying with great power to the resurrection of the lord jesus; and great grace was upon them all. nor was there anyone in need among them. for as many of them as owned estates or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds from them and laid them at the feet of the apostles; while distribution was made to each as each had need” (p. 174-75, §1). 52 augustine, “sermon 356,” 175 (§1). the brothers — priests, deacons, and subdeacons — are in full compliance with their vow to share all things in common. no one retains any private property, with the exception of a few brothers whose legal situations prevent the total and immediate relinquishment of their properties (e.g., augustine‟s own nephew, patrick, was unable to dispose of his property until he came of age and the deed could be legally ratified). however, these brothers are already practicing the spirit of the monastic vow of poverty, and are eager to officially relinquish their material goods as soon as legally or otherwise possible. in the interest of full disclosure and transparency, augustine gives a short synopsis of each brother‟s situation, and informs the audience that the dispute between januarius‟ two children has been satisfactorily resolved, with each agreeing to share the inheritance equally. 53 augustine wraps up his homily with an acknowledgement that his words are sure to spark conversations, stating, “and if it‟s such that we need yet again to clear ourselves, i will answer the slanderers, i will answer the adverse critics, i will answer the skeptics, those who don‟t trust us, their leaders; i will answer them as best i can, and as the lord enables me to.” 54 he will even go so far as to respond to slander, because, in his words, “i want our life to be lived openly before your eyes.” 55 finally, augustine promises swift and definitive discipline of any clergyman who lives a hypocritical life by claiming to have renounced his goods, but continuing to retain and administer them secretly. such a brother will be removed from both the monastery and the ministry immediately. in his previous address, augustine had announced the surprising change of policy permitting his clergy to openly own property and remain in ministry, although not remaining in the monastery. he does not retract that promise, despite expressing disappointment over such a choice. 56 what augustine will not tolerate are hypocrisy and lies. “let him appeal against me to a thousand councils, let him sail overseas against me wherever he likes, certainly wherever he can,” he says fervently, “so help me god, wherever i am bishop, that man cannot be a clergyman.” 57 the reason for everything—the changes in policy, the investigations, the public addresses—is summarized in the closing line of sermon 356. with eloquent simplicity, augustine says, “we don't want, though, to have a great [heavenly] reward at your expense. let us have a smaller reward there, and still reign there together with you in the kingdom.” 58 the goal is same as it has always been for 53 ibid., 179 (§11). 54 ibid., 180 (§12). 55 ibid. 56 he does not indicate that any brother actually took advantage of the new policy. 57 ibid., 181 (§14). 58 ibid., 182 (§15). augustine throughout the decades spanning his pastoral career. the journey to christ and by christ is not a solitary one. the members of christ‟s body travel together, as a community, to the heavenly jerusalem. “sit ejus quasi copia dicendi’ forma vivendi.” –de doctrina christiana 59 recent scholarship focusing upon sermons 355 and 356 is not particularly abundant. one exception is an article by conrad leyser in which he argues, “the scandal was something of a set-up, an orchestrated media event. it gave augustine the opportunity to begin staging the transfer of immediate juridical power to his successor and to turn to the longer term management of his literary estate.” 60 furthermore, “augustine wished now to present himself as a poor man who had chosen and maintained a life of apostolic poverty, be it as monk or a priest.” 61 while not discounting the value of leyser‟s investigation into the social-historical context of augustine‟s own narrative construction of his “retrospective self,” 62 i must admit that i find leyser‟s account to be an unsatisfactory explanation of the sermons. 63 my earlier contextual discussion supports the notion that augustine‟s treatment of clerical misconduct and subsequent scandal ought to be considered in light of his expressed understanding of the vocation of a cleric, and in light of the christ-like virtues of love and humility that motivate him to insist upon the sharing of material goods in monastic life. therefore, when approaching these sermons, it is necessary to think about the ways in which januarius‟ actions are a breach of charity, and how augustine‟s words are an attempt to repair the harm done to januarius‟ family, his monastic community, and the church at hippo. 59 qtd. in van der meer, augustine the bishop, 411. “eloquent is the man whose life can speak.” 60 conrad leyser, “homo pauper, de pauperibus natum: augustine, church property, and the cult of stephen,” in augustinian studies 36 (2005): 230 61 ibid., 232. 62 ibid., 230. 63 i make this statement as a novice student of augustine, yet with the conviction that whatever dimension one chooses to explore in his thought, one must always proceed with an awareness of the christological center of his preaching, and his ever-present concern with the christ-like virtues of caritas and humilitas. i understand that, although he assumed the administrative duties of a cleric and bishop with reluctance, he was, at this point in his life, by no means a naïve amateur unaware of the various “secular” concerns related to his church and monasteries. therefore, it is certainly appropriate to raise questions about what “practical” motivations inspired augustine to publicly confront a clerical scandal, and what sort of rhetorical exigencies he wished to modify with his speech. however, i contend that any speculation about augustine‟s rhetorical performance of his “retrospective self” cannot be divorced from a theologically informed interpretation of his discourse. at the most micro level, januarius‟ actions have brought disunity to his own family. in his deathbed will, he disowned both of his children and left the inheritance to the church, praising his daughter, and, in a clause of the will, rebuking his son. to make matters worse, both children are members of religious communities, and have now been subjected to the scandalous example of their own father, who violated his monastic vow of poverty. grieved by these actions, augustine tells his congregation that januarius: has left his children an occasion for a quarrel which troubles me greatly. the girl says, “it‟s mine, you know that my father always said that.” the boy says, “my father should be believed, because he couldn‟t possibly lie when he was dying.” and what a really bad thing this wrangling is! but if these children are both servants of god, we can quickly put an end to this dispute between them. i will listen to them as a father, and perhaps better than their own father. i will see what the rights of the matter are, as god wills, together with a few of the faithful and respected brethren taken, by god's favor, from among your number, that is from this congregation. i will hear the case between them, and as the lord grants us, i will settle it. 64 sensing that some members of the audience will be displeased because he refuses to accept januarius‟ gift to the church, augustine anticipates their accusation that he stubbornly refuses to accept offerings to the church, and counters, “i assure you i accept good offerings, holy offerings. but if anyone is angry with his son, and disinherits him on his deathbed, if he lived, wouldn‟t i try to placate him? wouldn‟t i have the duty to reconcile him with his son?…but certainly, if he does what i have often urged people to do—he has one child, let him think of christ as the second; he has two, let him think of christ as the third; he has ten, let him make christ the eleventh, and i will accept it.” 65 this is a remarkable statement from a bishop whose theology and preaching revolve around the supremacy and centrality of christ! he has what some would consider the audacity to proclaim that it is better to provide for one‟s family and promote charity and peace between one‟s children than to disinherit them in order to give the money to the church. such a gift is tainted, “bitter fruit,” 66 not a pleasing, acceptable sacrifice to god. he concludes, “certainly, when i have granted a son what his father, dying in anger, took away from him, i have done well.” 67 64 augustine, “sermon 355,” 168 (§3). 65 ibid., 169 (§4). 66 ibid., 168 (§3). 67 augustine, “sermon 355,” 170 (§5). januarius‟ selfish actions also reveal a severe lack of love toward his religious community. as i have already discussed in some detail, voluntary poverty in augustine‟s thought is linked to charity and humility, both of which are demonstrated most perfectly in the self-emptying incarnation and passion of christ. augustinian poverty is, as zumkeller writes, “a way to realize the consummate community of love in the monastic life….possession and ownership, [augustine] said in a sermon, have always been at the root of all contention and warfare. in contrast, freely willed poverty as the primitive christian community understood it was the source of peace and harmony….in monastic poverty and common ownership he was henceforth to see a practical expression and an efficacious sign of spiritual love (caritas).” 68 januarius‟ misconduct is particularly damaging to his community when we consider his assets not merely as money or property, but as the means to retain some sense of power, autonomy, and control over his individual destiny and welfare. januarius loves his brothers in religion too little, and the independence represented by his wealth too much. even further, he has provided weapons to the community‟s detractors, who will now query, “do they really live in the way you say they do?…wasn‟t there recently a priest with a position in their community who made a will, and disposed of what he possessed as he wished, and left it as a legacy? do they really have everything in common there? does nobody really call anything his own?” 69 finally, januarius‟ misconduct demonstrates an absence of charity toward his ecclesial community. we do not know exactly how the church at hippo first heard about the scandal of the last will and testament of one of their priests. however, we do know that the catholic community would have had frequent and familiar interactions with the clergy of the monastery. this was not a cloistered community. as charles w. brockwell, jr. says, “augustine‟s priests did not live sealed off from the catholics of hippo.” 70 augustine‟s african society “was endemically turbulent and frequently violent,” 71 and augustine “could not help seeing that the church‟s considerable wealth was a constant source of envious calumnies uttered by the laity against bishops and clergy.” 72 januarius has forgotten that, as a priest, he “dispenses christ‟s word and sacraments to christ‟s people, feeding and nourishing them in christian life. the word and sacraments the ordained minister dispenses are not his but christ‟s. since christ himself is the model and pattern of true humility, the ordained minister who dispenses christ‟s 68 zumkeller, 148-49. 69 augustine, “sermon 356,” 175 (§2). 70 charles w. brockwell, jr., “augustine‟s ideal of monastic community: a paradigm for his doctrine of the church,” augustinian studies 8 (1977): 106. 71 ibid., 107-08. 72 zumkeller, 153. word and sacraments to the people of god must also be a man of great humility.” 73 a minister who has fully embraced voluntary poverty is making a profound statement about the relative value he assigns to the word and sacraments. by giving up the right to administer his own goods, he is granted the privilege of distributing the priceless treasures of the church to christ‟s body. such a minister models properly ordered loves—valuing the eternal above everything temporal, and using all things for the edification of his neighbor and the salvation of the many. i argue that, contrary to the example of januarius, augustine‟s handling of this scandalous situation models the humility, love and concern for the common good characterizing a faithful minister. one of the clearest examples of the principle of “what benefits the salvation of the many” is found in augustine‟s distinction between conscience and reputation. although one might be able to choose certain actions based upon a clear conscience, she should also be aware of the impact such actions might have upon her brothers and sisters. an individual owes her conscience solely to god, but ought also to be concerned with her reputation as it relates to the salvation of her neighbor. 74 “those who, being clear in their consciences, neglect their reputations, are being cruel,” augustine argues. 75 furthermore, those who are in positions of great influence, especially the clergy, ought to be even more careful to use their reputations for the benefit of those whom they shepherd. 76 according to augustine, clergy must be willing to submit to an intense form of scrutiny, and to embrace even more transparency than is required of the average member of the christian community. the lives and affairs of clergy must be above reproach, evidently virtuous, and worthy of emulation. however, augustine is realistic. when he permits his brothers to leave the monastery but remain clerics, he makes a concession to human weakness, although it obviously pains him to do so. what is entirely intolerable for augustine is the damage wreaked by hypocrisy and dishonesty, such as when a cleric pretends to live in voluntary poverty while secretly managing his personal finances. when such scandal (or even potential for scandal) breaks into the public awareness, church leaders must be willing to address the issues with honesty and forthrightness. as noted earlier, in sermon 356, augustine promises that he will respond to everyone, even the skeptics, slanderers, and critics. most importantly, he will communicate with those who lack trust in their leaders. augustine‟s sacrificial love for the souls entrusted to him 73 lee f. bacchi, the theology of ordained ministry in the letters of augustine of hippo (san francisco: international scholars publications, 1998):122-23. 74 it seems evident that augustine was influenced by saint paul‟s treatment of this topic in romans 14. 75 augustine, “sermon 355,” 166 (§1). 76 ibid. compels him to go beyond smug satisfaction over being “right,” and into the humbling, difficult work of reconciling the critics, skeptics, slanderers and suspicious members of the church to the community. augustine also serves the members of his church by publicly stating his policies and expectations, which permits his audience to hold him accountable to his promises. he explains carefully and thoroughly the process of his decisionmaking in the matter of januarius‟ will, and generously explains the “why” behind his choices, rather than simply citing his episcopal authority, intellectual superiority, or even his advanced age and wisdom. augustine acknowledges that not everyone in his church will like his decisions, or agree with them. although he is concerned about his reputation to the degree that it helps or harms his fellow members of christ‟s body, he is not concerned with being popular or beloved for the sake of being well liked. augustine is willing to be unpopular, disliked, and misunderstood if he believes those are the costs of serving the spiritual welfare of the many. however, he will not cease from trying to correct misunderstandings and mistrust. conclusion this paper has considered augustine‟s public handling of a clerical misconduct incident against the backdrop of his own pastoral vocation and monastic ideals. augustine takes the call to ordained ministry seriously, and holds his ministers to the highest standards of personal conduct. he grounds his communities‟ requirement of voluntary poverty in the example of christ‟s kenotic humility, and defines it as an expression of fraternal charity. therefore, any failure to fulfill this vow is a failure to love, and is a source of scandal to one‟s immediate family, religious community, and local church. augustine‟s sermons demonstrate the proper response of ecclesial leadership to clerical scandal — a response characterized by transparency, openness, honesty, reconciliation, and accountability. although i have argued at some length for a reading of augustine‟s words that defines ordained ministry as the most serious of responsibilities and holds clerics to the highest possible standards of christ-like behavior, in closing, it would be wise to remember the donatist 77 controversy that demanded so much of his pastoral attention. by the time augustine delivers sermons 355 and 356, he has 77 in the early fourth century, donatus and his followers had been scandalized by church leaders who succumbed to imperial persecution and handed over copies of the sacred scriptures rather than be killed. the donatists could not believe that these “traitors” could be forgiven, even if they were sincerely repentant. they also believed that all sacraments administered by the traditores or those ordained by them were invalid. wrangled for decades with a vocal, rigorist sectarian majority, which claims that the grace of the church and the validity of the sacraments originate from the appropriate behavior and proper moral character of the ministers themselves. ultimately, even when dealing with painful and shameful scandals, augustine will never concede that legitimate disgust with or disappointment over the failures of leaders should rend one from the church. sources of scandal and opportunities for offense are certain to arise. on that very subject, we might do well to remember what he once told a gathering of the faithful in the easter season of 407: let us endure the world, let us endure tribulations, let us endure the scandal of trials. let us not turn aside from the way. let us hold onto the unity of the church, let us hold onto christ, let us hold onto charity. let us not be torn away from the members of his bride, let us not be torn away from the faith, so that we may glory in his presence, and we shall remain secure in him, now through faith and then through sight, the pledge of which we have as the gift of the holy spirit. 78 bibliography augustine. the confessions. vol. i/1. introduction, translation and notes by maria boulding, o.s.b.; edited by john e. rotelle. hyde park, new york: new city press, 1997. _____. homilies on the first epistle of john. vol. i/14. introduction, translation and notes by boniface ramsey; edited by boniface ramsey. hyde park: new york, 2008. _____. “letter 21: augustine to valerius.” letters 1-99. vol. ii/1. translation and notes by roland teske; edited by john e. rotelle. hyde park, new york: new city press, 2001. 78 augustine, homilies on the first epistle of john, trans. by boniface ramsey (hyde park: new city press, 2008): 144 (homily 9, 11). _____. “the rule of st. augustine.” in zumkeller, augustine’s ideal of the religious life, 287-295. _____. “sermon 355: first sermon on the way of life of his clergy.” in sermons, (341-400) on various subjects. vol. iii/10. translation and notes by edmund hill, o p. series edited by john e. rotelle, o.s.a. hyde park, new york: new city press, 1995. _____. “sermon 356: saint augustine‟s second sermon on the way of life of the clergy who where living with him.” in sermons, (341-400) on various subjects. vol. iii/10. translation and notes by edmund hill, o p. series edited by john e. rotelle, o.s.a. hyde park, new york: new city press, 1995. bacchi, lee f. the theology of ordained ministry in the letters of augustine of hippo. san francisco: international scholars publications, 1998. brockwell, jr., charles w. “augustine‟s ideal of monastic community: a paradigm for his doctrine of the church.” augustinian studies 8 (1977): 91 109. cameron, michael. “valerius of hippo: a profile.” augustinian studies 40 (2009): 5-26. fitzgerald, allan, o.s.a. “when augustine was priest.” augustinian studies 40 (2009): 37-48. lawless, george. “failure to fulfill a vow and an inventory of clerical conduct.” unpublished manuscript chapter. microsoft word document. leyser, conrad. “homo pauper, de pauperibus natum: augustine, church property, and the cult of stephen.” augustinian studies 36 (2005): 229-237. van der meer, frederic. augustine the bishop. translated by brian battershaw and g.r. lamb. london; new york: sheed and ward, 1961. verheijen, luc. saint augustine’s monasticism in light of acts 4:32-35. villanova, pa: villanova university press, 1979. zumkeller, adolar. augustine’s ideal of the religious life. translated by edmund colledge. new york: fordham university press, 1986. 1 something to crow about: birds with tools william mccarthy iv psychology locals in new caledonia tell of crows using tools made from leaves. crows were introduced to the island around the inception of european colonialization ca. 1850 (hunt & gray, 2003). new caledonians have embraced the stories about their crows using tools. their national postage stamps feature a crow holding a leaf tool in its beak. new caledonian crows (nccs) manufacture a distinct variety of tools, depending on their functional demands. indeed, human folklore attributes intelligence and cleverness to crows and recounts of their ability to understand cause and effect relations (aesop & rackham, 1975). in the crow and the pitcher, a thirsty crow finds a pitcher with water at the bottom. however, the jug is too heavy to overturn, and the mouth of the pitcher is too narrow to reach inside and drink. the crow picks up pebbles and drops them within the pitcher. doing this causes the water to rise, and the thirsty crow satiates its thirst. tools differ from materials. one can imagine a nest as a tool created by a bird for the purpose of sleeping. however, to make its nest the bird uses their beaks or claws when manipulating stick materials. the nest is not the tool which the bird uses to sleep, but the material which the bird manipulates. a tool is a manufactured functional object. tool use can be defined by “the use of an external object as a functional extension of a mouth or beak, hand or claw, which extends the physical influence of the animal in the attainment of an immediate goal" (goodall, 1970; kamil & jones, 1973). true tools are neither beaks nor claws. the evolution of tool use in homo sapiens reveals important aspects about the development of higher-order cognition. some point to tool use as a prominent advantage that humans utilized to compete with rival species. it remains unclear if tool use by early humans caused them to develop 2 larger brains, or rather, if larger brains led to the development of tool use. tool use has only been achieved by two distinct organizations of brain architecture: one in mammals, the other in birds. researchers continued to equivocate the intelligence of crows with that of the great apes. corvids, members of the crow family, possess brains which are relatively larger in relation to their body weight than compared to most other species. specifically, the brains of nccs tend to contain larger mesopalliums, pallidostriatal complexes, septums, and tegmentums (cabreraálvarez & clayton, 2020) compared to those of other birds. the pallium makes up about 75% of the total brain volume of adult birds (jarvis et al., 2005). the neuroarchitecture of the brain which underlies tool using behavior matters less than the specific subdivisions and connections between neural substrates. tool use was significant in the development of higher-order cognitive faculties in early humans. research which investigates tool use in birds can test the functions, methods, and motivations for tool use which members of aves has selected for in their evolutionary histories. several orders of aves contain tool-using birds: accipitriformes (diurnal raptors), ciconiformes (herons, storks), psittaciformes (parrots, macaws), and passeriformes (perching songbirds). hiroyoshi (1985, 1986) describes how herons learn to use bait such as sticks, twigs, grass, leaves, and insects to lure fish within their striking distance. captive macaws place sticks within their beaks to break open nuts. borsori and ottoni (2003) describe their innate tendencies to place tools and food together within their beaks while feeding. woodpecker finches hold stick tools within their beaks to probe into dead wood for beetles (tebbich, taborsky, fessl, & blomqvist, 2001). studies of tool use across psittacopasserae, accipitriformes, and ciconiformes demonstrate that nccs behave uniquely with physical materials. they have learned to fashion leaf tools as an adaptive foraging technique. when crafting tools, nccs represent functional and social worlds. corvids behave as if they perceive the representations of the knowledge states and preferences of multiple observers at a time. 3 they seem to employ these representations in guiding their decisions. for instance, nutcrackers which hear the noises of a nearby conspecific are more likely to protect their caches by recaching or by engaging in behavior which misleads their conspecifics. by recaching food items after they believe conspecifics are aware of the location, they behave as if they understand the intentions of others (i.e., that others want to steal their hidden food). nccs behave as if they understand the causal effects of their tool use. this behavior offers support for the notion that they possess a “folk physics.” observations in new caledonia and research at oxford suggest that nccs possess a rudimentary form of causal reasoning. nccs demonstrate flexibility in their tool use in that they modify novel materials into functional shapes. keefner’s (2016) research indicates that crows hide their food differently when in the presence of a visual or auditory conspecific. crows are kleptoparasitic, meaning that some will steal each other’s food. it is advantageous that crows generate representations of conspecifics and their mental states. they hide food when they know another crow is watching them. emery and clayton (2004) propose that natural corvid caching behavior reveals ncc prospection, given that the prior hiding and subsequent retrieval of food items necessitates a perception of temporality. temporality grounds cause and effect, as a sequence. ncc tool use in the wild most tool-using birds can be found within corvidae. nccs manufacture and utilize sticks, hooks, and stepped-leaf tools which they cut from the leaves of the pandanus plant. they use leaf tools to pry cerambycidae bugs out of the dead wood of the aleutirites moluccanus tree (hunt, 2000). observations of wild ncc foraging behavior and experiments with captive nccs support the notion that nccs fashion tools out of physical materials to meet a functional foraging demand. wild nccs create tools to extract larvae from trees. they prefer certain shapes and methods of holding their tools. even in captivity, nccs can learn about tools. they spontaneously manufacture and modify tools 4 without any social input from wild birds, suggesting that tool use may be innate in nccs. evolution has selected for the ability of crows to understand cause and effect relationships. the notion that corvidae understand cause and effect are supported by their goal-directed use of tools, which they generally fashion from the leaves of the pandanus plants. observations of the tools nccs create describe the physical material, shape, diameter, length, and manipulation of manufactured objects. hunt and gray (2002; 2003; 2004a; 2004b) collected 5550 ncc tools from across new caledonia, in a range of altitudes. next, they traced the outlines of the tools. hunt and gray found two types of tools made by nccs: stick tools (made from sticks, twigs, vines, and bamboo), and leaf tools (made from the pandanus plant). tracings of stick tools and leaf tools indicate three general tool shapes: wide, narrow, and stepped. stepped tools require the most effort to manufacture. they require a ‘cut and rip’ technique to manufacture (hunt, 2000). the style of tools differed across the island. narrow tools were only made southeast of grand terre. wide-stepped tools were made most frequently. hunt (2000) observed few nccs which show a complete lack of experience with tools. although the manufacture of tools such as hooks occurs late in human history (hunt, 2000), nccs can already manufacture hooks. hunt and gray (2004) report a four-stage progression of hook manufacture. crows first select a fork in the branch, then break the side twig off, and break the remaining twig below the junction. after removing the leaves, they have successfully sculpted a clean hook. nccs tend to manufacture their tools on the left edges of pandanus leaves. they prefer to hold tools beneath their left eye. critically, hunt and gray (2002; 2003; 2004a; 2004b) observe how nccs manufacture tools before using them. this provides convincing evidence for the goal-directed nature of their tool use. tool use provides nccs functional advantages. before crows, only humans were thought to possess the representational, sequential, and goal-driven ability of tool manufacture and modification. the 5 shared use of pandanus tools by wild nccs, the similarity of ‘cut and rip’ methods, and the convergence of tool designs among the population suggest a common origin among tool-using nccs. tool use by captive nccs kacelnik’s research laboratory at oxford investigates the manufacture of complex tools by captive nccs. their studies of ncc tool manufacture and tool selection under controlled laboratory settings offer additional support for the notion that crows may understand cause and effect relations. weir, chappell, and kacelnik (2000) describe how a captive female crow named betty bends a wire into a hook to lift a bucket out of a tube. when she lifts the bucket, she receives a food reward. in nine out of ten trials, betty bent a wire into a hook and lifted the bucket out. betty had seen and used premade wire hooks before, but she never bent a wire herself before this test. in betty’s first trial, she attempted to lift the bucket out of the tube with an unbent wire. she failed on the first trial. on the remaining nine trials, betty bent the wire into a hook and lifted the bucket from the tube. although betty lacked experience modifying wire into hooks, she spontaneously and consistently bent novel materials into hook-shaped tools to solve a task. in a second experiment, weir and kacelnik (2006) investigated whether betty could unbend a wire in the same bucket-tube test. after six months without tool use, the research team supplied her with a novel tool material. though she lacked experience unbending tools, betty adapted quickly to the new material and had a high level of success unbending tools. given her ability to modify tools in new ways depending on her needs, and her performance on trial one, weir and kacelnik concluded that betty likely understood aspects of the bucket-tube task and combined them with trial-and-error learning, guided by reinforcement. they believed that betty understood the causal relationship between her tool modification and its resulting function: to pull the bucket upwards. to see if nccs inherit characteristics that support tool making, kenward, weir, rutz, and 6 kacelnik (2005) investigate spontaneous tool manufacture in four additional naïve juvenile nccs. human handlers demonstrated to two of the birds how to extract food by using twig tools. a second group of two untutored group of nccs never watched humans demonstrate how to use twig tools. however, all four of them developed the ability to make twig tools within the same developmental time frame. in a second experiment, experimenters mounted pandanus plants in the birds’ enclosure. one bird, corbeau, manufactured a straight tool from a pandanus leaf using the cut-tear-cut method in the very first day the plants were introduced. the similar rates of tutored and untutored naïve juvenile nccs’ tool manufacturing and corbeau’s immediate intention to craft a pandanus tool offer support for the notion that the ability to make and use tools is at least in part innate in nccs. to examine whether nccs actively search for their preferred tool, chappell and kacelnik (2004) offered two nccs sticks of three different diameters. the tool diameter task involves a food cup placed behind a transparent wall with a hole of variable width. a tool inserted through the hole can push against the food cup and it will fall down a chute. when the cup falls, the ncc receives the reward. in “none-loose” trials, all three sticks (thinnest, thin enough, too thick) are tied into a bundle. in “one loose” trial types, one stick remains on the table while the other two are tied in a bundle. the birds demonstrated a preference for the thinnest tool, regardless of the width of the hole. in experiment two, chappell and kacelnik (2004) presented the birds with an oak (quercus robur) branch and tested how nccs which manufactured their own tools would perform on the tool diameter task. the two nccs approached the hole and inspected it before manufacturing tools from the oak branches. the two crows obtained food successively on the first use with their tool in 27/30 trials. the two nccs manufactured tools according to the width of the hole; while the nccs could always manufacture a ‘thinnest’ tool, they did not. instead, the nccs often manufactured branch tools which were ‘just right’ to fit in the width of the hole. the tool diameter task, tool length task, and trap 7 tube test have shed light on the tool preferences of nccs. one can infer that nccs dynamically select and manufacture tools based on the needs of a task. nccs have evolved to minimize the energy expenditure incurred during tool selection and manufacture. in chappell and kacelnik’s (2000) tool length task nccs were offered a selection among a set of stick tools with a variety of lengths. their performance on a novel food-extraction test was measured: food was placed at varying distances within the transparent pipe. a second experiment even tested nccs choice of tool length when the transparent pipe was outside of their visual field. chappell and kacelnik defined their choice of tool as the first stick to be inserted into the pipe. most nccs started these trials by approaching and gazing into the transparent tube. during testing, the nccs approached the tools after analyzing the pipe. they manipulated the lengths of their tools by using their beak to pinch the tool closer to the functional side in a lateral manner. the birds demonstrated a strong preference for the longest tool in general even though they could have selected shorter sticks and retrieved the food if they were willing to hold the tool by the tip and stick their head within the tube. furthermore, as food was placed further within the tube, nccs tended to manufacture longer and longer sticks. this indicates that nccs considered the functional demands of their task and did so before creating tools to help them achieve their goal. the energy an ncc expends in making and transporting a tool is founded in the functional demands of the task which they aim to solve; they neither waste their time nor energy in making a tool without a motive. after hunt, rutledge, and gray (2006) learned about kacelnik’s success with betty in the tool diameter task and tool length task, they tested which cognitive strategies wild nccs use while solving a similar task. they designed a novel tool length task for wild nccs foraging in the island, where they used a transparent feeding box. this allowed them to vary the depth of the hole easily while revealing the extraction methods of the crows. researchers noted the persistence with which 8 nccs extracted larvae from the transparent feeding box. the pair of crows tended to make longer tools as trials progressed. when crafting tools, they largely ignored twigs scattered around the transparent box in favor of nearby pandanus leaves. these wild nccs used a two-stage heuristic strategy to solve this test. to manufacture an extractive foraging tool, nccs first applied a default behavior to a tool problem. they only adapted a new problem-solving technique if their initial default behavior failed. the consistent use of pandanus tools implies that the pair of nccs use pandanus tools in foraging. after trials where their tools were too short, they fashioned a longer tool in the next trial. the selection, manufacture, and modification of tools requires attention. it requires an inclination towards the physical properties of tools. to investigate whether wild nccs attend to the functional properties of hook tools, st. clair and rutz (2013) drilled several holes downward into a food log and placed meat inside. then, they offered wild nccs with hooked tools, placed in one of three orientations: flat on a presentation log, pointed hook-end downward into the presentation log, or sticking hook-end upwards out of the presentation log. after retrieving the tool from the presentation log, nccs transported the tools to the food log to use them. birds in the hook-end-up condition tended to reorient the tool so that the functional hook end faced downwards before attempting to extract meat from the log. thus, without trial-and-error learning, the tool-using wild nccs attended to the functional, causal hook property of the tools. a comparison of tool use behavior within aves a comparison of tool use between crows and other birds who cache food items reveals the folk physics which corvidae possess. kenward et al. (2010) compared the development of precursor behaviors in crows and ravens to better understand the origin of corvidae tool use. precursor behaviors are defined as when a bird holds an object in its beak/foot and places it against another 9 object/substrate. in precursor behaviors, birds initiate nonfunctional object play. kenward et al. raised crows and ravens with multiple crevices and substrates present. each of the birds developed tool use at similar rates. some nccs were tutored in tool use, which involved poking a stick into a crevice/substrate while the birds watched. these tutored nccs produce more tools than the untutored nccs, as well as the ravens. ravens are caching corvids which do not use tools in the wild, but they develop tool-oriented behaviors at a similar rate to nccs. thus, kenward et al. (2010) inferred that tool use and food caching in corvidae develop from the same precursor behaviors. the tube trap tests animals for causal understanding. a food item is placed within a horizontal transparent tube, and a rook (c. frugilegus) can pull a stick placed within the tube from either direction to pry the food out. however, sometimes the bird must navigate the food item around a hole ‘trap’ within the tube: depending on which direction the rook pulls the stick from, the food will be pulled either into the hole trap or towards the rook’s hopeful beak. animals are thought to demonstrate an understanding of causality when they do not choose to avoid a nonfunctional trap (seed, tebbich, & emery 2006). eight naïve juvenile rooks transferred their learning when a singlehole trap tube task was flipped. next, rooks were tested in modified tube traps. in a tube with two holes, investigators sometimes filled one of the holes so that the food could slide over it. investigators could also open the bottom of the hole so that food pushed in would fall free. all rooks transferred their learning in a modified trap-tube test. one rook, guillem, passed two more transfer tests. the transfer of learning by naïve juvenile rooks in a causal understanding test reflects a more general cognitive ability within corvidae (tebbich, seed, & emery, 2007) based on their ecology. the generalist nature of corvid foraging, corvid sociality, and the highest rate of feeding innovation of any family of birds contribute to these complex behaviors. teschke et al. (2013) compared the performance of tool-using passerines nccs and c. pallida 10 with non-tool using carrion crows and small tree finches. both species of birds were offered a choice between two canes. food was only ever contained within one of the hooked ends. after the initial task, four transfer tasks were created. both nccs and carrion crows performed equally well on the learning tasks. however, no carrion crows solved the cane task. most nccs and all woodpecker finches passed the initial learning task, and nccs performed similarly to woodpecker finches in later trials. the difference in performance between crows but not between finches in the cane task led teschke et al. (2013) to conclude that cognitive adaptations arise more frequently in species such as nccs which use tools in more complex ways. the behavior of non-ncc corvidae in the trap-tube test and the cane task highlight the learning abilities of nccs in relation to other corvidae and support the notion that a group of tool-using traits is shared among corvidae. research by tebbich and bshary (2004) and tebbich et al. (2001) outlines the cognitive abilities and social learning mechanisms related to c. pallida tool use. c. pallida uses tools most (tebbich & bshary, 2004). they use trial and error learning in trap-tube tests, tool-length tasks, and tool modification tasks. one out of six woodpecker finches solved the trap-tube task, and three out of five selected a tool of a sufficient length (2004). tebbich et al. (2001) found that juvenile woodpecker finches were more likely to follow tool-using adult models rather than choosing to observe their own tool-using parents; two juveniles even kept snatching sticks from the beaks of model finches! tebbich et al. concluded that although all juveniles demonstrated similar precursor behaviors, the development of their tool use did not depend wholly on social learning mechanisms. one social learning mechanism, stimulus enhancement, promoted the learning of a physical task in nine hand-raised ravens. this procedure presented animals with two viable options to complete the task: in fritz’ and kotrschal’s (1999) study, ravens could either choose to pull a string to a box door to retrieve food inside or they could lever their beak within the crevice of the door to push the door 11 open. in both cases the raven could open the box to retrieve food. fritz and kotrschal (1999) utilized this two-action box test to explore the significance of social learning in dyads of food-caching corvids, c. corax. by designating one bird a model and the other an observer, they evaluated how observer birds opened the box after witnessing a control retrieve food. all control ravens levered the box open, and observer ravens were more likely to pull the flap on the box to open it in subsequent trials. given that ravens were more likely to pull the flap after watching a conspecific solve the twoaction procedure with another method, observer ravens must explore the flap more than controls due to the increased salience of the stimulus caused by the conspecific’s interaction. discussion if we imagine a simple substance whose structure makes it think, sense, and have perceptions, we could imagine it enlarged and enter it as one does a mill (leibniz, 1686). inside this mill we can look around and watch the mechanical gears spin, but we can never point to anything to explain its perceptions. some error necessarily pervades the sensations and perceptions out of which crows fashion their social, functional worlds. instead of romanticizing corvid cognition, one must prefer the most simple, logical explanations for their tool use behavior. likewise, bluff et al. (2007) cautions the cognitive psychologist against “ascribing general cognitive abilities to the whole corvidae family based on the abilities of individual species”. to wonder what it is like to be a crow proves as futile as proving whether corvids even perceive the same worlds as each other. ncc tool-using abilities stem from their ecological adaptations. they are an invasive species in new caledonia, and their foraging strategies promote their use of novel physical materials to aid in foraging behaviors. nevertheless, nccs associate functional properties with their representation of the pandanus plant. this is likely due to their innate nature as generalist foragers, their larger brains, and their adaptability within a novel ecosystem. since humans and crows independently evolved tool 12 use during different points in their phylogenetic history, we may conclude that evolution selects for the ability of a species to interpret the causal law and that understanding this causal law improves the fitness of the being which represents it. we can infer from their tool-using behaviors that they represent more complex worlds than do other species of birds. in nature, causality presents itself as strict causes, stimuli, and motives (schopenhauer, 1813). strict causes are those which change in the inorganic world, like gravity and chemistry. stimuli are those causes which directly affect substances. motives are consciously performed actions. corvids represent the motives of other substances. they behave differently around conspecifics which they perceive as helpful or harmful. they represent certain goals towards which they aim. they demonstrate a receptibility to forms of causality. they represent a world ripe with functional, modifiable substances. nccs possess a necessary and sufficient reason to represent themselves as causal beings. 13 references aesop, v., & rackham, a. 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(2004). lateralization of tool use in new caledonian crows (corvus moneduloides). proceedings of the royal society b: biological sciences, 271(suppl. 5), 4–7. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2004.018 [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] false patriots: american mercenaries and the fight for independence matthew landis history in november of 1775 washington’s army was settling in for a long, new england winter outside british-occupied boston. though firmly entrenched around the city, the continentals lacked food, clothing, powder, and most importantly, men. barely three thousand strong, washington feared that unless congress issued the necessary funds, the “lines will be so weakened” that the notoriously undisciplined minute men would have to fill in the regimental gaps. decrying a “…dearth of public spirit, and want of virtue” that he saw rampant in the congress and merchant class, washington trembled at the “ultimate end of these maneuvers.” even worse were his own men; the connecticut troops were refusing to reenlist without pay, a reaction that severely undermined washington’s faith in the army. “such a dirty, mercenary spirit pervades the whole,” he wrote his personal secretary, joseph reed, “that i should not be surprised at any disaster that may happen.”1 washington’s fear of a “mercenary spirit” was certainly justified, but money was not the only insidious motive that jeopardized the great undertaking. six months earlier, benedict arnold captured fort ticonderoga and secured the canons that would liberate boston; but just four years later he would become early america’s most infamous defector. how could one who risked life – and in arnold’s case, limb – or liberty change sides? i argue that many revolutionaries were in fact mercenaries – that is, when independence collided with their primary motivation, be it honor, prestige, or selfpreservation – their true colors were shown. an examination of two lesser-known traitors – ethan allen and herman zedtwitz – as well a consideration of native americans and african slaves will show that a “mercenary spirit” drove many to both join and abandon the war effort, a motivation stronger than revolutionary ideology. 2 treachery is by nature visceral, cutting deep grooves into the collective memory of a society. traitors are the antithesis of heroes, bereft of virtue, and doomed by posterity. 1 george washington to joseph reed, november 25, 1775, in the papers of george washington digital edition, by edward g lengel (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008), 449, accessed december 2, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/gewn-03-02-02-0406. for the sake of clarity i have altered the spelling and capitalization of primary sources, but left all other elements untouched. 2 for an exhaustive study on the conflict between revolutionary ideology and wartime reality, see charles royster’s a revolutionary people at war: the continental army and american character, 1775-1783 (williamsburg, virginia: the university of north carolina press, 1979). they are vilified in conversation, print, and in the modern world, film; ralph fiennes’s recent adaptation of shakespeare’s coriolanus illustrates the power that betrayers still command and the awe that they stir within us.3 they plague societies around the globe and libraries are full of books that detail their scurrilous actions. 4 but treachery is determined by perspective, and in revolutionary america perspective was anything but static. as the king’s subjects marched toward independence, opposition to the crown would eventually give way to wholesale treason. allegiance was the issue – whether to a distant monarch or local legislature – and while gordon wood has argued that most americans had a superficial and distant understanding of the king, betraying him was a most serious issue.5 patrick henry learned this in 1765 when he famously insinuated before the virginia house of burgesses that king george iii ought to tread carefully, lest he suffer the fate of caesar and charles i.6 cries of “traitor” reigned down upon the novice legislator, and while historians quibble over his witty response, the weight of his assertion laid bare the seriousness of the charge.7even in virginia, where revolutionary fervor would be outdone only by new england, treason was a somber business. 3 in this frequently overlooked tragedy, shakespeare tells the story of caius marcius coriolanus, the legendary roman general who is exiled for assaulting the concept of popular rule. filled with self-righteous indignation, coriolanus offers his services to the rival volscians and prepares a spiteful attack on rome. but after a convincing plea from his mother, though, coriolanus signs a peace treaty, for which he is eventually murdered by the volscian military. the similarity between coriolanus and arnold cannot but overstated; the grain riots in rome, for example, mirror almost exactly those that occurred in philadelphia while arnold was military commander. his archrival, joseph reed, could very well have been one of shakespeare’s tribunes who stirred up the people and accused him of treason, much like reed excited the radicals of philadelphia against arnold. though arnold did not suffer coriolanus’s eventual fate, he never received the honor or revenge he sought by switching sides, and ended his days as an odious afterthought to both. 4for an example in russian history, see my essay “friend and foe: the agent provocateur in late imperial russia.” madison historical review 9 (may 2012): 57-77, where i examine the mercenary nature of double agents who did far more damage to the fight against political subversion than good. 5 gordon s. wood. the radicalism of the american revolution (new york: vintage books, 1991), 16. wood argues that a sense of brutishness pervaded american society, including an ingrained hierarchical status of which the king was the head. however, he references david hume’s humorous observation that colonists may have been so taken with the king precisely because they lived an ocean away and rarely felt his presence. 6 edmund s. morgan and helen m morgan, the stamp act crisis: prologue to revolution (williamsburg: the university of north carolina press, 1962), 94. 7 william wirt’s famous biography sketches of the life and character of patrick henry (1817) glorified this moment in history, perhaps erroneously. relying on the third-hand accounts of thomas jefferson, john tyler, and paul carrington, wirt pieced together this speech and cemented henry’s place in posterity. for a detailed argument see joe wolverton’s “if this be treason...” the new american 26, no. 20 (october 2010): 35-38). edmund and helen morgan rely on, as i do, an unnamed french observer’s recollection, which corroborates some of wirt’s account but omits the famous “if this be treason” line (the stamp act crisis: prologue to to better understand the motivations of revolutionary traitors – that is, british subjects who claimed to be patriots and then reversed their decision – it is essential to understand how revolutionaries rationalized their own betrayal of the crown. the answer is quite simple: they did not believe they were committing treason. of course in a legal sense they fully understood the consequences of declaring independence;8 but in their own minds they believed that it was king who had wronged them. armed with lockean principles of contractual obligation that riddled late eighteenth century america, revolutionaries abolished their government with a clear conscious. 9 but beyond this contractual breach was the potent idea of self-preservation as “the first law of nature”, which not only justified separation from england but demanded it; rhode island claimed just this in their declaration of independence, arguing they were “obliged, by necessity” to “oppose that power which is exerted only for our destruction.”10 instead of traitors, the colonists were simply good englishmen acting as they always had – overthrowing a monarch when he had become tyrannical.11 many who betrayed the american cause would justify treason with notions of selfpreservation; nowhere is this clearer than benedict arnold. with nearly a century gone since the release of clandestine correspondences between arnold and british spymaster john andre, the prominent scholarship covers both extremes: arnold was both a valiant patriot and a villainous traitor. 12 after battlefield heroics at fort ticonderoga and revolution, 94). while henry may not have uttered his dramatic quip, he certainly threatened king george with his allusion, drawing cries of “treason” from the crowd. 8 pauline maier, american scripture: making the declaration of independence (new york: vintage books, 1997), 59; wood, the radicalism of the american revolution, 12. 9 maier, american scripture, 87. 10 quoted in maier, american scripture, 87-88. 11 wood, the radicalism of the american revolution, 13. 12cark van doren, secret history of the american revolution (new york: the viking press, 1941), v; there are numerous studies on arnold’s life, military exploits, and betrayal. van doren’s landmark work sought to tell the bigger story of secret operations involving various operatives including arnold, and did so convincingly by relying on the recently released clinton papers. in this account arnold is lambasted for his selfishness and greed rather than lauded for his battlefield heroics. john bakeless follows a similar route in turncoats, traitors, and heroes (new york: j.b. lippincott company, 195) by telling various espionage tales (of which arnold’s dominates), citing arnold’s “characteristic greed for money and personal extravagance” (bakeless, 282). a shift in the historiography began to occur with willard sterne randall’s benedict arnold: patriot and traitor (william morrow and company: new york, 1990), which challenged the prevailing notion of arnold as a traitor only. james kirby martin continued this trend with benedict arnold, revolutionary hero: an american warrior reconsidered (new york university press: new york, 1997) by focusing almost entirely on the years before arnold’s treachery. more recently, jim murphy has made arnold accessible to popular readers of history with the real benedict arnold (clarion books: new york, 2007), and while the title appears to paint murphy as an arnold apologist, the work is fairly neutral and incredibly helpful in clearing out myths passed down from spiteful revolutionaries. the prevailing notion, then, is that arnold showed incredible patriotism before becoming a blackened traitor, marking him as the true janus of the american revolution. on a final side note, canadian historian barry wilson has argued for saratoga, washington appointed arnold military commander of a politically rancorous philadelphia in 1778.13 repeatedly libeled by fellow officers and ignored by congress for promotions, arnold sought to preserve what he valued most: “i cannot draw my sword until my reputation, which is dearer than my life, is cleared up.”14 writing to friend horatio gates, arnold drove this point home by quoting a line from otway’s verse play the orphan: “but who will rest in safety that has done me wrong? / by heaven, i will have justice / and i’m a villain if i see not / a brave revenge for injured honor.”15 arnold’s friendly disposition to philadelphia loyalists, his marriage to peggy shippen (the upper crust daughter of a prominent new york tory sympathizer, and the questionable use of military wagons for a personal business venture sealed his fate. radical revolutionary joseph reed, president [governor] of pennsylvania, launched an all-out attack on arnold and repeatedly censured him before the pennsylvania council.16 under this scrutiny arnold reached his wits end, and the desperation is hard to miss in his pleading letters to washington: “when i entered the service of my country my character was unimpeached. i have sacrificed my interest, ease, and happiness in her cause…in justice, therefore, to my own character, and for the satisfaction of my friends, i must request a court of inquiry into my conduct; yet every personal injury shall be buried in my zeal for the safety and happiness of my country, in whose cause i have repeatedly fought and bled, and am ready at all times to risk my life.”17 perhaps the most telling letter arnold penned was to washington in may of 1779, days before he began his treasonous correspondence with andre: “i want no favor; i ask only for justice…having made every sacrifice of fortune and blood, and become a cripple in the service of my country, i little expected to meet the ungrateful returns i have received from my countrymen; but as congress has stamped ingratitude as the current coin, i must take it.”18 but he would not bear it for long. as gordon wood has pointed out, eighteenth-century gentlemen such as arnold did not share our modern conception of egotism.19 honor and reputation were synonymous, both begat by fame, “the ruling passion of the noblest minds”, and fame “was what most the inclusion of arnold’s canadian invasion and later settlement into the nation’s historiography. benedict arnold: a traitor in our midst (mcgill-queens university, 2001) stands as one of the few definitive canadian studies that does not dismiss “benedict arnold as an insignificant figure in canadian history or accept the american view that he was an unworthy blackguard” (wilson, xiii). 13 james kirby martin, benedict arnold: revolutionary hero (new york: new york university press, 1997), 426. 14 quoted in william sterne randall, benedict arnold: patriot and traitor (new york: william morrow and company, 1990), 331. 15 quoted in randall, benedict arnold, 331. 16 ibid., 441. 17 quoted in randall, benedict arnold, 329. 18 quoted in martin, benedict arnold, 428. 19 wood, the radicalism of the american revolution, 207. of the founding fathers were after…” 20 in this light, then, any assault on arnold’s military record, his business dealings, or his marriage to a loyalist sympathizer was an affront to his honor. when sparring with timothy matlack, one of reed’s henchmen and secretary of the philadelphia council, arnold ironically balked at the idea of the city’s militia refusing to turn out simply because arnold had demeaned them: “selfpreservation is the first principle of the human race; theirs will induce them to turn out and defend their property.”21 a year later, being fully disgraced with no justice in sight, arnold attempted to preserve what little honor he had left and handed over west point. how did once-bosom revolutionary friends interpret arnold’s treason? john adams, who had defended arnold while serving on the board of war, wrote dutch nobleman joan derk that it was “proof of the weakness of the english and the decisive strength and confidence of the americans.”22 adams argued that since arnold was unable to convince fellow soldiers or even “his own valet” to join in his treason, that “the american army and people stand strong, as strong against the arts and bribes as the arms and valor of their enemies.”23 thomas jefferson responded to the news with rage, attaching several newspaper clippings in a letter horatio gates that detailed “arnold’s apostasy and villainy.”24 to washington he reported that “the parricide arnold” was leading a british attack on virginia, targeted words that denoted a guttural hatred.25 alexander hamilton was deeply shaken, telling john laurens that his “feelings were never put to such a trial.”26 ever the womanizer, hamilton lamented the sad plight of arnold’s wife (who 20 ibid. while i agree with wood’s assessment, i argue that fame was not the primary motivation of the founding fathers. rather, they sought it as fiercely as they fought for independence. men like arnold, however, when pushed to decide, chose honor over the cause of freedom. 21 quoted in randall, benedict arnold, 438. 22 john adams to joan derk van der capellen tot den pol, january 21, 1781, in the adams papers digital edition, by c james taylor (charlottesville: university of virginia press, rotunda , 2008), 65, accessed december 9, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-11-02-0045 23 ibid. 24 thomas jefferson to horatio gates, october 15, 1780, in the papers of thomas jefferson digital edition, ed. barbara b oberg and j jefferson looney (charlottesville : university of virginia press, 2008), 41, accessed december 9, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/ tsjn-01-04-02-0042. 25 thomas jefferson to george washington, january 10, 1781, in the papers of thomas jefferson digital edition, ed. barbara b oberg and j jefferson looney (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008), 335, accessed december 9, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/ tsjn-01-04-02-0408. in latin, “parricide” denotes the murder of one’s close relative, a term that umbrellas patricide (murdering one’s father), matricide (murdering one’s mother), fratricide (murdering one’s brother), and even matricide or uxoricide (murdering one’s husband or wife). this word choice reveals that jefferson still saw arnold as a countrymen, making his attack on the tidewater settlements even more base. 26alexander hamilton, the official and other papers of the late major-general alexander hamilton:compiled chiefly from the originals in the possession of mrs. hamilton, comp. francis l hawks (new york: wiley and putnam, 1842), 460, accessed november 2, 2012, http://find.galegroup.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/mome/ infomark.do?&source=gale&prodid= was as yet unsuspected) to friend catharine schuyler: “could i forgive arnold for sacrificing his honor, reputation, and duty, i could not forgive him for acting a part that must have forfeited the esteem of so fine a woman.”27 nathanael greene aptly summed up what most colonists would soon feel: “never since the fall of lucifer has a fall equaled his.”28 fame, which arnold coveted so badly, had turned to infamy. on october 3rd, 1780 his effigy was paraded down the streets of philadelphia beside satan, bringing green’s allusion to fruition.29 the next day congress had his name erased from the official rolls and the connecticut masonic lodge where arnold belonged followed suit.30 the graves of his father and brother were defaced, and many called for a national holiday lest posterity forget arnold’s disgraceful legacy.31his troubles continued in british uniform, and as late as 1787 he was still attempting to defend his treachery as a matter of principle rather than money.32 interpreting arnold’s claims of gratitude as honor and compensation as livelihood, his “mercenary spirit” was laid bare. independence was not arnold’s primary goal; rather, he sought advancement, recognition, and when those failed, monetary compensation. ironically, one of benedict arnold’s early nemeses has survived the revolution generally unscathed. charismatic and hot-tempered, ethan allen appears to embody all that was good and right with an independent america;33 yet, as willard randall points out, much of what we know about allen is the result of folklore.34 few americans know the historical allen, who, despite his bravery at fort ticonderoga and prisoner-of-war suffering, was a “self-interested individual as well, often no less rapacious than his archenemies, the new york land barons of the hudson and mohawk valleys”.35 more pointedly, many remain blissfully unaware of his double-dealings with british agents to mome&usergroupname=vill_main&tabid=t001&docid=u106139966&type= multipage&contentset=momearticles&version=1.0&doclevel=fascimile. 27 ibid., 480. 28 quoted in jim murphy, the real benedict arnold (new york: clarion books, 2007), 221. 29 see figure 1, burning benedict arnold in effigy, 1780, stephen a. schwarzman building / print collection, miriam and ira d. wallach division of art, prints and photographs, new york , new york public library digital collection, accessed december 12, 2012, http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1223571. 30 murphy, the real benedict arnold, 222. 31 ibid. 32randall, benedict arnold, 605. 33 william sterne randall, ethan allen: his life and times (new york: w.w. norton and company, 2011), xii; charles a jellison, ethan allen: frontier rebel (syracuse: syracuse university press, 1969), 245-46. for example, allen once disobeyed a connecticut statute that forbade smallpox inoculation because he believed the law was ridiculous. after vaccinating himself, he got drunk at the local tavern, dared anyone to insult him, and did a fair amount of blaspheming; later in life would again take the law in his own hands when he felt personally threatened. 34 randall, ethan allen, xxi. 35 ibid., xiii. secure vermont lands and entry into the union – his true objective of the revolution. therefore, allen’s actions, which like arnold’s were quite heroic, also betray a mercenary impetus. embroiled in the vicious, pre-revolutionary politics of property disputes, allen was no stranger to bribery. by 1770 new york land barons were seeking to expand their holdings into vermont and pressed the courts to evict new england pioneers.36 rising to defend the green mountain settlers was allen, but in the face of corrupt supreme court justices, he was soundly defeated. 37 in the aftermath of the ruling, king’s counselor james duane offered allen land, cash, and even a horse if he would persuade his constituents to abide by the ruling.38 allen accepted the cash and horse, though he used these items return to vermont and organize a military resistance in the event that an eviction might occur.39 thus, in 1778 when a loyalist spy promised allen a generalship should he sway vermont toward the crown, he keenly realized the potential.40 although allen reported the bribe to the continental congress, he also urged vermont governor chittenden to keep quiet about the letter and consider how they might exploit the offer.41 this began a three-year “dangerous game, going back and forth between the british and the continental congress, letting each know only part of his dialogue with the other, all the time keeping vermont on its independent court.” 42 by 1781, congress had still not accepted vermont’s bid for statehood, leading allen to write his british contact general frederick haldimand, “i shall do every thing in my power to render this state a british province.”43 from amsterdam john adams conveyed this exact worry. “that vermont will plague us a little,” he wrote friend james searle. “i expect to hear that there are one or two there, arnoldized.”although adams hoped that men like allen wouldn’t fall for the “tricks and pranks” of the british who made “a great many promises that they [vermont residents] shall enjoy their lands”, he feared that such ploys would “end in the flight of these devils a ‘arnoldoise.’”44 writing a few years after the war, allen admitted that if england had offered immediate protection for vermont he “would readily have yielded up their independency 36ibid., 222. 37 ibid.,223. 38 ibid., 235-236; jellison, ethan allen, 37-38. 39 randall, ethan allen, 239. 40 jellison, ethan allen, 245-46. 41 randall, ethan allen, 480-81; jellison, ethan allen, 247. 42 randall, ethan allen, 491. 43 quoted in randall, ethan allen, 493. 44 john adams to james searle, february 8, 1781, in the adams papers digital edition, ed. c. james taylor (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008), 128, accessed november 11, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-11-02-0085. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-11-02-0085 and become a province of britain.”45 while the seriousness of allen’s double-dealings can be debated, it is clear that the preservation of his people, state, and personal lands was the driving force that compelled both his bravery and treacherous flirtations.46had washington not exerted pressure on governor chittenden to accept the proposed boundaries of vermont, one can speculate that the tiny republic would have stayed independent or, as adams feared, returned to british control. king george was not allen’s primary enemy; this title was reserved for those who threatened his holdings in vermont, be they english or american. therefore, allen was driven by a motivation stronger than patriotism, marking him a mercenary first, and a hero second, if at all. as charles royster has soundly argued (and as these case studies have shown), there existed an obvious cleavage between revolutionary ideology and wartime conduct. “americans saw many discrepancies between the two, and these induced deep concern and prolonged tension; for, in the eyes of the revolutionaries, war put to the trial the military ardor and skills as well as the moral assumption which they based their hopes for american independence and liberty.”47 in the early years of the revolution john adams witnessed this contradiction and it vexed him greatly. “virtue and simplicity of manners, are indispensably necessary in a republic,” he wrote friend and author mercy warren, “but there is so much rascality, so much venality and corruption, so much avarice and ambition, such a rage for profit and commerce among all ranks and degrees of men even in america, that i sometimes doubt whether there is public virtue enough to support a republic.” 48 while troublesome among the populace, jefferson found this mercenary nature especially dangerous in the military where soldiers were supposed to be “breathing the pure spirit of patriotism” and remain “untainted by pride or rank, or avarice of pay.”49 but rather than take “their post wherever placed” and change “whenever required”, the officers of the continental army jockeyed continually for promotion and often feigned resignation to assuage their honor. in 1776, for example, general sullivan tendered his resignation when general gates was made head of the northern army instead of him. although he eventually withdrew his papers and went on to have a somewhat successful military career, sullivan’s actions belay a deceptive aim that would drive many to treason. prussian immigrant herman zedtwitz desired such prestige, and while his mercenary dealings have not warranted a monstrous biography, his treachery was nonetheless rooted 45 quoted in jellison, ethan allen, 248. 46 for a full discussion on the competing arguments and sources see jellison, ethan allen, 247-48. 47 royster, a revolutionary people at war, 3. 48 john adams to mercy otis warren, january 8, 1776, in the adams papers digital edition, ed. c james taylor (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008), 398, accessed november 18, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-03-02-0202. 49 thomas jefferson to congress, july 29, 1776, in the papers of thomas jefferson digital edition, ed. barbara b oberg and j jefferson looney (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008), 478, accessed december 9, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/ tsjn01-01-02-0197. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-03-02-0202 in adams’s “avarice and ambition”.50 a prussian cavalry officer during the seven years war, zedtwitz moved his wife and children to new york city in 1770 where he tried his hand at several business ventures, most of them poorly. at the outbreak of war, zedtwitz volunteered to raise his own regiment of pennsylvania germans, but was instead given the lesser rank of major in new york’s continental regiment. doubtlessly disappointed, he nevertheless joined general montgomery’s expedition to canada and was wounded after he “fell down a rock” which left him “so disabled by a rupture…that he [was now] unfit for active duty.”51 physically lame (and therefore humiliated), herman zedtwitz could no longer pursue personal glory. thus, he resolved to chase “avarice” in treasonous form: a debt owed to him by a british officer. according to zedtwitz, the marquis of granby had asked him to raise a company of riflemen during britain’s dispute with spain over the balkans seven years prior; but the noblemen died, leaving zedtwitz to foot the bill for the entire regiment.52 now, unable to acquire further military standing due to his injury, he became obsessed with recollecting this debt and formulated a treacherous plan: give the british fabricated intelligence in exchange for the two thousand pounds that granby owed him.53 with fame out of reach, zedtwitz was willing to commit treason by hounding the enemy for money – another objective he put above independence. zedtwitz’s letter to royal new york governor william tyron, which was quickly intercepted, reads like a mercenary manifesto. claiming to be a “forced man of a rebellious mob” who joined the americans out of fear that he would become “ruined…with my wife and children”, zedtwitz swore his loyalty to the king – forgetting of course that he volunteered in the continental army. 54 his claims were equally outlandish: he had an informant who could supply the british with weekly updates on the american forces; he had overheard washington talking about poisoning the new york water supply to rid the city of the british; and most ostentatious, he was about to be given 50 zedtwitz’s career has been briefly surveyed by lorenzo sabine in biographical sketches of loyalists of the american revolution, with an historical essay (baltimore: genealogical pub., 1979), 456-66, and more recently by harry thayer mahoney and marjorie locke mahoney in gallantry in action: a biographic dictionary of espionage in the american revolutionary war: xa-gb (lanham, md. [u.a.]: univ. press of america, 1999), 334-35. carl van doren discusses zedtwitz in secret history of the american revolution (new york: viking press, 1941), 15-17, stressing the confusion of his treachery though avoiding his elongated imprisonment and mental illness. the most recent and in-depth analysis is eugune r. fingerhut’s "from revolutionary to traitor: the american career of herman zedtwitz," in the other loyalists: ordinary people, royalism, and the revolution in the middle colonies, ed. joseph s tiedemann, eugene r fingerhut, and robert w venables (albany: state university of new york press, 2009) which pieces the story together using court documents, letters, as well as sabine’s work. i have relied primarily on fingerhut and van doren. 51 quoted in fingerhut, “from revolutionary to traitor, 182; van doren, secret history, 15. 52 ibid,. 180. 53 ibid., 184-185. 54 quoted in fingerhut, “from revolutionary to traitor”, 184; van doren, secret history, 16. the command of several hudson forts.55 in his court martial zedtwitz argued that these were simple manufactures designed to reclaim the money owed him; but what is interesting is that he ostensibly had no regard for his honor at this point. the opening lines of his letter to tyron state, “by giving you this intelligence the world will ardently blame my character”, a statement that shows zedtwitz was ready to commit pretend treason – that is to say, trade whatever honor he had left using fabricated information – for money.56 eugene fingerhut has succinctly compared zedtwitz and arnold’s near-identical journey from hero to villain, but it is their shared motivation that unearths the mercenary within: “both men thought and (more importantly) felt they were trivially rewarded for their efforts,” fingerhut observes, “considering that they were permanently injured and forced to retire from field duty.” 57 when military glory was unattainable, each man turned to profit as a means to secure honor, bypassing the primary goal of independence that propelled true patriots. the absence of “avarice and ambition” that adams’s utopian republic required was not to be found in either man, nor did they breath “the pure spirit of patriotism” that jefferson lectured continental officers for lacking. rather, they pursued selfish ambition in varying forms to gain something other than victory over the british. zedtwitz’s military career understandably caused the revolutionaries great worry, for what would become of a country where men fought for money and fame? “i do not wish to have the army wages raised,” general sullivan wrote adams in 1777, as merchants were gouging colonial troops for basic supplies, “but i wish to strike at the root of the evil...or i fear we are undone.” soldiers were deserting because the meager pay could not provide for “their poor families”, yet founding fathers like sullivan were concerned that offering more money would fill the ranks with mercenaries like zedtwitz. throughout the conflict revolutionaries balanced these two evils with much angst, and while they lamented the vice that was “so prevalent in the country” they hoped that virtue would rule the day instead of the destructive “mercenary spirit.”58 to recast traitors as mercenaries naturally widens to scope of culpability; indeed, there were two other groups who had a stake in the fight for independence, participants that changed sides at a whim to secure personal objectives. native americans and african slaves did not always share the white aims of the revolution or the political inclusion, but that did not prevent them from aiding the cause; in many cases, it did just 55 fingerhut, "from revolutionary to traitor” 184; van doren, secret history, 16. 56quoted in fingerhut, "from revolutionary to traitor” 184. as mentioned above, i have corrected the spelling and capitalization for all primary sources for reasons of clarity. however, zedtwitz’s original writing is so rife with grammatical errors and some syntax issues, the original my look quite different. 57 ibid,. 191. 58 john sullivan to john adams, november 13, 1777, in the adams papers digital edition, ed. c. james taylor (charlottesville : university of virginia press, 2008), 327, accessed december 12, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-05-02-0193. the opposite. the mahican peoples of stockbridge, massachusetts, for example, fought bravely for washington (and received minimal recognition or compensation), though most natives would side with the british. 59 likewise, both slave and free blacks volunteered for the colonials after washington encouraged the measure and congress begrudgingly acquiesced, but an overwhelming number of slaves fled to british lines for freedom and served in a military capacity.60 this dichotomy illustrates the varied beliefs about who could offer indians and slaves a better future, or perhaps more importantly, a better present. as native american historian colin calloway has made clear, neutrality during the revolution was a veritable pipedream for indian peoples;61 few felt this more than the abenaki, whose odanak community would support the british and americans at different points in the war. on the surface their alliances seem unclear, but underneath the “confusion and ambivalence, all abenakis at all times shared the goal of preserving their community and keeping the war at arm’s length.” 62 because of their proximity to canada, the odanak community understood that they would have to live with whoever won the war; much like ethan allen, then, they undertook a “’play-off system’ between two powers” to secure the best possible future.63 some abenaki agreed to scout for the americans, though often they ignored this duty along with other, pro-british abenaki who were scouting for the crown.64 considering their circumstance, this strategy was “ideal…for people who wanted to give the appearance of commitment but whose main concern was to keep the war away from their homes and families.”65 one can hardly blame indian peoples like the abenaki for changing their allegiance with the prevailing winds. most tribes who sought neutrality during the war suffered dearly; the maquachake shawnee, for example, repeatedly lobbied their fellow ohioan brethren to pursue peace with the americans but had their villages burned nonetheless.66 likewise, the moravian delawares allowed themselves to be removed by the british to 59 collin g. calloway, the american revolution in indian country: crisis and diversity in native american communities (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1995), 94. for washington’s opinions on their service, see 100. 60 sylvia r frey, water from the rock: black resistance in a revolutionary age (princeton: princeton university press, 1991), 63, 77-78. 61 calloway, the american revolution in indian country, 65. for an example of the iroquois confederacy see robert w venables, "faithful allies of the king: the crown's haudensaunee allies in the revolutionary struggle for new york," in the other loyalists: ordinary people, royalist, and the revolution in the middle colonies, 1763-1787, ed. joseph s tiedemann, eugene r fingerhut, and robert w venables (albany: state university of new york, 2009), 137-139. 62 calloway, the american revolution in indian country, 65. 63 ibid., 82. 64 ibid., 81. 65 ibid. 66 ibid., 158. for a similar experience following the war, see david andrew nichols, red gentlemen and white savages: indians, federalists, and the search for order on the american frontier (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008). only be slaughtered by the settler militias; their capital town of coshocton was summarily razed by american troops in 1781 despite their attempts to “accommodate conflicting tensions and keep out of the war”. 67 self-preservation as a motivation for doubledealings, then, was a fervent among indian peoples, yet it appears that most americans did not consider this to be traitorous. rather, both british and american governments saw the natives as advantageous allies and sought to cultivate their allegiance no matter how insecure. perhaps they did not see the indians as political members of their society, or possibly the precedent of shifting wartime alliances was so engendered in the colonial mindset that it did not quality as treason.68 whatever the case, the actions of many native peoples during the war exposes the fundamental principle of self-preservation that drove other patriots to treason. african slaves during the revolutionary war shared both the liquid fidelity and political exclusion of native americans. as michael groth has illustrated, slaves in new york’s mid-hudson valley adopted a similar ‘“wait and see attitude” hoping to maintain a cautious neutrality as long as possible.69 striving for personal freedom, they “made decisions and pursued courses of action that best served their personal interests or improved their own positions.”70 for some, such as a slave named jack from duchess county, this meant joining up with a loyalist gang led by teunis peer and taking part in ongoing sabotage campaigns against former owners. for jack’s friend of the same name, personal interest was best served by feigning allegiance to peer’s gang before informing his master of the loyalist’s plans.71 much like native americans, african slaves were driven by competing circumstances rather than conflicting revolutionary ideals. like indian peoples, geography was often the greatest determinant of allegiance for slaves. as british armies invaded the south slaves flocked to their lines, even more so after the dunmore and philipsburg proclamations offered freedom to those who deserted 67 calloway, the american revolution in indian country, 180. 68 for political interaction between natives and state/federal emissaries after the war see david andrew nichols’s red gentlemen and white savages: indians, federalists, and the search for order on the american frontier (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008). i agree with nicholas that the new american government frequently engaged in the political through various treaties and negotiations, though i argue here that the poor behavior during those meetings and the frequent disregard of those treaties show that to most american politicians, natives were not considered members of the political spectrum. the ninth article of the constitution, as nicholas notes, would eventually state that natives were “not members of any states”, followed by james madison’s suggestion that congress have the authority to whatever they pleased with indian lands inside and outside the united states (93). 69 michael e groth, "black loyalists and african american allegiance in the mid-hudson valley," in the other loyalists: ordinary people, royalist, and the revolution in the middle colonies, 1763-1787, ed. joseph s tiedemann, eugene r fingerhut, and robert w venables (albany: state university of new york, 2009), 93. 70 ibid. 71 groth, "black loyalists and african american allegiance," 93. rebel owners or continental units.72 the effect was profound, for by war’s end over sixty thousand slaves had fled plantations in georgia, south carolina, and virginia alone.73 once in royal service, slaves usually served as military laborers, carried supplies, or cleared roads for british regulars, though a few black units did see action.74 during the franco-american siege of savannah, for example, a few hundred former slaves bravely defended the city and were even heralded by governor wright.75 but a love for king george’s monarchial rights over his subjects was not the motivation for these runaways; their goal was “personal freedom…the most powerful inducement to flee one’s owner.”76 likewise, many slaves enlisted in continental units and fought bravely for the american cause, but did so with competing motives.77 in the summer of 1778 stephen haight allowed his twenty-eight-year-old slave caesar to join a company in colonel cortlandt’s american regiment, but a year later was unable to locate his bondsmen. apparently caesar had been discharged at valley forge for health concerns, and rather than return to his master, chose personal freedom. having no plans to return to bondage, caesar’s actions demonstrate that “allegiance could be fickle” and that “those who actively supported one side at one point in the conflict did not hesitate to shift or even betray allegiances when necessary.” 78 the great irony, of course, is that slaves had more at stake than any other americans during the war. forcibly brought to a foreign land they endured real enslavement, not the political kind that jefferson bemoaned in his early drafts of the declaration – language that was eventually omitted precisely because it made southern delegates (and a few northern ones) so uneasy. george washington experienced this paradox in 1781 when 72 in 1775 governor lord dunmore of virginia issued a proclamation offering freedom to any slave who fled a rebel owner and joined the british army. in 1779 general henry clinton would issue a similar decree from his headquarters in philipsburg, new york that applied to all slaves: any slave captured by british soldiers would be resold, but any who deserted the americans and joined the royal army would be free. for further reading on the motivation of the philipsburg’s decree see frey, water from the rock, 113. 73 frey, water from the rock, 211n. 74 ibid., 92. 75 ibid., 98. 76 groth, "black loyalists and african american allegiance," 94. 77 alan gilbert has recently argued in black patriots and loyalists: fighting for emancipation in the war for independence (chicago: university of chicago press, 2012) that blacks on both sides of the conflict fought with distinction and bravery, perhaps to a much larger extend than has previously been acknowledged. while i concur, my focus is african slaves who i argue saw their role in the war as a means to an end even more than their free brethren who likewise served the cause of freedom. gilbert also explores the provocative idea that many southern patriots fought to secure the institution of slavery rather than independence, a claim that would mark them as the mercenaries i have studied herein; further scholarship on this particular element is certainly warranted and hopefully forthcoming. 78 groth, "black loyalists and african american allegiance," 94. groth’s interpretation of caesar’s flight is that he was seeking freedom, and i concur. however, it is important to note that other motives could have propelled him to flee, such as finding a loved one. twenty of his slaves flocked to the hms savage as it landed across the potomac from mt. vernon. the marquis de lafayette, fighting in virginia at the time, relayed the events to washington in blunt terms: “when the enemy came to your house many negroes deserted to them.”79 lund washington, the general’s cousin and estate manager, prophesied this sentiment six years earlier on the eve of revolution when slave escape was already brewing: “…there is not a man of them, but would leave us, if they believed they could make their escape…liberty is sweet.”80 that the chattel of general washington flocked to the enemy is not surprising, then, and sheds light on what the conflict meant to many enslaved africans.81 my purpose has been to show that treachery during the american revolution was mercenary in nature – that is to say, that traitors were actually mercenaries feigning allegiance, false patriots in the fight for independence. benedict arnold, ethan allen, and herman zedwtiz may have fought and even sacrificed to overthrow great britain, but that was not their primary objective. instead they sought honor, money, and esteem – venal aims that only emerged when threatened. native americans, who were brought into the conflict against their will, naturally shared this mercenary strain and tried to stave off disaster by shifting their allegiance frequently. similarly, slaves saw the war as a vehicle to freedom and joined whichever side could assure them liberty. i intended to highlight the competing motives of these latter two groups in hopes of bettering understanding their wartime experience rather to pass judgment on the paths that they chose. moreover, i contend that contemporary observers did not consider these groups traitorous precisely because they existed outside the body politic. that indians and slaves were in fact political members of the society is clear; failing to report roaming enemy troops or fleeing a plantation to join rival forces is without question a political act. in the contemporary sense, however, these two groups were not accepted as such and therefore not castigated for shifting their allegiances to suit personal circumstance. rather, both british and american leadership often coaxed natives and slaves whom they viewed as beneficial allies. ultimately, “avarice and ambition” would not bring about the ruin that so many revolutionaries predicted. while their fears were not unsupported, the founders 79 the marquis de lafayette to george washington, 23 april 1781," lafayette in the age of the american revolution: selected letters and papers, 1776-1790, vol. 4, ed. stanley j. idzerda (ithaca, new york, and london: cornell university press, 1981), 60-1. 80 lund washington to george washington, december 3, 1775, in the papers of george washington, ed. edward g lengel (charlottesville : university of virginia press, 2008), 480, accessed november 27, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/gewn-03-02-02-0434. 81 this episode is cogently explored in the digital encyclopedia provided by the mount vernon ladies association, a trust that sponsors the preservation and restoration of the estate. for a full discussion including the sources, see digital encyclopedia , s.v. "hms savage," accessed november 28, 2012, last modified 2012, http://www.mountvernon.org/educationalresources/ encyclopedia/hms-savage. underestimated the constitution of their people at large. disastrous losses at new york, cold winters at valley forge, and occupied cities became the crucible for the americans, boiling off the ranks that enlisted for venial aims. though a few mercenaries remained, they would eventually be exposed as traitors when their true intentions failed, outlasted by washington’s army of “men fighting for everything worth living for.”82 82 george washington to james bawdoin, august 14, 1776, in the papers of george washington digital edition, ed. edward g lengel (charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008), 19, accessed december 12, 2012, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/gewn-03-06-02-0014. figure 1, burning arnold in effigy, 1780, stephen a. schwarzman building / print collection, miriam and ira d. wallach division of art, prints and photographs, new york , new york public library digital collection. bibliography adams, john. “to james searle.” john adams to james searle, february 8, 1781. in the adams papers digital edition, edited by c. james taylor, 128. charlottesville : university of virginia press, 2008. accessed november 11, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-11-02-0085. ___. “to joan derk van der capellen tot den pol.” john adams to joan derk van der capellen tot den pol, january 21, 1781. in the adams papers digital edition, by c james taylor, 63-68. charlottesville: university of virginia press, rotunda , 2008. accessed december 9, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-0611-02-0045. ___. “to mercy otis warren.” john adams to mercy otis warren, january 8, 1776. in the adams papers digital edition, edited by c james taylor, 397-399. charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008. accessed november 18, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-03-02-0202. bakeless, john. turncoats, traitors, and heroes. philadelphia: j. b. lippincott company, 1959. burning benedict arnold in effigy. 1780. stephen a. schwarzman building / print collection, miriam and ira d. wallach division of art, prints and photographs, new york . new york public library digital collection. accessed december 12, 2012. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1223571. calloway, collin g. the american revolution in indian country: crisis and diversity in native american communities. cambridge : cambridge university press, 1995. de lafayette, the marquis. the marquis de lafayette to george washington, april 23, 1781. in lafayette in the age of the american revolution: selected letters and papers, 1776-1790, edited by stanley j idzerda, 60-61. vol. 4. ithaca: cornell university press, 1981. digital encyclopedia , s.v. “hms savage,” accessed november 28, 2012, last modified 2012, http://www.mountvernon.org/educational-resources/ encyclopedia/hmssavage. fingerhut, eugene r. “from revolutionary to traitor: the american career of herman zedtwitz.” in the other loyalists: ordinary people, royalism, and the revolution in the middle colonies, edited by joseph s tiedemann, eugene r fingerhut, and robert w venables, 179-194. albany: state university of new york press, 2009. frey, sylvia r. water from the rock: black resistance in a revolutionary age. princeton: princeton university press, 1991. gilbert, alan. black patriots and loyalists: fighting for emancipation in the war for independence . chicago: chicago university press, 2012. groth, michael e. “black loyalists and african american allegiance in the mid-hudson valley.” in the other loyalists: ordinary people, royalist, and the revolution in the middle colonies, 1763-1787, edited by joseph s tiedemann, eugene r fingerhut, and robert w venables, 81-104. albany: state university of new york, 2009. hamilton, alexander. the official and other papers of the late major-general alexander hamilton : compiled chiefly from the originals in the possession of mrs. hamilton. compiled by francis l hawks. new york: wiley and putnam, 1842. accessed november 2, 2012. http://find.galegroup.com.ezp1.villanova.edu/mome/infomark.do?&source=gale&pro did=mome&usergroupname=vill_main&tabid=t001&docid=u106139966&type= multipage&contentset=momearticles&version=1.0&doclevel=fascimile. jefferson, thomas. “jefferson’s original rough draught of the declaration of independence.” thomas jefferson to congress, june 1776. in the papers of thomas jefferson digital edition, edited by barbara b oberg and j jefferson looney, 423427. charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008. accessed december 10, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/tsjn-01-01-02-0176-0004. ___. “resolution on the case of general sullivan.” thomas jefferson to congress, july 29, 1776. in the papers of thomas jefferson digital edition, edited by barbara b oberg and j jefferson looney, 478-479. charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008. accessed december 9, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/tsjn01-01-02-0197. ___. “to george washington.” thomas jefferson to george washington, january 10, 1781. in the papers of thomas jefferson digital edition, edited by barbara b oberg and j jefferson looney, 333-335. charlottesville : university of virginia press, 2008. accessed december 9, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/tsjn-0104-02-0408. ___. “to horatio gates.” thomas jefferson to horatio gates, october 15, 1780. in the papers of thomas jefferson digital edition, edited by barbara b oberg and j jefferson looney, 39-41. charlottesville : university of virginia press, 2008. accessed december 9, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/tsjn-0104-02-0042. jellison, charles a. ethan allen: frontier rebel. syracuse : syracuse university press, 1969. landis, matthew david. “friend and foe: the agent provocateur in late imperial russia.” madison historical review 9 (may 2012): 57-77. accessed november 9, 2012. http://web.jmu.edu/history/mhr/. mahoney, harry thayer, and marjorie locke mahoney. gallantry in action: a biographic dictionary of espionage in the american revolutionary war: xa-gb. lanham, md. [u.a.]: univ. press of america, 1999. maier, pauline. american scripture: making the declaration of independence. new york: vintage books, 1997. martin, james kirby. benedict arnold: revolutionary hero. new york: new york university press, 1997. morgan, edmund s, and helen m morgan. the stamp act crisis: prologue to revolution. williamsburg: the university of north carolina press, 1962. murphy, jim. the real benedict arnold. new york: clarion books, 2007. nichols, david andrew. red gentlemen and white savages: indians, federalists, and the search for order on the american frontier. charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008. parsons, samuel holden. “from samuel holden parsons.” samuel holden parsons to john adams, july 7, 1776. in the adams papers digital edition, edited by c james taylor, 365-377. charlottesville : university press of virginia, 2008. accessed december 10, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-04-020151. randall, william sterne. benedict arnold: patriot and traitor. new york: william morrow and company, 1990. ___. ethan allen: his life and times. new york: w.w. norton and company, 2011. royster, charles. a revolutionary people at war: the continental army and american character, 1775-1783. williamsburg, virginia: the university of north carolina press, 1979. sabine, lorenzo. biographical sketches of loyalists of the american revolution, with an historical essay. baltimore: genealogical pub., 1979. sullivan, john. “from john sullivan.” john sullivan to john adams, november 13, 1777. in the adams papers digital edition, edited by c. james taylor, 326-328. charlottesville : university of virginia press, 2008. accessed december 12, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/adms-06-05-02-0193. van doren, carl. secret history of the american revolution. new york: the viking press, 1941. venables, robert w. “faithful allies of the king: the crown's haudensaunee allies in the revolutionary struggle for new york.” in the other loyalists: ordinary people, royalist, and the revolution in the middle colonies, 1763-1787, edited by joseph s tiedemann, eugene r fingerhut, and robert w venables, 131-157. albany: state university of new york, 2009. ___. “to james bawdoin.” george washington to james bawdoin, august 14, 1776. in the papers of george washington digital edition, edited by edward g lengel, 1819. charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008. accessed december 12, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/gewn-03-06-02-0014. ___. “to lieutenant colonel joseph reed.” george washington to joseph reed, november 28, 1775. in the papers of george washington digital edition, edited by edward g lengel, 448-451. charlottesville: university of virginia press, 2008. accessed december 2, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/gewn-0302-02-0406. washington, lund. “from lund washington.” lund washington to george washington, december 3, 1775. in the papers of george washington, edited by edward g lengel, 477. charlottesville : university of virginia press, 2008. accessed november 27, 2012. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/gewn-03-02-02-0434. wilson, barry. benedict arnold: a traitor in our midst. montreal: mcgill-queen's university press, 2001. wolverton, joe. “if this be treason...” the new american 26, no. 20 (october 2010): 35-38. accessed november 10, 2012. http://ezproxy.villanova.edu.ezp1.villanova.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com. ezp1.villanova.edu/docview/759339858?accountid=14853. wood, gordon s. the radicalism of the american revolution. new york: vintage books, 1991. microsoft word brendan t. cochran_the “the man that i praise”: generational transformation of the postcolonial masculine ideal in cathleen ni houlihan, at the hawk’s well, and on baile’s strand brendan t. cochran theatre at the turn of the twentieth century, ireland stood poised for a dramatic upheaval of its power structure. the british parliament had rejected previous moves for home rule in ireland and a pervasive sense of hopelessness had begun to dominate the irish political sphere. at the same time, an artistic and literary revival was taking root in the country that was intent on promoting irish culture as the equal of any in europe. these two phenomena were inextricably linked, as the movement for cultural legitimacy became tied to a larger movement to establish ireland's racial equality and its right to self-governance. these wider cultural developments track closely with franz fanon’s roadmap to decolonization, outlined in his essay the wretched of the earth. by comparing fanon’s steps toward creating a postcolonial society, in relation to ireland’s independence movement, it is apparent that this process was one that required cultural transformation. as the irish people began to see that the small appeasements of the british government would never result in a fully decolonized autonomy, the inevitability of violence became clear. as fanon states, the “argument the native chooses has been furnished by the settler, and by an ironic turning of the tables it is the native who now affirms that the colonialist understands nothing but force.”1 this process culminated in the easter rising of 1916 and irish war of independence beginning in 1919. however, the cultural transformation necessary to foment this violent resistance had begun much earlier. in exploring the early life of the abbey theatre, the plays of william butler yeats and lady augusta gregory were both reflective of and instrumental to the construction of an irish culture that was capable of armed revolution. it is clear through a deep reading of three plays cathleen ni houlihan, at the hawk’s well, and on baile’s strand that part of this transformation was a reimagining of idealized masculinity in the society. as judith butler states, “gender identity is a performative accomplishment compelled by social sanction and taboo. in its very character as performative resides the possibility of contesting its reified status.”2 these plays sought to facilitate a shift in the norms which defined masculine performance in ireland. while all of these plays center around nationalistic themes, they also exhibit a distinct generational shift in ideals toward a more militant and unyielding, yet self-contained expression of the masculine. this deliberate shifting of gender expectations in the three plays, and in ireland at the time of their conception, relates closely to the transition marked by fanon from political placation to armed insurrection.3 using fanon’s postcolonial theory in concert with butler’s theory of gender performativity, i will detail how these early works of the abbey theatre sought to reshape irish society’s ideal of masculinity, through representations of a generational shift, in order to advance its nationalist agenda. the specificity of showing this transformation as a generational phenomenon was a reaction to anxieties about the recent failures of the nationalist agenda, particularly the downfall of charles stewart parnell, and to encourage a more focused, militant path for the movement. while this process functioned as a rejection of british rule in ireland, it also led to a reformation of irish masculine performativity that modeled itself on the patriarchal standards of the british, the catholic church, and the wider nationalist cultural movement occurring in europe. this case study therefore stands as a clear example of how the process of decolonization and its transformative cultural effects run the risk of recycling the colonizer’s violence, particularly through the perpetuation of patriarchal gender expectations. and while this process is necessarily turned against the colonizer, it is also frequently incorporated back toward its own newly independent society. the makings of a man the performance of gender is never a static or fixed matter. butler explains that “the gendered body acts its part in a culturally restricted corporeal space and enacts interpretations within the confines of already existing directives.”4 it is a performance constantly in negotiation between the expectations of the society and the individuals performing it within that society. it is therefore subject to change based respectively on changes in the mores and ideals of the society and the willingness of individuals to push against these norms. in a colonial context, however, the societal expectations at work come not only from the native population, but also from the colonizer. the popular british ideas around irish masculinity at the turn of the twentieth century were typical of the relationship between colonizers and native peoples. the irish were consistently portrayed as both inherently feminized and dangerously primitive. while these ideas had existed previously, the prevailing 19th century theories of race lent them further weight. these theories cast celtic lineages in a more feminine, and thereby the patriarchal lesser, form of whiteness than the masculine anglo-saxon lineage. these theories were seen as a clear justification for british paternalism; as joseph valente explains “by inscribing the presumed inferiority of the irish in biological terms, this shift of register lent their political subordination an air of inner necessity, historical inevitability, and, above all, permanence.”5 this presented the independence movement with the particular challenge of asserting itself in both patriarchal and racial terms as the equals of other european nations. georg grote points to the irish literary revival as a direct reaction to this impulse that sought to redefine the irish celt in terms of its ennobling mythology and history.6 in seeking to legitimize irish culture as equal, however, it was still beholden to defining itself in the terms of other european cultures. its right to self-rule was therefore inextricably linked to its ability to exert paternalistic control over its own people, as well as establishing its culture as a worthy equal to european nations. in conceiving of an ideal masculine image to aspire towards, a number of influences were simultaneously expressing themselves to irish nationalists. one of the most present examples was that of the british themselves. it is a consistent feature of colonized peoples, according to fanon, that they aspire to achieve that which they see as empowering their colonizer.7 the victorian ideal of masculinity was the model of colonial control. it was an image of manhood which emphasized the balance of primal virility and aggression with the tempering influences of christian morality and gentile behavior.8 with the close interplay of irish and british culture, particularly for anglo-irish protestants in the middle class, this example was a constant and lionized presence. many affluent and even aristocratic members of the anglo-irish population played key roles in the irish literary revival.9 this influence had seeped into the consciousness of the wider irish population as well though. valente finds a clear example of this impulse, pointing out that “no sooner did the metropolitan ethnologies of the celt take hold in the 1840s than the nationalist vanguard of the time, young ireland, began to exhort its adherents to a collective enactment of british-style manliness.”10 this hegemonic impulse towards impersonating the british victorian ideal of masculinity indicates the desire to assume british power. these dual attributes of rugged striving and self-possession were also being emphasized in other aspects of wider european society. the trend across the continent toward a more populist, nationalistic form of self-determination went hand in hand with this celebration of the temperate powerhouse male.11 it was an image of masculinity designed to show that the individuals of a population were capable of the force and control that they believed governance required. the movement looked to reclaim these qualities for the general population as they sought greater autonomy from the ruling aristocracies. these ideas were part and parcel with the irish nationalist movement which shared these goals. another major influence in this shifting ideal was that of the catholic church. at the start of the twentieth century, approximately 90% of the irish population identified as catholic and the church hierarchy exerted considerable cultural weight. this influence sought to direct the irish populace toward a more conservative path and, as anthony keating states, “ireland’s population was believed, by religio-nationalist ideologues, to have been partially corrupted by centuries of imperial domination and the temptations of modernity.”12 the catholic establishment saw the movement for irish independence as an opportunity to establish the island as a bastion of morality, particularly with regards to sex and marriage. valente notes that the “catholic hierarchy vigorously defended the ideal of self-controlled manliness.”13 part of this messaging again centered around a normative masculine persona that was able to resist its sexual impulses. here again the aspect of masculine restraint is found intertwined with an anti-colonial, if not overtly violent, sentiment. the interplay of these influences on the postcolonial performance of masculinity further coalesced around a key political event in 1891. charles stewart parnell had emerged in the 1870s as a powerhouse of irish politics. he had facilitated an unprecedented level of unity in irish politics and made massive inroads for the irish home rule movement. a cult of personality developed around parnell, who was frequently depicted in the guise of an ancient irish warrior. valente argues that “every aspect of his political life, from his widespread popularity to the internecine nationalist conflict occasioned by his demise, can be better assessed if one considers the importance of his gender performance,”14 which closely aligned with the aforementioned ideals. his vitality and ability to garner discipline among political factions had won the respect of allies and enemies alike. even in british circles he had avoided the common caricatures of the irish as feminine and simian.15 under his leadership it seemed that, for the first time, a political path towards independence would be viable. this image abruptly collapsed, however, when parnell’s long term romantic relationship with katherine o’shea, a married woman (though she and her husband were separated many years prior) was revealed. with this scandal, his image as the idealized masculine figure, along with his political fortunes, collapsed. the catholic church roundly condemned parnell and his catholic political allies followed suit. from this single event, irish political and cultural unity seemingly crumbled overnight. parnell proved unable to regain the traction he had built before succumbing to an illness the following year. the disunity and infighting brought on by parnell’s fall was seen by british opponents as proof of parnell’s exceptionalism and as evidence that the wider population was incapable of home rule. yeats, in his 1923 nobel prize acceptance speech, identified this as the moment “a disillusioned and embittered ireland turned away from parliamentary politics.”16 without a political route forward, the need emerged for a dividing line between the parnellian era of political compromise and a reunified effort towards irish independence. fanon notes this moment in the process of decolonization as one where a few select intellectuals of a native population become decentralized, and the mass population must begin to lead the process.17 in the wake of this political turbulence, an irish cultural movement began in earnest. grote points toward organizations like the gaelic league as providing a unified identity where “irishness was thus no longer subject to party politics.”18 gregory and yeats sought to emulate this success in the literary realm. though it did not claim any explicit political affiliations, the abbey theatre founders did state their intention to reclaim irish stage representation for the irish people. valente argues that in gregory’s insistence on an ennobling representation of irish masculinity, “the ideological connection between dignity and fitness for freedom helped to power the discourse of manliness, enabling what was inculcated as a personal ethos to function as an instrument of geopolitical as well as gender hegemony.”19 in this way, the early works of gregory and yeats helped create a narrative of a potent irish masculinity that was accessible to all irish men. butler argues explicitly that stage depictions which challenge gender assumptions can often be an early influence in shifting those perspectives, saying “the act is not contrasted with the real, but constitutes a reality that is in some sense new, a modality of gender that cannot readily be assimilated into the pre-existing categories that regulate gender.” 20 by redefining idealized masculinity on the stage, a new reality for irish masculinity would find a wide audience. cathleen ni houlihan the three plays explored in this essay were all created in the midst of this transformative moment in ireland, with cathleen ni houlihan premiering in 1902 and on baile’s strand in 1904, followed by at the hawk's well which was first performed in 1916. in each of these plays, an image of ireland emerges which rejects colonial justifications and cultural anxieties in favor of portraying a history and a mythology of noble irish heroism. despite distinct stylistic and narrative differences between these works, all three plays also contain clear representations of intergenerational masculine figures which can be understood as father-son relationships. in each case, the figurative or literal son character is the embodiment of the postcolonial masculine ideal: unstoppably single minded, self-contained, and driven towards justified violent action. in contrast the father figures in each play are hopelessly driven by their desires and notably misguided in their actions. through the course of these plays, the subtext then emerges that the elder generations of irish political action were likewise led astray. the son figures in these plays serve as a roadmap towards a masculine ideal that is capable of violently rejecting british colonial rule. gregory and yeats’ cathleen ni houlihan21 is by far the most overtly nationalistic of the three pieces. the play is set in a bucolic family home as they prepare for the elder son michael’s wedding. the arrival of the old woman, cathleen ni houlihan (an embodiment of ireland itself), disrupts the stasis of the household as she seeks the aid of young men to restore her lost lands. the father of the house, peter, is largely concerned with the dowry he has negotiated and the security that it will bring. here we see the preoccupations of the father’s generation clearly. peter is an image of masculine domesticity. his priorities are on advancing the family’s station in life and creating financial security. his reticence to offer the old woman a shilling, in fact, draws a sharp contrast to michael’s willing sacrifice.22 peter does acknowledge that the patriotic impulse, or at least its rumblings, might have existed for him in the past when he meets cathleen saying, “i think i knew someone of that name once.”23 however, comfort and domesticity have taken root in him. the old woman's song makes him uneasy, and he attempts to discredit her story and to draw michael away from her. but he quickly realizes that he cannot, and passively allows michael to leave the house. michael, on the other hand, experiences a profound transformation with the arrival of the old woman. in this process, he transforms into the ideal masculine figure. when he enters the home, his focus is on his upcoming nuptials. peter points to his son’s sexual desire as the main source of his excitement, saying “it’s likely michael himself was not thinking much of the fortune either, but of what sort the girl was to look at.”24 michael agrees readily with this, yet he is quickly distracted by the cheering in the town. he then is instantly drawn to the old woman and her plight. her effect upon him is seemingly hypnotic. he quickly offers her assistance despite her warnings that many will die in her service. he forgets entirely that his wedding is the next day. when his intended, delia, arrives and it is announced that the cheering is a response to the french landing to aid an irish rebellion, michael abandons his fiancé to pursue the old woman and join the fight. according to georg grote, yeats and gregory clearly indicate michael’s actions are a call to action for the audience.25 the message is clear that he has rejected domesticity and desire in favor of self-sacrifice and violent action, an example that all the young men of ireland should follow. the character of the cathleen ni houlihan, made young and regal by michael’s sacrifice, held very specific significance and cultural weight for irish audiences as well. these feminine embodiments of ireland had existed even in pre-colonial irish mythology. valente points to a common device in gaelic myth whereby a “candidate for kingship accedes to the crown by way of a mating ritual in which the sovereign hag (erin, the poor old woman, the shan van vocht, the cailleach beare, cathleen) attempts to seduce or accost him and, then, upon sexual consummation, undergoes a metamorphosis into a beautiful young woman.”26 in the case of yeats and gregory’s cathleen, however, she insists that she has never taken a lover and requires michael to abandon his desires for delia. her demand of a blood sacrifice rather than a sexual union is consistent with masculine expectations of the victorian aristocracy, the catholic church, and the nationalist movement alike.27 in this way, the classical irish imagery brings itself in line with contemporary expectations of masculinity. the generational distinction attached to these expectations is further emphasized following michael’s exit, when it is his younger brother patrick that sees the old woman’s transformation to a young girl with the bearing of a queen, while his father, peter, does not. at the hawk’s well in yeats’s later work, at the hawk’s well, he once again attempts to contemporize irish mythic tradition, this time employing the heroic figure of cuchulain to embody the masculine ideal. here again he places two generations of men in stark contrast to one another. he further emphasizes this dichotomy by simply identifying the central characters as old man and young man, even after the latter names himself as cuchulain. and while they are not actually portrayed as father and son in the story, the overt paternalism of the old man and the disregard of the young man closely matches the father-son dynamics in the other two stories. in this case, the goal of the two men is the same: both seek to drink from a well which will grant them immortality. within this barren and unforgiving landscape, a being that is both hawk and woman guards the well, along with a group of female warriors whose dance causes the old man to fall asleep whenever the well fills with water. with the old man referring to them as “deceivers of men”,28 yeats establishes female power over men as the central hindrance to the characters’ goal. the hawk woman’s eyes, which are able to curse and distract, and the dance of aoife’s warriors that lulls men to sleep both carry suggestively sexual overtones. the old man seems helpless against these forces despite his resenting them. his only means to achieving his immortality is a passive persistence which he hopes will eventually yield better results. the cultural echoes of parnell live in this character, hindered by his lack of willpower and his passivity despite sharing the young man’s goals. the young man here again shows his superiority in achieving their shared goal. he is impervious to the old man’s initial warnings that pursuing the well is a bitter life and that he should sail home instead. he shows that his focus is singular and dispassionate when he reproaches the old man’s assurance that there is “no house to sack among the hills / nor beautiful woman to be carried off.”29 he also establishes himself as the moral superior of the old man, offering to share the well’s water when the old man greedily insists he either have the water for himself or at least get to drink first. moreover, the young man seems completely immune to the persuasion of the land’s other inhabitants. when the old man is overcome with sleep, cuchulain pursues the hawk woman forcefully, and eventually exits to engage in battle with aoife’s warriors, undaunted by either supernatural powers or a sense of fear. here again the ideals of unrelenting drive, noble action, and self-restraint find their home in the young masculine character, creating a strong contrast to his elder counterpart. the figure of cuchulain was a potent symbol of ireland's redefined masculinity in the postcolonial movement. an important component of the irish literary revival was the efforts of lady gregory and her counterparts to translate cuchulain's legends into english. these loose translations were carefully curated to omit the more sexual and animalistic qualities of the character in order to carefully align him with the contemporary masculine ideal.30 in this way cuchulain came to embody the nationalist movement itself, and to claim it as a masculine impulse. his image was continuously used by political movements in ireland in further generations as a symbol of national potency that could be used to justify differing sides of the same cause.31 it is no surprise that eamon de valera chose oliver shepard’s statue the death of cuchulain to be the official memorial to the 1916 easter rising. on baile’s strand it is curious then that yeats opted to place the character of cuchulain in a less flattering light in his play on baile’s strand. however, by examining the piece as a work of postcolonial allegory, his function in the story becomes clear. here cuchulain is cast in the ill-fated father figure role, inverting his position from at the hawk’s well. a key feature that distinguishes this play from the others analyzed here is that it follows a classic tragic structure. cuchulain is presented as an essentially good king who is distracted by his desire for creature comforts and whose violence is easily misdirected. he first enters the great hall discussing his love affair with aoife and his preference for fierce, passionate women. cuchulain displays the inconstancy of his own passion, however, saying “one is content awhile / with a soft warm woman who folds up our lives / in silky network. then, one knows not why, / but one's away after a flinty heart.”32 this is a clear violation of the new masculine ideal of sober self-control. the young king with whom he is talking notes this, but in a stark showing of patriarchal normativity places the blame squarely on aoife, pointing out that she “never married” and claiming fighting women are cheap with their favors.33 this cultural misstep has, unbeknownst to cuchulain, produced a son who will be the source of his tragic downfall. at the same time, the father-figure proves inconsistent in his convictions and is incredibly susceptible to the influence of the other high king, concobar. when the character of the young man first arrives and challenges cuchulain to combat, he first accepts the challenge, then wavers. moved by a look he recognizes in the young man, he attempts to placate and befriend the newcomer. like peter in cathleen ni houlihan, cuchulain offers homely comforts, suggesting hunting, music, and women as alternatives to conflict.34 he is eventually goaded into the fight by the old kings and concobar though, who insist his reticence to fight is the result of witchcraft. in this, yeats shows the hero’s clouded judgment and his easy manipulation. his ability to be controlled is further emphasized when he attempts to attack concobar, upon realizing that the young man he has killed was his own son. concobar is easily able to redirect his aggression towards the sea, rendering cuchulain’s martial prowess impotent. in this version of cuchulain, the reflection of charles stewart parnell is more fully realized. yeats repurposes the ancient myth as a thinly veiled recounting of parnell's downfall. grote points out that this parallel was “quickly established by many in the audience”35 during its 1905 performance. through this lens, the machinations of the rival king, concobar (read britain) bring down the great hero of irish independence. while cuchulain is shown to be the equal and perhaps the better of concobar, he has accepted a subservient role in the court along with all of the lesser kings. like parnell, it is cuchulain’s romantic history that is used by concobar to distract and disempower the hero. by the end of the play, it is shown that concobar holds some greater, unseen power that can redirect all of the other king’s violence away from himself. into this situation, the character of the young man arrives seeking justice. he has been directed by aoife (read ireland) to seek revenge on cuchulain (parnell) for his abandonment. unlike his father, the young man is principled, single-minded, and unyielding in his pursuit of violent action, again fulfilling the image of the idealized postcolonial man. the kings’ finery and comforts cannot distract him, and he maintains his vow to withhold his name from them. cuchulain’s son ultimately emerges as the most admirable figure in the story despite being given very little to say. in the end it is not the young man’s failings that lead to the mutual downfall of father and son. this fault lies squarely on the manipulation of cuchulain by concobar. generationality is again a key feature in this work. unlike the other two stories, the generations represented here are more complex, offering a more nuanced allegorical picture of colonialism. new to this story is the generation of concobar and the old kings. these figures are distinctly older than the father-son generation and represent the powerful european empires (in essence the colonist generation), with concobar/britain at the forefront. these figures perceive the greatest threat from the arrival of the young man, and continuously urge cuchulain to kill him. yeats notes in cuchulain’s entrance with the young kings that he “though still young is a good deal older than the others.”36 these young kings seem to occupy a liminal generation between that of cuchulain and that of the young man, standing in for other colonized nations. as noted above, these men have moved beyond the old kings’ excesses, and express their preference for a gentle incarnation of femininity that aligns with the new masculine ideal. however, they fail to live up to this image when they fall victim to concobar’s influence and join cuchulain in attacking the sea. it thus appears that aoife’s son, and by association ireland’s, is solely capable of resisting this power. the young man’s refusal to reveal his name though he is “of that ancient seed and carry / the signs about this body and in these bones”37 allows him to be cast as an everyman. though they may lack the station of the other great men, it makes clear that this generation is exceptional, unmatched in their drive and sacrifice, and uniquely capable of instilling fear in the hearts of the old kings. conclusion these consistent representations of intergenerational masculinity in the early plays of gregory and yeats addressed a specific moment in ireland’s process of decolonization. it was an indication of a need to ease cultural anxieties around irish masculinity by clearly dividing the past from the present. the recent fall of parnell and its political fallout had left significant doubts about a diplomatic path towards home rule and created political fractures in the populace. the new generation of masculinity that these plays envisioned was one that would not equivocate in its calls for independence. earthly temptations could not sway its moral conservatism. it would be unyielding in the pursuit of its goals. it was a model for empowerment, albeit one based on patriarchal standards, that would render the irish man and the british man equals. franz fanon identifies this moment in the process of decolonization, saying “thus the native discovers that his life, his breath, his beating heart are the same as those of the settler. he finds out that the settler's skin is not of any more value than a native's skin; and it must be said that this discovery shakes the world in a very necessary manner.”38 this effort to raise up irish masculinity proved instrumental in forwarding the nationalist movement. while this narrative served to foment a sense of militant action in ireland, its repercussions have resonated through the culture ever since. it contributed to a wider expansion of patriarchal standards in the culture. while non-male contribution to the independence effort was widespread, both militarily and otherwise, the broader culture often minimized these narratives. beatty points to this tension in the nationalist movement’s treatment of cumann na mban, a women’s military organization whose efforts were consistently minimized, and who he argues, in service to the nationalist agenda “were ultimately complicit in facilitating the volunteers’ masculine self-image.”39 repressive gender expectations further expanded in the irish free state. with the close collaboration of the catholic hierarchy, laws controlling contraceptives, sexual expression, and artistic freedom vastly expanded. the cultural unity that the irish revival had fostered also dissipated rapidly under political tensions in the revolution’s aftermath. the unyielding and violently driven men that the movement had fostered proved unwilling to compromise their political beliefs, resulting in a bloody civil war and fostering an era of nationalist isolationism that persisted for decades. butler identifies this pitfall in the societal conceptions of gender, saying “it is primarily political interests which create the social phenomena of gender itself, and … without a radical critique of gender constitution feminist theory fails to take stock of the way in which oppression structures the ontological categories through which gender is conceived.”40 these early works of the abbey theatre directly promoted a reimagining of the country’s masculine performance which would repress sexual impulse and promote violence and lack of compromise. in an effort to push irish culture towards independence, irish nationalism and irish theatre took on the example of those already in power and perpetuated their oppressive patriarchal normativity. endnotes 1 franz fanon, the wretched of the earth, trans. constance farrington (new york: grove weidenfeld, 1963), 83. 2 judith butler, “performative acts and gender constitution: an essay in phenomenology and feminist theory,” theatre journal 40, no. 4 (1988): 519. https://doi.org/10.2307/3207893. 3 fanon, the wretched, 58-60. 4 butler, “performative acts”, 526. 5 joseph valente, the myth of manliness in irish national culture, 1880-1922 (baltimore: university of illinois press, 2010) 12. 6 georg grote, anglo-irish theatre and the formation of a nationalist political culture between 1890 and 1930 (lewiston, n.y.: edwin mellen press, 2003) 216. 7 fanon, the wretched, 51-52. 8 valente, the myth of manliness, 4-5. 9 grote, anglo-irish theatre, 215. 10 valente, the myth of manliness, 19. 11 aiden beatty, masculinity and power in irish nationalism, 1884-1938, (london: palgrave macmillan, 2016) 4-5. 12 keating, anthony, "the uses and abuses of censorship: god, ireland and the battle to extend censorship post 1929," estudios irlandeses journal of irish studies 9 (2014): 68. 13 valente, the myth of manliness, 51. 14 valente, the myth of manliness, 27. 15 valente, the myth of manliness, 31-32. 16 william butler yeats, “nobel lecture,” presented december 15, 1923. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1923/yeats/lecture/. 17 fanon, “the wretched”, 44. 18 grote, “anglo-irish theatre”, 106. 19 valente, the myth of manliness, 79-80. 20 butler, “performative acts”, 527. 21 the debate around the authorship of this piece has been the subject of ongoing scholarship, with many now believing yeats’s contribution to be minimal, despite being solely credited with the work in the past. for the purposes of this essay, gregory and yeats are simply credited as coauthors. 22 w.b. yeats and lady gregory, “cathleen ni houlihan” in modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. 2nd ed., ed. john p. harrington, (new york: w.w. norton & co., 2009) 8-11. 23 yeats and gregory, “cathleen ni houlihan”, 9. 24 yeats and gregory, “cathleen ni houlihan”, 5. 25 grote, anglo-irish theatre, 22. 26 valente, the myth of manliness, 95. 27 valente, the myth of manliness, 96-120. 28 w.b. yeats, “at the hawk’s well” in modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. 2nd ed., ed. john p. harrington, (new york: w.w. norton & co., 2009) 24. 29 yeats, “hawk’s well”, 23. 30 valente, the myth of manliness, 145. 31 gregory j goalwin. "the curious case of cú chulainn: nationalism, culture, and meaning‐ making in the contested symbols of northern ireland." studies in ethnicity & nationalism 19, no. 3 (2019): 307-308. https://doi.org/10.1111/sena.12304. 32 yeats, w. b., “on baile’s strand” in the short plays vol 2: “do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” (london: stage door, 2013), 11, https://searchebscohostcom.ezp1.villanova.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&an=1024909&site=ehostlive&scope=site. 33 yeats, w. b., “on baile’s strand”, 8. 34 yeats, “on baile’s strand”, 15. 35 grote, anglo-irish theatre, 158. 36 yeats, “on baile’s strand”, 7. 37 yeats, “on baile’s strand”, 14. 38 fanon, “the wretched”, 45. 39 beatty, masculinity and power, 81. 40 butler, “performative acts”, 529. bibliography beatty, aidan. masculinity and power in irish nationalism, 1884-1938. london: palgrave macmillan, 2016. butler, judith. “performative acts and gender constitution: an essay in phenomenology and feminist theory.” theatre journal 40, no. 4 (1988): 519–31. https://doi.org/10.2307/3207893. fanon, frantz. the wretched of the earth. new york: grove press, 1963. goalwin, gregory j. "the curious case of cú chulainn: nationalism, culture, and meaning‐making in the contested symbols of northern ireland." studies in ethnicity & nationalism 19, no. 3 (2019): 307-324. https://doi.org/10.1111/sena.12304. grote, georg. anglo-irish theatre and the formation of a nationalist political culture between 1890 and 1930. lewiston, n.y.: edwin mellen press, 2003. keating, anthony. "the uses and abuses of censorship: god, ireland and the battle to extend censorship post 1929." estudios irlandeses journal of irish studies 9 (2014): 67-79. valente, joseph. the myth of manliness in irish national culture, 1880-1922. baltimore: university of illinois press, 2010. accessed december 12, 2022. proquest ebook central. yeats, w. b. the short plays vol 2: “do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” london: stage door, 2013. https://search-ebscohostcom.ezp1.villanova.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&an=1024909&site=ehostlive&scope=site. yeats, w.b. “at the hawk’s well” in modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. 2nd ed., ed. john p. harrington, 20-28. new york: w.w. norton & co., 2009. yeats, william butler. “nobel lecture.” presented december 15, 1923, https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1923/yeats/lecture/. yeats, w.b. and lady gregory. “cathleen ni houlihan” in modern and contemporary irish drama: backgrounds and criticism. 2nd ed., ed. john p. harrington, 3-11. new york: w.w. norton & co., 2009. dynamics of malay-muslim resistance: thailand’s unknown war: malay-muslim separatism, political opportunities and the dynamics of violent resistance dana m. moss liberal studies abstract this paper analyses the violent conflict between malay-muslim separatists and thai security forces between 1959 and 2008 by examining contemporary developments of the malay-muslim separatist movement and corresponding government policies aimed at suppressing malay resistance. the detailed analysis of violent resistance and counter-resistance strategies proves that political opportunities and constraints have a significant effect on violent resistance. this article argues that phases of ―hard‖ policy on the south have the opposite intended effect, i.e. a mobilizing effect, on violent resistance, despite the relative openness of the thai political system and political participation of malay-muslims in that system. violence has decreased only when resistance groups have conscientiously changed strategies and/or resources have been limited, particularly during phases of ―soft‖ government policy. implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. introduction for well over fifty years, thailand‘s southernmost region has been the site of an armed separatist conflict perpetuated by members of the malay-muslim minority. over the past decade in particular, this conflict has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis, the declaration of martial law in the region, the suspension of civil rights for malay-muslims, and human rights abuses as documented by international watchdog groups. 1 in addition, the thai government‘s handling of this crisis has increased international political tensions between thailand and many muslim-majority states, both in southeast asia and in the middle east, which claim that malay-muslims suffer from discriminatory state policies, 1 for example, see human rights watch 2007 for a comprehensive analysis of human rights abuses on both sides. dana moss cultural repression and police/military brutality. since 2004, well over 3,500 combatants and civilians have been killed, and there continues to be a security presence of approximately 40,000 thai army soldiers and policemen occupying the southernmost region. because of the recent developments in thai politics beginning in 2006, including massive protests against the government in bangkok 2 and the constant turnover of elected officials, political efforts — at least, public efforts — to address the conflict and work towards a peaceful resolution have been almost nonexistent. while there has been some focus in existing literature on the historical, economic, and political contexts of this conflict, there is a notable paucity of social science scholarship analyzing malay-muslim separatism as a social movement, particularly regarding the roles that political opportunities have played in the ever-evolving dynamics of resistance. 3 therefore, this article will analyze the relationship between political opportunities (and conversely, political constraints) and the timing, form, and outcomes of malay-muslim resistance. as social movement theorist mayer zald contends, ―we need to recognize both the conditions under which movements generally rise and decline, and the ways in which movements maximize their influence within a given context.‖ 4 therefore, in exploring the relationship between government policy and movement activity, this paper aims to specify the role of political opportunities and constraints on resistance action. it has been emphasized in the literature that analyses need to move beyond ―root causes‖ of the malay-muslim conflict. 5 while it is certainly preferable to avoid reiterating laundry lists of grievances or historical events that have been explored elsewhere, it is also important to note that the analysis of root causes is far from complete. because malay-muslims have been marginalized in the literature on thailand, many sources detailing key events and developments of malay-muslim resistance disagree on important facts, such as when resistance groups where formed and by whom, which groups are still active, and whether or not certain groups engage in violent activity. another reason to avoid assumptions about root causes regards policy implications. for example, when former prime minister thaksin sinawatra (2001-06) identified poverty as the root 2 for more information on the protests in bangkok by the people‘s alliance for democracy, see bbc news 2 december 2008. 3 zald 1996, 283, defines a social movement as a ―sustained and self-conscious challenge to authorities or cultural codes by a field of actors (organizations and advocacy networks), some of whom employ extra-institutional means of influence,‖ and it is under this definition that the malay-muslim resistance movement may be categorized as a social movement. 4 zald 1996, 277. 5 jitpriomsri and sobhonvasu 2006. thailand’s unknown war cause of malay-muslim resistance, the government began to fund new projects aimed at increasing economic opportunities and financing in the region. 6 however, the prioritization of an economic root cause over all others had little to no overt effect on the high level of violence that resistance groups managed to sustain during this period; in addition, this economic development possibly aggravated southern tensions vis-à-vis the expansion of thai infrastructure and financial influence within malay territory. 7 this example highlights the need to look at policy responses, particularly how ―hard‖ policies (including the implementation of a military ―solution‖), ―soft‖ policies (including offers of amnesty, negotiations, and the establishment of mediating structures 8 ) or a combination of the two have affected violent resistance. this research relies on primary and secondary sources, particularly news articles from thai and other media outlets, reports by international human rights organizations such as human rights watch and the international crisis group, and secondary historical, political and sociological analyses. attempts to locate data on casualties, troop levels and other pertinent statistical information in thai or english were unsuccessful, though this is to be expected in light of the thai government‘s lack of transparency. however, based on the sources available to the author at this time, the application of social movement theory — particularly that of ―political opportunities‖ as defined by mcadam, mccarthy and zald (1996) — to this conflict provides useful and much needed insight into the trajectory of malay-muslim resistance from 1959 until 2008. political opportunities and formations of resistance groups the existence of grievances by any given ethnic or religious group do not necessarily lead to collective mobilization; rebellion and violence are not ―natural‖ or inevitable consequences of minority discontent, muslim or otherwise. 9 however, the existence of grievances provides a necessary foundation for collective action. several superb publications have focused on grievances, including che man (1990) on the colonization of malay-muslim territory by the thai nation-state, liow (2005) on the suppression of islamic ―pondok‖ school system, and jitpiromsri and sobhonvasu (2006) on economic 6 ibid. 7 see human rights watch 2007, jitpiromsri and sobhonvasu 2006, and mccargo 2006 for casualty estimates since 2001. there is no official data on this, however, from the thai government. 8 specific examples of mediating structures, or institutions that open a line of communication between local and national leaders and provide a forum for local citizens to express grievances, will be detailed in the following section. 9 see schwedler 2001 for an excellent discussion of muslim identity and mobilization. dana moss disparities between the periphery and the center. as highlighted by all of the aforementioned researchers, such grievances have created a lasting situation in which ―the muslims have been under constant pressure from different government integration policies… [but have also become] isolated from the mainstream of thai social mobility and… underprivileged minorities.‖ 10 however, despite the extensive history of discrimination against and repression of malay-muslims by the thai state since the formal annexation of their territory in 1902, malays have not been the only minorities to face poverty, military confrontation and the threat of cultural assimilation. they have, however, been the only minority group to sustain armed resistance against the thai state. therefore, the application of political opportunity theory should account for, at least in part, variation in resistance action. while the term ―political opportunity‖ — and equally as important, ―political constraint‖ — should be used with care so as not to be overused or applied to any and all phenomena, mcadam, mccarthy and zald (1996a) posit that there is some consensus in what constitutes political opportunity. these dimensions include the relative openness or closure of the institutional political system; the stability or instability of a broad set of elite alignments that comprise or support a given party; the presence or absence of elite allies; and the state capacity and propensity for repression. movements may exploit emerging system weaknesses, but may also ―arise in the context of contracting political opportunities,‖ thus making opportunities for themselves even while experiencing constraint and threat. 11 questions have been raised in recent literature on the conflict regarding the timing and form of collective action. for example, jitpriomsri and sobhonvasu remark, in 2004, violent incidents increased twenty-seven fold compared with the average rate of similar incidents during the previous decade. if identity politics—a consciousness of patani‘s 12 glorious ancient kingdom, or the sense of malay ethnic identity—are the main reasons behind the operations, the question remains: why has violence surged now, and not earlier? 13 10 che man 1990, 42. 11 mcadam 1996b, 32; italics added for emphasis. 12 patani is the name of the malay-muslim kingdom that fought against the siamese kingdom for autonomy before 1902; this is distinguished from pattani, which is a modern province in the south. patani is widely referenced by malay-muslims as the historical precedent for a new state. 13 jitpriomsri and sobhonvasu 2006, 115. thailand’s unknown war looking at grievances based in a collective malay-muslim understanding of history, or the development of their cultural identity as one that stands inherently opposed to thai-buddhism, may explain malay-muslim resistance to some degree. however, it does not account for violent resistance per se. while this discussion does not assume that policies by the thai government are the only factors influencing the malay-muslim resistance movements, government policies do directly affect political constraints and opportunities, particularly because the thai government is seen as the primary cause and target of resistance. therefore, government policies and malay armed resistance will be the focus of this discussion. dynamics of contemporary resistance while this analysis begins generally around the year 1960, it should be noted that insurgents founded initiator resistance movements against japanese occupation of thailand in world war ii. they did so expecting to be rewarded with irredentism 14 with the colony of malaya, then under british control, where the majority of malay-muslims reside. one of thailand‘s most notorious dictators, general phibun, 15 brutally repressed the rebel groups and outlawed many malay-muslim cultural practices. during this time, malay-muslims were treated as cultural outlaws within the parameters of strict thai-buddhist nationalism. many of the former fighters for irredentism, their appeals ignored by the british and the united nations, organized new resistance organizations with the goal of establishing an independent malay-muslim state. two separatist groups emerged during this time: the bnpp 16 was established in 1959 as an armed resistance movement for independence; the brn 17 , established in 1960, was less interested in armed warfare than in strengthening malay-muslim political leadership through local institutions, such as mosques and schools, or ―pondoks.‖ later on, the pulo 18 emerged in 1968 with a plan to found a secular malay state, rather than one with an islamic blueprint as proposed by the bnpp 14 irredentism is the desire for annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity or prior possession, real or perceived. 15 phibun (thai officials are referred to in practice and in scholarship by their first names) also mandated that a thai family name be necessary to obtain formal employment, and criminalized traditional malay-muslim clothing, language, and even some religious festivals. gilquin (2005) also writes that security forces often forced muslims to prostrate before buddhist objects, which was not just a tactic of intimidation and humiliation, but also a forced worshipping of idols. 16 bnpp stands for the barisan national pembebasan patani. 17 brn stands for the barisan national of patani. 18 pulo stands for the patani united liberation organization; the name is inspired by and pays tribute to the palestinian liberation organization, plo. dana moss and the brn. the first major phase of insurgent activity, beginning around 1968 and peaking between 1970 and 1975, was met with a seven-year military campaign by the thai state. this resulted in hundreds of armed clashes and insurgents killed, over 1,200 arrested, about 250 insurgent camps infiltrated, and thousands of weapons confiscated. 19 despite the aggressive campaign, however, separatist organizations continued to operate and to escalate the conflict further; increased recruitment into armed resistance factions occurred during this period of military occupation. it has also been postulated that funds were channeled to resistance groups from libya and extended pro-patani student organizations in the middle east, which may have increased the means and the legitimacy of the armed conflict. in 1973, thailand began a three-year democratic transition, though this period is also infamous for its civil unrest and harsh military backlash against student demonstrators in bangkok. however, by 1975 freedom house ratings showed improvements in both political freedom and civil liberties in thailand. 20 however, the military campaign continued in the south. after five malaymuslim youths were allegedly killed by thai soldiers in december of 1975, thousands demonstrated around the patani central mosque for over one month, leading to clashes with security forces, 25 killed and dozens more wounded. it is possible that this demonstration, the largest of its kind until that time, was influenced by the belief that the new democratic government would respond to public protest. however, the frustrations of the malay-muslim populace went unaddressed by the thai government, which was overwhelmed with its own elite fragmentation and general instability. che man (1990) states that separatist leaders interpreted the 1975 public revolt as carte blanche popular approval for their separatist cause. therefore, ―they decided not to devote their relatively weak resources to domestic mobilization,‖ and instead focused on gaining international support and recognition. 21 therefore, violent action decreased to a low but ever-present level after 1975. the 1980s saw a new direction in the political treatment of the southern issue, though it should be stressed that violence on both sides continued intermittently throughout the next twenty years. in an effort to take a different approach to the conflict, the new thai army general assigned to the southern conflict, chavlit, instituted an alternative military strategy, including an amnesty agreement for malay insurgents. during this time, an estimated 450 separatists accepted the 19 che man 1990, 101. 20 freedom house rates thailand as ―not free‖ in 1973 and ―partially free‖ in 1975; www.freedomhouse.org. 21 ibid. thailand’s unknown war terms of this agreement. this shifting climate, marked by a more delicate handling of the southern issue and fragmentation within some resistance organizations, provided an opening for many low-status militants to lay down their arms. this coincided with an organizational restructuring of the brn, which lost some mobilizing momentum during this transition after splitting into several factions under the heading, brn-coordinate (brn-c). 22 general prem tinsulanond also instituted a number of other notable reforms in the south during his tenure as prime minister (1980-88). he reversed the assimilationist policies of previous administrations by promoting economic development and—for the first time—cultural diversity. 23 prem (originally from the southern songkla province himself, with personal and political ties to the region) also established mediating structures with long-term goals. this initiative created the southern border provincial administration committee (sbpac), which gave local voices a forum to express their grievances, and provided opportunities for collaboration between local elites and federal politicos. prem also created a special unit of security called the civilian-police-military task force 43 (cpm 43), which became a ―beacon for ideas of administrative justice, symbolizing the thai state‘s sincerity and goodwill.‖ 24 the means for malaymuslim leaders to form parties and participate in elections was promoted more than ever before by the national government, and malay-muslims increased their participation in two national political parties, the democratic (prem‘s party) and new aspiration parties. militants, undermined at this time by such policies, formed an umbrella organization, ―bersatu,‖ with the intention of unifying and coordinating goals, actions and resources between the brn-c, pulo and others. softer policies continued into the beginning of the next decade, including extensions of amnesty. during this time, the armed resistance factions suffered from a lack of sustainable revenue, internally and abroad, and the lull in violent activity continued. signs of preliminary peace agreements emerged when brn-c 22 human rights watch claims that the brn-c has dominated violent action since 2001. the armed wing of the brn-c, the patani freedom fighters (pejuang kemerkdekdaan pantani) supposedly also has links with the rkk (runda kumpulan kecil), a smaller group often cited in the media as responsible for sabotaging infrastructure and murdering civilians. because neither group claims responsibility for their actions, it is difficult to judge the brc-c‘s or the rkk‘s influence, mobilizing momentum or disruptive power. 23 there has never been an official discourse on multinationalism in thailand, with assimilation viewed as a necessary ―solution‖ to the ―problem‖ of minorities. as keyes (1987) states, ―buddhism was designated as one of the three pillars of thai nationalism—the others being the thai nation or people and the monarchy‖; the traditions of malay-muslims and other indigenous minorities ―became suspect both for perpetuating ‗superstitions‘ and for contributing to a sense of regional or ethnic distinctiveness‖ (59). 24 mccargo 2006, 44. dana moss signed an accord with the military in 1992, pledging to change their primary goal from independence to autonomy in exchange for a number of provisions. however, opportunities for peace agreements were greatly constrained by the constant turnover of the thai political leadership in the following months. the peace accord was declared null and void shortly thereafter because of a leadership change; clearly, the government lacked the ability and (and later, the will) to implement terms of compromise. the pulo and brn-c responded by coordinating attacks, some on civilian targets. in 1997, thailand experienced severe political and economic instability, including a massive financial crisis; again, amnesty was offered, and approximately 50 insurgents surrendered. while this chaotic time in bangkok may have created a brief opening for resistance factions to increase violence, the government was undoubtedly too overwhelmed to allocate adequate attention or resources to the southern issue. in either case, the brn-c and pulo were forced to reorganize due to their own elite cleavages and lack of resources, and little progress was made. for the remainder of the 1990s into the turn of the millennium, the frequency of violent incidents remained generally steady but relatively low. 25 the structures that prem had put in place as part of a soft policy in the south, with generally effective and long-term preventative goals, were under-appreciated until thaksin shinawatra (2001-2006) dismantled them during his tumultuous tenure as prime minster, upsetting a ―carefully negotiated social contract… that had ensured relative peace for two decades.‖ 26 thaksin broke up prem‘s power network, which managed the southern resistance issue through ―tightly managed personal networks,‖ 27 and replaced prem‘s army-based network with his own police-based network. 28 he also abolished the spbac and cpm 43 in 2002. thaksin claimed that the southern conflict was nothing more than a low-intensity spurt of common banditry, which denied not just the resistance as a longstanding social movement, but its legacy as a formidable organized force with coordinated leadership and the ability to withstand, adapt and disrupt. in addition, thaksin‘s ―war on drugs‖ had particularly harsh consequences in the south. this hard-line policy gave the police tacit approval ―to target selected locals for extrajudicial execution‖ under the guise of a drug war, resulting in extrajudicial arrests and murders, even of separatist informers. 29 for example, in october of 2003 in the narathiwat province, three men disappeared who had been former separatists but were protected under the 1981 amnesty. more than twenty 25 see jitpriomsri and sobhonvasu 2006 for a statistical overview. 26 mccargo 2006, 39. 27 ibid., 43. 28 the longstanding rivalry between the two factions is discussed by mccargo 2006. 29 ibid., 53. thailand’s unknown war others disappeared between 2002 and 2003. by march of 2005, locals in narathiwat complained that at least fifty people had disappeared under suspicious circumstances. the abrupt insertion of the bangkok-based police force into the southern region exacerbated ethno-religious tensions, as they were unwilling to express sensitivity to local customs and religious etiquette. due to the reasons stated above, between 2001 and 2003, thaksin and his allies created ripe conditions for an increase in separatist violence. the year 2004 saw a series of coordinated attacks by insurgent groups, popular protests, and a sharp rise in causalities. according to one source, the number of incidences jumped from 84 in 2003 to 1,843 in just one year. 30 in january of 2004, a series of coordinated attacks on an army depot in narathiwat resulted in one or more insurgent groups obtaining hundreds of weapons and killing several thai officers; 20 government schools were also burned. this resulted in thaksin‘s declaration of martial law, which gave the police and military more power to treat the populace harshly without regard for civil rights. another major incident took place at the kru-ze mosque, in which the army stormed the building, killing thirty-two men who had barricaded themselves inside. as liow (2005) comments, ―the sight of bloodstained floors and holy books in the … mosque no doubt resonated with the muslim population in the south and further fed resentment.‖ 31 in addition, a number of extrajudicial killings were recorded that year, including an incident at saba yoi market, in which fifteen suspected insurgents were found with gunshot wounds in the back of the head. similar reports and rumors have circulated frequently since then in the thai media. in october of 2004, the infamous tak bai incident occurred, in which protests outside of a police station in narathiwat resulted in the shooting of several protestors and the arrests of over a thousand men. the stacking of bound prisoners in trucks led to the fatal suffocation of seventy-eight malay-muslim protestors during their transport to a military prison. this incident attracted strong criticism from neighboring malaysia and indonesia and international media attention. in the aftermath of tak bai, several prominent muslims sent a request to king bhumibol asking him to assist with the situation; the king himself had already warned thaksin twice in 2004 to handle the southern conflict with care. thaksin generally disregarded the king‘s requests, and viewed his landslide re-election in 2005 as a mandate to continue his hawkish approaches. 30 jitpiromsri and sobhonvasu 2006. 31 liow 2005, 38. in addition, the repair of this mosque by thai-buddhist soldiers and the subsequent opening of this sacred space for tourism were regarding as deeply offensive to many interviewed locals (see tan-mullins 2006, 147 and satha-anand 2005). dana moss after receiving increased public criticism for his handling of the south, particularly from prem, thaksin created a national reconciliation council, but limited its power and ability to produce reports that might criticize his policies. as mccargo states, ―national-level tensions between the competing networks of thaksin and the palace [allied with prem] provided a context and background for the renewed southern violence, creating a space in which other forces could emerge and operate.‖ 32 it was reported by several media sources in late 2006 that insurgent representatives from five different groups had met in secret over the past year with top thai security officials in langkawi, malaysia, to develop a peace plan. 33 this conference, mediated by former malaysian prime minister mahathir mohamed, proposed to re-establish the sbpac, promote economic development in the region, recognize malay-muslims as a separate ethnic entity, and establish patani-malay as the official language of the region. other stipulations called for the establishment of an independent tribunal to hold army officers accountable for human rights violations and to install another amnesty plan. however, these talks were indefinitely stalled over provisions of accountability and amnesty, and the government at the time denied any involvement with such talks. not surprisingly, the momentum of violence was sustained at peaked levels. despite the bloodless coup that overthrew thaksin in september of 2006, violence continued with assassinations and the targeting of any person or structure perceived as being aligned with the state. this has included the beheadings of buddhist monks, the murdering of teachers, and the bombings of local institutions. it appeared that thaksin‘s approaches in the south, at the very least, reinvigorated a full-force renewal of violence by the militant factions of the pulo, brn-c and brn, accompanied by a surge in terrorist tactics with longterm implications and sustainability. the interim prime minister, surayud chulanont, attempted to reverse the government‘s approach to the south by making an unprecedented public apology over the handling of the tak bai incident and dismissing charges against any remaining detainees. while the media reported that many families of the tak bai victims and muslim leaders felt that the apology was genuine, the violence continued unabated. 34 surayud did institute some parts of the langkawi plan, such as the reopening of the sbpac; however, there has been no further discussion regarding an amnesty or provisions for accountability. 32 mccargo 2006, 68. 33 bukhari 2006. 34 the nation, november 3, 2006. thailand’s unknown war with the restoration of the democratic process, the people‘s power party (ppp), closely allied with thaksin‘s banned thai rak thai party, won the majority of seats in the august, 2007 election, and appointed samak sundaravej as the prime minister in january, 2008. debates about how to handle the southern issue created controversy and became enveloped in the new government‘s struggle to assert its authority. samak made controversial public statements about the conflict, claiming that malay-muslim grievances over ―injustice will never bring an end to the story. we have to say [that] the [injustice] issue is over, period.‖ this tone reiterated thaksin‘s denial of legitimate malay grievances. it was also reported that samak ―expected ‗the wound to be healed in three or four years‘‖ without citing reasons as to why or how the conflict would be resolved without addressing issues of injustice. 35 it was reported that interior minister chalerm yubamrung proposed a public hearing on a proposal to give the southernmost provinces a form of autonomy, but samak distanced himself from the idea, stating that ―it is just mr. chalerm‘s idea… he should not talk about it in public.‖ 36 it was stated in other reports while some form of autonomy would be considered, the issue of full independence was being dropped once again. 37 shortly thereafter, chalerm was quoted in the media as having fully dropped the autonomy proposal for the south in order to avoid ―creating disunity in the society,‖ despite the obvious reality. 38 this prompted a rare response from pulo leader lukman lima, currently residing in exile in sweden, who stated that ―the worst-case scenario can still be avoided, but only if mr. samak and the military forces allow the people of pattani to determine their own future… if, in a referendum sanctioned by bangkok, pattani chooses independence, there will be one less border in the world marked by endemic conflict.‖ 39 however, such a referendum is unlikely to be approved by the current government, which is self-consciously avoiding ―soft‖ policy. samak‘s ppp party was ousted after a series of controversial court rulings in september, 2008. the government has had three prime ministers since 2008 and march of 2009, and the ensuing disruptions have diverted attention away from the southern insurgency. the thai government‘s current indecision and lack of a clear or alternative policy on the conflict has resulted in the continuation of thaksin‘s hard policies, including martial law in the region and the presence of over 40,000 security personnel. 35 bangkok post, february 16, 2008. 36 bangkok post, february 13, 2008. 37 the washington post, february 13, 2008. 38 bangkok post, february 15, 2008. 39 al-jazeera, february 25, 2008. the term pattani refers to the ancient malay-muslim kingdom of patani, usually spelled in english with one ―t‖. dana moss discussion the fact that ―insurgents can be expected to mobilize in response to and in a manner consistent with the very specific changes that grant them more leverage‖ allows for the examination of violent resistance in light of government policies. 40 while all of the motivating factors contributing to insurgent violence cannot be accounted for, an analysis of political opportunities and resistance action is an important and essential step. as the discussion of contemporary dynamics has shown, hard policies since world war ii, despite their potentially constraining effects on resistance action, have been consistently met with an increase in violent resistance. the thai government‘s policies and corresponding levels of malay-muslim violent resistance are documented in figure 1. the symbols (+), (++) and (-) are used to signify periods of sustained violence, increased violence, or decreased violence (respectively) by malay-muslim separatist groups collectively. 40 mcadam mccarthy and zald 1996a, 10. thailand’s unknown war figure 1: violent resistance and policies, 1959-2008 phase central government movement action policy on southern resistance 1959-69 hard policy: bnpp, brn, pulo groups formed for separatist state military campaign guerrilla action initiated against military and cultural assimilation infrastructure (+) 1970-75 hard policy: armed campaigns rises to highest level since inception of 7-year full-scale groups (++) war 1975-79 hard policy: resources drained: seek international support & funds; cont. military decreased violence but sustained at lower levels; popular presence uprisings, police brutality sustain separatist cause (+) 1980-93 soft policy: hundreds accept amnesty economic develop. malays increase participation in allied political parties cultural diversity new organization bersatu formed to coordinate activities mediating structures brn-c agrees to peace accord with military amnesty low levels of violence, sporadic (-) 1994-96 hard policy: increased violence in direct response to broken peace peace accord agreement; groups take advantage of thai gov‘t declared void instability (+) gov‘t ―cracks down‖ 1997-00 hard & soft policy: few accept amnesty amnesty offered violent activity remains frequent (+) con‘t punitiveness 2001-06 hard policy: violence increases against increased military presence war on drugs infrastructure and development projects targeted denial of grievances any person seen as allied with the thai state is targeted mediating structures (++) dismantled martial law protestors killed economic develop. 2006-08 hard policy violence sustained; terrorist tactics sustained (++) state of emergency martial law retained sbpac reopened dana moss several correlations between hard and soft policy and levels of violent resistance action are noted here. the first is that levels of violent resistance decreased under two general circumstances. the first occurred when soft policies, including offers of amnesty, were implemented. it should also be noted that insurgents have taken advantage of amnesty each and every time it has been offered, though with varying degrees of success. the second condition has occurred when key resistance groups implemented a conscious change in strategy, usually in an effort to consolidate limited resources, and experienced fragmentation/reorganization. on the other hand, constraining forces, including military intervention and a decrease in civil liberties, have had a mobilizing effect on violent resistance. in fact, violence has increased and/or been sustained without exception during phases of hard policy, suggesting that such constraints only revamp the perceived need and legitimacy among malays for armed resistance. clearly, all groups, despite their ideological differences, see violent recourse as a logical reaction during phases of increased military/policy occupation and decreased civil rights. anecdotal evidence of this process has been highlighted in some thai news outlets with interviews of former insurgents. one such interviewee was a former pulo leader named yusouf longpi, who resided in retirement as of 2002. 41 he stated that a major motivating factor in his decision to take up arms for independence was the abusive nature of policing in his community and his persecution for non-violent resistance. yusouf received a secular education abroad in pakistan with a degree in public administration, and returned to teach in a local school with many of his peers. this new generation of educated malays, he said, ―were determined to make changes.‖ he began his resistance work by organizing local demonstrations for improved civil rights, but his work was deemed ―pro-separatist,‖ even though his focus at that time was not about succession. yusouf was put on a blacklist by the thai government, an action he perceived as a deathsentence, as many other blacklisted colleagues disappeared during this time. 42 he responded by fleeing to malaysia and then returned eventually to lead a pulo unit. yusouf stated that only government positions were 41 the nation, april 3, 2002. 42 the admitted existence of blacklists was reported in the nation, april 26, 2006, which reported that ―general sonthi went as far as saying that the way individuals came to be listed was questionable and personal grudges might be the underlying motive... reports about the lists surfaced in mid-2004 with each security agency, including the military and police, believed to have prepared its own version. the people on these lists were said to be targets of manhunts or summary executions by rogue officials.‖ thailand’s unknown war attacked under his command, and never civilians; he later surrendered under the amnesty program of 1991 during the post-prem lull in violence. this story exemplifies how armed mobilization became a logical recourse after the suppression of peaceful protest; it also illustrates how an amnesty arrangement swayed the commitment to armed resistance during a period of improved relations between the central government and the malay-muslims. interestingly, the correlation between hard policies and violent resistance remains strong despite the status of democracy in the central government (whether that status be restored democracy, transitioning from dictatorship to democracy, or dictatorship outright). therefore, the relative openness or closure of the federal institutional political system has had virtually no effect on levels of violent resistance. what does matter is the presence of local mediating structures, which provide an open and relatively trusted line of communication between central and peripheral powers. the existence of effective local mediating structures also appears to have a greater negative impact on violence than the increased participation of malay-muslims in elected governance. as mcadam, mccarthy and zald argue, the successful use of ‗proper channels‘ would seem to depend upon control over precisely the kinds of conventional political resources— money, votes, influence with prominent others—that movement groups tend to lack. lacking such resources, movements may have little choice but to use their ability to disrupt public order as a negative inducement to bargaining. 43 in addition to a lack of political resources, fragmentation between elected malay-muslims in government and armed resistance factions is likely for several reasons. these reasons include the perceived corruption of political structures, the ineffectiveness of local and federal factions to devise and implement solutions on the southern issue, and the inability for malaymuslims to work with separatists while operating within the thai government. though it has also been documented that many malaymuslims have little or no faith in the candidates of alternative parties, they did vote overwhelmingly against thaksin‘s thai rak thai party in 2005. 44 however, malay-muslim participation in voting is condemned by at least 43 mcadam mccarthy and zald 1996a, 14. italics added for emphasis. 44 tan-mullins 2006, 147. dana moss one separatist group, as exemplified by the bombing of a polling location in march, 2008. 45 there is also evidence that militants condemn negotiating with the thai government. as one member of the brn-c reported to human rights watch, ―…the cause of our fight cannot, and will not, be compromised through any negotiations or any deals with the thai state… we have learned from the past that negotiations would weaken our movement by making our members subject to compromise, cooptation and bribery.‖ 46 on the other hand, some interviewed militants have expressed willingness to participate in negotiations and international mediation. for example, the bangkok post reported that a mediation meeting might have taken place in geneva in the spring of 2008, possibly with the pulo and the bnpp. 47 however, the thai government has not officially recognized these talks, nor have they been willing to discuss these negotiations in the media. despite the significant split in resistance leaders‘ views on negotiation and reconciliation, the fact that some resistance factions may be willing to compromise on issues of full separatism by agreeing instead to an autonomous status is a promising development. in fact, moderate groups may benefit from what mcadam, mccarthy and zald dub the ―radical flank effect,‖ which describes ―one effect that often follows from the presence of ‗extremist‘ groups within the same movement as other more ‗moderate‘ [social movement organizations]… in effect, the presence of extremists encourages funding support for the moderates as a way of undercutting the influence of the radicals.‖ 48 however, in order for the moderate factions to work productively with the government, the central authority must first be at least willing to discern between terrorist insurgents, moderate separatists who might be willing to accept amnesty protection, and ordinary citizens who have no direct links to the terrorist insurgency. in addition, the government must express willingness to compromise on more than just the reinstating of prem‘s mediating structures (the sbpac and cpm 43). in a state-of-emergency climate, in which basic civil rights are suspended in the name of fighting terrorism, constraints on public dissent have increased. therefore, citizens are less likely to put themselves at risk by reporting grievances to the sbpac; in addition, the social networks that the sbpac and cpm 43 relied on in the past were severely disrupted during 45 violence at a polling office was noted in pathan and harai, bangkok post, april 21, 2008. no group claimed responsibility for this action. 46 human rights watch 2007, 44. 47 bangkok post, may 19, 2008. 48 mcadam mccathy and zald 1996a, 14. thailand’s unknown war thaksin‘s term as prime minister. it cannot be expected that these mediating structures will operate with the same level of effectiveness during periods of escalated violence as they did during periods of relative peace. however, the historical correlation between hard policy and increased violent resistance highlights the critical need for soft, sustainable policy alternatives. these policies would need to — at the very minimum — provide malay-muslim citizens with legitimate outlets for grievances, dissent and input, offer an amnesty, and implement provisions for accountability and civil rights. there are several related issues that should be explored in future research. the first is the recent transition by resistance groups from guerrilla warfare, primarily targeting security personnel and infrastructure, to terrorist tactics. this has coincided with the increased proliferation of a ―radical islamist ideology‖ since 2004. 49 another topic of urgent importance for future study is that of popular support for the separatist movement, since popular approval of insurgent action cannot be assumed. the number of muslim casualties has rivaled those of buddhists since 2001, which is a striking feature of the new tactic. any malay-muslim who does not explicitly condone the insurgent cause and methodology puts him or herself at risk for attack. 50 since local religious leaders, unarmed civilians, women, children, and students have been targeted and murdered, it is extremely likely that popular support for armed resistance has shifted. according to one ethnographer, the anonymity of such attacks has also ―caused intense confusion and frustration‖ in the general malay-muslim populace. 51 it is suggested that future research also analyze how and why the dominant mobilizing ideology has shifted to a fundamentalist framework — one that justifies any and all violent action in pursuit of a righteous goal — and how this relates to political opportunities. if popular support for separatist violence has decreased due to the frequent and indiscriminate killings of local muslims and the sabotage of local infrastructure, support for a moderate position will likely increase. 52 this could potentially provide a viable opening for moderate voices on both sides to propose new 49 sugunnasil 2006, 119. we take ―terrorism‖ to mean ―organized violence against civilians in pursuit of a political objective‖ (hassan 2007, 2). 50 human rights watch 2007; see page 93 for an example of literature distributed to villagers by the brn-c. 51 tan-mullins 2006, 149. 52 see, for example, bangkok post articles “insurgent bomb wounds seven children,” march 17, 2008, and “school builders killed,” april 24, 2008. dana moss compromises and solutions. however, if this moderate voice is silenced by the separatists and either ignored or persecuted by the state, hard-line reactionary policies from the government will continue to be met with violent resistance — as the findings of this study submit — and will predictably propel this crisis into yet another decade. acknowledgements i would like to thank dr. satya pattnayak (professor of sociology and political science, villanova university) for his invaluable advice and assistance with this project, as well as dr. mettanando bhikku (professor of buddhism at assumption university, bangkok, thailand) for his initial correspondence with the author on this issue. in addition, this paper was accepted to concept a day before the findings were presented at the eastern sociological society‘s annual conference (march 20, 2009 in baltimore, md). therefore, i would also like to thank the panel moderator, kevan harris of johns hopkins university, for his thoughtful feedback on this research, and dr. gregory hoskins of villanova university for his editing assistance. thailand’s unknown war references al-jazeera news. 2008. thai exile seeks sovereign south. february 25. http://english.aljazeera.net. bangkok post. 2008. army pans disarmament plan. february 7. http://www.bangkokpost.com. bangkok post. 2008. chalerm drops autonomy 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[concept, vol. xxxiv (2011)] embed with the enemy?: war correspondence as a facet of public relations daniel e. trucil communication since the dawn of recorded history, scholars estimate that over 3000 wars have been waged across this planet (kohn, 2000). in each, countless lives have been lost in pursuit of both victory and defeat. between 2004 and 2008, for example, the iraqi government posits that close to 60 citizens died daily in the “war on terror” (antelava, “who is counting,” 2009). over the course of this long and storied past, the face of modern war has shifted almost as frequently as the civilizations and technologies that sustain it. so too have the central precepts of its portraying war to the public. writing for a chinese audience in 500 b.c.e., the famed philosophergeneral sun tzu summarized quite nicely the nexus between combat and communication. as he suggests: “all warfare is based on deception. hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near” (500 bce/2009, p. 3). though describing military tactics in general, tzu could just as easily have summarized the role of the contemporary war correspondent—the journalist who occupies that unique “danger zone” between the facts and fictions of war. war correspondents observe and report the execution and effects of conflict for an audience almost always not present at the combat scene. microcosmically, their stories are purportedly objective assessments of the “who, what, when, where, and why” of war. more broadly, however, the trajectory of media relations in the theater of war offers compelling evidence that its content, construction, and dissemination deeply impact how conflict is “framed” for victims, victors, and viewers. approaching combat from a socio-historical perspective, this article examines critically the progressive development of war correspondence over time and the unique rise of “embed” reporting both before and during the crisis in iraq. more specifically, i present contemporary theoretical critiques of combat reporting to suggest how the rise of embedding has elevated the framing and agenda setting capacities of the government, thereby robbing the news media of their essential regulatory function. war correspondence: a history of military tension & media relations as knightley (2004) has suggested in his thorough history of war correspondence, understanding the role of media relations in combat necessitates an appreciation for how that role has developed over time. for knightley, furthermore, this history is inexorably tied to the development of information technology. great britain was the first country to utilize the war correspondent for sustained coverage of the crimean war in the late 1850s (knightly). the increased efficiency of both continental travel and the postal service allowed british newspapers to send their own reporters directly into the war zone rather than “lifting” relevant stories from localized competitors (knightley, p. 11). in this early heyday of the english newspaper, journalism was guided at least in theory by a model of objectivity (liebes & kampf, 2009). liebes and kampf describe how “the journalist [was] positioned only as a passive spectator…balancing between two (sometimes more) different views, present in public discourse. this position…ensured the appearance of professionalism, allowing the journalist to keep a distance from the issue at hand” (p. 240). perhaps ironically, however, both national and international coverage of the american civil war—less than ten years after the employment of correspondents at the crimean front—was anything but objective and everything but “distance[d]” from the issues at hand. of the 500 journalists sent to cover combat for pro-union publications, for example, most produced stories rife with strategic ignorance, dishonesty, and a willingness to “dicker” with casualty figures (knightly, p. 2). as early as the 1860s, therefore, the public relations undertones of correspondence were already influenced by an editorial need to produce news content both aligned with and supportive of a paper‟s combat stance/ideology. there was a sense that the press constructed news content to fit public opinion rather than allowing reader sentiment to coalesce through impartially descriptive text. not surprisingly, most contemporary scholarship engaging news content from the civil war and antebellum eras deconstructs a cautious but rampant editorial bias on either side of the mason-dixon line. cronin (2009), for example, analyzed southern press treatment of major moments throughout lincoln‟s presidency to determine the level of objectivity with which each assessed the union leader. her survey of such coverage suggests that southern editors either ignored lincoln or were cautiously critical of his influence prior to the election of 1860, after which there was a liberal manipulation of facts to suit the needs of the burgeoning confederacy. at least in part, such assessments are surprising in their recognition of public relations as a practice well before its establishment as a legitimate field/profession in the early 1900s. reporters, editors, and even the military were keenly aware that mediated messaging could, at the very least, sustain public sentiment. with the spanish-american war came the rise of “yellow journalism” and the dawn of a new journalistic phenomenon in the field of war reporting: censorship. knightly (2004) describes how “correspondents worked under harsh and repressive censorship. one censor used to throw correspondents‟ dispatches straight into the wastepaper bin without bothering to read them” (p. 77). resultant from such practices, journalists tempered objectivity to reflect the growing functionality of the media industry (knightly, p. 77). scholars and professionals recognized that journalists could interpret and factually report the news without remaining detached while government officials grappled with the public right to freedom of information and the private need to spin news to their advantage. by the start of world war ii, martial and governmental establishments had capitalized on the public relations influence of mediated messaging through the “strategic management” of war coverage (knightley, 2004, p. 76). they acknowledged that traditional censorship blocked the production of a particular story or perspective, but it did little to promote the establishment‟s official stance. by the 1940s, therefore, american military officials ingeniously transitioned from ad hoc post-production censorship to the more subversive, public relations-based “source” censorship: “within the united states, the army and the navy…tried to prevent correspondents from learning anything they did not want them to know. the criterion was: „is it a good thing for the army (or the navy) to have this information made public?‟” (p. 300). from the government perspective, war correspondence became an implicit facet of military-media relations, and journalists were all too eager to sacrifice traditional objectivity for immediate (if limited) access to formerly classified information. the absence of a critical gaze, however, was amended following the united states‟ involvement in vietnam. by the late 1960s and early 1970s, television had become the central focus of the mass media industry (knightley, 2004). as liebes and kampf (2009) explain, with the rise of tv and the increasingly vocal dissent to american intervention in southeast asia came a new form of war correspondence: whereas the move from objectivity to social involvement developed in the era in which journalism‟s main home was the printed press, the gradual but unstoppable move to television had a massive impact on the profession in other directions. it did not take long for journalists to understand that the order of the day ha[d] become authenticity, live action, and drama, all of which have contributed to create a new model, one that we entitle “performance journalism.” (p. 241) viewed from this perspective, the public relations capacity of war correspondence was troubling not only because it directed the ebb and flow of information transmission but also because it bowdlerized the otherwise necessary critique provided by the media as a social watchdog. vietnam taught the american establishment a great deal about the importance of media control. both journalists and readers/viewers voiced their willingness to turn a critical eye towards the execution of martial tactics at home and overseas (cortell, eisinger, & althaus, 2009). of particular importance to the public relations practitioner, however, government officials now recognized that both camps were equally willing to accept information as delivered by the establishment, and that working with the media rather than against might actually prove beneficial (cortell et al.). partly a social experiment and partly a response to critiques of the handling of vietnam, the american military thus developed the “media pool” system as the foremost method for disseminating and controlling information in times of war. as defined by knightley (2004), “pooling” was a correspondence tactic wherein a limited number of reporters were granted access to the war zone and permitted to travel in “pools, escorted by military officers to cover various stages of the action as chosen by the military” (p. 490). in his contextual assessment of “new” war journalism, nohrstedt (2009) has explained how media pooling during the first gulf war “was perfectly adapted to the goal of the pr strategy of portraying one‟s own side‟s fighting as „civilized,‟ unlike that of the opposition…[p]ublic affairs officers made a conscious effort to spread the image of a high-tech war without innocent victims” (p. 97). though by now public relations was recognized by name, military personnel crafted pr as an ingeniously elaborate veil to hide government influence behind a veil of journalistic integrity. messaging remained both regulated and controlled by a central governing body, yet now it was disguised and endorsed by a purportedly credible intermediary— namely, the media. gardner (2007), for example, synthesized the pentagon‟s approach to “sustain[ing] its war narrative through control of media access” to examine chronologically the ramifications of the media pool system. as he has observed, of the six major combat efforts involving the united states between 1987 and 2001, pool reporters were strategically detained wherever and whenever access threatened the military establishment. as a popular t-shirt for such correspondents ironically observed: “when there‟s news…we‟re in the pool” (gardner, p. 112). the media pool system sufficiently served the needs of the military, yet it left much to be desired from actual coverage. citing carey (1995), stauber and rampton (1995) describe how [pr] propaganda [must] play…a more covert and sophisticated role in technologically advanced democratic societies, where the maintenance of the existing power and privileges are vulnerable to popular opinion.”…the latter half of the twentieth century has been marked by growing disillusionment as the american people have learned of the gulf that separates official rhetoric from…actual conduct. (pp. 148-154) attempting to balance both message control and freedom of the press, therefore, it was ironically the second bush administration that developed a program reconciling these seemingly disparate public interests (nohrstedt, 2009). their solution: embedding correspondents with troop details. sleeping with our subjects: embedding as the “new” media relations as cortell et al. (2009) explain, the department of defense (2003) defines media embeds as those journalists who “live, work, and travel as part of the units with which they are embedded to facilitate maximum, in-depth coverage of u.s. forces in combat and related operations” (p. 669). whereas the media pooling system strictly controlled the type of news content journalists could access, the embed program offered correspondents purportedly free reign. journalists were censored only with regard to so called “not releasable” information—nineteen items related to troop movements and locations designated classified for security purposes (cortell et al., p. 669). while embedding is a relatively new technique, the practice has nonetheless gained widespread social and scholarly attention—particularly as related to its use in america‟s ongoing conflicts in iraq and afghanistan. in their analysis of embedding in iraq as a form of performance journalism, liebes and kampf (2009) have contextualized the bush administration‟s controversial decision to utilize embedding against the backdrop of war correspondent history. reifying knightley‟s (2004) hypothesis that journalism in general is a product of social and technological progress, liebes and kampf stress how embedding was the unique result of (1) advances in the methods of war reporting, (2) a shift from national public broadcasting to international commercial media conglomeration that emphasized ratings over quality, and (3) the governmental transition from public affairs censorship to public relations collaboration (see also cortell et al., 2009; herber & filak, 2007). bush advisors (many of whom were employed by the president‟s father in the midand late-1990s) learned from their mistakes in the first gulf war and saw the mounting conflict in afghanistan as a pr opening for “new strategies” towards media-military relations (cortell et al., p. 661; herber & filak, 2007, pp. 38-39). from a public relations perspective, embedding would afford military officials the same control and functionality they enjoyed using censorship/media pooling while offering journalists the opportunity to record coverage from behind enemy lines. observed broadly, scholarly assessments of the embed process and the war on terror have (1) scrutinized the usefulness and efficacy of “new” war journalism and (2) attempted to assess the benefits and consequences of such reporting tactics. fahmy and johnson (2005), for example, surveyed reporters embedded in iraq to assess their satisfaction with working conditions under the new correspondence policy. most correspondents were pleased with the coverage produced and praised the program for affording them the opportunity to observe and catalogue conflict directly. for them, embedding was a useful practice that allowed for access largely free from direct censorship, promoted first-hand accounts of conflict in real time, allowed for the media to self-correct discrepancies in official war messaging, and offered previously unknown insight through daily interaction with frontline officials. at the same time, however, the authors‟ assessments of the journalism produced by such correspondents suggests that embeds over-emphasized the weakness of iraqi infrastructure and the relative ease with which american troops negotiated enemy surrenders (fahmy & johnson, 2005). non-embeds (“unilateral” journalists stationed in iraq though not officially sanctioned or protected by military personnel), on the other hand, were far more likely to publish stories detailing civilian anger with american occupation, the negative impacts of foreign occupation, and both civilian and combatant casualties. when confronted with these differences, furthermore, most embeds affirmed their overall positivity towards new media tactics. for them, integration into military units did not compromise journalistic objectivity since the ethical obligations of individual reporters would prevail over systematic control. lindner‟s (2009) content analysis of some 742 print articles published by 156 national and international reporters yields similar results. lindner compared the coverage produced by embeds with that of iraqi nationals and rogue “freelance” reporters who traveled to iraq of their own accord. overall, embeds produced more coverage of actual combat, utilized military officials more frequently as content sources, and fused treatment of the two in human interest stories on soldiers stationed in the middle east. those covering the war on terror for iraqi outlets, on the other hand, were far more likely to publish stories on bombings (both suicide and american), infrastructure damage promulgated by sustained martial occupation, civilian deaths, and human interest stories on fellow iraqis‟ struggles with the us presence in their country. not surprisingly, lindner found that independent journalists evidenced the most balanced coverage of stories from the persian gulf, tempering positive assessments of martial intervention with critical analyses of the long-term ramifications of the bush administration‟s decision to invade. such observations are telling for what knightley (2004) perceived as the willing deterrence of reporting “from the other side” prompted by embedding tactics (p. 539). lindner (2009), in fact, has suggested that embed reporters suffer from a journalistic stockholm syndrome since they rely on american military personnel for “transportation, health care, and supplies” (p. 23). in light of such considerations, fahmy and johnson (2005) posit that while embedding does tremendous good in the short-term, overtime it (1) curtails the maximum freedom to report, (2) conspicuously circumvents objectivity, (3) proffers a strictly american perspective bordering on pentagon spin, and (4) suggests the inaccurate absence of combat thanks to advances in military technology. in short, embedding is well suited to the pr needs of the military but its critical perspective is one-sided (read: american) at best (gardner, 2008, p. 114; nohrstedt, 2009). in a related vein, lewis and reese (2009; see also reese & lewis, 2009) conducted interviews with american journalists from usa today to examine the semantics of the phrase “war on terror.” their interactions with correspondents suggest not only that the news media use this title as a space-saving ideological symbol but also that such framing was both known and endorsed by those who adopted it at the implicit urging of the bush administration‟s pr machinery (see also dimaggio, 2009; herber & filak, 2007). such findings were corroborated by vultee‟s (2009) content analysis of us newspaper articles that used the term “war on terror” between 2001 and 2006. studies as late as 2008, in fact, have suggested that less than ten percent of news sources utilized in 2003 could be classified as “anti-war,” and that the framing of the iraqi conflict by purportedly conservative (fox) and liberal (cnn) outlets alike were nonetheless pro-war in overall positioning (though perhaps not to the same extremes) (johansen & josslyn, 2008). attempting to determine whether increased education counteracts the negative influence of such “lopsided” news coverage, johansen and josslyn (2008) surveyed american citizens on their academic backgrounds and the accuracy of their understanding of the war in iraq. to their surprise, educated viewers of traditionally biased outlets such as cbs and fox were just as likely to be misinformed about the war on terror as their uneducated counterparts. as the authors succinctly observe: “ideally, news media act as a filter, sifting and sorting information in a manner that ensures a reliable and accurate source from which citizens can base judgments about war. [as of late, t]he news media fell far short of this ideal and exacerbated the spread of misinformation” (p. 591). from practice to theory: unpacking the consequences of war correspondence knightley (2004), among others, has suggested that the history of war correspondence is a product of our need for information and the development of technology that allows for its pursuit. beyond mere chronology, however, the development of the war correspondence craft has offered social scientists a lens through which to view the public relations consequences of news content. as the aforementioned studies have suggested, understanding the “what” of war correspondence history is just as compelling (if not more so) than the “why” and “how” constitutive of its larger social importance. developed in the late 1970s and expanded over time, the theories of agenda setting and journalistic framing illuminate not only how news is crafted but also what that crafting says and does to the viewing and reading public. in their seminal text from 1972, mccombs and shaw have suggested that “[t]he world is reproduced imperfectly by individual news media” (p. 177). this is the central axiom behind their agenda setting theory. as defined by its designers, agenda setting rests on cohen‟s (1963) precept that “the press „may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about‟” (mccombs & shaw, p. 177, citing cohen, p. 13). mccombs and shaw explain how “[i]n choosing and displaying news, editors, newsroom staff, and broadcasters play an important part in shaping political reality. readers learn not only about a given issue, but also how much importance to attach to that issue from [its positioning and the] amount of information in a news story” (p. 176). the agenda setting premise is disconcerting principally because it suggests that news construction, by its very nature, circumvents the ideals of objectivity that have long been staples of journalism. as initially envisioned by mccombs and shaw (1972), agenda setting theory was a means for explaining disparities between reality and reality perception among american voters. nonetheless, its implications for the study of war correspondence have gained increased notoriety since the end of the vietnam war, particularly as regards a subset of agenda setting scholarship known as “issue framing” (hiebert, 2003). as defined by herber and filak (2007), “framing” is the journalistic ability to select some aspect of a perceived reality and to make them more salient in a communicative text. like agenda setting, it represents a “subtle emphasis on an issue‟s various aspects, thus making these details more important” (herber & filak, p. 42). more specifically, however, framing theory assumes that the journalist‟s structuring of sources, details, and data within a story coalesce to contextualize the reporting from a particular point of view. lewis and reese (2009) describe how “frames define the terms of debate; shape public opinion through persuasive use of symbols; and, when most effective, lead to public policy change. they are tools used by social actors to structure reality, and their creation and manipulation are often managed by elites seeking to reinforce their discursive dominance” (pp. 85-87). more recently, scholarship has attempted to deconstruct the mechanics of conflict framing, most especially in light of the increased polarization of media coverage throughout the united states. in a study conducted by blondheim and shifman (2009), for example, israeli, hamas, and international news coverage of the december 2008 crisis in the gaza strip was compared to assess differences in reporting styles for combat opponents. blondheim and shifman determined that the nature of correspondence was directly related to three “arenas” of war reporting: the home front, the enemy frontlines, and the outside world. in home coverage, both hamas and israeli publications emphasized the “official” stance of power proffered by their governments. whereas israeli officials attempted to extend this image into coverage in hamas-controlled territory, however, journalists instead highlighted israeli vulnerability. similar failures were found in the israeli desire to appear vulnerable abroad; here, journalists were far more likely to emphasize the power of israel, most especially when tied to allies. hamas coverage suffered from similar strengths and weaknesses. journalists from the home front supported power scripts, but violence and disaster, respectively, were the framing images in israel and abroad. overall, the blondheim-shifman (2009) assessment is compelling evidence that the willing acceptance of official war positioning by domestic correspondents may undermine the critical nature of national news. as lindner (2009) has suggested, reporter tactics routinely homogenize coverage; when these “gathering tactics” are directly correlated with governmental messaging (as is the case with embedding) it becomes more and more challenging to evaluate the system from within. conclusion: should all war be deception? from a public relations perspective, the exponential growth of embed correspondence is both a blessing and a curse. it affirms the value of communication tactics in relationship cultivation—an integral objective of any public relations plan—but it also suggests that pr strategies themselves undermine the value and validity of our national news coverage. the success of promotional public relations for the war on terror has been mixed at best and misrepresented at worst. viewed through the lens of scholarly critique, however, the depth and breadth of studies reported here suggest that new developments in media relations policy have real and concrete consequences for audiences both at home and abroad. in a crisis situation, strategic public relations can do tremendous good for reputational maintenance and mediated messaging. at the other extreme, however, the potential to abuse information channels is a real and present danger. stauber and rampton (1995), for example, remind their readers that one of the most highly paid consultants for the fledgling nazi government was none other than ivy lee— the venerated father of american strategic communication. more recently, white house executives have acknowledged that “[most] people still get their news from their local papers”; when such coverage is fatally flawed at the source, however, how can a national public be fully and impartially informed (“white house trying new,” 2003)? while the socio-historical assessment here presented is neither positive nor negative in its outlook, it is an acknowledgment that embed reporting has “come from somewhere” and must, in turn, grow and develop beyond its present state. though sun tzu‟s assertion that “[a]ll war is based on deception” may not be far from truth, therefore, perhaps it is deception itself that has changed. modern war correspondence is more open and accessible than ever before, yet its purview hardly reflects such freedom—possibly because truth is subjective, or possibly because “the third world war has already begun—but thanks to public relations, it simply hasn‟t been announced” (stauber & rampton, 1995, p. 178). references antelava, n. (2009, december 11). who is counting the bodies in iraq? bbc news. retrieved march 27, 2010, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8405894.stm. blondheim, m., & shifman, l. (2009). what officials say, what media show, and what publics get: gaza, january 2009. communication review, 12(3), 205214. cortell, a. p., eisinger, r. m., & althaus, s. l. (2009). why embed?: explaining the bush administration‟s decision to embed reporters in the 2003 invasion of iraq. american behavioral scientist, 52(5), 657-677. cronin, m. m. (2009). fiend, coward, monster, or king: southern press views of abraham lincoln. american journalism, 26(4), 35-61. dimaggio, a. r. (2009). mass media, mass propaganda: examining american news in the ‘war on terror’. lanham, md: lexington books. fahmy, s., & johnson, t. j. (2005). “how we performed”: embedded journalists‟ attitudes and perceptions towards covering the iraq war. journalism & mass communication quarterly, 82(2), 301-317. gardner, t.n. (2007). war as mediated narrative: the sextet of war rhetoric. in t. conroy & j. hanson, constructing america’s war culture: iraq, media, and images at home. lanham: lexington books. herber, l., & filak, v. f. (2007). iraq war coverage differs in u.s., german papers. newspaper research journal, 28(3), 37-51. hiebert, r. (2009). of spies and spokesmen: my life as a cold war correspondent. journalism & mass communication quarterly, 86(1), 225-226. johansen, m. s., & joslyn, m. r. (2008). political persuasion during times of crisis: the effects of education and news media on citizens‟ factual information about iraq. journalism & mass communication quarterly, 85(3), 591-608. knightley, p. (2004). the first casualty: the war correspondent as hero and mythmaker from the crimea to iraq. baltimore: johns hopkins university press. kohn, g.c. (2000). the dictionary of wars. new york: checkmark books. lewis, s. c., & reese, s. d. 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(2010). securitization. journalism practice, 4(1), 33-47. white house trying new public relations approach to iraq. (2003, october 8). cnn.com. retrieved on march 27, 2010, from http://www.cnn.com/2003/allpolitics/10/08/sprj.irq.pr/index.html. microsoft word nagpra final.docx 1 [concept, vol. xxxvii (2014)] nagpra and the penn museum: reconciling science and the sacred jennifer l. putnam history and nonprofit management on november 16, 1990, congress passed the native american graves protection and repatriation act (nagpra). its goal was to reunite artifacts classified as “cultural items” with their respective people, along with placing limits on their trade and ways by which they may be acquired. these items are defined as even as they watch the others, human remains and associated funerary objects,“ “unassociated funerary objects,” “sacred objects,” and “objects of cultural patrimony.”1 museums receiving federal funding were required to return cultural items in their collections to native tribes, sometimes leading to debate over whether or not said items fell into the categories set forth by the act. one such controversy arose between the university of pennsylvania museum of archaeology and anthropology (penn museum) and the tlingit people of southeast alaska (figure 1). the disagreement raised questions regarding the rights of ownership to artifacts acquired by museums and drew attention to the importance of establishing provenance and ethical acquisition. it also highlighted the problems caused by the frequent lack of communication between museums and native communities. the passing of nagpra was a turning point in museum practices and in the empowerment of native peoples. 1 native american graves protection and repatriation act, pub. l. no. 101-601, 101st cong., 2nd sess. (1990). 2 “about us,” central council tlingit & haida indian tribes of alaska, accessed oct. 28, 2013, http://www.ccthita.org/about/overview/index.html. 2 figure 1. locations of alaskan native groups. benny boyd. alaska native knowledge network, university of alaska fairbanks. http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/nativegames/resource.html (accessed oct. 28, 2013). this study will examine the conflicting perspectives in response to the following questions: is ownership of artifacts determined by bill of sale or by cultural affiliation? when are objects and human remains considered sacred, and when do they become science? which should take priority, religious observance or scientific discovery? is housing artifacts away from the hands of their people the solution to preserving their respective heritages? how has the implementation of nagpra affected museum practices over the past two decades? what are some alternative options for museums and native cultures when issues over the ownership of artifacts arise? there are a number of challenges associated with this study. perhaps the greatest hurdle is that the penn museum’s acquisition of the tlingit artifacts occurred in the early twentieth century, meaning that participants involved on either side of the exchange are no longer available for comment. the implementation of nagpra has been difficult as well, with the strained relationship between the american government and native peoples complicating this custodial battle. the rights to the land upon which the united states has been built have been the subject of contention for centuries, as has the ensuing diminishment of indigenous culture. an excerpt from the central council of the tlingit and haida indian tribes of alaska’s website illustrates the continuation of these tensions to the present: the central council…evolved out of the struggle of our people to retain a way of life strongly based on subsistence. that struggle included the rights 3 of our people to claim lands we had used from time immemorial, lands we were given no claim to under the western concept of land ownership.2 however, the past few decades have seen an increased awareness regarding the need to preserve native culture. sven haakanson, jr., an alutiiq and the former director of the alutiiq museum and archaeological repository in kodiak, alaska, shares his unique perspective as a scientist and an alaska native: for the past two centuries our traditional ways have been systematically erased and replaced by a system that is foreign and is incapable of sustaining groups of people who choose to continue to live traditionally. these people are marginalized because of who they are and how they live. today, we are challenging these foreign ideas and trying to stop the loss of traditional knowledge . . . . from the loss of traditional beliefs to shifts in material culture and, finally language, natives across alaska have felt the impact of assimilative practices . . . . however, over the past two decades this has dramatically changed . . . . people, native and non-native alike, have become aware of the importance of traditional culture….through the conscious efforts of elders, native leaders, and anthropologists who have worked to reverse the loss of what was once a rich cultural heritage. now we are faced with piecing together what was lost.3 nagpra is part of an overall movement toward the empowerment of native americans that began with the foundation of the national museum of the american indian (nmai) in 1989.4 part of the legislation establishing the museum included a groundbreaking repatriation policy requiring the smithsonian institution to return human remains and sacred objects in their collections to native peoples.5 the nmai act set a precedent for a government-mandated repatriation policy directed at a federally-funded institution, paving the way for the passage of nagpra legislation on a larger scale one year later.6 2 “about us,” central council tlingit & haida indian tribes of alaska, accessed oct. 28, 2013, http://www.ccthita.org/about/overview/index.html. 3 sven haakanson, jr., “understanding sacredness: facing the challenges of cultural change,” in stewards of the sacred, ed. lawrence e. sullivan and alison edwards. (washington, dc: american association of museums in cooperation with the center for the study of world religions, harvard university, 2004), 124. 4 national museum of the american indian act, pub. l. no. 101-185,101st cong., 2nd sess. (1989). 5 w. richard west, jr., “the national museum of the american indian: steward of the sacred,” in stewards of the sacred, 12-13. 6 james pepper henry, “challenges in managing culturally sensitive collections at the national museum of the american indian,” in stewards of the sacred, 106. 4 the contention over the tlingit artifacts in penn’s collections can be traced back to a discrepancy over their manner of acquisition. louis shotridge, native tlingit and assistant curator of the penn museum from 1915 to 1932, purchased a collection of artifacts in 1924 for $500 from archie white in the alaska native village of hoonah (figure 2). white was head of the snail house, a subdivision within the t’akdeintaan clan of the huna group of tlingit.7 the acquisition included ceremonial masks, hats, robes, drums, and dance ornaments. from 1995 to 2006, the hoonah indian association and huna totem corporation collectively petitioned for the return of thirty-nine of these items that they identified as being “sacred” or “object[s] of cultural patrimony.”8 the penn museum argued that the artifacts were purchased from white fairly, whereas the tlingit countered that white did not have the right to sell them without the consent of the entire clan. to complicate things further, a fire ravaged the community in 1944, destroying eighty percent of the hoonah village, along with many artifacts and traditional objects. those that survived in the penn museum became that much more valuable to the tlingit people.9 t’akdeintaan elder and chairwoman of the nonprofit huna heritage foundation marlene johnson explained, “as tlingit indians, we believe that our ancestors’ spirits stay within any objects they owned. that makes those objects very precious to us; they’re an important part of our cultural functions, and they belong with [our] clan.”10 7 kyle hopkins, “pennsylvania museum told to return alaska tlingit artifacts.” anchorage daily news, nov. 28, 2010, http://www.adn.com/2010/11/28/1577430/museum-told-to-returntlingit.html (accessed sep. 13, 2013). 8 mervin wright, jr., “native american graves protection and repatriation act committee findings related to the identity and return of cultural items in the possession of the university of pennsylvania museum of archaeology and anthropology, philadelphia, pa,” federal register vol. 77, no. 243 (2012), 74875. 9 molly petrilla, “tlingit claim on museum objects triggers federal scrutiny.” the pennsylvania gazette, feb. 24, 2011, http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0311/gaz06.html (accessed sep. 12, 2013). 10 anchorage daily news, nov. 28, 2010. 5 figure 2. louis shotridge with tlingit artifacts in penn’s collection. 1928, black and white photographic print. temple urban archives, temple university, philadelphia. http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2013672794_artifacts14.html (accessed oct 28, 2013). shotridge set out to acquire the artifacts in the 1920s with the purpose of protecting and sharing his people’s heritage. his efforts culminated in the penn museum’s louis shotridge digital archive,11 developed from 2007 to 2010 and containing 569 artifacts, over 2500 pages of shotridge’s letters and field notes, 500 black-and-white photographs, and audio recordings of traditional songs on a series of eight wax cylinders (error! reference source not found.3). the penn museum used shotridge’s intent to safeguard tlingit culture to support their claim to the collection; the artifacts would have been lost in the 1944 fire, if they had not been housed in the museum at the time. penn/s supporters questioned where to draw the line in repatriating items in museum collections, as well as the wider ramifications of nagpra with regard to cultural preservation.12 11 “the louis shotridge collection,” university of pennsylvania museum of archaeology and anthropology, http://penn.museum/collections/shotridge/collection_at_penn.html (accessed sep. 12, 2013). 12 anchorage daily news, nov. 28, 2010. lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am deleted: figure 6 figure 3. a guide to pronounciation. louis shotridge, louis shotridge collection, penn museum, philadelphia. http://penn.museum/collections/shotridge/display.php?type=documents (accessed oct. 28, 2013). federally-funded museums that do not uphold the requirements of nagpra receive penalties and fines. any person is free to alert the secretary of the interior to a museum’s failure to comply, defined as selling, transferring, or refusing to repatriate items subject to nagpra; not completing inventories of their collections; repatriating objects or human remains without publishing a notice in the federal register; not consulting with native representatives as required; and withholding information about artifacts treated with hazardous chemicals.13 there is no statute of limitations for descendent peoples to make a claim for repatriation, and it is not yet clear if there will be any foreign implications resulting from nagpra; for example, if the egyptian government decided to request the repatriation of the mummies, funerary tools, temple wall reliefs, and other items in penn’s collections. all of these items are crucial to the penn museum’s identity, yet fall into the categories of sacred objects, funerary objects, or human remains. from a scientific perspective, the manipulation of nagpra’s original intentions has had a damaging effect on anthropological research. in october 2007, the department of the interior proposed replacing cultural affiliation with the ambiguous term “cultural relationship.” a tribe requesting the repatriation of heritage objects or human remains would then only need to demonstrate a 13 code of federal regulations, native american graves protection and repatriation regulations, title 43, sec. 10.12. 7 relationship with the originating people or the land on which they had lived, rather than having to establish linear descendancy. the rewording of the act would allow artifacts and human remains categorized as being culturally unidentifiable or as belonging to an extinct tribe to be requisitioned by any existing native community that could claim such an association, not just the tribe’s descendants. dean snow, then president of the society for american archaeology, opposed the change, arguing that: the department’s proposed regulations have no basis in law or science and reflect an attempt to impermissibly legislate in a manner not prescribed by congress . . . . this ill-advised rule would irreparably diminish the archaeological record of the entire u.s. the damage to some of our most cherished institutions and the cost to science and the public is incalculable . . . . over the last 17 years, tribes, museums, and federal agencies have developed relationships of trust and mutual understanding of the law. the proposed rule effectively dismisses those hard-earned accomplishments.14 repatriating items to native communities often results in a permanent loss of information; this is especially true regarding the reburial of human remains, as was nearly the case with the kennewick man. on july 28, 1996, remains were discovered along the columbia river near kennewick, washington, that were later radiocarbon-dated to 8000-8500bp (7500-6900 bce). several local tribes tried to claim the kennewick man under nagpra; the u.s. army corps of engineers, as managers of the federal land on which the remains were found, refused to allow additional scientific study and intended to repatriate the remains to native tribes for reburial. in a highly publicized case, a group of anthropologists sued the u.s. government for the right to conduct research on the remains.15 in august 2002 the oregon district court ruled in favor of the anthropologists, stating that “nagpra’s impact on scientific study rights need not be addressed. “in other words, nagpra did not apply to the case, as “remains of archaeological interest found on federal or tribal land are governed by the archaeological resources protection act.”16 therefore, the anthropologists had a right to study the remains.17 14 “proposed federal rule threatens two decades of established law: department of interior proposes upending 17 year policy,” society for american archaeology news release, dec. 3, 2007, http://rla.unc.edu/saa/repat/regs/saa.cuhrrelease.2007-12-03.pdf, accessed dec. 11, 2013. 15 bonnichsen et al. v. united states et al., 217 f. supp. 2d 1116 [dist. or] [2002]: 1121 16 arpa; public law 96-95, october 31, 1979, 16 u.s. code sec. 470aa et seq. 17 susan bruning, “complex legal legacies: the native american graves protection and repatriation act, scientific study, and kennewick man,” american antiquity vol. 71, no. 3, (2006): 502-503. 8 in march 2010, congress added an amendment to nagpra allowing culturally unidentifiable human remains to be repatriated to tribes currently or previously living on the land from which those remains were recovered. this addition has received backlash from the scientific community, opening the door for an anthropological melee. fred h. smith, anthropology department chair at illinois state university explains: i and many of my colleagues believe the new additions to the law go far beyond the spirit of compromise that defined the original nagpra law…the new law allows virtually any group to claim unaffiliated remains with essentially no proof that they are closely related. there are a number of problems with this, but not to be lost among them is that it severely limits scientific research on human remains…i have little hope that the interests of science and knowledge will win out against the emotionalism of the other side. it’s a shame, and no one knows the ramifications of this for the future.18 nagpra raises the question of when human remains are considered sacred, and at what point they become science. the notion that the ownership of remains belongs to the next of kin does not apply to remains of natives in museum collections. the treatment of fallen american soldiers provides an interesting point; the repatriation of remains of soldiers killed abroad is an expected part of post-war treaty negotiations, and their bodies are transported home with reverential ceremony. in the case of soldiers killed during the korean war, modern advancements in dna analysis have allowed the identification of bodies over half a century later.19 funded by the u.s. government, this cooperation suggests that the same partnering of technology and government grants could be applied to affiliate culturally unidentifiable native remains with descendant tribes, since artifacts and human remains designated as culturally unidentifiable are not eligible for repatriation under nagpra. rubie watson, director of the peabody museum of archaeology and ethnology from 1997-2003, reveals that “reasons for the designation of culturally unidentifiable include: no descendent tribe exists, or the museum has insufficient information to make an affiliation, or the preponderance of available evidence does not support affiliation.”20 veronica pasfield, a 18 rob capriccioso, “scientists ponder nagpra lawsuit,” indian country today media network, apr. 14, 2010, accessed dec. 11, 2013, http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/ article/scientists-ponder-nagpra-lawsuit-22494. 19 judith keene, “bodily matters above and below ground: the treatment of american remains from the korean war,” the public historian vol. 32, no.1, (2010), 77-78. 20 rubie watson, “culturally sensitive collections: a museum perspective,” in stewards of the sacred, 120. 9 repatriation officer for the bay mills indian community, estimates that eighty percent of remains deemed as such could be affiliated with living tribes.21however, the same priority given to the identification of fallen soldiers is not given to that of native remains subject to anthropological study. museum consultant and advisor elaine heumann gurian acknowledges the delicate balance that must be struck between the opposing agendas of science and the sacred: take the issue of human remains. it is true that when skeletal remains are reburied, bones will decay and forensic scientists will permanently lose access to more scientific information. but the issue of reburial is really one of balancing sets of priorities, and those priorities involve more than science. the proponents of reburial almost always cite a belief in the spirit and the afterlife – notoriously nonscientific issues. and indeed, for almost everyone, the deciding argument (regardless of whose bones are in question) becomes, in the end, a spiritual one: we want our loved ones to repose in peace.22 science and the sacred need not be mutually exclusive; the utilization of dna analysis to identify and repatriate remains would be a significant step in balancing native concerns for religious observance with the utility of knowledge gained through scientific research. ownership of sacred objects is another sensitive subject; for a museum, these items represent important advances in scientific knowledge regarding indigenous cultures. for natives who believe in animism, objects “are, undeniably, the chief cultural and spiritual currency of the native peoples who made them and whose descendants are still among us . . . [they] embody, indeed often personify, the very cultural and spiritual essences of native peoples.”23 jacki rand, a professor of history at the university of iowa, and choctaw native, explains that “[t]he native…[values] the creation [of the object] . . . over the final product. process speaks to historical or cultural significance because it is testimony to cultural continuity and change. it is the evidence of lost traditions, innovations, preserved cultural knowledge, historic perspective and vision of the future.”24 these conflicting views on the spiritual versus scientific nature of cultural objects often find museums and native communities at odds with one another. the debate between the tlingit people and the penn museum raised the question of whether to protect an object or its people’s way of life. should museums statically preserve artifacts in time, or does utilization by a culture ensure their survival? johnson addressed the concerns of both parties by suggesting that some of the artifacts be 21 capriccioso, “scientists ponder nagpra lawsuit.” 22 elaine heumann gurian, “singing and dancing at night,” in stewards of the sacred, 93. 23 west, “national museum of the american indian,” 8. 24 ibid. 10 housed at a local museum pending the construction of a new one dedicated to huna tlingit culture, allowing these objects to be accessible to the public while remaining with their people. sacred objects could again become part of religious ceremonies, rather than remaining behind glass.25 reintegration of heritage objects into native communities can be complicated due to early twentieth century museum preservation methods. these often involved components we know today to be toxic, such as using arsenic to protect feathers and fur, or mercury for baskets (error! reference source not found.4). such treatments could have deadly consequences were the items reintroduced into use by their native people, and it is expensive to test which artifacts are affected.26 figure 4. tlto-aw tanned animal hide robe memorializing those killed in the lituya bay tsunami, anchorage daily news, nov. 28, 2010. photo courtesy of huna heritage foundation. http://www.adn.com/2010/11/28/1577431/museum-told-to-return-tlingit.html (accessed oct. 28, 2013). museums and tribes are usually able to reconcile the repatriation of cultural items, but this case proved to be more complex. on june 19, 2009, the penn museum offered to return eight artifacts to the tlingit: one sacred object that is also an object of cultural patrimony, six sacred objects that are not objects of cultural patrimony, and one object that is an object of cultural patrimony, but not a sacred object. the remaining thirty-one items in question “[did] not meet the specific nagpra definitions for cultural patrimony or sacred objects.”27 nagpra defines sacred objects as “ceremonial objects which are needed by 25 pennsylvania gazette, feb. 24, 2011. 26 robert w. preucel et al., “out of heaviness, enlightenment: nagpra and the university of pennsylvania museum of archaeology and anthropology,” expedition vol. 45, no. 3 (2003), 25-26. 27 federal register, dec. 18, 2012. lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am deleted: figure 11 traditional native american religious leaders for the practice of traditional native american religions by their present day adherents,” and cultural patrimony as “having ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the native american group or culture itself, rather than property owned by an individual native american.” 28 when white sold the collection to shotridge, it implied individual ownership rather than ownership by the t’akdeintaan clan as a whole. the museum offered to name several hoonah as co-curators of the thirty-one items that would remain in its possession. dissatisfied with this proposal, the hoonah indian association and the huna totem corporation brought the conflict before a nagpra review committee in 2010 to decide if the artifacts met the federal criteria for repatriation, and to determine which party could establish its right of possession. on november 19, the committee ruled unanimously that the entire collection consisted of items that were either sacred or objects of cultural patrimony, and that the penn museum must return all thirty-nine to the tlingit people (figure 5).29 figure 5. andrew gamble, jr. (kaagwaantaan clan leader), herman davis (l’ooknax. ádi clan leader), and tom young (kaagwaantaan box house leader) in tlingit clan regalia; hats from penn’s collections. jan. 2008, photo by robert w. preucel. penn museum, philadelphia. http://www.penn.museum/blog/museum/cultural-heritage-preservation/penn-museums-nagprarepatriation-program (accessed oct. 28, 2013). the conflict that escalated over the tlingit artifacts was rare; efforts to repatriate items in museum collections are usually carried out without incident. in a press release, penn stated that “as of 2011, 42 formal repatriation claims seeking the return of collections have been received and 25 repatriations have been completed resulting in the transfer of 232 sets of human remains, 750 funerary 28 native american graves protection and repatriation act, 1990. 29 federal register, dec. 18, 2012. lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am formatted: font:14 pt lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am deleted: figure 12 objects, 14 unassociated funerary objects, 20 objects of cultural patrimony, 22 sacred objects and 2 object claimed as both cultural patrimony and sacred.” 30 specific inventories are unavailable, but the museum has returned objects to a number of tribes across u.s. since the passing of nagpra in 1990 (table 1).31 2011     tlingít t’akdeintaan clan of hoonah, alaska   2008   hui mālama i nā kūpuna o hawai’i nei, the hawai’i island burial council, and the office of hawai’i affairs jointly   2007   pawnee nation of oklahoma   2006     sisseton wapheton oyate tribe, south dakota   2005   sac & fox tribe of mississippi in iowa   2003     miami tribe of oklahoma   2002   native village of kotzebue   2002     comanche tribe of oklahoma   2002   white mountain apache tribe   2002     organized village of grayling   2000   klamath indian tribe of oregon   2000     sac & fox tribe of oklahoma   2000 jamestown s‘klallam tribe   1999     winnebago tribe of nebraska   1998   oneida nation of new york & oneida tribe of indians of wisconsin   1998 & 2000     cayuga nation of new york   1994 & 2000   chugach alaska corporation   1991, 1996, 1997, 1999     hui mālama i nā kūpuna o hawai’i nei   1990     zuni pueblo   table 1. repatriations by the penn museum in compliance with nagpra from 1990-2011. penn museum, philadelphia. the act has had a marked impact on museum practices throughout the country. in the case of the penn museum, lucy fowler williams, associate 30 “press releases,“ penn museum, accessed dec. 11, 2013, http://www.penn.museum/pressreleases/11-collections.html. 31 “nagpra,“ penn museum, accessed dec. 11, 2013, http://www.penn.museum/nagpra.html. lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am formatted: font:14 pt, not bold lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am deleted: table 1 13 curator and senior jeremy sabloff keeper of the american collections, reports that: we do not collect human remains, though museums generally no longer acquire human remains today as they did in the first half of the twentieth century. we have always been careful about what we acquire. today most of our acquisitions come through donation and we assess them carefully. in regard to nagpra, we do not acquire anything we feel may be a sacred object or an object of cultural patrimony.32 nagpra is not without its benefits for the scientific world. in the two decades since its passing, many institutions have reevaluated their communications with native communities. this has led to the creation of new dialogues that otherwise never would have occurred. consultations have led to collaborations on new exhibits, and an increased understanding of native cultures. these new insights have influenced the manner in which museums display items that remain in their collections. williams describes the process at penn: there are some general guidelines we do follow out of respect for native american cultural sensitivities. the american section does not exhibit north american human remains. it also does not exhibit items we know are of a highly sensitive nature. examples include ghost dance regalia, mide bags, kachina masks, and prayer feathers. we do not exhibit pipe bowls and pipe stems joined, but rather side by side. we do not exhibit associated funerary objects. in addition, if an object is on display and a tribe makes a repatriation claim for it and the claim is found to be valid, we would likely take the object off of exhibition as that claim is processed.33 native peoples now have a say in the manner in which they are represented in cultural institutions, which is arguably “the most important aspect of nagpra . . . the establishment of the rights of indigenous people to control their cultural property.”34 in many cases, native representatives choose to allow objects to remain in museum collections or commission native artists to create replacements for artifacts being repatriated. t.j. sullivan goes on to predict that in the coming years, museums will need to “embrace the cultural goals of indigenous people within the museum’s corporate goals,” learning to work together with native communities to form more accurate portrayals of their cultures and better educate 32 lucy fowler willams, interview with the author, nov. 2, 2013. 33 ibid. 34 t.j. sullivan, m. abraham, and d.j.g. griffin, “nagpra: effective repatriation programs and cultural change in museums,“ curator vol. 43, no. 3 (2000): 233. 14 the public.35 an open dialogue is an exercise in reciprocity; in addition to giving native peoples a voice, it also forges relationships that provide anthropologists with new primary sources of information for their research. nagpra has spurred a new level of cooperation between native groups and cultural institutions that serves as a model for broader interactions between the u.s. government and tribal communities. mike wallace argues that museums are meant for this very purpose, as instruments of social change: history, and history museums, are inescapably political, and always have been. in the old days . . . the museological giants and house museum pioneers all presented narratives linking the past with present-day concerns and prescriptions for the future. usually museums were handmaidens of power, and they set the present in a continuum in such a way as to ratify present arrangements.36 indeed, the nmai’s founding legislation set the wheels in motion for a new era of shared authority of exhibits, and the idea of stewardship rather than ownership of artifacts, “becoming partners with [native] communities in effecting change.”37 additional benefits of nagpra include the administrative changes that have taken place in museums as a result; watson cites “improved management, documentation, and storage of collections; improved communication with native americans; and ongoing relationships with descendant communities of all kinds” at the peabody museum.38 one exhibit stemming from this increase in communication is native american voices, opening at the penn museum in the spring of 2014. composed jointly with members of several native american nations, most notably hopi journalist and filmmaker patty talahongva, it will provide inside interpretations of these cultures (figure 6).39 as lead curator of the exhibit, williams reveals that the intent of native american voices is to express “that native people are alive and relevant today, to convey issues of importance in the native american community, and to teach people about what is going on today in indian country from the perspective of some of today‘s native american leaders.”40 the exhibit gives native peoples authority over their own history; it allows them to elect to name the 35 ibid., 250. 36 mike wallace, “museums and controversy,“ in mickey mouse history and other essays on american memory, ed. susan porter benson et al. (philadelphia: temple university press, 1996), 122-23. 37 ibid., 128 38 watson, “culturally sensitive collections,” 120. 39 penn museum, “special exhibition: native american voices,” trip planner (2013-2014): 4. 40 williams, interview lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am formatted: font:14 pt, not bold lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am deleted: figure 15 museum as custodian of their cultural artifacts, and sheds light on peoples that have been swept aside because they represent a chapter of american history that many would rather forget. wallace condemns a selective view of the past that “render[s] the majority of the population invisible as shapers of history,” claiming that museums that operate under such pretenses have “falsified reality,” and become “instruments of class dominance.”41 figure 6. artist rendition of native american voices exhibit, penn museum, philadelphia. penn museum, “special exhibition: native american voices,” trip planner (2013-2014): 4. in addition to collaboration on museum exhibits, there are a number of innovative solutions being utilized in museum collections subject to nagpra. in 2002, the peabody museum created an online forum for alutiiq, aleut, and tlingit peoples to comment on their cultural items in the museum’s collection using a password-protected site. this project allowed for native peoples to have greater access to heritage objects housed in a museum on the opposite side of the country and facilitated the museum’s open communication with tribal elders and representatives.42 this modern approach to anthropology invoking the spirit of shared authority and participatory culture is quickly becoming a crucial component of museum practices. the digitization of collections, like the louis shotridge digital archive, offers greater access to artifacts for both native and non-native audiences. three 41 mike wallace, “visiting the past: history museums in the united states,” in mickey mouse history, 24-25. 42 patricia capone and diana d. loren, “stewardship of sensitive collections: policies, procedures, and the process of their development on the peabody museum,” in stewards of the sacred, 175. 16 dimensional digital models, such as the smithsonian x 3d project, create realistic and accurate representations of objects that can be manipulated in ways that would be impossible with authentic artifacts. two of the project’s 3d digitization coordinators, adam metallo and vince rossi, explain that 3d capture gives you the most complete documentation possible of a physical, three-dimensional object… those museum objects that we have allowed to lie dead on the shelves for so many decades can now be reinfused into day-to-day life and culture in a way never before possible.43 the smithsonian reports that only one percent of its holdings are on display; therefore, digitizing the collection provides visitors access to the remaining ninetynine percent.44 furthermore, the advent of 3d printers allows the manufacturing of replicas of these objects, an innovation which could be used to reconcile repatriation disputes. in 2005, the national museum of natural history received permission from the tlingit people to create a 3d model of the dakl’weidi (killer whale) hat in their collection, designated as both a sacred object and an object of cultural patrimony (figure 7). figure 7. keet render of tlingit dakl’weidi (killer whale) hat, smithsonian x 3d, smithsonian institution, washington, d.c. http://3d.si.edu/article/tlingit-dakl%e2%80%99weidi-killer-whalehat (accessed dec. 11, 2013). 43 adam metallo and vince rossi, “the future of three-dimensional imaging and museum applications,“ curator vol. 54, no. 1, (2011), 64-66. 44 günter waibel, “about smithsonian x 3d,“ smithsonian x 3d, accessed dec. 11, 2013, http://3d.si.edu/about. lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am formatted: font:14 pt, not bold lisa sewell� 4/22/14 8:46 am deleted: figure 17 the data was used to create an exact replica for the smithsonian to display, and the original was repatriated.45 dialogue with the tlingit community allowed educational and cultural concerns to be satisfied, and both parties were able to come to an acceptable agreement. this exchange provides a valuable example of an alternative solution that can be reached through increased communication and technological advances. technology can also be employed to ensure the appropriate cultural care of items that remain in museum collections. training employees in these practices avoids possible conflicts, and demonstrates respect toward these objects and native communities. in response to such concerns, the nmai instituted a culturally sensitive collections care program. the program created a central database known as the collections information system (cis), where museum staff can note requests made by native representatives regarding the handling and display of artifacts, as well as information not intended for public knowledge. 46 previous requests have been for certain items to be arranged facing the same cardinal direction, for others to only be handled by men or non-menstruating women, and for offerings such as burnt sage and sweetgrass to be permitted during consultation visits. information given to the museum that is not intended to be shared with the public has included religious rites and ceremonies and the location of reburial sites.47 the sharing of cultural practices allows museums to place native artifacts in proper context through their exhibitions and expresses to native communities that their traditions are being respected. the passing of nagpra in itself underscores the continuation of the conflicts between science and the sacred, as well as the complicated question as to who can lay claim to a culture’s heritage. the unexpected benefits of the act – including increased communication between museums and native communities, and innovative approaches to sharing authority – suggest that progress often has a snowball effect, once it is given a push. indeed, attitudes and practices toward the preservation of native american societies have changed dramatically since the penn museum’s acquisition of the tlingit artifacts in 1924. recent years have seen concerted efforts to ensure the survival of native tribes and their distinct heritages. nagpra is an important step toward this goal of empowering the cultural celebration and preservation of these peoples. secretary of the interior sally jewell summed this goal up eloquently: “while we cannot go back in time and undo many of the wrongs of history, we can in this case rectify the wrongs of removing the 45 eric hollinger, “tlingit dakl‘weidi (killer whale) hat,“ smithsonian x 3d, accessed dec. 11, 2013, http://3d.si.edu/article/tlingit-dakl%e2%80%99weidi-killer-whale-hat. 46 henry, “challenges,” 109-11. 47 watson, “culturally sensitive collections,” p115-17. 18 remains of tribal ancestors and important cultural artifacts from native peoples.”48 however, the act has resulted in a loss of valuable scientific information as cultural objects and human remains are removed from study. as an archaeological and anthropological institution, part of penn museum’s mission is to educate the public about other cultures through the exhibition of artifacts. if every cultural object was required to be returned to where it originated, the museum would lose its purpose, becoming nothing more than an empty shell. in an age of our ever-increasing dependency on technology, it has become crucial for the warring worlds of science and religion to find common ground. the cooperation between native tribes and cultural institutions following the passing of nagpra proves that this reconciliation, while difficult, is indeed possible. bibliography primary sources capone, patricia, and diana d. loren. “stewardship of sensitive collections: policies,procedures, and the process of their development on the peabody museum.” in stewards of the sacred, edited by lawrence e. sullivan and alison 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accessed sept. 13, 2013, http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1498. 19 haakanson, jr., sven. “understanding sacredness: facing the challenges of cultural change.” in stewards of the sacred, edited by lawrence e. sullivan and alison edwards, 123-128. washington, dc: american association of museums in cooperation with the center for the study of world religions, harvard university, 2004. henry, james pepper. “challenges in managing culturally sensitive collections at the national museum of the american indian.” in stewards of the sacred, edited by lawrence e. sullivan and alison edwards, 105-112. washington, dc: american association of museums in cooperation with the center for the study of world religions, harvard university, 2004. hollinger, eric. “tlingit dakl‘weidi (killer whale) hat.” smithsonian x 3d, smithsonian institution. accessed december 11, 2013, http://3d.si.edu/article/tlingit-dakl%e2%80%99weidi-killer-whale-hat. hopkins, kyle. “pennsylvania museum told to return alaska tlingit artifacts.” anchorage daily news, november 28, 2010. accessed september 13, 2013. http://www.adn.com/2010/11/28/1577430/museum-told-to-returntlingit.html. metallo, adam, and vince rossi. “the future of three-dimensional imaging and museum applications.” curator vol. 54, no. 1, (2011), 63-69. national park service. “national park service grants to help native americans identify and repatriate human remains and cultural objects.” national park service press release, june 28, 2013. accessed september 13, 2013. http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1498. national museum of the american indian act. public law no. 101-185, u.s. statutes at large 103 (nov. 28, 1989): 1336. native american graves protection and repatriation act. pubic law no. 101-601, u.s. statutes at large 104 (nov. 16, 1990): 3048. petrilla, molly. “tlingit claim on museum objects triggers federal scrutiny.” the pennsylvania gazette, february 24, 2011. accessed september 12, 2013. http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0311/gaz06.html. preucel, robert w., lucy f. williams, stacey o. espenlaub, and jane monge. “out of heaviness, enlightenment: nagpra and the university of 20 pennsylvania museum of archaeology and anthropology.” expedition vol. 45, no. 3 (2003): 21-27. society for american archaeology. “proposed federal rule threatens two decades of established law: department of interior proposes upending 17 year policy.” society for american archaeology news release, december 3, 2007. accessed december 11, 2013. http://rla.unc.edu/saa/repat/regs/saa.cuhrrelease.2007-12-03.pdf. university of pennsylvania museum of archaeology and anthropology. “the louis shotridge collection.” accessed september 12, 2013. http://penn.museum/collections/shotridge/collection_at_penn.html. — — —. “nagpra.” accessed december 11, 2013. http://www.penn.museum/nagpra.html. — — —. “press releases.” accessed december 11, 2013. http://www.penn.museum/press-releases/11-collections.html. — — —. “special exhibition: native american voices.” trip planner (20132014): 1-20. u.s. national archives and records administration, code of federal regulations. title 43. native american graves protection and repatriation regulations. 2010. waibel, günter. “about smithsonian x 3d.” smithsonian x 3d, smithsonian institution. accessed december 11, 2013. http://3d.si.edu/about. watson, rubie. “culturally sensitive collections: a museum perspective.” in stewards of the sacred, edited by lawrence e. sullivan and alison edwards, 113-122. washington, dc: american association of museums in cooperation with the center for the study of world religions, harvard university, 2004. west, jr., w. richard. “the national museum of the american indian: steward of the sacred.” in stewards of the sacred, edited by lawrence e. sullivan and alison edwards, 7-17. washington, dc: american association of museums in cooperation with the center for the study of world religions, harvard university, 2004. 21 wright, jr., mervin. “native american graves protection and repatriation act committee findings related to the identity and return of cultural items in the possession of the university of pennsylvania museum of archaeology and anthropology, philadelphia, pa.” federal register vol. 77, no. 243 (2012), 74875. secondary sources bruning, susan. “complex legal legacies: the native american graves protection and repatriation act, scientific study, and kennewick man.” american antiquity vol. 71, no. 3, (2006): 501-521. keene, judith keene. “bodily matters above and below ground: the treatment of american remains from the korean war.” the public historian vol. 32, no.1, (2010): 59-78. sullivan, t.j., m. abraham, and d.j.g. griffin. “nagpra: effective repatriation programs and cultural change in museums.” curator vol. 43, no. 3, (2000): 231-260. wallace, mike. “museums and controversy.” in mickey mouse history and other essays on american memory, edited by susan porter benson, stephen brier, and roy rosenzweig, 115-129. philadelphia: temple university press, 1996. — — —. “visiting the past: history museums in the united states.” in mickey mouse history and other essays on american memory, edited by susan porter benson, stephen brier, and roy rosenzweig, 3-32. philadelphia: temple university press, 1996. villanova university sometimes the center is the wrong place to be: an examination of isaiah 66:17 kevin malarkey theology given the hebrew bible as our only historical source, the period of the israelites’ return to judah and restoration of jerusalem seems to be one of religious, social, and political anarchy; the biblical record is wrought with historical lacunae and contradictions which ultimately leave us in the proverbial dark concerning the epoch.1 historical-biblical scholarship must, it appears, be content to do without a coherent and comprehensive narrative fully describing the repatriated israelites’ situation. but, this is not to say that our knowledge of the period is wholly deficient; from a more studious examination of the texts we might be able to glean more than just isolated minutiae floating through the void. we can certainly assert that a portion of the exiled israelites, the ones most interested in preserving their identity as specially chosen by god,2 would have adopted conservative attitudes regarding authentic religious worship. while some of the exiles may have made forays into religious syncretism and cultural assimilation (and most likely did, given the fact that some elected not to return to palestine after cyrus’ liberation), others refused acquiescence to such syncretism and assimilation on the grounds that authentic god-worship could not be genuinely undertaken in babylon and should not be sullied by the taint of other gods. indeed, a group of exiles did return to jerusalem, intent on reestablishing authentic godworship in the land and rebuilding the temple in jerusalem as the locale of this worship. what is unclear, though, is the nature and practice of this worship. if we aver that those who returned to jerusalem truly were the hasidim (so to say) among the community of exiles, we would expect that their worship in jerusalem would mimic the practices of pre-exilic israel conserved throughout the exile.3 in this light, isaiah 66:17 is intriguing: 17those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the garden, following the one in the center, eating the flesh of pigs, vermin, and rodents, shall come to an end together, says the lord.4 1 a good example of the untenable nature of the biblical material discussing the return and restoration is the seemingly double-construction of the temple, done first by sheshbazzar and chronicled in ezra 5:14-17, and then again by zerubbabel and described in haggai and zechariah, whose accounts lack any reference to sheshbazzar’s activity. 2 throughout my examination, “god” will be used to refer to the god of israel; all other gods will be mentioned by name. 3 this dynamic seems linear to me. 1. israelites worship in x manner before the exile. 2. exiled israelites, to preserve their religious identity, try as closely as possible to continue x in babylon (or, at least retain the memory of x). 3. upon return to jerusalem, israelites reengage in the practice of x as it has been remembered. there are some simplifying assumptions at work here, though. it is assumed, for instance, that religious practices remembered in babylon did not evolve, so that there is a one-to-one correspondence between preand post-exilic practice. 4 scripture quotations are new revised standard version. for a presentation of some alternate (and interestingly illuminating) translations of isaiah 66:17, please consult the appendix below. this verse occurs near the very end of trito-isaiah’s5 prophetic record and is only the second prosaic verse (of seven total prosaic verses, five of which are isaiah 66:18-21, 24; the rest of the trito-isaian corpus is poetry) in the trito-isaian corpus. due to this stylistic inconsistency, we should entertain the possibility that isaiah 66:17 is an editorial insertion. further, though isaiah 66:17 seems clearly to describe a “deviant cultic celebration,”6 the text leaves no explicit clues as to whom this celebration was dedicated or why it was performed. the thrust of my examination, therefore, will be threefold. first, i will attempt to locate several themes contained in isaiah 66:17 within a larger trito-isaian context. secondly, i will make a suggestion regarding how we should understand the identity of the “one in the center.” finally, i will attempt to provide an explication of this garden ritual: what is done and why. my hope, in the end, is a suggestion for how this verse, stylistically inconsistent with the rest of trito-isaiah’s writings, can be understood. isaiah 66:17 in a trito-isaian context we need not abandon isaiah 66:17 to the status of totally unequivocal gloss; there is indeed thematic consistency between isaiah 66:17 and the material in isaiah 65:3-7. blenkinsopp grants that isaiah 66:17 might be contextually isolated from its surrounding verses, but has enough in common with isaiah 65:3-7 to admit the same source.7 of these five verses, isaiah 65:3-4 are the most important for my study: 3a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks; 4who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine’s flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels… immediately, we notice the thematic similarities of illicit cultic practices taking place in a garden and of the consumption of proscribed foods. though itself an independent literary unit, we should thus understand isaiah 66:17 as “a later expansion of the latter [isaiah 65:3-7] verses’ description of cultic malpractices.”8 5 over and against the exegetical view that insists on a single isaian author, most contemporary exegetes agree that the biblical book of isaiah consists of three separate prophetic works: that of a pre-exilic isaiah of jerusalem (isaiah 1-39), one of an exilic deutero-isaiah (isaiah 40-55), and one of a post-exilic trito-isaiah (isaiah 56-66). for an introductory treatment of the stylistic and theological affinities and differences between these three, the historical contexts out of which each was produced, and individual treatments of each work, see james d. newsome, jr., the hebrew prophets (atlanta: john knox press, 1984), 58-78, 139-156, 170-179. 6 joseph blenkinsopp, “the one in the middle,” journal for the study of the old testament supplement series (sheffield: sheffield academic press, 2003): 63. 7 ibid. 8 claus westermann, isaiah 40-66: a commentary (philadelphia: the westminster press, 1969), 422. we can speculate upon the malpractice. assuming trito-isaiah (or the redactor responsible for inserting isaiah 66:17) was of the ultra-pious persuasion, the immediate transgression of isaiah 65:3 is that sacrifice is being performed in jerusalem outside of the confines of the temple: “sacrifice in ancient israel came to be allowed only in the jerusalem temple [sic], most likely in order to keep close control and regulation over it, and thus hopefully to prevent misuse.”9 while it is abject speculation as to whether any and all worship outside the temple was regarded as malpractice, it seems that trito-isaiah holds this to be so. more ambiguously, it has been suggested that trito-isaiah is responding to a particular cultic attitude which disregarded ritual prescription and assumed that any worship was genuine and authentic, regardless of locale; “isaiah may well … say that the ‘cult-for-cult’s sake’ approach was no better than out-and-out paganism.”10 if this is the case, no actual worship in gardens need have taken place; tritoisaiah’s language here would be rhetorical and instructive, addressing not a cultic practice but a cultic attitude. regardless, isaiah 65:3-7 firmly entrench trito-isaiah within a longstanding prophetic tradition that discouraged unsanctioned cultic activity and urged the people to subject themselves to god.11 while isaiah 65:3 provides no specific reference to these unsanctioned cultic activities aside from their location, trito-isaiah nonetheless asserts that the people are “[walking] in a way that is not good, following their own devices….”12 a more nefarious and pernicious possibility exists with the inclusion of the gardens in isaiah 65:3, as well: the worship of foreign (or, if israelite, non-god) deities. to this end, generic worship of canaanite deities,13 worship of osiris,14 of the syrian vegetation deity adonis,15 or of asherah16 each have some scholarly support. indeed, if the ancients wished to engage in ritual activity, there could hardly be a more appropriate setting than a garden, especially when the ritual celebrated the union of male and female deities.17 further, a garden was often understood as a deity’s abode, so ritual activity located within a garden was done because “it is the place where one can experience the deity’s numinous and beneficent power.”18 were the references to the gardens to have been absent of any cultic or ritual activity, we might be able to adduce that the people’s presence there is innocuous and benign; as it stands, trito-isaiah’s linkage of presence in gardens with the performance of explicitly cultic practices indicates that worship was indeed happening. the references to consumption of ritually-impure foods likewise points in this direction; eating the flesh of swine was prohibited by leviticus 11:7 and of mice by leviticus 11:29; this signals communion with foreign deities.19 the pig was a common sacrificial animal in greece and elsewhere in palestine and the near east, most specifically attested by a scene carved on an eleusinian urn depicting an initiation. on one side of the urn, heracles offers a pig for sacrifice 9 michael e.w. thompson, isaiah: chapters 40-66 (peterborough, united kingdom: epworth press, 2001), 166. 10 john n. oswalt, the book of isaiah: chapters 40-66 (grand rapids, michigan: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 1998), 637. 11 ibid., 636-637. 12 isaiah 65:2. 13 paul d. hanson, isaiah 40-66 (louisville: john knox press, 1995), 243; edward j. young, the book of isaiah (grand rapids, michigan: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 1972), 503. 14 “leaves from the ‘golden bough’,” the jewish quarterly review 8, no. 4 (july 1896): 704. 15 thompson, isaiah 40-66, 166. 16 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 68. 17 ibid. 18 ibid., 67. 19 thompson, isaiah 40-66, 166. on a low altar to a priest, who pours a libation over the animal.20 this is especially compelling when considered along with the apparent initiation ritual described by “sanctifying” and “purifying” in isaiah 66:17, a possibility which will be considered below. ritually resonant is the inclusion of the mouse, which was religiously significant in philistine religion, as well as in that of the phoenicians, edomites, and perhaps judeans.21 less clear is the precise meaning of “vermin.” the hebrew word here, šeqes, refers generically to unclean foods.22 given the correspondence between other elements in isaiah 65:3-4 and isaiah 66:17, it seems reasonable to identify isaiah 66:17’s šeqes with the also-vague peraq piggulîm of isaiah 65:4, the “broth of abominable things.”23 figure 1. eleusinian urn. the depiction on this portion of the lovatelli urn is of an initiation scene into, perhaps, the cult of demeter. the completely-visible figure on the right is heracles, donned with a lion skin, offering a pig on a low altar. the completely-visible figure of the left is a priest, pouring a libation over the pig and holding an offering tray. 24 the conclusion we might draw from this part of the examination is that there is a ritual and cultic correspondence between the independent isaiah 66:17 and likely trito-isaian poetry of isaiah 65:3-4; isaiah 66:17 is not a hopelessly isolated insertion with no referent. 20 walter burkert, ancient mystery cults (london and cambridge, massachusetts: harvard university press, 1987), 55; see figure 1 below. 21 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 69. 22 ibid.; susan ackerman, “a marzēah in ezekiel 8:7-13?” harvard theological review 82, no. 3 (july 1989): 273. 23 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 69. 24 burkert, mystery cults, 55 (figure), 94; see n. 21 above. “knave, show thyself!” identifying “the one in the center” thus far, we have seen that the garden cults mentioned first in isaiah 65:3 and again in isaiah 66:17 are directed toward the worship of some non-god deity, though there is, by no means, any consensus regarding the identity of this deity. and, again, we might be faced with the prospect of accepting an untenable ambiguity: “there are indeed indications that, both before and after the fall of jerusalem, cults were carried out in deliberate defiance of yahwistic orthodoxy,”25 assuming, of course, that such orthodoxy existed. given that garden cults seemed to be plentiful, perhaps it is a mistake to try to whittle their characterization down to one specific deity; likely, many gods were worshipped in this manner, and it might be impossible to determine the particular from the generic in isaiah 65:3 and isaiah 66:17. this caveat must allow, however, for some more-than-cursory speculation regarding the deity to whom trito-isaiah’s garden rituals were directed and the precise identification of “the one in the center.” given the language of isaiah 66:17, it seems entirely plausible that the deity is not “the one in the center” because the initiates, the ones who purify and sanctify themselves, are following this “one in the center.” indeed, the concept of “centerhood” seems tied to human involvement.26 within a ritual context, though, “centerhood” is “mythic imagery, an archetypal symbol referring to a sacred center, a place where earth and heaven met…”27 thus, it seems as though trito-isaiah’s usage of “the one in the center” is meant to refer to both deific realities and human involvement within the cultic practices that manifest those realities. in other words, blenkinsopp recognizes in isaiah 66:17 both a reference to an hierophant and another to the deity served in the garden rituals.28 blenkinsopp admits murkiness in the scholarly tradition regarding this deity’s identification. nineteenth-century biblical scholars tended to identify “the one in the center” as a representative and devotee of adad, a syrian god.29 others of the period preferred biblical reference, and found one in the record of apostasy contained in ezekiel 8:14-15: an initiator to the cult of tammuz-adonis.30 in both cases, though, there is the explicit recognition that the garden ritual was some sort of initiation. in the ancient near east, all significant cultic activity required both the cultic space and those who officiated and participated therein to be sacralized.31 so, one who wished to participate must have first undergone some process of purification and sanctification, and this is exactly what isaiah 66:17 describes. for the uninitiated, encroaching upon sacralized space was a transgression worthy of the most severe punishment;32 initiates into this garden cult underwent some sort of process of purification before following “the one in the center.” young asserts that the hierophant in isaiah 66:17, unlike those of ezekiel 8:7-13, is female.33 also, the hierophant would both represent the deity and officiate during the ceremonies; she did not merely guide the neophytes through the initiation process and into the garden, for she could 25 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 69. 26 stephen g. brown, “the intertextuality of isaiah 66:17 and 2 thessalonians 2:7: a solution for the ‘restrainer’ problem,” journal for the study of the old testament supplement series (sheffield: sheffield academic press, 1993): 263. 27 ibid. 28 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 70-71. 29 ibid., 71. 30 ibid. 31 ibid., 65. 32 ibid., cf. exodus 19:13. 33 young, isaiah, 530-531. not be both the head of a procession and at the center of the ritual at the same time.34 her position was in the center of the ritual.35 considering isaiah 1:29 along with isaiah 66:17, cultic gardens are linked with sacred trees.36 thus, the deity worshipped in the gardens against which trito-isaiah rails is probably asherah, assuming that trito-isaiah continues the theological themes of isaiah. most convincingly, the sacred tree called ‘ašērâ in the bible is associated with sacrifice,37 incense altars,38 chthonic cults,39 and erotic cults;40 these are precisely the cultic elements to which isaiah 65:3-4 alludes or describes.41 blenkinsopp concludes of the deity, hierophant, and cult (especially in reference to the garden in genesis): the woman havva, mother of all the living (genesis 3:20) as the canaanite-hebrew asherah was mother of all the gods, would be the human counterpart of the goddess, her hierophant and cultic intermediary. in view of the sacramental meal in the garden shrine, her leading the initiates to the goddess would be appropriately symbolized in the act of eating. there is therefore a kind of symbolic superimposition of goddess, tree, and hierophant.42 thus, though trito-isaiah certainly might aim his polemic against any garden ritual whose performance sacrifices to and worships a god who is not god, the textual evidence points to garden worship of asherah in particular. we can conclude that trito-isaiah is party to another longstanding prophetic tradition which eschewed both unsanctioned worship outside the temple and worship of non-god gods, asherah included. trito-isaiah might be insisting on strict monotheism here, but he is in a religious minority; worship of asherah (and other deities) had been revived shortly after the return to judah.43 the ecstasy in the garden: what’s happening in isaiah 66:17 we have thus far established that isaiah 66:17 refers to some sort of ritual activity taking place within the locale of a garden,44 is replete with consumption of rituallyand cultically-forbidden foods, and is most likely an initiation ritual into the cult of asherah. but blenkinsopp finds pause at this point; “the participants would not have gone through a perhaps lengthy and expensive initiation process just to have a non-kosher meal.”45 further, the connotation of sexuality when referring to the garden must also be kept in mind; the northwest semitic stem ‘dn (as in ‘ēden, the garden of genesis 2-3 and isaiah 51:3) “denotes pleasure, luxury, abundance. it 34 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 71. 35 ibid. 36 ibid. 37 deuteronomy 16:21; jeremiah 17:2; 2 chronicles 34:4, 7. 38 isaiah 17:8, 27:9; 2 chronicles 34:4. 39 2 kings 16:4; 2 chronicles 28:4. 40 1 kings 14:23; jeremiah 2:20, 3:6, 13. 41 for explanation of these themes, see below. 42 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 72. 43 westermann, isaiah 44-60, 401, 422. 44 apparently, garden sacrifices were prescribed in ugaritic cultic rites; see rs 24.250+: dennis pardee, ritual and cult at ugarit, ed. theodore j. lewis (atlanta: society of biblical literature, 2002), 53-56. 45 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 69. also denotes sexual pleasure….”46 we have already seen that garden activity symbolized the union of male and female deities, but the discovery of the dead sea scroll isaian manuscripts have also allowed for the recognition of ritual fellatio in isaiah 65:3-4.47 an equally-pregnant possibility for these garden rituals is mortuary. isaiah 65:4 explicitly links performance of garden rites and sacrifices with participation in incubation rituals within tombs.48 this foray into necromancy has some precedent in israel and is elsewhere condemned in scripture.49 but the tendency to consult with deceased ancestors in the hopes of obtaining oracles was consistent in the ancient near east: “the cult of demeter … had a strong mortuary character, the bacchic thiasoi’s custom was to spend the night in tombs,”50 and osiris’ cult was one of death.51 blenkinsopp notes that mortuary cults seem to be connatural with erotic activity, most comprehensively attested in isaiah 57:3-13, in which a sorceress is condemned for participation in mortuary cults as well as for sexual transgressions.52 the most cogent suggestion for what is really happening in the garden rituals to which tritoisaiah alludes in isaiah 66:17 depends upon the above-mentioned apostasy described in ezekiel 8:5-18. ackerman questions, firstly, whether the “image of jealousy” (semel) in ezekiel 8:5 is really an ‘ašērâ.53 but the greater question, and perhaps the more important point for my examination, concerns the second abomination ezekiel witnesses, in ezekiel 8:7-12: 7and he brought me to the entrance of the court; i looked, and there was a hole in the wall. 8then he said to me, “mortal, dig through the wall”; and when i dug through the wall, there was an entrance. 9he said to me, “go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10so i went in and looked; there, portrayed on the wall all around, were all kinds of creeping things, and loathsome animals, and all the idols of the house of israel. 11before them stood seventy elders of the house of israel, with jaazaniah son of shaphan standing among them. each had his censer in his hand, and the fragrant cloud of incense was ascending. 12then he said to me, “mortal, have you seen what the elders of the house of israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of images? for they say, ‘the lord does not see us, the lord has forsaken the land.’” this appears to be a unique situation in the hebrew bible; though the text is clear, the rite ezekiel describes is nonetheless obscure.54 ezekiel is told to enter the room in which this illicit worship was taking place by digging through its walls. as has been proposed above, a noninitiate could not enter the locale of cultic activity. ezekiel is thus an interloper to this cult; were he a legitimate cultic participant, the door would have been open to him.55 the implication, then, is that the cultic activity ezekiel witnesses is that of a private, perhaps even secret, cult.56 46 ibid., 67. 47 hanson, isaiah 40-66, 243. 48 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 69. 49 thompson, isaiah 40-66, 166; young, isaiah, 503; cf. deuteronomy 18:11; 1 samuel 28:3; isaiah 57:9. 50 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 70. 51 ackerman, “marzēah,” 273. 52 blenkinsopp, “middle,” 70. 53 ackerman, “marzēah,” 267. 54 ibid., 268. 55 ibid. 56 ibid. interestingly, ezekiel 8:10 describes the walls of this room engraved with images of šeqes, the generically-unclean foods of isaiah 66:17. ackerman suggests that the abomination ezekiel witnessed in ezekiel 8:10 included a food component: šeqes-food was laid out for a ritual meal in a room with carved images of šeqes-animals into the walls.57 taken together, the obvious conclusion was that this meal was not a benign, non-religious activity, but expressly celebrated in honor of the idols pictured in relief on the walls.58 we may note the parallels with isaiah 66:17: in the midst of the garden in which the initiates have been sanctified and purified to enter, they consume a meal. while isaiah 66:17 describes no carved-relief images of asherah (or any other deity, for that matter) owing to the garden locale, there is an hierophant in the middle of the assembly who is the symbolic representation of the deity and the cultic intermediary for the deity. while not identical in nature, the activity ezekiel describes in ezekiel 8:7-12 and that which trito-isaiah blasts in isaiah 66:17 seem nonetheless to be of the same religious stuff. the conclusion, explicitly for ezekiel 8:7-12, and therefore by extension for isaiah 66:17 (and also isaiah 65:3-4) is that this cultic activity was a marzēah.59 while the exact dimensions of a marzēah are not clear, the biblical record is certain enough of its gist: it involves the celebration of a feast, especially drinking.60 ugaritic references to marzēah-celebrations typically conclude that the religious associations participating in a marzēah owned fields or vineyards.61 is it too much to surmise that adherents to the asherah cult in postexilic jerusalem could have owned gardens? if this is the case, trito-isaiah’s condemnation of the garden rituals is both cultic and social: to own gardens (or to have a room entirely dedicated to marzēah-celebrations, as is the case in ezekiel 8:7-1262), the cult must have included wealthy members. indeed, ezekiel 8:11 describes seventy elders of israel participating in the marzēah; the religious and social elites were celebrating in this fashion. we might conclude that the marzēah was a lavish, ornate, and expensive affair; consider amos 6:4-7, which ackerman reckons is an earlier denouncement of the marzēah:63 4alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; 5who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like david improvise on instruments of music; 6who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of joseph! 57 ibid., 273. 58 ibid., 274. 59 ibid., 275. blenkinsopp also suggests the marzēah as a plausible conclusion for the activity trito-isaiah describes in isaiah 66:17: blenkinsopp, “middle,” 70. 60 ackerman, “marzēah,” 275. 61 ibid. 62 the important point here is that the idols were carved into the walls: ackerman, “marzēah,” 274. 63 ackerman, “marzēah,” 276. thus, the celebration of the marzēah was an affair for the wealthy; could trito-isaiah be standing within yet another longstanding prophetic tradition which decried the well-heeled’s neglect of the poor while they themselves spent extravagantly on religious celebrations? also, given the identity in the ancient world twixt wealth and political power, could trito-isaiah be lamenting the aristocracy’s continued participation in non-god worship with the fear that such worship could become a national institution during a period in which the nation of israel must have felt the need to redefine itself? finally, while the precise purpose of the marzēah is not clear, ackerman suggests that its most probable association was with the funerary cult.64 if this is the case, we have yet another parallel between ezekiel 8:7-12 and the trito-isaian condemnation of garden rituals, whose members “sit inside tombs.”65 ackerman concludes nicely: …we might infer that the prophets do not consider marzēah associations to be a legitimate part of the religion of israel. amos does not attack the religious aspects of the marzēah of samaria; rather he criticizes the marzēah for what he perceives to be its social flaws. the marzēah is for amos a symbol of the conspicuous consumption of the upper classes. amos, as a spokesman against economic exploitation, despises the marzēah as an institution of the rich. moreover, amos regards the men who belong to the marzēah as those property owners who have accumulated money and land at the expense of the poor. it is possible that ezekiel condemns the marzēah simply because it violates the law prohibiting graven images and the priestly dietary laws. …it is more likely that the marzēah of ezekiel 8 is condemned because it was under the patronage of a god other than yahweh.66 i submit that trito-isaiah’s name could be qualifiably substituted for both those of amos and ezekiel. given the apparent anarchy of the restoration, trito-isaiah seems to express a wish to rally the nation under the banner of god through proper ritual, religious, and cultic expression. thus, while the marzēah, understood generally, might have been an acceptable form of worship, the object of that worship, whether asherah or another deity, would have been unpalatable for trito-isaiah. further, insofar as the economic elites were the religious elites in post-exilic jerusalem, an elite participation in illicit cults to non-god gods would have, in trito-isaiah’s esteem, deflated the currency of god-worship; the possibility of the establishment of cults to these deities as national institutions would have been a palpable threat. in other words, tritoisaiah, through isaiah 65:3-4 and isaiah 66:17, is insisting on both social and religious orthodoxy under the aegis of god. conclusion from a passage which gives us remarkably little context for understanding, we can now make some tentative suggestions regarding the referent and proceedings of isaiah 66:17. first, isaiah 66:17, though itself an independent literary unit, is an editorial insertion meant to refer to the 64 ibid., 278. an obvious question, then, assuming isaiah 66:17 refers to the cult of asherah, is whether the cult of asherah ever had a funerary character to it. 65 isaiah 65:4. 66 ackerman, “marzēah,” 279-280. apologies for the length of the quote. garden rituals and meals mentioned in isaiah 65:3-4. these rituals are to be understood as initiation rites into the cults of various deities, especially that of asherah. the cultic neophytes are inducted into the cult following ritual purification, after which they are sacralized and permitted to enter the cultic enclosure. within the confines of the cultic locale, the initiates share a meal around an hierophant, a cultic intermediary meant to represent the deity and officiate at the meal, understood to be sacrificial. the neophytes thus “follow” the hierophant into the body of the cult’s adherents. the totality of the rite is best understood as a marzēah, a rite and meal sacrificed to a deity, perhaps with a funerary dimension. given trito-isaiah’s tone, it is clear that the prophet disapproves of these rituals; archaeological evidence suggests that the ancient israelites were never wont to depict or worship god in a manner consistent with these marzēahcelebrations.67 we might also draw some very preliminary historical conclusions from these suggestions. despite the exilic tendency on the part of the israelites to adopt conservative religious attitudes, the post-exilic israelites nonetheless operated within what seems to be a turbid religious environment. by no means was god the only deity worshipped, and by no means was the reconstructed temple (if it was in fact reconstructed during trito-isaiah’s prophetic career) the only de facto site of religious activity; isaiah 66:17 asserts otherwise. thus, we can conclude that strict monotheism, though perhaps a prophetic ideal, was certainly nowhere near a religious reality: asherah and others certainly seem to have their share of worshippers. for trito-isaiah, convinced that the only legitimate religious activity was the worship of yahweh in the jerusalem temple, these realities were unsettling. insistent upon calling the returning jews to such orthodoxy, trito-isaiah, in isaiah 66:17, has provided a rubric for such worship by denouncing another religious expression, that of asherah’s garden cult. clearly, in trito-isaiah’s esteem, those who participated in such expressions effectively brought on their own end because the one in the middle was not yahweh. worship of asherah (or any other god, for that matter) detracted from the worship of yahweh, and for that reason, the center was a theological location appropriate only for yahweh, and that center had geographical reference: the temple in jerusalem. any other center was, for trito-isaiah, the wrong place to be. but an israel set aside only for god, and an israel dedicated to worshipping god solely in the jerusalem temple is, for trito-isaiah, still in the future. 67 ibid., 280. works cited and works consulted ackerman, susan. “a marzēah in ezekiel 8:7-13?” the harvard theological review 82, no. 3 (july 1989): 267-281. blenkinsopp, joseph. “the one in the middle.” journal for the study of the old testament supplement series. sheffield: sheffield academic press, 2003: 63-75. brown, stephen g. “the intertextuality of isaiah 66:17 and 2 thessalonians 2:7: a solution for the ‘restrainer’ problem.” journal for the study of the old testament supplement series. sheffield: sheffield academic press, 1993: 254-277. burkert, walter. ancient mystery cults. london and cambridge, massachusetts: harvard university press, 1987. burnham, s. “the conditional element in prophecy, illustrated by isaiah 66:12-24 and other passages.” the old and new testament student 10, no. 2 (february 1890): 73-77. hanson, paul d. isaiah 40-66. louisville: john knox press, 1995. “leaves from the ‘golden bough.’” the jewish quarterly review 8, no. 4 (july 1896): 704-706. new oxford annotated bible, eds. bruce m. metzger and roland e. murphy. new revised standard version. new york: oxford university press, 1991, 1994. newsome, james d., jr. the hebrew prophets. atlanta: john knox press, 1984. nissinen, martti. prophets and prophecy in the ancient near east, ed. peter machinist. atlanta: society of biblical literature, 2003. oswalt, john n. the book of isaiah: chapters 40-66. grand rapids, michigan: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 1998. pardee, dennis. ritual and cult at ugarit, ed. theodore j. lewis. atlanta: society of biblical literature, 2002. thompson, michael e.w. isaiah: chapters 40-66. peterborough, united kingdom: epworth press, 2001. westermann, claus. isaiah 40-66: a commentary. philadelphia: the westminster press, 1969. young, edward j. the book of isaiah. grand rapids, michigan: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 1972. appendix: isaiah 66:17 in translation though my examination of isaiah 66:17 has chiefly utilized the nrsv translation, it is interesting to survey and compare a number of translations for an arcane passage; the theological presuppositions of the translator certainly can be communicated through the translation. further, it seems as though the biblical text is rife with ambiguous bits which lack reference elsewhere in the text; the translator must rely on her or his discretion in such cases; such discretion also seems to be theologically driven. here, then, are some variant translations of the passage; complete theological dissection of each translation is left for the reader. i, for my part, have emboldened what i think are the most exegetically interesting translations. amplified bible68 17those who [attempt to] sanctify themselves and cleanse themselves to enter [and sacrifice to idols] in the gardens, following after [a] one in the midst, eating hog’s flesh and the abomination [creeping things] and the [mouse – their works and their thoughts] shall come to an end together, says the lord. contemporary english version69 17some of you get yourselves ready and go to a garden to worship a foreign goddess. you eat the meat of pigs, lizards, and mice. but i, the lord, will destroy you for this. holman christian standard bible70 17“those who dedicate and purify themselves to [enter] the groves following their leader, eating meat from pigs, vermin, and rats, will perish together.” [this is] the lord’s declaration. king james version 17they that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the lord. the message71 17“all who enter the sacred groves for initiation in those unholy rituals climaxed in that foul and obscene meal of pigs and mice will eat together and then die together.” god’s decree. new american bible72 68 amplified bible [la habra, california: the lockman foundation, 1960, 1962-1963, 1968, 1971-1973, 1975, 1977, 1995]. 69 contemporary english version [new york: american bible society, 1995]. 70 holman christian standard bible [nashville: holman bible publishers, 1999-2000, 2002-2003]. 71 eugene h. peterson, the message (colorado springs: navpress publishing group, 1993-1996, 2000-2002). 17they who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the groves, as followers of one who stands within, they who eat swine’s flesh, loathsome things and mice, shall all perish with their deeds and their thoughts, says the lord. new international version73 17“those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things – they will meet their end together,” declares the lord. new international reader’s version74 17“some people set themselves apart and make themselves pure. they do it so they can go into the gardens to worship other gods. they do what the worship leader tells them to do. they eat meat of pigs and rats. they also eat other things i hate. all of those people will come to a horrible end,” announces the lord. new king james version75 17“those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, to go to the gardens after an idol in the midst, eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, shall be consumer together,” says the lord. new living translation76 17“those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center – feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats – will come to a terrible end,” says the lord. young’s literal translation77 17those sanctifying and cleansing themselves at the gardens | after ahad in the midst | eating flesh of the sow | and of the abomination, and of the mouse | together are consumed | an affirmation of jehovah. 72 new american bible [wichita: fireside bible publishers, 1970]. 73 new international version [grand rapids, michigan: international bible society, 1973, 1978, 1984]. 74 new international reader’s version [colorado springs: international bible society, 1996. 1998]. 75 thomas nelson, new king james version (nashville; thomas nelson publishers, 1982). 76 new living translation [wheaton, illinois: tynedale house publishers, 1996]. 77 robert young, young’s literal translation (grand rapids, michigan: baker book house, 1898). \\artscistore.vuad.villanova.edu\kvolpert\concept\concept2005\papers_online\female freedom fighters.prn.pdf female freedom fighters marc napolitano english villanova university on december 31, 1832, william lloyd garrison’s groundbreaking abolitionist newspaper the liberator ran an article about the formation of the very first female antislavery society in new england. the editorial, which was written by an anonymous female author, vigorously put forth the idea that women living in the united states had been too complacent in allowing the practice of slavery to continue unchecked: it appears to us that the females of this land are without excuse for their heartless indifference to the miserable condition of so many of their countrymen… they behold thousands of their sisters degraded, and terribly wretched, exposed to all the cruelties of capricious tyranny…yet still so many of them remain passive and indolent spectators, and, painful as it is, we fear we must add abettors, of this cruel oppression. (“another female anti-slavery society” 189) like many of the liberator’s articles, this piece of writing was not simply meant to inform people about developments in the antislavery movement. rather, it was a rallying call to readers, specifically women, to band together and work to end slavery. the female element of the abolitionist movement is an intriguing subject due to the fact that it revolved around a disenfranchised group of people working to help an even more oppressed faction of americans. in her article on the contributions made by the concord female anti-slavery society, sandra petrulionis writes that garrison himself believed “the destiny of the slaves is in the hands of the american women” (1). it was doubtlessly heartening for the publisher to learn that within five years of the aforementioned issue’s printing, there were literally hundreds of female antislavery societies in the united states. 2 though the numerous female abolitionist organizations in the united states varied in size, they all had a significant impact on the movement as a whole. today, a great deal of research is being done on the specific contributions made by these societies. surprisingly, very little work has been done on the concord female anti-slavery society, despite the fact that concord, massachusetts was one of the centers of abolitionist activity in the north. what makes this deficiency all the more surprising is the fact that certain members of the society played a role in inspiring some of the town’s most famous citizens to take up the abolitionist cause. ralph waldo emerson and henry david thoreau, two of concord’s greatest thinkers, eventually became committed abolitionists. nevertheless, each one was somehow motivated and encouraged in this regard by the women in their lives. emerson, who made the dramatic transition from a passive critic of the slave system to an assertive abolitionist, was urged to become more involved in the movement by his wife lidian, his brother’s fiancée elizabeth hoar, his friend and neighbor mary merrick brooks, and his devoted aunt mary moody emerson. each of these women did what they could to speed along the lecturer’s abolitionist evolution. thoreau did not undergo the exact same transition that his mentor did, as he was open to the more radical ideas of abolitionism early on in his life. nevertheless, there was a certain progression in thoreau’s passionate views regarding the slavery question, as can be seen in his antislavery writings. like emerson, thoreau was inspired in this line of thinking by the women to whom he was closest. his mother, cynthia dunbar thoreau, along with his sisters, sophia and helen, were founding members of the concord female anti-slavery society. they exposed him to a fairly extreme side of the movement while he was still a student. this laid the foundations for henry’s radical views on the subject. though the women in the lives of emerson and thoreau doubtlessly helped shape their roles as antislavery activists, it seems rather fitting that the essayists’ fellow concord writer nathaniel hawthorne did not fall into the same line of thinking. like emerson and thoreau, there were several pro-abolitionist women in hawthorne’s life, most notably his wife sophia’s two sisters: elizabeth peabody and mary mann. hawthorne never became an abolitionist, however. instead, he viewed the antislavery activists as rabble-rousers intent on destroying the country. though peabody and mann repeatedly tried to change his opinion, hawthorne wanted nothing to do with the abolitionists and eventually grew fed up with his sisters-in-law. in addition, sophia maintained the same views as her husband regarding the antislavery movement, thus creating a rupture in the relationship with her 3 sisters. in spite of hawthorne’s contradictory position on the subject, it is interesting to assess how the women in the lives of these three writers helped shape their views on the abolitionist movement. ralph waldo emerson’s involvement in the abolitionist movement has repeatedly been seen as an enigmatic component of the transcendentalist’s life. this is in part due to the fact that emerson underwent a significant alteration regarding his views on the subject. though he had always been turned off by the slave system, he was similarly disturbed by the blind fervor of the abolitionist movement. in the emerson dilemma, michael strysick assesses several of the factors that contribute to the conundrum of emerson’s social activism. strysick claims that many academics have labeled the great lecturer’s involvement with the abolitionists as “an anomaly inconsistent with his larger transcendental project” (139). to some, it is strange that emerson became devoted to a cause advocating social change through group activism when the central part of his transcendental philosophy revolved around individual transformation via personal reflection and action. emerson himself always seemed concerned about getting too involved with the abolitionists. strysick claims that emerson feared “becoming a single-issue thinker; he wanted to be no one’s ideologue for it would transgress his emphasis upon self-reliance and…place too much emphasis upon the group” (160). the fact that several of the significant women in his life were devoted abolitionists doubtlessly played a part in his eventual loyalty to the cause, however. these zealous ladies kept emerson exposed to the antislavery position even when he had doubts about the cause. among these ladies was emerson’s aunt mary moody emerson, the woman many scholars view as his philosophical mentor. in robert d. richardson’s exceptional biography emerson: the mind on fire, the author states that mary moody emerson provided ralph waldo with “the single most important part of his education” (23). according to richardson, mary set the intellectual standards for her nephew, and the biographer asserts that, “her correspondence with him is the single best indicator of his inner growth and development” (23). the fact that she held such an important place in emerson’s life is critical to the subject of his abolitionist development due to the fact that she was an ardent abolitionist herself. it is somewhat ironic how committed mary emerson was to encouraging her nephew’s participation in the abolitionist movement. initially, she had an unfavorable view of the garrisonian abolitionists as incendiary firebrands, a view that ralph waldo himself held with for many 4 years. a fateful meeting with antislavery lecturer charles burleigh in 1835 drastically changed her opinion on the subject, however. in her engrossing biography on mary moody emerson, phyllis cole recounts the meeting between the two, which revolved mainly around the subject of garrison himself. while mary labeled the antislavery publisher as a dangerous radical, burleigh vigorously defended his fellow abolitionist. intrigued, mary opened herself up to a new perspective on the founder of the liberator, and her opinion of him changed almost instantly. the shift was remarkable; cole states that a few years earlier, mary “had written to her friends in maine to have nothing to do with garrison’s paper” (234), but she quickly decided to write them again and inform them of her conversion to his side. it was a true turning point for miss emerson. according to cole, mary “was taking on a public and communal cause for the first time in her life” (234). she became devoted to drawing others to the antislavery movement. the conversion of her nephew ralph waldo thus turned into an important undertaking for the eccentric miss emerson. in len gougeon’s book virtue’s hero, the author recounts an amusing story of how emerson’s aunt subtly tried to transform ralph waldo into an abolitionist sympathizer by organizing “a breakfast for george thompson at the home of her nephew” (26). thompson, a famous british abolitionist, had been speaking at various antislavery society meetings in the area, and miss emerson hoped that the meeting between him and her nephew would help stimulate a conversion in ralph waldo. unfortunately, the plan backfired, as waldo found his guest to be “unbearably egocentric and closed minded” (gougeon 26). emerson viewed many abolitionists in the same way, claiming that they were so consumed with changing society they failed to see the need to change their own hearts and minds first. in spite of the thompson debacle, mary emerson refused to give up on trying to sway her nephew to the abolitionist side. one of the more effective techniques she employed was to encourage her nephew’s wife lidian, who became a passionate abolitionist long before her husband did. cole states that although thompson had no effect on ralph waldo, his visit to the emerson household did not go wholly unnoticed. rather, the abolitionist’s words resonated deeply with lidian emerson. this was a victory in itself for mary. miss emerson knew that by strengthening lidian’s abolitionist resolve, her nephew would be continually exposed to the views and actions of the antislavery movement. cole writes that thanks to mary’s encouragement, the abolitionist movement became “central to her [lidian’s] life in concord, guaranteeing that this reform would continue to cross her husband’s reform over the breakfast table” (236). 5 emerson had married lydia jackson in 1835, though according to gougeon, ralph waldo’s beloved wife, whom he affectionately nicknamed “lidian,” “had been an abolitionist and civil rights activist all her life” (13). she thus remained several years ahead of her husband on the subject of ending slavery. in 1837, two years after the thompson breakfast, provided lodgings for visiting abolitionists sarah and angelina grimke. their week in concord was a momentous time in lidian’s life, as the sisters left her resolved not to “turn away my attention from the abolitionist cause till i have found whether there is something for me personally to do and bear to forward it” (richardson 270). lidian disagreed with ralph waldo’s silent condemnation of slavery, and saw it as her duty to actively participate in various antislavery activities. later that same year, she became a founding member of the concord female anti-slavery society. in her article, petrulionis labels lidian as one of the leading females in the movement, and describes how she hosted various anti-slavery meetings and entertained visiting abolitionists (10). even more striking than her various activities was her passionate devotion to the cause. richardson captures this enthusiasm by documenting how disgusted lidian became with the united states in the decades leading up to the war. in the early 1840s, “the proslavery tone of newspapers ‘made her hate her country,’ her daughter recalled” (396). a decade later, after the kansas-nebraska act was passed, she went so far as to protest the celebration of the fourth of july, decorating the outside of her house in black crepe instead of red, white, and blue (gougeon 202). it was impossible for ralph waldo to ignore his wife’s zealous views of the antislavery movement, and he doubtlessly felt her influence in the latter years of the ante-bellum period. petrulionis claims that lidian’s stimulus was essential to emerson’s conversion, and goes so far as to state that her persuading ralph waldo to join the movement was “her most vital contribution to antislavery” (10). while this may seem like hyperbole, emerson’s position as america’s foremost intellectual was undeniably helpful to bringing an air of legitimacy to the abolitionist movement. had lidian been less passionate on the subject, it is likely that waldo would never have allowed himself to get so involved with the abolitionists. another critical female influence in emerson’s conversion was elizabeth hoar, his younger brother charles’ fiancée. ralph waldo and charles had shared a close bond growing up, and his tragic death in 1836 left the great lecturer in anguish. in the period of mourning that followed, emerson and elizabeth turned to one another for comfort. before his death, charles had been the most vocal member of the emerson family regarding 6 abolitionism. in 1835, he delivered a stirring lecture on the subject, and voiced his support for immediate emancipation, the most radical abolitionist ideal of the time period (gougeon 27). like her fiancée, elizabeth was committed to garrisonian abolitionism, and became a leading female abolitionist in massachusetts. it was an injustice committed against elizabeth and her father, judge samuel hoar, that helped to further emerson’s abolitionist sympathies. in 1844, judge hoar and his daughter journeyed to south carolina to probe complaints regarding the abduction of free black sailors who were being kidnapped and sold into slavery. gougeon recounts that before hoar could begin his investigation, “both he and his daughter were driven from charleston by the threats of an angry mob, apparently acting with the implicit approval of the governor and legislature” (92). petrulionis further examines the details of this scandal, claiming that, “governor hammond refused to meet with the hoars and demanded that they leave the state on the grounds that he could not guarantee their safety” (11). emerson was furious that one of his dearest friends had almost fallen victim to the violence of an angry mob. the incident turned him completely against the state of south carolina, and this negative view of the people living there simultaneously evoked a greater sympathy for the plight of the marginalized abolitionists. given how influential his wife, aunt, and sister-in-law were in bringing about emerson’s conversion, it is somewhat surprising that the most significant female figure in the lecturer’s transformation was someone outside his family: his friend and neighbor, mary merrick brooks. interestingly, mary moody emerson loved brooks so dearly that she considered her to be a part of the emerson family. in letters to her family members in concord, miss emerson always requested that her relatives give her regards to the fiery mrs. brooks, concord’s leading female abolitionist. according to phyllis cole, mary expressed her esteem for brooks “in the same breath with family salutations. the abolitionist principle created its own family” (cole 237). family member or not, the fact remains that mary brooks “carried more weight with ralph waldo emerson than any other [woman]” and thus “pursued emerson with a vengeance” (petrulionis 11) in hopes of bringing him into the abolitionist fold. as the first secretary of the concord female anti-slavery society, brooks was a dominant leader in the abolitionist movement. she was also a close friend of lidian’s and felt just as strongly about abolitionism as mrs. emerson (gougeon 28). their efforts to get ralph waldo more personally involved with the cause crystallized in august of 1844 when brooks invited him to speak to the concord female anti-slavery society. lidian urged him 7 to go through with this endeavor, as the organization was celebrating the recent end of slavery in the west indies. gary collison claims that the summer of 1844 marked a decisive moment for emerson. though six years had passed since the controversial “divinity school address,” ralph waldo was still feeling the sting of censure from the speech’s fallout. this had created a bond between him and the abolitionists whom he had once rejected. collison claims that emerson “was now linked with the abolitionists by the experience of being denounced and shunned by the same reactionary voices in american society that had been condemning abolitionism” (189). on august 1, 1844, ralph waldo gave his first truly successful abolitionist speech “an address…on… the emancipation of the negroes in the british west indies.” though the conservative lyceum sexton refused to ring the bell announcing the lecture, henry david thoreau took matters into his own hands and rang the bell himself (wagenknecht 112). the oration went over well with concord’s abolitionists who finally began to view emerson as one of them. it was a personal success for brooks, lidian, and aunt mary. their beloved waldo was seemingly making the decisive transition from silent protestor to vocal abolitionist. mary moody was particularly proud, and “wrote a warm letter of praise to her famous nephew on the day of the oration” (gougeon 87). brooks was just as delighted, but still felt that there was work to be done regarding emerson’s involvement. a year later, she convinced waldo not to lecture at the new bedford lyceum by informing him that the lecture hall excluded free blacks. gougeon writes that “on the basis of such information as he had received from mrs. brooks…emerson made his decision, and was, for the first time in his career, prepared to refuse to lecture before a willing audience as a protest against their racial prejudice” (105). it was yet another milestone in emerson’s progression. most scholars agree that the ultimate turning point was the passage of the fugitive slave act in 1850. sam worley claims that the law was a double-blow for emerson: it not only reduced his faith in his country, it completely damaged his admiration for leading politician daniel webster, a man whom emerson had always admired (50). in the years that followed the fugitive slave act, brooks continued to get lidian (and through her, ralph waldo) more involved in the movement. together, they supported the underground railroad, protested the anthony burns trial, and donated money to back the anti-slavery forces fighting against the border ruffians in “bleeding kansas.” the change in emerson was apparent, and just before the civil war broke out, ralph waldo began supporting the most dangerous abolitionist in the united states, john brown. brown, who had organized 8 the pottawatomie massacre and butchered five kansas slaveholders in cold blood, was labeled by emerson as “a romantic character absolutely without any vulgar trait” (emerson 122). while emerson was most likely unaware of brown’s murderous actions, he was definitely conscious of the fact that the radical abolitionist was willing and able to use violence in the fight against slavery. the lecturer’s transformation from an antislavery critic to a confrontational abolitionist was thus complete. nevertheless, emerson would probably not have gotten involved with the abolitionists if his aunt, wife, and female friends had not set such a positive example of what organized opposition to slavery could do. thus, the women in his life played a significant role in his abolitionist evolution. whereas emerson underwent a gradual and sweeping evolution from voiceless critic to vociferous abolitionist, henry david thoreau’s development was rather different, for thoreau had always held to fairly extreme views regarding abolitionism. nevertheless, there was a definite progression that took place, as can be seen by comparing his three major antislavery pieces: “civil disobedience,” “slavery in massachusetts,” and “a plea for captain john brown.” “civil disobedience” is a warning against the injustices of the american government, and encourages reform through passive resistance. “slavery in massachusetts” is more extreme in its message, advocating that each citizen sever his or her ties to both state and country until slavery is eliminated. the most extreme essay is “a plea for captain john brown” in which thoreau praises brown’s raid on harper’s ferry and condones the use of violent force in order to end slavery. each one of these papers puts forth a fairly radical position, which is fitting as thoreau was exposed to the most radical elements of the abolitionist movement at a young age. the women in his family were among the leading abolitionists in concord and this gave the young henry david a window into the most extreme side of the movement. thus, just as emerson was encouraged to take a more active role in the antislavery movement by his wife and aunt, thoreau was motivated by the actions of the female members of his family. it was his mother and sisters who set the abolitionist standard so high for him. in his biographical sketch of thoreau, william cain hints that henry david had a great deal of his mother cynthia dunbar thoreau in him. the biographer describes her as being “known for her firm opinions, sharp personality, and blunt tone” (12). she was a committed reformer as well, and her influence extended beyond her immediate family. in a biography on thoreau, edward wagenknecht claims that it was actually cynthia who inspired emerson to write a “stinging letter to president van buren, 9 protesting the removal of the cherokee indians” (10). years before abolitionism gained popularity, cynthia “was aligned with the radical boston abolitionist william lloyd garrison” (cain 12), and, like lidian emerson and mary merrick brooks, she became one of the founding members of the concord female anti-slavery society. in fact, the thoreau home quickly became a headquarters for the organization. various speakers sponsored by the organization including garrison, henry wright, and even john brown himself dined with the thoreaus while in concord (petrulionis 7). thus, petrulionis’ claim that “abolitionist sentiment…overshadowed all other activities in the household” (6) seems plausible. cynthia was not the only member of the concord female antislavery society living in the house: throeau’s sisters helen and sophia were also committed abolitionists. all three often found themselves appalled with the current status of the united states, which remained largely antiabolitionist until the 1850s. in 1844, the three throeau women attended the new england anti-slavery convention in boston “where they voted to approve a resolution calling for signers to ‘agitate for a dissolution of the union’” (petrulionis 7). whereas moderate abolitionists believed in using the right to vote to try to end slavery, garrison’s faction refused to do anything that would acknowledge the legitimacy of the united states government. for thoreau’s mother and sisters, so long as slavery remained legal the united states government could never be recognized as a lawful governing body. henry david himself espoused the same position in “civil disobedience,” where he describes voting as an oftentimes ineffective, almost frivolous practice. from 1838 onward, no one in the thoreau family, including henry david who had just come of age, exercised the right to vote (sanborn 468). of his two sisters, helen was the more active regarding the movement. in 1845, she worked tirelessly to resolve a controversy at the concord lyceum regarding a lecture by radical abolitionist wendell philips. philips, who had publicly denounced both the united states constitution and the union as a whole, was viewed by conservatives as one of the most dangerous men in america. leading lyceum curators reverand barzillai frost and squire keyes tried to bar philips from speaking, thus creating a significant controversy. helen, along with the emersons, and many leading figures in concord, demanded that the subject be voted on. in his book on the history of the concord lyceum, kenneth walter cameron describes the divisive incident, which saw the motion to allow philips to speak “adopted by a vote of 21 to 15 as declared by the president” (160). keyes and frost immediately resigned from their positions in disgust, and their replacements 10 as curators were none other than “messrs ralph w emerson...& david h. thoreau” (cameron 160). it was a significant victory for helen, who proudly wrote of it to her friend and neighbor prudence ward. she described the dispute as “a hard battle—but victory at last; next winter we shall have undoubtedly a free lyceum” (sanborn 474). henry david, who had also taken an active stand in the battle over philips’ speech, found himself more drawn to the abolitionist cause than he had been previously. he wrote an article for the liberator regarding the controversy and the subsequent victory. in her letter to the wards, helen proudly mentioned her brother’s editorial and encouraged prudence to read it (sanborn 474). helen’s involvement extended beyond the lyceum controversy. in her article, petrulionis describes henry david’s elder sister as cultivating personal relationships with major abolitionists of the period, including frederick douglass and garrison himself (7). it was helen thoreau who convinced douglass to come and speak at an antislavery meeting in concord in 1844. this was a particularly touching gesture for douglass, who had met with racism within the abolitionist movement itself. having been barred from speaking in certain towns, it was refreshing for the former slave to be extended an invitation by the gracious miss thoreau. helen was also quite close with garrison, so much so that after her untimely death in 1849, the publisher of the liberator eulogized her in the abolitionist newspaper. garrison proudly proclaimed her a true abolitionist and celebrated her patience, intelligence, and courage. the fact that this poignant tribute was published in the leading abolitionist newspaper of the time period illustrates just how significant helen’s involvement in the movement was. the passage of the fugitive slave act in 1850 was another catalyst in thoreau’s abolitionist involvement, as it had been for emerson. unlike ralph waldo, however, thoreau had been presented with the extreme side of the abolitionist movement in his most formative years. the example set by his mother and sisters was essential in shaping his own antislavery activities and writings, particularly in the 1850s when he began advocating militant opposition to the south. thoreau grew terminally ill just as the civil war was starting, and while emerson and his friends were horrified by the union loss at bull run, thoreau took heart in the fact that the war would bring about a moral rebirth of the united states (sanborn 483). just as helen passed away before she could see her abolitionist activities come to fruition in the emancipation of the country’s slaves, thoreau died before the war was won. nevertheless, his antislavery writings served as an inspiration to many as the great conflict loomed over the united states. the abolitionists thus owed a great debt to the thoreau women, not only for their 11 own contributions, but also for their role in introducing one of the greatest minds of the era to the movement. nathaniel hawthorne was in many ways a foil to both thoreau and emerson. all three were gifted writers who lived in concord, massachusetts. conversely, emerson and thoreau were essayists while hawthorne predominantly wrote fiction. moreover, emerson and thoreau were transcendentalists, while hawthorne was a more cynical, matter-of-fact individual. in her splendid biography on hawthorne, brenda wineapple describes the author’s aloofness regarding the transcendentalist movement: “the dial put hawthorne to sleep, and as to the recent religious controversies pitting unitarians against transcendentalists, he couldn’t have cared less” (166). the three writers’ politics differed significantly as well. whereas emerson and thoreau both became abolitionists, hawthorne remained a steadfast unionist for all of his life. he rejected the efforts of the abolitionists, as they seemed certain to split the country in two. there were various factors that contributed to hawthorne’s denunciation of the abolitionist movement, one of which was his friendship with president franklin pierce. pierce and hawthorne had attended college together and become intimate friends. when the relatively young politician took office as president of the united states, he sided totally with the south, appointing pro-slavery governors in the west, using federal troops to enforce the fugitive slave act, and blaming all of the country’s problems on the abolitionists. just as pierce stood with the south, hawthorne stood with pierce, and dismissed all of the severe criticism leveled against the president by various antislavery factions in the united states. two of pierce’s most vocal critics were actually members of hawthorne’s extended family. while sophia hawthorne found her husband’s devotion to pierce admirable, her sisters were appalled that nathaniel had chosen a pro-slavery president as his dearest friend. hawthorne’s two sisters-in-law, elizabeth peabody and mary mann, were devoted to the antislavery cause. just as lidian emerson and cynthia thoreau worked to instill abolitionist sympathies in ralph waldo and henry david, peabody and mann made the conversion of hawthorne an urgent project. for all of their efforts, however, they succeeded only in furthering his distaste for the abolitionists. mary peabody mann was connected to abolitionist politics through her husband, horace. elected to congress to fill the seat of deceased representative john quincy adams, horace mann was actually voted into a seat of his own in 1848. as a whig devoted to ending the spread of slavery, he often found himself in conflict with hawthorne on the subject of politics. like her husband, mary was fervent about stopping the advancement of the 12 slave system in the united states. she also took a very liberal view toward freed blacks living in the north. when an african american student named chloe lee was refused lodging in town, the compassionate mrs. mann invited her to stay in the mann home (wineapple 199). as if this were not enough, she bade her black houseguest to dine at the dinner table with her. nathaniel and sophia were both disturbed and uncomfortable, and their daughter rose later claimed that dining with an african american caused the table to “lose its attractiveness” (wineapple 199) for them. the hawthornes’ racist views concerned mary significantly. even more disconcerting than their prejudices, which correlated to many of the widespread viewpoints of the time period, was their intolerance for the abolitionist movement. mann remained hopeful that they would gradually change their minds on the subject, but even as the conflict over slavery intensified, nathaniel and sophia remained committed to their unionist viewpoints. both mary and horace were particularly outraged when hawthorne agreed to write pierce’s biography in 1852. mary believed that the only explanation could be that hawthorne was an extremely devoted friend, and she refused to accept the idea that her brother-in-law actually thought pierce’s policies acceptable (wineapple 216). it was an action by sophia that truly triggered her temper, however. in 1857, after the supreme court passed the abhorrent dred scott decision, sophia wrote her sister a letter praising chief justice taney’s actions. mann wrote back attacking her sister’s views, but sophia shrugged off the criticism claiming that “the inferior race were designed to serve the superior—but not as slaves” (wineapple 329). hawthorne felt the exact same way, and for most of his life, clung to the belief that although slavery was a wicked practice, blacks’ inferiority to whites validated their subservience. when he actually bothered to think about abolitionism, he argued that if slaves were set free too quickly, they would inevitably find themselves in conflict with the poor whites living in the south. this casual view of the slave system was extremely disconcerting to his sisters-in-law, particularly elizabeth peabody. elizabeth was even more passionate regarding abolitionism than her sister mary was. she was determined to see slavery ended as quickly as possible, and equally determined to bring hawthorne and sophia over to the abolitionist side. like mary, she was disturbed by nathaniel’s devotion to pierce. nevertheless, she clung to the belief that the simpering politician “had warped hawthorne’s judgment” (wineapple 330) and that it was up to her to undo the damage that he had done to her brother-in-law’s reasoning. she doggedly pursued sophia and nathaniel, but her persistence served only to reinforce hawthorne’s belief that the abolitionists were obsessive and 13 exasperating troublemakers. the closest he ever came to participating in the movement was in 1850 following the hated fugitive slave act. disturbed by the idea of the government pressing citizens to track down runaway slaves, he signed a free-soil petition in protest (wineapple 243). having learned about nathaniel’s actions, elizabeth grew hopeful. for her, it was a sign that her brother-in-law might actually come over to the abolitionist side with the proper motivation. while the hawthornes were in england following nathaniel’s appointment to a government post by pierce, peabody sent them the abolitionist pamphlets she had written in hopes that they would convince her relations to join the cause. hawthorne never even bothered to study them, and mailed them all back to his sister-in-law unread (mather 310). not one to be put off, peabody shipped them back to england on the next available vessel. edward mather writes that nathaniel wrote back to his sister-in-law “curtly; then rudely; and finally told her in plain unvarnished english what he thought of her” (311). jean yellin fleshes out this incident even further in her essay on hawthorne’s views of slavery. when elizabeth decided to try and bring sophia over to the abolitionist cause, hawthorne began censoring his wife’s mail by refusing to let her read the pamphlet that her sister had sent. he angrily sent the manuscript back to elizabeth, along with a note which stated, “i do not choose to bother sophia with it, and yet should think it a pity to burn so much of your thought and feeling” (yellin 149). there was a significant rift between nathaniel and elizabeth at this time. his statements that the slavery problem would eventually take care of itself through passive inaction deeply offended her as an abolitionist, but hawthorne took no notice. he later told her that “you, like every other abolitionist, look at matters with an awful squint which distorts everything within your line of vision” (yellin 148). interestingly, this quote shows that hawthorne’s views on the abolitionists were akin to emerson’s early opinions on the subject. unlike his friend, however, nathaniel refused to be converted. ironically, sophia used a similar censoring tactic against their daughter una in 1860. mrs. hawthorne refused to let the girl read an antislavery booklet that aunt elizabeth sent her. sophia angrily wrote to her sister telling her that the pamphlet’s graphic depictions of naked slaves on the auction block had no place in una’s hands (yellin 149). this story goes along with her early sentiments toward the abolitionists, particularly female abolitionists. back in salem, she had refused to join the local female antislavery society and labeled all of the women involved as troublemakers who did not know their proper place (yellin 138). there was understandably a great deal of tension between sophia and her sisters in the 14 years building up toward the civil war, due mainly to the fact that sophia stubbornly continued to use anti-abolitionist rhetoric in her letters on the subject of slavery. while she repeatedly claimed that she viewed slavery as an odious practice, she was unrelenting in her condemnation of the abolitionist movement as well, going so far as to attack harriet beecher stowe’s novel uncle tom’s cabin in one letter (wineapple 255). mann and peabody were beginning to lose hope. it seemed that just as pierce had brainwashed hawthorne, so had hawthorne programmed sophia. for all of their efforts, they made absolutely no progress in the conversion of their sister and brother-in-law. eventually, even peabody recognized that she was fighting a losing battle. wineapple states that both sisters ultimately realized “they could no longer speak candidly to sophia,” convinced that “pierce had led [hawthorne]…down a primrose path of moral obliquity” (264). their determination to blame pierce for the corruption of their relatives seems to indicate that the two sisters were blinded to the fact that nathaniel and sophia were freely prejudiced against both blacks and abolitionists. it is fitting that one of the final clash between nathaniel and his sisters-in-law regarding the movement to end slavery revolved around pierce. in 1863, the civil war was raging, and hawthorne was making ready to dedicate his latest book, our old home, to his dear friend franklin pierce. it was a bad time in the failed politician’s life. his wife jane had recently died, and his unrelenting condemnation of president lincoln and the civil war had made him one of the most hated men in the united states. hawthorne seemed to be his one friend left in the entire country, and nathaniel was determined to do the former president a good turn by dedicating his latest book to him. elizabeth and mary were horrified, and others outside the family began condemning nathaniel as a “copperhead of the worst kind” (wineapple 356). peabody decided to take action and wrote her brother-in-law an emotionally charged letter, practically pleading with him to reconsider. it was her belief that hawthorne’s acknowledgement of pierce as some sort of hero would hurt the antislavery cause, and moreover, the union war effort. as usual, hawthorne refused to listen. nevertheless, the letter he sent back to his sister-in-law was more courteous and tender than many of the previous missives he had written to her regarding her abolitionist pamphlets. nathaniel assured her that “the dedication can hurt nobody but my book and myself” (hawthorne 253), and rejected the idea that many abolitionist newspapers at the time were labeling the former president a traitor. it was clear that for the bleakly romantic author, pierce 15 could do no wrong, and wineapple goes so far as to claim that “not even pierce’s wife loved him as hawthorne did” (354). it is understandable why hawthorne’s sisters-in-law wanted him to join the movement. as a celebrated novelist, his endorsement of the abolitionists would have added a certain sense of legitimacy to the antislavery movement. it is rather fascinating how extremely futile their efforts were. hawthorne’s anti-abolitionist viewpoints revolved around two very different personal qualities. his unwavering loyalty to pierce shows just how devoted a friend he truly was. conversely, many of his letters prove he was extremely narrow-minded and prejudiced. this combination of his admirably steadfast friendship and his dreadfully racist views created an impenetrable barrier for his sisters-in-law to try and break through. nathaniel’s racism was not uncommon in the time period. emerson himself had been given to racist speculations about the inferiority of blacks. his abolitionist conversion at the hands of lidian, brooks, hoar, and mary moody caused him to do a great deal of soul-searching regarding the true nature of african americans, and he eventually realized that the alleged inferiority of blacks was a fabrication. hawthorne never opened himself up to the other perspective, however. just as pierce never second-guessed his unswerving devotion to the south, hawthorne never considered the slavery problem from the abolitionist point of view. his refusal to bother reading elizabeth’s antislavery pamphlets is representative of his dogged resolution not to be connected with the abolitionists in any way. the fervor with which many women approached the antislavery cause was startling to americans living in the antebellum period. an 1837 liberator article reveals just how taken aback many were with the women’s antislavery movement. the following remarks are from the last national enquirer: but ‘a convention of females’ exclaims the mere booktaught reformer…‘it is a new thing under the sun!’ very well: the magnitude of the object in view, the stupendous mountain of evil that we have to remove, the transcendent importance of the reformation we seek to accomplish requires a newness of life, activity, and energy; new plans and modes of proceeding. (“female anti-slavery convention” 45) for certain, the women that became involved in the abolitionist movement brought a bold new perspective to the antislavery cause. the leading members of the concord female anti-slavery society took this one step further. not only did they bring their own perceptions and ideas to the 16 abolitionist movement, they simultaneously succeeded in bringing two of the greatest minds of the 19th century into the fold as well. ralph waldo emerson and henry david thoreau were inspired by the examples set by the women in their lives. in converting emerson to abolitionism and strengthening thoreau’s resolve, the women of concord significantly changed the abolitionist movement in new england. petrulionis claims that “the influence they brought to bear on some of america’s most noted antislavery speakers and writers had a pronounced and far-reaching impact” (6), and that the movement truly began to gain momentum after emerson and thoreau touted it. though nathaniel hawthorne never became an abolitionist, his sisters-in-law showed the same indomitable persistence that characterized cynthia thoreau, lidian emerson, and mary merrick brooks. thus, william lloyd garrison’s contention that women would determine the fate of the abolitionist movement was not an exaggeration. the proof can be found by examining how tirelessly the women of the concord female antislavery society pursued their goals. such determination was essential in the movement to end slavery and bring freedom to all americans. 17 works cited “another female anti-slavery society.” editorial. liberator. december 1832: 2.48. cain, william e. ed. a historical guide to henry david thoreau. oxford: oxford up, 2000. cameron, kenneth walter. emerson and thoreau speak: lecturing in concord and lincoln during the american renaissance. rhode island: trinity college, 1972. cole, phyllis. mary moody emerson and the origins of transcendentalism. oxford: oxford up, 1998. collison, gary. “emerson and antislavery” in a historical guide to ralph waldo emerson. oxford: oxford up, 2000. emerson, ralph waldo. “john brown” in emerson’s antislavery writings ed. lou gougeon and joel myerson. new haven: yale up, 1995. “female anti-slavery convention” editorial. liberator. march 1837: 7.10. gougeon, len. virtue’s hero: emerson, antislavery, and reform. athens: university of ga press, 1990. mather, edward. nathaniel hawthorne: a modest man. westport: greenwood press, 1940. myerson, joel ed. selected letters of nathaniel hawthorne. columbus: ohio state up, 2002. petrulionis,sandra. “ ‘swelling that great tide of humanity’: the concord, massachusetts, female anti-slavery society.” new england quarterly 2001 sept; 74(3): 385-418. 18 richardson jr., robert d. emerson: the mind on fire. los angeles: uc press, 1995. sanborn, f.b. the life of henry david thoreau. boston: houghton mifflin, 1917. strysick, michael. “emerson, slavery, and the evolution of the principle of self reliance” in the emerson dilemma. ed. t. gregory garvey. athens: university of ga press, 2001. taylor, bob pepperman. america’s bachelor uncle: thoreau and the american polity. lawrence: up kansas, 1996. wagenknecht, edward. henry david thoreau: what manner of man? amherst: university of ma press, 1981. wineapple, brenda. hawthorne: a life.. new york: knopf, 2003. worley, sam mcguire. emerson, thoreau, and the role of the cultural critic. albany: state university of new york press, 2001. yellin, jean fagan. “hawthorne and the slavery question” in a historical guide to nathaniel hawthorne. ed. larry j. reynolds. oxford: oxford up, 2001. 19 works consulted collison, gary. shadrach minkins: from fugitive slave to citizen. cambridge: harvard up, 1997. dahlstrand, frederick c. amos bronson alcott: an intellectual biography. london: associated up, 1982. hawthorne, nathaniel. the life of franklin pierce. boston: ticknor, reed, and fields, 1852. mcfarland, philip. hawthorne in concord. new york: grove press, 2004. von frank, albert j. the trials of anthony burns: freedom and slavery in emerson’s boston. cambridge title here [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] “in his light see light”: the influence of augustine on ratzinger’s perspective on creation suzanne wentzel theology in “creation: belief in creation and the theory of evolution,” a chapter in his 1973 book dogma und verkündigung,1 joseph ratzinger takes up the question of whether the views of evolution and creation are compatible. in light of scientific findings that make it difficult to reject evolutionary theory, what are the faithful to believe about creation? in particular, how are the faithful to understand the world as meaningful, the human person as a special creation, and the spirit as more than an incidental by-product of evolutionary forces? ratzinger draws on the disciplines of history, science, philosophy, and theology to answer these and related questions, thereby leading believers to a deeper understanding of their faith, of the human person, and of the divine creative act. the topic of creation also figures in augustine’s writings, including the confessions, augustine’s prayer to god about his conversion. in books xi, xii, and xiii of that work, the bishop of hippo reflects on the origins of the universe as described in genesis 1; the relationship between the trinitarian godhead and the created world; and the conversion, spiritual ascent, and desired destiny of those whom god calls “before ever you made the firmament.”2 considered by many to be one of the greatest minds in western civilization and certainly within the christian tradition, augustine offers insights that resonate as strongly with believers today as they did with the faithful of the late fourth and early fifth centuries. this paper will explore whether traces of augustine’s thinking can be detected in ratzinger’s essay. having preceded darwin by more than 1,450 years, augustine would not have conceived of the nineteenth-century scientist’s shattering discoveries. nonetheless, one may be able to find evidence in confessions to suggest that, were augustine alive today, he would reach conclusions similar to those of ratzinger. this paper first lays out ratzinger’s argument and then turns to the last three books of confessions to find parallel ideas, or the embryonic beginnings of such ideas. the presence of these connections are useful in that they highlight the dynamism, vibrancy, and depth of a tradition of faith that interacts with, but is not confined by, the world view of one particular era (40). it also demonstrates that fruitful dialogue can take place not only across centuries, as new generations of theologians seek to understand the mysteries of god, in whom 1 the chapter is included in joseph ratzinger, credo for today: what christians believe (san francisco: ignatius press, 2006), the source used in this paper. hereafter, page references to this source will be included in parentheses in text. 2 augustine, the confessions, ed. john rotelle, o.s.a. (hyde park, ny: new city press, 1997), xiii,23,33. hereafter, book-paragraph references will be included in parentheses in text. “are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (xi,2,4), but also contemporarily between faith and science. though ratzinger does not cite augustine in his essay, speculation about a link between these two distinguished theologians is reasonable. along with bonaventure, romano guardini, and hans urs von balthasar, augustine greatly influenced ratzinger’s theological formation.3 as a doctoral student at the university of munich, ratzinger focused his dissertation on volk und haus gottes in augustins lehre von der kirche (the people and the house of god in augustine’s doctrine of the church).4 in his book great christian thinkers, ratzinger devotes the longest chapter to the bishop of hippo, offering his own summary of and perspective on augustine’s intellectual and spiritual journey. ratzinger affirms what a vital force this church father has been in his life, describing him as a friend whose faith is no less compelling or relevant today than it was in the fourth century.5 this affinity is so strong that in 2007 ratzinger, as pontiff, made a pilgrimage to augustine’s tomb in pavia not only “to express to him the homage of the entire catholic church but also to manifest my personal devotion and gratitude in regard to a figure to whom i feel very linked for the role he has had in my life as a theologian, priest, and pastor.”6 thus, ratzinger acknowledges that augustine has profoundly affected his spiritual development and that he is an important voice for contemporary believers around the world. ratzinger on creation the doctrine of creation is important in the theology of ratzinger, who laments the way in which modern-day theology has diminished the doctrine’s status or left it bankrupt of meaning.7 in the essay that is the subject of this paper, ratzinger implies that, rather than dismissing belief in creation, theologians and the faithful need to seek to understand it in light of scientific discoveries. until little more than a century ago, both a literal reading of genesis and the calculation that the world was 6,000 years old were widely accepted. thus, darwin’s evolutionary theory, even more than copernicus’ heliocentric theory, ratzinger says, challenged the way in which christians had viewed themselves and their world for centuries. ratzinger is concerned with how this shift affects faith. if until the time of darwin theologians had insisted on the veracity of the biblical chronology, how could they now be reconciled to its having been proven false without ceding all theological ground (34)? belief in creation is on shaky ground—if one narrowly and superficially defines it as god’s act in creating 3 john l. allen, jr., pope benedict xvi: a biography of joseph ratzinger (new york: the continuum international publishing group, 2000), 35-43. 4 ibid., 35. 5 benedict xvi, great christian thinkers: from the early church through the middle ages (minneapolis, mn: fortress press, 2011), 108. 6 ibid., 115. 7 joseph ratzinger, in the beginning: a catholic understanding of the story of creation and the fall (grand rapids, mi: william b. eerdmans publishing, 1995), xx-xi. individual species at a particular moment. but this doctrine, says ratzinger, is not fundamentally about the making of individual creatures. rather, it answers the question of “why anything exists at all instead of nothing” (34) and probes “the real foundations of reality,” ontological and metaphysical inquiries that lie outside science’s scope and interest (35). within this paradigm, ratzinger turns to the question of how the two “categories of thought” (36), creation and evolution, address each other. can faith in creation accommodate evolutionary theory? even if evolution answers questions about variability among species, one still must tackle ultimate questions regarding human existence, which “cannot be reduced to what is scientifically demonstrable” (37). is spirit, too, the production of evolution? if so, then matter, not spirit, is “the primary thing and the sufficient cause of all the rest” (37), a premise that renders god unnecessary. because humankind must have a place in the evolutionary chain, evolutionary theory puts the spotlight anew on “the primacy and superiority of spirit,” which is essential to belief in creation (38). to argue that matter is part of evolutionary change and that spirit was created by god is not, says ratzinger, a viable solution. what does help, he says, is determining whether one can reconcile the evolutionary notion of becoming with the biblically based notion of being as derived from “creative meaning” (39). ratzinger uses this opportunity to explore the relationship between faith and world view, which anyone trying to think scientifically and theologically should bear in mind. whenever people make the mistake of equating faith with world view, they set themselves up for disaster. if the latter is fundamentally altered, the former is in danger of unraveling (40). ratzinger contrasts today’s crisis with the experience of the church fathers. they understood that the creation accounts were products of a pre-scientific age, representing large spans of time and reflecting various world views. they did not perceive world views different from their own to be attacks on their beliefs (40). however, the advent of literal exegesis eroded “the sense of the internal breadth of faith” and caused many people to lose “sight of the transcendence of the word of god” over its individual expressions (41). to show believers how the doctrine of creation can help them to make sense of their existence as spiritual beings in a post-evolution world, ratzinger offers several observations. first, he articulates the relationship between being and becoming. “being is time; it does not merely have time … being is understood dynamically, as being-in-movement, and it is understood as something directed” (42). it is goal-oriented, for it advances and progresses, at least when humans are the point of reference. next he argues that this being-in-movement has meaning (an assertion that only faith, not science, can make), for it derives from the creative mind that is the logos and “represents the temporal form of its self-actuation” (43). creation, then, refers not to what occurred once or at distinct stages. rather, temporal being as a whole is encompassed by the one creative act of god, which gives it, in its division, its unity, in which at the same time its meaning consists, a meaning that is unfathomable to us because we do not see the whole. (44) in other words, all evolution, the entire movement of being, which progresses toward a goal, takes place within the one creative act of god’s mind and from which existence derives meaning. believers should see the emptiness of envisioning the creator god as an artisan making objects (44). such a concept has nothing to do with being-in-movement. to believe in creation is “to understand, in faith, the world of becoming revealed by science as a meaningful world that comes from a creative mind” (44). this perspective helps believers also to see that being comes not only from a creative mind but from “the creator spiritus” (44). thus, spirit is not random or unexpected mutation in a world dominated by matter. matter is but the preface to the story of spirit (45). additionally, every human person, encompassed by the whole of the creative act, can relate personally to god. just as god made god known to adam and adam could respond and know god, so, too, can every person, for “the mystery of creation looms over every one of us” (46). finally, ratzinger asserts that human beings are god’s special creation in that they alone are willed by god to know god and to “think about him in return” (46). when “the clay” realized that it had this capacity to conceive of god, that was the dawn of anthropogenesis. “the first ‘thou’ that—however stammeringly—was said by human lips to god marks the moment in which spirit arose in the world” (47). at this profound juncture in the history of spirit, the corporeal being that came to be termed “man” developed to a point that it could respond to its creator and “be immediately in relation to god” (47). evolutionary theory cannot deny or confirm when or how spirit emerged, ratzinger says. but it forces one to pause and consider more reflectively one’s own spiritual evolution and, ultimately, “to become increasingly what [one] is: the being who is supposed to say ‘thou’ to god in eternity” (47). what some may call the crisis of evolution, then, serves to challenge believers to think about what they believe and their relationship to the god who is the source and destiny of all creation, the god whom they hope to adore in eternity. augustine’s thoughts in books xi-xiii of confessions in his essay, ratzinger adds to, and draws inspiration from, an ever-expanding tapestry of reflection woven by theologians and philosophers over two millennia. nonetheless, one can try to identify and slide one’s fingers along those strands that thread back to augustine’s musings in confessions—the one volume that, in addition to the bible, ratzinger has said he would want to have with him were he stranded on a desert island8—to see which passages may have enriched ratzinger’s presentation of what the church in the modern world believes. from nothingness to being ratzinger says that the “intellectual starting point” (35) for a discussion of belief in creation is “the transition of nothingness to being” (36). this statement presupposes an acceptance of the teaching on creation ex nihilio—a teaching to which augustine devotes much attention. the biblical passage that occasions augustine’s musings on what “creation from nothing” means is the opening verse of the book of genesis: “in the beginning god created the heavens and the 8 allen, 35. earth.”9 because nothing exists that god did not make, god created the heavens and the earth from nothing. augustine breaks this notion down by distinguishing between nothingness and formlessness. from nothing god created “almost nothing” (xii,8,8), that is, formless matter. this “primal matter of the whole universe” (xii,29,40) was not of god’s substance, and from it god created the heavens and the earth. augustine interprets this opening reference to “heaven” to mean not the visible, cosmological sky but “heaven’s heaven” (xii,2,2), the intellectual creation that constitutes god’s household, that is, the realm where spiritual creatures behold unwaveringly god’s glory. likewise, in the beginning “earth” was not yet terra firma but the dark, formless, undifferentiated abyss, having “no color, no shape, no body, no spirit” (xii,3,3). to this primal matter god gave “form and distinction” (xii,3,3). however, these actions were not temporally successive, as if one followed the other. god created primal matter “formless at the same instant that you gave it form” (xiii,33,48). thus, augustine posits what he hopes is a plausible explanation of what the transition from nothingness to being means. ratzinger also distinguishes evolutionary theory from belief in creation by explaining that the former asks why one thing rather than another, whereas the latter asks why something rather than nothing. here ratzinger picks up on the question with which augustine opens book xiii: why did god create? augustine tries to imagine of what value creatures, and human beings in particular, are to god to warrant their having been created. did god fashion humans to supply a need in god’s self? to relieve god of having to do all the work? to enhance god’s power through their worship? did spiritual and corporeal creation have a prerogative, or “an advance claim” on god, to come into being? augustine dismisses all such motives. he concludes that the created world came to exist through, and because of, god’s supreme, abundant goodness, “for you did not want so good a thing to be missing” (xiii,2,2). creation expresses god’s gratuitousness and love. moreover, out of goodness god endows spiritual and corporeal creatures with the capacity to be converted to and illumined by god, not so that they somehow will perfect god but so that they will please the one who is perfection. being and becoming ratzinger describes the static view of creation that reigned well into the nineteenth century: god had created every species in the beginning, and these species were invariable. with evolution, humankind came to be seen as just one of the links in a chain of endless changes. how can belief in creation respond to this attitude? ratzinger reconciles the “being” of the biblical view and the “becoming” of the evolutionary view by arguing that being is dynamic. it “is time” (42). 9 the holy bible, revised standard version, 2nd catholic ed. (san francisco: ignatius press, 2006). all subsequent bible verses are from this version. augustine’s reflections on mutability and time may have provided the groundwork for ratzinger’s insights. throughout the final books of confessions, augustine reminds his readers that immutability and permanence belong to god. god exists but was not made and is therefore unchanging. there is nothing in god that was not always there; god is “being-itself” (xii,7,7). on the other hand, changeability, variation, and impermanence are defining characteristics inherent in the created world. augustine links the mutability of each creature with the original state of formlessness, “whereby that creature can receive form, or can be changed and transformed into something else” (xii,19,28). while this potential of primal matter to receive form helps to explain how god imparted form to the countless specific beings that “fill us humans with wonder” (xii,8,8)—a decidedly non-evolutionary view in that it points to the creation of individual species—augustine’s thinking, in theory at least, admits the possibility of darwinian claims. his clever terms for this formlessness, “‘nothing-something’” and “‘an isthat-is-not’” (xii,6,6), are pregnant with evolutionary expectation. the property of mutability allows human beings to have a notion of time, foreshadowing ratzinger’s assertion that (created) being is time. drawing upon natural phenomena, augustine comments on how interdependent time and change are. the changeable world “makes possible our awareness and demarcation of passing times, because this is what the rolling seasons are— the changes that occur in creatures as various forms proliferate and develop” (xii,8,8). it is worth noting the terms with which augustine describes change. “proliferation” recalls the biblical summons to “be fruitful and multiply” (gen. 1:22), while “development” is a trait the modern world associates with evolution. augustine argues that time, which was created by god, did not exist before god imparted form to matter. only because the created world has form and undergoes change do human beings have a sense of time passing. if the present “never slipped away into the past, it would not be time at all; it would be eternity” (xi,14,17). augustine exquisitely illustrates this point during his discussion of believers who are no longer hampered by a “carnal outlook” (xii,27,37) when it comes to interpreting genesis 1. these more mature believers understand that the created world is subject to time, whereas god transcends it. they exult that all creatures, having been made in and formed through god’s image, “would become exceedingly good, whether they remain closely grouped about you or, arrayed in ever-widening circles through time and space, they bring about changes or themselves beautifully evolve” (xii,28,38; emphasis added). mutability is an outcome of the divine creative act and does not diminish the essential goodness of a creature. in sum, augustine’s observations that the created world is inherently changeable and that time is a function of change could serve as precursors to ratzinger’s statement that created existence is being-in-movement, a movement that is temporal and transformative. existence derived from creative mind as noted above, ratzinger asserts that the plausibility of evolutionary theory does not undermine belief in creation. this belief, rooted in scripture, expresses the conviction that the becoming world derives from the logos and is therefore meaningful and that the divine creative act encompasses all temporal being-in-movement. once again, augustine seems to provide theological material for ratzinger’s argument. for example, in dismissing any concept of god as artisan, ratzinger echoes augustine’s aversion to this simile. augustine points out that, unlike human craftsmen, who work with existing matter, acquired skills, and intellectually perceived images, god had no existing materials or workshop with which to work in creating heaven and earth, as nothing existed that god did not make. instead, god created through the spoken word (“speaking” is not to be taken in a literal, temporal sense, augustine cautions). here, however, one must shift to present tense, for god speaks in eternity, outside of time, untouched by change. god did not speak discrete words, one following the other. “no, all things are uttered simultaneously in one eternal speaking” (xi,7,9). augustine additionally refers to this word that is uttered eternally as wisdom, logos, son, power, the beginning, eternal reason, and truth, all of which convey the word’s divine identity and encompass ratzinger’s description of the logos as creative mind from which creation is derived and thus endowed with meaning. in arguing that creation is neither a long-gone moment of launch nor a series of periodic spurts of intervention but one divine act that comprises “temporal being as a whole” (44), ratzinger is likely indebted to his patristic mentor. augustine painstakingly distinguishes the existence of creatures, who operate within the boundaries of time and space, from the generative activity of the creator, for whom there is no beginning or end and to whom no temporal terminology, such as “never” or “then,” is applicable. “the whole of both past and future flows forth from him who is always present, and is by him created” (xi,11,13). in other words, god speaks, and therefore creates, in eternity, yet created beings themselves occur within time and succeed one another. augustine and ratzinger arrive at these insights because both appreciate the value of moving beyond a literal reading of creation accounts. as his exegesis demonstrates, augustine delights in mining the riches of scripture, including genesis, the human authorship of which augustine, as a man of his times, attributes to moses. not without tenderness does he address those sincere but spiritually immature persons who entertain childish, worldly, literal notions of how god created the universe and how god speaks. augustine acknowledges that, while the faith of such people is being edified because ultimately they do believe that god made all things, it is more satisfying to be like those who “espy hidden fruit; they fly to and fro joyfully, chattering as they search it out, and plucking it” (xii,28,38). augustine demonstrates that he is adept at espying, searching, and plucking. he nimblemindedly offers a sampling of viable opinions people may have regarding the meaning of genesis. if one presumes the human authors of scripture to be truthful and if one is sincere in one’s search for what meaning the author intended, then “what harm,” augustine asks god, “is there if a reader holds an opinion which you, the light of all truthful minds, shows to be true, even though it is not what was intended by the author?” (xii,18,27). his approach, an excellent riposte to those who think they have a corner on truth or who argue for a single, literal reading of scripture, testifies to the multivalent character of god’s word, which yields new insights to seekers of every age and encourages them always to be in conversation with scripture. indeed, ratzinger likely sees augustine as a sterling example of one who appreciates, as ratzinger does, “the transcendence of the word of god” (41). man as god’s special creation according to ratzinger, believers may harbor fears that evolutionary theory challenges the fundamental understanding that human beings are god’s special creation. if everything is material, then perhaps spirit is, at best, incidental, superfluous, or external, and human existence meaningless. ratzinger instead argues that “recognition of the world of becoming as the selfactuation of a creative thought includes also its derivation from the creativity of the spirit” (44). humankind is a special creation, moreover, in that god wills humankind to know god and to think about god in return. thus, human beings are created to live in a meaningful world and to be in relationship with god, a relationship that god initiates and to which human beings freely respond. augustine has much to say on these crucial topics in confessions, and one can appreciate how his accounts of his personal experiences may have strengthened ratzinger’s argument. first, augustine defends the primacy of spirit, which ratzinger says is fundamental to viewing man as god’s special creation. augustine describes in great detail his perception of what he calls the intellectual, or spiritual, creation, which has the capacity to change but never does change, for it exists in perfect bliss as it clings in loving constancy to god and thus shares in eternity without being coeternal with god. even in its primal state, the spiritual order, this “pure mind” (xii,11,12), ranks higher than corporeal creation, be the latter formed or unformed, because its knowledge of the truth, which is the goal of all inquiry, is consummate. “it is the prerogative of intelligence to know all at once, not partially, nor in riddles, nor as reflected in a mirror” (xii,13,16). augustine can think of nothing more satisfying than to be a creature so blessed. experiencing the transcendent joy of god’s household is the destiny for which every prodigal soul yearns. second, augustine emphasizes that all creation has its origins in the creator spirit hovering over the face of the waters (gen. 1:2), for nothing exists that did not come from the trinitarian god. spiritual creation never knew darkness because the spirit immediately illumined and transformed it. the spirit “raised it up without the least delay, from the moment it was made, and summoned it with the words, let there be light” (xiii,10,11). augustine extends this metaphor of the brooding creator spirit to symbolize the immutable god transcending the changeability and vicissitudes of time-bound existence. the spirit, in particular, is ever-present, lifting up and enlightening each soul, torn as it is, augustine says, between holy and unholy loves; and causing it to rest in the spirit’s peace. the waywardness of human beings—who likewise are spiritual creatures “in respect of our souls” (xiii,2,3)—can have a positive outcome, for it reminds the errant soul of its true birthplace and home. “when spirits slide away from you … their unhappy restlessness amply proves to us how noble is each rational creature you have made, for nothing less than yourself can suffice to give it any measure of blessed rest” (xiii,8,9). thus, not only does humankind derive from the creator spirit; it also is led by the spirit, finds fulfillment in the spirit, and is one with the spirit, to the point that the believer sees, knows, and loves creation through god’s spirit—and god’s spirit sees and loves creation through the believer. “all these things we see to be exceedingly good, because you see them in us, you who have given us the spirit to enable us to see them, and in them to love you” (xiii,34,49). third, augustine is conscious that, as god’s special creation, he is on the receiving end of god’s gracious invitation to relationship. true, god is in relationship with all of creation, which has been given form in and through god, but it is the human heart alone to which god speaks and wherein god prepares to dwell “by the desire you inspire in it” (xiii,1,1); and it is the human heart that responds in freedom, love, and humility, and that returns to the creator. mediating this relationship is the son, the eternally uttered word. augustine the teacher recognizes that the word is the true and perfect teacher, instructing disciples and sustaining them in the maelstrom of life. humans must pause, listen, and surrender. “it is by acknowledging the truth that we turn back, and he it is who teaches us to acknowledge it, because he is the beginning who speaks to us” (xi,8,10). augustine contrasts god’s unfathomable love for each and every person with the shallow, wayward, hard-hearted attitude of god’s children. though humans forget their origins, god is constant. through christ, “you sought us that we might begin to seek you. he is the word through whom you made all things, and me among them” (xi,2,4). fourth, to emphasize the unique relationship that god’s special creation enjoys with the creator spirit, augustine speculates about what it means to be made in god’s image and likeness. he draws an intellectual connection. because human beings derive from the mind of god, they are to be reformed by renewing their minds. this renewal allows each believer to understand the truth, discern god’s will, contemplate the trinity, and become “a spirit-filled person, fit to judge of any matters that call for judgment” (xiii,22,32). thus, augustine emphasizes, as ratzinger does, the capacity of rational, intellectual beings, made in god’s image, to know god, ponder fruitfully the deepest mysteries pertaining to existence and faith, and to desire only what god wills, by virtue of their being god’s special creation. having come from creative mind, the human mind, renewed in christ, serves only god and benefits form spiritual insight. “were this not the case, human beings, for all their high dignity, would not understand; they would be on a level with senseless beasts and become like them” (xiii,23,33). directional and goal-oriented spirit the culmination of ratzinger’s argument is that science can never ascertain the rise of spirit in the world, the moment of anthropogenesis when the clay was able to conceive of god and thus “be immediately in relation to god” (47). however, science does challenge faith to go deeper and grow deeper, and to help man “to become increasingly what he is: the being who is supposed to say ‘thou’ to god in eternity” (47). throughout the chapter, ratzinger uses terms that show that this process of becoming is directional: it advances, ascends, develops, and has a goal and destiny. the final books of confessions indicate that augustine, too, understands that spirit advances and ascends toward its goal; that one’s becoming involves conversion and the re creation of the soul; and that one’s spiritual pilgrimage leads one home, to the source of life and the place of eternal rest and joy. augustine answers this question of how one becomes increasingly what one is by acknowledging that conversion is an ongoing process leading to spiritual transformation and eternal rest in god. commenting on the blessed fortune of intellectual creation—which, had it not been immediately summoned, illuminated, and transformed by god’s spirit, would have remained in darkness and chaos—augustine recognizes that humankind has had a different, temporal experience of conversion because, in a special way, it has been redeemed by christ. “in our case there are distinct periods of time, for we were darkness once, and then we became light” (xiii,10,11). yet even in the wake of this salvific act, conversion is needed. the struggle is not over. human beings go astray. they forget god. unlike the creatures in god’s heavenly household, they turn away from the light, slipping “back into the old life, dark and abysmal” (xiii,2,3). this tension between chaos and conversion marks the human condition. “even now we labor in our residual gloom, until in your only son we become your righteousness” (xii,2,3). an example of such labor is augustine’s passionate commitment to unlocking the mysteries of scripture through meditation on god’s law. unlike the angels, humans do not see clearly and fully but instead gain knowledge only in a piecemeal fashion. using language evocative of genesis, augustine says that he wants to tell god “what i know and what i still find baffling, your dawning light in me and the residual darkness that will linger until my weakness is swallowed up by your strength” (xi,2,2). such passages reveal that augustine has no illusions about conversion being a once-and-done event. until a soul comes to rest eternally in god, its transformation is not complete. fortunately, the unchanging spirit of god figuratively hovers above the chaos of every human life, bearing it up so that it may be conformed more and more to god’s likeness. through god’s spirit, human beings are reformed and reshaped, thus undergoing a new genesis. just as creation is critical to the history of the spirit, so is conversion. it serves as a second, or new, creation. and just as creation ex nihilio involved the imposition of form in god’s image, so does re-creation involve reformation in god’s spirit, with christ as mediator. augustine sums up this re-creation in generative terms: “once our heart had conceived by your spirit we made a fresh start and began to act well” (xiii,38,53). this process of conversion, of spiritual re-creation, is akin to a pilgrimage to one’s eternal home. in reflecting on this pilgrimage, augustine is that person ratzinger describes: one who increasingly understands what it means to say “thou” to god in eternity. augustine prays for the good shepherd to transport him back to his origins, the homeland his spirit remembers, so that he may live in beatitude in god’s household, where god’s glory dwells. “my pilgrim-soul sighs for you,” he says of heaven’s heaven, “and i pray him who made you to claim me also as his own within you, for he made me too” (xii,15,21). there, in the new jerusalem, “where are lodged the first-fruits of my spirit” (xii,16,23), the divinely wrought reformation of augustine’s still disintegrated self will be complete, if only he can stay the course through god’s mercy. augustine describes this pilgrimage, this journey of conversion, not only in personal terms, at the level of the individual soul, but also in collective terms. as his allegorical interpretation of the days of creation in book xiii demonstrates, the church travels the same path. as the body of christ, the faithful participate in this history of the spirit. the spirit of god continues to speak to god’s people, especially through the apostles and other witnesses god raises up. the journey can be blessed with ascent and derailed by setback. the dark can still tinge the day. nonetheless, the faithful do not travel alone, for the in-dwelling of the creator spirit proves that “we have received, even on our pilgrim way, the pledge that we are children of the light” (xiii,14,15). in fact, living as children of the light is a key way that human beings become, to use ratzinger’s terms, increasingly what they are. in this new creation, spiritual children, through god’s grace, testify to the truth and thus carry out anew the work of the creator in genesis. they “shine upon the earth, separate day from night, and mark distinct periods of time” (xiii,18,22). a new chapter in the history of the spirit is being told. however, human persons must continue to grow in the spirit. always at peril of slipping back into the abyss, the faithful cannot afford to be complacent. as wayfarers, they must have their hearts set on what is above and advance in knowledge that leads to truth. outward commitments do not suffice; spiritual ascent requires interior transformation. augustine does not gloss over this reality. “even though people have been baptized and initiated, and have submitted to these material sacraments, they would proceed no further, did their souls not rise to a new level of spiritual life, and move on from elementary doctrine toward maturity” (xiii,20,28). empowered by the spirit, however, god’s children will ascend to the “eternal goal” of heaven’s heaven, “to that place where i yearn to hear songs of praise and contemplate your delight” (xi,29,39). here in the presence of god, resting in peace and holiness, souls abide forever. just as jesus is the beginning in that he speaks to humans, so here in his father’s house, where there is no end, souls respond by lifting up their voices in unending praise. humankind has become what it was destined to be, speaking “thou” in eternity and having “no other desire but to abide there for ever” (xiii,9,10). conclusion the purpose of this paper was to uncover evidence that augustine’s reflections on creation, as expressed in the last three books of confessions, may have informed ratzinger’s attempt to show how faith addresses and is deepened by challenges posed by the world view of evolution. the nature of this research was speculative, for evolution was not a paradigm in augustine’s time, nor does ratzinger refer to augustine in his essay on creation. many of the ideas ratzinger discusses and the premises on which he builds his argument may have originated, or at least resonated, with augustine. ratzinger’s theological mentor agrees that creation is fundamentally about the transition from nothing and adds that the motive behind the creative act was god’s supreme goodness. he seems to be open, in principle, to the definition of creaturely existence as being-in-movement, as his extensive musings about time and the changeable nature of creatures indicate. furthermore, augustine appreciates that human beings are special creations in that god initiates a relationship with them that irrational creatures do not enjoy. although human beings, bound by time, belong to corporeal creation, they also, by virtue of their having souls, are spiritual creatures. augustine makes it clear that the spiritual is the highest order of creation and that god’s spirit is the means of human beings’ conversion. he affirms the priority of spirit, the role of god’s spirit in creation, and the need for ongoing spiritual conversion, made possible by god’s grace, to keep pilgrims oriented toward the household of god, where they will rest in the peace and holiness of god. beyond the unearthing of these parallels, the most satisfying aspect of this research was observing the way in which each theologian fearlessly engages faith and science in a conversation. from the difference between nothingness and formlessness to the slippery notion of past, present, and future, augustine tackles challenging topics with painstaking diligence and attention. ratzinger, for his part, objectively considers and respects the contributions and limitations of scientific inquiry. their attitudes are encouraging because all too often faith expressed in the pew and in the public square comes across as narrow-minded, literalistic, ill-prepared to engage in intellectual discourse, and closed to advances in human knowledge. yet if one believes in god who is truth, god who is creator, god who is the “beginning” and “abidingly the same” (xi,8,10), then one should be open to discoveries and breakthroughs in all fields of human endeavor, allowing them to challenge and stretch and deepen one’s faith without having to make a “dishonest compromise” (34). while one can argue only speculatively that a future evolutionist lurked inside augustine, few would dispute his more enduring legacy, one that ratzinger has claimed: the sincere and authentic pursuit of truth will always lead to god. bibliography allen, john l., jr. pope benedict xvi: a biography of joseph ratzinger. new york: the continuum international publishing group, 2000. augustine. the confessions. edited by john rotelle, o.s.a. translated by maria boulding, o.s.b. the works of saint augustine: a translation for the 21st century. hyde park, ny: new city press, 1997. benedict xvi. great christian thinkers: from the early church through the middle ages. minneapolis, mn: fortress press, 2011. ratzinger, joseph. credo for today: what christians believe. translated by michael j. miller, henry taylor, sister mary frances mccarthy, adrian walker, j. r. foster, graham harrison, and matthew j. o’connell. san francisco: ignatius press, 2009. first published 2006 by libreria editrice vaticana. ___. in the beginning: a catholic understanding of the story of creation and the fall. translated by boniface ramsey, o.p. grand rapids, mi: william b. eerdmans publishing, 1995. first published 1986 by erich wewel verlag. [concept, vol. xxxvi (2013)] “how are things in glocca morra?”: vilifying capitalism and prejudice through a socialist utopia in finian’s rainbow rebekah weagraff theatre what does a leprechaun have to do with racial integration in america? though they seem unrelated, the 1947 musical finian’s rainbow by e.y. harburg and fred saidy uses the integration of irish mythology and socialist utopian ideals to promote the racial integration of the american south. finian’s rainbow is set in the fictional american town of rainbow valley, missitucky. the town, inhabited by people of different colors living in harmony, symbolizes an american utopia threatened by the dangers of capitalism and racism. so where does the leprechaun fit in? having followed irish immigrants finian and his daughter sharon to rainbow valley to retrieve his pot of gold, the leprechaun enhances the magical quality of a place as idealistic as glocca morra, a kind of irish eden. his magic allows for the otherwise impossible physical and mental transformations of a racist senator named billboard rawkins, the play’s main source of conflict. finian’s rainbow is a political satire and relies on specific historical references and allusions. therefore, this paper will analyze the energies of the text from the perspective of new historicism. using marxist theory and the theories of michel foucault, this paper will explore how lyricist and playwright e.y. harburg, influenced by socialist rhetoric, illustrates an integrated, magical, american utopia which highlights and satirizes the very real problems caused by post-wwii capitalist and racist ideology in the united states. “the begat”: yip harburg and the creation of finian’s rainbow in analyzing a period piece like finian’s rainbow, it is necessary to take into account the historical and cultural context in which the author was writing. the political and racial messages of the musical might seem dated to a contemporary audience, but in 1947, “finian proved to be more advanced relative to the politics of the time than yip had initially intended” (meyerson and harburg, 1993: 270). in order to accurately and thoroughly discuss the energies of finian’s rainbow, this paper will consider the text from a new historicist perspective. john brannigan explains new historicism as “a mode of reading history, and the political and social forces at work in historical periods” (1998: 12). theatrical texts, since they are meant to be performed, can literally make these power relations visible to an audience. finian’s rainbow is a prime example of such a text because it is “a work of socialist analysis in the form of the american musical” (meyerson and harburg, 1993: 221). it is based on yip harburg’s personal politics, or his opinions on power relations, and his desire to express them to the public. harburg was not a member of the communist party, but he sympathized with marxist ideals and structured finian’s rainbow “as an attack on racism and capitalism” which still manages to entertain and delight audiences with colorful music and witty dialogue (meyerson and harburg, 1993: 223). he believed that musical theater was capable of making profound statements, and though the plot of finian’s rainbow is complex and convoluted, it reflects inspiration from multiple sources: “of course i was still fed up with our economic system and the whole idiocy of taking gold from california and planting it in fort knox. suddenly, the three streams of thought about bilbo and rankin, the irish stories [james stephen’s the crock of gold], and about fort knox clicked in my mind.” (meyerson and harburg, 1993: 222) harburg’s frustration with the capitalist system is illustrated mainly through the storyline involving finian, woody, and shears and robust; he uses these characters to expose the flaws of american economy. however, harburg also had a strong distaste for the racist discourse spouted by politicians like theodore bilbo and john rankin, who supported jim crow ideology and pushed for segregation. interestingly, both of these mississippi politicians were also “important in the anti-communism movement on a national level” (the university of southern mississippi, n.d.). bilbo, facing much opposition in the mid-1940s, “labeled all people against him as being communists” (ibid.). rankin helped pass the “amendment [which] resulted in the house unamerican acitivities committee” and “was one of the key members to push for the investigations into hollywood’s connections with communism in the 1940s” (ibid.). therefore, harburg had two reasons to push against them: he abhorred their racism and was affected by their attacks on socialist ideology. it is important to note that the writers describe the musical as a satire; its purpose is to expose the flaws of society. in this piece, harburg creates a utopian world, inspired by the irish mythology and magical realism in the crock of gold, to make satirical comments about current social, economic, and political conditions in the united states. harburg’s efforts demonstrate the new historicist theory that “power needs to have subversion” and that “culture is a field of much ideological contest and contradiction” (brannigan, 1998: 8, 12). therefore, it is essential to study the text of finian’s rainbow in conjunction with information about its creator and historical context to elucidate the manner in which it expresses contemporary cultural ideologies and power structures. “when the idle poor become the idle rich”: musical as socialist critique like many artists during the height of the ‘red scare,’ yip harburg was blacklisted for the liberal ideas and socialist messages implicit in his films. harburg, however, did not let this inconvenience hamper his creative production and “continued to work on broadway – show business’s only blacklist-free zone – through the 1950s and later” (grant, 2004: 68). finian’s rainbow was one of several theatrical projects harburg created to express his passionate political views. though he disguised much of his more cynical beliefs with traditional american songs and conventional musical structure, harburg’s affinity for marxist theory shines through in several aspects of the musical. as mark grant explains, “harburg was trying to say not just that he thought mccarthy was the un-american one, but that the musical play was an artistic form that could legitimately express something grand and unfrivolous” (2004: 72). the playwright paints a picture of america in which the common folk are the real patriots and where the flaws of government officials threaten the harmonious structure of society. the character of woody mahoney is one such patriot, who serves to represent the basic tenets of marxism throughout the musical; he is essentially characterized as a socialist hero. acknowledging the controversial nature of his occupation, he reveals his true identity to sharon: woody: […] in some circles i’m considered a sinister character. you know what i am? sharon: (alarmed) no. woody: brace yourself. grab hold of that log. i’m a union organizer. sharon: (relieved) oh. well, i believe in unions. (harburg and saidy, 1947: 39-40) as a ‘union organizer,’ woody embodies marx’s theory that “the workers begin to form combinations (trades’ unions) against the bourgeois” and leads his townsfolk in a rebellion against the capitalistic government officials (1906: 26). it is important that sharon expresses her approval of woody’s politics because it allows her to become his supporter and, by virtue of her strong-willed personality and close relationship with woody, an honorary leader in the american socialist movement. however, marxist theory is most colorfully articulated through harburg’s lyrics. three songs in particular demonstrate the influence of socialist ideas on finian’s rainbow: “this time of the year,” “necessity,” and “when the idle poor become the idle rich.” when the sheriff arrives to collect taxes at the start of the play, the citizens of rainbow valley protest. eventually, they force the sheriff out of the town, singing “we can’t be bothered with a mortgage man, this time of the year! […] for spring don’t care about a mortgage man, this time of the year!” (8). the contest over the land in rainbow valley is central to the play, and ultimately is the thread which connects all of the different subplots. as karl marx explains in his manifesto, “the distinguishing feature of communism is not the abolition of property generally, but the abolition of bourgeois property […] in this sense, the theory of communism may be summed up in a single sentence: abolition of private property” (1906: 34). rainbow valley is inhabited by a community of racially diverse sharecroppers, and is meant to epitomize the communist ideal of shared property. senator rawkins, via the sheriff, wants to acquire all of the land in the state of missitucky for himself. significantly, rainbow valley is the only piece of land he is not able to acquire; when finian and sharon arrive on the scene, they provide the money that the town needs to pay off the taxes and allow the town to continue as a model of a socialist society. the song “necessity” also illustrates harburg’s socialist leanings. it comes in at the end of act i to remind the audience of the economic issues introduced at the beginning. the scene includes a number of sharecroppers moaning about the need to work tedious and tiresome days just to make a living: “necessity – it’s plain to see/ what a lovely old world/ this silly old world/ could be – / but, man, it’s all in a mess/ account of necess-/ity” (77). on the surface, this song seems to speak generally about the displeasure of work. however, the characters singing all belong to a rural, working class. therefore, their song is more than just a complaint, but evidence of a “class struggle” and therefore, according to marx, “a political struggle” (1906: 27). perhaps the most satiric of the ‘socialist’ songs in finian’s rainbow is “when the idle poor become the idle rich.” act ii begins with news that shears and robust, a.k.a. sears roebuck, has heard of the discovery of gold in rainbow valley and sent a mail-order catalogue to its inhabitants. the stage directions explain that “possession of gold [or its equivalent: belief that they possess it] has brought them the final cockeye luxury. they can now afford to stop wanting things they can buy and to start buying things they don’t want” (96). this song overtly critiques capitalism for perpetuating a materialistic culture and class divisions. it satirizes the contemporary economic structure, claiming that “when the idle poor become the idle rich,/ you’ll never know just who is who – or who is which” (96). in other words, harburg argues that wealth does not define character and class distinctions are arbitrary. senator rawkins, who first appears in the setting of his “colonial estate,” represents the southern american bourgeois values against which woody is fighting (44). through the dynamic between senator rawkins and the townsfolk of rainbow valley, harburg illustrates marx’s claim that “[modern society] has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones” and that “every class struggle is a political struggle” (1906: 12, 27). senator rawkins claims patriotic motives for acquiring all the land in rainbow valley: “let ‘em go build their dam on the potomac instead of desecratin’ this heaven-given valley with a lot of copper wire” (47). woody, however, explains the senator’s motives differently, saying that he’s afraid that the electricity provided by the dam will afford greater opportunities to the ‘lower class’: “shacks lightin’ up, people learnin’ to read and write, everybody makin’ money” (23). the senator is determined to own the entire valley because, to him, it represents not only wealth but also power over the working class. in 20th century america, and in this musical, oppression is also related to race. “by the middle of the twentieth century, black people had long endured a physical and social landscape of white supremacy” (baldwin, 2011). eighty years after the emancipation proclamation, african americans were still, by and large, considered socially and politically inferior and were primarily working class. senator billboard rawkins, in addition to illustrating the hypocrisy of the government and capitalism, represents the racist sentiments of many americans at the time. the audience is first introduced to rawkins at his plantation home, but before we even meet the character, we see a glimpse of his ideology through his assistant, buzz collins. howard, an african-american college student from rainbow valley, visits rawkins’ estate to apply for a job and is interviewed by buzz: buzz: […] do you want a job here as a butler or don’t you? howard: yes, sir, i do. i’ve got another year to go at tuskegee. (45) though howard is clearly a polite, intelligent young man, buzz, familiar with rawkins’ preferences, insists that howard serve a mint julep in the stereotypical “minstrel tradition of dixie shuffle and exaggerated accent” (44). buzz explains that “it’s a mark of breed, here in the south. makes for kindly feelings between master and servant” (45). though buzz and rawkins seem to be stuck in the civil war, this extreme kind of racism is not far from the truth for 1947. senator bilbo, one of rawkins’ namesake’s, was famous for his racist epithets and policies: he “was a well-known segregationist” and even proposed an act “to repatriate african americans to liberia” (the university of southern mississippi, n.d.). one of the main conflicts in finian’s rainbow arises when rawkins, after hearing about the discovery of gold in rainbow valley, attempts to acquire the land by evicting half of its population. he claims that the citizens of the town have been breaking “the law of the south. there’s a restrictive covenant which forbids negroes to build homes on this land – depreciates property values” (81). this plot point is rooted in reality, for as davarian baldwin explains, “african americans did not have the freedom to choose where and how to live due to the effects of state-sponsored restrictive covenants” (2011). rawkins is presumably racist out of habit, but he also, like his namesakes, utilizes racist discourse for economic and political gain. harburg makes clear his disgust for politicians like bilbo and rankin through sharon’s reaction to the senator’s policies. finian and sharon are new to america; as irishmen, they represent an oppressed community in europe. finian reveals this aspect of his character by assuming that “the british are back!” when og says ireland is in trouble (31). historically the irish suffered much persecution from the english because of their cultural differences. thus, the experience of finian and sharon could be seen as a parallel to the experience of african americans in rainbow valley. it is reasonable, then, that sharon so strongly and passionately detests the senator’s bigotry. in a pivotal moment, she says, there’s nothing wrong with being black – (with mounting emotion at rawkins) but there’s something wrong with the world that he and his kind have made for henry. i wish he could know what that world is like. i wish to god he were black so – (suddenly there is darkness – a crash of thunder – a streak of lightning. when the lights go up, rawkins is disclosed as a trembling heap on the ground. the people are drawn back, aghast. from their faces it is evident that sharon’s wish has materialized and that the senator is now, indeed, a black man. […]). (84) at this point in the play, sharon is assisted by magic to produce the kind of change which was perhaps desired by many socialists and civil rights activists in the 1940s: for the oppressors to walk in the shoes of the oppressed. rawkins laments later in the play that as a black man “[…] you can’t buy yourself a cold beer on a hot day. (with disgust) you can’t even go into a church and pray” (111). however, what upsets rawkins is that he is currently unable to do those things; he is not moved to make changes to his political ideology until og the leprechaun, with magic, changes rawkins’ personality by “[broadening] out that narrow mind a little” (113). from this point on, rawkins is a changed man and renounces his former beliefs. what is ironic, and perhaps sad, about the device of magic, however, is that it alludes to the impossibility of a solution for class oppression and racism. “look to the rainbow”: socialist utopia in rainbow valley the musical theatre genre is characterized by the conventions of heightened realism; when characters break out into songs and choreographed dance routines, the audience is required to suspend their disbelief if they still want to earnestly appreciate the characters’ journeys. because musical theatre requires willing participation and acceptance from the audience, it is an ideal medium for voicing controversial ideas. as bruce kirle explains, “musicals,” especially those written in the post-wwii years, “provided hope that tensions in society, seemingly insoluble and bitter, could indeed be bridged” (2005: 128). finian’s rainbow is a musical which provides such hope. the tension is bridged soon after sharon and finian arrive in rainbow valley by an overture from woody. he says to sharon, “welcome to rainbow valley, ma’am. hope you’re gonna find it cozy here. hope you’re gonna like us. what’s your name?” (26). though the play opens with a conflict between townspeople and government, the audience is soon shown that rainbow valley is an inviting place which contains the potential for complete harmony. in his chapter on “popular musicals as utopia,” kirle references rodgers’ and hammerstein’s oklahoma! as a paradigmatic example for the 1940s, but many of his observations also apply to finian’s rainbow (2005). like oklahoma!, finian’s rainbow was “an instance in which the musical offered a utopian solution to the conflict between the new deal and mid-american conservatives and populists” based on an “idealized vision of small-town american life” (kirle, 2005: 131, 134). rainbow valley is inhabited by white and black sharecroppers, all economically and socially equal to one another, living in peaceful coexistence. this was harburg’s dream for american towns in the 1940s plagued by the racist discourse of politicians and society in general. not only are the townsfolk unified from the beginning of the play, but they continue to welcome new members into the community. sharon and finian, literally right off the boat from europe, are almost immediately embraced as rainbow valley citizens. at the end of act ii, the main antagonist, senator rawkins, sees the error of his ways and also becomes integrated into the town: rawkins: no, son. i’m with the people. all part of my new platform – anti-poll tax, a dam in every valley, and a rainbow in every pot. and incidentally, i’m runnin’ for re-election next november. (139) since rawkins is accepted by the community, he is able to accept the community in return and fulfill his obligations as their representative. kirle says that in oklahoma! “the point […] is not to create an accurate history but to mythologize community and the unification, acceptance, and tolerance of all who agree to abide by the social contract” (2005: 139). the senator’s transformation in finian’s rainbow is facilitated by magic, and therefore is unrealistic. the town of rainbow valley and the state of missitucky are obviously and intentionally fictional; they represent not a historical truth, but a mytholigization of an idyllic community. even og, who is not only from a foreign nation but also belongs to a different species, assimilates into the community by the end. he laments throughout the play that he is losing his magic and becoming increasingly human, rejecting any identification with the human race. however, when susan kisses him for the first time he fully experiences one of the ‘joys’ of humanity and changes his mind: “([…] his voice instantly drops into a virile bass.) fairyland was never like this” (136). with this remark, og accepts his new identity as a human and his unification with the town, illustrating again that in the utopic rainbow valley the community is open to “all who agree to abide by the social contract” (kirle, 2005: 139). dragan kláic in his book on utopian and dystopian drama, says that, marx is actually both utopian and millenarian despite all his claims of the scientific character of his socialist ideas. his ideas of a distant future of freedom and of communism as a system of abundance and free association among producers are, in their roots, utopian. (1991: 34) though marx never claimed that his political ideas were utopian, kláic argues that they are, by nature, rooted in utopian ideals. yip harburg undoubtedly saw this connection as well, and therefore, created the utopian world of finian’s rainbow and rainbow valley to promote marxist theories in america. in his first scene on stage, finian explains to his daughter sharon the theoretical reasoning behind his decision to immigrate to rainbow valley, missitucky. finian: […] “the peculiar nature of the soil in and about fort knox brings an additional quality to gold, hitherto unsuspected by either karl marx or the gold itself. this causes the gold to radiate a powerful influence throughout america. it fertilizes the oranges in florida, activates the assembly lines in detroit, causes skyscrapers to sprout from the gutters of new york, and produces a bumper crop of millionaires.” (the pincenez dutifully drops) i rest me case. (17) finian’s theory represents a fanciful capitalist perspective on wealth meant to evoke economic notions popular in the united states at the time. as michel foucault theorizes in his book the order of things, the relation between metal and merchandise […] is the one that was established by providence when it buried gold and silver mines under the earth, and caused them to grow […] between all things that man may need or desire, and the glittering, hidden veins where those metals grow in darkness, there is an absolute correspondence. (1970, p. 172) finian recognizes that gold is more than just currency; is a living entity, like plants and animals. to finian, as well as foucault, gold is glorious and mysterious because it represents the possibility of attaining all his desires. sharon, familiar with her father’s wild money-making schemes, accuses him of dreaming up an economic theory with no factual basis: finian: by the mclonergan theory of economics, built on a solid foundation of mathematics, logic – sharon: and moonbeams? (15-16) but in finian’s rainbow, the gold is substantiated by its magical qualities; it is literally imbued with a kind of power which can enact change. therefore, the gold holds the promise not only of material wealth, but of social change. the mclonergan theory of economics exemplifies finian’s perception of american culture and represents an ideology which becomes central to the plot. louis althusser, influenced by the theories of karl marx, claims that “ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence” (2004: 44). he believes that ideologies are constructed and that they are not ‘real’ in and of themselves, but that they emerge from individuals’ perception of reality. according to althusser, “[ideologies] do make allusion to reality, and […] they need only be ‘interpreted’ to discover the reality of the world behind their imaginary representation of the world” (2004: 44). finian, as an irishman, is distanced from american culture and is therefore able to evaluate the mysteries of the ‘american dream’ with a critical eye. influenced by his own cultural connection to the land, he envisions american wealth as the product of a literal fertilization. as he explains to sharon, finian believes that if he becomes an american, he will in turn join the “bumper crop of millionaires” (17). finian’s theory seems to become realized at the end of first act, once the citizens of rainbow valley find out that gold has been discovered on their land and that shears and robust have sent them a mail-order catalogue. they have not even seen the gold itself, but they already begin to reap its benefits: woody: well, you’ve got your break now – all of you – this piece of yellow paper. it’s credit! you can turn it into tractors – sharon: – turn the tractors into tobacco – woody: – and turn the tobacco into money faster than you can dig the gold out o’ the ground! (87) the notion of ‘credit’ suggests that the idea of currency rather than the material currency itself is what contains value. foucault supports this idea, saying that gold “resides [in the depths of the earth] like an inverted promise of happiness” (1970: 173). gold itself, then, is utopian in a sense: even when it is not tangible it provides the promise of future happiness. woody even claims that the essence of the gold in the ground has contributed to “the golden crispiness, the golden mellowness, the golden goldenness of lucky gold [tobacco]”, the town’s main export, and therefore, has boosted the town’s economy merely by being present (103). when shears and robust demand payment from finian for their wares, he explains his rationale for keeping the gold buried, saying “well, if you remove the gold from the ground, you remove incentive, and if you remove incentive, you wreck free enterprise. (in a roar) right?” (100). knowledgeable about american economics, finian uses his previously established ideology to take advantage of the system. in althusser’s words, he creates an argument based on “the expression of the relation between [him] and [his] ‘world,’ that is, the (overdetermined) unity of the real relation and the imaginary relation between [him] and [his] real conditions of existence” (1969: 233-4). finian owns his place as an immigrant to america and cleverly creates an identity and logic that conforms to his own perception of society and suits his own needs. it becomes clear by the end of the play, however, that finian’s and woody’s interaction with shears and robust is a tongue-in-cheek socialist statement criticizing materialism and greed in the united states; though it exudes the impression of power for a while, the gold cannot sustain its value for very long and the town’s literal wealth is only temporary. og the leprechaun warns finian early on that the pot of gold is magic and is only good for three wishes. ultimately his warning and sharon’s previous apprehensions prove true: og: (comes forward with his derby covering the crock) dross, mclonergan, like i told you. (he brings forth the crock of gold. but it has, alas! lost its glow, its poetry, and its shape. it is now a drab and battered kitchen utensil unworthy of even a pawnshop.) (140) rather than multiplying as finian originally thought, the gold actually depreciates in value each time a wish is made; it is essentially “no more than a token accepted by common consent – hence, a pure fiction” (foucault, 1970: 181). therefore, like the gold, finian’s ideology is revealed to be an illusion. “in ideology the real relation is inevitably invested in the imaginary relation, a relation that expresses a will (conservative, conformist, reformist, or revolutionary), a hope or a nostalgia, rather than describing a reality” (althusser, 1969: 234). as althusser suggests, finian constructs an ideology which will support his decision to immigrate to america and feed his hope for a comfortable life (1969, 2004). though the ideology is only a reflection of his own whimsical perception of american capitalistic ideals, finian’s relationship to the ‘american dream’ and the promise of a better future illustrates the reality of his identity as an irish immigrant and his emerging role as an american. finian’s irish-american dream frames the musical and is the main through-line which illustrates the story’s utopian qualities. when he and sharon first arrive, the hope for forward movement is articulated by finian: finian: don’t sit ye down! it’s the hill beyond yon hill. sharon: finian mclonergan, i’ve been hearin’ about the hill beyond yon hill ever since we left ireland […] (11) the irish immigrants’ physical movement to america parallels the social/political movement that the citizens of rainbow valley strive for in opposition to senator rawkins. the “hill beyond yon hill” represents a utopian ideal. as kláic claims, “utopia tells not what presumably happened once, but what could happen in the future; in this sense it is a speculative myth, a myth in a predictive form” (1991: 37). though finian’s rainbow is set in present-day 1947, finian and the inhabitants represent a forward motion, toward the future; senator rawkins and his sidekicks represent a motion “forward to yesterday,” which the musical pushes strongly against (47). an important element of the piece which contributes largely to the utopian atmosphere is the presence of magic. “it is possible to see utopias as a branch of fantastic literature, where wishful fantasies and escapist dreams are phrased in terms of collective experiences” (kláic, 1991: 41). og the leprechaun undoubtedly represents the fantastical element of the utopia. though rainbow valley is an idealistic place, it is threatened by negative outside forces. therefore, magic is necessary to negotiate between the two worlds. when finian first introduces the idea of a leprechaun, sharon does not take him seriously: sharon: but, father – leprechauns aren’t real – they’re only gnomes and elves, imaginary creatures in fairytales and legends. finian: that’s what most people think, i’ll grant you, but, thank god, they’re in the minority. (20) she voices the practical, logical reaction, but finian soon establishes the convention that magic, in this world, is a reality. because one of the characters is a leprechaun and one of the central concretes is a magic pot of gold, the audience can then more easily accept the possibility of the “wishful fantasies and escapist dreams” associated with utopia (kláic, 1991: 41). finian’s rainbow comes to an end like most musical comedies: with a wedding and the resolution of all conflict. finian, the character who originally articulated the utopia, leaves rainbow valley to continue his search for a better future. finian: aye, finian’s rainbow. it never fails to come up when the mclonergans are down […] sure, there’s no longer a pot o’ gold at the end of it – but a beautiful new world under it. make it shine for sharon. (he kisses sharon a tender good-bye) farewell me friends. i’ll see you all someday in glocca morra. (he starts away along the curving arc of the rainbow). woody: sharon, where is glocca morra? sharon: (mysteriously) there’s no such place, woody. it’s only in father’s head. (143) glocca morra, the utopian ideal that finian and the rest of the characters have been striving for since the beginning of the play, turns out to be a dream. finian’s ideology and construction of the world around him created utopia in rainbow valley, but the truth is that ugliness and injustice still exist in the outside world. glocca morra is an illusion, and will always be slightly out of reach. utopia is often positioned as an ideal model against which the insufficiencies, backwardness, and squalor of existing reality can be measured. utopia then becomes a critical tool, a mirror that exposes and ridicules the real world through distancing and distortion. (kláic, 1991: 41) though the ending of finian’s rainbow appears to align with other musical comedies, the ultimate message is more characteristic of satire. by showing the audience a utopian vision of small-town america in which magic conveniently solves racism and class struggle, harburg exposes the very real issues facing the united states; issues which need to be addressed in a realistic manner. leprechauns and magic can exist in musical theatre, but ultimately, as the play suggests, magic is an illusion. in the real world, people need to envision a future and pursue it as fervently as possible. despite its complex story and extraordinary character and plotline combinations, harburg’s socialist and utopian ideals shine through in finian’s rainbow, impressing upon the audience how important it is to “look, look, look the rainbow,/ follow the fellow who follows a dream” (28). “that great ‘come-and-get-it’ day”: conclusion the original 1947 production of finian’s rainbow was very popular and the show was revived several times on broadway in the two decades following its premiere. a film version was released in 1968, but by the 1970s the civil rights movement was in full swing and finian’s rainbow, to many, began to seem like a snapshot of a bygone era. if, as jonathan mandell suggests, finian’s rainbow, “for all its moments of relevance, cannot be (or at least has not been) sufficiently updated to quell completely the qualms of an audience with 21st century sensibilities,” then what inspired the 2009 broadway revival (mandell, 2009)? ernie harburg, son of lyricist yip harburg, had been pushing for decades for an updated broadway revival of his father’s groundbreaking show. he explains in an interview that the work’s main themes are relevant today because “the major issues of our time include easy credit and its consequences, the pressure of necessity versus pleasure for poor people, [and] the way people divided by race work against each other instead of together for mutual economic benefit” (napoleon, 2009). mandell, though he expresses concern about some of the musical’s content, does agree that it speaks to modern issues: “there was one theme from the original production that seemed oldfashioned even in 1947, but has, unfortunately, gained new relevance – the perils of modern capitalism” (2009). though racism certainly still exists, and, as ernie harburg explains, is often perpetuated by economic greed and corrupt power relations, the main answer to the dramaturgical question “why this play now?” is its sharp “satire of our economic system” (napoleon, 2009). the satirical commentary in finian’s rainbow is indicative of a very specific historical moment in the united states, and therefore, the musical is extremely useful “as a mode of reading history, and the political and social forces at work” in post-wwii america (brannigan, 1998: 12). therefore, it is has a considerable amount of educational value: gaining a better understanding of our past can help us, as a society, avoid similar mistakes in the future. however, finian’s rainbow should not be thought of as merely a ‘museum piece.’ as brannigan states, “for new historicists the nature of power may remain the same but the form it takes does not” (1998: 8). finian’s rainbow may seem like “a musical that weirdly mixes fantasy, romance and political satire,” but ultimately it is making a statement about the necessity of a balanced, uncorrupt power structure; a necessity that exists in all eras (mandell, 2009). the magic and musicality of finian’s rainbow captures the audience’s imagination, but in the end they are left with a significant message: may we meet in glocca morra some fine day (143). glocca morra, harburg’s famed symbol of utopia, is gaelic for “‘lucky tomorrow’” (napoleon, 2009). though cynics may view finian’s rainbow as “a dated show with a problematic book,” the hope for a better future will always be timeless (mandell, 2009). works cited althusser l (1969) for marx. new york: pantheon books. althusser l (2004) ideology and ideological state apparatuses. in: easthope a and mcgowan k (eds) a critical and cultural theory reader. 2 ed. toronto: university of toronto press, 4250. baldwin dl (2011) the civil rights movement. available at:http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-civil-rights.html brannigan j (1998) new historicism and cultural materialism. new york: st. martin'spress. foucault m (1970) the order of things: an archaeology of the human sciences. new york: pantheon books. grant mn (2004) the rise and fall of the broadway musical. lebanon: northeastern university press. harburg ey and saidy f (1947) finian's rainbow: a musical satire. new york: random house. kirle b (2005) unfinished business: broadway musicals as works-in-progress. carbondale: southern illinois university press. kláic d (1991) the plot of the future: utopia and dystopia in modern drama. ann arbor: the university of michigan press. mandell j (2009) finian's rainbow review: old-fashioned broadway hit...with a problem. the faster times, 29 october. marx k and engels f (1906) manifesto of the communist party. chicago: charles h. kerr & company. meyerson h and harburg e (1993) who put the rainbow in the wizard of oz?: yip harburg, lyricist. ann arbor: the university of michigan press. napoleon d (2009) bustin' with bliss: 5q4 ernie harburg. the faster times, 1 november. the university of southern mississippi. n.d. anti-communism in mississippi: political activism & politicians. available at: http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/spcol/exhibitions/anticomm/activism_political.html works cited before there was ever a tony soprano – or a don corleone for that matter – there was rico xxx       ideas shoot bullets: how the rico act became a potent weapon in the war against organized crime                                  mark gordon department of criminal justice     before there was ever a tony soprano or a don corleone there was caesar enrico bandello, also known as rico or little caesar. rico was the magnetic mafia character in the popular 1931 film little caesar. based loosely on the life of real mobster al capone, rico bandello was everything a post-prohibition mobster had to be: ruthless, violent and ambitious. in addition to ushering in a new genre of mob-flicks, little caesar inspired a young boy named g. robert blakey to dedicate his life to fighting the real-life mafia. as an adult, blakey would say rico, played by edward g. robinson in the movie, captivated him. he wanted to be a part of that world, but on the side with the ‘good guys,’ fighting organized crime.           blakey grew up to have a lengthy career in academia and the law, and became one of america’s most-well known experts on organized crime. his teaching posts included stints with prestigious law schools at notre dame and cornell universities. his law enforcement career included high-ranking posts in the u.s. department of justice’s organized crime section and serving as chief counsel to the u.s. senate subcommittee on criminal laws and procedures (wallance)1.           still, many experts consider blakey’s greatest accomplishment to be a law he wrote in 1970. blakey’s goal with the new law was simply defined, yet to actually accomplish the task has been one of the greatest law enforcement struggles ever. the mission: to wipe out the mafia and all other forms of organized crime.           the new law was aptly named, too, when considering blakey’s favorite childhood movie: the law he wrote was called rico – racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations. (like the good student of mafia culture blakey is, he has consistently kept his silence on how much of a coincidence the acronym rico was in relation to rico, the little caesar lead character. in a 1990 article, blakey said the theory that there is a connection between the two is a “matter of speculation.” he did not elaborate). for all its elliot ness and untouchables-like glory, though, the rico act has not been without its share of trouble. for starters, the act languished for almost a decade unused. law enforcement agencies, from the fbi to local police departments bickered with each other over turf wars, and bickered inside each agency as to how powerful the mafia had become, and if there was even a mafia at all.   even when the value of rico was discovered and it had became the “a-bomb” for police and prosecutors nationwide, it spurred new problems. those included constitutional questions like whether the law opened up defendants to double jeopardy concerns. also, the act, which can carry both criminal and civil penalties, has grown into a treasure chest for lawyers, some looking to right legitimate wrongs, others looking to make a buck off the now widely used law.  some legal experts and defense lawyers have called rico “draconian, as a measure that carries considerable potential for abuse” (calder)2. the rico act, now 32-years-old, has led an interesting life. highlights include coming to an understanding of exactly what the act is and how it is used in court; tracing back the history of the statute, such as the battle within law enforcement circles to even use the act in the first place; and cases that made the law a star of the war against organized crime, because once federal agents got an understanding of the act and began applying it, the floodgates opened.  after several top mafia officials in new york were convicted of various criminal offenses under the rico act in 1985, one fbi agent said the law was “the atomic bomb of organized crime and the darling of the department of justice” (tuohy)3. one of the first indictments obtained under rico was handed down to ‘lefty guns’ ruggiero and his organized crime related crewmembers. ‘lefty’ was the mobster made famous in the mid-1990s when al pacino portrayed him in the movie donnie brasco. other well known mobsters who were taken down by rico, in a host of 1985 indictments include genovese family head anthony salerno, gambino family boss paul castellano, and bonanno family chief phillip rastelli.    what is rico? the rico act is a small piece of title ix in the federal omnibus crime control act, which congress enacted in 1970. the law sailed through both houses of congress, which to many, proved how clear-cut the mission to corral the mafia had become. the senate approved the law by a 73 to 1 margin, while the house overwhelmingly passed an amended bill, too, by a 431 to 26 margin. lawmakers passed the law to “strengthen the legal tools in the evidence-gathering process, to establish new penal prohibitions and to provide enhanced sanctions and new remedies” in the fight against organized crime. congress found that the ‘sanctions or remedies available’ under the current laws in 1970 were “unnecessarily limited in scope and impact” (blakey)4. enter rico. the main theory behind the law was to combat the influence of organized crime in interstate and foreign commerce, and to remove those activities from the legitimate business community. according to blakey, the rico author, the law covers “violence, the provision of illegal goods and services, corruption in labor or management relations, corruption in government and criminal fraud.” and blakey bluntly states that those goals do not begin and end with “those whose names end in vowels,” a reference to the stereotype that italians are the only people participating in illegal organized crime activities.   when handling criminal violations, the law is designed to go after anyone connected with organized crime. it states: “it shall be unlawful for any person employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering.”   by racketeering, the law is covering any act or threat involving serious offenses, such as murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery and bribery. the word ‘pattern’ has become the lynchpin of the law; pattern is loosely defined in the courts, and can mean more than one crime to dozens of criminal activities. the definition of a pattern has been challenged in courts nationwide and debated by legal scholars. another key to the law is that it separates organizations from individuals. before rico, the only way for prosecutors to go after organized crime was to charge the individuals with individual crimes. rico, however, “outlawed enterprises,” gregory j. wallance described those types of enterprises in a 1994 article in the american bar association journal, as “any association of individuals that engaged in racketeering activities.” in other words, if prosecutors prove that an organized crime outfit committed murder and bribery, a person found to be associated or a member of that outfit can be convicted of rico violations, even if he didn’t pull the trigger, even if he had nothing to do with the bribery, and even if he was otherwise obeying the law while the offenses were taking place. the rico violation in that case would stem solely from being a member of the criminal organization. rico convictions carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years (wallance)5. in general, when prosecutors are looking to prove someone committed rico violations, they are looking for a pattern of racketeering activity. that essentially means the defendant has committed two or more crimes from a wide-ranging list of general criminal violations. the fbi lists 16 federal crimes and eight state crimes under the heading “predicate criminal acts which are chargeable under rico.” on the federal side, those laws include embezzlement of union funds, sexual exploitation of children, alien smuggling, prostitution and sports bribery. state laws covered under rico include murder, extortion, gambling, arson and robbery. rico violations, though, do not only arise when a criminal defendant is accused of crimes found on the rico list, and that can be a source for some of the current confusion over the law’s true purpose. jeffrey grell, a nationally known civil and defense attorney specializing in rico cases, said there are four additional ways someone can violate rico: grell spoke about the law in an article by john william tuohy in gambling magazine:   (a)                    you can violate rico by investing the proceeds of racketeering activity in an enterprise. these are usually money-laundering cases. for example a drug ring owns a legitimate car dealership, but in addition to selling cars the drug ring launders its cash through the car dealerships books. (b)                   you can violate rico by obtaining or maintaining control over an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. for example, a small business has borrowed money from a loan shark; the businessman cannot repay the loan, so the loan shark demands that the business be signed over to him or he will kill the businessman. (c)                    you can violate rico by participating in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. a stereotypical example of such a violation occurs when an outsider bribes the employees of a company to get favorable terms under a contract with the company. (d)                   you can also violate rico by conspiring to commit any of the substantive offenses described in [the first three] paragraphs. the examples provided are merely examples. there is an endless variety of conduct that may constitute a violation of rico. the “term” enterprise also does not mean only businesses or corporations. it can mean just about any group of people.   blakey, in speaking about the hassles of getting prosecutors and police to fully utilize the law, said the problem with just ‘going after’ an individual who is part of organized crime is that it starts a merry-go-round, where the person will get arrested, go to jail, and quickly be back on the street committing crimes again. “you’ve got to go after the organization,” blakey said in the 1994 article by wallance about the rise of rico. “individuals commit organized crime, but organizations make it possible. you’re in it to destroy a family.” history of rico  law enforcement has been fighting organized crime in one way or another for more than a hundred years, but the modern effort can be traced back to 1963, when mobster joseph valachi testified before a u.s. senate investigating committee. “valachi confirmed the existence of a secret organization known as la cosa nostra, a conspiratorial group known to, but only unofficially recognized by, the fbi since 1958,” james calder wrote in a 2000 article in criminal justice review. “valachi said that la cosa nostra amounted to a ‘second government,’ a charge that grabbed the spotlight, thus allowing conservatives, liberals, and the general public to express shock and indignation.” even before the groundbreaking valachi testimony, the government had been aware of certain organized crime activities. the department of justice created the organized crime and racketeering section for the criminal division in 1954 and “action picked up,” calder wrote, when robert kennedy was named attorney general in 1961. kennedy openly challenged some of the people known to be leaders in organized crime activities, and along with his brother, president. john f. kennedy, he helped several anti-gambling pieces of legislation pass through congress. but, the work robert kennedy had begun was curtailed during lyndon b. johnson’s presidency because in 1965, johnson signed an order canceling the use of all electronic surveillance equipment, except for instances when national security was at stake (calder)6. several other factors brought organized crime, and specifically the mafia, to the public’s attention by the end of the 1960s. the novel “the godfather” was published in 1969, boosting the mythology and public lore about the mafia. assassinations were attempted on high-ranking mobsters joe columbo sr. and joey gallo. another high-level mobster, carlo gambino, was arrested for mob-related crimes. “by 1969, organized crime ranked as an important political and social issue warranting policy action by the congress and the executive branch. generalized concern took root in sustained congressional and executive interest in comprehensive legislation” (calder)7. still, despite a growing awareness of organized crime, not much was being done in the way of proactive law enforcement to do anything about it. the general accounting office, in a report on the success of rico, mentioned the pre-rico years as an “awkward affair,” blakey wrote in an article about the myths of rico, published in 1990 in the st. johns law review. “before the act, the government’s efforts were necessarily piecemeal, attacking isolated segments of the organization as they engaged in single criminal acts. the leaders, when caught, were only penalized for what seemed to be unimportant crimes. the larger meaning of these crimes was lost because the big picture could not be presented in a single criminal prosecution.” the problem of figuring out how to take action against organized crime was so widespread, that one legal analyst compared the situation to putting out a forest fire with a garden hose (calder)8. a small, yet powerful, group of congressman should be credited with planting the first rico seeds, calder wrote. one in particular, senator john mcclellan, (d-alabama) was determined to target la cosa nostra with the act, known in 1970 as the omnibus criminal control act (occa). “mcclellan captured the essence of the problem when he wrote occa’s legislative history. statistics reported to his committee on the low frequency of federal indictments against la cosa nostra members from 1960 to 1969 demonstrated an ‘intolerable level of immunity’ from prosecution, a situation that he wished to change” (calder)9.            so in 1970, with the backing of lawmakers and president nixon, many thought rico would jump out of the gate and attack organized crime head on. still, “for all the exuberance tied to the new occa, full and confident implementation was delayed by nearly ten years,” calder reported. one reason for the delay, calder wrote, was a “lack of comfort and skill in organizing and directing new types of investigative strategies and in mastering prosecutorial expertise.” that is somewhat typical in new policy experiments (calder)10. specifically in regard to delays in implementing rico, calder offers two reasons: “first, former fbi investigators and u.s. attorneys have claimed that they were unprepared because they remained too comfortable with familiar approaches. they failed, according to this view, to take advantage of key provisions of the law, especially new discovery techniques that allowed them to reach conspiratorial enterprises more efficiently.” calder cites several fbi initiated organized crime investigations that stalled in the early 1970s. one case, known as “gold bug,” involved alleged brooklyn mobsters, but the fbi’s efforts failed there in part because of “a continued distrust of local police,” calder wrote. another case, an investigation into tony spilotro’s criminal operations in las vegas in 1972 and 1973 was put on hold because state prosecutors in illinois opened a separate investigation into spilotro’s alleged criminal activities. and the case against anthony accardo, who became the chicago mob boss in 1975 after sam giancana was killed, could have been aided by using rico, fbi agents would later say, but nothing was ever put together. accardo was never charged under the rico statute, despite numerous organized crime-related arrests from 1975 until he died in 1992 (calder)11. and even when cases were brought from fbi field agents to the department of justice prosecutors for trial, there was another problem, calder contended: “because each agency operated under significant pressure to win every case pursued to a jury trial, it was necessary to pursue only cases that could survive legal challenges by prepared defense counsel.” a second reason for the delay in a boom in rico arrests stems from fbi investigative methods. the fbi under j. edgar hoover had remained distant from mob contacts and that strategy made sure many agents were out of touch with sophisticated mobsters and organized crime groups. outdated investigative methods were being used to try to infiltrate simple gambling and low-level racketeering operation and the results were minor arrests, mostly of people with little connection to mainstream mob power. still, there was more to blame than a slow-moving fbi behind the molasses like pace of the first decade of rico. american presidents and other top-ranking officials in the executive branch also played a role, some unwittingly, in thwarting rico and another organized crime fighting efforts in the 1970s. in a 1994 book by law professor james jacobs, which calder quotes, the law professor said “the attitude, politics, priorities and polices of presidents and the attorneys general have surely had an impact on federal organized crime control initiatives.” he added that the three presidents in office during the first decade of rico – richard nixon, gerald ford and jimmy carter – had eight attorneys generals and that caused some disarray in the entire justice department. the rico statute, blakey hoped, would counter the confusion. but in 1979, almost a decade after the act was passed, blakey’s goal of wiping out organized crime was languishing, despite writing what he thought was the preeminent law on tackling the problem. in writing the law, blakey thought he was giving law enforcement a gift – “previously unimagined possibilities for organized crime prosecution,” wrote wallance. instead, the law became a stack of paper gathering dust. while the rico act lingered on the sidelines of the fight against organized crime, blakey looked for a way to show-off the virtues of the law to an unimpressed law enforcement community. in the late 1970s, blakey, a law professor, traveled the law enforcement training circuit, going from courses at the fbi academy in quantico, va., to the u.s. attorney’s offices in new york city, according to wallance, who is a private lawyer today. wallance served as an assistant u.s. attorney from 1979 to 1985 in new york city, assigned to an organized crime strike force for two of those years. wallance said at blakey’s stops, the rico author was greeted with bored politeness or just simply ignored. “in one appearance at the u.s. attorney’s office for the southern district of new york, blakey, a man of modest height, angelic countenance and receding hairline, launched into his standard lecture on [rico,]” wallance wrote. “blakey had been invited to the office by the head of the southern district’s organized crime task force to talk with senior staff about rico. after 15 minutes, one of the ranking lawyers, a man of probity, conventional legal talent and wall street respectability, stood up, told blakey that ‘you don’t know what you’re talking about…you’re wasting my time,’ and ended the meeting. these self-confident prosecutors dismissed blakey as a crazy academic” (wallance)12. in 1979, blakey changed his game plan. instead of taking his traveling rico show from office to office, he would have the agents and the prosecutors come to him. he opened a summer law enforcement-training seminar at cornell law school, with weekly seminars for fbi agents, assistant u.s. attorneys and state prosecutors. the idea was to isolate the troops in the war against organized crime, and make sure they understood how to use their greatest weapon. “to blakey, the fbi agents and assistant u.s. attorneys were like oil and water, a form of natural enemy that had yet to realize they could not operate independently,” wallance wrote. “as he later put it, he needed to find a way to make ‘salad dressing,’ and the cornell institute on organized crime was, among other things, designed to do that.” the seminars were crash courses in organized crime fighting techniques, with rico leading the way. according to wallance, blakey captured the imaginations of the attendees, when the rico author spoke about his ultimate dream prosecution, one in which “the entire mafia would be indicted as a racketeering enterprise on the theory that it was an association for the purpose of committing murder. every member would be a defendant, since taking the oath was a vow to commit murder in furtherance of the enterprise’s activities.” at the seminars, blakey went over the basics of what constitutes a pattern on racketeering behavior. he also taught the classes about how to get wiretap warrants, and how to use information once a house, bar or organized crime hangout was targeted for the wiretaps. (in addition to writing the rico act, blakey also wrote title iii of the 1968 omnibus crime control and safe streets act, which authorized court-ordered electronic surveillance at the federal and sate levels).  blakey even had the classes watch little caesar, the movie that motivated a young blakey to devote his working life to fighting organized crime. at the end of each class, blakey usually wrapped up by saying “i dream of an indictment of every boss” (wallance)13.  the seminars worked. fbi agents began to understand the powerful tool in front of them, and prosecutors began to see the path blakey had constructed. the challenge now was to go use the rico act on the streets, and go after blakey’s original goal, bringing down organized crime.    rico cases           there have been hundreds of rico arrests and convictions since blakey completed his training seminar. the defendants range from small time, bit players in organized crime to the top levels of the mafia. russian mobsters, too, have been arrested and convicted under rico, as well as gangsters from just about every other demographic category.           one of the most well-known cases involving russian mobsters was that of an organization run by boris goldberg, who was indicted under rico in 1989 in federal court in new york city for heading a criminal enterprise, according to the book “russian mafia in america: immigration, culture and crime,” by james o. finckenauer and elin j. waring. the general charges against goldberg included cocaine trafficking, attempting to commit murder, armed robbery, extortion, fraud and using weapons and explosives in the commission of unlawful activities. specifically, according finckenauer and waring, the case against goldberg included accusations that: ·       as a result of meetings in april 1982, goldberg and others conspired to murder a rival gangster. ·       goldberg crime group associates traveled across state lines to carry out an extortion of the owners of a seafood company.  ·       the organization sold drugs, particularly cocaine, between 1982 and 1984. ·       in 1983, the organization planned an assassination attempt on evsei agron, at the time a soviet crime kingpin. ·       goldberg and other associates with the organization conspired to take property by force from ira hershey, an employee of the zale corp. the property was jewels and precious metals, and the force used was violence and fear of physical injury. another well-known rico case involved the arrests and convictions of some of the most notorious and high-ranking members of the mafia. the charges alleged that the new york mafia commission directed the relationship among the mafia families that were active in new york, and they also authorized the 1979 murder of carmine galante, head of the bonanno crime family. according to tuohy, in the article in gambling magazine about rico, the indictments, which were handed down in 1985, also alleged the commission was running a multi-million dollar extortion scheme later known as the ‘concrete club’ (tuohy)14.  the list of the defendants, all of whom were alleged to be high-ranking members of the commission, made up a who’s’ who for the mafia. the defendants included genovese family head anthony salerno; gambino family boss paul castellano; bonanno family boss phillp rastelli; lucchese family boss anthony corallo; gambino underboss aniello dellacroce; lucchese underboss salvotore santoro; and ralph scopo, a member of the colombo family and the president of the concrete workers district council.           the case, which operated under the code name genus, was designed to build a case against the five new york families, using rico as the main weapon. the case took about five years to come to fruition, and according to tuohy, about 200 hundred federal agents were assigned to it. “its big break came after a microphone placed inside the dashboard of anthony “tony ducks” corallo…picked [him] explaining a series of schemes run by new york’s five ruling mafia families. in november 1986, the defendants were convicted of 17 racketeering acts and 20 related charges of extortion, labor payoffs and loan sharking. all of the defendants were sentenced to serve 100 years in prison with no possibility of parole (tuohy)15.           another famous rico arrest and conviction was also one of the first cases to be brought after blakey’s 1979 rico seminar at cornell. the case was made over six years, off of the legwork of joseph pistone, an undercover fbi agent who would ultimately penetrate deeper into the mafia then any agent has ever gone. pistone, using the street name donnie brasco, had become an associate member of a bonanno family crew. in 1981, the captain of that crew was ready to propose him to be a ‘made guy,’ which in mafia lingo means informally being inducted into the organization. being a ‘made guy’ comes with a heavy responsibility of having to earn money for the superiors in the family, but being a ‘made guy’ also carries a lot of weight in the world of the mob – he cannot be killed unless captains and other top officials agree in advance to kill the person. having an fbi agent go undercover so successfully that he got close to being ‘made’ was unprecedented in the fbi, and most law enforcement experts agree it will likely never happen again. wallance, the former u.s. prosecutor who worked on an organized crime task force, set up the drama of how federal prosecutors were brought into the donnie brasco loop in 1981: richard guay, a young prosecutor in the u.s. attorney’s office for the eastern district of new york, had been working on small pieces of several mob investigations, but feeling like he was getting nowhere. guay was surprised when fbi agent jerry loar came to him one day in 1981 and asked for wiretap warrants – guay had never worked on a wiretap warrant application, as had few other prosecutors, since the practice was not widely thought of has productive. in his article, wallance recounted the conversation between fbi agent and prosecutor.            better tell me what’s going on,” said guay. loar was plainly uncomfortable. reflexively, he glanced around. “i got a guy. he’s in. i’m not going to tell you his name.”           guay had no idea what loar was talking about. “what do you mean in?” there was more glancing around by loar, who looked impatient. he lowered his voice even more. “he’s part of the mob.”             pistone had been putting pieces together for loar since 1976. posing originally as a small time jewel thief, he had grown close to several mobsters, such as sonny black and ‘lefty guns’ ruggiero.  the information pistone supplied to loar was used to get wiretaps, and recorded information from those devices was used to gather more incriminating evidence. the culmination was a rico charge against black and ruggiero and several other bonnano crewmembers. all the defendants were convicted and ruggiero was sentenced to 20 years in prison. black was never tried. he disappeared before the trial. a year-and-a-half later his decomposed body was found near staten island; authorities believe he was killed for retribution for letting pistone into the crew (wallance)16.           after the ruggiero trial, dozens of agents and prosecutors began utilizing the rico act, which was exactly what blakey had hoped for when he taught his rico classes. “all of the famous mob prosecutions…[including] the case against matthew ‘matty the horse’ ianniello, united states v. salerno, and the multiple prosecutions of john gotti all can be traced to blakey’s lectures in the summer of 1979,” wallance wrote. “it was truly the beginning of the demise of the mafia, which discovered that ideas shoot bullets.”   conclusion           the rico act is not just a criminal statute. it also covers civil law, and violators can be subject to having their assets taken away by the federal government. while on a criminal basis, the majority of rico violators are connected to organized crime, on the civil side that is not always the case.  the act has been used to wage battles against the catholic church; to sue companies accused of running false advertisements; and spouses have been sued under the rico act for allegedly concealing the value of marital assets in divorce proceedings.  to some scholars and legal experts, the wide range of rico is justified by its original intent; when congress passed the law, it mandated that the law “be liberally constructed to effectuate its remedial purposes (barry)17. to others, however, the extension of rico has brought questions about the government becoming overzealous, and possibly abusing some defendant’s constitutional rights.           other constitutional questions have been raised by rico. the ‘pattern requirement’ has been challenged for vagueness, and it is possible the definition can become more narrowly defined in the future. in a 1988 opinion in a non-rico case, four supreme court justices – scalia, kennedy, o’connor and chief justice rehnquist – hinted “that the pattern requirement…was unconstitutionally vague and would likely not survive a further vagueness challenge” (van houten, et. al)18. another legal challenge raised by defendants convicted of rico violations is double jeopardy, or being tried for the same crime twice. that problem can arise when a defendant faces rico charges after he is already convicted of pattern type activities, such as extortion and murder. up until 1990, the consistent view of the courts had been that double jeopardy did not preclude a rico prosecution. a non-related organized crime case in 1990 brought the case to the attention of the supreme court, which ruled that there could be some double jeopardy situations when using rico, but the narrowness of the ruling has meant that it has had little effect on past or current cases (van houten, et. al)19.           the rico act has survived those constitutional challenges, as well as questions about its widespread use. while infamous mobster john gotti was sometimes affectionately referred to as “the teflon don” because of his ability to escape several government attempts to lock him up, i believe the real teflon in the world of organized crime should be the rcio act. the anti-organized crime statute sat dormant for ten years, rarely being used for anything related to mob prosecutions. then investigators and prosecutors fought over how to use it, and who gets to use it where. and finally, the rico act has survived several legal and constitutional challenges.                 endnotes   1.     wallance, gregory j. “outgunning the mob.” american bar association journal, 1986, 80; p.63.                                                 2.     calder, james d. “rico’s troubled transition: organized crime, strategic institutional factors and implementation delay, 1971-1981.” criminal justice review, 2000, 25; p. 31. 3.     tuohy, john w. “a rico interview.” gambling magazine, may 2002, p. 3. 4.   blakey, robert. “debunking rico’s myriad myths.” st. john’s law review, 1991, 64; p. 703 5.   wallance, gregory j. “outgunning the mob.” american bar association journal, 1986, 80; p. 62.       6.   calder, james d. “rico’s troubled transition: organized crime, strategic institutional factors and implementation delay, 1971-1981.” criminal justice review, 2000, 25; p. 36. 7.   calder, james d. “rico’s troubled transition: organized crime, strategic institutional factors and implementation delay, 1971-1981.” criminal justice review, 2000, 25; p. 32. 8.    ibid, p. 38-39. 9.    ibid, p. 40. 10.  ibid, p.66-68. 11.  ibid, p.69-70. 12.  wallance, gregory j. “outgunning the mob.” american bar association journal, 1986, 80; p. 63.                                                   13.  wallance, gregory j. “outgunning the mob.” american bar association journal, 1986, 80; p 64-65.                                                 14.  tuohy, john w. “a rico interview.” gambling magazine, may 2002, p. 9. 15.  tuohy, john w. “a rico interview.” gambling magazine, may 2002, p. 9. 16.  wallance, gregory j. “outgunning the mob.” american bar association journal, 1986, 80; p. 65.                                                  17.  barry, j. p. “when protestors become ‘racketeers.” st. john’s law review, 1991, 64; p. 904. 18.  van houten p., murphy, r. t., and johnson, r. “rico.” american criminal law review, 1993, 28; p. 670. 19.  van houten p., murphy, r. t., and johnson, r. “rico.” american criminal law review, 1993, 28; p. 671-673.                 sources   barry, j. p. “when protestors become ‘racketeers.” st. john’s law review 64; 899 to 916. blakey, robert. “debunking rico’s myriad myths.” st. john’s law review 64; 701 to 724. calder, james d. “rico’s troubled transition: organized crime, strategic institutional factors and implementation delay, 1971-1981.” criminal justice review 25; 31 to 76. finckenauer, james o. and waring, elin j. russian mafia in america. immigration, culture and crime. (1998) northeastern university press, boston, mass. jones, artie, satory, john and mace, tyler. “racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations.” american criminal law review 39; 613 to 631. karwath, b. a. “has the constituency of continuity plus relationship put an end to rico’s pattern of confusion?” american journal of criminal law 18; 201 to 249. tuohy, john william. “a rico interview.” gambling magazine, may 2002. van houten, p., murphy, r. t., and johnson, r. “rico.” american criminal law review 28; 637 to 677. wallance, gregory j. “outgunning the mob.” american bar association journal 80; 60 to 65.                                                 microsoft word dolan.doc 1 in the shadow of frankenstein’s creature: harriet jacobs’ gothic garret noël falco dolan department of english villanova university for mary shelley and harriet jacobs, the paradigm of male authority and its connection with authorship as a primarily masculine act alters their identity as writers, as both hide their real names when publishing, either through anonymity or pseudonym. this was a common anxiety for a female author in a publishing world dominated by men, with similar choices being made by female authors to remain “unnamed” (smith 214). both shelley and jacobs, however, also embed a coded female authoring within their works, as in frankenstein and incidents in the life of a slave girl central characters (the word is awkward in application to brent/jacobs) discover/recover their sense of self through the acts of being a third party listener and later writing their own story, with the first act being necessary in the development of the second. in the silence and physically restricted space of their hiding (the blank page), the creature and brent/jacobs come to redefine themselves and gain both an authority of voice and of self. further, frankenstein as a model of gothic literature demonstrates an influence on specific aspects of jacobs’ writing. for shelley, the decision to publish anonymously was necessitated by the literary shadow in which she wrote, that of her father, her husband, and good friend byron (although the novel was dedicated to her father and later published under her own name with a preface by her husband), but also because of the content of her novel. shelley distinguishes between her privacy as an individual and her work in fiction when she writes in the introduction to the 1831 text, “it is true that i am very averse to bringing myself forward in print” (“introduction” 259). on a more pressing level, editor lydia maria child gives jacobs, an escaped slave, the name “linda brent” in her work out of concern for the safety of those who protected her in the south and for her family who remained there—and out of concern for the interests and feelings of mr. willis, jacobs’s employer (child 163). on jacobs’s own part, there may have been a wish for privacy concerning the 2 events of her past, particularly about the sexual aggression of her master and her resulting choice to have children out of wedlock with another white man. her preface comments on her desire to remain silent: “i have not written my experiences in order to attract attention to myself; on the contrary, it would have been more pleasant to me to have been silent about my own history” (jacobs, “preface” 5). here the desire she has for privacy regarding the events of her life is perhaps magnified by the sensitivities of her white female audience. child recognizes the shock about to befall this audience when she introduces the work, indicating that “many will accuse [her] of indecorum” (“introduction” 6). the earlier of the two works, frankenstein (1818) was received critically as being impious and “possibly absurd and atheistic” (baldick 56). part of this reaction may have been in response to the known advocacies of shelley’s father, william godwin, to whom the work, though published anonymously, was dedicated. an 1818 review by john wilson croker did not mince words: “our readers will guess from this summary, what a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity this work presents…the dreams of insanity are embodied in the strong and striking language of the insane, and the author, notwithstanding the rationality of his preface, often leaves us in doubt whether he is not as mad as his hero” (381). readers perhaps were shocked by a work in which a man could create new life, although percy shelley found in the work a simple moral that seems beyond the grasp of slave owners: “treat a person ill, and he will become wicked” (baldick 57—citing the prose works of percy bysshe shelley, ed. r.h. shepherd, 2 vols. london 1888). this, of course, says nothing of the effect of such ill treatment on the soul of the one perpetuating it. indeed, one wonders how apparent this moral was to readers of the time. croker demonstrates this lack of sensitivity in his assertion that the novel “inculcates no lesson of conduct, manners, or morality; it cannot mend, and will not even amuse its readers, unless their taste have been deplorably vitiated -it fatigues the feelings without interesting the understanding; it gratuitously harasses the heart, and wantonly adds to the store, already too great, of painful sensations” (385). instead, the attention of the readers of the time was on the creature as monster, not on his creator. the first stage adaptation of the book in 1823 silences the creature and encodes him, in an attempt to moralize the tale, as a monster raised with the help of the devil, a characterization that develops from stage to screen (baldick 59-60). this attention on the creature as an infantile and incommunicative monster misses the mark of percy shelley’s interpretation and does nothing to further the case of his humanity and need for social interdependence. continuing the misinterpretation of the original, in 1824 the foreign secretary of the house of commons introduced the novel into the debate on emancipation in the west indies, linking the slave with the creature as mentally inferior: “to turn [the slave] loose 3 in the manhood of his physical strength, in the maturity of his physical passion, but in the infancy of his uninstructed reason, would be to raise up a creature resembling the splendid fiction of a recent romance” (baldick 60, citing hansard’s parliamentary debates, 2nd ser., x [london, 1824], col. 1103). in its third edition by 1861, the novel, which now included a more conservative and reinforced moral (baldick 61) would have been familiar to the audiences that read jacobs’ work. the novel entered its first american edition in 1833, published by carey, lea & blanchard of philadelphia. an american overview of general literature published a few years after jacobs’ work summarizes frankenstein as follows: [a] young student of physiology succeeds in constructing, out of the horrid remnants of the church-yard and dissecting room, a kind of monster, to which he afterwards gives, apparently by the agency of galvanism, a kind of spectral and convulsive life. this existence, rendered insupportable to the monster by his vain cravings after human sympathy, and by his consciousness of his own deformity, is employed in inflicting (in some cases involuntarily) the most dreadful retribution on the guilty philosopher; and some of the chief appearances of the monster, particularly the moment when he begins to move for the first time, and towards the end of the book, among the eternal snows of the artic circle, are managed with striking and breathless effect, that makes us for a moment forget the childish improbability and melodramatic extravagance of the tale. (shaw 371-372 chap. xix) given the excitement the novel caused, one might speculate on the awareness of jacobs’ american readers and of lydia maria child, editor of jacobs’ work, regarding the gothic elements of frankenstein that parallel jacobs’s writing. connections between early slave narratives and elements of romantic literature suggest an awareness of the tastes of an upper middleclass white audience and reveal the guiding hand of white editors. however, there is also an appeal in the gothic to the needs and experiences of the black author. as james smethurst reflects on the ideas of teresa goddu in gothic america: narrative, history, and nation, the fabric of the gothic includes “a past event involving an unrightful and violent usurpation which constrains the actions of succeeding generations,” “patriarchal tyranny, transgressive sexuality which generally accompanies relations of power, and an instability of markers of social identity, such as family, class, race, gender, and nationality” (29-30). these power shifts and imbalances parallel those found within the american master-slave structure. the patriarchal tyranny of the gothic mirrors the warped world of slavery in which master and father are often one and the same and in which, in any case, master posits himself in the role of father (disciplinarian, 4 provider, decision maker) and the slave as child (powerless, dependent, without thought). smethurst indicates that this gothic connection can be found in the work of jacobs, as well as that of frederick douglass and francis harper, in their recording a patriarchal tyranny as well as “a concomitant transgressive sexuality in which the slave master coerces or attempts to coerce female slaves into unwanted sexual relations” (30). we see the first of this within the second chapter of jacobs’s work, when dr. flint in one paragraph, after disliking a meal, orders the cook “to be whipped, or compel[led] to eat every mouthful of it in his presence” and in the next orders a male slave whipped for accusing him of being the father of his wife’s fair-skinned child (jacobs, incidents15). recognizing the link between slaveowner and victor frankenstein within this role, h.l. malchow discusses this shirked responsibility of parent to child, asking, “can any parent, slave-master, patron or employer escape, without retribution, the moral obligation of providing for the welfare and education of those who are dependent upon him and who have, in some sense at least, been called into being, shaped and perhaps deformed to serve his needs?” (114). if the relationship between the creature and frankenstein is also one of parent-child, one might wonder if frankenstein is a perversion of a mother-figure in his unnatural birthing of a creature he deems a monster, or a father-figure who cannot see himself in his son. much can be made of frankenstein’s “unnatural” creation of another human being; some see shelley offering proto-feminist commentary on the scientific world’s appropriation of the natural world as condemnation of masculine denigration of feminine power and ways of knowing (think medical doctors supplanting midwives). gilbert and gubar claim that victor frankenstein’s “single most self-defining act transforms him definitively into eve” (232). thus, frankenstein is more than mother; he is first mother and first fallen, tempted by a knowledge outside human bounds. in reflection, frankenstein begs the reader, “learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (shelley 313). unlike most mothers who revel in the birth of their long-awaited child after arduous labor, frankenstein is repulsed by his efforts and runs from the room. the dreams that follow during the course of the night conflate feminine beauty and health with death: he kisses his fiancée, and she dies; her body then turns into that of his dead mother: “i thought that i held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and i saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel” (shelley 319). it is from this dream of a dead maternal figure that he wakens to meet the eye of his creation: “i beheld the 5 wretch—the miserable monster whom i had created” (shelley 319). his creation certainly feels the loss of a familial bond, as he laments, i had heard of…the birth and growth of children; how the father doated [sic] on the smiles of the infant, and the lively sallies of the older child; how all the life and cares of the mother were wrapped up in the precious charge…but where were my friends and relations? no father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses. (shelley 387) there are no happy memories of “infancy” for either party. if the setting of the “birthing” scene and the attitude of the creator do not match our views of maternity, we could see frankenstein instead as a father-figure who struggles in his role. terry w. thompson sees the creature as the prodigal son who seeks to return to his father, blaming the father in the biblical account for the monster he has created. thompson looks at the isolation in the hovel as part of the debased suffering the prodigal son must experience before the return, calling it not only a hovel, but “humble refuge” and “cramped shelter,” and pointing out that the creature is “an outcast, dirty, unloved, unwelcome, and penniless. he is far removed from his father, victor” (191-192). the comparison here links the hovel with the pigsty of the biblical story and opens up the possibility of a nadir being a moment of epiphany. however, thompson’s comparison does not work when it comes to the reunion of the two, which for frankenstein and his creature certainly is not joyous nor is it spurred by fond memories of an earlier life together. even if not of quite the same character as the biblical tale, the low point of the hovel offers a turning point towards rebirth. the creature, in this passage, is given the opportunity to form the familial bonds denied to him by his maker/master. in watching mr. delacey smile upon agatha, the creature recalls, “i felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature; they were a mixture of pain and pleasure, such as i had never before experienced” (shelley 373). the creature learns to identify emotions from watching the family interact, and even comes to put his own feelings in perspective (although that perspective involves denigrating himself in relation to others): “if such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that i, an imperfect and solitary being, should be wretched” (shelley 375). moreover, the creature begins to move beyond a concern for his own needs and to demonstrate his care for the family by not stealing food from them and by assisting them in collecting wood. he comes to refer to them as “my friends.” as a step toward expressing these newly identified feelings and this desire to interact with others, the creature becomes aware of language. in listening to the family through the cracks in the walls, he discerns speech: “i found that these 6 people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by articulate sounds…this was indeed a godlike science, and i ardently desired to become acquainted with it” (shelley 377). listening becomes a form of learning, as the creature practices using his voice in solitude. his desire to communicate and become part of the social fabric is what compels him to continue: “these thoughts exhilarated me and led me to apply with fresh ardour to the acquiring the art of language. my organs were indeed harsh, but supple; and although my voice was very unlike the soft music of their tones, yet i pronounced such words as i understood with tolerable ease” (shelley 380). it is the delacey family that teaches him language and a love of literature, a skill neatly demonstrated in the very recollection of the scene by the creature himself. the creature narrates chapters 11 through 16 directly, and his manner of speech is as educated and genteel as that of his creator. baldick argues that the monster’s finding his voice is what makes him most sympathetic to readers: “the decision to give the monster an articulate voice is mary shelley’s most important subversion of the category of monstrosity” (45). a creature who was heretofore voiceless from the moment of his birth finds his voice through the quiet months of his isolation, who was earlier wandering in solitude and despair, rests now and finds himself a part of a family, even if they are unaware of his presence on the other side of the wall. if it seems odd to compare the reality of the hidden life of brent/jacobs with that of a fictional monster, it is not unfathomable that shelley allegorically intended a condemnation of slavery. h.l. malchow notes the connection between the creature and the slave, asserting that “shelley’s portrayal of her monster drew upon contemporary attitudes towards non-whites, in particular on fears and hopes of the abolition of slavery in the west indies” (90). malchow spends time examining the physical description of the creature, but points out that there is no explicit proof that shelley intended to pose this connection. however, he argues, what is of interest here is how closely shelley’s fictional creation parallels in many respects the racial stereotypes of the age, and how her exploration of the limits of rousseau and william godwin on man and education…mirrors contemporary difficulties in maintaining universal humanistic ideals in the context of the slave economy of the west indies and an expanding empire over non-white populations in asia and africa. (malchow 92-93) if frankenstein has applications to the larger world of the slave trade, so it does to the specific world of slavery that jacobs knows. consider the alienation and inhumanity that was part of jacobs’s life. child consolidates in chapter 9 the diverse accounts of the abuse of slaves jacobs recalls precisely because of her 7 concern for the reaction of her audience to the horrors wrought on the bodies of slaves: being whipped, clubbed to death, tied half-naked to a tree in the winter, screwed into the cotton gin, shot through the head. jacobs draws the chapter to a close in reflecting, “and as for the colored race, it needs an abler pen than mine to describe the extremity of their sufferings, the depth of their degradation” (incidents 45). jacobs has just spent several chapters recounting her master’s lusting after her own body and her escape plan of yielding herself to another man. her personal hell involves sexual aggression and fear of rape. whites’ ill treatment of the bodies of slaves through beatings and rapes denotes white thought about identity as indicated through the flesh. while the white master class based its separation and elevation on conditions of the body, falsely ascribing an inferior state of mind to a body different from the european model, the identity of slaves as individuals is not predicated on the world of the flesh. for jacobs identity arises from an interior life: “jacobs’ deepest argument is precisely the separation of personhood from the condition of the body rather than its dependence upon that condition. in fact, the arguments of proslavery forces work to demonstrate that the enslaved in body and name is subhuman in ‘nature’” (perrault 104). thus, whites forced blacks into a position of other/alien/monster in the same manner that victor rejects his progeny: the body that seems less than beautiful to the accustomed standards of a limited mindset (that of the master) must, according to that thinking, house a soul that is equally substandard. pearrault points out that for harriet jacobs, as for mary shelley’s mother, mary wollstonecraft, “the condition of the body is not the determining factor in selfhood—yet, the body as self’s own property informs their argument” (108). even if identity cannot and should not be determined by one’s body, particularly in opposition to that of another, one should have the right to own one’s body. the creature and jacobs do not, as the one is crafted piecemeal from the dead and thrust into a world in which he cannot belong, and the other is born into slavery. for the creature, wholeness will come only in owning his body and its actions and informing them with a rising intelligence and self-expression. jacobs, too, seeks wholeness, in her case, legal ownership of self, beyond the freedom of mind, extending to the right to control her body. owning one’s body is one type of self-possession; another is knowing one’s identity. perrault thus stresses “the significance of possession on a sense of self” that repeats in the works of wollstonecraft and jacobs (101). i would argue that possession is important to shelley as well, as the creature, nameless and alone and with a mind foreign to the body he is given, seeks an identity and a sense of belonging that will give him self-possession. the delacey hovel is the first place in which he feels this sense of belonging, and even here, he is a cipher to the 8 family. they do not know that he lives with them and hears their every word, or that he studies their faces and feelings. they know only his actions: that there is extra help in the garden or with the haying. thus, there is still no sense of identity for the creature here, only the stirrings of his humanity. just as the creature, in his rejection, bides his time in the shelter of the hovel longing for a family and a future in which he can participate fully, so does jacobs, forced by her white master into retreat, abide and wait. consider the description of the hovel itself, a place to which frankenstein’s creature escapes after being attacked by villagers: “my place of refuge was constructed of wood, but so low that i could with difficulty sit upright in it. no wood, however, was placed on the earth which formed the floor, but it was dry; and although the wind entered it by innumerable chinks, i found it an agreeable asylum from the snow and rain” (shelley 371). the hovel first serves the same purpose as the garret as a means of escape. it is also similar in its confinement and lack of refinement to jacobs’s grandmother’s garret: “the garret was only nine feet long and seven wide. the highest part was three feet high, and sloped down abruptly to the loose board floor. there was no admission for either light or air” (incidents 92). for both, the compact space offers little comfort beyond refuge from those who deny them full human rights. the space provides respite, retreat, a chance to reflect and reformulate plans. in light of the opening discussion of the phallic imagery of masculine authority, these small spaces serve as metaphoric wombs that allow their occupants the time to birth themselves as new beings. when jacobs conceals herself in the garret for seven years, she begins her journey to freedom. valerie smith’s analysis of the three enclosed spaces in which jacobs hides, which culminate in the garret, argues that “each moment of apparent enclosure actually empowers jacobs to redirect her own and her children’s destiny” (213). however, the freedom that she has from flint’s advances and his wrath is hindered by the fact that she is physically trapped. she has found a form of release, but it is not complete: it is only a beginning to establish her self. even after she escapes to the north, physically removed from flint, the south, and the constricting space of the garret, jacobs will not be fully free until she legally is so: “feeling one’s self ‘free,’ naming one’s self so, and owning one’s self are set in a strange triangularity here” (perrault 107). thus, jacobs’s appropriation of her own body through hiding is a strange sort of freedom, a half-humanity, just as frankenstein’s creature finds himself alive but nameless and family-less, of human form but an outsider due to lack of language and social skill. the protective quality of the garret is its first and foremost importance: “this home shields linda brent for the seven years that she hides in its garret to escape her master’s sexual abuse, and it provides a daily refuge from the many forms of oppression and harassment which plague other blacks, free and slave” 9 (kaplan 48). if for the creature, the hovel allows him to hide his body from the eyes of those who will not or cannot understand him, the garret keeps jacobs’s body safe from the eyes of a master who would ravish her if he had the chance. yet this safety is modified from the earlier safety jacobs felt within her grandmother’s home. kaplan points out that during the muster call, jacobs feels confident enough within her grandmother’s home to “taunt the country bullies” (48), but we must note that this confidence is affiliated with the voice she is allowed as a member of the public and familial portion of the building. it is not affiliated with the garret, in which she must remain mute and motionless. in this sense, jacobs reverses the process of the creature, who finds his voice through listening through the cracks of the hovel, the extreme of which is seen in the winter cold when jacobs writes, “even my face and tongue stiffened, and i lost the power of speech” (incidents 97). ultimately jacobs will find her voice once her journey to freedom is complete. writing of her experiences, however reluctantly at first, becomes the truest demonstration of ownership of self. for carla kaplan, “the celebration of jacobs’s agency has often rested on valorizing the act of writing itself as a signal achievement of personal power” (52). before such agency of voice can be achieved, there must be silence; before there can be ownership of one’s own body, there must be restriction and discomfort. protection, then, has a price—a price jacobs is willing to pay. valerie smith notes that as jacobs’s garret “renders the narrator spiritually independent of her master, and makes possible her ultimate escape to freedom [it] is thus hardly surprising that jacobs finds her imprisonment, however uncomfortable, an improvement” (212). like frankenstein’s creature, jacobs takes comfort in the presence of family; like him, she becomes a voyeur on domesticity. despite the physical discomfort, jacobs reflects, “but i was not comfortless. i heard the voices of my children” (incidents 92). longing more than anything to see their faces, she patiently bores a row of holes to form an aperture one inch by one inch through which fresh air and sunlight can enter. through this aperture, she can at last see her children. she suffers from insect bites, intense heat and cold, rain, and atrophying muscles, yet “i had my consolations. through my peepinghole i could watch the children, and when they were near enough, i could hear their talk” (incidents 93). as the creature had, jacobs takes comfort in what she sees and overhears, though she is denied the opportunity to interact. this vicarious socialization is sustenance. for both, there is risk involved in revealing oneself to those one loves from a distance. after realizing his hideousness, the creature despairs of forming a friendship with his cottagers, but on reflecting on their benevolence, “i resolved, at least, not to despair, but in every way to fit myself for an interview with them which would decide my fate. i postponed this attempt for some months longer, for 10 the importance attached to its success inspired me with a dread lest i should fail” (shelley 397). he craves the benefits of human interaction, but fears he will be rejected and cast out yet again. for jacobs, to reveal herself to anyone besides her grandmother, brother or uncle would mean risking putting herself back into the hands of a further outraged and aroused flint. she recalls being “warned to keep extremely quiet” when the town constable and a free “colored man [who] had spent many nights hunting” for her were invited to christmas dinner (jacobs, incidents 95-96). when, out of desperation, she drags her weakened body to a rear window in order to beg mr. sands to emancipate her children, she is taking a great risk that someone else would see or overhear. even he, while not knowing her place of concealment, questions the risk she takes in coming to her grandmother’s house. her grandmother scolds her, “you’ve done wrong; but i can’t blame you, poor thing!” (jacobs, incidents 100). if the garret requires restriction and silence, a self-effacement, then the act of narrating these events gives jacobs back her voice. the placement of her recollection of the time spent in the garret recalls that of the creature within frankenstein. the creature’s narration of his time in the hovel occurs rather centrally in the framed narrative of frankenstein and gives the reader access to the creature’s voice for the first time, allowing him to own his version of the story. michelle burnham points out that the garret years also balance at the core of novel: “yet its central location is by no means obvious, for ‘loopholes of retreat’ goes just as easily unnoticed in the middle of forty-one unnumbered chapters as it becomes—after careful enumeration—potentially quite prominent, as the hinge that balances the twenty chapters on either side” (278). for both, then, the act of narrating gives voice to time spent silent, and their central locations suggest the importance of that act. for both, to author is to have authority over their lives. the distinction is between the events that are narrated and the narration itself: “while acting remains, of course, crucial to agency, it is the discursive construction of action, the narration of resistance rather than its narrated acts, which allows us to register jacobs’s resistance” (kaplan 56). thus, the time spent in confinement—a term used in the past for the last weeks of a woman’s pregnancy—ultimately allows jacobs (more fully, brent and jacobs) to birth her narrative just as she births herself in forming a new identity. regarding identity, while in the garret, jacobs has forged another self and created a new life for that self (wheels within wheels, jacobs as author names herself brent, who within the text creates another brent via writing letters—more text). through this series of letters, she has contrived to throw dr. flint off her trail. this fictional jacobs enjoys freedom while the real jacobs remains waiting in the loophole. she writes, “i expressed a wish to have my children sent to me at the north, where i could teach them to respect themselves, and set them a virtuous 11 example…i asked [my grandmother] to direct her answer to a certain street in boston, as i did not live in new york, though i went there sometimes” (incidents 101-102). one day, of course, this freedom will be a reality for jacobs, but for the time being, it exists only within the fiction she creates. however, the two freedoms, fictional and real, both grow out of jacobs’ power as author. letters play another important part in establishing the truth of a story in both incidents and frankenstein. in frankenstein, during his narration of his life in the hovel, the creature offers to victor, “i have copies of these letters [from safie to felix]; for i found means, during my residence in the hovel, to procure the implements of writing; and the letters were often in the hands of felix or agatha. before i depart i will give them to you; they will prove the truth of my tale” (shelley 389). the presumption is that which is written is truth. likewise, jacobs’ text is bolstered by the introduction of her editor, attesting to the truth of the narrative, as well as by her recollection of letters sent and received. ironically, the only letter she recreates in its entirety during the garret sequence is the false letter flint has substituted for her own. through her rewriting his words (which were rewriting hers), she asserts her authority over his. jean fagan yellin points out the importance of letters in jacobs’ progress to writing her life story. frustrated in her attempts to get assistance from harriet beecher stowe in writing, jacobs published parts of her story in letters to newspapers. yellin writes, “encouraged by the publication of this [first] letter, jacobs secretly composed others. her correspondence during this period reveals that she was at once determined to write, apprehensive about her ability to do so, and fearful of being discovered [writing]” (208). that last phrase—“fearful of being discovered”—seems so apt as a double entendre for hiding/writing. writing or telling one’s story works to give agency to both jacobs and the creature as a time of silence and of voyeurism is finally put into words. authorship is authority, and each comes to own the self through this action of telling—and each is moved to tell by a desire to open the eyes of the audience to suffering. for frankenstein’s creature, his words make plain his lonely life to a master who denied him and his pain. his very telling of his life, particularly in its central location within the narrative frame, gives meaning to the novel as a whole. without the creature’s own words, the novel would be a much weaker tale (and one could argue that the removal of the creature’s voice has this effect in the novel’s popular renderings). gilbert and gubar go so far as to write that “the murderous monster’s single, carefully guarded narrative commands and controls mary shelley’s novel,” that “the drastic shift in point of view that the nameless monster’s monologue represents probably constitutes frankenstein’s most striking technical tour de force” (235). here, then, authority extends beyond self to one’s 12 maker/master, in that the creature makes his creator face the reality of his actions and recognize his guilt. for jacobs, authority extends over literary form. in “loopholes of retreat,” valerie smith argues that, “as jacobs exercised authority over the limits of the male narrative, however, she triumphs as well over the limits of the sentimental novel,” pointing out that authority for jacobs is one unique to her experience, not to be limited by gender, class or race in literary form. jacobs may not recognize her authority as a writer, but she does as a teller of truth. referring to a literary heavyweight of her day, jacobs admits to harriet beecher stowe’s limited rendering of the life of a slave even as she downplays her own skill as an author in comparison: “but in uncle tom’s cabin she has not told the half. would that i had one spark from her storehouse of genius and talent, i would tell you of my own sufferings” (jacobs, “letter from a fugitive slave” 170). pushed by what she reads in papers, jacobs comes to realize that she must tell her story. authority comes years after experience, although the effects of the experience stay with her. she reflects, “[m]y body still suffers from the effects of that long imprisonment, to say nothing of my soul” (jacobs, incidents 116). to tell her story now, and to tell it on her own terms, reiterates perreault’s triangle of ownership of feeling, naming, and owning: we could have told them a different story. we could have given them a chapter of wrongs and sufferings, that would have touched their hearts, if they had any hearts to feel for the colored people…we could also have told them of a poor, blighted young creature, shut up in a living grave for years, to avoid the tortures that would be inflicted on her…all this, and much more, i thought of, as i sat at my loophole, waiting. (incidents 116) it is all the better that her story did not become part of a stowe work, for even under cover of pseudonym, the story is jacobs’s own—and it is jacobs. jacobs is aware of the tale that will and must be told even as it is happening to her, and telling it fills the blank page, turning the grave of the garret to a womb that bears her story to fruition. 13 works cited baldick, chris. in frankenstein’s shadow: myth, monstrosity, and nineteenthcentury writing. oxford: clarendon press, 1987. child, lydia maria. introduction. incidents in the life of a slave girl. by harriet jacobs. ed. nellie y. mckay and frances smith foster. new york: norton, 2001. 5-6. ---. “letter to john greenleaf whittier.” 4 april 1861. incidents in the life of a slave girl. by harriet jacobs. ed. nellie y. mckay and frances smith foster. new york: norton, 2001. 163-164. croker, john wilson. “art v. frankenstein, or the modern prometheus.” the quarterly review 36 (january 1818): 379-385. 7 dec. 2005 <http://www.english.upenn.edu>. gilbert, sandra m., and susan gubar. the madwoman in the attic: the woman writer and the nineteenth-century literary imagination. new haven: yale university press, 1984. jacobs, harriet. incidents in the life of a slave girl. ed. nellie y. mckay and frances smith foster. new york: norton, 2001. ---. “letters from a fugitive slave.” new york tribune, 21 june 1853. incidents in the life of a slave girl. ed. nellie y. mckay and frances smith foster. new york: norton, 2001. 167-170. ---. “preface.” incidents in the life of a slave girl. ed. nellie y. mckay and frances smith foster. new york: norton, 2001. kaplan, carla. the erotics of talk: women’s writing and feminist paradigms. new york: oxford university press, 1996. malchow, h.l. “frankenstein’s monster and images of race in nineteenthcentury britain.” past and present. london: oxford university press, 1993. pearrault, jeanne. “mary wollstonecraft and harriet jacobs: self-possessions.” mary wollstonecraft and mary shelley: writing lives. ed. helen m. buss et al. ontario: wilfrid laurirer university press, 2001. shaw, thomas b. outlines of general literature. with a sketch of american literature by henry t. tuckerman. new york: sheldon & co., 1866. 7 dec. 2005 <error! hyperlink reference not valid.>. shelley, mary. frankenstein.1831 edition. three gothic novels. ed. peter fairclough. new york: penguin, 1986. 254-497. ---. “introduction.” frankenstein. 1831 edition. three gothic novels. ed. peter fairclough. new york: penguin, 1986. 259-265. 14 smith, valerie. “’loopholes of retreat’: architecture and ideology in harriet jacobs’s incidents in the life of a slave girl.” reading black, reading feminist. ed. henry louis gates, jr. new york: meridian, 1990.214-22. (course handout) oodmbs development   the evolution of the computerized database   nancy hartline bercich department of computing sciences   database history what is a database?   elsmari and navathe [els00] define a database as a collection of related data.  by this definition, a database can be anything from a homemaker’s metal recipe file to a sophisticated data warehouse.  of course, today when we think of databases we seldom think of a simple box of cards.  we invariably think of computerized data and their dbms (database management systems). non computerized databases   my first experience with a serious database was in 1984.  asplundh was installing cullinet’s idms/r™ (integrated relational data management system) manufacturing system in the company’s three manufacturing facilities.  when first presented with the idea of a computerized database keeping track of inventory and the manufacturing process, the first plant manager’s response was, “ why do we need that?  we already have a system.  we already have a method for keeping track of our inventory and manufacturing process and we like our method.  why change it?”  he retrieved, from a metal filing cabinet, several boxes containing thousands of index cards. each index card recorded data on a specific part, truck, manufacturing process or supplier.  he already had a database, a good database that quite possibly predated the modern computer.  in the end our task we easy.  we simply mechanized his existing database.   flat file storage   before the advent of modern database technology computerized data was primarily stored in flat files of varying formats, isam (indexed sequential access method) and vsam (virtual storage access method) being two of the more common file formats of the time. unfortunately, there are several disadvantages inherent in the use of flat files.  first, flat files do not link data in one file to data in another file in a mechanized way.  linking the data in one file to the data in another file is the responsibility of the software developer.  this complex task involves defining and opening each file; accessing data in the first file, coding data access paths into the program and finally accessing the second file.  as these files are fixed-format files, modifying the structure of any one flat file is a rather lengthy process.  modification of a file structure first requires conversion of the data in that file.  modification next requires modifying the flat file definition in every program accessing the file, and possibly modifying the file access paths in each of these programs as well.  failing to modify a single program could result in incorrect reporting, premature program termination or possibly even data corruption.  in order to overcome the errors resulting from the work born of this limitation, the same data is often stored in multiple flat files.  this creates a second problem, data redundancy and the data inconsistencies, which inevitably come about because of this practice.  the search for a resolution to these data redundancy, inconsistency and access problems led to the development of the various data models used today.  this is not to say there are not instances where flat files provide an optimal storage solution.  creating and maintaining flat files in a stable production environment is easier than creating and maintaining a dbms file system.  creating and maintaining flat files under these conditions is also inexpensive when compared to the cost of creating and maintaining a dbms file system.  commercial dbmss are expensive to purchase and maintain.  this expense comes from both licensing and maintenance fees as well as personnel costs.  as dbmss become more complex, their licensing and maintenance fees grow higher still.  well-trained and experienced dbms software professionals command higher salaries than the less specialized software professionals needed to properly develop and manage a flat file system.  dbms personnel are often not available due to the steep learning curve on some dbmss.  this requires a company to put their existing software personnel through extensive training only to have them move on once trained. computerized dbmss   today dbmss are categorized by their underlying implementation data model.  an implementation data model describes the structure of a database.  it describes the manner in which a database stores and links data together.  there are several distinct database models adhered to by the more common dbmss commercially available today.  these include the network, hierarchical, relational, object and object-relational models.  the most widely used of the modern databases currently adhere to either the relational or object-relational data model.  today we find database systems running on dbmss that adhere to either the network or hierarchical database models in legacy systems.  the oldest of these models are the network and hierarchical models, the newest the object and object-relational models.  there are of course other, less common, more specialized, models around as well.  [els00]  carefully reviewing each of the more common data models can provide a picture of the evolution of the dbms to date.  further review may provide a look at the future evolution of the dbms.   network and hierarchical databases   the first attempt at organizing data into databases resulted in the development of the network data model.  the codasyl (conference on data systems languages) data base task group first proposed the network data model in 1971.  dbmss, such as idms/r™, based on the network data model, organize data into records with each record containing a group of related data items or attributes.  the term record type refers to the structure of a record.  set types connect records, where a set type represents a 1:n relationship between two record types.  each set type definition consists of three elements, a set type name, an owner record type and a member record type.  in a network database records are accessed one record at a time using a dml (data manipulation language) embedded in a host programming language.  the most commonly used host languages being cobol (common business oriented language) and pl/1 (programming language 1).  the database network is traversed one record at a time through a record type or from one record of one record type to another record of a second record type through a set type.  [unix]   the hierarchical data model, developed around the same time as the network data model, is similar, in many respects, to the network data model.  as in the network data model, the hierarchical data model organizes data into records with each record containing a group of related data items, referred to as fields.  record type again refers to the structure of a record.  the hierarchical data model differs from the network data model in the manner in which it links record types.  hierarchical dbmss, such as ibm's ims™ (information management system), organize data in a tree structure, beginning with a single record type at the top of the tree structure.  there is a hierarchy of parent and child record types, with each parent child relationship being a 1:n relationship.  hierarchical databases access data using an hdml (hierarchical data manipulation language) a single record at a time.  the hdml accesses records by moving from the current record to the next record in a path or even several records down the path depending on the hdml command used.  [unix]   dbmss based on the network and hierarchical data model provided software professionals, working with large quantities of data, a degree of control they did not have when working with flat files.  dbas (database administrators) could do more than just maintain data.  dbas could manage data.  both models saved the links between records of differing record types along with the data contained in those records.  this freed the software developer from having to recreate the data links with every new program, minimizing data traversal mistakes.  in addition, this ability, to move from one record type to another, minimized the need to store commonly used data in multiple locations, reducing data redundancy and hence data corruption.   however, dbmss based on the network and hierarchical data model were not flawless. accessing data in either a network or hierarchical database is rigid, time consuming and difficult. as hierarchical databases do not allow links between any of two child record types, a user has to start at the top of the data hierarchy and work down through the database structure. see appendix a, figure 1.  the user needs to know and have access to the entire database structure to use any part of the database.  although searching for data in a network database is slightly less rigid, as network databases allow child record types to be linked to each other, accessing data deep in the network is still time consuming and difficult. see appendix a, figure 2.  codd [cod70] points to several more flaws in his 1970 paper,  “a relational model of data for large shared data banks.”  dbmss based on the network and hierarchical data models lack independence of application programs from growth in data types and changes in data representation.  a considerable amount of coding could still result from a minor modification to a record type definition.  in addition, three types of data dependencies exist in dbmss adhering to the network and hierarchical data models: ordering dependence, indexing dependence, and access path dependence.  network and hierarchical databases do not make a clear distinction between the order of presentation and stored order.  thus, a change in stored order of data often requires a change in the programs accessing that data.  with some commercially available hierarchical databases, such as ids (integrated data store), developers must modify application programs and terminal activities as indices come and go.  others, such as ims™ and idms/r™ do not have this limitation.  however, if the developer or dba changes the structure of the trees or networks in these systems, previously developed application programs tend to become logically impaired.   network and hierarchical dbmss were popular from the late 1960s through the 1970s and even into the early 1980s.  ibm's ims™ dbms was the most popular of the hierarchical databases and cullinet’s idms/r™ the most popular of the network databases.  although relational databases are more commonly used in systems written today, databases based on both the network and hierarchical model are still in use today, mostly in legacy systems running on large mainframe computers. relational databases   e.f. codd [cod70] first defined the relational database model in a 1970 article for acm (association for computing machinery) entitled “a relational model of data for large shared data banks.”  in this article, codd detailed what he felt were deficiencies in the existing dbmss adhering to the network and hierarchical data model.  codd’s relational model uses, as its basis, the mathematical relation; set theory and first order predicate logic.  codd further refined the relational model in two more papers written in 1985.  in these two papers, he spelled out twelve rules to which a dbms must adhere in order to be relational.  these twelve rules invariably address the deficiencies codd found in the industries earlier attempts at developing commercial dbmss.  codd’s rules are the information rule, the guaranteed access rule, the rule requiring systematic treatment of null values, the rule requiring the existence of a dynamic on-line catalog based on the relational model, the comprehensive data sub-language rule, the view updating rule, the high-level insert, update, and delete rule, the physical data independence rule, the logical data independence rule, the integrity independence rule, the distribution independence rule and the non-subversion rule. [cod85][cod85a]   it is interesting to note that not one of the existing dbmss today, that are referred to as rdbmss (relational database management systems), conform to all twelve of codd’s rules.  still, we can best describe the advantages of these rdbmss over the network and hierarchical dbmss by examining a few of these twelve rules.  first, by following the guaranteed access rule, an rdbms allows easy access of all data. see appendix a, figure 3.  gone are the path requirements of the network and hierarchical databases.  the relational model provides a means of describing data with its natural structure only.  network and hierarchical databases require additional structure for machine representation.  next, by following the physical and logical data independence rule rdbmss remove the necessity of modifying application programs whenever modifying the structure of the database.  finally, by following the integrity independence rule rdbmss minimize data corruption.   even with these improvements, rdbmss are far from perfect.  elsmari and navathe note that the now traditional rdbms data model and rdbms database systems have certain shortcomings when designing and implementing more complex database applications.  they note that newer applications have requirements for transactions of longer duration and new data types for storing images, large text items and complex objects.  [els00].   databases adhering to the relational model have been the dominant databases since the middle of the 1980’s with oracle v6 and v7 the best selling of the relational databases. object-oriented and object-relational databases   oodbmss (object oriented database management systems) began appearing in the early 1990s, largely to meet the needs of the more complex applications described above.  the first attempt to define an oodbms standard occurred in 1993 when malcolm atkinson, françois bancilhon, david dewitt, klaus dittrich, david maier and stanley zdonik [atk93] published their paper, “the object-oriented database system manifesto.”  since that time, the odmg (object data management group) has taken over this task.  the odmg 3.0 object data standard defines specifications for storing objects in oodbmss, as well as for converting and storing objects in object-relational databases.  the odmg based their odmg 3.0 object data standard on omg’s (object management group) object model.  [cat99]  the concepts behind the omg object model are the same concepts behind all object-oriented technologies, encapsulation, polymorphism and inheritance.  an oodbms stores two types of data, objects and values.  an object typically has two components, state and behavior, where the state is represented by values or previously defined objects and the behavior by operations on those values and objects.  an oodbms supports encapsulation, the association of data with the code that manipulates that data, by storing both components together in the database.  it supports polymorphism, a mechanism associating one interface with multiple code implementations, by the manner in which it allows operation definition.  finally, it supports inheritance, a mechanism allowing one object to be the specification of another object, by allowing an object’s state to consist of both values and other, previously defined objects.  [one99]  objects in object-oriented programming languages exist only for the duration of the program.  an oodbms allows these objects to persist beyond the program’s execution time.   oodbmss have several advantages over their predecessors.  they allow for the persistent storage of complex data types.  this allows developers using object-oriented programming languages, such as java™ and c++, to store and retrieve instances of their objects in databases, without disassembling them into their relational parts.  this reduces the risk of programmer error when reconstructing a stored object.  oodbmss also, by allowing for the storage of an object’s behavior, reduce the time needed to modify front-end programs when modifying an object’s behavior.  because all programmers use the same operations to access an object’s state, unless a developer is modifying an operation’s interface, he only needs to modify a single stored operation.  see appendix a, figure 4.  he even avoids the necessity of program recompilation.  yet, even oodbmss are not perfect.  the odmg 3.0 standard states that no existing oodbms supports complete object encapsulation.  [cat99]  this limits the advantages gained from storing both an object’s state and behavior.   object-relational databases are, as their name implies, a hybrid of object and relational databases.  these databases grew from the efforts of the rdbms vendors to address the deficiencies in the relational model.  there is no standard definition of an object-relational database.  there is only the odmg standard for odms (object-to-database mappings) that convert and store objects in relational representations.  object relational databases do not even follow this standard, as object-relational databases do not attempt to map objects to relations.  object-relational databases allow for the storage of complex objects.  oracle 8i and oracle 9i are two examples of object-relational databases.  oracle 8i and oracle 9i both allow for the storage of complex objects.  oracle 9i allows for object inheritance.  neither allows an object’s behavior to be stored along with its state.  [lor99] [fre02]   oodbmss generated significant interest, in both the research and business communities, in the early to the middle of the 1990s.  however, in recent years interest, from both communities, has waned.  object-relational databases now hold a significant portion of database market share, largely due to users upgrading their previously relational database to the vendor’s newer object-relation database.  the most dominant of these object-relational databases are oracle 8i and oracle 9i. industry trends introduction   it’s human nature to always look for an easier and better way of doing things.  computer scientists are no different from anyone else.  new technologies, in the field of computer science, will always be on the horizon.  still, the time it takes for a new technology to move from a new force to a dominant force is not a matter of weeks.  often, it is a matter of years or even decades. e.f. codd published his first paper on rdbmss in 1970.  he refined his definition of rdbmss in 1985.  oracle®, according to their own web site, released version 2 of oracle in 1980 and version 5 in 1986.  oracle® did not begin to establish itself the dominant, commercially available, dbms until the release of oracle version 6 in 1988.  [ora]   it takes time for a new technology to establish itself for a myriad of reasons.  whenever a new technology appears there will always be those who embrace the new technology and those who reject the new technology.  there are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches to dealing with new technology.  looking at this issue from a business viewpoint, timing is critical.  the adoption of a new technology requires a significant investment in both software and training.  early adopters run the risk of finding themselves with a large investment in an obsolete or unsupported technology.  not all, new technologies are eventually adopted by the industry.  even if a new technology is eventually, adopted, not all vendors’ products, adhering to the new technology, will survive.  developing and marketing a software product requires a significant investment in time and money and not all vendors can stay the course. late adopters risk facing another problem.  late adopters may find themselves scrambling to catch up when a new technology provides their competitor with a significant business advantage.  businesses must carefully weigh the pros and cons of adopting a new technology.  businesses must wait for the right moment and the right product.  for software professionals, the decision to learn a new technology is a far easier decision to make.  with many, though not all, new technologies, the only investment the software professional needs to make is an investment in time.  it takes time to learn a new technology.  the only disadvantage is that the time a professional spends learning one new technology he cannot spend learning another.    what happened with rdbmss   in the early to middle of the 1980s when rdbmss first became commercially available, many in the industry failed to see the advantages of switching to the newer technology.  for others, the risks were just too great.  for a brick and mortar business, the decision on whether or not to embrace the new technology was a difficult decision to make.  adopting the new technology required a significant financial investment, an investment in software, software conversion, employee training and possibly even hardware.  the older, network and hierarchical databases worked.  the newer rdbmss, although eliminating many of the undesirable traits of the network and hierarchical databases, initially ran slowly.  the decision as to which rdbms to implement was equally as difficult.  many perceived ibm®, the dominant force in the computer industry as strictly a hardware company.  buying software from ibm® seemed risky.  oracle® corporation was an unknown entity that many worried would fold.  making an early decision to go with an rdbms that failed to remain marketable would cause the company to incur significant financial losses. for a business whose products were software professionals, such as a consulting firm the decision was less difficult.  for these businesses, the need to stay technologically current far outweighed the risk involved in investigating an unproved technology.  businesses such as these incurred a smaller debt when investigating and adopting the newer technology.  the licensing fees they were required to pay were significantly smaller than those paid by brick and mortar businesses.  they could retrain their employees and tout the benefits of the new technology.  at the same time, they could keep their own systems on older, more stable technologies, while waiting for the market to adopt the new technology and a market leader to emerge. an initial decision to go with a vendor whose product failed to gain market share was not a disaster for one of these firms.  the firm that employed me initially bet on db2™.  ibm® was an established company with an established customer base.  it would appear with oracle® eventually became the dominant rdbms vendor, that this was a bad decision.  it was not.  those of us initially trained in db2™, were able to easily relate the theories we learned to the study of oracle®, thereby reducing our learning curve when it became apparent that oracle® was the rdbms to know.  consulting firms who trained their network and hierarchical database professionals in relational technology, early on, found their services in great demand when the newer relational technology became dominant. what is happening now   cullinet® marketed idms/r™ as relational although it was definitely not.  in 1980, everything that was anything was relational.  by 1985, database professionals who were not learning relational technologies were worried.  today, everything that is anything is object oriented. .  computer professionals are learning java™, uml (unified modeling language) and oo (object oriented) design techniques.  database professionals who, for the most part, are still working with rdbmss, are concerned that they are becoming dinosaurs.  those few with oodbms knowledge are concerned when they are not working with oodbmss.  the industry, as a whole, is embracing the oo paradigm.  it is not yet clear; to what extent the database industry will follow suit.  what about object-relational   it would appear, with the popularity of oracle 8i and 9i that object relational databases are the future of database technology.  however, we cannot assume that’s the case.  as oracle® corporation releases newer object-relational versions of its popular rdbms, it discontinues support for it’s older strictly relational versions.  there is no way to tell how many users of these newer object-relational databases are actually using the object functionality.  many may merely be using an object-relational database because a vendor has dropped support for the older rdbms to which they have tied themselves.  oracle® has begun selling a scaled down version of their oracle 9i database.  it does not contain the object functionality.  many existing oracle 8i customers are upgrading to that version of oracle 9i.  what about oodbmss   although object technologies such as smalltalk have been around since the early 1970s it has only been in recent years that object design tools such as uml diagramming and programming languages such as java™ and c++ have become universally popular. the first attempt at defining an oodbms standard did not occur until 1993.  [atk93]  versant, one of the longer established oodbms vendors only established itself in 1988.  [vers]  in the middle of the 1990s, it appeared as if oodbmss were in position to take market share away from rdbmss.  companies began purchasing oodbmss.  industry professionals began training themselves in the oodbms technologies.  then, the popularity of oodbmss, as indicated by new market share, began to decline.  what next   it’s not clear in which direction the dbms industry is heading.  many thousands of businesses have tied themselves to one particular dbms.  although the relational model has clearly shown its superiority to the older network and hierarchical database models, many of the businesses that first embraced database technology are still running legacy systems in ims™ and idms/r™.  their reasons are purely financial.  thousands more businesses initially tied themselves to the newer rdbmss than to the older, network and hierarchical, dbmss.  the oo paradigm, in non-database technology, is becoming the industry standard.  businesses, as they now embrace this paradigm in other areas of software development, have a decision to make.  they need to decide whether to stay with their current rdbms, which even as it becomes object-relational, still lacks complete support for storage of the transient complex objects they are developing or  spend the money to move from an rdbms to an oodbms, which would fully support their objects.  despite their obvious advantages, when dealing with complex objects, oodbmss have not otherwise shown clear superiority over rdbmss.  an oodbms market leader has yet to emerge. for a brick and mortar business, investing in an oodbms is still risky.  the object data model may yet show superiority over the relational model.  if it does, brick and mortar businesses will begin to embrace the new technology.  a market leader will emerge.  software professionals who have taken the time to learn oodbms skills will be in high demand.  if the object data model fails to show clear superiority over the hybrid object-relational model, those same professionals will have lost nothing but time.  for software professionals, understanding the new object data model is smart business. appendix a: sample diagrams hierarchical occurrence tree                                             figure 1: the figure shown above, taken and modified, from elmasri and navathe p. 945 shows a hierarchical occurrence tree representing the record layout of a hierarchical company database.  note that there exists a single entry point at the top of the data hierarchy.  note also how the hierarchical design forces record access down through the database along the edges shown in the diagram.  [elm00] a simplified network schema diagram                                                                           figure 2: the figure shown above, taken, and modified, from elmasri and navathe p.931 shows a simplified network schema diagram for a company database.  this simplified network schema diagram shows only the records that would appear in the database as well as the navigation through the database.  notice the single entry point into the database denoted by the label system.  notice also how traversal of the database, represented diagrammatically with arrows, is limited. [els00]  er diagram                                                                             figure 3: the figure shown above, taken, and modified, from elmasri and navathe p.46 shows an er schema diagram representing an rdbms company database.  notice the absence of the database entry point and the navigational arrows present in the network schema diagram.  navigation, within an rdbms, can begin at any table and move in any direction to any associated table allowing easy access of all data.  [els00] n   uml conceptual schema                                                         figure 4: the figure shown above taken, and modified, from elmasri and navathe p.94 shows a uml conceptual schema for a company database.  a uml conceptual schema diagrammatically represents the format of an oodbms.  notice how the methods operating on the objects are associated with the objects.  [els00] bibliographic references [atk93] atkinson, m. and bancilhon, f. et al [1993] “the object-oriented database system manifesto,” 1993   [cat99] cattell r.g.g and barry, d. k. [1999] the object data standard: odmg 3.0, morgan kaufmann publishers, 1999.   [cod70] codd, e.f. [1970] “a relational model of data for large shared data banks,” cacm, 13:6, june. 1970.   [cod85] codd, e.f. [1985] “is your dbms really relational?” computer world, october 14, 1985.   [cod85a] codd, e.f. [1985] “does your dbms run by the rules?” computer world, october 21, 1985.   [els00] elsmari, r., and navathe, s. b. [2000] fundamentals of database systems, addison-wesley, 2000.   [fre02] freeman, r. [2002] oracle9i new features, mcgraw-hill/osbourne, 2002.   [lar02] larman, c. [2002] applying uml and patterns, prentice hall ptr, 2002.   [lor99] lorentz, d. [1999] oracle8i sql reference, oracle® corporation, 1999   [mug00] mughal k. a. and rasmaussen r. w. [2000] a programmer’s guide to java™ certification, addison-wesley, 2000.   [one99] o’neil, j. [1999] teach yourself java, osbourne/mcgraw-hill, 1999.   [unix] http://unixspace.com/context/databases.html   [ora] http://www.orafaq.org/faqora.htm   [vers] http://www.versant.com/company/about.html   1 “you can never work facts as you would fixed quantities”: political economy’s failures in thomas malthus and mary barton julia reagan english introduction political economy is a bit of a dusty term. first used in its modern sense in the 18th century, political economy is now associated with the scholars adam smith, david ricardo, and thomas malthus (groenewegen). how you make sense of the term “political economy” can say a lot about your politics. if told that political economy is “the branch of economics dealing with the economic problems of government,” would you find this definition somewhat useless, assuming that all economic problems are political (“political economy”)? would you, on the other hand, assume that economics is a science with its own logic that should remain as independent of politics as possible? at its most basic, the term has to do with the study of economics as applied to specific political and social contexts. the history of political economy tells the story of how the field of economics was born: how in the 19th century, economics separated itself from speculative theory and came to be seen as natural law. thomas malthus’s immediately influential and perpetually controversial an essay on the principle of population (1798) is a foundational work of political economy which serves as a useful study of economics’ tendency to reject dreams of utopian societies in favor of a science of facts. from the perspective of literary criticism, malthus’ essay is particularly useful because of how writers such as charles dickens, harriet martineau, and elizabeth gaskell took up and commented on malthus’ ideas (dzelzainis). malthus’ central claim, today referred to by 2 economists as the malthusian trap, is that population necessarily grows faster than food supply. from this “law” of population, malthus and his followers draw manifold implications, ranging from arguing against humanity’s perfectibility, to dismantling 19th century britain’s poor law, to controlling reproduction. most centrally, malthus concludes that poverty and vice are inevitable aspects of the human condition and therefore cannot be solved by human effort. in the way he formulates his argument, malthus implies that his belief in the inevitability of poverty, unlike utopian visions of a society free from suffering, is based on fact. early in essay, malthus positions himself as an unprejudiced lover of truth, not taken in by visionary speculation. in so doing, he differentiates his theory from unfounded “speculations on the future improvement of society” (malthus 15). malthus thus claims the territory of the unbiased, factual, and scientific for himself. drawing on critical work on the interaction of economics and literature in the 18th and 19th centuries, this paper analyzes how a belief in unalterable “laws of economy” surfaces in elizabeth gaskell’s 1848 novel mary barton. as a novel that represents the relationships between the working poor and their employers, mary barton lends itself to analysis through an economic lens. numerous critics working in the traditions of marxist literary theory and new historicism—raymond williams, rosemarie bodenheimer, and catherine gallagher foremost among them—have read mary barton’s critique of economic inequality in industrial england as incomplete due to structural problems with the novel. a novel about class conflict abandons its initial working-class hero and collapses into a marriage and emigration plot (williams). splits in perspective trouble a first-time novelist, “soften[ing] the novel’s analysis of the middle-class and its institutions” (bodenheimer 522). the tragedy of the working-class hero is suppressed first by melodrama and then by religious homily (gallagher, “causality versus conscience”). turning 3 away from problems of plot and narrative form, fascinating as they are, i instead read mary barton’s ideological disjunct through the lens of political economy’s circulation within the novel. unquestioning belief in economic laws narrows what kinds of evidence can be permitted as rational and precludes the ability to imagine alternative social structures. specifically, i focus on what i see as the novel’s culminating scene of class conflict—the conversation between the employer mr. carson and the working man job legh, in which the employer rehearses the logic of political economy while the worker appeals to his lived experience. this scene in gaskell’s novel poignantly pits the logics of political economy and lived experience against each other, calling into question what kind of facts count most. gaskell explicitly mentions political economy, albeit to deny her knowledge of it, in the preface to mary barton. gaskell explains that she was driven to write mary barton by her reflections on the “unhappy state of things between those so bound to each other by common interests, as the employers and the employed must ever be” (37). having selected a topic directly related to economic issues, gaskell then offers a disclaimer, writing, “i know nothing of political economy, or the theories of trade. i have tried to write truthfully; and if my accounts agree or clash with any system, the agreement or disagreement is unintentional” (38). given that her father wrote a series called “the political economy” in blackwood’s magazine and gaskell herself regularly read periodicals that published articles on political economy, it is reasonable to conclude that gaskell was at least superficially familiar with contemporary political economy, and more likely than not, with malthus in particular (niles). nonetheless, through this disclaimer, gaskell cedes authority on economic issues to the rarified theorists who understand it, performing the humility of a layperson regarding political economy. consequently, gaskell’s novel recreates the shortcomings of malthusian economic reasoning. though the novel is critical 4 of factory owners’ lack of sympathy, its narrator upholds the belief that there are economic laws, unalterable and beyond the layperson’s understanding. nonetheless, mary barton’s juxtaposition of the reasoning of master and man manages to exceed economic logic, highlighting the insufficient power of political economic “laws” in the face of the individual lives of the poor. thomas malthus and the “science” of political economy before economics calcified into a self-contained discipline, it was quite porous, drawing from economics, politics, history, moral philosophy, the natural sciences, and even travel writing (hadley 8). its practitioners did not always think of themselves as political economists, and even less so as economists in the current sense of the word, focused on rational actors and efficiency. instead, thinkers like malthus and ricardo concerned themselves with “the proper relationship between theory and practice” in the study of wealth’s generation and distribution (walter 31). while the problem of theory versus practice may seem like an age-old concern for academics, for thinkers writing after the french revolution, theory smacked of the sort of progressive, utopian thinking that had galvanized revolutionaries, allegedly inspiring the reign of terror and the empire of napoleon bonaparte (appleman). the challenge for conservatives such as malthus was to show that theory still had a place in sound economic policy. as ryan walter, a historian of political economy, points out, “malthus devoted an entire chapter to the defence of theory in every edition of the essay except the first … the cumulative message was this: theory was inevitable, but its role was not to usher in a new millennium but to point out the modest prospects for improvement that actually existed” (63). for this reason, malthus’ writing is careful not to be too visionary. in order to slough off the association with dangerous and revolutionary ideas, malthus presents his theory as moderate to conservative, rational, and firmly 5 based on practical experience and observation. “crafting the figure of the theorist as someone whose intellectual comportment was indispensable to effective legislation” was a key part of this differentiation, heralding the creation of the economic policy expert (walter 65). thus, towards the end of the 19th century, political economy increasingly turned away from interdisciplinarity with the social sciences and instead developed into the specialized economics we know today, focused on the technical, quantitative, and ahistorical (hadley). in an essay on the principle of population, malthus uses the first chapter to situate himself in the contemporary debate over the perfectibility of man while performing an unbiased adherence to reason and fact. as the voice of the reasonable middle, malthus rejects both “the friend of the present order of things [who] condemns all political speculation in the gross” and “the speculative philosopher [who] offends against the cause of truth … allow[ing] himself to indulge in the most bitter invectives against every present establishment” (17). neither unthinking nor wildly speculating, malthus declares himself unlike both the utopian radicals and the conservatives with nothing but precedent as their guide. instead, malthus carefully establishes his alleged rationality, stating that “in entering upon the argument … i put out of the question, at present, all mere conjectures, that is, all suppositions, the probable realization of which cannot be inferred upon any just philosophical grounds” (18). this is a man who believes the truth comes from “a collection of greater numbers of facts,” facts which he painstakingly accumulated and added to his essay in five subsequent editions (15). the claim of rationality that malthus performs alongside political economy’s disciplinary development into “economics” comes with its own dangers. in his adherence to what he sees as “the inevitable laws of our nature,” malthus precludes the possibility that society could be significantly reorganized in the interest of lesser inequality and greater justice (72). unable to 6 foresee the impending technological advancements of the unfolding industrial revolution and thereafter, it may well have been reasonable to state as law the impossibility of producing enough food for ever-increasing populations. admittedly, food production is a concern that has repeatedly come back with urgency. however, the conclusions that malthus draws from this are nothing short of murderous. by always returning to his “law” of population according to which humans are condemned to scarcity, and reasoning that scarcity must necessarily lead to vice, malthus concludes that all charity to the poor not exclusively focused on the increase of food production is nothing but harmful. thus, malthus concludes, “to prevent the recurrence of misery is, alas! beyond the power of man” (42). for all his alasing and alacking, malthus’ proclamations of the inevitability of suffering had real impact on policy decisions, and not merely to promote food production but to accept that the starving must die. malthus’ belief in the inevitable suffering of the poor becomes an all-too-ready willingness to sacrifice entire groups of people out of necessity, or at least for the greater good of the population. while posited as a reasonable alternative to the dangers of more revolutionary thinking, the way that political economic thought such as malthus’ presented itself as natural law underwrote its power to regulate human life (mitchell 17). robert mitchell argues that “those ‘laws’ and ‘principles’ discovered by new sciences such as political economy” enabled biopolitics in the sense of subordinating politics to economic theories of how populations should be regulated, such as by getting rid of attempts at social welfare like britain’s poor laws (17). by elaborating possibilities of “population-level economic behavior that could not be politically commanded,” political economists like malthus claimed exclusive knowledge of how bodies could be politically regulated for the public good of the nation (mitchell 4). that is, while a 19th 7 century sovereign could not easily command their subjects whether or not to have children, the government could regulate access to welfare based on policy recommendations in order to discourage the idea that poor families would be able to feed their children through government support. the credibility of malthus’ arguments about population as guides for government policy hinged on their status as scientifically established laws. still, there are contemporary critics who complicate the heartlessly utilitarian and elitist caricature of malthus. read in comparison to rival political economist david ricardo, malthus is less abstracted and more interested in national circumstances and the bodies of the poor. in the body economic, for instance, catherine gallagher reads malthus’ ubiquitous focus on hunger as well as his scandalous emphasis on “the passion between sexes,” which he used to argue that humanity would never have less interest in sexual procreation, as evidence that malthus attended to the living bodies of the poor (malthus 73). a scholar of rhetoric, michael longaker also points out that malthus “mixed the economist’s appeals to rational principle and empirical fact with the prudential consideration of local circumstance and national custom” (longaker 152). malthus did not see mathematical reasoning alone as sufficient to convince people of his theories. addressing local circumstances would seem to align with gallagher’s emphasis on malthus’ attention to the bodies of the poor. however, malthus did not attend to the poor in their particularity or on the level of the embodied lived experience of the individual. accordingly, essay presents the bodies of the poor not as suffering individuals to be helped but as a national problem to be expelled outside of the realm of social responsibility. similarly, malthus’ attention to circumstance and custom remains on the national level of an anonymous and unspecifiable public. malthus’ alleged attention to local circumstance rings false to the ear of the sympathetic 8 individual, a problem that gaskell’s literary descriptions of the poor’s suffering make all the more clear. malthus uses the endless variety of actually unfolding circumstances as excuses to reject the plausibility of any theory that hasn’t yet been tested. with selective humility, malthus writes, “so much friction and so many minute circumstances occur in practice, which it is next to impossible for the most enlarged and penetrating mind to foresee, that on few subjects can any theory be pronounced just, that has not stood the test of experience” (17). too hesitant to admit the possibility of a society structured by different class relations, malthus instead makes the blanket claim that “in every society that has advanced beyond the savage state, a class of proprietors and a class of labourers must necessarily exist” (95). assuming class relations that make some people poor, malthus is confident enough to proclaim both that “the poor … must live much worse, and many of them be reduced to severe distress” and that “the truth is that the pressure of distress on this part of a community is an evil so deeply seated that no human ingenuity can reach it” (24, 41). malthus’ conservative adherence to existing models of social organization, posed as inductive reasoning, leads to a catastrophic failure of imagination. thought experiments in self-confirmation given the ongoing contemporary circulation of ideas already present in an essay on the principle of population, it is worth examining an example of malthus’ inductive reason at some length. not wanting to be distracted by visionary theory without basis in observed experience, malthus states, “a theory that will not admit of application cannot possibly be just” and then elaborates a process of supposed inductive reasoning based on established facts (65). malthus is responding to the utopian idea that, free from corrupting social institutions, humankind can live 9 in a state of equality. his subsequent thought experiment, meant to expose the impossibility of such utopian imaginings, is as follows: let us suppose all the causes of misery and vice in this island removed. war and contention cease. unwholesome trades and manufactories do not exist. crowds no longer collect together in great and pestilent cities for purposes of court intrigue, of commerce, and vicious gratifications. simple, healthy, and rational amusements take place of drinking, gaming, and debauchery. there are no towns sufficiently large to have any prejudicial effects on the human constitution. the greater part of the happy inhabitants of this terrestrial paradise live in hamlets and farm-houses scattered over the face of the country. every house is clean, airy, sufficiently roomy, and in a healthy situation. all men are equal. the labours of luxury are at end. and the necessary labours of agriculture are shared amicably among all. the number of persons, and the produce of the island, we suppose to be the same as at present. the spirit of benevolence, guided by impartial justice, will divide this produce among all the members of the society according to their wants. (malthus 65-66) in addition to providing insight into what a utopian society looks like for a conservative parson at the end of the 18th century, namely a sober and pastoral utopia, this thought experiment reveals an almost storybook-like style typical of explanations of political economy for laypeople and children. through the lens of the law of population, this utopia transforms into a nightmare. malthus puts a pin into the balloon of egalitarian fantasy, reflecting, “i cannot conceive a form of society so favourable upon the whole to population” (66). assuming freedom of the sexes and goods flowing to all “according to their wants,” there would follow “extraordinary 10 encouragements to population,” which food production could not keep up with even with the whole society focused on agriculture (66). malthus continues: alas! what becomes of the picture where men lived in the midst of plenty … this beautiful fabric of imagination vanishes at the severe touch of truth. … the temptations to evil are too strong for human nature to resist. the corn is plucked before it is ripe, or secreted in unfair proportions, and the whole black train of vices that belong to falsehood are immediately generated. (67-68). in other words, cheating and stealing must necessarily follow from the inevitable reproduction of too many people. excluding the possibility of functional birth control, the rational thinker might be able to follow malthus thus far even with the benefit of hindsight. however, it is in the next link that malthus’ chain of reasoning becomes deliberately, brutally obtuse. assuming food scarcity from overpopulation encouraged by a society without vice, malthus falls back on the pre-existing tools of societal organization that he sees as the only ways to contain social chaos. he writes, “it seems highly probably, therefore, that an administration of property, not very different from that which prevails in civilized states at present, would be established as the best, though inadequate, remedy for evils which were pressing on the society” (70; emphasis added). malthus is willing to admit that the currently prevailing administration of property is inadequate, but he nonetheless sees the status quo as the only reasonable solution. more than that, he poses the status quo as that which would arise naturally by the laws of human nature’s unfolding. from scarcity, malthus infers the need for “two fundamental laws of society, the security of property and the institution of marriage,” marriage for its efficacy in slowing the birth rate (71). from these two fundamental laws, “inequality of conditions must necessarily follow” (71). confined by the desire to validate political economic theory as scientific and 11 distinct from dangerously revolutionary thought, malthus can only admit of what he has already observed in application.1 to maintain his pose of scientific rationality, he then concludes that inequality is necessary because a society will always develop as “civilized” societies already have. here, malthus summarily precludes even alternative social orders that do already exist by labeling them uncivilized. meanwhile, what counts as civilized and what as “savage” is only precursorily explored. malthus’ definition of civilized suggests a tautology: a rational theorist can only approve of theories that have been successfully applied in “civilized” societies and “civilized” societies are those with the same administration of property, and its resulting inequality, already observable in europe. when used in this way, political economy becomes a method for proving that whatever threatens you is impossible. by clamoring for status as a natural science and then posing not only population growth in excess of food supply but also private property and marriage as fundamental laws of society, conservative political economy makes inequality itself appear rational and natural. a more equal society then becomes irrational, impossible. malthus’ thought experiment is an example of political economy in service of the status quo, a way of reasoning that “invariably means ignoring all the subtleties of real social existence and reducing everything to preconceived mechanical or statistical formulae” (graeber 75). like the contemporary bureaucratic reasoning that premises the impossibility of wealth redistribution, prison abolition, or functioning universal health care, malthus’ form of reasoning is characterized by the “willful blindness typical of the powerful” with “the prestige of science” (graeber 82). no wonder, then, that we still hear businessmen and technocrats echoing malthus’ insistence on the laziness of the poor when offered welfare and on the necessity of vice when not checked by the security of private property. 12 political economy in mary barton outside of elizabeth gaskell’s preface to mary barton, in which gaskell professes her ignorance of political economy, the term appears one other time: on the lips of job legh, a selfeducated entomologist and poor working man who serves as something of a foil to the more radical working-class character, john barton. at this point, the penultimate chapter, most of the novel’s plot is concluded. john barton, a once proud patriarch, has been driven to murder, gone nearly mad at the injustice of the vastly unequal society he inhabits. barton has shot and killed the son of the owner at the factory where he was formerly employed—a young man who was the callous leader of the faction refusing to give into the working men in labor negotiations. having demonstrated that dangerous ideas like trade unionism and chartism lead only to bloodshed, the novel then shifts from an exploration of class alienation to a search for redemption. this leads to a scene treacle-sweet with sentimentality, in which mr. carson forgives john barton, now on his deathbed, for murdering his son. the scene is a paroxysm of christian cross-class sympathy, and yet a few loose threads remain, such as how the rest of the workers will survive. to tie up these loose threads, gaskell writes an additional scene of cross-class exchange. this time, job legh represents the working man’s interests—a spokesperson who can be taken as credible since he never succumbed to john barton’s more radical political affiliations. mr. carson summons job to his house in the hopes of making sense of his son’s murder. job accordingly tries to explain how barton grew to hate the masters’ riches in combination with their indifference to the suffering of the poor. it is at this point that mr. carson interrupts, exclaiming, “that's the notion you've all of you got. … now, how in the world can we help it? we cannot regulate the demand for labour” (gaskell 456). recognizing this language of helplessness in the mouths of the rich as a resort to political economy, job responds: 13 not as much, i'm sure, sir; though i'm not given to political economy, i know that much. i'm wanting in learning, i'm aware; but i can use my eyes. i never see the masters getting thin and haggard for want of food; i hardly ever see them making much change in their way of living, though i don't doubt they've got to do it in bad times. but it's in things for show they cut short; while for such as me, it's in things for life we've to stint. for sure, sir, you'll own it's come to a hard pass when a man would give aught in the world for work to keep his children from starving, and can't get a bit, if he's ever so willing to labour. i'm not up to talking as john barton would have done, but that's clear to me at any rate. (gaskell 456) echoing gaskell in the novel’s preface, job refers to political economy only to say that he does not understand it.2 he humbly agrees that mr. carson might be right that the masters cannot help the poor very much, but he still persists in juxtaposing the evidence of his own eyes with the laws of political economy. coming back to the injustice of letting someone starve because they cannot find work, job performs a humility towards the laws that may be beyond his understanding but refuses to agree that this justifies economic inequality unto death. in contrast to job’s earnest observations based on lived experience, mr. carson’s retreat into oversimplified abstraction reads as deliberately obtuse and noncomprehending. his style of arguing becomes akin to a children’s story, in which he is the childlike audience insisting to himself that a factory owner cannot be held responsible when his workers starve. mr. carson reasons aloud: my good man, just listen to me. two men live in solitude; one produces loaves of bread, the other coats, or what you will. now, would it not be hard if the bread-producer were forced to give bread for the coats, whether he wanted them or not, in order to furnish 14 employment to the other? that is the simple form of the case; you've only to multiply the numbers. … it's all nonsense talking, it must be so! (gaskell 456-57). in the context of this conversation, and following the pitiful descriptions of filth, poverty, disease, and starvation that fill mary barton’s pages, this response is utterly inadequate. the juxtaposition of job’s careful explanation that the masters do not starve when times are bad while the workers do with mr. carson’s thought experiment about coats and bread underscores the willful blindness of this form of reasoning. perhaps sensing this, mr. carson stops himself short to proclaim, “it's all nonsense talking.” he instead relies on political economy’s status as law: “it must be so!”. when job asserts that “the duty of the happy is to help the suffering to bear their woe," mr. carson again responds with malthusian anti-poor logic and credence in unalterable facts (457). he voices the malthusian argument that welfare for the poor encourages carelessness and lethargy, claiming “facts have proved and are daily proving how much better it is for every man to be independent of help, and self-reliant” (457). this, coming after the novel has described children starving because of their parents’ unemployment, is hardly convincing, nor does job find it so. instead, job emphasizes mr. carson’s reliance on alleged facts in something of an outburst: “you can never work facts as you would fixed quantities, and say, given two facts, and the product is so and so. god has given men feelings and passions which cannot be worked into the problem … be hanged to the facts!” (457). his own thoughts, based on lived experience as a poor man, simply “don't follow each other like the q. e. d. of a proposition” (458). in other words, job will not reduce poor bodies to mathematical proofs on population. here, job makes the novel’s most explicit statement that “facts” are not enough. even facts and statistics cannot be treated like purely abstract mathematical numbers because they do not allow for people’s feelings and passions, nor their cultural and ideological allegiances for that matter. 15 conclusion elizabeth gaskell may have hoped that a conversation between a capitalist and his employee could lead to a resolution sympathetic to both, resolving class struggle through individual sympathy. however, her novel’s project of representing “the care-worn men, who looked as if doomed to struggle through their lives” successfully generates enough sympathy for working men that the supposed rationality of the employer appears unseeing and absurd (gaskell 37). in the concluding chapters, mr. carson develops into a kind of capitalist reformer after his conversation with job legh, but this remains an individual solution to a systemic problem. mr. carson is just one factory owner in a brutal system of exploitative labor that extends far beyond him. in the end, it is gaskell’s ability to narrate her characters in all their particularity, demanding to be seen as more than manipulable quantities, that makes mary barton a radical novel, not gaskell’s intended happy ending, with minds and hearts transformed into liberal reformers man to man. in their vividly rendered experiences of human suffering, gaskell’s careworn characters call for a broader form of redress—a restructuring of class relations in order to distribute the basic necessities of life more equally to all. political economy’s insistence that things must be so does not satisfy the claims of the working people. theories of economy, however rationally inferred from established precedent, cannot be mere mathematical equations because they are not balancing “fixed quantities” but who lives and who dies. political economy began as an attempt to explain rapidly evolving relationships and conditions as new capitalist structures emerged in britain. it developed into a science of abstraction and rationality beyond the understanding of non-experts, something people could point to when they couldn’t themselves explain why something was the way it was. rather than an explanation of origins, political economy became a tool to naturalize the felt irrationality 16 of industrial class relations and other violences under capitalism. the political impact was devastating. believing mathematic clarity and natural law to be on their side, subscribers to 19th century political economy felt justified denying the claims of the poor, striking workers, starving irish, and even young couples desiring to get married. they had facts on their side. today, malthusian arguments about scarcity drive anti-immigrant rhetoric based on the idea that there is not enough to go around, so we had better discourage alleged hangers-on rather than try to produce more and distribute it more fairly. however, we do not live in the malthusian trap. the world does produce enough food for everyone, made possible by incredible technological advances. yet hunger persists even as there is no natural law that says some part of the population is doomed never to have enough. rather than hide from this fact, thinking that the economic system we now have is the only way it can be, it’s necessary to think beyond circular reasoning based on the status quo to imagine how this wealth of resources might be administered differently. while elizabeth gaskell chose to kill off her more radical character, a man advocating for political reform through the chartist movement, and the chartist movement was crushed historically, in time nearly every one of the chartist’s demands was carried out. together, literature’s invocation of the particularity of lived experience alongside history’s revelation that once radical, even unthinkable demands can become the norm allow contemporary readers to look back on mary barton and see a call to action against systemic poverty that exceeds the narrower vision of its novelist. 17 notes 1. now that labor laws enshrining the 8-hour workday are widespread, a similar failure of malthus’ imagination appears all the more blatant. malthus writes, “if the lower classes of society could agree among themselves never to work more than six or seven hours in the day, the commodities essential to human happiness might still be produced in as great abundance as at present. but it is almost impossible to conceive that such an agreement could be adhered to” (98). 2. many critics have remarked on elizabeth gaskell’s unwillingness to follow the line of reasoning that would extend from sympathy with john barton’s plight to a wholescale critique of industrial england’s class structure. as bodenheimer puts it, gaskell retreats from her own intelligence, “allowing neither her narrator nor her character to challenge the authority that describes the world in middle-class terms” (517). 18 works cited appleman, philip. introduction. an essay on the principle of population: influences on malthus' work nineteenth-century comment, malthus in the twenty-first century, by t. r. malthus, 2nd ed., norton, 2004, pp. xiii-xxxiii. bodenheimer, rosemarie. “private grief and public acts in mary barton.” mary barton: authoritative text, contexts, criticism. edited by thomas recchio. w.w. norton & co., 2008, pp. 510-28. dzelzainis, ella. “malthus, women and fiction.” new perspectives on malthus. edited by robert j. mayhew, cambridge up, 2016. ebscohost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&an=1343227&site=ehostlive&scope=site, pp. 155-81. gallagher, catherine. the body economic: life, death, and sensation in political economy and the victorian novel. princeton university press, 2006. ---. “causality versus conscience: the problem of form in mary barton.” mary barton: authoritative text, contexts, criticism. edited by thomas recchio. w.w. norton & co., 2008, pp. 529-42. gaskell, elizabeth. mary barton. 1848. penguin books, 1985. graeber, david. the utopia of rules: on technology, stupidity, and the secret joys of bureaucracy. melville house, 2015. groenewegen, peter. (2018). “‘political economy’ and ‘economics’.” in: the new palgrave dictionary of economics. palgrave macmillan, london. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1349-95189-5_57. 19 hadley, elaine, et al. from political economy to economics through nineteenth-century literature: reclaiming the social. palgrave macmillan, 2019. longaker, mark garrett. “thomas malthus's rhetorical political economy.” journal for the history of rhetoric, vol. 23, no. 2, 2020, pp. 148-172, taylor & francis ltd, https://doi.org/10.1080/26878003.2020.1756979. malthus, t. r. an essay on the principle of population: influences on malthus' work nineteenthcentury comment, malthus in the twenty-first century. edited by philip appleman, 2nd ed., norton, 2004. marx, karl. “capital (1867).” an essay on the principle of population: influences on malthus' work nineteenth-century comment, malthus in the twenty-first century, by t. r. malthus, 2nd ed., norton, 2004, pp. 156-58. mitchell, robert. infectious liberty: biopolitics between romanticism and liberalism. fordham university press, 2021. niles, lisa. “malthusian menopause: aging and sexuality in elizabeth gaskell’s cranford.” victorian literature and culture, vol. 33, no. 1, 2005, pp. 293–310, https://doi:10.1017/s1060150305000859. “political economy, n.” oxford english dictionary, oxford university press, june 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/oed/1306888381. walter, ryan. before method and models: the political economy of malthus and ricardo. oxford university press, 2021. williams, raymond. “structure of feeling in mary barton.” mary barton: authoritative text, contexts, criticism. edited by thomas recchio. w.w. norton & co., 2008, pp. 482-86. the rising debate about the reform in mathematics education remains unresolved     reform in mathematics education: rethinking the curriculum melissa a. bono               the mathematics classroom has traditionally been a place where students listened quietly as the teacher lectured about the proper way to complete math problems. through continuous independent practice in memorizing basic facts and word problems that lend themselves to a key word approach, the pedagogical goal was that students would develop automaticity and proficiency in the skills being taught. students who encountered difficulties would receive additional help and practice to increase the accuracy and speed of their computations.             as educators try to meet the ever-increasing demand that students demonstrate competence in math as well in the ability to solve problems, recent reform in mathematics education calls for changes that alter dramatically the way math is being taught in schools (national council of teachers of mathematics, 1989). students are still expected to listen quietly as the teacher presents, works, and discusses mathematical concepts. struggling students are still required to receive extra assistance to increase their understandings. however, the teacher is no longer the only source of information. students are being encouraged to engage actively in the pedagogical process by solving  real-life mathematical problems and explaining their mathematical reasoning to the teacher and their classmates. students spend much of their time in a reform-based mathematics classroom solving challenging problems that entail open-ended answers or involve the use of different strategies.  to reinforce math concepts, teachers introduce students to an array of math tools and manipulatives, for example, calculators, geometry templates, and unifix cubes. to succeed in a reform-based mathematics classroom, students must carefully listen and explain their mathematical reasoning through conversations among their teacher and their peers to construct personally meaningful understandings of mathematical concepts (baxter, olson, & woodward, 2001). educational researchers, teachers, parents, and school board members have raised many questions about the effects of reform-based mathematics upon student achievement, particularly upon low achievers. as baxter, olson, and woodward have noted: “an underlying assumption of the reform is that the new mathematics pedagogy and curricula are effective for all students, including low achievers” (2001, p. 530).  research has suggested, however, that the standards adopted by national council of teachers of mathematics (nctm), released in 1989 and revised in 2002, provide little guidance and modifications for students who are at risk (baxter, olson, & woodward, 2001, p. 530). a study by carroll (1998) investigated the level of geometric understanding of students when exposed to everyday mathematics, a reform-based mathematics program developed by the university of chicago’s mathematics project.  carroll’s experimental study used a paper-and-pencil method to determine the geometric knowledge of fifth and sixth graders using everyday mathematics. the researcher administered a pretest and a posttest at the start and end of the year to 20 fifth and sixth grade classes using the reform-based program, 10 of which were used as comparison classes. carroll’s findings indicated an increase in the level of fifth and sixth grade geometric knowledge when practicing everyday mathematics. students using the reform-based program outperformed their comparison groups in both a pretest and a posttest (1998, p. 8). two-tailed t tests indicated that these differences between the groups were significant (table 1).   table 1   mean correct (and standard deviation) on pretest and posttest   grade                        pretest                                       posttest      5                   9.0 (3.9)      11.8 (4.5)            10.2 (4.0)    14.7 (5.3)      6                   10.5 (3.6)    13.5 (4.4)            13.8 (3.4)    16.9 (4.1)   note: indicates a significant difference (p < 0.01), on t tests between groups at the   same grade; e.g., fifth grade ucsmp and comparison on the same test. on the   pretest, t-statistics on a pretest were t (165) = 4.25 for fifth graders and t (244)=   5.77 for sixth graders. on a posttest, t-statistics were t (165) = 6.31 for fifth   graders, and t (244) = 5.62 for sixth graders.   on the pretest, carroll noted two differences at the fifth grade level and three significant differences at the sixth grade level on the pretest. students exposed to everyday math scored higher than comparison sixth graders on the pretest, with a mean percent correct of 47% and 42% respectively. posttest results depicted a similar pattern, with everyday math students significantly outperforming the comparison students at both grade levels. data indicated two significant class differences at the fifth grade level and two significant class differences at the sixth grade level (1998, p. 5). in a second study, noyce and riordan (2001) conducted a post-treatment study using matched comparison groups in a quasi-experimental design. the researchers compared standardized test scores of fourth and eighth grade students using everyday math and connected mathematics to the scores of students using a magnitude of curricula that represent the norm instruction in massachusetts. the researchers found that students attending schools using a reform-based mathematics program outperformed those using a more traditional curriculum. all differences between the target curriculum and the comparison curriculum were statistically significant (p < 0.001).  the results also indicated that longer exposure to either of the programs in the schools was associated with greater student test scores.  noyce and riordan noted: “connected mathematics students in the first two or three years of school implementation performed 4.0 points better than their counterparts, whereas connected mathematics students in the fourth year of implementation performed 5.5 points better. similarly, everyday mathematics students in the first two or three years of school implementation scored 2.5 points better than their counterparts, whereas everyday mathematics students in their fourth year of school implementation scored 5.7 points better” (2001, p. 383).  in light of these findings, noyce and riordan argue that everyday mathematics and connected mathematics are two effective programs for all students at the bottom, middle, or top of the achievement spectrum (p. 386). believing that the nctm standards (1989) provide little, if any, guidance about how teachers might modify the standards for students who are at risk of academic failure or have a learning disability in math, baxter, olson, & woodward (2001) studied the reactions and responses of students who struggle in math. to test for understanding and involvement among low-ability students, the researchers focused on 16 qualified participants in five third-grade classrooms using reform-based instruction. through 34 classroom observations of the students, peers, and teachers and several interviews with the teachers, the researchers analyzed the involvement of low achievers in whole-class discussions and pair work, essential parts of this type of instruction. this one-year qualitative study inquiring into the responses of low achieving students in reform-based mathematics classrooms indicated that in all five math classrooms there were only three occasions out of 34 observations when low achievers volunteered answers during class discussions, verbalizing only one-word answers or remaining silent while their partners spoke. “the target students were observed playing quietly with a small object in their laps, staring out the window, writing on a piece of paper, or avoiding eye contact with the teacher” (baxter, woodward & olson, 2001, p. 537). the target students were more actively engaged in pair work than in whole-group discussions. however, they chose a more supportive, nonmathematical role of organizing materials and listening to their peers’ ideas while their higher ability classmates responded with detailed and accurate mathematical explanations. the data analysis of the observations and interviews from the five classrooms identified the social, verbal, and cognitive challenges low achievers faced in the reform-based math classrooms.         this gloomy finding regarding the minimal involvement of low achievers need not be viewed as a complete failure for reform-based mathematics programs.  in fact, baxter, olson, and woodward utilized the data to paint an optimistic image about how teachers and parents can better engage the target students in a reform-based setting (2001, pp. 543-545).  teacher awareness of the social, verbal, and cognitive demands that reform-based mathematics curricula put upon low achieving students is a critical first step in molding students into more active participants of reform-based mathematics instruction. educational researchers have discussed findings reporting that both the grouping of students and the use of manipulatives in the classroom have positively influenced the involvement of low-ability students during the math lessons. how students respond to a teacher’s structural and instructional strategies depends largely upon how the teacher steers the students. ma (1999) notes, for example, that the teacher must make clear connections between manipulatives and mathematical ideas in order to promote understanding as one teacher did by forming “ad hoc” groups consisting of 8-11 low achieving students who were chosen based on the goal of the teacher’s lesson that day. after reviewing definitions such as parallel lines and rays during an “ad hoc” lesson, students demonstrated the various terms with their arms, pieces of yarn, and geoboards. “we can make these form right angles, one low achiever stated, as he spontaneously started counting the degrees of the other angles in the intersecting yarn (baxter, olson, & woodward, 2001, p. 541).  in working with geometric terms, and building conceptual          understandings of important math ideas, the easily distracted target students were able to respond to the teacher’s request and were eager to answer her questions while constructing conceptual understandings that were meaningful to them as learners of math. additional help and extra support both inside and outside of the classroom from teachers, parents, and classmates appeared to help in monitoring the students’ progress and behavior. to enhance the development of a child’s math skills and concepts, they should be encouraged to practice and revisit new and previously learned computational skills and word problems, found in the child’s workbook or “math journal.” since everyday mathematics provides many opportunities for students to master a topic, it is not necessary to dwell on one skill area if a child does not master it immediately. (the university of chicago school mathematics project, 2002, p. 29).  the university of chicago school mathematics project notes: “staying too long with a topic may help some students attain temporary mastery, but for maximum long-term retention, it is best to follow the basic structure of the curriculum as it is written” (2002, p. 29). teachers and parents need to assist students in speaking about their mathematical knowledge and ideas as well as encourage them to explain how they arrived at their answers. through the students’ individual conjectures and reasoning, they are to make sense of the math concepts being studied. the more practice the students get in explaining why they are doing math, rather than just following the rules of math, the easier time they will have in meeting the high verbal, social, and cognitive expectations and challenges that reform-based instruction presents. the university of chicago school                                                                               mathematics project notes: “because verbalizing often clarifies concepts, talking about mathematics is an important part of thinking about mathematics” (2002, p. 4). while some elementary and middle school educators will continue to favor the traditional, old fashioned way of teaching math, others strongly view mathematics as an opportunity to mold children into problem-solvers who can make relationships through explorations, reasoning, and exchanging ideas with others, which are essential skills in real life. a number of studies have concluded that reform-based mathematics curricula do improve student mathematical understanding. elementary and middle school students are capable of developing stronger mathematical understandings through daily exposure to reform-based math programs such as everyday mathematics and connected  mathematics. while the social, verbal, and cognitive gap regarding low-achievers is an important issue, these results suggest that achievement for all students can be reached by changes in the classroom structure and instruction, and the extra assistance in school as well as at home from kindergarten onward (baxter, olson, & woodward, 2001, p. 545).   therefore, it would be misguided policy to turn away from reform-based mathematics   curricula. instead, these curricula should be investigated further to discover how   mathematics teachers might engage struggling students as more active participants of this   type of instruction.   summary   the questions asked in the rising tide of debate about the reform in mathematics education have remained unresolved. while different groups have strong, varying opinions about what constitutes high-quality mathematics education, research suggests that exposure to reform-based mathematics curricula such as everyday mathematics and connected mathematics are associated with a greater score advantage and a deeper understanding of geometric knowledge and mathematical reasoning for elementary and middle school students. results have suggested that low-achieving students display a lack of social and verbal interactions in reform-based mathematics classrooms, which need to be addressed if these students are to benefit from this type of instruction. with this exception, most reform-based mathematics programs have demonstrated their effectiveness with a fair degree of consistency.     references baxter, j. a., olson, d., & woodward, j. (2001). effects of reform-based mathematics instruction on low achievers in five third grade classrooms. the elementary school journal, 101, 529-546. carroll, w. m. (1998). geometric knowledge of middle school students in a reform-based mathematics curriculum. school science and mathematics, 98, 188. retrieved october 3, 2002, from http://web4.epnet.com/citation.asp. lappan g., fey j., fitzgerald w., friel s., & phillips e. (2002). getting to know connected mathematics: an implementation guide. illinois: prentice hall.   ma, l. (1999). knowing and teaching elementary mathematics. new jersey: lawrence erlbaum associates.  national council of teachers of mathematics. (1989). curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics. reston, virginia. noyce, p. e., & riordan j. e. (2001). the impact of two standards-based mathematics curricula on student achievement in massachusetts. journal for research in mathematics education, 32, 368-393. the university of chicago school mathematics project. (2002). everyday mathematics teacher’s reference manual. columbus, ohio: mcgraw-hill.       [concept, vol. xxxiv (2011)] wind speed thresholds for typha cattail seed release and local reduction of wind speed by mixed cattail/phragmites stands heather heinz biology introduction the growth of large, monoculture stands of cattail typha species and the common reed, phragmites australis, has earned them the status of highly productive invaders in various parts of eastern north america, particularly in wetland habitats disturbed by man (mitich, 2000; derr, 2008; farnsworth and meyerson, 2003). comparative ecophysiological studies indicate various traits that increase the competitive success of these species, such as their ability to efficiently convert co2 and nutrients into aboveground biomass in both freshwater and brackish habitats and their longer growing season relative to other vegetation owing to the emergence of leaves combined with long leaf longevity (farnsworth and meyerson, 2003). while both phragmites and typha can reproduce vegetatively to form large colonies via rhizomes, studies of genetic diversity in wetlands suggest that phragmites spreads mostly by airborne seeds, not through invasion via a few seeds arriving and subsequently propagating (belzile et al., 2009). rapid growth of colonies to heights over to 4 m by either species (mitich, 2000; farnsworth and meyerson, 2003) may quickly form a physical blockade limiting air circulation in the wetland. phragmites in particular is known to reduce wind velocity in its dense canopy (brix, 1994). the impacts in marshes and shorelines dominated by tall grasses and sedges, where at times 47 species (28% of the community) have wind dispersal mechanisms (soons, 2006), have not been fully explored. combining small, lightweight seeds with high release height is a strategy for long distance dispersal in plants. sexual reproduction and dispersal in typha is by achenes, seeds born on the wind by silky threads (mitich, 2000). cattail seeds are small (0.05 mg) and after studying falling distances in still air, matlack (1987) estimated travel distances of 154 feet in 10 km/h winds. low achene terminal velocities are also reported (<0.15 m/s for typha spp., <0.25 m/s for phragmites), permitting seeds to be carried several kilometers in updrafts and stormy conditions (soons and bullock, 2008). the timing of seed release related to wind speed can also have significant impacts on dispersal distance and migration rate (schippers and jongejans, 2005; soons and bullock, 2008). the drag of wind on plant seeds creates the force necessary to detach them from the plant from the main body of the plant. the tension required to remove seeds from the plant should provide an indirect measure of the wind speed needed to produce enough force via drag to remove seeds. if plants exercise some form of control over the process of abscission, the separation of a plant part such as a flower or fruit, until wind conditions are ideal, they will have an advantage in long distance dispersal. this study is exploratory in nature and seeks to determine the wind speed threshold for seed detachment in typha angustifolia cattail spikes. a field survey will describe patterns of wind speed loss at varying heights and then determine whether wind speeds sufficient to spread seeds are reached at the border between patches of phragmites and tyhpa in wetlands. wind speed is expected to fall with decreasing height as vegetation blocks the flow of air. further, it is hypothesized that the number of seeds released will be inversely proportional to the tension required to remove achenes from the spadix. at low tensions, less energy is required to pull off seeds, and consequently more will be released. the threshold wind speed (the wind speed of the first observed seed release) is likewise anticipated to be low. methods field survey of wind speeds the ±0.75 ha villanova university constructed stormwater wetland, located at villanova, pennsylvania, 19085 usa was created nine years prior to this study to capture and treat runoff from a 41 acre suburban site (map 1). a program to control the invasion of phragmites by spraying glyphosate herbicide during the spring and summer growing season followed by winter cutting has not been successful and the majority of the wetland is dominated by the reed. five 1 m 2 plots, sites a-e (map 1), were selected to span the boundary between phragmites and typha stands. wind speed within each plot was measured using a dwyer instruments mark ii wind speed indicator scale. wind direction was not noted but was observed to vary greatly. readings were taken at five height categories: the average and maximum stalk height of typha in the individual plot, the average stalk height and maximum stalk height of the phragmites in the plot, and 0.5 m above the tallest plant in the plot. thus, the wind speed measurements taken for the category “maximum phragmites height” at site a were not necessarily taken at the same absolute height above the wetland floor as those measures taken for the maximum phragmites height category at site b, c, d, or e, and so on. measurements were repeated on ten days in november between 1030 and 1500h. as a control representing the absolute wind speed above the wetland without interruption from vegetation, data from a weather station (ws) on a bank directly above the wetland were utilized (map 1). the weather station continually measures wind speed and records averages every minute. the weather station's minute-byminute data were later averaged for the hours spent in the field each day of data collection (between 45 min and 1.5 hrs). lab experiments to determine wind speed threshold needed to detach typha achenes before taking the above-discussed wind speed measurements, the seedbearing spadix “spikes” of the cattails (n=47) were harvested from each wetland site. 14 days after collection, these spadices were experimentally subjected to wind to observe the threshold wind speed. following soons and bullock (2008), the threshold wind speed was defined as the speed at which the first achene is observed to detach from the spadix. a gradual increase in air movement was achieved by attaching a floor fan to a rheostat. individual sample spadices were placed whole 10 cm in front of the fan, centered vertically in the flow of air. wind speed at this location was increased from still air to a maximum of 6.71 m/sec by hand adjustment of the rheostat over the course of ±20 seconds, after which the fan was held at top speed for an additional 5 seconds. all experiments took place inside a closed green house to minimize air circulation and turbulence. a 35 x 35 cm square of overlapping strips of duct tape was hung 1 m downstream of the fan (90 cm downstream of the sample). achenes became trapped on its surface allowing for a representative quantification of the number of seeds released by each spadix. the tape trap was replaced between each test run that released seeds. after collecting threshold wind speed data and seed counts, 15 x 2 mm areas of achenes were pulled by hand from spadices by grasping with a small metal binding clipped padded with a slip of craft foam and lined with metal slats for even grip. readings of the force being applied at the moment the sections of seeds tore free from the spadices were taken on a 3 n spring tensometer attached to the clip. tension measurements were repeated three times, once near the top of the spadix, once near the middle, and once near the bottom. map 1. schematic of the villanova university constructed stormwater wetland. study sites a-e are indicated by letters. ws = weather station. dark and light stippling represents the estimated range within the wetland of typha angustifolia and phragmites australis, respectively. flow of water proceeds from the bottom left toward the reconstructed area with native tree and shrub plantings in the upper right. inset are a compass rose and map of the university campus, indicating the location of the wetland in a suburban environment. image modified from villanova urban stormwater patternship resources, available from http://www3.villanova.edu/vusp/. results between-site variation: plant heights water quality, measured using a lamotte water monitoring kit, did not vary greatly between sites (1-2ppm phosphates, 0 ppm nitrates, ph 7±0.5). sites were dominated by phragmites australis and typha angustifolia. the tallest plant at every site was phragmites. plants below 1 m in height were not measured and were observed to be few and nonflowering. while average heights were similar, the heights of phragmites were more varied (standard deviation=48.01) than those of typha (sd=25.24). the number of phragmites to typha plants per square meter site varied, with the ratio of phragmites to typha population size from 0.636 to 1.429 (table 1). linear regression showed no significant correlation between plant average or maximum height and this ratio or overall plant density (all r 2 <0.2; figures not reported here). anova analysis shows phragmites heights did not differ significantly by site (f=1.693, p=0.17). despite site c having significantly shorter cattails (one-way anova, f= 18.03, p<0.0001) than the other sites (fig. 1), wind speed measurements at this site followed the pattern observed across other sites (fig. 2). table 1. height categories and summary statistics for variation in flora among sites. the tallest plant at every site was phragmites. asterisk (*) indicates statistically significant difference from other sites (p<0.0001). site a 264 223 234 186.7 9:10 (0.9) 314 site b 248 180.64 230 203.13 11:8 (1.375) 298 site c 215 168.75 181 157.64* 8:11 (0.727) 265 site d 296 198.29 212 197.09 7:11 (0.636) 346 site e 269 190.8 238 218.57 11:10 (1.429) 319 overall average 258.4 192.29 219 192.62 1.01 308.4 phragmites maximum height (cm) phragmites average height (cm) typha maximum height (cm) typha average height (cm) number phragmites:typha maximum height +0.5 m a b c d e 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 phragmites typha site h e ig h t (c m ) figure 1. plant heights by site. sample size varies by site: a) phragmites n=9, typha n=10; b) phragmites n=11, typha n=8; c) phragmites n=8, typha n=11; d) phragmites n=7, typha n=11; e) phragmites n=11, typha n=7. vertical error bars represent the standard deviations for the means. one-way anova shows typha height differs significantly only at site c (f= 18.03, p<0.0001), indicated by an asterisk (*). phragmites heights do not differ significantly between sites. wind speeds in the field wind speed at the maximum phragmites and typha heights and 0.5 m above the tallest plant did not differ significantly from the average speed measured by the weather station at any site (fig. 2). at the lowest heights (site average phragmites and typha heights), wind was significantly lower than the weather station data for sites c, d, and e. site b wind speeds at the average typha height (203 cm) were significantly lower than above the wetland as reported by the weather station but did not differ significantly at the average phragmites height (180 cm). wind at site a did not differ significantly from weather station data at any height (fig. 2). figure 2. average wind speed at five wetland sites and as measured by a weather station anemometer. instantaneous wind speed data collected on 10 days. site ws = weather station on embankment above wetland. sample sizes for plant heights vary by site: a) phragmites n=9, typha n=10; b) phragmites n=11, typha n=8; c) phragmites n=8, typha n=11; d) phragmites n=7, typha n=11; e) phragmites n=11, typha n=7. vertical error bars represent the standard deviations for the means. one-way anova shows wind speed differs significantly only at the level of the phragmites average height per plot and typha average height per plot (p<0.05). letters above bars indicate wind speeds that differ significantly. ws a b c d e 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 sitea v e ra g e w in d s p e e d a t m a x im u m p la n t h e ig h t + 0 .5 m ( m /s ) ws a b c d e 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 site a v e ra g e w in d s p e e d a t m a x im u m p h ra g m it e s h e ig h t (m /s ) ws a b c d e 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 site a v e ra g e w in d s p e e d a t a v e ra g e t y p h a h e ig h t ( m /s ) a a a a a a a a ws a b c d e 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 site a v e ra g e w in d s p e e d a t m a x im u m t y p h a h e ig h t ( m /s ) a a a a a a a a a a a b b b b ws a b c d e 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 sitea v e ra g e w in d s p e e d a t a v e ra g e p h ra g m it e s h e ig h t ( m /s ) a a a b b b a a a because of low between-site variation, wind speed measurements were pooled from all sites to create a wind speed profile at continuous heights above the wetland floor (fig. 3). linear regression of this direct relationship yields the equation: wind speed = (0.01 * height) – 0.7. when the ten wind speed measurements at each height are converted into percentages of the weather station measurements, averaged, and plotted against height, a similar relationship is found (fig. 4). linear regression shows the percentage of the wind speed at any given height = (height * 0.44) – 35.71. percentages over 100 were observed at both the maximum plant height +0.5 m and maximum phragmites height levels. maximum observed wind speed sometimes exceeded weather station values (table 2). zero wind speed was recorded at least once at all sites and in all height categories. table 2. wind speeds by height category. data averaged across five sites. wind speeds were greatest above maximum plant height and decreased with decreasing height above the wetland floor. percentages above 100 likely due to the comparison of instantaneous data to weather station (ws) averages by minute (see discussion). average height (cm) average % of ws wind speed +0.5 m 308.4 2.13 6.04 105.58 258.4 1.57 5.81 76.29 192.29 0.93 2.68 45.59 219 1.18 3.13 59.49 192.62 0.98 3.58 48.38 average wind speed (m/s) maximum wind speed (m/s) max phrag avg phrag max typha avg typha figure 3. scatterplot of relationship between height above wetland floor and average wind speed. instantaneous wind speed data collected at five sites on 10 days. a linear regression shows there is a positive association between height and average wind speed (r 2 =0.74). 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 height (cm) a v e ra g e w in d s p e e d ( m /s ) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 height (cm) a v e ra g e % o f w s w in d s p e e d figure 4. scatterplot of relationship between height above wetland floor and average percent of wind speed as measured at a weather station (ws) above the wetland. instantaneous wind speed data collected at five sites on 10 days. weather station is an average of continuous data for the time period during which readings were taken in the wetland. percentages above 100 possibly due to the comparison of instantaneous data to averages (see discussion). a linear regression shows there is a positive association between height and average percent of wind speed above the wetland (r 2 =0.73). wind speed thresholds for release of seeds in typha spadices were collected from a total of 47 typha and stored in a cool, dry location for 14 days before wind speed tests. when subjected to steadily increasing wind speeds, the vast majority of spadices (n=29) released no seeds, even after five seconds at top speed (6.71 m/s). two samples released over 300 seeds beginning at relatively low wind speed thresholds (~3 m/s), and one sample released 127 seeds beginning at 3.58 m/s. fewer than 15 seeds were trapped from each of the remaining releasing samples (n=15). three broad groups of readiness to release seeds are discernible (table 3; fig. 5). analyses of tension near the top, middle and bottom of the spadix and of the average of these three tensions all yielded no significant correlation with number of seeds caught by tape traps (all linear regression r 2 <0.09, p>0.5, fig. 6) or with threshold wind speed (fig 7). threshold wind (table 3) are far below the average wind speed observed in the field study at all heights (table 2), but this may be an artifact of the inability to downregulate the fan's speed sufficiently in this experimental setup. maximum field wind speeds fall within the range of seed detachment thresholds but in all height categories except the range of the tallest phragmites, some thresholds were not met by measured field wind conditions (table 2). the peak minute-long average wind speed recorded by the weather station was well above threshold values (7.51 m/s). table 3. three groups of seed-releasing spadices may be observed: dark gray shading indicates samples (n=2) that readily released many seeds (300+) at very low threshold wind speeds and had low tension. middle gray indicates sample (n=1) that released many seeds (127) at a low threshold wind speed and had middling tension. light gray indicates the largest group (n=15), whose member spadices released fewer than 15 seeds each across a spectrum of wind speeds. the majority of spadices did not readily release seeds at the wind speeds they were subject to in this study. 0.67 3.04 338 0.27 3.04 364 2.15 3.24 6 1.17 3.58 127 0.65 3.58 8 0.47 3.73 2 0.42 3.8 4 0.38 3.84 12 0.97 3.86 2 1.07 4.57 6 0.32 5.29 5 1.38 5.84 3 1.22 5.84 14 0.28 6.19 4 0.45 6.49 6 0.48 6.49 3 average tension (n) threshold wind speed (m/s) # seeds caught in tape figure 5. scatterplot of relationship between threshold wind speed and the number of seeds caught in sticky seed trap downwind. while regressions show no significant correlation between the threshold wind speed and number of seeds caught, three distinct groups are notable. dark gray shading indicates samples (n=2) that released many seeds (300+) at very low wind speeds. middle gray indicates sample (n=1) that released many seeds (127) at low wind speed. light gray indicates the largest group (n=15), whose member spadices released fewer than 15 seeds each across a variety of wind speeds. note logarithmic scale on the y-axis. figure 6. scatterplot of relationship between average tension required to remove a 15 x 2 mm strip of typha achenes by hand (n=3) and the number of seeds caught in sticky seed trap downwind. while regressions show no significant correlation between average tension and number of seeds caught, three distinct groups are notable. dark gray shading indicates samples (n=2) that released many seeds (300+) and had low tension. middle gray indicates sample (n=1) that released many seeds (127) and had middling tension. light gray indicates the largest group (n=15), whose member spadices released fewer than 15 seeds each. note logarithmic scale on the y-axis. figure 7. scatterplot of relationship between average tension required to remove a 15 x 2 mm strip of typha achenes by hand (n=3) and threshold wind speed for release of the first achene. removal of the possible outlying data point at tension=2.2n does not change the lack of significance of linear regressions (all r 2 <0.04). discussion the finding at maximum plant height and at 0.5 m above plant height wind speeds greater than those well above the wetland as measured by the weather station was initially troubling but may be explained by discrepancies in methods of data collection. specifically, wind speed among the plants at each height category was measured instantaneously, while the weather station recorded average wind speeds every minute. thus, measurements at various heights were susceptible to the influence of gusts of wind, while the weather station only recorded sustained breezes; strong blasts would tend to be evened out over the course of 60 seconds. however, the maximum one-minute average wind speed recorded for a one-month period was 5.17 m/s at 1100h, indicating that wind velocity at the villanova stormwater wetland site does at least occasionally reach high levels for sustained bursts around the hours of day relevant to this study. future studies should perhaps employ a digital anemometer for simultaneous wind speed measurements to prevent similar occurrences of this misalignment of data types. because wind speed directionality was not recorded, it is difficult to discern whether reduced wind speeds at lower heights above the wetland floor are due to blocking by phragmites, typha, or simply the presence of any physical resistance to air flow at all. comparing site c to other sites showed that despite significantly shorter typha overall similar levels of wind blockage occur at low heights. this is evidence in favor of the argument that phragmites are blocking the significant portion of the wind, but more controlled replicate studies are need to know with any surety. it can be stated that while typha does not on average grow to height beyond where wind speed is significantly reduced, wind speed levels in this zone is not 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 average tension (n) t h re s h o ld w in d s p e e d ( m /s ) consistently below threshold values for seed release as measured in the experimental portion of this study and as such the impact of reduced wind speed on the ability of typha to get seeds airborne may be minimal. however, the terminal velocity of the seeds is very low, allowing seeds to travel long distances in weak, turbulent thermal updrafts (soons, 2006). visually, typha are seen to shift from a tight, compact spadix structure to a light, fluffy, or airy texture that corresponds with mass seed abscission. this mechanism is key to cattail migration and understanding the stimuli that trigger the change to senescence and seed release will inform efforts to curb invasions. although the sample size of spadices that released seeds was low and, statistically, tension does not appear to be a reliable method of measuring the wind speed at which a spadix will begin to release seeds to the wind or the number of seeds that will be released, i was able to classify three differing degrees of spadix readiness to undergo at least partial seed abscission (the color groups in figures 5 and 6 and in table 3) based number of seeds released and seed release threshold wind speeds. however, a singe spadix contains tens of thousands of seeds and no sample released even a modest fraction of this overall amount when subjected to wind in this study. a likely explanation for the lack relationship between tension and threshold wind speed and the staggered grouping of seed release readiness is the existence of an additional, intervening mechanism at the interface between the two. thigmotropic responses are a likely example. plants are known to react to physical pressure, including from wind. responses include cell differentiation, regulation of chemical pathways, localized growth both toward and away from stimuli, the deployment of defensive stinging cells and the physical projection of seeds for dispersal (jaffe, et al., 2002). in the case of seed abscission, physical pressure may come directly through contact when spadices impact one another as they sway in the wind, knocking open the tightly-packed seed head. this may explain the low variation in typha height when compared to phragmites; differences in fruiting body structure (club-like spadix versus feathery plume) may mean that seeds have different likelihoods of being knocked off the plant due to physical contact and therefor may benefit more or less from growing more densely along the vertical gradient. there is also evidence for indirect thigmotropic control of seed abscission. recently, a theoretical modeling framework illustrates that non-random abscission of seeds can greatly impact the likelihood of long distance seed dispersal by altering the shape of the curve of seed shadows which model seed release and dispersal distance (schippers and jongejans, 2005; soons and bullock, 2008) . related wind tunnel and seed trapping experiments with heath plants suggest plants selectively release seeds during strong gusts of wind, principally at the beginning of the gust and during turbulent air flow (soons and bullock, 2008) . typha seeds are small and lightweight and have great potential to disperse over many kilometers once airborne (soons, 2006). though the act of seed abscission is small-scale, because established wetland communities act can as seed sources for an expanding front of dispersal, the dynamics of wind speed within the structure of existing plant communities therefor bear heavily on implications for patterns of invasion across the landscape. acknowledgments i thank shirley wang and kate shephard for their kind and patient assistance with running statistical analyses for this investigation and dr. ronald balsamo for substantial contributions to experimental design and logistical support throughout the endeavor. field equipment supplied by the balsamo and curry labs at villanova university. weather station data were generously provided by dr. bridget wadzuk and john hickman of the villanova civil and environmental engineering department. study site managed by the villanova urban stormwater patternship (http://www3.villanova.edu/vusp/). purchases funded by the biology department of villanova university. references belzile, f., j. labbe, m. leblanc, and c. lavoie . 2009. seeds contribute strongly to the spread of the invasive genotype of the common reed (phragmites australis) . biol invasions . 12: online edition. brix, h. 1994. functions of macrophytes in constructed wetlands. water science technology 29: 71-78. derr, j.r. 2008 . common reed (phragmites australis) response to postemergence herbicides. invasive plant sci & management 1:153-157. farnsworth, e.j. and l.a. meyerson. 2003. comparative ecophysiology of four wetland plant species along a continuum of invasiveness. wetlands 23: 750– 762. matlack, g. r. 1987. diaspore size, shape, and fall behavior in wind-dispersed plant species. american journal of botany 74 8 :1150-1160. mitich, l.m. 2000. common cattail, typha latifolia l. weed technology 14: 446450. mordecai j. jaffe, m.j., a.c. leopold, and r.c. staples. 2002. thigmo responses in plants and fungi. amer j botany. 89:375-382. schippers, p. and e. jongejans. 2005. release thresholds strongly determine the range of seed dispersal by wind. ecological moedlling. 185: 93-103. soons, m.b. 2006. wind dispersal in freshwater wetlands: knowledge for conservation and restoration. appl veg sci 9: 271-278. soons, m.b. and j.m. bullock. 2008. non-random seed abscission, long-distance wind dispersal and plant migration rates . j eco. 96: 581-590. greetings from jim crow, new jersey: the battle to define public and commercial space in asbury park, 1880-1890* greetings from jim crow, new jersey: contesting the meaning and abandonment of reconstruction in the public and commercial spaces of asbury park, 1880-18901 david goldberg history on the night of june 28, 1889, william nelson, a black employee of an ice cream parlor, stood watching a carousel ride inside the palace, an indoor amusement arcade located on the boardwalk of asbury park, new jersey. when a white security guard attempted to remove him from the facility, nelson fought back, prompting a physical altercation with the officer, john a. krause, outside of the palace premises. after both men were arrested and fined for the incident, palace owner ernie schnitzler responded by restricting entrance into the pavilion to season ticket holders only, which, according to an account published in the town’s shore press, were sold and distributed only to the palace’s white patrons. however, after immediate public protests from the town’s african american community, schnitzler reversed his decision and allowed the town’s black citizens back into the palace on a restricted and limited basis. concluding its coverage of the altercation a few days later, the shore press predicted that “it is probable that no future trouble will result.”2 for the summer residents of asbury park, the palace served as the focal point of a shore community centered around leisure attractions. however, for nelson—a black man in a resort town that increasingly sought to curb the public presence of african americans—the palace became one of many new public and commercial spaces that highlighted the emerging jim crow character of the jersey shore after reconstruction. in the palace, as well as on the beaches, pavilions, promenades, boardwalks, bathing houses, skating parlors, and amusement arcades of asbury park, white and black residents waged both vocal and physical contests over the undefined and unreconstructed social landscape. using both the press and active participation to assert their ideas about public and private segregation, citizens’ written accounts of social relations from both communities helped to highlight the undefined and unfixed public and commercial boundaries that existed during the period between the end of reconstruction and the legal institutionalization of jim crow.3 over the past few decades, literature on the subject of republican-led reconstruction has successfully contributed to a more complete record of the tensions between contested notions of political, social, and economic equality within southern 1 “greetings from asbury park” was and remains the official slogan of the resort community. musician bruce springsteen later adopted the slogan as the title of his first commercial album in 1973. 2 shore press, “palace guard incident,” june 28, 1889. 3 both the monmouth county historical society and the asbury park public library have assembled the bound versions of the asbury park press, the daily journal, and the shore press. 1 communities. there now exists, for example, greater historical insight into how particular policies and struggles were played out within specific regions, states, and communities of the south.4 yet, aside from recent monographs addressing the tensions between political leaders of the north, very few works have addressed the equally contested nature of northern-style segregation by ordinary citizens. these citizen sought to revise the social boundaries of public and commercial space, particularly along the shore.5 by examining the emergence of segregation in asbury park, this paper explores how moral and social values among white northerners influenced political policies toward african americans, and how conflicting memories of the civil war and reconstruction by both groups made asbury park a battleground for social space, racial equality, and the construction of historical memory.6 throughout the late 1870’s and 1880’s, the social appeal of the jersey shore, as well as the revivalist sentiment of american methodism, drew a diverse crowd of northern white and black travelers.7 the combination of cheap land and convenient travel enabled businessmen like james a. bradley, a brush manufacturer from new york and asbury park’s founding father, to benefit from the untapped land along the coast. seeking a spiritual and rehabilitative escape from his urban environment, james bradley 4 several prominent treatments include: randolph b. campbell, grassroots reconstruction in texas, 18651880, (baton rouge, louisiana state university press, 1997). randolph addresses various experiences of selected texas counties and examines the political, economic, and legal methods and motives expressed and implemented by the white and black citizens of texas. other southern treatments include, robert fischer, the segregation struggle in louisiana, 1862-1877, (university of illinois press, 1972); paul a. simbala, under the guardianship of the nation: the freedman’s bureau and the reconstruction of georgia, 1865-1870, (athens, university of georgia press, 1997; thomas holt, black over white: negro political leadership in south carolina during reconstruction, (university of illinois press, 1977); peter kolchin: first freedom: the responses of alabama’s blacks to emancipation and reconstruction, (greenwood press, 1972); and leslie a. schwalm, “ ‘overrun with free negroes’: emancipation and wartime migration in the upper midwest,” civil war history 50.2 (2004) 145-174. 5 c. vann woodward remarked in his classic account, the strange career of jim crow that “one of the strangest things “regarding the appearance of segregation in the south was that it “was born in the north and reached an advanced age before moving to the south in force.” while few historians have addressed the contested nature of northern style seclusion among ordinary citizens, several prominent monographs have been produced on the internal dialogue among moderate and radical republican leaders over the nature of reconstruction policies. some of these include: edward gambill, conservative ordeal: northern democrats and reconstruction, 1865-1868, (1981); david montgomery, beyond equality: labor and the radical republicans, 1862-1872, (1981); iver bernstein, the new york city draft riots: their significance for american society and politics in the age of civil war, (new york: oxford university press, 1990); mark e. neely jr., the boundaries of american political culture in the civil war era, (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 2005); and heather cox richardson, the death of reconstruction: race, labor, and politics in the post-civil war north, 1865-1901, (cambridge: harvard university press, 2001. 6 during the past several years, scholarship has focused particularly on the cultural and social characteristics of sectional reunion. nina silber, romance of reunion: northerners and the south, 18651900, (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1997); david w. blight: race and reunion: the civil war in american memory, (cambridge: harvard university press, 2001); william blair, cities of the dead: contesting the memory of the civil war in the south, 1865-1914; and judith ann giesberg, “ ‘to forgive and forget’: reconstructing the nation in the post-civil war classroom,” civil war history, 52.3 (2006) 282-302. 7 “resorts and recreation: an historic theme study of the new jersey heritage trail route.” edited by sarah allaback, and produced by the sandy hook foundation, inc. and the national park service, new jersey coastal heritage trail route, (mauricetown, nj, 1995). 2 arrived in the small methodist shore community of ocean grove in 1869 with his black companion, john a. baker. after consulting with the town’s treasurer, david h. brown, who pointed bradley towards an unsettled section of land, bradley and baker proceeded to travel through a wilderness of shore brush that grew upon the uninhabited beaches. reaching the water’s edge and “desiring a bath,” bradley stripped off his clothes, and eagerly advised his reluctant companion to join him in the sand of the cool evening surf. a devout methodist, bradley explained that he found the cool waters of the jersey surf to be “the best nervine for a man who is not absolutely past repair,” and who “desires to break away from his calling or greed and camp out in the sea shore.”8 after baker eventually joined him by his side, bradley recounted later that he found the exercise reminiscent of “robinson crusoe by his man friday.”9 satisfied of its spiritual and rehabilitative merits, bradley purchased the area’s 500 acres between deal and wesley lake in 1871 with hopes of building a resort community that would both honor the principles of bishop francis asbury—the founder of american methodism—as well as provide a social outlet for similar groups of northern citizens seeking an escape from late nineteenth-century urban life. as asbury park’s founding father, bradley demanded strict compliance regarding temperance, spiritual renewal, and sexual purity in all of its public spaces.10 in accordance with these demands, a host of strict ordinances were quickly established to root out unruly and morallyunacceptable social behavior. anti-liquor decrees were written into all deeds issued to residential properties. strict rules on bathing, along with appropriate clothing and social behavior, were posted in pamphlets along the boardwalk, and in accordance with observing the sabbath, all businesses within the community, including the trains, the beach, and boardwalk, were closed on sundays. however, while visitors to the neighboring methodist camp of ocean grove abided politely by their own strict guidelines, asbury park’s citizens rebelled constantly and vocally against bradley’s rules. boisterous summer parties were put on by the salvation army’s marching band; the black market of alcohol and other illicit activities thrived despite bradley’s watchful eye; and nighttime rendezvous between patrons on the restricted beaches all served to highlight asbury park’s contested social atmosphere.11 the strict standards that bradley created did not, however, deter visitors from flocking in droves to the jersey shore in the 1880’s. as a result of bradley’s ambitious desire to increase both the physical and economic value of the town, asbury park became 8 many of the key components that comprised the social profile of the jersey shore took its cues from those in england, which had highlighted for english nobility, the social advantages of mineral retreats. similar shore communities sprang up in newport, rhode island, bristol, pennsylvania, and saratoga springs, new york throughout the early nineteenth century. james a. bradley, “a history of asbury park,” asbury park journal, 1882. see also, asbury park library, “james a. bradley and asbury park: a biography and history,” pamphlet at the asbury park library, published under the auspices of the bradley memorial committee, 1921. the james a. bradley papers (1830-1921) have been collected and processed by lois r. densky, and edited by gregory j. plunges at the monmouth county historical society, 1981. 9 ibid, “a history of asbury park” 10 james a. bradley, “three ways of telling the history of asbury park,” (asbury park, nj: m.,w., and c. pennypacker, 1887). 11 daniel wolff, 4th of july, asbury park: a history of the promised land, (new york: bloomsbury publishing, 2005). the most complete history written on asbury park to date, daniel wolff pays special attention to the disparities between what asbury park promised and its political, social, cultural, and racial realities. 3 one of the elite and premiere resort towns on the atlantic coast. by the early 1880s, tourist pamphlets and the new york times were actively promoting bradley’s resort by listing the elite residents who regularly traveled to the shore community from their neighborhoods in new york, new jersey, and pennsylvania. by attracting and accommodating 26,000 summer guests and housing another 4,000 permanent residents, bradley and asbury park fed the region’s leisurely and moral impulses by creating an attractive mix of religion and social enticements for the north’s urban white community.12 however, at the same time, white northerners were not the only ones attracted to the newly-established shore retreat. when white travelers entered bradley’s beach town, they were immediately greeted by asbury park’s other population—the group of african american men and women who worked as hotelmen, laundresses, waiters, and janitors in bradley’s service economy. arriving in asbury park for employment, recreation, and spiritual reconstruction, the asbury park press noted in 1882 that outside of bradley’s commercial and residential district, a second community of black residents and other assorted working-class citizens had settled in a community known as the “west end.” african americans of the west end established schools and churches, and served as hosts for black tourists who regularly visited asbury park from newark, jersey city, philadelphia, and new york as part of the african methodist church’s annual sea shore “jubilees.”13 while white tourists accepted the presence of african americans as members of the working service class, they persistently objected to sitting next them on trains, lounging alongside them in the surf, and watching the men flirt with white women. as a result, by the early 1880s the physical and economic growth of bradley’s beach town, along with the rapid pace with which its secular and commercial identity outgrew its 12 the new york times, “summer at the seaside: the growing attractiveness of the new jersey coast,” april 14, 1882. the article lists the elite citizens who flocked to the shore from their aristocratic communities in neighboring new york, new jersey, and philadelphia. the article pays particular attention to bradley and the increased attractiveness and development of asbury park. for further information on the social and economic development of the new jersey shore in the nineteenth century, see also, harold f. wilson, the jersey shore: a social and economic history of the counties of atlantic, cape may, monmouth, and ocean, (new york: lewis historical publishing company, 1953). an updated and more comprehensive version was produced by wilson in 1964; harold f. wilson, the story of the jersey shore, (princeton: d. vann nostrand co., inc., 1964); john t. cunningham, the new jersey shore, (new brunswick: rutgers university press, 1958). nineteenth century observations are provided for in the works by gustav kobbe, the new coast and pines, (shore hills, nj, 1889, reprint, baltimore: gateway press, 197); edwain salter, a history of monmouth and ocean counties, (bayonne, nj: e. gardner and son, 1890); and h.c. woolman and t.f. rose, historical atlas of the new jersey coast, (philadelphia: woolman and rose, 1878). 13 asbury park press, “west side story: profile of a black community,” special report, may 21, 1882. the article explains and details the growing african american population settling in asbury park’s “west end.” for a brief history of the african american experience in new jersey see, giles simon, afro americans in new jersey history: a shore history, (trenton: new jersey historical commission, dept. of state, 1988); and clement a. price, freedom not far distant: a documentary history of afro americans in new jersey: a joint project of the new jersey historical society and the new jersey historical commission, (newark: the society, 1980). for an excellent history on the african american experience during slavery in monmouth county, see graham russell hodges, slavery and freedom in the rural north: african americans in monmouth county, new jersey, 1665-1865, (madison, wisconsin: madison house publishers, inc., 1997). 4 humble spiritual origins, led to heightened racial tension within the community described by the new york times as enjoying “greater social mobility than at long branch or at any other place along the coast.”14 in an attempt to purge the assembly of working class and “average” persons who mingled about freely after working hours, bradley’s white guests began calling for permanently-enforced social and racial boundaries for their public sphere. in the town’s daily journal on july 7, 1885, an editorial pointed out that the “average man is easily distinguishable,” and insisted that the mass of “curiosities that have taken their position under the pavilion (white as well as black) be removed.”15 however, in a follow up article ten days later, the daily journal narrowed their objections to the black citizens of asbury park, who, according to the complaint, “hang, intruding themselves in places designed only for guests, monopolizing the promenade, pavilion, and seats, and not content with that they come on excursions by the train load, and some days the whole beach is given up to them.”16 a white visitor from new york lamented to the journal that in his excursion into asbury park, he confronted first hand the “evils” of black servants who served as waiters, cooks, and dishwashers in bradley’s resort community. the unidentified “hotel man” observed that on trains from new york and philadelphia, as well as on the benches and seats at train depots, a sizable black faction had seemed to “regard themselves as owners of all below the sky and are offensive and indecent.”17 for the northern white elite, asbury park’s racial division, particularly the distinct ways in which it visibly and vocally flaunted its emerging jim crow persona, became one of the town’s main attractions and its primary selling point to prospective tourists. observing the town’s social relations in 1892, stephen crane, the famous literary critic and resident of asbury park, remarked that the guests of bradley’s resort came not for the “sea nor the cacophonous brass bands,” but rather “the people come to see the people, for there is joy in the heart of the crowd.”18 documenting the persistence of racial segregation in twentieth-century atlantic city, historian bryant simon has similarly pointed out that while white northerners may have “objected to legal, southern-style segregation, when it came to public space—their public spaces—they demanded 14 new york times, “the colored controversy,” july 20, 1885. see also, stephen crane, “crowding into asbury park,” the new york tribune, july 3, 1892. crane served as a shore correspondent for the tribune during the summer resort season. 15 the daily journal, “impudents,” july 7, 1885; the shore press, “two distinct factions,” october 22, 1885. 16 the daily journal, “too many colored people,” july 17, 1885. new york times, “their jubilee day, july 21, 1887. the times correspondent details the events of the african “jubilee” including the refusal of service in the bathing houses. “they were told that they could not be accommodated. in every case the refusal was taken in good spirits. when it rained the colored people ran into the pavilions on the beach for shelter, but were quiet and orderly all through the storm.” the christian recorder (philadelphia) also provided several accounts of what was referred to as the “african methodist day” at both ocean grove and asbury park. the christian recorder, “african methodist day at ocean grove,” july 29, 1886. the christian recorder was an independent black newspaper that operated under the auspices of the a.m.e. church of philadelphia and published several detailed accounts throughout the period on the racial and social tension in asbury park 17 the daily journal, “what can be done?” july 21, 1885. many who objected to the appearance of blacks upon the public spaces of asbury park labeled their behavior as “evil.” the reference was routinely used throughout the editorial pages of the journal. 18 stephen crane, “on the jersey coast,” new york tribune, july 24, 1892. 5 seclusion.”19 thus, the problem that the journal termed “too many colored people” did not represent an objection by white northerners to the political or legal enfranchisement of black citizens, but rather to the social intermingling of african americans in the public spaces of white patrons. “we allow them to vote, to have full standing and protection of the law,” the journal instructed, “but when it comes to social intermingling then we object most seriously and emphatically.” as one white resident more succinctly explained, “this is a white people’s resort and it derives its support from white people.”20 bradley and his summer guests sought to create pubic space by clinging to prewar notions of racial and class separation. uncomfortable with the way that the post-war political and social climate had diverged into a program for black civil rights, northern society reminisced fondly over a time when political, social, and racial unrest had been muted by slavery and more oppressive forms of class subordination. thus, by stripping the town of its former spiritual and rehabilitative identity, asbury park’s summer guests created social and racial barriers that helped fight back the socially contested spaces of their own northern towns. moreover, by constructing a distinct brand of social seclusion based on race and class, they also helped create a commercialized system of division in which social and moral values informed and sustained both political and economic decisions on appropriate forms of public space.21 northern white visitors to bradley’s beaches attached commercial value to the public spaces of the jersey shore by adding or subtracting economic value based on the public presence of african americans. as the new york times wrote during the summer of 1887, the majority of summer vacationers in asbury park “object[ed] to the mere presence even of well behaved and well conducted colored people to any considerable number, on a beach to which they go for recreation.”22 responding to a question from the daily journal as to whether or not black citizens possessed the right to enter into the public spaces occupied by white vacationers, bradley explained that “people who make their living out of asbury park” are excluded from the rights of those whose presence is paid for, because as both “colored citizens” and as “servants,” their presence lessens the attraction to white tourists and therefore threatens the economic value of the community. “the question of color or rights,” bradley informed, was not “to enter into consideration.”23 to prove his point, he provided the example of several families who left the park, because they could not “endure the crowds of africans infesting every promenade and public space, day and evening with their presence.”24 in their cities and in their homes, bradley pointed out, “they do not associate with their servants and they 19 bryant simon, boardwalk of dreams: atlantic city and the fate of urban america, (new york: oxford university press, 2004). much like the emerging history in asbury park, simon ties the rise and fall of atlantic city to the social and economic structure created by racial segregation and white middle-class values. 20 ibid, “too many colored people.” see also, the daily journal, “all nuisances,” july 7, 1887. 21 forms of commercialized segregation within the north according to richard bushman were not necessarily a phenomena specific to the late nineteenth century, but were part of a longer lineage of moral and economic consolidation by late eighteenth and nineteenth century urban elites who commercialized aristocratic, european notions of "refinement" and gentility” in order to create “patches of elegance.” richard bushman, the refinement of america: persons, houses, cities, (new york: knopf, 1992. 356. 22 new york times, “africa and asbury park,” july 7, 1887. 23 the daily journal, “intruders,” july 29, 1886. although bradley was not mentioned by name, he was referenced as “the man very prominently identified with this place.” 24 the daily journal, “it must be stopped,” july 30, 1886. 6 do not desire to do so when they arrive at the seashore.”25 john coffin, who took over for bradley as editor of the daily journal in 1885, responded to those who criticized the paper for inflaming racial tension by insisting that “perhaps people who have not been troubled with such a disagreeable monopolization of both private and public places by negroes will think our action harsh and unjustifiable.” yet, coffin warned, “something must be done or we cannot induce visitors to come here.”26 however, there was not just the question of class to consider, but also of the black tourist population who lobbied for consistent access to asbury park’s public accommodations. in order to appease these black tourists who regularly visited bradley’s beaches, white citizens persistently called on bradley to erect public spaces and establishments that would cater solely to the interests of its black residents. criticizing the “colored invasion” of its space, one objector in the daily journal asked whether “mr. bradley could be persuaded to build a pavilion for their use and locate it in the immediate neighborhood.”27 offering up a similar solution, the philadelphia call in 1887 published a lengthy article, calling on the black proprietors of asbury park and neighboring black businessmen to open up a resort of their own. remarking that it was “strange that the colored people of the north have not taken hold of this color question in a practical way,” the paper instructed potential black entrepreneurs that there was “money as well as dignity in the scheme if properly managed.” the article explained that of “course the color line will be obliterated in time,” but that blacks should not wait for its transformation to occur.28 in a temporary measure initiated in 1885, bradley responded to the objections voiced by his white patrons by relocating the black population to facilities set up exclusively for their own recreation. w.h. dickerson, an outspoken critic of the town’s racial dialogue and a citizen of asbury park’s black neighborhood, lamented to the daily journal that in skating parlors and other amusements, blacks were barred from white establishments through the creation of “colored facilities,” which were run, dickerson remarked with anger, for the interests of only “asbury park’s colored population and vicinity.”29 by 1887, however, bradley responded by officially restricting all african americans, both those who worked as well as those who sought to vacation in asbury park, from the beaches and other shore facilities. by posting signs throughout the community and stationing officers at pertinent shore locations, bradley prohibited all black citizens from the beaches, bathing houses, pavilions, and promenades.30 securing compliance from asbury park’s black residents, however, proved troublesome for both bradley and his guests when black residents used their lack of access to the elite white spaces to actively resist new forms of exclusion. by rejecting the restrictions imposed against them, as well as calling for the creation of an independent 25 the daily journal, “letter from wiesbaden,” august 17, 1886. vacationing at a german watering spa, as he was often inclined to do, bradley explained that racial and social exclusion was standard protocol in european resorts, and thus should not be frowned upon by those in asbury park. j.h. morgan, “asbury park color question,” christian recorder, august 3, 1893. 26 new york times, “drawing the color line: negroes who offend the residents of asbury park,” july 19, 1885. 27 the daily journal, “colored invasion,” august 5, 1886 28 philadelphia call, “an asbury park of their own,” june 29, 1887 29 wm h. dickerson, “for our colored friends,” the daily journal, july 8, 1885. 30 shore press, “bradley statement,” july 8, 1887 7 black resort, african americans insisted on their inclusion in asbury park’s public life through both vocal and physical resistance.31 guided by the leadership of the a.m.e. church of west asbury park, the community’s indignant parishioners helped lead and organize continuous rallies, demonstrations, and public meetings.32 objecting to the ways that the white members of the community linked the public presence of black residents to indecent social behavior, african american leaders spoke predominantly to the moral and social responsibility of the resort town to allow free and uninterrupted integration. at a large meeting held at the a.m.e. church of west asbury park in the summer of 1887, reverend j. francis robinson called on his congregation to attack “all class legislation and race distinction where the statutes of citizenship and of good behavior introduce the common right.” robinson declared that the “man who advocates the separation of whites and blacks from the equal enjoyment of civil prerogatives solely on the grounds of color places himself in a position to be questioned as to his patriotic proclivities and the genuineness of a republic form of government.”33 reflecting on the “color question” and the idea of moral responsibility, reverend j.h. morgan also asked whether the moral and civic lapses by a few people of a given class could be held against an entire race. morgan commented that, it does seem strange that so many of our friends on the other side do not seem able to distinguish any difference between colored people as regards to moral, religion or the right of manhood; and those of them who admit it seem to view it in the same light as the boy who visited the country fair and saw a cow that looked for all the world like his father’s cow. you could not tell them apart, only one was white and other black. ‘all colored people are alike’ seems to be the maxim (especially if there is finance to be considered) either by action against us or indifference for us.34 andrew j. chambers of the colored american also asked if the color line could be drawn on the basis of conduct, and pressed as to why then white people did not object to the presence of colored servants as servants.35 as g.w. johnson, a waiter in asbury park’s sheldon house, instructed, “if a white man acts boisterous, rude, or ungentlemanly, he is arrested and/or fined.” yet, johnson attested, “the white people as a class are not blamed for the actions of one man.”36 31 new york times, “to invade the beach,” june 30, 1887. 32 new york times, “defending their race,” july 20, 1885; new york times, “color line at asbury park: negroes indignant at threatened exclusion from the beach,” june 25, 1887; and the shore press, “250 people,” july 1, 1887. 33 new york times, “answering mr. bradley: colored people at asbury park speak out in meeting,” june 28, 1887. 34 ibid, “asbury park colored question” 35 andrew j. chambers, “a.j. chambers and ‘the journal’,” the christian recorder, august 6, 1885. ibid, answering mr. bradley. the principal of the black school, professor newsome, stated in a written resolution read for the members assembled at the mass meeting that “we herein request mr. bradley and his colleagues in their further utterances to specify more definitely the class to whom they infer.” the resolution was commented upon by j.r. anrean, editor of the new york based enterprise, who also condemned the rhetoric and actions of james bradley. 36 g.w. johnson, “from a colored man’s view,” the daily journal, july 21, 1885. 8 to bolster their support from the town’s white citizens, the black ministry also called on community members to be vigilant in enforcing superior moral and civic behavior of black citizens. they appealed for bradley to restrict the behavior of both the white and black citizens whose actions betrayed asbury park’s code of conduct. as w.m. dickerson instructed, the “right thing to do is to weed out all bad characters, whether they be covered by a white or a black skin.” in response to the forms of commercial exclusion instituted by bradley, dickerson also made it a point to discredit the notion that economic status defines an individual’s morality. “let the necessity of labor never take away a persons claim to respectability. ones financial ability to board at a hotel and dress well is not criterion of ones moral worth.”37 viewing the shifting racial landscape throughout the nation, asbury park’s black leaders saw the resort’s emerging jim crow character as part of a disturbing nationwide trend toward racially-defined pubic and commercial boundaries. in recounting the unofficial means by which skating parlors were segregated in 1885, w.h. dickerson insisted that blacks should look cautiously towards their allegiance with northern republican leaders. “when we are called on as ‘our colored friends’,” dickerson explained, “there is always a purpose to serve as tools or instruments. we would ask those who for many years have been using us to further their plans and fill their coffers, if they think we will always remain docile subjects to their dictation and the plain minions of their selfish interests.”38 mirroring the complaints expressed by black protesters throughout the nation after emancipation, reverend robinson reminded the town’s white audience of the achievements and struggles of african american men who fought to preserve the union. “we are here,” he exclaimed, “to defend our citizenship and our manhood.” he reiterated to the white members of the audience that: we colored people fought for our liberty some year ago, and we do not propose to be denied it at this late date. we will not be dictated to in this manner by mr. bradley or any other man. the colored man contributes largely to the wealth of this country, including the town of asbury park, and we are here to stay. we fought to save the union as the white man did. this country is for the whites and blacks alike, including even the beach of asbury park.39 through the black community’s national appeals for racial justice, interested americans (white as well as black, northern and southern) used the events of asbury park as justification both for and against racial separation in their own communities. the new york times, the daily periodicals of philadelphia, the opinions of the african american press, and those as far south as georgia intensified their coverage of the events of asbury park as a result of the publicity created by asbury’s black residents. the new york times in particular took a growing interest in the local issues of asbury park. after interviewing the town’s white and black residents, the times commissioned several 37 w.m. dickerson, “a colored man’s view,” daily journal, august 12, 1886. 38 ibid, “for our colored friends,” for examples of african american disenchantment with the republican party, see august meier, “the negro and the democratic party, 1875-1915, phylon (1940-1956), vol. 17, no. 2 (2nd quarter, 1956), 173-191. meier outlines how prominent african american leaders immediately after reconstruction began calling for more political independence and for splitting their votes between the republican and democratic parties. 39 ibid, “answering mr. bradley” 9 correspondents to cover the debate between the two communities throughout the decade. asbury’s white residents, however, denounced the appearance of the times reporters for intruding and unequally siding with the “indignant colored ministry.”40 likewise, debates over public space also prompted those in the south to consider whether their protests against racial integration were particular to their region. a white southern congressman protesting public school integration in georgia in 1892 routinely referenced the passions expressed by black and white citizens in asbury park to support a bill legalizing segregation in public schools. in a particularly revealing argument, he noted that the “loudest protests against the infraction of this law have come from the north,” which was proven, he explained, by the “asbury park matter.”41 the comparison was not lost on asbury park’s black leaders, who took care to point out the similarities of the debate within both regions. in a short speech protesting the emerging segregation in asbury park, robinson spoke of the discriminatory language of the daily journal, whose resentment and prejudice, robinson noted, commissioned “one to think it was edited in georgia.” robinson explained that “at a place set apart for temperance and religion we witness a spectacle that should shame the boasted civilization of the north. let us devote ourselves to stripping off false religious sentiment and hypocritical philanthropy, that we may expose before the people just how far race hatred can go in new jersey.”42 fellow a.m.e. minister, rev. h.h. monroe of st. mark’s church similarly remarked that talk of exclusion and separation “would be bulldozing if it was reported from texas.” he insisted that if the black population was not provided with equal and sustainable access to the same public facilities as whites, including the beach, that in the post-war north, “the ante-war spirit of race distinction still prevailed. every act of intolerance,” monroe pointed out, “has had its match in the north.”43 as bradley and his white citizens proved in asbury park, it was not just white southerners who objected to racial equality. instead, the conversation about asbury park not only became a referendum on northern prejudice, but among white residents it represented a broader rejection of black civil rights and a forceful repudiation of the radical republican agenda. david blight has insightfully recounted that “during reconstruction, many americans increasingly realized that remembering the way the war was fought, even the hatreds and deaths on a hundred battlefields—facing all those graves on memorial day—became over time, easier than struggling over the enduring ideas for which those battles had been fought.”44 in 1887, one asbury park resident left little doubt as to his interpretation of the events in the post-war era. writing in the daily journal, this patron of bradley’s resort stated that the effort to provide political and legal aid to black citizens was a paternal and “generous aid” provided by the “christian spirit of right-minded white men.”45 the constitutional amendments which followed 40 new york times, “asbury park’s warfare: colored people in mass meeting denouncing mr. bradley’s action,” july 6, 1887 41 new york times, “the color line in school: an effort to draw it sharply in georgia,” july 26, 1887. the “glen bill” was introduced by a georgia congressman who sought to prevent the co-education between white and black school children. mr. glenn routinely based his support for the bill by asking whether or not “prejudice against the colored people is peculiar to the south?” 42 ibid, “asbury park’s warfare” 43 ibid 44 ibid, race and reunion, 31 45 the daily journal, “the offenders,” june 29, 1887 10 emancipation and the civil rights acts extended by the republican congress were soon replaced, the individual explained, by the ungrateful attitude of african americans who clamored for social equality. “there were those among the colored race,” he insisted, “who were not satisfied with what had already been done, but wanted more. it was not enough to possess all the rights and privileges as white citizens, but those rights must be insolently demanded.” the citizen lectured that by such a course “respect and equality can never be gained.” he concluded that only through passive acceptance of the current social standing could the cultural stereotypes accompanying black grievances be eliminated. 46 for many years, scholars of the civil war era marked the end of reconstruction in 1877. as a result, historians approached the involvement of the north by questioning how and why republican rule ultimately failed in the south.47 however, most of these studies fail to consider how northern communities adjusted to black emancipation after the war, and how they, like the south, used the divisive years of congressional reconstruction to reject racial and social equality. the situation in asbury park thus offers historians the opportunity to consider how conflicts over memory paralleled the emerging dialogue over access to public space. in his recent study on the south’s remembered past, historian fitzhugh brundage notes the emergence of southern historical tourism as a vehicle through which the south recreated the history of race and politics. he points out that “the tourist south became a stage on which southerners presented the south both as they wanted to see it and as they imagined tourists wanted to experience it.”48 in addition, brundage explains that the region’s “stable, harmonious, time honored racial order that properly fixed whites and blacks in their appropriate place” only drew attention “when it achieved the northern and transatlantic standards of beauty that obsessed its tourists.”49 in asbury park, northern travelers justified their social order by fixing it within a pristine national environment unscathed by the inconvenient memories of the town’s black residents. brundage’s arguments regarding the ways in which southern tourist attractions were modeled after northern resort communities also contributes to scholarship regarding issues of race and class in the northern urban or built environment. since the south observed the northern resort towns’ example as a model for its own tourist attractions, asbury park helps then reveal the origins of the twentieth century’s racially and ethnically excluded urban profile that took root in the late nineteenth century. as elite white citizens sought a retreat from new forms of urban living, asbury park’s racial exclusion, class conflict, moral elitism, and commercialized decadence, resulting (as jackson lears argues) from an anti-modernist impulse, all found their forms within the 46 ibid 47 these traditional revisionist political narratives include, among the most prominent: c. vann woodward, reunion and reaction: the compromise of 1877 and the end of reconstruction, (new york: oxford university press, 1966); william gillette, retreat from reconstruction: a political history, 1867-1978, (baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 1979); and eric foner, reconstruction: america’s unfinished revolution, 1863-1877, (new york: harpercollins, 1988). 48 ibid, the southern past, 184 49 similar to the economic justifications assisting the public segregation of northern african american citizens in asbury park, brundage asserts that the powerful “white cultural and political ambitions-to create public spaces that at once demonstrated and justified their power-were advanced by powerful market forces.” (pp.226). ibid, 188 and 210. 11 melting pot of conflicting political, social, and economic ideologies that emerged throughout the north during and after reconstruction.50 at the same time, for the african american men and women of asbury park, various forms of social protest provide poignant examples of how their citizens and assorted black tourists opposed, reacted, and sometimes successfully resisted their seclusion from the beaches and other public domains. while many narratives stress the overarching power of white citizens in trumping the political rights and social privileges of african americans, blacks living and working along the shore made sure that the policies were loudly contested. despite the presence of signs prohibiting their access, reverend j. francis robinson informed a congregation of black protesters in 1887 that they should continue to resist their seclusion by flocking to the beaches after hours. after many blacks heeded his calls, robinson found that african americans mingled freely with each other, as well as with other working class citizens of the town.51 as robinson informed the daily journal in 1887, “the fact is that neither the paper nor mr. bradley can keep us off the beach. i went down there last night and saw some elegant colored ladies. there were chinamen there too, and italians.” through these displays of civil disobedience by the black community, bradley was forced by 1890, as schnitzler was pressured to do in 1889 after the palace incident, to allow temporary and restricted access to the beaches for african american tourists.52 as the uneasy period between the end of reconstruction and the legal enforcement of jim crow style segregation proved in asbury park, disputes over public space set the stage for a prolonged battle over both the regions’ social space and its historical memory. whites and blacks created and contested public and social life in asbury park as they synthesized the broader meaning of emancipation and the terms of equality—two key concepts that had been inadequately addressed in the wake of the reconstruction’s collapse. since asbury park served as a diaspora for the north’s geographically-diverse white citizens, their protests against integration highlights the racist and unreconstructed sentiment of the north after emancipation. as jim crow became permanently enforced throughout the north and the south after 1896, these tensions would prove central to african american’s struggle for “integrated leisure,” which became an important part of the fight for racial equality and social acceptance. the rhetoric of equality and moral superiority was thus abandoned by white politicians and northern citizens, who, in the aftermath of reconstruction’s collapse, sought to publicly and commercially separate themselves from their fellow black citizens.53 50t.j. jackson lears locates the center of the “late nineteenth century bourgeois” with a morality grounded in “material and moral progress” that served as a preventive measure against modern industrial life. this transformation in anti-modern culture, as dated by lears, conforms to the formative years of asbury park’s racial tension as well as the legally mandated early years of jim crow. t.j. jackson lears, no place of grace: anti-modernism and the transformation of american culture, 1880-1920, (chicago: university of chicago press, 1994). for a comprehensive view of the racial and class components of the “new urban history,” see: timothy gilfoyle, “white cities, linguistic turns, and disneylands: the new paradigms of urban history,” reviews in american history, no. 26 (march 1998) 175-204. gilfoyle provides the most complete survey of the prominent literature that has been produced during the past 25 years. 51 ibid, “asbury park’s warfare” 52 ibid 53 in an attempt by african american and urban historians to “rethink the civil rights movement” by “expanding the regional and chronological boundaries,” victoria wolcott has written on the ways in which african americans fought for integrated amusement parks and other leisure establishments during the 12 works cited primary sources: “african american trail.” the historical society of ocean grove. information collected from the “historic district tours,” april 2006. asbury park library, “james a. bradley and asbury park: a biography and history,” pamphlet at asbury park library, published under the auspices of the bradley memorial committee, 1921. asbury park press, “west side story: profile of a black community,” special report, asbury park press, may 21, 1882. chambers, andrew j. “elder a.j. chambers and ‘the journal’.” the christian recorder: philadelphia, pa, august 6, 1885. daily journal. “impudents.” daily journal. july 7, 1885. daily journal. “too many colored people.” daily journal. july 17, 1885. daily journal. “what can be done?” daily journal. july 21, 1885. daily journal. “from a colored man’s view.” daily journal. july 21, 1885. daily journal. “intruders.” daily journal. july 29, 1886. daily journal. “citizen,” daily journal, july 30, 1886. daily journal. “it must be stopped.” daily journal. july 30, 1886. daily journal. “colored invasion.” daily journal. august 5, 1886. daily journal. “a colored man’s view.” daily journal. august 12, 1886. daily journal. “unnamed hotel man.” daily journal. august 14, 1886. daily journal. “letter from wiesbaden.” daily journal. august 17, 1886. daily journal. “all nuisances.” daily journal. july 7, 1887. daily journal. “the offenders.” daily journal. june 29, 1887. 1950s and 1960s as apart of a broader struggle for pubic and economic inclusion. victoria w. wolcott, “integrated leisure in segregated cities: amusement parks and racial conflict in the post-war north,” paper presented at the urban history association, (october 2004). 13 dickerson, w.h. “for our colored friends,” daily journal, july 8, 1885. morgan, j.h. “asbury park color question.” the christian recorder: philadelphia, pa. august 3, 1893. sampson, j.p. “mission work.” the christian recorder: philadelphia, pa. november 5, 1891. shore press. “two distinct factions.” shore press. october 22, 1885. shore press. “bradley statement.” shore press. july 8, 1887. shore press. “tensions spill over.” shore press. june 28, 1889. shore press. “open letter.” shore press. july 1, 1887. shore press. “250 people.” shore press. july 1, 1887. the christian recorder, “african methodist day at ocean grove,” the christian recorder: philadelphia, pa. july 29, 1886. the new york times. “summer at the seaside: the growing attractiveness of the new jersey coast.” the new york times. april 14, 1882. the new york times. “drawing the color line: negroes who offend the residents of asbury park.” the new york times. july 19, 1885. the new york times. “a big colored picnic.” the new york times. july 19, 1885. the new york times. “defending their race.” the new york times. july 20, 1885. the new york times. “the colored controversy,” the new york times. july 20, 1885. the new york times. “why should i.” the new york times, march 8, 1886. the new york times. “uphill work.” the new york times, march 31, 1886. the new york times. “bradley always goes off.” the new york times. july 12, 1886. the new york times. “dens of iniquity.” the new york times. july 12, 1886. the new york times. “color line at asbury park: negroes indignant at threatened exclusion from the beach.” the new york times. june 26, 1887. the new york times. “answering mr. bradley: colored people at asbury park speak 14 out in meeting.” the new york times. june 28, 1887. the new york times. “to invade the beach.” the new york times, june 30, 1887. the new york times. “the better elements views,” the new york times, july 2, 1887. the new york times. “asbury park’s warfare: colored people in mass meeting denouncing mr. bradley’s action.” the new york times. july 6, 1887. the new york times. “africa and asbury park.” the new york times, july 7, 1887. the new york times. “their jubilee day.” the new york times. july 21, 1887. the new york times. “the color line in school: an effort to draw it sharply in georgia.” the new york times. july 26, 1887. the philadelphia call. “an asbury park of their own.” the philadelphia call. june 29, 1887. secondary sources: bernstein, iver. the new york city draft riots: their significance for american society and politics in the age of the civil war. ( new york: oxford university press, 1990) blair, william. cities of the dead: contesting the memory of the civil war in the south, 1865-1914. (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 2004). blight, david w. race and reunion: the civil war in american memory. (cambridge: harvard university press, 2001). brundage, w. fitzhugh. the southern past: a clash of race and memory. (cambridge: harvard university press, 2005). campbell, randolph b. grass-roots reconstruction in texas, 1865-1880.(baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 1997). cimbala, paul a. under the guardianship of the nation: the freedman’s bureau and the reconstruction of georgia, 1865-1870. (athens: university of georgia press, 1997). fischer, roger. the segregation struggle in louisiana, 1862-1877. (champaign, il: university of illinois press, 1974). 15 foner, eric. reconstruction: america’s unfinished revolution, 1863-1877. (new york: harper & row, 1988). gambill, edward. conservative ordeal: northern democrats and reconstruction, 18651868 (ames, ia: iowa state press, 1981) giesberg, judith. “‘to forget an forgive’: reconstructing the nation in the post civil war classroom.” civil war history. 52.3 (2006). 282-302. gilfoyle, timothy j. “white cities, linguistic turns, and disneylands: the new paradigms of urban history.” reviews in american history. vol. 26 (march 1998).175-204. gillette, william. retreat from reconstruction, 1869-1879. (baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 1979). greason, walter j. “from village to suburb: race politics and economics in monmouth county, nj, 1890-1900.” unpublished dissertation completed at temple university, 2004. hahn, stephen. a nation under our feet: black political struggles in the rural south from slavery to the great migration. (cambridge: harvard university press, 2003). hodges, graham russell. slavery and freedom in the rural north: african americans in monmouth county, new jersey, 1665-1865. (madison, wi: madison house publishers, 1997). holt, thomas. black over white: negro political leadership in south carolina during reconstruction. (champaign, il: university of illinois press, 1977). kasson, john f. rudeness and civility: manners in nineteenth-century urban america. (new york: hill & wang, 1990). kolchin, peter. first freedom: the responses of alabama’s blacks to emancipation and reconstruction. (westport, ct: greenwood press, 1972). litwack, leon t. north of slavery: the negro in the free states, 1790-1860. (chicago: university of chicago press, 1961) litwack, leon t. been in the storm too long. (new york: random house, 1979) neely, jr., mark e. the boundaries of american political culture in the civil war era. (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 2005). 16 pike, helen c. asbury park’s glory days: the story of an american resort, (new brunswick, nj: rutgers university press, 2005). perman, michael. road to redemption: southern politics, 1869-1879, (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1985). richardson, heather cox. the death of reconstruction: race, labor, and politics in the post-civil war north, 1865-1901. (cambridge: harvard university press, 2001). silber, nina. the romance of reunion: northerners and the south, 1865-1900. (chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1997) simon, bryant t. boardwalk of dreams: atlantic city and the fate of urban america. (new york: oxford university press, 2004). wilson, harold f. the jersey shore: a social and economic history of the counties of atlantic, cape may, monmouth, and ocean. (new york: lewis historical publishing co., inc, 1953). wilson, harold f. the story of the jersey shore. (princeton, nj: d. van nostrand co., inc., 1964). wolff, daniel. 4th of july, asbury park: a history of the promised land. (new york: bloomsbury publishing, 2005). woodward, c. vann. the strange career of jim crow, (new york: oxford university press, 1955). woodward, c. vann. reunion and reaction: the compromise of 1877 and the end of reconstruction. (new york: oxford university press, 1966). 17 [concept, vol. xxxv (2012)] english aristocratic women’s take on health: 1450-1630 erika m. grimminger history “god in heaven, who gave me soul and body, reason and understanding, for which i have to thank him daily, gave me my skill at healing. i heal out of charity for the poor and needy…[as is] done by honorable women not only here but also in other cities…such are fine things for women to do.” 1 in the years shortly before, during and after the reign of henry viii, aristocratic women in england were actively involved in the health of their families, friends, and communities. they created recipes for remedies, dressed wounds, and assisted in childbirth. one might ask how such activities can be proven. the answer is that luckily, some of the documents written by the female members of noble families have been preserved for posterity and are available for study. some questions that can be asked of such documents include: what were aristocratic women’s responses to illness? how did they deal with sickness in the family and community? how did noble women come together in times of sickness or pregnancy? what knowledge did they possess about medicines and other remedies? did men seem to appreciate women’s help in health care? found among the myriad of letters and other documents from these women, are letters to and from family and friends, diaries of health care activities, and recipes for medicinal concoctions. by looking at surviving letters and other documents written by aristocratic women who lived from the mid-1400s to the mid-1600s, one can examine their medical activities and the extent to which they cared for their families, friends, and communities. aristocratic women and healthcare in the early modern period in england, aristocratic women had many duties that they were expected to perform. as historian barbara harris points out, men in this era wanted wives who were “helpmates, fully capable of managing their families, households, and estates…[and] advancing their husbands’ goals.” 2 also, among their household duties was the expectation that these women would make sure that the members of their families remained in good health. one reason for the connection between healthcare and household duties was a certain sense of overlap. for instance, part of the skill set that these women had included the knowledge of herbs and how to combine them in order to make medicinal concoctions, such as the “water imperial” 1 elisabeth heyssin, 1598, quoted in mary e. wiesner-hanks, women and gender in early modern europe (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2008), 101. 2 barbara j. harris, english aristocratic women 1450-1550: marriage and family, property and careers (new york: oxford university press, 2002), 72-73. for which lady honor lisle was well-known. 3 cooking skills like distilling and weighing ingredients would have been helpful both in the kitchen and in the making of medicines. plus, these women would have been aware that certain food items, like sugar, could be used both in cooking and medicines. 4 two women who exemplify these skills were lady margaret hoby and lady grace mildmay. lady hoby lived with her third husband in yorkshire in the late-fourteenthto the early-fifteenth-century, where she grew her own herbs. she used these medicinal plants in her cures and was known to hand them out to other women for making home remedies, such as she did on a certain day in 1601 when she recorded in her diary, “i went into the garden and gave some herbs unto a good wife of erley.” 5 she also made her own medicines and even distilled “aqua: vitae”. 6 likewise, lady grace mildmay made her own medicines, such as laudanum, which she distilled from opium and henbane. 7 lady grace was a noblewoman who resided in northamptonshire and lived around the same time as lady hoby. historian linda pollock describes mildmay as a woman who was in many ways an “accepting product of elizabethan society and in many others a quiet circumventer of the gender barriers,” and she also suggests that her papers “reveal that there was little difference between the care offered by a universitytrained physician and that offered by a self-taught woman.” 8 for pollock, lady mildmay conformed to elizabethan society by acting the role of the dutiful aristocratic wife and mother. at the same time, she might have circumvented gender barriers by her forays into alchemy and by giving professional physicians a serious challenge when it came to providing good medical care to the needy. 3 john husee to honor lisle, 1535, in the lisle letters, ed. muriel. st clare byrne (chicago: university of chicago press, 1981), vol. 4, 30. this six volume set includes the extant letters written and received by members of the aristocratic lisle family, and cover the years that lord arthur and lady honor lisle resided in calais, due to his appointment as lord deputy. among these letters are many written by and to lady lisle that reference her and her fellow noblewomen’s medical activities. 4 lynette hunter, “women and domestic medicine: lady experimenters, 1570-1620,” in women, science and medicine 1500-1700: mothers and sisters of the royal society, ed. lynette hunter and sarah hutton (phoenix mill: sutton publishing, 1997), 98. 5 margaret hoby, “diary of lady margaret hoby,” in english women’s voices: 1540-1700, ed. charlotte f. otten (florida international university press: miami, 1992), 188. in her diary, lady hoby kept a record of all of her medical activities, including her work with the poor people of her neighborhood. she also mentions her herbal garden and the sharing of ingredients from it. 6 margaret p. hannay, “‘how i these studies prize’: the countess of pembroke and elizabethan science,” in women, science and medicine, 110. 7 linda pollock, with faith and physic: the life of a tudor gentlewoman, lady grace mildmay 15521620 (new york: st. martin’s press, 1993), 103. among the documents included in this volume are lady mildmay’s medical papers, which provide the reader with her thoughts on medicine, her recipes, and several correspondences that she received. these documents were left to her daughter, who had them published posthumously. 8 ibid., 1-2. aristocratic women gained their knowledge of home remedies and healing skills from several different sources. the first was from female members of their families, like their mothers. lady mildmay claimed that her mother had “good knowledge in phisick and surgerie” and was able then to provide her daughter with a sound background in the medicinal arts. 9 later when she herself died, lady mildmay bequeathed some two thousand medical papers, all of her medically related books, and her still-room with its medical supplies to her daughter, thus passing along her medical knowledge to the next generation. 10 however, mothers were not the only female family members to pass on medicinal knowledge. for instance, lady grace gained much of her medical training from her father’s niece, who let her read about herbs and surgery from noted authorities of the time. 11 a second source from which these women could gain medical knowledge was from guidebooks. before the mid-1600s, most guides available to women were composed by men, and either written in latin or the vernacular english because women were essentially shut out of the publishing world until the late 1600s. 12 the fact that not until the beginning of the early modern period were the majority of the guides written in english reflects the fact that the literacy rate of upper-class women did not begin to increase until about 1475. 13 among the other aspects of education that aristocratic women learned, were the skills of reading and writing in english, and according to harris, “[in] a society in which illiteracy was widespread, particularly among women, [these aristocrats] clearly benefited from their position as members of a privileged class.” 14 in the remedy books that women were reading, the authors assumed that the women using them already had the skills to concoct medicinal recipes. 15 several examples of guides that were available to women between the mid-1400s and the mid-1600s are a booke of soveraigne approved medicines and remedies from 1577, a treatise of the plague written by thomas lodge in 1603, and william turner’s a newe herball that was published in 1551. incidentally, this last book was the one from which lady mildmay’s aunt let her read, and was possibly where she came in contact with the traditional theories of galen and the new theories of paracelsus that were then entering english medical texts. 16 prior to the sixteenth-century, most medical practitioners came from the galenic mold. historian linda pollock writes: 9 hannay, “‘how i these studies prize’: the countess of pembroke and elizabethan science,” in women, science and medicine, 110. 10 pollock, with faith and physic, 102. 11 charlotte f. otten, “introduction: women taking charge of health care,” in english women’s voices: 1540-1700, ed. charlotte f. otten (florida international university press: miami, 1992), 174. 12 suzanne w. hull, women according to men: the world of tudor-stuart women (walnut creek: altamira press, 1996), 59. 13 ibid., 16. 14 harris, english aristocratic women, 34. 15 hull, women according to men, 60. 16 pollock, with faith and physic, 97. in medical treatment, the predominant theoretical framework was derived from the galenic theory of humors which took a holistic approach to the body and medicine. this held…that bodies were composed of four humours – blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile…four qualities – hot, cold, wet, and dry – [governed the interactions of the humours]…health was dependent on the balance of the four humours and disease resulted from an imbalance. thus the goal of medical treatment was to restore the equilibrium by determining which humour was over-abundant or deficient. 17 lady mildmay was well aware of this theory of humors and recommended caution when trying to balance them, for “[it] is [a] dangerous thing to wear and distract the humours in the body by extreme purges or extreme cordials”. 18 she then went on to demonstrate her knowledge of the humors and the remedies that would put them back into harmony. she wrote: this is a rule, that sweating doth stay both vomit and superfluous looseness in stool…if there be obstructions in the stomach and bowels and rhume (mucus) in the head, then must the body be kept soluble. if there be obstructions in the stomachs and bowels by phlegm and gross matter therein contained and therewithal a great moisture in the sinews, then must the thick matter be prepared and purged with preparatives and purges proper and the sinews rectified by diet only. 19 in other words, if a person was ill from an excess of phlegm or mucus in the body, then those humors must be liquefied and sweated out in order to restore balance. also, lady mildmay made brief mention of diet as a way to harmonize the humors, which was an important aspect of galenic theory. like grace mildmay, lady honor lisle was not unfamiliar with the humors of the body. between the autumn of 1537 and the spring of 1538, she suffered from an illness, from which she was unable to cure herself, and was thus forced to consult a professional doctor. such an action was usually the next step if a female health care giver could not find a solution to a medical problem herself. in a letter to lady lisle, her physician stated the cause of the illness as being a gathering of “many or diverse cold and sleymsh humours within your body, which giveth…clearly to be known by the short breath whereof ye do complain” and recommended a small purge and a very specific diet to bring the humors back into sync. 20 although she was not the one diagnosing the problem or the one to prescribe the remedy, lady lisle would certainly have understood the doctor’s reasoning for his recommendations for her health. 17 ibid., 94. 18 grace mildmay, 1622, quoted in linda pollock, with faith and physic: the life of a tudor gentlewoman, lady grace mildmay 1552-1620 (new york: st. martin’s press, 1993), 110. 19 ibid., 110-111. 20 le coop to honor lisle, 1537-1538, in the lisle letters, vol. 4, 169-167. in the 1500s, the theories of galen began to be challenged by those of paracelsus, and as pollock suggests, “[by] the 1590s…almost every well-informed person in england came to know at least something about his [paracelsus’] method of medical treatment”. 21 paracelsus differed from galen by looking at disease as a reaction between chemicals in the body, which could be treated by medications made from minerals and chemicals. for instance, gold was believed to have had excellent medicinal properties and mercury was then in use against syphilis. 22 also, unlike galenists, paracelsus viewed purges, blood-letting, and sweating as imperfect forms of remedies. 23 the documents of lady mildmay demonstrate that she knew of these new theories and was willing to incorporate chemical based medicines into her remedies. for example, she concocted an oil of antimony for back pain, a tincture of gold for a weak stomach, and a remedy of flowers in sulfur and antimony to heal fistulas, which “requireth a great while to make…in that perfection that paracelsus hath set down in his book of surgery.” 24 remedy guidebooks, popular (cutting-edge scientific) medical theories, and female family members were not the only influences on the acquisition of medical knowledge. for example, the women of the paston family were not averse to getting medical help and supplies from leeches and apothecaries. for instance, the leech of orwelle was asked to help agnes paston with a persistent ailment and an apothecary in norwich provided the family with medicine when one of its members suffered from a broken hip. 25 likewise, aristocratic women were known to share their medicinal recipes and herbs with one another. evidence of this can be found in several letters where margaret paston recommended a fellow healer as a good supplier of herbs and where she received sorely needed medicine from a female friend. 26 lady mildmay also corresponded with other health care providers, both male and female. she received several recipes for medications from her colleagues, such as one for an oil of cinnamon from a mr. harris, a “medicine for the falling sickness taught by mrs. stacey”, and a “good receipt against the jaunders [jaundice], taught by olde mistress bash.” 27 the practice of medicine once these english noble women gained their skills, they then began to practice what they were taught. among those who received the benefit of this knowledge were their family members, their household servants, friends, and people in their wider communities. for instance, 21 pollock, with faith and physic 95. 22 hull, women according to men, 61. 23 pollock, with faith and physic, 95. 24 mildmay, quoted in with faith and physic, 132-134. 25 elaine whitaker, “reading the paston letters medically,” english language notes 31, no. 1 (1993), 21. 26 ibid., 20-21. 27 harris to grace mildmay, 1598, in with faith and physic, 141-142; in “‘how i these studies prize’: the countess of pembroke and elizabethan science,” in women, science and medicine, 110. in 1473 margaret paston wrote a letter to the family chaplain stating that she had heard that a cousin of hers was ill. she entreated the chaplain to give her relation her “white wine, or any of my medicinal essences…that may give him comfort.” 28 similarly, in 1478, dame elizabeth stonor sent a powder containing nutmeg to her husband william, which he was to drink for relief from an illness that he had sustained from a fall. in the letter, she also chided her husband for not having written to her sooner, so that she could have been taking care of him before then. 29 besides helping their family members, these women had no qualms about self-medicating, such as lady hoby who on may 9, 1601, “took physic” for a terrible pain in her teeth that had kept her awake the entire night before. 30 outside of the family, servants and friends received the benefit of these women’s medical knowledge. in her diary, lady hoby made many references to the care she provided for her servants, such as on january 31, 1599 when she “went about the house and dressed two that were hurt.” 31 likewise, lady lisle was known to send herbs or other medicinal remedies to her friends and acquaintances. in a letter dated september 26, 1534, thomas leygh thanked lady lisle for the cramp rings (precious objects that were “blessed” by the king), which she had sent him before his journey to flanders. 32 a final group that received the benefit of these noble women’s skills was the poor people in their communities. lady margaret hoby kept a diary for six years in which she carefully detailed her medical work. her document reads almost like a log book, and gives one the impression of a country doctor seeing patients at his home office or visiting them on his rounds. 33 throughout her diary, margaret hoby routinely documented the various poor people to whom she ministered, such as on february 4, 1599 where she noted, “…at 5 o’clock i dressed my patients…” or on february 10 th of that same year, “i dressed other poor folks…” or on the twenty-sixth day of 1601, “i went to church, and after sermon, i dressed a poor man’s hand”. 34 lady mildmay also attended to people in her neighborhood. for instance, she once helped a maid with apoplexy by 28 margaret paston to probably james gloys, 1473, in the paston women: selected letters, ed. diane watt (woodbridge: d. s. brewer, 2004), 108. this collection of letters includes various ones written by the paston women, namely elizabeth, agnes, and margaret. among these letters can be found snippets of the medical knowledge that these women possessed and who actually benefited from their expertise. 29 elizabeth stonor to william stonor, 1478, in stonor letters and papers, 1290-1483, ed. charles lethbridge kingsford and christine carpenter (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1996), 45. the stonor family was a typical gentry family that lived in england during the late-middle ages to the early modern period. as editor christine carpenter notes, an impressive aspect of the stonors was their ability to survive this era. among the letters are those written by the main female members of the family, most importantly dame elizabeth, who sprinkled her writings with bits and pieces of the medical knowledge that she possessed and used for the benefit of her family. 30 hoby, “diary of lady margaret hoby,” in english women’s voices, 188. 31 ibid., 186. 32 thomas leygh to honor lisle, 1534, in the lisle letters, vol. 2, 265. 33 otten, “introduction: women taking charge of health care,” in english women’s voices, 176. 34 hoby, “diary of lady margaret hoby,” in english women’s voices, 186-188. first applying a “plaster of mithridate and oil of mastic” to her back and then having her drink a concoction that contained mugwort. 35 these women probably did not have much competition from the professional physicians in providing care for poor people, since the poor would have been unable to pay for medical services. lady hoby and the rest did not charge fees for services rendered. their work was strictly charitable. 36 the care that these women provided to their families and communities was diverse. historian charlotte f. otten describes lady hoby as “representative of the females who were the primary health caregivers in their day.” 37 hoby did everything from dressing wounds to helping to deliver babies. for example, on january 30, 1599, she recorded, “after i had prayed privately i dressed a poor boy’s leg that came to me…after that i dressed one of the men’s hands that was hurt.” 38 another example of lady hoby’s work was in 1601 when a man in the neighborhood cut his foot with a hatchet. she dressed the severe wound and continued to care for the man for the next week. 39 interestingly, margaret hoby was one of the few women health care practitioners who was willing to attempt what would have been considered major surgery in the early modern period, and on an infant no less. even lady mildmay would not perform the duties of a surgeon that involved any type of cutting and sewing, except for bleeding a patient to realign the humors. 40 lady hoby recorded her surgical efforts thus: [this] day in the afternoon, i had had a child brought to me that was born at silpho, one talliour son, who had no fundament, and had no passage for excrements but at the mouth. i was earnestly entreated to cut the place to see if any passage could be made, but although i cut deep and searched, there was none to be found. 41 thus, although she bravely tried to help the poor child, her lack of success was not due to any lack of skill. even though she was unable to help her tiny patient, the fact that the parents sought out her help shows that her community trusted her medical skills. among aristocratic women’s duties was the making and providing of medicinal remedies to their patients. the largest category of remedies was herbal in nature, and as has already been mentioned, many of these women were well versed in the art of mixing herbal concoctions. margaret paston recommended that mint or milfoil (yarrow) essence was good to drink in order 35 mildmay, quoted in with faith and physic, 116. 36 pollock, with faith and physic, 97. 37 otten, “introduction: women taking charge of health care,” in english women’s voices, 177. 38 hoby, “diary of lady margaret hoby,” in english women’s voices, 186. 39 ibid., 188. 40 pollock, with faith and physic, 101. 41 hoby, quoted in “‘how i these studies prize’: the countess of pembroke and elizabethan science,” in women, science and medicine, 110 to tolerate food. 42 elizabeth stonor prepared for her husband a “bladyr with powdyr to drynke when ye go to bede, ffor hit is holsome ffor you.” 43 responses to illness during the era in which the women in this study lived, there were many illnesses with which they had to deal. these illnesses included smallpox, plague, typhus, and the normal aspects of bad health such as colds, fevers, wounds, and broken limbs. by reading their letters, the historian can try to determine what aristocratic women’s responses to ill health would have been. one response that can be gleaned from their letters was an expression of deepest concern. for example, margaret paston wrote to her eldest son, john ii, on january 28, 1475, and in her letter she inquired about his health, namely an “affliction that [he] had in [his] eye and [his] leg.” 44 she went on to suggest that “if god will not allow you to have health, thank him for that and endure it patiently” and recommended that he come home to live with her so that she could take care of him. 45 another example is that of dame elizabeth stonor, who wrote to her husband in 1476, saying that she had heard her daughter-in-law was ill with some sort of ailment of the neck. she was very concerned and recommended that he send their daughter-in-law to london (where dame stonor was living at the time) so that she could try to cure it. 46 the letters of noblewomen of this era were peppered with anxiety about family and friends living or staying in areas that were riddled with sickness, especially the plague. women in these families were asking constantly for reassurances that loved ones were not travelling to plague afflicted towns. on september 12, 1476, elizabeth stonor wrote another letter to her husband in which she expressed her sincerest concern for his well-being and her desire to be near him: also, gentyll cosyn, i understonde that my brother and yowris is sore sick of the poxes: wherfore i am right hevy and sory of your beyng there, ffor the eyre of poxe is ffull contagious and namely to them than ben nye of blode. wherfore i wolde praye you, gentyll cosyn, that þe wolde come hedyr (from stonor to london), and yif hit wolde plese you so to doo, &c. and yif that hit lyke you not so to doo, gentill coysn, lettith me have hedyr some horsis i pray you, and that i may come to you, ffor in good faith i can fynde hit in my herte to put my self in jubardy there as ye be, and shall do whilst my lyffe endureth to the pleasure of god and yours. 47 42 margaret paston to probably james gloys, in the paston women: selected letters, 109. 43 elizabeth stonor to william stonor, 1476, in stonor letters and papers, 271. 44 margaret paston to john paston ii, 1475, in the paston women, 109. 45 ibid., 109. 46 elizabeth stonor to william stonor, 1476, in stonor letters and papers, 266. 47 elizabeth stonor to william stonor, 1476, in stonor letters and papers, 266-267. a modernized version of this quote might read as: “also gentle husband, i understand that my brother and yours, is sore sick of the poxes: wherefore i am right heavy and sorry of your being there, for the ire of pox is full noblewomen also responded to illness by writing about their own personal ailments, to their husbands, to their other relatives, or to their friends. one way to deal with ill health is to talk about it in order to relieve the mind, get support, or just to complain to somebody else about one’s own misfortune. on march 7, 1477, this last suggestion is exactly what elizabeth stonor did. at the very end of her letter to her husband, she remarked that she was “crassed in [her] baket,” possibly suggesting that she was suffering from some sort of ailment such as that her back had seized up. 48 likewise in a letter dated november 5, 1536, anthoinette de saveuses, informed lady lisle that she had been suffering from a catarrh, or chest infection, for the past three weeks, and two years later, she wrote another letter stating that she was once again sick with a catarrh. 49 other responses that noblewomen, and other members of the english society of this time period, had to illness were religious in nature. from the above letter of margaret paston to her son, one can see that a person was to bear his or her sickness patiently. another religious response to ill health was that it was the will of god. according to lady mildmay, if every remedy was tried and nothing had worked, then god had willed that the illness was incurable. she wrote, “so that the physic which bringeth the body and parts thereof into an union in itself…worketh the most safe and effectual operation to the preservation thereof, without any danger and with the greatest hope to cure any disease in the end, except god determine the same to be incurable.” 50 similarly, in a letter dated september 19, 1538, lady lisle informed her friend, madame de bous, that her daughter was ill: “she hath been sore sick for more than five weeks of a fever, the which taketh her still each day. we neither know nor can find remedy to heal her thereof, which shall be when it please god.” 51 thus, in the end, the cure for madame de bous’s daughter was in god’s hands. a final response that people could have had to sickness and/or death was that it was a punishment from the almighty for some sin or wrongdoing. grace mildmay provided examples to this precept, such as “an over-indulgence in food and drink (gluttony) accompanied by contagious and namely to them [that have] been near blood. wherefore i would pray you, gentle husband, that you would come here (from stonor to london) and if it would please you so to do…and if that it like you not so to do, gentle husband, let me have here some horses i pray you, and that i may come to you, for in good faith i can find it in my heart to put myself in jeopardy there as ye be, and shall do whilst my life endures to the pleasure of god and yours.” 48 elizabeth stonor to william stonor, 1476, in stonor letters and papers, 279. 49 anthoinette de saveuses to honor lisle, 1536, 1568, in the lisle letters, vol. 3, 181, 194. for an interesting discussion of catarrhs see: nancy g. sirasi, medieval and early renaissance medicine: an introduction to knowledge and practice (chicago: university of chicago press, 1990), 115-116. in chapter five, “disease and treatment”, sirasi discusses the treatments that peter the venerable used to try and eliminate his annoying catarrh. 50 mildmay, 1622, quoted in with faith and physic, 110. 51 honor lisle to madame de bous,1568, in the lisle letters, vol. 5, 215. constipation led to bodily indisposition.” 52 another example comes from lady hoby, in which she wrote that in the late summer of 1603, the plague had once again hit england. she recorded in mid-september that “we heard that the [plague] was spread…and that ther died at london :3200: a week…[god] in his mercie pardon our sinnens.” 53 thus, she possibly felt that god had sent the plague to england as punishment for the sins of his people. incidentally, sometimes there was the hope that god would forgive the person’s sins through the penance of the illness. anthoinette de saveuses echoed this sentiment when she wrote in a letter detailing her recurring catarrh, saying “i pray god that the pain i suffer may be had in remission of my sins”. 54 thoughts on pregnancy and childcare one of the most important duties of women in the early modern period was to bear children, preferably sons. as historian mavis e. mate has stated, “for married women the bearing and raising of children occupied much of their time and energy”. 55 women knew their duty and most looked upon children as gifts from god. however, they also knew of the dangers of birth, and “were acutely aware of prolonged labor, breech birth, stillbirth, deformed children, and of the possibility of dying.” 56 in their letters to one another, women sometimes discussed their joy and also their concerns about childbirth. in the late autumn of 1535, the big news between lady lisle and her friends was the impending birth of madame de riou’s child. these women were concerned for madame de riou’s health as she neared her confinement and anthoinette de saveuses offered a prayer that god would grant her friend “a gracious travail, and to her child a name and baptism.” 57 thus, from such letters one can see that women were concerned for one another and that they were acutely aware of the possibility of the child not surviving the ordeal of birth. besides giving birth, english noble women also had to think about providing care for their children, such as whether or not to breast-feed their own child. the prevailing argument in early modern england was that women of the aristocracy should not breast-feed, but have their children sent to wet nurses. contrary to this notion, there was at least one noblewoman who advocated for women to breast-feed their own children. she was elizabeth clinton, countess of lincoln, who bore eighteen children, and who, ironically, did not breast-feed any of them. the 52 pollock, with faith and physic, 99-101. 53 hoby, “diary of lady margaret hoby,” in english women’s voices, 189; margaret hoby, the private life of an elizabethan lady: the diary of lady margaret hoby, 1599-1605, ed. joanna moody (phoenix mill: sutton publishing limited, 1998), 191-192. 54 anthoinette de saveuses to honor lisle, 1538, in the lisle letters, vol. 3, 195. 55 mavis e. mate, daughters, wives and widows after the black death: women in sussex, 1350-1535 (woodbridge: the boydell press, 1998), 182. 56 otten, “introduction: women describing childbirth, sickness, and death,” in english women’s voices, 221. 57 anthoinette de saveuses and madame de bours to honor lisle, 1535, in the lisle letters, vol. 3, 151153. countess declared that her inaction was wrong and regretted her decision ever after. she also claimed that her dereliction of duty was not entirely her own fault and that she had been given bad advice and was “overruled by another’s authority,” possibly a male family member. 58 however, lady clinton was not averse to stating her opinion, writing a tract published in 1622 to one of her daughters-in-law who was breast-feeding a child at that time. 59 according to the countess, it was disobedience to god in refusing to breast-feed one’s own child. he had provided women with milk and they were expected to use it. 60 she stated her point thus: the mothers then that refuse to nurse their own children, do they not despise god’s providence? do they not deny god’s will? do they not as it were say, i see, o god, by the means thou hast given me, but i will not do so much for thee. oh impious and impudent unthankfulness; yea monstrous unnaturalness, both to their own natural fruit born so near their breasts and fed in their own wombs, and yet may not be suffered to suck their own milk. 61 to further her point, lady clinton turned to the bible and cited such notable women as eve, sarah, and the virgin mary as examples to follow. she claimed that eve “saw it was her duty; and…had a true natural affection which moved her to do it gladly.” sarah, she said, “put herself to this work when she was very old, and so might the better have excused herself, than we younger women can, being also more able to hire and keep a nurse than any of us.” 62 in other words, if women like sarah, who was at least a hundred years old when she gave birth to isaac, could suckle their children, then there was no reason the aristocratic women of england in the 1600s could not also do so. after making her arguments in favor of aristocratic women breast-feeding their own children, lady clinton went on to examine reasons women might give for not doing so and summarily debunked them. this list of reasons included: “that it is troublesome, that it is noisome to one’s clothes, that it makes one look old (a very great fear)” and perhaps the fear that they would be too weak to do it. 63 according to the countess these were lies, and she countered that god provided women with the strength to care for their children and that mothers who breast-fed were always neatly dressed and actually aged as well as mothers who did not breast-feed. a final critique lady clinton had of non-breast-feeding mothers was that it was mostly the “sin of the 58 elizabeth clinton, “the countess of lincoln’s nursery,” in english women’s voices: 1540-1700, ed. charlotte f. otten (florida international university press: miami, 1992), 216. lady clinton composed this small work in order to get the word out to fellow noblewomen about breast-feeding their own babies. 59 otten, “introduction: women taking charge of health care,” in english women’s voices, 181-182. 60 clinton, “the countess of lincoln’s nursery,” in english women’s voices, 212. 61 ibid., 215. 62 ibid., 213. 63 ibid., 216. higher and richer sort than of the meaner and the poorer”. in her mind, this inaction of the nobility set a bad example for the lower ranks of society. 64 men’s attitudes to women’s role in healthcare in the early modern period in england, there were mixed reactions from men in regards to the involvement of women in health care. they were either seen as valuable healers, tolerated, or seen as a threat. as has been mentioned before, sometimes female healers of the nobility were tolerated because they could take care of poor patients, where professional physicians either would not or could not do so. as the years went on, this professional class began to see anyone who practiced medicine without a license as a threat, however. 65 gervase markham, a writer of guidebooks for housewives in the early 1600s, went so far as to warn women to not overstep their authority when providing health care. 66 part of the reason for this animosity was the changing nature of the medical profession, especially after the reformation. in 1518, the royal college of physicians was given its blessing by king henry viii and began slowly to act as the controlling head of the profession. under the royal college, the newly licensed physicians attempted to bar many of the traditional healers from practicing medicine, by determining that they were unqualified due to a lack of college education. 67 accordingly, aristocratic women were now to be found among this new category of “quacks”, but as has been shown, these women were not about to give up the healing arts. the professional male physicians could complain as much as they wanted, but as historian linda pollock suggests, “even in affluent households, lay medical care was often the system relied upon. community care and expert care were intertwined in tudor-stuart england and the professionals rather than the amateurs may have been regarded as the interlopers on the scene”. 68 scholar elaine whitaker concurs with pollock, in stating in her study of the paston family that “the final authority for health care appears to have rested with the family’s women, traditional healers who viewed the physicians of london as their adversaries”. 69 so, it would seem that this distrust was a two-way street. on june 8, 1464, margaret paston entreated her husband, “also, fore goddys sake be ware what medesynys ye take of any fysissyanys in london. i should never trust to [them]”. 70 thus, margaret was as suspicious of the professional 64 ibid., 215. 65 hunter, “women and domestic medicine: lady experimenters, 1570-1620,” in women, science and medicine, 99. 66 ibid., 99. 67 hull, women according to men, 56. 68 pollock, with faith and physic, 97. 69 whitaker, “reading the paston letters medically,” 20. 70 margaret paston to john paston i, 1464, quoted in “reading the paston letters medically,” 19. a modernized version of this quote might read as: “also, for god’s sake beware what medicines ye take of any physicians in london. i should never trust to them.” doctors in london as they were of women like her, and she stated her desire of being the sole health care provider for her husband. unlike the rising professional class of healers, not all men looked down upon lady health care givers. for instance, juan luis vives, noted humanist and adviser to queen catherine of aragon, defended elite women in their practice of the medicinal arts: because the business and charge within the house lyeth upon the woman’s hand, i would she should know medicines and salves for such diseases as be common, and reign almost daily, and have those medicines ever prepared ready in some closet wherewith she may help her husband, her little children, and her household meny [menial], when any needeth, that she need not oft to send for the physician, or buy all thing[s] of the apothecary. 71 thus he seemed to say that gentle and noblewomen were perfect for providing domestic health care and that it was also a natural part of their household duties. another proof that not all men were against women healers can be found in the collections of letters of aristocratic families that have been preserved, such as those from the lisle family. lady honor lisle was a prestigious woman, who “could through her influence over her husband exercise considerable power.” 72 she received an enormous amount of letters with people, predominantly men, petitioning her for favors while asking for advice and help in health care. for instance, in the mid-1530s, lord edmund howard wrote to lady lisle in order to thank her for some medicine that she had sent him to pass his stone. he wrote, “madame, so it is i have this night after midnight taken your medicine, for the which i heartily thank you, for it hath done me much good, and hath caused the stone to break, so that now i void much gravel”. 73 several years later, lord lisle also wrote to his wife to thank her for saving the lives of two people. again, the remedy that she had prescribed was her powder for breaking up kidney stones. 74 lady lisle thus justly maintained her reputation as an expert in the medicinal arts, while at the same time gathering political favor and encouraging valuable alliances for her family. conclusion from the mid-1400s to the mid-1600s, aristocratic women in england had many duties, the most important, many could argue, was the running of their large households. the family’s main residence/great estate was their dominion and as charlotte otten states: 71 juan luis vives, the instruction of a christen woman, 1529, quoted in women according to men, 59. 72 mate, daughters, wives and widows after the black death, 188. 73 edmund howard to honor lisle, 1535?, in the lisle letters, vol. 2, 499. 74 arthur lisle to honor lisle, 1538, in the lisle letters, vol. 5, 298. home. the place where females participated more intensely than males in the life-death cycle. females were born there, and they married, conceived, miscarried, gave birth, and died there. there they attended their families in sickness, often seeing their children die from smallpox, measles, plague, worms, tetanus, accidental overlying– from ‘the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.’ there women experienced firsthand the destructibility of human life. 75 they saw the “destructibility of human life” and they tried to minimize it. they learned as girls the skills they would need later as women to maintain the health of their future families. they recognized that health care was part of their duty and some women jumped headlong into the task, by extending their circle of patients beyond their families and domestic servants. they also cared for friends, acquaintances, and the needy people of their communities. however, not all aspects of their domestic medical practice were gloomy. there were some instances of joy, such as the birth of a child or the satisfaction of restoring a loved one to good health. from the evidence provided above, one can see that aristocratic women in the early modern period in england were very much active in the medical practice, and that at times they were looked to for cures more so than the rising professional class of physicians. 75 otten, “introduction: women describing childbirth, sickness, and death,” in english women’s voices, 221. references primary sources byrne, muriel. st clare, ed. the lisle letters. chicago: university of chicago press, 1981. clinton, elizabeth. “the countess of lincoln’s nursery.” in english women’s voices: 15401700, edited by charlotte f. otten, 212-217. florida international university press: miami, 1992. heyssin, elisabeth. 1598. quoted in mary e. wiesner-hanks, women and gender in early modern europe cambridge: cambridge university press, 2008, 101. hoby, margaret. “diary of lady margaret hoby.” in english women’s voices: 1540-1700, edited by charlotte f. otten, 186-189. miami: florida international university press, 1992. – – –. the private life of an elizabethan lady: the diary of lady margaret hoby, 1599-1605, edited by joanna moody. phoenix mill: sutton publishing limited, 1998. kingsford, charles lethbridge, and christine carpenter, ed. stonor letters and papers, 12901483. cambridge university press, 1996. mildmay, grace. “extracts from medical papers.” in with faith and physic: the life of a tudor gentlewoman, lady grace mildmay 1552-1620, edited by linda pollock, 110-142 new york: st. martin’s press, 1993. watt, diane, ed. the paston women: selected letters. woodbridge: d.s. brewer, 2004. secondary sources hannay, margaret p. “‘how i these studies prize’: the countess of pembroke and elizabethan science.” in women, science and medicine 1500-1700: mothers and sisters of the royal society, edited by lynette hunter and sarah hutton, 108-121. phoenix mill: sutton publishing, 1997. harris, barbara j. english aristocratic women 1450-1550: marriage and family, property and careers new york: oxford university press, 2002. hull, suzanne w. women according to men: the world of tudor-stuart women walnut creek: altamira press, 1996. hunter, lynette. “women and domestic medicine: lady experimenters, 1570-1620.” in women, science and medicine 1500-1700: mothers and sisters of the royal society, edited by lynette hunter and sarah hutton, 1-6. phoenix mill: sutton publishing, 1997. mate, mavis e. daughters, wives and widows after the black death: women in sussex, 13501535 woodbridge: the boydell press, 1998. otten, charlotte f. “introduction: women taking charge of health care.” in english women’s voices: 1540-1700, edited charlotte f. otten, 173-183. miami: florida international university press, 1992. pollock, linda. with faith and physic: the life of a tudor gentlewoman, lady grace mildmay 1552-1620. new york: st. martin’s press, 1993. nancy g. sirasi. medieval and early renaissance medicine: an introduction to knowledge and practice. chicago: university of chicago press, 1990. whitaker, elaine. “reading the paston letters medically.” english language notes 31, no. 1 (1993), 19-27. additional secondary sources – consulted but not cited cabré, montserrat. “women or healers? household practices and the categories of health care in late medieval iberia.” bulletin of the history of medicine 82, no. 1 (2008): 18-51. daybell, james, ed. early modern women's letter writing, 1450-1700. houndmills: palgrave, 2001. elmer, peter, ed. the healing arts: health, disease and society in europe, 1500-1800. manchester: manchester university press, 2004. fissell, mary elizabeth. “introduction: women, health, and healing in early modern europe.” bulletin of the history of medicine 82, no. 1 (2008): 1-17. fissell, mary elizabeth. vernacular bodies: the politics of reproduction in early modern england. oxford: oxford university press, 2004. [concept, vol. xxxv (2012)] the role of religion (or not) in the tea party movement: current debates & the anti-federalists julie schumacher cohen master of public administration the tea party is known most for its positions related to economic and fiscal issues, and its emphasis on limited government and adherence to the constitution. however, there is an ongoing debate both within the movement and among its observers about the role of social and religious issues. with the increased convergence of republican and tea party supporters following the 2010 elections, will the latter issues now come more into the forefront? were they relegated merely for tactical reasons or is the movement indeed more libertarian than it is conservative? this paper will explore why religious and social issues have not been the focal point of the tea party, and whether this phenomenon is likely to remain going forward. i will consider the intersection of religion and politics in this grassroots social movement by examining: 1) major tea party organizations, 2) key tea party documents, 3) prominent movement figures and 4) key 2010-2011 poll findings. 1 the debates of the current day will then be compared with those that took place between the federalists and the anti-federalists, touching on important questions related to the role of government and religion in america. in my analysis of the tea party movement, i will draw from a variety of sources to seek a broad understanding of the movement, while acknowledging that there is no one “monolithic” tea party, and no one designated leader. as scott rasmussen and douglas schoen in mad as hell explain, “at its core, the movement remains a diffuse, grass-roots phenomenon” (rasmussen and schoen 2010, 166). furthermore, just as its structure is difficult to define because of the horizontal nature of the movement, its positions are also more complex than can be explained by one policy document or one organization’s mission statement. it is possible however, to offer some broad observations: first and foremost, the tea party movement is concerned with minimizing the size of government, particularly how much money government spends, and maximizing the ability of individuals to act freely. as one tea party activist interviewed by jill lepore in the whites of their eyes said, “government is for the post office, and to defend our country, and maybe for the roads. that’s all” (lepore 2010, 44). furthermore, as dick armey and mark kibbe, founders of the tea party organization freedom works, wrote in a wall street journal op-ed, “the american values of individual freedom, fiscal responsibility and limited government bind the ranks of our movement” (armey and kibbe, 2010). the tea party has a strong libertarian element in its philosophy, representing a rejection of the status quo of establishment politics. 1 the analyses in this paper focus on the timeframe leading up to the 2010 mid-term elections through fall 2011. tea party organizations in my review of six key tea party organizations i found minimal attention to social or religious issues. first i looked at tea party nation, the for-profit company which “trains activists in multiple states, has helped organize rallies, and spends millions of dollars to air issue ads” (good, 2010). the welcome message on its website homepage invokes faith-based language and rationale, describing itself as a “group of like-minded people who desire our god-given individual freedoms written out by the founding fathers.” however, it goes on to describe its priority issues as “limited government, free speech, the 2nd amendment, our military, secure borders and our country” (tea party nation, 2011). second, tea party patriots, “the movement's largest membership organization” acknowledges but then unequivocally distances itself from social issues (good, 2010). the “philosophy” statement of the tea party patriots states: “as an organization we do not take stances on social issues. we urge members to engage fully on the social issues they consider important and aligned with their beliefs” (tea party patriots mission statement and core values, tea party patriots, 2011). a third organization, tea party express, which is a political action committee, includes no issue or policy statements. instead its focus is on its endorsements, which did in 2010 include social conservatives such as delaware u.s. senate candidate christine o’donnell, but also scott brown, who is now a massachusetts senator and who has presented himself as a moderate on social issues (endorse 2010, tea party express, 2010). fourth, in freedom works, a major grassroots organization that was instrumental particularly early on in the movement, i found little that could be interpreted as reference to social issues, other than its general advocacy for “individual freedom” (our mission, freedom works, 2010). fifth, in the case of americans for prosperity, i found a strong, and even technical, focus on economic and fiscal policy. social or religious issues are totally absent. finally, in the national tea party federation i found an organizing platform in pursuit of the general objectives of “fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets” (national tea party federation, 2011). while there is no one dominant tea party organization, review of these major ones clearly shows that social and religious issues are not given priority attention by leading tea party groups. however, this lack of direct attention should not be dismissed as a lack of concern or support for the issues. lisa mcgirr, a professor of history at harvard, believes that the tea party uses a kind of code to talk about social values: “when they talk about returning to the values of the founding fathers, they are talking about life as a social issue” (zernike, 2010). for example, in establishing the house of representatives’ tea party caucus – another important organizational vehicle that focuses on fiscal responsibility, adherence to the constitution and limited government – rep. michele bachman (r-mn) issued a statement about the importance of espousing “the timeless principles of our founding,” a vague sentiment that could easily apply to moral values as well as economic and governmental issues (bachman to start house caucus, 2010). moreover, while tea party organizations seem to be focused on issues other than gay marriage and abortion, it is important to consider how the tea party’s alignments interact with social conservatism. as rasmussen and schoen explain, “adding to the complexity, the movement is affiliated with many conservative special interest groups that have only marginal ties to the broader tea party movement—especially those groups working on traditional social conservative issues like abortion or school prayer, which have rarely been the focus of tea party political activity” (rasmussen and schoen 2010, 166). this explains the above statement by tea party patriots which strongly urges their members to engage on social issues – showing a clear sympathy with conservative social issues and causes – but makes clear their own agnosticism on the issue and directs political activity elsewhere. the degree to which tea party organizations will continue to eschew a values-driven agenda is unclear. since the 2010 election, the messaging has been shifting, “both from the inside and outside, with more faith groups using tea party-type language, and some groups like texas-based teaparty.org and the iowa tea party bucking the movement’s traditions by embracing social issues as part of their stated agendas” (jonsson 2011). tea party documents a review of the key foundational tea party documents shows that social issues are mostly absent. notably, the “contract from america,” a major tea party document that was the idea of houston-based lawyer ryan hecker, does not mention social, religious or family-values related issues. it advocates on behalf of “individual liberty, limited government, and economic freedom,” citing ten specific points, only two of which – “protect the constitution” and “restore fiscal responsibility & constitutionally limited government” – are not exclusively financial in nature (thecontract.org, 2011). this is not done without intention. as hecker explains in a 2010 new york times article: we should be creating the biggest tent possible around the economic conservative issue. i think social issues may matter to particular individuals, but at the end of the day, the movement should be agnostic about it. this is a movement that rose largely because of the republican party failing to deliver on being representative of the economic conservative ideology. to include social issues would be beside the point. (in zernike 2010) the independence caucus questionnaire, which many tea party groups used to evaluate candidates in the 2010 elections, posed 80 questions, which are almost entirely on the role of government, taxes and federal budgeting. however, the last section of questions relates to “personal character and standards” and poses a moral test akin in some ways to the religious tests which, as we will see later, anti-federalists supported. the request that candidates pledge not to “commit any act which would raise a reasonable question as to your individual moral character; including breaking marital vows” seems to stray from the libertarian leanings of the overall tea party movement (80 vetting questions, independence caucus, 2010). another key document is a letter from 17 state tea party leaders and gay conservatives sent to republican legislators following the 2010 elections urging them “to concentrate on foundational tea party principles--smaller government, lower taxes--and to sidestep divisive social issues like abortion and gay rights” (eichler 2010). this letter, which is particularly illustrative of the debate between tea party and republican party leaders reads: this election was not a mandate for the republican party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue, nor should it be interpreted as a political blank check…already, there are washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the tea party's message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues. we are disappointed but not surprised by this development. we recognize the importance of values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of worship and not legislated from washington, d.c.. (tea party letter to republicans, 2010) here again, we see a clear choice and directive to de-prioritize social issues, this time one that is focused on keeping the republican victory in the 2010 elections, which included many tea party politicians, from derailing the movement’s core objectives. tea party “leaders” analyzing the views of the tea party’s prominent figures is complicated given that these figures claim not to be leaders of the movement at all. as two of the “non-leaders” have pointed out, “the tea party movement has blossomed into a powerful social phenomenon because it is leaderless—not directed by any one mind, political party or parochial agenda” (armey and kibbe, wall street journal, 2010). some of the tea party figures are also leaders in the christian conservative movement, while others are not. certainly tea party favorites, sarah palin, senator jim demint (r-sc), congressman mike pence (r-in) and congresswoman michele bachmann (r-mn) are known for their pro-life and pro-traditional marriage political views. palin stirred controversy in 2010 when she dismissed notions that america is not a “christian nation”. she said: "god truly has shed his grace on thee -on this country. he's blessed us, and we better not blow it.” she went on to invoke the founding fathers: "lest anyone try to convince you that god should be separated from the state, our founding fathers, they were believers” (waters 2010). for palin, there is no doubting the christian roots of the nation and the responsibility that creates to legislate based on christianity. demint is similar to palin in his views on religious and social issues. interestingly, he has made a connection between a limited government and reliance on god. in an appearance on the christian broadcasting network demint said: "people are seeing this massive government growing and they're realizing that it's the government that's hurting us. and i think they're turning back to god…is our salvation and government is not our salvation and in fact more and more people see government as the problem” (sharlett 2010). another tea party favorite, michele bachmann, is also not shy about raising issues related to values and religion. in a february 2011 speech to the conservative political action conference (cpac) where bachmann urged the republican party not to neglect social issues, she said, "as important as these distressing economic concerns are, we would be wise to recall that there are other threats that loom as well." mike pence, at one time a presidential hopeful, has made points, like bachmann, about economic problems being urgent, but not eclipsing social problems, which he says “remain important in a way that blurs the distinction between social and economic issues” (will 2010). rick perry, another past republican presidential hopeful, who in august led by 21 percentage points among tea party supporters over mitt romney, bachmann and others, is also known to have strong socially conservative views (jones, 2011). for example, in summer 2011 perry convened a controversial event called, "the response: a call to prayer for a nation in crisis." in a video posted to the event’s website, perry said: "as an elected leader, i'm all too aware of government's limitations when it comes to fixing things that are spiritual in nature. that's where prayer comes in, and we need it more than ever” (memoli, 2011). one tea party commentator wrote in the washington post about the fact that many of the tea party’s leaders are strong social conservatives, saying: “palin, demint, pence…and bachmann are social conservatives. we, social conservatives, are leading the tea party in the court of public opinion” (sekulow 2010). so why then does the tea party movement not prioritize these issues organizationally or in major position statements? the same writer then went on to discuss what he sees as a tactical choice to prioritize economic over religious issues: “sure, the focus on issues may be a bit different now, but that's because we are a more sophisticated, diverse movement that understands when economic times are tough, people want to shake things up” (sekulow 2010). in late 2011 we saw bachmann and others rejecting a strong social conservative stance and instead opting for a position that promotes tolerance and deemphasizes the role of religion in politics. herman cain, still another past republican presidential hopeful and tea party favorite, commenting on the role of presidents and the issue of abortion has said, “it's not the government's role or anybody else's role to make that decision … it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make” (cnn 2011). bachmann and cain have clearly shifted their approach to social issues depending on the political moment, but in contrast, dick armey, a major tea party figure, has never presented himself as a social conservative at all. he has discussed the question of issue prioritization. in an interview with the christian science monitor, armey commented in the following way on the matter of social issues: “the fact of the matter is there is sort of a question of first things first priorities. if we lose this nation, if it falls into insolvency, then all of these issues pretty well fall by the wayside too, don’t they. so i think there is a setting of priorities” (cook 2010). armey is clearly aware that social issues are important to many within the movement, but he does not see them as the mobilizing factor. in give us liberty, a tea party “manifesto” written by armey and his colleague matt kibbe, there is little attention to social issues. kibbe has said there is no official tea party position on social issues (cook 2010). in a similar vein, ralph king, cochairman of the ohio tea party patriots and signatory to the above-mentioned post-election letter to republicans, explained: "when they were out in the boston harbor, they weren't arguing about who was gay or who was having an abortion ... i look at myself as pretty socially conservative. but that's not what we push through the tea party patriots” (smith and tau, 2010). king, armey and kibbe are examples of tea party leaders who may be social conservatives in disguise. but some are not social conservatives at all. united states senator scott brown (rma) is a moderate on social issues and was endorsed by tea party organizations during the 2010 election 2 . donald trump, who as a short-lived presidential hopeful was courting tea party support, has been known to be pro-choice and fiscally conservative, but to boost his political pursuits reversed his position and declared himself to be pro-life (reinhard 2011). mitt romney, who has also flip-flopped on the abortion issue but is generally known to be moderate in his views on social issues, has at times polled better among tea party supporters than “any other gop presidential candidate” (jonsson 2011). we see from this analysis a mixed picture when looking at some of the most visible figures associated with the tea party. some are strong social conservatives; some are less concerned. some are happy to invoke religiously motivated issues; some rarely do. many have made a tactical choice to avoid them. the writer and political commentator dick morris explained that while “social concerns still exist and are held deeply throughout the country, economic and fiscal issues have gripped the hearts and minds of republican voters and candidates, pushing the social questions aside. this preference for economic and fiscal questions over social issues is not a topdown decision of the tea party leadership” (morris, 2010). in fact, it is reflective of the rank and file of the movement, picking up on a populist sentiment, which brings us to our next section on polling data. the tea partyers themselves: 2010-2011 polling data there have been a variety of polls looking at the demographics of the tea party and what grassroots members of the movement believe, particularly the question of whether they are social as well as economic conservatives. when all of the survey findings are taken into account together, what emerges is a complex movement that is not able to be easily labeled or identified. starting with pre-2010 election polls, i looked at the new york times/cbs survey conducted in april 2010. as lara brown of villanova university points out, the findings here show that “although more conservative (traditional may be a better descriptive) than the public as a whole, the tea party is not the religious right” (brown 2010). their priorities are clear. when asked what the most important problem facing the country is, 52% named the economy or jobs while 2 it should be noted that scott brown has distanced himself from the tea party in recent months, declaring himself to be first a republican. perhaps because he has been targeted by the tea party crowd for his support of certain policies? only 5% named abortion. when asked directly about social issues, only 32% believed that abortion should not be available, while 45% believed it should be available under stricter conditions, and 20% believed it should always be available. only thirty-nine percent of tea partiers identified themselves as evangelical or born-again christians (the new york times/cbs poll, 2010). in contrast, some surveys taken since then show the tea party to be more conservative on social issues and more in line with republican party members in that regard. for example, the american values survey conducted in september 2010 by the public religion research institute (prri) found that nearly half (47%) of those who consider themselves part of the tea party said they were part of the religious right. nearly two-thirds (63%) said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. they were largely republican partisans, with more than three-quarters saying they identify with (48%) or lean towards (28%) the republican party (american values survey 2010). this differs slightly from the composition at the time of the new york times/cbs poll, where 18% said they always vote republican and 48% said they usually vote republican. while the overall number of tea partyers leaning republican is similar in both, the strength of the identification clearly increases in the prri survey. the most recent poll on tea party member views was conducted by the pew research center between august 2010 and february 2011. similar to prri, in surveys conducted between august and september pew found that tea party supporters “tend to take socially conservative positions on abortion and same-sex marriage” (clement and green 2011). unlike registered voters who are closely divided on same-sex marriage (42% in favor, 49% opposed), a majority of tea party supporters opposed it (64%). pew finds similar perspectives as prri, although it draws slightly different conclusions, particularly on tea party identification with the christian right. the prri survey proclaimed as its lead title that “nearly half of the tea party movement also identify with the christian conservative movement” (american values survey 2010). pew found that nearly half of tea party supporters (46%) had not heard of or did not have an opinion about "the conservative christian movement sometimes known as the religious right," while only 42% said they agree with the conservative christian movement. they concluded then, with a more nuanced finding than that of prri: “most people who agree with the religious right also support the tea party. but support for the tea party is not synonymous with support for the religious right” (clement and green 2011). pew also found that “tea party supporters closely resemble republican voters as a whole on [social] issues” (clement and green 2011). the fact that the more recent polls indicate stronger tea party support of socially conservative positions is due in part to the impact of the 2010 elections and tea party supporters being forced to choose between the republican or democratic party. the phenomenon of third party adherents being absorbed by one of the larger two parties is nothing new. for example, in the case of ross perot, many of his ideas and supporters were integrated into the republican party following his failed bid for president 3 . however, in the case of the tea party, the data indicates that this explanation is not entirely adequate. a gallup poll conducted in april 2010, the same month as the new york times/cbs poll, found that a solid 49% of tea party supporters identified as republican, 43% independent and 8% democrat (saad 2010). in the new york times/cbs 2010 poll itself, a full 65% leaned republican. there certainly was some moving over to the republican party by tea partyers during or after the 2010 election season, but many were in fact republicans in early 2010. as david campbell and robert putnam argued in an august 2011 new york times article, “the tea party’s supporters today were highly partisan republicans long before the tea party was born, and…in fact, past republican affiliation is the single strongest predictor of tea party support today” (campbell and putnam, 2011). the above data, though not entirely conclusive, does seem to indicate that a sizable element of tea party members were always republicans, and that by choosing to identify with the movement they were putting their emphasis on economic and not social issues, thereby rejecting the republican party’s “hot button” issues agenda of recent decades. as a christian science monitor article observed, “while such issues may be of interest to many tea partyers, they are not at the forefront of tea party activism” (knickerbocker 2010). debates in 2011 surrounding funding of planned parenthood drew new fault lines. some say the extent to which this issue has been pursued by the republican-dominated house of representatives, which includes many tea party members elected in 2010, “shows that the tea party is just a new incarnation of the traditional ‘values’ driven republican” (jonsson 2011). however, others say that it simply shows the “demographic overlap that exists between social conservatives and the tea partyers” (jonsson 2011). it is not entirely clear. the debate about religious and social issues within the tea party has been robust and even now continues to unfold. what is clear is that it is a mistake to see this movement and its supporters as not interested in social and religious issues. while the tea party has until now been focused on the role of government particularly as it relates to fiscal issues, this may not be the case forever. now we will see how these current debate relates to historic ones. anti-federalists and federalist debate on religion and the role of government the nature of the arguments in support of the constitution by the federalists, and against it, from the anti-federalists mirror in many ways the debates stirred by the tea party movement today. the federalists constructed a federal system of government that retained the states, derived its authority from the people, and as is stated clearly by james madison in federalist #10, was best able to address the problem of clashing “factions” through an extended national sphere. the federalists certainly set up a system whose checks and balance put limits on the new 3 perot’s concern regarding term limits, for example, was incorporated into the congressional republican’s 1994 “contract with america.” see jelen, ted, ed. (2001) ross for boss (new york: suny press). federal government, but from the perspective of the anti-federalists this system looked like consolidated governance and even a return to “universal empire” (ketcham 1986, 20). the antifederalists preferred a system that emphasized more strongly individual and states’ rights, responding to what they saw as the federalists’ “enlarged federal government and the enhancement of executive power with a call for the protection of private and individual rights through a bill of rights” (kramnick 1987, 60-61). on issues related to religion, the federalists did not create a “christian nation,” as sarah palin and others might assert, but rather fostered a “multiplicity of sects” in what john diiulio has aptly termed a “godly republic” (diiulio 2008, 29). they prohibited religious test for office out of a conviction that “liberty requires the unrestrained exercise of the conscience” (sheehan and mcdowell 1998, 314). in contrast, the anti-federalists were social conservatives who supported religious tests for office and believed a republican system required homogenous religious beliefs, which at that time would have meant christian beliefs. there was certainly cross-over and exchange between the federalists and anti-federalists, but i would argue that the modern tea party activists have more in common with their antifederalist forebears than the federalists they more often invoke when referring to our “founding fathers”. tea party rhetoric often refers to the constitution – whether it be michelle bachman’s congressional tea party caucus calling for “adherence to the constitution” or contract from america’s entreaty to “protect the constitution.” however, this is often done without a nuanced understanding of how these current views relate to the historic debates around ratification of the constitution. it should be noted, though, that this is a common mistake. the anti-federalists may have been formally defeated, but many of their ideas have become part of our american political philosophy and are playing out today in the tea party, even though they are not generally recognized or identified. as saul cornell explains in the other founders, “if the structure of american government was crafted by the federalists, the spirit of american politics has more often been inspired by the anti-federalists” (cornell 1999, 1). 4 anti-federalist thought can be seen in the tea party, particularly in its emphasis on states’ rights. the anti-federalists emphasized state government, which they believed provided an “appropriate arena in which the diverse interests of different localities could be reconciled, whereas shifting authority to a more distant government and weakening the state would destroy the representative character of american institutions” (cornell 1999, 74). interestingly, the 2011 proposal to defund planned parenthood put forward by house republicans, including tea partyidentified members, involved giving title x money directly to the states to distribute to the health groups of their choice, rather than having funding go through the federal government (somashekhar, sandyha and rucker, philip 2011). the anti-federalists’ deference to states derived from their apprehension of a powerful national government. “suspicious of 4 future research might explore how federalists such as thomas jefferson and james madison co-opted anti-federalists themes and approaches into their efforts, and conversely how the republican party today is doing the same with tea party perspectives and ideas. centralization” and the notion of “localism” ran throughout anti-federalists thought (cornell 1999, 1). they preferred a small republic. as brutus said in his 1787 new york journal article: the territory of the united state is of vast extent … is it practicable for a country, so large and so numerous as they will soon become, to elect a representation, that will speak their sentiments, without their becoming so numerous as to be incapable of transacting public business? it certainly is not. in a republic, the manners, sentiments, and interest of the people should be similar. (kaminski and leffler 1989, 5) in the anti-federalists’ vision of a small republic, religion played a strong role. as herbert storing explains in what anti-federalists were for, “many anti-federalists were concerned with the maintenance of religious conviction as a support of republican government” (storing 1981, 22). a key anti-federalist theme was “the need to promote civic virtue through the public protection and promotion of religion” (storing 1981, v. 4, p. 246). and this kind of sentiment is certainly seen in the views of bachmann, palin and others. the essay, “a proposal for reviving christian conviction” described the anti-federalist belief that civil institutions are dependent on religious sanction, pointing to the way in which legislators “call in the aid of religion” and claimed that “in no form of government whatever has the influence of religious principles been found so requisite as in that of a republic” (storing 1981, v. 5, 126). these views were in direct contrast to madison’s perspective as expressed in the federalist #10, where he stated clearly that “neither moral nor religious motives can be relied upon as adequate control” of society (rossiter 1961, 81). in fact madison believed religion was a key contributor to the threat of factions he was so concerned with: “a zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points…have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good” (rossiter 1961, 79). one of the major ways in which the anti-federalists promoted their views on religion was through support for religious tests, believing that the “rights of the people to legislate on matters of public morality took precedence over the right of conscience” (cornell 1999, 57). the author of the anti-federalist essay, “a friend to the rights of the people” commented on the danger of discarding all religious tests as the federalists were proposing. he said, but will this be good policy to discard all religion? it may be said the meaning is not to discard it, but only to shew that there is no need of it in public efforts; they may be as faithful without as with – this is a mistake – when a man has no regard to god and his laws nor any belief of a future state; he will have less regard to the laws of men, or to the most solemn oaths or affirmations; it is acknowledged by all that civil governments can’t be well supported without the assistance of religion.” (storing 1981 v. 4, 242) in opposing the federalists’ prohibition on religious tests, the anti-federalists, in an ironic way, weakened individual rights and envisioned a broad role for religion, but their purpose was actually to counter what they saw as a federalist assertion of federal power, the “power to regulate religious beliefs in general” (storing 1981 v. 1, 64). this points to the pairing of small government and a moral society. the anti-federalists’ believed, as one notable leader, william petrikin, put it, “that religious tests helped promote virtue” and so they opposed a federal move that would limit their use (cornell 1999, 109). while the tea party does not support religious tests (although the independence caucus does promote a litmus test on values), they have recognized the importance of religion both in their supporters’ lives and in the movement, such as in demint’s comments above where he discussed tea partyers’ rejection of the overreach of the federal government and embrace of god, not government, as their salvation. interestingly, petrikin actually recast the argument about religious tests in a way that resonates with demint. petrikin believed that “religion had often served as a check on rulers by providing a basis for popular resistance” (cornell 1999, 109). indeed, tea partyers today have made the pursuit of small government a values-laden mission. as john mark reynolds wrote in the washington post “on faith” blog, “when government grows too large, it saps the strength of other parts of society. high government spending and the taxes needed to pay for them are a moral issue” (reynolds 2010). in the end, the anti-federalist preference for a strong role for a particular religion – their version of christianity – did not win the day. this could be interpreted as simply that they lost and the federalists, with their vision of pluralism, ultimately won. this is only partly true. as diiulio explains, most anti-federalists “were willing to compromise: madison and the federalists could have their large republic with diverse economic interests (including urban manufacturers) and a multiplicity of sects (including non-christians and nonbelievers) so long as the national government was constitutionally forbidden from interfering with states’ rights” (diiulio 2008, 44). the anti-federalists were proponents of both federalism and individual rights, with a strong concern for individual liberty. their legacy remains the bill of rights, a key vehicle for limiting the power of federal government. they believed first and foremost that “the national government proposed by the constitution was too strong and too centralized” (diiulio 2008, 42). one of their chief critiques of the federalists was related to the heavy burden of national taxation. this is why, like the tea party of today, they were willing to relegate their views on religion in favor of a cause they thought more important: the protection of freedom from a consolidated government. the anti-federalists may have also believed that they were ultimately achieving their goal anyway: because in a context where government’s role is minimized, the possibility for the more localized, virtuous existence idealized by the antifederalists could perhaps emerge. conclusion: less government, more virtue the foregoing analysis reveals what has been a real tension within the tea party movement about whether to engage fully on religious and social issues. many in its ranks and among its prominent figures are in fact social conservatives or hold those types of views, but they have left those battles to other organizations or relegated them for tactical reasons. the post-mid-term 2010 elections period, leading into the pre-2012 presidential campaign season, has raised new debates and new shifts are taking place, but to what end is still not clear. angie maxwell, a political scientist at the university of arkansas who studies tea party demographics, has looked at the controversy in 2011 regarding funding of planned parenthood. for some tea party members, defunding planned parenthood "is the perfect thing to push for, because it shows fiscal conservatism, and it's also not funding one of the social issues that you so adamantly want control over” (jonsson 2011). it seems, in essence, to promote a fundamental tea party and antifederalist goal: less federal government and more virtue. however, some, like scott brown view it in a different way. they saw this initiative as “going too far” by delving into the social issues that the tea party has generally stayed away from, and which can lead to a large role for the federal government (jonsson 2011). the potential for the tea party to begin directly taking on moral issues may challenge its wide tent, but there are ways to make sense of it ideologically. as the president of americans for tax reform, grover norquist, has said, “the reason why social conservatives and economic conservatives can play well together ... is the guy who wants to go to church all day just wants to be left alone. so does the guy who wants to play with his gun all day, and the guy who wants to make money all day” (hennessey 2010). the planned parenthood funding situation is an example of how the tea party can engage on social issues in a way that can be interpreted as libertarian in character. however, should the tea party decide to promote a strong federal role in ending abortion or prohibiting gay marriage it will have to wrestle with the longstanding friction between libertarian and conservative views – the tension between believing in small government while also supporting government action to legislate public morality. they would not be alone. the anti-federalists were melding libertarian and conservative philosophies in the 18 th century. as storing explained, “they saw no inconsistency between liberty of conscience and the public support of the religious, and generally protestant, community as the basis of public and private morality,” even if they ultimately focused their energies elsewhere (storing 1981 v. 1, 23). the republicans revived this seemingly incongruous marrying of political perspectives in the 20 th century and have pursued it with zeal in recent decades. but the tea party rose to power in part because of their narrow economic focus – their refusal to engage in the messy business of religion 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social issues” the new york times, retrieved march 17, 2011 from the new york times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/us/politics/13tea.html. “gop presidential front runner herman cain on growing up towards end of civil rights movement,” piers morgan tonight, cnn, retrieved october 21, 2011 from cnn.com: http://transcripts.cnn.com/transcripts/1110/19/pmt.01.html http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/portrait_of_principled_republican_wsdqtg0mixtasxnhu9qiep http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/portrait_of_principled_republican_wsdqtg0mixtasxnhu9qiep http://www.infoplease.com/t/hist/antifederalist/agrippa12.html#ixzz1jvl9k5ey http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/us/politics/04bachmann.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/us/politics/13tea.html http://transcripts.cnn.com/transcripts/1110/19/pmt.01.html [concept, vol. xxxv (2012)] “proper for a lady’s brush”: the visual arts in the work of louisa may alcott alexandra edwards english visual artists and their art abound in the fiction of louisa may alcott. spanning both her novels and short stories, her domestic fiction and her lesser known gothic and feminist fictions, art serves as a frequently-recurring motif that allows alcott to explore ideas about femininity, domesticity, self-sacrifice, mortality, independence, and morality. many of alcott’s characters are working artists; many of her stories, including “psyche’s art,” “the sunny side” (from an old-fashioned girl), the unpublished fragment diana and persis, and her best-known work, little women, portray artists at work in the creation of specific objects of art. though alcott’s artist figures have been written about extensively, 1 much less has been said about the art itself. even the “art (theme)” entry in the louisa may alcott encyclopedia deals primarily with the creators of said art, and barely touches upon the individual objects themselves (eiselein and phillips 23-24). while alcott’s portrayals of artists can vary widely, 2 her narrative tone towards visual art objects remains much more consistent throughout her body of work. the sensibility displayed across alcott’s fiction values art primarily for its usefulness in moral applications. art in service of a moral purpose is met with praise; however, an art object that cannot be mobilized in the building or articulating of a system of ethics – be it domestic, feminist, or religious – is narratively derided or mocked. in addition to her characters’ fictional art creations, alcott populated her works with specific mentions of real visual art objects, ranging from ancient greek works to contemporary pieces. in doing so, alcott places her fiction within an ongoing conversation about the purpose of art. her insistence upon the moral application of art is notably related to that of english art critic john ruskin, whose writings on art were extremely influential in the mid-19th century and would not 1 see, for example: elizabeth keyser, whispers in the dark: the fiction of louisa may alcott; beverly lyon clark, “a portrait of the artist as a little woman”; ann b. murphy, “the borders of ethical, erotic, and artistic possibilities in little women”; veronica bassil, “the artist at home: the domestication of louisa may alcott”; natania rosenfeld, “artists and daughters in louisa may alcott’s diana and persis.” this list is by no means exhaustive. 2 while the female artists in “sunny side” are paragons of a utopian feminism, cecilia in “a marble woman or, the mysterious model,” suffers from a “self-destructive addiction” (eiselein and phillips, 195) and weakness in the face of the controlling bazil yorke. within the pages of little women alone, artistic sister amy march is depicted in a variety of both positive and negative lights. have been unknown to alcott. 3 in a series of lectures delivered in 1870, ruskin outlines his vision of the “three principal directions of purpose” which the “great arts” have: “first, that of enforcing the religion of men; secondly, that of perfecting their ethical state; thirdly, that of doing them material service” (ruskin 82). the attitude towards art in alcott’s fiction touches but briefly on the first purpose, and is entirely skeptical of the third, but agrees wholeheartedly with the second. ruskin himself took extra care to explain this point. “i do not doubt but that you are surprised at my saying the arts can in their second function only be directed to the perfecting of ethical state, it being our usual impression that they are often destructive of morality. but it is impossible to direct fine art to an immoral end, except by giving it characters unconnected with its fineness, or by addressing it to persons who cannot perceive it to be fine” (ruskin 82-83). ruskin seeks to allay fears about art that would corrupt its viewers, and alcott’s fiction displays a way of thinking about art very much in line with ruskin’s. praiseworthy art in alcott’s stories performs some kind of moral function. art that does not perform such a moral function is not viewed as immoral but rather silly, useless, and deserving of scorn. this paper will closely explore a small selection of the art objects which appear in a few of alcott’s stories – primarily those created by alcott’s fictional women, but also real world art objects created by well-known, mostly male, artists – in order to articulate alcott’s narrative insistence on the moral utility of art. “the sunny side,” a chapter of the children’s book an old-fashioned girl (1870), brings together several of alcott’s themes surrounding art and artists, including female friendship, art in service of the domestic, and a cheerful simplicity, in a notably utopian depiction of a small community of women. in the chapter, cousins fanny and polly visit the house of polly’s friends becky and bess, artists who, as polly describes, “live together, and take care of one another in true damon and pythias style. this studio is their home,–they work, eat, sleep, and live here, going halves in everything. they are all alone in the world, but as happy and independent as birds” (alternative alcott 228-229). polly’s idealized description of them prizes their art and their domestic cooperation equally. their studio is not just studio but also home. it is not enough that they are successful artists; rather, they are successful specifically because they have combined art and domesticity. the four girls contrast each other significantly, creating oppositional pairs, a narrative technique that alcott returns to again and again in her fiction. fanny is a worldly city girl, in contrast to polly’s more innocent country background, and with this comes the suggestion of class difference between the two; becky, the sculptor, is “tall, with a strong face,” while bess, the engraver, is “a frail-looking girl” (229). furthering the motif, polly calls she and fanny “us lazy ones” who will “look on and admire” while becky and bess continue creating their art (229). however, becky moves quickly to incorporate polly into her art: “‘you are just what i want, polly. pull up your sleeve, and give me an arm while you sit; the muscles here aren’t right, and you’ve got just what i want,’ said becky, slapping the round arm of the statue, at which fan was gazing with awe” (229). the statue is the art object at the center of both the girls’ and the 3 as will be mentioned below, ruskin wrote about his admiration of the work of alcott’s artist sister, abigail may (alcott) nieriker; in addition, alcott mentions ruskin by name in “psyche’s art.” story’s attention, and it is a symbol both of feminine power and feminine morality. becky asks fanny to describe what it means to her, and within moments, both of the supposedly “lazy” girls are caught up in the moral project of the art object itself. fanny does not know “whether it is meant for a saint or a muse, a goddess or a fate,” a list that runs the gamut of classical and religious possibilities for a work of art (229-230). “but to me,” she continues, “it is only a beautiful woman, bigger, lovelier, and more imposing than any woman i ever saw” (230). becky, bess, and polly’s reactions make it clear that this has been a test for polly; while becky smiles and bess nods, polly claps her hands and congratulates fanny: “well done, fan! i didn’t think you’d get the idea so well, but you have, and i’m proud of your insight” (230). having passed the test of interpreting the art object, fanny has proven that she can be included fully in the group. polly explains further, “now i’ll tell you, for becky will let me, since you have paid her the compliment of understanding her work. some time ago we got into a famous talk about what women should be, and becky said she’d show us her idea of the coming woman” (230). the statue thus proves doubly useful in the instruction of a particularly feminist conception of morality: not only is it utilized as a test to judge a viewer’s existing sympathy to feminist ideology, it then also serves as a further point of instruction for those who pass its initial test. by illustrating the “coming woman,” the sculpture presents the women with a clear model to which to aspire, or to train their daughters to aspire. the woman depicted in the statue, as polly describes her, combines aspects of women that have previously been seen as mutually exclusive or impossible. she is both “bigger, lovelier, and more imposing than any we see nowadays” but “at the same time, she is a true woman” (230). the “true woman,” associated with the victorian cult of domesticity, “might be chiefly characterized by her separation from the public sphere in selfless devotion to home and family” (eiselein and phillips 229). however, the “true woman” also made it possible for the emergence of the politically active “new woman”: “indeed, female involvement in the world outside the home received some of its sanction from the moral superiority and virtue associated with true womanhood” (eiselein and phillips 229). by combining an imposing physical presence with the inherent morality of the “true woman,” alcott avoids any possible accusations of radical (immoral) feminism. the statue is truly a balance of true and new. 4 in addition, “the mouth is both firm and tender, as if it could say strong, wise things, as well as teach children and kiss babies” (230). again, just as in polly’s description of becky and bess’s studio-home, it is the combination of multiple aspects that makes the statue, and its idea of womanhood, worthy of praise. the ideal woman, the statue argues, must combine strength with domesticity, wisdom with maternity. however, polly explains, the statue isn’t quite done yet. the women “couldn’t decide what to put in the hands as the most appropriate symbol” (230). polly asks for suggestions, and the statue becomes another test for the women. their varying answers show what they prize most highly and where the faults in their thinking may lie. thus fanny suggests a “sceptre” for a queen, but becky critiques the idea as a problematic understanding of power, 4 though the term “new woman” wouldn’t be coined as a phrase to describe feminists until 1894, the ideas she represented were already in circulation as alcott was writing in 1870. saying “we have had enough of that; women have been called queens a long time, but the kingdom given them isn’t worth ruling” (230). polly suggests “a man’s hand to help her along,” but becky again declines, articulating instead a vision not of gender cooperation but of gender combination: “no; my woman is to stand alone, and help herself … strength and beauty must go together. don’t you think these broad shoulders can bear burdens without breaking down, these hands work well, these eyes see clearly, and these lips do something besides simper and gossip?” (230). bess chimes in to suggest a child, yet another suggestion that becky declines. newly arrived writer kate cries “give her a ballot-box,” but becky replies that it should go with the other symbols, “needle, pen, palette, and broom,” at her feet (231). the conversation turns before a fitting suggestion can be found. though this collective act of brainstorming never resolves into a decision regarding the statue, it has had value for the women involved. in the chapter’s last reference to the work of art, alcott writes, “for a minute, the five young women sat silent, looking up at the beautiful, strong figure before them, each longing to see it done, and each unconscious that she was helping, by her individual effort and experience, to bring the day when their noblest ideal of womanhood should be embodied in flesh and blood, not clay” (234). the statue has proven its usefulness in multiple deployments: as feminist litmus test, rite of initiation, generator of ideas and discussion, and aspirational ideal. if “the sunny side” earnestly presents a utopian vision of a community of women artists, alcott’s earlier short story “psyche’s art” (1868) approaches the idea with sarcasm instead. it opens with a description of “one of those fashionable epidemics which occasionally attack our youthful population” (alternative alcott 207). the “young women of the community,” “victims” of “art fever,” are described as experimenting with all manner of art forms to the detriment of themselves and others: among other things, they “besieged potteries for clay, drove italian plaster-workers out of their wits with unexecutable orders, got neuralgia and rheumatism sketching perched on fences… and rendered their walls hideous with bad likenesses of all their friends” (207). in contrast to the feminist roundtable session of “the sunny side,” the women under attack in “psyche’s art” become closed off from larger society and domestically unproductive. “their conversation ceased to be intelligible to the uninitiated, and they prattled prettily …” (207). their dress shows “artistic disorder” and it becomes “impossible to keep them safe at home,” both of which are met with the narrator’s disapprobation (208). out of this art panic emerges the figure of psyche dean, the story’s heroine, who will learn in its course to “yield up [her] energies to the demands of domesticity” (bassil 188). psyche presents one of the more conflicted artist figures depicted by alcott, especially in contrast to becky in “the sunny side.” elizabeth keyser characterizes “the lesson” of psyche as teaching women “to subordinate their needs for artistic expression to the needs of their families and to use their artistic talents for the benefit not only of their own families but of the family as an institution” (“portrait(s)” 602). in these readings of the story, however, the narrative insistence upon a moral application of art is still present; indeed, it is inherent in the narrative insistence on the conscription of art in the service of the domestic. though the story singles psyche out from the crowd of “harmless maniacs” (alternative alcott 208) playing at their new art obsession, her work is not necessarily treated seriously. it is, in fact, initially mentioned only by way of an encounter with an attractive male artist. in a classic romance story set-up, psyche drops her portfolio and the artist, paul, picks it up for her (209). the girls to whom she relates this story jump on the romantic possibilities, revealing at the same time their habit of nicknaming other attractive male artists after famous figures such as michael angelo, rembrandt, raphael, and rubens (210). though the narrative tone has shifted from its initial sarcasm into realism, the women depicted are still being mocked for engaging with art and artists in an overtly romantic and gossipy way. when psyche tries to change the topic by inquiring of the other girls what her bust of venus needs, they can offer her no advice, being only selfishly caught up in their own work (210-211). psyche’s bust is “a clever thing… but something was wanting; psyche felt that, and could have taken her venus by the dimpled shoulders, and given her a hearty shake, if that would have put strength and spirit into the lifeless face” (210). in striking contrast to the “coming woman” of “the sunny side,” psyche’s clay work is both more traditionally feminine (venus is the goddess of love) and lacking “strength and spirit.” “petulant” and “dejected” by her bust, psyche leaves the studio and stumbles upon paul. her brief encounter with his work, a “majestic figure” of adam (212), and with his idea of “doing one’s duty” as a way to “feed heart, soul, and imagination” (214), causes her to return to the studio and smash her venus. her petulance, dejection, and feelings of artistic inadequacy have literalized the desire to shake her statue, which becomes the locus of a violent demonstration of her frustration. the narrative, as well as psyche herself, spares no sentimentality for the destroyed bust. after literally overthrowing her previous (romantic, weak) manner of artistic expression, psyche bids the gossipy girls goodbye, vowing to “work at home hereafter” (215). combining household duty with art proves to be difficult, and “poor psyche [finds] duties and desires desperately antagonistic” (alternative alcott 215). the story details a “sample” day (215), in which psyche experiences the ways art and domesticity do not mesh. she attempts to learn anatomy by turning her own arm into object of study, but is interrupted and mocked by her family (216). distracted, psyche turns instead to “the story of claude lorraine,” again engaging with classical artists by focusing on the romantic aspect, and not their work itself (217). as the day progresses, she gets in two more periods of dedicated work, but is interrupted each time by the need to care for her family (217). finally, she asks her little sister, may, to sit and model an arm for her; may complies, but is too weak to hold herself still. realizing that she has been “a sinful, selfish girl” in keeping may there, she abandons her art to play with the sick child (218). here the narrative skips ahead, relating may’s death. afterwards, the studio is abandoned until “her brothers [beg] psyche to open it and make a bust of the child” (220). though worried that she has lost her ability to sculpt, psyche makes the attempt, and finds that “she could work as she had never done before” (220). elizabeth keyser writes that this “suggests how the traditional experiences of women can enrich their art” (“portrait(s)” 603). however, reading this piece in context with alcott’s other art stories, i argue that it is the sudden moral application of the art – as a near-religious tribute to the innocent dead – which awards psyche her increased artistic ability. as the narrative explains, “she thought the newly found power lay in her longing to see the little face again; for it grew like magic under her loving hands, while every tender memory, sweet thought, and devout hope she had ever cherished, seemed to lend their aid” (alternative alcott 220). in contrast to psyche’s earlier works, which focused on romantic love or her ability for its own sake, may’s memorial piece fulfills the family’s explicit need to remember the child. veronica bassil has noted similar, though she approaches the idea from the perspective of the artist and not the art itself. “when artists dedicate their art to the good of others, they suddenly find their subject” (bassil 194). psyche finds not only her subject but also her latent talent and a meaningful purpose. her art serves as a memorial to the dead, a moral application that alcott will explore again with the character of amy march in her 1868 novel, little women. amy, the artistic youngest sister in alcott’s most famous work, is frequently mocked or derided by the narrator of little women. as ann b. murphy has suggested, amy is “the least likable and most narcissistic and ambitious of the four” sisters (570), and among its other narrative treatments, “the trivialization of amy in objectifying narcissism” stands out as something “troubling” about the text (564). while the novel treats all of the sisters in some uncomfortable ways, i argue that amy’s treatment has much to do with her resemblance to psyche dean – that is, her focus on her art for its own sake. it is only when amy begins to mobilize her art in the furtherance of morality that the book begins to treat her better. amy gives an early hint that she possesses the power to utilize art in the ‘correct’ way, although, in keeping with her narcissism, her efforts are directly entirely inward. during beth’s illness, amy is sent to live at aunt march’s, and there befriends the french catholic maid, esther. in the midst of amy’s obsession with where her aunt’s “pretty things” will go when she dies, esther contrives to aid amy in finding “true comfort,” by setting up a chapel for her (little women 154). she outfits a closet with a table, footstool, and “over it a picture, taken from one of the shut-up rooms” (154). esther thinks the painting “of no great value,” completely unaware that “it was, however, a very valuable copy of one of the famous pictures of the world” (154). amy uses the chapel diligently. she loves the painting and the ability to design her own space: “amy’s beauty-loving eyes were never tired of looking up at the sweet face of the divine mother… on the table she laid her little testament and hymn-book, kept a vase always full of the best flowers laurie brought her, and came everyday …” (154). amy combines religious contemplation with a love of beauty and, it is implied, expensive artistic masterpieces. it is out of this effort that the idea of her will is born (155); amy’s time in her art chapel teaches her, at least superficially, the ability to give up her valued material possessions. beverly lyon clark has read this scene as one step in the process of amy’s maturation: at the end of book one, amy has learned “to channel her creativity into religion, to model her life after pilgrim’s progress, to meditate in front of a picture of the madonna instead of drawing one herself. what creativity she does allow herself is a tribute to domestic bliss: she sketches the engaged meg and mr. brooke” (clark 83). her religious and artistic achievements are parallel, and both are also inherently linked to the domestic sphere. extending clark’s reading, i would argue that amy not only learns to control herself but then to enact that control over laurie by the end of the second book, as she utilizes her sketches in a mission of moral correction (322), 5 and perhaps over death itself, as she works to immortalize her daughter not after death (as psyche did) but before it (379). but before amy can achieve her relatively happy ending, she must practice to perfect her art. amy spends the bulk of little women trying not only to accomplish this, but also to turn herself into an art object. the two missions are thoroughly implicated with one another, and, as with psyche, are not narratively viewed as worthwhile. her father, returning from the civil war, expresses both approval and lingering judgment when he observes, “i conclude that she [amy] has… decided to try and mould her character as carefully as she moulds her little clay figures. i am glad of this; for though i should be very proud of a graceful statue made by her, i shall be infinitely prouder of a lovable daughter, with a talent for making life beautiful to herself and others” (little women 177). mr. march prizes domestic skill and the indefinable quality of being “lovable” over amy’s art, and the narrative does the same. amy is praised by the narrator for her work decorating meg and john’s home (193); but she is accused of narcissism again when she makes herself, and not “life,” beautiful (196). despite her father’s judgment, amy valiantly carries on practicing her art, both in traditional mediums and on her own person. the two converge most poignantly in the chapter detailing amy’s “artistic attempts” (203). “mistaking enthusiasm for inspiration,” amy, like the girls in “psyche’s art,” attempts “every branch of art with youthful audacity” (203). as ann b. murphy notes, “amy’s artistic efforts are consistently described as comical or insignificant, their only permanent memorial being a suggestively oedipal gouged foot. her work is either trivial (mudpies) or dangerous (burning, cutting, immobilizing)” (572). in fact, both little women and “psyche’s art” use the term “mudpies” to devalue their female artists’ work in clay (little women 129; alternative alcott 216), and both likewise use sculpture as a metaphor to insist upon the male preference for moral selfimprovement (“moulding character”; little women 177; alternative alcott 214). but it is in amy’s gouged foot that the narrative most clearly punishes her for her narcissistic artistry. having no other models, amy “undertook to cast her own pretty foot,” but the plaster sets to quickly, trapping her foot (little women 204). though digging her out is both difficult and dangerous, the story and jo make a joke of the occurrence: “jo was so overcome with laughter while she excavated, that her knife went too far, cut the poor foot, and left a lasting memorial of one artistic attempt, at least” (204). jo cannot take the situation seriously and therefore ends up physically hurting amy, while the narrator cruelly suggests that amy’s scar will be more permanent than her art. amy’s work is not the only art mocked by little women. describing amy’s attempts to copy masterpieces, a regular form of art study at the time, the narrator pillories artists including rembrandt and turner. “oily brown shadows of faces, with a lurid streak in the wrong place, meant rembrandt… turner appeared in tempests of blue thunder, orange lightning, brown rain, and purple clouds, with a tomato-colored splash in the middle, which might be the sun or a buoy, 5 for more on amy’s moral control over laurie, see ken parille, “‘wake up, and be a man’: little women, laurie, and the ethic of submission.” children’s literature 29: 34-51. a sailor’s shirt or a king’s robe, as the spectator pleased” (203-204). though certainly critiquing amy’s ability, the descriptions also deflate the classic paintings themselves. significantly, this passage is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that alcott makes fun of english landscape painter j.m.w. turner. in “psyche’s art,” the young women “flushed themselves with scarlet, that no landscape which they adorned should be without some touch of turner’s favorite tint” (alternative alcott 208), thereby conflating a love of turner with an inability to judge aesthetics for oneself. in alcott’s 1873 novel work: a story of experience, the flighty mrs. stuart, “having just returned from italy, affected the artistic”: “madame was intent on a water-color copy of turner’s ‘rain, wind, and hail,’ that pleasing work which was sold upsidedown and no one found it out” (alternative alcott 250-251). though “rain, wind, and hail” is an apocryphal work, the title references one of turner’s best known paintings, rain, steam and speed the great western railway, a hazy, barely-specific evocation of a steam engine traveling through a mere suggestion of a landscape. 6 turner’s art in work is a byword for false appreciation by those for whom art is an affectation; however, it is telling of alcott’s attitude toward turner that mrs. stuart is not the only one duped by the upside-down painting. the implication here is that turner’s work is so devoid of realism that no one can tell its correct orientation – that, as with amy’s copy, the work can be wrongly interpreted “as the spectator pleased.” his art is, the joke argues, inherently devoid of meaning. amy is famously modeled on alcott’s younger sister abigail may (alcott) nieriker, who was known in her own work primarily as may alcott. may was a somewhat successful artist in her own right. according to artists of the nineteenth century and their works: a handbook containing two thousand and fifty biographical sketches, published in 1879, may “made oil and water-color copies of very many of the paintings of turner, which are highly prized in england, and are given to the pupils of the south kensington schools to work from” (7). a paris letter to boston paper quoted claims that “ruskin admired her copies of turner, in london, and they command a ready sale in america, where she took, some time ago, the best collection of copies of turner’s various works ever seen in that country” (8). in contrast to alcott’s repeated mocking of turner’s work, may wrote in her book, studying art abroad: and how to do it cheaply, that copying turner “often [proves] more profitable to a student of water-colors than any lessons from a living master at a guinea an hour” (23). 7 while a detailed analysis of alcott’s relationship with may and her art is beyond the scope of this paper, some hint might be given by judy bullington: “for [may], study and travel abroad functioned as a source of empowerment as an individualist rather than the enactment of a social ideal” (178). 8 may did not, it seems, approach 6 turner, j.m.w. rain, steam and speed the great western railway. before 1844. national gallery, london. artstor. web. 17 april 2011. 7 for more on may alcott’s book, see debra a. corcoran, “another dimension of women’s education: may alcott’s guide to studying art abroad.” american educational history journal 31.2 (2004): 144148. 8 indeed, the subject of may’s relationship to alcott’s writing is treated compellingly in bullington’s article, “inscriptions of identity: may alcott as artist, woman, and myth.” art through its moral functions, at least not in the way, for example, that the women in “the sunny side” do. 9 perhaps, then, this lack of moral purpose explains alcott’s attitude toward may’s work, and by extension, turner. furthermore, it is worth noting that though alcott’s fiction devalues may’s work by way of turner, little women itself features a “devaluation of writing” (clark 90), which was, of course, alcott’s own life’s work. may alcott also served as the model for the painter persis in an unpublished alcott fragment, compiled and published by sarah elbert in 1978 under the title diana and persis. begun a decade after little women, and ultimately abandoned around the time of may’s death in 1879, diana and persis complicates alcott’s long-standing ideas about female art and domesticity. because the fragment was never finished, and publication history has proven that it may not have been written in order, 10 the ultimate message of diana and persis is frankly impossible to glean. however, as elaine showalter has argued, it may represent alcott’s shifting ideas about “a generation of women artists who… are not stifled by ideals of feminine self-sacrifice” (alternative alcott xxxix). regardless, the story does take up several artistic ideas central to this essay: art as repository for interpretation, art as independence, the combination of art and domesticity, and art as a memorial, among others. the story largely eschews direct narrative commentary, but instead plays out its ideas about art through the plot structure itself. it opens with a meeting of diana, the strong and independent sculptor, and persis, called percy, the beautiful and romantic painter. percy announces that she has turned down another marriage proposal and has decided to go abroad to study art (alternative alcott 384-385). diana sees this as a way to “escape the temptations” of marriage that plague her, while percy says she is “tired… of waiting for inspiration; i cannot find it here so i am going to look for it” (385). percy furthers believes that her “eye for color is a gift that blinds [her] as well as others to [her] bad drawing” (386); her trip abroad will serve as a kind of tortuous schooling meant to both punish and educate her (388). as in “the sunny side,” the women are drawn immediately as binary opposites. romantic percy believes, “if i had a marble heart like you [diana], i should be much happier” (387). diana, however, responds, “you would lose your greatest charm which is your tender and sympathetic nature. you could not paint as you do without it, for warmth and color are your delight as clay and stone are mine, and we are both suited to our work” (387). the contrast between them is heightened by immediate references to their specific creations. percy rests a new painting against “the august knees of a pallas” in diana’s studio (387). “only an unframed canvas, high and narrow, with a mere suggestions of a grassy field below, all above was a sky meeting from silvery morning mist through sunny blue to the palest gold, and midway between, a bird soaring and singing as if heaven’s gate was the goal of its desire” (387). the 9 may did, however, have her own ideas about female artists who were and weren’t worthy of approbation. she had no patience for the “gay tourist, doing europe according to a guidebook, with perhaps a few lessons here and there, taken only for the name of having been the pupil of some distinguished master” (nieriker 7). she instead directs her book to a female artist who is “a thoroughly earnest worker” (7-8). 10 see elaine showalter’s introduction to alternative alcott, xxxviii. bird image notably recalls the description of becky and bess in “the sunny side,” “as happy and independent as birds.” the narrative is quick to praise the piece as “a simple thing, but exquisitely painted,” but percy isn’t sure she likes it herself. “i have a superstitious sort of feeling about it because it was born of a mood,” she says (387). here, as in her earlier statement about her eye for color, she is distrustful of her own work. furthermore, the painting acts as a catalyst for multiple interpretations, but unlike the sculpture in “the sunny side,” percy is unsure whose advice to take. she explains to diana, “grandmamma said it tired her to think the poor lark had no place to rest in, because no bird that flies is without a nest of some sort, and sings the sweeter for it” (388). diana replies, “pretty sentiment, but the picture is better without it. anyone can paint a nest but few a sky like that and make us feel in looking at the lark, ‘bird thou never wert’” (388). 11 percy, and her painting, are constantly reinterpreted by those around her, leaving percy herself unsure of her talent and her priorities. she is tempted to forsake her art for love (386). in diana’s studio she stares “thoughtfully at a dusty engraving of the cotter’s saturday night tucked behind the minerva as of little worth” (388), an illustration of robert burn’s poem about scottish domestic life clearly valued less by diana than her sculpture of the roman version of athena, virgin goddess. the juxtaposition makes clear diana’s strictly-defined choice of art over love, just as percy’s silent staring expresses her sublimated longing for the opposite. in contrast to percy, who is tempted by love, “diana hid herself in her little studio, consecrating even her beauty to her art, and being her own model” (392). though the narrative does not outright mock or injure diana as little women did amy, it still requires that she make a sacrifice of her beauty, as though she could not be beautiful both in art and in life. diana suffers for her extreme and unwavering conviction, while percy suffers for her indecisiveness. meanwhile, percy’s experience in paris both does and does not mirror the young women in “psyche’s art”: “one cannot take hold of painting superficially when everybody is intent on doing his or her very best,” she writes, and yet, “you cannot wonder that the fever rages here and i am rapidly falling a victim to it” (398). art, though not superficial, is still a fever and percy its victim. women, indeed, are frequently victims to art in some way or another in diana and persis. miss cassal’s work suffers because “the men are jealous of her,” and “her ‘joel’ was refused at the last salon merely because of its boldness and power” (400). 12 percy herself gets into the salon only with a “stupid little affair” (405), a still life based on a may alcott painting accepted to the salon (see clement and hutton 8; bullington 178), which percy puts into “a cheap frame” and sends along “as the most stupendous joke of the season” (alternative alcott 406). 13 though she is capable of “vigorous” work, like her unflinchingly moral sketch of an african man drawn 11 diana quotes from percy bysshe shelley’s poem, “to a skylark.” percy’s nickname, as well as her painting, are references to shelley, an english romantic poet. 12 miss cassal is modeled on american painter mary cassatt. see keyser, whispers, 149. 13 alcott, may. still life. 1877. orchard house, concord, ma. reprinted in: judy bullington. “inscriptions of identity: may alcott as artist, woman, and myth.” prospects 27 (2002). 179. print. an online version of still life can be viewed on the orchard house website. < http://www.louisamayalcott.org/shop/images/may-stilllife.jpg> while delivering “an anti-slavery lecture which would have delighted grandma” (403), only her domestic art is valued by the establishment. as elizabeth keyser has noted, “percy’s condescending attitude toward still life, including her own, together with m’s approval and the example he would make of her, suggest how women artists are encouraged to work and praised for their success in ‘minor’ genres and forms even as they learn to devalue them” (whispers 151). in addition to this devaluing, percy is also turned into an art object which is then displayed at the salon. joking about her one nice dress, percy writes to diana, “anna declares she will paint my portrait in it on the famous yellow sofa which comes into play continually. the effect will be turneresque, and when it is done i’ll send it to you labeled ‘the fighting seinereraise,’ or a ‘symphony in red and yellow,’ à la whistler” (402). percy deflates any worth in the painting by mockingly comparing it to turner’s the fighting temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838, or one of j.m. whistler’s symphony paintings. though the portrait is a laugh to her, and she ends the letter meaning “to prove that some women do love art better than dress” (402), percy is proud when the painting makes it into salon. keyser further writes, “at the moment of her greatest triumph, when she has supposedly escaped the ‘fine lady’ role, she is happy to be enshrined as an icon of genteel womanhood. thus anna’s portrait not only comments ironically on percy’s painting – an exemplar of the modest, ladylike art that she has been persuaded, against her previous judgment, to practice – but anticipates her metamorphosis from an artist of ‘pots and pans’ into a wife who must scrub them” (whispers 153). though the narrative makes no direct comment upon the application, moral or otherwise, of the art objects – indeed, the second chapter is presented entirely in the form of letters from percy, many cribbed directly from letters sent home by may alcott (bullington 190) – the story nevertheless depicts a devaluing of art without purpose, by negative example of the male-dominated art establishment. while percy’s anti-slavery work is “vigorous” and moral, it is not deemed proper to become a work for the salon. in real life, may’s second salon-displayed work was indeed a portrait with an anti-slavery message, though of an african american female (bullington 178-179). 14 percy, however, is afforded no such moral success. and, in the next chapter, as keyser wrote above, she has transformed from budding artist into wife; apart from planning, but never beginning, a portrait of her husband (420) and working briefly with diana on piece casting percy’s daughter as cupid (421), she leaves her neglected studio to acquire dust. as with psyche dean, “sculpture and sewing, calls and crayons, ruskin and receipt-books, didn’t work well together” (alternative alcott 215). the ambiguity of percy’s ending is reinforced by the final chapter of the book, in which diana, perhaps softened by her time in percy’s domestic sphere, meets a male artist, stafford, and his son, nino, and seems on her way to joining their family. as diana waits for his possible arrival in her studio, she “[pines] to learn his opinion of her statue, for if he praised it she would 14 alcott, may. negresse. 1879. orchard house, concord, ma. reprinted in: judy bullington. “inscriptions of identity: may alcott as artist, woman, and myth.” prospects 27 (2002). 180. print. an online version of negresse can be viewed on the orchard house website. < http://www.louisamayalcott.org/shop/images/may-negresse.jpg> be satisfied. she knew its faults, she also knew its power, and felt that few women had dared, or if daring had succeeded in doing such bold work as this” (alternative alcott 436, original emphasis). diana, though sure of her art, needs the approval of a male artist – an approval that may not mean much anyway, considering that the salon refused miss cassal’s work for the same power and boldness. when stafford does arrive, he finds two contrasting pieces of art, and praises diana for both: “it pleases me to find that the hand which grappled so bravely with the difficulties of that saul can also put such tender truth into a baby’s face” (441). however, both works stand unfinished until stafford offers his help. his studio will complete saul in marble for diana (439), and with his own hands, he makes changes to the bust of his son (440-441). the strong-willed female sculptor has allowed her work to be taken over by a male artist; “having won [his recognition], she could permit the softer side of her character to assert itself” (436). in the end, diana’s morally useful art – her biblical saul and her domestic paean to childhood – are only as good as the masculine judgment passed on them. the story, indeed, condones both diana and percy’s “female cupid” (rosenfeld 15) and diana and stafford’s puck, two examples of art in service of the moral/domestic, variations on amy’s statue of her child and psyche’s of her sister. but it also seems to argue, depressingly, that all art is – indeed must be – resolved into domesticity. the female artists in the alcott stories discussed above are narratively praised and accepted only after they’ve learned to apply their art in the service of morality. and yet, the disturbing ambiguity made apparent by the lack of resolution in diana and persis perhaps gestures to a larger system of combining narrative approval and punishment for female artists. after all, among the characters analyzed in this essay, psyche loses her sister, amy gains a husband but may lose her baby, and becky, bess, fanny, polly, and kate can dream of the coming woman but cannot yet reap her benefits. even percy and diana seem to be forced to sublimate their artistic desires to their husbands. alcott’s narratives, which prize the moral application of art, nevertheless prove painfully cynical about the experiences of their female creators. bibliography alcott, louisa may. alternative alcott. ed. elaine showalter. new brunswick, nj: rutgers university press, 1988. print. alcott, louisa may. little women. norton critical ed. new york: w.w. norton & company, 2004. print. bassil, veronica. “the artist at home: the domestication of louisa may alcott.” studies in american fiction 15.2 (1987): 187-196. print. bullington, judy. “inscriptions of identity: may alcott as artist, woman, and myth.” prospects 27 (2002): 177-200. print. clark, beverly lyon. “a portrait of the artist as a little woman.” children’s literature 17 (1989): 81-97. project muse. web. 28 march 2011. clement, clara erskine and laurence hutton. artists of the nineteenth century and their works: a handbook containing two thousand and fifty biographical sketches. boston: houghton, osgood and company, 1879. google books. web. 17 april 2011. eiselein, gregory and anne k. phillips, eds. the louisa may alcott encyclopedia. westport, ct: greenwood press, 2001. print. keyser, elizabeth. “‘portrait(s) of the artist’: little women.” little women. norton critical ed. new york: w.w. norton & company, 2004. 600-623. print. keyser, elizabeth. whispers in the dark: the fiction of louisa may alcott. knoxville: university of tennessee press, 1993. print. murphy, ann b. “the borders of ethical, erotic, and artistic possibilities in little women.” signs 15.3 (spring 1990): 562-585. jstor. web. 28 march 2011. nieriker, may alcott. studying art abroad, and how to do it cheaply. boston: roberts brothers, 1879. google books. web. 17 april 2011. rosenfeld, natania. “artists and daughters in louisa may alcott’s diana and persis.” the new england quarterly, 64.1 (march 1991): 3-21. jstor. web. 20 march 2011. ruskin, john. lectures on art. ed. bill beckley. new york: allworth press, 1996. print. artwork cited alcott, may. negresse. 1879. orchard house, concord, ma. reprinted in: judy bullington. “inscriptions of identity: may alcott as artist, woman, and myth.” prospects 27 (2002). 180. print. alcott, may. still life. 1877. orchard house, concord, ma. reprinted in: judy bullington. “inscriptions of identity: may alcott as artist, woman, and myth.” prospects 27 (2002). 179. print. turner, j.m.w. the fighting temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838. 1839. national gallery, london. artstor. web. 17 april 2011. turner, j.m.w. rain, steam and speed the great western railway. before 1844. national gallery, london. artstor. web. 17 april 2011. whistler, j.m. symphony in white no. 2: the little white girl. 1864. tate gallery, london. artstor. web. 17 april 2011. the peasant rusticus: life near paris in the time of clovis david powell history ―history,‖ wrote the late eileen power, ―is largely made up of bodos.‖ 1 with that final sentence of her essay on bodo, a carolingian-era peasant near paris, power announced the arrival of the common man on the scene of popular historiography, a genre that was then dominated by examinations of famous men and their deeds. 2 among medievalists, power needs little introduction. medieval people, her most famous and popular work, has had ten editions and numerous reprints since its original publication in 1924. 3 the first of its profiles was titled, ―the peasant bodo: life on a country estate in the time of charlemagne,‖ and remains a common fixture on the reading lists of history undergraduates. bodo was an unlikely revolutionary. a dutiful serf on an ecclesiastical estate, the most rebellious thought power attributes to him is a wish that ―the [estate] house and all its land were at the bottom of the sea,‖ expressed as he ―shivers and shakes the rime from his beard‖ while plowing the abbot’s fields on a midwinter morning. 4 it was in expressing such feelings at all, if only through the speculations of an historian writing eleven centuries later, that bodo became an early standard bearer for the masses of so-called ―ordinary people‖ and their ―everyday lives‖ that have so thoroughly occupied generations of social historians since power’s time. these efforts have benefited modern readers by giving new illumination, color, and depth to narratives that were once rendered in flatly political, military, or economic hues. the study of late antiquity, which has sought to shed additional light on the transition from the world of classical antiquity to that of the middle ages, has reaped particularly large benefits from the rise of social historiography. indeed, it does not seem unreasonable to claim that without the social perspective, late antiquity might not exist as a separate field of study (a distinction for which it must 1 power 38. 2 kelley 104-5. 3 archer 1027. 4 power 26. still fight in some quarters). social history, however, has not been a panacea; many historical theaters within late antiquity remain stubbornly resistant to inquiry, their meager sources providing just enough information to tantalize those who would fill in the blanks. one of the most notorious examples is that of post-roman gaul, a subject so poorly documented and so awash in modern conjecture that in 2000, michael kulikowski cautioned his colleagues against mistaking the accumulated body of historiography for primary sources. 5 northern gaul, in particular, is virtually invisible in the sources for more than a century, with little more than the hagiographic life of genevieve and a few pieces of personal correspondence comprising the survivals from between 450 and 550. most of our information for northern gaul during that period comes from oblique references made by authors located elsewhere, such as sidonius apollinaris, or from historians writing decades after the fact. it is out of this ―dark‖ age that bodo and his world emerge in the records, three hundred years later. bodo, his family, his neighbors, and all the material assets of the abbey of st. germain des prés were recorded in exhaustive detail in an estate book, or polyptych, roughly comparable to the famous ―domesday book‖ ordered by william of normandy following his 11th century conquest of england. 6 it is only because of that polyptych that we know bodo existed at all, but exist he did, and power was able to use him to introduce her readers to the early middle ages from a ―day in the life‖ perspective they might never have previously encountered. historians of northern gaul’s murkier past might wish they had a bodo of their own to present to their students; someone who could, through a similar snapshot of his material world, comment on the great debates that have been churning through the field’s literature since edward gibbon published the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire in 1776. when roman power receded from the region, what happened to the people who were left behind? did they, in fact, regard themselves as having been ―left behind,‖ or did they continue to lead some sort of roman life? was life in northern gaul ―roman‖ enough to begin with that the absence of a roman state would have made a significant difference to most people? what of the infamous barbarians who, in the popular narrative, brought down the grand but sclerotic edifice of roman civilization in a wave of violent conquests throughout the fifth century? how barbaric were they, in practice? in short, what might an early 6th century ―bodo‖ tell us about northern gaul’s transi 5 kulikowski 325. kulikowski was referring to scholarship on the barbarian invasions in early 5th century gaul, but his point is equally valid for the study of 5th century gaul in general. 6 power 20. tion from a province in a transcontinental empire, where his ancestors were citizens, to the proto-french backcountry where the actual bodo lived? as discussed above, any attempt to replicate power’s exercise in a setting three hundred years earlier is at a colossal disadvantage. although it has been suggested that the format of the st. germain des prés polyptych may be directly descended from late gallo-roman tax registers, no comparable records survive from the period of interest. 7 there is, therefore, no direct evidence for the existence, in the beginning of the 6th century, of any particular peasant living in the environs of paris. in the absence of that evidence, the only way to proceed is to attempt to construct a hypothetical ancestor for bodo. this paper will attempt to do so. it will first provide, as concisely as possible, some political, economic, and social contexts in which an early 6th century peasant near paris would have lived. it will then, in the hope of providing the reader the materials to visualize a typical day in such a person’s life, propose a description of their physical and spiritual world. in a nod to his status and profession, and because the use of the name in both fifth and sixth century gaul is attested by gregory of tours, our proposed bodo antecedent will be called ―rusticus.‖ 8 for the sake of expediency, he’ll henceforth be referred to as though he had actually existed. so who, then, was rusticus? he was, among other things, a resident of a region that had, at the beginning of the previous century, been a part of the roman empire for nearly 450 years. ammianus marcellinus, a former military officer who had once served in gaul, offers a glimpse of how the provincials of gaul were perceived by the educated classes of the imperial core during the late empire. writing in rome around 390, he describes them as physically formidable, well-suited to military service, and sometimes prone to alcoholism, but also as possessing a certain self respect. though ―hardened by cold and by incessant toil‖ (a description that bodo, with his rime-caked beard, would have recognized), even the most destitute were ―clean and neat...throughout the whole region.‖ this, he tells us, was in contrast to most of the empire, where the poor were ―dirty and in rags.‖ 9 to ammianus, the people of gaul may have been rustics, but they were more civilized—and thus more roman—than most other roman provincials. 7 goffart 2008, 166-7. 8 the history of the franks 2.13: rusticus was the seventh bishop of clermont in the mid-fifth century; the history of the franks 7.31: a rusticus was bishop of aire (modern aire-surl’adour) in sw gaul in the 580s. given these, it’s ironic to learn from brown (2003, p. 151-2) that to the ―well-groomed‖ clerics of southern gaul, such as caesarius of arles (r. 502-542), a rusticus was a ―boorish peasant,‖ often pagan, and thus ―devoid of reason and unamenable to culture...driven by brute passion alone.‖ 9 ammianus marcellinus 15.12 more than a century later, however, how ―roman‖ was rusticus? by modern reckoning, he was certainly not a citizen of a roman empire. imperial control of northern gaul, including paris, had steadily ebbed since a large group of migrating germanic peoples crossed the rhine river, gaul’s northeastern frontier, in 406. 10 for rusticus (or, more likely, for his father), perhaps a last vestige of actual roman state authority had been wiped away in 486, when the salian franks defeated syagrius, a gallo-roman military leader whose territory, based in soissons, some fifty miles to the northeast, is believed to have encompassed paris. 11 of course, rusticus’s cultural identity was not defined solely by the presence or absence of a state, but it is a reasonable place to start. ‘consul or augustus’ by bodo’s time, paris’s status would return to something close to what it had been under the romans. that is, it would decline in importance. while not a backwater, precisely, the paris of the early 9th century was a town of secondary importance in the carolingian kingdom, much as lutetia parisiorum had been in roman gaul. 12 rusticus, however, lived at the start of an era that foreshadowed 10 along with a.d. 476 and some other red letter dates, the breach of the rhine frontier in 406 is one of the events by which the decline of roman state authority in western europe is traditionally demarcated. even as debate continues over how ultimately violent or disruptive this migration was for the gallo-romans in its path, its ramifications for the fate of roman imperium in gaul are almost universally acknowledged. drinkwater (1992: 216) is unequivocal in his belief that no such entity as ―roman gaul‖ long survived the event. king (p. 202) writes that ―if any date can be taken the mark the end of roman gaul, this one has the best claim.‖ for a brief overview of the a.d. 406 migrations and their significance, see j.b. bury, the invasion of europe by the barbarians (london, 1928; reprinted new york, 1967 & 2000), pp.80-83. for a more recent and extensive analysis, see p. heather, the fall of the roman empire (oxford, 2006), pp.192-250. 11 see j.b. bury, ―the end of roman rule in north gaul‖ (cambridge historical journal vol. 1, no. 2, 1924, pp. 197-201). the official title of syagrius, if he had one, is not recorded in any surviving source. r.w. burgess says he ―was clearly a warlord,‖ (review of ―late roman warlords‖ by p. macgeorge, bryn mawr classical review, 2003.09.44) a view shared by king, who applies the same label to syagrius’s father, aegidius (p. 210). aegidius held the title magister militum—master of soldiers—and was a close ally of the western emperor majorian (r. 457461). whether their domain (which has been variously labeled a ―kingdom,‖ a ―rump state‖ of the empire, or a ―disconnected province‖ of same) was any more or less ―roman‖ than the erstwhile imperial possessions surrounding it, or whether syagrius had anything more than a notional connection to the imperial government are, like so much else in this historical theater, matters for conjecture. 12 bodo’s paris remained an important ecclesiastical center—its abbots were on a short list of people furnished with a copy of charlemagne’s will, and it would host an important church council in 829—but its political significance had diminished with the rise of the carolingian paris’s future as one of the world’s leading cities. clovis, the first christian king of the franks, had just made paris the seat of his kingdom—and thus, arguably, second only to rome as the most important city in western europe. the most influential source in our understanding of clovis—and 6th century gaul in general—is the historia francorum (“history of the franks‖) by gregory of tours. gregory is a problematic source for clovis, most obviously because he wrote more than half a century after clovis’s death in 511, but also because his qualifications as a historian have been questioned by modern scholars. 13 guy halsall compares the use of gregory for early medieval history of north gallic towns to writing ―a history of late tudor london from the props box of the globe theatre.‖ 14 be that as it may, his narrative is the only one that survives. gregory’s account depicts a violent warlord who worships pagan deities and, after defeating syagrius, allows his troops to plunder the region’s churches. his conversion to christianity takes place under duress; he resists the entreaties of his wife to convert until a desperate fight against a rival germanic people, the alamanni, inspires him to make a battlefield conversion in exchange for victory. through a combination of conquest and subterfuge, clovis eliminates all of his rivals to the frankish throne, including many members of his extended family. some he executes personally by cleaving their skulls with his axe. when all other visible contenders for the kingship have been eliminated, clovis publicly bemoans his familial solitude in a ploy ―to find some relative in the land of the living whom he could kill.‖ 15 he is, seemingly, the archetype of the violent barbarian ruler. in the midst of all the bloodletting, though, gregory shows us a different clovis. arriving in tours after defeating the visigoths and expanding his domain over most of gaul, clovis stages his own coronation at the shrine of st. martin, one of the holiest sites in western europe, outside of rome: ―he stood clad in a frankish dynasty in the 8th century. paul fouracre surveys the shifting political situation in 8th century gaul in vol. 2, ch. 3 of the new cambridge medieval history (1995). on the significance of lutetia relative to other urban centers in roman gaul, see drinkwater 1983, pp. 141-159. king (pp.72-73) suggests that early roman paris, along with other ―important gallic towns,‖ was reduced to ―the lowly status of vicus (street of houses)‖ as a consequence of its people’s resistance to caesar’s conquest. this status placed it as a disadvantage for economic and civic development versus towns such as reims, autun, and lyon, which were founded by groups that had allied themselves with caesar. 13 an overview of the problems with gregory the historian (along with some intriguing suggestions for working around them) is available from brown (2002, pp. 16-28). 14 halsall 217. 15 the history of the franks 2.27-42. purple tunic and the military mantle, and he crowned himself with a diadem. he then rode out on his horse and with his own hand showered gold and silver coins among the people present all the way from the doorway of st. martin’s church to tours cathedral. from that day on he was called consul or augustus.‖ 16 the question of which, if any, official roman titles clovis actually received has never been settled (though we can safely assume that ―augustus‖ was not among them). a more useful question is what need an all-conquering, axewielding barbarian warlord would have for roman titles and pomp. one plausible idea that has been advanced is that clovis was competing for status with theodoric the ostrogoth, who then ruled italy with the blessing of the remaining roman emperor in constantinople. 17 another, more compelling answer requires a return to rusticus, albeit via a circuitous detour. a tradition of insecurity when the visigoths sacked rome in 410, it was a horrifically alien experience for most of its inhabitants, for rome had not fallen to an invader for nearly 800 years. across the mediterranean sea, in what’s now algeria, st. augustine was compelled to write his city of god in an attempt to explain how and why the almighty could allow such a thing to happen. out in the gallic hinterlands, however, rusticus’s forebears had no such innocence to be shattered. by rusticus’s time, threats to property, life, and limb had been an important part of living memory, if not a fact of daily life, for two and a half centuries. in what stephen mitchell calls ―an alarming preview of future events,‖ large scale germanic raids across the rhine into the northern gaul began in the 250s, a time when the roman government was racked by violent internal conflict. 18 in response to the failure of the frontier defenses, most towns of northern gaul erected massive defensive walls, some of which survive to this day. 19 in paris, the early 16 the history of the franks 2.38. 17 fanning 334. 18 mitchell 349. pat southern has written a brief overview of the empire’s so-called ―crisis of the third century‖ for general readers at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/thirdcenturycrisis_article_01.shtml. for a more comprehensive study, see david potter’s the roman empire at bay: a.d. 180-395 (routledge, 2004). 19 johnson uses archaeological and architectural evidence to argue that many, if not most, of these walls were part of an ―official scheme of planned defense‖ and not a ―spontaneous and haphazard local reaction to the invasions of the late third century.‖ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/thirdcenturycrisis_article_01.shtml imperial town on the south bank was abandoned and the inhabitants withdrew to the fortified île de la cité. 20 outside the towns were the farming estates that made gaul such an important breadbasket for the empire. archaeological survivals have focused much of the modern attention paid to these estates on the magnificent villas where the landowners and their families lived. 21 as impressive as they were, however, they were usually dwarfed by their associated holdings. the surrounding estate lands could be hundreds or thousands of acres. they supported not just the landowner’s family, but also the labor force of slaves, hired freedmen, and peasant sharecroppers—people not unlike rusticus—who supported the agricultural operations of the estate. these estates formed a patchwork of rural civilization along the network of roads that connected the established towns, and were minor population centers in their own right. st. martin of tours is said to have ―passed through the estate‖ of a wealthy landowner named lupicinus sometime in the late fourth century. there he encounters a ―crowd‖ of people mourning the suicide of a young house slave. lupicinus himself is conspicuously absent from the story. martin’s roadside encounter was not with the holder of the estate, but with a community joined in grief over the death of a member. 22 essentially undefended and easily accessible to passersby, these estate communities were easy pickings for germanic raiders, who literally plundered their contents by the boatload. 23 ammianus describes raids and looting by germanic groups as routine occurrences in eastern and central gaul in 357, when the future emperor julian was working ―to restore the shattered fragments of the province.‖ the presence of an imperial army under julian was in response to ―exceptionally aggressive‖ raids that had pushed ―further than usual‖ into roman territory. even with julian in the re 20 king 177. 21 see ―estrées-sur-noye‖ in cornell, t. and matthews, j., atlas of the roman world (1982), p. 130. 22 the life of martin of tours 8. 23 mitchell 349. three boatloads of typical villa booty including coins, silver and bronze vessels, tools, household equipment, and other materials, dated to a.d. 278, were found in 1980-82 during a dredging operation in the rhine riverbed near neupotz, germany. cf. todd, malcolm. ―the germanic peoples and germanic society.‖ the crisis of empire, a.d. 193–337. eds. alan k. bowman, peter garnsey and averil cameron. cambridge university press, 2005, p. 442. todd’s review of the original archaeological publication, die alamannenbeute aus dem rhein nderu mischen gallien by e. künzl, et al. is an excellent english summary of the finds and can be read in brittania, vol. 27, (1996), pp. 481-482. gion, a tribe called the laeti forced the residents of lyon to take shelter within the city walls; they then ―laid waste to whatever they could find outside the town.‖ 24 the alamanni (the foes against whom clovis would one day make his conversion deal with god) were even able to besiege julian himself in the town of sens, about 70 miles southeast of paris, during the winter of 356/7. 25 julian’s efforts at pacification of the german frontier were successful in the short term, but his letter to the emperor constantius in 360 makes it clear that the province was not fully secure. calling the residents of gaul ―victims of perennial trouble and the most serious disasters,‖ he pleads with constantius to refrain from pulling military manpower from the province to support roman operations against persia. ―the barbarians are not yet checked and...these provinces, if you can bear to be told the truth, need strong reinforcements themselves.‖ 26 the following year, julian marched east, leaving a fragile roman frontier behind him. nerves remained frayed in the towns behind that frontier. some time into the episcopacy of martin of tours, probably around 370, trier was ―thrown into a panic‖ by rumors of an imminent barbarian attack. 27 the rumors were disproved, but the story is evidence of how badly gallo-romans’ conception of their safety and security had eroded, even in a city as well-defended as trier, an imperial capital with an estimated population of 80,000. 28 the sense of threat and insecurity would have been even more oppressive in the open countryside. in response, the provincials relied primarily on a hodgepodge of static defenses, second-rate local auxiliary units, and ad hoc militias of retired veterans and other able-bodied men. the protection afforded by a roman field army, imperfect though it was, was a rare and unpredictable luxury, and after the fateful breach of the rhine frontier in 406, the responsibility for the security of northern gaul seems to have fallen entirely to local authorities. brian ward-perkins regards this development as part of nothing less than the militarization of the roman populace. 29 as usual, the sources are scarce, but it’s a transformation that seems likely to have been traumatic and, at best, partially successful. writing around 440, the bishop salvian of marseilles, himself a refugee 24 am 16.11. 25 am 16.11. 26 am 20.8. 27 the life of martin of tours 18. 28 mitchell 351. 29 ward-perkins 48-49. from northern gaul, indicated that the now-former capital of trier had since been sacked four times. mainz, where the frontier had been breached in 406, was ―destroyed and blotted out,‖ while cologne was ―overrun by the enemy.‖ he adds that the situation was similar ―in many other cities of gaul and spain‖ which had ―come into subjection to barbarian jurisdiction.‖ 30 about ten years later, the residents of paris would cower in terror from attila the hun, who threatened but ultimately passed over the town; a hagiographer writing around 520 credited this outcome to a days-long prayer vigil held by st. genevieve and ―the matrons of the city.‖ 31 such a close call with the ―scourge of god‖ and his mounted army of central asian nomads would surely have been remembered by rusticus’s grandparents, who would have sought shelter in the town upon word of attila’s approach. 32 with the passage of another decade, paris’s area of northern gaul was under the nominal control of syagrius’s father, aegidius, the last recorded officer of the roman military in northern gaul. working closely with the frankish king childeric, to whom he had granted administrative control of the province of belgica secunda in extreme northern gaul, aegidius defended the region from visigothic invaders in 463 and 469. childeric remained an ally when aegidius’s son, syagrius, took over his father’s domain, probably sometime in the 470s. an inconclusive reference in the life of genevieve suggests that childeric may even have occupied paris against gallo-roman rivals of syagrius during this period. 33 childeric died in about 481. it is not known why his son, clovis, broke the alliance with syagrius and invaded the domain of soissons just a few years later, but it would be a mistake to unnecessarily dramatize this development or even to cast it as the true barbarian coup de grâce for the western roman empire, as some lay commentators have. it is better to view it in the context of clovis’s subsequent moves against internal and external rivals, his father’s administrative rule of a roman province, and even his allegedly reluctant conversion to christianity. from this vantage point, the clovis who donned the imperial purple at st. martin’s shrine in 507 was not merely posing for the benefit of theodoric and the emperor anastasius. he was giving notice to his subjects that for the first time in generations, they 30 on the government of god 5.8 31 vita genovefae 10, as cited by cooper (pg. 1). 32 the life of st. severinus depicts very similar scenes, some with decidedly unhappier outcomes, along the danube river (in what is now northern austria) during the 460s. most of that life was completed at least ten years before the life of genevieve. it’s conceivable that the unknown author of the latter was inspired by the text. 33 daly 627-8. lived under the aegis of a man who was capable of ruling and defending his territory in the ancient manner. it is reasonable, then, to imagine that the entourage of the new ―clovis augustus‖ indulged in a certain amount of ceremony as it arrived in paris to establish the new capital. the resulting commotion might initially have given rusticus, out working in the field, a scare. should he take cover? did he have time to run to his house and retrieve his family? which belongings could he carry easily? once he perceived that there was no immediate danger, he would have joined his gathering neighbors to watch the remarkable sight of a frankish king progress up the old roman road from tours. they would have whispered amongst themselves about his bizarrely long hair and mustache, which would have drawn attention in any event but looked even stranger with a diadem and imperial purple cloak. rusticus would recall the news of the coronation, which seemed a distant and irrelevant piece of information at the time, and look upon his new ruler with nervous awe. would he have been filled with hope or dread? in material terms, did the new king matter to rusticus’s life at all? a sliding scale of domination and subordination an attempt to answer rusticus’s question requires a closer examination of what is meant by describing rusticus as a ―peasant‖. rusticus was not a slave, at least not in the roman mode. the evidence for agricultural slave labor in gaul is very limited, particularly after the 2nd century. what slaves remained by the beginning of the fifth century in gaul seem to have been engaged in domestic service for the rich. 34 slaves seem to have remained relatively rare in the early merovingian period, despite references to them in the law codes. 35 rusticus was not, however, ―free‖ in a modern, western sense. he occupied a spot on what’s been aptly described as ―a sliding scale of domination and subordination,‖ on which absolute servitude and absolute freedom were the terminal ends. 36 this scale had many gradations and was subject to great regional variation. it is beyond the scope of this paper to survey all of these, in so far as they are known; the scholarship is vast and consensus is elusive. 37 with this disclaimer in 34 macmullen 368-70. 35 halsall 258. 36 smith 153. 37 see wickham, pp. 519-590, for a highly readable overview of this topic that begins with ―the recently revived debate about the nature of the late roman colonate‖ and seeks to identify ―the most important changes experienced by peasantries as the empire divided into successor states.‖ place, it is sufficient for current purposes to begin by grouping gaul’s population at the beginning of the fifth century into three very broad economic categories: slaves, free people without land, and free people with land. proposing what it meant to be a northern gallic ―peasant‖ a century later requires a brief look at the later two. during the late roman republic and early empire, free rural laborers typically agreed to short-term sharecropping contracts with landholders. after the emperor diocletian took charge of a late third century empire on the verge of economic dissolution, landlords were required to register these tenant farmers, or coloni, on tax rolls, thus identifying the tenant as ―part of a chain of responsibility for the taxes of the land.‖ 38 the length of the contracts grew. at the turn of the fifth century, landowners in gaul were legally entitled to the services of their tenants for a period of thirty years. 39 together with laws that authorized the chaining of runaway tenants ―in the same manner as if they were slaves‖ and other laws that required sons to pursue the professions of their fathers, membership in the colonate became effectively hereditary. on the other hand, most coloni were not responsible for actually paying any taxes themselves. that fell to the landowners. the more land one owned, it seems, the more flexibility one had in dealing with tax collectors. smaller independent farmers faced a hard deadline. ammianus regarded the disadvantageous terms reserved for poor freeholders as a matter of common knowledge. according to ammianus, the poor had to pay their annual tax burden in full at the beginning of each year. deferments, installments, or other alternate arrangements were not available. given this, it is easy to understand why julian inspired ―everywhere...dances of joy‖ when he lowered the annual per capita tax in gaul from 25 to 7 gold pieces. 40 the relief was temporary. the praetorian prefect of gaul regarded his authority to enforce levies as such a fundamental prerogative that when julian attempted to overrule him in 357, he wrote a letter of complaint to the emperor constantius, who admonished julian. 41 julian persuaded constantius with his own letter and won that particular dispute, but it is reasonable to conclude that later prefects of gaul remained quick to assert full authority over the provincial tax apparatus whenever it was expedient to do so. 38 grey 165-66. 39 grey 163. 40 am 16.5. 41 am 17.3. more local authorities also had access to the tax apparatus, with similarly harsh consequences for small taxpayers. that is the impression given by salvian in the fifth century when he alleges that ―the rich themselves from time to time make additions to the amount of taxation demanded from the poor.‖ 42 salvian indicates that in response to these pressures, some small landowners voluntarily gave up their holdings and assumed coloni-like status. 43 still others seem to have abandoned the roman system entirely, fleeing to the mysterious ―bacaudae.‖ 44 first appearing in third-century sources, the bacaudae are described by various writers as rustic laborers, country folk, ―brigands‖ and ―revolutionaries.‖ 45 j.f. drinkwater argues that these earlier bacaudae, who emerged during the empire’s third century ―crisis,‖ ―should be seen as dislocated peasants who sought security in the leadership of second-order figures of authority.‖ 46 the security issues of the fifth century, as described above, would appear to be fertile ground for the resurgence of the phenomenon. towards the middle of the fifth century, drinkwater finds them living an essentially ―roman‖ life in the gallic interior, disconnected from the roman state but not hostile towards it until its agents sought to draw them back into the roman administrative fold and its attendant economic abuses. 47 it is tempting to think of the bacaudae as romantic, self-sufficient rebels who had shaken off the shackles of an overbearing state, but the retreat of rome would not automatically result in the egalitarian paradise imagined by the author of the querolus, a play performed in early fifth century rome that contains a unusual, possibly bacaudic reference to life in central gaul. 48 leaders would inevitably 42 on the government of god 5.7. 43 on the government of god 5.8, ―many of them leave their tiny fields and shops to escape the enforced payment of taxes...they put themselves under the care and protection of the powerful, make themselves the captives of the rich and so pass under their jurisdiction.‖ 44 on the government of god 5.5. 45 macmullen 370. 46 drinkwater 1992, 208. 47 drinkwater 1992, 217. 48 drinkwater 1992, 210. cf. thompson, e.a., ―peasant revolts in late roman gaul and spain.‖ past & present 2 (nov., 1952) pp. 11-23. ―men live there under the natural law. there's no trickery there. capital sentences are pronounced there under an oak tree and are recorded on bones. there even rustics perorate, and private individuals pronounce judgment. you can do anything you like there.‖ emerge in bacaudic regions (regardless of whether these regions were identified as such by roman authorities) through criteria of wealth, deference to former status, or martial prowess, which could help explain syagrius or any of his gallo-roman rivals. nor need these new hierarchies have formed on regional scales. archaeological evidence indicates that when groups of poor farmers took over abandoned villa sites, one was often richer than the others. 49 when one looks for economic powers that remained prominent in late fifth century gaul, one in particular stands out. there is a significant chance that rusticus, like bodo, would have worked on land owned by the roman catholic church, whose landholdings in the late empire dwarfed those of every other entity but the imperial fisc. clovis’s conversion to christianity and amicable relations with the regional clergy are positive indicators for the church’s ability to retain or even expand these holdings after the departure of the roman state. 50 as with so much else in northern gaul c. 500, it is impossible to know the extent of church landholdings around paris. however, we know from a letter written by sidonius apollinaris in 474 that patiens, then bishop of lyon, was able ―to distribute corn to the destitute throughout all the ruined land of gaul at [his] own expense,‖ so effectively that sidonius, writing from landlocked clermont, ―saw the roads encumbered with [patiens’s] grain carts.‖ 51 clovis would have had little reason to meddle with rusticus, particularly if he were a tenant of church land, but rusticus was not without grounds for concern. chris wickham notes that under the late empire, laws governing the colonate were often trumped by ―local customs, local parameters for social action, and, above all, local power relations.‖ 52 by the start of the sixth century, this principle would have been still more applicable to whichever features of late roman rural hierarchies had persisted into rusticus’s time. the earliest segments of the body of frankish law, the pactus legis salicae (the laws of the salian franks), are generally believed to have been codified near the beginning of the sixth century, during clovis’s reign. that clovis recognized a need for a latin codification of germanic law suggests that he was inclined to make use of any existing roman customs and practices that suited his purposes. on the other hand, the law codes leave little doubt as to the status of romans versus their new neighbors. 49 whittaker and garnsey 297. 50 daly, 631-641, discusses clovis’s personal relations with the bishop remigius and other clegy. 51 whittaker and garnsey 301, referencing sid. apoll. ep. 6.12. 52 wickham 524. the life of a ―free frank or other barbarian who lives by salic law‖ was worth twice that of ―a roman landholder who is not a table companion of the king.‖ 53 a section ―concerning homicides committed by a band of men‖ equates ―romans‖ with ―half-free men or servants‖ and levies a murder fine half of that charged to persons found guilty of attacking a ―freeman.‖ 54 there are numerous penalties specified for ―bondsmen‖ and ―half-free men‖ who leave their appointed places without permission, and for persons who entice them to do so, while a full section is dedicated to the conditions under which a man may settle in a particular village. 55 though it’s uncertain whether these particular laws were codified during clovis’s time, it is likely that ―free‖ status, were it available to rusticus, would have been no guarantee of either freedom to move or of freedom from violence. 56 rusticus’s paris three hundred years later, bodo would tend his fields in a place called villiers, a seven-mile walk down the left bank of the seine. today, it is a large public park just south of the town of saint-cloud, which is itself named for the tomb of chlodovald, a grandson of clovis who died around 560. there is no evidence for what was there at the time of rusticus. it could have been the site of an abandoned or repurposed roman villa. there could have been nothing at all. in the absence of rural estates, going any distance beyond a town meant walking into the wilderness. this was true even in the more populous late roman period. seeking refuge from petitioners, st. martin only had to travel two miles outside tours to find a place ―so remote and secluded that it was equal to the solitude of the desert.‖ 57 the abbey which would one day own villiers did not yet exist, either. now an 11th century church on the western side of the latin quarter in paris, the abbey of st. germain des prés was, in bodo’s day, in the middle of a gently sloping field about a kilometer from the ile de la cite, which had been the core of the settlement since the roman conquest of gaul in the first century b.c.. when clovis arrived in paris, it was still half a century from being built, but because it played such a large role in bodo’s world, it is a reasonable spot from which to begin an explora 53 the laws of the salian franks 51.1; 51.9. 54 the laws of the salian franks 52.4. 55 the laws of the salian franks 39; 45. 56 rio 11-12. 57 life of martin of tours 10:1-2. tion of rusticus’s paris. let us imagine that this is where rusticus lived, along with a smattering of neighbors, in sunken huts of thatch-and-post construction. 58 rusticus did not go into town every day, but he was going today, because his wife wanted to plant a new garden and her bush hook had proved too dull to remove the brambles. 59 a friend had told him that a small group of traveling craftsmen and merchants had arrived on the river the previous afternoon. perhaps one of them could sharpen it. bush hook in hand, he headed up a foot trail that led to the southwest road. as he approached the road, he passed between a pair of small, overgrown pagan mausoleums, making the sign of the cross as he did so. to the right, two days’ journey on foot, was chartres, and tours was two days further on. rusticus proceeded to the other side of the road and onto the old decumanus, which had once been the east-west street of the roman town. like most people he knew, rusticus was slightly suspicious of outsiders. 60 before visiting the travelers, he would stop and ask others whether they were the right sort for doing business. he paid no attention to the road surface, a mixture of packed dirt, broken paving stones, and clumps of brush that reflected the street’s deprecated importance. nobody lived at the west end of the decumanus anymore, and empty foundations marked the spots where buildings had once stood. some of the foundations now housed carefully cultivated gardens. the building materials had long since been scavenged for use in other homes, some of which rusticus now approached. they were of similar construction to his own hut, but they had been able to make some use of the remains of the brick and stone roman structures that had preceded them. some of these remains were loose spolia, taken from disused buildings elsewhere in the settlement. other structures had integrated in situ remains such as walls and entryways in such a way that a well-traveled contemporary who squinted might imagine he was on a side street in arles, or perhaps even rome. the road was better maintained here, but the repairs were a piecemeal affair. there, part of a funerary monument (perhaps lifted from one of the pagan mausoleums rusticus had passed) was used as a paving stone, while an inscription honoring a long 58 see appendix, figure 4.2. 59 a mid 6th c. worker in central italy is described using a ―bush hook‖ for this purpose in the life of benedict (vita benedict 6.1) 60 though i do not cite her directly here, olivia constable’s housing the stranger in the mediterranean world (cambridge university press, 2003) examines attitudes towards travelers from the classical period up through the renaissance and, i believe, supports this characterization. forgotten decurion was the front step of someone’s home. 61 rusticus may have had a vague notion that the street had once looked a bit grander, but it was not a thought that would have stayed with him as he dodged a passel of small children playing a game that their modern counterparts would recognize as ―monkey in the middle.‖ 62 a bit further up the hill, rusticus approached the center of old roman paris, where the east-west decumanus met the north-south kardo. the latter still served as the main road into town. on rusticus’s right was the old forum, which had once been the town’s central space for public congregation and the undisputed center of civic life. like most gallic fora, it had featured a basilica, which played a role roughly akin to that of a modern city hall, and a pagan temple. 63 now it was mostly a ruin. a few wooden huts squatted beneath the remnants of the old porticos; these probably housed beggars or recent arrivals. 64 the remains of the temple had been converted into a crude christian chapel to ensure that the old ―demons‖ who had once inhabited it would be unable to reclaim the space. there was no room for exiled gods in the towns. rusticus, though christian, knew not to speak openly of the hollow tree with the face-like knots that stood between his home and the river. it was there, as a small child, that his father had taught him to make offerings for good weather. 65 the roman town fathers were gone, but the forum’s location at the old cross streets meant that its northeast corner, at least, remained an informal meeting place for people going hither and thither, whether they were going home, to the île de la cité, or to work the fields beyond the edges of town. rusticus would soon encounter someone he knew, perhaps someone already engaged in conversation, and ask whether they’d heard anything about the merchants on the boat. whether he was speaking with his family, his neighbors, or his betters, it is safe to assume that rusticus would have spoken latin. by itself, however, that description is insufficient, for the latin of rusticus would have immediately marked him as a country bumpkin to anyone in rome, or even to those in the urban centers of southern gaul. evolved in a region where echoes of the pre-roman, celtic lan 61 similar adaptations were observed during excavations of the late roman forum at nicopolis in southern greece (vladkova 211). 62 a game fitting this description is attested by sidonius apollinaris (hen 216). 63 drinkwater 1983, 144. 64 6th century wooden huts occupied the old forum at luni, in italy. speculation on their occupants is mine. (gauthier 57) 65 description based on brown 2003, 148. guage would still be audible to gregory of tours, decades later, rusticus’s latin was a far cry from that displayed by his erudite near-contemporary, sidonius apollinaris. it was still further removed from the classical latin that has come down to us from cicero, virgil, and other literary giants of roman antiquity. it was, perhaps, no more closely related to that rarefied tongue than to the germanicallyseasoned latinesque stew from which old french was just beginning to emerge in bodo’s time. 66 one of rusticus’s acquaintances knew of someone who’d purchased supplies from one of the craftsmen, and directed rusticus to the foreman of a building site across the kardo from the forum. it was there that the blessed genevieve, who’d once deflected the huns through force of prayer, had been entombed just a few years earlier. in roman times, entombing someone within the settlement would have been highly unusual, but hopeful christian ideas about the temporary nature of death had helped to erode old taboos about living among the dead. 67 one of clovis’s first actions upon entering the environs of the city would have been to pay homage at the tomb of the saint who his father, though pagan, had known and respected. 68 now, clovis was replacing the small shrine erected by the locals with a great church in her honor. the structure being raised by the laborers might not have impressed a modern observer. paris’s pantheon, which replaced the ruin of genevieve’s later, medieval church in the 18th century, would have utterly dwarfed it. 69 to contempora 66 the history of the franks 1.32: ―and coming to clermont he set on fire, overthrew and destroyed that shrine which they call vasso galatæ in the gallic tongue‖; hen (pp. 21-29) provides a brief overview of the modern debate on merovingian gaul’s transition from high latin and vulgar latin to old french (or ―romance‖, as hen and others sometimes refer to it), though i am not convinced by his argument that ―the process of changing...happened mostly or entirely during the carolingian period,‖ i.e., from the mid-8th century. this position is difficult to reconcile with the idea of living languages in general. i believe the clerics attending the council of tours in 813, who agreed that latin homilies should be ―transferred into the unpolished roman tongue (rustica romana lingua) or the german language, so that everyone may be able more easily to understand them,‖ were responding to very old problems of increasing mutual unintelligibility between regional dialects that had, relatively recently, crossed some threshold of ecclesiastical inconvenience. a new (and, by some reviewers’ accounts, definitive) work on the history of latin is the blackwell history of the latin language by james clackson and geoffrey horrocks (blackwell, 2007); see chs. 6-7 for a survey of the differences between written and spoken latin across various populations from the mid-imperial period to a.d. 1000. 67 gauthier 66. 68 daly 627-8. 69 see appendix, fig. 2 ries, though, it promised to be a church to rival the greatest shrines in gaul. it was an ideal project for a recently crowned monarch who sought to make a trademark public building in the roman tradition, and it would give the once abandoned roman town on the left bank a new life as a pilgrimage center. a monastery would soon follow the church, and a small constellation of other facilities would eventually spring up to meet the demands of visitors. 70 having received a favorable report on the merchants from the site foreman, rusticus returned the favor by setting out to retrieve a tool inadvertently left behind by the foreman earlier that day. further east, beyond the settlement, the hillside sloped towards the incipient course of the bièvre river. off to the left, some rafts or skiffs may have been visible on the seine, cargoes fastened precariously to fragile decks. 71 dominating the view was perhaps the greatest remnant of the departed empire: the old amphitheater, which remained the largest structure in the town. rusticus had never been a patron, and rarely had reason to visit, for the stage and arena where the comedies of terence and other, bawdier (and bloodier) entertainments had once played was covered in a thick layer of earth. a handful of disturbed areas betrayed the presence of recent graves. the amphitheater of lutetia had become a sparsely populated cemetery. 72 now disused for more than two centuries, most of its monumental bulk was shrouded in ivy and other overgrowth, but some signs of activity were evident; bright, jagged sections of freshly exposed marble were visible atop the ancient walls, and entire sections of the stands had been hauled away to serve as building material elsewhere. rusticus inspected this area and found the tool, an iron mallet, right where the foreman had told him to look. after returning the mallet to its owner, rusticus was at last ready to make his way to the île de la cité to get his wife’s bush hook repaired. as he crossed the bridge and approached the city gate, rusticus passed a wicker chapel dedicated to st. martin of tours. 73 he may also have drawn an appraising glance from a mustache-wearing frankish man-at-arms. among the first things rusticus would have seen inside the walls was the episcopal palace, home to the local bishop, which was probably built sometime during the late fourth century. it was on rusticus’s right as he entered the walls, and its growing cathedral complex was the forerunner of today’s notre dame. off 70 gauthier 65. 71 daly 627. 72 see appendix, fig. 1 73 gauthier 60. to the left, under construction but perhaps not yet developed enough to draw rusticus’s notice, was clovis’s new palace. a merovingian palace on the île de la cité is not firmly attested until the seventh century, but it is reasonable to guess that clovis would have ordered the construction of a royal residence, and that the episcopal palace would have been the lowest bar against which he would have measured his ambitions. somewhere between the two was a marketplace, and it is here that rusticus finally found his craftsman. 74 as he waited for the metalworker to sharpen the blade of the bush hook, rusticus received a valuable commodity from one of the man’s colleagues: news from elsewhere. under the roman empire, the rapid spread of news from place to place was greatly assisted by a well maintained road system and by the cursus publicus, the imperial post system. though the latter was primarily used for official purposes and probably did not disseminate much public news, both had ceased to exist in rusticus’s time. the hearsay available from traders, markets, and fairs was virtually the only remaining avenue that rusticus had for gaining any sense of the wider world. 75 in this sense, gaul was reverting to a condition that it had not experienced for more than 500 years. prior to the caesarian conquest, gaul beyond the central massif—gallia comata, or ―long-haired gaul‖ in the parlance of the day—was divided by thick primeval forests, impassable marshlands, great rivers and other formidable natural barriers that formed the territorial borders of rival gallo-celtic tribes. though the economic unity and infrastructural advances of the roman era had diminished the ability of these barriers to carve the gaulish hinterland into disparate political units, the fifth century retreat of the roman administrative apparatus had allowed them to regain much of their ancient power. 76 gregory of tours, who lived on the de facto border between northern and southern gaul, the loire river, was under the jurisdiction of three different rival frankish factions during the 20 years of his episcopate. 77 rusticus was laboring in the early morning of an age of extreme localization. it is no wonder that his distant descendant, bodo, ―had never seen and could not imagine‖ the sea. 78 74 gregory of tours describes ―shops,‖ including at least one jeweler, in the île de la cité in the 580s. (the history of the franks 6.32) 75 graham 103-112. 76 drinkwater 1983, 8. 77 brown 2003, 159. 78 power 26. conclusion it bears repeating that rusticus is an invention, one that might be dismissed by some positivist reviewers as hopelessly fanciful. continuing research, particularly archaeological research, offers the hope that future iterations of him may be less so. patrick périn notes that archaeological study of early medieval france was nearly non-existent outside of church renovations prior to the 1970s. 79 englishlanguage publications in this area remain rare, a state of affairs that seems likely to change as the body of new discoveries grows. even new textual evidence is not out of the question. the vita genofevae was dismissed as ―a fabrication of little historical value‖ until the mid-20th century. 80 if, however, it took a history ―made up of bodos‖ to introduce general readers to a medieval period that was not populated exclusively by royal actors and their armies, perhaps a history made up of ―rustici‖ can be used to help those same readers visit some barbarians who were not thoroughly barbaric, a dark age that was not universally dark, and a roman civilization that did not ―fall‖ in all the ways that schoolchildren have been taught to imagine. 79 périn 68, 77. 80 daly 626. appendix: maps and diagrams fig. 1: plan of paris in the late roman and early merovingian periods. the legend to this map was not included in its reprinted form, but i have inferred it with some degree of confidence. (périn 89) large crosses denote churches or shrines. small crosses denote areas of christian burial. small circles denote areas of pagan burial. estimated area of settlement is represented by vertical lines. broken lines denote roman-era roads and streets that were still in use. topographical gradations are represented by lines of dots. notable landmarks in this paper include the future site of st. germain des prés (10) and the church of st. genevieve (15). fig. 2. the scale of churches in the merovingian period. the foundation of the late antique church (c) is visible under the outlines of the current cathedral of notre dame in rouen. (périn 90) the long axis of the current cathedral is about 480 feet; that of notre dame in paris is about 435 feet. fig. 3. the reconstructed plan of the roman forum in paris. dark lines are extant remains at the time of excavation. t = temple, f = forum, b = basilica. the long axis of the forum ran east-west. (drinkwater 1983, 146) fig. 4. speculative reconstructions of rural merovingian settlements based on archaeological evidence. (1) excavation plan of a merovingian settlement at aisne. (2) sunken hut at val-d’oise. (3) larger wooden building at val-d’oise. (périn 95) at paris, structures like these could have exploited the presence of roman-era stone ruins on the left bank by abutting standing walls or reusing their foundations. bibliography primary sources sulpicius severus. ―the life of martin of tours.‖ (carolinne white, tr.) in early christian lives (white, carolinne, ed.) london, new york: penguin, 1998. gregory the great. ―the life of benedict.‖ (carolinne white, tr.) in early christian lives (white, carolinne, ed.) london, new york: penguin, 1998. ammianus marcellinus. ―history.‖ (walter hamilton, tr.) published as the later roman empire: ad 354-378. london, new york: penguin, 1986. gregory of tours. the history of the franks. 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